In the opening scene of the movie, there is bagpipe playing. The time period for the movie is around 1250. Bagpipes were not introduced into Scotland until the 1500s.
First of all I'm sure the reason this was done is because when people think of Scotland the most identify with bagpipes. Secondly most people aren't going to know what time period they are from and probably don't care. Most people (obviously not all) know it's only a movie and aren't there to overanalyze it to the point it isn't enjoyable. If you can think of a movie that is 100 percent historically accurate, let me know, because I don't know of any.
Bagpipes have been around in one form or another since the ancient Greeks. The Romans actually introduced the pipes (and the kilt, for that matter, which is a derivation of the toga) to the Celts in Julius Caeser's time. There is recorded evidence (documentation . . . obviously not sound recording :)) of pipers being at the Battle of Banock Burn (1314, shown briefly at the very end of the movie) and statues depicting pipers dating back to the 1200's. The exact type of pipe used in the film is probably not accurate, but their presence in that time period is absolutely correct.
If the film was set in the 1250s it would have been very boring - Wallace wasn't born until 20 years later. I've been informed by an authority on the subject that the pipes seen played later in the film are Breton pipes. Still a mistake that French pipes were being played in Scotland, but they were probably chosen for their more melodic sound. Scots pipes have a drone whereas the Breton ones don't.
As a matter of fact, the Scottish also did not wear kilts when in battle at this time. But, wouldn't you agree that it adds a certain something to the movie's whole feel? I think so.
It's called an anachronism. Shakespeare was famous for them. He had a clock, a doublet, and the Virgin Mary in "Julius Caesar." So even the greatest writer of all time messed up. The fact is that the slip-up doesn't take away from the film at all.
This slipup is true. Men didn't wear kilts yet either at the time the story is taking place. This is just one of the many historical inaccuracies in this movie.
Simple Kilts were around in Scotland long before the 1300's.
The viking king Magnus Barefoot conquered the Western Isles of Scotland around 1093 and fought in the north west of Scotland. By the time of his return, he and his men had adopted the weaqring of the kilt they'd seen in the battles - it's mentioned in the Magnus Barefoot Saga.
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