Robert I of Scotland, the great-grandson (four times removed) of David I, claimed the Scottish throne in the wake of the death of William Wallace in 1305, in defiance of English king Edward I's asserted rule over the country. After defeating and killing his political rival, John Comyn, in Dumfries in 1306, he was crowned King of Scotland at Scone, near Perth, in a ritual of full solemnity. The first decade of his reign, however, was spent in fighting off the military resistance of Edward I's English army, finally gaining a decisive victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are not a subscriber, please click here to read about membership. All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors.