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700-year-old letter belonging to William Wallace to go on display

In January, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the precious document’s return to Scotland.

Ms Hyslop said: “It is one of the few surviving artefacts with a direct link to William Wallace and a fascinating fragment of our nation’s history. To have it here in Scotland, where it can be viewed by the Scottish public, is very significant indeed.”

Also on show is the Lubeck letter, the only surviving document which was issued by Wallace.

The letter, written in Latin, was written after his victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge to inform European trading partners that Scottish ports were open for business again.

Both documents are part of the free exhibition, Special Delivery: The William Wallace Letters, on at Holyrood until the end of August.

The History Channel website has more information about the history of this letter and of William Wallace.  And for what it’s worth, the “Holyrood” of the exhibition—which must be brief because of the letters’ age and fragility—is Scottish Parliament, not Holyrood Palace, which is basically across the street.