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By Rodger Moffet
One famous battle immediately springs to mind when you think about
Robert the Bruce; The
Battle of Bannockburn. A great victory for the
Scots led by Bruce over the English foe. But before this Bruce’s path
had been a hard one and he suffered many humiliations on the route to
victory.
It all started with a bitter rivalry. While Edward I of England strutted
around north of the border, demanding that nobles swear allegiance to
him two men came before him who hated each other far more than Edward.
Robert the Bruce and John Comyn, The ‘Red Comyn’.
Comyn and Bruce were supposed to be working together as guardians of
Scotland under the watchful eye of Edward but this was an impossible
situation and it came to a head in 1306 when Bruce stabbed Comyn to
death at the altar of Greyfriars church in Dumfries. This event and
Bruce’s subsequent crowning at Scone palace was a signal of intent to
Edward, ‘come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’!
Edward responded with fury, he authorised the raising of the ‘Dragon
Banner’ a sign that no quarter would be given to Bruce or his followers.
Back in Scotland Bruce was still trying to convince his fellow Scots
that he was the man for the job. Many still supported Comyn and he would
have a hard time uniting Scotland. With Edward’s knights marching north
this was not a good time for the newly crowned king.
By the summer of 1306 Edwards army had made camp in Perthshire and had
linked up with Comyn’s supporters north of the border, it was a
formidable force and not one to be taken on lightly. Nevertheless Bruce
set off to engage them and suffered a great defeat at the Battle of
Methven. The English army was led by Aymer de Valence, Comyn’s
brother-in-law. According to accounts of the battle Bruce arrived at the
appointed place but then retired with his army to camp for the night.
Under the feudal rules of engagement Valence would not attack however
under cover of darkness he did just that and routed Bruce and his
forces.
This was a sign for Bruce that his enemies were not intending to ‘play
fair’ remembering the campaign of his predecessor Wallace he resorted to
more guerilla tactics.
As we already know Bruce had made a few enemies when he stabbed Comyn.
By far the biggest of these north of the Border were the MacDougalls a
powerful clan who held the lands around Argyll. This clan was descended
from Somerled a great Hebridean king and it’s testament to their power
that they had inflicted heavy defeats on both the MacDonald and Campbell
clans. They had been great Scottish patriots, unfortunately for Bruce
though Comyn was related to the MacDougalls and so they had come out in
support of Balliol and the English. With Bruce and his surviving army
fleeing westward they ran out of the frying pan and smack into the fire
where a large force of MacDougalls were sharpening their swords in
anticipation.
When Bruce reached Strathfillan, just to the south of Tyndrum around a
thousand MacDougalls were there to meet him, led by the son of Alexander
the chief John of Lorne (also known as ‘John the Lame). Bruce was
trapped! With Valence pursuing him and the MacDougalls blocking his path
he was forced to fight. Bruce and his men were not prepared for battle
and the result was a foregone conclusion. What few horses Bruce still
had were cut down by the MacDougall axemen and many of his most valued
allies such as Sir James Douglas(1) and Gilbert Hey were wounded during the
engagement. This rather fanciful poem gives account of the battle:
They thereupon withdrew. In this
There was no mark of cowardice.
They kept together; and the king
Was ever busy rescuing
The rearmost of his company.
With skill and valour there wrought he,
And safely all his men withdrew.
He daunted those that would pursue
So none durst leave their cloe array,
For he was never far away.
The fighting was desperate for Bruce, at one point cut off from his
allies he was fighting alone against a small lochan. A MacDougall man
attempted to pull Bruce from his horse by grabbing his cloak. Bruce
killed him but lost his cloak in so doing. The dead MacDougall was found
later still grasping the cloak with Bruce’s brooch still attached. This
brooch is still in the possession of the clan to his day.
Bruce and a handful of men escaped with their lives. His army was now
non-existent and he fled to the caves and into the history books!
He hadn’t finished with the MacDougalls though and in 1308 at the
Pass
of Brander Bruce took bloody revenge against the MacDougalls. Once again
with the Black Douglas by his side he completely destroyed the
MacDougall’s and finally put an end to Scottish resistance to his claim
to the throne.
The place where Bruce’s darkest moment had come was named ‘Dail Righ’ or
‘The Kings Field’. Bruce had escaped by a hairs breadth (of maybe a
brooch pin’s width). As Bruce had escaped he and many of his men threw
any unwieldy heavy arms they had into a small lochan. Local legend has
it that the king’s sword still lies beneath the surface. Whether its
guarded by a ‘lady of the lake’ would be mere speculation.
Notes:
1. He had not yet been knighted!
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