The Bruce
Had despit apon gret maner,
That Schir Amer spak sa hely,
Tharfor he ansuerd irusly, 144
And till the messynger said he;
“Sa to thi lord that, gif I be
“In lif, he sall me se that day
“Weill neir, gif he dar hald the way 148
“That he has said; for sekirly
“By Lowdoun hill mete hym sall I.”
[144: C has _ernystfully_ (S). H _angerly_, agrees with E.]
Here King Robert provides for Advantage in the Place where they should
Fight.
The messinger, but mair abade,
Till his mastir his wais raide, 152
And his ansuer him tald alswith;
Than wes na neid to mak him blithe.
For he thoucht, throu his mekill mycht,
Gif the King durst apeir to ficht, 156
That, throu the gret chevelry
That suld be in his cumpany,
He suld swa ourcum the Kyng,
That thar suld be na recoveryng. 160
And the Kyng, on the tothir party,
That wes ay wis and a-verty,
Raid for to se and ches the plas,
And saw the hye-gat lyand was 164
Apon a fair feild, evin and dry;
Bot apon athir syde thar-by
Wes a gret mos, mekill and braid,
That fra the way wes, quhar men raid, 168
A bowdraucht neir on athir syde:
And that place thocht hym all to wyde
Till abyde men that horsit war.
Tharfor thre dykis ourthwort he schar, 172
Fra bath the mosis to the way:
That war sa fer fra othir, that thai
War in-twyn a bow-draucht and mar.
Sa holl and hye the dykis war, 176
That men mycht nocht, but mekill pane,
Pas thaim, thouch nane war thaim agane.
Bot sloppis in the way left he,
So large, and of sic quantite, 180
That fyffe hundir mycht sammyn ryde
In at the sloppis, syde for syde.
Thar thoucht he battale for to beid,
And bargane thaim; for he na drede 184
Had at thai suld on syde assale,
Na yheit behynd gif him battale.
And befor hym thocht weill that he
Suld fra thar mycht defendit be. 188
Thre deip dykis he gert thar ma;
For gif he mycht nocht weill our-ta
To met thame at the first, that he
Suld haf the tothir at his pouste; 192
Or than the thrid, gif it war swa
At thai had passit the tothir twa.
On this wis him ordanit he,
And syne assemblit his menyhe, 196
That war sex hundreth fechtand men,
But rangald, that wes with him then,
That war als feill as thai, or ma.
With all that menyhe can he ga, 200
The evyn befor the battale suld be,
To litill Lowdoun, quhar that he
Wald abide to se thair cummyng;
Syne with the men of his leding 204
He thoucht to speid hym, swa that he
Suld at the dik befor thaim be.
[154: E _Quharof he was bath glaid and blyth_. H agrees with C.]
Here Sir Aymer comes with his Host in Sight.
[Sidenote: 1307] _The Splendid Array of the English_]
Schir Amer, on the tothir party,
Gaderit so great chevelry, 208
That he mycht be thre thousand neir,
Armyt and dicht in gud maner;
And than, as man of gret noblay,
He held toward the trist his way. 212
And quhen the set day cumin was,
He sped him fast toward the place
That he had nemmyt for to ficht.
The sone wes rysyn schynand bricht, 216
That blenknyt on the scheldis braid.
In twa eschelis ordanit he had
The folk that he had in leding.
The Kyng, weill soyn in the mornyng, 220
Saw first cumand thair first eschele,
Arrait sarraly and weill,
And at thair bak, sum-deill neirhand,
He saw the tothir followand: 224
Thair basnetis burnyst war all brycht,
Agane the sone glemand of licht;
Thair speris, thair pennownys, and thar scheldis
Of licht illumynit all the feldis. 228
Thair best and browdyn bricht baneris,
And hors hewit on seir maneris,
And cot-armouris off seir colour,
And hawbrekis, that war quhit as flour, 232
Maid thame glitterand, as thai war lik
Till angellis he of hevinis rik.
Here King Robert meets him with Few.
The King said; “Lordingis, now yhe se
“How yhon men, throu thar gret pouste, 236
“Wald, and thai mycht fulfill thar will,
“Slay us, and mak sembland thar-till.
“And sen we knaw thair felony,
“Ga we and meit thame hardely, 240
“That the stoutest of thair menyhe,
“Of our metyng abaysit be.
“For gif the formast egirly
“Be met, yhe sall se suddanly 244
“The henmast sall abasit be;
“And thouch that thai be ma than we,
“That suld abais us litill thing;
“For quhen we cum to the fichting, 248
“Thar may met us no ma than we.
“Tharfor, lordingis, ilkane suld be
“Of worschip and of gret valour,
“For till maynteme heir our honour. 252
“Thinkis quhat gladschip us abydis,
“Gif that we may, as us betydis,
“Haf victour of our fayis heir!
“For thar is nane her, fer no neir, 256
“In all this land that us thar dout.”
Than said thai all that stude about,
‘Schir, gif God will, we sall sa do,
‘That no repruf sall ly thar-to.’ 260
“Than ga we furth now,” said the King,
“And he, that maid of nocht all thing,
“Leyd us, and sauf us for his mycht,
“And help us for till hald our richt!” 264
With that thai held thar way in hy,
Weill sex hundreth in cumpany,
Stalward and stout, worthy and wicht:
Bot thai war all to few, I hicht, 268
Agane so feill to stand in stour,
Ne war thair outrageous valour.
[Sidenote: MAY 10, 1307] _The Battle of Loudoun Hill_]
Now gais the nobill Kyng his way,
Richt stoutly and in gude aray, 272
And to the formast dyk is gane,
And in the slop the feld has tane.
The cariage-men and the pouerale,
That wes nocht worth in the batale, 276
Behynd him levit he al still,
Standand all sammyn on the hill.
Schir Amery the King has seyn,
With his men that war cant and keyn, 280
Cum to the playn doune fra the hill,
As him thoucht in-to full gud will
For to defend or till assaill,
Gif ony wald hym byde battale. 284
Tharfor his men confortit he,
And bad thame wicht and worthy be;
For gif at thai mycht wyn the Kyng,
And victor haf of the fechting, 288
Thai suld richt weill rewardit be,
And gretly ek thair renownee.
With that thai war weill neir the Kyng,
And he left his amonystyng, 292
And gert trumpe to the assemble;
And the formast of his menyhe
Enbrasit with that thar scheldis braid,
And rycht sarray to-gidder raid, 296
With hedis stowpand and speris straucht
Richt to the Kyng thar way thai raucht;
That met thame with sa gret vigour,
That the best and of mast valour 300
War laid at erd at thair metyng;
Quhar men mycht her sic a brekyng
Of speris that to-fruschyt war,
And the woundit so cry and rar, 304
That it anoyus wes till her.
For thai, that first assemblit wer,
Funyheit and fawcht full sturdely;
The noyis begouth than and the cry. 308
Here King Robert wins in Plain Battle.
A! mychty God! quha thair had beyn,
And had the Kyngis worschip seyn,
And his brothir that wes hym by,
That contenit thame so hardely, 312
That thair gud deid and thar bounte,
Gaiff gret confort to thair menyhe;
And how Dowglas so manfully
Confortit thame that war hym by; 316
He suld weill say that thai had will
To wyn honor and cum thair-till.
The Kingis men, that worthy war,
With thair speris that scharply schar, 320
Stekit men and stedis bath,
Till red blud ran of woundis rath.
The hors that woundyt war can fling,
And ruschit the folk in thair flynging, 324
Swa that thai that than formast war
War skalyt in soppis heir and thar.
The King that saw thame ruschit swa,
And saw thame reland to and fra, 328
Ran apon thaim so egirly,
And dang on thame sa hardely,
He gert feill of his fayis fall.
The feld wes weill neir coverit all 332
Bath with slayn hors and with men;
For the gud King thame followit then,
With weill fif hundreth that wapnys bar,
That wald thair fayis no thing spar. 336
Thai dang on thame so hardely,
That in schort tyme men mycht se ly
At erd ane hundreth and wele mar;
The remanand the waykar war, 340
Than thai begouth thame to withdraw;
And quhen thai of the reirward saw
Thair vawarde be sa discomfit,
Thai flede withouten mair respit. 344
And quhen Schir Amer hes seyn
His men fleand haly bedeyn,
Wit yhe weill he wes full way;
Bot he mycht nocht amonist swa 348
That ony for him wald turne agane.
And quhen he saw he tynt his pane,
He turnit his bridill, and to-ga:
For the gud King thame presit swa 352
That sum war dede, and sum war tane;
The remanand thar gat ar gane.
[326: C _stekit_ (S) for _skalyt_.]
[339: C _weill and_ (S).]
Here Sir Aymer passes to England.
[Sidenote: MAY, 1307] _The Rejoicing of the Scots_]
The folk fled apon this maner
For-outen arest, and Schir Amer 356
Agane to Bothwell is he gane,
Menand the scath that he had tane;
Sa schamfull that he vencust wes,
That till Inglande in hy he gais 360
Richt till the King, and schamfully
He gaf up thar his wardanry.
Na never syne, for na kyne thing,
Bot gif he com richt with the King, 364
Com he to warra Scotland.
Sa hevely he tuk on hand,
That the King, in set battalyhe,
With a quheyn lik poueralyhe, 368
Vencust him with a gret menyhe,
That wes renownit of gret bounte.
Sic anoy had Schir Amery:
And King Robert, that wes hardy, 372
Abaid all still in-to the plas,
Till that his men left all the chas;
Syne with presoners that thai had tane,
Thai ar towart thair innys gane, 376
Fast lovand God of thair weillfair.
Men mycht haf seyn, quha had beyn thair,
A folk that mery war and glad
For thair victour; and als thai haid 380
A lord so swet and deboner,
So curtas, and of sa fair effer,
So blith als, and so weill bowrdand,
And in battale so stith to stand, 384
So wis, and richt sua avise,
That thai had gret caus blith to be.
So war thai blith forouten dout;
For feill, that wonnyt thaim about, 388
Fra thai the King saw help him swa,
Till him thar homage can thai ma.
Than wox his power mair and mair,
And he thoucht weill that he wald fair 392
Outour the Month with his menyhe,
To luk quha that his frend wald be.
In-to Schir Alexandir the Freser