The Declaration of Arbroath of 1320 is a remarkable document. By any standards, it is a uniquely succinct and effective expression of medieval regnal solidarity under a monarch who reigns only on condition that he maintains the kingdom's freedom from foreign over-lordship. Addressed to Pope John XXII by ‘the barons, freeholders and the whole community of the realm of Scotland’, it begins with an account of the Scottish people's ancient origins, their early conversion to Christianity, and the cruelty of Edward I towards a kingdom made vulnerable by the crisis of a disputed kingship. It then goes on to say that the Scots have been set free by ‘our most valiant prince, king, and lord’, Robert Bruce, who ‘like another Maccabeus or Joshua’ has delivered Scotland out of the hands of its enemies and whose rule is sanctioned by divine providence, rightful succession, and ‘the due consent and assent of us all’. Yet, it proceeds, while King Robert's rule may be triply legitimate – sealed by God, hereditary right and the consent of the people – it is assuredly not unconditional. On the contrary, in an oft-quoted passage, it states that:

Even leaving aside the final Sallustian flourish, it is not surprising that the blend of patriotism and political radicalism that these lines encapsulate has become a focus of consuming pride to many modern Scots. Nor is it surprising that the Declaration is often taken to be an expression of a distinctively Scottish attitude to government – at once independent of foreign interference and accountable to the people – that has allegedly defined Scottish political culture from that day to this.