1314: The Year of Bannockburn

About the Author: Callum Watson has PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh, with a focus on warfare, politics, and society in late medieval Scotland. He works for the National Trust for Scotland at the Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre, where he provides guided tours of the exhibition and the battlefield. He writes on various subjects relating to Scotland's fourteenth and fifteenthcentury history at Knight of the Two L's blog, drcallumwatson.blogspot.com, which is regularly featured in Dubh Ghlase newsletter of the Clan Douglas Society of North America, and can be found on Facebook www.facebook.com/DrCallumWatson and Instagram www.instagram.com/cpwatson1375. He has appeared in BBC's Rise of the Clans' episodes on Robert Bruce and James I, and in Channel 5's Britain's Lost Battlefields' episode on Bannockburn, as well as serving as one of the historical advisors for the Netflix film Outlaw King'. His recently published article appeared in the September episode of History Scotland, on non-noble Scots in Barbour's Bruce, and has been interviewed by the Herald to promote a presentation given as part of the History Scotland seminar series.
The Battle of Bannockburn has long been recognized as one of the most influential moments in Scottish history. The fighting that took place on 23rd and 24th June 1314 is frequently presented as a stirring tale of how a small but committed and well-organised militia army can overcome a larger, better-resourced foe, as well as a crucial early turning point in the long, bitter, and destructive conflicts between Scotland and in England in the late medieval and early modern period. This book offers an in-depth study of the immediate context of the battle, looking in detail at the preparations that both sides undertook in the months leading up to the conflict, and the reactions of the two sides to the outcome following months, aspects which have been overlooked in previous studies.
Dr Callum Watson considers the state of affairs in