John de Coupland's Mistake

When John de Coupland apprehended King David II of Scotland during the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346(see illustration), his future was secured. The ransom of a king would have set up John and his descendants forever. It didn't work that way, however. John's duty was to hand such a prisoner over to John's liege lord, King Edward III.

Edward was in France, however (which was why David thought it was a good time for attacking England). So John had to secure his prisoner until he could properly hand him over. They were in the middle of battle, however, so John rode 15 leagues to get away from the ongoing battle and any Scots who might try to rescue their king. He arrived at a castle in Ogle, well north of the battle site, and stopped there to secure the prisoner.

Word got around, and Edward's queen, Philippa, sent word that King David was to be brought to her, as the highest ranking person in England at the time. John refused, saying he would only surrender David to the king. Philippa was outraged at this snub, and wrote to Edward in Calais. Edward sent his messengers to go to England and tell de Coupland to appear before the king in Calais ASAP. John made sure David was secure, and went to Calais.

When he came before Edward, John explained that he did not mean to offend the queen, but he felt his duty was to the man to whom he made his oath of loyalty. King Edward forgave him the slight to the queen, and gave him the order to return to England and hand his captive over to Philippa.

At that point John de Coupland's life changed. Edward made him a knight banneret and £500 per year for life, plus an additional £100 for staying by the king with 20 men at arms. This was a very large boost to his fortunes, since he had only been earning £20 per year previously for his service. de Coupland went back to England and took David to Philippa, who had gone north to York. She brought David back to the Tower in London, where he was made comfortable. (He had already been attended by physicians who had removed most of two arrows in his face.) He was England's captive for 11 years, until 1357.

de Coupland was also made the Constable of Roxburgh Castle and the Sheriff of Roxburghsire (although the Castle title was mostly honorary, since at the time it was under Scottish control—its possession went back and forth between England and Scotland). He had other titles which would have brought him revenue. He became a very wealthy landowner in the north of England.

He was killed on 20 December 1363 by a band of men. Edward ordered an inquiry, which determined that it was a premeditated attack, and identified several names of men involved. They perpetrators all fled north to Scotland, however, and no retribution came about. de Coupland likely made enemies in the north by owning so much land and by his history as the man who captured the Scottish king.

Now, as to the term "knight banneret." How was that different from just being a knight? What were the different types of knight? We'll go into that next time.