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The story tells us that it was here that Robert came into contact with a spider, and the future of Scotland began.
Pictured: The cave where Robert lived
Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scotland from 1306 to 1329. Known as the "Good King Robert", he was one of the most important witnesses to scottish history and one of the country's greatest rulers.
However, Robert's throne did not come easily because King Edward I of England did not want to give up Scotland. The story of Scottish independence is linked to the story of Robert Bruce and a spider.
Photo: Portrait of Robert
Robert was a descendant of Robert de Bruce, a Norman knight, and his family was one of the 13 Crown Princes of Scotland in 1291. England was under the reign of King Edward I, also known as edward longshanks.
However, Edward did not choose any of Scotland's 13 Scottish crown princes, he chose John de Balliol, the Baron of England, to be King of Scotland.
Pictured: Edward I
But Edward's plan did not go well, as Belliol was reluctant to declare Scotland to England. This also led directly to The defeat of Belliol at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296. After the war, Edward occupied Scotland and accepted the oath of allegiance of more than 2,000 Scots.
During the historical period of Edward's rule over Scotland, the Scottish nationalist movement was gaining momentum. They wanted to get rid of the English and let Scotland be ruled by the Scots. Against this backdrop, leaders such as William Wallace began to fight for Scottish independence, but none of them succeeded. Wallace's War of Independence will go down in history with his death sentence, but his death was not the end of the Scottish War of Independence.
Photo: William Wallace
After Wallace's execution, Robert resumed his family's struggle for the throne of the Scottish King. In 1306, he declared himself King of Scotland, much to Edward's displeasure. To quell the rebellion, Edward sent a large army to fight Robert and his men.
The two armies met at Methven, Robert was defeated, and he became an outlaw. Later, after various efforts to gather troops, Robert continued to fight Edward, but he was defeated five more times.
Pictured: Robert gives a speech to the army
After the sixth defeat, Robert was exiled abroad, where he lived alone in a cave on the island of Rachrin. The story tells us that it was here that Robert came into contact with a spider, and the future of Scotland began.
When Robert was in the cave, at first he thought that perhaps the Scottish struggle for independence should be abandoned. After all, the struggle cost him his brother, his wife was held hostage by the English, and thousands of people on both sides were killed in the war.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw a spider weaving a web. It tried to weave silk to another wall of the cave, but never succeeded. During Robert's viewing, the spider tried six times, all six of which failed.
Pictured: Spider webs
This resonated with Robert, who had been defeated by the Englishmen six times. Robert felt it was a harbinger, so he continued to observe the spider, which was preparing for its seventh attempt. Robert believes that if spiders fail again this attempt, then he will also fail in the seventh attempt against the English.
The spider then began to swing on the silk and climbed to another wall of the cave. Encouraged by Spider's performance, Robert felt that he should also try to regain his country again. After leaving the cave, Robert gathered his men together and told them about the new plan.
Pictured: Robert's brother was killed
The seventh attempt to drive the English out of Scotland took years. After spending some time in the cave, he gradually gained more followers and became one of the greatest guerrillas of his time. He will retake many of the castles occupied by the English, including Stirling Castle.
News of Sterling's fall reached Edward II, who succeeded to the throne of England after the death of his father, Edward I. To stop Robert, he gathered an army of 15,000 to 20,000 men. Robert was ready, but the army he commanded was much smaller, at 5,000 to 6,000 men.
Pictured: Robert tells a story to his followers
The Seventh War was fought on June 23 in the Highlands of Bannockburn. Skirmish broke out between the two armies, but the English army continued to advance. The next day, they will meet most of the Scottish troops outside the woods of New Park.
Most of the Scottish army was spearmen, while the English army had a defensive formation to break their attack. But the problem with the English army was that they did not expect to encounter the Scottish army at this place, and they still proceeded according to the plan of the march.
Pictured: Robert and the spider in the cave
As a result, they did not have time to form the correct battle formation, and their cavalry was confined to a tense environment. Eventually, Edward II was forced to flee the battlefield and English soldiers were driven out of Scotland.
Although it will be many years before an agreement was reached on Scottish independence in 1328, the story of Robert Bruce and the Spider will continue to inspire him to keep fighting.
References: History of Scotland, History of England, Wikipedia