THE Wallace letter “should remain in Scotland”, Scotland’s Culture Secretary has said, vowing to work with UK Government to keep the historical document in Edinburgh, rather than it be sent back to England.
The intervention comes as thousands of people continue to sign a petition calling for the 700-year-old letter asking the Pope to support William Wallace to stay in Scotland.
The document has been on loan to The National Records of Scotland (NRS) for 14 years, but it is scheduled to be returned to The National Archives (NTA) in Kew, England, in September.
The Society of William Wallace had called on the Scottish Government to act and claimed minister were “failing to protect our cultural heritage”, with NRS not pursuing an extension.
In response, Culture Secretary Mairi McAllan told The National she intends to work with the UK Government “with a view to securing the future of the document in Scotland”.
She said: “The Scottish Government’s position is that the Wallace letter should remain in Scotland.
“We will now look to explore options with the UK Government with a view to securing the future of the document in Scotland, as this is an important part of our country’s history.”
The UK Government have been contacted for comment.
The brief letter written in a form of Latin shorthand was sent to the French King’s agents in the court of Pope Boniface VIII in 1300.
Wallace’s mission in Europe remains a mystery, but in the note, King Phillipe IV asks the Pope to support the Scottish knight in “those things which he has to transact”.
Historians discovered the letter in the Tower of London in the 1830s, and while no-one knows exactly how it got there, experts believe Wallace carried it with him.
The Society are also calling for an asset transfer – like seen with the Stone of Destiny – to Scotland.
Due to the age and fragility of the document, it has only been exhibited three times while it has been in Scotland since 2012 – the most recent being on St Andrew's Day in 2024.
An NRS spokesperson said in response to McAllan's comment: “The letter is part of a wider collection at TNA and archives are responsible for preserving collections as coherent wholes as their collective significance is often greater than that of any individual item.
"Both NRS and TNA have a duty to uphold best practice and safeguard the integrity of archival materials.
“As this issue will now be discussed between the Scottish and UK Governments it would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
