tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/robert-the-bruce-11242/articlesRobert the Bruce – The Conversation2023-07-11T15:59:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078622023-07-11T15:59:32Z2023-07-11T15:59:32ZScotland’s medieval Declaration of Arbroath is too important for cherry picking by politicians<blockquote>
<p>As long as a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.</p>
<p><em>From <a href="https://cotr.ac.uk/viewer/?group=declaration&blocks=34:transcription;">The Declaration of Arbroath</a></em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Medieval Scotland’s most iconic document, <a href="http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1320/4/1">the Declaration of Arbroath</a>, recently went on display at the <a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/national-museum-of-scotland/declaration-of-arbroath/">National Museum of Scotland</a> in Edinburgh for the <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/declaration-of-arbroath-to-go-on-show-for-first-time-in-18-years/ar-AA1c2251">first time in 18 years</a>.</p>
<p>The Declaration is a letter written in 1320 to Pope John XII by various Scottish aristocrats and “the whole community of the realm of Scotland”. At this time, the papacy did not recognise Robert Bruce as the true king of Scotland.</p>
<p>The letter was a sophisticated diplomatic response by the Scots against claims from English kings that <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-medieval-battles-prove-britains-nations-have-never-been-truly-separate-159556">they were the ultimate sovereigns of Scotland</a>. The declaration is both a masterful piece of propaganda and one of the earliest statements of national sovereignty found in Europe.</p>
<p>It is a keystone of Scottish history, similar to <a href="https://magnacartaresearch.org/">Magna Carta in England</a> which held that the English king was subject to the law of the land. The declaration has not been as widely (even comically) <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-fascism-to-parking-tickets-some-odd-magna-carta-moments-38807">misunderstood as Magna Carta</a> but it is still a contested piece of medieval history in today’s politics.</p>
<p>Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser claimed a few years ago that Scots who opposed independence should <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/why-scottish-unionists-can-celebrate-the-declaration-of-arbroath-murdo-fraser-2532137">celebrate the Declaration of Arbroath</a>. This is part of a <a href="https://britishidentities.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/william-wallace-unionist-nationalist-or-both/">tradition within Scottish unionism</a> that sees Scotland’s victory in the <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-AngloScottish-Wars-or-Wars-of-Scottish-Independence/#:%7E:text=The%20Anglo%2DScottish%20Wars%20were,the%20years%20of%201296%20%E2%80%93%201346.">wars of the early 14th century</a> as necessary to bringing about the perfect <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18358125.struan-stevenson-declaration-arbroath-laid-foundation-stone-treaty-union-1707/">union</a> between the two countries in 1707.</p>
<p>SNP MP Joanna Cherry recently praised the document as “a statement of the <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23562534.union-odds-declaration-arbroath/">sovereignty of the Scottish people</a>”. For Cherry, this statement of popular sovereignty means the Declaration of Arbroath is incompatible with the “peculiarly English doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty”. This refers to the tradition that places parliament at the centre of English political history.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A very fragile old document, the Declaration of Arbroath, on faded yellowed paper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536341/original/file-20230707-29-apk50j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 700-year-old Declaration of Arbroath is rarely displayed because of its extremely fragile state.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Arbroath#/media/File:Declaration_of_arbroath.jpg">National Archives of Scotland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Why the declaration really matters</h2>
<p>Both unionist and nationalist views of the declaration tell us very little about the declaration itself. They are a reminder that the past is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/king-charles-iii-coronation-what-the-controversy-over-an-ancient-stone-tells-us-about-historical-symbols-in-the-modern-age-202171">powerful weapon in political arguments</a>. </p>
<p>We must remember that the declaration’s authors had little desire to see an Anglo-Scottish union centuries later, nor had a high opinion of popular sovereignty. Democracy too was an alien concept at this time. This was a document written for the elites, by the elites.</p>
<p>Indeed, there was also no concept of <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/parliamentary-sovereignty/">parliamentary sovereignty</a> in England at this time. It was not until the 17th century that such doctrines emerged in response to the absolute political power of the <a href="https://www.royal.uk/stuarts">Stuart kings</a> (ironically, in this context, a family who were initially kings of Scotland).</p>
<p>The Declaration of Arbroath was not a law or a treaty but a letter to the pope. It had no legal weight but was a statement of political intent, and a product of political circumstances. </p>
<p>Robert I’s <a href="https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/research/NRS_DoA_English_booklet_700_Spreads_WEB.pdf">position was unstable</a> at this time. An <a href="http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1318/23">act of parliament in 1318</a> tried to control rumours that were spreading questioning his claim to be king.</p>
<p>When the document was written, Robert’s brother Edward had been killed in Ireland two years earlier and the king had no sons to take over if he died. His grip on power was more precarious than he realised. A few months after the declaration was sent to the pope, several individuals were executed or imprisoned for <a href="https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/2106">conspiracy to assassinate the king</a>.</p>
<p>The declaration really gives us an insight into the development of written agreements to ensure loyalty and support. At this time, nobles across Europe, including Scotland, were beginning to write down the terms of their alliances and keep identical copies. The Declaration of Arbroath was an early example of this.</p>
<p>Earlier studies of the declaration concluded that nobles were encouraged to <a href="https://scottishhistorysociety.com/the-declaration-of-arbroath/#:%7E:text=The%2520deposition%2520clause%253A%2520%25E2%2580%2598Yet%2520if%2520he%2520%2528King%2520Robert%2529,who%2520was%2520able%2520to%2520defend%2520us%2520our%2520king.%25E2%2580%2599">send their seals to Newbattle</a>, just south of Edinburgh, where initial drafts were made. The final copy was drawn up at the <a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/an-essential-guide-to-the-declaration-of-arbroath/">king’s writing office in Arbroath Abbey</a>.</p>
<p>The nobles may have given their seals to the document, and it may have claimed to be from the whole community of Scotland, but this was very much written for the king’s own ends. </p>
<p>In this respect it was the opposite of Magna Carta, in which the English king was forced to accept a document in his name forced upon him by his barons. Robert I was a king who forced his barons to accept a document in their own name.</p>
<p>The fact that the document was produced to serve the immediate interests of the king should not diminish its importance. The Declaration of Arbroath is a fascinating document because it tells us so much about how politics and ideas of sovereignty played out in the 14th century.</p>
<p>It drew on <a href="https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/an-essential-guide-to-the-declaration-of-arbroath/">biblical and classical precedents</a>, developing a story about the kingdom’s origins. The origin myth given in the declaration may seem like fanciful fiction today, but it resonated with the sensibilities of the time. In the 14th century, myths about history were valuable political weapons and, even though those myths have changed, they still remain powerful today.</p>
<p>Events of the intervening seven centuries have allowed people with opposing political ideas to call on it for their own purposes. Yet, history is too important to allow certain bits to be <a href="https://bkw488.wixsite.com/highmedievalpast/post/reclaiming-history">cherry picked for modern day purposes</a>. It is only when considered in their immediate historical context that documents like the Declaration of Arbroath, can be understood.</p>
<p>The fact that there are many ways of viewing this fascinating document remind us that the historian’s job is never-ending.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gordon McKelvie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Both unionists and nationalists cite this keystone document of Scottish history.Gordon McKelvie, Senior Lecturer in History, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1108602019-02-06T11:09:12Z2019-02-06T11:09:12ZTourist attractions are being transformed by immersive experiences – some lessons from Scotland<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257278/original/file-20190205-86228-rh153y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bannockburn's Battle Room. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bright White</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Battle of Bannockburn is fought indoors on a daily basis. At least, it is in Stirling in central Scotland in 2019 at the <a href="https://battleofbannockburn.com">visitor centre</a> dedicated to the battle. A full 705 years after the Scottish forces of Robert the Bruce put paid to Edward II’s English invaders, visitors to this centre put on 3D glasses and walk into a digital recreation of 1314 and the run up to the battle. They encounter everything from archers practising their shots to Robert the Bruce <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/independence/trails_independence_bannockburn.shtml">slaying</a> the English knight Sir Henry de Bohun. </p>
<p>From here, visitors move into the battle room, an arena in which up to 30 players gather round a computerised plan of the battlefield. They play the part of Bannockburn generals, with a real-life battle master enabling them to make strategic decisions to see if they could have done a better job than the leaders on the day. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BC8gHZEwYoc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>It’s the sort of immersive experience that many tourist attractions want to have these days. At the <a href="http://www.burnsmuseum.org.uk">Burns Birthplace Museum</a> in Ayrshire, dedicated to Robert Burns, visitors can download an app aimed at children called the <a href="https://digit.fyi/augmented-reality-scottish-attractions/">Mighty Mission Trail</a>. It sends them on a virtual treasure hunt throughout the site and surroundings. Inside the museum is also a multimedia room, with interactive touchscreens that encourage children to spear haggises and scan poems by the Scottish bard. </p>
<p>Go north to <a href="https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/culloden">Culloden</a> near Inverness – the most visited battlefield site in the UK – and the solemn brutality of the conflict assails tourists in surround video. Or there is the <a href="https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glasgow/riversidemuseum/index.html">Riverside Museum</a> in Glasgow, where one of the star attractions is an entirely reconstructed street from the early 20th century. Visitors can loiter in a spit-and-sawdust bar; make a trip to the cobblers; or just keep clear of the horse and carriage in the middle of the road – complete with touchscreens to find out more as they explore. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257215/original/file-20190205-86195-ts2xeu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A snapshot of old Glasgow at the Riverside Museum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_webster/6863271567/in/photolist-bsu4wp-7ex7K1-awXm2o-bsu7ox-cfCKt1-bwbZLj-CRxHo8-26KtYPa-brBTcf-awUDLP-25kQa3U-bsubWn-izz3rj-26KtZNK-286P1na-272AUKs-bEwNNB-bwbYjo-bsu7Kr-rkeNiM-bsu896-283CaNL-272AU6b-d8SJML-KZ3ey1-beMpRk-272ATRU-ggm77V-qdDVYb-cfCQSU-272ATX5-286NXeg-beMpzv-rtVhsV-272AUGS-bsu67i-C2s8Tc-CYQH62-ayckQ5-Jt4dh8-bsu5dz-beMkFD-272ATES-bsu6yX-25mZifb-CYQGbg-KXRLFE-bsua4c-fKXrFk-ayc3Eu">Ed Webster</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>With virtual reality and augmented reality becoming <a href="https://www.consultancy.uk/news/17876/virtual-and-augmented-reality-market-to-boom-to-170-billion-by-2022">major growth stories</a>, they are likely to enhance tourists’ desire for immersive experiences in future. Virtual reality headsets are already creeping into tourism – the British Museum <a href="https://vimeo.com/151510535">used them</a> for a temporary exhibition on Bronze Age roundhouses, for instance. Though in many cases, headsets are going to be too isolating to be suitable in castles or museums, there is a culture developing alongside them that goes hand-in-hand. </p>
<p>This matters hugely in Scotland, which has the most visited cultural and heritage visitor attractions in the UK outside London. After a long period of growth, Glasgow and Edinburgh now attract 17m visitors a year on their own: some five times the population of the Scottish central belt. Tourism is a major driver of the Scottish economy; <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/tourism-scotland-economic-contribution-sector/pages/5/">it is worth</a> some £6 billion a year, about 5% of GDP, and supports 207,000 jobs. It’s therefore vitally important that the industry is alert to shifting tastes and reacts accordingly. </p>
<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>But if immersive experiences are a growth opportunity, there is little evidence about visitor preferences. To help rectify that, I’ve been leading a project known as the <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FR009104%2F1">Scottish Heritage Partnership</a>. One of <a href="https://ahrc.ukri.org/newsevents/news/ahrc-to-fund-32-projects-that-will-lead-the-way-for-future-immersive-experiences/">32 projects</a> funded by UK Research and Innovation in this area, it is the only one focused on what audiences expect and want from such attractions in the longer term. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2D_jU1cj3V4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>We distributed questionnaires at five major Scottish visitor sites – Bannockburn, the Burns Museum, Culloden, the Riverside and the National Library of Scotland – while also carrying out observations and in-depth interviews. Between them, these sites attract some 3m people each year. We received 268 detailed responses to our questionnaires, and combined this with our other research to reach the <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_615337_en.pdf">following conclusions</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li>While audiences like immersive visitor attractions, they particularly like the ones that combine virtual and physical experiences with a strong storyline. The battle experience at Bannockburn works well, for instance, where you play with other people and there’s a member of staff to act as a guide. </li>
<li>When the experience is purely a simulation, audiences like to be able to handle objects at the same time. They can do this at Culloden, for example, where there are certain artefacts at the visitor centre such as 18th-century guns that are available to touch. We found that while people prefer physical objects, even being able to handle virtual objects is better than nothing – the British Museum exhibition allowed visitors to explore objects from different angles, for instance. </li>
<li>Over 55s, which are the core visitor demographic for these kinds of sites, prefer the likes of the reconstructed street and old Glasgow subway at the Riverside to digital simulations. Under 35s are the most comfortable with digital and virtual reality simulations, and also much more likely to want to experience them remotely – something for heritage organisations to think about in future.</li>
<li>Digital simulations are good for getting visitors to stay longer in a small space. This can either maximise the use of space or cause congestion, depending on the popularity of the experience.</li>
<li>We assumed that more visual experiences would need less narrative, but the opposite is actually true. Visitors saw information as important regardless of the mode of delivery.</li>
</ul>
<p>Hopefully these insights will help organisers in this industry to make decisions about what to commission on their sites in future. The clear message is that you can achieve more with immersive experiences if you give people what they want. As virtual and augmented reality increasingly change how we think about these tourist attractions, this will become ever more important in years to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Murray Pittock receives funding from the EPSRC and AHRC. </span></em></p>Want to travel to 1314 and see Robert the Bruce slaying an English knight? Why step this way, madam.Murray Pittock, Bradley Professor of English Literature and Pro Vice-Principal, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/366832015-01-23T18:23:18Z2015-01-23T18:23:18ZHaggis, neeps and badness: it’s time we faced the dark side of Robert Burns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69922/original/image-20150123-24525-1is99fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Romantic notions of Burns as a lovable man of the people are a little rich</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=xwjQ4fXE8mroVOpxLXIPgg&searchterm=robert%20burns&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=1732336">Elnur</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Robert Burns may have lost some of the nationalist charge behind his popularity since Scotland <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides">voted No</a> in last year’s referendum. But the celebrated poet continues to be fêted internationally during annual <a href="http://www.robertburns.org/suppers/">Burns Suppers</a> from Glasgow to New York, from Toronto to Calcutta, in a ritual that has been honed since the early 19th century. </p>
<p>All speakers at Burns Night celebrations, myself included, are expected to reflect on the poet’s continuing significance in a world that he likely would not recognise as his own. So where did this practice originate, and why was a poet with so many character flaws elevated into the pantheon of Scottish national icons like <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wallace_william.shtml">William Wallace</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/robert_the_bruce/">Robert the Bruce</a>?</p>
<h2>The Edinburgh set</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/scots-fact-of-the-day-robert-burns-and-jamaica-1-3666374">story of</a> Burns’s sudden success in 1786 is well known, along with his <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/Y0W2CBy5F200xcjPx0zwgm/robert-burns">nom de plume</a> of “the heaven-taught ploughman” – a rather unlucky persona created for him by the critic and novelist <a href="http://www.enotes.com/topics/henry-mackenzie">Henry Mackenzie</a>. Burns frequently found himself invited by the Edinburgh literati to play this role of the inspired rustic, a stock figure much in vogue in those days. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69924/original/image-20150123-24541-1iavk7o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Burns: rustic rub.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=xwjQ4fXE8mroVOpxLXIPgg&searchterm=robert%20burns&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=239399143">Everett Historical</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>His unsurprising dislike of this role led not a few literati to deride Burns’ manner as rude and coarse, while <a href="http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Letters-of-Robert-Burns6.html">he described</a> their spotlight as a “glare” in his letters. Yet the process of reconfiguring the man into a national icon had begun – a role he undeniably desired. And the advance publicity stuck, despite Burns’s efforts to withdraw from the public eye and spend the remainder of his brief life with his family, collecting Scottish songs (for which he <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/85716/Robert-Burns">famously refused</a> both payment and acknowledgement, seeing it as a service to Scotland). </p>
<p>Succeeding generations of Burnsians would excuse or censor the poet’s many indiscretions, which were usually prompted by excessive desires for sex and drink, along with his penchant for radical politics and free-thinking in religion. The image that emerged of Burns in the 19th century and is still exceedingly popular was that of a sentimental peasant. </p>
<p>Here’s an early example from James Currie’s <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nXECAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=James+Currie+Burns+Works+1800&source=bl&ots=DbAuvovRqV&sig=hSJNKgskTVRqZJxLntcp3gWhk-I&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XYjCVJy8OoTgapetgZAM&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=James%20Currie%20Burns%20Works%201800&f=false">first edition</a> of Burns’s Works (1800):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Robert Burns was, in reality, what he has been represented to be, a Scottish peasant… The incidents which form the subjects of his poems, though some of them highly interesting and susceptible of poetical imagery, are incidents in the life of a peasant who takes no pains to disguise the lowliness of his condition.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One of the key figures in developing this view of Burns was Walter Scott, (the two met when Scott was 15) who played a much wider role in helping to create a sanitised and patriotic sense of Scotland in the early part of the 19th century. We have long been encouraged to think of Burns as a man of great talents and virtues, a flawed genius whose errors could be repressed in the interests of maintaining him as a national icon that would unite Scots the world over. He would be the Poet of Scotland, for better or worse.</p>
<h2>The unvarnished truth</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69925/original/image-20150123-24525-11jwb33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Still game!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/distillery+whisky/search.html?page=3&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=91860044">Farr Studios</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I say for worse because it has led to long-lasting falsifications of his actual life and works, as well as severe distortions of his character and its relevance to his writing. In truth, he was a deeply flawed man. </p>
<p>His shabby treatment of the women in his life, especially his long-suffering <a href="http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/BurnsJeanArmour1767-1834.160.shtml">wife Jean</a>, cannot be defended on any grounds. Despite the efforts of many biographers over the years, it is also difficult to explain away his penchant for excessive convivial pleasure; he may not have been an alcoholic in today’s parlance, but he clearly enjoyed drinking a lot. </p>
<p>He was also particularly ungenerous to other labouring-class poets who sought to follow his example and enjoy a taste of literary fame. In a letter he derided their efforts as the writhing of a “shoal of ill-spawned monsters”. </p>
<p>Contrary to <a href="http://socialistunity.com/the-people%E2%80%99s-poet-robert-burns-1759-1796/">ideas about</a> his unstinting radicalism, Burns could be sycophantic and hysterical in his efforts to retain his position at the Excise, asserting his loyalty to Great Britain by <a href="http://www.aforceforgood.org.uk/precious/rburns1">joining the</a> Dumfries Volunteers late in his life to fight the French should they invade. All of these facts have been actively suppressed to protect Burns’ reputation, as were some of his works for many years, <a href="http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1700&context=ssl">not least</a> the bawdy Merry Muses of Caledonia. </p>
<p>This process, one that is reinvigorated every Burns Night, began less than ten years after the poet’s death in 1796. A group of devotees in Paisley near Glasgow <a href="http://www.paisleyburnsclub.org.uk/heritage1.htm">created the</a> first Burns Club in 1805. This included the poet and songwriter <a href="http://www.roberttannahillfederation.com/1.html">Robert Tannahill</a>, who wrote the first club verse about Burns’s “immortal memory”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69926/original/image-20150123-24546-1eu7ket.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The traditional supper dates back to the early 19th century Burns Clubs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gertcha/5388464648/in/photolist-9dahNU-b4XapV-7ynKGx-9anPgj-9ajE5n-9ajC9t-4D78GR-7y8CwU-6zboge-7y8u8L-8iXe4U-7y8wLw-9dkKPp-7y8REo-7y8L1q-7y8CGL-7y4RTZ-7y8xUN-7y8DKU-7y4HsB-7y4Vva-7y8Jfd-7y4S5v-7y8D3S-7y4RJt-7y4XF8-7y4EUV-7y8Ez3-7y4MRe-7y8BFW-7y4GLv-7y4Et2-7y8yw9-7y8FH5-7y4RuH-7y4NTr-7y8PME-7y4V5r-7y8NAu-7y4Zzn-7y8LZS-7y52tv-7y8Qmo-7y4KYz-7y4UTx-7y8AwS-7y4Z3F-7y4JsR-7y4PQv-7y4UH4">Stuart Chalmers</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Burns clubs then grew exponentially, emerging all over the world throughout the 19th century. Many notable literary figures were among their ranks, including the Scottish poet <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/thomas-campbell/">Thomas Campbell</a> and the American writers <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/ralph-waldo-emerson-9287153">Ralph Waldo Emerson</a> and <a href="http://www.hwlongfellow.org/">Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</a> (among many others). </p>
<p>Religious Scots expressed some ambivalence about such veneration, leading the Reverend William Peebles in 1811 <a href="http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/ReligionBurnsand.737.shtml">to coin</a> the rather lame term “Burnomania” to describe the cultural “insania” surrounding the poet. Other religious critics sought to defend Burns from such charges. The Reverend Hamilton Paul mounted one such defence, writing an exculpatory preface to his edition of Burns’ works in 1819. By that time, the poet’s “immortal memory” was already well established, even though the more orthodox of Paul’s colleagues may have wondered if he too suffered from “Burnomania”.</p>
<h2>Burns now</h2>
<p>In the present day, our understanding of Burns has been enriched by the <a href="http://www.bucknell.edu/script/upress/book.asp?f=s&id=2485">thriving scholarship</a> that has grown in the late 2000s, especially in the wake of the first <a href="http://www.snh.gov.uk/enjoying-the-outdoors/homecoming-scotland-2014/about-homecoming-scotland/">Scottish Homecoming</a> and celebration of Burns’ 250th birthday in 2009. That said, his reputation is still bedevilled by long-standing misinterpretations of his life and work. In particular, he is still misappropriated to aid the causes of endless warring parties (political, religious, cultural, you name it!). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69928/original/image-20150123-24546-t3c7ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How Scotland celebrated Rabbie’s 200th in 2009.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lastyearsgirl_/3222622691/in/photolist-5TDppP-5ULMsc-6q5QJA-5V7LbQ-6HxJ7Q-6H6tcL-6qaEw1-6qim5w-6oqVuK-6ordcx-6orbH2-6oqXb8-6or4x6-6oqZxT-6ov5Tb-6or7rR-6ov7N3-6DrpSs-67r6TN-7eJo2W-66VKEV-62rsrW-66VC8z-6DngaH-7jgJph-7jgHL7-7jgHeY-6GDEsr-7jgPCS-67zfJj-67z2zs-6GDJsX-6TNYVu-6GHHnQ-6GDHwM-6TNYRW-6YH3re-6GHLxN-6YGZS2-6YH16D-6ax3S5-6MSYtm-6H2r2r-6H2qVT-6H2rbD-6H6tzj-6H2r5R-6H6tvw-6H6tJ1-6H2qk2">Lis Ferla</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But that doesn’t prevent his name and legacy being an opportunity for social pleasure once a year (twice if you count New Year), when the slightly absurd rituals governing the Burns Supper are re-enacted around the world. Whether the poet’s works are much read beyond such occasions seems immaterial when considering his popular cultural esteem as the enduring Poet of Scotland. </p>
<p>But the real challenge is to appreciate him in this role while still recognising his very human weaknesses. That is the only way to understand his lasting legacy truthfully, in a spirit that the poet himself might appreciate were he alive today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Corey E. Andrews does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Robert Burns may have lost some of the nationalist charge behind his popularity since Scotland voted No in last year’s referendum. But the celebrated poet continues to be fêted internationally during annual…Corey E. Andrews, Associate Professor of English, Youngstown State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/285702014-06-27T15:20:16Z2014-06-27T15:20:16ZWhy leaders in Scotland are excited about a battle that happened 700 years ago<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52463/original/fp92h57r-1403874588.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">1314 an 'a that</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaranged/8804866065/">Aaron Bradley</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bannockburn in Stirlingshire is playing host to a major event to commemorate the 700-year anniversary of the <a href="http://battleofbannockburn.com/">battle of the same name</a>, where the Scots under the leadership of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bruce_robert_the.shtml">Robert the Bruce</a> won a famous victory over the English army of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/edward_ii_king.shtml">Edward II</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bannockburnlive.com/?gclid=CJCZzJiBmr8CFQIewwodfU4AMg">Bannockburn Live</a> is the signature event of <a href="http://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/homecoming-scotland-2014/">Homecoming Scotland 2014</a>. Homecoming is the Scottish government’s cultural extravaganza for attracting people with Scottish roots there from all around the world, and is course taking place in the run-up to the independence referendum. The Bannockburn event will encompass battle re-enactments, Scottish contemporary and folk music, storytelling for children and adults, panel discussions, representatives of near 40 clans and families, and a vast array of Scottish food and drink. It is the largest of numerous events and commemorative publications organised to mark this momentous triumph of the underdog over its oppressive neighbour. </p>
<p>The celebration of victory is certainly nothing new, despite the horrors of war which inevitably have to take place first. And the commemoration of this victory was in fact well underway in Bruce’s own lifetime, perhaps unsurprisingly considering the impact it had on his success as a monarch. The battle that took place on June 23 and 24 1314 was to become the crowning glory of a king whose royal beginnings were questionable to say the least. </p>
<p>Robert I had been inaugurated as king of the Scots at Scone in Perthshire in March 1306 after murdering his great rival, John “Red” Comyn a few weeks earlier. The ceremony was hastily orchestrated to prevent a reaction from his rivals following a long conflict over the crown, including English interference in Scottish affairs for a number of years. In a sign of the controversy surrounding the occasion, Robert had not obtained official permission from the pope to use unction and crowning in the ceremony. But since these rites would nullify past misdemeanours and legitimise his shaky grasp on power, they appear to have been used noneletheless. </p>
<h2>Bruce comes in from the cold</h2>
<p>But by 1314 the tide was certainly turning for this man who is remembered most commonly today as a hero rather than an excommunicated criminal. Where Bruce’s coronation had been highly controversial, his victory at Bannockburn sealed his ascendancy as a heroic saviour of his people. So when Bruce was planning his funeral in later life, during the long illness that would lead to his death, it was this victory to which he drew attention. This is different to other monarchs of the era, who are known to have tried to draw attention during their funeral ceremonies to their coronation as the point at which they were closest to God and at the pinnacle of their majesty.</p>
<p>After Robert’s death on June 7 1329, the evidence proves that the extended burial procession on the 60 to 70 mile journey from his home in Cardross to Dunfermline Abbey passed the infamous battlefield. The timescale involved also suggests that the king’s body was finally laid to rest – amid the flickering lights of hundreds of candles under a temporary painted wooden chapel decorated with gold leaf -– on the 15th anniversary of his Bannockburn victory. The image of the strong warrior king that was projected to those who viewed these solemn events was all the more important as Robert left his five-year-old son David to succeed him and his dynasty was by no means secure.</p>
<p>And Bruce was certainly not the only Scottish king to draw on the battle to bolster the royal image at difficult and controversial moments. The incoming <a href="https://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/Scottish%20Monarchs%28400ad-1603%29/TheStewarts/TheStewarts.aspx">Stewart dynasty</a> –- which succeeded the childless David in 1371 –- made many a ceremonial connection to Robert the Bruce.</p>
<h2>The Stewart connection</h2>
<p>Perhaps the two most interesting of these are <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/james_iii/">James III</a> and <a href="https://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/Scottish%20Monarchs%28400ad-1603%29/TheStewarts/JamesIV.aspx">James IV</a> in the 15th century. James III clearly desired his historic predecessor’s luck in battle when he rode out to battle in June 1488 brandishing Bruce’s sword. Yet the <a href="http://www.scotclans.com/scottish_history/medieval_scotland/1488_sauchieburn.html">battle of Sauchieburn</a>, fought within the vicinity of Bannockburn against a Scottish rebellion side using his son and heir as their figurehead, ended in James III’s murder. The discovery of his treasure horde in the aftermath of this event would further confirm his veneration of Bruce. In his collection were a shirt and four maces listed as those belonging to the former king. </p>
<p>This perhaps makes it ironic that to add legitimacy to his son James IV’s coronation, it returned to the ancient site of Scone in a departure from the previous two monarchs. It was also held on the anniversary of Bannockburn, and it is likely that the new king’s henchmen carried the four Bruce maces.</p>
<h2>Wallace and unionist-nationalism</h2>
<p>A later national effort to immortalise the heroes of the wars of independence was the Victorian creation of the national Wallace monument that watches over Stirling. During the mid-19th century, Europe was in the grip of revolutions spurred on by nationalist movements. Nationalist sentiment was reignited in Scotland too, but the Scots differed from their European neighbours in that while they wished for greater autonomy and a refocusing on their individual national identity, most wanted to remain in the union with England. </p>
<p>One of the outcomes of this paradoxical unionist-nationalism was the Wallace monument. He was seen more symbolic as a hero of the people than as an out and out independence figure like Bruce, but each stage of its conception and construction focused around the dates of Bannockburn (the first planning meeting in 1856 and the laying of the foundation stone in 1861) and the Battle of Stirling (final completion ceremony on 11 September 1869). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/52464/original/vkddq82s-1403874850.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wallace monument suited 19th century nationalism better than Bruce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/29474017@N08/3774410489/in/photolist-6KwQJV-mcHCH-9EMBQr-DkPsB-9KigRZ-iEC9b-5eEp7v-GDkRB-fsqZb2-7n7oD6-73b7N3-7379JV-79pVE5-79m48z-79m4oa-79m4bD-79pVTJ-79pXTm-58JcuW-5yLdvB-39FZgv-pb8JD-5WPxXb-8u2shX-8HCC4K-8uBfKo-8i8mcf-4T6tKj-dk1FeX-8N31vc-5eJLWu-5eEoex-5eJLJG-5eEowt-5eEopp-fhz1Pe-fhPgW7-5eJN6m-5eEp2c-6pJsZN-6pJsVL-75vDDG-75vEaf-6pEkht-6pJsWw-6pJsZd-6pEkea-6pJsYu-6pEkdx-6pEkd2/">Schikard</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These ceremonies were not commemorations in the overt manner we expect today, where events are often ostentatiously designed to transport us back to a specific time and place. But subtle connections to the victorious past or iconic religious moments can often be found in the choice of place, date, or prop in the ceremonies of monarchs and nations across all ages. We have, and hopefully always will be, a society that reaches backward into our heritage to project forward and shape the future.</p>
<p><em>To find out what Bannockburn did for England, click <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-all-scots-know-about-that-changed-english-history-28520">here</a></em>. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy's PhD was AHRC funded and she also had an additional small research funding grant from the Strathmartine Trust</span></em></p>Bannockburn in Stirlingshire is playing host to a major event to commemorate the 700-year anniversary of the battle of the same name, where the Scots under the leadership of Robert the Bruce won a famous…Lucinda H.S. Dean (Lucy), Teaching Assistant and Tutor, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.