He fled Scotland and so created a vacuum of knowledge, filled by heroic mythology - the fable of the cave and the spider, whose patience gave Robert the resolution to persevere. There was no cave, no spider, but there was something much more extraordinary - the polished noble turning himself into a guerrilla captain. For it was Robert the Bruce, not William Wallace, who wrote the book on partisan warfare. On his return, four months later, adversity now made him a great general, attacking his Scots and English foes alike. In the end, Robert the Bruce simply outlived the old king, who breathed his last fearing the worst should ever his son, Edward of Caernarfon, have to meet Robert the Bruce on the field of battle.


他不得不逃离苏格兰，造成史料空白，只留下一段英雄佳话。那便是洞穴蜘蛛的传说，蜘蛛的坚持不懈给了罗伯特坚持到底的决心，没有什么洞穴，也没有什么蜘蛛。但有件事却意义非凡，这位优雅的贵族脱下长袍成了游击队长，是罗伯特·布鲁斯，而非威廉·华莱士，向我们演绎了游击战的精髓。四个月后，他重返苏格兰。逆境将他锻造成一位伟大的将军，勇敢地向苏格兰和英格兰敌军宣战。最后，老国王还是比罗伯特·布鲁斯先走一步。他死前还忧心忡忡，担心自己的儿子，爱德华二世，将在战场上与罗伯特·布鲁斯刀枪相见。