John de Menteith

Who was John de Menteith?

Sir John de Menteith was a Scottish nobleman.

He was born to Mary, Countess of Menteith and her husband Walter "Bailloch" Stewart, Earl of Menteith jure uxoris. He and his older brother, Alexander, Earl of Menteith, replaced their paternal Stewart surname in favour of Menteith, which earned him the nickname Fause Menteith. John possessed the land of Ruskie, Stirlingshire,

He was Governor of Dumbarton Castle, an appointment made by Edward I who was keen to secure the fortification as a major access route into Scotland by sea. Tradition has it that Menteith betrayed Sir William Wallace to English soldiers, which led to Wallace's capture and torturous execution and his later nickname Fause Menteith.

Wyntoun, whose "Metrical Chronicle" was written in 1418, says:

Tuk in Glasgow William Walays;

And sent hym until Ingland sune,

The English chronicler Piers Langtoft states that Menteith discovered the retreat of Wallace through the treacherous information of Jack Short, his servant, and that he came under cover of night and seized him in bed.