The Bruce
He tuk avisment with his men,
On quhat maner thai suld do then.
For he said thame, that the King wes 528
Lugit in-to so strate a place,
That hors-men mycht hym nocht assale;
And gif fut-men gaf hym battale,
He suld be hard to wyn, gif he 532
Of thair cummyng ma warnit be:
“Tharfor I rede, all prevaly
“We send a woman hym to spy,
“That pouerly arayit be. 536
“Scho may ask met per cherite,
“And se thair covyne halely,
“And on quhat maner at thai ly,
“The quhilis we and our menyhe, 540
“Cumand throu-out the wod may be
“On fut, all arayit as we ar.
“May we do swa, that we cum thar
“On thaim or thai wit our cummyng 544
“We sall fynd in thame no styntyng.”
[Sidenote: 1307] _The Woman Discloses the Plot_]
This consall thoucht thaim wes the best,
Than send thai furth, but langar frest,
The woman that suld be thar spy, 548
And scho hir way can hald in hy
Richt to the logis, quhar the King,
That had no dreid of supprising,
Yheid unarmyt, mery and blith. 552
The woman has he seyn alswith,
He saw hir uncouth, and for-thi
He beheld hir mayr ynkirly,
And by hir countenans hym thoucht 556
That for gud cummyn wes scho nocht.
Than gert he men in hy hir ta;
And scho, that dred men suld hir sla,
Tald thame how that Schir Amery, 560
With the Cliffurd in cumpany,
And the flour of Northumbirland,
War cummand on thame at thar hand.
[556: C has _And by_ (S).]
Quhen at the King herd that tithing, 564
He armyt hym but mair duelling;
Sa did thai all that evir thar war,
Syne in a sop assemblit ar:
I trow they war thre hundreth ner. 568
And quhen thai all assemblit wer,
The King his baner gert display,
And set his men in gude aray.
Thai had nocht standyn bot a thraw, 572
Richt at thair hand quhen at thai saw
Thair fayis throu the wod cumand,
Armyt on fut, with sper in hand,
That sped thame full enforsaly. 576
The noyis begouth soyne and the cry;
For the gud King, that formast was,
Stoutly towart his fayis gais,
And hint out of a manis hand, 580
That neir besyde him wes gangand,
A bow and a braid arrow als,
And hyt the formast in the hals,
Till throppill and wassand yheid in twa, 584
And he doune to the erd can ga.
Here were Fifteen Hundred discomfited with Few Scots.
The laiff with that maid a stopping;
Than, but mair baid, the nobill King
Hynt fra his baneour the banar, 588
And said, “Apon thame! for thai ar
“Discomfit all!” and with that word
He swappit swiftly out his sword,
And on thame ran so hardely, 592
That all thai of his cumpany
Tuk hardyment of his gud dede.
For sum, that first thar wayis yhede,
Again com to the ficht in hy, 596
And met thair fayis so rigorusly,
That all the formast ruschit war.
And quhen thai that war hendirmar
Saw that the formast left the stede, 600
Thai turnit soyn the bak and fled,
And of the wod thai thaim with-drew.
The King a few men of thame slew,
For thai rycht soyn thair gat can ga; 604
It discomfortyt thame all swa,
That the King with his menyhe was
All armyt to defend that plas,
That thai wend throu thar tranonting 608
Till have wonnyn for-out fichting,
That thai effrayit war suddanly.
And he thame soucht so angyrly,
That thai in full gret hy agane 612
Out of the woud ran to the plane.
For thai falyheit of thair entent,
Thai war that tym sa fowly schent,
That fiften hundreth men and ma 616
Wyth fewar war rebutit swa,
That thai with-drew thaim schamfully.
Tharfor emang thame sudanly
Thair rais debate and gret distans 620
Ilkane with othir of thar myschans;
Clyffurd and Vaus maid a melle,
Quhar Cliffurd raucht him a cole;
And athir syne drew to partis. 624
Bot Schir Amer, that wes wis,
Departit thame with mekill pane,
And went till Ingland hame agane.
He wist, fra stryff rais thame amang, 628
He suld thame nocht hald sammyn lang
For-outen debat or melle;
Tharfor till Ingland turnit he
With mar schaym than he com of toune; 632
Quhen sa mony of sic renoun
Saw sa few men bid thaim battale,
Quhar thai ne war hardy to assale.
[605: C _discumfit_ (S), which is metrically short, and does not suit
the context or the sense.]
[623: E _roucht nocht him to lee_. H _raught him routes three_, which
so far supports the reading of the text.]
BOOK VIII
How James of Douglas discomfited then
At Ederford Philip Mowbray with many men.
[Sidenote: 1307] _Bruce leaves the Mountains_]
The King, fra Schir Amer was gane,
Gadert his menyhe evirilkane;
And left bath woddis and montanis,
And held his way straucht to the planys. 4
For he wald fayn that end war maid
Of that at he begonnyn had,
And he wist weill he mycht nocht bring
It to gud end but travalyng. 8
To Kyle first went he, and that land
He maid till him all obeysand:
The men mast fors com till his pes.
Syne eftirward, or he wald ces, 12
Of Cunyngame the mast party
He gert helde till his senyhory.
In Bothwell than Schir Amer was,
That in his hert gret angyr has; 16
For thai of Cunyngame and Kyle,
That war obeysand till hym quhile,
Left the Inglis menis fewte:
Tharof fayn vengit wald he be; 20
And send Schir Philip the Mowbray,
With a thousand, as I herd say,
Of men that war in his leding,
To Kyle to warray the nobill Kyng. 24
Bot James of Douglas, that all tyde,
Had spyis out on ilka syde,
Wist of thar cummyng, and that thai
Wald hald doune Makyrnokis way. 28
He tuk with hym all prevely
Thame that war of his cumpany,
That war sexty withouten ma.
Syne till a strate place can he ga, 32
That is in Makyrnokis way,
The Edry-furd it hat perfay;
It lyis betuix marras twa,
Quhar that na hors on lif ma ga. 36
On the south half, quhar James was,
Is ane upgang, ane narrow plas,
And on the north half is the way
Sa ill, as it apperis to day. 40
[28: C _Machyrn-noxis_.]
[31: E _fourty_. H _sixtie_.]
[34: E _Nether-foord_, and so in H, differing from his own rubric.]
[Sidenote: 1307] _Mowbray escapes with Difficulty_]
Douglas, with thame he with hym had,
Enbuschit hym, and thame abaid.
He mycht weill fer se thair cummyng,
Bot thai mycht se of hym na thing. 44
Thai maid enbuschement all the nycht,
And quhen the sone wes schynand brycht,
Thai saw in battale cum arayit
The vaward with baner displayit, 48
And syne soyn the remanand
Thai saw weill neir behynd cumand.
Than held thai thaim still and preve,
Till the formast of thair menyhe 52
War enterit in the furde thame by;
Than schot thai on thame wyth a cry;
And with wapnys that scharply schare
Sum in the furde thai bakward bare, 56
And sum, with arrowes barblyt braid,
Sa gret martirdome on thame maid,
That thai gan draw to voyd the place;
Bot behinde thame so stoppit was 60
The way, that thai fast mycht nocht fle,
And that gert of thaim mony de.
For thai on na syde mycht away
Bot as thai com, bot gif at thai 64
Wald throu thair fayis hald thar gat;
Bot that way thoucht thame all to hat.
Thair fayis met thame so sturdely,
And continit the ficht so hardely, 68
That thai so dredand war at thai
Quha first mycht fle, first fled away.
And quhen the reirward saw thaim swa
Discumfit, and thair wayis ga, 72
Thai fled on fer, and held thair way.
Bot Schir Philip the Mowbray,
That with the formast rydand was,
That enterit war in-to the plas, 76
Quhen that he saw how he wes stad,
Throu the gret worschip that he had,
With spurys he strak the steid of pris,
And, magre all his enymys, 80
Throu the thikkest of thame he raid,
And but challans eschapit had,
Ne war ane hynt hym by the brand;
Bot the guid steid, that wald nocht stand, 84
He lansit furth deliverly;
Bot the tothir sa stalwardly
Held, that the belt brist of the brand,
That swerd and belt left in his hand. 88
And he but swerd his wayis raid,
Weill otow thame, and thair abaid,
Behaldand how his menyhe fled,
And how his fais clengit the sted 92
That war betuix him and his men;
Tharfor the wayis tuk he then
To Kylmernok and Killwynnyn,
And till Ardrossan eftir syne. 96
Syne throu the Largys, him allane,
Till Ennirkyp the way has tane,
Richt till the castell that wes then
Stuffit all with Inglis men, 100
That him resavit in gret dante.
And fra thai wist how-gat that he
Sa fer had ryddyn, hym allane,
Throu thame that war his fais ilkane, 104
Thai prisit him so gretumly,
And alsua lovit his chevelry.
[59: From E (S). _Thoucht throu the wode to pass_ (C).]
[75: C _wes_ (S).]
Schir Philip thus eschapit was,
And Douglas, that wes in the plas, 108
Quhar he sexty has slane and ma;
The laiff fouly thar gat can ga,
And fled to Bothwell hame agane;
Quhen Schir Amer wes na thing fane, 112
Quhen he herd tell on quhat maner
That his menyhe discumfit wer.
Bot quhen to King Robert wes tald,
How the gud Douglas, that wes bald, 116
Vencust sa feyll with few menyhe,
Richt joyfull in his hert wes he.
And all his men confortit war:
For thame thoucht weill, bath les and mair 120
That thai suld les thar fayis drede,
Sen thair purpos sa wyth thaim yheide.
Here Sir Aymer urges a Fight on the Plain.
[Sidenote: 1307] _Bruce accepts the Challenge_]
The Kyng lay in-to Gawlistoun,
That is rycht evyn anent Lowdoun; 124
And till his pes tuk the cuntre.
Quhen Schir Amer and his menyhe,
Herd how he rewlit all the land,
And how that nane durst him withstand, 128
He wes in-till his hert angry;
And with ane of his cumpany
He send him word ande said, gif he
Durst hym in-to the planys se, 132
He suld the tend day of May
Cum undir Lowdoun hill away:
And gif that he wald met him thair,
He said, his worschip sulde be mair, 136
And mair be turnit to nobillay,
To wyn him in the playn away,
With hard dyntis in evyn fichting,
Than till do fer mair in scowking. 140
The King, that herd his messinger,