Good euin daucht Lord, Ballanch, Banyenochadie.—Edit. 1620.
As the former salutation consists of a ridiculous mixture of French and Scottish, this seems to be composed of Scottish and Gaelic. Gud deyn is evidently for “Good evening.” Dawch Lard may signify lazy laird. The latter words have been viewed as Gaelic, l’ail, luibh, beannach a De, “if you please, God bless you!” V. Etym. Dict. vo. Dawch.
Off gret statur, and sum part gray wes he;
The Inglissmen cald him bot Grymmysbé.—V. 311.
Bot Grymmysbé, i.e. by no other name; and this, it appears, was a nickname, from his gray or grim complexion.
The awfull ost, with Eduuard off Ingland,
To Beggar come, with sexté thousand men.—V. 342.
This is the mode in which Ramsay gives the name of Biggar, a village in Lanarkshire. “There is a tradition of a battle having been fought at the east end of the town, between the Scots, under the command of Sir William Wallace, and the English army, who were said to be 60,000 strong, wherein a great slaughter was made on both sides, especially among the latter.” Stat. Acc. P. Biggar, I. 336.
A yong squier was brothir to Fehew.—V. 363.
It is Schir Hew, Edit. 1594 and 1620; the same in that of 1714. But in Edit. 1648, it is, as here, Fehew. In MS. Schyr hew seems to have been first written, and afterwards deleted, the letter s or f being left singly, with a blank before hew. But in ver. 397, it is clearly Fehew; as also in B. VIII. 1010, 1067, 1081, where the fate of this squire is referred to. Whether such a person ever existed, I can find no trace in the Fœdera, or in any history of that period. For the honour of Wallace, it may well be supposed that the whole story is fabulous.