Immediately the leaders of the front rank--the Earl Marshal, the Earl of Hereford, and the Earl of Lincoln--advanced straight towards the enemy, not knowing that there was a morass in the intervening ground. When they saw it, they made a detour round it on the west side, and so were delayed in their arrival; but the second rank, that of the Bishop of Durham, composed of thirty-six chosen veterans, knowing that the morass was in their way, struck out to the east to avoid it. As they hastened at full speed in order to be the first to engage, the Bishop commanded them to await the approach of the King's third line. Ralph Basset, of Drayton, a valiant soldier, answered him: "It is not your part, my lord Bishop, to give us our fighting orders at this moment when you ought to be engaged in celebrating Mass. Go, if you wish to celebrate Mass, for this day we shall all act as befits soldiers." They hastened on, and soon after engaged the first circle of the Scots; then the aforesaid Earls came up from the other side with the first rank. As soon as our men approached, the Scots cavalry fled without striking a blow, a few only remaining to give orders to the foot-soldiers, who were drawn up in circles called "schiltrons." Among them was the brother of the Seneschal of Scotland, who, when he was directing the bowmen of the Forest of Selkirk, fell by chance from his horse, and was slain among the bowmen, who surrounded him and died with him. They were men of comely build and commanding stature. When the bowmen were thus cut down, our men proceeded to attack the Scots spearmen, who, as we have said, were stationed in circles, with sloping spears, after the manner of a closely-planted wood. And while our horsemen could not advance for the number of spears, those of the enemy on the outside struck at and pierced several with their spears. But our foot-soldiers shot at them with arrows, and then, securing a quantity of round stones, of which there was abundance near, stoned them. So, when many had been slain and the others confounded, the remainder of the outer ring were thrown back on the others, and our horsemen broke in and swept the field. There fell of the Scots on that day, besides an unknown number who were drowned and about twenty horsemen, 50,000 foot-soldiers. The army of the Scots, according to the report given by prisoners, numbered about 1,000 horsemen, and about 300,000 foot-soldiers. But the Lord preserved our men, and no man of note fell in the whole battle save only the Master of the Knights of the Temple, who was caught in a morass and slain while he pursued the fugitives. [99] The English army was at this time encamped at Kirkliston, in Linlithgowshire, about eight miles west of Edinburgh. SCOTLAND AFTER FALKIRK (1298-1303). +Source.+--_The Book of Pluscarden_, pp. 168 _et seqq._ (_Historians of Scotland_, vol. x.)