The Fields Of Bannockburn

The quest is begun. Join Mary, Brad and Gareth as together they set forth on their mission, an adventure that entertwines past and present and that ultimately teaches them life-changing truths.

The battle of Bannockburn, fought on the fields south of Stirling at midsummer 1314, is the best known event in the history of Medieval Scotland. It was a unique event. The clash of two armies, each led by a king, followed a clear challenge to a battle to determine the status of Scotland and its survival as a separate realm. As a key point in the Anglo-Scottish wars of the fourteenth century, the battle has been extensively discussed, but Bannockburn was also a pivotal event in the history of the British Isles. This book analyses the road to Bannockburn, the campaign of 1314 and the aftermath of the fight. It demonstrates that in both its context and legacy the battle had a central significance in the shaping of nations and identities in the late Medieval British Isles.

Pete Armstrong's illustrated account of the Battle of Bannockburn, a pivotal campaign in the First War of Scottish Independence. Bannockburn was the climax of the career of King Robert the Bruce. In 1307 King Edward I of England, 'The Hammer of the Scots' and nemesis of William Wallace, died and his son, Edward II, was not from the same mould. Idle and apathetic, he allowed the Scots the chance to recover from the grievous punishment inflicted upon them. By 1314 Bruce had captured every major English-held castle bar Stirling and Edward II took an army north to subdue the Scots. Pete Armstrong's account of this battle culminates at the decisive battle of Bannockburn that finally won Scotland her independence.

What did war look like in the cultural imagination of 1914? Why did men in Scotland sign up to fight in unprecedented numbers? What were the martial myths shaping Scottish identity from the aftermath of Bannockburn to the close of the nineteenth century, and what did the Scottish soldiers of the First World War think they were fighting for? Scotland and the First World War: Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Bannockburn is a collection of new interdisciplinary essays interrogating the trans-historical myths of nation, belonging and martial identity that shaped Scotland’s encounter with the First World War. In a series of thematically linked essays, experts from the fields of literature, history and cultural studies examine how Scotland remembers war, and how remembering war has shaped Scotland.

Most people are familiar with references to Scottish battles such as Bannockburn and Flodden but know little if anything about those events. Rugby and soccer fans outside Scotland may wonder at the sign 1314 held up by Scottish fans and not know that it is the date of the Battle of Bannockburn when an English king was defeated on Scottish soil. The battle is also commemorated in Scotlands unofficial national anthem, The Flower of Scotland. Battles fought on Scottish soil include those of the Scottish Wars of Independence, those occasioned by the English Civil Wars and the Jacobite Rebellions. This book tells the stories of these battles and many others fought in Scotland from the Roman victory at Mons Graupius in AD 83 to the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden Moor in 1746.

Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) was the famous unifier of Scotland and defeater of the English at Bannockburn - the legendary hero responsible for Scottish independence. Michael Penman retells the story of Robert's rise - his part in William Wallace's revolt against Edward I, his seizing of the Scottish throne after murdering his great rival John Comyn, his excommunication, and devastating battles against an enemy Scottish coalition - climaxing in his victory over Edward II's forces in June 1314. He then draws attention to the second part of the king's life after the victory that made his name.