The Wars of the Bruces: Scotland, England and Ireland 1306-1328

by Colm McNamee

The Bruces of fourteenth-century Scotland were formidable and enthusiastic warriors. Former studies of this period of history tend to concentrate on events in Scotland, but England's war with Robert Bruce profoundly affected the whole of the British Isles. Scottish raiders struck deep into the heartlands of Yorkshire and Lanarkshire; Edward Bruce was proclaimed King of Ireland and came close to subduing that country, and The Isle of Man was captured and a Welsh sea-port raided. In the North Sea, the Scots allied with German and Flemish pirates to cripple England's vital wool trade and disrupt her war effort.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Scotland, Medieval History

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

Colm McNamee works for the Northern Ireland Assembly. He studied at Queen's University, Belfast, and Worcester College Oxford, and has a DPhil in Medieval History.

Reviews

[William Shep · Rating 3 out of 5]

This interpretation of the Scottish War of Independence, based on the author's dissertation from the University of Oxford, focuses on the social and economic impact of the Scottish incursions into the north of England, especially after their stunning victory at Bannockburn in 1314.
These raids sought to force English recognition of Scottish independence and the legitimacy of the kingship of Robert the Bruce, in addition to plundering English wealth. The author includes sections on the wider scope of the war encompassing Scotland, Ireland, and the maritime world of the North Sea and observes that the Scots have elevated their warrior-king Robert the Bruce to Olympian status while the English tend to dismiss him as an opportunistic brigand. He attempts, with some success, to bring a dispassionate approach placing people and events in the proper historical context. While he is able to increase the reader's understanding of the war's effects upon British society, his depiction of the individuals involved is rather stale. Fortunately, his bibliography is impressive and it is clear that he has a powerful command of primary sources, such as contemporary chronicles and account books, especially for the north of England. Unfortunately, the sections on Ireland and Scotland are less comprehensive and highlight the uneven quality of the book. He does raise interesting questions regarding the persistence of resistance to the Bruce Monarchy by the disaffected factions and the Scots' lack of engineering resources that would have enabled the capture of major cities such as York or Dublin for use as bargaining chips. In addition, McNamee does not neglect the role of Flemish and Baltic traders and pirates who greatly assisted the Scottish war effort. Regarding Ireland, he argues to some effect that the Bruce intervention there would have been more effective had it appealed to the disaffected Anglo-Irish barons rather than promoting an impractical pan-Celtic alliance of Scot, Irish, and Welsh against their predatory English neighbors. He also examines the sometimes adversarial relationship between King Robert and his brother Edward who sought to be King of Ireland and whose adventures there kept him from trouble-making in Scotland. Overall, McNamee's arguments are reasonable and his sympathy for the suffering of the people of northern England, pawns in the Anglo-Scottish power struggle, is sincere but one finds his criticism of Bruce's lack of 'humanity' puzzling since the Scottish king was merely taking the war into the enemy's territory after years of similar conduct by the English in Scotland. This book is a valuable scholarly contribution but his recent Robert Bruce: Our Most Valiant Prince, King and Lord (2007) is a much more refined work that can proudly take its place alongside Barrow's now classic Robert the Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland (1965) as masterful biographies of Scotland's greatest king.

[Lothario · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave a very thorough analysis of the lasting impact the Bruce's had on Britain, including their impact on Scottish sovereignty, lasting demographic changes to the north of England/Ireland, and the intricacies of the Gaelic and Anglo relations. I did find the Bruce's call for pan-celticism as intriguing to stop incursions from the English crown even if this was in Scottish self-interest by installing a Bruce as a potential high king. Civil disorder in England and English failure to change military technics against the Scots allowed the Bruce's to establish themselves as the formidable military force in England and Ireland in the early 1300s.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a historical text that presents an detailed account of all the various facets and personalities around the war. Though, those looking for a text only about the various engagements and battles will be disappointed. This is not a leisurely stroll through this time period either. To that point, I found myself skimming over the specific figures, numbers and names often. An informative text nonetheless. But not one I would recommend to a wide range of people.

[James Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed and well written examination of the wars of King Robert I, ranging across the lands of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. MacNamee brings a forensic eye to Robert I’s conduct of the conflict, whether it is conduct of war against the English kings, the raiding of north England or the Scottish invasion of Ireland. He examines in detail the impact of raiding in England, and tries to distangle the impact of animal disease and an extended spell of very poor weather. This is a valuable book for anyone interested in King Robert I and the impact of his kingship in the British isles.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well sourced topic-by-chapter study of the brief 14th Century moment when Scotland was the hegemonic military power in the British Isles. From Bannockburn until a peace recognizing The Bruce's kingship (and lordship of Berwick) Scotland ravaged parts of Ireland and much of Northern England, injecting much needed money back into its economy, sowing discontent amongst their enemies, and gaining prestige for the armed forces of a battered kingdom.

Every chapter analyzes a different front or perspective, but all are tied together by an understanding of the strategic motivations of The Bruce family and the rationale behind what they did.

Part of me couldn't help but be struck by a variety of similarities with Paul Kagame in post-civil war Rwanda.