More than 250 people turned up to General Register House in Edinburgh on St Andrew’s Day to see a rare letter written for Sir William Wallace in the year 1300.
National Records of Scotland, which runs the national archive, put the small and fragile fragment of parchment on display for five hours. The letter is kept out of the light for years at a time to preserve it for future generations and was last exhibited in 2018.
The letter is from the King of France to his agents at the papal court in Rome instructing them to support Wallace in ‘those things which he has to transact’.
It is not known exactly what that mission was and there is no evidence Wallace ever reached Rome. The letter turned up among other historic documents in the Tower of London in the 19th century.
Archivist Jocelyn Grant said: “It was a pleasure to put this rare document on show, alongside two tapestries inspired by it, and the so-called Lübeck letter.
“It was nice to see so many people take advantage of one of the few opportunities to see this document in-person; as well as the tapestries. Skilled weavers from the Dovecot studios created them in 2012, and this is the first time they have been on display since then.”
Background
The letter known as the “Wallace letter of recommendation” is on loan to NRS from The UK National Archive.
Sir William Wallace is most famous for leading the Scots to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, during the first phase of the Scottish war of independence.
In 1300 Wallace and other Scottish knights were in France, presumably seeking support from the French king for the restoration of Scottish kingship as part of the resistance against English king Edward I. In 1305 Wallace was captured, taken to London and executed.
