The Bruce

by John Barbour

Here Sir Aymer urges a Fight on the Plain.

1307 Bruce accepts the Challenge

The Kyng lay in-to [Gawlistoun],
That is rycht evyn anent Lowdoun; 124
And till his pes tuk the cuntre.
Quhen Schir Amer and his menyhe,
Herd how he rewlit all the land,
And how that nane durst him withstand, 128
He wes in-till his hert angry;
And with ane of his cumpany
He send him word ande said, gif he
Durst hym in-to the planys se, 132
He suld [the tend day of May]
Cum undir Lowdoun hill away:
And gif that he wald met him thair,
He said, his worschip sulde be mair, 136
And mair be turnit to nobillay,
To wyn him in the playn away,
With hard dyntis in evyn fichting,
Than till do fer mair in scowking. 140
The King, that herd his messinger,
Had despit apon gret maner,
That Schir Amer spak sa hely,
Tharfor he ansuerd irusly,[†] 144
And till the messynger said he;
“Sa to thi lord that, gif I be
“In lif, he sall me se that day
“Weill neir, gif he dar hald the way 148
“That he has said; for sekirly
“By Lowdoun hill mete hym sall I.”

Here King Robert provides for Advantage in the Place where they should Fight.

The messinger, but mair abade,
Till his mastir his wais raide, 152
And his ansuer him tald alswith;
Than wes na neid to mak him blithe.[†]
For he thoucht, throu his mekill mycht,
Gif the King durst apeir to ficht, 156
That, throu the gret chevelry
That suld be in his cumpany,
He suld swa ourcum the Kyng,
That thar suld be na recoveryng. 160
And the Kyng, on the tothir party,
That wes ay wis and a-verty,
Raid for to se and ches the plas,
And saw [the hye-gat] lyand was 164
Apon a fair feild, evin and dry;
Bot apon athir syde thar-by
Wes a gret mos, mekill and braid,
That fra the way wes, quhar men raid, 168
A bowdraucht neir on athir syde:
And that place thocht hym all to wyde
Till abyde men that horsit war.
Tharfor [thre dykis] ourthwort he schar, 172
Fra bath the mosis to the way:
That war sa fer fra othir, that thai
War in-twyn a bow-draucht and mar.
Sa holl and hye the dykis war, 176
That men mycht nocht, but mekill pane,
Pas thaim, thouch nane war thaim agane.
Bot sloppis in the way left he,
So large, and of sic quantite, 180
That fyffe hundir mycht sammyn ryde
In at the sloppis, syde for syde.
Thar thoucht he battale for to beid,
And bargane thaim; for he na drede 184
Had at thai suld on syde assale,
Na yheit behynd gif him battale.
And befor hym thocht weill that he
Suld fra thar mycht defendit be. 188
Thre deip dykis he gert thar ma;
For gif he mycht nocht weill our-ta
To met thame at the first, that he
Suld haf the tothir at his pouste; 192
Or than the thrid, gif it war swa
At thai had passit the tothir twa.
On this wis him ordanit he,
And syne assemblit his menyhe, 196
That war sex hundreth fechtand men,
But rangald, that wes with him then,
That war als feill as thai, or ma.
With all that menyhe can he ga, 200
The evyn befor the battale suld be,
To litill Lowdoun, quhar that he
Wald abide to se thair cummyng;
Syne with the men of his leding 204
He thoucht to speid hym, swa that he
Suld at the dik befor thaim be.

Here Sir Aymer comes with his Host in Sight.

1307 The Splendid Array of the English

Schir Amer, on the tothir party,
Gaderit so great chevelry, 208
That he mycht be thre thousand neir,
Armyt and dicht in gud maner;
And than, as man of gret noblay,
He held toward the trist his way. 212
And quhen the set day cumin was,
He sped him fast toward the place
That he had nemmyt for to ficht.
[The sone wes rysyn schynand bricht], 216
That blenknyt on the scheldis braid.
In twa eschelis ordanit he had
The folk that he had in leding.
The Kyng, weill soyn in the mornyng, 220
Saw first cumand thair first eschele,
Arrait sarraly and weill,
And at thair bak, sum-deill neirhand,
He saw the tothir followand: 224
Thair basnetis burnyst war all brycht,
Agane the sone glemand of licht;
Thair speris, thair pennownys, and thar scheldis
Of licht illumynit all the feldis. 228
Thair best and browdyn bricht baneris,
And hors hewit on seir maneris,
And cot-armouris off seir colour,
And hawbrekis, that war [quhit as flour], 232
Maid thame glitterand, as thai war lik
Till angellis he of hevinis rik.

Here King Robert meets him with Few.

The King said; “Lordingis, now yhe se
“How yhon men, throu thar gret pouste, 236
“Wald, and thai mycht fulfill thar will,
“Slay us, and mak sembland thar-till.
“And sen we knaw thair felony,
“Ga we and meit thame hardely, 240
“That the stoutest of thair menyhe,
“Of our metyng abaysit be.
“For gif the formast egirly
“Be met, yhe sall se suddanly 244
“The henmast sall abasit be;
“And thouch that thai be ma than we,
“That suld abais us litill thing;
“For quhen we cum to the fichting, 248
“Thar may met us no ma than we.
“Tharfor, lordingis, ilkane suld be
“Of worschip and of gret valour,
“For till maynteme heir our honour. 252
“Thinkis quhat gladschip us abydis,
“Gif that we may, as us betydis,
“Haf victour of our fayis heir!
“For thar is nane her, fer no neir, 256
“In all this land [that us thar dout].”
Than said thai all that stude about,
‘Schir, gif God will, we sall sa do,
‘That no repruf sall ly thar-to.’ 260
“Than ga we furth now,” said the King,
“And he, that maid of nocht all thing,
“Leyd us, and sauf us for his mycht,
“And help us for till hald our richt!” 264
With that thai held thar way in hy,
Weill sex hundreth in cumpany,
Stalward and stout, worthy and wicht:
Bot thai war all to few, I hicht, 268
Agane so feill to stand in stour,
Ne war thair outrageous valour.