The Example of Brave Heart (II)

The castle of Dundee had been handed over to the English baron, Brian Fitz-Alan of Bedale, along with other strongholds in Angus and Fife. Fitz-Alan, by now a Guardian of the realm and also one of the three Justices of Scotland, placed the castle in the hands of a constable named Selby, 'a fierce man of war who had done much injury to the Scots, a man despiteful and outrageous in his dealings'. He had a son about twenty years of age who, with three or four companions, used to go into the town every day: 'a proud, overbearing young rascal, wanton in mischief'. One day in December 1291 young Selby caught sight of William Wallace, brightly clad in green and towering head and shoulders over the others in the street. Selby accosted him saying, 'Thou Scot, abide; what devil clothed thee in so gay a garment? An Irish mantle were the right apparel for thy kind; a Scottish knife under thy belt to carry; rough shoes upon thy boorish feet.' So saying, he demanded the handsome dirk at William's belt. Wallace's response was swift and dramatic; grabbing the Englishman by the collar, he drew his blade and thrust it through his assailant's heart.

- James Mackay, from William Wallace: Brave Heart