The peculiarities of a constable’s office, are thus enumerated in Bray’s History of Surrey, vol. iii. p. 136. “In an instrument of William de Wickham, dated at Eshu, 19. January 1379, 3. Richard II., by which he appointed William de Wimbledon constable, the duty of his office is stated to be, to keep, govern, and oversee the castle, together with the manor, lordship, lands, franchises, liberties, parks, chases, warrens, &c. belonging to the same; also to hold the courts and to prosecute, challenge, claim, and defend all rights and franchises belonging to the bishop and church of Winchester within the said bailiwick.”
[71] The following is a copy of the “band of manrent” alluded to, from the original Latin, in the possession of the family of Somerville.
“Be it kend till all men be thir present letters, me, Sir Walter of Newbigging, and me, Sir David of Towie, for all the dayes of our lyves to be obleidged and bound be the faith of our bodies and thir present letters in mandred, and sworne counsell as brothers in law, to be with one another in all actiones, causes, and quarrills pertaineing to us, both in peace and in warr, against all that lyves and dyes, excepting our alleadgeance to our soveraigne lord the king. In witnes of the whilk thing, and of ther present letters, wee have hung to our sealles, att Aberdean, the twentieth day of Apryle, the year of God 1281, before ther witnesses, William Somervill, our brother, and John Somervill and Thomas Stelfeir.” To this band of mandrey is appended two sealles, very legible and knowne, for the Somervills and Barclayes differed nothing from what they are at present, save a little in the placeing of the armes.“—Memorie of the Somervills, vol. i. p. 75, 76.
[72] Respecting the armour and sword of Wallace, Doctor Jamieson has the following note. “In the Castle of Dunbarton, they pretend to show the mail, and, if I mistake not, also the sword of Wallace. If he was confined in that fortress by Monteith, before being sent into England, as some have supposed, it is not improbable that his armour might be left there. The popular belief on this head, however, is very strong; of which I recollect a singular proof, which took place many years ago, and of which I was an eye-witness. In the procession of King Crispin, at Glasgow, his majesty was always preceded by one on horseback, appearing as his champion. In former times, this champion of the awl thought it enough to wear a leathern jerkin, formed like one of mail. One fellow, however, was appointed, of a more aspiring genius than his predecessors, who was determined to appear in real mail; and who, having sent to Dunbarton Castle, and hired the use of Wallace’s armour for a day, made his perambulations with it through the streets of Glasgow. I can never forget the ghastly appearance of this poor man, who was so chilled and overburdened by the armour, that, as the procession moved, he was under the necessity of frequently supporting himself with a cordial. It was said that he took to bed immediately after the termination of this procession, and never rose from it. From that time forward, his successors in office were content to wear the proper badge of their profession.”—Dr Jamieson’s Notes on Blind Harry.
On this extract from the Doctor’s invaluable work, the writer has to remark, that information derived from inquiry made on the subject, does not entirely confirm the correctness of all the statements that extract contains. That a man in real armour figured in the procession of King Crispin at Glasgow, about forty years ago, is a well-known fact; but that the armour had belonged to Wallace, is any thing but certain. If so precious a deposit had been in the charge of the Governor of Dumbarton Castle, it is conceived he must have possessed more good nature than became his situation, if he lent it out to grace any such fooleries. Certain it is, if such armour was in Dumbarton Castle at the time, it is unknown to those connected with the garrison at present; and we can *not conceive that a relic, so valuable in the estimation of the public, would have totally disappeared, without its being known what had become of it. The inquiries of the writer enable him to state, that the mail used on this occasion was lent to the followers of King Crispin by a gentleman belonging to Glasgow of the name of Wilsone. It was plate-armour and highly polished. The sons of the awl, however, had a taste of their own in such matters, and took the liberty of painting it in oil, of a colour more to their fancy. But on being returned in this altered condition, it was thrown aside by the indignant proprietor. All that they pretend to show in the Castle of Dumbarton, as having belonged to Wallace, is a sword of a very antique fashion, intended to be used with both hands, but by no means of a weight that would prevent men of ordinary strength of the present day from wielding it. There is no proof, however, that it belonged to the Deliverer of Scotland; and, if we may credit the account given by old people, of its having been dragged up from the bottom of the Clyde by the anchor of a vessel about sixty years ago, its identity becomes more than doubtful. Such, however, is the prevalence of the report in its favour, that it was some time since sent to London for the inspection of certain official characters connected with the Board of Ordnance. At the time it was sent off, it wanted several inches of its length, which, it seems, had been broke off by some accident. Whatever may have been the opinion of those to whom it was sent, respecting its connection with Wallace, we know not; but as they were at the trouble of getting it repaired, in a manner that reflects credit on the talents of the artist, and returning it with a handsome scabbard, they have at least paid a compliment to the prejudice in its favour.
[73] A specimen of this formidable weapon the writer has seen in the Museum at Inverness.
[74] According to Pinkerton and other authorities, Henry did not finish his work till 1470. It is therefore more probable that the curiosity of James was excited by the original narrative of Blair; a book which, from his long captivity in England, he had perhaps heard little about, till his return to Scotland. The rehearsal, therefore, of the heroic achievements of his illustrious countryman, may have produced all the excitement which the Editor of the Perth edition supposes, though not made by the Minstrel.
[75] “A little south of the village, there is a conical height called Kin-hill, which is evidently artificial, and seems to have been a military work. There are the remains of a ditch or rampart of a circular form, which proves that it is not of Roman origin. It is probably of later date, and appears to have been the place from which Sir William Wallace sallied forth on the night when he took by surprise the Peel of Gargunnock.”—Stat. Acc. xviii. 116, 117.
[76] The concealing of money and other valuables in the earth, appears to have been a very common practice in Scotland, during the calamitous periods of her history; and many an instance has been recorded of little depôts coming to light; which it is very probable were composed of the hard-earned plunder of the military adventurer, whose ambition, avarice, or duty, called him off to other fields, where he and his secret perished together.
From the many notices we have seen of the discovery of hidden treasures, we shall select the following, as alluding more particularly to the period embraced in our narrative. We cannot, however, agree with the learned Editor in the opinion, that the coins in question were hidden by the soldiers of Edward; they held the country by too precarious a tenure to make such deposits. It is more likely to have been the share of booty belonging to some patriot Scot, who had afterwards fallen in the cause of his country’s independence. “There was lately found, on the farm of Mr Rankine of Whitehall, parish of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, by a person employed in turning up the ground with a spade, about two feet from the surface, a small vase, of an antique form, similar to those in the Englefield Collection, and of very coarse materials, containing about a hundred silver pennies of Alexander III. of Scotland, and Edward I. of England, in good preservation, having the head and characters distinctly legible. The English coins were more numerous than the Scotch. Those of Alexander represent him in profile, as do all the coins of his reign, and have round the head, Alexander Dei Gra:; and on the other side, Rex Scotorum, with a cross extending to the edge, and a spur level in each of the quarters. This coin is No. 33, first page of plates appended to Adam de Cardonnel’s Numismata Scotiæ. Those of Edward represent him in full face, with Edw. Ang.; Dus Hyb.; and on the reverse of the different coins, Civitas Cantor, Civitas London, Civitas Lincoln, and almost all the mint-towns of England, with the cross extending to the edge, and three roses in each quarter. From the great number of these coins found in this part of the country, it is probable they were deposited in the earth by the soldiers of Edward, who had taken refuge in these mountainous regions, when flying from the well-merited indignation of the Scotch. They must have been placed in the ground some time about the beginning of the fourteenth century. Bruce having obtained the crown in the year 1306, and relating, as they do, to a most interesting period of our history, and which is embalmed in the memory of every Scotsman, they are worthy of occupying a place in the cabinets of the curious. A few of them have been sent to the Museum of Edinburgh College.”—Scotsman.