History of Scotland by Patrick Tytler 2
Comyn Slain by Bruce and Kirkpatrick
They met at Dumfries, and Bruce, burning with ill-dissembled indignation, requested a private interview with the rival who had betrayed him, in the Convent of the Minorite Friars. Cornyn agreed, and, entering the convent, they had not reached the high altar, before words grew high and warm, and the young baron, losing command of temper, openly arraigned Comyn of treachery. "You lie !" said Comyn; upon which Bruce instantly stabbed him with his dagger, and hurrying from the sanctuary which he had defiled with blood, rushed into the street, and called, "To horse!" Lindsay and Kirkpatrick, two of his followers, seeing him pale and agitated, demanded the cause. "I doubt," said Bruce, as he threw himself on his horse, "I have slain Comyn." "Do you doubt cried Kirkpatrick, fiercely, "Til make sure!" and instantly entered the convent, where he found the unhappy man still alive, but bleeding, and lying on the steps of the high altar.By this time the noise of the scuffle had alarmed his friends; and his uncle, Sir Robert Comyn, rushing into the convent, attempted to save him. But Kirkpatrick slew this new opponent, and having despatched his dying victim, who could offer no resistance, rejoined hiB master. Bruce now assembled his followers, and took possession of the castle of Dumfries, whilst the English justiciars, who held their court in a hall in the castle, believing their lives to be in danger, barricaded the doors. But the building was immediately set fire to, upon which the judges capitulated, and were permitted to depart from Scotland without further molestation.
Critical situation of Bruce
This murder had been perpetrated by Bruce and his companions in the heat of passion, and was entirely unpremeditated; but its consequences were important and momentous. Brace's former varying and uncertain line of policy, which had arisen out of the hope of preserving, by fidelity to Edward, his great estates, and of seeing his rival crushed by his opposition to England, was at once changed by the murder of which he had been guilty. His whole schemes upon the crown had been laid open to Edward. This was ruin of itself; but, in addition to this, he had, with his own hand, assassinated the first noble in the realm, and in a place of tremendous sanctity. He had stained the high altar with blood, and had directed against himself, besides the resentment of the powerful friends and vassals of the murdered earl, all the terrors of religion, and the strongest prejudices of the people.
The die, however, was cast, and he had no alternative left to him, but either to become a fugitive and an outlaw, or to raise open banner against Edward; and, although the disclosure of his plana was premature, to proclaim his title to the crown. Having determined on this last, he repaired immediately to Lochmaben castle, and despatched letters to his friends and adherents. It was fortunate for him at this trying crisis, that he had secured the friendship and assistance of the Archbishop of St Andrews, William de Lamberton, by one of those bands or covenants, which, in this age, it was considered an unheard-of outrage to break or disregard. Lamberton's friendship, disarmed of its dreadful consequences that sentence of excommunication which was soon thundered against him, and his powerful influence necessarily interested in his behalf the whole body of the Scottish clergy.
He is crowned at Scone
Bruce's first step was bold and decisive. He determined immediately to be crowned at Scone, and for this purpose repaired from his castle of Lochmaben to Glasgow, where he was joined by some of the friends who supported his enterprise. On the road from Lochmaben, a young knight, well armed and horsed, encountered his retinue, who, the moment Bruce approached, threw himself from his horse, and kneeling, did homage to him as his sovereign. He was immediately recognised as Sir James Douglas, the son of William, the fourth Lord Douglas, whose estate had been given by Edward to the Lord Clifford, and was affectionately welcomed; for his father had fought with Wallace, and the son had already shown some indications of his future greatness. Douglas immediately joined the little band who rode with Bruce; and thus commenced a friendship, which, after a series of as noble services as ever subject paid to sovereign, was not dissolved even by death: for it was to this tried follower that in after years his dying master committed his heart to be carried to Jerusalem.From Glasgow, Bruce rode to Scone, and there was solemnly crowned, on Friday, the 27th of March. Edward had carried off the ancient regalia of the kingdom, and the famous stone-chair, in which, according to ancient custom, the Scottish kings were inaugurated. But the ready care of Wishart bishop of Glasgow, supplied from his own wardrobe the robes in which Robert appeared at his coronation; and a slight coronet of gold,* probably borrowed by the abbot of Scone from some of the saints or kings which adorned his abbey, was employed instead of the hereditary crown. A banner, wrought with the arms of Baliol, was delivered by the Bishop of Glasgow to the new king; and Robert received beneath it the homage of the prelates and earls who attended the ceremony. On the second day after the coronation, and before Bruce and his friends had left Scone, they were surprised by the sudden arrival of Isabella countess of Buchan, sister of the Earl of Fife, who immediately claimed the privilege of placing the king upon the throne. It was a right which had undoubtedly belonged to the earls of Fife from the days of Malcolm Canmore; and as the Earl of Fife was at this time of the English party, the countess, a high-spirited woman, leaving her home, joined Bruce at Scone, bringing with her the warhorses of her husband. The new king was not in a condition to think lightly of anything of this nature. To have refused Isabella's request, might give to his enemies some colour for alleging, that an essential part of the ancient solemnity had been omitted in his coronation. The English historians would have us believe that the lady was influenced by tenderer feelings than ambition or policy; but this is doubtful. It is certain, that on the 20th of March, the king was a second time installed in the regal chair by the hands of the countess, who afterwards suffered severely for her alleged presumption.
Bruce next made a progress through various parts of Scotland, strengthening his party by the accession of new partisans; seizing some of the castles and towns which were in the possession of the enemy; committing to prison the sheriffs and officers of Edward ;and creating so great a panic, that many of the English fled precipitately from the country. His party, nevertheless, was small; the Comyns possessed the greatest power in Scotland, and they and their followers opposed him, not only from motives of policy, but with the deepest feelings of feudal enmity and revenge; while many earls and barons, who had suffered in the lata wars, preferred the quiet of submission, to the repeated hazards of insurrection and revolt.
Edward had returned to Winchester, from a pleasure tour through the counties of Dorset and Hampshire, when he received the intelligence of the murder of Comyn and the revolt of Bruce. Although not an aged man, he had reached the mature period of sixtyfive; and a constant exposure to the fatigues of war, had begun to make an impression upon a constitution of great natural strength. He was become unwieldy, and so infirm that he could not mount on horseback or lead his armies; and after twenty years of ambitious intrigue, and almost uninterrupted war, now that he was in the decline of his strength and years, he found his Scottish conquests about to be wrested from him by a rival, in whom he had placed the greatest confidence. But although broken in body, this great king was in his mind and, spirit yet vigorous and unimpaired, as was soon evinced by the rapidity and decision of his orders, and the subsequent magnitude of his preparations. He instantly sent to strengthen the frontier garrisons of Berwick and Carlisle, with the intention of securing the English Borders on that )Side from invasion; and he appointed the Earl of Pembroke, with Lord Robert Clifford and Henry Percy, to march into Scotland, directing them to proceed against his rebels in that kingdom.
Measures Taken by Edward
This was in an eminent degree the age of chivalry; and Edward, who had himself gained renown in Palestine, availed himself of that imposing system to give greater spirit to his intended expedition. He published a manifesto, declaring his intention of bestowing knighthood upon his son, the Prince of Wales; and he caused it to be proclaimed over England, that as many young esquires as had a right to claim knighthood, should appear at Westminster on the Feast of Pentecost, and receive that honour along with the son of their sovereign, after which they should accompany him in his Scottish war. On the day appointed, three hundred young gentlemen, the flower of the English youth, with a brilliant assemblage of pages and attendants, crowded before the king palace; which being too small for so great a concourse, orders were given to cut down the trees in the orchard of the New Temple.In this ample space the novices pitched their pavilions; and the king, with a splendid munificence, distributed to them from his royal wardrobe, the scarlet cloth, fine linen, and'embroidered belts, made use of on such occasions. Habited in these, they kept their vigil and watched their arms in the Chapel of the Temple, whilst the young prince performed the same ceremony in the abbey church at Westminster.
Next morning Edward, with great pomp, knighted his son in the palace; and the prince, after having received the belt and spurs, came to the abbey church to confer the same honour upon the young esquires who were there waiting for him, with an immense concourse of spectators. This crowd was the cause of giving additional solemnity to the spectacle, for the prince was obliged, from the press, to mount the steps of the high altar; and on this sacred spot, amid the assembled chivalry of England, he conferred the rank of knighthood upon his three hundred companions. He and his companions then proceeded to the banquet, at which two swans, ornamented with golden net-work, emblems in those days of constancy and truth, were brought in. Upon their being placed on the table, the king rose and made a solemn vow to God and to the Swans, that he would set out for Scotland, there avenge the death of John Comyn, punish the treachery of the Scots, and afterwards embark for the holy war, with the resolution to die in Palestine.
He proceeds to Carlisle
After this strange and irreverent adjuration, he next addressed his son, and made him promise, that if he died before he took this journey, he should carry his body with the army into Scotland, and not commit it to the earth until he had obtained the victory over his enemies. The clergy and laity then agreed to contribute a thirtieth, and the merchants a tenth, towards defraying the expenses of the war. The prince and the barons promised faithfully to perform these commands of their sovereign; and having agreed to meet at Carlisle fifteen days after Midsummer, they returned home to make preparations for war. The Earl of Pembroke, with Clifford and Henry Percy, soon hastened into Scotland; and the Prince of Wales, with his knights companions, followed in the rear of their army; whilst Edward "himself, unable from violent fatigue, proceeded towards Carlisle by slow journeys. It was an ill commencement of the young prince's chivalry, that his excessive cruelty in ravaging the country, and sparing neither age nor sex, incurred the censure of his father the king, who was himself little wont to be scrupulous on these occasions!Bruce was unfortunate in the early part of his career; and his military talents, which afterwards conducted him through a course of unexampled victory, were nursed amid scenes of incessant hardship and defeat. After having ravaged Galloway, he marched towards Perth, at that time a town walled and strongly fortified, where the Earl of Pembroke lay with a small army of soldiers. Bruce, on arriving at Perth, and finding the earl shut up within the walls, sent a challenge, requesting him, in the chivalrous style of the age, to come out and try his fortune in an open field. Pembroke answered that the day was too far spent, but that he would fight with him next morning; upon which the king retired, and encamped about a mile from Perth, in the wood of Methven.
Bruce Defeated at Methven
Towards evening, whilst his soldiers were busy cooking their supper,and many were dispersed in foraging parties, a cry was heard that the enemy were upon them; and Pembroke, with his whole army, which outnumbered the Scots by fifteen hundred men, broke in upon the camp.
The surprise was so complete, that it can only be accounted for by the belief, that the king had implicitly relied upon the promise of the English earl. He and his friends had scarcely time to arm themselves. They made, however, a stout resistance, and at the first onset Bruce attacked the Earl of Pembroke, and slew his horse; but no efforts of individual courage could restore order, or long delay defeat; and the battle of Methven was from the first nearly a rout. The king was thrice unhorsed, and once so nearly taken, that the captor, Sir Philip de Mowbray, called aloud that he had the new-made king, when Sir Christopher Seton felled Mowbray to the earth, and rescued his master.
The king's brother, Edward Bruce, Bruce himself, the Earl of Athole, Sir James Douglas, Sir Gilbert de la Haye, Sir Nigel Campbell, and Sir William de Barondoun, with about five hundred men, kept the field, and at last effected their retreat into the fastnesses, of Athole; but some of his best and bravest friends fell into the hands of the enemy. Sir David de Berklay, Sir Hugh de la Haye, Sir Alexander Fraser, Sir John de Somerville, Sir David Inchmartin, and Thomas Randolph, then a young esquire, were all taken, along with Hugh, a chap Iain.
On being informed of the victory, Edward gave orders for the instant execution of the prisoners, but the Earl of Pembroke, with more humanity, did not carry these orders into immediate execution. Randolph, on being pardoned, deserted his uncle; others were ransomed; whilst the chaplain, with other knights who had been taken, were hanged and quartered.
Bruce and his friends driven into the mountains
Bruce and his friends now began to feel the miseries of outlaws. A high price was set on his head, and he was compelled to harbour in the hills, deprived of the common comforts of life. He and his followers presented a ragged and wretched appearance. Their shoes were worn off their feet by constant toil in a mountainous country; and hunting, in better days a joyful pastime, became a necessitous occupation. At length want and.distress drove him and his little band into the low country; and at Aberdeen, his brother, Sir Nigel Bruce, met him with his queen and other ladies, determined to share the pains of war and banishment with their husbands and their fathers.Here, after enjoying a short season of solace and respite, a report was brought of the near advance of the English; and the king and his friends, accompanied by their faithful women, retreated into Breadalbane.
And now, if already they had experienced distress, it was, we may believe, greatly aggravated by the presence of those whose constitutions were little able to struggle against cold and hunger, and whose love, as it was of that sterling kind which was ready to share in every privation, only made the hearts of their husbands and fathers more keenly alive to their sufferings. An ancient author has given a striking account of their mode of life. The roots and berries of the woods, the venison caught in the chase, the fish which abounded in the mountain rivers, supplied them with food—the warm skins of deer and roe with bedding—and all laboured to promote their comfort, but none with such success as the brave and gallant Sir James Douglas. This young soldier, after the imprisonment and death of his father, had been educated at the polished court of France, and whilst his indefatigable perseverance in the chase afforded them innumerable comforts, his sprightly temper and constant gaiety, comforted the king, and amused his forlorn companions!
Attacked by the Lord of Lorn
They had now reached the head of Tay, and deeper distresses seemed gathering round them, for the season was fast approaching when it was impossible for women to exist in that remote and wild region ; and they were on the borders of the Lord of Lorn's country, a determined enemy of Bruce, who had married the aunt of the murdered Comyn.J Lorn immediately collected a thousand men, and, with the Barons of Argyle, besetting the passes, hemmed in the king, and attacked him in a narrow defile, where Bruce and his small band of knights could not manage their horses.
The Highlanders were on foot; and, armed with that dreadful weapon, the Lochaber axe, did great execution. Sir James Douglas, with Gilbert de la Haye, were bothwounded, and many of the horses severely cut and gashed; so that the king, dreading the total destruction of his little band, managed to get them together, and having placed himself in the rear, between them and the men of Lorn, commenced his retreat, halting at intervals, and driving back the enemy, when they pressed too hard upon them, It was in one of these skirmishes that Bruce, who, in the use of his weapons, was esteemed inferior to no knight of his time, with his own hand killed three soldiers, who attacked him at the same time and at a disadvantage—a feat which is said to have extorted even from his enemies the praise of superior chivalry.