Book vii. Chap. iv. (Edin. Edit. 1758.)

The correspondence between the above description and the account which I have before given of the topography of the Pass of Brandir, must be evident to every examiner. But the identity of that place and the one mentioned in the poem, is confirmed to a degree of certainty; first, by the fact, that such a correspondence can be found in no other part of the neighbouring districts; and, secondly, by the mention which is made in the description of the poem, of names which _now_ exist in the appellation of the place to which it is supposed to apply. ‘Avis’ is well known to have been the ancient name of Loch Awe,[145] and is often met with in old poems which make mention of that lake; and Cragunyn is clearly but a mis-spelling of ‘Craiganuni,’ the name of the rocks at the extremity of the Pass of Brandir. The error is merely owing to the ignorance of the transcribers of the poem, who did not understand Gaëlic orthography. Except by persons very competently masters of the language of the country, there is scarcely a name in the Highlands more correctly written at the present day.

“It is easy to show the solitude of the correspondence between Blind Harry’s description of the position of Sir Niel, and the topography of the Pass of Brandir. In the eighth line of the passage above quoted, it is said, that when the Campbell had gained the craig to which he retreated, he ‘baid’ (abode) fast upon Loch-Avis. From whence it is plain, that this post was immediately above the shore of Loch-Awe. In the brief notices of MacPhadian’s situation at the same period, it is equally evident, that he was entangled in a narrow and dangerous pass, bounded on one side by rocks, and on the other side by the lake. It is expressly said that he was on the opposite side from the Campbells. The water was then between them, and yet their positions were communicable by a bridge and a ford. In the whole sixty-eight miles, which form the circuit of Loch-Awe, there is not a spot where these circumstances could have existed except in the Pass of Brandir. On no part of the shore is there a pass of the nature and difficulty implied in Blind Harry’s notices of MacPhadian’s embarrassment except there. Neither is there any part of the lake which could be interposed between two bodies of men, and yet rendered evadable by a bridge, except the arm which terminates in the river Awe. In all other places the water is from one to three miles wide, and does not contract into any stream or inlet which could prolong its barrier sufficiently to prevent it from being turned, and yet admit of its being evaded by a passage of the nature above mentioned. But in the Pass of Brandir all these particulars are identically to be traced. The narrowing of the lake to an inconsiderable channel, and its prolongation into the river Awe, by which the former might be interposed as a barrier, and yet evaded by an immediate crossing; the bridge mentioned by Blind Harry as having existed at the foot of Craigunyn, and the probability that one formerly did exist in the corresponding spot of Craiganuni; the ford described as having been the only remaining communication in the separating water, its dangerous character, and the actual being of a pass of the same nature, and the same relative position in the water of Awe, all give the strongest evidence of the truth of the Minstrel’s relation, and the application of the scene which he has described. Having then established so much from the circumstances of the poem and the nature of the country, we may draw a clear deduction of the proceedings and motives of Sir Neil Campbell previous to his entering Craiganuni.

“Allowing that this spot was the place to which that chief retreated from MacPhadian, it follows as a necessary consequence, from the situation of the latter at the breaking of the bridge, that he must have made his pursuit round the east end of Loch-Awe; and it will very clearly appear, that he could not have chosen this direction, had he not been enticed into it by a similar route in the flight of the Campbell. The proof that MacPhadian did take the direction which I have advanced, is sufficiently decisive. We are expressly told, that when Sir Neil had gained Craiganuni, he was stopped in his pursuit on the opposite, or _east_ side of the water beneath. Now, as he possessed no vessels on Loch-Awe, he could not have gained this side of the arm of the water which runs under Craiganuni, had he not come to it by encircling the east end of the whole lake, which is only four miles distant. The conviction of this fact leads decisively to discover the march of Sir Neil. It is perfectly evident that he must have entered the heights from the same side as that on which it is apparent MacPhadian endeavoured to follow him; for, had he proceeded to Craiganuni by the west end of the lake, or crossed the water any where west of the Pass of Brandir, his enemy could have had no motive in taking the eastern route. In the first instance, he would have marched in an opposite direction to those whom he was pursuing; and in the second, he would have taken a road, which, allowing it might have been the shortest, would have placed between him and his enemy an impassable barrier, and have entangled him in a strait and dangerous labyrinth, where his numbers would have become useless, his attacks impracticable, and his retreat dangerous. Among such difficulties, it is not to be supposed that MacPhadian would voluntarily and unnecessarily have hazarded his success and his safety; he could only, therefore, have been enticed into them, by the allurement of pursuing upon the footsteps of his enemies. The proceedings of Sir Neil are thus reduced to a degree of certainty, and leave no alternative from the circumstances which I have pointed out.

“He observed, that entered from the east, and having his enemy on that side, Craiganuni was the most inaccessible and advantageous hold in all Argyleshire; but that entered and attacked from the opposite direction, all the securities of the place were converted into dangers. Placed then on this quarter, it was only by a stratagem that he could win the desired advantage; and in prosecution of its attainment, he adopted the only plan which could have been unforeseen by his enemy, and carried into execution with a certainty of success. At the approach of MacPhadian into Nether Loch-Awe, he fled before him along the south side, and towards the east end of the lake. Drawn after him by the consciousness of superiority, and the facility of the pursuit, the Irish Captain followed him with no thought but the eagerness of capture.

“The advantage, however, of Sir Neil in point of time, was sufficient to prevent him from falling into his hands in the open district from Inch-Connel to Glen-Urcha; and suddenly turning the head of the lake, and circling towards the west, he dived down the Pass of Brandir, crossed the water, broke down the bridge, ascended the height, and threw between him and his pursuers, the craigs, the rivers, and the lakes. It was then that the plan of the chief was seen in all its superiority.

“Had he passed round the west end of the lake, or crossed it westward of the Pass of Brandir, he would have entered that wide and open country which I have before described,--a country every where untenable, and so surrounded by natural barriers, that it would have been almost impossible for him to have evacuated it under the closeness of his pursuit. Craiganuni, which had been before him, would have been not only totally unserviceable to him, from the direction in which he entered; but its barriers, lying wholly in his rear, would have made it the most dangerous situation. Had he been beset in the moors, the multitude of his enemies had devoured him; had he been overtaken at the craig, his flight would have been cut off by the gulf below; and those who had fled from the sword would have been driven over the precipices, and plunged into the water. Had he escaped these alternatives of ruin, every hardship would have been presented to his retreat. The country round the pass was wild and barren, even to horror and desolation; and had he succeeded in gaining it with security, he must have pursued his flight, hopeless of reinforcement and straitened for subsistence. By the tactic upon which he acted, he not only avoided all the evils, but converted the whole of their disadvantages to the inconvenience of his enemy. The instant he had occupied Craiganuni, and broken down the bridge over the mouth of the river, he was inaccessible on every side, and possessed in his rear a tract of nearly three hundred square miles, wholly open to his operations, but secured from his enemies by the same barriers which rendered himself unapproachable. In front, the depth of the water, and the precipices of the pass, were an insurmountable barrier; on the north, Loch-Eitive continued the line of circumvallation from the sea to Beann Starabh; and on the south it was extended by Loch-Awe from Lorn to Glen-Urcha. Sir Niel was thus encompassed by a formidable barrier of seventy-three miles in circumference; and from the obstacles of this cordon, and the security of the wide space in his rear, he could at pleasure have evacuated his position under cover of the night, and have retreated, in unmolested security, to Loch-Fine, from whence he might have proceeded in his galleys to the coast of Airshire, and here joined himself with the successful associates of the late victorious Wallace.

“I have said nothing of the ford through the Awe, by which there was an approach to the position of Sir Niel, nor of the capability of MacPhadian, to have passed Loch-Eitive by means of his fleet; of the first, the enemy feared to avail himself from the danger of the passage, and the want of discipline among his troops; and from the second, he could have reaped little avail, since, in the consumption of time necessary to have brought round these vessels from the sea, Sir Niel might have abandoned his position, and in one night have made good his retreat beyond Loch-Awe.

“Thus baffled and out-manœuvred, MacPhadian not only failed in his object of offence, but found himself drawn into an intricate and desolate labyrinth, where his multitude encumbered themselves; the want of subsistence prevented him from remaining to blockade Sir Niel, and his ignorance of the clues of the place made it difficult to extricate himself by a retreat. In this exigence he was desirous of returning to Nether Loch-Awe, where there was abundance of cattle and game for the support of his men. At length he discovered a passage between the rocks and the water; the way was only wide enough for four persons to pass abreast; yet as they were not in danger of pursuit, they retired in safety, and effected their march to the south side of the lake.[146]

“Here we must leave Mac-Phadian, and return to Duncan of Lorn. In his youth the latter had been a school-companion of Wallace at Dundee; and he now determined to resort to him, and make use of their old acquaintance to prevail on the champion of Scotland to come to the assistance of Sir Niel Campbell. As soon, therefore, as Mac-Phadian had evacuated the Pass, Duncan descended from Craiganuni, and pursued his way for the Low country, attended only by a single follower, named Gillemichel. This faithful clansman was an aged man, but even in his age was still famous for an uncommon speed of foot,[147] and on their return performed good service for his master. When Duncan arrived in the Low country he found the Wallace at Dundaff, with Sir John the Græme. The patriot chieftain had just returned from the overthrow of the English in the Barns of Air and the city of Glasgow; and besides the friends and forces who had come to him upon those occasions, he had been joined by Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, and Richard of Lundi, who brought with them a considerable number of their followers. No sooner had Wallace heard the tidings of Duncan MacDougall, than he resolved to go to the aid of Sir Niel Campbell; and, assembling his force, he instantly set out upon his march. He directed his course by Stirling, either to gather increase of followers, or apprehensive of leaving behind him an English garrison on the threshold of the Highlands. The castle, however, was not a place to be taken in a day; and bent upon the destruction of Mac-Phadian, Wallace would not delay his march to pursue the siege in person, but, leaving the Earl of Lennox to carry on that service, he determined to push forward his expedition into Argyleshire. Having assembled his forces at the bridge of Stirling, and found them to amount to two thousand men, ‘worthi and wycht,’ he hastened forward on his way. Duncan of Lorn acted as his guide; and while they pursued their march, he sent forward his man Gillemichel to discover intelligence of the enemy. Blind Harrie proceeds to relate, that as the army proceeded, it became fatigued with its march, that a great part of the men and horses were incapable to continue their way with that speed which the urgency of the expedition required. Upon this Wallace determined to divide the weary from the strong, and to hasten forward with the latter only, and surprise the enemy before they could have the opportunity of choosing a position, where their superiority of numbers could be displayed to its advantage. For this purpose he divided his host into two bodies; the first, consisting of seven hundred men, he chose to haste forward with himself; and the second, which contained but five hundred, and which was spent with fatigue, he left in the rear to follow as well as they might. Before they continued their march Wallace again separated the first division into three companies; the first, consisting of one hundred men, his own chosen West country veterans, he led in person as the advance guard; the second, of the same numbers, he committed to Sir John the Græme; and the last, to the amount of five hundred, he gave to Richard of Lundi, with whom he joined Wallace of Richardtown, his cousin. After this disposition, the two grand divisions separated: that under the leading of Wallace hastened forward on its march, and, crossing the mountain in their front, lost sight of their feeble comrades. In Glen-Dochart they were met by Gillemichel the scout; with him came Sir Niel Campbell, who had escaped from Craiganuni, and at the head of his three hundred clansmen had hastened to join the approaching aid of Wallace.

“In this part of Blind Harrie’s poem there is an error, which throws some confusion upon the traces of the march of Wallace. It appears, however, to have been the fault of the transcriber or reciter, and I think may be satisfactorily explained. The mistake consists in the contradiction of the name of the place where the host of Wallace began to fail with fatigue, and of that in which it is said, that he afterwards met Sir Niel Campbell. The words of the poem are thus:--

“Be our party was passit _Straithfulan_, Ye small fute folk began to irk ilk ane.”

_Book vii._ l. 763.

To which it is subsequently said,

“In _Glendowchar_ yair spy met yaim agayne, With lord Cambell,” &c.

_Ib._ l. 785.

“Straith-Phillan opens from the _west_ end of Glen-Dochart towards the _north-west_; and consequently, as Wallace came from the _south-east_, it must have been the second of the two places in the succession of his march, and could not, as it stands in the poem, have been the first. I shall presently show, that there is every evidence from the narrative of the Minstrel, and the evidence of tradition, that Wallace did not pass through Straith-Phillan in any part of his march. The mention of the name, in this place, must therefore have been an error altogether, arising either from the carelessness of the transcriber, or from the confusion of two appellations, something similar in import. I am inclined to lean to the latter opinion. At the northern extremity of Straithearn, between the Glen and Loch-Earn, the mountains form a little amphitheatre, in the middle of which there is a small conical hill, once sacred to St Phillan, and still called by his name. Near its summit was a holy spring, distinguished also by the name of the apostle, and at its foot was a small cell of religious, formed originally by his disciples. It appears to me highly probable, that Wallace entered the Highlands by Straithearn; that it was at St Phillan’s Hill that his men became fatigued; and that it was this place which the reciter or transcriber of Blind Harrie’s poem confounded with Straith-Phillan. This supposition is much supported by the correspondence between the circumstances mentioned by the Minstrel, respecting the march of Wallace, and the route between Straith-Earn and Glen-Dochart. A few miles north of St Phillan’s Hill, the old and short track of the country emerges from the level side of Loch-Earn, and, passing over the transverse mountains at its extremity, enters into Glen-Dochart, at the foot of Bean Mòr, and near the eastern extremity of the lake.

“This was the common Pass used of old by the Highlanders, before the construction of the roads. It is a wild and pathless track, but is still used by shepherds, and is shorter than the modern ‘Rad mòr an righ’[148] by some miles. The mention which Blind Harrie makes of the march of Wallace, after the separation from his weary men, agrees very much with this path, and its direction:--

“Yus Wallace ost began to tak ye hycht, Our a montayne sone passit off yar sycht. In Glendowchar yair spy met yaim agayne With lord Cambell, yan was our folk rycht fayne.”

_Book vii._ l. 783.

“The correspondence is made still more near by the hint which is given of the spot where the men of Wallace met Sir Niel Campbell. It appears to have happened immediately upon their entering Glen-Dochart; and, after having described the meeting of the two parties, when the Minstrel tells us, that they resumed their march, he says--

“By Louthdochyr full sodynlye yaim drew.”

_Ib._ l. 792.

“From this it would appear, that Wallace entered the glen near the extremity of the lake, and this is the exact point where the mountain path enters from Loch-Earn.

“From this period of the poem to the conclusion of the episode of MacPhadian, the relation of the Minstrel is clear and consistent; and, by the aid of the tradition of the country, the route pursued by Wallace may be well identified with the localities of its existent topography. The oral account, handed down in Argyleshire, states, that at the coming of Wallace, MacPhadian and his host were posted in the northern extremity of the Pass of Brandir; and that they were there attacked and overthrown by Sir William and the Campbells. It will be found, that this account is much confirmed by the correspondence between the nature of the country from Glen-Dochart to Loch-Awe, and the particulars of the route described by Blind Harrie, as having been pursued by Wallace from the latter place to the hold where he encountered MacPhadian: it is still farther avouched by the exact conformity between the description of the scene of battle in the poem, and that marked as its site by the tradition. Immediately after passing Loch-Dochart, and consequently leaving that glen, the Minstrel describes the host of Wallace as entering a moss of such an extent and difficulty, that it prevented the farther march of the horses, and obliged the men to dismount and pursue their way on foot.

“Yan Wallace ost upon yair fute yai lycht, Yair hors yai left yocht yai war neuir so wycht: For moss and crag yai mycht na langer dre Yan Wallace said quha gangs best let se.”

_Book vii._ l. 803.

“A short distance beyond the west end of Glen-Dochart, there is a high and wide tract of moss and moor, called ‘The Churan Beag,’ which occupies the most considerable extent of the space between Glen-Dochart and Glen-Urcha, the entrance to Loch-Awe. It is difficult to conceive a more desolate spot, nor one which could more correspond with the moss noticed by Blind Harrie. Its whole extent is a vast waste of swamps, gullies, and broken peat-bags; and its outlets and entrances are by rugged and steep declivities, embarrassed with fragments of rocks, and torn into vast chasms by the torrents which rise on the moss above. Through this miserable region lies the shortest path from Glen-Dochart to Glen-Urcha; and though impassable for horses, yet, in the olden time, when these were little used by the Highlanders, it was the most common thoroughfare between the above-mentioned places, and is still used, on account of its brevity, by the shepherds of the country, and foot-travellers who require expedition. It is several miles shorter than the way by Straith-Phillan and Glen-Lochie; for this reason, and also for its utter solitude, it is highly probable that it should have been the route chosen by Wallace in preference to the other. In addition to the proofs offered in its favour, by the correspondence of its features with those of the road mentioned by Blind Harrie, there is the negative confirmation, that no place of the same nature occurs within the neighbourhood of Glen-Dochart, in any direction by which it is probable that the march of Wallace could have been destined. For this reason, it is, as I have before hinted, impossible that he could have passed through Straith-Phillan; for in the whole way from Glen-Dochart to Glen-Urcha by that road, there is neither moss nor muir, but plain straith and narrow glen. From all these circumstances, it seems very conclusive, that it was through the moss of ‘the Churan Beag’ that Wallace took his march, after his junction with Sir Niel Campbell in Glen-Dochart. But to return to the relation of the Minstrel.

“Previous to the entrance of Wallace upon the muir, he mentions that Gillemichel had been again sent forward to reconnoitre the route. He had not been long entered the moss, when he met a scout of MacPhadian, doubtless sent to discover the approach of Wallace. At the appearance of Gillemichel, the foeman fled; but his speed was not sufficient to enable him to outstrip the fleet foot of his pursuer, and he was overtaken and slain. Delivered from this danger of a discovery, the host of Wallace effected their march through the Churan in perfect secrecy, and reached the hold of MacPhadian before their approach was even known. It may, perhaps, be remarked, that the paucity of the Minstrel, in his relation of this part of the march of Wallace, is inconsistent with the description of the country through which tradition supposes it to have been made; since the poem makes no mention of the progress of the expedition through the intermediate space of ten miles, which lies between the Churan and the pass of Brandir, but, from declaring Wallace’s delivery from the moss, immediately proceeds to communicate his entrance to the hold, without taking any notice of his arrival on the shore of Loch-Awe. But it is to be observed, that, through the whole march of Wallace, it describes those situations only, the circumstances of which affect the incidents of the story. The space from the Churan being destitute of any feature dangerous or advantageous, and the grand interest of the episode being the hold of MacPhadian, the Minstrel appears to have been absorbed in that object, and to have passed without regard the intervening way. This is palpably the fact, by the certain evidence, that, wherever the post of MacPhadian was situated, there was between its entrance and the moss passed by Wallace, a space of water which has not been mentioned by the Minstrel.

* * * * *

“Then Wallace said quha gangs best let se, Throuchout ye moss deliverly yai zeid, Syne tuk ye hauld quharof yai had maist dreid, _Endlong ye schoir_ ay four in front yai past,” &c.

_Book vii. l._ 806.

“From this notice of the shore, it is here evident that Wallace arrived on the banks of some water immediately previous to entering the position of his enemy, and that Blind Harrie has neglected to mention the circumstance. His omission of the mention of Loch-Awe in his description of the march of Wallace, is therefore no objection that the latter was not made in the route affirmed by tradition.

“From the arrival of Wallace in the hold of MacPhadian, the account of Blind Harrie corresponds entirely with the accounts of the oral record, and the nature of the pass of Brandir. The place in which the old people of the country point out the site of the battle, is that narrow stripe of open space which lies near the northern extremity of the pass, between the foot of Cruächan and the narrowing of the lake to the rock of Brandir. The Minstrel coincides with this account.

“Endlong ye schoir ay four in front yai past, _Quhill yai within assemblyt at ye last._”

_Ib. l._ 810.

“From this narrowness of the column, and the number of Wallace’s men, the whole host could not have entered within the pass, till the head had arrived as far as the space before mentioned. The description of the straitened situation of the position also agrees with the pass of Brandir:

“Her is na gait to fle zone pepil can, Bot rockis heich and wattir depe and wan.”

_Book vii. l._ 814.

“As soon as the men of Wallace arrived at the post of their enemies, they fell upon them with the utmost fury. Their scout having been slain, as before mentioned, MacPhadian’s followers were completely surprised and taken at disarray. Undismayed, however, by this ill fortune, they snatched up their arms, and rushed to defend the pass with the boldest resolution. At the first onset, the Scots bore back their enemies over five acres of ground; and Wallace, with his iron mace, made a fearful havoc among the enemy. Encouraged, however, by MacPhadian, the Irish came to the rescue; the battle thickened with more stubborn fury; and for two hours was maintained, with such obstinate eagerness on both sides, that neither party had any apparent advantage; and, says the Minstrel, the fiercest found ‘eneuch’ of fighting. At length the cause, and the valour of Wallace, prevailed. The Irish gave way and fled; and the Scots of their party threw down their arms, and, kneeling for mercy, Wallace commanded them to be spared for their birth sake, but urged forward the pursuit upon the Irish. Pent in by the rocks and the water, the latter had but little hope in flight. Many were overtaken and slain as they endeavoured to climb the craigs; and two thousand were driven into the lake and drowned. MacPhadian, with fifteen men, fled to a cave, and hoped to have concealed himself till the pursuit was over; but Duncan of Lorn having discovered his retreat, pursued and slew him with his companions; and having cut off the head of the leader, brought it to Wallace, and set it upon a stone high in one of the craigs, as a trophy of the victory.”

·.· Before the writer met with the work whence the preceding extract is made, he entertained the belief that he was the first who had studied the topography and tradition of this romantic district, with a view of illustrating the labours of the Minstrel, and hence bringing into notice a portion of our history hitherto overlooked by all, save that ill-requited author. Under this impression, he was arranging the materials he had collected, when he became aware of his being anticipated by a more able hand. On comparing his notes with the details of Mr Allan, the similarity of their views appeared too striking to be supposed accidental; and unwilling to incur the charge of appropriating to himself the merits of another, he has suppressed his own observations, in deference to the ingenious author of the “Bridal of Caölchairn.”

F.

MEMOIRS OF JOHN, EARL OF WARREN--LORD HENRY DE PERCY--AND LORD ROBERT DE CLIFFORD.

I. WARREN.

Page 220.

It is presumed the writer will not be far wrong, if he anticipates a little curiosity on the part of the reader, respecting the personal history of so conspicuous a character as the conqueror of Dunbar; and as our English neighbours consider it a matter of difficulty, for a Scotsman to be impartial when the conduct of an enemy of his country happens to be the subject of his investigation, we shall, without either denying or admitting the truth of this allegation, endeavour to escape from the charge, by giving the following biographical notice in the elegant language of one of their own countrymen:[149]

“John Earl of Warren and Surrey was the son of William Earl of Warren and Surrey, by his second wife, Maud, widow of Hugh Bigot, Earl of Norfolk, and sister and coheiress of Anselm Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. In 1240, being then five years of age, he succeeded his father in his dignities. In 1247 he married Alice, daughter of Hugh le Brun, Count of March, and uterine sister of King Henry the Third; and in the following year, though he could not have been above thirteen years of age, he is said to have attended the Parliament which met at London in the octaves of the Purification. During the reign of Henry the Third, he is stated to have filled those stations which, from his high rank, naturally devolved upon him, and at the battle of Lewes he served in the van of the royal army with Prince Edward; but, together with the Earl of Pembroke, disgracefully deserted him at the commencement of the action, and fled first to Pevensey Castle, and from thence to France. Their flight is thus quaintly alluded to by Peter de Langtoft:[150]

“=The Erle of Warenne, I wote, he scaped over the se, And Sir Hugh Bigote als with the Erle fled he.=

“In May following he returned, and claimed the restitution of his possessions, which, notwithstanding his treachery to the Prince, the rebellious Barons had declared to have been forfeited. The refusal of his demand induced him once more to change sides, and he confederated with the Earl of Gloucester for the restoration of the King’s power, and was present with the royal forces at the battle of Evesham. Thus his interest, rather than his honour, seems to have been his sole rule of action; and unfortunately, such conduct was then far too general to entail upon those who adopted it either punishment or reproach. In 1268 he had a dispute with Henry Earl of Lincoln; and about the same time became involved in a serious affray with Alan Lord Zouche, relative to some lands. This affair was attended with great violence; for, finding that he must submit to the judgment of a court of law, he abused his adversary and his son in the strongest terms, and then assaulted them in such an outrageous manner in Westminster-Hall, that he nearly killed the baron, and severely wounded his son. Neither his power nor influence could save the Earl from the vengeance of the laws he had so flagrantly violated; and, though he retired to his Castle at Ryegate, he was closely pursued by Prince Edward with a strong force, and, finding that opposition would be useless, he met the Prince on foot, and implored the royal clemency with great humility. For his offence he was fined ten thousand marks; but this sum was afterwards reduced to eight thousand four hundred, and he was permitted to pay it by annual instalments of two hundred marks each.

“Immediately after the solemnization of the funeral of Henry the Third at Westminster, the Earl of Warren and the Earl of Gloucester proceeded to the high altar, and swore fealty to his son and successor, King Edward the First. In the 3d Edward I. he received that monarch at his castle of Ryegate in so honourable a manner, upon his return from Gascony, that Edward was induced to remit him one thousand marks of the sum which he had been fined for the affair with Lord le Zouche.

“The next circumstance recorded of the Earl, is one in which that proud and sturdy spirit for which he was celebrated, was displayed in a manner so consonant to the feelings of the present day, that this nobleman has always been a favourite character in English biography; and the pencil was on one occasion employed to perpetuate his independent conduct. After the enactment of the statute of _quo warranto_, the Earl of Warren was, under its provisions, questioned by what title he held his lands; to which inquiry, first unsheathing an old sword, he is said to have replied, ‘Behold, my Lords, here is my warranty. My ancestors coming into this land with William the Bastard, did obtain their lands by the sword; and with the sword I am resolved to defend them against whomsoever that shall endeavour to dispossess me. For that King did not himself conquer the land and subdue it, but our progenitors were sharers and assistants therein.’

“In the 23d Edward I., the Castle of Bamburgh was intrusted to his custody; and, in the 24th Edward I., he commanded the forces sent to reduce Dunbar Castle, which, after a siege of three days, surrendered to him; and having met the Scotch army which came to its relief, he defeated them on Friday the 27th April, and pursued them several miles from the field of battle, when the enemy sustained a loss of 10,000 men. Soon after this event, the Earl was appointed Regent of Scotland; and in the following year was constituted general of all the English forces north of the Trent. But his previous good fortune now deserted him; and his army sustained a signal overthrow at the battle of Stirling, in September 1297.

“His misfortune did not, however, lessen him in Edward’s esteem, for he was immediately afterwards reappointed to the command of the English forces; and, in the 28th Edward I., was made Governor of Hope Castle, in the county of Derby. In that year, also, he commanded the second squadron at the siege of Carlaverock, at which time he must have been about sixty-five years of age.

“In the 29th Edward I., the Earl was appointed, jointly with the Earl of Warwick and others, to treat with the agents of the King of France, relative to a peace between England and Scotland; and in the same year he was a party to the letter from the barons to Pope Boniface VIII., in which he is only styled “Comes Warenne,” though on his seal he is also properly called Earl of Surrey.[151] On the 5th calends of October, 32 Edward I., i. e. 27th September 1304, being then, according to Peter de Langtoft,[152] employed in Scotland, he died.

“The moneth of September yolden was Strivelyn, Edward may remembre the travaille and the pyn. With many grete encumbre of in hard stoure, At Brustwick opon Humbre there he mad sojoure. Sir Jon of Warenne that ilk tyme gan deie, His body was redy then in grave for to leie, After the enterment the King tok his way, To the south,” &c.

“But according to the registry of the Priory of Lewes, the Earl died that day at Kennington, having, says Dugdale, been Earl of Surrey no less than fifty-four years; though, as he succeeded his father in 1240, it is evident he must have borne that title sixty-four years. He was buried in the midst of the pavement, in the quire of the Abbey of Lewes, before the high altar, and the following epitaph was engraved upon his tomb.

“=Vous qe passez on bouche close. Priez pur cely ke cy repose: En vie come vous estis jadis fu, Et vous tiel serretz come je su.=

=Sire Johan Count de Gareyn gyst ycy. Dieu de sa alme eit mercy: Ky pur sa alme priera, Trois mill jours de pardon avera.=”

“Of the subject of this article, but little that is favourable to his memory can be said; though his faults, or more properly his vices, were those of the age in which he lived. His treachery at the battle of Lewes has, to apply the beautiful expression of a distinguished statesman of the present day, ‘left indelible stains upon his character, which all the laurels of’ Dunbar ‘cannot cover, nor its blood wash away;’ whilst his subsequent conduct was invariably marked by a turbulent and intractable spirit. Not only was he frequently embroiled in disputes both with his compeers and his sovereign, but, with almost unparalleled hardihood, he dared, in a court of justice, to use personal violence towards a baron of the realm. That he should acquire renown in the field, and consequently become possessed of the King’s esteem, is perfectly consistent with that impetuous temper for which he is celebrated. Bravery is, however, but one redeeming trait in a picture, where all besides is dark and repulsive; and even the bold answer relative to his right to his lands, when properly considered, affords no room for praise; for the same resolute opposition to such an inquiry would, there is no doubt, be as readily evinced to defend any part of his property, if it had been acquired by the most flagrant injustice on his part, instead of on that of his ancestors.

“A proof of the estimation in which the Earl was held by Edward the First, is afforded, in Dugdale’s opinion, by the fact, that the King issued precepts, directed to the Bishops of Canterbury and London, and to several Abbots, commanding them to cause masses to be said for his soul; but this testimony of the royal consideration might have arisen from the near connection between the Earl and his Majesty, as is shown by the annexed table:--

King John == Isabel, daughter, and heiress == Hugh le Brun, | of Aymer, Count of | Count of March, | Angoulesme. | 2d husband. +----+ +---+ | | King Henry III. == Alice == John Earl of | | Warren. +----------+ + | King Edward I. | +

“By the said Alice le Brun, who died on the 9th February 1291, the Earl of Warren had issue, William, who died in his father’s lifetime, leaving his wife _enceinte_ with John, his son and heir, who succeeded his grandfather in his honours. Alianor, who married, first, Henry Lord Percy, by whom she had Henry Lord Percy, spoken of in the poem, (_i.e._ Caerlaverock Castle), as the Earl’s ‘nevou;’ and, secondly, the son of a Scotch Baron; and Isabel, wife of John Baliol, King of Scotland.”[153]

II. PERCY

“If the biographer of an ancient warrior,” says Mr Nicolas, “is in any degree influenced by that enthusiasm which deeds of chivalrous courage are calculated to excite, it is only by more than ordinary restraint upon his feelings that he is enabled to relate them in the sober and chastened language suitable to historical truth; and, perhaps, in no instance is that caution so necessary as when any member of the house of Percy is the subject of his pen. In the age to which Henry de Percy belonged, as well as in a few succeeding centuries, that name was synonymous with almost uncontrollable power, impetuous valour, and all those stern military virtues which characterized the time; and the difficulty of successfully detailing the career of an individual is considerably increased, when, as in the case of this Baron, the merits of his descendants have been sung, not only by rude contemporary bards, but have been immortalized by the greatest dramatic genius that ever existed.

“Henry de Percy was the third son of Henry Lord Percy, by Eleanor, daughter of John Earl of Warren and Earl of Surrey, and succeeded to the barony upon the death of his brother John de Percy, who died under age soon after the year 1272, at which time he appears to have been very young. The first circumstance recorded of him is, that, in the 15th Edward I., being then in ward, on the King’s expedition into Wales, he was acquitted of 120_l._ required from him for scutage. In the 22d Edward I. 1294, he made proof of his age, obtained livery of his lands, and was summoned to attend the King into Gascony; and in March 1296, having accompanied Edward in his invasion of Scotland, he received the honour of knighthood before Berwick. He was present at the battle of Dunbar, and was soon afterwards appointed Governor of Galloway and Aire in Scotland; and in 1297, being with Lord Robert Clifford, commander for the King of England in the eastern parts of Scotland, they were appointed to receive Margery, daughter of Robert Brus Earl of Carreck, as an hostage for his fidelity to Edward. About the same time he was sent by the Earl Warren, then General of all the English army beyond the Trent, with the forces at Carlisle into Scotland; and having entered Annandale with 300 men-at-arms, and 40,000 foot, about the 10th August he proceeded to Aire, where he endeavoured to persuade the inhabitants of Galloway to submit. Finding that a party of Scots were on their route to oppose him, he marched towards them; but from the inferiority of their numbers, they surrendered upon condition of being pardoned.

“In the 26th Edward I., Lord Percy was again in the wars of Scotland, in which year he obtained a grant of the lands forfeited by Ingelrom de Umfreville; and in the following year he was present at the siege of Carlaverock--a fact unnoticed by either of the writers just mentioned--when he must have been about forty-two years of age. The poet alludes to his determined hostility against the Scots, which feeling appears to have been inherited by his descendants, and describes him as the ‘nevou’ of the Earl Warren, which, like the word ‘nepos,’ seems to have been used for grandson as well as nephew, he being the son of Eleanor, the daughter of that nobleman. In February, 28th Edward I., 1301, he was a party to the letter from the Barons to Pope Boniface, wherein he is styled ‘Lord of Topclive;’ and in the 34th Edward I., was again sent into Scotland, to oppose Robert Bruce, against whom he valiantly defended Kenteir. In the 35th Edward I., he was a party to the treaty of peace with Scotland.

“On the accession of Edward the Second, he was, in common with the other peers of the realm, summoned to attend that monarch’s coronation; and in the 3d Edward II., he purchased the celebrated castle of Alnwick, which is now possessed by his representative the Duke of Northumberland. In the 5th Edward II., he succeeded John de Segrave, as Constable of Nottingham Castle, and Justice of the Forests beyond the Trent, and about the same period was constituted Governor of Scarborough and Bamburgh Castles. From a writ tested on the 14th September, 1309, it appears that he was then Constable of the Castle of York, and in that and the preceding years he was again in the wars of Scotland.

“Lord Percy distinguished himself by his enmity to Piers de Gaveston, and it is perhaps just to consider that his hostility arose from patriotic motives; but there is a suspicion attached to his behaviour towards the unhappy favourite, which the biassed historian of the house of Percy has rather increased than lessened, by his laboured attempt to remove. It appears that Gaveston was besieged in Scarborough Castle by the Earl of Pembroke; that he surrendered upon condition that his life and person should be secured; and that both the Earl and Percy solemnly pledged themselves to that effect. Through a false reliance, however, on the Earl’s honour, by Percy, as Collins relates it, the promise was speedily broken, and Gaveston perished on the scaffold at Warwick Castle. This is a version of the tale, which so partial a biographer as that writer uniformly shows himself, would naturally give; but although the impossibility of ascertaining the real merits of the case render it unjust to pass a positive censure upon Percy’s conduct, it is at least equally unfair to conclude that the whole shame of the transaction belongs to his colleague, and that his only error arose from a misplaced confidence. Certain, however, it is, that the King considered him guilty of Gaveston’s death, for he issued special precepts, tested on the 30th and 31st July, 1312, for his apprehension, and for the siezure of all his lands, tenements, and chattels. Towards the end of that year, however, Percy was included in the treaty between the King and the barons; and on making his submission his offence was pardoned, and his lands restored to him. The acquittance of the King to Thomas Earl of Lancaster, Guy Earl of Warwick, Robert de Clifford, and this Baron, of the jewels and horses that belonged to Gaveston, dated on the 6th February, 1313, 6. Edw. II., by which he acknowledges to have received from them the articles therein mentioned, by the hands of Humphrey Earl of Hereford, is still preserved. The document is highly curious; and with the hope of relieving the dullness of this memoir, the following interesting extracts from it are introduced:

‘Un anel d’or, od un saphir, lequel seint Dunstan forga de ses mayns.

Une boiste d’argent en d’orrez pur porter eynz un anel entour le col de un homme.

Une grant rubi hors d’or, que fust trove sur sire Piers de Gavaston quant il fust pris; le pris de mille livres.

Trois granz rubis en aneaux, une amiraude, un diamaund de grant pris, en une boiste d’argent enamille, que fust trove sur le dit Pierres quant il fust pris.

Deux seaux un grant e un petit; e un petit seal une clief pendaunte, un esterling plie, et un calcedoyne; les queux furent trovez en la burse quant il fuit pris.

En un cofre, lie de feer, une mirour d’argent enamaille; un pigne; un priket, que fust donné au Roi par la Countesse de Bar à Gant.

Un coronal d’or od diverse perie, pris de cent mars.

Un chapelet d’argent garnis de diverse perie, pris de doze soutz.

En un autre cofre, un grant pot d’argent od trois peiz pur chaufer eawe, que poise sis livres quinze soutz dis deners.

Trois plates d’argent por especierie, e poisent quatre livres.

Deux plates d’argent pur fruit, des armes de roy d’Engleterre, que poisent sessant dis oit souz quatre deners.

Une burse de drap d’or ove deux pierres de Jerlm’ dedenz.

Un mors d’argent od quatre botons d’orrez, od deux lions pur chaq’e de cuir.

Un veil seal entaille, e un pere de Calcedoine. Trois furchesces d’argent pur mangier poires.

Une ceinture de fil de argent blank.

Une chapelet de Paris, pris de sis souz oit deners.

En un sak un bacenet burny od surcils.

En autre saak une peire de treppes des armes de dit Pieres.

Deux cotes de velvet pur plates coverir.

Une Nouche pur palefrei, des armes du Roy.

Quatre chemises et trois brais de Gascoigne orfresez.

Une veille banere des armes le dit Piers.

Quarant un destres et coucers e un palefrei.

Noef Somers. Duze chivaus charetters.

Deux charettes od tut le herneis.’[154]

“Great part of Gaveston’s plate was marked with an eagle, and several articles of jewellery were in that form, his arms being, _Vert, six eagles displayed, Or._

“The little that remains to be said of this Baron, may be related in a very few words. In 1313 he received letters of safe conduct from the King, for all his dominions; in June in the following year he was present at the fatal battle of Bannockburn, and was regularly summoned to parliament from the 6th February, 27th Edward I. 1299, to the 29th July, 8th Edward II. 1314. He died in 1315, and was buried in the Abbey of Fountains in Yorkshire; and by Eleanor his wife, daughter of John Earl of Arundel, who survived him, he left issue. Henry his eldest son, then aged sixteen years; and William, who was made a Knight of the Bath, 20th Edward II. and died in 1355.”

_Siege of Carlaverock._

III. CLIFFORD.

“Robert de Clifford was the eldest son of Roger de Clifford, who was accidently slain between Snowden and Anglesey in 1280. He was born about Easter, April, 1274, and in the 14th Edward I., 1286, he succeeded his grandfather in his baronial honours, being then twelve years of age. In the 13th Edward I., he was found to be one of the heirs of Ralph de Gaugy, and paid 100_l._ for his relief; after which, the next circumstance which has been found recorded of him is, that he was summoned to attend the King, with horse and arms, on his expedition beyond the sea on the 4th May, 25th Edward I. 1297; and on the 26th September following, he was ordered to be at Carlisle, similarly equipped, to serve against the Scots, at the ensuing Feast of Pentecost; but Dugdale asserts, that he was present at the battle of Dunbar, in 24th Edward I.; that in the 25th Edward I., he was sent with a hundred men-at-arms and twenty-thousand foot from Carlisle to plunder in Scotland; and that, after much slaughter, he returned with considerable booty on Christmas eve. In that year he was also appointed Justice of all the King’s forests beyond the Trent; in 26th Edward I., he was made governor of Nottingham Castle; and on the 27th Edward I., being constituted the King’s Lieutenant and Captain-General in the counties of Cumberland, Westmoreland and Lancaster, and throughout Annandale and the Marches of Scotland, he was joined in commission with the Bishop of Durham and others, to consider of the means of garrisoning the castles in that kingdom, and for guarding the marches. Clifford was again summoned to the Scottish wars on the 7th May, 27th Edward I., 1299, and received his first writ to parliament on the 29th December in the same year.

“As Clifford did not attain his majority till 1295, he consequently could not have been above twenty-five when he was thus honoured with his sovereign’s confidence,--a fact which speaks forcibly in his praise. It was at this period of his life that he was noticed in the poem;[155] and as his conduct at Carlaverock is wholly passed over by his former biographer, it claims especial regard in this memoir. After stating that he served in the third squadron, which was led by the King in person, and extolling Clifford’s valour, descent and prudence, the writer adds, that if he were a young maiden, he would bestow on him his heart and person, in consideration of his renown. During the siege, we are told that he particularly distinguished himself, and was rewarded by being appointed Governor of the Castle when it surrendered; in consequence of which, his banner was placed on its battlements. Clifford was a party to the letter from the Barons to Pope Boniface, in the 29th Edward I., February 1301, in which he is described as “Castellanus de Appelby;” and, in the 34th Edward I., in recompense for his numerous services, he obtained a grant of the borough of Hartlepole, and of all the lands of Robert de Brus. In the same year, he was sent with Aymer de Valence against the said Robert, who had then assumed the title of King of Scotland; about which time the lands of Christopher de Seyton were granted to him. Clifford attended the deathbed of the King in 1307, and received the dying monarch’s injunctions to prevent the return of Gaveston into the realm. In the 1st Edward II., he was again made Governor of Nottingham Castle, and constituted Earl Marshal of England; and, on the 31st January 1308, he joined several other Lords in an engagement to support the title and honour of the young King with their lives and fortunes. In the 2d Edward II. he was constituted Warden of the Marches of Scotland, and soon afterwards Governor of that kingdom; and on the 17th March 1309-10, was one of the Peers selected to regulate the royal household. Several valuable grants of lands were bestowed upon him in the 3d and 4th Edward II., in consideration of his merits; and he was again summoned to serve in Scotland, in the 4th Edward II. In the 6th Edward II. he was joined in commission with the Earl of Hereford and others, to continue a treaty begun at Margate with the Count of Eureux and the Bishop of Poitou, upon some important affairs. On the 6th February 1313, he received an acquittance from the King, for the jewels, horses, &c. belonging to Piers de Gaveston; and he firmly adhered to Thomas Earl of Lancaster, against the unfortunate favourite, for his agency in whose death he afterwards procured the royal pardon.

“Lord Clifford was regularly summoned to parliament from the 29th December, 28th Edward I. 1299, to the 26th November, 7th Edward II. 1313; and he terminated his career in a manner strictly consistent with his life, for he fell in the battle of Bannockburn, on the 25th June 1314, at the early age of forty years. His body was sent to King Edward at Berwick, and is supposed to have been buried at Shapp Abbey, in Westmoreland.

“Clifford married Maud, daughter, and eventually coheir of Thomas de Clare, steward of Waltham-Forest, son of Thomas, younger son of Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by whom, who survived him, and remarried Robert, Baron Welles, he had issue Roger, his successor in the barony, then aged fifteen years, but who died, S. P. in 1337; Robert, brother and heir of Roger, and, according to some pedigrees, two other sons, John and Andrew; and a daughter, Idonea, the wife of Henry Lord Clifford.

“From Robert de Clifford, the second son of the subject of this article, descended the baronial line of Clifford, which, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, was elevated to the earldom of Cumberland. The barony of Clifford is now possessed by Edward Southwell, the present Lord de Clifford, the abeyance having been terminated in favour of his Lordship’s father in 1776.”[156]

G.

HUGH DE CRESSINGHAM.

Page 229.

Respecting this avaricious and time-serving minion, few particulars are known. The historians of his country appear to have left his memory in a state between obloquy and oblivion, and the odium he drew upon himself, during his short administration in Scotland, remains unrelieved by the relation of any redeeming circumstances on the part of those who may be supposed intimately acquainted with his character. Sir Walter Scott, in his Border Antiquities, mentions, that he was Rector of Ruddely, Chief Justiciary of York Assizes, and Prebendary of many churches.

But his numerous ecclesiastical duties were totally neglected, for the more congenial pursuits afforded by the cabinet and the camp; and it is stated, that though in the possession of so many lucrative benefices, he never assumed the garb peculiar to his sacred profession. In his character of Treasurer, he incurred a degree of detestation, which does not appear to have been attached to any of the other officers appointed by Edward to the management of affairs in Scotland. Among his own countrymen, his peculation occasioned disgust, and in many instances desertion; while his short-sighted rapacity chafed the impatient and angry feelings of a people smarting under the infliction of a yoke to which they had been hitherto unaccustomed, and greatly contributed in raising that spirit of insurrection in which his aggressions met with the vengeance they had provoked.

END OF VOLUME FIRST.

PRINTED BY J. HUTCHISON, FOR THE HEIRS OF D. WILLISON.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Glasgow, 1825.

[2] Hemingford says, that there were _fifty thousand slain_, many drowned, and _three hundred thousand foot_ taken prisoners, besides a thousand horsemen.

[3] Hist. Lib. iv. c. 15.

[4] Appendix to Blair’s Relationes in the Library of the College of Glasgow.

[5] Scottish Historical Library, p. 68. quarto ed.

[6] In England, Thomas à Becket conceded to Henry II., that, in the event of a bondsman becoming a clerk, he should not receive orders without the consent of his lord; and further, if a man of holy church held any lay-fee, he must do the King’s service thereto attached, except in cases connected with the execution of criminals. See _Hearne’s_ Glossary to Langtoft’s Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 530.

[7] Macpherson’s Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 324.

[8] Fordun, vol. ii. lib. x. cap. 42.

[9] Fordun, vol. ii. lib. x. cap. 42.--If we compare the following provisions of an act put forth by Edward I., with the above-mentioned enactment, some idea may be formed respecting the views entertained by the two British monarchs, on the subject of foreign commercial intercourse. “It is ordained, that no fishmonger shall have any partnership with a stranger who brings fish from sea to the city; but let them seek for fish in their _own_ ships, and permit foreigners to bring it and sell, when they come in their own ships. Because, by such partnerships, they who are of the city, and have known the state of the city, and the defect of victuals, will hold the fish at a dearer rate than foreigners, who shall not have known it; and also, that they who are of the city, when they cannot sell, as they will lay it up in cellars, and sell it _dearer than the strangers would do, if they came without partnership, and knew not where they might be harboured_.”--Lambert’s Historical Survey of London, vol. i. p. 156, 157.

[10] Fœdera, vol. i. p. 467.

[11] Torfæi Orcades, lib. i. cap. 4.

[12] Chron. of Lanercoste. See Macpherson’s Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 446. In 1282, the customs of England were farmed by Bonricini, Guidicon & Co. of Lucca, and the sum realized, from Easter 1281 till Easter 1282, netted 8411_l._ 19s. 11½d. The money, it may be observed at this time, was the same in both countries. _Madox, History of the Exchequer_, c. 23. fo. 1.

[13] The use of coal as fuel was very early known in Scotland. By a charter, dated in April 1291, William de Obervill granted liberty to the monks of Dunfermline, to dig coal for their own use in his lands of Pittencrieff, but upon no account to sell any, (Chart. in Statist. Account of Scotland, vol. xiii. p. 469.) By this restriction, it would seem that the proprietor not only set a value on the sale of coal, but also that the monks of those days were in the habit of improving their resources, by trafficking in temporal as well as in spiritual matters.

[14] Ayloff’s Calendar, p. 88. Some idea may be formed of the injury which the trade of Scotland sustained by the long protracted and impoverishing warfare she had to maintain in support of her independence, from the circumstance of James I. being obliged, in 1430, to commission two citizens of London to send him the following articles for his own use: viz. 20 tuns of wine, 12 bows, 4 dozen yards of cloth of different colours, and 12 yards of scarlet, 20 yards of red worsted, 8 dozen pewter vessels, 1200 wooden bowls (or caps), packed in 4 barrels, 3 dozen coverels, a bason and font, 2 summer saddles, 1 hackney saddle, 1 woman’s saddle, with furniture, 2 portmanteaus, 4 yards of motley, 5 yards of morray, 5 yards of black cloth of Lyn, 12 yards kersey, 12 skins of red leather, and some trifling articles. These goods, shipped on board a vessel belonging to London, were secured by a royal order from being molested by English cruizers, but they were to pay the customary duties. _Fœdera_, vol. x. p. 470.

[15] Rymer’s Coll. MS. vol. ii. p. 287.

[16] This traffic was frequently interrupted by war; in time of peace, it was carried on to a considerable extent. The first notice that we have of its revival after the wars of Wallace and Bruce, occurs in a letter of safe-conduct granted 12th January 1359, to Andrew Murray and Alan Erskine, two Scottish drovers, with three horsemen and their servants for travelling through England, or the King’s foreign dominions, for a year, with horses, oxen, cows, and other goods and merchandise.--Fœdera, vol. vi. p. 114.

[17] The greyhounds, “_leporarii_,” of Scotland were considered so superior, that the Duke of Berry, in France, thought it worth while to send his valet, and three other men, to procure some of them, and to obtain letters of safe-conduct from the King of England, to enable them to travel through his dominions on that business.--Fœdera, vol. vii. page 831.

[18] By the chamberlain’s accounts, it appears that the 178 hogsheads cost 439_l._ 16s. 8d. Sterling, while the 67 hogsheads and 1 pipe cost 373_l._ 16s. 8d. Could this difference arise from the latter being of superior quality, or from the market being overstocked, in consequence of the expected demand? No doubt there were speculators in those days, as well as at present.

[19] Wyntown, vol. i. p. 286.

[20] Some fine specimens of these battle-axes may be seen in the museum at Inverness.

[21] By the chamberlain’s accounts it appears, that in the reign of Alexander III., the King’s _Balistarius_, or keeper of the cross-bows for the Castle of Ayr, was allowed yearly two merks and a half.

[22] P. 668.

[23] Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 397 & 398.

[24] Philosophical Transactions, vol. xxi. p. 230.

[25] Macpherson’s Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 440.

[26] The following proverb is still floating on the breath of tradition among the Highlanders--“_Már thubhairt clag Scáin, an rud nach buin duit na buin da_;” “As the bell of Scoon rang, what belongs not to you meddle not with.”

[27] The name and labours of this priest have created a little perplexity among the learned. He appears to have made a sort of census of the kingdom, in which the names of the Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Parsons, Vicars, Abbesses, Earls, Barons, Knights, Freeholders, and Communities of cities and burghs, were registered. This roll, in which their rentals were stated, is known in Scottish history by the name of “Bagamont’s Roll,” and was always referred to in disputes respecting church property. For the purpose of a like assessment, Bagamont appears to have made a similar census in England. A copy of the Scotch roll, carried off most likely by Edward, along with the other documents, from Scone, was found in the Tower of London, and given to the world, by the more modern historians of England, as the “Homage Roll of Scotland,” under the cognomen of “Ragman’s Roll.” The disgrace which this document seems to infer, is pathetically bewailed by Abercromby. If he had turned to the learned Bishop of Carlisle’s Scottish Historical Library, p. 53, his grief might have been a little assuaged by the following passage:--“One of the most ancient repertories of the primitive state and rights of the Scottish church, is the old Book of the Taxation of Ecclesiastical Benefices, whereof Sir John Skene has given us the following account. [A] ‘The Pape, in the time of King [B] James the Third, sent in this realm ane cardinal and legate, called Bagimont: quha did make ane taxation of all the rentals of the benefices, that the samin might be knawin to the Pape: to the effect, that, when any person came to Rome seikin Bulles, or right to ony benefice fra him, he might conform to the said rental as he pleased, sell the samin for sa meikle silver or gold as he thocht maist profitable.’ This is by no means exact, nor answerable to what we commonly have from that learned writer; for that very law of [C] James the Third, to which he refers, cites this taxation by the name of the ‘Provinciallis Buik, or the auld taxation of Bagimont;’ and shews, that in this King’s time, endeavours were used to raise the values of the livings above what they were rated at, to the advantage of the Court of Rome, and against ‘the common gude of the realme.’ This act was confirmed by his son and successor James the Fourth, who made [D] the crime capital in laymen, ordaining that all such should ‘tine their life and gudes.’ We are, therefore, still in the dark as to the true author of this ancient valuation; being certainly misinformed of the time wherein he lived, and (perhaps) knowing as little of his proper name. If I may be allowed to offer my conjecture, I should guess that this ecclesiastical survey is about the same age with that which was made (of the lands in England) by our Edward the First; and possibly the names of [E] Rageman and Bagimont were heretofore one and the same. What this or the other means, or how both have been corrupted, let the nicer etymologists inquire.”

[A] De Verb. Sign. in voce Bagimont.

[B] It should be Alex.

[C] Vide Spotswood, lib. 2. p. 46. (3) Parl. 6. Ja. 3. Act 43.

[D] Parl. 4. St. 39.

[E] Vide D. Hen. Spelman. Gloss. in voce Rageman, and Repository of Records, p. 26. Had this candid and generally correct writer referred to Fordun, Book X. chap, xvii., he might have satisfied himself as to the date, origin, and nature of this roll, as well as the name and character of its author. The alteration of Bagimont to Rageman, is evidently an English corruption, which the writers of that country ought to be best able to explain. Ragman’s Roll, as a roll of vassalage to Edward, is unknown to _ancient_ English and Scottish historians.

[28] Hailes, 137, 138.

[29] Hailes, 155, 156.

[30] Vol. ii. p. 443 & 444.

[31] Vol. ii. p. 187. 3d edition.

[32] Chron. Melrose, p. 179.

[33] Hoveden, fol. 420.

[34] Fœdera, vol. i. p. 155.

[35] Icelandic Chronicle.

[36] Hailes, 188, 189.

[37] This reply of Alexander has been noticed, by various historians, as an uncommon instance of the precocity of the Royal intellect. Lord Hailes speaks of it as displaying “prudence and resolution superior to his years.” Without detracting from the merits of Alexander, it might with more propriety be considered as merely the well-conned lesson given him by the watchful guardians of the independence of his crown, whom experience had taught to be prepared for the attempt.

[38] The following quotation is from the work of a learned Englishman.

“There is” (inter Poemata, M.S. D. R. Maithland, p. _S. Pepys_, Armig.) “a manuscript account of _Robert_ the Third’s contest with our _Henry_ the Fourth, upon the subject of Homage; in the conclusion whereof (after the word _Finis_) is this inscription--The _Ring_ (for _Reign_) _of the Roy_ Robert, _made be Dean_ David Steill. In this the King of _England_ summons _Robert_ to do fealty at _London_.

_Eftir the richt of_ Brutus _King_, _Quhilck had all Ingland in governing_, &c.

In return to which, ’tis affirm’d that

Scotland _evir yit hes bene free_, _Sin_ Scota of Ægypt _tuick the see_.

It’s likewise observ’d, that _England_ itself (having been four times conquer’d by the _Romans_, _Saxons_, _Danes_, and _Normans_) has little ground for such a challenge; and ought to remember how frequently she has miscarry’d in her adventures of that kind. In conclusion, _Robert_ proposes the deciding this controversie by sixty against sixty (of the Royal blood of both kingdoms), forty against forty, or twenty against twenty: Or, if _Henry_ approves it, that the two Kings themselves may end it in a single combat. In which last offer, are these remarkable lines.

“_I proffer me to prief on the_ _At we and_ Scotland _yit are free_, _And of the_ Paip _nothing we hauld_, _But of the Kirk our Faith of auld_.”

See _Nicholson’s Scottish Historical Library_, p. 154, 155, 8vo. ed. and 43 of 4to.

[39] Hailes, p. 243, 244.

[40] Baliol, who, on the death of the Scottish Queen, assumed the title of “_Hæres regni Scotiæ_,” had engaged the powerful interest of the Bishop of Durham, by a grant of all the manors possessed by Alexander III. in Cumberland;--or, in the event of Edward refusing to sanction the grant, fifty manors in Scotland, in lieu of them. Had any of the other competitors been preferred, this grant must have fallen to the ground.--_Original Charter in possession of Mr Astle, and published in his Account of the Seals of the Kings of Scotland, p. 22._ It is more than probable that the influence and services of the Bishop of St Andrew’s had been secured by prospects perhaps equally advantageous.

[41] In support of this claim, Dr Lingard has, with great industry, collected the evidence afforded by the ancient chronicles of England from Brutus downward. These fabrications of the cloisters, however, are contradicted by events, respecting the truth of which the historians of both countries are agreed. It is rather singular, that when John became the _liegeman_ of the See of Rome, and, with the consent of his barons, surrendered THE “KINGDOMS OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND TO BE HELD OF THE POPE IN FEE, FOR A THOUSAND MERKS,” that he should have _tricked_ his Holiness out of THE KINGDOM OF SCOTLAND. Surely the example of Ananias was lost on the English monarch, when he thus trifled with the church, and kept back a _third_ of _his_ kingdoms. Dr Lingard does not inform his readers how the watchful guardian of “the Patrimony of St Peter” came to wink at so gross an imposition.

After all that the learned Doctor has advanced on the subject, it is pretty plain, that the homage of England over Scotland is something like that which was extorted by St Dunstan from a certain potentate who shall be nameless. Though the saint compelled him to cry _peccavi_, in a manner that made a great noise in the world at the time, yet when he became relieved from the scrape, and had got his nose in order, his _saintship_ found his _vassal_ as troublesome and evil disposed as ever.

[42] Hailes, p. 245, 246.

[43] Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 248.

[44] A family of the name of Waleis also existed in England, some of whom appear to have attained the highest civic honours in the city of London. We are informed by Stowe, that, in 1299, when part of the palace of Westminster, and the public buildings of the adjoining monastery, were destroyed by fire, a Parliament was held by Edward in the house of Henry Waleis, Mayor of London, at Stehenheth, “when crokards, pollards, and rosaries, coyned in foreign parts beyond seas, and uttered for sterlings, were cried down.” Henry Waleis was also Mayor in 1300; and a person of the same name is mentioned as having contributed largely to the building of “St Martyn’s Church, in the vintry of London;” he is also said to have filled the office of Mayor, during which time he built a prison, called the Tun, in Cornhill, for night-walkers. In 1296, when Edward granted the citizens of London the right of electing their chief magistrate, one William Waleis was called by the public voice to the civic chair.

[45] Fordun says the name of the elder son was _Andrew_, and thus speaks of him--“Cujus frater senior miles Andreas nomine, et militiæ cingulo succinctus.”

[46] Hailes, p. 253.

[47] This Gilbert de Umfraville, according to Dugdale, was descended from Robert de Umfraville, Knight of Tours, otherwise called Robert with the Beard, who was a kinsman of William the Conqueror. Having obtained a grant of the Scottish as well as the English inheritance of Ingram de Baliol, Umfraville became Earl of Angus, and was constituted governor of the castles of Dundee and Forfar. Justly considering that he held these fortresses in charge from the Scottish Regency, he could not surrender them to England, unless Edward and the Scottish Regency joined in an obligation to indemnify him. His demand was complied with; on which Lord Hailes remarks, that “he was the only _Scotsman_ who acted with integrity and spirit on this trial of national integrity and spirit.” But, unfortunately for even this solitary instance of integrity, Gilbert de Umfraville was an _Englishman_, and, as his conduct showed, a prudent, cautious, circumspect man of the world, who wished to preserve his possessions in both countries, by standing fair with both governments. His request could not be objected to by either of the parties. The expenses he laid out in maintaining the castle were afterwards allowed him, in consequence of a precept sent by Edward to the Bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, and the other guardians of the kingdom. In 22 Edward I. (according to Dugdale) he was summoned to Portsmouth, with horse and arms, to attend Edward on his expedition to France; and in 23 Edward I. he was summoned to Parliament, but not by the title of Earl of Angus, till 25 Edward I., at which time, says the above authority, “our lawyers of England were somewhat startled, and refused, in their briefs and instruments, to acknowledge him Earl, by reason that Angus was not within the kingdom of England, until he had openly produced the King’s warrant.”

[48] Lord Hailes, in remarking on this anecdote, as told by Buchanan, says, “I suspect, however, that this is nothing more than an abridgement of Blind Harry in classical Latin. It may be remarked, by the way, that this is one of the most specious tales in the book, for it is characteristical.” The value of his Lordship’s “Historical Doubts” are now beginning to be appreciated. There are many tales equally specious, and equally characteristical, to be found in the book, which his natural acuteness would have found no difficulty in discovering, had he laid down the quill of the lawyer, when he took up the pen of the historian. Mr Tytler gives the story, and quotes Wyntown as one of his authorities. This is a mistake; Wyntown is silent on the subject; and I suspect the truth of it must rest on the evidence of the Minstrel, and traditions still current in the country, among which are the following:--“Edward I. thought Dundee of sufficient consequence to be occupied by an English garrison; and the illustrious Wallace (with his companions, John Blair, probably of the Balthayock family, and Sir Niel Campbell of Lochaw) is said by tradition to have received his education at Dundee school, and, in this situation, to have begun his exploits with the death of the son of the English Governor.”--_Stat. Account, vol. viii. p. 212, 213._

“There is a very respectable man in Longforgan (in Perthshire), of the name of Smith, a weaver, and the farmer of a few acres of land, who has in his possession a stone which is called _Wallace’s Stone_. It is what was formerly called in this country a _bear-stone_, hollow like a large mortar, and was made use of to unhusk the bear or barley, as a preparative for the pot, with a large wooden mell, long before barley-mills were known. Its station was on one side of the door, and covered with a flat stone for a seat when not otherwise employed. Upon this stone Wallace sat on his way from Dundee, when he fled after killing the governor’s son, and was fed with bread and milk by the goodwife of the house, from whom the man who now lives there, and is the proprietor of the stone, is lineally descended; and here, his forbears (ancestors) have lived ever since, in nearly the same station and circumstances, for about five hundred years.”--_Stat. Account, xix. 561, 562._

[49] Hailes, p. 284.

[50] Douglas’ Baronage, p. 456.

[51] Quod tam Prælati quam Comites, Barones et alii nobiles, _necnon universitates communitatesque notabiles_ dicti _regni_ Scotiæ, suas nobis super hoc patentes literas suis munitas sigillis quam citius fieri poterit destinabunt.--_Fœdera_, T. ii. p. 696.

[52] Dugdale.

[53] Wyntown thus quaintly describes the feelings of Edward, on being told of the loss of his fleet:--

“Quhen the Kyng Edward of Ingland Had herd of this deidfull Tythand, All breme he belyd in-to berth, And wrythyd all in wedand werth, Alsá kobbyd in his crope As he had ettin are Attyrcope.”

_Wyntown_, vol. ii. p. 81.

[54] Before the attack, Antony Bek, Bishop of Durham, joined the English army, with 140 knights, 500 horse, and 1000 foot, accompanied by the consecrated banners of St Cuthbert and St John of Beverley; the former carried by Henry de Horncester, a stout monk of Durham, and the latter by Gilbert de Grymmesby (so called by the English), a Scottish Vicar of Beverley College, born in the district of Kyle in Ayrshire,--who had spent a great part of his life in the service of Edward in France, where he had acted as a pursuivant. The banner of St Cuthbert accompanied the King only on extraordinary occasions. The following description of it may not be unacceptable.

“This banner was fastened to a staff, five yards in length. All the pipes were of silver, to be sliven (_slipt_) on along the banner-staff; and on the uppermost pipe, on the height of it, was a little silver cross, and a goodly banner-cloth pertaining to it, and in the midst of the banner-cloth was a white velvet, half a yard square every way, and a cross of crimson velvet over it, and within the said white velvet was the holy relique, wherewith St Cuthbert covered the chalice when he said mass, and the residue of the banner-cloth was of crimson velvet, embroidered all over with gold and green silk most sumptuously. It was not carried out but on his anniversary, and some other principal festivals in procession. It was the clerk’s office to wait on it in his surplice, with a fair red-painted staff, having a fork or cleft at the upper end, which cleft was lined with soft silk, having a down under the silk to prevent it hurting or bruising the pipes of the banner, which were of silver, to take it down and raise it up again, by reason of the weightiness thereof. There were always four men to wait on it, besides the clerk, and divers who carried it. This last wore a strong girdle of white leather, to which the banner was fastened by two pieces of the same, having at each end of them a socket of horn to put the end of the banner-staff into.”--_Hist. and Antiq. of Durham Abbey, p. 118, 120._

By the Wardrobe Accounts, it appears that the monk who carried the banner of St Cuthbert into Scotland, was paid 1s. per day,--while he who carried that of St John was allowed 8½d., and _one penny_ per day to bring it back.

[55] Knighton says there were 17,000 killed, and that rivulets of blood flowed through the city for two days. Langtoft informs us, that Edward was the first to enter the breach, which he did on his favourite horse, named “Bayard.” He has omitted to say, if “Bayard” was _a pale horse_. This distinguishing trait seems only a-wanting, to render the description given of this “_most pious and clement_ prince,” no unapt representation of the Grand Destroyer and last enemy of mankind.

The only man of consequence who fell on the side of the English, was Sir Richard de Cornwall. He was killed by a quarrell, shot by a Flemish merchant from the “Red Hall.” This place was a fortified factory or store, occupied by a company of Flemings trading in Berwick, and held by them of the crown of Scotland, on condition of defending it against the English to the last extremity. Their knightly devoirs they bravely performed. The fortress held out the whole day against all the force the English could bring against it. At night it was set on fire, and the faithful little band of trading warriors perished in the flames.

[56] Henry, Buke Fyrst, p. 10, 11.

[57] Some accounts say that Sir Patrick Graham was the elder brother of the gallant Sir John.

[58] Walter of Exeter.

[59] Wyntown.

[60] Stowe.

[61] Vide Appendix to Tytler’s History of Scotland, vol. i.

[62] The object of the greatest national importance, and of the most venerable antiquity, which he carried off on this occasion, was the _Lia-faile_, called also _Clach na cineamhuinn_ (fatal stone), on which the Kings of Scotland, from the earliest ages of their monarchy, had been crowned. At the ceremony of their inauguration, a _seanachaidh_, or heraldic bard, clothed in a robe of sky-blue, stood before the _lia-faile_, and recited to the King, as he sat on it, the genealogy of the Kings of Scotland, from the foundation of their dynasty. The last performance of this ancient Celtic custom, was at the coronation of Alexander III. The person who officiated on that occasion, is said to have had on a scarlet robe. This, however, was not the colour used by the Celts, for that office. The person of the heraldic bard was sacred above all others, and he wore sky-blue as emblematic of peace. The early history of the _Lia-faile_ is involved in the obscurity of fable, and no small degree of sacredness has been attached to it from the connection it is supposed to have with the destinies of the Scots. The following Druidical Oracle, is considered as first giving currency to this belief.

Cioniodh scuit saor an fine, Man ba breag an Faisdine. Mar a bh’ fhuighid an lia-fail, Dlighid flaitheas do ghabhail.

Which Hector Boethius has thus rendered into Latin:

Ne fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem hunc, regnare tenentur ibidem.

_English Translations._

Except old saws do feign, And wizards’ wits be blind, The Scots in place must reign, Where they this stone shall find.

* * * * *

Consider, Scot, where’er you find this stone, If fates fail not (or lie not), there fix’d must be your throne.

_Another from Langtoft_, vol. ii. p. 527.

The Scottis sall bruke that realme, as natyve Ground, (Geif weirdis fayll nocht) quhair euir this chiar is found.

That part of the history of the _Lia-faile_ which is considered authentic, may soon be told.--It was at an early period brought from Ireland to Dunstaffnage; from thence to Scone, in 842, by Kenneth II.; and, lastly, to Westminster, in 1296. In the Wardrobe Account of Edward, for March 1299, there is the following entry of a payment to “Walter the painter, for a step to the foot of the _New Chair, in which the Stone of Scotland_ was placed, near the altar, before the shrine of St Edward, in Westminster Abbey, and to the carpenters and painters painting the said step; and the gold and colours to paint it with; and making a case to cover the said chair, L.1: 19: 7.”--_Remarks on the Wardrobe Account_, page xli. Walsingham says, that the use Edward put it to, was to serve as a chair for the celebrating priests at Westminster.

In the treaty of peace between Robert Bruce and Edward III., there is a particular stipulation for the restoration of this Stone. The Londoners, however, had taken a fancy to it, and excited a commotion to prevent its removal; and Robert had no difficulty to persuade his people, to waive the performance of the agreement. Indeed, so deep-rooted has been the belief of the Scots in the augury attached to it, that many looked upon the accession of James to the British throne as the fulfilment of the prediction. Even in the present day, when there is so much anxiety evinced for the recovery of objects held in national estimation, we do not hear of any application being made to his Majesty for the restoration of the _Lia-faile_. There is no doubt but many of those who witnessed the original aggression, would console themselves with the reflection, that the _“Lang-shanked Southerone” had caught a Tartar_.

[63] The servility of the Scottish Barons was not always unrequited. By the Rotuli Scotiæ, 19 Edward I. _et passim_ 24, it appears he gave obligations of the following import.

_Annual Value._ To the Bishop of Glasgow, lands of L.100 To James the Steward 100 To Patrick Earl of Dunbar 100 To John de Soulis 100 merks. To William Sinclair 100 To Patrick de Graham 100 To William de Soulis 100

Edward afterwards changed his plan, and gave these barons and prelates gratifications in money, or other value. But to John Comyn the King gave the enormous sum of L.1563: 14: 6½d.--_Tytler’s Hist._ vol. i. p. 99.

[64] Prophetic announcements respecting him were also, at an after period, sent abroad by the Scottish clergy.--“Nam revelatione mirifica ostensum est fide dignioribus diversis, sanctissimum apostolum Andream, regni Scotiæ, protectorem et patronum, dicto Willielmo Wallace gladium cruentatum manu aliter commisisse, stricte sibi præcipiendo eo utrobique uti ad defensionem regni Anglicos propulsando.--Custos itaque effectus, misit manum suam ad fortia, Anglicos prosternens, Anglicatos reconcilians, oppressos relevans, et quotidianis incrementis proficiens.” _M.S. Cuprensis._ See Fordun’s Scotichronicon, vol. ii. p. 170.--This vision of St Andrew is also taken notice of by Blind Harry.--_Vide_ Buke Sewynd, v. 57.

[65] “Riccardtoun is evidently a corruption of Richardtown. It is generally said to have been so called from a Sir Richard Wallace, who lived in the vicinity of the village, and who is said to have been uncle to the celebrated patriot Sir William Wallace. Of his house no vestige now remains. The place, however, where it stood is well known. The village of Riccardtown is within one mile of the market town of Kilmarnock.”--_Stat. Acc._ vol. vi. p. 117.

[66] “Among other antiquities, there may be mentioned a place called Beg, above Allinton, where the brave Wallace lay in a species of rude fortification, with only fifty of his friends, yet obtained a complete victory over an English officer of the name of Fenwick, who had two hundred men under his command. This gallant hero, it is well known, had several places of retirement towards the head of this parish, and in the neighbourhood, some of which still retain his name to this day. Wallace-hill, in particular, an eminence near Galla-law, and a place called Wallace-Gill, in the parish of Loudoun, a hollow glen to which he probably retired for shelter, when pursued by his enemies.”--_Stat. Acc._ ii. 74.

[67] Dugdale, vol. i. p. 266.

[68] Froisart.

[69] The ruins which are now called Crosby Castle, are situated in the district of Cunningham, within a short distance of the village of West Kilbride. They occupy part of the ground on which stood the old castle belonging to Sir Raynald Crawford. By the date on the wall, it seems to have undergone repairs in 1676. The present building has never been a place of great strength. From the ap *pearance of the ground, however, and other indications in the neighbourhood, the former castle must have been of a different character. On the edge of a deep precipitous glen, well adapted for concealment, it afforded every facility for eluding the pursuit of an enemy. A noisy brook dashes from rock to rock down the dark and well-wooded ravine, whose craggy sides must often have witnessed the meeting of Wallace and his associates.

[70] The Charter of Wallace, by which Scrimgeor held the Constabulary of Dundee, is still in existence, and will be given in vol. ii. of this work. The seal affixed to the instrument is that of Baliol, and accompanies, as a frontispiece, the present volume.

The peculiarities of a constable’s office, are thus enumerated in _Bray’s History of Surrey, vol. iii. p. 136_. “In an instrument of William de Wickham, dated at Eshu, 19. January 1379, 3. Richard II., by which he appointed William de Wimbledon constable, the duty of his office is stated to be, to keep, govern, and oversee the castle, together with the manor, lordship, lands, franchises, liberties, parks, chases, warrens, &c. belonging to the same; also to hold the courts and to prosecute, challenge, claim, and defend all rights and franchises belonging to the bishop and church of Winchester within the said bailiwick.”

[71] The following is a copy of the “band of manrent” alluded to, from the original Latin, in the possession of the family of Somerville.

“Be it kend till all men be thir present letters, me, Sir Walter of Newbigging, and me, Sir David of Towie, for all the dayes of our lyves to be obleidged and bound be the faith of our bodies and thir present letters in mandred, and sworne counsell as brothers in law, to be with one another in all actiones, causes, and quarrills pertaineing to us, both in peace and in warr, against all that lyves and dyes, excepting our alleadgeance to our soveraigne lord the king. In witnes of the whilk thing, and of ther present letters, wee have hung to our sealles, att Aberdean, the twentieth day of Apryle, the year of God 1281, before ther witnesses, William Somervill, our brother, and John Somervill and Thomas Stelfeir.” To this band of mandrey is appended two sealles, very legible and knowne, for the Somervills and Barclayes differed nothing from what they are at present, save a little in the placeing of the armes.“--_Memorie of the Somervills_, vol. i. p. 75, 76.

[72] Respecting the armour and sword of Wallace, Doctor Jamieson has the following note. “In the Castle of Dunbarton, they pretend to show the mail, and, if I mistake not, also the sword of Wallace. If he was confined in that fortress by Monteith, before being sent into England, as some have supposed, it is not improbable that his armour might be left there. The popular belief on this head, however, is very strong; of which I recollect a singular proof, which took place many years ago, and of which I was an eye-witness. In the procession of King Crispin, at Glasgow, his majesty was always preceded by one on horseback, appearing as his _champion_. In former times, this champion of the awl thought it enough to wear a leathern jerkin, formed like one of mail. One fellow, however, was appointed, of a more aspiring genius than his predecessors, who was determined to appear in real mail; and who, having sent to Dunbarton Castle, and hired the use of Wallace’s armour for a day, made his perambulations with it through the streets of Glasgow. I can never forget the ghastly appearance of this poor man, who was so chilled and overburdened by the armour, that, as the procession moved, he was under the necessity of frequently supporting himself with a cordial. It was said that he took to bed immediately after the termination of this procession, and never rose from it. From that time forward, his successors in office were content to wear the proper badge of their profession.”--_Dr Jamieson’s Notes on Blind Harry._

On this extract from the Doctor’s invaluable work, the writer has to remark, that information derived from inquiry made on the subject, does not entirely confirm the correctness of _all_ the statements that extract contains. That a man in _real armour_ figured in the procession of King Crispin at Glasgow, about forty years ago, is a well-known fact; but that the armour had belonged to Wallace, is any thing but certain. If so precious a deposit had been in the charge of the Governor of Dumbarton Castle, it is conceived he must have possessed more good nature than became his situation, if he lent it out to grace any such fooleries. Certain it is, if such armour was in Dumbarton Castle at the time, it is unknown to those connected with the garrison at present; and we can *not conceive that a relic, so valuable in the estimation of the public, would have totally disappeared, without its being known what had become of it. The inquiries of the writer enable him to state, that the mail used on this occasion was lent to the followers of King Crispin by a gentleman belonging to Glasgow of the name of Wilsone. It was plate-armour and highly polished. The sons of the awl, however, had a taste of their own in such matters, and took the liberty of painting it in oil, of a colour more to their fancy. But on being returned in this altered condition, it was thrown aside by the indignant proprietor. All that they _pretend_ to show in the Castle of Dumbarton, as having belonged to Wallace, is a sword of a very antique fashion, intended to be used with both hands, but by no means of a weight that would prevent men of ordinary strength of the present day from wielding it. There is no proof, however, that it belonged to the Deliverer of Scotland; and, if we may credit the account given by old people, of its having been dragged up from the bottom of the Clyde by the anchor of a vessel about sixty years ago, its identity becomes more than doubtful. Such, however, is the prevalence of the report in its favour, that it was some time since sent to London for the inspection of certain official characters connected with the Board of Ordnance. At the time it was sent off, it wanted several inches of its length, which, it seems, had been broke off by some accident. Whatever may have been the opinion of those to whom it was sent, respecting its connection with Wallace, we know not; but as they were at the trouble of getting it repaired, in a manner that reflects credit on the talents of the artist, and returning it with a handsome scabbard, they have at least paid a compliment to the prejudice in its favour.

[73] A specimen of this formidable weapon the writer has seen in the Museum at Inverness.

[74] According to Pinkerton and other authorities, Henry did not finish his work till 1470. It is therefore more probable that the curiosity of James was excited by the original narrative of Blair; a book which, from his long captivity in England, he had perhaps heard little about, till his return to Scotland. The rehearsal, therefore, of the heroic achievements of his illustrious countryman, may have produced all the excitement which the Editor of the Perth edition supposes, though not made by the Minstrel.

[75] “A little south of the village, there is a conical height called Kin-hill, which is evidently artificial, and seems to have been a military work. There are the remains of a ditch or rampart of a circular form, which proves that it is not of Roman origin. It is probably of later date, and appears to have been the place from which Sir William Wallace sallied forth on the night when he took by surprise the _Peel of Gargunnock_.”--_Stat. Acc._ xviii. 116, 117.

[76] The concealing of money and other valuables in the earth, appears to have been a very common practice in Scotland, during the calamitous periods of her history; and many an instance has been recorded of little depôts coming to light; which it is very probable were composed of the hard-earned plunder of the military adventurer, whose ambition, avarice, or duty, called him off to other fields, where he and his secret perished together.

From the many notices we have seen of the discovery of hidden treasures, we shall select the following, as alluding more particularly to the period embraced in our narrative. We cannot, however, agree with the learned Editor in the opinion, that the coins in question were hidden by the soldiers of Edward; they held the country by too precarious a tenure to make such deposits. It is more likely to have been the share of booty belonging to some patriot Scot, who had afterwards fallen in the cause of his country’s independence. “There was lately found, on the farm of Mr Rankine of Whitehall, parish of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, by a person employed in turning up the ground with a spade, about two feet from the surface, a small vase, of an antique form, similar to those in the Englefield Collection, and of very coarse materials, containing about a hundred silver pennies of Alexander III. of Scotland, and Edward I. of England, in good preservation, having the head and characters distinctly legible. The English coins were more numerous than the Scotch. Those of Alexander represent him in profile, as do all the coins of his reign, and have round the head, _Alexander Dei Gra:_; and on the other side, _Rex Scotorum_, with a cross extending to the edge, and a spur level in each of the quarters. This coin is No. 33, first page of plates appended to Adam de Cardonnel’s _Numismata Scotiæ_. Those of Edward represent him in full face, with _Edw. Ang._; _Dus Hyb._; and on the reverse of the different coins, _Civitas Cantor_, _Civitas London_, _Civitas Lincoln_, and almost all the mint-towns of England, with the cross extending to the edge, and three roses in each quarter. From the great number of these coins found in this part of the country, it is probable they were deposited in the earth by the soldiers of Edward, who had taken refuge in these mountainous regions, when flying from the well-merited indignation of the Scotch. They must have been placed in the ground some time about the beginning of the fourteenth century. Bruce having obtained the crown in the year 1306, and relating, as they do, to a most interesting period of our history, and which is embalmed in the memory of every Scotsman, they are worthy of occupying a place in the cabinets of the curious. A few of them have been sent to the Museum of Edinburgh College.”--_Scotsman._

Within these few years also, a depôt was discovered at Ascog, in the island of Bute, in which four thousand silver pennies of Edward I. were found, most of them of the London mintage.

[77] “This appears to have been the head of the ancient family of Heron who held Ford Castle in Northumberland. In the reign of Henry III. it was in possession of Sir William Heron, who was Governor of the Castles of Bamborough, Pickering, and Scarborough, Lord Warden of the Forests north of Trent, and Sheriff of Northumberland for eleven successive years.”--Vide _Hutchinson’s Northumberland_, ii. 19. “This Castle has attracted much attention, as having been the scene of the enchantments of its fair mistress, by means of which our infatuated James IV. was disarmed before the battle of Flodden; and it has acquired additional celebrity, from the no less be *witching muse of the Author of Marmion.”--_Dr Jamieson’s Notes on Blind Harry._

[78] It would be rather difficult to assign sufficient reasons for the inferiority of the Scottish archers to those of England; and perhaps it may be one of those popular errors, which, being once promulgated, has passed unquestioned. The ridicule which James I. has thrown upon a certain portion of his countrymen, in his poem of Chryst’s Kirk on the Green, has no doubt tended to confirm, or perhaps to give rise to the opinion. The advice which Robert Bruce gave his countrymen, always to attack and disperse the English archers, as early in the engagement as possible, is likewise quoted as an instance of the dread which the Scots entertained for this description of their enemies’ force. But this advice most probably was suggested, more from the vast multitudes of bowmen which the English had it in their power to bring into the field, than from any peculiar or individual advantage they possessed at their weapon. The archers whom Bruce attacked and dispersed at the battle of Bannockburn were chiefly Welch;--when individual trials of skill occurred, any inferiority on the part of the Scots was never very conspicuous; and there appears no reason it should have been so. The attention they bestowed on the art was at least equal to that of their neighbours. This is evident, from the numerous wapenschaws established all over the country. In the works of Lindsay of Pittscottie, we have the following account of a “waigeour of archerie,” between the Queen Dowager of Scotland and her son James V.:--“In this yeir cam an Inglisch ambassadour out of Ingland, callit Lord Williame, ane bischope, and vther gentlmen, to the number of thrie scoir horss, quhilkis war all able, wailled gentlmen, for all kynd of pastime, as schotting, louping, wrastling, runing, and casting of the stone. Bot they war weill assayed in all these or they went home; and that be thair awin provocatioun, and almost evir tint, quhill at the last the kingis mother favoured the Inglismen, becaus shoe was the king of Inglandis sister: and thairfoir shoe tuik ane waigeour of archerie vpoun the Inglishmanis handis, contrair the King hir sone, and any half duzoun Scottismen, either noblmen, gentlmen, or yeamanes, that so many Inglisch men sould schott againes them at riveris, buttis, or prick bonnett. The King, heiring of this bonspeill of his mother, was weill content. So thair was laid an hundreth crounes and ane tun of wyne pandit on everie syd. The ground was chosin in St Androis; the Scottis archeris was thrie landit gentlmen and thrie yeamanes, to witt, David Weimes of that ilk, David Arnott of that ilk, and Mr Johne Wedderburne, viccar of Dundie. The yeamanes was Johne Thomsone in Leith, Stevin Tabroner, and Alexander Baillie, who was ane pyper, and schott vondrous neir, and wan the vaigour from the Inglismen; and thairefter went in to the toun and maid ane banquett to the king and the queine, and the Inglisch ambassadour, with the wholl tuo hundreth crounes, and the tuo tunes of wyne. Albeit that the Inglismen confessed that the Scottismen sauld have been fried of the payment of that banqueitt, quhilk was so gorgeous that it was of no les awaill than the said gold and wyne extended to.”--_Chronicles of Scotland, by Lindsay of Pitscottie_, vol. ii. p. 347, 348. It may also be observed, that the value which the Scots set upon the quality of the feathers used for their arrows, bespeaks a considerable proficiency in the art. Those of the Earn appear, from the following extract, to have been in the greatest request. “In the west and north-west of Scotland, there is a great repayring of the Erne, of a marvellous nature: the people are very curious to catch him, and punze his wings, that hee fly not. Hee is of a hudge quantity, and a ravenous kind as the hawks, and the same qualitie. They doe give him such sort of meat, in great quantity at once, that hee lives contented therewith 14, 16, or 20 dayes, and some of them a moneth. Their feathers are good for garnishing of arrowes, for they receive no raine nor water, but remaine alwayes of a durable estate, and uncorruptible. The people doe use them either when they be a hunting, or at warres.”--_A Memoriall of the most Rare and Wonderful Things in Scotland._

[79] “So late as the reign of James I. of England, there is an order dated A. D. 1616, that no less then nine bloodhounds should be kept on the Border, upon Esk and other places mentioned.”--_Pennant’s Tour_, 1772. i. 77. ii. 397.

John Harding has given a curious account of the means used by Edward I. for taking Bruce, similar to that here said to have been employed against Wallace.

“The king Edward with _hornes_ and _houndes_ him soght, With menne on fote, through marris, mosse & myre, Through wodes also & mountens, (wher they fought), And euer the kyng Edward hight men greate hyre, Hym for to take by might conquere; But thei might hym not gette, by force ne by traine, He satte by the fyre when thei (went) in the rain.”

* * * * *

The following description of these dogs is from an old writer, well acquainted with their character. “In Scotland are dogs of marveylous condition, above the nature of other dogs. The first is a hound of great swiftnesse, hardiness and strength, fierce and cruell upon all wilde beasts, and eger against thieves that offer their masters any violence. The second is a rach, or hound, verie exquisite in following the foote, (which is called drawing), whether it bee of man or beast; yea, he will pursue any maner of fowle, and find out whatsoever fish haunting the land, or lurking amongst the rocks, specially the otter, by that excellent sent of smelling wherewith he is indued. The third sort is no greater than the aforesaid raches, in colour for the most part red, with blacke spots, or else black and full of red markes. These are so skilfull, (being used by practise), that they will pursue a thiefe, or thiefe-stolne goods, in the most precise maner, and finding the trespasser, with great audacity they will make a race upon him, or if hee take the water for his safegard, he shrinketh not to follow him; and entring and issuing at the same places where the party went in and out, hee never ceaseth to range till he hath noysed his footing, and bee come to the place wherein the thiefe is shrowded or hid. These dogs are called Sleuth-hounds. There was a law amongst the borderers of England and Scotland, that whosoever denyed entrance to such a hound, in pursute made after felons and stolne goods, should be holden as accessary unto the theft, or taken for the selfe same thiefe.”--_Account of the Red Deer and Wild Beasts in Scotland._

[80] In the Scottish armies of the 13th and 14th centuries, every man was supplied with a horn, generally that of a bullock, which he blew with vehemence, as he rushed on to the charge. The horrible noise this occasioned had often the effect of throwing the cavalry into confusion. These horns are sometimes alluded to in our national ballads.

[81] See Appendix A.

[82]

I tell you a truth, Liberty is the best of all things: My son, never live under any slavish bond.

[83] “The uncle of Wallace, a priest, so often inculcated, and so deeply imprinted, the following lines upon his mind and memory, that by them he squared all the thoughts of his great soul, and efforts of his vigorous body:

“_Dico tibi verum, libertas optima rerum; Nunquam servili, sub nexu vivito, fili._”

_Scotichron. Maj._ lib. 12. cap. iii.--_See also Fordun_, Lib. xii. cap. iii.

[84] See Appendix, B.

[85] According to a tradition still current about Crawford, Wallace is said to have first approached the castle in the disguise of an old beggar, with a patch over one eye, and his sword concealed under his cloak. In this dress, he entered into conversation with a woman engaged in washing clothes in the Clyde. From her he learned, that part of the garrison, amounting to about fifteen men, were carousing in a “hostelrie” hard by, kept by two brothers of the name of Watt. To this place he repaired, and getting among them, it was not long before he discovered that he was the subject of their conversation. Some, more elated with the contents of the cup than their neighbours, loudly expressed the satisfaction they would feel at having a “bout” with the champion of the Scots; while he who appeared to bear command among them, declared how willingly and handsomely he would reward the man who would bring them together. Wallace offered, for “sma’ hire,” to comply with their wishes; and rising, as if for the purpose, drew forth his formidable weapon, and commenced an attack upon the party, whom he was fortunate enough, by his superior strength and dexterity, to overpower and put to death. His horn was then sounded; and his companions, quitting their lurking places, rallied around him, and surprised the castle in the manner described. The house where the above action is understood to have taken place, is still to be seen in the village of Crawford-John. It continues to be occupied by the descendants of one of the two brothers above alluded to, who was married to a woman named Dalziel, and whose progeny continued to rent it as tenants, till about three hundred years ago, when one of them, who was piper to the proprietor, received a perpetual feu of the house, and a small portion of land attached to it, for some piece of service he had performed. The room in which the above adventure is said to have occurred, is at the end of the building, nearest to the ruins of Crawford Castle; and the present occupant, Mr Dalziel, with praiseworthy attention, endeavours to preserve, as much as possible, the original appearance of the house. The ditch into which the dead bodies of the English were thrown, is still pointed out.

[86] Wyntoune, vol. ii. p. 92.

[87] _Vide_ Introduction to this work, p. 26.

[88] Fordun calls him, _Willielmus de Hasliope_

[89] Wyntown, vol. ii. p. 92-95.

[90] Memorie of the Somervills, vol. i. p. 80, 81.

[91] The family, from which Sir Bryce Blair is descended, has come down till the present time. He was third in succession from William de Blair, mentioned in a contract between Ralph de Eglinton and the town of Irvine, in 1205; and who is said to have died in the reign of Alexander II., betwixt the years 1214 and 1249, leaving a son also named William, who, in a charter of Alexander III., is styled _Willielmus de Blair_, _Dominus de eodem_, or of that Ilk. This William left two sons; 1st Bryce, and 2d David. He was succeeded by the eldest, Sir Bryce Blair of that Ilk, who, having given umbrage to the English, by joining our hero, was put to death in the treacherous manner described in our history. His brother David, who succeeded to the estates, had submitted to Edward, along with the aristocracy in 1296. Though the head of this family was considered as the chief of all the Blairs in Scotland, yet their title was often called in question by the Blairs of Balthycock, a family of great antiquity. The affair was at last brought before James VI., who decided, that “_the oldest man, for the time being, of either family should have the precedency_.” It is probable that John Blair, who acted as chaplain to Wallace, was a cadet of this family.

[92] See Appendix, C.

[93] The family banner of Bek, according to Walter of Exeter, a cotemporary authority, was, “_Gules, with a fer de moulin of ermine_.” Though Henry de Hornecester was in the habit of carrying the banner of St Cuthbert, it was only on extraordinary occasions that this unwieldy ensign was displayed; and it is not likely, that, amid the bustle of so unexpected an attack, they could spare time to get it ready, even if the occasion had been a proper one, it being chiefly reserved for high festivals. As it had been brought into Scotland the preceding year, it was very likely retained, along with that of St John of Beverly, to grace the processions of the proud and imperious churchman in his new diocese.

[94] It has been asserted that Henry de Percy was killed on this occasion. It is, however, a mistake; Percy, at the time of the rencounter, was either in the eastern part of Scotland, along with Robert de Clifford, or in attendance on his uncle the Earl of Warren, in Northumberland.

[95] See Appendix, D.

[96] Annals, vol. i. p. 299.

[97] Vol. ii. p. 248.

[98] It is hoped that the writer will not be considered as attempting to justify any thing like wanton cruelty on the part of Wallace and his compatriots. When he finds authors, Scottish as well as English, bewailing the fate of these unfortunate churchmen, he considers it but an act of justice to the accused, that the crime of the other party should be put upon record, in order that the reader may be able to ascertain the degree of sympathy to which the sufferers may be entitled.

[99] The following diary of the progress of Edward through Scotland in 1296, has been lately published by Mr N. H. Nicolas, in a volume of the Transactions of the Antiquarian Society of London. It is translated from a MS. in old Norman French; and the names of the places are sometimes a little obscure.

‘On the 28th March 1296, being Wednesday in Easter week, King Edward passed the Tweed, and lay in Scotland.--

‘At Coldstream Priory.

‘Hatton or Haudene, 29th March, Thursday.

‘Friday, being Good-Friday, 30th March, Sack of Berwick.

‘Battle of Dunbar, April 24, 26, 27.

‘Edward marches from Berwick to Coldingham; 28th April to Dunbar.

‘Haddington, Wednesday, Even of Ascension, May 3.

‘Lauder, Sunday, May 6.

‘Rokisburgh, Monday, May 7. where Edward remained fourteen days.

‘Jedworth, May 23.

‘Wyel, Thursday, May 24.; Friday, 25., to Castleton; Sunday, 27., again to Wyel.

‘Jedworth, Monday, May 28.

‘Rokisburgh, Friday, June 1.

‘Lauder, Monday, June 4.

‘Newbattle, Tuesday, June 5.

‘Edinburgh, Wednesday, June 6. siege of Edinburgh.

‘Linlithgow, June 14.

‘Stirling, Thursday, June 14. At Outreard, June 20.

‘Perth, Thursday, June 21., where he remained three days.

‘Kincleven on the Tay, June 25.

‘Cluny, Tuesday, June 26. Abode there till July 1.

‘Entrecoit, Monday, July 2.

‘Forfar, Tuesday, July 3.

‘Fernwell, Friday, July 6.

‘Montrose, Saturday, July 7. Abode there till the 10th.

‘Kincardine in the Mearns, Wednesday, July 11.

‘Bervie, Thursday, July 12.

‘Dunn Castle, Friday, July 13.

‘Aberdeen, Saturday, July 14.

‘Kinkell, Friday, July 20.

‘Fyvie, Saturday, July 21.

‘Banff, Sunday, July 22.

‘Invercullen, Monday, 23.

‘In tents on the river Spey, district of Enzie, Tuesday, July 24.

‘Repenage, in the county of Moray, Wednesday, July 25.

‘Elgin, Thursday, July 26. Remained for two days.

‘Rothes, Sunday, July 29.

‘Innerkerack, Monday, July 30.

‘Kildrummie, Tuesday, July 31.

‘Kincardine in the Mearns.

‘Kildrummie, Tuesday.

‘Kincardine in the Mearns, Thursday, August 2.

‘Brechin, Saturday, August 4.

‘Aberbrothoc, Sunday, August 5.

‘Dundee, Monday, August 6.

‘Baligarnach, the Redcastle, Tuesday, August 7.

‘St Johnston’s, Wednesday August 8.

‘Abbey of Lindores, Thursday, August 9. Tarried Friday.

‘St Andrew’s, Saturday, August 11.

‘Markinch, Sunday. August 12.

‘Dunfermline, Monday, August 13.

‘Stirling, Tuesday, August 14. Tarried Wednesday 15th.

‘Linlithgow, Thursday, August 16.

‘Edinburgh, Friday, August 17. Tarried Saturday 18th.

‘Haddington, Sunday, August 19.

‘Pykelton, near Dunbar, Monday, August 20.

‘Coldingham, Tuesday, August 21.

‘Berwick, Wednesday, August 22.

‘Having spent twenty one weeks in his expedition.’

[100] This grant included Argyle as well as Lorn.

[101] This person was the chief of the ancient and warlike clan Gregor, and one of the few of the West Highland chiefs who took a part in the struggle for the independence of the country. He remained steady in his loyalty to Robert Bruce, who he is said to have rescued from John of Lorn at Dalreoch. On this occasion he was mounted on a milk-white steed. He afterwards harboured the King in a large cave near Cragcrastan, which is to this day called “_Uagh na riogh_”, or the _King’s Cave_, from which he crossed over and met the Earl of Lennox at Lochlomond. Malcolm fought at the Battle of Bannockburn, and is said to have been the person who brought the relict of St Fillan’s arm from the country of that name, then part of his property, to King Robert’s chaplain, who very adroitly passed it off for a miracle, and thereby excited the hopes and stimulated the valour of the army. So sensible was Bruce of this piece of service, that he founded a priory in honour of the saint in Strathfillan in 1314. Malcolm was much celebrated in the songs of the bards. He fought under King Edward Bruce in Ireland; and having received a wound at the battle of Dundalk, he retired home in consequence; and as he never entirely recovered, he was called ever after, “_Mórfhear bacach_” or the lame lord.

[102] The rock on which the castle stood, was then known, as it is to this day, by the name of _Crag-an-àradh_, or the _rock of the ladder_. The Minstrel calls it _Crage unyn_. This deviation is extremely small, and more in the orthography than the orthoepy. The West-Highlanders pronounce _crag-an-àradh_, nearly as if spelled _craganari_. The difference may have easily occurred in the act of transcribing. The mode of crossing the ravine as above described, was in use till the present road was made by government, when a bridge was substituted for the less commodious expedient of a ladder.

[103] See Appendix, E.

[104] Vol. ii. p. 297.

[105] Vol. ii p. 197.

[106] See Appendix, F.

[107] The military genius of Bruce had not yet developed itself. Nothing can exhibit a greater contrast than the early and the later career of this illustrious individual. The indecision and inertness which mark his first appearance in public life, and the sublimity of heroism to which he afterwards attained, almost entitle him to be considered as the Cimon of Scottish history.

[108] Some curious and authentic information on this subject may be found in vol. i. p. 252-260 of Tytler’s History of Scotland,--a valuable work at present in the course of publication.

[109] “The vestiges of Tiber Castle, which has been a large building, are to be seen on the banks of the Nith. A small part of the wall next the river remains; fosses are visible; and some intrenchments, where it was most accessible. It is supposed that the barony of _Tiber_ is named from Tiber, or Tiberius. There is a Roman encampment too. The English had a garrison in this castle, in the time of Sir William Wallace, who took it by surprise.”--_Stat. Acc. Parish of Penpont_, i. 209.

[110] William de Warren was the son of John, Earl of Warren and Surrey (according to Dugdale), by Alice, daughter of Hugh le Brun, Count of March, uterine sister of Henry the Third. In 5th Edward I., he was sent into Wales on the King’s business. In 22d Edward I., he was employed in pressing ships in the southern and western counties, and in cutting down timber for the use of the Royal Navy, which was to rendezvous at Portsmouth. In 25th Edward I., he was taken prisoner by the Scots, on which occasion the King committed the care of his lands to his own attorney, William de Berquey. According to Dugdale, he had a claim, through his wife Mary, to the Isle of Man; but Edward having reserved the Island for his own use, it is uncertain what compensation, or, if any, was made. He appears to have allowed her, by the name of _Regina Manniæ, quondam uxor Domini William filii_ Warren, for her support, the value of 2 hogsheads wine, 40 quarters wheat, and 40 of malt, amounting to 31_l._ 6s. 8d., but on what account is not stated. William died during his father’s lifetime, leaving his wife _enceinte_ of John, who succeeded his grandfather in his honours. See _Observations on the Wardrobe of Edward_ I., page lviii. lix.

[111] _Wyntown, vol. ii, p. 97, and Fordun, Lib. xi. cap. xxix_.

[112] This system of warfare, from the following effusion, appears also to have met the approbation of the immortal Bruce:--

“_Scotica sit guerra pedites, mons, mossica terra: Silvæ pro muris sint, arcus, et hasta securis. Per loca stricta greges munientur. Plana perignes Sic inflammentur, ut ab hostibus evacuentur. Insidiæ vigiles sint, noctu vociferantes. Sic male turbati redient velut[F] ense fugati Hostes pro certo, sic regæ docente Roberto._”

Scottish version, ex edit. Hearn.

On fut suld be all Scottis weire, Be hyll and mosse thaim self to weire. Lat wod for wallis be bow and speire, That innymeis do thaim na dreire. In strait placis gar keip all stoire, And byrnen the planen land thaim before: Thanen sall thai pass away in haist, Quhen that they find nathing bot waist. With wyllis and wakenen of the nicht, And mekill noyes maid on hycht. Thanen sall they turnen with gret affrai, As thai were chasit with several away. This is the counsall and intent. Of gud King Robert’s testament.

[F] _Famis ense_ MSS. Cupr. and Perth.--See Fordun, vol. ii. p. 232. [Edin. Ed. 1775.]

[113]

The grettast Lordis of oure land Til hym he gert thame be bowand: Ild thai, wald thai, all gert he Bowsum til hys Byddyng be: And til hys Byddyng qwhay war noucht bown He tuk, and put thame in Presown.

_Wyntown, vol. ii. p. 96._

[114] See Appendix G.

[115] Langtoft partly attributes the loss of this battle to the indolence of the English general. The return of so considerable a body of troops, on account of their not being supported by the rest of the army, would no doubt encourage the Scots, and perhaps suggested to their leader the admirable manœuvre which he afterwards put in practice.

[116] Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 297.

[117] This man, though a brave soldier, it seems, was no _swimmer_. Being advised by some of his companions to throw himself into the river, he replied, “It shall never be said of me, that I did voluntarily drown myself. God forbid, that such a dishonour should fall upon me, or any Englishman;” and, setting spurs to his horse, rushed into the thick of the battle, killing many of his opponents, and was fast making his way to the bridge, when he was called to by his nephew, who was wounded, to save him. “Get up and follow me,” was the answer. “Alas! I am weak, and cannot,” returned the other. Sir Marmaduke’s squire dismounted, and placed him behind his uncle, who brought him off in safety to Stirling Castle, where they both found refuge.

Notwithstanding this unfortunate expedition, Sir Marmaduke returned the following year to the Scottish wars. He was also engaged 29th and 32d Edw. I. and 1st Edw. II., and died 16th Edw. II., leaving issue by Isabel, his wife, William, his son and heir. He himself succeeded Robert de Twenge, to Cleveland and other possessions in the North of Yorkshire.--_Dugdale._

[118] P. F. Tytler, Esq.

[119] Among those who distinguished themselves in this memorable engagement, there is reason to believe that the burgesses of Stirling, and the tenants of the Abbey-Alands at Cambuskenneth, were particularly active; and it is supposed, that, from their behaviour on this occasion, they were allowed to assume an allusion to the battle in the town’s seal, which, after the date of the above transaction, displayed on the obverse a bridge, composed of seven arches; in the centre appeared a crucifix, on the south side of which stand three soldiers with bows, (the national weapon of the English), endeavouring to force the passage, and on the north side are the same number of soldiers, armed with spears, the characteristic weapon of the Scots. The legend is, “_Híc armis Bruti Scoti stant, híc crucie tuti_.”

[120] See also an interesting paper on this subject, in _The Edinburgh Literary Journal_, No. 70.

[121] Notes to “Wallace.”

[122] In Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. i. p. 426. In this memoir all the statements are taken from Surtees’ History of Durham, excepting where other authorities are cited.

[123] Royal Wills, p. 18, and Testamenta Vetusta, p. 8.

[124] Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. i, p. 426.

[125] Le Neve’s Fasti Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, p. 353.

[126] Rot. Parl. vol. i. p. 224.

[127] Wyntown states the same thing; and the words he puts in the mouth of the subtile ecclesiastic are highly complimentary to the spirit and military talents of Bruce, against the consequences of which he effectually succeeded in awakening the apprehensions of Edward.--_Vide, vol. ii. p. 45-46._

[128] Robert de Gledstanes, who was elected Bishop of Durham in 1333, but was set aside by the Pope, and died soon afterwards. His labours are preserved in the Cottonian MS. Titus, A. ii.

[129] “Habuit de familia sua xxvj. vexillarios.” _Bannerets_ were most probably meant.

[130] Rot. Parl. vol. i. p. 102, _et seq._

[131] This passage probably meant, that among the Bishop’s followers there were thirty-nine bannerets.

[132] Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. i. p. 426.

[133] During one of Edward’s progresses to Scotland, a palfrey belonging to the royal train threw and killed its rider; and Anthony seized the palfrey as a deodand: “dedeins sa fraunchise roiale.”

[134] He gave 40s. for as many fresh herrings, “Aliis magnatibus tune in Parliamento ibi consistentibus pro nimiâ caristiâ emere non curantibus.” _Grayst._ c. 14. On another occasion, hearing one say, “this cloth is so dear, that even Bishop Anthony would not venture to pay for it;” he immediately ordered it to be bought and cut up into horse-cloths.--_Ibid._

[135] “Castissimè vixit, vix mulierum faciem fixis oculis aspiciens; unde in translatione S. Willelmi Eboracensis cum alii Episcopi ossa ejus timerent tangere, remordente eos conscientiâ de virginitate amissâ, iste audacter manus imposuit; et quod negotium poposcit reverenter egit.”--_Ibid._

[136] “Quietis impatiens vix ultra unum somnum in lecto expectans, dixit illum non esse hominem qui in lecto de latere in latus se verteret.”--_Ibid._

[137] “In nullo loco mansurus, continuè circuibat de manerio in manerium, de austro in boream; et equorum, canum et avium sectator.”--_Ibid._ And here one cannot avoid being reminded of the satirical lines of Piers Plowman:

“And piked a boute on palfrays: fro place to maners Have an hepe of houndes at his ers: as he a Lord were.”

Bishop-Middleham, then a fortress of the first class, appears, from the date of several charters, to have been Anthony Bek’s chief residence within the county of Durham. The reasons which led to this preference are obvious. Defended by a morass on two sides, and by broken ground to the north, the fortress presented an almost impregnable stronghold during the wars of the Border, whilst Auckland lay bare and defenceless, on the direct route of Scottish invasion. It is no wonder that, in after times, Middleham was deserted for the green glades of Auckland.

The following lines are extracted from an inedited poem on the “Superstitions of the North.”

“There Valour bowed before the rood and book, And kneeling Knighthood served a Prelate Lord; Yet little deigned he on such train to look, Or glance of ruth or pity to afford. There time has heard the peal rung out by night, Has seen from every tower the cressets stream: When the red bale-fire on yon western height, Had roused the Warder from his fitful dream; Has seen old Durham’s lion-banner float O’er the proud bulwark, that, with giant pride, And feet deep plunged amidst the circling moat, The efforts of the roving Scot defied.

“Long rolling years have swept those scenes away, And peace is on the mountain and the fell; And rosy dawn, and closing twilight gray, But hears the distant sheep-walk’s tinkling bell. And years have fled since last the gallant deer Sprung from yon covert at the thrilling horn: Yet still, when Autumn shakes the forest sear, Black Hugo’s voice upon the blast is borne. Woe to the wight who shall his ire provoke, When the stern huntsman stalks his nightly round, By blasted ash, or lightning-shivered oak, And cheers with surly voice his spectre hound.”

Of this black Hugh, take the following legendary account:--“Sir Anthon Bek, Busshop of Dureme in the tyme of King Eduarde, the son of King Henry, was the maist prowd and masterfull Busshop in all England; and it was com’only said that he was the prowdest Lord in Christienty. It chanced that, emong other lewd persons, this Sir Anthon entertained at his court one Hugh de Pountchardon, that for his evill deeds and manifold robberies had been driven out of the Inglische Court, and had come from the southe to seek a little bread, and to live by stalynge. And to this Hughe, whom also he imployed to good purpose in the warr of Scotland, the Busshop gave the lande of Thikley, since of him caulied Thikley-Pountchardon, and also made him his chief huntsman. And after, this blake Hugh dyed afore the Busshop: and efter that the Busshop chasid the wild hart in Galtres forest, and sodainly ther met with him Hugh de Pontchardon that was afore deid, on a wythe horse; and the said Hugh loked earnestly on the Busshop, and the Busshop said unto him, ‘Hughe, what makethe thee here?’ and he spake never word, but lifte up his cloke, and then he shewed Sir Anton his ribbes set with bones, and nothing more; and none other of the varlets saw him but the Busshop only; and the said Hughe went his way, and Sir Anton toke corage, and cheered the dogges; and shortly efter he was made Patriarque of Hierusalem, and he sawe nothing no moe; and this Hughe is him that the silly people in Galtres doe call _Le gros Venour_, and he was seen twice efter that by simple folk, afore that the forest was felled in the tyme of Henry, father of King Henry that now ys.”

[138] “Sed ipso mortuo Radulphus filius Willelmi Dominus de Graystoke patronatum præfatæ Ecclesiæ per litem, obtinuit; et presentato per ipsum per Episcopum admisso et instituto, capella indotota remansit.”--_Grayst._ c. 22. The patronage still remains with the heir of Greystoke.

[139] Castrum de Somerton curiosissimé ædificavit.--_Grayst._ c. 22.

[140] Ibid.

[141] “Ante illum enim ob reverentiam corporis S. Cuthberti non est permissum corpus mortuum ingredi ecclesiam Dunelmensem.” Anthony Bek was, therefore, the first who dared to bring

“A slovenly, unhandsome corse, Betwixt the wind and his nobility.”

[142] If, however, the funeral of the patriarch Bishop was conducted with the same solemnities as that of his successor Cardinal Langley, the breaking an entrance through the wall was a matter of necessity rather than superstition, for Langley’s hearse was drawn into the nave of the cathedral by four stately black horses, which, with all their housings of velvet, become the official perquisite of the sacrist.

[143] John Hay Allan, Esq.

[144] MacPhadian’s.

[145] In this instance, it would rather seem that Henry has merely preserved the name as he found it latinized by Blair.

[146] Book vii. l. 660.

[147] Book vii. l. 674.

[148] King’s highway.

[149] N. H. Nicolas, Esq.

[150] Vol. i. p. 218.

[151] See some Remarks on the Titles and Surname of this Earl in the Archæologia, vol. xxi. p. 195, 196.

[152] P. 327.

[153] _Vide_ Siege of Carlaverock, edited by N. H. Nicolas, Esq.

[154] FOEDERA, N. E. Vol. II. p. 203.

The following translation may be acceptable to some readers.

One gold ring, and a sapphire prepared by the hands of St Dunstan.

One silver box, gilt, for containing a ring, to be worne round the neck of a man.

A large ruby, not set in gold, which was found on Sir Piers de Gaveston when he was taken; value one thousand livres.

Three large rubies, set in rings,--an emerald,--a diamond of great value (in a silver box enamelled), which was found on the said Piers when he was taken.

Two seals, one large and one small; and one little seal, (_une clief pendaunte_)--a key attached to it, one crooked Sterling (i. e. silver penny), and a chalcedony, which were found in the purse when he was taken.

In a coffer, iron-bound, one silver mirror, enamelled; one comb; one tooth-pick, which had been given to the King by the Countess de Bar at Ghent.

One _coronal_ of gold, and sundry precious stones, valued at one hundred marcs.

One _chapelet_ of silver, ornamented with sundry precious stones, valued at twelve sols (_doze soutz_).

In another coffer, a large silver pot, and three utensils (_peiz_) for heating water, weighing six livres fifteen sols and ten deniers.

Three silver dishes for spiceries, and weighing four livres.

Two silver fruit-dishes, with the arms of the King of England, weighing seventy-eight sols four deniers.

One purse, of cloth of gold, containing two Jerusalem stones.

One silver bit, and four gilt buttons, and two _lions_ for each, of leather.

One old seal cut, and a stone of chalcedony.

Three silver forks for eating pears.

One white girdle of silver lace.

One _chapelet de Paris_, value six sols eight deniers.

In a bag, one burnished bacinet and vizor (_od surcils_).

In another bag, one pair trappings with the arms of said Piers.

Two surcoats of velvet for covering armour.

One bridle for palfrey, with the King’s arms.

Four shirts and three kerchiefs _de Gascoigne_ embroidered.

An old banner with the arms of said Piers.

Forty-one stallions and hunters, and one palfrey.

Nine sumpter-horses. Two cart-horses.

Two carts and all the harness.

[155] Siege of Carlaverock, by Walter of Exeter.

[156] Vide, Siege of Carlaverock, edited by N. H. Nicolas, Esq.

Transcribers’ Notes

Variations in punctuation, spelling, and hyphenation have been retained except as noted below.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks have been retained except as noted below.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines have been retained.

Black Letter text is represented here as =boldface=.

Primary footnotes have been placed into a single ascending sequence and are identified by number. Footnotes to footnotes have been placed into a single ascending sequence and are identified by letter.

Text uses “Bagamont” and “Bagimont”, “control” and “controul”, “Dunbarton” and “Dumbarton”; “Riccardtoun”, “Richardtown”, and “Riccardtown”.

Page 14: Missing closing quotation mark added after “overwhelmed the lances”; it may belong further down, after “lanceas funderent”.

Page 56: may have two footnote 3’s; they’ve been combined here.

Page 59: “vallies” was printed that way.

Page 65: Missing closing quotation mark added after “captivity of William.”

Page 76: “16th March 1285-6” was printed that way.

Footnote 38, referenced on page 77: missing closing quotation mark has not been remedied.

Page 80: Possibly missing opening double-quotation mark in paragraph beginning “The whole assembly stood motionless” not remedied.

Page 111: Opening double-quotation mark added at beginning of poem.

Footnote 71, referenced on page 139: Missing opening quotation mark or extraneous closing quotation mark; not remedied.

Page 182: Extraneous opening quotation mark removed just before “Have you forgot”.

Page 209: Closing single quotation mark added at the end of the diary entries.

Page 213: Missing closing quotation mark added after “Uagh na riogh”.

Footnotes 135 and 137, referenced on page 266: Missing opening quotation mark added at the beginning of each.

Footnotes 138 and 141, referenced on page 268: Missing opening quotation mark added at the beginning.