The Bruce
460 _The thrill-wallis._ May be “John de Thirlewal, vallet of Sir Adam
de Swynburne,” who, “with a barbed horse,” was one of a company hunting
Bruce in Glentrool, April, 1307 (_Bain_, ii., p. 572).
483 _Schyr Ingrame Bell._ Evidently a misreading of “Ingrame
Umphrevell,” as is clear from _Bk._ VI. 3; not the other way, as Skeat
puts it. There was no such person as “Bell.” Umfraville was holding
Cumnock Castle on May 18 (_Bain_, ii., 1931). Later in the year he is
at Ayr, July or August, sent there by Valence (_ibid._, No. 1961).
575 _about his hals._ Hung from his neck. A two-handed sword too long
to be supported by a waist-belt.
642 _toym._ “Leisure.” Modern Scots _toom_ = empty; not time. The
distinction is clearly marked in the _Gest. Hystoriale_: “But this
_tyme_ is so tore (inconvenient), and we no _tome_ have” (644).
BOOK VI.
3 _the Umphrevell._ See _Bk._ V. 483, 513, etc.
69 _Gilbert de la Hay._ See note on _Bk._ II. 237.
120 “Since he was provided with armour.”
121 _thurt._ “Needed.” The word occurs once in _Morte Arthure_, in the
present impersonal: “Hym _thare_ be ferde (afraid) for no faces” (403).
_Cf._ also _Bk._ VIII. 257.
128 _For litill strynth of erd._ “On account of a slight natural
defence in the character of the ground.”
149 _fiff-sum._ “Five together.” The compound is still familiar in
Scotland--_e.g._, a “three-some reel,” a “four-some” in golf. _Cf._
“sex-sum” in line 231.
179 The story is from the _Thebaid_ of Statius through some
intermediate source which cannot now be identified. See _Appendix_ F, §
iv.
195-6 “First the one should reign a year, then the other for a year
from the expiry of the previous term,” and so on.
201 _his constabill._ Defined in the _Alexander_:
“That of the duke’s hoist all hale,
Was _constabill_ and chief ledere” (73; 14, 15).
252 _the gret anciente._ “Through its great antiquity.”
314 “Then they praised greatly God the all-mighty.” The comparative
_fastar_ is in _Bk._ XIII. 129.
316 _Thaim byrd._ “It behoved or was necessary for them.” (O.E.
_byrian_, impersonal verb). _Cf._ “Sa _byrd_ al Galouya hyme honoure”
(_Lives of the Saints, Ninian_, 932): “Me byrd be blyth” in same
(_Martha_, 152). Frequent in the _Alexander_. _Cf._ on _Bk._ I. 381.
336 _Worschip extremyteis has twa._ Valour as a mean between two
extremes is an Aristotelian notion (_cf._ line 347).
339 “And they are both to be avoided.”
341 “Things which should be left alone as well as those which should be
done” (_cf._ lines 348-9).
463 _In Cumnok._ A town and parish in Kyle, Ayrshire.
481 _Johne of Lorn._ See note on _Bk._ III. 1.
483 _aucht hundreth men and ma._ On July 19, 1307, there is a command
from Aymer de Valence, the King’s lieutenant, for aid to John of Lorn
“guarding the town of Ayr and parts adjacent.” Lorn had 22 men-at-arms
and 800 foot, so that Barbour’s statement is remarkably accurate, while
his details enable us to fix the date of the events (_Bain_ ii., No.
1957).
484 _A sleuthhund._ Jean le Bel has a reference to some such occurrence
as this, though he credits it to Edward I., and distorts the course
of events. He explains that one time Edward had Robert Bruce chased
through great forests for the space of three or four days, “by dogs and
sleuth-hounds” (_par chiens et limiers_), and gives as his authority
not only popular report (_ce dit on_), but also “an account composed by
the said King Robert” (_et le treuve on en hystoire faitte par le dit
roy Robert._ _Chronique_ i., chap. xxii.). Sleuth-hounds were common
for police purposes: “That thar sal nane lat (obstruct) a sluthe hund
passand or the men that are cumand with hym for to follow theyffis or
to tak mysdvaris,” etc. (1289) (_Acta Parl. Scot._, I. 108). See on
VII. 17.
487 _a strecour._ A fast runner, a dog for the chase; from the verb
_streke_, to go rapidly (Skeat).
503 _his emys sak._ See note on _Bk._ III. 3.
507 _Schir Amery._ Valence is at Glenken, Kirkcudbrightshire, on July
24, and at Doon-side on July 31, 1307 (_Bain_ ii., Nos. 1958, 1959).
510 _Thomas Randale._ Thomas Randolph, on the English side. See note on
_Bk._ II. 463.
558 “He would pay no attention to the others.”
650 _Out of dawis doyn._ “Done out of days”--_i.e._, killed.
657 _yhow ane._ “Yourself alone”--a rather awkward expression, but the
reading in H supports E.
665-6 “As they did not fear me, I could do them much more harm.”
BOOK VII.
2 _will of wayn._ “Wild of weening” or thought--_i.e._, quite at a
loss. See on II. 471.
10 _yhe._ _Ye_ from an inferior to a superior; _you_ on the part of the
latter, as in line 15.
17 _I haf herd_, etc. In a note to the _Wallace_, _Bk._ v. 25, Jamieson
cites from “Bellenden, after Boece,” a long passage on bloodhounds,
in which this occurs: “And thocht the thevis oftymes cors the wattir,
quhair thai pas, to caus the hound to tyne the sent of thaym and
the guddis, yit he serchis heir and thair with sic deligence, that
be his fut he fyndis baith the trace of the theiff and the guddis”
(_Description of Albion_, chap. xi.). See on VI. 484.
48 “And he is a good distance off by this time.”
90 _price and loving._ “Honour and praise.” _Cf._ 99, 294.
103 _war bodyn all evynly._ “Were armed equally well,” equipped for
fighting.
132 _bryng hym than of daw._ “Bring him then out of day”--_i.e._, kill
him. _Cf._ on _Bk._ VI. 650.
163 _housis._ MSS. give “hous” with flourished “s,” here expanded to
“is.” See _Preface_ 3.
177 _slep._ “To sleep,” infinitive, not a substantive.
188 _as foul on twist._ “Like a bird on a bough.”
*302 _to-waverand._ “To-wavering”--_i.e._, distracted, uncertain.
_Waverand_ occurs in line 112 above, and in the _Wallace_ in “waverand
wynd” (_Bk._ iv. 340). “To” is intensive = German _zer_. In _Morte
Arthure_ we have “to-stonayede” = astounded (1436) and “to-briste” =
burst asunder (3982). Skeat gives for the text, “wandering uncertainly
in different directions,” but “her and thar” follows.
330 _nakyt._ “Without armour,” as always in the poem.
423 _for Jhon Cumyng’s sak._ That this feeling did operate in certain
quarters we gather, further, from a story told in the _Scalacronica_,
citing “the chronicles of his (Bruce’s) actions,” in which two men
ferry Bruce, whom they did not know, over a passage between two
islands. They ask about Bruce, and express a wish that they had him
in their hands, that they might kill him. Bruce inquired why, and the
answer is, “Because he murdered John Comyn, our lord.” This incident is
placed after Loudon Hill, and the precise locality is not mentioned.
Bruce discloses his identity in parting from them (_Scala._, pp. 132-3).
455 _top our teill._ “Top over tail,” head over heels. The phrase
occurs in the _Alexander_ (72, 8).
468 _till him dreuch._ “Drew the man towards him.”
494 _Glentruell._ Glen Trool and Loch Trool are in the west of
Kirkcudbright. See below on 622.
497 _the deir war in sesoun._ June or July, and so after Loudon Hill in
_Bk._ VIII.
561 _the Clyffurd._ Sir Robert Clifford. See note on 622 and on _Bk._
I. 282.
588 _his baneour._ “His banner-bearer,” as in _Morte Arthure_, “He
byddys his _baneoure_, Buske yow,” etc. (3732).
622 _Vaus._ “Vaux” = _de vallibus_, like Clifford, a Cumberland family.
Sir John de Vaus is on service under Valence against Bruce in June,
1307 (_Bain_, ii., No. 1938). We have a set of memoranda relative to
expeditions against Bruce in Galloway, dated February 12 to May 3,
1307, for wages to horse, foot, and archers under different commanders,
“in the valley of Nith,” “beyond the water of Cree,” “Glentruil, riding
in search of Robert de Brus,” “on the raid to Glentruyl, against said
Sir Robert,” “in Carrick and Glentruyl”; and among the leaders is Sir
Robert de Clifford (_Bain_, ii., No. 1923).
623 _raucht him a colè._ “Reached him a blow.” Skeat explains _colè_ as
from O.F. _colee_, from _col_ (_cou_), the neck. _Cf._ _accolade_, a
blow with the flat of a sword in dubbing a knight.
624 “Both drew up their men in sides,” for a fight.
632 _than he com of toune._ “Than when he set out,” a general phrase.
BOOK VIII.
9 _Kyle._ The central division of Ayrshire, between _Carrick_ to the
south and _Cunningham_ (13) in the north.
14 _He gert helde._ “He made to submit” (O.E., _hieldan_, to incline;
Anglian _haeldan_). _Cursor Mundi_, “All folk to Rome suld _heild_”
(22,235, N.E.D.).
15 _Bothweill._ Bothwell Castle, on the Clyde. It had seen a good deal
of fighting in the earlier war. In August, 1301, the castle and barony,
which had belonged to William de Moray, were presented to Aymer de
Valence and his heirs (_Bain_, ii., No. 1214). See also note on _Bk._
xiii. 409.
21 _Philip the Mowbray._ More probably Sir John de Mowbray serving in
Ayr for Valence, with others, in June to August, 1307 (_Bain_, ii.,
Nos. 1938, 1961).
28 _Makyrnokis way._ Godscroft gives the name in the form _Machanacks_;
but David Macpherson, supporting the spelling in the text, says it is
“a narrow pass on the bank of Makyrnok wattyr,” which he located near
Kilmarnock (_Geog. Illust._, s.v.).
34 _Edry-furd._ The meaning of this name appears to be given in the
line below, “betwix marras twa,” in which case _Edry_ is for Gaelic
_Eadar_, “between,” as in other ancient names--_e.g._, _Eddirdail_ for
the Black Isle, being _Eadar-da-dhail_, “between two dales.” “Furd,”
of course, is English, and we may conjecture that the place was first
known as “the ford,” with a Gaelic name beginning with _Eadar_, and
signifying “between the marshes”; then that the unwieldy title was
telescoped, the latter part of the Gaelic compound dropping out, and
reduced to the hybrid “Eadar-ford,” finally to the form given.
95 _Kilwynnyn._ Kilwinning is west of Kilmarnock, near Ardrossan. At
Ardrossan they turned north by the coast road and passed Largs on to
Inverkip, where are still the remains of the castle. In 1301 Edward I.,
after capturing Bothwell Castle, went on to besiege that of Inverkip,
and in July, 1306, after Methven, Thomas Randolph was imprisoned there
(_Bain_, ii., Nos. 1224, 1807).
123 _Gawlistoun._ Galston is a little east of Kilmarnock. Beyond it
rises Loudon Hill.
133 _the tend day of May._ May 10. The memoranda cited in note to _Bk._
VII. 622, relating to the pursuit of Bruce in Galloway, extend to May
3. The battle of Loudon Hill was fought before May 15. See note on 362.
164 _The hye-gat._ “The high-road” to Ayr, as we learn also from the
_Wallace_, _Bk._ iii. That hero, with his men, there lay in wait for
“Persey’s caryage,” which was being convoyed up Avondale (78) to Ayr
(63). The waggons of supplies “took Loudon Hill” (116), on which
Wallace had prepared a position (100). Loudon Hill itself is a bold,
outstanding eminence commanding the valley of the Avon. The road must
have crossed the lower slope (line 165).
172 _thre dykis._ On each side of the road, but a bowshot (150 to 200
yards) away (169), was a moss, impassable for horsemen. Further to
narrow the hard ground (170), Bruce dug inwards from “the mosses” three
ditches up to the road (173), each a bowshot behind the other (175). In
the ditches he left gaps (“stoppis”) for the road (179), wide enough
for 500 men to ride abreast (? 650 to 700 yards). Thus he could not be
outflanked (185) or attacked in the rear (186), and he had sufficient
men to deal with a frontal attack (187, 188). If he could not check
the English at the first ditch, he could retreat to the next, and so
to the third, if necessary (189-194). Bruce’s tactics was thus to make
a position defensible by a small number on foot, and open only to an
attack in front. Maxwell’s suggestion that the ditches were to shelter
the Scots from the archers has no warrant in the text (_Robert the