“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.