From this battlefield on June 23rd & 24th
in1314 the Scots "sent them homeward to think again" when Edward II's English
army was soundly defeated by King Robert the Bruce.
For the English, things started
to go wrong before the first blow had been struck. Sir Philip Mowbray,
the commander of Stirling Castle, who had observed Bruce's preparations
on the road, appeared in Edward's camp early in the morning, and warned
of the dangers of approaching the Scots directly through the New Park.
Mowbray also pointed out that there was no need to force a battle, as
Edward was now close enough to the castle to constitute a technical
relief in terms of the agreement with Edward Bruce. But even if the king
was disposed to act on Mowbray's advice, it was already too late; for he
was showing signs of losing control of his formidable but unwieldy host.
The vanguard under the earls of Gloucester and Hereford, appointed to
joint command by Edward after a quarrel about who would take the lead -
a compromise that satisfied no one - were already closing in on the
Scots from the south, advancing in the same reckless manner that had
almost brought disaster at Falkirk. Following the line of the Roman
road, they crossed the ford over the Bannock Burn towards King Robert's
division at the opening of the New Park.
There now occurred one of the most memorable episodes in Scottish
history. Sir Henry de Bohun, nephew of the Earl of Hereford, was riding
ahead of his companions when he caught sight of the Scottish king
himself. De Bohun lowered his lance and began a charge that carried him
out of history and into legend. King Robert was mounted on a small
palfrey and armed only with a battle-axe. He had no armor on. As de
Bohun's great war-horse thundered towards him he stood his ground,
watched with mounting anxiety by his own army. With the Englishman only
feet away Bruce turned aside, stood in his stirrups and hit the knight
so hard with his axe that he split his helmet and head in two. This
small incident became in a larger sense a symbol of the war itself: the
one side heavily armed but lacking agility; the other highly mobile and
open to opportunity. Rebuked by his commanders for the enormous risk he
had taken, the King only expressed regret that he had broken the shaft
of his axe. Cheered by this heroic encounter Bruce's division rushed
forward to engage the main enemy force.
For the English, so says the author of the Vita Edwardi Secundi
("Life of Edward II"), this was the beginning of their troubles. After
some fierce fighting, in which the Earl of Gloucester was knocked off
his horse, the knights of the vanguard were forced to retreat back to
the Tor Wood. The Scots, eager to pursue, were held back by the command
of the king. In the meantime, another English cavalry force under Robert
Clifford and Henry de Beaumont skirted the Scottish position to the east
and rode towards Stirling, advancing as far as St. Ninians. Bruce
spotted the manoeuvre and ordered Randolph's schiltron to intercept.
Randolph's action was to be a sampler of the main contest the following
day: unsupported by archers, the horsemen were unable to make any
impression on the Scots spearmen, precisely what happened in the opening
stages of Falkirk. But the difference now was that the schiltrons had
learnt mobility and how to keep formation at the same time. The English
squadron was broken, some seeking refuge in the nearby castle, others
fleeing back to the army. The captives included Sir Thomas Gray, whose
son and namesake was later to base his account of the Battle of
Bannockburn in his book, the Scalacronica, on his father's
memories.
On the second day of battle the English army was still approaching
Stirling from the south. Bruce's preparations had made the direct
approach to Stirling too hazardous. Edward made the worst decision of
all: he ordered the army to cross the Bannock Burn to the east of the
New Park. Not long after daybreak on June 24, the Scots spearmen began
to move towards the English. Edward was most surprised of all to see
Robert's army emerge from the cover of the woods. As Bruce's army drew
nearer they paused and knelt in prayer. Edward is supposed to have said
in surprise "They pray for mercy!" "For mercy, yes," one of his
attendants replied, "But from God, not you. These men will conquer or
die."
One of the English earls, Gloucester, asked the king to hold back - but
the king accused him of cowardice. Angered, the earl mounted his horse
and led the vanguard on a charge against the leading Scots spearmen,
commanded by Edward Bruce. Gloucester, who according to some accounts
had not bothered to don his surcoat, was killed in the forest of
Scottish spears, along with some of the other knights. The very size and
strength of the great army was beginning to work against the King, as
his army could not move quickly and lost a lot of time in getting into
position.
Bruce now committed his whole Scots army to an inexorable bloody push
into the disorganized English mass, fighting side by side across a
single front. A small force of archers added to the misery in Edward's
army, which was now so tightly packed that if a man fell he risked being
immediately crushed underfoot or suffocated. The knights began to escape
back across the Bannock Burn. With the English formations beginning to
break, a great shout went up from the Scots, "Lay on! Lay on! Lay on!
They fail!" This cry was heard by Bruce's camp followers, who promptly
gathered weapons and banners and charged forward. To the English army,
close to exhaustion, this appeared like a fresh reserve and they lost
all hope. The Welsh Archers were the only part of the English army not
to break at Bannockburn.The end had come and Edward, whose personal
courage in battle had done nothing to make up for his fatal mistakes,
was forcibly taken from the field by his personal bodyguard. Edward's
enforced flight ended the remaining order in the army; panic spread and
defeat turned into a rout. He arrived eventually at Dunbar Castle, from
here he took ship to England. From the carnage of Bannockburn the rest
of the army escaped as best they could. Inside the heritage centre there is a
life-size figure of William Wallace, Bruce on his throne, a display enriched with
replicas, vignettes of Scottish life and a panorama of historical character.
Further colour is added by a brilliant
display of heraldic banners and a audio-visual presentation of the battle. The mounted statue of Bruce is beside
the Borestone, by tradition his command post.
