ROBERT THE BRUCE – THE NATIONAL

HERO OF SCOTLAND
Dragoș VOICU, Ștefan COSTEA
„Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, Sibiu,
dragos99_voicu@yahoo.com, costeastefan20@gmail.com

Scientific coordinator: Assist. Prof. Brândușa-Oana NICULESCU PhD

Abstract
Descended from the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman nobility,
Robert the Bruce, known as Robert I, was the king of Scots
who secured Scotland’s independence from England.
Robert was one of the most famous warriors of his
generation. Most likely cold, canny and driven by his
personal ambition, King Robert fought succesfully to
regain Scotland’s place as an independent country during
his reign and is nowadays revered in Scotland as a
national hero. The most powerful nobles of Scotland
treated him as a traitor because he murdered his enemy,
John Comyn, in a church, to secure power. He was not
only trying to establish an independent Scotland, but also
facing a civil war. Robert the Bruce came close to being
captured and beaten and he became a fugitive, yet
managed to restore Scotland as a fully-functioning
independent kingdom. He had to improvise constantly and
to work really hard to be a king, as opposed to being born
into it and having to struggle for it.

Keywords: Robert the Bruce, Scotland, king, hero, war.

Introduction
Robert Bruce, original name Robert VIII de Bruce, also called Robert I was born on
th
11 of July 1274 into an aristocratic Scottish family. His Anglo-Norman family had come to
Scotland in the early 12th century. He was distantly related through his father to the Scottish
royal family and he had Gaelic antecedents from his mother. During the “Great Cause” (1290-
1292) Bruce’s grandfather was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne.
His father, Robert VII de Bruce, resigned the title of earl of Carrick in favour of his
son in 1292, but there are not many historical records of his career until 1306. From 1295 to
1304, in Scotland, it was a confused period of rebellions against English rule. Robert appears
as one of the leading supporters of William Wallace, a Scot rebel, in this period. The murder
of John („the Red”) Comyn in a church on 10th of February 1306 was an important and
decisive moment.
 Bruce proclaimed his right to the throne and was crowned king of Scotland on 27 th of
March 1306. The following year he was forced to flee. After his return, he waged a highly
successful guerrilla war against the English army. He defeated a bigger English army under
the rule of Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314 and he reestablished
Scotland’s independence. Even after this defeat, Edward did not recognize the independence
of Scots. However, in 1324, Robert earned papal recognition as king of an independent
Scotland. Robert died on the 7th of July 1329, and was buried at Dunfermline.

1. The “Great Cause”

Following a period of prosperity for the Scottish Kingdom, tragedy struck when King
Alexander III died in 1286 and left no male heir. On the 14 th of October 1985, Alexander
married Yolande de Dreux, descend from Count Robert I of Dreux, a son of Louis VI of
France, but she died along with him without giving birth to a child. After the king’s death, the
nobles of Scotland agreed to oversee the coronation of Alexander’s granddaughter, Margaret,
Maid of Norway, as well as selecting a regent and a husband for her. In 1290 when this was
agreed, the Guardians of Scotland decided to send five-year old Margaret to Scotland from
Norway, as they were ruling the land in absence of royal member. Unfortunately, little
Maggie died on the way to her new kingdom.
This period, known in the Scottish history as the “Great Cause”, lasted from 1290 to
1292. Thirteen nobles came forward to claim the throne, but three of the nobles were thought
to have the strongest claim: John Balliol, John Hastings and Robert the Bruce, known as “the
Competitor”, the grandfather of the later King Robert de Bruce. All of them were descended
from the daughters of David the Earl of Huntingdon and could follow their lineage to King
David I of Scotland.
The forerunners in the “competition” remained Robert Bruce and John Balliol. The
Guardians started to fear that this two-way race would throw Scotland into a civil war if the two
families would have started to battle it out. So, in 1291, the Guardians decided to ask for King
Edward I’s help in reaching an agreement between the two families and in choosing the new king
of Scotland. This turned out to be one of the most unwise decisions ever made. Smelling the
opportunity and weakness from the Scots, he mediated the conflict, but by bringing his own
troops in Scotland. The Guardians had no choice, but to accept Edward I’s request to be
completely recognized as Overlord of Scotland and Scotland to be made a vassal state of England.
But the two competitors still wanted to become the king, even if one of a vassal state
and so, Edward I started to negotiate the way towards electing a new King. He permitted 13
men with a claim to the throne to present their cases. After a few encounters he dropped most
of the claims, and he proclaimed four nobles to have righteous claims, with Robert Bruce and
John Balliol included.
In November 1292, the panel of arbitrators set up by Edward and including him also,
made the final decision and chose John Balliol, over Robert Bruce, to turn into the new King
of Scotland, drawing the conclusion of the “Great Cause”.

2. The Road of Bannockburn

The Battle of Bannockburn was the decisive battle in Robert the Bruce’s war against
England for the independence of Scotland. On the 23 rd and 24th of June 1314, Edward II was
defeated by the King of Scotland, this victory expanding Robert the Bruce’s territory and
influence.
2.1 The Scottish Wars of Independence
After John Balliol was named king, all was not good in Scotland and the King’s power
against Edward I managed to get quite quickly to the Scottish Wars of Independence.
 The Battle of Dunbar in 1296 which saw King Edward victorious over the Scots gave
him complete control over Scotland. King John surrendered in the most humiliating
circumstances and he was stripped of his royal robes by Edward. He became no more than a
puppet king, later being imprisoned for treason by King Edward I. 1600 of Scotland’s leading
nobles swore loyalty to Edward I by late August 1296 and, by doing this, they gave him the
legitimacy as Overlord that he had craved.
Robert the Bruce supported William Wallace’s revolt against the English. Across the
south-west of the kingdom, William Wallace’s forces were engaged in skirmishes with the
English army. Meanwhile, in the north-east of Scotland, pockets of resistance against Edward
I continued, Andrew Moray leading a campaign against the foreign rule. Wallace and Moray
saw themselves as “Commanders of the Army of Scotland” and were supported, beside
Robert the Bruce, by Bishop Wishart of Glasgow and the noble Sir William Douglas. In the
heart of Scotland, Stirling and its castle held essential strategic importance and Wallace with
Robert Bruce decided to conquer it. By the 7th of September 1297, their forces faced up to a
strong English Army. At Stirling Bridge, the English were routed and many drowned in the
river as the Scots gained a great victory.
Following this victory, Wallace and Moray were together made “Guardians of
Scotland” by the nobility. Moray’s time was short as he died of wound received at Stirling
Bridge and William Wallace continued to rule Scotland in the name of King John I who
remained imprisoned. He continued his campaign and he invaded northern England.
In the summer of 1298, Edward I marched north and on the 22 nd of July, at Falkirk,
Wallace’s forces were heavily outnumbered by Edward’s and the Scots defense was massacred
and as a consequence, Wallace fled and resigned as Guardian. Despite this, Scottish resistance
continued with Robert the Bruce and John Comyn, despite their dislike of each other, as
Guardians.
Between 1300 and 1302, rumours about King John’s return to Scotland made Robert
the Bruce resign as Guardian in 1300 because it would had damaged his ambition of
becoming king and in 1302, he pledged his support to Edward I. In 1303, the King of England
invaded Scotland again and by the summer of 1304 Stirling had fallen again in the English
hands, and the Scottish nobles begged for peace.
In 1305, Wallace, who continued to play an active part, like travelling to Europe in
1299 to promote support for Scots against Edward I, was eventually betrayed and captured
near Glasgow, charged with treason, and hung, drawn and quartered by Edward on 23rd
August 1305.

2.2. The murder of John Comyn

Robert Bruce was one of the many nobles who were claiming the throne and he was
not even the strongest one. John Comyn was his closest rival. The two had been in long
negotiations to start another rebellion against Edward’s rule over Scotland and they finally
met at Dumfries on 10 February 1306, in Greyfriar’s Kirk. It is known for certain that Comyn
was murdered by Bruce at Dumfries that day, in the Franciscan church, but the circumstances
are unclear. His actions had significant consequences as he was excommunicated by the Pope,
despite being pardoned by Bishop Wishart of Glasgow.
Robert the Bruce was proclaimed King of Scotland at Scone on the 27 th of March
1306. His new position as a king was very difficult as Edward I regarded him as a traitor and
he did not even receive universal support amongst his countrymen. The English forces
defeated King Robert, at Methven Wood, on June 19, near Perth and the allies of John Comyn
defeated him again at Dalry, on August 11, because they were seeking revenge for the killing
of their “king”.
The English captured his daughter and his wife and some members of his family and,
unfortunately, the English also executed many of his brothers. Robert went on Rathlin, a
remote island, and he became a fugitive there, in the north of the Irish Coast.
In early 1307, the king became active again as he returned to Ayrshire. However, two
more of his brothers were killed, giving a personal and huge blow to Robert. At Loudin Hill,
Bruce defeated the English forces and he increased his and his troops confidence and received
more support from the Scots. In an attempt to crush the King Robert’s army, Edward I
travelled north, but he died shortly after crossing the border.
Bruce’s support grew a lot more after King Edward I’s death because Edward II did
not have the force of the former king and he also faced many issues at home. But, Comyn
family’s claim was still supported by many nobles and, in Scotland, a sour civil war started.
To the North East, the King enjoyed success by conquering important Comyn castles with a
strong force. By around 1310, King Robert the Bruce did not face any more opposition
against his rule and, in St. Andrews, in 1309, his first official parliament was held and the
church wrote the “Deceleration of the Clergy” to cement their support for the king. After his
kingship was secured, he once more moved towards the English.

2.3. The Battle of Bannockburn

By 1313, only Stirling and Berwick remained in the English Lands, while Bruce was
enjoying considerable success. He focused his attention on Sterling, the strategic key to ruling
Scotland. By midsummer 1314, the Scottish forces marched to face Edward II’s army at
Bannockburn. In order to achieve victory, Robert had two conditions. One was that his
kingship must have been recognized by all of Balliol allies. The second was that the English
garrison based in Stirling had to surrender.
The Scots army had around 6000 common men, with some of them on horseback,
while the English one numbered around 2000 horses and 25000 infantrymen from England,
Ireland and Wales. A ferocious melee aroused. The English cavalry was unable to pass
through the Scots spearmen without their archers. Robert the Bruce won the day. His army
morale was tremendous, but for the English, the blow of the first day was huge. Sir Alexander
Seton, a Scots noble who was part of the English army, deserted to Bruce. By bringing him
crucial information about Edward’s army, King Robert decided to defy it all in the morning
and face Edward II’s forces in open battle.
The muddled English army faced the smaller Scottish one, which entered up battle
formation. The muddy ground proved impractical for the English cavalry to attack. The
English knights could not fight back as the Scots were moving forward in three “schiltron”
formations. Robert’s troops slowly drove the English backwards. Also, the English archers
struggled to move the archers into a position where they could inflict damage on their
enemies. They were driven from the battleground by the Scottish cavalry. Many of the
English were killed during this battle, which was transformed into an all-out run. Edward was
almost killed in battle. He hardly escaped the field. Additionally, thirteen-four barons were
captured or killed. Many knights and thousands of infantrymen, while retreating from the
battle, were captured or killed. As the day ended, King Robert led the Scottish army to a
famous victory and Edward II would never again hold such a strong position in Scotland.

3. “Pan-Gaelic Greater Scotia”

 After the Battle of Bannockburn, nothing really important really happened. Almost the
whole of Robert the Bruce reign had passed before the Englishman recognized his position. In
Ireland, Robert initiated a second front against the English rule with his brother Edward in
charge, who later became High King of Ireland in 1316, but he was killed in 1318. In the
same year, the castle of Berwick was captured and from there a lot of attacks into the northern
territory of England started. Robert’s energies were focused to settle the problems of
Scotland. He had no heir until 1324, when his son, the future king David II was born. The
Scottish nobles sent a letter, in 1320, to Pope John XXII declaring that King Robert I was
their true and lawful monarch. This letter is also known as the “Declaration of Arbroath”. The
“Declaration of Arbroath” is without doubt the most famous document in the Scottish history.
He received recognition four years later form the Pope as a king of the independent Scotland.
Also, he forged an alliance with France. The Franco-Scottish alliance was renewed in the
Treaty of Corbeil. In 1327, the English parliament deposed Edward II in favour of his son and
peace was made with Scotland. These winded up with the Treaty of Edinburgh and
Northampton signed by Richard I at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on 17 March 1328 and by
Edward III in Northampton on 3 May 1328. Edward forsook all demands to English
superiority over Scotland, and promised to restore the Stone of Destiny which was removed in
1296. In return, Scotland paid England a 20,000 marks fee for the damages caused by the
incursions into the north of England. A curious fact is that the promise Edward III made was
fulfilled after nearly 700 years.
Robert suffered from ill health in the final years of his life and he died, possibly of
leprosy, at Cardross, Dumbartonshire, on 7 June 1329. His body was buried in Dunfermline
Abbey. Scotland would remain independent until James VI of Scotland inherited the kingdom
of England after the death of Elizabeth I and became James I of England. Oliver Cromwell
conquered Scotland completely in 1650, and the Scottish and English parliaments merged in
the May of 1707.

Conclusion
To sum up, Robert the Bruce has been celebrated by some as a patriot and a hero and
others considered him a traitorous usurper. Regardless of what people believe, no one could
deny that Robert Bruce, King of Scots, was the one who ultimately led his country to victory
in the First War of Scottish Independence from England, a period of violent conflict that
stretched from 1296 to 1328.
Robert the Bruce spent nearly his entire reign at war, fighting not just England, but
also the conflict he ignited at home the moment he struck down John Comyn. In the end,
however,
he was able to unite his countrymen for a common cause: Scotland’s freedom. With the
signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328, he finally achieved peace and the
English recognition of his kingship.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bruce, D.A., The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary
Warrior King, New York, St. Martin Press, 2006
Murison, A.F., King Robert the Bruce, Auckland, The Floating Press, 2015
Scott, R.M., Robert The Bruce: King of Scots, Edinburgh, Canongate Books, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bruce_robert_the.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/warsofindependence/robertthebruce/revision/1/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/warsofindependence/williamwallaceandthescotti
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-the-Bruce
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