Sir William Wallace lived from 1270 – 1305. His entry in the Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland (John Keay & Julia Keay, 1994) describes him quite simply as "Patriot."
William Wallace, Scotland's National Hero
As Guardian of Scotland during the troubled times when Scotland was fighting to wrest her independence back from England, Wallace galvanized the Scottish nation. He inspired and initiated the military struggle against the occupying forces of the English King Edward I, who became known to history as The Hammer of the Scots.
William Wallace died in 1305, put to death by Edward I after a show trial in London. His spirit lived on. Scottish resistance to English rule culminated in the victory of the Scots over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Under King Robert the Bruce, Scotland thus regained her independence as a sovereign European nation.
Hard facts about William Wallace's life are not easy to authenticate. However, the statue in Aberdeen carries on its plinth the stirring words attributed to him which have rung down through the centuries.
Statue of William Wallace in Aberdeen, Scotland
This impressive, larger-than-life statue of Scotland's national hero has stood in Aberdeen since 1888. The idea and the money came from Victorian historian John Steill. The sculptor was W Grant Stevenson.
The statue is located at the junction of Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct. Towering over the sunken Union Terrace Gardens, it stands on a large traffic island opposite three of Aberdeen's most famous buildings, the Central Library, St Mark's Church and His Majesty's Theatre. These stately granite buildings are known locally as Education, Salvation & Damnation.
Union Terrace lies at right angles to Union Street, Aberdeen's main thoroughfare, and the statue of William Wallace is only a few minutes' walk from it.
What William Wallace Did For Scotland
One of the four sides of the plinth of the statue of William Wallace offers a historical summing up of the situation which faced Scotland in his times. The first sentence of this inscription reads:
Edward First of England, having attempted to annex Scotland to his dominions, was opposed by Wallace, through whose consummate vision and valour the English were driven out of Scotland and her independence was restored.
What William Wallace Had to Say about Freedom
Another side of the plinth offers a direct quote from William Wallace:
"When I was a youth, and under the care of my uncle, all that I could carry away from him was a single proverb, but it seemed to me above all price, and I never forgot it. It was this:- 'I tell you a truth, liberty is the best of all things. My son, never live under a slavish bond.' "
The uncle who told Wallace this also gave him a succinct instruction. Tradition has it that William Wallace passed this on to the army which fought under him against the English occupying force at the Battle of Falkirk. "I have brought you to the ring - dance according to your skill."
The Death of William Wallace
Betrayed by a member of the Scottish nobility, William Wallace was captured and taken to London. A show trial found him guilty of treason and he was horribly put to death at Smithfield Meat Market, the location designed as an extra humiliation.
William Wallace's courage and dignity did not falter. He went to his hideous death with courage and with dignity, saying before he did, as the inscription on his statue in Aberdeen once more tells us:
"To Edward, King of England, I cannot be a traitor. I owe him no allegiance; he is not my sovereign; he never received my homage, and, whilst life is in this persecuted body, he never shall receive it."
William Wallace has inspired and moved Scots for 750 years.
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