Blind Harry Blind Harry ( 1440 – 1492 ) , also known as Harry , Hary or Henry the Minstrel , is renowned as the author of " The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace " , more commonly known as The Wallace . This was a lengthy poem recounting the life of William Wallace , the Scottish freedom fighter , written around 1477 , 172 years after Wallace ' s death . Biography . Little is known about Blind Harry ' s life . One source is the Lord High Treasurer ' s accounts of 1473 – 1492 , which recorded payments to him for performances at the court of James IV . Blind Harry was given gifts of money by the King at New Year , as were other minor courtiers , but a payment on 2 January 1492 seems to relate to the singing of a ballad accompanied by two Gaelic harpers ' Ersche clareschaw , ' mentioned in adjacent entries . This is the last mention of Harry in the accounts . He is mentioned by William Dunbar on line 69 of his " Lament for the Makeris " early in the 16th century . Historian John Major also wrote about Harry in 1518 . These sources differed on whether or not he was blind from birth , but Harry almost certainly seems to have had a military background . " Acts and Deeds " . Sources . Blind Harry claimed his work was based on a book by Father John Blair , Wallace ' s boyhood friend and personal chaplain . This book has not been seen in modern times and may never have existed ; the poet ' s attribution of his story to a written text may have been a literary device ; many contemporary critics believe that " Acts and Deeds " is based on oral history and the national traditions of Blind Harry ' s homeland . Most historians nowadays regard " Acts and Deeds " as a versified historical novel , written at a time of strong anti - English sentiment in Scotland . At twelve volumes , the work is also doubted to be solely his work . Elspeth King maintained that despite any inaccuracies , Harry ' s patriotic and nationalistic portrayal was to ensure Wallace ' s continuing reputation as a hero . Robert Burns acknowledged his debt to Harry , incorporating the following lines from Harry ' s " Wallace " in his own poem Robert Bruce ' s Address to his Army at Bannockburn ( Scots , wha hae wi ' Wallace bled ) : A false usurper sinks in every foe And liberty returns with every blow which Burns described as a " a couplet worthy of Homer " . Criticism . Harry ' s depiction of Wallace has been criticised by Major and others as being fictionalized . Some parts of it are at variance with contemporary sources e . g . the work describes Wallace leading an army to the outskirts of London , and it includes some episodes of doubtful accuracy before Wallace enters history with the Action at Lanark . It also describes him adopting the disguises of a monk , an old woman , and a potter while a fugitive ; and travelling to France to enlist support for the Scottish cause , there defeating two French champions as well as a lion . " Are there any more dogs you would have slain ? " , Wallace asks the French king . Harry is often considered inferior to Barbour as a poet , and has little of his moral elevation , but he surpasses him in graphic power , vividness of description , and variety of incident . He occasionally shows the influence of Chaucer , and is said to have known Latin and French . Blind Harry ' s words were made more accessible by a translation written by William Hamilton of Gilbertfield ( c . 1665 – 1751 ) published in 1722 . In this form they met the notice of poets such as Robert Burns , Lord Byron , Robert Southey , John Keats , Joanna Baillie , and William Wordsworth . It was also an important source for Randall Wallace in his writing of the screenplay of " Braveheart " , the award - winning Hollywood film . Most recently , in 1998 , Elspeth King published Hamilton ' s text amended for modern readers as " Blind Harry ' s Wallace " . Wallace folklore . Blind Harry mentions a number of battles or skirmishes fought by Wallace which are now regarded by historians as unhistorical . These battles are sometimes referenced as historical events by accounts which do not cross - check the stories in " Acts and Deeds " against another source . Dubious battles include the " Battle of Loudoun Hill " in 1296 , the " Battle of Biggar " in 1297 , and possibly also the " Battle of Elcho Park " . In the case of the folkloric Battle of Loudoun Hill , later enthusiast s have erected a monument to Wallace at the site . ( The folkloric battle should not be confused with the genuine Battle of Loudoun Hill fought by Robert the Bruce . )