William Wallace was a member of the Scottish nobility who rose to prominence during the First War of Scottish Independence. The war was prompted by King Edward I of England extending his influence over Scotland in the aftermath of a succession crisis that brought John Balliol to power. In 1296 Edward attacked the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed and went on to defeat John’s army at the Battle of Dunbar, seemingly securing English domination of Scotland.
However, Scottish resistance soon emerged under the leadership of Andrew de Moray and William Wallace. Wallace’s first action is known to have been the assassination of William de Heselrig, the English High Sheriff of Lanark, in May 1297. He later joined forces with Moray ahead of the Battle of Stirling Bridge where their combined forces defeated the significantly larger English army of Edward I on 11 September 1297. Moray died a short time later from wounds suffered during the battle, while Wallace continued to lead raids and skirmishes as the Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland.
Sometime after the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298, Wallace resigned as Guardian of Scotland and little is known of his movements over the next few years. However, on 5 August 1305 he was captured by the English at Robroyston near Glasgow. Having been betrayed by the Scottish knight John de Menteith, Wallace was taken to London where he was found guilty of treason. Condemned to death by being hung, drawn and quartered he reportedly replied to the charge that, ‘I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject.’
