A REBEL HERO
Many of the most important battles of the First Scottish War of Independence were fought at or near Stirling, giving rise to its most well-known and celebrated figures.
The war ran from 26 March 1296 until 1 May 1328, but tensions arose in September 1290, when seven-year-old Margaret, Maid of Norway and Queen-designate of Scotland, died. The heir to the Crown was disputed and, in the turmoil that followed, a group of noblemen, presided over by Edward I of England, named John Balliol next in line to the throne.
Edward I used his increased influence and the weak Balliol to subjugate Scotland, and when the Scottish nobility deposed Balliol in 1295, he invaded.
After the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, Edward I forced Balliol to abdicate, and by the following year, Scotland was seething with revolt against the English King. Born in 1270, William Wallace was 27 when he killed William de Heselrig, the English High Sheriff of Lanark. It was the first of several rebellions led by Wallace and Andrew de Moray; the most notable of which was the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
Moray died later that year from injuries sustained in battle, and Wallace set about trying to restore trade with Europe and launching raids across northern England. In 1298, he was appointed Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland.
He would not hold the title long, and resigned it after a significant defeat at the Battle of Falkirk that same year. Stirling was now back in the hands of Edward I and it would pass back and forth several more times before the war came to an end.
Wallace was sent to Europe to seek assistance for Scotland but, still carrying the hearts and hopes of many in Scotland, he became a symbolic target for Edward I.
In the meantime, Robert the Bruce paid allegiance to Edward I, still secretly harbouring his own ambitions to the Crown.
The year of 1304 marked a major siege of Stirling Castle. Despite his military victories and the allegiance of several noblemen, Edward had still not gained full control of Scotland. The siege went on for four months, ending with the wheeling out of Warwolf, possibly the largest trebuchet ever made.
On 5 August 1305, William Wallace was captured and transported to London to be tried for treason and atrocities against civilians in war. In answer to the first charge, he said: “I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject.” On 23 August, he was hanged, drawn and quartered. The stories of his striving for independence and victory at Stirling have been immortalised in many retellings; the first by a 15th century minstrel named Blind Harry.
Robert the Bruce openly asserted his claim to the throne the next year, after confronting his rival John Comyn about a betrayal, and stabbing him in fury. Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow, absolved him, and at Scone Abbey, on 25 March 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King Robert I of Scotland. Though defeated at the Battle of Methven that year, his support swelled, and he won a series of battles, including the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, taking Stirling Castle again.
Edward I died in July 1307, and his successor, Edward II, was deposed and killed in 1327. The war ended the following year, when Robert the Bruce invaded northern England, forcing Edward III of England to sign a treaty recognising Scotland as an independent nation and Bruce as King.
His statue stands outside Stirling Castle, and in winter it is draped in a cape of snow.