White roses tribute at site of William Wallace’s ‘arm’
IT was the most delicate of tributes to one of the most gruesome ends in Scottish history. Dozens of white roses were laid yesterday at the spot where one of Sir William Wallace’s arms is believed to be buried.
Wallace was hanged, drawn and quartered in London on August 23, 1305, and his body parts sent to Berwick, Perth, Newcastle and Stirling as an example to other rebels.
Monks are said to have retrieved a quarter, including Wallace’s arm from Stirling Bridge – where he won his most famous victory over the English – and buried it within the grounds of nearby Cambuskenneth Abbey.
To mark the 713th anniversary of his death, single white roses were placed on a small rectangular stone bearing the worn initials WW, said to mark the spot.
Following a memorial service, pipers played a lament and those gathered placed roses in the shape of a saltire over the stone.
George Kempik, of the Society of William Wallace, said: “Wallace was betrayed and dragged to London where, accused of high treason, he knew exactly what was to happen to him.
“The story of how his arm was rescued by the monks and buried here was passed through the ages.”
The stone among the ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey points in the direction of the Abbey Craig, where Wallace helped plot the Scottish victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.
Wallace was made Guardian of Scotland, but he was defeated by King Edward I at Falkirk the following year.
He was captured outside Glasgow in early August 1305 and taken to London to be executed. His head was put on a spike on London Bridge and his body was cut into four parts, which were then sent north.
It is said the monks at Cambuskenneth took Wallace’s arm to ensure one part of his body at least would receive a Christian burial.
Historian Elspeth King, director of the Smith Art Gallery in Stirling, said: “I don’t know if his arm is buried in Cambuskenneth, but I like to think that it is.
“We are here in pilgrimage 713 years after his death – the thing that Edward I felt would never happen.”