Leonardo di Ser Giovanni, from whom he learnt to draw and

model in wax. Having, however, taught himself to work in marble and bronze, he abandoned the goldsmith's art, and devoted himself wholly to sculpture. Whilst still a youth, he was employed by Sigismond di Malatesti, lord of Rimini, to carve the marble ornaments in a monumental chapel he was building. On his return to Florence, Luca was commissioned by the wardens of Santa Maria Delia Fiore to execute some bassi-rilievi for the famous campanile of Giotto, which excited great admiration; and afterwards to carve the marble ornaments on the organ screen, in which were some admirable figures of singing-boys, designed in rivalry with the screen of Donatello on the opposite side of the cathedral. So well satisfied were the wardens with this work, that they gave Luca the commission for the great bronze door of the sacristy. On this door, which he divided into ten compartments filled with rilievi, he was employed several years. It was greatly admired; but according to Vasari, he found that, from the time expended on this and the previous works, they produced so little profit that he determined to abandon bronze and marble and work in terra-cotta. In this material he was eminently successful, and he invented a glaze which produced a novel effect, and rendered the material perfectly weather-proof. His first production in this material was a rilievo for the tympanum over his bronze door of the sacristy. Finding these enamelled terra-cottas likely to be very popular, Luca now conceived the idea of adding colour to his figures. In this also he was successful, and the ware—that now known by his name—was received with equal surprise and delight. Cosmo de' Medici gave him a commission to decorate the cieling and pavement of a study with this coloured ware, and afterwards the central chapel and that of S. Jacopo, in the church of St. Miniato-al-Monte. The fame of these and other works in the same material soon brought Luca commissions, not only for other churches and palaces in Florence, but from Fiesole, Naples, and even from Spain. Indeed, says Vasari, so widely was their celebrity spread through Europe, that the Florentine merchants began to find them a profitable article of commerce, and kept Luca so fully employed at this kind of work, to his great profit, that he was fain to call in his relatives, Ottaviano and Agostino, to assist him. Luca continued to work at his enamelled terra-cotta till his death, which occurred in 1482. The secret was preserved in the family, and the manufacture was continued by his brother, Andrea della Robbia, with scarcely inferior success. It passed by marriage into the Buglioni family, but gradually deteriorated, and died out before the end of the sixteenth century. In our own day, Della Robbia ware has again come into fashion. Original examples command very high prices, and it has been successfully imitated in this country (especially by Minton), as well as in Italy and France. Many of the enamelled terra-cottas of Luca remain in perfect preservation in their original positions; others have been removed uninjured to museums. In the South Kensington museum are several fine specimens of this work, including an altarpiece, &c., by Luca, and others by Andrea della Robbia. The most remarkable, though not the most beautiful specimen, is a massive medallion eleven feet in diameter, one of the largest works of its kind ever made. It was taken from the exterior of the Villa Pantiatici Zimenes, near Florence; and though exposed there to the weather for three hundred and fifty years, is still almost uninjured.—J. T—e. ROBERT the Bruce. See Bruce. ROBERT II., King of Scotland, the only child of Walter the high steward of Scotland and Marjory Bruce, daughter of the celebrated King Robert Bruce, was born in 1315, and succeeded his uncle David II. in 1370. His claims were opposed by the powerful earl of Douglas as the representative of the families of Comyn and Baliol; but the earl abandoned his pretensions on finding that they were not likely to meet with public support, and was conciliated by the gift of several great offices, and by the marriage of the king's eldest daughter to his eldest son. Robert had been in his youth a bold and active soldier, but he had now become fond of repose, and somewhat indolent. He was, moreover, well aware of the benefits of peace, and was therefore anxious to maintain the existing truce with England. But he was unable to restrain the turbulence and ambition of his fierce and lawless nobility, who made inroads into England whenever the desire of plunder or of revenge dictated; and at length hostilities recommenced between the two countries, and raged for several years with great fury. In 1381 the famous John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, marched to the borders at the head of a powerful army, and was met by commissioners from Scotland, who concluded with him a truce for twelve months, afterwards extended to three years. The insurrection of Wat Tyler broke out at this time in England, and Lancaster, who was peculiarly obnoxious to the insurgents, found it dangerous to return home, and sought a temporary refuge in Scotland, where he was treated with the utmost courtesy and attention. He took up his residence at the abbey of Holyrood, and remained there till the civil commotion in England was abated. In spite of this interchange of chivalrous courtesies, however, hostilities were soon renewed between the two countries, mainly through the intrigues of the French court, who instigated the Scottish nobles, by the promise of a large sum of money, to invade England on the expiry of the truce. In spite of the remonstrances of the old king, who sent a herald to the English court to disavow any participation in the affair, the war broke out with increased violence; mutual inroads and devastations took place, and both countries continued to suffer grievously from a warfare which led to no conclusive result. In 1385 the French government sent a body of two thousand men into Scotland, under John de Vienne, admiral of France, who brought with him also twelve hundred suits of armour for the Scottish nobles, and a large sum of money to assist in defraying the expenses of the war. The scheme, however, proved eminently unsuccessful. The Scottish barons, indeed, assembled an army, and in conjunction with their allies invaded England, laid waste the country, and collected great spoil. But heart-burnings and misunderstandings speedily broke out between these ill-assorted allies; the French men-at-arms were found to be utterly unsuitable for this kind of warfare. They murmured at the privations they had to endure, while the Scots on the other hand grumbled at the burden of maintaining these costly auxiliaries, and in the end they separated with mutual dissatisfaction and complaints. In 1388 a fresh invasion of England was undertaken by the Scots themselves, under the young earl of Douglas, which terminated in the famous battle of Otterburn, the defeat of the English under Percy, and the death of the Scottish leader.—(See Douglas, William.) The aged king of Scotland seems now to have become quite unequal to the burden of the government; and as his eldest son had been injured by the kick of a horse, and was unable from bodily weakness to undertake the management of affairs, the earl of Fife, Robert's second son, was in 1389 chosen governor of the kingdom. In the summer of the same year a truce for three years was concluded between England and France, and Scotland was ultimately induced to become a party to this cessation of hostilities, to the great delight of the good old king, who had long been desirous of seeing his country enjoy the blessings of peace. Shortly after this event he died, on the 13th of May, 1390, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, and the twentieth of his reign. Robert was twice married, but the validity of his first marriage (to Elizabeth Mure of Rowallen) has been questioned. He left fifteen legitimate children, five sons and ten daughters, besides eight natural sons.—J. T. ROBERT III., King of Scotland, eldest son of the preceding, was crowned at Scone, 14th August, 1390. His original name, John, was deemed of evil omen by the Scots, from its association with John Baliol. The new king, therefore, took the title of Robert III. as heir to the crown of his heroic ancestor, Robert Bruce. Like his father, whom he greatly resembled in character, Robert had passed the prime of life when his reign began. The earl of Fife, who had been appointed in his father's lifetime regent of the kingdom, was allowed by Robert for several years after his accession to continue in the management of public affairs. But the king's eldest son David, earl of Carrick, a youth of considerable ability though of violent passions, began by and by to dispute the ascendancy of his crafty and ambitious uncle. In 1398 the prince was created Duke of Rothesay, a title which was now for the first time introduced into Scotland, and the dignity of duke of Albany was at the same time bestowed upon Fife. A few years later, the office of lieutenant of the kingdom for three years was transferred from Albany to the heir-apparent to the throne. The marriage of the young prince soon followed, but it was so managed by Albany as to destroy the domestic comfort of Rothesay, and to give the deepest offence to the earl of March, one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. The amiable but meek king was utterly helpless in the midst of these scan-