James the Good E-Book

David R. Ross

• Herausgeber: Luath Press
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 335

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Sir James the Good, one of the finest soldiers Scotland ever produced, is sometimes better known by the name given to him by the English - the 'Black Douglas'. He terrified the northern shires of England throughout the reign of King Robert the Bruce and the Wars of Independence. When Robert the Bruce died Sir James, as his champion, was entrusted with his heart which he carried on the Crusades. David R Ross brings history alive as he tells the story of Sir James' life. Ross' research found him retracing Sir James' journey to the Holy Land and rediscovering battle grounds, providing a personal view of history. With a refreshing look at the subject, and featuring all new information and research, interesting maps, battleplans and photographs, this book will make Scottish history accessible and understandable for the casual reader, while delighting history buffs.

Leseprobe

DAVID R. ROSS has had a propensity his whole life for managing to put his face in the wrong place at the wrong time. So on the way into the operating theatre for some recent constructive surgery after the latest bout of stupidity, he handed the surgeon, Mr Hammersley at Monklands Hospital, a pin up photo of a Hollywood star. Unfortunately when he woke in serious pain in the recovery room (wondering why the hell folk are vain enough to pay for that sort of exquisite agony) he found that the surgeon had not been paying attention and that he still looked like Davie Ross, only his nose was somewhat straighter than it had been since he was 14, when Jill Godley who lived up the street accidentally broke it with a kick in the wee swing park between the houses.

So he is stuck with the fact that he might look rugged, windswept and dashing in a belted plaid wearing a myriad of weaponry, but movie star good looks are, as they say in Scotland, ‘oot the windae’.

Although it has been painful to pull on a crash helmet for a while, he has persevered in roaring about on his motorcycle, determined to tell the story of his country in his own particular way, and has been proud to have lived at a time when his people took their first faltering steps back to full nationhood.

James of Douglas has long been one of his heroes. He hopes you read James’s story and it inspires you, and if you happen to be Scottish, that it shows you what we are capable of when we have leadership with quality.

We Scots have the honour to each have the possession of this little scrap of mountain and moorland for a lifetime. Generations have been and gone who have called themselves ‘Scots’. Generations unborn will also call themselves ‘Scots’. While we have the tenure of this nation, let us do these generations before and yet to come, proud, and put Scotland in her rightful place on a world stage.

Also by David R. Ross

On the Trail of William Wallace,Luath Press, 1999

On the Trail of Robert the Bruce,Luath Press, 1999

On the Trail of Bonnie Prince Charlie,Luath Press, 2000

Wallace & Bruce,Jarrold Heritage Series, 2001

A Passion for Scotland,Luath Press, 2002

Desire Lines: A Scottish Odyssey,Luath Press, 2004

For Freedom: The Last Days of William Wallace,Luath Press, 2005

On the Trail of Scotland’s History,Luath Press, 2007

Women of Scotland,Luath Press, 2010

First published 2008

Reprinted 2009

Reprinted 2010

eISBN: 978-1-912387-97-7

The paper used in this book is recyclable. It is made from low chlorine pulps produced in a low energy, low emission manner from renewable forests.

Printed and bound by Bell & Bain Ltd., Glasgow

Typeset in 11pt Sabon by3btype.com

Maps by Jim Lewis

© David R. Ross 2008

Contents

Preface

CHAPTER ONE The storm clouds gather

CHAPTER TWO Experiments in chivalry

CHAPTER THREE The slow climb to success

CHAPTER FOUR Forging of character by combat

CHAPTER FIVE Castle Dangerous

CHAPTER SIX In the service of the king

CHAPTER SEVEN Scotland’s castles regained

CHAPTER EIGHT Bannockburn

CHAPTER NINE The upper hand

CHAPTER TEN The ‘Black’ Douglas

CHAPTER ELEVEN Devastation and declaraton

CHAPTER TWELVE Beating the English on their own turf

CHAPTER THIRTEEN Masters of all they survey

CHAPTER FOURTEEN Bas Agus Buaidh (death and victory)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN I have fought the good fight

Timeline

Bibliography and Further Reading

APPENDIX A Places to visit in northern England with a Douglas connection

Map Key

Ref

1 Dunaverty Castle, where James took refuge with Bruce.

2 Brodick Castle. James had several adventures on the Isle of Arran.

3 Loudoun Hill. A monument on the hilltop marks the site of the battle here.

4 Douglas Castle. In the vicinity of Castle Dangerous James had many adventures. St Bride’s Church, scene of the Douglas Larder and where James is buried, is nearby.

5 Hurlford. Possible site of the fight at Edryford?

6 Bannockburn. Visitor centre and rotunda mark the 1314 battle.

7 Loch Lomond, where James found the boat to ferry his companions across the loch.

8 Dail-righ. Scene of the Running Fight. The ruins of St Fillan’s Chapel stand nearby.

9 The Pass of Brander. The fight against the MacDougals took place here.

10 Ardchattan Priory. James attended a council here.

11 Methven. Site of James’ first major battle.

12 Scone. James attended Bruce’s coronation at the Moot-hill.

13 Arbroath. Here are the ruins of the abbey which gave its name to the Declaration of 1320.

14 Dunfermline. James attended Bruce’s funeral at the abbey.

15 Berwick. James had many adventures involving this Border town.

16 Skaithmuir. Scene of James’ ‘hardest ever fight’ where he fought the Gascons in English pay.

17 Dunbar. Ruins of the castle remain where James chased the English after Bannockburn.

18 Coldstream. The English invasion began at the fords here.

19 Roxburgh Castle. Ruins remain of the castle that James stormed.

20 Lintalee. The site of James’ manor house.

21 Happrew. The place where James captured Randolph from the English.

22 Arrickstane. Where James met Bruce on his way north to his coronation.

Map Key

Ref

1 Egremont. The castle ruins dominate the town.

2 Abbeytown. Holm Cultram Abbey, where the entrails of Longshanks were interred.

3 Carlisle. The Scots tried to capture the town. The castle and abbey are well worth visiting.

4 Burgh by Sands. A monument marks the place where Longshanks died.

5 Lanercost Priory. Scene of visits by the Scots.

6 Haydon Bridge, where Edward III waited in vain for the Scots.

7 Stanhope. Site of the Weardale Campaign of 1327, where the Scots humbled Edward III.

8 Durham. The Scots raided here. Its cathedral and castle survive.

9 Hartlepool. Burnt several times by Douglas. St Hilda’s Church survives.

10 Barnard Castle was often subjected to raids.

11 Ripon. The population crammed into the minster for safety. Still a magnificent building.

12 Richmond. The impressive ruined castle still dominates the town.

13 Skipton. The castle is still in remarkable preservation.

14 Boulton Abbey. Ruins remain of the abbey James raided.

15 Knaresborough. The ruined castle stands high above the river.

16 Fountains Abbey. Impressive ruins remain of the church the Scots raided.

17 Myton-on-Swale. Scene of the Chapter of Myton where a scratch English army tried to attack the Scots in 1319.

18 Sutton Bank. Scene of the Battle of Byland, where the Scots defeated the English deep in their own country.

19 Rievaulx Abbey. Where Edward II narrowly missed being captured by the Scots.

20 Pontefract. One of the southernmost places the Scots reached on their raids.

21 Cartmel. The priory has survived.

22 Furness Abbey. Impressive ruins mark the scene of another Scottish raid.

Preface

SIR JAMES THE GOOD, one of the finest soldiers Scotland ever produced, is better known by the name given to him by the English – the ‘Black Douglas’. And they gave him this name with some justification. He terrified the northern shires of England throughout the King Robert the Bruce years of the Wars of Independence.

I feel that the people of Scotland should know more about this remarkable man, and although I wrote of him in my bookOn the Trail of Robert the Bruce, he really deserves a book dedicated solely to him.

Much of what I write of here comes from John Barbour, Arch deacon of Aberdeen (1316–1395), who wrote a great work on Robert the Bruce around 1370. He gave details of many of James Douglas’s exploits in this book, allowing us an insight into the life of this remarkable man.

There is a triptych dedicated to Barbour in an aisle within St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen. Barbour himself is buried beneath the floor there, and a plaque to his memory is at first-floor level on the old bank building on the corner of Marischal Street and Castle Street, at the eastern end of Union Street. (I do feel that in this day and age, this name should be changed to ‘Robert the Bruce Street’ or similar. After all, Bruce did great things for Aberdeen, starting the common good fund and the like, and should be recognised.) Barbour’s epic work on Bruce is one of the great early works of Scottish literature. I am humbled that nearly seven centuries on, I can draw on his patriotic ode, to pen one of my own.

Besides such works of literature, much of this book was of course compiled by my running around Scotland and England on my motorcycle, visiting the places that Douglas knew, and getting a feel for the way things were.

But I think it may be fitting here to quote some words of Barbour, ones I’m sure Douglas himself would wholly endorse:

A! Freedom is a noble thing!

Freedom gives man security and comfort

Freedom allows a man to be admired,

He who lives freely lives at ease!

CHAPTER ONE

The storm clouds gather

WE DO NOT KNOWthe exact date on which James was born. This is not unusual for his day and age. For example, Wallace’s date of birth is down to conjecture, guesswork telling us sometime between 1270 and 1274. As Robert the Bruce came from one of the leading families of Scotland, we know his birth date, 11 July 1274. But as with Wallace, we need to use what detail we have available to try and get a rough idea of when James’s birth may have taken place.

His mother Elizabeth, who was a sister of James, the High Steward of Scotland (the moniker ‘Steward’ would soon be corrupted to ‘Stewart’, and that family, through marriage to Bruce’s daughter, would become the ruling house of Scotland) died at the end of 1288, so obviously he must have been born before then. In 1297 he was called ‘a little boy’ when he was required as a hostage by the English, so his birth cannot have been too many years before his mother’s death. Tradition states that James was born the same year that AlexanderIII, King of Scots, died, 1286, and this seems probable, or at the very least, it can’t be too far away from the truth.

James was a rare name in Scotland at this time, and so it is likely that he was named after James the Steward, his uncle, who was probably his godfather.

James’s likely birthplace was Douglas Castle, near Douglas village in Lanarkshire. I know kids tend to be born wherever their mother happens to be at the time, but as this castle was the family home it seems the most probable place. Only a fragment remains, standing in the old policies a mile or so east of the village. It should also be mentioned that although we tend to add second names to famous people from that time, he was actually called James ‘of’ Douglas, and it was not really a surname as we know it. Douglas, the village, takes its name from the nearby stream, the Dubh Glas, Gaelic for ‘Black Water’, which describes its sluggish dark meanderings perfectly. The locals call the village ‘Dooglas’, which is very close to the Gaelic pronunciation. There are now 56 towns and villages with the name Douglas across the planet, and this is the original, so the sons and daughters of this little place are far scattered.

At cliffs near Kinghorn in Fife, AlexanderIII, King of Scots, was fatally thrown by his horse. This began the chain of events that led to EdwardI, King of England, trying to incorporate Scotland into his realm. A monu ment on the coast road between Burntisland and Kinghorn at Pettycur Bay marks where the body of AlexanderIIIwas discovered.

You will notice that the term used to denote a monarch in Scotland is different from that used in England. It is ‘King of England’, but we do not use the term ‘King of Scotland’ north of the Border. He was the king of his people, and monarch by their decree, hence ‘King of Scots’, whereas in England the power of the monarch was more absolute.

Alexander was buried in Dunfermline Abbey. The throne should have passed to Margaret, the Maid of Norway, Alexander’s granddaughter, but she died in Orkney, en route to her new realm. It seems she was quite a weak, sickly child, and had suffered seasickness on the voyage over. At any rate, she died, and there was no clear heir to the throne of Scotland.

Margaret was taken back to Norway to be buried in Bergen Cathedral. The cathedral is now demolished, but a pillar marks the burial spot, and it bears Margaret’s name.

There was real threat of civil war in Scotland, many of the powerful nobles having some royal blood in their veins, and all eyeing up the chance to take the ultimate step to power by assuming the crown. So, who do you get to choose a king? Who better than another king? Bishop Fraser of St Andrews wrote to the King of England, asking him to arbitrate. There was no lack of patriotism in this act. Edward was the brother-in-law of the late King Alexander, and the Scots did not see the storm clouds gathering. Scotland and England had been reasonably good neighbours and were on friendly enough terms at this point, past troubles very much forgotten. Edward came north to Norham Castle on the English side of the River Tweed to begin pondering the problem.

Although many claimants to the throne came forward, there were only two real contenders. One was John Balliol, the other Robert Bruce, grandfather of the future king. They were both close relatives of the blood royal, closer by far than the other contenders, and were also heads of leading, powerful Scottish families. English Edward chose Balliol, who did have the marginally better claim, and he ruled from 1292 to 1296.

But the English king had a hidden agenda where Scotland was concerned. Edward began to browbeat Balliol as if the latter was an underling, and Balliol went into a mutual aid alliance with France. In Scotland today, we call this alliance with France ‘The Auld Alliance’, as it was the start of a long relationship between the two countries, each using the other to try to counteract aggressive English inroads.

Edward was outraged. He saw Scotland as his ‘sub-kingdom’, and mustered his armies to teach the Scots a lesson. Using the fords at Coldstream, this invasion force crossed the River Tweed, which marks the Border of Scotland and England at the eastern side of the country. This act opened the Scottish Wars of Independence. You can stand on the strip of parkland between the town of Coldstream and the Tweed, and imagine the huge invasion force, banners flying, beginning to cross the river.

Edward marched his force east to Berwick upon Tweed, at that time the largest town in Scotland, with perhaps 18,000 inhabitants. They appeared before the town on Friday 30 March 1296.

The Dragon Banner was unfurled, which meant that there would be no mercy, no quarter given to anyone. Edward’s Englishmen easily managed to breach the walls surrounding the town, and the horrific slaughter began. For three days the English killed anyone they found, regardless of age or sex. It is reported that some 15,000 lost their lives.

Apparently Edward only called his men off when he saw a woman in the act of childbirth being dragged from her home and then butchered by one of his soldiers. The Sack of Berwick is a huge stain on our history books; the most brutal slaughter ever carried out in these islands, and forever a warning to Scots of what English involvement can mean. From Berwick to the Clearances, to the closure of our industries, that involvement has never been to Scotland’s weal, no matter how indoctrinated Unionists may protest otherwise.

Berwick had a strong and important castle, its site now the town’s railway station, where fragments of walling remain. Probably very few of the passengers waiting to board trains from the platforms think too much about the stonework they see opposite them, but many decisions regarding Scotland’s future took place within those walls. A sign above the stairs leading to the platforms tells that this was the spot where Balliol was chosen to be King of Scots, for example.

At the time of the sacking, the governor of the castle was none other than the father of James: William, Lord of Douglas. He must have seen the English army approach from the castle battlements, and was forced to watch the depredations of the English from its walls.

Douglas and his men would have known that there was no way they could be relieved from their plight, trapped inside the castle, having no doubt that the victorious and bloodthirsty English would soon find a way in.

The garrison of the castle surrendered on terms, and William Douglas was taken north with Edward as he marched his army over the land of Scotland to show who was now in charge.

The Scots did mount a resistance, of course. Their feudal host gathered at Caddonlea, near the village of Caddonfoot, upstream on the Tweed. They caught up with the English invaders as they were besieging the castle of Dunbar while advancing up the east coast. The garrison of the castle took heart from the appearance of the Scottish army, and began to taunt the besiegers with cries of ‘Tailed dogs! We will cut your tails off!’ This was because the Scots constantly related the story that Englishmen had tails that they kept tucked away hidden in their trousers. It was said that some Englishmen had dishonoured a holy man (variously cited to be Thomas à Becket or St Augustine) and so God had given them tails to their everlasting shame. I don’t think that the Scots truly believed this, but it was a suitable stick to beat Englishmen with, and it did seem to enrage them.

On Friday 27 April 1296, the two armies clashed in the fields above the Spott Burn, and the Scots were, quite frankly, far outclassed and cut to pieces. William Douglas would have been forced to watch this from a distance, and must have despaired at the twist of fate that was befalling Scotland at this time.

I have often wondered if William Wallace was present at the battle of Dunbar. If so, although escaping with his life unlike so many of his fellow countrymen, he got a hard lesson on the power of the English army in the field. Certainly, his future co-commander at the battle of Stirling Bridge, Andrew Murray, was captured here, but was later able to escape from his prison at Chester and make his way north to raise his clansmen.

Medieval warfare had rules of a sort, and losers were expected to acknowledge the fact in a gentlemanly way. It would take Wallace’s, Bruce’s and then Douglas’s example to finally erase this notion from the minds of Scots, and let them see that there should be no rules when it came to freeing your country from the grasp of an aggressor.

Edward marched ever further north. The Steward surrendered Roxburgh Castle, Edinburgh held out for a week, and Stirling Castle was merely abandoned. John Balliol, King of Scots, was captured and brought before Edward at Stracathro Kirk near Brechin. A new plaque on the churchyard wall commemorates this. He was humiliated, having his crown and lion rampant surcoat torn from him. He was taken south to the Tower of London, and then exiled to his family lands in France. Ordinary Scots were slain out of hand by Edward, but he saw Balliol as part of the feudal mechanism that supported his own style of life, and so treated him in a more lenient fashion.

Edward then turned his attention to ‘asset stripping’ Scotland. He looted the crown jewels, and all the plate and jewellery he could find in Edinburgh, and sent it all south. But the greatest loss to the Scottish people was Edward’s removal of our historical records. A nation is a result of its shared history, and Edward tried to destroy ours. He took the Holy Rood of St Margaret, the country’s most precious relic, and had it sent to London too. ‘Rood’ is the old Scots for ‘cross’, and this venerated item was believed to be a piece of the True Cross on which Christ was crucified. Holyrood Abbey was built to accommodate this relic, hence its name. It has been an important place to the people of Scotland over the centuries, and still is today. Holyrood Palace, built alongside the old abbey, was the favourite residence of many kings of Scots, and the modern Scottish Parliament building is usually just called ‘Holyrood’ by the media.

When Edward reached Perth, he commanded that the Stone of Destiny be taken from nearby Scone Abbey, and that it too be sent to England’s capital, as an offering to Edward the Confessor. It was to remain in his chapel inside Westminster Abbey for seven centuries, before it was rightfully returned to Scotland.

The Stone is supposedly Jacob’s Pillow from the Bible, brought from North Africa by the people who first made Scotland their home, and an old legend states that wherever the Stone is found, from there the Scots shall be ruled. It was returned to Scotland in 1996 to go on display in Edinburgh Castle, and a year later the Scots voted for a parliament of sorts again, also in Edinburgh, so the old legend has proven true! There has been much debate over the last century whether the Stone that was looted by Edward was the ‘real’ Stone, or whether he took a fake that was substituted by the monks at Scone. As this is all down to supposition and as there is no concrete evidence to back up such claims, we have to assume that the Stone currently in Edinburgh is the true Stone.

When English Edward crossed the Border south again, we do not really know what had become of William Douglas, James’s father. He had somehow been removed from Edward’s retinue. His movements over the next few months are unrecorded. When Wallace began his career in May 1297, after slaughtering Heselrig, the English sheriff of Lanark, he struck north and made a raid on Scone, hoping to capture or kill the English-appointed justiciar of Scotland, William Ormsby. William Douglas joined him on this raid. In fact, Douglas was one of the few noblemen who joined Wallace’s desperados in the early days. Ormsby barely escaped with his life, jumping out of a window as the Scots came through the door, leaving all his valuables behind.

William Douglas has left a reputation for wildness and recklessness behind him. After the death of his wife Elizabeth Stewart (James’s mother) in 1288, he abducted and forcibly married Eleanor Ferrers, an English widow, while she was visiting relatives in Scotland. As she was an English noblewoman, the matter was brought to the attention of King Edward, who was not best pleased with Douglas’s actions. Douglas had carried out executions without consulting the proper authorities in Scotland, and it seems he could be very difficult to deal with. His aggression probably suited the early days of Wallace’s campaign.

What is more surprising is that the 22-year-old Robert Bruce, future King of Scots, joined Wallace’s band. He had been a favourite of King Edward, but suddenly joined his fellow countrymen. TheChronicle of Guisboroughstates that he ‘joined the Scots because he was a Scot’. Surely a simple enough explanation?

Bruce had to have an excuse to amass his men, and one came when he was asked by the English to mount a raid on Douglasdale. When they reached the walls of Douglas Castle, Bruce suddenly changed his allegiance. He carried those within Douglas Castle to safety, among whom is likely to have been the young James, then about 11 years of age. Neither James nor Robert would have guessed what fate had in store for them both – how their lives would be intertwined in the fateful struggle for the freedom of their nation.

On 11 September 1297, the battle of Stirling Bridge took place. Wallace and Murray, against all odds, defeated an English army as it tried to cross the River Forth. Unfortunately Murray received wounds that were to kill him later in the year. Wallace went on to invade England. The foll owing year Edward of England came north, leading his army in person. He clashed with Wallace and the Scots at Falkirk on 22 July 1298. Woodend Farm near the Westquarter Burn marks the site of the Scots’ positions. A new commemorative cairn in the grounds of Callendar House in Falkirk has been raised in memory of this battle. The Scots were defeated with heavy losses. Wallace went back to fighting a guerrilla campaign, and then went abroad to France and Italy to try and elicit help for Scotland’s cause.

I can imagine the news of these events being carried across Scotland by word of mouth, and the young James hearing of them. He was a patriot, bred to be a leader of men. How did his emotions cope with these reports of the resistance of his countrymen? Did he long to be of an age where he was able to take the field on Scotland’s behalf? At some point during these campaigns James ended up living in Paris. Barbour tells us that when James’s father was eventually captured by the English and led south to the Tower of London in chains, his lands given over to the English Lord Clifford, James was left without his inheritance. Whether he was sent by members of his family to prevent him being taken hostage by the English, or whether he travelled on a whim looking for adventure, James did indeed move to France. Barbour tells us he lived simply, sometimes in ribald company, and that he learned much of life in the Parisian streets. I can imagine him there, gazing up at the towers of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, still under construction, or pausing to look into the depths of the River Seine.

We are told that he spent a total of three years in the French capital. During this sojourn came the fateful day when a messenger came looking for him, bearing ill news. His father, William Douglas, was dead.

Barbour tells us that he was murdered by the English while a prisoner in chains in the Tower of London. James swore there and then that he would do all in his power to recover all that had been his father’s; that he would dedicate his life to redeeming his inheritance.

He travelled back to Scotland and made contact with Bishop Lamberton of St Andrews in Fife. Lamberton is known to have been a great patriot in the Scottish cause, but he came to English peace when it suited him and Scotland best. He had the ear of English officials, but we know he entered into a secret bond to push the claim of the future King Robert around this time. James, like a young page, was given the job of waiting on Lamberton at table.

Barbour tells us, ‘all men loved him for his nobleness, for he was of the most fair demeanour, wise, courteous, and debonair. He was liberal and kind also, and above all things loved loyalty.’

King Edward came north in 1304 to hold an assembly at Stirling. Lamberton saw this as an opportunity to get James back into a situation where he might have some claim to his family lands. James was perhaps 18 at the time of this incident.

Lamberton led him into an audience with Edward and said, ‘Sir, I bring you this child, who seeks to be your man, and prays of your grace to receive here his homage and grant him his inheritance.’ Edward asked, what lands did he claim? Lamberton informed him that he claimed the lordship of Douglas, and that he was the son of the late William. Edward was notorious for his fits of temper, and men had died at his whim. He rose from his chair, becoming enraged. Lamberton knew that look well, and knew to tread warily. The king seemed preoccupied with the fact that William Douglas had joined forces with Wallace, whom he hated with a passion. He told Lamberton, ‘His father was ever my cruel foe, and died for it in my prison. He was against my majesty, therefore I am entitled to be his heir.’ Lamberton hastened James away from Edward’s presence, fearing his cruelty.

King Edward did not realise that he had cast a die in this meeting. In the words of the writer I. M. Davis, ‘The Hammer of the Scots watched them go, unaware that he had just dismissed the future Hammerer of the English.’

CHAPTER TWO

Experiments in chivalry

AFTER THE DISMISSALby EdwardI, James, more determined than ever to get back all that had been taken from his family by the English invaders, must have fretted as to how he could put his dreams into action. News of the national situation would now and again filter through to his ears.

Wallace was eventually captured by the English, and suffered a most horrific death in London. He was forced to endure a mockery of a trial on the morning of 23 August 1305 in Westminster Hall. From there he was hauled out, tied to the tails of horses, and dragged through London’s streets for six miles. He was hanged, cut down while still alive, then disembowelled. His heart was torn out, ending his life, and his innards were taken out and burned. His body was quartered, his head spiked on London Bridge, and his body parts distributed over Scotland to warn the Scots not to try to withstand English rule. James must have heard about this and despaired for Scotland. We don’t know if James and Wallace ever met, but it is possible, as James’s father and Wallace campaigned together. Lamberton too was a great supporter and backer of Wallace, and it is possible that they had meetings while James was present.

It took two years from James’s dismissal by Edward for fate to take a hand. During that time James continued his duties with Lamberton at St Andrews. He must have daydreamed. Wondering. Wondering; ‘I am one man, what can I do to instigate action?’ Then one day, news arrived. Lamberton received a letter telling of deeds that had happened in Dumfries.

Robert the Bruce knew that if the struggle against English rule was to be continued, drastic action had to be taken. First his grandfather – the competitor for the throne against Balliol – and then his father had died. Bruce knew that he had inherited a valid claim to be king. He approa ched John Comyn, the nephew of John Balliol, head of that faction since Balliol’s exile, and offered him the Bruce lands if Comyn would back Bruce’s claim to Scotland’s throne. Comyn agreed. A mutual pact was signed. But Comyn went to English Edward and showed him the letter with Bruce’s seal attached.

King Edward summoned Bruce. At that time Bruce was in Edward’s peace and was in London, and Edward confronted him with the letter. Bruce stated that he was not sure that the attached seal was indeed his, and that it could well be a forgery. That night, Bruce, accompanied by a clerk, rode away secretly for Scotland.

Bruce had made his escape, knowing that Comyn had betrayed him, but also knowing that he had no way back into leading a quiet life. King Edward knew Bruce had plotted against him, and he would now kill Bruce if he could.

A tale has come down to us that the English Earl of Gloucester tried to warn Bruce that he had been betrayed. He sent Bruce money and a pair of spurs as a strong hint to flee.

No matter, Bruce knew that he was undone. Five days later he crossed the Border, only to find that Comyn was at nearby Dumfries. The two men came face to face before the high altar of the Greyfriars Monastery there on 10 February 1306. Bruce accused Comyn of trying to instigate his betrayal. Hot words were exchanged and daggers were drawn. Bruce stabbed Comyn. A heinous act, Comyn’s blood splashing against the altar. Sacrilege.

Bruce staggered outside, and when his men gathered round to ask what had happened, Bruce replied, ‘I doubt I have slain the Comyn!’ Sir Roger Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, one of Bruce’s staunchest adherents, replied, ‘You doubt? I’ll mak siccar!’ (Scots for ‘I’ll make sure’). He ran into the church, and finished off the badly wounded Comyn. Comyn’s uncle was also slain in the ensuing fracas. The motto of the Kirkpatrick family has ever since been ‘I’ll mak siccar’.

A plaque in Dumfries’s Burns Square marks the site of the Grey friars Monastery where this act took place. When building work was taking place there in the late 1800s, the site of the high altar was discovered, with the graves of churchmen to one side. At the opposite side, two skeletons in armour were found. It seems these may be the bodies of Comyn and his uncle. Bruce could not very well have sent them back to Comyn’s family after what took place there, so they must have been hastily buried. The shops on either side of the plaque do not have cellars as the remains were left intact and simply bricked over. So when you are in Burns Square you are actually standing above the last resting place of Comyn!

Bruce knew there was no way back. For better or worse, there was only one route to take. He and his ran to quickly capture the Castle of Dumfries. They tore down the standard flying the three crouching leopards of England, and hurriedly ran up the lion rampant of Scotland. Bruce declared to the astonished townsfolk that he was to become their king.

Greyfriars Church, just a few yards from the plaque on the other side of the square, was the site of the castle there, although there are large earthworks of another castle in the town’s Castledykes Park, and a plaque there proclaims it to be the one that Bruce took.

Bruce was no fool; he knew that trouble was ahead. Word of the slaying of the Comyn at the altar would be conveyed to the Pope, and he knew that he would be excommunicated. This would mean that he would be unable to go through the crowning ceremony, due to the religious restrictions involved. He knew that he had to move quickly to progress to Scone, where by tradition, all Kings of Scots were crowned. This had to be done with haste before word could be carried to Rome.

As the story unfolded before Lamberton, James realised that the time for action had come. He approached Lamberton and told him that he wished to join Bruce and take his chances. He could not hope to regain his lands unless the English were expelled, and obviously Bruce was going to attempt to expel them. Although a churchman, and though news of the stabbing at the altar must have worried him, Lamberton knew that Scotland must come first in all this, and he endorsed James’s going to Bruce and joining the men now gathering to his standard. But he could not let the English know that he approved of such a course of action.

He outlined a plan to James. Lamberton had a good horse in his stables. Barbour even tells us the name of this horse: Ferrand. Lamberton gave James some money, and instructions to take the horse and ride off with it as though stealing it and absconding. Lamberton knew that the groom in the stables would try to stop James, and his evidence would make the English believe in the ruse. James made his way to the stables and began to saddle Ferrand. The groom did indeed get into a fight with James, trying to stop him. James struck the man down, and managed to gallop off into the night. He was determined to make contact with Bruce and offer his services.

Bruce and his retinue made their way north towards Scone and the impending coronation. They headed north up Annandale, Bruce’s ancestral family lands, where men could flock to his standard en route. Annandale is the valley, or dale, of the River Annan. Passing the town of Moffat, the cavalcade made its way towards the Devil’s Beef Tub, a huge natural feature shaped like a bowl, where Borderers were apt to secrete stolen cattle. An old Roman road rose over a shoulder of the Beef Tub, crossing the intervening hills to Clydesdale. They could then follow the River Clyde towards Glasgow, and strike over the Lowlands for Perth and nearby Scone. As they started to climb into the hills, some horsemen were spotted ahead, obviously waiting for them. It was James with a group of riders, probably some of his own followers, as Douglasdale was not far distant from there.

They met at the Arrickstane. I assume there was a large boulder of that name on the hillside at one time. It is still marked on maps, but there does not seem to be anything prominent enough to merit such recognition. The name survives today in the farm of Ericstone in the glen below. The view out from Arrickstane is a magnificent one, the Lake District hills in the north of England visible to the south, and all Annandale stretching away below. I find it a touching place to stand, imagining those two great heroes of Scotland beginning an adventure that writers of fiction could not match. An adventure that would end 24 years later in Mediterranean climes. Douglas knew that Bruce would come that way north, and it was an obvious place to wait and look for riders approaching from the south.

As Bruce drew up, James dismounted and knelt before him. He swore to be his true man, and gave his fealty. Bruce pulled him up, and told the young man he was happy to have him join his followers. But at this point James was green and untried, and could not have been accounted much of a catch. He would have fallen in at the rear of the cavalcade, but was probably happy that he was making that first step to the recovery of his heritage.

Bruce was crowned on the Moot Hill at Scone on Friday 25 March 1306. There the kings of Scots had been crowned since time immemorial. Several earls of Scotland were in attendance, as well as many of the lairdly class. The Moot Hill is a raised piece of ground, and it was there the Stone of Destiny used to sit. Scone Abbey was nearby, but it, alas, is long gone, destroyed during the Reformation, when Protest antism replaced Catholicism. It was fired by the mob in 1559. The old graveyard survives, but there is nothing of real antiquity there. A small chapel also survives on the Moot Hill, but it is from a later building, constructed in 1624.

How I would love it if I could go and visit the old abbeys of Scotland intact, as nearly all are in ruins today. I would love to have seen the interior of the abbey, as such a large part of Scotland’s destiny was shaped there, and it also contained the tomb of RobertII, Bruce’s grandson.