General Notes

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De Moray, a Highlander, is widely regarded as the man who steered Walla
ce and his troops to victory at the Battle of Stirling in 1297 – maki
ng an excellent tactical plan and bringing south many of his northern warr
iors.
Little is known of de Moray before 1296, when he was taken hostage and shi
pped off to jail in Chester following the disastrous Battle of Dunbar. Som
ewhere in the region of 10,000 Scots, poorly equipped and little match f
or their organised English opponents, were either killed or arrested.
There can be no doubt that de Moray got his patriotism and fighting zeal f
rom his father, Sir Andrew de Moray, who was also captured at Dunbar and i
ncarcerated in the Tower of London. Once in gaol in Chester, de Moray prom
ptly escaped and made his way back to the highlands and the family home, A
voch Castle near Inverness.
Avoch was the focal point of insurrection in the north, with the English h
aving travelled as far as Elgin at one stage, only to be beaten ba
ck by de Moray and his rag-tag bunch of local freedom fighters. The northe
rn troops’ activities mirrored much of what was going on in the south, wi
th guerrilla tactics widely used to unsettle Edward’s army and score sma
ll but psychologically significant victories.
The uprising gathered pace and it was in the early months of 1297 that Wal
lace and de Moray were said to have met, although historical documen
ts of the period are imprecise. The meeting apparently took place in Pert
h, where both armies met to expel the English occupiers and create a ba
se for an attack to liberate Dundee.
Wallace, at this stage, is said to have returned south with his army and t
he preparations for the battle at Stirling began. De Moray, held in high r
egard by Wallace and, according to some, the senior partner of the tw
o, is credited with creating the tactical plan that won the day for the Sc
ots.
Unfortunately de Moray was fatally injured at Stirling, when a stray arr
ow is said to have pierced him and, after a period of around a month, fina
lly took his life. The Scots would go on to some heavy defeats in the futu
re and, it is argued, were unable to function as well without the tactic
al nous de Moray brought to what was, in effect, a peasants' revolt.
De Moray’s son, also called Andrew, followed in the family tradition and r
allied behind Robert the Bruce, even marrying his sister, Christina, at o
ne stage.
The relationship between de Moray and Wallace has fascinated historians, a
lthough the former has failed to gain the widespread appeal of his partn
er despite some evidence suggesting it may have been he who was the domina
nt one in the relationship.
Both men were conferred with the title of ‘leader of the army of the rea
lm of Scotland’ and both received Knighthoods at roughly the same time – s
uggesting that, during the period they were held in equal regard.
Both men co-signed a letter to the mayors of Lubeck and Hamburg asking f
or trade routes with Scotland to be re-opened with, interestingly, de Mora
y’s name above that of his more celebrated colleague.
Where Wallace has, like so many other Scots historical figures, been roman
ticised; his story pulled to the boundaries of what is actually true in pr
int, poem, song and more recently Hollywood, it is no surprise that de Mor
ay, who failed to get a single mention by Mel Gibson, has been purged fr
om the nation’s psyche.
The Morays are a family of Flemish descent, who settled in the northern di
strict of Moray during the reign of David I. They can trace their origi
ns in north-eastern Scotland to Freskin, a man of Flemish origins, who w
as granted lands by the king in Duffus, Moray, where he built a motte a
nd bailey castle on the shore of Loch Spyine. Freskin, and the other famil
ies of French and Norman descent granted lands, were used to establish roy
al authority in the outlying Gaelic districts, which in the past had