Notes for Robert Bruce

Notes for Robert Bruce

Robert the BRUCE King of Scotland was born on 11 Jul 1274 in Turnberry Castle, Scotland. He died on 7 Jun 1329 in Scotland. He was a King of Scotland. Bruce, Robert (1274-1329), liberator, and, as Robert I, king of Scotland (1306-29). He was originally named Robert de Bruce, and to distinguish him from his father and grandfather, who had the same name, he is often referred to as Robert de Bruce VIII. He is also called Robert the Bruce. As Earl of Carrick he paid homage to King Edward I of England, who, in 1296, defeated King John de Baliol and thereafter refused to acknowledge another King of Scotland.

Bruce later abandoned Edward's cause and joined other Scottish leaders in taking up arms for the independence of his country. In 1299, the year after the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace was defeated by Edward at Falkirk, Bruce, then still in favor with Edward, was made one of the four regents who ruled the kingdom in the name of Baliol. However, it should be pointed out that the Bruce family had no connection with the capture of Wallace. In 1305 he was one of those consulted in the decision to make Scotland a province of England. In 1306 he met an old enemy, the Scottish patriot John Comyn, who was the nephew of Baliol; a quarrel occurred, and Bruce stabbed Comyn. Bruce proclaimed his right to the throne, and on March 27, 1306, he was crowned king at Scone.

Bruce was deposed, however, in 1307 by Edward's army and forced to flee to the highlands and then to the little island of Rathlin on the coast of Antrim (now in Northern Ireland). In his absence all his estates were confiscated, and he and his followers were excommunicated. He continued to recruit followers, however, and in less than two years he wrested nearly all of Scotland from the English. Bruce again defeated the English in 1314 in the Battle of Bannockburn, twice invaded England, and in 1323 concluded with King Edward II of England a truce for 13 years. After the accession of King Edward III in 1327, war again broke out, and the Scots won again. In 1328 they secured a treaty recognizing the independence of Scotland and the right of Bruce to the throne.

In his later years Bruce lived in seclusion at Cardross Castle, on the northern shore of the Firth of Clyde, where he died. He was succeeded by his son, David II. Bruce's nephew, Robert II, who succeeded David, was the first King of the Stuart house of English and Scottish royalty.