Edmond de Caillou
Encyclopedia
Edmond de Caillou or Raymond de Caillou, (also spelt Calhou, Calhau, Cailow etc.)(d. 1316) was a Gascon
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

 soldier who fought during the First War of Scottish Independence
First War of Scottish Independence
The First War of Scottish Independence lasted from the invasion by England in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328...

.

Life

Caillou is believed to have been a native of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

. It has also been suggested that he was a nephew of Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...

, Edward II of England
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

's favourite. Certainly another nephew of Gaveston with the same name, Bertrand de Caillou, was working to secure Gaveston's position in early 1312. King Edward, like his father Edward I, as Duke of Aquitaine, used men such as Caillou, drawn from his French fiefs in his Scottish wars especially to man the frontier in such Castles such as Roxburgh
Roxburgh Castle
Roxburgh Castle was a castle sited near Kelso, in the Borders region of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.-History:The castle was founded by King David I. In 1174 it was surrendered to England after the capture of William I at Alnwick, and was often in English hands thereafter. The Scots made...

 and Berwick
Berwick Castle
Berwick Castle is a ruined castle in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England.The castle was founded in the 12th century by the Scottish King David I. In 1296-8, the English King Edward I had the castle rebuilt and the town fortified, before it was returned to Scotland...

.

In some sources Caillou is described as the governor of Berwick Castle, but the governor at that time was Sir Maurice de Berkeley
Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley
Maurice Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley , sometimes termed The Magnanimous, was an English baron and rebel....

 It is more likely that Caillou was the Captain of the Gascon troops within the garrison.

In 1315 the harvest failed in southern Scotland and Northern England and by winter the garrison at Berwick was at such extremity that they were forced to eat their horses, and was being affected by desertion. Caillou and others of the Gascons suggested a raid into Scots held territory to replenish the stores of the Castle, Berkeley refused his permission as the countryside was full of Scots soldiery, and his main commission was the defence of the town and castle of Berwick. Caillou and the others mutinied, saying it were better to die fighting than starve behind the walls.

On 14 February 1316, Caillou lead his men in a foray to within two leagues of Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey is a Gothic-style abbey in Melrose, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, on the request of King David I of Scotland. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland...

, and split his men into companies to seize livestock and sufficient menfolk from the peasantry to herd them. Caillou's company once they had seized sufficient spoils returned towards Berwick driving the cattle before them. Caillou's progress was noted by Sir Adam de Gordon
Adam de Gordon, lord of Gordon
Sir Adam de Gordon , lord of Gordon, was a Scottish statesman and warrior.Gordon was the son and heir of Adam de Gordon in Berwickshire. His great-grandfather, likewise Adam de Gordon, was younger son of an Anglo-Norman nobleman who came to Scotland in the time of David I, and settled on a tract of...

 whose lands had been ravaged and he reported this to the King's lieutenant and Warden of the Marches, Sir James Douglas
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...

. Douglas with Sir William de Soulis, and Henry de Baliol
Henry de Baliol
-Life:He was the son of Ingelram and grandson of Bernard de Baliol, of Barnard Castle. His mother was daughter and heiress of William de Berkeley, lord of Reidcastle in Forfarshire, and chamberlain of Scotland under William the Lion in 1165...

 of Branxholme
Branxholme Castle
Branxholme Castle is a five-storey tower at Branxholme, about 3 miles south-west of Hawick in the Borders region of Scotland.- History :The present castle is land owned by the Clan Scott since 1420. The Earl of Northumberland burned the first castle in 1532. The next held out against the English...

, with a company of men rode after the Gascons, and came across them just north of the town of Coldstream
Coldstream
Coldstream is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village...

. On hearing of the pursuit. Caillou ordered the cattle and prisoners on to Berwick, and formed up in battle line to meet Douglas. Douglas's force was faced by double the number of Gascons that had been reported to him, earlier accounts of the numbers of men having been underestimated because of their dispersal throughout the countryside.

Douglas drew his outnumbered men up behind a ford, and awaited the onslaught from the Gascons, Douglas and Caillou met at the first opportunity and mortal combat between them commenced. Caillou was slain by Douglas, and his men dispirited by the loss of their captain fled. Douglas was later to saythat his fight against Caillou and his Gascons at the Battle of Skaithmuir
Battle of Skaithmuir
The Battle of Skaithmuir was a skirmish of the First War of Scottish Independence. It took place near Coldstream, on the Anglo-Scottish border, in February 1316. The skirmish was fought between the Scottish captain Sir James Douglas, and an English raiding party from Berwick upon Tweed, under...

 was the toughest fight he had had in his career.

Sources

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