The Bruce
For, mycht thai se thame, thair suld nane 616
Eschap out of that place unslane;
Till ded with stanys thai suld thaim dyng,
That thai mycht help thame-self no thing.
Bot wondir myrk wes all the nycht, 620
Swa that thai had of thame na sycht.
And nocht-for-thi yheit wes thar ane
Of thame that swappit doun a stane,
And said, “Away! I se yhow weill.” 624
The-quhethir he saw thame nocht a deill.
Out-our thair hedis flaw the stane,
And thai sat still, lurkande ilkane.
The wachis, quhen thai herd nocht stere, 628
Fra that ward passit all sammyn were,
And carpand held fer by thair way.
Erll Thomas than alsoyne, and thai
That on the crag thar satt hym by, 632
Toward the wall clam hastely,
And thiddir com with mekill mayne,
And nocht but gret perell and payne.
For fra-thine up wes grevousar 636
To clym up, na be-neth be fer.
Bot quhatkyn payn at evir thai had,
Richt to the wall thai com but baid,
That had weill neir tuelf fut on hicht. 640
And, for-owt persaving or sicht,
Thai set their ledder to the wall,
And syne Francous, befor thame all,
Clam up, and syne Schir Androu Gray, 644
And syne the Erll him-self, perfay,
Wes the thrid man the wall can ta.
Quhen thai thair doun thair lord swa
Saw clymen up apon the wall, 648
As wood men thai clame eftir all.
Bot or up cummyn all wer thai,
Thai that war wachis till assay
Herd bath stering and ek speking, 652
And alswa fraying of armyng,
And on thame schot full sturdely:
And thai met thame richt hardely;
And slaw off thame dispitwisly. 656
Than throu the castell ras the cry,
“Tresoune! Tresoune!” thai cryit fast.
Than sum of tham war sa agast,
That thai fled and lap our the wall. 660
Bot to say suth, thai fled nocht all;
For the constabill, that wes hardy,
All armyt schot furth to the cry,
And with him feill hardy and stout. 664
Yheit wes the Erll with his rout,
Fechtand with thame apon the wall;
Bot soyn he thame discomfit all.
Be that his men war cummyn ilkane 668
Up at the wall, and he has tane
His way doune to the castell soyne.
In gret perell he has hym done;
For thair wes fer ma men tharin, 672
And thai had beyn of gude covyn,
Than he; bot thai effrayit war.
And nocht-for-thi with wapnys bar,
The constabill and his cumpany 676
Met hym and his richt hardely,
[650: E _clumbene_.]
[Sidenote: MARCH 14, 1314] _The Fight for the Castle_]
Thar men micht se gret bargane rys,
For with wapnys, on mony wis,
Thai dang on othir at thar mycht, 680
Quhill swerdis, that war fayr and brycht,
War till the hyltis all bludy.
Then hidwisly begouth the cry;
For thai that fellit or stekit war 684
With gret noyis can cry and rar.
The gud Erll and his cumpany
Faucht in that ficht so sturdely,
That all thair fayis ruschit war. 688
The constabill wes slayn richt thar:
And fra he fell, the remanand
Fled quhar thai best mycht to warrand:
Thai durst nocht byde na mak debat. 692
The Erll wes handlyt thair sa hat,
That had it nocht hapnyt throw cas,
That the constabill thair slayn was,
He had beyn in gret perell thar; 696
Bot than thai fled, thar was no mar,
Ilke man for to sauf his lif,
And furth his dayis for to drif;
And sum slaid doune out our the wall. 700
The Erll has tane the castell all,
For than wes nane durst him withstand.
I hard nevir quhar in ane land,
Wes castell tane so hardely, 704
Outakyn Tyre all anerly,
Quhen Alexander the Conquerour,
That conquerit Babilonys tour,
Lap fra a berfrois on the wall; 708
Quhar he emang his fayis al
Defendit him full douchtely,
Quhill that his noble chevelry
With ledderis our the wallis yheid, 712
That nouthir left for ded no dreid;
For fra thai wist weill at the king
Wes in the toune, ther wes no thing
In-till that tyme that stint thame mocht, 716
For all perell thai set at nocht.
Thai clam the wallis, quhar Arestee
Com first to the gude king, quhar he
Defendit him with all his mycht, 720
That than wes set so hard, I hicht,
That he wes fellit on a kne:
He till his bak had set ane tre,
For dreid thai suld behynd assalyhe. 724
Arestee then to the battalyhe
Sped him in all hye sturdely,
And dang on thame so douchtely,
That the king weill reskewit was. 728
For his men, in-to syndry plas,
Clam our the wall and soucht the kyng,
And him reskewit with hard fichting;
And wan the toune deliverly. 732
Outakyn this takyng all anerly,
I herd nevir in na tyme gane
Quhar castell wes sa stoutly tane.
[Sidenote: 1314] _The Prophecy of Queen Margaret_]
And of this takyng that I meyne, 736
Sanct Mergaret, the gud haly queyne,
Wist in hir tyme, throw reveling
Of him that knawis and wat all thing.
Tharfor, in stede of prophesye, 740
Scho left ane takyne richt joly,
That is that scho in hir chapell
Gert weill be portrait ane castell,
A leddir up to the wall standand 744
And a man thar-on clymande,
And wrat owth him, as old men sayis,
In Franch, _Gardis vous de Francois_.
And for this word scho gert writ swa, 748
Men wend the Franch-men suld it ta.
Bot for Francois hattyn wes he,
That swa clam up in prevate,
Scho wrat that as in prophesy: 752
And it fell eftirward suthly
Richt as scho said; for tane it was,
And _Francois_ led thame up that place.
[742: E _That is yheit in-till_; but _cf._ line 746.]
On this wis Edinburgh wes tane; 756
And thai that war tharin ilkane
War tane, or slane, or lap the wall;
Thair gudis haff thai sessit all,
And soucht the housis evirilkane. 760
Schir Peris Lumbard that wes tane,
As I said ere befor, thai fand
In presoune, fetterit with boyis, sittand.
Thai broucht hym to the Erll in hy, 764
And he gert lows hym hastely;
Than he becom the Kingis man.
Thai send word to the King rycht than,
And tald how the castell wes tane; 768
And he in hy is thiddir gane,
With mony men in cumpany,
And gert myne doune all halely
Bath tour and wall richt to the ground: 772
And syne our all the land can found,
Sesand the cuntre till his pes.
Of this deid, that so worthy wes,
The Erll wes prisit gretumly. 776
The King, that saw him sa worthy,
Wes blith and joyfull our the laif,
And to manteym his stat, him gaff
Rentis and landis fair eneuch. 780
And he to sa gret worschip dreuch,
That all spak of his gret bounte.
His fayis gretly stonayit he,
For he fled nevir throu fors of ficht. 784
Quhat sall I mair say of his mycht?
His gret manheid, and his bountee
Gerris him yheit oft renownyt be.
How Sir Edward won Ru’glen peel
And Dundee, then Stirling, besieged well.
In this tyme that thir juperdyis 788
On thir castellis, that I devis,
War eschevit swa hardely,
Schir Edward the Brois, the worthy,
Had all Galloway and Nyddis-daill 792
Wonnyn till his liking all haill;
And doungyn doune the castellis all
Richt in the dik, bath tour and wall.
He herd than say, and knew it weill, 796
That in Ruglyne wes ane peill.
Thiddir he went with his menyhe,
And wonnyn it in schort tym has he.
Syne till Dunde he tuk the way, 800
That than wes haldin, as I herd say,
Agane the King; tharfor in hy
He set ane sege thar-to stoutly,
And lay thar quhill it yholdyn was. 804
Till Strevilling syne the way he tais,
Quhar gud Schir Philip the Mowbra,
That wes full douchty at assay,
Wes wardane, and had in keping 808
That castell of the Inglis Kyng.
Thar-till ane sege he set stythly;
Thai bykkirrit oftsis sturdely;
Bot gret chevelry done wes nane. 812
Schir Edward, fra the sege wes tane,
A weill lang tyme about it lay,
Fra the Lenteryne, that is to say,
Quhill forrouth the Saint Johnnis mes. 816
The Inglis folk, that tha-rin wes,
Begouth to fale the vittale than.
Than Schir Philip, the douchty man,
Tretit, quhill thai consentit weir, 820
That gif at Mydsummer tyme ane yheir
To cum, it war nocht with bataill
Reskewit, that than, withouten faill,
He suld the castell yheld quytly. 824
That cunnand band thai sekirly.
BOOK XI
[Sidenote: 1313] _The Compact about Stirling_]
And quhen this cunnand thus wes maid,
Schir Philip in-to Ingland raid,
And tald the King all haill this tale,
How he a tuelf moneth all hale
Had, as it writtin wes in thair tale, 5
Till reskew Strevilling with battale.
And quhen he herd Schir Philip say
That Scottis men had set ane day
To fecht, and at sic space he had
Till purvay hym, he wes rycht glad; 10
And said, it wes gret succuddry
That set thame apon sic folye;
For he thocht to be, or that day,
So purvait, and in sic aray,
That thair suld na strinth him with-stand. 15
And quhen the lordis of Ingland
Herd at this day wes set planly,
Thai jugit it to gret foly,
And thoucht till haff all thair liking,
Giff men abaid thame in fechting. 20
Bot oft falyheis the fulys thoucht:
And wis mennis etling cumis nocht
Till sic end as thai weyn alwayis.
A litill stane oft, as men sayis,
May ger weltir a mekill wane. 25
Na manis mycht may stand agane
The grace of God, that all thing steris;
He wat quhat-to all thing efferis,
And disponis at his liking,
Eftir his ordinans, all thyng. 30
The winning of Stirling by Sir Edward the Bruce, though the
Battle was set over a Year and a Day, betwixt him and
Sir Philip the Mowbray.
Qwhen Schir Edward, as I yhow say,
Had gevyn sa outrageous a day
To yheld or reskew Strevilling,
Richt soyne he went on-to the King.
And tald quhat tretis he had maid, 35
And quhat day he thame gevyn had.
The King said, quhen he herd the day,
“That wes unwisly done, perfay;
“I herd nevir quhar so lang warnyng
“Wes gevin to so mychty ane Kyng 40
“As is the Kyng of England.
“For he has now in-till his hand
“Ingland, Irland, and Walys alsua,
“And Akatane yhet, with all tha
“That duellis undir his senyhory, 45
“And of Scotland a gret party.
“And off tresour so stuffit is he,
“That he may wageowris haf plente.