William Wallace: Man and Myth

William Wallace is truly prime myth material. The champion of the independence of Scotland, defeated by Edward I and eventually hanged, drawn and quartered in London, he is revered to this day as Scotland's foremost patriot. Since his death, the Wallace cult has travelled far beyond Scotland itself. Yet Wallace's life is little known. The sources are few and have been distorted over nearly seven centuries through a rush of ballads, penny histories and poems.This book, based on the original research of Scottish historian Graeme Morton, examines both the contemporary sources available and the way the many strands of the Wallace myth have been constructed, communicated and appropriated from his death right up to the present day.