Scots have just over a week to wait until they can see a rare letter written for William Wallace when it is on display at National Records of Scotland on St Andrew’s Day.
The short note written in 1300 in a form of Latin shorthand is a message from the King of France to his agents in the Pope’s court in Rome.
He asks them to support Wallace “in those things he has to transact”.
What Wallace was doing in Europe and whether he ever made it to Rome is not known. This is one of just two original records closely associated with him and from his lifetime.
Wallace is famous for leading the Scots in the defeat of the English forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. By 1305 he was back in Scotland where he was captured and taken to London where he was convicted of treason and executed.
The letter, on loan from The National Archive, will be on display at General Register House at 2 Princes Street in Edinburgh from 10am to 3pm on St Andrew’s Day 30 November. Entry is free.
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