Some Places We Missed: Wallace Monument

'This is the truth I tell you:
of all things freedom’s most fine.
Never submit to live, my son,
in the bonds of slavery entwined.’

The week after our visit to Stirling Castle, Gram was kind enough to volunteer to take us out on our field trip. This trip took us to another historical site in Stirling, the Wallace Monument. As you can guess from the name, this is a national monument erected in honor of one of the patrons of Scottish freedom, Sir William Wallace. Now first and foremost you must put out of your mind the image of Braveheart that the name William Wallace conjures up. Yes, the movie Braveheart has made known to the wider world the story of Wallace's fight for freedom and is a good film; however, many liberties were taken with the film (like every other 'historical' film that is made) and it should not be looked to as an authority on the life of this man. Also, the Scottish accents in the film are dreadful. I suppose that's what you get when you mix an Aussie accent with an attempted Scottish one.

Wallace enters the pages of history in the year 1297. By this time much of Scotland was occupied by the English and the Scottish people were heavily taxed and oppressed by these usurpers. Things came to a boiling point in this year when Wallace killed the English Sheriff of Lanark, William Heselrig. The following years were filled with guerrilla warfare on the part of the Scots, led by Wallace and Andrew Murray. Murray had been leading a revolt in the north and brought his band of rebels southward to join Wallace's growing number of like minded men.

On September 11 of that year the most notable victory of Wallace's career occurred. The English army was making its way across Stirling Bridge in order to advance northward. Once half of the Englishmen had crossed, the Scottish rebels took out the bridge and slaughtered the English who had managed to get across. At the end of the day, 5000 Englishmen lay dead but the victory was bitter sweet for Wallace. His cohort, Murray, had been mortally wounded in the battle and died a few months later. After this stunning victory and unprecedented success of the revolt, England declared Wallace an outlaw while the Scots made him a knight.

After a year of this humiliation, King Edward I of England marched his forces north to meet the presumptuous Scottish forces that dared to challenge his claim to rule their land. Edward's forces captured Edinburgh and thrashed Wallace's forces at the Battle of Falkirk in April 1298. Following this defeat and a few dismal attempts that followed there after, Wallace resigned the post of Guardian of Scotland to a more politically minded man, Robert the Bruce.

William Wallace found himself now on a different side of warfare than he might have expected. He traveled to Europe serving as a diplomat for the Scottish cause. He visited various royal courts, particularly that of France, to draw support for the cause of the Scots. He received no such support and was indeed betrayed several times during his journeys. Wallace returned to Scotland in 1301 with the promise of French support that never came.

With no outside support, many Scottish nobles recognized Edward as their king in 1304 but Wallace refused. The very next year, William Wallace was betrayed and captured at Robroyston, near Glasgow. He was quickly transported to England to stand trial in Westminster Hall. Two charges were leveled against him: being an outlaw and a traitor. He simply stated that he could not be a traitor since Edward had never been his king. Nevertheless, he was found guilty and sentenced to a horrific death. I will spare you the details since I am sure my mother is reading this and does not want to know the particulars. In the end Sir William Wallace was beheaded and drawn-and-quartered. His head was placed on a pole on London Bridge while his body parts were strewn through out the land. Parts of him were sent to Newcastle, Berwick, Perth and Stirling. Edward wished this to be a message that he had destroyed the man but he had in fact strengthened the Scot's resolve to throw off once and for all the yoke of England. They would do so at a later date under there new king, Robert the Bruce.

The Wallace Monument was initiated in 1856 on top of Abbey Craig outside of Stirling. It was finished in 1869 and opened on the 572 year anniversary of Wallace's victory in the same town. To ascend the interior of the monument visitors much cautiously make their way up a narrow spiral staircase. This was all well and good for me until Graci observed while we were on the second floor that if there was a fire we'd surely never get out. On the first floor of the monument Wallace sword is displayed. This double handed sword had been preserved at Dunbarton Castle until the completion of the monument. It is a staggering 66 inches long and would no doubt live up to its name and require any wielder to use both hands. From the dimensions of the sword it had been deduced that William Wallace had to have been at least 6 foot 6 inches tall with arms like tree trunks. Within it's three interior levels it houses not only the story of Wallace's life and aim, but also tributes to other notable Scots such as Robert Burns, Dr Livingston, George Buchanan and John Knox. The top level of the monument gives way to a tremendous view of the surrounding hills and towns. I think William Wallace would have found this an appropriate feature to his monument: the opportunity for all to stand and behold his beloved Scotland for miles in every direction. This was the country for which he fought and died, and a country he thought worthy to do so for.

That day we also attempted to visit Cambuskenneth Abbey. This abbey is located near the castle and is where James III and his wife Margaret of Denmark were laid to rest. However, when we got there we found that it was closed for the winter months and we had to settle for admiring it from afar. Not to be discouraged, we made our way closer to the castle so that we could explore the graveyard that abuts it. We got a better look at the Covenanter grave sites and monuments of the graveyard than we had from our previous visit to the castle. There was a monument to the Younger Margaret and her sister Agnes as well as several statues of different men who led the movement. Also, there was a pyramidal shaped monument dedicated to the Covenanters. When my mom was here she asked me if I now know more Scottish history than American history and I don't think so. I just find the thread of history very interesting and it excites me to see how it intertwines with other parts of history especially where you would not expect it: case in point Covenanter graves next to Stirling Castle.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108532852514122909750/WallisMonument?authkey=Gv1sRgCKHpzKGMz_a1Bg#