Bannockburn

Posted in History, Trips at 12:00 on 12 February 2025

Bannockburn is the site of the Scottish nation’s birth. Had it not been for the victory Robert the Bruce won over the forces of the English King Edward II in 1314 Scotland would almost certainly have been absorbed into England, as Wales was under the previous King Edward – Edward I, known as Longshanks and also as the Hammer of the Scots. (Not that the intervening 700+ years have eroded Welsh identity entirely away nor the three hundred since the Union of the Parliaments diluted the sense of Scottishness.) But Scotland as we know it would not exist, its separate legal and educational system not even a fleeting thought.

While the fact of the battle is undeniable there is no archæological evidence of the actual battle site, most of the soldiers’ accoutrements being perishable, its exact location is now a matter of conjecture informed by historical sources and topography.

We visited the Visitor Centre in April. This is the major information board:-

There was also this tableau of the battle site constructed from historical references:-

The tour guide (a genial Englishman) was very informative and there were some cartoonish films no doubt intended to appeal to children filling in some of the background to the battle.

On the small hill outside the Visitor Centre there is a huge flagpole flying the Saltire of Scotland. It is situated within a rotunda:-

Inside the rotunda is a cairn which bears the inscription “For God and St Andrew Robert the Bruce King of Scots planted his flag near this spot when the Scottish patriots under his command vanquished the armies of Edward of England at the Battle of Bannockburn, 24th June 1314.” Below that is a quote from the Declaration of Arbroath, the assertion of Scottish nationhood sent to the Pope in 1320. “We fight not for glory nor for wealth nor honour but only and alone we fight for freedom which no good man surrenders but with his life.”