Sir William Wallace
by Brother Gerald del Campo
| Born in 1270 to Sir Malcolm Wallace, a small property owner
in Renfrew,
his contribution to Scotland's liberation from England is unparalleled.
The same could be said about the ferocity with which he fought those
who
sought to oppress his people, and the bravery with which he died.
After dethroning and incarcerating John de Balliol, King Edward I of England declared himself ruler of Scotland in 1296. It would not take long for Wallace to retaliate. In 1297, he and a militia of 30 or so commoners set fire to Lanark and killed its English sheriff. |
 Wallace
then recruited a small army of landowners and struck the English
garrisons
flanked by the Rivers Forth and Tay. He was meet head-on at the Forth
by
an English regiment which greatly outnumbered his modest army, but the
English had to traverse a tight bridge over the river to reach Wallace.
The English were slaughtered as they crossed the river before they
could
reach the other side. He later entered Northern England by force and
devastated
Northumberland and Cumberland. On December 1297, Wallace was knighted
and
declared guardian of the kingdom.
In July 3 1298, Edward I invaded Scotland, and this time Wallace was defeated by the English archers. This destroyed Wallace’s martial reputation, and in December he resigned his guardianship. Robert de Bruce replaced him. By 1304, almost all Scottish nobles submitted to Edward, but the English unceasingly continued to pursue Wallace until he was arrested on August 5, 1305. |
 He
was taken to London where he was found guilty of treason against a king
he would never swear allegiance to. On August 23, 1305 he was
hanged,
disembowled, beheaded and quartered. The following year, Bruce raised
the
revolt that ultimately secured Scotland's independence. An enormous
memorial
to Wallace stands on the rock of Abbey Craig near Stirling. His
military
exploits and great bravery have been mythologized in literature, and
Wallace
continues to be an focal point of Scottish pride. |