The Firth of Forth: An Environmental History

Output Type: Book Revie

The MacDonald Lordship and the Bruce Dynasty, c.1306-c.1371

A survey of relations between the MacDonald lordship of the Isles and the Bruce kings of Scotland, Robert I (1306-29) and David II (1329-71), re-assessing both the primary evidence and historiography

The Cult of Saints and the Virgin Mary in Medieval Scotland

Output Type: Book Revie

Liberties and Identities in the Medieval British Isles

Output Type: Book Revie

Chivalry and Knighthood in Scotland, 1424-1513

Output Type: Book Revie

Brotherstone and Ditchburn (eds.), Freedom and Authority

Output Type: Book Revie

“Sacred Food for the Soul”: In Search of the Devotions to Saints of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, 1306–1329

The personal piety and devotions to saints and their relics of Scotland's most famous medieval monarch, Robert Bruce, or Robert I (1306-29), is an underexplored topic.1 This neglect is perhaps due both to a predominantly Protestant post-Reformation Scottish historiographical tradition and to a perceived lack of sources. The latter sense is heightened by a general awareness that large quantities of records and artifacts were plundered or destroyed during the prolonged hostilities of the Scottish wars of succession and independence, ca. 1286-ca. 1357, and that further losses occurred in successive centuries.2 Nevertheless, this paper offers new approaches to identifying and understanding the saintly venerations of King Robert. It seeks to illuminate the wide spectrum of motivations for his acts of piety throughout his reign, from clearly political or dynastic public demonstrations of faith to intensely personal expressions of belief. As a result, some aspects of the changing expectations of both Scottish royal piety and Robert I's personal devotions are revealed, alongside often more nuanced insight into the dramatic political and military events of the period. This methodology might be applied cautiously to explore the religiosity of other medieval monarchs

Who is this King of Glory? Robert I of Scotland (1306-29), Holy Week and the consecration of St Andrews Cathedral

This paper explores for the first time the use of liturgy and ceremonial as part of Robert I/Bruce's attempts to legitimise his regime as king of Scots during the Wars of Indpendence, focussing in particualr on his association with particualr religious festivals and their symbolic importance to concepts of kingship. Case studies include Robert's inauguration as king in 1306 coincident with a feast of the Virgin and Palm Sunday; his consecration of St Andrews Cathedral, Fife, in 1318, and its assocuiation with a wider context of saints' cults and relics, in defiance of Papal censure; and his association of the final peace treaty with England of 1328 with Easter celebrations