The Bruce - Part 1

John Barbour's The Brus was written with the explicit intent of generating passion by appropriating a sensed heroic past for the book's contemporary audience. The opening 36 lines of Book I are little more than an attempt to convince the listener of the truthful nature of the poem, with the secondary value of acting as a memorial for the historical figures described. Compared to most medieval romances, which are often set a long, long time ago in some place far, far away, this was dealing with relatively recent subject matter and so was presumably rather unique. There are many place names included that must surely invite audience recognition, mixed in with classical names that confer heroic stature to the protagonists and furthermore invite the audience to compare the two groups directly.

By sticking to the broader themes of the romance texts, however, Barbour is obligated to surpress certain unflattering facts about Bruce in order to create a more stalwart character (if indeed he was aware of these facts as modern historians seem to be). These broader themes are certainly present, as showcased by James Douglas' exile to Paris and his subsequent return in pursuit of an ideal. Interestingly, Douglas' introduction (c. 383) paints him as a ready-known figure. Barbour sees Douglas as something of an intertextual icon, a link in the oral storytelling chain.

Regardless of the personal facts regarding Robert I that Barbour may have skimmed over (most crucially the blending of at least three generations of Bruce men into one Super Bruce), he uses Scotland as a background character, effectively the damsel in distress, and paints her as a united kingdom. This was very far from the truth even by the 1370s, with divisions stemming from the Balliols, the Earls of Moray, the Gaelic speakers, the Scots speakers, various classes and more.

Perhaps the most important theme of the entire book, or at least the most memorable, is that dealing with the importance of freedom. Yet is freedom universally a noble thing, or is it merely a thing for nobles? At times (c. 216-18) Barbour seems more upset with the noble gentry being denied certain customs, such as when Welsh knights were forced to do battle without their horses, or when opponents of Edward I were hanged rather than beheaded (deemed an appropriate execution for a nobleman). Again, the perils of mixing a modern dialect with an ancient tongue become evident.