9 September 1513: James IV’s invading Scots army defeated at the Battle of Flodden

On this day in 1513, James IV of Scotland led a force of 30,000 Scots in battle against the English in Northumberland, where he and many of his nobles were killed.

Map of the Battle of Flodden Field © Print Collector/Getty Images
(Image credit: © Print Collector/Getty Images)

Before the unpleasant disagreement with Rome that led to the creation of the Church of England, Henry VIII was a good Catholic boy. And in 1513, he and his army were camped out at the siege of Thérouanne, defending Il Papa from who else, but the French.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.