Kildrummy Castle (12)
On 10 February 1306, the two surviving claimants for the Scottish throne, Robert Bruce and John Comyn, met at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries (which no longer exists). Nobody knows exactly what happened, but a quarrel erupted between them, knives were drawn and The Comyn was killed (or murdered, depending upon which side you are on!) Events now forced The Bruce's hand and he was hurriedly crowned King of Scots six weeks later on March 25th at Scone. Rebellion inevitably broke out again, and in response, Edward I with equal inevitability started preparations for a summer invasion of Scotland.
King Robert Bruce was ill prepared to lead Scotland in 1306. While it is undoubted that the Bruce family saw themselves as the rightful heirs to the Scottish throne, it is equally certain that the stabbing to death of Comyn and the coronation that followed, were unplanned events. As Bruce made such preparations as he could to meet the English in the limited time he had available, he must have had grave doubts about his ability to defeat them.
Robert Bruce and such Scots as would follow him, were defeated at Methven on June 26th, 1306. Following the defeat, Bruce took to the heather but took the precaution of sending his wife Elizabeth (his second wife), sisters Christian and Mary and daughter Marjorie, under the care of his brother Nigel (often also called Neil) north to the safety of Kildrummy Castle. (He already controlled Kildrummy, in his capacity as uncle and guardian to Donald, the young 8th Earl of Mar.)
Not long after reaching Kildrummy, news arrived that an English army under Edward of Carnarvon, the future King Edward II, was making for Kildrummy. Sir Nigel sent the rest of the Royal party on northwards, into what should have been the safety of the far north, but they were eventually betrayed by the Earl of Ross while taking sanctuary at St Duthac's Chapel, just outside Tain. (Lady Mary Bruce, on the orders of King Edward, was then hung in a cage, exposed to public view, on the outside walls of Roxburgh Castle. She remained there for the next 4 years and was eventually ransomed and released following the Battle of Bannockburn!)
Sir Nigel meanwhile, prepared to hold Kildrummy Castle for his brother and meet his date with destiny.
Kildrummy Castle (12)
On 10 February 1306, the two surviving claimants for the Scottish throne, Robert Bruce and John Comyn, met at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries (which no longer exists). Nobody knows exactly what happened, but a quarrel erupted between them, knives were drawn and The Comyn was killed (or murdered, depending upon which side you are on!) Events now forced The Bruce's hand and he was hurriedly crowned King of Scots six weeks later on March 25th at Scone. Rebellion inevitably broke out again, and in response, Edward I with equal inevitability started preparations for a summer invasion of Scotland.
King Robert Bruce was ill prepared to lead Scotland in 1306. While it is undoubted that the Bruce family saw themselves as the rightful heirs to the Scottish throne, it is equally certain that the stabbing to death of Comyn and the coronation that followed, were unplanned events. As Bruce made such preparations as he could to meet the English in the limited time he had available, he must have had grave doubts about his ability to defeat them.
Robert Bruce and such Scots as would follow him, were defeated at Methven on June 26th, 1306. Following the defeat, Bruce took to the heather but took the precaution of sending his wife Elizabeth (his second wife), sisters Christian and Mary and daughter Marjorie, under the care of his brother Nigel (often also called Neil) north to the safety of Kildrummy Castle. (He already controlled Kildrummy, in his capacity as uncle and guardian to Donald, the young 8th Earl of Mar.)
Not long after reaching Kildrummy, news arrived that an English army under Edward of Carnarvon, the future King Edward II, was making for Kildrummy. Sir Nigel sent the rest of the Royal party on northwards, into what should have been the safety of the far north, but they were eventually betrayed by the Earl of Ross while taking sanctuary at St Duthac's Chapel, just outside Tain. (Lady Mary Bruce, on the orders of King Edward, was then hung in a cage, exposed to public view, on the outside walls of Roxburgh Castle. She remained there for the next 4 years and was eventually ransomed and released following the Battle of Bannockburn!)
Sir Nigel meanwhile, prepared to hold Kildrummy Castle for his brother and meet his date with destiny.