Bannockburn 1314: A New History

A history of the most celebrated battle between Scotland and England in which a mere 7,000 followers of Robert the Bruce defeated more than 15,000 of Edward II’s troops. The battle of Bannockburn, fought over two days on the 23 and 24 June in 1314 by a small river crossing in Stirling, was a decisive victory for Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence against the English. It was the greatest defeat the English would suffer throughout the middle ages, and a huge personal humiliation for King Edward II. Chris Brown’s startling new history recreates the campaign and battle from the perspectives of both the Scots and English. Only now, through an in-depth investigation of the contemporary narrative sources as well as the administrative records, and through a new look at the terrain where the battle was fought, can we come to firmer conclusions on what exactly happened, and why. The author’s conclusions rewrite the history books.