Scottish Blog

The Battle of Largs was a battle fought between Scotland and Norway in 1263.

The cause of the Battle of Largs was that since 1100 Norway had been excising authority and ruling over the Isle of Man and the Hebrides, which were at the time essentially Scottish Islands. The situation lead to the Scottish king, Alexander II, making a number of attempts to purchase the island of the Norwegian king, Håkon Håkonsson. The requests began in 1240 and by 1262, after the succession of Alexander III to the throne, had escalated to the point where a raid was launched on Isle of Skye to try and win it back by force.

This act was the trigger which caused the Battle of Largs. In retaliation, Håkon sent a number of ships to face the Scottish forces and route them from the island. The exact number of ships and men is unknown, there are two commonly accepted guesses. According to ancient texts, the Norwegian army numbered close to 800 men, while the Scottish outnumbered them 10 to 1, placing them at close to 8000. Some modern historians, on the other hand believe that the battle was fought with roughly 50,000 troops, the Norwegians numbering roughly 20,000 of these.

Although the exact number of troops in the Battle of Largs is unknown, the chain of events is. While the Norwegian ships were moored of the coast of the Isle of Man, they were hit by a storm which saw some ships brought upon the beach. The next day, while attempts were being made to free the ships, the Scottish army attacked. This ultimately led to a long-range skirmish, resulting in the retreat of the Scots. Although this seemed like a victory to the Norwegians, the situations soon turned worse for them. They were running out of supplies and the constant threat of the Scots meant that they could not raid for more. With the approach of winter, the Norwegian army retreated. Theoretically this would have led to a battle the following year, if it had not been for the death of Håkon during the winter.

Although it was not a clear victory for the Scots, the Battle of Largs led to them being in control of the Isle of Man and the Hebrides.