Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle

Andrew Harclay
Contemporary illustration of Harclay defending Carlisle Castle against the Scots in 1315.
Born	c. 1270
Died	3 March 1323 Carlisle, Cumberland
Cause of death	Executed
Title	Earl of Carlisle
Tenure	25 March 1322 – 3 March 1323
Known for	Victory at the Battle of Boroughbridge, treason against Edward II
Years active	c. 1304 – 1323
Nationality	English
Locality	Cumberland, Westmorland
Wars and battles	Scottish Wars
Offices	Warden of the West Marches
Predecessor	New creation
Successor	Forfeit
Parents	Michael Harclay Joan FitzJohn

Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle (ca. 1270 – 3 March 1323), alternatively Andreas de Harcla, was an important English military leader in the borderlands with Scotland during the reign of Edward II. Coming from a knightly family in Westmorland, he was appointed sheriff of Cumberland in 1311. He distinguished himself in the Scottish Wars, and in 1315 repulsed a siege on Carlisle Castle by Robert the Bruce. Shortly after this, he was taken captive by the Scots, and only released after a substantial ransom had been paid. His greatest achievement came in 1322, when he defeated the rebellious baron Thomas of Lancaster at the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16–17 March. For this he was created Earl of Carlisle.

As one of the main military leaders on the border to Scotland, Harclay became frustrated with Edward II's inactivity, particularly the humiliating English defeat at the Battle of Old Byland on 14 October 1322, which made it clear that the war could not be won. Harclay initiated negotiations with the Scots on his own accord, and on 3 January 1323, he signed a peace treaty with Robert the Bruce. The act was without royal sanction, and amounted to treason. The king issued an arrest order for the earl, and on 25 February Harclay was taken into the king's custody. He was arraigned before royal justices on 3 March, denied a hearing, and executed the same day. He was hanged, drawn and quartered, and the various parts of his body displayed in different parts of the country. Only after five years was he allowed a proper burial, but the conviction for treason was never annulled.

The family name of Harclay derives from Hartley in Westmorland. Though relatively little is known about his early years, Andrew Harclay was probably the eldest son of Sir Michael Harclay and Joan, daughter of the Yorkshire landowner William Fitzjohn. His younger brother was the theologian Henry Harclay, a Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Michael Harclay was a retainer of the Clifford family, and served as sheriff of Cumberland from 1285 to 1296. The first documented appearance of Andrew Harclay was at a Westmorland eyre in 1292, at which point it must be assumed that he was at least twenty-one years old, and therefore born in the early 1270s.