International Medieval Congress

Description

Paper Presented: William Wallace: A National Tale
William Wallace (c.1270-1305) is truly primal myth material: the proletarian hero, the feminist icon, the supporter, and opponent, of Union with England. During the Victorian age he represented the benefits of Unionist-nationalism. At the re-creation of the Scottish Parliament, the SNP was ‘winning with Wallace’, but during the Referendum on Independence, their ambivalence to Braveheart-eque behaviour was profound. In his paper, Graeme Morton examines the afterlife of Wallace as a ‘national tale’: from the medieval Scottish chronicles, through the anti-English fire of Blind Hary's fifteenth-century verse, to the romance of Jane Porter’s Scottish Chiefs (1810) and the modern ‘Braveheart’ effect’.

Drawing medievalists from over 60 countries, with more than 2,000 individual papers as well as public concerts, performances, excursions, bookfairs and more, the International Medieval Congress (IMC) is Europe's largest forum for sharing ideas in medieval studies.

Period	7 Jul 2025 → 10 Jul 2025
Event type	Conference
Location	Leeds, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International