The castle watch actually looked over the wall at the point where the Scots were preparing to attack, before loudly moving on, leaving the Scots to scale the wall and open the gate to the waiting force, which then stormed the castle. Armed men leaped from beneath the fodder and, assisted by a band of men that rushed the gate, the castle was stormed. As each castle or town was captured the fortifications built over many years by the English were destroyed so that the English could not re-establish their control of the country, even if the place was re-taken.
Finally few castles remained. In June de Mowbray put an offer to Edward de Bruce. To comply with this requirement the relieving English army would need to be within 3 miles of the castle within 8 days of that date. De Bruce appears to have accepted this offer without thinking through the implications, or possibly without caring. His brother the king was, on the other hand, fully aware of the consequences of this rash agreement, which in effect compelled Edward II to launch a new invasion of Scotland.
At the end of Edward II issued the summonses for his army to assemble. The wording of these documents indicated that while the relief of Stirling Caste was the pretext, the intention was to re-conquer Scotland for the English Crown. The shaky hold Edward II maintained over his nobility is illustrated by the number of powerful noblemen who refused to answer the call to arms: the Earl of Lancaster, the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Warenne and the Earl of Arundel among others.
The Scottish Earl of Angus supported Edward. Foot soldiers came from all over England and archers from Wales. There was complete confidence in victory over the Scots. The army marched to Edinburgh and took the old Roman road to Stirling. Beyond Falkirk the road passed through the forest of Torwood, also known in French as Les Torres, before crossing the Bannockburn stream into the New Park and on to Stirling. To the right of the route wound the tidal waters of the River Forth. Along the river was the scrubland area known as Les Polles.
The area to the north of the Bannockburn ford on the road route was known as the Dryfield of Balquiderock. A small tributary of the Bannockburn called the Pelstream Burn curled around to the West. Beyond the Pelstream a boggy area led down to the Forth.
Robert de Bruce assembled his army of Scottish foot soldiers to the South of Stirling and formed them into 4 battalions commanded by himself, Thomas Randolph Earl of Moray, James Douglas and his brother Edward de Bruce.
The other schiltrons men from the estates of their commanders and their associates. The small force of mounted knights and men-at-arms was commanded by Sir Robert Keith, Marischal to the King of Scotland. Robert the Bruce addresses his army before the Battle of Bannockburn on 23rd June The chosen method of combat was for each schiltron to form a bristling mass of spears which the English knights would be unable to penetrate. The Scots dug concealed pits across the front of their position and along the bank of the Bannockburn to break up any mounted charge against them.
The Scots soldiery was aroused at around day break on Sunday 23rd June Maurice the aged blind Abbot of Inchaffray celebrated mass for the army after which Robert de Bruce addressed his soldiers, informing them that anyone who did not have the stomach for a fight should leave.
A great cry re-assured him that most were ready for the battle. The Schiltrons were formed for battle fronting the fords over the Bannockburn that the English must cross. The English army was formed in 10 divisions; each led by a senior nobleman or experienced knight. The King was met by Sir Philip de Mowbray who had ridden out of Stirling Castle with a body of horseman, taking the path through the boggy ground by the Forth leading to the Carse and across the Bannockburn.
De Mowbray tried to persuade Edward to abandon his advance to battle. De Mowbray seems to have had grave reservations as to the outcome, not shared by the headstrong nobles and knights that Edward led. Thoughtless man. You have permitted the enemy to pass. The Scots were hard pressed and Douglas moved his men forward to give help but saw that the English were giving way.
The English squadron broke in two with half riding for the castle and the remainder returning to the main army. The English advance continued inexorably with the advance guard under the Earls of Hereford and Gloucester riding to cross the Bannockburn and attack the Scots in the forest beyond.
To the English it seemed inevitable that the Scots would withdraw and avoid battle in view of the enormous disparity in numbers and arms. Robert de Bruce rode forward to meet de Bohun. The contrast in their equipment was stark. De Bohun was fully armoured with lance and shield and rode a heavy destrier horse.
De Bruce rode a light palfrey and was armed with sword and short axe. He was mounted to command infantry not to take part in a heavy cavalry charge. Edward II mustered a huge army and marched north to invade Scotland.
Robert was also busy, training his men near Stirling, which would be the focus of the upcoming campaign. The Battle of Bannockburn took place on 23 and 24 June. Despite being vastly outnumbered, Robert chose his ground well and masterminded a tremendous victory over the English army. However, the victory at Bannockburn did not secure peace and Edward II refused to recognise Robert as king of an independent Scotland.
In Bruce organised for the Scottish nobles to write a letter to the Pope, now known as the Declaration of Arbroath, which made the case for Scottish independence. But it was ignored by the church and Bruce accepted a long-lasting truce with the English. No-one knows exactly the size of the two armies at the Battle of Bannockburn. Robert was married twice in his life. With his first wife, Isabella of Mar, he had a daughter Marjorie, from whom the Stewart dynasty was to trace its lineage.
His second wife was Elizabeth de Burgh, with whom he had five children — Margaret, Matilda, David, John who died in infancy and Elizabeth. Robert the Bruce has been immortalised in all sorts of ways, from popular culture to national myth. There are commemorations of him across Scotland, including a statue set in the wall at Edinburgh Castle, one at Stirling Castle and the iconic statue of him on horseback at Bannockburn.
In , the character of Robert the Bruce played a relatively small role in the epic and epically inaccurate Hollywood movie Braveheart. But the most memorable depiction of Bruce on screen was in the movie Outlaw King , which was supported by our very own Bannockburn specialist, working on the film as a lead historical advisor.
This Walter Scott-inspired legend has it that during his time as the outlaw king, Bruce was taking shelter in a cave and considering giving up, when he noticed a spider trying to build its web across the damp roof of the cave. How many people died in the battle of mobile bay? How many people died in the battle of bosworth? How many people died in the battle of gettyburg? How many people died in the battle of Agincourt?
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