Scotland Correspondent Issue 38

Celebrating the right to independence

For the first time in 15 years one of Scotland’s most historic documents, the Declaration of Arbroath, is to go on display as part of the 700th anniversary of its signing.

The iconic scroll which asserted Scotland’s independence and right to self-determination is considered the most eloquent statement of the case for a nation’s claim to freedom produced anywhere in medieval Europe.

The document, which has been credited with laying the foundation of America’s own Declaration of Independence - as recognised by US Senate Resolution 155 of 10 November 1997 - will go on show at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh from 27 March to 26 April 2020.

The exhibition is part of a variety of events being organised by National Records of Scotland (NRS) and National Museums Scotland to mark the septcentenary.

The NRS programme will examine the Declaration, the context of its creation and its significance today, featuring talks by academics, historians and an artist, including Head of Medieval and Early Morning Records Alan Borthwick and the writer and historian Fiona Watson.

National Museums Scotland will present a discussion with historians and archivists chaired by curator Dr Alice Blackwell of National Museums Scotland. A panel including Fiona Watson, Professor Dauvit Brown from the University of Glasgow and Alan Borthwick will explore the origins, influence and legacy of the Declaration.

Graeme Dey with the Declaration of Arbroath

Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland

There will also be a drop-in event with family craft activities at the museum, as well as a chance to meet NRS conservators to discover how medieval documents are repaired, treated and cared for.

“I welcome these events as part of an exciting anniversary year in which we will celebrate this amazing document with the people of Scotland, and with visitors from around the world,” said Graeme Dey, Scotland’s Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans.

“The Declaration of Arbroath is a unique historical record and is of huge importance to Scotland as a whole, but particularly to the town of Arbroath itself.

“I’ve been pleased to discover how many people of Scots descent worldwide have a great understanding of the document’s significance.”

The Declaration of Arbroath was written as a diplomatic letter to Pope John XXII in 1320 asking for Scotland to be recognised as an independent kingdom. It is one of the earliest expressions of the concept of freedom and Scottish identity, coming some six years after King Robert The Bruce defeated an invading English army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

A portrait of Robert the Bruce from 1800, painting purchased at The National Portrait Gallery of Edinburgh, miniature.

Photo by cc Georgemiller381

Compiled in the name of 39 of Scotland’s earls and barons, it was a demonstration of a show of unity in support of King Robert the Bruce with a request to the Pontiff to recognise him as the country’s lawful king.

Declaration of Arbroath translation

Photo by Kim Traynor CC BY-SA-3.0

The most famous quote from the letter, “As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself”, is said to have influenced the passage in the USA’s own Declaration of Independence from London rule in 1776 which reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Arbroath Abbey

Photo by Tom Parnell CC BY-SA 4.0