Scots wha hae, or Bruce's Address to his troops at Bannockburn, along with a description of the death of the Cummin in the Priory Church, Dumfries, written by Robert Burns.
The manuscript was given to Dr Hughes of Hereford 'by the Author Mr Burns, the celebrated Scottish Poet, when at Dumfries, Sat.y Aug. 8th, 1795'. The manuscript came up for sale in July 1890 and was purchased by Edinburgh Corporation for 70 guineas.
Burns visited Bannockburn, near Stirlijng, on 26th August 1787. He wrote 'Scots wha hae' in 1793, when Liberty was uppermost in his mind following the establishment of the French Republic. He chose the tune 'Hey Tutti Tattie', traditionally said to have been played at the Battle of Bannockburn. However, the text of this version of the poem is slightly different from the sung version in that the last line of each quartet is two syllables longer eg 'Or to glorious victorie', 'Edward, chains and slaverie', 'But they shall - they shall be free!'
