Stirling Castle

The situation leading up the confrontation of Scottish patriots under the command of Sir William Wallace, against the powerful Anglo-Norman army of Edwards I's Northern English forces, is a bit complex. Although conflict with England was not new to the Scots, the scale of the threat from Edward "Longshanks" certainly was. Scotland had been a country for several centuries but had yet to fully realize the sense of nationality and patriotism typically associated with the term nation. The Scots had fought Anglo-Saxon England, even Norman England, mostly over border disputes and for small territorial gains. Never had they experienced the threat of total domination by the English that would soon be on them. Edward I was a warrior king. A decade earlier he had finished the conquest of Wales, although the Welsh would attempt a revolt later on. The Scots felt naively secure that English power was not a threat to them. They had a strong King in Alexander III and life in Scotland seemed secure.

After a properous and relatively peaceful reign under King Alexander III, Scotland was enjoying economic success and some degree of peace with it's southern neighbour England. With Alexander's tragic death in 1286 A.D., all of the old problems and new ones came crashing in on Scotland leading to what is now called the "First Wars of Scottish Independence".