The Bruce 17Book 11 · According to the Annals, Edward Bruce cautiously or cleverly (part 1)
18
Fiction · Historical Fiction
The Bruce 17
Book 11 · According to the Annals, Edward Bruce cautiously or cleverly (part 1)
BarbourEnglish
(caute) crossed the Bann in pursuit of the English army, retiring to Connor (Annals, p. 346).
383 in biggit land. “Land with houses on it”--i.e., cultivated.
389 With a gret host, Richarde of Clar. In the Annals it is the Earl of Ulster (Richard de Burgh), with the Justiciar (Butler) and other magnates, who had undertaken to bring Edward Bruce to Dublin alive or dead. So, too, in Annals of Clonmacnoise and of Loch Cé it is De Burgh, the “Red Earl.”
394 Coigneris. Connor, to the north of the town of Antrim. “Conyers” in Annals.
405 Alane Stewart. Cousin of Walter Stewart, and ancestor of the Darnley Stewarts, Earls of Lennox. He is mentioned later in the Annals among the Scottish leaders (p. 359).
406 Schir Robert Boyde. Both E and H read Robert, probably correctly, as there is no notice of the Gilbert of C.
447 On this wis. This, or one of the later skirmishes, must be that referred to in the Annals when the Earl and some of his side were put to flight, and several captured (p. 359).
460 Thair wayis towart Coigneris. After Edward Bruce crossed the Bann the English army withdrew to Connor (Annals, p. 359).
515 Fize Warin. No doubt the Alan FitzWarin captured later by the Scots (Annals, 349). See on xv. 75.
522 Nycholl of Kylkenane. Kilkenane was before the Reformation a parish in Island Magee, the outer limb of Larne Lough (Innes). A “Michael of Kylkenan” is on record in 1310 (Reeves, History of Down, etc., ibid.). Hart’s edition here gives Michell, which is perhaps the correct reading.
BOOK XV.
8 In battale. The date of the English defeat at Connor is on or shortly after September 10, 1315. The Annals are not clear on the point, and the capture of William de Burgh on the 10th seems to refer to one of the earlier skirmishes mentioned in the previous book (Annals, p. 346).
39 The barell-ferraris. See Glossary. Cf. “Barell-ferrers they brochede, and broghte them the wyne” (Morte Arthure, line 2714).
56 Quha mast, etc. “Who most would get the upper hand.”
63 That evir durst, etc. “No one dared to wait for his comrade.”
75 Fizwarine. The Annals suggest that he was not captured till early in the following year, and he is not mentioned among the captives at “Conyers” (pp. 349, 346).
83 Mont-peleris. Apparently Montpelier, then famous for its School of Medicine, an Arab foundation.
98 Syne thidder. The account in the Annals states that “Baron de Donull” made head against the Scots, but that they chased his men boldly as far as “Cragfergus” (p. 346). The castle had been provisioned against the Scots (Bain, iii., No. 479).
100 Palmesonday. April 4, 1316. The garrison was suffering great privations from lack of food (Annals, Fragment, p. 297).
101 Tysday. Tuesday in Easter-week, 1316, was April 13.
105 Paske evin. Saturday night, April 10.
107 Devilling. Dublin. According to the Annals, Maundeville came with men from Drogheda, arriving at Carrickfergus on April 8, and inflicting a defeat upon the Scots, who lost about thirty men (p. 350).
111 The Mawndvell, ald Schir Thomas. So also in Annals (p. 350).
131 the day. April 11. The Annals place this (the second) attack on the Scots upon Easter-eve, April 10 (in vigilia Pasche., p. 350). Similarly St. Mary’s Annals, p. 282. Nothing is said about a breach of truce. Barbour, however, gives evidence of having been thoroughly well informed. See below on 205-9.
137 the Kyng. I.e., Edward Bruce, apparently not crowned King till some weeks later, May, 1316, “a little after the feast of Philip and James” (May 1). The Annals really seem to fix it in 1315 (p. 345), but they have already stated that Edward did not land till May 26. The chronology is confused (cf. on Bk. xiv. 21). See also line 161.
181 Gib Harpar. Probably Gilbert the Harper, or minstrel. His fate is told in Bk. XVIII.
183 of his stat. These words suggest that he was of some special class.
192 reft the liff. Sir Thomas Maundeville was slain (Annals, p. 350; St. Mary’s Annals, p. 282).
205-9 Skeat evidently thinks that these lines refer to the same incident as that described above in lines 190-2, and actually prints in his rubric “as I said” as a summary of Barbour, though Barbour has nothing to suggest these words. But the person previously slain is “the Mawndvell”--i.e., Sir Thomas himself, whom Barbour has already so denominated (111). The present victim is a Maundeville whose “propir nayme” he does not know, but who, we learn from St Mary’s Annals, was “John Maundevyll,” brother of Sir Thomas (p. 282).
259 The castell till him yhalde. Carrickfergus Castle was surrendered (Annals, Fragment, p. 297; Bain, iii. 970) apparently in September, 1316 (Fragment, ibid.). Thus, if begun after Connor, the siege must have occupied the Scots for a year--the greater part of 1316.
260 Till sauf thame thair liffis. The defenders were granted life and limb (vita et membrum. Fragment, p. 297).
272 the Tarbard. Tarbert, Kintyre: Gaelic Tairbeart, a portage, an isthmus.
274 draw thar schippes. According to the Magnus Saga, chap. xx., Magnus, King of Norway, agreed with the King of Scotland, Edgar, in 1102, that he should have “all the islands to the west of Scotland, between which and the mainland a helm-carrying ship could pass.” Magnus then had “a small ship” drawn across the isthmus at Tarbert, with himself sitting at the helm, and so secured Kintyre. “There is a narrow ridge between it (Kintyre) and Scotland, so that ships are often drawn across it.”
292 Ald prophesy. This probably derives from the incident told of above.
299 Johne of Lorne. Barbour is quite wrong as to the career and fate of John of Lorn or Argyll (“de Ergadia,” “Daragille,” in records). He had escaped to England in 1309 (see Bk. 128), and was Admiral of Edward’s fleet in the west by 1311 (Bain, iii., No. 203). In the summer of 1314 he went to the Irish coast with a fleet (355), and was in command there in 1315-1316 (No. 479, _Hist. and Municip. Docts., Ireland_, p. 344). He returned from the Irish service in 1316 “impotent in body,” and received a pension from Edward II., but died a year and a half later, probably towards the end of 1317, in London (Bain, iii., No. 912).
318 the Forest. Ettrick Forest.
321 Eumond de Calion, a Gascoune. Correctly, as in records, “Remon Caillau,” or “Reymound Cailough” (Bain, iii., Nos. 470, 477). He was perhaps a relative of the Bishop of Durham who died in the same year, 1316, “Recardus Kellow” (Lanercost, p. 233). Other Gascons are mentioned as having taken part in this sally--Arnant de Poillant, Pierres de Logar, etc. (ibid.). The information in Bain is contained in letters from the Governor of Berwick (see next note), and petitions to the King from some of the townspeople.
325 He had than Berwik in keping. No; Sir Moryz or Maurice de Berkele(y) was “warden of Berwick-on-Tweed.” Caillou was only one of “the King’s sergeant-at-arms” (Bain, iii., No. 477)--i.e., an officer of the royal household.
327 a gret cumpany. A “great part of the garrison” went out on this foray. They had been forbidden to go out by the warden, but Berwick was in desperate straits for want of food, and they replied that “it was better to die fighting than starve” (Bain, 477). The date of the foray is February 14, 1316.
329 the nethir end of Tevydaill, etc. Teviotdale, locally so pronounced. The forayers went as far as “within two leagues (miles) of Melros Abbey” (Bain, 477). The Merse is South Berwickshire, the “March,” or frontier.
333 Schir Adam of Gordoun. See note on Bk. XI. 46. He became a “Scottis man” apparently after Bannockburn. His lands of Gordon were in East Lothian.
335 drif away thar fe. “They took many prisoners and cattle” (Bain, 470).
*337-*338. These lines mean that Gordon saw only small bodies (“scaill”; cf. line 344*) of the English in retreat, and the “swains” in possession of the prey--i.e., driving the cattle. Cf. lines *353-*354 and 339-341. “Scaill” is a noun here as in *353.
*354 a childrome. The scattered bands assembled in one body to deal with the Scots in pursuit, and sent on the cattle in front. For “childrome,” or “schiltrome,” see note on Bk. XII. 249.
341 made a staill. “Staill” is certainly to be preferred to “scaill,” which is contrary to the sense of the passage. Skeat, in his note, admits as much. Cf. similar use in Bk. XVII. 97. The forayers “made a stand” to defend the cattle from the Scots. The fight was at Scaithmoor. (Scala., p. 143).
351 on his luf, etc. “Let each man think on his love.”
375-6 thai wer, etc. “Though the English were very many more than the Scots.” Barbour’s usual reckless use of “thai.”
377 wes ded. The writer in Bain did not know whether Caillou was dead or only a prisoner (No. 470).
381 sum has slayne. The foragers lost 20 men-at-arms and 60 foot, killed or prisoners (Bain, No. 470). “The Gascons were slain to a man” (furount mors toutes playnes de Gascoins. Scala., p. 143). The Scots, of course, recovered the castle, and the Berwick garrison were soon dying of hunger on the walls (ibid., No. 477).
392 hap him fell. “If it so happened.”
393 That. I.e., the killing of the “cheftune,” or leader of his opponents.
405 full gret invy. Neville appears to have had a weakness in this way. He had already slain a cousin of Robert Bruce in a quarrel as to which was the greater lord (Scala., p. 143). He was known as “the Peacock of the North,” which significantly describes him (Bain, iii., p. xxv).
435 Befor Berwyk. The fight between Douglas and Neville took place at Berwick (Scala., p. 143; Gesta Edw. de Carn., p. 56). The Gesta dates it June, 1319; Barbour seems to place it in 1316, but says nothing definite; nor does Gray, “another time” (Scala., p. 143), introducing it, like Barbour, after the Skaithmoor fight, but unlike Barbour, also after Lintalee.
477 no mycht till us. “Douglas with his yeomanry shall have no power compared with ours.”
503 Schir Ralf the Nevell, etc. There is on record a petition by “Rauf de Neville” to the King asking for assistance in ransoming himself, and explaining that he, with two of his brothers, was taken prisoner on the day on which his brother Sir Robert was killed by the Scots (Bain, iii., No. 527).
504 the Baroun of Hiltoun. Apparently Sir Robert de Hilton, who is a witness in 1310 to a grant by the Bishop of Durham of a manor in Scotland (Bain, iii., No. 1147). Hilton is near Berwick.
505 othir of mekill mycht. “Many of his (Neville’s) company were captured, and the rest put to flight” (Gesta, p. 56). Cf. line 510.
BOOK XVI.
8 in Scotland for till pas. Barbour, as he himself explains, now goes back to the beginning of the siege of Carrickfergus after the victory at Connor. According to the Annals of Ir., Moray crossed to Scotland on September 15, 1315, to procure more soldiers, “at which time the said Bruce was besieging the Castle of Carrickfergus” (p. 346). Moray was back in November with five hundred men (p. 347). Barbour mentions but one trip on which he returned with King Robert (line 43), but that would have to be a year later. Further, he dates this journey after the fall of Carrickfergus (see on 38).
16 till his schippes. He had four pirate vessels laden with Irish plunder, of which one was sunk (Annals of Ir., p. 346). The Scots had sent back their own ships (Bk. xiv. 35).
38 Till Cragfergus. According to Barbour’s chronology, Robert Bruce crossed to Ireland at some time after the fall of Carrickfergus, as related in the previous book. But the news of King Robert’s arrival appears to have reached Dublin about the first week in September, 1316. Carrickfergus fell some time later in the same month (Frag., p. 297). The Annals of Ulster date the arrival about the end of 1316 or beginning of 1317 (II., p. 429, and note). The Annals of Clonmacnoise (p. 279) and the Annals of the Four Masters (III., p. 515) place it in 1317, by which time Carrickfergus, of course, was in possession of the Scots.
62 Inderwillane. “Dr. Reeves believes this to be an old garbled name for that pass, known later as Bealach an Maghre, or Moyry Pass. It was on the old road; indeed, the only possible one, from Leinster to Ulster. It is in the parish of Killevy, county of Armagh, but only a few perches from the boundary of Lowth” (Innes).
63 the moneth of May. Must have been much earlier (see on 262).
74 The wardane thair. See on Bk. XIV. 638.
119 Schyr Colyne Cammell. Sir Colin Campbell, Bruce’s nephew, as son of his sister Marie by her marriage with Sir Neil Campbell (Robertson’s Index, p. 26; 11, 18). Bain strangely says that of Sir Neil’s two wives on record neither was a Bruce (Calend., ii., lix). Marie’s marriages are somewhat ravelled (see on Bk. viii. 397), but this one is certain. Colin got the grant of Lochaw (Robertson, ibid.). There was another nephew of the same marriage, John (Index, p. 19; 105), who also went on this occasion to Ireland (Annals, p. 344).
131 That he dynnit on his arsoune. “Knocked heavily against his saddle.” Cf. Alexander, where Gaudifer is struck with spears. “Quhill on his arsoune dintit he” (p. 99).
132 tyt hym doune. “The King bade (the others) remove him quickly from his horse,” apparently because his horse was killed (line 126) and he stunned; or, as Skeat suggests, that he should fight on foot, instead, I suppose, of being rash on horseback.
141 That we sall have, etc. “That we shall have plenty to do presently.”
150 In four battellis, fourty thousand. Cf. on Bk. XIV. 270. The numbers, of course, are improbable; but see next note.
179 So hard ane fichting. This battle I cannot trace in the Annals, but Butler, the Justiciary, is said to have assembled an army of 30,000 against the Bruces, which did nothing; not, however, till April (Fragment, p. 301).
182 thre yheir. Spring, 1315, to October, 1318.
185 trappit horse. See note on Bk. XI. 130.
187 quhen lest wes he. “He was always at the very least one to five.”
262 forrouth Devillyn. The Scots and the Ulster men were at Swords, eight miles north of Dublin (Hist. and Municip. Docts., p. 451); at Castleknock in the immediate neighbourhood on the west (_St. Mary’s Annals, p. 282; Fragment_, 299), on the eve of St. Matthew’s Day, February 23, 1317 (Fragment). They moved to a position in the vicinity, where they stayed for four days, burned a part of the town, and spoiled the churches (ibid.).
265 Lunyk. Correctly Limerick, which is not, however, the “southmast toune” in Ireland. The Scots came to Limerick, but were defeated at Castle Connell (Annals, p. 353).
293 Northwarde agane. On May 1, 1317, Bruce took the road to Ulster (Fragment, p. 302).
295 Conage. Connaught; Myth, Meath; Irell, i.e., Uriel or Oriel = Louth, Armagh and Monaghan; Munser, Munster; Lainenser, Leinster. Limerick is, of course, in Munster, which should come first.
301 The kyngis. See note on Bk. XIV. 102.
336 hawch of Lyntoun-le. A “haugh” is low-lying level ground, generally beside water, river, or sea. “Lentalee, in the forest of Jedworth” (Jedburgh), as Gray has it, is about two miles south of that town. Gray groups this incident, as Barbour does, with the Scaithmoor and Berwick fights, but in a different position (see note on Bk. XV. 435; and Scala., p. 143). “Lentelee” in Stevenson (Illustrations, p. 3). “Near Jeddeworth” is the location of the “foray” in Bain (iii., No. 576).
337 a fayr maner. The anonymous chronicler in Stevenson says that Douglas was passing the time (moram traxit) in a sort of fortification (municioni quadam) with 200 men (Illustrations, p. 3).
339 gert purvay him richt weill. The English found “much victuals” in the place (Stevenson, p. 3).
342 wonnand then. The date of the fight is about April 23, 1317 (Stevenson, p. 3).
343 Schir Thomas. Sir Thomas Richmond was not an earl, but a Yorkshire knight, owner of Burton-Constable, and a well-known figure on the Border (Bain, iii., p. xxv, No. 178). The “Earl” in command was the Earl of Arundel, appointed guardian of the district between the Trent and Roxburgh on February 2, 1317 (Rotuli Scotiæ, i. 169; Illustrations, p. 3). “Sir Edmund, Earl of Arundel, warden of the March” (Bain, iii., No. 576).
352 War passit than of the cuntre. That is, King Robert and many with him were in Ireland. So, too, in Stevenson: “The leaders of the Scots being then engaged in war in Ireland, and Scotland being almost destitute of men” (Illustrations, p. 3).
354-55 the cuntre was Febill of men. Cf. previous note.
357 of the marchis. But cf. note on 343.
360 ten thousand men. In Stevenson’s chronicler “thirty thousand men” (Illust., p. 3). Officially it was called “a foray” (Bain, iii., No. 576). The English exaggeration is worse than Barbour’s.
363 Till hewe doune Jedward forest. Since the time of the Romans and the disastrous march of Septimius Severus (third century) the forests of Scotland had been recognized as the natural defences of the country. They are, for the most part, the “strengths” which figure so prominently in Barbour. See on Jedward, Bk. VIII. 427.
375 And of archeris a gret menyhe. Cf. note on 377.
380 The entre. As in the wood of the King’s Park (Bk. XI. 446).
383 a penny-stane cast. A “penny-stane” was a flat stone used as a quoit, hence “as wide only as the throw of a quoit.”
384 Douglas thiddir yheid. “Douglas abandoned his position and retired” (Illustrations, p. 3).
406 on thame schot thai. In Stevenson this, the main attack, follows the surprise at Lintalee (p. 4).
418 reft the liff. Richmond was slain (Scala., p. 143; Stevenson, p. 4).
419 Ane hat. Hailes notes that “In _Histoire de Bretagne par Lobineau_, t. i., p. 665, there is a portrait of Arthur de Richemont, Duke of Brittany, with a furred hat, such as is described by Barbour” (Annals, ii., p. 82 note). Richmond was identified by the hat on the word of a prisoner. See lines 480-5.
441 ane clerk, Elys. “A clerk called Helias” (Stevenson, p. 3). Stevenson says he was a “noble ‘schavaldur.’” See on this Bk. V. 205 (note).
442 thre hundreth enymys. “With thirty comrades” (Stevenson, p. 3).
444 herbery had tane. Ellis and his companions occupied Douglas’s house, and took their fill (se saciavit) of the victuals there (Stevenson, ibid.).
450-1 with suerdis.... Thai servit thame. They despatched them with the sword (reliquos gladio jugulavit. Stevenson, p. 4). The head of Ellis was cut off, and placed in a humiliating position beside the body (ibid.).
458 “That addition to the repast was overmuch.”
472 Till wend hamward. “The said Earl (Arundel) retreated southwards without doing more” (Scala., p. 143).
504 forrouth. Before, in Bk. IX. 570-630.
509 Schir Johne de Sowlis. Cf. Bk. XIV. 25, and note.
512-4 With fifty men, etc. I.e., Soulis had the fifty, Harcla the three hundred.
518 Schir Androu ... has tane. Harcla was a prisoner with the Scots at some date in November, 1316, when he asks the King of England for help towards his ransom (Bain, iii. 514, 515, 697). He was ransomed with difficulty (Scala., p. 149). He was executed in 1323 for treasonable dealings with the Scots.
549 besyde Enverkethyne. Inverkeithing, Fife. Near Donibristle, says Fordun’s continuator, showing that here he follows another source than Barbour (Scotic., Bk. xii., chap. xxv.).
552 The Erll of Fiff. Duncan de Fife, the young Earl, with his mother and step-father joined the Scots some little time before August 2, 1317, when his mother had her English manor forfeited (Bain, iii., No. 566). He came with a troop of five hundred armed men (Scotic., as cited).
575 Willyhame Syncler. William St. Clair was the brother of Sir Henry St. Clair of Roslin. He had been a canon of Dunkeld, and was elected Bishop in 1312 (Dowden in Scot. Hist. Rev., vol. i., pp. 316-17). On his return from Rome Edward II. tried to keep him in England (Bain, iii. 301). In the Wallace he figures as a Bishop already, and a friend of the patriot (vii. 932; viii. 1225). He was among the four bishops specially summoned to Rome to answer for their support of Bruce in defiance of the Church.
592-3 aucht weill to ma Of yhow. “Should think highly of you!”
596 The gilt spurs. The sign of knighthood; to hew them off was a ceremony of degradation (cf. line 598). So, too, in Scotic., as cited.
635 that yheit held unslayn. “That had held or kept themselves from being slain.”
676 the Scottis Se. The Firth of Forth. See on IX. 309.
BOOK XVII.
13 Redis Swyr. The pass over Cheviot to the valley of the Rede, a tributary of the Tyne. By it went the road from Jedburgh, and in it is the site of the Battle of Otterburn, 1388. Swyr is A.S. swira or swera, the neck.
15 Outakin Berwik, it allane. “One town in Scotland was left to the King” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 234). On September 20, 1317, and January 30, 1318, certain burgesses were going to England and France to purchase provisions “for the munition of the town” (Bain, iii., Nos. 575, 588). To save expense (Scala.), the defence of the town itself had been entrusted to the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses (ibid., No. 593; Vita Edw., p. 234; Scala., p. 148). According to Stevenson’s Chronicler, the citizens had begged to be entrusted with the defence because of their ill-treatment by the royal garrison, August 1, 1317 (p. 5).
17 That capitane was. Roger de Horslee, Keeper of the Castle (Bain, iii., No. 607). He had been appointed, August 19, 1317, to command the castle when the city was committed to the burgesses (Stevenson, p. 5; Rot. Scot., i., p. 175). Cf. on 224.
19 tretit thame richt ill. On February 4, 1318, Edward appointed a commission of three to “inquire into the disputes arisen, or likely to arise, between the burgesses and the garrison of Berwick, to the danger of the town” (Bain, iii., No. 589). Cf. note on 15.
23 a burges, Sim of Spaldyng. “Peter de Spalding” in Scala., p. 144; Lanerc., p. 234; Illustr., p. 5; Trokelowe, p. 103, etc. The Annales Paulini adds John Drory and other accomplices (p. 282). “Peter de Spalding” is on the roll of the garrison of Berwick in 1312 (Bain, iii., p. 399). He was an Englishman living in the town, and received a large sum of money in addition to the promise of lands (Lanercost, pp. 234-235). “A royal sergeant retained by the citizens in the defence of the town.” Douglas, it was said, “corrupted” him with promises of £800 (Stevenson, p. 5). Spalding’s request for his money was “obnoxious” to the Scots, and he was put to death on a trumped-up charge of treason (ibid.).
28 the marschall. Sir Robert Keith.
35 the Kow-yhet. Still the Cow-port (gate) in the middle of the north side of the town.
45 Ane or othir suld wrethit be. I.e., “if he chose anyone to help him, somebody else was sure to be offended.” Apparently he would have to choose between Moray and Douglas. Cf. lines 55-7.
64 Duns park. A favourite rendezvous in that neighbourhood for the Scots army. The “park” would be wooded. In June, 1315, Bruce was reported to be collecting an army in “the Park of Duns,” either to invade England or to besiege Berwick (Bain, iii., No. 440).
67 Athir with ane quheyne of men. Bruce gets out of the dilemma by choosing both leaders, each to bring a small party of his men.
72 the day. April 2, 1318 (Lanerc., p. 234; Ann. Paul., p. 282). Circa March 25 (Illustrations, p. 5). Edward is preparing to retake Berwick on April 18, 1318 (Rot. Scot., i., p. 181).
94 the nycht. The Scots entered “about midnight after the Sabbath day” (Lanerc., p. 234). Edward, “much enraged,” reports that the mayor and bailiffs “allowed the Scottish rebels to enter and take possession,” “through carelessness,” and orders goods belonging to the community of Berwick to be everywhere arrested; April 13, 15 (Bain, iii., Nos. 593, 594).
97 hald a staill. “Occupy a position.” Cf. Bk. XV. 341.
105 till the gude. “For the goods.” Singular form as plural; see Grammar. Cf. also twa part in 103 for two parts.
125 gat the castell. “Got to the castle.”
128 in the bargane slane. Few were slain apart from those who resisted (Lanerc., p. 235; Stevenson, p. 5). According to Baker, in the capture of the town and castle no one was slain who was willing to submit (qui voluit obedire, p. 59).
134 the baner. Apparently the Scots had assembled (“stuffit”) round their banner in the “staill” (97).
150-1 Wilyhame ... of Keth, and of the Gawlistoune. Sir William Keith of Galston, known by either surname, of Keith or of Galston (152). Galston was in Kyle, Ayrshire, and there were Keiths in it at least a hundred years after (Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 228; 17).
176 all that fell, etc. “All that would serve to provision the town.” Cf. on 15.
185 the Mers and Tevidaill. The part of Berwickshire next the Border, “the March,” and Teviotdale.
198 on the sext day. Gray says the castle held out for eleven weeks, and as his father was then in garrison at Norham, he is probably about right. The castle surrendered for lack of food (Scala., p. 144). The account in Stevenson’s Chronicle also implies a siege longer than five days; for he speaks of King Robert assailing the castle with siege-engines, and failing, and of the Scots then settling down to starve out the garrison (Illust., p. 5). Horslee was at Newcastle with the garrison on July 20--that is, about sixteen weeks after the fall of the town--so that the surrender of the castle must have taken place somewhat earlier in the month. Horslee and his garrison had to be supported by the town, and the account therefore would begin with their arrival (Bain, iii., No. 607). Cf. on line 226.
200 till thair cuntre syne went thai. Life and goods were granted them on surrender (Stevenson, p. 5). Cf. previous note.
203 soyn eftir. But, according to the account in Stevenson, King Robert assisted at the attack on the castle. See on 198.
222 At = that. “That he took in hand to hold Berwick.”
224 Bath the castell, and the dungeoune. In his former references Barbour has used the term “castle” to include both the tower or “donjon” or keep and the surrounding wall, apart from the wall of the town proper. The wall (or “wallis”), he says in 169, 170, was not then in a very defensible state. Here he goes back to an older and more technical usage before these two independent elements--donjon and enclosure fortified with a wall--had quite coalesced. The evidence for this differentiation is given at length by Mr. Round in his Geoffrey de Mandeville, Appendix O. One of the citations is precisely parallel to Barbour’s expressions here, the description of a grant of Dublin--town, castle, and donjon--in 1172 to Hugh de Lacy:
“Li riche rei ad dunc baillé (has then entrusted)
Dyvelin en garde, _la cité
E la chastel e le dongun_,
A Huge de Laci le barun.”
These, then, are the three elements here: the town, which had its own wall; the “castle,” strictly speaking, or walled enclosure; and the “donjon” within the latter.
226 Ryde in-till Inglande. The Lanercost writer places this raid in the month of May, and, it would seem, after the fall of the castle (see on line 198). The Scots on this occasion penetrated England farther than usual, reaching Ripon, Knaresborough, and Skipton, in Craven--i.e., covering a large part of Yorkshire (p. 235). The _Gesta de Carn._ also dates this raid in May, “soon after Easter,” and says the Scots went as far as Bolton Abbey (p. 55).
227 gret plente of fee. They brought back “a crowd of cattle past numbering” (Lanerc., p. 236). They searched the woods of Knaresborough for the cattle hidden there, and got possession of them (p. 235).
228-9 sum cuntreis trewit he For vittale. I.e., “he made a truce with some districts in return for a supply of victual.” The Scots spoiled Ripon, but refrained from burning the town on payment of 1,000 marks (Lanerc., p. 235).
236 But burges and but oblesteris. Skeat takes exception to “burgesses,” but the town had previously been defended by the burgesses (cf. on 15), and some, no doubt, were willing “to obey” the Scots (cf. on 128). E reads burdowys, which Jamieson supposed to mean “men who fought with clubs,” while Skeat suggests that it is “_burdouis for burdonis--i.e._, mules!” Mules are a less probable part of the garrison than burgesses. “Oblesteris” are arblasters--i.e., crossbow-men, a minor but constant part of both English and Scottish armies of the time.
239 Johne Crab. A famous sea-rover of the east coast, as on the west was Thomas Dun (Bk. XIV. 376, note). In 1319 Edward was complaining to the Count of Flanders of his “outrages,” and the Count answered (November 19) that “Crabbe” had been banished for murder, and that “he will punish him on the wheel if he catches him” (Bain, iii., No. 673). He was captured in 1332 near Roxburgh, and because the “ungrateful Scots” refused to ransom him he transferred his services to the English (Lanerc., p. 270), and for his assistance at the Siege of Berwick in 1333 was pardoned “all his homicides, felonies, etc., by sea or land” (Bain, iii., 1090). He therefore cannot be the “Cryn, a Fleming, an admiral of the sea, a robber,” killed by Sir Thomas Gray in 1321-2, as is supposed by Sir Herbert Maxwell (Robert the Bruce, p. 267, note; The Scalacronica, trans., p. 63, note). Crab is on record till 1347 (Bain, No. 1504). But “Cryn” may be his nephew “John Crabbekyn” (Bain, iii., No. 417). The Scots slew his son (Lanerc., p. 270). A John Crab gets lands from Bruce in Aberdeen, which, with those in Berwick, are transferred to another in the reign of David II. (Robertson’s Index, 15, 21, etc. ... 32, 9), apparently on his going over to England. He is not, therefore, likely to be the John Crab, a burgess of Aberdeen in later times, and a member of Parliament (1365, 1367), as the editor of the Exchequer Rolls, II., postulates (p. lxxxii., note: Index).
245 engynis and trammys. “Siege-engines and structures of wood.”
246 grec fyre. In all probability “Greek fire,” as Skeat suggests; “t”and “c” are almost indistinguishable in the MSS. of the time. “Greek fire” was the mother of gunpowder; it was a liquid made of sulphur and saltpetre, with the addition of inflammable oils, and its purpose was to set woodwork on fire (cf. Oman’s Art of War, pp. 546, 547). It was used at the Siege of Stirling in 1304 (Bain).
247 Spryngaldis and schotis. The springal (espringale) was a great crossbow on a frame, whose cord was drawn back by a winch; the “shots” were its bolts, or “long darts”: _springaldis, ad longa spicula emittenda_ (Lanercost, p. 231) at the siege of Carlisle in 1315.
250 gynis for crakkis. Contrivances for making explosions--i.e., guns, which at first seem to have been valued for this quality.
271 ger dik thame. I.e., the English were to surround their own encampment at Berwick with a rampart for further security, and to keep off the Scots who might come to its relief.
278 thoucht all suth. “Thought quite rightly.”
285 Of Lancister the Erll Thomas. Bain says that, though Lancaster was clearly summoned (Fœdera, iii., p. 784), “Walsingham, who was not contemporary, seems the only authority for his presence, and if his men had been there they would have been found on the roll,” where they are not given (iii., p. xxvi). But a letter from Hugh le Despenser, the younger, printed by Stevenson in his notes to the Chronicle of Lanercost, expressly names the Earl of Lancaster as having been present (p. 422). Despenser also was at Berwick, and his letter (Anglo-French) is dated September 21 at Newcastle. Strangest fact, Bain, who knew the Chron. de Lanerc., overlooked the mention of Lancaster having accompanied the King to Berwick on p. 239. In _Vita Edw. Sec._, too, Lancaster is among those at Berwick (pp. 241, 244). Also in Annal. Paul., p. 286; Illustrations, p. 56. Cf. notes below. Maxwell, too, cites Barbour only for Lancaster’s presence (p. 265, note).
286 That syne wes sanctit. See note on 874.
295 all this menyhe. According to the pay-sheet, August 1 to September 24, 8,080 men, apart, however, from the following of Lancaster (cf. on 285 and 852) and the sailors (Bain, iii., No. 668). In Annal. Paul. 30,000 horse! (p. 286).
298 Ordanit ane felde. The “Magdalen Fields” surrounding the town. “The army was spread ont, on the land side, round the circuit of the town” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 242).
306 all the havyn wes stoppit. “On the side of the sea the sailors present from the Cinque Ports (Quinque Portubus) so watched the entries and exits that no one could possibly get out” (Vita Edw., p. 242).
318-9 sib him ner, Or ... his allye. “Either near relatives or those closely attached to him by some personal tie.” “Allye,” Fr. allié, is a trisyllable. It does not seem to signify, as Skeat suggests, allied “by various marriages,” but only the latter part of the phrase, “relatives and personal friends.”
335 our Ladeis evin. September 7, 1319. So Despenser, in his letter, says Edward came before Berwick on September 7, and “laid siege to the town, with all his host, by sea and by land” (par myer et par terre. Lanerc., p. 422). The English army entered Scotland on August 29 (Ann. Paul., p. 286).
343 coveryngis. Special protective dresses, such as the miner’s “basket” of wicker for those breaching the wall.
344 howis ... staff slyngis. The first were possibly picks on long poles, so resembling hoes, used for pulling down defences. The staff-sling consisted of a wooden shaft about a yard long, to one end of which was attached a sling. The slinger held it by the other end with both hands, and so could discharge a stone or bullet with great force.
359 ilk kyrneill. Each casement or open interval of the battlement. In the repairs of the castle in 1344 the portion of the wall renewed was to be 8 feet broad at “the kernels” (Bain, iii., No. 1434).
380 Sa law. Edward I. had begun to surround Berwick with a stone wall, but Hugh de Cressingham, his Treasurer (1297), had not spent on it the money given for its completion (Hemingburgh, ii., p. 127).
409 the brighous. A barbican or outwork on which the drawbridge rested. In January, 1316, Bruce tried to enter Berwick _inter brighous et castrum_ (Lanercost, p. 232).
421 scho ebbit. I.e., the tide ebbed, and she grounded. A ship grounding in a very low tide (neap) is still said to be “neaped.”
501 he wald nocht sa soyne assale. The English chroniclers say he would not venture to fight with the army of their King (Lanerc., p. 239; Illust., p. 6). On September 9 Edward writes to the Chancellor that “he hears that Robert de Brus and his allies and supporters (fautours) are bound by oaths and hostages to relieve the garrison of Berwick on a fixed day, and will do everything they can” (Bain, iii., No. 664). He therefore summons to Berwick the whole array of York, but Bruce took his own way of relieving.
505 lordis twa. As here, Moray and Douglas (Lanerc., p. 239; _Gesta de Carn._, p. 57).
508 xv. thousand. “A very great army” (Illustr., p. 6); “no small army” (Gesta de Carn., p. 57); “xx. thousand of the Scottis” (Capgrave, p. 184).
515 thair wiffis. In their previous raid (see on 226) the Scots took captive both men and women (Lanerc., p. 236).
528 it wes pite. “The Scots were raiding savagely in England” (Scotis in Anglia sæventibus.--Trokelowe, p. 103). “Clearing (depopulantes) Northumbria, the bishopric of Durham and Alvertonshire (York), they came as far as Burghbrig” (Illust., p. 66). “They burnt the country and took captives and booty of animals, advancing as far as Burghbrigge” (Lanercost, p. 239). “Burning and spoiling the country on all sides” (Gesta de Carn., p. 57).
535 Burrow-brig. Boroughbridge, on the Ure, near its junction with the Swale, Yorkshire; see previous note. According to Fordun, Moray was at “Boru-brig” at the end of the month of August (Gesta Annalia, cxxxiv.).
536 Mytoun thar-by. Myton is on the Swale, near its junction with the Ure, and so a little east of Boroughbridge.
541 Prestis, clerkis, monkis, and freris, etc. There were two abbots, monks, friars, many priests, with countrymen and townsfolk (Illustr., p. 7; Lanerc., p. 239; Scala., p. 148).
544 Weill twenty thousand. Ten thousand in Trokelowe, p. 103; both numbers excessive.
546 The Archbischop of York. William de Melton (Gesta de Carn., p. 57; and Lanercost, Illustr., etc., as cited). He lost much furniture in the battle, including silver and brass plate (_North. Reg._, p. 295).
552 other byschoppis. Only the Bishop of Ely, then staying at York (Illust., p. 7; Lanerc., p. 239).
559 in-till battellis twa. “The Scots gathered together, as their wont was, in a single schiltron” (Lanerc., p. 239). They “divided” to take up the chase (ibid.).
573-4 sic abasing Tuk thame. The English accounts give it that their men had no proper leader nor skill in war, while the Scots were excellently equipped in both respects. The strangely assorted array advanced in no proper order of battle, so that the Scots said: “These are not soldiers, they are sportsmen; they won’t be much good” (“_Hi non bellatores sed venatores; non multum proficient.”--Vita Edw._, p. 244). The Scots then gave a great shout, and the English in terror turned and fled (Lanerc., p. 239).
583 weill ane thousand. All accounts agree that there was a considerable slaughter of the priestly and inexpert warriors, but the English estimates of the slain are much higher than Barbour’s: more than a thousand, besides the drowned (Ann. Paul., p. 287); “2,000 slain with the sword” (Illustr., p. 7); 3,000 (Trokelowe, p. 103); 4,000 (Lanerc., p. 239); besides those drowned in the Swale, about a thousand, says the Lanercost writer (ibid.); “more than the sword slew” (Gesta de Carn., p. 58). There were also many captives, afterwards redeemed; cf. line 579 (ibid., Vita Edw., p. 244). A chantry chapel was afterwards erected for the souls of the slain, and endowed by their friends; to this end a piece of ground was asked from the King in October, 1325 (Bain, iii., No. 875).
597 Of gret gestis ane Sow. Probably, as Skeat hints, for “gestis”--i.e., joists, great beams, which is more likely than Fr. gestes, “deeds” to which it is hard to give, in this connection, a suitable meaning. The famous “Sow” is referred to in Lanercost (suem), p. 239. See below. It was otherwise known as the cat, and was constructed of stout beams, being strictly a penthouse or shelter for the men mining the wall. So here in line 600, and in the Lanercost account (ad murum suffodiendum, p. 239). But in the present case it is combined with the beffroi, or movable tower (lines 601-2), giving the “sow-castle” or “cat-castle” (cf. Oman’s _Art of War_, pp. 548, 549). Hailes and Skeat miss this point.
598 stalward heling. A strong covering of hides, or, possibly, of iron plates.
634 the Rude-evyn. The eve of the Exaltation of the Rood, September 13.
674 draw the cleket. Probably then “she” was a mangonel, in which a movable beam, between uprights, was pressed back by ropes, and then suddenly let go from a catch (“cleket”), discharges a stone; or a trebuchet, in which the same result was obtained by poising the beam in the middle, and loading the other end with a heavy weight, which added to the force of the missile.
689 set thar-to juntly. “Set close up to.” Cf. line 704. In the Wallace, Stirling Bridge “off gud playne burd was weill and juntly maid” (vii. 1148).
690 bend in hy. Cf. on 674.
691 wappyt. The correct Scots form. C has swappit. Cf. _Gest. Historiale, “wappid_ (knocked) to ground” (7297), and “A wap wi a corner-stane o’ Wolf’s Crag wad defy the doctor” (Scott’s _Bride of Lammermoor_, Border edit., P. 349).
713 top-castellis. “Fighting-tops” on the mast, in addition to the structures rising fore and aft above the deck, “fore-castle” and “stern-castle.”
756 The barras. The “barriers,” a fortified post at the outer end of the drawbridge. See Glossary.
757 and brynt it doune. Skeat, in his rubric, explains that they “burnt the drawbridge”--a foolish thing to do if they wanted to cross the ditch! But what seems to have happened was this: the besiegers first seized the “barras,” then brought “doune” the bridge by burning the tackle, probably of ropes and beams, by which it was drawn up against the gate, and so were able to cross, and make their attempt to burn their way through the gate itself. So, too, they could retreat (790) over the fallen bridge. Cf. in Morte Arthure:
“Brittenes (destroys) theire barrers with theire bryghte wapyns, Bett down a barbycan, and the brygge wynnys.”
(2469-2470).
828 on the morne. I.e., of September 14, seven days after the first attack. Despenser says that the news from England came “before he had been at Berwick (demorce) eight days” (as cited), practically corroborating Barbour.
829 Thar come tithandis. So in Despenser’s letter; in Lanercost (p. 239); Gesta de Carn. (p. 58).
842 His consell fast discordit then. The Lanercost writer says the King wished to send a part of his army into England to deal with the Scots, and keep on the siege with the remainder; but the nobles were unwilling to divide their army and not fight with the returning Scots, and so the whole army started south for this purpose (p. 239).
852 Loncastell. Despenser attributes the raising of the siege to the “procurement” of Lancaster (Lanerc., p. 422). Stevenson’s chronicler says the siege would have been successful “had not disturbers of the peace sown discord between the King and the Earl of Lancaster” (Illust., p. 6). As is here suggested, the friction had been going on for some time according to the author of the Gesta, who explains in detail how the mischief-making was done (p. 57). In the _Vita Edw. Sec._ various accounts are collected regarding Lancaster’s action, including the “vulgar” story that he had been bribed by Bruce, and there is a discourse of several pages on treason and avarice (p. 244 et seq.).
855 he. Here is the King; in 858 he is Lancaster. The King was inclined to side with the Southerners, whose homes, of course, were in no danger from the Scots. Cf. previous note.
862 his way he tais. According to the Vita Edw., the King went one way to meet the retreating Scots, Lancaster another (as cited).
864 fell eftir sic debat. In 1321 Lancaster and his supporters took up arms against the King and his advisers, the Despensers, on account of misgovernment. Each party blamed the other for the misfortunes of the Scottish war. In March of the following year the Lancastrians were defeated at Boroughbridge by Sir Andrew de Harclay, himself afterwards executed for alleged treasonable dealings with the Scots. Lancaster was captured, and beheaded at Pomfret (cf. line 868).
869 on the hill besyde the toune. “On a certain little hill” (monticulo) beside Pomfret (Lanerc., p. 244).
871 syne drawin and hangit. Though this was in the sentence, it was, by special favour of the King, not carried out. Lancaster, being a relative, was simply beheaded. In any case the drawing and hanging would have come before the beheading. See on IV. 322.
872 a fair menyhe. Many others suffered capital punishment for their share in this rising. The Lanercost writer gives one baron and three knights as having been drawn and hanged in Pomfret at this time, with further details of other victims (p. 245). Cf. also Baker, pp. 65, 66. The names of five hanged on the same day at Pomfret are given in Annal. Paul., p. 303.
874 martir was, Wes sanctit and myraclis did. Lancaster was popularly regarded as a saint, a martyr for righteous government; he having been also a liberal man to the Church and the poor. There were, of course, doubters of his sanctity (Vita Edw. Sec.: contin., p. 290). A chapel was erected on the hill on which he was beheaded; crowds of pilgrims flocked to it, and miracles were said to be worked by God through him (Lanerc., pp. 244-5; Fœdera, iv., p. 421). There was a special service for him--an “Office of St. Thomas of Lancaster,” printed in Wright’s Political Songs (pp. 268-272). Edward III., whose accession was the triumph of the opposition to his father, requested the Pope to give Thomas regular canonization (Fœdera, iv., p. 421). Capgrave says he was canonized in 1389, when all concerned in his execution were dead (p. 253).
889 thai tuk westward the way. The Scots in England retired about September 14, going westwards (versus occidentem tendentes) by Airedale and Wharfdale, and so home by “Gratsehals” (_Gesta Edw. Carn._, p. 58). When they heard the siege was raised they returned to Scotland by Staynmore and Gillesland and “those western parts” (Lanerc. p. 240). Cf. also Illustrations, p. 7.
891 With prayis, and with presoneris. “With prisoners and plunder of cattle” (Lanerc., p. 240). Also Gesta Edw., p. 58; Vita Edw., p. 244. Prayis is a plural signifying different kinds of “prey.”
922-3 brynt had The brig. Cf. on 757.
940 Berwyk his toune. As the reading from E shows, this is a possessive of a type usually confined to proper names. Cf. III. 232; VI. 435, etc.; and Grammar.
946 Till help his brothir. Wrong by a year. The siege of Berwick was in September, 1319; Edward Bruce was killed in the previous year. The succours here sent were dispatched in September or October, 1318. See on Bk. XVIII. 3, 110.
BOOK XVIII.
3 A day forrouth thair arivyng. So, too, Gray declares that Edward Bruce “from over-boldness (pur surquidery) was not willing to wait his reinforcements (soun poair) which had lately arrived, and were within six leagues (miles) of him” (Scala., p. 143)--i.e., within a day’s march. Gray, it will be observed, applies the same quality to Edward Bruce as Barbour does in line 183. The same explanation occurs in the Annals of Clonmacnoise (pp. 281, 282). The Lanercost chronicler, on the contrary, says that the “great army” which had “newly come” from Scotland to his assistance had joined Edward before his advance to Dundalk (p. 238).
8-9 twa thousand, Outane the Kyngis of Erischry. The _Annals of Ireland_ give the Scots 3,000 (p. 359), so that Barbour is probably about right. The chronicler in Stevenson’s Illustrations makes the Scots 30,000 (p. 3)! The “Irish Kings” here include MacRory, “King” of the Hebrides (“Insi-Gall”), and MacDonald, “King” of Argyll, who were both slain (Annals of Ulster, ii., p. 433; Annals of Clonmacnoise, p. 281. Cf. note on line 443).
12 Richard of Clare. Barbour is misinformed; Richard de Clare was killed five months before, May 11 (Annals of Ulster, ii., pp. 433 and 432, note 5; Annals of Ireland, p. 35). The English were commanded by Sir John de Birmingham (Annals of Ireland, p. 359; Baker, p. 58).
17 tuenty thousand. Such a number of horse is obviously absurd, as is also the total of “forty thousand” below.
33 Men sayis. Cf. on 3: “My brothir” is Walter, the High Steward.
75 nane of us. Not true of the Scots-Irish. Cf. note on 8-9.
89 fourty thousand neir. Cf. line 93, and note on 17. The Lanercost chronicler says the English were but “a few country-folk” (paucis et popularibus; p. 238), probably an exaggeration the other way.
95 cot-armour. The surcoat over his armour, bearing his coat-of-arms.
101 till assemmyll. The battle took place near the hill of Faughard or Fagher, about two miles from Dundalk. The spot where Edward Bruce fell is still shown by the natives. The date is given by Hailes, Bain, and others, following the version of the Annals in Camden’s Chronicle as October 5; but in the later edition of the Annals and in the Annals of Ulster and of Clonmacnoise it is precisely fixed as Saturday, October 14, 1318, from which the Lanercost chronicler differs by a day only, October 13 (Lanercost, p. 238; _Annals of Ulster, p. 433; Annals of Ireland, p. 359; Annals of Clonmacnoise_, p. 281); Fordun also October 14 (Skene, i., p. 348).
104 ruschit with thair fais. In the Lanercost Chronicle it is explained that the Scots were in three battles too far apart, and that thus each as it attacked was disposed of before the next could come to its assistance. Edward was with the third battle (p. 238).
110 Johne de Sowlis als. But John de Soules appears to have been dead circa 1316, when the husband of his “daughter and heir” petitioned Edward II. for his Scottish lands (Bain, iii., No. 530). The date, however, is doubtful.
113 That few ... war slayne. According to the Vita Edw. Sec., five hundred stout men-at-arms (valentes armati) were slain, besides Edward Bruce (p. 238); almost all were slain, says Lanercost, except those only who escaped by flight (p. 238); not a single one escaped, declares Knighton (i., p. 412), but this is absurd. Two thousand, almost all the Scots, were slain, but a few got away (_Annals of Ireland_, p. 360). Only a few escaped out of thirty thousand (Stevenson, Illustrations, p. 3).
117 Johne Tomassun. No doubt the same John Thomson (_Johannes videlicet Thomæ), a stout commoner (valens vernaclus_), who in 1333 was holding out in the “peel” of Lochdoon against Edward III. (Scotichr., lib. xiii., chap. xxviii.).
123 Johne cummyn. Skeat prints the verb with a capital, as if “cummyn” was a personal name. Obviously “Johne” is Thomson.
125 Schir Philipe the Mowbray. The defender of Stirling Castle before Bannockburn: mortally wounded (Annals of Ir., p. 360).
167 strak his hed of. The Lanercost writer says Edward Bruce was beheaded after death, and his body divided into four parts, which were sent to the four chief towns of Ireland (p. 238). According to Barbour, it was Gilbert Harper’s head. For the beheading, see also Trokelowe, p. 103, and Stevenson’s Illustrations, p. 3.
183 owtrageous succudry. Cf. extract from Scalacronica in note on 3.
