William Wallace

Sir **William Wallace** (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) wis the leader o the Scots airmy agin the Inglis fur the first pairt o the Scots Weirs for Unthirldom an wis the Gairdian o Scotland frae 1297 til 1298. Wallace wis born in Elderslie, Renfrewshire an wis eddicate at some time in his airly years at the Heich Schuil o Dundee. Some soorces propones his faither wis cawed Malcolm an ithers at his faither's name wis Alan. Wallace is thocht tae hae haed twa brithers whas names wis John an Malcom.

Alang wi Andrew Moray, Wallace defeatit an Inglis airmy at the Battle o Stirlin Brig in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle o Fawkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I o Ingland, who had him hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. He wis begowkit syne execute by the Inglis laird King Edward I. Sir William Wallace wis kilt by raxin, drawin, an quarterin.

Efter his deeth, Wallace haes been gien a legendary status faur ayont his hameland. He is the protagonist o Blind Harry's 15th-yearhunner epic poem *The Wallace* an the subject o literary wirks bi Jane Porter an Sir Walter Scott, an fae the Academy Award-winning film *[[Braveheart]]*.

## Backgrund

William Wallace wis a memmer o the lesser nobility, but no a lot is defo kent aboot his history, his faimlie or even his parentage. William's ain seal, fund on a letter sent tae the Hanse city of Lübeck in 1297, gies his faither's name as Alan Wallace. This Alan Wallace micht be the same yin listit in the 1296 Ragman Rolls as a crown tenant in Ayrshire, but thare isnae ony extrae confirmation. Ithers have thocht this Alan haudit an Ellerslie, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, an gin this is true, the estate coud be a possible birthplace for William; tho thare isnae a record o Wallaces' haudin the estate, in the mid 13t yearhunner. Blind Harry's late-15th-yearhunner poem offers an alternate father for William, a Sir Malcolm o Elderslie, in Renfrewshire; an haes itsel gien rise tae a possible birthplace for William an aw. Thare isnae contemporary evidence linkin him tae aither airt, awtho baith areas haed connections wi the wider Wallace faimile. Records shaw early memmers o the family as haudin estates at Riccarton, Tarbolton, Auchincruive in Kyle and Stenton in East Lothian. Thay war vassals o James Stewart, 5th High Steward o Scotland as their lands fell ben his territory. It haes been claimed that Wallace's brothers Malcolm an John are kent fae ither soorces, but thare isnae ony verifiable evidence for John’s relationship wi William.

The origins o the Wallace surname an its association wi the soothwast o Scotland are far frae certain an aw, ither nor the name bein taen frae the Auld Inglis *wylisc* (pronoonced "wullish"), meanin "foreigner" or "Welshman". It is possible thit aw the Wallaces in the Clyde area war medieval immigrants fraw Wales, but as the term wis uised for the Cumbric-tawkin Strathclyde kingdom o the Celtic Britons an aw, it seems juist as likely thit the surname refers tae fowk thit war seen as "Welsh" due tae thair Cumbric leid. A faimlie tradeetion states Wallace wis descendit frae the sister o Saint Patrick, thit wad reinforce the Welsh origin theory.

## See an aa
**[[Braveheart]]*

## References