Introduction:
While a Student in
London in the late Seventies and being a very close fan of Football, and during
the British Championship events that
used to be held annually , It was the summer of 1976 in the ever famous stadium
of Wembley , I was there to see a match between England and Scotland , being in
the English side of the supporters or spectators who were equal in number to
those of Scotland or less , a large Banner in the Scot’s side of the supporters
drew my very particular attention it was written as follows:
“English
remember Bannockburn!!!!”
At that time
History to me was something trivial if not unknown, but as a full fledged
mature man, and eager to know everything concerning History, and putting into practice
the famous saying of our Prophet Mohamed who advised us to “Seek knowledge from
the cradle to grave” .
No wonder, after
deep probing investigation and research, Thanks God , I have reached my aim in
writing this article on the occasion of
the anniversary of this great event (24th of June), and being both
enthusiastic and glad to present such modest contribution to my Distinguished
audience in this very Respected “All Empires Forum” , hoping that feedbacks and
comments are to be highly appreciated!!!!!
*Around Lent of
1314, Edward Bruce, brother of the Scottish King, began the siege of Stirling
Castle, which was commanded by Sir Philip Mowbray. Unable to make any headway,
Bruce agreed to a pact with Mowbray—if no relief came by midsummer 1314, the
castle would surrender to Bruce. It was now two years since an English army had
come to Scotland, and King Edward II of England had recently been on the verge
of war with his barons after the murder of Piers Gaveston in the summer of
1312.
Stirling was of
vital strategic importance and its loss would be a serious embarrassment to the
English. The time allowed in the Bruce-Mowbray pact was ample for Edward to
gather a powerful army. According to the historian and poet John Barbour, King
Robert Bruce rebuked the folly of his brother, even though Dundee had probably
fallen to the Scots through a similar arrangement in 1312. Mowbray had a
breathing space and looked forward to the summer of 1314. In England, Edward
and his barons reached an uneasy peace and made ready.
Edward came to
Scotland in the high summer of 1314 with the preliminary aim of relieving Stirling
Castle: the real purpose, of course, was to find and destroy the Scottish army
in the field, and thus end the war. England, for once, was largely united in
this ambition, although some of Edward's greatest magnates and former enemies,
headed by his cousin, Thomas of Lancaster, did not attend in person, sending
the minimum number of troops they were required to by feudal law.
Even so, the force
that left Berwick-upon-Tweed on 17 June 1314 was impressive: it comprised
between 2,000–3,000 horse (probably closer to 2,000) and 16,000 foot. The
precise size relative to the Scottish forces is unclear but estimates range
from as much as at least two or three times the size of the army Bruce had been
able to gather, to as little as only 50% larger.
Edward was
accompanied by many of the seasoned campaigners of the Scottish wars, headed by
Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and veterans like Henry de Beaumont and
Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford. The most irreconcilable of Bruce's
Scottish enemies also came: Ingram de Umfraville, a former Guardian of
Scotland, and his kinsman the Earl of Angus, as well as others of the
MacDougalls, MacCanns and Sir John Comyn of Badenoch, the only son of the Red
Comyn, who was born and raised in England and was now returning to Scotland to
avenge his father's killing by Bruce at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries in 1306.
This was a grand
feudal army, one of the last of its kind to leave England in the Middle Ages.
King Robert awaited its arrival south of Stirling near the Bannock Burn in
Scotland.
The English army
marched rapidly to reach Stirling before Mowbray's agreement expired on 24
June. Edinburgh was reached on 19 June and by 22 June, it was at Falkirk, only
15 miles short of its objective. Edward's host followed the line of the old
Roman road, which ran through an ancient forest known as the Tor Wood, over the
Bannockburn and into the New Park, a hunting preserve enclosed at the time of
Alexander III.
From the middle of
May, Bruce's army had been assembling in the Tor Wood, an area providing good
natural cover. On Saturday, 22 June, with his troops now organised into their
respective commands, Bruce moved his army slightly to the north to the New
Park, a more heavily wooded area, where his movements could be concealed and
which, if the occasion demanded, could provide cover for a withdrawal.
Bruce's army, like
William Wallace's before him, was chiefly composed of infantry armed with long
spears. It was divided into three main (infantry) formations, a force of light
cavalry, and the camp followers (who took part at the end of the battle).
Thomas Randolph,
1st Earl of Moray, commanded the vanguard, which was stationed about a mile to
the south of Stirling, near the church of St. Ninian, while the king commanded
the rearguard at the entrance to the New Park. His brother, Edward, led the third
division. According to Barbour, there was a fourth nominally under the youthful
Walter the Steward, but actually under the command of Sir James Douglas.
The army might
have numbered as many as 9,000 men in all, but probably more of the order of
6,000–7,000. It was gathered from the whole of Scotland: knights and nobles,
freemen and tenants, town dwellers and traders: men who could afford the arms
and armour required. Barbour tells that King Robert turned away those who were
not adequately equipped. For most, such equipment would consist of a spear, a
helmet, a thick padded jacket down to the knees and armoured gloves,it is
highly probable that a large proportion of the spearmen had acquired more
extensive armour given that the country had been at war for nearly twenty
years. This is in contrast to the modern romantic notion of the Scots army,
which depicts its foot soldiers clad in kilts, painted woad and little else.
The balance of the army consisted of archers and men-at-arms. The Scottish archers
used yew-stave longbows and it is not to be thought that they had weaker or
inferior bows but rather had inferior numbers,consisting of possibly only 500
archers (although there is no documentary evidence as to their numbers), they
played little part in the battle,there is first hand evidence from the captured
Carmelite friar, Robert Baston in his poem, written just after the battle, that
one or both sides employed slingers and crossbowmen,each of these troop types
was indistinguishable from their counterparts in France or England. Many of the
Scottish men-at-arms (recruited from the nobility and the more prosperous
burgesses) served on foot at Bannockburn.
The Scottish victory was complete and,
although full English recognition of Scottish independence was not achieved
until more than ten years later, Robert Bruce's position as king was greatly
strengthened by the outcome. However, the fighting resumed in the 1330s during
the early reign of King Edward III, with significant English victories at the
Battle of Dupplin Moor and the Battle of Halidon Hill.
A modern monument
stands in a field above the battle site, where the warring parties are believed
to have camped on the night before the battle. The monument consists of two
hemicircular walls depicting the opposing parties. Nearby stands the 1960s
statue of Bruce by Pilkington Jackson. The monument, and the associated visitor
centre, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area. The
battlefield has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the
Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.[29]
In 1932 the
Bannockburn Preservation Committee, under Edward Bruce, 10th Earl of Elgin and
Kincardine, presented lands to the National Trust for Scotland. Further lands
were purchased in 1960 and 1965 to facilitate visitor access.
Such is a summary of the great Encounter between English & Scots that took place on this very day of the 24th of June in the year of 1314!!!!