Having no
weapons but their bows and arrows, the archers broke and fled in utter
confusion, hundreds of them being slain.
This charge of the Scotch cavalry was followed by an advance in force of
the English horsemen, who came forward in such close and serried ranks
and with so vast an array that it looked as if they would overwhelm the
narrow lines before them. But suddenly trouble came upon this mighty
mass of knights and men-at-arms. The seemingly solid earth gave way
under their horses' feet, and down they went into the hidden pits, the
horses hurled headlong, the riders flung helplessly upon the ground,
from which the weight of their armor prevented their rising.
In an instant the Scotch footmen were among them, killing the
defenceless knights, cutting and slashing among the confused mass of
horsemen, breaking their fine display into irretrievable disorder. Bruce
brought up his men in crowding multitudes. Through the English ranks
they glided, stabbing horses, slaying their iron-clad riders, doubly
increasing the confusion of that wild whirl of horsemen, whose trim and
gallant ranks had been thrown into utter disarray.
The English fought as they could, though at serious disadvantage.
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