WALLACES MONUMENTAL BATTLE FOR RECOGNITION (D.M) For David Ross it was much more than just another project. It will be the culmination of a pilgrimage to honour a warrior, a hero and an icon of Scottish nationhood. Ross will leave St Albans and complete the last leg of a 500-mile pilgrimage retracing William Wallaces final journey. The 47-year-old hopes to be joined by hundreds of Scots for a march to the spot where 700 years ago one of the nations greatest national figures and the undisputed leader of the resistance forces was killed. A private commemorative service will then be held inside St Bartholomew the Greater, the oldest church in London. But it will also signal regret for Ross, the convener of the William Wallace Society. Only because of the 700th anniversary of Wallaces death have the public been reminded, albeit temporarily, of the warriors significance. A historically inaccurate Hollywood film, a few books and a couple of statues in Scottish towns comprise pretty much everything that bears testament to his contribution to the nation. This year, as every year, there is no national holiday or celebration of Wallaces life. What irks Ross, the author of the 1995 book On the Trail of William Wallace, and other Scottish historians is that too few people know the true story of the man who led Scotland to victory over English forces at Stirling Bridge in 1297. They have been denied that knowledge through an appalling lack of teaching of Scottish history in our schools and a lack of serious attempts to address our indifference. Ross said: It is a very Scottish thing that we dont want to pay tribute to our past. It is 30 years since I left school but there was no teaching of Scottish history when I was there. I learned about the Battle of Hastings, and then the Magna Carta. I remember the dates 1066 and 1215, but I learned nothing about Wallace. There is little evidence of change. As a visitor to Scottish schools, Rosss worst suspicions are regularly confirmed. When you talk to the children they know about 1066. They know nothing about Bannockburn. I really feel that the Scottish Executive should have every school in Scotland put something in the curriculum about Wallace. A Wallace Week would be enough. Chris Brown, the author of William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart, agrees. He said: Wallace is inadequately considered in Scottish schools, but then again so are all our major national figures. No other country who produced a character like Wallace would pay so little heed to him. Its like the French not acknowledging Joan of Arc. In recent years, the political upheaval of devolution has added to the paranoia about officially praising a man whose quest for nationhood helped Scotland break free of its southern neighbour. Labour are wary of the Wallace legend due to its romantic associations with the SNPs cause of Scottish independence. Brown said: Labour worries about Scottish people knowing too much history because it might encourage people to become nationalists. The SNP on the other hand have a bit of a weepy head approach to our past. But it is the resulting knowledge vacuum that enabled Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson as Wallace, to become the closest many Scots will come to discovering anything about the man who was born around 1270, probably near Ellerslie, now known as Elderslie. Twice as many websites are devoted to Gibsons portrayal as to Wallace himself, who was not the son of a lowly farmer as portrayed in the 1995 movie. He was instead thought to have been the child of Sir Malcolm Wallace, a laird. Nor is it likely that he wore blue-face paint and met Robert the Bruce on the battlefield at Stirling Bridge. Historical records suggest that Bruce was probably in Ayr that day. Records of Wallaces life are patchy and often inaccurate. Knowledge of him is largely confined to the years of 1297 and 1298. The decision of Randall Wallace to base the script for Braveheart on the late 15th century romance The Wallace, by Blind Harry, ensured a blockbusting tale, vehement in its anti-English tone. Written in 1460 it was the second most popular book in Scotland after the Bible but it did little to aid an accurate historical portrait of Wallace. Braveheart was a total misrepresentation and a tremendous opportunity lost, said Brown. The closest it got to accuracy was when Gibson said it was good Scottish weather when rain was falling straight down. The film was complete rubbish. Wallaces life was more complex than a film script allowed. Initially, at least, he led one group of men, not a country. Other men were central to Scotland winning its freedom. Andrew de Moray led battles in northern Scotland, while William Douglas had fought for independence in the Borders. But in a way denied his contemporaries Wallace is feted across the world - if not in his homeland - for his determination to achieve Scottish freedom. At the Tartan Week festivities in New York, in April, more than 250,000 people flocked to see his sword. It is hard to imagine such devotion in Scotland. But who was the real Wallace? According to Browns book, he was a violent man and the leader of a small band of armoured cavalry who raided isolated parties of English soldiers and officials. But he was not stirred to battle because the English had killed his father, as claimed in Braveheart. Peace had existed for three generations at that time, Brown said. By 1296 Scotland had been conquered, causing deep resentment. Many of the nobles were imprisoned, they were punitively taxed and expected to serve King Edward I in his military campaigns against France. The flames of revolt spread across Scotland. In May 1297 Wallace slew William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark. Soon his rising gained momentum, as men oppressed by the burden of servitude under the intolerable rule of English domination joined him. From his base in the Ettrick Forest Wallaces followers struck at Scone, Ancrum and Dundee. At the same time in the north, Andrew de Moray led an even more successful rising. From Avoch in the Black Isle, he took Inverness and stormed Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness. His MacDougall allies cleared the west, whilst he struck through the north-east. Wallaces rising drew strength from the south. With most of Scotland liberated, they were prepared for an open battle with an English army. But Wallace was not a great general. He only fought in two battles. He famously won at Stirling Bridge, alongside de Moray, in 1297, when the English were left with 5,000 dead on the field. He became Guardian of Scotland but the position did not last for long. The Battle of Falkirk on July 22 the following year saw Wallace defeated by Edwards army, and he fled underground. It is thought that the basis of his authority among the people vanished soon after. During his subsequent travels in Europe, Wallace went to France and it is claimed he also met the Pope. But he largely faded away to evade capture, resurfacing in 1304. The following year he was betrayed by Sir John de Menteith while sleeping at a well near Robroyston. Tried for treason at Westminster Hall, Wallace was crowned with a garland of oak to suggest that he was the king of outlaws and declared guilty. On August 23, following the trial, he was removed from the courtroom, stripped naked and dragged to Smithfield Market at the heels of a horse. His terrible fate was surpassed by the grim triumphalism of his enemies celebrations. Strangled by hanging, but released near death, drawn and quartered and beheaded, Wallaces execution was completed at the Elms in Smithfield, London. His head was placed on a pike atop London Bridge, which was later joined by the heads of his brother, John, and Sir Simon Fraser, who had fought for Robert the Bruce. The English government displayed Wallaces limbs, separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling and Perth as a warning to others. But it did not manage to strangle the movement that Wallace had started. Instead he provided inspiration for the man who would help Scotland to victory at Bannockburn: Robert The Bruce. The debate rages on whose achievements were greater but more seems to be known about the latter. Brown said: They will both be remembered as part of the same movement, but if the Bruce had not been successful at the battle of Methven [in 1306] that would have been the end of his attempt to become King. Victory at Bannockburn followed in 1314. But it was not until 1328 that the Treaty of Edinburgh and Northampton ended the wars of Independence. Seven hundred years on, however, academics are united in saying that it was Wallace who started it all and that more should have been done to celebrate the anniversary. Stirling, home to the 220ft high Wallace monument, funded by public subscription and opened in 1869, is one of the few places that has made a concerted attempt to remember Wallaces life. For Ted Cowan, professor of Scottish History at the University of Glasgow, the 700th anniversary of Wallaces execution should be an occasion to celebrate a great life, yet very little has been done. He said: Wallace was a true national hero: a phenomenon long before Braveheart. There is no other person in Scottish history who really compares to him as a multi-faceted warrior, leader and charismatic figure. After the battle of Stirling Bridge he went to Hamburg to say that Scotland was open for business again. And yet all the Executive has done is organise a dinner at Stirling Castle and a couple of small events. For Ross, the journey has convinced him that Scotland remains paranoid about recognising its greatest historical figures. He said: When I have spoken to Scottish people about doing this walk in honour of Wallace they often assume that I dont like the English very much. George Washington was responsible for breaking English rule in America but I dont for one minute think people who follow him are seen as anti-English. It is almost a Scottish cringe. An extraordinary knee-jerk reaction. CALL FOR RETURN OF WALLACE LETTER Phillip (IV), King of France to his lieges at the Roman Court. Commands them to request the Popes favour for his beloved William le Wallace of Scotland, Knight, in the matters which he wishes to forward with His Holiness, Monday after All Saints, Pierrefonds. A letter carried by William Wallace in 1305 to grant him safe conduct to visit the pope should be returned to Scotland, according to an MSP. The document has been archived in London since Wallace was tried and executed on charges of treason. Nationalist Jim Mather has lodged a motion at the Scottish Parliament to retrieve it and put it on display. He urged the National Library of Scotland, Scottish Museums and National Archives to join his campaign. The paperwork, written by the King of France, was being carried by Wallace when he was seized in Robroyston near Glasgow. Once here it could be properly displayed and provide a rare tangible link to the national hero The MSP for the Highlands and Islands said the letter, known as The Safe Conduct, should be returned to mark the 700th anniversary of William Wallaces death. Once here it could be properly displayed and provide a rare tangible link to the national hero, who led the nation at the start of the Wars of Independence, he said. Wallace became a symbol of Scottish nationhood after his victory over the English at the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. He was defeated in battle at Falkirk the following year. Wallace was captured in 1305 and was hanged and dismembered with his head put on public display at London Bridge and his limbs sent to Scotland. Click HERE to sign the petition (petitiononline/wfw1/petition.html) MENTEITH TRAITOR Sir John Menteith (c. 1275 - c. 1323) was a Scottish nobleman???? He was born John Stewart in Ruskie, Stirling, Scotland. His father was Walter Bailloch Stewart, 5th Earl of Menteith, and mother Mary was the 4th Countess of Menteith. Unlike his older brother, Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Menteith, he replaced his paternal Stewart surname in favour of Menteith, which earned him the nickname, Fause (False) Menteith!!!! He was Governor of Dumbarton Castle, an appointment made by Edward I who was keen to secure the fortification as a major access route into Scotland by sea. Tradition has it that Menteith betrayed Sir William Wallace to English soldiers, which led to Wallaces death. MENTEITH AND WILLIAM WALLACE Much has been written about the nature of Menteiths relationship with Wallace, and his precise role in Wallaces capture. It is unlikely that it will ever be settled beyond doubt. Some argue that no reliable evidence for the betrayal exists. Lord Hailes and Sheriff Mark Napier, a descendant of Sir John Menteith, argue that tradition and Blind Harrys allegation are the only pieces of evidence supporting the charge of betrayal. John Hill Burton, Historiographer-Royal for Scotland, contends that the betrayal story is merely part of the romance of Wallaces career that he was betrayed by a fellow countryman and an old companion in arms. Even if the betrayal story is true, Burton says that Menteith would be excused as he was Governor of Dumbarton Castle. On the other hand, others argue that the documented evidence has merit. Sir William Fraser, author of Red Book of Menteith, claims to have examined many of the documents concerning the subject and is of the opinion that the accusation that Menteith betrayed Wallace rests upon insufficient evidence. The documents which Fraser examined suggests the following: 1.Sir John Menteith fought on the patriotic side at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, where he and his older brother were taken prisoner. 2.Menteith made peace with Edward I and pledged support. 3.Menteith returned to the patriotic party. 4.Menteith resubmitted to the English king, and obtained from him the sheriffdom of Dumbarton and the custody of the castle to which Wallace was conveyed after his capture. 5.Menteith obtained a share of the reward that Edward promised to the captors of William Wallace. The extent of the friendship between Wallace and Menteith is unknown, but there can be no doubt that they must have had intercourse and familiarity. In the Relationes Arnaldi Blair, it is mentioned that in August 1298, Wallace, Governor of Scotland, with John Graham and John Menteith, and Alexander Scrymegour, Constable of Dundee and Standard-bearer of Scotland, fought together in Galloway against the rebels who adhered to the party of Scotland and the Comyns. In the Chronicle of Lancaster, written in the 13th century, it is stated that William Wallace was taken by a Scotsman, namely, Sir John Menteith, and carried to London, where he was drawn, hanged, and beheaded. In the account of the capture and execution of Wallace contained in the Arundel manuscript, written about the year 1320, it is stated that William Wallace was seized in the house of Ralph Rae by Sir John Menteith, and carried to London by Sir John de Segrave, where he was judged. Fordun, who lived in the reign of King Robert I of Scotland (Robert the Bruce), when the memory of the exploits of Wallace must have been quite fresh, says: The noble William Wallace was, by Sir John Menteith, at Glasgow, while suspecting no evil, fraudulently betrayed and seized, delivered to the King of England, dismembered at London, and his quarters hung up in the towns of the most public places in England and Scotland, in opprobium of the Scots. Wyntoun, whose Metrical Chronicle was written in 1418, says: Schyre Jhon of Menteith in tha days Tuk in Glasgow William Walays; And sent hym until Ingland sune, There was he quartayrd and undone. The English chronicler Piers Langtoft states that Menteith discovered the retreat of Wallace through the treacherous information of Jack Short, his servant, and that he came under cover of night and seized him in bed. A passage in the Scala Chronica, quoted by Leland, says, William Walleys was taken of the Counte of Menteith, about Glasgow, and sent to King Edward, and after was hanged, drawn, and quartered at London. But the most conclusive evidence of all that Menteith took a prominent part in the betrayal and capture of Wallace is afforded by the fact that while liberal rewards were given to all the persons concerned in this infamous affair, by far the largest share fell to Menteith: he received land to the value of one hundred pounds.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 00:32:38 +0000
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