Two of the notable exceptions to the Ragman Roll were Sir Andrew Moray and William Wallace. Andrew Moray was a noble and his omission made him an enemy of the English; he had previously escaped from captivity in Chester after fighting against Edward in the Battle of Dunbar. He was to organise rebellions in the north against the English, with his lieutenant, the burgess Alexander Pilche. William Wallace may have not been required to sign but his older brother Malcolm, who likewise did not sign, was. William was declared an outlaw when he killed Hesilrig, the Sheriff of Lanark and like Moray, he also organised rebellions, although in the south of the country. William Douglas, a noble, joined Wallace's revolt giving it an air of respectability.
All around Scotland, revolts were taking place: Macduff of Fife led his men against the English; and the first official record of revolt in Scotland came from the western highlands in April 1297, although this was suppressed by Alexander Macdonald. At Irvine on July 7th 1297, the nobles - led by William Douglas - organised a force against the English but submitted two days later before a fight. They included Douglas, the future king Robert Bruce who was the grandson of Robert Bruce the competitor for the throne, James the Steward, Alexander Lindsay and the Glaswegian Bishop Wishart. Only Douglas refused terms with the English, he was first kept captive at Berwick Castle where his warder found him 'savage and abusive', then transferred to the Tower of London where he died in 1299. Shortly after the submission at Irvine, Macduff of Fife was also captured by the Earl of Strathearn.
However, it was from Wallace and Moray that the two principal effective revolts came. The two men probably met on a raid in Dundee, in September 1297 by which time Moray had taken control of the northeast. Together they planned to take on the English at the strategic point of Stirling on September 11th. Initially, the Earl of Lennox and James the Steward, who were in the English camp tried to negotiate with Wallace and Moray; they may have only tried to buy time for the Scots instead. The English had to ride two abreast over the narrow bridge over the Forth to meet the Scots host. This was a fatal mistake; with no room to move the English cavalry and infantry were pounced on by the Scots. In the confusion, some fell, some drowned in the river, many were killed; among them Cressingham, the English treasurer. Earl Warenne fled the scene allowing James the Steward and Malcolm, the Earl of Lennox, to successfully attack the English wagons.
The battle of Stirling Bridge was a great victory for the Scots and a disaster for the English. The Community of the Realm of Scotland backed Wallace and Moray and made them both Guardians of Scotland, although not all nobles supported the rebellion. To befit the title, Wallace was knighted as a noble, probably by the Earl of Lennox. However, Moray died shortly after by his injuries sustained in the battle of Stirling Bridge; his name not appearing after 7th November 1297. The English garrisons had fled Dumbarton Castle and it was used to imprison the English knights captured from the battle; Sir Marmaduke Tweng, William Fitzwarin and William de Ros.
In 1298, Edward took a huge army in Scotland, meeting Wallace's forces at Falkirk. Many Scots nobles fled, leaving only the commonfolk remaining. They were decimated by the English troops. Of the nobles that remained - and died fighting - Macduff of Fife and Andrew Moray of Bothwell, a relative of the deceased Guardian, are notable. Wallace fled into the woods with the remainder of his men, managing to kill a Knights Templar force that pursued him. After the battle, Wallace resigned his Guardianship. Of the knights still imprisoned at Dumbarton, Tweng and Fitzwarin were exchanged for Scots - Henry de Sinclair and John de Mowbray - held by the English; and Ros probably arranged for his own ramson.
After this the Guardianship went jointly to Robert the Bruce and John Comyn, later aided by Bishop William Lamberton, and the Scots administration enjoyed a limited success; transferring King John to papal custody in 1299 and winning Stirling Castle by seige in the same year. Wallace went to France to get support from Phillip the Fair for the Scots cause and ultimately restore John as king. The support of Bailiol was obviously untenable by Bruce and in 1300, he resigned his Guardianship and Sir Ingram de Umfraville took his place. All this was to show the fragile nature of the joint Guardianship and the Scottish resistance became ever weakened.