Bannockburn 1314 : The Battle 700 Years On

The Battle of Bannockburn is the most celebrated battle in history between Scotland and England.Fought over two days on 23 and 24 June 1314 by a small river crossing in Stirling, it was a decisive victory for Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence against the English, which saw a mere 7,000 Bruce followers defeat over 15,000 of Edward II’s troops.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 account recreates the campaign and battle from the perspectives of both the Scots and the 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.