Wallace was not unique in experiencing that form of execution. That was the typical traitor’s death. For a long time there was a saying in England that “if you did not have an ancestor quartered, you are not a gentleman.” Which is to say that the ordinary footsoldier in the armies of any rebellion would not receive such an elaborate execution; only rebellious nobles and other ringleaders of insurrection would be treated this way.
I recall reading of one man executed for religious reasons. He was permitted to die by hanging, but the rope broke. As the executioner organized a fresh rope, the condemned man ran back up the steps of the gallows. He was asked why he hastened to die, and he replied eagerly, “If you had seen what I saw as I was hanging, you would want to die, too.” Or words to that effect. I think he was an English Catholic martyr. Perhaps another Freeper recalls the name of the dead man and has a more accurate account.
The Blessed Roger Wrenno. Hanged in 1616. You’ve described the story told pretty accurately.