Battle of Brechin

Part of Royal–Black Douglas civil war

Coats of arms of the Earl of Huntly (left) and Earl of Crawford (right)

Date	18 May 1452
Location	near Brechin, Angus, Scotland
Result	Royalist Victory

Belligerents

Clan Gordon (Royalists, allied to James II of Scotland)

Clan Lindsay (Rebels, allied to Black Douglases)

Commanders and leaders

Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly

Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford

The Battle of Brechin was fought on 18 May 1452 during the reign of James II of Scotland, about two and a half miles north north east of Brechin. By some interpretations, it was part of an on-off civil war during his reign between the king and an alliance of powerful noble families led by the Black Douglases, which as the king won was significant in the development of a relatively strong centralised monarchy in Scotland during the Late Middle Ages.

A royalist army formed by the Clan Gordon and Clan Ogilvy, led by Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly, defeated the rebel Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford, a leading ally of the Black Douglases. Shortly after Crawford submitted to the king, leaving the Black Douglases more isolated, to be defeated at the Battle of Arkinholm in 1455.

However, by other interpretations it was a localised conflict in the north-east of Scotland, of only limited relevance to wider conflicts in Scotland as a whole.

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