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THESE ISLES: Medieval Scottish warrior Sir William Wallace has been celebrated by 19th century historians as a national hero, debunked by others as a self-serving outlaw and immortalised by Mel Gibson in the film Braveheart. 1/6

The enigmatic Wallace (c.1270-1305), a member of the lesser nobility, became one of the main leaders during Scotland’s first war of independence against England’s Edward I, known as ‘hammer’ of the Scots, who was treating Scotland as a vassal state. 2/6

Edward had invaded Scotland to force John Balliol, whom he had chosen as king after a succession crisis, to abdicate. On 11 September 1297, an army led by Wallace and another rebel, Andrew Moray, routed Edward’s much larger army at the battle of Stirling Bridge. 3/6

At a river bottleneck, a charge led by one of Wallace's captains caused some of the English soldiers to retreat as others pushed forward, overcrowding the narrow bridge, which collapsed and many of the English were drowned. 4/6