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| Sir William Wallace Guardian of Scotland Patriot The movie Braveheart got bravery, the essence of William Wallace, correct, although it took some literary liberties with his life and deeds.
Wallace was the younger son of a minor laird who was a vassal to the House of Stewart. The family was of Celtic stock originating in the Strathclyde area near Wales. He was educated at home initially by his mother whose maiden name was Crauford. His home was near Paisley southwest of Glasgow. It is logical to assume that, as the younger son, William was trained for the priesthood under his uncle who was a clergyman from Dunipace. According to one author, Wallace could read and write his own language, as well as Latin and French. Though a Lowlander, he knew Gaelic. His uncle instilled in Wallace a love of liberty incorporated in this saying: "Freedom is best, I tell thee true, Of all things to be won, Then never live within the bonds of slavery, my son." Being a knight and Lowlander, Gaelic was not Wallace’s first language, as it was for the highlanders, and he probably never wore a kilt. He did wear chain mail and a tabard or coat of arms. He did not paint his face with wode, a blue paint used by the Picts hundreds of years before Wallace’s time. The Scotchronicon describes Wallace as “pleasing in appearance, but with a wild look … a tall man with the body of a giant, broad-shouldered and big-boned …six feet seven inches tall.” His claymore, which is displayed in the National Wallace Monument at Sterling, is five feet long and weighs about six pounds. Wallace had to have been a large man to wield such a huge weapon. His seal on a letter to the Burgers of Lubeck (Germany) indicates that he was also an accomplished archer. Initially Wallace led a band of guerilla fighters--common folk who were beginning to see the idea of a Scottish nation. When the army of Edward I ‘Longshanks,’ invaded Scotland to put down rebellion, Wallace joined forces with Andrew Moray from the North. Their combined armies defeated a much larger English army at Stirling by making use of favorable terrain and taking advantage of English impatience and arrogance. Sir William was then knighted and made Guardian of Scotland. The following year Longshanks forced Wallace into battle on unfavorable terrain at Falkirk, not far from Stirling, where he was overwhelmingly defeated. Subsequently, Sir William resigned as Guardian but continued to wage a guerilla war. During this time, he traveled to the Continent trying to muster support for Scotland.  Sir William Wallace was eventually betrayed and captured at Robroyston near Glasgow on the 3rd of August 1305. He was taken southward where he arrived at London on the 22nd of August. The following morning, he was taken to Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament, where his sham trial took place. Sir William was allowed no defense, but he managed to shout above his accusers that he was, " A Scot, born in Scotland” and did “not recognize England as his sovereign nation." He was tied to the tails of horses, dragged through the streets of London for 6 miles, eventually arriving at Smithfield Elms. There he was hung, then cut down while still alive. His stomach was opened and his entrails pulled out and burnt before him. His heart was then ripped out, ending his life. His body was cut into pieces; his head stuck on a spike on old London Bridge. The other parts of his body were sent North to dishonor the Scots. Longshanks thought by giving him such an ignoble death that the Scots would forget Wallace. There were also religious connotations; Wallace would have no body to rise on Judgment Day and so be damned forever.
But Sir William Wallace needs no tomb. His memory lives on in the heart and souls of Scots everywhere, each generation recognizing his devotion to his native soil. He will be remembered and honored by all Scotsmen and Scotswomen until the end of time. Information in this article was gleaned from “The Real Braveheart” in The New American, April 29,1996 and from the web site of the William Wallace Society. |
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