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An Early Great Britain and its Failure
The Story of Scottish Independence; Part 4

The Story of Scottish Independence; Part 4

From all these perils Bruce's own personal strength, and his faithful friends, of whom the chief was Sir James Douglas, "the good Lord James", preserved him. Still, so desperate were his fortunes that he had for a time to take refuge on the lonely island of Rathlin, near the Irish coast. His brother Nigel, taken prisoner at Kildrummie, was hanged, a fate which befell most of his supporters (Two other brothers were captured and hanged a year later) who fell into Edward's hands. Hitherto Edward had been amazingly forbearing with men who had fought against him, usually accepting submission and restoring their estates. Wallace alone had suffered, and he was an outlaw. But now the king's patience was exhausted.

In 1307 the tide turned. Venturing over to Arran, and looking longingly across the sea at his own castle of Turnberry in Carrick, Bruce sent a spy; if there seemed a chance for a surprise, the spy was to light a fire. The spy found no hope, and lit no fire. But Bruce and his comrades saw one, and crossed. For some time he was hunted up and down Galloway and Ayrshire, but every now and again, as at Loch Trool and Loudon Hill, he turned on his pursuers and routed them; and each victory brought him fresh followers. At the English Court men ridiculed the outlaw as "King Hobbe", but Edward knew better. He made ready once more to march into Scotland with an army, but died at Burgh-on-Sands, in sight of the hills where Bruce had struggled so manfully.

Even had Edward lived, he could not have won in the end. He might have beaten Bruce, but he could not have conquered the Scottish nation and kept it down by force of arms. His plans, promising as they were at the outset, had failed, and his efforts to force them to success had only made failure more hopeless. He had wished to unite England and Scotland; all he had done was to divide them more deeply than they had ever been divided before. Under the sturdy blows of the "Malleus Scotorum" had been forged the tough steel of a nation's character.

Bruce had seen enough of Edward I to realize how great was his gain in being rid of him. It was more glory, he declared, to win a foot of land from him than to wrest a kingdom from his son. Once the old "Hammer of the Scots" was gone, his son, Edward II, was revealed as a feeble foe. He trusted to favourites, who proved no more capable than he was himself. His reign was broken by discontent, thriftlessness, armed insurrections. While quarrels and jealousy paralysed England at home, she could not be vigorous in maintaining her hold on Scotland.

Chronology

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