Braveheart - What's true - What's not

[eBob]

1. William Wallace was a commoner who rose to become leader of the Scottish army.

2. The Scottish leaders were luerd to a barn and murdered.

3. Robert the Bruce's father had leprocy.

4. William's wife was murdered by an English Lord.

5. Wallace's army won at a big field near Stirling.

6. Wallace's army used sharpened stakes to fend off the English cavalry.

7. The Scots saturated the earth with tar and then set fire to it with arrows.

8. At Falkirk Robert the Bruce fought against Wallace on the side of the English.

9. At Falkirk the nobles leading the Scots cavalry were bribed by Edward to betray Wallace.

10. Wallace's army sacked the city of York.

11. Wallace had a series of trists with the Princess of Wales.

12. Edward's son (Edward) was gay.

13. King Edward killed his son's gay lover.

14. Wallace disguised himself as an English soldier to escape capture.

15. The stories of Wallace being of huge stature were not true.

16. Wallace sought revenge on his fellow Scots nobles and killed them one by one after their betryal at Falkirk.

17. Wallace sired a child with the Princess of Wales which eventually came to the throne of England.

18. Edward I died soon after Wallace was executed.

19. Wallace was hung drawn and quartered in London.

20. Wallace was betrayed by his own countrymen.

[eBob]

How did you do?

[eBob]

1. True.

2. True.

3. True. A cast of his twisted skull is on dispaly in the Bannockburn museum near Stirling.

4. True - although it is not clear if they were married, Wallace's woman 'Marion' was murdered by the Sheriff of Nottingham to get to Wallace. Wallace came back and killed the Sheriff - burning his house to the ground.

5. False. The battle of Stirling was fought at a bridge not a field. Wallace used his skill to judge the exact moment when half the English had crossed the bridge - diving the English army in two - and defeating the heavy cavalry driving it into the deep waters of the river Forth.

6. False. The Scots did not use sharpened stakes - they had organised pikemen that fought in close formation called a Shiltron.

7. False. The Scots did use some underhand tactics however such as pits dug in the ground, stakes stuck in the ground and calthrops - nasty little metal spikes thrown on the ground to cripple the enemy cavalry.

8. False. It is true that Robert the Bruce frequently swapped sides during the war of Independence - offering allegance to Edward as and when it suited his own designs on the thrown of Scotland - however there is no evidence that he was at Falkirk or that he ever actively fought against Wallace.

9. False. There is no evidence for this. The Scottish cavalry were simply out numbered by the English heavy cavalry and fled the field - cowardly perhaps - but not bribery or betrayal.

10. False. York is probably the only city the Scots didn't sack in the north - so why they chose to show York in the movie is a complete mystery. Edward himself was based in York at that time.

11. False - complete fantasy.

12. True. In fact it is said that he eventually met his fate at the hands of his own nobles and the sharp end of red hot poker, poked where it shouldn't be.

13. True-ish. Edward himself didn't kill him - but he was murdered because he carried too much influence with prince Edward.

14. False - however he did disguise himself as a woman - though how he got away with it is puzzling.

15. False. Wallace was over 6 foot 6 inches - extremely broad and muscular and was a fiersome warrior. It was his prowess as a warrior that propelled him to leadership. Many stories are written of him single handedly dispatching 3 or 4 foes with extreme force even when Wallace himself was unarmed.

16. False - because they never betrayed him in the first place - this is fantasy.

17. False.

18. False - he went on to fight several lengthy campaigns in France.

19. True.

20. True. He was betrayed by John Menteith.

[tombombadilo]

I got them all right !!yay!! forgot about john menteith though, thanks for the reminder.

[cadian]

My dad probably would have got them all correct. I got about 1/2 right. They need to make a more historicaly correct version of Braveheart. lol

[eBob]

Well, in truth it would have been a better film if they had. I think Braveheart is a brilliant film, but the changes in it just don't make sense - why say they took York when they didn't, why not say Dundee or Berwick - you could say it's irrelevant - but why do it? why suggest that Moray betrayed Wallace - when in fact he was at least as great a hero as Wallace and died from a mortal wound suffered at Stirling - frankly that's an appauling insult to his name.
The battle of Stirling would have been brilliant if they'd featured the narrow wooden bridge.
Why have Wallace as a 5ft tall American with a kooky loonacy reminicent of leathal weapon, when they could have used a 6ft tall Scottish actor (I know that one - because Gibson directed the movie so he cast himself). Why make Wallace all kind and cuddly - when he was in fact quite a ruthless and brutal character.

[tombombadilo]

I agree there was no reason to blow things out of proportion, If I am a very wealthy person I will defiantly produce a William Wallace movie meeting your criteria.

[Sirhc]

Wow, at first I thought it was a list of fact, and then I said to myself, "wait a minute" and scrolled down and saw half of them were false.

This is a great resource, Thanks

[Toshach]

I believe Gibson is an Australian. Though I guess he lives here in the States these days. But Hollywood sure has a way of messing with reality for little apparent reason.

I really appreciate this thread though. It's very enlightening.

I have a question.

What about the blue face-paint? Did they actually do that? What was the sifnificance of the blue?

[eBob]

Ok - a simple question that has a slightly complex answer.

Did they do that (blue face paint) - yes, the Picts (ancient Scots tribes) certainly did, but it is considered unlikely that the use of face paint continued into the medieval period - all hostorians will snort rudely at the idea and call it proposterous.

However, there is one last word on the matter. There is a legend, although about as reliable as the bible, that says Wallace had a dream that he was visited by an Angel who painted the cross of St Andrew upon his face.

Bear in mind that the Scots in the movie are all shown as barbarian style highlanders. While Wallace did spend several years living in the woods Robin Hood style in his early years, the Scottish armies that bled the battle fields of Scotland would have looked much like any other medieval army of the time.

[Sirhc]

Somewhere you said that it was possible that his tunic was green. Has anybody tried this? If so, I would like to see the result. Otherwise, I will have to try it for myself.

[Rab]

Dec 9, 2006 15:16:14 GMT -5 eBob said:

1. William Wallace was a commoner who rose to become leader of the Scottish army.

1. True

Sort of - he wasn't a major noble, but nor was he some illiterate subsistence farmer. He was the son of a knight, and therefore from (very) minor nobility.

[David Guest]

The name of Wallace's father as far as I know is debated. We therefore can't say for certain who his father was. It's likely either way that Wallace's father was no more than a minor noble or land owner - this in itself doesn't qualify Wallace as a noble - he wasn't even the eldest son, so that would mean Wallace himself was no more than a commoner to begin with. I think.
He was knighted by Robert the Bruce (before he was King) and appointed joint Guardian of Scotland along side Moray - although Moray was gravely ill following Stirling.

[tomato30]

Hello Lads I am intrigued by the history of Edward I reign and the Rebellion.
One question :

If Edward II was gay as a fruit basket, And Wallace obviously didn't shag the Princess of Wales.
Is Roger Mortimer or dare I say the Old King Edward I the father of Edward III
Or better yet :
Who is most likely of any men of the time to be the father of Edward III?
Any thoughts Gentlemen?

[cadian]

he chould still be gay and have a son. mabe he became gay after his son was born or he knew he need a son so he .....