Outlaw King: A Historical Fact Check

When Netflix declared it had commissioned a film based on the rise of Robert the Bruce, I was worried. If Braveheart had got the story of William Wallace so badly wrong, were we about to see Robert the Bruce go the same way?

I have to put my hands up and admit that Bruce is a bit of a hero of mine. His story is a fascinating one, seemingly made for the movies and if you haven’t read Nigel Tranter’s Bruce Trilogy yet, you can thank me later! First, it’s time to put Outlaw King under the same historical microscope and see how true to life the film really is.

Stirling Castle & War Wolf

The movie opens with a fittingly epic scene – the Siege of Stirling Castle. It’s a strong start to test if Outlaw King is historically accurate and the main elements of this story are bang on. In 1304, Edward I of England really did lay siege to Stirling Castle – the only remaining castle holding out against the English.

He decided to try and crush the Scots spirit with an almighty show of force by creating Warwolf – the biggest trebuchet ever built. It took around 50 men three months to construct the siege weapon and when the garrison saw it, they tried to surrender. However, Edward didn’t want surrender, he wanted humiliation.

With Scots nobles, probably including Robert the Bruce, looking on, Warwolf smashed through the walls of Stirling Castle. It seemed to Edward as if Scotland was finally conquered, but he was soon to get a surprise.

The Arrival Of Elizabeth De Burgh

Robert the Bruce did indeed marry Elizabeth de Burgh so that part of Outlaw King is as accurate as can be. However, the timeline is a little out for storyline purposes. By the time that Warwolf was being wheeled up to Stirling Castle, the soon to be monarchs had already been wed for two years. I think this change to history can be forgiven to create the typical movie love story!

She was the daughter of Richard de Burgh the Earl of Ulster, one of King Edward’s right hand men. Elizabeth was Bruce’s second wife so she became a very young stepmother to his 8-year-old daughter. There seems to be a bit of debate over whether she was born in 1284 or 1289 but either way she was at least 10 years younger than the future King.

The Murder Of John Comyn

The death of John Comyn is a pivotal moment in the Robert the Bruce story but its one we know little about. There are a number of conflicting accounts and all we know for sure is that two men walked into Greyfriars in Dumfries and only one came out. That gives the historical accuracy of Outlaw King a little bit more leeway to be especially dramatic.

Things begin in a civil manner. John Comyn insults William Wallace and since he’s believed to have abandoned him at Falkirk, that seems true to his nature. When threatened by Comyn, Bruce quickly stabs him out of the blue. We’ll never know exactly what happened, but that feels a little too cold.

What we do know about the murder of John Comyn is what came after and it’s a big opportunity missed by the film. After stumbling out of the church, Bruce is said to exclaim that he may have killed Comyn. His loyal companion Roger Kilpatrick then replies “I’ll make sure” before going inside to finish the job.

The Outlaw King’s Coronation

One of my favourite parts of the Outlaw King is the meeting of the Bishops in Glasgow. Just like the real story, Bishop Lamberton absolves Bruce’s sin and crowns him in return for supporting the church. There is a legend that Bruce and Lamberton met in Cambuskenneth Abbey during the siege of Stirling Castle to discuss this exact scenario. Maybe the murder wasn’t quite as spontaneous as we thought.

Even though Edward had stolen the Stone of Destiny, Scone Palace was still the traditional coronation site for the King of Scots. Bruce wanted everything to seem as legitimate as possible and so the location mattered. I’ve got to praise Outlaw King’s accuracy with the arrival of Isabella MacDuff although her presence deserved some explanation!

Isabella places to the crown on King Robert’s head and recites his ancestry back to the great King David I. It was the right of Clan MacDuff to crown the new King, allegedly since the time of Malcolm Canmore. In real life, the Outlaw King was initially crowned by Bishop Lamberton, then Isabella arrived the next day. Robert was so concerned that his reign wouldn’t be thought legitimate that he had a second coronation.

A side note – Elizabeth de Burgh is indeed credited with saying the couple were King and Queen of the May. She didn’t believe that their reign would last long.

The Massacre At Methven

The timeline of Outlaw King skips ahead again here to move the story along. After Bruce is crowned, Edward sends Aymer de Valence, the Earl of Pembroke to put down the King of Scots. While he had a reputation of an honest knight, he was soon to prove that notion false.

A few months after the coronation, Bruce faces Pembroke and an English army at Perth. The King called for battle but received the reply that it was too close to nightfall and a time was set for the next day. The chivalrous thing to do was wait for the agreed time, but in a similar fashion to the movie, the English broke the rules.

Outlaw King sticks to the rough facts here, Methven was indeed a night time massacre. Bruce was unaware that there had been any proclamation of no quarter so the Scots were entirely unprepared. However, while fire arrows look impressive, they wouldn’t have been particularly effective. Bruce was said to have acquitted himself well by unhorsing Pembroke but was also almost captured himself.

Along with his closest lieutenants, the King fights his way free but he had fallen at the first hurdle. His army was in tatters, his female relatives sent north to safety. This is where the title of Outlaw King suddenly begins to make sense.

Meeting The MacDougalls

During the timeframe of Outlaw King, Clan MacDougall were one of the most powerful families in Scotland. They were related to John Comyn through marriage and fierce opponents of the new King Robert. It wasn’t long before they became a real thorn in Robert the Bruce’s side.

The ambush at the Loch by the MacDougalls is heartwrenching and brutal but not entirely accurate to the real story. It seems to combine two events in Bruce’s escape to the west coast. First off, the King’s men had to safely cross Loch Lomond which they managed with little incident. Then as they moved north they were ambushed at Dalrigh.

The battle was quick, bloody and a second terrible defeat for the new King. He was so closely involved in the fighting that he was almost pulled from his horse by his cloak. Instead, the MacDougall clansman only succeeded in ripping off what has become known as the Brooch of Lorn.

Two years later, Robert would make the MacDougalls pay at the Battle of Brander Pass, a battle that sadly didn’t make its way into Outlaw King!

The Siege Of Kildrummy

The Siege of Kildrummy was one of the more dramatic elements of Bruce’s first year as King. While the historical accuracy of Outlaw King hasn’t strayed far up to now, Kildrummy gets badly rushed through. In the film, the defenders simply open the gate and it’s over in an instant but reality was far more exciting.

Bruce’s daughter, wife and sister were sent here along with Isabella Macduff, protected by his brother Neil Bruce. It was one of the strongest castles in Scotland and they defended it for weeks until Kildrummy finally fell to treachery. The castle blacksmith had been bribed to start a fire inside the walls and after the blaze, the Scots were forced to surrender.

Neil Bruce was taken south to Berwick where he would be hung, drawn and quartered while the blacksmith received his gold – melted and poured down his throat. The ladies had already been smuggled out, but were still captured and dragged down to England in chains.

The Outlaw King’s Exile To The Islands

This is another chapter of Outlaw King that has lots of historical leeway. Nobody knows exactly what Bruce did or where he went during the winter of 1306. There are more than a few theories but the film alludes to the most likely.

There is a strong case that along with Angus Og MacDonald, Bruce was entertained by Christina MacRuari of the Isles. Whatever the truth, the MacDonalds and MacRuaris did eventually give the King the support that he needed.

The confrontation that Bruce has with the Mackinnon of Skye sums up the feeling amongst many Scottish clans. This new King was already on the run with a handful of supporters and not the most appealing prospect to support.

What’s really disappointing is that Outlaw King doesn’t feature the famous legend of Bruce and the Spider. In the tale, the King watches a spider fail a dozen times to weave a web before it succeeds and learns that if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. No, it’s not historically accurate, but it’s such a famous story that the film could have been forgiven for featuring it!

Robert The Bruce’s Grand Return

The Outlaw King quote “Now we fight like wolves” sums up the tactics on Roberts return. There would be no more open battles, the Scots would regain their country through clever tactics and superior skills.

Hiding in the wagon of sticks is a nod to how Bruce’s men captured Linlithgow Castle. As a wagon of straw stopped in the doorway, armed men jumped out and delayed the guards long enough for the rest of Bruce’s troops to arrive. In Outlaw King, it’s used for the capture of Bruce’s own castle at Turnberry (Craigmillar Castle as a stand in).

Bruce destroys his family home, before explaining his plan to take Scotland back castle after castle, burning them as they go. This is exactly what happened in real life, a revolutionary tactic at the time. Then it’s James Douglas time to shine.

How Accurate Is James Douglas?

The short answer is very! Of all the depictions in Outlaw King, James Douglas gets a special mention for being so perfectly radge.

He’s more commonly known as the Black Douglas, becoming a bogeyman to people from the North of England. His speech to Robert the Bruce on the road to Scone depicts his lifelong dedication to the King perfectly. On their grand return to Scotland, James and a handful of men did make their way to Douglas Castle. It’s a story that Outlaw King stays incredible accurate to.

While the occupying troops are all in St Bride’s Church, Douglas has recruited a group of loyal local men to join them. On his signal, they massacre the unarmed garrison before heading up to take the castle itself. The only difference is that instead of dropping the captured soldiers down the well, Douglas poisoned it with butchered horses.

Was Elizabeth de Burgh Kept In A Cage?

It’s around this point in Outlaw King that it begins to veer further away from true history. As the daughter of a power English nobleman, Elizabeth de Burgh was definitely not kept in a cage. She was kept prisoner but in reasonably comfortable castles far from the Scottish Border.

The same can’t be said for the rest of the ladies captured after Kildrummy though. Bruce’s sister Mary is said to have been kept in a crown-shaped cage hanging from Roxburgh Castle. Isabella MacDuff faced the same fate at Berwick. Both were in Scottish towns in an attempt to show how weak the King of Scots really was.

Some accounts have Bruce’s daughter originally kept in another cage but eventually moved to a convent due to her young age. We know that Mary survived her punishment to come home, but sadly there are no later records for Isabella.

The Death of Edward I of England

Another historical point that Outlaw King gets at least partially right. Edward of England really did collapse on the road and die while bringing an army north to Scotland. He was determined to put Robert the Bruce down personally but at 68 years old, he wasn’t a well man. Edward died just before reaching Scotland and his son arrived a few weeks later to briefly carry on the campaign.

However, the timing of the death of Edward isn’t right at all. In reality, the reason he was bringing an army north personally was because Bruce had already won the Battle of Loudon Hill. If he couldn’t trust his subordinates to get the job done, he planned on doing it himself.

The Battle of Loudon Hill

The Battle of Loudon Hill is where Outlaw King goes for the big climax. It hones in on accurate details of warfare but gets looser with the facts of the story. Most importantly, neither Edward I or II were at the battle, this was Robert the Bruce getting even with the Earl of Pembroke. The rest of the battle follows reasonably closely to what we know.

The King picked the perfect battleground in an area he knew well, where the only firm ground was a narrow track through the middle of an impassable bog. To make things worse for the English, the Scots dug trenches and filled them with spikes to narrow their attack even further. In the end, very long Scottish spears defeated a direct English cavalry charge.

While Edward II wasn’t at Loudon Hill, he was at the Battle of Bannockburn seven years later. It would have made much more sense to either end at Bannockburn or turn this into a two part film. Suddenly, Outlaw King jumps forward to Robert the Bruce reuniting with his wife, something only able to take place thanks to a prisoner exchange after Bannockburn.

The Setting of Outlaw King

Where Braveheart disregarded all notion of staying true to the time period for kilts, face paint and enormous swords, Outlaw King takes its historical accuracy far more seriously. It shows the correct arms for the nobility including the instantly recognisable Douglas stars.

The weaponry is far closer to the real swords, spears and bows. Only the richest have chainmail and as the battle goes on, it becomes impossible to tell each mud-covered side apart! There are no kilts in sight but with the large number of highlanders and islanders, that might not be as accurate as you’d think.

While Chris Pine does a passable Scottish accent, he doesn’t quite get the across the gravitas or power of Robert the Bruce. To be fair, Outlaw King spends most of its time focusing on Bruce at his lowest point, but the portrayal is still far too meek. This was a man who was determined to be King of Scots and had the strength of conviction to see it through.

How Is Outlaw King As A Film?

Outlaw King goes to great lengths not to follow the mistakes of Braveheart and sticks far closer to the historical truth. However, what it’s gained in historical accuracy, it seems to have lost in blockbuster feel. It’s hard to keep up with who everybody is and some pivotal characters like the King’s brother Edward Bruce are just missing entirely!

A great soundtrack would have made up for everything but Outlaw King is sorely missing somebody like James Horner. Cinematically brilliant, the battle scenes are brutal without being gory. The sweeping shots of an atmospheric Scotland are just perfect.

This isn’t the full story of Robert the Bruce, only covering a few short, pivotal years. While Braveheart’s biggest problems were inaccuracies put in, the only real complaint about Outlaw King is all the amazing stories left out!

When all is said and done though, for fans of Scottish history, Outlaw King is a must watch film. It gives a better snapshot into this time period than just about any other film before it. You might not be screaming FREEDOM at the top of your lungs, but I bet you feel a wee spark of pride nonetheless!

If you feel inspired by the Outlaw King film and want to visit places connected with the story then join me on a Scotland’s Stories tour! Just click this link to send in your booking enquiry now!

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