was “displesans” [distressing], so he would not relate
it. The dramatic effect of this rhetorical device is suc-
cessful: The audience is left to imagine the brutality of
the English actions. Yet the sense of sadness and defeat
will suddenly change. Mimicking the structural dispo-
sition of saints’ legends, Wallace’s death is recon-
structed as a joyful tribute to his accomplishments.
Torture and death precede the hero’s real victory in the
other world, culminating with his entrance in heaven
(Book 12, ll. 1285–1288).
FURTHER READING
Goldstein, R. J. The Matter of Scotland. Lincoln and London:
University of Nebraska Press, 1993.
Jack, R. D. S. “Discoursing at Cross Purposes. Braveheart
and The Wallace.” In Renaissance Humanism—Modern
Humanisms, edited by W. Göbel and B. Ross, 41–54. Hei-
delberg: Universitätsverlag, 2001.
Walsh, Elizabeth. “Hary’s Wallace: The Evolution of a
Hero.” Scottish Literary Journal 11, no. 1 (1984): 5–19.
Sergi Mainer
WALLACE, WILLIAM (ca. 1270–1305) Wil-
liam Wallace was the most important early patriot in the
fi ght for Scottish independence, and was immortalized
in the 15th century poem The WALLACE. The fi rst record
of William Wallace appears in May 1297, where he is
listed as killing William Heselrig, the English sheriff of
Lanark (Lanarkshire), an episode that sparked the Rebel-
lion of 1297. Wallace and his followers raided far and
wide, attacking the English on sight. On September 11,
1297, Wallace engaged the British army at the Battle of
Stirling Bridge, winning a great victory. He then spent
the winter raiding across the border in Northumbria.
In 1298 the English king Edward I returned from
war in France to personally lead an invasion of Scot-
land. On July 22, 1298 at the Battle of Falkirk, the Brit-
ish heavy cavalry and archers devastated Wallace’s
ranks of schiltroms (spearmen). Wallace survived with
only a small contingent. The following year he went to
France seeking aid from Philip IV, but instead he
endured captivity. Upon his release in 1303, Wallace
returned to Scotland and resumed raiding.
William Wallace was fi nally captured in or near
Glasgow on August 3, 1305. He was tried three weeks
later in London and found guilty of treason. Wallace
received the traditional sentence: He was drawn,
hanged, and quartered, with portions of his body sent
to Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth. He immedi-
ately became a national hero, a reputation sealed by
Blind Hary’s poem.
See also BLIND HARY, ROBERT I THE BRUCE.
FURTHER READING
Fisher, Andrew. William Wallace. Edinburgh: John Donald,
1986.
Gray, D. J. William Wallace: The King’s Enemy. London: Rob-
ert Hale, 1991.
Mackay, James. William Wallace: Braveheart. Edinburgh:
Mainstream, 1995.
Mark DiCicco“WANDERER, THE” ANONYMOUS (before 1072)
“The Wanderer” is recorded on folios 76b–78a of the
EXETER BOOK and consists of 115 lines of Old English
alliterative verse. It is generally considered an ELEGY, as
it focuses on the wanderer’s sadness and loneliness as
well as his mourning of a lost life or, in this case, a lost
way of life.
The poem tells the story of a former warrior, called
an eardstapa (wanderer), who has lost his lord and
comrades—no longer part of the COMITATUS—and is
now wandering alone. In vain, he tried to fi nd comfort
in another lord. The wanderer, who achieved a form of
stoic wisdom after his many years of loneliness, fi rst
describes the feeling of his solitary journey, only to
mourn the transitory nature of the world and humans.
Ultimately, he concludes, everything is destined to
decay except for the heavenly kingdom, humanity’s
only hope of eternal shelter, in which security stands.
The poem can roughly be divided into two parts.
One part describes the fate of a solitary wanderer, fi rst
focusing on this wanderer’s personal experience and
then moving to a general statement concerning all
lonely wanderers. The second part depicts humanity’s
entire existence. This deep concern with the funda-
mentals of human existence and experience is a typical
feature of wisdom literature with which the second
half of the poem is often associated.
The poem begins with a generalization of a wander-
er’s situation, refl ecting the speaker’s own circum-
stances; this continues until he speaks for the fi rst time.456 WALLACE, WILLIAM