William Wallace - Braveheart

William Wallace is widely believed to have been born in the village of Elderslie, near Paisley, in approximately 1272. He was the son of Malcolm Wallace, a Scottish knight killed by one of his English counterparts by the name of Fenwick. Legend has it that Sir Malcolm Wallace died bravely, having fought tenaciously, and it is perhaps this point which not only caused the young William to develop an intense hatred of the English, it filled him with the courage displayed by his father and a burning desire for revenge...

The 1995 movie, "Braveheart," was certainly a smash hit worldwide. It starred of course Mel Gibson in his portrayal of William Wallace, the legendary Scottish hero. It served to raise the profile of Scotland on a worldwide scale, putting it back on the map in a whole host of ways, but how historically accurate was it...?

That is a large part of what this site will explore...

He is believed to have been about nineteen years old when William Wallace first took an English life in anger. Wallace stood over six feet tall - quite a height for a man at the time - and was possessed by an extremely fiery temper. This was quite an effective combination in one sense and an extremely dangerous one in another.

It was during an argument with the son of a Dundee constable that William Wallace thrust his dirk through the unfortunate Englishman's heart and made good his escape in the resultant confusion. A developing trend had begun.

William Wallace clearly got a taste for blood following his encounter with the constable's son in Dundee. Tales thereafter abounded of his violent encounters with the English but it was when he finally caught up with Fenwick, the knight who had murdered his father, and put him to the sword that he was officially declared an outlaw.

Undeterred, Wallace and his supporters sought refuge in Ettrick Forest, a large forest covering much of what is now South Lanarkshire. (Could this historical fact in no small way have contributed to the legend of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest, several hundred miles to the south but in the same time period?) It was during this time that he met and subsequently married Marian Braidfute, a native of the town of Lanark. A small plaque (pictured above right) now marks the spot where stood their matrimonial home.

The English Sheriff of Lanark at this time, Hazelrig, had previously had William Wallace's brother-in-law executed, so in a revenge attack, Wallace and his men sneaked their way in to the town and killed several dozen English soldiers, before making good their escape back to Ettrick Forest, William Wallace via Marian's home. Infuriated beyond belief but unable to get Wallace himself, Hazelrig had Marian put to death to at least deny the "outlaw" his one true love.

Doubtlessly overcome with both grief and a rage previously unbeknown even to him, William Wallace extracted a horrible revenge on Hazelrig and the English Garrison based in Lanark. He and his men stormed the town and killed not only Hazelrig himself, but all the Englishmen there, sparing only women, children and members of the clergy. It was the news of these events and those which brought them about that inspired many of the common people in Scotland to take up arms with Wallace and swear to repel the English invaders for good.

The rising tide of support for William Wallace as he waged his ever more successful guerrilla war against the English soon caused him to be joined by a number of Scottish nobles. This led to Edward ordering Sir Henry de Percy and Sir Robert de Clifford to Scotland with an army to restore order. Alas, it is believed to have been Wallace's lowly status as a commoner which led to the Scottish nobility - including Robert the Bruce - abandoning him and effectively betraying him (for what would ultimately prove to be only the first time) by surrendering to the English forces near Irvine. Only Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell remained loyal to Wallace and his cause.

If anything, however, the common people only flocked to Wallace in greater numbers following this betrayal and assisted Wallace in wreaking havoc across Scotland. The inevitable confrontation between the two massed armies was to come about on 11th September 1297, by the small wooden bridge which spanned the River Forth at the time, near Stirling.

The Scots were considerably outnumbered and hopelessly out-armoured, but as any soldier worth his salt knows, the correct tactics (or lack of them on the part of the enemy!) can more than compensate for such deficiencies.

So it was that with Wallace positioned on the high, sloping ground known today as Abbey Craig, his army hiding nearby, the English Commander, John de Warenne, allowed himself to be pressurised - perhaps against his better judgement - in to ordering his men attack by way of the narrow bridge. This led them to flat and marshy ground, upon which Wallace was able to ambush them and virtually slaughter them at will.

Confusion reigned supreme amongst the English foot-soldiers and floundering cavalry alike as the Scots attacked and the outcome could rarely have been in doubt. William Wallace and his men - with only minimal losses to contend with - successfully crossed the River Forth and captured the strategically vital Stirling Castle. It was the decisive battle in forcing the English completely out of Scotland as far south as Berwick.

There was one great tragedy for William Wallace at The Battle of Stirling Bridge, however, in that his good and loyal friend, Sir Andrew Moray, the one nobleman who had stood by him, was killed in the fighting.

Following the virtual expulsion of the English and Edward's armies from Scotland, William Wallace for a time turned his attention to more peaceful, administrative issues and particularly to encouraging trade with mainland Europe. It was his hope that he could re-establish the trading links that had previously been enjoyed under the reign of King Alexander III. A document to this effect, bearing Wallace's signature, still exists in the German town of Lubeck.

It was not long, however, before William Wallace resumed more recognisable activities and re-assembled his army to launch an invasion of Northern England. They caught the English largely unawares and wreaked havoc in the small towns and villages, careful to avoid the heavily fortified cities such as Newcastle where they knew they could run in to problems. For a time, however, Wallace all but lost control of his men as they sought revenge for their own suppression and maltreatment at English hands and tales of carnage and indiscriminate slaughter abounded.

William Wallace, laden with with English booty, nevertheless returned to Scotland a hero, his reputation and his power over the people only further enhanced.

It was some time early in the year 1298 that William Wallace was knighted and given the title, "Guardian of Scotland." This effectively gave him most of the powers associated with a King, simply minus the crown. But Wallace was disillusioned with the feudalist system and particularly the noblemen who had previously let him down and favoured a more nationalistic - even federal - system of government. He made known plans to divide the country in to areas, each ruled by a military chief, and introduce a form of potential conscription by keeping strict records of every able-bodied man between the ages of 16 and 60. Needless to say, his proposals did not necessarily go down well in all quarters.

As it turned out, however, it was the return of Edward and his armies to try and recapture Scotland which ended Wallace's political career. The Scots were forced to withdraw before the formidable English force but burned everything in their wake to try to force the English in to a retreat caused by starvation. Just as this very outcome was about to come to pass, however, William Wallace was once again betrayed...

As Edward was about to give the order for his army's retreat to Edinburgh in search of supplies, he was surprised by the visit to his camp of the Earls of Angus and Dunbar. They brought him welcome news of where Wallace and his men were in hiding, a mere fifteen miles away, in Callander Wood. Delighted, the King consequently and enthusiastically thanked God for his good fortune before ordering his men make preparation for ambush and for battle.

It was through a false panic in the English ranks during the night that Wallace and his men were attacking them that William Wallace learned of their approach. Unusually, given his previous tactics, he elected on this occasion to make a stand and to fight the vastly superior force.

On the 22nd July 1298, Wallace bade his foot soldiers form four circles on a hill near Falkirk, each of them armed with a twelve foot spear. He defended their frontal position with long wooden spikes hammered in to the ground facing outwards and held his cavalry of about 1,000 largely noblemen and horses back at the rear. Yet again, however, when the English charged, the Scottish noblemen fled.

The battle was extremely bloody and casualties were initially high on both sides, but eventually the Scottish defences were breached and the English wreaked widespread slaughter. It is estimated that at least 10,000 Scots were massacred in this way but in reality it could have been many more.

William Wallace escaped the Battle of Falkirk with his life but not his reputation. He resigned his position as Guardian of Scotland - it is not known whether by choice or through pressure from the nobility - and was to spend the remainder of his life as once again an outlaw and guerrilla fighter, striking at the English invaders whom he so hated wherever and whenever he could.

It was Sir John de Menteith, supposed friend and ally of Sir William Wallace, who ultimately betrayed him to the English authorities. While Wallace was sleeping one night, de Menteith stole his weapons and subsequently convinced him that the house in which they were staying was entirely surrounded by English soldiers. He advised Wallace to go quietly, to Dumbarton, where he was not to be harmed.

In the event, Wallace was in fact led by a backward route south to Carlisle and its Castle, where he was imprisoned in the dungeons before being strapped to a horse and taken on the two and a half week march to London...and to Edward I.

It was to the Tower of London (pictured left as it is today) that William Wallace was supposed to be taken but due to the crowds thronging the streets, he had to be housed elsewhere. Subsequently, he was taken to Westminster where he was tried for treason. The verdict was a foregone conclusion, but when charged with treason against the King of England, Wallace replied that he could not have betrayed the King of England as he had never been loyal to him in the first instance.

Following his inevitable conviction, Sir William Wallace was dragged through the streets of London by horses, where the crowds pelted him with anything that came to hand, to what would be his place of execution. There, he was hanged, drawn and quartered, his body parts subsequently sent to the cities of Newcastle, Berwick, Perth and Aberdeen for pubic display as a deterrent to any would be agitators.

Of our ancestors, brave true ancient Scots,
Whose glorious scutcheons knew no bars or blots;
But blood untainted circled ev'ry vein,
And ev'ry thing ignoble did disdain;
Of such illustrious patriots and bold,
Who stoutly did maintain our rights of old,
Who their malicious, invet'rate foes,
With sword in hand, did gallantly oppose:
And in their own, and nation's just defence,
Did briskly check the frequent insolence
Of haughty neighbours, enemies profest,
Picts, Danes, and Saxons, Scotland's very pest;
Of such, I say, I'll brag and vaunt so long
As I have power to use my pen or tongue;
And sound their praises in such modern strain
As suiteth best a Scot's poetic vein,
First, here I honour, in particular,
Sir William Wallace, much renown'd in war,
Whose bold progenitors have long time stood,
Of honourable and true Scottish blood.

In 1306, Robert the Bruce murdered his rival for the Scottish throne, John Comyn, and declared himself King of Scotland. He was crowned at Scone and immediately raised an army against the English forces and though he was defeated on this occasion, he determined to try again.

It was not until after the death of Edward I, though, the following year - and the succession of the less than competent Edward II - that Robert the Bruce began to make significant inroads against the English occupation of Scotland. As most people will know, the decisive battle came at Bannockburn, near Stirling, in the year 1314.

The credit for securing victory at Bannockburn is generally given to Robert the Bruce, but as has hopefully been shown above, it was not he who led the revolt. Indeed, had he and his fellow nobles given Sir William Wallace their full support at a much earlier time, the conflict may have been resolved much sooner and countless thousands of lives - on both sides - spared.

Including, not least of all, the life of Sir William Wallace...

Stumble It!


Bookmark this on Delicious