Will the Real William Wallace Please Stand Up?

William Wallace's activities prior to 1297 are completely undocumented, he first enters the annals of history rather infamously when he killed William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark. He became involved in the Scottish Wars of Independence achieving victories at Loudoun Hill and Ayr, he also fought alongside Sir William Douglas the Hardy at Scone. On September 11 1297, Wallace won the Battle of Stirling Bridge against a vastly superior English army. Wallace was knighted by Robert the Bruce and named him 'Guardian of Scotland and Leader of its armies'. On the 1 April 1298, the English invaded Scotland, the Scots adopted a scorched earth policy. At Falkirk they met Wallace in combat, the English routed Wallace's forces though he himself managed to escape. By September 1298, Wallace had resigned as Guardian of Scotland in favour of Robert the Bruce. Wallace left for France and the court of King Philip IV of France in an effort to drum up support for the cause of Scottish independence. Wallace returned to Scotland in 1303, he managed to evade capture until August 1305 when he was betrayed by John de Mentieth, a Scottish knight loyal to King Edward I of England. Wallace was transported to London, tried for treason and found guilty. He was taken from the hall, stripped naked and dragged through city at the heels of a horse to the Elms at Smithfield. There he was hanged, drawn and quartered; emasculated, eviscerated and his bowels burnt before him, beheaded and his body was cut into four parts. His head was placed on a spike on London Bridge and his limbs were sent to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Stirling and Aberdeen.

About the Author:

Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: http://www.exploringireland.net