Graeme Morton, William Wallace: A National Tale. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 2014. 2nd Edition.
In William Wallace: A National Tale, Graeme Morton revisits
the central figure of his 2001 (second edition, 2004) book William Wallace: Man
and Myth. As Morton reveals in the preface, the original book was an attempt to
sort through the post-Braveheart ‘tumult’ surrounding Wallace. This 2014
re-examination explores how Wallace’s biography became Scotland’s national
tale, “a term taken out of its literary moorings to examine how personal
biography has been reforged and presented as the nation’s biography…”
(13). Morton posits Wallace has
contributed to Scottish nationalism since long before it was identified as
such, due to the dearth of reliable sources for his life. Morton is certainly
not the first to make this claim, but the depth to which he examines the
various uses of Wallace’s biography makes this book a useful and welcome
addition to scholars of both medieval and modern Scotland.
Morton is currently Professor of Modern History and Director
of the Centre for Scottish Culture at the University of Dundee. He was previously the inaugural Scottish
Studies Foundation Chair at the University of Guelph, and a Senior Lecturer at
the University of Edinburgh. Morton has
published widely on the Scottish diaspora, national identity, modern politics,
meteorological history, and economic and social history, all with a focus on
Scotland, Britain, and the diaspora. As
mentioned above, this book is an update to his previous flirtation with
medievalism in William Wallace: Man and Myth. Other notable publications include The Scottish Diaspora (2013) with T.
Bueltmann and A. Hinson, and Unionist Nationalism: Governing Urban Scotland, 1830-1860
(1999).
In this book, Morton is arguing the Wallace story has
provided a strong foundation upon which Scottish national identity has been
built for hundreds of years. To illustrate this, he traces receptions of the
Wallace story across time, from text and images to film and digital reproductions.
The twelve chapters are largely chronological, beginning from chapters three
and four. These outline the major chronicle sources available for Wallace,
including the Lanercost Chronicle, Fordun, Bower, Wyntoun, Mair, and Blind
Hary, which is the central focus for chapter four. Like most scholars, Morton questions the
authenticity of Hary, but recognizes, “Hary provided enough certitude,
alongside even greater fabrication and romantic embellishment, to sustain a
verse that spread into the modern period…” (60). Chapter four also shows Hary’s
prevalence in the club books produced during the nineteenth-century
Wallaciana. Reflecting the popularity of
the Wallace ‘cult’ in the period, the nineteenth century continues to be the
focal point for the next several chapters.
Chapter five reflects on stories, songs, and poems produced during this
century, while chapter nine highlights the monuments, souvenirs, and material
culture associated with the life of Wallace. Chapters six and seven are focused
on author Jane Porter and her extraordinarily popular historical romance The
Scottish Chiefs. Chapters ten and eleven
move into the twentieth century with a discussion of why the life of Wallace
was appropriated much more regularly than that of Robert the Bruce, despite the
two men being contemporaries during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Chapter ten also looks at Wallace and
religion, politics, and nationalism in twentieth-century Scotland. The book ends with a discussion of the film
Braveheart, and twenty-first century uses of Wallace, in the age of the
internet.
There are several recurring themes and topics in Morton’s
book. He begins by discussing Janusian history, referring to the ancient Greek
god known as a “signifier of a future forged from the past in communication
with the present” (1). He continues to refer to a biography acting as a
'Janusian conduit' throughout the text, for example he refers to Jane Porter’s
The Scottish Chiefs as “Janusian nationalism in the making, piecing together
past events in order to construct a suitable historical future” (28). Porter, and her historical romance based on
the lives of Wallace and Bruce, are another common topic in the book. Morton argues the novel has contributed more
to the Wallace biography than any other modern source. He also discusses her relationship with Sir
Walter Scott (chapters two and six), whether the novel can be considered a
historical novel (chapter two), her personal life and how it contributed to her
legacy (chapters six and seven), and the positive reception of the novel
throughout the diaspora (chapter seven).
Morton gives a lot of attention to Porter, assumingly because that is
how many people from the early nineteenth-century on have first encountered
Wallace. A further issue is the
significance of the lack of contemporary sources for Wallace’s life. This allows his biography to be adaptable to
a variety of motivations, which is crucial to its enduring popularity and
use.
Morton’s book is perhaps most notable for his discussion of
feminine nationalism, which he explores in chapter eight. He argues that Scotland had a feminised
identity due to its relationship within the United Kingdom, “it was the product
of a peripheral nation in partnership with a core nation, a union envisioned,
if not in actuality, as one of equality” (130).
Morton also maintains the malleability of Wallace owes a lot to Porter’s
feminisation of his masculine biography, “Feminising the most masculine of
Scottish heroes ensured the greatest impact…This caught the popular
construction of Scottish nationalism like no other in the decades before
political nationalism of the twentieth century” (132). As Morton himself says, the role of gender in
discussions on nationalism in Scotland has not been given adequate attention,
and its inclusion in this book seems to be a call to arms from the author.
Morton is also largely focused on the history of national
identity in Scotland. This is not
entirely surprising, given Morton’s research interests and also the role of
Wallace in discussions of national identity.
National identity is nearly synonymous with Scottish history, but the
history of that identity is not always examined. Wallace provides a useful microcosm from
which to study Scottish national identity since the early modern period, and
particularly since the nineteenth century.
In chapter four Morton uses the publishing history of Blind Hary’s The
Wallace to show early modern trends in popularity. For the nineteenth century, Morton emphasises
how the anti-English aspects of Wallace’s biography were downplayed, in order
to present a Wallace who would have been supportive of the Union. Morton also points out how, in the twentieth
century, Wallace was used by most of the political parties, not just the
Scottish National Party, though they are often criticised for their
appropriation of Scottish history. He
then outlines the decline in the appeal of Wallace in the twentieth century,
until the release of Braveheart in 1995.
In the twenty-first century, Morton argues Wallace has become a part of
national identity through a self-fulfilling prophecy, “Wallace is Scotland’s
national tale because he is our national tale” (208). Thanks to the internet, Scottish identity has
recently been globalised, with many people having a stake in Wallace’s story,
as well as Scotland, despite living abroad.
There are many strengths in Morton’s work. The discussion of feminine nationalism adds
an interesting and entirely necessary perspective to the study of Scottish
national identity. The long timeline of
the book allows the reader to see larger trends in commemoration and identity
formation in Scotland. It is also a very
readable text, and could certainly be read for interest as much as for its
contributions to the field. The greatest
strength of Morton’s book is his approach to the topic of national identity, or
the 'national tale'. By using Wallace as
a lens he is able to cover hundreds of years and a variety of topics in a
relatively short book. This strength,
however, also leads to the greatest weakness of the book. Due to the focus on one individual, the role
of Wallace in the history of Scottish identity can sometimes seem
overinflated. I was left wondering when
Bruce would enter the picture, particularly during the discussions of The Scottish
Chiefs in which he is a central character – though admittedly not as central as
Wallace. Morton uses Bruce as the
antithesis to Wallace, to show how Wallace suited nineteenth-century
mentalities better. While no doubt true,
it seemed that part of the story was missing.
Overall, this book is an excellent contribution to the
fields of medievalism, Scottish history, diaspora studies, and national
identity. Morton covers a variety of
topics and time periods through the use of Wallace as the connecting link, and
draws a clear conclusion as to how he has influenced the national tale. It would be of use to medieval and modern
historians of Scotland and the Scottish diaspora alike, as well as anyone with
an interest in the appropriation of Wallace.
Laura Harrison
University of Edinburgh
