Robert Bruce

Circa 1310, Robert Bruce (1274 - 1329), King of Scotland from 1306 and hero of the Scottish War of Independence. Known as Robert the Bruce, or de Brus, he crowned himself King in 1306 and was ceremonially crowned by the Countess of Buchan two days later. Bruce went into hiding for several months after his men were defeated by Edward I's troops at Methven, spending most of the time in the remote Scottish islands, but returned with a new army and won several battles against the English including the famous battle of Bannock Burn, on 24th June 1314. Robert the Bruce led 40,000 Scotsmen to victory against 60,000 English troops who were forced to flee into marshy ground. Bruce had prepared the battlefield with camouflaged pits, which the mounted soldiers fell into, and the English lost 10,000 men before retreating. (Photo by Spencer Arnold Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)