Schottische Geschichte, Kapitel 3

Earl of Carrick, Robert Bruce was born at Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire, in 1274, of both Norman and Celtic ancestry. Two years before his birth, Edward Plantagenet had become King Edward I of England. The ruthlessness of Edward, who earned the title "the Hammer of the Scots," brought forth the greatness of Bruce. Bruce's astonishing victory at Bannockburn in 1314 over the much larger and better-equipped forces of Edward II ensured Scottish freedom from the hated English. This new struggle for control of Scotland began when Alexander III died in 1286. Alexander's heir was his grandchild Margaret, the infant daughter of the king of Norway.

English King Edward, with his eye on the complete subjugation of his northern neighbors, suggested that Margaret should marry his son, a desire consummated at a treaty signed and sealed at Birgham. Under the terms, Scotland was to remain a separate and independent kingdom, though Edward wished to keep English garrisons in a number of Scottish castles. On her way to Scotland, somewhere in the Orkney, the young Norwegian princess died, unable to enjoy the consignment of sweetmeats and raisins sent by the English King. The succession was now open to many claimants, the strongest of whom were John Balliol and Robert Bruce. For those brought up to revere Robert Bruce as one of the great Scottish heroes, it was something of a mystery to watch his portrayal in the Hollywood movie "Braveheart" which gave all the heroics to his compatriot William Wallace. The movie portrayed Bruce as nothing more than a self-serving opportunist. Yet it was the patience and cunning of Bruce that Scotland needed, not the impetuousness of Wallace, especially facing such formidable enemies as Edward I and then his son and heir Edward II. Bruce bided his time; he first had to establish his authority as king of Scotland. King Edward supported John Balliol, who he believed was weaker and more compliant to the two Scottish claimants. At a meeting of 104 auditors, with Edward as judge, the decision went in favor of Balliol, who was declared the rightful king in November 1292. The English king's plans for a peaceful relationship with his northern neighbor now took a different turn.

In exchange for his support, Edward demanded that he should have feudal superiority over Scotland, including homage from Balliol. He also demanded judicial authority over the Scottish king in any disputes brought against him by his own subjects and defrayment of costs for the defense of England as well as active support in the war against France. Even the pathetic Balliol could not stomach these outrageous demands. Showing a hitherto unknown courage, he declared in front of the English king that he was the King of Scotland and should answer only to his own people. He refused to supply military service to Edward. Overestimating his strength, he then concluded a treaty with France prior to planning an invasion of England. Edward was ready. He went north to receive homage from a great number of Scottish nobles, as their feudal lord, among them none other than Robert Bruce, who owned estates in England. Balliol immediately punished this treachery by seizing Bruce's lands in Scotland and giving them to his own brother-in-law, John Comyn. However, within a few months, the Scottish king was to disappear from the scene. His army was defeated by Edward at Dunbar in April 1296.

Soon after at Brechin, on 10 July, he surrendered his Scottish throne to the English king, who took the stone of Scone, "the coronation stone" of the Scottish kings. At a parliament, which he summoned at Berwick, the English king received homage and the oath of fealty from over 2,000 Scots. He seemed secure in Scotland. But, flushed with this success, Edward had gone too far. The rising tide of nationalist fervor in the face of the arrival of the English armies north of the border created the need for new Scottish leaders. With the killing of an English sheriff following a brawl with English soldiers in the market place at Lanark, a young Scottish knight, William Wallace found himself at the head of a fast-spreading movement of national resistance. At Stirling Bridge, a Scottish force, led by Wallace, won an astonishing victory. He then completely annihilated a large, lavishly equipped English army under the command of Surrey, Edward I Viceroy.

We can imagine the shock of the over confident Edward and the extent to which he sought his revenge. Yet, Wallace's great victory, successful because English cavalry were unable to maneuver on the marshy ground and because their supporting troops had been trapped on a narrow bridge, proved to be a Pyrrhic one. Bringing a large army north in 1298, and goading Wallace to forgo his successful guerrilla campaign into fighting a second pitched battle, the English king's forces were more successful. At Falkirk, they crushed the over-confident Scottish followers of Wallace. This time the English cavalry was more successful and the archers (many of whom had been recruited in Wales following that country's virtual annexation by the Statute of Rhuddlan less than 20 years before) inflicted heavy damage on the massed ranks of the Scots. Following the battle, a campaign began to ruthlessly suppress all attempts at reasserting Scottish independence.

Falkirk was a grievous loss for Wallace who never again commanded a large body of troops. After hiding out for a number of years, he was finally captured in 1305 and brought to London to die a traitor's death similar to that meted out a few years earlier by King Edward to prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Welsh leader of yet another fight for independence from England. With the execution of Wallace, it was time for Robert Bruce to free himself from his fealty to Edward and to lead the fight for Scotland. At a meeting in Greyfriar's Kirk at Dumfries between the two surviving claimants for the Scottish throne, the perfidious but crafty Robert Bruce murdered John Comyn, thus earning the enmity of the many powerful supporters of the Comyn family. He was also excommunicated from the Church.

His answer was to strike out boldly, raising the Royal Standard at Scone and, on March 27, 1306, he declared himself King of Scots. Edward's reply was predictable; he sent a large army north, defeated Bruce at the battle of Methven, executed many of his supporters and forced the Scottish king to become a hunted outlaw. Again, the indefatigable Scottish leader bided his time. After a year of demoralization and widespread English terror, during which two of his brothers were killed, Bruce came out of hiding. Aided mightily by his chief lieutenant, Sir James Douglas, "The Black Douglas," he won a first victory on Palm Sunday, 1307. From all over Scotland, the clans answered the call and Bruce's forces gathered in strength to fight the English invaders, winning many encounters against cavalry with his spearmen. The aging Edward decided to come to Scotland at the head of a large army to punish the Scots' impudence; but the now weak and sick king was ineffectual as a military leader. He could only wish that after his death his bones would be carried at the head of his army until Scotland had been crushed. It was left to his son Edward II to try to carry out his father's dying wish. He was no man for the task. Edward II, born at Caernarfon Castle in 1284 and who had been given the title Prince of Wales in 1301 was crowned King of England in 1307.

Faced by too many problems at home, and completely lacking the ruthlessness and resourcefulness of his father, the young Edward had no wish to get embroiled in the affairs of Scotland. Bruce was left alone to consolidate his gains and to punish those who opposed him. A series of successful campaigns against the Comyns and their allies left him in control of most of Scotland. In 1309 he was recognized as sole ruler by the French King, and despite his earlier excommunication, he even received the support of the Scottish Church. In 1311, Bruce drove out the English garrisons in all their Scotland strongholds except Stirling and invaded northern England. King Edward bestirred himself from his dalliances at Court to respond and took a large army north.

BANNOCKBURN AND INDEPENDENCE

On Mid-Summer's Day, the 24th of June, 1314 one of the most momentous battles in British history occurred. The armies of Robert Bruce, heavily outnumbered by their English rivals, employed tactics that prevented the English army from effectively employing its strength, and won a decisive victory at Bannockburn. Scotland was wrenched from English control, its armies free to invade and harass northern England. Such was Bruce's military successes that he was able to invade Ireland, where his brother Edward had been crowned King by the exuberant Irish. A second expedition carried out by Edward II north of the border was driven back. Edward was forced to seek peace. Robert Bruce followed up his outstanding military success with equally successful diplomatic overtures.

After an appeal from the Scottish nobility, the new Pope at Rome lifted Bruce's excommunication. May, 1328 brought about a peace treaty signed at Northampton by the weary, helpless English king that recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Robert Bruce as king. The Declaration of Independence signed at Arbroath was the culmination of Bruce's career. All his dreams fulfilled, he died one year later. One who for years had been an Anglo-Norman vassal of the King of England had made himself into a truly national Scottish hero. Scotland had become the first nation state in Europe, the first to have territorial unity under a single king. The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320, was a letter to the Pope, who had excommunicated everyone in Scotland unless they swore allegiance to Edward II (such were the ways of medieval popes). In the letter, signed by representatives from all classes of Scottish society, it was stated that since ancient times the Scots had been free to choose their own kings, a freedom that was a gift from God.

Under the Declaration, if Robert Bruce were to prove weak enough to acknowledge Edward as overlord, then he would be dismissed in favor of someone else. Although English kings still continued to call themselves rulers of Scotland, just as they called themselves rulers of France for centuries after being booted out of the continent, Scotland remained fully independent until the year 1603 (when James Stuart succeeded Elizabeth I).

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