page_title: Wars of Scottish Independence
section_title: King Robert the Bruce: 1306–1328
hierarchical_section_title: Wars of Scottish Independence / The First War of Independence: 1296–1328 / King Robert the Bruce: 1306–1328
caption_attribution_description: English: Bannockburn Monument plaque: For God And St. Andrew Robert The Bruce King Of Scots Planted His Standard Near This Spot When The Scottish Patriots Under His Command Vanquished The Army Of Edward II Of England At The Battle Of Bannockburn 24th June – 1314 “We Fight Not For Glory, Nor For Wealth, Nor Honour But Only And Alone We Fight For Freedom Which No Good Man Surrenders But With His Life” The quotation is taken from the final paragraph of the Declaration of Arbroath, believed to have been written by Bernard de Linton, Abbot of Arbroath, and appended with 51 seals of the pro-Bruce Scottish nobility. It was sent to Avignon to ask the schismatic Pope John XXII to recognise Bruce's de facto sovereignty over Scotland. He replied affirmatively.
context_page_description: The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
  The First War began with the English invasion of Scotland in 1296, and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. The Second War began with the English-supported invasion by Edward Balliol and the 'Disinherited' in 1332, and ended in 1357 with the signing of the Treaty of Berwick. The wars were part of a great crisis for Scotland and the period became one of the most defining times in its history. At the end of both wars, Scotland retained its status as an independent state. The wars were important for other reasons, such as the emergence of the longbow as a key weapon in medieval warfare.
context_section_description: On 10 February 1306, during a meeting between Bruce and Comyn, the two surviving claimants for the Scottish throne, Bruce quarrelled with and killed John Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries.   At this moment the rebellion was sparked again.
  Comyn, it seems, had broken an agreement between the two, and informed King Edward of Bruce's plans to be king. The agreement was that one of the two claimants would renounce his claim on the throne of Scotland, but receive lands from the other and support his claim. Comyn appears to have thought to get both the lands and the throne by betraying Bruce to the English. A messenger carrying documents from Comyn to Edward was captured by Bruce and his party, plainly implicating Comyn. Bruce then rallied the Scottish prelates and nobles behind him and had himself crowned King of Scots at Scone less than five weeks after the killing in Dumfries. He then began a new campaign to free his kingdom. After being defeated in the Battle of Methven, he was driven from the Scottish mainland as an outlaw as Edward I declared that his supporters would be given no quarter. Bruce returned to the mainland in 1307. King Robert's forces continued to grow in strength, encouraged in part by the death of Edward I in July 1307. The Battle of Loudon Hill, the Battle of Brander Pass, and the captures of Roxburgh Castle and Edinburgh Castle saw the English continually lose ground in their control of the country. The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a pivotal event in the course of the war after which the English were totally pushed out of Scotland.
  In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was sent by a group of Scottish nobles to the Pope affirming Scottish independence from England. Two similar declarations were also sent by the nobles, clergy and Robert I. In 1324, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray was sent to meet the Pope in person at his court in Avignon. Randoph successfully persuaded Pope John to recognise Robert as King of Scots, a major diplomatic coup. In 1327, Edward II of England was deposed and killed and his son Edward III of England assumed the throne. Repeated invasions of the north of England by Robert or his war leaders, culminating in the Battle of Stanhope Park, in which the English king was nearly captured, forced Edward III to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton on 1 May 1328. This recognised the independence of Scotland and Robert the Bruce as King. To further seal the peace, Robert's son and heir David married the sister of Edward III.
caption: Bannockburn Monument plaque
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