Try and Try Again the Spider

Bruce'due south Statue art Bannockburn

Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, was descended from a Norman knight, Robert de Bruce, who came to England with William the Conqueror. His grandpa had been ane of the 13 claimants to the Scottish throne in 1291, during the reign of the English king Edward I. Edward had called John de Balliol, an English baron, declaring him rightful king of Scotland in 1292. Afterwards, Balliol refused to acknowledge the superiority of the English, and in 1296, was defeated past Edward at Dunbar. Edward so took over Scotland, receiving the oath of fealty from over 2000 Scots. At the same time a nationalistic movement demanding freedom from England slowly began gaining forcefulness among the Scots. Leaders such as William Wallace fought the English but were defeated and executed.

Later Wallace's expiry, Robert Bruce revived his grandfather'due south claim to the throne, and declared himself king of Scotland in 1306. Edward I sent a large army northward, defeated Bruce at the Battle of Methven, and forced him to become an outlaw. But Bruce did not give up, and came out of hiding a year subsequently to win an important victory confronting the English. Clans from all over Scotland now came to his help, and Bruce'due south growing army fought bravely and successfully against the English. Meanwhile Edward I died, to be succeeded by his son Edward II. The new male monarch was no match for Robert Bruce – in 1314, at the Battle of Bannockburn, Bruce's army of 5,000 defeated Edward Ii'south much larger army of 20,000, driving the English finally and firmly out of Scotland.

Robert Bruce was known as 'Good King Robert' and was undoubtedly one of Scotland's greatest rulers, bringing peace and freedom to his country.

On the lonely isle of Rachrin, off the Irish coast, stood a mean and miserable hut. The chill air current of winter rattled its wooden door, enervating to exist let in, sending icy fingers in through cracks and knotholes in the flimsy wooden walls. Inside, a man, his cloak wrapped close about him, lay on a straw pallet set against the wall reverse the door. A fire smoked in the centre of the crude earthen flooring, and the remains of a frugal meal lay on a small wooden table.

The human being was no other than Robert Bruce, crowned king of Scotland, made an outlaw in his own land by Edward I, king of England. Edward I, better known equally Edward Longshanks because of his long legs, had defeated Robert and harried him and hunted him, forcing him at final to leave the lochs and craggy mountains of his native country. He had left behind his queen in Kildrummie, his only remaining castle, in accuse of his brave and valiant younger blood brother Nigel. Just alas, Kildrummie had been taken past the English, his brother executed, and his queen held captive.

Robert was close to despair: was the freedom of Scotland worth the swell price that he was paying? Was information technology worth the lives of all those slain in battle, worth the misery of their wives and orphaned children? And what of all the men that he himself had killed, one at least not in the heat of boxing, just in common cold blood?

Perhaps, thought Robert, he should requite upwardly his fight for freedom and become instead to the Holy State, at that place to fight past the side of the brave knights against the enemies of Christendom. Peradventure that would brand upwards for the killing and the deaths that his ambitions and dreams had brought near. Yet, how could he abandon Scotland, while there was still a hope, a run a risk, however slender, of success?

The wind howled louder; the burn had died down. Robert lay withal and silent on his mean harbinger bed, oblivious of the common cold and discomfort of his surroundings, troubled and disturbed by his thoughts. Of a sudden his center was caught by a spider – the creature was hanging by a long argent thread from ane of the wooden beams higher up his caput, and trying to swing itself to another beam. The spider tried again and again, failing every time. Half dozen times, counted Robert, the spider tried and failed. 'Six times,' thought Robert to himself, 'accept I fought against the English and failed.'

Bruce'south Cave

Robert looked at the spider more intently. 'At present if this spider fails again on the 7th attempt, I too shall give upward the fight for Scotland. Only if it succeeds, I shall try over again.' The spider, as though aware of Robert's idea, swung itself again with all its tiny force – and finally, on the seventh attempt, it succeeded. Information technology swung on to the beam information technology had been trying to attain, and fastened its thread, thus stretching the first line of the web it was trying to weave. Robert Bruce smiled, and sat up. He threw off his despair and grief, and determined to set out for Scotland again and proceed his fight confronting the English. He fought against the English language for the next eight years, defeating them and finally driving them out of Scotland in 1314, at the Boxing of Bannockburn.

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Source: https://www.scotclans.com/pages/robert-the-bruce-and-the-spider

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