Robert the Bruce was a great military leader and King of Scotland. He had himself crowned king in 1306 after the death of William Wallace and continued the fight for Scottish independence.
In 1314, Phillip Mowbray the commander of the English garrison at Stirling Castle told the Bruce if Edward II of England did not relieve him before Midsummer’s Day, he would turn the castle over to the Scots.
On Mid-Summer’s Eve, there was a minor skirmish in which the English were halted. Bruce dug trenches for his men and scattered caltrops in the road to slow the advance of the horsemen.
At that time, the Bannock was more of a river than the burn it is today. The ground leading from the Firth of Forth was mostly a bog. The British forces had to attack across this bog.
On the morning of June 23, 1314, Edward’s army of approximately 22,000 attacked Bruce’s approximately 8,000. By noon, Edward sought safety inside the Castle, but was refused and he headed home.
The Battle of Bannockburn is acknowledged as one of the greatest Scottish victories in history.
Statue of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn
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Love this story. We think of Bruce as a hero. How we love the underdog.
Oh, Flower of Scotland, when will we see, your likes again.
I never knew the story of Robert the Bruce. Thanks for enlightening me!
Great post! It was so interesting 🙂 I found you in the A – Z list and am following you now, since I’d love to read your next posts!
I didn’t know about any of this, so I was happy to learn something new!
It’s nice to meet you 🙂
Nikki – inspire nordic
Why is “the Bruce” a title?
In old Scotland (I’m not sure about now) the head of a clan was called The (clan name). i.e. The MacDonald, The MacPherson, The Lindsay, The Crawford (my clan).
Ah, that makes sense. Thank you!