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Robert the Bruce is one of the great patriotic figures of Scottish history. His most famous accomplishment was the leading of the Scots to resounding victory against a bigger, better-equipped, English army under Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314, and thus obtaining independence for Scotland. In this biography, Ronald McNair Scott paints a romantic picture of the Scottish king.
Scott portrays Bruce as a man with twin desires; Scottish independence, and the crown of that free Scotland. Although the author does "take Bruce's side" on some issues (more on this later), he does not attempt to hide the fact that Bruce did not become an active supporter of independence immediately upon entering Scottish politics, nor to disguise the nature of the internecine struggle between the various Scottish factions. His general picture of Bruce himself is that of a man in tune with the chivalrous ideal of the day - a decent, compassionate, good-humoured, yet unbelievably tough individual.
That Scott is an admirer of Bruce is clear throughout the book, and it does, in places, influence his narrative. For example, he tends to avoid going into too much detail about James Douglas' raids into Northern England; no doubt the effects on the local populace were horrendous, but little comment is made on this. However, I could find no evidence that Scott had actually changed "the facts" of Bruce's life; the reader must merely keep in mind where Scott's sympathies lie.
Slight pro-Scottish bias aside, Scott has written an excellent biography, one that combines informative material with writing that draws the reader in. This book will be especially valuable to those who have a basic knowledge of that time period, and wish for more information; Scott adeptly handles the convolutions of medieval European politics (although on the surface, Bruce's career may seem merely a Scots-English conflict, the Catholic Church, the Flemish, the French, the Norwegians, the Irish, and others were also involved). If one is looking for a well-written, engaging biography of a medieval figure, Robert the Bruce: King of Scots will probably satisfy.
Reviewed by Patrick Conway on February 14, 1997. Photograph from Photogold.
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