The Bruce

by John Barbour

The Pains of King Robert among the Mountains.

1306 Bruce will go to Kintyre

The Queyne duelt thus in Kyldromy:
And the King and his cumpany,
That war twa hunder, and na ma,
Fra thai had send thar hors thaim fra, 370
Wandryt emang the hey montanys
Quhar he and his oft tholyt paynys.
For it wes [to the wynter ner];
And sa feile fayis about him wer,
That all the countre thaim werrayit. 375
Sa hard anoy thaim then assayit,
Off hungir, cauld, with schowris snell,
That nane that levys can weill it tell.
The King saw how his folk wes stad,
And quhat anoyis that thai had; 380
And saw wynter wes cummand ner;
And that he mycht on na wys der,
In the hillys, the cauld lying,
Na the lang nychtis waking.
He thocht he to Kyntyr wald ga, 385
And swa lang sojowrnyng thar ma,
Till wynter weddir war away:
And then he thocht, but mar delay,
In-to the manland till aryve,
And till the end [hys werdis] dryve. 390
And for Kyntyr lyis in the se,
Schyr [Nele Cambel] befor send he,
For to get him navyn and meite:
And certane tyme till him he sete,
Quhen he suld meite him at the se. 395
Schir Nele Cambel, with his mengyhe,
Went his way, but mar letting,
And left his brothir with the King.
And in twelve dayis sua traveillit he,[†]
That he gat schippyne gud plente, 400
And victalis in gret aboundance:
Sa maid he nobill chevisance.
For his sibmen wonnyt thar-by,
That helpyt him full wilfully.

How the King passed over Loch Lomond.

The King, eftir that he wes gane, 405
To Lowchlomond the way has tane,
And come thar on the thrid day.
Bot thar-about na bait fand thai,
That mycht thaim our the watir ber:
Than war thai wa on gret maner: 410
For it wes fer about to ga;
And thai war in-to dout alsua,
To meyt thair fayis that spred war wyd.
Tharfor, endlang the louch his syd,
Sa besyly thai socht, and fast, 415
Tyll Jamys of Dowglas, at the last,
Fand a litill sonkyn bate,
And to the land it drew, fut-hate.
But it sa litill wes that it
Mycht our the wattir bot thresum flyt. 420
Thai send thar-off word to the King,
That wes joyfull off that fynding;
And fyrst in-to the bate is gane,
With him Dowglas; the thrid wes ane
That rowyt thaim our deliverly, 425
And set thaim on the land all dry:
And rowyt sa oft-sys to and fra,
Fechand ay our twa and twa,
That in a nycht and in a day,
Cummyn owt-our the louch ar thai. 430
For sum off thaim couth swome full weill,
And on his bak ber a fardele.
Swa with swymmyng, and with rowyng,
Thai brocht thaim our, and all thair thing.

1306 Bruce reads aloud a Romance

The King, the quhilis, meryly 435
Red to thaim, that war him by,
Romanys off worthi [Ferambrace],
That worthily our-cummyn was,
Throw the rycht douchty Olyver;
And how the Duk-Peris wer 440
Assegyt in-till Egrymor,
Quhar King Lavyne lay thaim befor,
With may thowsandis then I can say.
And bot eleven within war thai,
And a woman: and war sa stad, 445
That thai na mete thar-within had,
Bot as thai fra thar fayis wan.
Yheyte sua contenyt thai thaim than,
That thai the tour held manlily,
Till that Rychard off Normandy, 450
Magre his fayis, warnyt the King,
That wes joyfull off this tithing:
For he wend thai had all bene slayne.
Tharfor he turnyt in hy agayne,
And wan Mantrybill and passit Flagot; 455
And syne Lavyne and all his flot,
Dispitusly discumfyt he:
And deliveryt his men all fre,
And wan the naylis, and the sper,
And the croune that Jesu couth ber; 460
And off the croice a gret party
He wan throw his chevalry.
The gud King, apon this maner,
Comfortyt thaim that war him ner;
And maid thaim gamyn and solace,[†] 465
Till that his folk all passyt was.

Quhen thai war passit the watir brad,
Suppos thai fele off fayis had,
Thai maid thaim mery, and war blyth;
Nocht-for-thi full fele syth 470
Thai had full gret defaut off mete,
And tharfor venesoun to get
In twa partys ar thai gayne.
The King him-selff was in-till ane,
And Schir James off Dowglas 475
In-to the tothir party was.
Then to the hycht thai held thar way,
And huntyt lang quhill off the day;
And soucht schawys, and setis set;
Bot thai gat litill for till ete. 480
Then hapnyt at that tyme percas,
That the Erle of the Levenax was
Amang the hillis ner tharby;
And quhen he hard sa blaw and cry,
He had wondir quhat it mycht be; 485
And on sic maner spyryt he,
That he knew that it wes the King
And then, for-owtyn mar duelling,
With all thaim off his company,
He went rycht till the King in hy, 490
Sa blyth and sa joyfull, that he
Mycht on na maner blyther be.
For he the King wend had bene ded;
And he wes alsua [will off red],
That he durst rest in-to na place[†] 495
Na, sen the King discumfyt was
At Meffan, he herd nevir thing
That evir wes certane off the King.
Tharfor in-to full gret daynte,
The King full humyly haylsit he; 500
And he him welcummyt rycht blythly,
And kyssyt him full tendirly.[†]
And all the lordis, that war thar,
Rycht joyfull off thar meting war,
And kyssyt him in gret daynte. 505
It wes gret pite for till se
How thai for joy and pite gret,
Quhen that thai with thar falow met,[†]
That thai wend had bene dede; forthi
Thai welcummyt him mar hartfully. 510
And he for pite gret agayne,
That nevir off metyng wes say fayne.

1306 How men weep

Thocht I say that thai gret, sothly
It wes na greting propyrly:
For I trow traistly that gretyng 515
Cummys to men for mysliking;
And that nane may [but anger] gret,
Bot it be wemen, that can wet
Thair chekys quhen-evir thaim list with teris,
The-quhethir weill oft thaim na thing deris. 520
Bot I wate richt weill, but lesyng,[†]
Quhat-evir men say off sic greting,
That mekill joy, or yheit pete,
May ger men sua amovyt be,
That watir fra the hart will rys, 525
And weyt the eyne on sic avys,
That it is lik to be greting,
Thocht it to be nocht sua in all thing.
For quhen men gretis enkrely,
The hart is sorowfull or angry. 530
Bot for pite, I trow, gretyng
Be na thing bot ane opynnyng
Off hart, that schawis the tendirnys
Off rewth that in it closyt is.
The barownys apon this maner, 535
Throw Goddis grace, assemblyt wer.
The Erle had mete, and that plente,
And with glaid hart it thaim gaiff he;
And thai eyt it with full gud will,
That soucht nane othir sals thar-till 540
Bot appetyt, that oft men takys;
For rycht weill scowryt war thar stomakys.
Thai eit and drank sic as thai had;
And till our Lord syne lovyng maid,
And thankit him, with full gud cher, 545
That thai war met on that maner.
The King then at thaim speryt yharne,
How thai, sen he thaim saw, had farne;
And thai full petwysly gan tell
Aventuris that thaim befell, 550
And gret anoyis, and poverte.
The King thar-at had gret pite:
And tauld thaim petwisly agayne
The noy, the travaill, and the payne,
That he had tholyt, sen he thaim saw. 555
Wes nane amang thaim, hey na law,
That he ne had pite and plesaunce,
Quhen that he herd mak remembrance
Off the perellys that passyt war.
For, quhen men oucht at liking ar, 560
[To tell off paynys] passyt by
Plesys to heryng wonderly;
And to rehers thar auld disese,
Dois thaim oft-sys confort and ese;
With-thi thar-to folow na blame, 565
Dishonour, wikytnes, na shame.