The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320 AD

This document is a copy of the original, written at Arbroath on 6th April 1320. The original, delivered to the Pope in Avignon is lost, but was acknowledged on 28th August 1320. The Pope wrote to Edward II urging him to make peace, although it was not until 1324 that the Pope addressed Robert Bruce as King. Finally, in 1328, Edward III formally recognised King Robert's title and the independence of Scotland.

Parallels between this Declaration of Arbroath and the latter American Declaration of Independence are clear. Both were a statement of human rights asserting the self-determination of a nation, and both were fuelled by the catalyst of arrogant Anglo-Saxon imperialism.

This copy of The Declaration can be viewed at Old Register House, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh and is Crown Copyright. Copies, with translation, are also available from HMSO bookshops.

Declaration of Freedom

An extract from The Declaration of Arbroath in the Original Latin

Quia quamdiu Centum ex nobis viui remanserint, nuncquam Anglorum dominio aliquatenus volumus subiugari. Non enim propter gloriam, diuicias aut honores pugnamus set propter libertatem solummodo quam Nemo bonus nisi simul cum vita amittit.
...for, 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.

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