Braveheart was a very real and true movie. It was very true to historical facts of what happened in Scotland. This paper will describe the truth behind much of what went on in the movie. .
Throughout the movie, Edward I is portrayed as a ruthless, brutal ruler. He is shown as a man that is feared by many. The role of Edward I was a very honest portrayal of the man he really was. He wanted to have all of Britain under his sovereign control. He killed thousands and thousands of people with no remorse so he could gain control of Scotland. Edward I, also known as Longshanks, didn't think twice when having men, women, and children slaughtered. .
The "right of first night" was real and happened many times under Edward's rule. It was shown in the movie exactly how it happened in real life. The English would hear of a wedding ceremony and intrude upon it. They would destroy the lives of the two people. They bride would be taken away and used for sex by the English. Just as William did, many people tried to hide their marriages and hold them in secret alone. They knew that the odds against the bride being taken were very good. If the English found out that a marriage was being kept secret, the price would be much worse. .
The battles in the movie were extremely accurate as to a real battle. The carnage and blood shed was terrible. It was hand to hand combat with the most fierce and violent fighting possible. The bravery of those men was unbelievable. They would almost do anything for their country. The size of the armies in the movie was not exactly as large as the real armies. Edward I had 12,500 infantry, 3,000 men on horse, and around 4,000 light cavalry. William Wallace was able to gather 8,000 to 10,000 total men to fight with him. Obviously, it was not possible to have this many men in the battles in the movie. The movie did show that there was a large group of men on horse and many heavily armored knights.
