Customer Reviews

The Wars of the Bruces: Scotland, England and Ireland, 1306-1328

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This new interpretation of the Scottish War of Independence grew out of the author's dissertation from the University of Oxford. The focus was upon the social and economic impact of the Scottish incursions into the north of England, especially after their stunning victory at Bannockburn in June of 1314. These punitive raids were directed at winning English recognition of Scotland's independence and the legitimacy of Robert the Bruce's kingship, as well as filling Scotland's depleted coffers with plundered English wealth. McNamee revised and expanded his work to include sections on the wider scope of the war encompassing Scotland, Ireland, and the maritime world of the North Sea. McNamee argues that this celebrated conflict has been subject to much myth making. The Scots have elevated their warrior-king Robert the Bruce to olympian status while the English tend to dismiss him as an oppoutunistic brigand, though some view him a grudging admiration. McNamee also argues that while there are many biographies of the principal characters, a broad synthetic analysis of this epic struggle and its enduring legacy is long overdue. McNamee attempts, with some success, to bring a dispassionate approach which places people and events in their proper historical context. While he is able to increase the reader's understanding of the war's effects upon British society, his depiction of the individuals involved is rather two dimensional and stale. Fortunately, his bibliography is impressive. It is a neccessity for the specialist and a treat for the enthusiast. It is clear that he has a powerful command of primary sources, such as contemporary chronicles and account books, especially for the north of England. Unfortunately, the sections on Ireland and Scotland are less comprehensive and highlight the overall 'cut and paste' quality of the book. McNamee does raise a number of interesting questions. Among these being the persistance of resistance to the Bruce Monarchy by the deposed Balliol faction, particularly the McDougals and the Comyns, throughout and beyond Robert's reign. He also comments with some probity upon the Scots' lack of engineering resources which would have enabled them to capture major cities such as York or Dublin to use as bargaining chips. However lucrative the Scottish hit and run raids were, they were not very effective, at least in the short term, in forcing the English to negotiate a lasting peace. In addition, McNamee does not neglect the role of Flemish and Baltic traders and pirates who greatly assisted the Scottish war effort. Regarding Ireland, McNamee argues to some effect that the Bruce intervention on that unhappy island would have been much more effective had it appealed to Edward II's disaffected Anglo-Irish barons rather than promoting an impractical pan-Celtic alliance of Scot, Irish, and Welsh against their predatory English neighbors. He also examines the sometimes adversarial relationship between Robert the Bruce and his brother, Edward, who sought to be King of Ireland and whose adventures there kept him from causing trouble for his brother in Scotland. THE WARS OF THE BRUCES is primarily a thematic study with some meager attempts at providing a narrative thread. McNamee's arguments are reasonable and his sympathy for the suffering of the people of northern England, mere pawns in the Anglo-Scottish power struggle, is sincere. One does find his criticism of Bruce's lack of 'humanity' puzzling since the Scottish king was merely taking the war into the enemy's territory after years of similar conduct by the English in Scotland. This book is a valuable adjunct to the existing historiography and a credible corrective to some of the Bruce panegyrists, but does not in any way supersede great narrative histories such as Evan Barron's THE SCOTTISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1914); Thomas Costain's THE THREE EDWARDS (1958); nor masterful biographies such as G.W.S. Barrow's ROBERT THE BRUCE AND THE COMMUNITYOF THE REALM (1965) and Ronald McNair Scott's, ROBERT THE BRUCE, KING OF SCOTS (1982), and should be read in this context."

This is an exceptional work covering the rise of Clan Bruce from 1306-1328. It is a dispassionate look, trying to steer away from the anti-bruce sentiment that rose after Braveheart movie - sorry gang - the Bruce got a RAW DEAL from Mel's movie. If you want to know about the Bruce, this is a great starting point. It is rich with details. Covers Edward the Bruce being crowned King of Ireland and the mess surrounding that. It systematically examines not only the struggles of the Bruce in coming to power and keeping that power in Scotland, but looks at the other little wars of the Bruces and the whole picture - the social climate inside and outside of Scotland.

A meticulous work, that might be a bit more in depth that the casual reader would appreciate, but to serious students on the topic this is a true find.

This is a terrific book (well it really is more like thesis research) if you are REALLY interested in the cold facts of the Scottish wars and raids of King Robert The Bruce, his lieutenants and his brother Edward. It is full of data and facts and dates and does provide some very interesting facts to uncloud this rather mystical period of Anglo-Scottish history. Some chapters, such as the one detailing the truces and costs paid by English towns and villages to avoid Scottish attacks, are a bit thick to read, but others, such as an academic view of Bannockburn and other battles, do open the eyes to the Scottish struggle that kept the English away from dominating its neighbor to the north.

"The Wars of the Bruces", by Colm McNamee is a very detailed account of the years 1306-1328. The focus is King Robert I and his brother Edward Bruce and there struggle to keep the throne of Scotland and make a move into Ireland. McNamee starts with an excellent explanation of Lordship and Nationality and how that blurred with the nobles of Scotland and England. This sets up for the rise of Bruce brothers and the war that erupts between him and Edward I of England. The chapters on the raiding and defense of Northern England are very detailed and well researched. It tells of the losses of individuals in money, cattle and grain. This helps show the horrors of war and how the locals suffered sometimes more than the Nobles. The chapter on Edward Bruce in Ireland, his Kingship of there and final defeat was great. Not only was Edward Bruce's arrogance and pride shown as he personally sought his own Crown and Kingdom but also how he helped serve his Brother Robert's interests against the English and shore up an independent Scotland. Overall this is an excellent book for the hard core researcher and very detailed study of warfare. I personally felt it was over detailed at parts and got bored and found myself skimming until it got back to the tale. Not for the novice of Scottish history but an excellent resource.