Post by dreamy on Aug 24, 2005 5:44:41 GMT 10
This is an article by David Ross which fits in here also:
JULY 2005
When I wrote my book "On the Trail of William Wallace" back in the 90s, I wrote that on the 700th anniversary of his murder on the 23rd of August 1305, I would walk the route that he was dragged through the streets of the city of London. This struck a chord with people and I got letters and emails from Scots, not just from Scotland, but from ex pats all over the planet. They wanted to do something to commemorate our great martyr hero. Wallace truly means something in the psyche of the Scottish people, in a way that I don't think national heroes do in other countries. Perhaps it is because Wallace's struggle for the freedom of his people is still valid in this day and age, as Scotland is, like it was in Wallace's time, ruled from somewhere else.
The Scots are a strangely resilient people. Our media is controlled by another nation, our television and press owned by people elsewhere, and the propaganda that issues thereafter is British in outlook. But much of the population of this little nation craves the freedom that every nation should have as its right, and although centuries of rule from London have passed, we still see ourselves as Scots, and always will do. Wallace is at the very heart and soul of these beliefs, as he stood up for his country in its time of need and crisis. Edward I of England butchered Wallace for several reasons. He thought that the Scots would not think Wallace worthy of their admiration as he died such a horrific death. He wanted to also have Wallace's ashes scattered to the winds so that he would have no body to rise on Judgement Day and face the risen Lord. But he created a martyr that we have never forgotten. There was no-one there for Wallace on the day, so I wanted to try and put together some sort of commemoration to show that 700 years may have passed, but we remember and care.
At first I decided to walk to London, tracing Wallace's final journey from his place of capture at Robroyston in Glasgow, to Westminster Hall in the same time scale, 19 days.
Wallace was captured on the 3rd of August 1305, appeared in London on the 22nd, before his execution on the 23rd, but from there the scale of the commemoration just grew and grew. The last thing that Wallace saw was the church of St Bartholomew the Great, the oldest surviving church in the city, and so it is fitting that a service of remembrance is to be held there. I intend to have a symbolic coffin in the church to represent Wallace and the funeral he never had. I don't seriously believe that I am somehow capturing the spirit of Wallace. He will always be there to show us never to give up the fight for Scotland's freedom and right to stand as a separate nation state, I just wanted to show him that we have never forgotten.
This coffin will be returned to Scotland, and will be on show at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, till September 11th, the anniversary of Wallace's great victory at Stirling Bridge, where it will be taken to be interred in Lanark. I had fears that the media here would let the date come and go, so it is a double edged sword that I am trying to wield. If I have aroused interest in not only Wallace, but made Scots who dream realise that they do not dream alone, then I have achieved what I set out to do. Wallace lost his battle, but his memory was there to inspire others. Only 6 months after his murder, Robert the Bruce became King of Scots. Bruce eventually broke England's power on the field at Bannockburn in 1314, and gave one of his captains who had distinguished himself in the fight, Walter, his Steward, the hand of his daughter, Marjorie Bruce, in marriage. Their children founded the Stewart dynasty, Stewart being a corruption of Steward. The rest, as they say, is history. So, on the 23rd of August this year, pause and think of the pain and torture Wallace had to suffer as he as hung, disembowelled, and his heart then ripped from his still living body. And not just Wallace. Tens of thousands of Scots have died over the centuries trying to win the recognition that their country should be able to decide its own destiny without foreign interference. The Highlanders who followed Charles Edward Stewart in 1745 had "Prosperity to Scotland and no Union" etched upon their sword blades. A sentiment that Wallace would understand, and one that I, in 2005, understand.
We owe it to all those who suffered, to finally realise the dream, and deliver the autonomy that Scotland deserves. Hopefully as we go through these 700th anniversary years of the Wars of Scottish Independence, with memories of heroes past, there will be a new awakening in the Scottish people, not just to rediscover what has gone before, but to decide their future, and finally have the flag of Scotland fly with the flags of other nations outside not only the European Parliament, but also that of the United Nations. Our flag, is, after all, the oldest flag on the planet. Wallace deserved better. We deserve better. And it is in the hands of the people to decide that fate.
David R Ross
www.royalhouseofstewart.org.uk/guest.htm
JULY 2005
When I wrote my book "On the Trail of William Wallace" back in the 90s, I wrote that on the 700th anniversary of his murder on the 23rd of August 1305, I would walk the route that he was dragged through the streets of the city of London. This struck a chord with people and I got letters and emails from Scots, not just from Scotland, but from ex pats all over the planet. They wanted to do something to commemorate our great martyr hero. Wallace truly means something in the psyche of the Scottish people, in a way that I don't think national heroes do in other countries. Perhaps it is because Wallace's struggle for the freedom of his people is still valid in this day and age, as Scotland is, like it was in Wallace's time, ruled from somewhere else.
The Scots are a strangely resilient people. Our media is controlled by another nation, our television and press owned by people elsewhere, and the propaganda that issues thereafter is British in outlook. But much of the population of this little nation craves the freedom that every nation should have as its right, and although centuries of rule from London have passed, we still see ourselves as Scots, and always will do. Wallace is at the very heart and soul of these beliefs, as he stood up for his country in its time of need and crisis. Edward I of England butchered Wallace for several reasons. He thought that the Scots would not think Wallace worthy of their admiration as he died such a horrific death. He wanted to also have Wallace's ashes scattered to the winds so that he would have no body to rise on Judgement Day and face the risen Lord. But he created a martyr that we have never forgotten. There was no-one there for Wallace on the day, so I wanted to try and put together some sort of commemoration to show that 700 years may have passed, but we remember and care.
At first I decided to walk to London, tracing Wallace's final journey from his place of capture at Robroyston in Glasgow, to Westminster Hall in the same time scale, 19 days.
Wallace was captured on the 3rd of August 1305, appeared in London on the 22nd, before his execution on the 23rd, but from there the scale of the commemoration just grew and grew. The last thing that Wallace saw was the church of St Bartholomew the Great, the oldest surviving church in the city, and so it is fitting that a service of remembrance is to be held there. I intend to have a symbolic coffin in the church to represent Wallace and the funeral he never had. I don't seriously believe that I am somehow capturing the spirit of Wallace. He will always be there to show us never to give up the fight for Scotland's freedom and right to stand as a separate nation state, I just wanted to show him that we have never forgotten.
This coffin will be returned to Scotland, and will be on show at the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, till September 11th, the anniversary of Wallace's great victory at Stirling Bridge, where it will be taken to be interred in Lanark. I had fears that the media here would let the date come and go, so it is a double edged sword that I am trying to wield. If I have aroused interest in not only Wallace, but made Scots who dream realise that they do not dream alone, then I have achieved what I set out to do. Wallace lost his battle, but his memory was there to inspire others. Only 6 months after his murder, Robert the Bruce became King of Scots. Bruce eventually broke England's power on the field at Bannockburn in 1314, and gave one of his captains who had distinguished himself in the fight, Walter, his Steward, the hand of his daughter, Marjorie Bruce, in marriage. Their children founded the Stewart dynasty, Stewart being a corruption of Steward. The rest, as they say, is history. So, on the 23rd of August this year, pause and think of the pain and torture Wallace had to suffer as he as hung, disembowelled, and his heart then ripped from his still living body. And not just Wallace. Tens of thousands of Scots have died over the centuries trying to win the recognition that their country should be able to decide its own destiny without foreign interference. The Highlanders who followed Charles Edward Stewart in 1745 had "Prosperity to Scotland and no Union" etched upon their sword blades. A sentiment that Wallace would understand, and one that I, in 2005, understand.
We owe it to all those who suffered, to finally realise the dream, and deliver the autonomy that Scotland deserves. Hopefully as we go through these 700th anniversary years of the Wars of Scottish Independence, with memories of heroes past, there will be a new awakening in the Scottish people, not just to rediscover what has gone before, but to decide their future, and finally have the flag of Scotland fly with the flags of other nations outside not only the European Parliament, but also that of the United Nations. Our flag, is, after all, the oldest flag on the planet. Wallace deserved better. We deserve better. And it is in the hands of the people to decide that fate.
David R Ross
www.royalhouseofstewart.org.uk/guest.htm
