Battle of Champions 1478
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1478 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 15th century | derived |
| Period | Wars of the Roses & late medieval | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
About the battle
The Battle of Champions was a trial by combat fought in 1478 or 1464 between two Scottish clans, Clan Gunn and Clan Keith. It took place at the chapel of St Tears (St Tayre) on the coast north of Wick in Caithness, between Ackergill Tower and Girnigoe Castle. It was arranged to settle a dispute with a battle between twelve horse on either side. However, the Keiths arrived with two men on each of their twelve horses, and massacred the 12 Gunns. The clans finally signed a treaty of friendship in 1978, ending the feud after 500 years.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 58.4750, -3.0847
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Champions (revision 1373292206), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Altimarlach 1680 · 4 km
- Battle of Tannach 1464 · 8 km
- Battle of Harpsdale 1426 · 25 km
- Sandside Chase 1437 · 42 km
- Battle of Summerdale 1529 · 56 km
- Battle of Alltan-Beath 1542 · 78 km
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Wars of the Roses & late medieval · 15th century battles