The origins of the Scottish outlaw are almost completely shrouded in myth and uncertainty. We do not know the exact year of his birth. Indeed, for several centuries, it was believed that he was a descendant of a Ricardus Wallensis (“Richard Wallace” [i. e., “Welshman”]) who traveled to Scotland sometime in the mid-twelfth century. Richard’s great-grandson, Malcolm, has been identified as William Wallace’s father; this was first described by the poet Blind Hary. However, a recent discovery has called Wallace’s genealogy into question: “In 1297, after the battle of Stirling Bridge, the victorious Wallace and his wounded dying colleague, Andrew Murray, sent a letter to the mayor and communes of the German towns of Lubeck and Hamburg,” and the inscription on the seal of the letter states “[Wilelm]vs Filius Alani Walais”; in other words, “William, son of Alan Wallace.”3 This discovery “demolishes the names given by literary sources for William’s father; he was, we can be sure, Alan Wallace.”4
Much of what we know of Wallace’s early years is from Blind Hary’s book Wallace. Hary describes Wallace as being 18 years old when he killed the son of Selby, who was the English constable of Dundee, and this event took place in either 1291 or 1292.5 What information we have on Wallace that is grounded in historical evidence and not based on Hary’s literary work all points to the year 1297 as a true starting point for his career. In May of that year, Wallace killed William Heselrig, who was the English sheriff of Lanark. Hary describes this murder as retaliation for the sheriff’s having murdered Wallace’s love, Marion Braidfute. Further exploits and successful raids on English garrisons boosted Wallace’s fame, and he soon gained the support of a large section of the Scottish populace.
In early August 1297, Wallace laid siege to Dundee; the English responded by sending a considerable army northward from Berwick. The battle of Stirling Bridge was fought on September 11, 1297. The English were led by John de Warenne earl of Surrey, and the Scots were commanded by Wallace and Andrew Murray. The Scots fighters were almost all footmen, while the English and Welsh had archers and horsemen. The English were outmaneuvered, and dissension grew in their ranks. Hugh Cressingham, the arrogant treasurer of Scotland under Edward I, took an active role in commanding the English troops but did so unconvincingly; at one point he refused reinforcements. The English were forced to cross the narrow bridge, and the Scots attacked from the high ground. The bridge was so narrow that the English could neither retreat from it nor have reinforcements brought in to aid the soldiers. All told, the English defeat was sizable: “A hundred knights and many infantry, perhaps as many as five thousand, died, either killed or drowned.”6 Warenne survived, but Cressingham was killed by a spear. The Scotsmen then “flayed his obese body. Strips of skin were sent throughout Scotland to proclaim the victory at Stirling. Other strips were used to make saddle girths. Tradition tells us that Wallace himself had a belt made for his sword from what was left of Cressingham’s skin.”7
Soon after the battle, Wallace had a series of successes: Dundee Castle surrendered, and Berwick and Edinburgh were taken. Under Wallace’s influence, William Lamberton was elected as the bishop of Saint Andrews on November 3, 1297. Wallace and his forces were by then in English territory, and there are widespread accounts of Scottish brutality inflicted on the English population, both soldiers and civilians alike. Bad weather ended this invasion, and Wallace returned to Scotland to await the inevitable English counteroffensive. At some point between his return in November 1297 and the upcoming campaign in 1298, Wallace was knighted and was named “guardian” of Scotland.
On Tuesday, July 22, 1298 (the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene), the battle of Falkirk took place. Wallace’s forces were outnumbered, and the English army had a large number of heavily armored artillery men and cavalry. Even though the Scottish schiltrons were successful against the English cavalry, a large portion of the Scots army fled (out of either fear or treachery). In the end, the Scottish losses were sizable. Wallace escaped and fled to France by November 1299, having relinquished his title of guardian of Scotland. While in France, Wallace managed to befriend King Philippe IV (after an initially hostile reception), and the French king seems to have facilitated Wallace’s participation in a mission to Rome.
It is unclear when exactly Wallace returned to Scotland. In March 1304, he was officially outlawed by the parliament at Saint Andrews; however, there were reports that he was in Scotland as early as 1303. On August 3, 1305, servants of Sir John Menteith of Ruskie, the Scottish keeper of Dumbarton Castle, captured Wallace in or near Glasgow. Wallace was taken to Dumbarton Castle and subsequently handed over to the English knight John de Segrave. On August 22, Wallace was brought to London in a procession that caused much excitement in the city. The following day, in Westminster Hall, he was tried for treason (a charge he denied) and was summarily and publicly executed at Smithfield by hanging, drawing (disembowelment), and quartering. Sir John de Segrave, who had brought Wallace to London, personally distributed the outlaw’s severed limbs to the towns of Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth.
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