Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was fought during the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.
Blind Harry, also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace, more commonly known as The Wallace. This is a lengthy poem recounting the life of William Wallace, the Scottish independence leader, written around 1477, 172 years after Wallace's death.
Loudoun is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish at the River Irvine.
Andrew Moray, also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was an esquire, who became one of Scotland's war-leaders during the First Scottish War of Independence. Moray, son and heir to Sir Andrew Moray of Petty, initially raised a small band of supporters at Avoch Castle in early summer 1297 to fight King Edward I of England. He soon had successfully regained control of the north for the absent Scots king, John Balliol. Moray subsequently merged his army with that of William Wallace, and jointly led the combined army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11 September 1297. In the fighting at Stirling, Moray was severely wounded. He died at an unknown date and place that year.
John Comyn III of Badenoch, nicknamed the Red, was a leading Scottish baron and magnate who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. He served as Guardian of Scotland after the forced abdication of his uncle, King John Balliol, in 1296, and for a time commanded the defence of Scotland against English attacks. Comyn was stabbed to death by Robert the Bruce before the altar at the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries, once it had been declared that Comyn had more connection to King David of Scotland and therefore should be the next King of Scotland, not Robert.
The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. De facto independence was established in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, jure uxoris Earl of Carrick (1252–1292), Lord of Hartness, Writtle and Hatfield Broad Oak, was a cross-border lord, and participant of the Second Barons' War, Ninth Crusade, Welsh Wars, and First War of Scottish Independence, as well as father to the future king of Scotland Robert the Bruce.
Sir William Crawford is a character in The Wallace, Blind Harry's epic poem about William Wallace. He appears to be an unhistorical character, although there was a Crawford family in Ayrshire at the time of the Wars of Scottish Independence, some of whom may have been Sheriff of Ayrshire.
New Cumnock is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal-mining era from the late 18th century, and mining remained its key industry until its pits were shut in the 1960s. The town is 5+3⁄4 miles southeast of Cumnock, and 21 miles east of Ayr.
John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, who was his cousin, and who was killed by Bruce in Dumfries in March 1306. Confusion between the two men has affected the study of this period of history.
Sir William Douglas "le Hardi", Lord of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.
Aberdeen Castle was a late Middle Ages fortification, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was situated on Castle Hill, a site today known as the Castlegate, and the location of the castle is now occupied by blocks of flats.
Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick was a medieval English magnate.
Clan Crawford is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. The clan is of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon origin. There was in the early 18th century a mistaken belief that the clan had Norman origins. While historically recognised as a clan by the Court of the Lord Lyon, it is now an armigerous clan as it no longer has a chief. The last chief was Hugh Ronald George Craufurd, who sold his land and moved to Canada in 1904. He died in Calgary in 1942, leaving no male heirs.
The Capitulation of Irvine was an early armed conflict of the Wars of Scottish Independence which took place on 7 June 1297. Due to dissension among the Scottish leadership, it resulted in a stand-off.
Sir John Menteith of Ruskie and Knapdale was a Scottish nobleman during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is known for his capture of Sir William Wallace in 1305 and later joined with King Robert I of Scotland and received large land grants in Knapdale and Kintyre for his service. He is described as "guardian" of the Earldom of Menteith, as his great-nephew Alan II, Earl of Menteith was a minor at the time of the death of Alan I, Earl of Menteith.
The Barns of Ayr was, according to Blind Harry in The Wallace, a site in Ayr, Scotland, which was used as English barracks. According to Blind Harry, a number of Scottish barons of Ayrshire were called to a meeting with King Edward I of England at a barn used as an English military barracks, only to be massacred and hanged, including Sir Ronald Crawford Sheriff of Ayr, Sir Bryce Blair of Blair, Sir Neil Montgomerie of Cassillis, Crystal of Seton, and Sir Hugh Montgomerie. In revenge, William Wallace burned the barracks with the English inside.
Alexander Pilche was a 13th-century Scottish burgess. He joined with Andrew de Moray during the 1297 uprising in northern Scotland against the administration and overlordship of King Edward I of England. He was the Governor of Inverness Castle on behalf of the English in 1304, before being replaced in 1305 and joining King Robert I of Scotland's campaign in Moray in 1307. As a reward he was appointed Sheriff of Inverness until his death.
