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The History of Scotland
An encapsulated history of medieval Scotland from 1290- 1320 when most of the significant events took place. No sources are provided because no guarantee of scholarly accuracy is offered. I base my view solely on my gut feel for the politics of time. I shun references that quote historical records written by the 'winners'
`1290- Alexander III, the last of the Celtic kings dies. There are no direct heirs to the throne. The curtain opens and an infant called Margaret, the Maid of Norway, grand daughter of Alexander, is recognized as Queen of Scotland under a Regency. (A Regency is defined as a group of rogues who spend most of their time scheming to kill each other off ). Margaret is supposed to come over and marry(?) an other infant, son of King Edward of England. Well the wee lassie conveniently dies on the boat over from Norway and now the fun begins.
1298- Willie Wallace shows up out of nowhere and enters the political field. The long established hierarchy of Norman nobles who arrogantly believe that they are God's chosen people to rule the earth, are most perplexed by his sudden appearance. Willie got into a street fight in Dundee with a constable by the name Selby, killed him and his body guards. Wallace was now a hunted man with a price on his head. He holed up in the forests of Selkirk and waged a guerrilla war on the English. As a consequence of this the Sheriff of Lanark killed his sweetheart, Mary Broadfute because she would not tell him where he was hiding. Wallace then went after the Sheriff of Lanark and killed him. The Normans thought that the English garrisons would finally get rid of him but he ended up beating the English in a major battle at Stirling Bridge. The "English" are really other Normans in disguise. Before long Wallace has driven the English out of Scotland altogether and is declared 'Regent of Scotland' in place of King John who is in exile in France. King Edward I of England is really annoyed and he sends a huge army to Scotland and they and Wallace meet at Falkirk. Robert de Bruce ( a Norman Baron) tells Wallace that he will lead an armored division ( armored mounted cavalry) to offset Edwards armor. ( Edward I, known as Longshanks, is Bruce's cousin, by the way). Poor Willie, he charges the English army and Bruce stands back on the hill and stays out of the battle. Wallace's army is massacred and that was the end of Willie who had to escape into exile. He came back later and was sucked into going to meeting set up by Sir John de Monteith where he thought he was going to meet Bruce. It was English soldiers who were waiting there, and we all know what happened to Wallace after that. Bruce was at his 'trial' and execution. Obviously he had nothing to fear from the Edward.
This account of Bruce's performance at Falkirk is hotly disputed by all fans of Robert de Bruce. Needless to say William Wallace had no opportunity to write his account. History is always written by the winners. I happen to be a fan of William Wallace. Here is my spin.
The Feudal system was the heart of Norman Law whether you were Edward I or Robert the Bruce. Under the Norman kings the king owned all the land but allowed favored individuals the use of it, as tenants, in exchange for service. The ordinary rural populous had no rights, and were not even permitted to leave their particular Manor. Under the Celtic Kings who were admired by William Wallace, the heart of Celtic law was the Feanachas more commonly known as the Brehon Laws. Even the lowest peasant could demand redress against anyone. Had William Wallace won at Falkirk the Norman Feudal system might have been abolished. The Normans had much to fear with regards to Wallace and this is my sense of the climate in which these events took place. I believe that Bruce's performance at Falkirk was not treachery, it was just a matter of where your best interest lay.
Anyway with Willie out of the way after Falkirk the Norman nobles heaved a sigh of relief and returned to their scheming and plotting as Bruce has his eye on the Scottish throne.
1300- There are three contenders to the throne of Scotland, Robert the Bruce, the Red Comyn, and John Balliol. Comyn and Balliol are pals with the English ( Norman) King. Both of them are willing to be King but would agree to be subject to the King of England. These two are also favoured by the Pope. The court ruling is that Balliol should get the job, so he becomes King of Scotland under the thumb of the King of England. The authority of Balliol who was known as King John was being constantly undermined by the endless rivalry between the Scottish nobles and himself. He was eventually deposed by Edward Longshanks and sent into exile for refusing to supply Edward with an army to fight some battle in France. The people of Berwick paid a terrible price for this refusal. As a lesson to all Edward burned the town of Berwick and everybody in it.
This left Comyn and Bruce as the next choice. There were plenty more people who thought they should be king, but they were content to let the courts settle the matter and did not get into any battles over it. Meanwhile Balliol and Bruce had been systematically attacking and taking over all the strategic Castles in Scotland during this time.
1305- Things come very quickly to a head as Bruce murders the Red Comyn on the alter steps of the Franciscan church in Dumfermline. The pope is not pleased and ex-communicates Bruce. Unabashed Bruce presses on and after hiding in caves and watching spiders do their thing he returns to mainland Scotland and with the help of Bishop Wishart , who gave him absolution for Comyn's death , and in the presence of his brothers and a few others he has himself declared King of Scotland . This took place in Scone Abbey in 1306. In truth , Wishart would pay dearly for this with long years in prison and loss of eyesight. Bruce's brothers would pay for it with their lives. It is interesting and relevant to my story that the old forbidden flag of the "King of Scots" was brought out and flown at the ceremony. Those kings did not see themselves as the Kings of Scotland as Bruce now declared himself. A totally Norman concept.
Bruce had learnt a great deal from Wallace in the art of guerrilla warfare and unconventional strategies to win battles. This will stand him in good stead as he prepares to meet an English army three times the size of his own.
THE MAIN EVENT
1314- Bannockburn.
When Bruce
declares himself King he makes it clear that he will not be a sub-king
under Edward II. Edward is rapt up in wars in France trying keep hold of his estates
there and can't do much about it. Anyway,
one day. Edward
II, who is the son Edward Longshanks, is now King and he receives news that Bruce has Stirling Castle under siege.
The guy who runs
the Castle has agreed to surrender if he, Edward, does not come to his aid
within a specified time. Edward decides
this is the last straw. Bruce has become a thorn in his side. He assembles
a vast army and marches north to take on Bruce in a major confrontation which takes place at Bannockburn
within sight of Stirling Castle. 
But an ironic twist of fate
favours Bruce that day. When Bruce was excommunicated he was now deemed to be
a pagan and Scotland, as far as the Papal Court was concerned, deemed
to be a pagan country. A precarious situation because it justified almost
anybody attacking you on the pretext of christianizing your butt. The other
side of that coin is that the Pope can't reach out and get you by order of the
Papal Court (The Pope, kings of Europe, other lesser rogues, schemers and plotters). Well, just
about this time the Templars ( the military arm of the "Prieur de Sion")
are getting roasted by the Pope and King "Philip the
Fair"at the Inquisition. Many of them escape to Scotland
with the remnants of a Templar Fleet and settle there with St. Clair of
Rosslyn
Castle as their spiritual leader, as it were. (The St.Clairs were Grandmasters of
the 'Prieur de Sion.) The Templars are most grateful to Bruce for giving them asylum and readily offer their services
in the impending battle. The presence of these fearsome heavily armored horsemen with their almost mystical reputation plays a major role in
Edwards' defeat at Bannockburn. Under the command of Keith the Marischal,
500 horse, fronted by the Templars drove the English Longbows from the field
removing a serious threat to Bruce's pike defense against the English Cavalry.
The zeal shown by the Knights in this battle was
probably heightened by the news that the last Grandmaster of the Templars,
Jaques de Maloy, had been burned at the stake in Paris. If Bruce loses
they are next in line. If you are intrigued by co-incidences, the battle was
fought on the longest day of the year, a major Templar celebration. It
was the feast of John the Baptist.
1319- Edwards army has gone off again to France and Bruce seizing the moment, makes a surprise attack on Berwick and captures it. He is aided by James Douglas and the Earl of Moray. This happens just after the Pope has tried to get both parties, Bruce and Edward, to cease hostilities. The Pope then threatens to excommunicate Douglas and the Earl of Moray. It's all too much for the Scottish nobles. They have used up all their resources in endless wars against the more prosperous and numerically superior English. It's time to kiss butt.
1320- The Declaration of Arbroath is drawn up by the Scottish nobles and sent to the Pope asking him to dissuade the English from further outrages against the Scottish throne, recognize Bruce as King of Scotland and Scotland a Nation. There is no reply from the Vatican but nine years later the Pope, 10 days after Bruce had died, did recognize Bruce as a King and more importantly, that Scotland was a Nation. The throne had passed on to Bruce's son David who was five. Once again Scotland was under a Regency. Back to square one.
If you love the art of speculation, then speculate on how the history of Scotland would have been changed had William Wallace WON at Falkirk. I am sure that Willie was more than a little disgruntled when he saw Bruce and his gang standing back. Had he won, Robert's career would have taken a definite turn for the worst. Willie had planned a surprise night attack on the English forces but two Norman barons made their way to the English camp and forewarned them giving them the exact location of Wallace's' army. Edward promptly moved camp and confronted Wallace at Falkirk. It would make sense to me that this was when the barons made an agreement to stay out of the battle.
Why did succession after succession of English kings send troops to Scotland to ensure that Scotland did not become an independent nation? It was Scotland's strong connection with France that opened up the possibility of a combined French and Scottish army attacking England. Only with Scotland under English rule could England safely enjoy the protection of the English channel. This Island, this Realm, this England and all that.
The Editor.