[MR] BBC: Rare William Wallace Letter

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially fellow Scots,

Yesterday the BBC reported that a very rare letter concerning William
Wallace will soon go on show.

The brief note is from the King of France, Philip IV, to French directing
agents at the Papal court in Rome to recommend Wallace to the Pope. It was
probably written around 1300 when Wallace was in France hoping to gain
support for his struggles against Edward I's invasion and occupation of
Scotland.

The note was discovered in the Tower of London around 1830, and is normally
kept by the National Archives at Kew. It will be on display in Edinburgh
for just five hours on Saint Andrew's Day, 30 November.

The story, with a view of the letter and a rather fanciful portrait of
Wallace (nobody really knows what he looked like) can be seen at
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg4e2645jyo .

Like so much Scottish history, William Wallace has been "tartened" up and
overly romanticized (partly thanks to Mel Gibson). A case in point is
Wallace's alleged sword, displayed at the Wallace Monument near Stirling.
The sword was sold by a sharp huckster to King of Scots James IV as being
Wallace's. One can hardly blame the King for being fooled, as scholarship
in such matters was far in the future. James ordered the sword re-hilted in
1505. The blade has several features that mark it as a much later weapon
(such blade blanks were frequently imported from Germany in the 1400s).
Despite being questioned by modern experts, the weapon is still passed off
as the GENUINE WALLACE SWORD. (Sheesh!) See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Sword .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.