Scottish Wars of Independence Trivia

1. The Battle of Bannockburn was fought during the First War of Scottish Independence. On what two days was it fought? (Compare with the dates for the battles of Agincourt, Hastings, and Naseby.)

From Quiz The Battle of Bannockburn

Answer: 23 and 24 June 1314

The Battle of Hastings took place in 1066 on 14 October. The Battle of Agincourt took place in 1415 on 25 October. The Battle of Naseby in 1645 on 14 June. Of course, all of these incorrect answers were one-day battles, but hopefully you got the correct answer. Bannockburn was an unusual battle in medieval warfare, as most of those battles did not take very long.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: William Wallace

Although the film took some liberties with the known history of William Wallace, it did much to give recognition to a man whose accomplishments are little known outside Scotland. Robert the Bruce took over the struggle for independence after Wallace's defeat. Sir Andrew de Moray was an experienced guerilla fighter, and Wallace's closest friend and advisor. Rob Roy MacGregor was a cattle dealer who became an outlaw, having fought on the Jacobite side in the 1715 Rebellion to restore the Stuart line to the throne.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Edward I

In 1290 the Scottish child-queen Margaret had died leaving no clear heir. The Scottish nobles asked Edward I of England to adjudicate on the claims of the 13 men who presented themselves as Margaret's rightful heir. The two men with the strongest claims were John Balliol, Lord of Galloway and Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale. Both were descendants of daughters of David, Earl of Huntingdon, the youngest grandson of David I. All the claimants agreed to swear fealty to King Edward if chosen as king. Edward eventually chose John as being a more malleable character. Over the next four years Edward treated King John with utter disdain until John eventually rebelled and renounced his oath of fealty. Scotland entered into an alliance with England's enemy, France, prompting Edward to march north to Scotland at the head of an army. He defeated King John at the Battle of Dunbar and later forced him to abdicate.

From Quiz The Battle of Bannockburn

Answer: a stream

"Burn" is the Scottish term for anything from a stream to a large river. The term is also used in northern England, Ulster, Australia, and New Zealand. The Bannock is a winding burn that enters the River Forth about 7.5 miles from its source, but because of its meandering, its length would be measured longer.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: A defensive formation against cavalry

A Schiltron comprised a large body of soldiers armed with long spears (often little more than long poles with sharpened points). They formed up in a hollow sqare formation, shoulder to shoulder, with the spears pointing outward on all sides. By moving the schiltron bodily across the battlefield, like a very vicious hedgehog, it could also be used offensively. This was an extremely effective tactic against cavalry, but the schiltron was vulnerable if there were effective archers on the battlefield.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Berwick

The sack of Berwick took place over two days and was apparently only halted when King Edward witnessed a pregnant woman being put to death. Edward's harsh subjugation of Scotland during the Wars of Independence earned him the sobriquet "Hammer of the Scots".

From Quiz The Battle of Bannockburn

Answer: Robert the Bruce

Robert I ruled as King of Scotland from 1306 to 1329, when he died at age 54. He had 11 children, six of whom were acknowledged to be illegitimate by unknown mothers. His first born was Marjory, daughter of Isabella of Mar. Her son was Robert II, who ruled as King of Scotland from 1371 to 1390. He was the first Stewart monarch. Robert then had four children by Elizabeth de Burgh: Margaret, Matilda (Maud), and twin sons, David and John. David succeeded his father as king and ruled from 1329 to 1371. Two of Robert's illegitimate sons died in battle. Sir Robert Bruce died at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in 1332 and Sir Neil of Carrick died at the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: Stirling Bridge

This is completely misrepresented in the film "Braveheart", which shows long lines of soldiers on an open battlefield. In reality, Wallace's army were on the north side of the River Forth, while Surrey's army were on the south bank: the larger English Army had only a narrow wooden bridge with which to cross the river. Wallace's men were hiding in nearby woodland - when a manageable number of English soldiers had crossed the bridge, the Scots attacked. With no hope of reinforcement, those English who had crossed already were slaughtered in their thousands or drowned as they tried to escape.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: The Earl of Surrey

Having sacked Berwick, defeated the Scots at Dunbar, forced King John's abdication, stolen the Stone of Destiny (the traditional coronation stone of the Scottish kings) and forced the Scottish nobles to swear fealty to him, Edward left Scotland in the control of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey (who was, in fact, King John's father-in law). Surrey returned to England and left most of the day-to-day rule of Scotland to his treasurer, Hugh Cressingham. Cressingham's enthusiasm for this task would have unfortunate personal consequences for him.

From Quiz The Battle of Bannockburn

Answer: Edward II

Edward was the fourth son of Edward I, known as "Longshanks" and "Hammer of the Scots." Edward II accompanied his father on the campaigns to subdue the Scots from 1300 to Longshanks' death in 1307. Edward II then ruled England for the next 20 years until January of 1327, when powerful English barons and clergy forced him to abdicate to his son, Edward III. Edward II then became just Edward of Caernarvon. In September of 1327 Edward died under unclear circumstances.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: King Robert I (Robert the Bruce)

According to the legend, Robert had tried six times to defeat the English and had failed on every occasion. In despair, he was thinking about giving up and fleeing overseas. While hiding from his enemies in a peasant's hut (or a cave, depending on which legend you hear) he saw a small spider trying to swing itself between the roof timbers to make its web. Six times the spider swung and failed to reach its target. However it was successful on its seventh attempt, and thus inspired Bruce to give it one more try.

From Quiz The Battle of Bannockburn

Answer: Stirling Castle

The first record of Stirling Castle, perched high atop steep-sided Castle Hill, is from around 1110. The castle became a royal burgh under King David I. There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including the one by Robert the Bruce which resulted in the Battle of Bannockburn. Caernarfon Castle is in Wales, Carrickfergus Castle is in Ireland, and Windsor Castle is in England in the county of Berkshire.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: A broadsword

The highlander's traditional sword was the basket-hilted broadsword, a weapon of some 40 inchs (1 m.) in length, although many (including Wallace) used the larger claymore. Some two-handed versions of these were more than 5 feet long. The cutlass is a shorter curved sword, some 30" in length, handy for close-quarters melee fighting, such as in boarding an enemy's ship. The sabre is a longer curved sword, optimised for cavalry use, while the gladius was the short stabbing sword of the Roman legionary, and - hence the name - the gladiator.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: William Wallace

William Wallace rose from relative obscurity as the second son of a minor landowner to become a national hero in 1297. According to legend he was waylaid by English soldiers whom he slew. In reprisal, the English sheriff of Lanark had Wallace's wife killed and Wallace in turn killed the sheriff. He then raised the south of Scotland in open rebellion against English rule. Following his surprise victory at Stirling Bridge, Wallace was chosen as Guardian of the Realm with the name of King John. The others all served as joint guardians at various points between 1298 and 1301.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Falkirk

In part due to his relatively low birth, Wallace never received wholehearted support from the Scottish nobility in his role as Guardian: his position was based on his military success. He resigned the guardianship following his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. He was initially replaced by Robert Bruce and John Comyn, who represented the two largest factions in the country at the time.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: John Mentieth

Wallace was betrayed to the English and captured in 1305. He was taken to London, tried and executed - hung, drawn and quartered. His head was placed on a spike on London Bridge and his limbs were put on display in Edinburgh, Perth, Newcastle and Berwick.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: King James VI

King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England, so I hope you didn't fall for this distractor. Malcolm I is right out of the picture, since he reigned from 943 AD to 954. King Charles I was the son of King James VI/I.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: 1306

Throughout his early career, Robert Bruce had vacillated between support for King Edward and support for the Scottish cause. After serving as Guardian of Scotland he was later reconciled to King Edward. However, in 1306 Edward came close to seizing Robert for treason while he was in England. Robert fled north to Scotland where he confronted and, in a fit of anger, murdered his arch-rival, John Comyn. Robert promptly headed for Scone and had himself crowned as King of Scots.

From Quiz The Battle of Bannockburn

Answer: A decisive Scots victory over a larger English force

A Scottish common army of about 6,000, along with 500 knights on horseback, defeated an English force of 14,000 infantry, 2,000 archers, and 2,00 heavy cavalry, although Wikipedia credits the English with a total force of from 13,000 to 25,000. English losses were calculated at 700 cavalry and four to eleven thousand infantry. Total Scottish losses were less than 4,000 and included only two knights killed. Fourteen years later, due to Robert the Bruce's victory at Bannockburn, Scotland's independence from England was established by the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: Queen Anne

King James II only reigned for 3 years - he was deposed because, despite his assurances otherwise when he was crowned, he was a Roman Catholic. A number of candidates were considered to replace him, but William and Mary were judged to be the best of the bunch. Queen Anne succeeded William in 1702. After Anne's death in 1714, George of Hanover was invited to rule the country now known as Great Britain, as King George I.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Loudoun Hill

Despite being one of the foremost knights of the age, Bruce waged a predominantly guerilla campaign against the occupying English forces and their Scottish allies, recognising the Scots' weakness in pitched battles with the English. Over the course of the next twenty years he would win control over the whole of Scotland, win many of his Scottish enemies to his side and lead punitive raids deep into England itself before finally concluding a peace with England in 1328.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence

Answer: 1999

Although the Scottish Parliament has very limited powers as yet, it sat again for the first time in nearly 300 years in 1999. 1921 saw the formation of a Northern Ireland Parliament, which was dissolved in 1972 because of the Troubles. 1998 saw the formation of the Greater London Authority.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Bannockburn

After his defeat at Methven in 1306 Robert had conducted his campaign by avoiding pitched battles. It had been so successful that by 1313 only three Scottish castles were still in English hands. However, Robert's impatient brother, Edward, made a bargain with the governor of one of those castles, Stirling, that if it had not been relieved by midsummer the following year it would be surrendered to the Scots. To Robert's dismay the English king, Edward II, responded by bringing a huge army northwards. Luckily for the Scots, Edward II was not the general his father had been and the battle was a decisive victory for the Scots.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: John XXII

King Robert had been excommunicated by the Pope for his sacreligious murder of John Comyn in a church. Although the Scottish church had always been very supportive of Robert, the Vatican had tended to side with the English and had refused to acknowledge Robert as king of Scots. The Declaration of Arbroath stated the desire of the Scots to maintain their independence from England and declared that, should King Robert betray that cause, they would depose him and chose another king. From then on the Pope took a more conciliatory line with the Scots and in 1324 finally recognised Robert as Scotland's king. "It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom; for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Treaty of Northampton

Under the terms of the treaty (sometimes known as the Treay of Edinburgh-Northampton) the new English king, Edward III, renounced all claims to Scotland and recognised Robert as Scotland's king. Also under the terms of the treaty, Edward III's sister Joanna was betrothed to Robert's son and heir, David.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: France

With the death of Robert I in 1329 and the succession of his young son David, Edward III of England saw an opportunity to restore English influence in Scotland. He invited John Balliol's son Edward back from exile in France and supplied him with troops for an invasion. The troops landed in eastern Scotland in 1332 and met the Scots under Donald, Earl of Mar, David II's cousin and regent, at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, defeating them and setting up Edward Balliol as a rival king.

From Quiz The Scottish Wars of Independence: 1296-1341

Answer: Halidon Hill

Despite having decisively defeated the Scots in battle at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill, the English were never able to press home their advantage and Edward Balliol was never able to fully assert his claim to the throne. He was poorly supported within Scotland and he was forced back to England on several times - apparently half-naked on one occasion. In 1337 Edward III's attention was temporarily diverted away from Scotland by the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War with France, and David II returned from France in 1341, effectively ending the Second War of Independence. Edward Balliol resigned his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in 1356.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:50 AM

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