Every year at this time, and up to 4th July, the entire US media inundate us with information on the Declaration of Independence, and the men who "wrote" it. One never hears a thing about it being lifted straight from the Declaration of Arbroath, written in 1320. Let's inform our local media of the facts in plenty of time before 4th July. E-mail and fax are the most effective, as letters take ages to arrive since the anthrax scare. The following is from the web page of the Department of Geography at Edinburgh University. You can find the actual document in both English and the original Latin on www.google.com >Although the English armies under Edward II were routed at Bannockburn in 1314, and by 1319, with the recapture of Berwick, effectively expelled from Scottish soil, they continued to mount attacks into Robert the Bruce's Scotland over the succeeding years. The Pope had not accepted Scottish independence, perhaps partially because Robert the Bruce had been excommunicated for killing John Comyn in a church in Dumfries in 1306 (Comyn had formed an alliance with Edward.) Thus the Declaration of Arbroath was prepared as a formal Declaration of Independence. It was drawn up in Arbroath Abbey on the 6th April 1320, most likely by the Abbot, Bernard de Linton, who was also the Chancellor of Scotland. The Declaration urged the Pope to see things from a Scottish perspective and not to take the English claim on Scotland seriously. It used strong words, indicating that without acceptance of the Scottish case, the wars would continue and the resultant deaths would be the responsibility of the Pope. The Declaration was signed and bore the seals of 38 Scots Lords. It was conveyed to Rome and the Pope accepted the Scottish case. > Eileen Herkes, NY