Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of Bannockburn

Battle of Bannockburn was a battle fought on 23 June 1314 at Battlefield of Bannockburn, in what is now United Kingdom; it lasted 1 day. It was part of the Wars of Scottish Independence, which ran from 1296 to 1357. The recorded result: Scottish victory. Recorded strength: 5,000–8,000 against 20,000–25,000.

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Bannockburn: Bruce Reviewing His Troops Before the Battle. Note: This is a very anachronistic image; kilts like this did not exist in Bruce's time period, but date to around 1690s–1720s. This image sh
Bannockburn: Bruce Reviewing His Troops Before the Battle. Note: This is a very anachronistic image; kilts like this did not exist in Bruce's time period, but date to around 1690s–1720s. This image sh. Edmund Blair Leighton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought23 June 1314lasted 1 day
WhereBattlefield of Bannockburn, United Kingdom56.093N, 3.938W
OutcomeScottish victory
BelligerentsKingdom of ScotlandagainstKingdom of England
Battlefield todayBattle of Bannockburn battlefieldHistoric Environment Scotland entry BTL4, 1,557 ha
Part ofWars of Scottish Independence1296 to 1357

Where it sits in the Wars of Scottish Independence

Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1297Battle of Falkirk, 1298Battle of Roslin, 1303Action at Happrew, 1304Battle of Dalrigh, 1306Battle of Methven, 1306Battle of Slioch, 1307Battle of the Pass of Brander, 1308Battle of Inverurie, 1308Siege of Roxburgh Castle, 1314Battle of Bannockburn, 1314Battle of Annan, 1332Battle of Halidon Hill, 1333Battle of Culblean, 133512971335Battle of Bannockburn, 1314
14 placed engagements of the Wars of Scottish Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date23 June 1314
to 24 June 1314
PlaceBattlefield of Bannockburn, United Kingdom
56.093N, 3.938W
KindBattle, medieval
Strength5,000–8,00020,000–25,000
Casualties and lossesLight (presumably around 100 casualties)700 knights and men-at-arms killed; 15,000 killed or drowned
Commanders
Battle of BannockburnBattle of BannockburnSiege of Stirling CastleBattle of SauchieburnBattle of StirlingSiege of Stirling CastleSiege of Stirling CastleBattle of SauchieburnBattle of StirlingSiege of Stirling Castle5 km56.093N, 3.938W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the registered battlefield area (Historic Environment Scotland). Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Bannockburn
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Bannockburn today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-05-30. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 60 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 267 m, 267 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 40% grassland, 30% tree cover, 17% built-up.

grassland: 40%tree cover: 30%built-up: 17%cropland: 13%grassland 40%tree cover 30%built-up 17%cropland 13%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 159 mnorth to south, 10.0 km3 to 139 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 6 times between 1297 and 1746.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1314

Historic Environment Scotland registers this as the Battle of Bannockburn battlefield (entry BTL4), 1,557 hectares, under the Open Government Licence.

Battle of Bannockburn is one of 566 engagements of the 14th century in the atlas and one of 695 in present-day United Kingdom.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q222520, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Bannockburn, revision 1383211470, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from Historic Environment Scotland (Open Government Licence). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.