Of the many historic battles between the Scottish and English armies, the Battle of Bannockburn is the one most cherished in Scotland. Political parties campaigning for Scottish independence hold an annual Bannockburn Rally to commemorate the victory of Robert the Bruce’s army over that of King Edward II (1284-1327). For England, this was yet another failure in Edward’s calamitous reign. It was a time of rebellion and discord, but Edward was wrapped up in his personal relationships.

Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) was one of many claimants to the Scottish throne, vacant for ten years, and it seems he was the most determined, stabbing his final rival on his way to the top in 1306. By 1314 his consolidation of power culminated in his siege of Stirling Castle, held by the English.

Edward II was no tactician and although he had previously accompanied his father to Stirling, he completely underrated the difficulty of the Castle’s surrounding boggy parkland and the Bannock Burn stream. The English were caught out, confused and unable to retreat, so were slaughtered mercilessly, horses and all. The park and stream were full of steaming corpses. No prisoners were taken and thousands of horses and men lay dead by nightfall on 24th June 1314.

(Image of Robert the Bruce statue at Bannockburn: Kim Traynor at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Some colourful portrayals of the Picts can be found in attempts to elaborate on their place in Scottish history from the 3rd to the 9th centuries. Unfortunately, along with the Druids who may have lived among them, they left no written records themselves of their culture, deeds or language. All that remain are some two hundred standing stones, whose engravings have yet to be interpreted.

Pict is a later name, with Pehta, Peihta or Peohta possibly being more authentic. Although a farming community, they have been presented as pirates or sea-raiders. In 297 a Roman visitor described the ‘Picti’ as painted or tattooed semi-naked warriors. The ‘Historia Norvegiae’ (c.1500) seems to have turned this into a fairy tale, with dwarf-like Picts living underground.

In fact, they were indigenous descendants of those who inhabited the British Isles and probably Doggerland after the last ice age ended. The Roman, Northumbrian or Viking threats, at one time or another, are said to have encouraged the Pictish regions of north and east Scotland to band together and form Pictland. The most extreme theory for their disappearance as a distinct group is Viking genocide, but it seems more likely that they merged with the Gaels.

(Image of Pictish symbol stone: Julian Paren at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)