Thus is this ape become a shepherd swain,
And the false fox his dog, God give them pain!
_Who, marching forth with false Dunbar,
A ready welcome found_.--P. 26. v. 4.
These two lines are modern, and inserted to complete the verse.
Dunbar, the fortress of Patrick, Earl of March, was too often opened
to the English, by the treachery of that baron, during the reign of
Edward I.
_They laid their sowies to the wall_,
_Wi' many a heavy peal_.--P. 27. v. 4.
In this and the following verse, the attack and defence of a
fortress, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is described
accurately and concisely. The sow was a military engine, resembling
the Roman _testudo_. It was framed of wood, covered with hides, and
mounted on wheels, so that, being rolled forwards to the foot of the
besieged wall, it served as a shed, or cover, to defend the miners, or
those who wrought the battering ram, from the stones and arrows of the
garrison. In the course of the famous defence, made by Black Agnes,
Countess of March, of her husband's castle of Dunbar, Montague, Earl
of Salisbury, who commanded the besiegers, caused one of these engines
to be wheeled up to the wall. The countess, who, with her damsels,
kept her station on the battlements, and affected to wipe off with her
handkerchief the dust raised by the stones, hurled from the English
machines, awaited the approach of this new engine of assault. "Beware,
Montague," she exclaimed, while the fragment of a rock was discharged
from the wall--"Beware, Montague! for farrow shall thy sow!"[94] Their
cover being dashed to pieces, the assailants, with great loss and
difficulty, scrambled back to their trenches. "By the regard of suche
a ladye," would Froissart have said, "and by her comforting, a man
ought to be worth two men, at need." The sow was called by the French
_Truie_.--See _Hailes' Annals_, Vol. II. p. 89. _Wintown's Cronykil_,
Book VIII. _William of Malmesbury_, Lib. IV.
The memory of the _sow_ is preserved in Scotland by two trifling
circumstances. The name given to an oblong hay-stack, is a _hay-sow_;
and this may give us a good idea of the form of the machine. Children
also play at a game with cherry stones, placing a small heap on the
ground, which they term a _sowie_, endeavouring to hit it, by throwing
single cherry-stones, as the sow was formerly battered from the
walls of the besieged fortress. My companions, at the High School of
Edinburgh, will remember what was meant by _berrying a sowie_. It is
strange to find traces of military antiquities in the occupation of
the husbandman, and the sports of children.
[Footnote 94: This sort of bravade seems to have been fashionable in
those times: "Et avec drapeaux, et leurs chaperons, ils torchoient
les murs à l'endroit, ou les pierres venoient frapper."--_Notice des
Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale_.]
The pitch and tar-barrels of Maitland were intended to consume the
formidable machines of the English. Thus, at a fabulous siege of York,
by Sir William Wallace, the same mode of defence is adopted:
The Englishmen, that cruel were and kene,
Keeped their town, and fended there full fast;
Faggots of fire among the host they cast,
Up _pitch and tar_ on feil _sowis_ they lent;
Many were hurt ere they from the walls went;
_Stones on Springalds they did cast out so fast,
And goads of iron made many grome agast_.
Henry the Minstrel's History of Wallace.--B. 8. c. 5.
A more authentic illustration may be derived from Barbour's Account of
the Siege of Berwick, by Edward II., in 1319, when a _sow_ was brought
on to the attack by the English, and burned by the combustibles hurled
down upon it, through the device of John Crab, a Flemish engineer, in
the Scottish service.
And thai, that at the sege lay,
Or it was passyt the fyft day,
Had made thaim syndry apparall,
To gang eft sonys till assaill.
Off gret gests a _sow_ thai maid,
That stalwart heildyne aboyne it haid;
With armyt men inew tharin,
And instruments for to myne.
Syndry scaffalds thai maid withall,
That war wele heyar than the wall,
And ordanyt als that, be the se,
The town suld weill assaillyt be.
Thai within, that saw thaim swa,
Swa gret apparaill schap to ma,
Throw Craby's cunsaill, that wes sley,
A crane thai haiff gert dress up hey,
Rynnand on quheills, that thai micht bryng
It quhar that nede war off helping.
And pyk, and ter, als haiff thai tane;
And lynt, and herds, and brymstane;
And dry treyis that wele wald brin,
And mellyt aythir other in:
And gret fagalds thairoff thai maid,
Gyrdyt with irne bands braid.
The fagalds weill mycht mesuryt be,
Till a gret towrys quantite.
The fagalds bryning in a ball,
With thair cran thoucht till awaill;
And giff the sow come to the wall,
To lat it brynand on her fall;
And with stark chenyeis hald it thar,
Quhill all war brynt up that thar war.
* * * * *
Upon sic maner gan thai fycht,
Quhill it wes ner none off the day,
That thai without, on gret aray,
Pryssyt thair _sow_ towart the wall;
And thai within sune gert call
The engynour, that takyn was,
And gret manance till hym mais,
And swour that he suld dey, bot he
Prowyt on the sow sic sutelté
That he to fruschyt ilk dele,
And he, that hath persawyt wele
That the dede wes wele ner hym till,
Bot giff he mycht fulfil thair will
Thoucht that he at hys mycht wald do.
Bendyt in gret by then wes sche,
That till the sow wes ewyn set.
In hy he gert draw the cleket;
And smertly swappyt owt a stane,
Ewyn our the sow the stane is gane,
And behind it a litill way
It fell: and then they cryt, "Hey!"
That war in hyr, "furth to the wall,
For dredles it is ours all!"
The gynour than deleuerly
Gert bend the gyn in full gret hy;
And the stane smertly swappyt out.
It flaw out quethyr, and with a rout,
And fell rycht ewyn befor the sow.
Thair harts than begouth to grow.
Bot yhet than, with thair mychts all
Thai pressyt the sow towart the wall;
And has hyr set tharto gentilly.
The gynour than gert bend in hy
The gyne, and wappyt owt the stane,
That ewyn towart the lyft is gane,
And with gret wycht syne duschyt doun,
Rycht be the wall in a randoun;
And hyt the sow in sic maner,
That it that wes the maist sowar,
And starkast for to stynt a strak,
In sundre with that dusche it brak.
The men than owt in full gret hy,
And on the wallis thai gan cry,
That thair sow wes feryt thar.
Jhon Crab, that had hys geer all yar
In hys fagalds has set the fyr,
And our the wall syne gan thai wyr,
And brynt the sow till brands bar.
_The Bruce_, Book XVII
The _springalds_, used in defence of the castle of Lauder, were
_balistae_, or large cross-bows, wrought by machinery, and capable of
throwing stones, beams, and huge darts. They were numbered among the
heavy artillery of the age; "Than the kynge made all his navy to
draw along, by the cost of the Downes, every ship well garnished
with bombardes, crosbowes, archers, _springalls_, and other
artillarie."--_Froissart_.
Goads, or sharpened bars of iron, were an obvious and formidable
missile weapon. Thus, at the assault of Rochemiglion "They within
cast out great barres of iron, and pots with lyme, wherewith they
hurt divers Englishmen, such as adventured themselves too
far."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. cap. 108.
From what has been noticed, the attack and defence of Lauder castle
will be found strictly conformable to the manners of the age; a
circumstance of great importance, in judging of the antiquity of the
ballad. There is no mention of guns, though these became so common in
the latter part of the reign of Edward III., that, at the siege of St.
Maloes, "the English had well a four hondred gonnes, who shot day and
night into the fortresse, and agaynst it."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. cap.
336. Barbour informs us, that guns, or "crakis of wer," as he calls
them, and crests for helmets, were first seen by the Scottish, in
their skirmishes with Edward the Third's host, in Northumberland A.D.
1327.
_Which some call Billop-Grace_.--P. 28. v. 5.
If this be a Flemish, or Scottish, corruption for Ville de Grace, in
Normandy, that town was never besieged by Edward I., whose wars in
France were confined to the province of Gascony. The rapid change of
scene, from Scotland to France, excites a suspicion, that some verses
may have been lost in this place. The retreat of the English
host, however, may remind us of a passage, in Wintown, when, after
mentioning that the Earl of Salisbury raised the siege of Dunbar, to
join King Edward in France, he observes,
"It was to Scotland a gud chance,
"That thai made thaim to werray in France;
"For had thai halyly thaim tane
"For to werray in Scotland allane.
Eftyr the gret mischeffis twa,
Duplyn and Hallydowne war tha,
Thai suld have skaithit it to gretly.
Bot fortowne thoucht scho fald fekilly
Will noucht at anis myscheffis fall;
Thare-fore scho set thare hartis all,
To werray Fraunce richit to be,
That Scottis live in grettar lé.
_Cronykil_, B. VIII. cap. 34.
_Now, will ye go, my brethren two,
And try some jeopardie_?--P. 29. v. 2.
The romantic custom of atchieving, or attempting, some desperate and
perilous adventure, without either necessity or cause, was a peculiar,
and perhaps the most prominent, feature of chivalry. It was not merely
the duty, but the pride and delight, of a true knight, to perform such
exploits, as no one but a madman would have undertaken. I think it is
in the old French romance of _Erec and Eneide_, that an adventure, the
access to which lay through an avenue of stakes, garnished with the
bloody heads of the knights who had attempted and failed to atchieve
it, is called by the inviting title of _La joie de la Cour_. To be
first in advancing, or last in retreating; to strike upon the gate of
a certain fortress of the enemy; to fight blindfold, or with one
arm tied up; to carry off a banner, or to defend one; were often the
subjects of a particular vow, among the sons of chivalry. Until some
distinguishing exploit of this nature, a young knight was not said
to have _won his spurs_; and, upon some occasions, he was obliged to
bear, as a mark of thraldom, a chain upon his arm, which was removed,
with great ceremony, when his merit became conspicuous. These chains
are noticed in the romance of _Jehan de Saintré_. In the language of
German chivalry, they were called _Ketten des Gelubdes_ (fetters of
duty). Lord Herbert of Cherbury informs us, that the knights of the
Bath were obliged to wear certain strings, of silk and gold, upon
their left arm, until they had atchieved some noble deed of arms. When
Edward III. commenced his French wars, many of the young bachelors
of England bound up one of their eyes with a silk ribband, and swore,
before the peacock and the ladies, that they would not see with
both eyes until they had accomplished certain deeds of arms in
France.--_Froissart_, cap. 28.
A remarkable instance of this chivalrous frenzy occurred during
the expedition of Sir Robert Knowles, who, in 1370, marched through
France, and laid waste the country, up to the very gates of Paris.
"There was a knighte, in their companye, had made a vowe, the day
before, that he wolde ryde to the walles or gates of Parys, and stryke
at the barryers with his speare. And, for the fournyshing of his vowe,
he departed fro his companye, his spear in his fyst, his shelde
about his neck, armed at all pecesse, on a good horsse, his squyer on
another, behinde him, with his bassenet. And whan he approached neare
to Parys, he toke and dyde on his helme, and left his squyer behind
hym, and dashed his spurres to his horsse, and came gallopynge to
the barryers, the whiche as then were opyn; and the lordes, that were
there, had wened he wolde have entred into the towne; but that was
not his mynde; for, when he hadde stryken at the barryers, as he
had before avowed, he towrned his reyne, and drue back agayne, and
departed. Than the knightes of France, that sawe hym depart, sayd to
hym, 'Go your waye; you have ryghte well acquitted yourself.' I can
nat tell you what was thys knyghtes name, nor of what contre; but the
blazure of his armes was, goules, two fusses sable, a border sable.
Howbeit, in the subbarbes, he had a sore encontre; for, as he passed
on the pavement, he founde before hym a bocher, a bigge man, who had
well sene this knighte pass by. And he helde in his handes a sharpe
hevy axe, with a longe poynt; and, as the knyght returned agayne, and
toke no hede, this bocher came on his side, and gave the knyghte suche
a stroke, betwene the neck and the shulders, that he reversed forwarde
heedlynge, to the neck of his horsse, and yet he recovered agayne. And
than the bocher strake hym agayne, so that the axe entered into his
body, so that, for payne, the knyghte fell to the erthe, and his
horsse ran away, and came to the squyer, who abode for his mayster
at the stretes ende. And so, the squyer toke the horsse, and had gret
marveyle what was become of his mayster; for he had well sene him
ryde to the barryers, and stryke therat with his glayve, and retourne
agayne. Thanne he rode a lytell forthe, thyderwarde, and anone he sawe
where his master layn upon the erthe, bytwene foure men, layenge on
him strokes, as they wolde have stryken on a stethey _(anvil)_; and
than the squyer was so affreyed, that he durst go no farther; for he
sawe well he could nat helpe his mayster. Therefore he retourned
as fast as he myght: so there the sayd knyghte was slayne. And the
knyghtes, that were at the gate, caused hym to be buried in holy
ground."--_Froissart_, ch. 281.
A similar instance of a military jeopardy occurs in the same author,
ch. 364. It happened before the gates of Troyes. "There was an
Englyshe squyre, borne in the bishopryke of Lincolne, an expert man
of armes; I can nat say whyder he could se or nat; but he spurred his
horse, his speare in his hande, and his targe about his necke; his
horse came rushyng downe the waye, and lept clene over the barres of
the baryers, and so galoped to the gate, where as the duke of Burgoyne
and the other lords of France were, who reputed that dede for a great
enterprise. The squyer thoughte to have returned, but he could nat;
for his horse was stryken with speares, and beaten downe, and
the squyer slayn; wherewith the Duke of Burgoyne was right sore
displeased."
_Wilt thou lend me our king's standard,
To bear a little way_?--P. 29. v. 4.
In all ages, and in almost all countries, the military standards have
been objects of respect to the soldiery, whose duty it is to range
beneath them, and, if necessary, to die in their defence. In the ages
of chivalry, these ensigns were distinguished by their shape, and by
the various names of banners, pennons, penoncelles, &c., according to
the number of men, who were to fight under them. They were displayed,
on the day of battle, with singular solemnity, and consigned to the
charge only of such as were thought willing and able to defend them to
the uttermost. When the army of Edward, the Black Prince, was drawn
up against that of Henry the Bastard, king of Castile, "Than Sir Johan
Chandos brought his baner, rolled up togyder, to the prince, and said,
'Sir, behold, here is my baner. I requyre you display it abrode, and
give me leave, this daye, to raise it; for, sir, I thanke God and you,
I have land and heritage suffyciente to maynteyne it withal.' Than the
prince, and King Dampeter (Don Pedro), toke the baner betwene their
handes, and spred it abrode, the which was of sylver, a sharp pyle
gaules, and delyvered it to hym, and said, 'Sir Johan, behold here
youre baner; God sende you joye and honour thereof!' Than Sir Johan
Chandos bare his baner to his owne company, and sayde, 'Sirs, beholde
here my baner, and yours; kepe it as your owne.' And they toke it, and
were right joyful therof, and sayd, that, by the pleasure of God,
and Saint George, they wold kepe and defend it to the best of their
powers. And so the baner abode in the handes of a good Englishe
squyer, called William Alery, who bare it that day, and acquaytted
himself right nobly."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. ch. 237. The loss of a
banner was not only great dishonour, but an infinite disadvantage. At
the battle of Cocherel, in Normandy, the flower of the combatants, on
each side, were engaged in the attack and defence of the banner of the
captall of Buche, the English leader. It was planted amid a bush of
thorns, and guarded by sixty men at arms, who defended it gallantly.
"There were many rescues, and many a one hurt and cast to the earth,
and many feats of armes done, and many gret strokes given, with good
axes of steel, that it was wonder to behold." The battle did not cease
until the captall's standard was taken and torn to pieces.
We learn, from the following passage in _Stowe's Chronicle_, that the
standard of Edward I. was a golden dragon. "The king entred Wales
with an army, appointing the footmen to occupie the enemies in fight,
whiles his horsemen, in a wing, set on the rere battell: himselfe,
with a power, kept his place, where he pight his golden dragon, unto
whiche, as to a castle, the wounded and wearied might repair."
"_Where was thou bred? where was thou born?
Where, or in what countrie?"
"In north of England I was born:
(It needed him to lie_.)--P. 29. v. 5.
Stratagems, such as that of Maitland, were frequently practised with
success, in consequence of the complete armour worn by the knights of
the middle ages. In 1359, Edward III. entered France, to improve the
success of the battle of Poictiers. Two French knights, Sir Galahaut
of Rybamont, and Sir Roger of Cologne, rode forth, with their
followers, to survey the English host, and, in short, to seek
adventures. It chanced that they met a foraging party of Germans,
retained in King Edward's service, under the command of Reynold of
Boulant, a knight of that nation. By the counsel of a squire of his
retinue, Sir Galahaut joined company with the German knight, under the
assumed character of Bartholomew de Bonne, Reynold's countryman, and
fellow soldier in the English service. The French knights "were a 70
men of armes, and Sir Renolde had not past a 30; and, whan Sir Renolde
saw theym, he displayed his baner befor hym, and came softely rydynge
towarde theym, wenyng to hym that they had been Englyshemen. Whan he
approched, he lyft up hys vyser, saluted Sir Galahaut, in the name of
Sir Bartylmewe de Bonnes. Sir Galahaut helde hymselfe styll secrete,
and answered but fayntly, and sayd, 'let us ryde forth;' and so rode
on, and hys men, on the one syde, and the Almaygnes on the other. Whan
Sir Renolde of Boulant sawe theyr maner, and howe Sir Galahaut rode
sometyme by hym, and spake no word, than he began to suspecte. And
he had not so ryden, the space of a quarter of an hour, but he stode
styll, under his baner, among hys men, and sayd, 'Sir, I have dout
what knyght ye be. I thynke ye be nat Sir Bartylmewe, for I knowe hym
well; and I see well that yt ys nat you. I woll ye telle me your name,
or I ryde any farter in your company.' Therwith Sir Galahaut lyft
up hys vyser, and rode towardes the knyght to have taken hym by the
raygne of hys brydell, and cryed, '_Our Ladye of Rybamont_!' than Sir
Roger of Coloyne sayd, '_Coloyne to the rescue_!'[95] Whan Sir Renolde
of Boulant sawe what case he was in, he was nat gretly afrayed, but
drewe out his sworde; and, as Sir Galahaut wolde have taken hym by the
brydell, Sir Renolde put his sworde clene through hym, and drue agayne
hys sworde out of hym, and toke his horse, with the spurres, and left
Sir Galahaut sore hurt. And, whan Sir Galahautes men sawe theyr master
in that case, they were sore dyspleased, and set on Sir Renolde's
men; there were many cast to the yerth, but as sone as Sir Renolde had
gyven Sir Galahaut that stroke, he strak hys horse with the spurres,
and toke the feldes. Than certayne of Galahaut's squyers chasyd hym,
and, whan he sawe that they folowed hym so nere, that he muste other
tourne agayne, or els be shamed, lyke a hardy knyght he tourned, and
abode the foremost, and gave hym such a stroke, that he had no more
lyste to folwe him. And thus, as he rode on, he served three of theym,
that folowed hym, and wounded theym sore: if a goode axe had been in
hys hand, at every stroke he had slayne a man. He dyd so muche, that
he was out of danger of the Frenchmen, and saved hymselfe withoute any
hurte; the whyche hys enemyes reputed for a grete prowess, and so dyd
all other that harde thereof; but hys men were nere slayne or taken,
but few that were saved. And Sir Galahaut was caryed from thence sore
hurt to Perone; of that hurt he was never after perfectly hole; for
he was a knyght of suche courage, that, for all his hurte, he wold not
spare hymselfe; wherefore he lyved not long after."--_Froissart_, Vol.
I. Chap. 207.
[Footnote 95: The war-cries of their family.]
_The youngest turn'd him in a path,
And drew a burnished brand, &c._--P. 31. v. 2.
Thus, Sir Walter Mauny, retreating into the fortress of Hanyboute,
after a successful sally, was pursued by the besiegers, who ranne
after them, lyke madde men; than Sir Gualtier saide, "Let me never
be beloved wyth my lady, without I have a course wyth one of these
folowers!" and turning, with his lance in the rest, he overthrew
several of his pursuers, before he condescended to continue his
retreat.
_Whene'er they came within the yate,
They thrust their horse them frae, &c._--P. 32. v. 1.
"The Lord of Hangest (pursued by the English) came so to the barryers
(of Vandonne) that were open, as his happe was, and so entred in
therat, and than toke his speare, and turned him to defence, right
valiantly."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. Chap. 367.
_They rade their horse, they ran their horse,
Then hovered on the lee, &c._--P. 36. v. 1.
The sieges, during the middle ages, frequently afforded opportunity
for single combat, of which the scene was usually the draw-bridge,
or barriers, of the town. The former, as the more desperate place of
battle, was frequently chosen by knights, who chose to break a lance
for honour, and their ladies' love. In 1387, Sir William Douglas,
lord of Nithisdale, upon the draw-bridge of the town of Carlisle,
consisting of two beams, hardly two feet in breadth, encountered and
slew, first, a single champion of England, and afterwards two, who
attacked him together.--_Forduni Scotichronicon_, Lib. XIV. cap. 51.
He brynt the surburbys of Carlele,
And at the bareris he faucht sa wele,
That on thare bryg he slw a man,
The wychtast that in the town wes than:
Quhare, on a plank of twa feet brade,
He stude, and twa gude payment made,
That he feld twa stout fechteris,
And but skath went till his feres.
_Wintown's Cronykil_, Book IX. Chap. 8.
These combats at the barriers, or palisades, which formed the outer
fortification of a town, were so frequent, that the mode of attack and
defence was early taught to the future knight, and continued long
to be practised in the games of chivalry. The custom, therefore, of
defying the inhabitants of a besieged town to this sort of contest,
was highly fashionable in the middle ages; and an army could hardly
appear before a place, without giving rise to a variety of combats
at the barriers, which were, in general, conducted without any unfair
advantage being taken on either part.
The following striking example of this romantic custom occurs in
Froissart. During the French wars of Edward the Black Prince, and in
the year 1370, a body of English, and of adventurers retained in
his service, approached the city of Noyon, then occupied by a French
garrison, and arrayed themselves, with displayed banners, before
the town, defying the defenders to battle. "There was a Scottysh
knyghte[96] dyde there a goodly feate of armes, for he departed fro
his companye, hys speare in hys hand, and mounted on a good horse, hys
page behynde hyme, and so came before the barryers. Thys knyghte was
called Sir Johan Assueton,[97] a hardy man and a couragyous. Whan he
was before the barryers of Noyon, he lyghted a-fote, and sayd to hys
page, 'Holde, kepe my horse, and departe nat hens;' and so wente to
the barryers. And wythyn the barryers, there were good knyghtes; as,
Sir John of Roy, Sir Lancelat of Loutys, and a x or xii other, who
had grete marveyle what thys sayde knyghte wolde do. Than he sayde to
them, 'Sirs, I am come hyder to se you. I se well, ye wyll nat issue
out of your barryers; therefore I will entre, and I can, and wyll
prove my knyghthode agaynst yours; wyn me and ye can.' And therewyth
he layde on, round about hym, and they at hym. And thus, he alone
fought agaynst them, more than an houre; and dyd hurte two or three
of them; so that they of the towne, on the walles and garrettes,
stode still, and behelde them, and had great pleasure to regarde his
valyauntness, and dyd him no hurte; the whiche they myght have done,
if they hadde list to have shotte, or cast stones at hym. And also
the French knyghtes charged them to let hym and them alone togyder. So
long they foughte, that, at last, his page came near to the barryers,
and spake in his langage, and sayd, 'Sir, come awaye; it is time for
you to departe, for your cumpanye is departyng hens.' The knyghte
harde hym well, and than gave a two or three strokes about him, and
so, armed as he was, he lepte out of the barryers, and lepte upon
his horse, without any hurte, behynde his page; and sayd to the
Frenchemen, 'Adue, sirs! I thank you;' and so rode forthe to his
owne company. The whiche dede was moche praysed of many
folkes."--_Froissart_, cap. 278.
[Footnote 96: By the terms of the peace betwixt England and Scotland,
the Scottish were left at liberty to take service either with France
or England, at their pleasure. Sir Robert Knolles, therefore, who
commanded the expedition, referred to in the text, had under his
command a hundred Scottish spears.]
[Footnote 97: _Assueton_ is a corruption for Swinton. Sir John
Swinton, of Swinton, was a Scottish champion, noted for his courage
and gigantic stature.]
The barriers, so often alluded to, are described, by the same
admirable historian, to be grated pallisades, the grates being
about half a foot wide. In a skirmish before Honycourt, Sir Henry
of Flanders ventured to thrust his sword so far through one of those
spaces, that a sturdy abbot, who was within, seized his sword-arm,
and drew it through the harriers, up to the shoulder. In this aukward
situation he remained for some time, being unwilling to dishonour
himself by quitting his weapon. He was at length rescued, but lost his
sword; which Froissart afterwards saw preserved, as a relique, in the
monastery of Honycourt.--Vol. I. chap. 39. For instances of single
combats, at the barriers, see the same author, _passim_.
_And if the twa suld slay ye baith,
Ye'se get na help frae me_.--P. 34. v. 5.
According to the laws of chivalry, laws, which were also for a long
time observed in duels, when two or more persons were engaged on
each side, he, who first conquered his immediate antagonist, was at
liberty, if he pleased, to come to the assistance of his companions.
The play of the "_Little French Lawyer_" turns entirely upon this
circumstance; and it may be remarked throughout the poems of Boiardo
and Ariosto; particularly in the combat of three Christian and three
Pagan champions, in the 42d canto of _Orlando Furioso_. But doubtless
a gallant knight was often unwilling, like young Maitland, to avail
himself of this advantage. Something of this kind seems to have
happened in the celebrated combat, fought in the presence of James II.
at Stirling, in 1449, between three French, or Flemish, warriors, and
three noble Scottishmen, two of whom were of the house of Douglas.
The reader will find a literal translation of Olivier de la Marche's
account of this celebrated tourney, in _Pinkerton's History_, Vol. I.
p. 428.
_I am nae king, nor nae sic thing:
My word it shanna stand_!--P. 35. v. 2.
Maitland's apology for retracting his promise to stand neuter, is as
curious as his doing so is natural. The unfortunate John of France was
wont to say, that, if truth and faith were banished from all the rest
of the universe, they should still reside in the breast and the mouth
of kings.
_They maul'd him cruellie_.--P. 35. v. 5.
This has a vulgar sound, but is actually a phrase of romance. _Tant
frappent et_ maillent _lex deux vassaux l'un sur l'autre, que leurs
heaumes, et leurs hauberts, sont tous cassez et rompus_.--La fleur des
Battailes.
_But, wi' the poll-axe in his hand,
Upon the brigg sprang he_.--P. 36. v. 4.
The battle-axe, of which there are many kinds, was a knightly weapon,
much used in the middle ages, as well in single combat as in battle.
"And also there was a younge bachelor, called Bertrande of Glesguyne,
who duryng the seige, fought wyth an Englyshman, called Sir Nycholas
Dagerne; and that batayle was takene thre courses wyth a speare,
thre strokes wyth an axe, and thre wyth a dagger. And eche of these
knyghtes bare themselves so valyantly, that they departed fro the
felde wythout any damage, and they were well regarded, bothe of theyme
wythyn, and they wythout." This happened at the siege of Rennes, by
the Duke of Lancaster, in 1357.--_Froissart_, Vol. I. c. 175. With the
same weapon Godfrey of Harcourt long defended himself, when surprised
and defeated by the French. "And Sir Godfraye's men kepte no goode
array, nor dyd nat as they had promysed; moost part of theyme fledde:
whan Sir Godfraye sawe that, he sayde to hymselfe, howe he had rather
there be slayne than be taken by the Frenchmen; there he toke hys axe
in hys handes, and set fast the one legge before the other, to stonde
the more surely; for hys one legge was a lytell crooked, but he was
strong in the armes. Ther he fought valyantly and long: none durste
well abyde hys strokes; than two Frenchmen mounted on theyr horses,
and ranne both with their speares at ones at hym, and so bare hym to
the yerth: than other, that were a-fote, came wyth theyr swerdes,
and strake hym into the body, under his barneys, so that ther he was
slayne."--_Ibid_, chap. 172. The historian throws Sir Godfrey into a
striking attitude of desperation.
_When Maitland saw his ain blude fa',
An angry man was he_,--P. 37, v. 1.
There is a saying, that a Scottishman fights best after seeing his own
blood. Camerarius has contrived to hitch this foolish proverb into
a national compliment; for he quotes it as an instance of the
persevering gallantry of his countrymen. "_Si in pugna proprium
effundi sanguinem vidissent, non statim prostrato animo concedebant,
sed irato potius in hostes velut furentes omnibus viribus
incurrebant_."
_That Edward once lay under me,
And e'er gat up again_.--P. 37. v. 4.
Some reciters repeat it thus:
"That _Englishman_ lay under me,"
which is in the true spirit of Blind Harry, who makes Wallace say,
"I like better to see the southeron die,
"Than gold or land, that they can gie to me."
In slaying Edward, Maitland acts pitilessly, but not contrary to
the laws of arms, which did not enjoin a knight to shew mercy to his
antagonist, until he yielded him, "_rescue or no rescue_." Thus, the
seigneur de Languerant came before the walls of an English garrison,
in Gascony, and defied any of the defenders to run a course with a
spear: his challenge being accepted by Bertrand Courant, the governor
of the place, they couched their spears, like good knights, and dashed
on their horses. Their spears were broke to pieces, and Languerant was
overthrown, and lost his helmet among the horses' feet. His attendants
were coming up; but Bernard drew his dagger, and said, "Sir, yield
ye my prisoner, rescue or no rescue; else ye are but dead." The
dismounted champion spoke not a word; on which, Bertrand, entering
into fervent ire, dashed his dagger into his skull. Besides, the
battle was not always finished by one warrior obtaining this advantage
over the other. In the battle of Nejara, the famous Sir John Chandos
was overthrown, and held down, by a gigantic Spanish cavalier, named
Martino Fernandez. "Then Sir Johan Chandos remembred of a knyfe, that
he had in his bosome, and drew it out, and struck this Martyne so in
the backe, and in the sydes, that he wounded him to dethe, as he laye
upon hym." The dagger, which the knights employed in these close and
desperate struggles, was called the _poniard of mercy_.