William Sinclair (of the Rosslyn Branch) Bishop of Dunkeld.He was know as
Bruce's Bishop. His brother Henry Sinclair, eighth Baron of Roslin,
great-grandfather of Prince Henry Sinclair, fought for the Bruce at
Bannockburn in 1314, just as he had fought with Wallace at the Battle of
Rosslyn in 1304, and just as he signed the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.
quote from Andrew Sinclair's Book 'The Scret Scrool' Accounts of the
conflict are sparse and fragmentary. "Yet, they testify to two strange
events. Shortly before the battle, Bruce received new supplies of weapons
from unknown sources - much to the fury of King Edward.
Then, while the fight was raging and after Bruce had sent his final reserve
of mounted troops into action against the English archers, a fresh force of
horsemen appeared with banners flying and routed the enemy.
One Scottish legend claims that these were camp followers riding ponies and
waving pitchforks, but such a mob could never have put the English king and
500 of his knights to immediate flight.
Every indication suggests that the squadron that struck terror into the
English was made up of exiled Templars.
Each June, on the battle's anniversary, modern Scottish Ternplars still pay
tribute to their predecessors who were martyred here in the struggle for
independence.
To show his gratitude for their role at Bannockburn, the Scottish king drew
the Templars into the ancient guilds that were the forerunners of today's
Masons. It was a perfect cover to ensure the Templars' survival.
Among those who fought with Bruce were three of my ancestors, the St Clairs
of Rosslyn, a family closely associated with the Templars. One of them,
William de St Clair, would later die with other Scottish knights in a charge
against the Moslems in Spain, while taking the heart of Bruce for burial in
Jerusalem."
Edward had a fourfold advantage in numbers. The hard core of Bruce's army
were his spearmen and of these he had 4,500 to 5,000. They were supported by
a handful of archers from the Ettrick Forest and about 500 horse.
Sinclair
Ref ABRIDGED extract published in the Daily Mail, UK, from The Secret Scroll
by Andrew Sinclair published by Sinclair-Stevenson
G.W.S.Barrow,1988 : Robert Bruce : EUP
A.New,1985 : Abbeys of England and Wales : Constable
P.McNeill and Ranald Nicholson (Editors), 1975 : Historical Atlas of
Scotland : Conference of Scottish Medievalists
M.Baigent and R.Leigh,1989 : TheTemple and the Lodge : Guild.
Scotichronicon Vol 6: 1286 - 1319 Walter Bower
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