William Wallace (Braveheart) finally granted burial place
Elizabeth Jeenx
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/scotland.cfm?id=9122004
by STUART MacDONALD -- He rests in the hearts and minds of Scots as an
icon of the nation's fighting spirit yet Braveheart legend William
Wallace has never been granted a burial place fit for a national hero.
But now, on the 700th anniversary of his gruesome death, Wallace is to
finally get a permanent resting place at the Lanarkshire church where
he is believed to have married his sweetheart.
However, first there will be an extraordinary re-enactment of the last
days of Wallace's life which led up to his horrific death.
Wallace author David Ross, will embark on a 450-mile pilgrimage to
London to bring the spirit of the freedom fighter home.
Although no remains of Wallace exist, St Bartholemew's, the historic
church next to where he was executed in Smithfield, London, has been
booked for a service and a coffin commissioned.
The service is expected to be packed out by hundreds of Scots patriots
and fans of the Oscar-winning William Wallace movie Braveheart,
directed by and starring Mel Gibson, who has been invited along with
Sir Sean Connery.
Following the service, Ross plans to bring the casket, which will be
filled with messages from those attending the service, back to St
Kentigern's Church in Lanark for burial.
Wallace never received a burial as his body was hung drawn and
quartered and the remains burnt and scattered to the four corners of
the country.
His grisly demise came after he was captured and brought to London on
August 22, 1305, charged with treason against ruthless King Edward II,
known as Edward Longshanks.
He was sentenced to death, tied to the tails of horses and dragged for
six miles through the city before being hung, drawn and quartered at
St Bartholomew's on August 23.
Ross, who wrote the book, On The Trail of William Wallace, will set
off from Robroyston, near Glasgow, on August 3, 2005 - exactly 700
years to the day since Wallace was captured there. He will walk for a
gruelling 19 days before arriving in London on August 22.
He said: "I think it is an outrage that William Wallace has never had
a proper funeral service and his 700th anniversary seemed the best
time to do it.
"It would be inconceivable for people like Winston Churchill or
Abraham Lincoln not to be formally commemorated and the same should
apply to Wallace.
"He lives on in the hearts and minds of many people in Scotland but it
is important that he should have a final resting place in the country
he loved.
"The walk to London is something that is very personal to me and I
want to do it alone as Wallace was alone for those 19 days.
"This is my way of showing my own form of patriotism as it would be
very sad if the 700th anniversary of Wallace's death was just to drift
by.
"It will be very demanding physically but I have always kept myself in
good shape and I am already in training for it."
Ross, from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, added: "It was a very strange
conversation when I phoned the Co-op and asked for the coffin. The guy
said "Who's it for," and I replied, "William Wallace".
"Everybody is a bit stunned by the idea at first but when you think
about it, he is our national hero and it is only right that we should
commemorate him.
"Wallace's legacy has been greatly helped by the film Braveheart and I
think it is he who brings our patriotism to the fore more than anybody
else."
People who attend the service will be asked to post their personal
messages to Wallace in the symbolic coffin, which will represent his
"spirit".
The casket will be flown back to Scotland where it will be the
centrepiece of an exhibition at the Smith Art Gallery in Stirling for
a number of weeks before being buried in the grounds of St
Kentigern's.
The church is where Wallace married his sweetheart Marion Braidfute
and the Lanark Wallace Trust were keen to have the coffin buried there
as they feel the legendary warrior's historic links to the town have
been neglected for too long.
Margo Steel, of the Lanark Wallace Trust, said: "When I heard about
David's idea I thought it was fantastic and really wanted to get
involved.
"There was talk of burying the coffin in Stirling but I pushed the
case for Lanark as there is no official memorial to him here. It would
be fantastic for tourism. Who wouldn't want to come and see the final
resting place of a Scottish hero like William Wallace."
The event - which is to be filmed by production company Scotfilms -
has also attracted the support of the SNP. Spokeswoman Shona Robison
said: "The walk and funeral service are without doubt a fitting
tribute to Scotland's national hero on the 700th anniversary of his
death.
"I am sure this idea will capture the imagination of the Scottish
public who still hold William Wallace in such great esteem. William
Wallace fought and died for a great cause in Scottish independence,
and we should therefore give our backing to any worthwhile memorial to
him."
National hero
WILLIAM Wallace was undisputed leader of the Scottish resistance
forces during the first years of the struggle to free Scotland from
English rule at the end of the 13th century.
Records of Wallace's life, just like the memorable epic filmed by Mel
Gibson (below), are often inaccurate. This is partly because early
accounts of his heroic deeds are speculative and partly because he
inspired such fear in the minds of English writers at the time, that
they demonised him.
Wallace was born around 1270, probably near Ellerslie (now Elderslie),
in Ayrshire. His father was Sir Malcolm Wallace, Laird of Elderslie
and Auchinbothie, a small landowner and little-known Scottish knight.
His mother is believed to have been the daughter of Sir Hugh Crawford,
Sheriff of Ayr.
At the time of Wallace's birth, Alexander III had already been on
Scotland's throne for more than 20 years. King Edward I came to the
throne of England in 1272, two years after Wallace was born.
© 2004 Scotsman.com
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