Robert the Bruce
Born 1274 in Scotland. Liberator, and as Robert, I, king of Scotland
(1306-1329). He was origninally named Robert de Bruce, and to distinguish
himself from his father and grandfather, who had the same name, he is often
referred to as Robert de Bruce VIII. He is also called Robert the
Bruce. As earl of Carrick he paid homage to King Edward I of England,
hwo, in 1396, defeated King John Baliol and thereafter refused to acknowledge
another king of Scotland. Bruce later abandoned Edward's cause and
joined other Scottish leaders in taking up arms for the independence of
his country. In 1299, the year after the Scottish patriot Sir William
Wallace was defeated by Edward at Falkirk, Bruce, then still in favor with
Edward, was made one of the four regents who ruled the kingdom in the name
of Baliol. In 1305 he was one of those consulted in the decision
to make an old enemy, the Scottish patriot John Comyn (d. 1306), who was
the nephew of Baliol; a quarrel occurred, and Bruce stabbed Comyn.
Bruce proclaimed his right to the throne, and on March 27, 1306, he was
crowned king at Scone.
Bruce was deposed, however in 1307 by Edward's army and forced to flee
to the highlands and then to the little island of Rathlin on the coast
of Atrim (now in Northern Ireland). In his absence all his estates
were confiscated, and he and his followers excomunicated. He continued
to recruit followers, however, and in less than two years he wrested nearly
all of Scotland from the English. Bruce again defeated the
English in 1314 in the Battle of Bannockburn, twice invaded England, and
in 1323 concluded with King Edward II of England for a truce of 13 years.
After the accession of King Edward III in 1327, war again broke out, and
the Scots won again. In 1328 they secured a treaty recognizing the
independence of Scotland and the right of Bruce to the throne.
In his later years Bruce was stricken with leprosy and lived in seclusion
at Cardross Castle, on the northern shore of the Firth of Clyde, where
he died. He was succeeded by his son, David, II. Bruce's nephew,
Robert II, who succeeded David, was the first king of the Stuart house
of English and Scottish royalty.
---from Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia