The Barns of Ayr was, according to

Blind Harry Blind Harry ( 1440 – 1492), also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of ''The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace'', more commonly known as '' The Wallace''. This wa ...

in '' The Wallace'', a site in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, Scotland, which was used as English barracks. According to Blind Harry, a number of Scottish barons of Ayrshire were called to a meeting with

King Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

at a barn used as an English military barracks, only to be massacred and hanged, including Sir Ronald Crawford Sheriff of Ayr, Sir Bryce Blair of Blair, Sir Neil Montgomerie of Cassillis, Crystal of Seton, and Sir Hugh Montgomerie. In revenge,

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...

burned the barracks with the English inside. This incident is now regarded by historians as unhistorical.''Unmapping the Territory: Blind Hary's Wallace'', Felicity Riddy's chapter in Edward Cowan's ''The Wallace Book'' (2007, ) No such mass killing of Scots nobles by the English took place around this time, although

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

did become more ruthless very near the end of his life, executing several of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

's supporters. Book 4 of Barbour's epic poem '' The Bruce'', an important near-contemporary source, mentions very briefly that "Sir Ranald of Crauford also, and Sir Bryce the Blair, were hanged in a barn at Ayr", but the context implies that this took place in 1306, the year after Wallace's execution. Whether intentional or not, the purported incident seems to have been a counterfactual reorganization of plagiarized, inflated, roughly contemporary events. Some accounts describe Ronald Crawford as father of Reginald Crawford, a minor but known historical figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence. However, Reginald Crawford was made Sheriff of Ayr in 1296, which is difficult to reconcile with the traditional story.

Barns of Ayr in popular culture

A version of this incident appears in the film '' Braveheart'', where Wallace is shown as witnessing the mass hanging as a boy. This is even further wide of the mark as Scotland was not under English occupation during Wallace's boyhood. The location features in ''The Scottish Chiefs''.

Notes

References

* ''The Life and Heroick Actions of the Renoun'd Sir William Wallace, General and Governor of Scotland,'' Blind Harry (Blin Hary or Henry the Minstrel), original personal manuscript, c. 1475. * '' Blind Harry's Wallace'', William Hamilton of Gilbertfield, original publication 1722, Luath Press, Edinburgh, 1998, . * {{Authority control History of South Ayrshire William Wallace Buildings and structures in Ayr 1297 in Scotland 13th century in international relations Massacres in Scotland Barracks in Scotland Scottish folklore Conflicts in 1297