Qualla: Battle of Culblean https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:25 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Culblean https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean Battle of Culblean: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean/ It was the smallest battle on the road to Scottish independence and the one that decided it. On St Andrew's Day, 30 November 1335, in a forest above the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, Sir Andrew Murray's 800 Scots intercepted a force of 3,000 led by David de Strathbogie, the titular Earl of Atholl. Strathbogie had spent the autumn trying to wipe out the Bruce-loyal freeholders of the northern Highlands. He was Edward Balliol's chief lieutenant, the man on whom the English-backed claim to the Scottish throne practically depended in the north. By the end of that short winter day, he was dead at the foot of an oak tree, refusing to surrender, and Balliol's hopes died with him.

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]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/j/u/battle-of-culblean-wp/gfju-battle-of-culblean-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Culblean: A War Within a War https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean/ The Second War of Scottish Independence was also a civil war. After Robert Bruce and his supporters murdered John Comyn in 1306, the great Balliol-Comyn faction never reconciled with the Bruce party. When Bruce won at Bannockburn in 1314, the Scottish Parliament passed sentence o...

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]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/j/u/battle-of-culblean-wp/gfju-battle-of-culblean-a-war-within-a-war.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Culblean: Murray of Bothwell, the New Guardian https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean/ In September 1335, the surviving Bruce loyalists met at Dumbarton Castle and appointed Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell as Guardian of Scotland. His father had been joint commander with William Wallace at Stirling Bridge in 1297. The younger Murray had inherited the family inclinati...

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]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/j/u/battle-of-culblean-wp/gfju-battle-of-culblean-murray-of-bothwell-the-new-guardian.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Culblean: The Night March and the Burn https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean/ Murray had 800 men. Strathbogie, by Lord Hailes's reckoning, had 3,000. The Scots had carefully avoided pitched battle since Halidon Hill, but Kildrummy could not be allowed to fall. Strathbogie raised the siege and moved south to intercept, choosing ground in the forest of Culbl...

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]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/j/u/battle-of-culblean-wp/gfju-battle-of-culblean-the-night-march-and-the-burn.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Culblean: The Oak Tree https://qualla.com/battle-of-culblean/ When Douglas halted in feigned hesitation, Strathbogie took the bait and charged downhill. His ranks broke as they crossed a burn - a Highland stream - and Douglas counter-charged at exactly that moment. Murray's rearguard struck the exposed flank. The chronicles record that the ...

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]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/j/u/battle-of-culblean-wp/gfju-battle-of-culblean-the-oak-tree.mp3 0:06 5 full