nas:Education - For Freedom Alone

King Robert I
Battle of Bannockburn, 1314
The Years 1314 - 1318
Ayr Manuscript, 1318

King Robert I
Robert I was crowned king of Scotland at Scone on 25 March 1306. After his coronation, he was determined to strengthen his position in Scotland. He set out to recapture Scottish castles that were held in English hands. By 1313, he had taken back most of Scotland by force. Stirling Castle remained the most important stronghold left in English hands. His brother, Edward, had the castle under siege and had made a bargain with the castle's commander that if an English relief force did not reach Stirling by midsummer 1314, the castle would surrender. Edward II responded by gathering a large army near Stirling, estimated at around 2,500 horse and 15,000 foot soldiers. Robert's army is thought to have been about 500 horse and 5,000 foot soldiers.

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Battle of Bannockburn, 1314
On 24 June 1314, the Scottish army defeated the English on a well chosen site. The Scots occupied a defensive position with the Bannockburn and marshy ground on one side. They dug pits and laid calthrops [spikes] in the ground to impede the English cavalry. Stirling Castle surrendered the following day. Robert I exchanged English knights captured in the battle for his wife and some of his family who had been captured by the English after 1306 and taken south as King Edward's prisoners.

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The Years 1314-1318
Robert I's victory at Bannockburn did not bring the war to an end but left him in undisputed control of Scotland. He set out to improve the administration and life of the country despite the unsettled times.In the years that followed, the king summoned senior clergy, his tenants-in-chief and officials to attend parliaments to review and create new laws.

In November 1314, he held a parliament at Cambuskenneth Abbey in Stirling where an act was passed which forced those with lands in both Scotland and England to choose between loyalty to King Robert or to King Edward. Loyal supporters were rewarded with grants of land taken from the king's enemies and those who had opposed him.

Parliament met in 1318 to deal with a variety of matters including justice for all and the choice of a new successor to the throne after the death of Robert's brother and designated heir, Edward Bruce. A written record of the Acts of this Parliament has survived in a book known today as the Ayr Manuscript.

In the same year, a new royal seal was cast. It was more sophisticated in appearance than the king's previous seal and showed a strong French influence in its design. The cathedral church of St Andrews was also consecrated in thanksgiving to the saint for his protection of Scotland's independence. This reinforced the status of St Andrew as Scotland's patron saint.