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- Name Suffix: , King of Scotland
Reigned 1306-1329. Crowned King of Scotland after Sir William Wallace was executed. He
defeated the English under Edward II on June 24, 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. Was called
"good king Robert". Assumed the Crown and Royal Dignity of Scotland on March 27, 1306,
Scone Abbey, Perthshire, thus bringing to an end the Second interregnum, in defiance of
Edward I of England.
per encyclopedia....
Bruce, Robert (1274-1329), liberator, and, as Robert I, king of Scotland (1306-29). He was originally
named Robert de Bruce, and to distinguish him from his father and grandfather, whop had the same name, he is often referred to as Robert de Bruce VIII. He is also called Robert the Bruce. As earl of Carrick he paid homage to King Edward I of England, who, in 1296, defeated King John de Baliol and thereafter refused to acknowledge another king of Scotland. Bruce later abandoned Edwards's cause and joined other Scottish patriot leaders in taking up arms for the independence of his country. In 1299,
the year after the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace was defeated by Edward at Falkirk, Bruce, then still in favor with Edward, was made one of the four regents who ruled the kingdom in the name of Baliol.
In 1305 he was one of those consulted in the decision to make Scotland a province of England. In
1306 he met an old enemy, the Scottish patriot John Comyn, who was the nephew of Baliol; a quarrel
occurred, and Bruce stabbed Comyn. Bruce proclaimed his right to the throne, and on March 27, 1306, he was crowned King at Scone.
Bruce was deposed, however, in 1307 by Edward's army and forced to flee to the highlands and then
to the little island of Rathlin on the coast of Antrim (now Northern Ireland). In his absence all his estates
were confiscated, and he and his followers were excommunicated. He continued to recruit followers, however, and in less than two years he wrested nearly all of Scotland from the English. Bruce again defeated the English in 1314 in the Battle of Bannockbum, tgwice invaded England, and in 1323 concluded with King Edward II of England a truce for 13 years. After the accession of King Edward III
in 1327, war again broke out, and the Scots won again. In 1328 they secured a treaty recognizing the independence of Scotland and the right of Bruce to the throne.
In his later years Bruce was stricken with leprosy and lived in seclusion at Cardross Castle, on the
northern shore of the Firth of Clyde, where he died. He was succeeded by his son, David II. Bruce's
nephew, Robert II, who succeeded David, was the first king of the Stuart house of English and
Scottish royalty.
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1274 - 1329 (54 years)