The Declaration of Arbroath
Scotland's barons write to the pope asserting the kingdom's independence, and declaring they would replace even their king if he ever submitted to England.
- The Declaration of Arbroath — National Records of Scotland
- Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland — G. W. S. Barrow, Edinburgh University Press (2005)
- Scotland: A New History — Michael Lynch, Pimlico (1992)
Written in Latin, probably at Arbroath Abbey, and sealed by about forty Scottish nobles, the letter asked Pope John XXII to recognise Robert Bruce as king and persuade England to leave Scotland in peace. It tells an ancient, partly legendary history of the Scots and lists English atrocities. Its most remarkable passage says that if Bruce ever tried to make Scotland subject to England, the nobles would drive him out and choose another king, a striking condition for 1320. Then comes its most famous line: “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.” The original document is kept by the National Records of Scotland.
- The Declaration of Arbroath — National Records of Scotland
- Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland — G. W. S. Barrow, Edinburgh University Press (2005)
Historians note it was diplomatic propaganda written for the nobility, not a democratic manifesto. But that is not how most Scots remember it.
- Scotland: A New History — Michael Lynch, Pimlico (1992)
- Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland — G. W. S. Barrow, Edinburgh University Press (2005)
Why it matters today
The Declaration is Scotland's best-loved historical document, quoted by nationalists and unionists alike, and often described as an early statement of popular sovereignty: the idea that power rests with the people, not the crown. That idea, that the Scottish people are sovereign, still runs through debates about Scotland's right to decide its own future.