I.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 specially the English speaking one , hoping that feedbacks and comments are to be highly appreciated!!!!!
*Statue of Robert the Bruce by Pilkington Jackson,near the Bannockburn Heritage Centre
*the modern Bannockburn
monument
II.Summary
*Around
Lent of
1314, Edward Bruce, brother of the Scottish King, began the siege of
Stirling Castle, which was commanded by Sir Philip Mowbray, being 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 spear-men 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.
*Bruce defeats
de Bohun,
from a children's history book (1906)
*Edward II, King of England, vanquished at the Battle of Bannockburn
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!!!!
being keen to modestly contributing to all world History events knowing
for sure that Knowledge of history is often said to encompass both knowledge of past
events and historical thinking skills, also criticism of history as a field has
been that it has too narrowly focused on political events or on individuals,
deeper more significant changes.
The great late Malcolm X had this to say about History: “History is
people’s memory and without memory, Man is demoted to the lower of animals”.
*An Humble North African History Freelance Writer.