The 1995 film Braveheart was criticised for numerous historical inaccuracies, based as it was on a poem written 150 years after Wallace was forced to watch his own entrails being pulled out while being hanged, drawn and quartered in the middle of London's Smithfield market.
Attributed to a minstrel called Blind Harry, the medieval epic The Wallace was the second bestselling book in Scotland after the Bible for several hundred years after its publication. But according to historian Dr John Reuben Davies, it is hard to disentangle the myth from the truth.
"There's so much about the Blind Harry account that could be true, but we don't know. There's several bits that simply aren't true. Wallace was an accidental hero, he had been a number two, supporting other military figures, but first one then another were killed, so he became Scotland's guardian rather by accident. I suppose people do like to make a human connection with the past; at the end of the day they were fighting for freedom, but freedom for the landholders."
Indeed Davies points to one document that suggests that the English may have misunderstood Wallace. In the accounts of Edward I for the financial year 1305-1306, he found a reference to Wallace's execution expenses, with Wallace described as "a robber, a public traitor, an outlaw, an enemy and rebel who throughout Scotland had falsely sought to call himself King of Scotland". But as Davies points out, Wallace never sought to be king and was clear that he had no claim to the throne.
Even that Mel Gibson cry of "freedom" is doubtful. What Wallace did say to his troops on the eve of battle was: "I've brought you to the ring, now dance the best you can."
"He was, after all, brought down to London especially so that his execution could be the opening spectacle for the fair of St Bartholomew," said Davies. "They took him all that way, escorted by the king's men."
It remains to be seen whether the new dramas will inspire patriotic fervour in a country currently rooted in the "no" vote - a poll from May showed only 31 per cent in favour of independence.
Sir William Wallace
Who: The younger son of a Scottish knight and landowner who fought for Scottish independence.
Born: 1270, Elderslie.
Died: 1305, London.
Known for: Inflicting a famous defeat in 1297 on the English army at Stirling Bridge.
The wars: In 1296, Edward I took advantage of a succession crisis in Scotland and imposed himself as ruler with an English admin-istration. A year later Wallace attacked Lanark, killing the English sheriff. Unrest became a rebellion. Wallace was knighted and appointed "guardian of the kingdom". In July 1298, the Scots were defeated at Falkirk. Wallace was succeeded as guardian by Robert the Bruce and John Comyn. He went to France to seek backing for the Scottish cause and returned in 1303.
His death: Wallace was seized, charged and tried with treason. He was hanged, drawn and quartered. His head was placed on London Bridge, and his limbs displayed in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling and Perth.
- Observer,BBC, Wikipedia
