Wallace ‘not sole leader of revolt against English’

Senior News Reporter

Thursday 15 September 2011

WILLIAM Wallace may not have been the sole leader of Scotland's rise against the English, an academic has claimed.

Custom byline text:

Brian Donnelly

Professor Dauvit Broun, from the University of Glasgow’s department of history, says his research challenges centuries of belief and raises questions over a “tangled web of double-dealing and deceit” regarding Wallace’s role in the slaying of the Sheriff of Lanark, William Heselrig.

Prof Broun says the uprising against Edward I in 1297 was “as much down to” a knight called Richard of Lundie as it was to Wallace. He said: “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 on May 3, 1297.“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.”Prof Broun said Lundie was part of the English force that faced the Scots, led by Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray, at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297.He added that it is not hard to imagine how the knight’s name disappeared from history, as it would have been “hard to accept a turncoat and a renegade such as Richard of Lundie could have been responsible for the slaying of the Sheriff of Lanark that set in train the popular revolt against English rule”.Prof Broun said: “This puts Wallace’s leadership in a new light. Now we can see that he was no more than co-leader at the iconic slaying of the Sheriff of Lanark too. Wallace became the legendary leader of Scottish resistance by accident, by the death, capture or surrender of his colleagues.”

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Wallace ‘not sole leader of revolt against English’

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED