34 Dunfermline Press, 22nd August, 2013YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE

BRUCE FESTIVAL 2013Follow us on Twitter@dunfermlinep

The legend of Bruce

SCOTLAND’S most famous king is probably best known for Bannockburn... and the legend of a deter-mined wee spider.

Born on 11th July 1274, in Turnberry, Ayrshire, Robert the Bruce would go on to become one of the most famous warriors of his day, leading the Scots into battle against the English, and is today regarded as a national hero.

He was descended from Scots, Gaelic and English nobility – through his father, also Robert, the 6th Lord of Annandale, he was a fourth great-grandson of David I, and his mother, Marjorie was Countess of Carrick.

The Bruces, and other Scottish aristo-cratic families, including the Balliols, asserted their claims to the throne following the death of the young Queen Margaret in 1290.

The English king, Edward I ‘Longshanks’, was asked to arbitrate in the dispute and picked John Balliol as king – but Bruce and his father refused to support Balliol’s kingship and sided with Longshanks’ invasion of Scotland in 1296 to force Balliol to abdicate.

But in 1297 Bruce had a change of heart and backed William Wallace’s rebellion against English rule. In 1298, Bruce became a Guardian of Scotland together with John Comyn, Balliol’s nephew and rival for the Scottish throne.

It’s said they struck a secret deal with each other in 1305, where Comyn would agree to forfeit his claim to the throne in favour of Bruce, upon receipt of the Bruce lands in Scotland.

But the following year, they argued, Bruce accusing Comyn of treachery – and stabbed him in a church in Dumfries.

Bruce was outlawed by Edward I and excommu-nicated by the Pope but six weeks later was crowned King of Scots at Scone. But Longshanks was out to crush him – Bruce was defeated at the Battle of Methven and fled, spending the winter hiding on is-lands off the west coast and Ireland.

A cave on one of those islands – Rathlin – is said to be where Bruce was inspired by the spider to return to Scotland (though the story is believed to have been spun by Sir Walter Scott).

Myth or not, Bruce did return and went on to notch several victories against the English, ultimately win-ning Bannockburn in 1314, despite being outnumbered by the English three to one, to reestablish an independ-ent Scottish monarchy.

However, the English refused to give up their claim to the overlordship of Scotland, so in 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was sent by Scottish earls, barons and ‘community of the realm’ to Pope John XXII declaring Robert I as their rightful monarch. The Pope recognised Bruce as king of an independent Scotland in 1324; his excommunication was lifted in 1328.

Bruce died on 9th June 1329 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey. He had asked that his heart be taken to the Holy Land, but only made it to Spain. It was returned to Scotland and buried at Melrose Abbey. His tomb was discovered in 1818 by workmen break-ing ground on the new parish church, and Bruce’s re-mains were reinterred in 1819.

Dunfermline Press, 22nd August, 2013 35YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE

BRACE yourselves for the clanging of armour and the pounding of hooves and clanging of ar-

mour as the Bruce Festival kicks off in Dunfermline this weekend!

The ancient capital will come alive with the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and drama of medieval Scotland, in an exciting programme which includes music, battle reenactments, an equestrian show, story-telling workshops and a food village.

Also getting behind the Bruce Festival are Dunfermline’s shops and restaurants, which will be serving up their own medieval-inspired offers, and there’ll be a treasure hunt to find shields hidden in shop windows as well as events in the High Street.

Adding to the festivities will be a funfair and stalls offering crafts, food and drink.

The grand opening will take place at 11am on Saturday, followed by music and dance (11.15am); and ‘Crime and Punishment’ (11.30am).

The ever-popular battle re-enactment will be at 12pm, with a falconry display next at 12.30am and the crowd-pleasing jousting display at 1pm.

Visitors can choose between lilting medieval tunes or ‘A Knight’s Armour’ at 1.30pm and chil-dren will be part of the ‘Kids’ Army’ at 1.45pm.

The falconry display will again be on at 2.15pm, with the jousting and battle re-enactment repeated at 3pm and 3.30pm respectively. The day will end with the closing procession at 4pm.

The timetable for Sunday will be the same, mi-nus the grand opening.

The festival is organised by Business Improvement District (BID) company Dunfermline Delivers, with support from Fife Council and the Alf Stewart Property Foundation, and aims to showcase the city as a thriving centre for events, shopping and entertainment.

Dunfermline Delivers chief executive Maggie Mitchell was delighted this year’s programme of-fers so much variety.

She said, “This year, we want people to feel as though they have taken a step back in time when they visit Dunfermline for the Bruce Festival.

“There’s so much on offer, from falconry and jousting displays to battle re-enactments, music and dancing.

“The festival is central to Dunfermline’s calen-dar of events and brings with it a significant eco-nomic benefit to the city and it’s great to see more local businesses than ever supporting the event

– highlighting the city’s status as the place to be.”And local businesses are showing their support in

innovative ways – including a Bruce Burger.Linn Williamson, operations director of restau-

rant Grill 48, said, “We are proud of Dunfermline and all it has to offer and can’t wait to become part of the spectacle of this year’s festival.

“We have developed our very own tribute to the man himself in the form of our Bruce Burger which we will be serving over the weekend to hungry visitors.”

Like us on FacebookFacebook.com/dunfermlinepressBRUCE FESTIVAL 2013

Brace yourselves for Bruce!

l ROYAL VISITORS: Roano Pierotti (left) and Gifford Bruce, of sponsors The Alfred Stewart Foundation

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