William Wallace-The Braveheart
Part Seven-The Price
Red John Comyn was defeated by
Edward now Wallace was the only man who stood in opposition against the
English king.Under a treaty called the Terms of Strathford John Comyn and
all who fought on the side of Scotland were given light punishments with
one exception Sir William Wallace was purposefully left out for in the
eyes of Edward the only punishment for Wallace was death.Edward was either
becoming obsessed with destroying Wallace or Wallace's non royalty status
made him expendable and to make matters worse Edward granted special rights
to any Scottish knight or noble who would help in the hunt for Wallace.
After a defeat at Happrew Wallace
moved north in hopes to free Stirling Castle and par usual being
outnumbered did nothing to stop the Scottish troops , the castle fell but
a cavalry brigade and mass force of archers chased Wallace in Stirlingshire
south of Earnside.Wallace had also been receiving help from Robert Bruce
and Bishop Lamberton even after Edward asked the Bruce to hunt Wallace
down this activity by Robert Bruce the future liberator of Scotland led
to his nearly being arrested himself for treason.William's brother Malcolm
had been a friend to Robert and in letters Robert always refered to Wallace
as Lord William Wallace even when he was feigning loyalty to Edward.
To catch Wallace Edward needed the help of someone
close to him so he chose one of the few Scots he knew he could control
Sir John Menteith whose own sons were Wallace's godchildren it can be speculated
that Menteith wanted revenge against Wallace for the death of his nephew
who was Sir John Stewart the knight who was slain in the battle of Falkirk.Menteith
hired a young man whose name may have been John Short to act as Wallace's
page when he was actually an English paid spy one day Wallace recieved
a letter from Robert the Bruce and made for Glasgow a week later Wallace
stayed in the town of Robroyston still awaiting Robert when he and his
trusted aide Kerly went to sleep at midnight, Wallace with a woman he had
met, however they had been drugged by the page into slumber and had their
weapons taken as well the trap was set.Menteith and his companions charged
into the room and Wallace with only his bare hands as a weapon crushed
the spine of one man against the windowsill and crushed the skull of another
by smashing it into a wall but still under the influence of the drug it
was of little use and Wallace was taken but his friend Kerly who had survived
many battles with William was killed on the spot Wallace knew he would
be treated little better.
Wallace's captors took him by night knowing if they
rode out during the day they could face a revolt.The journey to London
lasted seventeen days and as a reward Menteith was given the earldom of
Lennox.During the trip English citizens turned out in droves to see the
giant Scotsman who from what they were told had cooked babies,raped nuns
and tortured priests which was the exact opposite of the truth.Once in
London Wallace was kept in a house owned by William De Leyre instead of
the Tower of London the very next morning would come Wallace's trial and
execution.
On Monday 23rd of August 1305 Wallace had a crown
of laurel leaves placed on his brow and was presented before the court
at Westminister.Wallace was charged with sedition,murder,spoliation,theft,arson
and many other felonies.The charge of sedition and treason was based on
the conquest of Scotland by Edward when Balliol was exiled in the eyes
of Edward this meant he was King of Scotland but in the eyes of Wallace
Edward was an invader and was to be treated as such.Wallace was also charged
with defamation of the church which was hypocritical in the simple fact
that Edward himself destroyed all the holy relics of Dunfermline and ravaged
all the churches along the Scottish border.In his defense Wallace claimed
he had never sworn loyalty to Edward and that the other charges against
him were simply the results of war this was Wallace's only statement and
once it was done there was no jury deliberation and no mercy in the sentence.The
sentence was death by decollation and decapitation and once dead his body
be dismembered.
Wallace was led outside Westminister Abbey and stripped
naked he was then tied by a hurdle to two horses and dragged throughout
London in midday while peasants threw garbage and excrement at him until
he reached the place where he was to be executed.First came the hanging
which was not done in the manner which we are familiar with in this case
the rope ran along the side of the neck so that Wallace would not be killed
quickly but would slowly be strangled for twenty minutes as his body was
stretched out fully then he would be cut down and would have water thrown
upon him so that he would not fall unconscious then his genitals would
be cut off and finally a hook was brought out and a fire started in a brazier
for the goriest part of the execution.Wallace's stomach was sliced open
and his intestines pulled out and burned while he was still alive and kept
awake then one by one his internal organs would be pulled out the heart
being the last thing taken, this done the head was chopped off and the
body cut into four halves to be placed at the four corners of England and
the head placed atop London bridge as a warning to anyone who would oppose
the power of King Edward.
The warnings would not work for Edward had given the
Scots a martyr and a new resolve and only a few months later near Bannockburn
the Scots would win their freedom and be led by their own king Robert the
Bruce.
end
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