William „Braveheart“ Wallace
Sir William Wallace (1270 – 1305), or The Wallace, is one of the most powerful, most evocative, and most well recognised figures from Scottish history. He is most likely better known worldwide than most of Scotland's monarchs combined. Yet he was never a king; his notable deeds took place over a very short period of time, part of which he actually spent in France; he fought just two major battles and emerged with a score of won one and lost one; he resigned from his job; and in the end he was betrayed and executed. He led a resistance to the English occupation of Scotland during significant periods of the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Tradition often described Wallace as "one of the common people," in contrast to his countryman, Robert the Bruce, who came from the upper nobility. Wallace's family were minor nobles gentry, descending from Richard Wallace the Welshman (the name Wallace means "Welsh"), a landowner under an early member of the House of Stuart, which later became the Royal House of Scotland.
Due to the lack of conclusive evidence, Wallace's birthdate and birthplace are disputed. Traditionally, the birthplace of William Wallace is claimed to be Elderslie, near Paisley in Renfrewshire.
William Wallace, second of three sons of Sir Malcolm Wallace was born on January 1272. The 1999 rediscovery of William Wallace's seal further enshrouded Wallace's early history in mystery. While tradition claims Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie as the father of three sons, Malcolm, John, and William Wallace, the seal identifies William as the son of Alan Wallace of Ayrshire, who appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296 as "crown tenant of Ayrshire".
The Scotland that William Wallace was raised in during the late 1200's was a wealthy country far removed from the beggarly picture of a nation which English propagandists were to paint. It is plain to see from the Great Cathedrals which still stand from Glasgow in the south to as far north as Dornoch. The magnificent abbeys and monasteries in Arbroath, Scone, Dunfermline and Cambuskenneth as well as the great palaces and house in Paisley, Kilwinning, Crossraguel, New Abbey, Dundrennan, Holyrood, Kelso, Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Melrose.
Edward I - Longshanks
The powerful King Alexander II was on the throne and had not only the ability but the standing to fend off possible invaders. Around the time of Wallace's birth the then king of England, King Henry III died and was succeeded by the man who would one day become William's deadliest adversary - Edward I (Longshanks). On August 18th 1274 Edward was crowned at Westminster. He was 35 years old, tall, well proportioned and considerably above average height, he certainly deserved his nickname of Longshanks.
William Wallace also grew up to become a powerful and sturdy young man with a height of 6 foot 7 inches and a physique to match he too was a giant of a man. It is often debated that it would have been impossible for such a man to exist in a time when the average height of a man was little over 5 feet. However, to judge by the clothing and armour of the time it is clear to see that not only was Longshanks a towering figure, even by today's standards, but so was William Wallace.
At the time of Wallace's birth, King Alexander III had reigned for over twenty years. His rule had seen a period of peace and economic stability, and he had successfully fended off continuing English claims to suzerainty. In 1286, Alexander died after falling from his horse; none of his children survived him. The Scottish lords declared Alexander's four year-old granddaughter, Margaret (called "the Maid of Norway"), Queen. Due to her age, they set up an interim government to administer Scotland until she came of age. King Edward I took advantage of the potential instability by arranging the Treaty of Birgham with the lords, betrothing Margaret to his son, Edward, on the understanding that Scotland would preserve its status as a separate nation. But Margaret fell ill and died at only eight years old (1290) on her way from her native Norway to Scotland. A number of claimants to the Scottish throne came forward almost immediately.
With Scotland threatening to descend into a dynastic war, the leading men of the realm invited Edward's arbitration. Before the process could begin, he insisted that all of the contenders recognize him as Lord Paramount of Scotland. After some initial resistance, all, including John Balliol and Robert Bruce, the chief contenders, accepted this precondition. Finally, in early November 1292, at a great feudal court held in the castle at Berwick-upon-Tweed, judgment was given in favour of John Balliol, having the strongest claim in law. Formal announcement of the judgment was given by Edward on 17 November.
The Great Cause
Although the outcome of the Great Cause had been both fair and legal, Edward proceeded to use the political concessions he had gained to undermine the independence of Scotland, and to make King John's position intolerable. Goaded beyond endurance, Balliol renounced his homage in March 1296, and by the end of the month Edward had stormed Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then Scottish border town with much bloodshed. He slaughtered almost everyone who resided there, even if they fled to the churches. In April, the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Dunbar (1292) in Lothian, and by July Edward had forced Balliol to abdicate at Kincardine Castle. Edward went to Berwick in August to receive formal homage from some 2,000 Scottish nobles (see Ragman Roll), having previously removed the Stone of Destiny from Scone Palace, the stone on which all of the Kings of Scots had been crowned.
The situation in Scotland was building into civil war and fighting between rival families and rival towns was heating up, as well as the fight against English occupation. Brawling turned to riots - riots turned to ambush and sporadic battles. Sir Malcolm Wallace was back in the south with his son Malcolm when one of these ambush type battles in 1291 at Loudoun Hill in Irvine saw the death of William's father. This was the start of William's personal resentment of the English which would later develop into utter hatred.
According to local Ayrshire legend, two English soldiers challenged Wallace in the Lanark marketplace regarding his catching of fish. The argument escalated into a brawl in which the two soldiers were killed. The authorities issued a warrant for his arrest shortly thereafter. According to a plaque outside St Paul's Cathedral in the City of Dundee however, William Wallace began his war for independence by murdering the son of the English governor of Dundee after he had made a constant habit of bullying him and his family. Blind Harry, renowned as the earliest surviving lengthy source for the events of the life of William Wallace, places this bullying incident in Lanark which led to a series of incidents described next.
Wallace murdered Sir William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark, in May 1297, and dismembered his corpse, supposedly to avenge the death of Marion Braidfute of Lamington — the young maiden Wallace allegedly courted and married in Blind Harry's tale. No evidence exists to corroborate or refute this detail. Blind Harry (ca. 1440–1492), also known as Harry or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the earliest surviving lengthy source for the events of the life of William Wallace.He wrote The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace around 1477, 170 years after the death of Wallace in 1305.
Soon, he achieved victory in skirmishes at Loudoun Hill (near Darvel, Ayrshire) and Ayr; he also fought alongside Sir William Douglas in Scone, routing the English justiciar, William Ormesby. Supporters of the growing revolt suffered a major blow when Scottish nobles agreed to terms with the English at Irvine in July. In August, Wallace left Selkirk Forest with his following to join Andrew Moray's following at Stirling. Moray began another uprising, and their forces combined at Stirling, where they prepared to meet the English in battle.
As Wallace's ranks swelled, information obtained by John Graham prompted Wallace to move his force from Selkirk Forest to the Highlands. Meanwhile Edward I sent a large army north to ensure that the English fortress of Stirling Castle was not captured: and to suppress the rebellion. But on the way to the Highlands, Wallace met up with Andrew Moray at Stirling. From this point, the guerrilla war became open war.
The Battle Of Stirling Bridge
John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, Edward's plenipotentiary in the north, had won a comfortable victory over the aristocracy of Scotland at Dunbar, and his belief that he was now dealing with a rabble seems to have affected his judgement. The bridge at Stirling crossing the river Forth was only broad enough to allow two horsemen to cross abreast. With the Scots placed in a commanding position dominating the soft, flat ground to the north of the river the dangers were obvious. Sir Richard Lundie, a Scots knight who joined the English after the capitulation at Irvine, offered to outflank the enemy by leading a cavalry force over a nearby ford, where sixty horsemen could cross at the same time. Cressingham, anxious to avoid any unnecessary expense in prolonging the war, persuaded the earl to reject this sound advice and order a direct attack across the bridge.
The Scots waited as the English knights and infantry made their slow progress across the bridge on the morning of 11 September. Wallace and Moray held back earlier in the day when many of the English and Welsh archers had crossed, only to be recalled because Surrey had overslept. The two commanders now waited, according to the Chronicle of Hemingburgh, until as many of the enemy had come over as they believed they could overcome. Then the attack was ordered. The Scots spearmen came down from the high ground in rapid advance towards Stirling Bridge, quickly seizing control of the English bridgehead. Surrey's vanguard was now cut off from the rest of the army. The heavy cavalry to the north of the river was trapped and cut to pieces, their comrades to the south powerless to help. Only one knight, the Yorkshireman, Sir Marmaduke Tweng, showed great presence of mind and managed to fight his way through the thicket of spears back across the bridge; but over a hundred of his fellow knights were slain, including the portly Cressingham, whose body was subsequently flayed and the skin cut into small pieces as tokens of the victory. Losses among the infantry, many of them Welsh, were also high. Those who could throw off their armour swam across the river.
Triumphant Victory
Surrey, who had remained to the south of the river, was still in a strong position. The bulk of his army still remained intact and he could have held the line of the Forth, denying the triumphant Scots a passage to the south. But his confidence was gone. After Tweng's escape he ordered the bridge destroyed and retreated towards Berwick, leaving the garrison at Stirling Castle isolated and abandoning the Lowlands to the rebels. James, the High Steward of Scotland, and Malcolm, earl of Lennox, whose forces had been part of Surrey's army, observing the carnage to the north of the bridge, withdrew. Afterwards they attacked the English baggage train, killing many of the fleeing soldiers.
Among the casualties were Hugh Cressingham, Edward's treasurer in Scotland and Andrew Moray who died of wounds suffered on the battlefield three months after the Battle of Stirling Bridge. William Crawford led 400 Scottish heavy cavalry to complete the action by running the English out of Scotland.
Upon his return from the Battle of Stirling Bridge, Wallace was knighted along with his second-in-command John Graham and his third-in-command William Crawford, possibly by Robert the Bruce, and Wallace was named "Guardian of Scotland and Leader of its armies", now Sir William Wallace.
In the six months following Stirling Bridge, Wallace led a force to York, at first cleansing the countryside, then laying siege to the City. His intent was to take the battle to English soil to demonstrate to Edward that Scotland also had the power to inflict the same sort of damage south of the border. Naturally, Edward was infuriated and refused to be intimidated.
A year later the military tables turned at the Battle of Falkirk. On 1 April 1298, the English had invaded Scotland at Roxburgh. They plundered Lothian and regained some castles, but had failed to bring Wallace to combat. The Scots had adopted a scorched-earth policy, and English suppliers' mistakes had left morale and food low, but Edward's search for Wallace would end at Falkirk.
Annihilation At Fallkirk
Wallace had arranged his spearmen in four "schiltrons" — circular, hedgehog formations surrounded by a defensive wall of wooden stakes. The English gained the upper hand, however, attacking first with cavalry, and wreaking havoc through the Scottish archers. The Scottish knights were pulled back by command, and Edward's men began to attack the schiltrons. It remains unclear whether the infantry throwing bolts, arrows and stones at the spearmen proved the deciding factor, although it is very likely that it was the arrows of Edward's bowmen.
Either way, gaps in the schiltrons soon appeared, and the English exploited these to crush the remaining resistance. The Scots lost many men, but Wallace escaped, though his military reputation suffered badly. John Graham was killed and William Crawford became Wallace's second. According to one account, during his flight Wallace fought and killed Brian de Jay, master of the English Templars in a thicket at Callendar.
By September 1298, Wallace had decided to resign as Guardian of Scotland in favour of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and John Comyn of Badenoch, ex-King John Balliol's brother-in-law because of the discouraging lack of commitment and support from the Scottish nobility. Bruce became reconciled with King Edward in 1302, while Wallace spurned such moves towards peace. It seems that William Wallace then spent some time in France, possibly seeking French support against the English.
In 1303 Wallace and his men returned to Scotland where they slipped in under the cover of darkness to recover on the farm of William Crawford, near Elcho Wood. Having heard rumours of Wallace's appearance in the area, the English moved in on the farm. A chase ensued and the band of men slipped away after being completely surrounded in Elcho Wood. It is at this point in the chase where Wallace took the life of one of his men that he suspected of hidden loyalty, in order to divert the English from the trail.
Sir William evaded capture by the English until 5 August 1305, when Sir John de Menteith, a Scottish knight loyal to Edward, turned Wallace over to English soldiers at Robroyston, near Glasgow. Wallace was transported to London and tried for treason at Westminster Hall where he was crowned with a garland of oak to suggest that he was the king of outlaws. He responded to the charge, "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject." The absent John Balliol was officially his king; however, Wallace was declared guilty.
Death By Hanging, Drawing and Quartering
On 23 August 1305, his sentence was read out immediately following the verdict, and included the full details of the punishment usually known as "hanging, drawing and quartering" that Edward Longshanks had
introduced as the appropriate penalty for treason. He was then chained prostrate on a hurdle, a piece of fencing, and drawn by two horses through the filthy streets for the public to mock and stone.
He was drawn first to the Tower, about two and a half miles, and then on to Smithfield via Aldgate, another mile. He was hanged, but cut down while still alive. While held upright by the hangman's rope, he had his privy parts cut away (all of them, and hence emasculation, not castration) and burned in the brazier in front of him. Then, still upright, his stomach was slit open so that he could be ritually disembowelled. His entrails were burnt on the brazier.
The hangman then cut open his chest to pull out his heart. It was considered a manifestation of the hangman's skill that this should still be beating while held in the hangman's hands, but whether he was successful on this occasion is not recorded. It was supposed to be traditional that the hangman should at this point call attention to his achievement by announcing "Behold the heart of a traitor" (in case any in the audience had missed the object of the exercise).
The final act was decapitation and quartering. You will note that in effect there are three symbolic deaths here: hanging, evisceration, decapitation. Edward is said to have decreed that treason was a triple crime: against God, against man, and against the King; hence the triple death sentence.
The grisly, grotesque nature of the killing was explained in the severe language of the law with the intention that it should terrify the listeners and augment the misery of the man whose body was shortly to fulfil the role of lecture aid. When, later, the sentence ceased to be given in Latin, the use of the English equivalent did not change any of its meaning.
This barbaric vivisection was employed by the English for the execution of Scotsmen as late as the 18th century, and as given by Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough (1750-1818) the wording was as follows: "You are to be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, where you are to be hanged, but not till you are dead; for while still living, your body is to be taken down, your bowels torn out and burnt before your face; your head is then cut off, and your body divided into four quarters."
In earlier times the explicit words "your privy parts cut away and burnt before your eyes" were spoken, one priest in Tudor times being recorded as observing that as they had not been of much use to him on earth, they were unlikely to be of much use to him in heaven.
His head was placed on a pike atop London Bridge, which was later joined by the heads of his brother, John, and Sir Simon Fraser. His limbs were displayed, separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Aberdeen.
His head was placed on a pike atop London Bridge, which was later joined by the heads of his brother, John, and Sir Simon Fraser. His limbs were displayed, separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Aberdeen.
700th Anniversary Of Wallace's Execution
In 2005, the 700th anniversary of Wallace's execution, his sword became the most popular feature of an exhibition in New York during the celebrations of Tartan Week. This marked the first time the sword, weighing 6 pounds (2.5 kilograms) and measuring five feet and four inches, was removed from Scotland.
Historian David R. Ross walked 450 miles from Robroyston in Glasgow, Scotland to London to mark the anniversary of Wallace's capture and execution. A symbolic funeral was then held at the site of Wallace's execution in Smithfield, London with an empty coffin. While the event hosted 300 attendees, more than 900 people unsuccessfully applied for tickets to the event — a testament to Wallace's enduring legacy.
