Part 36

It appears that this knight belonged to the county of Ross; and it has been conjectured that he was a son or brother of the Earl of Ross, who was at this time a prisoner in England. V. Notes to Perth Edit. p. 25, 26. In Edit. 1594 and 1620, it is in both places _Clement_.

NOTES ON THE ELEVENTH BOOK.

_A mow off corn he_ bygit _thaim about._--V. 339.

This is given according to Edit. 1594, &c. In MS. it is _gyhyt_. But this must certainly be an error; unless we should suppose it to be from AS. _gehyd_, “tectus, abditus, absconditus, hid, hidden, covered.” Somner.

_Fra Butler had_ apon _gud Wallace_ seyn, _Throuch auld malice he wox ner wod for teyn._--V. 401.

We have here one proof, among many in our old national works, of the danger of editors rashly venturing to change the language. In Edit. 1594, it is;--

Fra Butteller had _on feild_ gude Wallace seyne, &c.

The editor had supposed that _seyn apon_, being an obsolete phrase in his time, must of necessity be improper. He had not known that it is very ancient, being pure Anglo-Saxon. The verb is used in a neuter sense; and _seyn apon_ signifies beheld, looked upon. Thus _on se-on_ is, intueri, aspicere in. _On_ that wundor _seon_; Istud miraculum intueri.

_Quhen thai com ner, a nobill knycht it was,_ _The quhilk to name hecht_ Elyss _off_ Dundass.--V. 533.

This is the ancestor of the ancient house of Dundas of that ilk. Helias, or as here written _Elyss_, seems to have been a common name in this family. The first on record is Helias, son of Uchtred, who got the lands of Dundas, A. 1124, in the reign of Alexander I. One of the same christian name appears as witness to a charter in the reign of Alexander II. _Serle_ de Dundas, probably the father of our Elyss, is mentioned in Ragman Roll. V. Nisbet’s Remarks, p. 34, 35, and Heraldry, I. 275.

_And_ Schyr Jhon Scot _ek, a worthi knycht,_ _In to Straithern a man off mekill mycht._--V. 535.

“He was probably a descendant of the family of Scott of Balweary in Fife.” This “family continued till the reign of Charles I.,” and “is now represented by the Scotts of Ancrum, in Roxburghshire.” Notes to Edit. Perth, p. 49.

Schyr Jhon Menteth _in till his wit has fund,_ _How he suld best his purpos to fullfill_, &c.--V. 948.

The account given of the treachery of MENTETH is one of these points on which Sir D. Dalrymple shews his historical scepticism. He introduces it in language calculated to inspire doubt into the mind of the reader; observing that “the popular tradition is, that his _friend_ Sir John Menteth betrayed him to the English.” Annals, I. 281. It is rather strange that he should express himself in this manner, at the very moment that he quotes the Scotichronicon on the margent; as if this venerable record, when a modern should be disposed to adopt a theory irreconcileable with its testimony, were entitled to no higher regard than is due to “popular tradition.”

He adds; “Sir John Menteth was of high birth, a son of Walter Stewart Earl of Menteth.” I can perceive no force in this remark, unless it be meant to imply that there never has been an instance of a man of noble blood acting the part of a traitor. On the same ground we might quarrel with all the evidence given of the conspiracies formed against Robert Bruce; and even call in question the murder of that amiable and accomplished prince James I.

But “at this time,” we are told, “the important fortress of Dumbarton was committed to his [Menteth’s] charge by Edward.” Here, it would seem, the learned writer fights the poor Minstrel with his own weapons. For I find no evidence of this fact in the Fœdera, Hemingford, or the Decem Scriptores; and Lord Hailes has referred to no authority; so that there is reason to suspect, to use his own language, that he here “copies” what “is said by _Blind Harry_, whom no historian but Sir Robert Sibbald will venture to _quote_.” If Harry’s narrative be received as authority, it is but justice to receive his testimony as he gives it. Now, in the preceding part of his work, he represents Menteth as holding the castle of Dunbarton at least with the consent of Wallace, while acknowledged as governor of Scotland. It would appear, indeed, that the whole district of the Lennox had been entrusted to him.

In the Leynhouss a quhill he maid repayr; Schyr Jhon Menteth that tym was captane thar.--B. VIII. 1595.

But even at this time there was something dubious in the conduct of Menteth. While he retained the castle, the English held the town under Edward.

In peess thai duelt, in trubyll that had beyn, And trewbut payit till Ingliss capdanis keyn. Schir Jhon Menteth the castell had in hand: Bot sum men said, thar was a prewa band Till Sotheroun maid, be menys off that knycht, In thar supple to be in all his mycht.--B. IX. 1393.

It is perfectly conceivable, that, although it was known to Wallace that Menteth had some secret understanding with the English, this artful man might persuade him that he only wished an opportunity of wreaking the national vengeance on them, or at least of more effectively serving the interest of Wallace when he saw the proper time. Although Wallace had been assured that Menteth had taken an oath of fealty to Edward, he would have had no more reason for distrusting him than for distrusting by far the greatest part of the nobility and landholders of Scotland, who, as they believed, from the necessity of despair had submitted to the usurper.

John de Menteth is designed by Arnold Blair _immanis proditor_; and the writer proceeds to curse him as if with bell, book, and candle. Relationes, p. 8.

Sir David aims another blow at this account in the following words: “That he had ever any intercourse of friendship or familiarity with Wallace, I have yet to learn.” But the truth is, the worthy judge does not seem disposed to _learn_ this. It is difficult to say what evidence will satisfy him. The incidental hints, in the preceding part of the poem, in regard to Wallace’s connection with Menteth, all perfectly agree with the mournful termination. Such confidence had he in him, according to the Minstrel, that he not only resided in Dunbarton castle for two months, while Menteth had the charge of it, but gave orders for building “a house of stone” there, apparently that he might enjoy his society.

Twa monethis still he duelt in Dunbertane; A houss he foundyt apon the roch off stayne; Men left he thar till bygg it to the hycht.--B. VIII. 1599.

But independently of the testimony of Blind Harry, Bower expressly asserts the co-operation of Menteth with Wallace, Graham, and Scrymgeour, in the suppression of the rebellious men of Galloway. In hoc ipso anno [1298], viz., xxviii die mensis Augusti, dominus Wallas Scotiæ custos, cum Johanne Grhame, et _Johanne de Menteith_, militibus, necnon Alexandro Scrimzeour constabulario villæ de Dundee, et vexillario Scotiæ, cum quinquagentis militibus armatis, rebelles Gallovidiensis punierunt, qui regis Angliæ et Cuminorum partibus sine aliquo jure steterunt. These words, which seem to be a quotation in the Relationes of Blair from the Scotichronicon, are not found in the MSS. from which Goodall gave his edition. They appear to have formed the commencement of the xxxii. chapter of the eleventh book, one of the two chapters here said to be wanting. Now this, whether it be the language of Bower, or of Blair, could not have been borrowed from the Minstrel, for the circumstance is overlooked by him. It seems to refer to that period of the history of Wallace, in which he is said to have made a circuit through Galloway and Carrick.

Fra Gamlis peth the land obeyt him haill Till Ur wattir, bath strenth, forest, and daill. Agaynis him in _Galloway_ hous was nayne, &c.--B. VI. 793.

It is to be observed, that John Major expressly affirms the treachery of Menteth, as acting in concert with Aymer de Valloins, Earl of Pembroke. He says that Menteth was considered as his most intimate friend;--ipsi Vallaceo putatus amicissimus. Hist. Fol. LXXIII. Now, although he rejects many of the transactions recited by Blind Harry “as false,” so far is he from insinuating the slightest hesitation as to this business, that he formally starts an objection as to the imprudence of Wallace in not being more careful of his person, and answers it by remarking, that “no enemy is more dangerous than a domestic one.” He differs from the Minstrel, in saying that Wallace was “captured _in_ the city of Glasgow.”

It may be added, that Bower expressly asserts that Wallace, “suspecting no evil, was fraudulently and treacherously seized _at_ Glasgow by Lord John de Menteth.” Scotichron. XII. 8. Bower again refers to the treacherous conduct of Menteth towards Wallace when afterwards relating a similar plan which he had laid for taking King Robert Bruce prisoner, under pretence of delivering up to him the castle of Dunbarton, on condition of his receiving a hereditary right to the lieutenancy of the Lennox. V. Lib. xii. c. 16. 17. Vol. II. 243. These two chapters are not in all the MSS., but are found in those of Cupar, Perth, and Dunblane. Now, Bower was born A. 1385. Ibid. II. 401. The date assigned to the Scotichronicon, as published with his continuation, is 1447, and that to the Minstrel’s poem 1470. V. Pinkerton’s Maitland Poems, Intr. LXXXVI. LXXXIX. It is therefore impossible that Bower could have borrowed the account given of Menteth from Blind Harry. Bower was born, indeed, only eighty or eighty-one years after the fact referred to; and, considering the elevation of the character of Wallace, and the great attachment of his countrymen even to this day, as well as the multitude of his enemies, it is totally inconceivable that a whole nation, learned and unlearned, should concur in imputing this crime to one man _without_ the most valid reasons.

Wyntown finished his _Cronykil_ A. 1418. He, it is generally believed, was born little more than fifty years after the butchery of our magnanimous patriot. Sir D. Dalrymple could not, one would suppose, reasonably object to his testimony. Let us hear it.

A thousand thre hundyr and the fyft yhere Eftyr the byrth of oure Lord dere, Schyre Jhon of Menteth in tha days Tuk in Glasgw Willame Walays, And send hym in-til Ingland swne, Thare wes he quartaryd and wndwne Be dyspyte and hat inwy: Thare he tholyd this martyry.

CRON. VIII. c. 20.

I shall only add an important proof from the Lanercost MS., referred to in the _Preliminary Remarks_. “_Captus_ fuit Willelmus Waleis per unum Scottum, scilicet per dominum Johannem de Mentiphe, et usque London ad Regem adductus, et adjudicatum fuit quod traheretur, et suspenderetur, et decollaretur, et membratim divideretur, et quod viscera ejus comburentur, quod factum est; et suspensum est caput ejus super pontem London, armus autem dexter super pontem Novi Castri super Tynam, et armus sinister apud Berwicum, pes autem dexter apud Villam Sanctis Johannis, et pes sinister apud Aberden.” Fol. 211. _Mentiphe_ is obviously an _erratum_ for _Mentithe_.

_A spy thai maid, and folowed him but let_ _Till_ Robrastoun, _was ner be the way syd,_ _And bot a howss quhar Wallace oysyt to byd._--V. 996.

i. e. Only _one_ house, where he was wont to conceal himself, while waiting for Bruce.

“At Robroystone, in this parish, [Cadder, Lanarkshire] on the 11th September 1305, Sir William Wallace was betrayed and apprehended by Sir John Monteath, a favourite of King Edward I. of England. After he was overpowered, and before his hands were bound, it is said he threw his sword into Robroystone Loch. An oaken _couple_ or joist, which made part of the barn in which the Scottish hero was taken, is still to be seen in this neighbourhood, and may yet last for ages.” Stat. Acc. VIII. 481, 482.

_Rycht suth it is, a martyr was Wallace,_ _Als_ Osauold, Edmunt, Eduuard, _and_ Thomas.--V. 1307.

In Edit. 1620, these lines are thus varied:--

Wallace was martyred, the trueth to you to tell, As were _Osweld, Edmond, Edward_ with paine fell.

_Osauold_ must be Osuald, the King of Northumbria, who, having embraced Christianity, was slain by Penda the pagan king of Mercia. Bed. Hist. Eccl. III. 9. Eng. Martyrol. p. 213, 214. _Edmunt_ is St Edmund, King of the East Angles, barbarously slain by the Danes of Northumbria for confessing Christ. Martyrol. p. 319. _Eduuard_ seems to be St Edward, King of the West Saxons, slain at the instigation of his step-mother. Ibid. p. 72. _Thomas_ is most probably the well-known Thomas a Becket.

* * * * *

Wyntown informs us that even in his day, long before that of the Minstrel, various works were written recording the deeds of Wallace; but he concludes that these fell short of the truth, as to their extent at least.

Of his gud dedis and manhad Gret gestis, I hard say, ar made: Bot sa mony, I trow, noucht As he in-til hys dayis wroucht. Quha all hys dedis of prys wald dyte, Hym worthyd a gret buk to wryte; And all thai to wryte in here I want bathe wyt and gud laysere.

CRON. VIII. c. 15. ver. 79.

The character given to Wallace, by Andro Hart, is worthy of being preserved:

“This was the end of this worthy man’s life, who, for high spirit in enterprising dangers, for fortitude in execution, comparable in deed to the most famous chiftains amongst the ancients, for loue to his natiue countrey second to none, he onely free, the rest slaues,--could neither bee bought with benefites, nor compelled by force to leaue the publike cause which he had once profest; whose death appeared more to be lamented, that being inuincible, to his enemy he was betrayed by his familiar, that in no case should have done so.” Pref. to Life of Wallace, p. 14.

Such is the affectionate remembrance of this illustrious defender of the liberties of Scotland, that his name is retained in many other places besides those mentioned in the preceding Notes.

On the hill of “Couthboanlaw, now by corruption called Quothquanlaw,--the common people, to this day, point out with much fond admiration, _Wallace’s Chair_, where he had his abode, and held conferences with his followers, before the battle of Biggar. The chair is a large rough stone, scooped in the middle.” P. Libberton, Lanarkshire, Stat. Acc. II. 235. This is called _Quodquen_ in a charter of the Duke of Albany. Robertson’s Ind. 167, 21.

In the town of Ayr they still point out the ancient tower[B] in which Wallace was imprisoned, and so cruelly treated, that he was at length thrown down from the battlements as dead. Common tradition gives the same account of this barbarous conduct as the Minstrel has done:

Quhen thai presumyt he suld be werray ded, Thai gart serwandys, with outyn langer pleid, With schort awiss on to the wall him bar; Thai kest him our out of that bailfull steid, Off him thai trowit suld be no mor ramede, In a draff myddyn, quhar he remannyt thar.--B. II. 252.

[B] This building was taken down in 1835 and rebuilt.

The building still bears his name, and appears to be the very same as it was in his time. It has been more fully brought into notice by the allusion of a poet, who, whatever were his defects, had power to stamp a deathless name on the subject of his muse, although it had not been otherwise entitled to this distinction.

The drowsy Dungeon-clock had number’d two, And _Wallace-Tower_ had sworn the fact was true.

BURNS’S _Brigs of Ayr_.

“In one of the hills above Wandel mill there is _Wallace’s Camp_, so called from that great Scotch warrior, who encamped here.” The walls of the castle of Lamington “still remain some stories high, very thick and strong. It was built by a laird of Lamington, of the ancient and honourable name of Baillie, _with_ whom the aforesaid Sir William Wallace was _allied by marriage_; in proof of which, and as a piece of curiosity, Wallace’s chair is now in Bonnington, in the possession of Lady Ross Baillie, the representative of the family of Lamington, being removed from the tower of that place. The chair is remarkably broad and stout.” P. of Lamington, Stat. Acc. VI. 557, 558. V. Note on B. VI. 47, above, p. 374, &c.

I have seen this chair at Bonnington, which is of oak, the posts of it at least, and otherwise corresponding with the description given in the Statistical Account. I am informed that there is a rock in the Pap Craig, a part of Tinto, which is still called _Wallace’s Chair_; and that another in the parish of Symington bears the same name, in a place called the Castlehill.

On the estate of Gladswood, parish of Mertoun, Berwickshire, are still pointed out what are called the _Camp-braes_, where, according to the harmonious voice of popular tradition, Wallace had his camp before one of his battles. It has had two ditches with ramparts; and being situate on the neck of land at the confluence of Leader with the Tweed, might have been rendered almost unassailable, in that age, by a line of communication between the two rivers.

“On the west side of Clatto-moor, are the traces of a camp. It is generally believed to have been occupied by a part of Agricola’s army, and afterwards by Alpin, Wallace, and Monk. Tradition reports that ‘Wallace pitched his camp on Clatto-hill, and ground his corn at Philaw’s mill,’ which is about half a mile from the place where the traces of the camp are seen.” P. Strathmartin, Forfarshire, Stat. Acc. XIII. 99.

“Tradition says, that the Figget Whins, formerly a forest, afforded shelter and a place of rendezvous to Sir William Wallace and his myrmidons, when they were preparing to attack Berwick.” P. Duddingstone, county of Edinburgh, Stat. Acc. XVIII. 877.

“On the face of the hill” of Kinnoul, “there is a cave in a steep part of the rock, which, it is said, will contain about a dozen of men. It is called the _Dragon-hole_. There is a tradition among the common people, that Sir William Wallace hid himself in this hole of the rock, when he absconded for some time.” P. Kinnoul, Perthshire, Stat. Acc. XVIII. 560.

The same useful work contains an anecdote, which, at least from the circumstances, is worthy of insertion here. The article was written A. 1795 or 1796.

“There is a very respectable man in Longforgan, [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 preparation 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 proprietor of the stone, is lineally descended, and here his forbeers (ancestors) have lived ever since, in nearly the same station and circumstances, for about 500 years.” Stat. Acc. XIX. 561, 562. This refers to what is related in Book I. 257, &c.

In the castle of Dunbarton they pretend to shew the mail, and, if I mistake not, also the sword of Wallace. If he was confined in that fortress by Menteith, 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 in armour, 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 went on, 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.

* * * * *

It is generally admitted that our hero was the son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Ellerslie in Renfrewshire, by the daughter of Sir Ranald Crawfurd, High Sheriff of Ayr, of whom the Minstrel says;

Malcolm Wallas hir gat in mariage, That _Elrislé_ than had in heretage, _Auchinbothé_, and other syndry place.--Book I. ver. 27.

It appears that the metre, corresponding with the modern pronunciation, requires that this word should have been accented as above.

_Ellerslie_, also written _Elderslee_, is about three miles to the south-west of Paisley, Renfrewshire. The old house, called by Crawfurd, “the castle,” is still habitable. Near it is a tree, which, according to the account I received on the spot, was planted by Wallace himself: but this, like most other traditions, assumes a very different aspect, according to Semple’s narration. “The large oak-tree,” he says, “called _Wallace’s Tree_, is still growing, standing alone in a little enclosure, a few yards south from the great road between Paisley and Kilbarchan, being on the east side of Elderslee rivulet, the manour of Elderslee being a few yards distant from the rivulet. They say that Sir William Wallace and 300 of his men hid themselves upon that tree among the branches (the tree being then in full blossom) from the English. The tree, indeed, is very large, and well spread in the branches, the trunk being about twelve feet in circumference.” Crawfurd’s Renfrewshire, p. 260.

About the year 1769, Ellerslie was sold to Alexander Speirs, Esq., who took his designation from it, by Archibald Campbell, Esq., W.S., who had married Helen Wallace, a lady lineally descended from a collateral branch of the family of Wallace.

_Auchinbothé_ is in some old writings called _Auchinbothie-Wallace_, as distinguished from the lands of _Auchinbothie-Blair_. Thus, in an old Valuation Book, made A. 1654, in the time of Cromwell, we have the following account:--“The 5 mark (land) of Auchinbothie-Wallace subdivydit as s^d is, Mastar [the proprietor]

33 lib. 6sh. 8d. Feuars 366 lib. 13sh. 4d. 400 0 0 The 5 m^k land of Auchinbothie-Blair 383 6 8”

It is supposed that Auchinbothie-Blair belonged to Blair, the companion of Wallace, who was of the Blairs of that ilk in Renfrewshire. The lands of Thornley, in the same county, are said to be designed, in some old writs, the lands of _Thornley-Blair_, alias Thornley-Wallace; and it has been also supposed that these lands had been given by Wallace to his companion of this name. But the latter is undoubtedly a mistake; for in our records _Thornylé_ or _Thornley_, as it is also written, appears as the property of the Wallaces till the time of Robert III., when it was given, by John Wallace of Craigie, to the Abbey of Paisley. Ind. Chart. 142, 80. V. also 97, 324.--131, 25.

The Valuation Book above quoted also mentions Wallace of Neilstonside, Wallace of Dungraine, Wallace of Bardraine, &c. I am informed that there is now no proprietor of this name in the county of Renfrew, excepting Wallace of Kelly, in the parish of Innerkip, whose ancestors resided in that of Neilston.