The Battle of Bannockburn
A knight charged the King of Scots on a pony, was killed by an axe blow to the head, and the next day England's mightiest army was running for its life.
Published
Quick Facts
- Date
- 23–24 June 1314
- Location
- Just south of Stirling, on the boggy ground beside the Bannock Burn
- Sides
- Robert the Bruce's Scots versus Edward II's English army
- Outcome
- A decisive Scottish victory
- Trigger
- A deal to hand over besieged Stirling Castle unless it was relieved by midsummer
- Famous moment
- Bruce kills Sir Henry de Bohun in single combat on day one
- Key Scottish commanders
- Robert the Bruce, Thomas Randolph and Sir James Douglas
- Aftermath
- England formally recognised Scottish independence in 1328
The deadline that started it all
On 24 June 1314, near Stirling, Robert the Bruce's Scots crushed a much larger English army under Edward II and secured Scotland's place as an independent kingdom in practice, if not yet on paper. The battle only happened because of a bargain. Bruce's brother Edward had been besieging Stirling Castle, one of the keys to Scotland, held by an English garrison under Sir Philip Mowbray. Mowbray agreed to surrender if no English army came to relieve him by midsummer. Bruce didn't want a pitched battle. He had won his war with raids and burnt-out castles. But the deal forced Edward II's hand, and he marched north with a huge host. Now Bruce had to fight.
The pony, the axe and the knight
On the first day, as the English vanguard approached, Bruce was riding in front of his men on a small horse, with a battle-axe and a crown over his helmet. Sir Henry de Bohun, a young English knight on a heavy warhorse, spotted him and charged, lance levelled. Bruce sidestepped the lance and brought his axe down on de Bohun's head. The story goes that the shaft snapped with the force of it. His commanders told him off for taking such a risk. Bruce reportedly just regretted the broken axe. That same day, Thomas Randolph's spearmen formed up in tight hedgehog formations called schiltrons and held off an English cavalry attack. The Scots had shown they could stand against armoured horsemen. English confidence took a knock before the main fight even began.
Trapped between burn and river
The English spent the night on the low, marshy carse beside the Bannock Burn, hemmed in by water on several sides. At dawn the Scots, who had been hidden in the woods of the New Park, advanced in their schiltrons. The English were caught off balance. Their army was too big and too cramped to deploy properly. Their archers, who might have shredded the Scottish formations, were poorly placed and were scattered by a Scottish cavalry charge. The Earl of Gloucester, Gilbert de Clare, led a charge and was killed. As the English lines crumbled, many were driven back against the burns and the Forth, where drowning claimed lives. Edward II fled with his bodyguard, reaching Dunbar and then sailing to Berwick.
Myth versus reality
The old picture is plucky Scots against impossible odds. The English army was certainly larger, but numbers from medieval chroniclers are slippery, and Bruce chose his ground brilliantly. This wasn't just courage, it was careful planning. Another tradition says the Scottish camp followers, the so-called small folk, appeared on Gillies Hill carrying makeshift banners, and the English took them for a fresh army and panicked. It's a great tale, but it comes from later telling, so treat it as legend. The battle also didn't end the war. Fighting dragged on for years. Bruce used the victory to pressure England: the Earl of Hereford, captured at Bothwell Castle after Bannockburn, was exchanged for Bruce's wife, daughter and other family members, who'd been held in English captivity for years. Full recognition of independence came with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328, and in 1320 Scottish nobles sent the Declaration of Arbroath to the Pope, defending their kingdom's freedom.
What you can see today
The exact battlefield is still debated, because Stirling's suburbs have since swallowed much of the landscape. But the story is well marked. The Bannockburn site, run by the National Trust for Scotland, has a heritage centre opened for the 700th anniversary in 2014, with a 3D battle experience. Outside stands the bronze statue of Bruce on horseback, made by Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson and unveiled in 1964. Nearby is the Borestone, traditionally where Bruce raised his standard. Stirling Castle looks down on it all, the prize both sides were really fighting for. And Bannockburn lives on in song: the lines about sending the English 'homeward tae think again' in 'Flower of Scotland', written by Roy Williamson of The Corries, are a nod to this battle.
Notable people
- Robert the Bruce
- Edward II
- Sir Henry de Bohun
- Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray
- Sir James Douglas
- Edward Bruce
- Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester
- Sir Philip Mowbray
- Roy Williamson
- Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson
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