On This day August 22nd in 1305 Sir William Wallace former high guardian of Scotland and protector of the realm is brutally murdered on the pretext of treason.
Lead into Westminster Hall Scotland’s gallant leader was made present to answer the crime of treason...."How can I be a Traitor when your king is foreign to me" were the only words to escape the man's legendary person while he stood in those halls.
His punishment is to be hung, drawn and quartered. A truly barbaric punishment in the eyes of the people. One which would end one’s life but would also see his soul prevented from finding lasting peace something the Christian world truly believed would happen with such a death.
Before he was executed, he was tied to and dragged at the back of two horses through the streets of London. Wallace made his way to the gallows at Smithfield where he would face his own death past the jeering crowds that demanded blood and their shouts of traitor and murderer while Wallace remained silent.
First, he was hung by the neck till death almost took him.
Then he was attached to a crude device to draw his body till it could take no more.
This likely dislocated his limbs as they were pulled from his body.
Next, he was cut from neck to groin and his organs wrenched from its cavity.
He was then castrated with the severed parts being burned in front of the jeering masses.
Only after all this, was he permitted to be beheaded.
His head was placed on the London Bridge and the other parts put on public display for all to see.
His arm would be displayed at Stirling the site of the great victory of Stirling Bridge 1297. This act was designed to cause fear. It did not have the desired effect.
But through it all Wallace never once sought mercy. Never once did he beg for his life nor asked for it to end, The chronicles report that his only words were those he uttered during his so called trial, “I’m coming home”.
Poem – I’m Coming Home
I did not close my eyes for the last time under Caledonia 's skies
With my good friends gathered all around me to say their last goodbyes
But I will not be forgotten- in the heart of every Scot I still live on
Now it's time to fly the saltire high my spirit's coming home
I'm coming home – back where I belong
I'm coming home – my spirit's coming home
They tore apart my body so I could not rise on judgement day
But what they did not realise is now I'll never go away
And I'm coming back to the land I love and the people I hold dear
To Scotland, St. Andrew, and freedom
I'm coming home – back where I belong
I'm coming home – my spirit's coming home
I'm returning after all this time to Caledonian skies
To the country we died for so our nation would survive
Once again to stand beside the people I hold dear
For Scotland, St Andrew, and freedom
Written by Ted Christopher :
Source: The Land Called Scotland
Image: Pinterest