Death Of William Wallace example essay topic

Braveheart The film Braveheart, while rooted in fact, is largely comprised of historical inaccuracies and anachronisms that do little to tell the true story of William Wallace or his role in the Scottish Rebellion under King Edward I. While the inaccuracies contained within Braveheart may taint the factuality of story, they do not underscore William Wallace's importance to Scottish Rebellion or how he inspired a country to fight for their freedom. The film Braveheart is set during the reign of Edward I of England, in the period where Scotland had come under the rule of England as a result of a dispute in the succession of the monarchy in Scotland. The king of Scotland, Alexander, had died in 1286 leaving his ill-fated granddaughter, Margaret of Norway to the throne (Raban 139). Her premature death in 1290 left two rival claimants to the throne of Scotland, Robert the Bruce and John Balliol (Raban 200). This dispute led William Fraser, Bishop of St. Andrews, and one of the Guardians of the Peace in Scotland, to invite King Edward I to arbitrate the dispute (Chung 1). Under the conditions of the arbitration, all contenders to the throne, of which there were more than a dozen, were required to acknowledge Edward as the Lord Paramount of Scotland (Chung 2).

It was John Balliol who was to receive the crown of Scotland under the domination of Edward I. John Balliol's subsequent refusal to submit to Edward I, as his vassal, led to his disposition and his imprisonment in 1297. After 1297, Edward would force the chief families of Scotland to sign a roll, known as the Ragman's Roll, acknowledging Edward as their king. Edward had taken over rule of Scotland, at the time William Wallace, along with his followers led a series of Rebellions against the English. The events following Edward I conquest of Scotland are depicted, albeit inaccurately, in the film Braveheart. The film Braveheart opens in the year 1280 A. D which, according to the narrator is a time of struggle for the crown of Scotland because the king had died without an heir.

In reality, King Alexander would not die until 1286, leaving the throne of Scotland to his young granddaughter, Margaret of Norway; who subsequently died in 1290 (Ashley 125). According to the film, it is in 1290, that a young William Wallace, referred to as a Scottish commoner, is sent to live with his Uncle Argyle after the death of his father. It is more probable that William, who as the son of a knight would not be a commoner, was sent to live was an uncle, a priest, prior to his father's death (R. Campbell 1). William was said to be in training for the priesthood at Paisley Abby, which would account for his knowledge of Latin in French, as depicted in the film (R. Campbell 2). It was only after the death of his father in 1291 that William became heavily involved in the Scottish rebellion.

William's father, Sir Malcolm Wallace, Laird of Ellerslie, was killed in a skirmish with the English, as depicted in the film (R. Campbell 1). However, William's defiance of the English was not the result of the death of his wife, Marian Braid foot, as the film suggests but rather the death of his father. In reality, William's wife would not die until 1297, when the English murdered her under the direction of the Sheriff of Lanark, shortly after William's victory at Stirling bridge (Chung 1). In the film Marian was killed by the English as a result of her refusal to submit to the doctrine of Prima Notes, a practice that was not observed in Scotland, during that time period. It was in 1292, that William Wallace was branded an outlaw, following a incident in Ayr that left a English soldier dead (Chung 2).

Following a series of similar incidents, in 1296 William attacked a English convoy laden with gold and silver, led by the knight who murdered his father. William killed the knight who murdered his father along with the knight's soldiers, this incident is what prompted William to become one of the most hunted men in Scotland, not his involvement in the murder of the fictional Lord Bottom as depicted in the film (R. Campbell 2). In the film, the murder of Lord Bottom and the loss of his garrison, prompts King Edward I to take action against Wallace. He leaves he son, Edward of Caernarfon, to quell the uprising, while he himself departs for France. While it is clear Edward I was in France during these events involving Wallace in Scotland, it is unlikely that his son would have acted as regent, alone. In the time leading up to the Battle of Stirling in 1297, Edward was only 13 years of age and while Isabella of France is correctly portrayed as being Edward's wife in the film; he and Isabella did not marry until 1307, two years after Wallace's death in 1305 (Raban 146).

This time difference would have also made an affair between Wallace and Isabella highly improbable since Isabella was quite young during the events that were unraveling in Scotland. The events leading up to the Battle of Stirling Bridge, in the film, depict William winning support amoung the commoners and small landholders in Scotland, and this appears to be the case (R. Campbell 2). Although his lieutenants in the movie, Hamish, Stephen, and Morrison were all fabricated; William was supported by a nobleman, Sir Andrew de Moray. William and de Moray, appointed co-guardians of Scotland by loyal Scottish nobles in 1296, were the leaders of the Scottish rebels at the Battle of Stirling Bridge (R. Campbell 2). At the Battle of Stirling Bridge, the forces of William and de Moray numbered that of one-third of the opposing English army under John de Waren ne, the Governor of Scotland, and had almost no heavy cavalry. In the film Braveheart, the Battle of Stirling Bridge took place on a field and this was most defiantly not the case.

The battle took place near Stirling, with the Scottish occupying the higher ground across the River Forth (Chung 5). The English were forced to cross a narrow bridge in order to reach the Scottish, and they were unable to do so without sustaining significant casualties. Moray was killed in the battle, but William was able to capture Stirling Castle following the English retreat (R. Campbell 2). While the location of the battle was misrepresented in the film, the Scottish overwhelming victory over the English was not. At Stirling Bridge William had was able to defeat the English despite overwhelming numbers, but the incompetence of the English leaders and the poor battle location for the English played a large part in his victory. As depicted in the film, following William's victory at Stirling Bridge in 1297, William was knighted in 1298, quite possibly by Robert the Bruce (M. Campbell 1).

Robert the Bruce, the 2nd Earl of Carrick, was one of the contenders to the Scottish throne and one of the wealthiest nobles in Scotland (M. Campbell 1). The Robert the Bruce portrayed in the film, however, fell short of any historical reality. In 1296, prior to the Battle of Stirling, Robert along with his vassals had rebelled against Edward, though it is unclear to what extent Robert was involved at Stirling (M. Campbell 2). In the film Braveheart, Robert was shown as occupying Edinburgh Castle although this too was a fabrication, Edinburgh Castle was actually held by the English from 1296 until 1313 (M. Campbell 2). Robert was also depicted as having a father afflicted with leprosy, her mitted under the guise of being on a tour of Europe; although in reality Robert's father had been on a tour of Europe, Robert himself had leprosy. Following the victory at Stirling Bridge, William invaded Northern England, but despite the film's version of events, he did not sack York (Chung 5).

He did however manage to bring Edward back from France, who in 1298, invaded Scotland with 90,000 men (R. Campbell 2). At Falkirk the forces of Wallace met those of King Edward. The battle was accurately depicted in the movie, Edward's longbow-men killed many of Wallace's men and helped win the battle for the English, however, there is no evidence to suggest that some of Edward's conscripts defected to Wallace's side as the movie portrayed (M. Campbell 1). Despite the movie's suggestion that Robert the Bruce had betrayed William at Falkirk, it is apparent that Robert had not defected to Edward until roughly 1302, before joining the rebels once again in 1305 after William's death (M. Campbell 3). According to Campbell, Robert did play a part at Falkirk "while it is accepted that Bruce supplied forces for the Scottish army, most historians cannot agree as to the role that he played there. Following his defeat at Falkirk, Wallace, according to the film, took his revenge on the noblemen that betrayed him.

In reality, there is no evidence to suggest this systematic revenge ever took place. Following the Battle of Falkirk most of nobles swore allegiance to King Edward, including Robert the Bruce. It is apparent that Wallace continued his raids from 1299 to 1303, although he never commanding the numbers of men he had at Stirling, until his capture (R. Campbell 3). Following the betrayal of a Scottish knight in the service of the English in 1305, William Wallace was captured and sent to England to stand trial, despite the film's suggestion that he was betrayed by Robert the Bruce (M. Campbell 2). William was executed on August 23rd 1305 in the same fashion depicted in the film.

His body was quartered and sent to the four corners of England and his head was put on a spike. Edward I, did not however die before William's execution. Edward would live on until 1307, when the crown passed to his son Edward II of England. Following the death of William Wallace, King Edward might have hoped that the Scottish people would finally submit to his domination but he was incorrect, however.

He had made Wallace a Martyr for the Scottish people. After the death of William Wallace, the Scottish, led by Robert the Bruce, who had severed his allegiance to Edward after Wallace's death, continued the rebellion that Wallace had stared. In 1306 Robert the Bruce, Guardian of Scotland, was crowned King at Scone (M. Campbell 2). In 1307, Edward I of England died on his way to reconquer Scotland. Subsequent attempts to quell the resistance failed and in 1314 the Scottish finally won their independence on the fields of Bannockburn. William Wallace played a large part in the Scottish victory over the English.

His belief in the cause of freedom and his death helped inspire the Scottish to fight their English oppressors. While the film Braveheart may not depict the events of his life accurately, it tells the story of a man who helped the Scottish win their freedom. The movie, although filled with inaccuracies, does not damage the true story of William Wallace..