10. battle of bannockburn

LEARNING INTENTIONS

• Describe events at the Battle of Bannockburn

• Explain reasons why the Scots won the Battle of Bannockburn

Having ended the Scottish Civil War, King Robert had been gradually winning back control of castles across Scotland from

the English. The next castle to be won was Stirling.

The Scottish army laid siege to Stirling Castle.

The castle’s governor, Sir Philip Mowbray, had agreed to hand control of the castle to Bruce by Midsummer Day 1314

unless an English army was sent north. Edward II thus

led an army north.

There is a significant historical debate about the size of both

armies at Bannockburn.

It is certainly the case that the English army was much larger

than the Scots’, however the specific numbers are not

entirely clear.

Modern estimates suggest that the English had around 2000mounted knights and 15,000

footsoldiers.

Some of the English army was made up of foreign

mercenaries as many English barons had sent the minimum

number of men required, or paid scutage (Shield Tax) instead.

Many of the English army (up to 3000) were archers,

especially those forces provided from Wales by Sir Roger

Mortimer.

Overall, the English army at Bannockburn was smaller

than Edward II had hoped for, although still bigger than

Bruce’s forces.

England’s army was split into three sections (called Battles):

vanguard, mudguard, rearguard.

The army was organised by the Constable of England (the

Earl of Hereford). King Edward II took part simply as a knight, not the commander, although

did cause confusion by appointing conflicting leaders.

The Scottish army is believed to have been around 5000

men in size (around one-third the size of England’s). This was

a professional army and likely the biggest that Scotland

could afford to have.

The Scots were divided into three schiltrons of roughly

1500 men each.

Most of the Scottish army fought on foot, often using the pike. Farming tools were also

commonly used too.

The Scots had a small number of archers (using short bows, rather than longbows). There

were also a few hundred knights on horseback who

may dismount to fight.

Bruce had chosen the battle site so the Scots had trained on the field for weeks beforehand, and

also set traps (such as pits).

Although Bruce was in overall command, the schiltrons were

led by three men: Bruce himself led one whilst Edward Bruce

and Thomas Randolph commanded the others.

The fighting took place across two days: 23-24 June 1314.

Bruce used a nearby wooded hill to shelter his men and hide

their numbers.

They also dug pots (small uneven holes) either as traps or

to force the English to take a certain direction.

It is not clear if either side planned to fight on the first day. Bruce wanted to know more about the size of the

English army.

The English army was disorganised. A small force of around 300 knights led by the

Earl of Hereford went to scout the Scottish army.

The English scout force came across Robert the Bruce.

One English knight, Henry de Bohun, saw a chance to end the

battle it even started by killing Bruce. de Bohun charged at the

unprepared Bruce who calmly sat on his horse, evaded the attack and crushed de Bohun’s skull

with his battleaxe.

Another English scout group, led by Sir Robert Clifford, also met a Scottish schiltron,

after avoiding the pots and thus crossing soft marshland.

They tried to attack but were forced by the schiltron’s pikes. The English retreated, either

back to their camp or to Stirling Castle.

Morale was very different in both camps.

The Scots were celebratingBruce’s killing of de Bohun and the repelling of Clifford’s forces.

The English were still tired from their march and dismayed at the two failures. Many had assumed

it would be an easy victory.

King Robert was unsure of his plans for the following day. However a Scottish knight,

Alexander de Seton, defected from Edward’s army

to join the Scots.

When Bruce was told of the English army’s poor morale

and organisation, he decided to attack the next day.

Overnight, King Edward II decided to move the

English camp, to allow for an attack from a different

position the next day.

The decision to move the camp meant the English army were given little

rest, which further hurt morale.

The following day the Scottish army took up their positions. Before the battle they knelt in prayer before the Bishop of Arbroath.

King Edward is said to have believed that this was in fact

the Scots surrenderingand asking for his

forgiveness.

The English also prepared to fight. However their new

position meant that they couldnot use the archers for fear of

hitting their own men.

As the Scots’ schiltronsadvanced, the English knights and army charged. However

the boggy ground made it difficult for the horses.

The English could not break the schiltrons but the Scots’

movement meant they were now exposed to English archers.

Just as the firing started –causing major casualties –

Bruce signalled for a Scottish reserve force on Coxet Hill –the sma’ folk - to attack the

English archers.

It was now clear that the Scots were going to win. The English army panicked and retreated.

Many English soldiers drowned in the Bannockburn.

Edward escaped and sought shelter in Stirling Castle but was refused. He eventually made it back to England, via

Dunbar Castle.

Many soldiers died on both sides, but the English army

suffered most.

Contemporary accounts – the Lanercost Chroncile and the Scalacronia – speak of

thousands of footsoldiers dying, along with many mounted knights (very unusual for the time).

The Scots’ victory can be put down to Bruce’s skills.

• He chose the battle site, and trained on it beforehand

• He forced the English to fight on difficult ground

• He had a reserve force to attack when needed (sma’ folk)

Edward II can also be blamedfor English defeat:

• English army had poor leadership and was very disorganised

• English attacked schiltronswithout the support of archers

• English morale was low, and made by worse by the overnight move