Documented historical evidence of the line of Wallace is confusingly split. Some say he is descended from Richard the Welshman, dating back to the times of William the Conqueror, others have him traced back to the traditional Scots line of the Cragie's. For reasons of simplicity and to keep with the theme of these pages, which focus manly on William Wallace and the reasons and situations that made him 'Scotland's greatest hero', we'll keep to the facts that are well known and true as much as is possible. William Wallace, second of three sons of Sir Malcolm Wallace was born on January 1272, (although many will debate the year to fall somewhere between 1270 and 1276 - 1272 seems to be the most precise in my research), in Scotland in the town of Elerslie (known now as Elderslie) 

His father, Sir Malcolm Wallace, although endowed with the title of a knight held little rank in the world of politics and the nobility of Scotland. He owned a certain amount of land under his title and lived a relatively peaceful life.

The Scotland that William Wallace was raised in during the late 1200's was a wealthy country far removed from the beggarly picture of a nation which English propagandists were to paint. It is plain to see from the Great Cathedrals which still stand from Glasgow in the south to as far north as Dornoch. The magnificent abbeys and monasteries in Arbroath, Scone, Dunfermline and Cambuskenneth as well as the great palaces and house in Paisley, Kilwinning, Crossraguel, New Abbey, Dundrennan, Holyrood, Kelso, Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Melrose.

It is clear that these marvelous buildings could only have been erected in a country possessed of considerable wealth and resources. Studded with hundreds of Castles, regal, baronial and knightly, the fortified homes of the landed classes: it was an age in which emerged a prosperous bourgeoisie.

The powerful King Alexander II was on the throne and had not only the ability but the standing to fend off possible invaders. Around the time of Wallace's birth the then king of England, King Henry III died and was succeeded by the man who would one day become William's deadliest adversary - Edward I (Longshanks). On August 18th 1274 Edward was crowned at Westminster. He was 35 years old, tall, well proportioned and considerably above average height, he certainly deserved his nickname of Longshanks.

William Wallace also grew up to become a powerful and sturdy young man, with a height of 6 foot 7 inches and a physique to match, he too was a giant of a man. It is often debated that it would have been impossible for such a man to exist in a time when the average height of a man was little over 5 feet. However, to judge by the clothing and armour of the time it is clear to see that not only was Longshanks a towering figure, even by today's standards, but so was William Wallace.

It is also clear to see that in a time when to be considered 'middle aged', one would only have to be somewhere in the region of 20-25 years of age. In order for a man to become a leader and be successful in battle he either had to have been born into the rank, or like Wallace, earn the rank by feats of battle. In an era where strength, stamina, endurance, courage and, above all, skill in handling the sword and dagger were of paramount importance in the emergence of leaders - when warlike renown depended so essentially on a personal deeds of daring it would be impossible for him to be anything less than what he was.

Had Wallace not been a man of considerable strength by what other means could the second son of an obscure knight, a mere youth just out of his teens, without the support or patronage of a single noble, have maintained himself, attracted followers, stuck fear into the enemy during face-to-face combat, secured the hatred of Edward Plantagenet I of England, and become the hero of a nation if he did not possess quite exceptional physical strength and prowess?

However, it is not only his physical attributes which made William Wallace such a hero, his mental faculties were considerable. Where, and when, exactly William Wallace gained his education is a long and in-depth story which involves the telling of a rather long tale. In order to keep things simple we'll reflect on the disruptions which were in place before the crowning of John Balliol. Sir Malcolm Wallace was called to bear arms in a revolt know as 'the revolt of the Turnberry Band'.

The idea was to issue a levvie which would gather a force together in support of the House of Bruce. William now at the age of fourteen would surely have been page or esquire to his father, and possibly his elder brother, also called Malcolm. This would have been his first taste of military action, but the revolt - if it can be called that - fizzled out before it really started, peace and tranquility reigned but that meeting on September 1286 had an important part to play in future events. For around 3 years there was an uneasy peace within Scotland - the calm before the storm if you like - and it is during this time of secret meetings and coming and going that William would have spent some time at Dunipace in east Stirlingshire where he lodged with an uncle, a younger brother of his father, who was the cleric there, at a chapelry of Cambuskenneth Abbey.

William was showing his intellect that he could easily make a career in the Church, which was the traditional role for landless younger sons. Now at the age of 16 his education was taking a more mature direction. His uncle instilled in him moral maxims compactly framed in Latin, and referred frequently to the great classic authors. William's passion and love of liberty, which would become his basis for his glorious career, can also be credited to his uncle-priest who inculcated the very values and essence of freedom and liberty with in his mind. This was a precept which remained firmly implanted in William's mind till the end of his days.

United again with his family, and now 17 years old, something else was to happen which would take William into the care of the church. During the time of his education (14 - 16 years old), John Balliol had been exiled and in order to restore the Gaurdian's of Scotland back into govern Scotland they first had to pay homage to Longshanks. The taking of this oath had to be outright, and the deadline for taking the oath was set for July of that year.

Responsibility for administering the oath for Ayrshire fell upon the hands of Sir Ranald Craufurd, William's grandfather - his mothers father. Anyone not paying homage to Longshanks was in for severe penalties, and when Sir Ranald noticed that Sir Malcolm Wallace's name was not on the list, and realising that retribution from the English garrisons, which now governed Ayr and Irvine (where they were), was about to descend upon Malcolm he took his daughter and her younger sons under his care.

Sir Malcolm and his oldest son fled north leaving his wife Margaret and two youngest sons William and John behind. After a short while with Margaret's father Sir Ranald, he sent them all to Kilspindie in the Carse of Gowrie where they were kept by another uncle of William's  probably a brother of his mothers.

As was the custom in those days, the younger brothers followed the education of the church while the eldest would inherit lands and title's. The uncle which he was now with was also a priest of the district and it was here, now at the age of 17 or 18 that William continued his education in Dundee. It was here that William met John Blair, who soon after became a Benedictine monk, following that he eventually left his monastery to attend his friend William and become his chaplain and comrade in arms.

In this church school William also met and became friends with Duncan of Lorn and Sir Neil Campbell of Lochawe, both young men like William who were to take a major part in William's first exploits. Why such a well built and physically strong youth would follow the career of a priest is easily answered. As I have already said it was the custom for both the Wallace family (his fathers side) and the Craufurd family (his mothers side) to send the youngest sons to the church for their education, and in unsettled times as there were, it was prudent to have a firm grasp on languages and politics and the learning's of the church, as the church was a major power.

Also with his older brother Malcolm and his father Sir Malcolm on the run in the north it was clear that William, being the largest and strongest family member would be in a good place to take care of his mother and his younger brother John. Oddly enough, Dundee was also one of the few places at this time where there was little revolt against the English takeover - he could sleep safely out of the way of the troubles.

In the film 'Braveheart', both writer Randall Wallace and Director Mel Gibson will have you learn that William's mother was already dead. They also do not mention his younger brother John, and in the first half hour or so they kill off his father and older brother when William was just a small boy. This is of course not true. However, in saying that, it is clear to see from the brief outlook I have given you here that should they have gone into this in any detail at all then the film would have easily been twice as long and we could have all been fast asleep by the time all the good bits started!

They may have felt, in their judgment, that these points were fairly insignificant compared to William Wallace's feats and daring. Personally I feel that it wouldn't have taken too much time to explain the situation surrounding his education and his family in a more accurate light. These comments in mind, it would make the situation of him traveling south after his families death to live with his uncle and his graveside meeting with Murron totally fictitious. But it did make for a good movie.