Wallace Month

So we have finally come to the month that I have been waiting for all year. This is the month I get to tell you all about one of my favorite historical heroes of all time: William Wallace.

I don't really know what attracted me to Wallace. I think it is because he was just such a steadfast man and knew exactly where he stood and was willing to do anything for his country and her people, even though it meant a horrible death at the hands of the English. On the 23rd of this month, Wallace was executed in 1305, and now we use that day to commemorate that great man who has, over the seven hundred years since his death, become the National Hero of Scotland. 

So this month, I am going to tell you piece by piece the story, legend and legacy of this man throughout the seven hundred years he has been gone. It is certain that Scotland would not be the same country she is today without Wallace. Robert Bruce may have won Scotland's freedom ultimately on the fields of Bannockburn, but it was Wallace who started the fight and died for his troubles so that is why we remember him to this day.

It sometimes makes me wonder why some people are remembered and some just aren't. I think it's because some people just "have it". People like William Wallace and George Washington who represented their country in it's darkest hour and did what was needed. There is so much I could say about Wallace, but I think I will just settle for saying that he was one of a kind. And in the words of Roy Williamson's famous song "Oh Flower of Scotland, when will we see your likes again?"

So throughout this month, I will try my best to tell Wallace's story. And I will be sharing some of my favorite poems and books about him.

For today, I recommend what I think is the best tribute to Wallace. Do yourselves a favor this month and find a copy of David R. Ross' book For Freedom The Last Days of William Wallace. There is no other words to describe this book but fantastic. It really is a legacy of two great men. David Ross recounts his own feelings of Wallace and tells of his last days and then tells of his own tribute to the man when, on the 700th year after Wallace's execution in London, he walked from Robroyston to London and held a commemoration there in honor of Wallace. Please get this book and read it. There's no better tribute to Wallace out there.

So I will have another post of tuesday telling about Wallace's capture, so be back for that.

Slainte, Hazel