The Scottish Wars

of Independence
Key topics and
areas you will
discover during
this course.

How many have

you already
heard of ?
 Collect a
copy of the
starter image
to stick in
your jotter
 Yolande Alexander III Margaret
(b.1263 d.1330) m m
(b.1241 d.1286) (b.1240 d.1275)
1285 1251

No children

Alexander Margaret David

(b.1264 d.1284) (b.1260 d.1283) (b.1272 d.1281)

m Turn your jotter on

m
1282 1281 its side and copy the
family tree of King
OMG
Alexander III as we
Margaret
(b.1265 d.1331)
Erik of Norway learn why Scotland
(b.1268 d.1299)
was plunged into
crisis in 1286
No children Margaret
(b.1283 d.1290)
Read page 3 of the
booklet to find out
the circumstances
of King Alexander’s
death
Then look at the
instructions on page
4 to write your own
poem about
Alexander!
...he would neither be deterred by
stress of weather nor yield to the
persuasion of his nobles, but
straightaway hurried along the road
to Queensferry, in order to visit his
bride, that is to say Yolande,
daughter of the Comte de Dreux at
Kinghorn

The Chronicle of Lanercost

 Poem Exemplar
Alexander rode out on a stormy night
He wasn’t frightened, he had Kinghorn in sight
He galloped on his horse to Fife
Where he could meet up with his beloved young wife
But sadly for him, from a cliff his horse fell
Or so I have heard the rumours do tell
And because his horse had taken a tumble
It has left the Scottish Kingdom in a crumble
 Margaret: Maid of Norway
Read page 4 of the booklet to
find out why the plan to send
for Alexander’s grand-
daughter in Norway ends in
disaster
Now answer the questions on
page 5 remembering to use
full and proper answers and
swap your jotter with another
pupil for some paired marking
Click on the image
to watch a 3
minute summary
of our story so far
The Search for a King
King Edward I of England is
invited to choose the next
King of Scotland

OR
 Watch the 4
minute clip to see
which of the
claimants was
chosen by King
Edward
Let’s see why John Balliol had
a better claim to be the next
King of Scotland than Robert
Bruce

Hang on to your hats……..

 1070
King Malcolm
m Queen Margaret

Edward Edmund Ethelred Edgar Alexander David Edith Mary

Alexander David
 David
Alexander m Matilda
David

Alexander II

Alexander III
 m
David Matilda

Robert Margaret John Henry Isobel Ada Matilda

m m
Alan Robert
Bruce
I’m the
Dervorgila oldest so
Robert I win!
Versus Bruce
John
Balliol
Now let’s read pages
6 and 7 of the
booklet to find out
why King John
becomes known as
the Puppet King

When you finish

answering the
questions collect a
copy of King John’s
Seal to colour in and
stick in your jotter
 The Puppet King?
Now see the instructions at the bottom of
page 8 to recreate an interview between a
news reporter, King John and King Edward!
The Puppet King?
 The Puppet King?
• King John signed an
agreement with the
French called the Auld
Alliance
• Edward ripped the
Lion Rampant from
John’s tunic
 Edward in Scotland
• Edward wanted to
show the Scots he was
in charge.
• King John’s seal was
destroyed and all the
castles of Scotland
were taken over
 Edward in Scotland
• Edward took the
Holy Rood of St
Margaret.
• The Stone of Destiny
was sent down to
Westminster Abbey
in London
 Edward in Scotland
• All Scottish
nobles had to
sign the Ragman
Rolls declaring
their loyalty to
Edward
Watch the 6 minute clip to see more of
Scotland’s ‘darkest winter’ of 1296
 Now design
your own seal
for the Ragman
Roll for 1N
Who was William Wallace?
What do you know about
William Wallace?

Watch and listen to the

Horrible Histories song on
the next slide to find out
some more about Scotland’s
‘Braveheart’….
 Now read page 10
of the booklet,
collect a copy of the
Wallace image to
stick in your jotter
and copy the
Wallace facts from
page 11
 The Struggle Begins

Watch the clip (3m 28secs) to find out why William Wallace is a wanted man!
 So Wallace has killed William
Heselrig, the Sheriff of Lanark,
and is now being hunted by the
English. Look at the instructions
on page 12 for your Wallace
WANTED
DEAD or ALIVE
Wanted Poster!
Think of the information you
might want to include on your
poster…..

• What has he done?

• How will you get people to
hand him in?
• What do they do if they William Wallace
capture or kill him?
The Battle of Stirling Bridge
Did you spot anything missing from Hollywood’s
version of the Battle of Stirling Bridge?.....
 When Two Sides Go To War!

Scots Army English Army

 Around 5,300 in total  Around 10,000 in total.

 Poorly equipped but passionate  Well trained, well equipped

& well paid.
- 300 cavalry
– 2,000 knights
- 5,000 infantry
– 7,000 infantry

 Set up camp on the Abbey  Set up camp at Stirling

Craig. Castle
 The English would have to  The English army expected
cross the bridge to reach them. the Scots to surrender in
fear.
 So let’s take a
look at pages 13
and 14 of our
booklet to see
what really
happened............
Storyboard Task
Storyboard Example
Peer Assessment
A Summary of the Battle of Stirling Bridge
 The Battle of Falkirk
So Wallace is a Scottish hero and King Edward’s chance for revenge comes at
Falkirk in 1298…… watch this clip from ‘Braveheart’ to see who wins….
 Unfortunately this is a
classic example of movie
makers changing the
facts for their film……..
read pages 15 and 16 to
find out what really
happened…… and get
ready for some Maths
questions!
A Summary of the Battle of Falkirk
The Death of William Wallace
 The Betrayal of William Wallace
After his defeat at Falkirk, Wallace meets with
Sir John de Menteith, to discuss revenge on the English
The Betrayal of William Wallace
So on 5th August 1305, Wallace heads to
the estate of Robert the Bruce for the
meeting to discuss attacking England……
 The Trial of William Wallace
Wallace’s trial is held on the 22nd August
1305 at Westminster Hall
 The Trial and Death of William Wallace
Would the outcome for William
Wallace have been any different if
he had had a lawyer and witnesses
to speak on his behalf ?

Imagine you were William

Wallace’s lawyer at his trial. Write
a short paragraph to describe
how you would have defended
him, would you have called any
witnesses to speak on his behalf ?
 The Death of William Wallace
Wallace was taken to Smithfield, London on
the 23rd August 1305 for execution……
The Death and Legacy of William Wallace
 The Trial of William Wallace
• So clearly William Wallace did not a fair trail – now is your
chance to show what might have happened if he did!
• Would the outcome have been any different if Wallace had had
a lawyer and witnesses to speak on his behalf ?
• Listen carefully to your teacher’s instructions because everyone
will have a part to play!
• We need pupils to play……
• William Wallace
• King Edward
• Wallace’s Lawyer
• Edward’s Lawyer
• Robert the Bruce
• Sir John de Menteith
• And many witnesses….
Hot Seating!
The teacher will put you
into groups and each
group should come up
with 5 questions to ask
whoever is in the hot seat.
Only one person should
answer for the group so
remember to discuss
before answering!
The questions can be
about any area of the topic
so far
 Who Was Robert the Bruce?
• Look at the family tree on the
following page….. Can you see why
Robert the Bruce declared himself
the next King of Scotland?
• After you have examined the Bruce
Family Tree read the background to
Robert the Bruce on page 18 to see
why we he was declared the rightful
King of Scotland
• After you have answered the 4
questions on Bruce, collect a copy
of the family tree to stick in your
jotter.
 However…….
• What you don’t know is that Robert
the Bruce had a rival to the throne
of Scotland.
• Just like his grandfather, Robert
Bruce who lost to John Balliol,
Robert the Bruce was up against
John Comyn (the nephew of John
Balliol) to become the next King of
Scotland
• And then on the 10th February 1306
this happened…..
And the Bruce went on the run…..
 Now read the full story
of the murder and it’s
consequences on page
20 of the booklet…..
And instead of
answering the questions
on page 21, use a double
page of your jotter to
copy the following slide
 Robert the
Bruce kills Comyn
Bruce Bruce is
in Greyfriars
v excommunicated from
Church, Dumfries
John Comyn the Catholic Church

Bruce is declared The Scots are crushed

King of Scotland at the Battle of
March 25th 1306 Methven 19th June 1306

Only one castle remained in English

hands, Stirling, and the two armies
Bruce fights a would meet on the battlefield of
guerrilla war with the Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314
English between
1307 and 1314
 The Battle of Bannockburn
So the stage is set for one of the greatest battles in British history……
read pages 22 and 23 to find out what happened next…
A summary of the Battle of Bannockburn….
 Now that you have
answered the
numeracy questions on
page 24, design your
own family coat of
arms just like the one
the Bruce used for his
famous victory at
Bannockburn
 The Declaration of Arbroath
So Robert the Bruce has defeated the English in
Scotland’s most famous battle victory…. however he
still has two major problems

Edward II still does not Robert cannot be the

recognise Scotland as an rightful King while he is
independent country still excommunicated

Who can Robert contact to fix this?

The Declaration of Arbroath
 The Declaration of Arbroath

Our nation lived in freedom until the King of the English came and
committed deeds of cruelty, massacre and violence. The other outrages
he committed cannot be described.

But from these evils we have been set free by the help of King Robert.
For him we shall fight to the death, and come what may, we mean to
stand.

For as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we be brought

under English rule. It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are
fighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but with
life itself.
 The Declaration of Arbroath
Using the scroll, imagine you are
Pope JohnXXII, you have to reply
To the people of Scotland to the people of Scotland.
a) Will you recognise Scotland as
an independent country?
b) Will you acknowledge Robert
the Bruce as the rightful King
of Scotland?
c) Will you remove Robert the
Bruce’s excommunication from
the Catholic Church?
Remember this is an assessed piece
of extended writing
Click on the link to see the Pope’s response…
Read page 27 to find out the conclusion to the Scottish Wars
of Independence then watch the summary clip below.