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Home , Action at Lanark, Battle of Falkirk, Blind Harry, Braveheart, Bravehearts, Brave Heart (House)

THE RE-MAKING OF A MYTHIC HERO:

SCOTTISH IN

by

KENNETH CARR HAWLEY, B.A.

A THESIS

IN

ENGLISH

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial FulfiUment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS

Approved

May, 1998 'JOI

r3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS <^ % / /\)o • ' For their continued care and support, I thank my , Dan and Byrdic

C oP- ^ Hawley, and my in-, Odell and LaVonne Farr. For her enduring afrecrion and

encouragement, I thank my wife, Deborah. For their patient guidance and instruction, I

thank the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Michael Schoencckc and Dr. Heather

Barkley. Without my family, I would have floundered; without my wife, I would ha\c

faltered; and without my committee, I would have failed.

11 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 11

CHAPTER

I. MYTHMAKING, NATIONAL IDENTFFY, AND SCOTTISH HISTORIOGRAPHY . 1 Bisset and Historiography 2 The Declaration of and National Identity 5 the Minstrel and Mythmaking . 8 Braveheart and Historiography 12

n. ELicrriNG ANTLENGLISH SENTIMENT 16 Edward I .... . 16 Smythe ..... 31

m. ELicrriNG ANTI-COLONIAL SENTIMENT 37 Irishmen ..... 38 Scottish Nobles .... 44 Bruce the Leper .... 58

IV. ELICITING PRO-INDEPENDENCE SENTIMENT 67 Malcolm 68 Campbell .... 73 and Bruce 78

V. MODIFYING THE MYTHIC HERO 90 Murron .... 90 Edward II . 99 Isabella .... 104

VI. RE-MAKING THE MYTHIC HERO 113 113

VII. BRAVEHEARTS IDEOLOGICAL PROJECT 132

SELE(rrED BIBLIOGRAPHY .... 136

111 CHAPTER I

MYTHMAKING, NATIONAL n:)ENTrrY, AND

SCOTTISH HISTORIOGRAPHY

Nationalistic sentiment looks to the past to legitimate the present and secure the

friture; it re-makes , appropriaring mythic legends as it forges a narional identirs'.

Each time an ancient story is told, the myths are reinforced; each time today is reminded

of yesterday, the origins are re-traced. Scotrish historiographers have connected their

people to a legendary past, invoking the names and telling the stories which set Scotland

apart as a disrinct and divinely ordained kingdom. While others have called upon mythic

figures such as Romulus and Remus, Aeneas, Brutus, and Arthur, the Scots have

turned to Jacob; when their idenrity as an independent people has been challenged, the

Scots have defended their narion by emphasizing Jacob's role in its founding.

Renamed Israel, this descendant of Abraham and Isaac became the father of

twelve sons, the patriarch of the IsraeUte narion's twelve tribes. Jacob first received the

promise of a country during a dream which he had as he slept on a stone; he saw angels

ascending and descending on a stairway which rested on the earth but stretched to the

heavens, and Yahweh stood before Jacob and said, "Your descendants will he like the dust

of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the

south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." According

to Scotrish folklore, the coronarion stone of Scotland, the Stone of Desriny, is that very

rock on which Jacob slept as he was given the promise of a land in which his people could dwell. This mythic block of sandstone is said to have moved from Israel to Eg>'pt, where it remained during Israel's 400 years of slavery; then it was shipped to Sicily, to Spain, and finally to , where the first king of Dalriada, Ere (c. 400 AD), held the Stone ot

Desriny as the symbol of divine blessing upon the crown. It remained in Ireland unril

Dalriada's 36th king, Kenneth I (c. 850 AD), moved the stone to Scone, in Scotland. "

Scotrish were inaugurated upon the from the rime of Kenneth I unril in 1292; after deposing BalUol in 1296, Edward I took it to Westminster, believing that he could "eradicate the memory of Scotrish kingship by remcning its mi>st

-J tangible symbol." However, Edward's acrions only aroused narional senriment.

The Stone held ideological significance for , who in 1306 risked his

Ufe to travel to Scone and parricipate in a tradirional coronarion ceremony; the actual symbol was away in , but the place it had rested for centuries held such mythical power that the inaugurarion was srill considered vaUd. When Edward I heard that the Scots crowned a new king, he peririoned the to have the abbey itself relocated in an attempt to destroy the mythology of place the abbey generated; his request was denied. The Stone of Desriny has been inrimately connected with Scotland's disrinct identity as a nation: "The royal seat thus acts as a metonym for the unbroken link to a legitimaring moment of origin, the foundarion of the mythical race, the moment when provided her progeny with a proper name." ^ The Stone of Scone represents everything that is uniquely Scotrish.

Bisset and Historiography

The stone's journey from Egypt to Ireland is referred to in lnstructifn\es and in

ProcessuSy companion pieces believed to have been written during the summer of 1301 by

Master Baldred Bisset, a renowned Scottish canon lawyer. These letters were composed in response to Edward I's own missive sent earlier that same year to Pope Boniface \ III, in which the English king defended his right to subdue and rule Scotland. In the

ProcessuSy Bisset claims that the Stone of Desriny was taken from Egypt bv Sccita, the daughter of the pharaoh; she and her husband Gaythelos (Gaelus), son ot the king ot

Athens, carried the seat first to Ireland and then to Scotland. But in hv^tructuuxes, Bisset provides additional information, asserting that Scota and her people traveled first to

Spain and then to Ireland, where they defeated a race ot giants; Scota, Gaythelos, and their son, Erk, then moved to , where they conquered the Britons and settled in the upper portion of the island called Albany (later named Scocia).

These versions of Scotland's origins predate Bisset's writings, and so the legends are not to be considered the lawyer's own invenrions but rather rhetorical elements appropriated for a specific historiographical project. The Scots needed to retute

Edward's claims to suzerainty on the basis of historical precedent, and connecting their people to Egypt and to Israel forges a mythical origin capable of establishing a legitimate national identity worthy of respect and recognition. Pope Bonitace VIII was to be reminded that when King Edward removed the Stone of Destiny trom Scone in 1296, he stole from the Scots their ancient symbol of divine promise, the icon which represented their long history of independence.

In addition to denouncing English attempts at suppressing Scottish national identity, Bisset's hxstructiones and Proce.s.sits challenge Edward's rendering of the battles between England and Scotland, particularly the English sack of Berwick; he emphasizes the brutality and mercilessness ot the armies and the sacrilege committed against Scottish churches, comparing Edward to Anriochus Epiphanes (r. 175-164 BC), who desecrated the Jewish temple in 164 BC, provoking Judas Maccabeus to lead a revolt. Bisset also appeals to military conquests, questioning Edward's use of British history; he asserts that any claims based on the successes of the Britons are irrelevant, because the Bntons were beaten by the Saxons, who were defeated first by the Danes and then by the .

However, he accepts those parts of Edward's letter to Boniface which associate the

English monarch with , taking the opportunity to point out that Arthur subdued the lands surrounding his kingdom by brutal force, and that when he and his wite died, they left no heir. Therefore, the annexed lands (Scotland in this scenario) once again became independent realms.

Bisset also raises earUer disputes regarding Scotland's relarionship to England. In

1291, Edward had gathered the Scotrish nobles at Norham-on-Tweed; they had asked for his assistance in resolving the succession controversy that had raged since 1286. King

Edward demanded that they acknowledge his posirion as Scotland's before he would hear the compering cases. As evidence, he referred to the mythic origins of

England, , and Scotland, legends which validated the king's intenrions to incorporate Scotland under his crown. Edward appropriated these same stories again in his letter to Boniface VIII in 1301, as he claimed that Scotland was a fief under England's control; Bisset challenges such norions with his appeals to the Stone of Destiny: Scotland is an indivisible and independent people — ancient in their origins, unique in their identity. He accuses Edward of manipularing "unproven ficrions [figmenta] about an obsolete distant past" in order to hide the truth that the Scots have had "a claim on freedom for a very long and immemorial period of rime."

Defending Scotland's independence, Bisset cites the Treaty of Birgham (August

1290), reinforcing its more significant points: "We assert that the kings of Scotland and its inhabitants have done and fealty to [the king of England] for lands which they held in the of the king of England, but never for the kingdom of

Scotland nor for their lands in Scotland." Bisset refers Pope Boniface Vlll to 1278, when Alexander III refiised to submit to Edward's demand that he pay homage tor

Scotland itself. Bisset's explanarion of Scotland's relarionship to England re-casts the concept of feudal duty: since at least the rime of the Norman invasions, Scotrish nobles had owned lands in England and were obUgated by feudal arrangements to do homage for

them, and Edward was the liege lord; however, the was not a fiet ot

the EngHsh king, nor was the king of Scotland his .

Therefore, when Bisset traced the origins of the Stone of Desriny and advocated

Scotland's claim to independence, he did more than just write a couple of letters

appealing for papal support; he re-shaped Scotrish history. Edward had fashioned his own version as he assembled the nobles in 1291 and as he corresponded with the pope in

1301; it was Bisset's role to call on the appropriate myths, blend them with the events

preceding the Scotrish fight for freedom, and provide Scotland with a narional idenrit>' rooted in rimeless legends and sacred symbols. His Ijutructiones and Processus perform

that mythic funcrion.

The Declararion of Arbroath and Narional Idenrity

Although Bisset's historiographical projects served his immediate polirical purposes, they could not completely secure Scotland's claim to a unique and independent idenrity. Even after a decisive Scotrish victory at Bannockbum (1314), King Robert

Bruce I (1306-1329) srill spent much rime and effort estabUshing peace and freedom for his narion; Edward II (1207-1327) had to be held off, the border lands had to be protected, and Scotland's allies had to be courted. Among the diplomaric duries Robert's position demanded was drawing the support of the papacy; in 1320, he commissioned his and to compose and deliver what is now known as the (named for the Abbey in which it was composed) to Pope John XXII. The document is remembered for its passionate appeals and nationalistic sentiments.

After piously greeting the pontiff, the authors of the Declaration charactenze

Scotland as an ancient nation with mythic origins: a disrinct people, the Scots traveled

from Greater Scythia to Spain and from there to , where they drove out the Britons

and the ; since that rime, they defended themselves against the Norwegians, the 1 T Danes, and the EngUsh. During this retelling of Scotrish history, the writers sei:e the

opportunity to compare the Scots' journey across the ocean to the Israehtes crossing over

the Red Sea and conquering the inhabitants of Canaan (a biblical allusion the

Declararion will soon make again). King Robert's message then claims that Scotland has

possessed an imbroken line of 113 kings, all of them Chrisrian; they have as their patron Andrew, the brother of the pope's own predecessor, Peter. 13 (This connection to the first pope is perhaps an attempt to ingrariate John XXII and move him to compassion

on behalf of the pious Scots.) These asserrions of cultural and religious homogeneity are

suspect to say the least; "The mythology of the Declararion distorts Scotrish history by

insisring on the racial integrity of the Scots (or their kings)." ^ Laying claim to an

enduring narional idenrity that has remained intact throughout centuries of cultural

intermingUng, the Declararion ignores truths about migrations and invasions in order to

achieve an ideological aim — to set the Scots apart as an ancient people with a long

history of independence and a long line of Chrisrian kings.

Robert's missive explains that Scotland enjoyed generarions of peace and freedom unril King claimed the throne for himself: "When our kingdom had no head and our people harboured no maUce or treachery and were then unused to wars or attacks, [Edward] came in the guise of a fiiend and ally to invade them as an enemy."

The Declararion then details some of King Edward's atrociries, taking great care to enumerate several offenses against the church (another attempt to attract papal attenrion), asserting that Scotland's only defense against England's tyrannical barbarism was Robert Bruce, "who, that his people and his heritage might be delivered out ot the hands of enemies, bore cheerfiilly toil and farigue, hunger and danger, like another 1 f\ Maccabeus or Joshua." The reference to Maccabeus is compelling, tor in his 1301 writings, Bisset compared Edward to Anriochus, against whom Judas Maccabeus fought after the Jewish temple was desecrated. has expelled the blasphemer.

Bruce is also another Joshua; he has led his people across the Jordan River (the Firth o{

Forth) and into the promised land, conquering the occupied ciries and defearing the enemy kings.

The document claims that Robert I reigns by divine providence, the right oi succession, and the consent of the people; however, if he fails to maintain their freedom, if he bargains with the English king so that they are made subject to him, the Scots will depose him and inaugurate another in his place: "For, as long as a hundred of us remain alive, we will never on any condirions be subjected to the lordship of the English. For we fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, but for freedom alone, which no good man 17 gives up except with his life." Robert Bruce is their rightful king, but these Scots are not patriots who will blindly give everything to protect and defend the existing state; instead, as ardent narionaUsts, they are willing to subvert the state in order to preserve the narion.

As the Declararion concludes, its authors lay the burden of responsibiUty upon the pontiff; it is Pope John's duty to "admonish and exhort the king of the Enghsh," to rebuke him for laying claim to what never was and never will be his. The holy father must not give "too much credence to the tales of the English," or he will be led astray; he must trust that the Scots have dealt truthfully with him. If John XXII believes the English and ignores Scotland's pleas for help, "then the slaughter of bodies, the perdirion ot souls,

and all the other misfortunes that will follow inflicted by them [the English] on us and bv

us on them, will, we beUeve, be imputed by the most high to you." This rhetoncallv

forceful concltision evidently achieved its aim, for Pope John acknowledged its claims

when he "lifted the passage in drafting a letter to Edward II."

Appropriaring biblical typology as it re-writes Scotland's history, the Declaration

of Arbroath presents a case for Scotrish narional idenrity. It conrinues the battle for

historiographical hegemony, manipulating stories to portray Scotland as a divinely

established country and England as a threat to God's designs. The document crafts a

version of Anglo-Scotrish relations which reinforces Scotland's posirion as the oppressed

other and redefines England's role as the imperialisric colonial power. Robert I challenges

Pope John to use his considerable influence in temporal matters and support the Scotrish

struggle for outright independence; to deny Scotland's request is to deny the ver>' will of

heaven.

Blind Harry the Minstrel and Mythmaking

While Bisset's Instructiones and Processus establish Scotland's mythic origin, and

the Declararion of Arbroath forges a narional idenrity. Blind Harry's poetry celebrates the

exploits of his country's greatest legend, WilUam Wallace. Written c. 1476-1478, Harry's

epic. The Wcdlacey draws on 150 years of oral tradirion that had already apparently forged

a hero of mythic proporrions. Harry presents a fiercely nationalisric treatment of

Wallace's life and death; the poet's unabashed jingoism animates WiUiam's character, giving Scotland a popular icon who embodies "specifically Scotrish values" in a poem that funcrions as "a symboUc act of resistance to England's poUtical and cultural hegemony."

The Minstrel's work follows 's Chronica Gends Scotorum

8 (c. 1365-1385), 's Scodchrordcon (c.l440), and Andrew of WyTitoun's

Orygynde Chronykd of Scotland (c. 1410-1420). Fordun offers only a brief account o\

WilUam Wallace's contriburion to the Scotrish cause, highlighring his popularity, his military achievements at Srirling, his horrible loss at , his resignarion as Guardian, and his death. Bower elaborates on Fordtm's version, developing a heroic figure with divine support; "*the hammer and scourge of the English' has God on his side." ^

Bower's does more than just record WilUam's intense commitment to his country; it exalts him as an example to follow, transforming "Wallace into a s\Tnbol for all rime, a moral absolute." ^ Wyntoun's Chronicle records the life of Scotland's hero with greater attenrion to Wallace's popular appeal, "making the legend both more dramaric and more himian than it was in Fordun's hurried annals." 25 These writers illustrate a movement towards enshrining William Wallace as the embodiment of Scotrish narional idenrity; their re-fashioning of Scotland's history, especially its origins and its wars with

England, reflect a desire to re-make the past in order to secure an independent future.

Fordun, Bower, and Wyntoun provide the background against which Blind Harry the Minstrel casts , an ideological project intended to perform a commemorative fiinction, estabUshing in WilUam another incarnation of mythic icons from long ago. Just as origin legends traced royal genealogies back to Scota, providing an unbroken Unk to a mythological past, Harry's poem connects Wallace to typological figures and preserves his memory in the collecrive consciousness of the Scotrish community. When Scots have remembered Wallace, they have recalled a hero, a legend, a saint, and a redeemer.

The Minstrel re-writes history, revising and invenring with narionaUsric fervor, presenring a version of the events surrounding the Wars for Independence which srirs the blood of his countrymen and provokes them to despise the English. Harry spends a great deal of his narrarive detailing the atrociries coramitted by England against Scotland, parricularly during his "complete fabricarion" of the incident at the Bams of A\T, at which

Scotrish nobles were brought to a meering imder terms of truce but were hanged instead:

**Such ficrionalized events add fiirther jusrificarion to Wallace's bloody revenge against the EngUsh." The Wallace is in fact quite violent and gory, relishing the episodes when

WilUam vents his rage, giving its audience an epic so intensely narionaUsric that, at times, it smacks of racist propaganda.

Blind Harry manipulates his tales so that Wallace becomes the model of fidelir>' and dedicarion to his people; as William fights against the EngUsh crown and its imperialisric aims, he also battles dissenrion from within Scotland's ranks, meering opposirion from certain nobles. In fact, during his depicrion of the battle at Falkirk,

Harry anachronisricaUy places Robert Bruce on the side of the EngUsh, turning him against the Scots and bringing him face to face with Wallace. Harry actually has Wallace accuse Bruce of , comparing Robert to Saturn, the god who devoured his own offspring; he later depicts the Bruce being taunted by the English soldiers for earing his 77 own blood (he dripped with the blood of Scotrish soldiers after Falkirk). T/u? Wallace contends that WiUiam is fit for a crown which Robert hesitates to claim.

The Minstrel also characterizes his hero on a discursive level, so that his readers receive WilUam as an advocate of jusrice, fighring on the side of righteousness, balancing the scales for Scotland's sake:

It soon becomes evident that the poet charges his passionate language with ethical significance. Good./ evil, right/ wrong, true/ false, Southron/ Scotris: these binary opposirions mark the ethical coordinates of the work and provide the key terms of the consensus that he expects his audience to share without the need for fiirther argument.

10 WilUam swings his sword for the Scots, while Robert rides with the English, but Blind

Harry invents a meering between the two where WaUace and Bruce reconcile; William accepts Robert's apology, falls to his knees, and embraces his fiiture king. Wallace's influence Bruce's heart and unites the Scotrish leadership; good wins out.

Wallace's fierce struggle for what is good and right and honorable serves as an

exemplum; this hagiography Blind Harry has written depicts the Ufe of a warrior-saint.

The Wallace presents a "hero and martyr of a narional war that is also a holy war. He is 70 the defender of the Scottish faith." Wallace is a Christ figure, Uving an exemplary- life

and suffering a cruel death. Before he tells of WilUam's execurion, Harry writes of an

EngUsh monk who receives a vision from God in which Wallace enters the paradise of heaven. 30 The mythic hero had served God and man well and is to be rewarded richly.

BUnd Harry's poem stretches the truth, ignores the evidence, confuses the

chronology, invents episodes, and exaggerates stories, the process of crearing a

national legend. The Wallace endows Scotland with its own hero, a man of strength,

courage, tenacity, and devorion, an image to be reflected, an example to follow; and while

the poem's message has spoken powerfully to many throughout rime,3 1 it could have

direct appUcarion to Harry's own generarion. As he re-wrote Scotrish history, Harry commented on contemporary events; it may have been King James Ill's proposed alliance with England (c.l474) which prompted the poet to compose what cotild be considered an 37 anri-royalist allegory. The Duke of Albany (WaUace) opposed the idea of union with

England, while James III (Bruce) was sympatheric to it: "By focusing on Bruce's failure to lead Scotland against the EngUsh and his willingness to serve Edward I, the poem 33 impUcitly condemns James's poUcy of alUance." Records indicate that after James III was usurped by his son, James IV, BUnd Harry was rewarded by the royal treasur>';

11 apparently the new crown appreciated The Wallaces strong narionaUsric stance which could not help but condemn James Ill's conciliatory overtures toward England.

Evidently, then, Harry's historiographical project was successfiil; he wove m\th with history and turned out a legend. Scotland's greatest hero is memorialized within his lines of srirring rhetoric and moving allusions; Wallace's blood cries out, urging the Scots to uphold the cause for independence.

Braveheart and Historiography

Drawing on the tradirion of Blind Harry's epic poem. Director and

Screenwriter RandaU Wallace re-create the mythic WflUam Wallace; Braveheart re-makes

Scottish history to reach its propagandisric ends. Just as Bisset's Instructiories and

Processus and Robert Bruce's Declararion of Arbroath were each committed to a certain ideological end, this film achieves specific historiographical goals. Like its forebear, Tl\e

Wallace, Braveheart depicts Scotland's greatest legend fighring for all that is good and right, living a life of freedom, and dying a martyr's death. Blending typological figures, historical facts, narionaUsric aims, and poUrical agendas, Braveheart weaves a tale which exalts those who are fiercely dedicated to the Scotrish struggle for independence and vilifies those who threaten that cause. Compromising nobles, imperiaUsric kings, treacherous Scotsmen, opportunisric Englishmen, everyone who stands in WilUam

Wallace's way is reviled.

Edward I and Smythe complement one another, reflecring in their characters the villainy of a power-mongering England; the anri-EngUsh senriment these men generate disgtists audiences, moving them to support the Scots. Haring the English leads viewers to despise the subjecrion of Scotland and to appreciate those who subvert England's dominion. When the faithfulness of the Irishmen is contrasted with the faithlessness of

12 the Scottish nobiUty, those who profit from England's colonizarion of Scotland are proven to be unworthy of respect or admirarion; Momay, Lochlan, and Craig represent a conringency of Scotrish nobles who fear freedom because of its economic and poUrical impact upon their privileged positions. Braveheart's negative portrayal of Scotland's colonization elicits esteem for those who rebel against it and give their lives in the battle for independence. Malcolm Wallace and CampbeU embody the mythic highlander spirit

— clever wit and savage loyalty — as heroic Scotrish patriots who die while attempring to throw off the yoke of the English crown. Developing into a dedicated leader as his country slowly transforms into a united whole, Robert the Bruce serves as a Joshua to

Wallace's Moses, eventually taking up the fight for a free narion. Although he wavers at rimes, Bruce is ptirged of all colonial senriment by the rime of WilUam's death; inspired by

Wallace's sacrifice, Robert leads his people to independence.

Murron's horrific murder morivates audiences to sympathize with Wallace; the lonely widower is jusrified in his violent retriburion against the detestable EngUsh. A weak, incompetent fool, Edward II fimcrions as WilUam's foil, honoring Scotland's hero with every blunder he makes. Princess Isabella has been imported into the story of

Wallace to provide him with another love interest, to elicit further hatred for the English crown, and to modify his heroic status as a loyal freedom-fighter and a virile paramour.

Braveheart's WilUam Wallace is a charming, witty, honest, and educated romanric, who also manages to be a strong, brave, cunning, and savage warrior. He lives and dies in the service of freedom, leaving his country a legacy, a rimeless legend of mythic appeal.

This paper will examine the film's historiographic function, its manipulation of myths and , facts and ficrions, texts and images, its re-making of Scotland's greatest hero.

13 Notes

Genesis 28.14

"The Stone of Desriny." Online. Internet. Available: catalyst-highlands.co.uk/wallace/desriny.htm

^ Goldstein, R. James. The Matter of Scodand: Historical Narrative in Medieval Scotland. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. 75.

"^ Ibid., 75.

^ Ibid., 66.

^ Ibid., 74.

7 Ibid., 74. See also Broun, Dauvit. "The Birth of Scotrish History." The Scotrish Historical Review 76.1 (1997): 4-22. Broun points out that Bisset's work "contains the first extant Scotrish account of Scotrish origins to cast Scotland rather than Ireland as the Scottish homeland" (13). Bisset writes on behalf of his people, to teU their story, to fashion their history, to fijse the Scots with the land they inhabit.

^ Ibid., 69.

^ Ibid., 73-74.

^^ Ibid., 70-71.

^^ Ibid., 76. 12 Blakeley, Brian L., and Jacqueline Collins, eds. "Declararion of Arbroath (1320)." Documents in Brirish History Volume I: Eady Times to 1714. 2nd ed. New : McGraw-Hfll. 1993. 80. ^^ Ibid., 80.

^^ Goldstein, 93. See also Mason, Roger. "Scotching the Brut: PoUrics, History and National Myth in Sixteenth-Ontury Britain." Scodand and England. 1286-1815. Ed. Roger A. Mason. : John Donald PubUshers, Ltd., 1987. 60-84. Mason points out that "as the enduring symbol of the kingdom's original and continuing independence, the ancient line of kings supplied a vital counterweight to an English historiographical 14 tradirion which insisted that Scotland was and always had been a dependency of the crown of England" (60).

^^ Blakeley, ed. "Declaration of Arbroath (1320)." 80.

^^ Ibid., 80.

^"^ Ibid., 81.

^^ Ibid., 81.

^^ Ibid., 81.

2^ Ibid., 81.

^^ Goldstein, 94.

22 Ibid., 219.

2^ Ibid., 218.

2"^ Ibid., 218.

2^ Ibid., 219.

2^ Ibid., 222. 27 See the Minstrel. Schir WilUam WaUace. Ed. James Moir. Edinburgh: WilUam Blackwood and Sons, 1889. X. 536. 2S Goldstein, 232.

29 McDiarmid qtd. in Ibid., 267. ^^ See Moir, XU. 1238.

31 See Goldstein, 221, where he comments on Robert Bums' letter in which the poet "confesses that reading the poem as a youth made his blood 'boil' to this day." ^2 Ibid., 279.

^^ Ibid., 279. 15 CHAPTER U

ELICTFING ANTl-ENGTISH SENTIMENT

Wielding pathos as deftly as its hero swings his sword, Mel Gibson's Braveheart virtually deifies WilUam Wallace by horrifying and offending the audience with the forces of evil and then placing him in direct opposirion to those powers. Love for Scotland is forged in the fires of hatred for England. Affecrion for William comes easily when one detests Smythe, the disgusring soldier whose abusive acrions provoke Wallace's reactionary rebellion. Zeal for is bom out of loathing for the

EngUsh king*s cause for oppression. King Edward is characterized from the very beginning as a cruel pagan, and he never changes; in fact, his ruthlessness becomes increasingly apparent as the film winds inexorably toward its conclusion. Braveheart plays upon the revulsion felt toward Smythe and the resentment felt toward Edward I, inciting its audience to despise all things EngUsh and sympathize with all things Scotrish; it employs heavy-handed techniques to characterize Wallace and his glorious fight for independence by characterizing England and its vicious struggle for dominarion.

Edward I Seizes the Throne of Scotland for Himself

The first words spoken in Braveheart come from a voice-over by King Robert

Bruce I, who promises to tell us of Wifliam Wallace. He claims that "historians from

England will say [he] is a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes."

Rather than wriring history, he teUs it - a different sort of transmission, more Scotrish than English, more Highland than Lowland. Historical discourse, he implies, is dominated by England, the colonial power that would seek to subjugate Scotland, its

16 colony. He wiU tell us, then, of WilUam Wallace - one of the "hanged heroes." Robert

Bruce cannot proceed much further, though, without setring the scene for his audience:

"The King of Scotland had died without a son, and the King of England, a cruel pagan known as Edward the Longshanks, claimed the throne of Scotland for himself."

The historical records of this event are as follows: it appears that at first Edward merely wished to resolve the dispute between the chief rivals for the throne, John Balliol and Robert Bmce the Cbmperitor (King Robert Fs grandfather). Edward considered himself an overlord. He had, in fact, been summoned for assistance in the succession controversy by a letter Guardian Bishop Eraser sent him on 7 October 1290 and by an anonymous note sent to him in the name of the seven earls of Scotland; this latter message "addressed a violent protest to the Guardians John Cbmyn and Bishop Eraser who had, by now, openly espoused the cause of John BalUol." From the atritude expressed in this missive, it seems that its logical source was Bruce the Cx)m peri tor, who by seeking help assumed or at least hoped that Edward would endorse his posirion.

Unfortunately for the Bruce facrion, though, Edward's assistance would cost them more than they had anticipated. In his Waverley Annals, Sir indicates that it was Longshanks' design to "bring under his dominion the King and realm of Scotland, in the same manner that he had subdued the Kingdom of Wales." Wales was considered a fief of England since the Norman invasion under WilUam the (Donqueror. His barons had overtaken eastem and southem Wales and ruled over the area for generarions with the

King of England as their feudal overlord. Lleywellyn ap (jrufftidd (d.l282), who by the rime of his reign had been established as the Prince of all Wales, "refused to do homage to

Edward I, [and] the EngUsh king proceeded to subdue the Principality and to incorporate it into England." ^ The two situarions were idenrical in the enterprising eyes of Edward; the Scotrish barons owed him the respect due an overlord.

17 Most of the nobiUty in Scotland owned lands at home and in England, and so the\ were at least required to do homage to Edward for them. Moreover, during the winter of 1290-91, Edward gathered documents which asserted that the land of Scodand was, since the time of Locrinus, son of Brutus and great-great-grandson of Aeneas of Troy, an

EngUsh territory. The mythical founder of Britain had divided the lands among his three sons, Locrinus (England), Albanectus (Scotland), and Cambrus (Wales), and the transacrion that made England overlord involved a battle in which the invading King ot

Hungary, Humber, killed Albanectus but was later slain by Locrinus. So, Alba (Scotland) went to the avenging brother. This preposterous explanarion of Edward's right to overlordship drew on the power of myth, not fact, for it totally disregarded all other invading forces before 1066 — the Romans, the Angles and Saxons, and the Danes for instance — while overlooking the Treaty of Birgham- (1290), a document allowing for the marriage of the young Prince Edward to Margaret, the Maid of Norway.

This treaty also empharicaUy arriculated the details of English-Scotrish relations should this marriage come about: "Nothing shaU be added to, nor taken away from, the rights of either realm, nor to or from the kings of the said realms, in such a way that they might not enjoy their status and posirion freely. . .. [The] realm of Scotland shall remain separated and divided and free in itself, without subjecrion to the realm of England."

As the nobles anricipated a union between their young queen and Edward's son, they obviously suspected that the English king might take advantage of the arrangement and do to Scotland what he had done to Wales just a few years before. However, in faimess to Edward I, since Margaret of Norway died en route, any agreement made between the two realms which was in view of the proposed marriage was rendered null and void.

TTierefore, when the Scotrish nobles assembled in May 1291 to have Edward hear their dispute over the crown, they were met with an opportunisric king presenring a case

18 for his own suzerainty. He would not help them settle their controversy unril they acknowledged his overlordship. After the rime aUotted them, aU the Scotrish could offer Edward in response was the explanarion that since they were serving as guardians of the commimity of the realm of Scotland and none of them were reigning as the rightful king, no one had the right nor did all of them together have the power to promise or deny anything that would affect the rule of their true and future monarch.

Neither did they offer any proof to counter the assertions of the legend presented in o Edward's myth about Bmtus' sons. So, Longshanks declared that their defense held

""nihil efficax (nothing effectual)" and proceeded to ask the men seeking the Scottish throne if they recognized the EngUsh king's suzerainty. Only then did he offer his services as an arbiter of their dispute. The first to agree to the arrangement was Robert Bruce the

Competitor, followed by Balliol, (Domyn, and the other nobles in attendance.

Edward quickly seized the Scottish to ensure peace during a tumultuous time that threatened civfl war, and on that same day, 11 June 1291, by his new authority as superior lord of Scotland, he had the ruling guardians resign and then reappointed them along with an English . The Scotrish nobles were given from 13 June until 27

July to come to either , , Invemess, or Perth and swear fealty to Edward.

Most everyone did, but curiously absent is the signature and seal of Sir Malcolm WaUace of , the father of Wifliam WaUace. Edward then created a court comprised of

"twenty-four auditors seconded from Edward's council, and forty auditors each nominated by BalUol and Bruce." These men met first on 3 August 1291, adjoumed unril 2 June

1292, came together again on 14 October, and on 17 November reached a decision: 17 "John Bafliol shall have seisen of the kingdom of Scotland."

The guardians were dismissed; the castles were tumed over to the newly chosen king; Balliol pledged fealty to Edward on 20 November; on 30 November, John was

19 crowned King of Scotland at Scone. However, those English barons who had in theon.' given the major castles over to BalUol were sriU in place, and English soldiers srill patrolled some of the townships. For two years, John reigned as what some regard a

"puppet king," subject to the prompring and direcrion of Edward. But in 1293, John

BalUol asserted himself and ignored an order from King Edward that he appear in court.

In reprisal, Edward took away some of John's land and forced him to appear before a judge, at which rime he was charged with contempt. Later, in 1294, BalUol once more summoned his courage and refused to honor Edward's demand for his presence; this rime his attendance was needed in the form of military might. The English were in a conflict with France and required soldiers. But, because he could not bear to be ordered about and because Scotrish relarions with France were far too precious to risk, Balliol and his troops remained in Scotland. Angered at such disrespect and rebellion, Edward retaliated with resolve: "In October 1295, he ordered the seizure of property held by Scots in

England; in February 1296 he ordered the sale of such property; and in April he ordered the arrest of all Scots Uving in England." It was at this rime that King John otticially recanted his oath of fealty to Edward.

Longshanks responded to BalUol's renunciarion with deadly force, defearing the

Scots at Berwick, , , Edinburgh, and Srirling. He then asserted his overlordship again and removed from Scotland its "most important ideological apparatuses of Scottish idenrity." ^ Edward took from Scotland those things which would remind the Scots of who they are - a disrinct community with a unique heritage and a narional idenrity:

He confiscated the treasures and regaUa from Edinburgh , along with cartloads of Scotrish records and muniments. He seized the Rood of Saint Margaret, a cherished narional relic. He removed the Stone of Scone to Westminster. . . .[The] removal of the historical and religious

20 regaUa of Wales and Scotland in 1283 and 1296 respecrively was a calculated attempt to obUterate the symbols of communal memor>' and past independence.

Shortly after this wholesale robbery of his kingdom, John BalUol surrendered his crown and was reUeved of any and aU symbols of his authority. It was not unril this point that

King Edward the Longshanks of England claimed the throne of Scotland for himselt. He made his posirion clear in his adaptation of a new governmental seal which read in part,

"Seal of Edward, by the grace of God king of England . .. appointed tor the rule of the kingdom of Scotland." '

In Braveheart's re-casting of this historical narrarive, Robert Bruce's voice-over omits much that would taint his narion's reputarion and much that would help the 18 viewers see how Edward presumed to seize the Scotrish throne. Historians from

England might not accuse the Bruce of lying in this parricular portion of his story about

William Wallace, but they would reprimand him tor glossing over important details with his unfairly simpUstic summary of the events leading up to Edward's claim on the throne.

Lures Scotrish Nobles to a Bam

Robert Bruce continues to color his audience's perceprion of Edward as he tells of how the Scotrish nobles were summoned to make peace. They had been fighring each other over the crown, so Edward brought them together under a banner of truce. The voice-over is deUvered during shots of men riding down a forest trail. We are then introduced to Malcolm WaUace, the father of the hero. Malcolm and his older boy John are leaving to visit MacAndrews, one of the nobles invited to the meering with Edward.

The gathering is over, but Malcolm has not heard from any of those who attended. It is clear that WflUam's father suspects trouble.

21 As he and John approach the MacAndrews' homestead, their horses break the silence with screams of fear. The two dismount and grab farm implements before they near the bam. As the door creaks open, the devastaring reason for the silence appears: every noble and his page hang from the rafters. The ropes twist and the beams creak.

(3ne man's blue tongue hangs from his mouth. Startled by a noise from the other side ot the bam, Malcolm grabs an ax from John and prepares to defend himself In walks a terrified WilUam. Panicked, he mns about the room, lost in a grizzly maze ot dangling bodies, yeUing in shock and horror. WaUace's father and brother wrap their arms around the boy and calm him, but they are too late. The hatmring images are emblazoned in

WilUam Wallace's memory. He will never forget what terror awaits those who meet

Edward the Longshanks under a banner of truce.

The impression is made upon the audience as well. The situation is clear. While a bit greedy and unorganized, the Scotrish people are nothing Uke the EngUsh. Edward is a cruel pagan who achieves peace by killing those who would make war. However, the problem with using the episode at the bam to characterize the king is that the event itself 20 may have never happened. The massacre is recounted in The Wallace, the popular

15th century baUad by Blind Harry the Minstrel. The poet claims that his source is a

Larin biography of William that was compiled by his personal chaplain, John Blair.

Unfortunately, Blair's account is not extant, but The Wallace is: Harry's version of the 21 in the bam is quite different from Braveheart's.

The Minstrel's version notes that the mass murder at did not happen unril 18 June 1297, a year before Wallace led the Scots to victory at SrirUng. Therefore, he was not a tratimarized boy horrified by the slaughter of his noble leaders. In fact, it is doubtful that Wallace wimessed the atrociries at the bams of Ayr: he "had gone to

Kingace that day and thus evaded the trap. When he entered Ayr in the aftemoon he

22 was intercepted by a yoimg woman of the Crauflird family who gave him the frightful 77 news." Wallace then ralUed a few men and struck back with a vengeance, killing hundreds of the English soldiers encamped near Ayrshire. , author of the

14th century poem , refers to the occurrence at Ayr in passing, and the

Complayru of Scotland, a 16th century poem, regards it as a matter of fact. However, none of the accounts can be reconciled with any great precision, and many historians consider 7 3 the event to be a pure fabricarion. Others assert that the story of the Ayrshire bams is an exaggerated manifestation of tales told about the August 1298 skirmish with Edward's invading troops. In his Annals, Lord Hailes posits that it is based on the "pillaging of the

EngUsh quarters at Irvine in July 1297." It is generaUy believed that some type of exchange took place between the EngUsh forces and the Scots in Ayr around 1297-98.

Local legend holds that while he did not see the murdered Scotrish nobles, Wallace did watch the violent reprisal -- EngUsh troops being burned aUve in their homes. The film, of course, does not show its hero reveUng in these deaths.

If it happened at aU, then, the killings at the bams of Ayr took place much later in

Wallace's Ufe than early boyhood. Braveheart would have us sympathize with the poor child exposed to such terror at a tender age. In fact, William brings the psychological trauma up when he discusses Edward's (un)trtistworthiness with Princess Isabella, causing her to respect the rebel and suspect her father-in-. The film's opening scenes are packed with pathos in all the right places so that the Scotrish shortcomings are concealed while those o( the EngUsh are exposed.

Tries to Breed Them Out

Edward is not portrayed as merely ruthless and violent, but sexually manipularive as well. After giving his hearers a gUmpse of Wallace's boyhood, Robert Bruce's

23 voice-over describes a scene in . Edward II is marrying Princess ;

although the match is poUricaUy and culturally advantageous to both France and

England, the prince is not eager. It is hinted that Edward's son is homosexual. Images ot

Christopher Marlowe's Edward U come to mind as the hesitant groom prepares to kiss his

new bride. Obviously distressed, he looks over at Phillip, his Gaveston. The King glares

at them both, and Edward U quickly gives Isabella a peck on the cheek. The Bruce

conrmients on the state of affairs: "it was widely whispered that for the princess to

conceive, Longshanks would have to do the honors himself. That may have been what

he had in mind aU along." He intimates that the King could have been devious and

deviant enough to guarantee his line by sleeping with his homosexual son's wife. We are

made to wonder as the next scene develops.

Sitting in on a council meering on her husband's behalf, Isabella wimesses her

father-in-law's capacity for ruthlessness. He tells his counselors to grant the Scotrish

nobles lands in England and EngUsh nobles lands in Scotland so that both are too greedy

to oppose his wishes. When his idea is coimtered with an explanarion that the nobiUty

are already heavily taxed, Edward thinks of a plan to assuage them. As he ponders his

oprions, he (the camera) gazes at the princess. Isabella returns the stare with a look of

wonder. What is he up to? Edward decides to bring back an old policy:

Grant them prima noctes, "first night." [looking at IsabeUa] When any common girl inhabiting their lands is married, our nobles shaU have sexual rights to her on the night of her wedding. [The princess is shocked.] If we can't get them out, we'll breed them out. That should fetch just the kind of lords we want to Scotland, or no taxes.

Not only is the ruthless Edward willing to use his considerable power and influence to legislate rape, he seems to revel in teUing Isabella what awaits the Scottish maidens (and also what might await her), measuring the princess's reacrion. His glare as he pronounces

24 his judgment holds a hint of something more sinister, as if he secretly wishes to sire an heir by his son's young bride. The entire episode is of course a fabricarion, a of deceprion by Gibson designed to paint an even darker portrait of the English king.

Edward I never manipulated feudal law in such a way as to allow his lords sexual favors in 25 exchange for miUtary service — not by means of an official edict, anyway. The occasion works as a plot device, giving rise to the events which provoke Wallace to retaliate and involve himself in the fight for Scotrish independence.

Disciplines His Gentle Son

Edward I is not just the Hammer of the Scots, for his son receives many blows himself. Braveheart depicts Edward II as a weak prince, a foppish fool who is unable to govern in his father's absence. On the eve of his departure for France, the king finds that the sheriff of has been killed by a rebel named WaUace. Jusrifiably upset, he seeks out his son to instruct him on how to manage the kingdom under such pressures.

Apparently obUvious to the threat of rebellion, Edward U pracrices archery in the castle, using his father's throne as a resring place for his target. The king enters and sees his son surrounded by his entotirage of male companions who applaud with each shot from his bow; Edward I glares at his chair, noricing the arrow embedded at the point where his head would be if he were seated. The prince's friend Phillip is nearby. Longshanks is clearly angry as he addresses the gathering: "Scotrish rebels have routed one of my garrisons and murdered the noble lord." Edward U tosses his bow on a table and responds with arrogance, "I heard. This WaUace is a brigand, nothing more." His father finds that evaluarion lacking and invites the young prince to suggest a proper response to Wallace's lawlessness: "And how would you deal with this brigand?" With an increased degree of insolence, the prince answers: "Like any common thief. Have the local magistrate arrest

25 him and pumsh him accordingly." Once again displeased with his son s answer,

Longshanks orders the courtiers to leave, and once they are beyond the doors, he lashes out with the back of his hand, knocking the naive boy to the floor. Accusing the pnnce of ignorance and weakness with his every word, Edward explains the situation more clearly:

Wallace has already kiUed the magistrate and taken control of the town. Stand up. Stand up. [grabbing his son by the throat] In the moming, I depart for France to press our rights there, and I leave you here to quell this little rebelUon, understood? Is it? [the prince whimpers in agreement] One day you will be a king. At least try to act like one.

First of aU, the king is bothered by the arrows piercing his throne; then he is infuriated by the scene of Edward II showing off for his boyfiiend; and finally, his stupid child has no idea, no sense as to how to run the kingdom. In Longshanks' mind, his son deserved verbal and physical assault.

In another instance of corporal ptinishment, Edward I returns from his top to expand his land holdings in France and finds his entire northem army decimated.

WaUace had defeated them at Srirling, and the prince's meager attempts at quelUng the rebelUon were entirely ineffectual. The king strides into the room and demands an explanarion for his son's inacrion, but the response is interrupted by an urgent message from York: Wallace has sacked the greatest city in northem England. The note bearing this frightful message is accompanied by a basket wrapped in cloth. Edward II lifts the shroud and is repelled at the horror of its contents. Longshanks does what his son could not; grabbing the bloody head by the hair, he lifts it from the basket, quickly recognizing his nephew. He drops it and reflects on the implicarions: "If he can sack York, he can invade lower England." Edward II's Gaveston, PhilUp, interjects: "We would stop him!" Annoyed, the king quesrions his son: "Who is this person who speaks to me as if I

26 needed his advice?" The prince answers confidently, "I have declared Phillip my high counselor." Sensing an opportunity for expressing his frtistrarion, Edward calmly

approaches and places an assuring arm aroimd PhilUp. The king asks him what he would do regarding the problem with Wallace as they walk toward the open window, but before

the unsuspecring advisor can respond, he is hurled from the tower. PhilUp's head splits on 77 the bricks below. ' Infuriated, Edward II draws a dagger and lunges at his father. He is

easily disarmed and tossed to the floor; Longshanks kicks him in the stomach. Such

impudence is not tolerated.

Both of these violent episodes immediately follow an insult to Edward's pride and

a reminder that his heir disappoints him. Wallace kflls the magistrate at Lanark and sacks

York. Edward U fails to comprehend the magnitude of either situarion, and in both cases,

the presence of his companion, Phillip, aggravates Edward Fs responses. The prince's

faults force the king to see that the day would soon arrive when the responsibility for

ruling England must pass into the hands of his inept son. Already unnerved by the threat

Wallace's rebelUon poses, Longshanks is driven to vehemence by his son's failures and

foolish responses. Deserved or not, thotigh, Edward's disciplinary acrions compel the

audience o(Braveheart to once again resent the EngUsh crown — Edward U for his 78 weakness and ignorance and Edward I for his ruthlessness and violence.

Plays People as Pawns

Braveheart's King Edward carefully makes his poUtical maneuvers, ensuring his own personal safety by avoiding the fray. Longshanks chooses his moves cauriously, guarding against anything which would risk his own life. A foil to Wallace's war-leader persona, Edward is the removed observer, sitring above and behind the acrion, calcularing and plotring; WflUam's hands are stained with blood of his many enemies, while the king's

27 are stained with the ink of his many decrees. 7Q Edward masterminds manipularive strategies, advancing his daughter-in-law IsabeUa as a negoriator and his conscripted troops as expendable possessions. The possibiUty that the princess' Ufe could be endangered is seen as an asset (the King of France's wrath would fall upon the Scots), and the certainty of his soldiers' Uves being taken is considered a financial benefit (the Welsh and Irish divisions would require Uttle upkeep once they are killed).

Isabella is first enlisted as a negoriator when Edward realizes that a truce must be arranged with Wallace; he refuses to meet the rebel in person, for his nephew's fate had caurioned the king against risking his own royal head. On a mission to coerce Wallace into an amicable resolurion, the princess presents the king's terms — a withdrawal from

York merits ritle, estates, and a chest of gold. Ever the loyal patriot, William refiises to barter. He also suspects Edward's morives: "Hie last rime Longshanks spoke of peace I was a boy. And many Scotrish nobles, who would not be slaves, were lured by him under a flag of truce to a bam where he had them hanged. I was very young, but I remember

Longshank's norion of peace." He tells her his (Braveheart's) version of the incident at

Ayr, playing up the childhood trauma angle to elicit her sympathy. This scene contrasts the wily king with the scrupulous freedom-fighter, the vicious murderer and the tenacious avenger. Wallace is pardoned for his excessive violence since it is in defense of his country and in defiance of tyranny. He is the underdog, the common man throwing off a yoke of oppression. His cause is legirimate, and his war is sancrioned. Longshanks iniriated the conflict; he is to blame for the backlash. Peace would mean enslavement for the Scots, and Wallace will not accept it passively: "You tell your king that WilUam

WaUace wiU not be ruled, nor wiU any Scot while I Uve." Norice he does not claim

Longshanks; Isabella is to report back to her king. How could a hero claim such a man as his overlord?

28 The princess returns to King Edward and reports that Wallace waits for him at

York. Longshanks seems pleased as he explains to his war council, "The Welsh bowmen

wiU not be detected arriving so far around his flank. The main force of our armies from

France wiU land here to the north of Edinburgh. [signaUng on a map] (2)onscripts from

Ireland wiU approach from the southwest to here." Confused, the prince asks his father

how he intends to mobilize his troops quickly enough to implement such a plan, and

Edward responds: "I dispatched them before I sent yotir wife, [to Isabella] So our Uttle

ruse succeeded. Thank you." Isabella is clearly angered when she sees how he has

manipulated her, and she appears upset that the romanric and strangely alluring Wallace

will be trapped. (She later acts on her affecrion for him, sending a private message urging

him to escape to a safe position.) The princess now understands Wallace's skepricism.

Edward's character is all too apparent: he cannot be trusted, and he should not be

respected. He would risk the life of his daughter-in-law so that he could ensnare an

unsuspecting Wallace, and for Isabella, that fine line between being clever and being

devious has been crossed. From this point on, her loyalty to Longshanks is not as strong

as her attracrion to WaUace. As her debriefing conrinues, she subtly shows her disdain

for Edward in her reply conceming her opinion of the rebel: "A mindless barbarian, not a

king Uke you, my lord." Edward responds in a similarly contemptuous tone, telling her to

get back to her embroidery. Before she can leave the room, though, her husband asks

about the gold which had been sent as a bribe. She tells him that she gave it to ease the

suffering of the children of the war. Longshanks hacks and laughs, exclaiming, "That's

what happens when you send a woman." Isabella replies sarcasrically, "Forgive me, sire. I

thought that generosity might demonstrate your greamess to those you mean to rule."

Again the king coughs, this rime more violently, and bittedy growls, "My greatness will be

better demonstrated when Wallace retums to Scodand and finds his country in ashes."

29 The chauvinisric jabs at the woman who would go beyond her prescribed bounds and participate in matters of state were surely meant to jusrify the princess' changing opinion of Edward and to provide morive for her subsequent treasonous encounters with Wallace.

And the cruelty and hatred in the king's vitriolic voice as he convulses and coughs serve to enhance Edward's characterizarion as an excessively harsh leader bent on destroying the man who dared defy England's efforts to subjugate Scotland.

Another scene which portrays Longshanks' lack of concem for the princess occurs when he decides to assassinate Wallace. He reasons that the growing resistance in

Scotland can be easfly suppressed if their leader is kiUed; the sheep are "easfly dispersed if we strike the shepherd." Since WaUace is famous for his uncanny instincts, a trap must be set with care. After considering his oprions, Edward proposes a solurion: "If what

Lord Hamflton tells me is correct, he warmed to our future queen and would trust her.

So we'U dispatch her with the norion that she comes in peace." His advisors plead for the safety of the princess, and the king responds with an air of delight in his cunning: "If she were to be killed, we would soon find the King of France a useful ally against the Scots,

[to Edward II in a teachable moment] You see, as king, you must find the good in any situarion." Luckily for the princess and for William, Nicolette (IsabeUa's personal escort) has overheard the enrire conversarion in the throne room, and so she moves quickly to warn them. Once again, Braveheart presents a conniving king using Isabella as a pawn, looking for the good that would come to him from such an evil plan. This episode also reinforces for the princess and for the viewers the fact that Edward I cannot be trusted.

She owes him no allegiance. Isabella feels free to serve Wallace and to advocate his cause in secret.

A final example of Edward's ruthless maneuvering is in Braveheart's depicrion of the battle at Falkirk. As the conflict approaches, the king is advised that his archers are

30 ready, but he balks at using them: "Not the archers. Arrows cost money. Use up the

Irish. Their dead cost nothing." This blatant disdain for his foreign conscripts and for

human Ufe itself does nothing to ingrariate Edward to the audience and does much to make the Irish soldiers' defection to the side of the Scots even more jusrifiable and 30 enjoyable. Later, as the battle ensues, Longshanks finally caUs for the bowmen; his

general is amazed: "I beg your pardon, sire. Won't we hit our own troops?" The camera

doUies in for a close-up as Edward responds with a ringe of imparience: "Yes, but well hit

theirs as well. We have reserves. Attack." The close-up helps us to look into the face,

into the eyes of a cold-hearted kiUer. Even his fellow EngUshmen do not warrant an

emorional response from the king. He cares nothing for his people it seems, but he is

intensely interested in victory — even if it comes to him at the expense of a few pawns.

Smythe

Laughs at Perversion

Just as it disgusts viewers with the loathsome Edward I, Braveheart sickens its

audience with the repulsive Smythe, a retainer of the local English lord who has jurisdicrion over the village of Lanark. Lord Bottoms invites himself to a post-nuptial

celebrarion to claim the right of prima noctes. Smythe stands and snickers as the English soldiers separate the unfortunate couple and the bride is escorted away by the baron.

WaUace wimesses the vile encounter and is obviously infuriated by the transacrion that forces his friend's wife to be dishonored. WflUam is the one Smythe must slither around as he moves through the crowd and back to his post. The hero simply glares at the pervert who finds humor in legalized abducrion and sancrioned sexual assault. The subsequent scene shows a drenched Wallace standing in the dilapidated remains of his former home, obliviotis to the pouring rain. An encounter with Smythe and his English

31 cohorts had done much to sober the oprimisric youth. TTieir next meering would do even more.

Attacks Wallace's Wife

After WiUiam and Murron marry in secret and share their wedding night together, they try to resume Ufe as tisual, so as to maintain the ruse and protect Murron's honor

(any pubUcity of their union would bring Lord Bottoms back and perhaps a punishment for conceaUng it). They pass one another in town, and WilUam asks when he can see her again. Smythe leers in the background. William tugs at the bridal swath which Murron had tucked imder her dress; the ogling Englishman norices. Smythe clearly understands what that cloth symbolizes, and his perverse interest is aroused. Once William leaves,

Smythe signals his companions and trafls Murron; he offers to help her carry a basket of vegetables. After she poUtely refuses, he menrions that she reminds him of his daughter back home, a comment that seems to be more of a confession and causes us to suspect that his affection for his daughter is less than appropriate and that his intenrions toward

Murron are less than honorable. Smythe's remarks about his daughter also remind us of prima noctes and of Edward's incestuous overtones as he speaks with his daughter-in-law;

Braveheart's dirty old Englishmen stalk young maidens. (Since its king and its soldiers are both exude evfl, the film's England reeks of corruprion from top to bottom.)

Sensing danger, Murron evades Smythe as best she can, but he and his fellow soldiers comer her. After she punches him, he throws her into a nearby hut. When she falls, he leaps on her, licking her face and groping her body. In desperarion, the young woman bites his cheek, only to be backhanded. A long shot captures the altercarion. As the English soldiers assault Murron, WilUam comes out of nowhere and jumps them from behind. He hits one man with a rock, knocks another over, and rams Smythe into a wall.

32 PuUing Murron up, he norices that the attack has attracted attenrion. WiUiam helps

Murron mount a horse and watches her ride away, beyond the reach of the pursuing soldiers. He fights for his own safety, assuming that she has foimd hers in a nearby grove.

Donning an English uniform from one of his assaflants, WilUam escapes to their rendezvous point, ignorant of what we have wimessed — the brutal capture of his bride on the far side of the village.

Murron is apprehended, and without a trial is strapped to a pole for execution.

The magistrate explains that since she attacked the king's soldiers, Murron will be punished as if she had attacked the king himself. A close-up shows the innocent's blcwdy face streaked with tears. The perspecrive then becomes subjective as it changes to a glancing low angle shot; we see Murron's view of the hills surrounding the village; she scans them for any sign of her avenging husband, but the hills are empty. The magistrate approaches her with a shiny blade, and Smythe winces, sadly reaUzing his part in this death (perhaps even thinking of his daughter). The knife is pressed to Murron's throat, but a close-up of her head does not allow us to see the incision made across her neck; her weeping eyes shut as her life is let from her veins.

Represents England

The character of Smythe personifies all that King Edward's England is to William

WaUace's Scotland — a dirty old man who tries to rape a beauriful, innocent bride.

Murron/ Scotland is attacked by Smythe/ England, who wants to subdue her sexuaUy/ poUticaUy, assuage his lust for pleasure/ power, all at the expense of her honor/ freedom.

It is up to WaUace to rescue her once, and he is successful. But due to events beyond his control, Mtirron/ Scotland is executed/ subjugated by the magistrate/ Edward I. The rest of the film is the story of how WiUiam fights to avenge his wife/ free his country.

33 Notes

EngUsh chroniclers wrote of WaUace's murderous crimes, while Scotrish poets recited his chanson de gestes. (3f course the historians from England wiU claim Robert Bruce is a Uar; their historiographical projects were diametrically opposed to those the Scots produced. The EngUsh writers wished to record the offenses of an , while the Scotrish bards Uke Blind Harry sought to sing the praises of a hero. 2 ^ MacKay, James. William Wallace: Brave Heart. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, 1995. 45.

•2 Scott, qtd. in Ibid., 50.

"^ Blakeley, 74.

In 1278, King Alexander III showed fealty to Edward I for his lands in England, but he adamantly refused to do homage for Scotland itself

^ MacKay, 52.

n Qtd. in Goldstein, 31.

The Scots lacked an adequate response to Edward's claims to historical precedent unril 1301, when Baldred Bisset composed Instructiones and Processus.

^ MacKay, 54.

^^ Ibid, 56.

^^ Ibid., 57.

^2 Qtd. in Ibid., 59.

^^ Goldstein, 44.

^"^ Ibid., 46.

^^ Ibid., 46.

34 When John BalUol was divested of all the symbols of his authority-, Edward took from him his royal insignia, tearing it from BaUiol's robes — thus the nickname, "Toom Tabard," empty coat.

^^ Ibid., 47. 18 Robert omits any reference to the meering of the nobles at Norham-on-Tweed in the summer of 1291, neglecring to menrion the Scots' submission to Edward I; the Bruce's grandfather was among the first of the nobles to acknowledge the EngUsh king's overlordship. 19 Wallace will bring up the story of the hangings in the bam when he speaks with Isabella about Longshank's penchant for cruelty. 20 See Ibid., 222.

2^ See MacKay, 124-25.

22 Ibid, 124-25.

2^ Ibid., 222.

2"^ MacKay, 125.

25 There is absolutely no record of Edward I ever enacring prima noctes, but its presence in Braveheart elicits loathing for the English and sympathy for Wallace.

See Ross, John M. Scotrish History and Literature. Ed. James Brown. : James MacLehose & Sons, 1884. 85. WiUiam's forces never sacked York; they only went as far as Newcastle. Braveheart borrows that revisionist anachronism from Blind Harry; see Moir, Vm. 741.

77 No evidence suggests that Edward I killed his son's companion; the episode is meant to characterize the king as a vicious viUain. For a discussion of homophobic elements in Braveheart, see Keller, James R. "Masculinity and MarginaUty in Rob Roy and Braveheart." Joumal of Popular Film and Television 146-151. 78 Medieval Europe assuredly did not share America's post-E)r. Spock tendencies; a king had to teach his son to survive and to stay in power, using whatever resources were at his disposal — even and especially an occasional backhand.

35 29 While Edward did often remain behind the scenes, plotring strategies and hatching schemes, he was a veteran warrior; his campaigns in France and his parricipation in the trained and hardened him. When he finally took to the battlefield against the Scots at Falkirk, he fought with two ribs; the king's horse had become spooked somehow and trampled Edward while he slept. See MacKay, 190. 30 See "The PoUrics of Braveheart." Online. Intemet. Available: http://www.baronage.co.tik/bphtm-01/waUace2.html The Irish defecrion presents a fine display of "working-class solidarity," but it makes for poor history. While the Irish certainly hated the English, they did not always get along with the Scots, and there is no record of them ever joining WaUace at the . Perhaps Braveheart has the Irish confused with the Welsh, who by the rime the fighring ensued, had already been in a violent, dmnken brawl with the EngUsh infantry; many Welsh threatened to defy Edward and use their longbows and arrows to help the Scots. See also MacKay, 188-89; Fisher, 77.

36 CHAPTER m ELicrriNG ANTI-COLONIAL SENTIMENT

Braveheart's portrayal of the Scotrish struggle for independence goes beyond simply srirring up feelings of hatred toward the EngUsh, beyond even glorifying heroes or invoking narional symbols and icons. The film depicts a country ravaged by an imjust oppressor, a colony under the thumb of an imperial force. Before Srirling, there are many months of suffering, many days when injusrice is the rule and equality the exceprion.

Before Bannockbum, there are years of battle — retaliarion met with recourse and siege answered with suppression. Night after night, the designs of the EngUsh crown kK)m over the land to the north. Edward the Longshanks sees Scotland as another Ireland, another

Wales — a colony to be taken, a fief to be exploited.

The film evokes emorional responses to England's conquest of Scotland; it is not enough merely to abhor the EngUsh for who they are, because we must also abhor them for what they have done by placing Scotland in a posirion of subjugarion. We must resent the dominant forces that perpetuate the poUrical system which supports and sustains such tyranny, while we must respect the subversive forces that undermine it. We appreciate the devoted Irishmen who willingly sacrifice their lives to oppose a colonizing power; we despise the faithless Scottish nobles who cannot support their own cotmtrymen for fear of losing the wealth and stattis they gain as members of Scotland's ruUng class; we loathe the manipularive Bruce the Leper, who considers the ability to deceive, betray, and hate the characterisrics of an ideal king. The Irish bravely commit to a fight that the nobles are too greedy to wholeheartedly join and that the Leper is too ambirious to fiiUy endorse.

Those whose posirions are privileged by English colonizarion, those who are too far removed from the common people to feel the burden of oppression, find it difficult to risk

37 losing what they have for the chance at attaining what they are not sure they w ant. It is more prudent to negoriate for lands and ritles, more wise to stay alive, but the moral ot

Braveheart's story is that it is infinitely more noble to fight.

Irishmen

Braveheart presents a tyrannical Edward I who maintains his militar\' might by exploiring his Irish and Welsh colonists. He orders his conscripts to cross England's northem borders and invade Scotland; his Welsh bowmen fire on the Scotrish troops, and his Irish infantry rush into the fray. But aU is not so simple. His conscripted forces resent him and his authority over them. The colonists revolt. Irishmen are in league with Scots, and the king's payments are wasted on soldiers who despise subjection. The Irish see no value in killing those who would risk everything to throw off the yoke of English oppression. Why not fight alongside the Scotrish rebels with whom they share a common enemy? This appears to be the reasoning of Stephen, WaUace's Irish aide-de-camps. 2

He faithfully supports the cause for Scotrish independence, inirially out of hatred for the

English but eventually out of devorion to the Scots.

Insane?

Just before the battle at Srirling, WflUam and his troops make camp and prepare for the fight; Wallace and his close friends eat stew and discuss how to face the heavy . Stephen and another man, Faudron, walk through the Scotrish camp and approach the fire. Faudron falls to his knees and pledges his loyalty to WiUiam, whfle

Stephen steps past the war-leader and heads for the food. He speaks to the crowd: "That can't be WiUiam WaUace. I'm pretrier than this man." Stephen then dips a spoon into the pot and samples the victuals (without permission from his hosts). Wallace seems

38 amused by this brash Irishman. Stephen looks up at the sky and mumbles with his mouth fuU, "All right Father, III ask him. [He smacks his stew and walks toward William.] If I risk my neck for you, will I get a chance to kiU EngUshmen?" Suspicious of this bizarre addition to their band of warriors, Hamish asks, "Is your father a ghost or do you converse with the Almighty." Stephen asstires the burly Scotsman that "in order to find his equal an Irishman is forced to talk to God"; then he receives another message from on high.

The Lord wants them to stop changing the subject and answer his quesrion about fighring the EngUsh. Stephen swears as he speaks, incurring the wrath of the pious Hamish:

"Mind yotir tongue." CampbeU also reacts to Stephen's oddness and vulgarity: "Insane

Irish." At this, Stephen draws a dagger from his sleeve and holds it to Campbell's throat.

Swords are drawn in response. No one moves, and then WaUace handles the tense situation: "That's my friend. Irishman. And the answer to your quesrion is yes. If you fight for me, you get to kiU the EngUsh." Relaxing a bit, introduces himself:

"Excellent! [puts his knife away] Stephen is my name. I'm the most wanted man on my island, except I'm not on my island, of course. More's the pity." Srill war>' and a little curious, Hamish responds, "Your island. You mean Ireland?" (3rinning wildly, Stephen answers with confidence, "Yeah. It's mine." Hamish calls him a madman, and Stephen says that he has come to the right place, then. They aU laugh.

Guardian Angel?

The film cuts to a forest where WilUam stalks a deer with his bow and arrow.

Sensing his opportunity to shoot, WaUace crouches and aims at the unsuspecring doe.

Just as he is about to fire, the deer looks up quickly and cringes. WiUiam hears something behind him; Stephen is rtinning toward him with a short sword gripped tightly in his right hand. WaUace turns on the Irishman and rears back to fire his arrow but hesitates.

39 Stephen is looking past WilUam - at Faudron; the Scot who had so recently pledged that his sword belonged to WaUace leaps from behind a tree and raises that ver>' weapon against him. Stephen hurls his blade Uke a knife, and it flies over the crouching bowman and into the heart of the approaching assassin. Faudron falls to the forest floor.

In shock, WiUiam just stares at his Irish savior. Stephen steps over to the corpse, pulls his sword out, and glances over at the hero: "Sure the Almighty didn't send me to watch your back? I didn't like him anyway. He wasn't right in the head." Astounded that the crazy Irishman proved more faithful than the humble Scot and amazed at such divine intervention, WilUam tums his eyes toward heaven. Braveheart suggests that Wallace is protected by the Lord, that Scotland's hero finds favor in the eyes of the Almighty.

How fortunate the madman came when he did, and how significant that a foreigner could be more reliable than a fellow countryman. Stephen serves as a constant

reminder that an Irishman with an intense hatred for the EngUsh and for their imperial power can be trusted more than a Scotsman who is not always sure what to think about colonizarion. A madman is more loyal than a noble. For the rebellious Irish, the only good Englishman is a dead one, but for the privileged Scots, the only good Englishman is a generous one. These scenes encourage Braveheart's audience to accept the crazy

Irishman and reject the greedy nobles; Stephen is more entertaining, more witty, more loyal, and more dedicated than Scotland's own leaders. We are meant to admire the selfless service of the Irish and advocate the cause they support - absolute freedom from

England's colonial oppression.

Enemies?

As the film cuts to the Scotrish army preparing for the battle at Falkirk, Stephen assures WflUam that although the rumors about Edward I bringing in Irish conscripts are

40 true, there is nothing to fear. It is his island after all. Wallace holds a meering with the nobles and demands their support, but he meets increased opposirion; they do not care to incur the full extent of King Edward's wrath. WilUam eventually persuades Robert Bruce to rally the clans under his influence so they might face the English with a united force.

When the armies assemble on the field at Falkirk, though, the Bruce is noriceably absent.

Momay and Lochlan stand ready with their cavalry. Craig never comes. But William is confident that Robert wiU arrive.

Longshanks orders the first attack; he sends in the Irish since good arrows are expensive. The conscripts move into place and trot toward the Scots. William and his men rtish ahead. The two armies meet in the middle of the field, but they do not fight.

Stephen leads the Scots in greering the Irish Uke old friends. Longshanks is upset but not enrirely surprised it seems. His colonists are all the same; they hate him.

William's combined Irish and Scotrish forces then engage the English infantry and cavalry in pitched battle. WaUace waves a chevron at Momay and Lochlan, signaling them to attack, but they simply tum and ride away. ^ Edward had bribed them with

Scottish land and EngUsh estates, and their mixed loyalries could not be overcome by some abstract sense of patriotism or nationhood. Their posirions are guaranteed by wealth and status, possessions which Longshanks provides for them far more easily than

Wallace. The nobles prove more interested in fortune than freedom, while the Irish prove more loyal to their fellow than to their feudal . William can rely upon foreigners whom he has never met to fight and die beside him, but he cannot depend upon his own countrymen to even stand behind him, much less risk their Uves in battle beside him. Like the Scots, Braveheart's audience receives the Irish warmly, welcoming them to the fight for freedom, sympathizing with their passionate struggle to strike back at the enterprising EngUsh.

41 The Scotrish and Irish forces conrinue a brave but hopeless contest against the larger and better-equipped English army, while the Welsh bowmen's arrows rain down upon them all. Many good men fall in battle - Campbell, MacGregor, Morrison. An arrow hits WaUace just above his heart. Seeing perhaps his last chance to get Edward, he grabs a horse and pursues the royal entourage as it leaves the field to celebrate their recent victory. A hooded is ordered to protect the king. He lowers his lance and

unhorses WilUam. Feigning death, Wallace lies srill. The knight dismounts and approaches, kneeling beside his enemy. WiUiam quickly lunges at the gullible warrior and

removes the mask to sUt his throat. Robert Bruce screams. Dumbfounded, Wallace sits back in horror and confusion. The Bruce came to Falkirk, but he sided with Scotland's

enemy. Amazed at this lack of loyalty, astounded that his hopes would be dashed by his noble lord, shocked that the leading contender for the Scotrish throne would betray his

own people, WilUam falls back and shuts his eyes, resigning himself to his fate.

Bruce does not try to explain himself. There is not rime; other English soldiers are

running towards them. Suddenly, Stephen appears. Robert picks the wounded Wallace up from the ground and puts him on the Irishman's horse. Baffled but eager to get his friend out of danger and into safety, Stephen just stares at Bruce and spurs his horse on with a deep roar of anger, frustration, and rebuke. Robert stands alone in the field as the soldiers head off in pursuit of the Scots. Seeing something in the grass where Wallace had been, he bends down to pick it up - Murron's bridal swath, embroidered and bloody.

Gripping this symbol of Wallace's solemn union with his wife, Robert is shamed by his own infidelity; he has broken his vow to unite the clans. Bruce has betrayed his country's best chance at freedom: he has lied to WilUam.

The acrions of the nobles and especially of Robert Bruce are contrasted with the faithfulness and fideUty of Stephen and his Irish troops. When it comes down to the

42 shedding of blood, WflUam has as his most trusted aUies those foreigners who would rather kiU the EngUsh than be ruled by them, and he has as his most villainous enemies those countrymen who would rather be financed by the EngUsh than attack them.

Braveheart assumes a working-class consciousness in its audience, expecring viewers to sympathize with those lacking land, ritles, and status; the upper classes are devious and undeserving of their power and wealth, while the lower classes are genuinely loyal and imdeserving of their disadvantaged posirion.

The film depicts the Scotrish nobles as manipularive and shallow; they ofrer their aUegiance to those with the power to ensure that they remain the . At this point in their history, they feel that Edward I can offer such assurance. Wallace's rebellion is a threat to everything that they treasure. If they die on the battlefield, then they will have lost it all; if they are conquered and deposed, then they will have lost it all; and if Wallace is successful and leads them to freedom, then he wiU himself become great and powerful, and they will have lost considerable authority among their own people. Momay, Lochlan, and Craig do not wish to imagine what poUrical influence Wallace might one day wield if he were to lead Scotland to independence. Manipulated by the designs of his ambirious father and controlled by a sense of responsibiUty as the , Robert Bruce wavers in his devorion to the fight for freedom when he is persuaded that alliance with

England wiU better ensure his position and protect his interests. Although he eventually reaUzes that his people would be better served by a determined warrior who could lead them to freedom, Bmce's faltering loyalty fllustrates one of Braveheart's guiding principles: those who are noble by right or by birth will not always act nobly, and those who have no royal blood whatsoever are somerimes the most noble of all.

43 Loyal Friend

Stephen has told Wallace that he is the most wanted man in Ireland. The

authoriries there had deemed him an outlaw, a brigand; in this way, he mirrors WilUam.

Surely, such a criminal would not likely possess the qualiries required in a soldier. He

would shirk responsibiUries, disobey orders; he would be an unruly annoyance at best and

an unpredictable terror at worst. However, while Stephen is a bit odd, he is neither

annoying nor terrible (except perhaps to the English). The Irishman saves William's life

in the forest, fights by his side as a captain at Srirling, uses his influence to enlist the help

of his countrymen at Falkirk, removes the wounded Wallace from the battlefield, supports

WilUam's decision to go to Edinburgh and meet with the nobles, stands with Hamish at

Wallace's execurion, and storms the field at Bannockbum. Although many others

doubted, flouted, and abandoned the Scotrish cause for independence, Stephen is forever

faithful, a loyal fiiend who sricks closer than a brother.

Scottish Nobles

When the Scotrish magnates in Braveheart weigh the consequences of rebelUon,

many are tempted to side with their feudal overlord, Edward I. Most owe allegiance to

the English monarch and refuse to risk their holdings in the south. Lands and ritles

mean more to them than a sense of nationhood and a taste of freedom. Weak and greedy

men Uke Momay, Lochlan, and Craig treacherously bargain and barter so that their

privileged posirion is maintained. They struggle for more gifts from Longshank's coffers,

not for liberty from Longshank's tyranny. While they are more than willing to stand up for themselves, they will not support their fellow countrymen. They tum from the side of

the slaughtered and join the side of the safe, preferring to profit from the hand that strangles Scotland.

44 Their aUegiance to England brings criricism, and their posirion in Scotland is chaUenged by the common men. What is the role of the nobility in a rebellion against the established powers? Do the soldiers fight for the barons, or do they fight for their country? WiU the nobles support the cause for freedom? Will they commit to battle?

WiU they , or wiU they flee? What does it mean to be noble, anyway? Does the common man risk less than the nobleman when he stands against the enemy? What are the obUgarions of those with power? Should they not use it to establish and maintain a free nation? The Scotrish nobles answer some of these quesrions as they are forced to choose sides.

The choices these men make create a spirit of antagonism toward the whole concept of colonizarion; such abtises of power enrage audiences already sympathetic to the fight for Scotland's Uberation. The nobles' inability to commit themselves to the catise for independence suggests that Edward has already colonized them. They frustrate the struggle for freedom with every self-preserving move they make, for such a fight requires that they beUeve that someone or something is greater, more important, more worthy than themselves. The nobles do not seek liberty from the burden of colonizarion because they are afraid to sacrifice its benefits.

Robert Bruce and his father sum up Scotland's poUrical situation as they speak of

Wallace's rebellion; the wants to charge in and fight, but Bruce the Elder counsels him to caU a meering of the nobles. Robert expresses his annoyance at how all the nobles do is talk. His father explains, "Rightly so. They're as rich in EngUsh ritles and lands as they are in Scottish, just as we are." The nobles will always prefer to negotiate and bargain as long as their wealth is on the Une. Such arrogance and greed is intended to infuriate Braveheart's viewers, moving them to resent the petty maneuvers of the upper

45 class magnates and respect the sacrificial service of the lower class vassals: the rilm appeals to our sense of narionaUsric ideaUsm, to our fascinarion with heroic marrvTs.

Bargainers

As Robert Bruce provides the voice-over for Braveheart's opening scenes, he describes the nobles as having "fought him [King Edward I] and fought each other over the crown." This proves to be an historicaUy acctirate detail. When the king of Scotland died without an heir in 1286, the succession controversy began. Those with a legirimate claim came forward to be officially recognized, and eventually the field was narrowed to just two men, John BalUol and Robert Bmce the Cbmperitor (the future king's grandfather). The members of the Scottish nobiUty had a vested interest in who took the throne, since most owed aUegiance to either BalUol or Bruce. Those who sided with the new king stood to profit, while those who sided with his opponent would likely never find themselves back in the good graces of the court. Therefore, the fight over the crown was important not jtist to the comperitors but also to every noble who was forced to offer his allegiance to one facrion or the other.

Braveheart does not provide the details of the contest for the Scotrish throne. We simply see that Edward has had many nobles kflled and that among the stirvivors, BaUiol and Bruce contend for the right to rule. The film actually omits any references to Balliol being chosen by Edward I and the assembly of nobles and barons at Norham-on-Tweed in

1291; it also passes over the steps by which Bruce the C^omperitor defers to his son, Bruce the Elder, and how the latter defers to his son. After Srirling, a Balliol -- the film does not say which one — requests the support of Wallace after the hero has been dubbed a knight. As the assembly applauds their newfound war-leader, Robert Bruce, the future king, tums to Lord Craig and asks him if he is aware of Wallace's poUrical leanings. Craig

46 answers, "No, but his weight with the commoners can unbalance everything. The

BalUol's wiU kiss his arse and so we must." The Bruce facrion offers graritude to Wallace only to ahead of the BaUiol's, only to maintain a beneficial balance of power. Even the victory celebrarion becomes a ploy, a maneuver to keep the edge in a dirry battle for prominence and posirion.

Before WiUiam can respond to the BaUiol's perition for support, the nobles backing Robert Bruce accuse their opponents of forgery and falsehood, thus starring a heated argument; it appears as if they have had this debate before. ' WiUiam of course wants nothing to do with such squabbUng; he is interested in fighring for freedom, not in arguing over authority. WaUace walks out on the nobles as they discotmt one another's documents and slander one another's name. Whereas the skirmish makes them look petty, it portrays WilUam as focused, determined, and principled. In fact, before he departs to prepare his forces, he rebukes the nobiUty for wasring rime and energy sowing disunity, accusing them of burring the cause for independence: "We have beaten the

English, but they'U come back because you won't stand together." He then asserts that he will invade England, a plan which brings ridicule. Wallace challenges them to see that their own greed is what makes freedom from England seem absurd: "Why? Why is that

[invading] impossible? You're so concemed with squabbling for the scraps from

Longshank's table that you've missed your God-given right to something better." He then offers the nobles a trearise on poUrics and personal responsibflity, proclaiming that he will make sure that the Scotrish people have the freedom they deserve. Wallace impUes that the path to Uberty is not negoriated but blazed. He wiU march, invade, attack, whatever it takes; deals and bargains are for those with the luxury to buy what they want.

A similar showdown occurs when WiUiam asks for the nobles' support in what would become the battle of Falkirk: "We require every soldier you can sununon. Your

47 personal escorts, even yourselves. And we need them now." Speaking on behalf of his

peers. Lord Craig suggests that "with such a force arrayed against [them], it is rime to

discuss other oprions." WilUam's anger builds as he sees the morives behind the nobles'

hesitarion: "Other oprions? Don't you wish at least to lead your men onto the field and

barter a better deal with Longshanks before you tuck tail and rtm?" Wallace has endured

enough negoriaring. He is prepared to fight for what conversarions cannot deliver.

What WilUam wants and what Scotland needs is not a polirical arrangement or a

diplomaric treaty but a tacrical victory, a miUtary triumph. The season for compromise

has passed, and the rime for discussion is done. Bargaining cannot stop imperialism; but

battle can. Braveheart's audience is expected to side with Wallace and yeam for a chance

to see Scotland step away from the conference room and defeat England decisively on the

batdefield.

Leaders?

The nobles, however, are sriU convinced that the situarion with England is best

resolved through the estabUshed means — negoriarion and appeasement. Wallace has

little parience with them and their polirical machinarions; after they tum the ceremony

celebraring his knighthood into an argument debaring Scotland's succession controversy,

Sir WilUam speaks his mind and storms out. He is stopped by Robert Bruce. The leading

contender appreciates Wallace's comments on governmental and individual

responsibiUty, but he wishes to temper the hero's passion a bit: "I respect what you said,

but remember that these men have lands and castles. It's much to risk." (Never mind

that of aU the nobles it is Bruce who risks the most.) WilUam counters Robert's

admonirion with a pointed quesrion: "And the common man who bleeds on the battlefield, does he risk less?" Affected by the impUcarions of Wallace's query, Bruce pulls

48 him to the side before he responds: "No, but from top to bottom, this country has no sense of itself. Its nobles share allegiance with England. Its clans war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you'U end up dead." Robert almost acknowledges the equaUty of the classes as they stand and fall in a fight: both nobles and commoners risk everything when they commit to battle. However, Bruce quickly changes the subject to what is really at issue: Scotland lacks idenrity. The country is divided against itself. Nobles who should be leading the way in the cause for independence give homage to the enemy, not to Scotland (as WilUam does at SrirUng). Clans who should be united in spirit and in purpose divide over regional conflicts and famiUal disputes. This is the status quo, and Robert tacitly accepts it. His appears to advocate a conciUatory stance, as if he would say, "Here is the scenario, now work within it. Stay aUve and reap its benefits as you can." But Wallace contends that a faulty framework should be demoUshed and a corrupt system should be opposed — whatever the cost or personal risk involved. He is even willing to lose his life to find what he seeks: "We all end up dead; it's just a quesrion of how and why." Better to die in strength, courage, and convicrion while throwing off the yoke of oppression than to accept it out of weakness, fear, and compromise and die while srill under it. Better to sacrifice everything while leading your people to freedom than to risk nothing while protecring yourself from failure.

This is Braveheart's message, and it speaks to all those who despise compromise and love

Uberty, to all those who value the kind of courage that tums colonies into countries.

Nobles?

Bruce seems a bit offended at the insinuarion that he is not ready to die for his country: "I'm not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles." Convinced that he must work within the exisring social and poUrical structure, Robert refiises to

49 acknowledge the possibiUty that freedom could come through the unity of the Scotrish people, regardless of status. Who needs the support of greedy nobles who share allegiance with the enemy? Who needs help from the unprincipled pawns of the English crown?

Why follow men you do not respect? WaUace challenges Bruce to consider what it means to be noble, suggesring that what the Scotrish people need is not so much a man of royal blood but a man of royal character: "Your ritle gives you claim to the throne, but men don't foUow ritles- They follow courage. Now otir people know you. Noble and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they'd follow you. And so would I." The Scotrish armies do not need a noble with an impeccable pedigree; they need someone with a brave heart. Robert Bruce's social status makes him eligible to sit on the throne, but courage wiU give him the people's loyalty. Wallace's theory is that Bruce can give the Scots idenrity, that he can give them a sense of unity and purpose, that he can unite the clans and lead them all to freedom. William even pledges his own allegiance should Robert take up the mantle of responsibility laid before him.

According to Bravelieart, if Wallace supported anyone in the succession controversy, it was the Bruce facrion. However, historical records indicate that he backed BalUol as the rightful king; when he was Guardian, Wallace signed off as a servant of King John, and when he went to France c.l303, he supposedly lobbied the French

Q court for support of BalUol's claim. William probably showed respect toward BalUol because John was iniriaUy installed by majority vote and the endorsement of England; he was deposed by Edward I and not by the Scotrish people. Therefore, Balliol belonged on the throne as the legirimate monarch.

Wallace's encouraging exhortarion to Bruce reinforces the norion that a noble is of no use unless he acts nobly. If Robert waits for his barons and lords to band together, if 50 he tarries unril Edward agrees to acknowledge his claim to the Scotrish throne, if he lingers while his land is slowly colonized through deals and bargains with the enemy, if he trusts the nobles to help him, then he will fafl. Scotland wiU not be one; he will not be king, his country wiU be a fief, his nobiUty wiU grow fat and old, and the cause for independence will be lost. He mtist muster the courage to lead his narion into battle, for only then wiU the nobility unite, only then wiU he rule his people, only then will they be free.

Cowards

Wallace's speech challenges Robert Bruce and chides all those who would be content with Longshank's leftovers: "You've missed your God-given right to something better. There is a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with posirion. I think yotir posirion exists to provide those people with freedom." Braveheart holds the nobles responsible for ensuring that no oppressive power robs Scotland of its divine right to Uberty; therefore, all who fail to abhor colonizarion are themselves reviled as unfit to rule. In fact, as he addresses the nobles a second rime,

WiUiam even goes so far as to say that those who resist outright rebelUon against the

EngUsh dishonor the : "We won at SrirUng, and srill you quibbled. We won at York, and you would not support us. If you will not stand up now, then I say you're cowards. And if you are Scotsmen, I am ashamed to caU myself one." Being a Scot means not being afraid to do batde, not being inrimidated to stand up and defend your narion against tyranny, even if that means risking your life and property. For nothing is worth having if it is not yours. Clontentment in a system that denies the fullness of freedom is shameful. If they are Scotsmen, then they should champion the cause of their countrymen.

51 Traitors

Wallace's insults anger the nobles, forcing Robert Bruce to try reasoning with him.

He accuses WilUam of leading with rage and not courage. But the passionate Wallace

wiU not be restrained; sensing Scotland's opportimity, he speaks fervently about the hope

of independence: "Now is our chance, now. If we join, we can win. If we win, well then

well have what none of us have ever had before - a country of our own." WilUam

eventually persuades Bruce to grant his endorsement and unite those clans under his

leadership.

After the disastrous battle at Falkirk, after the Bruce has broken his promise, and

after Momay and Lochlan have deserted him, William exacts vengeance. Riding into

Momay's bed chamber (somehow negoriaring the castle's halls and stairs), Wallace wakes

the traitor from a guilt-induced nightmare; he had been dreaming of William and fire. As

Momay opens his eyes and wipes the sweat from his face, his door crashes open. Wallace

steps his horse onto Momay's bed, dangling a ball and chain. Terrified, Momay begs and

screams, but WilUam ignores the pleas for mercy and swings, crushing the noble's skull.

A high-angle subjective shot from William's vantage point captures the bone shattering

mess, as if the audience sits atop Wallace's steed, enforcing jusrice with grizzly

satisfaction. Castle guards charge up the stairs, but before they can reach him, William

and his mount leap out the large doorway facing the moat and escape.

The film cuts to , where the remaining noblemen dine. Robert

seems to have lost his apperite; he just stares at the table with a vacant scowl. The men

are discussing what happened to Momay. Lord Craig delivers his account of Wallace's

vengeful rampage: "More a UabiUty now than ever he was. And there's no telling who'll be next." He apparently has considered WiUiam a threat from the very beginning, and

here he enjoys an opporttinity to incite further fear and mistmst. Forgetring why it is that

52 William killed Momay, Craig fails to draw a connecrion between the betrayal at Falkirk and the murder. Robert sees it, though; he answers Craig's bitter comment about who wiU be next with a sense of despair and resignarion: "Maybe you. Maybe me. Doesn't matter." He realizes that he does not deserve WilUam's pardon; Bruce welcomes death as a release from his guilt. Craig, angered by Robert's flippant remark, assures him that the matter of Wallace's retribution is serious. Robert snaps out of his trance and slams his fist to the table, shaking the containers of bread and broth: "So am I!" Backing down from a confrontarion with his leader. Lord Craig resumes earing; taking a piece of bread, he pulls it apart. As he does, red droplets faU from the ceiUng and cover it. Looking up, they see

Lochlan's body faUing to the table. His throat is cut. Craig curses and orders the minions to search the castle. Robert simply stands to his feet and glares at the murdered noble.

Two down and one to go. Robert is unaware that WilUam has forgiven him, and he fears the hell his sins have merited.

AlUes?

Unnumbered years pass since Falkirk, and Wallace has recovered from his wounds. Braveheart does not show him resigning his guardianship of Scotland and returning to a strategy of guerriUa warfare. It does present WilUam thwarting an assassinarion plot; we assume it is one of many such attempts, becatise as the plans are made to capture him, an English advisor to the king comments on WaUace's ability to detect an ambush. We also find WilUam meering with Isabella again; this rime his mission is not enrirely diplomatic. They share a passionate night together, lovers brought together by romance and rebelUon. Soon after this romanric liaison, the film cuts to

WaUace's camp high in the Scotrish mountains. The wind blows the rain into their faces as visitors arrive with hoods over their heads. Stephen exclaims with sarcasm, "Just when

53 we thought all hope was lost, our noble saviors have arrived." He then orders the coverings removed; Lord Craig and another baron stand before Wallace and his band ot rebels. Craig asks WilUam to a meering with the other leaders, but Wallace balks: "^X'ell, what's the point? You've all sworn loyalty to Longshanks." Keenly aware of the nobles' divided loyalries, Wallace does not trust them. Craig tries to reassure his suspicious audience: "An oath to a liar is no oath at aU. Every- one of us is willing to swear loyalry to you." (He overlooks how his statement could apply to his own treachery; an oath trom a

Uar is no oath at aU.) WilUam asks why the nobles do not make their confession public.

Craig explains that most of Scotland believes Wallace to be dead, while others fear retribution from him; then he asks once more for help: "Cjive us your pardon, and we'll unite behind you. Scotland will be one." WilUam has heard that before; not eager to experience another Falkirk, he remains skeptical: "One? You mean us and you." The nobles have never fully endorsed the commoners' fight for Scotland's freedom; they have always been divided along social Unes and political characteristics. Why shcmld he trust them now?

Apparently prepared for Wallace's cynicism, Craig pulls out what he offers as the pledge of Robert the Bruce — an embroidered bridal swath stained with blood. William grabs it quickly and stares at the nobles. They have invoked his beloved Murron; they must be serious. If Bruce is behind him, really united with him and his men, then they might win their independence. Divided, the Scots are hopeless; they have achieved victory only once - at , where the nobles faithfully adhered to Wallace's battle plan. It could happen again. Wallace seems to realize at this point that he is no longer a

"Guardian and High Protector of Scotland." His army is just a band of demoralized oudaws, and their only chance rests in the hands of Bruce and the nobles. Hamish hesitates to trust so easily; a pledge from a traitor is no pledge at all. He chides William:

54 "You do know it's a trap, [to Stephen] TeU him." Stephen assures Hamish that if

Robert Bruce wanted Wallace dead, he would have killed him at Falkirk. (Conceding the point, Hamish leaves Bruce aside and asks what WilUam thinks of the rest of the nobles:

"WTiat about the others? The nest of scheming bastards couldn't agree on the color of shit. It's a trap, are you blind?" Playing the reaUst once again (he was right about Robert not coming at Falkirk), Hamish reminds his life-long friend of the nobles' track record.

(Considering their past performance, taking everything into account, should not William be more caurious? Instead, he is credulous.

Desperate and longing for peace, WaUace places his trust in the nobility, believing that they can provide the man-power and the capital to give them a fighring chance:

"We've got to try. We can't do this alone. Joining the nobles is the only hope for our people. You know what happens if we don't take that chance? Nothing." Peace and freedom will not come to them if they hide out in the mountains; independence will elude them if they try to gain it alone. Relying upon the nobles carries great risk, but a union offers freedom. WilUam's plan holds the mythic appeal of all or nothing. Death is a possibiUty in each plan, but victory is only a possibility with a united Scotland.

Craig as Menteith

As WiUiam rides into Edinburgh, Robert Bruce and Lord Craig step out to meet him; they exchange a brief wave. A boy passes by carrying a sack, and a man approaches

WaUace from the right. Noricing fiirrive glances, Robert suspects something is wrong and peers back at Craig. The look on the noble's face and his nod to the passersby confirm

Robert's anxiety. The Bruce tums just in rime to see English soldiers ambush WflUam from behind. They knock him from his horse and pummel him with rods. Robert screams, "No!" and leaps on WilUam to shield him from the blows; he is hit too. Craig

55 tries to drag his lord out of the fray: "Stay out of it Robert." Bmce cries out, "Ahh! You lied! Getaway! Getaway!" Craig worries that his plan will backfire and yells at the

assailants: "The Bmce is not to be harmed. That was the arrangement." When one blow hits William squarely on the head, he coUapses. They drag him away.

Craig asstimes the role of Sir John Menteith, the treacherous Scot who betrayed his country's greatest hero. Braveheart relies upon Blind Harry's epic poem The Wallace at

this point, sending a conniving Lord Craig to arrange a conference between trusring

WaUace and a sincere Robert Bruce. Harry's version teUs of Robert wriring a letter to

William, requesring a meering at Glasgow Moor on 1 July 1305. Braveheart's

appropriarion of Blind Harry's depicrion redeems Robert Bruce, providing his character

with a catharric trauma, purifying his heart for service; only after Wallace is tragically

captured can Robert pledge fiill allegiance to the Scottish fight for freedom.

According to historical accounts, Bmce had apparently held the rebel in high

regard; WilUam's father Malcolm had supported the Bruce's, and his brother John had

died while fighring for them. In fact, during his alUance with Edward, Bruce "confirmed

to Alexander Scrymgeour the lands which Wallace had given him in 1298." He even

referred to the war-leader as Lord WilUam Wallace — a ritle usuaUy reserved for a landed baron, which he of course was not. The document recording this transacrion was

curiotisly enough written at a rime when Wallace was a guerrilla with Uttle formal support and Robert was a vassal in the service of Edward I. Historians are unsure of Wallace's

exact atritude toward Bruce; as noted earUer, though, it is clear that William considered

Balliol the rightfiil king.

BUnd Harry tells us that upon receiving word from Robert, WaUace makes his way toward Glasgow and takes on a new recruit, the nephew of Menteith. ^^ He had been sent to spy on the Scot and keep his uncle informed of his movements. When Menteith

56 hears of an opportune rime, he and his men surround WilUam; despite a valiant effort to escape, WaUace is captured and taken to London. Menteith was supposedly close to

WaUace (William served as godfather to Menteith's two boys.) However, Sir John was persuaded by a higher power than friendship; he was moved by the authority of overlordship. The orders to take WaUace came from Edward I; Menteith had submitted to the EngUsh king weU before 20 March 1304, at which rime he was made Cbnstable of

Dunbarton. Blind Harry says that Dunbarton castle was a gift to Menteith after he apprehended Wallace, but Menteith's reward was actuaUy forty marks for the inirial arrest, later supplemented by a gift of land which rented for between 100 to 150 pounds a year, a place at the EngUsh parUament, letters of royal protecrion, income from the 17 bishopric of Glasgow, and the earldom of Lennox.

Robert Bruce was probably not aroimd when Menteith took WaUace, and he certainly did not stiffer blows on his behalf, as Braveheart would have us believe. But the scenes are moving nonetheless, showing the sincerity and devorion the Bruce is capable of demonstraring. The treachery also exposes Craig for the weak slave that he is; he bargains for a better deal with Longshanks, using his cotmtry's legendary leader as capital.

Amazingly enough, though, Craig somehow avoids the wrath of WilUam's companions.

As the film closes, he stands on the field at Bannockbum — there to negotiate, of course, not to fight. He rolls his eyes in disgust when Robert Bruce proposes that they attack.

Craig considers advancing against the English a costly move. Why overthrow a system that makes him wealthy and him powerful? Why challenge the status quo? What do the privileged few need with freedom? The Scotrish nobles struggle with these quesrions throughout the film, weighing the consequences of cutting themselves off from

England and joining the fight for independence.

57 Lord Craig's betrayal of WaUace evokes further hatred for the compromising nobflity and elicits pity for Bruce, whose honest attempt at loyalty is thwarted by his father's deceitful scheme. Braveheart's audience has longed for Robert and William to consoUdate forces, but the Leper's vaulting ambition destroys any hope of an ideal union between the rightful king and his virtuous knight.

Bruce the Leper

When nobles Uke Momay, Lochlan, and Craig refuse to support Wallace and his cause, they amplify the audience's resentment of the EngUsh oppression. Their divided loyalties make us wonder if the colonization of Scotland would have ever happened had not the English crown made it customary to grant Scottish lands and titles to EngUshmen and English lands and titles to Scotsmen. The nobles are not the only ones who are invested in feudal entanglements; Longshanks, in particular, is concemed with maintaining this exchange of power and obligation, while Robert Bruce continually struggles with the situation, at times considering it an inescapable fact. His father reinforces in him the desire to profit from having possessions in both countries. Bruce the Leper (also caUed Bruce the Elder) advises his son to support Wallace with his holdings in the north and to oppose him from his lands in the south. They play both sides of the board, keeping the king safe by maneuvering pawns, , and castles when no one is watching.

The characterizarion of the Leper fuels whatever scom the audience might already feel toward greedy, manipularive, power-hungry nobles. Waming Robert that Longshanks is the most ruthless king ever to rule England, he teUs him that none of his family and nothing of Scotland will remain unless they too are ruthless. He also counsels the young

Bruce to abandon Wallace when it appears defeat is certain, encouraging him to remain

58 aUve so that he can inherit the power due his family name. His dark room, his rotring face, his scratchy voice, everything about the Leper repulses us, especiaUy his stance conceming colonization: he wfll gladly barter with the English, sacrificing whatever it takes to ensure that his son wins the Scottish throne.

Hiding

As the nobles meet in Edinburgh, we find the Leper going to great lengths to deceive them. As Robert the Bmce talks with Craig and the others, he brings up the recent decree of prima noctes, offering the Leper's opinion on the matter: "My father beUeves that we must lull Longshanks into our confidence by neither supporring his decree nor opposing it." After he comments on the wisdom in such an approach. Lord

Craig asks about Bruce the Elder, noring that he was absent from the recent council.

Robert covers for his father: "His affairs in France keep him long overdue. [He glances up to the castle battlements, where a soUtary figure walks about in a hooded robe.] But he sends his greerings, and he says that I speak for aU the Bruce's and for Scotland." The

Leper hides in the tower, conceaUng his disease. But he is far from absent, making his presence felt through his counsel to his son. He has already conferred his status to

Robert, making him the 17th Earl of Bruce and the leading contender for the throne. He secretly advises Robert, having his own way by proxy. Living vicariously, the Leper enforces his opinions through the authority of his son. He is hidden, but his poUrical ambirions are not; he often promotes Robert by ruthless means, using his considerable influence as the eldest male in one of the most prominent famflies to manipulate and maneuver his way to the crown.

59 Embracing

After WaUace kflls the sheriff at Lanark and begins his reign of terror throughout

the Scotrish countryside, word of his deeds reaches the nobiUty. Although Edward II considers him nothing but a mere brigand, WilUam has become the leader of a legitimate

rebellion. Robert Bruce walks up the stairs of the tower and visits his father, bringing him

news of WaUace's exploits. As soon as the Leper hears of the rebel, his mind begins

working on a proper response. It is not long unril he calculates the official Bruce posirion;

"You wiU embrace this rebelUon. Support it from our lands in the north. I will gain

English favor by condemning it and ordering it opposed from our lands in the south. Sit

down; stay a while." Robert's father is skilled at devising cunning and polirically

advantageous solurions. His devious likely comes from years of manipularion,

from countless arrangements and bargains with the English. Careful to maintain a gocxi

standing with Longshanks, he speaks from the colonial side of his rotring face when

dealing with the borderlands and the national side when deaUng with the highlands.

Robert had come with a pressing issue, a complicated tum of events, and his father takes

Robert's crisis and tums it into an opportunity; he takes that thomy problem and twists it

into a crown.

Compromising

It is not so simple for the Bruce, though. He is not ready to drop the subject.

Plopping himself into a nearby chair, he brings up William again: "This Wallace, he

doesn't even have a knighthood, but he fights with passion, and he inspires." Robert

senses the hero's mythic appeal, but his father is more pragmaric; "llaughing] And you

wish to charge off and fight as he did. So would I." Such adventures do not befit one

who is in line for the throne; Robert feels it is rime to make his move, to join in and

60 develop a following. The Leper caurions, "It is rime to survive. You're the 17th Earl of

Bruce. The sixteen before you passed you land and ritle because they didn't charge in."

He comes from a long line of cowards focused on self-preservarion; how reassuring.

Robert's expression persuades his father to discuss the matter further: "You admire this

William Wallace. Uncompromising men are easy to admire. He has courage. So does a dog. But it is exactly the abiUty to compromise that makes a man noble." The Leper is quite perceptive; it is in fact difficult to admire compromising men, and it is the Scottish nobility that will prove themselves more than able to demonstrate such characteristics.

Does compromise make a man noble, or do most of the nobles happen to be compromising men? Bruce is made to wonder.

It is not long before WaUace directly challenges the Leper's philosophy. He tells

Robert that his ritle may give him claim to the throne, but that the country wiU not follow a ritular king who lacks courage. The Scots need doggedly determined men of convicrion and strength, unswerving in their commitment, unfailing in their loyalty. What Scotland reqtiires are soldiers willing to sacrifice everything — their lands, ritles, thrones, and lives

— to promote the cause for independence. Robert will soon unhorse the man to whom he promised loyalty; he wiU walk along a battlefield strewn with the bodies of his own countrymen; he wiU see that William Wallace whose courage he admired so much being beaten and arrested. And he will grow to hate his father for teaching him how to compromise.

Betraying

After Robert Bruce betrays WaUace at Falkirk, his father tries to comfort him and assure him that his choice was wise: "Son, we must have alUance with England to prevail here. You achieved that. You saved your family, increased your land. In rime, you will

61 have aU the power in Scotland." For the Leper, faithfulness to a profitable arrangement with Longshanks is more valuable than faithfulness to a sincere promise to WflUam. As far as the Bruce is concemed, when he dishonors his pledge to unite the clans and lead his people, he loses everything of value: "Lands, ritles, men, power, nothing." Nothing is worth what Robert lost when he looked into WaUace's eyes.

Bruce lacks what Wallace has had from the start - a spirit, a charisma, a power deep within. WilUam leads troops who follow him for who he is, while Robert morivates his men with threats of eviction and starvation. The feudal system cannot compete with a brave hero. Robert sees that he has wronged a great man: "He fights for something that I've never had. And I took it from him when I betrayed him, and I saw it in his face on the battlefield, and it's tearing me apart." His father tries to console him; "Well, all men betray. All lose heart." Robert fires back in anger and frustrarion, "I don't want to lose heart!" He does not wish to be like aU the rest, to be one of the sixteen who came before him. He wants to be Uke WilUam: "I want to beUeve as he does." WaUace fights for something, a beUef, a hope, a desire; he wiUs freedom. Thus far, Robert has only fought for lands, titles, and rights. He has only wiUed conformity and compromise.

Disgusted with the Leper and his philosophy, Robert leaves the room with a proclamation: "I will never be on the wrong side again."

(jrooming

In his own heart, the film's Robert Bruce is faithful to his vow; however, he does 1 3 not foresee his father's treachery. Without Robert's knowledge or endorsement, the

Leper and Lord Craig arrange with King Edward for the capture of Wallace. The Bruce had the purest of morives, the most sincere desire to unite with Wallace and defend

Scodand against England's tyrannical imperialism. Unfortimately, he did not take the

62 rime to defend himself from the designs of his manipularive family. WiUiam arrives in

Edinbtirgh on the pledge of Robert Bruce, trusring that his intentions are tmly noble.

Craig has WaUace attacked and arrested on sight and sends him off to London in chains.

Furious, Robert realizes the source of the problem.

Running up the tower steps, bleeding from the wounds he had suffered while trying to protect WaUace from the soldiers' blows, Bruce makes his way to his father's chamber. Kicking the door in, he screams, "Father! You rotting bastard! Why? Why?"

A bit surprised at his son's appearance and mood, the Leper calmly explains, "Longshanks required Wallace. So did the nobles. That was the price of your crown." Once again,

Wallace, Bruce, and even Scotland itself all languish because of the machinarions of the greedy, power-mongering nobiUty. WilUam's head may have bought Scotland's crown, but it has not yet purchased Scotland's freedom. Furious at his father, Bmce finally lashes out, grabbing him by the cloak and pushing him against the wall: "Die! I want you to die." The argument escalates as Robert disowns the Elder Bruce: "I don't want anything from you. You're not a man, and you're not my father." The Leper then takes Robert by the robes and forces his case upon the distraught Earl: "You're my son, and you've always known my mind." His father refuses to be disowned; he has invested too much in his heir to be pushed away now. When the young Bruce rebukes his father for deceiving him, he is himself chided: "You let yourself be deceived. In your heart, you always knew what had to happen here. [Robert tums to leave.] At last, you know what it means to hate; now you're ready to be king." It is as if all this rime, Robert has been groomed by his father to be his ideal monarch - a manipularive, compromising polirician who comprehends the power of hatred. However, Robert refuses to be drawn in to such a future; he assures the Leper as he closes the door, "My hate wiU die with you."

63 Bmce the Elder had longed to see his son assume the throne, to carr\' the family name to Scone, to conrinue the legacy he had received from his father and his forebears.

Robert denies him that. The name wiU go with him, but the heritage of betrayal, manipularion, and hatred wiU not. (Robert has a coimterpart in Edward II, who certainly wiU not ascend the English throne possessing the quaUries of his father.) The film leaves its audience assuming that Robert took aU of the demoralizing experiences to heart, that he saw in his father the result of disease, perhaps an outward manifestarion of an inward condition. In fact, as he argues with his father in the tower chamber, the Leper's face is covered with the blood and fflth of his fllness, while Bmce's is covered in the blood and filth of betrayal. Seeing a picture of his future self, Robert reacts violently, spuming his father and rejecting his de\aous designs.

Braveheart's characterizarion of Bruce the Leper elicits strong feelings from the audience; we loathe him for sharing allegiance with England, for manipularing his son, for handing Wallace over to Longshanks, and for doing everything in his power to perpetuate an oppressive polirical system and to maintain his privileged posirion in it. We resent him for endorsing the colonizarion of his country as long as such imperialism furthers his own cause and pads his own pockets. The film leaves us assuming that the influence of his father urged Bruce to leave his life of weakness and fear and that the influence of Wallace spurred him on to greamess and courage. We certainly leave the Leper hoping that his impending death wiU help to liberate Scotland by freeing Robert up to rule with the honor and strength his nation requires of him.

64 Notes

See Prestwich, Michael. "(Dolonial Scotland: The EngUsh In Scotland Under Edward I." Scodand and England 1286-1815. 6-17. Prestwich mentions Edward's insistence upon referring to Scotland as a land, not a realm, "relegating Scotland to a similar status to Ireland, that of a land ruled over by himself as lord. At the of 1307 Scotland was indeed listed as one of the king's lands, along with Wales and Ireland" (7). It seems that King Edward considered Scotland his colony as he granted lands there to his own nobles (15). 2 Braveheart reUes upon Blind Harry's poem for Stephen's character; there is no other historical evidence that one of Wallace's closest companions was a wild Irishman. See Moir, V.79.

-J See Moir, V.155 for the source of the Faudron character; sent as a spy into WilUam's camp, Harry's Fawdotm steals a strip of from Wallace and relays it back to the EngUsh. Those searching for William's band of rebels ^ve the cloth to hunring dogs and send them into the forest. Just before Wallace, Kerly {Braveheart's Hamish), Stephen, and the new recruit, Fawdoun, can be comered, WiUiam thrusts his sword into the traitor; he reasons that Kerly would not have betrayed him and an Irishman would never have helped the English. Braveheart's version of this story works to portray Stephen in an even more flattering light; more than just an innocent bystander, he personaUy comes to WilUam's rescue and reminds WaUace of God's protective guidance.

^ WaUace was indeed deserted at Falkirk; the cavalry rode off the field without engaging the enemy. See Wamer, PhiUp. Famous Scottish Batdes. 1975. : Bames and Noble Books, 1996. 56. MacKay, 197-98, attributes the treachery to Red Comyn and his men, noring Blind Harry's scathing criricism of (Zbmyn's jealousy toward Wallace as well as Fordun's comments that the fleeing cavalry betrayed the Scots out of envy for WiUiam and his increasingly presrigious posirion.

^ See Gray, D.J. William Wallace: The King's Enemv. London. Robert Hale, Ltd., 1991. 20-21. Gray explains that Scotrish "barons who held land in both countries came to suffer divided loyalries. Their fear of losing their more producrive EngUsh possessions accounted for many Scotrish nobles changing sides during the War for Independence" (21).

^ Ibid., 49. Gray reports that Bmce the Elder, "deciding not to compromise his claim to the throne, made over his eaddom to his 17-year-old son, young Bruce, the future king, on 7 November 1291."

65 In fact, the Bmce and BalUol facrions conrinued to bicker for years, somerimes violently; one of the Bruce's chief opponents through that turbtdent period between 1286 and 1314, the Comyn clan, was alUed with the BalUol famfly.

o Ibid., 129-130. Gray provides a copy of a letter foimd on Wallace at his capture in 1305; it supports the claim that WilUam went to France: PhiUp, by the grace of God, King of the French, to my beloved and tmsty agents appointed to the (Court of , greeting and love. We command you to request the Supreme Pontiff to hold our beloved WflUam Wallace of Scotland, Knight, recommended to his favour in those matters of business that he has to despatch with him. (129) Although no proof exists that WaUace met with John BalUol during his travels, Balliol was being held under the Vatican's supervision at that time and such an encounter was possible (130).

^ MacKay, 252.

See Gray, 146. According to Harry's poem, Edward I sent Sir Aymer de Valence to Menteith, offering Sir John Longshank's "highest favour if he complied." Menteith accepted the proposal, ordering his nephew. Jack Short, to pose as a Scotrish volunteer.

^1 Gray, 147.

12 MacKay, 256.

1 -2 (jray explains that after Bruce the Elder was removed from his posirion at CarUsle Castle by a suspicious Edward I in October 1297, he "rerired to his estates and died in 1304" (49). Therefore, Braveheart's asserrion that the Leper arranged for Wallace's capture in 1305 is dubious at best.

66 CFL\PTERIV

ELICmNG PRO-INDEPENDENCE SENTIMENT

Despising England's colonizarion of Scotland does nothing pracrical for the cause of independence. Abhorrence must be converted to acrion; Malcolm Wallace, CampbeU, and more significantly, Robert the Bruce each demonstrate this transformarion in Braveheart. These men channel the anger and frustrarion they feel and lash out in retaUarion against their oppressors. Drawing on the anri-EngUsh and anri-colonial senriment that the film elicits, the depictions of these characters focus those feelings into an intense zeal for the rebelUon and a deep sympathy for Scotrish independence. Malcolm and Campbell Uve and die as warriors in the service of freedom, leaving their sons a legacy of patrioric responsibflity. Braveheart concems itself with the issues of heritage and inheritance: WilUam follows in the steps of his father and uncle, taking up the sword to defend his family and his people; Hamish mirrors his father's ferocity, preferring brawn over brains as he savagely fights for his homeland; Robert Bruce carries his family name to Scone, reigning on behalf of his clan and his country. Robert the Bruce slowly reaUzes his role as a force for independence, reflecring in his development the changes which shape Scotland itself. Like his narion, he struggles with his sense of idenrity, batding doubts and fears, wondering about an uncertain future. His allegiances are divided as he faces the chaUenge to get behind the fight for independence; as a Peter to WaUace's Christ, he wavers at rimes in his commitment to the cause, suffering immensely for his disloyalty. The powers of poUrics and greed control the Bruce's poUrical situation, but when he finaUy combines Wallace's passion with his pragmatism, he finds freedom.

67 Malcolm Wallace

A hero must have roots, and WilUam's are with his father. Braveheart pictures

Malcolm as a man of humble means, strict but loving toward his sons. He will face death for his friends, cherishing the principle of freedom above his own Ufe. In fact, Malcolm speaks to WilUam in a dream, reaching beyond the grave to communicate what appears to be a spiritual truth: his heart is free. WilUam's vision of his father is one of many in the film, reinforcing the fact that WaUace is in touch with something bigger than himself, that he has otherworldly endorsement, that the fight for independence is his calling, his fate.

(Commoner With His (Dwn Lands

If a knight can be called a commoner, then Braveheart's portrayal of William's father is correct. Sir Malcolm WaUace of EldersUe has been demoted to the lower classes; making him a "commoner with his own lands" rather than a knight creates a more patheric family background for WiUiam. The legendary hero of the film emerges from the community of the realm, rising above his social status and into a struggle with the principaUries and powers of a dark world. He leaves his simple life as a farmer's son and becomes a mflitary genius and a poUrical icon. However, William WaUace was actually the son of a knight, the nephew of the sheriff at Ayr, Sir Reginald Crawford. While he was not a noble, Malcolm provided for his family quite ably, affording his second son,

WilUam, a proper education. Any alterations to Malcolm's identity were assuredly made on behalf of Braveheart's protagonist, providing WiUiam with humble origins so that he cotild hold sway over the commoners, so that he could make the barons nervous, challenging the norion of class disrincrion on the basis of heredity and quesrioning the very concept of nobility.

68 Firm But Gentle Father

The voice-over which opens the film and sets the scene for the audience introduces Malcolm and his family. WilUam sneaks along behind his father and brother, traiUng them as they ride down a path. His father speaks sternly to him, rebuking

WilUam for disobeying the order to stay at home. Malcolm explains that he and John are off to visit MacAndrews, because they have not heard from him since Longshanks met with the nobles. Wondering what is keeping his neighbor, Malcolm strains to respond calmly to William, but the tension and fear build as the boy persists, begging to accompany them: "Go home, WilUam, or you'U feel the back of my hand." Disappointed and a little hurt by the harsh words, William tums to leave. Malcolm and John move on and evenmally discover the dead bodies of the hanged nobles. As the two make their way into the bam, they hear a noise. They raise their farm implements and peek around one of the corpses, startling the intruder — WilUam. The horrified child runs through the labyrinth of men and boys swaying from the rafters; Malcolm and John grab him and comfort him. No punishment for the disobedient boy, just hugs and consoling words; what he had wimessed was torture enough. father tums gentle, holding his traumarized child; WilUam has been scarred for Ufe, his conscience forever seared by the atrociries of the EngUsh crown. In fact, Braveheart stages these scenes with graphic clarity, insuring that the audience is horrified as well, insuring that Wallace's hatred for

Edward is shared by the viewers.

Later, as Malcolm and John prepare to depart for battle with the English, William climbs on his father's horse, presumably to accompany him on this mission. Malcolm's response is playful this rime:

Malcolm: "Where do you think you're going?" WiUiam: "I'm going with you."

69 Malcolm: [smiling] "You're going with me, are you? And what are you going to do?" WilUam: [returning the grin] "I'm gonna help." Malcolm: "Aye, and a good help you'd be, too. [picks the boy up, puts him over his shoulder, and sets him on the ground] I need you to stay here and look after the place for me while I'm away." William: [with a courageous air] "I can fight." Malcolm; [pausing, touched by WilUam's sincerity] "I know. I know you can fight, [leaning down] But it's our wits that make us men. [William nods.] See you tomorrow."

This tender moment between father and son employs that familiar scenario where the man of the leaves his boy in charge, transferring masculine authority to a regent while the king of the castle is absent. WiUiam's mother never appears in Braveheart, and so the queen is away as weU. Malcolm makes William feel important and useful as he guards home and hearth; the arenas in which a good man proves himself are not limited to battlefields, for nothing is more sacred, according to the ethos of the film, than the responsibility of the male to protect his property. Malcolm goes even farther, though, asserring that a real man fights with his wits about him.

WilUam's father introduces the theme of mind over matter, brains over brawn, the mental over the physical. This concept wiU challenge everything from Hamish's playful exhibirions of brute strength to Edward I's imperialisric demonstrarions of might makes right. Malcolm gently shapes WilUam into a man of wisdom and insight, cunning and strategy. He insrills in his son a philosophy which enables him to march into battle with impossible odds against him, to devise the defense against the English heavy cavalry, and to outwit many an assassin.

Warrior

When the Scotrish nobles traveled to a bam under Longshank's banner of truce, they were apparently seeking an amicable resolurion, but they found a noose instead.

70 Their deaths deflated the spirits of the Scottish people, especially those desiring peace.

During a discussion of possible retaUarion for the offense, MacClannough, the father of

Murron, exclaims with despair, "Every nobleman who had the will to fight was at that

meeting. We cannot beat an army. Not with the 50 farmers we can raise." The

commoners had rested their hopes on the abiUty of the nobles to negotiate with the

English. With much of their leadership decimated, many Scots apparently see little

promise of an independent fumre. However, Malcolm Wallace reminds his people that

their nation is larger than those slain leaders and that they need not defeat the English in

order to achieve victory. The triumph is in doing what is right; "We do not have to beat

them. Just fight them. Now who's with me?" CampbeU is immediately persuaded,

followed shortly by the others assembled. The next moming, the farmers depart for

battle.

Haunring Inspiration

The English kill Malcolm and John during this fight, and so Campbell and the

other survivors put their bodies on a cart and haul them back to the Wallace farm. ^

During the funeral, WilUam's Uncle Argyle arrives to take custody of him. After the two

eat dinner, Argyle steps out into the night and kneels on a mound overlooking the grave site. A close-up frames his bowed head resring on the hilt of a shining broadsword; his

large, wom hands wrap around its sharp blade. He prays for his brother: "The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord cause his light to shine on thee. The Lord lift up his coimtenance upon thee and give thee peace. Amen." The film then cuts to a long shot of Malcolm, his dead body spread out on a table; blue light showers down from above and illumines the corpse with an eerie glow. The camera dollies in quickly, framing a close-up of Malcolm's face; his head tums toward the viewer. A quick cut to bird's-eye objecrive

71 point of view captures a shot of Malcolm and WilUam lying on their backs next to one another; they stare into each other's eyes. WaUace's father speaks to him in a hushed but passionate tone: "Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it." Thunder rolls and bagpipes play; WilUam slowly awakens and tums his head away from the vision. Malcolm has shared another nugget of wisdom with his son; WilUam's inner man is not held captive; England can never imprison it, and Longshanks can never seize it. Freedom leads him, and he goes where it takes him. Such a venture requires courage — a brave heart. This vision from beyond establishes William as a chosen vessel, a prophet, a man with a mission. His quest for freedom is sancrioned by a spirit; his life has been set apart for service.

When WilUam starts at the sounds of music and lighming, he walks outside and joins his uncle; it is here that he begins to see his legacy, the direcrion his Ufe will take.

The mountains echo the hatmring melodies of bagpipes, and the night sky is lit with the blazing flames of scattered bonfires. Malcolm's friends stand around his grave. When

WflUam asks what they are doing, Argyle explains that they are "saying goodbye in their own way, playing outlawed tunes on outlawed pipes. It was the same for me and your daddy when our father was killed." Wallace's uncle tums his eyes from the funeral pyre and looks down at the boy. WiUiam glances first at his uncle and then at his huge sword; noricing his curiosity, Argyle holds the hilt toward him. StruggUng to lift its heavy blade, the young warrior raises the weapon to the sky; firelight bounces off the smooth, shiny surface as WilUam stares at its sharp edges. Reading his nephew's thoughts, Argyle reaches down and slides the sword from his hand, stabbing its point into the rocky sofl below. William is not yet ready to take up the legacy of violence and vengeance; "First, leam to use this [taps his forehead], then I'll teach you to use [quickly pulls his sword

72 from the ground, making it ring] this." The orphan seems mesmerized by the beauriful blade, perhaps envisioning the day when he wiU carry its equal.

WaUace has a heritage to uphold, but since he can barely Uft a sword, his uncle decides he must first be educated; Argyle reminds WiUiam of another family principle, one Malcolm had himself emphasized; using your head is more important than wielding your weapon. WilUam's dead father reveals truths through dreams, and his mysterious uncle speaks of legacies and family secrets by firelight. (Wallace had apparently not known of Malcolm and Argyle's reaction to their father's death.) His grandfather had not simply died of old age; he was kflled, and since the Wallace's are fighters, the boys in this clan bury the men in this clan. That is how things have always been, and WilUam wiU carry on the family tradition; he wiU Uve a Ufe of independence or die trying.

Campbell Hamish's father exemplifies the mythic Scot - a battle-hard highlander, eager to defend his land and preserve his freedom. He never hesitates to support his clan and country, exhibiting an almost reckless bravery; he teaches his son the ways of war, passing down a heritage of bmte strength and savage soldiery; he fights with passion, even when mortally wounded; he considers dying in the defense of liberty an honor. Braveheart's depicrion of this fierce warrior draws upon his charismaric personality and unflappable atritude; an appealing model of heroism, CampbeU eUcits the viewers' regard and respect by living up to his role as one of the faithfiil remnant, one of the old guard who stands with tenacity against aU who threaten his freedom. As he fights ftiriously alongside his countrymen, he swings with the rage from a liferime of injusrice; when he falls in battle.

73 he dies with the peace from knowing that his Uferime was spent in the struggle for independence.

Tough Warrior

CampbeU is the first to offer his sword when Malcolm Wallace urges for retaliarion against the EngUsh for the nobles. He leads the men back from the fracas, walking beside the cart which bears the dead bodies of WilUam's father and brother. As a leader and as a family fiiend, Campbell is the one to call the young WiUiam to his side and explain how Malcolm and John feU in battle. It appears CampbeU never loses his warrior spirit, for when WflUam retums to his homestead as an adult, the old soldier srill bums with narionaUsric fervor, holding "secret meetings" and recruiting rebels; he reminds WaUace that his father was a fighter and a patriot, attempring to spur William on to simflar service.

WaUace refuses the offer to join CampbeU's underground resistance, thinking that by living peacefully he might win the blessing of Murron's father. The English, however, have greater success in provoking William to acrion; when the magistrate executes his wife, he fights. Braveheart glosses over the events immediately following Murron's murder, and so it is unclear whether or not William organized his townsmen or plotted a plan of attack. However, as soon as WaUace lands his first blow against the helmet of an approaching English soldier, Scots leap out from every hut and hovel, wielding farm implements and throwing rocks; CampbeU and Hamish are the first to help. Killing any

Englishman who crosses his path, Campbell swings and parries, hacks and stabs, leaving many corpses behind him. But as he ascends the hfll toward the sheriffs outpost, an arrow pierces his leather mail and imbeds in his chest. He faUs to the ground, and

Hamish rushes over to tend to him; Campbell refiises his son's assistance after Hamish

74 tries to puU the arrow out. Slapping his "idiot boy," he breaks the shaft himself and rises to his feet; there is more fighting to be done. Noricing an archer up on an embankment,

CampbeU picks up a stray and lunges it at his chest; the bowman falls. Campbell rushes ahead, sensing a chance at storming the gates of the fort. He Uft^ the large wooden portcullis, allowing the others to charge in; he does this using the very muscles that have been stabbed with an EngUsh arrow.

As CampbeU holds the gate above his head, a soldier from within mns toward him, waving a sword, but the burly Scot never flinches; his duty is to stand, so he stands.

Just before an enemy blade slashes into his throat, Hamish advances, blocks the soldier's swing, and saves his father. CampbeU could not have known that a rescue was certain; he simply remained at his post. The warrior never fears death in battle, for dying in the service of his clan and coimtry is the highest honor.

When the skirmish is over, it is rime to bind the wounds of the injured;

CampbeU's chest must be cauterized. Hamish heats a poker in the fire, pulUng it out when its end glows red. Sipping whiskey to dull the pain a bit, Campbell cries out,

"Whatcha waiting for boy?" As he nears his anxious father, Hamish passes the hot iron to Morrison: "Here. You can do it; I'll hold him down." ReaUzing the reason for

Hamish's offer, Morrison passes the poker to another: "Here. You can do it. I'll hold him down." This unfortunate soul leans down and slides the iron under Campbell's shirt and rubs it around the wound; the flesh sizzles, and the warrior screams. Hamish and

Morrison leap out of harm's way, but it is too late for the man with the poker. Campbell knocks him to the ground with a vicious right to the jaw and stands to his feet: "It'll wake you up in the moming, boy!" Everyone laughs. Campbell is expected to be violent; it is assumed that he will strike out; Hamish and Morrison have sense enough to stay clear of a fighter's hands.

75 Proud Father Campbell takes pride in Hamish's great size and strength, seeing in his son the makings of another powerful warrior. When Wallace comes home to Lanark and attends Morrison's wedding ceremony, he meets up with his childhood fiiend. Hamish drops a rock at WilUam's feet, chaUenging him to a test of manhood. They agree to throw large stones, since the English do not aUow them to train with swords. After Wallace buds his rock and the crowd cheers, CampbeU hands a stone to Hamish and offers words of encouragement: "Here you go, son. Show him how. (Come on!" When Hamish's toss surpasses William's, CampbeU exclaims with glee: "Ha Ha! My boy!" William then chaUenges his fiiend to another contest; this rime, Hamish must throw with accuracy, using his brawn as it matters in battle. WilUam stands at about 20 paces and invites Hamish to aim for him. CampbeU brings his son the stone; "He'U move. Come on there, boy." Hamish misses, but WflUam's smaU rock lands squarely on "Goliath's" forehead. As proud a father as he is, Campbell recognizes the mark of a warrior and congratulates his son's opponent: "Fine display, young WaUace." Besides reintroducing William to his community with great fanfare, this episode depicts the bond between father and son, showing CampbeU's love for Hamish and for a good fight - not necessarily in that order.

Free Spirit Campbell eventually joins Wallace in his struggle for independence, standing beside him in battle, serving as a captain in his army and as an aide-de-camps, fighring without his left hand after Stirling, charging the field at Falkirk. He Uves and dies by the sword. During the batde at Falkirk, after Momay and Lochlan betray Wallace and ride

r away unscathed, brave Scots begin to fall. Along with MacGregor and Morrison, CampbeU receives his death blow; an objecrive long shot frames the scene. An ax swings 76 around from off the screen and plunges into CampbeU's ; he roars in pain. The freeze frame used in the special effects depicring this attack causes the acrion to slow for a bit, forcing the audience to take it aU in; CampbeU has been hit; the veteran of the old guard is down.

Once the horrible battle ends, Wallace's men limp off the field to tend to the woimded. The night sky glows with blue light, bathing the injured Scots in an eerie gleam as they lay in the mud near a pond. William slumps against a hut as Stephen kneels beside him, while CampbeU is propped against a rock as Hamish tries in vain to wash his father's gut and keep it from bleeding. A close-up brings us near Campbell as he whispers with an air of resignarion, "I'm dying. Let me be." Hamish refuses to hear such talk:

"No. You're going to Uve." CampbeU summons his strength for one last statement to his son: "I've lived long enough to live free, proud to see you become the man you are. I'm a happy man." He exhales his last breath and Hamish cries, pulUng his father to his heaving chest. A high angle shot shows WaUace give a look of outward regard, glancing at his companion caring for CampbeU; WilUam grieves to see the last moments of the man who had served him so weU as a veteran warrior and as a Ufe-long friend.

This tragic and touching scene captures the final words of a great fighter; he is happy for two reasons: he has lived to see the day when he can swing his ax in defense of freedom, and he has lived to see Hamish become a true Scot - big, strong, brave, and fierce. This highlander has had a rich Ufe, fulfilling his deepest desires: his family has tumed out well; his occuparion as a warrior has been rewarding; and his death is honorable. What more could he ask for? He dies in peace, a free and happy man. For

Campbell, the desrinarion is in the joumey; independence is in the fight.

77 Scodand and Robert Bruce The land and its king are inexorably connected: when the crown prospers, the common folk Uve in plenty; when the throne is empty, the people long for a lord; when the king's loyalries are divided, his subjects war with each other. Braveheart depicts this by portraying Robert the Bmce as a reflecrion of Scodand itself. When Robert hesitates, the Scots are unsure of their future; when the people raUy and unite for the cause of independence, the Bmce barely contains his passion for freedom; when the Scots suffer, Robert aches in guflt and despair; and when King Robert Bruce I takes up his sword and fights for Uberty at Bannockbum, his subjects storm the field and win their freedom.

Empty Throne As Braveheart opens, a montage sets the scene; an aerial estabUshing shot transports the audience to the mythic landscape of Scotland, sending viewers soaring above glorious highland moimtains and mysterious mist-laden lochs. Bagpipes play in the backgrotmd as the aerial camera swoops down into a forest and focuses on a band of nobles and pages making their way down a muddy path. A subritle appears: Scotland 1280 AD The voice-over describes the social and poUrical environment at the rime: "The king of Scotland died without a son, and the king of England, a cruel pagan known as Edward the Longshanks, claimed the throne of Scotland for himself. Scotland's nobles fought him and fought each other over the crown." A vacancy in the coronarion chair at Scone brought chaos. The people were divided; each major clan with its own facrion, each facrion with its own claimant to the throne; the narion stood on the brink of civil war. This portrayal is for the most part historically verifiable: the king did die without an heir, and this brought Scotland into a time of sectarian infighring; however, Alexander

78 Ill reigned from 1249 unril 1286, falling to his death while trying to negoriate his horse around a steep cliff on a stormy night. Therefore, a better rime to display as a subritle would be the spring of 1291, at which rime Edward I summoned the Scottish nobles to meet him at Norham-on-Tweed and settle the dispute between the rival heirs to the throne. A conference was in fact necessary, for the controversy was growing increasingly fierce as the days wore on, and a vote backed by Edward I would decide the matter and avert disaster. Without a leader, the coimtry lacked order, structure, and idenrity; guardians could orfly keep the peace for so long, and contenders scrambling for the right to reign could not mle with any degree of effecriveness. The lords argued, and Scotland suffered. Edward and the assembled nobles and barons eventually selected John Balliol, and he ruled from 1292 unril 1296; Longshanks made him swear loyalty as a vassal of the

Q EngUsh crown, and when BaUiol repeatedly disobeyed Edward's orders, he was deposed. Because of King Edward's crafty maneuvering, Scotland became subject to England, and its nobles submitted to Longshanks, regarding him as a feudal overlord. Therefore, in the months just before the battle at SrirUng Bridge in September 1297, Scotland srill lacked a strong monarch to unite their many facrions, and their leaders wiUingly placed their fortunes into the hands of the EngUsh king.

Narional Spokesman This time of social and poUtical upheaval provides the setting for the scene Braveheart uses to introduce Robert Bruce; he has a discussion with his fellow nobles as they consider appropriate responses to King Edward's prima noctes edict. Robert offers his father's position, and then he assures the nobles that he "speak [s] for all the Bruces and for Scotland." While it is one thing to present a case on behalf of absent family members,

79 it is quite another to speak for an entire nation. As the 17th Earl of Bruce and the leading contender for Scotland's throne, Robert confidently assumes the role of national

spokesman. Later in the film, Wallace wiU offer Scotland's official miUtary stance on

various occasions; meanwhile, Bruce serves as his country's diplomaric representarive.

When he asserts his authority and takes a position of leadership, Scotland can have a

national policy; when he fades into the background and fails to lead with determination,

Scotland has nothing but the competing thoughts of its warring facrions.

Braveheart's version of Robert Bruce is indeed tempted at rimes to hide behind

the scenes, to stay aUve and inherit the power due his ritle, but WilUam Wallace reminds

him of his duty to Scotland. Just after the scene when WflUam is knighted, the two

discuss the debflitating situarion Scotland faces and what Robert's responsibiUries are in

the matter; Bruce acknowledges that the outlook is grim: "From top to bottom, this

country has no sense of itself. Its nobles share aUegiance with England. Its clans war with

each other." For Robert, such a dangerous scenario requires patient caution; for Wallace,

it requires courageous action. WilUam chaUenges the Bruce to realize his role: "If you

would just lead them to freedom, they'd foUow you. And so would I." WflUam walks

away, leaving Bruce to ponder the possibiUties. A close-up of Robert's face frames a look

of wonder and tmcertainty; the war-leader and folk hero just offered him his aUegiance.

Maybe it is possible; maybe it is time to make a move toward the throne. Yes, the clans

are warring with each other, but with the support of a legend Uke Wallace, such a plan

seems feasible. Yes, the nobles' loyalries are divided, but with the leadership of a

legitimate king, Scodand can win its freedom. WilUam's mythic appeal impresses even

Robert, moving him to imagine an independent nation. Braveheart's hero confirms for

Robert Bruce the truth that a country without a king is doomed to suffer from divisions

80 and imperialisric enemies, but a land with a leader is desrined to achieve unity and independence.

Volunteer Army

By the time he had the aforemenrioned discussion with Wallace, Robert Bruce had already wimessed the power his consent could wield; when he supported the cause before Stirling, the nobles under his influence assembled their forces, and the commoners who heard of it joined in voluntarily. The film presents WaUace standing with his forces on a high ridge, awairing the return of his rimners; when the messengers arrive, William wonders which nobles are behind the rebelUon, and the soldier reports, "Robert the

Bruce, but most of the others wiU not commit to battle. But word has spread, and highlanders are coming down on their own." (Coaxed from the mysric mountains of the north, the fierce Scots contribute to the cause; with the miUtary might of WiUiam and the poUrical support of Bruce, they stand a chance.

United Clans

The film presents another opportunity for Robert Bruce to use his influence to bring his narion together; as the Scots prepare for what will become the battle at Falkirk,

Wallace soUcits his help; "If we join, we can win. If we win, then we'll have what none of us have ever had before — a country of our own. You are the rightful leader, and there is strength in you; I see it. Unite us. Unite the clans." Believing Robert is the true king of

Scodand, WiUiam once again challenges him to commit to his role; the Bruce has the power to bring the facrions together and lead his country to freedom. Without a legirimate leader, the narion will flounder; without Robert's parriciparion, the forces will be divided; and without a united front, Scotland's independence is unattainable.

81 Moved by WflUam's speech and pressured by his responsibiUries to his narion,

Robert concedes, offering his support to WaUace; they clasp hands firmly, and William

departs to ready his army. However, the Bmce's father has other plans; he urges Robert

to break his promise to WiUiam and remain faithful to King Edward. The Leper chooses

to side with the EngUsh in order to maintain a favored posirion in Longshanks' service; he

considers breaking with Edward a foolhardy move, for in his opinion, the Scotrish throne

remains empty unril Longshanks aUows it to be filled. Bmce the Elder comforts his

disheartened son; "I know it is hard; being a leader is. Now son, look at me. I cannot be

king. You, and you alone can rule Scotland. What I teU you, you must do. Not for me,

not for yourself, but for your country." Robert's father cannot conceive of a Scotrish

monarchy separate and apart from England and its crown, and he will not risk his son's

polirical future on WaUace and the rebelUon. Like WilUam, the Leper considers Robert

the legirimate leader; however, he pressures the Bruce to view concession as a more

viable path to that posirion of leadership than secession. He visualizes Scotland's

potential only in terms of how it wiU affect the ties they share with England, never

realizing what could happen if Robert and Wallace were to unite and join forces in the

fight for independence.

Fallen Countrymen

Braveheart re-casts the character of Robert Bruce, anachronistically placing him

on the side of the EngUsh at Falkirk. ^ This re-wriring of Scotrish history performs both a dramaric and a mythic function, thickening the plot with broken promises and betrayal

and deepening the pathos with a fallen Wallace and a tortured Bmce. Robert's alleged treachery ampUfies WiUiam's heroic status, evoking the audience's pity for the valiant warrior whose hope drains from him as the blood slips from his veins; the Bruce unhorses

82 William physically and emorionally, toppling him from his posirion as Scotland's war-leader and freedom-fighter. Braveheart patterns this portion of its plot after Blind Harry's poem, joining the Minstrel in re-making a legend; the film manipulates Robert's historical idenrity, using his betrayal as a means to develop Bruce as a character in transition, a man being transformed by the forces about him, a leader motivated both by the Leper's ambitious designs and Wallace's courageous deeds. Braveheart's Robert follows the advice of his father and opposes WflUam's cause, and the country suffers for it; Scotland agonizes when its rightful leader does not lead. What the Bruce had wanted was his crown, but what Scotland had needed was his sword; his betrayal ensures that both he and his people are devastated. When the king places his own ambitions above the needs of the kingdom, both he and his subjects lose. The Leper had convinced him that he was acring on behalf of his narion, but after Falkirk, Robert knows better. The film connects Bruce to Scotland itself as it depicts Robert's walk across the battlefield; he steps over the countless faUen bodies of his countrymen, the brothers he has betrayed. The night air hangs heavy with mist and fog, and it echoes with the sobs of mourning mothers and the cries of orphaned children. Women tum over the corpses, looking for familiar faces, hoping they do not find any. Robert drops to his knees and rests his head on the hilt of his unused sword, tuming his face from the horror he has brought upon his people. He probably wonders what the outcome could have been if he would have kept his promise. During this enrire scene, the very same bagpipe music which played in the opening of Braveheart resounds in the background: when it accompanies shots of majesric peaks and misty highland lochs, it inspires loft^ thoughts of Scodand and its mythic landscape; when it accompanies shots of unspeakable misery and

83 mouming famiUes, it evokes sympathy for the tortured Robert Bmce and for all those who were vicrims of his treacherous betrayal.

Nothing Gained

The film cuts immediately to a close-up of the Leper as he speaks with Robert in the tower chamber; he explains to his disenchanted son the wisdom behind their alliance with England, assuring him that it wiU not be long until he has aU the power in Scotland.

A subjecrive shot from the Elder Bruce's point of view frames the catatonic stare on

Robert's face as he replies flatly, "Lands, ritles, men, power, nothing." He has seen the bloody groimd at Falkirk; he knows what he has — a country full of wives he has just widowed and children he has just orphaned. The Bruce has gained nothing of value from

his deal with Longshanks; nothing is worth what he has taken from Scotland. Before he leaves his father's room, Robert sheds a single tear and vows, "I will never be on the

wrong side again." A king belongs on the side of his people, and for the Bruce, that means his place is alongside those committed to the fight for independence.

Loyal Pledge

After Braveheart shows WilUam's affair with Princess IsabeUa, it brings Bruce back

into the story by having him send Lord Craig to speak with Wallace at his secret camp.

Craig presents the nobles' plea for WilUam's forgiveness, offering a pledge of loyalty to his

cause: "Give us your pardon, and we'll unite behind you. Scodand will be one."

Expecring WaUace's suspicion, Craig pulls out the embroidered white cloth William had dropped at Falkirk; he retums it to Wallace as "the pledge of Robert the Bruce."

{Braveheart suggests a proposed "marriage" between WilUam and Robert, a union which

Bruce's father cannot endorse.) This scene impUes that the natural result of the Bruce's

84 support is a united narion; Scotland uiU be one. No more "us and you"; no more noble

and common; the country wiU unite under Wallace and Bruce, and independence wiU

foUow. Even though he has yet to be crowned king of Scotland, Robert is intimately

connected to its potential as a kingdom.

(Costly CrowTi

After the film depicts Craig's viUainous capture of Wallace, it moves once more to

the tower chamber where the Elder Bruce lives in hiding. Robert storms up the dark

stairwell and screams at his father for deceiving him and betra>ing William. The Leper

responds calmly, assuring his son that such a step was necessary to secure the crown.

Robert teUs his father that he does not want anything from him; he finally stands up and

defends the cause for his nation's freedom above the cause for his own kingship. The

price is too much to pay; a crown is not worth the cost of betrayal and treachery.

Scotland cannot afford it, and neither can Robert.

Braveheart retums to Bruce during the portrayal of Wallace's execution; a quick

shot shows him standing on a castle roof, leaning on the railing with his head bowed. He

apparently mourns for Wallace as he holds a private vigil during the rime scheduled for

WiUiam's death. After the film presents the execurion, it immediately cuts to the field at

Bannockbum. No date is provided, and the narrarion by Robert Bruce implies that the

Scotrish troops assembled for battle within days of Wallace's death; "It [the distriburion of WiUiam's body parts throughout Britain] did not have the effect Longshanks planned.

And I, Robert the Bruce, rode out to pay homage to the armies of the English king and accept his endorsement of my crown."

Broifeheart makes no menrion of Robert seizing the throne in 1306, reigning as king, and spending the years between 1306 and 1314 (the date of the battle at

85 Bannockbum) wreaking havoc on the English with . Although he wore the crown, he was not endorsed by Edward I or his son Edward II (who reigned after his father's death in 1307); England had not given up its quest to subjugate Scotland permanently, and so Bmce was made to fight them in skirmish after skirmish, never achieving a decisive victory which would win Scotland its freedom outright - unril 17 Barmockbumin 1314. As the film presents it, Robert inirially intended to aUow Edward to approve his kingship, but moved by the death of WaUace and inspired by WiUiam's wedding swath (a symbol of undying fideUty), he decides to fight instead. As he stands before the Scotrish army, the Bruce pulls Murron's embroidered cloth from his armor and looks down at it wistfully; MacClannough, Murron's father, watches. Robert glances at William's men, first at Stephen and then at Hamish; they retum his stare. He stuffs the swath safely away; it is sriU his pledge of loyalty to those fighring for freedom.

When Craig asks Bruce to ride with him across the field and approach Edward's ambassadors, Robert spurs his horse lightly, but after a few slow steps, he halts. He teUs Craig to stop. Close-ups of Hamish and then Craig capture their curious faces. The Bruce's glare bears a sense of determinarion; he has just decided something. Lifting his voice to his countrymen, Robert commits to battle; "You have bled with WaUace! Now,

1 '2 bleed with me!" The film then cuts to individual shots of MacClannough, Steven, and Hamish; the camera stays on Hamish. A low angle captures the huge Scot pulUng WaUace's claymore from the sheath strapped to his back, stepping forward, and hurUng the long sword high into the air with a roar. The soundtrack booms in unison with the touching display of friendship, loyalty, and honor. The Scots watch in awe. WiUiam's blade soars toward the English, and its point sricks firmlyi n the ground. Assured of victory by this good omen, the Scotrish patriots charge. King Robert Bruce I unites his 86 people under the banner of freedom and leads them to independence. The King and the kingdom are one.

87 For further discussion of Sir Malcolm Wallace's status see Gray, 27-28; Fisher, 8; and MacKay, 18-20.

2 Fisher, 8,

The young WilUam is to "look after the place" while his father is away; since Malcolm faUs in battle, WaUace's whole life is spent caring for his home - Scotland. Most every character in Braveheart is concemed with land; the nobles want to gain it; Edward wants to subdue it; WflUam and the rebels want to free it.

^ The film depicts Malcolm and John dying from a skirmish with the English while WilUam was a boy, but this portrayal is challenged by most avaflable evidence. Blind Harry says that Sir Malcolm Senior and Sir Malcolm Junior {Braveheart's John)died in 1291 during a fight at Loudon HiU. See MacKay, 60, where the author holds that Sir Malcolm Junior was Uving in 1299. See also Gray, 28; Sir Malcolm Senior is thought to have perished in battle in 1296, and Sir Malcolm Junior is associated with of rebels supporring WaUace after Falkirk in 1298.

The music the bagpipes send out over the Wallaces' gravesite sounds remarkably like "Amazing (Crace." In his novel, Braveheart. RandaU WaUace explains that "the pipes wailed an ancient Scottish dirge, a tune of grief and redemprion, a melody that, with some modificarion, has come down to the modem time as 'Amazing Grace'" (18). The Screenwriter apparently adapted this melody to communicate those very sentiments of "grief and redemption" to Braveheart's audience. Director Mel Gibson also admitted to using anachronistic music in the score; he reported that when composer James Homer shared with him examples of music from WaUace's time, the effect was not what he wanted; "If you were going to be reaUstic about the sound from that era, then it wouldn't have been good at all. It was pretty basic, not much harmony. It sounded like Arabic. So we went for something more 15th or 16th century" (GaUagher 37). (Cibson and Homer decided to include recent work as well, "different soundtracks from films .. . bits and pieces from the Chieftains, Brendan's Voyage" (37). The music draws on familiar melodies to draw audiences into a time and place very different from today, transporting them almost effortlessly into another era.

For more on the social and poUrical turmoil following the death of Alexander III in 1286, see MacKay, 36-7; Goldstein, 25-7.

' See MacKay, 34-5; Fisher, 16.

88 o For further informarion see (Cray, 51-2; MacKay, 67-82; Fisher 24-27.

Although Bruce could have drawn considerable support from those loyal to him, the (Comyn clan and the BalUol facrion would surely have made complete unity nearly impossible to achieve. Braveheart barely acknowledges the rivalry between the contending famiUes, presenring their conflict as merely a matter of squabbling; the film also manages to ignore John BalUol and focus its attenrion upon Robert Bruce. Braveheart's WaUace considers the Bruce influential enough to bring all of Scotland together and lead a cohesive country to freedom.

For more on Bruce's allegiance during Falkirk, see MacKay, 194; Fisher 82, 86; Gray, 118-19. Although Blind Harry places Bmce on the side of the English during the fight, the consensus of recent research is that Robert was at Ayr Castle — over 50 miles away from Falkirk - at the time of the battle.

For more on Bruce's struggle for power and battles with the English from 1306-14, see Gray, 158-161; Goldstein, 49, 55; Wamer, 59-67. 12 Bruce's success at Bannockbum srill did not convince the English that Scotland was free; in fact, not unril the 1328 Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton did England's Edward II recognize Scotland's complete independence. See Donaldson, Gordon. Scottish Kings. 1967. New York: Marboro Books, (Co., 1992. 28.

It appears Screenwriter RandaU Wallace borrows the thrust of these lines from Robert Bums' 1793 poem, "Bruce to His Troops on the Eve of the Battle of Bannockbum":

Scots, wha hae wi' WaUace bled, Scots, wham Bruce has aften led; Welcome to your gory bed, Or to victorie.

Now's the day, and now's the hour; See the front o' battle lour; See approach proud Edward's power - Chains and slaverie!

Wha for Scodand's king and law Freedom's sword will strongly draw. Free-man stand, or Free-man fa'. Let him follow me! (qtd. in Harvie 24)

89 CHAPTER V MODIFYING THE MYTHIC HERO

(Cibson's Braveheart shapes the legend of WaUace by carefully crafting the characters of Murron, Edward U, and Isabella. He cinemaricaUy manipulates the audience's sympathies as he presents WflUam's bride, a charming and beauriful girl from the country; he plays on the principles of heroism — valor, courage, strength, and cunning — by giving the audience a fearful, weak, and fooUsh prince to serve as WflUam's foil; and he completes his mythic crearion with a revisionist rendering of the French princess. The historical accounts of these people are twisted, molded, and re-cast until the desired result is achieved, until every push, pull, cut, and insertion brings the mythic figure ot Wallace to life. Murron's story gives WilUam more romanric appeal; Edward II's involvement can only improve upon how the hero is perceived; and Isabella's contact with him (the most obvious anachronistic transgression in the film) serves among other things to add viriUty to the Ust of WaUace's aUuring characterisrics.

Murron Gift of a Thistle When viewers first encounter Murron, she is a sweet little girl at the funeral of WflUam's father and brother. She sees the downcast orphan and, pitying him, plucks a thisde from the groimd and offers it to him. WflUam sheds a thick tear and gives her a look of deep appreciarion. Murron scurries away, grabs her mother's outstretched hand, and walks home. This simple scene connects the chfldren and foreshadows their later romanric development.

90 After the funeral, WilUam's Uncle Argyle arrives to assume guardianship of the fatherless boy, and it is under his guidance that WaUace spends his youth and

adolescence. Braveheart moves on to describe events in London and Edinburgh and does not retum to WilUam's Ufe unril an adult Wallace rides onto his family farm in the

Scotrish countryside near Lanarkshire; it is apparently his first visit since his father's death. He alights from his horse and inhales deeply, soaking in the famiUar scent of his

boyhood home; looking around, he notices the dilapidated house and bam, both in desperate need of repair. Hearing music in , he heads toward it.

WilUam finds the villagers engaged in a fesrive wedding celebrarion, and after a lively reunion with an old companion (Hamish), he sees a beauriful woman (Murron) standing with her friends. Approaching her, he prepares to ask for a dance; but his proposal is cut short. Lord Bottoms rides in with his demand for sexual favors from the new bride, and the party is over. That same night, though, WilUam rides to Murron's house in the rain, hoping she wiU join him for an evening jaunt. Murron's parents protest, citing bad weather and poor timing. As they try to reassure William that they do not mean to forbid a courtship entirely, Murron rims out and leaps onto Wallace's horse.

Ignoring her parents' reprimands and wasring no rime, she and WflUam spur the steed onward and ride away in the downpour. Shocked at her daughter's behavior, Murron's mother chides her husband playfully: "It's you she takes after!"

WilUam brings Murron to a lofty peak overlooking the Scotrish landscape that was featured in the opening sequence, and the two sit and discuss their meering, bantering, laughing, and fUrring. The ensuing scenes portray an educated cosmopoUtan dedicated to his memory of a Uttle girl's kindness, wilUng to retum to his country home and setde down with the one woman he has ever loved. As their inrimate conversarion concludes,

WilUam tells her that although he has traveled the world and seen many of its wonders,

91 he belongs in Scotland. At this declaration of WaUace's allegiance to his homeland, the camera dollies back to reveal a beautiful sunset draped over the mythic highlands. After they watch the sun drop in the distant Scottish sky, WilUam escorts Murron home. Before they part company, though, he produces a piece of cloth from his tartan and holds it out to her. Unfolding it, WaUace shows Murron that very same thistle which she had given him some 15 years prior. Amazed and overwhelmed at his romanric gesture, Murron takes the flower and smiles. It is clear that he has captured her attenrion. The audience also is drawn in by this heavy-handed attempt at establishing pathos; the appeal is difficult to resist. WilUam is big, strong, smart, funny, and sappy. What more could Murron want? What more could the writers do to hold WaUace up as the superlarive male? The power of the romanric story is undeniable; the audience knows William and Murron are meant to be together and wiU follow the young lovers to that conclusion.

Secret Wedding The moming foUowing his ride with Murron, WaUace busies himself by repairing the roof on his old house, and a few men from the village drop by to invite him to a meeting. Murron's father is one of them. WilUam quickly apologizes for taking his daughter out, but MacClannough seems uninterested. He simply tells Wallace that if he stays out of the skirmishes with the English and can verify that he is not intent on becoming a rebel, then he can court Murron. Unril William proves this to MacClannough, the answer is no. The men ride away, and the film cuts to Murron's house that night. In a long shot from behind the MacQannough's home, William crouches next to a smaU knoU, gathering pebbles. He peeks up over the embankment and hurls one of the rocks at Murron's window and then childishly hides again. Murron pushes the wooden

92 plank back and peers into the darkness. WflUam does not see her. He throws another pebble, striking her on the arm. (This gag usually elicits a few chuckles from the audience, as Gibson almost breaks character it seems, reminding fans of his affabiUty.) Murron runs out to him, and using the small hiU as cover, they head for the woods. The love theme plays softly in the background as they wind their way through trees and across streams. We soon find them walking along as WaUace conrinues to use humor to win the heart of his friend. He says that running a farm wiU be hard work but that such labor wiU be eased when his sons arrive. Thinking that he speaks of offspring from a previous union, Murron inquires cauriously, "So, you've got children?" "Oh not yet, but I was hoping that you could with that." Surprised, Murron asks, "So you want me to marry you, then?" Pleased that she has fallen into his cleverly laid trap,

WaUace answers, "WeU, that's a bit sudden, but aU right." Scripted so that the hero is once again admired for his playfulness and charm, the interacrion gives the audience a perfect ending to a storybook romance. The chfldhood friends, parted by tragedy and separated by distance, have found each other again; always faithful to her in his heart,

Wallace retums and sweeps her off her feet, without the blessing of her parents, their community, or their government. Against all odds. Nothing can stop them. Love conquers all. William and Murron woo covertly, and it seems all who believe in true love are with them, thwarring the constraints of famflial and civil authority. Their secret wedding is then endorsed by the coUecrive romanric consciousness of the audience.

The nuprials take place in the woods at night. WiUiam and Murron sneak off and meet a priest, who happens to perform part of the ceremony in Scots-Gaelic, rather than the tradirional Larin. The pious Wallace kneels before the officiant and parricipates with reverence. During this ceremony, they exchange bridal swaths, the symbols of their mutual commitment and affection; Murron accepts his brown and green cloth, and

93 WiUiam takes her white, embroidered one. The latter piece plays a prominent role in the film, as its recurrent presence serves to remind Wallace of the love he once shared with Murron and of the injury done them both at the hands of the EngUsh.

Attempted Rape The newlyweds whisper together in the market when Smythe (the perverted EngUsh soldier) notices the cloth of a husband peeking out from the top of Murron's dress. Realizing that the two have maneuvered around the prima noctes mling and obviously aroused by the implications of this transgression, Smythe seeks to satisfy his growing curiosity and satiate his pmrient desires. The enrire encounter that Murron has with the English soldier elicits the audience's sympathies and moves them to abhor her molester. It is with a sense of jusrice and retriburion that the following scenes are viewed. Every kick, punch, and shove Wallace inflicts upon the attackers rips the scales toward balance. Just as Scotland has been dishonored by Longshanks' protracted intrusion, William and Murron have been wronged by Smythe's attempted rape; therefore, like Scotland's quest for independence, their fight for escape is a struggle for what is right and good. Their response to the perverted man's attack is jusrified. When William puts his wife on a horse and sends her to the grove, it seems that freedom just around the comer.

Execurion and Vengeance Unfortunately for Murron, though, an English sentry waits around the comer; he strikes her in the face with a long pole, brutaUy knocking her off her horse and onto the ground. She spits out blood and teeth, and the soldiers arrest her. Murron's capture is unjust enough, but her execurion is unbearable. It makes the EngUsh out to be more than vicious, cruel, and licentious; they are incapable of mercy and unfamiUar with justice.

94 The Scots are mistreated and abused, morally, physically, legally, and politically. Revenge is the only reasonable response to such injury.

The audience never sees WilUam being told about his wife's execution; they watch him ride into Lanark with his hands raised in apparent surrender. He makes his way down the main road in slow morion, and as he approaches an English soldier, he stares down with a look of defeat. The camera cross-cuts from WiUiam's face to the soldier's. The horse snorts. WilUam moves his hand behind his head and grabs a flail from beneath his shirt. With a snarl of hatred, he slams it into the Englishman's helmet, sending him to the ground. It is with that stroke that the speed of the film retums to normal. The soldiers act quickly, shoving a spear at WilUam's steed and forcing him to dismount. He takes a wooden spike from his tartan and drives it into the neck of his opponent. The magistrate summons his archers, and arrows rain down upon Wallace and

the Scots who have joined his fight. Hamish and his father, CampbeU, swing madly, screaming with anger with each blow they deal the English. It is Hamish who helps

WilUam kiU the accursed Smythe. CampbeU's chest is struck with an arrow, but he fights on. After kilUng the soldiers, the Scots siege the fort, throwing the archers over its waUs. It is not long before the magistrate is confronted by an enraged widower; a close up of William's bloody face fiUs the screen. Without a word, Wallace kicks him down the hiU, yanks him up by the collar, and throws him against the post to which Murron had been ried. Quickly, coldly, Wallace draws the dagger across the magistrate's throat.

This time, the incision is shown. It needs to be seen. Vengeance requires and jusrice demands a gruesome end.

WilUam has made the magistrate pay for kilUng his bride; however, Wallace's grievance goes beyond the local colonial leadership. It stretches from Lanark to London, to Longshanks himself, the Hammer of the Scots. As WilUam picks up the bloody swath

95 which Murron had dropped near the post, it is clear that his colors have been stained: his clan has been marked, and the life of William WaUace wiU be forever altered by the atrocities of that day.

Dreams and Visions

Murron retums to WilUam in a dream which comes to him just after Longshanks has contemplated whom he might send to meet with Wallace. We are not told whom

Edward chooses. The scene simply moves to the forest on a misty night. A cloaked figure glides from tree to tree. A twig snaps, rousing the sleeping Scottish rebel. He stares intently in the direction of the sound. The messenger steps into the moonlight and pulls back the hood; Murron stands before him. In courtly fashion, Sir William kneels before his beloved. He thinks aloud: "I'm dreaming." Then his vision speaks: "Yes, you are, and you must wake." Wallace teUs her that he does not wish to wake but to remain there with her. Murron admits that she wishes for the same but urges him to wake: "Wake up,

WilUam. Wake up, WilUam." As the words echo, another voice crowds it out with an announcement: "William, a royal entourage comes, flying banners of truce, with the standards of Longshanks himself." Campbell has awakened Wallace. He leaves his dream of Murron to meet with Princess IsabeUa; she is the one Edward chose to serve as a mediator.

Throughout the scenes leading to the dream sequence, suspense builds to the moment of Murron's idenrificarion, so that the audience is trying to figure out who will bargain with WaUace. Murron is not there to negoriate with her husband; she is there to free him, to release him from obligarion to her. Before he meets the princess, he must meet with Murron and receive permission. The convenient placement of this encounter with his departed wffe clears the romanric hero from the charge of dishonor towards her

96 memory. WiUiam wants to stay with Murron, and she with him, but she makes it clear that he must wake. Wallace must leave dreams and thoughts of his wife behind. He must meet Isabella, for it is their relarionship which will drive much of the remaining narrarive.

Murron does not retum again until Wallace's execution. As the hero dies from the disemboweUng and awaits the merciful blade of the ax, he looks out over the crowd and sees a vision of his wife. Wearing the same cloak she had wom in his dream, she weaves through the throng, smiling at her beloved martyr. She seems to welcome him to the next life, eager for their reunion. The sequence is reminiscent of An Occurrence at

Owl Creek Bruj^e, of the psychological/ subjecrive point of view as the dying man sees and experiences much more than is chronologically possible. In Braveheart, the execurioner's ax moves in slow morion, but Wallace has an enrire visitarion from his wife's spirit before it falls. (This is also another indicarion of William's mythic status; a legendary figure possesses mystical access to the spiritual realm.) Murron's face does not have the expression everyone else's has; the crowd looks on with horror and dismay as Wallace faces death with such courage. William's bride just smiles. Perhaps she knows something that the others do not.

Marion Braidfute

Both Blind Harry and Andrew Wyntoun indicate that WaUace married Marion, the daughter of Hugh Braidfute of Lamington, about a year before the skirmish in the spring of 1297 which resulted in her death. She reportedly lived in Lanark, remaining on her father's estate, a considerable inheritance which passed to her after her father's death; if this is true, then Braveheart's portrayal of MacClannough fighring alongside Wallace and Bruce years after his daughter's murder is a fabricarion; even if it is not historically verifiable, that the film deviated from its primary source {The Wallace) in making

97 MacClannough a fiercely loyal father and freedom-fighter supports the idea that Gibson's version of the Scotrish struggle for independence has manipulated the informarion available so that the most compelling story is told - whether it is true or not.

BUnd Harry describes WaUace and Marion meeting and faUing in love, picturing

WiUiam as deeply enamored but hesitant to mix romance and rebellion; he wishes first to fight for freedom and then settle down and start a family. ^ Braveheart depicts a peaceful homemaker, eager to work the land and have children; the film's Wallace is reluctant to join the struggle for independence because he simply desires peace. Harry's William was a

rebel before he ever met Marion; Braveheart's hero is a pacifist unril forced into avenging his wife's cruel execurion. The film exalts WaUace's innate virtue by presenring him as an innocent commoner transformed into a passionate rebel by English atrociries.

Braveheart also exonerates WilUam, removing any suggestion that he could be to blame for Murron's death; the Minstrel's poem and Wyntoun's chronicle describe a cotirse of events which implicate WaUace. Since their versions portray a rebel who marries rather than a groom who rebels, Harry and Andrew provide detafls of William's adventures in and around Lanark, frequently brawUng with impudent English soldiers and often kiUing those who offend him deeply. During one skirmish with the English,

Wallace and his men slaughter a number of Sheriff Heselrig's soldiers. William flees to

Marion's home and hides out; Heselrig pursues, driving Wallace into the woods. Harry tells us that a furious Sheriff quesrions Marion, and when she refuses to help, kills her personally; however, Wyntoun records that Heselrig arrived in Lanark after the uprising, and considering Marion an accompUce to the outlaw's rebelUon, orders her execurion.

Braveheart prefers to omit the tales of WilUam's miUtant past but borrows Blind Harry's rendering of Marion's death; the poet's more shocking and infliriaring story provides just the impetus the film's hero needs to carry out a rampage of violent retriburion.

98 Edward II

Every scene with Prince Edward in it uses his character as a way to modify the

mythic hero in WaUace. He works as a foil, enhancing WiUiam's character by lacking all of the quaUries which WaUace possesses. The Scotrish rebel towers as a man of great size,

strength, courage, charisma, and viriUty. Edward II cowers as a puny, weak, fearful, despised, and sexuaUy ineffectual man. He is a reluctant groom, forced to repress his

homosexuaUty, whfle WilUam is an eager husband, reveling in his heterosexuality; the prince is an incompetent ruler, while Wallace is a great war-leader; Edward II primps,

while WflUam fights; and the prince is a weakUng, unfamiliar with love, while the rebel is a brave martyr, dying for love.

Reluctant (Croom

Edward II's bride is attractive and the match poUricaUy advantageous, but the prince's reluctance springs from his attachment to another - PhiUip, the close friend and advisor of Edward II. In Marlowe's Edward 11, the members of court, jealous of Gaveston, the prince's lover, lure him out to the woods and have him killed; they resented the favors, polirical and otherwise, that Gaveston received from the hand of his companion.

Phfllip is treated with similar disdain. During the wedding ceremony of Edward II to

Isabella of France, the prince hesitates before kissing his new bride and steals a glance at

PhilUp, who looks on with an expression of desperate forbearance. Edward I glares at both his son and the alleged lover; the king's feelings are obvious. Bothered by the rumors, accusarions, and aUegarions, he hopes that a suitable union with the daughter of the French king wiU quiet the controversy and eventually provide him with a grandson.

As the interacrion plays out, the voice-over from Robert Bruce informs us that "it was widely whispered that for the princess to conceive, Longshanks would have to do the

99 honors himself," When such comments are combined with scenes of PhilUp and the prince exchanging knowing glances, the impUcarion is clear. Braveheart's Edward II is a

homosexual, and as such, cannot be reUed upon for offspring. ^ He is forced to repress his same-sex relarionship with PhflUp in order to marry Isabella, and the resulting tension

between the prince and his wife only grows as the film moves toward its conclusion.

(Dn the other hand, WiUiam longs to be married and to have a family. Touched by

the kindness of the young Murron, he thinks of her aU the days he is away. He retums to his viUage to marry her. Far from being a hesitant husband, his desires are so great that he sneaks around at night in order to be with his beloved. They marry in secret and enjoy a beautiful honeymoon together. WaUace is undeniably heterosexual; he exudes mascuUnity on the screen. Braveheart never considers the idea that someone could be homosexual and stiU exhibit the quaUties consistent with heterosexual masculinity - strength, viriUty, etc.; not only does it stereotype gays in its portrayal of Edward II, it assumes in the audience to elevate the character of Wallace. The film gives us a reluctant groom, clinging to his boyfriend and resenting his marriage, and then it gives us a romantic hero, deeply in love with his childhood sweetheart and resenring any interference with his marriage.

Incompetent Prince

Edward II's goveming skills have been well established by historians; his reputarion suffers from comparisons to his father, lurking in the shadow of Edward I's accomplishments. It is therefore little wonder that we find him to be a naive and inept ruler in Braveheart. He miscalculates Wallace and misjudges the threat of the Scotrish rebelUon. He plays favorites with Phillip, granring him the position of High (Counselor.

His northem army is annihflated at Stirling, and York is sacked under his watch. Edward

100 I cannot rely upon his son to lead England in his absence. In fact, the king frequently insults his son, making it clear that he places Utde trust in Edward II or in his abiliry to reign.

Early on in the film, just after the prince marries IsabeUa, the king holds a meeting in his chambers. He discussed his policies conceming Scotland, and the Princess of

Wales enters. Longshanks asks about Edward II, and she tells him that her husband requested that she come in his stead. Clearly displeased. King Edward counters with a quesrion; "I ask for him, and he sends you?" Then, perhaps realizing that his hopes might better rest in IsabeUa's hands, he invites her to sit in on the conference: "If he wants his queen to rule when I am gone, then by aU means stay, and leam how. Please." We wonder if Longshanks does not in fact appreciate having another chance at leaving behind a strong successor.

Later, as mmors of Scotland's insurgence spread, the Govemor of York insults

Edward II and his abiUty to protect the kingdom: "My sodomite cousin the prince tells me he has no troops to lend, and every town in Northem England is begging for help."

Stingy with his miUtary forces, the prince's incompetence costs him his outposts near the

Scotrish border.

WaUace and his men sack York and send the head of the Govemor to his uncle.

King Edward. It arrives just as Longshanks retums from France. The king meets with his son, criticizing his approach to the Scottish victory at Stirling; the army has been decimated, and the prince has done nothing but order conscriprions. Before Edward can better "instruct" his boy in the art of diplomacy, the package from York is deUvered.

When Longshanks realizes the potenrial threat to his own life, he quickly resolves not to meet with WaUace personally; the risk of such a venture would be too great. As he ponders his oprions, he once again makes his opinion of his son very clear: "I shall offer a

101 tmce and buy him off. But who wiU go to him? Not I. If I feU under the sword of that murderer, it might be my head in a basket. And not my gentle son. The mere sight of him would only encourage the enemy to take over the whole country." Edward II is in no way the equal of WaUace; he is not a reliable ruler, and he is not even to be trusted as an ambassador. His miUtary incompetence is only equaled by his weakness as an administrator and as a man.

Fashionable Fop

Immediately following a brief scene showing Wallace and his troops engaging

English soldiers in a skirmish, we find the foppish Prince Edward playing dress-up. The

Scotrish hero swings his sword and fights for his country's freedom, while the English dandy swings his hips and adjusts his boyfriend's robes. Edward II and his companion,

Phillip, pass through the castle, walking behind two courriers holding a fuU-length mirror.

The prince stops the procession, and admiring their appearance, takes rime to fix Phillip's belt so that it hangs in the proper fashion. He then impariently snaps at his courriers to move along with the mirror. He and PhiUip apparently need to see the robes flap as they walk to get the fiiU effect. The connecrion to WaUace is quickly made by Princess

Isabella and her lady-in-wairing, Nicolette; they follow the prince's parade at a distance.

Nicolette speaks in French to Isabella, both women obviously annoyed by Edward II and his anrics; "When the king retums, he will bury him in those new clothes. Scotland is in chaos." She then jokes with the princess about the sexual deficiencies of Englishmen, and that expUcit conversarion prompts the love-starved Isabella to ask Nicolette about the Scottish rebel. Practically swooning over the romantic details of Wallace's legendary feats, the princess longs to have a lover less Uke her husband and more like WflUam, a fighter and a hero.

102 WeakUng UnfamiUar With Love

Near the end of the film, as WaUace waits in his cell. Princess Isabella comes to

visit her beloved insurrecrionist. Stopped by the jailer, she responds with authority: "I

will see the prisoner." The watchman tries to explain that the king forbids anyone to

enter, but he is cut off by IsabeUa's sharp retort: "The king will be dead in a month, and

his son is a weakling. Who do you think will rule this kingdom? Now open this door."

Showing absolutely no respect for her husband or his authority, the princess does as she

wiU, confident that the prince wiU bend to her wishes (or that he will break beneath

them). ^^

IsabeUa further shows her defiance as she begs for Wallace's life to be spared. She

approaches the dying king in his chambers and asks for mercy to be given to such a

worthy opponent. Longshanks, rendered speechless by disease, tums his face from her,

making his rejecrion obvious. The prince teases her for being infatuated with the Scotrish

rebel, and she answers with suppressed emorion, "I respect him." (She certainly does not

respect the English crown.) When it is clear that the king will not honor her request,

Isabella glares at the coughing monarch and rebukes him for his stubbom hatred: "Even

now, you are incapable of mercy." Then she tums to her husband and delivers a pointed

blow (below the belt): "And you. For you that word is as unfamfliar as love." Stung just

a bit by the accusation, Edward II changes the subject back to the king's treatment of

William. He stands beside his father and responds on his behalfi "Before he lost his

powers of speech, he told me that his one comfort was that he would live to know

Wallace was dead." The princess's hopes for her lover's release are lost on the obsrinate king. But her plans for future retriburion are not.

Determined to rankle Longshanks and to impress upon him her intenrions to rule,

IsabeUa crouches beside the mute Edward I and whispers, "Your blood dies with you. A

103 chfld who is not of your line grows in my beUy. Your son will not sit long on the throne; I swear it." Longshanks chokes on the impUcarions of her declararion, hacking and wheezing in rage and despair. He had sensed all along that Isabella has the strength to be a great queen; now he knows that her strength could be used for purposes other than supporring the EngUsh crown and its interests. The prince watches passively from across the room, curious and a little nervous after wimessing the king's reacrion to his wife's secrets.

Edward U comes across, then, as merely an obstacle whom IsabeUa will remove when given the chance. He poses no threat to her or her designs, and she holds nothing back in her frustrarion. She has nothing to fear, for the king is dying, and her husband is indeed a weakUng. Edward II cannot simply claim to be a lover, not a fighter. He is neither. Braveheart's English prince is ignorant even of the term used to describe a passionate attachment to something. He knows nothing of love. He is everything that

Wallace is not, and so WflUam benefits from the comparison. Edward II re-makes the mythic hero of Wallace with every word he speaks and every acrion he takes, for his speech lacks WiUiam's passion, and his Ufe lacks WflUam's strength.

Isabella

The princess's presence in Braveheart is a complete fabricarion, an historical anachronism. She did not marry Prince Edward unril 1308. Wallace was executed in

1305, and Edward I died in 1307. So, William never met her, and Longshanks never played her as a pawn. Her character is inserted into the film for dramaric purposes.

IsabeUa longs for a lover who is the opposite of her husband; enter WaUace, the ideal man. She pines over romanric stories, hoping for an escape from her life as a princess; she meets the noble savage. She seeks an opportunity to help her hero; she has a rendezvous

104 with the devoted freedom-fighter. IsabeUa hungers for a night of passion; she has a tr\'st with the virile paramour. IsabeUa sets up WilUam's character, giving him chances to show himself as everything she could have hoped for - passionate, cunning, faithfiil, true, trustworthy, complex, strong, and loving. The princess also serves to portray Wallace's foils, Edward I and Edward II, as everything she hopes to escape - demanding, manipularive, faithless, false, untrustworthy, shallow, weak, and unloving.

While IsabeUa does not belong in the film according to historical chronology, she does play an integral role in how the story of William Wallace is received by audiences, most of whom wiU not detect the historical inaccuracies at all. Those who norice anachronisms wiU often excuse and overlook them if the tale speaks to their sense of romance, honor, or Uberty. Even some ardent Scotrish narionaUsts forgive the interpolarions and invenrions; the idea that their greatest hero did what the English prince could not or would not do is quite appeaUng. In fact, it amuses them to think that the royal house which oppresses them now is descended from the rebellious blood of Sir

William WaUace. Musings aside, though, Wallace never knew the French princess.

And while the historical transgressions are great and weigh heavily upon the crirical receprion of the film, what remains undeniable is the impact that Isabella's characterizarion has upon the modificarion of WilUam's mythic status.

Unfulfilled Longing

During IsabeUa's marriage ceremony, the camera captures a close-up of the princess; her face bears a look of befuddlement. Why is the prince so hesitant? Are the rumors true? WiU her husband ever consummate this union? His half-hearted peck on the cheek is not encouraging in that regard. Later, after Longshanks abuses his son and rebukes his naivet^, Isabella is again made to wonder what exactly her place is in the

105 palace. The king storms out of the room, leaving Edward U to pick himself up off of the floor, and the princess rushes over to comfort him. Embarrassed and angr>-, the prince lashes out at his wife; "Get away from me! [then to PhilUp] (Convene my militar\' council." By refusing her solace, he refuses her touch, her insrinct to help her mate.

Edward II denies her that. The princess receives no affecrion from him, and she has no outlet for her own feelings or inrimate impulses; she is the neglected wife, made to srifle her passions and think of England.

True Love

Braveheart's princess pines for a man to give her what she needs. Frustrated and disappointed with her marriage, she looks elsewhere for romanric stimularion. As she and

Nicolette walk through the castle, they speak of inrimate things, of Englishmen and sexual prowess; it seems that such talk causes Isabella to think on Wallace. What she has heard about him arouses her curiosity: "This Scotrish rebel, WaUace. He fights to avenge a woman?" A story of love and vengeance is enough to peak anyone's interest, much less a neglected wife longing for a man who would feel such passion toward her.

Nicolette's answer is interesring: "A magistrate wished to capture him and found he had a secret lover." She does not say that William and Murron were secretly married, only that they were lovers. And she also does not tell the same story that Braveheart has told us thus far.

The film shows Murron, an innocent bride harassed and assaulted, unjustly punished for defending herself; then it gives us an angry husband fighring for his wife's honor. Nicolette teUs the story most history books reveal. WaUace had been in a skirmish and was being sought by the English authoriries. They chased him to his companion's home, and not finding him, kflled her. William led them to his wife's/ lover's

106 house, and she paid the price for his transgression. This is a different story ennrelv. With

Braveheart's Wallace, we have a legirimate hero righting wrongs, punishing the English for murdering his bride. In Nicolette's brief retelling (and in many historical sources), we have a criminal getring his beloved tangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse. While the

EngUsh are viUainous in both accounts, WflUam benefits from the version shown in the movie. It is also fortunate for WaUace that Nicolette's statement is too brief to cause many audience members any undue dissonance. Most are too caught up in his fight against injustice and oppression to wonder which account is the more accurate.

The lady-in-wairing conrinues to gossip with the princess, giving her more details:

So, he cut the girl's throat to tempt WaUace to fight, and fight he did. Knowing his passion for his lost love, they next plotted to take him by desecraring the graves of his father and brother and setring an ambush for him at the grave of his love. He fought his way through the trap and carried her body to a secret place. [IsabeUa rests against the wall, shuts her eyes, and sighs with emorion.] Now that's love, no?

The scenes portraying the atrociries at the cemetery were probably left on the cutring room floor or left out enrirely. We do not see WiUiam escape these snares. As we have it, the tale is legendary, resembUng the French romances with which a lady of court like

Isabella would certainly have been famiUar. She swoons, realizing that a man of love and honor and valor exists. Nicolette suggests that WiUiam's acrions are the definirion of true love, eliciring a despondent response from the lonely IsabeUa: "Love? I wouldn't know."

The two embrace. The princess does not know love because she does not yet know

Wallace. That is something which will have to be remedied.

Peace Talks

Sent as an ambassador to the rebellious Scots, IsabeUa discusses King Edward's terms of truce with the spokesman for the brigands, William. As the strapping young 107 Wallace enters the royal tent of meering, Nicolette casts a knowing glance at Isabella; she apparently admires his stature and appearance, but the princess retums Nicolette's grin with a glare and quickly looks away. It is improper to lust after one's enemy dunng peace talks. The two discuss Longshanks's proposal, but William, ever the loyal patriot, refuses to be bought by offers of lands, ritles, or gold. When she criricizes his taking of York,

WaUace responds by exposing King Edward's cruelty. The royal advisor. Lord Hamilton, then steps in and accuses WilUam of savagery and falsehood; he does so in . The cosmopoUtan warrior makes use of his education and growls back at Hamilton(in Latin):

"I never lie. But I am a savage." Wallace then tums to Isabella and asks if she would rather they speak French. Showing off his Unguistic prowess did not impress Murron, but the princess cannot help but appear pleased by this tall, strong, romanric freedom-fighter who happens to be intelligent as well. She regains her stately composure and asks the advisor to leave them to speak in private. WilUam then finds a chance to tell her of his childhood trauma - seeing the Scottish nobles hung in a bam under a flag of truce from

Longshanks. He plants doubt in her mind, and then he sows sympathy. Wallace menrions his wife's death and compares her to IsabeUa; both are strong women. He encourages her to open her eyes (presumably to see the corruprion the English crown and the purity of the Scottish cause). WilUam leaves her with a srirring statement of defiance, asserring that the Scots will not be ruled while he lives. As her wagon pulls away from the meering place, IsabeUa peeks out from behind the curtain and steals a glance at the man she is beginning to love.

Treasonous Tryst

WilUam's defiant defense of freedom moves the princess to act on her own rebelUous impulses; when IsabeUa hears that she was part of Longshank's plot to ambush

108 WaUace at York, she dispatches Nicolette to speed word to Wallace, informing him of the immanent danger. He heeds her waming, obviously believing her, sensing that her intenrions are honorable and that she is not in fact part of a plan to cut the Scots off while in retreat from an imaginary invasion (Something about their meering in the tent had caused him to trust her.) This waming gives us a hint about Isabella's affecrion for

WilUam, not just that she very kindly ensures that her supposed peace mission does not cause the rebel any unjust harm, and not just that she sends her lady-in-wairing as a go-between figure, but that she commits an act of treason to protect the man of her dreams. We get an indicarion that more has passed or will pass between them, perhaps a foreshadowing of their romantic Uaison, as WilUam's aide-de-camps, Hamish, reacts to

WflUam's receiving a visit from the IsabeUa's closest companion; "Personal escort of the princess. Must have made an impression. [WflUam gives a quick, "Aye."] I didn't think you were in the tent that long." Hamish jokes about what seems obvious; the princess must really care about WaUace, or she would not go to such lengths and risk so much to help him.

IsabeUa has another opportunity to share secrets with her beloved enemy when they meet in the woods. She waits for him in an empty house; it is nightrime, and the room is very dark. William slips in the back and quietly approaches Isabella; startled, she jumps to her feet. He addresses her, oddly enough, as "My lady." Sign of respect, obligarion of thankfulness, benign civility, or subtle suggestion of a romanric incUnarion, the is ambiguous. Breathing deeply as she tries to quickly inform him of recent movements by the English troops, the princess is obviously affected by William's presence, nervous to speak with him alone at night. Wallace cuts her off with a quesrion: "Why do you help me? [moves closer and lowers his voice] "Why do you help me?" Unable to look her hero in the eyes, she tums and blurts out in a passionate whisper, "Because of

109 the way you are looking at me now." They kiss. The love theme music retums. We see

WilUam lay Isabella down on a bed, and then we see them parring ways the next moming;

it is assumed that the night was spent in each others' love-star\'ed arms. Isabella ndes back to the casde an adulterous traitor, and William ndes back to camp a lecherous

adulterer. But the infideliries are glossed over; blame is avoided and srigma ignored.

After aU, she deserves a real man, and he deserves a chance to give the audience what is

demanded by placing IsabeUa in the story. The sympatheric female character must have her emorional and physical needs met by the sympatheric male character. Isabella is a

woman with an unfiilfiUed longing, and William is a man with much to offer. The Scotrish legend, more virile and potent in one night than Edward II could have been in a

thousand, makes the princess a mother.

Life Cycle

After Braveheart presents its invented Uaison between William and Isabella, it slowly moves into a montage which depicts the cycle that Wallace has apparently either set into morion or at least given a good push; as life springs forth from the young leaders sympathetic to his rebelUon, death wraps around the old ones who oppose the fight for

Scotland's independence. The first image in the montage shows William kissing the princess goodbye just outside the cottage they have just shared; the framing of this shot is reminiscent of the wooded glade in which Wallace had embraced Murron following their honeymoon night. A variarion on the love theme plays softly in the background and crescendos as WflUam puUs Isabella close to his chest; the same technique is used in the scene with Murron, thus connecring the two events and perhaps even sancrioning the affair with the princess as legirimate and loving, rather than condemning it as sordid and lustful. The rapturous music and romanric Ughring suggest that Braveheart wishes to

110 portray its hero admirably by setring a pleasant mood in his scenes with Isabella. The

image of the happy couple dissolves into an objective long shot of William, Hamish, and

Stephen riding down a muddy country lane. They trot off into the distance,

communicaring the idea that time is elapsing, that they are both spatially and

chronologically.

The next image to appear is that of Robert Bruce leaning over his father's bed; the

old man's life is ebbing away. The low key Ughting keeps the room in eerie shadows,

barely illuminaring the Leper's bandaged face. Robert reaches out to comfort him,

exhibiting a rare display of affection between the father and son who spend much of their

time together at odds. The young heir holds vigil at the bedside of the old guard. The

shot dissolves into its counterpart; Longshanks coughs and hacks alone, dying without

the comfort of his son. Although the aged king passes his final moments with Edward II

later in the film, during this montage, he has no one to attend him. His chamber appears

dim and dank; no warm glow from a fire and no comforting touch from a friend. He spits

up blood and stmggles to breathe. While the Elder Bmce is being eaten up on the

outside. King Edward is devoured from the inside; both will be gone soon.

Life follows death, though. Bathed in moming sunlight, Isabella ambles along the

castle's columns, rapt in thoughts of her true love. She folds her hands across her waist

and holds herself in delight; she bears the fmit of her union with Wallace. The

soundtrack swells as she lifts her hands to her face in exultation. Love is real, and she is

in it; new life exists, and it is within her. The disease and death which grip Longshanks

and the Leper do not draw near to IsabeUa; darkness and despair are driven from her, for

she carries the promise of a future. Thanks to the natural course of Ufe, and of course to

Wallace, the cycle has come full circle.

Ill Notes

For more on WilUam's uncles, see MacKay, 31-2; Gray, 27-8; Fisher, 8. 2 See GaUagher, 35. (Commenting on his own filming techniques and direcring decisions, Mel Gibson acknowledges the influence of others: "You pick it [style] up from aU these people - Dick Dormer [the Lethal Weapon fiUns,Mavericfc ] - just for some kind of Ughmess that you can bring."

One of the charges leveled against WaUace at his "trial" was killing the Shenff of Lanark, Sir WilUam Heselrig. See Gray, 150; Fisher, 134; MacKay, 261.

^ MacKay, 106.

^ Ibid., 83-107.

^n^id., 113. 2 While most historians concur that Edward U was homosexual/ bisexual, he did produce offspring. Braveheart's portrayal of the prince assumes sterility so that the virile WaUace can step in and sire a chfld with Princess IsabeUa.

See Keller, James R. "Masculinity and MarginaUty in Rob Roy and BroA^eheart." Joumal of Popular Film and Television 23-28.

Edward II is remembered for his personal defects (indiscrerion and a violent temper), his sexual deviance (homosexual relarions with Piers Gaveston), his mflitary losses (Bannockbum, 1314), his administrarive failures (humiUaring abdication), and his horrible death (sodomized with a red hot iron).

IsabeUa's strength is consistent with her place in history as an adulterous Queen who usurped her weak husband with the help of her lover.

Andrew Wallace, next in line to be the chief of the WaUace clan, jokes that he is "parricularly pleased that, after many hundreds of years, the Brirish public now know that the Royal Famfly has some good WaUace blood in them." See "WflUam Wallace's Adventure Through Time." Online. Intemet. Brirish Heritage. Nov. 1996. Avaflable; http;//www.thehistorynet.com/BririshHeritage/arricles/l 196_side.htm

112 CHAPTER VI

RE-MAKING THE MYTHIC HERO

WilUam Wallace

Mel Gibson's legendary hero fights for a legirimate cause - freedom from oppression. The tyranny of the EngUsh crown has made him an orphan and a widower, as battle has claimed his father and injusrice has stolen his wife. As a traumarized rebel,

WaUace wages war with the passion and fury of an avenging angel, righring the wrongs of an unfair world. He gains the favor of civilized audiences by emerging as more than a backwoods bounty-hunter; WflUam is an educated cosmopoUtan fluent in French and

ItaUan. He fights not with reckless abandon but with the cunning tacrics of a veteran strategist, invenring clever miUtary defenses and avoiding assassinarion plots. This morivarional leader srirs the emorions of his foUowers with his rousing speeches and

amasses a volunteer army with his charismaric appeal. However, even though Wallace's immense popularity has generated flattering legends and superstirions, he humbly refuses to exploit his mythic status. WilUam does accept his posirion as war-leader, but he much prefers to charge alongside his countrymen; he is a savage warrior, powerful and vicious when necessary. Wallace remains a pious Chrisrian throughout the film, frequently offering prayers and seeking God's help. In some ways, William serves as a Christ figure, suffering death at the hands of cruel men for a cause it seems he was bom to uphold.

And in the end, WaUace funcrions as an inspirarion to the Scotrish people, spurring them on to victory at Bannockbum.

113 Traumarized Rebel

Even before he loses his father and brother in a skirmish with the English, William exhibits a strong hatred for his oppressors. Once the men from Lanark depart to face the enemy, Wallace and his young fiiend, Hamish, pretend to protect their farms from the ruthless troops from England. A low angle subjecrive shot captures a forboding retinue of

EngUsh soldiers riding along a stony path near the village; WilUam and Hamish hide in a small ravine. Hamish sums up the Scotrish perspecrive: "With your father and brother gone, they'U kiU us and bum the farm." WflUam agrees, "It's up to us, Hamish." The boys beUow out a war cry and leap up from behind an outcropping; as they throw their rocks, it is clear that they do not face the EngUsh forces which have so recently passed before them. WilUam and Hamish are playing a game, knocking ram skulls off boulders, and it is WaUace who prevails; Hamish misses completely, while WiUiam topples both targets. Frustrated, Hamish punches the mouth of his smiling fiiend. This sequence foreshadows future encounters WilUam will have with his burly companion, and it estabUshes the Scotrish mood — feelings of distrust and hatred for the EngUsh. Even small boys know that England's presence in Scotland is intrusive and oppressive.

Braveheart's Wallace soon sees the impact of English imperialism as he meets the

Scots returning from battle; Malcolm and John WaUace lie dead on a wagon bed.

WflUam later walks in on the family friends preparing the corpses for burial; they wash the gaping wounds and wrap them in cloth. The boy approaches his father and places a hand on his bare chest; shocked at how cold and Ufeless Malcolm's breast has become, WilUam starts and cringes. The MacClannough's look on in sorrow and compassion; the young

Wallace is alone now, orphaned by an EngUsh sword.

These scenes of WaUace's suffering are mirrored in the burial of Murron. After

WiUiam's wife is brutaUy executed by the local magistrate, Wallace bums with rage and

114 grief, angry at the English, at Smythe, and even at himself for not saving her. Once he exacts his vengeance on Murron's murderers, WilUam attends her fiineral. Bending down over his bride, he kisses her softly on the Ups, through the burial veil; he does not start at the feel of cold flesh, for he knows what to expect by now. The MacClannough's stand nearby, this time on behalf of their daughter, and the look they give William is not out of pity and compassion; the mother just weeps, while the father glares at his new son-in-law, furious that Wallace secretly courted and married Murron against their wishes, enraged that WilUam's actions led to Murron's demise. Without a word, Wallace kneels at

MacQannough's feet and bows his head, offering his deepest apologies and throwing himself upon the mercy of his in-laws. A high angle subjective shot shows

MacClannough reaching out a trembling hand, making a fist, and finally resting his outstretched fingers on WaUace's lowered head, extending mercy to the penitent widower.

All of WaUace's life is then spent on avenging his father and his wife; he fights in response to the traumatic injuries done him. When WiUiam stands with his uncle at

Malcolm's graveside, Argyle shares with him the family legacy; the Wallace clan has had a long history of fighring and dying while defending its homeland against the English invaders. WflUam will soon take up the sword and fulfill his desriny as a warrior. Toward the end of the film, as WilUam speaks with Hamish and presents his case for conrinuing the struggle for freedom by uniring with the nobles, he draws an angry response: "Your dream isn't about freedom; it's about Murron. You're doing this to be a hero because you think she sees you." WiUiam clarifies, "I don't think she sees me. I know she does."

WaUace is led to believe that through the vision he has had of his departed wife, and his beUef is confirmed during his own execurion, as Murron appears to him again and welcomes him into the afterUfe. He becomes a rebel out of devorion to his father's

115 heritage and his wife's honor, taking up the sword with animalisric bmtaUry, defending his family and his country with unfailing loyalty. Braveheart plays off the emorions the

audience is expected to feel, drawing on the immediate connecrion viewers make with the lonely orphan and the grieving widower; we sympathize with his loss and allow him his

revenge.

Educated (Cosmopolitan

Malcolm Wallace tells his son, "I know you can fight, but it's our wits that make

us men," assuring the young upstart that his eagemess to commit to battle should not be superseded by his desire to leam. WflUam hears the same message from his Uncle Argyle:

"[tapping his nephew's forehead] First, leam to use this, [lifting the sword which the boy is admiring] then I'U teach you to use this." WaUace Uves by the code of brains over

brawn, developing fluency in Larin and French, going on a , and training in the strategic arts of war. Such characterization is not unfounded, for the Marquess of Bute

makes the Scottish legend out to be the sort of well-rounded scholar that Braveheart creates:

I conceive that there can be no doubt that his mental culture was at least as great as would be that of a person in a corresponding position at the present day. ... Sir WilUam Wallace at least knew how to read and write three languages — namely, his own, and Latin and French; and it appears also that he knew GaeUc. He knew the ancient and modem history, and the common simpler mathemarics and science of his own day.

This is the William we see in the film, showing off his Unguisric skill with Murron, defending himself in Larin and in French before Princess Isabella, and devising clever miUtary maneuvers at SrirUng and Falkirk.

The historical records indicate that WiUiam was probably schooled by his mother 2 at home unril his uncle took over the task. The film depicts a young orphan leaving his 116 empty home to receive an educarion, but Wallace was probably sent by his parents to

Cambuskenneth Abbey to study with his father's brother as a cleric. Blind Harry writes of this second son's affinity for the ministry - a career choice appropriate for someone of

WilUam's position. And since WilUam's father was in all likelihood not killed until 1296, his leaming was not in the aftermath of MalcoUn's death. In fact, Harry tells us that

WaUace was later sent to the Abbey near to Uve with his mother's brother after

Malcolm and his oldest son fled northward to avoid the English retriburion for not signing the accord with Edward in 1291. -^ It was this second uncle that supposedly taught

Wallace the Latin maxim, 'THco ubi verum, libertas optima rerum: nunquam servili sub nexu vivito, fill - Freedom is best, I teU thee true, of all things to be won. Then never live within the bond of slavery, my son." ^ And it was at Dundee that Wallace met John

Blair, who would later become his personal chaplain and provide Blind Harry with his source material for The Wallace. Therefore, WilUam Wallace was indeed an educated man, but his pursuit of knowledge was not the of a desperate and lonely orphan.

Cunning Tacrician

WiUiam uses his educarion as he develops the schiltron defense at Srirling, as he prepares for battle at Falkirk, and as he evades would be assassins. No army had ever withstood a charge of heavy horse without having an adequate cavalry themselves; the

Scots had only the light cavalry owned by the nobles and their associates, nothing to repel an attack from several hundred heavily-armed knights. Braveheart's Wallace seems to come up with the idea for on a whim, as he chats with his companions near the fire. He looks up at the tall, straight trunks of the trees which camouflage his camp, and he spontaneously decides to carve ", hundreds of them — long spears, twice as long

117 as a man." When his forces arrive at the Sririing battlefield, they carry with them the

huge poles Wallace has had in mind. ^

WilUam soon provokes the English into a fight, deviously plotring with the

Scottish nobles to have them ride away at the first sign of trouble, sneak around the

enemy, and take out their archers. Their opponents assume of course that the Scotrish

cavalry have retreated, and so the English commander orders his own cavalry to advance,

to "ride them down Uke grass." They charge, and the Scots hold their posirion, leaving

the spears resring on the ground in front of them. The EngUsh draw nearer, and William

orders his men to hold. The music builds in intensity as parallel cuts show the heavy

horse pounding across the field and the Scotrish soldiers standing firm. Finally, when the

cavalry are too close to puU away, WaUace yeUs for his troops to Uft the poles into

position - the base in the ground and the point at a 45 degree angle. The horses that are

not impaled immediately buck their riders; the English that are not thrown into the

swords of the wairing Scots are pulled from their mounts and killed. A reaction shot

provides the commander's anxious response: "Send in the infantry." His assistant is

bewildered: "My Lord?" Lord Talmadge is adamant when frightened: "You lead them!"

The forces meet in the middle of the field, and it is not long before the Scotrish nobles

arrive from behind and take out the archers; the Scots handily defeat the English.

WaUace's idea has worked, and his miUtary genius is confirmed.

As WilUam prepares for the battle at Falkirk, he has his men move under cover of

darkness and pour oil aU over the field where the English will later fall into formarion, and he arranges for a special attack from the Scotrish cavalry, again led by the nobles, Momay and Lochlan. As that battle ensues, he orders his archers to launch fiery arrows at the

English; they ignite the oil and scorch many of the forces assembled there. After Wallace and his infantrymen join up with the Irish and meet the English at midfield, WiUiam

118 signals to the nobles, but they ride away, betraying him for lands and rides. Falkirk is a faflure because of treachery, not because WaUace did not plan well.

After Falkirk, Edward I orders his advisors to find a group of the finest assassins and kiU WaUace; he decides to use IsabeUa as bait to lure William to a meering. One of

the king's counselors interjects, "My Lord, Wallace is renowned for his ability to smell an ambush." The rebel has quite a reputarion, respected even by his enemies for his tacrical prowess. The film then cuts to a field near a hut at dusk; the princess's wagon stands beside the house, and soldiers in French uniforms guard the front door (apparently posing

as IsabeUa's personal sentries). WaUace, Hamish, and Stephen survey the situarion, and

WflUam plants his sword into the wet ground. They all walk calmly toward the hut. As

they reach the soldiers at the door, they shove them inside and bar the door shut, wheeling a wood cart into place to prevent escape. Then the Scots pour oil onto the roof

and light it. The assassins are killed; WaUace has outsmarted England's finest.

Morivarional Leader

After WaUace has kiUed the Sheriff at Lanark and attended Murron's funeral, he and his companions gather around a fire at night; the watchman spots men approaching and wams WiUiam's camp. The Mac(3regor clan has come to help; "We heard about what was happening, and we don't want you amadants thinking you can have your fun without us." Wallace hesitates to accept the offer, not wanring to involve others in his fight; "[with an air of resignarion] Go home. Some of us are in this. We can't help that now. [raising his voice for his first efforts at morivarional speaking] But you can help yourselves. Go home." MacCjregor challenges WiUiam's assumprion that the trouble is limited to those who were directly involved in the skirmish in Lanark; "We'll have no homes left when the EngUsh garrison from the castle comes through and bums us out.

119 [with stubbom confidence] And they will." Campbell is the first to recognize the tmth in that, welcoming his neighbors and patting them on the shoulders; William then nods in agreement. The public speaker is himself persuaded that the clans are united by their common enemy. WaUace seems reluctant to make more out of his vengeance than necessary; it was an isolated incident at first. But a personal battle affects the community, and a local struggle becomes a national cause.

This transformation is evident in the ensuing scene, as William and his troops surprise an EngUsh outpost; after he has Lord Bottoms killed, Wallace addresses the surviving soldiers; "[shouring so all can hear] I am WflUam Wallace, and the rest of you will be spared. Go back to England and tell them there that Scotland's daughters and her sons are yours no more. TeU them Scotland is free." He uses his morivational speaker voice again, this rime assuming the role of leader, announcing his idenrity, claiming responsibiUty for his army, and serving as Scotland's ambassador. William is no longer the reluctant loner, unwilUng to involve others in his fight; he leads a formidable force to victory and presumes to offer his country's narional policy. He takes on the role his life has prepared him for, the idenrity fate has assigned him.

Humble Legend

Wallace reaUzes, however, that with the popularity comes adulation and exaggerarion; stories grow and rumors abound. WilUam is careful not to let his legendary status detract from his mission. As the Scottish troops gather, he receives volunteers; one such man is Faudron. He nears Wallace and falls at his feet, offering his allegiance:

"WflUam Wallace, we've come to fight and to die for ya." William immediately corrects what he considers an abuse of his posirion; he will not abide men kneeling before him as if he were a holy figure or saint: "Stand up, man. I'm not the pope." (Faudron's display of

120 humble servimde later proves to be the anrics of a spy and a traitor; he stalks William and tries to murder him.)

In another instance of Wallace seeking to keep the yams about himself from spiiming out of control, WflUam reasons with the army gathered at Srirling. He rides into their midst and speaks to a disheartened crowd that threatens to leave the battlefield; the commoners assembled do not wish to fight die so that the nobles can own more lands, and they fear the massive force arriving on the opposing field. Sensing that his newfound authority might hold sway over the troops, William cries out to them: "Sons of Scotland,

I am WilUam Wallace." He announces his idenrity, hoping to attract the attenrion due his popular name, but one of the soldiers hesitates to believe this man who claims to be

Scodand's latest legendary figure; "WflUam Wallace is 7 feet tall." Recognizing the result of rumors and supersririons, William jokingly challenges the young man's accusarion:

Yes, I've heard. He kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of Ughtning from his arse, [the troops laugh] I am WilUam Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What wiU you do with that freedom? Will you fight?

The soldiers shake their heads and yell in response; they will run from the overwhelming odds and survive. WilUam sees the cowardice in them, but appeals to their sense of reason and draws on their disgust with oppression:

Aye, fight and you may die; run and you'll live. At least a while, [shouring louder and pacing the field on his mount] And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be wiUing to trade every day from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our Uves, but they'U never take our freedom?! Albagubrath! (Scotland forever!) [the crowd cheers and joins in the chant, repearing the phrase. Alba gu brath]

121 WilUam has srirred their hearts to bravery, using his mythic status for rapport and his morivarional words for persuasion. He does what the Scotrish nobles could not; their authority could not keep their own men on the battlefield, while Wallace's legendary status moves the Scots to fight. His leadership transforms a timid gathering of self-serving vassals into a raging band of patrioric warriors.

Another sequence which depicts Wallace's legendary power comes after William kiUs Momay and Lochlan as the film cuts to a shot of WilUam running along the peak of a majesric highland mountain; bagpipes resound as a close up brings the audience face to face with the renegade hero looking out across the mysric landscape of his beloved

Scotland. The name of the song on the soundtrack is "The Legend Spreads," and we are shown how WilUam's reputarion grows as Braveheart moves to a series of scenes with an old farmer and a few gossiping drinkers. The old man stands before an enthralled crowd as he assures his hearers that "WilUam Wallace killed fifty men - fifty if it was one."

Then the rumors fly as some drunken Scotsmen swap stories; the first claims the body count was closer to "a himdred men" and that WilUam accomplished this feat "with his own sword." The second drinker attaches a biblical allusion; WaUace "cut through them like Moses through the Red Sea." Wallace's status as a folk hero is clear; the Scotrish people love him, honoring his deeds by exaggeraring his chanson de gestes with every telling; the caurious upstart from Lanark has become a narional icon, a mythic symbol for all those who long for deUverance.

Savage Warrior

Braveheart's Wallace does more than rile a crowd of disgruntled Scotsmen; he leads those soldiers into the heat of battle, hacking and sUcing his way through the

English forces. WiUiam first displays his savagery as he avenges Murron's death at

122 Lanark. Once he smashes the skuU of the nearest Englishman, he stabs another through

the neck with a wooden spike. Then he swipes another man's leg off at the knee, sending

the unfortunate youth to the ground to writhe in tmspeakable pain. As another soldier

rushes toward him, WflUam raises his sword high above his head and lunges it at his

opponent's chest, knocking him straight to the dirt. TTie Scots join in the stmggle and

eventually comer the magistrate; Wallace drips with the blood of his enemies as he coldly

throws the sheriff against a pole and draws a dagger across his throat. During this

sequence, a sflent WilUam just stares with resolute rage as he rips the English apart with

his claymore and exacts his revenge.

Wallace later exhibits similar ferocity as he fights at SrirUng; while the English

general barks out orders from high atop his charger far from the clashing swords, William

runs right through the ranks of the warriors, driving his mighty sword into any who cross

his path. He slashes throats and cmshes helmets; he slices stomachs and spills blood,

furiously swinging his weapons, handily defeating his opponents. But the most violent

scene comes as the English commander, Cheltham, charges toward him. William looks

up and sees the rider single him out and rush onward; WaUace Ufi^ his long blade and

waits, letring out a war cry. He cuts at the steed's front legs, throwing Cheltham to the field below. The commander is barely to his feet when WilUam decapitates him with one

terrible blow.

As the battle at Srirling comes to a close and it is evident that WaUace's forces have won, WilUam tums to survey the battleground; the English are scattered in mounds of dead and wounded, while the Scots stand above them. A low angle shot captures a towering war-leader glorying in his victory; his claymore, drenched in EngUsh blood, glows red in the aftemoon sun as Wallace tums the blade in his hand to raise it above him. He screams as he thrusts his sword high into the air; gore drips from his contorted

123 face as he revels in his rebeUion. He grins savagely as his men tum to him and chant,

"WaUace! WaUace! WaUace!" Another low angle view frames the sword he throws into the ground; a deep blue sky highlights its bloody hilt swaying in the wind. '

WilUam's characterizarion as a brutal warrior is reinforced by the revenge he takes against Momay and Lochlan. He crushes Momay's skull with an iron ball, and he slits

Lochlan's throat. It can be assumed that when Wallace actuaUy fought at Lanark and

SrirUng he necessarily used great force and dexterity to destroy the EngUsh, but we have no historical record of him ever murdering the nobles who deserted him at Falkirk.

Therefore, the scenes with Momay and Lochlan are obviously invented to portray a

WflUam Wallace who refuses to tolerate dissenrion or betrayal, a savage war-leader who repays disloyalty with death. WaUace strikes fear into the hearts of his opponents during battle, but he also commands the awe of his countrymen; the Scotrish nobles are made painfully aware of what awaits those who subvert the rebelUon. WilUam's violent retribution against the traitors further establishes his idenrity as a fiercely committed rebel bent on upholding his cause for freedom.

Pious Christian

Braveheart's Wallace demonstrates a respect for religion, kneeling before praying priests, asking God for guidance and help, and remaining a faithful believer in the face of adversity. As he and Murron are married, William piously falls to the ground out of reverence for the ceremony and for its spiritual significance. Before his troops face the

EngUsh at Srirling, he and his men bow in prayer as the priests pronounce blessings upon them. Later, when Wallace persuades Robert Bruce to unite the clans, he appeals to a higher authority than himselfi "In the name of Christ [crossing himself to avoid blasphemy] help yourselves!" When William and Hamish debate the proper response to

124 Craig's offer of support, he teUs his fiiend that he longs for a peacefiil home full of children and that he has prayed to God for those things. And as he faces his execurion,

WaUace lifts his head to heaven and offers one last peririon: "I am so afraid. (Cive me the strength to die weU." This devout rebel seeks the Lord's favor throughout the film, acknowledging and requesring God's conrinued intervenrion in his life.

Stephen rescues WaUace from an assassin, and he looks to the skies in curious awe, wondering if the Almighty has in fact sent the insane Irishman to watch over him.

And when WflUam speaks with IsabeUa during their first meering, he tells the princess that "God makes men what they are." He evidently believes that his knighthood comes from on high, that his cause for independence is backed by the very throne of heaven, that his work is divinely sancrioned.

Christ Figure

The film's version of WilUam WaUace mirrors Christ in that he is of low birth, he disappears during adolescence only to retum to the public eye during adulthood, he has a rime of "ministry," he is betrayed by those closest to him, he suffers a "passion" at the hands of his accusers, and he dies for a cause that he seems desrined to defend. In fact,

Randall Wallace, the screenwriter for Braveheart, is reported to have said that he blended o the betrayal of by Judas with his version of Robert Bruce's treachery. Wallace has also said that what he created in Braveheart was the "purest sermon [he] could have ever preached." One criric suggests that WaUace parallels Christ in that he disturbs the authoriries of his day, challenging the Scotrish nobles Uke Jesus challenged the Pharisees and subverting Edward I's position like Jesus subverted Caiphas's. smdied reUgion at Duke University before he wrote for television and film, and others have noticed what he himself admits: Braveheart is laced with distinct spiritual elements. 125 The screenwriter might not have consciously matched scripture references with selected episodes, but the aUusions exist nonetheless. Perhaps Randall WaUace was inspired by a higher power as he fashioned the Scotrish legend into a Christ figure; he confesses in an interview with a joumalist from Duke University that as he writes, he often forces himself to "listen to hear the voices within [him], and maybe even hear the whispers of angels."

Whatever its parricular influences might have been, Braveheart chronicles the life of a man who resembles a prophet, a messiah, and a savior, a mythic hero whose struggle to

Uberate his people costs him his Ufe.

William Wallace's father was actually a knight, but the film presents him as a commoner. Braveheart's WaUace has humble origins, growing up on a simple farm in a typical viUage. Jesus was bom in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth, neither town an obvious choice for the Anointed One of Israel. The film offers glimpses of Wallace's early life — his playfulness, his desire to help his father, his sorrow at Malcolm's death, and his joumey to Uve with his uncle. But his adolescence is omitted; William arrives back in

Lanark as an adult. The gospels provide snapshots from the life of Jesus -- his birth, his dedication in the temple, his flight to Egypt, and his joumey to at the age of twelve; the biblical record then skips over his adolescence and tells of his baptism in the

Jordan as an adult. Perhaps, Uke (Christ, WaUace spent his teen years growing "in wisdom 12 and stature, and in favor with God and man."

When Jesus begins his ministry, he commits himself to God and goes about healing the sick and raising the dead; when WiUiam retums to Lanark, he commits himself to Scotland and goes about fighring the English and raising an army. The message about the Messiah spreads far and wide, inspiring many to follow the Lord and seek the kingdom of God; the exploits of WaUace spread across Scotland, inspiring many to join the rebellion and seek a kingdom of their own.

126 Jesus was handed over to his enemies by those whom he had trusted; Judas betrayed him and Peter denied him. Braveheart's WaUace is betrayed by Robert Bruce at

Falkirk and later handed over to Edward by Lord Craig and Bmce the Elder. Jesus was unjustly accused of subverting the Jewish nation; ^^ he was beaten and then crucified.

Since he never swore loyalty to Longshanks, WiUiam was unjusdy accused of treason.

WaUace coidd not have broken faith with Edward I, because he could not break a promise he never made. As the film depicts the EngUsh authoriries earring William into the place of execution, the martyr rides on a wooden wagon, strapped to a cross. An indirect subjecrive angle puts the audience in the midst of the gathered to witness the death of their worst enemy. The crowd jeers at him, mocking and cursing, spitting and hurUng produce at his face. Jesus stumbled through the streets of Jerusalem, bearing a wooden beam and suffering the scom and abuse of his accusers.

After WilUam has been stretched and racked, the Royal Magistrate has him laid on cross-shaped poles and ried into posirion for his disemboweling; high angle shots frame a crucified rebel. As Wallace's execurion progresses, his noble courage sways the crowd's emotions and moves them to petition for mercy. Like a lamb before its shearers is silent,

WilUam refuses to speak. ^ Wallace had already refused to be numbed by Isabella's elixir, much Uke Christ refused an offer of wine mixed with myrrh. William had reasoned that he must have his wits about him, for if he were senseless or if he were to wafl, then Edward wiU have broken him.

Parallels can also be detected in the deaths of Christ and Wallace. Resisting the forces of evil to the end, Christ uses his last breath to cry out to the heavens in a loud voice; at the moment he screams, the curtain of the temple is tom in two from top to bottom. Defying Longshanks to the end, WaUace reserves his last word for the cause to which he had committed much of his Ufe; WilUam struggles to fiU his aching lungs, and

127 then he beUows with all that is in him, "Freedom!" At that instant, the film cuts to the royal bed chamber where the king is resting; as if hearing his death knell, Edward I convulses and closes his eyes. ^^ Braveheart then retums to Wallace; the magistrate gives up and calls for the execurioner's ax. As the huge blade falls, Scotland's greatest hero is beheaded.

While the historical records indicate that Wallace requested his psalter before his execution, they provide nothing regarding his last words; the film's version of William's death exalts the hero for his faithfulness, his courage, and his dedication to the principle of freedom above aU else. In refusing to kiss the royal emblem on the magistrate's robe,

Wallace sacrifices the blessing of a quick and painless end to his suffering. Never in his whole Ufe did he bow his knee to Edward. Likewise, Jesus never succumbed to the temptarion to submit to Satan, to escape the way of sacrifice, or even to save himself from the death he would suffer. The biblical record exalts him for his faithfulness, his love, and his commitment to the wiU of God above all else. Braveheart depicts the martyrdom of a

Christ figure; for as his narion's anointed redeemer, WilUam WaUace must shed his own blood before the people can enter the kingdom of God/ establish a country of their own.

Inspirarional Hero

As Braveheart presents it, the Battle at Bannockbum comes immediately after

Wallace's bmtal execurion. Robert the Bmce provides a voice-over describing the situarion; "After the beheading, WilUam Wallace's body was tom to pieces. His head was set on London Bridge, his arms and legs sent to the four comers of Britain as a waming. It did not have the effect that Longshanks planned." This narration is delivered during an estabUshing shot of the Scottish forces assembled on a battlefield; it seems that receiving William's limbs in the mail only angered the rebels, inciting them to gather at

128 Bannockbum to face the English. The ensuing scenes indicate diat Wallace's death inspired Robert Bruce to summon his courage and lead his people into the fray.

Longshanks had intended to wam the Scots, especiaUy men Uke Robert, that rebellion was futile, that England would butcher them in the same way the executioner had npped

WaUace apart if they attempted to challenge Edward's authority. However, William's martyrdom has endowed Scodand and its king with a mythic hero, a legend, a saint;

WaUace is more powerful dead than alive at this point, for in destroying his body, the

EngUsh have set his soul free to inspire others. WiUiam's sword was a might>' weapon, and his leadership was a morivarional force, but his memory lasts beyond the grave. Wallace's influence reaches past his own Uferime and urges Bmce to lead his people to freedom, regardless of the consequences.

Braveheart concems itself with the impact that brave people can have on those who come after them. Malcolm WaUace teaches WflUam to follow his heart; Campbell influences Hamish to be a tenacious warrior; and WaUace eventually inspires Robert

Bmce and his men to charge the fields at Bannockbum. As the two were discussing the possibility of making the film, RandaU Wallace reportedly told Mel Gibson what

Braveheart means: "My movie says that if you're faithful to your heart, even if they cut it 1 2 out of you, you wiU prevail, not just in this life, but in the next one." Wallace's heart is gone, but his bravery endures. As WaUace tells Isabella before he is summoned for execution, "Every man dies, not every man reaUy lives." WilUam's life remains real every rime his story is told; the man may be dead, but the myth srill inspires, and the legend srill haunts.

129 ^ Qtd. in MacKay, 32. 2 Gray, 28. See also Fisher, 8.

^ Oay, 28.

"^ Ibid., 28.

For more on WaUace and the schfltron defense, see Wamer, 50-1; MacKay, 149.

Whfle WilUam's tacrics worked weU at Srirling, much of the actual strategy he used there was based on the fact that the battle took place at a bridge; the English were made to cross over the Forth two abreast. For further informarion see Wamer, 49-52; MacKay, 139-153; Fisher, 50-56. 2 The sword is a recurrent morif in Braveheart: WflUam is fascinated by his Uncle Argyle's shining broadsword; Wallace's own blade is featured as he holds the bloody symbol high in the air and then sricks it into the ground at SrirUng; Robert Bruce holds his clean sword as he wimesses the horror of Falkirk; and William's claymore appears again as Hamish throws it across the battlefield and into the ground at Bannockbum. Swords represent involvement, parriciparion, aUegiance, and commitment; seeing WaUace's blade sway in the wind at Bannockbum reminds the Scots of the victory at Srirling and inspires them to charge.

° See "Oscar-Winning Writer Credits God." OnUne. Intemet. 14 Jan. 1998. Available: http;//www.cc.org/publicarions/ca/0996/braveheart.html.

See "Faith and a Brave Heart." Online. Intemet. 14 Aug. 1997. Available: http;//www.adm.duke.edu/alumni/dm3/spotlight.txt.html.

See Hall, . W. "The Gospel According to Braveheart." Premise. 3,4 (1996) Online. Intemet. 25 Mar. 1998. Available; http;//capo.org/premise/96/april/p960402. html,

^ ^ "Faith and a Brave Heart"

^2 Luke 2.52

130 ^^ See Luke 23.2

^^ See Isaiah 53.7 and Acts 8.32-3

^^ See Mark 15.23

Edward I did not die unril 1307, two years after WilUam's execurion. 12 ' "Faith and a Brave Heart"

131 CHAPTER Vn

BRAVEHEARPS GEOLOGICAL PROJECT

The cinemaric image is the form, the signifier; what it represents is the concept, the signified; and what it expresses is the myth, the sign. ^ Braveheart depicts Wallace dying on two beams that are shaped like a cross, which cleady Ukens his execurion to

(Christ's; therefore, the film expresses the myth of a suffering savior, a dying god. Such associarions are morivated and mediated by ideology: audiences are meant to read the images of WilUam's death and connect WaUace with the innocent redeemer, to transfer to the film's hero all of the value, honor, and power contained in the redemprion myth; viewers can only make that connection, however, because of existing ideology.

The ideological project of Braveheart, then, is to create scenes which signify concepts that communicate myths; these myths are intended to resonate with audiences and re-make Scodand's national hero so that WilUam Wallace himself becomes a myth.

One goal of this historiographical enterprise is to bring about the day when a viewer will see someone doing something noble, heroic, and/ or brave, think of Wallace, and refer to that courageous person as a WaUace figure; the film is to be appropriated as a mythic story and used for (inter)narionaUsric ends. This has, in fact, happened already; during a recent campaign, Umberto Bossi, a separarist leader in northem Italy, donned blue face paint and compared his own quest for secession to WflUam Wallace's struggle with the

English; the local press dubbed the rebel, "MacBossi," and when polirical cartoonists drew him, Bossi's caricature wore a kflt. When Braveheart was shown in Scotland, the

Scotrish Narional Party took the opportunity to capitalize on the narionaUsric senriment generated by the film, placing membership booths on the sidewalks near theaters.

Poliricians frequently sported kflts. Oie member of the SNP admitted, "Oh, we all used

132 it It was a wee bonus that came along." ^ A professor of history at Srirling Universitv' was amazed at the popular appeal of the film: "Absurd as it sounds, Scots started to look at WilUam WaUace as a role model. People were saying: We're not free. We need a

WilUam Wallace.'" "^

The myth has inspired patriots in the United States, too. In an arricle decrying the disintegration of America's social, cultural, and poUrical Uberries, one columnist likens his own narion's fight to maintain freedom to the Scots' struggle for independence, exhorting his readers to commit to batde: "As William WaUace's words emboldened the

Scottish serfs in the closing years of the , let the stalwart words of Gibson's

Wallace embolden would-be American serfs in the closing years of the 20th -

FREEDOM." On its website, the Southem League, an acrivist group serving the

"(Confederate States of America," recommends Braveheart to cyberspace patriots from below the Mason-Dixon: "Unconstructed Southerners will find it difficult to miss the parallels between the Scots and our (Confederate forebears." Using Braveheart in his introducrion, one writer exalts WaUace's acknowledgment that "God makes men what they are," appropriaring the statement as a springboard for a srilted discussion of the aU-sufficiency of divine providence and the religious errors which "plague" the American church, ' And championing Braveheart's depicrion of "faithfulness in the face of corruprion," another advocate of the film's mythic appeal suggests that it has the power to morivate audiences to achieve higher levels of moral and ethical disrincrion:

It should be required viewing at the next Promise Keepers Rally of General Assembly. Clergymen, in fact, may need to see it the most, . . . We could use a Uttle of that warrior spirit today, when both church and state seem to reward wimpishness more than courage, and mediocrity more than exceUence. Braveheart [WilUam WaUace] took on the nobles, challenged their comfort, and exposed their compromise. Jesus did that earlier.

133 Each previous example iUustrates the ideological project of Braveheart: William

Wallace has become a mythic figure. The film's re-making of the hero has prompted

Scots, Americans, and Tuscans to take the Wallace myth and manipulate it for their own social, poUrical, and reUgious ends. For instance, Bossi presented himself to the Italian press as a type of WilUam Wallace, carrying to his secessionist poUrical platform all ot the mythic appeal of the legendary Scot, for the media had already watched scenes from

Braveheart and had already been inculcated by its ideographic images.

Director Mel (Cibson and Screenwriter Randall Wallace assume the ideology of

Braveheart's audience, crafting their story accordingly, ensuring that viewers will receive the myth that the film presents. Through the power of pictures in motion, they re-write

Scotrish history, willing the world a legacy, a timeless legend of mythic appeal. Braveheart performs its historiographic funcrion every rime the film is seen; every rime anyone anywhere invokes the name of WiUiam Wallace; every time the thought of Scotland's greatest hero inspires honor, bravery, or freedom.

134 Notes

See Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. Trans. Annette Lavers. New York: Hill and Wang, 1972.114-130. 2 See WaUace, Bruce. "A Nation in Search of a Modem Braveheart." Maclean's 28 Oct. 1996: 30.

3 Ibid., 28.

^ Jbid., 28.

See Trieb, Phil. "HoUywood Finally Offers Us a Movie Worth Seeing." The New i5^neri£aa29 Apr. 1996; 38-39.

See **Braveheart." Online. Intemet. 14 Aug. 1997. Available: dixienet.org/spatriot/vol2no3/bravehrt.html. 2 See Dwyer, John J. "Braveheart." (Dnline. Intemet. 22 Mar. 1998. Available: http://www.fhi.com/heritage/oct95/WhenGod.html.

o See Hall, David W. "The Gospel According to Braveheart."

Roland Barthes posits that "myth is a purely ideographic system" (127).

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