John Barbour (1325?-1395), Scottish poet, born in Aberdeen County, and probably educated at the University of Oxford and the University of Paris. He is known chiefly for his national epic poem The Bruce (1375), which relates the history of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, and of the Battle of Bannockburn during the Scottish war for independence from England in the early 14th century. Containing nearly 14,000 lines, it was the first important poem in Scottish literature.