National Heroes

Robert the Bruce was born in 1274, at Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire where his father was the Earl of Carrick.  However, the Bruces were also Lords of Annandale and local tradition has it that the future King of Scotland may have been born at Lochmaben. During his lifetime Robert the Bruce played an increasingly important part in the power struggle against the kings of England for control of an independent kingdom of Scotland.

In 1286, King Alexander III of Scotland died and his heir, his little grand-daughter Margaret, died only a few years later. Scotland was left without a king and Edward I of England took the chance to bring Scotland under his control by supporting John Balliol, Lord of Galloway, as its king, but with himself as its overlord. When the Scots eventually objected to this Edward marched on Scotland and defeated the Scottish army in 1296.

Later that year Edward I of England, the “Hammer of the Scots”, forced 2,000 Scottish nobles, merchants and churchmen to recognise him as King of Scotland by placing their seals on a document, known as “The Ragman Roll”.

The Scots, led by William Wallace, rose up against English control and Robert the Bruce joined this rebellion. In 1298 the Scots were defeated at the battle of Falkirk by the armies of Edward I of England who gained control of Scotland and ruled it as an English province. Wallace went into hiding for seven years.

In 1300 the English mounted a campaign in Dumfriesshire and Galloway in order to destroy support for the Bruce and the Comyn families who each had a strong case to be rulers of Scotland.  The siege of Caerlaverock Castle was their first success.

In 1302 Bruce joined the side of the English. He received a pardon and was allowed to keep his lands for his promise of loyalty. In 1305 the English captured and executed Wallace. It must have seemed to Edward I that he had finally overcome Scottish resistance.

However, an event in Dumfries was soon to change his mind…

Robert the Bruce and his cousin, Sir John Comyn both had a claim to the Scottish throne. On the 10th of February 1306 they agreed to meet at the monastery of the Greyfriars in Dumfries to discuss this.

And so it  was in the church of the monastery that one of the most important events in Scotland’s history took place. During a quarrel over their rival claims to be King of Scotland, Robert the Bruce stabbed Sir John Comyn.  Bruce rushed out of the church exclaiming to his supporters, “I doubt I’ve slain the Comyn”.  One of them, Roger Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, replied, “You doubt?  Then I’ll mak siccar” (make sure). They then entered the church to finish off the dying man.

Bruce had not only murdered a powerful nobleman, but he had done so in a church. His only option now was to press forward and make himself king.

Later that day Bruce and his men captured the royal castle at Castledykes from the English troops that held it. So began his campaign for the throne of Scotland. Other Scottish noblemen joined him and he was crowned King Robert I of Scotland in March of the same year.

The odds against him keeping the kingdom were enormous. His murder of Sir John Comyn had made him enemies amongst the Scottish nobles, he had gravely offended the church and Edward I of England’s armies controlled Scotland.

Robert the Bruce paid a high price for the throne of Scotland, three of his brothers were to be captured and executed and his wife, daughter and sister were imprisoned. He went into hiding and continued his war for Scottish independence using guerrilla tactics. He finally defeated the English army at the battle of Bannockburn, outside Stirling, in 1314.

In 1320 the Scottish nobles sent a letter to Pope John XXII asking that Bruce be pardoned and recognised as the king of an independent Scotland. This was the Declaration of Arbroath, an important document in international history, as in it, for the first time, there is an expression that the king will be answerable to his people and subject to the same laws. 

Eventually, Bruce was given international recognition as King of Scotland in 1324 but it was not until 1328 that King Edward III of England accepted this.

During his reign as king of Scotland Robert the Bruce won admiration as a freedom fighter, patriot, soldier and statesman. He died at the age of 55 in 1329.

Robert the Bruce – A Chronology

1274  Robert the Bruce born.

1286 Death of Alexander III of Scotland.

1290 Death of Alexander III’s granddaughter, Margaret, Maid of Norway, leaving no heir to the Scottish throne.

1292 John Balliol crowned King of Scotland but with Edward I of England as overlord.

1296 Edward I invades Scotland. Scots are defeated at the battles of Berwick and Dunbar.

1297 Robert the Bruce joins the rebellion led by William Wallace.

1298 The Scots, commanded by Wallace, are defeated at Falkirk. 

1302 Robert the Bruce gives his loyalty to Edward I.

1304 Robert the Bruce inherits his family’s claim to the throne of Scotland on his father’s death.

1306  Robert the Bruce kills his rival, John Comyn, in Dumfries. He is crowned King Robert I of Scotland.  Edward I declares him an outlaw. He is excommunicated by the church.

1307 Robert the Bruce’s brothers are captured and executed but he beats the English at Glen Trool and Loudon Hill. Edward I dies.

1308 Robert the Bruce moves north and captures Moray, Aberdeenshire and Buchan.

1313 Robert the Bruce’s campaign against opposition in Dumfriesshire and Galloway results in the destruction of the region’s castles. He  is now strong enough to demand all Scots yield to his authority.

1314 Battle of Bannockburn.  Robert the Bruce leads the Scots to victory over the English.

1315 Robert the Bruce’s brother Edward lands in Ireland to attack English rule there.  Edward Bruce is crowned King of Ireland the following year.

1318 Edward Bruce killed in Ireland.  The Scots capture Berwick and invade Yorkshire.

1320 Declaration of Arbroath attempts to gain recognition from the Pope of Scotland’s independence and Robert the Bruce’s right to the crown.

1322 Edward II of England invades.  Scots win battle of Sutton Bank and come close to capturing Edward II.

1323  “Thirteen Year” truce agreed between Robert the Bruce and Edward II.

1324 Pope recognises independent Scotland with Robert the Bruce as its king.

1328 Edward III recognises independent Scotland with Robert the Bruce as its king.

1329 Robert the Bruce makes a pilgrimage to Whithorn. He dies shortly after this final journey. 

ROBERT THE BRUCE IN DUMFRIESSHIRE AND GALLOWAY

Dumfries and its surrounding lands were critically important in Scotland’s  Wars of Independence from English control. Robert the Bruce, the future king of an independent Scotland, had his power base in the south west and the events which began his struggle for the throne happened in Dumfries.

 Lords of Annandale

The Bruce family was descended from a Norman knight, Sir Robert de Brus, who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066.

A later Robert de Brus was a childhood friend of King David I of Scotland and was given the Lordship of Annandale by him in the mid 1100s. In this way the family gained their first lands in Scotland and this base in Dumfriesshire became a stronghold of their power.

Annan Motte was the first home of the Bruce family in Dumfriesshire. The motte and bailey castle was begun shortly after 1124. A wooden tower and timber stockade on a raised earth mound made their castle proof against any attack.

It was strategically placed to guard the ford over the river Annan and to watch the Solway crossings.  In 1200 the castle was severely damaged in a flood and the Bruces transferred their power base to Lochmaben.  The castle’s destruction was blamed on St Malachi who had cursed the people of Annan for hanging a thief.  The curse was finally lifted by vigil, penance and a donation of land to the church.

Lochmaben Castle was originally a  motte, or wooden tower, on what is now the local golf course.

(The stone built castle which overlooks Castle Loch was built by the English during the period that Edward I of England gained control over Scotland in the 1290s. It played a significant role in the defence of the English -Scottish border.) 

Robert the Bruce’s father became Earl of Carrick when he married Marjorie, the Countess of Carrick who was a descendent of the Celtic Lords of Galloway. The future king was born at Turnberry Castle near Ayr, but local tradition has it that he was really born in the family’s castle at Lochmaben.  

Monastery of the Greyfriars, Dumfries

To the north of the town of Dumfries was the monastery of the Greyfriars. It was built in the early 1260s by Franciscan monks on land given to them by Lady Devorgilla Balliol. This was a beautiful site, overlooking the bend in the river and surrounded by gardens and orchards.

It was in the church of the monastery of the Greyfriars that one of the most important events in Scotland’s history took place.

Robert the Bruce and his cousin, Sir John Comyn, both had a claim to the Scottish throne. Bruce promised Comyn his lands if he would help him become King of Scotland. In early 1306 they agreed to meet at the monastery of the Greyfriars in Dumfries to discuss this. Bruce arrived from his family’s castle at Lochmaben  accompanied by his brother in law, Sir Christopher Seton and his friends, Roger Kirkpatrick of Closeburn and David Lindsay. 

During a quarrel over their rival claims to be King of Scotland Robert the Bruce stabbed Sir John Comyn.  In the fight that ensued Sir Christopher Seton killed Sir Robert Comyn, the wounded man’s uncle. Bruce rushed out of the church exclaiming to his supporters, “I doubt I’ve slain the Comyn”.  One of them, Roger Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, replied, “You doubt?  Then I’ll mak siccar” (make sure). They then entered the church to finish off the dying man.

The murder of Sir John Comyn made Bruce enemies amongst the Scottish nobles. He had gravely offended the church and Edward I of England’s armies controlled Scotland. His only option now was to press forward and make himself king.

Comyn’s Court, a close off Irish Street was near to the site of the murder and kept the name of Sir John Comyn alive into the early 20th Century.

Royal Castle of Dumfries at Castledykes

Later on that historic day in early 1306, Robert the Bruce and his men captured the royal castle at Castledykes from the English troops that held it. So began his campaign for the throne of Scotland. The first to join him were from Hightae, Heck, Sommerton and Greenhill - all near to his stronghold of Lochmaben. To this day these are still known as the Royal Four Towns. He was crowned King Robert I of Scotland in March of the same year.

The town of Dumfries grew up to meet the needs of this castle at Castledykes,  and the town was able to flourish under its protection. This was a Norman motte and bailey castle, typical of royal castles of the time. It guarded the main land route from England into Scotland. In the 1100s the castle belonged to the King of Scotland, even although it was situated inside the independent Kingdom of Galloway. It was rebuilt in stone in the 1260s and was a royal stronghold throughout the struggles for power of the 12th and 13th centuries. Scottish, English and Norman troops were stationed there at different times.

In the 1313, during Bruce’s campaign against opposition in Dumfriesshire and Galloway, he again captured the castle of Dumfries from the English and this time he destroyed it. The castle at Castledykes was gradually demolished as it was used as building stone for the town.  By the 1440s the New Wark, a huge tower house had been built in the very centre of the town to replace it.

 The town’s common lands at Kingholm, overlooked by the castle were granted to the Royal Burgh of Dumfries by Robert the Bruce.

Robert Burns and Dumfries

It was in Dumfries that Robert Burns wrote his song, Scots Wha Hae, based on Robert the Bruce’s address to his troops on the Sunday morning before the battle of Bannockburn. Bruce’s words were recorded by the Abbot of Arbroath.

Burns had visited Bannockburn on his tour of the Highlands in 1787, but it was not until 1793 while he was living in Dumfries that he wrote the song. The tune is said to be the march played by Bruce’s army when going into battle.

Burns was eagerly following reports of the newly formed French republic, so the idea of freedom from tyranny was in his mind at the time. 

Crystal Chapel, Dumfries

Sir Christopher Seton, Robert the Bruce’s brother in law was executed here by the English for his part in the murder of Sir John Comyn and his support for Bruce’s claim to be King of Scotland.

Caerlaverock

Caerlaverock Castle guards the point where the estuary of the river Nith joins the Solway, just 7 miles south of Dumfries. It was the greatest military stronghold in south west Scotland.

In 1300 the English mounted a campaign in Dumfriesshire and Galloway in order to destroy support for the Bruce and Comyn families who each had a strong claim to rule Scotland.  The siege of Caerlaverock Castle was a military success for the English. However, its defences were so strong that only 60 men were able to hold it for two days against the entire army of Edward I of England.

In July 1312, Robert the Bruce personally took charge of a campaign in the south west of Scotland against local families who opposed his right to be king. Caerlaverock Castle surrendered to him early the next year.

Closeburn Castle

This was the home of Sir Roger Kirkpatrick, Robert the Bruce’s friend and ally. He is credited with the famous phrase,  “I’ll mak siccar”, (make sure) which is now the Kirkpatrick family motto.

Dalswinton

This was the Dumfriesshire home of Sir John Comyn. It was from here that he set out for his fateful meeting with Robert the Bruce in Dumfries in 1306. When Robert the Bruce became King of Scotland he gave this estate to the Stewart family.

Tibbers Castle, near Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill

Like Lochmaben Castle, this was built in the 1290s during the period that Scotland was ruled by Edward I as a province of England. In 1297 it was destroyed by Scottish troops led by William Wallace. The English regained control and in 1298 they rebuilt Tibbers, this time in stone.

Tibbers was captured by Robert the Bruce shortly after he took the Royal Castle of Dumfries, following the murder of Sir John Comyn in 1306. It was again captured and destroyed, along with the castles at Dumfries, Caerlaverock, Buittle and Kirkcudbright during Bruce’s campaign in Dumfriesshire and Galloway in 1313.

Wanlockhead

In the harsh conditions of the mountains around Wanlockhead, Robert the Bruce is said to have kept a herd of sturdy ponies. It is recorded that he rode a small light horse into battle. These ponies or “palfrays” were important in warfare against the English cavalry which used heavy warhorses. About 500 Scottish fighters on fast and agile ponies were responsible for bringing the Battle of Bannockburn to a swift end by removing the threat from the English archers.

“Bruce’s Cave”, Dunskellie Grotto, Kirkpatrick Fleming

Following the momentous events which led to Robert the Bruce being crowned King of Scotland in 1306, he had to go underground and continue his war against the English using guerrilla tactics. His family was captured and three of his brother executed. Everything seemed to be against him.

It was during this time, whilst he was hiding in a cave, that he observed a spider spinning its web. The creature fell again and again, but always returned to its task. This inspired him to carry on with his struggle.

This is a folk tale and there are several candidates to be “Bruce’s Cave” in the west of Scotland. Despite being no part of the “official” history of the time, the story has survived.

Auchencass Castle, Beattock

This massive 12th century stone castle was probably built for the Kirkpatricks. It was held by both Edward I of England and by Robert the Bruce.

Torthorwald Castle

The laird of Torthorwald fought on the side of the English at Bannockburn.  He died in the battle.

The Solway crossings

English armies found the ‘waths’ or fords across the Eastern end of the Solway useful in taking the border regions of Annandale by surprise.  The names of local farms such as Swordwell and Battle Hill are testament to these bloody encounters along the wild shores of the Solway

An enemy in Galloway  

The interests of the Bruce family were centred on their estates in Carrick, to the north-west of Galloway, and Dumfriesshire to the east. In contrast, the Balliol family and their supporters’ stronghold was in Galloway.

Loch Doon Castle

Robert the Bruce’s castle at Loch Doon was captured in 1306 and held by the English.  It was not recaptured until 1311.

Loch Ryan

Loch Ryan was one of the landing places used by Robert the Bruce’s followers when they returned to Scotland in 1307. His two brothers, Alexander and Neil came ashore here but were attacked by Douglas McDowell. Captured, they were sent to Carlisle where they were executed and their heads displayed on the city walls. Edward Bruce’s savage campaign in Galloway between 1308 and 1314 was carried out to revenge the death of the brothers. 

Glentrool

After his return from Ireland in 1307, Bruce established a base in the Galloway hills.  Here he could regroup his supporters.  An English force sent to find Bruce was attacked and defeated at Glentrool – this was his first victory on the road to Bannockburn.

Buittle Castle

Buittle Castle, near Dalbeattie, was the Balliol’s main fortress. It came to the family by the marriage of John Balliol of Barnard Castle to Lady Devorgilla. Devorgilla was the heiress of the Lords of Galloway. The nearest Bruce stronghold was Loch Doon Castle, to the north of Carsphairn on the border between Galloway and Ayrshire.

Both John Balliol and Robert Bruce (the grandfather of Robert I) had rival claims to the Scottish Crown, which prompted the Bruce family to capture Buittle Castle. It was returned to the Balliols in the following year.  In 1290 King Edward I of England chose John Balliol as the rightful heir to the Crown. John Balliol, as King of Scotland, spent the winters of 1293 and 1294 at Buittle.

After quarrelling with King Edward I , John surrendered to the English king in 1296, and English forces occupied Galloway. Buittle Castle was now an English garrison. A rebellion against the English in 1297 was crushed but continued resistance prompted Edward to lead an army into Galloway in 1300. He marched as far as the River Cree but did not  fight a major battle against the Scots.

Wigtownshire was Comyn territory and, like most of Galloway, was hostile to Bruce.  By late 1307 a ransom was being paid to keep Bruce’s raiding  parties out of the county. This truce expired the next year and from then until 1314 much of Wigtownshire was laid waste in a savage war of attrition led by Bruce’s brother, Edward.

“Meanwhile, taking advantage of the dispute between the King of England and the barons, Edward de Brus, brother of the oft-mentioned Robert, and Alexander Lindsay and Robert Boyd and James de Douglas, knights, with their following which they had from the outer isles of Scotland, invaded the people of Galloway, disregarding the tribute which they took from them, and in one day slew many gentry of Galloway, and made nearly all that district subject to them.”

Lanercost Chronicle

Cruggleton Castle

Cruggleton Castle, perched dramatically on a cliff overlooking Wigtown Bay, was home to the powerful Lords of Galloway. By 1270 the castle was owned by the Comyns who rebuilt it in stone.  After John Comyn’s death Cruggleton was granted by Edward I to Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. In 1308 it was attacked and taken by Edward Bruce and appears to have been left in a ruinous state until rebuilt by the Douglas family during the mid 15th century.

Wigtown Castle

Wigtown was a royal castle and held by the Comyns.  It was attacked in 1308 by Edward Bruce and destroyed.

Bridge of Dee

In 1308 Robert the Bruce’s brother, Edward, defeated an army supporting the Balliols led by Donald McCan near Bridge of Dee . A standing-stone near the site is said to commemorate this victory. Soon after this much of the region was under Bruce’s control.  Buittle Castle finally fell in 1313 and the other Balliol strongholds were burnt to the ground. Robert Bruce was then able to undertake the wars for independence in the knowledge that Galloway was securely under his control.

Whithorn Priory
St Ninian’s shrine at Whithorn was the most popular place of pilgrimage in Scotland.  Robert the Bruce made a pilgrimage here in 1329, just a few months before his death.

Robert the Bruce in Ayrshire

The birthplace of Bruce is not certainly known, but was probably Turnberry, his mother's castle on the coast of Ayr. The date is the 11th of July 1274. He is thought to have been educated at Crossraguel Abbey just outside Ayr. As a young man Bruce had not always supported the resistance to English rule, his family had extensive lands in Yorkshire and had sworn an oath of fealty to Edward I. He campaigned against the Scottish uprisings at first and was made sheriff of Ayr and Lanark by the English King and was part of a force which aimed to capture the Ayrshire knight, Sir William Wallace in February of 1304. (His loyalty seems to have frequently wavered as he is also thought to have been one of the nobles who declared Wallace Guardian of Scotland and it was possibly even Bruce who knighted him). This duplicity has prompted some modern historians to suppose that his father, and maybe even his grandfather were all either still politically or militarily active at this time creating the possibility of there being the actions of two or even three Robert the Bruces being recorded. There are however no real facts to support this romantic notion, and it is probably just an attempt to paint Scotland’s foremost hero in a better or more patriotic light while almost ignoring the mindset of a 14th century noble of Norman lineage and the political landscape of his day.

Robert the Bruce led a limited uprising in 1297, before, like very many other members of the Scottish nobility, meeting with the English in North Ayrshire to sue for peace. They signed a treaty at Seagate Castle realigning them with Edward I of England and once more swore fealty to him. This was known as ‘The Capitulation of Irvine’. Not long after his father’s death (1304) though Bruce rose against England once more. He had now inherited his father’s claim to the throne and had probably realized that Edward I would no longer allow any Scot to be King. If he wanted the crown he would now have to take it!

Bruce’s initial resistance to Edward I’s power did not go well; he and his men were defeated at Methven west of Perth and again Dalrigh south of Tyndrum. Bruce was forced to flee and lay low for several months somewhere in the Western Isles (probably Raithlin) or possibly even Ireland. There has been some suggestion that he holed up in the Island of Arran off the Ayrshire coast, from where he could receive signals from the mainland. There are several sites around the island linked with Bruce such as the King’s Cave at Lochranza. It was during this time as a fugitive that Bruce’s resolve was allegedly bolstered by watching a spider spinning its web. Although the threads kept breaking, the little creature never gave up.

In February, 1307 Bruce landed near his own lands on the Ayrshire coast from the Isle of Arran and with his brother Edward began his campaign anew rapidly capturing castles and territory in southwest Scotland and by April had also defeated superior English forces at Glen Trool in Dumfries and Galloway and Loudoun Hill near Darvel. After wasting crucial time in the diversions of court life when he should have been trying to nip Bruce’s advance in the bud, Edward II (a poor replacement for his father ‘The Hammer of the Scots’), made a half-hearted march to Cumnock and then returned back south without striking a blow, the English King then left the struggle against Bruce to a succession of embittered Deputies.

It was not until April, 1315 though,  that the King was able to hold a Parliament. Bruce’s first parliament, where he was formally given the crown of Scotland, (he had already had a coronation at Scone), was held at St. John’s Tower in Ayr. Ayrshire was a good choice as it was his own heartland and where he had immense influence and support.

The estates of many of the most prominent noblemen who supported Bruce and who were crucial during the Wars of Independence lay in Ayrshire - including the Stewarts, the Lockharts, the Boyds, the Crawfords and the Barclays. When declared King of Scotland, Bruce’s title ‘Earl of Carrick’, and his estates in Ayrshire were transferred to his courageous but rash younger brother Edward. (It was Edward Bruce who forced the Battle of Bannockburn on his brother by laying siege to the English garrison at Stirling Castle which left the English no option but to send a large force into Scotland to try to relieve them, Robert the Bruce had always avoided large scale engagements with the larger, more powerful English army up to that point. Later Edward Bruce, as Earl of Carrick, was to take his brother’s, now unstoppable campaign against the beleaguered English onto different ground by opening a new front. He led a large Scot’s army into Ireland where Edward Bruce, for a while at least was crowned King of Ireland – the initial campaign was successful but harsh conditions and lack of local support proved disastrous to the venture; shortly after his coronation Edward Bruce was killed in battle along with scores of his fellow Scots).

In the later years of his reign, Robert the Bruce, suffered from a skin disease, which from the study of his remains, scientists have now concluded was actually leprosy (A recent reconstruction of his face from his skull not only shows the ravages of the disease but also evidence of several deep wounds including a sword slash that had completely smashed the bone of one of his eye brows!). The King travelled to Prestwick to take water from a well which was said to treat such conditions. He remarked that he did feel much improved after doing so. The well is said to be the one located behind St. Ninian’s Episcopal Church.

After Bruce died and James Douglas had taken his heart to Spain in a crusade against the Moors losing it in battle. It was recovered by and returned to Scotland by Sir William Keith of Galston. To this day the Keith coat of arms shows a gauntleted hand clutching a heart.
1297