shmen who had not taken up arms
at his orders, and had closely blockaded Carnarvon. He marched to
Bangor, levelled the cathedral, and that of Saint Asaph, by fire, burnt
the episcopal palaces and canons' houses. So formidable did he become
that the king issued writs, to the lieutenants of no fewer than
thirty-four counties, to assemble their forces at Lichfield, to crush
Glendower.

The latter had now taken the offensive, and advanced towards Hereford,
and carried fire and sword through Mortimer's lands. Sir Edmund
gathered his own and his nephew's tenants and retainers, from
Herefordshire and Radnorshire, and advanced against Glendower. The
armies met on the 22nd of June, 1402, at a short distance from
Knighton. The battle was obstinately fought, but was decided by the
desertion of the Welsh tenants, and by the Welsh bowmen in Mortimer's
service turning their bows against his men-at-arms; and, finally, the
English were defeated, with the loss of eleven hundred men, Sir Edmund
himself being made a prisoner.

After the battle the Welsh behaved with the greatest savagery; killing
all the wounded, stripping the fallen, and horribly mutilating their
bodies. The news created great excitement at Alnwick and, had not the
situation in the north been critical, Percy would have gathered his
forces and marched, with all speed, to avenge the defeat and capture of
his brother-in-law.

The Earl of Dunbar, with many of the tenants of his former estates, and
numbers of the English borderers, had entered Scotland and carried out
considerable raids. In revenge for this, Douglas despatched Thomas
Halliburton and Patrick Hepburn, each with a considerable force, to
invade Northumberland. Halliburton ravaged the country as far as
Bamborough, collected great spoils, and returned with them. Hepburn,
who had a still larger force, penetrated farther into England, carried
his ravages to within a few miles of Alnwick; and then retired north,
with an enormous amount of booty.

When, however, he had crossed the border into the country known as the
Merse, north of Berwick, the Earl of Dunbar fell upon him at West
Nesbit, and completely defeated him. Hepburn himself, with a large
number of his men, fell in the battle; and many important prisoners
were captured. This battle was fought on the same day that Glendower
defeated Mortimer.

The victory caused great exultation on the border; but Alwyn said to
his nephew:

"Although this is good, as f