Robert The Bruce (Robert I) (1306-1329)

Robert I, (Roibert a Briuis in mediaeval Gaelic, Raibeart Bruis in modern Scottish Gaelic and Robert de Brus or Robert de Bruys in Norman French), usually known in modern English today as Robert the Bruce was King of Scotland between 1306 and 1329.  He is known as one of Scotland’s greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation, eventually leading Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.  He claimed the Scottish throne as a great-great-great-great grandson of David I of Scotland.

 

Early Years
Robert was born on 11 July 1274 into an aristocratic Scottish family.

Although Robert's paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage, his maternal ancestors were Gaelic.

Bruce was the grandson of another Robert Bruce, the failed claimant of the Scottish crown in 1290/2, and the son of yet another Robert Bruce.  Historians are divided about the exact location of Bruce's birth but it is widely believed that he was born at Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, the primary seat of his mother's Earldom.


Turnburry Castle 

He was likely raised speaking three languages; Gaelic natively, Anglo-Norman French among the nobility, and the early Scots language.  

His mother, Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, brought him an ancient Gaelic lineage. Descended from the Gaelic Earls of Carrick, she was a formidable operator who apparently held Bruce's father captive after he returned from crusade, refusing to release him until he agreed to marry her.

Bruce was born into a politically divided Scotland.  This was to shape his life.

Bruce's early life was  relatively peaceful but  was to be upended by a massive constitutional crisis. Following the sudden death of King Alexander III in 1286 and the subsequent death of his young heir (Margaret, the Maid of Norway) in 1290, Scotland was left without a clear monarch. Bruce's grandfather—the 5th Lord of Annandale—was one of the primary claimants to the Scottish throne. The English King, Edward I, was called in to arbitrate. He chose John Balliol, a decision that eventually ignited a fierce and lifelong struggle by the Bruce family to reclaim the crown.

Marriage 

Robert the Bruce was married twice. His first wife was Isabella of Mar. The couple had one child, Marjorie (born around 1296).  Isallella sadly died in childbirth soon after giving birth, she was only 19. IIsabella died before her husband was crowned (as Robert I) King of Scotland.  Their daugher Marjorie also died at age 19, following a riding accident while pregnant, but her baby was safely delivered.

King Robert the Bruce poses with his first wife, Isabella of Mar.

 

Six years after Isabella's death, Robert married his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh at Writtle in Essex, England.   This was a marriage  orchestrated by King Edward I of England to secure Bruce's loyalty. Elizabeth was just 13 years old at the time.  At the young age of 17 she became Queen of Scots in 1306. The marriage survived a punishing eight-year separation caused by her imprisonment in England before she was released following the Battle of Bannockburn.

Together, the couple had several children, including a son, David, who eventually succeeded to the Scottish throne. 

King of Scotland

Robert Bruce's struggle for the Scottish crown wasn't entirely an enterprise born of patriotism, and, although no doubt his attitude changed over the years, Bruce's motives do appear to be slightly more self-serving than that. The ascension of his family to the throne seemed more central to his long-term plans than the liberation of Scotland from English rule.

The facts speak for themselves. Both Bruce and his father supported Edward I's invasion of Scotland in 1296, hoping to gain the crown after Balliol's fall. They were understandably disappointed when Edward proceeded to install himself as king.

In 1297, Bruce, encouraged by Bishop Wishart, raised the standard of revolt at Irvine (the reason why he was absent at the Battle of Stirling Bridge). However, the rising failed, and Bruce, rather than join Wallace after the Scots victory at Stirling Bridge, kept a low profile until he could determine what the English reaction would be.

Bruce was also absent at the Battle of Falkirk, in which Wallace's army was devastated, but he seems to have made an effort to help by burning the town of Ayr to deny it to the English as they returned south.

In 1298, after the Scots defeat at Falkirk, Bruce and John Comyn replaced Wallace as Guardians of Scotland. They soon quarrelled, however, with Comyn supporting Balliol's claim to the throne, and Bruce was 'replaced' a year later. He continued to fight on until it seemed Balliol was about to return, then, once again, he submitted to the English king, hoping for recognition of his claim to the throne.

So Bruce wasn't averse to switching sides in pursuit of his goal, and this wasn't an unusual practice amongst noblemen in pursuit of power at the time. The rhetoric of the Declaration of Arbroath, 22 years later – "For as long as a hundred of us remain alive, we shall never on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English" – was never Bruce's rhetoric, for he had appealed to English lordship on more than one occasion.

1304 was a crucial year for Bruce. His father's death made him the Bruce claimant to the throne, and the Scots' capitulation in the face of English attacks ended hopes of a Balliol restoration. Edward, I had conquered Scotland, but he wasn't expected to live much longer. Bruce started to seek allies.

The Killing of Comyn
On 11th February 1306, Robert Bruce met John 'The Red' Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries. We don't know what they discussed, but an argument flared, swords were drawn, and Bruce stabbed Comyn before the high altar. Comyn's murder is not believed to have been premeditated; however, Bruce was excommunicated and outlawed, whilst Scotland was plunged into civil war.

Death and Burial
His body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, while his heart is buried in Melrose Abbey. His heart was to be taken on crusade to the Holy Land but only made it as far as Spain.

Blog Posts about Robert The Bruce
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