Robert the Bruce Timeline

On June 19, 1306, Bruce's newly assembled army was surprised and crushed by English forces under Aymer de Valence at Methven, near Perth. The defeat scattered Bruce's supporters and forced him to flee into the Highlands with a small band of followers, beginning a desperate period of guerrilla warfare and exile.

Image source: Battle of Methven

After fleeing westward, Bruce's female relatives were captured by English forces at Kildrummy and Tain in 1306. His brother Nigel was executed, and Isabella MacDuff, who had crowned him, was imprisoned in a cage at Berwick. His wife Elizabeth de Burgh was held captive for years. These harsh punishments hardened the conflict between Bruce and Edward I.

In the winter of 1306-1307, Bruce and a small group of followers took refuge on Rathlin Island off the coast of Ireland. According to legend popularized by later writers, this was when Bruce famously observed a spider repeatedly rebuilding its web, inspiring him not to give up despite repeated failures. He returned to Scotland in early 1307 to renew his campaign.

Image source: Rathlin Island

On May 10, 1307, Bruce achieved his first major victory over the English, defeating Aymer de Valence's forces at Loudoun Hill in Ayrshire. Using narrow, boggy terrain to neutralize English cavalry, Bruce proved that disciplined Scottish infantry could beat larger armies. The victory attracted new supporters to his cause.

Image source: Battle of Loudoun Hill

King Edward I, the 'Hammer of the Scots,' died on July 7, 1307, while marching north with an army to crush Bruce's rebellion. His death dramatically changed the course of the war. His son, Edward II, was less capable and less committed to the conquest of Scotland, giving Bruce valuable time to consolidate power.

Image source: Edward I of England

From late 1307 into 1308, Bruce waged a brutal campaign against the Comyn faction in northern Scotland. He defeated John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, at Inverurie in May 1308, then systematically destroyed Comyn lands in the Harrying of Buchan, eliminating internal opposition to his rule and securing control over most of Scotland north of the Forth.

Over two days, June 23-24, 1314, Robert the Bruce decisively defeated the much larger English army of Edward II near Stirling. Using schiltrons, terrain, and tactical brilliance, the Scots inflicted a catastrophic defeat on England. The victory secured Scottish independence in practice and made Bruce's kingship unassailable.

Image source: Battle of Bannockburn

Following Bannockburn, Bruce launched devastating chevauchée raids across northern England, reaching as far as Yorkshire and Lancashire. These campaigns pressured the English government, raised funds and supplies, and demonstrated that the initiative in the war now belonged entirely to Scotland. Raids continued intermittently throughout the decade.

Robert the Bruce sent his brother Edward Bruce to Ireland in May 1315 with an army intended to open a second front against England. Edward was proclaimed High King of Ireland in 1316, but the campaign ended disastrously when Edward was killed at the Battle of Faughart on October 14, 1318. The expedition drained Scottish resources and devastated Ireland.

Image source: Bruce campaign in Ireland

In April 1318, Scottish forces captured the strategically vital town of Berwick-upon-Tweed from the English after a short siege. Berwick had been in English hands since 1296, and its recovery was a major symbolic and economic triumph for Bruce, restoring Scotland's most important border trading town.

Image source: Siege of Berwick (1318)

On October 14, 1322, Scottish forces routed the English army under Edward II at Old Byland in Yorkshire. Edward himself narrowly escaped capture, and the humiliating defeat forced England toward negotiations. It became clear that reconquest of Scotland was beyond English capability under the current regime.

Image source: Battle of Old Byland