CHAPTER III.

BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND EARLY YEARS OF WALLACE.

Sir William Wallace was descended from a respectable family in the west of Scotland. His father, who enjoyed the honour of knighthood, was Laird of Elderslie and Auchinbothie, and married the daughter of Sir Raynald, or, according to some, Sir Hugh Crawford, sheriff of Ayr. The exact period when the ancestors of Wallace first settled in this country, is a matter of uncertainty.[44] It is, however, very probable that they were originally from Normandy; and those who support this opinion, mention one Eimerus Galleius, as the immediate progenitor of the Scottish family of this name. This person appears as a witness to the charter of the Abbey of Kelso, founded by David I. about the year 1128, and is supposed to have been the father of Richard Wallace, one of the witnesses to the charter of the Abbey of Paisley, founded in 1160, by Walter, High Steward of Scotland. From the Steward he received a grant of a considerable portion of the district of Kyle, which he named Richardton or Ricardtown, after himself. This Ricard or Richard, who was the most powerful vassal of the Stewards in Kyle, granted to the monks of Melrose the lands of Barmon and Godeneth, with their pertinents; and this grant, as appears from the _Chart. of Melrose, No. 127., Caledonia, III. p. 488_, was confirmed by the second Walter the Steward. Richard was succeeded by his eldest son, also named Richard, who appears to have altered, or softened down the name into Walays. Respecting this last person, no particulars have been related, except that he was cotemporary with Alan the High Steward, who died about 1204. He was succeeded by his younger brother Henry Walays, who acquired some lands under the Steward in Renfrewshire, early in the 13th century; which lands descended by inheritance to Adam Walays, who is stated to have been living in the year 1259, and to have had two sons, Adam and Malcolm. Adam, being the eldest, succeeded to the family estate of Ricardtown. Malcolm, the father of our hero, received the lands of Elderslie, and married, as we have already stated, the daughter of the Sheriff of Ayr. Some writers assert this to have been his second marriage; and farther, that by his first he had two daughters, one of whom was married to Thomas Haliday or Halliday, who held lands under Bruce in Annandale; while others maintain that he had only two sons, Malcolm[45] and William, the former by the first marriage, and the latter by the daughter of Sir Hugh Crawford. It is, however, more than probable that these two sons were the issue of one marriage; as Wyntown, who mentions the circumstance of his having an elder brother, takes no notice of their being born of different mothers. His elder brother is, by some, supposed to have been killed along with his father, Sir Malcolm, in a skirmish with the English; but this statement seems at variance with Wyntown’s couplet--

“Hys eldare Brodyre the herytage Had, and joysyd in his dayis.”

_Vol. ii. p. 91._

From which it would appear, that the “eldare brodyre” outlived the father, since he succeeded to “the herytage;” and though he may have fallen by the hands of the English, it must have been subsequent to the death of his father.

Sir William, the subject of our narrative, was born in the reign of Alexander III. The precise year of his birth is not mentioned in any record at present known to exist. It is usual, however, for our historians to commence their accounts of him in 1297, as if he had then, for the first time, burst forth upon the notice of his countrymen, though they are represented as being already prepared to place implicit confidence in his talents as a leader, without any explanation of his previous deeds to merit the honourable distinction. In the preface to _one_ edition of Blind Harry, he is stated to have been about twenty-seven years of age at the time of his execution. This, however, would imply a precocity of stature and strength, and a maturity of judgment too miraculous not to be dwelt on at greater length by those early writers who have handed down his story. If he was twenty-seven in 1305, he would consequently be only nineteen in 1297. Can it be supposed that a youth of that age, without influence, and without fame, would have been able to persuade men, his superiors in birth, years and experience, to array themselves under his banner, and submit to his control? In the work of the Minstrel we are told

“Fourty and fyve off age, Wallace was cauld, That tym that he was to [the] Southeron sauld.”

As this, however, is at variance with what is elsewhere stated in the same work, it is probably an error of the transcriber, who may have mistaken “thirtie” for “fourty,” as we find it is said, in “Buke Fyrst,” in alluding to our hero, “Scotland was lost quhen he was bot a child.” The term “child” here made use of, is not to be considered as inferring that degree of infancy usually understood in our day, but a youth acting, or able to act, as page or squire to some feudal superior. That this is the Minstrel’s meaning, is evident from the following lines,

“Yhit he was than semly, stark and bald; And he of age was bot auchtene yer auld,”

an age inconsistent with his being 45 at the time of his death. If we are to suppose that Henry dated the loss of Scotland from the solemn surrender of the kingdom, and all its fortifications, to Edward on the 11th June 1291, it will nearly correspond with the correction now offered; and if his words are to be taken in the strict literal sense, that he was thirty-five years of age on the day he was betrayed to the English, it will follow, that he was born on the 5th August 1270. Wyntown, who first introduces him to notice in the spring of 1297, says that he had already distinguished himself in such a manner, as to have excited the envy and animosity of the English soldiers. In accordance with the above date, Wallace would then be in his twenty-seventh year; which, considering that there was no open rupture to call forth the fiery spirits of the age till 1296, was allowing him no more than a reasonable time for spreading his fame among the English garrisons stationed in Scotland.

1291. His early years are said to have been passed under the superintendence of his uncle, a wealthy ecclesiastic at Dunipace in Stirlingshire, from whom he received the first rudiments of his education. This worthy man had been at great pains in storing his mind with the choicest apophthegms to be found in the Latin classics, particularly those where the love of liberty is most powerfully recommended; and the efforts of the tutor were amply rewarded by the _amor patriæ_ excited in the breast of the pupil. How long he remained at Dunipace is uncertain; but he appears to have been at Elderslie in 1291, when the order for an universal homage of the people of Scotland was promulgated by Edward, in his assumed character of Lord Paramount. “All who came were admitted to swear fealty. They who came and refused, were to be arrested, until performance; they who came not, but sent excuses, to have the validity of their excuses tried in the next parliament; they who neither came nor sent excuses, to be committed to close custody.”[46] The family of Elderslie appear to have been among the last class of recusants. Sir Malcolm, setting all the penalties of non-conformity at defiance, resolutely refused to take an oath so subversive of the independence of his country. Aware, however, that the strength of his fortalice at Elderslie was insufficient to protect him against the consequences of his refusal, he retired with his eldest son to the fastnesses of the Lennox, while William, along with his mother, sought the protection of a powerful relation at Kilspindie in the Carse of Gowrie; and from this latter place he was sent to the seminary attached to the cathedral of Dundee, to receive what farther education the learning of the age afforded. Here he contracted a sincere and lasting friendship with his biographer, John Blair, a young man at that time of great promise, who, on finishing his studies, became a Benedictine monk, and afterwards officiated as chaplain to his heroic friend.

With this faithful companion, and other youths of similar dispositions, Wallace used to lament over the degradation to which the country was daily subjected; and, fired with indignation at the growing insolence of the English soldiers, he formed an association among his fellow-students for the purpose of defending themselves, and restraining the wanton outrages of the intruders, by chastising their aggressions whenever the parties were to be found in convenient situations. This, from the licentious habits of the soldiery, frequently occurred; and seldom were they allowed to escape, without experiencing the effects of their vengeance.

In these juvenile bickerings, too unimportant to attract the attention of those in authority, Wallace had frequent opportunities of displaying that dexterity and strength, with which Nature had so amply endowed him. In him, his companions found united all the qualifications they could desire in a leader--a head to devise, and a hand to execute, the most daring enterprises--a fertile imagination ever teeming with stratagems--and a prudence and foresight which provided against all contingencies; so that, when once he determined on any project, however difficult, they were always confident of its being crowned with success.

It is not to be imagined that an association of young men, among whom talents and bravery were distinguishing characteristics, would not feel deeply interested in the momentous crisis to which their country was approaching. The ambition of Edward, and his designs against the independence of their native land, were too apparent to escape the notice of any who had not an interest in appearing wilfully blind. The subserviency of those who represented the aristocracy was, therefore, regarded by their countrymen with feelings of humiliation and shame. It happened unfortunately for their characters, as well as for the safety of the country, that most of the nobility held possessions on both sides of the Tweed; and their selfishness dictated a line of policy extremely dangerous to the independence of Scotland. A wish to preserve their estates in both countries inclined them to a ready obedience to whatever side was most likely to gain the preponderance. Edward, who, in addition to his conquests on the Continent, had annexed the principality of Wales to the English crown, appeared to them, in the distracted state of their country’s affairs, as very likely to consolidate Britain under his powerful and energetic sway. Under these feelings, they vied with each other in their endeavours to propitiate the usurper by disgraceful compliances. The poorer gentry, however, entertained sentiments of a different description, and watched the progress of the submission respecting the succession with feverish impatience.

1291. Since the surrender of the Regents on the 11th June, the different towns and castles of Scotland had been garrisoned by English soldiers. Between the military and the inhabitants, as might have been expected, brawls were of no unfrequent occurrence--and in those which came under the notice of our hero, he seldom remained an inactive spectator. Gilbert de Umfraville[47] being removed from the command of the castles of Dundee and Forfar, one Selby, the head of a freebooting family in Cumberland, was appointed to succeed him. His son, a fiery and impetuous youth, having too rashly insulted Wallace, the latter struck him dead on the spot with his dagger; and, though surrounded by the train of his insulter, effected his escape to the house of a female dependent, who concealed him from his pursuers. Besides young Selby, two or three others, who attempted to intercept him in his flight, were either killed or severely wounded. The case, therefore, became one of too serious a nature to be overlooked. The prudent management of his preserver enabled him to quit the town without being observed. An act of outlawry followed this slaughter; and Wallace was hunted from covert to covert by the emissaries of the constable, who, eager to revenge the death of his son, offered great rewards for his apprehension. His success in eluding his pursuers was equal to the boldness of his offence.[48]

After lurking among the woods and impenetrable recesses of the country, till the heat of the pursuit had subsided, Wallace ventured to communicate with his relations at Kilspindie. The anxiety of his mother respecting his fate required to be relieved; and, in obedience to her solicitation, to remove himself further from the scene of danger, he agreed to accompany her on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Margaret at Dumfries. The dress required for this purpose afforded a suitable disguise; and the respect paid by the English to a saint of the royal blood of their country, insured, in those days of superstition, all the facilities which their situation required.

While our hero was thus employed, his father, it would appear, had become obnoxious to the English; but in what manner, we are left entirely to conjecture. Whether they had endeavoured to apprehend him, for disobedience to the order already alluded to, or if, driven from his house and his resources, he found himself constrained to retaliate upon his oppressors the injuries they had inflicted, are circumstances respecting which all authorities are silent.

An unfortunate rencounter, however, appears to have taken place in the district of Kyle in Ayrshire, between Sir Malcolm, at the head of a few of his retainers, and a party of the English, under an officer of the name of Fenwick; in which, after a gallant resistance, the Scots were defeated and their chieftain slain. Blind Harry asserts, that the brother of Wallace also fell on this occasion; but he is evidently mistaken, as it has already been shown from Wyntown, that Sir Malcolm was succeeded in his estate by his eldest son.

The death of his father was not calculated to lessen the animosity which Wallace had hitherto entertained towards the English. Thirsting for revenge, he spurned the offers of some of his relations, who proposed to use their influence to get the act of outlawry recalled; and having placed his mother under the charge of his uncle Sir Raynald Crawford, he again betook himself to the woods.

The talents, strength, and dexterity of the young outlaw, soon attracted to his fortunes a number of reckless and intrepid spirits, inclined alike from habit and from circumstances, to prefer a life of savage and unrestrained liberty, to the uncertain and degrading protection of those, who, though wearing the mask of friendship, were daily wounding their feelings, by their encroachments on the independence of their country.

1292. As Scotland, at that time, abounded with game of every description, Wallace and his companions found no difficulty in maintaining themselves in their woodland retreats; from whence also they could issue forth to surprise the English, and supply themselves with those necessaries which their situation otherwise prevented them from obtaining. However well disposed the regency and barons of Scotland might have been to submit to the claims of England, it was quite different with the nation; and the proceedings of Wallace, though not sanctioned by the shadow of government which still lingered in the country, were viewed by the poorer classes of the Scots, not only with indulgence, but with approbation. From the prevalence of this feeling, he derived many important advantages, and much useful information respecting the movements of his enemies.

At this early period of his history, his conduct is said to have drawn upon him the notice of Thomas of Ercildoune, otherwise named Thomas the Rymer. This _shrewd_ observer of the “signs of the times,” so highly appreciated his talents and hardihood, as to risk his prophetic fame, then in its zenith, by pointing him out to his countrymen as the man destined to restore the ancient glory of Scotland. His matchless strength and acute wit, joined to the sagacity with which he gave effect to his stratagems, tended, no doubt, to impress the seer with this favourable opinion. Among the stories told of his early years, the following are perhaps entitled to a preference, on account of their being, as Lord Hailes observes, “characteristical.”

One day, having visited Ayr in disguise, his attention was attracted by a crowd collected near the quarters of the military. In the midst of a circle of his own countrymen, there stood an Englishman of huge dimensions, playing off his raillery against the Scots, and offering, for a groat, an opportunity of avenging any injury they might have received from the English, by permitting the best among them to exert their utmost strength in striking a blow upon his back with a pole which he held in his hand; accompanying this absurd declaration with certain ridiculous gestures and scurrilous language, while his mailed companions, with arms akimbo, stood loitering around, laughing, and enjoying the humour of their bulky buffoon. Wallace approached, and tendered treble the sum for the permission offered. This was readily agreed to by the jester, who winked to his companions as he prepared to fulfil the conditions. The wary Scot had observed the trick; and, grasping the pole above the place where it was intended to give way, he let fall a blow with such good will, that the spine yielded to its force, and the foolish witling sunk with a groan at the feet of his companions. Instantly the swords of the English were out to revenge the slaughter of their favourite. One of them, advancing towards the offender, received a blow on the head, which laid him lifeless across the body of the jester. Surrounded on all sides by the increasing numbers of his adversaries, he plied his weapon with a rapidity and a force which kept the most forward of them at bay. Over the steel bacinet of a powerful trooper, the fatal pole was shivered to pieces. Others, seeing him, as they imagined, disarmed by this accident, rushed forward, expecting to overwhelm him with their numbers; but on drawing his sword, which he had concealed under his dress, they as quickly receded from the well-known power of his arm. Having, by his trusty blade, cleared the way to one of the outlets of the town, he was there attacked by two of the boldest of the garrison, who had not before mingled in the fray. The object of one of them appeared to be, to engage him in a little sword-play, and thus give his party an opportunity of hemming him in, but Wallace, aware of the value of his time, broke through the guard of his artful opponent, with a blow which clove him to the teeth; while the other, in the act of retreating, received a thrust through an opening in his armour, which, reaching his vitals, laid him senseless by the side of his companion. Five of the English soldiers had now fallen beneath the arm of the youthful warrior; and the rest seemed so averse to come within his reach, that he had time to gain a little copse in the neighbourhood, where he had left his horse before he entered the town, and, bounding into the saddle, the hardy trooper was soon beyond the reach of any fresh assistance they might procure. Horse and foot were, however, soon on the alert; but after a long and a fruitless pursuit, they were obliged to return,--some of those who had already witnessed his prowess no way displeased at their want of success.

The entire absence of any thing like fear, seems to have formed the most prominent feature in the character of Wallace. Although he had so narrowly escaped on the above occasion, and also aware of the ease with which he could be recognised, yet it was not long before he ventured back to the same place. The occasion was as follows:

A report had circulated about the country, that on a day named, a celebrated English prize-fighter would exhibit on the esplanade at Ayr, as a general challenger. An occurrence of this kind had powerful attractions, in an age when every man required to know something of the use of a sword. Scots, as well as English, became deeply interested as the day of exhibition drew on; and Wallace, instigated partly by curiosity, and partly by a wish to acquire information respecting the numbers and the motions of his enemies, determined to be present. Having equipped himself and fifteen of his companions with dresses which concealed their habergeons, he proceeded to the scene of action. Their horses they left in a place of safety outside the town, and then made their entry from different directions, in such numbers as would not attract the notice of their enemies.

In the midst of the crowd collected to witness the feats of the English champion, Wallace stood, with his face partially concealed in his cloak, to all appearance an unconcerned spectator, till he saw several of his countrymen, who had been baffled by the superior dexterity of their more practised antagonist, afterwards scoffed at, and otherwise insulted by the English soldiery. The feelings which this conduct excited were displayed on the fine expressive countenance of our hero, in such a manner as did not escape the notice of the victor; and the latter, flushed with his success, invited him to a trial of his skill. Wallace readily accepted the challenge; and, drawing his sword, prepared for the onset. The ease and grace with which he handled his weapon soon convinced the English that their “bukler-player” had at last engaged in a perilous enterprise. His art and agility appeared unavailing against the cool self-possession of the Scot, who, after a few passes, became the assailant; and a blow, which descended with the rapidity of lightning, laid the arrogant gladiator dead at his feet. This unexpected interruption of their amusement irritated the English; but when they discovered, in the successful combatant, the bold and audacious outlaw with whom they had been so lately engaged, they eagerly crowded round, and endeavoured to prevent his escape. Unappalled by the numbers with whom he was environed, he dealt his blows in all directions with unerring and deadly effect, while his followers, drawing their swords, attacked those who were nearest them with a fury that spread consternation and uproar through the whole assemblage.

The English, finding themselves assailed from so many quarters, conceived that they were surrounded by a multitude of enemies. Wallace, always first in the place of danger, according to the homely, but expressive phraseology of Blind Harry, “_Gret rowme” about him “maid_;” and the enemy had already begun to give way, when an additional force from the castle made its appearance. The battle was now renewed with redoubled fury on both sides; and the capture of our hero being the principal object in view, he became the subject of their most inveterate hostility. The few, however, who ventured within his reach, soon paid the forfeit of their temerity. Having collected his companions in a body, he fearlessly advanced into the centre of the English, diminishing their numbers with every stroke of his broadsword, while his followers pressed with determined ferocity upon those who attempted to intercept him. From the increasing number of his opponents, he at last became apprehensive of having his retreat cut off, if the unequal contest were much longer protracted. Placing himself, therefore, in front of the battle he ordered them to make the best of their way, while he endeavoured to prevent the enemy from harassing their rear. By incredible exertions, they at last regained their post at the outside of the town; and, mounting their horses, they were soon lost to their pursuers amid the shades of Laglane woods, leaving about thirty of the English, among whom were three knights belonging to Northumberland, dead upon the streets of Ayr.

These, and similar exploits, appear to have furnished employment to Wallace, during the time that the English held possession of the country under the nominal authority of the Scottish regency. It will now, however, be necessary to revert to the proceedings on the Border.