Edward I Crushes Wallace: Longbows Decide Falkirk
King Edward I brought 12,500 soldiers, including hundreds of Welsh and Irish longbowmen, against William Wallace's Scottish army at Falkirk on July 22, 1298. Wallace had arranged his infantry in massive defensive circles called schiltrons, bristling with twelve-foot spears that no cavalry could penetrate. Edward simply ordered his archers forward. Volleys of arrows poured into the tightly packed formations from a distance the spearmen couldn't reach. When the schiltrons broke, English cavalry rode through the gaps. Wallace escaped but lost his army and resigned as Guardian of Scotland. He spent seven years as a fugitive before being captured, tried, and executed in London in 1305.
July 22, 1298
728 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Edward I of England
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Wars of Scottish Independence
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Battle of Falkirk (1298)
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longbowmen
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William Wallace
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schiltrons
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Sheltron
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Falkirk
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Wars of Scottish Independence
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Battle of Falkirk
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Edward I
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Longbow
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William Wallace
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Schiltron
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Falkirk
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Archer
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Lanceiro
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