The Bruce

by John Barbour

How King Edward died in Burgh-in-Sand.

SEP. 1306 Kildrummy is surrendered

At sic myscheiff, as yhe herd say,
War thai within; the-quhethir thai 160
Evir thame defendit worthely,
And thame contenit sa manfully,
That thai or day, throu mekill pane,
Had muryt up the yhet agane.
Bot on the morn, quhen day wes lycht, 165
And sone wes ryssyn schynand brycht,
Thai without in hale battale,
Com purvait, reddy till assale.
Bot thai within, that sa war stad,
That na wittaill na fuaill had, 170
Quhar-with thai mycht the castell hald,
Tretit ferst, and syne thame yhald
To be in-to the Kyngis will,
That than to Scottis wes full ill;
As soyn efter wes weill knawin, 175
For thai war hangit all and drawin.

Quhen this cunnand thus tretit wes,
And affermit with sekirnes,
Thai tuk thaim of the castell soyn.
And in till schort tyme has swa done, 180
That all a quarter off [Snawdoune],
Rycht to the erd, thai tumlit doune.
Syne toward Ingland wend thar way.[†]
Bot quhen the King Edward herd say
How Neyll the Bruce held Kildrummy 185
Agane his sone sa stallwardly;
He gaderit a gret chevelry,
And toward Scotland went in hy.

And as [in-to Northumbirland]
He wes, with his gret rowt, rydand, 190
A seiknes tuk him in the way;
And put him in sa hard assay,
That he mycht nouthir gang no ryde.
Him worthit, magre his, abyde
In-till ane hamelat neir thair-by, 195
A litill toune, and unworthy.
With gret payn thiddir thai hym brocht;
He wes sa stad that he na mocht
Hys aynd bot with gret panys draw;
Na spek bot gif it war weill law. 200
The-quethir he bad thai suld him say
Quhat toune wes that, that he in lay.
“Schir,” thai said, “Bowrch-in-the-Sand
“Men callis this toune, in-to this land.”
‘Call thai it Burch? Allace!’ said he, 205
‘My hope is now fordone to me.
‘For I wend nevir to thole the payn
‘Of dede, quhill I, throu mekyll mayn,
‘The Burch of Jerusalem had tane;
‘My lif wend I thair suld be gane. 210
‘[In Burch I wist weill] I suld de:
‘Bot I was nouthir wis, no sle,
‘Till othir burchis kepe to ta.
‘Now may I no wis forthir ga.’
Thus plenyheit he off his folye; 215
As he had mater sekirly,
Quhen he wend to wit certante
Of that at nane may certane be.[†]

The-quhethir, men said enclosit he had
[Ane spirit], that hym ansuer mad 220
Of thingis that he wald inqueir.
Bot he wes fule, forouten weir,
That gaf treuth to that creature.
For fendis ar of sic nature,
That thai to mankynd has invy; 225
For thai wat weill and wittirly,
That thai that weill ar liffand heir
Sall wyn the segis, quhar-of thai weir
Tumlit doune throu thair mekill pryde.
Quharfor oftymis will betyde. 230
That quhen fendis distrenyheit ar
For till apper and mak answar,
Throu force of conjuracioune,
That thai sa fals ar and felloune,[†]
That thai mak ay thair ansuering, 235
In-till dowbill undirstanding,
Till dissaf thame that will thame trow.
Ensampill will I set heir now
Of a were, as I herde tell,
Betuix France and the Flemynnis fell. 240

1306 How Ferrand’s Mother was deceived

The [Erll Ferrandis moder] was
Ane nygramansour; and Sathanas
Scho rasit; and him askit syne,
Quhat suld worth off the fichtyne[†]
Betuix the Franch king and hir sone. 245
And he, as he all tyme wes wone,
In-to dissat maid his ansuer;
And said to hir thir versis heir.

The Lines about the War of [Bosbek].

Rex ruet in bello tumulique carebit honore
Ferrandus, comitissa, tuus, mea cara Minerva, 250
Parisius veniet, magna comitante caterva.
This wes the spek he maid, perfay;
And is [in Inglis] for to say;
“The king sall fall in the fichting,
“And sall fale honor of erding; 255
“And thi Ferrand, [Mynerff] my deir,
“Sall rycht to Paris went, but weir;
“Followand him gret cumpany
“Of nobill men and of worthy.”
This is the sentens off the saw, 260
That he in Latyne can hir schaw.
He callit hir his deir Mynerfe,
For Mynerfe ay wes wont to serfe
Him fullely at his devis.
And for scho maid the samyn service,[†] 265
His Minerf hir callit he:
And als, throu his gret sutelte,
He callit hir deir, hir till dissaf,[†]
That scho the titar suld consaf
Of his spek the undirstanding, 270
That plesit mast to hir liking.

His doubill spek hir sua dissavit,
That throu hir feill the ded resavit;
For scho was of his ansuer blith,
And till hir sone scho tald it swith; 275
And bad him till the battale spede,
For he suld victor haf but drede.
And he, that herd hir sermonyng,
Sped hym in hy to the fichting;
Quhar he discumfit wes and schent, 280
And takyn, and to Paris sent.
Bot [in the fechting] nocht-for-thi
The kyng, throu his chevelry,
Wes laid at erd, and lamyt bath,
Bot his men horsit hym weill rath. 285
And quhen Ferrandis moder herd
How hir sone in the battale ferd,
And that he swa wes discumfit,
Scho rasit the evill spirit als tit:
And askit quhy he gabbit had 290
Of the ansuer that he hir mad.
And he said that he suth said all;
“I said the that the kyng suld fall
“In the battale, and sua did he;
“And falys erding, as men may se. 295
“And I said that thi sone suld ga
“To Paris, and he did he rycht sua;
“Followand him sic a mengyhe,
“That nevir, in his lif-tyme, he
“Had sic mengyhe at his leding. 300
“Now seis thow I maid na gabbing.”[†]
The wif confusit wes, perfay,
And durst no mair on-till him say.

JULY 7, 1307 Edward I. dies at Burgh-on-Sand

Thusgat, throu doubill undirstanding, 304
That bargane come to sic ending,
That the ta part dissavit was:
Richt sua-gat fell it in this cas:
At Jerusalem thus trowit he 308
Gravyn in the burch to be;
The-quethir at Burch in-to the Sand
He suelt rycht in his awne land.
And quhen he to the ded wes ner, 312
The folk, that at Kyldrummy wer,
Com with the presoners at thai had tane,
And syne unto the Kyng ar gane.
And for to confort him thai tald 316
How thai the castell to thame yhald;
And how thai to his will war brocht,
Till do of thame quhat-evir he thocht;
And askit quhat thai suld of thaim do. 320
Than lukit he angyrly thame to,[†]
And said gyrnand, “[Hangis and drawis].”
It wes gret wounder of sic sawis;
That he, that to the ded wes neir, 324
Suld ansuer apon sic maneir
Forouten menyng of mercy,
How mycht he trastly on hym cry,
That suthfastly demys all thing 328
To haf mercy for his crying
Of him that, throu his felony,
In-to sic poynt had no mercy?
His men his mandment has all done: 332
And he deit thar-eftir sone;
And syne wes brocht till berynes:
His son syne eftir kyng he wes.