Linenotes
[i_15] S following H reads lenth of tyme, characterising the expression in E “an obvious error.” But cf. analogous phrase in line 531, and see note.
[i_48] E inserts gret before discencioun, but W and H omit.
[i_54, 55] E gives war and so in J: but wes from W is preferable. For als nere (W) E has alsner.
[i_61] From H. E has How that in his evyn descendand, which does not make sense. W gives That be lyne war dissendand, which halts metrically. See note.
[i_77] Sulde in W. E omits.
[i_129] Skeat adopts determynatly from H, with the meaning “certainly.” But this reading cumbers the metre; and Barbour’s word to this effect is “certis.”
[i_130] For is from W and H. E omits.
[i_218] S nek[ke]bane.
[i_247] Liking from H. E has wyll, which leaves the line metrically short of a syllable.
[i_258] It from H. E has Thai thingis, which turns the line into prose.
[i_279] Hard from W improves the line. It is not given in E or H.
[i_286] So Skeat reads, following H. E has land that is, which is clearly wrong. Cf. line 316.
[i_287] To from H. E omits.
[i_300] E has thing that, but H omits as here; the line then goes more smoothly.
[i_309] Et or ec is clearly a Latin rendering of ‘&’ = and: a scribal error.
[i_319] E has for to. H omits.
[i_344] H omits that, and S follows.
[i_428] H mak, which seems more likely.
[i_489] Full is from Wyntoun. E omits.
[i_501] E has than thai, which is obscure. Wyntoun gives that thaiy ne (S): thaiy seems superfluous.
[i_506] E and S have his assent sone: Wyntoun as above, which preserves the correct accentuation of assent.
[i_509] E reads and S adopts wate that.
[i_511] Wyntoun has Thus thir twa lordis.
[i_512] Than is from Wyntoun. S following E omits.
[i_604] E and S thar: Wyntoun than.
[i_620] E and S have and tharwith: Wyntoun omits tharwith.
[i_625] E and S give boruch (borwch), but Wyntoun has it as above, and it so appears in line 628. Skeat’s Glossary is at variance with his text: he refers borwch to 628 also.
[ii_23] Wyntoun gives—reversing the lines—How before all hapnyd was, from which Skeat suggests as an improvement on 23 How that before al hapynd was.
[ii_34] Wyntoun gives hevy chere; but see note.
[ii_38] For mony S reads als from H.
[ii_39] S begins And from H.
[ii_47] For frayit in E Skeat reads sted from H.
[ii_74] Ilke is from H: S adopts the form ilka. E gives ilk, a syllable short.
[ii_84] E has gert for can it read by S from H.
[ii_86] That is from H.
[ii_87] S following H reads verray for veryfyd.
[ii_95] H all that (S).
[ii_128] In E clumsily in all tyme sa weill to do. The reading is from H.
[ii_131-2] E has gaiff him gud day, two syllables short, and pass furth on his way. S reads as in text from H.
[ii_204] All is from H.
[ii_*243-245] H has
Als was good Cristall of Setoun, And Robert Boyde of great renoun, And other feill men of meekle might.
These lines are from H, and are not in E. See note.
[ii_255] H gives While that and S adopts.
[ii_256] E omits then in H.
[ii_265] E Till thai.
[ii_280, 281] E went; wend is from H.
[ii_292] For cummyn S reads knit from H.
[ii_340] S deis for “an obvious error”; but see note.
[ii_527] I read luffis without any MS. or printed authority; but surely the sense, a eulogium of love and what it may make women do, demands this reading. Cf. III., 351.
[ii_534] S, following H, inserts that after Quhar.
[ii_558] S from H reads At alkyn. E as given.
[iii_189] E omits the first thaim. H has thaim comfort which S adopts; but cf. line 191. J reads conford in E.
[iii_194] J and S off; but surely it should be oft.
[iii_210] E reads and J prints stanys, taneys; but, as S points out, the latter word is impossible. H gives as above.
[iii_216] E has king. H gives ying, which S adopts; but cf. line 250. Hannibal was not a king, either. King is, of course, historically wrong, but Barbour has already made Julius Cæsar Emperor! See note.
[iii_275, 288] Ythandly (S): E has ententily.
[iii_319] Set from H (S). E has am sad. Perhaps And I sad.
[iii_365] E gives The quhethir thaim weill confortyt he ay. H The whilke them wel governed ay, whence Skeat reads The quhilk with E less he. See note.
[iii_399] E xij. H ten.
[iii_465] E has again et, as in I., 309.
[iii_495] E reads nocht rest.
[iii_502] E has askyt. H kyssyt.
[iii_508] H has fellowes, whence falowis (S).
[iii_521] H gives right, which seems necessary for the metre. E and S omit.
[iii_647] The is in E. S reads thi from H.
[iii_658] J reads flycht from E, but the two first letters are not clear, and S prefers stycht, though an unusual word.
[iii_699] J reads wavys wyd wycht, as E probably has it. H has with. S puts in wavys wyd that, but wycht seems necessary and answers better to sturdy.
[iii_706] On mounte in E. H has summitie, whence S reads summite.
[iii_738] Haillely is from H. S from E accepts hastely, but the former fits in better with line 740.
[iii_750] H has And ay for Lord they sould him ken. E And thai as lord suld him ken, which S follows. Ay is metrically necessary. Cf. 758.
[iv_17] Pinkerton read it Loudon (S). E has London. H Lochdon: on which see note.
[iv_51] E hame (S).
[iv_58] E has the folk. Reading is from the Cambridge MS., which begins at line 57 (see Introd., 27). C has tribulit. C also has Kyndrumy throughout. I have kept the more familiar form in E.
[iv_60] C omits with, but the garrison was more than two! See note.
[iv_61] C omits and, giving line 62 as And thar wes, etc.
[iv_63] E begins In. C omits.
[iv_64] C begins With.
[iv_66] C begins Thaim. E as above.
[iv_83] E for-owtyn.
[iv_88] C has rygorusly.
[iv_94] E has Sum best, sum woundyt, sum als slayne, where slayne as a past tense is impossible. The reading is from C, Skeat interpreting as Some of the best were, etc.
[iv_104] E has nane. C na.
[iv_123] C begins And thair may.
[iv_183] C has thai wend (S). E omits thai.
[iv_218] C has that that (S). E that at.
[iv_234] C has sa felloune (S).
[iv_244] C has fichtyne (S), and (254) fichting.
[iv_265] C gives maid him the sam (S).
[iv_268] For the second hir, C has sone (S).
[iv_301] C has mak (S).
[iv_321] C has awfully (S).
[iv_372] In a glen, E H.
[iv_375] C has sam (S) as in 265.
[iv_398] C omits second with (S).
[iv_402, 403] C has ere... were (S).
[iv_414] C and S omit thai.
[iv_419] C has And thai slew fast without (S).
[iv_456] Relevit in E.
[iv_458] C gives strate (S). H strait. E as above, which seems more fitting.
[iv_481] C I wald (S).
[iv_498] C gives Hald thame all still than preve (S). E as in text.
[iv_513] C has ontyne, whence hontyne (S).
[iv_523] C gives And it (S).
[iv_525] E for-owtyne.
[iv_536] E sawfte.
[iv_556] C Turnberyis nuk (S); but see note.
[iv_616] E none. H noone.
[iv_644] E land.
[iv_*680] Pinkerton, whose numbering of the lines is followed by Skeat, omits this line by an oversight.
[iv_686] C has That thair in erd now nane is knawin (S). Reading from E. H has nane in eird.
[iv_753] C That (S): As E H.
[iv_764] Knaw in E H.
[v_13] E gressys.
[v_17] Is in E. C and H give Went, which must be wrong. S alters to Wes. Cf. 254.
[v_25] E Sterand all tyme.
[v_27] E omits that, and with aventur accented as in line 69 it seems superfluous.
[v_65] E brodyr.
[v_109-112] From E. C omits by an oversight, reading on from the second cry.
[v_138] E and H fourty: xv. (S); but Skeat inserts the rubric containing xl. from E.
[v_162] C omits thair, and adds gud after mekill (S).
[v_181] For to E gives all. H omits and reads ryoted.
[v_204] C omits all (S).
[v_220] E ony. C has than no (S).
[v_298] Blithness in C (S). E glaidschip. H gladnesse.
[v_354] E Quhill Dowglas.
[v_355] E And then.
[v_371] Threttie is from H. Others give numerals.
[v_388] C has laid (S), which is no rhyme.
[v_447] Is from E. C reads Bot the tithandis war scalit sone (S), which leaves Com (449) without a subject.
[v_448] Is from C. E has Off this deid that Douglas has done.
[v_483] Name a misreading: see note.
[v_*506] In C and H. E omits.
[v_507] C has worthy (S) for dowtit in E.
[v_576] C thar (S).
[v_577] C all-weldand (S), which is a syllable short.
[v_586] C and H have syde of. E omits.
[vi_7] C gives sair (S): E swa, which is needed to correlate with That.
[vi_14] C has the thre (S).
[vi_18] C has by (S). E be, which is the correct Scots form.
[vi_24] It that in C and S.
[vi_31] E thai. C thair (S).
[vi_56] C has On (S), but cf. line 86, where S adopts our from H.
[vi_84] E gives thai to gidder mycht lang ga, and H similarly.
[vi_*85]*85-92 are from C. They are not consistent with 103-106, and these again are not in agreement with 295, 296. E omits the first set.
[vi_92] C arranges Bot he thair still thoucht (S).
[vi_184] E and H give twynnys, twynnes for cummyn.
[vi_288] C has woundis wyde (S), but there is no hint of the King’s wounds; cf. line 315. E has rowtis roid. H routes red. Cf., however, Bk. XV., 54, which indicates that the line is a stock one in both forms.
[vi_325] E perfyt. H a perfite.
[vi_360] E Mellyt.
[vi_364] E has That, as him thocht, war hard to ta. H That him thought was hard to ta.
[vi_373] E ay still.
[vi_397] E And send.
[vi_511] From E. C has That cum in Cumnok to seik the King (S), which leaves the first group of subjects without a predicate. H has Came in.
[vi_514] H three. E iiij, a stroke too many.
[vi_561] C has he knew (S). E and H as text.
[vi_594] From E. C has And let hym na-wis pas yhow fra (S), passing suddenly to direct speech. H has you.
[vi_*Rubric] The rubric is from H, inserted at line 598. C runs on.
[vi_656] C Bot till (S). E gives the. Skeat in his note suggests to = too for till!
[vi_657] C has That slew four or I slew ane (S). E as in text, and H similarly.
[vi_661] C begins The (S).
[vii_126] In E That he wes the selvyn Robert king.
[vii_153] H And strake (S). C E as text.
[vii_174] E Men worthis.
[vii_181, 182] E drey—wey.
[vii_*203, 204] Not in E, but in C and H (S).
[vii_210] E omits all.
[vii_236] E inwith nycht.
[vii_*301-305]*301-305 not in E, running on from the second trastly.
[vii_323] E hundir.
[vii_331] E to warrand.
[vii_359] C has all fre (S).
[vii_371] E This nycht atcur all othir thing. H as in C.
[vii_378] E And that his wes gane al fre.
[vii_459] C Had hym.
[vii_484] Not in E, which has after 485 The thrid eschapyt nocht alsua. H as in C.
[vii_494] C has all a quhile (S), where all seems a duplication of the preceding syllable.
[vii_556] C has And by (S).
[vii_605] C discumfit (S), which is metrically short, and does not suit the context or the sense.
[vii_623] E roucht nocht him to lee. H raught him routes three, which so far supports the reading of the text.
[viii_28] C Machyrn-noxis.
[viii_31] E fourty. H sixtie.
[viii_34] E Nether-foord, and so in H, differing from his own rubric.
[viii_59] From E (S). Thoucht throu the wode to pass (C).
[viii_75] C wes (S).
[viii_144] C has ernystfully (S). H angerly, agrees with E.
[viii_154] E Quharof he was bath glaid and blyth. H agrees with C.
[viii_326] C stekit (S) for skalyt.
[viii_339] C weill and (S).
[viii_375] C he had (S).
[viii_381] C debonar (S).
[viii_427] E Jedworthis.
[viii_482] E has on othir sid.
[viii_491] E his coffer.
[viii_*493, *495] From C (S); not in E or H. The first is probably misplaced to begin with, and the second inserted to complete the couplet (see note).
[viii_506] E with mekill mycht.
[viii_520] C ranowne (S). H renounie.
[ix_147] E vailyhe quod vailyhe.
[ix_210, 211] C omits; in E and H.
[ix_257] E gives rycht (S). C has thame.
[ix_299] C neir fifty (S). E weile.
[ix_309] Skeat reads Apon from All on in C; cf. lines 329, 460. E has That wes on the: H similarly.
[ix_338] C has Olifert (S), but Olifard on record as in E.
[ix_359] C gives owkis (S).
[ix_*374-*377] Four lines from C and H. E omits for usual reason.
[ix_575] C Carcat: S adopts Catcart.
[ix_666] E Lyk wes nane in his day. Neither reading is quite satisfactory. Skeat puts a comma after nane, but what, then, is the subject of wes? Is it not a suppressed relative?—that? Cf. x. 86.
[ix_671] C omits rycht and inserts full gud. Skeat adopts both, but one is surely superfluous.
[ix_686] E has And herd ane say tharin, “The devill!” H like C.
[x_72] C manfully (S), which is not a rhyme.
[x_81] E but delay.
[x_113-115] E has—
sturdely A sege set; and besyly Assaylit, etc.
[x_118] C is wan (S), which is certainly wrong.
[x_126] E mar duelling.
[x_*154, *156] E omits. In C and H.
[x_192] E and H have In this swete tyme.
[x_230] C has And he that wald no longer let.
[x_*274-*276] In E, but omitted by Pinkerton.
[x_305] E in his myster.
[x_316] C wes (S).
[x_319] C mycht get (S).
[x_359] C has That wes a man rycht craftyus. Text from E and H (S).
[x_471] E has be clene; cf. line 124.
[x_516] C has throu vietory, from which S adopts voidry = “cunning” as “a shrewd guess.” Text from E.
[x_529] E H mysfure.
[x_531] In C pert, E curyus (S).
[x_568] E yhe think.
[x_650] E clumbene.
[x_742] E That is yheit in-till; but cf. line 746.
[xi_94] E has And off the worthyast of Bretangny.
[xi_*97, *98] omitted by P.
[xi_*103, *106] Not in E. In C. H.
[xi_109] C in-till playn male... battale (S). H as in E.
[xi_120] E viii.: pulaile. H as in C.
[xi_161] E That knawin.
[xi_191] C felde (S). E H land.
[xi_235] C has assemblit worthely (S). H hailly, as in E.
[xi_259] E hamly. H hamely. C myldly (S).
[xi_285] E nede away. C neidwais gay. Reading from H (S).
[xi_287] E passand. There is a difficulty in either reading.
[xi_309] C Thai had assouerans, trast trewly! (S). H Thai had affiance soverainely.
[xi_326] C and nocht (S).
[xi_336] C of Ilis (S). He was “of Islay.”
[xi_350] E omits. In C and H. E gives after line 351 In gud aray in alkin thing.
[xi_376] E thair mess commounaly.
[xi_440] C said he (S).
[xi_443] C past (S). H sould passe.
[xi_453] C Suld help (S).
[xi_519] E Four lordys off.
[xi_527] C Be.
[xi_537] C And beneth, but S drops the And. E And newth. H And beneath.
[xi_538] E Weill newth.
[xi_547] E fallen.
[xi_655] It in E H. C omits (S).
[xii_18] C ane gay. E a litill. H a gray (S).
[xii_25] C omits quhen (S).
[xii_33] E H bow-schote.
[xii_57] C ruschit (S).
[xii_87] C wes (S).
[xii_119] C For (S). And E H.
[xii_121] E fruschit.
[xii_134] C sad (S). E H hard.
[xii_168] E Rabutyt apon sic maner. H similarly.
[xii_206] C Till (S).
Saying that nouther life nor dead *209 To sik discomfort sould them lead That they sould eschew the feghting. In heart he had great rejoycing. *212
These lines in H only, not in C E. They do not fit into the text. Line *212 is a doublet of 209.
[xii_214] C yscheill (S).
[xii_216] C battale (S). E bataillis.
[xii_234] C ilk man suld (S). E H ay God will.
[xii_246] C wifis (S).
[xii_255] C To (S). E That. H Gif.
[xii_256] E That deyt on roid for mankyn heid. H For to prevaile into this steed.
[xii_342] C The best knycht of thair chevelry (S). H as E.
[xii_371] C Herrodis (S). Cf. Language: l.
[xii_395] C For in the Kers pollis ther war (S).
[xii_397] C Ta mak (S), where ta is clearly a slip.
[xii_405]For 405 E has ilkane all hale.
[xii_*406, *407] Not in E, but in C and H.
[xii_431] C war rad (S).
[xii_438-9] C And till the battale maid thame yhar (S). H as in E.
[xii_447] C So plainly (S).
[xii_460] C Yhe sall withdraw (S); so too in H. E as in text.
[xii_473] E sall.
[xii_490] C We sall it se but delaying (S). E H as in text.
[xii_527] E frusch. H frush.
[xii_544] C Quhill (S).
[xiii_3, 4] C wes... Dougles (S).
[xiii_109] E tynt clenly.
[xiii_116] C That so (S).
[xiii_127] E grathyt sua. H cumbred.
Now ga we on them sa hardely, *131
And ding on them sa doughtely,
That they may feele, at our comming,
That we them hate in meekle thing:
For great cause they have us made, *135
That occupied our landis brade,
And put all to subjectioun:
Your goodis made all theirs commoun:
Our kyn and frendis, for their awne,
Dispitteously hanged and drawne: *140
And wald destroy us gif they might.
Bot, I trow, God, through his foresight,
This day hes granted us his grace
To wrek us on them in this place. *144
From H: not in C E. These remarks seem quite out of place. The spirit of animosity is not in harmony with the tenour of Bruce’s other speeches; the language at certain points is not Barbour-like; and the whole passage is thus of questionable authenticity. See Preface, pp. vii-viii.
[xiii_144] C For quhar (S).
[xiii_164] C full douchtely (S). E H how, in accord with the exclamatory phrase.
[xiii_173] E gret anoy.
[xiii_183] E quhytys. H coates. (See note.)
[xiii_209] E deliverly.
[xiii_224] C thame fouly (S). H fully.
[xiii_250] C Apon thame! on thame hardely! (S). H as in E.
[xiii_299] E the Argente.
[xiii_308] E Than for to lyve schamly, and fley.
[xiii_311] C Brysis (S); y too in 165.
[xiii_377] E And his consaill.
[xiii_406] C Gilbertstoune (S), but see note.
[xiii_417] E H the Berclay.
[xiii_*447-*450] In C H. Not in E.
[xiii_463] C Sevin hundreth paris (S). Twa E H.
[xiii_485] C That he (S).
[xiii_490] E H Athole.
[xiii_493] R Camyskynnell.
[xiii_495] E Keth. H Airth.
[xiii_516] C wille wes (S).
[xiii_523] C Marmadak Betung (S), but see note.
[xiii_581] A pennystane cast E H.
[xiii_595] E but supleyng. H as in C.
[xiii_616] E Bawmburgh.
[xiii_623] E Stad thai war full narrowly.
[xiii_643] C on (S). E H in.
[xiii_645] E H with few men.
For his syde, throu the quhele on hicht, Vencust thar fais, wes mekill of mycht.
H as in E.
[xiii_*651-*656] In C H. Not in E. Similar rhymes occur just before and at end.
[xiii_654, 655] C two-so (S); two only here. Text from E.
[xiii_707] C H Six; E v.
[xiv_33] C Wavering Fyrth (S). Wolyngs H.
[xiv_49] C De Savagis (S).
[xiv_148] C thair wes (S).
[xiv_178] C that with him (S).
[xiv_339] E bourne. H burne.
[xiv_354] H to dem.
[xiv_376] E Downe. H Dun.
[xiv_406] E H Robert. C Gilbert.
[xiv_478] E to-morn.
[xiv_501] C that wes (S).
[xiv_515] C Syr Waryn; but cf. xv., 75.
[xiv_522] C Kyllvanane (S); but see note.
[xv_34] C And (S).
[xv_54] E rowtis roid; cf. Bk. VI., 288.
[xv_187] C by his (S).
[xv_221] C slow (S).
[xv_246] C by (S).
[xv_*271-*274] From C H. Not in E.
[xv_276] E lompnyt.
[xv_321] C Ewmound (S). H Edmound. C Calion (S). H Calhow. (See note.)
[xv_*337-*344]*337-*344 and *345-*356: From C H; not in E.
[xv_*347-*348]*347-*348 in C only.
[xv_338] C in the (S); but Skeat suggests that ‘perhaps it should be on.’
[xv_341] C scaill (S); but S in note seems to prefer staill.
[xv_351] E his lemman (love).
[xv_366] C Thair mycht men se ficht fellely (S).
[xv_371] C confortit (S).
[xv_377] C Ewmound de Caleone (S).
[xv_506] C That wes slayn thair in-to the ficht (S), which does not seem to explain the context.
[xv_528] C Calyheoun (S). H Calhow. C Ewmond. H Edmound. Names in text from E.
[xv_*539, *540] In C only. These lines seem to be a repeat of 533, 534.
[xv_541] C grevit (S). H groowed. E H give the more effective term—shuddered.
[xvi_16] E shipping.
[xvi_46] C He maid (S). E H And maid.
[xvi_47, 52] C sudjornyt (S).
[xvi_48] E And that in myrth and jolyte. H royaltie.
[xvi_61] E southwart. H fordward.
[xvi_64] E in ilk spray. H on ilk.
[xvi_65] E H seymly.
[xvi_69] E ar strowyt. H strowed ar.
[xvi_70] E saverand. H savouring.
[xvi_73] E southwart. H southward.
[xvi_79, 80] C gives—
Till him a full gret chevelry Of squyaris, burges and yhemanry (S).
But burgesses and yeomanry would not be chevelry, and H agrees with E.
[xvi_134] C Avisit (S). H Hes meased.
[xvi_177] C I undirstand (S). E H tak on hand.
[xvi_178] C In-til (S). S also inserts all, which C omits here, but inserts before Irland, which it gives as Ingland. C is clearly defective.
That he slew all he might ourtak And rudely rushed them abak.—In H only.
[xvi_184] E xxx. H twentie.
[xvi_206] C by thair (S).
[xvi_*209-*212] In C H, not in E; owing to occurrence of two mychts.
[xvi_229] C He askit (S).
[xvi_232] E lossyt the suet. H slain at my feete.
[xvi_260] E obstakill maid.
[xvi_264] E southwart.
[xvi_265] E rycht till.
[xvi_265] C Lunyk (S). E Kynrike. H Lynrike. In Anderson’s edition we find Lymrik.
[xvi_280] C up-on woman (S). H like E.
[xvi_293] E H lavender.
[xvi_295] E Connach. H Connoch.
[xvi_296] E Methy. H Mich. E Iereby. H Irrelle.
[xvi_336] E Lyntaile. H Lyntalle.
[xvi_391] E and sow thaim sair. H saile them saire.
[xvi_401] C battale (S). H eshell.
[xvi_402] C seyn weill all (S). H as E.
[xvi_408] Rycht is from H alone (S).
[xvi_434] C and went (S). H turned.
[xvi_449] C on hym (S). H as E.
[xvi_*501-*504] Not in E. In C H.
[xvi_505] C Brys (S).
[xvi_507] E fyfty. H fifteene. C xv (S).
[xvi_548] C endlang furth held thai thar way. E it up held thai. H it held up their way.
[xvi_549] E Enverkething.
[xvi_550] E Dunferling.
[xvii_33] C at (S). H ane. E a.
[xvii_172] C With gret. H Through.
[xvii_202] C Scottis men (S).
[xvii_245] C trammys or crammys. E cranys or tranys. H trames. Owing to the similarity of ‘t’ and ‘c’ in MSS. the reading is uncertain.
[xvii_246] For the reason explained above it is doubtful whether we should here read gret or grec—i.e., Greek—probably the latter.
[xvii_271] C E gert. H gart. Skeat says these are “all wrong,” and that the proper reading is ger.
[xvii_285] E H Longcastill.
[xvii_296] C vittalis (S). H battels as in E.
[xvii_318] C sib men (S).
[xvii_343] C scaffatis (S). H scaffolds.
[xvii_420] From C H. E For oucht thai mycht, gud or ill.
[xvii_455] E quhill sik. H while.
[xvii_496] C that, quhen (S), but there is no predicate for that.
[xvii_601] C scaffatis (S).
[xvii_689] C juntly (S), but suggesting justly ( = exactly) as right reading. H cunningly. E gentilly.
[xvii_691] C swappit (S).
[xvii_735] E tyme.
[xvii_774] C and H (S). With the fire that he fand thar-at. Seems an anticipation of 778. Text from E.
[xvii_785] E Off stabing.
[xvii_809] E woundyt uttrely.
[xvii_812] C certanly, but E is admittedly better.
[xvii_887, 888] H expands these two lines into eight.
Throughout England full cruelly,
Burning and wasting right rigorously,
When that they have heard tythings tell
Of this great Siege that was sa fell:
That they all skailed were and gane,
Unto England hame againe:
Sa that their folks relieved were
And set now free from all danger.
Skeat relegates this expansion of two lines to a footnote, and rightly.
That into full gret danger wes, *903 Through strength of them that sieged hes. *904 And of their journey what progresse, *905 That thai have had, and with successe. *906
These, too, are from H only. Skeat brackets them in the text, but they are surely spurious.
[xvii_922] C quhar that. E H omit that.
[xvii_940] C Berwyk his (see note).
[xviii_5] C furthwarde (S). H southward.
[xviii_30] E tribill and quatribill.
[xviii_34] E thowsand. H as in C.
[xviii_89] E twenty. H twettie (!).
[xviii_117] E Thomas sone. H Thomson.
[xviii_184] E all her.
[xviii_225] E And he it (see note).
[xviii_239] E To dystroy up sa clene the land. H as C.
[xviii_275] E a bule. H as C.
[xviii_283] E best. H beast.
[xviii_377]377, 393, 398, etc., E the pass.
[xviii_391] E mast hardy.
[xviii_396] E four. H few.
[xviii_399, 405, 425] E the pass. H as C.
[xviii_404] E hamlyly.
[xviii_409] C Arthyn (S), but see note.
[xviii_410, 422] C Coubane: H Cowbane.
[xviii_439] C ek verty (S).
[xviii_450] E Than mycht men see thaim stoutly ga. H like C.
[xviii_451-454] not in C but in E H.
[xviii_451] H clamb (S).
[xviii_452] H left (S).
[xviii_498] E Ryfuowis.
[xviii_536] C yhe be (S). Buss considers E better here (Anglia ix. 511).
[xviii_537] For next line C has—Of the grace he thame did suthly (S). But this gives a triple rhyme, which is not Barbour-like; and C, in any case, is defective here, giving but one line between 538 and 547 for the eight found in E and H.
[xix_1] C Thus (S).
[xix_16] C Mayle-Erle (S), but see note.
[xix_106] E velanys. H villanous.
[xix_110] E the likys.
[xix_134] E Had him lent.
[xix_177] C thai armyng (S).
[xix_*185, *186] Omitted in Pinkerton’s edition.
[xix_188] E viii. (for xiii.). H threttene.
[xix_206] E Bathgat.
[xix_224] C entyrit (S). H eirded.
[xix_253] E southwart.
[xix_282] C had had (S). H hes.
[xix_304] C me to think (S).
[xix_336] E Thai ger thaim cum apon thaim doun: which does not make sense.
[xix_341] C that fair. Has E.
[xix_368] C he thaim (S). H then. E seems to give the more probable reading.
[xix_*375, *376] In C H. E omits.
[xix_394] E noveltyis.
[xix_502] that inserted by S for metre. C forrouth (S). Cf. 515.
[xix_527] E sevynd. H nynth.
[xix_533] C wes richt hardy (S). H as E.
[xix_544] E folowit thar.
[xix_612] C I had (S). H as E.
[xix_667] C Tratour (S).
[xix_739] E twa myle of. So, too, in H.
[xix_742-744] After line 742 H inserts:
But flaikes in the wood they made
Of wands, and them with them had:
And sykes therewith brigged they:
And sa had well their horse away,
On sik wise, that all that there were,
Came through the mosse baith haill and feire.
[xix_774] C Of twenty thousand richt hardy (S). H like E.
[xix_776] E the Merse.
[xx_16] E war. H was. C omits line. S reads wes as more usual form.
[xx_41] E yhing.
[xx_44-49] In E only. C H omit.
[xx_*127-*130] Found in C, E, H, but omitted by Pinkerton.
[xx_131] C Robert Stiward (S).
[xx_134] C tale (S). H tailyie.
[xx_*206-*211] E omits, apparently on account of double termination Douglas. In C H.
[xx_273] E our nychtbowris. H faes.
[xx_285-298] The arrangement here is from C H. E sets differently and illogically. The numbers in brackets follow Pinkerton.
[xx_324] C grund (S).
[xx_326] C Sebell (S).
[xx_331] C at Graunt Sebell. H the great Sebell.
[xx_356] C sudiorne (S).
[xx_378-386] For these lines H gives:
And said, “God lent me hands to beare,
Wherewith I might my head weere.”
Thus maid he courteous answering,
With a right hie understanding:
That for default of fence it was,
That sa evill hewen was his fall.
[xx_380] E tak kep.
[xx_393] Hey from E. C H omit.
But ere they joyned in battell, *421
What Dowglas did, I sall you tell.
The Bruce’s Heart, that on his brest
Was hinging, in the field he kest,
Upon a stane-cast and well more: *425
And said, “Now passe thou foorth before,
As thou wast wont in field to be,
And I sall follow, or els die.”
And sa he did withoutten ho,
He faught even while he came it to, *430
And tooke it up in great daintie;
And ever in field this used he. *432
*421-*432. In H only; not in C E. See Appendix D.
[xx_438] C H And as he turnit, he can weill se (S). Text from E.
[xx_440] C And thai (S).
[xx_476] C licht (S). H as E.
[xx_496-501] From E H. Not in C, owing to cher twice.
[xx_610] In H By a false Monk full traiterously.
Footnotes
1 Preface, S.T.S. edition, p. lxxv.
2 Skeat, p. xxxvii.
3 The Wallace and The Bruce Restudied, p. 74 and passim. See also Appendices E, F.
4 For a detailed account of the different editions see Skeat’s Preface to the E.E.T.S. or S.T.S. issues.
5 See Appendix D.
6 XVIII. *537; and see note on p. 277.
7 VIII. *493, *495.
8 XVII. 887, 888.
9 The Wallace and The Bruce, pp. 133, 134.
10 The Scottish Historical Library, by W. Nicholson, Archdeacon of Carlisle, p. 147.
11 See note on passage.
12 See Appendix D.
13 The Bibliography of the Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. ii., recklessly says: “As the colophon informs us (!) all three MSS. were written by John Ramsay” (p. 447).
14 Bonn, 1900.
15 Brown, p. 82.
16 Ibid., p. 68.
17 See Athenæum, November 17, 1900.
18 Athenæum, December 8, 1900.
19 Appendix F.
20 And Koeppel, while granting the general superiority of C, gives as his opinion that in not a few cases E, nevertheless, where it differs from C, preserves the genuine, original reading (Englische Studien, x., p. 377, note).
21 IX. 492, XIX. 459, XX. 396.
22 I. 345.
23 II. 572.
24 III. 287.
25 XIV. 246; XVI. 253.
26 Cf. also in Gregory Smith’s Specimens of Middle Scots, p. xxx.
27 Cf. Murray’s Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, p. *92; and New. Eng. Dict., G.
28 See Neilson in Scottish Antiquary, vol. xi., p. 102 ff., and Buss, ex adverso, in Anglia, Band ix., p. 495.
29 Jamieson’s Memoir, p. iv.
30 Scottish Vernacular Literature, p. 41.
31 For this reason Buss always gives the name as Barbere.
32 These have been brought together by Skeat in his first volume, pp. xv-xxv.
33 Skeat here takes equitibus to be “knights,” but this is not a military business. They were, we may judge, the attendants proper to his rank.
34 See on Bk. XIII. 702.
35 The account of 1429 is the first to state expressly that this perpetual pension was “for the composition of the book of the deeds of the erstwhile King Robert the Bruce” (Excheq. Rolls, iv., p. 520).
36 “His theme was Freedom,” writes Mr. Cosmo Innes. Barbour gives out his “theme” in the first thirty-six lines, and never once mentions it.
37 The editor of The Exchequer Rolls, vol. ii. p. cv., says: “Bower accuses Barbour of misrepresenting the origin of the Stewarts.” That is not so. According to the summary in Bower, Barbour had it that they came from Wales, and in fact the family was settled in Shropshire on the Welsh March. It had its origin, he said, from one who was called “Le Fleanc de Waran,” who may equate with Alan FitzFlaald, who, however, apparently did not marry a daughter of Warine, the sheriff of that county (Round, Studies in the Peerage, p. 116). He affirms, rightly enough, that the first of them in Scotland was Walter, in the days of King William (twelfth century). Where he goes wrong genealogically, according to Bower, is in saying that Walter’s son, Alan, was in the First Crusade, which was obviously impossible; but Alan FitzAlan, uncle of Alan FitzFlaald, was in that expedition. Barbour was dealing with remote personages through family tradition, and whatever his errors as represented by Bower, he does not appear, as is too lightly assumed, to have been the source of the myths of later historians in this connection. Bower’s language does not admit of a Banquo. See Cupar and Perth MSS., in Scotichronicon, Lib. IX., chap. xlviii.
38 The Wallace and The Bruce, pp. 88-90.
39 Preface I., xlix-lii.
40 Edit. Horstmann, ii., p. 226.
41 See further, Neilson’s John Barbour, p. 2.
42 Anglia, as cited.
43 Short History, p. 211.
44 The Wallace and The Bruce, p. 93.
45 See on II. 239.
46 XIX. 486.
47 An article on Barbour’s Bruce in the Saturday Review, 1872, vol. xxxiii., p. 90, has all the marks of the “belabouring” method of Professor Freeman. Barbour’s “historical value,” it is affirmed, “is as low as value can be,” and there are intermittent shrieks of “shameless falsehood,” “conscious liar,” etc. The usual play is made with the supposed identification of the two Bruces, and it is declared that on this “the whole story hangs,” which, in its own way, is a statement just as unwarranted and absurd. It is easy to fix on the error as to Edward being in the Holy Land when the question arose as to the succession, and the antedating of his death. But the critic, with full opportunity for being correct, can sin as to dates quite as egregiously. “In authentic history,” he says, “somewhat more than three years passed between the death of Alexander III. in Lent, 1289, and the coronation of John Balliol on St. Andrew’s Day, 1292.” Quite wrong. In “authentic history” Alexander was killed on March 19, 1286 (1285 by old reckoning). This is a criticism of Barbour’s “six years” in I. 39! He objects to the statement that the Queen was put “in prison,” because she was entertained in one of her husband’s manors. But she is always officially spoken of as “in custody,” and the stone walls of a manor even make a good enough prison. This is mere carping, and most of the rest is of the same sort, where it does not depend on a forcing or misunderstanding of the text. Barbour, he complains, makes the difference between Bruce and Balliol “one between male and female succession.” So, in a sense, it was (see on I. 54), but the critic has not taken the trouble to understand how. Barbour, however, is certainly confusing.
48 The Brus, Spalding Club edition, 1856, p. ix.
49 Vol. ii., p. 104.
50 P. 108.
51 Bk. IV. 767-774. Contempt for astrology, indeed, had already gone pretty far—Chaucer’s Franklin has it (F.s’ Tale); but the contrary opinion still held most ground, and prophecy was in the enjoyment of full respect. Theological authority was divided and uncertain on the matter.
52 IX. 492.
53 Calendar of Documents, vol. iii., p. ix, note. Book I. is a hasty introduction.
54 Ibid.
55 Chronique, I, chap. xxii.
56 Scottish Vernacular Literature, p. 43.
57 Vol. ii., p. 140.
58 Lib. xii., chap. xxi.
59 See Appendix E.
60 P. 318.
61 P. 339.
62 P. 350, lines 12, 13.
63 Cf. also Neilson on The Real “Scots Wha Hae” in Scottish Antiquary, vol. xiv., No. 53, July, 1899.
64 II. p. 180.
65 Fœdera, iii., p. 464, etc.
66 P. 201.
67 Vita Edw., p. 201.
68 Feudal England, p. 292.
69 The Welsh Wars of Edward I., p. 41.
70 Welsh Wars, p. 59.
71 Ibid., pp. 81, 82.
72 II. p. 173.
73 Welsh Wars, p. 292.
74 Peditum turba copiosa, p. 201.
75 Engl. Hist. Rev., vol. xiv., p. 133. Cf. Appendix A.
76 Bannockburn in The Commune of London, p. 298.
77 Calendar, iii., p. xxi.
78 Art of War, p. 575 note.
79 Vol. iii., p. 482, etc.; also in Rotuli Scotiæ, i., p. 127; and Parliamentary Writs, book ii., div. 2, p. 117.
80 Cf. Commune of London, p. 296; Engl. Hist. Rev., xiv., p. 133.
81 Bain, ii., Nos. 956, 1202, 1092, 1136.
82 Writs as cited, pp. 176, 177.
83 Trokelowe, p. 102; Rot. Scot., i., p. 183.
84 Art of War, p. 573 and note.
85 Annals, ii., p. 48.
86 Calendar, iii., p. xx.
87 See note on Book XVI., 285.
88 Writs, ii., p. 185.
89 Palgrave, cxxvii.; Welsh Wars, pp. 95, 98.
90 Bain, ii., No. 1202.
91 Bain, ii., 1229.
92 Welsh Wars, p. 301.
93 III., p. xxi.
94 Welsh Wars, p. 289.
95 Cf. Book XIX., 267 note.
96 Bain, ii., p. xxxix, note.
97 Welsh Wars, p. 301.
98 See note on 46.
99 Chronique de Jordan Fantosme, lines 328-9.
100 Hemingburgh, ii., pp. 308-9.
101 Art of War, p. 575.
102 XII. 159-164.
103 See below.
104 First Series, vol. ix., 493-514.
105 But note battell, two syllables, in xiii. 395, 418; xiv. 175; and battell-stede (xiv. 301).
106 V. 602; vi. 564; x. 226; xiv. 152.
107 Scottish Review, 1893, p. 192 note.
108 P. 135.
109 P. 135.
110 Pref., liv.
111 John Barbour, p. 50.
112 The Scottish Antiquary, vol. xi., p. 107 note.
113 Group A, 2533-2534.
114 P. 308; 26, 27.
115 Chambers’s Cyclopædia of English Literature, i. 175.
116 Pref., pp. vi-viii.
117 Cf. notes on Book XX. 393, 431.
118 In part; but see the reconciling passage in note on xx. 191-2.
119 Stanza xxxi.
120 But cf. xx. 307, where this comes before.
121 Cf. also xlii.
122 XLI. Cf. Bruce, xx. 486, 487.
123 Ed. S.T.S.
124 Cf. also Preface, pp. vii-viii.
125 Untersuchungen über das schottische Alexanderbuch. Albert Hermann, Halle, 1893, pp. 26, 27.
126 As cited, p. 35.
127 As cited, p. 45.
128 Cf. p. 292.
129 Pp. 43-47.
130 P. 56.
131 P. 162.
132 P. 448.
133 The Bruce, I. 160; Alexander, 8, 8; Wyntoun, Book viii. chap. ii. 246; Brown, p. 110.
134 The Wallace and The Bruce Restudied, p. 92.
135 I. 521-8.
136 Bruce, I. 529-548; Monk’s Tale, Group B., 3821-3908.
137 P. 98.
138 P. 99.
139 P. 97, note.
140 I. 548, 549.
141 3908.
142 P. 99.
143 3904-5.
144 I. 549-561.
145 P. 99.
146 See note on passage.
147 E.E.T.S. The Sowdone of Babylone, Introd., pp. xxxi, xxxii.
148 See note.
149 II. 534.
150 P. 114.
151 As cited, p. xxv.
152 Pp. 115, 116.
153 P. ix, note. The italics are mine.
154 444.
155 P. 115, note.
156 “Genelyn,” 2843-6.
157 P. ix, note.
158 P. 461.
159 665.
160 Bruce, iii. 459.
161 Hausknecht, note to line 665.
162 Der Roman von Fierabras, Provensalisch, p. 5, line 15; Immanuel Bekker, Berlin, 1829.
163 c. 1420.
164 Brown, p. 117.
165 Gregory Smith, The Transition Period, p. 8.
166 P. 211.
167 P. 118.
168 Pp. 252-3.
169 Ed. 1598, fol. 381.
170 P. 119.
171 P. 125.
172 P. 126. See notes on passage.
173 P. 127.
174 P. 126.
175 Wyntoun.
176 The Bruce, &c., p. 126.
177 Cf., however, on XX. 181.
178 171-177.
179 Sounded as yet, like those of M.E., but in time to become silent. Anglo-French is Norman-French developed in England; it was closely related to Old French, familiar to the scribes through the romances.
180 Buss, Anglia IX., pp. 505-507. Cf. also Murray, Dialect of the Southern Counties, p. 53.
181 Buss, p. 509.
182 S.T.S., I. lxxxix., and Glossary.
183 Murray, Dialect of the Southern Counties, p. 153.
184 Darstellung der Flexionslehre in John Barbour’s Bruce, p. 12.
185 Murray, p. 185.
186 Specimens of Middle Scots, p. xxxviii.
187 Specimens of Early English, Morris and Skeat, vol. ii.