The film portrays Wallace and his family as poor farmers living in a Highland glen. This is one thing we know very little about.

The story is that James then threw the casket containing Bruce’s heart towards the enemy crying “Onwards Braveheart, Douglas shall follow thee or die” or something along those lines. The crusading Scots only got as far as Southern Spain fighting the Moors when they were surrounded with little hope of survival. After Robert died, his friend James Douglas took the King’s heart on crusade to honour his dying wish. Unfortunately, if anybody is the “real” Braveheart then that would be King Robert the Bruce. Your average viewer would assume that Wallace himself was known as Braveheart. Braveheart – William Wallace! Or is it?Ĭheck your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.įirst off, the name of the film is Braveheart and the film is about William Wallace. I can’t cover absolutely everything but let’s break down some of the main themes and events. The problem is that Harry isn’t the most reliable person (we don’t even know if he was really blind) so we have to take everything he wrote with a large pinch of salt. Where strong factual evidence lets us down, we rely on a book written by a man called Blind Harry around 100 years after Wallace lived. It’s no good just shouting that it’s a load of rubbish without explaining things in a bit more detail. Some people can’t see past the historical issues while others probably have no idea what they are. I’ll always have a soft spot for the film as the first thing that got me really into Scottish history as a kid. Firstly, is there a more iconic Scottish film than Braveheart? Secondly, is there any film so full of historical inaccuracies? It’s safe to say that this interpretation of the life of Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace divides opinion.

Brave heart documentary