Battle of Myton The Battle of Myton , nicknamed the Chapter of Myton or The White Battle because of the number of clergy involved , was a major engagement in the First Scottish War of Independence , fought in Yorkshire on 20 September 1319 . Berwick Falls . In April 1318 , Berwick - upon - Tweed , the last Scottish - claimed stronghold still in the hands of the English , was captured by Sir James Douglas and Thomas Randolph , Earl of Moray , two of King Robert Bruce ' s most able commanders . Ever since his defeat at Bannockburn in 1314 , Edward II had been preoccupied by an ongoing political struggle with his senior barons , headed by Thomas , Earl of Lancaster . Repeated Scottish raids deep into the north of England had effectively been ignored : but the loss of Berwick was something different . Once the most important port in Scotland , it had been in English hands since 1296 ; during which time its defences had been greatly strengthened . News of its capture had a sobering effect on Edward and his magnates . Aymer de Valence , Earl of Pembroke , managed to arrange a temporary reconciliation between the king and Lancaster . In a spirit of artificial harmony , they came north together with a sizeable army in the summer of 1319 . Queen Isabella accompanyied the king as far as York , where she took up residence . Vigorous assaults were made on Berwick by land and sea , but Walter , the High Stewart of Scotland , ably assisted by John Crabb , a military engineer , conducted an effective defence , beating back all attacks . However , he could not be expected to hold out indefinitely . King Robert had no intention of risking a direct attack on the powerful English army which , in the words of John Barbour , ' might well turn to folly ' . Instead , Douglas and Moray were ordered on yet another large - scale diversionary raid into Yorkshire , intended to draw off the besiegers . They came with a large force of mounted infantry , known as hobelar s . The Chapter of Myton . The Scots seemingly had news of the queen ' s whereabouts , and the rumour soon spread that one of the aims of their raid was to take her captive . As King Robert advanced towards York , she was hurriedly taken out of the city by water , finally gaining refuge further south in Nottingham . Yorkshire itself was virtually undefended and the raiders had an uninterrupted passage from place to place . William Melton , the Archbishop of York , set about mustering an army , which included a large number of men in holy orders . While the force was led by some men of standing , including John Hotham , Chancellor of England , and Nicholas Fleming , Mayor of York , it had very few men - at - arms or professional fighting men . From the gates of York , Melton ' s host marched out to face the battle - hardened schiltrons . The outcome is described in the " Brut or the Chronicles of England " , the fullest contemporary source for the battle ; So many clerics were slain in the encounter that it became known as the ' Chapter of Myton ' . Barbour gives the English loss as 1 , 000 killed , including 300 priests , but the contemporary English Lanercost Chronicle says that 4 , 000 Englishmen were killed by the Scots , while another 1 , 000 were drowned in the River Swale . Nicholas Fleming was among those killed . The King Departs . The Chapter of Myton had the effect that Bruce was looking for . At Berwick it caused a serious split in the army between those like the king and the southerners , who wished to continue the siege , and those like Lancaster and the northerners , who were anxious about their homes and property . Edward ' s army effectively split apart : Lancaster refused to remain and the siege had to be abandoned . The campaign had been another fiasco , leaving England more divided than ever . It was widely rumoured that Lancaster was guilty of treason , as the raiders appeared to exempt his lands from destruction . Hugh Despenser , the king ' s new favourite , even alleged that it was Lancaster who had told the Scots of the queen ' s presence in York . To make matters worse , no sooner had the royal army disbanded than Douglas came back over the border and carried out a destructive raid into Cumberland and Westmorland . Edward had little choice but to ask Robert for a truce , which was granted shortly before Christmas .