1709: Robert the Bruce Aug 19, 2019

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While 'of Arc' was a name and not a title for 'Joan of Arc', 'Bruce' was a title and a name for Robert the Bruce. For the Scottish king known as both Robert I and Robert VIII de Bruce in Scotland, he actually follows a line of men named Robert de Brus that went back at least 200 years before his birth. The change from 'de Brus' to 'the Bruce' was not ubiquitous at the time, though it mostly is now, but it was simply a misinterpretation of the French 'de' (of). 'Bruce'—both here and as the modern first name—comes from the Norman city 'Brix' meaning 'the willowlands'. Scotland was close diplomatically to the French, and most nobility used 'de', like his contemporary Sir Roger de Kirkpatrick of Closeburn.

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