The Bannockburn Years

by William Scott

A modern day Edinburgh solicitor tracks down a document relating to Scottish identity and nationhood on the Isle of Bute. This opens up a new dimension to the nature of Scottish statehood. The author uses this as a vehicle to ask penetrating questions.

232 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Kathryn Scarborough]

This is a somewhat troublesome book to read and digest. The author William Scott must have a dual personality because he came off quite successfully as a medieval scholar writing his journal (in Latin of course) about the days of Robert Bruce and fighting the British for Scottish independence, and a modern Scottish solicitor who finds the journal and releases its scholarly information for the nation of Scotland. About 80% of the book is John Bannantyne's medieval journal. While the reader is digesting a plethora of ancient facts about warfare in the 13th century, they're wondering if the whole thing isn't for real. It is that compelling. I know next to nothing about archers, and pike men and armored knights, but I learned from reading this book. I referred to the introduction time and again, not sure that I had stumbled on a real translated text from the 1300's. At the very end of the story, our solicitor sums up this nationally important text by saying that yes, Scotland should be an independent nation, but wouldn't we all be better off if there was a government of the whole world. I had to go back again and read the introduction to make sure it was the same book!
If you have even the slightest interest in medieval warfare and weapons and how the puny little state of Scotland whopped Edward of England's rear end in 1314, this will be a fascinating read. The end just seems disjointed from the rest of the book.