Skip to main content

Week 48: Troublemaker #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

One man's 'troublemaker' can be another man's hero. One of my 20th great-grandfathers was such a man.  And a famous one at that!
Robert the Bruce, King Robert I of Scotland for the last two decades of his life, was certainly a troublemaker in the eyes of the English. An ardent proponent for Scottish Independence, he is best known for defeating the English Army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. After Bannockburn, he was not content to just defend Scotland, but actively led incursions into the north of England. Nowadays he is still revered as one of Scotland's heroes.
Image from www.factinate.com

But this wasn't always the case. Many Scots had cause to see him as a troublemaker too - or  at times, even worse, a traitor.  When, in 1296,  the then King John Balliol required all able bodied Scots to fight against the English, Robert was one of several Scottish nobles to ignore the summons. Notably then the first city attacked by Balliol's troops was Carlisle, the Bruces' principal residence. His lands of Annandale had already been confiscated as a result of him 'disobeying' the King.

When Edward I of England then invaded Scotland, deposing Balliol and installing Englishmen to govern Scotland, Robert  then swore feality to the English king. However, less than a year later and still only a young man of 22, he joined the rebels fighting for Scottish Independence against the English.

After the Battle of Falkirk in 1298, Robert the Bruce and John Comyn were appointed as Joint Guardians of Scotland. This caused a problem for the country as John Comyn, nephew and supporter of John Balliol, had a serious claim to the Scottish throne and was thus Bruce's enemy. A third neutral Guardian had to be appointed, but eventually Bruce resigned.

In 1302,  he again swapped his allegiances, marrying the daughter of a close friend and ally of Edward I. Despite this, Bruce continued to believe he was the rightful heir to the Scottish throne, but John Comyn still stood in his way.  Comyn was one of the most powerful nobles in Scotland. According to some chroniclers, in 1305 the two swore a secret agreement where Comyn would agree to forfeit his claim in favour of Bruce in exchange for land, should Bruce lead an uprising. It then appears that Comyn betrayed Bruce to Edward I or some say they had a fight. Whatever happened, Bruce and his supporters  ended up stabbing Comyn to death in Greyfriars Monastery.  This was the start of Bruce's campaign for the Scottish throne and Scottish Independence. At the same time, the killing of Comyn resulted in his being ex-communicated by the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, Robert the Bruce, my 20th great-grandfather was crowned as King of Scotland six weeks later.
Statue of King Robert I of Scotland at Stirling Castle (own photo)

So, Grandpa Robert got himself into a lot of trouble with the English, with fellow Scots and the Catholic Church  before becoming king and ending up a hero!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2025 Week 26 : Favourite name #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

 As well as researching my own family, one of the other trees I have spent a lot of time on is that of my daughter-in-law, Lucy. Whereas my heritage is Scots and Irish, Lucy's is English and therefore some of the names I came across were quite different to those found in my own tree. One of my first favourites was a Francis Badger who appeared in the 1851 census for England! He wasn't actually a relative, but an apprentice to Lucy's 3 x great grandfather and who also lodged with the family.  I did wonder how that  surname came about - did the original Badger have  a funnily shaped face? or perhaps a white streak through his hair?? Or was he just an annoying person?? I'll never know, but it was fun to find him! Francis Badger's entry at the bottom in the 1851 census for England. Source: Ancestry.co.uk However, my all time favourite name - and character - from Lucy's tree is a man named Golden Bridge ! He is Lucy's 5x great grandfather and he was born in Essex...
Post a Comment
Read more

2024 Week 19: Preserve #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

 A few years ago, I came into the possession of a family bible. It was the family bible of my paternal grandparents, John McAra and Christina Walker. Until her death in 2018, the bible had been in the hands of my Aunt Inez, widow of my Uncle Will McAra. When I started enquiring as to its whereabouts, I found that it was her grandson, John, who now had it. John himself had no real interest in it at all, so he was quite happy to hand it over to me. However, it was, to say the least, in a bit of a state. The front cover was completely detached and there were many loose pages as the spine of the book was also damaged and detached. I had no choice but to take it to a book repairer in Glasgow, where it was repaired as best it could be. The bible itself had been originally published in Glasgow in the late 19th century. In Victorian times it was common for Christian families to have such a large bible in which they could record events such as births, marriages and deaths. The one I have al...
1 comment
Read more

2025 Week 12: Historic Event #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

The Battle of Arbroath, one of Scotland's bloodiest battles, was fought in the summer of 1345 between rival claimants to the post of Baillie of the Regality. The Baillie of the Regality chosen by the monks of Arbroath Abbey at that time was Alexander Lindsay. This post gave Lindsay power and prestige and he was responsible for upholding the law in the lands around the abbey. However, like many men in positions of authority both past and present, he chose to abuse his position of power and his fighting men caused mayhem within the walls of the Abbey. This led to the monks deciding to replace Lindsay with Alexander Ogilvy, who had hereditary claims to the position, but who unfortunately was Lindsay's enemy ... and my 15 x great-uncle! His sister, Isobel had married into Clan Oliphant and, on paper at least, Isobel is my 15 x great grandmother! Of course, the appointment of Ogilvy was not acceptable to Lindsay, who then raised an army of 1000 men and marched to Arbroath Abbey to r...
1 comment
Read more