New Site Announcement: Over the past several years, the METS team has been building a new website and new digital edition, in collaboration with Cast Iron Coding. This next phase of METS' editions includes improved functionality and accessibility, an increased focus on transparency, and conformity to best practices for open access and digital editions, including TEI markup. We are currently in a "soft launch" phase in which we will monitor the new site for bugs and errors. We encourage you to visit our new site at https://metseditions.org, and we welcome feedback here: https://tinyurl.com/bdmfv282
We will continue to publish all new editions in print and online, but our new online editions will include TEI/XML markup and other features. Over the next two years, we will be working on updating our legacy volumes to conform to our new standards.
Our current site will be available for use until mid-December 2024. After that point, users will be redirected to the new site. We encourage you to update bookmarks and syllabuses over the next few months. If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at robbins@ur.rochester.edu.
We will continue to publish all new editions in print and online, but our new online editions will include TEI/XML markup and other features. Over the next two years, we will be working on updating our legacy volumes to conform to our new standards.
Our current site will be available for use until mid-December 2024. After that point, users will be redirected to the new site. We encourage you to update bookmarks and syllabuses over the next few months. If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at robbins@ur.rochester.edu.
The Wallace: Selections (Books 7-12)
1 Until south across [the River] Forth she brought them with her right away
2 To obtain a pardon so that she might be at peace
3 Pierced through the veins and unlucky [in loss] of blood
4 Then laughed he loudly and said, "May ill befall you["]
5 With household provisions diligently he supplied them
6 Supplier of food thereafter he was certainly no more
7 Lines 238-39: I think we should make them feel our strength in combat, and so we do many times
8 Lines 250-51: So it appeared to him, death had seized him quickly, / Then said to them, "He has paid what he owed [to Nature]" (i.e., he has died)
9 She offered her milk-filled breast to Wallace
10 Until we know who you are you shall [come] with me to Ayr
11 Of Wallace's escape, then continued on their way
12 And gloves of plate-armor were covered well with cloth
13 By that time the [English] force was making its way to Loudoun Hill
14 None dared separate until the press to battle was past
15 English serving men (knaves) they made their baggage transport
16 Sir Ranald Crawford was obliged to be there at that time
17 In matters of war he did not follow his counsel
18 Now enjoying good [fortune], now cold weather, now hot
19 Caused him many times to triumph over his adversaries
20 From their lance supports [attached to the saddle] they threw sharp spears at that time
21 Right through the rib; the shaft broke completely
22 To Shortwood Forest removed food and strong wine
23 Between the two parties (i.e., the English armies) Wallace then sallied out
24 But the [female] sleuth hound, which was reliable and fierce
25 He ordered him to go on and said the stronghold (i.e., Gask Hall) was near
26 None came back, but [the horn] continued to blow harshly
27 To a stair leading to a close, the boards [he] smashed in two
28 Since he began [his rebellion] are lost beyond help (i.e., fatally wounded)
29 They did not recognize him, [therefore] he was the less in danger
30 Some were stabbed, some had their throats cut
31 No English [man] could find fault with them, poor nor rich
32 So that he never again marshaled any horses
33 Lines 766-67: Their horses they took and promptly made themselves ready to leave / The town; they did not stay for dinner
34 With our [smaller] force to wait to [give] them battle here
35 [A] beginning made by agreement before ready witnesses
36 "Whom do you scorn?" said Wallace. "Who taught you?"
37 One made an obscene gesture and pulled at his long sword (penis)
38 [Remained] behind their men until they reached the gate
39 To Lanark made their way on horses, a thousand in all
40 If you are the leader of all this thing (rebellion)
41 You, robber-king, charge me because of a mere circumstance
42 Let [me] know (hear) the price. I will take every one of them
43 "For by [the look of it] this army knows the roads well"
44 Wallace was pleased when he had heard that call (lit., word)
45 Lines 567-68: Whomever they hit, with sword blows, no armor could stop them once they assembled on foot
46 Through Culter Valley before they had time to climb the hill
47 Overgrown with brushwood, and all the grass was growing vigorously
48 In Cumberland from his home in Pontefract
49 So long as I am quit [of responsibility] I care not what you do
50 Do not fail therefore to redress this wrong
51 The green [signifies] the courageous effort in which you are now engaged
52 Although you would send [a messenger], [going to] that trouble would be in vain
53 Tightly drawn ropes were fastened all along a beam
54 With a law-court servant to bring him before the court
55 Through great gluttony fell suddenly into a stupor like swine
56 It would [fall] to him (i.e., Wallace), for anything they could devise
57 Nor consider anyone [a] lord unless he owns land
58 Some grimly wept as they departed this life
59 Indeed, I believe you have not yet been blessed by a bishop
60 Lines 763-64: By [the time] our party was past Strath Fillan, / Every one [of] the small band of outlaws began to tire
61 Made an end of him; [so] that he told no news
62 Cleared a space around him as large as a rood (a measure) or more
63 That Jop himself did not know for sure who would win
64 Kept himself independent, though sworn to King Edward
65 Generosity and loyalty he had as [much as] any one could ask
66 Lived as he could and always kept good faith [with the Scottish rebels]
67 Had [it] openly proclaimed that there would be no sparing
68 Lines 1075-76: None went away except priests, women, and children; / [If] they resisted they did not escape without harm
69 He was made an earl only a short time before
70 Seven thousand in all floundered at once in [the River] Forth
71 He lived there freely as an outlaw
72 They should continue and have no fear of him (i.e., Earl Patrick)
73 Lines 106-07: Wallace would stop there no longer and turned back / Towards Dunbar, where reliable men told him
74 Northumberland [men presenting] an awesome sight
75 Lines 199-200: In truth I will not flee / As long as I have one against four of his [men]
76 Lines 285-86: None was so strong that, [once] injured by Wallace, / Ever again troubled a Scot
77 Lines 457-58: He arranged for them to choose the best armor and horse / And enough weapons to serve them well
78 What need was there of a greater force to go [to battle]?
79 Lines 518-19: He did not sin by burning and slaying them (the English). / They thought it no sin when they let us feel the same
80 And assurance of safety for as long as he wished to ask [it]
81 And this they decided among themselves
82 This knight Cambell, a man distinguished for his wisdom
83 They were extremely fearful about their own troops
84 We have no responsibility for what our king makes us do
85 Although he was the best, we do not find fault with any other
86 Since the death of Brutus, without battle, except Wallace
87 Good men must endure [the] scorn of worthless fellows in war
88 These men in shining armor reached the bulwark
89 Then Wallace said, "Where such things come through menacing["]
90 [Bearers] of [the] oldest coats [of] arms in that region
91 He should be punished for slaying such an innocent creature
92 The queen discovered words did not help her [case]
93 This emboldened me all the more to try you
94 To minstrels, heralds, she gave abundantly
95 Because of your generosity we shall cause no more trouble
96 Lines 115-16: But I am not cut out to be a courtier; / And I would rather die than leave you here
97 [That] some advocated taking to the battlefield to offer open battle
98 Fled to a plain, the English sought [to escape] from them
99 And [yet we] do not injure [them]? We have too great a repulse
100 Curling brown hair on [his] forehead and light eyebrows
101 I will let the balance of the sorrow be assuaged
102 A very large company of armed men guarded him
Abbreviations: see Textual Notes.
Book 1
1-4 The scribe indents the first four lines here and at the beginning of other books, and he indents the first two lines at the beginning of some stanzas (e.g., 2.171ff.). I have maintained the practice.
1-19 These lines provide a short prologue in which Hary highlights the commemorative function of his narrative. Although similar to Barbour's prologue in The Bruce, Hary's denigration of the English, the first of many such disparagements in his poem, is not characteristic of Barbour. Note the references to reading in line 1 of the Prologue, and then in the first line introducing the hero (line 17), and then later in the direct advice to readers in line 34. McDiarmid regards them as addresses to readers of histories (2.124n1-4).
21 Through the convention of providing his hero's genealogy, Hary traces Wallace's lineage back to the "gud Wallace" (line 30) who was a companion of Walter Warayn of Wales, or Walter Fitz Alan, the first Scottish Stewart. The Stewart dynasty succeeded the Bruces to the throne of Scotland.
23 Sir Reginald (Ranald) Crawford, brother of Wallace's mother, became sheriff of Ayr in May 1296.
28 Elrisle. Elderslie, specifically Renfrewshire land held first by the father, later by the brother of the same name, Sir Malcolm Wallace, as vassals to the Stewarts. It was part of the lordship of Paisley and Renfrew and, as Barrow (1973) points out, is right at the heart of the Stewart fief (pp. 339-40).
34 the rycht lyne of the fyrst Stewart. This appears to be a reference to Barbour's long lost genealogy of the Stewarts, a work whose existence is also attested by the fifteenth-century Scottish chronicler Andrew Wyntoun.
36 Sir Malcolm Wallace is the only brother mentioned, although other sources suggest William Wallace had at least one other brother, John, who was executed in 1307 after being captured fighting for Bruce.
41 Alexander. I.e., Alexander III (1249-86), whose accidental death when he was thrown from his horse near the royal manor of Kinghorn in Fife left the kingdom without a king. His three children had died before him, his two sons without offspring, so that the heir to the throne was his daughter's child, Margaret, the "Maid of Norway." Margaret died in Orkney on her way to Scotland to ascend her throne in 1290. A number of rival claimants to the throne then presented them-selves, the strongest two being Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale (grandfather of the future king, Robert I), and John Balliol, who did succeed in 1292.
44 a full grevous debate. Hary provides a very brief and over-simplified account of the succession crisis in the following lines. In line 47, he identifies the chief competitors as "Bruce" (that is Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale), "Balyoune" (John Balliol), and "Hastyng" (John Hastings), the descendants of the three daughters of "Our Prynce Davy" (line 45), David, earl of Huntingdon and grand-son of David I (1124-53). Balliol claimed the throne as the grandson of the eldest daughter, Dervoguilla, "of first gre lynialy" (line 49), and Bruce as the son of the second daughter, Isabel, and the first male descendant "of the secund gre" (line 50); Hastings was the grandson of Ada, the youngest daughter. King Edward I (Longshanks) was approached as arbiter and used the opportunity to declare his overlordship of Scotland. Bruce and Balliol emerged as the main claimants, although by the end of 1292, Bruce had resigned his claim in favour of his son and heirs, and Edward had decided in favor of Balliol (crowned at Scone on 30 November). By the rule of primogeniture, Balliol had the stronger claim but after the succession of Robert Bruce in 1306 history was re-written to make Bruce appear the divine and popular choice. See Barbour (Bruce 1.37-178), Wyntoun (Cronykil 8.i, ii, v-viii, x), and Bower (Scotichronicon 11.1-14), whose accounts clearly influenced Hary.
53-54 These lines may have been influenced by Barbour's passionate reproach:
61 Noram. Norham, in Northumberland. It was here in May 1291 that Edward met the Scots and declared his right to overlordship of Scotland.
65 Byschope Robert. Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow (1261-1316), a staunch defender of Scottish independence.
70 Edward decided in Balliol's favor and the latter was crowned king in November 1292.
77 Ane abbot. Identified as Henry of Arbroath by McDiarmid, who cites Wyntoun and Bower as Hary's sources here (2.131n75-77).
79 Werk on Twede. Up river from Berwick on Tweed.
81 Corspatryk. Earl Patrick of Dunbar and March, one of the great magnates of Scotland who supported Edward I. His role in the sack of Berwick is also attested by the Scalacronica, a chronicle of English history begun in 1355 by Sir Thomas Gray when he was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. He was later appointed keeper of Berwick town (1298). Hary describes him as a traitor, and blames him for the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar the following month.
85-96 Several accounts of Edward's sack of Berwick in March 1296 survive. Medieval Scottish chroniclers represent it as one of the greatest atrocities perpetrated by Edward's forces, because of the slaughter of civilians, including women and children. Wyntoun (8.11) and Bower (11.20) describe the devastating attack in detail and both reckon the toll at 7,500, as Hary does.
94-95 In contrast to Edward's indiscriminate slaughter, Wallace persistently refuses to slay women and children in Hary's narrative.
98-114 The Battle of Dunbar took place on 27 April 1296. Hary seems to have used a different source here from Wyntoun and Bower, who mention the presence of only one earl, Ross. The English Lanercost chronicle agrees with Hary about the four present. Modern historians tend to agree that three were present, Atholl, Ross, and Menteith. (Barrow [1988], p. 74, Watson, p. 25)
102 Mar, Menteith, Adell, Ros. The high-ranking earls of Mar, Menteith, Atholl, and Ross.
115-21 Scune. Edward's recorded itinerary after Dunbar places him in the borders during May and early June and then further north from 6 June, staying in Perth 21-24 June, in Forfar 3 July, and arriving in Montrose on 8 July, to which he summoned Balliol. If he included Scone on his route, then he must have been there in the last week of June. Both Bower and Wyntoun state that Balliol was summoned to Montrose and, stripped of the royal regalia, was there forced to resign the kingdom on 8 July 1296. Whether Edward was ever crowned at Scone is a matter for speculation. He certainly removed the Stone of Destiny, traditionally used for Scottish coronations, to London in 1296.
122 Gadalos. Legendary history records that Gaythelos was the husband of Scota, the eponymous mother of the Scottish people and daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh whose descendants brought to Scotland the Stone of Destiny that later became the coronation seat of Scottish monarchs and a symbol of Scottish independence. Taken by Edward to London in 1296, it was finally returned to Scotland with the Scottish royal regalia in 1996. See Fordun, Chronica 1.8-19, and the expanded version of this origin myth in Bower, Scotichronicon 1.9-18.
123 Iber Scot. Hiber, the son of Gaytheles, who established the Scots in Ireland.
124 Canmor syne King Fergus. Malcolm Canmore, king of Scots (1058-93) and the successor of Macbeth. According to legend, Fergus was the first Scottish king.
132 Margretis ayr. The descendants of St. Margaret, the English wife of Malcom Canmore, became the rulers of England and Scotland. Hary may be drawing on Bower, who inserts a list of their descendants in the midst of his account of the Scottish succession dispute (11.12).
133 After his triumphant tour through much of central and eastern Scotland, accepting homage as he went, Edward set up an English administration, with headquarters in Berwick, in August 1296. Important barons and knights, many captured at Dunbar, were taken as prisoners to England.
134 Bruce. I.e., Robert Bruce, the future king.
137 Blacok Mur . . . Huntyntoun. McDiarmid believes this should be Blacow mur, as it refers to Blakemore in Yorkshire where the Bruces held lands (2.136n137). Huntyntoun is the vast English Honour of Huntingdon, a third of which had come into the Bruce family through Isabel, one of the three daughters of Earl David.
140 Protector. McDiarmid (2.136n140) suggests one possible corroboration of this claim that Edward entrusted the government of all Scotland to the earl of Warenne and Earl Patrick of March (Joseph Stevenson and Robert Rodger, eds., The Wallace Papers [Edinburgh: Maitland Club, 1841], p. 5).
144 Hary returns to Wallace and resumes his account of the outbreak of war in early 1296. Later (line 192) Wallace is said to be eighteen years of age when he has his first violent encounter with the English in Dundee. Hary's account of his career does not add up. If Wallace is eighteen in 1296 he cannot have been forty-five at the time of his death in 1305, as Hary says he was (12.1427). It may be that Hary thought of eighteen as the age at which a youth could take up arms. In Book 3 Adam, the eldest son of Wallace's uncle Sir Richard Wallace, at the same age is the only one of the three who rides off with William Wallace to pursue a campaign against the English.
147-48 I.e., Malcolm, Wallace's father, alongside his eldest brother, also called Malcolm (line 321). The Lennox, in the west of Central Scotland, was one of the oldest earldoms of Scotland. It incorporated Dumbartonshire, much of Stirlingshire, and parts of Renfrewshire and Perthshire.
150 Kilspindie in the Gowrie district of Perthshire, where a relative on his maternal side offers refuge. Even though this relative is said to be an "agyt man" (line 154), it seems unlikely that Hary was referring to the uncle of Wallace's maternal grandfather, as line 152 seems to suggest, but rather to Wallace's uncle.
155 That part of Wallace's education included going to school in Dundee, ten miles from his uncle's home in Kilspindie, is repeated by Hary in 7.670-71.
159 Saxons blud. Hary quite frequently refers to the English occupiers in this racist manner. Another example is the metonym, "Sothroun" (e.g., line 188). (See Goldstein [1993], pp. 222-23.)
160-70 These sentiments are reminiscent of Bruce 1.179-204.
165 The English occupation is compared to Herod's slaughter of the innocents.
171-72 Although no other known source claims Glasgow diocese was handed over to the bishop of Durham, McDiarmid suggests that Hary's conviction about this may be based on a tradition (2.138n171-72).
175-76 The hanging of Scottish leaders and Wallace's revenge on the English as they slept in barns at Ayr are entirely fictitious events described in Book 7.
194 Specific examples of the strife Wallace encounters are recounted at lines 205-32 and in Book 2.
201-02 The description of Wallace's appearance and manner is quite conventional. His reticence to speak much is mentioned again at line 294. A more detailed portrait of Wallace is deferred until 10.1221-44.
205 The name of the constable of Dundee Castle in 1296 is not known, but the name Selby (line 207) is that of a Northumberland knight who was active in the wars of independence.
215 McDiarmid suggests a "geste" may be Hary's source here (2.140-41n205-07).
219 Rouch rewlyngis. That is, roughshod rawhide boots. In his poem on the Battle of Bannockburn, the English poet Laurence Minot used much the same term, "Rughfute riveling" (line 19), as a mocking metonym for the Scots (The Poems of Laurence Minot, ed. Richard Osberg [Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publi-cations, 1996], p. 36).
275 lawdayis . . . set ane ayr. Lawdays were the days appointed for holding courts of law, and justice-ayres were the circuit courts of the sovereign's justice.
282 St. Margaret was Queen Margaret of Scotland (d. 1093), wife of Malcolm Canmore (1057-93). Originally a member of the Saxon royal family, she became renowned for her piety and was canonized in 1249. Her shrine in Dunfermline Abbey (line 287) was a favorite destination for pilgrims.
285 Landoris. Lindores, Fife. This suggests they took the ferry across the Tay at the confluence with the River Earn, rather than the Dundee-Tayport ferry near the firth. Lindores was on a major pilgrim route, and shelter could be obtained at the Grange, the home farm of the nearby abbey.
287 Dunfermline, another early Scottish burgh, was also a major trade and communication center because of its proximity to the River Forth.
290 Lithquhow. Linlithgow, in what is now West Lothian, was one of the earliest royal Scottish burghs.
294 Note the qualities admired in the young Wallace, especially reticence. See explanatory note to lines 200-01.
296-97 One of the main ferry routes for pilgrims and other travelers in medieval Scotland linked Dunfermline and Queensferry (named after Queen Margaret, see explanatory note to line 282).
299-300 his eyme . . . persone. Bower also refers to one of Wallace's uncles as a priest.
304 sone. Used throughout the poem in addresses by older to younger male relatives generally.
317 Corsby. In Ayrshire, sometimes anglicized on maps as Crosby.
319-21 Hary claims that Wallace's father and his eldest brother Malcolm were killed at the Battle of Loudoun Hill, but Malcolm Wallace was alive in 1299 and history only testifies to a battle there in 1307. See explanatory note to 3.78.
330 lord Persye. Henry Percy, a Northumberland knight, was appointed warden of Ayr and Galloway by Edward I in 1296. He played a major part in the Scottish wars. He also appears in Bruce 4.598-603. Hary describes him as "captane than of Ayr" at line 379.
355 uncle Wallas. Another uncle, Sir Richard Wallace of Riccarton in Kyle, Ayrshire, conjecturally one of the Wallace fees (Barrow [1973], p. 350). It was, perhaps, one of his three sons mentioned first in 3.43-44 (here paraphrased) who married the widow of the earl of Carrick (the father of the future king, Robert Bruce) in 1306.
363-68 Hary becomes specific about the months Wallace spends in Ayrshire, but the year is still unclear.
368-433 The source for this story of Wallace's violent encounter with Percy's men is probably a traditional tale.
383 Scot, Martyns fysche. McDiarmid cites an old Scottish proverb which conveys the sense of "every man for himself" (2.144n383).
399 The Englishman objects to Wallace's use of the familiar "thou" instead of the more appropriate "ye" or "yhe" (lines 385 and 391) that he adopted earlier in the exchange.
Book 2
11 Auchincruff. Auchincruive Castle, Ayrshire, was the fee of Richard Wallace (line 13).
16 Laglyne Wode. Presumably a nearby forest, later part of the Auchincruive estate. Wallace uses it as a natural stronghold and refuge a number of times in the narrative (2.66; 3.421; 7.262).
27-65 One of three episodes in this book in which Wallace flexes his muscles against the English as he limbers up for organized resistance to the occupation regime Hary has described. Opportunities to display his hero's individual feats of combat are created just as they were for Bruce in Barbour's "romanys." The motif is repeated at lines 78-136, although this time Wallace does not escape his pursuers, and at lines 384-411.
93 A similarly familiar, therefore rude, form of address is found at line 391.
171-359 Note the change of stanza form for Wallace's lament in prison from couplets to a 9-line stanza rhyming aabaabbab, except for the first, which rhymes aabaababb.
234 Celinus. Another name for Mercury. McDiarmid reads Celinius and relates the allusion to Chaucer's Compleynt of Mars where Venus flees "unto Cilenios tour" (line 113) to avoid exposure by Phebus, who catches her with Mars (2.146-47n234).
258 His fyrst norys. Wallace's former wet nurse (also referred to as his "foster modyr" at line 270) retrieves his "body" from the castle walls and arranges for him to be carried across the river to Newtown on the north bank of the Ayr river. This may suggest that Wallace's birthplace was in Ayrshire. On the other hand, tradition associates Wallace's birth with Elderslie in Renfrewshire, and it may be that the wet nurse came from Ayrshire to nurse the young Wallace. He later sends her, with her daughter and grand-daughter, to join his own mother in safety there (lines 366-69).
274 A. A. MacDonald notes this motif was probably taken from Valerius Maximus ("The Sense of Place in Early Scottish Verse: Rhetoric and Reality," English Studies 72.1 [Feb. 1991], 12-27: 18).
280 To aid the ruse that Wallace is dead the good woman, "[h]is foster modyr" (line 270), places a board covered with woolens and surrounded by lights, as if it were a place of honor for mourning the deceased.
288 Thomas of Ercildoune, otherwise known as Thomas the Rhymer, is mentioned with other soothsayers in the Scalacronica. A ballad dating from the fifteenth century recounts some of Thomas the Rhymer's adventures in Elfland. See The Romance and Prophecies of Thomas of Erceldoune, ed. James Murray, EETS o.s. 61 (London: N. Trübner, 1875). Hary attributes to Thomas the prophecy that Wallace will three times oust the English from Scotland (lines 346-50).
359 Wallace's raids in England are described in 8.512-620.
416 Sir Richard Wallace of Riccarton. See explanatory note to 1.355. He is said to have three sons (line 418).
436 Robert Boyd is presented by Hary as one of Wallace's loyal companions, along with Adam Wallace, one Kneland, whose first name is never provided, and Edward Litill. Probably he is Robert Boyd of Noddsdale, Cunningham, and co-roner of Ayr and Lanark, and possibly the same Sir Robert Boyd whom Barbour identifies as one of Bruce's staunchest supporters (Bruce 4.342, 352-63, 505).
Book 3
1-14 Compare to the opening lines of Henryson's fable The Preiching of the Swallow.
11-20 Historically, the English did not occupy many castles in 1296. Hary establishes another contrast between the suffering and deprivation of the Scots and the well-provisioned English occupying forces. The irony is that harvest time is approaching. Hary is using a literary device, as the opening lines make apparent, and creating a motive for Wallace's revenge (lines 40-41).
17 wyn and gud wernage. The first suggests vin ordinaire, red or white, while wernage is a malmsey or muscadine, a strong, sweet-flavored white wine.
67 Loudoun Hill, just north of the River Irvine, Ayrshire.
72 as myn autor me teld. Like other medieval writers, Hary uses the authority topos to create the impression of authenticity.
78 Avondale, not far from Loudoun. McDiarmid suggests that Hary ingeniously created this detour from the usual route from Carlisle to Ayr, via Corsancone, so that he could invent a Battle at Loudoun Hill, drawing details from Barbour's account of Bruce's victory there in 1307 (2.153-54n81). See explanatory note to line 100.
100 There is no evidence to support Hary's account of this battle, although McDiarmid (2.153-54n81) is probably correct in saying that Hary "borrowed" it from Barbour's account of the battle Bruce fought there in 1307 (Bruce 8.207-358). The use of "dykes" and the flight of the English are common to both battles.
111-12 Compare to 1.319-20. Hary has mentioned only one brother, Malcolm. He was alive in 1299.
117-18 knycht Fenweik. No specific individual has been identified, but McDiarmid points out that a number of persons with this name are mentioned in contemporary records (2.153n62). The expeditions against the Scots may allude to cross-border raids in which Fenwicks (from Northumberland or Cumberland) are known to have been involved.
124 and be. A medial placement of an introductory conjunction is somewhat common. The sense is: "And he shall again be dragged through the town."
129-32 The polished armor of the English contrasts with the utility of the Scots' armor. The few against the many is a common romance motif, employed by Barbour too.
133-34 A maner dyk. This may well refer to a ditch and wall combination of the kind Barbour describes in Bruce 8.172-83.
188 Bewmound. Beaumont, a squire, is not to be confused with Beaumont, earl of Buchan (according to Hary), who appears from Book 7 on.
193 hors repende rouschede frekis undir feit. Repende: "kicking, plunging"; rouschede: "rushed," i.e., "charged." The alliterative surge of violence almost overwhelms the syntax as the horses crush men underfoot.
207 Kyle and Cunningham were two districts of Ayrshire. Boyd held land in Cunningham. See explanatory note to 2.436.
214 Clyde Forest was on the north side of the River Clyde.
Book 4
1-10 Hary's literary pretensions are most evident in rhetorical set pieces of this kind in which the month (September) and the season (autumn) are described.
3 Victuals in this sense include all harvestable foods, such as grain, berries, vegetables, and so on.
9 The mutability of worldly things is a medieval commonplace.
15-16 A sheriff was "the principal royal officer in local districts into which the kingdom was divided for the purposes of royal government" (Barrow [1988], p. 8). Sir Ranald inherited the position throw rycht (line 16), reflecting the tendency for a sheriff's office to become heritable.
18 as witnes beris the buk. Another invocation of his written source, or authority. The book cited here is presumably the fictitious one by Blair, which Hary claims as his main authority on Wallace.
22-54 Another instance of aggression between Wallace's and Percy's baggage men. See explanatory note to 1.368-433.
26 Hesilden. Hazelden, Renfrewshire, south of Glasgow.
71 the Mernys. Newton Mearns.
325-44 This passage, like set pieces in chronicles magnifying the qualities of the land, for better or worse, celebrates Scotland's plenty (and depravity). Compare with Barbour's account of food resources in Aberdeenshire (Bruce 2.577-84) after his defeat at Methven. Methven Park later became a favorite royal hunting reserve.
335-40 The device of anaphora (now . . . now) is employed to effect the full range of Scotland's character.
341 Hary points out that Wallace will fight for Scotland's independence (Scotlandis rycht) for 6 years and 7 months, and predicts what is to come, but of course the chronology is Hary's own.
359 mar. The chief magistrate of a town. According to the DOST, mar normally referred to the mayor or magistrate of an English town, but is used here of Perth, a town occupied by the English. There is also an old Scottish Gaelic term, maor, meaning steward or bailiff.
395-96 Sir James Butler's son, Sir John, is said to be deputy captain, and Sir Garaid (Gerard) Heroun to be the captain of Kinclaven Castle (line 396). A Robert Heron was appointed chamberlain comptroller in Scotland in 1305, but no Sir Gerard Heron has been identified as active in Scotland during this period.
441 Ninety English soldiers arrive, led by Butler, as becomes clear at line 457.
718 ff. Hary makes clear the precariousness of the woman's actions. Death by burning was the usual punishment for high treason decreed for women.
723 Wallace is referred to as a rebell. He later denies this vociferously.
740 Rycht unperfyt I am of Venus play. Compare to Chaucer, whose narrators in the dream vision poems often profess inexperience in the ways of Venus.
787 South Inche. McDiarmid notes the town had a North and South Inch, or lawn (2.166n787).
Book 5
95 Gask Wood, like Gask Hall (line 175), is on the left bank of the River Earn.
180-214 No specific source for this ghost story is known. Hary refers to Wallace's experience as a fantasé (line 212), which McDiarmid notes conforms to what Chaucer calls "infernals illusions" in medieval dream lore, i.e., fantasies that lured men to their destruction (2.169n180-224). On possible Celtic sources for the Fawdoun episode, see Balaban, p. 248.
211 ff. Hary ponders on the fantasé (line 212) and compares the myscheiff (line 217) to Lucifer's fall. Note the echo of Barbour (1.259-60) about leaving discussion of such matters to clerks (lines 223-25).
219-24 Or quhat it was in liknes . . . . McDiarmid refers to Dante's Inferno in which it is disclosed that fiends take over the bodies of traitors once the soul has departed (2.170n221-22). In his Daemonologie (1597), King James VI discusses pos-session of dead bodies by devils, calling such specters umbrae mortuorum (ch. 6.23-25; 7.16-18).
389-94 Note the use of the appropriately familiar form of address by the parson. But when the English adopt the familiar form the intention is to insult Wallace.
465-66 In Bothwell . . . / With ane Craufurd. The Crawford is presumably a kinsman of Wallace. After a night in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Wallace moves on to Gilbank (line 467), not far from Lanark, where another uncle, Auchinleck, Sir Reginald Crawford's brother, shelters him (line 469).
467 Gilbank was identified by Jamieson as a property in Lanarkshire, held in tribute by Auchinleck, as noted by McDiarmid (2.174n467).
470-80 Presumably family tradition provided Hary with the details of these relationships; for example, that Auchinleck married Sir Reginald's widow, the daughter of the laird of Lesmahago (line 474), and fathered three children, one of whom was the son mentioned at line 477. The Crawfords, as noted before (line 466), were hereditary sheriffs of Ayr. Percy would have received homage from Sir Reginald when he was installed as part of Edward's administration in 1296.
474 Lesmahago. In Lanarkshire.
487 Loran. William Loran, Butler's nephew.
506 Percy is thinking about the need to appoint a new garrison at Perth, and he makes arrangements for this at lines 519-20. No arrangements are made for Kinclaven, which has been reduced to ruins (line 521).
508 clerkys sayis. Another reference to prophecies that haunt Wallace.
514 nacioune. One of the earliest uses of this term to refer to an identifiable nation. Wyntoun also uses it in this sense (7.408).
519 The Siwards of Tibbers and Aberdour in Fife were one of the chief Scottish baronial families. Sir Richard Siward was son-in-law to Sir John Comyn and after his capture at the Battle of Dunbar he became a prominent member of Edward I's administration in Scotland. He is known to have been sheriff of Fife and also of Dumfries, as well as warden of Nithsdale, but surviving records do not indicate whether he was ever sheriff of Perth. See also explanatory note to 7.1017.
533-45 Hary's putative sources, John Blair and Thomas Gray, are depicted as scholars and eye-witnesses. As Hary had a friend by the name of Blair, a compliment may be intended.
569-71 William Hesilrig was a Northumberland knight appointed as sheriff of Lanark in 1296 as part of the new administration. He is mentioned in the Scalacronica, p. 123.
579-710 Hary cites a buk (line 580) as authority for the story of Wallace's sweetheart. Wallace's courtship of a maiden in Lanark is also told by Wyntoun, who briefly relates how Wallace's "lemman" in Lanark dies at the hands of the town's sheriff for assisting the hero's escape from the town (8.13.2075 ff.). Unlike the "lemman" in Perth, this maiden is the daughter of a late, respectable Lanarkshire landowner. She later declares that she wyll no lemman be (line 693). Her noble parentage, beauty, manners, and virtues are all noticed. Hary names her father as Hew Braidfute of Lammington (line 584), which is in Lanarkshire, but the family has not been identified. He stresses her vulnerability, as she lacks the protection of parents and her brother has been killed. Among her qualities is piety: Wallace falls in love when he first sees her in church. That Hary's model is Criseyde from Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde is clear in lines 605-06. See Harward, pp. 48-50.
606 The prent of luff. Derived from Aristotelian philosophy, this conception of love as a deep impression made on, and retained in, the heart is also found in Robert Henryson's Testament of Cresseid (lines 505-11).
609 hyr kynrent and hyr blud. These are credentials that make her attractive to him.
631-32 Compare Troilus's attitude in Troilus and Criseyde (1.191- 203).
685 ff. See Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale (CT V[F]741-50) for a similar "accord" (V[F]741), especially concerning service in love.
719-61 Wallace moves into Annandale, traveling from Corehead, in Moffatdale, to Lochmaben Castle, where he kills the captain.
720 This familial relationship between Thom Haliday and Wallace is not otherwise attested. The purported relationship gives Wallace an extended family and support network. See 6.535-37 and explanatory note to 6.537, below.
721 Litill. Edward Litill from Annandale. See explanatory note to 2.436.
737 Sir Robert Clifford, a Westmoreland knight, was active in Scotland from 1296. He has known associations with Caerlaverock and Carlisle castles, so may well have had a cousin who was captain of Lochmaben. He was warden of Galloway from 1298 and appointed captain of the southwest garrisons, which were regularly under attack from the Scots. He defended Lochmaben from Bruce in 1307 and was killed at Bannockburn. Hary is inclined to make family vengeance a motivating force. Compare his treatment of the Butlers.
755 A marshal was originally one who tended horses. Later it was the title of a high-ranking officer in a royal court.
757-65 Another instance of Hary's grim humor. As well as shaving, barbers also let blood.
766-970 Wallace and his small company are pursued by soldiers from Lochmaben. Running combat ensues as the English give chase through the Knockwood (line 777) and Wallace tries to return to Corehead, avoiding open battle. Reinforcements are provided when needed most by Sir John Graham and one Kirkpatrick, whereupon the pursuit is reversed.
804-09 This is the "few against many" motif again.
815-18 Hugh of Morland, another Westmoreland knight, and a veteran according to Hary, was probably involved in border warfare long before the war with Scotland broke out. Although many of the specific persons mentioned by Hary cannot be identified precisely, their names are often authentic in that they can be linked to geographical places.
841 ff. Wallace is presented as an exemplary chieftain.
Book 6
1-104 This preamble links Wallace's fortunes to love, and anticipates the loss of his beloved. The meter adopted here is appropriate for tragedy, as in Chaucer's The Monk's Tale, and incorporates Wallace's complaint, lines 29-40. Hary appropriates the conventional spring topos for the opening of Book 6, associating April, the last month of spring (line 3), with Wallace's sufferings on account of love. The opening lines are not easy to follow though. Hary begins with what seems to be a reference to Christian liturgical use, with his allusion to the utas of Feviryher (line 1). Utas or "octave" was the eighth day after a feast day, counting the day itself. The term was also used of the whole period of eight days, so McDiarmid's suggestion that Hary may simply mean the weeks of February may be correct. The reference to the appearance of April when only part of March has passed (line 2), may be explained, as McDiarmid suggests, as an allusion to the Roman calends of April, which began on March 16 (2.181n1-2).
25 feyr of wer. Here and at line 40 but with different, though connected, meanings.
44-56 concord. The influence of the "accord" (CT V[F]791) between Arveragus and Dorigen in Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale (V[F]791-99) is unmistakable, especially the echoes in the next stanza. A further debt to Chaucer's Complaint of Mars (2.76-77) is detected by McDiarmid in lines 54-56 (2.183n54-56). An idealized relationship, based on literary models, is certainly indicated.
57 doubill face. The duplicitous face of Fortune is frequently used to convey the arbitrary nature of her power. See, for example, Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess, lines 626-34.
60-61 The rhetorical figures of antithesis and anaphora combine in the now . . . now construction, and again at lines 81-85.
71 A Squier Schaw. McDiarmid implies that Hary may have been influenced by the fact that around the time he was writing his poem one of James IV's squires was a John Shaw (2.183n71).
88 McDiarmid (2.184n88) finds an echo of Troilus and Criseyde 4.296: "On lyve in torment and in cruwel peyne."
94 na hap to ho. Literally "no destiny to stop," i.e., destined not to stop.
97-101 The role of Fortune and the contrast between this corrupt, changeable world and perfect heaven are conventional and undoubtedly influenced by Boethian philosophy. An extended treatment of the theme can be found in The Kingis Quair by James I of Scotland (1394-1437).
107-271 The date is very precise and alerts us to his source, Wyntoun's Cronykil, Book 8, ch. 13. Hary lifts the ensuing dialogue straight from Wyntoun (8.13.2038-48) but he elaborates on Wyntoun in his account of the lead-up to the confrontation (8.13.2029-37).
113 Robert Thorn, supposedly an English officer too, has not been identified.
114-18 "Has found the best way / To act against Wallace / By picking a quarrel with him as he happened to come / From the church in town, / While their company would be armed." Note the assumption that Wallace would be unarmed (i.e., without armor) and so vulnerable. See line 125 where he and his company are dressed in seasonal green.
124-264 Hary may have had another source for his account of the death of Wallace's sweetheart and the revenge killing of Heselrig than Wyntoun's Book 8, ch. 8. The killing of the sheriff and the burning of the town are attested in other sources.
132 Dewgar . . . bone senyhour. Hesilrig attempts to insult Wallace with French idioms, implying that he is an effete foreigner newly come from France (line 134) or a mock-courtier. Wallace replies to the scornful address by contemptuous use of single pronouns in his response (line 133).
136 McDiarmid suggests a contemporary reference to Princess Margaret, who was brought from Denmark to Scotland in 1469 (see 2.183n71 and 2.185n134-36).
140 Here the English mock Scots idioms of salutation. McDiarmid (2.185n140) points out that this is a series of sarcastic greetings, initially in dialect, then in pidgin-Gaelic, meaning something like: "Good evening, [give me] drink Lord, furious champion, God's blessing [on you]."
182 The woman. This is a reference to Wallace's wife, as the following lines indicate.
190 Cartland Crags, two miles northwest of Lanark.
193-94 Hary employs the rhetorical strategy of the "inability" topos and, as Goldstein (1993) observes, "The episode is no less powerful for its calculated understatement" (p. 228).
265-66 Wyntoun: "Fra he thus the Schirrawe slew, / Scottis men fast till hym drew" (8.8.2117-18).
268 that gret barnage. That is, the English occupying forces.
271-72 The debt to Wyntoun is apparent:
275 Murray of Bothwell, said to be the rightful owner of Bothwell Castle, a vital stronghold which commanded the direct route from northern Scotland to the southwest (Barrow [1988], p. 121). This must be a reference to the father of Andrew Murray, later Guardian of Scotland. At this time Bothwell Castle was still the property of the Oliphants. When Andrew Murray inherited it he became known as Murray of Bothwell.
297-318 Jop becomes Wallace's herald. Although Hary gives him a history, he is otherwise unknown. Grimsby is possibly Gilbert de Grimsby, who carried the banner of St. John of Beverley in Edward's progress through Scotland after Dunbar. McDiarmid notes that a William Grymesby of Grimsby stayed for a while at Linlithgow Palace in 1461, and the poet may well have met him there (2.188n297-318).
302-12 Compare Chaucer's portraits of the merchant and seaman in The General Prologue.
309 A pursuivant was the junior heraldic officer below the rank of herald.
329 His oath of allegiance to Edward must have been made in 1296.
336 Schir Jhone of Tynto. The association with Tinto suggests he was a Lanarkshire knight, but he has not been identified.
342 This is fabricated, as is the ensuing Battle of Biggar. Edward did not bring an army to Scotland again until 1298, when the Battle of Falkirk was fought.
363-66 Note the romance motif of disguise in battle. Fehew, or Fitzhugh, is a brother of the Fehew who is later beheaded by Wallace while defending his castle of Ravensworth (8.1010-69). McDiarmid notes that a Fitzhugh fought at Bannockburn and refers to another Fitzhugh who was a prominent contemporary of Hary (2.189n363). The relationship to Edward is a complete fabrication, used to introduce a tale about how a nephew's head was sent to Edward with Wallace's reply to the king's writ.
410 Possibly a reference to the tournaments in which heralds relied on their specialist knowledge of participants' coats of arms.
417-19 Wyntoun memorably likened one of Edward's terrible rages to the writhing effects brought on from eating a spider! (8.11.1773-78).
434-73 McDiarmid notes that the same story is told of Hereward the Wake (2.190n434-75).
444 A mark or merk was worth thirteen shillings and four pence.
506 Somervaill. McDiarmid identifies him as Sir Thomas Somerville (2.190n506). The Somervilles owned lands in Linton, Roxburghshire, and Carnwath, Lanarkshire (Barrow [1988], p. 325). Sir Walter and his son David of Newbigging (lines 508-10) were probably Somerville retainers. Sir John Tynto (line 509) was another Lanarkshire knight. See explanatory note to line 336.
517-26 Hary's debt to The Book of Alexander, possibly indirectly through Barbour, has been noted by McDiarmid (2.191n516-26) and others.
537 Jhonstoun and Rudyrfurd are place names, and may refer to Sir John of Johnstone and Sir Nicholas of Rutherford, as McDiarmid suggests. Hary claims they are the sons of Haliday (see explanatory note to 5.720).
540 Members of the Jardine family, associated with Annandale, were active in the wars.
543-765 Battle of Biggar. A fabrication that may very well draw on a variety of sources in which other battles and campaigns are depicted, in particular the accounts by Froissart and Barbour of James Douglas' Weardale campaign, especially the skirmish at Stanhope Park, and details from the Battle of Roslin in 1303 found in Wyntoun and Bower. There are many anachronisms therefore in the account of this fictitious battle and its aftermath. Among Hary's most blatant fabrications is his claim that a number of Edward I's relatives were killed at Biggar (lines 649-54).
561 erll of Kent. McDiarmid identifies him as Edmund of Woodstock, uncle of Edward III (2.192n561).
592 that cheiff chyftayne he slew. I.e., the earl of Kent. The historical earl was actually executed in 1330.
638-41 Supplies are taken to Rob's Bog while Wallace moves his troops to nearby Devenshaw Hill on the right bank of the Clyde River.
645 John's Green is probably Greenfield near Crawfordjohn.
669 duk of Longcastell. Duke of Lancaster. McDiarmid (2.194n669) points out this is an anachronism, like the reference to the lord of Westmoreland (line 685). The earl of Lancaster at this time was Edmund, brother of Edward I. In 1298 the son Thomas succeeded.
689-91 A Pykart lord as keeper of Calais is another anachronism derived from Edward III's French wars.
694 Schir Rawff Gray. Hary makes him warden of Roxburgh Castle (8.496-98, here paraphrased), but when it was surrendered to Edward by the Stewart in 1296 the English knight Sir Robert Hastings became keeper (as well as sheriff of Roxburgh) until 1305 when Edward I's nephew, John of Brittany, was appointed the lieutenant of Scotland and keeper of this militarily vital castle (Watson, p. 216). But according to McDiarmid, the name of the English warden of Roxburgh Castle in 1435-36 was Sir Ralph Gray, so this is another anachronism.
698 Eduuardis man. Sir Amer de Valence was Edward I's lieutenant in Scotland and was later created earl of Pembroke (1307). He was not a Scot, as Hary seems to suggest, although the description fals may refer to the role he later played in commissioning John Menteith to betray Wallace (Book 12). The influence of Barbour is detectable in the reference to Valence immediately after Loudoun Hill, and the connection with Bothwell (similarly in 6.274).
749 The name of the captain of Berwick in 1297 is not known but, as Watson observes, the majority of appointments do not survive in the official record (p. 33). Both Roxburgh and Berwick were strategically very important, as Hary acknowledges (8.1551-52).
761 Byrkhill. Birkhall, near Moffat.
765 Braidwood. Braidwood, Lanarkshire.
767 Forestkyrk. Forestkirk was the old name for Carluke, Clydesdale.
768 The exact date of Wallace's appointment as Guardian of Scotland is unknown, but Barrow (1988) believes it must have been before March 1298 (p. 96). Hary's use of Wyntoun here and at lines 784-86 is evident (Wyntoun 8.12.2121-22). See also Bower 11.28.
771 Schir Wilyham. Sir William Douglas had been the commander of Berwick Castle when Edward sacked it in 1296. He had certainly joined forces with Wallace by May 1297 when together they attacked William Ormsby, the English justiciary at Scone (of which Hary makes no mention). William Douglas' son, Sir James Douglas, was Bruce's companion in arms.
802 Adam Gordone. Adam Gordon, a kinsman of the earls of Dunbar (with Gordon in Berwickshire as his principal estate), was a known Balliol adherent (Barrow [1988], p. 189). By 1300 he was the Scots warden of the West March. He later became a prominent magnate under Robert Bruce.
836 Towrnbery. Turnberry was the chief castle of Carrick. Around the same time that Wallace slew the sheriff of Ayr, Robert Bruce led a revolt against Edward I in Carrick.
851-53 Wallace administers justice, in keeping with his duty as a Guardian. Bruce similarly rewards trew (line 853) men in Barbour's narrative.
854 brothir sone. I.e., Wallace's nephew. McDiarmid (2.197n854) takes this as a reference to his elder brother's son, Malcolm, who would have inherited the patrimony as the eldest son, and on his death (which Hary had said took place at Loudoun Hill) his son would have been heir.
855 Blak Crag. Blackcraig Castle in the parish of Cumnock, Ayrshire. "His houshauld" (line 856) suggests (like "his duellyng" in line 940) a reference to Wallace's own castle, which is confirmed in Book 12.937-38. This has fed the belief retained by some that Wallace was born in Ayrshire.
863 byschope Beik. Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham and Edward's lieutenant in Scotland until August 1296. In Book 1 (lines 171-72) Hary had said that Glasgow diocese was transferred to the jurisdiction of Durham.
865 Erll of Stamffurd . . . chanslar. John Langton was actually chancellor of England at this time. Hary may be confusing him with Sir Thomas Staunford, a member of Sir Henry Percy's retinue (Watson, p. 44), especially as he has referred to Percy in the preceding lines (lines 862-64).
869 Ruglen Kyrk. Rutherglen Church near Glasgow.
Book 7
1-2 If Hary's chronology were at all consistent, this would refer to February 1298 since in the previous book he had placed the killing of Heselrig some time after April of 1297; but the Battle of Stirling Bridge (11 September 1297) will be described later in this book.
7-9 In Aperill . . . Into Carleill. According to the records, after he returned from Flanders on 8 April 1298, Edward summoned his leading commanders in Scotland to a royal council at York. On the same date he also ordered a muster of Welsh foot-soldiers at Carlisle (Watson, p. 61) as part of his campaign to invade Scotland. Hary may be confusing preparations before the Battle of Falkirk with those before Stirling Bridge, the previous year.
16 A very striking image of genocide, as Goldstein (1993) notes (p. 231).
23-29 The plans for the wholly fictitious murder of leading Scots, referred to by Hary as gret bernys of Ayr (line 25), are hatched. Hary's respect for Percy leads him to dissociate him from the atrocity (lines 31-36).
38 his new law. This relates to the justice-ayre that Bek is to hold in Glasgow. McDiarmid finds corroboration in line 517 (2.199n38).
40-41 Arnulf of Sothampton appears to be fictitious. None of the earls of Southampton had this first name. Later Hary mentions that Arnulf received Ayr castle, presumably as a reward for the executions (lines 507-08).
56 maistré. Barbour also uses it in the sense of display of might. It is clearly seen as a provocative act in time of truce.
58 Monktoun Kyrk. Monkton Church, near Ayr in the west of Scotland.
61 Maister Jhone. Probably another reference to Master John Blair (5.533). McDiarmid takes it as evidence of Blair's Ayrshire origins, saying Adamton, the seat of the Blair family, was in Monkton parish (2.199n62). He attempts to warn Wallace to stay away from the justice-ayre at Ayr because he knows it is ominous that Lord Percy has left the region (lines 63-64).
68-152 Wallace falls asleep and has a vision in the form of a dream. There are plenty of literary models for this dream-vision, including Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls and House of Fame. A particular debt to the fourteenth-century poem The Alliterative Morte Arthure, in which King Arthur is visited by Lady Fortune in a dream, has been proposed. In his dream, Wallace is visited first by St. Andrew and then by the Virgin Mary. A vision of St. Andrew confirming Wallace's divinely ordained role as governor of Scotland is mentioned in the Coupar Angus MS of Bower's Scotichronicon (11.28) and probably derived from traditional tales known to both Bower and Hary (see D. E. R. Watt, Notes to Scotichronicon 6.236n35-37).
94 saffyr. The sapphire is interpreted at lines 139-40 as everlasting grace.
123 In L there are the following Protestant substitutions: The stalwart man instead of Saynct Androw, and "Goddis saik" replaces "For Marys saik" in line 291.
178-90 Jupiter, Mars . . . Saturn. These allusions recall Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, CT I(A)2454-69, as previous readers have noted. The echoes are particularly striking in lines 183 and 185.
190 heast sper. In the earth-centered medieval cosmography, Saturn, like the other planets, moved within its own sphere. The moon moved within the sphere closest to the earth, while Saturn moved in the sphere furthest away, or highest in the heavens.
191-92 The death of the Argive hero and seer Amphiorax (Phiorax, line 192), or Amphiaraus, is told at the end of Statius's Thebaid 7. McDiarmid cites Troilus and Criseyde 5.100-05, and Lydgate's Siege of Thebes as Hary's more immediate sources (2.202n191-92).
195 Burdeous. Bordeaux. McDiarmid (2.202n195) reckons Hary is referring to Charles VII's capture of Bordeaux (1453), in which case this is another anachronism.
197-98 braid Brytane feill vengeance . . . . This may be a veiled reference to recent or contemporary history, but it is too vague for more than speculation.
202 towboth. Tolbooths were prisons and, traditionally, execution sites in Scotland.
205-10 Sir Reginald Crawford and Sir Bryce Blair - who, like Robert Boyd (2.436), was a Cunningham knight - were actually executed much later: Blair was hanged, possibly in a barn in Ayr in 1306, while Crawford was hanged and beheaded at Carlisle in 1307. Hary's source was Bruce 4.36-38:
218-20 The Crawfords, Kennedys, and Campbells came from the southwest (Carrick and Ayrshire), while the Boyds and Stewarts, originally from Renfrewshire, became kinsmen of Robert I through marriage. The Stewarts eventually formed a royal dynasty. McDiarmid may be correct in saying that some are names Hary wished to honor in his own day (pp. xlix, lvii).
229 curssit Saxons seid. One of Hary's many disparaging references to the "enemy." The English are first referred to as Saxons in 1.7.
237 Hary's partisan view is in evidence and, as in the opening lines of Book 1, here he makes an appeal to contemporaries.
280-81 There is a possible echo of Suetonius's account of the covering up of the assassinated Julius Caesar (to preserve his dignity), which Hary could have known through Fordun (Chronica 2.17).
288 William Crawford, presumably Sir Reginald's son.
331 deill thar landis. He refers to the lands of the murdered Scottish barons. See lines 436-37, below.
342 McDiarmid (2.203n342) says Irish ale is whisky, but I have been unable to confirm this.
346-49 Note the emotive language used here to condemn the English. Goldstein (1993) cites this as an example of Hary's "racist discourse" (pp. 224-25).
362 burges. A burgess was a citizen of a burgh, a freeman.
380 Adam . . . lord of Ricardtoun. Adam Wallace. See explanatory note to 1.144. Riccarton in Kyle, Ayrshire was long associated with the Wallace family as noted earlier (explanatory note to 1.355). See explanatory note to 5.465-66, above, on Auckinleck.
385-86 Wallace's divine mission is thus manifest.
400-01 Compare Chaucer on true nobility in his lyric on Gentilesse, and the curtain lecture in The Wife of Bath's Tale (III[D]1109-64).
403 the Roddis. The island of Rhodes, possibly a contemporary reference by Hary to the Knights of St. John, as McDiarmid suggests (2.204n403).
408 der nece. This is the "trew" woman (line 252) who had warned him to stay away from the barns and advised that the English were drunk.
434-35 The lines are bitterly ironic and allude, of course, to the treachery perpetrated at the barns of Ayr and the revenge about to be taken.
440 A typical example of Hary's grim humor.
450-70 The repetitions and heavy alliterations are particularly effective in conveying the merciless killings described in these lines.
453-54 "Some rushed quickly to reach Ayr, if they could. / Blinded by fire, they could not see properly what they were doing." McDiarmid interprets thar deidis war full dym as "their deaths were in utter darkness" (2.204n454), but line 472 makes clear that some did escape.
471 There was a Dominican priory in Ayr, and Drumley was the name of a property not far from Ayr that belonged to the Gilbertine monastery of Dalmulin, according to McDiarmid (2.205n471).
488 the furd weill. McDiarmid suggests this is St. Katherine's Well (2.205n488).
491-92 Compare the irreverent humor here with lines 546-47, below.
559 Throughout The Wallace Hary is generous in his praise of warriors from Northumberland. Their mettle would have been tested in border warfare over many years. See line 585 for corroboration.
579-80 strang stour . . . the clowdis past. The dust raised by horses and clashing forces. McDiarmid cites James Scott's comment that such vivid imagery is not to be expected from a man born blind (2.205n579-80).
585 The Percy's men are said to be experienced warriors, just as men of Northumberland are acknowledged as "gud men of wer" (line 559).
595-96 Wallace kills Percy. Factually this is untrue since Henry Percy was alive until 1314. Robert Bruce's attack on Percy and his garrison in Turnberry Castle is described by Barbour (Bruce 5.43-116).
607 that place. I.e., Bothwell, which is occupied by Valence, as Hary has observed.
609-11 began of nycht ten houris in Ayr. "Started from Ayr at ten o'clock at night." Hary reckons it took Wallace fifteen hours altogether to travel from Ayr via Glasgow to Bothwell (Ayr to Glasgow 11 hours, Glasgow to Bothwell 4 hours).
613 The impression of verisimilitude is bolstered by another reference to an authoritative source, the buk.
617-954 While disturbances are known to have occurred in the first half of 1297 in the west Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Galloway, Wallace's involvement in any of these is not confirmed by other sources. After he killed the sheriff of Lanark his next recorded strike, with William Douglas, was against the English justice at Scone in May. Hary does not mention this.
620 The recital of names is probably more important than any particular individuals here.
621-23 Apon Argyll a fellone wer . . . . John of Lorn is described as "Fals" (line 629), perhaps because, with his father, Alexander MacDougall, lord of the Isles, he submitted to Edward in 1296. He was a Balliol supporter, and was related to John Comyn; after the latter's murder, he became Bruce's implacable enemy.
623 Probably Sir Neil Campbell of Loch Awe, who plays a part as one of Bruce's closest companions in The Bruce (2.494; 3.393, 570-74).
626-28 Makfadyan. Said to have sworn fealty to Edward, but probably not a historical person. As McDiarmid points out (2.206-07n626), these "events" are modeled on Barbour's account of the Lorn episodes (Bruce 10.5-134).
633 Duncan of Lorn was Alexander MacDougall's second son.
643 McDiarmid glosses Irland as Hebridean islands (2.207n643). The Wallace uses "Irland" to designate northern and western Celtic settlements on the mainland (Highlands) and the Gaelic inhabited islands. See OED, Irish adj. 1.
647 Louchow. Loch Awe region, near Lorn.
649 Crage Unyn. McDiarmid identifies this as Craiganuni (2.207-08n649).
670 This is the second reference to Wallace's schooling in Dundee. Duncan of Lorn is said to have been Wallace's school companion.
673 Gylmychell. Possibly a member of the local clan Gillymichael.
679 Sir Richard Lundy is consistently presented as a patriot by Hary, fighting with Wallace at the Battle of Stirling (7.1237). The historical Lundy actually went over to the English when the Scots leaders prepared to surrender at Irvine in 1297. He was with the English at Bannockburn (1314). The Lundy family held estates in Angus.
685 The Rukbé. Another anachronism, if the allusion is to Thomas Rokeby, mayor of Stirling Castle in 1336-39, as McDiarmid suggests (2.209n685-86). The sheriff of Stirling, and probably the keeper of Stirling Castle at the time, was Sir Richard Waldergrave.
723 Lennox men were known for their patriotism, and their loyalty to their "lord," Earl Malcolm.
755 In Brucis wer agayne come in Scotland. There is no mention of them in The Bruce.
757-58 Mencione of Bruce . . . . Another reference to the spurious biography by Blair. The claim that Wallace fought for Bruce, [t]o fend his rycht (line 758), is incorrect, since the historical Wallace fought for Balliol, not Bruce.
764 small fute folk. As McDiarmid notes, these were lightly armed auxiliaries (2.210n764).
776 westland men. Warriors from the west country, presumably from Argyll.
798 Cragmor. Creag Mhor, facing Loch Awe.
842 Yrage blud. The "Irish" here refers to Celtic clansmen, whether from the Highlands, the Hebrides, or Ireland.
849 In other words, native Scots threw themselves on the mercy of Wallace.
880 John was the heir and Duncan was his younger brother, not his uncle. The MacDougalls were related to the Comyns and were Balliol supporters.
890 Sir John Ramsay is briefly mentioned by Barbour as a member of Edward Bruce's retinue bound for Ireland (Bruce 14.29).
900-02 Although Barbour describes Ramsay of Auchterhouse as chivalrous (Bruce 14.29-30), McDiarmid notes there is no such reference to Sir Alexander Ramsay in The Bruce (2.211n901-02).
913 There is no reason to believe that Ramsay held Roxburgh Castle. See explanatory note to 6.694.
917 Hary comments on his own inclination to digress and the criticism it attracts, employing a well-known rhetorical topos.
927-32 a gud prelat. I.e., Bishop Sinclair. Another anachronism, as he was not made bishop until 1312. Barbour had celebrated his exemplary leadership against an English invasion of Fife in 1317. Hary's wish to honor the "Synclar blude" (line 930), as the Sinclairs were prominent literary patrons in Hary's day, may explain this passage.
938 Lord Stewart. Lord James Stewart was hereditary lord of Bute (line 936). He had served as a Guardian during the interregnum and had been given charge of a new sheriffdom of Kyntyre by John Balliol during his short reign. He surrendered to Percy and Clifford in July 1297, but had joined Wallace by the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
980 The wattir doun . . . to that steid. I.e., along the Tay River to Perth, or St. John's Town, as it was known.
981 Ramsay is said to be their guide, presumably because he knows the area so well, since he held lands in neighboring Angus.
983-1027 The assault on Perth. Bruce had mounted an attack on Perth in June 1306 and, as in Hary's account of Wallace's assault, he had approached from the west. The Battle of Methven followed. Perth was not won by Wallace, and the installation of Sir William of Ruthven as sheriff in 1297 is another fabrication. See explanatory notes to lines 1017, 1025, and 1281, below.
990 Turret Bridge was on the southwest side of Perth (McDiarmid 2.213n990).
1017 Jhon Sewart. Sir John Sewart or Siward. See explanatory note to 5.519. The Siwards were a Fife baronial family. The implication is that Siward was the keeper of the castle or sheriff of the town who was replaced by Ruthven (lines 1025-27), but this seems unlikely.
1025 Rwan. McDiarmid identifies him as Sir William de Rothievan (i.e., Ruthven), who swore fealty to Edward in 1291 (2.213n1025-28).
1031 Cowper. Coupar Abbey in Angus.
1044 Dwnottar. Dunnottar Castle on the east coast of Scotland.
1078 Lord Bewmound. Sir Henry Beaumont, a cousin of Edward II, had married Alice Comyn, an heiress to the earldom of Buchan. He fought at Bannockburn.
1079 Erll he was. Beaumont was an earl, but not of Buchan as Hary claims (line 1077). John Comyn was earl of Buchan 1289-1308 and died childless (Barrow [1988], p. 271).
1082 Slanys. Slains Castle was on the coast.
1088 Lammes evyn. I.e., July 31. Lammas Day is the first day of August, and tra-ditionally the day on which there was thanksgiving for harvest.
1089 Stablyt. In the sense of settled the affairs of the kingdom, i.e., through the appointment of officers and the distribution of lands as rewards.
1090-1127 A number of sources, including Wyntoun (8.8.2147-50) and Bower (11.27), confirm that Wallace was laying siege to Dundee in August 1297 when he heard about the English forces sent by Edward to Stirling.
1102 Kercyingame. Sir Hugh de Cressingham, Edward's treasurer in Scotland. He seems to have become a hated figure in Scotland, and his corpse was flayed when discovered after the Scottish victory at Stirling Bridge.
1103 Waran. Sir John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, appointed keeper of the kingdom and land of Scotland, had commanded the English army at the siege of Dunbar.
1110-19 These lines refer to the capture of Dunbar that Hary referred to earlier, in Book 1. Although Earl Patrick was an adherent of Edward I, his wife remained a Scottish patriot. As the earl of Warenne prepared to take Dunbar Castle in 1296, the countess tricked her husband's garrison into admitting the Scottish forces to the castle. Some of Hary's details may have come from the Guisborough chronicle (lines 977-78). For a full account, see Barrow (1988), p. 72.
1129 Angwis men. Men of Angus.
1144-45 Wallace sends the herald Jop to inform the Scots that the battle will take place on the next Tuesday.
1145-1218 Battle of Stirling Bridge. A number of the details given here are peculiar to Hary, such as the sawing of the bridge in two (line 1151); the use of wooden rollers at one end of the bridge (lines 1155-56); and the use of a carpenter to sit in a cradle under the bridge to release pins on command (lines 1158-60). The Scots were probably outnumbered by the English, but Hary's figures (50,000 English) are fanciful. The number of casualties, including the death of Cressingham at Wallace's hands (lines 1194-99), is also Hary's invention. Some of Hary's details agree with the account in Guisborough, for example, his figure of 50,000 for the English host (line 1166), although Guisborough says there were also 1,000 cavalry. Various sources agree that Cressingham led the vanguard across the narrow bridge, while Warenne remained with the other main contingent on the south side of the bridge (lines 1171-75). According to the records, the English made their way to Berwick after the defeat at Stirling, not Dunbar as Hary says (lines 1218 and 1227). For another account of the battle, see Barrow (1988), pp. 86-88.
1170 playne feild. Wallace was on the Abbey Crag slope.
1174 An ironic allusion to a popular proverb, as McDiarmid points out (2.216n1174), to the effect that the wise man learns by the example of others. Barbour quotes it early in The Bruce: "And wys men sayis he is happy / Þat be oþer will him chasty" (1.121-22).
1214 Andrew Murray, father of the regent of the same name. He had been in revolt against Edward in Moray since 1297. See Bower, 29.19 and Watt's note on p. 237. Although Wyntoun (8.13.2178) and an inquest of 1300 say that Andrew Murray was killed at Stirling Bridge (Joseph Bain, ed., Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland [Edinburgh: H. M. General Register House, 1881-88] 2.1178), Barrow (1988) and others believe that he did not die until November, probably from wounds received in the battle (p. 343n1). Bower's statement that he was wounded and died (11.30) bears this construction. Murray and Wallace shared leadership of Scotland during the two months after the Stirling victory.
1222 Dunbar Castle was occupied by Waldergrave at this period, not by the earl of Lennox.
1234 Hathyntoun. Haddington, near Edinburgh.
1251 McDiarmid suggests Hary makes this Assumption Day because of Hary's presentation of Wallace as a special protégé of Mary.
1252 Our Lady. This Catholic reference is amended to our Lord in L.
1255-59 Barrow (1988) points out that the history of the lordship of Arran is obscure at this time, but the association with Menteith, a member of the Stewart family, dates from this period (p. 363n88). It was perhaps conquered by Robert I. Menteith's oath of allegiance to Wallace (lines 1261-62) is richly ironic in view of his later betrayal.
1276 Cristall of Cetoun. Sir Christopher Seton, a Yorkshire knight married to Bruce's sister Christian, became one of Bruce's most devoted followers. He was captured at Doon Castle and executed in 1306. See The Bruce 2.421-30; 4.16-24.
1281 Herbottell. The keeper of Jedburgh Castle bears the name of another border castle. Herbottle and Jedburgh castles were held against the English until October 1298. Wallace put John Pencaitland in as keeper (Watson, p. 50) Whether a Ruwan (Ruthven) was installed as captain (lines 1289-90) is unknown.
1293 For the reference to The Bruce, see explanatory note to line 1276 above.
1299-1300 This is historically inaccurate since Edinburgh Castle remained in English hands until 1314.
1302 Mannuell. Manuel, in Stirlingshire.
1306-08 Bruce is intended, although Wallace was actually a Balliol supporter.
Book 8
1 Fyve monethis thus. Five months after the Battle of Stirling Bridge would be February 1298, but references to the months of October and November at lines 433-34 only serve to highlight the problems with Hary's chronology. Wallace may well have tried unsuccessfully to win Earl Patrick over at this time.
21 king of Kyll. An insulting play on the Wallace lands held in Kyle.
23-24 Corspatrick's dismissal of Wallace as a knight bachelor, i.e., a relative novice, is also meant to be insulting. The earl refers to that well-known image of mutability, the wheel of Fortune, to predict that while Wallace may currently enjoy good fortune, this will soon change.
29 Many Scots lords held land in England at this time, e.g., Robert Bruce.
37 a king. I.e., King Robert Bruce. See line 146, below.
63-66 Robert Lauder became a powerful Scottish magnate under Robert I, richly rewarded by the king for loyalty with grants of lands and the position of justiciar of Lothian. Hary suggests he is keeper of some castle (line 64), presumably Lauder in Berwickshire.
68 the Bas. Bass Rock, off North Berwick.
71 Lyll. Unknown, although McDiarmid points out that the Lyles of Renfrewshire obtained property in East Linton in the fifteenth century.
115-21 Coburns Peth . . . Bonkill Wood . . . Noram . . . Caudstreym . . . on Tweid. All of these place names are in Berwickshire. Norham was on the north bank of the River Tweed and Coldstream on the south bank.
124-29 Atrik Forrest . . . Gorkhelm. Ettrick Forest was in the borders and Gorkhelm has not been identified. McDiarmid suggests that the latter may have been in the vicinity of the Cockhum stream near Galashiels (2.220n129).
139 Bek was sent by Edward I in July 1298 to capture castles in East Lothian. See explanatory note to lines 179-80, below.
158 Lothyane. The shire of Lothian in eastern central Scotland.
161 Yhester. The Gifford Castle of Yester in east Lothian. Peter Dunwich was the English keeper of this castle in 1296-97.
162 Hay. Sir Hugh Hay of Borthwick, near Edinburgh, who later fought with Bruce at Methven, where he was captured.
163 Duns Forest. In central Berwickshire.
179-80 Lammermur. Bek rides through the Lammermuir hills and north to the Spottsmuir, south of Dunbar. McDiarmid notes that this was the scene of the battle of Dunbar in 1296 (2.220n180), so the battle described in lines 188-324 may well be fictitious or a confused rewriting of the earlier battle.
270 Mawthland. Maitland was the name of the person who surrendered Dunbar Castle to the earl of Douglas in 1399. According to David Hume of Godscroft, a Robert Maitland was the son of Agnes Dunbar and John Maitland of Thirlestane (The History of the House of Douglas, ed. David Reid. 2 vols. Scottish Text Society fourth ser. 25-26 [Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1996], 1.253 and 2.546n253).
314 Compare The Bruce 3.45-54, which in turn is influenced by the account of Alexander's defense of his retreating men in the Roman d'Alexandre.
317 Glaskadane. Said to be a forest. McDiarmid places it near Doon Hill in Spott parish (2.221n317).
334 Tavydaill. Teviotdale, in the borders.
337 Schir Wilyham Lang. I.e., long or long-legged William Douglas. The Douglas so known was actually the fifth lord of Douglas (c. 1240-76). Hary is referring to his son, the seventh lord (1288-1302), whose nickname was le hardi. See expla-natory note to 6.771.
373 knycht Skelton. Probably one of the Cumberland Skeltons active in the Borders during the wars.
384 Noram Hous. Norham Castle, on the north bank of the River Tweed.
439 Roslyn Mur. Roslin, south of Edinburgh, in Midlothian. It was the site of a battle, won by the Scots, in 1303.
513-19 According to Bower, Newcastle seems to have been the furthest south Wallace reached in the 1297 raids. In May 1318, however, Bruce's army raided Yorkshire. Hary's claim that Wallace's army conducted a burn and slash campaign as far as York which he is supposed to have besieged for fifteen days (line 529) is not supported by the historical record, but was probably influenced by Barbour's account of Bruce's raids. On the extent and impact of the historical Wallace's invasion of northern England in 1297, see C. McNamee, "William Wallace's Invasion of Northern England in 1297," Northern History 26 (1990), 540-58.
522-25 Hary describes the revenge Wallace vowed at line 442. No prisoners are taken for ransom: all are put to the sword. All these lines reiterate this idea. Note the grim humor.
530 King Eduuard. Edward was actually in Flanders at this stage, returning in March 1298.
636 schawit thaim his entent. I.e., he revealed to them what Edward intended.
639-72 Hary is at pains to portray Wallace as a loyal vassal with absolutely no ambitions to usurp his rightful king's place.
651 Cambell. Sir Neil Campbell of Lochawe. See explanatory note to 7.623.
662 As a lord of the parlyment, Malcolm is a hereditary member of the Scottish parliament. The other estates of the clergy and burgesses were also represented.
886-88 King Arthour . . . Mont Mychell. See the account of Arthur's victory over the giant of Gene in The Alliterative Morte Arthure (lines 886-87; 1015-16).
945 Mydlam land. This has been identified as Middleham, ten miles southwest of Richmond (McDiarmid 2.227n945).
946 Brak parkis doun. A park might be a grove, an enclosed tract, a woodland, pasture land, or a game preserve.
953-54 The Commons pressure Edward to accept Wallace's pes (line 954).
955 Na herrald thar durst. The implication is that none dare come because of what he did to the last ones!
961-72 The posing of a question of this kind to the audience or reader is a typical romance convention. The invited comparison with Brutus, Julius Caesar, and Arthur, all well-known from the Nine Worthies tradition in the Middle Ages, is intended to favor the hero.
972 brak his vow. I.e., to fight a battle within forty days.
1009 Ramswaith. McDiarmid reckons this is Ravensworth Castle, northwest of Richmond (2.228n1009-10).
1010 Fehew. Fitzhugh, said to be Edward's nephew when his head is delivered to the king (line 1101).
1024-25 This refers to an incident described in 6.363-405.
1031 lat his service be. That is, commanded him to refrain.
1047 The bowmen provide the equivalent of covering fire.
1081-83 Wallace's treatment of Fitzhugh's head is deliberately provocative because Edward has reneged on the agreement to offer battle.
1107 Wodstok. Woodstock, according to Hary, the earl of Gloucester and captain of Calais (9.675-85). See explanatory notes to line 1494, below; see also 8.1534-37.
1113-36 The role of Edward's queen is invented by Hary. As previous editors have noted, Edward's first queen had died, and he did not marry his second, the sister of Philip IV of France, until 1299. McDiarmid (2.228-29n1113-36) suggests a literary model in Lydgate's Jocasta (The Siege of Thebes).
1120 An allusion to the hanging of the Scots nobles in Ayr, described in 7.199-514.
1137 queyn luffyt Wallace. Hary plays briefly with a romance motif when he suggests that the queen may have been motivated by love for Wallace, inspired by his noble reputation. Hary's own comments follow and make conscious use of the authority topos.
1147 luff or leiff. This does seem to be a tag, as McDiarmid suggests, meaning "for love or not for love."
1183-94 Hary normally places such astrological descriptions at the beginning of a new book, for example at the opening to Book 4.
1215-21 The queen's retinue, which is all female with the exception of seven elderly priests, is another literary touch.
1225 lyoun. The lion rampant of Scotland emblazoned on Wallace's tent is the central emblem of the Royal Arms of Scotland. The leopard is the corresponding emblem on the English royal arms (6.466).
1237-1462 Wallace's long dialogue with the queen is a remarkably courteous exchange, evincing the nobility of both parties. Wallace's cautiousness about the queen's motives is expressed to his men, whom he warns to be on guard against the treachery of women. He is nevertheless courteous enough to exclude the queen from his suspicions. The queen in turn strives to allay suspicions by tasting all the food she has brought by way of gift. Her mission, she says, is peace. Wallace resists her overtures by recounting instances of English aggression which have provoked and perpetuated the war, from the arbitration between the competitors for the throne through the injustices done to Scotland and the personal injustice to Wallace, particularly the murder of his wife, to the truce breaking, and the atrocity at Ayr. She hopes to win him over through offering gold as reparation and tries to appeal to his chivalry, but he refuses to play the courtly game. He says he has no faith in a truce which will not necessarily be binding, or honored by the English king. In the end, he is persuaded by her gentrice (line 1456) or noble magnanimity when she generously distributes the gold to his men in any case.
1256-62 Rownsyvaill. The epic poem, The Song of Roland, made the betrayal and death of Roland at Ronceval famous in the Middle Ages. Hary may have used the Historia Karoli Magni, copied at Coupar Angus Abbey in the fifteenth century, for this episode as well as for the description of Wallace in Book 10, as McDiarmid suggests (2.230n1251-62).
1281 marchell. Here a functionary of the kind appropriate in a royal court.
1286 byrnand wer. A reference to Wallace's scorched-earth tactics in England.
1320-21 pape. The pope was approached in the late thirteenth century to intercede and stop England's suzerainty claims.
1327-28 These lines echo Barbour (Bruce 1.37-40).
1335 This refers to the coronation of John Balliol.
1339 Bower has an account of Julius Caesar's failure to secure tribute from the Scots (Scotichronicon 2.14-15).
1341-43 These lines refer to the pledge Edward made to Robert Bruce the Elder to promote him to the throne of Scotland once Balliol was deposed. Bower claims that Edward basically used Bruce to ensure the surrender of the Scottish nobles (Scotichronicon 11.18).
1345-47 This derives from Bower, Scotichronicon 11.25:
1391 gold so red. Red gold was considered the most precious and valuable.
1407 That ye me luffyt. A tenet of courtly love was that the loved one should love in return or be considered merciless.
1478 key of remembrans. Whereas Chaucer made old books "of remembraunce the keye" (Legend of Good Women, Prologue F.26), Hary represents Wallace himself, through the queen's acknowledgment of his qualities, as the key to remembrance.
1494 thre gret lordys. Clifford, Beaumont, and Woodstock (lines 1503-04).
1523 yong Randell. Sir Thomas Randolph, later earl of Moray and regent of Scotland. He figures prominently in The Bruce.
1525 Erll of Bowchane. Sir John Comyn was the earl of Buchan and a Balliol supporter. Hary does not indicate that he is the same person as the John Comyn referred to two lines later, perhaps because he thinks of Beaumont as the earl of Buchan. (See explanatory note to 7.1079.)
1527 Cumyn and Soullis. All the early Scottish chroniclers claim that Sir John Comyn betrayed Bruce to Edward after making a secret covenant with him. See also The Bruce 1.483-568. Comyn was killed by Robert Bruce in 1306 (Bruce 12.1185 ff.). Sir William Soules was later executed for conspiracy against Robert I (Bruce 19.1-58).
1536 Glosister. The earl of Gloucester, Bruce's uncle through marriage.
1539-43 erll Patrik. As noted earlier, Earl Patrick in fact remained an adherent of Edward I until his death in 1308.
1573-74 All Halow Evyn. Halloween, or the eve of All Saints Day (31 October and 1 November, respectively), so Hary gives their departure date as 21 October, ten days before the feast day, and their arrival at Carham Moor (near Coldstream) as Lammas Day, August 1, the following year, making the raiding campaign in England last over nine months, for which there is no historical confirmation, as noted earlier.
1583-86 The installation of Seton and Ramsay as captains of Berwick and Roxburgh respectively is Hary's invention, as Berwick remained in English hands until 1318 and Roxburgh until 1314.
1597 gossep. I.e., Wallace had been godfather to two of Menteith's children.
1602 March. The Marches, specifically the border between Scotland and northern England.
1616-18 Of this sayn my wordis . . . yeit fell. This should be the last sentence of Book 8, but the scribe errs and continues for another 124 lines.
Book 10
93 Thar. I.e., the ancient Perthshire forest of Blak Irnsid (lines 92 and 333), Black Earnside, not far from the Benedictine abbey of Lindores where various historical battles were fought. Records show that Wallace was here, but in 1304, where he was attacked by the English several times.
98-99 Guthré, / And Besat. Hary thinks of Guthrie and Bisset as local to Perthshire and Fife, probably landowners.
112 Woodhavyn. Woodhaven on the Firth of Tay, opposite Dundee.
118-20 Wallace is referring to events described in 5.19-42.
128 The sentiment of pro patria mori, more or less.
150 Jhon Wallang. Sir John de Valence, Sir Amer's brother. He is referred to as sheriff of Ayr in 12.891.
188 erll of Fyff. Siward is a leading Fife baron. Of course he soon threatens to hang him high if he refuses the order to remain at Earnside Forest (lines 300-02, below).
292 Coupar. In Fife.
310-19 Valence going over to Wallace is a fiction, of course.
835-36 Compare to 1.296-97.
857-75 Schyr Wilyam Lang, of Douglace Daill. See earlier explanatory note to 8.337. Hary claims he was married twice and had two sons by each wife, Sir James and Sir Hugh by the sister of Sir Robert Keith, and two others by Lady Eleanor Ferrars. In his History of the House of Douglas (1633), David Hume of Godscroft also claims this (p. 59), but he is probably following Hary. William Fraser, on the other hand, says the first wife, and the mother of James Douglas, was Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Alexander, High Steward, and that Hugh was one of two sons born to the second wife, whom he calls Elizabeth Ferrars, the other son being Archibald Douglas (The Douglas Book, 4 vols. [Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable, at the Edinburgh University Press, 1885], pp. 75, 104).
865 Gud Robert Keth. Sir Robert Keith, marischel of Scotland, a patriot who supported Wallace until 1300, when he submitted to Edward I.
866-68 Barbour also places James Douglas in Paris during his formative years (Bruce 1.330-44).
873 lady Fers. Lady Eleanor Ferrars, or Ferriers, a widow.
883 Sawchar. Sanquhar Castle, Dumfrieshire, possibly built by the English. It was not won by Wallace as far as is known.
885 Bewffurd. Beaufort is otherwise unknown.
896 Thom Dycson. The Dickson family was associated with Sanquhar, but the source is probably The Bruce (5.255-462), where a Thomas Dickson helps James Douglas capture Douglas Castle. Sir William had been Edward's prisoner since 1297 so could not have been involved in taking Sanquhar at this time.
912 clewch ner the wattyr of Craw. Crawick, in the parish of Sanquhar.
962 Dursder. Durisdeer Castle at Castlehill.
964-65 Enoch . . . Tybris. Enoch and Tibbers castles in Durisdeer parish.
976 Ravynsdaill. Ravensdale is said to be the keeper of Kynsith, near Cumbernauld.
978 Lord Cumyn (Comyn) held Cumbernauld Castle.
997 Lithquow. Linlithgow, which Edward held from 1296.
1017 Hew the Hay. See explanatory note to 8.162.
1025 Ruthirfurd. See explanatory note to 6.537.
1221-46 Wallace statur. Wallace's portrait is drawn from Bower, Scotichronicon 11.28, who in turn derived details and phrases from the Pseudo-Turpin description of Charlemagne, and from Fordun.
1242-44 Alexander the king . . . Ector was he. Comparisons with the magnanimity of Alexander and the audacity of Hector (line 1244) were conventional. There may also be echoes from Chaucer's portrait of the Knight in The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (line 1243).
1259 Scrymiour. Probably Alexander Scrymgeour, appointed constable of Dundee by Wallace in March 1298 (10.1162).
Book 11
73-438 Battle of Falkirk. The historical battle was indecisive (Barrow [1988], p. 103), but Scheps notes that in some MSS of the fourteenth-century romance, Thomas of Ercildoun, the victory is also given to the Scots, so this outcome is not just Hary's invention (Scheps, "Possible Sources," p. 126). Without Wallace, who withdraws from the field in anger (line 158), the Scots are overpowered, but Wallace eventually comes to the rescue and snatches victory from defeat. Hary, like Wyntoun (Cronykil 8.15.2245-69) and Bower (Scotichronicon 11.34), makes the treachery of Comyn a key factor in the initial Scottish defeat. Wallace could not rely on the cavalry in the end. The issue of rank is highlighted in Hary's invented exchange between Wallace and Stewart (lines 105-19), in which Stewart articulates the fears of the nobles.
101 Cunttas of Merch. The countess of Dunbar, wife of Earl Patrick, and sister to Sir John Comyn whose hostility towards Wallace is attributed by Hary to this alliance.
135 howlat. The fable of the owl (lines 134-38) derives from Richard Holland's Book of the Howlat (c. 1448) in which the owl is presented as a treacherous upstart.
151 Cumyn. Like Fordun, Hary uses the name of Comyn as a byword for treachery.
153 I of danger brocht. A reference to the release he negotiated with Woodstock in 8.1525.
179 Erll of Harfurd. An earl of Hereford is known to have been an English commander who saw action in Scotland and was in Carlisle in September of 1298 (Watson, p. 68), but whether he was at Falkirk is not known.
203 Bruce. Whether Bruce was present at Falkirk is a much-debated matter. See Barrow (1988), p. 101. Fordun and Wyntoun say he was; the English chroniclers, including Guisborough (who is the most detailed), do not mention his presence. Hary uses his purported presence to create a confrontation between Bruce and Wallace.
207 gold of gowlis cler. The royal Scottish coat of arms. At line 209: "The rycht lyon."
217-40 Hary moves into allegorical mode to represent Wallace's internal debate or struggle.
279 Rewellyt speris all in a nowmir round. This is the classic schiltron formation in which foot soldiers with long spears were grouped in circular bodies as a first line of defense against advancing cavalry. It has been estimated that some of the schiltron formations at Falkirk comprised as many as 1,500 men (Roberts, p. 122). These schiltrons were, however, vulnerable to attack by archers, as Falkirk testifies. Cavalry protection to deflect the archers was lacking.
295 The erll of York. An anachronism, as this title was not created until the reign of Edward III.
342 Comparison with Alexander again, this time against Gadifer. Barbour, too, uses the analogy to describe Bruce's cover of his men after a skirmish with John of Lorn (Bruce 3.72-84)
361 Quham he hyt rycht. A tribute paid only to Wallace so far.
378-92 The account of Graham's death owes much to The Alliterative Morte Arthure, as previous readers have noted.
434 Magdaleyn Day. Wyntoun and Bower also date the Battle of Falkirk on St. Mary Magdalene Day (i.e., 22 July) 1298.
440-527 The Bruce-Wallace dialogue across the Carron owes much to Bower's account of a conversation between the two across a narrow ravine. According to Hary, Wallace considers Bruce as the rightful king of Scots, but the historical Wallace was a Balliol supporter. The dialogue focuses on Wallace's rebuke of Bruce for being fals (line 461) and killing his awn (line 447) people, especially Stewart and Graham. In Bower, Wallace's accusation that Bruce is effeminate and delinquent in not defending his own country persuades Bruce to changes sides (Scoti-chronicon 11.34).
454 Ra. McDiarmid notes that a Robert Ra of Stirling occurs in the records (2.261n454).
472 offspryng. This implies that Bruce is the (unnatural) father of his people.
492 Thow renygat devorar of thi blud. The charge conveyed in this startling image is taken to heart when, after Falkirk, Bruce refuses to wash the blood from his clothes and person and endures at supper the scorn of the English: "Ane said, 'Behald, yon Scot ettis his awn blud'" (line 536).
1085 Bewmound. Sir Henry Beaumont. See explanatory note to 7.1078.
1089 Clifford received the Douglas lands in 1297 (Barrow [1988], p. 157). Barbour describes James Douglas's attack on Clifford's garrison there in 1307 (Bruce 8.437-87).
1093-1111 The debt is to The Bruce 1.313-45.
1111 lord Soullis. McDiarmid suggests a possible debt to Barbour for the claim that de Soules was given the Merse.
1113 Olyfant. Sir William Oliphant, a Perthshire knight, was commander of Stirling Castle when it was heavily attacked by Edward's new siege machines in 1304, despite Oliphant's offer to surrender the castle. In 1299 Gilbert Malherbe was sheriff when John Sampson surrendered. Oliphant was installed by Sir John de Soules.
1114-56 These lines represent the Bruce-Comyn pact. Compare Barbour's Bruce 1.483-510.
Book 12
740 Bowchan Nes. Literally the nose of Buchan.
743 Climes of Ross. Identification is uncertain.
791-95 The role of Menteith in the capture of Wallace is not doubted. He is accused of treachery by Fordun, Wyntoun, and Bower. Barrow (1988) points out that Menteith was a staunch patriot but submitted to Edward in 1304 and so was acting in line with this allegiance in handing Wallace over (p. 136).
835-48 Another homily, this time on covetise (covetousness). The particular allusions to Hector and Alexander suggest a probable debt to Barbour, but of course such analogies were common. Barbour has a similar descant on treason as exemplified in the fates of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and King Arthur, among others (Bruce 1.515-60).
885-94 erll of Fyf. Duncan, earl of Fife. was not actually active on the patriot side in Wallace's lifetime. He was later a companion-in-arms when Bishop Sinclair repelled an English attack in Fife in 1317 (Bruce 16.543-666).
894 ald thane. The thane referred to is MacDuff, famous for slaying Macbeth.
918-24 Barbour's mention of Edward Bruce's return to Galloway may be the source here (Bruce 9.477-543).
928 Lowmabane. Lochmabon Castle was part of the Bruce lordship of Annandale.
937 Blak Rok. See earlier reference to the Blackcraig (6.855) and explanatory note.
959-82 Hary has Wallace rescue Scotland three times before he hands over to Bruce. The correspondence between the two is, of course, Hary's invention.
960 McDiarmid suggests lestand pees could mean "heaven" (2.273n960).
962 purpost than to serve God. I.e., to enter religious orders.
984 Glaskow. Bower says Glasgow was where Menteith's men captured Wallace (Scotichronicon 12.8).
1062 byndyng rew. The binding of captured Wallace ironically parallels the break-up of Scotland.
1075 thai Menteth. McDiarmid suggests "these Menteiths," i.e., kinsmen (2.274n1075).
1077 saiff thar lord. Hary refers to Sir John Stewart, but Sir James was actually chief. Menteith was Sir John Stewart's uncle.
1081 eighteen yer. Falkirk was fought in 1298, so eighteen years makes no sense. Even if eight is meant, this would put Wallace's capture in 1306, which is too late.
1082 Hary presents Comyn's death as in part a payback for his role in bringing about the death of Stewart at Falkirk.
1089-90 Clyffurd. See explanatory note to 5.737.
1096 The Scots did not have Berwick at this time.
1109-28 Allace. The anaphora on "alas" marks these lines as a formal complaint or lament.
1139 Longawell. Thomas Longueville is the French knight (and reformed pirate) who accompanied Wallace from France. His adventures are detailed in Book 9 (omitted from these selections).
1147 Brucys buk. An explicit reference to Barbour's Bruce, possibly 9.396.
1151 The Charteris family was a prominent one in Hary's day and he pays a compliment by making Thomas of Longueville an ancestor.
1163 Possibly an echo of the opening lines of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.
1164-76 Edward Bruce's eulogy on Wallace is an interesting exercise in propaganda as once again Hary suggest that Wallace fought to make Robert Bruce's reign possible.
1183-84 The order for Comyn's killing is given because he is seen as responsible for Wallace's death, just as he had earlier been accused by Hary of a part in the death of Stewart (lines 1079-82).
1195 A reference to Barbour's account in The Bruce, as line 1212 acknowledges. See also notes above on Berwick as held by the English until 1318 (8.1583-86).
1205 best chyftayn. A comparison of James Douglas and Wallace as chieftains, but inevitably to Wallace's advantage.
1226-28 McDiarmid (2.277n1227-28) suggests that this refers to the Black Parliament, held at Scone in 1320 to deal with Soules, Brechin, and the other conspirators, described by Barbour (Bruce, 19.46) and Bower (Scotichronicon, 13.1).
1239-1301 Bower mentions the vision of a holy man in which he saw the ascent of Wallace's soul to heaven. Hary may be extending this as he draws on other sources, such as traditional tales about Wallace, to which Bower may also have had access.
1260 fyr brund. McDiarmid identifies this as the flame of Purgatory (2.279n1260).
1269 layff. The monk asks about the brand in his fellow's forehead.
1280 The date is erroneous. Wallace was executed on Monday, 23 August 1305.
1297 bellys sall ryng. See McDiarmid for other examples of bell-ringing as witness to virtue (2.279n1297).
1305-09 Wallace as a martyr is compared to the greatest of English saints: Oswald, Edmond, Edward, and Thomas.
1312-37 Edward's prohibition on shriving Wallace and the retort of the bishop of Canterbury who proceeds to hear Wallace's last confession are entirely fanciful. The intention is to blacken Edward's character further.
1384-86 McDiarmid (2.280n1385-86) suggests an echo of Henryson's Fox and the Wolf (lines 694-95). Note the contrast to Bruce's deathbed words (Barbour's Bruce 20.171-99). Wallace is nevertheless presented as devout, in his reading of the psalter to the last.
1400 done. I.e., tortured.
1414 Blair. See explanatory note to 5.533-45.
1417 Byschop Synclar. This seems to be Hary's invention.
1427-28 McDiarmid omits these lines which contain a contradiction about Wallace's age at death.
1439 McDiarmid translates as, "No one had engaged himself to pay for the writing of this work" (2.281n1437).
1445-46 Wallas . . . Liddaill. See my Introduction for a comment on these two patrons.
1451-66 Note the convention employed in this epilogue. Compare with Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale.
Abbreviations: C = The Lyfe and Actis of the Maist Illvster And Vailzeand Campiovn William Wallace, ed. Charteris (1594); F = Fragments of an edition in the type of Chepman and Myllar (1507/8); Jamieson = Wallace, or, The Life and Acts of Sir William Wallace of Ellerslie (1869); L = The Actis and Deidis of Schir William Wallace, ed. Lekpreuik (1570); McDiarmid = Hary's Wallace (1968-69); MS = National Library of Scotland MS Advocates 19.2.2, fols. 79r-194r.
Book 1
26 of. MS: off. So too in lines 47, 66, 94, 108, 133, 134, 143, 166, 190, 204, 290, 356, 375, 379, 420 and passim.
32 hyr. L: heir. McDiarmid emends to her.
37 as cornyklis. MS: as conus cornyklis. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
57 landis. McDiarmid notes that -is endings in the MS frequently look like -e.
64 croun. MS: toun. L: Crown. McDiarmid's emendation.
87 folowid. McDiarmid: followid.
97 Eduuard maid. McDiarmid adds has, based on L.
106 than. McDiarmid: then.
116 homage. So L. MS: ymage. McDiarmid's emendation.
118 he send. MS: send he, with caret indicating inversion.
159 cummyng. McDiarmid adopts couth ring from L.
193 outhir. McDiarmid: othir.
269 the. McDiarmid's addition from L.
278 Hym disgysyt. McDiarmid adds self, following L.
285 Landoris. McDiarmid emends to Lundoris, following L.
302 Welcummyt. McDiarmid: Welcwmmyt. Also at line 329.
336 Wallas. McDiarmid: Wallace.
352 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
407 ane awkwart straik him gave. MS: awkwart he him gawe. L: ane akwart straik him gaif. McDiarmid's emendation.
423 Lord abide. McDiarmid adopts L's reading, which omits lord.
429 discumfyst. McDiarmid: discwmfyst.
Book 2
8 mynd. McDiarmid: mynde.
10 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
27 Aboundandely. McDiarmid emends to Abandounly.
31 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
34 On. So L. McDiarmid follows the MS: In.
49 Upon. MS: Vpon. McDiarmid: Apon.
75 Wallace. McDiarmid: Wallas.
76 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
78 se. McDiarmid's addition, following L.
83 bocht. MS: thocht bocht. McDiarmid's emendation.
86 schirreff. McDiarmid: schireff.
89 yeid and said. McDiarmid emends to 3eid, said.
93 thow. So L. MS: the. McDiarmid's emendation.
100 sodanlé. McDiarmid: sodanli.
138 ga. McDiarmid and Jamieson adopt ta, following L.
153 fell. McDiarmid: sell. L also has fell, as McDiarmid notes.
175 law. McDiarmid notes this is the MS reading, but emends to lawe.
198 yow. McDiarmid: thow.
216 Compleyn. McDiarmid: Compleyne.
219 sellis. L: cellis. McDiarmid: sell is.
231 hym. McDiarmid: him.
234 Celinus. McDiarmid: Celinius.
244 thar. McDiarmid: that.
308 thar presoune. MS omits thar. L: thair presoun. McDiarmid's addition.
339 After this line in L a different hand inserts an extra line: "I wald his weilfair and caist into his thocht."
425 thrang. So L. MS: fand. McDiarmid and Jamieson emend to fang.
Book 3
9 rialye. McDiarmid: realye.
13 coud. McDiarmid: could.
24 was. McDiarmid: war.
25 Thai waryit. MS: He trowit. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
35 thai. McDiarmid's addition.
97 trastyt. MS: trast. L: traistit. McDiarmid's emendation.
100 the. McDiarmid's addition.
101 thair. So L. MS: than. McDiarmid's emendation (thar).
114 caus. McDiarmid: causer.
135 tuk. McDiarmid: tuke.
145 byrney. McDiarmid: birny.
146 throuch. L: Throw out. McDiarmid: throuch-out.
147 offe. McDiarmid: off.
152 enveround. McDiarmid: enverounid.
174 he doune. MS: doune he, but marked to indicate alteration.
176 The and arsone. McDiarmid: The gud arsone, but the means "thigh" here.
182 payne. McDiarmid: playne, though he notes L: pane.
189 brand. MS: hand. McDiarmid's emendation.
201 ennymys. MS: chewalrye. L: enemeis. McDiarmid's emendation.
203 hors sum part to. MS: On horsis some to strenthis part. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
Book 4
10 hevyn. McDiarmid adopts the hycht from L.
19 far. McDiarmid's addition, which has support from L.
26 that. McDiarmid and Jamieson adopt at.
32 thou. McDiarmid: you.
60 der. So L. MS: her. McDiarmid's emendation.
92 fold. McDiarmid: feld, but fold is correct and is used at line 469.
339 hett. McDiarmid: heit.
340 wett. McDiarmid: weit.
353 of. McDiarmid's addition from L.
372 fynd. McDiarmid: find.
405 on. McDiarmid: in.
437 All. McDiarmid emends to Off.
443 his. McDiarmid adopts thar, based on L.
444 feild. McDiarmid: field.
466 throuout. McDiarmid's addition (throu-out), based on L.
480 Wallace. L: The walls. McDiarmid changes to wallis.
481 was thar lord. Needs to be understood as "were their lords" to agree with flearis.
498 his. McDiarmid: hys.
503 Women. McDiarmid: Wemen.
720 suour. McDiarmid: suor.
761 tresoun. MS: tresour. L: tressoun. McDiarmid's emendation.
787 Thai folowit him. MS: Him thai folowit. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
Book 5
71 chyftayne. McDiarmid: chyaftyne.
75 wycht. McDiarmid: wyth.
77 maide. McDiarmid: maid.
83 of. McDiarmid: off.
115 Als Fawdoun was. MS: Als Fawdoun als was. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
116 haldyn. McDiarmid: knawin, following L; but see 5.817 where haldyn is used to mean "reputed."
186 gret ire. MS: the gret Ire. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
187 that. MS: he. L: that allane. McDiarmid emends to him allayne.
191 horn. McDiarmid: horne.
196 it. McDiarmid's addition from L.
207 Faudoun. McDiarmid: Fawdoun.
392 Goddis saik wyrk. MS: Goddis wyrk. McDiarmid's addition, based on L's reading: Goddis saik mak.
409 wes. McDiarmid: was.
476 into. So L. MS: in. McDiarmid's emendation.
485 brynt. MS: bryt. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
501 Lorde. McDiarmid: Lord.
526 that. So L. MS: than. McDiarmid's emendation.
528 of. McDiarmid: off.
564 was of that. MS: that was off that. McDiarmid's reading, modified from L.
576 bot. McDiarmid: but.
590 protectiounne. McDiarmid: proteccioune.
616 his. McDiarmid: hys.
619 als. McDiarmid: as.
629 luff. McDiarmid's addition from L.
652 remaynyt. McDiarmid: remaynt.
656 langour. McDiarmid: languor.
714 ramaynyt. McDiarmid: remaynyt.
758 contré. McDiarmid: cuntre.
764 cheyk. MS: cheyff. L: cheik. McDiarmid's emendation.
789 ar. McDiarmid: are.
800 thai. McDiarmid emends to the, based on L.
849 wes. McDiarmid: was.
852 nayne. McDiarmid: nane.
Book 6
1 utas. MS: wtast. McDiarmid's correction.
19 for to. MS: to. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
24 sor. MS: sar. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
45 was maid. MS omits was. McDiarmid's addition from L.
62-63 These two lines are reversed in the MS. McDiarmid's emendation.
73 gudlye. McDiarmid: gudly.
79 hym fer mar. MS: hyr fer mar. F and L: hym mair sair. McDiarmid's emendation.
80 Line missing from MS, supplied from F. This line is also added by McDiarmid.
83 now. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation, following F.
97 fortoune. McDiarmid: fortune.
140 Gude. McDiarmid: Gud.
159 wapynnys. McDiarmid: wappynnys.
171 his. McDiarmid: hys.
186 upon. MS: wpon. McDiarmid: vpon.
195 but. McDiarmid: bot.
219 nocht. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition, following L.
226 Gud . . . duelyt. MS: Off . . . duelt. McDiarmid's emendations.
307 Pykarté. McDiarmid: Pykearte.
315 thai him knew. McDiarmid emends to that thai him knew, based on F and L.
360 Aganys. McDiarmid: Agaynys.
398 wes. McDiarmid: was.
413 thee leid. MS: thou. McDiarmid's emendation (the), following L.
416 falow led him. MS omits led. McDiarmid's addition from L.
432 tell. MS: till. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
436 was sone war. MS omits sone. McDiarmid's addition from L.
437 to sell. MS: he to sell. McDiarmid's emendation.
441 sell. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
471 he. MS: how. McDiarmid's emendation, following F and L.
473 pot. McDiarmid: pott.
485 thai MS: thai thai. McDiarmid silently emends.
507 the. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
510 Davi son. MS: Dauison. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
516 for chance. MS: for charg. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
518 folk. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
525 that. McDiarmid's addition, based on L.
we may in our viage. So F. MS: may we in sic wiage, followed by McDiarmid.
528 fullfill. McDiarmid: fulfill.
537 Jhonstoun. So F and L. MS: Wallas. McDiarmid's emendation.
547 rych. McDiarmid: ryth, although he notes variant readings of richt (F) and riche (L).
559 how. McDiarmid emends to full, following F and L.
561 walkand had beyne. MS: walkand beyne. McDiarmid's addition from F and L.
578 owndir. McDiarmid: wndir.
591 self. MS: saw. My reading, adopted from F and L.
596 thocht. McDiarmid substitutes rocht from F and L.
679 Commaund. McDiarmid: Command.
706 tald it to. MS: tald to. McDiarmid's addition from L.
742 thar. McDiarmid: that.
776 Far. So L. MS: For. McDiarmid emends to Fer.
780 till. McDiarmid: til.
810 Fra. The second two letters are smudged in the MS.
825 enterit. McDiarmid: entrit.
838-41 These lines from L are missing from the MS, probably, as McDiarmid suggests (1.134n838-41), because the scribe was misled by the recurrent rhyme haill.
936 repayr. McDiarmid: repair.
Book 7
65 to the kyrk. McDiarmid emends to in to the kyrk.
89 thar descendyt. McDiarmid adopts the reading from L here, which reverses this word order.
115 sowdandly. MS: sowndly. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
116 his entent. MS omits his. McDiarmid's addition from L.
126 thou mon rycht. MS omits thou. McDiarmid's addition (thow) from L.
153 him. McDiarmid: hym.
182 makis. McDiarmid: makes.
209 his. McDiarmid: hys.
253 speryt. MS: sparyt. L: speirit. McDiarmid's emendation.
273 Than. McDiarmid adopts That from L.
290 me thaim all. MS omits thaim. McDiarmid and Jamieson also emend.
291 Marys saik. L: Goddis saik.
310 derffly ded doun. McDiarmid adopts L's reading, which omits ded.
353 selff. McDiarmid: self.
377 Lat. McDiarmid: Latt.
406 breiffly. McDiarmid: brieffly.
420 to the gett. MS: to 3ett. McDiarmid's addition from L.
424 evirilk. MS: ilk. Accepting the reading from L, as McDiarmid and Jamieson do.
440 walkand. McDiarmid adopts walkning from L.
451 beltles. L: belchis. McDiarmid adopts belches, meaning "blazes," but beltles meaning "undressed" (literally, "without a belt") makes good sense.
453 tyll. McDiarmid: till.
454 thar. MS: thai. McDiarrmid's emendation, based on L.
468 hand for. McDiarmid inserts thaim, citing L's thame.
520 sum. McDiarmid's addition from L.
556 Goddis saik. MS: Goddis. McDiarmid's addition from L.
630 was a new-maid lord. MS: was new maid lord. My emendation, based on L. McDiarmid emends to: was new maid a lord.
651 that. MS: quhar. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
713 haiff beyne full. MS omits beyne. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
731 tayne. McDiarmid: tane.
732 he. McDiarmid adopts thai from L.
741 him. McDiarmid: hym.
751 was. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
778 Lundye. McDiarmid: Lundy.
794 is. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
809 ay. MS: thai. McDiarmid and Jamieson emend, following L.
850 wapynnys. McDiarmid: wappynnys.
fra. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
878 Hald in Scotland. MS: Hald Scotland. McDiarmid and Jamieson insert in from L.
899 Weill he eschewit. MS: Weill eschewit. McDiarmid's addition from L.
920 trow. McDiarmid: trew.
924 harmyng. MS: gret harmyng. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
953 All. MS: And. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
982 Rewillyt. McDiarmid: Rewllyt.
992 that. MS: thai. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1037 As McDiarmid notes, this line first appears at 1034 but is scored through and then placed here.
1145 sent. MS: send. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
1152 trest. MS: streit. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1180 hyntyt and couth blaw. McDiarmid adopts reading based on L: hynt and couth it blaw.
1202 quhilk. MS: quhill. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1211 the. McDiarmid adopts in from L.
1218 haist maid. MS: haist thai maid. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1252 Our Lady. L: our Lord.
1262 and to. McDiarmid omits to, citing L.
1268 and fled. McDiarmid adopts thai, citing L's thay.
1281 Jadwort. McDiarmid: Jedwort.
Book 8
46 schaym. MS: schapin. McDiarmid's emendation, derived from L.
48 realme. McDiarmid: Realm.
55 taryit. So L. MS: tary. McDiarmid: taryt.
105 war. McDiarmid: were.
155 bischope. McDiarmid: byschope.
169 gyff. McDiarmid: giff.
200 four. McDiarmid: iii.
213 but. McDiarmid: bot.
231 And Adam. MS omits And. McDiarmid's addition from L.
275 his. McDiarmid: hys.
276 feill. MS: till. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
282 his. McDiarmid: hys.
283 Gud rowme. McDiarmid: And rowme. L: Gude. Compare large rowme at line 300.
289 thai. McDiarmid: they.
303 feill. So L. MS: full feill, followed by McDiarmid.
305 horssit. McDiarmid: horsit.
312 sa. McDiarmid emends to and, following L.
343 thar. McDiarmid: thair.
360 ded. McDiarmid: dede.
526 koffre. MS: troffie. L: trustrie. McDiarmid's emendation.
532 to ces. McDiarmid inserts for, citing L.
564 harmys. The MS folio has been ripped and sewn together again. The first letter has been obliterated, but is probably h as McDiarmid believes. L: harmis.
650 mony. McDiarmid: many.
864 and. MS: of. McDiarmid's emendation, derived from L.
867 fer for to wyn. McDiarmid drops for.
869 warnysoun. MS: warysoun. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
896 Schir. McDiarmid: Schyr.
922 remanent. From L. MS: Ramayn.
939 largely. MS: largly. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
945 Mydlam land. MS: Mydlem. McDiarmid's emendation.
973 ransik. F and L: resolve. McDiarmid: runsik.
973-74 These lines are reversed in F and L.
1008 semely. So F and L. MS: sembly. McDiarmid: semly.
1049 fast. McDiarmid adopts loud from L.
1055 for the defens. McDiarmid emends to for fence, following L.
1060 hidduys. McDiarmid: hidwys.
1082 woman. MS: women. McDiarmid's emendation from L.
1109 curage. So L. MS: curag. McDiarmid's emendation.
1119 men. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1136 giffyn. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition.
1142 Sa. McDiarmid: So.
1144 quhill. MS: quhilk. McDiarmid's emendation.
1156 the Sotheron. McDiarmid drops the.
1167 stark. MS: stargis. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1170 Tawbawnys. In the MS the t before awbawnys is blurred. See Tawbane at 8.1498.
1172 gud. McDiarmid adopts fud, citing L's fude.
1174 Thai. MS: Than. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1178 wild. McDiarmid: wyld.
1204 cast. MS: clasp. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1219 Vaillyt. MS: wallyt. McDiarmid's emendation (Waillyt), based on L.
1236 So. McDiarmid: Sa.
1241 Suffer. McDiarmid: Suffyr.
1250 Herfor mon. McDiarmid inserts And from L.
1255 passit. MS: past, McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1287 grant us pees. MS: awcht haiff pes. McDiarmid's emendation.
1300 us. So L. McDiarmid's emendation (ws).
1314 helpys. McDiarmid: helpis.
1330 clemyt. McDiarmid: clempt.
1335 king. McDiarmid: kyng.
1344 Undid. So L. MS: wnd. McDiarmid's emendation.
1344-45 These lines are reversed in L.
1358 dispit. McDiarmid: despit.
1398 but. McDiarmid: bot.
1417 Madem. McDiarmid: Madam.
1421 yow. McDiarmid: you.
1424 Madeym. McDiarmid: Madem.
1439 Apon. McDiarmid: Vpon.
1451 menstraillis, harroldis. McDiarmid: menstrallis, harraldis.
1457 yow. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1462 sall. McDiarmid: sal.
1500 a. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1530 to ask. MS: als till. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1549 thaim. McDiarmid has than.
1555 ocht. MS: och. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1561 he. McDiarmid adopts thai, citing L.
1590 that. McDiarmid adopts the from L.
1601 byg it. MS: byggit. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1616 sayn my wordis. McDiarmid adopts a version of L's reading here: saving me wordis. The sense seems reasonably clear: "With these words I cease my account of this."
1618 Book 8 should end here (as in L), but the scribe errs and continues for another 124 lines.
Book 10
99 Besat. MS: Beset; L: Bissat. The name of a person, as later references make clear (lines 10, 242, 414).
102 unbeset. So L. MS: wnderset. McDiarmid adopts wmbeset.
113 cald it. McDiarmid adopts awfull from L.
131 tak. McDiarmid: take.
132 ar. McDiarmid: are.
148 Bot. McDiarmid: But.
246 metyng. McDiarmid: and metyng.
264 Wythowt. McDiarmid: Withowt.
312 hym. McDiarmid: him.
319 Wytht. McDiarmid: Wyth.
323 bid. McDiarmid: byd.
850 was. MS: wax. McDiarmid's emendation.
871 Till him. McDiarmid adopts Quhill tym from L.
891 his. McDiarmid: hys.
945 Dowglace. McDiarmid: Douglace.
973 Of Lewyhous. McDiarmid emends to Off the Lewynhous.
978 tribut. McDiarmid: trewbut.
981 nane. McDiarmid: nayn.
992 that. McDiarmid omits.
1002 Newbottyll. McDiarmid: Newbottyl.
1004 Berwik. McDiarmid: Berweik.
1222 dyscrecioun. McDiarmid: discrecioun.
1223 dischevill. MS: dissembill. McDiarmid's emendation.
1246 dissayff. McDiarmid: dissayf.
1248 ane. From L. MS: in. McDiarmid: a.
1274 saraly and in. MS: far alyand in. McDiarmid's emendation.
1276 north. McDiarmid inserts land to make northland.
1278 rapent. McDiarmid: repent.
Book 11
126 leyff it. MS: leyff on. McDiarmid's addition, based on L's tyne it on.
131 fairest. MS: farrest. McDiarmid's emendation from L.
146 Thair I have biddin. MS: Thar and I baid. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
151 consaill. MS: conselle. L: counsaill. McDiarmid's emendation,
173 he. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
198 To God. McDiarmid adopts L's reading O god.
200 thar. McDiarmid and Jamieson render as thir.
204 beyn. McDiarmid: been.
227 na. McDiarmid: na the, following L.
236 him. McDiarmid: hym.
251 All. McDiarmid adopts Wer from C.
256 saw that. MS: saw quhen. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
342 of Gawdyfer. MS: the Gawdyfer. McDiarmid's emendation.
352 thre. McDiarmid: three.
355 weryt. McDiarmid adopts reryt, citing L's reirit.
418 on. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
432 amange. McDiarmid: amang.
452 heir. From L. MS: eftir. McDiarmid: her.
481 wagis. McDiarmid: wage.
514 the orient. MS omits the. McDiarmid's addition from L.
520 se me. McDiarmid emends to me se.
522 him. McDiarmid: hym.
528 Lythqwo. McDiarmid: Lythquo.
529 a. McDiarmid adopts be from L.
542 McDiarmid drops that, following L.
1082 endyt. McDiarmid: endit.
1088 Thair to. MS: Thair for. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1090 Marchis. McDiarmid: merchis.
1139 herto. MS: to her. McDiarmid's emendation (her-to), based on L.
1146 haiff. MS: haff. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1150 this. McDiarmid: his.
1155 Fell thar. MS: Fayr thai. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1156 That we micht get agane Wallace of France. Like McDiarmid, I insert this line from L.
1169 Cumyn. MS: Eduuard. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
Book 12
781 thar. McDiarmid: thai. L: thair.
787 Thai. McDiarmid adopts He from L.
799 this. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
802 thow. McDiarmid: thou.
819 thai. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
820 fayn haiff had. MS: fayn had. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
837 tuk. MS: to. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
841 Bretan. McDiarmid: Bretane.
842 had. McDiarmid adopts has, citing L.
843 covatice. McDiarmid: cowatyce.
854 yit. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation (3eit), based on L.
855 sogeyng. McDiarmid: segeyng.
909 be tak. McDiarmid: betak.
926 it. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
946 past. McDiarmid emends to passit, following L
990 Menteth. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition, based on L.
993 he. McDiarmid emends to thai, following L.
1023 handis mycht on him lay. McDiarmid reads the insertion points under handis and lay in MS to move handis between him and lay.
1044 ma. McDiarmid: may.
1064 Comyns. MS: commounis. L: Cumyngis. McDiarmid's emendation.
1065 awe. McDiarmid: aw.
1075 thai Menteth. MS: that Menteith. McDiarmid's emendation. He suggests the meaning is "these Menteiths," i.e., kinsmen (2.274n1075).
1081 eighteen. MS: xviii. McDiarmid adopts auchtand, citing L.
1097 And. McDiarmid adopts To from L.
1103-04 In the MS these lines are reversed, but the scribe indicates that they should be switched.
1112 best. McDiarmid notes that in the MS best is written faintly above the line. Although I cannot make it out, I accept the emendation, based on L.
1123 help. McDiarmid adopts kepe, citing L.
1153 fer. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition, based on L.
1175 suld had na. MS: suld nocht had na. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1176 falsnes. MS: falnes. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1184 dreid. MS: deid. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1190 it is. MS: it was. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1209 as. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1220 haiff. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1255 so. McDiarmid: sa.
1263 lang. McDiarmid: long.
1277 me ken. MS: may ken. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1305 Sotheroun. McDiarmid: Sotherun.
1319 said. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1331 thy. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition (thi) from L.
1335 Inglismen. McDiarmid adopts wyse men from L.
1361 force. McDiarmid: fors.
1365 I. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1369 this. McDiarmid: the.
1382 sald. McDiarmid: suld.
1384 smyld a litill. MS: smyld litill. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
1395 viagis. McDiarmid: wiage.
1396 dispolyeid. McDiarmid: dispulyeid.
1405 spreyt. MS: preyt. Damaged folio means some letters are effaced in the following words: spreyt (1405), we (1406), spreyt (1409), blair (1414), compild (1415), mair (1416).
1409 McDiarmid inserts a break after this line so that lines 1410 to the end are presented as an epilogue.
1414 Blair. McDiarmid: Blayr.
1421 was till. MS: was for till. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1427-28 McDiarmid rejects these lines "as an intrusion" on the grounds that "45 years as the age of Wallace at his death is grossly at variance with the life-span presented in the poem and illustrated in my Introduction" (2.281n1426f).
1459 banevolence. McDiarmid: beneuolence.
1461 burel. McDiarmid: burell.
1463 of Pernase. MS: aspernase. McDiarmid's emendation.
2 To obtain a pardon so that she might be at peace
3 Pierced through the veins and unlucky [in loss] of blood
4 Then laughed he loudly and said, "May ill befall you["]
5 With household provisions diligently he supplied them
6 Supplier of food thereafter he was certainly no more
7 Lines 238-39: I think we should make them feel our strength in combat, and so we do many times
8 Lines 250-51: So it appeared to him, death had seized him quickly, / Then said to them, "He has paid what he owed [to Nature]" (i.e., he has died)
9 She offered her milk-filled breast to Wallace
10 Until we know who you are you shall [come] with me to Ayr
11 Of Wallace's escape, then continued on their way
12 And gloves of plate-armor were covered well with cloth
13 By that time the [English] force was making its way to Loudoun Hill
14 None dared separate until the press to battle was past
15 English serving men (knaves) they made their baggage transport
16 Sir Ranald Crawford was obliged to be there at that time
17 In matters of war he did not follow his counsel
18 Now enjoying good [fortune], now cold weather, now hot
19 Caused him many times to triumph over his adversaries
20 From their lance supports [attached to the saddle] they threw sharp spears at that time
21 Right through the rib; the shaft broke completely
22 To Shortwood Forest removed food and strong wine
23 Between the two parties (i.e., the English armies) Wallace then sallied out
24 But the [female] sleuth hound, which was reliable and fierce
25 He ordered him to go on and said the stronghold (i.e., Gask Hall) was near
26 None came back, but [the horn] continued to blow harshly
27 To a stair leading to a close, the boards [he] smashed in two
28 Since he began [his rebellion] are lost beyond help (i.e., fatally wounded)
29 They did not recognize him, [therefore] he was the less in danger
30 Some were stabbed, some had their throats cut
31 No English [man] could find fault with them, poor nor rich
32 So that he never again marshaled any horses
33 Lines 766-67: Their horses they took and promptly made themselves ready to leave / The town; they did not stay for dinner
34 With our [smaller] force to wait to [give] them battle here
35 [A] beginning made by agreement before ready witnesses
36 "Whom do you scorn?" said Wallace. "Who taught you?"
37 One made an obscene gesture and pulled at his long sword (penis)
38 [Remained] behind their men until they reached the gate
39 To Lanark made their way on horses, a thousand in all
40 If you are the leader of all this thing (rebellion)
41 You, robber-king, charge me because of a mere circumstance
42 Let [me] know (hear) the price. I will take every one of them
43 "For by [the look of it] this army knows the roads well"
44 Wallace was pleased when he had heard that call (lit., word)
45 Lines 567-68: Whomever they hit, with sword blows, no armor could stop them once they assembled on foot
46 Through Culter Valley before they had time to climb the hill
47 Overgrown with brushwood, and all the grass was growing vigorously
48 In Cumberland from his home in Pontefract
49 So long as I am quit [of responsibility] I care not what you do
50 Do not fail therefore to redress this wrong
51 The green [signifies] the courageous effort in which you are now engaged
52 Although you would send [a messenger], [going to] that trouble would be in vain
53 Tightly drawn ropes were fastened all along a beam
54 With a law-court servant to bring him before the court
55 Through great gluttony fell suddenly into a stupor like swine
56 It would [fall] to him (i.e., Wallace), for anything they could devise
57 Nor consider anyone [a] lord unless he owns land
58 Some grimly wept as they departed this life
59 Indeed, I believe you have not yet been blessed by a bishop
60 Lines 763-64: By [the time] our party was past Strath Fillan, / Every one [of] the small band of outlaws began to tire
61 Made an end of him; [so] that he told no news
62 Cleared a space around him as large as a rood (a measure) or more
63 That Jop himself did not know for sure who would win
64 Kept himself independent, though sworn to King Edward
65 Generosity and loyalty he had as [much as] any one could ask
66 Lived as he could and always kept good faith [with the Scottish rebels]
67 Had [it] openly proclaimed that there would be no sparing
68 Lines 1075-76: None went away except priests, women, and children; / [If] they resisted they did not escape without harm
69 He was made an earl only a short time before
70 Seven thousand in all floundered at once in [the River] Forth
71 He lived there freely as an outlaw
72 They should continue and have no fear of him (i.e., Earl Patrick)
73 Lines 106-07: Wallace would stop there no longer and turned back / Towards Dunbar, where reliable men told him
74 Northumberland [men presenting] an awesome sight
75 Lines 199-200: In truth I will not flee / As long as I have one against four of his [men]
76 Lines 285-86: None was so strong that, [once] injured by Wallace, / Ever again troubled a Scot
77 Lines 457-58: He arranged for them to choose the best armor and horse / And enough weapons to serve them well
78 What need was there of a greater force to go [to battle]?
79 Lines 518-19: He did not sin by burning and slaying them (the English). / They thought it no sin when they let us feel the same
80 And assurance of safety for as long as he wished to ask [it]
81 And this they decided among themselves
82 This knight Cambell, a man distinguished for his wisdom
83 They were extremely fearful about their own troops
84 We have no responsibility for what our king makes us do
85 Although he was the best, we do not find fault with any other
86 Since the death of Brutus, without battle, except Wallace
87 Good men must endure [the] scorn of worthless fellows in war
88 These men in shining armor reached the bulwark
89 Then Wallace said, "Where such things come through menacing["]
90 [Bearers] of [the] oldest coats [of] arms in that region
91 He should be punished for slaying such an innocent creature
92 The queen discovered words did not help her [case]
93 This emboldened me all the more to try you
94 To minstrels, heralds, she gave abundantly
95 Because of your generosity we shall cause no more trouble
96 Lines 115-16: But I am not cut out to be a courtier; / And I would rather die than leave you here
97 [That] some advocated taking to the battlefield to offer open battle
98 Fled to a plain, the English sought [to escape] from them
99 And [yet we] do not injure [them]? We have too great a repulse
100 Curling brown hair on [his] forehead and light eyebrows
101 I will let the balance of the sorrow be assuaged
102 A very large company of armed men guarded him
THE WALLACE: SELECTIONS: EXPLANATORY NOTES
Abbreviations: see Textual Notes.
Book 1
1-4 The scribe indents the first four lines here and at the beginning of other books, and he indents the first two lines at the beginning of some stanzas (e.g., 2.171ff.). I have maintained the practice.
1-19 These lines provide a short prologue in which Hary highlights the commemorative function of his narrative. Although similar to Barbour's prologue in The Bruce, Hary's denigration of the English, the first of many such disparagements in his poem, is not characteristic of Barbour. Note the references to reading in line 1 of the Prologue, and then in the first line introducing the hero (line 17), and then later in the direct advice to readers in line 34. McDiarmid regards them as addresses to readers of histories (2.124n1-4).
21 Through the convention of providing his hero's genealogy, Hary traces Wallace's lineage back to the "gud Wallace" (line 30) who was a companion of Walter Warayn of Wales, or Walter Fitz Alan, the first Scottish Stewart. The Stewart dynasty succeeded the Bruces to the throne of Scotland.
23 Sir Reginald (Ranald) Crawford, brother of Wallace's mother, became sheriff of Ayr in May 1296.
28 Elrisle. Elderslie, specifically Renfrewshire land held first by the father, later by the brother of the same name, Sir Malcolm Wallace, as vassals to the Stewarts. It was part of the lordship of Paisley and Renfrew and, as Barrow (1973) points out, is right at the heart of the Stewart fief (pp. 339-40).
34 the rycht lyne of the fyrst Stewart. This appears to be a reference to Barbour's long lost genealogy of the Stewarts, a work whose existence is also attested by the fifteenth-century Scottish chronicler Andrew Wyntoun.
36 Sir Malcolm Wallace is the only brother mentioned, although other sources suggest William Wallace had at least one other brother, John, who was executed in 1307 after being captured fighting for Bruce.
41 Alexander. I.e., Alexander III (1249-86), whose accidental death when he was thrown from his horse near the royal manor of Kinghorn in Fife left the kingdom without a king. His three children had died before him, his two sons without offspring, so that the heir to the throne was his daughter's child, Margaret, the "Maid of Norway." Margaret died in Orkney on her way to Scotland to ascend her throne in 1290. A number of rival claimants to the throne then presented them-selves, the strongest two being Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale (grandfather of the future king, Robert I), and John Balliol, who did succeed in 1292.
44 a full grevous debate. Hary provides a very brief and over-simplified account of the succession crisis in the following lines. In line 47, he identifies the chief competitors as "Bruce" (that is Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale), "Balyoune" (John Balliol), and "Hastyng" (John Hastings), the descendants of the three daughters of "Our Prynce Davy" (line 45), David, earl of Huntingdon and grand-son of David I (1124-53). Balliol claimed the throne as the grandson of the eldest daughter, Dervoguilla, "of first gre lynialy" (line 49), and Bruce as the son of the second daughter, Isabel, and the first male descendant "of the secund gre" (line 50); Hastings was the grandson of Ada, the youngest daughter. King Edward I (Longshanks) was approached as arbiter and used the opportunity to declare his overlordship of Scotland. Bruce and Balliol emerged as the main claimants, although by the end of 1292, Bruce had resigned his claim in favour of his son and heirs, and Edward had decided in favor of Balliol (crowned at Scone on 30 November). By the rule of primogeniture, Balliol had the stronger claim but after the succession of Robert Bruce in 1306 history was re-written to make Bruce appear the divine and popular choice. See Barbour (Bruce 1.37-178), Wyntoun (Cronykil 8.i, ii, v-viii, x), and Bower (Scotichronicon 11.1-14), whose accounts clearly influenced Hary.
53-54 These lines may have been influenced by Barbour's passionate reproach:
A blynd folk full off all foly,56 Gaskone. The war with Philip the Fair of France over Gascony did not break out until June 1294, whereas Hary is clearly referring here to events in 1291-92. Bower's mention of the envoys who journeyed to Gascony in 1286 to seek Edward's arbitration in the succession crisis (11.3) may well account for Hary's mistake, as McDiarmid suggests (2.130n56).
Haid 3e wmbethocht 3ow enkrely
Quhat perell to 3ow mycht apper
3e had nocht wrocht on þat maner.
Haid 3e tane keip how at þat king
Alwayis for-owtyn soiournyng
Trawayllyt for to wyn sen3hory
And throw his mycht till occupy
Landis þat war till him marcheand
. . . .
3e mycht se he suld occupy
Throw slycht þat he ne mycht throw maistri. (Bruce 1.91-112)
61 Noram. Norham, in Northumberland. It was here in May 1291 that Edward met the Scots and declared his right to overlordship of Scotland.
65 Byschope Robert. Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow (1261-1316), a staunch defender of Scottish independence.
70 Edward decided in Balliol's favor and the latter was crowned king in November 1292.
77 Ane abbot. Identified as Henry of Arbroath by McDiarmid, who cites Wyntoun and Bower as Hary's sources here (2.131n75-77).
79 Werk on Twede. Up river from Berwick on Tweed.
81 Corspatryk. Earl Patrick of Dunbar and March, one of the great magnates of Scotland who supported Edward I. His role in the sack of Berwick is also attested by the Scalacronica, a chronicle of English history begun in 1355 by Sir Thomas Gray when he was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. He was later appointed keeper of Berwick town (1298). Hary describes him as a traitor, and blames him for the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar the following month.
85-96 Several accounts of Edward's sack of Berwick in March 1296 survive. Medieval Scottish chroniclers represent it as one of the greatest atrocities perpetrated by Edward's forces, because of the slaughter of civilians, including women and children. Wyntoun (8.11) and Bower (11.20) describe the devastating attack in detail and both reckon the toll at 7,500, as Hary does.
94-95 In contrast to Edward's indiscriminate slaughter, Wallace persistently refuses to slay women and children in Hary's narrative.
98-114 The Battle of Dunbar took place on 27 April 1296. Hary seems to have used a different source here from Wyntoun and Bower, who mention the presence of only one earl, Ross. The English Lanercost chronicle agrees with Hary about the four present. Modern historians tend to agree that three were present, Atholl, Ross, and Menteith. (Barrow [1988], p. 74, Watson, p. 25)
102 Mar, Menteith, Adell, Ros. The high-ranking earls of Mar, Menteith, Atholl, and Ross.
115-21 Scune. Edward's recorded itinerary after Dunbar places him in the borders during May and early June and then further north from 6 June, staying in Perth 21-24 June, in Forfar 3 July, and arriving in Montrose on 8 July, to which he summoned Balliol. If he included Scone on his route, then he must have been there in the last week of June. Both Bower and Wyntoun state that Balliol was summoned to Montrose and, stripped of the royal regalia, was there forced to resign the kingdom on 8 July 1296. Whether Edward was ever crowned at Scone is a matter for speculation. He certainly removed the Stone of Destiny, traditionally used for Scottish coronations, to London in 1296.
122 Gadalos. Legendary history records that Gaythelos was the husband of Scota, the eponymous mother of the Scottish people and daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh whose descendants brought to Scotland the Stone of Destiny that later became the coronation seat of Scottish monarchs and a symbol of Scottish independence. Taken by Edward to London in 1296, it was finally returned to Scotland with the Scottish royal regalia in 1996. See Fordun, Chronica 1.8-19, and the expanded version of this origin myth in Bower, Scotichronicon 1.9-18.
123 Iber Scot. Hiber, the son of Gaytheles, who established the Scots in Ireland.
124 Canmor syne King Fergus. Malcolm Canmore, king of Scots (1058-93) and the successor of Macbeth. According to legend, Fergus was the first Scottish king.
132 Margretis ayr. The descendants of St. Margaret, the English wife of Malcom Canmore, became the rulers of England and Scotland. Hary may be drawing on Bower, who inserts a list of their descendants in the midst of his account of the Scottish succession dispute (11.12).
133 After his triumphant tour through much of central and eastern Scotland, accepting homage as he went, Edward set up an English administration, with headquarters in Berwick, in August 1296. Important barons and knights, many captured at Dunbar, were taken as prisoners to England.
134 Bruce. I.e., Robert Bruce, the future king.
137 Blacok Mur . . . Huntyntoun. McDiarmid believes this should be Blacow mur, as it refers to Blakemore in Yorkshire where the Bruces held lands (2.136n137). Huntyntoun is the vast English Honour of Huntingdon, a third of which had come into the Bruce family through Isabel, one of the three daughters of Earl David.
140 Protector. McDiarmid (2.136n140) suggests one possible corroboration of this claim that Edward entrusted the government of all Scotland to the earl of Warenne and Earl Patrick of March (Joseph Stevenson and Robert Rodger, eds., The Wallace Papers [Edinburgh: Maitland Club, 1841], p. 5).
144 Hary returns to Wallace and resumes his account of the outbreak of war in early 1296. Later (line 192) Wallace is said to be eighteen years of age when he has his first violent encounter with the English in Dundee. Hary's account of his career does not add up. If Wallace is eighteen in 1296 he cannot have been forty-five at the time of his death in 1305, as Hary says he was (12.1427). It may be that Hary thought of eighteen as the age at which a youth could take up arms. In Book 3 Adam, the eldest son of Wallace's uncle Sir Richard Wallace, at the same age is the only one of the three who rides off with William Wallace to pursue a campaign against the English.
147-48 I.e., Malcolm, Wallace's father, alongside his eldest brother, also called Malcolm (line 321). The Lennox, in the west of Central Scotland, was one of the oldest earldoms of Scotland. It incorporated Dumbartonshire, much of Stirlingshire, and parts of Renfrewshire and Perthshire.
150 Kilspindie in the Gowrie district of Perthshire, where a relative on his maternal side offers refuge. Even though this relative is said to be an "agyt man" (line 154), it seems unlikely that Hary was referring to the uncle of Wallace's maternal grandfather, as line 152 seems to suggest, but rather to Wallace's uncle.
155 That part of Wallace's education included going to school in Dundee, ten miles from his uncle's home in Kilspindie, is repeated by Hary in 7.670-71.
159 Saxons blud. Hary quite frequently refers to the English occupiers in this racist manner. Another example is the metonym, "Sothroun" (e.g., line 188). (See Goldstein [1993], pp. 222-23.)
160-70 These sentiments are reminiscent of Bruce 1.179-204.
165 The English occupation is compared to Herod's slaughter of the innocents.
171-72 Although no other known source claims Glasgow diocese was handed over to the bishop of Durham, McDiarmid suggests that Hary's conviction about this may be based on a tradition (2.138n171-72).
175-76 The hanging of Scottish leaders and Wallace's revenge on the English as they slept in barns at Ayr are entirely fictitious events described in Book 7.
194 Specific examples of the strife Wallace encounters are recounted at lines 205-32 and in Book 2.
201-02 The description of Wallace's appearance and manner is quite conventional. His reticence to speak much is mentioned again at line 294. A more detailed portrait of Wallace is deferred until 10.1221-44.
205 The name of the constable of Dundee Castle in 1296 is not known, but the name Selby (line 207) is that of a Northumberland knight who was active in the wars of independence.
215 McDiarmid suggests a "geste" may be Hary's source here (2.140-41n205-07).
219 Rouch rewlyngis. That is, roughshod rawhide boots. In his poem on the Battle of Bannockburn, the English poet Laurence Minot used much the same term, "Rughfute riveling" (line 19), as a mocking metonym for the Scots (The Poems of Laurence Minot, ed. Richard Osberg [Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publi-cations, 1996], p. 36).
275 lawdayis . . . set ane ayr. Lawdays were the days appointed for holding courts of law, and justice-ayres were the circuit courts of the sovereign's justice.
282 St. Margaret was Queen Margaret of Scotland (d. 1093), wife of Malcolm Canmore (1057-93). Originally a member of the Saxon royal family, she became renowned for her piety and was canonized in 1249. Her shrine in Dunfermline Abbey (line 287) was a favorite destination for pilgrims.
285 Landoris. Lindores, Fife. This suggests they took the ferry across the Tay at the confluence with the River Earn, rather than the Dundee-Tayport ferry near the firth. Lindores was on a major pilgrim route, and shelter could be obtained at the Grange, the home farm of the nearby abbey.
287 Dunfermline, another early Scottish burgh, was also a major trade and communication center because of its proximity to the River Forth.
290 Lithquhow. Linlithgow, in what is now West Lothian, was one of the earliest royal Scottish burghs.
294 Note the qualities admired in the young Wallace, especially reticence. See explanatory note to lines 200-01.
296-97 One of the main ferry routes for pilgrims and other travelers in medieval Scotland linked Dunfermline and Queensferry (named after Queen Margaret, see explanatory note to line 282).
299-300 his eyme . . . persone. Bower also refers to one of Wallace's uncles as a priest.
304 sone. Used throughout the poem in addresses by older to younger male relatives generally.
317 Corsby. In Ayrshire, sometimes anglicized on maps as Crosby.
319-21 Hary claims that Wallace's father and his eldest brother Malcolm were killed at the Battle of Loudoun Hill, but Malcolm Wallace was alive in 1299 and history only testifies to a battle there in 1307. See explanatory note to 3.78.
330 lord Persye. Henry Percy, a Northumberland knight, was appointed warden of Ayr and Galloway by Edward I in 1296. He played a major part in the Scottish wars. He also appears in Bruce 4.598-603. Hary describes him as "captane than of Ayr" at line 379.
355 uncle Wallas. Another uncle, Sir Richard Wallace of Riccarton in Kyle, Ayrshire, conjecturally one of the Wallace fees (Barrow [1973], p. 350). It was, perhaps, one of his three sons mentioned first in 3.43-44 (here paraphrased) who married the widow of the earl of Carrick (the father of the future king, Robert Bruce) in 1306.
363-68 Hary becomes specific about the months Wallace spends in Ayrshire, but the year is still unclear.
368-433 The source for this story of Wallace's violent encounter with Percy's men is probably a traditional tale.
383 Scot, Martyns fysche. McDiarmid cites an old Scottish proverb which conveys the sense of "every man for himself" (2.144n383).
399 The Englishman objects to Wallace's use of the familiar "thou" instead of the more appropriate "ye" or "yhe" (lines 385 and 391) that he adopted earlier in the exchange.
Book 2
11 Auchincruff. Auchincruive Castle, Ayrshire, was the fee of Richard Wallace (line 13).
16 Laglyne Wode. Presumably a nearby forest, later part of the Auchincruive estate. Wallace uses it as a natural stronghold and refuge a number of times in the narrative (2.66; 3.421; 7.262).
27-65 One of three episodes in this book in which Wallace flexes his muscles against the English as he limbers up for organized resistance to the occupation regime Hary has described. Opportunities to display his hero's individual feats of combat are created just as they were for Bruce in Barbour's "romanys." The motif is repeated at lines 78-136, although this time Wallace does not escape his pursuers, and at lines 384-411.
93 A similarly familiar, therefore rude, form of address is found at line 391.
171-359 Note the change of stanza form for Wallace's lament in prison from couplets to a 9-line stanza rhyming aabaabbab, except for the first, which rhymes aabaababb.
234 Celinus. Another name for Mercury. McDiarmid reads Celinius and relates the allusion to Chaucer's Compleynt of Mars where Venus flees "unto Cilenios tour" (line 113) to avoid exposure by Phebus, who catches her with Mars (2.146-47n234).
258 His fyrst norys. Wallace's former wet nurse (also referred to as his "foster modyr" at line 270) retrieves his "body" from the castle walls and arranges for him to be carried across the river to Newtown on the north bank of the Ayr river. This may suggest that Wallace's birthplace was in Ayrshire. On the other hand, tradition associates Wallace's birth with Elderslie in Renfrewshire, and it may be that the wet nurse came from Ayrshire to nurse the young Wallace. He later sends her, with her daughter and grand-daughter, to join his own mother in safety there (lines 366-69).
274 A. A. MacDonald notes this motif was probably taken from Valerius Maximus ("The Sense of Place in Early Scottish Verse: Rhetoric and Reality," English Studies 72.1 [Feb. 1991], 12-27: 18).
280 To aid the ruse that Wallace is dead the good woman, "[h]is foster modyr" (line 270), places a board covered with woolens and surrounded by lights, as if it were a place of honor for mourning the deceased.
288 Thomas of Ercildoune, otherwise known as Thomas the Rhymer, is mentioned with other soothsayers in the Scalacronica. A ballad dating from the fifteenth century recounts some of Thomas the Rhymer's adventures in Elfland. See The Romance and Prophecies of Thomas of Erceldoune, ed. James Murray, EETS o.s. 61 (London: N. Trübner, 1875). Hary attributes to Thomas the prophecy that Wallace will three times oust the English from Scotland (lines 346-50).
359 Wallace's raids in England are described in 8.512-620.
416 Sir Richard Wallace of Riccarton. See explanatory note to 1.355. He is said to have three sons (line 418).
436 Robert Boyd is presented by Hary as one of Wallace's loyal companions, along with Adam Wallace, one Kneland, whose first name is never provided, and Edward Litill. Probably he is Robert Boyd of Noddsdale, Cunningham, and co-roner of Ayr and Lanark, and possibly the same Sir Robert Boyd whom Barbour identifies as one of Bruce's staunchest supporters (Bruce 4.342, 352-63, 505).
Book 3
1-14 Compare to the opening lines of Henryson's fable The Preiching of the Swallow.
11-20 Historically, the English did not occupy many castles in 1296. Hary establishes another contrast between the suffering and deprivation of the Scots and the well-provisioned English occupying forces. The irony is that harvest time is approaching. Hary is using a literary device, as the opening lines make apparent, and creating a motive for Wallace's revenge (lines 40-41).
17 wyn and gud wernage. The first suggests vin ordinaire, red or white, while wernage is a malmsey or muscadine, a strong, sweet-flavored white wine.
67 Loudoun Hill, just north of the River Irvine, Ayrshire.
72 as myn autor me teld. Like other medieval writers, Hary uses the authority topos to create the impression of authenticity.
78 Avondale, not far from Loudoun. McDiarmid suggests that Hary ingeniously created this detour from the usual route from Carlisle to Ayr, via Corsancone, so that he could invent a Battle at Loudoun Hill, drawing details from Barbour's account of Bruce's victory there in 1307 (2.153-54n81). See explanatory note to line 100.
100 There is no evidence to support Hary's account of this battle, although McDiarmid (2.153-54n81) is probably correct in saying that Hary "borrowed" it from Barbour's account of the battle Bruce fought there in 1307 (Bruce 8.207-358). The use of "dykes" and the flight of the English are common to both battles.
111-12 Compare to 1.319-20. Hary has mentioned only one brother, Malcolm. He was alive in 1299.
117-18 knycht Fenweik. No specific individual has been identified, but McDiarmid points out that a number of persons with this name are mentioned in contemporary records (2.153n62). The expeditions against the Scots may allude to cross-border raids in which Fenwicks (from Northumberland or Cumberland) are known to have been involved.
124 and be. A medial placement of an introductory conjunction is somewhat common. The sense is: "And he shall again be dragged through the town."
129-32 The polished armor of the English contrasts with the utility of the Scots' armor. The few against the many is a common romance motif, employed by Barbour too.
133-34 A maner dyk. This may well refer to a ditch and wall combination of the kind Barbour describes in Bruce 8.172-83.
188 Bewmound. Beaumont, a squire, is not to be confused with Beaumont, earl of Buchan (according to Hary), who appears from Book 7 on.
193 hors repende rouschede frekis undir feit. Repende: "kicking, plunging"; rouschede: "rushed," i.e., "charged." The alliterative surge of violence almost overwhelms the syntax as the horses crush men underfoot.
207 Kyle and Cunningham were two districts of Ayrshire. Boyd held land in Cunningham. See explanatory note to 2.436.
214 Clyde Forest was on the north side of the River Clyde.
Book 4
1-10 Hary's literary pretensions are most evident in rhetorical set pieces of this kind in which the month (September) and the season (autumn) are described.
3 Victuals in this sense include all harvestable foods, such as grain, berries, vegetables, and so on.
9 The mutability of worldly things is a medieval commonplace.
15-16 A sheriff was "the principal royal officer in local districts into which the kingdom was divided for the purposes of royal government" (Barrow [1988], p. 8). Sir Ranald inherited the position throw rycht (line 16), reflecting the tendency for a sheriff's office to become heritable.
18 as witnes beris the buk. Another invocation of his written source, or authority. The book cited here is presumably the fictitious one by Blair, which Hary claims as his main authority on Wallace.
22-54 Another instance of aggression between Wallace's and Percy's baggage men. See explanatory note to 1.368-433.
26 Hesilden. Hazelden, Renfrewshire, south of Glasgow.
71 the Mernys. Newton Mearns.
325-44 This passage, like set pieces in chronicles magnifying the qualities of the land, for better or worse, celebrates Scotland's plenty (and depravity). Compare with Barbour's account of food resources in Aberdeenshire (Bruce 2.577-84) after his defeat at Methven. Methven Park later became a favorite royal hunting reserve.
335-40 The device of anaphora (now . . . now) is employed to effect the full range of Scotland's character.
341 Hary points out that Wallace will fight for Scotland's independence (Scotlandis rycht) for 6 years and 7 months, and predicts what is to come, but of course the chronology is Hary's own.
359 mar. The chief magistrate of a town. According to the DOST, mar normally referred to the mayor or magistrate of an English town, but is used here of Perth, a town occupied by the English. There is also an old Scottish Gaelic term, maor, meaning steward or bailiff.
395-96 Sir James Butler's son, Sir John, is said to be deputy captain, and Sir Garaid (Gerard) Heroun to be the captain of Kinclaven Castle (line 396). A Robert Heron was appointed chamberlain comptroller in Scotland in 1305, but no Sir Gerard Heron has been identified as active in Scotland during this period.
441 Ninety English soldiers arrive, led by Butler, as becomes clear at line 457.
718 ff. Hary makes clear the precariousness of the woman's actions. Death by burning was the usual punishment for high treason decreed for women.
723 Wallace is referred to as a rebell. He later denies this vociferously.
740 Rycht unperfyt I am of Venus play. Compare to Chaucer, whose narrators in the dream vision poems often profess inexperience in the ways of Venus.
787 South Inche. McDiarmid notes the town had a North and South Inch, or lawn (2.166n787).
Book 5
95 Gask Wood, like Gask Hall (line 175), is on the left bank of the River Earn.
180-214 No specific source for this ghost story is known. Hary refers to Wallace's experience as a fantasé (line 212), which McDiarmid notes conforms to what Chaucer calls "infernals illusions" in medieval dream lore, i.e., fantasies that lured men to their destruction (2.169n180-224). On possible Celtic sources for the Fawdoun episode, see Balaban, p. 248.
211 ff. Hary ponders on the fantasé (line 212) and compares the myscheiff (line 217) to Lucifer's fall. Note the echo of Barbour (1.259-60) about leaving discussion of such matters to clerks (lines 223-25).
219-24 Or quhat it was in liknes . . . . McDiarmid refers to Dante's Inferno in which it is disclosed that fiends take over the bodies of traitors once the soul has departed (2.170n221-22). In his Daemonologie (1597), King James VI discusses pos-session of dead bodies by devils, calling such specters umbrae mortuorum (ch. 6.23-25; 7.16-18).
389-94 Note the use of the appropriately familiar form of address by the parson. But when the English adopt the familiar form the intention is to insult Wallace.
465-66 In Bothwell . . . / With ane Craufurd. The Crawford is presumably a kinsman of Wallace. After a night in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Wallace moves on to Gilbank (line 467), not far from Lanark, where another uncle, Auchinleck, Sir Reginald Crawford's brother, shelters him (line 469).
467 Gilbank was identified by Jamieson as a property in Lanarkshire, held in tribute by Auchinleck, as noted by McDiarmid (2.174n467).
470-80 Presumably family tradition provided Hary with the details of these relationships; for example, that Auchinleck married Sir Reginald's widow, the daughter of the laird of Lesmahago (line 474), and fathered three children, one of whom was the son mentioned at line 477. The Crawfords, as noted before (line 466), were hereditary sheriffs of Ayr. Percy would have received homage from Sir Reginald when he was installed as part of Edward's administration in 1296.
474 Lesmahago. In Lanarkshire.
487 Loran. William Loran, Butler's nephew.
506 Percy is thinking about the need to appoint a new garrison at Perth, and he makes arrangements for this at lines 519-20. No arrangements are made for Kinclaven, which has been reduced to ruins (line 521).
508 clerkys sayis. Another reference to prophecies that haunt Wallace.
514 nacioune. One of the earliest uses of this term to refer to an identifiable nation. Wyntoun also uses it in this sense (7.408).
519 The Siwards of Tibbers and Aberdour in Fife were one of the chief Scottish baronial families. Sir Richard Siward was son-in-law to Sir John Comyn and after his capture at the Battle of Dunbar he became a prominent member of Edward I's administration in Scotland. He is known to have been sheriff of Fife and also of Dumfries, as well as warden of Nithsdale, but surviving records do not indicate whether he was ever sheriff of Perth. See also explanatory note to 7.1017.
533-45 Hary's putative sources, John Blair and Thomas Gray, are depicted as scholars and eye-witnesses. As Hary had a friend by the name of Blair, a compliment may be intended.
569-71 William Hesilrig was a Northumberland knight appointed as sheriff of Lanark in 1296 as part of the new administration. He is mentioned in the Scalacronica, p. 123.
579-710 Hary cites a buk (line 580) as authority for the story of Wallace's sweetheart. Wallace's courtship of a maiden in Lanark is also told by Wyntoun, who briefly relates how Wallace's "lemman" in Lanark dies at the hands of the town's sheriff for assisting the hero's escape from the town (8.13.2075 ff.). Unlike the "lemman" in Perth, this maiden is the daughter of a late, respectable Lanarkshire landowner. She later declares that she wyll no lemman be (line 693). Her noble parentage, beauty, manners, and virtues are all noticed. Hary names her father as Hew Braidfute of Lammington (line 584), which is in Lanarkshire, but the family has not been identified. He stresses her vulnerability, as she lacks the protection of parents and her brother has been killed. Among her qualities is piety: Wallace falls in love when he first sees her in church. That Hary's model is Criseyde from Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde is clear in lines 605-06. See Harward, pp. 48-50.
606 The prent of luff. Derived from Aristotelian philosophy, this conception of love as a deep impression made on, and retained in, the heart is also found in Robert Henryson's Testament of Cresseid (lines 505-11).
609 hyr kynrent and hyr blud. These are credentials that make her attractive to him.
631-32 Compare Troilus's attitude in Troilus and Criseyde (1.191- 203).
685 ff. See Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale (CT V[F]741-50) for a similar "accord" (V[F]741), especially concerning service in love.
719-61 Wallace moves into Annandale, traveling from Corehead, in Moffatdale, to Lochmaben Castle, where he kills the captain.
720 This familial relationship between Thom Haliday and Wallace is not otherwise attested. The purported relationship gives Wallace an extended family and support network. See 6.535-37 and explanatory note to 6.537, below.
721 Litill. Edward Litill from Annandale. See explanatory note to 2.436.
737 Sir Robert Clifford, a Westmoreland knight, was active in Scotland from 1296. He has known associations with Caerlaverock and Carlisle castles, so may well have had a cousin who was captain of Lochmaben. He was warden of Galloway from 1298 and appointed captain of the southwest garrisons, which were regularly under attack from the Scots. He defended Lochmaben from Bruce in 1307 and was killed at Bannockburn. Hary is inclined to make family vengeance a motivating force. Compare his treatment of the Butlers.
755 A marshal was originally one who tended horses. Later it was the title of a high-ranking officer in a royal court.
757-65 Another instance of Hary's grim humor. As well as shaving, barbers also let blood.
766-970 Wallace and his small company are pursued by soldiers from Lochmaben. Running combat ensues as the English give chase through the Knockwood (line 777) and Wallace tries to return to Corehead, avoiding open battle. Reinforcements are provided when needed most by Sir John Graham and one Kirkpatrick, whereupon the pursuit is reversed.
804-09 This is the "few against many" motif again.
815-18 Hugh of Morland, another Westmoreland knight, and a veteran according to Hary, was probably involved in border warfare long before the war with Scotland broke out. Although many of the specific persons mentioned by Hary cannot be identified precisely, their names are often authentic in that they can be linked to geographical places.
841 ff. Wallace is presented as an exemplary chieftain.
Book 6
1-104 This preamble links Wallace's fortunes to love, and anticipates the loss of his beloved. The meter adopted here is appropriate for tragedy, as in Chaucer's The Monk's Tale, and incorporates Wallace's complaint, lines 29-40. Hary appropriates the conventional spring topos for the opening of Book 6, associating April, the last month of spring (line 3), with Wallace's sufferings on account of love. The opening lines are not easy to follow though. Hary begins with what seems to be a reference to Christian liturgical use, with his allusion to the utas of Feviryher (line 1). Utas or "octave" was the eighth day after a feast day, counting the day itself. The term was also used of the whole period of eight days, so McDiarmid's suggestion that Hary may simply mean the weeks of February may be correct. The reference to the appearance of April when only part of March has passed (line 2), may be explained, as McDiarmid suggests, as an allusion to the Roman calends of April, which began on March 16 (2.181n1-2).
25 feyr of wer. Here and at line 40 but with different, though connected, meanings.
44-56 concord. The influence of the "accord" (CT V[F]791) between Arveragus and Dorigen in Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale (V[F]791-99) is unmistakable, especially the echoes in the next stanza. A further debt to Chaucer's Complaint of Mars (2.76-77) is detected by McDiarmid in lines 54-56 (2.183n54-56). An idealized relationship, based on literary models, is certainly indicated.
57 doubill face. The duplicitous face of Fortune is frequently used to convey the arbitrary nature of her power. See, for example, Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess, lines 626-34.
60-61 The rhetorical figures of antithesis and anaphora combine in the now . . . now construction, and again at lines 81-85.
71 A Squier Schaw. McDiarmid implies that Hary may have been influenced by the fact that around the time he was writing his poem one of James IV's squires was a John Shaw (2.183n71).
88 McDiarmid (2.184n88) finds an echo of Troilus and Criseyde 4.296: "On lyve in torment and in cruwel peyne."
94 na hap to ho. Literally "no destiny to stop," i.e., destined not to stop.
97-101 The role of Fortune and the contrast between this corrupt, changeable world and perfect heaven are conventional and undoubtedly influenced by Boethian philosophy. An extended treatment of the theme can be found in The Kingis Quair by James I of Scotland (1394-1437).
107-271 The date is very precise and alerts us to his source, Wyntoun's Cronykil, Book 8, ch. 13. Hary lifts the ensuing dialogue straight from Wyntoun (8.13.2038-48) but he elaborates on Wyntoun in his account of the lead-up to the confrontation (8.13.2029-37).
113 Robert Thorn, supposedly an English officer too, has not been identified.
114-18 "Has found the best way / To act against Wallace / By picking a quarrel with him as he happened to come / From the church in town, / While their company would be armed." Note the assumption that Wallace would be unarmed (i.e., without armor) and so vulnerable. See line 125 where he and his company are dressed in seasonal green.
124-264 Hary may have had another source for his account of the death of Wallace's sweetheart and the revenge killing of Heselrig than Wyntoun's Book 8, ch. 8. The killing of the sheriff and the burning of the town are attested in other sources.
132 Dewgar . . . bone senyhour. Hesilrig attempts to insult Wallace with French idioms, implying that he is an effete foreigner newly come from France (line 134) or a mock-courtier. Wallace replies to the scornful address by contemptuous use of single pronouns in his response (line 133).
136 McDiarmid suggests a contemporary reference to Princess Margaret, who was brought from Denmark to Scotland in 1469 (see 2.183n71 and 2.185n134-36).
140 Here the English mock Scots idioms of salutation. McDiarmid (2.185n140) points out that this is a series of sarcastic greetings, initially in dialect, then in pidgin-Gaelic, meaning something like: "Good evening, [give me] drink Lord, furious champion, God's blessing [on you]."
182 The woman. This is a reference to Wallace's wife, as the following lines indicate.
190 Cartland Crags, two miles northwest of Lanark.
193-94 Hary employs the rhetorical strategy of the "inability" topos and, as Goldstein (1993) observes, "The episode is no less powerful for its calculated understatement" (p. 228).
265-66 Wyntoun: "Fra he thus the Schirrawe slew, / Scottis men fast till hym drew" (8.8.2117-18).
268 that gret barnage. That is, the English occupying forces.
271-72 The debt to Wyntoun is apparent:
And this Willame thai made thareThe idea of Wallace as the people's choice is common to both.
Our thame chefftane and leddare. (8.8.2121-22)
275 Murray of Bothwell, said to be the rightful owner of Bothwell Castle, a vital stronghold which commanded the direct route from northern Scotland to the southwest (Barrow [1988], p. 121). This must be a reference to the father of Andrew Murray, later Guardian of Scotland. At this time Bothwell Castle was still the property of the Oliphants. When Andrew Murray inherited it he became known as Murray of Bothwell.
297-318 Jop becomes Wallace's herald. Although Hary gives him a history, he is otherwise unknown. Grimsby is possibly Gilbert de Grimsby, who carried the banner of St. John of Beverley in Edward's progress through Scotland after Dunbar. McDiarmid notes that a William Grymesby of Grimsby stayed for a while at Linlithgow Palace in 1461, and the poet may well have met him there (2.188n297-318).
302-12 Compare Chaucer's portraits of the merchant and seaman in The General Prologue.
309 A pursuivant was the junior heraldic officer below the rank of herald.
329 His oath of allegiance to Edward must have been made in 1296.
336 Schir Jhone of Tynto. The association with Tinto suggests he was a Lanarkshire knight, but he has not been identified.
342 This is fabricated, as is the ensuing Battle of Biggar. Edward did not bring an army to Scotland again until 1298, when the Battle of Falkirk was fought.
363-66 Note the romance motif of disguise in battle. Fehew, or Fitzhugh, is a brother of the Fehew who is later beheaded by Wallace while defending his castle of Ravensworth (8.1010-69). McDiarmid notes that a Fitzhugh fought at Bannockburn and refers to another Fitzhugh who was a prominent contemporary of Hary (2.189n363). The relationship to Edward is a complete fabrication, used to introduce a tale about how a nephew's head was sent to Edward with Wallace's reply to the king's writ.
410 Possibly a reference to the tournaments in which heralds relied on their specialist knowledge of participants' coats of arms.
417-19 Wyntoun memorably likened one of Edward's terrible rages to the writhing effects brought on from eating a spider! (8.11.1773-78).
434-73 McDiarmid notes that the same story is told of Hereward the Wake (2.190n434-75).
444 A mark or merk was worth thirteen shillings and four pence.
506 Somervaill. McDiarmid identifies him as Sir Thomas Somerville (2.190n506). The Somervilles owned lands in Linton, Roxburghshire, and Carnwath, Lanarkshire (Barrow [1988], p. 325). Sir Walter and his son David of Newbigging (lines 508-10) were probably Somerville retainers. Sir John Tynto (line 509) was another Lanarkshire knight. See explanatory note to line 336.
517-26 Hary's debt to The Book of Alexander, possibly indirectly through Barbour, has been noted by McDiarmid (2.191n516-26) and others.
537 Jhonstoun and Rudyrfurd are place names, and may refer to Sir John of Johnstone and Sir Nicholas of Rutherford, as McDiarmid suggests. Hary claims they are the sons of Haliday (see explanatory note to 5.720).
540 Members of the Jardine family, associated with Annandale, were active in the wars.
543-765 Battle of Biggar. A fabrication that may very well draw on a variety of sources in which other battles and campaigns are depicted, in particular the accounts by Froissart and Barbour of James Douglas' Weardale campaign, especially the skirmish at Stanhope Park, and details from the Battle of Roslin in 1303 found in Wyntoun and Bower. There are many anachronisms therefore in the account of this fictitious battle and its aftermath. Among Hary's most blatant fabrications is his claim that a number of Edward I's relatives were killed at Biggar (lines 649-54).
561 erll of Kent. McDiarmid identifies him as Edmund of Woodstock, uncle of Edward III (2.192n561).
592 that cheiff chyftayne he slew. I.e., the earl of Kent. The historical earl was actually executed in 1330.
638-41 Supplies are taken to Rob's Bog while Wallace moves his troops to nearby Devenshaw Hill on the right bank of the Clyde River.
645 John's Green is probably Greenfield near Crawfordjohn.
669 duk of Longcastell. Duke of Lancaster. McDiarmid (2.194n669) points out this is an anachronism, like the reference to the lord of Westmoreland (line 685). The earl of Lancaster at this time was Edmund, brother of Edward I. In 1298 the son Thomas succeeded.
689-91 A Pykart lord as keeper of Calais is another anachronism derived from Edward III's French wars.
694 Schir Rawff Gray. Hary makes him warden of Roxburgh Castle (8.496-98, here paraphrased), but when it was surrendered to Edward by the Stewart in 1296 the English knight Sir Robert Hastings became keeper (as well as sheriff of Roxburgh) until 1305 when Edward I's nephew, John of Brittany, was appointed the lieutenant of Scotland and keeper of this militarily vital castle (Watson, p. 216). But according to McDiarmid, the name of the English warden of Roxburgh Castle in 1435-36 was Sir Ralph Gray, so this is another anachronism.
698 Eduuardis man. Sir Amer de Valence was Edward I's lieutenant in Scotland and was later created earl of Pembroke (1307). He was not a Scot, as Hary seems to suggest, although the description fals may refer to the role he later played in commissioning John Menteith to betray Wallace (Book 12). The influence of Barbour is detectable in the reference to Valence immediately after Loudoun Hill, and the connection with Bothwell (similarly in 6.274).
749 The name of the captain of Berwick in 1297 is not known but, as Watson observes, the majority of appointments do not survive in the official record (p. 33). Both Roxburgh and Berwick were strategically very important, as Hary acknowledges (8.1551-52).
761 Byrkhill. Birkhall, near Moffat.
765 Braidwood. Braidwood, Lanarkshire.
767 Forestkyrk. Forestkirk was the old name for Carluke, Clydesdale.
768 The exact date of Wallace's appointment as Guardian of Scotland is unknown, but Barrow (1988) believes it must have been before March 1298 (p. 96). Hary's use of Wyntoun here and at lines 784-86 is evident (Wyntoun 8.12.2121-22). See also Bower 11.28.
771 Schir Wilyham. Sir William Douglas had been the commander of Berwick Castle when Edward sacked it in 1296. He had certainly joined forces with Wallace by May 1297 when together they attacked William Ormsby, the English justiciary at Scone (of which Hary makes no mention). William Douglas' son, Sir James Douglas, was Bruce's companion in arms.
802 Adam Gordone. Adam Gordon, a kinsman of the earls of Dunbar (with Gordon in Berwickshire as his principal estate), was a known Balliol adherent (Barrow [1988], p. 189). By 1300 he was the Scots warden of the West March. He later became a prominent magnate under Robert Bruce.
836 Towrnbery. Turnberry was the chief castle of Carrick. Around the same time that Wallace slew the sheriff of Ayr, Robert Bruce led a revolt against Edward I in Carrick.
851-53 Wallace administers justice, in keeping with his duty as a Guardian. Bruce similarly rewards trew (line 853) men in Barbour's narrative.
854 brothir sone. I.e., Wallace's nephew. McDiarmid (2.197n854) takes this as a reference to his elder brother's son, Malcolm, who would have inherited the patrimony as the eldest son, and on his death (which Hary had said took place at Loudoun Hill) his son would have been heir.
855 Blak Crag. Blackcraig Castle in the parish of Cumnock, Ayrshire. "His houshauld" (line 856) suggests (like "his duellyng" in line 940) a reference to Wallace's own castle, which is confirmed in Book 12.937-38. This has fed the belief retained by some that Wallace was born in Ayrshire.
863 byschope Beik. Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham and Edward's lieutenant in Scotland until August 1296. In Book 1 (lines 171-72) Hary had said that Glasgow diocese was transferred to the jurisdiction of Durham.
865 Erll of Stamffurd . . . chanslar. John Langton was actually chancellor of England at this time. Hary may be confusing him with Sir Thomas Staunford, a member of Sir Henry Percy's retinue (Watson, p. 44), especially as he has referred to Percy in the preceding lines (lines 862-64).
869 Ruglen Kyrk. Rutherglen Church near Glasgow.
Book 7
1-2 If Hary's chronology were at all consistent, this would refer to February 1298 since in the previous book he had placed the killing of Heselrig some time after April of 1297; but the Battle of Stirling Bridge (11 September 1297) will be described later in this book.
7-9 In Aperill . . . Into Carleill. According to the records, after he returned from Flanders on 8 April 1298, Edward summoned his leading commanders in Scotland to a royal council at York. On the same date he also ordered a muster of Welsh foot-soldiers at Carlisle (Watson, p. 61) as part of his campaign to invade Scotland. Hary may be confusing preparations before the Battle of Falkirk with those before Stirling Bridge, the previous year.
16 A very striking image of genocide, as Goldstein (1993) notes (p. 231).
23-29 The plans for the wholly fictitious murder of leading Scots, referred to by Hary as gret bernys of Ayr (line 25), are hatched. Hary's respect for Percy leads him to dissociate him from the atrocity (lines 31-36).
38 his new law. This relates to the justice-ayre that Bek is to hold in Glasgow. McDiarmid finds corroboration in line 517 (2.199n38).
40-41 Arnulf of Sothampton appears to be fictitious. None of the earls of Southampton had this first name. Later Hary mentions that Arnulf received Ayr castle, presumably as a reward for the executions (lines 507-08).
56 maistré. Barbour also uses it in the sense of display of might. It is clearly seen as a provocative act in time of truce.
58 Monktoun Kyrk. Monkton Church, near Ayr in the west of Scotland.
61 Maister Jhone. Probably another reference to Master John Blair (5.533). McDiarmid takes it as evidence of Blair's Ayrshire origins, saying Adamton, the seat of the Blair family, was in Monkton parish (2.199n62). He attempts to warn Wallace to stay away from the justice-ayre at Ayr because he knows it is ominous that Lord Percy has left the region (lines 63-64).
68-152 Wallace falls asleep and has a vision in the form of a dream. There are plenty of literary models for this dream-vision, including Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls and House of Fame. A particular debt to the fourteenth-century poem The Alliterative Morte Arthure, in which King Arthur is visited by Lady Fortune in a dream, has been proposed. In his dream, Wallace is visited first by St. Andrew and then by the Virgin Mary. A vision of St. Andrew confirming Wallace's divinely ordained role as governor of Scotland is mentioned in the Coupar Angus MS of Bower's Scotichronicon (11.28) and probably derived from traditional tales known to both Bower and Hary (see D. E. R. Watt, Notes to Scotichronicon 6.236n35-37).
94 saffyr. The sapphire is interpreted at lines 139-40 as everlasting grace.
123 In L there are the following Protestant substitutions: The stalwart man instead of Saynct Androw, and "Goddis saik" replaces "For Marys saik" in line 291.
178-90 Jupiter, Mars . . . Saturn. These allusions recall Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, CT I(A)2454-69, as previous readers have noted. The echoes are particularly striking in lines 183 and 185.
190 heast sper. In the earth-centered medieval cosmography, Saturn, like the other planets, moved within its own sphere. The moon moved within the sphere closest to the earth, while Saturn moved in the sphere furthest away, or highest in the heavens.
191-92 The death of the Argive hero and seer Amphiorax (Phiorax, line 192), or Amphiaraus, is told at the end of Statius's Thebaid 7. McDiarmid cites Troilus and Criseyde 5.100-05, and Lydgate's Siege of Thebes as Hary's more immediate sources (2.202n191-92).
195 Burdeous. Bordeaux. McDiarmid (2.202n195) reckons Hary is referring to Charles VII's capture of Bordeaux (1453), in which case this is another anachronism.
197-98 braid Brytane feill vengeance . . . . This may be a veiled reference to recent or contemporary history, but it is too vague for more than speculation.
202 towboth. Tolbooths were prisons and, traditionally, execution sites in Scotland.
205-10 Sir Reginald Crawford and Sir Bryce Blair - who, like Robert Boyd (2.436), was a Cunningham knight - were actually executed much later: Blair was hanged, possibly in a barn in Ayr in 1306, while Crawford was hanged and beheaded at Carlisle in 1307. Hary's source was Bruce 4.36-38:
Off Crauford als Schyr Ranald wes214 Schir Neill of Mungumry. Unknown. McDiarmid (2.202n214) suggests Hary may have meant Neil Bruce, Robert Bruce's brother, because his summary execution after a valiant defence of Kildrummy castle is described by Barbour shortly after the lines quoted above (Bruce 4.59-61, 314-22).
And Schyr Bryce als þe Blar
Hangyt in-till a berne in Ar.
218-20 The Crawfords, Kennedys, and Campbells came from the southwest (Carrick and Ayrshire), while the Boyds and Stewarts, originally from Renfrewshire, became kinsmen of Robert I through marriage. The Stewarts eventually formed a royal dynasty. McDiarmid may be correct in saying that some are names Hary wished to honor in his own day (pp. xlix, lvii).
229 curssit Saxons seid. One of Hary's many disparaging references to the "enemy." The English are first referred to as Saxons in 1.7.
237 Hary's partisan view is in evidence and, as in the opening lines of Book 1, here he makes an appeal to contemporaries.
280-81 There is a possible echo of Suetonius's account of the covering up of the assassinated Julius Caesar (to preserve his dignity), which Hary could have known through Fordun (Chronica 2.17).
288 William Crawford, presumably Sir Reginald's son.
331 deill thar landis. He refers to the lands of the murdered Scottish barons. See lines 436-37, below.
342 McDiarmid (2.203n342) says Irish ale is whisky, but I have been unable to confirm this.
346-49 Note the emotive language used here to condemn the English. Goldstein (1993) cites this as an example of Hary's "racist discourse" (pp. 224-25).
362 burges. A burgess was a citizen of a burgh, a freeman.
380 Adam . . . lord of Ricardtoun. Adam Wallace. See explanatory note to 1.144. Riccarton in Kyle, Ayrshire was long associated with the Wallace family as noted earlier (explanatory note to 1.355). See explanatory note to 5.465-66, above, on Auckinleck.
385-86 Wallace's divine mission is thus manifest.
400-01 Compare Chaucer on true nobility in his lyric on Gentilesse, and the curtain lecture in The Wife of Bath's Tale (III[D]1109-64).
403 the Roddis. The island of Rhodes, possibly a contemporary reference by Hary to the Knights of St. John, as McDiarmid suggests (2.204n403).
408 der nece. This is the "trew" woman (line 252) who had warned him to stay away from the barns and advised that the English were drunk.
434-35 The lines are bitterly ironic and allude, of course, to the treachery perpetrated at the barns of Ayr and the revenge about to be taken.
440 A typical example of Hary's grim humor.
450-70 The repetitions and heavy alliterations are particularly effective in conveying the merciless killings described in these lines.
453-54 "Some rushed quickly to reach Ayr, if they could. / Blinded by fire, they could not see properly what they were doing." McDiarmid interprets thar deidis war full dym as "their deaths were in utter darkness" (2.204n454), but line 472 makes clear that some did escape.
471 There was a Dominican priory in Ayr, and Drumley was the name of a property not far from Ayr that belonged to the Gilbertine monastery of Dalmulin, according to McDiarmid (2.205n471).
488 the furd weill. McDiarmid suggests this is St. Katherine's Well (2.205n488).
491-92 Compare the irreverent humor here with lines 546-47, below.
559 Throughout The Wallace Hary is generous in his praise of warriors from Northumberland. Their mettle would have been tested in border warfare over many years. See line 585 for corroboration.
579-80 strang stour . . . the clowdis past. The dust raised by horses and clashing forces. McDiarmid cites James Scott's comment that such vivid imagery is not to be expected from a man born blind (2.205n579-80).
585 The Percy's men are said to be experienced warriors, just as men of Northumberland are acknowledged as "gud men of wer" (line 559).
595-96 Wallace kills Percy. Factually this is untrue since Henry Percy was alive until 1314. Robert Bruce's attack on Percy and his garrison in Turnberry Castle is described by Barbour (Bruce 5.43-116).
607 that place. I.e., Bothwell, which is occupied by Valence, as Hary has observed.
609-11 began of nycht ten houris in Ayr. "Started from Ayr at ten o'clock at night." Hary reckons it took Wallace fifteen hours altogether to travel from Ayr via Glasgow to Bothwell (Ayr to Glasgow 11 hours, Glasgow to Bothwell 4 hours).
613 The impression of verisimilitude is bolstered by another reference to an authoritative source, the buk.
617-954 While disturbances are known to have occurred in the first half of 1297 in the west Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Galloway, Wallace's involvement in any of these is not confirmed by other sources. After he killed the sheriff of Lanark his next recorded strike, with William Douglas, was against the English justice at Scone in May. Hary does not mention this.
620 The recital of names is probably more important than any particular individuals here.
621-23 Apon Argyll a fellone wer . . . . John of Lorn is described as "Fals" (line 629), perhaps because, with his father, Alexander MacDougall, lord of the Isles, he submitted to Edward in 1296. He was a Balliol supporter, and was related to John Comyn; after the latter's murder, he became Bruce's implacable enemy.
623 Probably Sir Neil Campbell of Loch Awe, who plays a part as one of Bruce's closest companions in The Bruce (2.494; 3.393, 570-74).
626-28 Makfadyan. Said to have sworn fealty to Edward, but probably not a historical person. As McDiarmid points out (2.206-07n626), these "events" are modeled on Barbour's account of the Lorn episodes (Bruce 10.5-134).
633 Duncan of Lorn was Alexander MacDougall's second son.
643 McDiarmid glosses Irland as Hebridean islands (2.207n643). The Wallace uses "Irland" to designate northern and western Celtic settlements on the mainland (Highlands) and the Gaelic inhabited islands. See OED, Irish adj. 1.
647 Louchow. Loch Awe region, near Lorn.
649 Crage Unyn. McDiarmid identifies this as Craiganuni (2.207-08n649).
670 This is the second reference to Wallace's schooling in Dundee. Duncan of Lorn is said to have been Wallace's school companion.
673 Gylmychell. Possibly a member of the local clan Gillymichael.
679 Sir Richard Lundy is consistently presented as a patriot by Hary, fighting with Wallace at the Battle of Stirling (7.1237). The historical Lundy actually went over to the English when the Scots leaders prepared to surrender at Irvine in 1297. He was with the English at Bannockburn (1314). The Lundy family held estates in Angus.
685 The Rukbé. Another anachronism, if the allusion is to Thomas Rokeby, mayor of Stirling Castle in 1336-39, as McDiarmid suggests (2.209n685-86). The sheriff of Stirling, and probably the keeper of Stirling Castle at the time, was Sir Richard Waldergrave.
723 Lennox men were known for their patriotism, and their loyalty to their "lord," Earl Malcolm.
755 In Brucis wer agayne come in Scotland. There is no mention of them in The Bruce.
757-58 Mencione of Bruce . . . . Another reference to the spurious biography by Blair. The claim that Wallace fought for Bruce, [t]o fend his rycht (line 758), is incorrect, since the historical Wallace fought for Balliol, not Bruce.
764 small fute folk. As McDiarmid notes, these were lightly armed auxiliaries (2.210n764).
776 westland men. Warriors from the west country, presumably from Argyll.
798 Cragmor. Creag Mhor, facing Loch Awe.
842 Yrage blud. The "Irish" here refers to Celtic clansmen, whether from the Highlands, the Hebrides, or Ireland.
849 In other words, native Scots threw themselves on the mercy of Wallace.
880 John was the heir and Duncan was his younger brother, not his uncle. The MacDougalls were related to the Comyns and were Balliol supporters.
890 Sir John Ramsay is briefly mentioned by Barbour as a member of Edward Bruce's retinue bound for Ireland (Bruce 14.29).
900-02 Although Barbour describes Ramsay of Auchterhouse as chivalrous (Bruce 14.29-30), McDiarmid notes there is no such reference to Sir Alexander Ramsay in The Bruce (2.211n901-02).
913 There is no reason to believe that Ramsay held Roxburgh Castle. See explanatory note to 6.694.
917 Hary comments on his own inclination to digress and the criticism it attracts, employing a well-known rhetorical topos.
927-32 a gud prelat. I.e., Bishop Sinclair. Another anachronism, as he was not made bishop until 1312. Barbour had celebrated his exemplary leadership against an English invasion of Fife in 1317. Hary's wish to honor the "Synclar blude" (line 930), as the Sinclairs were prominent literary patrons in Hary's day, may explain this passage.
938 Lord Stewart. Lord James Stewart was hereditary lord of Bute (line 936). He had served as a Guardian during the interregnum and had been given charge of a new sheriffdom of Kyntyre by John Balliol during his short reign. He surrendered to Percy and Clifford in July 1297, but had joined Wallace by the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
980 The wattir doun . . . to that steid. I.e., along the Tay River to Perth, or St. John's Town, as it was known.
981 Ramsay is said to be their guide, presumably because he knows the area so well, since he held lands in neighboring Angus.
983-1027 The assault on Perth. Bruce had mounted an attack on Perth in June 1306 and, as in Hary's account of Wallace's assault, he had approached from the west. The Battle of Methven followed. Perth was not won by Wallace, and the installation of Sir William of Ruthven as sheriff in 1297 is another fabrication. See explanatory notes to lines 1017, 1025, and 1281, below.
990 Turret Bridge was on the southwest side of Perth (McDiarmid 2.213n990).
1017 Jhon Sewart. Sir John Sewart or Siward. See explanatory note to 5.519. The Siwards were a Fife baronial family. The implication is that Siward was the keeper of the castle or sheriff of the town who was replaced by Ruthven (lines 1025-27), but this seems unlikely.
1025 Rwan. McDiarmid identifies him as Sir William de Rothievan (i.e., Ruthven), who swore fealty to Edward in 1291 (2.213n1025-28).
1031 Cowper. Coupar Abbey in Angus.
1044 Dwnottar. Dunnottar Castle on the east coast of Scotland.
1078 Lord Bewmound. Sir Henry Beaumont, a cousin of Edward II, had married Alice Comyn, an heiress to the earldom of Buchan. He fought at Bannockburn.
1079 Erll he was. Beaumont was an earl, but not of Buchan as Hary claims (line 1077). John Comyn was earl of Buchan 1289-1308 and died childless (Barrow [1988], p. 271).
1082 Slanys. Slains Castle was on the coast.
1088 Lammes evyn. I.e., July 31. Lammas Day is the first day of August, and tra-ditionally the day on which there was thanksgiving for harvest.
1089 Stablyt. In the sense of settled the affairs of the kingdom, i.e., through the appointment of officers and the distribution of lands as rewards.
1090-1127 A number of sources, including Wyntoun (8.8.2147-50) and Bower (11.27), confirm that Wallace was laying siege to Dundee in August 1297 when he heard about the English forces sent by Edward to Stirling.
1102 Kercyingame. Sir Hugh de Cressingham, Edward's treasurer in Scotland. He seems to have become a hated figure in Scotland, and his corpse was flayed when discovered after the Scottish victory at Stirling Bridge.
1103 Waran. Sir John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, appointed keeper of the kingdom and land of Scotland, had commanded the English army at the siege of Dunbar.
1110-19 These lines refer to the capture of Dunbar that Hary referred to earlier, in Book 1. Although Earl Patrick was an adherent of Edward I, his wife remained a Scottish patriot. As the earl of Warenne prepared to take Dunbar Castle in 1296, the countess tricked her husband's garrison into admitting the Scottish forces to the castle. Some of Hary's details may have come from the Guisborough chronicle (lines 977-78). For a full account, see Barrow (1988), p. 72.
1129 Angwis men. Men of Angus.
1144-45 Wallace sends the herald Jop to inform the Scots that the battle will take place on the next Tuesday.
1145-1218 Battle of Stirling Bridge. A number of the details given here are peculiar to Hary, such as the sawing of the bridge in two (line 1151); the use of wooden rollers at one end of the bridge (lines 1155-56); and the use of a carpenter to sit in a cradle under the bridge to release pins on command (lines 1158-60). The Scots were probably outnumbered by the English, but Hary's figures (50,000 English) are fanciful. The number of casualties, including the death of Cressingham at Wallace's hands (lines 1194-99), is also Hary's invention. Some of Hary's details agree with the account in Guisborough, for example, his figure of 50,000 for the English host (line 1166), although Guisborough says there were also 1,000 cavalry. Various sources agree that Cressingham led the vanguard across the narrow bridge, while Warenne remained with the other main contingent on the south side of the bridge (lines 1171-75). According to the records, the English made their way to Berwick after the defeat at Stirling, not Dunbar as Hary says (lines 1218 and 1227). For another account of the battle, see Barrow (1988), pp. 86-88.
1170 playne feild. Wallace was on the Abbey Crag slope.
1174 An ironic allusion to a popular proverb, as McDiarmid points out (2.216n1174), to the effect that the wise man learns by the example of others. Barbour quotes it early in The Bruce: "And wys men sayis he is happy / Þat be oþer will him chasty" (1.121-22).
1214 Andrew Murray, father of the regent of the same name. He had been in revolt against Edward in Moray since 1297. See Bower, 29.19 and Watt's note on p. 237. Although Wyntoun (8.13.2178) and an inquest of 1300 say that Andrew Murray was killed at Stirling Bridge (Joseph Bain, ed., Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland [Edinburgh: H. M. General Register House, 1881-88] 2.1178), Barrow (1988) and others believe that he did not die until November, probably from wounds received in the battle (p. 343n1). Bower's statement that he was wounded and died (11.30) bears this construction. Murray and Wallace shared leadership of Scotland during the two months after the Stirling victory.
1222 Dunbar Castle was occupied by Waldergrave at this period, not by the earl of Lennox.
1234 Hathyntoun. Haddington, near Edinburgh.
1251 McDiarmid suggests Hary makes this Assumption Day because of Hary's presentation of Wallace as a special protégé of Mary.
1252 Our Lady. This Catholic reference is amended to our Lord in L.
1255-59 Barrow (1988) points out that the history of the lordship of Arran is obscure at this time, but the association with Menteith, a member of the Stewart family, dates from this period (p. 363n88). It was perhaps conquered by Robert I. Menteith's oath of allegiance to Wallace (lines 1261-62) is richly ironic in view of his later betrayal.
1276 Cristall of Cetoun. Sir Christopher Seton, a Yorkshire knight married to Bruce's sister Christian, became one of Bruce's most devoted followers. He was captured at Doon Castle and executed in 1306. See The Bruce 2.421-30; 4.16-24.
1281 Herbottell. The keeper of Jedburgh Castle bears the name of another border castle. Herbottle and Jedburgh castles were held against the English until October 1298. Wallace put John Pencaitland in as keeper (Watson, p. 50) Whether a Ruwan (Ruthven) was installed as captain (lines 1289-90) is unknown.
1293 For the reference to The Bruce, see explanatory note to line 1276 above.
1299-1300 This is historically inaccurate since Edinburgh Castle remained in English hands until 1314.
1302 Mannuell. Manuel, in Stirlingshire.
1306-08 Bruce is intended, although Wallace was actually a Balliol supporter.
Book 8
1 Fyve monethis thus. Five months after the Battle of Stirling Bridge would be February 1298, but references to the months of October and November at lines 433-34 only serve to highlight the problems with Hary's chronology. Wallace may well have tried unsuccessfully to win Earl Patrick over at this time.
21 king of Kyll. An insulting play on the Wallace lands held in Kyle.
23-24 Corspatrick's dismissal of Wallace as a knight bachelor, i.e., a relative novice, is also meant to be insulting. The earl refers to that well-known image of mutability, the wheel of Fortune, to predict that while Wallace may currently enjoy good fortune, this will soon change.
29 Many Scots lords held land in England at this time, e.g., Robert Bruce.
37 a king. I.e., King Robert Bruce. See line 146, below.
63-66 Robert Lauder became a powerful Scottish magnate under Robert I, richly rewarded by the king for loyalty with grants of lands and the position of justiciar of Lothian. Hary suggests he is keeper of some castle (line 64), presumably Lauder in Berwickshire.
68 the Bas. Bass Rock, off North Berwick.
71 Lyll. Unknown, although McDiarmid points out that the Lyles of Renfrewshire obtained property in East Linton in the fifteenth century.
115-21 Coburns Peth . . . Bonkill Wood . . . Noram . . . Caudstreym . . . on Tweid. All of these place names are in Berwickshire. Norham was on the north bank of the River Tweed and Coldstream on the south bank.
124-29 Atrik Forrest . . . Gorkhelm. Ettrick Forest was in the borders and Gorkhelm has not been identified. McDiarmid suggests that the latter may have been in the vicinity of the Cockhum stream near Galashiels (2.220n129).
139 Bek was sent by Edward I in July 1298 to capture castles in East Lothian. See explanatory note to lines 179-80, below.
158 Lothyane. The shire of Lothian in eastern central Scotland.
161 Yhester. The Gifford Castle of Yester in east Lothian. Peter Dunwich was the English keeper of this castle in 1296-97.
162 Hay. Sir Hugh Hay of Borthwick, near Edinburgh, who later fought with Bruce at Methven, where he was captured.
163 Duns Forest. In central Berwickshire.
179-80 Lammermur. Bek rides through the Lammermuir hills and north to the Spottsmuir, south of Dunbar. McDiarmid notes that this was the scene of the battle of Dunbar in 1296 (2.220n180), so the battle described in lines 188-324 may well be fictitious or a confused rewriting of the earlier battle.
270 Mawthland. Maitland was the name of the person who surrendered Dunbar Castle to the earl of Douglas in 1399. According to David Hume of Godscroft, a Robert Maitland was the son of Agnes Dunbar and John Maitland of Thirlestane (The History of the House of Douglas, ed. David Reid. 2 vols. Scottish Text Society fourth ser. 25-26 [Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1996], 1.253 and 2.546n253).
314 Compare The Bruce 3.45-54, which in turn is influenced by the account of Alexander's defense of his retreating men in the Roman d'Alexandre.
317 Glaskadane. Said to be a forest. McDiarmid places it near Doon Hill in Spott parish (2.221n317).
334 Tavydaill. Teviotdale, in the borders.
337 Schir Wilyham Lang. I.e., long or long-legged William Douglas. The Douglas so known was actually the fifth lord of Douglas (c. 1240-76). Hary is referring to his son, the seventh lord (1288-1302), whose nickname was le hardi. See expla-natory note to 6.771.
373 knycht Skelton. Probably one of the Cumberland Skeltons active in the Borders during the wars.
384 Noram Hous. Norham Castle, on the north bank of the River Tweed.
439 Roslyn Mur. Roslin, south of Edinburgh, in Midlothian. It was the site of a battle, won by the Scots, in 1303.
513-19 According to Bower, Newcastle seems to have been the furthest south Wallace reached in the 1297 raids. In May 1318, however, Bruce's army raided Yorkshire. Hary's claim that Wallace's army conducted a burn and slash campaign as far as York which he is supposed to have besieged for fifteen days (line 529) is not supported by the historical record, but was probably influenced by Barbour's account of Bruce's raids. On the extent and impact of the historical Wallace's invasion of northern England in 1297, see C. McNamee, "William Wallace's Invasion of Northern England in 1297," Northern History 26 (1990), 540-58.
522-25 Hary describes the revenge Wallace vowed at line 442. No prisoners are taken for ransom: all are put to the sword. All these lines reiterate this idea. Note the grim humor.
530 King Eduuard. Edward was actually in Flanders at this stage, returning in March 1298.
636 schawit thaim his entent. I.e., he revealed to them what Edward intended.
639-72 Hary is at pains to portray Wallace as a loyal vassal with absolutely no ambitions to usurp his rightful king's place.
651 Cambell. Sir Neil Campbell of Lochawe. See explanatory note to 7.623.
662 As a lord of the parlyment, Malcolm is a hereditary member of the Scottish parliament. The other estates of the clergy and burgesses were also represented.
886-88 King Arthour . . . Mont Mychell. See the account of Arthur's victory over the giant of Gene in The Alliterative Morte Arthure (lines 886-87; 1015-16).
945 Mydlam land. This has been identified as Middleham, ten miles southwest of Richmond (McDiarmid 2.227n945).
946 Brak parkis doun. A park might be a grove, an enclosed tract, a woodland, pasture land, or a game preserve.
953-54 The Commons pressure Edward to accept Wallace's pes (line 954).
955 Na herrald thar durst. The implication is that none dare come because of what he did to the last ones!
961-72 The posing of a question of this kind to the audience or reader is a typical romance convention. The invited comparison with Brutus, Julius Caesar, and Arthur, all well-known from the Nine Worthies tradition in the Middle Ages, is intended to favor the hero.
972 brak his vow. I.e., to fight a battle within forty days.
1009 Ramswaith. McDiarmid reckons this is Ravensworth Castle, northwest of Richmond (2.228n1009-10).
1010 Fehew. Fitzhugh, said to be Edward's nephew when his head is delivered to the king (line 1101).
1024-25 This refers to an incident described in 6.363-405.
1031 lat his service be. That is, commanded him to refrain.
1047 The bowmen provide the equivalent of covering fire.
1081-83 Wallace's treatment of Fitzhugh's head is deliberately provocative because Edward has reneged on the agreement to offer battle.
1107 Wodstok. Woodstock, according to Hary, the earl of Gloucester and captain of Calais (9.675-85). See explanatory notes to line 1494, below; see also 8.1534-37.
1113-36 The role of Edward's queen is invented by Hary. As previous editors have noted, Edward's first queen had died, and he did not marry his second, the sister of Philip IV of France, until 1299. McDiarmid (2.228-29n1113-36) suggests a literary model in Lydgate's Jocasta (The Siege of Thebes).
1120 An allusion to the hanging of the Scots nobles in Ayr, described in 7.199-514.
1137 queyn luffyt Wallace. Hary plays briefly with a romance motif when he suggests that the queen may have been motivated by love for Wallace, inspired by his noble reputation. Hary's own comments follow and make conscious use of the authority topos.
1147 luff or leiff. This does seem to be a tag, as McDiarmid suggests, meaning "for love or not for love."
1183-94 Hary normally places such astrological descriptions at the beginning of a new book, for example at the opening to Book 4.
1215-21 The queen's retinue, which is all female with the exception of seven elderly priests, is another literary touch.
1225 lyoun. The lion rampant of Scotland emblazoned on Wallace's tent is the central emblem of the Royal Arms of Scotland. The leopard is the corresponding emblem on the English royal arms (6.466).
1237-1462 Wallace's long dialogue with the queen is a remarkably courteous exchange, evincing the nobility of both parties. Wallace's cautiousness about the queen's motives is expressed to his men, whom he warns to be on guard against the treachery of women. He is nevertheless courteous enough to exclude the queen from his suspicions. The queen in turn strives to allay suspicions by tasting all the food she has brought by way of gift. Her mission, she says, is peace. Wallace resists her overtures by recounting instances of English aggression which have provoked and perpetuated the war, from the arbitration between the competitors for the throne through the injustices done to Scotland and the personal injustice to Wallace, particularly the murder of his wife, to the truce breaking, and the atrocity at Ayr. She hopes to win him over through offering gold as reparation and tries to appeal to his chivalry, but he refuses to play the courtly game. He says he has no faith in a truce which will not necessarily be binding, or honored by the English king. In the end, he is persuaded by her gentrice (line 1456) or noble magnanimity when she generously distributes the gold to his men in any case.
1256-62 Rownsyvaill. The epic poem, The Song of Roland, made the betrayal and death of Roland at Ronceval famous in the Middle Ages. Hary may have used the Historia Karoli Magni, copied at Coupar Angus Abbey in the fifteenth century, for this episode as well as for the description of Wallace in Book 10, as McDiarmid suggests (2.230n1251-62).
1281 marchell. Here a functionary of the kind appropriate in a royal court.
1286 byrnand wer. A reference to Wallace's scorched-earth tactics in England.
1320-21 pape. The pope was approached in the late thirteenth century to intercede and stop England's suzerainty claims.
1327-28 These lines echo Barbour (Bruce 1.37-40).
1335 This refers to the coronation of John Balliol.
1339 Bower has an account of Julius Caesar's failure to secure tribute from the Scots (Scotichronicon 2.14-15).
1341-43 These lines refer to the pledge Edward made to Robert Bruce the Elder to promote him to the throne of Scotland once Balliol was deposed. Bower claims that Edward basically used Bruce to ensure the surrender of the Scottish nobles (Scotichronicon 11.18).
1345-47 This derives from Bower, Scotichronicon 11.25:
Robert de Bruce the elder approached the king of England and begged him to fulfil faithfully what he had previously promised him as regards his getting the kingdom. That old master of guile with no little indignation answered him thus in French: "N'avons-nous pas autres chose a faire qu'a gagner vos royaumes?", that is to say: "Have we nothing else to do than win kingdoms for you?"1368 woman. This alludes, of course, to the murder of his wife by Heselrig (6.124-264).
(vol. 6, trans. Wendy Stevenson)
1391 gold so red. Red gold was considered the most precious and valuable.
1407 That ye me luffyt. A tenet of courtly love was that the loved one should love in return or be considered merciless.
1478 key of remembrans. Whereas Chaucer made old books "of remembraunce the keye" (Legend of Good Women, Prologue F.26), Hary represents Wallace himself, through the queen's acknowledgment of his qualities, as the key to remembrance.
1494 thre gret lordys. Clifford, Beaumont, and Woodstock (lines 1503-04).
1523 yong Randell. Sir Thomas Randolph, later earl of Moray and regent of Scotland. He figures prominently in The Bruce.
1525 Erll of Bowchane. Sir John Comyn was the earl of Buchan and a Balliol supporter. Hary does not indicate that he is the same person as the John Comyn referred to two lines later, perhaps because he thinks of Beaumont as the earl of Buchan. (See explanatory note to 7.1079.)
1527 Cumyn and Soullis. All the early Scottish chroniclers claim that Sir John Comyn betrayed Bruce to Edward after making a secret covenant with him. See also The Bruce 1.483-568. Comyn was killed by Robert Bruce in 1306 (Bruce 12.1185 ff.). Sir William Soules was later executed for conspiracy against Robert I (Bruce 19.1-58).
1536 Glosister. The earl of Gloucester, Bruce's uncle through marriage.
1539-43 erll Patrik. As noted earlier, Earl Patrick in fact remained an adherent of Edward I until his death in 1308.
1573-74 All Halow Evyn. Halloween, or the eve of All Saints Day (31 October and 1 November, respectively), so Hary gives their departure date as 21 October, ten days before the feast day, and their arrival at Carham Moor (near Coldstream) as Lammas Day, August 1, the following year, making the raiding campaign in England last over nine months, for which there is no historical confirmation, as noted earlier.
1583-86 The installation of Seton and Ramsay as captains of Berwick and Roxburgh respectively is Hary's invention, as Berwick remained in English hands until 1318 and Roxburgh until 1314.
1597 gossep. I.e., Wallace had been godfather to two of Menteith's children.
1602 March. The Marches, specifically the border between Scotland and northern England.
1616-18 Of this sayn my wordis . . . yeit fell. This should be the last sentence of Book 8, but the scribe errs and continues for another 124 lines.
Book 10
93 Thar. I.e., the ancient Perthshire forest of Blak Irnsid (lines 92 and 333), Black Earnside, not far from the Benedictine abbey of Lindores where various historical battles were fought. Records show that Wallace was here, but in 1304, where he was attacked by the English several times.
98-99 Guthré, / And Besat. Hary thinks of Guthrie and Bisset as local to Perthshire and Fife, probably landowners.
112 Woodhavyn. Woodhaven on the Firth of Tay, opposite Dundee.
118-20 Wallace is referring to events described in 5.19-42.
128 The sentiment of pro patria mori, more or less.
150 Jhon Wallang. Sir John de Valence, Sir Amer's brother. He is referred to as sheriff of Ayr in 12.891.
188 erll of Fyff. Siward is a leading Fife baron. Of course he soon threatens to hang him high if he refuses the order to remain at Earnside Forest (lines 300-02, below).
292 Coupar. In Fife.
310-19 Valence going over to Wallace is a fiction, of course.
835-36 Compare to 1.296-97.
857-75 Schyr Wilyam Lang, of Douglace Daill. See earlier explanatory note to 8.337. Hary claims he was married twice and had two sons by each wife, Sir James and Sir Hugh by the sister of Sir Robert Keith, and two others by Lady Eleanor Ferrars. In his History of the House of Douglas (1633), David Hume of Godscroft also claims this (p. 59), but he is probably following Hary. William Fraser, on the other hand, says the first wife, and the mother of James Douglas, was Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Alexander, High Steward, and that Hugh was one of two sons born to the second wife, whom he calls Elizabeth Ferrars, the other son being Archibald Douglas (The Douglas Book, 4 vols. [Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable, at the Edinburgh University Press, 1885], pp. 75, 104).
865 Gud Robert Keth. Sir Robert Keith, marischel of Scotland, a patriot who supported Wallace until 1300, when he submitted to Edward I.
866-68 Barbour also places James Douglas in Paris during his formative years (Bruce 1.330-44).
873 lady Fers. Lady Eleanor Ferrars, or Ferriers, a widow.
883 Sawchar. Sanquhar Castle, Dumfrieshire, possibly built by the English. It was not won by Wallace as far as is known.
885 Bewffurd. Beaufort is otherwise unknown.
896 Thom Dycson. The Dickson family was associated with Sanquhar, but the source is probably The Bruce (5.255-462), where a Thomas Dickson helps James Douglas capture Douglas Castle. Sir William had been Edward's prisoner since 1297 so could not have been involved in taking Sanquhar at this time.
912 clewch ner the wattyr of Craw. Crawick, in the parish of Sanquhar.
962 Dursder. Durisdeer Castle at Castlehill.
964-65 Enoch . . . Tybris. Enoch and Tibbers castles in Durisdeer parish.
976 Ravynsdaill. Ravensdale is said to be the keeper of Kynsith, near Cumbernauld.
978 Lord Cumyn (Comyn) held Cumbernauld Castle.
997 Lithquow. Linlithgow, which Edward held from 1296.
1017 Hew the Hay. See explanatory note to 8.162.
1025 Ruthirfurd. See explanatory note to 6.537.
1221-46 Wallace statur. Wallace's portrait is drawn from Bower, Scotichronicon 11.28, who in turn derived details and phrases from the Pseudo-Turpin description of Charlemagne, and from Fordun.
1242-44 Alexander the king . . . Ector was he. Comparisons with the magnanimity of Alexander and the audacity of Hector (line 1244) were conventional. There may also be echoes from Chaucer's portrait of the Knight in The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (line 1243).
1259 Scrymiour. Probably Alexander Scrymgeour, appointed constable of Dundee by Wallace in March 1298 (10.1162).
Book 11
73-438 Battle of Falkirk. The historical battle was indecisive (Barrow [1988], p. 103), but Scheps notes that in some MSS of the fourteenth-century romance, Thomas of Ercildoun, the victory is also given to the Scots, so this outcome is not just Hary's invention (Scheps, "Possible Sources," p. 126). Without Wallace, who withdraws from the field in anger (line 158), the Scots are overpowered, but Wallace eventually comes to the rescue and snatches victory from defeat. Hary, like Wyntoun (Cronykil 8.15.2245-69) and Bower (Scotichronicon 11.34), makes the treachery of Comyn a key factor in the initial Scottish defeat. Wallace could not rely on the cavalry in the end. The issue of rank is highlighted in Hary's invented exchange between Wallace and Stewart (lines 105-19), in which Stewart articulates the fears of the nobles.
101 Cunttas of Merch. The countess of Dunbar, wife of Earl Patrick, and sister to Sir John Comyn whose hostility towards Wallace is attributed by Hary to this alliance.
135 howlat. The fable of the owl (lines 134-38) derives from Richard Holland's Book of the Howlat (c. 1448) in which the owl is presented as a treacherous upstart.
151 Cumyn. Like Fordun, Hary uses the name of Comyn as a byword for treachery.
153 I of danger brocht. A reference to the release he negotiated with Woodstock in 8.1525.
179 Erll of Harfurd. An earl of Hereford is known to have been an English commander who saw action in Scotland and was in Carlisle in September of 1298 (Watson, p. 68), but whether he was at Falkirk is not known.
203 Bruce. Whether Bruce was present at Falkirk is a much-debated matter. See Barrow (1988), p. 101. Fordun and Wyntoun say he was; the English chroniclers, including Guisborough (who is the most detailed), do not mention his presence. Hary uses his purported presence to create a confrontation between Bruce and Wallace.
207 gold of gowlis cler. The royal Scottish coat of arms. At line 209: "The rycht lyon."
217-40 Hary moves into allegorical mode to represent Wallace's internal debate or struggle.
279 Rewellyt speris all in a nowmir round. This is the classic schiltron formation in which foot soldiers with long spears were grouped in circular bodies as a first line of defense against advancing cavalry. It has been estimated that some of the schiltron formations at Falkirk comprised as many as 1,500 men (Roberts, p. 122). These schiltrons were, however, vulnerable to attack by archers, as Falkirk testifies. Cavalry protection to deflect the archers was lacking.
295 The erll of York. An anachronism, as this title was not created until the reign of Edward III.
342 Comparison with Alexander again, this time against Gadifer. Barbour, too, uses the analogy to describe Bruce's cover of his men after a skirmish with John of Lorn (Bruce 3.72-84)
361 Quham he hyt rycht. A tribute paid only to Wallace so far.
378-92 The account of Graham's death owes much to The Alliterative Morte Arthure, as previous readers have noted.
434 Magdaleyn Day. Wyntoun and Bower also date the Battle of Falkirk on St. Mary Magdalene Day (i.e., 22 July) 1298.
440-527 The Bruce-Wallace dialogue across the Carron owes much to Bower's account of a conversation between the two across a narrow ravine. According to Hary, Wallace considers Bruce as the rightful king of Scots, but the historical Wallace was a Balliol supporter. The dialogue focuses on Wallace's rebuke of Bruce for being fals (line 461) and killing his awn (line 447) people, especially Stewart and Graham. In Bower, Wallace's accusation that Bruce is effeminate and delinquent in not defending his own country persuades Bruce to changes sides (Scoti-chronicon 11.34).
454 Ra. McDiarmid notes that a Robert Ra of Stirling occurs in the records (2.261n454).
472 offspryng. This implies that Bruce is the (unnatural) father of his people.
492 Thow renygat devorar of thi blud. The charge conveyed in this startling image is taken to heart when, after Falkirk, Bruce refuses to wash the blood from his clothes and person and endures at supper the scorn of the English: "Ane said, 'Behald, yon Scot ettis his awn blud'" (line 536).
1085 Bewmound. Sir Henry Beaumont. See explanatory note to 7.1078.
1089 Clifford received the Douglas lands in 1297 (Barrow [1988], p. 157). Barbour describes James Douglas's attack on Clifford's garrison there in 1307 (Bruce 8.437-87).
1093-1111 The debt is to The Bruce 1.313-45.
1111 lord Soullis. McDiarmid suggests a possible debt to Barbour for the claim that de Soules was given the Merse.
1113 Olyfant. Sir William Oliphant, a Perthshire knight, was commander of Stirling Castle when it was heavily attacked by Edward's new siege machines in 1304, despite Oliphant's offer to surrender the castle. In 1299 Gilbert Malherbe was sheriff when John Sampson surrendered. Oliphant was installed by Sir John de Soules.
1114-56 These lines represent the Bruce-Comyn pact. Compare Barbour's Bruce 1.483-510.
Book 12
740 Bowchan Nes. Literally the nose of Buchan.
743 Climes of Ross. Identification is uncertain.
791-95 The role of Menteith in the capture of Wallace is not doubted. He is accused of treachery by Fordun, Wyntoun, and Bower. Barrow (1988) points out that Menteith was a staunch patriot but submitted to Edward in 1304 and so was acting in line with this allegiance in handing Wallace over (p. 136).
835-48 Another homily, this time on covetise (covetousness). The particular allusions to Hector and Alexander suggest a probable debt to Barbour, but of course such analogies were common. Barbour has a similar descant on treason as exemplified in the fates of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and King Arthur, among others (Bruce 1.515-60).
885-94 erll of Fyf. Duncan, earl of Fife. was not actually active on the patriot side in Wallace's lifetime. He was later a companion-in-arms when Bishop Sinclair repelled an English attack in Fife in 1317 (Bruce 16.543-666).
894 ald thane. The thane referred to is MacDuff, famous for slaying Macbeth.
918-24 Barbour's mention of Edward Bruce's return to Galloway may be the source here (Bruce 9.477-543).
928 Lowmabane. Lochmabon Castle was part of the Bruce lordship of Annandale.
937 Blak Rok. See earlier reference to the Blackcraig (6.855) and explanatory note.
959-82 Hary has Wallace rescue Scotland three times before he hands over to Bruce. The correspondence between the two is, of course, Hary's invention.
960 McDiarmid suggests lestand pees could mean "heaven" (2.273n960).
962 purpost than to serve God. I.e., to enter religious orders.
984 Glaskow. Bower says Glasgow was where Menteith's men captured Wallace (Scotichronicon 12.8).
1062 byndyng rew. The binding of captured Wallace ironically parallels the break-up of Scotland.
1075 thai Menteth. McDiarmid suggests "these Menteiths," i.e., kinsmen (2.274n1075).
1077 saiff thar lord. Hary refers to Sir John Stewart, but Sir James was actually chief. Menteith was Sir John Stewart's uncle.
1081 eighteen yer. Falkirk was fought in 1298, so eighteen years makes no sense. Even if eight is meant, this would put Wallace's capture in 1306, which is too late.
1082 Hary presents Comyn's death as in part a payback for his role in bringing about the death of Stewart at Falkirk.
1089-90 Clyffurd. See explanatory note to 5.737.
1096 The Scots did not have Berwick at this time.
1109-28 Allace. The anaphora on "alas" marks these lines as a formal complaint or lament.
1139 Longawell. Thomas Longueville is the French knight (and reformed pirate) who accompanied Wallace from France. His adventures are detailed in Book 9 (omitted from these selections).
1147 Brucys buk. An explicit reference to Barbour's Bruce, possibly 9.396.
1151 The Charteris family was a prominent one in Hary's day and he pays a compliment by making Thomas of Longueville an ancestor.
1163 Possibly an echo of the opening lines of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.
1164-76 Edward Bruce's eulogy on Wallace is an interesting exercise in propaganda as once again Hary suggest that Wallace fought to make Robert Bruce's reign possible.
1183-84 The order for Comyn's killing is given because he is seen as responsible for Wallace's death, just as he had earlier been accused by Hary of a part in the death of Stewart (lines 1079-82).
1195 A reference to Barbour's account in The Bruce, as line 1212 acknowledges. See also notes above on Berwick as held by the English until 1318 (8.1583-86).
1205 best chyftayn. A comparison of James Douglas and Wallace as chieftains, but inevitably to Wallace's advantage.
1226-28 McDiarmid (2.277n1227-28) suggests that this refers to the Black Parliament, held at Scone in 1320 to deal with Soules, Brechin, and the other conspirators, described by Barbour (Bruce, 19.46) and Bower (Scotichronicon, 13.1).
1239-1301 Bower mentions the vision of a holy man in which he saw the ascent of Wallace's soul to heaven. Hary may be extending this as he draws on other sources, such as traditional tales about Wallace, to which Bower may also have had access.
1260 fyr brund. McDiarmid identifies this as the flame of Purgatory (2.279n1260).
1269 layff. The monk asks about the brand in his fellow's forehead.
1280 The date is erroneous. Wallace was executed on Monday, 23 August 1305.
1297 bellys sall ryng. See McDiarmid for other examples of bell-ringing as witness to virtue (2.279n1297).
1305-09 Wallace as a martyr is compared to the greatest of English saints: Oswald, Edmond, Edward, and Thomas.
1312-37 Edward's prohibition on shriving Wallace and the retort of the bishop of Canterbury who proceeds to hear Wallace's last confession are entirely fanciful. The intention is to blacken Edward's character further.
1384-86 McDiarmid (2.280n1385-86) suggests an echo of Henryson's Fox and the Wolf (lines 694-95). Note the contrast to Bruce's deathbed words (Barbour's Bruce 20.171-99). Wallace is nevertheless presented as devout, in his reading of the psalter to the last.
1400 done. I.e., tortured.
1414 Blair. See explanatory note to 5.533-45.
1417 Byschop Synclar. This seems to be Hary's invention.
1427-28 McDiarmid omits these lines which contain a contradiction about Wallace's age at death.
1439 McDiarmid translates as, "No one had engaged himself to pay for the writing of this work" (2.281n1437).
1445-46 Wallas . . . Liddaill. See my Introduction for a comment on these two patrons.
1451-66 Note the convention employed in this epilogue. Compare with Chaucer's The Franklin's Tale.
THE WALLACE: SELECTIONS: TEXTUAL NOTES
Abbreviations: C = The Lyfe and Actis of the Maist Illvster And Vailzeand Campiovn William Wallace, ed. Charteris (1594); F = Fragments of an edition in the type of Chepman and Myllar (1507/8); Jamieson = Wallace, or, The Life and Acts of Sir William Wallace of Ellerslie (1869); L = The Actis and Deidis of Schir William Wallace, ed. Lekpreuik (1570); McDiarmid = Hary's Wallace (1968-69); MS = National Library of Scotland MS Advocates 19.2.2, fols. 79r-194r.
Book 1
26 of. MS: off. So too in lines 47, 66, 94, 108, 133, 134, 143, 166, 190, 204, 290, 356, 375, 379, 420 and passim.
32 hyr. L: heir. McDiarmid emends to her.
37 as cornyklis. MS: as conus cornyklis. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
57 landis. McDiarmid notes that -is endings in the MS frequently look like -e.
64 croun. MS: toun. L: Crown. McDiarmid's emendation.
87 folowid. McDiarmid: followid.
97 Eduuard maid. McDiarmid adds has, based on L.
106 than. McDiarmid: then.
116 homage. So L. MS: ymage. McDiarmid's emendation.
118 he send. MS: send he, with caret indicating inversion.
159 cummyng. McDiarmid adopts couth ring from L.
193 outhir. McDiarmid: othir.
269 the. McDiarmid's addition from L.
278 Hym disgysyt. McDiarmid adds self, following L.
285 Landoris. McDiarmid emends to Lundoris, following L.
302 Welcummyt. McDiarmid: Welcwmmyt. Also at line 329.
336 Wallas. McDiarmid: Wallace.
352 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
407 ane awkwart straik him gave. MS: awkwart he him gawe. L: ane akwart straik him gaif. McDiarmid's emendation.
423 Lord abide. McDiarmid adopts L's reading, which omits lord.
429 discumfyst. McDiarmid: discwmfyst.
Book 2
8 mynd. McDiarmid: mynde.
10 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
27 Aboundandely. McDiarmid emends to Abandounly.
31 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
34 On. So L. McDiarmid follows the MS: In.
49 Upon. MS: Vpon. McDiarmid: Apon.
75 Wallace. McDiarmid: Wallas.
76 thaim. McDiarmid: thame.
78 se. McDiarmid's addition, following L.
83 bocht. MS: thocht bocht. McDiarmid's emendation.
86 schirreff. McDiarmid: schireff.
89 yeid and said. McDiarmid emends to 3eid, said.
93 thow. So L. MS: the. McDiarmid's emendation.
100 sodanlé. McDiarmid: sodanli.
138 ga. McDiarmid and Jamieson adopt ta, following L.
153 fell. McDiarmid: sell. L also has fell, as McDiarmid notes.
175 law. McDiarmid notes this is the MS reading, but emends to lawe.
198 yow. McDiarmid: thow.
216 Compleyn. McDiarmid: Compleyne.
219 sellis. L: cellis. McDiarmid: sell is.
231 hym. McDiarmid: him.
234 Celinus. McDiarmid: Celinius.
244 thar. McDiarmid: that.
308 thar presoune. MS omits thar. L: thair presoun. McDiarmid's addition.
339 After this line in L a different hand inserts an extra line: "I wald his weilfair and caist into his thocht."
425 thrang. So L. MS: fand. McDiarmid and Jamieson emend to fang.
Book 3
9 rialye. McDiarmid: realye.
13 coud. McDiarmid: could.
24 was. McDiarmid: war.
25 Thai waryit. MS: He trowit. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
35 thai. McDiarmid's addition.
97 trastyt. MS: trast. L: traistit. McDiarmid's emendation.
100 the. McDiarmid's addition.
101 thair. So L. MS: than. McDiarmid's emendation (thar).
114 caus. McDiarmid: causer.
135 tuk. McDiarmid: tuke.
145 byrney. McDiarmid: birny.
146 throuch. L: Throw out. McDiarmid: throuch-out.
147 offe. McDiarmid: off.
152 enveround. McDiarmid: enverounid.
174 he doune. MS: doune he, but marked to indicate alteration.
176 The and arsone. McDiarmid: The gud arsone, but the means "thigh" here.
182 payne. McDiarmid: playne, though he notes L: pane.
189 brand. MS: hand. McDiarmid's emendation.
201 ennymys. MS: chewalrye. L: enemeis. McDiarmid's emendation.
203 hors sum part to. MS: On horsis some to strenthis part. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
Book 4
10 hevyn. McDiarmid adopts the hycht from L.
19 far. McDiarmid's addition, which has support from L.
26 that. McDiarmid and Jamieson adopt at.
32 thou. McDiarmid: you.
60 der. So L. MS: her. McDiarmid's emendation.
92 fold. McDiarmid: feld, but fold is correct and is used at line 469.
339 hett. McDiarmid: heit.
340 wett. McDiarmid: weit.
353 of. McDiarmid's addition from L.
372 fynd. McDiarmid: find.
405 on. McDiarmid: in.
437 All. McDiarmid emends to Off.
443 his. McDiarmid adopts thar, based on L.
444 feild. McDiarmid: field.
466 throuout. McDiarmid's addition (throu-out), based on L.
480 Wallace. L: The walls. McDiarmid changes to wallis.
481 was thar lord. Needs to be understood as "were their lords" to agree with flearis.
498 his. McDiarmid: hys.
503 Women. McDiarmid: Wemen.
720 suour. McDiarmid: suor.
761 tresoun. MS: tresour. L: tressoun. McDiarmid's emendation.
787 Thai folowit him. MS: Him thai folowit. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
Book 5
71 chyftayne. McDiarmid: chyaftyne.
75 wycht. McDiarmid: wyth.
77 maide. McDiarmid: maid.
83 of. McDiarmid: off.
115 Als Fawdoun was. MS: Als Fawdoun als was. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
116 haldyn. McDiarmid: knawin, following L; but see 5.817 where haldyn is used to mean "reputed."
186 gret ire. MS: the gret Ire. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
187 that. MS: he. L: that allane. McDiarmid emends to him allayne.
191 horn. McDiarmid: horne.
196 it. McDiarmid's addition from L.
207 Faudoun. McDiarmid: Fawdoun.
392 Goddis saik wyrk. MS: Goddis wyrk. McDiarmid's addition, based on L's reading: Goddis saik mak.
409 wes. McDiarmid: was.
476 into. So L. MS: in. McDiarmid's emendation.
485 brynt. MS: bryt. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
501 Lorde. McDiarmid: Lord.
526 that. So L. MS: than. McDiarmid's emendation.
528 of. McDiarmid: off.
564 was of that. MS: that was off that. McDiarmid's reading, modified from L.
576 bot. McDiarmid: but.
590 protectiounne. McDiarmid: proteccioune.
616 his. McDiarmid: hys.
619 als. McDiarmid: as.
629 luff. McDiarmid's addition from L.
652 remaynyt. McDiarmid: remaynt.
656 langour. McDiarmid: languor.
714 ramaynyt. McDiarmid: remaynyt.
758 contré. McDiarmid: cuntre.
764 cheyk. MS: cheyff. L: cheik. McDiarmid's emendation.
789 ar. McDiarmid: are.
800 thai. McDiarmid emends to the, based on L.
849 wes. McDiarmid: was.
852 nayne. McDiarmid: nane.
Book 6
1 utas. MS: wtast. McDiarmid's correction.
19 for to. MS: to. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
24 sor. MS: sar. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
45 was maid. MS omits was. McDiarmid's addition from L.
62-63 These two lines are reversed in the MS. McDiarmid's emendation.
73 gudlye. McDiarmid: gudly.
79 hym fer mar. MS: hyr fer mar. F and L: hym mair sair. McDiarmid's emendation.
80 Line missing from MS, supplied from F. This line is also added by McDiarmid.
83 now. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation, following F.
97 fortoune. McDiarmid: fortune.
140 Gude. McDiarmid: Gud.
159 wapynnys. McDiarmid: wappynnys.
171 his. McDiarmid: hys.
186 upon. MS: wpon. McDiarmid: vpon.
195 but. McDiarmid: bot.
219 nocht. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition, following L.
226 Gud . . . duelyt. MS: Off . . . duelt. McDiarmid's emendations.
307 Pykarté. McDiarmid: Pykearte.
315 thai him knew. McDiarmid emends to that thai him knew, based on F and L.
360 Aganys. McDiarmid: Agaynys.
398 wes. McDiarmid: was.
413 thee leid. MS: thou. McDiarmid's emendation (the), following L.
416 falow led him. MS omits led. McDiarmid's addition from L.
432 tell. MS: till. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
436 was sone war. MS omits sone. McDiarmid's addition from L.
437 to sell. MS: he to sell. McDiarmid's emendation.
441 sell. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
471 he. MS: how. McDiarmid's emendation, following F and L.
473 pot. McDiarmid: pott.
485 thai MS: thai thai. McDiarmid silently emends.
507 the. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
510 Davi son. MS: Dauison. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
516 for chance. MS: for charg. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
518 folk. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
525 that. McDiarmid's addition, based on L.
we may in our viage. So F. MS: may we in sic wiage, followed by McDiarmid.
528 fullfill. McDiarmid: fulfill.
537 Jhonstoun. So F and L. MS: Wallas. McDiarmid's emendation.
547 rych. McDiarmid: ryth, although he notes variant readings of richt (F) and riche (L).
559 how. McDiarmid emends to full, following F and L.
561 walkand had beyne. MS: walkand beyne. McDiarmid's addition from F and L.
578 owndir. McDiarmid: wndir.
591 self. MS: saw. My reading, adopted from F and L.
596 thocht. McDiarmid substitutes rocht from F and L.
679 Commaund. McDiarmid: Command.
706 tald it to. MS: tald to. McDiarmid's addition from L.
742 thar. McDiarmid: that.
776 Far. So L. MS: For. McDiarmid emends to Fer.
780 till. McDiarmid: til.
810 Fra. The second two letters are smudged in the MS.
825 enterit. McDiarmid: entrit.
838-41 These lines from L are missing from the MS, probably, as McDiarmid suggests (1.134n838-41), because the scribe was misled by the recurrent rhyme haill.
936 repayr. McDiarmid: repair.
Book 7
65 to the kyrk. McDiarmid emends to in to the kyrk.
89 thar descendyt. McDiarmid adopts the reading from L here, which reverses this word order.
115 sowdandly. MS: sowndly. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
116 his entent. MS omits his. McDiarmid's addition from L.
126 thou mon rycht. MS omits thou. McDiarmid's addition (thow) from L.
153 him. McDiarmid: hym.
182 makis. McDiarmid: makes.
209 his. McDiarmid: hys.
253 speryt. MS: sparyt. L: speirit. McDiarmid's emendation.
273 Than. McDiarmid adopts That from L.
290 me thaim all. MS omits thaim. McDiarmid and Jamieson also emend.
291 Marys saik. L: Goddis saik.
310 derffly ded doun. McDiarmid adopts L's reading, which omits ded.
353 selff. McDiarmid: self.
377 Lat. McDiarmid: Latt.
406 breiffly. McDiarmid: brieffly.
420 to the gett. MS: to 3ett. McDiarmid's addition from L.
424 evirilk. MS: ilk. Accepting the reading from L, as McDiarmid and Jamieson do.
440 walkand. McDiarmid adopts walkning from L.
451 beltles. L: belchis. McDiarmid adopts belches, meaning "blazes," but beltles meaning "undressed" (literally, "without a belt") makes good sense.
453 tyll. McDiarmid: till.
454 thar. MS: thai. McDiarrmid's emendation, based on L.
468 hand for. McDiarmid inserts thaim, citing L's thame.
520 sum. McDiarmid's addition from L.
556 Goddis saik. MS: Goddis. McDiarmid's addition from L.
630 was a new-maid lord. MS: was new maid lord. My emendation, based on L. McDiarmid emends to: was new maid a lord.
651 that. MS: quhar. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
713 haiff beyne full. MS omits beyne. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
731 tayne. McDiarmid: tane.
732 he. McDiarmid adopts thai from L.
741 him. McDiarmid: hym.
751 was. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
778 Lundye. McDiarmid: Lundy.
794 is. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
809 ay. MS: thai. McDiarmid and Jamieson emend, following L.
850 wapynnys. McDiarmid: wappynnys.
fra. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
878 Hald in Scotland. MS: Hald Scotland. McDiarmid and Jamieson insert in from L.
899 Weill he eschewit. MS: Weill eschewit. McDiarmid's addition from L.
920 trow. McDiarmid: trew.
924 harmyng. MS: gret harmyng. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
953 All. MS: And. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
982 Rewillyt. McDiarmid: Rewllyt.
992 that. MS: thai. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1037 As McDiarmid notes, this line first appears at 1034 but is scored through and then placed here.
1145 sent. MS: send. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
1152 trest. MS: streit. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1180 hyntyt and couth blaw. McDiarmid adopts reading based on L: hynt and couth it blaw.
1202 quhilk. MS: quhill. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1211 the. McDiarmid adopts in from L.
1218 haist maid. MS: haist thai maid. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1252 Our Lady. L: our Lord.
1262 and to. McDiarmid omits to, citing L.
1268 and fled. McDiarmid adopts thai, citing L's thay.
1281 Jadwort. McDiarmid: Jedwort.
Book 8
46 schaym. MS: schapin. McDiarmid's emendation, derived from L.
48 realme. McDiarmid: Realm.
55 taryit. So L. MS: tary. McDiarmid: taryt.
105 war. McDiarmid: were.
155 bischope. McDiarmid: byschope.
169 gyff. McDiarmid: giff.
200 four. McDiarmid: iii.
213 but. McDiarmid: bot.
231 And Adam. MS omits And. McDiarmid's addition from L.
275 his. McDiarmid: hys.
276 feill. MS: till. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
282 his. McDiarmid: hys.
283 Gud rowme. McDiarmid: And rowme. L: Gude. Compare large rowme at line 300.
289 thai. McDiarmid: they.
303 feill. So L. MS: full feill, followed by McDiarmid.
305 horssit. McDiarmid: horsit.
312 sa. McDiarmid emends to and, following L.
343 thar. McDiarmid: thair.
360 ded. McDiarmid: dede.
526 koffre. MS: troffie. L: trustrie. McDiarmid's emendation.
532 to ces. McDiarmid inserts for, citing L.
564 harmys. The MS folio has been ripped and sewn together again. The first letter has been obliterated, but is probably h as McDiarmid believes. L: harmis.
650 mony. McDiarmid: many.
864 and. MS: of. McDiarmid's emendation, derived from L.
867 fer for to wyn. McDiarmid drops for.
869 warnysoun. MS: warysoun. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
896 Schir. McDiarmid: Schyr.
922 remanent. From L. MS: Ramayn.
939 largely. MS: largly. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
945 Mydlam land. MS: Mydlem. McDiarmid's emendation.
973 ransik. F and L: resolve. McDiarmid: runsik.
973-74 These lines are reversed in F and L.
1008 semely. So F and L. MS: sembly. McDiarmid: semly.
1049 fast. McDiarmid adopts loud from L.
1055 for the defens. McDiarmid emends to for fence, following L.
1060 hidduys. McDiarmid: hidwys.
1082 woman. MS: women. McDiarmid's emendation from L.
1109 curage. So L. MS: curag. McDiarmid's emendation.
1119 men. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1136 giffyn. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition.
1142 Sa. McDiarmid: So.
1144 quhill. MS: quhilk. McDiarmid's emendation.
1156 the Sotheron. McDiarmid drops the.
1167 stark. MS: stargis. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1170 Tawbawnys. In the MS the t before awbawnys is blurred. See Tawbane at 8.1498.
1172 gud. McDiarmid adopts fud, citing L's fude.
1174 Thai. MS: Than. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1178 wild. McDiarmid: wyld.
1204 cast. MS: clasp. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1219 Vaillyt. MS: wallyt. McDiarmid's emendation (Waillyt), based on L.
1236 So. McDiarmid: Sa.
1241 Suffer. McDiarmid: Suffyr.
1250 Herfor mon. McDiarmid inserts And from L.
1255 passit. MS: past, McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1287 grant us pees. MS: awcht haiff pes. McDiarmid's emendation.
1300 us. So L. McDiarmid's emendation (ws).
1314 helpys. McDiarmid: helpis.
1330 clemyt. McDiarmid: clempt.
1335 king. McDiarmid: kyng.
1344 Undid. So L. MS: wnd. McDiarmid's emendation.
1344-45 These lines are reversed in L.
1358 dispit. McDiarmid: despit.
1398 but. McDiarmid: bot.
1417 Madem. McDiarmid: Madam.
1421 yow. McDiarmid: you.
1424 Madeym. McDiarmid: Madem.
1439 Apon. McDiarmid: Vpon.
1451 menstraillis, harroldis. McDiarmid: menstrallis, harraldis.
1457 yow. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1462 sall. McDiarmid: sal.
1500 a. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1530 to ask. MS: als till. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1549 thaim. McDiarmid has than.
1555 ocht. MS: och. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1561 he. McDiarmid adopts thai, citing L.
1590 that. McDiarmid adopts the from L.
1601 byg it. MS: byggit. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1616 sayn my wordis. McDiarmid adopts a version of L's reading here: saving me wordis. The sense seems reasonably clear: "With these words I cease my account of this."
1618 Book 8 should end here (as in L), but the scribe errs and continues for another 124 lines.
Book 10
99 Besat. MS: Beset; L: Bissat. The name of a person, as later references make clear (lines 10, 242, 414).
102 unbeset. So L. MS: wnderset. McDiarmid adopts wmbeset.
113 cald it. McDiarmid adopts awfull from L.
131 tak. McDiarmid: take.
132 ar. McDiarmid: are.
148 Bot. McDiarmid: But.
246 metyng. McDiarmid: and metyng.
264 Wythowt. McDiarmid: Withowt.
312 hym. McDiarmid: him.
319 Wytht. McDiarmid: Wyth.
323 bid. McDiarmid: byd.
850 was. MS: wax. McDiarmid's emendation.
871 Till him. McDiarmid adopts Quhill tym from L.
891 his. McDiarmid: hys.
945 Dowglace. McDiarmid: Douglace.
973 Of Lewyhous. McDiarmid emends to Off the Lewynhous.
978 tribut. McDiarmid: trewbut.
981 nane. McDiarmid: nayn.
992 that. McDiarmid omits.
1002 Newbottyll. McDiarmid: Newbottyl.
1004 Berwik. McDiarmid: Berweik.
1222 dyscrecioun. McDiarmid: discrecioun.
1223 dischevill. MS: dissembill. McDiarmid's emendation.
1246 dissayff. McDiarmid: dissayf.
1248 ane. From L. MS: in. McDiarmid: a.
1274 saraly and in. MS: far alyand in. McDiarmid's emendation.
1276 north. McDiarmid inserts land to make northland.
1278 rapent. McDiarmid: repent.
Book 11
126 leyff it. MS: leyff on. McDiarmid's addition, based on L's tyne it on.
131 fairest. MS: farrest. McDiarmid's emendation from L.
146 Thair I have biddin. MS: Thar and I baid. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
151 consaill. MS: conselle. L: counsaill. McDiarmid's emendation,
173 he. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
198 To God. McDiarmid adopts L's reading O god.
200 thar. McDiarmid and Jamieson render as thir.
204 beyn. McDiarmid: been.
227 na. McDiarmid: na the, following L.
236 him. McDiarmid: hym.
251 All. McDiarmid adopts Wer from C.
256 saw that. MS: saw quhen. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
342 of Gawdyfer. MS: the Gawdyfer. McDiarmid's emendation.
352 thre. McDiarmid: three.
355 weryt. McDiarmid adopts reryt, citing L's reirit.
418 on. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
432 amange. McDiarmid: amang.
452 heir. From L. MS: eftir. McDiarmid: her.
481 wagis. McDiarmid: wage.
514 the orient. MS omits the. McDiarmid's addition from L.
520 se me. McDiarmid emends to me se.
522 him. McDiarmid: hym.
528 Lythqwo. McDiarmid: Lythquo.
529 a. McDiarmid adopts be from L.
542 McDiarmid drops that, following L.
1082 endyt. McDiarmid: endit.
1088 Thair to. MS: Thair for. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1090 Marchis. McDiarmid: merchis.
1139 herto. MS: to her. McDiarmid's emendation (her-to), based on L.
1146 haiff. MS: haff. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1150 this. McDiarmid: his.
1155 Fell thar. MS: Fayr thai. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1156 That we micht get agane Wallace of France. Like McDiarmid, I insert this line from L.
1169 Cumyn. MS: Eduuard. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
Book 12
781 thar. McDiarmid: thai. L: thair.
787 Thai. McDiarmid adopts He from L.
799 this. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
802 thow. McDiarmid: thou.
819 thai. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
820 fayn haiff had. MS: fayn had. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
837 tuk. MS: to. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
841 Bretan. McDiarmid: Bretane.
842 had. McDiarmid adopts has, citing L.
843 covatice. McDiarmid: cowatyce.
854 yit. MS omits. McDiarmid's emendation (3eit), based on L.
855 sogeyng. McDiarmid: segeyng.
909 be tak. McDiarmid: betak.
926 it. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
946 past. McDiarmid emends to passit, following L
990 Menteth. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition, based on L.
993 he. McDiarmid emends to thai, following L.
1023 handis mycht on him lay. McDiarmid reads the insertion points under handis and lay in MS to move handis between him and lay.
1044 ma. McDiarmid: may.
1064 Comyns. MS: commounis. L: Cumyngis. McDiarmid's emendation.
1065 awe. McDiarmid: aw.
1075 thai Menteth. MS: that Menteith. McDiarmid's emendation. He suggests the meaning is "these Menteiths," i.e., kinsmen (2.274n1075).
1081 eighteen. MS: xviii. McDiarmid adopts auchtand, citing L.
1097 And. McDiarmid adopts To from L.
1103-04 In the MS these lines are reversed, but the scribe indicates that they should be switched.
1112 best. McDiarmid notes that in the MS best is written faintly above the line. Although I cannot make it out, I accept the emendation, based on L.
1123 help. McDiarmid adopts kepe, citing L.
1153 fer. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition, based on L.
1175 suld had na. MS: suld nocht had na. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1176 falsnes. MS: falnes. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1184 dreid. MS: deid. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1190 it is. MS: it was. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1209 as. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1220 haiff. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1255 so. McDiarmid: sa.
1263 lang. McDiarmid: long.
1277 me ken. MS: may ken. McDiarmid's emendation, following L.
1305 Sotheroun. McDiarmid: Sotherun.
1319 said. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1331 thy. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition (thi) from L.
1335 Inglismen. McDiarmid adopts wyse men from L.
1361 force. McDiarmid: fors.
1365 I. MS omits. McDiarmid's addition from L.
1369 this. McDiarmid: the.
1382 sald. McDiarmid: suld.
1384 smyld a litill. MS: smyld litill. McDiarmid's silent emendation.
1395 viagis. McDiarmid: wiage.
1396 dispolyeid. McDiarmid: dispulyeid.
1405 spreyt. MS: preyt. Damaged folio means some letters are effaced in the following words: spreyt (1405), we (1406), spreyt (1409), blair (1414), compild (1415), mair (1416).
1409 McDiarmid inserts a break after this line so that lines 1410 to the end are presented as an epilogue.
1414 Blair. McDiarmid: Blayr.
1421 was till. MS: was for till. McDiarmid's emendation, based on L.
1427-28 McDiarmid rejects these lines "as an intrusion" on the grounds that "45 years as the age of Wallace at his death is grossly at variance with the life-span presented in the poem and illustrated in my Introduction" (2.281n1426f).
1459 banevolence. McDiarmid: beneuolence.
1461 burel. McDiarmid: burell.
1463 of Pernase. MS: aspernase. McDiarmid's emendation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[After wasting and plundering Earl Patrick's lands in Merse and Lothian, Wallace attends a council of barons in Perth (lines 405-07), while Patrick goes to Edward in England, in pursuit of lands there. Wallace becomes governor, the barons pay homage to him, and he rewards the faithful, taking care not to give lands, only office, to his own family members. The Scots start to feel optimism for the first time in a long while. (Lines 391-434)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
| [Wallace's leading supporters are named, and Earl Malcom in particular is praised. Wallace takes a small force to Roxburgh and demands that the constable hand over the keys; a similar demand is sent to Berwick. (Lines 469-511)] | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Wallace marches from York to Northallerton, observing the forty days peace. He successfully ambushes an English force planning to attack his army, killing the leader, Richard Rymunt. Malton is plundered, and carriage-loads of supplies removed and sent to his host. At a parliament at Pomfrey the English debate whether to battle with Wallace or not: they fear the consequences of defeat. (Lines 565-629)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[On Woodstock's advice, the English decide to avoid open battle with the Scots and to seek some way of picking off Wallace. In retaliation, the Scots ravage Northallerton and Yorkshire, besieging York itself. When the Scots retire to rest, the English plan a surprise skirmish, but Wallace and his night watch spy them, sound the alarm and the Scots, still in battle dress, rally and trounce them. (Lines 678-855)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Short of food, the Scots head for Richmond where they not only find plentiful supplies, but reinforcements. (Lines 975-1002)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Impressed by his fame, the king of France invites Wallace to come to his realm. Wallace sets sail with a few companions and a small armed force. On the voyage he defeats the pirate, the Red Reiver, who reveals to him that he is the exiled French knight Thomas of Longueville and one of Wallace's greatest admirers. As a favor to Wallace, the French king is reconciled with Longueville. Wallace, with Longueville, attacks the English settlement in Guyenne. When Edward learns of this he resolves to take advantage of Wallace's absence to invade Scotland and occupy the major strongholds. Wallace hurries back to Scotland as soon as he is told that the truce has been so blatantly broken.] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Wallace seizes three passing English hay carts and, disguised, he, Bisset, and Guthrie, with fifteen men concealed in the carts, gain entry to Perth, kill the English occupants, and install Sir John Ramsay as captain with other Scottish officers. Wallace makes his way to Fife, followed by Sir John Siward. (Lines 1-92)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Joined by Ruthven and Ramsay, Wallace prepares to battle Siward's much larger army. Siward kills Bisset and in turn is killed by Wallace. The Scottish leaders disperse to different parts of Fife, ejecting the English and destroying strongholds. With his army camped near Scotlandwell, Wallace swims across Loch Leven and steals a boat in which he and a small band of men cross to an island for a night attack on the English. Having stormed the stronghold, Wallace summons his army to a celebratory feast. Wallace then goes to the west where he rescues his uncle from one Thomlyn of Ware's prisons. He then attacks and wins Dumbarton. (Lines 337-830)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Wallace and three hundred Scots follow and attack the English army as it moves south. The English withdraw from all the Scottish castles except Dundee, which Wallace proceeds to besiege. Edward prepares to return from France to mount a third invasion of Scotland; meanwhile the French king requests Wallace's assistance in Guyenne.(Lines 1045-1214)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[While English ships arrive in the Tay, Woodstock rides to Dundee and is killed in a battle with the Scots. Then Wallace meets various Scottish forces at Stirling Bridge before moving to Falkirk. (Lines 1-72)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[The Scots bury their dead, and Wallace delivers a eulogy over the body of Sir John Graham, before he is interred at Falkirk. At a meeting with Bruce, Wallace, upset by Graham's death in particular, accuses him of killing his own people. When Bruce expresses his remorse and vows never to fight against his countrymen again, they are reconciled. When battle resumes, Bruce refuses to attack Scots, and eventually the English flee and Edward is forced to retreat, pursued by the Scots. Edward realizes that Bruce's support for him is shaky and so keeps a close eye on him. The Scots eventually turn back, Wallace makes for Edinburgh, and peace is restored in Scotland. Morton is executed and Dundee razed. Wallace resigns as Guardian and sets sail for France, with his close companions, on a merchant ship, which is attacked near the Humber by pirates led by a notorious Scot-hater, John of Lyn. Thomas Gray, one of Wallace's companions, is said to be the authority for this account. He kills John of Lyn. Wallace arrives in Paris, and is welcomed by the French king who offers him Guyenne, which is occupied by the English. All Scots in the area flock to his support and go to war on the English. Wallace finds an ally in the duke of Orleans. Meanwhile John of Menteith makes a pact with Amer of Valence, and Edward marches into Scotland again, meeting little opposition, and installs English officers in key towns and strongholds. Boyd, Sinclair, and others write to Wallace, seeking his aid. (Lines 547-1076)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Wallace overcomes the English in Guyenne and then deals with various disaffected Frenchmen, including a knight, two champions at court, and two squires, who all use trickery to trap him. The final insult for Wallace is when he is led to believe that the French king wishes him to fight a captured lion. Having dispatched the animal, Wallace demands: "Is thar ma doggis at ye wald yeit haiff slayne?" (line 256) and resolves to return to Scotland. He and his men leave, against the French king's wishes. He arrives at Elcho, on the shores of the Earn and, keeping under cover, stays with his cousin Crawford. When Crawford goes to St. Johnston (Perth) for more meat than usual, the suspicions of the English are roused and they imprison and interrogate him. When they release him he is followed by Butler and a large armed force. Forewarned of the danger in a dream, Wallace and his men leave the house to avoid open battle because they are heavily outnumbered, and hide in Elcho Park. But when the English threaten to burn Crawford's wife unless she reveals his whereabouts, Wallace comes out to accuse Butler of shameful behavior. Incensed and desperate to avenge the deaths of his father and grandfather, Butler pursues Wallace to the park where, through strategic deployment of his twenty men and with the help of a misty night, Wallace manages to kill Butler and make his way to Methven where he can supply his hungry men with food and reinforcements. Finding food continues to be a problem so Wallace and his men move from Birnam to Lorne. Wallace separates from his men to seek food for them, but as he sleeps under an oak five traitors who have been bought by the earl of York try unsuccessfully to capture him and are killed. After feasting, Wallace and his men make their way to Rannock where they are looked after by friends and acquire more support. Wallace then decides to stop skulking in mountains and woods and to seek open battle. He goes to Dunkeld and then north to be united with Scottish supporters there. (Lines 1-729)] |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
share this page
