Editing Robert the Bruce (section)

=== Guardian ===
[[William Wallace]] resigned as [[Guardian of Scotland]] after his defeat at the [[Battle of Falkirk]]. He was succeeded by Robert Bruce and [[John Comyn]] as joint Guardians, but they could not see past their personal differences. As a nephew and supporter of King John, and as someone with a serious claim to the Scottish throne, Comyn was Bruce's enemy. In 1299, [[William Lamberton]], [[Bishop of St. Andrews]], was appointed as a third, neutral Guardian to try to maintain order between Bruce and Comyn. The following year, Bruce finally resigned as joint Guardian and was replaced by Sir [[Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus]]. In May 1301, Umfraville, Comyn, and Lamberton also resigned as joint Guardians and were replaced by Sir [[John de Soules (Guardian of Scotland)|John de Soules]] as sole Guardian. Soules was appointed largely because he was part of neither the Bruce nor the Comyn camps and was a patriot. He was an active Guardian and made renewed efforts to have King John returned to the Scottish throne.

In July 1301 King Edward I launched his sixth campaign into Scotland. Though he captured the castles of [[Bothwell Castle|Bothwell]] and [[Turnberry Castle|Turnberry]], he did little to damage the Scots' fighting ability, and in January 1302 he agreed to a nine-month truce. It was around this time that Robert the Bruce submitted to Edward, along with other nobles, even though he had been on the side of the Scots until then. There were rumours that [[John Balliol]] would return to regain the Scottish throne. Soules, who had probably been appointed by John, supported his return, as did most other nobles. But it was no more than a rumour and nothing came of it.

In March 1302, Bruce sent a letter to the monks at [[Melrose Abbey]] apologising for having called tenants of the monks to service in his army when there had been no national call-up. Bruce pledged that, henceforth, he would "never again" require the monks to serve unless it was to "the common army of the whole realm", for national defence. Bruce also married his second wife that year, [[Elizabeth de Burgh]], the daughter of [[Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster]], in Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex. Elizabeth was about 13 at the time, and Bruce 28. By Elizabeth he had four children: [[David II of Scotland|David II]], John (died in childhood), Matilda (who married Thomas Isaac and died at Aberdeen 20 July 1353), and Margaret (who married [[William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland]] in 1345).

In 1303, Edward invaded again, reaching [[Edinburgh]] before marching to [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]]. Edward stayed in Perth until July, then proceeded via [[Dundee]], [[Brechin]], and [[Montrose, Angus|Montrose]] to [[Aberdeen]], where he arrived in August. From there he marched through [[Province of Moray|Moray]] to [[Badenoch]] before re-tracing his path back south to [[Dunfermline]]. With the country now under submission, all the leading Scots, except for William Wallace, surrendered to Edward in February 1304. John Comyn, who was by now Guardian again, submitted to Edward. The laws and liberties of Scotland were to be as they had been in the days of [[Alexander III of Scotland|Alexander III]], and any that needed alteration would be with the assent of King Edward and the advice of the Scots nobles.

On 11 June 1304, Bruce and William Lamberton made a pact that bound them, each to the other, in "friendship and alliance against all men." If one should break the secret pact, he would forfeit to the other the sum of ten thousand pounds. The pact is often interpreted{{by whom|date=July 2015}} as a sign of their patriotism despite both having already surrendered to the English. Homage was again obtained from the nobles and the burghs, and a parliament was held to elect those who would meet later in the year with the English parliament to establish rules for the governance of Scotland. The [[John II, Duke of Brittany|Earl of Richmond]], Edward's nephew, was to head up the subordinate government of Scotland. While all this took place, William Wallace was finally captured near [[Glasgow]], and he was hanged, drawn, and quartered in London on 23 August 1305.

In September 1305, Edward ordered Robert Bruce to put his [[Kildrummy Castle|castle at Kildrummy]], "in the keeping of such a man as he himself will be willing to answer for," suggesting that King Edward suspected Robert was not entirely trustworthy and may have been plotting behind his back. However, an identical phrase appears in an agreement between Edward and his lieutenant and lifelong friend, [[Aymer de Valence]]. A further sign of Edward's distrust occurred on 10 October 1305, when Edward revoked his gift of Sir Gilbert de Umfraville's lands to Bruce that he had made only six months before.<ref name="Scott 1982 72">{{harvnb|Scott|1982|p=72}}</ref>

Robert Bruce as [[Earl of Carrick]], and now 7th [[Lord of Annandale]], held huge estates and property in Scotland and a barony and some minor properties in England, and a strong claim to the Scottish throne.