SIR JOHN SEGRAVE.
From the researches of Mr Nicolas, it appears that this eminent Baron was the eldest son of Nicholas Baron Segrave; and at his father’s death, in the 23d Edward I., was thirty-nine years of age. In the 54th Henry III., he married Christian, daughter of Hugh de Plessets, knight, and at the same time, his sister Amabil became the wife of his brother-in-law, Sir John de Plessets. Soon after the accession of Edward I., he was engaged in the wars of Scotland, and in the 13th Edward I. he attended the King in his expedition into Wales. In the 19th Edward I. he was with his father in the Scottish wars; and in the 24th Edward I. executed the office of Constable of the English army.
Dugdale asserts, that in the 25th Edward I., John de Segrave was, by indenture, retained to serve Roger le Bigot, Earl of Norfolk, the Earl Marshal, with six knights, including himself, as well in peace as war, for the term of his whole life, in England, Wales, and Scotland, with the following retinue:—In time of peace, with six horses, so long as the Earl should think fit, taking bouche of court for himself and six knights; and for his esquires hay and oats, together with livery for six more horses, and wages for six grooms and their horses. He was also to receive two robes for himself, as for a banneret, yearly, as well in peace as in war, with the same robes for each of his five knights, and two robes annually for his other bachelors. In war, he was bound to bring with him his five knights and twenty horses, in consideration of which, he was to receive for himself and his company, with all the said horses, xl s. per diem; but if he should bring no more than six horses, then xxij s. per diem. It was further agreed, that the horses should be valued, in order that proper allowance might be made, in case any of them should happen to be lost in the service; and, for the performance of this agreement, he had a grant from the Earl of the manor of Lodene in Norfolk.
The preceding document has been cited nearly in Dugdale’s own words, because at the same time that it affords much information with respect to the retinue by which Segrave was attended to the field, it proves that he was intimately connected with the Earl Marshal, which tends to explain his having in the same year, namely, on the 12th August, 25th Edward I. 1297, been appointed by the Earl to appear in his name before the King, in obedience to a precept directed to him and the Constable, commanding them to attend him on the subject of a body of armed men which had assembled in London. The record states, that on the appointed day, the Earl of Hereford as Constable, and “Monsr John de Segrave, qui excusa le Comte Mareschal par maladie,” came accordingly.[104] In the 25th Edward I., this baron was also summoned to accompany the King beyond the sea, and afterwards at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with horse and arms; and, in the next year, was present when the English army gained the victory of Falkirk. In the 28th Edward I., he was again summoned to serve in the wars of Scotland, in which year, when he must have been about forty-five years old, he was at the siege of Carlaverock. The account given of him by the poet, that he performed the Earl Marshal’s duties upon that occasion, because that nobleman was prevented from attending, is not only strongly corroborated by the preceding statement of his having acted as deputy of the Earl Marshal in the year 1297, but also by the following extract from Peter de Langtoft’s chronicle (p. 309.), when speaking of the expedition into Scotland in 1300.
“After Midesomers tide thorgh comon ordinance,
No lenger suld thei bide, bot forth & stand to chance.
Norreis & Surreis, that seruice auht the kyng,
With hors & harneis at Carlele mad samnyng.
The erle Marschalle Rogere no hele that tyme mot haue,
He went with his banere Sir Jon the Segraue,
To do alle tho service that longed the office tille,
& mayntend alle the prise, ther he sauh lawe & skille.”
After Carlaverock castle surrendered, Segrave’s banner, from his having acted as Marshal during the siege, was displayed on its battlements. In the 30th of Edward I., he was a party to the Letter from the Barons to the Pope, in which he is styled “John Lord of Segrave;” and about that time was appointed Governor of Berwick, and Warden of Scotland. In the same year, whilst riding out of Berwick with a small escort, he was surprised by an ambuscade of the Scots, wounded, and taken prisoner; which event is thus noticed by Langtoft (p. 319.)
“Our men in Scotland with sautes sodeynly,
The Segrave myght not stand, Sir Jon tok the gayn stie.
His sonne & his brother of bedde als thei woke,
& sextene knyghtes other, the Scottis alle them toke.”
His captivity was however, it appears, of short duration; for, on Edward’s return to England, Segrave was left as his Lieutenant of Scotland. At different periods during the reign of Edward I., he obtained grants of free warren and other privileges in several of his manors, and possessed that elevated place in his sovereign’s confidence and esteem, which his long and zealous services so justly merited. Nor was he less distinguished by his successor, for soon after the accession of Edward II., he was constituted Governor of Nottingham castle, which had belonged to Piers de Gaveston, and was likewise appointed to his situation of Justice of the Forests beyond the Trent, and Keeper of all the Rolls thereto belonging; but he resigned these offices in the following year, when they were conferred upon Henry de Percy. In the 2d Edward II., he was again appointed Warden of Scotland; in the 6th Edward II. he was taken prisoner at the battle of Bannockburn, and about twelve months afterwards Thomas de Moram and several other Scots, then prisoners in the Tower of London, were delivered to Stephen de Segrave, son and heir of the Baron, to be exchanged for him. In the 8th Edward II., commissioners were appointed to hear and determine all disputes relative to the taking up of carriages by him or his agent, in consequence of his offices of Keeper of the Forests beyond the Trent, and of the castles of Nottingham and Derby. He was summoned upon several occasions to serve in the Scottish wars during the early part of the reign of Edward II., and to Parliament from the 26th August, 24th Edward I., 1296, to the 6th May, 18th Edward II., 1325. In the 10th Edward II., in recompence of his great services, and of his imprisonment in Scotland, he received a grant of L.1000; but what was then due to the crown for money received by him from the time of his appointment of Warden of the Forests beyond the Trent and Governor of Nottingham Castle, was to be deducted from that sum.
The tide of royal favour at last turned, and he accidentally fell a victim to the displeasure of his sovereign. Having, in 1325, excited Edward’s anger by the escape of Roger Lord Mortimer from the Tower, he sent Segrave and the Earl of Kent into Gascony, under the pretence of defending that province, where he was attacked with a disease then prevalent there, of which he shortly afterwards died, aged about seventy years, leaving John de Segrave, his grandson, son of his eldest son Stephen, who died in his lifetime, his heir.
The preceding unadorned narrative of John de Segrave’s services forms a splendid monument of his fame: for, whilst the impossibility of colouring the biography of his contemporaries with meretricious ornaments of language, is strongly felt when their actions are few or obscure, the absence of such assistance tends to the advantage of those who need no other eulogy than the simple record of the occasions upon which they were present in the field, or were selected to execute high and important duties.
John de Segrave, the next Baron, added to the honours of his ancestors in an unprecedented manner, by marrying Margaret, the daughter and heiress of Thomas de Brotherton, Marshal of England, younger son of King Edward I. Through the marriage of Elizabeth, their daughter and heiress, with John Lord Mowbray, that family attained the Marshalship of England. The present representatives of John Baron Segrave, the subject of this article, are the Lords Stourton and Petre and the Earl of Berkley. The arms of John de Segrave were sable, a lion rampant, argent, crowned or.
M.
EXTRACTS FROM THE WARDROBE ACCOUNTS. [Page 120.]
This, of course, is mere conjecture on the part of the author; but that he has, at least, probability on his side, may be inferred from the extraordinary outlay attending the Scottish expeditions, as proved by the following extracts from the Wardrobe Accounts—exhibiting the Revenue and Expenditure of Edward for the year 1300, and including the disbursements occasioned by the invasion of Scotland during that year:—
| Total amount of receipts, p. Exchequer, for this present 28. year of Edward I. — | L.49,048 19 10 |
| Fines levied, and proceeds of stores, horses, &c. sold | 9,106 16 2½ |
| Per fo. 15. | L.58,155 16 0½ |
* * * * *
On data furnished by the ascertained difference in the value of silver in 1300, which is stated to be “thrice as much” as it was in 1700, and the comparative value of certain provisions, estimated, as being in 1300, “five times as cheap” as in 1700. Bishop Fleetwood “makes the difference of the value of a shilling between the two periods to be fifteen;” and it is added, “supposing this calculation to be well-founded, computations might be made, so as to form a judgment of the difference between the latter of those periods and the present time.”—(Vide p. xii. Observations on Wardrobe Account, 1787.)
An estimate of the expense of the Scottish war, according to this mode of computation, would therefore present the following result, for (1700) the period alluded to by Bishop Fleetwood:—
| Charges on Scottish war for 1300 | L.32,820 15 3½ |
| For difference in the weight of silver | 3 |
| L.98,462 5 10½ | |
| For the variation in the value of money | 5 |
| L.492,311 9 4½ |
being an increase of the sum of 32,820l. 15s. 3½d. of the year 1300, to 492,311l. 9s. 4½d., or nearly one-eighth of 3,895,205l., the revenue of the kingdom in the reign of William III., according to Sir John Sinclair:—while, from a statement by the same respectable authority, the whole revenue of the kingdom under Edward I. is estimated at 150,000l; the disbursements for the Scottish war will therefore be found to exceed, within one department of the national expenditure, one-fifth of the national income.
N.
TRIAL OF WALLACE. [Page 158.]
“William Wallace, which had oft-times set Scotland in great trouble, was taken and brought to London, with great numbers of men and women wondering upon him. He was lodged in the house of William Delect, a citizen of London, in Fenchurch Street. On the morrow, being the eve of St Bartholomew, he was brought on horseback to Westminster-hall; John Segrave and Geoffrey, knights, the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of London, many, both on horseback and on foot, accompanying him; and in the great hall at Westminster, he being placed on the south bench, crowned with laurel, for that he had said in times past that he ought to wear a crown in that hall, as it was commonly reported; and being appeached as a traitor by Sir Peter Malorie, the King’s Justice, he answered that he was no traitor to the King of England; but for other things whereof he was accused, he confessed them, and was, after, headed and quartered.”—Stow. Chron. p. 209.
O.
ON THE MARTYRDOM OF WALLACE. [Page 159.]
The following account is given by Langtoft of the capture, sentence, and execution of Wallace:
“A! Jhesu, when thou wille how rightwis is thi mede?
That of the wrong has gilt, the endying may thei drede.
William Waleis is nomen, that maister was of theues,
Tething to the Kyng is comen, that robberie mischeues.
Sir Jon of Menetest sewed William so nehi.
He tok him whan he wend lest, on nyght his leman bi.
That was thorght treson of Jak Schort his man,
He was the encheson, that Sir Jon so him nam,
Jak brother had he slayn, the Waleis that is said,
The more Jak was fayn, to do William that braid.
Selcouthly he endis the man that is fals,
If he trest on his frendes, thei begile him als.
Begiled is William, taken is & bondon,
To Inglond with him thei cam, & led him vnto London,
The first dome he fanged, for treson was he drawen.
For robbrie was he hanged, & for he had men slawen,
& for he had brent abbies, & men of religion,
Eft fro the galweis quik thei lete him doun,
& boweld him alle hote, & brent tham in the fire.
His hede than of smote, suilk was William hire;
& for he had mayntend the werre at his myght,
On lordschip lended thore he had no right,
& stroied those he knewe, in fele stede sers
His body thai hewe on foure quarters,
To hang in foure tounes, to mene of his maners
In stede of Gonfaynounes, & of his baners.
At London is his heued, his quarters ere leued, in Scotland spred,
To wirschip her iles, & lere of his wiles, how wele that he sped.
It is not to drede, traytour salle spede, als he is worthi,
His lif salle he tyne, & die thorgh pyne, withouten merci.
Thus may men here, a ladde for to lere, to biggen in pays;
It fallis in his iye, that hewes ouer hie, with the Walays.”
Vol. ii. p. 329. 330.
“The martyrdom of Wallace,” says the editor of Wyntoun’s Chronicle, “is thus described, in a ballad written about a year after, when the head of Sir Simon Frazer, one of the heroes of Roslin, was set up beside those of Wallace and Lewellyn, the last sovereign of Wales.
| “To warny alle the gentilmen, that liueth in Scotlonde. | } | to abyde. |
| The Waleis wes to drawe seththe he wes anhonge, | ||
| Al quic biheueded, ys boweles ybrend, | ||
| The heued to Londone brugge wes send | ||
| * **** | ||
| Sire Edward oure Kyng, that ful ys of pietè, | } | Ant drede.” |
| The Waleis quarters sende to is oune contre, | ||
| On four half to honge, huere myrour to be, | ||
| Ther-apon to thenche, that manie myhten se, |
MS. Harl. No. 2253, f. 59, b. Trivet. p. 340.
“Thus did Edward glut his vengeance on the dead body of this worthy man, whose living soul all his power never could subdue.
“Some of the English historians have stained their pages with low invectives against Wallace. Carte, in particular [Hist. v. ii. p. 290.], labours hard to prove him a traitor to King Edward, whose mercy he praises. That he was a traitor, he proves from his being a native of Galloway, or the Cambrian territories, which, he says, the kings of Scotland held in vassalage of the crown of England, and because the subvassals were, in cases of rebellion, subject by the feudal law to the same forfeitures and penalties as the immediate vassal.
“A man must feel himself very much pinched for arguments, when he has recourse to such as are confessedly not founded on reason, and to quibbles and perversion of facts. Clydesdale, the ancient kingdom of Strathcluyd, one of the first independent kingdoms established in Britain by the expulsion of the Romans, which for many centuries withstood the attacks of the Angles, Pichts, Scots, and Norwegians, and had the honour to produce Stewart, Douglas, and Walays, was never pretended to be any part of the territories of which the kings of England claimed the superiority. So the pretence that Walays was a traitor, in consequence of the place of his birth, falls to the ground; and the pretence of rebellion is equally unfounded, unless the noble exertions of a free people against the unjustifiable attempts of a neighbouring prince to subject them to his dominion, are to be branded with the name of rebellion. Well may the spirit of the noble Walays forgive those writers for accusing him of inhumanity and rebellion, who have extolled the clemency of Edward I.”—Notes to Wyntoun’s Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 503.
The inclination to detract from the merits of Wallace, does not appear to have become entirely extinct among the historians of England. Dr Lingard thus expresses himself respecting our hero: “It may perhaps offend the national partiality of some among my readers, but I greatly suspect that Wallace owes his celebrity as much to his execution as to his exploits. Of all the Scottish chieftains who deserved and experienced the enmity of Edward, he alone perished on the gallows; and on this account his fate called forth and monopolized the sympathy of his countrymen.”—Vol. iii. p. 227.
On this Mr Tytler remarks, “It is not true, that of all the Scottish chieftains who deserved Edward’s enmity, Wallace was the only one who perished on the gallows. Sir Nigel Bruce, Sir Christopher Seton, John Seton, the Earl of Athol, Sir Simon Fraser, Sir Herbert de Morham, Thomas Boys, Sir David Inchmartin, Sir John de Somerville, Sir Thomas and Sir Alexander Bruce, both brothers of the king, and Sir Reginald Crawfurd, were all hanged by Edward’s orders in the course of the year 1306, within a year of the execution of Wallace. So much for the accuracy of the ground on which Lingard has founded his conjecture, that Wallace owes his celebrity ‘to his execution.’”
Respecting the inaccuracies of Dr Lingard on this subject, we shall give another extract from the same authority. “He,” Dr Lingard “observes, that after the surprise of Ormesby the Justiciary, by Wallace and Douglas, other independent chieftains arose in different counties, who massacred the English, and compelled their own countrymen to fight under their standards. These other independent chieftains are brought in ‘for the nonce’ by Dr Lingard. They are utterly unknown to the contemporary historians, English and Scottish. But they do not appear upon the stage without a use. On the contrary, they first multiply like Falstaff’s men in buckram, ‘into numerous parties,’ and then act a principal part in the next sentence; for the historian goes on to observe, ‘that the origin and progress of these numerous parties had been viewed with secret satisfaction by the Steward of Scotland, and Wishart the Bishop of Glasgow, who determined to collect them into one body, and to give their efforts one common direction. Declaring themselves the assertors of Scottish independence, they invited the different leaders to rally around them; and the summons was obeyed by Wallace and Douglas, by Sir Alexander Lindsay, Sir Andrew Moray, and Sir Richard Lundy,’ vol. iii. p. 305. This last sentence is one of pure and gratuitous invention, without a shadow of historical authority to support it. The numerous and independent parties and chieftains who rose in different counties—the silent satisfaction with which they were contemplated by the Bishop of Glasgow and the High Steward—their determination to collect them into one body, and to give them one common direction—their declaring themselves the assertors of Scottish independence—their summons to the different leaders to rally round them, and the prompt obedience of this summons by Wallace, Douglas, and the rest—are facts created by the ingenuity of the historian. They seem to be introduced for the purpose of diminishing the reputation of Wallace; and the impression they leave on the mind of the reader, appears to me to be one totally different from the truth. The Steward and the Bishop of Glasgow are the patriot chiefs under whom Douglas and Wallace, and many other independent chieftains consent to act for the recovery of Scottish freedom; and Wallace sinks down into the humble partisan, whose talents are directed by their superior authority and wisdom. Now, the fact is exactly the reverse of this. The Steward and Wishart, encouraged by the successes of Wallace and Douglas, joined their party, and acted along with them in their attempt to free Scotland; but neither Fordun, nor Wynton, nor Bower gives us the slightest ground to think that they acted a principal part, or any thing like a principal part, in organizing the first rising against Edward. On the contrary, these historians, along with Trivet and Walsingham, Tyrrel and Carte, ascribe the rising to Wallace alone, whose early success first caused him to be joined by Douglas, and afterwards by the Bishop and the Steward, along with Lindsay, Moray, and Lundy. Indeed, instead of playing the part ascribed to him by Lingard, the patriotism of the Steward and the Bishop, was of that lukewarm and short-lived kind which little deserves the name. It did not outlive eight weeks; and they seized the first opportunity to desert Wallace and the cause of freedom. The attack upon Ormesby the Justiciary took place some time in May 1297; and on the 9th of July of the same year, did Bishop Wishart, this patriot assertor of Scottish independence, negociate the treaty of Irvine, by which he and the other Scottish barons, with the single exception of Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, submitted to Edward. Lingard’s other hero, the High Steward, who is brought in to divide the glory with Wallace, was actually in the English service at the battle of Stirling; and although he secretly favoured the Scottish cause, he did not openly join his countrymen till he saw the entire destruction of Surrey’s army. I may remark, in concluding this note, that the idea of an attack upon Wallace, and an eulogy on the clemency of Edward, has probably not even the merit of originality. It appears to be borrowed from Carte, vol. ii. p. 290; but it is only the idea which is taken. The clumsy and absurd argument of Carte is discarded, and a far more ingenious hypothesis, with a new set of facts, is substituted in its place. On reading over Hemingford again, I find one expression which may perhaps have suggested this theory of Lingard. Hemingford says, speaking of Bruce, p. 120, that he joined the Bishop of Glasgow and the Steward, ‘qui tocius mali fabricatores exstiterant.’ Yet this is inconsistent with his own account in p. 118, and is not corroborated, so far as I know, by any other historian.”
Among other singular passages in the work of the learned Doctor, we cannot omit taking notice of the following: “The only great battles in which Wallace is known to have fought, are those of Stirling and Falkirk. In the first he was victorious; but he must share the glory of the action with Sir Andrew Murray, who was certainly his equal in command, perhaps his superior. In the second he was defeated, and the defeat was the most disastrous that Scotland ever experienced. In the history of the next five years, his name is scarcely ever mentioned.” Scottish historians never pretended that there was any battle of equal importance to those of Stirling and Falkirk, in which Wallace was engaged. But where Dr Lingard could get his information, that Sir Andrew Murray held a superior, or even an equal command with him, it is not easy to conjecture. In Scottish authors, evidences to the contrary are innumerable; and if Dr Lingard had not preferred substituting his own “perhaps,” in place of historical record, he might have proofs in direct opposition to the statement he has made, and that even from English authors, with whom he appears to be familiar.
At the treaty of Irvine, for the submission of the Scottish barons, when all deserted Wallace but Sir Andrew Murray, it is mentioned in the instrument as having been notified to Wallace “Escrit à Sire Willaume,” and the name of Sir Andrew is not even alluded to. This would certainly not have been the case, had he held even an equal command, much less a superior.—Fœdera, T. ii. p. 774.
In the Chronicle of Langtoft, page 297, we have an account of the battle of Stirling, which is thus introduced:—
“The rascail of ther route bigan to werre alle newe,
Now Edward is oute, the barons be not treue.
The suffred, as it sais, the Scottis eft to rise,
& William the Walais ther hed & ther justise.
Thorgh fals concelement William did his wille,
Our castels has he brent, our men slayn fulle ille.”
The chronicler, after telling us that Wallace was the head and justice of the Scots—expressions which embrace a pretty extensive prerogative—proceeds to narrate the operations of the day, in which he speaks of Wallace as the only commander opposed to Warren: nor does he even hint of any individual who had a right to “divide the glory” of the victory with him: on the contrary he says,
“The Inglis were alle slayn, the Scottis bare them wele,
The Waleis had the wayn, als maistere of that eschele.”
Sir Andrew Murray is not even mentioned by Langtoft. That he fought bravely, and died nobly in defence of his country, is what no one will attempt to deny, and the same might be said of many more who were present on that occasion; but being the only man amongst a timid and backsliding aristocracy, who acted with patriotism and spirit in so trying a time, his name has been handed down to the grateful remembrance of posterity.
“In the next five years,” adds Dr Lingard, the “name” of Wallace “is scarcely ever mentioned.” When Scottish affairs are concerned, and more particularly when the character of her deliverer is the subject adverted to, a reference to authorities appears to be extremely irksome, or attended with too much trouble to our learned author. In the present instance, however, we shall not ask him to go farther than the pages of his own work, where he will find matter that might lead him to suspect the truth of the above assertion, as well as the correctness of the view he has taken of the grounds on which our patriot’s popularity is founded. We are informed (vol. iii. p. 227), “The only man whose enmity could give him” (Edward) a “moment’s uneasiness, was Wallace, and in few months he was brought captive to London.” And again, vol. iii. p. 329, “If the fate of Wallace was different from all others, it proves that there was something peculiar in his case which rendered him less deserving of mercy.” If we are to credit our author’s statements, Edward must have been a more nervous character than he has ever been supposed to be, if he could feel “uneasiness” at “the enmity” of a man who had been thus buried in obscurity, and whose “name had scarcely been heard of for five years,”—one who, in the only great battle in which he was successful, held but a subordinate command, and acted during the insurrection in the humble character of a mere partisan, under the direction of others. Surely there was nothing peculiarly aggravating in the case of such a man, to have “rendered him less deserving of mercy” than his more guilty superiors, particularly from one whom our author informs us “was not a blood-thirsty tyrant.” It is strange that it did not appear to Dr Lingard, as a very high degree of praise, that after Wallace had been deprived, by the severe and sanguinary policy of Edward, of all resources save what arose from his own dauntless heart and irresistible arm, that he should still continue to be the only man whose “enmity” could give the oppressor of his country “a moment’s uneasiness.” From this circumstance, and from this alone, arose that “something peculiar” in his case which rendered him obnoxious to the tender mercies of Edward. In conclusion, we cannot help remarking, that the Doctor’s method of substituting, where his prejudices happen to be interested, his own theoretical conjectures, in opposition to the authentic records of the country, is rather an indirect way to the confidence of his reader.
P.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WALLACE. P. 162.
From the following passage in the Minstrel it would seem, that a portrait of Wallace had been taken during his short stay in France, and forwarded to his friends in Scotland. What afterwards became of this precious relic, cannot now be discovered. Though there are many likenesses of him to be met with in the country, yet the pretensions to originality of all those we have yet seen, are extremely questionable. It would be difficult for a blind man to give his ideas of a picture in more appropriate language than the following.
“The wyt off Frans thocht Wallace to commend;
In to Scotland, with this harrold, thai send
Part off his deid, and als the discriptioune
Off him tane thar, be men off discretioun,
Clerkis, knychtis, and harroldis, that him saw;
Bot I hereoff can nocht reherss thaim aw.”
The description of Wallace, in the following lines, places the genius of Henry in a very favourable light. It is evidently the effort of a master, and might be studied to advantage by the artist who intended to commit his ideas of the hero of Scotland to canvas:—
“Wallace statur, off gretness, and off hycht,
Was jugyt thus, be discretioun off rycht,
That saw him bath dissembill and in weid;
Nyne quartaris large he was in lenth indeid;
Thryd part lenth in schuldrys braid was he,
Rycht sembly, strang, and lusty for to se;
Hys lymmys gret, with stalwart paiss and sound,
Hys browys hard, his armes gret and round;
His handis maid rycht lik till a pawmer,
Off manlik mak, with naless gret and cler;
Proportionyt lang and fayr was his wesage;
Rycht sad off spech, and abill in curage;
Braid breyst and heych, with sturdy crag and gret,
His lyppys round, his noyss was squar and tret;
Bowand bron haryt, on browis and breis lycht,
Cler aspre eyn, lik dyamondis brycht.
Wndir the chyn, on the left syd, was seyn,
Be hurt, a wain; his colour was sangweyn.
Woundis he had in mony diuerss place,
Bot fayr and weill kepyt was his face.
Off ryches he kepyt no propyr thing;
Gaiff as he wan, lik Alexander the King.
In tym off pes, mek as a maid was he;
Quhar wer approchyt the rycht Ector was he.
To Scottis men a gret credens he gaiff;
Bot knawin enemyss thai couth him nocht disayff.
Thir properteys was knawin in to Frans,
Off him to be in gud remembrans.”
Book ix. 1909–1942.
The subjoined extract, from Fordun, fully corroborates the statements from the Minstrel:—
“Erat staturâ procerus, corpore giganteus, facie serenus, vultu jocundus, humeris latus, ossibus grossus, ventre congruus, lateribus protelus, aspectu gratus, sed visu ferus; renibus amplus, brachiis et cruribus vigorosus; pugil acerrimus, et omnibus artubus fortissimus et compactus. Insuper sic eum Altissimus et ipsius vultum varium quâdam hilaritate favorabili insigniverat, ita dicta et facta illius quodam cœlesti dono gratificaverat ut omnia fidorum corda Scotorum solo aspectu sibi conciliaret in gratiam et favorem. Et nec mirum: erat enim in donis liberalissimus, in judiciis æquissimus, in consolatione tristium compatientissimus, in consilio peritissimus, sufferentia patientissimus, in locutione luculentissimus,—super omnia falsitatem et mendacia prosequens, ac proditionem detestans; propter quod fuit Dominus cum eo, per quem erat vir incunctis prosperé agens; ecclesiam venerans, ecclesiasticos reverens, pauperes et viduas sustentans, pupillos et orphanos refovens, oppressos relevans, furibus et raptoribus insidians, et sine pretio super eos, justitiam exercens et rigorem. Cujuscemodi justis operibus, quia quam maximé Deum gratificabót ipse propterea omnia ejus opera dirigebat.”—Lib. x. cap. 28.
Q.
REMINISCENCE OF WALLACE. [Page 163.]
Among the few speeches of Wallace which we have on record, the following is mentioned by English writers, as having been addressed by him to the Scottish schiltrons, on the eve of the battle of Falkirk:—“I haif brocht you to the ring, hap gif you cun.” Respecting the meaning of these words, however, there is no agreement between Scottish or English writers. Walsingham has it, “I haif brocht you to the King, hop gif you cun;”—on which Lord Hailes very properly remarks:—
“This speech of Wallace has generally been related and explained in a sense very different. I must therefore give my reasons for having departed so widely from the common opinion. Walsingham, p. 75, says, ‘Dicens eis patriâ linguâ,—I haif brocht you to the King, hop gif you cun.’ This short speech has always appeared to me as utterly inconsistent with the character of Wallace. It is commonly understood to mean, ‘I have brought you to the King, hope if you can hope.’ To say nothing of the impropriety of the appellation of King, bestowed by Wallace on Edward, the sentiment, ‘hope, if you can hope,’ seems only fit for the mouth of a coward or a traitor. Abercrombie, perceiving this, has given a more plausible interpretation of the word hop. He renders the phrase thus, ‘Fly if you can;’ as if Wallace had meant to say, ‘Fight, for you cannot fly.’ There is nothing incongruous in this sentiment; but surely it did not merit to be recorded: Neither was it strictly true; for the Scottish army might have retired with unbroken forces into the forest which lay in the rear. The only satisfactory interpretation of Wallace’s address to his troops, is to be found in W. Westm. p. 451, ‘Ecce adduxi vos ad annulum charolate (chorolate) sive tripudiate vos, sicut melius scitis.’ King, in Walsingham, ought to be ring. The words of Wallace were, ‘I haif brocht you to the ring, hap gif you cun.’ The ring means the dance à la ronde. Douglas translates ‘Exercet Diana choros,’ Æneid ii., thus, ‘Ledand ring-dances,’ p. 28. l. 42. ‘Te lustrare choros,’ Æneid vii., thus: ‘To the scho led ring-sangis in karoling,’ p. 220, l. 31. Elsewhere, in his own person, he says, ‘Sum sang ring-sangis,’ Prologue, xii. B. p. 402, l. 33. That hap or hop is understood of dancing, is also plain from Douglas. He thus paraphrases ‘Hic exultantes Salios,’ Æneid, viii.
‘The dansand Preistis, clepit Salii,
Happand and singand.’ P. 267, l. 21.
“I need not prove, that ‘gif you cun’ implies ‘if you have skill,’ or, ‘according to your skill.’ The verb is obsolete; but the noun and the adjective are still remembered. ‘Let my right hand forget its cunning,’ ‘a cunning artificer,’ ‘a cunning man.’ Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 305, as translated by Brunne, reports the words thus: “To the renge ere ye brouht, hop now if ye wille.” But he does not seem to have understood the import of the words.”
The above is all learned enough; but his lordship has stopped short in his explanation, and left his readers as much in the dark, as any of his predecessors, respecting the meaning or propriety of such a phrase in the mouth of a general, on the commencement of a great battle. Some of our readers perhaps require to be told that schiltron means a body of men drawn up in a circle.[105] The war-dance of the Scots and other northern nations, as is well known, was performed round a large fire. Each warrior’s hand was firmly clasped in that of his neighbour. Their motion was at first slow, and gradually increased, till their rapidity almost rivalled the velocity of the whirlwind. When arrived at this state of fury, if any luckless wight slipped his hold, or otherwise became unsteady, the impetus which he and his fellows had acquired, pitched him headlong amid the flames, when his endeavours to extricate himself from the blaze, and regain his place, formed the chief sport of his companions. To render the schiltron the most formidable figure for defensive operations, steadiness was all that was requisite. When Wallace, therefore, on the rapid advance of the English, addressed his soldiers in the manner alluded to, he gave utterance to the happiest thought, in the fewest words, that perhaps ever presented itself to the mind of genius in a case of emergency. The striking similarity between their form of battle and their favourite dance, was apparent to all; and the impending conflict became instantly stript of its terrors, by a playful allusion to an amusement with which they were familiar, while it flashed upon their minds with all the conviction of experience, that on the preservation of their ranks their safety depended. The behaviour of the schiltrons on that fatal day showed that they understood the address of their leader better than any of its subsequent commentators.
R.
WALLACE’S DESCENDANTS. [Page 167.]
Wallace appears to have left a daughter, whose legitimacy has been called in question, but on very slender grounds. In Chalmers’s Caledonia, vol. i. p. 579, we find the following passage:—“It has been said that Wallace left no legitimate issue; but he had a natural daughter, who married Sir William Baillie of Hoprig, the progenitor of the Baillies of Lamington.” It has never been disputed, that the lady by whom Wallace had this daughter was the heiress of Lamington, in right of her father, Sir Hew de Bradfute; it would therefore have been satisfactory, if the learned author above mentioned had explained how the Baillies of Hoprig came to the possession of Lamington. If the daughter of Wallace was legitimate their succession appears the natural consequence of the marriage of Sir William Baillie; if not, the manner in which they became possessed of that property requires elucidation. That Wallace and the heiress of Lamington were lawfully married, is asserted by Henry, who draws the following picture of their connubial happiness:—
“Quhat suld I say, Wallace was playnly set
To luff hyr best in all this warld so wid;
Thinkand he suld off his desyr to get;
And so befell be concord in a tid,
That sho [was] maid at his commaund to bid;
And thus began the styntyn aff this stryff:
Begynnyng band, with graith witnes besyd,
Myn auctor sais, sho was his rychtwyss wyff.
Now leiff in pees, now leiff in gud concord!
Now leyff in blyss, now leiff in haill plesance!
For scho be choss has bath hyr luff and lord.
He thinkis als, luft did him hye awance,
So ewynly held be favour the ballance,
Sen he at will may lap hyr in his armyss.
Scho thankit God off hir fre happy chance,
For in his tyme he was the flour off armys.
Fortoune him schawit hyr fygowrt doubill face,
Feyll syss or than he had beyne set abuff:
In presoune now, delyuerit now throw grace,
Now at vness, now in to rest and ruff;
Now weyll at wyll, weyldand his plesand luff,
As thocht him selff out off aduersité;
Desyring ay his manheid for to pruff,
In cairage set apon the stagis hye.
The werray treuth I can nocht graithly tell,
In to this lyff how lang at thai had beyne:
Throuch natural course of generacioune befell,
A child was chewyt thir twa luffaris betuene,
Quhilk gudly was, a maydyn brycht and schene.”
Buke Sext, 41–69.
According to the above authority, the offspring of this marriage was first united in the bands of wedlock to an Esquire of the name of Shaw. Whether this was any connection of William de Shaw, mentioned at page 106, vol. i. of this work, as witnessing the charter of James, Lord High Steward of Scotland, along with some other friends of Wallace, we have no means of ascertaining. We are told, however, that
“Rycht gudly men come off this lady ying.”
Whether these were the issue of the marriage with Shaw, or of that afterwards contracted with Baillie of Hoprig, or of both, it is difficult to determine. It is probable, as Sir William Baillie is designated, of Hoprig, and his descendants as proprietors of Lamington, that they may have succeeded to the inheritance, after the offspring of the first marriage had become extinct. It has also been advanced, as an argument against the legitimacy of the daughter of Wallace, that she inherited none of the property of her father. Those, however, who started this objection, would have done well to have shown, that Wallace possessed property to which she could have succeeded. It does not appear that he was ever personally invested in any of the lands belonging to the family. And mention is made of his brother Malcolm having left a son of the name of John, in whom the succession was prolonged, till it merged in the family of Craigie. In Langtoft’s Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 338, we have an account of the capture and execution of a Sir John de Wallace, who is there called a brother of Sir William. This is evidently a mistake, and might very easily arise from the closeness of the connection between the two parties. Another “John Walays of Elryslà” (Elderslie) is taken notice of as among the witnesses to the charter of Robert, Duke of Albany; and, from the family title being preserved, it is highly probable that the stock of Sir Malcolm Wallace had not then become extinct.
S.
ON THE TREACHERY OF MENTEITH. [Page 169.]
In the account of the capture of Wallace, we have thought it advisable to follow, in a great measure, the statement given by the Minstrel. It is, we conceive, the only rational one we are possessed of; and as the authority of the author has been supported by the Tower records, and other incontrovertible muniments, in matters of comparatively trifling importance, it would be unfair to doubt his veracity on so important a part of the history of his hero, particularly when all the notices we have in other writers, tend more or less to confirm the truth of what he asserts. Lord Hailes, however, has attempted to remove the odium which has for these five hundred years been attached to the memory of Menteith; but his efforts to exculpate the Judas of Scotland, have been viewed by the generality of his countrymen in rather an unfavourable light. In the remarks his Lordship has made on the subject, we cannot discover that acuteness which frequently appears in his other writings. Dr Jamieson has thus replied to him:
“The account given of the treachery of Menteth, is one of those points on which Sir D. Dalrymple shows his historical scepticism. He introduces it in language calculated to inspire doubt into the mind of the reader; observing, that ‘the popular tradition is, that his friend, Sir John Menteth, betrayed him to the English.’—Annals, i. 281. It is rather strange that he should express himself in this manner, at the very moment that he quotes the Scotichronicon on the margent; as if this venerable record, when a modern should be disposed to adopt a theory irreconcileable with its testimony, were entitled to no higher regard than is due to ‘popular tradition.’
“He adds,’Sir John Menteth was of high birth, a son of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteth.’ I can perceive no force in this remark, unless it be meant to imply that there never has been an instance of a man of noble blood acting the part of a traitor. On the same ground, we might quarrel with all the evidence given of the conspiracies formed against Robert Bruce; and even call in question the murder of that amiable and accomplished prince, James I.
“But ‘at this time,’ we are told, ‘the important fortress of Dumbarton was committed to his (Menteith’s) charge by Edward.’ Here, it would seem, the learned writer fights the poor Minstrel with his own weapons. For I find no evidence of this fact in the Fœdera, Hemingford, or the Decem Scriptores; and Lord Hailes has referred to no authority; so that there is reason to suspect, to use his own language, that he here ‘copies’ what ‘is said by Blind Harry, whom no historian but Sir Robert Sibbald will venture to quote.’ If Harry’s narrative be received as authority, it is but justice to receive his testimony as he gives it. Now, in the preceding part of his work, he represents Menteth as holding the castle of Dunbarton at least with the consent of Wallace, while acknowledged as governor of Scotland. It would appear, indeed, that the whole district of the Lennox had been intrusted to him.
“In the Leynhouss a quhill he maid repayr;
Schyr Jhon Menteth that tym was captane thar.”
B. viii. 1595.
“But even at this time there was something dubious in the conduct of Menteth. While he retained the castle, the English held the town under Edward.
“In peess thai duelt, in trubyll that had beyn,
And trewbut payit till Ingliss capdanis keyn.
Schyr Jhon Menteth the castell had in hand:
Bot sum men said, thar was a prewa band
Till Sotheroun maid, be menys off that knycht,
In thar supplé to be in all his mycht.”
B. ix. 1393.
“It is perfectly conceivable, that, although it was known to Wallace that Menteth had some secret understanding with the English, this artful man might persuade him that he only wished an opportunity of wreaking the national vengeance on them, or at least of more effectually serving the interest of Wallace when he saw the proper time. Although Wallace had been assured that Menteith had taken an oath of fealty to Edward, he would have had no more reason for distrusting him than for distrusting by far the greatest part of the nobility and landholders of Scotland, who, as they believed, from the necessity of despair had submitted to the usurper.
“John de Menteth is designated by Arnold Blair, immanis proditor; and the writer proceeds to curse him as if with bell, book, and candle.—Relations, p. 8.
“Sir David aims another blow at this account, in the following words;—‘That he had ever any intercourse of friendship or familiarity with Wallace, I have yet to learn.’ But the truth is, the worthy Judge does not seem disposed to learn this. It is difficult to say what evidence will satisfy him. The incidental hints, in the preceding part of the poem, in regard to Wallace’s connection with Menteth, all perfectly agree with the mournful termination. Such confidence had he in him, according to the Minstrel, that he not only resided in Dunbarton Castle for two months, while Menteth had the charge of it, but gave orders for building ‘a house of stone’ there, apparently that he might enjoy his society.
“Twa monethis still he duelt in Dumbertane;
A houss he foundyt apon the roch off stayne;
Men left he thar till bygg it to the hycht.”
B. viii. 1599.
“But, independently of the testimony of Blind Harry, Bower expressly asserts the co-operation of Menteith with Wallace, Graham, and Scrymgeour, in the suppression of the rebellious men of Galloway. ‘In hoc ipso anno (1298), viz. xxviii. die mensis Augusti, dominus Wallas Scotiæ custos, cum Johanne Grhame et Johanne de Menteth, militibus, necnon Alexandro Scrimzeour constabulario villæ de Dundee, et vexillario Scotiæ, cum quinquagentis militibus armatis, rebelles Gallovidienses punierunt, qui regis Angliæ et Cuminorum partibus sine aliquo jure steterunt.’
“These words, which seem to be a quotation, in the Relationes of Blair, from the Scotichronicon, are not found in the MSS. from which Goodall gave his edition. They appear to have formed the commencement of the xxxii. chapter of the eleventh book, one of the two chapters here said to be wanting. Now this, whether it be the language of Bower, or of Blair, could not have been borrowed from the Minstrel, for the circumstance is overlooked by him. It seems to refer to that period of the history of Wallace, in which he is said to have made a circuit through Galloway and Carrick.
“Fra Gamlis peth the land obeyt him haill,
Till Ur wattir, baith strenth, forest, and daill.
Agaynis him in Galloway hous was nayne.”
B. vi. 793–5.
“It is to be observed, that John Major expressly affirms the treachery of Menteth, as acting in concert with Aymer de Valloins, Earl of Pembroke. He says, that Menteth was considered as his most intimate friend; ‘ipsi Vallacco putatus amicissimus.’ Hist. Fol. lxxiii. Now, although he rejects many of the transactions recited by Blind Harry ‘as false,’ so far is he from insinuating the slightest hesitation as to this business, that he formally starts an objection as to the imprudence of Wallace in not being more careful of his person, and answers it by remarking, that ‘no enemy is more dangerous than a domestic one.’ He differs from the Minstrel in saying that Wallace was ‘captured in the city of Glasgow.’
“It may be added, that Bower expressly asserts that Wallace, ‘suspecting no evil, was fraudulently and treacherously seized at Glasgow by Lord John de Menteth.’ Scotichron. xii. 8. Bower again refers to the treacherous conduct of Menteth towards Wallace when afterwards relating a similar plan which he had laid for taking King Robert Bruce prisoner, under pretence of delivering up to him the Castle of Dunbarton, on condition of his receiving a hereditary right to the lieutenancy of the Lennox; v. Lib. xii. c. 16, 17, Vol. ii. 243. These two chapters are not in all the MSS., but are found in those of Cupar, Perth, and Dunblane. Now, Bower was born anno 1385; Ibid. ii. 401. The date assigned to the Scotichronicon, as published with his Continuation, is 1447, and that to the Minstrel’s Poem, 1470; v. Pinkerton’s Maitland Poems, Intr. lxxxvi–lxxxix. It is therefore impossible that Bower could have borrowed the account given of Menteth from Blind Harry. Bower was born, indeed, only eighty or eighty-one years after the fact referred to; and, considering the elevation of the character of Wallace, and the great attachment of his countrymen even to this day, as well as the multitude of his enemies, it is totally inconceivable that a whole nation, learned and unlearned, should concur in imputing this crime to one man, without the most valid reasons.
“Wyntown finished his ‘Cronykil,’ anno 1418. He, it is generally believed, was born little more than fifty years after the butchery of our magnanimous patriot. Sir David Dalrymple could not, one would suppose, reasonably object to his testimony. Let us hear it.
A thousand thre hundyr and the fyft yhere
Eftyr the byrth of oure Lord dere,
Schyre John of Menteth in tha days
Tuk in Glasgw Willame Walays,
And send hym in-til Ingland swne.
Thare wes he quartaryd and wndwne
Be dyspyte and hat Inwy:
Thare he tholyd this Martyry.
Cron. viii. c. 20.
“I shall only add an important proof from the Lanercost MS., referred to in the Preliminary Remarks.[106] ‘Captus fuit Willelmus Waleis per unum Scottum, scilicet per dominum Johannem de Mentiphe, et usque London ad Regem adductus, et adjudicatum fuit quod traheretur, et suspenderetur, et decollaretur, et membratim divideretur, et quod viscera ejus comburentur, quod factum est; et suspensum est caput ejus super pontem London, armus autem dexter super pontem Novi Castri super Tynam, et armus sinister apud Berwicum, pes autem dexter apud villam Sancti Johannis, et pes sinister apud Aberden.’ Fol. 211. Mentiphe is obviously an erratum for Menteith.”
Mr Tytler, in the “Notes and Illustrations” to the first volume of his History of Scotland, has also handled this subject with considerable ability. We shall select the following, as affording additional arguments to those already advanced by Dr Jamieson. In alluding to the evidence afforded by the Lanercost MS., that intelligent writer observes, “We cannot be surprised that Lord Hailes should have been ignorant of this passage, as he tells us, Annals, vol. ii. p. 316, he had not been able to discover where the MS. of Lanercost was preserved.
“The same excuse, however, will not avail him as to the next piece of evidence, of Menteth’s having seized Wallace. It is contained in Leland’s extract from an ancient MS. Chronicle, which Hailes has elsewhere quoted; I mean the Scala Chronicle, preserved in Corpus Christi Library, Cambridge. In Leland’s Collect., vol. i. p. 541, we have this passage from the Chronicle. ‘Wylliam Waleys was taken of the Counte of Menteth about Glaskow, and sent to King Edward, and after was hangid, drawn, and quarterid at London.’ This is only Leland’s abridgment of the passage, which in all probability is much more full and satisfactory in the original. Yet it is quite satisfactory as to Menteth’s guilt.
“The next English authority is Langtoft’s Chronicle, which Hailes has himself quoted in his Notes and Corrections, vol. ii. p. 346. It is curious, and as to Menteith’s guilt perfectly conclusive.
‘Sir Jon of Menetest serwed William so nehi,
He tok him whan he wend lest, on nyght his leman bi.
That was thorght treson of Jak Schort his man,
He was the encheson, that Sir Jon so him nam.’ p. 329.
“We learn from this, that Sir John Menteth prevailed upon Wallace’s servant, Jack Short, to betray his master, and came under cover of night, and seized him in bed, ‘his leman bi,’ and when he had no suspicion of what was to happen. How Hailes, after quoting this passage, which was written more than two centuries before Blind Harry, should have represented this poor minstrel as the only original authority for the guilt of Menteth, is indeed difficult to determine.”
“Having given these authorities, all of them prior to Blind Harry, it is unnecessary to give the testimony of the more modern writers. The ancient writers prove incontestably, that Sir John de Menteth, a Scottish baron, who had served along with and under Wallace against the English, deserted his country, swore homage to Edward, and employed a servant of Wallace to betray his master into his hands; that he seized him in bed, and delivered him to Edward, by whom he was instantly tried, condemned, and hanged. It was natural that the voice of popular tradition should continue from century to century, to execrate the memory of such a man. Whether Menteth was the intimate friend of Wallace, or what precise degree of familiarity existed between them, it is now not easy to determine, nor is it of any consequence as to his guilt. Indeed it is impossible to regard, without a smile the weak and inconclusive evidence, if it deserves so grave a name, on which Hailes has founded what he calls his Apology for Menteth, which, after all, seems to be borrowed from Carte, vol. ii. p. 289. Lord Hailes also remarks, “It is most improbable, that Wallace should have put himself in the power of a man whom he knew to be in an office of distinguished trust under Edward;” and almost in the same breath paraphrases the lines of Langtoft, in which it is stated that his capture was effected through the treason of Jack Short, whose brother Wallace is said to have slain. Surely the confidence was as imprudent in the one case as it would have been in the other. It may be observed, however, that if there had been a possibility of rescuing the name of Menteith from the execrations of his country, the task would not have remained for the learned annalist to perform. The great family interest which he possessed, was sufficient to protect him from punishment, not only for his treachery to Wallace, but also for his subsequent perfidy to Bruce. Yet though that interest was powerfully exerted to screen him from the consequences of his demerits, not a single effort was made to remove the dishonourable stain from his character.
The following transaction, which has already been alluded to, is quite consistent with the conduct ascribed to him by the Minstrel. It will also account for the impunity which attended his crimes.
“About this time, there happened a passage not unworthy to be related, in regard to the variety of providences, in a narrow compass of time. John Menteith, who betrayed his friend Wallace to the English, and was therefore deservedly hated by the Scots, received, amongst other rewards, the government of Dumbarton castle from the English. When other forts were recovered, that only, or but very few with it, held out for the English. And because it was naturally impregnable, the king dealt with the governor, by his friends and kindred, to surrender it. He demanded the county or earldom of Lennox, as the price of his treachery and surrender. Neither would he ever so much as hear of any other terms. In this case the King wavered and fluctuated in his mind what to do. On the one side, he earnestly desired to have the castle; yet, on the other, he did not so much prize it, as for its sake to disoblige the Earl of Lennox, who had been his fast and almost his only friend in all his calamities. But the Earl of Lennox hearing of it, and coming in, soon decided the controversy, and persuaded the King, by all means to accept the condition. Accordingly the bargain was made as John Monteith would have it, and solemnly confirmed. But when the King was going to take possession of the castle, a carpenter, one Roland, met him in the wood of Colquhoun, about a mile from it; and having obtained liberty to speak with the King, concerning a matter of great importance, he told him what treachery the governor intended against him; nay, and had prepared to execute it. It was this:—In a wine-cellar concealed, and underground, a sufficient number of Englishmen were hid, who, when the rest of the castle should be given up, and the King secure, were to issue forth upon him as he was at dinner, and either to kill, or take him prisoner. This being thus related, the King, upon the surrender of the other parts of the castle by John, being kindly invited to a feast, refused to eat; till, as he had searched all other parts of the castle; so, he had viewed that wine-cellar also. The governor excused it, pretending that the smith, who had the key, was out of the way, but that he would come again anon. The King, not satisfied therewith, caused the door to be broke open, and so the plot was discovered. The Englishmen were brought forth in their armour, and being severally examined, confessed the whole matter; and they added also another discovery, viz. that a ship rode ready in the next bay to carry the King into England, The complices in this wretched design were put to death; but John was kept in prison, because the King was loth to offend his kindred, and especially his sons-in-law, in so dangerous a time: for he had many daughters, all of them very beautiful, and married to men rich enough, but factious. Therefore, in a time of such imminent danger, the battle drawing near wherein all was at stake, lest the mind of any powerful man might be rendered averse from him, and thereby inclined to practise against him, John was released out of prison, upon this condition, (for the performance whereof his sons-in-law undertook), that he should be placed in the front of the battle, and there, by his valour should wait the decision of Providence. And indeed the man, otherwise fraudulent, was in this faithful to the King; for he behaved himself so valiantly, that that day’s work procured him not only pardon for what was past, but large rewards for the future.”—Buchanan’s Hist. vol. i. p. 310.
It may here be mentioned, that, since the Note on page 152 was printed off, we have learned from one, whose researches, and connection with the name, entitle him to express an opinion, that the M’Kerlies of Wigtonshire are descended from Kerlé, or Kerlie, who, with Sir William Wallace and Stephen of Ireland, carried by assault the Fort of the Black-Rock of Cree, or Cruggleton Castle, and who was the last friend that clung to the fortunes of his master. Although the records of the burgh of Witham furnish no information on the subject, being all of a date subsequent to the Reformation, it is still handed down by tradition, that the M’Kerlies were once proprietors of Cruggleton Castle.
T.
SINGULAR LEGEND. [Page 169.]
This monkish legend Henry has carefully preserved; and as it affords a specimen of the superstition of the age, we shall give it a place for the gratification of the curious among our readers.
“Wyss clerkyss yeit it kepis in remembrans,
How that a monk off Bery abbay than,
In to that tym a rycht religiouss man;
A yong monk als with him in ordour stud,
Quhilk knew his lyff was clene, perfyt, and gud.
This fadyr monk was wesyd with seknace,
Out off the warld as he suld pass on cace,
His brothyr saw the spret lykly to pass;
A band off him rycht ernystly he coud ass.
To cum agayn and schaw him off the meid,
At he suld haiff at God for his gud deid.
He grantyt him, at his prayer to preiff,
To cum agayn, gyff God wald geiff him leiff.
The spreyt, changyt out off this warldly payn,
In that sammyn hour cum to the monk agayn.
Sic thing has beyn, and is be woice and sycht.
Quhar he apperyt, thar schawyt sa mekill lycht,
Lyk till lawntryns it illumynyt so cler,
At warldly lycht thar to mycht be no peyr,
A woice said thus:—‘God has me grantyt grace
That I sall kep my promess in this place.’
The monk was blyth off this cler fygur fayr;
Bot a fyr brand in his forheid he bayr,
And than him thocht it myslikyt all the lawe.
‘Quhar art thou spreyt? Ansuer, sa God the sawe.’
‘In purgatory.’—‘How lang sall thow be thair?’
‘Bot halff ane hour to com, and litill mair.
Purgatory is, I do the weill to wit,
In ony place quhar God will it admyt.
Ane hour of space I was demed thar to be;
And that passis, supposs I spek with the.
Quhy has thow that, and all the layff so haill?’
‘For off science I thocht me maist awaill.
Quha prydys tharin, that laubour is in waist,
For science cummys bot off the haly Gaist.’
‘Eftir thi hour, quhar is thi passage ewyn?’
‘Quhen tym cummys,’ he said, ‘to lestand hewin.’
‘Quhat tym is that? I pray the now declar.’
‘Twa ar on lyff mon be befor me thar.’
‘Quhilk twa ar thai?’ The verité thow may ken,
‘The fyrst has bene a gret slaar of men.
Now thai him kep to martyr in London toun
On Wednyssday, befors king and commoun.
Is nayn on lyff at has sa mony slayn.’
‘Brodyr,’ he said, ‘that taill is bot in wayn;
For slauchtyr is to God abhominabill.’
Than said the spreyt, ‘Forsuth this is no fabill.
He is Wallace, defendour off Scotland,
For rychtwyss war that he tok apon hand.
Thar rychtwysnes is lowyt our the lawe;
Tharfor in hewyn he sall that honour hawe.
Syn a pure preyst, is mekill to commend;
He tuk in thank quhat thing that God him send.
For dayly mess, and heryng off confessioun,
Hewin he sall haiff to lestand warysoun.
I am the thrid, grantyt throw Goddis grace.’
‘Brothir,’ he said, ‘tell I this in our place,
Thai wyll bot deym, I othir dreym or ráwe.’
Than said the spreyt:—‘This wetnes thow sall hawe.
Your bellys sall ryng, for ocht at ye do may,
Quhen thai hym sla, halff ane hour off that day.’
And so thai did, the monk wyst quhat thaim alyt
Throuch braid Bretane, the woice tharoff was scaylyt,
The spreyt tuk leyff at Goddis will to be,
Off Wallace end to her it is peté;
And I wald nocht put men in gret dolour,
Bot lychtly pass atour his fatell hour.”
Book xi. 1238–1304.
U.
VERSES ON THE DEATH OF WALLACE. [Page 170.]
The verses on the death of Wallace, which have been attributed to John Blair, stand thus in the original:—
Invida mors tristi Gulielmum funere Vallam,
Quæ cuncta tollit, sustulit:
Et tanto pro cive cinis, pro finibus urna est,
Frigusque pro lorica obit.
Ille quidem terras, loca se inferiora reliquit:
At fata factis supprimens,
Parte sui meliore solum cœlumque pererrat;
Hoc spiritu, illud gloria.
At tibi si inscriptum generoso pectus honesto
Fuisset, hostis proditi
Artibus, Angle, tuis, in pœnas, parcior isses,
Nec oppidatim spargeres
Membra viri sacranda adytis. Sed scin quid in ista,
Immanitate viceris?
Ut Vallæ in cunctas oras sparguntur et horas
Laudes, tuumque dedecus.
Abercrombie, who confounds John Blair with Arnold Blair, doubts of the above lines being composed by him. Arnold, in his Relationes, has certainly given nothing of his own, his brief details, as we have already observed, being merely extracts from the Scotichronicon; and it is more than probable, that as he borrowed from Fordun in the one instance, he might also be inclined to take the same liberty with Blair in the other. The verses are evidently the effusion of a superior mind, brooding over a recent calamity. They are attached to the end of Arnold Blair’s Relationes, to which the date of 1327 is affixed,—thus bringing them to within 22 years of the execution of Wallace;—that they were composed soon after that event becomes therefore a matter of certainty.
The writer entertained the hope of being able to gratify his readers with some specimens of the chansonnettes, said to have been composed in honour of Wallace by the Troubadours of France. He is sorry, however, that his applications have not been followed by the success anticipated. He will, therefore, conclude his labours with the following lines from an unpublished manuscript:—