Battle of Methven and Battle of Dalry

In 1305 Edward I, even in his old age, was making final preparations to merge Scotland with England. Scotland had been without a leader since Wallace’s death, but both Robert (the Bruce) and John Comyn of Badenoch claimed rights to the Scottish throne. John Comyn’s claim was more direct, and in 1306 Robert the Bruce called him to Dumfries, where the two men argued, and Comyn was stabbed to death. Though Bruce, the Earl of Carrick, was excommunicated for this, the same year he went on to declare himself King of Scotland, which brought an immediate reaction from an irate King Edward I. John Comyn’s brother-in-law, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, was ordered to “burn and slay and raise the dragon banner” and to offer no mercy to the Scottish resistance. At the Battle of Methven (1306) the English defeated Bruce’s army in a surprise attack, further weakened them at the Battle of Dalry that followed. After these two battles, Bruce was forced to disappear, probably to the Western Isles.