The Forgotten Hero of the First Scottish War of Independence…
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 02/01/2024

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The Forgotten Hero of the First Scottish War of Independence…

The first Scottish War of Independence isn’t short of fascinating characters, from Edward Longshanks to William Wallace, Robert the Bruce to many others. Yet there is a hero in this war that is often forgotten. Wallace has a statue, Bruce has a visitor centre, and rightly so, yet this figure is not known by most people walking down the street in Scotland today. Let me tell you more…

Today, I’ve taken you to Bothwell Castle, a medieval castle in South Lanarkshire that changed hands between Scotland and England numerous times during the Wars of Independence. 

It was home to Clan Murray for a period as well as the son of the Black Douglas, Archibald Douglas, who married into Clan  Murray. Construction began on this castle in the 13th century by ancestors of Clan Murray. And a member of Clan Murray is the subject of today’s video. This is the story of Andrew de Moray, otherwise known as Andrew Murray, a major commander during the First Scottish War of Independence who played a crucial role in the first phase of the war. 

In fact, without Andrew Murray, William Wallace may never have become the figure we know today, a figure revered 700 years later whose life was detailed so well in that super accurate documentary Braveheart. In all seriousness, it was the unity of the forces of Murray and Wallace that became such a pain for England and led to Wallace’s greatest victory on the battlefield. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. 

Now given that I’m standing here in front of a castle, it will hardly come as a surprise that Andrew Murray was born into nobility. His grandfather, Sir Walter de Moray, began construction on this castle, and his family held lands in the province of Moray in north-east Scotland amongst other places, including Bothwell of course. Andrew Murray’s father was Sir Andrew Moray, Lord of Petty, a Scottish baron who held the position of Justiciar of Scotia, which was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland to the north of the River Forth and River Clyde. His mother was an unnamed daughter of Lord John Comyn I of Badenoch. Although little is known of his youth, he probably trained to be a knight, learning military skills and strategy that would serve him well later in life. 

Resistance was undoubtedly in his blood. Both Andrew Murray and his father Sir Andrew fought at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296 for King John Balliol. The Scots were defeated however, and both Andrew and his father were captured. His father was taken to the Tower of London and died there as a prisoner in 1298. Andrew however was considered of less significance, and was held prisoner at Chester Castle. Within a year or so he managed to escape, and made his way back to his father’s lands in north of Scotland.  

Sources:

Andrew Moray https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Moray 

Scotland’s forgotten hero Andrew de Moray honoured https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/scotlands-forgotten-hero-andrew-de-moray-honoured-1506506 

Andrew De Moray: The Unknown Braveheart https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/scotland/s_ne/article_1.shtml

Andrew de Moray https://avoch.org/people/andrew-de-moray 

ANDREW MURRAY https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/m/andrewmurray.html 

Castles of the Black Douglases https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2019/11/the-black-douglases/ 

Clan Murray https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Murray 
Justiciar of Scotia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justiciar_of_Scotia 

#andrewmurray #scottishhistory #history