William Wallace

William Wallace (born c. 1270, probably near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland—died August 23, 1305, London, England) one of Scotland’s greatest national heroes and the chief inspiration for Scottish resistance to the English king Edward I. He served as guardian of the kingdom of Scotland during the first years of the long and ultimately successful struggle to free his country from English rule.

Early life, initial campaigns against the English, and the Battle of Stirling Bridge

Wallace was the second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie in Renfrewshire. The elder Wallace was a minor landowner and a vassal of James, 5th steward of Scotland. In 1296 King Edward I of England deposed and imprisoned the Scottish king John de Balliol and declared himself ruler of Scotland. Sporadic resistance had already occurred when, in May 1297, Wallace and a band of some 30 men burned Lanark and killed its English sheriff. Joined by Sir William Douglas (“the Hardy”), Wallace next marched on Scone, drove out the English justiciar, and attacked the English garrisons between the Rivers Forth and Tay. The Scottish steward, Robert the Bruce (later King Robert I), and others now gathered an army, but it was forced to surrender at Irvine by Sir Henry de Percy and Sir Robert de Clifford (July 1297). Wallace, however, remained in action “with a large company in the Forest of Selkirk,” according to a contemporary report made to Edward. Wallace laid siege to Dundee but abandoned it to oppose, with Andrew de Moray, an English army that was advancing toward Stirling under John de Warenne, earl of Surrey.

Surrey failed to bring Wallace to terms outside Stirling, and, on the morning of September 11, 1297, the English began to file across the narrow bridge over the Forth. Wallace and Moray, in a position northwest of the Abbey Craig, held back their troops until about half the English had crossed. They then attacked with such sudden fury that almost all who had crossed were killed or driven into the river and drowned. Surrey, with the rest of his army, retreated hastily, having first destroyed the bridge, but the Scots crossed by a ford and pursued them. With only a small following, Surrey escaped to Berwick and York. For the moment Scotland was almost free of occupation. A letter long survived in which Moray and Wallace, writing from Haddington on October 11, urged the Hanseatic towns of Hamburg and Lübeck to resume trade with Scotland, now “recovered by war from the power of the English.” Moray, who had been wounded at Stirling Bridge, died soon afterward. Wallace now ravaged Northumberland and Cumberland, burning Alnwick and besieging Carlisle. To the monks of Hexham, however, he granted special protection.

Guardian of Scotland and the Battle of Falkirk

Upon returning to Scotland early in December 1297, Wallace was knighted (it is not known by whom) and was elected or assumed the title of guardian of the kingdom. In the name of King John de Balliol, then a prisoner in London, Wallace set himself to reorganize the army and regulate the affairs of the country. He seems to have acted wisely and vigorously and to have been supported by Bishop Robert Wishart of Glasgow, the steward’s brother Sir John Stewart, Sir John Graham of Dundaff, Sir John Comyn (“the Red”), Robert the Bruce, and others. Some nobles, many of whom had English estates and hostages in Edward’s hands, were only lukewarm to Wallace’s leadership, and his position depended entirely upon his success on the battlefield.

Early in 1298 Surrey returned and relieved the English-held castles of Roxburgh and Berwick but by Edward’s orders advanced no farther. Edward himself crossed the Tweed on July 3 and moved toward Stirling with a strong force of heavy cavalry, a body of archers, and Irish and Welsh auxiliaries. Wallace retreated slowly, wasting the country behind him so Edward’s force could not resupply itself on the march. Edward, with his army half-starved and mutinous, was on the point of retreat when, early on July 21 near Kirkliston, he learned that Wallace was awaiting him near Falkirk.

Edward advanced and on the following day found Wallace on a carefully chosen sloping ground, his front protected by a small river. The English cavalry, having with some difficulty crossed the river and the adjacent marshy ground, launched repeated charges on the four schiltrons (circular battle formations) of Wallace’s spearmen. They drove off the field the small body of Scottish horse under Comyn but made no impression on the schiltrons and suffered considerable losses. The archers, however, now advanced, and their deadly volleys soon broke up the spearmen’s ranks, and further cavalry charges turned them to flight. Thousands of the Scots were slain in the pursuit, and among the dead were Sir John Stewart and Sir John de Graham. Wallace retired northward with the survivors, burning Stirling and Perth as he went. Edward, unable to maintain his forces in Scotland, returned south, reaching Carlisle on September 8. His military reputation ruined, Wallace resigned the guardianship in December 1298 and was succeeded by Bruce and Comyn.

Capture and execution

There is some evidence that Wallace went to France in 1299 and thereafter returned to Scotland to act as a solitary guerrilla leader, but from the autumn of 1299 nothing is known of his activities for more than four years. The rebellion he had led nevertheless continued until 1304, at which point most Scottish nobles submitted to Edward. How much this continued resistance was due to Wallace’s influence is uncertain, but Wallace was the one leader to whom Edward would never offer any terms of capitulation and whom he most persistently tried to capture. On August 5, 1305, Wallace was arrested near Glasgow by Sir John Menteith, and, according to two early chroniclers, by treachery. He was carried to Dumbarton Castle and then to London, having possibly been brought before King Edward along the way.

On August 23, 1305, Wallace was conveyed to Westminster Hall, where he was indicted and condemned to death. There was no trial because he was declared a traitor to the king; Wallace emphatically denied this charge, as he had never sworn allegiance to Edward. That same day he was hanged, disemboweled, and finally beheaded and quartered at Smithfield. His head was set on London Bridge and his limbs exposed at Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth. In 1306 Bruce raised the rebellion that eventually won independence for Scotland.

Legacy and influence

Wallace was unmarried and is not known to have fathered any children. There is no portrait of him and no contemporary description of his appearance. Many of the stories surrounding Wallace have been traced to a late 15th-century romance ascribed to Harry the Minstrel, or “Blind Harry.” The most popular tales are not supported by documentary evidence, but they show Wallace’s firm hold on the imagination of his people. A huge monument (1861–69) to Wallace stands atop the rock of Abbey Craig near Stirling. Mel Gibson portrayed Wallace in Braveheart (1995), an Academy Award-winning film that was loosely based on Wallace’s life.