curacies probably would go unnoticed byrnmost viewers: for example, the fact thatrnWallace’s (and de Moray’s) great victoryrnat Stirling Bridge was fought in thernmarshes of the river Forth beneath Stirlingrncastle rather than on an open field.rnIn addition, it is difficult for Hollywoodrnactors to give convincing performancesrnas late medieval Scots; they are simplyrnnot tough enough. Otherwise, Braveheartrnis pretty good history.rnApart from a few bits of gratuitous sex,rnthe film seems aimed at Chronicles readers.rnThe men are men, the women arernwomen, and the in-betweens are portrayedrnas silly and incompetent. Gibsonrnmakes it clear that any nation ruled bvrnEdward II will be headed for trouble.rnThe Scots are not only brave, but theyrnare pious as well, and Braveheart seems asrnmuch a testimonial to medieval religionrnas to Scottish courage. Several scenesrnmight serve as editorials for the LatinrnMass magazine, and Wallace’s Latinitv isrnharped upon almost as much as his ferocity.rnTough but pious men who speakrnLatin, love beautiful women, and fightrnfor their liberty—what more could anyonernwant in a popular movie?rnFor American viewers, Braveheart offersrnsome important historical parallels.rnLike the 13 colonies on the eve of thernRevolution and like the antebellumrnSouth, late-medieval Scotland sought tornsecure and enjoy its liberty. Braveheartrnbegins with young Wallace roaming thernhills and glens of his native Selkirk Forestrnduring the popular and prosperous reignrnof Alexander III (1249-86), the last ofrnthe Celtic house of Canmore. Duringrnthe latter half of the 13th century, Scotlandrnenjoyed a “Golden Age,” living inrncautious peace with the ambitiousrnEdward “Longshanks” (1272-1307) tornthe south. To assure continued peace,rnAlexander in 1278 had pledged to bernEdward’s liege man, a submission thatrnboded ill for Scotland’s future. WhenrnAlexander was killed in a riding accidentrnin 1286, Edward I made his move againstrnthe northern kingdom. Alexander’srnfour-year-old granddaughter, Margaret,rnthe maid of Norway, was in line for thernsuccession. Edward was quick to exploitrnthe resulting regency government. Inrnthe Treaty of Birgham (1290), the ScottishrnGuardian agreed to a marriagernalliance between Margaret and Edward’srnfive-year-old son and heir. The treaty,rnhowever, left Scotland a free and independentrncountry. No vassal of the Scottishrncrown would be allowed to dornhomage for lands held from the Englishrnking, since transnational land ownershiprnled to divided loyalties that usually benefitedrnthe stronger English regime. In addition,rnthe Scots were to have their ownrnlaws, and the Scottish church would bernfree from English interference. For thernmoment, then, Scotland seemed beyondrnEdward’s grasp.rnBut Edward “Longshanks,” like AbrahamrnLincoln, did not allow the trivialitiesrnof the law to thwart his ambitions.rnWhen little Margaret died later in 1290rnand the major claimants to the thronernthreatened civil war, the English kingrnwas invited to determine who was to bernthe new Scottish king. His pick was JohnrnBalliol, who was chosen over RobertrnBruce the Competitor (grandfather ofrnthe Robert Bruce), and the results wererntragic for Scotland. Balliol, Edward’srnvassal by virtue of his (Balliol’s) estates inrnnorthern England, was, as a contemporaryrnnoted, “a lamb in the midst ofrnwolves.” Nonetheless, he was king, andrnWallace pere and fik swore fealty to him,rna commitment that the pusillanimousrnBalliol did not deserve and one thatrnwould lead to the younger Wallace’srngruesome death in 1305.rnAfter several years of humiliationrnat the hands of Edward I, including hisrnunilateral revocation of the Treaty ofrnBirgham, the supporters of John Balliolrninvaded northern England in 1296. Priorrnto this incursion, William Wallacernhad already provoked Edward, whosernwrath soon would fall hard on Scotland.rnThe English king launched a counterstrokerninto the Lowlands, sacking thernthriving border town of Berwick, trouncingrnthe Scottish nobility at Dunbar, andrncarrying to London the Stone of Sconernon which the kings of Scotland were traditionallyrncrowned. Thereafter, Scotlandrnlay open to the ambitious andrnvengeful Edward. Only Wallace stood tornoppose him.rnWilliam Willace’s campaign of 1297-rn98 against a professional English armyrnwas a remarkable feat of arms for one untutoredrnin the formal military arts. Willace’srnonly fighting experience had comernin his exploits after he was branded anrnoutlaw for having slain several prominentrnEnglishmen. His most noteworthy trophyrnwas the much-despised Sheriff ofrnLanark, killed in retaliation for the brutalrnmurder in 1296 of his wife, MarionrnBraidfoot. Like most men, Wallace wasrnnot above exacting vengeance against hisrnfoes, but his forays against the Englishrnwere prompted mainly by the realizationrnthat he either would kill or be killed. Afterrnslaying the Sheriff of Lanark, Wallacernused his talents as a guerrilla leader,rngathering several hundred Scottish patriotsrnfrom the wilds of Selkirk Forest.rnSoon, his various raids and ambushesrnescalated into a full-scale war againstrnEdward’s army of occupation.rnThough Wallace was most effective asrna guerrilla leader, he is best rememberedrnfor his great victory over the English atrnStirling Bridge in 1297, For much of thernprevious year, and with little assistancernfrom the Scottish nobility, he had raised,rnequipped, and trained a populist army.rnThis was much the same sort of fightingrnforce fielded by the Jacobites in the 18thrncentury and by the Southern Confederacyrnin the 1860’s, namely a people inrnarms. Lacking cavalry and siege engines,rnWallace depended on infantry troopsrnalone, whom he trained in the use of thernschiltrom, a hedgehog tactical formationrnthat used the pike to repel the fearsomernAnglo-Norman men-at-arms. His successrnat Stirling Bridge resulted from confiningrnthese mounted knights to a placernnear the edge of the river Forth andrnthrowing them into confusion with arnwell-conceived infantry assault. However,rnat Falkirk in 1298 the F,nglish army,rnled by Edward himself, virtually destroyedrnWallace’s force with volleys of arrowsrnat long range after the Scottish cavalryrnsuddenly deserted.rnBetween Stirling Bridge and FalkirkrnWallace reached his zenith, receiving arnknighthood and the sole Guardianshiprnof Scotland in the name of King JohnrnBalliol. He led several search-and-dcstroyrnmissions into northern England,rnexacting revenge for Edward’s sacking ofrnthe Lowlands. But because he could notrnwin the allegiance of the Scottish nobles,rnWallace had little chance of long-termrnsuccess against such a powerful foe.rnFalkirk proved that without the greatrnlords he could not make Scotland independent.rnRobert Brucc’s decision tornpledge fealty to Longshanks, a tacticalrnmove in his contest for the throne withrnBalliol and his Comyn allies, removedrncrucial support from Wallace’s camp.rnAfter his army was scattered at Falkirk,rnWallace voluntarily relinquished thernGuardianship and sailed to the continentrnin search of aid and a diplomatic solutionrnto the mounting crisis in hisrnhomeland. Finding neither, he returnedrnto Scotland in 1300 and began an ineffectivernguerrilla war from his old hauntsrn46/CHRONICLESrnrnrn