426till ane vale.Apparently in the valley behind Coxet Hill. “Gillies Hill” is said to have taken its name from these “gillies,” or servants (Nimmo’sHistory of Stirlingshire, second edition, p. 219). Barbour never calls them “gillies,” and why a Gaelic name? The writer of the description of the district in theOld Statistical Account(1796) makes no mention of this “tradition,” and suggests a derivation from the personal name Gill or Gillies. “The names both of Gillies and Morison occur in the muirlands” (vol. xviii., p. 392).
437the Fawkirk.A Scots translation of the original Gaelic name (in twelfth century)Eaglais breac, “the speckled or particoloured church,” in reference to the stone of which it was built. In “Falkirk” the “l” has been substituted for “w,” as a sign of length in the vowel (seeLanguage l, App. G). Local pronunciation does not sound the “l.” The English chroniclers write the nameFoukyrk(Vita Edw. Sec., p. 205), orFaukirke(Annales London., p. 104).
440-453 Acting on the information received, and unaware, as yet, which road the English would choose for an advance to Stirling, Bruce makes a fresh disposition of his troops, departing from that laid down in lines 305-347, so as to be ready for either line of advance. He himself occupies the “entry” to the Park road, which was a continuation of the medieval (Roman?) highway passing west of St. Ninian’s, with his mixed brigade of Highlanders and Lowlanders; while Randolph is posted at St. Ninian’s Kirk overlooking the level about seventy feet below. Apparently (see below) both divisions are masked by the wood. The others are in reserve to reinforce when it should turn out to be necessary. The historians, ignoring this alteration in dispositions, land themselves, as a result, in unintelligible confusion. Douglas later trapped an English column in the “entre” of Jedburgh Forest (Bk.XVI. 310et seq.).
486confort his men.See note on 250.
523Aucht hundreth.Gray says they were only three hundred, under the command of Robert Lord de Clifford and Henry de Beaumont (Scalacronica, p. 141). We learn from the same author that Philip de Mowbray, constable of Stirling, went out and met Edward when the army wasthree leagues, or miles, from the castle, and suggested that he should advance no farther as, the English having come so far, and being within touch, he considered himself relieved; besides, he said, the Scots had blocked thenarrow ways (lez estroitz chemyns) of the wood—i.e., of the New Park. But from the conditions, as we have seen (Bk.X. 822), the castle could not be held to be relieved so long as the Scots were in force before it. We note that Mowbray also expected the army to come by the Park roads. Now Barbour says that Clifford’s detachment left the main bodytwo milesaway (515). Apparently, then, this movement was the result of Mowbray’s information (see next note). However, it was known to Edward when he summoned his army that the Scots had taken up a position between him and Stirling in strong, marshy places difficult for horsemen (Foedera, ii., p. 481).
532it suld reskewit be.So the Scots might conclude, but the version of theLanercostchronicler better fits the case: “After dinner” (post prandium—say, about midday) “the army of the King (Edward) came to the neighbourhood of the Torwood” (he takes the Park to be an extension of the larger forest), “and when it was known that the Scots were in the wood” (from Mowbray), “the first line (prima acies) of the King, whose leader was Lord Clifford, wished to surround the wood so that the Scots should not escape in flight” (p. 225). This is in harmony with the self-confidence of the English, and explains why the horsemen did not, as they might have done, avoid Randolph’s foot, if they were only making for the castle. There was apparently no obstacle to Mowbray communicating personally with the relieving army, and he cannot have gone alone; so that the parties were actually in touch, and, as Mowbray argued, a technical “relief” had been performed.
536thai wist weill.From Mowbray probably, butcf.note on 523. Aymer de Valence, too, had gone on before the army to prepare its line of march and carefully examine the stratagems of the Scots (insidias Scotorum.Vit. Edw., p. 201).
537Beneth the Park.“Made a circuit upon the other side of the wood towards the castle, keeping the open ground” (as beaux chaumps.Scalacronica, p. 141).
544thai so fer war passit by.The English writers report the matter as it appeared to them. “The Scots, however, suffered this” (Clifford’s advance) “until they had placed a considerable distance between themselves and their friends, when they showed themselves, and cutting off that first line of the King from the middle and rear divisions (a media acie et extrema), rushed on it,” etc. (Chron. de Lanercost, 225). “Thomas Randolph, ... who was leader of the advance guard of the Scots, having heard that his uncle had repulsed the advance guard of the English on the other side of the wood, thought thathe must have his share, and issuing from the wood with his division” (Barbour says “five hundred men,” line 542), “took the level plain” (le beau chaumpe—Barbour’s “playn feld”) “towards the two lords aforesaid” (Scalacronica, p. 141). Note that both Bruce at the “entry,” and Randolph at “the Kirk,” werein the wood(see on this also note onBk.XII. 58); and the reiterated use of the term “playn feld” for the level below St. Ninian’s.
546ane rose of his chaplet.Hailes suggests a far-fetched explanation of this: “I imagine thatroseimplies a large bead in a rosary or chaplet,” when the dropping of a rose would imply carelessness of duty (Annals, ii. 51, note). TheNew English Dictionarydefineschapletas “A wreath for the head, usually a garland of flowers or leaves,” and cites this passage. Randolph in the wood, keeping his eyes on the main body, could easily miss an advance by his flank, which had started independently two miles away, and probably kept to cover as far as possible.
547Wes faldyn.Skeat explains this form as “fallen” with an “excrescentd, due to Scandinavian influence,” citing alsoBk.XIII. 632. A form,foolde, occurs inThe Sowdone of Babylone, line 1428, where Hausknecht explains it as fromfealden, “to fold,” meaning “folded, bent down, fallen”; citing also “Foldento grunde” and “Fiftene hundredFoldento grunden,” fromLayamon, 23,894 and 27,055-6. The result as to meaning is the same either way.
548war past.Clifford then had passed the Kirk before Randolph made a move. The scene of the conflict is usually placed at a position half-way between St. Ninian’s and Stirling, now known as Randolph’s Field. But this name is not older than the end of the eighteenth century (Old Stat. Acct., vol. xviii., p. 408). The origin of the nomenclature is two standing stones said to have been erected in memory of the victory (Nimmo’sHistory of Stirlingshire, ed. 1817, p. 216). But standing stones are no uncommon feature in Scotland, and various traditions attach to them; and why this preference in commemoration? “Standing stones,” on the other side of the Forth, are mentioned in theWallace(Bk.v. 298).
557In hy thai sped thame.Gray gives an account of this affair, in which his father was taken prisoner, in theScalacronica(edit. Maitland Club. p. 141): “Sir Henry de Beaumont said to his men, ‘Let us retire a little; let them [the Scots] come on; give them room [donez les chaumps.]” His father, Sir Thomas, charging on the Scots, was carried off a prisoner on foot, his horse having been slain on the pikes. He, too, mentions the death of Sir William Deyncourt (line 573), and says thesquadron was utterly routed. If Beaumont—to whom, with Deyncourt, Gray gives the command—proposed to allow the Scots more room by retiring, his detachment cannot have gone far past Randolph’s original position (cf.also line 538). The remark seems absurd if applied to the ground at Randolph’s Field. Buchanan says Randolph had horse, in which he is clearly wrong (Rerum Scotic. Hist., ed. 1762, chap. xxxix.), and he is followed on this point in White’sHistory of the Battle of Bannockburn(Edinburgh, 1871), p. 55.
573Schir Wilyhame Dencort.See previous note.
598Styk stedis, and ber doune men.An unhorsed knight in his heavy suit of full armour was a cumbrous unit, and if he fell, might find it impossible to rise in the press, or be assisted to do so, so as to be remounted on a fresh steed by his squire, whose duty it was to see to this, among other things. The author of theVita Edw.notes as a mischance deserving remark that in this day’s fighting the Earl of Gloucester was unhorsed (p. 202; see also onBk.XII. 504).
22quyrbolle.Cuir-bouilli, or “boiled leather,” was not really boiled, as in that case it would become horny and brittle and so quite unsuitable for the purposes to which it was put—the strengthening of armour in the transition period of the fourteenth century prior to the full use of plate, and the making of sheaths, bottles, caskets, etc. The leather was steeped in a warm mixture of wax and oil, which made it pliable and fit to receive the designs cut or embossed on it. It was then slowly dried. Helmet crests or other fittings were also made of it, as here.
29the Boune.Henricus de Boun inVita Edw. Sec.(see below). The name is variously spelled—Bowme(C),Bohun, etc. He was the nephew of Hereford. Barbour says “cosyne” in 31, but this, formerly, very frequently denoted a nephew or niece (N.E.D.).
33merk-schot.Jamieson’sDictionarygives as explanation: “Seems the distance between thebow markiswhich were shot at in the exercise of archery.” In theNew English Dictionary: “The distance between the butts in archery” (citing this passage). E and H readbow-schote= 150 to 200 yards.
36his men.That is, the men of his own battle at the “entry,” not the whole army drawn up in line, as is generally assumed.Cf.Bk.XI. 440-53, and note.
42his hors he steris.Cf.with the account, professing to be based on Barbour, in Scott’sLord of the Isles, canto vi., XV.: “The Bruce stood fast,” etc.
49in-till a lyng.“They quickly took their positions so as to come at each other in a line.”
58And he doune till the erd can ga.I.e., De Boun; but Sir Herbert Maxwell says Bruce! (Robert the Bruce, p. 205). With this Scottish version of the eventcf.the following English one (c.1326): “When the English had now passed the wood”—i.e., the Torwood—“and were approaching Stirling, behold! the Scots were moving about, as if in flight, on the edge of the grove” (sub memore,i.e., the wood of the New Park), “whom a certain knight, Henry de Boun, with the Welshmen, pursued up to the entry” (introitum, Barbour’s “entre”) “of the grove. For he had it in his mind that, if he should find Robert Bruce there, he would either slay him or bring him back his captive. But when he had come hither, Robert himself issued suddenly from the cover of the wood” (a latebris silvæ); “and the aforesaid Henry, seeing that he could not resist the crowd of Scots, and wishing to retire to his friends, turned his horse; but Robert withstood him, and with the axe which he carried in his hand, smashed in his skull. His squire, while endeavouring to shield and avenge his lord, is overcome by the Scots” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 202). Gray says the advanced guard under the Earl of Gloucester entered the road within the Park and were repulsed (tost furvont recoillez.Scala., p. 141) by the Scots; and that, as was reported, Robert Bruce here slew a knight, Peris de Mountforth, with an axe. A John de Mountfort was slain at Bannockburn, and in the list cited his name immediately precedes that of Henry de Boun (Annales Londonienses, p. 231, inChronicles of Edward I. and Edward II., vol. i.). Buchanan places this incident at the beginning of the main battle on Monday as something scarcely worth mentioning (parum quidem dictu) (Rer. Scot. Hist., ed. 1762, chap. xxxix.). Barbour, of course, concentrates on Bruce’s performance, but theVita Edwardiincidentally corroborates Gray in remarking that in this day’s fighting Gloucester was unhorsed (p. 202), which could have happened only in the Park affair.
67thai com on.As we see, the De Boun affair was part of a serious skirmish, an attempt to force the road to Stirling through the Park, in which the English van was repulsed. See above on 58, and hereafter on 176. This important fact is usually overlooked, as in Hume Brown’sHistory, i., p. 158.
140The layff went.Some, says Gray, fled to the Castle of Stirling (au chastel), the others to the King’s host (Scala., p. 141).
144-6 “Quickly took off their helmets to get air, for they were hot, and covered with perspiration.”
176twis.I.e., repulsed in the De Boun skirmish, and in that of Randolph and Clifford. These successes were clearly of the greatest importance, in so far as they put heart into the Scots, and prevented their being overawed, as they might well have been, by the greatness and terrifying appearance of the English host. The author of theGesta Edw. de Carnarvonthus notes that at Bannockburn “they fought on both days” (utrisque diebus pugnaverunt), and the Scots “prevailed” (Chron. Edw. I. and Edw. II., ii. 46).
194gif yhe think, etc. Bruce here offers his men alternative courses, either to stay and fight or to retreat. Gray tells us that the Scots were on the point of retiring to a stronger position in the Lennox, when Sir Alexander Seton, secretly deserting the English side—no doubt because he saw that the chances of success were now with the Scots—came to Bruce and told him of the shaken condition of the English army, pledging his head that if Bruce attacked next day, he would win easily, and with little loss (Scala., p. 141). Bruce did attack. Seton was an English partisan in February, 1312 (Bain, iii., No. 245). Later he appears on the Scottish side (ibid., 767, etc.).
210Lordyngis, etc. For Bruce’s speech, seeAppendixB.
255-6 The various readings here show that to the scribes the sense was somewhat obscure. Bruce says that, should the English find them weak, and defeat them, they would have no mercy upon them. Skeat, by readingToin 255, and putting a period afteroppynly, misses the point.That happynandthat wynare hypothetical subjunctives. E and H have altered 256.
290my brothir Neill.Nigel Bruce. See IV. 61, 176.
302enveronyt.“The strength of this place shall prevent us being surrounded”—always Bruce’s special fear, his men being few in comparison with the enemy. See note onBk.XIII. 275.
357The Inglis men sic abaysing, Tuk.Similarly Gray writes that the English had “sadly lost countenance and were in verylow spirits” (etoint de trop mal covyne) from what had taken place (Scala., p. 142). “And from that hour,” says theLanercost Chronicle, “fear spread among the English and greater boldness among the Scots” (p. 225). The rhetorical John de Trokelowe, however, declares that the English were “exasperated” (exacerbati), and firmly determined to be revenged or vanquished on the morrow (Chronica et Annales, p. 83). The last statement, though it would seem to be only a presumption on the chronicler’s part, may apply to the lords, who, Barbour says, urged on their men to “tak a-mendis.”Barbour, Gray, and theLanercostwriter speak for the general mass, and their agreement establishes the fact.
390bot he war socht.The English certainly feared a night attack. According to Gray, they passed the night under arms, with their horses bitted (p. 142). In theVita Edwardialso we read that there was no rest for them, and that they spent a sleepless night. “For they thought the Scots would rather attack by night than await battle in the daytime” (pp. 202-3).
392Doune in the Kers.The Carse is the low-lying ground along Forth side, on which were the “pools” (see note onBk.XI. 300), and which was thus in a generally marshy condition. The ancient limits of the Carse proper seem to be indicated in the O.S. map by the names Kerse Patrick, Kerse Mill, and Springkerse, all on the 40-feet level. Eastwards the land sinks towards the Forth; westwards it rises slightly to the 50-feet level at the foot of the ridge on which stands St. Ninian’s. This middle division is called “the dryfield lands” in theOld Stat. Act, xviii., p. 388. Friar Baston also has the name: “The dry land (arrida terra) of Stirling” (see note on XI. 360). The English had to keep to the marshy land of the east in order to be clear of the Scottish leaguer in the Park. They thus crossed the Bannock (see below), and kept the “dryfield land” between them and the Scots. Having crossed, they could advance to the “hard feld” (Barbour) from their front. It is of the first importance to understand that the English did camp here, for, if so, the battle was fought on the strip of level, firm ground separating the armies. Gray corroborates Barbour: “The host of the King ... had arrived on a plain towards the water of Forth,beyond Bannockburn—a bad, deep morass with pools” (ruscelle,Scala., p. 142.). Mr. Lang, seeing the difficulty of reconciling this statement with the site of battle as fixed by him and the other historians, says that Gray, in “beyond Bannockburn” (outre Bannockburn), must mean “southof Bannockburn, taking the point of view of his father, at that hour a captive in Bruce’s camp” (History, i., p. 221). But Gray’s hour of writing was forty years later; and Barbour, who says the same thing, cannot be explained away by supposititious hallucination.
407quhen it wes day.“About the third hour of the day” (Trokelowe, p. 84). On June 24 the sun rises about 4 a.m.
413Thai maid knychtis.A usual ceremony before an important battle. Those receiving the honour for distinguished conduct in the field were known as “knights-banneret.” Previously they had been only “bachelors,” for which see Glossary.
421tuk the playne.Note the reiteration of this expression, andcf.what is said onBk.XI. 544, and above on 392; alsoVita Ed., p. 203: “When he (Bruce) learned that the English battles had occupied the plain (campus), he led out his whole army from the grove” (de nemore).
426richt as angelis schane brichtly.Probably in reference to the white “surcoats” worn by the knights over their armour (cf.Bk.VIII. 232-35). Baston writes: “The English folk, like Heaven’s folk, in splendour shine” (Anglicolæ, quasi cœlicolæ, splendore nitescunt,Scotich.ed. Goodall, ii., lib. xii., chap. xxii.).
429a schiltrum.A close-packed body of men of any order or size (see Glossary).Cf.Morte Arthure, line 2, 922: “Owte of thescheltronethey schede (separated themselves), as schepe of a folde”; also several other uses in the same poem. Hemingburgh says that Wallace’s “schiltrouns” at Falkirk were round (qui quidem circuli vocabantur “schiltrouns,”ii., p. 180). Skeat questions this, for philological reasons! (see note here).
448apon fut.I.e., the Scots left the cover of the wood, and advanced to meet the English chivalry on foot, contrary to all contemporary rules of the art of war.Cf.what is said onBk.XI. 296. “None of them (the Scots) mounted a horse, but every man of them was protected by light armour such as a sword could not easily penetrate.... They marched close-packed like a thick hedge, and such a body could not be easily broken into” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 203). Also of the Scots: “On their side all were on foot: moreover, chosen men of the highest courage, suitably equipped with very sharp axes and other weapons of war, packing their shields close together in front of them, made the column (cuneum) impenetrable” (Trokelowe, p. 84). The formation, in fact, was that of the famous “shield-wall” of Hastings and other early English battles.
477Knelyt all doune.So, too, inChron. de Lanercost: “But when the two armies had come very close all the Scots fell on their knees to say aPaternoster, and committed themselves to God, and asked help from heaven; when they had done this they advanced boldly against the English” (p. 225). This ceremony was directed by Maurice, Abbot of Inchaffray, afterwards Bishop of Dunkeld (Bower,Scotich., lib. xii., ch. xxi.).
488dout of ded.“Fear of death.”
498Schir Edward.The author ofVita Edw.says it was commanded by James Douglas, but in this he is wrong (p. 203).
504frusching of speris, etc.TheLanercostwriter, who derived his information, as he himself says, from a trustworthy eyewitness, has a very similar description. The English chargers, he writes, galloped against the Scottish spears as against a thick wood, “whereupon arose an exceedinggreat and terrible noise from breaking spears and steeds mortally wounded” (p. 225). The Scots, of course, would “stick” the horses, so as to unseat the heavily armoured riders—a serious accident for them (see note onBk.XI. 598).
519With speris ... and axis.Of the Scots it is said inVita Edw.: “They had an axe by the side, and carried spears (lanceas) in their hands” (p. 203). For the “weill grundyn” axes,cf.Trokeloweabove, line 448.
535He held his way.The Scots appear to have attacked with successive battles, each coming up later than, and to the left of, its predecessor—in echelon by the right. So we may infer from Barbour, as well as from the rather obscure description in theLanercostchronicle: “But they so ordered their army, that two divisions (duæ acies) of it should precede the third, the first on the flank of the second, so that neither should go in front of the other (una ex latere alterius, ita quod neutra aliam præcederet), to be followed by the third, in which was Robert” (p. 225). Gray simply says that the advance guard of the Scots came on in line of schiltrons and engaged the English (Scala., p. 142). Baker alone states that the Scots stood drawn up in solid array behind an artificial “hurdle” covered ditch, and waited the English attack (Chron., p. 56).
537The nyne battales.Probably, as Mr. Oman suggests (Art of War, p. 574), in the way the French were at Creçy, in three lines of three battles each, the advance guard under Gloucester and Hereford thus forming a separate body (cf.lines 435-7). Mr. Oman gives the tenth, however, to “a reserve under the King” (ibid.). Baker, whose account is the latest and is really a summary essay on tactics, divides the English army into three “wards” (custodias): first, the heavy horsemen, which he tumbles into the “fragile” ditch (see above on 536, and note onBk.XI. 360); next, the foot with the archers reserved to deal with the enemy in flight (see onBk.XIII. 51); and, third, the King himself, with the bishops and other “religious” men (Chronic., 56-7).
32tynt the suet.“Lost their lives.” The phrase in this sense occurs also in theWallace: “The Scottis on fute gert monyloiss the suete” (The Wallace, Jamieson’s edition,Bk.xii., line 194).
36slew fire.“Struck out fire.” Also inWallace, iv. 285: “slew fyron flint.”Cf.fromThe Buik of Alexander: “thare dyntis, Thatkest fyreas man dois flyntis” (p. 236, line 24).
51the archeris war perelous.Baker says that the archers were not given a suitable position, as in his time, being placed behind the first line instead of on the wings (cf.note onBk.XII. 537, and below lines 102-5, and note on 104). “Some,” he adds, “shot upwards so that their arrows fell fruitlessly (incassum) on the helmets of their adversaries; those who shot straight wounded a few Scots in the breast, but more English in the back” (Chron., pp. 57-58). At Falkirk (1298), after the failure of the first attack by the horsemen, Edward I. brought up his archers to play on the Scottish masses till these were broken, and then charged and dispersed them. Bruce anticipated this manœuvre, and made provision for it (see note on 98).
61Robert of Keth.The Kethes or Keiths took their name from the barony of Keith, in Lothian. This Robert was still in the English service on May 23, 1308 (Bain, iii. 44), yet his name appears among those present at Bruce’s Parliament of March 16, 1309, as Robert de Kethe, Marshall (Acts Parl. Scot., i., p. 99). Elsewhere he is said to have joined Bruce at Christmas, 1308 (Bain, No. 245). He received from Bruce the office of Earl Marshall as its holders, one of the branches of the “Mareschals,” were adherents of England, and continued to be (Bain, iii., p. lxviii).
68at a syde.“On one side,” as in line 163, “in-till a front.” This movement is too vaguely described to be located exactly. Most probably it was to the left of the three “battles” now engaged (English right), on ground presently occupied by Bruce with his own division.
98nakit.“Without defensive armour,” as inBk.VII. 330. The two previous lines mean that the Scottish horsemen did not have to stop a stroke or hold against a blow;i.e., the archers offered no resistance. Bruce’s intention, we may gather from lines 58-60, was so to harass the archers on the flank as to occupy them with their own defence and restrain their shooting. The attack, however, was so successfully pushed home that the archers were wholly scattered.
104thair awne folk had no space.We gather that the archers had taken up a position on the right front of the main body, where they blocked the advance of the horsemen directly behind. These received the flying archers with blows, and pushed forward to take their place. TheLanercostchronicler says the battle began with a skirmish between the opposing archers, and that the Scots archers were driven back. This, again, suggests that the archers were somewhere in front. Mr. Oman follows Baker in placing them behind the first line. See note on 51.
132on a syde.See above on 68.
162All four the battelis.TheVita Edw. Sec.(p. 203) and theChron. de Lanercost(p. 225) divide the Scots into three battles (turmas,acies), the usual medieval arrangement. The latter also gives Robert the rear division, as here.
175in ane schiltrum all.Gray says that the “battles” of the English were crowded close together (entassez estoint), and could not repeat their attacks upon the Scots (remuerent devers eaux), as their horses were impaled by the pikes (p. 142). In theLanercostchronicle we read that the English behind (sequentes) “were not able to reach the Scots because of the interposition of the first line, nor in any way to help themselves” (p. 224). The English, indeed, were too many to be manœuvred according to the simple tactics of the day, and were, in addition, crowded on too narrow a front. There was no generalship. These were Bruce’s chief advantages. He was protected by the hill and wood behind from being surrounded (cf.note onBk.XI. 300). Besides, his rapid and successive advance prevented the English from developing any such intention. They could not well deploy among the “pools” and marshes.
183quyntis.“Quyntisis merely the Frenchcointises, signifying finery orquaintattire” (Skeat); generally, ornamental attachments to the armour. E readsquhytys, and Hcoates, so that we may have to do with the “white” surcoats. In viii. 232 Barbour speaks of hauberks “quhit as flour.”
208the Scottis archeris.The effective part played by the Scottish archers is usually overlooked.
283quhen the King of England saw his men fle.The English writers make no mention of the appearance of the camp-followers. They date the break-up from the failure of Gloucester’s attack with the van. As those behind, says theLanercostchronicler, could not get forward (see note on 275), nothing remained but to take measures for flight (pp. 225-6). The front line had fallen back only to add to the confusion (cf.line 170, etc.). “When those who were with the King saw the Earl’s division smashed up (contritum) and their friends making ready to fly, they said it was dangerous to stay longer,” etc. (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 205). Gray says the King went much against his will (as Barbour reports one version in line 298), and that he knocked over with his mace the Scots that were catching at his charger’s housings (Scala., p. 142). Trokelowe affirms that he laid about him “like a lion,” and brandished a sword dripping with blood (Annales, p. 86).
297By the renyhe.“Those who had been assigned to the King’s rein were drawing the King forward by the rein out of the plain (hors du chaumpe) towards the castle” (Scala., p. 142).
307I cheis heir to byde and de.InVita Edw. Sec.it is said he hastened to assist the Earl of Gloucester when he saw him fall, and perished with him, “thinking it more honourable to perish with such a man than to escape death by flight” (p. 204).Cf.alsoScala.: “I have never been accustomed to fly” (p. 143).
321thrid best knycht.See note onBk.XI. 174. He is highly spoken of by both Baston and theVita Edw.writer. According to Bruce’s English eulogist in theScotichronicon, the other two were Bruce himself and the Emperor Henry (lib. xiii., ch. xvi.).
328-9fra ... the King Wes fled, wes nane that durst abyde.“When the King’s banner is seen to depart the whole army quickly disperses” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 205).
335Fled to the wattir of Forth.On no hypothesis other than that the battle was fought on the plain between the Forth and the Bannock can this fact be explained. Of the fact itself there is no question. TheLanercostchronicler, in hisVersus, says: “Forth swallowed up many well furnished with arms and horses” (p. 227). They were probably seeking for a ford.
337And Bannokburn.“The folk in the English rear fell back upon the ditch (fosse) of Bannockburn, one tumbling over the other” (Scala., p. 142). “Another unfortunate thing happened to the English, because, since a little before they had crossed a great ditch into which the tide flows—Bannockburn by name—and now in confusion wished to retire, many knights and others, on account of the pressure, fell into it with their horses (cf.Barbour, line 338), and some with great difficulty got out, and many were quite unable to clear themselves of the ditch; and on this account Bannockburn was on English lips for many years to come” (Lanercost, 226). InVita Edw.also mention is made of a “certain ditch” (fovea) which “swallowed up (absorbuit) many,” and where a great part perished (p. 205). The Bannock turns sharply north near the English rear, but the description in Barbour and the reference above to the tide with the inclusion of the Forth, indicate the part nearer the mouth.
341laddis, etc.I.e., the camp-followers.
352Of slyk.InChron. de Lanercost(p. 226) “Bannock’s mud” (Bannoke limus). Edmund de Malolacu (Mauley), Edward’s steward, met his death “in a certain slimy hollow” (in quodam antro lutoso.Flores Historiarum, iii., p. 159).
363Philip the Mowbray said.Different interpretations were put upon Mowbray’s action, but the fact and the quite satisfactory reason given by Barbour are borne out by the English chroniclers. “When the King comes to the castle, thinking he will find refuge there, he is repulsed like an enemy; the bridge is drawn up and the gateclosed. On this account the keeper of the castle was believed by many to be not unacquainted with treason, and yet he was seen that very day in his armour on the field, as it were ready to fight for the King. However, I neither acquit nor accuse the keeper of treason, but confess that in the providence of God the King of England did not enter the castle, because if he had then been admitted he could not have failed to be captured” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 205). InGesta Edw. de Carnarvonthe Governor is wrongly called Alexander de Mowbray, and the account is: “The foresaid keeper, knowing that his supplies were not sufficient for himself and his men, and also fearing that Robert Bruce, having got the victory, would attack and capture the castle, did not wish to expose his King of England to such great danger, and, preferring to incur misunderstanding, refused on this account to open the castle of the King” (p. 47). The castle was surrendered, and Mowbray entered the service of Bruce.
379the Rownde Tabill.Usually and quite wrongly identified with the King’s Knot—i.e., garden—a regular mound below the castle rock. It is mentioned by Sir David Lindsay in the sixteenth century. In 1302 Edward I. had a “Round Table” (la table rounde) ordained (ordinari) at Falkirk (Ann. Lond., p. 104). To “hold a Round Table” was a sporting function among knights; here some sort of building may be referred to, like that described by Murimuth (1344), intended to be built for the purpose at Windsor (Chronicle, p. 155). Probably, in that case, it was only of Barbour’s own time. I incline, however, to the belief, from its associations in Lindsay’s verse, that it was a natural feature—the circular crags enclosing the western division of the modern King’s Park. It would thus be a place-name, like “Arthur’s Seat.”
380the Park enveronyt thai.Gray says the King was taken round the Torwood and by the plains of Lothian (Lownesse, p. 143).
381held in hy.TheLanercostchronicler says that they had “as guide a Scottish knight who knew by what route they could escape” (p. 227).
409wes tane in.TheLanercostchronicler writes that Hereford and those with him were making for Carlisle when they were captured at Bothwell Castle: “For the sheriff, the keeper of the castle, who up to that time had held the castle for the King of England, seeing that his countrymen had been victorious in the war, suffered the more noble of them who had come there to enter the castle as if to have a safe retreat, and when they entered seized them,” afterwards surrendering them to Bruce (p. 228).In the anonymous chronicle used by Stevenson we have a similar account. Hereford and a few nobles were allowed to enter the castle, where they found themselves in custody. The rest remained outside the walls, and were suddenly set on by the Scots, who slew them, except a few who surrendered (Illustrations of Scottish History, p. 2). Barbour says three-fourths were taken or slain (416). InAnn. Lond.Hereford is said to have been accompanied by a thousand men-at-arms (p. 231). TheLanercostestimate is 600 horse and 1,000 foot, Umfraville being of the company (ibid.). Walsingham gives the total of earls, barons, and baronets captured and slain as 154; of clerics and squires an excessive number (Historia Angl., i., p. 154). The name of the keeper was Gilbertson as in E; he appears on record as “Fitz-Gilbert” (Bain, iii. No. 243, etc.). He joined Bruce and was the ancestor of the great Hamilton family. Bothwell Castle is on the Clyde.
417Moris de Berclay.InVita Edw.(p. 206) he is among those captured at Bothwell. According to theLanercosthistorian, it was Pembroke (Valence) who fled “on foot” with the Welshmen, and escaped (p. 228). InAnn. Lond.de Valence is said to have flednudis pedibus(bare-footed); that is, apparently, he removed his foot and leg armour (p. 230).
456Thai dispendit haly that day, In spoulyheing.The author ofVita Edw.declares that it was the preoccupation of the Scots with the plunder that allowed many English to escape. In his precise way, he estimates that the valuable equipment which fell to the Scots was worth £200,000 (p. 206), or at the ratio of 1:15 about £3,000,000 present day (cf.note on 667-8).
463spuris rede.I.e., gilt or gold spurs worn only by knights. The 700 pairs of C would give us 700 knights slain; E’s 200 is probably nearer the truth. InAnn. Lond., (p. 231) we get a list of thirty-seven knights slain at “the battle of Stirling.” Of the foot and squires, it is said, the most part (maxima pars) was not slain. Baker says about 300 men-at-arms (viri militares) were among the slain (57). Bower gives 200 knights slain besides Gloucester (Scotich.Goodall, edition 1759, ii., p. 250). Walsingham, from his MS. source, fixes the number of knights and squires who fell at 700 (Historia Anglicana, p. 141); Capgrave the lords, barons, and knights slain and captured at 154. More than 500 were reported dead who were afterwards found to be captives (Chronicle, p. 180) and had to be ransomed (Vita Edw., p. 206). Fabyan gives forty-two noblemen slain, and sixty-seven knights and baronets, while twelve “men of name” were taken prisoner (New Chronicles, p. 420).
466Gilbert of Clar.About twenty-three years of age (Ann. Lond., p. 231). He fell in the first charge (Vita Edw.;Baker). Baker says the Scots would have gladly taken him alive for ransom had they known who he was, but that he did not wear his surcoat (toga) with his coat of arms (p. 57).Cf.lines 510-11.That men callit, says Barbour, having in mind Ralph de Monthermer, his step-father who had previously borne the title.
468Payne Typtot.Paganus Typetot (Vita Edw.) or Tybetot (Ann. Lond.). “Paganus Typetoft,” or “Typetot,” is the name inChron. de Lanercost.
472Wilyhame Vepownt.Sir William de Vepont (Veteriponte) was a Scotsman in the service of England till 1312, having been imprisoned on capture during the Comyn resistance in 1302. He was under Valence in Ayr in 1307 (Bain, ii., Nos. 1,283, 1,294; iii., No. 263).Walter the Roswas serving England in Linlithgow in 1312 (Bain, iii., p. 411).
486at rebours.I.e., treated badly, held “in great dislike” (Skeat). See Glossary. Edward had a son, Alexander, by Isabella of Atholl (Exchq. Rolls, II. cxxxii.).
489-90Erll Davy of Adell.Lord Hailes did not know “what judgment to form of this story,” in view of the fact that sentence of forfeiture was not passed against Atholl till 1323 (Annales, ii. 58 note). But his lands were forfeited by October, 1314, and granted to Sir Neil Campbell (Robertson’sIndex, p. 26; ii.Scots Peerage), and he, then being in England, received three manors from Edward II. “till he recovers his Scottish possessions” (Bain, iii., p. 75). Atholl’s career is, however, puzzling. His wife was Johanna, daughter of the murdered Comyn of Badenoch. Up till 1312 he is a supporter of England, and in December of that year even seems to have sat in the English Parliament. But in the previous October he is among those present in Bruce’s Parliament at Inverness (Acta. Parl. Scot., vol. i., 103); next appears as Constable of Scotland, and, early in 1313, is a witness to charters to the Abbey of Arbroath (Scots Peerage). Then comes a blank till October, 1314, as above. There is thus room for Barbour’s story: Atholl did give a short-lived support to the national cause, and a forfeiture of his lands did follow soon after Bannockburn. He remained an active adherent of England till his death, January, 1327.
495Wilyhame of Herth.Apparently William Mareschal of Erth (Bain, iii. 343;cf.note on 61). Sir William de Erth was a supporter of Comyn in the Barons’ War, and capitulated with him and others at Strathorde on February 9, 1304 (Bain, ii., No. 1,741). William de Erth, knight, was alive in 1333 (Bain, iii. 1,099). Erth, or Airth, is on the east of Stirlingshire, on the Forth.
510somdeill anoyit.Cf.note on 466.
512till a kirk he gert hym be Brocht.John de Trokelowe says that Bruce sent the bodies of Gloucester and Clifford to King Edward while at Berwick, to be buried as he wished, and this without demanding any payment as ransom (Annales, p. 87).
523Betungin C is certainly wrong; E gives the correct formTwenge. Marmaduke de Twenge appears on the list inFoederaand elsewhere. He was the hero of Stirling Bridge (1297), who cut his way back over the bridge.
531trete hym curtasly.Trokelowe says that Bruce caused his noble prisoners to be treated so becomingly and courteously (decenter ac civiliter) “that the hearts of many who were opposed to him he turned, in a wonderful way, to feeling an affection for him” (Annales, p. 87).
544become of his dwelling.“Became one of his company,” as inBk.IV. 481, where Bruce says of Douglas and his men in Arran: “Thai ar all of my duelling.”
553Lowrens= Lawrence. Probably the same Sir Lawrence de Abernethy who in 1338 had provisions sent him by Edward III. for the Castle of Hawthornden. He was thus “Inglis man” again (Bain, iii., p. 235, No. 1,291).
578-85He convoyit thame so narrowly, etc.“Some, however, lagging in the flight, were slain by the Scots, who followed them swiftly (velociter)” (Chron. de Lanercost, p. 227). “The King escaped with great trouble” (a graunt payn,Scala., p. 143).
587Wynchburch.On the road from Linlithgow to Edinburgh.
592so feill.According to theLanercosthistorian, the King was accompanied by many knights and footmen (p. 227).
612Erll Patrik.Of March. See note onBk.XI. 46. “Patrick Earl of March received him honourably, etc., for at that time he was his man” (soun homager.Scala., 143.).
615-16A bate, etc. “When he came thither (Dunbar) he embarked on a ship, and with his own company put in at Berwick” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 205). “Thence the King went by sea to Berwick and afterwards to the south” (Scala., 143). “At Dunbar the King, with his special friends, embarked on a boat (scapham) for Berwick” (Lanercost, p. 227). Barbour says they landed at Bamborough on the coast of Yorkshire, and in line 645 gives the number who thus accompanied the King as seventeen.
619-21The laiff, etc. “The others (see above), not having a ship, come (to Berwick) by land” (Vita Edw. Sec., p. 205). The King, says theLanercostwriter, left all the others to their fate, who, however, came safe and sound to England (p. 228).
631The Kyng eschapit.According to Baker, “no mortal ingenuity, neither the swiftness of the horses nor the cover on the way (involucra locorum) could have kept the King from capture by the Scots,” had not Christ Himself, atthe intercession of His Mother, brought him out of Scottish territory, as both the King and his companions afterwards confessed. In his peril Edward vowed to found a monastery dedicated to the “Mother of God,” where twenty-four friars might study theology (Baker, p. 58); and, in fulfilment thereof, established Oriel College at Oxford (Hailes, ii. 57 note).
667-8The castell and the towrys ... doune gert he myne.Stirling Castle thus lay in ruins till 1336-7, when it was rebuilt for Edward III. “after the conquest,” probably on the old plan. Stone walls and towers were erected, a “peel” of wood, to the north the walls (parietes) of which were plastered over, and various inner buildings for the garrison, etc., also of wood daubed with mortar and roofed with turf (Bain, iii., pp. 364-8). The rebuilding and repairs cost £280, equal to about £4,000 now (Bain, lviii.).
676he gaf.See note on 409.
687The Erll wes changit.InVita Edw. Sec.(pp. 208-9) is recorded the exchange of the Earl for the wife of Bruce and other Scottish captives, including the Bishop of Glasgow. On October 2, 1314, “Robert, Bishop of Glasgow, the Countess Carrick, wife of Robert de Brus, with his sister and daughter and Donald de Mar,” were at Carlisle Castle, “to be taken thence to a place arranged by the Earl of Essex and Hereford and the Sheriff” (Bain, iii., No. 393). Mar is, no doubt, the “young earl” referred to in theVita Edw., which says further that Edward gave to his sister, Hereford’s wife, all the Scottish captives since the time of Edward I.—fifteen and more—to procure the release of her husband (p. 208).
695wes King.Robert II.
697Davy.David II. (June 7, 1329 to February 22, 1371). He scarcely deserved Barbour’s epithet “worthy.”
702Fif yheir.In 1375 Robert was in the fifth year of his reign; he would not have “passit” it till February 22, 1376. He was born March 2, 1316, and in 1375 was in his sixtieth year. The year in Scotland, however, began on March 25, so that Barbour’s cross-dating really stands for what we should call the early spring of 1376. He was then engaged onThe Bruce.
705-6the gud King Robert.I.e., Robert I. the Bruce, dead forty-six years. It is curious to find this elaborate dating “of the compyling of this book” here, and not at the end. Evidently the mention of the marriage of the Steward, the reigning King’s father, is Barbour’s cue. There is no reason to suppose that this was a subsequent insertion, and we may conclude that the poem was completed somewhat later.
736our-raid all Northumbirland.“They (the Scots) plundered the northern bounds of England as far as Richmond andreturned, devastating the country with fire and carrying off with them many captives” (Gesta Edwardi, p. 47).Cf.Barbour, lines following. On July 1, 1314, the Bishop of Durham writes the King regarding Scottish preparations for an invasion of England, of which he has heard. On October 7, 1314, the Prior and Convent of Durham pay the Earl of Murray eight hundred marks to secure the bishopric immunity from invasion for a stated period (Letters from Northern Registers, Nos. cxliv., cxlix.). According to theLanercostchronicler, the Scots entered by Berwick, and burned almost all Northumberland, spared Durham for a monetary consideration, penetrated to the Tees and to Richmond, and returned, via Lanercost, with a great body of cattle and captives (pp. 228, 229).
4Scotland to litill wes.According to the Annalist, it was the Scots who were not satisfied with their own country; but this is merely a rhetorical comment (Annals of Ireland, p. 344). The anonymous Chronicle in Stevenson’sIllustrationssays that Edward Bruce, elated by the success of the Scots, aspired to the name of King (ad nomen regium aspirans, p. 3). Fordun’s version is the same as that of Barbour: “Edward Bruce was not willing to live in peace with his brother unless he got half the kingdom for himself, and for this reason the war was started in Ireland” (Gesta Annalia, cxxxiii.).
8had treting With the Erischry.It was afterwards (1316-17) made a charge against Walter de Lacy and Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster, that they had sent messengers and letters to invite Edward Bruce to Ireland. The legal documents in the case are given inChartularies, etc., of St. Mary’s Abbey(vol. ii., pp. 407-9). This charge is also noted in theAnnals of Ireland(Fragment), under February 2, 1317, where it is said that, on inquiry, the Lacys were acquitted (p. 298). Nevertheless, they and their relatives were fined £200 (Preface, p. cxxix). TheChroniclein Stevenson appears to refer to the same case, when it says that Edward Bruce was persistently (sæpissime) invited by a certain Irish magnate with whom he had been educated in his youth (p. 3).
21Maii.“The Scots first entered Ireland on May 26, 1315” (die Sancti Augustini Anglorum, mense Maii.Annals of Ireland, p. 344). TheAnnals of Ulsterfix his landing at the beginning of the year (ii., p. 423); as do alsoAnnals of Loch Cé(i., p. 563). Edward Bruce had a fleet of 300 ships (Annals of Clonmacnoise, p. 268).
25Philip the Mowbray.Cf.Bk.XIII., line 544. Mowbray’s name does not appear in theAnnalsas accompanying Edward Bruce, nor that of Soulis or Ramsay, but others are mentioned (p. 344). Mowbray is mentioned later (Annals, Fragment, p. 299), and inKnighton, i., p. 411.
28Schir Johne Steward.Brother of Sir Walter Steward. SeeBk.XVIII. 33 (Annals, 344).
29Ouchtirhouss, or Auchterhouse, is in the south of Forfarshire. From theWallacewe learn that this was Alexander Ramsay, son of Sir John Ramsay Wallace’s friend.