Scottish Blog

The Declaration of Arbroath was in essence a letter declaring Scotland’s independence.

Dated the 6th of April 1320, the declaration of Arbroath was sent to Pope John XXII. The letter bore the seals of 51 of Scotland’s nobles and magnates, indicating their support of the views and opinions expressed in the letter.

The letter made a number of points, most prominent amongst these were that Scotland has always been independent and too a longer extent than England, that Edward I had attacked England with no just cause, that Robert the Bruce had saved Scotland from the attacks. Further, the Declaration of Arbroath went on to proclaim that the independence of Scotland was the business of the Scots people and if the current monarch done anything to threaten this independence than the nobility will choose another. It also claimed that the King should be chosen not only by God, as it was considered at the time, but also by the population.

The Declaration of Arbroath was not the only letter written to the pope, although it is the only surviving one. Similar letters were written by the King of Scots and the clergy, it is thought that they made similar points to that of the Declaration of Arbroath.

The Declaration of Arbroath was written by Bernard, abbot of Arbroath Abbey. At the time he held the position of the Chancellor of Scotland, which placed him in the position of authority allowing him to write the letter. It is thought that the main contents of the letter were discussed and agreed upon in a council held at Newbattle Abbey, sometime in the March of 1320. In fact, the only reason the letter is called the Declaration of Arbroath is because that was the location of the Scottish chancery, further the date on the letter does not signify any unanimous decision or meeting on the that date, just the date that the Declaration of Arbroath.

The original copy of the Declaration of Arbroath that was sent to the Pope in Avingon is now lost, although there is still a copy held in the National Archives in Scotland.