GENMSC-L Archives

From: TABruce <>
Subject: Bruce: the truth or Braveheart be damned!!!
Date: Sun, 4 Jun 1995 00:32:20 -0400

Well here is the Bruce "family history" from 1066 to 1329 or so with a bit
after that. Most of this was taken from a two part post of the history of
Scotland in alt.scottish.clans. I then added other stuff to it and
condensed the whole thing down. Most of this was given to me by a
scottish historian and is pretty much as true and "true history" goes so
please don't yell at me if you don't like it! :-). At the end is a list
of books recommened to me and then a list of agencies to contact for more
info. We have a Bruce genealogy tracing Chris back to The Bruce (robert
I) so if any of you get a complete genealogy and see if your related let
us know :-) And I've said before, now maybe people will stop bashing poor
Robert Bruce!!! I wish that bloody movie had never come out!!!! They all
think Robert betrayed Wallace and was a nasty, backstabbing little
weasel!! <sigh>
I hope this helps someone on their search

Terri

ROBERT BRUCE (King of Scotland)

Branches: Bruce of Airth, Bruce of Clackmannan, Bruce of Kennet, Bruce of
Kinnaird
Tartans: Bruce, Bruce of Kinnaird
The Bruce tartan: a red background with mostly green lines with one white
and one yellow line.
Motto: Fuimus (Latin: We have been)
Sept Families: Carlisle, Carruthers, Crosby, Randolph and Stenhouse,

This monarch belonged to the Norman family De Bruis, which in the person
of Robert De Bruis(1) came to England from Normandy with William the
Conqueror in 1066. This knight received large grants of land, chiefly in
Yorkshire. His son, Robert (2), who was an associate of the prince who
afterwards became David I of Scotland, obtained the Lordship of Annadale
in 1124.
In 1138, at the battle of the Standard, Robert Bruce (2) fought on the
English side while his son, the third Robert (3), fought under David and
was taken prisoner, it is said, by his own father. Robert (3) had two
sons, Robert (4) and William. Robert (4), the eldest, died before 1191.
William, his brother and heir, died in 1215, and was succeeded by his own
son, Robert de Bruce (5), who, having married Isabella, great
granddaughter to David I, and having had a son Robert de Bruce (6), died
in 1245.
In 1255 his son, Robert de Bruce (6), known as the Competitior, was
nominated one of the Regents of the Kingdom of Scotland, and guardian of
Alexander III, king of Scots, and his Queen.
In 1264, Robert Bruce (6) with John Cumyn and John Balliol, led a body
of Scottish auxiliaries to assist King Henry III, king of England, against
his rebellious baron, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Lewis with
that monarch.

In 1286, Alexander III, King of Scots, died when he fell off a cliff at
Kinghorn in Fife while riding to see his wife on a stormy March night. The
successor to the Scottish throne was his granddaughter Margaret (a sickly
three year old girl, the daughter of the King of Norway and Alexander's
daughter). The earls and other great magnates had accepted Margaret as
the heir to the throne and arrangements were made to bring her to
Scotland. In the meantime several Guardians were appointed to govern the
realm in the Queen's absence. Discussions were held with Edward I of
England to prevent any instability. Edward was very generous and kind, and
after much diplomacy, a treaty was signed whereby the new queen was to
marry Edward's own son, also Edward. Had this treaty ever taken effect
who knows what would have happened to both England and Scotland. In any
event, Margaret died in Orkney, never seeing her kingdom.

Robert de Bruce (6), the Competitor, sat in Parliament as Lord of
Annandale in 1290, and entered his claim to the Crown of Scotland, as the
nearest heir of King Alexander III, through being the son of the second
daughter of David, Earl of Huntington. John Balliol also claimed the
throne, through being the grandson of the eldest daughter of David. King
Edward I overruled all the pleas of Bruce and adjudged the Kingdom of
Scotland to Balliol. Bruce (6) died in 1295, aged eight-five, leaving
several sons, the eldest being Robert de Bruce (7), who was born in 1245.

Balliol was crowned in 1292, and was faced with constant pressure from
Edward to acknowledge him as his overlord. To Balliol's credit he refused
to do so. In 1295, Edward gave the Scots an ultimatum. He wanted every man
of rank to attend him on his forthcoming invasion of France. This was one
step too far and the Scots instead signed a treaty of mutual aid with
France. In consequence, Edward invaded Scotland instead.

The invasion of 1296 saw the beginning of the wars of independence.
Scotland would now be in almost constant conflict with England for the
next 300 years. Robert the Bruce (7) accompanied Edward into Scotland
against Balliol. Edward had promised to raise Bruce to the throne after
the defeat of Balliol, but failed to carry out this design. Bruce retired
to England and died in 1304, leaving a large family. His eldest son,
Robert de Bruce (8), by his wife Margaret, Countess of Carrick, was born
11th July 1274 and later would become King Robert I of Scotland.

Edward began his invasion at Berwick where they defeated the Scots. The
English army stayed at Berwick while a probe in force was sent towards
Dunbar. There they routed the main Scottish army, back from raiding the
north of England. After the defeat of the Scottish army, Edward went on a
progress through Scotland and stripped Balliol of his heraldic arms.
Edward now demanded that all nobles and landholders swear fealty to him at
either Berwick or to their local justiciar or Sheriff. The names of all
those who took this oath were then put on a list, this list is now known
as the Ragman Rolls. One notable exception to this was the son of a
Lanarkshire knight named Malcolm Wallace and his brother William.

It is commonly assumed that Wallace led a band of outlaws and common men.
While there would undoubtedly have been many like this in his band, some
of his exploits required trained men with horses. Moreover, it should be
stated that Wallace was not alone in this struggle. In the north a young
knight Sir Andrew Moray, was engaged in a widespread and highly effective
campaign to rid the English from the north of Scotland. A campaign Wallace
certainly was not involved in. After having cleared Scotland of the
English, Wallace and Moray brought their armies together to face the next
threat. A huge English army was being led north by the Earl of Surrey and
Edward's treasurer in Scotland, Hugh Cressingham. The two armies met at
Stirling Bridge where the English were routed.
After this victory, Wallace and a severely wounded Moray were appointed
Guardians of Scotland and promptly invaded England over the winter of
1297/8 causing widespread havoc. At some point around this time, Wallace
was knighted. The only source for this is a reliable English one. The
source states simply that one of the great nobles had knighted him. At the
time, there were only three present in Scotland, the earls of Strathearn,
Lennox and Carrick. It is from this evidence that the story has grown that
it was the earl of Carrick, Robert Bruce (8) who carried out the ceremony.
However it is equally possible that Lennox or even Strathearn did it
instead. After a long period fighting, the English knights wiped out the
Scottish army. Wallace escaped the field, resigned the guardianship and
went to France to the French court.

In the meantime, the Scots had elected new guardians. Robert Bruce (8),
Earl of Carrick (grandson of the Robert Bruce (6) who had claimed the
throne against Balliol) and John Comyn, lord of Badenoch and cousin of
John Balliol. The two men could not work together often coming close to
blows during meetings. Bruce was planning to marry Elizabeth de Burgh, a
marriage which was being held up by Edward's displeasure at him. So, in
1302 Bruce resigned the guardianship, swore fealty to Edward (for the
umpteenth time) and married.
In 1305, the English decivisely beat the Scotts. Edward still wanted
Wallace captured and had offered a fairly large reward for this. It was
not until 1305 however that anyone took the bait. The Scot who did so was
Sir John Stewart of Menteith. He sent one of his men as part of Wallaces
band and had him lead Wallace to a spot where he could be apprehended.
Wallace was then taken south with all speed where he was tried, convicted
of High Treason (amongst other things), then hung drawn quartered and
variously mutilated. With Wallace now a decoration for London Bridge,
Edward turned his hand to the governance of his new lands. Various acts
were passed for the effective government of Scotland. None of them had any
effect for, within six months of Wallaces execution, there was rebellion
again in Scotland.

The man behind that rebellion was Robert Bruce (8), Earl of Carrick, and
now lord of Annandale. The death of Bruce's father had left him the claim
to the throne, a claim he now determined to take on forcibly. The Bruce
family had ties both north and south of the border. The abbey of
Guisborough in Northumberland was a Bruce foundation. Bruce(6) "the
Competitor" was involved a great deal with the English court and held
extensive lands in England. He acted as a justiciar for Edward in the
north of England. His son Robert (7), also was involved in the English
court and was keeper of Carlisle castle for a while. The young Robert
Bruce (8) was brought up at Edward's court and had extensive knowledge of
it and was also a favorite of Edward. However, he was also an angry young
man feeling that his family had been deprived the crown of Scotland.

By early 1306, however things had changed. While in London, news reached
him that John Comyn, lord of Badenoch, had let Edward know of a plot that
Bruce was hatching to claim the throne. Bruce received a few minutes
warning and fled to Scotland. In a church in Dumfries, Bruce met Comyn,
argued with him and then killed him at the alter. This act changed things
dramatically, he was left with no option but to claim the throne as
quickly as possible, and then deal with the Comyn wrath as king.
He rushed to Scone, passing by Glasgow to be absolved for the
sacrilegious murder of Comyn. He was hurriedly crowned at Scone on March
26, 1306, and shortly thereafter defeated by a small English force at
Methven, outside Perth. Sending his wife and sister north, Bruce fled West
with the remains of his small army. He was defeated again by Lame John
MacDougall at Dal Righ in Argyll, and fled to the isles. Where Bruce
spent the winter of 1306/7 is unknown.
1307 brought the turning point in Scotland's fight for independence.
Bruce landed at Turnberry, to discover the area overrun with English
soldiers. A group of troops under his younger brothers were captured and
beheaded. At Loudon hill in Lanarkshire, Bruce defeated a large troop of
English soldiers. Edward in an extremely angry mood ordered an army put
together for a campaign to put down Bruce. Edward was ill, however, and
the army marched north but never made it to Scotland. Edward died on the
Solway cursing the Scots. He ordered his body boiled and the bones taken
with the army. His son, now Edward II, took the more pragmatic view and
marched south again.
Bruce was now free to deal with his enemies within Scotland. A battle on
the slopes of Ben Cruachan in Argyll paid back any involvement from the
MacDougalls and then it was the turn of the Comyns. During the later part
of 1307 and into 1308, the lands of the Comyns in Buchan and Badenoch
were raided, burnt and generally destroyed. The Comyns were then
forfeited and their lands granted out to Bruce supporters. By the new
year, Bruce was in undisputed control of Scotland, now he could turn his
hand to ridding it of the English. In this he was aided by the
ineptitude, disinterest and political problems of Edward II. There was no
effective English invasion of Scotland until 1314. By which time the only
castles in English hands were Stirling and Berwick. The English got round
to putting an army together, advanced to Stirling and were annihilated by
Bruce and an army 1/3 of the size at the battle of Bannockburn. Scotland
was to all intents and purposes free.
It would be 1329 before this was finally admitted to by the English king.
However, when the news came that the English had agreed that Scotland was
free and Scottish kings could be anointed, Robert I was dead. He died at
Cardross, in Dumbartonshire, on the 7th of June 1329, aged fifty-five. He
was interred in the Abbey Church of Dunfermline. His heart, after being
carried to Palestine, was brought
back with the body of Douglas and buried in the Monastery of Melrose. His
son David became King David II of Scotland. The male royal line of Bruce
ended with the death King David II, in 1371, but the family succession
continued with the accession of Robert the Steward (9), son of Robert I's
daughter Marjorie and her husband Walter the Steward. Robert the Steward
became King Robert II and thus the Stewards or Stewarts ascended to the
throne of Scotland.

Later Bruces:

James Bruce of Kinnaird (1730-94), known as the Abyssinian, was
celebrated for his African explorations. He endured enormous hardships
during his expedition along the Nile to Abyssinia and back between 1768
and 1772, only to die finally when he fell downstairs at Kinniard House as
he rushed to help a lady into her carriage.
Thomas Bruce (1766-1841), 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine,
descended from the Bruces of Clackmannan, was the much-maligned peer who
rescued from destruction the marnble sculptures of the Parthenon in
Athens, shipped them back to Britian, and passed them on to the nation for
considerably less than he had spent in saving them.

Today, the chief of the Bruce family who resides at Broomhall,
Dunfermline, Scotland, is the 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of
Kincardine. His full name is Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce and he
is about as direct in descent from the Bruce as anybody is. He is the
Lord Lieutenant of Fife (ie the Queen's representaive) and he is
associated with the Tory party and (allegedly) the masons.

Bibliography

Bain, Robert. "The Clans and Tartans of Scotland"

Fulton, Alexander. "Scotland and her Tartans"

Gimble, Ian. "Scottish Clans and Tartans"

Grant, Neil. "Scottish Clans & Tartans"

Johnstone, Ltd., W and A.K. " The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans"

Martine, Roddy. "Scottish Clan & Family Names"

Organizations
Thomas Allen Bruce
Bruce International
615 Creekside Circle
Austell, GA 30001
Bruce International, USA Branch is the only Bruce family
organization that is recognized by the earl and was started by Rex Bruce
with the earl's permission.

Family of Bruce Society in America
G. Frank Scammon, Membership Chairman
103 Broadway
Methuen, MA 01844.

Ernestine B. Firth, President
19 Chestnut Street
Bristol NH 03222

Beth Gay, Editor
The Family Tree
The Odom Library
P.O. Box 1110
Moultrie, GA 31776-1110.

Her Majesties Sationary Office.
71 Lothian Road
Edinburgh, EH3 9AZ

Direct orders can be made through
HMSO Publications centre
PO Box 276
London, SW8 5DT

National Trust For Scotland
5 Charlotte Square
Edinburgh, EH2 4DU.
(Bannockburn Memorial)

Pitkin Pictorials
North Way
Andover, Hants SP10 5BE
(Bruce booklet)

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• Bruce: the truth or Braveheart be damned!!! by TABruce <>