By September 1563 the choir and feretory chapel were roofless, and it was said that the nave was also in a sorry state, with the walls so extensively damaged that it was a danger to enter. In the last years of his life, Robert I suffered from ill health and spent most of this time at Cardross, Dumbartonshire, where he died, possibly of leprosy. [30] At some point in early 1296, Robert married his first wife, Isabella of Mar, the daughter of Domhnall I, Earl of Mar. [39] The future king was now twenty-two, and in joining the rebels he seems to have been acting independently of his father, who took no part in the rebellion and appears to have abandoned Annandale once more for the safety of Carlisle. His body was buried in Dunfermline Abbey, but the heart was removed on his instructions and taken by Sir James Douglas on crusade in Spain. Inspired by this, Bruce returned to inflict a series of defeats on the English, thus winning him more supporters and eventual victory. John Comyn, who was by now Guardian again, submitted to Edward. [84][85] The funeral was a grand affair, with 478 stone (3,040kg) of wax having been purchased for the making of funerary candles. From 1302 to 1304 Robert was again back in English allegiance. Robert I (11 July 1274 - 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce ( Scottish Gaelic: Raibeart an Bruis ), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. He would also have spoken both the Gaelic language of his Carrick birthplace and his mother's family and the early Scots language. [96] Within the vault, inside the remnants of a decayed oak coffin, there was a body entirely enclosed in lead, with a decayed shroud of cloth of gold over it. [54] Jean Le Bel also stated that in 1327 the king was a victim of 'la grosse maladie', which is usually taken to mean leprosy. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. It would take a full 21 years after Robert's victory at Loudoun Hill for him to secure English recognition of the legitimacy of his rule and the independence of the Scottish nation. Comyn was the nephew of John Balliol. The Bishop of Glasgow, James the Steward, and Sir Alexander Lindsay became sureties for Bruce until he delivered his infant daughter Marjorie as a hostage, which he never did.[42]. Though he captured the castles of Bothwell and Turnberry, he did little to damage the Scots' fighting ability, and in January 1302 he agreed to a nine-month truce. [96] The body was raised up and placed on a wooden coffin board on the edge of the vault. The great banner of the kings of Scotland was planted behind Bruce's throne.[50]. Robert himself defeated John Comyn, earl of Buchan (a cousin of the slain John the Red), and in 1313 captured Perth, which had been in the hands of an English garrison. There were rumours that John Balliol would return to regain the Scottish throne. In March 1302, Bruce sent a letter to the monks at Melrose Abbey apologising for having called tenants of the monks to service in his army when there had been no national call-up. Homage was again obtained from the nobles and the burghs, and a parliament was held to elect those who would meet later in the year with the English parliament to establish rules for the governance of Scotland. Possibly identical to a certain Christina of Carrick attested in 1329. In his last years, Robert would pay for Dominican friars to tutor his son, David, for whom he would also purchase books. At the end of March 1329 he was staying at Glenluce Abbey and at Monreith, from where St Ninian's Cave was visited. Bruce also made raids into northern England and, landing at Ramsey in the Isle of Man, laid siege to Castle Rushen in Castletown, capturing it on 21 June 1313 and denying the English the island's strategic importance. Although the Bruces were by now back in possession of Annandale and Carrick, in August 1296 Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale, and his son, Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and future king, were among the more than 1,500 Scots at Berwick [37] who swore an oath of fealty to King Edward I of England. [97] Fragments of marble and alabaster had been found in the debris around the site of the vault several years earlier, which were linked to Robert the Bruce's recorded purchase of a marble and alabaster tomb made in Paris. However, eight months later Bruce renounced his oath and joined the Scottish revolt against Edward, recognising John Balliol as king. Robert the Bruces grandfather was related to the Scottish royal family by marriage and tried to claim the throne when it became vacant in 1290. Ireland is also a serious possibility, and Orkney (under Norwegian rule at the time) or Norway proper (where his sister Isabel Bruce was queen dowager) are unlikely but not impossible. [12], Robert the Bruce would most probably have become trilingual at an early age. There was also a jetty and beaching area for the 'king's coble' (for fishing) alongside the 'king's great ship'. Robert the Bruce, original name Robert VIII de Bruce, also called Robert I, (born July 11, 1274died June 7, 1329, Cardross, Dumbartonshire, Scotland), king of Scotland (130629), who freed Scotland from English rule, winning the decisive Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and ultimately confirming Scottish independence in the Treaty of Northampton (1328). New Haven: Yale University Press. [19] Sir Thomas Grey asserted in his Scalacronica that in about 1292, Robert the Bruce, then aged eighteen, was a "young bachelor of King Edward's Chamber". (Heart burial was relatively common among royalty and the aristocracy, however, and there is no specific evidence that this casket is the kings.) Edward I died in 1307, but his son was just as determined to hold Scotland as the father. In 1921 a cone-shaped casket containing a heart was uncovered during excavations at the abbey, reburied at that time, and reexcavated in 1996. The Declaration of Arbroath of 1320 strengthened his position, particularly in relation to the Papacy, and Pope John XXII eventually lifted Bruce's excommunication. The first was his marriage alliance from 1302 with the de Burgh family of the Earldom of Ulster in Ireland; second, Bruce himself, on his mother's side of Carrick, was descended from Gaelic royalty in Scotland as well as Ireland. Early in April he arrived at the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn. [65] The historian Roy Haines describes the defeat as a "calamity of stunning proportions" for the English, whose losses were huge. Robert was a fourth great-grandson of King David I, and his grandfather, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne during the "Great Cause".[1]. In 1325 Robert I exchanged lands at Cardross for those of Old Montrose in Angus with Sir David Graham. It has been reported that Robert the Brus was a participant in the Second Barons War, Ninth Crusade, Welsh Wars, and First War of Scottish Independence. King Robert was twice defeated in 1306, at Methven, near Perth, on June 19, and at Dalry, near Tyndrum, Perthshire, on August 11. Descended from the Scoto-Norman and Gaelic nobilities, through his father he was a fourth-great-grandson of David I, as well as claiming Richard (Strongbow) de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, King of Leinster and Governor of Ireland, as well as William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and Henry I of England amongst his paternal ancestors. [82], A team of researchers, headed by Professor Andrew Nelson from University of Western Ontario have determined that Robert the Bruce did not have leprosy. Robert Bruce would have gained first-hand knowledge of the city's defences. James Douglas, knighted at Bannockburn, acquired important lands in the counties of Selkirk and Roxburgh that became the nucleus of the later power of the Douglas family on the borders. [90] In 1996, a casket was unearthed during construction work. It is also around this time that Robert would have been knighted, and he began to appear on the political stage in the Bruce dynastic interest. His wife and many of his supporters were captured, and three of his brothers executed. Bruce hurried from Dumfries to Glasgow, where his friend and supporter Bishop Robert Wishart granted him absolution and subsequently adjured the clergy throughout the land to rally to Bruce. Sometimes these grants proved dangerous, for the kings chief supporters became enormously powerful. In August 1330 the Scots contingent formed part of the Castilian army besieging the frontier castle of Teba. John Barbour describes how the surviving members of the company recovered Douglas' body together with the casket containing Bruce's heart. Barbour writes of the king's illness that 'it began through a benumbing brought on by his cold lying', during the months of wandering from 1306 to 1309. Conduct in War in Edward I's Campaigns in Scotland, 12961307', Violence in Medieval Society, ed. Afterwards the King merely expressed regret that he had broken the shaft of his favourite axe. [54] However, the ignorant use of the term 'leprosy' by fourteenth-century writers meant that almost any major skin disease might be called leprosy. . Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He was an active Guardian and made renewed efforts to have King John returned to the Scottish throne. With his second wife Elizabeth de Burgh: The Irish chief, Domhnall Nill, for instance, later justified his support for the Scots to Pope John XXII by saying "the Kings of Lesser Scotia all trace their blood to our Greater Scotia and retain to some degree our language and customs. The exact location of Cardross manor house is uncertain. [91] Scientific study by AOC archaeologists in Edinburgh demonstrated that it did indeed contain human tissue and it was of appropriate age. Comyn was probably killed by the Bruce, but that has never been proven. [13][14][15] As the heir to a considerable estate and a pious layman, Robert would also have been given working knowledge of Latin, the language of charter lordship, liturgy and prayer. One, led by Bruce and his brother Edward, landed at Turnberry Castle and began a guerrilla war in south-west Scotland. According to Barbour and Fordoun, in the late summer of 1305, in a secret agreement sworn, signed, and sealed, John Comyn agreed to forfeit his claim to the Scottish throne in favour of Robert Bruce upon receipt of the Bruce lands in Scotland should an uprising occur led by Bruce. The Harrying of Buchan in 1308 was ordered by Bruce to make sure all Comyn family support was extinguished. Robert's Father : Rightly so. However, as growing noble youths, outdoor pursuits and great events would also have held a strong fascination for Robert and his brothers. '[14][16], Tutors for the young Robert and his brothers were most likely drawn from unbeneficed clergy or mendicant friars associated with the churches patronised by their family. [100], The skeleton, lying on the wooden coffin board, was then placed upon the top of a lead coffin and the large crowd of curious people who had assembled outside the church were allowed to file past the vault to view the king's remains. His wife and daughters and other women of the party were sent to Kildrummy in August under the protection of Bruce's brother, Neil Bruce, and the Earl of Atholl and most of his remaining men. Updates? Prestwich, Michael (1997). Early Years. Robert the Bruces son David succeeded him as king of Scotland and was himself succeeded by Roberts grandson through the female line, Robert Stewart, the first of the Scottish royal house of Stewart and ancestor of the English house of Stuart. Duncan (Regesta Regum Scottorum, vol.v [1988]), no.380 and notes. [20], Robert's first appearance in history is on a witness list of a charter issued by Alexander Og MacDonald, Lord of Islay. The English king Edward I claimed feudal superiority over the Scots and awarded the crown to John de Balliol instead. For other uses, see, Plaster cast of Robert I's skull by William Scoular, The face of Robert the Bruce by forensic sculptor, Further confrontation with England then the Irish conflict. Bruce pledged that, henceforth, he would "never again" require the monks to serve unless it was to "the common army of the whole realm", for national defence. [106], Bruce's descendants include all later Scottish monarchs and all British monarchs since the Union of the Crowns in 1603. He has courage; so does a dog. Recovering, leaving John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan unsubdued at his rear, Bruce returned west to take Balvenie and Duffus Castles, then Tarradale Castle on the Black Isle. This participation is contested as no Bruce appears on the Falkirk roll of nobles present in the English army, and two 19th Century antiquarians, Alexander Murison and George Chalmers, have stated that Bruce did not participate, and in the following month decided to lay waste to Annandale and burn Ayr Castle, to prevent it being garrisoned by the English. In September 1305, Edward ordered Robert Bruce to put his castle at Kildrummy, "in the keeping of such a man as he himself will be willing to answer for," suggesting that King Edward suspected Robert was not entirely trustworthy and may have been plotting behind his back. Robert's Father : Rightly so. He led his nation against England during the First War of Scottish Independence and emerged as one of the most popular warriors of his generation. McRoberts, David Material destruction caused by the Scottish Reformation, Innes Review, 10 (1959), pp.146-50. In addition, a parliament in 1314 decreed that all who remained in the allegiance of the English should forfeit their lands; this decree provided the means to reward supporters, and there are many charters regranting the lands so forfeited. The new kings position was very difficult. [62] Skirmishing between the two sides broke out, resulting in the death of Sir Henry de Bohun, whom Robert killed in personal combat. [64], Edward II was dragged from the battlefield, hotly pursued by the Scottish forces, and only just escaped the heavy fighting. Historians unveil a digitally-reconstructed image of the face of Scottish king Robert the Bruce nearly 700 years after his death. Bruce, like all his family, had a complete belief in his right to the throne. Robert the Bruce was a chivalric Knight and came north to learn guerrilla warfare from a young Scotsman named William Wallace who was fighting a successful freedom campaign here in Scotland. Alternate titles: Robert I King of Scotland, Robert VIII de Bruce. Robert the Bruce was born in July 1274. Looping back via the hinterlands of Inverness and a second failed attempt to take Elgin, Bruce finally achieved his landmark defeat of Comyn at the Battle of Inverurie in May 1308; he then overran Buchan and defeated the English garrison at Aberdeen. [54] Bruce then ordered harryings in Argyle and Kintyre, in the territories of Clan MacDougall. [26][27] Against the objections of the Scots, Edward I agreed to hear appeals on cases ruled on by the court of the Guardians that had governed Scotland during the interregnum. It was found to be covered in two thin layers of lead, each around 5mm thick. Most of the Comyn castles in Moray, Aberdeen and Buchan were destroyed and their inhabitants killed. The campaign had been very successful, but the English triumph would be only temporary.[30][36]. In the confused period of rebellions against English rule from 1295 to 1304 he appears at one time among the leading supporters of the rebel William Wallace, but later apparently regained Edward Is confidence. A bust of Bruce is in the Hall of Heroes of the National Wallace Monument in Stirling. [17], There were a number of Carrick, Ayrshire, Hebridean and Irish families and kindreds affiliated with the Bruces who might have performed such a service (Robert's foster-brother is referred to by Barbour as sharing Robert's precarious existence as an outlaw in Carrick in 130708). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. An annual commemorative dinner has been held in his honour in Stirling since 2006. Robert the Bruce and his father both considered John a usurper. The bishops of Moray and Glasgow were in attendance, as were the earls of Atholl, Menteith, Lennox, and Mar. Robert's body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, while his heart was interred in Melrose Abbey, and his internal organs embalmed and placed in St Serf's Church, Dumbarton. Robert's viscera were interred in the chapel of Saint Serf (the ruins of which are located in the present-day Levengrove Park in Dumbarton), his regular place of worship and close to his manor house in the ancient Parish of Cardross. He was the son of a leprosy-ridden Scottish nobleman named Robert the Elder. In March 1309, Bruce held his first parliament at St. Andrews and by August he controlled all of Scotland north of the River Tay. Leaving his brother Edward in command in Galloway, Bruce travelled north, capturing Inverlochy and Urquhart Castles, burning to the ground Inverness Castle and Nairn, then unsuccessfully threatening Elgin. Boyd managed to escape but both Nigel de Bruce and Lindsay were executed shortly after at Berwick following King Edward's orders to execute all followers of Robert de Bruce. 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. Annandale was thoroughly feudalised, and the form of Northern Middle English that would later develop into the Scots language was spoken throughout the region. [39][40], Urgent letters were sent ordering Bruce to support Edward's commander, John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey (to whom Bruce was related), in the summer of 1297; but instead of complying, Bruce continued to support the revolt against Edward I. This would only happen after the deposition of . Soules, who had probably been appointed by John, supported his return, as did most other nobles. [15], As king, Robert certainly commissioned verse to commemorate Bannockburn and his subjects' military deeds. The Bruces sided with King Edward against King John and his Comyn allies. Angus Macfadyen. Robert The Bruce - Family and Descendants Family and Descendants Bruce's legitimate children were, with his first wife Isabella of Mar: Marjorie, married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, their son became King Robert II. His tomb, imported from Paris, was extremely elaborate, carved from gilded alabaster. When King Edward returned to England after his victory at the Battle of Falkirk, the Bruce's possessions were excepted from the Lordships and lands that Edward assigned to his followers. [48], Six weeks after Comyn was killed in Dumfries, Bruce was crowned King of Scots by Bishop William de Lamberton at Scone, near Perth, on Palm Sunday[49] 25 March 1306 with all formality and solemnity. Until the birth of the future king David II in 1324 he had no male heir, and two statutes, in 1315 and 1318, were concerned with the succession. The lead was removed and the skeleton was inspected by James Gregory and Alexander Monro, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. They were betrayed a few days later and also fell into English hands, Atholl to be executed in London and the women to be held under the harshest possible circumstances.[52]. Bruce lacked siege weapons and it's unlikely his army had substantially greater numbers or was better armed than his opponents. Scotland resisted English rule, and in 1306 Robert declared himself king of Scotland. The Lanercost Chronicle and Scalacronica state that the king was said to have contracted and died of leprosy. A concealed dagger was drawn and the Bruce stabbed Comyn. He was succeeded by Robert Bruce and John Comyn as joint Guardians, but they could not see past their personal differences. On 25 March 1306, Robert the Bruce was chosen to be King of Scots and to lead the fight for Scottish independence against Edward I of England. It was destroyed at the Reformation, but some fragments were discovered in the 19th century (now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh). A.A.M. [19], According to historians such as Barrow and Penman, it is also likely that when Robert and Edward Bruce reached the male age of consent of twelve and began training for full knighthood, they were sent to reside for a period with one or more allied English noble families, such as the de Clares of Gloucester, or perhaps even in the English royal household. 12 Movies where Bruce Willis was in his element. In 1974 the Bruce Memorial Window was installed in the north transept, commemorating the 700th anniversary of the year of his birth. In 1299, William Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, was appointed as a third, neutral Guardian to try to maintain order between Bruce and Comyn. From there he marched through Moray to Badenoch before re-tracing his path back south to Dunfermline. A significant and profound part of the childhood experience of Robert, Edward and possibly the other Bruce brothers (Neil, Thomas and Alexander), was also gained through the Gaelic tradition of being fostered to allied Gaelic kindreds a traditional practice in Carrick, southwest and western Scotland, the Hebrides and Ireland. Appointed in 1298 as a Guardian of Scotland alongside his chief rival for the throne, John Comyn of Badenoch, and William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, Robert resigned in 1300 because of his quarrels with Comyn and the apparently imminent restoration of John Balliol to the Scottish throne. Robert the Bruce, original name Robert VIII de Bruce, also called Robert I, (born July 11, 1274died June 7, 1329, Cardross, Dumbartonshire, Scotland), king of Scotland (1306-29), who freed Scotland from English rule, winning the decisive Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and ultimately confirming Scottish independence in the Treaty of Northampton De Bohun lowered his lance and charged, and Bruce stood his ground. [14][15], Barbour reported that Robert read aloud to his band of supporters in 1306, reciting from memory tales from a twelfth-century romance of Charlemagne, Fierabras, as well as relating examples from history such as Hannibal's defiance of Rome. Edward I, whose garrisons held many of the important castles in Scotland, regarded him as a traitor and made every effort to crush a movement that he treated as a rebellion. Although Robert the Bruce's date of birth is known,[3] his place of birth is less certain, although it is most likely to have been Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, the head of his mother's earldom,[4] despite claims that he may have been born in Lochmaben in Dumfriesshire, or Writtle in Essex. [112], According to a legend, at some point while he was on the run after the 1305 Battle of Methven, Bruce hid in a cave where he observed a spider spinning a web, trying to make a connection from one area of the cave's roof to another. His remains were accidentally exhumed in 1818 and, before being re-interred forever in a thick tar, officials made a plaster cast of his skull. [1] One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. The pact is often interpreted[by whom?] His ambition was further thwarted by John Comyn, who supported John Balliol. [51] Bruce fled with a small following of his most faithful men, including Sir James Douglas and Gilbert Hay, Bruce's brothers Thomas, Alexander, and Edward, as well as Sir Neil Campbell and the Earl of Lennox. [33][34] At the Battle of Dunbar, Scottish resistance was effectively crushed. Robert, the 17th Earl of Bruce is the deuteragonist in the 1995 film Braveheart and the titular main protagonist of it's 2019 sequel Robert the Bruce . [1] Robert the Bruce's family originally came from France. Bruce also married his second wife that year, Elizabeth de Burgh, the daughter of Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster. The writer of this letter reported that Robert was so feeble and struck down by illness that he would not live, 'for he can scarcely move anything but his tongue'. Robert I died in June 1329 and was succeeded by his son, David II. Robert the Bruce was born on 11 July 1274, in Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire. They resorted to pillaging and razing entire settlements as they searched for supplies, regardless of whether they were English or Irish. By Elizabeth he had four children: David II, John (died in childhood), Matilda (who married Thomas Isaac and died at Aberdeen 20 July 1353), and Margaret (who married William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland in 1345). A series of military victories between 1310 and 1314 won him control of much of Scotland, and at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Robert defeated a much larger English army under Edward II of England, confirming the re-establishment of an independent Scottish kingdom. The latter was married to a member of the Mar kindred, a family to which Bruce was related (not only was his first wife a member of this family but her brother, Gartnait, was married to a sister of Bruce). [17], The family would have moved between the castles of their lordships Lochmaben Castle, the main castle of the lordship of Annandale, and Turnberry and Loch Doon Castle, the castles of the earldom of Carrick. Robert the Bruce: The Origins Robert was born into an aristocratic Scottish family on 11 th July 1274. 6th Lord of Annandale. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific, Dr King said: "Apparently the Victorians like to go and open people's coffins and things, and so they . The Irish Annals of the period described the defeat of the Bruces by the English as one of the greatest things ever done for the Irish nation due to the fact it brought an end to the famine and pillaging wrought upon the Irish by both the Scots and the English.[70]. Former Senior Lecturer in History, University of Kent at Canterbury, England. Nor is there any evidence of an attempt in his last years to segregate the king in any way from the company of friends, family, courtiers, or foreign diplomats. [5][6][7][nb 1][1] Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale, the first of the Bruce (de Brus) line, had settled in Scotland during the reign of King David I, 1124 and was granted the Lordship of Annandale in 1124. Libbey Peverall (pictured), 20, suddenly passed away in her father's arms in traumatic scenes at her family home in West Drayton, Greater London last Monday - leaving her family heartbroken. On 1 October 1310 Bruce wrote Edward II of England from Kildrum[55] in Cumbernauld Parish in an unsuccessful attempt to establish peace between Scotland and England. According to the stories, Robert the Bruce's father was sent to tell Marjorie that her husband was dead. Robert de Brus, his father, was the 6th Lord of Annandale and a great-great-grandson of Scotland's King David mac Mail Choluim, or David I. Marjorie, his mother, was the . She was the daughter of the Earl of Carrick in Scotland, and her first husband was killed in the Eighth Crusade of 1271. Married (1) in 1328. This was because a famine struck Ireland and the army struggled to sustain itself. It appears that Robert Bruce had fallen under the influence of his grandfather's friends, Wishart and Stewart, who had inspired him to resistance. 1306-1329. In May 1301, Umfraville, Comyn, and Lamberton also resigned as joint Guardians and were replaced by Sir John de Soules as sole Guardian. A further sign of Edward's distrust occurred on 10 October 1305, when Edward revoked his gift of Sir Gilbert de Umfraville's lands to Bruce that he had made only six months before.[43]. Swords inscribed with Robert's name probably date from the 16th century rather than earlier. Ralph de Monthermer learned of Edward's intention and warned Bruce by sending him twelve pence and a pair of spurs. Robert himself became a fugitive, hiding on the remote island of Rathlin off the north Irish coast. [75][76] There does not seem to be any evidence as to what the king himself or his physicians believed his illness to be. A father-of-three drowned in a hot tub while on a weekend break with his family in Wales, an inquest has heard. [58] In the spring of 1314, Edward Bruce laid siege to Stirling Castle, a key fortification in Scotland whose governor, Philip de Mowbray, agreed to surrender if not relieved before 24 June 1314. Buoyed by his military successes, Robert also sent his brother Edward to invade Ireland in 1315, in an attempt to assist the Irish lords in repelling English incursions in their kingdoms and to regain all the lands they had lost to the Crown (having received a reply to offers of assistance from Domhnall Nill, king of Tr Eoghain), and to open a second front in the continuing wars with England. [60] Robert, with between 5,500 and 6,500 troops, predominantly spearmen, prepared to prevent Edward's forces from reaching Stirling. He is a direct ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1324, the Pope recognised Robert I as king of an independent Scotland, and in 1326, the Franco-Scottish alliance was renewed in the Treaty of Corbeil. [18] Robert's later performance in war certainly underlines his skills in tactics and single combat. He then crossed to Argyll and defeated the isolated MacDougalls (allies of the Comyns) at the Battle of Pass of Brander and took Dunstaffnage Castle, the last major stronghold of the Comyns and their allies. Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) is one of the most celebrated figures of Scottish history. [103] Robert the Bruce's remains were ceremonially re-interred in the vault in Dunfermline Abbey on 5 November 1819. Bruce supporters then ran up and stabbed Comyn with their swords. He. [92] In 1672 parts of the east end collapsed, while in 1716 part of the central tower is said to have fallen, presumably destabilising much that still stood around its base, and the east gable tumbled in 1726. 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