Sir William Wallace, nicknamed William Braveheart Wallace, (c. 1270-1305) was a Scottish patriot who led his people against occupation by the English (Normans) under King Edward I of England, better known as Edward Longshanks or Edward the Dry. Her role during part of the Scottish wars of independence bears similarities to those of Joan of Arc or even Spartacus, and the historical reality of the character is often doubled by a legendary dimension.
Origin and youth
In the eyes of most people, Wallace seemed to be a "person of the people", contrasting with his companion, Robert de Bruce (Robert I of Scotland), who came from the high nobility. Wallace's family of lesser nobles descended from Richard Wallace (Richard the Welsh), a landowner vassal of an early member of the Stewart family (later to become the royal line of the Stuarts).
Wallace was born at Ellerslie in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire around 1270, making him still a young man in his glory years in 1297 and 1305. There is some controversy over Wallace's birthplace. The oldest documents link Wallace to Renfrewshire, reading not Ellerslie but Elderslie, which is in Renfrewshire. Such errors were not uncommon in old documents where the language was not yet standardized. Contemporary documents suggest that Wallace was originally from Ayrshire. His father was from Riccarton, Ayrshire and his mother from Loudoun, Ayrshire. Moreover his first battles will take place in Ayrshire. Few contemporary sources of information about the early part of Wallace's life exist, and historians often rely on Blind Harry's notes, written around 1470, about two centuries after Wallace was born. It is almost certain that he was born in Ayrshire, that he was the son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Riccarton, and that he had two brothers, Malcolm and John. But we only have very vague snippets of information about William Wallace and his childhood, most often transmitted by word of mouth, sometimes in writing. The youth of William Wallace is a myth.
Wallace received his education from his uncle Argheim, and as a result became well-educated by the standards of the time, speaking Latin and French. Blind Harry makes no mention of Wallace leaving the country, or having had any military experience before 1297. There is a report in 1296 of a thief, one William le Waleys in Perth.
Scotland in the time of Wallace
At the time of Wallace's birth, King Alexander III of Scotland had ruled Scotland for 20 years. His reign had been a time of peace and economic stability, and he had successfully repelled the relentless English demands of royalty. In 1286, Alexander III died while climbing a mountain during a powerful storm; none of his children survived him. The Scottish lords declared his 4-year-old daughter Margaret queen. Because of her age, they set up a regency to administer Scotland until she was old enough to rule. King Edward I took advantage of the potential instability to sign the Treaty of Birgham with the lords, promising to marry his son Edward to Margaret, provided Scotland remained an independent nation. But Margaret fell ill and died in 1290, aged 8 on her way from her native Norway to Scotland. Thirteen pretenders to the throne emerged almost immediately.
Contrary to popular belief, John Balliol had rights to the throne. However, the Scots wanted an outside arbiter to decide the matter, so as to avoid accusations of bias. Quite unreasonably, they appealed to King Edward I to decide. Instead of arriving as an independent arbiter, he came to the Anglo-Scottish border with a large army, and announced that he had come as a lord to settle a dispute in a vassal state, forcing all would-be kings to pay him homage. . After hearing each oath, Edward chose Balliol in 1292 to rule over "the vassal state of Scotland". In March 1296, Balliol renounced his oath.
The Epic of Wallace (1297-1298)
He appears in the story by assassinating the English sheriff of Lanark. For this crime he is outlawed and takes refuge in the woods where he is soon joined by about thirty companions with whom he massacres the English garrison of Lanark (in May 1297). This is the signal for rebellion. Great lords are not long in joining him, William Douglas, who becomes his lieutenant, Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow who manages to rally James Stewart to the cause and soon Robert Bruce the Younger thereby breaking the reputation of Anglophilia of the Bruce family.
And it was with an army that Wallace laid siege to Dundee in August 1297. The Earl of Surrey and Hugh Cressingham, treasurer, reacted and placed their troops in Stirling, thus cutting off Wallace from his rear.
Battle of Stirling Bridge
Wallace then breaks the siege and heads for Stirling. Unfortunately when he arrives the English are already firmly positioned and more numerous - 15,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry against 4,000 infantry and 180 Scottish cavalry. The situation is desperate for the Scots, however the clumsiness of an English knight who wanted to engage in combat allows him to reverse the situation, the English lose 3,000 men including more than 100 knights. The victory is brilliant.
The cities are not long in opening their doors:Aberdeen - which resisted a little -, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Berwick. Wallace is soon proclaimed "guardian of the kingdom of Scotland".
He leads campaigns that take him as far as Cumberland and Northumberland, while bringing order to the territories under his power.
Edward I must intervene in person, abandoning the continent for a time - where he supported the Flemings against France - to regain control of Scotland. He took over Berwick in July 1298, then Roxburgh. He manages to cut Wallace's way to Falkirk. The Scottish army was crushed there on July 22, 1298 - 2,000 dead. This is the end of the Wallace epic.
End of life
Wallace had to relinquish his title as Guardian of the Realm and once again became an outlaw. He spent some time in France and reappeared in Scotland in 1303-1304 where he resumed his life as an outlaw. He was captured in Glasgow, condemned to death for treason towards his sovereign, crimes and sacrilege, he died executed (Hanged, drawn and quartered) in London on August 23, 1305 at the age of 35.
After his death
In 1314, the Scots under the command of Robert the Bruce, who had rallied the nobles and proclaimed King of Scotland, defeated the English army at Bannockburn, and at the end of the war acquired the independence of Scotland. Scotland (1328).