Capture and Execution of William Wallace

On 23rd August 1305 William Wallace was hanged, drawn and quartered at the Elms in Smithfield [Map]. His head being displayed on London Bridge [Map].

On 8th April 1956 a plaque was unveiled on the wall of St Bartholomew's Hospital near to the site of his execution the text of which reads...

To the immortal memory of Sir William Wallace Scottish patriot born at Elderslie Renfrewshire circa 1270 A.D. Who from the year 1296 fought dauntlessly in defence of his country's liberty and independence in the face of fearful odds and great hardship being eventually betrayed and captured brought to London and put to death near this spot on the 23rd August 1305.

His example heroism and devotion inspired those who came after him to win victory from defeat and his memory remains for all time a source of pride, honour and inspiration to his Countrymen.

"Dico tibi verum libertas optima rerum nunquam servili sub nexu vivito fili"

Translation: I tell you the truth, son, freedom is the best condition, never live like a slave

"Bas Agus Buaidh" aka Death and Victory, a traditional Scottish battle cry.

Illustrations of Scottish History. The following account of the capture and execution of Wallace is transcribed from the Arundel MS. 220, fol. 287, b. From internal evidence the volume appears to have been written about the year 1320, or shortly after.

In the year 1305 [5th August 1305], William Wallace was captured. He had first been a scoundrel and a thief, and later, during the Scottish war, was made a knight by the Scots and became their leader. He invaded Northumbria, which he largely burned, including even the noble church of Hexham. However, he was captured in the house of a certain Rowe Ra by Lord John of Menteith and brought to London by Lord John de Segrave. There, having received judgment, he was first drawn as a traitor, then hanged as a thief, then, while still alive, cut down and beheaded as a banished man. Afterward, he was disembowelled and his entrails were burned, just as he had burned churches full of men and women. Then his body was divided into four parts, just as he had wished to divide the people of Scotland from their king, Edward. His head was placed on display in London on the bridge; his right hand on the bridge at Newcastle upon Tyne above the public latrines; his right foot at Berwick; his left hand at Stirling; and his left foot at Perth, that is, the town of St. John [Perth].

Anno MCCC quinto, captus est Willelmus Waleys, qui primo fuit ribaldus et latro, et postea in guerra Scociae factus miles a Scotis, et ductor eorum factus, intravit Northumbriam, quam pro magna parte conbussit, sed etiam illam nobilem ecclesiam de Exilsham. Captus autem erat in domo cujusdam Rowe Ra per dominum Johannem de Menethet, et ductus Londonias per dominum Johannem de Segrave, ibique accepto judicio, ibique primo tractus tanquam traytour, postea suspensus tanquam latro, et vivus post deorsum dimissus decapitatus est tanquam forbannitus, deinde exentratus et viscera sua combusta sunt, sicut et ipse ecclesiam hominum et mulierum conbusserat. Post hoc in quatuor partes divisus, sicut et ipse gentem Scottorum voluit a rege suo Edwardo divisisse, caputque ejus suspensum est Londoniis super pontem, manus dextra super pontem apud Novum Castrum super Tynam ultra cloacas communes, pes dexter apud Berewyk, manus sinistra apud Strivelyn, et pes sinister apud Perth, id est villam Sancti Johannis.

Documents Illustrative of the Life of William Wallace Chapter 20. Memoranda respecting measures on the apprehension of Sir William Wallace.¹

After 5th August 1305.

1. The Bishop of Chester, of Worcester... the Bishop of St... the Bishop of Worcester... the Earl of... Sir Adam Gurdon.

2. The letter to Sir Miles de Stapelton, William of [Berwick?], Renaud, etc., that they remit the sums.

3. Item: the letter from Mary, daughter of B[ernard or someone else—uncertain].

4. To remember the 40 marks that ought to be given to a valet who spied on William Wallace.

5. Item: the 60 marks that ought to be given to others, and the King wills that these 60, which were from the taking of the said William, be divided among them.

6. Concerning the letter: that is to say, the one by J. de Meneteth.

7. Concerning the appointment of those who will be in the Scottish business, etc.

8. Item: concerning the credit/validation of the letters, etc.

9. Item: concerning the writings from Scotland, etc., and the memoranda.

1. L Euesq de Cestř de Wyrecestř .... l Euesq de Seint .... l Euesq de Wyrecestr .... le Conte de .... Mons Ad Gurdon.

2. La lre a Mofs Mil de Stapelton Will de .... rgh .... Renaud &c. t q il remandet les somes.

3. It de la lre Marie fil B.

4. Fait a remembrer des XL mars q deyvent estre dones a un Vallet q espia Will le Waleys.

5. It de les LX mars q deyvent estre donez as autres , t le Roi voet q ces .... LX .... qui feurent a la pise du dit Willa p ptir entre eus

6. D la tre. cest assav c li p J. de Meneteth .

7. D smet de ceaux q sront au fail d Escoce &c.

8. It de la creance des lres &c.

9. It des escritz d Escoce &c . t des rembances.

Note 1. On a small pannel, written in a very loose manner. The first paragraph is written transversely, the others horizontally. The document appears to be a series of memoranda of business to be brought before the notice of the Parliament or Privy Council . It is here printed from the work last quoted, p. 295.

Annals Londonienses. "Edward, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, to his beloved and faithful John de Segrave, Peter Malory, Ralph de Sandwich, John de Bakewell, and John le Blount, Mayor of our City of London, greetings. Know that we have appointed you as our justices for the delivery of our prison of our City of London concerning William le Wallace, according to the order we have given you in this matter. Therefore, we command you that, on a specific day and at a place which all four of you, or three of you, shall determine for this purpose, you shall carry out the delivery of the said prison concerning the said William in the prescribed form. And you, the aforesaid John de Segrave, in whose custody the said William now is, shall, by our special command, cause the said William and the record of his attachment to be brought before you at the said day and place. In witness of this, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witnessed by ourself at Ruthin, on the 18th day of August, in the 33rd year [1305] of our reign. By writ of the privy seal."

"Edwardus Dei gratia rex Angliæ, dominus Hiberniæ et dux Aquitaniæ, dilectis et fidelibus suis Johanni de Segrave, Petro Maluree, Radulfo de Sandwyco, Johanni de Bacwell et Johanni le Blound majori civitatis suæ Londoniarum, salutem. Sciatis quod constituimus vos justitiarios nostros ad prisonam nostram civitatis nostræ Londoniarum de Willelmo le Waleis deliberandam, juxta ordinationem vobis per nos inde injunctam. Et ideo vobis mandamus quod ad certos diem et locum quos vos omnes quatuor vel tres vestrum ad hoc provideritis, prisonam praedictam de pradicto Willelmo deliberetis in forma predicts. Et vos præfatus Johannes de Segrave, in cujus custodia prædictus Willelmus existit, de mandato nostro speciali, ad predictos diem et locum præfatum Willelmum et ejus attachiamentum coram vobis ibidem venire faciatis. In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste me ipso apud Raurcthe, XVIII die Augusti, anno regni nostri XXXIII. Per breve de sigillo privato."

Annals Londonienses. In the same year, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of September [22nd August 1305], Sir William Wallace, a knight of Scottish birth, arrived in London. A great crowd of men and women came out to see him, and he was lodged in the house of William de Leyre, a citizen of London, in the parish of All Hallows at the Hay. On the following day, Monday [23rd August], the eve of Saint Bartholomew, he was led on horseback to Westminster. Sir John de Segrave and Sir Geoffrey de Segrave, along with the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of London, escorted and accompanied him, riding in procession with many others. In the Great Hall at Westminster, he was placed on the southern bench and was crowned with laurel leaves, because he had once claimed, as was commonly reported, that he ought to have worn a crown in that very hall. Immediately, he was called to judgment and was charged by Lord Peter Malory, justice of the King of England, as a traitor to the same king. Wallace replied that he had never been a traitor to the King of England, though he did admit to other charges brought against him. At length, the said Peter, together with the other justices, pronounced sentence, in the following terms:

Eodem anno, XI kalendas Septembris, dominus Willelmus Waleis miles, ex natione Scotica natus, venit Londonias; cui multitudo hominum ac mulierum ibi obviavit, et hospitabatur in domibus Willelmi de Leyre civis Londoniensis in parochia Omnium Sanctorum ad fenum. In crastino vero, qui dicitur dies Lune in vigilia Sancti Bartholomæi, ductus fuit equitando apud Westmonasterium; Johannes de Segrave et Galfridus de Segrave milites, major, vicecomites et aldermanni Londoniarum eum sequentes ac ducentes, cum pluribus aliis eundo et equitando, et in aula magna Westmonasterii super scamnum australe positus, ac cum foliis lauri coronatus; pro eo quod ipse asseruit, tempore prewterito, coronam in eadem aula portare deberet, sicut vulgariter dicebatur. Statim ipso vocato ad judicium, et per dominum Petrum Maluree, justitiarium domini regis Angliæ, pro traditore ejusdem regis aggressus; qui respondit se nunquam traditorem regis Anglisiæ fuisse, sed alia crimina sibi imposita concessit. Tandem dictus Petrus cum aliis justitiariis decrevit judicium, serie qua sequitur:

Adam Murimuth Continuation. In this year William Wallace was drawn, hanged, and beheaded¹ at London, who had previously committed many acts of violence against the English in Scotland and the neighbouring regions.

Hoc anno fuit tractus suspensus, et decapitatus Wlillelmus Waleys apud Londonias, qui prius contra Anglicos in Scocia et partibus finitimis multa facinora perpetravit.

Note 1. William Wallace was executed on 23rd August 1305. Langtoft's Chronicle:

Of William Wallace, the master of thieves;

Sir John de Meneteith followed him at his heels,

Took him in hiding by the side of his concubine;

Carried him to London in shackles and bonds,

Where he was judged on the following conditions:

In the first place to the gallows he was drawn for treasons,

Hanged for robberies and slaughters;

And because he had annihilated by burnings,

Towns and churches and monasteries,

He is taken down from the gallows, his belly opened,

His heart and his bowels burnt to cinders,

And his head cut off for such treasons as follow:

Because he had by his assumptions of authority

Maintained the war, given protections,

Seized into his subjection the lordship

Of another's kingdom by his usurpations.

His body was cut into four parts;

Each one hangs by itself, in memory of his name,

In place of his banner these are his gonfanons [i.e. pennants].

Langtoft's Chronicle. [23rd August 1305]

We have heard news, among companions,

Of William Wallace, the master of thieves;

Sir John de Meneteith followed him at his heels,

Took him in hiding by the side of his concubine;

Carried him to London in shackles and bonds,

Where he was judged on the following conditions:

In the first place to the gallows he was drawn for treasons,

Hanged for robberies and slaughters;

And because he had annihilated by burnings,

Towns and churches and monasteries,

He is taken down from the gallows, his belly opened,

His heart and his bowels burnt to cinders,

And his head cut off for such treasons as follow:

Because he had by his assumptions of authority

Maintained the war, given protections,

Seized into his subjection the lordship

Of another's kingdom by his usurpations.

His body was cut into four parts;

Each one hangs by itself, in memory of his name,

In place of his banner these are his gonfanons.¹

Note 1. 'gonfanons' i.e. 'pennants'. The poem is suggesting his body parts are his banners.

Annals Londonienses. "Pleas at Westminster before John de Segrave, P. Maluree, R. de Sandwich, John de Bakewell, and J. le Blound, mayor of the king's City of London, on Monday, the vigil of St Bartholomew [23rd August 1305], in the thirty-third year of the reign of King Edward, son of Henry."

"William Wallace, a Scot born in Scotland, having been taken for sedition, homicides, robberies, burnings, and various other felonies, appeared. The same justices then recited how, after the aforesaid lord king had conquered the land of Scotland by force of arms from John Balliol, the prelates, earls, barons, and others of that land who were his enemies, through the forfeiture of the said John, and after, by that conquest, he had subjected and brought all the Scots under his lordship and royal power as their king, had publicly received the homage and fealty of the prelates, earls, barons, and very many others, had caused his peace to be proclaimed throughout the whole land of Scotland, and had ordained and appointed guardians of that land to hold his place, together with sheriffs, provosts, bailiffs, and his other ministers, to maintain his peace and to administer justice to everyone according to the laws and customs of that land, the aforesaid William le Wallace, unmindful of his fealty and allegiance, with every felony and sedition that he could devise having been premeditated, rose against the lord king, having gathered and confederated with himself an immense number of felons, and feloniously attacked and assaulted the king's guardians and ministers. He feloniously, and against the peace of the lord king, assaulted, wounded, and killed William de Heselrigg, Sheriff of Lanark, while he was holding the king's pleas in the full county court. Afterwards, in contempt of the king, he cut the sheriff, thus slain, limb from limb. From that time onwards, having gathered as great a multitude as he could of armed men adhering to him and to his felony, he attacked the towns, cities, and castles of that land. He caused his own writs to be issued and carried throughout Scotland as though they were the writs of the superior lord of that land. After all the guardians and ministers of the aforesaid lord king had been driven from the land of Scotland by the said William, he held and convened his own parliaments and assemblies. Nor was he willing to be restrained within such great wickedness and sedition, but counselled all the prelates, earls, and barons of that land who adhered to his party to subject themselves to the fealty and lordship of the king of France, and to devote themselves to assisting in the destruction of the realm of England. Taking with him certain of his accomplices, he also entered the realm of England, namely the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland. All those whom he found there faithful to the king of England he feloniously killed by various forms of death. He feloniously and seditiously slaughtered, burned, and laid waste religious men, nuns dedicated to God, and churches built in honour of God and his saints, together with the bodies of saints and their other relics honourably placed within them. He spared no one who used the English tongue, but subjected all, old men together with young, wives together with widows and virgins, infants together with sucklings, to deaths more grievous than he had known how to devise. Thus, on every day and at every hour, he seditiously and feloniously persisted in plotting the death of the lord king and in the manifest annulment and weakening of his crown and royal majesty. And although, after such enormous and horrible deeds, the aforesaid lord king entered the land of Scotland with his great army, defeated the aforesaid William, who bore a banner against him in mortal battle, together with his other enemies, granted his firm peace to all the people of that land, and mercifully caused the aforesaid William le Wallace to be recalled to his peace, the same William, persisting seditiously, feloniously, resolutely, and wilfully in his aforesaid wickedness, disdained to submit himself to the peace of the aforesaid lord king or to come into it. Thus, in the court of the lord king, he was publicly outlawed as a seducer, robber, and felon, according to the laws and customs of England and Scotland. Since it is deemed and held unjust and contrary to the laws of England that anyone so outlawed and placed outside the law, and not afterwards restored to the king's peace, should be admitted to defend his condition or to make answer, it was adjudged that the aforesaid William, for the manifest sedition which he had committed against the lord king, feloniously plotting and striving to bring about his death, the annulment and weakening of his crown and royal dignity, and bearing a banner against his liege lord in mortal battle, should be drawn from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower of London, and from the Tower to Aldgate, and thence through the midst of the city to the Elms. For the robberies, homicides, and felonies which he committed in the realm of England and the land of Scotland, he shall there be hanged and afterwards cut down. Because he was outlawed and was not afterwards restored to the lord king's peace, he shall have his head cut off and be beheaded. Afterwards, for the immeasurable sacrilege which he committed against God and the Holy Church by burning churches, vessels, and shrines in which the body of Christ and the bodies and relics of the saints were placed, the heart, liver, lungs, and all the entrails of the said William, from which such perverse thoughts proceeded, shall be cast into the fire and burned. And because he committed the aforesaid sedition, robberies, burnings, homicides, and felonies not only against the lord king himself but against the whole people of England and Scotland, the body of the said William shall be cut and divided into four quarters. His head, thus severed, shall be set upon London Bridge, in the sight of those passing both by land and by water. One quarter shall be hung upon the gibbet at Newcastle upon Tyne, another quarter at Berwick, the third quarter at Stirling, and the fourth quarter at the town of St John [Perth], for the fear and chastisement of all who pass by and behold them, and so forth."

"Placita apud Westmonasterium coram Johanne de Segrave, P. Maluree, R. de Sandwyco, Johanne de Bacwelle et J.le Blound majore civitatis regis Londoniarum, die Lunæ in vigilia Sancti Bartholomei, anno regni regis Edwardi filii Henrici XXXIII."

"Willelmus Waleys, Scotus et de Scotia ortus, captus pro seditione, homicidiis, deprædationibus, incendiis et aliis diversis feloniis, venit, et, recitato per eosdem justitiarios, qualiter, postquam prædictus dominus rex terram Scotiæ super Johannem Baillol, prælatos, comites, barones, et alios ejusdem terræ inimicos suos, per forisfacturam ipsius Johannis hostiliter conquisivisseet, et conquestu illius omnes Scotos dominio et regiæ potestati suæ ut eorum regi submisisset et subjugasset, homagia et fidelitates prælatorum, comitum, baronum et aliorum plurimorum publice recepisset, pacemque suam per totam terram Scotiæ proclamari fecisset, custodes terræ illius locum suum tenentes, vicecomites, præpositos, ballivos et alios ministros suos, ad pacem suam manutenendam et justitiam quibuscumque secundum leges et consuetudines terræ illius faciendam, ordinasset et statuisset, prædictus Willelmus lo Waleys, fidelitatis et liganciæ suæ inmoemor, omni qua poterat felonin ac seditione præcogitata, in ipsum dominum regem, adunato sibi et confœderato inmenso numero felonum, surrexit, et custodes et ministros ipsius regis felonice invasit et inpugnavit; et Willelmum de Hesebregg, vicecomitem de Lanarke, qui placita ipsius regis [tenuit] in pleno comitatu, felonice et contra pacem ipsius domini regis, insultavit, vulueravit et interfecit; et postes in contemptum ipsius regis, ipsum vicecomitem sic interfectum frustatim dimicavit. Et ex tunc, omni qua poterat multitudine armatorum sibi et feloniæ suæ adhærentium adunats, villas, civitates et castra terræ illius invasit, et brevia sua per totam Scotiam, tanquam brevis superioris illius terræ emanare fecit et demandavit, parlismenta et congregationces suns, omnibus custodibus et ministris predicti domini regis de terra Scotiæ per ipsum Willelmum dejectis, tenuit et assedit, neo tanta noquitia et seditione volens contineri, consulnit omnibus prælatis, comitibus et baronibus terræ suæ, parti euæ adhærentibus, quod fidelitati et dominio regis Franciæ se subjugarent; et ed destructionem regni Angliæ in auxilium insisterent. Quosdam otiam de complicibus suis secum assumens, regnum Angliæ, ut in oomitatibus Northumberland, Comberland et Westmerland, ingrediebatur, et omnes quos ibidem de fidelitate rogis Angliæ invenit, diversis mortis goneribus felonice interfecit, viros religiosos et moniales Deo dicatas, eb ecclesias ad honorem Dei et guorum sanctorum constructas, una cum corporibus sanctorum et aliis reliquiis eorum in eis honorifice collocatis, felonice et geditiose mactavit, combussit et devastavit, nemini qui lingnn Anglicans utebatur peporcit, sed omnes senes cam juvenibus, aponsas cum viduis et virginibus, infantes cum lactantibus, graviore morto quam excogitare sciverat afficiebat: sicque singalis diebus et horis, in machinationem mortis ipsius domini regis, et in coronæ et regiæ majestatis suæ annallntionem et enervationem manifestam, seditiose et felonice perseverabat. Et licet post tam enormia et horribilin facta prædictus dominus rex, cum magno suo exercitu, terram Scotiæ invasisset, et prædictum Willelmum, vexillum contra eum in bello mortali deferentem, et alios inimicos suos devicisset, firmamque pacem suam omnibus de terra illa concessisset, et prædictun Willelmum le Waleis ad pacem suom misericorditer revocari fecisset; idem Willelmus, in sta prænotata nequitia seditiose et felonice concorditer et animose perseverans, paci prædicti domini regis se submittere et ad eam evenire contempsit; et sic in ouria ipsius domini regis ut seductor, prædo et feld, secundum leges et consuetudines Angliæ et Scotiæ, publice fait utlagatus; et injustum et legibus Anglicanis dissonum existat, et creditur, aliquem sic utlagatum et extra leges positum, nec postes ad pacem ipsius restitutum, ad defensionem status sui seu responsionem admitti; consideratum est quod prædictus Willelmus pro manifesta seditione quam ipsi domino regi fecerat, felonice machinando, in mortem ejus perpetrando, annullationem et enervationem coronæ et regiæ dignitatis suæ, vexillum contra dominum suum liginm in bello mortali deferendo, detrahatur & palatio Westmonasterii usque Turrim Londoniarum, et & Turri usque Allegate, et sic per medium civitatis usque Elmes, et pro roberiis et homicidiis et feloniis quas in regno Angliæ et terra Scotiæ fecit ibidem suspendatur et postes devaletur. Et quias utlagatus fuit, nec postoa ad pacem domini regis restitutus, decolletur et decapitetur. Et postea, pro immensa vilitate quam Deo et sacrosanctæ ecclesiæ fecit comburendo ecclesias, vasa et feretra, in quibus corpus Christi et corpora sanctorum et reliquiæ eorundem collocabantur; cor, hepar et pulmo et omnia interiora ipsius Willelmi, a quibus tam perverse cogitationes processerunt, in ignem mittantur et comburentur. Et etiam quis non solum ipsi domino regi, sed toti plebi Angliæ et Scotiæ, prædicta seditionem, deprædationes, incendia et homicidis et felonias fecerat, corpus illius Willelmi in quatuor quarteria scindatur et dividatur, et caput sic abscissum sasedatur super pontem Londoniensem, in conspectu tam per terram — quam per aquam transeuntium; et unum quarterium suspendatur in gibetto apud Novam Castram super Tynam, aliud quarterium apud Berewyk; tertium quarterium apud Stryvelyn; et quartam quarterium apud villam Sancti Johannis, in metum et castigationem omnium prætereuntium et ea conspicientium, etc."

Documents Illustrative of the Life of William Wallace Chapter 28. 23rd August 1305. It is adjudged that the aforesaid William [William Wallace], for the manifest sedition which he committed against his lord the king by feloniously plotting to kill him, by carrying the banner against his liege lord in mortal battle, and by attempting the annulment and overthrow of his crown and royal dignity, shall be drawn from the palace at Westminster to the Tower of London, and from the Tower to Aldgate, and thus through the middle of the city to Smithfield (Elmes), and for the robberies, murders, and felonies which he committed in the kingdom of England and the land of Scotland, he shall be hanged there, and afterwards cut down. And because he was outlawed, and was never restored to the king's peace, he shall be beheaded and decapitated. And afterwards, for the immense vileness he committed against God and Holy Church by burning churches, vessels, and reliquaries in which the body of Christ and the bodies and relics of the saints were placed, his heart, liver, lungs, and all his internal organs, from which such perverse thoughts proceeded, shall be cast into the fire and burned. And also, because he committed the aforesaid sedition, depredations, arsons, murders, and felonies not only against his lord the king but against all the people of England and Scotland, the body of the said William shall be cut and divided into four quarters, and his head thus severed shall be set upon London Bridge in view of those passing by both by land and by water, and one quarter shall be hung on the gibbet at Newcastle upon Tyne, another quarter at Berwick, a third quarter at Stirling, and the fourth quarter at St. John's Town (Perth), as a warning and punishment to all who pass by and see them, etc.

Consideratum est quod prædictus Willelmus pro manifesta seditione quam ipsi domino regi secerat felonice machinando, in mortem ejus perpetrando, annulationem et enervationem coronæ et regiæ dignitatis suæ vexillum contra dominum suum ligium in bello mortali deferendo, detrahatur a palatio Westmonasterii ussque Turrim London, et a Turri usque Allegate, et sic per medium civitatis usque Elmes, et pro roberiis et homicidiis et feloniis, quas in regno Angliæ et terra Scotia fecit, ibidem sufsendatur et poftea devaletur. Et quia utlagatus fuit, nec postea ad pacem domini regis restitutus, decolletur et decapitetur. Et postea pro immensa vilitate, quam Deo et sacrosanctæ ecclesiæ fecit comburendo ecclesias, vasa et feretra, in quibus corpus Christi et corpora sanctorum et reliquiæ eorundem collocabantur, cor, epar, et pulmo et omnia interiora ipsius Willelmi, a quibus tam perversæ cogitationes processerunt, in ignem mittantur et comburentur. Et etiam, quia non solum ipsi domino regi, sed toti plebi Angliæ et Scotiæ, prædicta seditionem, deprædationes, incendia, et homicidia et felonias fecerat, corpus illius Willelmi in quatuor quarteria scindatur et dividatur, et caput sic abscissum assedatur super pontem London, in conspectu tam per terram quam per aquam transeuntium, et unum quarterium suspendatur in gibetto apud Novum Castrum super Tynam, aliud quarterium apud Berewyk, tertium quarterium apud Stryvelyn, et quartum quarterium apud Villam Sancti Johannis, in metum et castigationem omnium prætereuntium et ea conspicientium, & c.

Lanercost Chronicle. [23rd August 1305] William Wallace was captured by a certain Scot, to wit, Sir John de Menteith, and was taken to London to the King, and it was adjudged that he should be drawn and hanged, beheaded, disembowelled, and dismembered, and that his entrails should be burnt; which was done. And his head was exposed upon London Bridge, his right arm on the bridge of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, his left arm at Berwick, his right foot at Perth, and his left foot at Aberdeen.

The vilest doom is fittest for thy crimes,

Justice demands that thou shouldst die three times.

Thou pillager of many a sacred shrine,

Butcher of thousands, threefold death be thine!

So shall the English from thee gain relief,

Scotland! be wise, and choose a nobler chief.