Rare Wallace letter to go on display for five hours on St Andrew’s Day

A centuries-old letter of recommendation from the King of France for William Wallace is to go on display for five hours only on St Andrew’s Day.

The brief letter written in a form of Latin shorthand was sent to the French King’s agents in the court of Pope Boniface VIII in 1300.

Wallace’s mission in Europe remains a mystery but King Phillipe IV asks the Pope to support the Scottish knight in “those things which he has to transact”.

It will go on display at the National Records of Scotland (NRS) building General Register House in Edinburgh from 10am until 3pm on November 30.

Alan Borthwick, head of medieval and early modern records at NRS, said: “While Wallace is known to have been in France in 1300, it is not known why.

“Some have suggested he may have been seeking support to have the deposed Scottish king, John Balliol, restored to the throne.

“What is certain is that this is a rare document and a wonderful opportunity for the public to see it in person.

“It is the first time it has been on display since 2018 and it is free of charge to visit.”

Wallace is famous for leading the Scots in the defeat of the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

He later spent time in Europe but by 1305 was back in Scotland where he was captured, taken to London and executed.

Historians discovered the letter in the Tower of London in the 1830s.

While no-one knows exactly how it got there, experts think Wallace carried it with him.

The fragile fragment is on loan to NRS from the National Archive at Kew.

Because of its fragility it will be on display for just a few hours in General Register House at 2 Princes Street next month.

Two tapestries inspired by the only two surviving original letters known to mention Wallace will also be on display.

Weavers from the Dovecot Studios created the tapestries, the design of which took inspiration from the intricate lettering and historic parchment of the documents.