Two documents connected to Sir William Wallace will be taken to Scotland for an exhibition next year.

A 700-year-old letter from King Philip of France, which experts recently concluded was likely to have been in Sir William’s possession, will be shown in Edinburgh next summer.

The letter is addressed to French agents in Rome and commands them to ask Pope Boniface VIII to support Wallace in unspecified business.

It is currently held by The National Archives in London and will arrive in Scotland in January after a long-term loan was secured by the National Records of Scotland.

The document will be exhibited alongside the famous Lubeck letter, sent by Sir Willaim shortly after the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

The letter informed European trading partners that Scottish ports were once again open for business.

They will go on display in Edinburgh in summer 2012, though the dates and venue of the show still have to be confirmed.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP said: “This exhibition is of tremendous importance – seeing the only two surviving documents directly connected to William Wallace side by side will be a unique experience. It is likely to give us a new perspective on Sir William’s vital role in Scottish history.

“The letter from the French king has been the subject of much speculation since it was discovered in the Tower of London in the 1830s.”