Braveheart Speech. In defiance of tyranny.

Stirling

In 1297, at Stirling Bridge, a large English force was routed by a much smaller Scottish army led by Wallace. In England, preparations for a retaliatory campaign started immediately, but the Scots refused to engage in open battle again, preferring instead to raid the English countryside in smaller groups. Nevertheless, the English managed to subdue the country by other means: Wallace was betrayed. When responding to the treason charge, he stated "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject." He was publicly executed. He has just turned 35.

William Wallace

             The relationship between the nations of England and Scotland by the 1280’s was one of relatively harmonious coexistence. Problems arose only with the Scottish succession crisis: In the years from 1281 to 1284, Alexander's two sons and one daughter died in quick succession and two years later King Alexander III died himself, leaving as heir to the throne of Scotland his granddaughter, the three-year-old Margaret, “the Maid of Norway”, born in 1283 to Alexander's daughter Margaret and King Eric II of Norway. It was already agreed that Margaret should marry King Edward's -then one-year-old- son, (and future Edward II) but Scotland would remain free of English overlordship. Margaret sailed from Norway for Scotland in the autumn of 1290 (aged 7), but she fell ill on the way and died. This left the country without an obvious heir, and led to a succession dispute. 

            Even though as many as fourteen claimants put forward their claims to the title, instead of fighting to decide which of them should be king, they asked Edward (former brother-in-law to the late King Alexander III) to arbitrate in the dispute and settle the question.  With the prospect of a personal union between the two realms, the question had not been of great importance to Edward before, but now he insisted that, if he were to settle the contest, he had to be fully recognised as Scotland's overlord. Supported by a vast English army behind, what could the Scottish nobles do but kneel at the feet of Edward and promise to be his vassals?  This they did; and so Scotland became a part of Edward's kingdom. In 1292 John Baliol -one of the rivals who claimed the Scottish throne- was made the “vassal” king, thus asserting Edward’s authority over Scotland.

            Soon after, Edward demanded the Scots to provide military service in his war against France. But the Scots refused, and instead formed an alliance with France. Edward responded by invading Scotland. At the bloody Battle of Dunbar, in 1296, Scottish resistance was crushed. Determined that the Scots should have no more kings of their own, Edward carried away the sacred stone of Scone, on which all Kings of Scotland sat when they were crowned, and put it in Westminster Abbey in London.  He also took Balliol prisoner. But the English triumph would only be temporary.

            Resistance soon emerged under the leadership of the strategically gifted and charismatic William Wallace (1270-1305), (whose figure is widely recognized nowadays due to the film Braveheart, in which the Australian actor Mel Gibson plays the main role) [1]

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[1] The film won five Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director). The soundtrack was composed and conducted by James Horner, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Edward I of England, Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots. Part 6

Edward I of England, Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots. Part 5

Edward I of England, Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots. Part 4

Edward I of England, Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots. Part 3

Edward I of England, Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots.Part 2

Edward I of England, Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots. Part 1

The Stone of Scone (Stone of Destiny or Coronation Stone)

            The Stone of Scone -also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone- is an oblong block of stone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and later the monarchs  of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Legends hold that this stone was the coronation stone of the Kings of Alba.

In 1296 the Stone was captured by Edward I of England (also known as Edward Longshanks or the Hammer of the Scots), as spoils of war and taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was fitted into a wooden chair, known as King Edward's Chair, on which most subsequent English sovereigns have been crowned.

Fâllte gu Alba

In 2009, a new welcome sign on the historic A7 route into Scotland was erected with the text Fäilte gu Alba.

In mediaeval times Scots Gaelic was at its full artistic height as a poetic and expressive language. However, as the authority of the Saxons spread into the Highlands, so did the English language. In spite of it all, Gaelic still survives in the Highlands, though everyone speaks English as well.  Official policy is to encourage the use of Gaelic. The most obvious sign of this are bi-lingual road signs. In any case, the language is embedded in the landscape - with place names and natural features usually having a Gaelic origin.

Put Alba on the Scottish rugby shirts!

 

In the 1990’s : In the mid-1990s, the Celtic League started a campaign to have the word "Alba" on the Scottish football and rugby tops. Here’s a Scottish Rugby Union Facebook group named “Put Alba on the Scottish rugby shirts “

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=31494006552

            The description of the group states: “The Scottish Football Association took the decision in 2006 to put the word ‘Alba’ (Scottish for Scotland) on the Scottish national football shirt, but we are still waiting for the Scottish Rugby Union to follow suit … Cymru/Wales proudly displays its language on its national rugby shirt, so why shouldn’t Alba/Scotland?”