He is known to have continued fighting, but his reputation had suffered a crippling blow at Falkirk. Wallace fled too, and gave up his title as Guardian that fall, just a year after his victory at Stirling Bridge.Īfter this year of frenetic activity, Wallace's movements become unclear. Wallace's cavalry, receiving the brunt of the English cavalry's attack since it could not risk attacking the spearmen, fled. In April, Edward and Wallace faced off at Falkirk, where Wallace's static infantry, arranged in a series of schiltrons, circular formations meant to ward off cavalry attack, were weakened, broken apart, and finally destroyed by English combined arms-infantry, cavalry, crossbow, and, especially, the longbow.
For this victory, Wallace and Moray were named the two Guardians of Scotland, and when Moray died of wounds sustained in the battle a few months later, Wallace was left sole Guardian.Įdward mustered his strength and personally led a second invasion force into Scotland the following spring. Wallace cut the English army in half as it attempted to cross and defeated it in detail. The badly outnumbered Scots used the local geography to their advantage, holding a narrow bridgehead in a bend of the river. All the circumstances leading up to this attack are unclear, but Wallace rapidly emerged as a leading brigand, fighting from the forests as part of a general uprising against English rule with many similar rebel leaders. By September, Wallace had enough clout to join forces with Andrew Moray, a leading Scottish nobleman, and defeat an English army at Stirling Bridge. He probably (more on sources below) killed an English sheriff in an incident at Lanark, probably in revenge for a previous attack on him by the sheriff while at court. In May of the next year, 1297, William Wallace first appears in the historical record. (It remained in the base of the coronation throne of the kings and queens of England up through the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1952.) Edward required homage of all the leading Scottish nobility and installed English lords throughout Scotland.
Edward returned to England with Balliol as a prisoner and the Stone of Scone, the traditional seat used during Scottish coronations, as a trophy. Edward invaded across the then-porous frontier, rapidly defeated the Scots, capturing many of their lords, and forced Balliol to abdicate. The council chose John Balliol as king, and Edward proceeded to treat him as an servile underling.įour years later, Balliol, bridling at Edward's overlordship, renounced his oath. Ever the opportunist, Edward-who had already spent fifteen years subduing Wales-agreed on the condition that the Scots lords swear loyalty to him as Scotland's feudal overlord. Only four of them had serious grounds to claim the throne, but the waters were sufficiently muddied that the Guardians asked King Edward to monitor the dispute. Over a dozen claimants-including Margaret's father and several grandchildren of illegitimate children of a previous king-came forward. Margaret's death left Scotland with no apparent heir to the throne.