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- In 1315, an army
from Britain invaded Ireland.
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Numbering 6,000 battle-hardened veterans,
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it was one of the most powerful foreign
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forces ever to set foot in the country.
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But this was no English army.
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It's tough mail-clad
soldiers were Scotsmen,
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Gallowglasses and fighting men from
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the Highlands and Western Isles.
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Their commander was Edward Bruce,
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brother of Robert Bruce,
the King of the Scots.
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- Soldiers, arms! (shouting)
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- [Voiceover] They had a simple objective,
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to drive out the English and make
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Edward Bruce King of Ireland.
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It was an ambitious plan.
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In over 100 years no one had succeeded
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in breaking the English
stranglehold on Ireland.
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This is a story of two Celtic nations,
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a shared heritage and a forgotten war
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that could've changed
the course of history.
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(anxious violin tones)
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- Open the gates!
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Open the gates!
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- Open the gate!
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(anxious violin tones)
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- I have word for the King.
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I have urgent word for King Robert.
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- What word?
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- Sire, the English King has died.
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- [Voiceover] I beheld these
brothers of boundless ambition
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with whom no obligations were
binding, no oaths sacred.
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No promises regarded that interfered
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with their goal of
freedom for their country.
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- [Voiceover] The story
of Ireland and Scotland
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700 years ago is a story of
struggle against tyranny.
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At this time the Celtic
nations were pitted against
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a ruthless enemy that
seemed determined to subdue
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every inch of Britain and Ireland.
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(swords clanking, soldiers shouting)
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When the Normans
conquered England in 1066,
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their arrival signaled one of
the greatest transformations
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in European history and
their search for power
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and land would change
the politics and culture
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of these islands forever.
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- The Normans come from northern France
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where they have been used to building
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castles and training as heavy cavalry.
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They bring that military
technology with them
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when they conquer England
in 1066 and they carry on
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bringing it with them when
they move into Scotland
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and as conquerers into Wales and Ireland.
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That there was a kind of
demonic, psychic drive,
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they seemed to have the urge to dominate.
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They seem to want to have not only what
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they possess but what
everyone else possesses.
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- They were of the view
that they'd come to conquer
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and Wales was as vulnerable as England was
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and Scotland likewise,
and Ireland of course
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was always there in the background.
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It was on their to-do list.
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- [Voiceover] Just over 100 years after
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the Battle of Hastings in 1066,
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an Anglo-Norman invasion
force landed in Ireland.
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They conquered the
island, established a new
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power base and became
known as the Anglo-Irish.
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Most native Irish Kings had no option
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but to submit to these powerful newcomers.
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But many resented the new
presence in their country
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and never truly accepted the
English King as their monarch.
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- In the late 12th century
what began to happen
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in the hundreds of years after it was
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essentially two different
societies coexisted.
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So you had Gaelic society and Norman
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or what became Anglo-Irish.
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What fascinates me about Gaelic Ireland,
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about medieval Ireland is the fact that
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you have two distinct
societies in many ways.
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So I could travel from
Dublin up to say O'Neill in
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Ulster and it would be like
leaving one world for another.
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It's essentially two alien societies.
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So that's the fascination
which you don't get
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in a lot of other countries
in the Middle Ages.
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- The thing about Ireland
in the Middle Ages
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which is not true of Scotland is that
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Ireland was a very polarized society.
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You had the native Irish
and you had the English
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of Ireland and they were two nations.
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They believed each other
to be polar extremes.
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- [Voiceover] As far as
the English were concerned,
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they had good reason to despise the Irish.
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After they first
conquered the country they
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brought with them a
chronicler, Gerald of Wales,
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who described what he saw as the savage
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and uncivilized conduct
of the native people.
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- The Irish are a rude people
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subsisting on the produce
of their cattle only
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and living themselves like beasts.
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A people that has not yet departed
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from the primitive
habits of pastoral life.
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- Really Gerald's writings begin
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a very long tradition
of anti-Irish sentiment.
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He's pushing the Irish to one side
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and I suppose what can
be called other-ing them.
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He's making them something
that you can defeat.
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Because of what they are,
you're absolutely justified.
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- Neither willing to give up their
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old habits or learn anything new.
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Abandoning themselves to
idleness and immersed in sloth,
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their greatest delight is
to be exempt from toil.
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Their richest possession,
the enjoyment of liberty.
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This people then is truly barbarous.
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Indeed all their habits are barbarisms.
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In whatever requires
industry, they are worthless.
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- It's always more comfortable
if you're a colonizing
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and imperial power to be told
that you're also superior.
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But there's also at the
same time growing evidence
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that the English politically
are worried about integration.
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Famously the Statutes of
Kilkenny and other laws
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in which the English are
saying, "We want the Irish
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"to be separate and we want
the English to be separate."
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English people should
not adopt Irish names,
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they should not have Irish hairstyles.
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These things are actually
legislated against
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and the law is a kind of apartheid law
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because by the end of the 13th century,
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whereas to kill an
English person in Ireland
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is a felony, to kill an Irishman is not.
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(rain pouring)
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(dramatic violin tones)
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- [Voiceover] The native
Irish felt a much closer
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affinity with their Celtic
cousins in Scotland.
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The two countries had a shared history
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that dated back many centuries.
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In this shared history it was the Irish
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who were the aggressors and colonizers.
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From around the third
century A.D. they conquered
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large parts of their
neighbor to the northeast.
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- The Scots were originally Irish.
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They came and settled in what is now
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Scotland very early in the Middle Ages.
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The Kingdom of the Scots was originally
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an Irish Kingdom, Dal
Riata, Gaelic-speaking.
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And up until say about the year 1000,
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when you said the word Scot,
you meant someone from Ireland.
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- The first Irish people
that we know of who
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settled in Scotland, they were conquerors.
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We tend to think of course
of ourselves in Ireland
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as being on the receiving
end all the time of conquest.
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But these people from
Dal Riata who settled on
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the western seaboard of
Scotland came to conquer land.
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But when that became like a
little province of Ireland,
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separated from Ireland
by the North Channel,
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the Irish Church spread there as well.
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- [Voiceover] The invaders carried a sword
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in one hand and a Bible in the other.
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Saint Columba and other Irish monks
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helped to bring Christianity to Scotland.
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- People who came over to
Scotland like famous examples
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like Columkille, Columba were
members of Irish dynasties.
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The Kings of Scots were
descended from Irish royalty.
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So in fact you're talking about a world,
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a kind of Gaelic world that's absolutely
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continuous from say Cork up into Argyll.
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- [Voiceover] The links
between the two countries
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were strongest in Ulster
and Western Scotland.
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Far from being a barrier,
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the sea helped to bind them together.
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The North Channel could be crossed in
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just a couple of hours in a Birlinn,
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a small Scottish galley
similar to the Viking longboat.
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These ships were often
used to ferry soldiers
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between Ulster and Scotland
but there were stronger links,
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links forged in blood and friendship.
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- The prevailing ascendancy in Scotland is
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a Gaelic ethos and its heritage draws
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from Ireland and draws
back towards Ireland.
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- Within their Scottish
tradition they looked
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to Ireland as a sort of a fertile ground
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for them, where they came from.
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They looked to Irish culture as
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their primary influencing culture.
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- Maybe it goes back to
notions of Greater Scotia
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and Lesser Scotia which
they had in the early Middle
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Ages of the big Scotia
and the smaller Scotia.
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And the big Scotia was
Ireland at that point
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because this was seen from
an Irish point of view,
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looking across towards
the fringes of Scotland.
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Of course the other thing
which brings the two
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nations together very
strongly is genealogy.
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And so many of the
Highland clans for example
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in a nutshell trace
themselves back to Niall
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of the Nine Hostages and these characters,
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Brian Boru of the Cais.
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That's another thing which
is kind of an awareness,
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a binding together if you like of
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the peoples on both sides of the Channel.
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- [Voiceover] At their nearest point,
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Scotland and Ireland
are just 12 miles apart.
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- An exercise I sometimes
do with my students
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is to turn the usual map of
the British Isles on its side,
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point to Turnberry and
say "There was the heart
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"of the British Lordship, now look at it."
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You see Ireland and the Western
Isles, the Scottish coast,
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the northwestern English coast
in a very different light,
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a different way of understanding it.
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- If you went from a
royal court in Ireland
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to a royal court in Scotland in the early
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Middle Ages, you wouldn't
have noticed a difference.
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The language would have been the same,
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the culture would have been the same.
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The stories that wouldn't
been told would've
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been the same and in fact in some cases
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the families would have been the same.
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- [Voiceover] When faced
with the Anglo-Normans,
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the Scots had one major
advantage over the Irish.
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The Irish did not have
an undisputed High King.
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Scotland on the other hand was
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ruled by a single, decisive monarch.
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Rather than sit back and
wait to be conquered,
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David the First of Scotland
invited the Anglo-Normans in.
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He allowed some Norman Lords
to settle in the country,
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relying on them to
safeguard his authority.
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The greatest of these
Lords took his name from
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the small town near Sherber
where his family originated,
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Brie or Bruce.
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The most famous of all Scottish Kings
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sprang from this lineage.
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His name was Robert Bruce
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and he was not just of Norman stock.
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His father's marriage to
the Countess of Carrick
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had injected Celtic blood
into the Bruce line.
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- His mother after all was
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Countess of Carrick in her own right.
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The story was that when
she met Robert's father,
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the Lord of Annandale, she
fell for him in a big way.
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Supposedly abducted him.
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This is a nice inverse of the usual story.
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She abducted him, dragged
him off to Turnberry Castle
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and they were inside
for three days and when
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they emerged, they announced
they were getting married.
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And Robert Bruce was the product
of whatever went on there.
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(anxious violin music)
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Carrick was part of
Galloway, it was the northern
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part of Galloway and it was
definitely Gaelic-speaking
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quite a long time after
the reign of Robert Bruce.
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So he was raised very much in a kind of
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Celtic or Gaelic-speaking
area if you like of Scotland.
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- This you could say is what
really makes Robert Bruce
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and Edward and all the
other brothers real hybrids
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00:14:42,759 --> 00:14:46,119
if you like, real sons of many kingdoms.
254
00:14:47,839 --> 00:14:50,600
I've come increasingly to think of it
255
00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:52,680
kind of as a search for place for Bruce.
256
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,400
I think he's brought up
by his grandfather and his
257
00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,039
father as are probably
his brothers as well
258
00:14:58,039 --> 00:15:01,280
to expect some level of royal status,
259
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,119
some enhanced level of political standing.
260
00:15:05,119 --> 00:15:07,119
- [Voiceover] Robert
could aspire to be King
261
00:15:07,119 --> 00:15:09,400
of Scotland because he was related to
262
00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,039
a previous claimant to the throne.
263
00:15:12,039 --> 00:15:15,439
In 1302 he strengthened his position by
264
00:15:15,439 --> 00:15:18,959
marrying Elizabeth, the
daughter of Richard de Burgh,
265
00:15:18,959 --> 00:15:21,239
the Earl of Ulster and one of the most
266
00:15:21,239 --> 00:15:24,360
powerful Anglo-Irish leaders.
267
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,800
- Because Richard Burgh
had a very eligible
268
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,600
daughter in Elizabeth who
grew up here at Green Castle,
269
00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,319
there's a certain amount
of matchmaking we think
270
00:15:34,319 --> 00:15:37,479
that Edward the First
and his, basically one of
271
00:15:37,479 --> 00:15:39,839
his best friends Richard de Burgh said,
272
00:15:39,839 --> 00:15:42,839
"Well we'll cobble together
a marriage arrangement
273
00:15:42,839 --> 00:15:46,680
"between Robert Bruce
and Elizabeth de Burgh."
274
00:15:48,239 --> 00:15:50,319
- It's possible the marriage is dangled as
275
00:15:50,319 --> 00:15:53,039
a sort of carrot by
Edward the First himself.
276
00:15:53,039 --> 00:15:56,839
It's a way from his
point of few of getting
277
00:15:56,839 --> 00:15:59,159
a leading Lord of southwestern Scotland,
278
00:15:59,159 --> 00:16:02,239
part of that Irish sea world as an ally of
279
00:16:02,239 --> 00:16:07,119
the de Burgh of Ulster and
stabilizing the Irish situation.
280
00:16:07,119 --> 00:16:09,959
- [Voiceover] While Robert
harbored a desire for the crown,
281
00:16:09,959 --> 00:16:14,039
Edward the First had his
own plans for Scotland.
282
00:16:14,039 --> 00:16:18,079
- Edward the First was
an extremely successful,
283
00:16:18,079 --> 00:16:22,400
ambitious and ruthless
monarch and when he came to
284
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,959
the moment in circa 1290
when he thinks that he can
285
00:16:26,959 --> 00:16:31,159
establish once and for all that
he is overlord of Scotland,
286
00:16:31,159 --> 00:16:35,360
he doesn't stop for a moment
in asserting that claim.
287
00:16:36,759 --> 00:16:38,959
- He's turning it into another
Ireland, another Wales.
288
00:16:38,959 --> 00:16:42,560
A land, not a realm and I think that quite
289
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,879
quickly turns him into a
very strong figure of hate.
290
00:16:45,879 --> 00:16:48,639
There's now a difference
between a Scot and an
291
00:16:48,639 --> 00:16:52,319
Englishman and Edward kind of marks it.
292
00:16:52,319 --> 00:16:54,560
The characteristics which
the Scots later would
293
00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,039
like to label the English
with of being arrogant,
294
00:16:57,039 --> 00:17:00,239
presumptuous, overconfident are first
295
00:17:00,239 --> 00:17:03,720
and foremost attributed to Edward himself.
296
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,319
- [Voiceover] Some
refuse to bend the knee.
297
00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:09,680
Among them was a young
patriot named William Wallace
298
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,800
who waged a desperate guerrilla war
299
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,239
against the English takeover.
300
00:17:14,239 --> 00:17:16,839
Robert Bruce hedged his bets.
301
00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:21,000
He supported Wallace, then he
supported Edward but foremost
302
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,159
in his mind was his own
claim to the Scottish throne.
303
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,680
- Robert does have this reputation
304
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,360
of being slightly schizophrenic.
305
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,159
Allying himself to Edward
and the English one day
306
00:17:37,159 --> 00:17:41,039
and then the Scots the
next and I think that
307
00:17:41,039 --> 00:17:44,239
duplicity, to understand that we've really
308
00:17:44,239 --> 00:17:47,439
got to see Robert Bruce in context.
309
00:17:47,439 --> 00:17:50,560
- He tries the political
solution, the diplomatic solution.
310
00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:54,239
Move to the Scots under Wallace for a bit
311
00:17:54,239 --> 00:17:57,200
then leave them, go
back to the Lordship of
312
00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,720
Edward the First 'cause
that's a better bet.
313
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,479
After all Edward the
First was the head honcho
314
00:18:02,479 --> 00:18:04,920
in western Europe practically and so
315
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:06,639
that's where the power base is.
316
00:18:06,639 --> 00:18:08,400
That's where you should hang in if you
317
00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,200
want to advance the
interests of your people.
318
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,159
- He's a pragmatist, he will take whatever
319
00:18:14,159 --> 00:18:17,319
path he needs to take to
get to where he wants to go
320
00:18:17,319 --> 00:18:20,720
and if one day that means
he's got to basically
321
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,839
give himself up to the English and fight
322
00:18:23,839 --> 00:18:26,000
on their side, he will do.
323
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,239
(dramatic violin music)
324
00:18:29,239 --> 00:18:31,119
- [Voiceover] If he wanted
to be King of Scotland,
325
00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,680
Robert had to deal with
his main rival John Comyn
326
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:38,759
and in 1307 when the two
men met at Greyfriars
327
00:18:38,759 --> 00:18:42,479
Abbey in Dumfries, an event took place
328
00:18:42,479 --> 00:18:46,039
that shaped the future
of Scotland forever.
329
00:18:47,159 --> 00:18:49,119
- [Voiceover] He rode
their at once and met
330
00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:53,839
with Sir John Comyn in the
Greyfriars at the high altar.
331
00:18:53,839 --> 00:18:57,239
In a mocking manner he
showed him the indenture
332
00:18:57,239 --> 00:19:01,400
and then with a knife took
his life on the very spot.
333
00:19:03,239 --> 00:19:07,159
Because of it such great
misfortune befell him.
334
00:19:08,239 --> 00:19:10,879
- The killing of Comyn is a real puzzle
335
00:19:10,879 --> 00:19:14,439
in terms of where the church stood because
336
00:19:14,439 --> 00:19:17,560
we have to understand that
when Bruce killed Comyn,
337
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,720
he did it at the altar of
the Church of the Greyfriars
338
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:25,879
in Dumfries and when you
kill somebody in hot blood
339
00:19:27,759 --> 00:19:31,680
at the altar, you're
automatically excommunicated.
340
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,319
So it's surprising then
that Bruce seems to
341
00:19:35,319 --> 00:19:39,200
have garnished so much support
from the Scottish Church.
342
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,079
You would've expected
the opposite to happen,
343
00:19:42,079 --> 00:19:45,319
that they would hold
him in total disregard.
344
00:19:45,319 --> 00:19:49,200
He's a heretic, he's damned
to hell for eternity.
345
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,800
But they don't see it
that way for some reason.
346
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:56,639
They, some remarkable
talent rallies around Bruce
347
00:19:56,639 --> 00:19:59,280
and I think that's strange.
348
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,839
- That action, whether
it is premeditated murder
349
00:20:01,839 --> 00:20:06,000
or an act of rage in an argument,
that's the turning point.
350
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,079
He has a lightning decision to make.
351
00:20:08,079 --> 00:20:10,479
Either he goes on the
run, he basically becomes
352
00:20:10,479 --> 00:20:14,639
a fugitive or he grasps the
thistle and goes for the throne.
353
00:20:17,759 --> 00:20:21,920
As soon as we get to that
point where Comyn is killed,
354
00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,439
the path is straight ahead and the path is
355
00:20:24,439 --> 00:20:29,119
conflict between Bruce
and the King of England.
356
00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:31,959
(swords clanking)
357
00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:36,759
- [Voiceover] With the support
of the Scottish Church,
358
00:20:36,759 --> 00:20:40,079
Robert had himself
crowned King of Scots but
359
00:20:40,079 --> 00:20:44,319
Edward the First moved quickly
to crush the upstart king.
360
00:20:44,319 --> 00:20:46,319
He captured several members of the Bruce
361
00:20:46,319 --> 00:20:49,280
family and had them killed or imprisoned.
362
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,479
Robert's wife Elizabeth de
Burgh was taken captive.
363
00:20:56,439 --> 00:20:58,839
Robert was now a hunted man.
364
00:20:58,839 --> 00:21:02,079
With his followers reduced
to only a small band of men,
365
00:21:02,079 --> 00:21:05,479
he fled to the Western Isles of Scotland.
366
00:21:07,479 --> 00:21:10,079
(rain pouring)
367
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,439
- [Voiceover] It was nearly
winter and there were so many
368
00:21:14,439 --> 00:21:17,839
enemies around him that all
the country made war on him.
369
00:21:17,839 --> 00:21:21,479
Such dreadful misfortunes tested them then
370
00:21:21,479 --> 00:21:24,439
like hunger, cold and cutting rain
371
00:21:24,439 --> 00:21:27,280
that no one alive can tell it all.
372
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,159
(thunder, waves crashing)
373
00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:38,360
- [Voiceover] Robert
Bruce found himself at
374
00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,560
the Mull of Kyntyre on
the very edge of Scotland.
375
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,400
From here he could see
the coast of Ulster.
376
00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,239
Not for the last time
the thought struck him
377
00:21:47,239 --> 00:21:51,400
that the Irish could help
in the war with England.
378
00:21:52,439 --> 00:21:54,680
- When we're trying to
understand him and his
379
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,600
ultimate success and then
we're trying to understand
380
00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:59,839
what on earth they were up to in Ireland,
381
00:21:59,839 --> 00:22:02,000
it's something about his
background in the Gaelic
382
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,159
world that provides us with
part of the key to that.
383
00:22:07,079 --> 00:22:10,239
- [Voiceover] From Kyntyre,
Bruce made the short
384
00:22:10,239 --> 00:22:14,600
sea journey to Rathlin
Island off the Antrim coast.
385
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,479
He is supposed to have hidden
here with his followers
386
00:22:17,479 --> 00:22:21,319
in a dank cave accessible only by boat.
387
00:22:21,319 --> 00:22:23,319
It seems that he planned to regain
388
00:22:23,319 --> 00:22:26,159
the throne with the help of Irish allies.
389
00:22:26,159 --> 00:22:29,439
In fact his two younger
brothers Thomas and Alexander
390
00:22:29,439 --> 00:22:34,000
Bruce had raised an Irish
army and landed in Scotland.
391
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,800
But their mission came to
nothing and the brothers
392
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,720
were captured and executed
by Edward the First.
393
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,720
It would be nearly a decade before
394
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,720
Robert could cement his
alliance with the Irish.
395
00:22:47,759 --> 00:22:49,159
- Open the gates!
396
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,600
Open the gates!
397
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:53,959
- Open the gate!
398
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,639
- [Voiceover] In July
1307, Edward the First died
399
00:23:06,639 --> 00:23:09,519
and in a single stroke
the greatest obstacle
400
00:23:09,519 --> 00:23:12,159
to Scottish freedom was removed.
401
00:23:13,319 --> 00:23:16,280
- Shortly before he
dies Edward has a couple
402
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:19,759
of English friars
executed for stating that
403
00:23:19,759 --> 00:23:23,839
Robert Bruce is the subject
of the prophecies of Merlin
404
00:23:23,839 --> 00:23:26,959
and that means that Robert
Bruce is a second King Arthur.
405
00:23:26,959 --> 00:23:31,439
That his destiny is to
unite Wales and Ireland
406
00:23:31,439 --> 00:23:35,439
and Scotland against
England and drive the hated
407
00:23:36,319 --> 00:23:40,680
English dragon back into the
North Sea whence it came.
408
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,039
- [Voiceover] King Edward
the First would be long
409
00:23:43,039 --> 00:23:45,839
remembered as the most
ruthless and vindictive
410
00:23:45,839 --> 00:23:48,600
foe ever faced by Scotland.
411
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,360
His tomb in Westminster
Abbey was inscribed
412
00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:55,519
with the words Scotorum
Malleus, Hammer of the Scots.
413
00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,319
But his son, who now succeeded
him as Edward the Second,
414
00:24:01,319 --> 00:24:05,479
would prove to be a much
less formidable opponent.
415
00:24:08,759 --> 00:24:12,039
(anxious violin tones)
416
00:24:37,039 --> 00:24:41,200
- Be near your surviving comrades
who yet strive for glory.
417
00:24:43,959 --> 00:24:46,879
Inspire us to emulate your actions,
418
00:24:47,879 --> 00:24:50,879
that our efforts may prove glorious.
419
00:24:57,159 --> 00:25:00,280
- [Voiceover] In 1314 an army led by
420
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,720
Robert Bruce faced the English in battle.
421
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:06,519
The fight took place south
of Stirling somewhere
422
00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:10,319
near a stream known as the Bannockburn.
423
00:25:10,319 --> 00:25:12,159
For hundreds of years there have been
424
00:25:12,159 --> 00:25:15,839
arguments as to the exact
location of the battle.
425
00:25:15,839 --> 00:25:19,839
In 2013 military historian
and archaeologist
426
00:25:19,839 --> 00:25:24,560
Tony Pollard spent a year
searching and eventually locating
427
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:28,920
the site of the most important
battle in Scottish history.
428
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,800
It was the pivotal encounter in the long
429
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,920
and brutal war between
Scotland and England
430
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,439
and it was very much a
case of David and Goliath.
431
00:25:38,439 --> 00:25:41,720
The Scots were outnumbered two-to-one.
432
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,079
- Leading up to the battle, Edward had
433
00:25:44,079 --> 00:25:46,800
been in command of the
siege of Stirling Castle
434
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,680
and it's that siege that
brings about the battle.
435
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,759
It's that siege that coaxes
the English army north.
436
00:25:53,759 --> 00:25:56,119
So you've got these
three massive divisions
437
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,000
of well-trained men delivering a massive
438
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,119
victory of the common man really.
439
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:06,119
These are men on foot, many of
these men are just commoners.
440
00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,720
They're farmers, they're
people from the town.
441
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,400
And it must have been
incredibly demeaning for
442
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,360
the English who have at
the heart of their army
443
00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:17,879
the nobility, men on expensive horses
444
00:26:17,879 --> 00:26:20,479
wearing state-of-the-art armor.
445
00:26:20,479 --> 00:26:22,800
They're literally brought to their knees.
446
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,439
The Scots absolutely
wipe the floor with them.
447
00:26:26,439 --> 00:26:29,119
It's an absolute disaster for the English
448
00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:31,879
and a huge triumph for the Scots.
449
00:26:32,879 --> 00:26:35,119
(shouting)
450
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,800
- [Voiceover] Bannockburn
would go down in history
451
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,159
as Scotland's greatest
single victory over England.
452
00:26:43,159 --> 00:26:46,159
Slowly but surely, Robert Bruce was
453
00:26:46,159 --> 00:26:50,079
driving the invaders
back to their homeland.
454
00:26:50,079 --> 00:26:53,720
(swords clanking, grunting)
455
00:27:01,039 --> 00:27:03,839
- There has been a tendency for Scottish
456
00:27:03,839 --> 00:27:07,280
historians to ignore the
aftermath of Bannockburn.
457
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,800
It really should be
the wonderful climax to
458
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,639
Bruce's career and he has
to drip on for another,
459
00:27:13,639 --> 00:27:16,920
what is it, 16 years before the English
460
00:27:18,319 --> 00:27:21,639
actually recognize his
title as King of Scots.
461
00:27:21,639 --> 00:27:23,639
- Robert Bruce wanted the English
462
00:27:23,639 --> 00:27:25,920
to recognize the independence of Scotland.
463
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,920
That didn't change but he also
464
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:29,920
wanted one thing more than that of course.
465
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,879
He wanted them to
recognize the independence
466
00:27:31,879 --> 00:27:34,519
of Scotland with him as its King and that
467
00:27:34,519 --> 00:27:38,119
didn't change one iota after Bannockburn.
468
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:40,560
So he was probably scratching his head
469
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:42,879
trying to figure out
what he might do next.
470
00:27:42,879 --> 00:27:46,239
- This must've been very, very depressing
471
00:27:46,239 --> 00:27:48,519
and it seems to be one of the reasons why
472
00:27:48,519 --> 00:27:52,239
he has to open up new fronts in the war
473
00:27:52,239 --> 00:27:55,439
with the English after Bannockburn.
474
00:27:55,439 --> 00:27:58,000
- [Voiceover] Despite the
great Scottish victory,
475
00:27:58,000 --> 00:27:59,879
there was another crucial chapter in
476
00:27:59,879 --> 00:28:03,039
the story of the war against the English.
477
00:28:03,039 --> 00:28:05,119
But this part of the tale would be
478
00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,119
told not in Scotland but in Ireland.
479
00:28:09,039 --> 00:28:11,720
- The Anglo-Irish colonists in the country
480
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,959
would've been devastated by the news that
481
00:28:13,959 --> 00:28:16,959
this upstart Scot had defeated their King
482
00:28:16,959 --> 00:28:19,159
and I'm pretty sure
that nearly everyone in
483
00:28:19,159 --> 00:28:23,319
Gaelic Ireland would've thought
it was bloody good news.
484
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,239
- [Voiceover] In April
1315, Robert Bruce called
485
00:28:32,239 --> 00:28:35,239
a Parliament at Heir in southwest Scotland
486
00:28:35,239 --> 00:28:38,519
to decide on the future campaign.
487
00:28:38,519 --> 00:28:41,519
It has always been thought
that it was from here
488
00:28:41,519 --> 00:28:45,680
that Robert Bruce sent forth
a famous appeal to the Irish.
489
00:28:49,239 --> 00:28:54,159
- The King sends greetings
to all the Kings of Ireland.
490
00:28:54,159 --> 00:28:57,319
To the prelates and the clergy and to
491
00:28:57,319 --> 00:29:01,000
the inhabitants of all
Ireland, his friends.
492
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:07,159
Whereas we and you and our
people and your people,
493
00:29:07,159 --> 00:29:10,439
free since ancient times
share the same national
494
00:29:10,439 --> 00:29:14,200
ancestry and are urged
to come together more
495
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,200
eagerly and joyfully in
friendship by a common
496
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,680
language and by common custom.
497
00:29:24,159 --> 00:29:27,000
- It was only discovered in
the 1950s or thereabouts.
498
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,119
It's a tremendously interesting letter
499
00:29:29,119 --> 00:29:32,920
from Robert Bruce and it's
a very kind of important
500
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:37,119
call to the Irish to join
forces with the Scots.
501
00:29:37,119 --> 00:29:41,280
It's an appeal to some kind of
ancient bond between the two.
502
00:29:44,119 --> 00:29:45,720
- [Voiceover] But what if the letter
503
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,280
dates from a much earlier period?
504
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:52,560
Had Robert Bruce always yearned
to unite the Celtic nations?
505
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,479
Sean Duffy of Trinity
College, Dublin believes
506
00:29:55,479 --> 00:29:59,319
that the letter was composed around 1306,
507
00:29:59,319 --> 00:30:03,479
when Robert and his followers
were based on Rathlin Island.
508
00:30:04,639 --> 00:30:06,959
- When you get down to the small print of
509
00:30:06,959 --> 00:30:09,519
the letter as it were,
he says that the envoys
510
00:30:09,519 --> 00:30:13,000
he's sending are these
two men called T and A.
511
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,800
He just gives the initials because
512
00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:18,079
that's the way the letter has survived.
513
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,879
It's pretty certain that
that letter that Robert sent,
514
00:30:22,879 --> 00:30:25,239
the envoys mentioned
in it are his brothers
515
00:30:25,239 --> 00:30:28,360
Thomas and Alexander and
so it belongs in the winter
516
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,839
of 1306 to seven when he
was in a lot of trouble
517
00:30:31,839 --> 00:30:35,079
and he was hanging on
by his fingernails to
518
00:30:35,079 --> 00:30:37,560
the throne of Scotland
and he wanted an Irish
519
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:42,119
alliance to join sides with
him against the English.
520
00:30:42,119 --> 00:30:46,079
- We have sent you our beloved kinsmen,
521
00:30:46,079 --> 00:30:50,400
the bearer of this letter
to negotiate with you
522
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,319
in our name about
permanently strengthening
523
00:30:54,319 --> 00:30:58,759
and maintaining inviolate
a special friendship
524
00:30:58,759 --> 00:31:00,319
between us and you.
525
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,039
So that with God's will, our nation
526
00:31:05,039 --> 00:31:08,639
may be able to recover
her ancient liberty.
527
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,720
- There's a tendency by some people to
528
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:13,720
think that Robert Bruce, because he's from
529
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,400
a predominantly Anglo-Norman background,
530
00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,600
that this must be pure
cynicism on his part.
531
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,560
Because how could he dare
talk about our nation,
532
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,519
the Scots and Irish nation
and our common language
533
00:31:27,519 --> 00:31:30,400
as if he was a Gaelic speaker and imbued
534
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,280
with all things Gaelic?
535
00:31:33,839 --> 00:31:35,680
The letter is genuine.
536
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,479
It seems to me the letter was sent
537
00:31:37,479 --> 00:31:39,879
by Robert right at the start of his reign.
538
00:31:39,879 --> 00:31:42,479
It seems to me it won a
lot of backing for him
539
00:31:42,479 --> 00:31:45,239
in Ireland and I think
therefore we have to accept
540
00:31:45,239 --> 00:31:49,400
that there was a Gaelic side
to Robert Bruce's character.
541
00:31:52,159 --> 00:31:54,920
- I think the existence of this document,
542
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,600
and I think Sean's right in this actually,
543
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,479
does imply very much that there's some
544
00:32:00,479 --> 00:32:03,400
understanding before
the letter if you like,
545
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,319
some sense of what may be a nation.
546
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,119
And that's very powerful.
547
00:32:10,119 --> 00:32:11,959
This is a statement if
you like, if there's
548
00:32:11,959 --> 00:32:15,439
such a thing of kind of Gaelic nationality
549
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,800
if you could call it such.
550
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:20,959
The trouble is, the danger here is
551
00:32:20,959 --> 00:32:23,959
whether we can use words to describe
552
00:32:24,879 --> 00:32:27,159
concepts in the past where they
553
00:32:27,159 --> 00:32:28,800
didn't have words for them themselves.
554
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,280
This is our problem, so
if nationalism's a word
555
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,039
that doesn't come into
the English language
556
00:32:33,039 --> 00:32:35,759
until the 19th century, can we apply it
557
00:32:35,759 --> 00:32:37,200
to the people who were living in
558
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,280
the 15th or the 14th centuries?
559
00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:41,680
Personally I would say yes we can.
560
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:43,720
If it's not nationalism
we're talking about,
561
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,639
it's that by almost any other name.
562
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,839
(anxious piano tones)
563
00:32:52,239 --> 00:32:55,800
- During one long winter
on Rathlin Island,
564
00:32:56,639 --> 00:32:59,479
I dreamed we would assist the sons
565
00:33:01,479 --> 00:33:04,560
and daughters of our sister nation in
566
00:33:05,439 --> 00:33:09,439
their fight against the
common foe, the English.
567
00:33:10,479 --> 00:33:14,039
And in doing so, reunite
the Celtic people.
568
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,800
Scotland under Robert Bruce
569
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,920
and Ireland under Edward.
570
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:30,280
Were we not colonized by the Irish,
571
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:35,360
been bound by blood, family, language?
572
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:41,119
Were we not Christian-ized
from the same source?
573
00:33:41,119 --> 00:33:43,400
Reparations have been made.
574
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:47,920
We will be one with Ireland.
575
00:33:50,839 --> 00:33:52,479
- After Bannockburn he feels
576
00:33:52,479 --> 00:33:54,479
you've gotta carry the torch to the enemy.
577
00:33:54,479 --> 00:33:57,280
This was Bruce's number one weapon
578
00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,000
in trying to get some
sense out of the English
579
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,119
Kings to recognize the
legitimacy of his Kingship.
580
00:34:04,119 --> 00:34:06,680
The notion was just as
we're opening up a front
581
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,879
in the north of England,
let's open up one in Ireland.
582
00:34:11,839 --> 00:34:15,200
(dramatic violin music)
583
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,439
- [Voiceover] Assembling to
himself men of great courage,
584
00:34:34,439 --> 00:34:36,800
then he took ship in the following month
585
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,639
of May and took his way
straight into Ireland.
586
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,839
They have undertaken a great
project when with so few
587
00:34:44,839 --> 00:34:49,000
as they were there, they
prepared to conquer all Ireland
588
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,079
where they would see many thousands
589
00:34:51,079 --> 00:34:53,439
come out to fight against them.
590
00:34:53,439 --> 00:34:56,280
But although few, they were brave.
591
00:35:00,439 --> 00:35:03,439
- [Voiceover] Battlefield
archaeologist Tony Pollard
592
00:35:03,439 --> 00:35:06,200
was born in England but
his grandparents are from
593
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:10,200
Ireland and he lives
and works in Scotland.
594
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,839
He's a living example of the close links
595
00:35:12,839 --> 00:35:16,400
between the three countries
and he's fascinated
596
00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:18,720
by the incredible events that brought them
597
00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:22,239
together in bloody conflict 700 years ago.
598
00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,319
- Today Larne Harbor is
the most important port
599
00:35:26,319 --> 00:35:30,159
between Ireland and
Scotland on the Irish side.
600
00:35:30,159 --> 00:35:33,959
In 1315 this would have
been the place where
601
00:35:33,959 --> 00:35:37,079
Edward Bruce's Scottish
army came together after
602
00:35:37,079 --> 00:35:41,039
landing on the beaches all the
way up and down this coast.
603
00:35:41,039 --> 00:35:45,959
Around 6,000 men carried in
300 boats it said and these
604
00:35:45,959 --> 00:35:50,119
boats were Birlinns, they
were West Highland galleys.
605
00:35:50,119 --> 00:35:53,119
And they would've plied a
daily trade between here
606
00:35:53,119 --> 00:35:56,159
and Scotland and up and down
the west coast of Scotland.
607
00:35:56,159 --> 00:35:59,879
They wouldn't have been an uncommon sight.
608
00:35:59,879 --> 00:36:02,720
(dramatic violin music)
609
00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,000
But to have been on the hills behind us
610
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,439
and seen 300 of these heading towards
611
00:36:07,439 --> 00:36:11,639
these shores must've
been incredibly daunting.
612
00:36:11,639 --> 00:36:14,879
(anxious violin music)
613
00:36:30,879 --> 00:36:33,439
(men shouting)
614
00:36:36,319 --> 00:36:39,280
- Scots are used as the kind
of traditional boogeymen.
615
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:41,360
The Scots will come and get you.
616
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:43,560
And then in May the Scots are no longer
617
00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,239
separated from them by a stretch of land.
618
00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:49,079
They're actually here
which throws the whole
619
00:36:49,079 --> 00:36:51,639
of the Anglo-Norman
community into a panic.
620
00:36:51,639 --> 00:36:53,519
They never really expected to end up
621
00:36:53,519 --> 00:36:56,200
fighting the Scots in their own backyard.
622
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,479
So when 6,000 of them come into Antrim,
623
00:36:59,479 --> 00:37:03,200
this is like their worst
nightmare come true.
624
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,239
(dramatic violin music)
625
00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:19,519
- [Gavin] And the thing is now Tony,
626
00:37:19,519 --> 00:37:21,400
do you see what's over there?
627
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:25,239
- [Tony] That, of course, Eos Creek, yeah.
628
00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:29,400
So that's Scotland.
- [Gavin] That's Scotland.
629
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,839
- We're on the hill just
above the town of Larne
630
00:37:31,839 --> 00:37:34,800
on the coast and this
is said to be the site
631
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,000
of the first battle of the campaign.
632
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,479
- Absolutely Tony, this
is where Sir Thomas
633
00:37:39,479 --> 00:37:42,519
Mandeville gathers all the
Norman Lords from Ulster.
634
00:37:42,519 --> 00:37:45,879
The Bishops, the Savages, the
Logans, gathers them here,
635
00:37:45,879 --> 00:37:49,879
concentrates 'cause he
can see Larne over there.
636
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,920
(dramatic violin music)
637
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,119
This is a victorious army.
638
00:38:00,119 --> 00:38:02,639
Bruce has got about five
or 6,000 men with him.
639
00:38:02,639 --> 00:38:04,360
They are the men that smashed
640
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:06,600
Edward the Second's army at Bannockburn.
641
00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:08,039
- It's D-Day down there.
642
00:38:08,039 --> 00:38:09,239
- This is D-Day, yes.
643
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:12,200
If Mandeville manages to hold Bruce here,
644
00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:13,439
the campaign's off.
645
00:38:13,439 --> 00:38:14,920
- He can kick him back into the sea.
646
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,959
- Kick him back into the sea.
647
00:38:17,959 --> 00:38:21,639
(swords clanking, grunting)
648
00:38:38,479 --> 00:38:40,680
(thunder)
649
00:38:41,839 --> 00:38:44,439
(rain pouring)
650
00:38:47,879 --> 00:38:51,119
(anxious violin music)
651
00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:57,800
- [Voiceover] Edward Bruce knew that
652
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:00,560
he could count on certain
allies in Ireland.
653
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,639
First and foremost was Domhnall O'Neill,
654
00:39:03,639 --> 00:39:07,800
the King of Tyrone, who had
pledged to support the Scots.
655
00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:14,759
- [Voiceover] Robert had
made ample preparations
656
00:39:14,759 --> 00:39:17,039
but we would have no success in Ireland
657
00:39:17,039 --> 00:39:19,800
without the help of the Irish families.
658
00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,680
Their attitude towards him was the pivot
659
00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:25,519
on which all his plans were based.
660
00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,000
- Domhnall O'Neill was a descendant
661
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,280
of the ancient High Kings of Ireland.
662
00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:35,959
He was in no doubt about
his own royal blood
663
00:39:35,959 --> 00:39:39,600
and his own place at
the apex of the pyramid
664
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,600
of power in Gaelic Ireland.
665
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:45,959
The problem was though for him that many
666
00:39:45,959 --> 00:39:49,680
other Irish people rejected
his claim to be High King.
667
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,239
If you were a descendant of Brian Boru,
668
00:39:52,239 --> 00:39:55,200
you weren't necessarily
convinced that it was O'Neill's
669
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:59,159
ancestors who had a monopoly
on the High Kingship.
670
00:39:59,159 --> 00:40:03,000
He was a realist who
recognized that his own
671
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,759
interests could be served best if they
672
00:40:05,759 --> 00:40:08,800
could all unite behind another figure.
673
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,879
Sure he was into it for
what he could get out of it
674
00:40:11,879 --> 00:40:15,800
like all politicians and
like all powerful men.
675
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,479
- Though the Irish hut
be poor and though our
676
00:40:22,479 --> 00:40:26,680
feast be small, he sees his
little lot as the lot of all.
677
00:40:28,079 --> 00:40:30,839
No prince's palace rears its head
678
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,920
to shame the meanness of his humble bed.
679
00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,119
(laughs)
680
00:40:38,119 --> 00:40:41,400
- Man is worthy of this world who rejoices
681
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:44,319
in the world and makes the most of it.
682
00:40:44,319 --> 00:40:46,400
(laughs)
683
00:40:55,759 --> 00:40:59,800
- The English King and the English Lords
684
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:03,280
born in Ireland have heartlessly inflicted
685
00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:06,800
cruel injuries on us and on our ancestors.
686
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:14,200
They have forced us to live on mountains
687
00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:17,159
and in forests, in bogs and other
688
00:41:17,159 --> 00:41:19,839
barren places like wild animals.
689
00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:26,319
It's not just their laymen, but even some
690
00:41:26,319 --> 00:41:29,239
of their clergy say it is no more a sin to
691
00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:31,959
kill an Irishman than it is to kill a dog
692
00:41:31,959 --> 00:41:33,959
or other brute creature.
693
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,959
So we are compelled to enter
into a deadly war with them.
694
00:41:41,319 --> 00:41:45,079
- If ever thy hast occasion for assistance
695
00:41:45,079 --> 00:41:48,079
to repel an invader or attack a foe,
696
00:41:50,439 --> 00:41:53,680
call on Scotland, in thy hospitality is
697
00:41:54,639 --> 00:41:58,079
thought to be grateful and on whose heart
698
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:03,039
thy kindness has made a deep impression.
699
00:42:05,119 --> 00:42:08,400
(anxious violin music)
700
00:42:15,119 --> 00:42:17,879
(waves crashing)
701
00:42:21,159 --> 00:42:24,239
- [Voiceover] Today
Carrickfergus is a satellite
702
00:42:24,239 --> 00:42:27,680
town of Belfast but in the 14th century,
703
00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:30,439
Belfast was no more than a tiny village
704
00:42:30,439 --> 00:42:34,479
and Carrickfergus was the
most important town in Ulster,
705
00:42:34,479 --> 00:42:38,600
a strategic outpost of
great military significance.
706
00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:41,720
It was vitally important
that Edward Bruce capture it
707
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:45,720
to prevent the English
from landing an army there.
708
00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:48,319
- Castles like Carrickfergus
were the power base
709
00:42:48,319 --> 00:42:51,479
for the Anglo-Normans or the Anglo-Irish.
710
00:42:51,479 --> 00:42:53,159
These were the people that had come in
711
00:42:53,159 --> 00:42:55,239
and taken over Gaelic Ireland and these
712
00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:56,920
were the people that Bruce was intending
713
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,119
to have a go at in his invasion.
714
00:42:59,119 --> 00:43:01,319
So for Edward Bruce this castle is a very
715
00:43:01,319 --> 00:43:04,680
important target and he's
very keen to take it.
716
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,000
- Because he has to take Carrickfergus.
717
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:08,920
If he can take Carrickfergus,
718
00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:12,280
that means that Robert's
position in his wars against
719
00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:16,000
the English in the north,
it opens up everything.
720
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,600
If they can take Carrickfergus then
721
00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:22,600
the entire northern sea
zone is theirs and probably
722
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:26,039
the entire sea zone right
down towards Bristol.
723
00:43:26,039 --> 00:43:28,920
And if you can cut off that channel,
724
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:30,959
then the oxygen to the supply routes
725
00:43:30,959 --> 00:43:34,360
for Edward the Second are almost extinct.
726
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,839
- Surely one motive
behind the Irish invasion
727
00:43:39,839 --> 00:43:42,519
was that they could
somehow damage the English
728
00:43:42,519 --> 00:43:45,360
supply routes and the
sources of English supply.
729
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,200
Now if you could cut
off that kind of supply,
730
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:51,039
you could make a big dent in enemy
731
00:43:51,039 --> 00:43:53,879
support or support for the enemy.
732
00:43:53,879 --> 00:43:56,600
And I think Ireland was,
Ireland's recognized to
733
00:43:56,600 --> 00:44:00,800
have been a very important
breadbasket for the English.
734
00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:05,439
- [Voiceover] The Scots took Carrickfergus
735
00:44:05,439 --> 00:44:07,439
Town without much difficulty.
736
00:44:07,439 --> 00:44:10,879
The castle was a more
difficult proposition.
737
00:44:10,879 --> 00:44:13,000
Edward Bruce did not
have the siege equipment
738
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:16,000
needed to take the castle
by storm so he surrounded
739
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:20,000
it and prepared to starve
its garrison into submission.
740
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,920
- When Edward Bruce
arrives in Ireland in 1315,
741
00:44:24,959 --> 00:44:28,439
he's very keen to identify
himself with Carrickfergus.
742
00:44:28,439 --> 00:44:30,839
And indeed it's while
he's here that around
743
00:44:30,839 --> 00:44:34,280
a dozen Gaelic Chiefs or even minor Kings
744
00:44:35,159 --> 00:44:39,319
come to him and proclaim
him High King of Ireland.
745
00:44:40,239 --> 00:44:43,479
(anxious violin tones)
746
00:44:45,479 --> 00:44:47,800
- [Voiceover] Then all
the Kings of the Irishry
747
00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:50,959
came to Sir Edward and
did their homage to him.
748
00:44:50,959 --> 00:44:54,039
He was well set now and in a good way
749
00:44:54,039 --> 00:44:56,079
to conquer the land altogether,
750
00:44:56,079 --> 00:45:00,600
for he has on his side
the Irish and the Ulster.
751
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,079
- All hail Edward the Bruce,
752
00:45:03,079 --> 00:45:05,920
High King of all Ireland!
753
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:09,079
(swords unsheathing)
754
00:45:09,079 --> 00:45:10,800
- [Voiceover] With Edward now proclaimed
755
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,360
High King of Ireland, many Gaelic leaders
756
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,159
threw their support
behind the Bruce invasion.
757
00:45:18,879 --> 00:45:21,360
Allegiance to a Scottish King in Ireland
758
00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:25,519
was preferable to supporting
an absent English King.
759
00:45:27,839 --> 00:45:29,920
- There were Irish allies of the Bruces
760
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:33,000
who had convinced them
that this would work.
761
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,720
The Irish wanted the English out.
762
00:45:35,720 --> 00:45:38,079
The Irish had proved themselves incapable
763
00:45:38,079 --> 00:45:41,319
of uniting behind any
one figure within Ireland
764
00:45:41,319 --> 00:45:44,800
and so the best thing
therefore was to get somebody
765
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:48,959
from outside Ireland behind
whom they could align.
766
00:45:49,839 --> 00:45:51,639
- It's an interesting part of
767
00:45:51,639 --> 00:45:53,759
the history of Ireland and Scotland.
768
00:45:53,759 --> 00:45:55,680
There are cultural links, there's no doubt
769
00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:59,079
about that but really it's a significant
770
00:45:59,079 --> 00:46:02,239
political leap between them with Edward
771
00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:04,920
coming over and claiming
the High Kingship.
772
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:07,119
And you could say it was misguided,
773
00:46:07,119 --> 00:46:09,920
you could say it's
political sleight-of-hand.
774
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:12,360
You could say a lot of things but really
775
00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:15,680
I think it does indicate
that there's a recognition,
776
00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:18,560
even though he's a politician
there is a recognition
777
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:20,479
that there's a possibility here that
778
00:46:20,479 --> 00:46:22,920
there's something he could build on.
779
00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:25,519
The strength of the
cultural ties was enduring
780
00:46:25,519 --> 00:46:29,319
and had been going on since
the early Middle Ages.
781
00:46:29,319 --> 00:46:31,479
- [Voiceover] The Anglo-Irish
had been completely taken
782
00:46:31,479 --> 00:46:35,720
off guard by the invasion and
were even slower to react.
783
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:38,600
The English King told his
representative in Dublin,
784
00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:41,039
Edmund Butler, to gather the Anglo-Irish
785
00:46:41,039 --> 00:46:43,439
Lords and raise an army.
786
00:46:43,439 --> 00:46:46,639
The most powerful of these
Lords was Richard de Burgh,
787
00:46:46,639 --> 00:46:48,200
the Earl of Ulster.
788
00:46:49,159 --> 00:46:52,600
He was also Robert Bruce's father-in-law.
789
00:46:53,639 --> 00:46:56,360
The Scots marched south
through de Burgh's lands
790
00:46:56,360 --> 00:46:59,560
in Ulster into a gap
between Slieve Gallion
791
00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:02,759
to the west and the Cooley
Mountains to the east.
792
00:47:02,759 --> 00:47:06,800
This area is known as the
Moyry Pass and to this day
793
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:10,959
it is an important corridor
between Ireland north and south.
794
00:47:13,959 --> 00:47:16,800
Edward Bruce was now
being guided into Leinster
795
00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:19,439
by people who had old scores to settle
796
00:47:19,439 --> 00:47:22,360
with local Anglo-Norman Lords.
797
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:25,119
The most notorious Anglo-Norman family
798
00:47:25,119 --> 00:47:27,639
was the de Verdons, who held extensive
799
00:47:27,639 --> 00:47:31,000
estates in the Meath and Louth areas.
800
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:35,000
The de Verdons had enforced a
violent claim over the people,
801
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:39,200
essentially ruling the
area by fear and extortion.
802
00:47:40,959 --> 00:47:44,039
- This was a de Verdon
castle and they were
803
00:47:44,039 --> 00:47:46,600
to be really quite important players in
804
00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:49,920
the fight against the Scottish invasion.
805
00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:54,119
(dramatic violin music)
806
00:47:56,959 --> 00:48:00,439
The feudal system is really
like a protection racket.
807
00:48:00,439 --> 00:48:02,800
If you're a tenant or a peasant,
808
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:06,479
you pay taxes or you do
service for your Lord
809
00:48:06,479 --> 00:48:10,680
but in return your Lord will protect you.
810
00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:14,879
And that's what this
castle is designed to do,
811
00:48:14,879 --> 00:48:19,039
is to symbolize that power
and that ability to protect.
812
00:48:21,079 --> 00:48:23,959
But it doesn't really work.
813
00:48:23,959 --> 00:48:27,519
Bruce comes down from
Ulster with his army,
814
00:48:28,639 --> 00:48:31,800
he takes one look at
this and very sensibly
815
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:34,400
thinks we're already
tied up with one siege
816
00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:38,319
at Carrickfergus, this place
looks pretty impregnable.
817
00:48:38,319 --> 00:48:40,439
We'll give it a swerve.
818
00:48:40,439 --> 00:48:44,039
So they just leave it
but there's more than
819
00:48:44,039 --> 00:48:47,479
one way to skin a cat and what they do is
820
00:48:47,479 --> 00:48:50,479
they burn the nearby town of Dundalk
821
00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:55,159
and that demonstrates to
the local population that
822
00:48:55,159 --> 00:48:58,239
their Lords and masters
no longer have the ability
823
00:48:58,239 --> 00:49:02,239
to protect them and it
does exactly what taking
824
00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:05,759
that castle would do but it's much easier.
825
00:49:10,200 --> 00:49:13,039
(women screaming)
826
00:49:20,079 --> 00:49:23,079
(dramatic drumbeat)
827
00:49:26,239 --> 00:49:28,479
- Dundalk suffered very severely
828
00:49:28,479 --> 00:49:30,839
during the course of the Bruce invasion.
829
00:49:30,839 --> 00:49:33,959
Not indiscriminately, I believe it was
830
00:49:33,959 --> 00:49:37,200
because it was held by the de Verdons.
831
00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:39,239
You look at all the places they attack,
832
00:49:39,239 --> 00:49:43,159
there's usually a local
political reason for it.
833
00:49:43,159 --> 00:49:46,680
It's not some kind of indiscriminate
834
00:49:46,680 --> 00:49:50,280
carpet bombing of Ireland by them.
835
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:51,959
- [Voiceover] Unless the King of England
836
00:49:51,959 --> 00:49:53,639
invades Scotland again, the Scots
837
00:49:53,639 --> 00:49:55,800
will try to conquer Ireland this winter
838
00:49:55,800 --> 00:49:58,400
and the Irish of Ireland will help them.
839
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:01,519
I have lost everything
fighting Edward Bruce.
840
00:50:01,519 --> 00:50:03,959
My lands, my horses, my armor,
841
00:50:03,959 --> 00:50:06,759
my rents and my revenues.
842
00:50:06,759 --> 00:50:09,560
(battle chanting)
843
00:50:16,200 --> 00:50:18,360
- There was very little concerted
844
00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:20,879
opposition to Edward Bruce to begin with.
845
00:50:20,879 --> 00:50:23,400
But by the end of his
first summer in Ireland,
846
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:25,239
their government was
beginning to get its act
847
00:50:25,239 --> 00:50:27,319
together and it realized
that they would have
848
00:50:27,319 --> 00:50:29,839
to get an army and march after him
849
00:50:29,839 --> 00:50:32,680
and try and meet him in the field.
850
00:50:40,039 --> 00:50:42,319
- Richard de Burgh was Earl of Ulster.
851
00:50:42,319 --> 00:50:45,079
He created an almost impenetrable,
852
00:50:45,079 --> 00:50:46,920
invincible realm for himself.
853
00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:48,639
He's one of the most powerful
854
00:50:48,639 --> 00:50:51,039
Anglo-Norman magnates on the island.
855
00:50:51,039 --> 00:50:53,920
He controls lands in Connacht, he controls
856
00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:57,159
most of the land around here in Ulster.
857
00:50:58,079 --> 00:51:00,720
He's the one who says
to the Chief Governor
858
00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:05,200
Edmund Butler that he wants
to tackle Bruce himself.
859
00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:07,920
- [Voiceover] I have
here a force of my own
860
00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:11,759
of 20 battalions, it is
large enough to expel
861
00:51:11,759 --> 00:51:16,200
an equal number from the
country or to kill them in it.
862
00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:18,239
- He wants to go back to Ulster
863
00:51:18,239 --> 00:51:21,479
and actually wrestle
Ulster back from the Bruces
864
00:51:21,479 --> 00:51:23,959
because it's almost like
a personal insult to him.
865
00:51:23,959 --> 00:51:26,119
This is his son-in-law effectively saying,
866
00:51:26,119 --> 00:51:28,000
"I'm gonna send my brother over
867
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:30,600
"to take away your personal kingdom."
868
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:34,360
Richard de Burgh effectively
says "I'm not having this."
869
00:51:34,360 --> 00:51:37,239
And he decides that I'm
gonna march from Connacht,
870
00:51:37,239 --> 00:51:39,360
I'm gonna take my Gaelic allies and we're
871
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:43,439
going to defeat Bruce in
my backyard effectively.
872
00:51:50,879 --> 00:51:55,079
(anxious violin tones, low drumbeat)
873
00:52:29,239 --> 00:52:31,159
Looking at this site, do you think this
874
00:52:31,159 --> 00:52:33,239
bit's a bit more prehistoric than
875
00:52:33,239 --> 00:52:34,879
the sites across the way, or?
876
00:52:34,879 --> 00:52:36,239
- I don't know.
877
00:52:36,239 --> 00:52:37,839
You can see a big stone wall over there.
878
00:52:37,839 --> 00:52:40,200
- I know, that looks
extremely interesting.
879
00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:43,560
Oh wow, look at how big are these stones.
880
00:52:43,560 --> 00:52:45,560
- Massive, careful here, it's collapsing.
881
00:52:45,560 --> 00:52:48,839
- I know, this is known as the old fort.
882
00:52:48,839 --> 00:52:51,839
Known locally in Connor as the trench.
883
00:52:51,839 --> 00:52:53,920
- But it's a motte isn't it of some sort?
884
00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:54,759
- [Gavin] It is.
885
00:52:54,759 --> 00:52:56,920
- [Tony] Why is it here,
what function is it serving?
886
00:52:56,920 --> 00:52:59,439
- Well the thing about
Connor is it's a very
887
00:52:59,439 --> 00:53:02,319
important Anglo-Norman
ecclesiastical center.
888
00:53:02,319 --> 00:53:04,879
We think it might've been
fortified so whenever
889
00:53:04,879 --> 00:53:08,479
de Burgh is coming up
chasing after Bruce's army,
890
00:53:08,479 --> 00:53:11,560
he suddenly finds himself out of supply.
891
00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:13,800
He comes from Antrim to here because
892
00:53:13,800 --> 00:53:16,479
it has stores of whatever they need.
893
00:53:16,479 --> 00:53:20,000
Now he comes here to defend
it and take those stores.
894
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,680
Bruce is out there watching him.
895
00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:34,280
De Burgh comes up here with
an Irish ally, Felim O'Connor.
896
00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:36,839
Felim O'Connor however,
halfway through this campaign
897
00:53:36,839 --> 00:53:40,079
of chasing after Bruce,
goes back down to Connacht.
898
00:53:40,079 --> 00:53:42,600
So de Burgh is actually left high and dry.
899
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:45,839
Sir Philip Mowbray actually
organizes the Scots
900
00:53:45,839 --> 00:53:49,839
to go and wave banners and
taunts the Anglo-Normans
901
00:53:49,839 --> 00:53:52,800
to come out and chase him,
come out and chase him.
902
00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:55,720
De Burgh sees the banners and they go out
903
00:53:55,720 --> 00:53:58,159
in that direction and
they're hit in the flank
904
00:53:58,159 --> 00:54:01,600
and then Bruce sees the
battle and suddenly joins in.
905
00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:03,639
They refer to this battle as being
906
00:54:03,639 --> 00:54:05,839
one of the bloodiest of the campaigns.
907
00:54:05,839 --> 00:54:08,759
The field is wet with blood.
908
00:54:08,759 --> 00:54:10,800
- [Tony] As an archaeologist
this is really interesting.
909
00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:12,600
It says "The field was wholly covered
910
00:54:12,600 --> 00:54:15,519
"by weapons, arms and dead men."
911
00:54:15,519 --> 00:54:19,159
(swords clanking, shouting)
912
00:54:26,519 --> 00:54:29,519
- [Voiceover] The field
soon grew wet with blood.
913
00:54:29,519 --> 00:54:32,119
We fought there with such great fierceness
914
00:54:32,119 --> 00:54:35,119
and struck such blows on
each other with stick,
915
00:54:35,119 --> 00:54:38,200
with stone and with blunt weapons
916
00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,800
as each side could land on the other,
917
00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:43,119
that it was dreadful to see.
918
00:54:44,119 --> 00:54:47,959
(weapons clanking, screaming)
919
00:54:55,800 --> 00:54:58,439
(ominous tones)
920
00:55:27,839 --> 00:55:31,039
- De Burgh is the most
powerful Lord in Ireland.
921
00:55:31,039 --> 00:55:33,280
He's a battle-brother of Edward the First,
922
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:36,280
he was at Bannockburn,
he is a military mind.
923
00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:38,639
He's a good, good warrior and yet when
924
00:55:38,639 --> 00:55:41,519
he comes up here, he is all-powerful.
925
00:55:41,519 --> 00:55:43,360
After the Battle of Connor,
926
00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:46,280
his power almost completely broken.
927
00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:51,079
He leaves here shattered.
928
00:55:53,119 --> 00:55:55,879
After Connor, Ulster is Scottish.
929
00:55:56,759 --> 00:55:59,920
It's no longer de Burgh's land at all.
930
00:56:03,159 --> 00:56:05,119
If he thought that he was going to
931
00:56:05,119 --> 00:56:07,280
send a message to the Bruces that
932
00:56:07,280 --> 00:56:09,879
"Hang on here, this is my turf."
933
00:56:09,879 --> 00:56:12,439
What actually ends up happening is
934
00:56:12,439 --> 00:56:15,680
he has to leave Ulster, he flees Ulster.
935
00:56:15,680 --> 00:56:18,360
The annals of Connacht refer to him rather
936
00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:21,239
wistfully as almost being like a wanderer
937
00:56:21,239 --> 00:56:25,759
up and down the lands with
no Lordship, no power.
938
00:56:25,759 --> 00:56:28,800
(dramatic violin music)
939
00:56:28,800 --> 00:56:30,720
- Show them front face.
940
00:56:32,400 --> 00:56:35,720
Soldiers, arms! (shouting)
941
00:56:35,720 --> 00:56:38,479
Show them! (shouting)
942
00:56:38,479 --> 00:56:40,680
- [Voiceover] Ireland was only one front
943
00:56:40,680 --> 00:56:43,239
in Robert Bruce's war against the English.
944
00:56:43,239 --> 00:56:46,000
He had raided territories
in Northern England
945
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:48,479
and personally led the army which laid
946
00:56:48,479 --> 00:56:52,680
siege to the English
border town of Carlyle.
947
00:56:52,680 --> 00:56:55,839
No one could deny that the
Bruce brothers were causing
948
00:56:55,839 --> 00:57:00,000
major problems for the English
both at home and abroad.
949
00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:06,159
- The more they be,
950
00:57:06,159 --> 00:57:08,680
the more honor all out have we
951
00:57:11,119 --> 00:57:12,959
if we bear it finally.
952
00:57:15,159 --> 00:57:19,319
We are set here in jeopardy
to win honor or for to die.
953
00:57:20,319 --> 00:57:23,479
We are too far for him to flee,
954
00:57:23,479 --> 00:57:26,239
therefore let each man worthy be.
955
00:57:28,239 --> 00:57:31,200
Here are gatherings of this country
956
00:57:31,200 --> 00:57:34,119
and they'll flee, I trow it likely.
957
00:57:36,639 --> 00:57:39,800
And to each man, assail them mightily.
958
00:57:44,759 --> 00:57:47,600
(steady drumbeat)
959
00:58:03,920 --> 00:58:06,959
(dramatic violin music)
960
00:58:06,959 --> 00:58:08,879
- [Voiceover] Soon after he arrived,
961
00:58:08,879 --> 00:58:13,039
Edward Bruce had himself
proclaimed High King of Ireland.
962
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:17,720
In a bid to forge an
Irish-Scottish alliance,
963
00:58:17,720 --> 00:58:21,879
support for Edward's claim
came from Domhnall O'Neill,
964
00:58:21,879 --> 00:58:24,239
the powerful King of Tyrone.
965
00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:29,839
The English in Ireland,
known as the Anglo-Irish,
966
00:58:29,839 --> 00:58:31,360
were in disarray.
967
00:58:31,360 --> 00:58:33,759
One of their greatest
Lords, Richard de Burgh,
968
00:58:33,759 --> 00:58:35,560
had been crushed in battle.
969
00:58:35,560 --> 00:58:39,560
Edward Bruce now had
control of most of Ulster.
970
00:58:39,560 --> 00:58:42,519
He brought his army
southwards into Leinster,
971
00:58:42,519 --> 00:58:46,039
hitting at the heart of Anglo-Irish power.
972
00:58:48,600 --> 00:58:51,839
(anxious violin music)
973
00:58:55,200 --> 00:58:59,639
- Winter 1315, 1316, the
Scots are in a position
974
00:58:59,639 --> 00:59:03,720
where they're actually on the threshold of
975
00:59:03,720 --> 00:59:07,439
sweeping everything away in front of them.
976
00:59:07,439 --> 00:59:11,600
You can't stop the Scots,
they've had no serious reverse.
977
00:59:13,959 --> 00:59:16,959
(armor clanking)
978
00:59:16,959 --> 00:59:19,280
When the Bruces invaded Ireland,
979
00:59:19,280 --> 00:59:21,959
the only people almost without exception
980
00:59:21,959 --> 00:59:24,680
who supported them were the native Irish.
981
00:59:24,680 --> 00:59:26,319
The reason being that if you were a member
982
00:59:26,319 --> 00:59:28,280
of the English colony in Ireland and you
983
00:59:28,280 --> 00:59:30,680
joined the Bruces, that
made you a traitor.
984
00:59:30,680 --> 00:59:35,319
So there was very little support
for them in Anglo-Ireland.
985
00:59:35,319 --> 00:59:38,639
Overwhelmingly it became a war between
986
00:59:38,639 --> 00:59:41,000
the English in Ireland
and the native Irish
987
00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:44,439
and they only had the
backing of the native Irish.
988
00:59:44,439 --> 00:59:47,800
(thunder, rain pouring)
989
00:59:53,239 --> 00:59:55,119
- [Voiceover] The Scots knew that overall
990
00:59:55,119 --> 00:59:57,879
victory in Ireland was far from certain.
991
00:59:57,879 --> 01:00:00,439
Before long they were
faced with a devastating
992
01:00:00,439 --> 01:00:03,959
enemy that couldn't be defeated in battle.
993
01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:09,639
- [Voiceover] The
heavens shoot anger as if
994
01:00:09,639 --> 01:00:12,479
the spirits of our
fallen foe were imploring
995
01:00:12,479 --> 01:00:14,600
the unearthly powers to pour their
996
01:00:14,600 --> 01:00:17,439
gathered stores on our unsheltered heads
997
01:00:17,439 --> 01:00:20,039
directly as we went through it.
998
01:00:22,959 --> 01:00:26,439
- [Voiceover] Heavy rain had
been falling in May 1315,
999
01:00:26,439 --> 01:00:29,560
the month in which the
Scots arrived in Ireland.
1000
01:00:29,560 --> 01:00:32,119
All summer long the country was plagued by
1001
01:00:32,119 --> 01:00:35,759
the worst weather seen
across Europe in generations.
1002
01:00:35,759 --> 01:00:37,639
When the time came to gather what was
1003
01:00:37,639 --> 01:00:40,920
left of the harvest,
the reality was bleak.
1004
01:00:40,920 --> 01:00:45,560
There would not be enough
food to last the winter.
1005
01:00:45,560 --> 01:00:49,360
This was the beginning of the
Great European Famine, one
1006
01:00:49,360 --> 01:00:53,519
of the worst natural disasters
in the continent's history.
1007
01:00:55,200 --> 01:00:57,439
- For the early years of the 14th century,
1008
01:00:57,439 --> 01:01:00,800
Europe is subjected to a
series of crop failures
1009
01:01:00,800 --> 01:01:05,079
and that culminates in the
Great Famine of 1315 to 17.
1010
01:01:05,079 --> 01:01:08,839
Life was pretty difficult
in general in Ireland.
1011
01:01:08,839 --> 01:01:13,600
By the time Edward Bruce
arrives in 1315, the population
1012
01:01:13,600 --> 01:01:16,639
would probably have been
substantially weakened.
1013
01:01:16,639 --> 01:01:18,560
It's a poor country.
1014
01:01:18,560 --> 01:01:22,680
People are subjected to
I suppose the iniquities
1015
01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:24,800
of war all the time whether you're in
1016
01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,319
a Gaelic or an Anglo-Irish area.
1017
01:01:27,319 --> 01:01:29,759
Edward Bruce comes in here to a country
1018
01:01:29,759 --> 01:01:32,519
where it's not exactly optimum conditions
1019
01:01:32,519 --> 01:01:34,560
for the population at that time.
1020
01:01:34,560 --> 01:01:36,839
In fact it's going to
become very difficult
1021
01:01:36,839 --> 01:01:39,239
very quickly from 1315 to 17.
1022
01:01:43,239 --> 01:01:47,079
- [Voiceover] Many afflictions
in all parts of Ireland.
1023
01:01:47,079 --> 01:01:51,239
Very many deaths, famine
and many strange diseases.
1024
01:01:52,159 --> 01:01:55,400
Murders and intolerable storms as well.
1025
01:01:57,560 --> 01:01:59,920
- I think it's very telling that a number
1026
01:01:59,920 --> 01:02:02,079
of the Irish Annals sources for the period
1027
01:02:02,079 --> 01:02:06,280
and later actually blame the famine itself
1028
01:02:06,280 --> 01:02:08,360
on the presence of the Bruce army.
1029
01:02:08,360 --> 01:02:11,400
That somehow they've
cause it or worsened it
1030
01:02:11,400 --> 01:02:13,400
although they also criticize the English
1031
01:02:13,400 --> 01:02:15,439
forces for adding to it too.
1032
01:02:15,439 --> 01:02:17,119
So there's certainly a sense in which for
1033
01:02:17,119 --> 01:02:21,159
the ordinary populace,
the two are run together.
1034
01:02:21,159 --> 01:02:23,319
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,
1035
01:02:23,319 --> 01:02:25,239
War and Famine, here's two of them
1036
01:02:25,239 --> 01:02:28,560
being positioned on us at the same time.
1037
01:02:32,800 --> 01:02:36,479
(anxious violin music)
1038
01:02:36,479 --> 01:02:39,159
In his first few months
of being in Ireland,
1039
01:02:39,159 --> 01:02:42,759
Edward Bruce clearly
rounds up large bodies
1040
01:02:42,759 --> 01:02:46,959
of supplies, spoil, booty
and ships it back to Scotland
1041
01:02:48,159 --> 01:02:50,800
and it may be that supply was an essential
1042
01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:54,360
motive to going there in the first place.
1043
01:02:54,360 --> 01:02:58,319
But by the time you get to 1316, 1317,
1044
01:02:58,319 --> 01:03:02,839
after two failed harvests
into your third bad winter,
1045
01:03:02,839 --> 01:03:04,800
livestock would be dwindling.
1046
01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:08,839
The population would be moving
about in search of food.
1047
01:03:08,839 --> 01:03:12,439
It's really a large
part of the war itself.
1048
01:03:21,959 --> 01:03:24,920
- [Voiceover] We left nothing
but the harvest of a charred
1049
01:03:24,920 --> 01:03:29,319
desert that was now the
bitterness of dust and ashes.
1050
01:03:29,319 --> 01:03:31,560
And in their reflection we began to see
1051
01:03:31,560 --> 01:03:35,159
the hand of God
outstretched to punish sin.
1052
01:03:36,400 --> 01:03:39,720
Famine and sickness
waited not to be invited
1053
01:03:39,720 --> 01:03:43,000
as the oppressed looked
around for a protector
1054
01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:44,839
and finds he has none.
1055
01:03:50,680 --> 01:03:52,560
- People in the Middle Ages
1056
01:03:52,560 --> 01:03:55,159
understood their place in a way.
1057
01:03:55,159 --> 01:03:57,479
That's the way the system worked.
1058
01:03:57,479 --> 01:04:00,800
So if you were born into poverty,
1059
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:04,479
you could look forward to
an afterlife of heaven.
1060
01:04:04,479 --> 01:04:08,959
That's what was sold to them,
that keeps you in your place.
1061
01:04:08,959 --> 01:04:11,319
The world is run on these lines, there are
1062
01:04:11,319 --> 01:04:14,159
those who work, those who
pray and those who fight
1063
01:04:14,159 --> 01:04:16,360
and depending on which
one you're born into,
1064
01:04:16,360 --> 01:04:19,519
that's where you stay, so
there is an acceptance of that.
1065
01:04:19,519 --> 01:04:24,159
There's a kind of a fatalism
about what you're born into.
1066
01:04:24,159 --> 01:04:26,800
There would be an idea
that well this is my lot
1067
01:04:26,800 --> 01:04:30,519
and this is what I have to put up with.
1068
01:04:30,519 --> 01:04:33,600
You are being punished
in a way by suffering
1069
01:04:33,600 --> 01:04:36,560
now for some unidentified sins that you
1070
01:04:36,560 --> 01:04:39,119
or somebody else did awhile ago.
1071
01:04:39,119 --> 01:04:41,360
So that is the worldview,
1072
01:04:41,360 --> 01:04:44,560
that is how calamitous
events are understood
1073
01:04:44,560 --> 01:04:47,360
like the Bruce invasion, like the Famine,
1074
01:04:47,360 --> 01:04:51,519
like the Black Death that
follows not that long afterwards.
1075
01:04:53,839 --> 01:04:57,000
- [Voiceover] As the year
1315 drew to a close,
1076
01:04:57,000 --> 01:05:01,079
Edward Bruce was campaigning
in the Irish Midlands.
1077
01:05:01,079 --> 01:05:03,720
He was many miles from his base in Ulster
1078
01:05:03,720 --> 01:05:05,839
and his main priority was to find
1079
01:05:05,839 --> 01:05:08,759
food and shelter for his army.
1080
01:05:08,759 --> 01:05:12,360
But in a scenario that was
becoming more and more common,
1081
01:05:12,360 --> 01:05:16,239
the local population
suffered the burden of war.
1082
01:05:16,239 --> 01:05:18,519
- The idea is not to engage so much
1083
01:05:18,519 --> 01:05:21,959
in actual battles as to take a phalanx,
1084
01:05:21,959 --> 01:05:26,119
a huge number of men through
a territory and devastate it.
1085
01:05:28,600 --> 01:05:31,639
Destroy anything in it that could
1086
01:05:31,639 --> 01:05:34,839
help the residents once
you've passed through.
1087
01:05:34,839 --> 01:05:37,400
So you kinda starve them out.
1088
01:05:37,400 --> 01:05:39,519
The Great Famine been described as
1089
01:05:39,519 --> 01:05:41,839
an early example of total warfare because
1090
01:05:41,839 --> 01:05:44,000
it attacks women and
children as well as men.
1091
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:45,959
And I suspect that suddenly this may
1092
01:05:45,959 --> 01:05:48,639
have been in Edward's head in Ireland.
1093
01:05:48,639 --> 01:05:51,759
- I have looked at an example of an attack
1094
01:05:51,759 --> 01:05:55,039
on a settlement outside
Slane in County Meath.
1095
01:05:55,039 --> 01:05:57,280
There is an entry saying that 80 men,
1096
01:05:57,280 --> 01:06:00,680
women and children were killed
by an attack of the Bruce.
1097
01:06:00,680 --> 01:06:03,239
So even from that you can just tell
1098
01:06:03,239 --> 01:06:05,920
that it must have been
tremendously savage.
1099
01:06:05,920 --> 01:06:08,360
No quarter seems to have been given.
1100
01:06:08,360 --> 01:06:11,680
This was a village in
an English-held area.
1101
01:06:11,680 --> 01:06:14,079
So what you do have even in a country
1102
01:06:14,079 --> 01:06:17,639
which was used to quite savage warfare,
1103
01:06:17,639 --> 01:06:20,280
what was happening with Edward Bruce seems
1104
01:06:20,280 --> 01:06:23,280
to have taken people even then by surprise
1105
01:06:23,280 --> 01:06:26,519
in the ferocity of what was happening.
1106
01:06:26,519 --> 01:06:29,079
(rain pouring)
1107
01:06:38,400 --> 01:06:41,039
It's probably the worst
time to be alive in
1108
01:06:41,039 --> 01:06:44,280
the Middle Ages is the first
half of the 14th century.
1109
01:06:44,280 --> 01:06:46,079
It's pretty much hell.
1110
01:06:47,200 --> 01:06:50,439
(anxious violin music)
1111
01:06:55,879 --> 01:06:57,720
- [Voiceover] Ravaged by famine,
1112
01:06:57,720 --> 01:06:59,600
many areas were deserted.
1113
01:06:59,600 --> 01:07:02,200
Entire towns vanished at this time
1114
01:07:02,200 --> 01:07:04,079
like Audrey near Athye.
1115
01:07:04,959 --> 01:07:07,879
This place was once a thriving settlement
1116
01:07:07,879 --> 01:07:10,920
but was abandoned in the 14th century.
1117
01:07:10,920 --> 01:07:13,879
When a cemetery was excavated there,
1118
01:07:13,879 --> 01:07:16,720
over 1,000 skeletons were recovered.
1119
01:07:16,720 --> 01:07:20,759
Some of them date from the
time of the Bruce invasion.
1120
01:07:20,759 --> 01:07:24,000
(anxious violin music)
1121
01:07:42,560 --> 01:07:44,720
- During the course of
excavation works here
1122
01:07:44,720 --> 01:07:49,039
over 1200 people were found,
so a full Medieval population.
1123
01:07:49,039 --> 01:07:51,000
And we noticed this is actually an area
1124
01:07:51,000 --> 01:07:52,319
that the Bruce army passes through because
1125
01:07:52,319 --> 01:07:54,200
they go through Athye
and the surrounding area.
1126
01:07:54,200 --> 01:07:56,039
So it was an area that
would have been affected
1127
01:07:56,039 --> 01:07:59,360
without a shadow of a doubt by the wars.
1128
01:08:03,280 --> 01:08:05,600
When you come to look in at how things
1129
01:08:05,600 --> 01:08:07,600
really were for people
hundreds of years in the past,
1130
01:08:07,600 --> 01:08:08,959
if you're looking at human remains,
1131
01:08:08,959 --> 01:08:10,280
you're looking directly into the face
1132
01:08:10,280 --> 01:08:11,920
of somebody who was alive at the time
1133
01:08:11,920 --> 01:08:14,720
that the Bruce invasion was taking place.
1134
01:08:14,720 --> 01:08:17,159
The types of injuries that they sustained
1135
01:08:17,159 --> 01:08:19,400
are practically unimaginable to us now.
1136
01:08:19,400 --> 01:08:23,560
The tough aspect of their
lives is just quite incredible.
1137
01:08:26,680 --> 01:08:28,239
The human remains are like
1138
01:08:28,239 --> 01:08:31,720
a storybook of people's lives at the time.
1139
01:08:32,759 --> 01:08:35,680
- Here we have an individual that is male
1140
01:08:35,680 --> 01:08:39,759
and aged between 35 and
45 years of age at death.
1141
01:08:40,839 --> 01:08:43,439
Evidence of interpersonal
violence would be
1142
01:08:43,439 --> 01:08:46,119
evident by the presence
of sharp force trauma
1143
01:08:46,119 --> 01:08:49,959
to the skull which we have
here in the frontal bone.
1144
01:08:49,959 --> 01:08:53,360
Comes in at a point which has sharp edges
1145
01:08:53,360 --> 01:08:55,400
on each side which indicate it may have
1146
01:08:55,400 --> 01:08:57,839
been a sword and it comes to a point just
1147
01:08:57,839 --> 01:09:00,319
above the eye which
narrowly misses the eye.
1148
01:09:00,319 --> 01:09:02,759
So here we have the frontal bone which
1149
01:09:02,759 --> 01:09:05,600
has the orbits of the eyes here and here
1150
01:09:05,600 --> 01:09:07,560
and this is the ear.
1151
01:09:07,560 --> 01:09:11,039
- This male was probably
facing his assailant
1152
01:09:11,039 --> 01:09:14,239
and a right-handed attack
has come in probably
1153
01:09:14,239 --> 01:09:17,200
from a sword and has swept in like this.
1154
01:09:17,200 --> 01:09:18,920
(swords clanking)
1155
01:09:18,920 --> 01:09:21,839
The sharp force trauma, it
probably exposed the skull.
1156
01:09:21,839 --> 01:09:24,759
This individual is incredibly
lucky because he survived
1157
01:09:24,759 --> 01:09:28,360
this blow and as well as this
blade coming through here,
1158
01:09:28,360 --> 01:09:31,400
there is the blunt force
trauma on the top of the head.
1159
01:09:31,400 --> 01:09:34,560
So either at the same time
or at two separate occasions,
1160
01:09:34,560 --> 01:09:37,200
this man was hit by two
different weapon types.
1161
01:09:37,200 --> 01:09:39,039
A sharp force trauma, probably a sword
1162
01:09:39,039 --> 01:09:40,839
and then a blunt force trauma which could
1163
01:09:40,839 --> 01:09:43,639
be a variety of different weapons but
1164
01:09:43,639 --> 01:09:45,400
the type of things in the Medieval period
1165
01:09:45,400 --> 01:09:46,920
that can inflict this
type of force are things
1166
01:09:46,920 --> 01:09:50,119
like hammers, that type of weaponry.
1167
01:09:50,119 --> 01:09:53,119
We have some from the same
cemetery where people,
1168
01:09:53,119 --> 01:09:54,879
we can tell that they've raised their arms
1169
01:09:54,879 --> 01:09:59,639
above their faces in an
attempt to ward off blows.
1170
01:09:59,639 --> 01:10:02,200
So really it's, the human remains are
1171
01:10:02,200 --> 01:10:05,479
the human story of what's
going on at this time
1172
01:10:05,479 --> 01:10:09,639
and this man is one of the
people who lived through it.
1173
01:10:11,720 --> 01:10:14,959
(relaxed violin tones)
1174
01:10:20,959 --> 01:10:23,239
- [Voiceover] Just a
few miles northeast of
1175
01:10:23,239 --> 01:10:25,879
the now-vanished town of Audrey is a huge
1176
01:10:25,879 --> 01:10:29,200
artificial mound, the motte of Ardskull.
1177
01:10:30,280 --> 01:10:32,879
Today the motte is
covered with trees but in
1178
01:10:32,879 --> 01:10:36,920
the 14th century it had a
very different appearance.
1179
01:10:36,920 --> 01:10:40,319
In January 1316, the Anglo-Irish Lords
1180
01:10:40,319 --> 01:10:44,560
gathered a great army here
commanded by Edmund Butler,
1181
01:10:44,560 --> 01:10:47,839
the English King's
representative in Ireland.
1182
01:10:47,839 --> 01:10:50,600
They knew the Scottish army was nearby
1183
01:10:50,600 --> 01:10:54,759
and were determined to
destroy them once and for all.
1184
01:10:56,839 --> 01:11:00,400
Battlefield archaeologist Tony Pollard is
1185
01:11:00,400 --> 01:11:02,800
following the trail of
Edward Bruce and the
1186
01:11:02,800 --> 01:11:06,680
Scottish army as they
advanced through Ireland.
1187
01:11:07,639 --> 01:11:09,159
- [Tony] There can be no denying
1188
01:11:09,159 --> 01:11:11,360
that this is very impressive.
1189
01:11:11,360 --> 01:11:12,920
- [Gavin] Absolutely, yeah.
1190
01:11:12,920 --> 01:11:14,479
- We've been looking for battlefields all
1191
01:11:14,479 --> 01:11:16,560
the way down to get to here and everywhere
1192
01:11:16,560 --> 01:11:18,479
we've been, we've seen mottes.
1193
01:11:18,479 --> 01:11:20,879
But they've all been
much smaller than this.
1194
01:11:20,879 --> 01:11:22,519
- What we have here Tony is
1195
01:11:22,519 --> 01:11:24,159
a very important settlement site.
1196
01:11:24,159 --> 01:11:26,400
So what we're lookin' at
is this huge mound that
1197
01:11:26,400 --> 01:11:29,200
originally would've had a
wooden palisade on the top.
1198
01:11:29,200 --> 01:11:31,479
It would've had a small garrison inside
1199
01:11:31,479 --> 01:11:33,759
but what we see today is only a small
1200
01:11:33,759 --> 01:11:35,959
fraction really of what used to be here.
1201
01:11:35,959 --> 01:11:37,360
There would've been a major settlement
1202
01:11:37,360 --> 01:11:39,759
that accompanied this motte
and when the Anglo-Normans
1203
01:11:39,759 --> 01:11:41,519
came to Ireland, they constructed these
1204
01:11:41,519 --> 01:11:43,800
mottes to try and control the landscape.
1205
01:11:43,800 --> 01:11:45,959
So you'll consistently find them beside
1206
01:11:45,959 --> 01:11:48,720
route ways, whether
they're roads or rivers.
1207
01:11:48,720 --> 01:11:50,680
We're beside a road here, a road that
1208
01:11:50,680 --> 01:11:54,680
the Bruce army would've
marched down originally.
1209
01:11:55,600 --> 01:11:57,519
The Bruce army is the largest army
1210
01:11:57,519 --> 01:11:59,519
that's really ever come to the country
1211
01:11:59,519 --> 01:12:01,159
and it's the largest army to be seen for
1212
01:12:01,159 --> 01:12:02,959
a number of hundred years in Ireland.
1213
01:12:02,959 --> 01:12:04,560
And an army that size has to
1214
01:12:04,560 --> 01:12:06,560
operate along the major route ways.
1215
01:12:06,560 --> 01:12:08,959
It has to move close to
these centers of power
1216
01:12:08,959 --> 01:12:11,879
consistently and that's exactly
what we have at Ardskull.
1217
01:12:11,879 --> 01:12:14,439
- So these are like castles
really but built on the cheap.
1218
01:12:14,439 --> 01:12:16,000
- That's exactly it, a quick fix to try
1219
01:12:16,000 --> 01:12:19,920
and control a territory
as quickly as they can.
1220
01:12:23,720 --> 01:12:27,400
- The Anglo-Irish, they seem
to have a fairly big army here.
1221
01:12:27,400 --> 01:12:30,000
They surely had an opportunity here
1222
01:12:30,000 --> 01:12:32,360
to smash to Scots who by this time
1223
01:12:32,360 --> 01:12:35,360
must have been in a
fairly dilapidated state.
1224
01:12:35,360 --> 01:12:37,600
But they kind of let it go, don't they?
1225
01:12:37,600 --> 01:12:39,239
- Oh absolutely, there is no doubt
1226
01:12:39,239 --> 01:12:40,879
that they significantly outnumbered
1227
01:12:40,879 --> 01:12:43,920
the Scots and should have won.
1228
01:12:43,920 --> 01:12:46,319
The Scots say that there were about 50,000
1229
01:12:46,319 --> 01:12:48,920
English descended on them,
they had about 10,000 men
1230
01:12:48,920 --> 01:12:52,560
and they defeat, using
the tactics that you would
1231
01:12:52,560 --> 01:12:55,039
be familiar with at
Bannockburn, defeat the English.
1232
01:12:55,039 --> 01:12:56,879
If you then look at the
other side of the accounts,
1233
01:12:56,879 --> 01:12:58,560
the Anglo-Irish accounts,
what they're saying
1234
01:12:58,560 --> 01:13:00,079
is that in fact really the Scots didn't
1235
01:13:00,079 --> 01:13:01,439
have much to do with this battle at all.
1236
01:13:01,439 --> 01:13:03,200
That they had a bit of
a disagreement among
1237
01:13:03,200 --> 01:13:06,039
themselves and after
killing about 70 odd Scots,
1238
01:13:06,039 --> 01:13:08,239
they lost five men and then they had
1239
01:13:08,239 --> 01:13:10,119
this argument and leave the field.
1240
01:13:10,119 --> 01:13:12,280
So that was really unfortunate
what occurred to them here.
1241
01:13:12,280 --> 01:13:13,959
- Whichever way you cut it,
1242
01:13:13,959 --> 01:13:16,159
it doesn't really bode well
for the Anglo-Irish does it?
1243
01:13:16,159 --> 01:13:18,720
Either they're defeated
by the Scots through
1244
01:13:18,720 --> 01:13:22,000
sheer force of arms or
they can't agree among
1245
01:13:22,000 --> 01:13:25,360
themselves what to do and have
a barney and then clear off.
1246
01:13:25,360 --> 01:13:27,000
- I'd hate to balance it out but you have
1247
01:13:27,000 --> 01:13:29,280
to consider that the
Scots more than likely
1248
01:13:29,280 --> 01:13:31,560
defeated them militarily
on the battlefield.
1249
01:13:31,560 --> 01:13:33,800
- The Scots are allowed
to fight another day.
1250
01:13:33,800 --> 01:13:35,720
- Yep, allowed to fight on their terms
1251
01:13:35,720 --> 01:13:37,159
and allowed to fight
another day and the war
1252
01:13:37,159 --> 01:13:41,319
continues and the misery
continues for everybody really.
1253
01:13:43,319 --> 01:13:45,159
- [Voiceover] Ardskull was a missed
1254
01:13:45,159 --> 01:13:47,079
opportunity for the Anglo-Irish.
1255
01:13:47,079 --> 01:13:49,639
Edmund Butler had failed
to take his best chance
1256
01:13:49,639 --> 01:13:52,920
yet to annihilate Edward
Bruce and now Dublin
1257
01:13:52,920 --> 01:13:56,560
lay open to assault by
the victorious Scots.
1258
01:13:58,400 --> 01:14:01,560
However in the days that
followed the battle,
1259
01:14:01,560 --> 01:14:05,519
they found themselves
caught in the fog of war.
1260
01:14:05,519 --> 01:14:08,920
That cloud of uncertainty
when an army is unsure
1261
01:14:08,920 --> 01:14:13,000
of its own capability and
its enemy's intentions.
1262
01:14:13,000 --> 01:14:16,200
The Scots were hungry and exhausted.
1263
01:14:16,200 --> 01:14:19,000
Edward Bruce knew they
were in no condition
1264
01:14:19,000 --> 01:14:22,759
to attack the most
important city in Ireland.
1265
01:14:30,119 --> 01:14:33,039
- At the end of the first
campaigning season if you like,
1266
01:14:33,039 --> 01:14:37,839
contemporary opinion was
that Bruce was winning.
1267
01:14:37,839 --> 01:14:41,600
He had the advantage and
he had an opportunity
1268
01:14:41,600 --> 01:14:46,039
then to consolidate his
position and work ahead.
1269
01:14:46,039 --> 01:14:48,159
The problem for him I suppose was
1270
01:14:48,159 --> 01:14:51,560
that that first season in Ireland
1271
01:14:51,560 --> 01:14:55,239
was also the first of these Famine years.
1272
01:14:55,239 --> 01:14:58,200
The conditions weren't ripe for him
1273
01:14:58,200 --> 01:15:01,720
to do something very
elaborate to begin with.
1274
01:15:01,720 --> 01:15:04,360
I think even Edward Bruce was,
1275
01:15:04,360 --> 01:15:07,560
even after his first
matter of months in Ireland
1276
01:15:07,560 --> 01:15:10,879
he might have begun to
think that maybe it wasn't
1277
01:15:10,879 --> 01:15:15,079
going to go as easily as
he had thought initially.
1278
01:15:20,439 --> 01:15:23,200
(armor clanking)
1279
01:15:25,360 --> 01:15:27,680
- [Voiceover] The Scots
had no option but to begin
1280
01:15:27,680 --> 01:15:31,959
the slow and painful march
north to their base in Ulster.
1281
01:15:31,959 --> 01:15:34,400
Their supplies were now almost gone
1282
01:15:34,400 --> 01:15:37,680
and the men began to die of starvation.
1283
01:15:43,239 --> 01:15:45,239
- What was happening during the course
1284
01:15:45,239 --> 01:15:48,920
of the Bruce invasion was very extreme.
1285
01:15:48,920 --> 01:15:51,319
Contemporary accounts say that people
1286
01:15:51,319 --> 01:15:53,560
were struggling so much,
they were resorting
1287
01:15:53,560 --> 01:15:56,479
to cannibalism in parts of Ireland.
1288
01:15:57,319 --> 01:16:00,479
- [Voiceover] It was said
truly that some evil men
1289
01:16:00,479 --> 01:16:04,079
were so distraught by
famine that they dragged
1290
01:16:04,079 --> 01:16:08,000
out of the cemeteries
the corpses of the buried
1291
01:16:08,000 --> 01:16:10,600
and roasted the bodies on spits
1292
01:16:10,600 --> 01:16:13,319
and ate every single one of them.
1293
01:16:14,159 --> 01:16:17,159
And women ate their sons for hunger.
1294
01:16:22,479 --> 01:16:27,039
- It was a very bleak
time and I think it was,
1295
01:16:27,039 --> 01:16:31,200
the timing was devastating
from the Scots' point of view.
1296
01:16:32,159 --> 01:16:35,680
(anxious violin music)
1297
01:16:35,680 --> 01:16:37,720
- [Voiceover] The weakened Scottish army
1298
01:16:37,720 --> 01:16:39,560
limped back to Ulster.
1299
01:16:39,560 --> 01:16:43,239
Even there the Scots were not secure
1300
01:16:43,239 --> 01:16:46,039
as Carrickfergus Castle,
the most important
1301
01:16:46,039 --> 01:16:50,839
stronghold in the north,
still held out against them.
1302
01:16:50,839 --> 01:16:53,800
Edward Bruce relied on
the tried and trusted
1303
01:16:53,800 --> 01:16:56,800
weapon of siege warfare, starvation.
1304
01:17:01,319 --> 01:17:03,839
- The Scots don't really
need big siege engines.
1305
01:17:03,839 --> 01:17:06,800
They don't need to be actively
attacking this all the time.
1306
01:17:06,800 --> 01:17:09,119
They just sit outside in their siege cam
1307
01:17:09,119 --> 01:17:11,879
and let nature take its course.
1308
01:17:11,879 --> 01:17:14,280
So it's an incredibly brutal conflict but
1309
01:17:14,280 --> 01:17:17,839
its not one that involves
lobbing huge missiles inside.
1310
01:17:17,839 --> 01:17:20,319
It's just keeping them bottled up and at
1311
01:17:20,319 --> 01:17:22,879
one point the Scots send emissaries into
1312
01:17:22,879 --> 01:17:25,360
the castle to negotiate and they are taken
1313
01:17:25,360 --> 01:17:28,639
prisoner by the garrison
and rumors start to
1314
01:17:28,639 --> 01:17:31,200
leak out that these
guys have actually been
1315
01:17:31,200 --> 01:17:34,479
eaten by the garrison, so hungry are they.
1316
01:17:34,479 --> 01:17:37,959
And eventually nature does take its course
1317
01:17:37,959 --> 01:17:41,280
and around about late July, August 1316,
1318
01:17:42,239 --> 01:17:44,680
just over a year after the siege begins,
1319
01:17:44,680 --> 01:17:48,839
the castle opens its gates and
Edward Bruce takes control.
1320
01:17:56,600 --> 01:17:58,439
- [Voiceover] This victory could not hide
1321
01:17:58,439 --> 01:18:00,519
the fact that Edward Bruce was still
1322
01:18:00,519 --> 01:18:02,720
a long way from being recognized
1323
01:18:02,720 --> 01:18:05,639
across the island as the High King.
1324
01:18:05,639 --> 01:18:08,800
Felim O'Connor, the King of Connacht,
1325
01:18:08,800 --> 01:18:11,600
now threw his lot in
with Bruce and attacked
1326
01:18:11,600 --> 01:18:15,519
English settlements throughout
the western province.
1327
01:18:15,519 --> 01:18:20,280
But he was defeated and killed
in the Battle of Athenry.
1328
01:18:20,280 --> 01:18:22,639
Other Gaelic Chiefs showed little
1329
01:18:22,639 --> 01:18:25,639
or no interest in joining the Scots.
1330
01:18:28,720 --> 01:18:31,039
- The thing about Ireland
in the Middle Ages
1331
01:18:31,039 --> 01:18:33,519
which is not true of Scotland is that
1332
01:18:33,519 --> 01:18:36,400
Ireland was a very polarized society.
1333
01:18:36,400 --> 01:18:39,920
You had the native Irish and
you had the English of Ireland.
1334
01:18:39,920 --> 01:18:42,839
So of course it probably was a bit naive
1335
01:18:42,839 --> 01:18:45,360
to think that they could put aside these
1336
01:18:45,360 --> 01:18:48,319
internal divisions and rise above it for
1337
01:18:48,319 --> 01:18:52,560
some kind of inverted
common national cause.
1338
01:18:52,560 --> 01:18:54,479
- [Voiceover] Bruce
still had the backing of
1339
01:18:54,479 --> 01:18:58,439
a formidable Gaelic leader,
Domhnall O'Neill of Tyrone.
1340
01:18:58,439 --> 01:19:00,600
O'Neill's army represented the main
1341
01:19:00,600 --> 01:19:04,720
Irish support for the Scottish campaign.
1342
01:19:04,720 --> 01:19:07,639
- Instead of fighting the English,
1343
01:19:07,639 --> 01:19:11,800
we fight ourselves and
so we owe to ourselves
1344
01:19:11,800 --> 01:19:15,239
the miseries with which we are afflicted.
1345
01:19:18,360 --> 01:19:19,360
Degenerates.
1346
01:19:21,280 --> 01:19:24,360
Manifestly unworthy of our ancestors.
1347
01:19:26,560 --> 01:19:29,600
It was by their valor and splendid deeds
1348
01:19:29,600 --> 01:19:32,720
that the Irish race in all the ages past
1349
01:19:32,720 --> 01:19:34,439
retained our liberty.
1350
01:19:37,600 --> 01:19:40,839
We must be at harmony at home.
1351
01:19:40,839 --> 01:19:45,519
We must prosecute this
war with our united forces
1352
01:19:45,519 --> 01:19:48,200
if we are to regain our liberty.
1353
01:19:50,239 --> 01:19:52,800
- The idea that they thought of themselves
1354
01:19:52,800 --> 01:19:56,439
as distinctively Irish does emerge but
1355
01:19:56,439 --> 01:19:59,000
Ireland is still a very divided country
1356
01:19:59,000 --> 01:20:00,839
for most of the Middle Ages.
1357
01:20:00,839 --> 01:20:02,680
That's the tragedy is that they
1358
01:20:02,680 --> 01:20:05,039
didn't band together and work together.
1359
01:20:05,039 --> 01:20:07,119
That just never happened.
1360
01:20:13,200 --> 01:20:17,280
- You can argue that
these Irish leaders should
1361
01:20:17,280 --> 01:20:21,439
have put their differences
aside in this national cause.
1362
01:20:23,519 --> 01:20:25,920
But you're asking a
person to take a gamble
1363
01:20:25,920 --> 01:20:28,239
on losing everything
that he has in the world
1364
01:20:28,239 --> 01:20:32,400
for some greater cause and
it was too much to ask.
1365
01:20:33,360 --> 01:20:35,680
Each of these Irish leaders was
1366
01:20:35,680 --> 01:20:38,800
the head of a branch of the family.
1367
01:20:38,800 --> 01:20:43,119
He was somebody who was
trying to hold on to his land
1368
01:20:43,119 --> 01:20:46,039
and ultimately it's all about land.
1369
01:20:47,759 --> 01:20:51,000
(relaxed guitar music)
1370
01:20:52,079 --> 01:20:53,920
- [Voiceover] Edward Bruce's campaign
1371
01:20:53,920 --> 01:20:55,639
was losing momentum.
1372
01:20:55,639 --> 01:20:57,800
He desperately needed reinforcements
1373
01:20:57,800 --> 01:21:01,079
and supplies for his
depleted and weakened army
1374
01:21:01,079 --> 01:21:05,680
and only one man could
provide such assistance.
1375
01:21:05,680 --> 01:21:09,439
In September 1316 Edward traveled to Fife
1376
01:21:09,439 --> 01:21:13,200
to see his brother, the
King of Scotland himself,
1377
01:21:13,200 --> 01:21:14,280
Robert Bruce.
1378
01:21:21,720 --> 01:21:24,519
- The Irish are impressed.
1379
01:21:24,519 --> 01:21:26,680
The government is frightened of the wedge
1380
01:21:26,680 --> 01:21:29,519
that has been thrust so
quickly into the heart
1381
01:21:29,519 --> 01:21:32,239
of English influence and yet you did
1382
01:21:32,239 --> 01:21:35,920
not march on to the walls of Dublin.
1383
01:21:35,920 --> 01:21:38,119
- My hand was forced.
1384
01:21:38,119 --> 01:21:40,239
Famine and fatigue wore
weary my few remaining
1385
01:21:40,239 --> 01:21:43,239
men while Carrickfergus
still lay under siege.
1386
01:21:43,239 --> 01:21:47,239
I could not afford a battle on two fronts.
1387
01:21:47,239 --> 01:21:50,079
I heeded your advice brother.
1388
01:21:50,079 --> 01:21:52,079
Demand nothing until you
1389
01:21:52,079 --> 01:21:55,159
have the force to enhance your claim.
1390
01:21:56,119 --> 01:21:58,200
- I fear they must face the wrath of
1391
01:21:58,200 --> 01:22:02,119
two kings to convince
them of their loyalty.
1392
01:22:02,119 --> 01:22:05,800
Replenish your stock, reinforce your men.
1393
01:22:05,800 --> 01:22:07,879
Prepare yourself for war.
1394
01:22:10,439 --> 01:22:13,479
- It was always Edward Bruce
that we see to the fore
1395
01:22:13,479 --> 01:22:17,000
in this invasion of
Ireland and indeed Robert's
1396
01:22:17,000 --> 01:22:20,200
contemporary biographer,
this man John Barbour
1397
01:22:20,200 --> 01:22:22,720
who wrote a very long poem about Robert
1398
01:22:22,720 --> 01:22:24,519
later on in the 14th century,
1399
01:22:24,519 --> 01:22:27,239
he paints Edward as a
bit of a troublemaker
1400
01:22:27,239 --> 01:22:29,400
and that Robert wanted rid of him.
1401
01:22:29,400 --> 01:22:32,079
But I think there are
other reasons for that.
1402
01:22:32,079 --> 01:22:34,000
I mean all the contemporary evidence
1403
01:22:34,000 --> 01:22:37,000
suggests that Robert and
Edward were very close.
1404
01:22:37,000 --> 01:22:39,600
Edward was Robert's right-hand man.
1405
01:22:39,600 --> 01:22:42,759
- It could be that Edward was desirous
1406
01:22:43,800 --> 01:22:47,560
of proving himself as
the worthy successor,
1407
01:22:47,560 --> 01:22:51,119
worthy potential
successor to Robert Bruce.
1408
01:22:52,239 --> 01:22:54,360
Edward may have thought well if I'm
1409
01:22:54,360 --> 01:22:56,920
gonna be the next King of Scots,
1410
01:22:56,920 --> 01:22:59,119
maybe I should show that
I've got the mettle for it.
1411
01:22:59,119 --> 01:23:01,600
Because he must've felt
somewhat overshadowed
1412
01:23:01,600 --> 01:23:04,079
I think by his brother Robert.
1413
01:23:05,680 --> 01:23:07,600
- The whole thread
running through this story
1414
01:23:07,600 --> 01:23:10,200
I think is the relationship
between the two brothers,
1415
01:23:10,200 --> 01:23:12,879
Robert and Edward and it's a relationship
1416
01:23:12,879 --> 01:23:15,720
that I don't think has been
given enough attention.
1417
01:23:15,720 --> 01:23:18,079
I think there are
assumptions made about it
1418
01:23:18,079 --> 01:23:20,079
and I think some of them are very wrong.
1419
01:23:20,079 --> 01:23:22,839
One of which is that
Robert wanted to get his
1420
01:23:22,839 --> 01:23:26,519
brother out of the way because
he was a possible threat.
1421
01:23:26,519 --> 01:23:29,360
I think that's absolute nonsense.
1422
01:23:29,360 --> 01:23:32,800
Robert sent his brother to Ireland because
1423
01:23:32,800 --> 01:23:35,039
he fully trusted him and I don't think it
1424
01:23:35,039 --> 01:23:38,479
smacks at all of a suspicious or difficult
1425
01:23:38,479 --> 01:23:40,759
relationship between Edward and Robert.
1426
01:23:40,759 --> 01:23:42,119
And let's face it,
1427
01:23:42,119 --> 01:23:44,600
the entire Bruce family's
almost been wiped out.
1428
01:23:44,600 --> 01:23:46,479
All of the other brothers are dead.
1429
01:23:46,479 --> 01:23:48,439
It's only that pair and I think
1430
01:23:48,439 --> 01:23:51,720
they've got a fairly close bond.
1431
01:23:51,720 --> 01:23:55,079
(dramatic violin music)
1432
01:23:57,039 --> 01:24:00,159
- [Voiceover] King Robert
arrived in Ireland in this way
1433
01:24:00,159 --> 01:24:03,439
and when he had stayed in
Carrickfergus for three days,
1434
01:24:03,439 --> 01:24:06,600
they consulted and decided
that with all their men
1435
01:24:06,600 --> 01:24:09,839
they would hole their
way through all Ireland
1436
01:24:09,839 --> 01:24:12,000
from one end to the other.
1437
01:24:15,400 --> 01:24:19,439
- It is to me very
interesting that one-fifth
1438
01:24:19,439 --> 01:24:24,280
of John Barbour's poem is
devoted to the Irish expedition.
1439
01:24:24,280 --> 01:24:27,720
And that suggests that
to contemporaries this
1440
01:24:27,720 --> 01:24:30,519
was a really important
thing, it was a big deal.
1441
01:24:30,519 --> 01:24:32,200
Much bigger deal than most Scottish
1442
01:24:32,200 --> 01:24:35,360
historians have made of it ever since.
1443
01:24:36,879 --> 01:24:38,720
- When Robert Bruce came into Ireland,
1444
01:24:38,720 --> 01:24:40,720
the army marched down and they were
1445
01:24:40,720 --> 01:24:43,000
clearly marching on Dublin.
1446
01:24:46,439 --> 01:24:49,959
Dublin was at the center
of everything in Ireland.
1447
01:24:49,959 --> 01:24:52,239
It was the headquarters
of the English government
1448
01:24:52,239 --> 01:24:54,239
and if you were gonna topple
the English government
1449
01:24:54,239 --> 01:24:57,519
in Ireland, you had to
get control of Dublin.
1450
01:24:57,519 --> 01:24:59,720
They came as far as Castleknock and they
1451
01:24:59,720 --> 01:25:02,720
were looking at the city
and they were contemplating
1452
01:25:02,720 --> 01:25:06,720
an assault on it maybe the next morning.
1453
01:25:06,720 --> 01:25:09,159
The citizens of Dublin, they went inside
1454
01:25:09,159 --> 01:25:12,400
the walls and burned the
suburbs after them to
1455
01:25:12,400 --> 01:25:17,039
deny the Scots cover as they
tried to get to the town.
1456
01:25:17,039 --> 01:25:19,920
The citizens of Dublin
pull down their own walls,
1457
01:25:19,920 --> 01:25:21,800
they retreat within the very
1458
01:25:21,800 --> 01:25:23,959
bastions of the core of the city.
1459
01:25:23,959 --> 01:25:26,560
The Governor flees Dublin for Cork.
1460
01:25:26,560 --> 01:25:28,800
It's effectively wide open.
1461
01:25:31,360 --> 01:25:33,680
- It's hard to see other than the capture
1462
01:25:33,680 --> 01:25:37,000
of Dublin what would have
tipped the balance in Ireland.
1463
01:25:37,000 --> 01:25:39,119
It takes them over a year
to take Carrickfergus,
1464
01:25:39,119 --> 01:25:41,800
it falls and it doesn't
really make much difference.
1465
01:25:41,800 --> 01:25:45,400
What are they actually trying to achieve?
1466
01:25:45,400 --> 01:25:47,079
- Th problem for Robert Bruce when he
1467
01:25:47,079 --> 01:25:49,079
was in Ireland was that he was committed
1468
01:25:49,079 --> 01:25:51,959
to a short, sharp shock here in Ireland.
1469
01:25:51,959 --> 01:25:54,039
He couldn't spend a year hanging
1470
01:25:54,039 --> 01:25:57,119
around outside Dublin
for them to surrender.
1471
01:25:57,119 --> 01:25:59,439
So I think they took a
look at the situation
1472
01:25:59,439 --> 01:26:02,079
and they realized it was
either a lengthy siege or
1473
01:26:02,079 --> 01:26:06,400
we just abandon Dublin for
the time being and march on.
1474
01:26:06,400 --> 01:26:09,879
(dramatic violin tones)
1475
01:26:09,879 --> 01:26:11,920
- [Voiceover] Leaving Dublin behind,
1476
01:26:11,920 --> 01:26:14,400
the Scots marched west to Leixlip where
1477
01:26:14,400 --> 01:26:17,680
they spent four days
burning and plundering.
1478
01:26:17,680 --> 01:26:21,439
Further south, the Franciscan
monks at Castledermot
1479
01:26:21,439 --> 01:26:24,920
had no reason to welcome the
approach of Robert Bruce.
1480
01:26:24,920 --> 01:26:26,360
Two years before,
1481
01:26:26,360 --> 01:26:30,519
his brother had destroyed
their friary in Glandore.
1482
01:26:31,839 --> 01:26:34,920
(tense violin tones)
1483
01:26:38,000 --> 01:26:40,200
Throughout the campaign the Scots
1484
01:26:40,200 --> 01:26:44,479
had seen religious orders
as legitimate targets
1485
01:26:44,479 --> 01:26:47,400
because these same religious
orders stood accused
1486
01:26:47,400 --> 01:26:49,560
of committing atrocities of their own
1487
01:26:49,560 --> 01:26:51,639
against the native Irish.
1488
01:26:59,720 --> 01:27:02,079
- So these places are
certainly not set aside,
1489
01:27:02,079 --> 01:27:03,439
they're not left alone.
1490
01:27:03,439 --> 01:27:05,479
They are embroiled within this conflict.
1491
01:27:05,479 --> 01:27:07,479
- They are, neither side is offering
1492
01:27:07,479 --> 01:27:10,360
any sanctuary to these locations at all.
1493
01:27:10,360 --> 01:27:13,239
These are fair game,
there's no rhyme nor reason
1494
01:27:13,239 --> 01:27:17,079
why they necessarily single
out a particular monastery,
1495
01:27:17,079 --> 01:27:20,400
friary or abbey but when they do,
1496
01:27:20,400 --> 01:27:23,439
they visit the wrath of
the Bruces upon the place.
1497
01:27:23,439 --> 01:27:27,079
- It just demonstrates
how serious the Scots
1498
01:27:27,079 --> 01:27:29,639
were about this place and this operation.
1499
01:27:29,639 --> 01:27:32,000
They left no stone
unturned really, did they?
1500
01:27:32,000 --> 01:27:33,400
- No they didn't.
1501
01:27:36,280 --> 01:27:39,839
In the Remonstrance in 1317 by
Domhnall O'Neill for example,
1502
01:27:39,839 --> 01:27:42,360
there's direct allegation that
1503
01:27:44,720 --> 01:27:47,839
monks are going around hunting Irishmen.
1504
01:27:47,839 --> 01:27:48,839
- The monks?
1505
01:27:48,839 --> 01:27:51,119
- [Gavin] The monks going
out hunting Irishmen
1506
01:27:51,119 --> 01:27:53,560
because he wants to say "This is the chaos
1507
01:27:53,560 --> 01:27:58,200
"that Edward the Second
has wracked upon Ireland.
1508
01:27:58,200 --> 01:28:02,360
"This is why we want Edward
Bruce to come over and save us."
1509
01:28:03,959 --> 01:28:08,280
(swords clanking, screaming)
1510
01:28:08,280 --> 01:28:11,639
One side is accusing the other side of
1511
01:28:11,639 --> 01:28:14,560
the absolute most terrible
crimes imaginable.
1512
01:28:14,560 --> 01:28:15,800
- It is horrific really.
1513
01:28:15,800 --> 01:28:18,079
What we're looking at
is total war I guess,
1514
01:28:18,079 --> 01:28:20,039
absolutely nothing is sacred.
1515
01:28:20,039 --> 01:28:22,400
There's all that Braveheart nonsense about
1516
01:28:22,400 --> 01:28:25,200
the Scots always being the
underdog and the English
1517
01:28:25,200 --> 01:28:27,920
aggressor but when you
step back and look with
1518
01:28:27,920 --> 01:28:30,720
an objective eye, the Scots are capable of
1519
01:28:30,720 --> 01:28:33,680
mixing it up in a bad way
with the best of them.
1520
01:28:33,680 --> 01:28:36,479
Or should I say the worst of them.
1521
01:28:43,959 --> 01:28:45,479
- [Voiceover] The Bruce army was
1522
01:28:45,479 --> 01:28:47,800
slicing its way through
the heart of Ireland,
1523
01:28:47,800 --> 01:28:50,360
leaving a trail of smoldering ash
1524
01:28:50,360 --> 01:28:53,439
and a land stripped bare in its wake.
1525
01:28:55,759 --> 01:28:57,920
(thunder)
1526
01:29:05,920 --> 01:29:09,159
(ominous guitar tones)
1527
01:29:11,800 --> 01:29:14,519
(fire crackling)
1528
01:29:15,680 --> 01:29:19,519
- It's a Scots military
practice to actually
1529
01:29:19,519 --> 01:29:23,839
deny your enemy food, supplies,
resources and provisions.
1530
01:29:23,839 --> 01:29:26,200
The only thing is of course
that it actually robs
1531
01:29:26,200 --> 01:29:30,360
your own army of the ability
to have provisions as well.
1532
01:29:31,479 --> 01:29:33,759
- If you could talk
about public opinion in
1533
01:29:33,759 --> 01:29:36,119
the early 14th century that might've begun
1534
01:29:36,119 --> 01:29:40,039
to swing opinion slightly
against the Scots, some
1535
01:29:40,039 --> 01:29:42,800
people were saying "What was
so wrong with the English?"
1536
01:29:42,800 --> 01:29:45,360
There is one source that
says this exact thing.
1537
01:29:45,360 --> 01:29:48,360
Our old foreigners are
much better than these
1538
01:29:48,360 --> 01:29:52,519
new foreigners who've come
in and doing all this damage.
1539
01:29:55,639 --> 01:29:57,959
- You only have to look at the campaign.
1540
01:29:57,959 --> 01:30:02,239
How endless it almost seems
weaving 'round and about
1541
01:30:02,239 --> 01:30:04,280
first past Dublin down into Leinster,
1542
01:30:04,280 --> 01:30:07,039
across to Limerick, back across, back up.
1543
01:30:07,039 --> 01:30:11,039
Are they actually desperately
in search of food?
1544
01:30:12,839 --> 01:30:17,720
They almost starve to death,
they're eating their horses.
1545
01:30:17,720 --> 01:30:19,239
How do you explain it?
1546
01:30:19,239 --> 01:30:20,879
- They're marching to places to try to
1547
01:30:20,879 --> 01:30:24,119
rouse the Irish population
to join their side.
1548
01:30:24,119 --> 01:30:27,519
So I mean the furthest south they get to
1549
01:30:27,519 --> 01:30:29,879
is within sight of Limerick literally
1550
01:30:29,879 --> 01:30:32,639
and they're trying to get
the O'Briens to join them.
1551
01:30:32,639 --> 01:30:36,159
The problem with the O'Briens
as with the O'Connors
1552
01:30:36,159 --> 01:30:38,800
and many other dynasties
is that there are two
1553
01:30:38,800 --> 01:30:41,959
rival branches and once one side says
1554
01:30:41,959 --> 01:30:43,839
that he's going to join with the Scots,
1555
01:30:43,839 --> 01:30:46,680
the other fellow stays with
the English government.
1556
01:30:46,680 --> 01:30:49,759
And that the kind of unity
that they were expecting,
1557
01:30:49,759 --> 01:30:53,920
it was alien to Ireland
in the early 14th century.
1558
01:31:01,959 --> 01:31:04,079
- Treachery stalks unashamed in
1559
01:31:04,079 --> 01:31:07,519
Ireland among the nobility as well I see.
1560
01:31:10,680 --> 01:31:12,159
- What now Robert?
1561
01:31:13,720 --> 01:31:15,319
- Demand nothing until you
1562
01:31:15,319 --> 01:31:17,959
have the strength to enforce the claim.
1563
01:31:17,959 --> 01:31:21,119
We retreat to Carrickfergus, hut, hut.
1564
01:31:26,839 --> 01:31:29,560
- [Voiceover] There was
more bad news for the Scots.
1565
01:31:29,560 --> 01:31:31,479
An army of English reinforcements had
1566
01:31:31,479 --> 01:31:34,759
landed at Yal and was on its way north.
1567
01:31:42,560 --> 01:31:46,239
- That campaign in particular
is the one to really question.
1568
01:31:46,239 --> 01:31:48,959
At one point the King
of Scots, his brother
1569
01:31:48,959 --> 01:31:51,479
the High King of Ireland,
the man who would've
1570
01:31:51,479 --> 01:31:53,560
been guardian of the Scottish realm in
1571
01:31:53,560 --> 01:31:55,360
the event of the death
of both of these men,
1572
01:31:55,360 --> 01:31:57,800
Thomas Randolph, so the three
leading men of Scotland,
1573
01:31:57,800 --> 01:32:01,519
are pretty close to being starved, killed,
1574
01:32:01,519 --> 01:32:04,600
hunted down, wiped out at a time when
1575
01:32:06,119 --> 01:32:10,119
Robert Bruce only has a
grandson to follow him.
1576
01:32:10,119 --> 01:32:14,839
What's going on, why do
they think it's worth it?
1577
01:32:14,839 --> 01:32:17,000
- [Voiceover] The Scots' latest retreat
1578
01:32:17,000 --> 01:32:19,360
had an air of finality to it.
1579
01:32:19,360 --> 01:32:21,639
Robert was needed back in Scotland,
1580
01:32:21,639 --> 01:32:24,560
which the English were
threatening to invade again.
1581
01:32:24,560 --> 01:32:28,039
In May he boarded a ship for his homeland.
1582
01:32:30,400 --> 01:32:33,680
- There was a sense in which
Ireland stretches them too far
1583
01:32:33,680 --> 01:32:36,079
and as much as its a
sort of two-front policy,
1584
01:32:36,079 --> 01:32:40,079
they can only really run
one at a time effectively.
1585
01:32:40,079 --> 01:32:43,319
I suspect the English
after awhile know that
1586
01:32:43,319 --> 01:32:46,200
and they know that unless
Edward Bruce commits
1587
01:32:46,200 --> 01:32:48,639
to really taking somewhere like Dublin,
1588
01:32:48,639 --> 01:32:51,239
it's not gonna tip the balance.
1589
01:32:53,720 --> 01:32:57,800
(ominous violin tones, drumbeat)
1590
01:32:59,519 --> 01:33:01,639
- [Voiceover] There is
virtually no information on
1591
01:33:01,639 --> 01:33:05,600
how the war went for over a
year after Robert's departure.
1592
01:33:05,600 --> 01:33:08,360
It seems that for many
months the Scots, the Irish
1593
01:33:08,360 --> 01:33:12,280
and the Anglo-Irish abstained
from further fighting.
1594
01:33:12,280 --> 01:33:15,280
The most likely explanation
is that each side needed
1595
01:33:15,280 --> 01:33:19,439
to recover after almost three
years of war and famine.
1596
01:33:33,600 --> 01:33:36,800
- Excommunication is to
be pronounced against
1597
01:33:36,800 --> 01:33:40,639
all invading England and
disturbing its peace.
1598
01:33:50,720 --> 01:33:54,600
- Your brother may be able
to afford to fight the Pope
1599
01:33:54,600 --> 01:33:56,639
but if the judgement of
heaven is called down
1600
01:33:56,639 --> 01:34:00,400
on me and my people,
what is to become of us?
1601
01:34:01,680 --> 01:34:04,839
- We shall address the Pope ourselves.
1602
01:34:04,839 --> 01:34:06,759
Through the Cardinals we shall persuade
1603
01:34:06,759 --> 01:34:10,079
them that Ireland's cause is a just one.
1604
01:34:18,079 --> 01:34:20,920
- [Voiceover] In 1317 O'Neill and other
1605
01:34:20,920 --> 01:34:25,000
Gaelic leaders sent a letter
known as the Remonstrance
1606
01:34:25,000 --> 01:34:28,879
of the Irish Princes
to Pope John the 22nd.
1607
01:34:28,879 --> 01:34:31,119
It explained why they had supported
1608
01:34:31,119 --> 01:34:33,879
Edward Bruce against the English.
1609
01:34:34,720 --> 01:34:37,560
- From the time the
English crossed the borders
1610
01:34:37,560 --> 01:34:40,800
of our kingdom with evil intent,
1611
01:34:40,800 --> 01:34:44,439
with all their strength and using all
1612
01:34:44,439 --> 01:34:46,639
the skills in their power they have
1613
01:34:46,639 --> 01:34:50,039
tried to destroy our people utterly
1614
01:34:50,039 --> 01:34:52,519
and eradicate them completely.
1615
01:34:53,879 --> 01:34:57,479
On account of the aforesaid injuries then
1616
01:34:57,479 --> 01:34:59,639
and innumerable others which cannot
1617
01:34:59,639 --> 01:35:02,839
easily be grasped by
the human understanding,
1618
01:35:02,839 --> 01:35:04,800
we are compelled to enter into
1619
01:35:04,800 --> 01:35:07,879
a deadly war with the aforementioned.
1620
01:35:10,319 --> 01:35:14,039
- The Remonstrance claims
that Domhnall O'Neill had
1621
01:35:14,039 --> 01:35:17,039
the support of a large
number of the Irish Bishops
1622
01:35:17,039 --> 01:35:19,200
and I think that may
well be the case because
1623
01:35:19,200 --> 01:35:21,079
if you read the text of the Remonstrance,
1624
01:35:21,079 --> 01:35:23,039
the importance of it
is that it was sent to
1625
01:35:23,039 --> 01:35:26,079
the Pope who was then in Avignon.
1626
01:35:26,079 --> 01:35:28,280
And so it had to make an appeal
1627
01:35:28,280 --> 01:35:30,800
to something that might win the Pope over.
1628
01:35:30,800 --> 01:35:33,079
So it reminds him that
actually the English
1629
01:35:33,079 --> 01:35:35,479
came to Ireland because they had a license
1630
01:35:35,479 --> 01:35:38,680
from the then-Pope to do
it, Pope Adrian the Fourth
1631
01:35:38,680 --> 01:35:41,079
and that part of their mission in Ireland
1632
01:35:41,079 --> 01:35:44,239
was meant to be to
reform the Irish Church.
1633
01:35:44,239 --> 01:35:47,439
But in fact the remonstrance
says the opposite happened.
1634
01:35:47,439 --> 01:35:49,200
They didn't reform the Irish Church,
1635
01:35:49,200 --> 01:35:51,000
they damaged the Irish Church.
1636
01:35:51,000 --> 01:35:53,720
So it's trying to make
an ecclesiastical appeal
1637
01:35:53,720 --> 01:35:56,839
to get the Pope to take the
Irish side against the English
1638
01:35:56,839 --> 01:35:59,639
just as at the same time
Bruce in Scotland was trying
1639
01:35:59,639 --> 01:36:03,800
to get the Pope to take the
Scots' side against the English.
1640
01:36:06,079 --> 01:36:09,319
- And to achieve our aims more swiftly,
1641
01:36:09,319 --> 01:36:12,200
we call to our help and assistance
1642
01:36:12,200 --> 01:36:16,319
the illustrious Edward
the Bruce of Carrick
1643
01:36:16,319 --> 01:36:19,360
and brother to the Lord Robert,
1644
01:36:19,360 --> 01:36:23,239
the most illustrious King of all the Scots
1645
01:36:23,239 --> 01:36:26,400
and sprung from our noblest ancestors.
1646
01:36:29,200 --> 01:36:32,039
- [Voiceover] In its
wording the Remonstrance is
1647
01:36:32,039 --> 01:36:35,600
uncannily similar to the
Declaration of Arbroath,
1648
01:36:35,600 --> 01:36:38,039
which the Scottish Church and nobility
1649
01:36:38,039 --> 01:36:41,759
sent to the Pope three years later.
1650
01:36:41,759 --> 01:36:44,239
- A number of Irish historians as well as
1651
01:36:44,239 --> 01:36:47,159
Scottish historians detect the hand that
1652
01:36:47,159 --> 01:36:49,920
was behind the Declaration of Arbroath
1653
01:36:49,920 --> 01:36:51,680
in the Remonstrance.
1654
01:36:51,680 --> 01:36:54,720
That this was a product of
Bruce's chancery if you like,
1655
01:36:54,720 --> 01:36:58,119
a propaganda document no question
1656
01:36:58,119 --> 01:37:01,239
but it's making many similar points.
1657
01:37:01,239 --> 01:37:05,280
The Irish had ruled for
centuries unconquered by
1658
01:37:05,280 --> 01:37:08,759
a foreigner exactly as the
Scots did in the Declaration.
1659
01:37:08,759 --> 01:37:11,400
The English King came to the Irish
1660
01:37:11,400 --> 01:37:13,720
as a friend but betrayed them as an enemy.
1661
01:37:13,720 --> 01:37:15,600
The same thing in Scotland.
1662
01:37:15,600 --> 01:37:17,239
The English ever since have reigned
1663
01:37:17,239 --> 01:37:18,720
as tyrants in Ireland.
1664
01:37:18,720 --> 01:37:21,639
The same as Edward the
First, or Edward the Second
1665
01:37:21,639 --> 01:37:24,119
tried to rule in Scotland.
1666
01:37:24,119 --> 01:37:27,039
So there is a direct relationship between
1667
01:37:27,039 --> 01:37:29,759
these two documents,
I'm pretty sure of it.
1668
01:37:29,759 --> 01:37:32,639
It's controversial but if
things are not controversial
1669
01:37:32,639 --> 01:37:36,319
in history, they're not
worth talking about.
1670
01:37:39,280 --> 01:37:42,600
- It is in truth not for glory or riches
1671
01:37:44,280 --> 01:37:46,680
or honor that we're fighting.
1672
01:37:48,000 --> 01:37:51,400
But for freedom alone which no honest man
1673
01:37:52,759 --> 01:37:55,600
will give up but with life itself.
1674
01:37:59,200 --> 01:38:01,119
- I think this is really where Bruce
1675
01:38:01,119 --> 01:38:03,759
invents something called
Scottish independence.
1676
01:38:03,759 --> 01:38:06,479
Bruce must've realized
somewhere along the line
1677
01:38:06,479 --> 01:38:10,039
that as long as people
had this loyalty to their
1678
01:38:10,039 --> 01:38:13,079
clan and their family, we
could never build a state
1679
01:38:13,079 --> 01:38:16,200
or a nation and I think
that's when he said,
1680
01:38:16,200 --> 01:38:18,879
"We've gotta give these
guys something greater
1681
01:38:18,879 --> 01:38:21,319
"than themselves to
which they can aspire."
1682
01:38:21,319 --> 01:38:24,280
Bruce's supporters send
a letter to the Pope
1683
01:38:24,280 --> 01:38:26,800
begging him to bring pressure to bear upon
1684
01:38:26,800 --> 01:38:28,839
Edward the Second to recognize Bruce
1685
01:38:28,839 --> 01:38:30,439
as the legitimate King of Scots,
1686
01:38:30,439 --> 01:38:32,000
to end these terrible wars.
1687
01:38:32,000 --> 01:38:33,720
They tell the Pope that
if you don't do this,
1688
01:38:33,720 --> 01:38:36,519
you will be responsible for
the bloodshed that follows.
1689
01:38:36,519 --> 01:38:38,519
And in the course of this letter
1690
01:38:38,519 --> 01:38:41,519
they make two great pronouncements.
1691
01:38:41,519 --> 01:38:45,680
If Bruce should ever
submit us or our kingdom
1692
01:38:45,680 --> 01:38:47,959
to the King of England or the English,
1693
01:38:47,959 --> 01:38:50,560
we will remove him and set up another
1694
01:38:50,560 --> 01:38:53,920
better able to govern us as our King.
1695
01:38:53,920 --> 01:38:58,039
And this I have argued
is the first articulation
1696
01:38:58,039 --> 01:39:02,200
really of the contractual
theory of monarchy in Europe.
1697
01:39:03,119 --> 01:39:05,519
And then they go on to make the statement
1698
01:39:05,519 --> 01:39:08,600
which many people still weight court.
1699
01:39:08,600 --> 01:39:11,000
For so long as 100 of us remain alive,
1700
01:39:11,000 --> 01:39:12,639
we shall never surrender.
1701
01:39:12,639 --> 01:39:14,600
It is not for glory nor riches nor honors
1702
01:39:14,600 --> 01:39:17,159
that we're fighting, but
for freedom alone which
1703
01:39:17,159 --> 01:39:20,000
no honest person will
lose but with life itself.
1704
01:39:20,000 --> 01:39:22,800
Who could argue with that?
1705
01:39:22,800 --> 01:39:26,159
(dramatic violin music)
1706
01:39:29,959 --> 01:39:32,439
- [Voiceover] Some 450 years later,
1707
01:39:32,439 --> 01:39:34,800
the Declaration of Arbroath would inspire
1708
01:39:34,800 --> 01:39:37,319
one of the most famous
assertions of freedom,
1709
01:39:37,319 --> 01:39:40,800
human rights and
self-determination ever written,
1710
01:39:40,800 --> 01:39:44,239
the American Declaration of Independence.
1711
01:39:46,239 --> 01:39:49,839
This document could've had
its roots in a forgotten
1712
01:39:49,839 --> 01:39:54,000
war fought in Ireland and
Scotland centuries earlier.
1713
01:39:55,439 --> 01:39:59,600
And in 1317 that war had
still to reach its conclusion.
1714
01:40:03,400 --> 01:40:06,200
Time was running out for Edward Bruce.
1715
01:40:06,200 --> 01:40:08,759
Twice he and his army had a chance
1716
01:40:08,759 --> 01:40:12,200
to capture Dublin and
twice they had failed.
1717
01:40:12,200 --> 01:40:14,439
The Irish Kings who supported him outside
1718
01:40:14,439 --> 01:40:18,200
of Ulster had been defeated in battle.
1719
01:40:18,200 --> 01:40:20,600
But even in the face of these setbacks,
1720
01:40:20,600 --> 01:40:25,439
Edward had reason to believe
that things might improve.
1721
01:40:25,439 --> 01:40:28,239
In 1318 for the first time in years,
1722
01:40:28,239 --> 01:40:31,119
there was a good harvest.
1723
01:40:31,119 --> 01:40:34,200
Finally he was able to
supply his men properly
1724
01:40:34,200 --> 01:40:36,319
and news came from Scotland that
1725
01:40:36,319 --> 01:40:40,000
further reinforcements were on the way.
1726
01:40:40,000 --> 01:40:42,600
And so in the autumn of 1318,
1727
01:40:42,600 --> 01:40:44,639
Edward made the decision to bring
1728
01:40:44,639 --> 01:40:47,400
his army south and out of Ulster.
1729
01:40:52,600 --> 01:40:54,519
- We know that Robert is sending
1730
01:40:54,519 --> 01:40:58,239
reinforcements to
Carrickfergus and it's just
1731
01:40:58,239 --> 01:41:01,600
a question of why Edward
suddenly decides to
1732
01:41:01,600 --> 01:41:05,839
leave Carrickfergus before
King Robert comes over again.
1733
01:41:05,839 --> 01:41:08,680
It could be something to do with
1734
01:41:08,680 --> 01:41:12,119
a repeat of the events of 1317 when
1735
01:41:12,119 --> 01:41:16,159
effectively Edwards leads
the vanguard down south
1736
01:41:16,159 --> 01:41:19,000
and Robert's main army
follows him and it could
1737
01:41:19,000 --> 01:41:22,079
have been some kind of
attempt to take Dublin.
1738
01:41:22,079 --> 01:41:25,720
- I suspect they only
headed south in October
1739
01:41:25,720 --> 01:41:28,720
1319 because they had a new idea.
1740
01:41:28,720 --> 01:41:31,000
There was one final effort
1741
01:41:31,000 --> 01:41:34,079
that they thought might do the trick.
1742
01:41:34,079 --> 01:41:36,759
So the Scots still had hopes for Ireland.
1743
01:41:36,759 --> 01:41:38,519
It's just possible that they might've
1744
01:41:38,519 --> 01:41:40,639
been able to pull some kind of a rabbit
1745
01:41:40,639 --> 01:41:43,039
out of the hat at that stage.
1746
01:41:43,920 --> 01:41:47,759
(relaxed guitar, piano music)
1747
01:41:59,720 --> 01:42:01,720
- We're just south of the Moyry Pass
1748
01:42:01,720 --> 01:42:03,639
which is one of the most important ways
1749
01:42:03,639 --> 01:42:06,720
to get from the north into the south.
1750
01:42:07,800 --> 01:42:09,680
And we're on the hill at Faughart
1751
01:42:09,680 --> 01:42:12,039
which is just at the mouth of the Pass.
1752
01:42:12,039 --> 01:42:14,360
So a very important strategic location.
1753
01:42:14,360 --> 01:42:15,959
It's still a very important place.
1754
01:42:15,959 --> 01:42:18,839
Indeed during the troubles
this was a hot spot.
1755
01:42:18,839 --> 01:42:22,200
So for Edward to be up
here makes total sense
1756
01:42:22,200 --> 01:42:25,560
but whatever the reason,
the Anglo-Irish have got
1757
01:42:25,560 --> 01:42:28,800
their act together and have
a big army waiting for him.
1758
01:42:28,800 --> 01:42:31,400
And Edward Bruce has to decide what to do
1759
01:42:31,400 --> 01:42:33,879
and Barbour talks about
him having a Council
1760
01:42:33,879 --> 01:42:36,200
of War with his Irish
allies and everybody's
1761
01:42:36,200 --> 01:42:38,439
basically saying "Don't be so foolish.
1762
01:42:38,439 --> 01:42:41,519
"We're massively outnumbered,
we've only got 2,000 men.
1763
01:42:41,519 --> 01:42:45,680
"What are we gonna do
against that massive force?"
1764
01:42:48,200 --> 01:42:51,039
- There could be in Edward's mind
1765
01:42:51,039 --> 01:42:53,879
that he wanted to finish this off.
1766
01:42:55,439 --> 01:42:58,239
Maybe there is some kinda thing going on
1767
01:42:58,239 --> 01:43:00,439
in Edward's head where he needs to have
1768
01:43:00,439 --> 01:43:04,200
the same kind of victory as
Robert had at Bannockburn.
1769
01:43:04,200 --> 01:43:06,239
- It might be the case that Edward Bruce
1770
01:43:06,239 --> 01:43:09,920
likewise was a bit of a hothead and that
1771
01:43:09,920 --> 01:43:14,280
he rushed into this battle
even though apparently
1772
01:43:14,280 --> 01:43:16,200
the contemporary sources say there
1773
01:43:16,200 --> 01:43:18,159
were four other troops on their way
1774
01:43:18,159 --> 01:43:20,039
by way of reinforcements to him.
1775
01:43:20,039 --> 01:43:24,039
But he decided to take
the gamble on the battle.
1776
01:43:25,800 --> 01:43:28,000
- Historians have settled on this spot,
1777
01:43:28,000 --> 01:43:31,119
this slope facing down towards
1778
01:43:31,119 --> 01:43:33,479
the mouth of the Pass as the battlefield.
1779
01:43:33,479 --> 01:43:36,519
To me it doesn't really make sense.
1780
01:43:36,519 --> 01:43:39,639
It's far too steep for
cavalry to be positioned
1781
01:43:39,639 --> 01:43:42,639
on it if the Anglo-Irish are up here.
1782
01:43:42,639 --> 01:43:44,439
If Edward Bruce is up here,
1783
01:43:44,439 --> 01:43:47,079
he's surely gonna be
facing towards the town.
1784
01:43:47,079 --> 01:43:49,839
That seems to be where
the enemy are coming from.
1785
01:43:49,839 --> 01:43:52,759
I am not convinced that
this is the battlefield.
1786
01:43:52,759 --> 01:43:55,759
To me, having seen a lot
of battlefields in my time,
1787
01:43:55,759 --> 01:43:59,720
this really doesn't make too much sense.
1788
01:43:59,720 --> 01:44:02,879
(anxious piano music)
1789
01:44:13,759 --> 01:44:16,560
Every time I've been in
a place of historical
1790
01:44:16,560 --> 01:44:19,879
importance on this trip there's
been one of these things.
1791
01:44:19,879 --> 01:44:22,800
Almost like a signpost
saying here was a battle.
1792
01:44:22,800 --> 01:44:26,280
And it's a motte, it's
a type of Anglo-Irish
1793
01:44:26,280 --> 01:44:29,319
fortification, the Normans
were very good at them
1794
01:44:29,319 --> 01:44:32,039
and its basically just a mound of earth
1795
01:44:32,039 --> 01:44:34,800
that gives you a strong
point and this being
1796
01:44:34,800 --> 01:44:37,519
on the top of the hill
at Faughart makes it
1797
01:44:37,519 --> 01:44:41,400
an ideal location for
Edward Bruce to be able
1798
01:44:41,400 --> 01:44:43,720
to see whatever's happening around.
1799
01:44:43,720 --> 01:44:46,560
So I think this location is probably
1800
01:44:46,560 --> 01:44:49,000
a pretty good marker from where to start
1801
01:44:49,000 --> 01:44:52,680
to think about where
this battle was fought.
1802
01:44:55,000 --> 01:44:58,239
On top of the motte, on
top of the hill at Faughart
1803
01:44:58,239 --> 01:45:02,519
I've got a very clear
view down into the town.
1804
01:45:02,519 --> 01:45:05,879
But importantly, it's
not just the visibility.
1805
01:45:05,879 --> 01:45:09,800
This is a much gentler
slope so if Edward Bruce
1806
01:45:09,800 --> 01:45:13,079
and his Scottish army and his Irish allies
1807
01:45:13,079 --> 01:45:16,479
are on this hill, it offers a much better
1808
01:45:17,879 --> 01:45:21,200
advantage going into a fight
because his men can move down.
1809
01:45:21,200 --> 01:45:23,000
They've got the advantage of height
1810
01:45:23,000 --> 01:45:24,639
but they can move down it in a controlled
1811
01:45:24,639 --> 01:45:26,479
fashion unlike the other side which
1812
01:45:26,479 --> 01:45:28,879
is just far too steep.
1813
01:45:28,879 --> 01:45:31,759
But he seems to fancy his chances.
1814
01:45:31,759 --> 01:45:33,639
So there are scores to be settled
1815
01:45:33,639 --> 01:45:36,280
and indeed on that day they are.
1816
01:45:38,000 --> 01:45:40,560
- [Voiceover] Then with
great anger Edward said,
1817
01:45:40,560 --> 01:45:43,759
"Let whoever wants to
help but rest assured
1818
01:45:43,759 --> 01:45:47,439
"that I will fight today
without more delay.
1819
01:45:48,560 --> 01:45:51,319
"Let no man say that while I am alive
1820
01:45:51,319 --> 01:45:54,680
"that superior numbers would make me flee.
1821
01:45:54,680 --> 01:45:56,800
"God forbid that anyone should blame
1822
01:45:56,800 --> 01:45:59,639
"us for defending our noble name."
1823
01:46:00,720 --> 01:46:04,360
(swords clanking, shouting)
1824
01:46:20,959 --> 01:46:24,039
(grunting, shouting)
1825
01:46:28,400 --> 01:46:31,879
- As it turns out it really ends up being
1826
01:46:31,879 --> 01:46:34,920
an Anglo-Norman Bannockburn
'cause they completely
1827
01:46:34,920 --> 01:46:37,759
route the Scots and that's
the end of the dream
1828
01:46:37,759 --> 01:46:39,759
on the Dundalk hillside.
1829
01:46:41,239 --> 01:46:43,479
(shouting)
1830
01:46:44,560 --> 01:46:47,439
He should have won that battle.
1831
01:46:47,439 --> 01:46:50,000
The leader of the Anglo-Irish forces
1832
01:46:50,000 --> 01:46:52,400
was not a particularly
elevated individual.
1833
01:46:52,400 --> 01:46:55,000
He's a man called John de Bermingham.
1834
01:46:55,000 --> 01:46:58,000
He led what by all
accounts is a relatively
1835
01:46:58,000 --> 01:47:02,159
local force of people
primarily from County Lowe,
1836
01:47:02,159 --> 01:47:04,680
some of them from County Mead.
1837
01:47:04,680 --> 01:47:06,959
It wasn't some vast government army
1838
01:47:06,959 --> 01:47:09,239
and they were trying
to forestall the Bruces
1839
01:47:09,239 --> 01:47:11,759
presumably before they got to Dundalk
1840
01:47:11,759 --> 01:47:15,079
and could do a lot of damage there.
1841
01:47:15,079 --> 01:47:19,759
- If they had beaten
Bermingham's army at Faughart,
1842
01:47:19,759 --> 01:47:23,920
the chances of the Scots
establishing their foothold
1843
01:47:23,920 --> 01:47:27,759
here permanently would
probably be a safe bet.
1844
01:47:32,720 --> 01:47:35,200
(gate creaks)
1845
01:47:36,600 --> 01:47:39,680
(tepid violin music)
1846
01:47:48,800 --> 01:47:52,479
(swords clanking, grunting)
1847
01:48:02,479 --> 01:48:04,720
- It goes very badly wrong for them.
1848
01:48:04,720 --> 01:48:06,319
Indeed so badly wrong that
1849
01:48:06,319 --> 01:48:09,400
Edward Bruce is killed in the battle.
1850
01:48:10,759 --> 01:48:13,439
Edward's head is removed, it's packed in
1851
01:48:13,439 --> 01:48:16,720
a box of salt and sent
to Edward the Second
1852
01:48:16,720 --> 01:48:19,680
to prove that he's actually dead.
1853
01:48:19,680 --> 01:48:21,920
His limbs are hacked off and displayed in
1854
01:48:21,920 --> 01:48:24,879
various parts of the
kingdom again to demonstrate
1855
01:48:24,879 --> 01:48:28,280
that the dreaded Edward
Bruce has been vanquished.
1856
01:48:28,280 --> 01:48:32,200
If that's the case,
this can't be the grave
1857
01:48:32,200 --> 01:48:36,079
of Edward Bruce but it
is a fitting memorial.
1858
01:48:36,079 --> 01:48:39,680
It marks the end of Edward Bruce's story,
1859
01:48:39,680 --> 01:48:44,159
it marks the end of the
Scottish invasion of Ireland
1860
01:48:44,159 --> 01:48:48,759
and three and a half
years of warfare and grief
1861
01:48:48,759 --> 01:48:52,920
and fear come to an end
somewhere near this hilltop.
1862
01:48:56,839 --> 01:49:00,680
(tepid trumpet, violin music)
1863
01:49:06,720 --> 01:49:08,959
(grunting)
1864
01:49:20,159 --> 01:49:24,319
- We are set here in jeopardy
to win honor or for to die.
1865
01:49:25,200 --> 01:49:28,360
We are too far for him to flee.
1866
01:49:28,360 --> 01:49:31,119
Therefore let each man worthy be.
1867
01:49:46,400 --> 01:49:48,720
(relaxed guitar tones)
1868
01:49:48,720 --> 01:49:50,920
- [Voiceover] For
Bruce's Irish supporters,
1869
01:49:50,920 --> 01:49:53,680
things took a turn for the worse.
1870
01:49:54,680 --> 01:49:57,239
Domhnall O'Neill's rivals, the O'Donnels,
1871
01:49:57,239 --> 01:50:00,479
attacked him and killed his son Showan.
1872
01:50:02,600 --> 01:50:05,280
Domhnall himself survived but his hopes
1873
01:50:05,280 --> 01:50:08,839
of driving the English from
Ireland were in tatters.
1874
01:50:08,839 --> 01:50:10,239
The war was over.
1875
01:50:14,959 --> 01:50:17,839
- I think there is a
sense in which King Robert
1876
01:50:17,839 --> 01:50:21,400
is taken out of the
account of the campaign
1877
01:50:22,360 --> 01:50:24,720
which came to grief for him.
1878
01:50:24,720 --> 01:50:29,280
I think that in a way this
was down to his brother.
1879
01:50:29,280 --> 01:50:31,360
This was Edward, he was carrying
1880
01:50:31,360 --> 01:50:34,079
the cairn for what happened here.
1881
01:50:34,079 --> 01:50:38,159
Maybe there's even a notion that Bruce,
1882
01:50:38,159 --> 01:50:42,000
given these few hints we
have in his correspondence,
1883
01:50:42,000 --> 01:50:44,800
that Bruce somehow understood the Irish
1884
01:50:44,800 --> 01:50:47,920
sympathetically in a
way that Edward didn't.
1885
01:50:47,920 --> 01:50:51,159
Edward didn't know
really how to treat them.
1886
01:50:51,159 --> 01:50:54,000
When you think about it,
it's a pretty odd thing
1887
01:50:54,000 --> 01:50:57,920
for a guy to sort of show
up on the Irish shore
1888
01:50:59,479 --> 01:51:03,119
and say "I'm here to be High King."
1889
01:51:03,119 --> 01:51:05,879
And they say "Well, who are you?"
1890
01:51:07,519 --> 01:51:11,039
So I suspect Robert Bruce, the King felt
1891
01:51:11,039 --> 01:51:13,039
that if he had led the expedition
1892
01:51:13,039 --> 01:51:16,000
there might have been a different outcome.
1893
01:51:16,000 --> 01:51:18,360
- Barbour is probably just as accurate
1894
01:51:18,360 --> 01:51:21,159
as any Medieval source
would be but you have
1895
01:51:21,159 --> 01:51:24,879
to bear in mind the various
kind of agendas he has.
1896
01:51:24,879 --> 01:51:28,920
And his agenda mainly is to
glorify Robert, not Edward
1897
01:51:28,920 --> 01:51:32,479
and so he will give Edward
due regarding, courage
1898
01:51:32,479 --> 01:51:36,639
and bravery but not necessarily
a lot of common sense.
1899
01:51:37,879 --> 01:51:39,800
And it's always Robert who's perceived
1900
01:51:39,800 --> 01:51:41,920
as being the one who's the wiser head,
1901
01:51:41,920 --> 01:51:43,759
which I think is unfair on Edward
1902
01:51:43,759 --> 01:51:46,839
but that's John Barbour for you.
1903
01:51:46,839 --> 01:51:49,039
- There are later charges
against Edward Bruce
1904
01:51:49,039 --> 01:51:52,519
that he's headstrong,
that he's overambitious,
1905
01:51:52,519 --> 01:51:54,600
that he's short-tempered.
1906
01:51:54,600 --> 01:51:59,000
Some of that probably has
to be later distancing
1907
01:51:59,000 --> 01:52:01,839
by the Scots probably of Robert the First
1908
01:52:01,839 --> 01:52:04,200
from his brother's failings.
1909
01:52:06,119 --> 01:52:09,039
For Robert I think it probably
1910
01:52:09,039 --> 01:52:12,839
only confirmed the
difficulties of Ireland,
1911
01:52:12,839 --> 01:52:16,159
probably the insurmountable difficulties.
1912
01:52:16,159 --> 01:52:18,000
I think he's more worried
about what it means
1913
01:52:18,000 --> 01:52:20,439
for Scotland because
with his brother's death,
1914
01:52:20,439 --> 01:52:22,639
it's fairly clear from the evidence that
1915
01:52:22,639 --> 01:52:26,159
this provokes a major crisis in Scotland.
1916
01:52:26,159 --> 01:52:28,759
Bruce's enemies see that now he only has
1917
01:52:28,759 --> 01:52:31,920
his grandson, an infant
as his heir presumptive.
1918
01:52:31,920 --> 01:52:35,920
He hasn't yet had sons by
his Queen Elizabeth de Burgh.
1919
01:52:35,920 --> 01:52:39,600
There's a real danger
for the Bruce Dynasty.
1920
01:52:44,519 --> 01:52:46,079
- [Voiceover] But the shadow of
1921
01:52:46,079 --> 01:52:48,360
misfortune did seem to fade.
1922
01:52:48,360 --> 01:52:51,400
In 1324 Robert's wife gave birth to
1923
01:52:51,400 --> 01:52:54,239
a son and heir, David, and in 1328
1924
01:52:56,039 --> 01:52:58,519
the English finally recognize Robert's
1925
01:52:58,519 --> 01:53:00,439
right to rule Scotland.
1926
01:53:01,839 --> 01:53:05,039
To this day, he is
remembered as the greatest
1927
01:53:05,039 --> 01:53:08,600
monarch ever to sit on
the Scottish throne.
1928
01:53:12,119 --> 01:53:14,119
- Robert Bruce, all through his life
1929
01:53:14,119 --> 01:53:16,800
you find him back and forth in Ireland.
1930
01:53:16,800 --> 01:53:19,239
Even when he was on his deathbed,
1931
01:53:19,239 --> 01:53:22,720
one contemporary source says he was so ill
1932
01:53:22,720 --> 01:53:25,039
that he could barely move his tongue,
1933
01:53:25,039 --> 01:53:27,759
he had himself brought
to Ireland on a couple
1934
01:53:27,759 --> 01:53:31,639
of occasions in the
latter years of his life.
1935
01:53:31,639 --> 01:53:34,759
But I think it does show
that this Bruce connection
1936
01:53:34,759 --> 01:53:37,959
with Ulster in particular
is an ongoing thing.
1937
01:53:37,959 --> 01:53:41,239
It's part of their background,
it's part of the family life
1938
01:53:41,239 --> 01:53:43,879
and if you want to understand
the Bruce invasion,
1939
01:53:43,879 --> 01:53:46,519
it's not just in terms of the long-running
1940
01:53:46,519 --> 01:53:48,720
relationship between Ireland and Scotland
1941
01:53:48,720 --> 01:53:51,079
in the Middle Ages but
it's the family ties
1942
01:53:51,079 --> 01:53:53,200
between the Bruces and some people
1943
01:53:53,200 --> 01:53:56,600
in the northeast corner of Ireland.
1944
01:53:56,600 --> 01:54:00,039
- This period, except in some very unique
1945
01:54:00,959 --> 01:54:03,200
quarters and specialized quarters has been
1946
01:54:03,200 --> 01:54:06,800
effectively dismissed
and that is interesting
1947
01:54:06,800 --> 01:54:09,079
in itself because the potential that it
1948
01:54:09,079 --> 01:54:11,479
might have had is staggering.
1949
01:54:13,239 --> 01:54:16,239
The idea of having an Irish Kingdom,
1950
01:54:18,280 --> 01:54:21,519
albeit one which had a Scot's ancestry,
1951
01:54:22,560 --> 01:54:25,079
well we don't know how
on earth that could've
1952
01:54:25,079 --> 01:54:28,079
played out in you know,
sort of centuries to come.
1953
01:54:28,079 --> 01:54:29,959
But for a small brief period,
1954
01:54:29,959 --> 01:54:33,280
the Scots did have a Kingdom in Ireland.
1955
01:54:38,319 --> 01:54:40,200
- For over three years,
1956
01:54:40,200 --> 01:54:43,720
Edward Bruce was the self-styled
ruler of that Kingdom
1957
01:54:43,720 --> 01:54:46,239
but he never managed to inspire and lead
1958
01:54:46,239 --> 01:54:50,159
the Irish in the way that
Robert did the Scots.
1959
01:54:51,319 --> 01:54:55,479
Ireland remained and would
remain a divided country.
151791
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