If you want to find out more about the Scottish Wars of Independence, Bannockburn and how Robert Bruce became King Robert I, read on here.

The Wars of Independence 1296-1314
King Alexander's Death
In 1286, no-one could have foreseen the long wars between Scotland and England that lay ahead. The 2 countries had been getting along quite well for many years. Many of the nobles owned lands in both countries; the royal families were related by marriage. But a road accident changed everything. Alexander III was having dinner in Edinburgh, and decided he wanted to go by ferry. It was stormy and getting dark, and as he rode along the cliff, he and his horse fell over the edge. They were found dead on the beach next morning.

Alexander had no grown up heir. His children by his first wife, Margaret, sister of Edward I of England, had died before him. He had one granddaughter, Princess Margaret of Norway but she was only 4 and lived in Norway with her father, King Erik. Guardians of Scotland were chosen to rule for her until she was old enough to come to Scotland. Her great uncle, King Edward of England, hoped she would marry his son, and bring the 2 kingdoms together.

In 1290, little Margaret, known as the 'Maid of Norway' set sail for Scotland, but became ill on the voyage. She died in the Orkneys.

This left the crown of Scotland open to claims from many different men, with the risk of civil war between their supporters.

The Great Contest
Edward I of England - as great-uncle of the dead child Queen and also wanting to influence Scotland himself, stepped in to choose between the candidates. 13 men all put forward claims to be King of Scots. The main candidates were John Balliol and Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale, both descendants of King Alexander's great uncle David, Earl of Huntingdon. Balliol was the grandson of David's eldest daughter, Margaret, while Bruce - already an old man - was the son of the second daughter, Isabel. The very powerful Comyn family also had a claim, as descendants of King Donald III but decided to support their relative John Balliol. Balliol therefore represented the senior line of descent so he was chosen King. Edward hoped that this meant Balliol would do whatever he wanted him to do.

King John
John Balliol was made King on the Stone of Destiny at Scone in November 1292. At Christmas he paid homage to i.e. promised to serve King Edward for the lands he held of him in England. Edward believed that he was overlord of Scotland too, but King John refused to be Edward's puppet. In 1294 Edward decided to fight the French and told John to send Scots support. John instead sided with France, and in 1296 lined up his army on the border with England.

Edward was angry, and destroyed Berwick-upon-Tweed (which was then in Scotland). Many of the townspeople were killed. In 17 days the Scots army was defeated. Edward made the Earl of Surrey Governor of Scotland. At Montrose in July Edward had King John stripped of rank, by having all his badges of office torn off his tunic in a ceremony - as if he were just a disobedient knight, not a fellow King. This is why he was later nicknamed Toom Tabard - 'Empty Tunic'. Edward also seized the Crown Jewels and the Stone from Scone, and took them back to England. John was sent to the Tower of London.

Many Scots nobles swore loyalty to Edward - especially as many also had estates in England. These included the Bruce family, who had been happy to see their rival King John deposed. They still wanted the throne for themselves - but for many people in Scotland John remained the true King.

Murray and Wallace
Before Edward went home, he left garrisons of English troops in castles across Scotland. After only a year - in 1297 - those Scots still loyal to King John began to rebel.

The main leaders of the rising were Sir Andrew Murray, in the north, and William Wallace who began his campaigns in Lanarkshire. Not much is known about Wallace, who seems to have been the son of Alan Wallace, a crown tenant from Ayrshire. They joined forces and defeated the Earl of Surrey's army at Stirling Bridge on 11 September 1297. Wallace was knighted and he and Murray were made Guardians of Scotland, in the name of King John. Murray died soon afterwards, probably from wounds suffered at Stirling Bridge. Edward I gathered a larger army to invade Scotland. He defeated Wallace's troops at Falkirk in 1298. Wallace escaped and spent the next few years on the run and abroad. Edward was in control, although the Scots remained strong north of the Forth.

In 1302 it seemed that King John might be able to come back, with French help. Young Robert Bruce, heir to the Earl of Carrick, submitted to Edward I rather than see his grandfather's rival return as King. But the French were defeated by the Flemings in the battle of Courtrai, so were unable to help John, and Pope Clement V, as a Gascon former subject of Edward I, was on the English side.

Wallace led some raids with Sir Simon Fraser. But in 1305 he was captured near Glasgow by the men of Sir John Menteith, keeper of Dumbarton. He was tried and executed in London. With Wallace's death, King John lost his best hope of regaining his crown. The next Scottish leader, Robert Bruce, now Earl of Carrick, wanted it for himself.

Robert Bruce claims the Throne
First, Robert Bruce had to find out whether the Comyns of Badenoch would back him. The head of the Comyns was Sir John the 'Red' Comyn. But he did not want to make a Bruce king: he supported his uncle King John and also had a claim to the throne in his own right. On 10 February 1306 Bruce stabbed Comyn during a meeting in front of the altar of Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries. Bruce' supporters finished off the wounded man, even as the friars tried to tend to him, and also killed his uncle.

While killing rivals was not unusual in medieval times, doing it in a church was thought to be a terrible sacrilege - a breaking of holy law. According to Church law, Bruce should have been excommunicated by the Church - made a religious outlaw, forbidden to attend services or receive sacraments. But instead of excommunicating him, Bishop Robert Wishart of Glasgow, an old supporter of Scots independence, told people to support him. Not all Bishops approved of this. Bruce and his friends captured several castles in the west and then went to Scone where he was crowned by Countess Isabel of Buchan - whose husband was a Comyn - on 25 March 1306.

Edward was taken by surprise at this. He sent Aymer de Valence - his cousin, and brother in law of the murdered John Comyn - to Scotland. Bishop Wishart and Lamberton were captured. King Robert and his men were defeated at Methven and then at Dail Raigh, near Tyndrum. At Tain, the Queen (Elizabeth de Burgh, daughter of the Earl of Ulster, Robert's second wife), 12 year old Lady Marjorie (Robert's daughter by his first wife), 2 of the King's sisters and the Countess of Buchan were taken prisoner by the Earl of Ross, and sent to England. Several noblemen were executed. Queen Elizabeth was sent to a manor house in Yorkshire. Young Marjorie and her aunt Christian were sent to convents, while her aunt Mary and the Countess of Buchan were kept in cages for the first few years of their imprisonment. Edward I had thought of putting Marjorie in a cage too, but changed his mind.

But her father was going to fight back...

Robert escaped into the West Highlands, where he began to find help. The MacDougalls of Lorn were Comyn supporters and therefore Bruce's enemies, but their local enemies, the MacDonalds and the Campbells, would become his friends. They had links with Ireland, where Robert had lands of his own, through his mother the Lady of Carrick, and through his wife's family, the de Burghs. Another good friend in the Highlands was Lady Caristiona, heiress of the MacRuairidhs of Garmoran - a sister in law of Robert's first wife. With help from her and the other Macdonalds and Campbells, and from Ireland - which he also visited - King Robert was able to gather a large force. In 1307 he crossed to Arran and then to Ayrshire. 2 of his brothers were killed, but at Glen Trool he caught the English in an ambush and defeated de Valence in battle at Loudon Hill. King Edward set off to invade himself, but he was now very old and very ill, and he died before he reached Scotland. He was succeeded by his son, Edward II, a tough fighter but less skilled as a general, and who often had political problems with his own nobles.

Civil War
King Robert spent 1307-8 fighting his rivals in Scotland. He captured the strongholds of the Comyns and their supporters, and laid waste large areas of Scotland. Inverlochy Castle was captured and the castles of Inverness, Nairn and Urquhart destroyed. During the winter of 1307-8 Robert fell ill, but as soon as he was better he destroyed more castles in the north. He defeated MacDougall of Lorn at the Pass of Brander, and at the siege of Dunstaffnage. In the chronicler Fordun's words, he also 'ravaged the earldom of Buchan with fire'.

In 1309, King Robert held his first Parliament in St Andrews. In his official documents he always called Alexander III 'our last deceased predecessor' - ignoring King John. The Declaration of the Clergy at the Parliament even pretended that John had been imposed by Edward I against the wishes of the Scots. Of course John was still alive, living on his estates in Northern France - so Robert had to do everything he could to present himself as the only possible king. He was even recognised by King Philippe of France. As a result, remaining supporters of King John and the Comyns could only turn to Edward II for help.

War with England again.
For the next couple of years, Robert continued to capture castles around Scotland and made some raids into northern England. Edward II invaded in 1310-11. English or anti-Bruce Scots garrisons still held the Isle of Man, Perth, Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh and a number of other castles.

In 1313, Perth and Dumfries surrendered after sieges, and the Bruces captured the Isle of Man. Edward Bruce, Robert's brother, besieged Stirling Castle, which was held by an anti-Bruce Scot, Sir Philip Moubray, whose family, related to the Comyns, had fought alongside William Wallace. On 23 June Moubray asked to be given exactly a year to wait for help from England. If no English army came within 3 miles before Midsummer 1314 he would surrender. Edward Bruce agreed. His brother King Robert was angry with him for accepting this challenge. But they hoped that Edward II would still be dealing with his own rebellious nobles, who had killed his boyfriend. Also King John had recently died: his son Edward Balliol was not well known in Scotland, so might no longer have the support of those Scots who did not want a Bruce king. But Edward II began to prepare a large army to invade Scotland, recruiting men from England, Wales and Ireland. The Irish troops were provided by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster - King Robert's father in law.

The Battle of Bannockburn
King Robert had begun to gather and train his army by May 1314 at the Torwood between Stirling and Falkirk. Edward II ordered his to meet at Wark on Tweed by 10 June. Setting off on 17 June, by 22 June the English had reached Falkirk.

Robert's main troops were spread across the Falkirk-Stirling road. Their position was helped by the Bannock Burn and the boggy ground around it. They also dug pits, which they covered and disguised, and laid calthrops- metal spikes - to trip and cripple the enemy horses.

Day 1: 23 June
The vanguard of Edward II's army - cavalry, foot and archers - led by Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and Humphrey de Bohun (pronounced Boon), Earl of Hereford, advanced against King Robert. Sir Robert Clifford and Sir Henry Beaumont, with cavalry, went to ford the Bannock Burn in the Carse.

One English knight, Sir Henry de Bohun - a nephew of the Earl of Hereford - saw King Robert. Although the king was only lightly armoured and riding a pony he was wearing a gold circlet. Bohun decided to attack, because to defeat the enemy leader in single combat - one man against another- could make him very famous. But King Robert was able to dodge him when he charged and struck Bohun on the head with his battle axe so hard that he split his helmet and skull, and broke the axe.

The front of the English army now entered the wooded New Park but began to be driven back. Many of their horses tripped in the pits or stabbed their feet on the calthrops. Randolph Murray led his troops of spearmen - schiltrons - down to hold off Clifford and Beaumont at the edge of the Carse. They succeeded. Clifford was killed and many prisoners were taken. Among them was Sir Thomas Gray, whose son later wrote about the battle, based on his father's account.

Fighting then stopped until the next day. Both sides held councils of war - meetings to decide what to do next. Edward decided to move his army across the Bannock Burn, nearer to the Forth and to Stirling. Robert moved his army across the Carse to meet them. That night, the Earl of Atholl, one of Robert's Scottish enemies, attacked his supply base at Cambuskenneth Abbey, killing the troops there.

Day 2: 24 June
It was Midsummer Day, the Feast of St John the Baptist - a fine, bright morning. After Mass, at which the relics of St Columba were present in their jewelled shrine, the Brecbennoch (the Monymusk Reliquary), King Robert's army advanced. They paused only for another blessing from the Abbot of Inchaffray.

After a brief exchange of archery fire, the Earl of Gloucester led a charge of English knights against Edward Bruce's infantry at the front of the Scots army. But the schiltron formed a 'hedgehog' - packed closely together with spears outward - to receive the impact of the charge, and turn it back. Among the knights killed were the Earl of Gloucester and young Sir John Comyn of Badenoch.

Moray and Douglas came up on Edward Bruce's left and pushed on. Together these three divisions hemmed in the whole front of the English army, forcing them to fight on a narrow frontage because of the difficult ground.

Edward II's archers then came up and began to fire on the Scots' left, but King Robert sent the Marischal Sir Robert Keith's small cavalry unit to drive them off. Robert then brought his own reserve division in, with the Lord of the Isles and his Highlanders.

Four divisions of the Scots army bore down on the English, who were now faltering. They were caught between the Scots, the rivers of the Forth and the Bannock Burn, and boggy ground. The 'small folk' - the Scots reserves of yeomen, burgesses and artisans, less well-armed or trained than the infantry - who had been kept out of sight behind Coxet Hill now joined in and the rout began.

The surviving English commanders realised they had to get King Edward to safety, but he was reluctant to leave the field. Sir Giles d'Argentan, a knight famous in many countries for his chivalry, insisted on setting Edward on the road to Stirling - and then turned back to meet his own death. The rest of the English troops began to flee in all directions. Many became stuck in the mud and were easily killed or captured; others drowned in the Bannock Burn and the Forth.

When Edward II reached Stirling Castle, Sir Philip Moubray refused to let him in, since he would easily be captured there. Instead the king and his escort went to Dunbar.

According to the usual medieval practice, wealthy English nobles and knights who were taken prisoner were held hostage in exchange for a ransom, or for the release of Scots prisoners. In exchange for Earl Humphrey of Gloucester, King Robert was able to get his Queen, daughter, one sister and old Bishop Wishart of Glasgow back. For other prisoners, his other sister and Countess Isabel of Buchan were returned. Some of the prisoners were Scots - including Robert de Umphraville, Earl of Angus. Sir Philip Moubray was captured when he surrendered Stirling Castle. King Robert allowed him to change sides and join him, but the castle was razed - completely destroyed.

Even dead nobles were well treated: the bodies of Earl Gilbert of Gloucester and of Sir Robert Clifford were returned to their families. King Robert even kept vigil - stayed up all night praying - over Gloucester's body in a local church.

Nearly all the English infantry and archers had been killed or captured. For those who had been taken prisoner, the outlook was grim. Medieval prisoners of war that were not nobles and therefore had no ransom value were usually killed.

What happened next?
Lady Marjorie dies
The future of the Bruce family still looked uncertain. King Robert and Queen Elizabeth did not yet have any children, because the Queen had been a prisoner in England for so long. Meanwhile the King's daughter Marjorie married Walter FitzAlan the High Steward. In 1316, when heavily pregnant, Marjorie was seriously injured falling from her horse. Her baby, called Robert after his grandfather, was saved, but she died. It was 8 years before the King and Queen had a son of their own, David, born in 1324.

Pope John and the Declaration of Arbroath
The Pope had not yet recognised Robert as King. Clement V died in 1316 and was succeeded by John XXII. The new Pope wanted the kings of Western Christendom to make peace so they could join together in a crusade against the Turks. He wanted Scotland and England to keep a truce. But in his letters he always called Robert 'Governor of Scotland', never King. King John had never been deposed by his own subjects, and although Robert had been absolved - formally forgiven by the Church - in 1310 for killing John Comyn in church, it could not be completely overlooked. Robert said he did not feel obliged to answer letters which were not properly addressed with his title as King because there were other barons called Robert Bruce who were also governors. He did not keep the truce, and captured Berwick in 1319.

The Pope then fell out seriously with Robert and the Scottish bishops. Edward II wanted William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews to be replaced with an Englishman. The Pope sent for Lamberton and 3 other bishops to come to Rome. They did not, so the Pope excommunicated them - and King Robert.

At Newbattle Abbey, King, clergy and nobles held a great council to decide what to do. The King, Bishop Lamberton (on behalf of the clergy) and the barons, as the 'community of the realm' were to write to the Pope.

The letter of the 'community of the realm' was written in the names of, or sealed by, around 50 leading laymen. It is dated 6 April 1320 at the monastery of Arbroath although there is a question as to whether it was actually composed there. It is now known as the Declaration of Arbroath.

This letter used legend and Jewish and Roman history to boost King Robert's cause. The nobles had to justify to the Pope their abandonment of King John, the lawful King, and their support for Robert. They did this by saying that Robert had protected them from their enemies as well as having a legal claim to the throne. At the same time, in a passage which owes much to the Roman writer Sallust and the Jewish Book of the Maccabees, they added that if Robert should fail in his duty, 'and agree to make us and our kingdom subject to the king of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy…and make some other man who was well able to defend us our king; for as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself' (as translated in GWS Barrow Robert the Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland p 307)

This was a bold claim in those days for nobles to openly assert their right to make or unmake a king depending on how well he did his job (indeed within a few months of the letter, a few of them took part in an unsuccessful rebellion against Robert). Also to define the idea of an independent nation, existing separately from the ruling dynasty was striking. But we must not forget the context of the letter, and its original purpose: to make the Pope look more favourably on the Scottish nobles and their King, rather than go along with Edward II's wish to interfere in the Scottish Church.

Only in 1324 did the Pope finally recognise Robert Bruce as King.

War and Peace
A 13 year truce with England was agreed in 1323. But in 1327 after a rebellion in England, Edward II was put in prison by his French wife Isabelle and her boyfriend Roger Mortimer. He was murdered after his young son was crowned as Edward III. The Scots then attacked Norham and fighting continued through much of the year until King Robert invaded Northumberland. Peace talks were held and in 1328 the Treaty of Edinburgh was made and confirmed at Northampton. One of its rulings was that Edward III's 7 year old sister Joanna would marry King Robert's son David - who was only 4.

Death of Robert I
Robert died at his manor house in Cardross on 27 June 1329, after a long illness, possibly leprosy. His wife Queen Elizabeth had died 2 years before him. He asked that his heart be cut out and taken on Crusade against the Saracens, to fulfil a promise he had made to the Church to show he was sorry for killing John Comyn. The King's body was buried in Dunfermline Abbey, but his heart - preserved in a casket - was given to his friend Sir James Douglas to take to the Middle East. Instead, Sir James went to fight the Moors - Muslims originally from Morocco, who ruled part of Spain. Sir James was killed in battle at Tebas de Ardales on 25 March 1330. The casket containing Robert's heart was brought back from Spain to Scotland and buried in Melrose Abbey.

Robert I was succeeded by his son David II. King David left no children so after him, his nephew Robert became king. Robert II was the son of Marjorie Bruce and Walter FitzAlan the High Steward. Their descendants were therefore called the Stewarts (that is, Stewards).

Did you know?

• Flemish tactics helped win the battle?
  Sir Thomas Gray, an English writer whose father was taken prisoner at Bannockburn, wrote 'the Scots had taken a lesson from the Flemings, who had at Courtrai defeated the power of France'.

  Flanders had been taken over by France, but in 1302 a Flemish uprising drove the French out of much of the country. French cavalry came to relieve the town of Courtrai. The Flemings were mostly infantry, with pikes and clubs but they took up a position protected by boggy ground and pools near the river Lys. They also dug pits in front of their line. The French attacked with crossbows, then with cavalry - but became stuck in the pits and bogs and were defeated.

  If it sounds familiar, we should not be surprised: Robert Bruce was a well-informed soldier, and would have learned about how this famous battle was won. It had been one reason why the French could not help King John in 1302.

• There were Scots on both sides at Bannockburn?
  Sir John Comyn of Badenoch was killed at Bannockburn fighting in Edward II's army. This is not surprising, given that Robert Bruce had murdered his father 8 years before, when he was still a boy. Other supporters of the Comyns and the Balliols such as the Earls of Sutherland, Ross, Buchan, Angus and Dunbar, and MacDougalls of Argyll fought on the English side in the war. They did not want the Bruce family to have the throne, since King John's son Edward was still alive.

• So talking about the Scots and English isn't the whole story?
  As Fiona Watson has written, 'Scotland' as a political concept separate from its king was not easily understood in the Middle Ages. Wars such as the Scots Wars of Independence helped build the idea of a nation state but in medieval times people's loyalty was often more influenced by their feudal allegiances - their promises to give military service to someone above them in rank, in return for land. This had been one cause of the war since the Scots Kings had begun to do homage to (promise to serve) the Kings of England in return for lands they owned in England which gave the English kings an excuse to get involved in Scotland. Edward I in particular thought it meant he could act as overlord of Scotland and not just of the Scottish King's lands in England.

  The fact that many nobles fought at different times with the Scots and with the English reflects that they had estates in both countries. Also the choice of King made a big difference in which side someone would support. The Bruces supported Edward I for a time because they did not want King John, and the Comyns later supported him because they did not want King Robert.

• Like modern Scots, medieval Scots came from many cultures?
  The Bruces were Normans - descendants of Vikings who settled in northern France. In medieval times their name was written 'de Brus'. 'De' is French for 'of' but it is why Robert I is sometimes called 'the' Bruce. But his mother Margaret of Carrick's family was part of the older Gaelic speaking aristocracy.

  The family into which Robert's daughter Marjorie married, the FitzAlans, were Bretons who had helped the Normans invade England. They had settled in Shropshire, on the Welsh border. They later took their name from their job as High Steward and became the Stewarts. When they had moved to Scotland in the twelfth century they brought with them followers from Shropshire. These probably included the ancestors of Sir William Wallace, whose surname means 'Welsh'.

  There were Flemings, from what is now the Netherlands, and Belgium, and some descendants of Hungarians whom Queen Margaret had brought to Scotland in the eleventh century. There were also the longer-established people descended from Picts, Brythonic-Celtic speakers (like Welsh), Gaels, Romans, English and Vikings, and the people who had lived in Scotland from earliest times.

• NTS at Bannockburn
  Glasgow Road
  Stirling
  FK7 0LJ
  Heritage Centre: 01786 812664
  Off M80/M9 at Junction 9, 2 miles south of Stirling
  Bus: Midland Bluebird or Strathclyde Buses from Stirling Bus Station
  Parking available

Costumed interactive theatre days are held for schools and there are also tours of the battlefield. The Heritage Centre has a permanent exhibition on the Kingdom of the Scots, with tableaux of costumed figures depicting historical scenes and an audio-visual presentation on the battle. The audio-visual programme is available in French and German for groups. The site has a tea room and shop. Publications are on sale, including guidebooks in English, French and German.

The Site, Heritage Centre, audio visual display and toilets are wheelchair accessible, and wheelchairs are available on site. A Braille guidebook is available for the visually impaired and an induction loop for visitors with hearing difficulties.

Open:
Site - all year, daily
Heritage Centre 1 to 31 March and 1 November to 23 December daily 11-3, 1 April to 31 October, daily 10-5.30
Audio visual show, last admission 30 minutes before closing
Cost (including audio tour):
Adult: £2.50, child/concession: £1.70
Adult party: £2.00, child/school party:£1.00, family £6.70

NTS Related sites:

• Bruce's Stone - a granite boulder on Moss Raploch marks the site of Robert I's victory over the English in 1307.
  Open all year
  by A712
  6 miles west of New Galloway