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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Robert the Bruce

King Robert the Bruce of Scotland- Author; S.A Farabi-

Robert the Bruce was the king of Scots from 1306 till his death in 1329. He was born on July 11th 1274 and died on June 7th, 1329.

He is one of the most renowned warriors of his generation as he is the one that eventually led Scotland to its first war of independence against England.

He fought in order to gain Scotland as an independent kingdom. He is now remembered in Scotland as a national hero.

1. Bruce was defeated twice before

Robert the Bruce Statue- Author; dun_deagh-

Robert the bruce was defeated in his first two battles against the English. The first time was on June 19th 1306 at Methven near Perth and the second time was on August 11th 1306 at Daltry near Tyndrum, Perthshire.

In those defeats, his wife and many of his supporters were captured. Three of his brothers were executed.

2. He was inspired by a spider to not give up

Spider image- Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from

After his defeats, Robert became a fugitive and hid on the remote island of Rathlin off the north Irish coast.

As a fugitive, he was being hunted down by both the English and Comyn’s friends for murdering him. Comyn was the chief opponent of Bruce during the first war of Scottish independence. He was the earl of Buchan.

While hiding, he is said to have watched a spider swinging from one rafter to another, time and time again, in an attempt to anchor its web.

The spider failed six times without giving up and succeeded on its seventh attempt. Robert took this to be a sign and resolved to keep the fight going without giving up.

3. A promise he made more than 100 years ago is still being kept

On October 1327, Elizabeth de Burgh, Bruce’s second wife died after falling from her horse during a visit to the royal residence at Cullen, Banffshire.

Plans were made to transport her body to Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, the place of resting for all Scottish kings and queens since 1093.

Parishioners in Cullen were worried that her remains would not arrive intact. To take care of her remains, they took the initiative of having her internal organs removed during the embalming process and also held masses to pray for her soul.

Robert the Bruce was grateful for the good treatment Elizabeth’s body received and its safe return to the South for burial.

To show his gratitude, Robert decreed a chaplaincy be established at the now the parish church of Cullen. The decree was that a total of five Scots pounds every year will be paid to the parish.

He promised to donate the money for all eternity and to date, that bequest is still being paid. Prayer is now always said in the queen’s honour at a Sunday service.

4. Bruce’s victory over England was one of its kind

Robert the Bruce Statue, Bannockburn- Author; Kim Traynor-

After trying severally to achieve Scotland’s independence from England, he was finally able to do so by winning the decisive battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

By winning that battle, he was able to achieve English agreement to full Scottish independence in the 1328 treaty of Northampton.

His victory is considered one of its kind because his army was quite small compared to Edward 2’s. Edward is estimated to have assembled an army of 13,000 infantry and roughly 3,000 cavalries to aid those who were still loyal to him in Scotland.

Robert on the other hand gathered his smaller force consisting f about 7,000 infantry and several hundred light horses.

To win the battle, Robert used geography to his advantage. He planned to use the trees there so as to funnel any attack into his heavy infantry and freshly dug anti-cavalry ditches.

His strategy forced the English to attempt crossing two large streams. It was a surprising victory that became a turning point in the Scottish war of independence as it helped secure Scotland’s freedom.

5. Robert the Bruce was outlawed by King Edward and excommunicated by the pope

A bishop denouncing sentence of ex-communication- Author; John Cassell-

In the year 1296, Robert the Bruce and his father supported Edward 1’s invasion of Scotland which forced John Balliol, king of Scotland at the time to renounce his throne. Later, Bruce supported William Wallace’s uprising against the English.

After Wallace’s defeat, Bruce’s lands were not confiscated and so in 1298, he became a guardian of Scotland with John Comyn, Balliol’s nephew. Comyn was Bruce’s greatest rival for the Scottish throne.

In 1306, Bruce quarrelled with Comyn and stabbed him in a church in Dumfries. This led him to be outlawed by Edward and excommunicated by Pope Clement V. He however received absolution from Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow.

6. Bruce was crowned as King of Scots at Scone.

Robert the Bruce crowned as King of Scots- Author; Kim Traynor-

On March 25th 1306, Robert the Bruce was inaugurated as King of Scotland at Scone (a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland).

The ceremony took place without the Stone of Scone and the Scottish crown jewels as they had been taken by Edward 1 to England in 1296. Only a few supporters were present and the ceremony was led by the countess of Buchan.

Because Bruce still had the support of Bishop Wishart, he was pardoned for his supposed crimes.

The bishop convinced him that it was time to declare himself king, thus the inauguration. He even helped with Bruce’s coronation.

The fact that his coronation was attended by only a few supporters emphasized the lack of support he had among Scottish nobles as many of them were allied to John Comyn whom he was accused of killing or John Balliol whom he refused to back and thus was abdicated.

This threatened the breakout of a civil war. Two of which he was defeated. One at Methven wood and another at Dalry.

7. Despite being Scotland’s hero, he spent years siding with England

In the 1290s, the Bruce family spent most of their time complaining that they had been robbed of the Scottish crown after the English King, Edward 1, was asked to arbitrate and chose John Balliol to be king instead of Bruce’s grandmother.

The Bruces felt that they had closer blood ties to the previous royal family and thus considered Balliol as a usurper.

That’s why when tensions later arose between Edward 1 and Balliol,  the Bruces took the English side. They refused to back Balliol and sided with England when he invaded Scotland in 1296, thus forcing Balliol to renounce his throne.

8. Robert instructed for his heart to be carried into battle

Melrose Abbey marking the spot where the heart of Robert the Bruce was buried- Photo by Michael Garlick-

On his deathbed in 1329, Robert the Bruce asked for his heart to be carried into the battle against the ‘infidels’ because he himself would not be able to go on a crusade. Removal of internal organs at the time was a common practice.

His body was buried in Dunfermline Abbey and when it was exhumed in 1818, his ribs were found to have been sawn through. Thus indicating that his heart had indeed been taken from his body.

9. Sent the Declaration of Arbroath

Declaration of Arbroath- Author; Coldupnorth-

After the Bannockburn and Scottish capture of Berwick in 1318, Edward 2 refused to give up his claim to the overlordship of Scotland.

It took a while and after 2 years in 1320, the Scottish earls and barons sent a letter to Pope John XXII declaring that Robert was their rightful monarch.

This was known as the ‘declaration of Arbroath’ and it asserted the antiquity of the Scottish people and their monarchy.

10. Robert the Bruce received papal recognition as an independent King of Scotland

Franco- Scottish alliance was renewed in the treaty of Corbeil where the scots were obliged to make war on England should hostilities ever break out between England and France.

In 1327, Edward 2 was disposed of by the English in favour of his son and peace was made with Scotland. This included total renunciation of all English claims to superiority over Scotland.

Statue of Robert the Bruce in front of Stirling castle- Photo by Guillaume Piolle-

Robert the Bruce is considered a hero among the Scottish people because of his resilience in fighting for the independence of Scotland. He remains very relevant and a key figure in the history of Scotland’s independence.