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Historical Figures:
William Wallace,
Braveheart
William Wallace
(1270-1305) Son of Sir Malcolm Wallace, a landowner of Elderslie,
Refrewshire.
 The
Scottish King, John Balliol, was deposed in 1296 by King Edward I of England
who declared himself ruler. Serious resistance began when William Wallace,
Braveheart, with around 30 men killed the English Sheriff of Lanark
in May 1297. An army of common men took up the cause at Wallace's side attacking
English garrisons across central Scotland.
At Blackford in Strathearn,
William Wallace is said to have defeated a small English force as they crossed
the ford on the Allan Water. On 11th September 1297 an English army under
the Earl of Surrey was caught attempting to cross a narrow wooden bridge
over the River Forth at Stirling 15 kms south of Strathearn. This
force was slaughtered at this Battle of Stirling Bridge and the strategically
crucial fortress of Stirling Castle fell to Wallace.
Wallace's legacy to his Nation
was to keep alive in the population the believe that they were an independent
and sovereign people who should not be absorbed by their powerful southern
neighbour. |
