IV Documents From State Archives, Copenhagen148
First Official Report to the Danish Chancellor respecting the Scottish Expedition, from the Norwegian Stadtholder Envold Kruse and Others.
Translation from the Danish.149
(Address.)
Our most friendly greeting now and ever in the Lord! Dear Lord Chancellor, particularly good friend, we thank the Chancellor kindly for favours evinced, which we would at all times desire to repay in whatever manner might be to the honour or benefit of the Chancellor.
In the next place, we cannot omit to communicate to the Chancellor somewhat at length, on account of the nature of the matter, how on or about the 19th or 20th of August last two Scottish ships arrived off Romsdalen, in the province of Bergenhuus, with a number of soldiers, and landed them there. What ports those ships hailed from, and by whom they were fitted out, as also who it was that procured them, is to be ascertained from their own report and deposition hereunto annexed.150
And straightway the next day after their arrival they betook themselves inland, and proceeded along the country road over a fjeld called Mæratoppene, whereupon they entered the valley of Gudbrandsdal, which is to the southward of the mountain range, and in this province of Aggershuus; and they had taken with them two Bönder of Romsdalen as guides. But when one of his Royal Majesty’s lensmen in the parish of Vaage, which is situated in the above-mentioned bailiwick of Gudbrandsdal, by name Lauritz Hage, perceived this, he at once roused the Bönder and peasantry in the two parishes of Læssöe and Vaage, and went forth against the said Scots and foreign troops. And when he perceived they were too strong for him, he advanced for two or three days and kept before them along the road, without, however, engaging in any skirmish or fight. Meanwhile, he sent messengers to the peasantry in the two adjoining parishes, called Froen and Ringeböe, who quickly came to his assistance; and when they were in this manner gathered they were four hundred and five men strong. Thus he advanced in front of them along the road until he saw his advantage at a fjeld called Kringelen, situated in Vaage parish, which they were obliged to pass. Thus he hemmed them in between the rock on one side and a large river close by on the other side, in which advantageous position he quietly encamped in the woods, and there lay with his men until the foreign soldiers arrived there, without, however, supposing or knowing aught but that the Norwegian troops were still withdrawing along the road before them.
The above-mentioned Lauritz Hage, having made his arrangements and perceived his advantage, attacked, together with another lensmand, Peder Rankleff of Ringeböe, and with all their men together they fired upon the foreign troops and shot them to death during an hour and a half. Those who were not shot jumped into the river to save themselves, but were there drowned; and those of them who got alive over the river were quickly killed by the Bönder on that side,—all of which happened and occurred on the 26th of August last.
From the Bönder who were themselves present at the battle, and who buried and counted the dead and the defeated, we learn that the foreign soldiers must no doubt have numbered at the least five hundred and fifty men, although the Scots who remained alive, and of whom there are altogether eighteen, will not admit that they were more than three hundred and fifty men strong at the utmost.
On the day the battle took place one hundred and thirty-four Scots were taken prisoners, who were straightway the next day killed and shot by the Bönder, with the exception of the above-mentioned eighteen, the Bönder saying to each other that his Royal Majesty had enough to feed in those same eighteen. Some of these were, however, wounded, and some had bullets in their bodies when they arrived here. Of the above-mentioned eighteen soldiers we now send to you the three principal ones, who are a captain of the name of Alexander Ramsay, and his lieutenant of the name of Jacob Mannepenge (James Moneypenny), who has previously been both in Denmark and Sweden, and who on this their expedition served as an interpreter. The third is called Herrich Bryssz (Henry or Harry Bruce), who, according to his own statement, has served as a soldier in Holland, Spain, and Hungary.151
As regards the remaining fifteen persons, some of them have straightway taken service among good folk here in the country; some of them who will willingly serve your Royal Majesty in Jörgen Lunge’s regiment I sent at once to Elfsborg. What has further occurred in this matter is, as already stated, all to be ascertained from their own statements, which are written down. As to what knowledge can be obtained from the letters that were found on them we can say nothing this time, for when they (the Scots) were taken prisoners the Bönder took all those letters to themselves, from which we now have our certain knowledge, (and) what can be ascertained from them, so soon as we receive them, shall be straightway sent to the Chancellor; and if we on our part can serve the Chancellor to his honour, advantage, and command, he shall always find us willing. The Chancellor is hereby commended to God Almighty. Done at Aggershuus the 17th of September 1612.
| (Signed) | Enwoldt Krussze. | Oluff Galde. |
| Own hand. | Own hand. | |
| Peder Iffrsen. | ||
| Own hand. |
(Sealed with their several signets on uncoloured wax.)
Second Official Report to the Danish Chancellor and the Danish Stadtholder respecting the Scottish Expedition, from the Norwegian Stadtholder Envold Kruse and Others.
Translation from the Danish.152
(Address.)
To the honourable and well-born men, Christian Friis of Borreby, His Royal Majesty’s Chancellor, and Breide Ranndtzow of Ranndtzshollen, His Majesty’s Stadtholder, our particularly good friends, addressed in perfect friendliness.
Our most friendly greeting now and ever in the Lord. Dear friends, we thank you kindly for favours evinced, which we would at all times desire to repay, in whatever manner might be to your honour or benefit.
Dear friends, our last letter to you announced that, so soon as we received information from the bailie in Gudbrandsdal of certain letters found on the Scots who were defeated and taken prisoners at that place, we would forward it to you as soon as we received the letters, in case that any reliable information should be found in them respecting their plans and armament. And we do not believe that there is anything in them from which any information on those points can be obtained, so far as the said letters can be correctly read or construed.
We have now recently been written to and informed that their real colonel153 and captain, the person mentioned by the Scots themselves in the Scottish Relation (which we sent you last), is now at sea with four ships filled with soldiers, with the same intention as the others of landing the troops somewhere in this country, and afterwards proceeding with them into Sweden. This the bailie at Sondmöer has written to Lauritz Gram, who is bailie in Gudbrandsdalen. This appears, however, not to be true, seeing that His Royal Majesty of England has forbidden them to do this, as is to be further seen by the before-mentioned Relation which was forwarded to you.
We have also since ascertained that those Scots who were defeated and captured on their march through this country have absolutely neither burned, murdered, nor destroyed anything on their march through this country, either in Romsdalen, or in Gudbrandsdalen, excepting alone one Danish man, who lives in the Romsdal, Söffrenn Settnes; from him they have taken a box filled with various kinds of silver, both tankards, belts, “stabbe,” and other such wrought silver, which man has now recently been in Gudbrandsdalen, to the bailie there, and wanted to get back his silver, if any of it had been found on the defeated Scots; but the Bönder of Gudbrandsdalen will not hitherto acknowledge having got any. If otherwise is subsequently found to be the case, it shall all be returned to him. And it was the plan of the before-mentioned Scots to have made their way into Sweden through Gudbrandsdalen, over a mountain called Österdalsfjeld, in the parish of Tönset, which they all could have done easily in five days’ time at the utmost, had not God the most Almighty by this defeat... them.
Of the Norwegian people were only shot... six men and ten or twelve somewhat “saa”... (? saarede = wounded)... remain alive. This... “ligen”(?) will let you know.154 And we will personally do whatever may be to your service or pleasure. Commending you hereby to God the most Almighty. Done at Aggershuus the third of October in the year 1612.
| Enwoldt Krussze. | Anders Green. |
| Own hand. | With own hand. |
| Oluff Galde. | Peder Iffuerson. |
| Own hand. | Own hand. |
This manuscript is endorsed,
“Envold Kruszis, Anders Greens,
Oluff Galdis, and Peder Iffuersens.
“Letter. Recd (?) Haff. (Copenhagen) 4 Nov. 1612.
“1. Respecting the Scottish soldiers who were defeated in Gudbrandsdalen; transmitting a great heap of letters found on them.
“2. Their real commander said to be at sea with 4 ships; considered untrue.
“3. They neither took nor burned anything in Norway, unless it be some (?) silver they took from a Dane in Romsdalen.”
Footnotes
148 In manuscript.
149 From a copy made from the original manuscript at Copenhagen, and more perfect than that obtained by Dean Krag. The thanks of the author are due in this respect to Mr. J. F. R. Krarup, Registrar of the Danish State Archives, as well as to Messrs. Herbst and Blom of Copenhagen for researches undertaken at the kind request of Professor George Stephens, LL.D., also of Copenhagen. Most of the proper names in this translation have been modernized.
150 These documents have not hitherto been found in the Danish Archives.
151 No mention of James Scott, who was among the prisoners at Copenhagen.
152 This translation has been made from a more perfect copy than the one hitherto published, and for which the author is indebted to Mr. M. Birkeland, Keeper of the State Archives in Norway.
153 No doubt Colonel Andrew Ramsay.
154 The dots show where words are wanting, because a piece of paper (which was the upper part of that to which the seals were affixed) is lost from the third page.