Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Historie and cronicles of Scotland > Volume 1, 1899

INTRODUCTION.
CX1X
served in France, where he made the acquaintance of
Henry of Richmond, and came with a thousand men of
arms called the Scots company on the expedition against
Richard III., which landed at Milford Haven, in the
part called Dale, on 7th August 1485. The number
under his command is, however, uncertain, and all reference
to this Scotch contingent, as well as to Bernard Stuart
of Aubigny, who commanded a French contingent, has
been omitted by English historians.1 According to Pit-
scottie, Bruce commanded the Scottish horse and Captain
Henderson of Haddington the Scottish foot, of the van¬
guard of 10,000 men, in the decisive battle of Bos worth
Field, which was fought on the 22nd of August. Pit-
scottie’s narrative, evidently derived from the traditions
of the Bruces of Earlshall, is too vague to be relied on
as to the numbers, which are much exaggerated. He
does not even mention the name of the battlefield, but
he can hardly have been mistaken in describing Sir
Alexander Bruce as having taken part in it. Sir Alex¬
ander Bruce married Janet Stewart, and their marriage
must have been either before he went to France or
shortly after his return, for his eldest son, afterwards
Sir William Bruce, was born in i486. He had four
sisters, who married four neighbouring lairds in Fife:
Kinninmont of Callinch, Ramsay of Brackmont, Balfour
of Mountquhany, and Trail of Blebo. Sir William Bruce
appears to have succeeded to his father about 1504.2
He was knighted by James IV., and fought at Flodden,
as so many of Pitscottie’s neighbours and informants
1 Pinkerton’s History of the Stuart Kings; Sir James Ramsay, Lancaster
and York, ii. p. 538.
2 Great Seal Register, 13th November 1504, No. 2889, note.