Events during the life of Sir William Wallace
(1270 to 1305)

5 Aug 1270  Birth date of William Wallace based on Crawford family records reviewed by Craufuird C. Loudoun (pen name for John McGill of Kilmarnock).
19 Mar 1286 King Alexander III dies in Fife on his way home late at night. Queen Margaret, “Maid of Norway,” inherits Scots throne.
28 Aug 1290 Treaty of Birgham: “Maid of Norway” to marry King Edward’s son, Scotland to retain its separate identity.
26 Sep 1290 Queen Margaret dies, canceling Treaty of Birgham.
30 May 1291 Claimants to Scots throne meet King Edward I at Norham.
17 Nov 1292 John Balliol named King of Scots by Edward I who demands fealty.
30 Nov 1292 John Balliol crowned at Scone.
Early 1294 King Edward I summons Balliol and other Scots to serve with him in France. None do.
23 Oct 1295 “Auld Alliance” treaty negotiated between France and Scotland against England.
23 Feb 1296 “Auld Alliance” ratified by Scotland.
1 Mar 1296 English army assembles at Newcastle.
26 Mar 1296 Seven Earls and Scots army invade Cumberland, assault Carlisle.
30 Mar 1296 Kind Edward I’s army sacks Berwick, slaughtering two-thirds of its citizens.
8 Apr 1296 Scots army goes into Northumberland as far as Corbridge.
27 Apr 1296 Battle of Dunbar, Scots lose.
8 July 1296 King John, “Toom Tabard,” stripped of royal garments by Edward’s order.
8 Aug 1296 Stone of Destiny removed from Scone, transported to London.
28 Aug 1296 Parliament at Berwick: “Ragman Roll,” 2,000 Scots submit to Edward.
3 May 1297 William Wallace kills Sheriff of Lanark. Some days later, Wallace joins with Sir William Douglas to drive English Justiciar, William Ormsby, out of Scone.
9 Jul 1297 Treaty of Irvine by Robert Bruce, Glasgow’s Bishop Robert Wishart at Trindlemoss Loch.
July 1297 Wallace raids Bishop Wishart’s Palace at Ancrum.
August 1297 Siege of Dundee Castle by Wallace; later learns of English army approaching Stirling, meets Sir Andrew Murray en route to Stirling.
11 Sep 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge; Murray, Wallace, Scots win major battle near Abbey Craig.
11 Oct 1297 Murray and Wallace write letters at Haddington to Hanseatic League merchants in Hamburg, Lubeck.
7 Nov 1297 Murray and Wallace send letter to Priory at Hexham. Within hours or days, Murray succumbs to wounds suffered at Stirling Bridge.
December 1297 – July 1298 Wallace knighted, named Guardian of the Realm at Kirk of the Forest.
22 Jul 1298 Battle of Falkirk, Scots lose. Wallace later resigns as Guardian in favor of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch; travels to France later in the year.
August 1299  Scots hold council in Peebles, in part discussing trip to France by Sir William Wallace.
23 Feb 1303 Battle of Roslin; Scots, English in limited skirmish.
3 Aug 1305 Wallace captured at Robroyston, taken to London. Papers taken from Wallace found at Tower of London in 1830.
23 Aug 1305 Wallace executed after show trial, drawn and quartered at Smithfield Elms.
  1. In Pursuit of Sir William Wallace, Pg. 109, Craufuird C. Loudoun (John McGill), 1999
  2. Historians generally accept that Murray, his seal attached to the Lubeck and Hamburg letters, and the letter to Hexham,
    lived to or just beyond the 7 Nov 1297 date before succumbing to injuries sustained at Stirling Bridge in September.
  3. No longer Guardian, William is absent. Malcolm Wallace, his older brother, is present, defends William’s actions.