The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Norwegian expedition against Scotland in 1263, in which Haakon Haakonsson, King of Norway attempted to reassert Norwegian sovereignty over the western seaboard of Scotland. Victory was achieved by the Scots with a crafty three-tiered strategy on the part of the young Scottish king, Alexander III: plodding diplomacy forced the campaign to bad weather months and a ferocious storm ravaged the Norwegian fleet, stripping it of many vessels and supplies and making the forces on the Scottish coast vulnerable to an attack that forced the Norwegians into a hasty retreat that was to end their 500-year history of invasion, and leaving Scotland to consolidate its resources into building the nation.

Since the beginning of the 12th century, Largs in the north Ayrshire area of Scotland had lain at the periphery of the Norwegian realm, ruled by magnates who recognised the overlordship of the kings of Norway. In the mid-13th century, two Scottish kings, Alexander II and his son Alexander III, attempted to incorporate the region into their own realm. Following Alexander III's early, failed attempts to purchase the islands from the Norwegian king, the Scots launched military operations to end the issue altogether by asserting royal sovereignty over all of western Scotland. Haakon responded to the Scottish aggression by leading a massive Norwegian fleet, thought to number in the thousands of vessels, that reached the Hebrides in the summer of 1263. Realizing that the Scots were tremendously outnumbered by an experienced and mobile enemy, Alexander III sought a protracted diplomatic intervention that would buy time to acquire more troops and possibly force the Norwegians into the stormy autumn and winter months where an invasion could be stalled due to weather. By late September, Haakon's fleet occupied the Firth of Clyde and the temperate days — such as they are on the western coast of Scotland — were almost at an end. When negotiations between the kingdoms broke down, Haakon brought the bulk of his fleet to anchor off the Cumbraes, poised to invade Scotland at a site of his choosing.

On the night of 1 October, during a bout of stormy weather, several Norwegian vessels were driven aground on the Ayrshire coast, near present-day Largs. On 2 October, while the Norwegians were salvaging their vessels, the main Scottish army arrived on the scene. Composed of infantry and cavalry, the Scottish force was commanded by Alexander of Dundonald, Steward of Scotland. The Norwegians were gathered in two groups: the larger main force on the beach and a small contingent atop a nearby mound. The advance of the Scots threatened to divide the Norwegian forces, so the contingent on the mound ran to rejoin their comrades on the beach below. Seeing them running from the mound, the Norwegians on the beach believed they were retreating and fled back towards the ships. There was fierce fighting on the beach, and the Scots took up a position on the mound formerly held by the Norwegians. Late in the day, the Norwegians recaptured the mound after several hours of skirmishing. The Scots withdrew from the scene and the Norwegians reboarded their ships. They returned the next morning to collect their dead. With the weather deteriorating, Haakon's fleet sailed to Orkney to overwinter.

The battle is commemorated in Largs by an early 20th-century monument, and festivities held there annually since the 1980s.

Context

thumb|left|The Norwegian realm in 1263, at about the time of the Battle of Largs

Viking depredations have been recorded in the British Isles since the late 8th century, and Scandinavian settlement on Scotland's western-seaboard may have begun before the turn of the 9th century. Claims to this region by Norwegian kings date to the turn of the 12th century, when Magnus Olafsson, King of Norway (d. 1103) established himself in the Hebrides and the Isle of Man (Mann). Direct Norwegian control ended with Magnus' death, after which the Hebrides and Mann, known to the Norwegians as the "Southern Isles", were controlled by local dynasties for over a century and a half.

The first half of the 13th century was a period of consolidation for both Scottish and Norwegian kings. The Norwegians, under Haakon, overcame a period of internal strife, from 1161 to 1208, and oversaw the submission of the Faroe Islands, the Greenland settlements, and Iceland, in the mid 13th century. The Scots, under Alexander II, King of Scots (d. 1249), extended royal authority into the northern Highlands, Argyll, and Galloway. The king also wanted to incorporate the western seaboard into the Scottish realm. In 1230, Scottish aggression against the Isles and interference forced the Norwegian king to pacify the region. In 1249, after attempting to purchase the Isles from Haakon, Alexander II launched a campaign of his own, deep into Argyll and into the Hebrides. Unfortunately for the Scots, their king died suddenly on the verge of conquest. Since his son and successor, Alexander III (d. 1286), was only a boy at the time, the Scottish realm suffered through a lengthy and troubled minority. In consequence, it wasn't until the 1260s that the king looked west and attempted to finish what his father had so nearly accomplished. Described by the Icelandic Annals as the largest force to have ever set sail from Norway, the fleet reached the Isles in the summer of 1263.

Actions

thumb|upright|Haakon's ships depicted on William Hole's mural in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

The main Norwegian source for the battle is Hakonar saga Hakonarsonar, a contemporary account of the life of Hakon Haakonarson, King of Norway (d. 1263), composed by the Icelandic historian Sturla Thordarson (d. 1284). Although the saga describes the events purely from the Norwegian perspective, its narrative of the battle appears to have been drawn from eyewitness accounts, and it is the most detailed source available for the Scottish–Norwegian conflict, given that many contemporary Scottish archival holdings are lost to history.

While lying off the Cumbraes, on the night of 30 September, Haakon's fleet was battered by stormy weather. During the night, the saga records that a merchantman dragged its anchor and was driven aground. The following morning, it and four other vessels were floated off by the rising tide but carried by the current towards the Scottish mainland where they ran aground again. The crews of the beached vessels were soon harassed by a small force of Scots armed with bows. After the Norwegians had suffered some casualties, Haakon sent reinforcements ashore, and the Scots fled the area. Haakon's reinforcements remained ashore for the night, and the Norwegian king himself came ashore to oversee the salvage operation the next morning.

According to the saga, the main Scottish force, consisting of heavily armoured cavalry and infantry, arrived on 2 October. The saga numbers the mounted troops at about 500 and states that they rode high-quality horses protected by mail. The use of a substantial force of mounted knights or sergeants appears to be corroborated in contemporary records of payments made to troops. For example, Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith had to maintain 120 sergeants—which could include knights, mounted men-at-arms, archers, or other footsoldiers—at Ayr Castle for three weeks. Although surviving records fail to mention the number of knights assembled at Ayr, the record of wages suggests that it was "more than a mere handful". the Scottish army must have also included slingers. The Latin Chronicle of Melrose simply describes the Scottish infantry as pedisequi patrie (the "foot-sloggers of the locality"). If this description refers to the men of the surrounding countryside, the Scottish infantry would have been made up of men from the 'common army', drawn only from Strathgryffe, Cunninghame and Kyle. These levies would have been mustered by the Sheriff of Ayr, the Sheriff of Lanark, and the local magnates. At the time of Largs, the Scottish king thus had at his disposal men from the 'common army' (lesser men who owed service to their king), the feudal host (greater men who owed military service for their lands), and also paid troops.

thumb|left|Area of conflict

The evidence suggests that the main Scottish force arrived from the south, rather than from the east or the north. For example, Alexander III is recorded to have been south at Ayr in September, and the power centre of Alexander of Dundonald, Steward of Scotland (d. 1282), who is thought to have commanded the Scottish forces at the battle, was also located to the south. Furthermore, at the time of the battle, the Sheriff of Ayr was probably a member of the steward's family If the Scots had indeed arrived from the south, then they would have also assembled at a mustering site to the south, possibly somewhere near Ayr. These two detachments were likely only a fraction of the total number of forces at Haakon's disposal. The numbers that the saga allows for either side may be exaggerated. A more likely number may be only about one hundred or several hundred men per side with the number of knights present may have been closer to 50 than the saga's 500. The forces which Haakon had mustered in Norway formed part of his realm's leidang, a naval levy in which districts contributed men, ships, and provisions for military service.

thumb|Alexander III's [[seal (emblem)|seal illustrates the armament of a contemporary mounted knight.]]

As the Scots advanced towards the Norwegians, the saga indicates that Ogmund withdrew his troops from the mound to avoid being cut off from his comrades on the beach below. If the Scots had indeed marched northwards, their advance would have threatened to drive a wedge between the Norwegians on the mound and those on the beach. Once the Scottish vanguard came into contact with Ogmund's men, the saga indicates that his orderly withdrawal disintegrated into a chaotic scramble. On the beach below, Haakon followed the advice of his men and retired to the safety of his ships. To the men on the beach, the rapid descent of Ogmund's men towards them looked like an all-out retreat; they turned and fled. The Norwegian army was thus routed, and in the mad dash back to their ships they suffered substantial casualties.

The probable site of the mound upon which the Norwegians and Scots fought is not commemorated at all. and surrounded by a housing development, the mound is crowned by a 19th-century monument known as "The Three Sisters", which may have been erected by astronomer Thomas Brisbane. In recent years the battle site has been one of fifty battlefields researched by the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology and Historic Scotland for inclusion in the Inventory of Scottish Battlefields. The inventory, established in 2009, is intended to protect, preserve, and promote Scotland's most significant battlefields under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy. The site of the Battle of Largs was one of eleven investigated sites that did not meet the criteria for inclusion.

Each autumn since 1981, the village of Largs has hosted the Largs Viking Festival, founded to celebrate the battle and to encourage tourism. A re-enactment of the battle, held onsite at The Pencil, forms part of the festivities. The battle is the subject of John Galt's (d. 1839) The Battle of Largs: a Gothic Poem, written about 1804. Not regarded as one of Galt's better literary works, this poem was almost certainly based on James Johnstone's (d. 1798) The Norwegian Account of Haco's Expedition Against Scotland A.D. MCCLXIII, published in 1782. The battle is also commemorated within one of William Hole's (d. 1917) massive murals, which can be viewed in the foyer of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.<!-- The Cumming (#C6) reference is only for Hole's death-date. -->

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