Robert the Bruce

Statue of Robert the Bruce who defeated the English forces at the battle of Bannockburn.

Robert the Bruce was the Scottish King from 1306 until 1329.

He led Scotland's army against the English in the first war of independence.

He was crowned in 1306, and was soon defeated in a battle with the English forces under Edward 1st. This defeat forced him to become an outlaw and go into hiding.

It is said that he while he was in hiding, he was inspired by a spider's attempts to build a web. It tried 6 times to reach a beam to complete its web, and failed.

Watching it, Robert said that if it made it on the next attempt, he would take it as a sign that he should once again take on the English.

The spider of course succeeded, Robert once again led his forces against the English, finally defeating them at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The rest as they say is history.

Visit this site for more information on the award winning Battle of Bannockburn experience: https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/bannockburn