Robert S. Silver

“The play was written between 1948 and 1951, in the aftermath of the German occupation of several countries in Europe. The ending of that and the subsequent launching of the United Nations showed that the concept of national freedom was likely to be fundamental in the post-war world. A dramatic treatment of the origins of that concept seemed to me to be well worth attempting. The material was to be found in my native country, for the Scottish Declaration of Independence commonly known as the Declaration of Arbroath, is generally accepted as the earliest document in which the concept of national freedom is carefully defined, and asserted with passionate conviction. It is an early landmark on the road to later documents such as the United States Declaration of Independence, the Atlantic Charter, and the Charter of the United Nations.”
― Robert S. Silver, The Bruce: Robert I, King o Scots