The Bruce

by John Barbour

Included in this edition of The Bruce (Illustrated):

 A history of the Scottish War for Independence and the role of William Wallace.

 A prose translation of The Bruce with maps and illustrations.

 The original text of “The Brus” in Old Scots

 An English translation of the poem

The Bruce (Illustrated) brings together three versions of John Barbour’s epic poem of the fight for Scottish independence together with a comprehensive collection of authoritative commentary, maps of the travels of Robert the Bruce and his companions, and classical illustrations of the tale. The collection is introduced with a history of the First War of Scottish Independence and then starts with the most accessible version of the story of Robert the Bruce which is a prose translation of Barbour’s Old Scots poem. The prose version is very readable and will give someone new to the material a good introduction to the story of Robert the Bruce’s rise to be the King of Scotland.
This is followed by the original text of Barbour’s poem, most all of which can be attributed to Archdeacon Barbour. Historians have used it as the authoritative account of the events during the later years of what is referred to as The War for Scottish Independence. Bruce’s story picks up after the deaths of William Wallace, Andrew Moray, and William “le Hardi” Douglas; the heroes of the first part of the war that started in 1296 when King Edward the First of England attempted to take the Scottish crown for himself.
Finally the third version is a very pleasant and easy to read English language version in rhyming couplets that will give a modern reader who might be attempting to decipher the old text a way to better grasp the content of the old poem.
What makes “The Brus” even more important than an authoritative account of a historic period is the use of the Old Scots dialect which was taking hold as a national language at almost exactly the same time as Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” were chronicling the coalescence of the English language as a national tongue. What is hoped here is to spur a greater attention to the preservation of the old dialect which started it’s literary heyday with Barbour and climaxed in its Golden Age with Robert Burns.
Down through the ages “The Brus” has inspired many adaptations and original works based on the events told here. From Sir Walter Scott to Nigel Trantor and even Mel Gibson; many authors, film makers, and historians owe their inspiration to this text. I believe many more will and this collection will be a solid place to start and refer back to as a new crop of young artists seek to shape modern interpretations of this timeless story.

Genres: Scotland, History, Poetry, Classics, Historical

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1375

About the author

John Barbour (c.1320 - 1395) was a Scottish poet and the first major named literary figure to write in Scots.

His principal surviving work is the historical verse romance, The Brus (The Bruce), and his reputation from this poem is such that other long works in Scots which survive from the period are sometimes thought to be by him. He is known to have written a number of other works, but other titles definitely ascribed to his authorship, such as The Stewartis Oryginalle (Genealogy of the Stewarts) and The Brut (Brutus), are now lost.

Barbour was latterly Archdeacon of the Kirk of St Machar in Aberdeen. He also studied in Oxford and Paris. Although he was a man of the church, his surviving writing is strongly secular in both tone and themes. His principal patron was Robert II and evidence of his promotion and movements before Robert Stewart came to power as king tend to suggest that Barbour acted politically on the future king's behalf.

Reviews

[Zeta Syanthis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool, though I mostly had to give up on the original poem and read the story itself.

[Robert Nield]

Easy language for Middle English - much more negotiable than the Gawain Poet, even without referring to the quality facing translation - profound influence on the ideas even of modern Scottish nationalism, and particularly the final book with a Scottish noble crusading in Islamic Spain wearing the dead king of Scotland's innards around his neck illustrates how surprisingly connected the medieval world could be. My copy seems to be missing the last 20 lines or so but maybe that's an editorial thing I'm not understanding.

That said, it's very long and I feel I could've read books 1, 5, 13-14 and 20 and got a similar amount out of it. Barbour is very repetitive, operates largely episodically and doesn't seem to have a bigger structure, or any qualms around hypocrisy or historical omission. Doubtless of great interest to Bannockburn fanatics.

[vada sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anotha one!

For my dissertation, but actually enjoyed reading it cover to cover seven times to make sure I didn't miss anything I promise. I am also now significantly better at reading medieval Scots, and it makes me feel like I'm going insane.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books 1 through 4 and book 10 only (so far)

[Ray Melville]

Abandoned

[Wioletta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the story itself:

Intersting take on how medieval literature such as this one connects to further ”war writing” that are closer to the present

(Read story for War Writing summer course)

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very culturally important book as stated in the book description. My motivation for reading this magnificent book was its history, generally and specifically and that an ancestor of mine was Chief Armourer to Robert the Bruce, later, after he won the war, King Robert the Bruce.

Lots of details and certainly a historians and genealogists delight. I would recommend this interest in the times also this book.

[Ron Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best read aloud!