The Holinshed Texts (1587, Volume 6, p. 298)

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 The rumor of the mariners attempt being bru|ted through the armie, the king passing forward to|wards the towne, got ouer a ditch, which the Scots had cast to impeach his passage,

Berwike woone.

This sir Ri|chard Corne|wall was bro|ther to the erle of Cornewall. Abington.

and so comming to the towne, wan it, not losing any man of renowme, sauing sir Richard Cornewall, the which was slaine by a quarell which a Flemming shot out of a crosse|bowe, being in the red hall, which the merchants of Flanders held in that towne, and had fortified it in manner of a tower: but when they would not yéeld, and could not easilie otherwise be woone, the house towards euening was set on fire, and so they being thirtie in number, were burned to death within it. Upon the same night, the king lodged in the castell, which was yéelded vnto him by them that kept it, their liues and limmes saued, and receiuing an oth, that they should not from thencefoorth beare armour against the king of England, they were permitted to depart whither they thought good, their capteine sir William Dowglas excepted, whom the king still kept with him, Caxton. till the end of the warres. Some write that there should be slaine of Scotishmen at this winning of Berwike, aboue the number of twentie thousand men, Abington saith 8000, but Richard Southwell saith 15000 at the least one with an other, with small losse of Englishmen, not past eight and twentie of all sorts. Yée may read more hereof in the Scotish historie.

¶But before I passe ouer this slaughter, so lamenta|ble and woonderfull, Abraham Fleming. I haue bethought my selfe of a promised apologie for and in the behalfe of Richard Grafton, mentioned before in the reigne of Henrie the second, page 112. col. 1. where I shewed how vn|aduisedlie and with vnseemelie modestie for a man of learning, George Buchanan the Scot dooth shoot his bolts at the said Grafton, as now by occasion of the matter conuenientlie occurrent shall be shewed. The said Grafton in his large volume of English chroni|cles, falling vpon the affaires betwéene king Ed|ward the first, and Iohn Balioll king of Scotland, among other things there remembred, R. Grafton, pag. 176. maketh re|port that in the said battell of Berwike, the slaugh|ter was so great, that a mill might well haue béene driuen by the space of two daies, with the streames of bloud which at that time ouerranne the ground. At which words George Buchanan giueth a snatch, G. Buchanan rer. Scotic. [...] 8. pag. 243. [...] finem em|boldened so to doo, bicause the said Grafton referreth this record to Hector Boetius in his fourteenth booke and second chapter.

Iesu, how the Scot taketh vp the Englishman for halting in his allegation, first for the chapter, con|uincing him that Hector Boetius diuided not his booke into chapters, and therefore, where is the second chapter, sith the whole fourteenth booke is a continued discourse without distinction by chapters? Secondlie the said Grafton hath the checke, for setting a lie a|flote, Buchanan flatlie affirming that Hector Boetius hath no such matter once mentioned in his annales, Touching the first fault, wherewith the Scot char|geth the Englishman, this is note-worthie, that it should seeme to anie man of meane iudgement, that Buchanan of a prepensed malice and purposed wilfulnesse hath sharpened his stile in this nipping sort against Grafton. For sith it was Graftons mea|ning to record the truth, so farre foorth as he was warranted by the auerment of writers; why should he be cast in the teeth with Effraenis maledicendi libido, or dishonestlie termed Indoctus & impudenter mendax? Which opprobrious epithets, if they were deserued by an vntrue report of the author; then should Bucha|nan haue sharpened his toong against Belenden his countriman, the translator of Hector Boetius into their mother toong, from whome Grafton hath deri|ued his words; sense for sense vnmangled (as he found the same written.)