William Wallace

It is not known for sure if William Wallace ever married or not though some sources state that he was married to a lady called Marion Braidfute.

After his arrest by the English, Wallace was put on trial for high treason and brutally executed on 23 August 1305. He was first stripped naked and dragged through the city at the heels of a horse. Then he was strangled by hanging, but released before he died so that further tortures could be inflicted upon him. His stomach was cut open; the bowels pulled out and burned before his eyes. Finally he was beheaded and chopped into four pieces.

After his gruesome death, his head was dipped in tar and placed on a pike atop London Bridge. His supreme sacrifice for his country however was not in vain as Scotland was able to achieve independence a few years later.

William Wallace was born circa 1270 in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland, as a member of the lesser nobility. Not much is known about his parentage or place of birth. Some sources state that his father was Sir Malcolm of Elderslie while William’s own seal gives his father’s name as Alan Wallace. It is however known from certain other sources that he had two brothers called Malcolm and John.

There are records that claim that members of Wallace’s family held estates at Riccarton, Tarbolton, and Auchincruive in Kyle, and Stenton in East Lothian, and were vassals of James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland.

Wallace grew up during the reign of King Alexander III of Scotland which was a period of peace and economic stability. The king, however, died in a horse riding accident on 19 March 1286. The heir to the throne was Alexander's granddaughter, Margaret, Maid of Norway, who was still a child. Thus the Scottish lords set up a government of guardians to rule on her behalf until she came of age.

Four years later, Margaret fell ill on the voyage to Scotland and died in Orkney on 26 September 1290. This left Scotland without a direct heir to the throne and several families laid claim to the throne.

A period of chaos ensued and it was feared that Scotland would enter into civil war. The Scottish nobility invited King Edward I of England to arbitrate. Edward first proclaimed himself the Lord Paramount of Scotland and insisted that all contenders recognize him. Finally in November 1292, a feudal court was held in the castle at Berwick-upon-Tweed and it was adjudged that John Balliol had the strongest claim in law to the throne and thus he was made the king.

Many of the Scottish citizens were unhappy with this development and people protested against the English rule sporadically. In May 1297, William Wallace gathered a group of around 30 men and burned the Scottish town of Lanark, killing William de Heselrig, the English High Sheriff of Lanark.

He then joined William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas, and they carried out the raid of Scone. At that time, several rebellions were taking place in Scotland, including the ones led by Andrew Moray in the North.

Wallace and Moray, who each led separate rebellions in the beginning met and combined their forces. Together they led an army in September 1297 and faced English army under John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, at the Forth near Stirling.

The English army, with 3,000 cavalry and 8,000 to 10,000 infantrymen vastly outnumbered the Scottish forces. However, the shrewd Scottish leader came up with a plan to outwit the English. To reach the Scottish forces, the English would have to first cross over to the north side of the river Forth using a narrow bridge.

The bridge was so narrow that only a few men could cross it at a time. Keeping this detail in mind, Wallace and Moray placed the Scottish forces strategically, and let about half of the English soldiers cross over, giving the English the false impression that it was safe to cross over the bridge.

William Wallace, along with Andrew Moray led the Scottish forces in the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 against the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressingham. The Scots were able to defeat the English in spite of being vastly outnumbered and this victory proved to be an important milestone in Scotland’s struggle for independence against English rule.

The Battle of Falkirk was another major battle Wallace fought in. When the English army led by Edward stormed into Scotland, Wallace planned to shadow the English until their resources were depleted and then launch his attack. His plan, however, backfired and the English gained a strategic advantage in the battle and proceeded to defeat the Scots.