|
|
The Stone of Scone, an oblong block of red sandstone that had been used for centuries in the coronation rituals of Scottish monarchs, was symbolically confiscated and moved to Westminster Abbey by Edward. It was returned only 700 years later.
This was the state of affairs when Wallace stepped into history. Apparently, he was accosted by a group of English soldiers, who ordered him to hand them some fish he had caught in the Irvine River. His refusal was considered an act of insubordination and the soldiers were about to punish him brutally, but Wallace floored one approaching soldier with his fishing rod, grabbed the assailant’s sword, and fought with him. The whole incident ended when two of the English soldiers were killed and the others chose to take off.
The authorities issued a warrant for William Wallace’s arrest and, presumably, shortly afterward he earned his status as a rebel when he killed the son of an English aristocrat using a dirk. This was only the beginning, and Wallace soon became actively involved in local revolts, in which he missed no opportunity to execute high-ranking English officials. Encouraging uprisings, Wallace gradually became a leading force driving English troops out of the Scottish cities.
He had an extraordinary personal strength, enterprising spirit, and tremendous dexterity. These attributes, coupled with an ardent attachment to his native country and a hatred of his oppressors, made him the fitting leader of a band of patriots wanting to avenge the wrongs of their suffering fatherland. He attracted to his side broken and desperate men, who, weary of the English yoke, resolved to join their fortunes with those of one who stood forth as the assertor of national independence. For a long time, they seem to have lived chiefly by attacking and plundering—whenever the occasion offered—the convoys and foraging parties of the English and then retreating to the woods and secret recesses of the country when pursued.
It is important to point out that revolt was not the only option for Scottish nobility to gain back their land and property from the English conquerors. Whereas Wallace and his followers were proudly determined to fight for Scottish independence, other aristocrats made personal gains