Battle of Flodden

James IV was the first Scottish king who had the intelligence and diplomacy to rule as a king. He was interested in many pursuits, and according to Erasmas, “He had an astonishing knowledge of everything . . .” Under his rule, he extended royal administration to the west and north, and had overcome the last independent lord of the Isles by 1493. James’ marriage to the sister of England’s King Henry VIII brought a time of alliance and friendship between the countries, but the auld alliance between France and Scotland had recently been renewed as well. As a result, when England invaded France in 1513, Louis XII of France called upon James to honor the Auld Alliance Treaty. James felt obliged to do so, and sent one of the largest armies ever recruited in Scotland to cross the southern border into England. At the Battle of Flodden the Scots were outmanned and the English had better weaponry. James IV, along with many of his nobles, died in the disastrous defeat for the Scots.