| Wallace was the second of three sons of Sir Malcolm Wallace
of Elderslie in Renfrewshire, a tenant of the Stewards of Scotland.
Nothing is known of his early career, except for that reported by
Blind Harry, until he became the leader of the resistance against
Edward I of England.
During 1297 several risings had occurred, Andrew, son of Sir Andrew
de Moray, had led one in Moray, Boharm in Banffshire and Avoch in
the Black Isle. It was at about this time that Wallace led a rising
after killing the English Sheriff of Lanark, possibly to avenge
the death of his wife. Following this victory Wallace is next heard
of at Perth where Edward's Justiciar, William Ormsby, ran before
him. He then seems to have been able to range over large parts of
the centre and south of Scotland.
On the 11th September 1297 he joined forces with Moray at Stirling
where they defeated a large English army under the command of John
de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, the English Governor of Scotland, and
Hugh Cressingham, who was the hated Treasurer (after he was killed
it is said that his skin was taken from him and traded as souvenirs).
Following the Battle of Stirling Bridge Wallace recaptured Berwick
and invaded the north of England. It was not all battles, however,
he issued a letter to Lubeck and Hamburg declaring that Scotland
was free and that trade could resume between the countries. Wallace
was knighted and became the Guardian of the Realm, acting for John
Balliol.
On 12th July 1298, he was heavily defeated at Falkirk by Edward
I, although there was a lack of support by the nobles there is no
evidence that the cavalry intentionally deserted him at Falkirk.
After the defeat Wallace gave up the Guardianship and lapsed into
obscurity, it is known that he went to France in 1298 or 1299, probably
to ask for military or diplomatic help. He may also have gone to
Rome for the same reasons.
Despite internal squabbles resistance to English rule continued
but Wallace was captured in 1305, taken to London and executed on
the 23rd August.
Although Edward had beaten the Scots he
knew it would be impossible to rule Scotland by force alone so he
then set out to gain the collaboration of the Scottish leaders through
fear and/or favour. In March 1304 he had summoned them to St Andrews,
and at Westminster in 1305 it was decided that 'the land' of Scotland
should choose ten representatives to join 21 Englishmen who would
be nominated by Edward. They met at Westminster on 15th September
1305 to draft an ordinance for the administration of Scotland. In
this many Scottish magnates had their lands restored and many Scots
were also appointed as sheriffs and keepers of castles. There was
the stick to go along with the carrot, however, the ordinance also
mentioned the 'removing from Scotland those by whom the peace might
be disturbed' and also that those who were now serving Edward were
to disclose information concerning 'disturbances and hindrances
... to the peace and quiet of the land'. Bruce
was obviously out of favour as the ordinance also stated that 'the
Earl of Carrick be ordered to put the castle of Kildrummy in the
keeping of a man for whom he himself is willing to answer'.
History Books on William Wallace:
| Author |
Title |
Published |
Price |
Order
Now From: |
| Fisher, A. |
William Wallace |
1986 |
£9.95 |
Amazon.co.uk |
| |
| King, E. (ed.) & Hamilton,
W. (tr.) |
Blind Harry's "Wallace" |
1998 |
£8.99
or
$16.95 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
The original story of the real braveheart, Sir William
Wallace. Racy, blood on every page, violently anglophobic,
grossly embellished, vulgar and disgusting, clumsy and
stilted, a literary failure, a great epic.
Whatever the verdict on Blind Harry, this is the book
which has done more than any other to frame the notion
of Scotland's national identity. Despite its numerous
'historical inaccuracies', it remains the principal source
for what we now know about the life of Wallace.
The novel and film Braveheart were based on the
1722 Hamilton edition of this epic poem. Burns, Wordsworth,
Byron and others were greatly influenced by this version
'wherein the old obsolete words are rendered more intelligible',
which is said to be the book, next to the Bible, most
commonly found in Scottish households in the eighteenth
century. Burns even admits to having 'borrowed... a couplet
worthy of Homer' directly from Hamilton's version of Blind
Harry to include in 'Scots wha hae'.
Elspeth King, in her introduction to this, the first accessible
edition of Blind Harry in verse form since 1859, draws
parallels between the situation in Scotland at the time
of Wallace and that in Bosnia and Chechnya in the 1990's.
Seven hundred years to the day after the Battle of Stirling
Bridge, the 'Settled Will of the Scottish People' was
expressed in the devolution referendum of 11 September
1997. She describes this as a landmark opportunity for
mature reflection on how the nation has been shaped, and
sees Blind Harry's Wallace as an essential and
compelling text for this purpose. |
 |
|
| Mackay, J. A. |
William Wallace: Braveheart |
1996 |
£9.99
or
$16.95 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
| Sir William Wallace of Ellerslie is one of history's
great heroes, but also one of its greatest enigmas - a
shadowy figure whose edges have been blurred by myth and
legend. Even the date and place of his birth have been
mis-stated - until now. James Mackay uses all his skills
as a historical detective to produce this definitive biography,
telling the incredible story of a man who, without wealth
or noble birth, rose to become Guardian of Scotland. William
Wallace, with superb generalship and tactical genius,
led a country with no previous warlike tradition to triumph
gloriously over the much larger, better-armed and better-trained
English forces. Seven hundred years later, the heroism
and betrayal, the valiant deeds and the dark atrocities,
and the struggle of a small nation against a brutal and
powerful empire, still create a compelling tale. |
 |
|
| Morton, Graeme |
William Wallace: Man and
Myth
|
2001 |
£19.99
or
$24.95 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
| A look at both what is really known about Wallace and
what has been made of him by successive groups who have
sought to make use of his life story and the myths surrounding
him for political and commercial gain. |
 |
|
| Ross, David R. |
On The Trail of William Wallace |
1999 |
£7.99
or
$35.00 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
On the Trail of William Wallace offers a refreshing
insight into the life and heritage of the great Scots
hero whose proud story is at the very heart of what it
means to be Scottish, and whose effect on the ordinary
Scot through the ages is manifest in the many sites where
his memory is marked.
In trying to piece together the jigsaw of the reality
of Wallace's life, David Ross weaves a subtle flow of
new information with his own observations. His engaging,
thoughtful and at times amusing narrative reads with the
ease of a historical novel, complete with all the intrigue,
treachery and romance required to hold the attention of
the casual reader and still entice the more knowledgeable
historian.
- 74 places to visit in Scotland and the north of
England.
- One general map and 3 location maps.
- Stirling Bridge and Falkirk battle plans.
- Wallace's route through London.
- Chapter on Wallace connections in North America
and elsewhere
- Reproductions of rarely seen illustrations.
On the Trail of William Wallace will be enjoyed
by anyone with an interest in Scotland, from the passing
tourist to the most fervent nationalist. It is an encyclopedia-cum-guide
book, literally stuffed with interesting tidbits not usually
on offer in the conventional history book. |
 |
|
History Books on this time period
| Author |
Title |
Published |
Price |
Order
Now From: |
| Brown, Michael |
The Black Douglases: War and Lordship in Medieval
Scotland, 1300-1455 |
1998 |
£16.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
During the century and a half of their power the Black
Douglases earned fame as Scotland's champions in the front
line of war against England. On their shields they bore
the bloody heart of Robert Bruce, the symbol of their
claim to be the physical protectors of the hero-king's
legacy. But others saw the power of these lords and earls
of Douglas in a different light. To their critics the
Douglases were a force for disorder in the kingdom, lawless,
arrogant and violent, whose power rested on coercion and
whose defiance of kings and guardians ultimately provoked
James II into slaying the Douglas
earl with his own hand.
The Black Douglases
examines aristocratic power and status and its place in
Scottish political society through the greatest and most
notorious magnate dynasty of late medieval Scotland. Michael
Brown analyses the rise and fall of the family as the
dominant magnates of the south, from the deeds of Good
Sir James Douglas in the service of Bruce to the violent
destruction of the Douglas earls in the 1450's. Alongside
this study of the accumulationand loss of power by one
great noble house, The Black Douglases includes
a series of thematic examinations of the nature of aristocratic
power. In particular these emphasise the link between
warfare and political power in southern Scotland during
the fourteenth century. For the Black Douglases, war was
not just a patriotic duty but the means to power and fame
in Scotland and across Europe. |
 |
|
| Grant, A. |
Independence & Nationhood: Scotland 1306-1469 |
1991 |
£9.95
or
$20.00 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
Under Robert Bruce and his successors, Scotland's independence
from England was maintained and its sense of nationhood
developed. Alexander Grant shows how this had a profound
effect upon domestic as well as foreign affairs, and how
it led to the evolution of a distinctive Scottish government,
nobility, Church and economy. At the same time he puts
Scottish history into the international context of the
100 Years War, the economic and demographic upheaval caused
by the bubonic plague, and the Christianity of the pre-reformation
era.
Challenging traditional assumptions of general late-medieval
decline, Independence and Nationhood demonstrates
how the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were a crucially
important period of change and growth for Scotland. |
 |
|
| Nicholson, R. |
Scotland: The Later Middle Ages |
1965 |
£15.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
The four-volume Edinburgh History of Scotland
is the most important project in Scottish historical writing
for more than half a century; each volume is written by
an expert on the period who brings to his work the direct
acquaintance with original sources on which authoritative
historical writing can alone be based.
This, the second volume, covers the period from the close
of the 13th century to the Battle of Flodden. It presents
a sophisticated analysis of the facts and a comprehensive
description of all the varied and intricate aspects of
Scottish Medieval life. Although the book is detailed
enough to serve as a work of reference, the historical
development of the emergence of, possibly, the first self-conscious
nation of Europe into what was perhaps the first 'new
monarchy' of Europe may here be read as a continuous narrative
of events. Professor Nicholson presents a precise picture
of the economy, society and politics of medieval Scotland. |
 |
|
| Paterson, R. C. |
For the Lion: A History of the Scottish Wars
of Independence |
1996 |
£9.95 |
Amazon.co.uk |
Seven hundred years ago King Edward I of England crossed
the Scottish border with a powerful army and began one
of the epic struggles of the Middle Ages - the Scottish
Wars of Independence.
For England the aim of the war was simple: to establish
an imperial sway over the whole of the British Isles.
Scotland had to prevail against its powerful southern
neighbour or face national obliteration.
The Anglo-Scots conflict can be divided into two distinct
phases: the First War of Independence, which concluded
when England recognised Robert Bruce as King of Scots
in 1328; and the Second War of Independence, in which
the English tried to oust Bruce's son and successor David
II, and place their own puppet king, Edward Balliol,
on the throne of Scotland.
This book is the first attempt to embrace in a single
volume the whole course of the wars from the invasion
of 1296 to the release of David from English captivity
in 1357. It aims to bring alive to a modern audience one
of the great dramas of British history, and to help them
understand what was one of the most formative periods
of the whole Scottish national experience. |
 |
|
| Traquair, P. |
Freedom's Sword: Scottish Wars of Independence |
2000 |
£9.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
In 1997 Scotland voted to re-establish its parliament,
a landmark decision that is likely to pave the way for
an independent Scottish state. British political parties
have wrapped themselves in tartan: John Major returned
the Stone of Destiny; John Prescott retraced the steps
of the English army defeated at the Battle of Stirling
Bridge and the Scottish National Party used the film Braveheart
to launch a recruitment drive, standing outside cinemas
to hand out leaflets.
The film made William Wallace a household name, but it
bore little relation to the historical truth. As Freedom's
Sword reveals, this was quite unnecessary: there is
more than enough drama in the real events of the Wars
of Independence.
At a time when Scotland's relationship with England is
once again a major political issue, the past is being
used to justify the present. Freedom's Sword is
the first modern account of Scotland's longest conflict
with England, the series of wars that define the border
and poisoned Anglo-Scottish relations for 250 years. |
 |
|
| Watson, F. |
Under the Hammer: Edward I and Scotland, 1286-1307 |
1998 |
£14.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
The history of war and conquest usually resounds to
the noise of battle: exciting, certainly, but ultimately
misleading because the war truly begins when the invading
army, conquest complete, goes home. It is the relationship
between the native population and those remaining behind
as part of the new administration which hold the key to
our understanding of not only the mechanisms of conquest,
but also the fundamental elements of government desired
by societies.
Nowhere is this more convincingly demonstrated than in
the attempted annexation of Scotland by Edward I of England,
already conqueror of Wales. Why could he not succeed against
an enemy he regarded as so inferior? The answer is complicated,
encompassing questions of provisioning and morale on the
one side, and national identity and leadership on the
other. The Scotland of Wallace and Bruce nearly succumbed,
having wrestled with contradictory desires for independence,
and for stability and united government, for nearly a
decade. The fact that, ultimately, she did not give in
illustrates that patriotism and its complement, self-interest,
unmeasured and unremarked in account books and recruitment
rolls, do indeed play a central role in discussions of
war and conquest, as they do in history itself.
Fiona Watson examines the process of conquest and attempted
colonisation of one medieval kingdom by another, concentrating
on that most vital aspect of conquest: the maintenance
of garrisons. She shows how the kingdom of Scotland was
able to marshal its resources and create a coherent and
cohesive national front to deal with a more powerful enemy,
illustrating the complicated and conflicting needs of
a medieval society in the face of a developing national
consciousness.
Under the Hammer provides a
much clearer picture of medieval Scotland - its varying
component parts; its sense of self; its strengths and
weaknesses. Much of this will surprise. |
 |
|
| Yeoman, Peter |
Medieval Scotland |
1995 |
£15.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
Archaeology provides a truly 'down-to-earth' picture
of medieval life. Not only does the evidence come from
the ground - history that can be seen and touched - but
it deals with the everyday fundamentals of life that are
often ignored or taken for granted in written documents:
the food that ordinary people ate, their health, the clothes
they wore, the dwellings they lived in.
The high level of archaeological excavation over the last
20 years has enormously extended and enriched our picture
of 500 years of Scottish life.
In particular the author explores:
- life in the burghs, especially Perth, St Andrews
and Aberdeen
- the social role of the abbeys, friaries and parish
churches
- life in the country where most people lived and
where the castles and abbeys have been yielding up
their secrets
A lively text is enhanced by a varied and exciting range
of illustrations - photographs, reconstructions, plans,
excavated objects - many specially prepared for this book.
|
 |
|
| Young, A. |
Robert the Bruce's Rivals: the Comyns, 1212-1314 |
1997 |
£16.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
The Comyns were the most powerful baronial family in
13th century Scotland, yet they have long been overshadowed
by the legendary heroes of Scottish medieval tradition,
Robert Bruce and William Wallace.
The aim of this book is to examine critically the 'bad
press' gained by the Comyns in post-Bruce Scotland. The
name 'Comyn' has long been associated in Scottish tradition
with treachery - the family were involved in the infamous
kidnapping of the young Alexander III in 1257, were accused
of treachery against William Wallace at the Battle of
Falkirk in 1298 and of betraying Robert Bruce to Edward
I of England in 1306. This reappraisal of the Comyns'
role concludes that the period 1212 to 1314 should be
regarded as the 'Comyn century' in Scottish history. Alan
young highlights the Comyns' role as pillars of the Scottish
monarchy and leaders of the political community of the
realm in this formative century. The family's interests
and influence extended into every corner of Scotland and
their castles controlled key lines of communication, especially
in northern Scotland.
It is against this background that Bruce's political ambitions
in Scotland and Edward I's attempts to influence Scottish
affairs in the late thirteenth century are set. Comyn
dominance of the Scottish political scene adds a new twist
to the murder of John Comyn by Robert Bruce in the Greyfriars'
Church at Dumfries in 1306 and to the impact of the battle
of Bannockburn (1314) on the power struggle within Scotland.
A non-Bruce view of 13th century Scottish history, the
Anglo-Scottish war and the development of a national consciousness
is fascinating. For the general reader, the issue of power
politics within Scotland and between England and Scotland
is a positive and constant central theme. |
 |
|
| Young, A. |
In the Footsteps of William Wallace |
2002 |
£25.00
or
$36.95 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
| In this volume, historical narrative, quotations, colour
photographs and archive illustrations take the reader
on a journey through the short, but spectacular, career
of the Scotsman, William Wallace. Wallace burst from obscurity
into the war against Edward I's England in 1297, winning
a remarkable victory against the English at the Battle
of Stirling Bridge on 11 September. Less than eight years
later, Wallace was betrayed, captured, then tried and
savagely executed in London. This book looks behind the
legend to discover Wallace's real life - his family and
upbringing in southwest Scotland and his relationship
to key personalities in the Wars of Independence. It also
examines Wallace's role as a "guerrilla" leader
and a military commander, both in victory and defeat;
and his role in politics as leader and in political exile,
still continuing the fight for the Scottish cause. The
book features colour photographs of the landscapes and
buildings of southwest, central and northern Scotland,
northern England, York and London. |
 |
|
Historical Fiction Books on William Wallace
| Author |
Title |
Published |
Price |
Order
Now From: |
| Tranter, Nigel |
Wallace |
1994 |
£5.99
or
$11.95 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com
|
| At the end of the 13th century Scotland was suffering
under the tyranny of the English and Edward Plantagenet.
The eponymous hero swears to rid his land of their cruelty
and to restore Robert the Bruce to the throne. Nigel Tranter
has written many historical novels, mostly set in Scotland. |
 |
|
| Summary |
For an in
depth biography of William Wallace click
here |
|
