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This year (2005) marks the 700th
anniversary of the death of Scottish hero William Wallace: immortalised as
‘Braveheart’ on film and in legend. Brian Pedley tours Wallace country – the
medieval city of Stirling and the pastoral Borders south of Edinburgh – and
discovers some of the special events planned in Scotland and London.
The mid-afternoon sun was already in its final throes. From the northwest, a
brisk wind hissed through the avenue of beeches, oaks and conifers that lined
the few hundred yards of footpath. Two family groups and a team of hikers
trekked behind me from the car park that lies tucked beside the road to St
Boswells to Dryburgh, 40 miles south of Edinburgh.
As the wind quickened, we zipped our coats to our chins, gazed upwards and
shared a few reverential moments with the statue of Sir William Wallace, freedom
fighter and Scottish hero. Standing some 21 feet high, on his ten-foot plinth,
Wallace looked at his most lordly, clutching his broadsword, with his shield
resting alongside, looking out beyond a sheer drop to the River Tweed, as it
glided like molten silver towards Berwick.
On August 23, 1305, after defeat at the Battle of Falkirk and eventual betrayal,
Wallace was publicly hung, drawn and quartered in Smithfield, London. Seven
hundred years on, `Braveheart` has lost none of his power to lure pilgrims, even
on this blustery midwinter day.
The Dryburgh statue, which was unveiled in the grounds of Bemersyde House on
September 22, 1814 is believed to be the first monument to be raised to Wallace
in Scotland. Built of red sandstone, the figure, commissioned by Stuart Erskine,
the 11th Earl of Buchan, is a testament to the cult of Wallace that swept across
Scotland in the 19th century, and which persists to this day.
In this, the 700th anniversary year of Wallace`s death, commemorations are
gathering pace.
On August 3, 2005, David Ross, convener of the Society of William Wallace, will
begin a 450-mile walk from Robroyston, near Glasgow, where Wallace was
ultimately captured, to the site of his execution near St Bartholomew’s Church
in London.
After a commemorative service on the August 23 anniversary, Ross will return
north, with a coffin bearing thousands of written tributes to the warrior, which
will `lie in state` as the centrepiece of a special Wallace exhibition at the
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Stirling.
The medieval town, 36 miles to the north west of Edinburgh, is the scene of
Wallace`s greatest victory in battle and of the most spectacular tribute to his
memory.
On September 11, 1287, at Stirling Bridge, Wallace`s volunteer army of 16,000
routed one of Europe`s most formidable fighting forces in Europe, the 50,000
foot soldiers and 1000 cavalry of the English King Edward I.
The 220–foot Gothic tower of the National Wallace Monument stabs the sky from
the top of the densely wooded Abbey Craig that was formed by an erupting volcano
300 million years ago. Standing 310 feet above sea level, it beckons to visitors
strolling the ramparts of Stirling Castle, occupying its own great rock, one
mile away, across the River Forth.
A big-screen video presentation in the 80-seat auditorium in the castle`s
Visitor Centre sets the scene. Standing at the lowest crossing point of the
River Forth, Stirling, we learn, formed a natural fortress. For more than a
thousand years, warring tribes fought to possess it. When the Scottish King
Alexander III died in 1286 without an heir, Edward I seized control of Scotland,
its government and institutions.
At the National Wallace Monument, I took the free bus that makes the steep climb
from to the tower itself. Inside, on the first floor, I found visitors
transfixed by the life-sized, figure of William Wallace, haranguing the English
king with an electronically projected talking head.
“You have my body,” he rasped. “But you have never had my loyalty and you will
never have my respect.”
We learn how William Wallace was born in the village of Elderslie, west of
Glasgow, around 1270. Drawn into the guerilla war being waged against English
rule, Wallace murdered William Hazelrig, the Sheriff of Lanark in the spring of
1297 to avenge the killing of his wife - and was immediately outlawed.
Now the principal focus of Scottish rebellion against English rule, Wallace
joined forces with fellow freedom fighter Andrew de Moray at Dundee and prepared
to meet the English army which was travelling north to Stirling Bridge, beneath
the Abbey Craig.
The English rode the bridge into a bloodbath of their own making. Cavalry horses
floundered in the boggy ground. Riders were drowned under the weight of their
own armour. Troops were literally cut to ribbons by Scottish swords, spears and
daggers.
The triumph was short-lived. In the July of the following year came the defeat
at Falkirk, midway between Edinburgh and Stirling, followed by Wallace`s capture
and eventual execution.
In an exhibition that tells the story of the building of the monument, I learned
how the nationalist struggles that were being waged across Europe brought about
a worldwide resurgence of interest in Wallace`s story. The Wallace National
Monument was built entirely by public subscription – but with nationalist
campaigners Kossuth of Hungary and Garibaldi of Italy among the donors.
In a building that has 244 steps to its summit, I joined a family group that was
clustered around Wallace`s five and a half foot broadsword. “In order to wield a
sword of this size, Wallace needed to be of considerable stature,” said the
notice. "About six foot, six inches in height."
I learned also that Scotland has at least 20 monuments that commemorate Wallace,
including a `Wee Wallace` on top of the Athenaeum in Stirling and a bronze
statue in Aberdeen. At St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, in the historic
Clerkenwell quarter with its village-like atmosphere, Wallace`s execution is
commemorated by a plaque. On September 11, 2005, `Stirling Bridge Day`, the
coffin containing the `spirit of Wallace` is expected to be symbolically laid to
rest at St Kentigern`s church in Lanark, where the warrior was married.
At the very first of Scotland`s Wallace monuments in Dryburgh, where the
pink-hued ruined abbey is the resting place of another local hero, novelist Sir
Walter Scott, I watched the sun slipping away behind the three great peaks of
the Eildon Hills. Two ladies with terrier dogs joined me. Behind us stood
Wallace, as if in quiet contentment at the sheer splendour of the land for which
he died.
For more information on Scotland, see www.visitscotland.com. For more touring
ideas around Britain, including independent tours of Scotland by car and train,
see VisitBritain’s website, www.visitbritain.com/tour. |
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