Every member of the CWS should be able to speak on each of the following sixteen points. This is a nice little refresher on where film “Braveheart” and facts disagree:
- Wallace was the son of a Knight; not a poor cottar (farmer) as depicted.
- Wallace was not a highlander; he did not wear a kilt.
- His father, Sir Malcolm, was executed when Wallace was an adult.
- There is no record of Edward re instituting “First Night”.
- Wallace’s wife “Murren” (Marion Broadfoot) was executed because she helped Wallace evade capture.
- Scots did not paint themselves blue in the thirteenth century AD. The blue emulsion is called “woad” and was reportedly used by ancient Celts in Roman times.
- The wooden “castle” of Lanark was pure fantasy.
- The battle at Stirlinq took place at a bridge, not in open ground; the bridge was the key to success.
- Wallace never met Princess Isabella; he was dead before she came to England from France.
- Edward II (who really did prefer the company of men) married Isabella after his father’s death. (1308).
- Robert the Bruce did not ‘rescue’ Wallace after Falkirk.
- Robert the Bruce’s father did not have leprosy.
- Wallace was betrayed by Sir John Menteith of Dumbarton; Robert the Bruce was not present.
- Wallace was dragged behind a horse to his execution. (1305)
- Wallace was executed in the city of London; it is highly unlikely that any of his friends or followers could have been present.
- Bruce never intended to ‘parlay’ at Bannockburn; he knew from the start that this battle was the keystone to Scotland’s independence.
Originally published in “The Guardian” Vol 36 No 1