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In die somer van 1314 beleër Robert Bruce Stirling Castle. Stirling was die laaste kasteel wat nog in Engelse beheer oorgebly het, en Edward II besluit dat alles moontlik gedoen moet word om te keer dat dit deur Bruce gevange geneem word. Edward het daarom besluit om die grootste leër wat ooit uit Engeland verlaat het, te neem om die kasteel te red.
Die leër van Skotland was nie net in die minderheid nie, maar het ook nie die ervaring van Edward se troepe gehad nie. Edward het ook 'n groot aantal gepantserde ridders en langboogmanne, die twee mees effektiewe magte in die Middeleeuse oorlogvoering. Bruce, aan die ander kant, het baie min van die twee gehad en moes eerder sterk staatmaak op spearmanne.
Bruce het geen poging aangewend om die groot leër van Edward te keer om Skotland binne te gaan nie. Hy het besluit dat sy beste hoop was om die Engelse te dwing om te veg op grondgebied wat die beste by sy beperkte hulpbronne pas. Bruce het 'n plek gekies slegs twee en 'n half kilometer suid van Stirling, by 'n stroom genaamd Bannockburn. Die Skotte het die hoë grond ingeneem en as die Engelse sou aanval, moes hulle op 'n smal front tussen moeraslande en 'n dik bos vorder.
Die Engelse voorwag het op 23 Junie by Bannockburn aangekom. Sir Henry Bohun, die leier van die Engelse party, herken Robert Bruce. Nadat hy sy lans reggemaak het, het Bohun die Skotse koning aangekla. Bruce het uit die pad van die lans gery en Bohun met 'n hou van sy byl doodgemaak.
Die belangrikste Engelse leër het op 24 Junie aangekom. Gilbert, 10de graaf de Clare, wat 500 van sy eie ridders saamgeneem het, het Edward aangeraai om die mans 'n dag lank te laat rus. Edward stem nie saam nie en beskuldig Gilbert daarvan dat hy bang is vir die Skotte. Gilbert is deur hierdie opmerkings gesteek en het onmiddellik sy mans beveel om aan te val. Gilbert het die aanklag galant gelei, maar sy perd is afgekap en terwyl hy op die grond was, is hy deur Skotse spearmanne doodgemaak.
Terwyl die Engelse ridders bymekaargekom het, het Skotse spiesmanne wat in die bos weggekruip het, 'n aanval geloods. Die Engelse ridders, wat nog nie in gevegsorde georganiseer was nie, moes noodgedwonge terugtrek.
Die Engelse boogskutters is na vore geroep, maar voordat hulle effektief kon optree, is hulle deur die Skotse ridders aangekla. Nadat groot getalle gedood is, is die boogskutters ook gedwing om terug te trek.
Edward het nou besluit om sy ridders te gebruik om die Skotse posisie bo -op die heuwel aan te neem. Aangesien die Engelse ridders gedwing was om op 'n smal front aan te val, kon die Skotse spiesmanne hul opmars blokkeer. Engelse boogskutters het probeer help, maar omdat albei leërs saamgebreek is, was hulle pyle net so geneig om hul eie manne as die Skotte te tref.
Skielik begin Engelse soldate omdraai en hardloop. Ander het gevolg en gou was die Engelse leër terug. Die Skotte het agterna aangekla. Baie van die Engelse ridders kon ontsnap, maar diegene sonder perde, soos die spiesmanne en boogskutters, het baie swaar ly.
Die slag van Bannockbum was die ergste nederlaag in die Engelse geskiedenis. Terwyl die oorblywende van die Engelse leër probeer het om by die huis te kom, kon die Skotte die Stirling -kasteel inneem.
Die koning en die ander grootmagte van die land met 'n groot menigte karre en waens vertrek na Skotland ... in ons tyd het so 'n leër uit Engeland uitgegaan.
Beide in getal en in toerusting ... ons troepe is baie beter as die ellendige Skotte. In oorlogsmotore, in katapulte, in pyle, en al sulke oorlogsmasjiene is ons volop, terwyl dit by al die Skotte ontbreek.
Ek is meegedeel dat die Engelse weermag bestaan uit mans wat ses verskillende tale spreek; die soldate is onbekend aan mekaar ... Dit is 'n skraal taak wat ek op julle lê; dat elkeen van julle twee mans uit Edward se leër doodgemaak het ... Dan sal julle vyf-en-veertigduisend vermoor het.
Hy (Edward II) het oorlog gaan voer teen die Skotte ... Daar was in die Engelse leër baie edeles en ridders wat te pronk en pompagtig was toe die twee partye betrokke was, die Skotte het vasgebly, maar die Engelse het gevlug. Die goddelose party het verlore gegaan en die listige het oorwin.
Ons vyande word net beweeg deur begeerte na oorheersing, maar ons veg vir ons lewens, ons kinders, ons vroue en die vryheid van ons land ... U kon rustig as slawe gelewe het, maar omdat u verlang het om vry te wees, is u by my hier.
Dit was een van die bekendste gevegte wat nog ooit gevoer is, maar niemand weet presies waar dit gebeur het nie.
Die agtergrond was Stirling Castle, die laaste Engelse vesting in Skotland, wat deur Robert the Bruce geteiken is terwyl hy op die terugspoor was tydens die onafhanklikheidsoorloë.
Die konstabel van Stirling het ingestem om die kasteel aan die Skotte te oorhandig, tensy 'n Engelse mag opdaag om hom op 24 Junie 1314 te help. Hulle het die dag tevore behoorlik opgeslaan.
Daar word vermoed dat Robert the Bruce standpunt ingeneem het op wat nou bekend staan as 'monument hill', waar sy standbeeld sit.
Dit was die perfekte ligging op 'n hoë grond met 'n goeie gesigsveld, maar om teen die heuwel op te klim sou 'n groot uitdaging vir die Engelse magte gewees het.
Dit lyk meer waarskynlik dat die hoofgeveg op 'n nabygeleë vlak, plat grond, bekend as die Carse, gevoer is, waar die Engelse oornag kamp opgeslaan het.
Slagverslag: Bannockburn, taktiek en terrein
Die verhouding tussen Skotland en Engeland sedert die 1280's was om die minste te sê gespanne. Edward I het die naam 'Hammer of the Scots' verdien omdat hy baie goed was met die Skotse adel (net 'n grap, hy was absoluut aaklig vir hulle, wat die Skotse onafhanklikheidsoorlog veroorsaak het) en teen die vroeë 14de eeu was sy feckless seun, Edward II was koning van Engeland en hoop om voort te bou op die 'suksesse' van sy vader.
Voorspel tot oorlog
in 1307 haal Skotland 'n sug van verligting toe hul ou vyand, Edward I, dood is. Edward sterf aan dysenterie op pad noord na Skotland en verlaat Engeland in die hande van sy minder vaardige seun, 'n man wat nie bekend was vir sy militêre mag of sy politieke vaardigheid nie.
Portret in Westminster Abbey, vermoedelik van Edward I BRON: Publieke domein
Ongeag Edward se oënskynlike onvermoë as bevelvoerder op die slagveld, het hy steeds druk op Robert I, die koning van Skotte, geplaas. Koning Robert het geweet dat die ontmoeting met 'n Engelse leër in die veld waarskynlik in 'n ramp sou eindig, want hoewel baie Skotse here na Robert se saak begin stroom het, was Engeland steeds die magtigste koninkryk met groot hoeveelhede manne en hulpbronne. Edward het in 1309 en 1310 verskeie onsuksesvolle veldtogte na Skotland uitgevoer, terwyl die Skotte 'n blaadjie uit die Walliese speelboek gehaal het en guerrillataktieke aangewend het om Edward se magte te teister. Teen 1314 was slegs twee groot vestings onder Engelse beheer, die imposante kasteel by Stirling en die vesting by Bothwell, wat Robert en sy leërs net 'n klipgooi van die belangrikste handelsentrum van Berwick af gesit het. Robert het voordeel getrek uit die gebroke hof van die Engelse koning, veroorsaak deur Edward se verhouding met Piers Gaveston, en het begin om dorpe en stede aan die Engelse grens aan te val, wat sy posisie as die onbetwiste heerser van Skotland versterk het, wat Edward laat reageer het.
Robert I ('The Bruce') deur Edward Harding, uitgegee deur Isaac Herbert, na onbekende kunstenaarstippelgravure, gepubliseer 1797 BRON: National Portrait Gallery
Die optog na Berwick en die beleg van Stirling Castle
Teen die lente van 1314 het Robert I byna volle beheer oor die suide van Skotland en wou hy die Engelse here wat grond in die laaglande geëis het, van die kaart afvee. Robert laat sy broer Edward (wat ons voortaan na hom sal verwys as Edward Bruce om verwarring met Edward II van Engeland te vermy) die Stirling -kasteel beleër en dwing die goewerneur van Stirling, Philip Mowbray, om vrede te eis. Soos die ridderlike gewoonte was, het Edward die Engelse garnisoen tot 24 Junie gegee om verlig te word voordat hy die kaste oorgegee het. Dit het Edward II in staat gestel om 'n leër van ongeveer 20.000 man te mobiliseer om die opkomende Skotte eens en vir altyd te verpletter.
Edward Bruce se edele besluit om die Engelse garnisoen tyd te gee voordat hy die kasteel prysgee, sou die Skotse leër rondom die vesting moontlik moes dwing om terug te trek, sonder 'n blote getal om Edward II en sy groep Engelse te verslaan. Robert I marsjeer af in die rigting van Berwick, naby waar hy geweet het Edward moet kom voordat hy na Stirling gaan.
Bruce het geweet dat sy 7 000 man nie die volle krag van die Engelse weermag sou ontmoet nie, wat tot op die rand vol wapens was en berede ridders wat ongeveer 30% van die weermag uitmaak, 'n werklike professionele mag. Met die groot bedreiging wat die hoogs professionele en gevaarlike Engelse leër inhou, het Robert geweet dat hy sy broer 'n rukkie moes koop om die oorgawe uit die kasteel van Stirling te kry. Deur weer te weier om die massiewe leër in die veld te ontmoet, het Robert verskroeide aarde -taktiek uitgevoer tydens die terugtog na Stirling en alles vernietig wat die leër van Edward II kon voorsien. Edward se leër het reeds morele kwessies gehad, as gevolg van die ongemaklike verhouding tussen Edward en sy vooraanstaande adellikes, die manne waarop hy staatgemaak het vir sowel die mag as die geld om so 'n waaghalsige veldtog te finansier.
Die Slag van Bannockburn: Dag 1
Koning Robert I was 'n uitstekende taktikus, hy het reeds sy militêre vermoëns getoon tydens die slag van Loudoun Hill (1307), waar hy 'n veel groter Engelse mag onder leiding van Aymer de Valence, 2de graaf van Pembroke, sou verslaan. Soos voorheen genoem, was die Skotse leër in die minderheid en in baie opsigte aangepas deur die Engelse mag op kavalerie, wat die Skotte gedwing het om na te dink hoe en die belangrikste, waar die onvermydelike geveg sou plaasvind.
Teen die oggend van 23 Junie het Robert naby die dorpie Bannock aangekom, 'n klein gehuggie aan die rand van die Bannock Burn -stroom, omring deur woude en heuwels. die dorpie was net 'n paar kilometer ver van Stirling af en sou wees waar die Skotse leër hul laaste standpunt sou neem. Robert het sy mans aan die agterkant van die woud geplaas om sy flanke teen kavalerie te beskerm en beveel dat sy manne loopgrawe gevul met valstrikke moet grawe om die verwagte kavallerielading te verwar en te trotseer. Die Skotse weermag was georganiseer in vier hoofgevegte (die woord 'stryd' het oorspronklik vorming beteken) van styf verpakte Schiltrons, die Skotse ekwivalent van 'n falanks, duisende snoeke wat uit die gesig staar teen die aankomende vyand.
'N Moderne beeld van die Bannock Burn -stroom wat deur die velde onder in die bos loop waar Robert I gewag het vir die Engelse BRON Google maps, getmapping plc (2020)
Soos verwag is, het die Engelse leër in alle prag en ridder uitgegaan, onder leiding van sy vreesaanjaende swaar kavallerie. Toe hy die groot mag sien, beveel Robert sy manne om terug te trek in die bos voordat hy weer beveel om om te draai en die aankomende kavallerie wat teenwoordig was, die hoof te bied en die Skotse linies in die gesig staar. Onder leiding van die graaf van Hereford het die kavallerie eers kop in die Skotse lyne geslaan met rampspoedige gevolge. Die lokvalle wat deur die Skotse magte gestel is, het die Engelse suksesvol op die wagspiese gegooi, met mans en perde wat op die muur van snoeke gestamp is, wat nie verlig kon word nie weens die lokvalle en loopgrawe wat nou agter hulle was. Die graaf van Gloucester, Gilbert de Claire, is om die flank gestuur om die Schiltrons aan die kant te slaan, maar Edward Bruce kon sy manne aan sy linkerkant se broers in posisie bring, wat die aanval van die graaf bedek, wat die Engelse dwing terug te keer na hul oorspronklike posisies by die brandwond.
Die Engelse weermag het op die eerste dag nie veel verliese gely nie, maar die gebrek aan vordering wat die kavallerie gemaak het, was 'n ernstige morele treffer vir Edward en die Engelse magte. Edward en sy geswelde leër het begin kamp opslaan rondom bannock self, gereed om die stryd die volgende dag na die Skotte te neem.
'N Interpretasie van die slag van Bannockburn vanaf die eerste dag BRON: Publieke domein
Die Slag van Bannockburn: Dag 2
Vroeg die volgende oggend, in stryd met alle militêre logika, beveel Robert sy schiltrons om na die Engelse te gaan, terwyl hulle steeds wakker word van hul ongemaklike nagrus. Robert was letterlik besig om die Engelse dutjie te vang, en kon hom voor die Engelse posisioneer wat spoedig by sy formasie pas.
Met die feit dat mans en perde vinnig van oral in die Bannock Burn versamel is, besluit Edward en sy raadgewers om die swaar kavallerie weer te gebruik om deur die Skotse lyne te breek en die dag op die mees ridderlike manier te neem. Toe die Skotse linies stadig nader kom en die velde oorsteek tussen hul ou posisie in die bos na waar die meerderheid Engelse kampeer, kon niemand in die Engelse kamp besluit wie so 'n edele en eerbare leiding sou lei nie, maar uiteindelik was die graaf van Gloucester het dit op hom geneem om sy kontingent reguit in die regterflank van die Skotse spiesmanne te lei. Gloucester en sy ridders het reguit in die schiltrons ingebars, wat die graaf en sy manne feitlik vernietig het, terwyl massaspiese byna altyd massakavalerie verslaan het.
Die res van die Engelse leër was nog steeds in die regte vorming georganiseer toe die Skotse boogskutters op die Engelse en Walliese boogskutters begin skiet het, terwyl hulle vasgehou kon word en nie op die Skotse infanterie kon skiet nie, wat nou die Engelse kavalerie en infanterie wat het Gloucester gevolg. Die Skotse voordele is uitstekend deur koning Robert gebruik en hy kon groot tydsberekening en Engelse arrogansie daarteen gebruik, maar die dag was nog nie verby nie. Meer en meer Engelse ridders en soldate het by die geveg aangesluit, waar die twee leërs ure lank teen mekaar geslaan het totdat albei kante heeltemal uitgeput was. Op die kritieke oomblik van die geveg het Robert sy reservaat Schiltrons opgetrek wat nog in die bos was, en dit gebruik om die heeltemal geestelik en fisies uitgeputte leër op te stoot wat die magtige Engelse ure lank verder en verder gedruk het. Teen hierdie tyd was die uitslag amper bevestig, en die Engelse nommer een doel was om die koning in veiligheid te bring. Edward II vlug met 'n paar honderd ridders, en laat die res van sy leër self eter vlug of sterf op die slagveld na die Skotte.
In totaal het die Skotte tussen 500 en 1000 van die oorspronklike 7000 wat die vorige dag begin het, verloor, maar die Engelse het meer as 5000 man verloor, met baie belangrike ridders en edeles in die gedoemde kavallerie -aanvalle, wat 'n volledige ramp van 'n veldtog tot 'n einde gebring het Skotland. Edward het vinnig met sy stert tussen sy bene terug na Londen gehardloop, sodat die Skotte ongemerk voortgegaan het met hul haring in die noorde van Engeland. Die slag van Bannockburn sou in die geskiedenis opgaan as een van die grootste nederlae van Engeland, maar ook as een van die grootste oorwinnings van Skotland, en sou die herhaling van die verhaal van Edward II, die flou koning wat meer geïnteresseerd was daarin om lede van die hof te jaag as om handel te dryf, oorheers. met sy probleme. Bannockburn sou as 'n belangrike oomblik in die verhouding tussen Engeland en Skotland dien, wat die onafhanklikheid van Skotland feitlik afrond, wat die reeds gespanne verhouding tussen die twee koninkryke bevorder.
Uiteindelik is 'n vredesverdrag in 1328 onderteken wat 'n einde gemaak het aan die eerste Skotse onafhanklikheidsoorlog, 'n oorlog wat sedert 1296 gewoed het, maar dit sou nie die einde van Anglo-Skotse konflikte aandui nie. Die verhouding sou op sy beste stekelrig bly vir die volgende drie eeue, en uiteindelik bereik dit toe Jakobus VI van Skotland in 1603 koning word van beide Engeland en Skotland.
Ek hoop dat u dit geniet het en dat u graag wil hoor wat u daarvan dink, laat my 'n opmerking en volg my op Instagram @chrisriley_ vir meer Middeleeuse geskiedenis!
Die Slag van Bannockburn verduidelik
Wyle Dr Alasdair Ross verduidelik die agtergrond van die Slag van Bannockburn en die betekenis van die oorwinning.
Die slag van Bannockburn, wat in Junie 1314 oor twee dae geveg is, het 700 jaar later steeds 'n betekenis vir Skotte:
& bull Die stryd val uit in die geskiedenis van Skotland voor 1707 as een van die min gevalle toe die Skotte 'n beslissende oorwinning oor 'n veel groter indringende leër behaal het, en die enigste een toe hulle dit in die oop veld gedoen het.
& bull Bannockburn was ook slegs die tweede keer in die Europese geskiedenis dat 'n leër wat meestal uit infanterie bestaan, 'n oorwinning oor 'n berede leër behaal het; dit was 'n oorwinning teen die kans wat Skotland waardevolle asemhalingsruimte en 'n nuwe dinastie gegee het.
'N ongewenste konflik
Die geveg was eintlik tot dusver ongewens; die Skotte het vermy om die veel groter en beter toegeruste Engelse leërs in die oop veld te ontmoet en het op guerrillataktieke staatgemaak vir hul suksesse. Maar ons moet nooit vergeet dat aangesien hy geweet het dat 'n Engelse weermag in 1314 die kasteel van Stirling sou probeer verlig, Bruce baie tyd gehad het om vooraf die grond van die slagveld voor te berei.
Victory het die heerskappy van Robert I in Skotland bevestig (indien nie in Londen of Rome nie) en die grondslag gelê vir 'n inval in Ierland, 'n oproerige opstand in Wallis en die Bruce en Stewart -dinastieë. Alhoewel sommige Skotte die aand voor die eerste dag en rsquos -geveg na die Engelse kant toe vertrek het, moes 'n oorwinning vir Bruce vir tydgenote beteken het dat God aan sy kant was. Hy was nie meer 'n usurpator nie.
Dit is belangrik dat die slag van Bannockburn in die eeue daarna in die Skotte se gedagtes sou bly as 'n voorbeeld van wat gedoen kon word as mense saamstaan as 'n bewys dat superieure leërs nie onoorwinlik was nie, dat vindingrykheid en vasberadenheid 'n skynbaar hopelose situasie kan verander in oorwinning. Om hierdie redes word dit steeds jaarliks herdenk en het dit deel geword van die Skotse nasionale identiteit, 'n belangrike beslissende oomblik in ons nasionale geskiedenis.
Onsekerheid bly
Gegewe dit alles, lyk dit nogal merkwaardig dat ons vandag nog nie heeltemal seker is waar al die verskillende elemente van die geveg gevoer is nie.
Sekere topografiese merkers, soos die kasteel en die New Park, is bekend, maar die res word onder kommentators beveg. Slagveld en oorlogsgedenktekens is relatief onlangse verwikkelinge (ten minste in historiese terme) en dit is nogal merkwaardig dat teen die tyd dat aartsdiaken Barbour in die 1370's die Brus geskryf het, hy genoeg vertroue gehad het om 'n hele ekstra afdeling vir die Skotse leër uit te dink, gelei deur die vader van sy beskermheer, koning Robert II.
Gee dit aan dat slegs meer as sestig jaar na die groot oorwinning die meerderheid mense die belangrikste punte oor die strydorde gedurende die twee dae vergeet het?
Waarom moet ons dan verbaas wees dat die presiese ligging van al die verskillende elemente van die geveg ook verlore geraak het?
Ten spyte van hierdie geringe probleme, bly die slag van Bannockburn 'n kwessie van trots en hoop en hoop vir diegene wat belangstel in ons geskiedenis en toekoms in ons land.
Laai die digitale spesiaal History the Scotland, Robert the Bruce en die Slag van Bannockburn, af hier vir slegs £ 2.99.
Edward II
Die Engelse koning daarenteen was swak, ongewild en onervare in oorlog.
Die seun van die magtige Edward I, Edward II, het grootgeword in die skadu van sy vader. Hy het nie die wilskrag gehad om sy eie edeles in die ry te hou nie, maar hy het nie saak om met die Skotte te doen nie. Konflik tussen hom en die hertog van Lancaster het gelei tot die dood van een van Edward se gunstelinge en die kort oorheersing van die regering deur Lancaster. Hulle twis het 'n swak regering geskep waarin min mense hul koning respekteer. Die leër het so min leiers gehad dat die grawe van Hereford en Gloucester 'n hewige twis gekry het oor wie die voorhoede moet lei, wat Gloucester daartoe gelei het om 'n selfmoordaanval teen die Skotte te begin in 'n mislukte poging om sy gesag te laat geld.
Edward II se gebrek aan politieke invloed is gekombineer met 'n gebrek aan militêre vaardigheid. Hy is grootgemaak in die militêre tradisie van feodale vorste, maar het nie soos sy vader oorlog gevoer nie. Sy gebrek aan selfvertroue het die Engelse vir 'n paar jaar gestuit teen Bruce se maneuvers, en die gebrek aan veldtog het beteken dat Edward nie die ervaring van sy opponent kon pas nie.
Kortom, Edward II was een van die ergste generaals wat ooit 'n Engelse leër gehad het.
Bruce aanvalle
Teen dagbreek op die 24ste, met Edward se leër aan drie kante omring deur die Bannock Burn, het Bruce hom tot die offensief gewend. Die Skotse leër het in vier afdelings, onder leiding van Edward Bruce, James Douglas, die graaf van Moray en die koning, beweeg en na die Engelse beweeg. Toe hulle nader kom, staan hulle stil en kniel in gebed. Edward sien dat hy dit uitroep: "Ha! Hulle kniel om genade!" Waarop 'n hulpmiddel geantwoord het: "Ja, vader, hulle kniel om genade, maar nie van u nie. Hierdie manne sal oorwin of sterf."
Toe die Skotte hul vordering hervat, het die Engelse hulle vinnig gaan vorm, wat moeilik was in die beperkte ruimte tussen die waters. Byna onmiddellik het die graaf van Gloucester met sy manne vorentoe gegaan. In botsing met die spiese van Edward Bruce se afdeling, is Gloucester dood en sy aanklag verbreek. Die Skotse leër het toe die Engelse bereik en hulle langs die hele front betrek.
Gevang en vasgedruk tussen die Skotte en die waters kon die Engelse nie hul strydformasies aanneem nie en gou het hul leër 'n ongeorganiseerde massa geword. Terwyl hulle vorentoe gestoot het, het die Skotte gou veld begin wen, terwyl die Engelse dooies en gewondes vertrap is. Deur hul aanranding huis toe te ry met die geroep van "Druk op! Druk op!" die Skotse aanval het baie in die Engelse agterkant gedwing om oor die Bannock Burn terug te vlug. Uiteindelik kon die Engelse hul boogskutters ontplooi om die Skotse linkses aan te val.
Toe hy hierdie nuwe bedreiging sien, het Bruce sir Robert Keith beveel om hulle aan te val met sy ligte kavalerie. Toe Keith se manne vorentoe ry, het hulle die boogskutters geslaan en hulle van die veld af verdryf. Terwyl die Engelse lyne begin wankel, lui die oproep "On them, on them! They fail!" Met 'n hernieude krag, het die Skotte die aanval ingedruk. Hulle is bygestaan deur die aankoms van die 'klein mense' (diegene wat nie opleiding of wapens het nie) wat in reserwe gehou is. Hulle aankoms, tesame met Edward wat uit die veld vlug, het gelei tot die ineenstorting van die Engelse leër en 'n roete het gevolg.
Die slag van Bannockburn: Robert Bruce veg vir vryheid
Die slag van Bannockburn (23–24 Junie 1314) is in die suidooste van Stirling Castle in Sentraal-Skotland gevoer. Dit was die hoogtepunt van 'n wrede burgeroorlog, wat die Skotte onder Robert the Bruce onder die Engelse onder Edward II plaasgevind het. Hier verduidelik Fiona Watson die omstandighede rondom die geveg en onthul hoe die konflik later as 'n epiese stryd om bevryding hersien is.
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Gepubliseer: 23 Junie 2020 om 10:50
Daar is slegs ongeveer vier uur behoorlike duisternis tydens die midsomer in Skotland. Vir die Engelse weermag wat die moerse grond onder die stad Stirling oorsteek, was dit net genoeg tyd om perde en manne te voer en nat te maak, toerusting skoon te maak en te wonder wat vir hulle voorlê sodra die son opkom. Die moraal was laag. Die voetsoldate was uitgeput omdat hulle gedwing was om so vinnig as moontlik te marsjeer vanaf Edinburgh, 30 myl daarvandaan, om te voldoen aan die middernagtyd wat ooreengekom is vir die verligting van Stirling Castle. En hulle het vroeër die vorige dag, 23 Junie 1314, nie daarin geslaag om hul Skotse vyande te bestry nie, in 'n reeks ontmoetings, waaronder die berugte poging van Sir Henry de Bohun om die Skotse koning in 'n enkele geveg dood te maak, net om deur 'n magtige slag van Robert Bruce se strydbyl.
Nietemin, Edward II was voorbereid. Wat hy nie verwag het nie, was dat die Skotte moes veg, want dit was hul gewoonte om in die heuwels te verdwyn as hulle deur 'n Engelse leër gekonfronteer word. Maar nou, toe die dagbreek in die lug kom, kon Edward sien hoe die Skotte in drie brigades spiesmanne vorder voordat hy voor hom kniel. Die Engelse koning was verheug en het geglo dat dit 'n voorspel tot oorgawe was - totdat daar vir hom daarop gewys is dat hoewel die Skotte barmhartigheid soek, dit eerder van God was as van die Engelse.
As die Skotse koning, soos blykbaar die geval was, besluit het om te veg, sou dit die sewende verlowing tussen die twee koninkryke wees in die 18 jaar sedert Edward se vader, Edward I, sy noordelike buurman in 1296 (tydelik) verower het.
Die voorspel tot 'n skokkend dramatiese verandering in die verhouding tussen Skotland en Engeland was die dood 'n dekade vroeër van die Skotse koning, Alexander III, sonder enige manlike erfgename. Dit het Edward I-Alexander se voormalige swaer-aangemoedig om in te meng in die sake van die noordelike koninkryk.
Edward dring daarop aan om 'n hof voor te sit en kyk na die eise van 14 kandidate om koning te wees, hoewel die keuse werklik was tussen John Balliol, Lord of Galloway in Skotland en Barnard Castle (in wat nou County Durham is), en Robert Bruce van Annandale in Skotland (oupa van die oorwinnaar van Bannockburn). Balliol het gewen - 'n besluit wat volgens die meeste Skotte reg was - en is gekroon as koning John in 1292. Maar die Bruces het nooit hul koninklike ambisies prysgegee nie.
Die rand van oorlog
Edward het intussen sy tyd gebyt. Nadat hy al die kandidate vir die leë troon van koning Alexander gedwing het om sy aansprake op heerskappy oor Skotland te erken - bewerings gebaseer op vorige, maar ondubbelsinnige presedent en kategories ontken deur vorige konings van Skotte - het hy toenemende eise aan koning John gestel. Dit sluit die verwagting in dat laasgenoemde mans sal stuur om saam met Edward te veg teen Frankryk, met wie Engeland op die punt was om oorlog te voer. Die Skotte, onder leiding van die familielede van hul koning, die magtige Comyn -familie, het besef dat hulle hul onafhanklikheid verloor en het 'n verdrag van onderlinge verdediging met Frankryk beding.
Edward het dit vermoed, en het in 1296 Skotland binnegeval, 'n Skotse leër in Dunbar verslaan, Balliol afgeset en gevange gehou en sy eie regering op die been gebring. Die jaar daarna hervat die Skotte die oorlog en stel William Wallace aan as die eerste van 'n reeks voogde wat die koninkryk regeer in die afwesigheid van koning John. Robert Bruce, die toekomstige koning, het 'n paar jaar lank teen die Engelse geveg, en selfs kortliks as voog van Balliol, sy mededinger as monarg, opgetree, vermoedelik om sy eie geloofsbriewe te versterk om die Skotte te lei.
In 1302 het Bruce hom egter aan die Engelse koning onderwerp, nadat hy deur sy ander groot mededingers, die Comyns, as voog verdryf is, en hy kon nie die vooruitsig van koning John se terugkeer met Franse steun insluk nadat laasgenoemde uit die Engelse gevangenis vrygelaat is nie. . Die Franse koning, Philip IV, het egter gou die vriendskap van Edward I nodig gehad om sy eie redes en die hoop op koning John se terugkeer is uitgewis. In 1304 het die meeste Skotte, onder leiding van die huidige voog, John Comyn van Badenoch, aan Edward I.
Die hoofkarakters in die kragmeting op Bannockburn
Koning Robert I is gebore in 1274. Hy neem die troon van Skotland in 1306 oor en regeer 23 jaar tot sy dood op 7 Junie 1329. Sy eerste huwelik was met Isobel, dogter van die graaf van Mar, deur wie hy sy dogter, Marjorie, gehad het. Haar seun, Robert, het van 1371 tot 1714 die eerste van die Stewart -konings geword wat Skotland, toe Engeland, sou regeer.
Edward Bruce, Graaf van Carrick, was Bruce se jonger broer. Hy het in Mei 1314 met sir Philip Moubray ooreengekom dat Stirling -kasteel aan die Skotte oorhandig sou word as dit nie deur 'n Engelse weermag verlig word nie, wat die plek van die geveg effektief sou bepaal. Hy was bevelvoerder oor een van Bruce se afdelings op 23/24 Junie.
Sir John Comyn van Badenoch was neef van die Skotse koning, John Balliol, en daarom 'n aanspraakmaker op die leë troon. Hy is in 1306 deur Bruce vermoor, wat 'n bloedige burgeroorlog veroorsaak het, wat Bannockburn grotendeels tot 'n einde gebring het. Sy seun, 'n ander John, is in die geveg dood.
Edward II was die enigste oorlewende seun van Edward I, wat sy vader in 1307 opvolg. Hy het 'n bankrot tesourie geërf en sy neiging om deur gunstelinge gelei te word, het Engeland by baie geleenthede naby die burgeroorlog gebring. Alhoewel hy geen lafaard was nie, het hy by Bannockburn geen strategie gehad nie en het sy bevelvoerders onder mekaar verdeel.
Sir Philip Moubray was 'n Skot wat hom teen Bruce gesteek het weens die moord op John Comyn. Na Bannockburn sluit hy die hekke van Stirling Castle teen King Edward en sluit by Bruce aan. Hy het in 1315–18 saam met Edward Bruce op veldtog in Ierland gegaan en saam met hom daar gesterf.
Sir Robert Clifford was 'n veteraan van die oorloë in Skotland, en het byna 20 jaar lank in die meeste veldtogte geveg. Op 23 Junie het hy 'n kontingent ridders geneem om tussen die Skotte en die Stirling -kasteel te kom, maar hy is teruggeslaan deur die neef van koning Robert, sir Thomas Randolph. Clifford is saam met die graaf van Gloucester dood in die eerste gevegsgolf op 24 Junie.
Teen 1306 was dit bekend dat Edward I baie siek was, en daarom het Robert Bruce begin soek na ondersteuning om sy oupa se aanspraak op die troon te heraktiveer. Dit ignoreer egter die feit dat John Balliol koning was. As John en sy seun nie na Skotland kon terugkeer nie (Edward Balliol was nog in Engelse aanhouding), was die neef van die Skotse koning, John Comyn van Badenoch, die volgende aan die beurt. Hy was ook 'n beproefde oorlogsleier, 'n voog vir die grootste deel van die tydperk tussen 1298 en 1304 en die hoof van 'n groot gesin met lande en volgelinge regoor die koninkryk.
Daar was moontlik 'n onskuldige rede-wat moontlik verband hou met 'n grondgeskil-waarom Robert Bruce en John Comyn mekaar op 10 Februarie 1306 by die Greyfriars Church in die suidwestelike Skotse stad Dumfries ontmoet het. kan die leë troon van Skotland neem om die oorlogspoging te vernuwe nadat Edward dood was, want die vergadering eindig met Bruce wat Comyn vermoor het. Ses weke later het Bruce homself as koning ingehuldig - 'n daad wat Skotland effektief in twee verdeel het, asook die toorn van Edward I.
Winsgewende strooptog
Alhoewel Bannockburn nog altyd uitgebeeld is as Engeland teenoor Skotland, was dit die element van burgeroorlog wat daartoe gelei het dat dit gevoer is. In Oktober 1313, nadat hy die afgelope ses jaar die koninkryk van sy eie mense net so verower het as die Engelse, het koning Robert genoeg vertroue gehad om 'n ultimatum te stel aan almal wat grond in Skotland besit, dat hulle hulde en trou aan hom sou sweer binne 'n jaar. En hoewel 'n reeks kastele, van Berwick aan die oostelike grens tot by Stirling in die middel van die land, steeds teen hom gehou word, kon Bruce en sy manne na willekeur onder hulle verbygaan op pad na 'n uiters winsgewende en vernietigende aanval. in die noorde van Engeland.
Selfs die onbekwame Edward II, wat sy pa se bankrot troon in 1307 geërf het, het besef dat hierdie ultimatum baie Skotte sou dwing wat nog bereid was om teen Bruce te veg om van kant te verander as hy niks doen om hulle te help nie. In November 1313, therefore, he ordered an army to muster the following June. Then, in May 1314, it was agreed between the Scots and Stirling’s commander, Sir Philip Moubray, that the castle would be handed over to Bruce unless relieved by 24 June. With that agreement, King Robert had effectively decided where Edward II’s army would march and where, therefore, any battle might be fought.
This time Bruce faced the tantalising prospect that, if he fought and won, he might effectively end the war in Scotland. But if he did not, his ultimatum might well be ignored.
The stakes were high. Should Bruce lose, the military reputation that sustained his kingship, given his dubious accession, would crumble. He needed to fight somewhere that cavalry were at a disadvantage. Even Edward II knew that the ground around Stirling was such a place.
And so Bruce worked with his men to transform the Scottish schiltrom – groups of around a thousand men carrying long spears bristling like a hedgehog – from the stationary unit employed previously. Instead of merely repelling Edward’s cavalry, they would move together on the offensive, allowing the Scots to control the design and tempo of the battle.
Edward arrived the day before the deadline with an army of around 7,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. Bruce’s army was probably 5,000–6,000-strong, which meant that the opposing sides at Bannockburn were far more evenly matched than the hyperbole of Scottish chroniclers has since suggested.
The Scots were drawn up in the hunting forest south-east of Stirling, blocking Edward’s route to the castle. When the English failed to make any headway on the first day, they crossed the Bannockburn to the north, seeking the protection of the floodplain of the river Forth before taking the field in the early hours of 24 June. Few got more than a wink of sleep during that brief midsummer night.
Meanwhile, morale was already high among the Scots when Sir Alexander Seton arrived in the Scottish camp and was brought before King Robert. Seton was a Scot, one of many who had found Bruce’s murder of Comyn and seizure of the throne abhorrent. Yet he now considered the squabbling and lack of leadership among the English commanders even more problematic and decided to defect. Bruce asked his nobles if they should fight. The response was unanimous: “As you devise, all shall be done.”
How the battle played out
From opening exchanges to bloody rout, a quick guide to the clash at Bannockburn
Bannockburn was fought to the south-east of Stirling Castle in central Scotland. The English army numbered roughly 2,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry commanded by King Edward II. The Scottish army comprised around 5,000–6,000 spearmen with a few hundred cavalry led by King Robert I of Scotland.
The English arrived on 23 June to find their way to Stirling Castle, which they were intent on relieving, blocked by the Scots. A series of skirmishes won by the Scots left Edward’s men demoralised, and they camped overnight down on the floodplain of the river Forth.
Early in the morning of 24 June, fully expecting Bruce to retreat as usual, the English were astonished to see the Scots advancing towards them. The English vanguard charged but were overwhelmed and many knights killed. The ground, near or on the floodplain of the river Forth, was difficult for cavalry to negotiate, but it was King Robert’s decision to train his spearmen to march offensively that won the day, along with the lack of leadership in the English army. Thousands of footsoldiers were killed in the bloody aftermath when the Scots were intent on seizing booty and taking noble prisoners.
The next morning, Bruce addressed his men again in terms that went on to immortalise the ensuing battle. “You could have lived in serfdom, but because you yearned to have freedom, you are gathered here with me.” The Scots then advanced to meet an English charge led by the Earl of Gloucester, who was still reeling from accusations of cowardice that greeted his sensible suggestion that the English should wait for the footsoldiers to recover before engaging. Bruce had ordered his men not to take either prisoners or booty until the battle was won, and so Gloucester and other high-ranking nobles, including the murdered John Comyn’s son and the veteran soldier Sir Robert Clifford, were killed.
As the front line of the English cavalry disintegrated, the English infantry behind began to run away, while the English bowmen were kept at bay by the Scottish cavalry. Then, as more Scots appeared, the English king was forced to flee too, leaving the rest of his army to escape, be captured or killed. Many died in the ‘great ditch’ of the Bannockburn, which stood between them and the road home, those that came behind running ‘dry-shod’ across their compatriots’ bodies.
Edward II had taken the field and God had found him wanting, while King Robert had been granted victory despite having murdered Comyn on the high altar of a church. As a result, the legitimate grievances of those Scots who fought against Bruce have long been consigned to history’s landfill.
Eternally glorified
It is difficult to pinpoint the long-term benefits that Bannockburn brought to Bruce. What’s more, the assumption that there was a direct connection between the battle and a 1328 peace treaty concluded in the aftermath of Edward II’s deposition is misplaced. But, in articulating a rhetoric of freedom, the Scottish king won an even greater battle, one that has eternally glorified the name of Bruce and Bannockburn by transforming what was predominantly a brutal civil war into an epic national struggle.
Most crucial to that image is John Barbour’s highly influential poem, The Bruce, written in the 1370s, where the future of Scotland itself was explicitly deemed to hinge on Bannockburn’s outcome. Barbour portrays the Scottish nobles’ determination to pay the ultimate price, if necessary, to liberate Scotland after their king reminded them of English tyranny and injustice.
Here we supposedly have the crux of the matter, explaining why they resolved to fight and why they won. Many Scots today also know the stirring lines of the Declaration of Arbroath, a letter sent to the pope in 1320, arguing why Scotland should be independent of England and why Bruce should be its king: “It is not for glory, riches or honour that we fight, but for freedom alone, which no good man loses but with his life.” Stirring words indeed, but ones that would have stuck in the throats of the family of the murdered Comyn.
But facts are facts and Bruce did bring independence to his kingdom against remarkable odds. As late as the 16th century, the Scots exulted in being “18 hundred years unconquered,” which was more than could be said for England. But this was despite the scarcity of victories against the Auld Enemy after Bannockburn. Otterburn in 1388 and Ancrum Moor in 1545 are the exceptions in a catalogue of defeats, some of them catastrophic – Dupplin Moor, Halidon Hill, Neville’s Cross, Homildon Hill, Flodden, Solway Moss and Pinkie.
Bannockburn cast a long shadow over Scottish military strategy, with commanders continuing to rely on spearmen long after weaponry, particularly hand-held firearms, had evolved to render them obsolete.
The Scots remember Bannockburn, then, as an exceptional victory. But that is not why it has proved such a powerful force in Scottish identity. It is the rhetoric of freedom that has chimed throughout the centuries, particularly once the parliaments of England and Scotland were dismantled in 1707 and recreated as the United Kingdom. Now a modified version of that was needed, and the view was taken that Wallace and Bruce saved Scotland from Edward I’s clutches so that it could join the union as an equal partner.
But for others, as the benefits of empire receded and Scotland’s great manufacturing base began to suffer in the 20th century, issues of freedom became bound up with questions over the political status quo. Every year a rally takes place to Bannockburn, and while the Scottish National Party no longer officially attends, their song is still Robert Burns’s Scots Wha’ Hae, inspired by Bruce’s “glorious struggle for freedom”.
The Scots are not alone in subverting the realities of the past to create a powerful and enduring myth – every nation has them. But the right of a nation to determine its own destiny is a concept that appeals across time and geography, and Scotland was one of the first to articulate such a right in medieval Europe. Bannockburn is responsible for that.
Dr Fiona Watson is a research fellow at the University of Dundee
Battle of Bannockburn - History
The Battle of Bannockburn - Background
n 1313 Stirling Castle was being held by the English under the command of Sir Philip Mowbray. A Scottish army under the control of Edward Bruce, the brother of Robert Bruce King of Scotland, laid siege to the castle. On midsummer's day of 1313 Edward Bruce and Mowbray came to an agreement. It was agreed that if an English army had not come within three leagues of the castle by midsummer's day of 1314 Mowbray would surrender the castle to the Scots. Edward Bruce allowed Mowbray to leave the castle so that he could inform Edward II, King of England, of the terms of the agreement in person.
At the end of 1314 or the start of 1314 Edward II sent orders to his nobles to provide an army in invade Scotland and to be in Berwick, on the English Scottish border by the middle of June. At Berwick Edward was joined by several nobels and earls. These included the earls of Gloucester, Hereford and Pembroke
The English army left Berwick on the 17th of June, 1314 and by the 21st had reached Edinburgh. Supplies were taken from their ships there1. Time was running short and so on the 22nd of June the army marched towards Falkirk and reached it by the evening. The English army left Falkirk on the morning of the 23rd and marched up the Roman road towards Stirling.
Route taken by Edward II from Berwick to Falkirk
Ahead of the English was the Torwoord, an ancient forest, and beyond that the Bannock Burn and its tributary the Pelstream, streams that feed into the River Forth. Beyond the Bannock Burn to the west of the road was another forest called New Park which was on high ground. Alexander III had this forest fenced in 1264 to be used for hunting. This forest is separate from the older King's forest to the north near the Castle. To the east of the road was an area called the Carse. The Carse was an area of marshy land with many small streams. This area was to have an important affect on the outcome of the battle.
Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn a battle which took place near Stirling in central Scotland in 1314, in which the English army of Edward II, advancing to break the siege of Stirling Castle, was defeated by the Scots under Robert the Bruce, who subsequently re-established Scotland as a separate kingdom.
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Battle of Bannockburn
Dates of the Battle of Bannockburn: 23rd and 24th June 1314.
Place of the Battle of Bannockburn: In Central Scotland, to the South of Stirling.
The Royal Arms of England at
the time of Edward II: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd June 1314: picture
by Mark Dennis,
Ormond Pursuivant
Oorlog: The Scottish War of Independence against the English Crown of Edward I and Edward II.
Contestants at the Battle of Bannockburn: A Scots army against an army of English, Scots and Welsh.
Commanders at the Battle of Bannockburn: Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots, against Edward II, King of England.
Size of the Armies at the Battle of Bannockburn: There is great controversy over every aspect of the Battle of Bannockburn due to the lack of contemporary accounts. The eminent Scottish historian William Mackenzie came to the conclusion that the English army comprised around 3,000 mounted men, knights and men-at-arms, and around 13,000 foot soldiers, including a detachment of Welsh archers. William Mackenzie put the Scots at around 7,000 men. Robert de Bruce’s army comprised foot soldiers with a force of around 600 light horsemen commanded by Sir Robert Keith, the Marischal.
Winner of the Battle of Bannockburn: The Scots trounced the English in the 2 day battle.
Uniforms and equipment at the Battle of Bannockburn:
In order to re-conquer Scotland from Robert the Bruce King Edward II of England summoned his feudal army. The most important element in the feudal array was the mounted knighthood of Angevin England. A fully equipped knight wore chain mail, re-enforced by plate armour, and a steel helmet. He carried a shield, long lance, sword and, according to taste, axe or bludgeon and dagger. He rode a destrier or heavy horse strong enough to carry a fully equipped rider at speed. The heraldic devices of the knight were emblazoned on his shield and surcoat, a long cloth garment worn over the armour, and his horse’s trappings. An emblem might be worn on the helmet and a pennon at the point of the lance. Other knights on the field, including enemies, would be able to identify a knight from the heraldic devices he wore. Socially inferior soldiers such as men-at-arms would wear less armour and carry a shield, short lance, sword, axe, bludgeon and dagger. They rode lighter horses.
Knights of the period of the Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314: picture by Edward Burne-Jones
Within each army units comprised men raised from particular areas or a nobleman’s household knights and men-at-arms. In the English army the King’s household provided a sizeable and homogenous fighting force.
The foot soldiers on each side fought with whatever weapons they had, which might be bows, spears, swords, daggers, bill hooks, bludgeons or any other implement capable of inflicting injury. They wore metal helmets and quilted garments if they could get them. Traditional feudal armies of the time considered battle to be an exercise between mounted knights. No account was taken of those further down the social scale and little sensible use made of them. For the English the battle was to be decided by the attack of their cavalry. The dismounted soldiers were present for other purposes, largely menial, in the eyes of the knighthood.
Battle of Bannockburn 24th June 1314: picture by William Hole RSA
Because of the nature of the guerrilla war Robert de Bruce and the Scots had been fighting over the previous years against the English they had few mounted knights available for the battle. The Scots army comprised foot soldiers mostly armed with spears and that was the force Robert the Bruce had to rely upon.
While Bannockburn is held up as an important event for Scottish nationalism it is intriguing to remember that the knights on each side were essentially of the same stock, Norman-French or Northern European. The language spoken was in many instances still French.
Stirling Castle: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
As the Middle Ages progressed the limitations of mounted knights attempting to win battles alone were repeatedly revealed: the Battles of Charleroi, Crecy and Agincourt were three examples.
Bannockburn was again to show the inadequacy of largely unsupported heavy cavalry.
Edward I, King of England, Maleus Scotorum, and father of Edward II, 1239 to 1307: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
The Background to the Battle of Bannockburn:
Edward I, King of England from 1239 to 1307 and father to King Edward II, conquered Scotland as he conquered Wales. Once the local forces had been overcome in open battle Edward’s system of occupation was to build a network of stone castles or walled towns each occupied by an armed force under a loyal local or English knight.
Edward I died on 6th July 1307 and his son Edward II became King of England. The King had to contend with a number of powerful noblemen each with large regional estates and substantial military resources. A similar politico-social system was in place in most areas of Western Europe. It took a king of considerable military and political acumen and ruthless resolve to keep the English nobility in order and to force them to pursue the national or royal interest as opposed to their own individual interests. Edward I was such a king while his son Edward II certainly was not. Edward II’s reign was blighted by simmering dispute, frequently breaking into outright warfare, between King and Nobles. A particular source of discord was Edward II’s reliance upon his favourite, Piers Gaveston, a Gascon knight, whom Edward made Earl of Cornwall. Gaveston was hated by most of the senior nobility of England, a group of whom finally assassinated him in 1312.
Robert de Bruce, King of the Scots
from 1306 to 1329: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
Robert de Bruce and his Scots followers rejoiced openly at the death of King Edward I. The Bruce now embarked on his war to push the English out of Scotland and to establish his dominance over his Scottish rivals as King of the Scots.
The English castles while a powerful mechanism for dominating occupied country with garrisons of small groups of armed knights and men had a major weakness which lay in its day to day security. During their campaign against the occupying English the Scots became masters of the art of taking fortifications by trick and surprise. A standard piece of kit for the Scots, which they perfected, was the scaling ladder. There were rarely enough men in a castle to watch the length of the fortifications fully and inevitably there were periods when such watch as there was lapsed. Approaching with stealth the Scots would scale the walls and take the castle or town. The classic was the capture of Edinburgh Castle on 14th March 1313 by Randolph Earl of Moray. The castle watch actually looked over the wall at the point where the Scots were preparing to attack, before loudly moving on, leaving the Scots to scale the wall and open the gate to the waiting force, which then stormed the castle.
A particularly popular tale is the taking of Linlithgow Castle by William Bannock in September 1313. Bannock drove up in a cart filled with fodder for the garrison’s horses and stopped the cart in the gateway thereby preventing the garrison from closing the gate. Armed men leaped from beneath the fodder and, assisted by a band of men that rushed the gate, the castle was stormed.
As each castle or town was captured the fortifications built over many years by the English were destroyed so that the English could not re-establish their control of the country, even if the place was re-taken.
Finally few castles remained. One of these was Stirling Castle held for Edward II by Sir Philip de Mowbray. In around February 1313 the brother of King Robert de Bruce, Edward de Bruce, began a siege of Stirling Castle. In June 1313 de Mowbray put an offer to Edward de Bruce. The offer was that if Stirling Castle was not relieved by Midsummer’s Day 1314, 24th June, de Mowbray would surrender the castle to de Bruce. To comply with this requirement the relieving English army would need to be within 3 miles of the castle within 8 days of that date. De Bruce appears to have accepted this offer without thinking through the implications, or possibly without caring. His brother the king was, on the other hand, fully aware of the consequences of this rash agreement, which in effect compelled Edward II to launch a new invasion of Scotland.
Edward II, King of England vanquished at the Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
At the end of 1313 Edward II issued the summonses for his army to assemble. The wording of these documents indicated that while the relief of Stirling Caste was the pretext, the intention was to re-conquer Scotland for the English Crown.
The shaky hold Edward II maintained over his nobility is illustrated by the number of powerful noblemen who refused to answer the call to arms: the Earl of Lancaster, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Warenne and the Earl of Arundel among others. The King’s call was answered by Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Constable of England, the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Pembroke. The Scottish Earl of Angus supported Edward.
Shield of Sir John Comyn, knight in the English army: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
Knights answering Edward’s summons were: Sir Ingram de Umfraville, Sir Marmaduke de Tweng, Sir Raoul de Monthemer, Sir John Comyn and Sir Giles d’Argentan, several of them Scottish. Other knights joined Edward’s army from France, Gascony, Germany, Flanders, Brittany, Aquitaine, Guelders, Bohemia, Holland, Zealand and Brabant. Foot soldiers came from all over England and archers from Wales.
Edward’s army assembled at Berwick in May 1314. There was complete confidence in victory over the Scots. The army began its advance into Scotland on 17th June 1314, the column covering a considerable area accompanied by numerous flocks of sheep and cattle to provide rations and carts carrying the baggage of the members of the army and the quantities of fodder required for the knight’s heavy fighting horses.
The army marched to Edinburgh and took the old Roman road to Stirling. Beyond Falkirk the road passed through the forest of Torwood, also known in French as Les Torres, before crossing the Bannockburn stream into the New Park and on to Stirling. To the right of the route wound the tidal waters of the River Forth. Along the river was the scrubland area known as Les Polles. The area to the north of the Bannockburn ford on the road route was known as the Dryfield of Balquiderock. A small tributary of the Bannockburn called the Pelstream Burn curled around to the West. Beyond the Pelstream a boggy area led down to the Forth.
Abbot of Inchaffray blesses the Scots soldiers before the Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314
Robert de Bruce assembled his army of Scottish foot soldiers to the South of Stirling and formed them into 4 battalions commanded by himself, Thomas Randolph Earl of Moray, James Douglas and his brother Edward de Bruce. These battalions were given the name of ‘Schiltrons’. The King’s schiltron comprised men from his own estates in Carrick and the Western Highlands. The other schiltrons men from the estates of their commanders and their associates. Randolph led men from Ross and the North: Edward de Bruce led men from Buchan, Mar, Angus and Galloway: Douglas men from the Borders. The small force of mounted knights and men-at-arms was commanded by Sir Robert Keith, Marischal to the King of Scotland.
Robert the Bruce addresses his army before the Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314
Several of the Highland clans under their chiefs marched with the Scots army: William Earl of Sutherland, Macdonald Lord of the Isles, Sir Malcolm Drummond, Campbell of Lochow and Argyle, Grant of Grant, Sir Simon Fraser, Mackays, Macphersons, Camerons, Chisholms, Gordons, Sinclairs, Rosses, Mackintoshes, MacLeans, MacFarlanes, Macgregors and Mackenzies among them.
Some Scottish clans fought for Edward II: MacDougalls and MacNabs.
Robert the Bruce positioned his army in the New Park with Randolph’s schiltron to the fore and his own immediately behind it. The chosen method of combat was for each schiltron to form a bristling mass of spears which the English knights would be unable to penetrate. The Scots dug concealed pits across the front of their position and along the bank of the Bannockburn to break up any mounted charge against them.
Map of the Battle of Bannockburn First Day: 23rd June 1314: map by John Fawkes
Account of the Battle of Bannockburn:
The Scots soldiery was aroused at around day break on Sunday 23rd June 1314. Maurice the aged blind Abbot of Inchaffray celebrated mass for the army after which Robert de Bruce addressed his soldiers, informing them that anyone who did not have the stomach for a fight should leave. A great cry re-assured him that most were ready for the battle. The camp followers, known as the ‘Small Folk’, were sent off to wait at the rear of the field, probably on the hill called St Gillies’ Hill. The Schiltrons were formed for battle fronting the fords over the Bannockburn that the English must cross.
Edward’s army had marched some 20 miles on Saturday 22nd June 1314 arriving at Falkirk in the evening. Edward had left it late in leaving Berwick if he was to reach Stirling by Midsummer’s Day and it was necessary to make up lost time. Sir James Keith led a mounted to patrol to watch the arrival of the English Army and he found this a daunting sight as Edward’s men camped over a wide area, the sun glinting on a myriad of weapons and armour.
The bore-stone where Robert the Bruce’s standard was fixed: Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd and 24th June 1314
The English army was formed in 10 divisions each led by a senior nobleman or experienced knight.
On Sunday 23rd June 1314 Edward’s army began its final march up to the Bannockburn. The King was met by Sir Philip de Mowbray who had ridden out of Stirling Castle with a body of horseman, taking the path through the boggy ground by the Forth leading to the Carse and across the Bannockburn.
De Mowbray tried to persuade Edward to abandon his advance to battle. De Mowbray seems to have had grave reservations as to the outcome, not shared by the headstrong nobles and knights that Edward led.
A body of some 300 horsemen under Sir Robert Clifford and Henry de Beaumont rode back to Stirling Castle with de Mowbray to re-enforce the garrison. This body took the path de Mowbray had ridden out on and passed under the noses of Randolph’s shiltron. Randolph received a stinging rebuke from his King, who remarked “See Randolph, there is a rose fallen from your chaplet. Thoughtless man. You have permitted the enemy to pass.”
Robert de Bruce kills Sir Henry de Bohun in single combat on the first day of the Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314
Randolph rushed his foot soldiers down to the path to block the route of Clifford’s and de Beaumont’s force. A savage fight took place with the English horsemen unable to penetrate the spear points of Randolph’s hastily formed schiltron. The Scots were hard pressed and Douglas moved his men forward to give help but saw that the English were giving way. The English squadron broke in two with half riding for the castle and the remainder returning to the main army. In the initial attack Sir Thomas Grey was brought from his horse and taken, while Sir William D’Eyncourt was killed.
Shield of Sir Robert de Clifford,
knight in the English army: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
While Clifford and de Beaumont were engaged with Randolph the main English Army had moved out of the Torwood. The English advance continued inexorably with the advance guard under the Earls of Hereford and Gloucester riding to cross the Bannockburn and attack the Scots in the forest beyond. To the English it seemed inevitable that the Scots would withdraw and avoid battle in view of the enormous disparity in numbers and arms. It was at this point that Hereford’s nephew Sir Henry de Bohun galloped ahead of the advancing English array to challenge the Scots King to single combat.
Robert de Bruce rode forward to meet de Bohun. The contrast in their equipment was stark. De Bohun was fully armoured with lance and shield and rode a heavy destrier horse. De Bruce rode a light palfrey and was armed with sword and short axe. He was mounted to command infantry not to take part in a heavy cavalry charge. De Bohun rode at de Bruce with lance couched. De Bruce evaded de Bohun’s lance point and as the Anglo-Norman thundered past him struck him a deadly blow on the head with his axe. De Bohun fell dead.
Following their king’s triumph the Scots infantry rushed on the English army struggling to clear the Bannockburn, where the ford had compelled the mass of horsemen to pack into a narrow column. A terrible slaughter ensued, the English knights impeded by the shallow pits concealed with branches. Among the extensive English casualties the Earl of Gloucester was wounded and unhorsed, being rescued from death or capture by his retainers.
Robert de Bruce strikes and kills Sir Henry de Bohun with his axe in single combat before the Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314: picture by John Hassall
After the engagement such of the English as had come through the ford re-crossed the Bannockburn and the Scots infantry returned to their positions in the forests of the New Park. The English army had been convincingly repelled. Robert de Bruce’s immediate lieutenants reproached him for the risk he had taken in giving de Bohun single combat and the King simply regretted his broken axe.
With the end of the day Robert de Bruce consulted with his commanders as to the future conduct of the battle. The King proposed that the Scots army might withdraw from the field, leaving the English army to attempt a re-conquest of Scotland until a lack of supplies forced it to withdraw south of the border. On the other hand the Scots could renew the battle the next day. Bruce’s commanders urged a resumption of the battle. Soon afterwards a Scottish knight, Sir Alexander Seton, arrived from the English camp, having decided to resume his fealty to the Scottish King, and advised de Bruce that morale was low in the English army. Seton said “Sir, if you wish to take all of Scotland, now is the time. Edward’s army is grievously discouraged. You may beat them on the morrow with little loss and great glory.”
In the English camp on the far side of the Bannockburn the infantry was more than discouraged. The word was that the war was unrighteous and this had been the cause of the day’s defeat. God was against the English army. Order broke down and the horde of foot soldiers ransacked the supply wagons and drank through the night. Heralds declared the victory was certain in the morning but few were convinced.
Map of the Battle of Bannockburn Second Day: 24th June 1314: map by John Fawkes
It was decided that the assault in the morning should be brought about by crossing the Bannockburn nearer to the River Forth to avoid the area of pits. The English knights would then deploy and charge the Scots positioned in the New Park.
Early in the morning the English crossed the Bannockburn and formed up along the edge of the Carse of Balquiderock, ready to charge the Scots. It was not a good position. The left of the English line lay on the Bannockburn, the right was hemmed in by the Pelstream. There were too many English for the narrow area.
The Abbott of Inchaffray again passed among the Scots soldiery, blessing them. Again he held mass. The Abbott had brought relics of St Fillan and Abbott Bernard of Arbroath had brought the reliquary casket of St Columba to encourage the simple and superstitious soldiery. Seeing the kneeling Scots Edward commented to de Umfraville that they were craving his forgiveness for opposing him. De Umfraville answered that they were craving divine forgiveness.
Shield of Sir Pain de Tiptoft knight in the English army: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
As part of the morning’s ceremony de Bruce knighted those of his army he considered had distinguished themselves on the previous day including Walter Stewart and James Douglas.
The Scots army then began to advance to the astonishment of the English that foot soldiers should advance against mounted knights.
Shield of Sir Edmund de Mauley,
knight in the English army: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
Edward said to de Umfraville “Will these Scotsmen fight?” de Umfraville said “These men will gain all or die in the trying.” Edward said “So be it” and signalled for the trumpets to sound the charge.
First off the mark was the Earl of Gloucester. Edward had treated his suggestion of a day to recover from the previous day’s battle as cowardice and Gloucester intended to disprove this slur. The English knights hurled themselves onto the Scottish spear line with a terrible crash. The charge fell on Edward de Bruce’s schiltron. Many of the English knights were killed in the impact: Gloucester, Sir Edmund de Mauley, Sir John Comyn, Sir Pain de Tiptoft, Sir Robert de Clifford among them.
Robert de Bruce strikes and kills Sir Henry de Bohun with his axe in single combat before the Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314: picture by Ambrose de Walton
Randolph’s and Douglas’s schiltrons came up on the left flank and attacked the unengaged English cavalry waiting to charge in support of the first line.
On the extreme English right flank the Welsh archers came into action causing a pause in the Scots attack until they were dispersed by Keith’s force of light horsemen.
Supporting the assault of the spearmen of the schiltrons the Scots archers poured volleys of arrows into the struggling English cavalry line as it was pushed back across the dry ground into the broken area of the Carse.
Robert Bruce drives the English into the Bannockburn: Battle of Bannockburn on 24th June 1314
The Scots spearmen pressed forward against the increasingly exhausted and hemmed in English army. The cry went up “On them. On them. They fail. They fail.”
The final blow was the appearance of the ‘Small Folk’, the Scots camp followers, shouting and waving sheets. The English army began to fall back to the Bannockburn with ever increasing speed and confusion and foot soldiers and horsemen attempted to force their way across the stream. High banks impeded the crossing and many are said to have drowned in the confusion. Many escaped across into the area of tidal bog land known as Les Polles where they fell prey to their exhaustion, heavy equipment and the knives of the Small Folk.
The Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314: a contemporary representation
Aftermath to the Battle of Bannockburn:
Once it was clear that the day was lost, the Earl of Pembroke seized King Edward’s bridle and led him away from the battle field surrounded by the Royal retainers and accompanied by Sir Giles de Argentan. Once the King was safe de Argentan returned to the battle and was killed.
King Edward II of England refused entry to Stirling Castle after the battle by Sir Philip de Mowbray, the governor: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
Shield of Sir Raoul de
Monthemere, knight in the English army:
Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
Edward was taken to the gates of Stirling Castle. Here de Mowbray urged the King not to take refuge in the castle as he would inevitably be taken prisoner when the castle was forced to surrender to the Scots. Edward took this advice and with his retinue skirted around the battlefield and rode for Linlithgow. He then rode to Dunbar and took boat to Berwick.
The memorial to Sir Edmund de Mauley in York Minster: Sir Edmund died fighting in the English army: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
A group of nobles, the Earl of Hereford, Robert de Umfraville Earl of Angus, Sir Ingram de Umfraville and others fled to Bothwell Castle where they were taken and handed to the Scots by the Castle Constable Sir Walter FitzGilbert.
The Earl of Pembroke led his Welsh archers away from the battle field and after a tortuous and hazardous march brought them back to Wales. One of these archers may have been the source for the account of the battle in the Valle Crucis Abbey chronicle.
Coat of Arms of Sir Marmaduke de Tweng of the English Army captured at the battle by the Scots: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
Others among the prisoners were Sir Marmaduke de Tweng and Sir Raoul de Monthemere.
King Robert de Bruce returned the bodies of Gloucester and Sir Robert de Clifford to Berwick for burial by their families. De Bruce conducted a vigil over the body of Gloucester to whom he was related.
Casualties at the Battle of Bannockburn:
There is little reliable evidence on the number slain. The English probably lost around 300 to 700 mounted knights and men-at-arms killed in the battle with many more killed in the flight from the field.
Few foot soldiers are likely to have been killed in the battle. It is unknown how many Scots were killed.
Memorial in Copthorne Church of Sir Edmund de Twenge who fought with the English army: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
The war against the English continued with years of Scots invasions of England and some counter invasions. Berwick changed hands several times. The Pope, acting on the English account, excommunicated King Robert de Bruce and a number of prominent Scots clergy and placed Scotland under interdict. In 1320 the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in Arbroath Abbey under the seals of 8 Scottish Earls and sent to the Pope. It contained a statement of the origins of the Scottish people and a declaration of their independence from England.
Heraldic representation of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
© The Heraldry Society of Scotland 2004
The statue of Robert de Bruce on the battlefield: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314 by Pilkington Jackson
In 1327 Edward II was deposed by his nobles and senior clergy. His son Edward III became the new king. Edward II died in Berkeley Castle on 21st September 1327 under suspicion that he had been murdered.
The Treaty of Edinburgh bringing the long wars between England and Scotland to an end was signed on 17th March 1328 and ratified by Edward III on 4th May 1328.
King Robert de Bruce died at Cardross on 7th June 1329.
Anecdotes from the Battle of Bannockburn:
- Before the Battle of Bannockburn Friar Baston of King Edward II’s entourage wrote a ballad celebrating the coming victory over the Scots. Baston was captured and required to re-write his ballad to record the true victors. He did so and it remains a valuable record. He was then released by Robert de Bruce.
- The Earl of Hereford was exchanged for King Robert’s wife and daughter who had been held for a number of years by the English, Queen Mary in a cage on the wall of Roxburgh Castle, and some 12 other Scots prisoners held by Edward.
Coat of Arms of Sir William de
Erth of Airth killed at
Cambuskenneth Abbey by the
Earl of Athol: Battle of Bannockburn 23rd and 24th June 1314
The previous battle in the British Battles series is the Battle of Hastings
The next battle in the British Battles series is the Battle of Sluys
16. Podcast of the Battle of Bannockburn: Robert the Bruce’s iconic victory of the Scots over the English in 1314: John Mackenzie’s britishbattles.com podcast
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