William Wallace Timeline

Use the William Wallace timeline and Robert the Bruce timeline in your study of the
Scottish War of Independence.

The timeline below is from G.A. Henty's book In Freedom's Cause. The numbers in parenthesis on the number line refer to the chapters in which the events occurred.

Timeline Before William Wallace
in the War of Independence

Numbers in parenthesis refer to the chapter in In Freedom's Cause.

1290 The Maid of Norway died (1)
Nov 17, 1292 Edward I of England declares John Baliol King of Scotland (1)
March 25, 1293 Massacre of BERWICK - English crossed the Tweed River (border between Scotland and England) and attacked. Many civilians massacred needlessly to prove English strength. (2)

Timeline of William Wallace

May 12, 1297 Murder of Marion Bradfute Wallace by Sheriff Hazelrig (3)
May 13, 1297 Wallace attacks Lanark, kills Hazelrig, and begins Scottish War of Independence.(4)
July 1297 Battle of Biggar Wallace beat the English who were tricked into going onto boggy ground. (5)
1297 Massacre at the Barns of Ayr: Date and historical accuracy are uncertain. (6)
July 9, 1297 Treaty of Irvine: Bruce Wallace and other nobles surrendered to Edward without a fight and agreed to submit to him again. (8)
September 11, 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge was one of Wallace’s most famous victories. (9)
July 22, 1298 Battle of Falkirk was a serious defeat of Wallace due to the English long bow and the retreat of the Scottish calvary under the nobles. (10)
April 20, 1304 Seige of Sterling Castle begins. It lasted seventy days. (11)
August 23, 1305 Execution of William Wallace (only the month is given in the book) (11)

Timeline of Robert the Bruce

March 27, 1306 Bruce declared King of Scotland. (12)
June 19, 1306 Battle of Methaven - Scottish defeat (date not given in story). (12)
1306 Bruce and his court live in the country primitively. (12)
1306 Bruce and his closest followers hide on a remote island of Rathlin. (13)
Bruce returns to mainland. His wife, sisters, and brothers are captured. He and small group of followers are hunted. (13)
1307 Bruce’s popularity and force grows. (18)
1307 Douglas retakes Douglas Castle from Lord Clifford. (18)
May 1307 Battle of Loudon Hill - Victory for Bruce (19)
July 6, 1307 Death of King Edward I (22)
Spring 1308 Truce between England and Scotland negotiated by France. (24)
Feb 1309 Clergy declare Robert Bruce king of Scotland. (24)
March 15, 1312 Bruce captures Perth Castle. (25)
March 14, 1314 Edinburgh Castle captured by Scottish (26)
June 23, 1314 Battle of Bannockburn begins (26)
June 24, 1314 Last day of Battle of Bannockburn; a major Scottish victory; the last major battle of the Scottish War of Independence. (27)
June 7, 1329 Death of Robert the Bruce

Numbers in parenthesis above refer to the chapter in In Freedom's Cause by G.A. Henty in which the events were recorded.

Using the William Wallace Timeline

This timeline is found on page 79 & 80 of the In Freedom's Cause Unit Study. More information about the unit study is below.

Students may make their own copy of the timeline while reading the 27 chapters of the book.

Alternatively, they can review the timeline after the completion of the book to see how the events tie together.

Some group leaders will provide a copy of the timeline with just the date and the chapter number, and the students fill in the events as they are read.

Maps of William Wallace

A series of maps helps the readers identify the location and understand the geography. These maps include:

Map of Great Britain
Map of Scotland with towns from all the scenes in the book identified
Map of the Battle of Stirling Bridge (color and black and white copy)
Map of Falkirk Battle (color and black and white)

The maps of William Wallace and Robert Bruce alone are worth the price of the entire unit study. Ideas for using the maps with two of Wallace's most famous battles are also included.