Rewriting Scotland’s past
Issued: Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:41:00 GMT
For centuries historians have thought that the spark that led to the popular Scottish uprising against Edward I in 1297 was William Wallace’s killing of the English sheriff of Lanark, William Hesilrig.
But new findings by Glasgow Professor of Scottish History Dauvit Broun has raised questions about Wallace’s leadership involving a tangled web of double-dealing and deceit. It seems likely that Wallace emerged as the pivotal figure in Scottish resistance to the English by default.
William Wallace is arguably Scotland’s finest leader; well known throughout the world as a fearless warrior and leader of men in defence of Scotland against the English. Little is known about him prior to May 1297 when he slew Hesilrig: the first recorded blow against the English occupation following the conquest of 1296.
However, Professor Broun has found evidence suggesting that Wallace was not the sole leader of the band of men that killed Hesilrig. A recently discovered chronicle of the time – the Schøyen Chronicle – suggests that responsibility for the deed lies as much with a knight called Richard of Lundie, as it does with Wallace.
Professor Broun explains: ‘Richard of Lundie was a close ally of William Wallace and rose with him in opposition to the English occupation of Scotland. It was Lundie who led the band with Wallace that was responsible for the killing of the sheriff of Lanark. But just a few weeks after this, when it seemed as though the most prominent leaders of the rebellion, including the future King Robert the Bruce, James Stewart and the Bishop of Glasgow, would sue for peace, Lundie decided to go over to the English, presumably to save his own skin.’
Lundie’s decision to switch sides meant that when the Scots, now led by William Wallace and Sir Andrew Murray, prepared for the decisive Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297, Lundie was part of the English force, under the Earl of Surrey.
According to a contemporary Yorkshire chronicle, Lundie urged that a detachment be sent over the River Forth to attack the Scots from the rear. Had this advice been heeded, the outcome of the battle might have been different from the overwhelming rout that secured the Scottish victory. But Professor Broun offers up another intriguing element to the story: ‘Nothing is heard about Richard of Lundie after the Battle of Stirling Bridge. But an English song of the time blames their defeat on his treachery. Could it be that he swapped sides again once he saw the way the battle was going?
‘Now that we know that Wallace was not the sole leader of the band that killed the sheriff of Lanark, a pattern emerges that suggests that he took centre stage by default. At Stirling Bridge he was co-leader with Murray. William Douglas had joined him in an attempt to kill the English justiciar at Scone. With Murray’s death after Stirling Bridge, Douglas in an English prison, and Lundie a turncoat, Wallace alone was left to lead the victorious resistance. It must be doubted whether he or anyone else expected that would happen.’
The challenge now is to set the record straight. The Wars of Independence is a subject often taught in schools and Education Scotland are working on a portal that will provide teachers with access to quality research and information that they can use to stimulate discussion in their classes.
As to whether the facts about other Scottish heroes are shrouded in legend, Professor Dauvit Broun says: ‘Nearly all of them are. Real life is always more complicated than meets the eye, and more interesting as a result.’
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