Bannockburn: The Scottish Wars and the British Isles 1307-1323

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The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 is the best known event in the history of medieval Scotland. As a key point in the Anglo Scottish wars of the fourteenth century and as a fascinating example of medieval warfare, details of the battle and the immediate causes of Robert Bruce's victory have been extensively discussed. However, while the site of the battle and the tactics employed continue to draw most debate, there has been much less consideration of Bannockburn's political context and its significance beyond Scotland. Research over the last twenty five years has drawn attention to the importance of looking at events and developments in the British Isles from a broader perspective, stressing the existence of relationships and interconnections across and beyond perceived boundaries between England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The Scottish wars of the later thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are being reevaluated in these terms.This monograph, Bannockburn: The Scottish Wars and the British Isles, employs the battle of Bannockburn as a focal point the battle is a recogniable and dramatic event, and it is used to consider the critical change in relations between the elites and communities of the British Isles. The significance of the battle is treated not just as a military episode, nor as an event whose impact was confined to Scotland. Bannockburn was fought between rulers with authority and interests in a large part of the British Isles and beyond; it involved Scots, English, Welsh, Irish and Gascons and the results of the battle resonated in many of these lands, mostly in the form of war, disruption and attempts to redraw the relationships between and within communities.The aim of the book is to analyse this wider context, considering the ways in which the battle was part of the re definition of identities and power structures in the British Isles. It will also demonstrate how Bannockburn marked a crucial shift in personal connections amongst the leading families of Anglo French descent, who had done much to define the British Isles as a common world in the two preceding centuries. The concerns of family and land can be set alongside those of realm and community to gain an understanding of the motives and values at work in 1314.It intended that this book will be associated with the National Trust for Scotland's re development of the heritage centre at Bannockburn. The centre is the trust's most visited site, an indication of existing fascination with these events. As the seven hundredth anniversary of the battle approaches in 2014, the significance of Bannockburn will assume an increasingly high profile. Given this anticipated interest in the battle it is important to develop a view of Bannockburn which makes apparent its role in shaping, not Scotland alone, but the diverse character of the British Isles. This book will draw on archival and printed primary material; it will also assimilate recent detailed studies into its argument. It is important that this book engages with a broad audience and fuels general interest in, and debate about, the battle and its legacy.