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THE LIFE
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SIR WILLIAM WALLACE,
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ELDERSLIE.
BY JOHN D. CARRICK.
THE BUGLE NE’ER SUNG TO A BRAVER KNIGHT
THAN WILLIAM OF ELDERSLIE.
THOMAS CAMPBELL.
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LIFE
OF
SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.
[Illustration: Blackwood Sculpt
SEAL OF BALIOL USED BY WALLACE WHILE REGENT OF SCOTLAND.
Vol I, Page 137
]
CONSTABLE’S MISCELLANY
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VOL. LIII.
LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM WALLACE, VOL. I.
[Illustration:
Drawn by A. Nasmyth Engraved by W. Miller
WALLACE’S TREE--TORWOOD.]
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1830.
LIFE
OF
SIR WILLIAM WALLACE,
OF
ELDERSLIE.
BY JOHN D. CARRICK.
THE BUGLE NE’ER SUNG TO A BRAVER KNIGHT
THAN WILLIAM OF ELDERSLIE.
THOMAS CAMPBELL.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
EDINBURGH:
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AND HURST, CHANCE AND CO., LONDON.
1830.
PREFACE.
In presenting to the British Public the Life of a man, whose name has
been for ages the _slogan_, or _cri de guerre_, when the liberty of his
country was in danger, few words may suffice in the way of Preface.
The unprovoked aggression of England on the freedom of Scotland,
produced, in the latter country, one of those grand national
convulsions, which seldom fail to call forth some master-spirit
from obscurity. Owing to circumstances, however, connected with the
unsettled and turbulent state of the times, the transcendent talents
of the Knight of Elderslie had been, among his contemporaries, more
a subject for grateful admiration, than historical record; and, in
consequence, no small degree of fiction has been mixed up with his
story, while his real achievements have become in a manner obscured by
their own undefined greatness.
The Proprietors of Constable’s Miscellany, conceiving that a work
exclusively devoted to the elucidation of the occurrences in the life
and times of the Deliverer of Scotland, would be an important addition
to our stock of historical knowledge, the writer was requested to
undertake the present work, having become partially conversant with
the subject, while engaged in drawing up a Life of Wallace, some years
ago,[1] for the use of juvenile readers.
In venturing before the Public as the biographer of the Guardian of
Scotland, the Author is not unconscious of the difficulties that
surround him. The subject is one with which his countrymen in all ranks
of life have been from their early years more or less familiar; and
are all qualified, to a certain extent, to become his critics. With so
numerous a host of reviewers, the errors he may have committed have no
chance to escape detection, while the strong partiality with which such
readers are imbued, will no doubt be occasionally offended, when they
find the tame realities of historical evidence substituted for the more
pleasing details of romantic and poetical embellishment. With another
class of readers, whose cooler temperament and neutralized feelings may
enable them to view the narrative of our hero’s transactions through a
different medium, the writer runs an equal hazard of being charged with
overstepping the limits of probability. Thus circumstanced, the hope
of his production meeting any thing like general approbation becomes
extremely faint, and excites the apprehension that he will have to
measure his success only by the mildness with which his labours may be
censured.
It remains only to be added, that to JOHN STRACHAN, Esq. of Thornton,
Stirlingshire, (late of Woodside), the Publishers lie under deep
obligation for the kind manner in which he furnished information
connected with Wallace’s Oak, and for the sketch of the tree itself,
after a painting by Nasmyth, executed in 1771, which illustrates the
present Volume. The building, represented in the back ground, is the
ruins of Tor Castle, where the unfortunate James III. is supposed to
have passed the night previous to the fatal battle of Sauchie.
_March_ 1830.
CONTENTS.
Page
PREFACE v
INTRODUCTION 13
CHAP. I.
State of Scotland in the Thirteenth Century 33
CHAP. II.
On the Claim of England to the Feudal Homage of Scotland 59
CHAP. III.
Birth, Parentage, and Early Years of Wallace 85
CHAP. IV.
Accession of Baliol--Siege of Berwick--Battle of Dunbar 103
CHAP. V.
Wallace again takes refuge in the Woods.--Organizes a System
of Warfare.--Harasses the English in their Cantonments.--
Conflict of Beg.--Biographical Notices of his early
Companions.--His Dress and Armour.--Anecdote of the relative
personal Prowess of Wallace and Bruce 121
CHAP. VI.
Peel of Gargunnock taken by the Scots.--The Bradfutes of
Lamington oppressed by the English.--The Orphan of Lamington.
--Sir Raynald Crawford summoned to Glasgow.--Wallace Captures
the Baggage of Percy.--Retires to Lennox.--Various Rencounters
with the English 149
CHAP. VII.
Singular Adventure of Wallace in Gask Castle.--Kills the English
Leader.--Escapes to Torwood.--Interview with his Uncle 173
CHAP. VIII.
Wallace joined by Sir John Graham.--Proceedings in Clydesdale.--
Wallace visits Lanark.--Adventure with a Party of the English 184
CHAP. IX.
Attack on Crawford Castle.--Return to Lanark.--Conflict with
the English.--Murder of the Heiress of Lamington.--Her death
Revenged.--The English driven out of Lanark.--Battle of
Biggar.--Atrocious proceedings of the English at Ayr.--Severe
retaliation by Wallace 192
CHAP. X.
Affair of Glasgow.--Defeat and Flight of Bishop Bek.--Wallace
joined by a Number of the Barons.--Expedition to the West
Highlands.--Battle of Bradher, and Death of M’Fadyan 202
CHAP. XI.
Robert Bruce joins the Standard of Wallace.--Percy and Clifford
sent to suppress the Insurrection.--Night Skirmish in
Annandale--Disaffection of the Scottish Nobles.--Wallace
retires to the North.--Battle of Stirling Bridge 217
APPENDIX.
A. Wallace’s Tree.--Torwood 241
B. The Crawfurds 246
C. The Burning of the Barns of Ayr 253
D. Memoir of Bishop Anthony Bek 258
E. Expedition to the West Highlands 270
F. Memoir of John Earl of Warren.--Lord Henry de Percy--And
Lord Robert de Clifford 293
G. Hugh de Cressingham 312
INTRODUCTION.
There is no portion of the history of Scotland more embarrassing
to modern writers, than the period which relates to the life and
achievements of Wallace.
Having been long since anticipated in all the leading details
respecting him by Henry the Minstrel, our historians in general
seem nervous in approaching the subject; and have either contented
themselves with such materials as the old English writers and certain
monastic chronicles have furnished, or have deliberately borrowed,
without the grace of acknowledgment, the facts recorded by an author
they affected to despise, as one whom the learned were not agreed
to admit within the pale of respectable authority. This treatment,
however, we conceive to be not only unfair, but rather discourteous
in those who may have extended their suffrages to writers guilty of
much greater aberrations from historical veracity than any which are
chargeable against him. It is true, that the works of those writers
are in Latin; but still, we do not see that a great falsehood, told in
the classical language of ancient Rome, should be entitled to a larger
portion of public faith than a lesser one set forth in the more modern
_patois_ of Scotland.
When Walsingham, in describing the battle of Falkirk, tells us that
the sharpness and strength of the English arrows were such, that
“they thoroughly penetrated the men-at-arms, obscured the helmets,
perforated the swords, and overwhelmed the lances”--(_ut ipsos armatos
omnino penetrarent, cassides tenebrarent, gladios perforarent, lanceas
funderent_)--and another learned author,[2] in narrating the same
battle, makes the loss of the Scots in killed, wounded and prisoners,
amount to more in number than were disposed of in any one of the most
sanguinary conflicts between the Roman and Barbaric worlds,--we would
naturally expect, that the indulgence which can readily attribute such
outrages on our credulity, to the style of the age in which the writers
lived, might also be extended to our Minstrel, even when he describes
his hero “like a true knight-errant, cleaving his foes through brawn
and bayne down to the shoulders.”
It is said by Lord Hailes, in speaking of Henry, that “he is an author
whom every historian copies, yet no historian but Sir Robert Sibbald
will venture to quote.” This, though intended as a sneer by the learned
annalist, may be viewed as complimentary to the candour of Sir Robert,
who, while he avails himself of the facts related by another, is not
above acknowledging the obligation. Considering the situation of this
unfortunate but ingenious man, no author had ever a stronger claim on
the indulgence of his readers. Blind from his birth, he was deprived
of the advantage of correcting the manuscript of his work, while his
poverty prevented him from procuring an amanuensis capable of doing
justice to his talents. Hence we find a number of errors and omissions,
that from the ease with which they can be rectified, appear evidently
the faults of transcribers. Succeeding historians, far from making
the allowance which his case demanded, have acted towards him with a
degree of peevish hostility exceedingly unbecoming. Because his dates
do not always correspond with the transactions he records, he has been
termed a “_liar_” a “_fabulist_,” “_a man blind in more respects than
one_;” with other appellations no less unworthy of themselves than
unmerited by him. When it is considered that there is no circumstance
connected with Wallace mentioned by subsequent writers, but what had
already found a place in the work of the Minstrel;--that they had no
other story to give than what he had previously given;--and that they
must either repeat what he had already stated, or remain silent: we are
led to conclude, that he could not have so effectually pre-occupied
the ground, without having very complete information regarding the
subject of his biography. This information, he tells us himself, was
derived from a memoir written in Latin by John Blair, assisted by
Thomas Gray, the former chaplain to Wallace, and the latter parson
of Liberton, both eye-witnesses of the transactions they relate. It
follows, therefore, that Scottish authors, having obtained, in a great
measure, their information respecting Wallace from the pages of Blind
Harry, their characters, as historians, become seriously involved with
the fate of him whom they have so unceremoniously vituperated. Under
these circumstances, it appears a very proper subject of inquiry, to
ascertain whether he has, or has not executed his task with becoming
fidelity. Were the memoir of Blair extant, this matter could very
soon be determined; but having long since disappeared, doubts are
now entertained of its ever having been in existence. Sir Robert
Sibbald has published a few fragments, entitled _Relationes quædam
Arnaldi Blair, Monachi de Dumfermelini, et Capellani D. Willielmi
Wallas, Militis 1327_. Though these are merely transcripts from the
Scotichronicon of Fordun, yet some have supposed them to have been
the groundwork on which Blind Harry founded his poem. This opinion,
however, can scarcely be maintained save by those who have only seen
the title; the most superficial inspection will be sufficient to induce
a very different conclusion. Arnold Blair may have, on some occasion,
officiated as chaplain to Wallace, and, proud of the distinction, in
imitation of his namesake, may have made the ill-arranged excerpts from
Fordun, for the purpose of handing down his own name in connexion with
that of the illustrious defender of his country: but the confident
manner in which Henry refers to _his_ author, as evidence of facts
which are not alluded to, even in the most distant manner, in the
work of Arnold, shows the impossibility of its being the foundation
of his narrative; for we cannot suppose that an author, wishing to
pass off a tissue of fables for a series of truths, would act with so
much inconsistency, as to court detection by referring for authority
to a quarter where he was sure of finding none. When Henry introduced
his translation to the public, the approbation with which it was
received may very justly be viewed as the test of its correctness,
there being no scarcity of men in the country capable of collating it
with the original, and detecting the imposition, if any existed; and
it may therefore reasonably be inferred, that the excellency of the
translation was such as to supersede the original; being, from its
language, more accessible to all classes than the other, which, on
that account, was more likely to go into desuetude, and ultimately to
disappear.
The character of Minstrel which has been attached to Henry,--joined
to the vulgar and disgusting translation of his work into modern
Scotch, by Hamilton of Gilbertfield,--has, it is presumed, injured his
reputation as a historian, more than any deviation he has made from the
authentic records of the country. No other work of his exists, or is
known to have existed, which might entitle him to rank as a minstrel;
but being called upon--and possibly compelled by circumstances--to
recite his translation in the presence of the great, he received a
minstrel’s reward, and became, perhaps improperly, confounded with the
profession.
Had Barbour, Wyntown, Langtoft and other authors, who wrote their
chronicles in rhyme, been quoted by subsequent writers as minstrels,
it would no doubt have weakened their authority as historians. These
men, however, professed to give, though in verse, a faithful register
of the transactions of their country. Henry seems to have had only
the same object in view; and thus endeavours to impress the reader
with the fidelity of the translation, and the disinterestedness of his
motives:--
“Off Wallace lyff quha has a forthar feill,
May schaw furth mair with wit and eloquence;
For I to this haiff don my diligence,
Eftyr the pruff geyffyn fra the Latyn buk,
Quhilk Maister Blayr in his tym wndyrtuk,
In fayr Latyn compild it till ane end;
With thir witnes the mar is to commend.
Byschop Synclar than lord was off Dunkell,
He gat this buk, and confermd it him sell
For werray true; thar off he had no dreid,
Himselff had seyn gret part off Wallace deid.
His purpos was till haue send it to Rom,
Our fadyr off kyrk tharon to gyff his dom.
Bot Maister Blayr, and als Schir Thomas Gray,
Eftir Wallace thai lestit mony day,
Thir twa knew best of gud Schir Wilyhamys deid,
Fra sexteyn yer quhill nyne and twenty yeid.
Fourty and fyve off age, Wallace was cauld,
That tym that he was to [the] Southeroun sauld.
Thocht this mater be nocht till all plesance,
His suthfast deid was worthi till awance.
All worthi men at redys this rurall dyt,
Blaym nocht the buk, set I be wnperfyt.
I suld hawe thank, sen I nocht trawaill spard;
For my laubour na man hecht me reward;
Na charge I had off king nor othir lord;
Gret harm I thocht his gud deid suld be smord.
I haiff said her ner as the process gais;
And fenyeid nocht for frendschip nor for fais.
Costis herfor was no man bond to me;
In this sentence I had na will to be,
Bot in als mekill as I rahersit nocht
Sa worthely as nobill Wallace wrocht.
Bot in a poynt, I grant, I said amyss,
Thir twa knychtis suld blamyt be for this,
The knycht Wallas, off Craggé rychtwyss lord,
And Liddaill als, gert me mak [wrang] record.
On Allyrtoun mur the croun he tuk a day,
To get battaill, as myn autour will say.
Thir twa gert me say that ane othir wyss;
Till Maister Blayr we did sumpart off dispyss.”
_Buke Eleuenth_, v. 1410-1450.
What more can an author say to satisfy his reader of the purity of his
intentions, as well as of the genuineness of the source from whence
he has drawn his materials? Without reward, or promise of reward,
he appears to have undertaken his task from the purest feelings
of patriotism, and finished it before he experienced any of the
fostering influence of patronage. That the transactions he relates are
substantially correct, or at least such as were generally believed
to be so at the time he wrote, we have the evidence of one nearly
cotemporary. Major thus expresses himself:[3] “Henry, who was blind
from his birth, in the time of my infancy composed _the whole Book
of William Wallace_; and committed to writing in vulgar poetry, in
which he was well skilled, the _things that were commonly related of
him_. For my own part, I give only partial credit to writings of this
description. By the recitation of these however, in the presence of
men of the highest rank, he procured, as he indeed deserved, food and
raiment.” Though Major says nothing of Blair’s Memoirs, yet he frees
Henry from the charge of relating any thing that was not previously
believed by his countrymen.
Thomas Chambers, in his History of the House of Douglas, says,
“These things fell out in the year 1298; which passages, as the most
part of actions done in the time of Sir William Wallace, are either
passed over, or slenderly touched by the writers of our chronicles,
although the truth thereof be unquestionable, being related by those
eyewitnesses who wrote the diary or history of Sir William Wallace
in Latin, which is paraphrastically turned into English rhyme,
the interpreter expressing the main body of the story very truly;
howsomever, missing or mistaking some circumstances, he differeth
therein from the Latin.”[4] From the manner in which this is expressed,
it may be supposed that Chambers had seen the original. If this could
be established, his testimony would be of considerable importance.
Nicholson, Archdeacon of Carlisle, in his Scottish Historical Library,
says, that the names of the great northern Englishmen, whom Henry
represents Wallace as having been engaged with, such as Sir Gerard
Heron, Captain Thirlwall, Morland, Martindale, &c. are still well known
on the borders of Cumberland and Northumberland. The reader may also
find, by the Statistical Account of Scotland, that the localities
mentioned in the poem, are given with a precision beyond the reach of
one labouring under the infirmity of blindness.
The invasion of Lorn by MacFadyan and a horde of Irish, at the
instigation of Edward, is a circumstance unnoticed by any historian,
save the translator of Blair; and were it not for the undoubted
evidence, arising from traditions still preserved among a people who
never heard of the work of the Minstrel, it might be considered as the
mere creation of his own fancy. But such decided testimony in favour
of the correctness of his statement, when taken in connection with
the accurate manner in which he has described the advance of Wallace
through a country, respecting the intricacies of which he, of himself,
could form no idea--the near approach he has made to the Celtic names
of the places, which can still be distinctly traced--and the correct
description he has given of the grand scene of action on the Awe,--are
sufficient to stamp the impress of truth on his narrative, and satisfy
any one of the impossibility of a man, situated as he was, ever being
able to accomplish it without the diary of an eye-witness.
After the defeat of MacFadyan, Wallace is represented as holding a
council or meeting with the chieftains of the West Highlands, in the
Priory of Ardchattan. The ruins of the Priory are still to be found
on the banks of Loch Etive, a few miles from the scene of strife;
and among the rubbish, as well as in the neighbouring grounds, coins
of Edward I. have at different times been dug up, in considerable
quantities. So late as March 1829, the following paragraph appeared in
the Glasgow Herald:--“In digging a grave, a few days ago at Balvodan
(or St Modan’s), a burial-place in the neighbourhood of the Priory of
Ardchattan, Argyllshire, a number of ancient silver coins were found,
in a remarkably fine state of preservation. The place where they had
been deposited was about four feet below the surface; and they seem to
have been contained in an earthen vessel, which mouldered into dust,
on exposure to the atmosphere; they were turned up by the shovel, as
those who were attending the interment were surrounding the grave, and
each of the party present having picked up a few, the rest were, by
the Highlanders, returned with the earth to the grave. The coins were
struck in the reign of the First Edward, whose name can be distinctly
traced on them; and they were probably placed there at the time,
when that monarch had succeeded in getting temporary possession of
the greater part of Scotland. In that case they must have lain where
they were found for upwards of five hundred years.” The writer had an
opportunity of examining a number of these coins on the spot; he found
a great many of them to be struck in Dublin, and they seemed below the
regular standard. Though numerous discoveries have been made of the
coins of this ambitious monarch in other parts of Scotland, yet in
the West Highlands they are extremely rare. Neither Edward, nor any
of his English generals, ever penetrated so far in that direction. It
is, therefore, highly probable, that the above money may have formed
part of the contents of the military chest of MacFadyan, which, in that
superstitious age, had found its way into the hands of the priesthood.
Although Henry cannot be collated with his original, the truth or
falsehood of his narrative may, in part, be ascertained by comparing
him with those who preceded him on the same subject. The most reputable
of these writers, and those whose characters for veracity stand highest
in the estimation of the learned, are John de Fordun, and Andro de
Wyntown, both original historians; for, though Wyntown outlived Fordun,
he had not an opportunity of seeing his history. With respect to
Fordun’s agreement with the Minstrel, the reader has the evidence of
Nicholson, Archdeacon of Carlisle, who says, that “Hart’s _edition_ of
Wallace contains a preface which confirms the whole of it out of the
Scoti-Chronicon.”[5] Wyntown, who finished his history in 1424, being
about 46 years before Henry, in alluding to those deeds of Wallace
which he had left _unrecorded_, says,
“Of his gud Dedis and Manhad
Gret Gestis; I hard say, ar made;
Bot sá mony, I trow noucht,
As he in-till hys dayis wroucht.
Quha all hys Dedis of prys wald dyte,
Hym worthyd a gret Buk to wryte;
And all thái to wryte in here
I want báthe Wyt and gud Laysere.”
B. viii. c. xv. v. 79-86.
The first couplet may allude to Blair’s Diary, or perhaps to Fordun’s
History, which he had no doubt heard of; and, in the succeeding
lines, he doubts that, however much may have been recorded, it must
still fall very short of what was actually performed. This is so far
satisfactory, from one who lived almost within a century of the time,
and who no doubt often conversed with those whose fathers had fought
under the banners of Wallace; it is a pity that his modesty, and
his want of “gud laysere,” prevented him from devoting more of his
time to so meritorious a subject. The first transaction which he has
narrated, is the affair at Lanark; but it is evident from what he says,
that Wallace must have often before mingled in deadly feud with the
English soldiers, and done them serious injury; otherwise, it would be
difficult to account for their entertaining towards him the degree of
animosity expressed in the following lines:
“Gret Dyspyte thir Inglis men
Had at this Willame Walays then.
Swá thai made thame on á day
Hym for to set in hard assay:”
B. viii. c. xiii. v. 19-22.
Every particular that Wyntown gives of the conflict which ensues, in
consequence of this preconcerted quarrel on the part of the English, is
detailed in the account of the Minstrel with a degree of correctness,
leaving no room to doubt that either the two authors must have drawn
their materials from the same source, or that Henry, having heard
Wyntown’s version of the story, considered it so near the original as
to leave little to be corrected. The language, as will be seen from the
following examples, is nearly the same:
“Twelf hundyre nynty yhere and sewyn
Frá Cryst wes borne the Kyng of Hewyn,”
B. viii. c. xiii.
Henry thus enters upon the same subject--
“Tuelff hundreth yer, tharto nynté and sewyn,
Fra Cryst wes born the rychtwiss king off hewyn.”
“_Buke Sext_,” 107, 108.
Wyntown gives the following dialogue, as having taken place between
Wallace and an athletic wag belonging to the English garrison of
Lanark, who, when surrounded by his companions, made “a Tyt at hys
sword:”
_W._ “Hald stylle thi hand, and spek thi worde.”
_I._ “Wyth thi Swerd thow máis gret bost.”
_W._ “Tharefor thi Dame made lytil cost.”
_I._ “Quhat caus has thow to were the Grene?”
_W._ “Ná caus, bot for to make the Tene.”
_I._ “Thow suld noucht bere sà fare a Knyf.”
_W._ “Swà sayd the Preyst, that swywyd thi Wyf:
Swà lang he cald that Woman fayr,
Quhill that his Barne wes made thi Ayre.”
_I._ “Me-thynk thow drywys me to scorne.”
_W._ “Thi Dame wes swywyd or thow wes borne.”
B. viii. c. xiii. 28-38.
The similarity of Henry’s version is too apparent to be the effect of
chance. After a little _badinage_, which does not appear in Wyntown, he
says,
“Ma Sotheroune men to thaim assemblit ner.
Wallace as than was laith to mak a ster.
Ane maid a scrip, and tyt at his lang suorde:
‘Hald still thi hand,’ quod he, ‘and spek thi word.’
‘With thi lang suerd thow makis mekill bost.’
‘Tharoff,’ quod he, ‘thi deme maid litill cost.’
‘Quhat causs has thow to wer that gudlye greyne?--’
‘My maist causs is bot for to mak the teyne.’
‘Quhat suld a Scot do with sa fair a knyff?--’
‘Sa said the prest that last janglyt thi wyff;
‘That woman lang has tillit him so fair,
‘Quhill that his child, worthit to be thine ayr.’
‘Me think,’ quod he, ‘thow drywys me to scorn.’
‘Thi deme has beyne japyt or thow was born.’”
“_Buke Sext_,” 141-154.
The parties soon come to blows; and, in the conflict, Wallace cut off
the hand of one of his opponents. Wyntown thus takes notice of the
circumstance.
“As he wes in that Stowre fechtand,
Frá ane he strak swne the rycht hand;
And frá that Carle mycht do ná mare,
The left hand held fast the Buklare,
And he swá mankyd, as brayne-wode,
Kest fast wyth the Stwmpe the Blode
In-til Willame Walays face:
Mare cumryd of that Blode he was,
Than he was a welle lang qwhile
Feychtand stad in that peryle.”
B. viii. c. xiii. 47-56.
Henry narrates the anecdote with little variation.
“Wallace in stour wes cruelly fechtand;
Fra a Sotheroune he smat off the rycht hand:
And quhen that carle off fechtyng mycht no mar,
With the left hand in ire held a buklar.
Than fra the stowmpe the blud out spurgyt fast,
In Wallace face aboundandlye can out cast;
In to great part it marryt him off his sicht.”
“_Buke Sext_, 163-169.”
The escape of Wallace by means of his mistress--her murder by order
of the sheriff--his return the ensuing night--with the slaughter of
the sheriff--are particularly taken notice of by Wyntown. Henry’s
translation includes all these occurrences, and only differs by being
more circumstantial. The account of the battle of Falkirk agrees in
numerous instances. The covenant between Cumming and Bruce, which Henry
states to have taken place near Stirling, is corroborated in place and
circumstance by Fordun, Wyntown and Barbour. The hanging of Sir Bryce
Blair and Sir Ronald Crawford in a barn at Ayr, is confirmed by the
last mentioned writer, although he does not descend to particulars.
These, and many other instances may be adduced, to show, that,
though Henry or his authority may have occasionally indulged in the
marvellous, yet the general outline of his history, and even many of
the particulars, are in strict accordance with truth; and the work
itself necessarily becomes not only valuable as a depository of ancient
manners, but as containing matter, which, if properly investigated, may
be useful to the historian. Whether the apocryphal part--and which,
it must be allowed, is considerable--ought to be attributed to the
fancy of the translator, or if it formed a portion of the original
text, we have no means of ascertaining. From the frequent and apparent
sincerity, however, with which Henry appeals to his “auctor,” and the
value he seems to attach to a faithful discharge of his task, we might
be led to infer, that if it were practicable to collate his performance
with the memoir of Blair, the rendering of it would be found
unexceptionable. Under these circumstances, the writer of the following
narrative has not scrupled to avail himself of such statements as
appeared entitled to credit; and, though he cannot consider the
Minstrel as deserving the same degree of confidence as Wyntown or
Barbour, yet, when he finds him consistent and characteristic, he
conceives it would be unjust to suspect falsehood in every instance,
where he does not happen to be supported by the respectable testimonies
already enumerated. That he is more circumstantial than any of the
Scottish historians, is easily accounted for, by his attention, or
rather that of his author, being engrossed by the actions of one
individual. A degree of minuteness is in this case adopted, which would
be altogether incompatible with the plan of a general historian.
These remarks it has been deemed necessary to make in defence of one to
whom we are indebted for the only original memoir of the greatest hero,
and purest patriot, Scotland or any other country ever produced; an
author, however, who, instead of having the merits of his work fairly
appreciated, has been vilified and abused by those who, in their zeal
for establishing new historical creeds, have found it a matter of less
labour to _sneer_ than to _investigate_.
The sources from whence the present writer has drawn his materials,
will, it is hoped, be found such as are generally entitled to credit.
Being of opinion that the authors who lived nearest the period under
review ought to be best informed respecting the transactions connected
with it, he has therefore endeavoured to collate as many ancient
Scottish and English authorities as possible. The biographical notices
of such Englishmen as figured in the Scottish wars, are chiefly drawn
from the historians of England; conceiving that it belongs to the
writers of a country to be best acquainted with the details of its
internal and domestic history; but to enumerate the authorities he has
consulted, would here be superfluous, as they are duly noted at the
proper stages of the narrative.
LIFE
OF
SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.
CHAPTER I.
STATE OF SCOTLAND IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
The scanty and imperfect records which exist respecting the early state
of Scotland, have been a fruitful source of complaint to all writers
who have applied themselves to the investigation of her history.
Those, however, who would form an estimate of her relative situation
and internal resources, by reference to her condition at the time she
became allied to England on the accession of James VI., would arrive at
very erroneous conclusions on the subject.
That Scotland retrograded under the dynasty of the Stuarts, few, who
are conversant with her early history, will be inclined to deny.
But, without inquiring how far the incapacity or imprudence of that
unfortunate race may have contributed to her decline, the writer will
endeavour to arrange a few remarks respecting the above-mentioned
period, for the benefit of those readers whose attention may not have
been directed to that interesting portion of our annals.
The jurisprudence of Scotland, like that of the other states of
Europe, embraced the feudal system in all its degrees of servitude,
from the knightly devoirs of the baron, down to the humble and more
laborious task of the bondsman, who could be either put to death at
the will of his over-lord, or bartered away to the church, for a
certain number of masses. Yet though this state of society existed to
a considerable extent, there were some privileged classes exempt from
its more degrading operation. The most influential of these, as might
be expected, were the priesthood, who, as soon as admitted to orders,
became emancipated from their temporal bondage.[6]
Merchants and burgesses were of course free. Had this not been the
case, those useful classes could not have existed, as the control of
the feudal superior over the _adscriptos glebæ_, extended not only to
an absolute property in themselves and their offspring, but also over
any means they might accumulate. When a bondsman, therefore, bought
a burgage, and remained a year and a day in a burgh, without being
molested or claimed by his lord, he became a free man for ever.[7]
Another useful portion of society is to be found in our records
under the name of _liberi firmarii_, or free yeomanry, the formation
of which, it is presumed, may be attributed in a great measure to
the ecclesiastical establishments. The clergy, from their superior
education, were wiser, in their generation, than their neighbours;
and instead of allowing the produce of their lands to be eaten up by
hordes of idle serfs, they preferred letting them at a valuation to
industrious free men, whom they encouraged by the immunities which
they had it in their power to grant. These free men were generally the
descendants of the clergy, the younger sons of gentlemen, or burgesses
possessed of small capitals. From this judicious management, the church
lands were always the best cultivated, and consequently the most
productive in the country.
At an early period the maritime towns were frequented by foreigners;
and the productions of almost every clime were to be found in
Scotland. By an Act of Alexander III.,[8] it appears that the trade
of the country had rather declined during his minority; the causes
of which are stated to have been, captures by pirates, shipwrecks on
the coast, storms at sea, and detentions on slight grounds in various
ports and places. In order, therefore, to revive the foreign commerce
of the kingdom, and give the necessary security and facility to
transactions with strangers, all the lieges were strictly prohibited
from interfering with the said traffic, except the burgesses at the
different ports. This regulation gave confidence to foreigners, by
bringing them into immediate contact with a description of men, with
whom reciprocal advantages would naturally beget and maintain a
friendly understanding.[9]
The consequence of this liberal policy was soon felt; and before
the year expired, vessels from all quarters made their appearance
in the Scottish harbours, willing to exchange their cargoes for
the productions of the country; and in the course of a few years,
Scotland exhibited a very flourishing appearance, abounding in money
and wealth of every description. The Flemings, whom the English had
expelled, found protection and encouragement in Scotland, and were
allowed to fortify their factory at Berwick, called “The Red Hall,”
under condition of their defending it to the last extremity against
the enemies of that kingdom. This engagement, as will be seen, they
afterwards nobly performed.
A number of wealthy Lombards, jealous perhaps of their rivals the
Flemings, now made application to the Government of Scotland for
permission to erect similar establishments in various parts of the
country, particularly at Queensferry and other stations on the
Forth,--craving, at the same time, certain spiritual privileges. The
States of the kingdom acceded at once to their request, in so far
as they regarded trade; but as the Lombards were the vassals of the
Pope, they prudently declined mixing up any ecclesiastical matters
with affairs of commerce. In the meantime, the unfortunate death of
the King put an end to the negociation. Fordun, who narrates the
circumstance, does not condescend on the nature of the spiritual
privileges required. It is highly probable, however, that they
consisted in their being admitted into Scotland on the same terms
which they enjoyed in England and other European states, where they
were recognised in a special manner as “the Pope’s merchants,” and
were intrusted by him with the receiving and remitting the immense
revenues which were drawn from every country where their Holy Father’s
supremacy was acknowledged. Trade, with them, was often a secondary
consideration. Lending of money, for which they exacted enormous usury,
constituted the most lucrative part of their operations; and in these
nefarious transactions, it has been conjectured, that they were often
commissioned to employ the funds belonging to the Holy See, whose
bulls were frequently issued in their favour, when their crimes or
rapacity had aroused the vengeance of the governments under which they
resided.[10] Their severity to their debtors, made them known by the
name of _Caursini_; and they at last became generally obnoxious for
their extortion. If the account given of them by Matthew Paris may be
relied on, the caution of the Scots respecting the admission of such
harpies into the country was highly commendable.
The great mart for foreign commerce in the kingdom, previous to
1296, appears to have been Berwick. The importance of this place was
considerable. Even in the reign of Malcolm IV., it possessed more ships
than any other town in Scotland, and was exposed, from its wealth, to
visits from the piratical fleets of the Norwegians. In 1156, a ship
belonging to a citizen, called Knut the Opulent, and having his wife
on board, was taken by Erlend, Earl of Orkney; but it is recorded Knut
hired fourteen ships, with a competent number of men, for which he paid
one hundred merks of silver, and went in pursuit of the pirate, who had
anchored for the night at one of the adjacent islands.[11]
The wealth and importance of this ancient emporium of commerce, became
so great in the reign of Alexander II., as to excite the admiration
of contemporary authors, one of whom calls it a “second Alexandria;”
and eulogizes the inhabitants for the extent of their donations to
religious houses. “But we have,” says Macpherson, in his Annals of
Commerce, “better authority than the voice of panegyric, for the
prosperity of Berwick; as we find the customs of it assigned by King
Alexander to a merchant of Gascoigne for 2,197_l._ 8s. Sterling--a sum
equal to 32,961 bolls of wheat, at the usual price of 16 pennies.”[12]
In the years 1283 and 1284, Robert Durham the Mayor, together with
Simon Martel, and other good men of Berwick, enacted the _Statute of
the Gilt_.
“By c. 20. None but gild-brothers were permitted to buy hides, wool, or
wool-fells, in order to sell them again, or cut cloth, except foreign
merchants.
“C. 22. 37. and 44. Herrings and other fish, corn, beans, peas, salt,
and coals,[13] were ordered to be sold ‘_at the bray_,’ along side
the vessel bringing them, and no where else; and they were not to be
carried on shore when the sun was down. Any burgess who was present
at a purchase of herrings, might claim a portion of them for his own
consumption, at the original cost.
“C. 27. Brokers were elected by the community of the town, and their
names registered. They paid annually a tun (_dolium_) of wine for their
license;”--a proof that their business must have been lucrative.
“C. 28. No regrator was allowed to buy fish, hay, oats, cheese, butter,
or other articles brought into the town for sale, till the bell rung.
“The government of the town was declared to be by a mayor, four
provosts (_præpositis_), and twenty-four councillors,” &c.
In 1283, when Edward was preparing for his invasion of Wales, he
commissioned one John Bishop, a burgess of Lynne, to purchase
merchandise (_mercimonia_) for him in Scotland. This is rather a
singular instance of the superiority of the Scots market in those
days.[14]
The other cities in Scotland, though inferior to Berwick, were not
without their proportion of trade. About the same time, the sheriffs
of Cumberland and Lancaster were ordered to send people to purchase
fish on the west coast of Scotland, and convey them to the _depôt_
at Chester; and one Adam de Fulcham was commissioned to furnish 100
barrels of sturgeons, of 500 weight each, 5000 salt fish, also dried
fish. The fish of Aberdeen were so well cured, that they were exported
to the principal fishing port of Yarmouth.
Four hundred fish of Aberdeen (perhaps salmon), one barrel sturgeons,
five dozen lampreys, fifty pounds whale oil, _balen_ (for burning,
perhaps, during the voyage), and a half last of herrings, constituted
the fish part of the provisions put on board of a ship fitted out at
Yarmouth for bringing the infant Queen of Scotland from the court of
her father, the King of Norway. The fish of Aberdeen cost somewhat
under three pennies; stock-fish under one penny each, and the half last
of herring 30s.[15]
In the reign of Alexander III., the merchants of St Omer’s, and
partners of the Florentine houses of Pullici and Lambini, had
established correspondents in Scotland; and one Richard de Furbur,
a trader of the inland town of Roxburgh, had sent factors and
supercargoes to manage his business in foreign countries, and various
parts of Britain.
The exports of Scotland, at this time, consisted of wool and woolfells,
hides, black cattle,[16] fish, salted and cured, horses, greyhounds,
falcons, pearls, and herrings, particularly those caught in Lochfyne,
which had a preference, and found a ready market among the French, who
came and exchanged their wines at a place still known by the name of
_French Foreland_; and so much was wine a regular understood barter,
that Lochfyne (_Lochfion_), or the Wine Loch, became the only name for
one of the most extensive arms of the Western Ocean on the Scottish
coast. The pearl was a more ancient branch of traffic, and said to
have been in request among the Romans. The Scottish pearl, however,
appears to have been partially superseded in the French market, by
the introduction of an article of superior lustre from the East. The
goldsmiths of Paris, therefore, made a trade regulation, forbidding any
worker in gold or silver to set any Scotch pearls along with Oriental
ones, except in large jewels for churches. The greyhounds,[17] however,
kept up their price; and the Scottish falcons were only rivalled by
those of Norway.
The reader may have some idea of the quantity of wine consumed at
the table of Alexander III., from the circumstance of one hundred
and seventy-eight hogsheads being supplied in the year 1263, and
sixty-seven hogsheads and one pipe furnished the following year. The
difference in the quantity of these two years may have been occasioned
by the battle of Largs having taken place on the 2d October 1263; after
which there would, no doubt, be a considerable influx of barons and
their followers to the royal presence, to partake of the festivities
incident to the occasion.[18]
Horses were, it is said, an article of importation as well as
exportation with the Scots in the thirteenth century. Alexander I.
rode a fine Arabian; and, in the Norwegian account of Haco’s invasion,
we are told that a large body of Scottish knights appeared on Spanish
steeds, which were completely armed. It is probable, however, that the
warriors so mounted might have been the forces of the Temple, as this
wealthy order had been some time before established in the country; and
its services would no doubt be required on so stirring an occasion.
Asia, in the thirteenth century, was the grand military school for
the nations of Europe; and every country having representatives in
the armies of the crusaders, the improvements that took place in the
art of war were quickly transfused through the various kingdoms of
Christendom; and the offensive and defensive armour of each was,
therefore, nearly the same. The warriors of Scotland and England
assimilated very closely to each other; and, with the exception,
perhaps, of the glaive-men and the bill-men of the English, and the
Highlanders and Isles-men of the Scots, no material difference could be
discovered. The Scots, as well as the English, had “men-at-arms,” who
fought on foot; and while the latter used the lance, the former were
armed with a spear of no common length. These men among the Scots were
selected on account of their stature and strength, and were generally
placed in the front-rank of the squares, being completely enclosed in
defensive armour, which consisted of steel helmets, a tunic, stuffed
with wool, tow, or old cloth, with a habergeon, or shirt of iron rings,
the joints defended by plates of the same metal. The stubbornness with
which they maintained their ranks may very reasonably be supposed
to have acquired for the Scottish phalanx or schiltron, that high
character for firmness and obstinate valour for which it was so long
distinguished.
Hauberks of different kinds, with padded or quilted pourpoints, having
iron rings set edgeways, were generally worn. In the early part of the
reign of Alexander III, chain-mail was first introduced into Scotland
by the crusaders; it was formed of four rings, joined to a fifth, and
all firmly secured by rivets. Eastern armour, however, had appeared
in the country before this period, as we find that Alexander I. had a
splendid suit of Arabian manufacture, richly ornamented with jewels,
with a spear and shield of silver, which, along with his Arabian steed,
covered with a fair mantle of fine velvet, and other rich housings,
he dedicated to the patron Saint of Scotland, within the church of
St Andrew’s, in the early part of the thirteenth century. This was
considered so valuable a donation, as to require the sanction of David,
the heir-apparent of the throne.[19]
Habergeons, of various forms and dimensions, according to the fancy
or circumstances of the wearer, prevailed in this age. These were
generally covered by a gown or tabard, on the back and front of which
the arms of the wearer were emblazoned. Jacked or boiled leather, with
quilted iron-work, was also in use for defending the arms and legs.
Helmets, bacinets and skullcaps, surmounted, according to the dignity
of the person, formed defences for the head; and the shields were
either round, triangular, or kite-shape, with the device or arms of
the warrior painted upon them in glaring colours. The common soldiers
wrapped pieces of cloth about the neck, their numerous folds of which
formed an excellent defence from the cut of a sword. The “_Ridir_,” or
Knight among the Highlanders, differed little in his equipment from
those of the same rank in the Low Country. In battle, he was usually
attended by a number of _Gall-oglaich_. These were soldiers selected
as the stoutest and bravest of the clan, and might be considered as
the “men-at-arms” among the Gaël. They were supplied either with the
corslet, or the _lùireach mhailleach_, (the habergeon, literally the
coat of rings,) and were armed with the Lochaber-axe, the _clamdhmhor_,
(great two-handed sword) and sometimes a heavy shelving stone-axe,
beautifully polished, and fixed into a strong shaft of oak.[20] In the
rear of the _Gall-oglaich_, stood the _Ceatharnaich_, an inferior sort
of soldiers, armed with knives and daggers. Their duty was to take,
kill, or disable those whom the prowess of the front rank had brought
to the ground. The boldest and most dexterous among the _Gall-oglaich_
was made squire or armour-bearer to the chief. This man, as well as
the rest of his companions, received a larger portion of victuals
when they sat at their leader’s table; but the part allotted for the
armour-bearer was greater than any, and called, on that account, _beath
fir_, or, “the Champion’s Meal.”
Among the Knights of the Isles, the conical-shaped helmet was more in
use than any other. From piratical habits, and long intercourse with
the Norwegians, their followers in general were better equipped than
those of the mainland. The habergeon was very common among them; and
from the gown they put over it, being universally dyed of a yellow or
saffron-colour, they presented a more uniform appearance than their
neighbours.
Besides the lance and spear, the mace, the pike, the _martel de fer_ (a
sort of iron hammer), the two-handed sword, various forms of daggers,
knives, clubs, flails, scythes fixed on poles, bows, cross-bows,[21]
and slings made by a thong fixed to the end of a staff, were in use
among the Scots. These slingers used their weapons with both hands.
They had no defensive armour, and were generally placed among the
archers, who were divided into companies of twenty-five men each.
The military engines in use in attacking or defending castles, or
other fortified places, were the _Loup de Guerre_, or war-wolf, a
frame formed of heavy beams, with spikes, and made to fall on the
assailants in the manner of a portcullis--the _Scorpion_, a large
stationary cross-bow of steel, which discharged darts of an uncommon
size, and the _Balista_, _Catapulta_, and _Trebuchet_, which were
engines of great power in throwing large stones, which were often
heated to a high temperature. The _Bricolle_ threw large square-headed
darts, called _Carreaux_, or _Quarrels_. This engine was used by the
Flemings in fortifying their factory at Berwick, called the “Red Hall.”
The _Espringal_ threw darts with brass plates, instead of feathers,
to make their flight steady. The _Berfrarium_, an engine also called
_Belfredus_, was made of wood, covered with skins to defend it from
fire, and was formed like a tower, and of a height to overlook the
walls. It consisted of several stories, and was rolled on wheels
towards the object of attack, and filled with archers and spearmen;
the latter, under cover of the former, either rushed upon the walls,
or fought hand to hand with the besieged. The name was afterwards
given to high towers erected in cities, for the purpose of alarming by
bells. Hence the origin of the term “Belfrey.” The most expert in the
manufacture of these engines of destruction was a monk of Durham. This
man supplied the greatest portion of the artillery required for the
defence of Berwick.
Respecting the state of the Arts, it would be difficult to give any
thing like a circumstantial detail. That various useful mechanical
professions were known and prosecuted, there is abundance of evidence
to prove; but to what degree of perfection they were brought, is not so
clear. That the compass was familiar to the mariners of Scotland at an
early age, appears from the manner in which Barbour expresses himself,
in the description of Bruce and his companions, who, in crossing from
Arran to Carrick in the night-time, steered by the light of a fire upon
the shore.
“For thai na _nedill_ had, na _stane_,
Bot rowyt always in till ane,
Steerand all tyme apon the fyr.”
_Buke Feyrd_, 1. 23-25.
According to Wyntown, great attention was paid to agriculture by
Alexander III., who fixed that well-known measurement of land called
“Ox-gang.” The passage is worth extracting.
“Yhwmen, pewere Karl, or Knáwe,
Dat wes of mycht an Ox til hawe,
He gert that man hawe part in Pluche;
Swá wes corne in his Land enwche;
Swá than begowth, and eftyr lang
Of Land was mesure, ane Ox-gang.
Mychty men, that had mà
Oxyn, he gert in Pluchys gá.
A Pluch of Land eftyr that
To nowmyr of Oxyn mesur gat.
Be that Vertu all hys Land
Of corn he gart be abowndand.
A Bolle of átis pennys foure
Of Scottis Monè past noucht oure;
A boll of bere for awcht or ten
In comowne prys sawld wes then;
For sextene a boll of qwhete;
Or fore twenty the derth wes grete.
This fályhyd frá he deyd suddanly.”
B. vii. c. x. 507-525.
If the beautiful specimens of architecture which were produced in this
age may be regarded as furnishing certain criteria for judging of the
general state of the arts, we would be warranted in assigning to them
a much higher degree of perfection than many of our readers would be
inclined to admit. It is, however, difficult to believe, that a nation
could have arrived at a high degree of excellence in an art which
required a superior knowledge of the principles of science, as well as
the greatest refinement in taste, without having made a corresponding
proficiency in those of a subordinate character. The exquisite
workmanship which adorned the crosses and monuments within the sacred
precincts of the Island of Iona, commands at once the admiration and
respect of strangers; and the fragments which have escaped the ravages
of modern Vandalism, display a neatness of execution in the figures,
lettering and embellishments, which may justly claim competition with
the productions of the present day. Some, who will not look further
than the subsequent poverty and degradation of Scotland, insist that
these crosses and monuments are French manufacture, and were imported
from France. This conjecture will not admit of a moment’s reflection.
They might as well inform us that the Abbey of Melrose, the Cathedral
of Glasgow, and all the rest of our sacred edifices, were importations
from the same quarter. With more propriety, however, it may be alleged,
that the most elegant of our Ecclesiastical structures were erected
by a band of ingenious architects and workmen belonging to various
countries, who associated together about this time, under the name of
Free Masons, and wandered about Europe, offering their services where
they expected the most liberal encouragement. Of these men, it is
presumed Scotland has a right to claim a fair proportion.
Naval architecture also appears to have met with due encouragement;
for we find, in the year 1249, Hugh de Chantillon, Earl of St Paul
and de Blois, a powerful vassal of Louis IX., joined the crusaders
under that monarch at Cyprus, with fifty knights carrying banners,
besides a numerous body of Flemings, on board of a vessel of great
strength and dimensions, which, according to Matthew Paris,[22]
(who calls it a marvellous vessel), was built at Inverness, in the
Murray Firth. On this occasion Macpherson remarks,[23] “That a French
nobleman should apply to the carpenters of Inverness for a ship, is
a curious circumstance; which seems to infer, that they had acquired
such a degree of reputation in their profession, as to be celebrated
in foreign countries.” A large vessel was afterwards built for the
Venetians at the same place.[24]
As the state of literature at this period was nearly on a level all
over Britain, the following specimens of the earliest lyrical effusions
of the Scottish and English Muse known to exist, may serve the purpose
of exciting a more elaborate inquiry.
ANCIENT ENGLISH SONG.
Summer is come in,
Loud sings the cuckoo;
Groweth seed, and bloweth meed,
And springth woods new,
Singth the cuckoo.
Ewe bleateth after lamb,
Loweth after calf, cow;
Bullock starteth, buck verteth,
Merry sings the cuckoo,
Cuckoo, cuckoo,
Well singth the cuckoo,
May’st thou never cease.
ANCIENT SCOTTISH SONG.
“Quhen Alysandyr oure Kyng wes dede,
That Scotland led in Luwe and Le,
Away wes Sons of Ale and Brede,
Of Wyne and Wax, of Gamyn and Gle:
Oure Gold wes changyd in-to Lede.
Cryst, borne in-to Virgynytè,
Succour Scotland and remede,
That Stad is in perplexytè.”
The law of Scotland is known to all to have been that of the Romans.
The municipal and commercial departments were under the control of
the Court of the “Four Burghs,” which consisted of representatives
from Berwick, Edinburgh, Roxburgh and Stirling; to whom all
matters connected with commerce, and the rights and privileges of
the burgesses, were referred. The Chamberlain’s Court had also a
jurisdiction over the burghs in matters respecting the trade and
general policy of the kingdom. The chamberlain, in the discharge of his
duty, was constrained to make periodical progress through the kingdom,
to adjust the standards, weights and measures, kept in the different
burghs. It was also his duty to detect any imposition that might be
practised by the King’s servants, in exacting more goods at the King’s
price (which was lower than the market), than what were required for
his service, and thereby making a profit to themselves. From the
regulations of the Chamberlain’s Court, it appears that inspectors were
appointed to examine and certify, by their seal of office, the quantity
and quality of cloth, bread, and casks containing liquors; and that
other officers, called “Troners,” had the inspection of wool. Salmon
fishings also were carefully regulated; and fishing during the night,
or while the salmon were not in season, was prohibited.[25]
The great councils of the nation, from whence all the laws emanated,
had their meetings at Scone; and the promulgation of any new act was
preceded by the ringing of the great bell of the monastery where the
meetings were held. By this practice, “the bell of Scoon” became, in
time, a cant expression for the law of the land.[26] These councils
were almost solely attended by the barons and ecclesiastics of
the highest rank. Neither merchants nor burgesses were admitted.
Representations, therefore, from the Chamberlain’s Court, and the
Court of the Four Burghs, afforded the only chance for correcting the
mistakes which might arise from the ignorance of these aristocratic
legislators.
From the intercourse which existed between Scotland and England during
the long interval of peace, previous to the aggression of Edward, the
manners, particularly of the higher classes, were in many respects
nearly the same. The frequent intermarriages tended, more than any
other cause, to render the inhabitants of the two countries familiar
with the habits and customs of each other, while both imitated the
French in dress and language; and their domestic economy, in numerous
instances, also bore a close resemblance.
Though the barons and churchmen among the Scots had no taste for the
high-spiced wines so much relished by the English, yet in the viands
which graced their festivities, particularly those who held lands
in England, there appeared to have been little or no alteration. On
great occasions, the seal, the porpoise, and the wild boar, though now
banished from the table, never failed to make their appearance. Venison
pasties, game, poultry, and baked meats of all descriptions, with fish
in endless variety, were common at the tables of the great. Shell-fish,
particularly oysters, were much in demand among the ecclesiastics. This
is evident from the quantity of shells which are still to be found
in digging about the ruins of religious establishments. The frequent
recurrence of those periods when food of an opposite description was
forbidden, sufficiently accounts for this profusion.
Among the culinary preparations that were peculiar to Scotland, one
known by the name of _Mìr-Mòr_, was held in the highest estimation.
This savoury dish always had a place at the royal table; and so much
was it a favourite, that in the traditionary songs of the Gaëlic bards,
it is mentioned as a viand fit only for a hero, and represented by
them to be given as such by Fingal to his friend _Goll Mac-mhairn_, in
addition to his _beath fir_, or “champion’s meal,” which he received
sitting at the right hand of the royal donor. Of this highly-prized
_morceau friand_, minced meat, marrow and herbs, were the principal
ingredients; and in this composition it is not difficult to trace the
origin of the “Haggies,” a dish still considered national among the
Scots.
Were it a fair criterion to estimate the strength and importance of a
country by the princely revenues of its church establishment, Scotland,
in the thirteenth century, might be considered as holding a very
respectable rank among the nations of Europe. The deference which the
Roman Pontiffs, on various occasions, paid to the Kings of Scotland,
while it displayed their anxiety to preserve, by conciliatory conduct,
the spiritual supremacy in the kingdom, also shows that the national
or patriotic feelings of the Scottish ecclesiastics were stronger
than those ties which connected them with the See of Rome; for, by
their well-timed support of the royal authority, the thunders of the
Vatican, so terrible in other countries, rolled harmlessly over without
distracting the state; and the King was often enabled to contest,
and bring to a favourable termination, those differences which arose
between him and the Pope, with whose legates he frequently assumed very
high ground, not only forbidding them his presence, but even refusing
them a safe conduct through his dominions.
To give any thing like a satisfactory account of the revenues of the
several ecclesiastical endowments, would occupy a space not consistent
with the design of the present work. It may, however, be briefly
stated, that the wealth of the church did not altogether arise from her
spiritual emoluments. Agriculture, and various branches of traffic,
engaged the attention, and increased the riches as well as the luxuries
of the priesthood. In 1254 the Cistercian monks were the greatest
breeders of sheep in England. Being exempted from duties, their wealth
rapidly increased. That they possessed similar privileges in Scotland,
is pretty evident; for in 1275,[27] when Bagamont, an emissary from
Rome, was sent to levy a tenth on the property of the Scottish church
for the relief of the Holy Land, this wealthy order of temporal as
well as spiritual shepherds, compounded for the enormous sum of 50,000
merks. By this compromise, the amount of their revenues remained
unknown.
The following is part of the live-stock, which (according to an
inventory preserved in the chartulary of Newbottle) at one time
belonged to the Abbey of Melrose, viz. 325 forest mares, 54 domestic
mares, 104 domestic horses, 207 stags or young horses, 39 three-year
old colts, and 172 year old colts. Amidst all this profusion of
wealth, the serious reader may desire to know how the ceremonials of
religion were attended to. From the many jokes which Fordun relates
as having taken place among the clergy of his day, we cannot suppose
that either the teachers or the people were more devout than their
neighbours. An old writer describes the interior of a cathedral as a
place where the men came with their hawks and dogs, walking to and fro,
to converse with their friends, to make bargains and appointments, and
to show their guarded coats; and among the Scots, it is well known,
weapons were too often displayed on such occasions.
From what has been stated in the foregoing pages, it is pretty
evident that Scotland occupied a more prominent station among the
nations of Europe, before the aggression of Edward I. than she has
ever done since. The single fact, that Alexander II. mustered and
led to the borders of England, in 1244, an army of 100,000 foot,
with a well appointed body of cavalry, proves that, at the period
under review, when the numerical strength of the two British kingdoms
were marshalled, the inferiority of Scotland was by no means very
apparent. An army so numerous as that we have mentioned, no subsequent
monarch of that kingdom ever had it in his power to bring into the
field. On the death of Alexander III. the prosperity of Scotland
became eclipsed--anarchy overspread the land--the machiavelism of her
arch-enemy prevailed--her ancient glory was trampled in the dust--and
commerce deserted a country overrun with the horrors of war. Thus, in
the emphatic language of the Bard, “Oure gold wes changyd into lede;”
“and,” says MacPherson, “our fishermen and merchants into cut-throats
and plunderers, whose only trade was war, and whose precarious and only
profit was the ruin of her neighbours.”