Hanged, Drawn and Quartered

Mel Gibson playing William Wallace as Braveheart in the film version of the rebel’s life

August 23, 1305 — The grisly death sentence of being hanged, drawn and quartered was introduced in England in 1284, the first famous victim of this horrific punishment being Scottish rebel William Wallace who was executed on this day.

Nothing is known of Wallace’s early life, although historians believe he was born around 1270. He became a leading rebel against King Edward I of England who invaded Scotland and forced 2,000 Scottish noblemen to swear they would be loyal to him. Some – notably Wallace – refused to accept Edward as their king and a campaign of rebellion began.

Wallace led his followers in attacks on places controlled by the English including Lanark town where his wife Marion lived and where he became surrounded by English soldiers. The rebels, according to accounts at the time, made their escape through Marion’s house.

When the soldiers tried to give chase Marion delayed them to give Wallace time to get away. The Sheriff of Lanark, Englishman William Heselrig, reacted by killing her on the spot once he had gained access to the house. Wallace returned later seeking revenge and it was said that he killed Heselrig, cutting his body into many pieces, such was his rage.

In 1297 Wallace defeated a large English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge but luck deserted him the following year and he was defeated at the Battle of Falkirk when Edward I took personal control of his men.

Wallace went on the run but was captured seven years later and sent to London where he was tried for treason. Wallace’s argument that he was no traitor because he had never sworn allegiance to the King fell on deaf ears, and he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.

The text of this barbaric sentence, as laid down in English law, read:

"That you be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution where you shall be hanged by the neck and being alive cut down, your privy members shall be cut off and your bowels taken out and burned before you, your head severed from your body and your body divided into four quarters to be disposed of at the King's pleasure.”

Parts of Wallace’s quartered body – the arms and legs – were sent to various places in Scotland as a bloody warning. At the time, no one thought of him as a hero. Later poets, writers and film-makers turned him into the larger-than-life freedom fighter we know today.

His story was loosely told in the 1995 film Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson, who also produced and directed the epic.

Published: November 14, 2023
Updated: November 23, 2023