A King Without A Country
Bruce had not only murdered
an important and powerfully connected noble, but he had also done it in a
church. In such circumstances his
cause seemed utterly hopeless. He
had, at the stroke of a dagger, put himself outside the law and would have to
live as a landless fugitive unless he were to take the seemingly impossible
alternative and claim the throne of Scotland.
He decided that his only chance of survival was to draw his strength from
the anti-English elements in the country and 6 weeks after the murder of Comyn
he was, at least nominally, King of Scotland.
His coronation took
place at Scone on 25th March 1306.
Bishop Robert Wishart of Glasgow Cathedral nt only had to see Bruce
crowned but had to antagonise his spiritual masters by absolving Bruce from the
excommunication imposed by Pope Clement V for the sacrilegious murder of John
Comyn. The Earl of Fife, hereditary crowner of Scotland�s Kings, was under
Edward I�s orders not to attend so a second coronation was performed on the 27th
March, at which the Earl�s sister, Countess Isabella of Buchan, placed a gold
coronet on Bruce�s head.
Edward I appointed
Aymer de Valence, the brother-in-law of Comyn, to deal with Bruce, which he did
effectively at the pitched Battle of Methven on the 19th June 1306.
With his few remaining followers Bruce headed west where he was almost
captured in August at Dalry near Tyndrum by the MacDougalls of Lorne who were
kinsmen of Comyn.
Fearing for the safety
of his family, Bruce sent his womenfolk to Kildrummy Castle in Aberdeenshire
while he and some 200 of his followers took to the hills of Perthshire.
However in September the Castle was taken � his brother Neil was hung,
drawn and beheaded,and his sister Mary, Countess Isabella, his wife and his
daughter were imprisoned. As a result of this Bruce became aware of the need to escape
from Edward and sailed to the island of Rathlin off the Irish coast.
Little is known of his movements from this time until his return to
Scotland 6 months later, although it is rumoured that he visited as far afield
as Norawy to try and gain support.
This page created on 20th July , 2001.