Legend, Myth, Folklore Has It - The Conception Of King Robert The Bruce
Adam De Kilconcear, the Earl of Carrick, died, and the Countess, his widow, reigned instead of him as the King majestically considered the situation. The Countess was still a young and beautiful woman and decided that a sad and lonely life was not for her.
One of her pleasures in life was hunting, and with the company of her squires and her damsels was accustomed to pursing with great passion, the red deer in his haunts. While hunting one day she encountered a stranger who happened to be passing through the district. Having a Lordly manner and being very handsome, the Countess was greatly attracted to him and asked for his name. He replied that he was the Lord of Annandale and Cleveland.
Compared to her, his birthright and status were of no significance, however the Countess invited him to her castle. He respectfully declined her offer aware of possible dangers as the King was still considering her situation. The Countess did not want to be cheated of his company and riding up to him, she seized the bridle of his horse and led the not unwilling captive to her home at Turnberry. Here, in that strong fortress by the sea, she entertained him for fifteen days.
What man could resist such attention? Not the Lord of Annandale. At the end of this period he sought her hand in marriage, and without the slightest thought of the King, they were joined in marriage. The King was furious when he heard what had happened. He seized the castle and the far-stretching lands that went with it. Only due to the interception of powerful friends and the payment of a large sum of money did the King give them his backing and invited them back into the royal circle.
Due to the rights of his wife, the young Lord became the Earl of Carrick and took up residence in Turnberry. Here it is believed that the first son was born – Robert Bruce, the hero of Scottish independence, conceived on the field of Bannockburn.
In his earlier days, Bruce resided frequently and for long periods on the Ayrshire coast. The same scenes which his youthful eyes perceived lie stretched out today as the time he left them. The castle has fallen into ruins, blown upon and beat upon by the storms and by the rains of the long centuries. The harshness of the Scottish climate and the hand of time have, between them, robbed Turnberry of its architectural glories and its boasted strength; but the sea rolls in front of it unchangeable and unchanged, the peaks of Arran rise up in the distance as Ailsa Craig heaves its massive head, the rocks and sands of the coast melt away in the distance as picturesquely as they did when the boy of many hopes, with his chequered yet glorious career all before him, played with his brothers on the drawbridge that spans the moat or waded in the pools left by the receding tides.
Turnberry can be found on the south west coast of Scotland. One hour drive from Glasgow and two from Edinburgh.
Peter Clough is a webmaster with a strong interest in ghosts, myths, legends and the unexplained. This is a first in a series of articles to assess the viability of developing a website based around these ideas. If you have any comments or suggestions, please email me at legends@clough34.freeserve.co.uk
Tags: fable, Folklore, ghost, legend, myth, robert the bruce, scottish history, social history, tale