On the Trail of William Wallace by David R. Ross

To the contrary, the Elderslie origins are defended with the arguments that Ellerslie is a former mining village known only from the 19th century, but Elderslie is known from earlier. Additionally, some of Wallace's earliest actions were in Ayrshire. In support of the Ellerslie origins, some proposed that William's traditional father Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie, a knight and vassal to James the Steward, actually came from Riccarton, Ayrshire, and Malcolm's wife from nearby Loudoun. Traditionally, the birthplace of William Wallace is claimed to be Elderslie, near Paisley in Renfrewshire although, a biographer recently suggested that his birthplace was closer to Ellerslie, near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. Due to the lack of conclusive evidence, the Wallace's birthdate and birthplace are disputed. While some suggest Wallace was born around 1270, the 16th century volume History of William Wallace and Scottish Affairs claims his year of birth at 1276. Although criticized, the most recent account of the life of William Wallace is the 1995 film, Braveheart, directed by Mel Gibson and written by Randall Wallace. 20th century Nigel Tranter authored an intended fiction titled The Wallace, which is academically suggested more accurate than its literary predecessors, and was published in 1996. In the early 19th century, Sir Walter Scott wrote of Wallace in Exploits and Death of William Wallace, the 'Hero of Scotland', and Jane Porter penned a romantic version of the Wallace legend in The Scottish Chiefs in 1810. Historians disagree with parts of Blind Harry's tale, or dismiss the entire composition.

Many stories, however, are based on the wandering 15th century minstrel Blind Harry's epic poem, 'The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie', written around 1470. Wallace's family descends from Richard Wallace the Welshman, a landowner under an early member of the House of Stuart, which later became royal lineage.Īn insignificant amount of comprehensive and historically accurate information was written about Wallace. Tradition often describes Wallace as 'one of the common people', contrasted to his countrymen, such as Robert the Bruce, who came from noble stock. This statue in Aberdeen commemorates William Wallace.

On the Trail of William Wallace by David R. Ross