William Wallace was put to death in the most cruel way imaginable.
I was at Loudoun Hill yesterday and as I viewed the hill through the sculpture in his image, I gave him some thought. He carried out acts of incredible violence against English civilians and I have struggled to think of him as entirely a hero but I have settled on a view now.
We must judge a man not solely on his words and deeds but also with consideration to the context of his times. These were brutal times and Wallace was ruthless, but his heart was almost entirely good. A brave, brave person who has left his mark on history.
Betrayed ultimately by Scottish nobles due to his plan for a written Scottish Constitution in the common good, he is and remains a hero for the ages.
In all my years living in Ayrshire, I never once went to Loudoun Hill, to my shame.
William Wallace is someone I know very little about, other than him being able to kill men by the hundreds with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse.
Seriously though, it's mental what people did to each other back then.