See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

7 used & new from £5.39
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Blind Harry's Wallace
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Blind Harry's Wallace [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by William Hamilton (Author), Owain Kirby (Illustrator), Elspeth King (Introduction)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


2 new from £53.75 5 used from £5.39
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (Ill) Order it used

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Hillarys ™ Blinds
   www.hillarys.co.uk    Red Hot Sale - up to 60% off! Make an appointment or buy online today. 
Next Day Blinds
   www.247blinds.co.uk    The UK's Biggest Range, Made to Measure Blinds Delivererd Next Day 
Made to Measure Blinds
   www.blinds-depot.co.uk    No Sale Just the UK's Lowest Prices Free Delivery & Samples - Save Now 
  
 

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Wallace

The Wallace

by Harry Blind
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £12.74
William Wallace: Man and Myth

William Wallace: Man and Myth

by Graeme Morton
3.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £8.09
William Wallace

William Wallace

by Andrew Fisher
£5.99
William Wallace: Brave Heart

William Wallace: Brave Heart

by James A. Mackay
4.6 out of 5 stars (7)  £6.99
On the Trail of William Wallace (On the Trail of)

On the Trail of William Wallace (On the Trail of)

by David R. Ross
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 227 pages
  • Publisher: Luath Press Ltd; illustrated edition edition (Jan 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0946487332
  • ISBN-13: 978-0946487332
  • Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 14 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 602,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description
The epic verse of "Blind Harry" (or "Henry the Minstrel") is the main source on the life of Sir William Wallace. It was written around 1477 and based on the now lost Latin book of John Blair, commisioned by 'the fetching bishop' William Sinclair, Bishop of Dunkeld, to send to the Pope. Blind Harry gathered stories and traditions of Wallace from all over Scotland and sang or recited his verse. He was well recieved at the Renaissance court of King James IV. Blind Harry's "Acts and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace" was one of the first Scottish books printed in Scotland. Hamilton's edition, "wherein the old obsolete words are rendered more intelligible", first published in 1722, had a great influence on Burns (whom it inspired to visit many of the sites mentioned and to write a number of poems including "Scots Wha Hae") and many others, including Wordsworth and Byron. Elspeth King, has long campaigned to bring Blind Harry's work back into print in an accessible form, and argues for its significance amd relevance today.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
wallace
scotland
history
braveheart
blind harry
biography

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Wallace
48% buy
The Wallace 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£12.74
Blind Harry's Wallace
40% buy the item featured on this page:
Blind Harry's Wallace 4.6 out of 5 stars (5)
On the Trail of William Wallace (On the Trail of)
12% buy
On the Trail of William Wallace (On the Trail of) 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This blood and gore epic will have your heart racing., 26 May 2003
By Mr. Hugh Harkin "hugh_harkin" (Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Blind Harry's "Wallace" (Hardcover)
Recorded by a blind minstrel, name of Harry, this epic poem of classical proportions records the life of one William Wallace. It was written over 100 years after Wallace died for his part in the Scottish Wars of Independance, yet it is considered the main source of information on the life of the warrior knight, famously portrayed by Mel Gibson in the film 'Braveheart'.
This particular version is the William Hamilton translation, which cleans-up and modernises much of the original in a way which allows the 21st century reader to enjoy the poem without having to scratch their head at every single word. Therefore I would recommend this 1722 version above the original. I am from Scotland, but even I would struggle with the Blind Harry version.
The poem follows Wallace from his days as an Ayrshire boy, through much splitting of skulls and slicing of throats, to his death in London in 1305 and each page is alive with both humour and dare I say it, an anti-English sentiment. But I feel we can forgive Blind Harry for this as he did live in an era where things were happening in Scotland which were not unlike what has recently happened in the Balkan Wars.
I must salute Luath Press for their book. It is the first Luath book I have owned and I particularlly love the illustrations by Owain Kirby, especially the way they are placed at key pieces of the text to indicate when, for example, a female figure appears in the poem.
This book is Scotland's Homer (not Simpson - Doh!) and deserves to be presented to a wider audience, which I'm sure this edition will do.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a must for those Studying William Wallace, 2 Nov 2002
By Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
For the person wanting to have a balanced view of Wallace, they need to include this text. Blind Harry or Blin Hary the Minstrel is believed to live from 1440-1493. Very little is really known about him. However, he is recalled for this major achievement of gathering and recording stories of Wallace. Supposedly the first written work about Wallace. He sang or recited these stories in verse form, and it is noted that he was well received at the Renaissance Court of James IV. One must recall these tales were collected well over 100 years after Wallace's death, giving plenty of time for the legend to already take root. Many of the details of Harry's epic are very accurate, some are not (but then he certainly is a lot closer than Randall Wallace!!).

William Hamilton(c1665-1751) brought Wallace back into the minds of everyone with the translation of Blind Harry's original poem.

One needs to understand this is written from a very pro Scots point of view, and tends to see Scots as the good guys and English as the bad ones, with few areas of grey. But taken on a whole, with most of the works on Wallace stemming from English records, it gives a balanced picture in studying Wallace.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank goodness!, 11 Jul 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Blind Harry's "Wallace" (Hardcover)
Thank goodness! Finally, a Modern English edition of Harry's Wallace in verse form since 1859! Great job by Mr. William Hamilton and a great introduction by Mr. Elspeth King. The translation is incredibly accurate and very close to the original text. Mr. King gives an introduction with a great account of all the texts, editions and translations of the poem ever printed (for those of us into a more detailed study of the poem.)And everything magnificently decorated with Middle Ages-like illustrations by Owan Kirby. A must for anybody into Scottish (or English) studies.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Stage Two in Scottish History
As often happens, I was motivated to study an historical subject by the enthusiasm generated by a well-crafted movie. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2001 by dacapo55

5.0 out of 5 stars Braveheart was based on this book
Randall Wallace got a 1722 copy of this book in the UCLA library, just before they were going to throw it away, used it as the main source work for his Braveheart screenplay, and... Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2000

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates