daughter Wallace

Marion Braidfoot, {fictional} did not exist. She was not the wife or lover of Sir William Wallace of Elderslie, Kt.. Since Marion didn’t exist, daughter Wallace was not their child, and we don’t know the identity of the wife of William de Bailleul of Cavers, 1st of Lamington, and mother of William Baliol, of Hoprig, 2nd of Lamington. It appears that Hugh Braidfute of Lamington, {fictional}, his father FNU Braidfort, {fictional}, and wife Wife of Hugh Braidfute of Lamington, {fictional} were invented also, as there were no Braidfute’s living at Lamington in the 13th century. The Clan Wallace Society accepts that Marion Braidfute was a medieval legend.

“Wallace’s Wife Marion Braidfute Was Invented?” Posted on 12/08/2017 by Scott Wallace. Clan Wallace Society. < link >

In Mel Gibson’s 1995 film Braveheart, the brutal murder of Wallace’s wife (whose name was changed to Murron MacClannough, and was played by the actress Catherine McCormack) is portrayed as a pivotal moment in his transformation into a revolutionary hero. However, Ed Archer, an authority on Wallace, has found no mention of her in the earliest accounts of his life Blind Harry’s “The Wallace,” an epic poem written in about 1508, refers to a woman called Innes, who is credited with helping Wallace escape from the clutches of English troops. There is no suggestion that she was his lover or his wife. Braidfute does not appear until 1570, in a revised edition of Blind Harry’s poem, possibly commissioned by the Baillies of Lamington, a wealthy family from Lanark who hoped to ingratiate themselves with Mary, Queen of Scots by claiming to be Wallace’s descendants. In the revised text, Braidfute, from Lamington, Lanarkshire, is described as Wallace’s lover and the mother of his daughter, from whom the Baillies of Lamington claim to be descended.

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From LIVES OF THE BAILLIES

I must now digress a little into the history of the Estate of Lamington in Lanarkshire, which is said to have come to this gentleman by his wife. After the conquest of England by William I., a number of Saxons were compelled by his cruelties to leave the kingdom and go to Scotland, among whom were three brothers, Lambinus, Eobertus, and Wicius. These three settled in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, and founded the three parishes of Lamington, Boberton, and Wiston. The next mention of Lamington was in the hands of a person of the name of Braidfoot, who, along with his son, was killed in a siege of Lamington Tower by the English, and whose daughter after his death was taken prisoner and carried to Lanark Castle, and brought up as a ward of the Crown, by Lady Haselrig, wife of Sir William Haselrig, the English Governor of Lanark. Haselrig designed Marion Braidfoot as wife for his son Arthur, but she escaped from Lanark Castle, and is said to have been married at Lanark church to the celebrated Sir William Wallace, son and heir of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie. Of this marriage Crawford, the author of the Peerage of Eenfrewshire, says there was only one daughter, who hecame wife of this Sir William Baillie, and so brought the lands of Lamington into the family, at which they have resided ever since. .... though no mention is made of either Sir William Baillie or his son being companions of Bruce, yet from the intimacy of Sir William Baillie Tertius of Lamington with King David II., son of King Bobert the Bruce, it is very probable that they were both at the battle of Bannockburn. ...

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From http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00498966&tree=LEO

Tales of Blind Harry, known since 1400s according to research, narrates that she was daughter of Sir William Wallace, one time Guardian of Scotland, by his betrothed, maiden Marion Braidfoot. The Guardian William Wallace thus in traditional genealogies has a daughter, married to Sir William de Bailleul, of Cavers, 2nd Laird of Hoprig, founding the lineage of Baillie of Lamington. There is no known contemporary written evidence to support this, but this ancient oral tradition appears to have been well established from very early times, in 1400s at the latest. In face of lack of contemporary evidence, it cannot be vouched for that she ever historically existed; she may well be a result of ambitious legends of the nation or family. (M. Sjöström).

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References

• “Wallace’s Wife Marion Braidfute Was Invented?” Posted on 12/08/2017 by Scott Wallace. Clan Wallace Society. < link > (As originally published in the Guardian, Spring 2006) A study by Archer of contemporary historical records found no mention of any Braidfutes living in the area at the end of the 13th century.
• Wikipedia contributors, "Action at Lanark," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, < link > (accessed March 13, 2024). According to the 15th century poem “The Wallace”, < link >, written by Blind Harry, Wallace carried out the attack in revenge for the killing of his beloved wife by Heselrig.[4][5][6] The identity of Wallace's wife is not known for certain, but her name is believed to be Marion Braidfute. Ed Archer published his findings in 2005 that disputed the existence of Marion Braidfute, as there had been no mention of her prior to a revised rendition of Blind Harry's poem in 1570, believed by Archer to have been commissioned by the Baillies of Lamington, to gain favor with Mary, Queen of Scots by claiming relation to Wallace through their Braidfute lineage.[7] Wikipedia cites:
  • 4. "Wallace: Man and Myth". wallace.scran.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2019. < link > accessed 12 March 2024.
  • 5. "The Wallace: Introduction | Robbins Library Digital Projects". d.lib.rochester.edu. Retrieved 19 October 2019. < link >
  • 6. "William Wallace myths busted". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 19 October 2019. (Dead link) .
  • 7. "Wallace's dead wife was fictional". The Times. 9 May 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2022. < link > accessed 12 March 2024 (paywall)
• WikiTree contributors, "Elizabeth (Wallace) Baillie (abt.1295-abt.1320)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wallace-434 : accessed 13 March 2024). cites
  • 1. Wallace, John H,"Genealogy of the Wallace Family, Descended from Robert Wallace of Ballymena, Ireland With an Introduction treating of the Origin of the Name and Locations of the Early Generations in Scotland", New York: private, 1902, Archive.org, p. vi < Archive.org >
  • 2. Baillie, James William, "Lives of the Baillies", Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1872, Archive.org, < Archive.org >
  • 3. Paul, James Balfour, Sir, 1846-1931 :The Scots Peerage : Founded On Wood's Ed. Of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage Of Scotland; Containing An Historical And Genealogical Account Of The Nobility Of That Kingdom : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive". 2020. Internet Archive.>Marion Braidfute, wife of Wallace, Vol VII, pg 365 < Archive.Org > SIR NICOL OF RUTHERFURD swore fealty to Edward i. at Montrose 11 July 1296,10 but, according to Blind Harry, joined Sir William Wallace in Ettrick Forest with sixty followers, in consequence of which his lands of Dodington Mill in Northumberland were seized by the English King, he being a rebel, in 1296." He married a lady named Marjorie, who is said to have been a near relative of Marion Braidfute of Lamington, Wallace's wife, and had …
  • 4. Chalmers, George. Caledonia : Or, a Historical and Topographical Account of North Britain, from the Most Ancient to the Present Times with a Dictionary of Places Chorographical & Philological. Paisley : Gardner, 1887. vol 6. Pg. 742. < Archive.Org >
• https://www.clanmcalister.org/n_wallace2.shtml “It is noted elsewhere, though, that William and Marion did in fact get married, and Marion bore unto him a daughter. However, according to the Reverend Dr. Charles Rogers, a historian studying Wallace's history, Wallace died unmarried and he does not seem to have had any illegitimate offspring.”
• https://www.geni.com/discussions/258540?msg=1604010
• “William Wallace's special friend”. Post by M.Sjostrom. Mar 25, 2008, 5:51:08 PM. < soc,gen.medieval at GoogleGroups >. Accessed 12 March 2024. “knight William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland … according to non-contemporary tradition, bethrothed with Marion Braidfoot (a historically unattested person), daughter of Hugh de Braidfute - whose family the tradition links with Lamington, Lanarkshire http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00316385&tree=LEO) and by her had daughter: (anonyma) Wallace (estimate, born c1297) - she is not a historical person, as there is no near-contemporary evidence about her existence ….
• https://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00498966&tree=LEO comments by M. Sjöström.
  • 1. Burke, Ashworth P., Burke's Family Records, reprint 1965 . 29
• https://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getpe...