Robert I de Bruce Scottish king from 1309 to 1329, who liberated his country from the English yoke. Date of Birth: 11.07.1274 Country: Great Britain

1. The Bruce Family and Early Life
2. Claim to the Throne and Early Struggles
3. The Battle of Bannockburn and Consolidation of Power
4. Internal Affairs and Legacy

Robert I Bruce - The Scottish King who Freed his Country from English Rule

Robert I Bruce, also known as Robert the Bruce, was the King of Scotland from 1309 to 1329. He played a crucial role in liberating Scotland from English domination, winning the decisive Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and securing Scotland's independence in the Treaty of Northampton in 1328.

The Bruce Family and Early Life

The Anglo-Norman Bruce family arrived in Scotland in the early 12th century and had ancestral ties to the Scottish royal house. Robert's grandfather, the sixth Robert de Bruce, claimed the throne when it became vacant in 1290. However, King Edward I of England asserted his feudal lordship over the Scots and bestowed the crown upon John Balliol.

Robert I Bruce was born on July 11, 1274. His father, the seventh Robert de Bruce, relinquished his claim to the earldom of Carrick in 1292 in favor of his son. Little is known about Robert's life until 1306. During the uprisings against the English from 1296 to 1304, he was initially aligned with William Wallace but later seemed to regain the trust of Edward I. At this time, there was nothing to suggest his future role as the leader of the Scottish people in their fight for independence against Edward I's attempts to establish direct rule in Scotland.

Claim to the Throne and Early Struggles

A significant event occurred on February 10, 1306, when John Comyn, also known as the Red Comyn, was murdered by Bruce or his supporters in a Franciscan church in Dumfries. Comyn, a nephew of John Balliol, was a possible contender for the throne, and Bruce's actions indicate his resolve to seize power. He hastened to Scone and had himself crowned on March 25. The new king's position was precarious. Edward I, whose garrisons occupied many key castles in Scotland, declared him a traitor and made every effort to crush what he saw as a rebellion.

King Robert suffered two defeats in 1306, first at Methven near Perth on June 19, and then at Dalry near Tyndrum in the county of Perth on August 11. His wife and many of his supporters were captured, and three of his brothers were executed. The king himself became a fugitive, hiding on the remote island of Rathlin off the northern coast of Ireland. He returned to the county of Ayr in February 1307. Initially, his surviving brother Edward was his mainstay, but over the next few years, his number of supporters grew. King Robert personally defeated John Comyn, the Earl of Buchan (a cousin of the slain Red Comyn), and captured Perth, which was held by an English garrison, in 1313. However, the majority of the battles were fought by his loyal followers, who successively won Galloway, Douglasdale, Selkirk Forest, and most of the eastern boundaries, including Edinburgh.

The Battle of Bannockburn and Consolidation of Power

In these years, the king received support from some prominent figures in the Scottish Church, as well as the death of Edward I in 1307 and the incompetence of his successor Edward II. The ultimate test came in 1314 when a large English army attempted to relieve the garrison at Stirling. The English defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn marked Robert I's triumph.

Nearly the majority of his reign passed before he compelled the English to acknowledge his position. Berwick was captured in 1318, and raids were conducted into Northern England, inflicting significant damage. Eventually, after Edward II was deposed in 1327, a regency council under Edward III decided to seek peace and concluded the Treaty of Northampton in 1328. The treaty included the recognition of Robert I as king and the abandonment of English claims to supreme authority.

Internal Affairs and Legacy

However, Robert I's primary focus was on internal affairs of the kingdom. Until the birth of his future successor David II in 1324, he did not have an heir, and two laws in 1315 and 1318 were devoted to the issue of succession. In 1314, Parliament declared that all those who remained loyal to the English should be deprived of their lands; this act allowed the king's supporters to be rewarded with confiscated lands. Sometimes, these rewards proved dangerous as they made some of the king's supporters too powerful. James Douglas, knighted at Bannockburn, received extensive lands in Selkirk and Roxburgh counties, which became the core of the influential Douglas family's future power.

Robert I also restored the machinery of royal government, as the administration had been virtually idle since 1296. By the end of his reign, the exchequer system was functioning again, and it was during this time that the earliest examples of state printing appeared. In the final years of his life, Robert I suffered from illness, likely leprosy, and spent most of his time in Cardross, Dumbartonshire, where he died on June 7, 1329. His body was buried at Dunfermline Abbey, but as per his instructions, his heart was separated and taken on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land by Sir James Douglas. Douglas was killed on the way in 1330, but according to a highly dubious legend, the royal heart was saved and returned to Melrose Abbey.