Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero.
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.
John Balliol, known derisively as Toom Tabard, was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an interregnum during which several competitors for the Crown of Scotland put forward claims. Balliol was chosen from among them as the new King of Scotland by a group of selected noblemen headed by King Edward I of England.
The Battle of Dunbar was the only significant field action of the campaign of 1296 during the beginning of the First War of Scottish Independence.
There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, a strategically important fortification in Stirling, Scotland. Stirling is located at the crossing of the River Forth, making it a key location for access to the north of Scotland.
Andrew Moray, also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was an esquire, who became one of Scotland's war-leaders during the First Scottish War of Independence. Moray, heir to an influential north Scotland baron, initially raised a small band of supporters at Avoch Castle in early summer 1297 to fight King Edward I of England, and soon had successfully regained control of the north for the absent Scots king, John Balliol. He subsequently merged his army with that of William Wallace, and jointly led the combined army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11 September 1297. Moray was mortally wounded in the fighting at Stirling, dying at an unknown date and place that year.
John Comyn III of Badenoch, nicknamed the Red, was a leading Scottish baron and magnate who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. He served as Guardian of Scotland after the forced abdication of his uncle, King John Balliol, in 1296, and for a time commanded the defence of Scotland against English attacks. Comyn was stabbed to death by Robert the Bruce before the altar at the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries.
Clan Keith is a Highland and Lowland Scottish clan, whose Chief historically held the hereditary title of Marischal, then Great Marischal, then Earl Marischal of Scotland.
The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. De facto independence was established in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
Sir William Douglas "le Hardi", Lord of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.
The Battle of Slioch was a minor skirmish in the First War of Scottish Independence. Although the encounter was inconclusive, the domestic enemies of the Scottish King Robert Bruce were unable to stop him from consolidating his rule over Scotland.
The siege of Carlisle took place from 22 July to 1 August 1315, during the First War of Scottish Independence, near the town of Carlisle, in Cumbria, England.
Cupar Castle was a royal castle at Cupar, Fife, Scotland. It was located on a small hill or motte that is known as Castle Hill next to Castlehill Primary School in Cupar. No vestiges of the castle remain above ground.
Forfar Castle was an 11th-century castle to the west of Forfar, Scotland.
Sir John Menteith of Ruskie and Knapdale was a Scottish nobleman during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is known for his capture of Sir William Wallace in 1305 and later joined with King Robert I of Scotland and received large land grants in Knapdale and Kintyre for his service. He is described as "guardian" of the Earldom of Menteith, as his great-nephew Alan II, Earl of Menteith was a minor at the time of the death of Alan I, Earl of Menteith.
Sir William Oliphant, was a Scottish knight and Governor of Stirling Castle during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He switched loyalties to the English and died in a Scottish prison.
The English invasion of Scotland of 1296 was a military campaign undertaken by Edward I of England in retaliation to the Scottish treaty with France and the renouncing of fealty of John, King of Scotland and Scottish raids into Northern England.
The sieges of Berwick were the Scottish capture of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed on 6 November 1355 and their subsequent unsuccessful siege of Berwick Castle, and the English siege and recapture of the town in January 1356. In 1355 the Second War of Scottish Independence had been underway for over 22 years. After a period of quiescence the Scots, encouraged by the French who were fighting the English in the Hundred Years' War, assembled an army on the border. In September a truce was agreed and much of the English army left the border area to join King Edward III's campaign in France.
