Braveheart is a great piece of entertainment, however, it is mostly pure fiction, and riddle with historical inaccuracies. The one thing that Braveheart, and pretty much the only thing Braveheart gets right, is it's portrayal of Robert the Bruce.
But, as great as Braveheart is, let us leave it behind to focus on the real Robert the Bruce. Some quick facts about Robert the BruceRobert the Bruce was born in 1274, on July 11th, at Turnberry Castle in Aryshire. He died in 1329, on the 7th of June at Manor of Cardross His coronation happen in 1299 on 15th of December His heart was buried at Melrose Abbey His body was buried at Dunfermline Abbey He was Catholic Early lifeUnlike William Wallace, we have a good in-depth details about Robert the Bruce's life; mainly because he was a monarch. His father was English, and the Bruce's held many English lands. It is therefore thought by historians, that Robert likely was brought up in English customs, and traditions. It is possible that Bruce spoke both in Gaelic, and Scots, it is also highly likely that he also spoke in Latin. He is thought to have moved between castles as a young boy. This would have meant that he would have been traveling to areas of Scotland which had different languages, such as; Gaelic, Scots, and Latin. Although the vast majority of Scots today speak English, there are still pockets of these languages left, but, in Bruce's time, it would have been much more widespread, virtually no one at the time would have spoke English in the era of Bruce. His ability to speak different languages matters, it shows that he was intelligent, and that he was educated. Murder of John Coymn, Robert the Bruce makes his first dent in the history books when he murders John Coymn; Coymn was not only a noble, but, it is said that he was Scotland's most powerful noble of the time. He was not only very powerful, but Coymn also had some powerful Nobel allies on both sides of the boarder, both in England and in Scotland. He also owned land the length and breadth of Scotland, from the lowlands, through the Central belt, and right up to the highlands, in places like Fife, Aberdeen, and Angus. The power that Coymn had in the ownership of large swathes of land was one thing that made Coymn a strong threat to Robert the Bruce, but, it was not the only thing, or even the most worrisome thing for Bruce; as Coymn had claim, and laid claim to the Scottish throne. It made both men rivals. It is suggested that Coymn signed an agreement, which gave up his right to the Scottish throne. An agreement made to both Robert Bruce, and Edward I of England. However, Coymn is said to have broke that agreement, which marked him as a traitor to his word. Because of this, Bruce sought out to challenge Coymn. Bruce, on 10th of February, 1306, asked to meet with Coymn at the Chapel of Greyfairs Monestray. Some sources say that Bruce murdered Coymn, others say that Bruce assaulted Coymn, and that Coymn was finished off by one of Bruce's men. Another source, an, English source tells that Bruce planned to murder Coymn, to gain the murder of the Scottish throne. Several sources conflict on what really happened in the Church that day, and the true nature of Coymns murder, but, as Coymn threatened to take Bruce's crown, it is highly likely that Bruce did plan to murder Coymn, whether he directly did it, or indirectly done it, is debatable.
A bruce crownedJust six weeks after Coymn was murdered, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland. The murder of Coymn seems to be an omen for Robert the Bruce's entire reign, as his reign as king was a battle, a war torn Scotland.
Bruce was corinated king of Scot's just a few months after William Wallace was dead. if anything, the challanges that Bruce faced during his reign, were worse than the ones that were faced during the time of Wallace. Just shortly after his coronation, Scotland was invaded by England. As Edward's assult on Scotland grew stronger, so did his assult on Bruce himself. Edward seemed to be king of Scotland, not Bruce, as lands were taken away from Scots, and those loyal to Bruce, and they were given to those loyal to Edward. Not only that, Bruce's female family was captutered by the English, and sent to be imprisoned for four years. The fact that Edward imprisoned members of the Scottish royals, and that he seized much Scottish lands, provideds evidence that Edward was a far greater monarch, in the sense that he was more powerful, and that he had a stronger army. It suggests that Robert the Bruce was a weak king in several ways.
War in the highlandsBruce evaded being captured by the English by being in the highlands; he was in battle in the highlands for many years after the death of Edward I, who died June 7th, 1306.
Bruce, from 1306 to 1308 spent his time in the highlands battiling with two enemies. He battled with the English on one hand, and he battled with John Coymns family, specifically John Coymn 3rd, Earl of Buchan. Essentially in his early years as king, Robert Bruce was fighting a Scottish civil war, and a foreign invasion. 1309, A show of strengthFinally, in 1309, Robert Bruce had a show of strength, he contained the rebellion in the North, and fought of the English. By 1309, he had control of the North, and the highlands. In March of that year, Bruce held his first parlaiment in St Andrews. He managed to gain the support of his councilers, and of the clergy. There were still English strongholds, castles held at this time, though, by 1312, he and his men managed to capture a fair few castles from the English, including Dumbarton. He was slowly gaining, and winning Scotland. Bruce finally one Scotland when he one the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. It showed that he had stregth, determination, and courage. And why he is remembered as one of Scotland's greatest monarchs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2023
Categories
All
← Resize me
|