[55] See [Appendix, M].
[56] The havoc made, and the oppressions sustained by the inhabitants, are thus described by Barbour, p. 9, vol. i. of The Bruce.
“Fra Weik anent Orkenay,
To Mullyrs nwk in Gallaway;
And stuffyt all with Ingliss men.
Schyrreffys and bailyheys maid he then;
And alkyn othir officeris,
That for to gowern land afferis,
He maid off Ingliss nation;
That worthyt than sa rych fellone,
And sa wykkyt and cowatouss,
And swa hawtane and dispitouss,
That Scottis men mycht do na thing
That euir mycht pleyss to thar liking.
Thar wyffis wuld thai oft forly,
And thar dochtrys dispitusly:
And gyff ony of thaim thair at war wrath,
Thai watyt hym wele with gret scaith;
For thai suld fynd sone enchesone
To put hym to destructione.
And gyff that ony man thaim by
Had ony thing that wes worthy,
As horss, or hund, or othir thing,
That war pleasand to thar liking;
With rycht or wrang it wald have thai.
And gyff ony wald them withsay;
Thai suld swa do, that thai suld tyne
Othir land or lyff, or leyff in pyne.
For thai dempt thaim eftir thair will,
Takand na kep to rycht na skill.
A! quhat thai dempt thaim felonly!
For gud knychtis that war worthy,
For litill enchesoune, or than nane,
Thai hangyt be the nekbane.”
[57] On the charge which has been made against Edward, for destroying the records and monuments of Scotland, Lord Hailes thus expresses himself:—“While the English were at Scone, they carried off some of the charters belonging to the abbey, and tore the seals from others. This is the only well-vouched example which I have found of any outrage on private property committed by Edward’s army. It is mentioned in a charter of Robert I.; and we may be assured that the outrage was not diminished in the relating.” Had this escaped from any other pen than that of a lawyer, it might have been considered as proceeding from ignorance; but being from a Judge on the Bench, we are at a loss what term to apply to it. The charter of Robert I. (Chart. Scone, 26.) was given in order to confirm former grants, and thus replace those which either had been carried off, or had their seals torn from them. To have inserted a narrative of all spoliations of a similar nature, which Edward and his army had committed in Scotland, would have been irrelevant; and we conceive that the expense of engrossing into a private charter what belonged to the annals of the country, would not have been relished by the brethren of Scone. Had a case of expenses, incurred, in a manner so uncalled for, come under his Lordship’s review, we presume he would have sustained the objections of the defender. All that could appear with propriety in the charter, was an account of the destruction of those prior grants, which rendered a new charter necessary; and this document, if it proves any thing, proves the wanton and destructive malice of the invaders, when they would not permit even private property, the destruction of which could be of no service to themselves, to escape their violence. It would be of no avail, where Lord Hailes is concerned, to quote Scottish authorities in support of the charge against Edward, as a destroyer of public records; we shall therefore give the following extract, from the works of a learned, intelligent, and candid Englishman—an evidence which, we presume, few of his Lordship’s admirers will object to:—“King Eugene VII., about the beginning of the eighth century, is said to have ordered the depositing of all records, and books relating to the history of Scotland, at Icolm-kill; where he caused their old library (much neglected and decayed) to be pulled down and rebuilt in a very splendid manner, for this sole use and purpose. How long they continued there, and how well that excellent King’s design was answered, I know not; but it is now too sad a truth, that most of these venerable remains of antiquity are quite perished; and it is generally agreed, that they were destroyed on three remarkable occasions. The first of these was, when our King Edward the First, having claimed the sovereignty of Scotland, made a most miserable havock of the histories and laws of that kingdom; hoping that, in a short time, nothing should be found in all that country, but what carried an English name and face. To this end, he forbad, on severe penalties, the keeping of any such books or records; and proceeded so far as even to abolish the very name of Claudius Cæsar in his famous round temple, which he ordered to be called, as it is to this day, Arthur’s Hoff, pulling away the stone which preserved the memory of that great emperor and his conquests. That a great deal of this story is true, appears from the scarcity of Scotch records in our State-archives in England. Amongst the foreign treaties in the Exchequer, there are about 70 original instruments, bagged up, and inscribed, “Scotia ante Unionem:” And in the Tower, about 100 Rolls, relating to the affairs of that kingdom, under the title of Scotia. The former of these begin at the reign of Edward the First, and end with that of Queen Elizabeth; and the latter commences as before, but falls no lower than the reign of Edward the Fourth, the rest being to be looked for in the Chapel of the Rolls. But these are all the produce of our own country; and, instead of enriching us with the spoils of our neighbours, seem rather to prove, that King Edward had an equal spite at the ancient records of both kingdoms—so little is there of apology to be made for so notorious a destroyer of the public registers, together with the private monuments, evidences, and conveyances of lands! I do not doubt but the reason of such barbarity has been justly enough assigned, by those who represent him as “having a jealous eye over any thing that might encourage his new vassals to rebel, endeavouring to root out all memorials of the nobility, and to embase their spirits, by concealing from them their descent and qualities.” I have seen a manuscript list of such records as were carried off by his order. It begins, Ista monumenta subscripta capta fuerunt in thesaurario de Edinburg in presentia Abbatum de Dunfermelyn & de S. Cruce de Edinburg, & Johannis de Lythegranes, Guil-de Lincoln, & Thos. de Fisseburn & Guil-de Dumfreys, custodis rotulorum regni Scotiæ; et deposita sunt apud Berwick per præceptum Edwardi regis Angliæ & superioris domini Scotiæ. Videlicet, &c. After the recital of them, the catalogue ends: In quorum omnium testimonium tam predictus dominus rex Edwardus Angliæ & superior dominus Scotiæ quam predictus dominus Joh: de Balliolo rex Scotiæ, huic scripto, in modum chirographi confecto, sigille sua alternatim fecerunt apponi. dat. apud Novum Castrum super Tynam 30 die mensis Decembris anno dom. 1292, & regni prædicti domini Edwardi regis Angliæ & superioris domini Scotiæ, 21mo. The second great loss of the Scotch records, happened upon the mighty turn of the Reformation; when the monks, flying to Rome, carried with them the register-books, and other ancient treasure of their respective monasteries. The third, and killing blow, was given them by Oliver Cromwell; who brought most of the poor remains that were left into England; and they likewise were mostly lost in their return by sea. See Nicolson’s Scottish Historical Library, p. 71, 72, 4to Edition.
[58] It is possible that these noblemen may have been some way or other connected with the depôt of silver, alluded to at page 159 of vol. I, as having been found at Ascog in Bute.
[59] If we may credit Langtoft, Comyn, Frazer and Wallace, were lurking in the neighbourhood of Dunfermline at the time, and supported themselves by plunder. His words are,
“The lord of Badenauh, Freselle & Waleis
Lyued at theues lauh euer robband alle weis.
Thei had no sustenance, the werre to mayntene,
Bot skulked opon chance, & robbed ay betuene.”
[60] “He brint all the Chronicles of Scotland, with all maner of bukis, als weill of devyne seruyce as of othir materis, to that fyne that the memorye of Scottis suld peris. He gart the Scottis wryte bukis efter the vse of Sarum, and constranit thaym to say efter that vse.”—Boeth.
“Salysbery oyss our clerkis than has tane.”
Wallace, B. x. 1006.