Before the Mel Gibson movie BRAVEHEART, the Scottish hero William
Wallace was probably not well known except to students of Scottish
history and to members of Clan Wallace. Gibson popularized the story
of the most famous Wallace in the action-filled movie which, of
course, also included a bit of romance, some treachery, a lot of
plotting, scheming and shifting clan alliances by the Scottish
nobles of the 13th century.
Robert The Bruce was not portrayed as a hero, and his father was
even worse! The film was largely based on "The Acts and Deeds of Sir
William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie" written by the 15th-century
minstrel, Blind Harry. No wonder the historical facts are sometimes
missing in the film.
William Wallace's Short Version Bio* The abbreviated version of Wallace's life and
accomplishments is, "Sir William Wallace (Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam
Uallas; 1272 – 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight and landowner
who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish
Independence and is today remembered in Scotland as a patriot and
national hero.
Along with Andrew Moray [Murray], he defeated an English army at the Battle
of Stirling Bridge, and became Guardian of Scotland, serving until
his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. A few years later Wallace was
captured in Robroyston near Glasgow and handed over to King Edward I
of England, who had him executed for treason." (1)
Wallace was betrayed to Edward I by Sir John Menteith in return for
an appointment as Sheriff of Dumbarton. Those treacherous nobles at
work again!
It's hard to tell which families supported Wallace and which stood
with the king. I have read that James, the Steward, the Lindsays, the Douglases,
the Crawfords, the Murrays, the Grahams and a few others supported
Wallace from beginning to end. Robert the Bruce was not among them.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge - September
11, 1297
If you've seen the movie, you'll recognize the clip below where
Wallace makes a speech in defiance of English tyranny and to inspire
his men just before the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
This is modern day Stirling Bridge.
In the battle scene in the movie there's no bridge to be seen! "When asked by a local why the Battle of Stirling Bridge
was filmed on
an open plain, Gibson answered that 'the bridge got in
the way'.
'Aye,' the local answered. 'That's what the English
found.' (2)
"This image has been (or is hereby) released into
the public domain by its author,
Davidmeisner at the wikipedia project. This applies worldwide."
One more graphic is presented below for orientation
purposes.
Notice the location of Stirling, the Firth of Forth, the Lowlands
vs.
the Highlands, and Glasgow.
"This Image is reproduced under the Wikipedia
Commons License.
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release
it into the public domain.
This applies worldwide. I grant anyone the right to use this work
for any purpose,
without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law."
Over 10,000 English died at the battle of Stirling Bridge. The
Scottish casualties were low. However, Wallace's co-commander,
Andrew Murray, was seriously wounded and died a few weeks after the
battle.
Anachronisms, Goofs, and Discontinuity
While the movie does broadly follow history, as in most Hollywood
epics a lot of leeway was taken with the facts. For example, much of
the movie was shot in the Highlands. Wallace was a lowland clan. It
is highly unlikely William ever went north of Stirling Bridge which
is roughly the division between the lowlands and the highlands.
Certainly his birthplace Ayrshire and Lanark, Lanarkshore,
where he executed the English sheriff are both in the lowlands south
of Glasgow.
And, of course, editing and factual errors were made in the film.
One anachronism: "After Wallace makes love to the future queen he
rides off and is then part of a group riding down a long and winding
road. Far off in the distance (at the bottom of the hill) a car or
van can be seen moving towards the camera." Nevertheless the film is
fun. Did you spot the goofs when you watched the movie? Check your
memory. Many errors are listed at:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/goofs
Braveheart Trivia "The film correctly depicts the father of Robert the
Bruce suffering from leprosy in his later years; Robert the Bruce
himself would be overcome by the disease in the late 1320s."
"While the movie took great care to depict several groups all
dressed alike in their representative tartans (the plaid pattern on
the kilts), the use of clan tartans and any organized rules for
kilts and patterns was a Victorian invention, much later than the
time of the movie." (3)
What's Your Opinion?
Did you like the movie?
While a lot of the story was more fantasy
than reality, I have a special affinity for the movie and Wallace's
saga.
He was born in Ayrshire, about 15 miles NW of my family's
lands in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.
He executed the English sheriff of Lanark about 15 miles SE
of East Kilbride.
My paternal grandmother was from Falkirk, Stirling, close to
Stirling Bridge and site of the National Wallace Monument.
My paternal great great grandmother was from Ayrshire,
Wallace's birthplace.
We've got his territory
covered!
It pleases me
to imagine that someone from my family in those difficult times was part of
the action! Although there have been rumors that William Wallace
fathered a daughter, there is no proof he sired any children. The
nonsense in the movie about Wallace's fathering the son of Edward II
with Edward's wife, the French Princess, is
completely untrue. The princess wasn't even born at the time the
movie took place. The current clan chief claims he is a direct
descendant. I do not believe direct descent has been proven.
About Clan Wallace "While tradition claims Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie as the
father of three sons, Malcolm, John, and William Wallace, the seal
of William Wallace, rediscovered in 1999, identifies William as the
son of Alan Wallace of Ayrshire, who appears in the Ragman Roll of
1296 as "crown tenant of Ayrshire"."
As a matter of interest,
"There are no sept families of Clan Wallace, just Wallace. This is
the decision of the current clan chief."
From Wikipedia we see the many different spellings of the name: "Wallace, Wallis, Walla, Wallais, Wallace, Wallice, Wallang, Wallass,
Wallayis, Wallays, Walleis, Wallensis, Walles, Walleyis, Walleys,
Walli, Wallis Walls, Wallyis, Wallys, Walois,Walys, Waces, Wal’,
Walace, Walais, Walans, Walas, Walays, Wale, Waleis, Walency, Walens,
Walense, Walensen, Walensi, Walensis, Wales, Waless, Waleys, Waleyss,
Valance, Valensis, Valeyns, Vallace, Vallance, Valles, Valleyis,
Vallibus, Uallas (the Scots Gaelic), Gadhel, Galeis, Galeius, Gales,
Galeys, Galleius, Grieve, Galleius, Galles, Galles, Gallia, Gallois,
Gaul, Gweddol."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Wallace
Wallace Family Associations with Ayrshire This is a scholarly but very readable paper which goes into detail
about the Wallaces in Ayrshire. There has been much disagreement
about whether the family actually came from Ayrshire or from
Renfrewshire.
http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/comser/tourism/William%20Wallace.pdf
