Post #151294 by freddiefreelance on Wed, Apr 6, 2005 10:11 AM

The Declaration of Arbroath has been argued to amount to a declaration of Scottish independence, and sets out to justify Scotland's history as an independent kingdom and its use of military action when unjustly attacked. It is in the form of a letter submitted to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320. Sealed by fifty-one magnates and nobles, the letter is the sole survivor of three created at the time. The others were a letter from the king and a letter from the clergy which all presumably made similar points.

The Declaration made a number of much-debated rhetorical points: that Scotland had always been independent, indeed for longer than England, that Edward I of England had unjustly attacked Scotland and perpetrated atrocities, that Robert I of Scotland had delivered the Scottish nation from this peril, and, most controversially, that the independence of Scotland was more important to the Scots than the King of Scots. In fact it stated that the nobility would chose someone else to be king if the current one did anything to threaten Scotland's independence. While often interpreted as an early expression of 'popular sovereignty' – that kings could be chosen by the population rather than by God alone – it can also be argued to have been a means of passing the responsibility for disobeying papal commands from the king to the people. In other words, Robert I was arguing that he was forced to fight an illegal war (as far as the pope was concerned) or face being deposed.

Written in Latin, it is believed to have been drafted by Bernard, abbot of Arbroath (often identified as Bernard de Linton, although his surname is unknown), who was the Chancellor of Scotland at the time. While dated to 6 April 1320 at Arbroath Abbey, there was in fact no meeting of nobles there by whom the document was drafted. Instead the document may have been discussed at a council meeting at Newbattle in March 1320 (although firm evidence for such a debate is lacking). Abroath was simply the location of the royal chancery (in other words Abbot Bernard's writing office), and the date provides evidence only for his part in proceedings. The seals of eight earls and as many as forty-one other Scottish nobles were appended to to the document, probably over the space of some weeks and months, with nobles sending in their seals to be used, perhaps under some duress. It has been argued that this resentment played a role in the Soules Conspiracy to overthrow Robert I later in 1320. The Declaration was then taken to the papal court at Avignon.

The Pope seems to have paid some heed to the arguments contained by the declaration, although its contemporary influence should not be overstated. It was in part due to his intervention that a short-lived peace treaty between Scotland and England, the Treaty of Northampton, renouncing all English claims to Scotland, was finally signed by the English king, Edward III, on the 1 March 1328.

The original copy of the Declaration that was sent to Avignon is lost. However a file copy has been maintained by the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh. The most widely known English translation was created by Sir James Fergusson, formerly Keeper of the Records of Scotland, from text that he reconstructed using this extant copy and early copies of the original draft. One passage in particular is often quoted from the Fergusson translation:

...for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. 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.

Other Historical Highlights for Today:

• 402 - Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia
• 1199 - King Richard I of England, died (b. 1157)
• 1483 - Rafael, Italian painter and architect, is Born
• 1520 - Rafael, Italian painter and architect, died
• 1804 - The first scientifically recorded meteor lands in Possil, in north Glasgow, Scotland. Until this time meteors were believed to be scientifically impossible, since they would have to fly through the celestial spheres, which everyone knew to be made of the purest chrystal.
• 1866 - Butch Cassidy, outlaw, is Born (d. 1909)
• 1884 - Walter Huston, Academy Award winning actor, father of John Huston, Grandfather of Anjelica Huston, most famous for his supporting role in * The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*, is Born (d. 1950)
• 1886 - Vancouver, British Columbia is incorporated as a city. It'll be 75 years before Trader Vic's opens a branch there.
• 1896 - In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games after 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
• 1926 - Gil Kane, cartoonist, is Born (d. 2000)
• 1927 - Gerry Mulligan, Jazz musician, is Born (d. 1996)
• 1930 - Hostess Twinkies are invented.
• 1965 - Frank Black, a.k.a Charles Thompson, singer, songwriter, is Born (Pixies)
• 1968 - In London, United Kingdom, Massiel wins the thirteenth Eurovision Song Contest for Spain singing "La, la, la".
• 1973 - Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
• 1974 - In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the nineteenth Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden singing "Waterloo".
• 1992 - Isaac Asimov, scientist, Science Fiction/Fiction/Mystery/Science author, polymath, died of complications from an AIDS infection he received from a blood transfusion during open heart surgery (b. 1920)

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2005-04-06 10:12 ]