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De Re Militari | Book Reviews

Chris Brown

Bannockburn 1314: A New History

The History Press, 2008, 336 pp. ISBN: 9780752452548, £12.99.

“In the history books and by the firesides,” Neil Oliver says in the first series of A History of Scotland, “the scale of the victory would swell just as the tales would grow taller.” Although the broadcaster’s (accurate) conclusion may explain why the five-hour documentary dedicates only five minutes to the Battle of Bannockburn, the question must be asked whether or not it is explicable to pass over the events of 1314 so rapidly? Granted, Oliver’s five-part treatment spans sixteen hundred years: taking viewers on a journey from Calgacus and Constantine through Balliol and Bruce to the Stewarts/Stuarts. And while it could be also argued that William Wallace, not Robert Bruce, hammered national consciousness into the Scots, Bannockburn, it must be said, was such a remarkable battle within the series of wars for Scottish independence that it demands greater attention by the BBC.  

In his defence, however, Oliver’s programme contains neither fairytales nor requires any pinches of salt. Yet, the same could be said for Chris Brown’s most recent book. Moving beyond ‘popular’ history, mythology and romance, Bannockburn 1314 reveals “A New History” – and it is as every bit as thrilling. The political consequence of Robert’s victory is a case in point. The author is quick to remind readers that “It was not Edward II who eventually acknowledged Robert’s kingship in 1328, but the government of Edward III.” (p.27)

What is more, unlike Oliver – what Tom Devine, the Sir William Fraser professor of Scottish history and paleography at Edinburgh University, called an “archaeologist-turned-journalist” – academics do not carp at Dr Brown’s credentials. Indeed, the medieval historian who completed his doctoral studies at St. Andrews University is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Robert the Bruce: A Life Chronicled (2004) – “a worthy resource for a broad range of readers,” according to a 2007 De Re Militari reviewer.

While there may be “no particular shortage of ‘Bannockburn’ books on the market,” (p.10) the author need not concern himself with questions concerning “the value of writing another.” (Ibid) He answers them more than adequately enough with what is a rigorous reinterpretation of history. Unlike professors S.R. Gardiner and C.W.C Oman, Brown is of the belief that Bannockburn was not so much a tale of failed English repulses as one of a successful Scottish attack with Robert I carrying the fight to Edward II, advancing down to the plain from the higher wooded terrain overlooking the carse. The “misunderstanding of the word ‘Carse’” (p.119) is just one of a number of issues cleared up by Brown’s “‘debunking’ exercise” (p.13) together with the Templars (pp.163-4) and ‘small folk’ at Bannockburn (p.282), the use of Schiltroms (p.182) and shields (p.251) in battle and even Edward II’s military ignorance (p.248).

The author is not wrong when he says that, “Popular perception is one of the barriers to understanding the battle at all.” (p.14) That being so, Brown – unlike Messrs Gardiner and Oman – interprets the contemporary and near-contemporary documentary evidence in relation to the terrain and military practice of the day. This is not to say that his study is a dry one, however. Brown’s prose will certainly keep the medievalist (budding and brilliant alike) gripped. The author deserves particular praise, though, not merely for refusing to engage in “[l]iterary flourishes” (p.136) but for his even-handed and balanced appraisal of two of the chief protagonists of the era: Edward I and Robert Bruce.

Dealing with the latter first, Brown could be said to lay the ground for the metamorphosis of Bruce the plotter into Bruce the patriot. Discounting modern definitions of patriotism, the author delves into the world of fourteenth-century power politics to uncover the somewhat unpalatable truth that while others – most notably Braveheart’s William Wallace – were ridding their country of an alien presence Bruce was engaged in a dynastic struggle. “Robert’s conduct over the previous two decades had not been consistent in the sense of supporting the ‘patriotic cause’;” the author reiterates, “he had murdered his chief political rival and he was most certainly a usurper so long as there was a legitimate heir of the Balliol family.” (p.20)

His treatment of the former also amounts to a triumph of the critical over the popular mind. Brown, although partly laying the blame for Edward II’s defeat at Bannockburn at his father’s feet (pp.51-2), elects not to become too obsessed with the terror Edward I unleashed on the Scots. As a matter of fact, he reminds readers on more than one occasion (pp. 15, 38) that, five years after crossing to France to broker peace between the kings of France, Aragon and Sicily, his journey to the Scottish Border “in the period after the death of the young Queen Margaret” (p.15) prevented a “major national war”. (p.38)

I say all this because prior to the author’s forensic analysis of the sources (pp.64-152) – Thomas Grey’s Scalacronica (pp.67-72), Vita Edwardi Secundi (pp.72-82) and The Lanercost Chronicle (pp.82-87) being three of the most celebrated – Brown’s setting of the scene occupies the first three chapters, consuming over a fifth of the book (pp.12-63). Talking of the interpretations, however, Chapter 4 could have been better situated, possibly after Chapters 5 and 6. It must be also noted, that, even at this early stage, there is a considerable degree of repetition as well as a couple of publishing errors (pp. 12, 88).  

That said, students of medieval military strategy will find all that they would expect to in the fifth chapter (pp.153-211), including inter alia the arms and practice of Scottish and English men-at-arms, spearmen and archers with the added bonus of acquiring a comprehensive understanding of how the different arms of service were recruited and, more importantly, trained. Likewise, students of medieval political strategy will find all that they would expect to in the sixth chapter (pp.212-227), including inter alia the strengths and weaknesses of the competing parties, the demands placed upon each leader not to mention gaining an invaluable insight into Robert’s and Edward’s struggle for political credibility and, more importantly, allegiance.

Much like those books in the Osprey Campaign series, the author in question guides readers through the opposing commanders and armies before concentrating on the battle if not so much on its aftermath. Unlike Pete Armstrong’s Bannockburn 1314: Robert Bruce’s great victory (campaign 102, 2002), though, Brown’s paperback contains no full colour 3-D ‘bird’s-eye-view’ battle scenes. While a glossary and chronology would have aided the reader experience, it is a page-length map – such as those also featured in Osprey’s successful line – that is conspicuous by its absence. Two-thirds of the way through, though, you will find approximately 40 black and white photographs, maps and diagrams. These illustrations, together with Chapter 7, ‘Locating the Battle’ (pp.228-237), will no doubt render Bannockburn 1314 a popular un-‘popular’ history as we approach the battle’s 700th anniversary.

Lee P Ruddin

Roundup Editor, History News Network <[email protected]>

Page Added: February 2010