The Declaration of Arbroath
“It was felt that the letter would have greater impact if Bruce wasn’t one of the authors”
WHAT WAS THE DECLARATION OF ARBROATH?
he Declaration of Arbroath was a letter written in April 1320 at Arbroath Abbey, on the east coast of Scotland. Around 1,000 words long, and written in Latin on a sheep’s skin, it was addressed to Pope John XXII and outlined particular grievances that the Scots held, including the recent excommunication from the Church of their king Robert I, aka Robert the Bruce. While not directly asking for the lifting of the excommunication, the letter did request that the pope make an appeal to the English king, Edward I, to cease his invasions of Scotland. In this, the letter emphasised the proud tradition of Scottish independence – “one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken by a
