Most Epic Redemption Story in History | Robert the Bruce

Added: 2026-05-29

[00:00:00]Today, we're going over one of the most epic redemption stories in history. It's 1292 and the Kingdom of Scotland is on the verge of an all-out civil war. 6 years earlier, the good king Alexander III died with no children of his own and his only legitimate heir dies before she can be crowned. With no clear successor, 13 Scottish nobles laid their claim for the throne. The field is whittleled down to two finalists, a man named John Bale and Robert de Bruce, also known as Robert the competitor, both of whom were descendants of the great Scottish King David I. Not trusting each other, they asked the king of England, Edward Long Shanks, to come to Scotland to help decide who should rule. Though Edward was a terrifying man who had led a brutal conquest of Wales just a few years earlier, he had more or less been friendly to Scotland, and the nobles felt they could trust his judgment. But old Eddie Long Shanks had secretly been waiting for this exact opportunity.

[00:00:53]We are live with the finale of Who Wants to Be the King of Scotland. And in just a few moments, we'll finally know who be crowned as our king. Coming to the stage, not to be confused with his son, a grandson with the exact same name, Robert the Bruce.

[00:01:10]Judge number one, King Edward. Your question, please.

[00:01:15]If you are made king of Scotland, would you swear your loyalty to me?

[00:01:21]No, of course not. Scotland must be ruled by Scots. Good answer.

[00:01:27]John Bale. Same question.

[00:01:33]Uh, maybe I guess John Bale is king of Scotland.

[00:01:40]Wait, what? See, Edward had always wanted Scotland, but Alexander was a good king who was loved by his people.

[00:01:47]If he'd attempted an invasion earlier, the Scots would have fought tooth and nail to defend their home. But a new king, especially a weak one like John Bale, could easily be made into a puppet. And that's exactly what Edward set out to do. Baleo was initially pumped to be the king, but Long Shanks does not treat him as an equal. And time and time again, the new Scottish monarch is humiliated in front of his people.

[00:02:10]Eventually, King Edward demands a draft of local Scotsmen to help him in his war against the French. Bale realizes that complying would fully admit that Scotland was nothing but a vassal state to England. With nothing left to lose, Bale does the unthinkable and requests help from the king of France to stand up to King Edward. Word of this alliance reaches Long Shanks, and he's enraged. A vassal state allying with his greatest enemy could simply not go unpunished.

[00:02:35]And so he readies his army and begins plans for an invasion into Scotland.

[00:02:39]John Bale frantically calls upon his nobles to raise their armies to defend the homeland. But the Bruce family rejects his call. See, the Bruces were all still salty about not being the king of Scotland. And they refuse to accept Bale as their legitimate king. In response, Bale and his supporters, mainly the Cumins clan, confiscate their lands and later attack the Bruces while they're sheltering in England as revenge for their betrayal. King Edward begins his invasion in 1296 and the Scottish armies can do little to stop him. Long Shanks is ruthless and in March he storms his army into the town of Berwick and slaughters 17,000 civilians. The following month his mountain knights go toe-to-toe with the best Scotland has to offer at the Battle of Dunar and it's another blowout. Over 100 Scottish knights and nobles are captured and soon John Bale is forced to surrender. In a public humiliation ceremony, King Edward rips Baleo's royal garments and leaves him standing naked in front of the crowd. He then steals the sacred stone of destiny from scone that had been used to crown Scottish kings for centuries.

[00:03:42]Edward officially declares Scotland a province of England and returns home with the stone of destiny and his prisoners. With the war for independence seemingly lost, 1,500 Scottish nobles pledged their loyalty to King Edward.

[00:03:54]And amongst them is the youngest Robert the Bruce, the grandson of Robert the competitor. Though he shared the same name as his father and grandfather, this Robert was different. Since he was a child, he had drunk the Kool-Aid that the Bruces were the rightful kings of Scotland. He was initially okay sitting and waiting for Edward to make him a vassal king. But soon he grew impatient, and in 1297, he and some other nobles led a revolt against King Edward. But before a single battle, they sign a treaty and he joins the English again.

[00:04:23]Later that year, a minor noble named William Wallace raises an army of peasants and pulls off an upset victory against the English at the Battle of Sterling Bridge. Robert the Bruce sees this as his path to the throne of a renewed independent Scotland and he switches sides back to the Scottish resistance. But less than a year later, Wallace is soundly defeated by Edward Longshanks at the Battle of Falerk.

[00:04:45]Robert the Bruce has made Wallace's successor as one of the guardians of Scotland to lead the resistance. But in a few years, he gives up again and he slinks back to the English side in 1302.

[00:04:55]In the span of just 5 years, Robert had flip-flopped four times and had pretty much lost the trust of most people in Scotland. His rival John Cumin becomes the face of the Scottish resistance and most likely person to be made king.

[00:05:07]Despite nothing really going his way and technically being on team long shanks again, Robert the Bruce still delusionally believed that he will one day be the king of the Scots. And he secretly begins making alliances with other Scottish nobles. He even strikes a deal with his most hated rival, John Cumin. Little did he know that Cumman also wanted to be king and he would not waste his opportunity to get rid of a potential rival for good. Commen tells King Edward about Robert the Bruce's betrayal and Long Shanks immediately sends out orders to capture him. Robert gets word that his cover had been blown and he takes off in the dark of the night back to Scotland. Enraged by the betrayal, Robert asks John Cumin to meet him at a church to discuss what happened. On February 10th, 1306, the rivals for the Scottish throne meet in a chapel in Dumpries. And things get heated quick. How could you? We had a deal, screams Robert. His voice echoes throughout the holy building. The two men come to blows and in the heat of the moment, Robert draws his sword and stabs Cumin, who falls to the ground in front of the altar. Two of his men quickly rush in and finish the job. John Cumin was dead. And now there was no turning back. With what little support he had left in Scotland in attendance, and without the sacred stone of destiny, Robert the Bruce is crowned king of Scotland. At long last, his wish had finally come true. But he would soon learn Heavy is the head that wears the crown. For murdering someone in a church, he's excommunicated by the Pope.

[00:06:33]And within weeks, King Edward orders his forces in Scotland, led by the Earl of Pembroke, to fly the Dragon Banner, a clear warning that no quarter would be given to Robert and his men in battle.

[00:06:44]No prisoners would be taken and the survivors would be executed. Robert the Bruce finds out about the kill on sight orders and travels to Perth to challenge the Earl to battle. All right, Amr. I'm here. Let's do this.

[00:06:56]>> It's kind of late, bro. I'll come out and find you tomorrow. We can fight then. Oh. Uh, okay. We're just going to uh camp over there then. Come get us when you're ready.

[00:07:12]Psych. We're ready now. Mounted cavalry rushes into Robert's camp and they begin hacking his unarmed soldiers to pieces.

[00:07:19]The army of Robert the Bruce is caught completely offg guard. And in the darkness, he scrambles to get his men prepared for battle. He mounts his steed and tries to fight, but he's knocked off and nearly captured three times before a small band of loyal men surround him and drag him away. The Earl of Pembroke makes good on the promise of the dragon banner, and nearly the entire Scottish army is killed or captured. Having lost everything, Robert the Bruce runs away with a handful of loyal soldiers to Rattland Island off the coast of Ireland. Edward wants to send a clear message to the would-be king of the Scots, and soon he begins to hunt down Robert's entire family. Three of his brothers are executed in brutal fashion.

[00:07:58]His wife is imprisoned. His 12-year-old daughter is captured and sent to a convent. And his sister is displayed like an animal in a cage hanging from a castle wall. On Rattland, Robert wanders, lost and depressed. His whole life, he had wanted the power, respect, and glory of a king. But now, he was a king without a kingdom. an outlaw hiding on an island. He stumbles into a cave one day and slumps against the wall to wallow in self-pity. As he sits dejected, he watches a tiny spider try to spin its web. The creature crawls and attempts to jump from its ledge to the next, but it falls short and helplessly floats to the ground. Robert watches as the spider climbs back up to the same spot and tries again and again, but each time it falls short. Without realizing it, he soon finds himself cheering for the spider as it climbs back up the ledge for another try. The creature pauses for a brief moment as if doubting itself as it stares at the ledge it had been trying so hard to reach. Don't give up.

[00:08:57]Don't give up. You can do it. The spider launches itself with all its might and soarses through the air. This time, it makes it across and quickly begins to spin its web. In that moment, Robert thinks of his own life. Like this spider, he too had his own dreams that he had chased and failed at many times.

[00:09:15]The only difference was that this spider never gave up. Inspired, Robert thinks that maybe he too could try again to achieve his dream. But this time to chase it differently. This time he would be a real king. A man not simply given the crown, but one who becomes truly worthy of it. A king who shoulders the burden of his people and lights their darkest hour with hope. He leaves the cave a changed man. And in 1307, Robert the Bruce returns to Scotland. He doesn't have much. Just 600 men make up his army, but he's determined to take back his kingdom. Being so heavily outnumbered, Robert adopts guerilla tactics, hitting the English when they least expect it and running before they can mount a defense. At Lowden Hill, Robert sets a trap and lures the Earl of Pembroke and his army into battle.

[00:10:00]Despite being outnumbered, Robert and his tiny army emerge victorious and he claims his first official victory over the English as king of the Scots. Edward hears that Robert the Bruce had returned and sets out to go to battle once again.

[00:10:13]But on his march north, he contracts dysentery and dies. His son, Edward II, is made king of England, but Junior was nowhere near the man Edward Long Shanks was. He's indecisive and would rather have others make difficult decisions for him. Robert gets the news of King Edward's passing. And he realizes this is an opportunity he cannot waste. With his small band of freedom fighters, he relentlessly attacks and reclaims English-held castles, cities, and towns.

[00:10:39]Over the next 7 years, he works to regain the trust of the people of Scotland as he leads his men into battle again and again. Stories of his bravery spread throughout the land, and slowly his army of a few hundred freedom fighters grows into the thousands. By 1314, he had recaptured almost every single one of the English-held castles in Scotland. Things are now dire for Edward II, as one of his last castles in Scotland, Castle Sterling, capitulates to Robert's brother, and the English forces there agree to surrender if reinforcements do not arrive. Edward realizes he has to do something, so he raises an army of 15,000 men and rushes to Sterling. Robert the Bruce gets word of his movements and is concerned.

[00:11:20]Though his army had grown, he's still outnumbered over 2 to1 and he has no heavy cavalry to counter the English war horses. Racing against the clock, he trains his pikemen to use their defensive sheltering formations offensively. It's the best he can do with so little time, and he drills them over and over again. He then scouts the road to the castle and chooses a location for the battle near a stream called the Banic Burn. To ensure the English fight him where he wants them, he sets traps that will force Edward to engage him on his terms. And then he waits. On June 23rd, 1314, Robert the Bruce is patrolling the area on a scouting mission, and he watches as the first of the English heavy cavalry begin to emerge in the distance. Amongst the English army is a knight named Henry Dune, who spots Robert and instantly recognizes the outlaw, King of the Scots. Without hesitation, Dune lowers his lance and charges at a full clip towards Robert the Bruce, looking to take him out here and now and claim all the glory of the battle. Robert sees the knight barreling straight at him and instead of retreating, he draws his ax.

[00:12:20]The Scots watch in horror as their king takes off directly towards the advancing English knight. They can't bear to watch as the tip of Dun's lance gets closer and closer to their king. But at the last second, Robert maneuvers his horse and sidesteps the knight. He rises up on his stirrups and brings his ax crashing down onto the head of Henry Deoon, splitting his skull in two. Take that, you dirty.

[00:12:44]Oh no, you broke my favorite axe. Why'd you do that?

[00:12:49]God, seriously.

[00:12:51]This freaking sucks. Oh, the sight of their king effortlessly taking out an English knight fills his men with courage and they bravely fight against the much larger English army. The will of the Scots is unshakable, and they inflict heavy casualties on the better equipped English knights. Shocked, Edward's army pulls back and sets up camp for the night. Later that evening, a soldier from Edward's army defects and makes his way into Robert's camp. Morale in the English army is low. If you fight them tomorrow, you could win. After nearly a decade of fighting what many thought was an unwinable war, Robert the Bruce had led the Scots to the precipice of their freedom. Despite the good news, the Scottish king knows they were still massively outnumbered and Edward's heavy calvary would still be extremely dangerous. With the fate of his people hanging in the balance, he decides to let them have the final word. He turns to his war council and asks, "Shall we fight or not?" His generals shout back in unison, "Fight."

[00:13:48]And so the following day, against an army more than twice their size, 6,000 Scotsmen bravely follow their king into battle to win their independence. Robert the Bruce sends his archers out to distract Edward's Bowman, and he quickly marches his pikeman out onto the field.

[00:14:02]The English knights see this and charge.

[00:14:05]As the rumbling of the mass of horses draws closer and closer, the Scots shout defiantly and raise their pikes. Wave after wave of English knights are impaled on their spears and they continue to march forward. Robert senses like cavalry and they scatter Edward's archers, giving his childrens a clear path forward. Despite their superior numbers and weaponry, the English find themselves pushed back and soon they're pinned against the Banickburn stream.

[00:14:28]With Edward's army trapped, Robert deploys his reserves to deliver the final blow. and the English knights, realizing their king is now in danger, pull him from the battlefield. The English lose 5,000 men, including 1,000 knights and nobles, while Robert's army suffers fewer than 500 casualties. The victory at Banickburn all but cemented Scottish independence. And after 8 years in captivity, Robert's wife, daughter, and sister are traded for hostages and freed. Robert the Bruce has his excommunication lifted by the Pope, and he's officially recognized by the church as the true king of Scotland. Though the Pope had forgiven his sins, Robert the Bruce still wondered if he could ever truly be forgiven for the horrible act he had committed in the chapel decades ago. On his deathbed, he asks his good friend, Sir James Douglas, to take his heart to fight in a crusade so he can be sure his sins were absolved. Robert the Bruce dies just before his 55th birthday. And James Douglas makes good on his promise, wearing his king's heart in a silver casket around his neck while on a crusade to fight the Moors in Spain. While there, he and his fellow Scots are ambushed and find themselves severely outnumbered. As they prepare themselves for battle, Douglas tears Robert's heart from his neck and throws the casket at the advancing army and shouts, "LEAD ON, BRAVE. I WILL FOLLOW THEE.