Battle of Barra 1308

Battle of Barra Blog Wordle

2011-09-11T21:09:00.003-05:00

Since I have had such a long break from the blog, I felt I needed to go over and review all the previous posts. I also have just discovered the Wordle application, which can be found at:
http://www.wordle.net/
The following is the description form the site:
“Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.”

So what I did was enter in most of the text, from the fifty postings and this was the result.

Bruce Statue

2011-09-02T23:05:00.004-05:00

It has been a longtime since I posted, but I do really need to get going, and bring the Barra saga to a conclusion.
So! Inspired by Juliet’s website creations; here goes.
There has not been a great deal that has happened in the long break, but significantly, Aberdeen has finally unveiled its statue to commemorate the cities connection to the hero King.
I am just back from a short trip to Scotland and had the opportunity to visit the statue, which, was unveiled on the 6th of May in front of a refurbished Marischal College.
I will not attempt to describe the statue, because Aberdeen City Council, and STV have done a great job in presenting the details, which can be viewed on the links below.

http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CouncilNews/ci_cns/pr_robertthebruce_090511.asp

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/248075-120000-robert-the-bruce-statue-unveiled/

I plan to post again next week.

The Comyns 2

2009-08-09T11:06:00.008-05:00

Last year I promised future post(s) covering the Comyn family, their rise to pre-eminence, prior to their rapid eclipse by Robert I.
Well here we go.
First I would like to draw attention to an excellent book, by Alan Young,
which was published in 1997, “Robert the Bruce’s Rivals: The Comyns, 1212 – 1314”,
As previously discussed in this blog the Comyns have over the years received an extremely bad press and Alan Young set out to redress this balance and as he states in the conclusion of the first chapter;
“A Comyn perspective is necessary to test the Bruce –oriented version of thirteenth-century Scottish history and the Comyns’ traditional role in it as traitorous rivals to Robert Bruce”.
However one reviewer did remark that; even a book dedicated to the Comyn family history could not escape the shadow of Robert the Bruce in the title.
Prior to this book it was necessary to trawl through numerous books, papers and articles, for the average person to get a perception of the Comyns, and even then it tended to be less than flattering.

Some histories maintain that a Robert de Comines, who came over with William the conqueror in 1066 and was awarded lands in Northumbria for his services, was the founder of the Scottish dynasty. The name may derive from the area of Comines, in the French/Belgian border area. Other sources say the name is derived from the herb cumin, and that, this was the origin of the three sheaves on the coat of arm. The real origin may be a combination of both or none.

Alan Young believes that the Comyns were not of a “noble” family like the Bruces, but that their origins were as humble clerks, from the Bayeux or Rouen areas.
Like many of the new aristocracy of Scotland the Comyns arrived in the train of David I during the 1120s. William Cumin was David’s chancellor, and appears to have obtained advancement for his nephew Richard, prior to returning to England to pursue his ecclesiastical ambitions. Richard had lands in the north of England and was granted lands in southern Scotland by David; he also obtained further land by marriage to Hextilda. (Who was the granddaughter of Donald Bane, giving the Comyns their first claim to the Scottish throne). Throughout his life Richard’s importance to the Scottish crown grew, and the evidence indicates that he was a close advisor of David and his son Earl Henry, as well as Malcolm IV and William, increasing his land holding and being appointed justicair of Lothian in the 1170s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justiciar

So by the time of his death in 1179 he was a very important man whose families’ future was inextricably linked to the fortunes of the House of Canmore.
Richard was succeeded by his son William who continued his good work.
William consolidated and expanded the family land holdings in southern Scotland, and continued to be a close adviser of King William, he witnessed numerous Royal charters and participated in diplomatic missions, particularly in relation to the sometimes difficult relations with England. William was sheriff of Forfar by the end of the 12th century, and was appointed to the senior justiscairship of Scotia (Scotland north of the Forth) in 1205.
This was probably and effort on behalf of King William to enforce royal authority in the north, which had been difficult and unruly throughout the Canmore era.

William did not have long to wait for trouble, and 1211 saw a Mac William uprising, lead by Guthred, to press the claims of the House of Moray to the crown. At the head of a large royal army William with the support other northern lord suppressed the rebellion and captured Guthred. The King then came north to consolidate the victory and take hostages as a guarantee of future good behavior.
Following this success William, who appears to have been acting in the temporary role of warden of Moray, was rewarded with an influential marriage to Marjory the heiress to the earldom of Buchan. He therefore became the first “Norman” earl, by several decades, and moved the Comyns in to the first rank of Scottish nobility. This was truly a symbiotic arrangement, because whilst the Comyns attained their dynastic advancement, the crown acquired an “enforcer”, who was now ideally placed and willing to deal with any further disturbances to the Kings peace in the north.
This was Williams second marriage, it is not know who his first wife was, but the offspring of that marriage would found the line of Badenoch, and the offspring of his marriage to Marjory would be earls of Buchan.
As Alan Young states;

“ By 1212 the Comyns had real power – the Comyn century had begun!”

Robert the Bruce

2009-08-03T23:25:00.007-05:00

I am currently working on a post(s), about the Comyn’s, but it requires quite a bit more work.
Some of you may be wondering what there is to say, about the “losers”, that takes so long, but I believe there are several important aspects of the history of the Comyns, which help explain the actions of Robert, after the battle of Barra. Also they deserve to have their side of the story told.

I do not intend to do the same for Robert the Bruce, he has been well served by biographers, and his life and adventures are told in countless volumes. I will however offer this list of my favourites.

Firstly are the two “classics”, one medieval the other modern:

“The Bruce” - by John Barbour. (The one I have used during my work on this blog is the Canongate Classics 1997 edition edited and translated by A.A.M. Duncan). There are also a number of versions available in various formats online.

“Robert Bruce & the community of the Realm of Scotland” – By G.W.S.Barrow ( Edinburgh University Press 1988 edition)

“Robert the Bruce” - by Ronald McNair Scott (Canongate 1988)

“Robert the Bruce” – by Caroline Bingham (Constable 1998. This book was completed just before her death )

“On the trail of Robert the Bruce” – by David R. Ross (Luath Press 1999 This is the tale of David’s personal journey on the trail of Robert the Bruce – he did have a motor bike [David that is])

For those who may find the histories a little dry there is always Nigel Tranter’s “Bruce trilogy”. Whilst generally historically accurate, it is also a “ripping yarn”, of daring-do, as Robert and his lieutenants win Scotland’s freedom, “which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”.

I would like to close by quoting from the forepiece of Caroline Bingham’s book

“His faults were of his time, his virtues were all his own”

Aberdeen Update

2009-08-02T19:04:00.003-05:00

Firstly August 2, is a big birthday day in our family.

It is my father’s, my niece's and nephew’s birthdays.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DAD - KAREN - STUART

Now to Aberdeen.
I wanted to let you know that I have received a reply to my e-mail, for information, from Aberdeen City Council. My request has been passed to the relevant department, so I hope to have some information, in the near future, regarding the statue of Robert the Bruce, to share with you.

Aberdeen and Scottish Independence

2009-07-30T05:44:00.010-05:00

W. Stanford Reid, opens his 1954 paper “Trade, Traders and Scottish Independence”, with the comment that since the time of Barbour the war had been viewed in terms of the battles, sieges and the leaders, and that the economic elements had been largely ignored.
However; no matter how good the leaders, and their soldiers, they can never succeed, unless they can get the materials of war, and disrupt the enemy’s ability to do the same. So unless you have the ability to get “stuff” the war is lost.
In the previous post I discussed the granting of the freedom lands to the City, and the fact that this was for some great service to the cause, but not for fighting at Barra or storming the castle.
In this post I would like to look at how the good citizens of Aberdeen (and their allies) helped Robert get the stuff he needed, often by taking it from Edward.
Aberdeen was one of the major Scottish trading ports, and the first to be liberated by Robert; in fact it would be several years before any of the others fell. (Dundee 1312; Perth 1312; Leith 1314; Berwick 1318).
So the capture of Aberdeen sometime in the summer of 1308, gave Robert a control of a major port, with established European trade connections. Aberdeen had a large Flemish trading population and also had good relations with the German cities of the Hanseatic League.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League

England had maintained a navel blockage throughout the war, but much of the time it was redundant, because English land forces controlled Scotland and garrisoned its major castles and ports. The capture of Aberdeen would radically change this situation, with its large Flemish population and northerly location, it would prove difficult to blockade.
The Flemings generally had little love for the English, and were willing allies of Scotland. That they would defend their rights and freedoms was demonstrated early in the war when they fought to the last man defending the Red Hall, during Edward I’s sack of Berwick in 1296. It was said that they offered the fiercest resistance of all the defenders.
Aberdeen quickly established itself as the main trading an supply base for the Scottish cause, and the “legitimate trade”, quickly broadened into privateering, if not outright piracy. With Aberdeen as a Scottish base, Scottish, Flemish and Hanseatic vessels preyed on English commerce. They would bring the captured vessels to Aberdeen where there was a lucrative trade in “laundering” wool. (This involved the removing of the English customs seals, or cockets, and replacing them with Scottish ones.) Presumably, with the willing assistance of the Scottish customs officials. The wool was then taken to Europe and sold as legitimate Scottish produce. The captured vessels were generally sold on the continent, but I am sure some were sold or retained in Aberdeen and put into Scottish service.
Scottish and European traders also traded with England, and although Edward made efforts to limit this trade, it would appear that for many English merchants “business was business”. Goods were purchase in England under various subterfuges and then shipped to Scotland.

Throughout the war Edward II would attempt to limit the effectiveness of Aberdeen’s merchant/priveteers, through blockade, naval activity, and diplomacy, none of which were particularly successful. English diplomatic efforts did finally separate the Scots and Flemings in the 1320s, but by then it was too little too late, because Scottish forces, already controlled much of northern England as well as Scotland.
Had Edward immediately made a concerted effort to re-take and garrison Aberdeen, he may have been able to limit the effectiveness of Robert’s campaigns. But; not only did he fail to act effectively in this matter, he also left his remaining Scottish allies to the mercies (or otherwise) of Robert.

So with Buchan ravished, Comyn power smashed, and the lifeline to the continent in place Robert turned his attentions to his other Scottish enemies. More in a later post.

700 years ago the NE and Aberdeen in particular occupied a pivotal role in Scottish and European events, a position unsurpassed until the advent of the North Sea oil industry, which saw Aberdeen again step fully onto the European stage, as the oil capital. Last year it was decide to suitably commemorate Aberdeen’s crucial relationship with Robert and the Scottish cause, and Aberdeen City Council instigated a competition to design a statue of Robert I. Alan Herriot was the winner with an equestrian statue of Robert holding the charter to Aberdeen. My latest understanding is that the site for the statue will be outside Marischal College. (I did not receive a reply, from the Council to my e-mail request for information) http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/773839?UserKey

This subject is vast and for those interested in more details, the article mentioned in the introduction is excellent. Also Colm McNamee dedicates a whole chapter in his book the “Wars of the Bruces”, to “The North Sea Theatre of the War and the Towns”, his book is on this blog's recommended list.

For those interested in Aberdeen’s long maritime history a visit to Aberdeen Maritime Museum, where Oldmeldrum resident, John Edwards is Keeper of Science and Maritime History, is a must. Those who are not fortunate enough to live in the area can still indulge in a virtual tour.

http://www.aberdeenquest.com/Tour/MaritimeMuseum/mm_tour_AberdeenHarbour.asp

Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Shiprow. AB11 5BY. Telephone: 01224 337712

Of Comrades and Bon Accord

2009-07-20T21:30:00.010-05:00

One of the problems with the Battle of Barra is knowing who participated. Everyone loves a winner so we have no shortage of candidates who “assisted” the King, and a dearth of those who supported the Earl.
So who were the “lesser” men who participated?
I have come up with some possible participants on the Royal side, but none for the Earl of Buchan. (No surprises there then!!)

Names which in later years would be synonymous with the north east, Keith and Gordon, are often credited with receiving their lands for service at Barra, but in May 1308 they still served the “dark side”. (That is not to minimise their later service to the King, – Keith would be one of the heroes of Bannockburn).
One who received NE lands in the 1320s was William de Irwyn (Drum), who is said to have joined Robert in 1306, and served him throughout the war, becoming his armour bearer and later secretary. Although there is no direct evidence of his presence it is reasonable to assume that as the King’s armour bearer he would have been at Robert’s side at Barra, and if the tales of him requiring to be held upright in the saddle by two men were true, one would surely have been William.
Eric Irvine has put together an interesting history of the family. http://www.irvinehistory.com/Brief_History.htm

Another likely candidate is Gilbert de la Hay of Erroll, later to be High Constable of Scotland. Gilbert is said to have been with Robert from the start and was amongst those who came north with him in 1307.
An interesting tale is retold by the Rev. John Davidson, in his 1878 Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch, of an Inverurie farmer named Benzie, (I’m sure he meant Benvie – see everyone loves the winner!!!!!!) who with his eleven sons assisted Robert at Barra. He concedes that the tale is very similar to the founding legend of the Hays.
That legend tells of the battle of Luncary in the year 980, when Kenneth III, was battling a Danish invading force and his army fled, until confronted by a father and his two sons carrying plough shears. They taunted the fleeing Scots with their cowardice, compelling them to return to the fight, assisted by their three plough wielding countrymen. With the Danes defeated and the kingdom saved from invasion, the father is said to have sat down exhausted and wounded, crying out Hay! Hay!, which became the family name. Needless to say this tale probably contains little truth, because like many of the Scottish aristocracy the Hays were Norman, and did not arrive in England till 1066, so could not have assisted Kenneth. The tale may incorporate, and embellish, the family history of an older Celtic line that was assimilated through marriage. The Hay arms are three red escutcheons (shields) on white, which are said to represent the father and two sons.

Malcolm Earl of Lennox, is also reported to have travelled north with the king, and is another possible participant.

The Rev. Davidson also mentions a document as follows:
“ It is a formal declaration by an antiquarian of credit, that he had perused documentary evidence of the facts connected with the Fergusons of Inverurie, now a widespread family. One writing bore that Walter Fergus of Crichie received hospitably in his own home the great avenger of his country, King Robert Bruce; and with his three sons and dependants, in the memorable battle of Inverurie, in the year 1308, afforded ready and manly aid, on account of which distinguished assistance King Robert gave him ample possessions of the adjacent lands of Inverurie”
I have found no other reference to the above.

One of the outcomes of the victory at Barra was the capture of Aberdeen, probably sometime in July/August 1308.
Local folklore has the citizens of Aberdeen rushing to the aid of their king and assisting in the defeat of the Earl of Buchan. Another tale has them storming the castle and killing the English garrison. It is said that the origin of the city's motto," Bon Accord" was that it was the watch-word for the citizens engaged in the taking of the castle.
However there is no historical evidence for these stories, which may have been a way to explain Robert's endowment of the "freedom lands"* to the city, in the 1319.

I believe that the endowment was given for the many services the city performed after it's liberation by the royal forces. (There will be more about Aberdeen’s contribution to the war in a later post).

So in the final analysis we can only be sure of the main protagonists, the Bruce brothers on one side and Comyn, Moubray, and Brechin, on the other. It is highly unlikely that the citizens of Aberdeen participated, but there is a good probability that William de Irwyn and Gilbert de la Hay were with their King.
As for the others?; well my money is on James de Benvie leading the final charge. :)

* The freedom lands of Stocket were given to the city in 1319 and were the foundation of the present day "common good fund".
For information on the Freedom Lands see:

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/19326/details/aberdeen+the+freedom+lands+boundary+markers/

Further details of the capture of Aberdeen and the origin of “Bon Accord” see Aberdeen city council web site, which also has an excellent artist's impression of Aberdeen Castle.

http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/xsm_smrdetail.asp?id=2286

NOTE: The battle of Inverurie mentioned above is the same as the battle of Barra.

Twitter

2009-07-07T21:30:00.010-05:00

I am just inserting a nonsense post as a bit of fun, especially for those of you who “twitter”. Twitter is a micro-blogging site where you provide updates, but they are limited to 140 characters. http://twitter.com/ (You can find me there @ ChauvinOn)

I am researching a post on the Comyns, and I came across this paragraph in Fordun. *
The murder of John Comyn was covered in earlier posts, so I will not belabour the details.

--------------

“The same year, after the aforesaid Robert had left the king of England and returned home, no less miraculously than by God’s grace, a day is appointed for him and the aforesaid John to meet together at Dumfries ; and both sides repair to the above-named place. John Comyn is twitted with his treachery and belied troth. The lie is at once given. The evil-speaker is stabbed, and wounded unto death, in the church of the Friars; and the wounded man is, by the friars, laid behind the altar. On being asked by those around whether he could live, straight- way his answer is : — " I can." His foes, hearing this, give him another wound ; — and thus was he taken away from this world on the 10th of February"

---------------

It is interesting how the use of a word can change.
The word is derived from Old English “atwiten” to reproach.

* John of Fordun was a 14th century Scottish chronicler who died around 1384. His work was very supportive of the twin heroes Bruce and Wallace, at the expense of the "villains" Balliol and the Comyns

Bruce’s Seat

2009-07-03T21:52:00.009-05:00

Well I have been very lax in posting, and this post is at least 6 months overdue. I am only going to touch briefly on Bruce’s Seat, because its history and its move to its current location have been covered in several earlier posts.

When I visited Oldmeldrum last year I had the pleasure of meeting John Pirie, a driving force behind the memorial, who was able to tell me some history of Bruce’s Seat. Unlike today, the earlier footpath between Oldmeldrum, and Boutie, went around the eastern slope of Barra hill and the stone was located just off this path. John said he remembered it from childhood, and when in the 50’s the area was ploughed-up, the large stones were removed and placed in heaps, he marked the spot of this special stone. Half a century later he was able to identify it and help with its recovery and relocation as the centre piece of the battle of Barra memorial. ( John described the location of the stone as follows: Going up past Red House to the hill and straight on it was about 300m on just over the first fence dead ahead.)

The eastern slop of Barra hill viewed from the golf course.

Red House is in the centre.

Heaps of stones dot Barra hill as evidence of the 1950's agricultural changes. These are viewed from the present footpath looking westward. Bruce's seat was in a similar heap but to the east.

The start of the present day footpath located behind "Blankets"

Thanks to John for all his assistance.

Well that’s it for this one; I hope the next post is not so delayed.

The Grenago Stane 2

2008-10-25T23:31:00.005-05:00

I have just received the OK to use the material from Rev. Haddow’s work, “Dowsing for Patterns of the Past – The stone Circles of Aberdeenshire”.

The following is the entry for the Grenago stane, for the full work go to: http://weirdcreweandnantwich.blogspot.com/search/label/Aberdeenshire

Quote.

This solitary stone stands in the middle of a golf course (Old Meldrum) and has no recorded associations with a stone circle.
“Grenago” means “groaning” and gets its name from the despairing cries heard from the Earl of Buchan at the stone when he fled from the Battle of Barra in 1308, his men being routed by King Robert the Bruce.

Fig. 37 shows the dowsing pattern pointing to a comparatively small recumbent stone circle of 7 stones including the recumbent. The variation of the rod`s response to the longest stone indicates a recumbent and its flankers close together; this was confirmed by the segment of energy between it and the centre of the circle where there is an elliptical shape measuring 10 feet 2 inches east-west by 8 feet 6 inches north-south.
The stone on the east of the circle was very close to the central area, i.e. 2 feet.
It is unusual for the recumbent and its flankers to be in the north-east.
These previous examples of standing stones show them, according to the dowsing pattern, to be part of stone circles and the position of the other stones could be found. As many stone circles have disappeared completely but their sities have been recorded, it should be possible by dowsing these areas to gain information regarding the type of circles which were there.

End Quote

Wallace’s Putting Stone

2008-10-20T20:29:00.006-05:00

Our next geological star is known as Wallace’s Putting stone, and is located within the hill fort on the summit of Barra hill. (NJ 8024 2570). It is an example of a glacial erratic, and is described variously as a green or serpentine rock. It is also the largest of our trio with a girth of 24 feet. Quite how it acquired the name is unclear, because to my knowledge William Wallace has no particular connection with the area, but as will be seen he is incorporated into the mythology of the battle. It is one of three stones of the same name, the other two being located in the borders one near Galashiels, and the other on Raeberry Hill in Dumfries and Galloway.

A basic description and data on the stone can be found in the RCAHMS data base at the following link:
http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/newcanmore.newcandig_details_gis?inumlink=144326
For a description of the general area of the site follow this link:

http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/canmore.newcandig_details_gis?inumlink=19668

There is a local folktale about Jock o’ Bennachie, a giant who guarded Bennachie.
Jock by all accounts was massive even for a giant but had numerous enemies, the main one being Jock o’ Noth. The two were said to have “traded compliments, in the shape of large bolders” which they hurled at each other. Wallace’s putting stone being one such bolder which went astray.
In one ballad Jock’s love, the Lady Anne, left him for Jock o’ Noth, and in his grief, Jock throws a boulder as the lovers stood on Tap o’ Noth, killing them both.
In the second Jock encounters a mystical woman whom he mistakes for the Lady Anne, and when he kisses her they both sink into the mountain and are never seen again. However legend has it that Jock is only asleep and when an enchanted key is found he will awaken and be free.
This legend is interesting because it was said that Bruce’s followers, during the period of his NE campaign, were spreading tales of a prophesy of Merlin.
One element of Arthurian legend is that Arthur is not dead, but sleeping, and will arise at the time of greatest need and lead the Celtic peoples to victory.

Bennachie

The Rev. Bisset, give the following account of the local legend of William Wallace and the Battle of Barra.

……..Jist at this time, whan a stir began amo’ them, (Comyn’s troops), Sir William Wallace, as wus agree’t on wi the Bruce, up’s wi’ a stane like a house-side, and wi the strength o’ 10 Galiahs, bungs’t frae the tap o’ Bennachie; and that they micht ken fa the compliment cam’ fra, he first prented the initials o his name (W.W.) i’ the side o’t. Fung it gaed thro’ the air and lichtin’ i’ the middle o’ the camp kill’t not a few, and gart the yird stot to the very clouds. The hurly wus noo complete, and oot o’er ither’s heeds like as mony sheep oot o’ a fauld………

And that is how the stone came to lie on the top of Barra hill in the middle of Comyn’s camp

Pictures courtesy of Moira Gregg

The Grenago Stane

2008-10-14T19:51:00.013-05:00

The Grenago Stane, or Groaning Stone”, is located on the 14th fairway of the present day Oldmeldrum golf course. http://www.oldmeldrumgolf.co.uk/course.htm
For a more detailed location follow this link. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/898972

Legend has it that the Earl of Buchan lay beside the stone crying and groaning after his defeat by King Robert.

The stone long predates the battle of Barra, and according to the Reverend Angus H. Haddow B.Sc, in his work, “Dowsing for Patterns of the Past – The stone Circles of Aberdeenshire”, the stone once formed part of a long lost stone circle.
I had hoped to get permission to use some of the material, but have been unable to contact, the Rev. Haddow, so I am proceeding without it.

The stone features in an 1870 poem by the Oldmeldrum poet, James Fraser.

The Grenago Stane

Oh wha hasna heard o’ the Grenago Stane
That stands on the richt o’ the road to Kilblean
Like A sentry, on guard east end o’ the common
The object o’ interest to man and to woman.
When a cowherd, lang, syne, my leifie lane,
I’ve mused on the past by the Grenago Stane
An’ the spirit o’ history from sleep did me summon
To see Earl Buchan the notorious Comyn
When routed by Bruce below Hill o’ Barra,
He fled from the field wi’ the speed o’ an arrow,
Wi’ Fire and wi’ sword is driven fae Bara,
Tae pillow his head on the Grenago Stane,
His broadsword is dimmed o’ its glancing sheen,
The presence o’ Bruce on the field o’battle
Scattered his foes like a herd o’ cattle,
While the Earl ske-daddled to the Grenago Stane,
Sick at seeing where the conflict had been.
Thanks to the burghers o’ brave Bon-Accord
They cam wi’ what strength the town could afford,
And that help, that lives yet in memory green
Laid Comyn to groan by the Grenago Stane.
The Earl while resting was heard to groan
Hence, says tradition, the name of the Stone.
And deny who list
That the Earl had been lodger by the Grenago Stane.
Five centuries and mair have passed away
Since our brave fighting fathers did sleep in the clay,
But wha disna gaze wi ‘sparklin’ e’en
To where Comyn lay doon by the Grenago Stane?
Proudly did the Royal Flags float o’er the field
When the rebel invaders were driven to yield,
So perish all rebels to the reign of our Queen

And bury their bones by the Grenago Stane.

Can anyone provide information on James Fraser?

The stone is also mentioned in a foot note by Fred R. Coles, in his 1902, “Report on stone circles of North Eastern Scotland” for the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
“Before quitting this district, I may note, in passing, the big boulder that goes by the name of Girnigoe, or Grenago Stone. It is, I think, an ice-poised boulder of whinstone, nearly 6 feet high, and roughly rhomboidal in contour, and stands on the commonty of Old Meldrum. In local histories it has a traditional association with a battle between Bruce and the Comyns.”

In modern times the stone apparently still retains the power to make grown men “groan”.
The Oldmeldrum Golf Club website carries the following warning:
“Look out on the 14th fairway for the Groaner or Groaning Stone, a large projection of ancient rock which inspired the club logo. If struck by a wayward shot, it can cost strokes by deflecting a speeding ball straight into oblivion”

Barra hill viewed from the golf course.

Stoned in Meldrum

2008-10-06T21:10:00.003-05:00

Now that things are back to normal, I would like to look at some of the current places around Meldrum, which have connections with the battle, legendary or otherwise.
I have already looked at Bruce’s Field, Comym’s Camp, Bourtie Kirkyard, and would now like to look at three of the most common objects to be found around the locality, namely big stones.
There are three specific stones in the vicinity with associations to the battle, and I would like to deal with them in the following order, The Grenago Stane, Wallace’s Putting Stone, and Bruce’s Seat.
But firstly I would like to speculate on why such common objects are often associated with important events. Has this to do with our ancient past? The North East is rich in stone circles, and other prehistoric sites, or is this need to associate events to the stones part of some long lost folk memory? Is it that a particular stone had significance to a particular age, and when that time passed, the stone or place of significance was transferred to the beliefs or legends of the current age? In the way it is said that pagan sites were often adopted by the early Christian church.
Any thoughts?
Next post “The Grenago Stane

After Ike

2008-09-24T21:51:00.008-05:00

Just a quick post to say, that we are all OK here in Tomball Texas, following the passage of hurricane Ike.
Ike arrived in the area in the early hours of the morning of Saturday 13th , and we were very fortunate that the only damage to our property were a couple of fences down and countless branches, some of them large blown down. Some in our area were less fortunate and had trees fall on their houses. But all of us here were far more fortunate than the people in Galveston and other areas on or near the coast.
We finally had electricity restored last night, so Juliet and I are so relieved.
I am finally back on line so thought I would post an update and let everyone know that,

“Normal service will be resumed shortly”

The Moving of Sir Thomas

2008-09-05T23:10:00.012-05:00

When I started this topic I had no idea that there would be so much material on Sir Thomas, but for now I think this will be the final chapter, but one can never tell.........
The Rev. Bisset, in the 1845 Statistical accounts, has this to say about the legend of Sir Thomas and Barra
This derives some vraisemblance from two rather rude images of a knight in armour and his dame, which occupied a niche in the old church of Bourtie. They lie now in the church-yard, neglected like the stranded remains of Polydorus. It is hardly necessary to remark, that no such knight as Sir Thomas de Longueville is known historically to have been amongst the followers of either party.
(I believe that the Polydorus referred to was the son of Praim (King of Troy), who was murdered by Polymestor, and his body left to rot. See Wikipedia entry on the subject for more details. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymestor)

Bourtie Kirk yard

Ninety years later a young Doug Smith was part of a team who moved the “stranded remains”, from the kirk yard to their present position inside the kirk.

Below is Doug’s account of the move:

"The effigies were moved from the churchyard to inside Bourtie Kirk in 1956. Tom Webster was the contractor. He also completed the Meldrum Kirk restoration in 1954. Willie Henry, foreman mason, was in charge. Kenneth Macmillan was the minister of both Bourtie & Meldrum kirks.
The effigies lay side-by-side close by the right of the path, approximately mid way between the entrance gate and the kirk doors. (I am certain they lay facing the kirk and due east)
There was significant weathering of the effigies which was the reason for moving them inside. Controversy and much debate took place about the move.
This job was far removed from the usual run -of -the mill work we did and proved challenging and interesting, not forgetting heavy.
No mechanical lifting aids were available. We used pick-axe handles to move them ( 6 of us in pairs) through the narrow doors with a tight turn into a small room, upended them and fixed them to the wall. Now they were facing west."

Doug with the figures he moved half a century ago

Doug also confirmed that they had to carry-out some repairs to the figures as well as securing them to the wall.

Further insight into the move comes from the “Random Memories”, of the late Rev Kenneth MacMillan, who was also provost of Oldmeldrum from 1956 -1957 and was the driving force behind the restoration of Meldrum Parish Church.

Rev Kenneth Macmillan wearing his Provost chain of office

In 1950/1951 Mr. Mackenzie of Bourtie House made a strong attempt to have the effigies placed in the body of the church. Mr. Mackenzie, who was a member of the firm of A. Marshall Mackenzie, well known Aberdeen Architects, drew up the plan with the effigies lying side by side on a plinth. This would have dominated the interior of the little Kirk, and found little favour with the congregation. At the meeting of the congregation held to decide whether to agree to the plan or not there was much discussion, then one of the elders (Proctor) killed the idea by saying, “We have enough sleeping members in the kirk without having more!”
The effigies remained outside until 1956 when a small section of the vestibule was turned into a museum and with the help of Tom Webster, the Old Meldrum builder, Sir Thomas and his Lady were set standing side by side on one of the walls. The church bell, which had fallen down and cracked, nearly killing the beadle as it fell, found a place in the museum. Also a pedestal font, found by workmen clearing the ditches near the church and three long handled offeratory ladles, one dated 1690 were among the treasures.
In a short time there were many less “sleeping members” and many more awake to the fact that the Bourtie Kirk was still the Parish church and that Bourtie was still a parish. It would be hard to forget names like Stronach of Selbiehill, Green of Collyhill, Manson of Smithycroft, Cooper of Shadowside, Morris of Greenford, and Miss Thompson who ran the Sunday School. They were all Bourtie folk with a sense of belonging.

Once again I have Evelyn to thank for providing a copy of the notes shown above, which are in the possession of the MBHS. A longer version of the notes also appears in Marion Youngblood’s book “Boutie Kirk - 800 Years” , which is well worth a read for anyone with a deeper interest in history of the kirk.
For those interested in the modern day church, information can be found on the following site: http://www.meldrum-bourtiechurch.org/

Legion Update

2008-09-05T22:58:00.011-05:00

Once again due to the hard work of Evelyn, we have some answers on the “Meldrum Sports” picture.

Past secretary of the Sports committee, Bob Forsyth, found the answers following a search of his collection of old “Sports” programmes.
The year was 1954 and the Sports that year were opened by The Marquis of Aberdeen

In 1954 the Oldmeldrum Branch of the British Legion presented an ambitious re-enactment at Meldrum Sports entitled:

'A Pageant in Four Scenes'

We now also know that Sir Thomas de Longville was played by George Meldrum, who at one time had a shop in the Square - in 1954 it was Gall and Bruce's shop.

The Pageant must have been some undertaking; the programme has pages of historical notes, too many to reproduce here. But this must have been the norm for the time because the following year they presented an equally ambitious re-enactment about the Raising of the Gordons. 12,000 attended that year & Richard Dimbleby opened the Sports.

Thanks Evelyn and Bob for all your efforts.

Ethnic Cleansing or the Fortunes of War?

2008-09-05T19:02:00.003-05:00

Well folks this post has been a long time in coming. Due to the nature of the content it has been very difficult to create a balance post. This has been the hardest post to date.

Dan Carlin looks at aspects of this question in several of his Hardcore History podcasts.
http://www.dancarlin.com/
One in particular (his first) he compares Hitler with Alexander, and it turns out that the “darling” of the classical era was a blood thirsty genocidal maniac. (We all probably secretly knew that but ignored it)
Indeed one could consider that Hitler was a “light-weight” in comparison, but our current conceptions do not, and should not allow us to view it in that way.
However the Alexander /Hitler method of dealing with things was for most of our history the norm. But by the twentieth century we had progressed, to the point where the Alexanders of this world could no longer be our heroes, and although, as countless tyrants have proved, this behavior has not been eradicated, it can no longer be trumpeted in public, and must be hidden or somehow “justified”.
Is it simply the chronological relationship which affects our judgment or is there something else?
As a member of the Bahá’í Faith, I believe that mankind is evolving spiritually, and hence behaviors which were commonplace only a generation or two ago are no longer acceptable. This is a wide generalization, and in practice varies across the globe, but the overall trend is one of improvement.

“The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”

Bahá’u’lláh

For us we must choose how to conduct ourselves, and not in the huge global or national matters, but in our day to day lives, so that if we are ever faced with such horrors we can act in a principled manner. A fine example of such behavior is that of Corrie Ten Boom, and her family who risked their lives to save Jews in occupied Holland, their story is recounted in her book, “The Hiding Place”.
See also: http://www.corrietenboom.com/exhbits.htm

Abdu'l-Bahá; the oldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet founder of the Bahá’í Faith, tells us this about man’s dual nature.

“When man allows the spirit, through his soul, to enlighten his understanding, then does he contain all Creation...
But on the other hand, when man does not open his mind and heart to the blessing of the spirit, but turns his soul towards the material side, towards the bodily part of his nature, then is he fallen from his high place and he becomes inferior to the inhabitants of the lower animal kingdom.... “

(Paris Talks: Addresses given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912 )

We are also told that:

"All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization."

Baha'u'llah

Many would say we are the same people that devastated Buchan, but with a thin pretence of civilisation. We have no problem in accepting that we have advanced technologically since then, so why can we not accept that we have spiritually advanced as well? (Or if you are not comfortable with that, then consider it ethical and moral advancement).

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants"

Newton

It is clear that we can choose to turn to our spiritual or material natures, but if we take heed of the above quote, attributed to Newton, we can identify countless “spiritual shoulders to stand on”.

This is all very well but what about Robert?

Robert will always, rightly occupy a pre-eminent position in the pantheon of Scottish heroes, because, at its darkest hour, he and “The Flower of Scotland” preserved Scotland as an Independent Nation. Without their victory much of what Scotland has given to the world would not have come to pass. But ironically Scotland greatest contributions came after the “voluntary” union with the “Auld Enemy”.
So whilst recognizing and learning from his greatness we must also understand that the moral standards of his day are no longer relevant, and must be discarded as obsolete. Medieval man believed war to be the natural order, and understood that it was raw and brutal; modern man on the other hand believe it to be only necessary at times and that it can be regulated by moral codes.
But one could paraphrase von Moltke thus: No moral value survives contact with the enemy
Another of his lesser known maxims is, “War is a matter of expedients”, and expedients ultimately lead to the “dark side”.

We two Kings of Albion are?

2008-08-09T22:22:00.012-05:00

How should we react when one of our national icons acts in a way we now consider ethically wrong?

Can we or should we hold them to our standards?

Firstly how does the destruction of Buchan fit into the War of Independence, and the period in general?

Bust of Robert I courtesy of Keith Kaase

The war started with a Scottish cross-border raid, which although a military failure, it cannot have been pleasant for those on the “receiving end”. This was followed by Edward I’s sacking of Berwick, which is remembered for its savagery, but may not have differed much from the fate of most medieval towns that were taken by storm. (It was normal practice to offer terms to a town that surrendered, but if it was taken by storm there would be no quarter or restraint). The sack of Berwick essentially “set the tone” for the rest of the war. As the fortunes ebbed and flowed, both side committed acts of savagery, without ever achieving the upper-hand, for long. Finally in 1304 with both sides exhausted most of the Scottish nobles came to terms with Edward, and his vision of over-lordship appeared to be realised. The general levels of violence between this time and the Bruce coup, probably declined, excepting the brutal execution of William Wallace.
Following the Coup Edward I ordered his commanders, in Scotland, to “raise the dragon banner”, which was basically the general warfare equivalent of taking a town by storm. There would be no quarter and all those aiding Robert who fell into English hands would suffer the same fate as Wallace, and some of the “Bruce” ladies were hung in cages from the walls of English castles.
As the “Bruce bandwagon” got rolling Edward’s policy began to have the opposite effect from that desired, and belatedly he tried to moderate it:

“As he understands that some have interpreted his recent ordinances for settling Scotland as too harsh and rigorous, which was not his intention”*

But too much Scottish blood had been shed and in Wallace, Scotland had a martyr to complement the hero king. For the king’s enemies time had run out.

Edward is commemorated by a plaque hanging in the U.S. House of Representatives, to acknowledge his contributions to the parliamentary system, the same man who persecuted Jews, and made them wear a yellow badge. (Have a familiar ring?)
For Scots he is remembered as a tyrant, but lets be fair the majority of the inhabitants of Scotland may have agreed with Edward’s Jewish policy, if they had not been too busy fighting for their lives, because prejudice was rife in medieval Europe.

So we have two kings who are considered “great” in their respective countries, but clearly they also had a “dark side”. (Or at least to the modern eye)

Now ga we to the king agayne

One thing that is noticeable is that the sources closest to the events do not appear to have any problems with Robert’s actions.

From Barbour’s

“And gert his men bryn all Bouchane
Fra end till end and sparyt nane,”

To Bower’s

“….Advancing thence consumed Buchan with fire”.

These were churchmen who were writing in praise of the heroes of Scotland’s war of independence, and would not have included something which detracted from the hero king. So a “spot of ethnic cleansing” was obviously considered “business as usual” for a medieval king.

But I think I have written enough for one post so I will explore this idea further in the next post, but I will leave you with a quote to ponder.

Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.
Yoda

G.W.S. Barrow : Robert Bruce and the community of the realm of Scotland 1988

The herschip of Buchan

2008-08-02T09:44:00.029-05:00

As said earlier we do not have any hard evidence regarding the movements of the Bruce brothers as they set out in pursuit of the enemy. Bower mentions a pursuit as far as Fyvie, but has the King leading it.
Entries in the “The New Statistical Account of Scotland” (1845), for New and Old Deer give the following information, which presumably comes from local folklore, relating to place names.

New Deer

“About a mile to the west of the village is an extensive piece of moor called Bruce Hill. This is said to have derived its name from Edward, brother to Robert the Bruce. Here he is reported to have encamped after the battle of Inverury, and from this to have gone in pursuit of the Cummins to a place near Old Deer, called Aikey Brae. In memory of this victory, the market of Aikey fair is said to have been established on the spot where the battle was fought.”

Bruce's Hill

For and accurate location of Bruce Hill follow the attached link

http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3251770

Old Deer

“There are visible proofs still remaining that this parish was formerly the scene of warfare, occasioned by family feuds, civil strife, or the invasion of the country by foreigners. On the top of the hill of Bruxie, and at the Den of Howie, near Fetterangus, there are traces of fortifications and encampments; and near the foot of Arkey-brae, there is a cluster of tumuli, pointing out the graves of warriors who fell in a bloody contest reported to have taken place between Edward, the brother of King Robert the Bruce, and Cumming the Earl of Buchan, with their followers and clansmen.”

Aikey Brae Stone Circle

For and accurate location of Aikey Brae follow the attached link
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/257902

For those interested in stone circles see Chris Lodge’s site

http://bigstone.awardspace.com/

Whether there was a battle at Aikey Brea or not all the medieval sources are agreed that Robert ordered the destruction of Buchan.

Barbour gives us this account.

Now ga we to the king agayne
That off his victory wes rycht fayn,
And gert his men bryn all Bouchane
Fra end till end and sparyt nane,
And heryit thaim on sic maner
That eftre weile fifty yer
Men menyt the herschip of Bouchane,
The king than till his pes has tane
The north cuntreys that humbly
Obeysyt till his senyoury
Sua that benorth the Month war nane
Then thai his men war everilkan,
His lordship wox ay mar and mar.

______________________________________________

Now let us go to the king again,
Who was well pleased at his victory,
And had his men burn all Buchan
From end to end, sparing none.
He harried them in such a way
That a good fifty years afterwards
People bemoaned the devastation of Buchan
The king then took to his peace
the north country which obeyed his lordship humbly
so that north of the Mounth there were none
who were not his subjects one and all.

His lordship spread always more and more

Barbour’s The Brus – Lines 295 – 307

From the Canongate 1997 Edition: Edited by A.A.M. Duncan

Bower’s account seems to “soften” Barbour’s, “sparyt nane”.

….. Advancing thence consumed Buchan with fire
He struck down some of the people and made peace with others,

He scattered his enemies and so came away from there victorious.

And gert his men bryn all Bouchane Fra end till end and sparyt nane

So how do we handle the fact that our national hero instigated, and would continue to instigate events, which would, in modern times, get him a trial in the Hauge?

Note: The above pictures are supplied by the following individuals on a “creative commons” license, courtesy of the Geograph site. Thanks to Les Harvey for “Bruce Hill”,
Chris Lodge for “Aikey Brae Stone circle”, and Martyn Gorman for his picture of “Slains Castle”, which I took the liberty of modifying, and the finished picture therefore carries the same “Creative Commons Licence”

After the Battle

2008-07-27T13:01:00.006-05:00

I believe we have had enough of Sir Thomas for the present, but I would like to revisit him later.

What happened after the battle?

Well as mentioned in an earlier post only those with good horses got away, and although we have no direct evidence, the lesser classes, would have suffered the normal fate of the defeated in medieval battles. They had no value for ransom, (although in this very “uncivil” civil war it does not seem that even a potential ransom would have saved you) and they were therefore hunted down and slaughtered by the victors.
The Earl of Buchan fled north into his heartland, after a brief stop at the Grenago stane to lament his fate, (I will have a post on the Grenago Stane later), and may have sheltered briefly at Fyvie Castle, but his flight led ultimately to England. It is not clear who accompanied him, but David de Brechin is said to have fled south to his castle of the same name.

Fyvie Castle

For and accurate location of Fyvie castle follow the attached link http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/294690

What followed was an exercise in terror, designed to destroy forever the Comyn power, and send a clear message to others that the King of Scots could do as he pleased and the distant and embattled King of England was powerless to help his “friends” in Scotland..
It brings to mind a quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war.

We have to remember that Robert, although innovative and flexible in his conduct of the war, was very much a man of his time, and was more than capable of acts of incredible savagery when the situation required it. To modern eyes what followed would be considered an act of “ethnic cleansing” (or maybe more accurately “dynastic cleansing”, which in a feudal system would affect all from top to bottom).
Robert unleashed his brother Edward, who after pursuing the fleeing enemy, brought some of them to bay at Aikey Brae, defeated them, and then proceeded to devastate Buchan from end to end.
The evidence for the rest of the campaign is apocryphal in nature, and has the Earl of Buchan taking refuge at Fyvie castle, but there is no record of any fighting there, so either this was not the case or Edward simply by-passed it on his way north, and the Earl “slipped away” to England.

Next Post – The Herschip of Buchan

Sir Thomas de Longueville (4)

2008-07-25T19:37:00.005-05:00

I had decided to take a break from Sir Thomas, and was doing some research for the next post when I came upon a copy of an 1884 “reader” which contained Walter Scott’s tale recounted in the last post. But it also had the illustration below, and although not historically accurate I thought I would include it for interest.

William Wallace captures the Red Reaver

Sir Thomas de Longueville (3)

2008-07-23T19:51:00.007-05:00

Apparently Sir Thomas was a noble of France, but having killed a man in front of the King had to flee his justice, where-upon he embarked on a highly successful career as a pirate, becoming known and feared as “The Red Reaver. The tale of how he was won over to the Scottish cause is best left to another celebrated knight, Sir Walter Scott.

Sir Walter Scott

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Scott

Sir Walter Scott, is one of Scotland’s and the world’s literary greats, and although he did not let the facts get in the way of a good story, (He was defiantly a “Print the legend” kind of guy.), I would not presume to do justice to the story, so below is an extract from his “Fair Maid of Perth”, telling how Scotland’s other great hero Sir William Wallace, captured and befriended the Red Reaver.

“The Fair Maid of Perth” (pages 28-29)

During the brief career of the celebrated patriot Sir William Wallace, and when his arms had for a time expelled the English invaders from his native country, he is said to have undertaken a voyage to France, with a small band of trusty friends, to try what his presence (for he was respected through all countries for his prowess) might do to induce the French monarch to send to Scotland a body of auxiliary forces, or other assistance, to aid the Scots in regaining their independence.

The William Wallace Statue in Aberdeen

The Scottish Champion was on board a small vessel, and steering for the port of Dieppe, when a sail appeared in the distance, which the mariners regarded, first with doubt and apprehension, and at last with confusion and dismay. Wallace demanded to know what was the cause of their alarm. The captain of the ship informed him that the tall vessel which was bearing down, with the purpose of boarding that which he commanded, was the ship of a celebrated rover, equally famed for his courage, strength of body, and successful piracies.It was commanded by a gentleman named Thomas de Longueville, a Frenchman by birth, but by practice one of those pirates who called themselves friends to the sea and enemies to all who sailed upon that element. He attacked and plundered vessels of all nations,like one of the ancient Norse sea kings, as they were termed,whose dominion was upon the mountain waves. The master added that no vessel could escape the rover by flight, so speedy was the bark he commanded; and that no crew, however hardy, could hope to resist him, when, as was his usual mode of combat, he threw himself onboard at the head of his followers. Wallace smiled sternly, while the master of the ship, with alarmin his countenance and tears in his eyes, described to him the certainty of their being captured by the Red Rover, a name given to De Longueville, because he usually displayed the blood red flag,which he had now hoisted. "I will clear the narrow seas of this rover," said Wallace. Then calling together some ten or twelve of his own followers, Boyd, Kerlie, Seton, and others, to whom the dust of the most desperate battle was like the breath of life, he commanded them to arm themselves, and lie flat upon the deck, so as to be out of sight. He ordered the mariners below, excepting such as were absolutely necessary to manage the vessel; and he gave the master instructions,upon pain of death, so to steer as that, while the vessel had an appearance of attempting to fly, he should in fact permit the Red Rover to come up with them and do his worst. Wallace himself then lay down on the deck, that nothing might be seen which could intimate any purpose of resistance. In a quarter of an hour De Longueville's vessel ran on board that of the Champion, and the Red Rover, casting out grappling irons to make sure of his prize, jumped on the deck in complete armour, followed by his men, who gave a terrible shout, as if victory had been already secured. But the armed Scots started up at once, and the rover found himself unexpectedly engaged with men accustomed to consider victory as secure when they were only opposed as one to two or three. Wallace himself rushed on the pirate captain, and a dreadful strife began betwixt them with such fury that the others suspended their own battle to look on, and seemed by common consent to refer the issue of the strife to the fate ofthe combat between the two chiefs. The pirate fought as well as man could do; but Wallace's strength was beyond that of ordinary mortals. He dashed the sword from the rover's hand, and placed him in such peril that, to avoid being cut down, he was fain to close with the Scottish Champion in hopes of overpowering him in the grapple. In this also he was foiled. They fell on the deck, locked in each other's arms, but the Frenchman fell undermost; and Wallace, fixing his grasp upon his gorget, compressed it so closely, not withstanding it was made of the finest steel, that the blood gushed from his eyes, nose, and month, and he was only able to ask for quarter by signs. His men threw down their weapons and begged for mercy when they saw their leader thus severely handled. The victor granted them all their lives, but took possession of their vessel, and detained them prisoners. When he came in sight of the French harbour, Wallace alarmed the place by displaying the rover's colours, as if De Longueville was coming to pillage the town. The bells were rung backward, horns were blown, and the citizens were hurrying to arms, when the scene changed. The Scottish Lion on his shield of gold was raised above the piratical flag, and announced that the Champion of Scotland was approaching, like a falcon with his prey in his clutch. He landed with his prisoner, and carried him to the court of France, where, at Wallace's request, the robberies which the pirate had committed were forgiven, and the king even conferred the honour of knighthood on Sir Thomas de Longueville, and offered to take him into his service. But the rover had contracted such a friendship for his generous victor, that he insisted on uniting his fortunes with those of Wallace, with whom he returned to Scotland, and fought by his side in many a bloody battle, where the prowess of Sir Thomas de Longueville was remarked as inferior to that of none, save of his heroic conqueror. His fate also was more fortunate than that of his patron. Being distinguished by the beauty as well as strength of his person, he rendered himself so acceptable to a young lady, heiress of the ancient family of Charteris, that she chose him for her husband, bestowing on him with her hand the fair baronial Castle of Kinfauns, and the domains annexed to it. Their descendants took the name of Charteris, as connecting themselves with their maternal ancestors, the ancient proprietors of the property, though the name of Thomas de Longueville was equally honoured amongst them; and the large two handed sword with which he mowed the ranks of war was, and is still, preserved among the family muniments. Another account is, that the family name of De Longueville himself was Charteris. The estate afterwards passed to a family of Blairs,and is now the property of Lord Gray.

So where does all this leave us?

Sir Thomas de Longueville (2)

2008-07-20T22:10:00.005-05:00

Sir Thomas appears in a number of histories, but in all but the Barra legend he is said to be a native of France. The name is associated with the lands of Kinfauns in Perthshire, where a Sir Thomas uses the name of Charteris. Some accounts give this as his real family name, but others say he married the heiress to Kinfauns, and took her family name.
If the Barra legend refers to the same Sir Thomas he did in fact survive the battle (if he were actually there), and went on to serve Robert I well. One story has him as the first man to follow Robert into the moat of Perth castle, when they took it by stealth, in 1313. It was for this action that Robert is said to have granted him the lands of Kinfauns.

Barbour describes the events at Perth thus:

And when the king thaim hard nocht ster
He was blyth on gert maner,
And his ledder in hand gan ta
Ensample till his men to ma,
Arayit weill in all his ger
Schot in the dik and with his sper
Taistyt till he it our-woud,
Bot till his throt the watyr stud.
That tyme wes in his company
A knycht off France wycht and hardy,
And quhen he in the watyr sua
Saw the king pas and with him ta
His ledder unabasytly,
He saynyt him for the ferly
And said, ‘A, lord, quaht sall we say
Off our lordie of Fraunce that thai
With gud morsellis fayrcis thar pawnce
And will bot ete and drink and dawnce
Quhen sic a knycht and sa worthy
As this throu his chevalry
Into sic perell has him set
‘To win a wrechyt hamillet.’
With that word to the dik he ran
And our efter the king he wan,
And quhen the king’s menye saw
Thar lord out-our intill a thraw
Thai passyt the dik and but mar let
Ther leddrys to the wall thai set
And to clymb up fast pressyt thai,
Bot the gud king as I herd say
Was the secund man tuk the wall
And bad thar till his mengye all
War cummyn up in full gert hy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And when the king heard them not stirring
he was extremely pleased,
and took his ladder in his hand,
to show an example to his men.
Well armed in all his gear,
he plunged into the ditch,
and with his spear
tested as he waded over
but the water reached up to his throat.
At that time there was in his company
a knight of France, a strong and bold [man];
and when he saw the king go into the water thus,
and take his ladder with him without hesitation,
he crossed himself in wonder,
and said, ‘Ah, Lord what shall we say
of our French lords,
always stuffing their bellies with good food,
willing only to eat drink and dance,
when such a knight, so noble as this one,
by his chivalry,
has put himself in danger,
to win a wretched hamlet.’
With that he ran to the ditch,
and made it over after the king
and when the kings company saw
their lord cross over,
in a crowd they crossed the ditch,
and without more hindrance set their ladders to the wall,
and hastened to climb up fast.
But the good king, as I heard tell,
was the second manwho took the wall,
and waited there till his company
had come over with all speed

Barbour’s The Brus – Lines 387 – 419
From the Canongate 1997 Edition: Edited by A.A.M. Duncan

So if the French knight was in fact Sir Thomas, he may well have, like Mark Twain commented :

“The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated”

I will conclude the story of Sir Thomas, with the assistance of one of Scotland’s (and arguably, the world’s) literary geniuses, in the next post.

The Legion takes the field

2008-07-19T22:45:00.008-05:00

In response the post earlier today, on Sir Thomas, I received the picture below from Evelyn.

It shows the Royal British Legion's pageant entry at the Meldrum Sports. (For information on Meldrum Sports "click" on the Oldmeldrum Community website link at the left)
Evelyn was able to tell me that Robert the Bruce was played by the late Donald Kirkpartick, of Ardfork. The date of the picture is not known at the present nor is the identity of Sir Thomas.
Can anyone provide this information? Also if any one remembers participating in that particular pageant, and has any stories, it would be great to include them in the blog.

Some of you may have noted that the date in the picture is 1307, and not 1308. This was not that the participants “got it wrong”, but that up until very recently historians were still divided over the date. Of the medieval sources, Barbour gave the date as Christmas 1307, whilst Fourdon gives it an unspecified 1308 date, and some versions of Bower’s Scotichronicon give Ascension day 1308 (May 23rd).*
The latter date now being the commonly accepted.

I am looking forward to receiving your responses to the above questions

G.W.S. Barrow : Robert Bruce and the community of the realm of Scotland 1988

Sir Thomas de Longueville (1)

2008-07-19T06:22:00.013-05:00

Earlier, I promised a post on the legend of Sir Thomas, so here it is. However when I started I found I had a lot more information than expected, so have decided to present it in several posts.
I would first like to express my gratitude to the Rev. Hugh O’ Brien, minister of Meldrum and Bourtie kirks, who took time during one of my visits to show me the church, the two figures, as well as answering my questions, and allowing me to take the photographs in this post.
The legend of Sir Thomas appears in several histories, but the account that follows appears in both, “The New Statistical Account of Scotland” (1845), and “A New History of Aberdeenshire” (1875). There is also a similar account displayed in the present day Bourtie Kirk.

A framed account of Sir Thomas' death hanging in the Kirk

The New History of Aberdeenshire gives this introduction:

“There is now lying in the Churchyard, two rather rude images cut in stone, of a knight in armour, and his dame, which occupied a niche in the old church of Bourtie, about which there is the following legend"

The "rude images" now inside Bourtie Kirk

After the battle, the king’s spirits waur noo high, as you may believe; but he was doom’t to get a sair heart afor’ nicht. His busom Comorade, the brave Englishman, Sir Thomas de Longueville, was mortally wounded i’ the battle, but he continued to fecht while it lasted. He raid aff the field till he cam’ to the dykes o’ Fala; but there fell frae his horse.

Picture of the view west toward Dykes of Fala from Barra Hill

Callin’ to the king, “Noo, Robin”, he said till him, “my een will soon be clos’t, and I’ve ae request to mak. Ye maun jist lay my banes wharever this arrow fa’s”.
So drawin’s bow, he sent the arra wi’ a’ his micht through the air, and it fell i’ the kirk yard o’ Bourtie here, twa mile awa. The king’s love o’ Sir Thomas was great, and he caus’t mak the image o’ him, whilk ye see lyin’ yonder, and placet it on’s grave.
The ither image as I’ve heard say, is Sir Thomas Ladye, wha fan the news o’s death reach’t England, gaed oo’t o’ ae dwawm intil anither, and wi her last breath beggit to be laid asid him”.

A composite picture of Bourtie Kirk and Graveyard

It is interesting the similarity between the Sir Thomas story recounted here and an early ballad about the legendary Robin Hood.

Robin Hood and Maid Marion

But give me my bent bow in my hand,
And a broad arrow I’ll let flee;
And where this arrow is taken up,
There shall my grave digged be.

But who was Sir Thomas and did he really die at Barra?
More next post…………….

Note: Bourtie Kirk lies due south of Barra Hill (for location details follow this link http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/670924 ), and the Dykes of Fala are due west.

Of Acre and Annandale

2008-06-22T10:19:00.004-05:00

One legend has Robert Bruce (father of the King), participating in the 9th crusade to Acre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_Crusade

Akka

He and his companion-in arms Adam de Kilconquhar, apparently travelled to the Holy land for the 9th Crusade, but Adam died or was killed in 1270, and Robert returned to Scotland with the sad duty of informing his widow. One of the leaders of the crusade was Prince Edward of England, (Later Edward I who featured prominently in earlier posts), so it may be that Robert was part of his following. It should be noted that, Scottish –English relations of this time were relatively cordial, and that the Bruces, like many of those who would be participants in the War of Independence, were powerful Anglo-Scottish nobles, who owed allegiances to both Kings.

Robert returned to Scotland and in one romantic account, meets the widow (Lady Marjorie of Carrick) out riding with her ladies, who on seeing the handsome young knight, surrounded him and took him captive to her castle, where she kept him until he agreed to marry her. Robert obviously succumbed to the charms of the Lady, and there may have been some thoughts of the Earldom that would come with any marriage. (As seen in earlier post the Bruces were not shy in pursuing their dynastic advancement).
But let us not spoil the mood – they were married 1271, and the union would produce Scotland’s Hero King.

However there is a problem with the chronology, the 9th crusade did not effectively start until mid 1271, and by then Robert must have been back in Scotland, thinking of marriage, so it seems unlikely that he an Adam were involved in any of the fighting.
It is known that the couple married without Royal consent, which resulted in temporary dispossession, and the payment of a fine to resolve the issue, so maybe the above story is a distraction to take attention away from the issue of permission.

But what the heck !!! – You know the motto of this blog “Print the Legend”

Meanwhile Prince Edward was busy campaigning and forming alliances, in the Holy land, but when news of the death of his father, Henry III, reached him in 1272, he returned to England to assume the throne. Acre would hold out for another twenty years, but by the opening years of the 14th century the last crusaders were ejected from the Holy land and Scotland was on the verge of final subjugation.

Siege of Acre 1291

So the stage was set and all that remain was for the Hero King to fulfill his destiny

Detour via Akka

2008-06-21T18:35:00.013-05:00

One of the beauties of a blog is that you do not have to be sequential or ordered.
So I am taking advantage of the fact that we have just returned from a Bahá’í pilgrimage to the Haifa/Akka area of Israel, to exploit a tenuous connection between Robert Bruce (the father of the King) and Akka, (medieval Acre) where he is alleged to have participated in the 9th Crusade.
I “penned” this post whilst sitting in a restaurant on Ben Gurion Ave. looking towards the Bahá’í terraces on Mount Carmel, but due to internet issues was not able to post at the time. (See picture below)

The Bahá’í Faith is the newest of the world religions, who’s world centre is located in Haifa. http://www.bahai.org/

The Shrine of the Bab and the Bahá’í terraces

So what is the connection?

Bahá’u’lláh, is the latest of the Messengers of God, who brought new spiritual and social teachings for our time. His essential message is of unity. He taught the oneness of God, the oneness of the human family, and the oneness of religion

“The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”

Bahá’u’lláh

Bahá’u’lláh was born in Iran in 1817, and was destined to suffer imprisonment and exile for the majority of his life, because of his teachings. His coming was announced by the Bab (The Gate), who was martyred in Iran and whose remains rest in the shrine pictured above. Bahá’u’lláh was initially exiled to Bagdad, and subsequently to Constantinople (Istanbul), Adrianople (Edirne), and finally to the prison city of Akka, which is located across the bay from Haifa. Bahá’u’lláh and his family arrived in Akka after an arduous
journey on the 31st of August 1868, only to be confined, in the citadel, under appalling conditions. Akka like everywhere in the middle east , has a long and varied history, and in recent years the remains of Knights Hospitaller building buried under the cell block levels where Bahá’u’lláh and his family were confined, have been excavated and work is on going to preseve and present them.

The Knights Hospitaller Courtyard viewed fom the enterance to Bahá’u’lláh's cell block

The outside of Bahá’u’lláh's cell block

Bahá’u’lláh was finally allowed more freedom and spent his remaining years in more comfortable circumstances, in Akka, and later at the mansion of Bahji, where he passed away on 29th of May 1892. Since his passing the Faith has been lead by his Son, Great-Grandson, and now the Universal House of Justice, and has spread Bahá’u’lláh’s healing message throughout the world.

“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth"

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah)

Some thoughts

2008-06-19T21:51:00.008-05:00

Looking towards Lawel hill from Barra hill

I have not posted for some time, because we have been on holiday, (vacation) and did not have reliable internet. We were in the Haifa/Akka area of Israel and will post some information on a connection with Robert the Bruce, in my next post.
But now that the excitement of the anniversary and the traveling are over, I need to get back to the subject of the blog, “The Battle of Barra”
I looked at the “official” version, in an earlier post, but what can a review of the general military facts of the period, and the various legends which have come down to us, tell us?
As my favourite history podcast presenter, Dan Carlin says, the big advantage of not being a professional historian is the greater scope to look at the, “what ifs”, and the maybes. (Dan’s history podcasts are very simulating and cover wide range of topics, from ancient to modern; but no Scottish ones yet – why not Dan? ) If you are interested in history check it out at http://www.dancarlin.com/
The “official” version has the hero king rise from his sick bed , and immediately lead his army against the enemy, who are defeated by resolute leadership and courage.
However the distance from Inverurie Bass to the Bruce Field, is about 4 miles a the crow flies and would certainly be more for a marching army, which puts it at the upper end of the average daily distance covered by medieval infantry. This is not to say the distance was not achievable, on the same day, by forced march, or if most of the force consisted of troops, who travelled on tough ponies and then dismounted to fight.
We also do not know the site of the battle, although local folklore gives us two sites, one “The Bruce Field” and the other “Comyns Camp”, both of which were featured in earlier posts, but do not seem to be likely sites. Two local legends mention Lawel Hill, which is located to the south of Barra hill, placing it closer to Inverurie than either of the other two, so there may be some justification in locating the battle site on that side of Barra hill.. The first relates to the death of Sir Thomas de Longeuville. (Which will have a post to its self).
The second relates to a night march by way of Lawel hill, where the royal army gathered up cattle and drove them towards the Earl’s position. They then tied clothes and lanterns to their horns and stampeded them into the enemy.
We know that on two subsequent occasions Robert divided his force prior to battle, and whilst he launched a frontal assault on the enemy, one of his trusted lieutenants led a smaller force to fall upon the enemies’ rear, the combined assaults causing a complete collapse of the enemy. Both battles, Pass of Brander later in 1308, and Byland 1322, were deep in enemy territory, so maybe Robert tested this tactic first, whilst “playing at home” in the Garioch.
So a possible sequence of events could have been as follows.
After David de Brechin’s attack the royal army prepared to march, whilst scouts located the enemy. The obvious choice of leader for the flanking force would have been Edward the king’s brother. So with the enemy located in the Meldrum area, where they would spend the night, the King with the infantry, and Edward with a smaller mounted force set out. Edward gathered cattle as discussed earlier, and then waited, possibly in woods on Lawell hill, until his brother arrived with the main force. When he learned that the king was approaching the earl deployed his troops and awaited the assault. The King’s men formed-up and advanced on the enemy position. With the enemy probably already somewhat unsteady, in the face of the veteran’s advance, Edwards force burst out of the woods and fell upon the enemy rear. Caught between the two forces the Earls army disintegrated, and as Barbour says;

“Quha had gud hors gat best away”

Final Report Card

2008-06-05T22:45:00.009-05:00

Having made it back to Houston, I have some time to catch-up with the events of our whirlwind trip. As always it was not possible to fit everything in, but as well as the visits already reported, we were able to meet several members of the MBHS, and visit the memorial.

Evelyn and Colin very kindly opened their home, which has a wonderful panoramic view of Barra hill

On my first visit I met John Pirie, who was the inspiration behind the memorial.
He brought several aerial pictures, and was able to provide details of the original location of Bruce’s Seat (pre 1950s), and the location of the rock pile where it lay for half a century, before being rescued by the MBHS.
We were able to view the locations, through Colin’s binoculars, from the comfort of the living-room. Colin also directed us to a website where it is possible to “zoom – in” and view Barra hill in great detail.
The conversation roamed over a wide range of topics, about which John was a mine of information.

The second visit allowed us to meet Doug Smith, Jenny Beber and Jim Presley, all of whom were involved in making the memorial possible.
We had a very stimulating conversation on the battle and the numerous other MBHS projects, past and present.
Doug also recounted his memories of moving the stone figures, from Bourtie Kirk yard to inside the Kirk, during the 1950s. (More of that in a later post).
We also discovered that Jim’s sister lives close to us in the Tomball area, near Houston.But, “nae man can tether time nor tide”, and we had to say our farewells and head back to Aberdeen

On Saturday we visited my son Graeme’s new flat, in Aberdeen, and then brought him out to Meldrum, where we got our first close-up view of the memorial.This was followed by a visit to Haddo House, and then lunch, with Graeme, Neil and their Mum at Lochter outdoor activity centre. http://www.lochter.co.uk/

Our trip was closed out with a visit to my parents in Forfar, where we had a mini family reunion,
I took the opportunity to visit the site of another little known, but significant battle; Nechtansmere, which is located close to Dunnichan, and was the site of a decisive Pictish victory over the Nothumbrians in 685. I was a little disappointed that the centennial memorial was looking a little shabby. I hope future Meldrum generations will sustain the work of the present MBHS.

On the way back to Aberdeen we visited a dreich, wet and windswept Dunnoter castle

Thanks to everyone who made this a wonderful trip.

Meldrum Visits

2008-05-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

One of the advantages of business travel is that, now and again it can fit in well with some personal matters. I had come to Aberdeen for meetings, but I had several hours before I could check into my hotel and the meetings did not start until the next day, so I was able to make a couple of personal visits.

First, I had the pleasure of visiting Mrs. Hazel Sim’s P5 class at Meldrum Primary, some of whom had taken part in the unveiling ceremony for the Battle of Barra memorial.
But first I had to figure out how to get into the school! Things had changed since my boys went there, so after some driving around I had to ask the “lollypop lady” (crossing guard for Americans), how to get in. However I finally made it, and received a warm welcome from Hazel and her class. The class had recently completed a project on “Wallace and Bruce”, and the told me about it and showed some of the things they had made. We spoke about the Battle of Barra and I told them about the “blog” and answered some questions. I also heard about plans for a future activity where they will learn more about Barra Hill and the battle.
I hope it will be possible to provide a report on this in a later post and to show some of the work the class did for their project.
Thanks to Hazel and P5 for a great visit.

Next I had my “fly cup” (a mid-morning or afternoon cup of tea) with Moira Gregg, the author of an article on the battle, in “Scottish Field”, featured in an earlier post. Moira, whose home is at the base of Barra Hill, and overlooks the Bruce Field, told me about her decision to start writing and how it was so natural to write about these events which had taken place almost in her own garden. She was full of praise for the MBHS, their work on the memorial, and the information provided by various members for the article. We discussed the history a bit, and the fact that her problem with the article became, “what to leave out”, because of the wealth of information available. Although Moira is quick to point out she is no historian, she has produced a wonderful, short and concise article on the battle, which has helped reach a much wider audience, and increase awareness of the battle’s importance to the history of Scotland.
I plan to share some of her pictures in a later post.
Thanks Moira, for your hospitality.

I also spoke with Evelyn and was delighted to receive an invitation to meet with members of the MBHS, at her house on Friday. I am really looking forward to this and will post the details later.

Houston.....Meldrum Base here...... The Tyauve has landed

2008-05-28T21:58:00.008-05:00

Well I made it here safe and well.
I landed on typically dreich NE day.
I was sitting on the plane wating for my first glimse of Scotland, and with all the mist and cloud, it was some time in coming. We broke through the cloud somewhere over Meldrum, and through the mist and rain I could see the patchwork of fields, many of them the bright yellow of oilseed rape, and many more edged with yellow whin or broom, as the plane made its final approach.
After getting my car and digging out my waterproof jacket, I set off for Meldrum. I drove by and had my first view of the Memorial, the weather not showing it at its best, but it as great to see it "in the flesh". I had lunch at the Redgarth, ( http://www.redgarth.com/index.html )which was the same as I remember, with my son Neil, and then arranged to meet some people. (reports on that in later posts).

Meldrum Visit

2008-05-26T22:18:00.003-05:00

I am heading out tomorrow for Scotland, and a visit to Oldmeldrum, so my next post will be from Aberdeen. I am looking forward to visiting the memorial and meeting some of the people involved.

Now's the day, and now's the hour

2008-05-23T18:12:00.006-05:00

Well the big day has finally arrived, and once more Evelyn has done a great job of getting pictures and providing the following report.

"Hi Jim
Here are the photos. It was a bit difficult to take photos today with lots of people weilding cameras & moving about.
The unveiling ceremony was very meaningful and quite moving with the Saltire waving nearby in the breeze and the Lion Rampant covering the memorial. A fair crowd had gathered, including photographers from the Press & Journal, Inverurie Herald and Inverurie Advertiser.
Gillian Smith, in highland dress, set the ceremony in motion playing the bagpipes and as you can imagine it was stirring stuff for the soul.
Akki Manson, MBHS chairman, welcomed the crowd that had gathered then John Pirie related the story of the stone and the background to the battle.
The Meldrum primary pupils in their red school jumpers were a delight to behold as they whipped off the Lion Rampant to reveal Bruce's Seat and enjoy a round of applause.
All those who had helped in the project were thanked and then Gillian again played a selection of Scottish traditional tunes before all those who had contributed made their way to the Royal British Legion where Jim Presly, MBHS events' convener, had laid on a lavish array of refreshments which had been prepared by his wife Alice and daughters Karen & Angie.
I can safely say that the morning was greatly enjoyed by everyone, especially the schoolchildren, and we are all proud that we now have a memorial to commemorate the Battle of Barra.

It's such a shame you couldn't have been here.

Will be in touch soon.

All the best,
Evelyn"

Memorial Day

2008-05-23T16:56:00.004-05:00

Declaration of Arbroath

NAS: State Papers: SP13/7

(C) Property of the National Archives of Scotland, H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh, EH1 3YY. The information contained on this WWW site is Crown Copyright but may be reproduced without formal permission or charge for personal or in-house use.

An interesting thought has occurred to me as I am working on the materials for the Battle of Barra blog. Here in the US we are preparing for the Memorial Day weekend which commemorates the men and women who have died in the service of the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
At the same time in Oldmeldrum a memorial was being unveiled to commemorate the events of seven hundred years ago.

Following the victory at Barra the Scottish cause moved from strength to strength, and resulted in the production of one of the great historical documents, the Declaration of Arbroath. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Arbroath
Whether this document was simply “Bruce” propaganda or a real reflection of the thinking of the ruling class of Scotland of the day is open to debate, but its words have rung across the centuries, influencing Scottish and world thinking.
One phrase is especially evocative:

“It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”

Four hundred years later descendants of these authors carried this concept to the new world, and many people see the influence of the Arbroath document in the American Declaration of Independence.
So; maybe as Americans observe Memorial day they can spare a thought for the unknown Scottish soldiers who’s sacrifice may have contributed to the founding ideals of their country.

The Final Preparations

2008-05-23T13:46:00.008-05:00

As promised here are the pictures detailing the final stages of the work on the memorial

Gubbed in the Garioch

2008-05-23T09:05:00.023-05:00

The most widely used accounts of events have Robert mounting his horse, although he required the help of two men along side to hold him up, and leading his small army towards Oldmeldrum, and the Earl’s army.
What follows can hardly be dignified by the name “Battle”.
When informed by his scouts that the King was approaching the Earl, formed his men up in order of battle, with his better troops in the front rank, but when they saw the King coming on steadily with banners flying they started to waver. On seeing this, the King’s veterans pressed on sensing an easy victory, and so it was to prove. The front ranks continued to give way, and at this the rear ranks started to flee, and realising they were alone; the front rank broke and fled. What happened next was in line with other medieval battles where the victors fall upon the routed, and there is general slaughter, with huge casualty figures. Barbour tells us that only those with good horses got away. Of the leaders the Earl of Buchan and John de Moubray fled first to Fyvie castle and then to the coast to take ship to England, and David de Brechin south to his castle in Brechin.

Bot quhen thai saw the nobill king
Cum stoutly on foroutyn fenyeing
A litill on bridill thai thaim withdrew
And the king that rycht well knew
That thai war all discomfit ner
Pressyt on thaim with his baner
And thai withdrew mar and mar
And quhen the small folk thai had thar
Saw thar lordis withdraw them sua
Thai turnyt the bak all and to-ga
And fled all scalty her and thar
The lords that yeyt togydder war
Saw that thar small folk war fleand
And saw the king stoutly command
Thai war ilkane abaysit swa
That thai the bak gave and to-go
A litill stound samyn held thai
And syne ilk man has tane his way
Fell never men sa foule mischance
Eftre sa sturdy countenance
For quhen the kingis company
Saw that thai fled sa foulyly
Thai chasyt thaim with all thair mayn
And sum thai tuk and sum has slayn
The remanand war fleand ay,
Quha had gud hors gat best away
Till Ingland fled the erle of Bouchquhane
Shyr Jhon Mowbray is with him gane
And were reset with the king (Edward II)

================================

But when they saw the noble king
Come bravely on without hesitation
They withdrew a little “on bridle”
And the king who well knew
That they were close to defeat
Pressed on them with his banner
They retreated more and more
And when the small folk they had there
Saw their lords pull back like that
They turned and fled
Scattering here and there
The lords who were still together
Saw their small folk were fleeing
And saw the king bravely coming
Were each so dismayed
That they turned tail and went
They kept together for a short while
Then each man took his own way
There was never so miserable an outcome
After such a sturdy display
For when the king’s company saw
That they fled so disorderly
They chased them with all their might
Took some and killed others
The rest kept on fleeing
[the man] with a good horse got away best
The earl of Buchan fled to England
Sir John Mowbray going with him
And they were given refuge by the king

Barbour’s The Brus – Lines 255 – 283

From the Canongate 1997 Edition: Edited by A.A.M. Duncan

The above is the “Official” Bruce/Stuart version of events as supplied by their “spin doctor” [Archdeacon Barbour], I will look at some other scenarios and what may be more fun, the legends, in later posts.

NOTES:

I know that Oldmeldrum is no longer administrativly in the Garioch, but I felt the historic Garioch connection justifies the title, and Formartine does not quite have the same “ring” to it.

For those non Scots speakers, some explanation of the title may be required:
“Gubbed” is normally used to denote a humiliating defeat – for a more detailed explanation follow the link below.
http://waf.eps.hw.ac.uk/Word%20of%20the%20Week%20pages/SWOW%20archive%20page%202.htm#gubbed
Also the Garioch (pronounced Gee ree) is administratively centered on Inverurie, see wikipedia link for details. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garioch

The Latest

2008-05-21T22:52:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that the hard work of the MBHS volunteers has paid-off, and the memorial site is ready for the anniversary on Friday, but you will have to wait until after the unveiling, to see the photographs.

All the best to those taking part and I hope the weather is kind

I plan to post one more historical note before Friday, and hope to be able to bring you pictures of the event later on Friday

Today 1308

2008-05-20T21:15:00.015-05:00

So having provided an update on the current activities, it is time to look at the events of 700 years ago. Unfortunately we do not have many hard facts regarding those events.
It appears that the Earl of Buchan had finally stirred himself to action and was moving against Robert’s Garioch base of operations with a force of around 1000 men. The composition of the force is unclear, but based on subsequent events; it would appear that most of the troops were of inferior quality. We do know the Earl was accompanied by David de Brechin and John de Moubray.

The Inverurie Bass

Meanwhile Robert’s force was at Inverurie, possibly at the Bass, which was the site of an older Motte and Bailey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motte_and_Bailey
For a modern view see Colin Smith’s picture on the Geograph site http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/117762

Comyn's Camp

Some accounts have the Earl’s force camping within the remains of a prehistoric hill fort on the summit of Barra hill, which still bears the name “Comyn’s Camp”.
For detailed location, see entry on Geograph site. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/671088

Whether this is fact or fiction is not clear, but what is known is that the Earl’s force was in the vicinity of the present day town of Oldmeldrum.
The engagement was opened by a clash between a mounted force under the command of David de Brechin, and the pickets of Robert’s force. It is not clear whether this was a reconnaissance in force which was deliberately seeking the enemy, or a chance encounter. Sir David’s men “ran into” the royal pickets, and drove them back onto the main force, he was then either driven off by or chose to retreat in the face of Robert’s main force. This is often portrayed as an initial defeat, but it shows that Robert had learned from Methven, where the royal army was surprised and routed. At Inverurie the pickets were deployed and performed their function, by allowing the main force time to assemble, forcing Sir David to retire.
Barbour tells us that the impudent attack caused the King to rise from his sick bed and lead his army to Barra.

Yhis, ‘said the King, ‘withoutyn wer,

Thar bost has maid me haile and fer,

For suld na medicyne sa sone
Haiff coveryt me as thai haiff done.

Tharfor, sa God himself me sa,
I sall other haiff thaim or thai me’.

=========================

Yes said the King, ‘without doubt
their insolence has made me hail and sound
For no medicine could have made me
Recover as quickly as they have done.
So as God is my witness,
I shall either have them or they me.

Barbour's The Brus - Lines 231 to 236
From the Canongate 1997 Edition: Edited by A.A.M. Duncan

Memorial Progress

2008-05-17T21:00:00.007-05:00

As promised in the last post, here are some more pictures showing the work progressing on the memorial site. I would like to again thank Evelyn for continuing to provide the updates, and to extend thanks to everyone who is working so hard to provide this memorial for future generations

Breaking Ground

2008-05-16T20:27:00.003-05:00

Memorial Site

I was delighted to receive and e-mail from Evelyn with news of the progress on the memorial.
The stone, known as Bruce’s seat, had previously been moved from the rock pile, where it had lain for half a century, in preparation for becoming the centre piece of the memorial to the battle. It has now been moved to its permanent location. The picture above shows the digger breaking ground.
I hope to have more information and pictures for a later post.

Where Was the Battle Fought?

2008-05-12T01:26:00.002-05:00

The Bruce Field

It has just, somewhat belatedly, occurred to me that I have been speaking about the Battle of Barra which took place 700 years ago and have given no clear indication of the location. So to remedy that, the generally agreed upon site is just outside the town of Oldmeldrum. See “Oldmeldrum Community Website” for general details of the area.

http://www.oldmeldrum.org.uk/

For detailed location, see entry on the Geograph site.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/797939

The Comyns 1

2008-05-10T00:17:00.003-05:00

Click on image to enlarge

As you can see from the family tree, the Comyns, by the time of the War of Independence, were not only powerful because of their direct land holdings, but through a network of family connections. They were connected by marriage to Scottish royalty and many of the powerful families in both Scotland and England. How they rose to this position in a little over a century, and then fell within a decade, will be reviewed in a later post

Some Local News

2008-05-09T07:14:00.002-05:00

I have just made contact with Meldrum & Bourtie Heritage Society, and was delighted to discover the contact was someone I had known from my years in Meldrum. Evelyn Munro had been a teacher at Meldrum Primary for many years and taught both my sons when they attended.
Evelyn was kind enough to pass on the details of the Society’s proposed activities for the upcoming commemoration of the 700th anniversary.
As well as telling me of the article in the current Scottish Field (See last post), she shared their plans for later this month.

Evelyn Said:

" …… We really need to raise awareness of the anniversary and a memorial has been far too long in materialising.

The other week ,Mr. Gordon Stephen, the man who farms Barra Hill organised for Bruce's Seat, reputed in legend to be the place where Robert the Bruce watched the battle from, to be taken down the Hill. MBHS will use it as the memorial.

The chair shaped stone used to sit by the minister's path which connected Meldrum & Bourtie but when the hill was ploughed up in the 1950s the stone was bulldozed into one of the heaps of stones which accumulated on the Hill. MBHS committtee member, Dr John Pirie of Prenton, South Road (maybe you know him) kept his eye on the location of the stone and it is down to his custodionship of the stone in its exile that it was easily located this year.

A site for it will be prepared on the north side of the Barra roundabout by MBHS committee member Doug Smith. The memorial will be unveiled along with a small concisely worded information board, by some pupils from Meldrum Primary at 11am on Friday 23rd May.
Meldrum Primary are also planning a celebration of the anniversary in June

An article on the Battle of Barra by Moira Gregg of Blankets has been published in the May issue of the Scottish Field. The Press & Journal are standing by to run a story & hopefully the local Inverurie papers will too.

Thanks for getting in touch.
All the best,
Evelyn "

For anyone wanting to contact the society see the link to the society’s listing on the Aberdeenshire Council website:
http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/clubs/detail.asp?keyOrganisation=662

Scottish Field

2008-05-09T00:04:00.006-05:00

NEW ARTICLE BY MOIRA GREGG

"Bruce and the Battle of Barra"

http://www.scottishfield.co.uk/

The Campaign

2008-05-08T00:58:00.014-05:00

Picture showing the remains of Elgin Castle By Anne Burgess

The last couple of posts have been background, so it is probably time to bring the details of the campaign up to date.
Having threatened Elgin castle, but failing to take it, Robert moved southward possibly planning to use his Garioch lands as a base to launch his assault on Buchan. At this point the King fell gravely ill, and his companions feared for his life. With Robert lying ill and his small band, possibly around 700, short of food, they encountered the Earl of Buchan’s force near Slioch. The royal force now under the command of Edward Bruce, assumed a defensive position in wooded country, with boggy ground protecting the approaches. There was apparently an inconclusive action on Christmas day, where the archers of both side “bickered”, with those of the royal army having the better of the exchanges. The Earl of Buchan withdrew, but returned again on New Year’s Eve. Edward Bruce had his brother placed in a litter and formed the force up and marched off. The earl was apparently so intimidated by this show of confidence that he made no effort to prevent the royal army leaving. They march to Strathbogie, present day Huntly, and from there to Inverurie where Robert was able to recover.
Some accounts have Robert lying sick in Inverurie, and only recovering in time for the decisive engagement at Barra, but others have him recovering and renewing the assault on the Comyn lands and menacing the Earl of Ross, during the spring of 1308.
It would appear that the early months of 1308, saw several strongholds captured, and destroyed by Robert or his followers, and a resumption of the mobile warfare that had characterised the campaign to date. Whether Robert was personally involved in actions as far a field as Dornoch and Elgin, is not clear, but undoubtedly the Bruce “Spin-doctors” would have tried to maximize his involvement.
Sometime in early April another attempt was made to take Elgin castle, but this was thwarted by the arrival of a force commanded by John de Moubray.
So by some time in May 1308 the royal army was encamped at Inverurie, and the stage was set for the final showdown.
The picture above is courtesy Anne Burgess, through a “creative commons license”.
The picture is from an excellent web site http://www.geograph.org.uk/ which is a collaborative site aiming to have pictures for every grid square on the OS map of Great Britain. Well worth a look.

So who were the bad guys?

2008-05-07T01:06:00.002-05:00

Well !! - From earlier posts you may have the impression that the Bruces were, and that the Comyns, and their allies, were the patriots. However, later Bruce and Stuart histories eulogised Robert and vilified the Comyns, [More of them in a later post] which brings to mind a quotes from Winston Churchill:

“History is written by the victors.”

Setting aside the “spin” and the propaganda, we should judge the protagonists on their level of competence. To do this I would like to look at three letters written by Robert’s opponents between the summer of 1307 and the summer of 1308. They are presented by Dr. GWS Barrow in his Robert the Bruce.
#1
The first of these letters to Edward I, (RB p172), written by a Scottish noble supporting the English, which Dr. Barrow dates as May 15th 1307 and suggests Alexander Abernethy as the possible author.
The author tells how the “good will” of the people is with him [Robert], and that if he can cross the Mounth he will find support there. He goes on to say “…..unless King Edward can send more troops for there are many people living loyally in his peace so long as the English are in power”
He finally talks of false preachers and a prophesy of Merlin predicting a Scottish/Welsh alliance.

The remaining letters were written to Edward II.

#2
The second letter (RB p175), was written by the Earl of Ross, to which Dr. Barrow gives a probable date of November 1307.
He firstly speaks of Robert “coming with great power”, and despite mobilizing 3000 men for a fortnight, the Earl was powerless against him. Because the warden of Moray was away his men would not assist the Earl, so he, on the advice of “good men”, accepted a truce until June 1308.
He pleads for help – “May help come from you, our lord, if it please you, for in you, Sir, is all our hope and trust”…………..
He ends with – “Wherefore, dear lord, remember us and tell us what is your will on these matters of which we have given an account”
#3
The third letter (RB p179), was written by John of Lorn, which Dr. Barrow dates around March 1308, but details events which pre-date those in the Earl of Ross’ letter.
He firstly speaks of being ill, and then details Robert’s approach of his lands, with 10,000 or 15,000 men, but he only had only 800 men to face him. He then claims Robert asked for a truce for a short time, which he granted and “……and I have got a similar truce until you send me help”
He then asks Edward to ignore the rumors that he has come to “Robert’s peace”, and pledges his allegiance. He then boast about his castles and galleys, and being ready to serve Edward. He states he cannot trust any of his neighbours, but goes on to say, ……..” As soon as you or your army come, then, if my health permits, I shall not be found wanting where lands, ships or anything else is concerned, but will come to your service”…….

So what can we tell from the letters?

It is clear that Robert was very active and was inspiring confidence in his supporters and doubt in his enemies. The Scottish nobles are clearly intimidated by his actions and although the estimates of Robert’s forces were probably exaggerated, (especially John of Lorn) to excuse the acceptance of truces, the perception of being outnumbered, may also be a factor of Robert’s highly aggressive and mobile style of warfare, which gave the impression of a much larger force.
The other consistent theme is the request for aid from the English King, one can sense the feeling of helplessness from the letters, the nobles are powerless in the face of Robert.
These men had consistently fought for the Scottish cause, but had been “ weight, measured, and found wanting”. It is clear that they were now broken men, and when faced with this new force were unable to withstand it, and too ideologically opposed to join it.
They had failed in their feudal obligations to King and country and would consequently be judged harshly by history.
Robert, although undoubtedly driven by personal ambition, proved to be competent and able, thus taking his rightful place as Scotland’s hero king.

The Civil War

2008-04-26T22:04:00.009-05:00

When Robert headed north in late 1307, the war became a civil war.
This raises the question – why was there so much opposition to Robert’s kingship from within Scotland.
Some answers to these questions can be found in the Competition for the vacant crown in the early 1290s. The main competitors were John Balliol and Robert Bruce (the future king’s grandfather). When Edward I eventually decided the case in favour of John Balliol, the Bruces remained aloof, and avoided recognition of John. When John with his Comyn advisors rebelled against Edward, the Bruces “flip-flopped” between support of Edward and sufficient support of the “Scottish” cause, to maintain the credibility of their claim to the throne. In contrast, from the start of the war with England to their final submission in 1304, the Comyn party had consistently supported the Scottish and Balliol cause. Another significant event during 1304 was the death of Robert’s father, and passing of the claim to the throne to him. The following year saw the capture and execution of Wallace.
There are various legends regarding what happened next, but it is an established fact that Robert met John (Red) Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries, and that there was a violent disagreement which resulted in the murder of John Comyn and his uncle, by Robert and his supporters. So he alienated, the Church, Edward I, the Comyns and their allies, at a stroke. With no other options left Robert was crowned King of Scots on March 25th 1306 at Scone. One of the great ironies was that he was crowned by Isabel of Fife, the wife of John Comyn Earl of Buchan.
An interesting site dedicated to Isabel is: http://www.geocities.com/isabel_fife/index.html
As mentioned, in an earlier post, the year following his coronation was a disaster, but now following his successes against the English he was taking the war to his Scottish enemies.

A New Kind of War

2008-04-22T01:11:00.005-05:00

As stated, in yesterday’s post the launching of the “Northern Campaign” saw a new phase in the War, two aspects of which I would like to discuss.
The first was the change in the strategy and tactics employed, and these would remain central to the Scottish war effort for the duration of the war.
The second which I will look at in a later post, was the fact that this phase of the war was pretty much a “Scottish” affair, and amounted to a short but violent civil war.

Till now the war had had a depressing predictability;
Scottish defiance, accompanied with some success which was followed by a massive English response resulting in the defeat of the Scottish field army and the capture and garrisoning of the Scottish castles.

Warfare at this time was dominated by two things, the castle and the mounted knight, neither of which Robert possessed in any numbers, or quality. Whether he contemplated these factors whilst watching the spider, it is not clear, but by the time of the campaign in the south west, he appears to have perfected a mobile style of warfare, where like the modern guerrilla he declined engagement unless circumstances were heavily in his favour.
As he moved north he continued this highly mobile style of warfare which seems to have intimidated his opponents into accepting truces. To this he added the strategy of destroying the castles as they fell into his hands.
The effect of this was twofold, firstly it did not dilute the mobile force by the need leave a garrison, which would be easily overwhelmed in the event of an enemy response. Secondly it denied the enemy a base of operations. The medieval castle was somewhat like a modern carrier battle group, just by existing it could “project power” and dominate its surrounding area.
So by a mixture of intimidation, skillful maneuvering, and the destruction of the enemy’s means of persecuting the war Robert would bring about the conditions for a decisive engagement on his terms.
This would continue to be his method of operation throughout the war, and when he did bring on a major engagement, he was always decisive, aggressive and victorious.

Robert Moves North

2008-04-20T01:58:00.007-05:00

Following his success in the south west, and the death of Edward I, Robert moved north and embarked on a new phase of Scotland’s War of Independence. Previously the war had been predominantly a struggle between the Balliol party, led by the Comyns, and for a brief period by Wallace, and the administration of Edward I. This earlier stage was characterised by much “side changing” and “fence sitting”, especially by the Bruces who had no wish to see a successful Balliol cause, which would effectively end their claims to the throne. Now the roles were reversed and the Comyns and their allies were firmly in the English camp, and vehemently opposed to the Bruce Kingship.
So as Robert launched his “break-out” northwards the MacDougalls of Lorn found themselves threatened by the Kings forces on land and by the MacDonald galleys on the sea. Faced with what he believed was overwhelming force John of Lorn agreed a truce with the king who was then able to move north to the Great Glen and take Inverlochy castle. He then move rapidly up the great glean taking Urquhart castle on Loch Ness, before taking Inverness and Nairn castles in quick succession. During this period he also intimidated the Earl of Ross into accepting a truce, before moving on to besiege Elgin castle. As the castes were taken they were destroyed, to deny their use to the enemy, this was the start of a strategy, which would be key to final victory.

The Comeback King

2007-11-08T22:50:00.002-06:00

The “spider encounter”, has become an integral part of the story of Robert’s, and Scotland’s phoenix like rise from the ashes. However it probably has no basis in fact.
A Persian friend of mine recounted a similar tale of Genghis Khan, involving an ant carrying a grain of rice, and I noticed a similar reference on Wikipedia attributing it to Tamerlane.

But as the newspaper editor in the movie “The man who shot Liberty Valence” said:

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

However, whether inspired by a spider or not, Robert did not just blindly try, try and try again, he clearly understood the reasons for the successes and failures of both himself and other Scottish leaders, because in the coming years few of the failures were to be repeated. New tactics were employed to play to his strengths and to his enemies weaknesses and, a new winning strategy would lead to ultimate victory.

Following the deaths of his brothers in Galloway Robert was rightly cautious about returning to the mainland, but in February he sent an advance party to Carrick, with instructions to light a signal fire if it was safe for the main force to land. On seeing the fire the King and the main party landed, only to discover that the advance party had not set it, because they did not consider conditions suitable for a return. Having returned, the decision was made to stay, and the subsequent months must have been extremely perilous, as Edward urged his local commanders to capture Robert and end the “rebellion”. Although he was in his own Earldom few were prepared to join him, and those who were not against him were happy to “wait and see”.
Robert managed to elude the various forces seeking him, until some time in April, when he moved south to Glen Trool, where he ambushed and routed an English force sent to destroy him. He then move north to Loudon Hill where, on May 10th 1307, he occupied a prepared position, and defeated a second English force, under Aymer de Valence, the victor of Methven,
Much is often made of these victories, but some modern historians believe these were minor local actions which, caused little real damage to the English ability to administer Scotland, but were built up by the Bruce propaganda machine. Whatever the truth they were significant enough for Edward I to leave his sick-bed, for one last campaign in Scotland. On the way north Edward succumbed and died at Burgh-on sands on July the 7th 1307. The death of his greatest enemy gave a huge advantage to Robert, but I do not believe, as many do, that the final outcome would have been different, had Edward lived.
The task would have been much harder but Robert would still have ultimately prevailed.
Robert immediately took advantage of his opponents disarray following Edward’s death, and with a small force, he broke-out of the south west heading north for his ultimate rendezvous at Barra.

The King in the Heather

2007-08-02T22:59:00.001-05:00

1306, had been a disaster for the Robert; his wife and daughter were captives of the English, his brother Nigel and many of his followers had met the same fate as Wallace.
The King himself was on the run, a fugitive from the English administration and a “blood enemy” of the Comyns, and their allies, arguably the most powerful party in Scotland.
Not the most auspicious start to a reign.

1307: However, inspired by the famous spider Robert returned to his lands in Carrick, early in 1307, determined to retake his Kingdom. He sent his brothers Thomas and Alexander to Galloway, but they were quickly defeated and killed. He survived several difficult months, but events were about to turn in his and Scotland’s favour

Robert and the Spider

For Scotland's and for freedom's right
The Bruce his part has played;--
In five successive fields of fight
Been conquered and dismayed:
Once more against the English host
His band he led, and once more lost
The meed for which he fought;
And now from battle, faint and worn,
The homeless fugitive, forlorn,
A hut's lone shelter sought.

And cheerless was that resting-place
For him who claimed a throne;--
His canopy, devoid of grace,
The rude, rough beams alone;
The heather couch his only bed--
Yet well I ween had slumber fled
From couch of eider down!
Through darksome night till dawn of day,
Absorbed in wakeful thought he lay
Of Scotland and her crown.

The sun rose brightly, and its gleam
Fell on that hapless bed,
And tinged with light each shapeless beam
Which roofed the lowly shed;
When, looking up with wistful eye,
The Bruce beheld a spider try
His filmy thread to fling
From beam to beam of that rude cot--
And well the insect's toilsome lot
Taught Scotland's future king.

Six times the gossamery thread
The wary spider threw;--
In vain the filmy line was sped,
For powerless or untrue
Each aim appeared, and back recoiled
The patient insect, six times foiled,
And yet unconquered still;
And soon the Bruce, with eager eye,
Saw him prepare once more to try
His courage, strength, and skill.

One effort more, his seventh and last!--
The hero hailed the sign!--
And on the wished-for beam hung fast
That slender silken line!
Slight as it was, his spirit caught
The more than omen; for his thought
The lesson well could trace,
Which even "he who runs may read,"
That Perseverance gains its meed,
And Patience wins the race.

By: Bernard Barton (1784-1849)

Introduction

2007-07-08T10:54:00.001-05:00

I have lived in America for a number of years, but had for the previous 20 years lived in Oldmeldrum, close to the site of Robert the Bruce's victory over John Comyn.

This battle variously called Battle of Barra; Battle of Inverurie, took place on the 23rd of May 1308.

I had always entertained the idea of writing an account of the battle and creating a diorama using miniature figures. But other things came along and these plans slipped.

I have recently been looking at the "on-line" collaborative movement, and thought that it may be a vehicle for the production of a publication to commemorate the upcoming 700 year anniversary, of the Battle.

Historical Note:
Following his disappearance after the disasters of 1306, Robert returned to Galloway in 1307 and won a series of victories, prompting Edward I to head for Scotland to "finish the rebellion once and for all". However Edward died on route, and was replaced by Edward II. This left Robert free to act, and at some time during the summer of 1307, he launched a "break-out" for the south-west. He proceeded to intimidate or attack his Scottish enemies, and headed towards Moray, which had been an almost constant centre of resistance throughout the War of Independence.

So like Robert I, I am "breaking-out", and would be pleased to hear from others interested in the subject, and to work to produce a commemorative publication to mark the 700th anniversary of this turning point in Scotland's history. (either in conventional paper, or online form)