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One of the most popular Scottish heroes and patriots is Sir William Wallace
of Elerslie, who was depicted recently in the Hollywood film Braveheart.
Wallace desired freedom for Scotland, and he united the clans and gained
the loyalty of the people. He struck fear into the hearts of Scotland’s
enemies and defied the cruel hand of a warring and invading king. Today
Wallace has been romanticized and portrayed with all the attributes of a
chivalrous and courageous knight and as a leader of a divided and fractious
land. For many, Wallace has become the personification of Scottish nationalism.
As you read the following account of William Wallace’s life, consider
the following questions:
What, in your opinion, are the qualities of national heroes? In
what ways is Wallace a hero? A Scottish hero? What are some of the problems
of hero creation and hero worship?
A Hollywood Hero?
William Wallace was born in 1272. Wallace carried a two-handed broad sword,
approximately 168 cm in length, with the blade itself being about 132 cm
long. Historians and military experts agree that for a man to carry such
a sword, let alone wield it, he would have to have been of considerable
physical stature. They estimate that Wallace must have been almost two metres
tall. Today the sword is displayed in the New National Wallace Monument.
William Wallace witnessed Scotland’s defeat at the hands of the English
in 1292 and, like all Scots of the time, endured the humiliation of English
occupation in Scotland. When William was a young man, he had an encounter
with the English that changed the course of his life. Dundee Castle was
under the control of the English and overseen by an English constable named
Selby. Selby had a son who was just slightly older than William, and this
son had the misfortune and bad judgment to pick a fight with young William
Wallace. Young Selby, accompanied by a number of his English friends, made
some remarks to Wallace about his Scottish attire. Selby and his friends
apparently berated Wallace and demanded that he hand over some of his valuable
possessions. William’s response was swift and dramatic; grabbing the
Englishman by the collar, he drew his blade and thrust it through his assailant’s
heart. At this point William became an outlaw hunted down by the English.
He thus became a symbol of defiance against English tyranny and control
and began to lead Scottish forces on raids against English outposts and
garrisons. The movie Braveheart, which you may have seen, portrays
Wallace and his men as a rampaging band constantly attacking and ambushing
anything with an English insignia and with quite a brutal and unforgiving
anger. To what extent this portrayal of Wallace is accurate is not well
documented. Historically, it is accepted that Wallace was a product of the
chivalrous age in which he lived, an age that valued courage, strength,
and prowess on the battlefield, but also an age of lawlessness and revenge.
Wallace and his men did indeed attack at will and without provocation from
many different places within lower Scotland. This is what gained him the
reputation as a great warrior with his own people and a feared enemy with
the English garrisons. No one ever knew where he would strike next or when.
The Grolier Encyclopedia documents this historical figure in this way: “.
. . Wallace led a group of men who killed the English sheriff of Lanark.
In the same year [1297] he defeated John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, the
English governor of Scotland, near Stirling. Wallace went on to drive the
English out of Scotland and invade southern England. He became guardian
of the realm in the name of the imprisoned John Balliol. Many Scottish nobles
did not support Wallace, however, and in 1298, Longshanks defeated him at
Falkirk. Wallace went to France in an unsuccessful bid for assistance. After
his return he was arrested, brought to London, and executed for treason.”
Given the historical facts, one can understand why Wallace became a martyr
to a cause and a national hero in the popular imagination.
Discussion
1. What is the lesson to be learned from the story of William Wallace?
What is the role of individuals in the development of nationalism? Can
you give some Canadian examples?
2. The day after the referendum a statue of William Wallace was unveiled
in a town close to Edinburgh. The New York Times reported that the
film Braveheart helped fan Scottish nationalism and a renewed fascination
with Scotland’s culture and heritage. The statue is in the likeness
of Mel Gibson. Do you think this is an accurate assessment of the film
Braveheart? Have your own feelings of nationalism ever been affected
by popular culture?
The Battle of Culloden
In 1746, a small band of Scots tried to restore the Stuart (Scottish)
royal line to the throne of England, which had been overthrown in 1688 by
William of Orange. This uprising is known as the Battle of Culloden, and
today it stands as a symbol of Scottish nationalism and a symbol of resistance
against English control. The following is an eyewitness account of the Battle
of Culloden by Donald Mackay of Acmonie, Glen Urquhart. The passage is translated
from Gaelic.
The morning was cold and stormy as we stood on the battlefield—snow
and rain blowing against us. Before long we saw the red soldiers, in battle
formation, in front of us, and although the day was wild and wet we could
see the red coats of the soldiers and the blue tartans of the Campbells
in our presence. The battle began, and the pellets came at us like hail-stones.
The big guns were thundering and causing a frightful break-up among us,
but we ran forward and—oh dear! oh dear!—what cutting and slicing
there was and many the brave deeds performed by the Gaels. I saw Iain Mor
MacGilliosa cutting down the English as if he was cutting corn, and Iain
Breac Shiosallach killing them as though they were flies. But the English
were numerous, and we were few, and a large number of our friends fell.
The dead lay on all sides and the cries of pain of the wounded rang in our
ears. You could see a riderless horse running and jumping as if mad.
The spot where the fiercest fighting of the battle took place is marked
by a cairn—a large monument made from many stones. The cairn, built
of rough stones mingled with soil, measures six metres high by 5.5 metres
in diameter. It was erected in 1881 and bears the following inscription:
“The Battle of Culloden was fought on this moor 16th April, 1746. The
graves of the Gallant Highlanders who fought for Scotland and Prince Charlie
are marked by the names of their clans.” The Scottish forces, made
up of the many Highland clans, were led by “Bonnie” Prince Charlie
and numbered approximately 5000 men. England, led by the Duke of Cumberland,
was better equipped, with about 9000 men, consisting of 15 regular regiments
of infantry and other militias. On that fateful day in 1746 the English
forces sounded the death knell for the old Highland way of life. Shortly
after the defeated Scottish army withdrew from the battlefield, the Duke
of Cumberland rode into Inverness clutching a drawn sword to show he was
the victor. It was a gesture full of menace for the Highland people. The
battle was over, but the killing was not. The roads into the town from the
east were scattered with the bodies of men, women, and children cut down
at random by Cumberland’s advancing troops. On the battlefield, parties
of English infantry remained, killing any wounded enemy who caught their
attention. The days after the battle saw patrols hunting out and executing
more than 100 Scottish infantry men and interrogating thousands of civilians
in their search for Prince Charles.
How Prince Charles escaped the wrath of the English Hanoverian forces is
the stuff of legends. With a price of £30 000 on his head, Prince
Charles was hunted across the Highlands and throughout the islands of Scotland.
He endured great hardships with considerable fortitude, and it is to the
credit of the people of the North that no one gave him away. It was because
of the ingenuity and courage of a young Highland woman named Flora MacDonald
that Prince Charles was able to escape. When the English forces were closing
in on him, Flora MacDonald helped Charles escape from South Uist and eventually
to France, where he sailed on the French privateer L’Heureux on September
20, 1746. For decades afterward, the wearing of Highland kilts in clan colours
was banned by London.
Questions
1. What emotions does the Battle of Culloden evoke, and how does it
influence your feelings for both the Scots and the English?
2. Assess the impact of the defeat at Culloden on Scottish nationalism.
Use evidence of other nationalist movements to support your answer.
3. What is the relationship between high drama, sacrifice, emotion,
reason, and nationalism?
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viewers.