Political crisis in Scotland When Wallace was growing up,
King Alexander III ruled Scotland. His reign had seen a period of peace and economic stability. On 19 March 1286, however, Alexander died after falling from his horse. The heir to the throne was Alexander's granddaughter,
Margaret, Maid of Norway. As she was still a child and in Norway, the Scottish lords set up a government of guardians. Margaret fell ill on the voyage to Scotland and died in Orkney in late September 1290. The lack of a clear heir led to a period known as the "Great Cause", with a total of thirteen contenders laying claim to the throne. The most credible claims were
John Balliol and
Robert Bruce, grandfather of the future monarch,
Robert the Bruce. With Scotland threatening to descend into civil war,
King Edward I of England was invited in by the Scottish nobility to arbitrate. Before the process could begin, he insisted that all of the contenders recognise him as
Lord Paramount of Scotland. In early November 1292, at a great feudal court held in the castle at
Berwick-upon-Tweed, judgment was given in favour of
John Balliol having the strongest claim in law based on being senior in genealogical
primogeniture even though not in
proximity of blood. Edward proceeded to take steps to progressively undermine John's authority, treating
Scotland as a feudal vassal state, demanding
homage be paid towards himself and military support in his war against France—even summoning King John Balliol to stand before the English court as a common plaintiff. The Scots soon tired of their deeply compromised king, and the direction of affairs was allegedly taken out of his hands by the leading men of the kingdom, who appointed a Council of Twelve—in practice, a new panel of Guardians—at
Stirling in July 1295. They went on to conclude a treaty of mutual assistance with France—known in later years as the
Auld Alliance. In retaliation for Scotland's treaty with France, Edward I invaded, storming Berwick-upon-Tweed and commencing the
Wars of Scottish Independence. The Scots were defeated at
Dunbar and the English took
Dunbar Castle on 27 April 1296. Edward forced John to abdicate, which he did at
Stracathro near
Montrose on 10 July 1296. Here the arms of Scotland were formally torn from John's surcoat, giving him the abiding name of "Toom Tabard" (empty coat). By July, Edward had instructed his officers to receive formal homage from some 1,800 Scottish nobles (many of the rest being prisoners of war at that time).
Silent years prior to the Wars of Independence Some historians believe Wallace must have had some earlier military experience in order to lead a successful military campaign in 1297. Campaigns like Edward I of England's wars in Wales might have provided a good opportunity for a younger son of a landholder to become a
mercenary soldier. Wallace's personal seal bears the archer's insignia, so he may have fought as an archer in Edward's army.
Walter Bower's mid-15th-century
Scotichronicon, states that Wallace was "a tall man with the body of a giant ... with lengthy flanks ... broad in the hips, with strong arms and legs ... with all his limbs very strong and firm".
Blind Harry's late 15th-century poem
The Wallace, asserts Wallace was seven feet tall, though the historical accuracy of this claim is questionable.
Start of the uprising ,
Edinburgh The first act definitely known to have been carried out by Wallace was his
killing of William de Heselrig, the English High Sheriff of Lanark, in May 1297. He then joined with
William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas, and they carried out the
raid of Scone. This was one of several rebellions taking place across Scotland, including those of several Scottish nobles and
Andrew Moray in the north. The uprising suffered a blow when the nobles submitted to the English at
Irvine in July. Wallace and Moray were not involved and continued their rebellions. Wallace used the
Ettrick Forest as a base for raiding and attacked
Wishart's palace at
Ancrum. Wallace and Moray met and joined their forces, possibly at the siege of Dundee in early September.
Battle of Stirling Bridge On 11 September 1297, an army jointly led by Wallace and
Andrew Moray won the
Battle of Stirling Bridge. Although vastly outnumbered, the Scottish army routed the English army.
The 6th Earl of Surrey's feudal army of 3,000 cavalry and 8,000 to 10,000 infantry met disaster as they crossed over to the north side of the river. The narrowness of the bridge prevented many soldiers from crossing together (possibly as few as three men abreast), so, while the English soldiers crossed, the Scots held back until half of them had passed and then killed the English as quickly as they could cross. The infantry were sent on first, followed by heavy cavalry. The Scots'
schiltron formations forced the infantry back into the advancing cavalry. A pivotal charge, led by one of Wallace's captains, caused some of the English soldiers to retreat as others pushed forward, and under the overwhelming weight, the bridge collapsed, and many English soldiers drowned. Thus, the Scots won a significant victory, boosting the confidence of their army.
Hugh de Cressingham, Edward's treasurer in Scotland, died in the fighting and it is reputed that his body was subsequently
flayed, and the skin cut into small pieces as tokens of the victory. The Lanercost Chronicle records that Wallace had "a broad strip [of Cressingham's skin] ... taken from the head to the heel, to make therewith a
baldrick for his sword". After the battle, Moray and Wallace assumed the title of Guardians of the Kingdom of Scotland on behalf of King
John Balliol. Moray died of wounds suffered on the battlefield sometime in late 1297. This would have been carried out by one of three Scottish earls— Carrick (
Robert the Bruce),
Strathearn, or
Lennox.
Battle of Falkirk In April 1298, Edward ordered a second invasion of Scotland. Two days prior to the battle 25,781
foot soldiers were paid. More than half of them would have been Welsh. There are no clear cut sources for the presence of cavalry, but it is safe to assume that Edward had roughly 1,500 horse under his command. They plundered
Lothian and regained some castles, but failed to bring William Wallace to combat; the Scots shadowed the English army, intending to avoid battle until shortages of supplies and money forced Edward to withdraw, at which point the Scots would harass his retreat. The English
quartermasters' failure to prepare for the expedition left morale and food supplies low, and a resulting riot within Edward's own army had to be put down by his cavalry. In July, while planning a return to
Edinburgh for supplies, Edward received intelligence that the Scots were encamped nearby at Falkirk, and he moved quickly to engage them in the
pitched battle for which he had long hoped. Wallace arranged his spearmen in four
schiltrons—circular, defensive hedgehog formations, probably surrounded by wooden stakes connected with ropes, to keep the
infantry in formation. The English, however, employed Welsh
longbowmen, who swung tactical superiority in their favour. The English proceeded to attack with cavalry and put the Scottish archers to flight. The Scottish cavalry withdrew as well, due to its inferiority to the English heavy horses. Edward's men began to attack the schiltrons, which were still able to inflict heavy casualties on the English cavalry. It remains unclear whether the infantry shooting bolts, arrows and stones at the spearmen proved the deciding factor, although it is very likely that it was the arrows of Edward's bowmen. Gaps in the schiltrons soon appeared, and the English exploited these to crush the remaining resistance. The Scots lost many men, including
John de Graham. Wallace escaped, though his military reputation suffered badly. It also suggests that Wallace intended to travel to Rome, although it is not known if he did. There is also a report from an English spy at a meeting of Scottish leaders, where they said Wallace was in France. By 1304 Wallace was back in Scotland and involved in skirmishes at
Happrew and
Earnside. Letters of
safe conduct from
Haakon V of Norway,
Philip IV of France and
John Balliol, along with other documents, were found in Wallace's possession and delivered to Edward by John de Segrave. Wallace was transported to London and taken to
Westminster Hall. There he was tried for treason, for which his defence was that he, unlike most of the other Scottish leaders, had never sworn allegiance to Edward. He was also charged with committing atrocities against civilians in war, "sparing neither age nor sex, monk nor nun". As a result, the trial has attracted the attention of modern legal scholarship as it is one of the earliest examples of what would now be considered a prosecution for
war crimes. It is one of only three known pre-modern trials which raised, in today's terms, issues of
international humanitarian law. He was
hanged, drawn and quartered—strangled by
hanging, but released while he was still alive,
emasculated,
eviscerated (with his bowels burned before him),
beheaded, then cut into four parts. Wallace's head was dipped in tar and placed
on a spike atop
London Bridge. His preserved head was later joined by the heads of his brother John and his compatriots
Simon Fraser and
John of Strathbogie. In 1869, the
Wallace Monument was erected, close to the site of his victory at Stirling Bridge. The
Wallace Sword, which supposedly belonged to Wallace, although some parts were made at least 160 years later, was held for many years in
Dumbarton Castle and is now in the Wallace Monument. == In popular culture ==