Blind Harry
Blind Harry (c. 1440 – 1492), also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace, more commonly known as The Wallace. This is a lengthy poem recounting the life of William Wallace, the Scottish independence leader, written around 1477, 172 years after Wallace's death.
Also recorded as Hary · Henry the Minstrel · Harry the Minstrel
Blind Harry
Stephencdickson · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1440.
- Died
- 1492.
- Occupation
- historian and poet.
- Languages
- Scots.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Little is known about Blind Harry's life. One source is the Lord High Treasurer's accounts of 1473–1492, which recorded payments to him for performances at the court of James IV. Blind Harry was given gifts of money by the King at New Year, as were other minor courtiers, but a payment on 2 January 1492 seems to relate to the singing of a ballad accompanied by two Gaelic harpers, "Ersche clareschaw", mentioned in adjacent entries. This is the last mention of Harry in the accounts. He is mentioned by William Dunbar on line 69 of his Lament for the Makeris early in the 16th century. Historian John Major also wrote about Harry in 1518. These sources differed on whether or not he was blind from birth, but Harry almost certainly seems to have had a military background.
Wallace folklore
Wallace folklore
Blind Harry mentions a number of battles or skirmishes fought by Wallace which are now regarded by historians as unhistorical. These battles are sometimes referenced as historical events by accounts which do not cross-check the stories in Acts and Deeds against another source. Dubious battles include the "Battle of Loudoun Hill" in 1296, the "Battle of Biggar" in 1297, and possibly also the "Battle of Elcho Park". In the case of the folkloric Battle of Loudoun Hill, later enthusiasts have erected a monument to Wallace at the site. (The folkloric battle should not be confused with the genuine Battle of Loudoun Hill fought by Robert the Bruce.) Similarly, the story of a mass hanging of Scots nobles at Ayr is described by Blind Harry, and is repeated in a number of places, including the film Braveheart, but is now regarded as unhistorical.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1440
Blind Harry born.
1492
Blind Harry died.
Criticism
Harry's depiction of Wallace has been criticised by Major and others as being fictionalized. Some parts of it are at variance with contemporary sources, e.g., the work describes Wallace leading an army to the outskirts of London, and it includes some episodes of doubtful accuracy before Wallace enters history with the action at Lanark. It also describes him adopting the disguises of a monk, an old woman, and a potter while a fugitive, and travelling to France to enlist support for the Scottish cause, there defeating two French champions, as well as a lion. "Are there any more dogs you would have slain?", Wallace asks the French king. Harry is often considered inferior to Barbour as a poet, and has little of his moral elevation, but he surpasses him in graphic power, vividness of description, and variety of incident. He occasionally shows the influence of Chaucer, and is said to have known Latin and French. Blind Harry's words were made more accessible by a translation written by William Hamilton of Gilbertfield (c. 1665–1751) published in 1722. In this form they met the notice of poets such as Robert Burns, Lord Byron, Robert Southey, John Keats, Joanna Baillie, and William Wordsworth. It was also an important source for Randall Wallace in his writing of the screenplay of Braveheart, the award-winning Hollywood film. Most recently, in 1998, Elspeth King published Hamilton's text amended for modern readers as Blind Harry's Wallace.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1984048: Blind Harry
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Blind Harry”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Henry the Minstrel, or Blind Harry or Hary (fl 1470–1492), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2018
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Blind Harry, revision 1362186258 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 1 (1877), 184.
- 2.The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 453. 1985.
- 3.Anderson, Lin. Braveheart: From Hollywood to Holyrood. Luath Press Ltd. (2005), p. 27.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
- George Lillie Craik. A compendious history of English literature and of the English language. Griffin, Bohn, and company. 385–390. 1861.
- Elycia Arendt. Braveheart and Broomsticks: Essays on Movies, Myths, and Magic. Buy Books on the web. 2002. 0-7414-1233-0.
- 13. 29.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Henry the Minstrel, or Blind Harry or Hary (fl 1470–1492), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1984048: Blind HarryWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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