William Wallace

Origin and youth

With the eyes of the greatest number, Wallace seemed to be a “person of the people”, contrasting with his companion, Robert de Bruce (Robert Ier of Scotland), who came from the nobility. The family of Wallace, from small noble, goes down from Richard Wallace (Richard the Welsh), a vassal landowner of one of the first family members Stewart (who later will become the royal line of the Stuart).

Wallace was born in Ellerslie with Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in the neighborhoods of 1270, which still made of him an young man in his years of glory in 1297 and 1305. There is a controversy about the birthplace of Wallace. The oldest documents bind Wallace to the Renfrewshire, by not reading Ellerslie but Elderslie, which is in Renfrewshire. Such errors were not rare in the old documents where the language was not standardized yet. Contemporary documents suggest that Wallace was originating in Ayrshire. His/her father was of Riccarton, Ayrshire and his mother of Loudoun, Ayrshire. Moreover its first battles will proceed in Ayrshire. Some contemporary information sources in connection with the first part of the life of Wallace exist, and the historians often rest on the notes of Blind Harry, written in the neighborhoods of 1470, approximately two centuries after the birth of Wallace. It is almost sure that it was born in Ayrshire, that he was the son of Sir Malcolm Wallace de Riccarton, and that he had two brothers, Malcolm and John. But one has only very vague bits of information on William Wallace and his childhood, generally transmitted word of mount, sometimes written. The youth of William Wallace is a myth.

Wallace accepted his education of his uncle Argheim, and of this fact became well informed according to the standards of the time, speaking the Latin and the French. Blind Harry does not make mention owing to the fact that Wallace left the country, where which it had any military experiment before 1297. A report/ratio makes to state, in 1296, of a robber, a William Waleys in Perth.

Scotland of the time of Wallace

At the time of the birth of Wallace, the king Alexandre III of Scotland had reigned for 20 years on Scotland. Its reign had been one period of peace and economic stability, and it had pushed back successfully the ceaseless requests of the English of the royalty. In 1286, Alexandre III dies by climbing a mountain lasting a powerful storm; none of his/her children had survived to him. The Lords Écossais then declared his little girl Margaret 4 years old, queen. Because of its age, they reflect in place a regency to ensure the administration of Scotland until it is in age to control. The king Edouard Ier made profitable potential instability to sign with the Lords the treaty of Birgham, promising to marry his son Edouard in Margaret, provided Scotland remains an independent nation. But Margaret fell sick and died in 1290, at 8 years on the way since its native Norway towards Scotland. Thirteen applicants with the throne appeared almost immediately.

Contrary to the popular belief, John Balliol had rights on the throne. However, the Scot wanted an external referee to decide question, in order to avoid the charges of partiality. In a completely unreasonable way, they called some with king Edouard Ier to decide. Instead of arriving like an independent referee, it came at the anglo-Scottish border with an large army, and announced that it had come as a lord to regulate an argument in a vassal state, forcing all the potential kings to pay homage to him. After having heard each oath, Edouard chooses Balliol in 1292 to reign on “the vassal State of Scotland”. In March 1296, Balliol disavowed its oath.

The epopee of Wallace (1297-1298)

It appears in the history by assassinating the Shérif English of Lanark. For this crime it is put out the law and takes refuge in the wood where it is joined soon by about thirty companions with which it massacres the English garrison of Lanark (in May 1297). It is the signal of the rebellion. Large lords are not long in joining him, William Douglas, who become her lieutenant, Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow which manages to rejoin James Stewart with the cause and soon Robert Bruce the Young person breaking by there the reputation of anglophilia of the Bruce family.

And it is with an army that Wallace puts the seat in front of Dundee at the month of August 1297. The Count de Surrey and Hugh Cressingham, treasurer, react and place their troop at Stirling cutting Wallace of its backs thus.

Battle of Stirling Bridge

Wallace breaks the seat then and moves towards Stirling. Unfortunately when it arrives the English are already firmly positioned and more - 15 000 infantrymen and 1 000 riders against 4 000 infantrymen and 180 riders Scot. The situation is desperate for the Scot however the awkwardness of an English knight who wished to start the combat allows him to reverse the situation, the English lose 3 000 men including more than 100 knights. the victory is bright.

The cities are not long in opening their doors: Aberdeen - which resisted a little -, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Berwick. Wallace is soon proclaimed “guard of the kingdom of Scotland”.

He directs campaigns which carries out it until in the Cumberland and the Northumberland, while making reign the order in the territories under his capacity.

Edouard Ier must intervene in person, giving up a time the continent - where it supported the Flemings against France - to take again the control of Scotland. It takes again Berwick in July 1298, then Roxburgh. He manages to cut the way of Wallace to Falkirk. The Scottish army is crushed there on July 22nd, 1298 - 2 000 dead. It is the end of the epopee of Wallace.

End-of-life

Wallace had to give up his title of guard of the kingdom and became again an outlaw. He spends a time to France and reappears in Scotland in 1303-1304 when he takes again his life of outlaw. He is captured in Glasgow, condemned to died for treason towards his sovereign, crimes and sacrilege, he dies carried out (Hanged, drawn and quartered) in London the August 23rd 1305 with old 35 years.

After its death

In 1314, the Scot under the command of Robert Bruce, which had joined the noble ones and proclaimed king d' Écosse, put in defeat the English army at Bannockburn, and acquire at the end of the war the independence of Scotland (1328).

See too

the life of William Wallace was the subject of a film adaptation under the name of Braveheart with Mel Gibson. Even if the film does not respect really historical reality, it gives well an account of the violence of the engagements as well as Scottish obstinacy. The film gains 5 Oscars.

the Monument William Wallace close to Stirling.

Simple: William Wallace

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