Who
was He? Scottish
Military Leader and King.
Date and Place
of Birth:
11th July, 1274 at Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire,
Scotland.
Family Background: Was
the seventh generation of Bruces originally invited
into Scotland from Normandy by King David the
First. His mother was the Celtic Countess of Carrick.
Education: Received
from his family and retainers particularly in
the field of law. He e also learnt the Knightly
acts and became proficient with the battleaxe.
Chronology:
1295: Death of Bruce's
Grandfather whilst John Balliol was still King
of Scotland. He had been one of the contenders
for the throne when Alexander the Third died but
King Edward the First of England was invited to
settle the dispute over the succession and chose
Balliol.
1302: Bruce returned
to the fold of King Edward the First of England
after supporting Scotland's freedom fighters.
He did not wish to be seen to support the cause
of his rival John Balliol who by this time had
been banished to his estates in France.
1304: Death of Bruce's
father in Cumberland. He was buried in the church
at Abbeytown west of Carlisle.
1305: Execution of
Sir William Wallace in London. Word reached
Bruce that King Edward was terminally ill and
he realised it was the time to try and assume
the throne. He arranged to meet with John Comyn,
Lord of Badenoch ("The Red Comyn") in
Dumfries. He was a nephew of John Balliol and
one of the largest landowners in Scotland and
could block Bruce's passage to the throne if he
so wished. Bruce offered Comyn all his family's
territories in return for his suppport as King
and said that he would support Comyn's claim to
the throne in return for all his lands. Fortunately
Comyn chose the Bruce lands rather than the crown.
1306: Legend has
it that Comyn told King Edward the First of England
of Bruce's desire to become King of Scotland,
which was tantamount to treason. The two met at
Greyfriars Monastery in Dumfries on 10th February.
Bruce confronted Comyn and in the ensuing argument
Bruce stabbed Comyn with his dagger in front of
the altar which was a major act of sacrilege.
Friends of Bruce killed Comyn with their swords.
The moment had now been forced with the death
of Comyn for him to take the throne and Bruce
took his men to seize the English garrison at
Dumfries Castle. Bruce's army moved northwards
and met up with men belonging to James, Lord of
Douglas. On 25th March the crown of Scotland was
placed on Bruce's head at Scone in front of "Four
Bishops five Earls and the people of the land".
Traditionally the Earl of Fife performed the ceremony
but Duncan the present Earl was allied to the
English. His aunt Isabel performed the coronation
despite the fact that her own husband the Earl
Buchan was also in the pay of the English. Within
a few months however Bruce was defeated at Methven
west of Perth and again Dalrigh south of Tyndrum.
Isabel and his sister Mary were imprisoned in
cages and his Queen, Elizabeth and his daughter
Marjorie were put into solitary confinement by
the English. Bruce himself then laid low for several
months, probably somewhere in the Western Isles.
1307: In February
Bruce landed near his birthplace on the Ayrshire
coast from the Isle of Arran. During April Bruce
surprised and defeated an English force at Kloch
Trool. On 10th May, he again defeated a superior
English force at Loudoun Hill in North Ayrshire.
Edward the First of England died at Burgh by Sands
near Carlisle in July and this was the signal
for many Scots to flock to Bruce's cause. Bruce
set about capturing the remaining castles one
by one and began to deal with the opposition to
his crown by the supporters of John Balliol and
"the Red Comyn".
1313: By now most
of the castles had been recaptured largely by
stealth as the Scots were outnumbered by about
ten to one and Bruce didn't wish to provoke outright
hostilities. Bruce put the attack on Stirling
Castle in the hands of his impetuous brother Edward
but his deal with the Castle's Captain saying
that it would be handed over to the Scots if a
relieving army was not to appear by midsummer
meant that the English would take it as a direct
challenge to recover it. A large English army
was mustered and Bruce retired to Torwood to regroup
his followers.
1314:
The English army gathered at Berwick upon Tweed
on 10th June and began to march north. Bruce pulled
his men back towards the Bannock Burn on the old
Roman road leading to Stirling Castle. On the
23rd June the 22,000 strong English army approached
the Scots position and the Battle of Bannockburn
began. Bruce's spearmen managed to hold off the
English cavalry. As night fell Bruce had to decide
whether his outnumbered army should retreat or
stand and fight another day. On 24th June not
long after 3 a.m. Bruce gave the order for his
men to advance. Edward replied by setting his
archers to fire on them but Bruce had seen Scottish
spearmen decimated a the Battle of Falkirk under
Wallace and sent his cavalry to disperse the archers.
Finally Bruce's reserves entered the battlefield
and put the English to rout. James Douglas pursued
English King Edward 60 miles to the castle at
Dunbar.
1315: The English
still refused to negotiate with the Scots and
Bruce began taking trubute money from the northern
English counties who did not want their towns
sacked. The Scots then invaded Ireland in an attempt
to gain support from another Celtic land.
1316: Bruce's brother
Edward was made King of Ireland.
1318: Hopes that
Ireland could be annexed by Scotland were dashed
when the Scots were defeated near Dundalk. Edward
Bruce here met his death.
1319: The English
began to besiege Berwick upon Tweed but Lord Douglas
and Randolph by-passed them and raided into Yorkshire
cutting an army raised by the Archbishop of York
to pieces.
1320: In order to
seek help from the Pope for the Scots cause the
"Declaration of Arbroath" was made.
It stated that Bruce was King of Scots and their
defender rather than King of Scotland.
1322: In October
the Scots managed to defeat a force raised by
Kind Edward at the Battle of Old Byland near Thirsk.
Various peace treaties were drawn up and broken.
1327: The two armies
met each other at Stanhope in County Durham. Douglas
made an attack at night and narrowly missed capturing
the King. The Scots held an unwinnable situation
and disappeared. Their forces now began to play
cat and mouse with the English, fighting them
wherever they thought they could gain advantage.
In October a delegation from London sought out
Bruce as he was besieging Norham Castle saying
that they were ready for peace negotiations.
1328: In March the
Treaty of Edinburgh was signed and Bruce's son
David married Joan of the Tower, the Sister of
King Edward the Third of England. Scotland also
agreed to pay £20,000 reparation for war damages.
1329: Bruce had a
house built on the river Leven just north of Dumbarton
and spent his final days in relative tranquility.
(1330): After his
death Douglas took Bruce's heart in a wooden casket
to fight the Moors in southern Spain. Bruce had
always wanted to go on a crusade to the Holy Land.
However Douglas was slain and the overwhelmed
Scots came back to their native land with the
body of Douglas and the Casket carrying Bruce's
heart.
Marriage:
Isabel, daughter of the Earl of Mar, who died
shortly after the birth of their daughter Marjorie.
1302: To Elizabeth de Burgh, daughter of the Earl
of Ulster.
Places of Interest:
Turnberry Golf Course Ayrshire. The ruins of the
castle where he was born are near the lighthouse.
Kirkoswald Church, Ayrshire. Contains the font
where Bruce was baptised.
Monument at Loch Trool.
Date and Place
of Death:
7th
June1329, Dumbarton.
Age at Death:
55.
Site of Grave:
Dunfermline Abbey, Scotland. Heart buried under
the floor in the Chapter House, Melrose Abbey,
Scotland.
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