Introduction: King Robert the Bruce’s Book

Summary

Barbour’s Bruce is an account of the reign of Robert I of Scotland (1306–29) composed c.1375, most probably at the court of his grandson, Robert II, the first Stewart king of Scotland (1371–90). The poem narrates the deeds of Robert I and his trusted companions: his brother, Edward Bruce; Thomas Randolph, earl of Moray; and, in particular, ‘the good’ Sir James Douglas whom Barbour emphasizes as the focus of his buk, together with the king: ‘King Robert off Scotland/ That hardy wes off hart and hand,/ And gud Schir James off Douglas/ That in his tyme sa worthy was […]/ Off thaim I think this buk to ma’.

The poem, written in octosyllabic couplets and in Early Scots, is the story of the celebrated deeds of these men during the so-called wars of independence between Scotland and England. These famous exploits are the substance of the text; they recall perilous situations, were widely disseminated, are concerned to depict chivalry and constituted a life. A biography of a knight was understood to record memorable deeds performed by men placed in gret distress. Fifteenth-century manuscripts of Barbour’s Bruce focus on these celebrated exploits in their titles; for instance, NLS, Advocates’ MS 19.2.2 calls The Bruce ‘the book composed about the deeds, wars and virtues of Sir Robert the Bruce, the famous king of Scotland and of Sir James Douglas’.

Barbour’s Bruce was completed in the reign of Robert II and has remained to today an essential historical source for the reign of Robert I, sometimes the sole source. As the earliest surviving complete literary work of any length produced in English in late medieval Scotland, Barbour’s Bruce is usually treated as the meaningful starting point for any discussion of the language and literature of Early Scots. Apart from Scottish history and Scottish literature, The Bruce is also crucial to studies on chivalry, national identity and scholastic culture, all of which form the focus of this volume. Barbour has made his mark across disciplines, but scholarship has been divided largely along historical and literary lines. This volume was conceived to redress this and to consider John Barbour and his seminal text in their literary, historical, cultural and intellectual milieu. The chapters below look afresh at what remains one of the most engaging, vibrant and beautifully compiled narratives in medieval historical writing.