The death of the last of the royal house of Canmore triggered a succession crisis in Scotland. Subsequent attempts by King Edward I to undermine Scottish independence sparked open rebellion, led by William wallace, that culminated in an English defeat at Stirling Bridge. Edward gathered an army, marched north, and at Falkirk he brought Wallace's army to battle. Amid accusations of treachery, Wallace's spearmen were slaughtered by Edward's longbowmen, then charged by English cavalry and almost annihilated. In 1305 Wallace was captured and executed, but the flame of rebellion he had ignited could not be extinguished.

• Illustrated throughout with full colour battlescenes and 3-dimentional 'bird's-eye view' maps