of his own accord,
The English believed he did it willingly, rather than getting exiled or betrayed.
32 Matching Annotations
- Mar 2026
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www.thesocietyofwilliamwallace.com www.thesocietyofwilliamwallace.com
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England exult ! thy Prince is peerless. Where thee he leadeth, follow fearless
Describes Wallace as fearless.
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William, wishing to save himself and his, hastened to flee by another road. But alas ! through the pride and burning envy of both, the noble Estates (communitas) of Scotland lay wretchedly overthrown throughout hill and dale, mountain and plain.
Portrays Wallace as selfish here, putting himself over his country and soldiers.
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(I have brought you to the ring, now dance if you can)"
This to me shows how defiant and confident Wallace was.
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Since this man was wandering and fugitive, he assembled about himself all those who were living in exile, and became something of a chief to them, and they grew into a large people.
The leader of many of the exiled in Scotland who wanted a revolution.
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Welsh William being made a noble, Straightway the Scots became ignoble. Treason and slaughter, arson and raid, By suff'ring and misery must be repaid.
The English saw that he wasn't from a noble family and immediately believed that Wallace was a criminal outlaw and needed to be stopped.
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an archer,
New information to me that he was seen as an archer, in Braveheart specifically and the other sources it isn't really touched upon. He also has a sword that is in a museum, so it is possible that he might have been a jack of all trades battle wise.
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turned towards Scotland; where at the Bridge of Stirling he was defeated by William Wallace, who, being at hand in order of battle (2), allowed so many of the English as he pleased to cross over the said bridge, and, at the right moment (3), attacked them, caused the bridge to be broken, where many of the English perished, with Hugh de Cressingham, the King's Treasurer; and it was said that the Scots caused him to be flayed, and in token of hatred made girths of his skin.
Based on this descriptor, he was clearly strategic and intelligent.
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William Wallace burnt all Northumberland
An invasion that hasn't been touched upon too much in my other sources. Shows in how vital Wallace was to Scotland, seen as the supreme leader by the English and he evidently WAS the English biggest fear.
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slew William de Heselrig at Lanark, the King's Sheriff of Clydesdale
Mentioned in the tertiary and secondary sources I found.
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Thomas Grey's Scalacronica
!
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- Feb 2026
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. He was wrong. With Wallace’s barbarous execution, he had in fact made the Scots’ popular military leader a martyr.
This only angered the Scots more and helped further their revolution.
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Dragged through the streets of London, he was humiliated, tortured, hanged, drawn, and quartered on August 23, 1305.
This was also depicted in the movie. Shows how serious England took Wallace despite them claiming otherwise.
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Wallace seems to have returned to his earlier tactics of engaging the English on a smaller scale, using hit-and-run guerrilla tactics in a war of attrition.
Wallace knew he was outnumbered so he decided to think smarter to how he could beat the English.
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The English army entering Scotland may have numbered almost ninety thousand.
Used all means necessary to take Scotland down.
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March 25, 1306.
He was crowned after Wallace's supposed death
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The youthful but grimly determined Wallace had dispelled the myth of the invincibility of Edward’s experienced army. Young Wallace succeeded brilliantly where his aristocratic betters had utterly failed.
Wallace was a revolutionary and gave hope to the Scottish based on his ability.
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Battle of Stirling Bridge
Another battle I might try to research further.
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“Longshanks”
Possibly something I should research. Why was he given this nickname?
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He was no longer merely an outlaw but a local military leader who had struck down a number of Edward’s knights and fighters. William Wallace had become the king’s enemy.
The Scottish began to grow tired of the English reign and wanted to help fight with Wallace.
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He was nursed back to health by sympathetic villagers.
This shows me that he was pretty respected.
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the Scottish nobles showed no interest in redressing these abuses.
This tells me most Scottish citizens showed little to no interest in a revolution.
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. In the first incident, his father, Sir Malcolm Wallace, was killed in a skirmish with English troops in 1291. In the second incident, Wallace was provoked into a fight with the brash son of the constable of Dundee Castle. Insulted and enraged by the abusive behavior, Wallace drew his dirk and killed his tormentor.
Both of these are shown in the movie, but not with much detail.
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ing Edward I of England.
VERY important to my research, and the main antagonist in "Braveheart".
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William Wallace reportedly stood nearly 6 feet, 6 inches (183 centimeters) tall. Neither was he lanky: Numerous witnesses describe him as being brawny, well-proportioned, muscular, and handsome. He was, in short, a giant of a man in his time; an armor-clad Wallace, mounted on a huge warhorse and wielding a six-foot-long claymore battle sword, would have presented a terrifying prospect to opponents.
He was essentially an anomaly in his time. Nobody behaved or acted like him and he stood out from everyone else due primarily to his frame.
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an uncle who was a priest.
I wonder if this will have any significance. Something to keep in mind for further research.
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The best modern biographers freely admit the likely inaccuracy of the early sources.
This shows to me that I should take almost everything I read in the sources I find with a grain of salt as it might not be completely accurate.
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Despite his fame, Wallace remains to a large extent shrouded in mystery.
This is likely due to what I previously mentioned of him not being born into a very famous family so his early life and birth isn't well documented. It also has a lot to due with the fact that his life and the events described in this book happened so long ago that it is almost impossible to gather all the data or events of what happened.
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This untitled second son of an obscure knight, with no apparent hopes for prominence or fame, would become Scotland’s greatest national hero.
His upbringing and fame was unlikely. He had humble beginnings and made a name for himself despite not being known or born into a famous family or great situation.
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- Jan 2026
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www.historians.org www.historians.org
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Historians know not only that context always matters, but also that contexts change.
There are many different points in history where certain events happened, and the context is always different, so it is very important to understand the context in situations. It helps us make sense of the past and avoids judging decisions made hundreds of years ago according to modern standards. It helps us to not oversimplify things.
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Historical empathy helps us to understand how people perceive and shape context, process, and change.
This humanizes everybody in human history because it highlights that people in ancient times weren't just living, they were also perceiving their world and using that to make the decisions they made, just as we do. When we put ourselves in someone else's shoes, we can better see why they made the decisions they made whether we agree with the decision or not. It is something that I believe can help with biases.
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Everything has a history.
A line as simple as it gets yet it's quite complex if you look at it deeper. I agree with this statement because of that. Every single thing in life has a history whether it be short term or long term. Everything exists because of countless different decisions and discoveries over time. This will always be true.
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