In a particularly brutal and bloody century Scotland established itself by successfully fighting both the Vikings and English.

The period included figures like William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, the brutal Alexander II and culminated in the Declaration of Arbroath which includes the stirring lines:

“We are an ancient people… for as long as a hundred of us remain alive never will we be brought under English rule… it is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting but for freedom for that alone which no honest man gives up but with life itself."

The Declaration of Arbroath is partly reprinted in the National Museum of Scotland.

Key sights to appreciate the era are gathered mostly around Stirling and Fife and include the Wallace Monument, which celebrates life and role of William Wallace; and Bannockburn, which has become the key place to appreciate Robert the Bruce.