Selected for 24 June
The forces of Robert the Bruce defeated the army of Edward II at Bannockburn on June 24th, 1314, thus restoring Scottish sovereignty. It was an anniversary important to Robert Burns and to many Scots. Like 'La Marseillaise', it addresses contemporary issues by evoking past events. In this stirring battle-cry of a poem, the poet, never more conscious of his bardic role, was clearly appealing to 1790's radical and patriotic sentiment by reminding his countrymen and women of a previous act of collective resistance. Burns had set his propagandist verses to an old drinking song. His call to arms survived almost all of his interfering editor's attempts to sweeten its tune and tone down its politics, emerging as something of an informal 'national anthem', which it remains to this day.
Donny O'Rourke
