Bannockburn Stirlingshire United Kingdom

Robert VIII de Bruce, or Robert the Bruce, as King Robert I of Scotland from 1306 to 1329, frees Scotland from English rule, wins the decisive Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and ultimately confirms Scottish independence in the Treaty of Northampton (1328).

The major decisive event in the life of Robert, who is reportedly a redhead, is the murder of John (”the Red”) Comyn in the Franciscan church at Dumfries on February 10, 1306, either by Bruce or his followers.

Comyn, a nephew of John de Balliol, was a possible rival for the crown, and Bruce's actions suggest that he had already decided to seize the throne.

Proceeding quickly to Scone, he is crowned there on March 25.

The Scots have by 1314 recovered all the castles controlled by English garrisons except Berwick and Stirling.

Edward II leads a large and lavishly equipped English army, heavy with cavalry, north in an effort to relieve Robert the Bruce’s months-long siege of Stirling Castle.

Bruce creates a two thousand-foot front by positioning eight thousand men on a hill at Bannockburn, near Stirling, placing his left flank in dense woods and his right on a bend the brook.

The English must not only advance up a hill but must also cross a bog in order to reach it.

Edward gives the order to advance on June 24; as the heavily armored knights advance through a hail of Scottish spears and arrows, they begin to sink in the marsh while Scottish spearmen drive back Edward’s archers.

The English, although superior in number by a factor of three to one, suffer heavy losses against the Scottish pikemen and soon retreat with the Scottish infantry in pursuit.

Edward panics and flees, followed by his surviving troops.

The Scots consider the victory a confirmation of their independence, but the obstinate Edward refuses to agree.