Old Friend

Met my old school friend E today. He came through from Glasgow to see the Declaration of Arbroath, on display in the National Museum of Scotland. The 703-year-old document was supposed to have been on display for the 700th anniversary but the covid pandemic scuppered those plans. It was last on display to the public 18 years ago. It was interesting to see, even if as is often the case with such things there is an odd mixture of awe and anti-climax. It was written to the Pope John XXII, asking him to recognise Scottish independence and acknowledge Robert the Bruce as Scotland's lawful king. In return Scotland offered Scottish support to the Pope's crusade, especially if there was peace with England. A truce between England and Scotland was signed in 1323 and a peace treaty in 1328. However the peace only lasted for four years before the Second War of Scottish Independence started when Edward Balliol attempted to revive his family's claim to the Scottish crown.
The document has gained more significance in modern times, with some claiming it inspired the American Declaration of Independence and others using it in support of Scottish independence and a constitutional monarchy, only permitted by the will of the people. Clearly it retains some power as some newspaper coverage of the current exhibition points oit that it is not the original document but a 'medieval copy'. Reading that you would be forgiven for thinking this meant a copy made made years, even centuries, later, thereby diminishing the status of the document. In fact the copy was one of three versions made at the same time and kept as the 'sender's copy' while another copy was sent to the Pope. Hard not to see this form of words - 'a medieval copy' - as an attempt to play down the document on display and its power as a symbol of Scottish nationalism presumably by those in favour of British nationalism (which effectively means English nationalism).