The king consolidates his triumph
In November 1314, just five months after his shattering victory at Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce convened a parliament at Cambuskenneth Abbey near Stirling. It was a parliament of consolidation — the moment when Bruce transformed military triumph into political reality and secured his grip on the Scottish throne.
The parliament at Cambuskenneth was significant for several reasons. First, it formally disinherited all Scottish nobles who had refused to support Bruce's cause — those who had sided with England or sat on the fence during the Wars of Independence. Their lands were confiscated and redistributed to Bruce's loyal supporters. This was a ruthless but necessary act of political housekeeping: Bruce could not afford enemies within his own realm.
Second, the parliament raised taxes to fund the ongoing war effort. Bannockburn had been a decisive victory, but Scotland's independence was not yet secure. Edward II of England refused to recognise Scottish sovereignty, and the threat of another English invasion remained. Bruce needed money for garrisons, fortifications, and the diplomatic campaign that would eventually produce the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.
Cambuskenneth Abbey, where the parliament met, stands in graceful ruin on a bend of the River Forth, within sight of Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. It was one of Scotland's great Augustinian houses, and its location — at the strategic heart of Scotland, where the Highlands meet the Lowlands — made it a natural venue for royal business. Bruce's wife Elizabeth de Burgh and his daughter Marjorie are buried here. The abbey's surviving bell tower, rising above the flat river plain, is a landmark visible from the ramparts of Stirling Castle. The parliament of 1314 was held in the shadow of Bannockburn's glory, and Cambuskenneth was the stage on which Bruce began to build the peace that the battle had won.