274. Claymore. The word means "a large sword" (Gaelic claidheamh, sword,
and more, great).
294. Shadowy plaid and sable plume. Appropriate to Roderick Dhu. See on
220 above.
303. Woe the while. Woe be to the time, alas the time! Cf. Shakespeare,
J. C. i. 3. 82: "But, woe the while! our fathers' minds are dead," etc.
See also on i. 166 above.
306. Tine-man. "Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfortunate
in all his enterprises, that he acquired the epithet of 'tine-man,'
because he tined, or lost, his followers in every battle which he
fought. He was vanquished, as every reader must remember, in the bloody
battle of Homildon-hill, near Wooler, where he himself lost an eye, and
was made prisoner by Hotspur. He was no less unfortunate when allied
with Percy, being wounded and taken at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was
so unsuccessful in an attempt to beseige Roxburgh Castle, that it was
called the 'Foul Raid,' or disgraceful expedition. His ill fortune left
him indeed at the battle of Beauge, in France; but it was only to return
with double emphasis at the subsequent action of Vernoil, the last and
most unlucky of his encounters, in which he fell, with the flower of the
Scottish chivalry, then serving as auxiliaries in France, and about two
thousand common soldiers, A.D. 1424" (Scott).
307. What time, etc. That is, at the time when Douglas allied
himself with Percy in the rebellion against Henry IV. of England. See
Shakespeare, 1 Hen. IV.
309. Did, self unscabbarded, etc. Scott says here: "The ancient
warriors, whose hope and confidence rested chiefly in their blades,
were accustomed to deduce omens from them, especially from such as were
supposed to have been fabricated by enchanted skill, of which we have
various instances in the romances and legends of the time. The wonderful
sword Skofnung, wielded by the celebrated Hrolf Kraka, was of this
description. It was deposited in the tomb of the monarch at his death,
and taken from thence by Skeggo, a celebrated pirate, who bestowed it
upon his son-in-law, Kormak, with the following curious directions:
'"The manner of using it will appear strange to you. A small bag is
attached to it, which take heed not to violate. Let not the rays of the
sun touch the upper part of the handle, nor unsheathe it, unless thou
art ready for battle. But when thou comest to the place of fight, go
aside from the rest, grasp and extend the sword, and breathe upon it.
Then a small worm will creep out of the handle; lower the handle, that
he may more easily return into it." Kormak, after having received the
sword, returned home to his mother. He showed the sword, and attempted
to draw it, as unnecessarily as ineffectually, for he could not pluck
it out of the sheath. His mother, Dalla, exclaimed, "Do not despise the
counsel given to thee, my son." Kormak, however, repeating his efforts,
pressed down the handle with his feet, and tore off the bag, when
Skofung emitted a hollow groan; but still he could not unsheathe the
sword. Kormak then went out with Bessus, whom he had challenged to fight
with him, and drew apart at the place of combat. He sat down upon the
ground, and ungirding the sword, which he bore above his vestments, did
not remember to shield the hilt from the rays of the sun. In vain he
endeavored to draw it, till he placed his foot against the hilt; then
the worm issued from it. But Kormak did not rightly handle the weapon,
in consequence whereof good fortune deserted it. As he unsheathed
Skofnung, it emitted a hollow murmur' (Bartholini de Causis Contemptae a
Danis adhuc Gentilibus Mortis, Libri Tres. Hafniae, 1689, 4to, p. 574).
"To the history of this sentient and prescient weapon, I beg leave to
add, from memory, the following legend, for which I cannot produce any
better authority. A young nobleman, of high hopes and fortune, chanced
to lose his way in the town which he inhabited, the capital, if I
mistake not, of a German province. He had accidentally involved himself
among the narrow and winding streets of a suburb, inhabited by the
lowest order of the people, and an approaching thunder-shower determined
him to ask a short refuge in the most decent habitation that was near
him. He knocked at the door, which was opened by a tall man, of a grisly
and ferocious aspect, and sordid dress. The stranger was readily ushered
to a chamber, where swords, scourges, and machines, which seemed to be
implements of torture, were suspended on the wall. One of these swords
dropped from its scabbard, as the nobleman, after a moment's hesitation,
crossed the threshold. His host immediately stared at him with such a
marked expression, that the young man could not help demanding his name
and business, and the meaning of his looking at him so fixedly. 'I am,'
answered the man, 'the public executioner of this city; and the incident
you have observed is a sure augury that I shall, in discharge of my
duty, one day cut off your head with the weapon which has just now
spontaneously unsheathed itself.' The nobleman lost no time in leaving
his place of refuge; but, engaging in some of the plots of the period,
was shortly after decapitated by that very man and instrument.
"Lord Lovat is said, by the author of the Letters from Scotland (vol.
ii. p. 214), to have affirmed that a number of swords that hung up in
the hall of the mansion-house, leaped of themselves out of the scabbard
at the instant he was born. The story passed current among his clan,
but, like that of the story I have just quoted, proved an unfortunate
omen."
311. If courtly spy hath, etc. The 1st ed. has "If courtly spy, and
harbored," etc. The ed. of 1821 reads "had harbored."
319. Beltane. The first of May, when there was a Celtic festival in
honor of the sun. Beltane = Beal-tein, or the fire of Beal, a Gaelic
name for the sun. It was celebrated by kindling fires on the hill-tops
at night, and other ceremonies, followed by dances, and merry-making.
Cf. 410 below. See also The Lord of the Isles, i. 8: "The shepherd
lights his belane-fire;" and Glenfinlas:
"But o'er his hills, in festal day,
How blazed Lord Ronald's beltane-tree!"
323. But hark! etc. "The moving picture--the effect of the sounds--and
the wild character and strong peculiar nationality of the whole
procession, are given with inimitable spirit and power of expression"
(Jeffrey).