This is a full translation of the Scottish epic The Bruce . The poem is regarded as one of the key sources for the life of Robert the Bruce. It contains detailed notes explaining and simplifying the narrative, as well as contemporary accounts. The book includes The Declaration of Arbroath . John Barbour lived between 1330 and 1395. Most of his working life was spent as archdeacon of Aberdeen, and the poem was written in 1375 in the reign of Robert II. He is thus a rough contemporary of Chaucer, but his verse chronicle falls rather more into the tradition of Froissart and the other great chroniclers of the age of chivalry. The language of the poem is Scots at an early stage of development. The range of imagery and references provides an insight into the medieval mind. The editor A.A.M. Duncan is the author of The Making of the Kingdom .