William Wallace | Biography, Braveheart, Death, Sword, & Facts

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Capture and execution

There is some evidence that Wallace went to France in 1299 and thereafter returned to Scotland to act as a solitary guerrilla leader, but from the autumn of 1299 nothing is known of his activities for more than four years. The rebellion he had led nevertheless continued until 1304, at which point most Scottish nobles submitted to Edward. How much this continued resistance was due to Wallace’s influence is uncertain, but Wallace was the one leader to whom Edward would never offer any terms of capitulation and whom he most persistently tried to capture. On August 5, 1305, Wallace was arrested near Glasgow by Sir John Menteith, and, according to two early chroniclers, by treachery. He was carried to Dumbarton Castle and then to London, having possibly been brought before King Edward along the way.

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On August 23, 1305, Wallace was conveyed to Westminster Hall, where he was indicted and condemned to death. There was no trial because he was declared a traitor to the king; Wallace emphatically denied this charge, as he had never sworn allegiance to Edward. That same day he was hanged, disemboweled, and finally beheaded and quartered at Smithfield. His head was set on London Bridge and his limbs exposed at Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth. In 1306 Bruce raised the rebellion that eventually won independence for Scotland.

Quick Facts In full: Sir William Wallace (Show more) Born: c. 1270, probably near Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland (Show more) Died: August 23, 1305, London, England (Show more) Role In: Battle of Stirling Bridge Battle of Falkirk (Show more) On the Web: ABC listen - Nightlife - This Week in History: the story of William Wallace (Feb. 13, 2026) (Show more) See all related content

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