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William Wallace (born c. 1270, probably near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland-died August 23, 1305, London, England) was one of Scotland’s greatest national heroes and the chief inspiration for Scottish resistance to the English king Edward I. He served as guardian of the kingdom of Scotland during the first years of the long and ultimately successful struggle to free his country from English rule.
Wallace was the second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie in Renfrewshire. The elder Wallace was a minor landowner and a vassal of James, 5th steward of Scotland. In 1296 King Edward I of England deposed and imprisoned the Scottish king John de Balliol and declared himself ruler of Scotland. Sporadic resistance had already occurred when, in May 1297, Wallace and a band of some 30 men burned Lanark and killed its English sheriff. Joined by Sir William Douglas (“the Hardy”), Wallace next marched on Scone, drove out the English justiciar, and attacked the English garrisons between the Rivers Forth and Tay. The Scottish steward, Robert the Bruce (later King Robert I), and others now gathered an army, but it was forced to surrender at Irvine by Sir Henry de Percy and Sir Robert de Clifford (July 1297). Wallace, however, remained in action “with a large company in the Forest of Selkirk,” according to a contemporary report made to Edward. Wallace laid siege to Dundee but abandoned it to oppose, with Andrew de Moray, an English army that was advancing toward Stirling under John de Warenne, earl of Surrey.
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1272 - 1305 (33 years)