The routing of English forces in June 1314 is a favourite of battle re-enactors TIMES PHOTOGRAPER JAMES GLOSSOPThe words “and sent him homeward tae think again” continue to echo around the terraces of Hampden and Murrayfield almost a millennium after the battle they recount. Centuries of poems, plays and even the stirring lyrics of the de facto national anthem — which first aired in 1967 — have been inspired by Scotland’s greatest military triumph. Yet an English academic has suggested that those who exalt the battle of Bannockburn are living in the past and there they must remain. The clash, fought near Stirling in June 1314, is widely held to have been a turning point in Scotland’s history. Robert the Bruce’s troops routed a vast invading English force against the odds in a victory that secured Scotland’s independence.

Source: The Times July 17, 2019 23:18 UTC