# Robert the Bruce and the struggle for Scottish independence/Death of Edward I. Campaigns of Edward II

| Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and March. | Sir Dougal Macdouall of Galloway. |
CHAPTER VIII.
DEATH OF EDWARD I. CAMPAIGNS OF EDWARD II.
A.D. 1307-1313.
AYMER DE VALENCE, frustrated in his attempts to take King Robert in Glentrool, had retired to Bothwell castle on the Clyde and, hearing that Bruce was recruiting in Kyle and Cunninghame, sent out Sir John de Moubray to scour that country. Bruce detached Douglas with some sixty men to watch his movements. Douglas succeeded in leading de Moubray into an ambush at a place near Kilmarnock—
"That is in Machyrnokis way, The Edryfurd it hat perfay"—
and routing his party with slaughter. This must have been early in May, for a few days later de Valence himself appeared in Cunninghame with a large ​force, the King of Scots having his headquarters at Galston. De Valence, who rode with a brilliant staff, adorned with all the heraldic splendour of that age, seems to have treated the King of Scots with the ceremony customary between knightly opponents, though the contrast between the two hosts in equipment and display must have been a strange one, and to have been careful, by omitting none of the usages of chivalrous warfare, to give him no excuse for avoiding a battle, of the result of which de Valence can have felt little doubt.
Formal challenges were exchanged. Robert de Brus had with him about 600 fighting men and about as many "rangale" (rabble); whereas Barbour puts the English strength at 3000. But the King had the advantage in position. He had chosen his ground on the face of Loudon Hill, where both his flanks were protected by peat mosses, impassable by cavalry; across the hard ground in front he dug three trenches uniting the mosses, and a passage was left between the trenches, so that the enemy might be tempted to attack from that quarter.
BOTHWELL CASTLE ON THE CLYDE.
(From a photograph by Valentine Bros., Dundee.)
​galloping wildly back along the ridge, threw into confusion the columns of the main body.
It is difficult to account for what followed, because de Valence, even if he found himself unable to carry the position at once by assault, had enough troops to invest it closely. However, the fact remains beyond question that before night the English were in full retreat, and Bruce remained in possession of the field. It is said that the Scots even pursued the fugitives for some distance.
Barbour mentions Douglas as taking part in this action, and nothing would seem more likely than that he should have done so, were it not for a remarkable passage in a letter written from Carlisle five days after the battle, to the effect that James de Douglas had sent messengers to beg that he might be received to King Edward's peace, but that when he saw the English retreating, he changed his mind. If this be true, it shows how hopeless seemed the cause of Bruce in the judgment of his best friends; but the writer adds that what they hear one day is contradicted the next. He also describes King Edward's fury at the defeat of his viceroy, and mentions that he had sent to London for his tents, being resolved to move to Dumfries after Midsummer. Meanwhile, his cavalry, decked with leaves, had marched past before him at Pentecost, which made him pleased and very merry.
The battle of Loudon Hill marked the crisis in the fortunes of Robert de Brus. It was the first ​time that he had met the English in the open field, and his success, added to the losses inflicted on them in Glentrool, at Turnberry, and at Douglas, did much to inspire confidence among those already enrolled under his banner, as well as to attract recruits to his army. Some one has said that success is a horrible thing—it is so easily mistaken for merit. But ill success must be accounted even more horrible, for it robs merit of the support it ought to have. King Robert now began to reap the reward that success ensures to any cause apart from its merit. Still, it is difficult to believe that King Edward, had he lived, would have been baffled in reducing Scotland to subjection, backed as he was by many of her most powerful barons, such as the Earls of March, Fife, and Buchan, and by the chieftains of the old native race, such as the Macdoualls of Galloway and of Lorn. Sheer weight of numbers and superiority of resources, in the strong hands of Edward "Longshanks," must have prevailed in the end, even against one so redoubtable as his former vassal.
Aymer de Valence retreated to Ayr from the field of Loudon Hill. Three days later, Bruce defeated Sir Ralph de Monthermer, who also took refuge in Ayr castle. The King of Scots invested it, but was compelled to raise the siege on the approach of fresh troops, and retired once more among the Galloway hills.
The violence of King Edward's illness abated on the approach of summer. He was able to sit in the saddle once more, and prepared to enter Scotland ​without delay. He deposited his travelling litter in Carlisle cathedral, in gratitude for his recovery, and set out for the Border. But his once powerful frame was a sorrowful wreck. He had not ridden many miles when the dysentery returned upon him, and on June 7th he breathed his last at Burgh-on-Sands, within sight of the land which had set his authority so stubbornly at defiance. Froissart says that, feeling himself on the point of death, he sent for the Prince of Wales and called on him to swear, in presence of the barons, that so soon as his spirit should have departed, his body should be boiled till the flesh quitted the bones; that the flesh should then be buried, but chat the skeleton should be carried forward with the army until the Scots should be subdued. By his will it was enjoined that his heart should be taken to the Holy Land. These directions, though perfectly in the spirit of chivalry, were disregarded. King Edward's body was laid in Westminster Abbey, and it is recorded that on his tomb was carved the legend:
EDVARDVS : PRIMVS:
SCOTTORVM : MALLEVS:
HIC : EST : PACTVM : SERVA.
"Here is the first Edward, Hammer of the Scots. Keep covenant."
The character of the greatest of the Plantagenets has been amply discussed by many writers; it is only so far as it influenced his policy towards Scotland, and his conduct in carrying that policy into effect, that it comes within the compass of ​this narrative. From an English point of view, he was an ideal ruler for those times—a puissant knight, an experienced general, a kingly lawgiver. After his crusading fervour had cooled, all his great energy was concentrated on strengthening and consolidating his dominions. He was the first really English king, for though he still held Aquitaine and Gascony as the vassal of the King of France, Normandy had been given up by his father, and the realm of his heart was England. He believed that he was as rightfully Over-lord of Scotland as Philip of France was his Over-lord in Aquitaine. True, Richard Cœur-de-lion, in his anxiety to raise funds for a crusade, had sold back to the Scots the independence they had forfeited as a condition of the release of William the Lion. But the reckless Richard was far more knight-errant than King of England, and far more Norman than English. Even if he had been acting within the constitution in surrendering the suzerainty of Scotland, he had done so in the belief that he was only revoking the act of his father, Henry II., to whom he had been a rebellious son. But Edward seems to have believed honestly that the suzerainty was of far older date than the treaty of Falaise. The diligence with which, at the time of the Balliol controversy, he caused the ancient records to be ransacked, may be taken as evidence of his desire to act constitutionally. He reigned for nineteen years before the question of the Scottish succession was raised. He was on the best of terms with his kinsman, Alexander III., the best king that had ever sat on the throne of Scotland; nor would the question ​ever have come to be raised, had the marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Maid of Norway been carried out. Edward had set his heart on this, for it contained the realisation of his life's dream. He had completed the conquest of Wales, and the whole island would have been united under one crown.
Then came the disputed succession. This was Edward's opportunity in one sense, for he had it in his power to nominate a puppet of his own. Scottish partisans declare that he did so; that he had made private overtures to Robert de Brus "le viel," undertaking to place him on the throne if he would do homage for his kingdom, but that de Brus refused the crown on these terms. There is not the slightest evidence of such a transaction. There is, on the other hand, clear evidence that Edward endeavoured to decide honestly a very delicate question, in the absence of precedent, and that he did so in accordance with our present principles of law. In all the preliminary proceedings he was careful to make written reservation of his claim as Lord Paramount; that claim was acknowledged by the Guardians of Scotland, and ratified by the first act of John de Balliol after his coronation. Thus, whatever may have been the relations between the two kingdoms on the death of Alexander III. in 1286, the King of England was the legitimate Over-lord of Scotland in 1295, and had been acknowledged as such by the Scottish King and people. The English view is, that when Balliol formed a treaty with Philip of France and renounced his fealty, Edward was acting within his rights in treating him and his subjects as rebels.
​Viewed from the Scottish standpoint, Edward's character and conduct reflect much darker hues. Besides the accusation of partial judgment in the award given between the competitors, he has been bitterly blamed for cruelty in the Scottish war. But this charge should be dispassionately weighed according to the standard of humanity in the thirteenth century. The sack of Berwick was undoubtedly a hideous affair, and if, as is probable, it took place before the outrages, not less hideous, committed during Buchan's raid in Tynedale, it had not even the excuse of being a reprisal. But these horrors on either side of the eastern Border were so nearly simultaneous that they may be fairly set against one another. Neither side can throw the first stone. Nothing of the same kind ever happened again; women and non-combatants seem to have been respected by both sides.
It would, however, be difficult to get Scotsmen to estimate without prejudice the justice of the execution of Wallace. They are rightly indignant at the judicial murder of the patriot. He had never sworn fealty to Edward, therefore it has been held that Edward was unjust in treating him as a rebel. But he was taken in arms, in the act of leading in rebellion those who were technically Edward's subjects, within what were technically Edward's dominions. The law under which he suffered was a frightfully severe one, but it was the law of the land, and the fact that Wallace never swore fealty was, in his judge's eyes, only an aggravation of his guilt.
Then came the atrocious murder of the two Comyns, ​and who shall say that the old King did not well to be wroth thereat? He ordered that all who were present at or consenting to the deed, should be put to death. The prisoners taken at Kildrummie and elsewhere were hanged without trial, while, on the Scottish side, those taken in the "Douglas Larder" were butchered in cold blood. The treatment was as savage on one side as on the other. Still, it cannot be claimed for Edward that he did anything to mitigate the horrors of mediæval warfare; the utmost that can be said is that he did not wantonly intensify them. At this distance of time, Scotsmen may well afford to acknowledge that, if they had a splendid champion in Robert de Brus, they had a noble enemy in the first Edward.
The effect of Edward's death on the fortunes of Robert de Brus was neither tardy nor doubtful. For several weeks before and after that event, de Valence tarried in the west, endeavouring with all his might to take the King of Scots. On June 1st he was at Bothwell, ordering 800 men to reinforce the garrison of Ayr, besides masons and carpenters to repair the castle. On the 11th, he had moved his headquarters to Ayr, and early in August was leading a fresh raid into Carrick and Glentrool. He was at Dalmellington on July 17th to 19th, and by the 24th had scoured the hill country as far as the Glenkens. At the end of the month he returned empty-handed to Ayr, whence ​his last despatch was issued, requiring wines and victuals to be sent from Dumfries for nine knights whom he was leaving in charge of the former town. Aymer de Valence then returned to England, and either resigned or was removed from the command of Scotland, which had brought him so little glory. John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond, was appointed Lieutenant and Guardian of Scotland in his place, September 13, 1307.
Upon Edward II. now devolved the command of the army assembled by his sire for the subjugation of Scotland.
The new King of England was heralded by a prophecy, singularly mendacious, as the event proved. Merlin, it seems, had foretold of him "that a goat of the herd of Venus should succeed, with a silver beard and golden horns, breathing from his nostrils so great a cloud that the whole extent of the islands should be darkened." It would be superfluous to repeat nonsense such as this, but for the influence which it undoubtedly carried in a superstitious age. The monkish compiler of the contemporary Annales Londinenses clearly attaches some importance to it, and confidently pronounced the brighter of at least two interpretations of which the saying was capable. He declares that in Edward II. would be revealed the fulfilment of the prophet Daniel's vision—the goat coming from the west—and that by his surpassing military genius he would subdue the whole ​realm of King Arthur, namely, Scotland, Norway, Denmark, and France.
Edward of Carnarvon soon betrayed how little of the resolute spirit of the father had descended on the son. He accompanied the late King's body several days' march to the south, and returning to Carlisle before the end of July, he received there the homage of his barons. His first act was to create Piers de Gaveston, his chief favourite, Earl of Cornwall, a man whom Edward I., with right instinct, had always held in abhorrence. Edward II. was at Dumfries on August 5th, whence he marched up Nithsdale to Cumnock. On the 25th of that month the English army received orders to march back again to England. One can but guess at the motive of this inglorious retreat. The most likely cause is to be found in the indolent and pleasure-loving nature of the young King, who, shrinking from the hardships of a campaign in a stormy climate, and listening to the persuasions of his evil genius Gaveston, longed for the dissipations of his own capital.
The King of Scots was not one to falter in such an opportunity. No sooner were the English over the Border than he left the fastnesses of Glentrool, swept down on the lowlands of Galloway, and avenged the fate of his brothers by wasting the lands of Sir Dougal Macdouall, who had given them up to the English. Sir John de St. John commanded the English troops in Galloway at this time, but, in ​consequence of the raid, the Earl of Richmond was directed to march thither with all the force at his disposal. It did not suit King Robert's tactics to meet the new Viceroy in the open. He harboured among the hills he knew so well, levying tribute and enrolling recruits. These southern uplands are hallowed in the remembrance of the people of our day, chiefly by reason of the sufferings of the Covenanters; but that should not obliterate their earlier glory as the scene of the adventures of the Bruce—the true birthplace of Scottish independence.
According to the Chronicle of Lanercost, Richmond drove the King of Scots from the district, but there is no evidence of any encounter having taken place, and it must have been in accordance with his deliberate strategy that Bruce avoided one, and moved northwards in the early winter of 1307, in order to raise the people in the national cause. With him went his brother Edward, the Earl of Lennox, Sir Gilbert de la Haye, and Sir Robert Boyd, but he left a formidable lieutenant in the person of Sir James de Douglas, to carry on hostilities in the south.
Douglas began by retaking his own castle of that name, which the English had been busy rebuilding since its destruction in the "Douglas Larder." He had already made a second attempt upon it, though without success; but this time his plans were laid with greater care.
It was on the morning of Lanark fair, in September or October, 1307, that Douglas, having laid a strong ambush near the castle, caused fourteen of ​his men to pull countrymen's frocks over their armour, to fill sacks with grass and place them on the backs of their horses. They were told then to lead them in full view of the castle, as if on their way to the fair. Douglas calculated on the English commander, whom he knew to be short of provender, not allowing a train of well-filled sacks to pass unmolested.
Things turned out exactly as he expected. The constable of the castle, Sir John de Wanton, led a party to capture the convoy, but just as he overtook them, the supposed rustics threw off their frocks, flung the sacks to the ground, leapt into the saddles, and there was Sir John, face to face with a compact little body of well-armed cavalry. At the same moment, Douglas led out his ambush, and the English, taken in front and rear, were overpowered and nearly all slain. De Wanton fell, and his men, thus left without a leader, surrendered to Douglas, who razed the castle, but spared the lives of the garrison. Of Sir John de Wanton, Barbour, who calls him de Webetoun, mentions a romantic circumstance. It seems that he loved a lady, who would consent to wed him only on the condition that he should prove himself "ane gud bacheler" by defending for a whole year—
"The aventurous castell of Douglass, That to kep sa peralous was."
A letter to that effect from the lady was found on the knight's body.
The national cause, which had been greatly ​strengthened in the north by the adhesion of Simon and Alexander Fraser, came near to ruin towards the end of 1307, by reason of the King's health breaking down. Robert was still a young man in years, being only thirty-three; but, although of a splendid natural constitution and great bodily strength, the hardships he had come through had told upon him terribly. Months of exposure, excessive fatigue, and uncertain diet had reduced him so low that, falling sick at Inverurie, he lay for several weeks in great peril of death. Edward de Brus felt uneasy about the safety of the King in the low country, for Buchan and de Moubray were known to be collecting forces to bring against him, and Edward was unwilling to meet them in battle unless the King were able to lead his men in person. Therefore a move was made to the Sliach, a hilly part of Drumblade parish in north-west Aberdeenshire, whither the King was carried in a litter. Here the hill called Robin's Height is supposed to mark the site of the King's headquarters, and, with the Meet Hillock, to have been put in a state of defence.
Buchan advanced to the attack, but, as it seems, without much spirit. During three days, the country being covered with snow, he "bikkered" the King's men with his archers. Edward de Brus, being badly provisioned, could not hold the position any longer, so the King was again put in his litter and placed in the centre of the column, which marched out in full view of the enemy. For some unknown reason, Buchan, who outnumbered his enemy by ​two to one, allowed them to decamp unmolested, and reach Strathbogie, where the sick King rested for some days. Thence, as he began to get stronger, they moved him to his old quarters at Inverurie, preferring the risk of being attacked in the plains to the certainty of starvation in the hills.
Buchan, with Sir David de Brechin and Sir John de Moubray, lay at Old Meldrum. On Christmas Eve, 1307, de Brechin beat up Bruce's quarters at Inverurie at daybreak, slaying some of the outposts and driving the rest into the village. The news of this brush with the enemy acted like a tonic on the sick King, who declared it did him more good than all the drugs they had been giving him—not, perhaps, an extravagant statement, if account be taken of the state of chirurgery in the fourteenth century.
For several months after this we hear no more of either Bruce or Buchan. It is quite likely that Buchan's inactivity was the result of the growing popularity of Bruce and the idea of independence. Failing some such reason, it seems amazing that such a favourable chance of capturing or crushing the King of Scots was allowed to slip. Barbour, whose faithfulness in recording numbers has already been noticed, puts Bruce's force at no more than 700, and great must have been the difficulty of supporting even so small a number, had the country been generally hostile. Whatever may have been his excuse, Buchan was to pay a heavy price for his want of vigour. The King of Scots, by this time convalescent, surprised him at Old Meldrum on May 22, 1308, routed his men, and then proceeded to lay waste his lands ​in such sort that this raid was long afterwards remembered as the "Hership of Buchan."
"Eftir that wele fifty yher Men menit the herschip of Bouchane."
Buchan made no attempt to protect his lands, but passed south with de Moubray, leaving his unhappy tenants to their fate. Henceforward he made Galloway his peculiar care, of which district he had been appointed warden, while to Sir John de Moubray was committed Annandale, and Carrick to Sir Ingelram de Umfraville. Robert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, and Sir William de Ros of Hamelake were made by Edward II. his joint Lieutenants and Guardians of Scotland, in place of the Earl of Richmond. They were to have special charge of the district between Berwick and Forth. From the Forth to the Orkneys the command was entrusted to Sir Alexander de Abernethy, Sir Edmund de Hastings, and Sir John FitzMarmaduke. Recapitulation of these details may seem tedious, but it is only on examining them that it becomes apparent how great were the odds against which Robert de Brus had matched ​himself, and how the King of England followed the example of his father in employing his best officers in the task of quelling the movement.
But how great is the contrast between the document in which these appointments are notified and the imperious missives of the first Edward! An army had been ordered to assemble at Carlisle on August 23, 1308, to carry on the Scottish war, "nevertheless the King for divers reasons delays the said aid of men-at-arms at that date, for he does not mean to go to Scotland so soon as he thought. Also, the foot to be warned not to come to Carlisle yet. So also the carriages to be countermanded."
Nor was this all. Edward, indeed, declared that he would make no truce with Robert de Brus, "but the Wardens of Scotland there may take such [truce] as long as possible, provided that the King [Edward] may continue to furnish his castles with men and victuals." The endorsement of this memorandum is still more explicit, and marks a remarkable change in the relative positions of the two Kings. The following is a translation of the original French:
"Letters of credence in Sir John le fuiz Marmeduk's name, to be written to the Earl of Angus and Sir William de Ros of Hamelake, the Guardians of Scotland, that it is the King's pleasure they take truce from Robert de Bruys, as from themselves, as long as they can, but not beyond the month of Pasques (Easter, 1309), so that if on one side or other people are taken or misprision made, it may be redressed; and the King [Edward] to victual and garrison his castles during the truce; and that he may break the truce at pleasure, if the others will yield this point; but if they will not, the truce is to be made without it."
​In fact, the King of England had troubles enough at home to justify him in making almost any terms with the King of Scots. The clouds of coming tempest were gathering round him. The honours with which he had loaded his Gascon favourite, Piers Gaveston, had infuriated his English barons, who had refused to allow the King to be crowned, until he would agree to let their demands be submitted to Parliament. The coronation, it is true, had been performed on February 25th, but the dispute remained as violent as before.
There is nothing to show whether the English commanders made overtures to Bruce according to their instructions; though perhaps an undated letter from the Earl of Ross, making excuses for having taken truce from Robert de Brus, may be referred to this period. It is certain that if any proposals were made to him, the King of Scots was far too stern in his purpose to listen to them. No doubt his many friends and kinsmen at the English Court would keep him well informed of Edward's difficulties. Every day brought him fresh adherents. Sir David de Brechin—the same who led the successful reconnaissance against Bruce's entrenchments at Inverurie—had shut himself up in his castle of Brechin after Buchan's defeat at Old Meldrum. David, Earl of Athol, son of the earl executed after the capture of Kildrummie, sat down before it, and succeeded in persuading the knight to surrender and join the national cause. In the south, Sir James Douglas scored a still more important success. He must have found the men of Tweeddale well disposed to Bruce, ​for the lands of Aymer de Valence, now Earl of Pembroke, were forfeited by King Edward, because his tenants had "traitorously joined Robert de Brus." One night Douglas arrived at a house on the Water of Lyne, intending to rest there till the morrow; but he found it already occupied. Cautiously approaching a window, he listened to the voices within, and, from the nature of certain expressions, judged that there were strangers there. He caused his men to surround the house, and bursting open the door, surprised the inmates before they could get into their harness. There was a confused struggle in the dark, in which Adam de Gordon and some soldiers escaped; but they left behind them two prisoners of great value—no less than Thomas, the son of Randolph of Strathdon, King Robert's nephew, and Sir Alexander of Bonkill, brother of James the Steward and first cousin of Douglas.
The King of Scots, when Thomas was brought bebefore him, said he hoped his nephew would be reconciled now to his rightful monarch. But Thomas (who in deference to popular custom must be referred to henceforward under the name of Randolph) is said to have answered fiercely, taunting his uncle with having challenged the King of England to ​open war, yet stooping to unknightly ruses. Upon this the King ordered him into prison, which soon brought the young esquire to a more proper frame of mind, and before March, 1309, he had so far committed himself that King Edward forfeited his manor of Stitchel in Roxburghshire, and bestowed it on Adam de Gordon, who had escaped from Douglas on the night of Randolph's capture. Randolph was soon after this created Earl of Moray, a name he was to make famous by services which amply atoned for his early disaffection to the Bruce. Bonkill must have made his escape, because four years later he was still in dutiful relations to Edward II., but both he and Gordon made submission to Bruce before the battle of Bannockburn.
Bruce's ancient ally and adviser, de Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, having lain in prison for more than a year, was released at this time by King Edward, who told the Pope he relied on the Bishop's influence to bring the Scots to terms. The Bishop had to find security for his good behaviour, to swear fealty to Edward, and to pay a fine of six thousand marks.
For some weeks after the raid of Buchan, the King of Scots seems to have kept very quiet, gathering strength after his illness and organising his resources. But before the end of the summer of 1308, Edward de Brus had taken the field again and was ​carrying all before him in Galloway. This prince seems to have had the gifts of physical strength, military capacity, and the art of inspiring enthusiasm in a degree only second to the King himself.
"This Schir Eduard, forsuth I hicht, Was of his handis ane nobill knicht, And in blithnes swet and joly; Bot he was outrageous hardy,
He discumfit comonly Mony with quhene."
The English commanders in Galloway were Sir Ingelram de Umfraville, kinsman of the murdered Comyn and brother of the Earl of Angus, and Sir John de St. John (not "schir Amy of Sancte Johne" as Barbour has it). Sir Ingelram was of such high renown in chivalry that he was distinguished wherever he went by a red cap, borne before him on a spear point. Edward de Brus entering Galloway from the north by the passes from Ayrshire, encountered and defeated these two commanders somewhere on the Cree (probably on the favourite camping-ground which now forms Kirouchtrie park), and forced them to retire to Buittle castle. St. John went to England for reinforcements and returned with 1500 horse, determined to disperse de Brus's band. Edward de Brus, however, got timely warning of his approach, and disposing his infantry in ambush in a deep glen, rode out to reconnoitre with some fifty light horse. Sir Alan de Cathcart, who was present with de Brus in this affair, ​described to Barbour what followed. The Scots, favoured by a thick mist, drew near the line of St. John's march, fell suddenly out of the darkness upon his flank, rode through and through the column three times, and put the English to flight.
This brilliant exploit brought in many of the people of Galloway to King Robert's peace, so that one by one the fortresses of that country fell into Edward de Brus's hands, the English garrisons were driven out, and by the end of the year the land was pretty well subdued. Dougal Macdouall, the native chief of Galloway, had to fly before those whose displeasure he had done so much to earn, and King Edward granted him the manor of Temple-Couton in Yorkshire as a reward for his services.
Edward de Brus having thus humbled the pride of the Macdoualls of Galloway, King Robert turned his attention to the west, where the other branch of that clan, under Alexander of Argyll and his son John of Lorn, still resisted his authority.
It was probably in August, 1308, that Bruce entered Argyll by the foot of Ben Cruachan—
"Crechanben hicht that montane, I trow that nocht in all Bretane
Ane hear hill may fundin be."
The trusty Douglas was with the King once more, and Bruce, finding the passes strongly beset with Highlanders, detached him to take the defenders in flank, while he himself advanced up the defile. By these tactics he won the pass, and drove Argyll's ​men before him along the shores of Loch Awe to the pass of Brander, where the river Awe flows deep and dark from the great lake. The rest of the autumn and winter was employed in reducing the stronghold of Dunstaffnage, which must have fallen before March, 1309, for on the 16th of that month King Robert held his first Parliament at St. Andrews. On March 11th, John of Lorn wrote to inform King Edward that Robert de Brus had invaded his country with 10,000 or 15,000 men (assuredly an exaggeration), and that he had only 800 with which to resist him, for the barons of Argyll would afford him no help. Yet he says that Bruce had asked for a truce, which he had granted for a short time, in order to allow English reinforcements to arrive. This alleged truce, the truce for which Lorn represents the King of Scots as suing, was, in fact, part of the terms granted to Alexander of Argyll when he surrendered Dunstaffnage; but John took to his galleys and escaped to England. His father must have followed him thither later, for both were in council at Westminster, with other "loyal Scots," on June 16th. Thus Barbour's statement that Alexander submitted, while his son John took shipping and fled to England, may be reconciled with the apparently contradictory one by Fordun, that Alexander refused homage and fled to England. Neither of these chiefs ever returned to Scotland. Alexander died in Ireland in 1309, but John continued in the service of England till his death in 1317.
​King Edward's diplomacy had now won over the Pope to his interest. Clement V. issued a mandate of excommunication against Robert, Earl of Carrick, recalling his broken vows of fealty to Edward I., his murder of Comyn, and reciting how, not content with these crimes, but "damnably persevering in iniquity," he had treated with contempt the letters of excommunication issued against him by the Bishop of London. Milder measures were tried also, for Edward was in no condition to wage war at the time, and, on the mediation of the King of France, a truce was agreed on. It was of no long duration, however, each side accusing the other of breaking it. But such was the disorder of King Edward's realm, that in August he was forced to reopen negotiations for peace. It is evident, from the appointment of Sir John de Menteith as one of King Robert's commissioners, that one of the staunchest of King Edward's Scottish barons had deserted his cause.
The confusion of affairs in England was reflected in the frequent changes made by Edward in the Wardenship of Scotland. The Earl of Angus and Sir William de Ros of Hamelake having succeeded the Earl of Richmond as joint Wardens on June 21, 1308, Henry de Beaumont was added as a third on August 16, 1309; but four days later separate patents were made out in favour of Angus and Sir Robert de Clifford, constituting each of them sole Guardian, "because the King was uncertain which of them would accept that office." Pending their ​decision, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, was appointed Captain-General in Scotland (September 14th); yet on October 6th the King gave instructions to Sir John de Segrave as Guardian of Scotland. Again, on December 20th, de Clifford received his commission as sole Warden until Easter, 1310, when de Segrave was again appointed, April 10th, with instructions to do all the harm he can to the enemy.
Nothing could suit Bruce's purpose so well as a hesitating policy on the part of England; nothing else could have saved him from the overwhelming superiority in resources of his enemy. As matters turned out, the King of Scots was able to enjoy some repose after his expedition to Argyll, broken only by a raid into Clydesdale, when he laid siege to the important castle of Rutherglen. This, however, he was obliged to abandon on the approach of the Earl of Gloucester.
Lord Hailes thinks it probable that a truce was concluded on February 16, 1309; but it must have been a short one, for in September King Edward invaded Scotland. He marched by a new and somewhat hazardous route, by way of Selkirk (September 21st), St. Boswells (21st), Roxburgh (23d to 28th), Biggar (October 1st to 14th), Lanark (15th), Renfrew (15th), Linlithgow (23d to 28th). Bruce's policy was to avoid an encounter, for he had not ​forgotten the lessons of Falkirk and Dunbar. He trusted to driving away all cattle and other supplies before the invaders, and so rendering it impossible for them to exist in what had become practically a desert. Edward's spies brought him news that the King of Scots was encamped on a moor near Stirling, but the English were unable to persevere, and went into winter quarters at Berwick.
Negotiations were set on foot; a meeting took place at Selkirk before Christmas between King Robert and Sir Robert de Clifford and Sir Robert Fitzpain, and a further interview was fixed, to be held near Melrose. At this the English were to have been represented by the Earl of Gloucester, and Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, but Bruce, being warned that treachery was intended, avoided the meeting.
Cornwall was now Warden north of the Forth, and remained at Perth till April, 1311, when his place was taken by Sir Henry de Percy. King Edward, constantly wrangling with his barons, lingered at Berwick till the end of July, when he went reluctantly to London to meet the Parliament he had delayed so long to summon. He left behind him the Bishop of St. Andrews, to conduct negotiations with the King of Scots as opportunity might arise. When Parliament met, the barons showed themselves far more deeply incensed against the Earl of Cornwall than against Robert de Brus. Sentence of perpetual exile was pronounced on the detested Gascon, and the Archbishop of Canterbury threatened with ​excommunication all who henceforth should receive or support him.
Hardly had King Edward turned his back on the Border before his vigilant foe assumed the offensive. Crossing the Solway on August 12, 1311, Bruce burnt all Gilsland, Haltwistle, and a great part of Tynedale, and returned in eight days with great spoil of cattle. But even the chronicler of Lanercost, a friar of Carlisle, with plenty of cause to detest the Scots, admits that Bruce allowed few men to be slain, except those who resisted. On September 8th, King Robert was over the Border again, raiding Reedsdale, Harbottle, Corbridge, and all that country for the space of fifteen days; but refraining from slaying men, or burning houses. Northumberland lay at his mercy, and the inhabitants bought a truce, to last till February 2d following, at the price of £2000.
During the winter of 1311-12 King Edward held his Court at York; nevertheless, Bruce raided the Borders on the expiry of the truce, and exacted fresh tribute from them, taking advantage of the events which, in June, culminated in the execution of the Earl of Cornwall, who had unwisely returned from exile.
King Robert held a Parliament at Ayr at midsummer, and then sent his brother to harry the English Border. Edward de Brus succeeded well in ​this expedition, for, having burned once more the oft-calcined towns of Hexham and Corbridge, he granted a truce till June 24, 1313, on payment of £2000 in cash by each of the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Durham. Such contributions served to replenish the exchequer of the King of Scots, who was able now to turn his attention to reducing strongholds within his own realm.
Access to the public records has made it possible to supplement and amend the chronology of early writers, and at the same time to verify many of the details given by them of this period. Barbour is charitably silent about an unsuccessful attempt made by Bruce on Berwick castle, on the night of December 6, 1311; but the chronicler of Lanercost minutely describes the rope-ladders, which he himself had seen, used by the Scots in their assault. They were, he says, of an ingenious and novel design. A dog barked at the critical moment of the escalade, the garrison were roused, and the assailants made off, leaving their ladders hanging.
Forfar was probably the first place of strength to fall into the hands of the Scots—some time in 1312, and, according to Bruce's invariable practice, the fortifications were immediately destroyed. Buittle, Dalswinton, Caerlaverock, and perhaps Lochmaben, commanding the valleys of the Dee, the Nith, and the Annan, followed not long after, surrendering to Edward de Brus. Perth, a far stronger place than Forfar, was besieged by the King of Scots in person. It was commanded by that Sir William de Oliphant ​who, in 1304, had defended Stirling so gallantly against Edward I. Bruce lay before it for six weeks, and then, having marked the shallowest part of the moat, made a feint of raising the siege, and marched away. A week later, on January 8, 1313, he returned at midnight, and, probing the way with his spear, waded through the water as high as his throat. The next to follow was a French knight, who was amazed to see the King run such risks to win "ane wrechit hamilet," and then came the escalading party with ladders. The garrison kept no watch; relying on the strength of their defences, they and the townsfolk woke to find the place in possession of the enemy. Young Malise of Strathearn was with Bruce, but his father, the earl, was of the defending force, and was made prisoner. The King gave strict orders against unnecessary slaughter, seeing that the garrison were "kind [akin] to the cuntre," that is, that they were Scots, though in English pay. But his needy followers were allowed to equip themselves from the merchandise found in the town.
The next place taken, Dumfries, was one of great importance to the defence of the Western Marches. This castle had been under the command of Sir Dougal Macdouall of Galloway since 1311. He had to surrender on February 7, 1313, owing to failure of supplies, for which he had often written in vain to the keeper of stores at Carlisle, by reason of which many of his garrison had deserted. The ​King of Scots now had it in his power to avenge the blood of his brothers, whom Macdouall had delivered to the gallows at Carlisle in 1307; but he showed a magnanimous forbearance, and Macdouall continued in the service of England till his death in 1327.
CLACKMANNAN CASTLE, THE RESIDENCE OF ROBERT, IN 1314.
(From a photograph by Valentine Bros., Dundee.)
​ropes of the drawbridge, so that it could not be raised, the eight fellows sprang from under the hay, slew the unhappy porter, overpowered the few men left in the castle, and the ambush running up made all secure before the return of the party from the harvest. And thus the important "pele" of Linlithgow was won. From the muster rolls that year it appears that the garrison included 88 horse besides a considerable number of foot soldiers.
On the expiry of the truce with the northern English counties on June 24th, of this year, Bruce threatened another descent upon them; whereupon, despairing of any succour from their own King, they once more paid a heavy tribute as the price of an extension till September 29, 1314. Great events were to take place before that date came round,
At this time it is believed that King Robert resided chiefly at Clackmannan castle, within easy reach of Stirling.
* ↑ Barbour calls him Sir Philip, confounding him with the governor of Stirling seven years later.
* ↑ The Brus, xl., 33.
* ↑ National MSS. of Scotland, vol. ii., No. 13.
* ↑ Scalacronica, 132; Trivet, 413; Hemingburgh, ii., 265.
* ↑ Bain, ii., 515.
* ↑ Ibid., 520.
* ↑ Bain, ii., 521.
* ↑ Ibid., iii., 3.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 3.
* ↑ Moaned for.
* ↑ Devastation.
* ↑ The Brus, lxx., 6. Barbour is here telling of what was within his own knowledge. People in Aberdeenshire were still talking of the hership of Buchan when he, the Archdeacon of Aberdeen, was writing his poem. The late Lord Salton was of opinion that the battle took place on Christmas Eve, 1307 (The Frasers of Philorth, vol. i., pp. 62, 63, vol. ii., pp. 183-194); but Fordun mentions Ascension Day (May 22, 1308) as the date, and Mr. Bain gives good grounds for his accuracy on this point (Bain, iii., p. xii., note).
* ↑ Bain, iii., 9.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 9.
* ↑ "Nerhand the hous, sa listnet he, And herd thar sawis ilke dele [every part of what they said], And be that persavit wele That tha war strange men."—The Brus, lxxiv., 15. In the Edinburgh MS. (1489) the second line runs: "Herd ane say tharin 'the Dewill.'"
* ↑ Stitchel remained the property of the Gordons of Lochinvar till 1628, when John, afterwards Viscount Kenmure, sold it to Robet Pringle.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 54.
* ↑ "Many with few."—The Brus, lxxiii., 9.
* ↑ Higher.
* ↑ The Brus, lxxv., 27.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 37.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 19.
* ↑ Hailes, ii., 57.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 19.
* ↑ Ibid., 21.
* ↑ Ibid., 21.
* ↑ Ibid., 32.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 46.
* ↑ Lanercost, 216.
* ↑ Ibid., 217.
* ↑ Not Berwick, as Hailes read it, mistaking Everwick, the old form of the name York, for that of the Border town.
* ↑ The Brus, lxxi. Barbour erroneously dates the fall of Perth and other places before the King's expedition to Argyll and Lorn.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 56.
* ↑ Bain, ii., 171. In estimating Bruce's magnanimity, it should be remembered that the ransom of a knight such as Macdouall was a consideration of moment, if not to the King himself, who perhaps was not present at the taking of Dumfries, at all events to Macdouall's captor.
* ↑ Ibid., 411, 412.
* ↑ Bain, iii., 423.
* ↑ Lanercost, 222.