Issue 3: William Wallace (revision) Flashcards
How edward controlled Scotland
Edward used many ways to control the Scottish nobility.
· Edward imprisoned John Balliol and many Scottish leaders in England.
· Edward had forced leading nobles to swear a personal oath of loyalty to him (Ragman’s Roll.)
· Edward gave Englishmen control over Scottish castles.
· Edward chose Englishmen to govern Scotland on his behalf. The Earl of Sussex was in charge and Hugh Cressingham was the Treasurer of Scotland.
· Edward promoted only Englishmen in the Scottish Church. Many Scottish churchmen continued to resist Edward.
William wallace
The first mention of Wallace is in 1297 when he was described as an ‘outlaw’ living in Selkirk Forest.
· Wallace wanted to rebel against English control and supported the return of King John Balliol to the throne.
· Wallace never sought power or kingship for himself which explains his popularity in folk history.
· Most stories about Wallace come from the chronicle ‘Blind Harry’ written in 1488, which is full of inaccuracies and errors.
Rebellion in the south west
Robert Bruce (Robert Bruce the competitor’s grandson) and James Steward (ex-guardian) had controlled land in the South West.
· They expected to be rewarded by Edward because they had not supported Balliol.
· However, Edward passed control in the region to Henry Percy (an English Lord.)
· Under Robert Wishart, the Bishop of Glasgow’s guidance, Bruce and Stewart raised an armed revolt.
· However, Percy rushed north to Irvine with a small, professional army and the Scottish nobles humiliatingly surrendered.
· Crucially, Bruce’s rebellion in Ayrshire detracted from Wallace’s actions elsewhere.
Rebellion in the west
The McDougal family resented the rival MacDonalds being named as Edward’s men in the region.
· April 1297: Duncan McDougal led a revolt in the Western Isles.
William Wallace and further rebellion in the south
May 1297: Wallace murders Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark.
· Wallace went on to lead a group who ambushed and attacked Edward’s men wherever they could (‘guerrilla warfare.’)
· July 1297: Wallace attacks William Ormesby, Edward’s Chief Judge in Scotland, at Scone, forcing him to flee.
· August 1297: Wallace’s army joins Andrew Murray’s men to attack Dundee.
Andrew murray and rebellion in the north
· Andrew Murray’s father was one of King John’s most loyal supporters.
· Young Andrew Murray fought for the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar and was captured, yet managed to escape.
· Murray returned to his family’s lands in the North East to find them being held by the English.
· Murray unsuccessfully attacked the English-held Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness.
· Although the English were ordered to capture Murray, he attacked Urquhart a second time and was successful.
· Murray then managed to capture Inverness, Elgin, Duffas, Banff and Aberdeen Castles.
· By late 1297 Murray’s forces had succeeded in driving out all English garrisons north of Dundee.
· August 1297: joined by Wallace to attack Dundee.
The battle of stirling bridge 11th sept. 1297
Wallace and Murray heard that Cressingham was moving towards Stirling so they decided to stop him there, placing their army between the River Forth and the Ochil Hills, facing Stirling Bridge.
· The Scots army had only a few knights. Most men fought on foot with daggers and long spears. They were not as well trained as the English and did not have much experience of fighting.
· The English army gathered on the other side of the River Forth. They had many more knights, spearmen and archers. Their army had significant fighting experience and was led by the Earl of Surrey and Hugh Cressingham.
· At sunrise on the morning of the battle the English army began to cross the narrow Bridge of Stirling, which was only wide enough for a few men to cross at once; however, the Earl of Surrey had slept in and the men were ordered back across the bridge to wait for his arrival.
· When Surrey awoke he gave the order for the English army to cross again; however, he called them back when the Earl of Lennox arrived (Surrey believed he was bringing news of Wallace and Murray’s surrender.)
· By the time Surrey gave orders for the English troops to cross for a third time, it was clear to Wallace and Murray – who were watching from the concealment of thick forest - that the English army would advance via the bridge.
· When roughly one third of the English troops had crossed Stirling Bridge the Scottish commanders ordered their spearmen, walking close together in a formation called a schiltron, to charge towards the English forces.
· The Scots were able to cut off the troops who had crossed the bridge from the rest of the English army.
· The English vanguard was driven back towards the river.
· Sir Marmaduke Thweng, leader of the cavalry, and some horsemen managed to escape; however the rest of the English on the Scots side of the river were wiped out, including Hugh Cressingham.
· The Earl of Surrey ordered a retreat, leading his men back to Berwick.
· Some managed to hide in Stirling Castle but it was eventually forced to surrender to the Scots.
Why the scots won the battle of stirling bridge
· The Scots were familiar with the land.
· The Scots chose the location – they strategically hid in the woods on high ground around the Abbey Craig in order to watch the English army’s preparations.
· The Scots knew that the English army would inevitably be trapped in the bottle-neck of the River Forth, enabling them to corner the English troops.
· The Scots effectively used schiltron formations in their attack on the English vanguard.
· Hugh Cressingham had reduced the number of soldiers in the English army in order to avoid paying their wages.
· Cressingham dismissed suggestions to cross the River Forth using a nearby ford and instead insisted the English army advanced using the narrow Stirling Bridge.
· The English army attempted to cross Stirling Bridge three times, thereby making it clear to the Scots how they intended to advance.
The impact of the battle of stirling bridge
· Stirling Bridge proved the Scots could defeat an English army; however, it had little impact on the outcome of the Wars of Independence.
· Andrew Murray was severely wounded in the battle and died shortly afterwards, leaving William Wallace to lead the Scots.
· William Wallace was knighted and became ‘Guardian of Scotland,’ taking on leadership of the kingdom.
· The nobility were happy to support Wallace because he did not seek power himself. He aimed to make Scotland an independent kingdom ruled by King John and he had control of the common army.
· Surviving documents from the time, such as the Lubeck letter, illustrate that Scotland had started to trade with European countries again under Wallace’s leadership.
· Bishop Fraser of St Andrews had died by this stage and Wallace ensured that a Scotsman was chosen as his replacement. Bishop Lamberton went to Rome to receive his appointment and, whilst on the continent, persuaded the Pope and King Philip of France to write to King Edward in order to ask for John Balliol’s freedom.
· By 1298 all English garrisons in Scotland, other than Berwick and Roxburgh Castles, had fallen.
The battle of falkirk 22 of july 1298
Edward took his time to organise an army of around 2000 knights and 12, 000 footsoldiers. Welsh troops, including archers with longbows, were summoned and Edward I led the army himself.
· The Scots army had 600 knights and numerous archers. The rest of the army was organised into three large schiltron circles, with around 2000 pikemen in each.
· Wallace arranged his troops on a hillside behind a small loch surrounded by marshland.
· The English knights split into two groups and went around either side of the loch so they could attack the Scottish schiltron and bowmen from behind.
· The schiltrons were a very good defence and many of the English horses were killed.
· However, when the Scottish knights saw how the English were attacking they withdrew in order to defend the schiltrons, thereby leaving the archers with no protection.
· Edward then ordered his archers to fire at the schiltrons, causing many pikemen to fall.
· This allowed the English knights to attack the schiltrons again, this time successfully.
Why the scots lost the battle of falkirk
· The English army again outnumbered the Scottish army.
· The English army was better equipped and more well-trained than the Scottish army.
· The Scottish schiltrons remained stationary throughout the battle.
· The Scots failed to protect their archers after their knights withdrew.
· Rather than deterring the English knights, the choice of battle ground encouraged the English to outflank the Scots.
· The choice of battle ground also made it impossible for the schiltrons to advance.
· Some historians argue that Wallace’s poor tactics at Falkirk reflect his lack of military training.
The impact of the battle of falkirk
· Shortly after the Scots’ defeat at Falkirk Wallace resigned his Guardianship.
· Robert Bruce (the grandson of Bruce the Competitor) and John Comyn became joint guardians, governing Scotland in the name of King John Balliol. Bruce resigned after a year and made peace with King Edward.
· The Scots continued to resist Edward using guerrilla tactics.
· The Scots recaptured many of their castles, including Stirling.
· Edward was rarely in Scotland after Falkirk - he was too busy fighting the French, who continued to support the Scots.
· The French managed to get Pope Boniface VIII to support the Scots and the Pope persuaded King Edward to release John Balliol.
· During the winter of 1303-1304 Edward stayed in Dunfermline and was able to recapture Stirling Castle.
· Over the spring and summer of 1304 nearly all the important Scots surrendered to Edward.
· In 1305 Edward reorganised the government of Scotland; he freed most of the important nobles, promised to respect the laws and customs of Scotland and appointed Scotsmen to run the Scottish government.
· However, Edward was determined to make an example of William Wallace. On 3rd August 1305 Wallace was captured near Glasgow. He was taken to London and accused of being traitor to King Edward. Wallace was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered.
