Article October 26, 1957 Issue

The deeds and character of Sir William Wallace,...

[Mentioned in Retrospection and Introspection, p. 2]

Sir William Wallace—1272?-1305

The deeds and character of Sir William Wallace, Scottish patriot and hero, have been chronicled in legends and immortalized in verse. The second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace, William was born in Elderslie, near Paisley. His education, probably entirely classical, was begun by an uncle, who was an ecclesiastic at the abbey of Paisley, and it was continued at a monastic school in Dundee.

During these days was born his reverence for the church, which was later to show itself in protection given monks on his raids into northern England. Scotland was an independent kingdom in Wallace's youth, and he received no military training other than exercises in the use of arms, which any boy of his rank would have had.

In 1291 King Edward I of England told his privy council that he intended to bring Scotland under his rule. Five years later he crossed the Tweed; and after sacking Berwick, he appointed Englishmen to most of the high offices in the country. Taking advantage of Edward's preparations the following year for a war with France, Wallace, with a small company of men, burned Lanark and killed the sheriff. Wallace was now joined by other Scots dissatisfied with English rule.

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