William Wallace

Who was the legendary warrior and why is he still celebrated as a Scottish hero centuries on?

- Joan McFadden

For many people, Mel Gibson’s Braveheart summed up William Wallace: a hero fighting for his country, capturing the imagination of thousands of his countrymen and dying a martyr. However, while Gibson’s portrayal included some historical fantasy, many tales of Wallace’s bravery are based on fact.

Wallace was the younger son of a Scottish knight, and possibly the most extraordinary part of his story is how someone from relatively lowly beginnings achieved such power. The medieval world was beset with hierarchy, to a stultifying extent, but Wallace’s extraordinary military success freed him from standard constraints.

Wallace was educated and understood French and Latin. He may have had military experience, but little is known about him before 1297, when he killed William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark, allegedly because Heselrig had murdered his sweetheart.