Post by Unloveable on Feb 6, 2008 22:29:50 GMT
[/size][/color][/center] A bit of HistoryA High Treason
Edward I, King of England from 1272 to 1307, has always dreamed of having the Realm of Scotland subdued, under his command. And now that Alexander III (deceased King which reign was one of the most peaceful, stable in the history of Scotland) has died and left no heir to the Throne, he intends to make it real.
But the Scotsmen aren't to be ruled without saying a word.
It is why, after a long meeting, Scotland's Lords agree to name Alexander's granddaughter, Margaret 'Maid of Norway' the new Queen. The only problem is, she's only 4 years old.
Edward, seeing an opportunity to get the independent country by this action, have his son, the future Edward II engaged to the young girl.
But the death of Margaret complicates everything, and Edward cannot proclaim himself as the King of Scotland but by conquering Scotland with his Army. The unstable and unorganized government makes the country easy to win, and Edward I knows it very well.
Now, who was William Wallace?
Wallace was the younger son of a Scottish knight and minor landowner. His name, Wallace or le Waleis, means the Welshman, and he was probably descended from Richard Wallace who had followed the Stewart family to Scotland in the 12th century.
Little is known of Wallace’s life before 1297. He was certainly educated, possibly by his uncle - a priest at Dunipace - who taught him French and Latin. It’s also possible, given his later military exploits, that he had some previous military experience.
What has he done to reconquer Scotland?
In 1296 Scotland had been conquered. Beneath the surface there were deep resentments. Many of the Scots nobles were imprisoned, they were punitively taxed and expected to serve King Edward I in his military campaigns against France. The flames of revolt spread across Scotland. In May 1297 Wallace slew William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark. Soon his rising gained momentum, as men ‘oppressed by the burden of servitude under the intolerable rule of English domination’ joined him ‘like a swarm of bees’.
From his base in the Ettrick Forest his followers struck at Scone, Ancrum and Dundee. At the same time in the north, the young Andrew Murray led an even more successful rising. From Avoch in the Black Isle, he took Inverness and stormed Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness. His MacDougall allies cleared the west, whilst he struck through the north east. Wallace’s rising drew strength from the south, and, with most of Scotland liberated, Wallace and Murray now faced open battle with an English army.
On 11th September Wallace and Murray achieved a stunning victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The English left with 5,000 dead on the field, including their despised treasurer, Hugh Cressingham, whose flayed skin was taken as a trophy of victory and to make a belt for Wallace’s sword. The Scots suffered one significant casualty, Andrew Murray, who was badly wounded and died two months later.
'Commander of the Army of the Kingdom of Scotland’ - the outlaw Wallace was now knighted and made Guardian of Scotland in Balliol’s name at the forest kirk, at either Selkirk or Carluke.
The battle of Falkirk, one hell of a defeat!
In 1298, the English nobility had been on the edge of civil war with Edward I. They were disgruntled over his wars in France and Scotland, however, faced with the humiliating defeat by the Scots at Stirling Bridge, they united behind him in time for the Battle of Falkirk.
According to later tales, Wallace told his men: ‘I hae brocht ye to the ring, now see gif ye can dance’, however, as one historian has called it, ‘it was a dance of death’, as Wallace had seriously misjudged Edward’s battle tactics. His Welsh archers proved to be the decisive weapon: their arrows raining death on the Scots spearmen.
Wallace the Diplomat
After Falkirk, the Scots nobles reasserted their role as guardians of the kingdom and continued the war with Edward. Wallace was assigned a new role as an envoy for the Scots to the courts of Europe.
Diplomacy was crucial to the Scots war effort and Wallace, by now a renowned figure across Europe, played a high profile role. In 1299 he left Scotland for the court of King Philip IV of France. He was briefly imprisoned for various political motives, but was soon released and given the French king’s safe conduct to the papal court. Wallace returned to Scotland in 1301, with the diplomatic effort seemingly in good stead.
However, the French abandoned Scotland when they needed Edward’s help to suppress a revolt in Flanders. With no prospect of victory, the Scottish leaders capitulated and recognised Edward as overlord in 1304. Only Wallace refused to submit, perhaps signing his own death warrant at this time.
Here was the crucial difference between Wallace and the key players from amongst the Scottish nobles - for Wallace there was no compromise, the English were his enemy and he could not accept their rule in any form. However, the nobles were more pliable and willing to switch sides, or placate the English, when it served their own ends. Wallace had become a nuisance to both his feudal superiors and the English.[/blockquote]
Now the plot
The Roleplay would start after the Battle of Falkirk, when Wallace has been abandoned by almost all of his supporters ('sponsors'). He'd get to France, and there could be something happening there…Like he gets new friends, they kind of make him believe they're gonna help him to reconquer Scotland, blablabla...he could also get in a relationship, and the girl would betray him cuz she and his presumed friends are with the English and they told them to do this, and finally they kill him, bladiblabdiblada...
I’m sooo good at imagining the plot. *rolls her eyes* You can suggest things too, that would actually be very appreciated… teehee.
The Characters
We'll need...
- William Wallace -- Played by Unloveable
- 'French friend(s)' -- OPEN!
- French girl(s) -- Played by xxX-Jackal-Xxx
- King Edward I -- OPEN!
- King Philip IV of France -- OPEN!
- Originals -- OPEN!
Maybe two French girls could be accepted...There could be some rivalry between them, even if they both betray him. Or one could save him! OOh! I don't know...*hides*
The originals have to be related somehow to Wallace, or one of the kings.
All the infos (yes, I copy-and-pasted all the paragraphs...Lazy me) have been taken from this site: BBC - History - History of Scotland[/blockquote]
but I'm interested in history rp's 
