GOOD GROUND—BANNOCKBURN 700 YEARS LATER.

GOOD GROUND—BANNOCKBURN 700 YEARS LATER. Alan Taylor had an essay in the TLS (August 8) about a reenactment of the Battle of Bannockburn, which took place in 1314. It was one of the few battles in which the Scottish defeated the English. The Scottish army was half of the size of the English army and was not as well equipped. It was a notable defeat for King Edward II.

Taylor points out that the English had to cross marshy ground, while the Scots were on top of a hill. The Scots had dug a ditch to cut off one path for the English and a possible retreat was cut off by the “Bannock Burn”, which is a river. Here are two sentences from the article on the battle at the Education Scotland website:

“The Scots carefully chose their ground at Bannockburn…..Disastrously, Edward ordered his men to cross the river to the east of New Park. The Scots knelt in prayer as Edward’s army tried to negotiate the boggy ground.”

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