page_title: Battle of Bannockburn
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Bannockburn / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Darstellung der Schlacht von Bannockburn (23. und 24. Juni 1314) aus der Holkham Bible, 1327-35. English: A depiction of the Battle of Bannockburn from the Holkham Bible, 1327-35.
context_page_description: The Battle of Bannockburn on 23 and 24 June 1314 was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. Although it did not bring an end to the war, victory would only be secured 14 years later, Bannockburn is still a landmark in Scottish history.
  King Edward invaded Scotland after Bruce demanded in 1313 that all supporters still loyal to ousted Scottish king John Balliol acknowledge Bruce as their king or lose their lands. Stirling Castle, a Scots royal fortress occupied by the English, was under siege by the Scottish army. King Edward assembled a formidable force of soldiers from England, Ireland and Wales to relieve it – the largest army ever to invade Scotland. This attempt failed when he found his path blocked by a smaller army commanded by Bruce.
  The Scottish army was divided into three divisions of schiltrons commanded by Bruce, his brother Edward Bruce, and his nephew, the Earl of Moray. After Robert Bruce killed Sir Henry de Bohun on the first day of the battle, the English were forced to withdraw for the night.
context_section_description: Edward II and his advisors were aware of the places the Scots were likely to challenge them and sent orders for their troops to prepare for an enemy established in boggy ground near the River Forth, near Stirling. The English appear to have advanced in four divisions, known as 'schiltrons', which were strong defensive squares of men with pikes. Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, commanded the Scottish vanguard, which was stationed about a mile 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. The fourth division was nominally under the youthful Walter the Steward, but actually under the command of Sir James Douglas. The Scottish archers used yew-stave longbows and, though these were not weaker than or inferior to English longbows, there were fewer Scottish archers, possibly only 500. These archers played little part in the battle. There is first-hand evidence in a poem, written just after the battle by the captured Carmelite friar Robert Baston, that one or both sides employed slingers and crossbowmen.
caption: An early 14th-century English depiction of a biblical battle, giving an impression of how soldiers were equipped at Bannockburn. The image of a king wielding a battle axe in the top half has led some historians[who?] to link this image to Bannockburn. From Folio 40 of the Holkham Bible in the British Library.
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