William Wallace letter on show for five hours only

Archivist Jocelyn Grant casts her eye over the rare letter

A letter written for William Wallace in 1300 has been displayed in public for the first time in six years for St Andrew’s Day.

More than 250 people turned up to General Register House in Edinburgh to view the letter, which can only be displayed in light for a small amount of time.

National Records of Scotland, which runs the national archive, put the fragile fragment of parchment on display for just five hours.

The rare piece of parchment, written in a form of Latin shorthand, is from the King of France to his agents at the papal court in Rome and instructs them to support Wallace in "those things which he has to transact".

Visitors Maria Fernandez, Barbara Fuentes and Belen Banuls were among those to see the letter

It was first discovered among other historic documents in the Tower of London in the 19th century.

It has never been established what Wallace's mission to Rome was and there is no evidence that he ever reached the city.

Two tapestries inspired by the document were also on display.

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 Lübeck 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."

The letter was discovered in the 19th century

Wallace is said to have travelled to France in 1299, following his resignation as Guardian of Scotland in favour of Robert the Bruce the year before.

He is thought to have returned to Scotland in early 1303, where he evaded capture by the English until August 1305.

John de Menteith, a Scottish knight loyal to King Edward, then turned him over to English soldiers in Robroyston, near Glasgow.

Wallace was taken to London for trial, where he was hung, drawn and quartered for high treason shortly after.

The letter is on loan to NRS from the UK National Archive.