The Battle of Bannockburn

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Scotland’s struggle for independence was marked by rebellion, betrayal, and remarkable victories. In this episode, we trace the story from William Wallace’s uprising against English rule, through the rise of Robert the Bruce, to the decisive Scottish triumph at Bannockburn in 1314.

We're joined by Helen Carr, author of 'Sceptred Isle', to explain the century that changed the course of English-Scottish history.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello,
0:00.6	folks, Dan Snow here.
0:01.6	I am throwing a party to celebrate 10 years of Dan Snow's history hit.
0:06.1	I'd love for you to be there.
0:07.5	Join me for a very special live recording of the podcast in London,
0:10.4	in England on the 12th of September to celebrate the 10 years.
0:14.1	You can find out more about it and get tickets with the link in the show notes.
0:17.6	Look forward to seeing you there.
0:40.8	Thank you. show notes. Look forward to seeing you there. Hi everyone and welcome to Dan Snow's history hit.
0:42.6	Today I'm afraid I'm going now.
0:44.8	I'm touching the third rail of British history.
0:51.2	I'm talking about the eternally thorny subject of England and Scotland.
0:57.4	Now for listeners that are not from the UK, you might think that England and Scotland are separate.
1:04.7	And they are, sort of. But on the macro level, they are one. They're part of the United Kingdom.
1:15.1	They are bound by the Union of 1707. You have Scottish MPs and peers that sit in the UK Houses of Parliament in the UK capital, London. Scotland used the same currency, the interest rates controlled by the UK Central Bank,
1:19.8	which confusingly and helpfully is called the Bank of England.
1:22.7	People move back and forward over the border.
1:24.5	They have the same representation at the UN, they have the same Olympic team. Team G.B., which does not include people from Northern Ireland, which is part of the United
1:32.6	Kingdom. Anyway, never mind. But you might be forgiven for thinking they are separate because they have
1:36.5	strong, separate identities, they have slightly different legal systems. They do have different
1:40.7	football teams, rugby teams. And that all reflects the fact that before 1707 they were two different kingdoms.
1:46.2	And like all neighbours, these two have had an intense relationship.
	...

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