Historic letter for William Wallace displayed in Edinburgh for five hours only

A famous and historic letter written in 1300 for William Wallace was put on display on St Andrew’s Day.

More than 250 people turned up to General Register House in Edinburgh on Saturday to see the fragile document, which was only on display for five hours to protect it from too much daylight.

The letter from the King of France, written in a form of Latin shorthand, to his agents at the papal court in Rome, is known as the “Wallace letter of recommendation”, and turned up among other historic documents in the Tower of London in the 19th century.

The document was last displayed six years ago, and is kept out of the light for years at a time to preserve it showings to future generations.

The letter was on display for five hours only. Crown Copyright via Supplied

The official dating on the letter is from 1300, three years after Wallace and Andrew Moray led the Scots to victory over the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

In 1300, Wallace and other Scottish knights were in France, possibly seeking support from the French king for the restoration of the Scottish monarchy as part of the resistance against King Edward I of England.

The French monarch’s letter urged allies to support Wallace in “those things which he has to transact”.

There is no evidence that Wallace ever reached Rome and five years later, he was captured by the English, taken to London and executed.

Archivist Jocelyn Grant said: “It was a pleasure to put this rare document on show, alongside two tapestries inspired by it, and the so-called Lubeck letter.

“It was nice to see so many people take advantage of one of the few opportunities to see this document in-person; as well as the tapestries.

“Skilled weavers from the Dovecot studios created them in 2012, and this is the first time they have been on display since then.”