Editing Robert the Bruce (section)

== Early reign (1306–1314) ==
=== Coronation ===
[[File:Robert The Bruce Crowned King of Scots.jpg|thumb|230px|Bruce crowned King of Scots by Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan; modern tableau at Edinburgh Castle]]

Six weeks after Comyn was killed in Dumfries, Bruce was crowned King of Scots by [[Bishop William de Lamberton]] at [[Scone, Perthshire|Scone]], near [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], on [[Palm Sunday]]<ref name="battle">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js5mfeOdl3A |title='Battle of Bannockburn 1314 Line of Fire"'History Channel |website=[[YouTube]] |date=July 2015}}</ref> 25 March 1306 with all formality and solemnity. The royal robes and vestments that Robert Wishart had hidden from the English were brought out by the bishop and set upon King Robert. The bishops of Moray and Glasgow were in attendance, as were the earls of [[Atholl]], [[Menteith]], [[the Lennox]] and [[earl of Mar|Mar]]. The great banner of the kings of Scotland was planted behind Bruce's throne.<ref>{{harvnb|Scott|1982|p=75}}</ref> The following day, he agreed to be crowned for a second time by [[Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan]], as according to tradition, the crowning ceremony was performed by a representative of [[Clan MacDuff]].<ref>Fittis, Robert Scott (1889). ''Heroines of Scotland''. Paisley: Alexander Gardner. pp. 6-36.</ref>

=== War of Robert the Bruce ===
Edward I marched north again in the spring of 1306. On his way, he granted the Scottish estates of Bruce and his adherents to his own followers and had published a bill excommunicating Bruce. In June Bruce was defeated at the [[Battle of Methven]]. His wife and daughters and other women of the party were sent to Kildrummy in August under the protection of Bruce's brother, [[Neil Bruce]], and the [[Earl of Atholl]] and most of his remaining men.<ref name="Scott 1982 84–85">{{harvnb|Scott|1982|pp=84–85}}</ref> Bruce fled with a small following of his most faithful men, including [[James Douglas, Lord of Douglas|Sir James Douglas]] and [[Gilbert II de la Hay|Gilbert Hay]], Bruce's brothers [[Thomas de Brus|Thomas]], [[Alexander de Brus|Alexander]], and [[Edward Bruce|Edward]], as well as Sir [[Niall mac Cailein|Neil Campbell]] and the [[Earl of Lennox]].<ref name="Scott 1982 84–85" />

A strong force under Edward, Prince of Wales, captured Kildrummy Castle on 13 September 1306, taking prisoner the King's youngest brother, Nigel de Bruce, as well as Robert Boyd and Alexander Lindsay, and Sir Simon Fraser. Boyd managed to escape but both Nigel de Bruce and Lindsay were executed shortly after at Berwick following King Edward's orders to execute all followers of Robert de Bruce. Fraser was taken to London to suffer the same fate. Shortly before the fall of Kildrummy Castle, the Earl of Atholl made a desperate attempt to take Queen Elizabeth de Burgh, Margery de Bruce, as well as King Robert's sisters and Isabella of Fife. They were betrayed a few days later and also fell into English hands, Atholl to be executed in London and the women to be held under the harshest possible circumstances.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barron |first1=Evan MacLeod |title=The Scottish War of Independence |date=1997 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |page=246}}</ref>

[[File:At night when they gathered round the watch-fires, the king would read stories of the old books.jpg|thumb|Bruce reading stories to his followers; from a 19th-century Scottish history book]]

It is still uncertain where Bruce spent the winter of 1306–1307. Most likely he spent it in the [[Hebrides]], possibly sheltered by [[Christina of the Isles]]. The latter was married to a member of the [[Mar kindred]], a family to which Bruce was related (not only was his first wife a member of this family but her brother, [[Gartnait, Earl of Mar|Gartnait]], was married to a sister of Bruce). Ireland is also a serious possibility, and [[Orkney]] (under Norwegian rule at the time) or Norway proper (where his sister [[Isabel Bruce]] was queen dowager) are unlikely but not impossible.<ref>Traquair, Peter ''Freedom's Sword'' pp. 139–140</ref> Bruce and his followers returned to the Scottish mainland in February 1307 in two groups. One, led by Bruce and his brother [[Edward Bruce|Edward]], landed at [[Turnberry Castle]] and began a [[guerrilla war]] in southwest Scotland. The other, led by his brothers Thomas and Alexander, landed slightly further south in [[Loch Ryan]], but they were soon captured and executed. In April, Bruce won a small victory over the English at the [[Battle of Glen Trool]], before defeating [[Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke]], at the [[Battle of Loudoun Hill]]. At the same time, James Douglas made his first foray for Bruce into southwestern Scotland, attacking and burning his own castle in Douglasdale. Leaving his brother Edward in command in [[Galloway]], Bruce travelled north, capturing [[Inverlochy Castle|Inverlochy]] and [[Urquhart Castle|Urquhart]] Castles, burning to the ground [[Inverness Castle]] and [[Nairn]], then unsuccessfully threatening [[Elgin, Moray|Elgin]]. On 7 July 1307, King Edward I died, leaving Bruce opposed by the king's son, [[Edward II]].

Transferring operations to [[Aberdeenshire (traditional)|Aberdeenshire]] in late 1307, Bruce threatened [[Banff, Aberdeenshire|Banff]] before falling seriously ill, probably owing to the hardships of the lengthy campaign. Recovering, leaving [[John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan]] unsubdued at his rear, Bruce returned west to take [[Balvenie Castle|Balvenie]] and [[Duffus Castle|Duffus]] Castles, then Tarradale Castle on the [[Black Isle]]. Looping back via the hinterlands of Inverness and a second failed attempt to take Elgin, Bruce finally achieved his landmark defeat of Comyn at the [[Battle of Inverurie (1308)|Battle of Inverurie]] in May 1308; he then overran Buchan and defeated the English garrison at [[Aberdeen]]. The [[Harrying of Buchan]] in 1308 was ordered by Bruce to make sure all Comyn family support was extinguished. Buchan had a very large population because it was the agricultural capital of northern Scotland, and much of its population was loyal to the Comyn family even after the defeat of the Earl of Buchan. Most of the Comyn castles in Moray, Aberdeen and Buchan were destroyed and their inhabitants killed. In less than a year Bruce had swept through the north and destroyed the power of the Comyns who had held vice-regal power in the north for nearly one hundred years. How this dramatic success was achieved, especially the taking of northern castles so quickly, is difficult to understand. Bruce lacked siege weapons and it's unlikely his army had substantially greater numbers or was better armed than his opponents. The morale and leadership of the Comyns and their northern allies appeared to be inexplicably lacking in the face of their direct challenge. He then crossed to [[Argyll]] and defeated the isolated MacDougalls (allies of the Comyns) at the [[Battle of Pass of Brander]] and took [[Dunstaffnage Castle]], the last major stronghold of the Comyns and their allies.<ref name="Barrow 2005 444">{{harvnb|Barrow|2005|p=444}}</ref> Bruce then ordered harryings in Argyle and Kintyre, in the territories of [[Clan MacDougall]].

In March 1309, Bruce held his first parliament at [[St. Andrews]] and by August he controlled all of Scotland north of the [[River Tay]]. The following year, the clergy of Scotland recognised Bruce as king at a general council. The support given him by the church, in spite of his excommunication, was of great political importance. On 1 October 1310, Bruce wrote [[Edward II of England]] from Kildrum<ref>{{cite web |title=Dumbarton Sheet XXVI.1 (Cumbernauld) 1864 map |url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/find/index.cfm#zoom=14&lat=55.9535&lon=-3.9670&layers=7&b=1&point=55.9572,-3.9877 |website=National Library of Scotland |publisher=O.S. |access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> in [[Cumbernauld]] Parish in an unsuccessful attempt to establish peace between Scotland and England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Letter from Robert the Bruce to Edward II reveals power struggle in the build-up to Bannockburn |url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2013/june/headline_279405_en.html |website=University of Glasgow |access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> Over the next three years, one English-held castle or outpost after another was captured and reduced: [[Linlithgow]] in 1310, [[Dumbarton]] in 1311, and [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], by Bruce himself, in January 1312. Bruce also made raids into northern England and, landing at Ramsey in the [[Isle of Man]], laid siege to [[Castle Rushen]] in Castletown, capturing it on 21 June 1313 and denying the English the island's strategic importance.

The eight years of exhausting but deliberate refusal to meet the English on even ground have caused many{{Who|date=September 2024}} to consider Bruce one of the great guerrilla leaders of any age. This represented a transformation for one raised as a feudal [[knight]].

=== Battle of Bannockburn ===
{{main|Battle of Bannockburn}}

By 1314, Bruce had recaptured most of the [[castles in Scotland]] held by the English and was sending raiding parties into northern England as far as [[Carlisle]].<ref name="Phillips2011PP223">{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=223–224}}</ref> In response, Edward II planned a major military campaign with the support of Lancaster and the barons, mustering a large army of between 15,000 and 20,000 men.<ref>{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=225–227}}; {{harvnb|Haines|2003|p=94}}</ref> In the spring of 1314, [[Edward Bruce]] laid siege to Stirling Castle, a key fortification in Scotland whose governor, [[Philip de Mowbray]], agreed to surrender if not relieved before 24 June 1314. In March, [[James Douglas, Lord of Douglas|James Douglas]] captured [[Roxburgh]], and [[Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray|Randolph]] captured [[Edinburgh Castle]] (Bruce later ordered the execution of [[Piers de Lombard]], governor of the castle<ref name="Tytler">{{cite book |last=Tytler |first=Patrick Fraser  |date=1841 |title=History of Scotland|edition =2nd|location=Edinburgh |publisher=W. Tait}}</ref>), while in May, Bruce again raided England and subdued the Isle of Man. News of the agreement regarding Stirling Castle reached the English king in late May, and he decided to speed his march north from [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]] to relieve the castle.<ref>{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=223, 227–228}}</ref> Robert, with between 5,500 and 6,500 troops, predominantly [[spearmen]], prepared to prevent Edward's forces from reaching Stirling.<ref>{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=228–229}}</ref>

The battle began on 23 June as the English army attempted to force its way across the high ground of the [[Bannock Burn]], which was surrounded by marshland.<ref name="Phillips2011P230">{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=230}}</ref> Skirmishing between the two sides broke out, resulting in the death of Sir [[Henry de Bohun]], whom Robert killed in personal combat.<ref name=Phillips2011P230/> Edward continued his advance the following day and encountered the bulk of the Scottish army as they emerged from the woods of New Park.<ref name="Phillips 2011 231-232">{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=231–232}}</ref> The English appear not to have expected the Scots to give battle here, and as a result had kept their forces in marching, rather than battle, order, with the [[archers]] − who would usually have been used to break up enemy spear formations − at the back, rather than the front, of the army.<ref name="Phillips 2011 231-232"/> The English cavalry found it hard to operate in the cramped terrain and were crushed by Robert's spearmen.<ref name="Phillips2011P232">{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=232}}</ref> The English army was overwhelmed and its leaders were unable to regain control.<ref name=Phillips2011P232/>

Edward II was dragged from the battlefield, hotly pursued by the Scottish forces, and only just escaped the heavy fighting.<ref name="Phillips2011P233">{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=233}}</ref> The historian Roy Haines describes the defeat as a "calamity of stunning proportions" for the English, whose losses were huge.<ref>{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=234–236}}; {{harvnb|Haines|2003|p=259}}</ref> In the aftermath of the defeat, Edward retreated to [[Dunbar]], then travelled by ship to Berwick, and then back to [[York]]; in his absence, Stirling Castle quickly fell.<ref>{{harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=233, 238}}</ref>