Atlas of Battles

battle, major, early modern

Battle of Flodden

Battle of Flodden was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 at Branxton, in what is now United Kingdom. It was part of the War of the League of Cambrai, which ran from 1508 to 1516. The recorded result: English victory; Accession of James V of Scotland. Recorded strength: 20,000–30,000 men against 30,000–40,000 men.

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Pitched combat between the English and Scottish forces at the Battle of Flodden, 9 September 1513. At Flodden, Clan MacTavish lost three members of the chiefly line, Duncan MacTavish the 6th Chief, h
Pitched combat between the English and Scottish forces at the Battle of Flodden, 9 September 1513. At Flodden, Clan MacTavish lost three members of the chiefly line, Duncan MacTavish the 6th Chief, h. James Grant (book author), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought9 September 1513
WhereBranxton, United Kingdom55.627N, 2.175W
OutcomeEnglish victory; Accession of James V of Scotland
BelligerentsEnglandagainstScotland
Casualties and losses1,500–1,700 killedand5,000–14,000 killed
Battlefield todayBattle of Flodden battlefieldHistoric England entry 1000011, 282 ha
Part ofWar of the League of Cambrai1508 to 1516

Where it sits in the War of the League of Cambrai

Invasion of Cadore, 1508Battle of Cadore, 1508Battle of Treviglio, 1509Battle of Casaloldo, 1509Battle of Agnadello, 1509Battle of Isola della Scala, 1509Siege of Padua, 1509Battle of the citadel of Vicenza, 1509Battle of Polesella, 1509Siege of Monselice, 1510Siege of Mirandola, 1510Siege of Trévise, 1511Siege of Treviso, 1511Battle of Ravenna, 1512Battle of Pavia, 1512Battle of Saint-Mathieu, 1512Siege of Crema, 1513Battle of Brest, 1513Battle of Blancs-Sablons Bay, 1513Battle of Novara, 1513Battle of Guinegate, 1513Siege of Dijon, 1513Battle of Flodden, 1513Battle of La Motta, 1513Battle of Marignano, 1515Siege of Asola, 1516Bombing of Cartagena, 151615081516Battle of Flodden, 1513
27 placed engagements of the War of the League of Cambrai in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date9 September 1513
PlaceBranxton, United Kingdom
55.627N, 2.175W
KindBattle, early modern
Strength20,000–30,000 men30,000–40,000 men
Casualties and losses1,500–1,700 killed5,000–14,000 killed
Commanders
  • Catherine of Aragon
  • Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
  • Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
  • Lord Edmund Howard
  • Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre
  • Edward Stanley, 1st Baron Monteagle
  • James IV
  • Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home
  • William Graham, 1st Earl of Montrose
  • Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell
  • Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox
  • Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Battle of FloddenBattle of Flodden5 km55.627N, 2.175W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the registered battlefield area (Historic England). Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Flodden
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Flodden today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-06. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 76 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 6 to 269 m, 262 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 62% cropland, 29% grassland, 9% tree cover.

cropland: 62%grassland: 29%tree cover: 9%cropland 62%grassland 29%tree cover 9%
west to east, 10.0 km29 to 102 mnorth to south, 10.0 km36 to 167 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1513

Historic England registers this as the Battle of Flodden battlefield (entry 1000011), 282 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of Flodden is one of 1,470 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 753 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1300742, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Flodden, revision 1377060654, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from Historic England (Open Government Licence). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.