Wallace Sword

The Wallace Sword is an antique claymore purported to have belonged to William Wallace (1270 – 1305), a knight and Scottish patriot who led a resistance to the English occupation of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence. It is said to have been used by William Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and the Battle of Falkirk (1298).

The blade of the sword measures 4 feet 4 inches in length (132cm) and including the handle 5 feet 6 inches (168cm)cite web
url=http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/wallace/sword.htm|title=ALBA - The Sword of Sir William Wallace|accessdate=2008-07-18 |publisher=Highlander Web Magazine] . The breadth of the blade varies from 2.25 inches at the guard to 0.75 inches before the point. The sword weighs 6 lb (2.7 kg). It has been estimated that to be able to wield the sword Sir William Wallace must have been more than 6 ft 6 in (2.0 m) tall.

History

After William Wallace's execution in 1305 Sir John Menteith, governor of Dumbarton Castle received the sword in August of that year. Two hundred years later, in 1505, accounts still survive which state that at the command of King James IV of Scotland, the sum of 26 shillings was paid to an armorer for the "binding of Wallas sword with cords of silk" and providing it with "ane new hilt and plomet" and also with a "new scabbard and a new belt". This repair would have been necessary because Wallace's original scabbard, hilt and belt were said to have been made from the dried skin of Hugh Cressingham, one of the English commanders at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

No other written records of the sword are found for a further three centuries until 1875 when a letter from the War Office informs that the sword, in 1825 was sent to the Tower of London to be repaired where it was submitted to a Dr Samuel Meyrick by the Duke of Wellington for examination.

A Dr. Meyrick was an expert authority on ancient swords but he estimated the age of the sword by examining the mountings only, which as we know were replaced early in the 16th century. Thus he concluded that the sword could not date from earlier than the 15th century. However he did not take into the account of the blade which must have been of some importance for James IV to have it bound in silk and give it a new scabbard, hilt and belt and it was also described then as the "Wallas sword".

Today William Wallace's sword can be viewed at the Wallace Monument near Stirling in Scotland. The sword was recovered from Dunbarton by Charles Rogers, author of "The Book of Wallace". Rogers, on 15th October 1888 renewed a former correspondence with the Secretary of State for War, with the result that the Major-General commanding forces in North Britain was authorized to deliver the weapon to his care for preservation in the Wallace Monument.

Historical accuracy

There is legitimate reason to question the claim that this sword belonged to William Wallace. The sword is more consistent in proportion and appearance with a zweihander a primarily 16th century weapon; though it does not share the blade geometry of typical zweihanders. The sword does not fit the Oakeshott typology of medieval longswords. The blade does not possess a fuller — a near universal feature of blades with this type of cross-section (lenticular) [http://swordforum.com/fall99/sword-of-william-wallace.html Sword Forum essay] except in processional swords of the Renaissance. The blade length is a full foot longer than longswords typical for the period.

References

*"The Book of Wallace" by Rev Charles Rogers, D.D, L.L.D
*"Scotlands Brave" by Darren Loudoun.

External links

* [http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/wallace/sword.htm The William Wallace Sword]
* [http://swordforum.com/fall99/sword-of-william-wallace.html Sword Forum essay]