William Wallace (1272 - 1305)

Born 1272 in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Died 23 Aug 1305 at about age 33 in Smithfield, London, England

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William Wallace was a prominent member of a Scottish Clan. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

William Wallace is a member of Clan Wallace.

William Wallace is Notable.

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Introduction

With the passage of time there has been a loss of the historical record pertaining to the life of Sir William Wallace, the patriot and Guardian of Scotland. With that has come numerous traditions and stories which may contain glimpses of the truth, but are for the most part completely fictional. What little is known can be found in a few surviving documents and published works.

Wallace's Boyhood

William Wallace is believed to have been born at Elderslie, Renfrewshire,^[1][2][3] to Malcolm Wallace^[1][4][5] and Margaret Crauford.^[4][5][6] There are no surviving records of his birth, but it is commonly accepted that he was born sometime between 1270^[2] to 1275^[7] and that his mother was the daughter of Hugh Crauford. (See Research Notes)

Purported Marriage and Child

Tradition holds that he had a relationship with, or was possibly married to Marion Braidfute.^[8][9]There is no surviving record of such a marriage. (See Research Notes)

John (or Arnold) Blair left the monastery to become the Chaplain for Sir William Wallace, at Wallace's request,^[10] sometime between 1290 and 1297, and is the most likely to have presided over a marriage ceremony.

The Baillie family claims to be a direct descendant of Sir William Wallace through a child, in most cases unnamed, but who is called Elizabeth in some sources.(See Research Notes)

The Patriot and Guardian of Scotland

In 1296, it appears that Sir William Wallace first shows up in the historic record when he killed the Sheriff of Lanark.^[11] It is traditionally said that he killed the Sheriff for murdering his wife, however, there is no evidence to support this.

In June of 1297, Wallace was believed to be hiding in Selkirk forest.^[12] Sir William Douglas, Robert Bruce and other nobles deserted Wallace and gave homage to King Edward I of England at Irvine, on 9 Jul 1297, effectively abandoning Wallace's cause.^[13] On 11 Sep 1297, Wallace fought the English at Stirling Bridge.^[14] He and his men spent the winter months in England, raiding and causing trouble for the English.^[14]

On 29 Mar 1298, Sir William Wallace granted a charter to Alexander Skirmeschur Scrymgeour, for the lands near Dundee and the office of the Constable of the Castle of Dundee.^[15][16]

In 1298, at the Battle of Falkirk, William Wallace and his men were abandoned on the field by the nobles of Scotland.^[14][17] Not long after this defeat, he resigned the office of Guardian.^[18]

Branded an outlaw by the English king, Sir William Wallace travelled to France seeking the assistance of King Phillip IV. King Phillip, in turn, sent him to Rome to see Pope Boniface VIII, in 1299.^[19] After his return, while still in hiding, he and his mother travelled from near Dundee to Dumfermline, in disguise.^[20]

John Comyn was asked to capture Sir William Wallace and give him to the King of England in exchange for the removal of Comyn's banishment, to which he was sentenced 9 Feb 1303-4. He did not succeed in this task.^[21]

Death

In 1305, William Wallace was captured by Sir John Menteith and turned over to the English king.^[22] An Inquest was held 1 Sep 1305 pertaining to William de Mowat being held against his will by Sir William Wallace and his men.^[23] Sir William Wallace was tried, found guilty, and executed; his body drawn and quartered, with the pieces hung from towers across England and Scotland,^[24] on the order of the King of England.^[22]

Battles and Skirmishes

• Argyll, near Ben Cruachan - 1300
• Wallace's Pass - Clackmannanshire; Wallace moved through this pass with half of his army on the morning of the battle of Stirling, 11th September, 1297

Statues, Monuments, Representations and Locations Associated With William Wallace

• Portrait of William Wallace
• Monument - Barnweill Hill, 1855
• Wallace's Tower, Ayrshire
• Wallace's Seat, Ayrshire
• Wallace's Tree - a pear tree, said to be planted by Sir William Wallace in his Uncle Ronald Crauford's garden, at Riccarton.
• Crook - Berwickshire
• Wallace's Statue - erected by the late David Stuart Erskine Earl of Buchan in 1814.
• National Monument - Clackmannanshire

Research Notes

Birth

For the purposes of this profile, we are using the commonly accepted date of 1270, as the year of his birth.

Family

There is no evidence either that Wallace was ever married or had children let alone has descendants down to the present day.

John D. Carrick makes mention of family on Vol II, pg. 167 of Life of Sir William Wallace. The notation leads us to Appendix R, for further details.

• Suggests he left a natural daughter who married first a Shaw, and then second Sir William Baillie of Hoprig. - pg. 277
• his wife is believed to be the heiress of Lamington, daughter of Sir Hew de Bradfute. - pg 277
• Source: Rogers, Charles; The Book of Wallace; (Edinburgh, Printed for the Grampian Club, 1889); Vol I, Pg 22
• Source: The Life and Acts of Sir William Wallace ~Henry the Minstrel (Blind Harry); (Translated and critiqued by John Jamieson; Published by Maurice Ogle; Glasgow; 1869); Pg 375

This natural daughter is sometimes called Elizabeth (Wallace) Baillie

• Source: Not located - Caledonia, Vol I, pg 579, as cited in the Life and Acts of William Wallace, pg 375

George Chalmers identifies Wallace's mother as Margaret, daughter of Sir Reginald Crawford, Sheriff of Ayr

• Source: Chalmers, George; Caledonia; (Gardener, Paisley, 1887); Footnote (h)

Blind Harry identifies his mother as daughter of Ranald Craufurd, Sheriff of Ayr.

• Source: The Life and Acts of Sir William Wallace ~Henry the Minstrel (Blind Harry); (Translated and critiqued by John Jamieson; Published by Maurice Ogle; Glasgow; 1869); Pg. 406

William Robertson outlines the Crauford lineage connected to Sir William, which seems to clear up the confusion of the identity of his mother.

• It is most likely that she is the daughter of Hew (Hugh) and granddaughter of Reginald Crauford. Pg 219

George Chalmers mentions a natural daughter who is said to have married Sir William Baillie of Hoprig, the progenitor of the Baillies of Lamington.^[25]

Killing the Sheriff of Lanark

It is often claimed by non-contemporary authors that William Wallace killed William Hesilrig (sheriff of Lanark) in retaliation for the death of his purported wife, Marion. The Schøyen chronicle, however, indicates that this act was perpetrated by Wallace, and another William (of Lundie) on 3 May 1297 and makes no known mention of a wife. (Source - See Also section)

Sources To Be Found

• Chal. Hist. Dunf. vol. i. p. 530
• Nicholsons Scot. Hist. lib. pp. 248, 249
• Langloft's Chronicle, p. 322
• Life of Sir William Wallace, Written by John (or Arnold) Blair in Dunfermline Monastery
• Relationes Qucedam; Arnoldi Blair, Monachi de Dimfermelen & Capellani, D. Willidnii Wallas, Militis" &c. (Vide Cottonian MSS. Brit. Museum ; Nicholson's Scot. Historical Library, pp. 248, 249; Chal. Hist. Dunf. vol. i. pp. 397, 531.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} The Life and Acts of Sir William Wallace ~Henry the Minstrel (Blind Harry); (Translated and critiqued by John Jamieson; Published by Maurice Ogle; Glasgow; 1869); pg 406
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Rogers, Charles; The Book of Wallace; (Edinburgh, Printed for the Grampian Club, 1889); Vol II, pg 89
3. ↑ Scotland's Places; Renfrewshire OS Name Books; Wallace's House
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Rogers, Charles; The Book of Wallace; (Edinburgh, Printed for the Grampian Club, 1889); Vol I, pg. 20
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Balfour Paul, James; The Scots Peerage; (Douglas, D; Edinburgh, 1904-1914); Vol v, Pg. 490; citing: Margaret, married Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie and had issue: William Wallace, Scottish Patriot.
6. ↑ Robertson, George; A genealogical account of the principle families of Ayrshire; (1823); Pg. 167
7. ↑ The Society of William Wallace; website; Biography
8. ↑ The life and acts of Sir William Wallace ~Henry the Minstrel (Blind Harry); (Translated and critqued by John Jamieson; Published by Maurice Ogle; Glasgow; 1869); Pg 375-6
9. ↑ Rogers, Charles; The Book of Wallace; (Edinburgh, Printed for the Grampian Club, 1889); Vol I, Pg 21
10. ↑ Henderson, Ebenezer; The annals of Dunfermline; (Tweed, J; Glasgow, 1879); Pg. 105
11. ↑ Fordun, John; Annals of the Scottish Nation; (Edmonston and Douglas; Edinburgh, 1871); Pg 321
12. ↑ Letter in French - PoMS Record; Letter
13. ↑ Balfour Paul, James; The Scots Peerage; (Douglas, D; Edinburgh, 1904-1914); Vol iii, Pg 140
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2} Fordun, John; Annals of the Scottish Nation; (Edmonston and Douglas; Edinburgh, 1871); Pg 322-323.
15. ↑ Balfour Paul, James; The Scots Peerage; (Douglas, D; Edinburgh, 1904-1914); Vol iii, Pg 304
16. ↑ PoMS Record - Brieve
17. ↑ Balfour Paul, James; The Scots Peerage; (Douglas, D; Edinburgh, 1904-1914); Vol iii, Pg 140
18. ↑ Fordun, John; Annals of the Scottish Nation; (Edmonston and Douglas; Edinburgh, 1871); Pg 324-325
19. ↑ Letter written by King Phillip IV of France; National Records of Scotland
20. ↑ Henderson, Ebenezer; The annals of Dunfermline; (Tweed, J; Glasgow, 1879); pg 107-8
21. ↑ Balfour Paul, James; The Scots Peerage; (Douglas, D; Edinburgh, 1904-1914); Vol i, Pg 509
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1} Fordun, John; Annals of the Scottish Nation; (Edmonston and Douglas; Edinburgh, 1871); Pg 332-333
23. ↑ Inquest - PoMS Record English inquest
24. ↑ English Royal Administration - PoMS Record; Disbursement of funds
25. ↑ Chalmers, George, Caledonia : or, a historical and topographical account of north britain... (Paisley : Alexander Gardner, 1890) Vol. 6:742, citing Nisbet's Heraldry, ii. 136, Appendix.

    David Beaton, abbot of Arbroath, who was afterwards in: "A charter in the archives of Baillie of Lamington. The account of this family in the Appendix of Nisbet's Heraldry, ii. 136, states that the celebrated Sir William Wallace acquired the estate of Lamington, by marrying the heiress of a family which was surnamed Braidfoot, and that Sir William Baillie obtained it by marrying the eldest daughter and heiress of Wallace. This statement is unsupported by any recorded authority, and is certainly erroneous. Sir William Wallace left no legitimate issue, but he left a natural daughter, who is said to have married Sir William Baillie of Hoprig, the progenitor of the Baillies of Lamington."

• The Hastings Letter
• Lubeck Letter
• Trial and Execution
• Wikipedia: William Wallace
• Breaking of Britain website; citing content (with quotes) of the Schøyen chronicle
• Cowan, Edward J. The Wallace Book. United Kingdom: Birlinn (2012).
• Hendrie, William Fyfe. The Origins of the Clan Wallace and Their Place in History.
• Campbell, Roy. Sir William Wallace.
• Crawford, C. Joanne and Kevan Crawford. The Legacy of William Wallace & His Crawford Relations.
• Bulloch, Joseph Gaston Baillie. History and Genealogy of the Family of Baillie of Dunain. Green Bay, WI: The Gazette Print. (1898), p. 11.
• Wallace, John H. Genealogy of the Wallace Family. New York: printed by the author (1902).
• Gray, D. J., William Wallace: the king's enemy, London: R. Hale, 1991.
• Barrow G.W.S. Kingdom of the Scots. New York: St Martin's Press (1973), pp. 324–325. [edit: these pages do not seem to contain any information pertinent to William Wallace; he is, however, referenced in passing on pp. 238,245,254,353]
• Stevenson, Joseph (ed.). Documents Illustrative of Sir William Wallace,. Edinburgh: Maitland Club (1841), p.189, 192.
• [1] : Bain, Joseph, F.S.A. Scot. : "Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland Preserved in Her Majesty’s Public Record Office", Vol. II, London (1884), p. 205
• Hutchinson, William. A View of Northumberland (Newcastle, 1778)

• Vol. 2, Page 56: "In the year 1297, the English inhabitants being struck with panic on the approach of Sir William Wallace with his forces, evacuated the place,..."
• Vol. 2, Page 57: Poem

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Wallace, Sir William d1305
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wallace
• Wikidata: Item Q82457