William Braveheart Wallace

The lecture by Dr. David Ditchburn wasn’t really like the other two previous lectures because enough isn’t really known about William Wallace it’s more myth that fact. So that’s why he was constrained in what he had to talk about. He therefore decided to focus on the film “Braveheart” and on the politics of the time and the other main character’s involved in the battle to become King of Scotland.

So the film was released in 1995 and at the following year’s academy awards it won 5 Oscars including best film and best director. When it was released it captures the political movement of the time as the Scottish National Party was campaigning for independence. The Scottish establishment latches onto the whole ethos of the film. The films main message is one of good versus evil. Also the film doesn’t know how to appeal to its audience apart from in the 20th century style which is comprised of sex and patriotism. The renound historian denounced other academics and said that the film was better than the Scottish historical review which didn’t even mention Wallace at any stage and brought him to the general public’s attention for the first time. Overall the main point that he made about the film was that it got it right but it also got it wrong in the same way.

So now about Wallace and the going’s on of the time between 1286 and 1307.In 1286 King Alexander III of Scotland died and his only surviving heir at the time was his granddaughter Margaret also the daughter of the King of Norway. In 1290 negotiations concluded on the arrangement to marry Margaret to son of King Edward I of England in the treaty of Birgham-Northampton. But as Margaret prepared to officially become Queen of Scotland she died in Orkney on her way to Scotland. With her death there was now no apparent heir to the throne of Scotland. Which lead to main claimants to the throne coming forward. During this period Edward I secures acknowledgement of his overlordship from of Scotland from all the claimants to the throne of Scotland. There was 13 possible successors to Margaret with the two main ones being John Balliol and Robert Bruce. Now the problem for King Edward is can he afford not to get involved in Scotland and the deciding of who becomes king?. The answer was no. The two main contenders John Balliol and Robert Bruce are both originally from France. They both have extensive lands in England and Scotland and are also connected through marriage to powerful aristocrats in England. Balliol is married to the earl of Surrey and Bruce’s sister is married to the earl of Gloucester. The King is also lord of Ireland and the earl of Gloucester has lands in Ireland and ambition to extend those lands with the help of Bruce.

In 1292 Edward declares that John Balliol is the rightful King of Scotland and he becomes King John but Edward stays as Overlord. In 1296 war breaks out between England and Scotland as king john continually doesn’t do what Edward wants him to do. John eventually heads to exile in France. King Edward is the first real impearliest and lord of the Celtic countries as he already has control of Wales and Ireland and now appeared to conquer Scotland.

This is where Wallace now comes to the fore. He leads a rebellion in the name of the deposed King John and leads the army to victory in the battle of Stirling Bridge. He is then appointed as guardian of the kingdom in the name of King John.even though he is portrayed as being poor in the film is he actually a middle class man .Wallace himself took a very conservative stance when it came to politics. In 1298 Wallace gathers an army together to fight the english. He has a simple form of conscription to get this army. He has a list of every 16 to 60 year old in every town in scotland.A question then arises as to wether wallace is a bully? because after finding out that the people of aberdeen are refusing to join the army he has them hanged.This shows a much darker side to wallace that isn't shown in the film.Wallace had no children or a wife so had a lot less to lose then other men as thay had kids wives lands to harvest etc.Wallace's army is then defeated at the battle of falkirk and he is removed as the guardian of scotland and he then leaves the country.

Between 1299-1303 resistance to edwards rule continues but not on the same scale as earlier rebellions.The general surrender happens in 1304 but Bruce seemed to do this in early 1303 whereas wallace continued to fight on.In 1305 wallace is captured and executed in london.In 1306 Robert bruce rebels again and is crowned king of scotland and king edward dies in 1307.

The main questions that are raised are What is wallaces true motive for rebelling?.What side is Robert Bruce really on? and why does he surrender earlier than everyone else?

OLiver Cromwell 1599 - 1658 (3rd October)

Who was Oliver Cromwell :


Form the lecturer by Dr. Mecheal Ó Sugrú we learn about Oliver Cromwell , we learn that infact although he became ruler of a great country he was not born into nobility, no infact Oliver Cromwell was not even wealthy, he was a simply a land owner indeed he was if anything a glorified farmer, so why is it that a farmer can plot to over through the king (Charles I), succeed and gain the support of parliament and the military and become ruler of an entire empire. Why could just an ordinary man be remembered for a legacy which has lasted for over 350 years a legacy which is divided into to opinions hatred and admiration. Why is it that the whole of Ireland north and south remembers Cromwell for being an evil villain yet most of England portrays him as a hero.

Well this is what I`m going to try and explain. Oliver Cromwell grew up on a small farm in the midlands of England, he was not a successful farmer in fact he was in debt. He was married and had children. However he` suffered from great depression, infact he suffered from depression so much so that he contemplated emigrating to America, he even purchased a ticket and had every intention of going right up until a few days before the voyage. Why did he back out?. Well the night before he and his family were due to sail he got an awaking from god or so he clamed, he now had a propose in life he was driven, it was his responsibility according to god to strengthen the protestant religion and to change England for the better by getting rid of hierarchy.

After this Oliver became interested in politics, then in 1640 he joins parliament , whilst in parliament “king Charles I” marries a French catholic woman this issue divides parliament greatly and in 1642 civil war breaks out, Cromwell sees this as an opportunity to get rid of the king as he does not believe in hierarchy, and he is also “puroton”(extreme protestant), from the civil war Cromwell is remembered as a great general who is willing to fight side by side to his soldiers, an alien concept which previous generals had not dared to do, from this act of bravery he won the respect of the military.

In 1646 the civil war ends with the king and parliament agreeing to come up with a compromise, however this is not satisfactory to Cromwell and he then decides to lead a revolution agenst the king to execute him, not only does Cromwell have the support of the parliament but he also has the vital support from the military. In 1649 he beheads the king. Oliver Cromwell was then nominated successor to the throne, however he declines the offer to become king of England as he does not believe in hierarchy , but instead accepts the title of “lord ruler and protector of England“ (king in all but name). This is when we see what kind of ruler Oliver Cromwell is really like it is from this point on that Oliver Cromwell is remembered for two completely different reasons. In August 1649 oliver Cromwell visits Ireland, however all does not go well. The first port of call for Cromwell is “Rings End” “Dublin“, It is from this point on that we see sheer brutality and slaughter at the mercy of oliver Cromwell. When he landed in Dublin his second port of call was the “Drogheda garrison” . when the garrison refused to be captured by Cromwell he bombarded the gates with his cavalry and slaughtered every man woman and child within the walls, he then marched down to the “Wexford garrison”, where he repeated the same act of brutality. Cromwell justified these actions by two explainations, 1 that it was gods will and 2 that the Irish catholic people deserved this as they had done the very same to plantation protestants who had immigrated into Ireland.

Cromwell taught that by doing this to the Irish it would make them realise that they had no chance of getting there land back and that they would simply subside and allow England to take over Ireland, however this had an adverse affect on the Irish as they came to the conclusion that if they were going to die they mite as well die fighting for their country.

Although Cromwell was only in Ireland for a total of six months he killed more people in his time here than the great potato famine, Irelands population dropped down to a third. It is this legacy that oliver Cromwell is remembered for by the Irish people.
Over in England Cromwell is remembered as the man who got rid of the king and made England a republic he gave the English (majority) a voice, it is this that Cromwell is remembered for over in great Britain.

In conclusion whether you love or hate Cromwell you have to admit he was a great man, he was a man who had the vision to change battle tactics, gain the support of an entire military, get backing from the parliment of the biggest and most powerful country in the world. And all this from a man who was born into a simple family who had but a simple farm. Oliver Cromwell died on the 3rd of October 1658 the day he said he would die. October the 3rd is also the Anerversy he won his major battles on, is this faith or a coincidence. Il leave that for you to decide.

Queen Elizabeth I

The lecturer claimed at the start that this was a lecture for men. But really it was a lecture about women, and how difficult it was to be a female monarch in the male-dominated world of the seventeenth century. Elizabeth I (1533-1603), the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, became queen of England in 1558. It was a time when the Reformation was under pressure and when many people had problems with a woman being queen. Throughout her reign Elizabeth refused to marry. Why? There were many reasons. If she married a powerful Protestant aristocrat (like the 3rd duke of Norfolk) she risked alienating the Catholics in the country. Elizabeth later executed Norfolk for joining in a conspiracy with Mary Queen of Scots against her. If she married a powerful Catholic, like King Philip II of Spain, she alienated the Protestant interests in the country and risked civil war. In addition she was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, the so-called ‘Protestant whore’ who had helped bring about the split with Rome in the first place. Therefore her legitimacy was inextricably tied-up with the Reformation. However even if she married a weak Protestant she risked being dragged into wars in Europe. Elizabeth would not divide the nation at home, or risk war abroad. So instead she remained single, proclaimed as the ‘Virgin Queen’, and refusing to name her successor until she was on her deathbed.

Therefore the second main question of the lecture was how did Elizabeth maintain power given that she was an unmarried woman in a patriarchal world? The answer, it seems, was through court politics. The court provided Elizabeth with an informal system to supplement everyday politics, and through hunting, dining and frivolity, she was able to keep an eye on what was going on and gather intelligence necessary for keeping control in the kingdom. She also had a selection of ‘favourites’, men who she advanced and who, in return, provided an invaluable source of information and security. The most famous of these was Lord Robert Dudley (later earl of Leicester), who later became involved in Norfolk’s plot, but who was surprisingly pardoned. Her final favourite, Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, even tried to kidnap her in the 1590s!

Money proved necessary, both to reward the favourites and maintain the state. The best source was piracy. Spain was plundering vast amounts of gold from Central America, so Elizabeth authorised captains to steal this in turn from them. Many people invested in this privateering and the profits on these investments was enormous, sometimes as high as 1,000%. Spain, not surprisingly, was furious and responded by going to war with England in 1585. However the famous Spanish Armada of 1588 was defeated by ‘the breath of God and a Protestant wind’. The war continued afterwards, especially in Ireland, at a cost of almost £6 million to the crown. Elizabeth I died in 1603 naming King James VI of Scotland as her heir.