William Wallace

There can be little doubt that it was the 1995 movie, "Braveheart," starring and directed by Mel Gibson that brought the name and story of William Wallace to more people's attention than ever before. Despite the fact that it was largely filmed in Ireland, had an Australian in the starring role and somewhat distorted historical fact (as I am aware most movies do!) Braveheart grasped the public's attention and imagination and focused their attention on Scotland, the Scots...and on William Wallace.

It may not be something that a Scot should admit but it is most definitely a fact that I only saw the movie Braveheart in its entirety for the first time in September or October of 2008! Although I had seen snippets of it from time to time, I had never previously sat down and watched it straight through and only finally did so following a strong recommendation from my girlfriend when it happened to be on TV one night. As I watched the movie (and thoroughly enjoyed it) I began asking myself how accurate its portrayal of the facts actually were and wondering as to the truth about William Wallace, his life and his exploits.

It was upon that night I determined to find out. I researched online, I read a couple of books, I read countless snippets of information here and there and finally came up with what I hope is a fairly clear picture...

William Wallace was born around 1272 in the small village of Elderslie, near Paisley in the West of Scotland. It was no doubt the violent murder of his father by an English Knight which instilled in him his intense hatred of the English occupiers of his homeland and he dreamed fervently of both revenge and freedom for Scotland.

William grew to be a man of over six feet, which was very tall for the Middle Ages. He first took an English life when he became involved in an argument with the son of a constable in Dundee, stabbing him through the heart with his dirk. This was the beginning of his waged war against the invaders and soon he was striking against the English at every opportunity.

When William Wallace murdered Fenwick - the knight who had killed his father - he was declared an outlaw and went on the run, hiding with his supporters in Ettrick Forest. It was at this time that he met, fell in love with and married Marian Braidfute, a Lanark girl, but when Wallace and his men attacked the town in revenge for Marian's brother's murder, the Sheriff at the time had Marian put to death as a way of striking back against the absent William Wallace.

William Wallace's reaction was swift and brutal. He and his men swooped on Lanark and killed every Englishman in the town, including the Sheriff himself. They spared women, children and members of the clergy. It was this episode which swelled the ranks of Wallace's supporters, even some nobles joining his crusade. When these same nobles abandoned him in the face of King Edward's Army near Irvine, their action only escalated his popularity among the common people and soon Wallace was ready with an army to face the English. This happened at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

It was through a combination of Wallace's guile and English tactical incompetence that William Wallace and the Scots secured a crushing victory over a numerically superior and infinitely better armoured English army. This allowed them to capture Stirling Castle and ultimately drive the English back as far as Berwick.

The next few months saw William Wallace and his men pillage the North of England, striking back at their hated enemy this time on their own territory. It was therefore as an even greater hero Wallace returned - laden with the spoils of war - to be knighted and pronounced, "Guardian of Scotland."

Edward Longshanks was not, however, the type of man to concede defeat to William Wallace and so it was that his army returned to Scotland in 1298 even stronger. The Scots under Wallace resisted bravely, using spoiling tactics wherever they could to try and force a retreat through hunger of the English force. It was once again, however, betrayal which cost Wallace dear.

The Earls of Angus and Dunbar approached Edward's camp and told him where the Scottish force was hiding. Deciding to stand and fight at what became known as the Battle of Falkirk, Wallace's army was decimated. He himself escaped but resigned his status as Guardian of Scotland and spent the next seven years - of which little is known - once again as an outlaw, striking at the English whenever he could.

In 1305, the third and final big betrayal was to spell the beginning of the end for William Wallace. His one time friend and confidant, Sir John de Menteith, tricked him and delivered him in to English hands. He was thrown in to the dungeons at Carlisle Castle and subsequently roped to a horse for the seventeen day long march to London.

Officially, William Wallace stood trial for treason and a whole host of other crimes at Westminster but it must have been the day's equivalent merely of a showcase trial. The verdict could never have been in doubt. He was accused of being disloyal to the King of England but famously retorted that he could never have been disloyal to Edward as he had never been loyal to him in the first place!

Convicted and sentenced to death, Sir William Wallace of Scotland was strapped to two horses and dragged unceremoniously through the streets of London, where crowds pelted him with whatever they could get their hands on, to what would be his place of execution... 

William Wallace was executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered in London in the Year of Our Lord, 1305. He had been a deeply religious man all his life and doubtlessly went to meet his maker with his conscience clear and his peace made. The four parts of his body were taken respectively to the cities of Newcastle, Berwick, Perth and Aberdeen, where they were publicly displayed as a deterrent to any other who would cross Edward.

When Edward himself died two years later and was succeeded by Edward II, Robert the Bruce - by now the self-proclaimed King of Scotland - was able to eat away at his occupation of Scotland before finally defeating him in battle and ending the English occupation of Scotland at Bannockburn in 1314. There can be no doubt whatsoever, though, who really was the architect of Scottish freedom... 

Scottish music is often associated with bagpipes. While the pipes do play a huge part in the music and culture of Scotland, there is naturally a lot more to it besides. Click on the arrow in the centre of the screen below to listen to a bagpipe classic and watch the fantastic slideshow of Scottish military history. 

Just in case there is any doubt, I can confirm that yes, I did visit all the places featured on this site and I took all of the pictures personally. I also had several thoroughly enjoyable trips while doing so!