ive just heard this thing about william wallace being part of a fable?

Question

is this true?

Answer 1

William Wallace was a historical figure. He really existed. But, whenever stories are told about real people, sometimes the details get changed, twisted, etc. So not everything that everybody says about historical figures is true.

Answer 2

William Wallace probably wasn't even Scottish - seems more likely he came from Cumbia - Wallace is actually a Welsh name.

BBC - History - Scottish HistoryThe reputation of William Wallace runs like a fault line through later medieval chronicles. For the Scots, William Wallace was an exemplar of unbending ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/independence/features_independence_wallace.shtml

William Wallace was a real person alright, but you just cannot go on living as though all that happened then is still happening now. I mean it's just plain nuts.

We should view history while bearing in mind that 'history is a foreign place'.

I am 66 and UK is nothing like it was when I was a child, still then domonated by Victorians and Edwardians - a foreign place. Even the way in which people talk today is totally different and usually much slower. The oldest person I ever knew was 108 in c1966. He had been a horsedrawn tram diver in Victorian London - he spoke so fast it was almost impossible to keep up.

What was Wallace really like? Black teeth, bad breath, greasy hair. All the things we work so hard to overcome, were simply not possible to overcome back then.

If I told you that the life expectancy of a London docker back in the 1920s was a meare 35 years, this should give you some example of the life expectancy back in Wallace's day. You'd probably be lucky to see 25.

Answer 3

As stated before, William Wallace was a real person but, as is the case with many historical figures about who little is known,legends built up around them with each passing generation.In the case of Wallace, the Mel Gibson film, although entertaining ,did much to muddy the waters of fact,e.g..He would have been hard put to to sire the next on the throne,seeing as the wife of Edward "Longshank's" son was 8 at the time.

Answer 4

William Wallace was a real man. His story is told by a descendant, Randall Wallace, in the novel Braveheart, which I have.

This site http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/wallace/ states it tells only the truth about William Wallace. On http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wallace there's some information (hopefully true). There is yet more information on http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wallace.htm that might be helpful. To further the knowledge of Scotland's great patriotic hero, this site http://www.williamwallacesociety.com/ is dedicated to preserving William Wallace information.

I'd be interested in knowing who told you William Wallace was part of a fable!

Answer 5

As the other people has said~ yes, William Wallace was a real person, but there is an epic poem written by person named:
~ Blind Harry ~
The title is "The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie" written around 1470. Supposedly written based on oral traditions stemming from 1300. But the poem is largely dismissed by historians as bunk as it is not supported by any factual evidence.

Answer 6

No William Wallace was a true figure, he was the son of Sir Malcolm Wallace and a Lord himself.

Answer 7

William Wallace is a scotish hero. He fought and defended his country. Braveheart was a bit exagerated as all films are to make them more entertaining but read up on the subject its great to learn about history.

Answer 8

There's the real William Wallace, and he did many of the things depicted in "Braveheart" but there's also the Wallace of legend - which ismost of what "Braveheart" depicts.. The real Wallace was a minor nobleman to begin with, not a commoner, he lived much of his life in a fortified city, not a village. I'll let the article happened. In the real battle of Stirling Castle, Wallace waited for the English troops to commit half of its forces at the only strategic bridge linking the two countries, then launched a surprise attack which decimated the advance guard, and caused the bulk of the Engglish army on the other side of the river to retreat. Excerpt:

1272?—1305, Scottish soldier and national hero. The first historical record of Wallace's activities concerns the burning of Lanark by Wallace and 30 men in May, 1297, and the slaying of the English sheriff, one of those whom Edward I of England had installed in his attempt to make good his claim to overlordship of Scotland. After the burning of Lanark many joined Wallace's forces, and under his leadership a disciplined army was evolved. Wallace marched on Scone and met an English force of more than 50,000 before Stirling Castle in Sept., 1297. The English, trying to cross a narrow bridge over the Forth River, were killed as they crossed, and their army was routed. Wallace crossed the border and laid waste several counties in the North of England. In December he returned to Scotland and for a short time acted as guardian of the realm for the imprisoned king, John de Baliol. In July, 1298, Edward defeated Wallace and his army at Falkirk, and forced him to retreat northward. His prestige lost, Wallace went to France in 1299 to seek the aid of King Philip IV, and he possibly went on to Rome. He is heard of again fighting in Scotland in 1304, but there was a price on his head, and in 1305 he was captured by Sir John de Menteith. He was taken to London in Aug., 1305, declared guilty of treason, and executed. The best-known source for the life of Wallace is a long romantic poem attributed to Blind Harry, written in the 15th cent.

See biography by J. Fergusson (1938, rev. ed. 1948).

Answer 9

Ur having a laugh or playing dumb. William Wallace is as real to Scotlands history as is Edward Long Shanks, ( Thats Edward 1 to you history bigginers), to the English.

They both were real otherwise why do you think historians worldwide are writing countless articles about them, or are they , as you seem to be suggesting, tripping out of their minds???

PS Im a Sassanach!!! Hope you Scots don't mind me defending you on this one!!!

Answer 10

Of course not! William Wallace was indeed a well- attested historical person