The Wallace

One of the very first books printed in Scotland, The Wallace is an imaginative verse chronicle, composed ca. 1471–1479, eulogizing the celebrated Scottish national hero William Wallace. He was a military leader during the Scottish Wars of Independence, and often portrayed as a national liberator. The Wallace follows the eponymous hero’s life and military career, and is structured around three “rescues” of Scotland from English domination. While it unsparingly depicts the brutality of war, the poem also includes humorous episodes, often at the expense of the English. Written in Older Scots by blind Hary, whose identity remains an enigma, The Wallace draws inspiration from John Barbour’s The Bruce (1375), a biography of the equally famous Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Other influences include Chaucerian works, Arthurian legend, chivalric romance, and folklore. Anne McKim’s edition provides key selections from the text, summaries of omitted sections, and extensive annotation.