The Bruce 15The story is from the Thebaid of Statius through some
18
Fiction · Historical Fiction
The Bruce 15
The story is from the Thebaid of Statius through some
BarbourEnglish
intermediate source which cannot now be identified. See Appendix F, § iv.
195-6 “First the one should reign a year, then the other for a year from the expiry of the previous term,” and so on.
201 his constabill. Defined in the Alexander:
“That of the duke’s hoist all hale,
Was constabill and chief ledere” (73; 14, 15).
252 the gret anciente. “Through its great antiquity.”
314 “Then they praised greatly God the all-mighty.” The comparative fastar is in Bk. XIII. 129.
316 Thaim byrd. “It behoved or was necessary for them.” (O.E. byrian, impersonal verb). Cf. “Sa byrd al Galouya hyme honoure” (Lives of the Saints, Ninian, 932): “Me byrd be blyth” in same (Martha, 152). Frequent in the Alexander. Cf. on Bk. I. 381.
336 Worschip extremyteis has twa. Valour as a mean between two extremes is an Aristotelian notion (cf. line 347).
339 “And they are both to be avoided.”
341 “Things which should be left alone as well as those which should be done” (cf. lines 348-9).
463 In Cumnok. A town and parish in Kyle, Ayrshire.
481 Johne of Lorn. See note on Bk. III. 1.
483 aucht hundreth men and ma. On July 19, 1307, there is a command from Aymer de Valence, the King’s lieutenant, for aid to John of Lorn “guarding the town of Ayr and parts adjacent.” Lorn had 22 men-at-arms and 800 foot, so that Barbour’s statement is remarkably accurate, while his details enable us to fix the date of the events (Bain ii., No. 1957).
484 A sleuthhund. Jean le Bel has a reference to some such occurrence as this, though he credits it to Edward I., and distorts the course of events. He explains that one time Edward had Robert Bruce chased through great forests for the space of three or four days, “by dogs and sleuth-hounds” (par chiens et limiers), and gives as his authority not only popular report (ce dit on), but also “an account composed by the said King Robert” (_et le treuve on en hystoire faitte par le dit roy Robert._ Chronique i., chap. xxii.). Sleuth-hounds were common for police purposes: “That thar sal nane lat (obstruct) a sluthe hund passand or the men that are cumand with hym for to follow theyffis or to tak mysdvaris,” etc. (1289) (Acta Parl. Scot., I. 108). See on VII. 17.
487 a strecour. A fast runner, a dog for the chase; from the verb streke, to go rapidly (Skeat).
503 his emys sak. See note on Bk. III. 3.
507 Schir Amery. Valence is at Glenken, Kirkcudbrightshire, on July 24, and at Doon-side on July 31, 1307 (Bain ii., Nos. 1958, 1959).
510 Thomas Randale. Thomas Randolph, on the English side. See note on Bk. II. 463.
558 “He would pay no attention to the others.”
650 Out of dawis doyn. “Done out of days”--i.e., killed.
657 yhow ane. “Yourself alone”--a rather awkward expression, but the reading in H supports E.
665-6 “As they did not fear me, I could do them much more harm.”
BOOK VII.
2 will of wayn. “Wild of weening” or thought--i.e., quite at a loss. See on II. 471.
10 yhe. Ye from an inferior to a superior; you on the part of the latter, as in line 15.
17 I haf herd, etc. In a note to the Wallace, Bk. v. 25, Jamieson cites from “Bellenden, after Boece,” a long passage on bloodhounds, in which this occurs: “And thocht the thevis oftymes cors the wattir, quhair thai pas, to caus the hound to tyne the sent of thaym and the guddis, yit he serchis heir and thair with sic deligence, that be his fut he fyndis baith the trace of the theiff and the guddis” (Description of Albion, chap. xi.). See on VI. 484.
48 “And he is a good distance off by this time.”
90 price and loving. “Honour and praise.” Cf. 99, 294.
103 war bodyn all evynly. “Were armed equally well,” equipped for fighting.
132 bryng hym than of daw. “Bring him then out of day”--i.e., kill him. Cf. on Bk. VI. 650.
163 housis. MSS. give “hous” with flourished “s,” here expanded to “is.” See Preface 3.
177 slep. “To sleep,” infinitive, not a substantive.
188 as foul on twist. “Like a bird on a bough.”
*302 to-waverand. “To-wavering”--i.e., distracted, uncertain. Waverand occurs in line 112 above, and in the Wallace in “waverand wynd” (Bk. iv. 340). “To” is intensive = German zer. In _Morte Arthure_ we have “to-stonayede” = astounded (1436) and “to-briste” = burst asunder (3982). Skeat gives for the text, “wandering uncertainly in different directions,” but “her and thar” follows.
330 nakyt. “Without armour,” as always in the poem.
423 for Jhon Cumyng’s sak. That this feeling did operate in certain quarters we gather, further, from a story told in the Scalacronica, citing “the chronicles of his (Bruce’s) actions,” in which two men ferry Bruce, whom they did not know, over a passage between two islands. They ask about Bruce, and express a wish that they had him in their hands, that they might kill him. Bruce inquired why, and the answer is, “Because he murdered John Comyn, our lord.” This incident is placed after Loudon Hill, and the precise locality is not mentioned. Bruce discloses his identity in parting from them (Scala., pp. 132-3).
455 top our teill. “Top over tail,” head over heels. The phrase occurs in the Alexander (72, 8).
468 till him dreuch. “Drew the man towards him.”
494 Glentruell. Glen Trool and Loch Trool are in the west of Kirkcudbright. See below on 622.
497 the deir war in sesoun. June or July, and so after Loudon Hill in Bk. VIII.
561 the Clyffurd. Sir Robert Clifford. See note on 622 and on Bk. I. 282.
588 his baneour. “His banner-bearer,” as in Morte Arthure, “He byddys his baneoure, Buske yow,” etc. (3732).
622 Vaus. “Vaux” = de vallibus, like Clifford, a Cumberland family. Sir John de Vaus is on service under Valence against Bruce in June, 1307 (Bain, ii., No. 1938). We have a set of memoranda relative to expeditions against Bruce in Galloway, dated February 12 to May 3, 1307, for wages to horse, foot, and archers under different commanders, “in the valley of Nith,” “beyond the water of Cree,” “Glentruil, riding in search of Robert de Brus,” “on the raid to Glentruyl, against said Sir Robert,” “in Carrick and Glentruyl”; and among the leaders is Sir Robert de Clifford (Bain, ii., No. 1923).
623 raucht him a colè. “Reached him a blow.” Skeat explains colè as from O.F. colee, from col (cou), the neck. Cf. accolade, a blow with the flat of a sword in dubbing a knight.
624 “Both drew up their men in sides,” for a fight.
632 than he com of toune. “Than when he set out,” a general phrase.
BOOK VIII.
9 Kyle. The central division of Ayrshire, between Carrick to the south and Cunningham (13) in the north.
14 He gert helde. “He made to submit” (O.E., hieldan, to incline; Anglian haeldan). Cursor Mundi, “All folk to Rome suld heild” (22,235, N.E.D.).
15 Bothweill. Bothwell Castle, on the Clyde. It had seen a good deal of fighting in the earlier war. In August, 1301, the castle and barony, which had belonged to William de Moray, were presented to Aymer de Valence and his heirs (Bain, ii., No. 1214). See also note on Bk. xiii. 409.
21 Philip the Mowbray. More probably Sir John de Mowbray serving in Ayr for Valence, with others, in June to August, 1307 (Bain, ii., Nos. 1938, 1961).
28 Makyrnokis way. Godscroft gives the name in the form Machanacks; but David Macpherson, supporting the spelling in the text, says it is “a narrow pass on the bank of Makyrnok wattyr,” which he located near Kilmarnock (Geog. Illust., s.v.).
34 Edry-furd. The meaning of this name appears to be given in the line below, “betwix marras twa,” in which case Edry is for Gaelic Eadar, “between,” as in other ancient names--e.g., Eddirdail for the Black Isle, being Eadar-da-dhail, “between two dales.” “Furd,” of course, is English, and we may conjecture that the place was first known as “the ford,” with a Gaelic name beginning with Eadar, and signifying “between the marshes”; then that the unwieldy title was telescoped, the latter part of the Gaelic compound dropping out, and reduced to the hybrid “Eadar-ford,” finally to the form given.
95 Kilwynnyn. Kilwinning is west of Kilmarnock, near Ardrossan. At Ardrossan they turned north by the coast road and passed Largs on to Inverkip, where are still the remains of the castle. In 1301 Edward I., after capturing Bothwell Castle, went on to besiege that of Inverkip, and in July, 1306, after Methven, Thomas Randolph was imprisoned there (Bain, ii., Nos. 1224, 1807).
123 Gawlistoun. Galston is a little east of Kilmarnock. Beyond it rises Loudon Hill.
133 the tend day of May. May 10. The memoranda cited in note to Bk. VII. 622, relating to the pursuit of Bruce in Galloway, extend to May 3. The battle of Loudon Hill was fought before May 15. See note on 362.
164 The hye-gat. “The high-road” to Ayr, as we learn also from the Wallace, Bk. iii. That hero, with his men, there lay in wait for “Persey’s caryage,” which was being convoyed up Avondale (78) to Ayr (63). The waggons of supplies “took Loudon Hill” (116), on which Wallace had prepared a position (100). Loudon Hill itself is a bold, outstanding eminence commanding the valley of the Avon. The road must have crossed the lower slope (line 165).
172 thre dykis. On each side of the road, but a bowshot (150 to 200 yards) away (169), was a moss, impassable for horsemen. Further to narrow the hard ground (170), Bruce dug inwards from “the mosses” three ditches up to the road (173), each a bowshot behind the other (175). In the ditches he left gaps (“stoppis”) for the road (179), wide enough for 500 men to ride abreast (? 650 to 700 yards). Thus he could not be outflanked (185) or attacked in the rear (186), and he had sufficient men to deal with a frontal attack (187, 188). If he could not check the English at the first ditch, he could retreat to the next, and so to the third, if necessary (189-194). Bruce’s tactics was thus to make a position defensible by a small number on foot, and open only to an attack in front. Maxwell’s suggestion that the ditches were to shelter the Scots from the archers has no warrant in the text (_Robert the Bruce, p. 164). In the Wallace_:
“A maner dyk, off stanys thai had maid,
Narrowyt the way quhar throuch thair thikar raid”
(iii. 133-4).
The incident in the Wallace is certainly derived from The Bruce, but Barbour’s “dykis” = ditches, as in the modern English sense, has become a stone dike in the Wallace, where “dyk” has been taken in its modern Scots sense = a wall.
216 The sone wes rysyn schynand bricht. So too in the Wallace. He took up his position “in the gray dawing,” and then “The sone was rysyne our landis schenand brycht” (Bk. iii. 119).
232 quhit as flour. See on Bk. II. 415; XI. 131. Barbour here must mean the white linen garment covering the armour--the surcoat.
257 that us thar dout. “Whom it needs us to fear.” See for “thar” = needs, note on Bk. VI. 121.
280 cant and keyn. Cant = lively, brisk; cf. canty. Keyn (keen) is probably in the sense of “bold” or “valiant.” The words are almost synonymous. Cf. Morte Arthure:
“The knyhte coveride (got) on his knees with a kaunt herte” (2195).
326 skalyt in soppis. “Scattered in groups.” The Wallace simply paraphrases:
“The Inglissmen, that besye was in wer,
Befors ordand in sondyr thaim to ber” (163-4).
339 At erd ane hundreth and weill mar. So in Wallace:
“A hundreth dede in feild was levyt thar” (205).
351 to-ga. A past tense: “went off in a hurry.” See note on Bk. VII. *302.
362 He gaf up thar his wardanry. Loudon Hill was fought in May, 1307; Valence was still “warden of Scotland” in July 31 (Bain, ii., No. 1959), but was replaced by Sir John de Bretagne, Earl of Richmond, on September 13 (Foedera, iii., p. 10). An anonymous letter of May 15 says that “the King (Edward I.) was much enraged that the guardian and his force had retreated before ‘King Hobbe’”; also that James Douglas “sent and begged to be received, but when he saw the King’s forces retreat, he drew back” (Bain, ii. 1979).
380 For that victour. There exists a letter written by “some high official” at Forfar on May 15, which appears to refer to the events of this year. Bain gives it in full in Anglo-French in vol. ii., pp. 536-7, and an abstract on p. 513. The writer says that “the news of these parts are as follows: so far as I am able to understand, Sir Robert de Bruys has never before had the good will of the people even half so fully as at the present moment” (_ne avoyt onkes sa en arere si avaunt la volunte des gentz ne la moyte si entierement cum il ad ore aparmeymes_); “and that now they consider it manifest that he is in the right, and that God is clearly on his side, since he has now discomfited and defeated the full power of the King, as well English as Scots” (ausint bien les Engleis cum les Escoteys), “on which account the power of England is in full retreat before his men, not to return.”
391 Than wox his power. According to Hemingburgh, who sets Bruce riding through Lothian “a little after Easter,” before the battle of Loudon Hill, many then joined him who had been “exiled” by the English justiciars in the former year when they “sat” upon malefactors and supporters of “the new king.” “And because, according to the English law, they were sentencing them to burning, being drawn on horses and hanging, on that account they rose unanimously and went with him (Bruce), preferring to die rather than be judged by English laws” (ii., p. 265). Then follows the account of Valence’s defeat at Loudon Hill, the driving of the Earl of Gloucester into Ayr Castle, and Bruce’s subsequent defeat, after which he lurked “in moors and marshes” with ten thousand foot; and how Bruce always “slipped out of the hands” of his pursuers--clearly a misplaced account of the Galloway operations. Of the late summer and autumn of this year the Lanercost chronicler says that “Robert Bruce, with his brother Edward and many others adhering to him, without any opposition from the English guardians, wanders about in Scotland wherever he wished, and especially in Galloway, and took tribute from that country on condition that it should be left in peace; for, _on account of the number of people who then adhered to him, they were not able to resist him” (Chron._, p. 210). See also Foedera, iii., p. 14, for the official English description of Bruce’s raids on Galloway in August to September of this year.
393 Outour the Month. The writer of the letter cited above says that he learns from those who are watching the place beyond and on this side of the mountains, “that if Sir Robert Bruce is able to get away in any direction without inconvenience” (saun dreytes), “or towards the districts of Ross, he will find them all ready to his will more wholly than ever.” For “the Month,” see note on Bk. II. 494.
395 Sir Alexander the Fraser. See note on Bk. II. 239, and next note.
397 his brother Symon. See on Bk. II. 239. Skeat thinks this mention and that in Bk. IX. 10 “odd,” because he identifies him with the Sir Simon executed in 1306. Hence one of Barbour’s “errors.” Sir Alexander Fraser, sheriff of Kincardine, and “Simon Fraser his brother” are witnesses to a charter not dated, but later than 1312. (Fraser’s of Philorth, ii., p. 126). Simon Fraser is one of the honorary burgesses of Aberdeen in 1317 (Miscellany of Spalding Club, v., p. 283). He fell at Halidon Hill, 1333. In line 396 C reads frendis where E gives cosyngis and H cousings in the general sense of “relatives.” Bruce gifted the Earl of Atholl’s lands in part to Alexander Fraser’s wife, Marie, his own sister (Robertson’s Index, p. 19, 105). The gift must be after 1315 (Bk. XIII. 490).
400 Schir Johne Cumyne. On September 26, 1306, John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, is forgiven his debts to the Exchequer (England), on account of the loss sustained “in the death of Sir John Comyn his cousin” (Bain, ii., No. 1835).
401 Schir Johne the Mowbray. Had the custody of “the late John Comyn’s” lands in England from February 23, 1306; on duty in Ayr, June and July, 1307 (Bain, ii., Nos. 1746, 1938, 1961).
402 Schir David of Brechyne. Also serving Edward in Ayr, July or August, 1307 (ibid., No. 1961); of Forfarshire (ibid., p. 199). See on Bk. IX. 293.
413 The Erle of Lennox. See on Bk. II. 235. With line 414 cf. extract from Fordun on Bk. II. 482.
415 Schir Robert Boyd. See on Bk. IV. 342.
425 The forest of Selcryk. Sir Walter Scott has a note (45) to _The Lord of the Isles_ on “The forest of Selkirk, or Ettrick,” which, he says, “embraced the neighbouring dales of Tweeddale, and at least the upper ward of Clydesdale.” But Gray distinguishes between “the forests of Selkirk and of Etryk” (Scala., p. 127); and Douglas, later, had a grant of the forests of Ettrick, Selkirk, and Traquair (Robertson’s Index, p. 10, No. 24).
427 Gedward Forest. “Jedworth,” or Jedburgh Forest. “The vulgar, and, indeed, almost universal, pronunciation, Jethart” (Jamieson on the Wallace, Bk. vii. 1277). See further on Bk. XVI. 363.
447 Lanrik fair. No doubt “Lanark” fair, as it appears in Godscroft’s account (History, p. 30, ed. 1644). “Lanerik” is an old form of the name in charters, etc.
449 gang on raw. “Go in a row.”
453 Schir Johne of Webitoune. In Godscroft “Sir John Walton,” under which name Sir John de Walton, he figures in Scott’s _Castle Dangerous_. The citation from Godscroft will be found in the Appendix to the Introduction to that tale.
492 per drowry. Drowry is O.F. druerie, droerie, love, friendship; here = “as a sweetheart,” apparently in a sinister sense. Cf. Chaucer:
“To be loved is not worthy,
Or bere the name of druerie.”
(Romaunt of the Rose, 5063).
In the Alexander, as here, “And yharnes to lufe be droury” (126, 21).
BOOK IX.
34 Enverrowry. Inverury, on the Don, fifteen miles north-west of Aberdeen.
64 a-pane. A curious use of the French adverbial phrase a peine, in, or with, difficulty; here = “hardly,” “scarcely.” The sense seems to be that even in a case in which a company is successful without a captain, which they can be only with difficulty, still they will not accomplish as much as if they had one.
107 the Slevach. Sliach in Drumblade parish, about sixteen miles north-west of Inverurie. Certain archæological features in the district are connected with Bruce’s visit, the “Meet-hillock,” “Robin’s Height,” etc. (Old. Stat. Acct., iv., p. 55; Macpherson’s Geograph. Coll., i., pp. 8, 19).
117 And als frendis. According to Fordun, whose account is independent of that of Barbour, Buchan had many nobles, both English and Scots, when he went to attack Bruce at Sliach (Gesta Annalia, cxxii.).
118 Schir Johne the Mowbray. See note on Bk. VIII. 21.
127 Martymes. Martinmas, November 11, 1307.
153 thai send. This second “thai” refers to the Scots of Bruce’s party.
183 begouth to fale. “They retired, overcome with shame and in confusion” (Gesta Annalia, cxxii.). But in Fordun the reference is to Christmas Day. See below, 204.
188 Strabogy. Strathbogie.
190 cover and ga. “Recover and go about.”
202 Ald Meldrom. About five miles north-east of Inverury.
204 Before Yhoill-evyn nycht. “One night before Christmas Eve.” Fordun records an attack by Brechin on Bruce on Christmas Day (see above on 183), but the battle of Old Meldrum he puts on to 1308 (cxxiv.). But he sends Bruce north right away after his landing in Carrick and capture of Turnberry to destroy Inverness and other fortresses (cxxi.), whereas Bruce could scarcely go north before the autumn, as he was in Galloway on September 30 (Foedera, iii., p. 14). After his victory at Inverury, Bruce ravages Buchan, subdues the north, and, according to Fordun, is in Argyll by August, 1308 (cxxvi.). This would be quick work, even for Bruce, and Lord Saltoun therefore argues that Barbour is right in his chronology (Frasers of Philorth, ii. 183-194).
221 His horse ... he askit. When the King heard of the attack, says Fordun, “though he was still prostrated by great weakness, he rose from the litter on which he was constantly carried, and ordered his men to arm him and place him on his horse” (Gesta Annalia, cxxiv.).
249 merdale. “Rabble”; O.F. merdaille, “a dirty crowd.” Cf. Alexander, “For thay war pure, small mardale” (379; 14); also Lives of the Saints; Ninian, 921.
289 “The son of him (the Earl of Atholl) that was in Kildrummy.” But see note on Bk. XIII. 489. Atholl was English, and Barbour must be wrong.
293 Com syne his man. But on May 20, 1308, Edward II. was expressing his thanks to “David de Breghyn,” etc. (Bain, iii., No. 43). This would support Fordun’s date for the battle, if, as Barbour says, Brechin submitted soon after. But “Sir David de Breghyn” is receiving wine from Edward II. on July 12, 1310 (Bain, iii., No. 121). See further on Bk. XIX. 19.
296 all Bouchane. The district of Buchan is in the north-east of Aberdeenshire.
307 Toward Angus. In the north of Forfarshire.
309 the Scottis Se. The Firth of Forth (see on 461). Of old it marked the boundary between the land of the Gaelic-speaking Scots and the English Lowlands.
312 Philip the Forster of Platan. Jamieson explains that there is still a Forest-muir in Angus, “the name of a great track of waste ground a few miles to the north of Forfar” and about two miles east of it, “a village vulgarly named Forster-seat ... said to be properly designed Forester-seat, as having been the place where the forester anciently resided.” He identifies Platan with Platter, a forest which is the subject of a grant by Robert Bruce (Index Chart., p. 4, No. 43); while a charter of Robert II. confers on Alexander de Lindsay the office of Forester of the Forest of Plater, “in the sheriffdom of Forfar” (ibid., p. 120, 63).
330 Till Perth is went. According to Gray, it was the Earl of Atholl who captured Perth for Bruce (Scala., p. 140). This is quite wrong; Atholl was English.
335 the wallis war all of stane. Perth was an exceptional case, the larger Scottish towns, except Berwick, being fortified only with ditch and palisade (de bons fossez et de bons palis. Le Bel, I., xxii.). And so was Berwick till 1296.
338 Olyfard. Barbour is about four years too soon with the capture of Perth. William de Olifard (modern Oliphant) was still holding it for Edward II. in February, 1312 (Bain, iii., No. 247). Oliphant was a Scot, and the state of the garrison for July, 1312, shows a great number to have been Scotsmen (ibid., pp. 425-7). Fordun says Perth fell on January 8, 1313; the Chron. de Lanercost gives the date as January 10, 1313 (Gesta Annalia, cxxix., Lanerc., p. 221). According to the Lanercost writer, the Scots climbed the walls on ladders during the night, and captured the place through the neglect or lack of sentinels and defenders (_propter defectum vigilum et custodum_, p. 222).
340 Of Stratherne als the Erll. But see below on 433.
354 the dik. The burgesses of Perth had, by order, made “a pielle and fosse”--i.e., a tower and a ditch--“when Robert de Brus broke the peace” (Bain, iii., No. 68).
371, 373 mak ledderis ... in a myrk nycht. See above on 338.
377 slepit all. See on 338.
391 A knycht of France. In the Wallace it is explained that this was Sir Thomas de Longueville, a French pirate and a friend of Wallace. Such an identification is in the usual plagiarising fashion of the author of the Wallace.
405 eftir the Kyng. Cf. preceding note.
412 the tothir man that tuk the wall. “The second man to reach the top of the wall.”
433 Malis of Strathern. Barbour is quite wrong in placing the Earl of Strathearn in Perth, and his son on the Scottish side. Both were still in the English interest. Malise of Stratherne, son of the Earl of Stratherne, is in English pay November, 1309 (Bain, iii., No. 121). The Earl appears to have been at Berwick during the winter of 1310-1311 (Bain, iii., No. 208); and it is no doubt his son who on January 28, 1313, after the fall of Perth (see on 338), is still in receipt of an allowance from Edward II. (ibid., No. 299). Malis, Earl of Strathearn, is among the signatories to the 1320 letter to the Pope (Act. Parl. Scot. I., p. 114).
448 thai war kynde to the cuntre. “They were related to the country”--i.e., they were Scots (see on 338). The Lanercost account is the contrary of this; it is there said that on the morrow of the capture, a Tuesday, Bruce had the chief burgesses of the town (meliores burgenses), who were of the Scottish nation, put to death, but allowed the English to depart in freedom. This writer errs, however, as to the fate of Olifard, a Scot, who, he says, was sent in bonds (ligatus) far off to the Isles (p. 222); for Olifard was in England a few months afterwards, and there is no mention of any escape or exchange (Bain, iii., p. xviii). Fordun’s version is that the treacherous folk (perfida gens), both Scots and English, were slain, but that Bruce, in his mercy, spared the common people (plebi), and gave pardon to those who asked for it (Gesta Annalia, cxxix.).
452 wallis gert he tummyll doune. Bruce’s usual policy with fortified places. See on Bk. X. 496. The Lanercost chronicler says he completely destroyed the town (p. 222); Fordun that he destroyed the wall and ditches, and burned everything else (ibid.).
461 Obeysit all. Not quite, in 1308. Dundee was in English hands in April, 1312, when reinforcements were being sent to its “rescue” (Bain, iii., p. 401); and in 1313, according to Barbour himself (Bk. X. 800-1). So was Banff (Watt’s History of Aberdeen and Banff, p. 68). Bain assigns to June, 1308, a note of instructions regarding Scotland, in which two wardens are appointed for “beyond the Scottish sea between the Forth and Orkeneye,” with 120 men-at-arms, “besides garrisons.” The “guardians of Scotland,” however, are told “that it is the King’s pleasure they take truce from Robert de Bruys, as from themselves, as long as they can”--an indication of the growing power of Bruce, emphasized by Barbour (Bain, iii., No. 47).
497 With all the folk, etc. The Lanercost writer explains this raid as being on account of the discord between the English King and his barons. With Edward Bruce, he says, went Robert himself, Alexander de Lindsay, and James Douglas, with their following, which they had brought together “from the remote isles of Scotland” (p. 212).
500 ryotit gretly the lande. The people of Galloway had paid tribute to be left alone (see on Bk. VIII. 391), but, says the Lanercost writer, they made no account of this, and in one day slew many of the more noble men of Galloway, and subjugated nearly the whole country, the Galloway men who could escape flying to England (p. 212).
502 Ingrame the Umphrevell. In June, 1308, Umfraville, with two others, was made a warden of Galloway, Annandale, and Carrick (Bain, iii., No. 47).
509 als Amery. Amery St. John; but there is no one on record of this name. Aymer de Valence was still a warden, but in September, 1307, when Bruce was raiding Galloway (see on Bk. VIII. 391), John de St. John was one of “the greater men” there (Bain, iii., No. 15). “Amery St. John” is referred to again in Bk. XVI. 506.
517 Besyde Cre. The River Cre divides Kirkcudbrightshire from Wigtown. Fordun says the battle was on the Dee, and dates it June 29, 1308 (Gesta Annalia, cxxv.). The Dee flows into the Solway at the town of Kirkcudbright. Though Barbour’s position is universally accepted, Fordun is probably right. See next note.
522 Buttil. Here, at least, C is more correct in a place-name than E, which gives Bothwell, on the Clyde, an absurd distance away, across mountains. The castle is that at Buittle, near Dalbeattie, a Balliol hold. It is a few miles east of the Dee, which seems to bear out Fordun as in the preceding note; cf. also lines 533-5. Edward’s operations by the Cree could hardly be seen from Buittle.
547 by Cre. A second battle by the Cree, or, more probably, one following on the English reverse by the Dee.
575 Schir Alane of Catcart. Cathcart is near Glasgow. Sir William de Cathcart (Kethker) is a knight of Roxburgh garrison (English) in December, 1309 (Bain, iii., No. 121).
610 “Directed their heads inwards again”--i.e., turned their horses to make a fresh charge from the rear.
658 Thretten castellis. Small castles, Border “peels”--ditch and palisade.
683 the wattir of Lyne. In Peeblesshire, flowing into the Tweed from the north, a short distance west of Peebles.
692 Alysander Stewart. In C, Alexander Bonkill. Son of Sir John Stewart, who married the heiress of Sir Alexander de Bonkyl in Berwickshire, and grandson of the fourth High Steward. He died, apparently, in 1319, and his son John was created by Bruce Earl of Angus (Scots Peerage, i. 13, 169).
694 Thomas Randole. Randolph. See note on Bk. II. 463.
695 Adame ... of Gordoun. See note on Bk. II. 463; XI. 46; XV. 333.
728 His emys son. The mother of Douglas was Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander, the fourth High Steward, and her elder brother was Sir John Stewart, father of Alexander Stewart, of Bonkil. Cf. on 692. Thus Douglas and Sir Alexander were cousins.
BOOK X.
9 toward Lorn. Barbour’s chronology is here not specific, but he apparently places the expedition against Lorn in the late summer or autumn of 1308. So does Fordun (see on Bk. IX. 204). On the other hand, there exists a letter from John of Lorn to Edward II., clearly referring to the present expedition. Unfortunately, it is not dated further than as an acknowledgment of the receipt of the King’s letters of March 11. About that date, in 1308, Bruce must have been in the North, beyond the Mounth (see on Bk. IX. 204). On June 16, 1309, Alexander of Lorn and John are in council with Edward at Westminster (Bain, iii., No. 95). Meantime Alexander of Argyll is in the sederunt of Bruce’s first Parliament, March 16, 1309, at St. Andrews (_Act. Parl. Scot._, vol. i., p. 160). Either, then, Bruce’s expedition is to be placed in the spring and early summer of 1309, or, after the defeat at Loch Awe, John of Lorn held out during the winter, and Dunstaffnage fell at some date between March 11, 1308, and June 16, 1309.
14 twa thousand. In the letter referred to above, John of Lorn says that “Robert Bruce had approached his territories with 10,000 or 15,000 men, it was said, both by land and sea. He had no more than 800 to oppose him, 500 of these being in his pay to keep his borders, and the barons of Argyll gave him no aid.... He has three castles to guard, and a lake 24 leagues (miles) long on which he has vessels properly manned, but is not sure of his neighbours” (Bain, iii., No. 80). Lorn’s estimate of Bruce’s strength is clearly exaggerated. Hemingburgh similarly gives Bruce 10,000 men in his Galloway wanderings (ii., p. 265).
17 Ane evill place. From the description, the Pass of Brander through which the River Awe flows from Loch Awe to Loch Etive, a sea-loch. The Callander-Oban Railway follows this route. The Pass is three miles long.
27 Crechanben. Cruachan Ben, or Ben Cruachan, on the north side, 3,689 feet.
34-35 on the se ... with his galays. Skeat says this must be “Loch Etive, a sea-loch, not the inland Loch Awe, from which the ships could not have escaped.” He is thinking of line 130, but the flight there mentioned has no connection with the present case. Loch Etive is not “weill neir the pas” (35; cf. also 97, 98), but Loch Awe is, and we see from Lorn’s letter (note on 14) that he had ships on that loch. He says further that he “was on sick-bed” when he received Edward’s letters, “and had been for half a year”; which probably accounts for his presence in a galley, or large Highland row-boat, as the Marquis of Argyll was, for a like reason, when his forces were cut to pieces by Montrose at Inverlochy in 1645.
46 Williame Wisman. A “William Wysman” was made Edward’s Sheriff at Elgin in 1305 (Bain, ii., p. 458). The wife of “Monsieur William Wysman” was among the ladies captured in 1306, and was sent to Roxburgh (Foedera, ii., p. 1014). William Wyseman was at the St. Andrews Parliament, 1309 (Act. Parl. Scot., i., p. 160). It was a Moray name.
47 Schir Androu Gray. Ancestor of the Lords Gray. Sir Andrew Gray received from Bruce in 1315 the barony of Longforgan and other lands in Perthshire and Forfarshire, which had belonged to Edmond Hastings (Robertson’s Index, p. 26, No. 19; Crawford’s Peerage, p. 179, ed. 1716).
82 ane wattir. The River Awe. The river here is wide, deep, and broken by rapids.
88 till brek it. The bridge, of course, was of wood. It was probably beyond the lower extremity of the Pass, somewhere near the present bridge.
113 Dunstaffynch. In Fordun Dunstafynch; Dunstaffnage Castle at the mouth of Loch Etive.
126 And com his man. As has already been noted (see on 9), Alexander of Arygll is, with the other “barons” of Argyll and the Hebrides, present at Bruce’s Parliament at St. Andrews, which, if correct, indicates that Barbour, so far, is right. Lorn wrote to Edward that, “though he and his were few in respect of his power, Robert de Brus had asked a truce from him, which he granted for a short space, and received the like, till the King sends him succours. He hears that Robert, when he came, was boasting and saying that the writer had come to his peace at the report that many others would rise in his aid, which God and the writer know is not true. Should the King hear this from others, he is not to believe it” (Bain, as cited). Fordun’s story is that Bruce besieged Alexander of Argyll in Dunstaffnage, that the castle was surrendered, but Alexander refused to do homage and was allowed a safe-conduct for himself and friends to England (_Gesta Annalia_, cxxvi.).
137 at Lythkow wes than a peill. Linlithgow “peel” was constructed by Edward I. in 1301-1302. Barbour’s chronology is again at fault, or he is not concerned about it. Linlithgow was still being munitioned against the Scots in August, 1313 (Bain, iii., No. 330). Barbour appears to be simply grouping the different captures of castles together (see lines 144-7). Strictly a “peel” was a fortification consisting of a stockade and ditch, enclosing the buildings of the garrison (see lines 144-7).
153 Wilyhame Bunnok. See note on 254. C reads Bowne here, but Bunnok in line 194.
180 the hede-soyme. That is, the “trace” or “traces” connecting the animals with the cart would be cut, when the waggon would block the gateway. By a similar trick, in which the agents are dressed as carters and the traces are loosened by withdrawing the pins, Oudenarde was captured in 1384 (Froissart, Johnes, ii., chap. cli.).
185 the harvist tyde. September or October, 1313. See above on 137.
195 To leid thair hay. To “lead” the hay, still the usual country phrase, is to bring it in from the field to the place of storage. Bunnok was to gather the hay and cart it to the castle.
196 but dangeir. “Without difficulty,” readily.
223 callit his wayn. “Drove” or “urged forward” his waggon. The word occurs in this sense in the Wallace “Thir cartaris ... callyt furth the cartis weill” (Bk. ix. 717-8), where, as usual, the incident is borrowed from the Bruce. Cf. Burns: “Ca the yowes to the knowes.”
232 he leyt the gadwand fall. “He” is not Bunnock, but the driver, who drops his goad and cuts the trace.
254 hym rewardit worthely. According to Nisbet’s Heraldry, Bunnock is the same name as Binning, and the arms of Binning of Easter-Binning are “placed on the bend of a waggon argent”; and he gives as an explanation that “one of the heads of that family, with his seven sons, went in a waggon covered with hay, surprised and took the castle of Linlithgow, then in the possession of the English, in the reign of David II.” (I. 100, ed. 1816). The reference is clearly to the present incident, though “sons” is a later development, and the date is wrong. Jamieson is highly suspicious over the identification, and it seems, in fact, to be a case of ancestry manufacture.
265-6 Murref ... And othir syndri landis braid. “Murref” is English transcription of the Gaelic form, muiraibh, dative plural of muir, the sea. The grant to Randolph was most extensive, including lands from the mouth of the Spey to Lochaber and Mamore, and “the marches of northern Argyll,” and covering 2,550 square miles in Banff, Elgin, Nairn, and Inverness (Robertson’s Index of Charters, p. xlix; Rampini’s Moray and Nairn, p. 140).
324 Schir Peris Lumbard. Peter de Loubaud (Lybaud, Libaut) was constable of Edinburgh Castle and the peel of Linlithgow in March, 1312 (Bain, iii., No. 254). Edinburgh Castle was captured during Lent, 1314 (Chron. de Lanercost, p. 223; Fordun says March 14, 1314), by Randolph (Gesta Annalia, cxxx.); March 24, apparently, in _Gesta Edw. de Carn._ (p. 45), where it is said that Roxburgh and Edinburgh fell between February 29 and March 24, 1314. Hailes goes a year wrong in these dates, and Skeat adopts. For the intrusion of “m” before “b,” cf. Ferumbrace for Fierabras in Bk. III. 437.
327 mystrowit hym of tratory. So we have it in the Vita Edw. Sec. that Edinburgh Castle was captured “by the betrayal of a certain Gascon, who was known as Peter de Gavestone, to whom the King had committed the custody of the castle. He, a perjured traitor, adhered to Robert the Bruce, and betrayed the castle” (p. 199). Cf. on 766.
360-1 ledderis ... With treyn steppis, etc. Ladders of this sort are carefully described by the Carlisle friar as having been used at an unsuccessful siege of Berwick by Bruce in 1312. Two strong ropes were taken, of a length according to the height of the wall. These were knotted at intervals of a foot and a half; on these knots rested wooden (treyn) steps two and a half feet long by half a foot broad, sufficient for one man at a time, and every third step had a projection inwards, to keep the ladder out from the wall. At the top end was a curved iron (cf. “a cruk ... of iron”), one end of which, about a foot long, lay on the top of the wall, while the other hung down, was pierced with a hole, and had a ring on each side for the rope. In the hole a sufficiently long spear was inserted, by which the ladder was put in position by two men. When the Scots had placed two ladders for a night attack, a dog barked, and Berwick was saved, the Scots making off and leaving their ladders behind to be hung up in derision of the Scots by the garrison (p. 221).
372 on the fasteryn evyn. “Fastern’s Eve,” Shrove Tuesday, February 27, 1314. So, too, in Fordun (Gesta Annalia, cxxx.), and in Scalacronica, the night of Shrove Tuesday (p. 140); in Lanercost the capture is dated the day after, February 28, the first day of Lent, 1314 (p. 223). The castle was still in English hands on February 7, 1314 (Bain, iii., No. 352), but lost before May 29 (No. 358), in 1314 (894).
400 up thair ledderis set. “For James (Douglas) himself on a certain night secretly approached the castle (of Roxburgh), and placed ladders, which had been carried up in concealment (latenter) against the wall, and so by these ascended the wall,” etc. (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 200).
441 The custom. It was the custom to spend the day before the beginning of the fast of Lent in feasting and jollity. This practice continued in Scotland long after the Reformation, when Lent was no more observed. The Vita Edw. says that the garrison were sleeping or off their guard.
456-7 Gylmyne de Fenis ... in the gret toure, etc. “They (the Scots) took the whole castle except one tower, to which, with difficulty, had escaped the warden of the castle, Sir Gilminus de Fenes, a Gascon knight, and his men with him, but that tower the Scots had soon afterwards” (Lanercost, p. 223). Sir William de Filinge (Filling, Felynges) was constable of Roxburgh since 1312 at least (Bain, iii., Nos., 332, 337, 351). On the conduct of Roxburgh garrison see on Bk. XI. 46.
479 Woundit so felly. According to Gray, “Guillemyng Fenygges” was killed by an arrow while holding the great tower (Scala., p. 140).
496 to tummyll it doune. “And all this beautiful castle, as with all the other castles which they were able to get, they laid level with the ground, that the English might never afterwards by holding the castles be able to dominate the country” (Lanercost, p. 223). So also _Vita Edw. Sec., p. 199, and Gesta Edw._, p. 45, where it is alleged that Bruce did this to prevent the Scottish nobles taking refuge therein instead of helping him. See on Bk. IX. 452, and below on 771.
504 Outane Jedworth. There was fighting about Jedburgh in 1315, 1316 (Bain, iii., No. 494), but it was still in English hands in 1321 (ibid., 746).
509 At Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle was still in English hands in August, 1313 (Bain, iii., No. 330). See further note on 324.
513 all his purchas. “By his own procurement.”
516 voidry. Skeat’s suggestion. See footnote. It means “cunning, stratagem” (S).
529 “Ere that siege should miscarry, or go wrong.” Cf. on Bk. I. 478. The mood here is subjunctive, past tense.
530 William Francas. Francis or “Fraunceys” appears from Bain to have been a common name in the Lothians. A “William Francis” got lands from Bruce in Roxburgh in 1322. His grant just precedes one to John Crab (Robertson’s Index to Charters, p. 15, No. 20; cf. Bk. XVII. 239).
701 The Erll has tane the castell all. The Lanercost historian says the castle was captured in this manner: “Those besieging the same castle, one day in the evening, made a bold assault on the south gate, because on account of the position of the castle, there was no other place where an assault could be given. But those within, all collecting at the gate, resisted them stoutly; meanwhile, however, others of the Scots climbed the rock on the north side, which was very high and steep, up to the foundation of the wall, and there, placing their ladders against the wall, they climbed up in such numbers that those within could make no resistance; and so they (the Scots) opened the gates and brought in their friends, and took the whole castle and slew the English” (p. 223). The Scalacronica account is that Moray took the castle at the highest part of the rock, where there was no thought of danger (a quoi il ne se dotoit) (p. 140).
708 Lap fra a berfrois. For a “beffroi,” see on Bk. XVI. 597. O.F., “berfroi,” etc. For form “belfry,” cf. “pilgrim,” from “peregrinus”; in English not before the fifteenth century. French dropped the “r” (N.E.D.). The reference here is to one of the Alexander romances, of which there was no translation, and is indicative of Barbour’s familiarity with this literature. Cf. Appendix E.
740 in stede of prophesye. “In the way of, or as, a prophecy.”
742 hir chapell. St. Margaret’s Chapel, built for Queen Margaret, wife of Malcolm Canmore. She died in Edinburgh Castle in 1093. In 1336 the chapel was fitted with four windows of glass (Bain, iii., p. 335).
746 as old men sayis. The picture and inscription were, therefore, no longer extant.
747 “Gardez-vous de Francois.” “Beware of Francis or of the French.”
766 he becom the Kingis man. Gray tells how “Lebaud” went over to Bruce, but, because he was in heart English (_qil estoit Engles qe quer), Bruce had him accused of treason and hanged (Scala._, p. 140). The official record is that he was convicted of treason, and, from his forfeitures, he seems to have received large holdings in Lothian (_Reg. Mag. Sig., where he is styled Peter Luband_, p. 3, 3; p. 13, 63, 64, 66).
771 myne doune all halely. The Lanercost writer adds that the Scots levelled Edinburgh Castle to the ground, as they had done Roxburgh.
815 Fra the lenteryne. Lent, 1313. In the Vita Edw. it is said that Mowbray brought the news of his pact at the beginning of Lent, which must be Lent, 1314, suggesting a considerable difference in dates (p. 200).
816 Quhill ... Saint Johnnis mess. That is, by June 24, 1313, the English garrison began to find their food running short. “Their victual was insufficient” (Vita Edw., p. 200).
822-3 it was nocht with battaill Reskewit. So, too, in _Vita Edw. Sec._, where the agreement is that Mowbray “would either procure the King of England to come to the defence of the castle, or, if he should not be able to induce the King to do this, that he would summarily (indilate) surrender the castle.” St. John’s day is fixed as the limiting date. The writer makes Robert Bruce himself conduct the siege (p. 200). So does Gray, who says that the castle was to be surrendered, “unless the English army came within three leagues of the said castle within eight days after St. John’s day in the summer next to come” (_dedenz viii jours apres le Saint Johan en este adonques procheine avenir, p. 141). But cf._ Bk. XI. 8-9.
BOOK XI.
32 outrageous a day. “Day” has here the meaning of “a space of time,” as in Berners’ Froissart. “The truce is not expired, but hath day to endure unto the first day of Maye next” (I. ccxiii., N.E.D.): a sense of the Latin dies. For “outrageous,” see on Bk. III. 162.
44 Akatane. Aquitaine, the ancient southern duchy of France, the hereditary possession of the Kings of England.
