Battle of Old Byland The Battle of Old Byland ( also known as the Battle of Byland Moor and Battle of Byland Abbey ) was a significant encounter between Scots and English troops in Yorkshire in October 1322 , forming part of the Wars of Scottish Independence . It was a victory for the Scots , the most significant since Bannockburn , though on a far smaller scale . Raids and revenge . Ever since Robert Bruce ' s victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 , the Scots had taken the initiative in the wars with England , raiding deep into the north of the country repeatedly and with comparative ease to attempt to force the English to the peace - table . The English king , Edward II seemed incapable of dealing with the problem , distracted , as he often was , in a political struggle with his own barons and refused to even begin peace negotiations with the Scots which would have required recognizing Robert the Bruce as King of the Scots . In early 1322 the situation had become critical , with some senior English noblemen , headed by Thomas of Lancaster , preparing to enter into an alliance with the Scots . It seems unlikely that Bruce had much confidence in Lancaster , who referred to himself as ' King Arthur ' in his negotiations with the Scots , but he was quick to take advantage of the threat of civil war in England . Scarcely had the truce of 1319 expired in January 1322 than Sir James Douglas , Thomas Randolph , 1st Earl of Moray and Walter Stewart came over the border on a large - scale attack on the north - east . The three commanders fanned out across the region : Douglas to Hartlepool , Moray to Darlington and Stewart to Richmond . Lancaster with his army at Pontefract did nothing to stop them . Edward ignored the Scots , instructing his lieutenant in the north , Sir Andrew Harclay , the governor of Carlisle , to concentrate his efforts against the rebel barons , whom he finally defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge . In the wake of this the Scots raiders slipped back across the border . Edward ' s invasion . Boroughbridge was a new beginning for Edward . The baronial opposition had been defeated and tainted with treason : the king had at last enjoyed his long awaited revenge for the murder of Piers Gaveston . This was the high point of his reign and , emboldened by this rare triumph , he decided to embark on what was to be his last invasion of Scotland . It was to be a disaster . By the time Edward was ready to begin his advance in early August Bruce was more than ready . He deployed his usual tactics : crops were destroyed and livestock removed and his army withdrawn north of thr River Forth . In all of Lothian the English are said only to have found one lame cow , causing the Earl of Surrey to remark ; " This is the dearest beef I ever saw . It surely has cost a thousand pounds and more ! " In the " Scalicronica " , Sir Thomas Gray describes the whole campaign thus ; " The king marched upon Edinburgh , where at Leith there came such a sickness and famine upon the common soldiers of that great army , that they were forced to beat a retreat for want of food ; at which time the king ' s light horse were defeated by James de Douglas . None dared leave the main body to seek food by forage , so greatly were the English harassed and worn out by fighting that before they arrived in Newcastle there was such a murrain in the army for want of food , that they were obliged of necessity to disband " . Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh , and the Border Abbeys of Melrose and Dryburgh were destroyed in revenge by the English . The invasion had achieved precisely nothing . More seriously , the effect on national morale of the ignominious retreat of a starving army was almost as bad as the defeat at Bannockburn . Worse was to follow ; for , as always , an English retreat was the signal for yet another Scottish attack . Old Byland . Bruce crossed the Solway in the west , making his way in a south - easterly direction towards Yorkshire , bringing many troops recruited in Argyll and the Isles . The boldness and speed of the attack soon exposed Edward to danger , even in his own land . On his return from Scotland , the king had taken up residence at Rievaulx Abbey with Queen Isabella . His peace was interrupted when the Scots made a sudden and unexpected approach in mid - October . All that stood between them and a royal prize was a large English force under the command of John de Bretagne , 1st Earl of Richmond . John had taken up position on Scawton Moor , between Rievaulx and Byland Abbey . To dislodge him from his strong position on the high ground Bruce used the same tactics that brought victory at the earlier Battle of Pass of Brander . As Moray and Douglas charged uphill a party of Highlanders scaled the cliffs on the English flank and charged downhill into Richmond ' s rear . Resistance crumbled and the Battle of Old Byland turned into a rout . Richmond himself was taken prisoner , as were Henry de Sully , Grand Butler of France , Sir Ralph Cobham - ' the best knight in England ' - and Sir Thomas Ughtred . Many others were killed in flight . Edward - ' ever chicken hearted and luckless in war ' - was forced to make a rapid and undignified exit from Rievaulx , fleeing in such haste that his personal belongings were left behind . " After Byland " , says Sir Thomas Gray , " the Scots were so fierce and their chiefs so daring , and the English so cowed , that it was no otherwise between them than as a hare before greyhounds .