Kneland, or Cleland, Edward Little and Thomas Haliday, all near relatives of Wallace, whose names are frequently mentioned with applause by the authors who write of this period.
Stephen of Ireland.—This brave and useful soldier, is sometimes called Stephen Ireland; but this is only by modern writers. Blind Harry, and other ancient authors, invariably designate him as of Ireland. It is highly probable that he was one of those self-expatriated Irish noblemen, whose love of liberty induced them to seek, in foreign countries, what they could no longer hope for at home. Whatever his birth may have been, he appears to have come to Scotland at an early period, perhaps in the reign of Alexander III., and seems, from his being occasionally employed as a guide in the expeditions of Wallace, to have had such a knowledge of the country, as could only be acquired by a long residence in it. Through all the variety of fortunes which attended Sir William Wallace, and amid the desertions of some of his opulent countrymen, Stephen of Ireland adhered to him with inflexible fidelity, and also induced others of his countrymen to come over to the assistance of the Scots.
John Blair and Thomas Gray.—The former of these worthy ecclesiastics has already been mentioned as the schoolfellow of our hero. After quitting Dundee, he went to finish his studies at Paris, where, under the most eminent masters of the day, his progress did not belie the early promise of his genius; and he returned to Scotland a confirmed patriot, and an accomplished scholar. The latter had the pastoral charge of Libertown, yet considered it no dereliction from his duties to attend and assist in the emancipation of his country. Of his literary talents we have reason to form the highest opinion, from the circumstance of John Blair admitting him into the honour of assisting in composing the history of their far-famed friend. This work, though it now goes all under the name of Blair, was then known to have been the joint composition of these worthies. Where Thomas Gray received his education, is a matter of uncertainty; but it is highly probable that he also finished his studies along with his friend at Paris, and returned with him to Scotland; as we hear nothing of him previous to the rencounter with Fenwick. It is not unlikely that, on this occasion, John Blair was installed in his office of chaplain; and that he got this preference from the circumstance of the other being already provided for, as they both appear, from their learning and patriotism, to have been equally deserving of the affection and confidence of their countrymen.
Alexander Scrimgeor.—This faithful patriot was the representative of an ancient and respectable family in the neighbourhood of Dundee; and as he most probably received his education along with Wallace, he would no doubt have been one of the association already alluded to. He enjoyed, in right of his ancestors, the honour of carrying the banner of Scotland; and for his faithful discharge of this duty, he was afterwards appointed by Wallace to the office of Constable[70] of Dundee; which honour being hereditary, remained in the family till after the restoration of Charles II., when the representative of the family was created Earl of Dundee; on whose death, without immediate issue, the heirs were unjustly deprived of their honours and immunities. The family, however, continues to be represented by the Scrymgeours of Birkhill, now the Wedderburns of that Ilk.—Stat. Acc. vol. viii. p. 239.
Walter Newbigging, otherwise Gualter de Somerville.—This gentleman was of English extraction, and the son of William de Somerville, Baron of Linton, and Margaret Newbigging, heiress of that Ilk, the daughter of Walter Newbigging, which lands he inherited in right of his mother. This accounts for his being called Walter Newbigging, or of Newbigging. His father, William de Somerville, distinguished himself at the battle of Largs, and was a constant attendant at the court of Alexander III., with whom he was in high favour, and held the office of grand falconer, a place at that time of considerable importance. Walter, the subject of our present inquiries, received from his father a ten merk land within the barony of Linton, which enabled him to make an early appearance at court, where his good qualities and noble deportment attracted the notice of Alexander, from whose hand he received the honour of knighthood, and distinguished himself at the tournament held shortly after in honour of the marriage of Prince Alexander with the daughter of the Earl of Flanders, at Roxburgh Castle. While in attendance at court, he formed an acquaintance with Sir David Barclay of Towie, in Aberdeenshire, whose sister Effie, or Euphemia, he afterwards married in 1281; and at Aberdeen, the same year, he entered into a bond of manrent, or manred, as it was sometimes called, with his brother-in-law. These obligations were very common among the gentry of Scotland, and often productive of great disorder in the country. By this marriage he had a son named David, whom he devoted to the cause of his country’s independence, when he himself joined the standard of Wallace. This youth we shall afterwards have occasion to notice. It may not be improper to remark, that Somerville, the author of “The Chase,” was a scion from the English stock of this ancient and respectable family.
David de Barclay.—Abercromby mentions a Sir Fergus Barclay, as being one of the early adherents of Wallace; but there is reason to believe he is partly in error. Sir David Barclay, as we have already seen, was brother-in-law to Sir Walter Newbigging, with whom he had entered into a bond of manrent, by which they were mutually bound to appear in arms in support of the same cause, provided it was not against the royal prerogative. When we find both the surnames associated together on this occasion, we may reasonably suppose they are the same persons who contracted the obligation, and had thought the present a very proper opportunity for acting upon it.[71]
“Hugh de Dundas was the son of Serle de Dundas, who swore fealty to Edward I. in 1296 and in 1300. His son, Sir Hugh, was a man of singular merit and fortitude, and joined the brave Sir William Wallace in defence of the liberties of Scotland, and embraced every opportunity to exert his courage against the enemies of his country. He died in the reign of King Robert Bruce, and was succeeded by his son.”—Douglas’s Scottish Baronage.
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After the foregoing brief notices of the early companions of Wallace, the curious reader may not be displeased, if, before concluding this chapter, we present some account of the dress and armour in which our hero appeared at the battle of Beg. The following description is from the Minstrel, and is given with a minuteness which induces a belief that it is a literal translation from the work of Blair, so often mentioned;—it is at least of value, not only from its containing the ideas entertained on the subject by a man of no mean genius, upwards of three hundred years ago, but as it also agrees with the description elsewhere handed down of the kind of armour in use at the period:—
“A habergione vndyr his goune he war,
A steylle capleyne in his bonet but mar;
His glowis of plait in claith war couerit weill,
In his doublet a closs coler of steyle;
His face he kepit, for it was euir bar,
With his twa handis, the quhilk full worthi war.”