Neil de Brus (c. 1279 – September 1306), also Niall or Nigel, was a younger brother of King

Robert I of Scotland Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. Born at Carrick,

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, Scotland, he was a son of

Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale Robert de Brus (July 1243 – before April 1304Richardson, Douglas, Everingham, Kimball G. "Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families", Genealogical Publishing Com, 2005: p732-3, ,link/ref>), 6th Lord of Annandale, ''jure ...

and Margaret, Countess of Carrick. He supported his older brother in the struggle for the crown of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and fought in the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

. In 1306, he was captured by English forces at

Kildrummy Castle Kildrummy Castle is a ruined castle near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Though ruined, it is one of the most extensive castles dating from the 13th century to survive in eastern Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Mar. It is owne ...

, where he and his garrison held off

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

's forces who had been seeking Robert the Bruce's wife

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, daughter

Marjorie Marjorie is a female given name derived from Margaret (name), Margaret, which means pearl. It can also be spelled as Margery (name), Margery, Marjory or Margaery. Marjorie is a medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjor ...

, sisters

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and Christina, and

Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan (probably died c. 1314), was a significant figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence. She was the daughter of Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, and Johanna de Clare, daughter of The 6th Earl of Hertford. She ...

."Elizabeth de Burgh and Marjorie Bruce", Foghlam Alba
Their actions enabled the women to escape, although the women were soon captured and betrayed to the English by William, 3rd Earl of Ross in the chapel of St Duthac at

Tain Tain ( ) is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. Etymology The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The Gaelic n ...

in Ross. After his capture he was executed for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

by being

hanged, drawn, and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convicted traitor was fastened by the feet to a h ...

in September 1306 at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

Notes

1270s births 1306 deaths

Neill Neill is an Irish surname, and may refer to * A. S. Neill (1883-1973), British educator and author * Alan Webster Neill (1868-1960), Canadian politician * Alec Neill (b.1950), New Zealand politician * Ben Neill (b.1957), American composer * Bo ...

People of the Wars of Scottish Independence People executed under the Plantagenets by hanging, drawing and quartering Executed Scottish people {{Scotland-royal-stub