This week – 17 March 1309

At a parliament held at St Andrews, the clergy of Scotland wrote to ‘all Christ’s faithful’ declaring that they always believed Robert Bruce, grandfather of King Robert, to be the rightful claimant to the Scottish throne over John Balliol. This ‘Declaration of the Clergy’ was the most important feature of this parliament and champions Bruce’s rights to the throne. The Declaration, though, has been analysed by historians, many of whom deem it to be Bruce propaganda issued to blacken Balliol’s reputation in support of Bruce’s own legitimacy.