Sir Reginald Forester (I)

Sir Reginald Forster died 1156 | his parents

Parents: Sir Hugo Forester (d. 1121) and unknown.

Married: unknown

Children:

1. Hugo II

Governor of Etherstone

He was knighted by King Stephen I [1135 - 1154] for his valiant conduct at the battle of the "Standard, fought August 22, 1138 He died in 1156, leaving a son and successor Sir Hughe.

Like his father and grandfather, he was made the Governor of Etherstone (or Adderstone). He was knighted Aug.22, 1138 by King Stephen I, for his valiant conduct against Scots at the Battle of the Standard. Reginald’s wife, again, is unknown, but they had one son, Hugo II.

[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~fosterfamily/foster2.html]

knighted by King Stephen 22 Aug 1138 for valiant service at the Battle of the Standard, 1138. He had two sons, Hugo and Reginald.   Like his father and grandfather, was the governor of Etherstone.

The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, in which English forces repelled a Scottish army, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire. The Scottish forces were led by King David I of Scotland. The English were commanded by William of Aumale.

The Battle of the Standard, one of the bloodiest battles of The Anarchy took place three miles north of York and involved the Archbishop.  ‘The Anarchy’ is the name given to a time of conflict between the death of King Henry I in 1135 and the succession of his grandson Henry II in 1154. Henry I’s son Prince William had died in a shipwreck so the succession passed to his daughter Matilda.  But Matilda’s cousin Stephen, Count of Blois, quickly sailed across the Channel and was crowned king.
Uncertain times then followed as Matilda’s followers fought Stephen’s for the crown. Yorkshire was an important stronghold for Stephen because King David of Scotland was an ally to Matilda.

In 1138 David’s Scottish Army headed south.  When they had arrived about 30 miles to the north of York an English army of local militia and Yorkshire nobles was gathered.  The force was led by the Archbishop of York, Thurstan. The two armies met near Northallerton, on August 22, 1138.

The Battle of the Standard got its name because the holy standard of St Cuthbert was carried into battle on a cart.  The Scots were comprehensively defeated by the relatively well-organised English King Stephen of England (fighting rebel barons in the south) had sent a small force (largely mercenaries), but the English army was mainly local militia and baronial retinues from Yorkshire and the north Midlands.

David’s forces had already taken much of Northumberland apart from castles at Wark and Bamburgh.  Advancing beyond the Tees towards York, early on 22 Aug 1138 the Scots found the English army drawn up on open fields two miles north of Northallerton; they formed up in four ‘lines’ to attack it. The first attack, by unarmoured spearmen against armoured men (including dismounted knights) supported by telling fire from archers failed. Within three hours, the Scots army disintegrated, apart from small bodies of knights and men-at-arms around David and his son Henry.

At this point, Henry led a spirited attack with mounted knights; he and David then withdrew separately with their immediate companions in relatively good order. Heavy Scots losses werebclaimed, in battle and in flight.