June 17
In 1789, during the French Revolution, the Third Estate declared itself a national assembly, and undertook to frame a constitution. This gathering gave rise to the political terms "left wing" and "right wing," with deputies representing commoners sitting to the left of the assembly president, and nobles sitting to the right.
On this day in history, June 23rd 1314 was fought the Battle of Bannock burn, in which a much smaller and less well equipped army of Scots under the leadership of Robert Bruce defeated Edward II and his army of English and Welsh mercenaries.
The first day was memorable, Bruce seated upon a small steed, without helmet was charged upon in a challenge of single combat by the impetuous glory hunter Henry de Bohun. As the two passed side by side in the charge, Bruce stood up in his stirrups and cleaved the unfortunate knight from head to breastbone with his battle axe. It was an ominous sign.
The problem for the English was that they had advanced into a position that was untenable mainly because of the arrogance and insistence of Edward himself who chose the site. It was telling on the second day of the battle. They had at their back the Bannock burn itself and were encamped in a kind of horseshoe shaped area with the river looping around them. This made retreat very difficult and many knights drowned as they were pushed back by their own forces. The terrain in front of them was also marshy which meant that their superiority in cavalry could not be made use of and as the Scots pushed down on them from a slight incline with their schiltrons ( a hedgehog formation of spears) Chaos then ensued as the English force was pushed back upon itself.
Why was this battle important? It led to Scotland's independence after the failed diplomacy of the Deceleration of Arbroath with the Treaty of Edinburgh/Northampton in which the English acknowledged the independence of Scotland and the Kingship of Bruce and his successors.