Archbishops at war: the archbishops of York and the Anglo-Scottish Wars, 1304–1405

Abstract This article explores the involvement of fourteenth-century archbishops of York in the Anglo-Scottish wars. It analyses their role in organizing prayers, negotiating with the Scots, and raising money and men for the defence of the north of England. Thereafter, it considers why archbishops led English forces at the battles of Myton and Neville’s Cross. It argues that they were forced to assume this military role in the absence of strong royal or aristocratic leadership in the North in both 1319 and 1346, a gap that was filled by the increasing power of northern magnates such as the Percies and the Nevilles.