John Barbour, born about 1316 and dead by 1396, was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, a well educated man who served for 40 years as Archdeacon of St. Machar Cathedral. In the mid 14th century, when there were no Scottish universities, he secured safe passage from King Edward III of England to attend Oxford University and later received safe passage to travel to a French university. He also served in public life as a proxy for the Bishop of Aberdeen in Parliament and in 1373 as Clerk of Audit for the King of Scotland's household and as an auditor of the Exchequer for King David and King Robert II of Scotland. His masterpiece, The Bruce, dated by Barbour to 1375, is a poem on the epic exploits of King Robert the Bruce and is regarded as the most accurate near contemporary account of the king's life and adventures, following the tradition of chivalric romance in treating Robert Bruce's fugitive years, the War of Independence, and the victory at Bannockburn. Although many of Barbour's works have been lost, those that survive were still being published seven centuries later.