Robert the Bruce
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- $36.99
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- $36.99
Publisher Description
Robert the Bruce (1274–1329) famously defeated the English at Bannockburn and became the hero king responsible for Scottish independence. In this fascinating new biography of the renowned warrior, Michael Penman focuses on Robert’s kingship in the fifteen years that followed his triumphant victory and establishes Robert as not only a great military leader but a great monarch.
Robert faced a slow and often troubled process of legitimating his authority, restoring government, rewarding his supporters, accommodating former enemies, and controlling the various regions of his kingdom, none of which was achieved overnight. Penman investigates Robert’s resettlement of lands and offices, the development of Scotland’s parliaments, his handling of plots to overthrow him, his relations with his family and allies, his piety and court ethos, and his conscious development of an image of kingship through the use of ceremony and symbol. In doing so, Penman repositions Robert within the context of wider European political change, religion, culture, and national identity as well as recurrent crises of famine and disease.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this meticulous biography, University of Stirling historian Penman uses extant records to trace the life of Robert the Bruce (1274 1329), one of the most romantic characters in Scottish history. Penman explores the paradox of cold-blooded ambition mixed with a devout faith; Robert had only a tenuous claim to the throne of Scotland and his political skill in uniting or quelling various rival factions is explained in detail. The Scots' victory against the English at Bannockburn is treated as another step in Robert's campaign to establish his crown, as he fought both the English king and rival claimants to the throne. William Wallace is also shown in a more historically-accurate light. Penman goes beyond war and politics, taking into account natural events such as crop failure and a pestilence that decimated cattle herds. His thorough research makes this an excellent reference; the same attention to detail, however, can make it difficult to keep track of the various families and generations. Nevertheless, Penman's book is a welcome scholarly treatment of Robert the Bruce, the man who kept Scotland independent and founded the Stewart dynasty.
