'And my fause lover staw my rose,
But ah! he left the thorn wi' me.'
Stanza XVIII. line 307. Loch Vennachar, in the south of Perthshire,
is the most easterly of the three lakes celebrated in the 'Lady of
the Lake.'
line 321. Cp. 'wonder-wounded hearers,' Hamlet, v. I. 265.
Stanza XIX. line 324. Clerk is a scholar, as in Chaucer's 'Clerk of
Oxenford,' &c., and the 'learned clerks' of 2 Henry VI, iv. 7. 76.
See below, VI. xv. 459, 'clerkly skill.'
line 325. Alexander III (1240-1286) came to the throne at the age of
nine, and proved himself a vigorous and large-hearted king. He was
killed by a fall from his horse, near Kinghorn, Fife, where there is
a suitable monument to his memory. The contemporary lament for his
death bewails him as one that 'Scotland led in love and lee.' Sir
Walter Scott (Introductory Remarks to 'Border Minstrelsy') calls him
'the last Scottish king of the pure Celtic race.'
line 333. 'A vaulted hall under the ancient castle of Gifford, or
Yester (for it bears either name indifferently), the construction of
which has, from a very remote period, been ascribed to magic. The
Statistical Account of the Parish of Garvald and Baro, gives the
following account of the present state of this castle and
apartment:--"Upon a peninsula, formed by the water of Hopes on the
east, and a large rivulet on the west, stands the ancient castle of
Yester. Sir David Dalrymple, in his annals, relates that 'Hugh
Gifford de Yester died in 1267; that in his castle there was a
capacious cavern, formed by magical art, and called in the country
Bo-Hall, i.e. Hobgoblin Hall.' A stair of twenty-four steps led
down to this apartment, which is a large and spacious hall, with an
arched roof; and though it hath stood for so many centuries, and
been exposed to the external air for a period of fifty or sixty
years, it is still as firm and entire as if it had only stood a few
years. From the floor of this hall, another stair of thirty-six
steps leads down to a pit which hath a communication with Hopes-
water. A great part of the walls of this large and ancient castle
are still standing. There is a tradition that the castle of Yester
was the last fortification, in this country, that surrendered to
General Gray, sent into Scotland by Protector Somerset."--
Statistical Account, vol. xiii. I have only to add, that, in 1737,
the Goblin Hall was tenanted by the Marquis of Tweedale's falconer,
as I learn from a poem by Boyse, entitled "Retirement," written upon
visiting Yester. It is now rendered inaccessible by the fall of the
stair.
'Sir David Dalrymple's authority for the anecdote is in Fordun,
whose words are:--"A. D. MCCLXVII. Hugo Giffard de Yester moritur;
cujus castrum, vel saltem caveam, et donglonem, arte daemonica
antique relationes ferunt fabrifactas: nam ibidem habetur mirabilis
specus subterraneus, opere mirifico constructus, magno terrarum
spatio protelatus, qui communiter BO-HALL appellatus est." Lib. x.
cap. 21.--Sir David conjectures, that Hugh de Gifford must either
have been a very wise man, or a great oppressor.'--SCOTT.
Stanza XX. line 354. 'In 1263, Haco, King of Norway, came into the
Frith of Clyde with a powerful armament, and made a descent at
Largs, in Ayrshire. Here he was encountered and defeated, on the 2nd
October, by Alexander III. Haco retreated to Orkney, where he died
soon after this disgrace to his arms. There are still existing, near
the place of battle, many barrows, some of which, having been
opened, were found, as usual, to contain bones and urns.'--SCOTT.
line 358. Ayrshire in early times comprised three divisions,
Cunninghame in the north, Kyle between the Irvine and the Doon, and
Carrick to the south of that stream. Burns, by his song 'There was a
Lad was born in Kyle,' has immortalised the middle division, which
an old proverb had distinguished as productive of men, in
contradistinction to the dairy produce and the stock of the other
two.
line 362. '"Magicians, as is well known, were very curious in the
choice and form of their vestments. Their caps are oval, or like
pyramids, with lappets on each side, and fur within. Their gowns are
long, and furred with fox-skins, under which they have a linen
garment reaching to the knee. Their girdles are three inches broad,
and have many cabalistical names, with crosses, trines, and circles
inscribed on them. Their shoes should be of new russet leather, with
a cross cut upon them. Their knives are dagger-fashion; and their
swords have neither guard nor scabbard."--See these, and many other
particulars, in the Discourse concerning Devils and Spirits, annexed
to REGINALD SCOTT'S Discovery of Witchcraft, edition 1665.'--SCOTT.
line 369. Scott quotes thus from Reginald Scott's 'Discovery of
Witchcraft' (1665):--
'A pentacle is a piece of fine linen, folded with five corners,
according to the five senses, and suitably inscribed with
characters. This the magician extends towards the spirits which he
invokes, when they are stubborn and rebellious, and refuse to be
conformable unto the ceremonies and rights of magic.'
line 373. The term 'Combust' is applied to the moon or the planets,
when, through being not more than eight and a half degrees from the
sun, they are invisible in his light. Chaucer, in the 'Astrolabe,'
has 'that he be not retrograd ne COMBUST.' 'Retrograde' is the term
descriptive of the motion of the planets from east to west. This is
the case when the planets are visible on the side opposite to the
sun. See Airy's 'Popular Astronomy,' p. 124. 'Trine' refers to the
appearance of planets 'distant from each other 120 degrees, or the
third part of the zodiac. 'Trine was considered a favourable
conjunction. Cp. note on Par. Lost, X. 659, in Clarendon Press
Milton--
'In sextile, square, and TRINE, and opposite.'
Stanza XXII. line 407. 'It is a popular article of faith that those
who are born on Christmas or Good Friday have the power of seeing
spirits and even of commanding them. The Spaniards imputed the
haggard and downcast looks of their Philip II to the disagreeable
visions to which this privilege subjected him.'--SCOTT.
line 408. See St. Matthew xxvii. 50-53.
line 415. Richard I of England (1189-99) could not himself have
presented the sword, but the line is a spirited example of poetic
licence.
line 416. Tide what tide is happen what may. Cp. Thomas the Rhymer's
remarkable forecast regarding the family of Haig in Scott's
country;--
'Betide, betide, whate'er betide,
Haig shall be Haig of Bemerside.'
line 420. Alexander III was the last of his line, which included
three famous Malcolms, viz. Malcolm II, grandfather of the 'gracious
Duncan,' who died in 1033; Malcolm Canmore, who fell at Alnwick in
1093; and Malcolm IV, 'The Maiden,' who was only 34 at his death in
1165. The reference here is probably to Canmore.
Stanza XXIII. line 438. See Chambers's 'Encyclopaedia,' articles on
'Earth-houses' and 'Picts' Houses.'
line 445. Legends tell of belated travellers being spell-bound in
such spots.
line 461. The reference is to Edward I, who went as Prince Edward to
Palestine in 1270, so that the legend at this point embodies an
anachronism, Edward became king in 1274. His shield and banner were
emblazoned with 'three leopards courant of fine gold set on red.'
Stanza XXIV. line 472. Largs, on the coast of Ayrshire, opposite
Bute.
line 479. The ravens on the Norse banners were said to flutter their
wings before a victory, and to let them droop in prospect of a
defeat.
line 487. 'For an account of the expedition to Copenhagen in 1801,
see Southey's "Life of Nelson," chap. vii.'--LOCKHART. There may
possibly be a reference to the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807.
Stanza XXV. line 497. The slight wound was due to the start
mentioned in line 462. He had been warned against letting his heart
fail him.
line 503. Scott quotes thus from the essay on 'Fairy Superstitions'
in the 'Border Minstrelsy,' vol. ii., to show 'whence many of the
particulars of the combat between Alexander III and the Goblin
Knight are derived':--
'Gervase of Tilbury (Otia Imperial ap. Script, rer. Brunsvic, vol.
i. p. 797), relates the following popular story concerning a fairy
knight: "Osbert, a bold and powerful baron, visited a noble family
in the vicinity of Wandlebury, in the bishopric of Ely. Among other
stories related in the social circle of his friends, who, according
to custom, amused each other by repeating ancient tales and
traditions, he was informed, that if any knight, unattended, entered
an adjacent plain by moonlight, and challenged an adversary to
appear, he would be immediately encountered by a spirit in the form
of a knight. Osbert resolved to make the experiment, and set out,
attended by a single squire, whom he ordered to remain without the
limits of the plain, which was surrounded by an ancient
intrenchment. On repeating the challenge, he was instantly assailed
by an adversary, whom he quickly unhorsed, and seized the reins of
his steed. Daring this operation, his ghostly opponent sprung up,
and darting his spear, like a javelin, at Osbert, wounded him in the
thigh. Osbert returned in triumph with the horse, which he committed
to the care of his servants. The horse was of a sable colour, as
well as his whole accoutrements, and apparently of great beauty and
vigour. He remained with his keeper till cock-crowing, when, with
eyes flashing fire, he reared, spurned the ground, and vanished. On
disarming himself, Osbert perceived that he was wounded, and that
one of his steel boots was full of blood." Gervase adds, that, "as
long as he lived, the scar of his wound opened afresh on the
anniversary of the eve on which he encountered the spirit." Less
fortunate was the gallant Bohemian knight, who travelling by night
with a single companion, "came in sight of a fairy host, arrayed
under displayed banners. Despising the remonstrances of his friend,
the knight pricked forward to break a lance with a champion, who
advanced from the ranks apparently in defiance. His companion beheld
the Bohemian overthrown, horse and man, by his aerial adversary; and
returning to the spot next morning, he found the mangled corpses of
the knight and steed."--Hierarchy of Blessed Angels, p. 554.
'Besides these instances of Elfin chivalry above quoted, many others
might be alleged in support of employing fairy machinery in this
manner. The forest of Glenmore, in the North Highlands, is believed
to be haunted by a spirit called Lham-dearg, in the array of an
ancient warrior, having a bloody hand, from which he takes his name.
He insists upon those with whom he meets doing battle with him; and
the clergyman, who makes up an account of the district, extant in
the Macfarlane MS., in the Advocates' Library, gravely assures us,
that, in his time, Lham-dearg fought with three brothers whom he met
in his walk, none of whom long survived the ghostly conflict.
Barclay, in his "Euphormion," gives a singular account of an officer
who had ventured, with his servant, rather to intrude upon a haunted
house, in a town in Flanders, than to put up with worse quarters
elsewhere. After taking the usual precautions of providing fires,
lights, and arms, they watched till midnight, when, behold! the
severed arm of a man dropped from the ceiling; this was followed by
the legs, the other arm, the trunk, and the head of the body, all
separately. The members rolled together, united themselves in the
presence of the astonished soldiers, and formed a gigantic warrior,
who defied them both to combat. Their blows, although they
penetrated the body, and amputated the limbs, of their strange
antagonist, had, as the reader may easily believe, little effect on
an enemy who possessed such powers of self-union; nor did his
efforts make more effectual impression upon them. How the combat
terminated I do not exactly remember, and have not the book by me;
but I think the spirit made to the intruders on his mansion the
usual proposal, that they should renounce their redemption; which
being declined, he was obliged to retreat.
'The most singular tale of this kind is contained in an extract
communicated to me by my friend Mr. Surtees of Mainsforth, in the
Bishopric, who copied it from a MS. note in a copy of Burthogge "On
the Nature of Spirits," 8vo, 1694, which had been the property of
the late Mr. Gill, attorney-general to Egerton, Bishop of Durham.
"It was not," says my obliging correspondent" in Mr. Gill's own
hand, but probably an hundred years older, and was said to be, E
libro Convent. Dunelm. per T. C. extract., whom I believe to have
been Thomas Cradocke, Esq., barrister, who held several offices
under the See of Durham a hundred years ago. Mr. Gill was possessed
of most of his manuscripts." The extract, which, in fact, suggested
the introduction of the tale into the present poem, runs thus:--
"Rem miram hujusmodi que nostris temporibus evenit, teste viro
nobili ac fide dignissimo, enarrare haud pigebit. Radulphus Bulmer,
cum e castris, quae tunc temporis prope Norham posita erant,
oblectationis causa, exiisset, ac in ulteriore Tuedae ripa praaedam
cum canibus leporariis insequeretur, forte cum Scoto quodam nobili,
sibi antehac, ut videbatur, familiariter cognito, congressus est;
ac, ut fas erat inter inimicos, flagrante bello, brevissima
interrogationis mora interposita, alterutros invicem incitato cursu
infestis animis petiere. Noster, primo occursu, equo praeacerrimo
hostis impetu labante, in terram eversus pectore et capite laeso,
sanguinem, mortuo similis, evomebat. Quern ut se aegre habentem
comiter allocutus est alter, pollicitusque, modo auxilium non
abnegaret, monitisque obtemperans ab omni rerum sacrarum cogitatione
abstineret, nec Deo, Deiparae Virgini, Sanctove ullo, preces aut
vota efferret vel inter sese conciperet, se brevi eum sanum
validumque restiturum esse. Prae angore oblata conditio accepta est;
ac veterator ille nescio quid obscaeni murmuris insusurrans,
prehensa manu, dicto citius in pedes sanum ut antea sublevavit.
Noster autem, maxima prae rei inaudita novitate formidine perculsus,
MI JESU! exclamat, vel quid simile; ac subito respiciens nec hostem
nec ullum alium conspicit, equum solum gravissimo nuper casu
afflictum, per summam pacem in rivo fluvii pascentem. Ad castra
itaque mirabundus revertens, fidei dubius, rem primo occultavit,
dein, confecto bello, Confessori suo totam asseruit. Delusoria
procul dubio res tota, ac mala veteratoris illius aperitur fraus,
qua hominem Christianum ad vetitum tale auxilium pelliceret. Nomen
utcunque illius (nobilis alias ac clari) reticendum duco, cum haud
dubium sit quin Diabolus, Deo permittente, formam quam libuerit,
immo angeli lucis, sacro oculo Dei teste, posse assumere."
'The MS. chronicle, from which Mr. Cradocke took this curious
extract, cannot now be found in the Chapter Library of Durham, or,
at least, has hitherto escaped the researches of my friendly
correspondent.
'Lindesay is made to allude to this adventure of Ralph Bulmer, as a
well-known story, in the 4th Canto, Stanza xxii. p. 103.
'The northern champions of old were accustomed peculiarly to search
for, and delight in, encounters with such military spectres. See a
whole chapter on the subject in BARTHOLINUS De Causis contemptae
Mortis a Danis, p. 253.'
line 508. Sir Gilbert Hay, as a faithful adherent of Bruce, was
created Lord High Constable of Scotland. See note in 'Lord of the
Isles,' II. xiii. How 'the Haies had their beginning of nobilitie'
is told in Holinshed's 'Scottish Chronicle,' I. 308.
Stanza XXVI. line 510. Quaigh, 'a wooden cup, composed of staves
hooped together.'--SCOTT.
Stanza XXVIII. line 551. Darkling, adv. (not adj. as in Keats's
'darkling way' in 'Eve of St. Agnes'), really means 'in the dark.'
Cp. 'Lady of the Lake,' IV. (Alice Brand):--
'For darkling was the battle tried';
and see Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 2. 86; King Lear, i. 4. 237.
Lord Tennyson, like Keats, uses the word as an adj. in 'In
Memoriam,' xcix:--
'Who tremblest through thy darkling red.'
Cp. below, V. Introd. 23, 'darkling politician.' For scholarly
discussion of the term, see Notes and Queries, VII iii. 191.
Stanza XXX. lines 585-9. Iago understands the 'contending flow' of
passions when in a glow of self-satisfied feeling he exclaims;
'Work on,
My medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught.'
Othello, iv. I. 44.
Stanza XXXI. line 597. 'Yode, used by old poets for WENT.'--SCOTT.
It is a variant of 'yod' or 'yede,' from A. S. eode, I went. Cp.
Lat. eo, I go. See Clarendon Press 'Specimens of Early English,' II.
71:--
'Thair scrippes, quer thai rade or YODE,
Tham failed neuer o drinc ne fode.'