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 William
Wallace came from Elderslie. He was the second son, so he was not
important at all. His father was a knight from Elderslie. There
was a fight that broke out in 1297 between Wallace and some English
soldiers in Lanark. The soldiers killed his wife. William escaped
and later returned and killed the English sheriff, Hazelrigg. Later
William Walace became the leader of a group who went around attacking
King Edward's men. After the attacks William would disappear into
the countryside. The English found it very hard to find them. Some
nobles did support William, eg. James Stewart, Bishop Wishart of
Glasgow and Robert Bruce, the grandson of Bruce the Competitor.
In June 1297 the nobles met the English army. They asked the English
for peace. They did not get the peace right away as it took weeks
before the Scottish lords agreed to obey Edward. In July William
had a major success. He attacked William Ormsby, Edward's Chief
Judge in Scotland. Some people called William Wallace an outlaw
and terrorist. Some thought he was their prince. Some people were
outraged that William Wallace would not follow Edward's rules.
Wallace won the Battle of Stirling Bridge. I would say William
Wallace was just trying to give Scotland back to the Scots, so he
was a freedom fighter, even though the English called him a terrorist.
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