Robert the Bruce

And so we have to leave our children with a vision, which means history, yes.

Historically, we see 800 years of a battle for freedom on the part of godly Christians like William the Silent or like Robert the Bruce or Patrick Henry or Samuel Adams.

That's why we write these books.

Absolutely every Christian family in America and Canada should be giving this They're children copies of something like Story of Freedom because that's a heritage unless you want to leave your children in gulags and prison camps.

Oh, yeah.

And a couple of takeaways.

I'm amazed at how guys like we in The Silent and Robert the Bruce, it comes down to one person against an empire or one person against a massive kingdom force.

One guy.

In neighboring Scotland, boiling was used during the 13th and 14th centuries as punishment for conspiracy against the crown, as well as for those accused of sorcery and witchcraft.

Notably, William de Soules, a Scottish nobleman accused of plotting against King Robert the Bruce, was sentenced to boiling in 1321 at Neinstang Rigg.

This method of execution was also recorded in Japan, where it became part of folklore.

In 1590, Ishikawa Goemon and his young child were publicly boiled alive in a large iron cauldron.

To be a good scholar was a secondary consideration.

though we tried hard to hold high places in our classes and gloried in being ducks we fairly revelled in the battle stories of glorious william wallace and robert the bruce with which every breath of scotch air is saturated and of course we were all going to be soldiers On the Dovelbury battleground we often managed to bring on something like real war, greatly more exciting than personal combat.

Choosing leaders, we divided into two armies.

In winter, damp snow furnished plenty of ammunition to make the thing serious, and in summer, sand and grass sods.

After negotiations which the French king used only to gain time, Philip, by an act of shameful treachery, gained possession of a number of castles and soon of the whole of Gascony.

edward got up a great european alliance against him but the troubles in scotland and wales and the difficulties in his own land prevented his ever seriously undertaking the french war it dragged on for years with varying success and the french continually aided the scots while edward joined with the flemings against france at length a truce was made in twelve ninety nine when edward married as his second wife the french king's sister margaret peace was made may twentieth thirteen o three by which gascony was restored to the english king scotland claimed a far greater share of edward's attention than france in twelve eighty six alexander the third the last of the old line of scots kings died his heiress was margaret his granddaughter only child of his daughter margaret and eric king of norway she was summoned to scotland and it was arranged that she should marry the young edward of england but she died on her voyage and there remained no one who had clear right to the scots crown twelve ninety a great number of claimants started up and it was agreed to submit the decision to edward i as overlord the rights of england over scotland had been both indefinite and contested and their exercise had depended upon the strength of the sovereign by whom they were enjoyed but edward believed them to be genuine and fully legal and he undertook the task of adjudging the claims as a feudal duty and in simple faith three claimants were prominent henry lord hastings john balliol and robert bruce on november thirtieth twelve ninety two the crown was awarded to john balliol and he did homage to edward for the kingdom for a while the new king ruled happily as a vassal of england but the French war and Edward's financial troubles led before long to far more serious disturbance.

Edward had all along been hampered by want of money.

He had begun his reign with heavy debts of his father's and from his own crusade.

Besides renewing the great charter and the charter of the forest, and requiring that they should be read in all cathedral churches twice a year, it declared that the king would take no more such aids, tasks, and prizes as he had taken without the common consent of the realm, and it undertook that the maltote or heavy custom on wool should never again be levied without consent.

Edward accepted and confirmed the act, and again in 1299 he renewed his oath to it.

in thirteen hundred the articuli super cartas limited the power of royal officials and ordered a forest survey in thirteen o one the charters were again renewed and reform undertaken thus though the king had still some means of taking money apart from council or parliament he stood honestly by his word and kept within his rights but the archbishop and the barons still suspected him and his last years were troubled by their distrust and opposition these last years were again years of strife with scotland wales had again been gradually reduced to submission and young edward had been made its prince but the scots had not remained at peace after the conquest of twelve ninety six the earl warren edward's minister had been attacked by an outlaw of galloway william wallace or the welshman and was utterly defeated at stirling september tenth twelve ninety seven wallace became for a time the ruler of scotland the battle of stirling had placed the land at his mercy and he was a stern conqueror contemporary writers record terrible instances of his barbarity and when he invaded england he spared neither age nor sex the english border lords retaliated with similar brutalities edward determined to bitterly avenge the attack of the governor of scotland as wallace was now called he gathered a great army at york and after a year's delay he was ready to proceed having now made peace with france he pursued wallace to the forest of falkirk there he won a great victory on july twenty second twelve ninety eight and utterly crushed the power of wallace the governor yielded up his office and fled the scots however would not now submit as readily as before they declared that they held the kingdom for john balliol whom edward had imprisoned and they named three regents to rule the land for him war went on without any decisive action till pope boniface the eighth interfered and declared that he was lord of scotland but the english parliament at lincoln in thirteen o one declared that the claim was unjustifiable and asserted edward's right to rule year after year edward fought with varying success till in thirteen o three he overran the whole land received the submission of the regents the bishop of st andrews john comyn and robert bruce and after the capture of stirling in thirteen o four drew up a plan for the ruling of scotland by which english judges were to be joined to the scots and the scots parliament was to send representatives every year to the english parliament thus scotland had a second time submitted to the english king no leader still held out and even wallace in his exile was willing to yield on terms the king it appears was ready to receive his surrender but wallace soon changed his mind for he returned from france to scotland and remained in hiding he was captured and executed in london for the robberies murders and felonies of which he had been guilty for the king in his narrow legal view of wallace's actions refused to see in him anything more than a chief of marauders edward thought that scotland was now at peace but it was to remain so only for a short time in the winter of thirteen o five robert bruce grandson of him who had claimed the crown in twelve ninety one murdered the regent john comyn who stood loyal to his oath to edward in the church of dumfries he mustered his retainers and got himself crowned at scune and raised a revolt against the english king edward again marched northwards with his nephew aymer de valence earl of pembroke as his lieutenant wherever he came he conquered but bruce fled from him into the wild north and could not be caught at last edward determined to put forth his whole strength and gathered a great army that he might utterly crush the country as he marched he fell sick he stayed several months at carlisle and when he went forward again he died on july seventh thirteen o seven at borough on sands in his last years and in his scots wars he had been harsh and cruel but he did all in firm confidence in the justice of his cause when he made his solemn vow at the knighting of prince edward in thirteen o six to avenge the murder of comyn and punish the broken faith of the scots he looked on them not as a noble nation fighting for liberty but as a perjured and rebellious company of outlaws whom it would be a shame to him as a king and as a knight not to punish he was a great warrior a great lawgiver a great worker and he died still working under his hand the constitution of england had changed more than it changed for two centuries after he had thrown his whole heart into what he did for his people and he left marks which could never be effaced Even in his mistakes we cannot forget that he was good as well as great, and his severity does not conceal his true love for his people.

CHAPTER VII.

Think of the great perseverers of all time.

Robert Bruce and the Spider.

Right.

Robert Hogan and the Steamboat.