William Wallace
Essay title: William Wallace
Patriot, Thief, Guardian, Traitor: William Wallace has been many things to many people. However, since Mel Gibsons 1995 film, Braveheart, to most he is a freedom fighter and icon of Scottish independence. Little contemporary record remains, and what information we do have comes, in the main, from biographers like Blind Harry, written over two hundred years later with their own agenda.
What is known about Wallaces early years is that, unlike the other potential leaders of the Scots at the time, he was of undistinguished birth. Whilst not the peasant or man of the people of legend, Wallace was a mere knight and nowhere near the aristocratic league of Robert the Bruce, for example. His opinion of the English was hardly improved when, in 1291, his father was killed in a skirmish with English troops.
With Edward Is assumption of feudal lordship over Scotland and the subsequent humiliation of John of Gaunt, the rightful king, the political scene was primed for rebellion. Edward, through his treasurer, Hugh Cressingham, squeezed taxation from the Scots and popular support was on the side of the rebels. Wallaces first act of note was a strike against the imposed English authorities, when he killed William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark.
Gathering men around him as his rebellion gathered momentum, Wallaces greatest victory came at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. This 1297 rout of the larger English force brought Wallace to national prominence. However, the Scots fought under the command of Andrew Murray, rather than the unproven Wallace. Murrays death in the battle left all the credit to Wallace.
The battle of Falkirk, the next year, saw Wallace in sole control of the Scottish forces and tactics. His use of schiltrons, or dense formations of troops, failed to repel the English cavalry and the Scots were defeated, taking heavy losses. This defeat forced Wallace to resign the Guardianship of Scotland that he had been awarded after Stirling Bridge.
As the rebellion continued, the Scottish nobility decided in increasing numbers to look for a compromise with Edward. Failure to obtain an alliance with France against the English