BattlefieldsWallace Killing of Haselrig at Lanark 1297
Medieval

Wallace Killing of Haselrig at Lanark 1297

1297
South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
English forces under Haselrig
Forces
Haselrig and household retinue
VS
Victor
William Wallace
Forces
Wallace and a small raiding party
Outcome
English sheriff killed; Wallace's leadership of southern resistance established; English civil administration in Lanarkshire disrupted
The Battle

History & Significance

In May 1297 William Wallace led a night attack on the English sheriff William de Haselrig at Lanark and killed him in his own house. The killing, possibly motivated partly by Haselrig having executed Wallace's companion Marion Braidfute, transformed Wallace from an outlaw into a resistance leader. It was the decisive personal act that crystallised the 1297 rising and gave Wallace a following across Clydesdale and Selkirk forest.

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