NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
History
Wallace and Bruce
Booklet 3
William Wallace
[ACCESS 3]
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© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2007
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Contents
Introduction
4
Topic 1:
Edward’s control over Scotland
5
Topic 2:
Scottish revolts
8
Topic 3:
Wallace’s revolt
10
Topic 4:
Cressingham and King Edward’s government of
Scotland
12
Topic 5:
The Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1298
(a) Preparing for battle
(b) The Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1298
13
13
16
Topic 6:
William Wallace as Guardian of Scotland
22
Topic 7:
The Battle of Falkirk, 1299
(a) Preparing for battle
(b) What happened at the Battle of Falkirk, 1299
24
24
26
Topic 8:
What happened after the Battle of Falkirk:
1299–1302
28
Scotland and England, 1302–05
30
Topic 9:
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INTRODUCTION
Introduction
What am I going to find out about?

King Edward’s control over Scotland

The Scottish revolts against King Edward

Wallace’s revolt

Cressingham and the Government of Scotland

The Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1298

William Wallace as Guardian of Scotland

The Battle of Falkirk, 1299

The results of the Battle of Falkirk

Scotland and England, 1302–05.
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EDWARD’S CONTROL OVER SCOTLAND
Topic 1: Edward’s control over Scotland
When King Edward left Scotland in
1296, he believed he had it under his
control.
King Edward wanted to make sure that
all the Scottish nobles would obey him.
This was important because the Scottish
nobles owned land in Scotland and they
were in charge of running the country.
He thought they would obey him because
of:

Prison: John Balliol and many important nobles were his prisoners
in England. They would tell their people to do exactly what King
Edward wanted.

Hostages: Edward had taken the sons of other Scottish nobles to
England. This was to make sure that their fathers did exactly what
Edward wanted.

Promises of Loyalty: All the important people in Scotland had
promised to obey King Edward and do exactly what he wanted.

Castles: King Edward had taken over all the important castles in
Scotland so he could control the country and make the people do
what he wanted.

Government: King Edward had chosen Englishmen to govern
Scotland for him and do what he wanted.

Church: King Edward wanted only Englishmen to have important
jobs in the Scottish Church so they could tell the Scots to do what
he wanted.
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EDWARD’S CONTROL OVER SCOTLAND
Activities
Explain how each of these would help King Edward to control
Scotland.
Prison
Hostages
Promises of Loyalty
Castles
Government
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EDWARD’S CONTROL OVER SCOTLAND
Church
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SCOTTISH REVOLTS
Topic 2: Scottish Revolts
Revolts against King Edward started soon after he left S cotland.
These revolts were started by Scottish nobles who did not like King
Edward.
Duncan MacDougall led a revolt in the
west of Scotland. He was a relation of
the Comyns. Many of his relations were
in jail in England.
Andrew Moray led a revolt in Moray.
His relatives were in jail in England.
James Stewart attacked King Edward’s
castles in Ayrshire and Galloway. King
Edward had just let him out of jail!
Many ordinary people supported these
revolts.
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SCOTTISH REVOLTS
Activities
Look back at your answers about how Edward planned to control
Scotland (page 6).
1.
Why should each of these leaders have supported King Edward?
Duncan MacDougall
Andrew Moray
James Stewart
2.
Do you think King Edward’s plan to control Scotland was a
success?
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WALLACE’S REVOLT
Topic 3: Wallace’s revolt
William Wallace’s father was a knight from Elderslie near Glasgow.
William Wallace was his second son. So, William Wallace was not an
important man in Scotland.
William Wallace at Lanark
Some English soldiers killed William
Wallace’s wife in Lanark. So Wallace
went back there one night and killed
the English sheriff.
This made William Wallace famous.
He quickly gathered followers to
attack other English soldiers. After
each attack Wallace’s men would
disappeared so the English could not find them. Then they would meet
together to attack somewhere else.
This made it very difficult for the English. Wallace’s fame spread and
he attracted more supporters.
William Wallace and Ormsby
William Wallace became even
more famous when he attacked
King Edward’s Chief Judge in
Scotland just outside Perth.
The Chief Judge had to run away
leaving all the money he had
taken from the Scots. Wallace
gave it back to them!
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WALLACE’S REVOLT
Activities
1.
Write down three reasons why William Wallace became famous.



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CRESSINGHAM AND KING EDWARD’S GOVERNMENT OF SCOTLAND
Topic 4: Cressingham and King Edward’s
government of Scotland
King Edward had left Hugh Cressingham in charge
of running Scotland.
Cressingham made himself very unpopular in
Scotland. He made the Scots pay him lots of money
in taxes. The people thought they were being
robbed!
But after Wallace’s revolt, Cressingham found that
he could not collect any money from Scotland.
Cressingham then reported to King Edward that all
his men were in Scotland were either dead, besieged in their castles or
too frightened to do any work!
Activities
1.
Why did the Scots not like Cressingham?
2.
Write down two reasons Cressingham’s men were not able to do
any work in Scotland.


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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
Topic 5: The Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1298
5(a): Preparing for battle
Cressingham decided to gather an army to
fight William Wallace.
He led this army from England and towards
Stirling.
Wallace
William Wallace decided to fight
Cressingham near Stirling.
The two armies faced each other across the
River Forth, close to Stirling Bridge.
Wallace placed his army on the high ground
at Abbey Craig.
Cressingham
His soldiers could look down on the
English army on the other side of the
river.
This gave his soldiers an advantage.
Cressingham’s army had a problem.
The ground around them was very wet
and boggy.
The weight of their armour would make
them stick in the mud! They would
have to stay on the road where the
ground was firm.
This meant that Cressingham’s army
would be spread out in a long thin line.
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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
Cressingham’s army was very confident. They had 2,500 knights and
13,000 foot soldiers who had lots of fighting experience. They all had
good weapons and wore armour or very strong protection. But this
slowed them down.
On the other hand, William Wallace had very few knights, only 500
horsemen and 9,500 foot soldiers who were not as experienced as the
English. They did not wear the same amount of protection which meant
they could move faster than the English and they could cross wet
ground more easily. The Scots soldiers fought using long spears and
daggers.
Activities
You are going to compare the two armies just before the Battle of
Stirling Bridge.
1.
Gather information in the following table
Scots
number of men
number of knights
experience of
battles
equipment
position before
the battle
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English
THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
2.
Use the evidence you have gathered to complete this comparison
diagram.
Scottish advantages
English advantages
Scottish disadvantages
English disadvantages
3.
Which side do you think was most likely to win the battle?
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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
5(b): The Battle of Stirling Bridge, 1298
Cressingham had a big problem. The Scots were on the other side of
the River Forth. To get to them the English could either:

cross the narrow bridge over the River Forth. It was so narrow that
there was room for only two horsemen to cross side by side. It
would take a long time to get his army across the river.

walk up the river for a few miles to a ford where the river wa s
shallow enough for all of his army to cross quickly. However, it
would take some hours to reach the ford and get back to the
battlefield. While they were doing this, Wallace could move his
army away and avoid a battle.
Cressingham was so impatient that he decided to use the bridge.
Wallace waited until a good
number of English had crossed
the bridge.
Then his army charged.
Wallace’s plan was to capture
the bridge. This would cut the
English army into two parts.
The Scots would then slaughter
the English on their side of the
bridge.
The rest of the English would
not be able to help.Wallace
hoped that they would run
away!
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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
Wallace’s plan worked! Most of the English
who crossed the bridge were killed.
Cressingham was killed.
After the fighting was over, the Scots
found Cressingham’s dead body.
They took the skin from the body and
used it to make souvenirs such as purses
and sword sheaths.
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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
Activities
1.
Use the information you have read to complete this table.
Cressingham’s choice – to use Stirling Bridge or not to use Stirling
Bridge.
Advantages of using the bridge
Advantages of using the ford
Disadvantages of using the bridge
Disadvantages of using the
ford
2.
Did Cressingham make the correct choice?
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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
3.
What happened at the Battle of Stirling Bridge?
The following 10 sentences describe what happened at the battle of
Stirling Bridge. They are in jumbled order.
Put them in the correct order by writing a number (1–10) in the box
beside the sentence.
Cressingham was killed.
Wallace sent his army to capture the bridge.
The English soldiers could only cross the bridge two-by-two.
The Scots slaughtered the English on their side of the bridge.
Once they had crossed the bridge, Cressingham’s soldiers had to
stay on the road.
Wallace was waiting for Cressingham’s army on Abbey Craig.
Cressingham decided to send his army across Stirling Bridge.
Wallace waited until half of the English army had crossed.
Cressingham approached Stirling Bridge with a very big army.
The English army was cut in two.
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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
Source A describes the Battle at Stirling Bridge
Source A
The Scots and English faced each other across the River Forth.
Cressingham was so impatient to defeat the Scots that he made
mistakes. Wallace was able to attack and to cut off the bridge. The
English soldiers were weighed down by their armour and they were all
killed.
4.
Read Source A
Give two reasons why the English were defeated at the Battle of
Stirling Bridge.


Intermediate 1 Extension
5.
Write down another two reasons (not in Source A) why the
English were defeated.


6.
Read Source A
Describe two things that happened at the Battle of Stirling
Bridge.


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THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE, 1298
7.
Describe another two things that happened at Stirling Bridge that
are not in Source A.


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WILLIAM WALLACE, GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND
Topic 6: William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland
After his victory at Stirling Bridge, William
Wallace became the leader of Scotland.
The Scots were so pleased with him that they
made him a ‘knight’. He became known as Sir
William Wallace.
The Scots also made Wallace ‘Guardian of
Scotland’.
This meant that he was in charge of Scotland.
His job was to defend Scotland from King Edward
and to try to bring back King John Balliol.
William Wallace had to organise a new army that would be big enough
and good enough to fight against King Edward.
He also wrote to traders in Germany to buy iron to make weapons.
At that time Bishop Fraser, the most important churchman in Scotland,
died. King Edward wanted an Englishman to be the next Bishop of St.
Andrews. This would give King Edward control of the Scottish church.
William Wallace made sure a Scotsman, Bishop Lamberton, got the
job. In this way a Scotsman controlled the church in Scotland. Bishop
Lamberton went to Rome to see the Pope. He persuaded the Pope to
tell King Edward to let John Balliol out of jail. On his way home,
Bishop Lamberton persuaded the French king to help the Scots as well.
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WILLIAM WALLACE, GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND
Activities
The importance of William Wallace
Use the information on page 22 to complete this diagram about why
Wallace became important after the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
Wallace was
given the title of
…
Wallace took over the
government of Scotland
and was called the …
Wallace had
to organise
a new
Scottish …
Wallace
had to
defend
Scotland
from
attack
by…
Wallace made Lamberton Bishop
of St Andrews and he sent him to
get help for Scotland
from …………........................
and from …………………….
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WILLIAM WALLACE, GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND
Topic 7: The Battle of Falkirk, 1299
7(a): Preparing for battle
King Edward decided to bring his army to Scotland to defeat the Scots.
He brought:



12,000 foot soldiers
2,000 knights
enough food for all of them.
William Wallace’s army was much
smaller. He did not have many knights.
William Wallace would have to choose
a battlefield very carefully.
He decided to fight King Edward near
Falkirk in the centre of Scotland.
Wallace placed his men on a hillside.
There were trees behind his army and a
loch in front of it. The ground round the
loch was very marshy. This would make
it difficult for King Edward.
Wallace put his spearmen into four groups
called ‘schiltrons’. The men stood in
circles with their spears pointing
outwards. They looked like a hedgehog!
S = schiltron of spearmen
B = bowmen
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Wallace placed his bowmen between the
schiltrons. His knights were behind
them.
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WILLIAM WALLACE, GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND
1.
Read page 24 about preparing for the Battle of Falkirk carefully
and then complete this paragraph using three of the words from
the box below.
King Edward came to Scotland with a __________ army.
In comparison, Wallace’s army appeared to be very __________.
Wallace did not have as many __________ as King Edward.
Wallace had to choose his battlefield carefully.
small
2.
large
knights
schiltrons
Read page 24 carefully and then put a ‘’ where the sentence is
correct or ‘x’ where the sentence is wrong.
Wallace wanted a loch in front of his army so his soldiers could
wash.
Wallace wanted a loch in front of his army to make it difficult
to attack his army.
Wallace placed his men in circles like hedgehogs called
‘schiltrons’.
Wallace’s men had not shaved so they looked like hedgehogs
called ‘schiltrons’.
Wallace placed his men in four groups with the knights behind
them.
Wallace placed his knights in four groups with his men behind
them.
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WILLIAM WALLACE, GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND
7(b): What happened at the Battle of Falkirk, 1299
King Edward sent his knights
round each side of the loch.
The Scottish knights all ran
away when the English
knights moved forward
towards them.
The Scottish bowmen were
killed easily because the
knights were not there to
protect them.
The English knights could not
break the schiltrons. The
sharp spears of the schiltrons
were a very good defence
from horsemen. Many English
horses were killed by the Scottish spears.
Edward then changed his plans. He brought up
his bowmen. They fired arrows into the
schiltrons.
The rings of spears were soon broken by the
bowmen because the men in the schiltrons had
no way of protecting themselves from the
arrows.
Then, King Edward sent his knights to attack the schiltrons again. This
time they broke through and killed the Scottis h spearmen.
Most Scots were killed because they found it very difficult to escape.
King Edward had won the battle!
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WILLIAM WALLACE, GUARDIAN OF SCOTLAND
What happened and why
Here are two lists. One is called ‘What happened’ and the other is
called ‘because’.
Read the two lists carefully and then put them into pairs by writing the
same letter in a ‘What happened’ and a ‘because’ box. One pair has
already been done.
What happened
A
The battle happened
The Scottish knights all ran away
The Scottish bowmen were all killed
At first, the English knights could not break the Scottish
schiltrons
Edward changed his way of attacking and the schiltrons were
soon broken
Many Scots were killed
because
A
The English and Scottish armies were both at the same place
The Scots could not escape.
The English knights had moved towards the Scots.
Scottish spearmen in the schiltrons could not protect themselves
from arrows.
The Scottish knights were not there to protect them.
Schiltrons were a good defence against horsemen.
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WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE BATTLE OF FALKIRK 1200–1302
Topic 8: What happened after the Battle of
Falkirk: 1299–1302
William Wallace resigned as Guardian.
He only got the job because he had won at Stirling
Bridge. Now that he had lost, he had to resign.
Scottish noblemen choose two important nobles,
John Comyn and Robert Bruce to take over as
Guardians.
King Edward then lost control of most of Scotland.
(a)
King Edward had to leave Scotland immediately to continue
his war against the French.
(b)
The Scots decided to avoid proper battles. They used surprise
attacks and captured back many Scottish castles from King
Edward such as Stirling Castle.
(c)
The Scots supported the Guardians against King Edward . In
fact by 1302, the Guardians ruled most of Scotland in the name of
King John. King Edward controlled very little land in Scotland.
(d)
The Scots got foreign help. The King of France helped the Scots
by keeping King Edward fighting in France. King Edward was too
busy there to pay much attention to Scotland.
(e)
The Pope helped the Scots by making King Edward set King
John free but he was not allowed to return to Scotland.
By the end of 1302 the Scots thought they were well on the way to
being free from King Edward.
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WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE BATTLE OF FALKIRK 1200–1302
Activities
Turning it round!
After the battle of Falkirk, King Edward lost control of most o f
Scotland.
This was not just because the Scots were successful, but also because
King Edward had other problems.
Use the information on page 28 to complete this list of problems King
Edward had.
He had to leave
Scotland
The French war
kept him busy
The Pope upset
his plans
The Scots would
not fight properly
The Scots did not
support him
because …
because …
because …
because …
because …
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SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND 1302–05
Topic 9: Scotland and England, 1302–05
Things got worse for the Scots after 1302.
Robert Bruce gave up being Guardian. Then he
went back to supporting King Edward. He did not
really want to see John Balliol back in Scotland as
king. He really wanted to be king himself!
The King of France was defeated in battle. He
had to make peace with King Edward and could
not support the Scots any more. Edward could
concentrate on Scotland.
The Pope fell out with the King of France. He then decided to support
the King of England. So, he stopped supporting the Scots.
King Edward returned to Scotland with a powerful army. The Scots
could not fight him. Most of them surrendered to him.
Edward reorganised the government of Scotland. This time he gave
all the top jobs to Scots. He also promised not to make any ch anges in
Scotland. Many Scots accepted this promise.
William Wallace was captured and executed.
He was taken to London where he was hanged,
drawn and quartered.
King Edward said this was his punishment for
not obeying his king.
William Wallace said that Edward was never his
king!
By the end of 1305 King Edward thought that he had finally taken over
Scotland.
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SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND 1302–05
Activities
Turning it back again!
By 1305, King Edward appeared to be back in control of Scotland.
Use the information on page 30 to show how Edward regained control
of Scotland.
Robert Bruce
changed sides
The French were
defeated in battle
The Pope
changed sides
King Edward
returned to
Scotland
Edward re-organised
the government of
Scotland.
This helped Edward because …
Bruce had been a Scottish Guardian and
this left the Scots weaker.
This helped Edward because …
This helped Edward because …
This helped Edward because …
This helped Edward because …
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