The Bruce
Said, ‘And we had all thiddir gane,
‘We had discumfit thame ilkane.’
“It mycht haf fallyn weill,” said he, 625
“Bot sekerly enew war we
“To put us in yhon aventur.
“For, had thai maid discumfitur
“On us, that yhondir passit wer,
“It suld all stonay that ar heir.” 630
[612: C _I had_ (S). H as E.]
[Sidenote: AUG., 1327] _Douglas restrains Murray_]
The Erle said, ‘Sen that it swa is,
‘That we may nocht with juperdis
‘Our felloune fais fors assale,
‘We sal it do in playn battale.’
Lord Douglas said then; “Be Saint Bryd, 635
“It war gret foly, at this tyd,
“Till us with sic ane host till ficht,
“That ilk day growis of mycht,
“And vittale has thar-with plente.
“And in thar cuntre heir ar we, 640
“Quhar thar may cum us na succours;
“Herd is to mak us heir rescours;
“Na we may forra for to get met,
“Sic as we haf heir mon we et.
“Do we with our fayis tharfor 645
“That ar heir liand us befor,
“As I herd tell this othir yher
“How that a fox did with a fischer.”
How the Fox played with the Fisher.
‘How did the fox?’ the Erll can say.
He said; “A fischar quhilome lay 650
“Besyde a ryver for till get
“His nettis that he had thar set.
“A litill luge thar had he maid;
“And thar-within a bed he had,
“And ek a litill fyre alsua; 655
“A dure ther wes, withouten ma.
“A nycht, his nettis for till se
“He rais, and thair weill lang duelt he.
“And quhen that he has done his ded,
“Toward his luge agane he yhed, 660
“And with licht of the litill fyre,
“That in the luge was byrnand schyre,
“In-till his luge a fox he saw,
“That fast can on a salmond gnaw.
“Than till the dure he went in hy, 665
“And drew ane swerd deliverly
“And said, ‘Reiffar, thou mon heir out.’
“The fox, that wes in full gret dout,
“Lukit about sum hoill to se;
“Bot nane ysche thar couth he se, 670
“Bot quhar the man stude sturdely.
“A lawchtane mantill than hym by,
“Lyand apon the bed, he saw;
“And with his teyth he can it draw
“Atour the fyre; and, quhen the man 675
“Saw his mantill ly byrnand than,
“Till red it ran he hastely.
“The fox gat out than in gret hy,
“And held his way his warand till.
“The man leit hym begilit ill, 680
“That he his salmond swa had tynt,
“And alsua had his mantill brynt,
“And the fox scathles gat his way.
“This ensampill I may weill say
“By yhon folk and us that ar heir; 685
“We ar the fox, and thai the fischer,
“That stekis forouth us the way.
“Thai weyne we may nocht get away,
“Bot richt quhar that thai ly; perde,
“All as thai think it sall nocht be. 690
“For I haf gert spy us a gat,
“Suppos that it be sum-deill wat,
“A page of ouris we sall nocht tyne.
“Our fayis, for this small tranontyne,
“Wenys we sall weill pryd us swa, 695
“That we planly on hand sall ta
“To gif thame oppynly battale;
“Bot at this tyme thair thoucht sall fale.
“For we to-morne heir, all the day,
“Sall mak als mery as we may, 700
“And mak us boune agane the nycht;
“And than ger mak our fyres bricht,
“And blaw our hornys, and mak fair
“As all the warld our awne it war,
“Quhill that the nycht weill fallyn be. 705
“And than, with all our harnas, we
“Sall tak our way hamward in hy.
“And we sall gyit be richt graithly
“Quhill we be out of thair danger,
“That lyis now enclosit her. 710
“Than sall we all be at our will,
“And thai sall let thame trumpit ill,
“Fra thai wit weill we be away.”
To this haly assentit thai;
And maid thame gud cher all that nycht 715
Quhill on the morn that day was licht.
[667: C _Tratour_ (S).]
[Sidenote: AUG., 1327] _The Scots prepare to depart_]
[Sidenote: AUG., 1327] _King Robert sends a Relief_]
Apon the morne, all prevaly,
Thai turst harnas and maid reddy;
Swa that, or evyn, all boun war thai.
Thair fayis, that agane thame lay, 720
Gert haf thair men that thar wes ded
In cartis till ane haly sted.
All that day caryand thai war
With cartis, men that slayne war thar.
That thai war feill men mycht weill se, 725
That in carying so lang sud be.
The hostis bath all that day wer
In pes; and quhen the nycht wes ner,
The Scottis folk, that lyand war
In-till the park, maid fest and far; 730
And blew hornys and fyres maid,
And gert thame bryn bath bricht and braid,
Swa that thair fyres that nycht war mair
Than ony tyme befor thai war.
And quhen the nycht wes fallyn wele, 735
With all thair harnas ilke deill
All prevaly thai raid thair way.
Soyn in a mos enterit ar thai,
That had weill a lang myle on breid;
Out-our that moss on fut thai yheid, 740
And in thair hand thair hors led thai.
It wes richt ane noyus way;
And nocht-for-thi all that thar wer
Com weill outour it, haill and fer,
And tynt bot litill of thar ger, 745
Bot gif it war ony summer
That in the mos wes left liand.
Quhen all, as I haf born on hand,
Out-our the mos, that wes so braid,
War cummyn, a gret gladschip thai had, 750
And raid furth hamwarde on thar way.
And on the morn, quhen it wes day,
The Inglis men saw the herbery,
Quhar Scottis men war wount to ly,
All voyd; thai wonderit gretly then, 755
And send furth syndry of thar men
To spy quhar thai war gane away,
Quhill at the last thair tras fand thai,
That till the mekill mos thame had,
That wes so hidwis for till waid, 760
That aventur thame thar-to durst nane;
Bot till thar host agane ar gane,
And tald how that thai passit war,
Quhar nevir man wes passit ar.
Quhen Inglis men hard it wes swa, 765
In hy till consale can thai ta,
That thai wald follow thaim no mar.
Thair host richt than thai scalit thar,
And ilk man till his awn he raid.
Kyng Robert than that witteryng had 770
That his men in the park swa lay,
And at quhat myscheiff thar war thai,
Ana host assemblit he in hy.
And ten thousand men, wicht and hardy,
He send furth has with Erllis twa, 775
Of Marche and Angous war thai,
The host in Wardale till releiff;
And, gif thai mycht so weill escheiff
That sammyn nycht be thai and thai,
Tha thoucht thair fayis till assay. 780
[739: E _twa myle of_. So, too, in H.]
[742-744: After line 742 H inserts:
_But flaikes in the wood they made
Of wands, and them with them had:
And sykes therewith brigged they:
And sa had well their horse away,
On sik wise, that all that there were,
Came through the mosse baith haill and feire._
]
[774: C _Of twenty thousand richt hardy_ (S). H like E.]
[776: E _the Merse_.]
So fell it that, on the sammyn day
That the mos, as yhe herd me say,
Wes passit, the discurrouris that thar
Rydand befor the hostis war,
Of athir host has gottin sicht. 785
And thai, that worthy war and wicht,
At tha metyng justit of wer.
Ensenyheis hye thai cryit ther;
And be thair cry persavit thai,
That thai war frendis, and at a fay. 790
Than mycht men se thame glad and blith;
And tald it to thair lordis swith.
The hostis bath met sammyn syne;
Thar wes richt hamly welcummyne
Maid emang gret lordis thar; 795
Of thair metyng joyfull thai war.
The Erll Patrik and his menyhe
Had vittale with thame gret plente,
And thar-with weill relevit thai
Thar frendis; for, the suth to say, 800
Quhill thai in Wardall liand war,
Thai had defalt of met, bot thar
Thai war relevit with gret plente.
Toward Scotland, with gammyn and gle,
Thai went, and hame weill cummyn ar thai; 805
And scalit syne ilk man thar way.
The lordis ar went on-to the King,
That maid thame richt fair welcummyng.
For of thar come richt glad wes he;
And that thai sic perplexite. 810
For-out tynsale eschapit had.
Thai war blith all and mery made.
BOOK XX.
How Good King Robert the Bruce crowned his Young Son
David and Dame Johann, his Spouse.
[Sidenote: 1327-28] _A Treaty of Peace_]
Soyne eftir that the Erll Thomas
Fra Wardale thus reparit was,
The King assemblit all his mycht,
And left nane that wes worth to ficht.
A gret host than assemblit he, 5
And delt his host in parties thre.
A part to Norhame went but let,
And thair ane strat assege was set,
And held thame in, richt at thar dik.
The tothir part on to Awnwyk 10
Is went, and thar ane sege set thai;
And quhill at thir assegis lay
At the castellis, I spak of ar,
Apert assaltis maid thai thar:
And mony fair gud chevelry 15
Eschevyt wes full douchtely.
The king at thai castellis liand
Left his folk, as I bare on hand,
And with the thrid ost held his way
Fra park to park, hym for to play, 20
Huntand as all his awn it war.
And till thame that war with him thar
The landis of Northumbirland,
That next Scotland thar wes liand,
In fe and heritage gaf he, 25
And thai payit for the selys fee.
On this wis raid he distroyand,
Quhill that the Kyng of Ingland,
Throu consell of the Mortymer
And his moder, at that tym wer 30
Ledaris of hym, that than yhoung wes,
To Kyng Robert, till tret of pes
Send messyngers, and swa sped thai
That thai assentit on this way,
Than a perpetuall pes to tak, 35
And thai a mariage suld mak
Of King Robertis sone, Davy,
That than bot fiff yheir had scarsly,
And of dame Johane als of the Tour,
That syne wes of full gret valour. 40
Sistir scho was to the yhoung King
That Ingland had in governyng,
That than of eild had sevin yher.
And monymentis and lettrys ser,
That thai off Ingland that time had, 45
That oucht agayn Scotland maid,
In till that tretys up thai gaff;
And all the clame that thai mycht haff
In-till Scotland on ony maner.
And King Robert, for scathes ser, 50
That he till thame of Ingland
Had done of weir, with stalward hand,
Full twenty thousand pund suld pay
Of sylvir in-to gude monay.
Quhen men thir thyngis forspokin had, 55
And, with selys and athis, maid
Fesnyng of frendschip and of pes,
That nevir for na chans suld ces;
The maryage syne ordanit thai
Till be at Berwyk, and the day 60
Thai have set quhen that it suld be;
Syne went ilk man till his cuntre.
[16: E _war_. H _was_. C omits line. S reads _wes_ as more usual form.]
[41: E _yhing_.]
[44-49: In E only. C H omit.]
Thus maid wes pes quhar wer wes air,
And syne the assegis rasit wair.
The Kyng Robert ordanit till pay 65
The silvir, and, agane the day,
He gert weill for the mangery
Ordane, quhen that his sone Davy