Happy Big 7-0-0, Wallace

Today is the 700th anniversary of Scottish hero William Wallace being gruesomely killed in Smithfield market in the City of London.

There are a series of memorial events in Scotland and one in the Church of St Bartholomew, Smithfield, this afternoon where an empty casket was used in a "symbolic funeral" service.

The anniversary has prompted debate in the Scottish media about whether Wallace is commemorated enough and whether Scottish history is taught adequately in schools. Naturally, the anniversary has also inspired some commentators to use it as a platform to assess the current state of modern Scotland.

Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind wrote recently in the Sunday Times that the 1995 Braveheart movie, a historically flawed account of Wallace's battles against the English, caused a new wave of nationalism 10 years ago, but this had now receded.

Link.