Geograph - photograph every grid square

Pilkington Jackson's heroic statue of Scotland's greatest king and war-leader. Bruce holds the axe with which he cleft the head of the impetuous English knight Henry de Bohun on the eve of battle, sending shivers down the spines of his enemies and filling them with foreboding for the coming fight. The head was modelled on measurements of Bruce's skull following the re-discovery of his skeletal remains in Dunfermline Abbey in 1818.

"My lords, my people, accustomed to enjoy that full freedom for which in times gone by the kings of Scotland have fought many a battle! For eight years or more I have struggled with much labour for my right to the kingdom and honourable liberty. I have lost brothers, friends and kinsmen. Your own kinsmen have been made captive, and bishops and priests are locked in prison. Our country's nobility has poured forth its blood in war. Those barons you can see before you, clad in mail, are bent upon destroying me and obliterating my kingdom, nay, our whole nation. They do not believe that we can survive. They glory in their warhorses and equipment. For us, the name of the Lord must be our hope for victory in battle. This day is a day of rejoicing: the birth-day of John the Baptist. With Our Lord Jesus as commander, Saint Andrew and the martyr Saint Thomas shall fight today with the saints of Scotland for the honour of their country and their nation. If you heartily repent for your sins you will be victorious, under God's command. As for offences committed against the Crown, I proclaim a pardon, by virtue of my royal power, to all those who fight manfully for the kingdom of our forefathers." -- John Barbour's account of Bruce's speech at Bannockburn, 1314

NT0987 : Dunfermline Abbey tower