William Wallace was dragged naked to Smithfield today in 1305. He was strangled, castrated, disembowled & his insides burnt. Then beheaded & quartered. His crime, according to Edward I, High Treason. His retort: "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject."
We've all had nights like that in fairness
Mary Stuart was executed for treason against a foreign monarch, she definitely wasn't a subject of Liz or even English and legally immune from any charge of treason, made no difference.
See what a smart-arsed answer gets you…
Alba gu bragh! 🏴
I’m all for the execution of kings & dictators in this manner. Alas, PTSD will harm the executioners.
Presumably the order of events was not as described in the post
And according to Mel Gibson's portrayal 690 years later, he went through all that with the sort of grimace you'd associate with bad indigestion.
And 600 years later, they did the same to roger casement. Who was Irish and allegedly wasn't a subject either. But possibly being a British diplomat left him on thinner ice than expected.
He was only hung. Ireland was also part of the British Empire back when Casement was born and his dad was a Captain in the British Army and they lived in England for a good chunk of his childhood.
Apologies. My comment sounded awful bitchy on rereading, and I didn't mean it like that. I only meant that history has a habit of repeating itsealf.
No need to apologise this is the polite social media. I think he thought that treason applied only within Britain and Empire and his crimes were actually in Germany. Its the famous 'hung on a comma' case rather than 'not his subject' style defence History often treads similar paths though as you say
What, he didn’t shout ‘Freedom?’ Surely not ! 😀😂
Good line.
My ancestral De la Warenne relative fled and escaped retribution following a lost battle but I believe Wallace had the other English military leader flayed alive.
Similar defence to William Joyce's.
My first plumbing mentor was a Scot named Crawford. It would be really cool if he was a descendant of Lady Margaret Crawford,mother of William Wallace. My wifes’ maiden name is Wallace,but it was her stepfathers’ name.
Isn’t Trump a traitor to US democracy 🤔. Just saying
I knew there would be someone...and here he is.
I’m currently working my way through the Faber Book Of Reportage. I’m up to the 1500s and literally 90% of the accounts are of people being utterly shit to other people, and then occasionally eating them afterwards for good measure.
This is what happens when you order 5 drinks and then add "oh and a Guinness
