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

Alexander III

(b.1241

Margaret

(b.1240m

1251

Margaret

(b.1260

Alexander

(b.1264

David

(b.1272

d.1275)

d.1281)

m

1281

Erik of Norway

(b.1268 d.1299)

m

1282

Margaret

(b.1265 d.1331)

Margaret

(b.1283

d.1283)d.1284)

No children

m

1285

Yolande

(b.1263 d.1330) d.1286)

No children

d.1290)

OMG

Turn your jotter on

its side and copy the

family tree of King

Alexander III as we

learn why Scotland

was plunged into

crisis in 1286

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 ExemplarAlexander rode out on a stormy night

He wasn’t frightened, he had Kinghorn in sightHe galloped on his horse to Fife

Where he could meet up with his beloved young wifeBut sadly for him, from a cliff his horse fell

Or so I have heard the rumours do tellAnd because his horse had taken a tumble

It has left the Scottish Kingdom in a crumble

Margaret: Maid of NorwayRead 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……..

King Malcolm Queen Margaretm

Edward Edmund Ethelred Edgar Alexander David Edith Mary

1070

Alexander David

Alexander DavidDavid Matildam

Alexander II

Alexander III

Robert Margaret John Henry Isobel Ada Matilda

David Matildam

Alan Robert

Bruce

Dervorgila

m m

John

Balliol

Robert

BruceVersus

I’m the

oldest so

I win!

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 Poster!

WANTEDDEAD or ALIVE

William Wallace

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

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!

English Army

Around 10,000 in total.

Well trained, well equipped & well paid.– 2,000 knights

– 7,000 infantry

Set up camp at Stirling Castle

The English army expected the Scots to surrender in fear.

Scots Army

Around 5,300 in total

Poorly equipped but passionate

- 300 cavalry

- 5,000 infantry

Set up camp on the Abbey

Craig.

The English would have to

cross the bridge to reach them.

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 FalkirkSo 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 WallaceAfter his defeat at Falkirk, Wallace meets with

Sir John de Menteith, to discuss revenge on the English

The Betrayal of William WallaceSo 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?

Wallace was taken to Smithfield, London on the 23rd August 1305 for execution……

The Death of William Wallace

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.

• 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…..

However…….

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

v

John Comyn

Bruce kills Comyn

in Greyfriars

Church, Dumfries

Bruce is

excommunicated from

the Catholic Church

Bruce is declared

King of Scotland

March 25th 1306

The Scots are crushed

at the Battle of

Methven 19th June 1306

Bruce fights a

guerrilla war with the

English between

1307 and 1314

Only one castle remained in English

hands, Stirling, and the two armies

would meet on the battlefield of

Bannockburn on 23rd June 1314

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…

The Battle of Bannockburn

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

recognise Scotland as an

independent country

Robert cannot be the

rightful King while he is

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 andcommitted deeds of cruelty, massacre and violence. The other outrageshe 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 tostand.

For as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we be broughtunder English rule. It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we arefighting, but for freedom alone, which no honest man gives up but withlife itself.

The Declaration of Arbroath

Using the scroll, imagine you are

Pope JohnXXII, you have to reply

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?

To the people of Scotland

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.