How accurate was “Braveheart”?
The film “Braveheart”, to which Clann Tartan members should need no introduction, has been nominated for Academy Awards and re-released, which prompts me to do something I should have done when it was released the first time; namely, review this film for historical accuracy. Clann members will, I expect, be interested in the history, and won’t even need an explanation of why accuracy matters. I feel qualified to review it artistically too, being in “the biz” (even if I’m still at the “starving artist in his garret” stage), but there are plenty of reviews around. What I feel more uniquely qualified to comment on is the film’s accuracy. In the course of researching and writing my own play on the life of Robert the Bruce, I have become somewhat learned on the period. In brief, the history in “Braveheart” is absolute garbage. William Wallace did indeed lead a rebellion against English occupation in 1296. He won a surprising victory at Stirling Bridge and lost at Falkirk. After his capture,
