Quotes

Dialogue

Malcolm: Where do you think you're going? Young William: I'm going with you. Malcolm: Oh, you're going with, are ya? And what are you going to do? Young William: I'm gonna help. Malcolm: Hey, and a good help you'd be, too. [takes William off the horse] But I need you to stay here and look after the place for me while I'm away. Young William: I can fight! Malcolm: I know. I know you can fight. But it's our wits that make us men. See you tomorrow.

Dialogue

Longshanks: Scotland. My land. The French will grovel to anyone with strength, but how will they believe our strength when we cannot rule the whole of our own island?! [Isabelle walks in] Where is my son? Isabelle: Pardon, my lord. He asked me to come in his stead. Longshanks: I sent for him, and he sends you? Isabelle: Shall I leave, my lord? Longshanks: If he wants his queen to rule when I am gone, then by all means, stay and learn how. Please. Nobles. Nobles are the key to the door of Scotland. Grant our nobles lands in the north, give their nobles estates here in England, and make them too greedy to oppose us. Advisor: But sire, our nobles will be reluctant to uproot. New lands mean new taxes and they are already taxed for the war in France. Longshanks: Are they? Are they? [glaring at Isabelle] The trouble with Scotland... is that it's full of Scots! [Longshanks' advisors laugh] Perhaps the time has come to reinstitute an old custom. Grant them prima noctes. First night, when any c

Dialogue

William: You dropped your rock. Hamish: Test of manhood. William: You win. Hamish: Call it a test of soldiery, then. The English won't let us train with weapons, so we train with stones. William: Well, the test of a soldier is not in his arm, it's here. [points at his head]

Dialogue

William: Well, a test of a soldier is not in his arm, it's here. [points at his head] Hamish: No, it's here. [points at his arm] William: Hamish? Hamish: Uh huh. Campbell: Here you go, son. [giving Hamish a huge rock] Show him how. Come on! Haha, my boy! William: That's a good throw. Hamish: Ay. Ay, it was. William: I was wondering if you could do that when it matters. That is, as is Hamish: I could crush you, like a worm. William: You could? Hamish: Ay. William: Well then do it. [to the crowd] Would you like to see him crush me like a worm? Crowd: Ay! William: Then do it. Hamish: You'll move. William: I will not. Campbell: He'll move. Campbell: Fine display, young Wallace. William: [to Hamish] You alright? You look a wee bit shaky. Hamish: I should have remembered the rocks. William: Ay, you should have. [A Scottish dancing jig begins to play] Get up you big heap. It's good to see you Hamish: Ay, welcome home. Toothless Girl: William, will you dance with me? William: Of course I will.

Dialogue

William: How did you know me after so long? Murron: Why, I didn't. William: No? Murron: It's just that I saw you staring at me and I didn't know who you were. William: Oh sorry, I suppose I was. Are you in the habit of riding off in the rain with strangers? Murron: It was the best way to make you leave. William: Well, if I can ever work up the courage to ask you again, I'll send you a written warning first. Murron: Oh, it wouldn't do you much good. I can't read. William: Can you not? Murron: No. William: Well that's something we shall have to remedy, isn't it. Murron: You're going to teach me to read, then? William: Aye, if you like. Murron: Aye. William: In what language? Murron: Are you showing off now? William: That's right. Are you impressed yet? Murron: No. Why should I be? William: [in French] Yes. Because every single day I thought about you. Murron: Do that standing on your head and I'll be impressed. William: My kilt may fly up but I'll try. Murron: You certainly didn't learn

Dialogue

Campbell: Your father was a fighter! And a patriot. William: I know who my father was. I came back home to raise crops and, God willing, a family. If I can live in peace, I will.

Dialogue

William: Of course, running a farm is a lot of work, but that will all change when my sons arrive. Murron: [confused] So, you've got children? William: Not yet, but I was hoping you could help me with that. Murron: So, you want me to marry you then? William: Well, that's a bit sudden, but alright. Murron: Is that what you call a proposal? William: I love you, always have. I want to marry you. [Murron kisses him] Is that a "yes?" Murron: Aye, that's a "yes."

Dialogue

Lord Bottoms: I have dispatched a hundred soldiers to Lanark. They will be returning now! William: Were they dressed like this? Actually, it was more like fifty.

Dialogue

Longshanks: Scottish nobles have routed one of my garrisons, and murdered the noble lord. Edward: I heard. This Wallace is a brigand, nothing more. Longshanks: And how would you deal with this brigand? Edward: Like any common thief. Have the local magistrate arrest him and punish him accordingly. Longshanks: [to advisors] Leave us. [Longshanks' advisors leave the room, and he strikes Edward hard across the face, knocking him to the ground] Wallace has already killed the magistrate, and taken control of the town. Stand up. Stand up! [he pulls Edward to his feet] In the morning, I depart for France to press our rights there, and I leave you here to quell this little rebellion. Understood? Is it? [Edward nods nervously] One day, you will be a king. At least try to act like one. Edward: Get away from me! [to Philip] Convene my military council! Nicolette: [to Isabelle] I hope your husband to Scotland and meets Wallace, and then you'll be a widow.

Dialogue

Robert: A rebellion has begun. The Leper: Under whom? Robert: A commoner... named William Wallace. The Leper: We will embrace this rebellion. You will support it from our lands in the north while I gain English favor by condemning it, and ordering it opposed from our lands in the south. Sit down. Stay a while. Robert: This Wallace, he doesn't even have a knighthood, but he fights with passion and he inspires. The Leper: [laughs] And you wish to charge off and fight as he did. So would I. Robert: Well, maybe it's time. The Leper: It is time to survive. You're the seventeenth Robert Bruce. The sixteen before you passed you land and title because they didn't charge in. Call a meeting of the nobles. Robert: But they do nothing but talk. The Leper: Rightly so. They're as rich in English titles and lands as they are in Scottish, just as we are. You admire this man, this William Wallace. Uncompromising men are easy to admire. He has courage, so does a dog. But it is exactly the ability to com

Dialogue

Nicolette: When the king returns, he will bury them in those new clothes. Scotland is in chaos. Your husband is secretly sending an army north. Isabella: How do you know this? Nicolette: Last night, I slept with a member of the War Council. Isabella: He shouldn't be telling secrets in bed! Nicolette: Englishmen don't know what a tongue is for. Isabella: [scoffs] This Scottish rebel, Wallace. He fights to avenge a woman? Nicolette: I nearly forgot. A magistrate wished to capture him and found he had a secret lover. So, he cut the girl's throat to tempt Wallace to fight, and fight he did. Knowing his passion for his lost love, they next plotted to take him by desecrating the graves of his father and brother and setting an ambush at the grave of his love. He fought his way through the trap and carried her body to a secret place. Now that's love, no? Isabella: Love? I wouldn't know.

Dialogue

William: You know, eventually Longshanks will send his whole Northern Army against us. Campbell: Heavy cavalry, armored horse; shake the very ground. Hamish: They'll ride right over us. William: Uncle Argyle used to talk about it; how no army had ever stood up to a charge of heavy horse. Hamish: So what'll we do? Campbell: Run, hide, the highland way. William: [looking at the trees] We'll make spears. Hundreds of them! Long spears, twice as long as a man. Hamish: That long? William Wallace: Aye. Hamish: Some men are longer than others. Campbell: Your mother been telling you stories about me again, eh?

Dialogue

Stephen: [laughs, speaking heavenward] Him? That can't be William Wallace. I'm prettier than this man. [Heavenward] All right Father, I'll ask him. [to William] If I risk my neck for you, will I get a chance to kill Englishmen? Hamish: Is your father a ghost, or do you converse with the Almighty? Stephen: In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God. [Heavenward] Yes, Father! [to William and Hamish] The Almighty says don't change the subject, just answer the fuckin' question. Hamish: Mind your tongue. Campbell: Insane Irish. Stephen: Smart enough to get a dagger past your guards, old man. William: That's my friend, Irishman. And the answer to your question is yes, if you fight for me, you get to kill the English. Stephen: Excellent! [puts knife away] Stephen is my name. I'm the most wanted man on my island. Except I'm not on my island of course. More's the pity. Hamish: Your island? You mean Ireland. Stephen: Yeah, it's mine. Hamish: You're a madman. Stephen: I've c

Dialogue

Stephen: The Almighty says this must be a fashionable fight. It's drawn the finest people. Lochlan: Where is thy salute? William: For presenting yourselves on this battlefield, I give you thanks. Lochlan: This is our army. To join it you give homage. William: I give homage to Scotland. And if this is your army, why does it go? Veteran: We didn't come here to fight for them. Young Soldier: Home! The English are too many! William: Sons of Scotland! I am William Wallace. Young Soldier: William Wallace is seven feet tall! William: Yes, I've heard. Kills men by the hundreds. And if he were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse. [the Scots laugh] I am William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my country men here in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? Veteran: Fight? Against that? No, we will run. And we will live. William: Aye. Fight and yo

Dialogue

Cheltham: Mornay, Lochlan, Craig. Here are the king's terms. Lead this army off field and he will give you each estates in Yorkshire, including hereditary title, from which you will pay- from which you will pay him an annual duty- William: I have an offer for you. Mornay: Cheltham, this is William Wallace. Cheltham: From which you will pay the king an annual duty- William: I said I have an offer for you. Lochlan: You disrespect a banner of truce? William: From his king? Absolutely. Here are Scotland's terms. Lower your flags, and march straight back to England, stopping at every home you pass by to beg forgiveness for a hundred years of theft, rape, and murder. Do that and your men shall live. Do it not, and every one of you will die today. Cheltham: [laughs] You are outmatched. You have no heavy cavalry. In two centuries no army has won without— William: I'm not finished! Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head betw

Dialogue

Craig: Sir William, where are you going? William: We have beaten the English, but they'll come back because you won't stand together. Craig: What will you do? William: I will invade England and defeat the English on their own ground. Craig: [laughs] Invade? That's impossible. William: Why? Why is that impossible? You're so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshank's table that you've missed your God-given right to something better. There is a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.

Dialogue

Robert: Wait! I respect what you said, but remember that these men have lands and castles. It's much to risk. William: And the common man who bleeds on the battlefield, does he risk less? Robert: No. But from top to bottom this country has no sense of itself. Its nobles share allegiance with England. Its clans war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you'll end up dead. William: We all end up dead; it's just a question of how and why. Robert: I'm not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles. William: We need them? Robert: Aye. William: Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage. Now, our people know you. Noble and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom they'd follow you. And so would I.

Dialogue

Longshanks: What news of the north? Edward: Nothing new, Your Majesty. We've sent riders to speed any word. Longshanks: I heard the word in France, where I was fighting to expand your future kingdom. The word, my son, is that our entire northern army is annihilated, and you have done nothing. Edward: I-I have ordered conscriptions. They're assembled and ready to depart. Messenger: Excuse me, sire, but there's a very urgent message from York. Longshanks: Come. Longshanks: Leave us. Guard: Thank you, sire. [leaves] Edward: [reads the message] Wallace has sacked York. Longshanks: What? Edward: Wallace has sacked York! Philip: Sire... thy own nephew. What beast could do such a thing? Longshanks: If he can sack York... he can invade lower England. Philip: We would stop him! Longshanks: Who is this person who speaks to me as though I needed his advice? Edward: I have declared Philip my high counselor. Longshanks: Is he qualified? Philip: I am skilled in the arts of war, and military tactics,

Dialogue

William: I'm dreaming. Murron: Yes you are. And you must wake. William: I don't want to wake. I want to stay here with you. Murron: And I with you.

Dialogue

Isabelle: I am the Princess of Wales. I come as the king's servant, and with his authority. William: To do what? Isabelle: To discuss the king's proposals. Will you speak with a woman? [William follows her into the tent] I understand you have been given the rank of knight. William: I have been given nothing. God makes men what they are. Isabelle: Did God make you the sacker of peaceful cities, the executioner of the king's nephew, my husband's own cousin? William: York was the staging point for every invasion of my country. And that royal cousin hanged innocent Scots, even women and children, from the city walls. [Isabelle looks at Hamilton in disbelif] Well, Longshanks did far worse the last time he took a Scottish city. Hamilton: [in Latin] He is a bloody murdering savage. And he's telling lies. William: [in Latin] I never lie. But I am a savage. [in French] Or in French if you prefer? [in English] You ask your king, to his face, ask him. You see if his eyes can convince you of the t

Dialogue

Longshanks: Ah, my son's loyal wife returns unkilled by the heathen. So he accepted our bribe? Isabelle: No, he did not. Longshanks: Then why does he stay? My scouts tell me he has not advanced. Isabelle: He waits for you at York. He says he will attack no more towns or cities if you are man enough to come face him. Longshanks: Did he? The Welsh bowmen will not be detected arriving so far around his flank. The main force of our armies from France will land here to the north of Edinburgh. Conscripts from Ireland will approach from the southwest to here. Edward: Welsh bowmen? Troops from France? Irish conscripts? Even if you dispatched them today, they'd take weeks to assemble. Longshanks: I dispatched them before I sent your wife. [to Isabelle] So our little ruse succeeded. Thank you. And while this upstart awaits my arrival in York, my forces will have arrived in Edinburgh behind him. You spoke with this Wallace in private? Tell me, what kind of man is he? Isabelle: A mindless barbaria

Dialogue

Robert the Bruce: Now you've achieved more than anyone ever dreamed, but fighting these odds it looks like rage, not courage. William: It's well beyond rage. Help me. In the name of Christ help yourselves! Now is our chance, now! If we join, we can win. If we win, well then we'll have what none of us have ever had before; a country of our own. You are the rightful leader and there is strength in you. I see it. Unite us. Unite us. Unite the clans!

Dialogue

The Leper: I'm the one who's rotting, but I think your face looks graver than mine. Son, we must have alliance with England to prevail here. You achieved that. You saved your family, increased your land. In time, you will have all the power in Scotland. Robert the Bruce: Lands, titles, men, power... nothing. The Leper: Nothing? Robert the Bruce: I have nothing. Men fight for me because if they do not, I throw them off my land and I starve their wives and children. Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk fought for William Wallace. He fights for something that I never had. And I took it from him, when I betrayed him. I saw it in his face on the battlefield! And it's tearing me apart. The Leper: All men betray. All lose heart. Robert: I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HEART! I want to believe as he does. I will never be on the wrong side again.

Dialogue

Noble: Lord Craig, is it true about Mornay? Craig: Aye. Wallace rode into his bead chamber and killed him. More a liability now then ever he was. And there's no telling who'll be next. Robert the Bruce: Maybe you. Maybe me. [chuckles] It doesn't matter. Craig: I'm serious, Robert. Robert the Bruce: [angrily slams the table] SO AM I!

Dialogue

William: M'lady. I received your message. This is the second time you have warned me of danger. Why? Isabelle: There will be a new shipment of supplies coming north next month, foods and weapons, they won't... William: No, stop. Why do you help me? Why do you help me? Isabelle: Because of the way you're looking at me now.

Dialogue

William: Look at us. We've got to try. Joining the nobles is the only way. You know what happens if we don't take that chance? Hamish: What? William: Nothing. Hamish: I don't want to be a martyr. William: Nor I. I want to live. I want a home and children, and peace. Hamish: Do ya? William: Aye, I do. I've asked God for these things. It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom. Hamish: It's just a dream, William. William: A dream? Just a dream? What we've been doing all this time? We've lived that dream. Hamish: Your dream isn't about freedom, it's about Murron. You're doing this to be a hero because you think she sees you! William: I don't think she sees me, I know she does. And your father sees you too.

Dialogue

Robert: Father! You! Rotting! B*stard! Why? Why?! The Leper: Longshanks required Wallace. So did our nobles. That was the price of your crown. Robert the Bruce: Die! I want you to die. The Leper: Soon enough I'll be dead. And you'll be king. Robert: I don't want anything from you. You're not a man! And you're not my father. The Leper: You are my son and you have always known my mind. Robert: You deceived me. The Leper: You let yourself be deceived. In your heart, you always knew what had to happen here. At last, you know what it means to hate. Now you're ready to be a king. Robert: My hate... will die... with you.

Dialogue

Royal Magistrate: William Wallace, you stand in taint of High Treason. William: Against whom? Royal Magistrate: Against your king. Have you anything to say? William: Never in my whole life did I swear allegiance to him. Royal Magistrate: It matters not. He is your king. Confess, and you may receive a quick death. Deny, and you must be purified by pain. Do you confess? [William remains silent] Do you confess? Then on the morrow you shall receive your purification.

Dialogue

William: M'lady. Isabelle: Sir, I've come to beg you to confess all and swear allegiance to the king that he might show you mercy. William: Will he show mercy to my country? Isabelle: Mercy is to die quickly, perhaps even live in a tower. In time, who knows what can happen... if you can only live. William: If I swear to him, then all I am is dead already. Isabelle: [sobbing] You will die. It will be awful. William: Every man dies. Not every man really lives. Isabelle: [holds out a vial] Drink this. It will dull your pain. William: No, it will numb my wits, and I must have them all. For if I'm senseless or if I wail, then Longshanks will have broken me. Isabelle: I can't bear the thought of your torture. Take it. William: All right.

Dialogue

Isabella: I have come to beg for the life of William Wallace. Edward: You're quite taken with him, aren't you? Isabella: I respect him. [to Longshanks] At worst he was a worthy enemy. Show mercy, o great king, and win the respect of your own people. Even now you are incapable of mercy. [to Edward] And you. To you that word is as unfamiliar as love. Edward: Before he lost his powers of speech he told me his one comfort was he would live to know Wallace was dead. Isabella: [whispers in Longshanks ear] You see, death comes to us all. But before it comes to you, know this: Your blood dies with you. A child who is not of your line grows in my belly. Your son will not sit long on the throne, I swear it.

Dialogue

Royal Magistrate: It can all end, right now. Peace. Bliss. Just say it. Cry out mercy. Crowd: Mercy... mercy! Royal Magistrate: Cry out. Just say it. Mercy. Hamish: Mercy lad, mercy. Stephen: Jesus, mercy. Royal Magistrate: [to crowd] The prisoner wishes to say a word. William: FREEEEE-DOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!

Dialogue

Craig: Come. Lets get this over with. Robert: Wait. [to the army] You have bled with Wallace! Now bleed with me.