The Conflict Between Scotland and England

During the Reign of Robert the Bruce

Cerra Hernandez

Professor Emily Herff

American Public University

November 1, 2020
 The English King had led many campaigns in Scotland that eventually led to some peace

talks in 1305. The revived war against Edward in 1306 though came about out of personal

ambition. Robert Bruce had not overlooked the claim of his family to the throne and he initiated

his own attempt at it after moving between the supporters of Edward and Balliol1. In February

1306, Bruce killed his primary opponent, John Comyn.2 This produced the catalyst, and Bruce

was proclaimed king the following month. His uprising split the nobility of Scots. The English

were joined by many of them in combating the insurgents. In June, Bruce was beaten in

Methven and forced to retreat into exile, leaving his friends and family to death and captivity3.

The exile of Bruce permitted him to plan a final revolt. He arrived with his regime supporters in

Carrick in January 13074. Edward rapidly gathered forces to destroy the rebels, and Bruce's small

group desperately managed to evade their enemies for the next six months.

With the small successes at Loudoun Hill and Glen Trool, things began to change, but it

was also the loss of Edward in July that marked a tipping point5. His son and heir, Edward II, did

not have the determination and skill of his father. The new king moved south after a brief

encounter in Scotland and failed to return again till 1310. Bruce seized his opportunity. Driving a

force northward, he gathered support and overcame the many Scottish lords who resisted him in

the north during the following winter. He was using the north as a platform from 1308 to expand

his power to central Scotland, and this improved position enabled him to maintain a parliament

and to negotiate with the papacy, France, and Norway6. While Edward II campaigned in 1310-

1
Parmele, Mary Platt. A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland. A Short History of England, Ireland and
Scotland. Project Gutenberg, n.d, 266.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid, 267.
4
Ibid, 268.
5
Editor. “Robert the Bruce”. Irvine, Scotland, August 19, 2016. http://irvinescotland.info/irvinites/robert-the-
bruce/.
6
Ibid.

2
1311 in Scotland, his weak ties with his aristocracy led to a civil war that lasted until 13137.

Again, the opportunity was utilized by Bruce. Perth and Dundee were seized and Galloway was

forced to surrender, with just Lothian in English possession8.

The demand by Bruce that his lingering Scottish rivals should submit eventually led to a

new campaign being planned by Edward II. Before it could be established, Bruce's forces

captured Edinburgh and Roxburgh 's main castles. A large English military went north in June

1314. It advanced to alleviate Stirling Castle, but its advancement was stopped by Bruce's

smaller forces on June 23rd.9 Bruce get around Edward's slow and inadequately-led army during

the next two days, eventually clearing them out of the fields with a quick Bannock fire10, causing

Edward to run for his life. The Bannockburn gave power over Scotland to Robert the Bruce but

did not hold approval from England for his crown11. It will take yet another 14 years for this to

be earned.

In the years after 1314, Bruce brought the battle to the lands of Edward II. In 1315,

Robert's chief lieutenant and brother, Edward Bruce, led troops to Ireland in pursuit of his own

kingdom, and the Scottish soldiers advanced across northern England, ransacking and requesting

money for local pacts. After a few successes, the Irish war had ended in the failure and death of

Edward at Fochart in 1318, but the Scots were more and more determined in northern England

under James Douglas and Thomas Randolph and they also seized Berwick in 131812. The brutal

7
Parmele, Mary Platt. A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland. A Short History of England, Ireland and
Scotland. Project Gutenberg, n.d, 268.
8
Editor. “Robert the Bruce”. Irvine, Scotland, August 19, 2016. http://irvinescotland.info/irvinites/robert-the-
bruce/.
9
Cornell, David. Bannockburn: The Triumph of Robert the Bruce. Bannockburn. London: Yale University Press,
2009, 4.
10
Ibid, 8.
11
Ibid, 11.
12
Editor. “Robert the Bruce”. Irvine, Scotland, August 19, 2016. http://irvinescotland.info/irvinites/robert-the-
bruce/.

3
war put pressure on both countries. Papal animosity added to the problems of Robert and, in

1320, he encountered a conspiracy from within his own nobles. In fact, the united realm

mentioned in the well-known letter to Pope John regarded as the Arbroath Declaration did not

always fit13. But tensions were just as heavy on Edward II. The loss of Scotland and the

disruption of the north were components of continuing resistance to the King of England. The

policies of Edward II triggered a new civil war in 1321.14 Robert made attempts to exploit the

problems of his rival, but Edward's adversaries were defeated in early 1322. When the English

king was chased through Yorkshire by the Scots and beaten at Byland, the English penetration of

Scotland in 1322 resulted in retreat and embarrassment15.

Edward continued to be haunted by the shadow of disappointment from failure

in Scotland. In 1326, he was finally brought down by a new revolt headed by his own queen,

Isabella, and Roger Mortimer, her love16. He was ousted from power in favor of his son, Edward

III17. Fresh attempts to negotiate with Bruce once again failed, and a truce with Scotland was

agreed upon by the young king's government that dropped English claims and

finally acknowledged King Robert18. A defensive agreement with France had already been

established by Bruce and papal acknowledgement rapidly followed19. In any event, this treaty

was to last just six years, then Edward III brought back his claims to Scotland. The consequence

was a long war that for 140 years reared its ugly head periodically. Scotland was confirmed by

13
Simpson, Grant G. "The Declaration of Arbroath Revitalised." The Scottish Historical Review 56, no. 161 (1977):
11-33. Accessed October 30, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25529201.
14
Parmele, Mary Platt. A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland. A Short History of England, Ireland and
Scotland. Project Gutenberg, n.d, 56.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid, 270.
19
Ibid.

4
this war as an independent country allied with France and accustomed to protecting itself against

an English foe.

5
 Bibliography

Cornell, David. Bannockburn: The Triumph of Robert the Bruce. Bannockburn. London: Yale

University Press, 2009. (Accessed October 28, 2020).

Editor. “Robert the Bruce”. Irvine, Scotland, August 19, 2016.

http://irvinescotland.info/irvinites/robert-the-bruce/. (Accessed October 29, 2020).

Parmele, Mary Platt. A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland. A Short History of

England, Ireland and Scotland. Project Gutenberg, n.d. (Accessed October 29, 2020).

Simpson, Grant G. "The Declaration of Arbroath Revitalised." The Scottish Historical Review

56, no. 161 (1977): 11-33. Accessed October 30, 2020.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/25529201.