The Sword of Braveheart, William Wallace

Enshrined at The National Wallace Monument, Stirling, Scotland
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William Wallace (c. 1270 – August 23, 1305) was a knight and Scottish patriot, who led a resistance against the English occupation of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Wallace was the inspiration for the poem, The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie, by the 15th century minstrel, Blind Harry. The 1995 film Braveheart is based on the poem.

Wallace was tried for treason and the execution of civilians and prisoners at Westminster Hall in London where he was crowned with a garland of oak to suggest that he was the king of outlaws. He responded to the treason charge, "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject." With this, Wallace asserted that the absent John Balliol was officially his king. Wallace was declared guilty.

Following the trial, on 23 August 1305, Wallace was taken from the hall, stripped naked and dragged through the city at the heels of a horse to Smooth Field. He was hung, drawn and quartered — strangled by hanging but released while still alive, emasculated, eviscerated and his bowels burnt before him, beheaded, then cut into four parts — at the Elms in Smithfield. His preserved head was placed on a pike atop London Bridge. It was later joined by the heads of his brothers, John, and Simon Fraser. His limbs were displayed, separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Aberdeen.

The sword, which is a traditional two handed broad sword, is approximately 66 inches in length with the blade itself being around 52 inches long. The quality of the metal used for the blade suggests that it may have been forged in Scotland, unlike other swords of the period which were often Flemish or German in origin.

It is reasonable to assume that in order to carry, let alone weild, the sword Sir William Wallace must have been a man of considerable physical, as well as virtuous, stature. In fact it is estimated that to be able to weild the sword Sir William must have been more than six feet six inches tall.

The sword was traditionally kept in Dunbarton castle until 1869 when, of course, it was more fittingly placed in the New National Wallace Monument.

The Scottish Claymore was usually identified with the Scots as a symbol of pride and strength. The Claymore, or "Claidheamh-mor" (Great Sword) in Gaelic is a two handed broad sword utilized by the Scottish Highlander throughout several centuries. Used in the constant clan warfare and border fights with the English from 1500 t0 1650 and still in use as late as the Rebellion of 1745, the two-handed Claymore seems to be an offshoot of earlier broadswords as they were developed into great-swords. It was said that the bearer of a Claymore needed no shield (how could he carry one, anyway?) because the reach of the sword provided its own protection.