"Braveheart" is an exciting historical spectacle that focuses more on cinematic fun than historical facts *Note! Contains spoilers

Care must be taken when accepting this as historical fact.

When I first saw Braveheart, I was so excited that the nearly three-hour running time seemed to fly by. More than anything, after reading this book, I thought I had a general understanding of the life of William Wallace, a Scottish hero.

This is a movie with tremendous power. It is filled with the cry of all one's might, and is pierced by a sublime soul that aspires to freedom. However, if you choose to cover the Scottish War of Independence as part of your summer vacation research, you should be wary of this movie. As Mel Gibson has said, this film was made with cinematic fun and presentation as its top priority, rather than historical accuracy.

There is no doubt that this is the best work to use as a trigger to get interested in the subject matter, but instead of getting excited, pumping your fist, or even bursting into tears at Wallace's final moments, you should review it properly. I guess you could call it a work that will be supplemented. I would like to point out all of them, but due to the limited number of characters, in this article I would like to focus on three points and focus on them.

"Braveheart" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Is blue painting and quilting true?

First, the kilts and blue makeup worn by Wallace and his fellow warriors on the battlefield. These elements are surprisingly easy to accept while watching, but the first time the faces were painted blue was in ancient battles. Furthermore, it seems that the kilt, which is a traditional Scottish costume, did not become established until much later.

So what did he actually look like? The best clue to this would be the bronze statue of William Wallace that remains in modern times, but for example, on both sides of the gates of Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, there are statues of Robert the Bruce (on the left). (played by Angus Macfadyen in the film), and a bronze statue of Wallace stands like a guardian angel on the right. However, both of them were dressed in helmets from head to toe, in the style of medieval knights. There is no blue painting or quilting.

However, when I visited Edinburgh, tourist shops sold ``blued and quilted'' William Wallace magnets that were completely modeled after the movie. Beyond historical accuracy, Mel Gibson's Wallace statue may now be recognized as a standard, especially for tourists.

A wonderful battle scene. But there is no “bridge”⁉︎