Braveheart history or Hollywood
...tish nobles angry because Wallace was not a noble nor did he own land as was the customary means of gaining military power and rank at that time in history. Sir William Wallace enjoyed several years of success. He even invaded part of northern England and won several victories for Scotland. In the portrayal of this the movie was correct. While Sir William Wallace was winning these victories the king of England “ Edward Longshanks” was away from England in France fighting. Upon King Edwards return to England he decided to invade Scotland and quell the Scottish rebellion. This historic fact was correctly portrayed in the movie. King Edward Longshanks met Sir William Wallace on the battle field. Reality was much like the movie in this battle. The Scottish warriors were outnumbered by the English solders. The Scottish did lose the battle. This defeat of the Scottish was largely due to the English use of long bowmen who could fire their arrows over long distances and very rapidly. The Scottish suffered heavy losses in the battle and were forced to retreat to the woods. Sir William Wallace’s military reputation was ruined. The movie portrayed this battle in rather accurate detail. The movie then portrays Sir William Wallace staying in England. He actually went to France to gain support, however after several years of being unsuccessful in his endeavors he returned to Scotland. His return was not greeted with any kind of celebration since many Scottish nobles still resented his earlier successes. He did however manage to gain some support from loyal friends and some nobles and continued to fight the English whenever he could. Edward Longshanks realized Sir William Wallace was a continuing problem for him and became obsessed with finding Wallace and putting an end to his rebellion. The finally put a reward on Wallace’s head. One of Wallace’s servants, Jack Shorth, led Wallace into a trap. Wallace was captured and taken to England. There he was tried for treason to the English Crown. Wallace used as his defense that he had never declared loyalty to Edward Longshanks or English rule and he was from the country of Scotland and therefore could not have committed treason. Edward did not recognize Scotland as a sovereign country voiding Wallace’s defense. Sir William Wallace was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by a method know as drawn and quartering. The movie portrayed the execution of Sir William Wallace in accurate detail. He was dragged to the place of his execution. He was then stretched causing excruciating pain. The next form of torture he endured was to be hanged by the neck but not until he was dead . He was then disemboweled (a method where your intestines are removed while you are still alive). The movie did not show his entrails being burned before his eyes but that did happen. He was then decapitated and his body was divided into four parts. The movie was accurately depicted the disposition of his head. His head was impaled on a spike displayed on the London Bridge. His right arm was displayed on the bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His left arm was put on display at Berwick and his right leg was displayed at Perth. His left leg was displayed at Aberdeen. Edwards Lonshanks thought that by executing Wallace so barbarically he had finally put down the Scottish rebellion. He was wrong. All that he accomplished was to make William Wallace a hero of the Scottish people which fired the Scottish people’s determination to be free. Wallace was a more valuable symbol to Scottish independence dead than he had been alive. Almost immediately after Wallace’s execution, Robert 1 the Bruce revived the Scottish rebellion. In a decisive battle Robert the Bruce defeated the English army and won independence for Scotland. His success brought him much fame and he was crowned king of Scotland. The movie was accurate in portraying this event. Another event in the movie that was not factual was that Edward Longshanks died during William Wallace’s execution. Edward Longshanks died after the execution on his way to conquer Scotland. Had Edward lived to fight in Scotland the Scottish may never have won their independence. Today a statue portraying William Wallace sits overlooking Sterling Bridge, the place where the Scottish won their first battle to gain independence from England. It is a constant reminder of one ma...