' Winton, vol. i. p. 397. Foedera, vol. ii. pp. 582, 1091. 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 128, boot x. chap. xi. < Triveti Annales, p. 267. He died March 16, 1285-6. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 128 1286.] ALEXA1 Alexander's person was majestic; and although his figure was to o tall, and his_bones large, yet his limbs were well formed and strongly knit. His countenance was handsome, and beamed with a manly and~sweet expression, which corresponded with the courage- ous openness and sincerity of his cha- racter. He was firm and constant in his purposes ; yet, guided by prudence and an excellent understanding, this quality never" degenerated into a dan- gerous obstinacy. His inflexible love of justice, his patience~m hearing dis- putes, his affability in discourse, and facility of access, endeared him to the whole body of his people ; whilst his piety, untinctured with any slavish dread, whilst he acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the popedom, rendered him the steadfast friend of his own clergy, and their best defender against any civil encroachments of the see of Rome. In his time, therefore, to use the words of the honest and affectionate Fordun — " The Church flourished, its ministers were treated with reverence, vice was openly dis- couraged, cunning and treachery were trampled under foot, injury ceased, and the reign of virtue, truth, and justice was maintained throughout the land." We need not wonder that such a monarch was long and affectionately remembered in Scotland. Attended by his justiciary, by his principal nobles, and a military force which awed the strong offenders, and gave confidence to the oppressed, it was his custom to make an annual progress through his kingdom, for the redress of wrong, and the punishment of de- linquents. For this purpose, he divided the kingdom into four great districts ; and on his entering each county, the sheriff had orders to attend on the kingly judge, with the whole militia of the shire, 1 and to continue with the court till the king had heard all the appeals of that county which were brought before him. He then con- tinued his progress, accompanied by the sheriff and his troops ; nor were these dismissed till the monarch had i Fordun a Goodal, book x. chap. xli. vol. ii. p. 129. DER III. 23 entered a new county, where a new sheriff awaited him with the like honours and attendance. In this manner the people were freed from the charge of supporting those overgrown bands of insolent retainers which swelled the train of the Scottish nobles, when they waited on the king in his progresses ; and as the dignified prelates and barons were interdicted by law from travelling with more than a certain number of horse in their retinue, the poor commons had leisure to breathe, and to pursue their honest occupations. 2 In Alexander's time, many vessels of different countries came to Scot- land, freighted with various kinds of merchandise, with the design of ex- changing them for the commodities of our kingdom. The king's mind, how- ever, was unenlightened on the subject of freedom of trade ; and the frequent loss of valuable cargoes by pirates, wrecks, and unforeseen arrestments, had induced him to pass some severe laws against the exportation of Scot- tish merchandise. Burgesses, however, were, allowed to traffic with these foreign merchantmen ; and in a short time the kingdom became rich in every kind of wealth ; in the productions of the arts and manufactures ; in money, in agricultural produce, 3 in flocks and herds ; so that many, says an ancient historian, came from the West and East to consider its power, and to study its polity. Amongst these strangers, there arrived, in a great body, the richest of the Lombard merchants, who offered to establish manufactur- ing settlements in various parts of the country. They specified among other places the mount above Queensferry, and an island near Cramond, and onlj 2 Fordun a Goodal, book x. chap. xli. vol ii. pp. 129, 130. 3 Yhwmen, pewere Karl, or Knawe That wes of mycht an ox til hawe, He gert that man hawe part in pluche ; Swa wes corn in his land enwche ; Swa than begouth, and efter lang Of land wes mesure, ane ox-gang. Mychty men that had ma Oxyn, he gert in pluchys ga. Be that vertu all his land Of corn he gert be abowndand. — Winton, vol. h p. 400 24 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. L asked of the king certain spiritual im- munities. Unfortunately, the proposal of these rich and industrious men, for what cause we cannot tell, proved dis- pleasing to some powerful members of the state, and was dismissed ; but from an expression of the historian, we may- gather that the king himself was de- sirous to encourage them, and that favourable terms for a settlement would have been granted, had not death stept in and put an end to the negotiation. 1 The conduct pursued by this king, in his intercourse with England, was marked by a judicious union of the firmness and dignity which became an independent sovereign with the kindli- ness befitting his near connexion with Edward ; but, warned by the attempts which had been first made by the father and followed up by the son, he took care that when invited to the English court, it should be expressly acknowledged 2 that he came there as the free monarch of an independent country. To complete the character of this prince, he was temperate in his habits, his morals were pure, and in all his domestic relations kindness and affec- tion were conspicuous. 3 The, oldest Scottish song, which has yet been dis- covered, is an affectionate little monody on the death of Alexander, preserved by Winton, one of the fathers of our authentic Scottish history. 4 1 Fordun, book x. chap. xli. xlii. voL ii. pp. 129, 130. 2 Ayloffe's Calendar of Ancient Charters, p. 328. s Towards the conclusion of this reign, it is said that an awful visitant for the first time appeared in Scotland — the plague ; but we cannot depend on the fact, for it comes from Boece. — Haiies, vol. i. p. 307. 4 Quhen Alysandyr, oure kyng, wes dede, That Scotland led in luwe* and le, f Away wes sons of ale and brede, Of wyne and wax, of gamyn and gle. Oure gold wes changyd into lede. — Christ, born in-to virgynyte, Succour Scotland, and remede, That stad \ is in perplexyte. — Winton, vol. i. p. 401. * L«ove. t Le, tranquillity. I Placed, or Bituated. MARGARET, THE MAIDEN OF NORWAY. Margaret, the grand - daughter of Alexander, and grand-niece to Edward / the First, who had been recognised as , ; heir to the crown in 1284, was in Nor- l way at the time of the king's death. / A parliament, therefore, assembled at Scone on the 11th of April 1286; and a regency, consisting of six guardians j of the realm, was, by common consent, appointed. 5 The administration of the northern division of Scotland, beyond the Firth of Forth, was intrusted to Fraser, bishop of St Andrews, Duncan, earl of Fife, and Alexander, earl of Buchan. The government of the coun- try to the south of the Forth was committed to Wishart, the bishop of Glasgow, John Comyn, lord of Bade- noch, and James, the High Steward of Scotland. 6 In this parliament, a keen debate on the succession to the crown arose between the partisans of Bruce and Baliol. Nor were these the only claim- ants. Nothing but the precarious life of an infant now stood between the crown of Scotland and the pretensions of other powerful competitors, whose relationship to the royal family, as it raised their hopes, encouraged them to collect their strength, and gave a legal sanction to their ambition. Ed- ward the First of England, whose near connexion with the young Queen of Scotland and the heretrix of Norway made him her natural protector, was at this time in France. On being in- v formed of the state of confusion into • which the death of Alexander was likely to plunge a kingdom which had been for some time the object of his ambition, the project of a marriage between the young queen and his son, the Prince of Wales, was too apparent not to suggest itself. But this monarch, always as cautious of too suddenly unveiling his purposes as he was de- termined in pursuing them, did not immediately declare his wishes. He * Winton, vol. ii. p. 10. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 138. ' « Vordun a Hearne, p. 951. 1286-89.} INTERR1 contented himself with observing the j turn which matters should take in Scotland, certain that his power and influence would in the end induce the different parties to appeal to him ; and confident that the longer time which he gave to these factions to quarrel among themselves and embroil the country, the more advantageously would this interference take place. The youth of the King of Norway, father to the young Princess of Scot- land, was another favourable circum- stance for Edward. Eric was only eighteen. He naturally looked to Ed- wa?37The uncle of his late wife, for advice and support; and, fearful of trusting his infant and only daughter, scarce three years old, to the doubtful allegiance of so fierce and ambitious a nobility as that of Scotland, he deter- mined to keep her for the present under his own eye in Norway. Meanwhile a strong party was formed against her amongst the most powerful of the Scottish barons. They met (Sept. 20, 1286) at Turnberry, the castle of Robert Bruce, earl of Car- rick, son of Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale and Cleveland. Here they were joined by two powerful English barons, Thomas de Clare, brother of Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, and Rich- ard de Burgh, earl of Ulster. 1 Thomas de Clare was nephew to Bruce's wife, and both he and his brother, the Earl of Gloucester, were naturally anxious to support Bruce's title to the crown as the descendant of David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion. 2 Nor was the scheme in any respect a desperate one, for Bruce already had great influence. There assembled at Turnberry, Patrick, earl of Dunbar, with his three sons ; Wai- ter Stewart, earl of Menteith; Bruce's own son, the earl of Carrick, and Ber- nard Bruce ; James, the High Steward 1 Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 488. 2 Gough, in his Additions to Camden's Bri- tannia, vol. i. p. 265, mentions that Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, brother of Robert de Bruce's wife, having incurred the resentment of Edward the First, was dispossessed of all his lands ; but the king afterwards restored him, and gave him his daughter in marriage. The convention at Turnberry was perhaps the cause of Edward's resentment. 1GNUM. 25 of Scotland, 3 with John, his brother; Angus, son of Donald the Lord of the Isles, and Alexander, his son. These barons, whose influence could bring into the field the strength of almost the whole of the west and south of Scotland, now entered into a bond or covenant, by which it was declared that they would thenceforth adhere to and take part with one another, on all occasions, and against all persons, saving their allegiance to the King of England, and also their allegiance to him who should gain the kingdom of Scotland by right of descent from King Alexander, then lately deceased. 4 Not long after this, the number of the Scottish regents was reduced to four, by the assassination of Duncan, ear] of Fife, and the death of the Earl of Buchan ; the Steward, another of the regents, pursuing an interest at vari- ance with the title of the young queen, joined the party of Bruce, heart-burn- ings and jealousies arose between the nobility and the governors of the king- dom. These soon increased, and at length broke into an open war between the parties of Bruce and Baliol, which for two years after the death of the king continued its ravages in the country. 5 The event which the sagacity of Ed- ward had anticipated now occurred. The states of Scotland were alarmed at the continuance of civil commo- tions; and, in a foolish imitation of other foreign powers who had applied to Edward to act as a peacemaker, sent the Bishop of Brechin, the Abbot of Jedburgh, and Geoffrey de Mow- bray, as ambassadors to the King of England, requesting his advice and mediation towards composing the troubles of the kingdom. 6 At the 3 James, the High Steward, married Cecilia, daughter of Patrick, earl of Dunbar. Andrew Stewart's Hist, of the Stuarts, p. 16. * The original is alluded to by Dugdale, vol. i. p. 216. See also Rot. Compot. Temp. Custodum Regni, p. 62. s This war, hitherto unknown to our his- torians, is proved by documents of unques- tionable authority. Excerpta e Rotulo Com- potorum. Tempore Custodum Regni, pp. 56, 62. 6 Fordun a Goodal, pp. 137, 138, vol it, places this embassy in 1286. It probably o> 26 HISTORY OF same time, Eric, king of Norway, de- spatched plenipotentiaries to treat with Edward regarding the affairs of his daughter the queen, and her king- dom of Scotland. The king readily accepted both offers; and finding his presence no longer necessary in France, returned to England, to su- perintend in person those measures of intrigue and ambition which now en- tirely occupied his mind. " Now/' said he, to the most confidential of his ministers, " the time is at last arrived when Scotland and its petty kings shall be reduced under my power." 1 But although his intentions were de- clared thus openly in his private council, he proceeded cautiously and covertly in the execution of his design. At his request, the Scottish regents appointed the Bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, assisted by Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale, and John Comyn, to treat in the presence of the King of England regarding certain matters proposed by the Norwegian commis- sioners, and empowered them to ratify whatever was there agreed on, " saving always the liberty and honour of Scot- land ; " and provided that from such measures nothing should be likely to occur prejudicial to that kingdom and its subjects. 2 To this important con- ference the king, on the part of Eng- land, sent the Bishops of Worcester and Durham, with the Earls of Pem- broke and Warrene. The place appointed was Salisbury ; but previous to the meeting of the plenipotentiaries, Edward had secretly procured a dispensation from the Pope for the marriage of his son, the Prince of Wales, to the young Princess of Norway, as the youthful pair were within the forbidden degrees. 3 No hint, however, of this projected union was yet suffered to transpire ; and the commissioners met at Salisbury, where a treaty was drawn up, in which no direct allusion was made to the mar- riage, although it included provisions curred later. Eric's letter to Edward is dated April 1289. Rymer, vol. ii. p. 416. 1 Fordun a G-oodal, book xi. chap. iii. p. 139. 2 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 431. Date, Oct. 3, 1289. * Ibid, vol: ii. p. 450. SCOTLAND. [Ch^p. L which evidently bore upon this pro- jected union. It was there stipulated by the com- missioners for Norway, that the young queen should be sent into the king- dom of Scotland or England, un trammelled by any matrimonial en- gagement, before the feast or All Saints in the next year ; and that on this first condition being fulfilled, the King of England should send her into Scotland, also free from all matri- monial engagements, as soon as he was assured that this kingdom was in such a state of tranquillity as to afford her a quiet residence. This wide and convenient clause evidently gave Ed- ward the power of detaining the here- trix of the crown for an almost indefi- nite period in England ; and its being inserted in this treaty proves that although Bruce, by accepting the office of commissioner, appeared to have abandoned his son's claim to the crown, Edward was suspicious that, the interest which looked to a male successor to the crown was still pretty high in Scotland. By t&i third article, the States of Scotland undertook, be- fore receiving their queen, to find se- curity to the King of England that she should not marry without his counsel and consent, and that of the King of Norway. The Scottish com- missioners next engaged for them- selves that the quiet of the kingdom of Scotland should be established be- fore the arrival of the queen, so that she might enter her dominions with safety, and continue therein at her pleasure. With regard to the removal of guardians, or public officers in Scotland, it was determined that should any of these be suspected per- sons, or troublesome to the King of Norway or the Queen of Scotland, they should be removed, and better persons appointed in their place, by the advice of the ''good men 1 ' of Scot- land and Norway, and of persons se- lected for this purpose by the King of England; and it was stipulated that these English commissioners were ultimately to decide all disputes re garding public measures, which might occur between the ministers of Scot- 1289-90.] INTERREGNUM. 27 land and Norway, as well as all dif- ferences arising amongst the Scottish ministers themselves. It was finally agreed, that in the middle of the ensu- ing Lent there should be a meeting of the Estates of Scotland at Roxburgh ; by which time the Scottish pleni- potentiaries engaged that everything to which they had now consented should be fulfilled and ratified in the presence of the commissioners of England. 1 Of this convention three copies were made : one in Latin, which was transmitted to the King of Norway ; and two in French, retained for the use of the Scots and English. At this period, the majority of the nobility of both countries were of Norman-French extraction, and Nor- man-French was alike in England and Scotland the language in which state affairs were generally conducted. By this treaty, which gave so much power to Edward, and left so little to the Estates of Scotland, it is evident that some of the Scottish commission- ers were in the interest of the English king. Bruce, lord of Annandale, had either altered his ambitious views, or ' he trusted that a temporary conceal- ment of them, and the dissatisfaction which such a convention must occasion in Scotland, might ultimately turn to his advantage. Edward, in the mean- time, neglected nothing which could secure or increase the power which he had acquired. He addressed a letter to the Estates of Scotland, requiring them to be obedient to their regents, and informing them that he meant to send into that country some of the members of his council, from whom he might receive correct information of its condition. 2 Although a dispen- sation from the Pope was already ob- tained, no allusion to the intended marriage between Prince Edward and the young queen had been made throughout the whole treaty : Edward, with his usual calm foresight, seems privately to have directed the Scottish commissioners at Salisbury, three of whom were regents, to sound the nobility of Scotland on their return, 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. ii. pp. 446, 447. 2 Ibid. p. 445. and discover the feelings of the people regarding the projected union. Accordingly, as soon as the impor- tant project became generally known, a meeting of the Estates of Scotland assembled at Brigham, a village on the Tweed, near Roxburgh, and from thence directed a letter to Edward, which was signed by the dignified clergy, and by all the earls and barons of the realm. It stated that they were overjoyed to hear the good news which were now commonly spoken of, — " that the Apostle had granted a dispensation f ur the marriage of Mar- garet, their dear lady and their queen, with Prince Edward." It requested King Edward to send them early in- telligence regarding this important measure ; and assured him of their full and ready concurrence, provided certain reasonable conditions were agreed to, which should be specified by delegates, who would wait upon him at his parliament, to be held next Easter at London. 3 A letter 4 was at the same time de- spatched by this assembly of the States to Eric, king of Norway, which in- formed him of their consent to the marriage ; and requested him to fulfil the terms of the treaty of Salisbury, 3 Ryiner, vol. ii. p. 471. * This important letter is in Norman French, and as follows :— "A tres noble Prince, Sire Eyrik, par la grace de Deu, Roy de Norway, Guillam e Robert, par meme cele grace, de Seint Andreu e de G-lasgu Eveskes, Johan Comyn, & James Seneschal de Escoce, Gardains de Reaume de Escoce, e tote la commune de meyme cele Reaume, salut & totes honurs. " Come nus feumes certayns ke vous seez desirous del honur, & del profist de nostrc Dame, vostre fille, & de tute le Reaume de Escoce, par encheson de ly : e le Apostoylle ad grante, & fete dispensacion, solom coe ke communement est parle en diverses partys de Mound, ke le Fitz & le Heyr le Roy de Engletere pusse nostre dame, vostre fille, en femme prendre, nin ostaunt procheynette de Saunk. " Nus, par commun assent de tut le Reaume de Escoce, e pur le grant profist del un & del autre Reaume, ke le mariage se face, si issint seit, avums uniement accorde, e commune- ment assentu. "Pur la queu chose nus priums & re- querums vostre hautesse, ke il vous pleyse issint ordiner, e ceste bosoyne adrescer en- droit de vous ; ke meyme cele-voustre fill* 23 HISTORY OF by sending over the young queen, at the latest before the Feast of All Saints; and intimating to him that, if this were not done, they should be obliged to follow the best counsel which God might give them, for the good of the kingdom. The nobility of Scotland €ou Id not be more anxious than Ed- ward for the arrival of the intended bride ; but the king employed a more effectual way than entreaty, by de- spatching to Norway one of his ablest counsellors, Anthony Beck, bishop of Durham, who, under the plausible name of pensions, distributed money among the Norwegian ministers, and obtained a promise that she should immediately be sent to England. 1 So assured of this was Edward, that, on the arrival of the Scottish envoys to his parliament held in Easter, he came under an engagement to pay 3000 marks to Scotland if Margaret did not reach England, or her own country, before the Feast of All Saints. He next appointed the Bishop of Durham, and five other plenipotentiaries, to at- tend a meeting of the Scottish Estates, which was held at Brigham, (July 1290,) intrusting them with full powers to conclude that treaty, on the basis of which the marriage was to take place, and, after due conference, to concur in those securities which the Scottish Estates demanded for the preservation of the independence of their country. Dame puysse en Engletere venir a plus tous ke estre purra ; "Issint ke, a plus tart, seit en mem e la terre avaunt la tut Seynt procheyn avenir, si com, de sa venue, est acorde, devaunt le vaunt dyt Roys de Engletere, entre nous & voz messages, ke iloekes vyndruntde par vus. ' ' Et taunt en facet, Sire, si vous plest, ke nous vous saums le plus tenu a tou Jurs ; ke, si il avenoyt ke vous ceste chose ne feisset, il nus covendroit. en ceste chose, prendre le meillour conseyl ke Deus nus dorra pur le estat du Reaume, & la bone gent de la terre. ••En temonage de les avauntdite choses nus, G-ardeyns du Reaume, & la commune avantdyt, en nom de nus le Seal commun, que nus usom en Escoce, en nom de nostre Dame avaundyt, avum fet mettre a ceste lettre. " Dene a Brigham, le Vendredy procheyn a pres la Feste Seynt Gregorie, le An de nostre Seygnur 1289." Rymer, vol. ii. p. 472. See Illustrations, Letter E. 1 Rymer vol. ii. p. 479. ' SCOTLAND. [Chap. 1. The principal articles of this treaty of Brigham are of much importance, as illustrating the justice and the in- veteracy of that long war, which after- wards desolated the kingdoms. It was agreed by the English plenipotentiaries that the rights, laws, liberties, and customs of Scotland were to be invio- lably observed in all time coming, throughout the whole kingdom and its marches, saving always the rights which the King of England, or any other person, has possessed, before the date of this treaty, in the marches or elsewhere ; or which may accrue to him in all time coming. It was stipu- lated also that, failing Margaret and Edward, or either of them, without issue, the kingdom should belong to the nearest heirs, to whom it ought oi right to return, wholly, freely, abso- lutely, and without any subjection; so that nothing shall either be added to, or taken from, the rights of the King of England, of his heirs, or of any other person whatever. The queen, if she should survive her hus« band, was to be given up to the Scot- tish nation, free from all matrimonial engagement ; and, on the marriage, to • be secured in a jointure befitting her rank. The kingdom of Scotland was for ever to remain separate and un- divided from England, free in itself, and without subjection, according to its ancient boundaries and marches. With regard to the ecclesiastical privi- leges of the country, it was provided that the chapters of churches, which possessed the right of free election, were not to be compelled to travel forth of Scotland for leave to elect, or for the presentation of the bishop or dignitary, or for the performance of fealty to the sovereign. No crown- vassal, widow, orphan, or ward of the crown was to be under the necessity of performing- their homage or relief out of the kingdom; but a person was to be appointed in Scotland to receive the same, by the authority of tha queen and her husband. From this clause was reserved the homage which ought to be performed in the presence ! of the king, and fealty having been i once sworn, sasine or legal possession 1290.] of the land, wa3 immediately to be given by a brief from Chancery. It was anxiously and wisely pro- vided, that no native of Scotland was, in any case whatever, to be compelled to answer out of the kingdom regard- ing any civil covenant or criminal de- linquency which had taken place in Scotland, as such compulsion was con- trary to the ancient laws and usages of the realm ; and that no parliament was to be held without the boundaries of the kingdom, as to any matters affecting the condition of its subjects. Until the arrival of the queen, the great seal of Scotland was to be used in all matters relating to God, the Church, and the nation, as it had been used during the life and after the death of the late king; and on the queen's arrival in her dominions, a new seal, with the ancient arms of Scotland alone, and the single name of the queen engraven thereon, was to be made and kept by the chancellor ; it being also provided, that the chancel- lors, justiciars, chamberlains, clerks of the rolls, and other officers of the realm, were to be natives of Scotland, and resident there. All charters, grants, relics, and other muniments, touching the royal dignity of the kingdom of Scotland, were to be deposited in a safe place within that kingdom, and to be kept in sure custody under the seals of the no- bility, and subject to their inspection until the queen should arrive, and have living issue; and before this event took place, no alienation, encum- brance, or obligation, was to be created in any matters touching the royal dig- nity of the kingdom of Scotland ; and no tallage, aids, levies of men, or extra- ordinary exactions to - be demanded from Scotland, or imposed upon its inhabitants, except for the common affairs of the realm,- or in the cases where the kings of Scotland have been wont to demand the same. It was proposed by the Scots that the castles and fortresses should not be fortified anew upon the marches; but the Eng- lish commissioners, pleading the de- fect of their instructions, cautiously waved the discussion of this point. INTERREGNUM. 29 To all the art idea in the treaty, the guardians and community of Scotland gave their full consent, under the con- dition that they should be ratified within a certain time. 1 If not so con- firmed, they were to be esteemed void ; but Edward was too well satisfied with the terms of the negotiation to postpone this condition, and accord- ingly, without delay, pronounced the oath which was required. His next was one of those bold and unwarrant- able steps which frequently marked the conduct of this ambitious and able monarch. He pretended that, without the presence of an English governor, he could not fulfil the terms of his oath to maintain the laws of Scotland ; and although no such authority was given him by the treaty, he appointed Anthony Beck, bishop of Durham, to the office of Governor of Scotland, in the name of Margaret the queen, and his son Edward, and for the purpose of acting in concert with the regents, prelates, and nobles, in the adminis- tration of that kingdom, according to its ancient laws and usages. 2 Edward had already gained to his interest two of the Scottish regents. By this mea- sure he trusted that he could overrule their deliberations ; and, grown con- fident in his power, he intimated to the Estates, " that certain rumours of danger and perils to the kingdom of Scotland having reached his ears, he judged it right that all castles and places of strength in that kingdom should be delivered up to him." 3 This demand effectually roused the Scots; and Sir William Sinclair, Sir Patrick Graham, and Sir John Soulis, 4 with the other captains of the Scottish castles, peremptorily refused, in the name of the community of Scotland, to deliver its fortresses to any one but their queen and her intended husband, for whose behoof they were ready to bind themselves by oath to keep and defend them. With this firm reply Edward was obliged to be satisfied; 1 Before the Feast of the Virgin's Nativity. 2 Rymer, vol. ii. pp. 487, 488. 3 Ibid. p. 488. * These three knights had been high in the confidence of Alexander the Third- Fordun a Hearne, p. 785. 30 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. TChap. I. and, sensible that he had overrated his influence, he patiently awaited the arrival of the young queen. It was now certain that she had sailed ; the guardians of the realm, accompanied by commissioners from England, were preparing to receive her ; and all eyes, in both countries, were turned towards the sea, anxious to welcome the child on whom so many fair hopes depended, when ac- tounts were brought that she had been ►•seized with a mortal disease on her passage, and had died at Orkney. She was only in her eighth year. This fatal event, which may justly be called a great national calamity, happened in September 1290, and its first announce- ment struck sorrow and despair into ihe heart of the kingdom. In 1284, the crown had been solemnly settled on the descendants of Alexander the Third ; but the parliament and the na- tion, confident in the vigorous man- \ood of the king, and the health of nis progeny, had looked no further. All was now overcast. The descend- ants of Alexander were extinct ; and Bruce and Baliol, with other noble earls or barons who claimed kindred with the blood-royal, began, some secretly, some more boldly, to form their schemes of ambition, and gather strength to assert them. Previous to the report of the queen's death, a convention of the Scottish Estates had been held at Perth to re- ceive Edward's answer to the refusal of delivering their castles. To this meeting of the Estates Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale, refused to come ; and a great part of the nobility made no concealment of their disgust at the arrogant and unprecedented demands of the English king. 1 When the sad news was no longer doubtful, the miseries attendant on a contested throne soon. began to shew themselves. Bruce assembled a large force, and suddenly came to Perth. Many of the nobility declared themselves of his party, and the Earls of Mar and Athole joined him with all their followers. If the nation and its governors had been true to themselves, all might yet have i Rymer, Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 1090. i gone well ; but the money and power j of England had introduced other coun- I cils. One of the guardians, William ; Fraser, bishop of St Andrews, who had ; embraced the interests of Baliol, ad- dressed a letter to Edward upon the first rumour of the queen's death, in- forming him of the troubled state of the country, and the necessity of his interposition to prevent the nation from being involved in blood. " Should John de Baliol," says he, "present himself before you, my counsel is, that you confer with him, so that, at all events, your honour and interest may be preserved. Should the queen be dead, which heaven forefend, I entreat that your highness may approach our borders, to give consolation to the people of Scotland, to prevent the effusion of blood, and to enable the faithful men of the realm to preserve their oath inviolable, by choosing him for then- king who by right ought to be so." 2 Edward's mind was not slow to take full advantage of this unwise applica- tion; 3 and the death of the young queen, the divisions amongst the Scot- tish nobility, and the divided state of the national mind as to the succes- sion, presented a union of circum- stances too favourable for his ambition to resist. The treaty of Brigham, al- though apparently well calculated to secure the independence of Scotland, contained a clause which was evidently intended to leave room for the pre- tended claim of the feudal superiority of England over this country; and even before the death of the Maid of Norway, Edward, in writs which he took care should be addressed only to persons in his own interest, had as- sumed the title of lord superior of the kingdom of Scotland. 4 Fully aware of the favourable conjuncture in which he was placed, and with that union of sagacity, boldness, and unscrupulous ambition which characterised his mind, 2 Rymer, Foedera, vol. ii. p. 1090. 3 I have here availed myself of the criti- cisms of an acute writer in the Edinburgh Review, to modify my former censure of thij prelate. — " Edinburgh Review," No. 133. Pal- grave's "Illustrations of Scottish History." * Prynne, Ed. I. pp. 430-450. 2290-1.] INTEF he at once formed his plan, and de- termined, in his pretended character of lord superior, to claim the office of supreme judge in deciding the com- petition for the crown. His interfer- ence, indeed, had already been solicited by the Bishop of St Andrews; there is reason also to suspect, from some mutilated and undated documents re- cently discovered, that Bruce and his adherents had not only claimed his protection at this moment, but secretly offered to acknowledge his right of superiority ; 1 but there is no authority for believing that any national proposal Spas, at this time, made by the Scottish Parliament, requesting his decision as arbiter, in a question upon which they only were entitled to pronounce judg- ment. The motives of Edward's con- duct, and the true history of his in- terference, are broadly and honestly stated, in these words of an old Eng- lish historian : — " The King of England, having assembled his privy council and chief nobility, told them that he had it in his mind to bring under his do- minion the king and the realm of Scotland, in the same manner that he had subdued the kingdom of Wales." 2 For this purpose, he deemed it neces- sary to collect his army, and issued writs to his barons and military tenants, commanding them to meet at Xorharn on the 3d June 1291. 3 The sheriffs of the counties of York, Lancaster, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Northumberland, were also directed to summon all within their jurisdiction i 1 say "suspect," because I cannot agree with the discoverer of these muniments, Sir Francis Palgrave, or with his reviewer, that the appeal of Bruce and the Earl of Mar to Edward amounts to an absolute acknowledg- ment of his right as lord superior. As to Sir Francis Palgrave's fanciful theory, that there existed in the ancient kingdom of Scotland a constitutional body called "The Seven Earls," possessing high privileges as a distinct estate, it is certainly singular that, if such a body aid exist, there should not be found the slightest traces of its acts, or its appearance, from the dawn to the close of Scottish his- tory.— See on this point the critique on Pal- grave's " Illustrations of Scottish History," in the Edinburgh Review, No. 133. - Annales Waverleenses, p. 242. Script. Brit, a Gale, vol. ii. 3 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 525. EEGNUM. 31 who owed the king service, to repair to the rendezvous with their full powers ; and, in the meantime, Edward requested the clergy and nobility of Scotland to hold a conference with him at Norham on the 10th of May, to which they consented. The English king opened the de- liberations in a speech delivered by his Justiciary, Roger Brabazon, in which, after an introductory eulogium upon the godlike and regal attribute of justice, and the blessings attendant on the preservation of tranquillity, he observed, that the sight of the great disturbances, which on the death of Alexander the Third had arisen in the kingdom of Scotland, was highly dis- pleasing to him ; on this account, and for the purpose of satisfying those who had claims upon the crown, and for the confirmation of peace in the land, he had requested its nobility to meet him, and had himself travelled from remote parts, that he might do justice to all, in his character of Lord Para- mount, and without encroaching upon the rights of any man. "Wherefore," concluded the Justiciary, "our lord the king, for the due accomplishment of this design, doth require your hearty recognition of his title of Lord Para mount of the kingdom of Scotland." 4 This unexpected demand struck dis- may and embarrassment into the hearts of the Scottish assembly. They de- clared their entire ignorance that such a right of superiority belonged to the King of England ; and added, that at the present conjuncture, when the country was without its king, in whose presence such a challenge ought to be made, they could give no answer. 5 " By holy Edward ! " cried the King of England, "whose crown I wear, I will either have my rights recognised, or die in the vindication of them ! " " And to make this speech good," says Hemingford, i( he had issued writs for the convocation of his army ; so that, in case of his demand being resisted, he might conquer all opposition, were it to the death." 6 * Hemingford, vol. i. p. 3a 5 Walsingham, p. 56. 6 Hemingford, p. 33. 32 HISTORY OF The representatives of the Estates of Scotland, who were well aware of this, now found themselves placed in trying circumstances, and requested time to consult and deliberate with their absent members. Edward at first would give them only one day; but on their insisting that a longer,, interval was absolutely necessary, the) king granted them three weeks to pre*' pare all that they could allege against-' his pretensions. This delay the king ( < well knew would be productive of some j good consequences towards his great scheme, and, at any rate, could not possibly injure his ambitious views. Before these three weeks elapsed, his army would meet him at Norham. He had already insured the services of Fraser the regent ; 1 and the money and promises which he judiciously distributed had induced no less than ten competitors to come forward and claim the Scottish crown. In this way, by the brilliant prize which he held out to the most powerful of the nobility of Scotland, he placed their private ambition and their public virtue in fatal opposition to each other. All hoped that if they resigned to Edward this right of superiority, they might receive a kingdom in return ; and all felt that to rise up as the defenders of the independency of a country which was then torn by mutual dis- trust and civil disorder, which was without a king, without an army, and with the most powerful of its nobility leagued against it, would be a desperate undertaking against so able a general, so profound a politician, and so im- placable an enemy, as Edward. I do not say this to palliate the disgraceful scene which followed, nor to insinuate that any circumstances can occur which entitle the subject of a free country to sacrifice its independence, but to prove that the transaction, which was truly a deep stain upon our history, was the act not of the Scottish nation, or of the assembled states of the nation, but of a corrupted part of the Scottish nobility. i On August 13, 1291, Edward made a pil- grimage from Berwick to St Andrews, proba- bly to consult with the bishop. SCOTLAND. [Chap. I. To return to the story. On the 2d of June, eight of the competitors for the crown assembled, along with many of the prelates, nobles, and barons of Scotland, on a green plain called Holywell Haugh, opposite to Norham Castle. These competitors were, — Robert Bruce, Florence, earl of Hol- land, John Hastings, Patrick Dunbar, earl of March, William de Ross, William de Vescy, Walter Hunter- combe, Robert de Pynkeny, and Ni- cholas de Soulis. The Bishop of Bath and Wells, then Chancellor of Eng- land, spoke for the king. He told them that his master naving on a former occasion granted them three weeks to prepare their objections to his claim of superiority, and they hav- ing brought forward no answer to in- validate his right, it was the intention of the King of England, in virtue of this acknowledged right, to examine and determine the dispute regarding the succession. The chancellor then turned to Robert Bruce, and demanded whether he waa content to acknow- ledge Edward as Lord Paramount of Scotland, and willing to receive judg- ment from him in that character; upon which this baron expressly an- swered that he recognised him as such, and would abide by his decision. The same question was then put to the other competitors, all of whom re- turned the same answer. Sir Thomas Randolph then stood up, and declared that John Baliol, lord of Galloway, had mistaken the day, but would appear on the morrow ; which he did, and then solemnly acknowledged the superiority of the English king. At this fourth assembly, the chancellor protested, in the name of the king, that although, with the view of giving judgment to the competitors, he now asserted his right of superiority, yet he had no in- tention of excluding his hereditary right of property in the kingdom of Scotland, but reserved to himself the power of prosecuting such right at whatever time, and in whatever way, he judged expedient. 2 The king in person next addressed the assembly. He spoke in Norman* 2 Eymer, Foedera, vol. ii. p. 55! 1291.] French ; recapitulated the ings; and, with many professions of affection for the people of Scotland, declared his intention not only to pro- nounce a speedy decision in the con- troversy, but to maintain the laws and re-establish the tranquillity of the country. John Comyn, lord of Bade- noch, called the Black Comyn, who had married a sister of Baliol, now came forward as a competitor for the crown, and acknowledged the superi- ority of Edward ; after which, the claimants affixed their signatures to two important instruments. The first declared, that, " Forasmuch as the King of England has evidently shewn to us that the sovereign seignory of Scotland, and the right of hearing, trying, and terminating our respective claims, belongs to him, we agree to receive judgment from him, as our Lord Paramount. We are willing to abide by his decision, and consent that he shall possess the kingdom to whom he awards it." 1 By the second deed, possession of the whole land and castles of Scotland was delivered into the hands of Edward, under the pre- tence that the subject in dispute ought always to be placed in the hands of the judge; but on condition that Edward should find security to make a full restitution within two months after the date of his award, and that the revenues of the kingdom should be preserved for the future sovereign. It was next determined, after grave consultation with the prelates and earls, that, in order to prepare the point in dispute for an ultimate de- cision, Baliol and Comyn for them- selves, and the competitors who ap- proved of their list, should choose forty " discreet and faithful men " as commissioners; that Bruce, for him- self, and the competitors who abided by his nomination, should choose other forty; and that Edward the king should select twenty-four commission- ers, or, as he thought fit, a greater or lesser number. These commissioners were to meet in a body, to con- sider the claims of the competitors, * Hemingford, vol. I. p. 34 Bymer, FocKleia, TOl. ii. p. 529. VOL. 1. INTERREGNUM. proceed- and to make king. their report to 33 the On the 11th of June, the four regents of Scotland delivered the kingdom into the hands of Edward; and the captains and governors of its castles, finding that the guardians of the realm, and the most powerful of its nobility, had abandoned it to its fate, gave up its fortresses to his disposal. And here, in the midst of this scene of national humiliation, one Scottish baron stood forward, and behaved worthy of his country. The Earl of Angus, Gilbert de Umfraville, who commanded the important castles of Dundee and Forfar, declared that, having received these, not from Eng- land, but from the Estates of Scot- land, he would not surrender them to Edward. A formal letter of indem- nity was then drawn up, which guar- anteed the Earl of Angus from all blame ; and, in name of the claimants of the crown, and of the guardians of the realm, enjoined him to deliver the fortresses of which he held the keys. This removed the objection of Umfra- ville, and Dundee and Forfar were placed in the hands of Edward. The King of England, satisfied with this express acknowledgment of his rights as Lord Paramount, immediately re- delivered the custody of the kingdom into the hands of the regents, enjoin- ing them to appoint Alan, bishop of Caithness, an Englishman, and one of his dependants, to the important office of chancellor ; and to nominate Walter Agmondesham, another agent of Eng- land, as his assistant. To the four guardians, or regents, Edward next added a fifth, Bryan Fitz-Alan, an English baron; and having thus se- cured an effectual influence over the Scottish councils, he proceeded to assume a generous and conciliating tone. He promised to do justice to the competitors within the kingdom of Scotland, 2 and to deliver immediate possession of the kingdom to the suc- cessful claimant; upon the death of any king of Scotland who left an heir, he engaged to wave his claim to those feudal services, which, upon such an * Rymer, voL ii. p. 532. C 34 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. occasion, were rigidly exacted by lords superior in smaller fiefs, with the ex- ception of the homage due to him as Lord Paramount; but he stipulated that, in the event of a disputed suc- cession occurring, the kingdom and its castles were to be again delivered into his hands. 1 The first act of this extraordinary drama now drew to a conclusion. The great seal, which had been brought from Scotland for the occasion, was delivered to the joint chancellors, the Bishop of Caithness and Walter Ag- mondesham. The four guardians, in the presence of a large concourse of English and Scottish nobility, swore fealty to Edward as lord superior; while Bruce, lord of Annandale, with his son, the earl of Carrick, John de Baliol, the Earls of March, Mar, Buchan, Athole, Angus, Lennox, and Menteith, the Black Comyn, lord of Badenoch, and many other barons and knights, followed them in taking the oaths of homage. A herald then pro- claimed the peace of King Edward as Lord Paramount; and the monarch added a protestation, that his consent to do justice in this great cause within Scotland should not preclude him from his right of deciding in any similar emergency within his kingdom of Eng- land. The assembly then broke up, after an agreement that its next meet- ing should be at Berwick on the 2d of August, on which day the King of England promised to deliver his final judgment upon the succession to the crown of Scotland. 2 It was now only the 13th of July, and Edward determined to employ the interval till the 2d of August in a progress through Scotland, for the purpose of receiving the homage of its inhabitants, and examining in person the disposition of the people, and the strength of the country. He pro- ceeded, by Edinburgh and Stirling, as far as Perth, visiting Dunfermline, St Andrews, Kinghorn, and Linlithgow ; and at these places peremptorily called upon persons of all ranks — earls, barons, and burgesses — to sign the rolls of 1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 601. 2 Ibid. vol. ii p. 558. [Chap. ) homage, as vassals of the king of Eng land. 3 In the more remote districts, which he could not visit, officers were appointed to receive the oaths, and enforce them by imprisonment upon the refractory; 4 and having thus ex- amined and felt the temper of the country, which he had determined tc reduce under his dominion, he re* turned to Berwick ; where, in the pre* sence of the competitors, with the prelates, earls, and barons of both countries, assembled in the chapel of the castle, he, on the 3d of August, opened the proceedings. First of all, he commanded the hundred and four commissioners, or delegates, to assemble in the church of the Dominicans, adjoining to the castle, and there receive the claims to the crown. Upon this, twelve competitors came forward. These were : — I. Florence, count of Holland, de- scended from Ada, the sister of King William the Lion. II. Patrick Dunbar, earl of March, descended from Ilda, or Ada, daughter of William the Lion. III. William de Vescy, who claimed as grandson of Marjory, daughter of William the Lion. 5 V IV. William de Ross, descended from Isabella, daughter of William the Lion. V. Robert de Pynkeny, descended from Marjory, daughter of Henry, prince of Scotland, and sister of Wil- liam the Lion. VI. Nicholas de Soulis, descended from Marjory, a daughter of Alex- ander the Second, and wife of Alan Durward. VII. Patrick Galythly, claimed aa the son of Henry Galythly, who, he contended, was the lawful son of Wil- liam the Lion. VIII. Roger de Mandeville, de- scended from Aufrica, whom he affirmed to be a daughter of William the Lion. IX. John Comyn, lord of Badenoch, s Prynne, Edw. I. p. 509-512. * Rymer, vol. ii. p. 573. 5 The Chronicle of Melrose, num 1193. calls her Margaret. 1292.] who claimed as a descendant of Donald, formerly King of Scotland. X. John de Hastings, who was the son of Ada, the third daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, brother to King William the Lion. XL Kobert de Bruce, who was the son of Isabel, second daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon ; and lastly, XII. John de Baliol, who claimed the crown as the grandson of Mar- garet, the eldest daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon. 1 The petitions of these various claim- ants having been read, Edward recom- mended the commissioners to consider them with attention, and to give in their report at his next parliament, to be held at Berwick on the 2d of June, in the following year. This was an artful delay. Its apparent purpose was to give the commissioners an in- terval of nine or ten months to insti- tute their inquiries ; yet it served the more important object of accustoming the nobility and people of Scotland to look to Edward as their Lord Para- mount. When the parliament as- sembled at Berwick on the appointed day, and when Eric, king of Norway, appeared by his ambassadors, and in- sisted on his right to the crown of Scotland as the heir of his daughter Margaret, his petition and the claims of the first nine competitors were easily disposed of. They were liable to insuperable objections : some on ac- count of the notorious illegitimacy of the branches from which they sprung, which was the case with the Earl of March, along with the barons William de Ross and De Vescy; others were rejected because they affirmed that they were descendants of a sister of the Earl of Huntingdon, when the direct representatives of a brother of the same prince were in the field. Indeed, before the final judgment was pronounced, these frivolous com- petitors voluntarily retired. They had been set up by Edward, with the design of removing the powerful op- position which might have arisen to his schemes, had they declared them- sel ves against him ; and to excuse his i Rymer, Fcedera, vol. ii. pp. 578, 579. INTERREGNUM. 35 delay in giving judgment, by throwing an air of intricacy over the case. This object being gained, the king commanded the commissioners to con- sider, in the first place, the claims of Bruce and Baliol; thus quietly over- looking the other competitors, whose rights were reserved, never to.be again brought forward; and virtually de- ciding that the crown must be given to a descendant of David, earl of Hun- tingdon. The scene which followed was nothing more than a premedi- tated piece of acting, planned by Ed- ward, and not ill performed by the Scottish commissioners, who were completely under his influence. The king first required them to make oath that they would faithfully advise him by what laws and usages the question should be determined : they answered, that they differed in opinion as to the laws and usages of Scotland, and its application to the question before them ; and therefore required the as- sistance of the English commissioners, as if from them was to proceed more certain or accurate advice upon the law of Scotland. A conference with the commissioners of the two nations having taken place, it was found that the differences in opinion were not re- moved. The English commissioners modestly refused to decide until they were enlightened by the advice of an English parliament; and the king, approving of their scruples, declared his resolution to consult the learned in foreign parts; and recommended all persons of both kingdoms to re- volve the case in their minds, and consider what ought to be done. He then appointed a parliament to as- semble at Berwick on the 15th of October; at which meeting of the Estates he intimated he would pro- nounce his final decision. On the meeting of this parliament at the time appointed, Edward re- quired the commissioners to give an answer to these two questions : — 1st, By what laws and customs they ought to regulate their judgment ? or, in the event of there being either no laws for the determination of such a point, or if the laws of England and Scotland 86 HISTORY OF happened to be at variance, what was to be done ? And, 2d, Was the king- dom of Scotland to be regarded as a common fief, and the succession to the crown to be regulated by the same principles which were applicable to earldoms and baronies? The com- missioners replied, that the laws and visages of the two kingdoms must rule the question ; but if none existed to regulate the case, the king must make a new law for a new emergency ; and that the succession to the Scottish crown must be decided in the same manner as the succession to earldoms, baronies, and other indivisible inherit- ances. The king then addressed him- self to Bruce and Baliol, and required them to allege any further arguments in explanation of their right; upon wmich they entered at great length into- their respective pleadings upon the question. Bruce insisted that, being the son of Isabella, second daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, he was next heir to the crown; that Alexander the Second had so declared to persons yet alive, when the king despaired of hav- ing heirs of his own body ; and that an oath had been taken by the people of Scotland to maintain the succession of the nearest in blood to Alexander the Third, failing the Maid of Norway and her issue. He maintained that a succession to a kingdom ought to be decided by the law of nature, rather than by the principles which regulated the succession of vassals and subjects; by which law he, as nearest to. the royal blood, ought to be preferred; and that the custom of succession to the Scottish crown — by which the brother, as nearest in degree, excluded the son of the deceased monarch — supported his title. He contended that a woman, being naturally incap- able of government, ought not to reign ; and, therefore, as Devorguilla, the mother of Baliol, was alive at the death of Alexander the Third, and could not reign, the kingdom devolved upon him, as the nearest male of the blood-royal. To all this Baliol replied, that as Alexander the Second had left heirs SCOTLAND. [Chap. I. of his body, no conclusion could be drawn from his declaration ; that the claimants were in the court of the Lord Paramount, of whose ancestors, from time immemorial, the realm of Scotland was held by homage; and that the King of England must give judgment in this case as in the case of other tenements held of the crown, looking to the law and established usages of his kingdom; that, upon these principles, the eldest female heir is preferred in the succession to all inheritance, indivisible as well as divi- sible, so that the issue of a younger sister, although nearer in degree, did not exclude the issue of the elder, though in a degree more remote, the succession continuing in the direct line. He maintained that the argu- ment of Bruce, as to the ancient laws of succession in the kingdom of Scot- land, truly militated against himself ; for the son was nearer in degree than the brother, yet the brother was pre- ferred. He observed, that Bruce's argument, that a woman ought not to reign, was inconsistent with his own claim; for if Isabella, the mother of Bruce, had no right to reign, she could transmit to him no^laim to the crown ; and besides all this, he had, by his own deliberate act, confuted the argument which he now main- tained, having been one of those nobles who swore allegiance to Mar- garet, the Maiden of Norway. The competitors, Bruce and Baliol, having thus advanced their claims, King Edward required of his great council a final answer to the following question, exhorting bishops, prelates, earls, barons, and commissioners, to advise well upon the point : — " By the laws and customs of both kingdoms ought the issue of an elder sister, but more remote by one degree, to ex- clude the issue of the younger sister, although one degree nearer?" To this the whole council unanimously answered, that the issue of the elder sister must be preferred ; upon which Edward, after affectedly entreating his council to reconsider the whole cause, adjourned the assembly for three weeks, and appointed it to meet 1292.J INTERREGNUM. again on Thursday the 6th of No- vember. On this day, in a full meeting of all the competitors, the commissioners, and the assembled nobility of both countries, the king declared that, after weighing Bruce's petition, with its circumstances, and deeply consid- ering the arguments on both sides, it was his final judgment that the pre- tensions of that noble person to the Scottish crown must be set aside, and that he could take nothing in the com- petition with Baliol. The great drama, however, was not yet concluded ; for the king having ordered the claims of Baliol, and the other competitors, which were only postponed, to be fur- ther heard, Bruce declared that he meant to prosecute his right, and to present a claim for the whole or a part of the kingdom of Scotland, under a different form from what he had already followed. Upon this, John de Hastings, the descendant of the third daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, stood up, and affirmed that the kingdom of Scotland was partible, and ought, according to the established laws of England as to partible fiefs, to be divided equally amongst the descendants of the three daughters. This plea was founded upon an opinion of one of the French lawyers, whom Edward had consulted ; and Hastings had no sooner concluded than Bruce again presented himself, and, adopting the argument of Hast- ings, claimed a third part of Scotland, reserving always to Baliol, as de- scended from the eldest sister, the name of king, and the royal dignity. Edward then put the question to his council, " Is the kingdom of Scotland divisible ; or, if not, are its escheats or its revenues divisible ? " The coun- cil answered, " That neither could be divided." Upon which the king, after having taken a few days more to re- examine diligently, with the assist- ance of his council, the whole of the petitions, appointed the last meeting for the hearing of the cause to be held in the castle of Berwick, on the 17th of Nove^mrber: — > On that great and important day, 37 the council and parliament of Eng- land, with -the nobility of both coun- tries, being met, the various competi- tors were summoned to attend ; upon which Eric, king of Norway, Florence, earl of Holland, and William de Vescy, withdrew their claims. After this, • Patrick, earl of March, William de Ross, Robert de Pynkeny, Nicholas de Soulis, and Patrick Galythly, came forward in person, and followed the same course. John Comyn and Roger de Mandeville, who did not appear, were presumed to have abandoned their right ; and the ground being thus cleared for Edward's final judg- ment, he solemnly decreed : That the kingdom of Scotland being indivisible, and the King of England being bound to judge of the rights of his subjects according to the laws and usages of the people over whom he reigns, by which laws the more remote in degree of the first line of descent is preferable \ to the nearer in degree of the second ; J therefore, John Baliol ought to have seisin of the kingdom of Scotland, with reservation always of the right of the King of England and of his heirs, when they shall think proper to as- sert it. After having delivered judg- ment, Edward exhorted Baliol to be careful in the government of his people, lest by giving to any one a just cause of complaint he should call down upon himself an interference of his Lord Paramount. He commanded the five regents to give him seisin of his kingdom, and directed orders to the governors of the castles throughout Scotland to deliver them into the hands of Baliol. 1 A humiliating cere- mony now took place. The great seal i Rymer, Feed era, vol. ii. p. '590. Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 11. The forts of Scotland, with their English governors, were these : — Forts. Governors. Stryvelin Norman de Arcy. JohndeGildeford. iTn^n} - William deBraytoft. Invernairn \ Crumbarthyn V Thomas de Braytoft. i.e. Cromarty J Forres and Elgin Henry de Rye. Banff and ) ( Robert de Grey. Aboyne j \ Richard de Swethop. 38 of Scotland, which had been used by the regents since the death of Alex- ander the Third, was, in the presence of Edward, Baliol, Bruce, and a con- course of the nobility of both king- doms, broken into four parts, and the pieces deposited in the treasury of the King of England, to be preserved as an evidence of the pretended sove- reignty and dominion of that kingdom over Scotland. 1 Next day Baliol, in the castle of JSTorham, swore fealty to Edward, who gave a commission to HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. John de St John to perform the cere- mony of his coronation, by placing the new monarch upon the ancient stone seat of Scone. This ought to have been done by Duncan, earl of Fife, but ha was then a minor. Baliol was accord- ingly crowned upon St Andrew's day, and soon after passed into England,, where he concluded the last act of this degrading history, by paying his homage to Edward at Newcastle- upon-Tyne, on the day after Christ- CHAPTER II. JOHN BALIOL, 1292—1305. Edward's scheme for the subjugation of Scotland was not yet completed; but all had hitherto succeeded to his wishes. He had procured the acknow- ledgment of a claim of superiority over that kingdom, which, if Baliol should refuse to become the creature of his ambition, gave him a specious title to compel obedience as Lord Paramount. By holding out the prospect of a crown to the various competitors, and by many rich grants of estates and sal- aries to the prelates and the nobility, he had succeeded in securing them to his interest ; 3 and if any feelings of Forts. Governors. Forfar ) Dundee £ Brian Fitz _ A i ail . (xedewarth C Rokesburgh } Cluny Hugh de Erth. Are and Dumbrettan Nicholas de Segrave. Dumfries "\ Wigton and v Richard Seward. Kirkcudbright j Edinburgh Ralph feasset. Berwick Peter Burder. 1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 591. 2 Fordun a Hearne, p. 967. s This appears from the Rotuli Scotiaj, vol. i p. 24, et passim. He gave the Bishop of indignation, any spirit of ancient free- dom and resistance, remained, the ap- parent hopelessness of fighting for a country which seemed to have deserted itself, and against a prince of so great a military genius as Edward, effectually stifled it for the present. Baliol had scarce taken possession of his kingdom when an event occurred Glasgow an obligation to bestow on him lands to the annual value of £100. To James the Steward, lands of the same annual value. Annual value. To Patrick, earl of Dunbar, Lands of £100 To John de Soulis, Lands of 100 mks. To William Sinclair, Lands of 100 mks. To Patrick de Graham, Lands of 100 mks. To William de Soulis, Lands of £100 All these persons were to have lands of the subjoined value, " Si contingat Regnum Regi et heredibus suis remanere." Edward after- wards changed his plan, and gave these barons and prelates gratifications in money, or other value. But to John Comyn, the King of Eng- land gave the large sum of £1563, 14s. 6£d. — Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 17, 6th January 1292. He took care, however, to reimburse himself by keeping the wards, marriages, and o'her items of the revenue, which had fallen to the Scottish crown during the interregnum, as may be seen from many places in the Rotuli Scotiae. 1292-93.] JOHN* which recalled him to a sense of his miserable subjection, and brought out the character of Edward in all its severity. It had been a special pro- vision of the treaty of Brigham/ that no Scottish subject was to be com- pelled to answer in any criminal or civil suit, without the bounds of the king- dom ; but, in the face of this, Roger Bartholomew, a citizen of Berwick, 9ntered an appeal to the King of Eng- land, from a judgment of those regents whom he had appointed in Scotland during the interregnum. Baliol was not Blow to remind Edward of his solemn promise to observe the laws and usages of Scotland; and he earnestly protested against withdrawing any pleas from that kingdom to the courts of Eng- land. 1 To this Edward replied, that he had in every article religiously observed his promise ; but that when complaints were brought against his own ministers, who held their com- missions from him as Sovereign Lord of Scotland, it was he alone who could have cognisance of them, nor had his subjects therein any right to interpose. He then, with that air of apparent im- partiality which, he often threw over his aggressions, required the opinion of some of the ablest Scottish prelates and judges, with regard to the law and custom of their kingdom in one of the cases brought before him; and com- manded his council to decide accord- ing to the judgment which they de- livered. 2 Irritated, however, by being reminded of the treaty of Brigham, he openly declared, by his justiciary Brabazon, that although, during the vacancy of the kingdom of Scotland, he had been induced to make promises which suited the time, now when the nation was ruled by a king, he did not intend to be bound by them, to the effect of excluding complaints brought before him from that kingdom, or of preventing him from dispensing jus- tice and exercising the rights of his sovereign dominion, according to his power and pleasure. To give the greater weight to this imperious an- nouncement, the King of England 1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 596 * Ryley's Placita, p. 145. BA.LIOL. 39 summoned Baliol and his principal prelates and nobles into his privy chamber at Newcastle, and there made Brabazon repeat his resolutions upon the matter in question ; after which, Edward himself rose up, and, in the French language, spoke to the same tenor. " These are my firm determi- nations," said he, " with regard to all complaints or appeals brought before me from Scotland; nor will I be / bound by any former promises or con- cessions made to the contrary. I am little careful by what deeds or instru- ments they may be ratified; I shall exercise that superiority and direct dominion which I hold over the king- dom of Scotland, when and where I please; nor will I hesitate, if necessary, to summon the King of Scotland him- self into my presence within the king- dom of England." 3 Baliol's spirit sunk under this de- claration; and he, and the Scottish nobility then in his train, pusillani- mously consented to buy their peace with Edward by a renunciation of al] stipulations regarding the laws and liberties of Scotland which had been made in the treaty of Brigham, and which, so long as they continued in force, convicted the King of England of a flagrant disregard of his oath, formerly so solemnly pledged. On this being agreed to, Edward ordered the public records and ancient histori- cal muniments of the kingdom, which had formerly been transmitted from Edinburgh to Roxburgh, to be de- livered to the King of Scotland. He also, out of special favour, commanded J possession of the Isle of Man to be given to him; 4 and, softened by these concessions, Baliol returned to his kingdom. But it was only to experi- ence fresh mortification, and to feel all the miseries of subjection. The policy of Edward towards Scot- land and its new king was at once artful and insulting. He treated every assumption <5f independent sovereignty s Rymer, Feed. vol. ii. p. 597. Tyrrel's England, vol. iii. p. 74. * Edward, in 1290, when Margaret was alive, had taken under his protection her kingdom of Man, at the request of its inhabi- tants. — Rymer, vol. ii. p. 492. 40 HISTORY OF with rigour and contempt, and lost no opportunity of summoning Baliol to answer before him to the complaints brought against his government; he encouraged his subjects to offer these complaints by scrupulously administer- ing justice according to the laws and customs of Scotland; and he distri- buted lands, pensions, and presents, with well-judged munificence, amongst the prelates and the nobility. The King of Scotland possessed large estates both in England and Normandy ; and in all the rights and privileges connected with them he found Edward certainly not a severe, almost an indulgent, superior. To Baliol the vassal he was uniformly lenient and just : x to Baliol the king he was proud and unbending to the last degree. An example of this soon occurred. The Earl of Fife died, leaving his son Duncan a minor, and the earldom to the protection of the Bishop of St Andrews. Macduff, the grand-uncle of Duncan, then seized it; but being ejected by the bishop, on complaining to Edward, was, at the king's com- mand, restored to his estates by the sentence of the Scottish regents. When Baliol held his first parliament at Scone, 2 Macduff was summoned to answer for his having taken forcible possession of lands, which, since the death of the last Earl of Fife, were in the custody of the king. He attempted a defence; but being found guilty, ■suffered a short imprisonment. On his release, he was not slow to carry his appeal to the King of England; and Edward immediately summoned Baliol to answer in person before him to the allegations of Macduff. 3 To this order Baliol paid no regard, and Edward again commanded him to ap- pear. This was not all. He procured his parliament to pass some regula-. tions regarding the attendance of the King of Scots, which, from their ex- treme severity, seem to have been expressly intended to exasperate this monarch, who found that, in every* 1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 635. 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 73. 3 Rymer, Foedera, vol. ii. p. 606. Fordun a Ilearne, p. 963. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IL case of appeal, he was not only to be dragged in as a party, but that hi a personal attendance was to be rigidly exacted. The first was a grievous, the last an intolerable burden, to which no one with even the name of a king could long submit. 4 Meanwhile, dissembling his chagrin, he appeared in the English parliament held after Michaelmas, where Macduff was also present. When the cause of this baron noble came on, Baliol was asked what defence he had to offer, " I am," said he, " the King of Scot- land. To the complaint of Macduff, or to any matters respecting my king- dom, I dare not make an answer with- out the advice of my people ." " What means this refusal ? " cried Edward. "Are you not my liegeman, — have you not done homage to me, — is it not my summons that brings you here ? " To this impetuous interrogation the Scot- tish monarch firmly answered, "Where the business respects my kingdom, I neither dare, nor can answer, in this place, without the advice of my people." 5 An artful proposal was then made by Edward, that, in order to consult with his people, he should adjourn giving his final reply to a future day ; but this he peremptorily declined, declaring that he would neither name a day nor consent to an adjournment. Under these circum- stances, the English parliament pro- ceeded to pronounce judgment. They declared that the King of Scotland was guilty of open contempt and disobe- dience. He had, they said, offered no defence, but made a reply which went to elude and weaken the jurisdiction of his liege lord, in whose court as a vassal he had claimed the crown of Scotland. In consequence of which they advised the King of England, not only to do full justice to Macduff, and to award damages against Baliol, but, as a punishment for his feudal delin quency, to seize three of his principal castles in Scotland, to remain in the hands of the English monarch unti. he should make satisfaction for the 4 Ryley's Placita, p. 151. Hailes* Annal* vol. i. p. 227. * Ryley's Placita, p. 168. 1293-96.] JOHN BALIOL. injury offered to his lord superior. 1 Before this judgment of the parlia- ment was publicly made known, Baliol presented himself to Edward, and thus addressed him : " My lord, I am your liegeman for the king- dom of Scotland; and I entreat you that, as the matters wherewith you now are occupied concern the people of my kingdom no less than myself, you will delay their consideration until I have consulted with them, lest I he surprised from want of advice ; and this the more especially, as those now with me neither will, nor dare give me their opinion, without consult- ing with the Estates of the kingdom. At' ter having advised with them, I will, in your first parliament after Easter, report the result, and perform what is my duty." It was evident that the resolutions of the parliament were unnecessarily violent, and could not have been carried into effect without the presence of an army in Scotland. The King of England, aware of this, and dreading to excite a rebellion, for which he was not then prepared, listened to the demand of Baliol, and delayed all pro- ceedings until the day after the Feast of the Trinity, in 1294. 2 Not long after this, Edward, who was a vassal of the King of France for the duchy of Aquitaine, became in- volved with his lord superior, in a quarrel similar to that between him- self and Baliol. A fleet of English vessels, belonging to the Cinque Ports, had encountered and plundered some French merchant ships; and Philip demanded immediate and ample satis- faction for the aggression. As he dreaded a war with France, Edward proposed to investigate, by commis- sioners, the causes of quarrel; but this seemed too slow a process to the irritated feelings of the French king ; and, exerting his rights as lord supe- rior, he summoned Edward to appear in his court at Paris, and there answer, as his vassal, for the injuries which he had committed. This order was, of Prynne's Edward I., pp. 537, 554. 2 Rylev's Placita, pp. 152, 160. Pryime's Edward I., p. 554. 41 course, little heeded ; upon which Philip, sitting on his throne, gave sen- tence against the English king; pro- nounced him contumacious, and directed his territories in France to be seized, as forfeited to the crown. 3 Edward soon after renounced his alle- giance as a vassal of Philip; and, with the advice of his parliament, declared war against France. To assist him in this war, he sum- moned Baliol, and others of the most powerful of the Scottish nobles, to attend him in person with their armed vassals ; but his insolent and over- bearing conduct had entirely disgusted the Scots. They treated his summons with scorn; and, instead of arming their vassals for his assistance, they assembled a parliament at Scone. 4 Its first step was, under the pretence of diminishing the public charges, to dismiss all Englishmen from Baliol's court; and having thus got rid of such troublesome spies upon their measures, they engaged in a treaty of alliance with France, 5 and determined upon war with Edward. Many estates in Scotland were at this time held by English barons, and many also of the most powerful of the Scottish nobility possessed lands in England. Anxious for a general union against the com- mon enemy, the Scottish estates in the hands of English barons were for- feited, and their proprietors banished ; while those Scottish nobles who re- mained faithful to Edward had their lands seized and forfeited. 6 In this way Robert Bruce lost his rich lord- ship of Annandale. It was given to John Comyn, earl of Buchan, who instantly assumed the rights of a pro- prietor, and took possession of its castle of Lochmaben — an injury which, in that fierce age, could never be for- gotten. Edward, although enraged at the conduct of the Scottish parliament, and meditating a deep revenge, was at this time harassed by a rebellion of s Tyrrel's England, vol. iii. p. 79. PrynDe ? S Edward I., pp. 583, 584. 4 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 153. 5 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 695. c Hemingford, p. 83, vol. i. Hailes, vol. i p. 240. 42 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND the "Welsh, and a war with France. Dissimulation and policy were the weapons to which he had recourse, whilst he employed the interval which he gained in sowing dissension among the Scottish nobles, and collecting an army for the punishment of their rebellion. To Bruce, the son of the competitor for the crown, whose mind was irritated by the recent forfeiture of his estates, he affected uncommon friendship;* regretted his decision in favour of the now rebellious Baliol i declared his determination to place him on the throne, of which the present king had shewn himself unworthy; and directed him to inform his nume- rous and powerful friends in Scotland of this resolution. 1 Bruce either trusted to the promises, or was intimi- dated by the power of Edward. Be- sides this, Comyn, earl of Buchan, who now mainly directed the Scottish councils, was his enemy, and held violent possession of his lordship of Annandale. To join with him was impossible ; and accordingly this powerful baron and his son, after- wards king, with Dunbar, earl of March, and Umfraville, earl of Angus, repaired to Edward, and renewed to him their oaths of homage. 2 The un- decided character of Baliol was ill calculated to remove this disunion amongst the Scottish nobles ; and the party who then ruled in the Scottish parliament, dreading a submission upon the part of their king, secluded him from all power, confined him in a mountain fortress, and placed the management of affairs in the hands of twelve of the leading nobles. 3 The measures adopted by these guardians were decided and spirited. They, in the name of the King of Scots, drew up an instrument, re- nouncing all fealty and allegiance to Edward, on account of the many and grievous injuries committed upon his rights and property as King of Scot- land. 4 They despatched ambassadors to France, who concluded a treaty of 1 Fordun a Hearne, p. 071. 2 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 102. » Math. Westminster, p. 425. * Fordun a Hearne, p. 969. [Chap. II. marriage and alliance, by which the niece of Philip, daughter of Charles, count of Valois, was to be united to the eldest son of Baliol 5 — the French king engaging to assist the Scots with troops kept at his own charges ; and they assembled an army under the command of Comyn, earl of Buchan, which invaded Cumberland. 6 This expedition, however, returned without honour, having been repulsed in an attempt to storm Carlisle. Nothing could be more favourable for Edward than the miserably dis- united state of Scotland. He knew that three powerful factions divided the country, and hindered that firm political union without which, against such an enemy, no successful opposi- tion could be made. Bruce, and his numerous and powerful followers, ad- hered to England. The friends of Baliol, and that part of the nation which recognised him for their sove- reign, beheld him a captive in one of his own fortresses, and refused to join the rebels who had imprisoned him ; and the party of Comyn, which had invaded England, were either so desti- tute of military talent, or so divided amongst themselves, that a handful of the citizens of Carlisle compelled them to retreat with loss into their own country. These advantages, the result of his own able and artful policy, were easily perceived by the King of Eng- land. It was now his time for action, and for inflicting that vengeance upon his enemies, which, with this monarch, the longer it was delayed was generally the more sure and terrible. He as- sembled a numerous and well appoint- ed army. It consisted of thirty thou- sand foot, and four thousand heavy- armed horse. He was joined by Beck, the warlike Bishop of Durham, at the head of a thousand foot and five hun- dred horse; and with this combined force, and the two sacred banners of St John of Beverley and St Cuthbert of Durham carried before the army, 7 « Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 696. « Hemingford, p. 87. Trivet, p. 288. 7 Kymer, vol. ii. p. 732. Prynne's Edward I., p. 667. Anthony Beck was a prelate, whose state and magnificence were exceeded only by his sovereign. His ordinary personal 1296.] JOHN BALIOL. 43 he marched towards Scotland. It ap- pears that some time before this Edward had thought proper to grant a prolongation of the term agreed on for the decision of the question of Macduff, and had required Baliol to attend him as his vassal at Newcastle- upon-Tyne. 1 On arriving there, he summoned the King of Scotland ; and after waiting a few days for his ap- pearance, advanced to the eastern border, and crossed the Tweed with his main army below the Nunnery of Coldstream. On the same day the Bishop of Durham forded the river at Norham ; and the whole army, march- ing along the Scottish side, came be- fore the town of Berwick, then in the hands of the Scots. 2 Edward was determined, at all sacrifices, to make himself master of /this city. It was celebrated for the I riches and the power of its merchants ; I and the extent of its foreign com- I merce, in the opinion of a contem- \ porary English historian, entitled it to ^the name of another Alexandria. 3 It was protected only by a strong dyke, but its adjacent castle was of great strength, and its garrison had made themselves obnoxious to the king, by plundering seme English merchant ships which had unsuspiciously en- tered the port. The king summoned it to surrender, and offered it terms of accommodation, which, after two days' consideration, were refused. Edward, upon this, did not immediately pro- ceed to storm, but drew back his army to a field near a nunnery, about a mile from the town, and where, from the nature of the ground, he could more easily conceal his dispositions for the attack. He then despatched a large division, with orders to assault the town, choosing a line of march which concealed them from the citizens; and he commanded his fleet to enter the river at the same moment that the great body of the army, led by him- suite consisted of a hundred and forty knights. — Hutchinson's History of the County Palatine of Durham, p. 239. 1 Prvnne's Edward I., p. 537. 2 Hemingford, p. 89. s Torfseus, book i. chap, xxxii. Chron. of Lanercost, a Stevenson, pp. 162, 185. self, were ready to storm. 4 The Scottish garrison fiercely assaulted the ships, burnt three of them, and com- pelled the rest to retire f but they, in their turn, were driven back by the fury of the land attack. Edward himself, mounted on horseback, 6 was the first who leaped the dyke; and the soldiers, animated by the example and presence of their king, carried everything before them. All the horrors of a rich and populous city sacked by an inflamed soldiery, and a commander thirsting for vengeance, now succeeded. Seventeen thousand persons, 7 without distinction of age or sex, were put to the sword ; and for two days the city ran with blood like a river. The churches, to which the miserable inhabitants had fled for sanctuary, were violated and defiled with blood, spoiled of their sacred ornaments, and turned into stables for the English cavalry. 8 In the midst of this massacre a fine trait of fidelity occurred. The Flem- ings at this period carried on a lucra- tive and extensive trade with Scotland, and their principal factory was estab- lished in Berwick. It was a strong building, called the Ked-hall, which, by their charter, they were bound to defend to the last extremity against the English. True to their engage- ments, thirty of these brave merchants held out the place against the whole English army. Night came, and still it was not taken. Irritated by this obstinate courage, the English set it on fire, and buried its faithful defenders in the burning ruins. 9 The massacre of Berwick, which took place on Good Friday, was a terrible example of the vengeance which Edward was ready to inflict upon his enemies. Its plun- der enriched his army, and it never recovered its commercial importance 4 Fordun a Goodal, vol ii. p. 159. Heming- ford, vol. i. p. 90. 5 Hemingford, p. 90. 6 Langtoft's Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 272. His horse's name, we learn from this Chronicle, was Bayard. i Knighton, apud Twysden, p. 2480. * Fordun, book xi. chap. liv. lv. 9 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 91. Hailes' An- nals, voL i. p. 236. 44 HISTORY CO and prosperity. Sir William Douglas, who commanded the castle, after a short defence surrendered, and swore fealty to the King of England ; and its garrison, after taking an oath not to bear arms against that country, were allowed to march out with military honours. 1 Whilst Edward remained at Ber- wick, engaged in throwing up new fortifications against future attacks, Henry, abbot of Arbroath, attended by three of his monks, appeared at his court, and delivered to him the instru- /ment containing Baliol's renunciation \ of his homage. " You have," said the Scottish king, a wantonly summoned me to your courts; you have com- mitted grievous outrages and robberies upon my subjects, both by sea and land ; you have seized my castles and estates in England, killed and im- prisoned my subjects, and the mer- chants of my realm ; and when I de- manded a redress of these injuries, you have invaded my dominions at the head of a vast army, with the purpose of depriving me of my crown; and have cruelly ravished the land. Wherefore, I renounce that fealty and homage which have been extorted from me ; and do resolve openly to oppose myself, in defence of my king- dom, against Edward of England." 2 Edward received this letter with angry contempt. " The senseless traitor!" said he; "of what folly is he guilty ! But since he will not come to us, we will go to him ! " 3 Enraged at the dreadful vengeance inflicted on Berwick, the Scottish army, under the Earls of Ross, Men- teith, and Athole, made a second in- road into England ; and, imitating the example of Edward, with merciless severity ravaged Redesdale and Tyne- dale, carrying away a great booty, and sparing neither sex nor age. 4 The flames of towns and villages, and the * Hemingford, vol. i. p. 91. 2 Foedera, vol. ii. p. 707. Fordun a Hearne, p. 969. 3 Ha ce fol felon, tel folie fet! sil ne voult vonir a nous, nous viendrons a lui.— Fordun a Hearne, p. 969. * Rymer, vol. ii. p. 887. Trivet, p. 291. Peter Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 273. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II ashes of the ancient monasteries of Lanercost and Hexham, marked their destructive progress ; but the ven- geance of the Scots was short-lived, and their plans unconnected. That of their enemy was the very opposite : it was deep-laid in its plans, simultane- ous in its movements, and remorseless in its contemplation of consequences. / The castle of Dunbar was at this time one of the strongest, and, by its situation, most important in Scotland, Its lord, Patrick, earl of Dunbar, served in the army of Edward ; but his wife, the countess, who held the castle, and | hated the English, entered into a secret negotiation with the Scottish leaders for its delivery into the hands of her countrymen. The Earls of Ross, Athole, and Menteith, the barons John Comyn, William St Clair, Richard Se- ward, and John de Mowbray, w T ith thirty-one knights and a strong force, threw themselves into the place ; and, assisted by the countess, easily expelled the few soldiers who remained faithful to England. 5 On being informed of this loss, Edward determined upon re* covering it at all hazards ; and for this purpose despatched the Earl of Surrey with ten thousand foot and a thousand heavy-armed horse. When summoned by Warrene, the garrison agreed to surrender, unless relieved within three days ; and the Scots, anxious to retain so important a place, led on the whole of their army, and possessed them- selves of a strong and excellent posi- tion on the high ground above Dun- bar. Forty thousand foot, and fifteen v hundred horse, encamped on the heights near Spot; and, confident of rescue, the garrison of the castle in- sulted the English from the walls, as if already beaten. 6 On the first appearance of the Scot- tish army, Surrey steadily advanced to attack it. On approaching the high ground, it was necessary to deploy through a valley; and the Scots im- agined they observed some confusion in the English ranks when executing s Walsingham, p. 67. This happened on St Martin's day. c Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 165. Heming- ford, vol. i. p. 95. 1296.] JOHN : this movement. Mistaking this for flight, they precipitately abandoned their strong position on the hills, and rushed down with shouts upon the enemy. Meanwhile, before the lines could meet, che English earl had ex- tricated himself from the valley, and formed into compact order. The Scots, ruined, as they had often been, by their temerity, perceived their fatal error when it was too late. Instead of an enemy in flight, they found an army under perfect discipline, advancing upon their broken and disordered columns ; and having in vain endea- voured to regain their ranks, after a short resistance they were completely routed /Three hundred and fifty years after tnis, Cromwell, on_the same ground, defeated the army of the Scot- tish Covenanters, which occupied the same admirable position, and with equal folly and precipitancy deserted it. \ Surrey's victory was complete, ana for the time decided the fate of Scotland. Ten thousand men fell on the field or in the pursuit. Sir Patrick de Graham, one of the noblest and wisest of the Scottish barons, dis- dained to ask for quarter, and was slain in circumstances which extorted the praise of the enemy. 1 A great multitude, including the principal of the Scottish nobility, were taken pri- soners ; and next day, the King of England coming in person with the rest of his army before Dunbar, the castle surrendered at discretion. The Earls of Athole, Koss, and Menteith, with four barons, seventy knights, and many other brave men, submitted to the mercy of the conqueror. 2 / All the prisoners of rank were im- ( mediately sent in chains to England, where they were for the present com- mitted to close confinement in different Welsh and English castles. 3 After (some time; the king compelled them to attend him in his wars in France ; ^ut even this partial liberty was not allowed them till their sons were deli- vered into his hands as hostages. 4 1 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 96. Fordun a Hearne, p. 974. 2 Scala Chronicle, p. 123. » Peter Langtoft, Chron. p. 278. * Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. sub Ed. I. 25, p. 44 ; I 3ALI0L. 45 Edward was not slow to folluw up the advantages which this important success had given him. Returning from Lothian, he sat down before the castle of Roxburgh, which was surren- dered to him by James, the Steward of Scotland, who not only swore fealty and abjured the French alliance, 5 but prevailed upon many others of the Scottish nobility to forsake a struggle which was deemed desperate, and to submit to England. It was at his in- stigation that Ingeram de Umfraville surrendered the castle of Dumbarton, 6 and gave up to Edward his daughters, Eva and Isobel, as hostages. Soon after, the strong fortress of Jedburgh was yielded to his mercy ; 7 and his victorious army being reinforced by a body of fifteen thousand men from Wales, he was enabled to send home that part of his English force which had suffered most from fatigue in this expedition. With these fresh levies he advanced to Edinburgh, made himself master of the castle after a siege of eight days ; 8 passed rapidly to Stirling, which he found abandoned ; and while there, the Earl of Ulster, with a new army of thirty thousand foot and four hundred horse, came to join the king, and com- plete the triumph of the English arms. The monarch continued his progress without opposition to Perth, where he halted to keep the feast of the nativity of John the Baptist, with circum- stances of high feudal solemnity, re- galing his friends, creating new knights, and solacing himself and his barons. In the midst of these rejoic- ings, messengers arrived from the un- happy Baliol announcing his submis- sion, and imploring peace. 9 Edward disdained to treat with him in person, but informed him that he intended, within fifteen days, to advance to Brechin, and that on Baliol's repairing to the castle there, the Bishop of Dur- ham would announce the decision of where a great many of the names of the prisoners will be found. 5 Prynne's Edward I., p. 649. 6 Rotuli Scotise, 22 Ed. I., meinb. 8 dorso. 7 Rymer, Feed. vol. ii. pp. 714, 716. s Hemingford, vol. i. p. 98. * Ibid. 46 HISTORY OF his lord superior. This was none other than that of an absolute resignation of himself and his kingdom to the mercy of his conqueror; to which Baliol, now the mere shadow of a king, with- out a crown, an army, or a nobility, dejectedly submitted. In presence of the Bishop of Durham and the barons of England, he was first stript of his royal robes ; after which they spoiled him of his crown and sceptre, and compelled him, standing as a criminal, with a white rod in his hand, to per- | form a humiliating feudal penance. 1 He confessed that, misled by evil counsel and his own weakness, he had grievously offended his liege lord ; he recapitulated his various transgres- sions, his league with France, and his hostilities against England ; he acknow- ledged the justice of the invasion of his kingdom by Edward, in vindication of his violated rights ; and three days after this, in the castle of Brechin, he resigned his kingdom of Scotland, its people, and their homage, into the hands of his liege lord, Edward, of his own free will and consent. 2 After this humiliating ceremony, Baliol de- livered his eldest son, Edward, to the King of England, as a hostage for his future fidelity; and this youth, along with his discrowned father, were soon after sent by sea to London, where f they remained for three years in con- finement in the Tower. 3 Thus ended the miserable and in- glorious reign of John Baliol, a prince whose good dispositions might have insured him a happier fate, had he been opposed to a less terrible and ambitious enemy than Edward the First ; or had the courage and spirit, in which he was not deficient, been seconded by the efforts of a united nobility. But Edward, with a policy not dissimilar to that which we have adopted in our Eastern dominions, had 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 167. Winton, vol. ii. p. 88. 2 Prynne's Edward L, pp. 650, 651. See Notes and Illustrations, letter F. 3 Langtoft, Chron. vol. ii. p. 280, Speak- ing of Baliol— First he was king, now is he soudionre, And is at other spendyng bonden in the Toure. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. succeeded in preventing all union amongst the most powerful Scottish barons, by arraying their private and selfish ambition against the love of their country ; by sowing dissension in their councils, richly rewarding their treachery, and treating with unmiti- gated severity those who dared to love and defend the liberty of Scotland; and Baliol's character was not of that high stamp which could unite such base and discordant materials, or baffle a policy so deep and a power so overwhelming. INTERREGNUM. The spirit of the Scottish people was for the time completely broken; and Edward, as he continued his expedi- tion from Perth to Aberdeen, and from thence to Elgin in Moray, did not ex- perience a single check in his progress; while most of the Scottish barons who had escaped death or imprisonment crowded in to renounce the French alliance, and renew their oaths of fealty. On his return from the north to hold his parliament at Berwick, in passing the ancient Abbey of Scone, he took with him the famous and fatal stone upon which, for many ages, the Scottish kings had been crowned and anointed. This, considered by the Scots as their national palladium, along with the Scottish sceptre and crown, the English monarch placed in the cathedral of Westminster, as an, offering to Edward the Confessor, and a memorial of what he deemed hia absolute conquest of Scotland ; 4 a con-, quest, however, which, before a single year had elapsed, was entirely wrested from his hands. Edward was desirous of annihilat- ing everything which could preserve the patriotic feeling of the country which he had overrun. With this ob- ject, when at Scone, he mutilated the ancient chartulary of that abbey, the historical notices in which were per- * Fordun a Gcodal, book xi. chap. xxv. voL ii. p. 1G6. Hemingford, vcl. i. pp. 37, 100. 1 296-97.] INTERREGNUM (haps fatal to his pretended claim of superiority, carrying off some of its charters, and tearing the seals. 1 Our historians affirm, that in his progress he industriously sought out and de- stroyed every monument connected with the antiquity and independ- ence of the nation. The character of Edward, and his conduct at Scone, give great probability to the asser- tion. 2 On the 28th of August, the king held his parliament at Berwick, for the purpose of receiving the fealty of the clergy and laity of Scotland. Multitudes of Scotsmen of all ranks resorted to him — earls, barons, knights, and esquires. The terror of his arms ; the well-known severity of his temper, which made imprisonment and the immediate confiscation of their estates the consequence of their refusal; the example of their nobility, who now felt, too late for remedy, the sad effect of their dissensions, all combined to render this submission to Edward a measure as unanimous as it was humi- liating ; and the oaths of homage, the renunciation of the French alliance, and the names of the vassals, which fill thirty-five skins of parchment, are still preserved amongst the English archives. 3 After the battle of Dunbar, Bruce, earl of Carrick, who was then in the service of England, reminded Edward of his promise to place him on the throne. " Have I nothing to do," said the haughty monarch, "but to conquer kingdoms for you ? " Judging it probably a more befitting occupa- tion, the King of England empowered the Earl of Carrick, and his son the younger Bruce, to receive to his peace the inhabitants of their own lands of Carrick and Annandale. 4 How little did he then think, that the youthful baron, employed under his royal com- mission in this degrading office, was 47 i Chart. Scon. f. 26. quoted by Hailes, vol. I. p. 243. - Innes's Critical Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of Scotland, pp. 554, 555. See .Notes and Illustrations, letter G-. s Ragman Rolls, printed by Bannatyne Club. 1834. * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 714, destined to wrest from him his con- quest, and to become the restorer of the freedom of his country ! Edward next directed his attention to the settlement of his new dominions; and the measures which he adopted for this purpose were equally politic and just. He commanded the sheriffs of the several counties in Scotland to restore to the clergy their forfeited lands ; and he granted to the Scottish bishops for ever the privilege of be- queathing their effects by will, as fully as the right was enjoyed by the pre- lates of England. The widows of those barons whose husbands had died before the French alliance, and who had not since then been married ta the king's enemies, were faithfully re< stored to their estates ; but, effectually to secure their allegiance, the English Guardian of Scotland was permitted, at his option, to take possession of the castles and strengths upon their lands. He even assigned pensions to the wives of many of his Scottish prisoners; and few of those who held office under the unfortunate Baliol were dispossessed. The jurisdictions of Scotland were suffered to remain with those who possessed them, under ancient and hereditary titles ; no wanton or un- necessary act of rigour was committed, no capricious changes introduced, yet all means were adopted to give security to his conquest. John Warrene, earl of Surrey, was made Guardian of Scot- land; Hugh de Cressingham, Treasurer; and William Ormesby, Justiciary. Henry de Percy, nephew of Warrene, was appointed keeper of the county of Galloway, and the sheriffdom of Ayr ; the castles of Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, and Edinburgh, were com- mitted to English captains; a new seal, in place of the ancient Great Seal of Scotland, surrendered by Baliol and broken into pieces at Brechin, was placed in the hands of Walter de Ag- mondesham, an English chancellor; and an Exchequer for receiving the king's rents and taxes was instituted at Berwick, on the model of that at Westminster. 5 « Madox, Hist, of Exchequer, p. 550. Ro- tuli Seotue, vol. i. pp. 29, 35. 48 PERIOD OF WALLACE. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. are termed by Edward had scarcely made this settle- ment of Scotland, and set out for his own dominions, when he found that, instead of the acclamations due to a conqueror, he was to be received at home with the lowering countenances of discontent and rebellion. He had incurred a heavy expense in his Scot- tish expedition, and he was now an- xious to carry on with vigour his war with France ; but the clergy of Eng- land, headed by a proud and firm pre- late, Winchelsea, archbishop of Canter- bury, demurred as to the supplies which he demanded ; and a powerful party of the barons, led by the Con- stable and the Marshal of England, refusing to pass over into France, indignantly retired from parliament, with a great body of their armed re- tainers. These discontents in England en- couraged the people of Scotland to rise against their English oppressors. Although deserted by their nobility, a spirit of determined hatred against England was strongly manifested by the great body of the nation. Through- out the whole country, numerous bands of armed peasants infested the highways, and in contempt of govern- ment plundered the English, and laid waste their lands. Their numbers in- creased, and their successes soon be- came alarming. They besieged the castles garrisoned by the English, took prisoners, committed all kinds of ra- pine and homicide ; and the impression made upon the mind of Edward may be judged of by a letter still remain- ing, addressed to his treasurer Cres- singham, commanding him not to scruple to spend the whole money in his exchequer to put down these violent disorders. 1 The patriotic principle which seems at this time to have entirely deserted the highest ranks of the Scottish nobles, whose selfish dissensions had brought ruin and bondage upon their country, still burned pure in the breasts of these broken men and rebels, as they i Rotuli Scotia;, 25 Ed. I., vol. i. p. 42. fCnxp. II. Edward. The lesser barons, being less contaminated by the money and intrigues of England, pre- served also the healthy and honest feelings of national independence ; and it happened that at this time, and out of this middle class of the lesser barons, arose an extraordinary individual, who, at first driven into the field by a desire to avenge his individual injuries, with- in a short period of time, in the re- conquest of his native country, de- veloped a character which may, with- out exaggeration, be termed heroic. This was William Wallace, or Walays, the second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Ellerslie, near Paisley, a knight, whose family was ancient, but neither rich nor noble. 2 In those days bodily strength and knightly prowess were of the highest consequence in command- ing respect and insuring success. Wallace had an iron frame. IJis make, as he grew up to manhood, approached almost to the gigantic; and his personal strength was superior to the common run of even the strong- est men. His passions were hasty and violent; a strong hatred to the Eng- lish, who now insolently lorded it over Scotland, began to shew itself at a very early period of his life ; and this aver- sion was fostered in the youth by an uncle, a priest, who, deploring the calamities of his country, was never weary of extolling the sweets of liberty, and lamenting the miseries of depend- ence. 3 The state of national feeling in Scot- land, at this time, has been already described ; and it is evident that the repressing of a rising spirit of resist- ance, which began so strongly to shew itself, required a judicious union of firmness, gentleness, and moderation. Upon the part of the English all this was wanting. Warrene, the governor, .had, on account of ill health, retired to the north of England. Cressingham, the treasurer, was a proud, ignorant ecclesiastic. Edward, before he de- parted, had left orders that all who 2 Winton's Chron. vol. ii. p. 91, book viii. chap. xiii. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 169. » Fordun a Goodal, book xii. chap, iii. voL ii. j>. 223. 1297.] PERIOD OF had not yet taken the oath of fealty, , including not only the lesser barons, { but the burghers and inferior gentry, should be compelled to do so under severe penalties, exacted by military force; and Ormesby, the justiciary, had excited deep and general odium, by the intolerable rigour with which these penalties were extorted. The intrepid temper of Wallace ap- pears first to have shewn itself in a quarrel, in the town of Lanark, with some of the English officers who in- sulted him. This led to bloodshed ; and he would have been overpowered and slain in the streets had it not been for the interference of his mis- tress, to whose house he fled, and by whose assistance, he escaped to the neighbouring woods. In a spirit of cruel and unmanly revenge, Hislop, the English sheriff, attacked the house, and put her to death ; for which he was himself assaulted and slain by Wallace. 1 The consequence of this was to him the same as to many others, who at this time preferred a life of dangerous freedom to the in- dulgence and security of submission. 2 He was proclaimed a traitor, banished his home, and driven to seek his safety in the wilds and fastnesses of his coun- try.. It was here that he collected by degrees a little band, composed at first of a few brave men of desperate for- tunes, who had forsworn their vassal- age to their lords, and refused submis- sion to Edward, and who at first carried ©n that predatory warfare against the English, to which they were impelled as well by the desire of plunder, and the necessity of subsistence, as by the love of liberty. These men chose Wallace for their chief. Superior rank — for as yet none of the nobility or barons had joined them — his uncom- mon courage and personal strength, and his unconquerable thirst of ven- geance against the English, naturally influenced their choice, and the result proved how well it had fallen. His plans were laid with so much judg- ment, that in his first attacks against 1 Winton, vol. ii. p. 95, book viii. chap. Xiii. Fordun a Hearne, p. 97a. 2 Triyeti Annates, p. 299. i VOL. 1. WALLACE. j straggling parties of the English he was t generally successful; and if surprised by unexpected numbers, his superior strength and bravery, and the ardoui with which he inspired his followers, enabled them to overpower every effort which was made against them. To him these early and desultory excursions against the enemy were highly useful, as he became acquaint- ed with the strongest passes of his country, and acquired habits of com- mand over men of fierce and turbu- lent spirits. To them the advantage was reciprocal, for they began gra- dually to feel an undoubting confi- dence in their leader; they were accustomed to rapid marches, to en- dure fatigue and privation, to be on their guard against surprise, to feel the effects of discipline and obedience, and by the successes which these in- sured, to regard with contempt the nation by whom they had allowed themselves to be overcome. The consequences of these partial advantages over the enemy were soon seen. At first few had dared to unite themselves to so desperate a band. But confidence came with success, and numbers flocked to the standard of revolt. The continued oppressions of the English, the desire of revenge, and even the romantic and perilous nature of the undertaking, recruited the ranks of Wallace, and he was soon at the head of a great body of Scottish exiles. 3 When it was known that this brave man had raised Open banner against the English, Sir William Douglas, 4 who had been taken by Edward at' the siege of Berwick, and restored to his liberty, upon swearing fealty, disre- garding his oath, joined the Scot- tish force with his numerous vassals. Ormesby, the English justiciary, was at. this time holding his court at Scone ; and Surrey, the guardian, had gone to attend the English parlia- ment. Wallace, by a rapid march, 3 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 118. Triveti Annates, p. 299. * This William Douglas was, according to Hume of Godscroft, the seventh Lord Douglas. He was called William the Hardy, or Long- leg. Hume's Hist, of House of Douglas ami Angus Yd i. p. 32. . D 50 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. surprised the justiciary, dispersed his followers, and, whilst he himself escaped - with the greatest difficulty, took a rich booty and many prisoners. 1 This exploit giving new confidence to their little army, they more openly and boldly ravaged the country, and put all Englishmen to the sword. As circumstances allowed, they either acted together, or engaged in separate expeditions. Whilst Wallace marched into Lennox, the castles of Disdeir and Sanquhar were taken by Douglas ; and when their united strength afterwards broke in upon the west of Scotland, they were joined by some of the most powerful of the Scottish nobility. The Steward of Scotland, and his brother, Sir Andrew Moray of Both- well, Alexander de Lindesay, arid Sir Eichard Lundin, with a spirited pre- late, Wishart, bishop of Glasgow, were amongst the number. 2 Their united forces, led by the military skill and animated by the personal intrepidity of Wallace, con- tinued to be successful in repeated attacks upon the English ; and these successes were frequently followed, as was to be expected, by many circum- stances of cruelty and violence. Their" revenge seems especially to have been directed against the English ecclesi- astics who were possessed of Scottish livings. A public edict, passed by the Scottish Estates in 129 6, -had banished these intruders from Scotland ; and this edict Wallace, it is said, improved upon with a refinement in cruelty. Some aged priests, and it is even asserted, although almost too horrid to believe, some helpless women, had their hands tied behind their backs, and in this helpless state were thrown from high bridges into rivers, their dying agonies affording sport to their merciless captors. 3 The conduct of the younger Bruce, afterwards the heroic Eobert the First, was at this period vacillating and inconsistent. His large possessions in Carrick and Annandale made him i Triveti Annates, p. 299. 3 Hailes, vol. i. p. 246. 8 Hen. Knighton, p. 2514, apud Twysden, vol i. Raynaldi,- Cont Baronii, yoI. iv. p. 66. [Chap. II. master of an immense tract of country, extending from the Firth of Clyde to the Solway ; and the number of armed vassals which his summons could call into the field would have formed an invaluable accession to the insurgents. His power caused him to be narrowly watched by England ; and as his incon* stant character became suspected by the Wardens of the Western Marches, they summoned him to treat on the affairs of his master the king at Car- lisle. Bruce, not daring to disobey, resorted thither with a numerous at« tendance of his friends, and was com- pelled to make oath on the consecrated host, and the sword of Thomas k Becket, that he would continue faith- ful to the cause of Edward. To give a proof of his fidelity, he ravaged the estates of Sir William Douglas, then with Wallace, seized his wife and children, and carried them into Annan- dale. Having thus defeated suspicion, and saved his lands, he privately as- sembled his father's retainers ; talked lightly of an extorted oath, from which the Pope would absolve him ; and urged them to follow him, and join the brave men who had taken arms against the English. This, however, they refused, probably because their master and overlord, the elder Bruae, was then with Edward. Eobert, how- ever, nothing moved by the disap- pointment, collected his own tenants, marched to join Wallace, and openly took arms against the English. 4 The news of this rebellion reached the King of England as he was pre paring to sail for Flanders. He at first disregarded it; and as many of the most powerful of the Scottish nobles were then either prisoners in England, or in attendance upon himself, and ready to embark for the Continent, he was easily persuaded that it would be instantly put down by the autho- rity of the governor. Anthony Beck, however, the martial bishop of Dur- ham, was despatched in great haste into Scotland; and Edward finding, from his account, that the revolt was of a serious nature, commanded the 4 Hemingford, vol. i. 120. Knighton, p. 2614. 1297.] PERIOD OF Earl of Surrey to call forth the military- force on the north of the Trent, and, without delay, to reduce the insurgents. 1 This, however, was no easy matter. Surrey sent his nephew, Henry Percy, before him into Scotland, at the head of an army of forty thousand foot, and three hundred armed horse. Percy marched through Annandale to Loch- maben, where, during the night, his encampment was suddenly attacked by the Scots with great fury. It was very dark, and Percy's men knew not where to rally. In this emergency they set fire to the wooden houses where they lay, and, guided to their banners by the blaze, repulsed the enemy, and marched towards Ayr, 2 for the pur- pose of receiving the men of Gallo- way to the peace of the king. It was here told them that the Scot- tish army was not four miles distant ; and Percy, having struck his tents, advanced at the first break of the morning to Irvine, and soon discovered their squadrons draw.n up nearly op- posite to him, on the border of a small lake. This force, which equalled the English in foot, although inferior in horse, was sufficient, under able con- duct, to have given battle to Percy, but it was enfeebled by dissension amongst its leaders; and although Wallace was there to direct them, the pride of these feudal barons would not submit to be commanded by him. Accordingly, most of these chiefs be- came anxious to negotiate terms for themselves, and to save their lands. Sir Kichard Lundin, a Scottish knight, who had till now refused allegiance to Edward, went over with his followers to the army of Percy, declaring it to be folly to remain longer with a party at variance with itself. At the same time, Bruce, the Steward of Scotland, and his brother Alexander de Linde- say, Sir William Douglas, and the Bishop of Glasgow, made submission to Edward, and entreated his forgive- ness for the robberies and slaughters which they had committed. An instru- ment, commemorating this desertion 1 Hemingford, p. 122. Tyrrel, Hist. Eng. p. 112, vol. iii. 2 Hen. Knighton, p. 2615. WALLACE. 51 of their country, to which their .seals were appended, was drawn up in Nor- man-French; 3 but this brave man treated all proposals of submission with high disdain. Although the greater nobles had deserted the cause, he knew that many of their vassals were enthusiastically attached to his person and fortunes. 4 He could muster also a large body of his own tried and veteran followers ; and put- ting himself at the head of these, he retired indignantly to the north. Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell was the only baron who accompanied him. The conduct of the Scottish nobility, who had capitulated to Percy, was irresolute and contradictory. Edward had accepted their offers of submis- sion; but although they would not act in concert with Wallace, whose successes had now effectually raised the spirit of the nation, they drew back from their agreement with Percy, and delayed the delivery of their hostages, until security should be given them for the preservation of the rights and liberties of their country. Sir William Douglas and the Bishop of Glasgow, however, considered that they were bound to abide by the capitulation signed at Irvine ; and finding themselves unable to perform their articles of agreement, they voluntarily surrendered to the Eng- lish. 5 It was the fate of this last- mentioned prelate to be trusted by neither party. Wallace, whose pas- sions were fiery and impetuous, loudly accused him of treachery, at- tacked his castle, ravaged his lands, and led his servants and family cap- tive ; whilst the King of England de- clared that, under this surrender of himself at the castle of Eoxburgh, a purpose was concealed of betraying that important fortress to the Scots. 6 Notwithstanding the capitulation of * Rymer, Feeders, dated 9th July 1297, vol. ii. p. 774. Rymer has read the concluding sentence of this deed erroneously, as has been shewn by Sir F. Palgrave. The words which he prints as "Escrit a Sire Willaume," arc " Escrit a Irwine." 4 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 125. 6 Ibid. p. 124. Tyrrel, Hist. Eng. vol. iil p. 112. c Hailes' Annals, vol. i. p. 260. 52 HISTORY OF Irvine, the spirit of resistance became soon very general throughout the northern counties. In Aberdeenshire, especially, the revolt was serious ; and Edward directed his writs to the bishop and sheriffs of the county, com- manding them to punish the rebels for the murders and robberies which they had been committing, and to be on their guard against an intended attack upon the castle of Urquhart, then held by William de Warrene. 1 What were the particular successes of Wallace and his brethren in arms, during the summer months which elapsed between the treaty at Irvine and the battle of Stirling, we have no authentic memorials to determine. 2 That they had the effect of recruiting his army, and giving him the confi- dence of the body of the people of Scotland, is certain ; for Knighton, an old English historian, informs us, "that the whole followers of the nobility had attached themselves to him ; and that although the persons of their lords were with the King of England, their heart was with Wallace, who found his army reinforced by so immense a multitude of the Scots, that the com- munity of the land obeyed him as their leader and their prince." 3 Edward > in the meantime, dissatisfied with the dilatory conduct of Surrey, in not sooner putting down a revolt, which the king's energetic and confident spirit caused him to treat too lightly, superseded him, and appointed Brian Fitz-Alan governor of Scotland. At the same time he liberated from their im- prisonment, in various castles through England, the Scottish nobles and barons taken at the battle of Dunbar, and carried them along with him to Flan- ders. Their forfeited lands were re- stored; but to secure their fidelity, the king compelled their eldest sons to remain in England as hostages. 4 Others of the Scottish nobles, whose fidelity was less suspected, were permitted to return home, under a promise of assist- ing in the reduction and pacification 1 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 41, 42. 2 From 9th July to 3d September. 3 Knignton, apud Twysden, p. 2516. * Rotuli Scotice, pp. 44, 45. Trivet, p. 301. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IL of the country; and as many of the most powerful and warlike English barons as he could spare from his expedition to Flanders were directed to repair to Scotland, with all the horse and foot which they could muster, and to co-operate with Fitz-Alan and Surrey. 5 Having taken these precau- tions, King Edward passed over to Flanders on the 22d of August. 6 It was fortunate for the Scots, that Warrene, the earl of Surrey, evinced great remissness in insisting on the fulfilment of the treaty of Irvine. He was on bad terms with Cressingham the treasurer, a proud and violent Churchman, who preferred the cuirass to the cassock ; 7 and it is probable that his being superseded in his go- vernment of Scotland, and yet com- manded to remain with the army, was an indignity which so high a baron- could ill brook. 8 The consequences of this inactivity were soon apparent. The Scottish barons still delayed the delivery of their hostages, and cau- tiously awaited the event of the war ; whilst Wallace, at the head of a power- ful army, having succeeded in expel- ling the English from the castles of Forfar, Brechin, Montrose, and nearly all their strongholds on the north of the Forth, had just begun the siege of the castle of Dundee, when he received intelligence that the English army, under the command of the Earl of Surrey, and Cressingham the treasurer, was on its march to Stirling. Well acquainted with the country there, his military skill taught him of what im- portance it would be to secure the high ground on the river Forth, above Cambuskenneth, before Surrey had passed the bridge at Stirling ; and having commanded the citizens of Dundee, on pain of death, to continue the siege of the castle, he marched with great expedition, and found, to his satisfaction, that he had antici- pated the English, so as to give him time to choose the most favourable s Rot. Scot. pp. 47, 48. Surrey, although superseded in the command, remained with the army. 6 Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 120. 7 Hemingford, p. 130. 8 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 794. 1297.] position for his army, before the co- lumns of Cressingham and Surrey had reached the other side of the river. The nature of the ground concealed the Scottish army, which amounted to forty thousand foot, and one hun- dred and eighty horse. Wallace's in- tention was to induce the main body of the English to pass the bridge, and to attack them before they had time to form. Surrey was superior in num- bers. He commanded a force of fifty thousand foot soldiers, and one thou- sand armed horse. Lord Henry Percy had marched from Carlisle towards Stirling, with a reinforcement of eight thousand foot and three hundred horse ; but Cressingham the treasurer, dread- ing the expense of supporting so great a force, had, with an ill-judged economy, given orders for disbanding these suc- cours, as he considered the army in the field to be sufficient for the emergency. 1 The Steward of Scotland, the Earl of Lennox, and others of the Scottish barons, were at this time with the English army; and on coming to Stir- ling, requested Surrey to delay an attack till they had attempted to bring Wallace to terms. They soon returned, and declared that they had failed in their hopes of pacification, but that they themselves would join the Eng- lish force with sixty armed horse. It was now evening, and the Scottish barons, in leaving the army, met a troop of English soldiers returning from forage. Whether from accident or design, a skirmish took place be- tween these two bodies, and the Earl of Lennox stabbed an English soldier in the throat. This, of course, raised a tumult in the oarop ; a cry arose that they were betrayed by the Scots; and there seems to be little doubt that Lennox and his friends were secretly negotiating with Wallace, and only waited for a favourable opportunity of j < )ining him . Crying out for v engeance, the English soldiers carried their wounded comrade before their gene- ral, and reproached him with having trusted those who had broken their faith, and would betray them to the enemy. " Stay this one night," said he, i Hemingford. p. 127. PEKIOD OF WALLACE. 53 " and if to-morrow they do not keep their promise, you shall have ample revenge." He then commanded his sol- diers to be ready to pass the bridge next day ; and thus, with a carelessness little worthy of an experienced com- mander, who had the fate of a great army dependent on his activity and fore- sight, he permitted Wallace to tamper with his countrymen in the English service ; to become acquainted with the numbers and array of the English force; and to adopt, at his leisure, his own measures for their discomfiture. Early next day, five thousand foot and a large body of the Welsh passed the bridge by sunrise, and soon after repassed it, on finding that they were not followed by the rest of the army, and that the Earl of Surrey was still asleep in the camp. After an hour the earl awoke, the army was drawn up, and as was then usual before any great battle, many new knights were created, some of whom were fated to die in their first field. It was now the time when the Scottish barons ought to have joined with their sixty horse; and Surrey, having looked for them in vain, commanded the infantry to cross the bridge. This order was scarcely given when it was again re- called, as the Steward of Scotland and the Earl of Lennox were seen approach- ing, and it was hoped brought offers of pacification. But the contrary was the case. They had failed, they said, in all their efforts to prevail on the Scottish army to listen to any proposals, and had not been able to persuade a single soldier to desert. As a last resource, Surrey, who seems to have been aware of the strong position occupied by the Scots, and of the danger of crossing the river, despatched two friars to propose terms to Wallace, who made this memo- rable reply : — " Return to your friends, and tell them that we came here with no peaceful intent, but ready for bat- tle, and determined to avenge our own wrongs and set our country free. Let your masters come and attack us ; we are ready to meet them beard to beard. " 2 Incensed at this cool defiance, the English presumptuously and eagerly 2 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 126- 54 HISTORY OF demanded to be led on; upon which Sir Richard Lundin, a Scottish knight, who had gone over to the enemy at Irvine, anxiously implored them to be still. " If," said he, " you once attempt to pass the bridge, you are desperately throwing away your lives. The men can only cross two by two. Our ene- mies command our flank, and in an instant will be upon us. I know a ford not far from hence where you may pass by sixty at a time. Give me but five hundred horse, and a small body of foot, I shall turn the enemy's flank, whilst you, lord earl, and the rest of the army, may pass over in security." This was the sound advice of a veteran soldier who knew the country; but although it convinced some, it only irritated others, and among these last, Hugh Cressingham the treasurer. " Why, my lord," cried he to Surrey, who was prudently hesi- tating, " why do we protract the war, and spend the king's money ? Let us pass on as becomes us, and do our duty." 1 Stung with this reproach, Surrey weakly submitted his better judgment to the rashness of this Churchman, and commanded the army to defile over the bridge. Sir Marmaduke Twenge, a knight of great experience and cour- age, along with Cressingham himself, led the van ; and when nearly the half of the army had passed the bridge, perceiving that the Scots kept their strong ground on the heights, Twenge, with chivalrous impetuosity, gave or- ders for a charge, and made the heavy- armed cavalry spur their horses up the hill. The consequence of this preci- pitate movement was fatal to the Eng- lish. A part of the Scottish army had by this time made a circuit and pos- sessed themselves of the foot of the bridge ; 2 and Wallace, the moment ' i *' Minim dictu," exclaims Hemingford, in an animated reflection on the madness of Surrey's conduct, ' ' sed terribile, quid in eventu, quod tot et tanti discreti viri dum scirent hostes im- promptu, strictum pontem ascenderint, quod bini equestres, vix et cum diflicultate simul transire potuerunt." — Hem., vol. i. p. 128. 2 Hemingford, 128. — " Descenderunt de monte, et missis viris lanceariis occupaverunt pedem pontis, ita quod extunc nulli patebat trans itus vel regressus." See also Walsing- ham, p. 7£. 1 SCOTLAND. [Ceiap. II. that he saw the communication be- tween the van and the rear of the English force thus cut off, and all re- treat impossible, rushed rapidly down from the high ground, and attacking Twenge and Cressingham, before they had time to form, threw them into inextricable disorder. In an instant all was tumult and confusion. Many were slain, multitudes of the heavy- armed horse plunged into the river, and were drowned in making a vain effort to rejoin Surrey, w T ho kept on the other side, a spectator of the dis- comfiture of the flower of his army. In the meantime, the standard-bearers of the king and of the earl, with another part of the army, passed over, and shared the fate of their compan- ions, being instantly cut to pieces. A spirited scene now took place. Sir Marmaduke Twenge, on looking round, perceived that the Scots had seized the bridge, and that he and his sol- diers were cut off from the rest of the army. A knight advised, in this peril- ous crisis, that they should throw themselves into the river, and swim their horses to the opposite bank. " What," cried Twenge, " volunteer to drown myself, when I can cut my way through the midst of them, back to the bridge ! Never let such foul slander fall on us ! " So saying, he put spurs to his horse, and driving him into the midst of the enemy, hewed a passage for himself through, the thickest of the Scottish columns, and rejoined his friends, with his nephew and his armour-bearer, in perfect safety. Meanwhile the Scots committed a dreadful slaughter. It is the remark of the historian Hemingford, who de- scribes this victory of Stirling from the information of eye-witnesses, that in all Scotland there could not be found a place better fitted for the de- feat of a powerful army by a handful of men, than the ground which Wal- lace had chosen. 3 Multitudes perished in the river ; and as the confusion and slaughter increased, and the entire de- feat of the English became inevitable, the Earl of Lennox and the Steward * Hemingford, vol i. p. 128. 1227.] PERIOD OF of Scotland, who, although allies of the King of England, were secretly in treaty with Wallace, threw off the mask, and led a body of their followers to destroy and plunder the flying English. Surrey, on being joined by Sir Marmaduke Twenge, remained no longer on the field ; but having hastily ordered him to occupy the castle of Stirling, which he promised to relieve in ten days, he rode, without drawing bridle, to Berwick : a clear proof of the total defeat of the powerful army which he had led into Scotland. From Berwick he proceeded to join the Prince of Wales in the south, and left the country which had been intrusted to him exposed to ravage and desolation. Although the English historians re- strict the loss of soldiers in this fatal and important battle to five thou- sand foot, and a hundred heavy-armed horse, 1 it is probable that nearly one half of the English army was cut to pieces, and Cressingham the treasurer • was amongst the first who fell. Hem- ingford allows that the plunder which fell into the hands of the Scots was very great, and that waggons Were filled with the spoils. Smarting under the cruelty and rapacity with which they had been treated by the English, the Scots were not slow' now to take their revenge, nor was Wallace of a temper to restrain his soldiers. Few prisoners seem to have fallen into their hands, and the slaughter was general and indiscriminate. So deep was the detestation in which the char- acter of Cressingham was regarded, that his dead body was mangled, the skin torn from the limbs, and in savage triumph cut into pieces. 2 1 So say Hemingford and Knighton. But Trivet, p. 307, and Walsingham, p. 73, assert, that before the half of the English army had passed, the Scots attacked and put almost all of them to the sword. Now the English army consisted of fifty thousand foot and one thousand horse. Hemingford, p. 127. See Notes and Illustrations, letter H. 2 Triveti Ann. p. 307. Hemingford, p. 130. The Chron. Lanercost, p. 190, says that Wallace ordered as much of his skin to' be taken off as would make a sword belt. This is the origin of the stories of Abercromby, vol. i. p. 531, that the Scots made girths of his skin, and of others that they made saddles ef it Hailes, vol i. p. 252. WALLACE. 55 The decisive nature of the defeat is, perhaps, most apparent from the im- portant consequences which attended it. To use the words of Knighton, "this awful beginning of hostilities roused the spirit of Scotland, and sunk the hearts of the English." 3 Dundee immediately surrendered to Wallace, and rewarded his army by a rich, booty of arms and money. In a short time not a fortress or castle in Scot- land remained in the hands of Edward. The castles of Edinburgh and Rox- burgh were dismantled ; and Berwick, upon the advance of the Scottish army, having been hastily abandoned, Wal- lace sent Henry de Haliburton, a Scot- tish knight, to occupy this important frontier town. 4 Thus, by the efforts of a single man, not only unassisted, but actually thwarted and opposed by the nobility of the country, was the iron power of Edward completely broken, and Scotland once more able to lift her head among free nations. A dreadful dearth and famine, no un- f requ ent accompaniment of the ravages i of war, now fell severely upon the country ; and Wallace, profiting by the panic inspired by his victory at Stirling, resolved upon an immediate expedition into England. 5 To enable his own people to lay in, against the time of scarcity, the provisions which would otherwise be consumed by his numerous army, and to support his soldiers during the winter months in an enemy's country, were wise ob- jects. Previous, however, to his march- ing into England, he commanded that from every county, barony, town, and village, a certain proportion of the fighting men, between sixteen and sixty, should be levied. These levies., however, even after so decisive a vic- tory as that of Stirling, were tardily made. The vassals of Scotland, tied up by the rigid fetters of the feudal law, could not join Wallace without the authority of their overlords ; and as most of the Scottish nobility had left hostages for their fidelity in the hands of Edward, and many of them s Hen. Knighton, p. 2519. * cscaia Ohronicon, a Stevenson, p. 124. 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 172. 56. possessed great estates in England, which, upon joining Wallace, would have immediately been forfeited, they did not yet dare to take the field against the English. A jealousy, too, of the high military renown and great popularity of Wallace prevented all cordial co-operation ; and the contempt with which this deliverer of his coun- try must have regarded the nobility, who yet sheltered themselves under the protection of Edward, was not calculated to allay this feeling. The battle of Stirling was fought on the 11th of September; and on the 25th of that month the English govern- ment, alarmed at the success of Wal- lace, sent letters to the principal Scottish nobility, praising them for their fidelity to the king ; informing them that they were aware the Earl of Surrey was on his way to England, (a delicate way of noticing the flight of Warrene from Stirling ;) and directing them to join Brian Fitz-Alan, the go- vernor of Scotland, with all their horse and foot, in order to put down the re- bellion of the Scots. The only nobles with whom the English government did not communicate were the Earls of Caithness, Ross, Mar, Athole, Fife, and Carrick. Fife, however, was a minor ; the others, we may presume, had by this time joined the party of Wallace. 1 The great majority of the nobles being still against him, this intrepid leader found it difficult to procure new levies, and was constrained to adopt severe measures against all who were refractory. Gibbets were erected in each barony and county town; and some burgesses of Aberdeen, who had disobeyed the summons, were hanged. 2 After this example he soon found him- self at the head of a numerous army ; and having taken with him, as his 1 John Comyn of Badenoch ; Patrick, earl of Dunbar; Umfraville, earl of Angus ; Alex- ander, earl of Menteith ; Malise, earl of Strathern ; James, the Steward of Scotland ; John Comyn, earl of Buchan ; Malcolm, earl of Lennox ; and William, earl of Sutherland ; Nicholas de la Haye ; Ingelram de Umfraville ; Jlichard Fraser, and Alexander de Lindesay, were the nobles written to by the English government. Rotuli Scot. vol. i. p. 49. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. li. p. 172. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. partner in command, Sir Andrew Moray of" Bothwell, then a young soldier of great promise, and after- wards regent of the kingdom, he marched towards the north of Eng- land, and threatened Northumber- land. 3 Such was the terror inspired by the approach of the Scots, that the whole population of this county, with their wives and children, their cattle and household goods, deserted their dwellings, and took refuge in Newcastle. The Scots, to whom plun- der was a principal object, delayed their advance; and the Northum- brians, imagining the danger to be over, returned home ; but Wallace, informed of this by his scouts, made a rapid march across the border, and dreadfully ravished the two counties of Cumberland and Northumberland, carrying off an immense booty, and having the head-quarters of his army in the forest of Rothebury. " At this time," says Hemingford, "the praise of God was unheard in any church and monastery through the whole country, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the gates of Carlisle ; for the monks^ canons regular, and other priests, who were ministers of the Lord, fled, with the whole people, from the face of the enemy ; nor was there any to oppose them, except that now and then a few English, who belonged to the castle of Alnwick, and other strengths, ven- tured from their safeholds, and slew some stragglers. But these were slight successes ; and the Scots roved over the country from the Feast of St Luke to St Martin's day, 4 inflicting upon it all the miseries of unrestrained rapine and bloodshed." 5 After this, Wallace assembled his whole army, and proceeded in his de- structive march to Carlisle. He did not deem it prudent, however, to attack this city, which was strongly garrisoned; and contented himself with laying waste Cumberland and Annandale, from Ingle wood forest to Derwentwater and Cocker mouth. 6 3 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 131. 4 From 18th Oct. to 11th Nov. 5 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 132. Fordun a Hearne, p. 980. 1297-98.] PERIOD OF It was next determined to invade the county of Durham, which would have been easily accomplished, as three thousand foot and a hundred armed horse were all that could be mustered for its defence. But the winter now set in with great severity. The frost was so intense, and the scarcity of provisions so grievous, that multi- tudes of the Scots perished by cold or famine, and Wallace commanded a retreat. On returning to Hexham, where there was a rich monastery, which had already been plundered and deserted on the advance, a strik- ing scene occurred. Three monks were seen in the solitary monastery. Thinking that the tide of war had passed over, they had crept back, to repair the ravages they had left, when suddenly they saw the army return- ing, and fled in terror into a little chapel. In a moment the Scottish soldiers with their long lances were upon them, calling, on peril of their lives, to shew them the treasures of their monastery. " Alas ! " said one of the monks, " it is but a short time since you yourselves have seized our whole property, and you know best where it now is." At this moment Wallace himself came into the chapel, and, commanding his soldiers to be silent, requested one of the canons to celebrate mass. The monk obeyed, and Wallace, all armed as he was, and surrounded by his soldiers, reverently attended. When it came to the eleva- tion of the host, he stepped out of the chapel to cast off his helmet and lay aside his arms, but in this short ab- sence the fury and avarice of his sol- diers broke out. They pressed on the priest, snatched the chalice from the altar, tore away its ornaments and the sacred vestments, and even stole the missal in which the service had been begun. When their master returned, he found the priest in horror and dis- may, and gave orders that the sacri- legious wretches who had committed the outrage should be sought for and put to death. Meanwhile he took the canons under his protection. " Ke- main with me," said he ; "it is that alone which can secure you. My sol- I WALLACE. 57 diers are evil disposed. I cannot jus- tify, and I dare not punish them." 1 This sacrilegious attack was the more unpardonable, as the monastery of Hex- ham was dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland, and enjoyed a perpetual protection from King David. Wal- lace, to atone for the outrage, granted a charter of protection to the priory and convent, by which its lands, men, and movables, were admitted under the peace of the king, and all persons inter- dicted from doing them injury. 2 The Scots now advanced to Newcastle, but finding the garrison prepared to stand a siege, they contented themselves with ravaging the adjacent country ; and having collected the booty, they allotted their part to the Galwegians who were with the army, and marched homewards. 3 In revenge for this terrible visita- tion, Lord Robert Clifford collected the strength of Carlisle and Cum- berland, and twice invaded Annandale with an army of twenty thousand foot and a hundred horse. On passing the Solway, it was proclaimed by sound of trumpet that every soldier should plunder for himself, and keep his own booty ; on hearing which, the infantry with undisciplined rapacity dispersed, and the horse alone remained toge- ther. In consequence of this, nothing was effected worthy of so powerful an army. Three hundred and eight Scots were slain, ten villages or hamlets burnt, and a few prisoners taken. This happened at Christmas. In his second inroad, the town of Annan, and the church of Gysborne, were burnt and plundered. 4 Annandale belonged to Robert Bruce; and the destruction of his lands and villages determined him once more to desert 1 Hemingford, vol. i. pp. 133, 134. Knighton, p. 2521. 2 This famous instrument is granted in name of "Andrew de Moray, and William Wallace, leaders of the army of Scotland, in the name of the illustrious prince, John, by the grace of God, King of Scotland, and with consent of the Estates of the kingdom." It is dated at Hexham, on the 8th of November 1297. Hemingford, p. 135. s "Dividentes inter se spolia qusesita, tra- diderunt Galivalensibus partes suas, et abi- erunt in loca sua." Hemingford, p. 136. 4 Knighton, p. 2522. 58 HISTORY OF the English, and join the party of the patriot*. Soon after his return from his expe- dition into England, Wallace, in an assembly held at the Forest Kirk in Selkirkshire, which was attended by the Earl of Lennox, William Douglas, and others of the principal nobility, was elected Governor of Scotland, in name of King John, and with con- sent of the community of Scotland. 1 Strengthened by this high title, which he had so well deserved, and which the common people believed was rati- fied by the express approval of St Andrew, who presented to the hero a sacred sword, to be used in his battles against the English, 2 he proceeded to reward his friends and fellow-soldiers, to punish his enemies ; and, despising the jealousy and desertion of a great majority of the nobility, to adopt and enforce those public measures which he considered necessary for securing the liberty of the country. He con- ferred the office of Constable of Dun- dee upon Alexander Skirmishur, or Scrimgeour, and his heirs, for his services in bearing the royal banner of Scotland. 3 By a strict severity, he restrained the licentiousness of his soldiers, and endeavoured to introduce discipline into his army. 4 In order to secure a certain proportion of new levies, at any time when the danger or exigency of the state required it, he divided the kingdom into military districts. In each shire, barony, lord- ship, town, and burgh, he appointed a muster-book to be made, of the num- ber of fighting men which they con- tained, between the age of sixteen and sixty; 5 and from these he drew at 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 174. Craw- ford, Hist, of House of Douglas, p. 22, MS., quoted in Sir R. Sibbald's Commentary on the Relationes Arnaldi Blair. 2 Fordun a Goodal, p. 170. 3 This famous grant is dated at Torphichen, March 29, 1298 ; apud Anderson, Diplomata Scotise. 4 He appointed an officer or sergeant over every four men, another of higher power over every nine, another of still higher authority over every nineteen men, and thus, in an ascending scale of disciplined authority, up to the officer, or chiliarch, who commanded a thousand men. Fordun a Goodal. vol. ii. p. 171. 6 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 170. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. pleasure, and in case of refusal under pain of life and limb, as many recruits as he thought requisite. In a short time, such were the effects of his firm and courageous dealing in the govern- ment, that the most powerful of the nobility were compelled, by the fears of imprisonment, to submit to his authority, although they envied him his high elevation, and whenever an opportunity presented itself, took part with the King of England. 6 But although few of the earls had joined him, the lesser barons and gentry repaired in great numbers to the banner of the governor, and willingly supported him with all their forces. The general revolt of the Scots, and that rapid success with which it was attended, determined the English Eegency to summon a parliament at London, on the ] Oth of October. 7 To this assembly came the Earl of Nor- folk and the Earl of Hereford, the one Marshal and the other Constable of England, with so powerful a body of their retainers, that they overawed its proceedings ; and aware of the try- ing emergency in which the rebellion of the Scots had placed the king, they declared that no aids or levies should be granted against the Scots, unless the Great Charter, and the Charter of the Forests, were ratified, along with an additional clause, which prohibited any aid or tillage from being exacted, without the consent of the prelates, nobles, knights, and other freemen. Edward was startled when informed of these demands. His affairs detained him in Flanders, where accounts had reached him of the whole of Scotland having been wrested from his hand by Wallace : he was still engaged in a war with France ; and, thus surround- ed by difficulties, it was absolutely necessary for him to make every sacri- fice to. remain on good terms with his barons. 8 He accordingly, after three c "Et si quisde magnatibus gratis suis non obediret mandatis, hunc tenuit et coercuit, et custodiae mancipavit, donee suis bene placitis penitus obtemperaret." Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 170. 7 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 138. 8 Tyrrel, Hist. Eng. vol. iii. p. 124. Hem- ingford, vol. i. p. 138. Triveti Annales, p. 309 1298.] PERIOD OF days' deliberation, consented to con- firm all the charters which had been sent over to him ; and having wisely- secured the affections of his nobility, he directed letters to the earls and barons of England, commanding them, as they valued his honour, and that of the whole kingdom, to meet at York on the 14th January, and thence, under the orders of the Earl of Sur- rey, to proceed into Scotland, and put down the rebellion of that nation. 1 At the same time he sent letters to she great men of Scotland, requir- ing them on their fealty to attend the muster at York, and denouncing them as public enemies if they re- fused. These seasonable favours granted to the nobility, and the good grace with which Edward bestowed them, although, in truth, they were extorted from him much against his inclina- tion, rendered the king highly popu- lar; so that at York, on the day appointed, there was a great muster of the military force of the kingdom. There came the Earl Marshal and the Great Constable of England, the Earl of Surrey, the king's lieutenant against the Scots, the Earls of Gloucester and Arundel, Lord Henry Percy, John de Wake, John de Segrave, Guido, son of the Earl of Warwick, and many other powerful earls and barons. 2 Having waited in vain for the Scottish nobles whom Edward had summoned to at- tend — an order which, as the result shewed, the dread of Wallace rather than the love of their country com- pelled them to disobey — the English nobles appointed a general muster of their forces to be held eight days after, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, purposing from thence to march against the enemy. Here they accordingly met, and the army, both in numbers and equipment, was truly formidable. There were two thousand heavy cavalry, armed both horse and man at all points, along with two thousand light horse, and a hundred thousand i The confirmation of Magna Charta and the Charta de Foresta is dated at Ghent, Nov. 6. 1 297. Rymer, new edit. vol. i. part ii. p. 880. ~ Hemingford, vol. i. p. 144. WALLACE. 59 foot, including the Welsh. With this force they marched across the border, and advanced to Roxburgh. This important fortress was then invested by Wallace; and the garrison, worn out by a long siege, were in a state of great distress, when the army of Sur- rey made its appearance, and the Scots thought it prudent to retire. After relieving " their wounded country- men,' ' the English skirmished as far as Kelso, and returned to occupy Berwick, which had been in the hands of the Scots since the battle of Stirling. They found it deserted, and brought a joyful relief to the castle, the garrison of which had stoutly held out, whilst the rest of the town was in possession of the enemy. 3 Edward, in the meantime, having learnt in Flanders the strength of the army which awaited his orders, was restless and impatient till he had joined them in person. His anger against the Scots, and his determina- tion to inflict a signal vengeance upon their perfidy on again daring to defend their liberties, had induced him to make every sacrifice, that he might proceed with an overwhelming force against this country. For this pur- pose, he hastened to conclude a truce with the King of France, and to refer their disputes to the judgment of Boniface the pope. 4 He wrote to the Earl of Surrey not to march into Scot- land till he had joined the army in person ; and having rapidly concluded his affairs in Flanders, he took ship- ping, and landed at Sandwich, where he was received with much rejoicing and acclamation. 5 Surrey, on receiv- ing letters from the king to delay his expedition, had retained with him a small proportion of his troops, and dismissed the, rest; but the moment Edward set his foot in England, he directed his writs, by which he sum- moned the whole military power of the kingdom to meet him at York, on the Feast of Pentecost, with horse and * Knighton, p. 2525. Triveti Annales, p. 311. * Rymer's Fcedera, new edit. vol. u part ii. p. 88T. a Ibid. p. 889. 60 HISTORY OF arms, to proceed against the Scots.- 1 He also commanded all the earls and barons, with two knights of every shire, and the representatives from the towns and burghs, to attend his parliament to be held in that city; and summoned the nobility of Scot- land, unless they chose to be treated as vassals who had renounced their allegiance, to be there also on the day appointed. 2 To this summons they paid no regard. Those who had ac- companied him in his expedition to Flanders, on his embarkation for Eng- land, forsook him, and resorted to the French king ; and the rest of the Scot- tish barons, although jealous of Wal- lace, dreaded the vengeance which his power and high authority as governor entitled him to inflict on them. Mean- while Edward, having commanded his army to rendezvous at Roxburgh on the 24th of June, with misplaced de- votion, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St John of Beverley. The sacred standard of this saint, held in deep reverence by the king and the army, had been carried with the host in the former war; and it is probable Ed- ward would not lose the opportunity of taking it along with him in this expedition. On coming to Roxburgh, he found himself at the head of an army more formidable in their number, and more rsplendid in their equipment, than even that which had been collected by the Earl of Surrey six months be- fore. He had seven thousand horse, three thousand heavy-armed, both men and horse, and four thousand light cavalry. His infantry consisted at first of eighty thousand men, mostly "Welsh and Irish ; but these were soon strengthened by the arrival of a powerful reinforcement from Gascony, amongst whom were -five hundred horse, splendidly armed, and admira- bly mounted. On reviewing his troops, 1 Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 129. Rymer, vol. i. part ii. p. 890. Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, €hron. Abstract, p. 38. The names of the leaders to whom writs are directed occupy the whole Itotulus Scotia* 26 and 27 Edward First. They are a hundred and fifty-four in ti umber. 2 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 158. ' SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. Edward found that the Constable and Marshal, with the barons of their party, refused to advance a step until the confirmation of the Great Charter and the Charter of the Forests had been ratified by the king in person: so jealous were they of their new rights, and so suspicious lest he should plead that his former consent, given when in foreign parts, did not bind him within his own dominions. 3 Ed- ward dissembled his resentment, and evaded their demand, by bringing for- ward the Bishop of Durham, and the Earls of Surrey, Norfolk, and Lincoln, who solemnly swore, on the soul of their lord the king, that on his return, if he obtained the victory, he would accede to their request. 4 Compelled to rest satisfied with this wary pro* mise, which he afterwards tried in every way to elude, the refractory barons consented to advance into Scot- land. Meanwhile that country, notwith- standing the late expulsion of its enemies, was little able to contend with the superior numbers and disci- pline of the army now led against it, It was cruelly weakened by the con- tinued dissensions and jealousy of its nobility. Ever since the elevation of Wallace to the rank of Governor of* Scotland, the greater barons had en- vied his assumption of power; and, looking upon him as a person of ig- noble birth, had seized all opportuni- ties to despise and resist his authority. 5 These selfish jealousies were increased by the terror of Edward's military renown, and in many by the fear of losing their English estates ; so that at the very time when an honest love of liberty, and a simultaneous spirit of resistance, could alone have saved Scotland, its nobility deserted their country, and refused to act with the only man whose success and military talents were equal to the emergency. s Hemingford, p. 159. * " Quod in reditu," suo. obtenta victoria, "omnia perimpleret ad votum." Heming- ford, p. 159. 5 "Licet apud comites regni et procerea ignobilis putaretur." Fordun a Hearne, p. 078. See also Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 174. 1298.] PERIOD OF The governor, however, still endea- voured to collect the strength of the land. John Comyn of Badenoch, the younger, Sir J ohn Stewart of Bonkill, Sir John Graham of Abercorn, and Macduff, the grand-uncle of the Earl of Fife, consented to act along with him; whilst Robert Bruce, maintain- ing a suspicious neutrality, remained with a strong body of his vassals in the castle of Ayr. The plan adopted by Wallace for the defence of Scotland was the same as that which was afterwards so suc- cessfully executed by Bruce. It was to avoid a general battle, which, with an army far inferior to the English, must have been fought at a disadvan- tage; to fall back slowly before the enemy, leaving some garrisons in the most important castles, driving off all supplies, wasting the country through which the English were to march, and waiting till the scarcity of provisions compelled them to retreat, and give him a favourable opportunity of break- ing down upon them with full effect. Edward bad determined to penetrate into the west of Scotland, and there he purposed to conclude the war. He directed a fleet, with supplies for his army, to sail round from Berwick to the Firth of Forth; and having left Roxburgh, he proceeded by mo- derate marches into Scotland, laying waste the country, and anxious for a sight of his enemies. No one, however, was to be found who could give him information regarding the Scottish army; and he proceeded through Berwickshire to Lauder, 1 and without a check to Templeliston, now Kirklis- ton, a small town between Edinburgh and Linlithgow. Here, as provisions began already to be scarce, he deter- mined to remain, in order to receive the earliest intelligence of his fleet; and, in case of accidents, to secure his retreat. At this time he learnt that frequent attacks were made against the foraging parties of his rear divi- sion, by the Scottish garrison in the strong castle of Dirleton : and that two other fortalices, which he had passed on his march, were likely to i Prynne, Edward I., p. 7S8. WALLACE. 61 give him annoyance* Upon this he despatched his favourite marshal bishop, Anthony Beck, who sat down before the castle ; but, on account of the want of proper battering machines, found it too strong for him. He then attempted to carry it by assault, but was driven back with loss ; and as his division began to be in extreme want, the bishop sent Sir John Marmaduke to require the king's pleasure. " Go back/' said Edward, "and tell Anthony that he is right to be pacific when he is acting the bishop, but that in his present business he must forget his calling. As for you," continued the king, addressing Marmaduke, "you are a relentless soldier, and I have often had to reprove you for too cruel an exultation over the death of your enemies; but return now whence you came, and be as relentless as you choose. You will have my thanks, not my censure; and look you, do not see my face again, till these three castles are razed to the ground." 3 In the meantime, the besiegers were relieved from the extremities of want, by the arrival of three ships with pro- visions ; and the bishop, on receiving the king's message, took advantage of the renewed strength and spirit of his soldiers to order an assault, which was successful ; the garrison having stipulated, before surrender, that their lives should be spared. 4 Edward, when at Kirkliston, had raised some of the young squires in his army to the rank of knighthood ; and these new knights were sent to gain their spurs, by tak- ing the other two fortalices. On coming before them, however, they found that the Scots had abandoned them to the enemy; and having de- stroyed them, they rejoined the main army. 5 These transactions occupied a month, and the army began again to suffer severely from the scarcity of provi- sions. The fleet from Berwick was anxiously looked for, and Edward 2 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 160. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. p. 161. Walsingham, p. 75. * Hemingford, vol. i. p, 161. 62 foresaw that in the event of its ar- rival being protracted a few days longer, he should be compelled to re- treat. At last a few ships were seen off the coast, which brought a small supply; but the great body of the fleet was still detained by contrary winds, and a dangerous mutiny broke out in the camp. The Welsh troops had suffered much from famine ; and a present of wine having been sent to them by the king, their soldiers, in a paroxysm of intoxication and national antipathy, attacked the English quar- ters in the night, and inhumanly murdered eighteen priests. Upon this the English cavalry hastily ran to their weapons, and breaking in upon the Welsh, slew eighty men. In the morning the Welsh, of whom there were forty thousand in the army, ex- asperated at the death of their com- panions, threatened to join the Scots. " Let them do so," said Edward, with his usual cool courage ; " let them go over to my enemies : I hope soon to see the day when I shall chastise them both." This day, however, was, to all appearance, distant. The distress for provisions now amounted to an abso- lute famine. No intelligence had been received of the Scottish army. As the English advanced, the country had been wasted by an invisible foe ; and Edward, wearied out, was at length compelled to issue orders for a re- treat to Edinburgh, hoping to meet with his fleet at Leith, and thereafter to recommence operations against the enemy. At this critical juncture, when the military skill and wisdom of the dispositions made by Wallace became apparent, and when the moment to harass and destroy the invading army in its retreat had arrived, the treachery of her nobles again betrayed Scotland. Two Scottish lords, Patrick, earl of Dunbar, and the Earl of Angus, privately, at day- oreak, sought the quarters of the Bishop of Durham, and informed him that the Scots were encamped not far off in the forest of Falkirk. The Scottish earls, who dreaded the re- sentment of Edward, on account of HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. their late renunciation of allegiance, 1 did not venture to seek the king in person. They sent their intelligence by a page, and added, that having heard of his projected retreat, it was the intention of Wallace to surprise him by a night attack, and to hang upon and harass his rear. Edward, on hearing this welcome news, could not conceal his joy. " Thanks be to God," he exclaimed, "who hitherto hath extricated me from every danger I They shall not need to follow me, since I shall forthwith go and meet them." Without a moment's delay, orders were issued for the soldiers to arm, and hold themselves ready to march. The king was the first to put on his armour ; and, mounting his horse, rode through the camp, hastening the pre- parations, and giving orders in person, to the merchants and sutlers who attended the army to pack up their wares, and be ready to follow him. At length all was prepared, and at three o'clock the whole army was on its advance from Kirkliston to Fal- kirk, astonished at the sudden change in the plan of operations, and at the slow and deliberate pace with which they were led on. It was late before they reached a heath near Linlithgow, on which they encamped for the night. They were not allowed the refresh- ment of disarming themselves; but to use the striking words of Heming- ford, "each soldier slept on the ground, using his shield for his pillow; each horseman had his horse beside him, and the horses themselves tasted no- thing but cold iron, champing their bridles." In the middle of the night a cry was heard. King Edward, who slept on the heath, whilst a page held his horse, was awakened by a sudden stroke on his side. The boy had been i Hemingford, vol. i. p. 162. Lord Hailes has omitted to notice the fact that the intel- ligence regarding the position of the army was brought . by two Scottish earls. It is difficult to understand how he should have overlooked it, as he quotes the very page of Hemingford where it is stated. He has at- tempted to disprove what appears to me com- pletely established by the authority of Hem- ingford, "that the defeat at Falkirk was brought about by the dissensions amongst the Scottish leaders." 1298.] careless, and the horse, in changing his position, had put his foot on the king as he slept. Those around him cried out that their prince was wound- ed ; and this, in the confusion of the night, was soon raised into a shout that the enemy were upon them, so that they hastily armed themselves, and prepared for their defence. But the mistake was soon explained. Ed- ward had been only slightly hurt ; and as the morning was near, he mounted his horse, and gave orders to march. They passed through Linlithgow a little before sunrise ; and on looking up to a rising ground, at some distance in their front, observed the ridge of the hill lined with lances. Not a moment was lost. Their columns marched up the hill, but on reaching it, the enemy had disappeared ; and as it was the feast of St Mary Magdalene, the king ordered a tent to be raised, where he and the Bishop of Durham heard mass. These lances had been the advanced guard of the enemy ; for while mass was saying, and the day became brighter, the English soldiers could distinctly see the Scots in the distance arranging their lines, and pre- paring for battle. The Scottish army did not amount to the third part of the force of the English; and Wallace, who dreaded this great disparity, and knew how much Edward was likely to suffer by the protraction of the war and the want of provisions, at first thought of a retreat, and hastened to lead off his soldiers ; but he soon found that the English were too near to admit of this being accomplished without certain destruction ; and he therefore pro- ceeded to draw up his army, so as best to avail himself of the nature of the ground, and to sustain the attack of the English. He divided his in- fantry into four compact divisions, called SchiltroriB, 1 composed of his lancers. In the first line the men knelt, with their lances turned ob- liquely outwards, so as to present a serried front to the enemy on every side. In this infantry consisted the chief strength of the Scottish army, * See Notes and Illustrations, letter I. PERIOD OF WALLACE. 63 for the soldiers stood so close, and were so linked or chained together, that to break the line was extremely difficult. 2 In the spaces between these divisions were placed the archers, and in the rear was drawn up thp Scottish cavalry, consisting of about z thousand heavy-armed horse. 3 After hearing mass, the King of England, being informed of the Scottish disposition of battle, hesi- tated to lead his army forward to the attack, and proposed that they should pitch their tents, and allow the soldiers and the horses time for rest and re- freshment. This was opposed by his officers as unsafe, on account of there being nothing but a small rivulet be- tween the two armies. " What then would you advise?" asked Edward. "An immediate advance," said they; "the field and the victory will be ours." " In Gods name, then, let it be so," replied the king ; and without delay, the barons who commanded the first division, the Marshal of Eng- land, and the Earls of Hereford and Lincoln, led their soldiers in a direct line against the enemy. They were not aware, however, of an extensive moss which stretched along the front of the Scottish position, and on reach- ing it, were obliged to make a circuit to the west to get rid of the obstacle. This retarded their attack ; meanwhile the second line, under the command of the Bishop of Durham, being better informed of the nature of the ground, in advancing inclined to the east with the same object. The bishop's cavalry were fiery and impetuous. Thirty-six banners floated above the mass of spears, and shewed how many leaders of distinction were in the field; but Anthony Beck, who had seen enough of war to know the danger of too pre- 2 "Ther formost courey ther bakkis togidere sette, There speres poynt over poynt, so sare, and so thikke And fast togidere joynt, to se it was wer- like, Als a castelle thei stode, that were walled with stone, Thei wende no man of blode thorgh tham suld haf gone." — Langtoft's Chronicle, book ii. 1. 304, 305. 8 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 163. 34 HISTORY OF cipitate an attack, commanded them to hold back, till the third line, under the king, came up to support them. "Stick to thy mass, bishop," cried Ralph Basset of Drayton, "and teach not us what we ought to do in the face of an enemy." " On then," replied the bishop ; u set on in your own way. We are all soldiers to-day, and bound to do our duty." So saying, they hastened forward, and in a few minutes engaged with the first column of the Scots ; whilst the first line, which had extricated itself from the morass, com- menced its attack upon the other flank. Wallace's anxiety to avoid a battle had in all probability arisen from his having little dependence on the fidelity of the heavy-armed cavalry, com- manded by those nobles who hated and feared him ; and the events shew- ed how just were his suspicions : for the moment the lines met, the whole body of the Scottish horse shamelessly retired without striking a blow. 1 The columns of infantry, however, with the intermediate companies of archers, kept their ground, and a few of the armed knights remained beside them . Amongst these, Sir John Stew- art of Bonkill, in marshalling the ranks of the archers from the forest of Sel- kirk, was thrown from his horse. The faithful bowmen tried to rescue him, but in vain. He was slain, and the tall and athletic figures of those who fell round him drew forth the praise of the enemy. 2 On the death of this leader, the archers gave way ; but the columns of the Scottish infantry stood firm, and their oblique lances, pointing every way, presented a thick wood, through which no attacks of the ca- valry could penetrate. Edward now brought up his reserve of archers and slingers, who showered their arrows upon them, with volleys of large round 1 Fordun a Hearne, p. 981. "Nam propter conceptam maliciam, ex fonte invidiae gene- ratam, quam erga dictum Willelmum Cumin- enses habebant, cum suis complicibus cam- pum deserentes, illaesi evaserunt." See also Hemingford, p. 164— "Fugerunt Scottorum equestres absque ullo gladii ictu." — And Winton, vol. ii. p. 101, book viii. chap. 15, 1. 47. Also Chron. de Lanercost, p. 191, 2 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 165. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. stones, which covered the ground where they stood. This continued and gall- ing attack, along with the reiterated charges of the cavalry, at last broke the first line, and the heavy-armed horse, pouring in at the gap which was thus made, threw all into confusion, and carried indiscriminate slaughter through their ranks. Macduff, along with his vassals from Fife, was slain ; ;1 and Wallace, with the remains of his army, having gained the neighbouring wood, made good his retreat, leaving nearly fifteen thousand men dead upon the field. 4 On the English side, only two men of note fell ; one of them was Sir Bryan de Jaye, Master of the Scot- tish Templars, who, when pressing before his men in the ardour of the pursuit, was entangled in a moss in Callander wood, and slain by some of the Scottish fugitives. The other was a companion of the same order, and of high rank. 8 The remains of the Scottish army immediately retreated from Falkirk to Stirling. Unable to maintain the town against the English army, they set it on fire; and Edward, on entering it on the fourth day after the battle, found it reduced to ashes. 6 The con- vent of the Dominicans, however, es- caped the flames ; and here the king, who still suffered from the wound given him by his horse, remained for fifteen days to recover his health. Meantime he sent a division of his army across the Forth into Clackman- nanshire and Menteith, which, after ravaging the country and plundering the villages, advanced in its destructive march through Fife. The whole of this rich and populous district was now regarded with great severity, on account of the resistance made by Macduff and the men of Fife at Fal- kirk. It was accordingly delivered up 3 Winton, vol. ii. p. 101, book viii. chap. 15, L 45. * Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 130, who quotes, as his authority, the Norwich Chronicle and the Chronicle of John Eversden, both English authorities. The older Scottish historians, Fordun and Winton, make no mention of the loss of the Scots. 5 Notes and Illustrations, letter K. • Prynne, Edward I., p. 791. Edward was I at Stirling 26th J"**. 1298-99.] PERIOD OF to complete military execution; and, to use the words of an ancient chro- nicle, " clene brent." 1 The city of St Andrews was found deserted by its in- habitants, and delivered to the flames. Beginning to be in distress for provi- sions, the English pushed on to Perth, which they found already burnt by the Scots themselves ; so that, defeated in the hope of procuring supplies, and unable longer to support themselves in a country so utterly laid waste, they returned to Stirling, the castle of which Edward had commanded to be repaired. Having left a garrison there, he pro- ceeded to Abercorn, 2 near Queensf erry, where he had hopes to find his long- 3xpected fleet, with supplies from Ber- wick ; but his ships were still detained. He then marched to Glasgow, and through the district of Clydesdale, by Bothwell, to Lanark, from which he proceeded towards the strong castle of Ayr, then in the hands of the younger Bruce, earl of Carrick. Bruce fled at the approach of the king, after having set fire to the castle; and Edward marched into Galloway with the inten- tion of punishing this refractory baron, by laying waste his country. 3 The army, however, began again to be grievously in want of provisions ; and ihe king, after having for fifteen days struggled against famine, was con- strained to return through the middle of Annandale, and to be contented with the capture of Bruce's castle of Loch- maben, 4 from which he proceeded to Carlisle. Thus were the fruits of the bloody and decisive battle of Falkirk plucked from the hands of Edward, by famine and distress, at the moment he expected to secure them ; and after leading against Scotland the most nu- merous and best appointed army which had perhaps ever invaded it, and de- feating his enemies with great slaugh- ter, he was compelled to retreat while 1 Hardynge's Chronicle, 8vo, London, 1543, p. 165. See Notes and Illustrations, letter L. 2 Trivet, p. 313, calls this place "Abour- toun juxta Queenesferrie ;" and Hearne, the editor, in a note, observes it may mean Aber- dour. Prynne, Edward I., p. 791, quotes a letter of presentation by Edward, of John Boush of London, to the vacant church of Kinkell, tilted nt Abercorjj. Aug. 15, 1298. * Heminfctor'i, vol, I **> 166 * Ibid. XUL. L WALLACE, 65 still nearly the whole of the country beyond the Forth was unsubdued, and even when that part which he had wasted and overrun was only waiting for his absence to rise into a new revolt against him. 5 At Carlisle the Earls of Norfolk and Hereford left the army to return home, under the pretence that their men and horses were worn out with the expedition, but in reality be- cause they were incensed at the king for a breach of faith. Edward, when at Lochmaben, had, without consulting them or their brother nobles, disposed of the Island of Arran to Thomas Bis- set, a Scottish adventurer, who, having invaded and seized it about the time of the battle of Falkirk, pretended that he had undertaken the enterprise for the King of England. This was done in violation of a solemn promise, that without advice of his council, he would adopt no new measures ; and to atone for so irregular a proceeding, a parlia- ment was held at Carlisle, in which the king, who as yet was master of but a very small part of Scotland, assigned to his earls and barons the estates of the Scottish nobles. These, however, as an old historian remarks, were grants given in hope, not in possession ; and even the frail tenure of hope by which they were held was soon threatened : for on reaching Durham messengers armed with the intelligence that the Scots were again in arms, and the king hastily returned to Tynemouth, and from thence to Coldingham, near Be- verley. His army was now much re- duced by the desertion of Norfolk and Hereford; and the soldiers who re- mained were weakened with famine and the fatigues of war. To commence another campaign at this late season was impossible ; but he instantly issued 6 Lord Hailes, 4to edit. vol. i. p. 263, as- cribes the successes of Edward in this cam- paign to the precipitancy of the Scots. Yet the Scots were any thing but precipitate. They wasted the country, and purposely re- tired from Edward; nor did they fight, till the Earl of Dunbar and the Earl of Angus treacherously brought information where the Scottish army lay, and enabled Edward, by ;i rapid night-march, to surprise them.. Edward owed his success to the fatal dissension amongst the Scots, and to the superior num- bers and equipment of his army, E 66 HISTORY OF his writs for the assembling of a new- army, to chastise, as he said, the obsti- nate and reiterated rebellions of the Scots ; and he appointed his barons to meet him at Carlisle on the eve of the day of Pentecost. 1 He also commanded the speedy collection of the money granted by the clergy of the province of York to assist him in his war with Scotland ; and despatched letters to the nobles of England, ordering their at- tendance in the army destined against Scotland. Patrick, earl of Dunbar and March, and his son, Gilbert de Umfraville, earl of Angus, Alexander de Baliol, and Simon Fraser, all of them Scottish barons, were at this time friends to Edward, and resident at his court, and to them were the same commands directed. 2 Wallace, soon after the defeat of Falkirk, voluntarily resigned the office of Governor of Scotland. The Comyns had threatened to impeach him of treason for his conduct during the war ; and the Bruces, next in power to the Comyns, appear to have forgot their personal animosity, and united with their rivals to put him down. To these accusations the disaster at Falkirk gave some colour, and he chose rather to return to the station of a private knight, than to retain an elevation which, owing to the jealousy of the nobility, brought ruin and distress upon the people. 3 One ancient manuscript of Fordun 4 asserts that he passed over into France, where he 1 Hemingford, vol i p. 166. "Juxta oc- tavas beatae virginis." 8th Sept. The king was at Carlisle till the 12th Sept. Prynne, Edward I., p. 789. Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 131, on the authority of the Chron. Abingdon, p. 171, says the parliament was held at Durham. Rymer, Fcedera, new edit, part ii. p. 899. Prynne's Edward I., p. 789. The day of as- sembling was afterwards prorogated to the 2d of August. Rymer, new edit, part ii. p. 908. 2 Madox's Hist. of'Exchequer, chap. xvi. § 5, p. 445. Ex. Rotul. de adventu vicecomitum. 3 "Eligens magis subesse cum plebe quam cum ejus ruina et gravi populi praeesse dis- pendio, non diu post bellum variae capellae apud aquam de Forth officium custodis et curam quam gerebat sponte resignavit. Fordun a Hearne, p. 982. Winton, book viii. chap. xv. vol. ii. p. 102. Lord Hailes has omitted to notice this important fact, so positively stated by Fordun and Winton. 4 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 176. SCOTLAND. [Ciiaf. II. was honourably welcomed and enter- tained by Philip, and increased his high character for personal prowess, by his successes against the pirates who then infested the seas; so that his exploits were celebrated in the French songs and ballads of the day. An examination of the valuable histo- rical materials which exist in the public libraries of France might per- haps threw some light on this dark portion of his story. It is certain that his great name does not again recur in any authentic record, as bearing even a secondary command in the wars against Edward; nor indeed do we meet with him in any public transac- tion, until eight years after this, when he fell a victim to the unrelenting vengeance of that prince. On the demission of Wallace, the Scot- tish barons chose John Comyn of Bade- noch, the younger, and John de Soulis, to be governors of Scotland, 5 and after some time Bruce, earl of Carrick, and William Lamberton, bishop of St An- drews, were associated in the command. 6 It is now necessary to allude to an attempt at a pacification between Edward and the Scots, which some time previous to this had been made by Philip of France ; as the negotia- tions which then took place conduct us to the termination of BalioFs career, and throw a strong light on the char- acter of the King of England. John Baliol, whom the Scots still acknowledged as their rightful mon- arch, had remained a prisoner in Eng- land since 1296. On the conclusion of a truce between the Kings of France and England in 1297/ the articles of which afterwards formed the basis of the negotiations at Montreuil, 8 and of the important peace of Paris. 9 Philip demanded the liberation of Baliol, as his ally, from the tower. He required, also, that the prelates, barons, knights, 6 Fordun a Hearne, p. 982. Winton, book vii. chap. xv. vol. ii. p. 103. 6 Rymer, Fcedera, p. 915, new edit, part ii. The first notice of Robert Bruce and Bishop Lamberton, as Guardians of Scotland, is on Nov. 13, 1299. 7 Rymer, p. 878, new edit, part ii. Oct. 9 1297. s Ibid. p. 906, June 19, 1299. 9 Ibid. p. 952, May 20, 1302. 1299.1 PERIOD OF and other nubles, along with the towns and communities, and all the inhabitants of Scotland, of what rank and condition soever, should be in- cluded in the truce, and that not only Baliol, but all the other Scottish prisoners, should be liberated, on the delivery of hostages. These demands were made by special messengers, sent for this purpose by Philip to the King of England ; 1 and it is probable that John Comyn the younger, the Earl of Athole, and other Scottish barons, who had left Edward on his embarkation at Hardenburgh in Flan- ders, 2 and repaired to the Court of France, prevailed upon Philip to be thus urgent in his endeavours to include them and their country in the articles of pacification. Edward, however, had not the slightest intention of allowing the truce to be extended to the Scots. He was highly exasperated against them, and was then busy in collecting and organising an army for the pur- pose of reducing their country. He did not, at first, however, give a direct refusal, but observed that the request touching the king, the realm, and nobles of Scotland, was so new and foreign to the other articles of truce, that it would require his most serious deliberation before he could reply. 3 Immediately after this, he marched, as we have seen, at the head of an overwhelming army into Scotland; and, after the battle of Falkirk, found leisure to send his answer to Philip, refusing peremptorily to deliver up Baliol, or to include the "Scottish nobles in the truce, on the ground, that at the time when the articles of truce were drawn up, Philip did not consider the Scots as his allies, nor was there any mention of Baliol or his subjects at that time. 4 " If," said Edward, " any alliance ever existed between Baliol and the French king, it had been deliberately and freely renounced/' To this Philip replied, " That as far as the King of Scots, and the other Scottish nobles 1 Trivet, p. 311. Rymer, Fcedera, new edit part ii. 861. 2 Walsingham, p. 75. Trivet, p. 311. 3 Rymer, Fcedera, new edit, part ii. April 1298. * Ibid. p. 898. WALLACE. 67 who were Edward's prisoners, were concerned, the renunciation of the French alliance had been made through, the influence of force and fear, on which account it ought to be consid- ered of no avail ; that it was they alone whom he considered as included in the truce ; and if any Scottish nobles had afterwards, of their own free will, sub- mitted to Edward, and sworn homage to him, as had been done by Patrick, earl of Dunbar, Gilbert, earl of Augus, and their sons, the King of France would not interfere in that matter." 5 Edward, however, who. at the time he made this reply, had defeated Wal- lace at Falkirk, and dispersed the only army which stood between him and his ambition, continued firm, notwith- standing the earnest remonstrances of Philip. The mediation of the Pope was next employed ; and at the earnest request of Boniface, the king consented to deliver Baliol from his imprison- ment, and to place him in the hands of the Papal legate, the Bishop of Vi- cenza. " I will send him to the Pope," said Edward, "as a false seducer of the people, and a perjured man." 6 Accordingly, Sir Robert Burghersh, the Constable of Dover, conveyed the dethroned king, with his goods and private property, to Whitsand, near Calais. Before embarking, his trunks were searched, and a crown of gold, the Great Seal of Scotland, ma*iy vessels of gold and silver, with a con- siderable sum of money, were found in them. The crown was seized by Edward, and hung up in the shrine of St Thomas the Martyr ; the Grea. Seal was also retained, but the money was permitted to remain in his coffers. On meeting the legate at Whitsand, Burghersh formally delivered to this prelate the person of the ex-king, to be at the sole disposal of his Holiness ; but a material condition was added, in the proviso * that the Pope should not e The important public instrument from which these facts regarding the negotiations between Edward and Philip are taken has been printed, for the first time, in the new edition of Rymer's Fcedera, vol. i. part ii. p. 898. See also Du Chesne, Hist. p. 600. 6 Walsingham, pp. 76, 77. Prynne's Ed- ward I., pp. 797, 798. Trivet, p. 315. 63 HISTORY OF ordain or direct anything in the king- dom of Scotland concerning the people or inhabitants, or anything appertain- ing to the same kingdom, in behalf of John Baliol or his heirs.' ' Edward's obsequiousness to the Roman See even went further, for he conferred on the Pope the power of disposing of Baliol's English estates. These estates were many and extensive. They were situ- ated in nine different counties, and gave a' commanding feudal influence to their possessor. But the king had not the slightest intention of paying anything more than an empty compli- ment to Boniface ; for he retained the whole of Baliol's lands and manors in his own hand, and, some years after- wards, bestowed them upon his nephew, John of Bretagne. 1 , The dethroned King of Scotland was conveyed by the messengers of the Pope to his lands and castle of Bail- leul, in France, where he passed the remaining years of his life in quiet obscurity. 2 The restless activity of Edward's raind, and the unshaken determination with which he pursued the objects of his ambition, are strikingly marked by his conduct at this time. He was em- broiled in serious disputes with his barons; some of the most valuable prerogatives of his crown were being wrested from his hands ; he was deeply engaged with his negotiations with France; he was on the eve of his f marriage: but nothing could divert him from the meditated war. He held a council of his nobility at West- minster, concerning the Scottish ex- pedition. At midsummer he took a journey to St Albans, for the purpose of imploring the assistance of that saint. 3 In September he was married at Canterbury, to the sister of the King of. France; and on the seventh day after his marriage he directed his letters to Edmund, earl of Cornwall, to meet him with horse and arms at 1 Rhymer, Foedera, vol. ii. p. 1029. The grant to John of Bretagne was made on Nov. 10, 1306. 2 Walsingham, p. 77. See Notes and Illus- trations, letter M. 3 Chronicon Sti. Albani, quoted in Tyrrel, vol. iii, p. 134. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II York, on the 10th of November. 4 He commanded public prayers to be made for the success of his arms in all the churches of the kingdom, and enjoined the Friars Predicant to employ them- selves in the same pious office. Aware of these great preparations, ' the Scottish Regents, whose army was encamped in the Torwood, near Stir- ling, directed a letter to Edward, ac- quainting him that information of the late truce had been sent them by Philip, king of France ; and that they were willing to desist from all aggres- sion, during the period which was sti- pulated, provided the King of England would follow their example. 5 Edward did not deign to reply to this com- munication ; but having assembled hi? parliament at York, in the beginning of November, he communicated to them his intentions as to the continu- ance of the war; and in the face o£ the approaching severity of the winter, marched with his army to Berwick-on- Tweed, where he had appointed a body of fifteen thousand foot soldiers, with a large reinforcement from the diocese of York, 6 and the whole military strength of his greater barons, to meet him. So intent was he on assembling the bravest knights and most hardy soldiers to ac- company him, that he forbade, by pub- lic proclamation, all tournaments and plays of arms, so long as war lasted between him and his enemies; and interdicted every knight, esquire, or soldier, from attending such exhibi- tions, or going in search of adventures, without his special permission. 7 The object of the king was to march «n- mediately into Scotland, to raise the 4 Rymer, Foed. vol. i. part ii. p. 913, new edition. Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, p. 42, Chron. Abstract. 5 Rymer, vol. i. p. 915, new edition - . The date of the letter is, Foresta dell' Torre, 13th Nov. 1299. 6 Rymer, Feed. vol. i. pp. 915, 916, new edition. 7 Rymer, ibid. p. 916, new edition. This is one of the instruments added by the editors to the new edition of this great work. Its terms are, "Ne quis miles, armiger, vel alius quicunque, sub forisfactura vitse et membro- rum, et omnium que tenet in dicto regno, torneare, bordeare, seu justas facere, aven- turas quserere, aut alias ad armairepresumat, quoquo modo sine nostra liwencia speciali." 1299-1300,] INTER! siege of Stirling, then invested by the regents, and to reduce that great divi- sion of Scotland beyond the Firth of Forth, which, along with the powerful district of Galloway, still remained independent. But after all his great preparations, his hopes were cruelly disappointed. . His barons, with their military vassals, refused to go .further than Berwick. They alleged that the early severity of the winter, the im- passable and marshy ground through which they would be compelled to march, with the scarcity of forage and provisions, rendered any military expe- dition against Scotland impracticable and desperate. 1 The nobles, besides this, had other and deeper causes of discontent. The Great Charter, and the perambulation of the forests, had not been duly observed, according to promise ; and without waiting remon- strance, they withdrew to their estates. Edward, in extreme anger, marched forward, with a small force, and seemed determined to risk a battle ; but being informed of the strong position of the Scottish army, and of the resolute spirit with which they awaited his advance, the king submitted to the necessity of the case, and retreated to England. 2 Meanwhile the English, who were beleaguered in Stirling, after making a brave and obstinate defence, had begun to suffer the extremities of famine ; upon which the king, finding it impossible to raise the siege, com- manded them to capitulate ; 3 and the castle was delivered to Sir John de Soulis, one of the regents. The Scots garrisoned it, and committed it to the keeping of Sir William Olifant. In the course of the following year, Edward, indefatigable in the prosecu- tion of his great object, again invaded Scotland, and found that the enemy, profiting by experience, had adopted that protracted warfare, which was their best security — avoiding a battle, and cutting off his supplies. 4 En- 1 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 170. Trivet, p. 316. 2 Langtoft's Chronicle, p. 308. 3 Math. Westminst. p. 445. He mistakes the date of the surrender, which was 1299, not 1303. 4 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. i. part ii. new edit. EGNUM. 6& camping in Annandale, he besieged and took Lochmab^n, and afterwards sat down before the castle of Caer- laverock, strongly situated on the coast of the Solway Firth. After some resistance, this castle was like- wise taken and garrisoned, 5 and the king marched into Galloway, where he had an interview with the bishop of that diocese, who, having in vain at- tempted to mediate a peace, the Earl of Buchan and John Comyn of Bade- noch repaired personally to Edward, and had a violent interview with the king. They demanded that Baliol, their lawful king, should be permitted peaceably to reign over them ; and that their estates, which had been unjustly bestowed upon his English nobles, should be restored to their lords. Edward treated these propositions, which he considered as coming from rebels, with an unceremonious refusal ; and after declaring that they would defend themselves to the uttermost, the king and the Scottish barons parted in wrath. After this the king marched to Irvine, a seaport town situated on a river of the same name, and remained there encamped for eight days, until provisions were brought up from the ships which lay on the coast. During this time the Scottish army shewed itself on the opposite side of the river ; but on being successively attacked by the Earl of Surrey, the Prince of Wales, and the king himself, they rapidly retreated to their morasses and mountains. Through this rough and difficult ground the heavy-armed English soldiers could not penetrate ; and the Welsh, whose familiarity with rocky passes rendered them well fitted for a warfare of this kind, obstinately refused to act. Thus baffled in his attempts at pursuit, Edward stationed p. 920. Walsingham, p. 78, and Chron. I de Eversden apud Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 139. 5 See a curious and interesting historical poem, in vol. iv. of Antiquarian Repertory, p. 469, published from a MS. in the British Museum : since published with valuable his- torical and heraldic additions, by Sir Harris Nicolas. The garrison was only sixty strong, yet for gome time defied the whole Ei^ish a-rmv. 70 HISTORY OF hi 8 head-quarters at Dumfries, and employed himself in taking possession of the different towns and castles of Galloway, and in receiving the sub- mission of the inhabitants of that dis- trict. 1 Here he remained till the end of October; and having spent five months on an expedition which led to no important success, he was at last compelled, by the approach of winter, to delay till another season all his hopes of the entire subjugation of Scotland. Affecting, therefore, now when it suited his convenience, to be moved by the representations of the plenipotentiaries sent from the King of France, he granted a truce to the Scots, and artfully gave to a measure of necessity the appearance of an act of mercy. Edward, however, cau- tiously added, that he acceded to the wishes of Philip, out of favour to him, as his friend and relative, not as the ally of Scotland; nor would he give his consent to the cessation of arms, until the ambassadors of France agreed to consider it in this light : so careful was he lest any too hasty concession should interrupt his meditated ven- geance, when a less refractory army and a milder season should allow him to proceed against his ene- mies. 2 The king was induced, by another important event, to grant this truce to the Scots. This was no less than an extraordinary interposition upon the part of the Pope, commanding him, as he reverenced his sacred autho- rity, to desist from all hostilities ; and asserting that the kingdom of Scot- land now belonged to the Holy See, and from the most remote antiquity nad done so. The arguments by tthich the Roman Church supported tnis singular claim were, • no doubt, suggested by certain Scottish commis- sioners whom Soulis, the regent, in a former part of this year, had sent on a mission to Rome, to complain of the grievous injuries inflicted by Edward upon Scotland, and to request the 1 Rymer, vol. i. new edition, p. 921. Tval- Singham, p. 78, makes Irvine, Swinam. 2 Fordun a Hearne, p. 983. Winton, vol. ii p. 104. Rymer, vol. i. p. P21. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II Pope's interposition in behalf of their afflicted country. 3 / Boniface, accordingly, influenced, as ts asserted, by Scottish gold, 4 directed an admonitory bull to Edward, and commanded Winchelsea, archbishop of Canterbury, to deliver it to the king, who was then with his army in the wilds of Galloway. This prelate, with much personal risk, owing to the un- licensed state of the country, and the danger of being seized by the bands of Scottish robbers, who roamed about, thirsting, as he tells us, for the blood of the English, travelled with his suite of clerks and learned dignitaries as far as Kirkcudbright; and having passed the dangerous sands of the Sol- way with his chariots and horses, found the king encamped near the castle of Caerlaverock, and delivered to him the Papal bull. 5 Its arguments, as far as concerned the right of the King of England to the feudal supe- riority of Scotland, were sufficiently sound and judicious ; but, as was to be expected, the grounds on which he could rest his own claim far less satis- factory. " Your royal highness," he observed, "may have heard, and we doubt not but the truth is locked in the book of your memory, that of old the kingdom of Scotland did and doth still belong in full right to the Church of Rome, and that neither your ances- tors, kings of England, nor yourself, enjoyed over it any feudal superiority. Your father Henry, king of England, of glorious memory, when, in the wars between him and Simon de Montfort, he requested the assistance of Alex- ander III., king of Scotland, did, by his letters-patent, acknowledge that he received such assistance, not as due to him, but as a special favour. When you yourself requested the presence of the same King Alexander at the solem- nity of your coronation, you, in like manner, by your letters-patent, en- treated it as a matter of favour and s Fordun a Hearne, p. 983. Winton, vol. ii. p. 105. * Walsingham, quoted in Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 140. * Prynne, Hist. Ed. I., p. 882. where there is a curious letter from the archbishop, giv- ing an account of his journey. 1 300-1. J not of right. Moreover, when the King of Scotland did homage to you for his lands in Tynedale and Penrith, he publicly protested that his homage was paid, not f or ms kingdom of Scot- land, but for his lands in England; that as King of Scotland he was inde- pendent, and owed no fealty; which homage, so restricted, you did accord- ingly receive. Again, when Alexander III. died, leaving as heiress to the crown a grand-daughter in her minor- ity, the warship of this infant was not cor/f^red upon you, which it would h^ve been had you been lord super vr, but was given to certain nobles of the kingdom chosen for that office." The bull proceeded to notice the projected marriage between the Prince of Wales and the Maiden of Norway; the acknowledgment of the freedom and independence of Scotland contained in the preliminary negotia- tions ; the confusions which followed the death of the young queen ; the fatal choice of Edward as arbiter in the contest for the crown ; the express declaration of the King of England to the Scottish nobility, who repaired to his court during the controversy, that he received this attendance as a mat- ter of favour, not as having any right to command it ; and, lastly, it asserted that if, after all this, any innovations had been made upon the ancient rights and liberties of Scotland, with consent of a divided nobility, who wanted their kingly head; or of that person to whom Edward had committed the charge of the kingdom, these ought not in justice to subsist, as having been violently extorted by force and fear. After such arguments, the Pope went on to exhort the king, in the name of God, to discharge out of prison and restore to their former liberty all bishops, clerks, and other ecclesiastical persons whom he had in- carcerated, and to remove all officers whom by force and fear he had ap- pointed to govern the nation under him ; and he concluded by directing him, if he still pretended any right to the kingdom of Scotland, or to any part thereof, not to omit the sending INTERREGNUM. 71 commissioners to him fully instructed, and that within six months after the receipt of these letters, he being ever ready to do him justice as his beloved son, and inviolably to preserve his right. 1 In presenting this dignified and im- perious mandate, the archbishop, in presence of the English nobles and the Prince of Wales, added his own ad- monitions on the duty of a reverent obedience to so sacred an authority, observing that Jerusalem would not fail to protect her citizens, and to cherish, like Mount Sion, those who trusted in the Lord. Edward, on hearing this, broke into a paroxysm of wrath, and swearing a great oath, cried out — " I will not be silent or at rest, eithei for Mount Sion or for Jerusalerii ; but, as long as there is breath in my nostrils, will defend what all the world knows to be my right." 2 But the Papal interference was in those days, even to so power- ful a monarch as Edward, no matter of slight importance ; and, returning to his calmer mind, he requested the archbishop to retire until he had con* suited with his nobility. On Win* Chelsea's re-admission, the king, in a milder and more dignified mood, thus addressed him : — " My Lord Arch- bishop, you have delivered me, on the part of my superior and reverend father, the Pope, a certain admonition touching the state and realm of Scot- land. Since, however, it is the cus- tom of England that, in such matters as relate to the state of that kingdom, advice should be had with all whom they may concern, and since the pre- sent business not only affects the state of Scotland, but the rights of England; and since many prelates, earls, barons, and great men, are now absent from my army, without whose advice I am unwilling, finally, to re- ply to my Holy Father, it is my pur* i Rymer, Fcedera, new edition, vol. i. part ii p. 907. Knighton, p. 2529. The date of this monitory bull is 5th July 1299. The letter of the archbishop, describing his journey to Edward, then at or near Caerlaverock, and his delivery of the bull, is dated at Otteford, 8th October 1300. Prynne, Edward L, p. 383. a Walsingham, p. 78. pose, as soon as possible, to hold a council with my nobility, and by their joint advice and determination, to Transmit an answer to his Holiness by messengers of my own." 1 It was particularly dangerous for Edward to quarrel with the Pope at this moment ; for the peace with France was unconcluded, and Gascony still remained in the hands of the Holy See. which had not yet decided to whom it should rightly belong. The King of England, therefore, as- sumed the appearance of solemn de- LI exat&an in the preparation of his ibswor. He disbanded his army : he summoned a parliament to meet at Lincoln, he wrote to the chancellors of both universities, commanding them send to this parliament some of then most learned and expert civilians, ^o declare their opinion as to the right ■ i the King of England to be Lord Paramount of Scotland ; and he gave directions to the abbots, priors, and deans of the religious houses in Eng- land that they should diligently exa- mine the ancient chronicles and ar- e-hives of their monastery, and collect and transmit to him by some one of ~he:r number, not only all matters IJustrative of the rights competent to the King of England in the realm of - : : tland, but everything wjnch in any way related to that kingdom. 2 On the meeting of the parliament at Lincoln, the king, after having con- ciliated the good- will of his nobility, >y the confirmation of the great char- of liberties, and of the forests, •"he last of which he had evaded till now, ordered the Pope's bull to be read to the earls and barons assembled in parliament ; and, after great debates amongst the lawyers who were pre- >ent, the nobility of England directed a spirited letter to the Pope, with a hundred and four seals appended to it. 3 In this epistle, after compliment- ing the Holy Roman Church upon the judgment and caution with which she respected and inviolably preserved the rights of every individual, they re- 1 Prvnne, Edward I., p. 883. 2 Rvmer, Foedera, new edit. voL i. p. 92& * Tjrrel, vol. hi. p. 146. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. lChak IT. marked, that a letter from the Holy See had been shewn to them by their lord, King Edward, relating to certain matters touching the state and realm of Scotland, which contained divers wonderful and hitherto unheard-of propositions. It was notorious, they observed, in these parts of the world, that from the very first original of the kingdom of England, the kings thereof, as well in the times of the Britons as of the Saxons, enjoyed the superiority and direct dominion of the kingdom of Scotland, and continued either in actual or in virtual possession of the same through successive ages. They declared that in temporals, the king- dom of Scotland did never, by any colour of right, belong to the Church of P jme ; that it was an ancient fief of the crown and king3 of England; and that the kings of Scotland, with their kingdom, had been subject only to the kings of England, and to no other. That with regard to theii rights, or other temporalities in that kingdom, the kings of England have never answered, nor ought they to answer, before any ecclesiastical or secular judge, and this on account of the freedom and pre-eminence of their royal dignity, and the custom to this effect observed through all ages. Wherefore, they concluded — u having diligently considered the letters of his Holiness, it is now, and for the future shall be, the unanimous and unshaken resolution of all and every one of us that our lord the king, concerning his rights in Scotland, or other temporal riehts, must in nowise answer judi- cially before the Pope, or submit them to his judgment, or draw them into question by such submission; and that he must not send proxies or commis- sioners to his Holiness, more especially when it would manifestly tend to the disinheritance of the crown and royal dignity of England, to the notorious subversion of the state of the king- dom, and to the prejudice of our liber- ties, customs, and laws, delivered to them by their fathers ; which, by their oaths, they were bound to observe and defend, and which, by the help of God, they would maintain with theL- 1301-2.] whole force and power." And they /idded, " that they would not permit the king to do, or even to attempt, such strange and unheard-of things, even if he were willing so far to forget his royal rights. Wherefore they re- verently and humbly entreated his Holiness to permit the king to possess his rights in peace, without diminution or disturbance. 1 Having in this bold and spirited manner refused to submit his pre- tended rights in Scotland to the juris- diction of the See of Rome, the mon- arch, about two months after the meeting of his parliament at Lincoln, directed a private letter to the Pope, 2 which he expressly declared was not a memorial to a judge, but altogether of a different description, an,d solely intended to quiet and satisfy the con- science of his Holy Father, and in which, at great length, and by argu- ments too trifling to require confuta- tion, he explained to him the grounds upon which he rested his claim of superiority, and the reasons for his violent invasion of Scotland. 3 More intent than ever upon the reduction of this country, Edward once more summoned his barons to meet him in arms at Berwick on the day of St John the Baptist, and di- rected letters to the different seaports of England and Ireland, for the as- sembling of a fleet of seventy ships to rendezvous at the same place. 4 He determined to separate his force into two divisions, and to intrust the com- mand of one to his son, the Prince of Wales. A pilgrimage to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket, and other holy places, was undertaken by the king previous to his putting himself at the head of his army ; and this being con- cluded, he passed the Borders, and besieged and took the castle of Bon- 1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 875. "Nec etiam per- mittimus, aut aliquatenus permittemus, sicut nec possumus, nec debemus, prasmissa tain insolita, praelibatum dominum nostrum Re- gem etiam si vellet facere." 2 Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 147. Rymer, vol. i. part ii. new edit. p. 932. 3 Ford u n a Hearne, p. 984. 4 Ryley, p. 483. The summons is dated 12th March 1301. Rymer, Fcedera, vol. i. p. 928. INTERREGNUM. 73 kill, in the Merse. The Scots contented themselves w T ith laying waste the country ; and aware of the hazard of risking a battle, they attacked the straggling parties of the English, and distressed their cavalry, by carrying off the forage. 5 The campaign, how- ever, which had been great in its pre- parations, passed in unaccountable inactivity. An early winter set in with extreme severity, and many of the large war-horses of the English knights died from cold and hunger; but Edward, who knew that the Scots only waited for his absence to rise into rebellion, determined to pass the win- ter at Linlithgow. Here, accordingly, he established the head-quarters of his army, sent ordere, to England for sup- plies to be forwarded to his troops, employed his warlike leisure in build- ing a castle, and kept his Christmas with his son and his nobles. 6 The treaty of peace between Edward and Philip of France was still uncon- cluded; and as Philip continued a warm advocate for Baliol and the Scots, Edward, moved by his remor> strances, gave authority to his envoys at the French court to agree to a truce with Scotland. 7 The envoys, however, were sharply reproved by the kin^ and his nobles for giving the title of king to Baliol, and permitting, as the basis of the negotiation, the alliance between France and his enemies. 8 Ed- ward was well aware that if he ad- mitted this, any conclusion of peace with Philip would preclude him from continuing the w 7 ar which he had so much at heart ; and on ratifying the 5 Chron. Abing., quoted in Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 148. Trivet, pp. 331, 332. Hemingford, vol. i. p. 196. Langtoft, vol. ii. pp. 315, 316. e Fordun a Hearne, p. 984. Palgrave's Pari. Writs, Chron. Abstract, vol. i. p. 54. * Rymer, Fcedera. new edit. vol. i. pp. 936, 937. Langtoft, p. 316. 8 In Prynne, Edward I., p. 876. we find that Edward protested against this truce at Devizes, 30th April 1302. How are we to reconcile this protestation with the power granted to the English envoys, by an instru- ment signed at Dunipace, 14th Oct. 1301, Rymer, p. 936? and with the express ratifica- tion of the truce in Rymer, Feed. vol. i. new edit. p. 938, signed at L ; ,nlithgow, 26th Jan. 1302? The truce was to continue till St Andrew's day, the 30th Nov. 1302. 74 HISTORY OF truce, he subjoined his protestation, that although he agreed to a cessation he did not recognise John Baliol as the King of Scotland, nor the Scots as the allies of the King of France. Having brought these matters to a close at Linlithgow, the king proceeded to Roxburgh, and from this, by Morpeth and Durham, returned to London. 1 The perseverance and courage of the Scots were ill supported by their allies. Boniface soon deserted them, and with extreme inconsistence, forgetting his former declarations, addressed a letter of admonition to Wishart, the bishop of Glasgow, commanding him to desist from all opposition to Edward. Wish- art had been delivered from an Eng- lish prison some time before, and, on taking the oath of fealty, had been received into favour; but unable to quench his love of liberty, or perhaps of intrigue, he had recommenced his opposition to the English; and the Pope now addressed him as the " prime mover and instigator of all the tumult and dissension which has arisen be- tween his dearest son in Christ, Ed- ward, King of England, and the Scots." 2 At the same time his Holiness ad- dressed a bull to the body of the Scot- tish bishops, commanding them to be at peace with Edward, and threatening them, in case of disobedience, with a severer remedy. 3 Deserted by Boniface, the Scots still looked to Philip for support ; and aware that the negotiations for peace between France and England were in the course of being concluded, they sent the Earl of Buchan, James, the Steward of Scotland, John Soulis, one of the regents, 4 and Ingelram de Urn- fraville, to watch over their interests at the French court. But Philip, having been defeated in Flanders, be- came anxious at all risks to conclude a peace with England, and to concen- trate his efforts for the reduction of the revolted Flemings. 5 Edward, who 1 Kymer, Foedera, new edit. vol. i." p. 936. Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 149. 2 Rymer, voL i. new edit. p. 942. * Ibid. * Maitland, vol. i. p. 461. Rymer, vol. i new edit. p. 955. * Tyrrel, vol. iii. 152. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II had hitherto supported the Flemings, entertained the same wish to direct his undivided strength against the Scots, and a mutual sacrifice of allies was the consequence. The English king paved the way for this, by omit- ting the Earl of Flanders in the enu- meration of his allies, in the former truce ratified at Linlithgow; and Philip in return, not only left out the Scots in the new truce concluded at Amiens, but entirely excluded them in the subsequent and final treaty of peace not long afterwards signed at Paris.* Previous, however, to the conclusion of this treaty, so fatal to the Scots, the army of Edward experienced a signal defeat near Edinburgh. John de Segrave had been appointed Governor of Scotland; and Edward, much incensed at the continued re- sistance of the Scots, who, on the ex- piration of the truce, had recommenced the war with great vigour, directed letters to Ralph Fitz- William, and twenty-six of his principal barons. By these he informed them that he had received intelligence from Segrave of the success of his enemies, who, after ravaging the country, and burning and seizing his towns and castles, threatened, unless put down with a strong hand, to invade and lay waste England. " For which reason," adds the king, " we request, by the fealty and love which bind you to us, that you will instantly repair to John de Segrave, with your whole assembled power of horse and foot." He then informs them of his resolution to be with his army in Scotland sooner than he at first intended ; and that, in the meantime, he had despatched thither Ralph de Manton, his clerk of the wardrobe, who would pay them their allowances, and act as his treasurer as long as they continued on the expedi- tion. 7 Segrave marched from Berwick to- wards Edinburgh, about the beginning of Lent, with an army of twenty thou- sand men, 8 chiefly consisting of cavalry, « Rymer, Foed. new edit. vol. i. p. 946-952. 7 Rymer, Feed. vol. i. new edit, part ii. p. 947. This document is published for the fir^t time in the new edition of Rymer. • Winton, vol. ii. p. 111. 1302-3.] commanded by some of Edward's best leaders. Amongst these were Segrave's brothers, 1 and Robert de Neville, a noble baron, who had been engaged with Edward in his Welsh wars. 2 In approaching Roslin, Segrave had sepa- rated his army into three divisions ; and not meeting with an enemy, each division encamped on its own ground, without having established any com- munication with the others. The first division was led by Segrave himself; the second probably by Ralph de Man- ton, called, from his office, Ralph the Cofferer ; the third by Neville. Early in the morning of the 24th February, Segrave and his soldiers were slumber- ing in their tents, in careless security, when a boy rushed in, and called out that the enemy were upon them. The news proved true. Sir John Corny n, the governor, and Sir Simon Fraser, hearing of the advance of the English, had collected a force of eight thousand horse, and marching in the night from Biggar to Roslin, surprised the enemy in their encampment. Segrave's divi- sion was entirely routed ; he himself, after a severe wound, was made pri- soner, along with sixteen knights, and thirty esquires ; his brother and son were seized in bed, and the Scots had begun to collect the booty, and calcu- late on the ransom, when the second division of the English army appeared. A cruel but necessary order was given to slay the prisoners ; and this having been done, the Scots immediately at- tacked the enemy, who, after an ob- stinate defence, were put to flight with much slaughter. The capture of Ralph the Cofferer, a rich booty, and many prisoners, were the fruits of this second attack, which had scarcely concluded when the third division, led by Sir Robert Neville, was seen in the dis- tance. Worn out by their night- march, and fatigued by two successive attacks, the little army of the Scots thought of an immediate retreat. But this, probably, the proximity of Ne- 1 Hemingford, p. 197. "Cum Johanne de Segrave et fratribus suis, erant enim milites itrenuissimi." 2 Rvmer, vol. i. new edit. p. 608. Trivet, p S*. INTERREGNUM. 75 vihVs division rendered impossible , and after again resortiDg to the same horrid policy of putting to death their prisoners, an obstinate conflict began, which terminated in the death of Ne- ville, and the total defeat of his divi- sion. 3 There occurred in this battlo a striking but cruel trait of national animosity. Ralph the Cofferer had been taken prisoner by Sir Simon Fraser ; and this paymaster of Ed- ward, though a priest, like many of the ecclesiastics and bishops of those fierce times, preferred the coat of mail to the surplice. On the order being given to slay the prisoners, Sir Ralph begged his life might be spared, and promised a large ransom. " This laced hauberk is no priestly habit," observed Fraser ; " where is thine albe, or thy hood ? Often have you robbed us of our lawful wages, and done us grievous harm. It is now our turn to sum up the account, and exact its payment. " Saying this, he first struck off the hands of the unhappy priest, and then severed his head with one blow fror. his body. 4 The remains of the English army fled to Edward, in England ; and the Scots, after resting from their fatigues, collected and divided their booty, and returned home. 5 This persevering bravery of the Scots in defence of their country was unfortunately united to a credu- lity which made them the dupes of the policy of Philip. Although not included in the treaty of Amiens, the French monarch had the address to persuade the Scottish deputies then at Paris, that having concluded hia own affairs with Edward he would devote his whole efforts to mediate a peace between them and England; and he entreated them, in the mean- time, to remain with him at the French court, until they could carry back to Scotland intelligence of his having completed the negotiation with Edward on behalf of themselves and their countrymen. The object of Philip, in all tkis, was to prevent the s See Notes and Illustrations, letter X. * Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 319. 5 Winton, vol. ii. p. 117. 76 HISTORY OF return of the deputies, amongst whom were some of the most warlike and influential of the Scottish nobles, pre- vious to the expedition which Edward was about to lead against their country. Unsuspicious of any false dealing, they consented to remain ; and in the mean- time addressed a letter to the governor and nobility of Scotland, in which they exhorted them to be of good courage, and to persevere in vindicating the liberties of their country. " You would greatly rejoice," they say in this letter, " if you were aware what a weight of honour this last conflict with the English has conferred upon you throughout the world. Where- fore, we beseech you earnestly that you continue to be of good courage. And if the King of England consent to a truce, as we firmly expect he will, do you likewise agree to the same, according to the form which the am- bassadors of the King of France shall propose by one of our number, who will be sent to you. But if the King of England, like Pharaoh, shall grow hardened, and continue the war, we beseech you, by the mercy of Christ, that you quit yourselves like men, so that, by the assistance of God, and your own courage, you may gain the victory." 1 To gain the victory, however, over the determined perseverance and over- whelming military strength of the English king, was no easy task. The distress of Scotland, from its exposure to the continued ravages of war, had reached a pitch which the people of the land could endure no longer. They became heart-broken for a time, under a load of misery and suffering from which they could see no relief but in absolute submission ; the gover- nor Corny n, the late guardian Wallace, and the few patriotic nobles who were still in the field, found it impossible to keep an army together; and all men felt assured that the entire sub- jugation of the country was an event which no human power could possibly prevent or delay. If Edward, at this crisis, again resumed the war, it was i Rymer, Feed. vol. i. new edit p. 055, June I «. 1303. I 1 SCOTLAND, [Chap. IL evident that nothing could oppose him. We may judge, then, of the desolating feelings of this unhappy country when word was brought that the King of England had once more collected tho whole armed force of his dominions, and, leading his army in person, had passed the Border. The recent defeat at Roslin had chafed and inflamed his passions to the utmost; and he de- clared that it was his determined pur- pose either to reduce the nation to entire subjection, or to raze the land utterly with fire and sword, and turn it to a desert, fit only for the beasts of the field. In recording the history of this last miserable campaign, the his- torian has to tell a tale of sullen sub- mission, and pitiless ravage; he has little to do but to follow in dejection the chariot wheels of the conqueror, and to hear them crushing under their iron weight all that was free, and brave, in a devoted country. Edward separated his army into twa divisions. He gave the command oi one to his eldest son, the Prince ot Wales, who directed his march west* ward into Scotland, 2 whilst the king himself, at the head of the second division, proceeded eastward by Mor- peth and Roxburgh, and reached the capital without challenge or interrup- tion in the beginning of June 1303. The whole course of the king, as well as that of the prince, was marked by smoke and devastation, by the plunder of towns and villages, the robbery of granges and garners, the flames of woods, and the destruction of the small tracts of cultivated lands which yet remained. Wherever he turned his arms, the inhabitants submitted to a power which it was impossible for them to resist; and the governor Comyn, Sir Simon Fraser, and the late guardian William Wallace, were driven into the wilds and fastnesses, where they still continued the war by irregu- lar predatory expeditions against the convoys of the English. From Edinburgh Edward continued his victorious progress by Linlithgow and Clackmannan to Perth, and after- wards by Dundee and Brechin pro- I 2 Hemingford, 205. Langtoft, 321. 1303-4.1 INTERREGNUM. 77 ceeded to Aberdeen. From this city, pur- suing his march northward, he reached Banff, and from thence he pushed on to Kinloss in Moray. Leaving this, he struck into the heart of Moray, and for some time established his quarters at Lochendorb, a castle strongly situated upon an island in a lake. 1 Here he received the oaths and homage of the northern parts of the kingdom, 2 and it is probable added to the fortifications of the castle. It is curious to find that, after a lapse of near five hundred years, the memory of this great king is still preserved in the tradition of the neighbourhood; and that the peasant, when he points out to the traveller the still massy and noble remains of Lochendorb, mentions the name of Edward I. as connected in Borne mysterious way with their his- tory. From this remote strength, the king, penetrating into Aberdeenshire, reached the strong castle of Kildrum- mie, in Garvyach, 3 from whence he retraced his route back to Dundee. Thence, probably by Perth, he marched to Stirling and Cambusken- neth, visited Kinross, and finally pro- ceeded to take up his winter quarters at Dunfermline early in the month of December, where he was joined by his queen. 4 In this progress, the castle of Brechin shut its gates against him. It was commanded by Sir Thomas Maule, a Scottish knight of great in* trepidity ; and such was the impreg- nable nature of the walls that the battering engines of the king could not, for many days, make the least impression. So confident, was Maule of this, that he stood on the ramparts, and, in derision of the English soldiers below, wiped off with a towel the dust and rubbish raised by the stones thrown from the English engines. 5 At 1 See Notes and Illustrations, letter 0. 2 Fordun a Hearne, p. 989. 3 He was at Kildrummie on the 8th of October 1303, and at Dundee on the 20th of the same month. Prynne, 1015, 1017. — See Notes and Illustrations, letter P. * Langtoft, p. 322. s "Stetit ille Thomas cum manutergio et extrusit Csesuram de Muro in subsannatio- nem et derisum totius exercitus Anglicani." M. West. p. 446. last this brave man was struck down by one of the missiles he affected to despise, and the wound proved mortal. When he lay dying on the ground, some of his soldiers asked him if now they might surrender the castle. Though life was ebbing, the spirit of the soldier indignantly revived at this proposal, and pronouncing maledic- tions on their cowardice, he expired .* The castle immediately opened its gates to the English, after having stood a siege of twenty days. The English king was chiefly em- ployed at Dunfermline in receiving the submission of those Scottish barons and great men who had not made their peace during his late progress through the kingdom. But he en- gaged in other occupations little cal- culated to conciliate the Scots ; for when at this place, his soldiers, by orders of their master, with savage barbarity destroyed a Benedictine monastery, of such noble dimensions that, an English historian informs us, three kings with their united retinues might have lodged within its walls. On account of its ample size, the Scottish nobles had often held their parliaments within its great hall — a sufficient crime, it would appear, in the eyes of the king. The church of the monastery, with a few cells for the monks, were spared ; the rest was razed to the ground. Meanwhile Comyn, the governor, along with Sir Simon Fraser, and a few barons, still kept up a show of resistance; and Wallace, who, since his abdication of the supreme power, had continued his determined opposi- tion to Edward, lurked with a aftuall band in the woods and mountain The castle of Stirling, also, still heM out; and as it was certain that the king would besiege it, Comyn, with the faint hope of defending the passage of the Forth, collected as many soldiers as he could muster, and encamped on. the ground where Wallace had gained his victory over Cressingham and Surrey. But the days of victory were past. The king, the moment he heard « Liter G-arderoba? Edw. I., foL 15, Math. West. p. 446. 7* HISTORY OF of this, forded the river in person, at the head of his cavalry, and routed and dispersed the last remnant of an army on which the hopes of Scotland depended. He had intended to pass the river by the bridge, but on coming forward he found it had been broken down and burnt by the Scots. Had the leaders profited by the lesson taught them by Wallace, they would have kept up the bridge, and attacked the English when defiling over it ; but their rashness in destroying it com- pelled the king to find a ford, and en- abled him to cross in safety. 1 Soon after this expiring effort, the governor, with all his adherents, sub- mitted to Edward. The Earls of Pembroke and Ulster, with Sir Henry Percy, met Comyn at Strathorde, in Fife/ 2 on the 9th of February ; and a negotiation took place, in which the late regent and his followers, after stipulating for the preservation of their lives, liberties, and lands, de- livered themselves up, and agreed to the infliction of any pecuniary fine which the conqueror should think right. The castles and strengths of Scotland were to remain in the hands of Edward, and the government of the country to be modelled and ad- ministered at his pleasure. From this negotiation those were specially excepted, for whom, as more obsti- nate in their rebellion, the King of England reserved a more signal pun- ishment. In this honourable roll we find Wishart, bishop of Glasgow, James, the Steward of Scotland, Sir John Soulis, the late associate of Comyn in the government of the kingdom, David de Graham, Alexander de Lindesay, Simon Fraser, Thomas Bois, and William Wallace. 3 To all these persons, except Wallace, certain terms, more or less rigorous, were held out, on accepting which Edward guaranteed to them their lives and their liberty; and we know that sooner or later they accepted the conditions. But of this great man a 1 Notes and Illustrations, letter Q. 2 Strathurd, or Strathord, on the Ord water in Fife, perhaps now Struthers. s Prynne, Hist. Edward I., pp. 1120, 1121. | SCOTLAND. [Chai\ II. rigorous exclusion was made. u As for William Wallace," I quote the words of the deed, u it is covenanted that if he thinks proper to surrender himself, it must be unconditionally to the will and mercy of our lord the king." Such a surrender, it is well known, gave Edward the unquestion- able right of ordering his victim to immediate execution. An English parliament was soon after appointed to meet at St Andrews, to which the king summoned the Scottish barons who had again come under his allegiance. This summons was obeyed by all except Sir Simon Fraser and Wallace ; and these two brave men, along with the garrison of Stirling, which still defied the efforts of the English, were declared outlaws by the vote, not only of the English barons, but with the extorted consent of their broken and dispirited country- men. 4 At length Fraser, despairing of being able again to rouse the spirit of the nation, consented to accept the hard conditions of fine and banish- ment offered him by the conqueror; and Wallace found himself standing alone against Edward, excepted from all amnesty, and inexorably marked for death. 5 Surrounded by his ene- mies, he came from the fastnesses where he had taken refuge to the forest of Dunfermline, and, by the mediation of his friends, proposed on certain conditions to surrender him- self. These terms, however, partook more of the bold character of the mind which had never bowed to Edward, than of the spirit of a sup- pliant suing for pardon. When re- ported to Edward he broke out into ungovernable rage, cursed him by the fiend as a traitor, pronounced his malediction on all who sustained or supported him, and set a reward of three hundred marks upon his head. On hearing this, W'allace betook him- self again to the wilds and mountains, and subsisted on plunder. 6 * Trivet, p. 338. 5 See Notes and Illustrations, letter R. « It is singular that this last circumstance should have escaped Lord fclailes and our 1304.] INTERI The castle of Stirling was now the only fortress which had not opened its gates to Edward. It had been in- trusted by its governor, John de Soulis, who was still in France, to the care of Sir William Olifant, an experienced soldier, who, on seeing the great pre- parations made by Edward against his comparatively feeble garrison, sent a message to the king, informing him that it was impossible for him to sur- render the castle without forfeiting his oaths and honour as a knight, pledged to his master, Sir J ohn Soulis ; but that if a cessation of hostilities were granted for a short time, he would in- 6tantly repair to France, inquire the will of his master, and return again to deliver up the castle, if permitted to do so. 1 This was a proposal perfectly in the spirit of the age, and Edward, who loved chivalry, would at another time probably have agreed to it ; but he was now, to use the expressive words of Langtoft, "full grim," and roused io a pitch of excessive fury against the obstinate resistance of the Scots. " I will agree to no such other historians. It is expressly and min- utely stated by Langtoft. Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 324. ' • Turn we now other weyes, unto our owen geste, And speke of the Waleys that lies in the foreste ; In the forest he lendes of Dounfermelyn, He praied all his frendes, and other of his kyn, After that Yole, thei wilde beseke Edward, That he might yelde till him, in a forward That were honorable to kepe wod or beste, And with his scrite full stable, and seled at the least, To him and all his to haf in heritage ; And none otherwise, als terme tyme and stage Bot als a propre thing that were conquest till him. Whan thei brouht that tething Edward was mile grim, And bilauht him the fende, als his tray- ;oure in Lond, And ever-ilkon his frende that him sus- teyn'd or fond. Three hundreth marke he hette unto his warisoun, That with him so mette, or bring his hede to toun. Now flies William Waleis, of pres nouht he spedis, In mores and mareis with robberie him fedis." - Prynn?, Edward I., p. 1051, 2GNUM. 78 terms," said he; "if he will not sur- render the castle, let him keep it against us at his peril." And Olifant, accordingly, with the assistance of Sir William Dupplin, and other knights, who had shut themselves up therein, proceeded to fortify the walls, to di- rect his engines of defence, and to pre- pare the castle for the last extremities of a siege. Thirteen warlike engines were brought by the besiegers to bear upon the fortress. 2 The missiles which they threw consisted of leaden balls of great size, with huge stones and jave- lins, and the leaden roof of the refec- tory of St Andrews was torn away to supply materials for these deadly ma- chines ; 3 but for a long time the efforts of the assailants produced no breach in the walls, whilst the sallies of the besieged, and the dexterity with which their engines were directed and served, made great havoc in the English army During all this, Edward, although his advanced age might have afforded him an excuse for caution, exposed his person with an almost youthful rash- ness. Mounted on horseback, he rode beneath the walls to make his obser- vations, and was more than once struck by the stones and javelins thrown from the engines on the ram- parts. One day, when riding so near that he could distinguish the soldiers who worked thebalistse, a javelin struck him on the breast, and lodged itself in the steel plates of his armour. The king with his own hand plucked out the dart, which had not pierced the skin, and shaking it in the air, called out aloud that he would hang the vil- lain who had hit him. 4 On another occasion, when riding within the range of the engines, a stone of great size and weight struck so near, and with such noise and force, that the king's horse backed and fell with his master ; upon which some of the soldiers, seeing his danger, ran in and forced Edward down the hill towards the tents. 5 2 "Threttene great engynes, of all the reamo the best, Brouht thei to Strivelyne, the kastelle down to kesc." —Langtoft, p. 326, J Fordun a Hearne, p. 990. * Walsingham, p. 89. 5 Math. Westmin*t*u\ p. 449. 80 HISTORY OF Whilst these engines within the castle did so much execution, those of Ed- ward, being of small dimensions in comparison with the height of the walls, had little effect; and when fagots and branches were thrown into the fosse, to facilitate the assault, a sally from the castle succeeded in setting the whole in flames, and car- ried confusion and slaughter into the English lines. The siege had now continued from the 22d of April to the 20th of May, without much impression having been made. But determination was a marked feature in the powerful character of the king. He wrote to the sheriffs of York, Lincoln, and London, commanding them to pur- chase and send instantly to him, at Stirling, all the balistse, quarrells, bows and arrows, which they could col- lect within their counties ; and he de- spatched a letter to the governpr of the tower, requiring him to send down, with all haste, the balistse and Bmall quarrells which were under his charge in that fortress. 1 Anxious, also, for the assistance and presence of all his best soldiers, he published, at Stirling, an inhibition, proclaiming that no knight, esquire, or other per- son whatsoever, should frequent jousts or tournaments, or go in search of adventures and deeds of arms, with- out his special licence; 2 and aware that the Scottish garrison must soon be in want of provisions, he cut off all communication with the surround- ing country, and gave orders for the employment of a new and dreadful instrument of destruction, the Greek fire, with which he had probably be- come acquainted in the East. 3 The mode in which this destructive com- bustible was used seems to have been by shooting from the balistse large arrows, to whose heads were fastened balls of ignited cotton, which stuck in the roofs and walls of the buildings they struck, and set them on fire. In addition to this, he commanded his engineers to construct two immense 1 Rymer, new edit. vol. i. p. 963. 2 Ibid. p. 964. i Wardrobe Book of Edward I., p. 52. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. machines,which, unlike those employed at first, overtopped the walls, and were capable of throwing stones and leaden balls of three hundred pounds weight. The first of these was a com- plicated machine, which, although much pains was bestowed on its con- struction, did no great execution ; but the second, which the soldiers called the wolf, was more simple in its form, and, from its size and strength, most murderous in its effects. 4 These great efforts succeeded : a large breach was made in the two inner walls of the castle; and the outer ditch having been filled up with heaps of stones and fagots thrown into it, Edward ordered a general as- sault. The brave little garrison, which for three months had successfully re- sisted the whole strength of the Eng- lish army, were now dreadfully reduced by the siege. Their provisions were exhausted. Thirteen women, the wives and sisters of the knights and barons who defended the place, were shut up along with the soldiers, and their distress and misery became ex- treme. In these circumstances — their walls cast down, the engines carrying the troops wheeled up to the breach, and the scaling ladders fixed on the parapet — a deputation was sent to Edward, with an offer to capitulate, on security of life and limb. This proposal the king met with contempt and scorn ; but he agreed to treat on the terms of an unconditional surren- der, and appointed four of his barons, the Earls of Gloucester and Ulster, with Sir Eustace le Poor, and Sir John de Mowbray, to receive the last resolution of the besieged. Sir John and Sir Eustace accord- ingly proceeded to the castle gate, and summoned the governor; upon which Sir William Olifant, his kins- man Sir William de Dupplin, and their squire Thomas Lillay, met the English knights, and proceeded with them to an interview with the two earls. At this meeting they consented, for themselves and their companions, * Liber Garderoba? Edw. I. fol. 52. I owe these curious particulars to the research of Mr Macgregor Stirling. 1304-5.] INTER! to surrender unconditionally to the King of England ; and they earnestly requested that he would permit them to make this surrender in his own presence, and himself witness their contrition. 1 To this Edward agreed, and forth- with appointed Sir John Lovel to fill the place of governor. A melancholy pageant of feudal submission now succeeded. Sir William Olifant, and, along with him, twenty-five of the knights and gentlemen, his companions in the siege, presented themselves be- fore the king, who received them in princely state, surrounded by his nobles and warriors. In order to save their lives, these brave men were com- pelled to appear in a garb and posture against which every generous feeling revolts. Their persons were stript to their shirts and drawers; their heads and feet were bare ; they wore ropes around their necks; and thus, with clasped hands and bended knee, they implored the clemency of the king. Upon this, Edward, of his royal mercy, exempted them from the ignominy of being chained; but Olifant was eent to the Tower, and the rest were imprisoned in different castles through- out England. 2 The garrison was found to consist of no more than a hundred and forty soldiers ; an incredibly small number, if we consider that for three months they had resisted the efforts of the army of England, led by the king in person. 3 Having thus secured his conquest, by the reduction of the last castle which had resisted his authority, and 1 It is asserted, both by Fordun a Hearne» p. 991, and by Winton, vol. ii. p. 119, that the castle was delivered up to the English on a written agreement signed by Edward that the garrison should be quit and free of all harm ; which agreement Edward perfidiously broke. The only thing mentioned in Rymer, new edit. p. 996, which gives some counte- nance to this accusation, is the fact that Oli- fant and Dupplin agreed to surrender accord- ing to the terms which had been offered by the Earl of Lincoln, and the record somewhat suspiciously conceals what these terms were. They may have amounted to a promise that the garrison should be quit of all harm. 2 Rymer, new edit. p. 966. Math. West pp. 449, 450. 3 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 206. See Notes and Illustrations, letter S. VOL. L ■EGNUM. 81 having appointed English captains to the other strengths in Scotland, Ed- ward left the temporary government of that country to John de Segrave ; and, accompanied by the chief of the Scottish nobility, proceeded by Sel- kirk and Jedburgh to Yetholm, upon the Borders, and from thence to Lin- coln, where he kept his Christmas with great solemnity and rejoicing. 4 The only man in Scotland who had steadily refused submission was Wal- lace ; and the king, with that in veterate enmity and unshaken per severance which marked his conduct to his enemies, now used every pos- sible means to hunt him down, and become master of his person. He had already set a large sum upon his head ; he gave strict orders to his captains and governors in Scotland to be con- stantly on the alert ; and he now care- fully sought out those Scotsmen who were enemies to Wallace, and bribed them to discover and betray him. 5 For this purpose he commanded Sir John de Mowbray, a Scottish knight then at his court, and who seems at this time to have risen into great trust and favour with Edward, to carry with him into Scotland Ralph de Haliburton, one of the prisoners lately taken at Stirling. Haliburton was ordered to co-operate with the other Scotsmen who were then en- gaged in the attempt to seize Wallace, and Mowbray was to watch how this base person conducted himself. 6 What were the particular measures adopted by Haliburton, or with whom he co- operated, it is now impossible to de- termine ; but it is certain that, soon after this, Wallace was betrayed and taken by Sir John Menteith, a Scot- tish baron of high rank. Perhaps we are to trace this' infamous transaction to a family feud. At the battle of Fal~ kirk, Wallace, who, on account of his overbearing conduct had never been popular with the Scottish nobility, opposed the pretensions of Sir John * Math. West. p. 450. Hemingford, vol. i. p. 206. 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 223. 6 Ryley, Placita, p. 279. Leland, Collect, vol. i. p . 541, shews that Wallace employed in his service a knight named Henry Haliburton. F 82 HISTORY OF Stewart of Bonkill, when this baron contended for the chief command. In that disastrous defeat, Sir John Stew- art, with the flower of his followers, was surrounded and slain; and it is said that Sir J ohn Menteith, his uncle, never forgave Wallace for making good his own retreat, without attempt- ing a rescue. 1 By whatever motive he was actuated, Menteith succeeded in discovering his retreat, through the treacherous information of a servant who waited on him ; 2 and having in- vaded the house by night, seized him in bed, and instantly delivered him to Edward. His fate, as was to be expected, was soon decided; but the circumstances of refined cruelty and torment which attended his execution reflect an in- delible stain upon the character of Edward; and, were they not stated by the English historians themselves, could scarcely be believed. Having been carried to London, he was brought with much pomp to West- minster Hall, and there arraigned of treason. A crown of laurel, in mock- ery placed, was on his head, because Wallace had been heard to boast that he deserved to wear a crown in that hall. Sir Peter Mallorie, the king's justice, then impeached him as a traitor to the King of England, 3 as having burnt the villages and abbeys, stormed the castles, and slain and tortured the liege subjects of his master the king. Wallace indignantly and truly repelled the charge of treason, as he never had sworn fealty to Edward; but to the other articles of accusation he pleaded no defence ; they were notorious, and he was condemned to death. The sentence was executed on the 23d of August. Discrowned and chained, he was now dragged at the tails of horses through the streets, to the foot of a high gallows, placed at the elms in Smithfield. 4 After being 1 Fordun a Hearne, p. 981. Duncan Stew- art, Hist, of Royal Family of Scotland, p. 149-209. 2 Langtoft, Chron. p. 329. 8 Htpw, Chron. p. 209. Winton voL ii. Notes, n. 602. Wallace SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. hanged, but not to death, he was cut down yet breathing, his bowels taken out, and burnt before his face. 5 His head was then struck off, and his body divided into four quarters. The head was placed on a pole on London bridge, his right arm above the bridge at New- castle, his left arm was sent to Berwick, his right foot and limb to Perth, and his left quarter to Aberdeen. 6 " These," says an old English historian, " were the trophies of their favourite hero, which the Scots had now to contem- plate, instead of his banners and gon- fanons, which they had once proudly followed." But he might have added, that they were trophies more glorious than the richest banner that had ever been borne before him; and if Wal- lace already had been, for his daring and romantic character, the idol of the people, — if they had long regarded him as the only man who had as* serted, throughout every change of cir- cumstances, the independence of his country, — now that the mutilated limbs of this martyr to liberty were brought amongst them, it may weU be conceived how deep and inextin- guishable were their feelings of pity and revenge. Tyranny is proverbially short-sighted : and Edward, assuredly, could have adopted no more certain way of canonising the memory of his enemy, and increasing the unforgiving animosity of his countrymen. The course of events which soon followed this cruel sentence demon- strates the truth of these remarks. For fifteen years had Edward been employed in the reduction of Scot- land, — Wallace was put to death, — the rest of the nobility had sworn fealty, — the fortresses of the land were in the hands of English gover- nors, who acted under an English guardian, — a parliament was held at London, where the Scottish nation was represented by ten commissioners, and these persons, in concert with twenty English commissioners, orga- was executed at Smithfield, on the site occu- pied now by Cow Lane. * Math. Westminster, p. 451. 6 MS. Chronicle of Lanercost, p. 203, Notes and Illustrations, letter T. 1305.] ROBER' nised an entirely new system of go- vernment for Scotland. The English king, indeed, affected to disclaim all violent or capricious innovations ; and it was pretended that the new regu- lations which were introduced were dictated by the advice of the Scottish nobles, and with a respect to the ancient laws of the land ; but he took care that all that really marked an independent kingdom should be de- stroyed ; and that, whilst the name of authority was given to the Scottish commissioners who were to sit in BRUCE. 83 parliament, the reality of power be- longed solely to himself. Scotland, therefore, might be said to be entirely reduced; and Edward nattered him- self that he was now in quiet to en- joy that sovereignty which had been purchased by a war of fifteen years, and at an incredible expense of blood and treasure. But how idle are the dreams of ambition ! In less than six months from the execution of Wallace, 1 this new system of govern- ment was entirely overthrown, and Scotland was once more free. CHAPTER HI. ROBERT BRUCE. 1305—1314. We now enter upon the history of this great and rapid revolution; and in doing so, it will first be necessary to say a few words upon the early character and conduct of the Earl of Carrick, afterwards Robert the First. This eminent person was the grand- son of that Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale, who was competitor for the crown with John Baliol. He was lineally descended from Isabella, se- cond daughter of David, earl of Hunt- ingdon, brother of William the Lion. John Baliol, the late King of Scot- land, had, as we have already seen, renounced for ever all claim to the throne ; and his son Edward was at that time a minor and a captive. i Wallace was executed 23d August 1305. The new regulations for the government of Scotland were introduced on the 15th October 1305. Bruce was crowned 27th March 1306. Lord Hailes represents the capture of Wallace by Sir John Menteith as only a popular tradi- tion, leaving it to be inferred* by his reader that there is no historical authority for the fact. See Notes and Illustrations, letter U, for an examination of the historian's opinion upon this subject. Marjory Baliol, the sister of this un- fortunate monarch, married John Comyn, lord of Badenoch. Their son, John Comyn, commonly called the Red Comyn, the opponent of Wallace, and, till the fatal year 1303, the re- gent of the kingdom, possessed, as the son of Marjory, Baliol' s sister, a right to the throne, after the resignation of Baliol and his son, which, according to the principles on which Edward pronounced his decision, was unques- tionable. He was also connected by marriage with the royal family of Eng- land, 2 and was undoubtedly one of the most powerful, if not the most power- ful, subject in Scotland. Bruce and Comyn were thus the heads of two rival parties in the state, whose ani- mosity was excited by their mutual claims to the same crown, and whose interests were irreconcileable. Ac- cordingly, when Edward gave his 2 His wife Johanna was daughter of William de Valence, earl of Pembroke. This Earl of Pembroke was son of Hugh de Brienne, who married Isabella, widow of John, king of England, grandfather of Edward the First. 81 HISTORY OF famous award in favour of Baliol, Bruce, the competitor, refused to take the oath of homage ; 1 and although he acquiesced in the decision, gave up his lands in the vale of Annandale, which he must have held as a vassal under Baliol, to his son, the Earl of Carrick; again, in 3293, the Earl of Carrick resigned his lands and earldom of Carrick to his son Robert, then a young man in the service of the king of England. 2 In the years 1295 and 1296, Edward invaded Scotland, and reduced Baliol, and the party of the Comyns, to submission. During this contest, Bruce, the earl of Carrick, and son of the competitor, possessed of large estates in England, continued faithful to Edward. He thus pre- served his estates, and hoped to see the destruction of the only rivals who stood between him and his claim to the throne. Nor was this a vain ex- pectation ; for Edward, on hearing of the revolt of Baliol and the Comyns, undoubtedly held out the prospect of the throne to Bruce ; 3 and these cir- cumstances afford us a complete ex- planation of the inactivity of that baron and his son at this period. Meanwhile Baliol and the Comyns issued a hasty order, confiscating the estates of all who preserved their alle- giance to Edward. In consequence of this resolution, the lordship of Annan- dale, the paternal inheritance of the Earl of Carrick, was declared forfeited, and given by Baliol to John Comyn, earl of BuChan, who immediately seized and occupied Bruce' s castle of Lochmaben, an insult which there is reason to think the proud baron never forgave. Compelled to submit to Ed- ward, the Comyns, and the principal nobles who supported them, were now carried prisoners into England ; and, when restored to liberty, it was only on condition that they should join his army in Flanders, and assist him in his foreign wars. During the brief but noble stand made by Wallace for the national liberty, Robert Bruce, then a young 1 Leland, Collect, vol. i. p. $40. 2 Ibid. * Sec .supra, p. 42. SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. man of three-and-twenty, was placed in difficult and critical circumstances. It was in his favour that his rival*, the Comyns, were no longer in the field, but kept in durance by Edward. His father remained in England, where he possessed large estates, and continued faithful in his allegiance to the king. At this time it is important to remark what Walter Hemingford, a contemporary Englisl historian, has said of young Bruce. A^ter mention- ing the revolt which w*s headed by Wallace, he informs us, "that the Bishop of Carlisle, and other barons, to whom the peace of that district was committed, became suspicious of the fidelity of Robert Bruce the younger, earl of Carrick, and sent for him to come and treat upon the affairs of Ed- ward, if he intended to remain faithful to that monarch." Bruce, he continues, did not dare to disobey, but came on the day appointed, with his vassals of Galloway, and took an oath on the sacred host, and upon the sword of St Thomas, that he would assist the king against the Scots, and all his enemies, both by word and deed. Having taken this oath, he returned to his country ; and to give a colour of truth to his fidelity, collected his vassals, and ra- vaged the lands of William Douglas, carrying the wife and infant children of this knight into Annandale. Soon after this, however, as he returned from a meeting of the Scottish con- spirators to his own country, having assembled his father's men of Annan- dale, (for his father himself then re- sided in the south of England, and was ignorant of his son's treachery,) he told them, " that it was true he had lately taken a foolish oath at Carlisle, of which they had heard." He assured them that it was extorted by force, and that he not only deeply repented what he had done, but hoped soon to get absolution. Meanwhile he added, " that he was resolved to go with his own vassals and join the nation from which he sprung; and he earnestly entreated them to do the same, and come along with him as his dear friends and counsellors. The men of Annandale, however, disliking the 1305.] peril of this undertaking, whilst their master, the elder Bruce, was in Eng- land, decamped in the night ; and .the young Bruce, aspiring to the crown, as was generally reported, joined him- self to the rebels, and entered into, the conspiracy with the Bishop of Glasgow and the Steward of Scotland, who were at the bottom of the plot." 1 Such is an almost literal translation from the words of Walter Hemingford, whose information as to Scottish affairs at this period seems to have been minute and accurate. At this time the ambition or the patriotic feelings of Bruce were cer- tainly short-lived ; for, not many months after, he made his peace at the capitulation at Irvine, and gave his infant daughter, Marjory, as a hostage for his fidelity. 2 Subsequent to the successful battle of Stirling, the Comyns, no longer in the power of the English king, joined Wallace ; and young Bruce, once more seeing his rivals for the throne opposed to Ed- ward, kept aloof from public affairs, anxious, no doubt, that they should destroy themselves by such opposition. He did not, as has been erroneously stated, accede to the Scottish party, 3 • but, on the contrary, shut himself up in the castle of Ayr, and refused to join the army which fought at Falkirk. As little, however, did he cordially co-operate with the English king, al- though his father, the elder Bruce, and his brother, Bernard Bruce, were both in his service, and, as there is strong reason to believe, in the Eng- lish army which fought at Falkirk. Young Bruce's conduct, in short, at this juncture, was that of a cautious neutral; but Edward, who approved of no such lukewarmness in those who had sworn homage to him, immedi- 1 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 120. Hailes, 8vo edit. vol. i. p. 301. 2 Rymer, Feed. vol. i. new edit. p. 868. Robert Bruce, earl of Carrick, James, t^e Steward of Scotland, John, his brother, Alex- ander de Lindesay, and William de Douglas, submitted themselves to Edward. On 30th July 1297, John Comyn, son of John, lord of Bartenoch, John, earl of Athole, and Richard Suvard, were liberated from prison, and ac- companied Edward to Flanders. * Hailes' Ann^ vol. i. 4to, pp. 256-263. ROBERT BRUCE. 85 ately after the battle of Falkirk ad- vanced into the west. Bruce, on his approach, fled ; and Edward after- wards led his army into Annandale, and seized his strong castle of Loch- maben. 4 In a parliament held not long subse- quent to this, the king gave to his nobles some of the estates of the chief men in Scotland ; but the great estates of the Bruce family, embracing Annan- dale and Carrick, were not alienated. The fidelity of the elder Bruce to England in all probability preserved them. On the 13th of November 1299, we find Robert Bruce the younger, earl of Carrick, associated as one of the regents of the kingdom with John Comyn, that powerful rival, with' whom he had hitherto never acted in concert. 5 It seems, however, to have been an unnatural coalition, raising more out of Bruce's having lost the confidence of Edward, than indicative of any new cordiality be- tween him and Comyn ; and there can be little doubt, also, that they were brought to act together by a mutual desire to humble and destroy the power of "Wallace, in which they suc- ceeded. But to punish this union, Edward, in his short campaign of 1300, wasted Annandale, took Loch- maben castle, and marched into Gallo- way, ravaging Bruce's country. Thus exposed to, and suffering under the vengeance of the King of England, it might be expected that he should have warmly joined with his brother re- gents in the war. But this seems not to have been the case. He did not take an active share in public affairs ; and previous. to the battle of Roslin, he returned, as we have seen, to the English party. During the fatal and victorious progress of Edward through Scotland in 1303, he remained faithful to that monarch, while his rivals, the Comyns, continued in arms against him. On the death of his father, which took place in 1304, Bruce was permitted by the King of England to take possession of his whole English and Scottish estates ; and so high does * Hemingford, p. 166. * Rjm^r, vol. ii. p. 859. 86 HISTORY OF he appear to have risen in the esteem of Edward, that he acted a principal part in the settlement of the kingdom in 1304; whilst his rival Comyn was subjected to a heavy fine, and seems to have wholly lost the confidence of the king. 1 In this situation matters stood at the important period when we con- cluded the last chapter. Bruce, whose conduct had been consistent only upon selfish principles, found himself, when compared with other Scottish barons, in an enviable situation. He had pre- served his great estates, his rivals were overpowered, and, on any new emer- gency occurring, the way was partly cleared for his own claim to the crown. The effect of all this upon the mind of Comyn may be easily imagined. He felt that one whose conduct, in consistency and honour, had been in- ferior to his own, was rewarded with the confidence and favour of the king ; whilst he who had struggled to the last for the liberty of his country became an object of suspicion and neglect. This seems to have rankled in his heart, and he endeavoured to instil suspicions of the fidelity of Bruce into the mind of Edward ; 2 but at the same time he kept up to that proud rival the appearance of friend- ship and familiarity. Bruce, in the meantime, although he had matured no certain design for the recovery of the crown, never lost sight of his pre- tensions, and neglected no opportu- nity of strengthening himself and his cause by those bands and alliances with powerful barons and prelates which were common in that age. He had entered into a secret league of this kind with William de Lambert on, bishop of St Andrews, in which they engaged faithfully to consult together, and to give mutual assistance to each other, by themselves and their people, at all times, and against all persons, to the utmost of their power ; without guile to warn each other against all dangers, 1 Trivet, p. 334. 2 Hemingford, p. 219, says this expressly : — " Cumque mutuo loquerentur ad invicem verbis ut videbatur pacificis, statim conver- tens taciem et verba pervertens coepit impro- perare ei." SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. and to use their utmost endeavour to prevent them. 3 This league was of course sedulously concealed from Ed- ward; but it seems to have become known to Comyn, and a conference between him and Bruce on the subject of their rival claims actually took place. At this meeting Bruce de- scribed, in strong expressions, the miserable servitude into which their mutual dissensions, and their preten- sions to the crown, had plunged the country ; and we are informed by one of the most ancient and accurate of the contemporary historians, that he proposed as an alternative to Cornyn, either that this baron should make over his great estate to Bruce, on con- dition of receiving from him in return his assistance in asserting his claim to the throne, or should agree to accept Bruce's lands, and assist him in the recovery of his hereditary kingdom. "Support my title to the crown," said Bruce, " and I will give you my estate ; or give me your estate, and I will support yours." 4 Comyn agreed, to wave his right and accept the lands ; and, in the course of these confidential meetings, became acquainted with Bruce's secret associations, and even possessed of papers which contained evidence of his designs for the recovery of his rights. These designs, however, were as yet quite immature, and Bruce, who was still unsuspected, and in high confidence with Edward, repaired to the English court. Whilst there, Co- myn betrayed him, 5 and despatched letters to the king, informing him of the ambitious projects of Bruce. Ed- ward, anxious to unravel the whole conspiracy, had recourse to dissimula- tion, and the Earl of Carrick continued » See Ayloffe's Calendar of Ancient Charters, p. 295. The deed is transcribed in Lord Hailes' Annals, vol. i. p. 280. * Fordun a Hearne, p. 992, vol. iv. Win- ton, vol. ii. p. 122, says this conference took place when the two barons were "ryding fra Strevylyn." See also Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 330. Barbour's Bruce, Jairiieson's edit. ' p. 18. s Winton asserts, vol. ii. p. 123. that Comyn betrayed Bruce when he was yet in Scotland; upon which Edward sent for him to get him into his power ; and that Bruce, suspecting nothing, repaired to London to attend parlia- ment 1305.] ROBERT in apparent favour. But the king had inadvertently dropped some hint of an intention to seize him ; and Bruce, having received from his kinsman, the Earl of Gloucester, 1 an intimation of his danger, took horse, and, .accom- panied by a few friends, precipitately fled to Scotland. On the Borders they encountered a messenger hastening to i England. His deportment was suspi- icious, and Bruce ordered him to be questioned and searched. He proved to be an emissary of Comyn's, whom that baron had sent to communicate with Edward. He was instantly slain, his letters were seized, and Bruce, in possession of documents which dis- closed the treachery of Comyn, pressed forward to his castle of Lochmaben, 2 which he reached on the fifth day after his sudden flight. Here he met his I brother, Edward Bruce, and informed him of the perilous circumstances in which he was placed. 3 It was now the month of February, the time when the English justiciars appointed by Ed- .ward were accustomed to hold their courts at Dumfries; and Bruce, as a freeholder of Annandale, was bound to be present. Comyn was also a free- holder in Dumfriesshire, and obliged to attend on the justiciars ; so that in this way those two proud rivals were brought into contact, under circum- stances peculiarly irritating. 4 They met at Dumfries, and Bruce, burning ; with ill-dissembled indignation, re- 1 quested a private interview with the I rival who had betrayed him, in the \ Convent of the Minorite Friars. Comyn agreed, and, entering the convent, they had not reached the high altar before words grew high and warm, and the young baron, losing command of tem- per, openly arraigned Comyn of trea- chery. "You lie!" said Comyn; upon which Bruce instantly stabbed him with his dagger, and hurrying from the sanctuary which he had 1 The Earl of Gloucester is ridiculously enough denominated by Maitland, vol. i. p. 469, Earl Gomer ; by Boece called Glomer, which is as absurdly supposed to be a cor- ruption of Montgomery. 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 127. 8 Barbour, vol. i. p. 23. Hailes' Annals, vol. i. p. 356. BRUCE. 87 defiled with blood, rushed into the street, and called " To horse ! " Lind- say and Kirkpatrick, two of his fol- lowers, seeing him pale and agitated, demanded the cause. " I doubt," said Bruce, as he threw himself on his horse, " I have slain Comyn." " Do you doubt ? " cried Kirkpatrick, fierce- ly; " I'll make sure!" and instantly entered the convent, where he found the unhappy man still alive, but bleeding, and lying on the steps of the high altar. By this time the noise of the scuffle had alarmed his friends, and his uncle, Sir Robert Comyn, 5 rushing into the convent, attempted to save him. But Kirkpatrick slew this new opponent, and having de* spatched his dying victim, who could offer no resistance, rejoined his master. Bruce now assembled his followers, and took possession of the castle oi Dumfries, whilst the English justi- ciars, who held their court in a hall in the castle, believing their lives to be in danger, barricaded the doors. But the building was immediately set fire to, upon which the judges capitulated, and were permitted to depart from Scotland without further molestation. 6 This murder had been perpetrated by Bruce and his companions in the heat of passion, and was entirely un- premeditated ; but its consequences were important and momentous. Bruce's former varying and uncertain line of policy, which had arisen out of the hope of preserving, by fidelity to Edward, his great estates, and of see- ing his rival crushed by his opposition s There seems some little ambiguity about the knight's name. Hailes, vol. i. p. 291, says he is commonly called Sir Richard. A book of chronicles in Peter College Library, quoted by Leland, Coll. vol. i. p. 473, calls him Sir Roger. The Pope's bull, vol. iiL Rymer, Feed. p. 810, puts it beyond doubt that his name is Robert. The murder of Comyn happened on Thursday, the 10th of February 1305-6. e Hemingford, vol. i. p. 220. This histo- rian tells us, that after Bruce had with his followers seized the castle of Dumfries, and expelled the justiciars, word was brought him that Comyn was still alive, and had been carried by the friars within the high altar, to confess his sins. Upon which Bruce ordered him to be dragged out and slain on the steps i of the altar, so that the altar itself was staiat^ I with his blood. This is improbable. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. to England, was at once changed by the murder of which he had been guilty. His whole schemes upon the crown had been laid open to Edward. This was ruin of itself ; but, in addi- tion to this, he had, with his own hand, assassinated the first noble in the realm, and in a place of tremendous sanctity. .He had stained the high altar with blood, and had directed against himself,- besides the resent- ment of the powerful friends and vassals of the murdered earl, all the terrors of religion, and the strongest prejudices of the people. The die, however, was cast, and he had no al- ternative left to him but either to become a fugitive and an outlaw, or to raise open banner against Edward, and, although the disclosure of his plans was premature, to proclaim his title to the crown. Having deter- mined on this last, he repaired imme- diately to Lochmaben castle, and despatched letters to his friends and adherents. It was fortunate for him at this trying crisis that he had secured the friendship and assistance of the Archbishop of St Andrews, William de Lamberton, by one of those bands Dr covenants, which, in this age, it w*s considered an unheard-of outrage to break or disregard. Lamberton's friendship disarmed of its dreadful consequences that sentence of excom- munication which was soon thundered against him, and his powerful influence necessarily interested in his behalf the whole body of the Scottish clergy. The desperate nature of Bruce's undertaking appeared very manifest, from the small number of adherents who joined his fortunes. The enumer- ation will not occupy much space. It embraced the Earls of Lennox and of Athole ; Lamberton, tjie bishop of St Andrews ; Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow ; David, bishop of Moray ; the Abbot of Scone; his four brothers, Edward, Nigel, Thomas, and Alexan- der ; his nephew, Thomas Randolph ; bis brother-in-law, Christopher Seton; Gilbert de la Haye of Errol, with his brother, Hugh de la Haye; David T Urclay of Cairns ; Alexander Fraser, brother of Simon Fraser of Oliver castle ; "Walter de Somerville, of Lin* ton and Carnwath ; David of Inch- martin ; Robert Boyd ; and Robert Fleming. Such was the handful of brave men, comprising two earls and only fourteen barons, with whose assistance Bruce determined to take the field against the overwhelming power of England, directed by one of the most experienced statesmen, and certainly by the most successful mili- tary commander, of the age. "With these," says the authentic and affec- tionate Fordun, "he had the courage to raise his hand, not only against the King of England and his allies, but against the whole accumulated power of Scotland, with the exception of an extremely small number who adhered to him, and who seemed like a drop of water when compared to the ocean." 1 Bruce's first step was bold and de- cisive. He determined immediately to be crowned at Scone, and for this purpose repaired from his castle of Lochmaben to Glasgow, where he was joined by some of the friends who supported his enterprise. On the road from Lochmaben, a young knight, well armed and horsed, encountered his retinue, who, the moment Bruce ap- proached, threw himself from his i "There is no living man," continues the historian, "who is able to narrate the story of those complicated misfortunes which befell him in the commencement of this war, his frequent perils, his retreats, the care and weariness, the hunger and thirst, the watch- ing and fasting, the cold and nakedness to which he exposed his person, the exile into which he was driven, the snares and am- bushes which he escaped, the seizure, impri- sonment, the execution, and utter destruction of his dearest friends and relatives. . . . And if in addition to these almost innumer- able and untoward events, which he ever bore with a cheerful and unconquered spirit, any man should undertake to describe his individual conflicts and personal successes, those courageous and single-handed combats in which, by the favour of God, and his own great strength and courage, he would often penetrate into the thickest of the enemy, now becoming the assailant, and cutting down' all who opposed him ; at another time acting on the defensive, and evincing equal talents in escaping from what seemed inevitable death ; if any writer shall do this, he will prove, if I am not mistaken, that he had no equal in hii own time, either in knightly prowess, or in . strength and vigour of body." — Fordun a Uearne, vol. v. p. 998. 1305-6.] ROBERT BRUCE. 89 horse, and kneeling, did homage to him as his sovereign. He was im mediately recognised as Sir James Douglas, the son of William, the fourth Lord Douglas, whose estate had been given by Edward to the Lord Clifford, and was affectionately wel- comed ; for his father had fought with Wallace, and the son had already shewn some indications of his fu- ture greatness. Douglas immediately joined the little band who rode with Bruce ; and thus commenced a friend- ship which, after a series of as noble services as ever subject paid to sove- reign, was not dissolved even by death : for it was to this tried follower that in after years his dying master committed his heart to be carried to Jerusalem. 1 From Glasgow Bruce rode to Scone, and there was solemnly crowned, on Friday, the 27th of March. Edward had carried off the ancient regalia of the kingdom, and the famous stone- chair, in which, according to ancient custom, the Scottish kings were in- augurated. But the ready care of Wishart, bishop of Glasgow, supplied from his own wardrobe the robes in which Robert appeared at his corona- i tion ; and a slight coronet of gold, 2 \ probably borrowed by the abbot of V Scone from some of the saints or kings ^vhich adorned his abbey, was em- ployed instead of the hereditary crown. A banner, wrought with the arms of Baliol, was delivered by the Bishop of Glasgow to the new king ; and Robert received beneath it the homage of the prelates and earls who attended the cere- mony. On the second day after the coro- nation, and before Bruce and his friends had left Scone, they were surprised by the sudden arrival of Isabella, countess of Buchan, sister of the Earl of Fife, who immediately claimed the privilege of placing the king upon the throne. It was a right which had undoubtedly 1 Barbour, by Jamieson, p. 27. 2 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 1043. This eo.-on'dla aurea came into the hands of Gef- frey de Coigners, who seems to have incurred the resentment of Edward the First, for con- cealing and preserving it. Langtoft, Chron- icle, vol. ii. p. 331. Maitland has no autho- rity for asserting, vol. i. p. 474, that the crown was made expressly for Robert's coronation, by Geffrey de Coigners. belonged to the earls of Fife from the days of Malcolm Canmore ; and as the Earl of Fife was at this time of the English party, the countess, a high- spirited woman, leaving her home, joined Bruce at Scone, bringing with her the war-horses of her husband. 3 The new king was not in a condition to think lightly of anything of this nature. To have refused Isabella's request might give to his enemies some colour for alleging that an es- sential part of the ancient solemnity had been omitted in his coronation. The English historians would have us believe that the lady was influenced by tenderer feelings than ambition or policy; but this is doubtful. It is certain that on the 20th of March the king was a second time installed in the regal chair by the hands of the countess, 4 who afterwards suffered severely for her alleged presumption. Bruce next made a progress through various parts of Scotland, strengthen- ing his party by the accession of new partisans; seizing some of the castles and towns which were in the posses- sion of the enemy; committing to prison the sheriffs and officers of Ed« ward ; 5 and creating so great a panic, that many of the English fled precipi- tately from the country. His party, nevertheless, was small; the Comyns possessed the greatest power in Scot- land, and they and their followers opposed him, not only from motives of policy, but with the deepest feel- ings of feudal enmity and revenge; while many earls and barons, who had suffered in the late wars, preferred the quiet of submission to the repeated hazards of insurrection and revolt. Edward had returned to Winchester, from a pleasure tour through the counties of Dorset and Hampshire, when he received the intelligence of the murder of Comyn and the revolt of Bruce. Although not an aged man, he had reached the mature period of sixty-five ; and a constant exposure to the fatigues of war had begun to 3 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 220. Robertson's Index, p. 17, No. 41. 4 Trivet, p. 342. See Xotes and Illustra- tion s. letter V. 5 Rymer, Feed, vol ii. p. 988. 90 HISTORY OF make an impression upon a constitu- tion of great natural strength. He was become unwieldy, and so infirm that he could not mount on horseback or lead his armies ; and after twenty years of ambitious intrigue, and almost uninterrupted war, now that he was in the decline of his strength and years, he found his Scottish conquests about to be wrested from him by a rival, in whom he had placed the greatest confidence. But although broken in body, this great king was in his mind and spirit yet vigorous and unimpaired, as was soon evinced by the rapidity and decision of his orders, and the subsequent magnitude of his preparations. He instantly sent to strengthen the frontier garrisons of Berwick and Carlisle, with the inten- tion of securing the English Borders on that side from invasion; and he appointed the Earl of Pembroke, with Lord Eobert Clifford and Henry Percy, to march into Scotland, direct- ing them to proceed against his rebels in that kingdom. 1 This was in an eminent degree the age of chivalry; and Edward, who had himself gained renown in Palestine, availed himself of that imposing system to give greater spirit to his intended expedition. He published a manifesto, declaring his intention of bestowing knighthood upon his son, the Prince of Wales; and he caused it to be proclaimed over England that as many young esquires as had a right to claim knight- hood should appear at Westminster on the Feast of Pentecost, and receive that honour along with the son of their sovereign, after which they should accompany him in his Scottish war. On the day appointed, three hundred young gentlemen, the flower of the English youth, with a brilliant assemblage of pages and attendants, crowded before the king's palace; i Rymer, Feed, new edition, vol. i. part. ii. p. 982. Math. Westminst. p. 454. Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, was appointed Guardian of Scotland, with full power to re- ceive those to mercy who would come in and submit themselves, excepting those who had a hand in the murder of the Lord Comyn. This appears by a charter under the Great Seal, quoted by Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 171. SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. which being too small for so great a concourse, orders were given to cut down the trees in the orchard of the New Temple. In this ample space the novices pitched their pavilions; and the king, with a splendid munifi- cence, distributed to them from his royal wardrobe the scarlet cloth, fine linen, and embroidered belts, made use of on such occasions. Habited in these, they kept their vigil and watched their arms in the Chapel of the Temple, whilst the young prince performed the same ceremony in the abbey church at Westminster. Next morning Edward, with great pomp, knighted his son in the palace; and the prince, after having received the belt and spurs, came to the abbey church to confer the same honour upon the young esquires who were there waiting for him, with an im- mense concourse of spectators. This crowd was the cause of giving addi- tional solemnity to the spectacle, for the prince was obliged, from the press, to mount the steps of the high altar ; and on this sacred spot, amid the assembled chivalry of England, he conferred the rank of knighthood upon his three hundred companions. He and his companions then proceeded to the banquet, at which two swans, ornamented with golden net-work, emblems in those days of constancy and truth, were brought in. Upon their being placed on the table, the king rose and made a solemn vow to God and to the swans that he would set out for Scotland, there avenge the death of John Comyn, punish the treachery of the Scots, and afterwards embark for the holy war, with the re- solution to die in Palestine. 2 After this strange and irreverent adjuration, he next addressod his son, and made him promise that if he died before he took this journey, he should carry his body with the army into Scotland, and not commit it to the earth until he had obtained the victory over his enemies. The clergy and laity then agreed to contribute a thirtieth, and the merchants a tenth, towards defray- ing the expenses of the w r ar. The 2 Hailes, vol. ii. p. 4. 1306.] BOBERT prince and the barons promised faith- fully to perform these commands of their sovereign ; and having agreed to meet at Carlisle fifteen days after Mid- summer, they returned home to make preparations for war. 1 The Earl of Pembroke, with Clifford and Henry Percy, soon hastened into Scotland ; and the Prince of Wales, with his knights companions, followed in the rear of their army; whilst Edward himself, unable from violent fatigue, proceeded towards Carlisle by slow journeys. It was an ill commence- ment of the young prince's chivalry that his excessive cruelty in ravaging the country, and sparing neither age nor sex, incurred the censure of his father the king, who was himself little wont to be scrupulous on these occa- sions. 2 Bruce was unfortunate in the early part of his career; and his military talents, which afterwards conducted him through a course of unexampled victory, were nursed amid scenes of incessant hardship and defeat. After having ravaged Galloway, 3 he marched towards Perth, at that time a town walled and strongly fortified, where the Earl of Pembroke lay with a small army of soldiers. Bruce, on arriving at Perth, and finding the earl shut up within .the walls, sent a challenge, requesting him, in the chivalrous style of the age, to come out and try his fortune in an open field. Pembroke answered that the day was too far spent, but that he would fight with him next morning; upon which the king retired, and encamped about a mile from Perth, in the wood of Meth- ven. Towards evening, whilst his soldiers were busy cooking their sup- per, 4 and many were dispersed in foraging parties, a cry was heard that the enemy were upon them ; and Pembroke, with his whole army, which outnumbered the Scots by fifteen hundred men, broke in upon the camp. 5 1 Math. Westminst. p. 455. Langtoft, p. 333. 2 Ypodigma Neustriae, p. 498. * Chron. Lanercost, p. 204. * Chron. Abingdon, quoted in Tyrrel, vol. ^r. p. 172. * Barbour, by Jamieson, p. 37. BRUCE. 91 The surprise was so complete, that it can only be accounted for by the be lief that the king had implicitly relied upon the promise of the English earl. He and his friends had scarcely time: to arm themselves. They made, how- ever, a stout resistance, and at the first onset Bruce attacked the Earl of Pembroke, and slew his horse; but no efforts of individual courage could restore order, or long delay defeat; and the battle of Methven was from the first nearly a rout. The king was thrice unhorsed, and once so nearly taken, that the captor, Sir Philip de Mowbray, called aloud that he had the new-made king, when Sir Chris- topher Seton felled Mowbray to the earth, and rescued his master. 6 The king's brother, Edward Bruce, Bruce himself, the Earl of Athole, Sir Jame* Douglas, Sir Gilbert de la Haye, Sir- Nigel Campbell, and Sir William de Barondoun, 7 with about five hundred men, kept the field, and at last effected their retreat into the fastnesses of Athole; but some of his best and bravest friends fell into the hands of the enemy. Sir David de Berklay, Sir Hugh de la Haye, Sir Alexander Fraser, Sir John de Somerville, Sir David Inchmartin, and Thomas Ran- dolph, then a young esquire, were all taken, along with Hugh, a chaplain. On being informed of the victory , Edward gave orders for the instant execution of the prisoners ; but the Earl of Pembroke, with more huma- nity, did not carry these orders into immediate execution. Randolph, on being pardoned, deserted his uncle ; others were ransomed; whilst the chaplain, with other knights who had 6 Barbour, pp. 35, 36. Math. Westminst., p. 455, asserts that the king was thrice un- horsed, and thrice rescued by Sir Simon. Fraser. 7 This knight is a witness to a charter of Haig of Bemerside to the Abbey of Melrose, along with Thomas Rymer of Ercildoun and others. Chartulary of Melrose, Bib. Harl. 3960, t 109, a. 8 Prynne's Edward I., p. 1123. Barboui, by Jamieson, p. 35. The battle, according to Hume's History of the House of Douglas, p. 44, was fought on the 19th June. A ballad in MS., Harleian, No. 2253, f. 60, a, says that I the battle was fought before St Bartholomew's- I mass, i.e. 24th August. 92 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IIL been taken, were hanged and quar- tered. 1 Bruce and his friends now began to feel the miseries of outlaws. A high price was set on his head, and he was compelled to harbour in the hills, de- prived of the common comforts of life. He and his followers presented a ragged and wretched appearance. Their shoes were worn off their feet by constant toil in a mountainous country ; and hunting, in better days a joyful pastime, became a necessi- tous occupation. At length want and distress drove him and his little band into the low country; and at Aber- deen his brother, Sir Nigel Bruce, met him with his queen and other ladies, determined to share the pains of war and banishment with their husbands and their fathers. 2 Here, after enjoy- ing a short season of solace and re- spite, a report was brought of the near advance of the English ; and the king and his friends, accompanied by their faithful women, retreated into Breadalbane. 3 And now, if already they had experienced distress, it was, we may believe, greatly aggravated by the presence of those whose constitu- tions were little able to struggle against cold and hunger, and whose love, as it was of that sterling kind which was ready to share in every privation, only made the hearts of their husbands and fathers more keenly alive to their sufferings. An ancient author has given a striking account of their mode of life. The roots and berries of the woods, the venison caught in the chase, the fish which abounded in the mountain rivers, supplied them with food — the warm skins of deer and roe with bed- tang — and all laboured to promote their comfort; but none with such success as the brave and gallant Sir James Douglas. This young soldier, 1 Barbour, p. 37. Prynne, Edward I., p. 1123-1. 2 Edward, on being informed of this trait of female heroism, is said by Fordun to have published a proclamation proscribing all those women who continued to follow their hus- bands. Ker. in his History of Bruce, vol. i. p -J26. seems to have mistaken the meaning cf Fordun, misled by his monkish Latin. 3 Barbour, p. 41. after the imprisonment and death of his father, had been educated at the polished court of France ; 4 and whilst his indefatigable perseverance in the chase afforded them innumerable com- forts, his sprightly temper and constant gaiety comforted the king and amused his forlorn companions. 5 They had now reached the head cf Tay, and deeper distresses seemed gathering round them, for the season was fast approaching when it was im- possible for women to exist in that remote and wild region ; and they were on the borders of the Lord of Lorn s country, a determined enemy of Bruce, who had married the aunt of the murdered Comyn. 6 Lorn im- mediately collected a thousand men, and, with the barons of Argyle, be- setting the passes, hemmed in the king, and attacked him in a narrow defile, where Bruce and his small band of knights coula not manage their horses. - The Highlanders were o« foot; and, armed with that dreadful weapon, the Lochaber axe, did great execution. Sir James Douglas, with Gilbert de la Haye, were both wounded, and many of the horses severely cut and gashed ; so that the king, dread- ing the total destruction of his little band, managed to get them together, and having placed himself in the rear, between them and the men of Lorn, commenced his retreat, halting at in- tervals, and driving back the enemy, when they pressed too hard upon them. It was in one of these skir- mishes that Bruce, who, in the use of his weapons, was esteemed inferior to no knight of his time, with his owr» hand killed three soldiers, who at- tacked him at the same time and at a disadvantage 7 — a feat which is said to have extorted even from his ene- * Hume's Hist, of House of Douglas and Angus, p. 37. 5 Barbour, vol. i. p. 40. e Ibid. p. 41. 7 Barbour, p. 44. Lord Hailes, who in other places quotes Barbour as an unquestion- able historical authority, says he dare not venture to place this event in the text. Surely there is nothing marvellous in a knight of great bodily strength and courage with his single hand despatching three half naked kctherans. 13C6."] ROBERT mies the praise of superior chivalry. Having thus again escaped, a council was held, and it was resolved that, the queen and her ladies should be con- ducted to the strong castle of Kil- drummie, in Mar, under an escort, commanded by young Nigel Bruce, the king's brother, and John, earl of Athole. The king, with only two hundred men, and beset on all sides by his enemies, was left to make his way through Lennox to Kantire, a district which, from the influence of Sir Neil Campbell, who was then with him, he expected would be somewhat more friendly. He now gave up all the horses to those who were to escort the women, and having determined to pursue his way on foot, took a melan- choly farewell of his queen. 1 It was the last time he ever saw his brother, who soon after was taken, and fell a victim to the implacable revenge of Edward. Bruce, meanwhile, pressed on through Perthshire to Loch Lo- mond. On the banks of this lake his progress was suddenly arrested. To have travelled round it would have been accomplished at great risk, when every hour, which could convey him beyond the pursuit of his enemies, was of value. After some time, they succeeded in discovering a little boat, which, from its crazy and leaky state, could hold but three persons, and that not without danger of sinking. In it, the king, Sir James Douglas, and another, who rowed them, first passed over. They then despatched it in re- turn for the rest, so that the whole band at length succeeded in reaching the other side. Amid these compli- cated dangers and distresses, the spirit of their royal master wonderfully sup- ported his followers. His memory was stored with the tales of romance so popular in that chivalrous age ; and in recounting the sufferings of their fabled heroes, he is said to have di- verted the minds of his friends from brooding too deeply on their own. 2 They began now to feel the misery of hunger, and in traversing the woods in search of food they encountered 1 Barbour, vol. i. p. 51. 2 Jbid. pp. 53, 54. BRUCE. 93 the Earl of Lennox, who, since the unfortunate defeat at Methven, had heard nothing of the fate of his sove- reign. Lennox fell on his master's neck, and the king wept in embracing him. But even this natural burst of grief proved dangerous by occupying too much time; for the enemy were now pressing on their track, and every- thing depended on Bruce's gaining the coast, where he expected to meet Sir Neil Campbell, whom he had sent in advance. This he fortunately accom- plished ; and Campbell, with a few boats which he had collected, conveyed the monarch and his followers to the coast of Kantire, where they were hos- pitably received by Angus of Islay, lord of Kantire. From thence, deeming himself still insecure, he passed over with three hundred in his company to the little island of Rachrin, situated on the northern coast of Ireland, amid whose rude but friendly inhabitants he buried himself from the pursuit of his enemies. 3 Edward, on hearing of the escape of Bruce, proceeded with his usual se- verity against his enemies. He pub- lished at Lanercost, where he then lay, on his road to Scotland, an ordinance, by which all who were guilty of the death of John Comyn were sentenced to be drawn and hanged; and he de- creed that the same extremity of pun- ishment should be inflicted on such as either advised or assented, or, after the fact, knowingly received them. It was added, that any persons who were in arms against the king, either before or since the battle of Methven, as well as all who were willingly of the party of Robert Bruce, or who assisted the people in rising contrary to law, were, on conviction, to be imprisoned ; and it was commanded that every sub- ject of the king should levy hue and cry upon all who had been in arms against England, and under the penalty of imprisonment, and loss of their estates, apprehend such offenders dead or alive. Finally, as to the common people of Scotland, who, contrary to their inclination, might by their lords have been compelled to rise in arms, 3 Barbour, p. 62. 94 HISTORY OF the guardian was permitted to fire and ransom them according to their offences. 1 These orders were rigorously carried into execution, and the terror of the king's vengeance induced some of the Scottish barons to act with meanness. Bruce's queen, 2 and his daughter Mar- jory, thinking themselves insecure in the castle of Kildrummie, which was threatened by the English army, had taken refuge in the sanctuary of St Duthac, at Tain, in Ross-shire, and were treacherously given up to the English by the Earl of Ross, who vio- lated the sanctuary, and made them, and the knights* who escorted them, prisoners. These brave men were im- mediately put to death, and the queen, with her daughter, committed to close confinement in England ; 3 where, in different prisons and castles, they en- dured an eight years' captivity. A more severe fate awaited the Countess of Buchan, who had dared to place the king upon the throne, and who was soon after taken. In one of the outer turrets of the castle of Berwick was constructed a cage, latticed and cross- barred with wood, and secured with iron, in which this unfortunate lady was immured. No person was per- mitted to speak with her except the women who brought her food, and it was carefully stipulated that these should be of English extraction. Con- fin ad in this rigorous manner, and yet subjected to the gaze of every passer by, she remained for four years shut up, till she was released from her misery, and subjected to a milder im- prisonment 4 in the monastery of Mount Carmel, in Berwick. Mary and Christina, both sisters to the Scottish king, were soon after made prisoners. Mary was confined in a 1 Tvrrel, Hist, of England, voL iii. p. 174 ; and Rymer, Feed. vol. i. part ii. p. 995, new- edition. 2 A daughter of the Earl of Ulster. 3 Fcedera, vol. ii. pp. 1013. 1014. Barbour's Bruce, p. 66. Majcn, p. 181, erroneously says the queen was delivered up by "William Comyn. In Rymer, Fcedera, vol i. part ii. new edit. p. 767, we find William, earl of Ross. * Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. f-5. Trivet, p. 342. Math. West. p. 455. Fotes and Illus- trations, letter W. SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. cage similar to that ot the Countess of\ Buchan, built for her in one of the turrets of Roxburgh castle ; 5 and j Christina was delivered to Henry/ Percy, who shut her up in a convent. Immediately after the battle of Methven, the troops of the Earl of Pembroke, in scouring the country, took prisoners, Lamberton, bishop of St Andrews, and the Abbot of Scone, who were found clad in armour, and conveyed them in fetters to England. 8 Soon after this, Robert Wishart, bishop of Glasgow, who had escaped to the castle of Cupar in Fife, was there taken, and sent fettered, and in his mail coat, to the castle of Notting- ham. 7 These clerical champions were saved from the gallows solely by their sacred function. They had strenu- ously supported Bruce by their great influence, as well as by their money and their armed vassals ; and Edward, after commanding them to be impri- soned in irons, within different castles, wrote to the Pope, requesting that, in consequence of their treason against him, William Comyn, brother to the Earl of Buchan, and Geoffrey de Mow- bray, should be appointed to the ▼acant sees of St Andrews and Glas- gow — a proposal with which his Holi- ness does not appear to have com- plied. 8 The next victim excited deeper com- miseration. Bruce's youthful brother, Xigel, had shut himself up in the castle of Kildrummie, and there defied the English army, commanded by th« Earls of Lancaster and Hereford. After a brave defence, the treachery of one of the garrison, who set fire to the magazine of corn, and destroyed their supplies, compelled them to sur- render. The beautiful person and en- s Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 1014. She was con- fined in the cage till 1310. when she was ex- changed for nine English prisoners of note in the hands of the Scots. Rot Scotiae, vol. L p. 86. « Math. Westminster, p. 455. " Rymer, Feed. voL L part ii. new edit. p. 996. 6 Prvnne, Edward I., p. 1156. The Bishop of St Andrews was confined in the castle of Winchester, the Bishop of Glasgow in the castle of Porchester. Rymer, Feed. p. 99wall, in 1190, styled "Princeps Gallovidiae." king began to be in great difficulties*. The English hotly pursued him, and even had the meanness to lay plots for his assassination, whilst the Galwe- gians endeavoured to hunt him down with bloodhounds. 2 On one of these occasions, when only sixty soldiers were in his company, he made a nar- row escape. It was near nightfall, when his scouts informed him that a force of two hundred soldiers were on the way to attack them. He instantly crossed a mountain river hard by, of which the banks were steep and wooded, and drew up his men in a swampy level about two bowshots off. He then commanded them to lie still, while he and Sir Gilbert de la Haye went for- ward to reconnoitre. The ground was well fitted for defence. A steep path led up from the brink of the river to the summit of the bank, and Bruce took his stand at the gorge, where it was so narrow that the superior numbers of the enemy gave them little advantage. Here he listened for some time, till at length the baying of a hound told him of the approach of the Galwegians ; and by the light of the moon he could see their band crossing the river, and pressing up the path. He instantly despatched De la Haye to rouse and bring up his little force, whilst he- remained alone to defend the pass. The fierce moun- taineers were soon upon him ; but, although mounted and armed after their own fashion, they stood little chance against so powerful an adver- sary as Bruce, clothed in steel, and having the advantage of the ground. One only could attack him at' a time ; and as he pressed boldly, but blindly forward, he was transfixed in a mo- ment by the spear ; whilst his horse, borne down to the earth, and instantly stabbed, blocked up the path in such a way that the next soldier must charge over his "body. He, too, with many of his companions, successively, but vainly, endeavoured to carry the pass. They were met by the dreadful sword of the king, which swept round on every side. Numbers now fell, and formed a ghastly barrier around him * Barbour, pp. 108, 111. 1307.] ROBERT eo that, on the approach of his men, the Galwegians drew off, and gave up the pursuit. When the soldiers came up, they found Bruce wearied, but unwounded, and sitting on a bank, where he had cast off his helmet to wipe his brow, and cool himself in the night air. In this manner, partly by his own valour, and partly from the private information which he received from those kindly disposed to him, he escaped the various toils with which he was beset ; and as he still counted amongst his party some of the bravest and most adventurous soldiers in Scot- land, it often happened, that when his fortunes seemed sinking to the lowest ebb, some auspicious adventure oc- curred, which reanimated the hopes of the party, and encouraged them to persevere. The castle of Douglas had been rebuilt by the English. It was again attacked by its terrible master, the " Good Sir James ; " and although he failed in getting it into his hands, its captain was slain and a great part of its garrison put to the sword ; 1 after which, having heard that the Earl of Pembroke, with a large force, was marching against the king, who still lay in the mountainous parts of Car- rick, Douglas joined his sovereign, and awaited their advance. Bruce had now been well trained. He was familiarly acquainted with this partisan kind of warfare ; and it was his custom, when keenly pursued, to make his soldiers disperse in small companies, first appointing* a .place of rendezvous, where they should reas- semble when the danger was over. Trusting to this plan, and to his own personal courage and skill, he did not hesitate, with only four hundred men, to await the attack of Pembroke's army, which had been reinforced, by John of Lorn, with eight hundred Highlanders, familiar with war in a mountainous country, and well trained to act in the moors and morasses of this wild region. Lorn is, moreover, reported to have taken along with him a large bloodhound, which had ionce belonged to the king, and whose (instinctive attachment was thus meanly i Barbour, p. 122. BRUCE. 99 employed against its old master. 2 The Highland chief contrived so success- fully to conceal his men, that Bruce, whose attention was fixed chiefly on Pembroke's force, found his position unexpectedly attacked by Lorn in the rear, and by the English, with whom was his own nephew, Randolph, in the front. His brother, Edward Bruce, and Sir James Douglas, were now with him ; and, after making head for a short time, -they divided their little force into three companies, and dis- persed amongst the mountains. He trusted that he might thus have a fairer chance of escape ; but the bloodhound instantly fell upon the track of the king ; and the treacherous Lorn with * his mountaineers had almost run him j down, when the animal was transfixed by an arrow from one of the fugitives, and Bruce with great difficulty. escaped. 3 In this pursuit, it is said, that with hi? own hand he slew five of the enemy i which, as the men of Lorn were pro* bably half -naked and ill-armed moun- taineers, who had to measure weapons with an adversary fully accoutred, and of uncommon personal strength, is in no respect unlikely to be true. Bruce, however, had the misfortune to lose his banner, which was taken by Ran- dolph, then fighting in the ranks of the English. 4 It was an age' of chivalrous adventure ; the circumstances in which the king was placed when related even in the simplest manner, are marked by a deep and romantic interest ; and, renouncing everything in the narrative of his almost contemporary biographer, which looks like poetical embellish- ment, the- historian must be careful to omit no event which is consistent with the testimony of authentic writers, with the acknowledged prowess of this great man, and the character of the times in which he lived. Not long after this adventure, Bruce attacked and put to the sword a party of two hundred English soldiers, care- lessly cantoned at a small distance from the main army ; and the Earl of Pem- broke, after an unsuccessful skirmish * Barbour, p. 124. s Ibid. pp. 129, 132. * Ibid. 100 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. in Glentruel, where the wooded and marshy nature of the country incapa- citated his cavalry from acting with effect, became disgusted with his ill success, and retreated to Carlisle. 1 The king instantly came down upon the plains or Ayrshire — made himself master of the strengths of the country — and reduced the whole of Kyle. Carrick, and Cunningham, to his obedience : while Sir James Douglas, ever on the alert, attacked and dis- comfited Sir Philip Mowbray. 2 who. with a thousand men. was marching from Bothwell into Kyle, and with di~:.;*:y escaped to the castle of In- nerkip, then held by an English gar- rison. By these fortunate events, the followers of Bruce were inspired with that happy confidence in his skill and courage, which, even in the very dif- ferent warfare of our own days, is one principal cause of success: and he soon found his little army reinforced by such numbers, that he determined, on the first opportunity, to try his strength aeainst the English in an open field Nor was this opportunity long of presenting itself. The Earl of Pem- broke in the beginning of May, and soon after the defeat of Mowbray, advanced, with a body of men-at-arms into Ayrshire, and came up with the enemy at Loudon HilL It is said that, in the spirit of the times. Pem- broke challenged the Scottish king to give him battle . and that, having sent word that he intended to march by Loudon Hill, Brace, who was then with his little army at Galston, con- ceiving the ground to be as favourable as could be chosen, agreed to meet him at Loudon Hill on the 10th of May. The road, at that part of Lou- don Hill where he determined to wait the advance of the English, led through a piece of dry level ground about five hundred yards in breadth, which was bounded on both sides by extensive morasses ; but, deeming that this open 1 Barbour, p. 149. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 153. Major, with more probability. I think, calls him John Moubray. In Rvmer, we meet with a John, but not with a Philip Moubray. amongst Edward's barons. Rymer, vol. i. p. 2. new edit. p. 966. [Chap. IIL space would give the English cavalry too much room to act, he took the precaution to secure his flanks by three parallel lines of deep trenche% which he drew on either hand from the morasses to the road, leaving an interval sufficient for the movements of a battalion of six hundred spear- men, the whole available force which Bruce could then bring into the field. A rabble of ill-armed countrymen and camp-followers were stationed, with his baggage, in the rear. 3 Early in the morning, the king, who was on the watch, descried the advance of Pembroke, whose force he knew amounted to three thousand cavalry. Their appearance, with the sun gleam- ing upon the coat « armour of the knights, the steel harness of the horses, and the pennons and banners of va- rious colours, waving above the wood of spears, was splendid and imposing contrasted with Bruce's small force. 4 Yet, confident in the strength of his position,, he calmly awaited their at- tack. The result entirely justified his expectations, and proved how dreadful a weapon the long Scottish spear might be made, when skilfully di- rected and used against cavalry. Pem- broke had divided his force into two lines; and, by hi3 orders, the first line put their spears in rest, and charged the battalion of the Scots at full gallop. But they made no im- pression. The Scottish soldiers stood perfectly firm: many of the English were unhorsed and slain ; and. in a short time, the first division, thrown into disorder, fell back upon the se- cond, which in its turn, as the Scots steadily advanced with their extended spears, began to waver, to break, and at last to fly. Bruce was not slow to follow up his advantage, and com- pletely dispersed the enemy, but with- out much slaughter or many prisoners, the Scots having no force in cavalry. The victory, however, had the best effect Pembroke retired to the castle of Ayr. The Scottish army acquired s The account of this battle is taken en- tirely from Barbour, p. 155. The English historians all allow that Pembroke was beaten, but give no particulars. * Barbour, p. 157. 1307-8.] additional confidence ; its ranks were every day recruited ; and, awaking from their foolish dreams of confidence and superiority, the English began to feel and to dread the great military talents which the king had acquired during the constant perils to which he had been exposed. Only three days after the retreat of Pembroke, he at- tacked, and with great slaughter de- feated, Ralph Monthermer, earl of Glou- cester, another of Edward's captains, whom he so hotly pursued, that he compelled him to shut himself up in the castle of Ayr, to which he imme- diately laid siege. 1 These repeated successes greatly incensed Edward ; and, although much debilitated by illness, he summoned his whole mili- tary vassals to meet him at Carlisle, three weeks after the Feast of John the Baptist, and determined to march in person against his enemies. Per- suading himself that the virulence of pis disease was abated, he offered up Ahe litter, in which hitherto he had / been carried, in the cathedral at Car- lisle, and mounting on horseback, pro- ceeded with his army towards Scot- land. But his strength rapidly sunk. In four days he proceeded only six miles ; and, after reaching the small village of Burgh-upon-Sands, he ex- pired on the 7th of July 1307, 2 leav- ing the mighty projects of his ambi- tion, and the uneasy task of opposing Bruce, to a successor whose character was in every way. the opposite of his father's. The last request of the dy- ing monarch was characteristic. He commanded that his heart should be conveyed to Jerusalem, and that his body, after having been reduced to a skeleton, by a process which, if we may credit Froissart, the king himself described, 3 should be carried along 1 Scala Chronica, p. 132. Math. Westmin- ster, p. 458. Trivet, p. 346. Hemingford, vol. i. p. 237. 2 Rymer, Feed. p. 1018, vol. i. part ii. new edit. Prynne's Ed. I. p. 1202. 3 Froissart, vol. i. chap, xxvii. When dying he made his eldest son he called, and caused him, in the presence of his barons, and invoking all the saints, to swear that, as soon as he was dead, he would boil his body in a caldron, till the flesh was separated from the bones, after which he should bury the ROBERT BRUCE. 101 with the army intc Scotland, there to remain unburied till that devoted country was entirely subdued. Edward the Second, who succeeded to the crown of England in his twenty- fourth year, was little calculated to carry into effect the mighty designs of his predecessor. His character was weak, irresolute, and headstrong ; and the first steps which he took evinced a total want of respect for the dying injunctions of his father. He com- mitted his body to the royal sepulchre at Westminster ; he recalled from ban- ishment Piers Gaveston, his profligate favourite ; and after receiving at Rox- burgh the homage of some of the Scot- tish barons in the interest of England, he pushed forward as far as Cumnock, on the borders of Ayrshire — appointed the Earl of Pembroke Guardian of Scotland — and, without striking a blow, speedily returned into his own dominions. 4 Upon the retreat of the English, the king and his brother, Sir Edward \ Bruce, at the head of a powerful army, / broke in upon Galloway, and com- manded the inhabitants to rise and join his banner. Where this order was disobeyed, the lands were given up to military execution ; and Bruce, \ who had not forgotten the defeat and ) death of his two brothers by the men | of this wild district, laid waste the country with fire and sword, and per- mitted every species of plunder, 5 in a flesh, but keep the bones; and as often as the Scots rose in rebellion against him, he should assemble his army, and carry with him the bones of his father. * Hemingford, p. 238, vol. i. Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 224. On Edward's coming to Carlisle, he was met by Patrick, earl of Dunbar, who swore homage to him. Tyrrel is in a mistake in saying he quitted King Robert's interest. He had never joined it. Hemingford errone- ously states that Edward only advanced to Roxburgh, and then returned. After the death of Edward the First, we unfortunately lose the valuable and often characteristic his- torian, Peter Langtoft, as translated by Ro- bert de Brunne, one of Hearne's valuable publications. Edward the Second was, on 6th August, at Dumfries ; on 28th August, at Cumnock ; on 30th, same month, at Tinwald and Dalgarnock. On his return south, on 4th September, at Carlisle ; on 6th, at Bowes in Yorkshire. s Chron. Lanercost. pp. 210, 212. Rymer Foedera, vol. iii. p. 14. 102 spirit of cruel, but, according to the sentiments of that age, not unnatural retaliation. Governed by caprice, and perpe- tually changing his councils, the King of England removed Pembroke from the guardianship of Scotland, and in his place appointed John de Bretagne, earl of Richmond, and nephew of the late king. 1 Full power was intrusted to him over all ranks of persons ; the sheriffs of Northumberland, Cumber- land, Westmoreland, and Lancashire, were commanded to assemble the whole military force of their respective coun- ties, under the orders of the guardian; the Earl of Dunbar, Robert de Keith, Alexander de Abernethy, and several other powerful barons, as well English as Scottish, were enjoined to march along with the English army, and to rescue Galloway from the ravages of Bruce ; while orders were issued to the sheriffs of London for the transporting to Berwick the provisions, military stores, and arms requisite for the troops, with certain large cross-bow3, called balittcE. de turno, employed in the attack and defence of fortified places. - At the head of this army, the Earl of Richmond attacked Bruce, and com- pelled him to retreat to the north of Scotland. 3 His brother. Edward Bruce, the Earl of Lennox, Sir Gilbert de la Have, and Sir Robert Boyd, accom- panied the king, but Sir James Dou- glas remained in the south, for the purpose of reducing the forest of Sel- kirk and J edburgh. 4 On reaching the Mounth, the name anciently given to that part of the Grampian chain which 1 Fccdera. voL iii. p. 10. 2 Ibid. pp. 14. 16. ' An anonymous MS. Chronicle, qnoted by Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 225, asserts that John of Bretagne. with an army, attacked King Ro- bert about Martinmas, put his forces to flight and compelled him to retreat to the bogs and mountains. Xo other Ensrlish historian, how- HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. extends from the borders of the dis- trict called the Mearns to Loch Ran- nach, Bruce was joined by Sir Alexander Fraser, along with his brother, with all their power ; and from them he learnt that Comyn, the Earl of Buchan, with his own nephew, Sir David de Brechin, and Sir John Mowbray, were assem- bling their vassals, and had determined to attack him. This news was the more unwelcome, as a grievous dis- temper began at this time to prey upon the king, depriving him of his streugth and appetite, and for a time leaving little hopes of his recovery. As the soldiers of Bruce were greatly dispirited at the sickness of the king, Edward, his brother, deemed it pru- dent to avoid a battle, and entrenched himself in a strong position near Slaines, on the north coast of Aberdeenshire. After some slight skirmishes be- tween the archers of both armies r which ended in nothing decisive, pro- visions began to fail ; and as the troops of Buchan daily increased, the Scots retired to Strabogy, carrying their king, who was still too weak to mount his horse, in a litter. 5 From this last sta- tion, as their royal charge began slowly to recover his strength, the Scots re- turned to Inverury ; while the Earl of Buchan, with a body of about a thou- sand men, advanced to Old Meldrum, and Sir David de Brechin pushed on with a small party, and suddenly at- tacked and put to flight some of Ro- bert's soldiers, carelessly cantoned in the outskirts of the town. 6 Bruce took this as a military affront, and instantly rising from his litter, called for his horse and arms. His friends remonstrated, but the king mounted on horseback, and although so weak as to be supported by two men on each side, he led on hi3 soldiers in person, and instantly attacking the Earl of Buchan with great fury, 7 routed ever, records this defeat, and neither Barbour and dispersed his army, pursuing them nor Fordun sav a word of the matter. Ker plausibly conjectures that Robert only re- treated before an army greatly superior to his own ; and Barbour represents the king's expedition into the north, not as the conse- quence of any defeat, but as the result of a plan for the reduction of the northern parts of Scotland. 4 Barbour, p. 162. s Barbour, pp. 170, 171. « Fordun a Hearne. toL iv. p. 1004. Bar- bour, p. 172. It is said that the town of In- verury received its charter as a royal burgh from the king after this victory. Stat Acc. vol. viL p. 331. ~ Fordun a Hearne, voL iv. u: supra. Bar* bour, p. 174. 1308.] ROBERT BRUCE. 105 as far as Fivy, on the borders of Bucban. Brechin fled to Angus, and shut him- self up in hi3 own castle of Brechin, which was soon after besieged and taken by the Earl of Athole, whose father had been executed in England. Into Buchan, the territory of Comyn, his mortal enemy, Bruce now marched, and took ample revenge for all the injuries he had sustained, wasting it with fire, and delivering it over to un- bridled military execution. Barbour informs us, that for fifty years after, men spoke with terror of the harry inn of Buchan ; and it is singular that, at this day, the oak3 which are turned up in the mosses bear upon their trunks the blackened marks of being scathed with fire. 1 The army of the king now rapidly increased, as hi3 character for success and military talent became daily more conspicuous. His nephew, Sir David de Brechin, having been pardoned and admitted to favour, joined him about this time with his whole force; and pursuing his advantage, he laid siege to the castle of Aberdeen. 2 Edward was now at Windsor, and, alarmed at such progress, he despatched an expe- dition to raise the siege of Aberdeen, jmd commanded the different seaports to fit out a fleet, which should co- operate with his land forces. But these preparations were too late; for the citizens of Aberdeen, who had early distinguished themselves in the war of liberty, and were warmly attached to the cause, encouraged by the presence* of the royal army, and assisted by some of its best leaders, assaulted and car- ried the castle by storm, expelled the English, and levelled the fortifications with the ground. From Aberdeen the king held his victorious progress into Angus; and here new success awaited him, in the capture of the castle of Forfar, at this time strongly garrisoned by the Eng- lish. It was taken by escalade during the night, by a soldier named Philip, i Statistical Account voL xi. p. 420. * The battle of Inverurv was fought on the 22d May 1308, and Edward's letter for the relief of Aberdeen is dated the 10th July 1303. Rotuli Scotise, voL L p. 55 the forester of Piatane, who put all the English to the sword; and the king, 'according to his usual policy, instantly commanded the fortifications to be destroyed. 3 The vicinity of Bruce's army now threatened the important station of Perth; and the English king, in un- | dissembled alarm, wrote to the citizen s, ; extolling their steady attachment to | his interest, and commandiDg them to fortify their town against his enemies. 4 Ever varying in his councils. Edward soon after this dismissed the Earl of Richmond from his office of Governor of Scotland, and appointed in his place, as joint guardians, Robert de Umfra- ville. earl of Angus, William de Roan of Hamiake, and Henry de Beaumont. 5 Jehu Comyn, earl of Buchan, and various other Scottish barons still at- tached to the English interest, were commanded to retain the charge of the various districts already intrusted to their care ; and in order to encourage them in their attachment, the king intimated his intention .of leading an army into Scotland in the month of August, and directed his chamberlain, Cotesbache, to lay in provisions for the troops ; but the intended expedi- tion never proceeded further. The orders to Cotesbache, which are con- tained in the Fcedera. acquaint us with an early source of Scottish wealth. Three thousand salted salmon were to be furnished to the army. 6 Satisfied for the present with his northern successes, Bruce despatched his brother Edward into Galloway. This district continued obstinately to resist his authority, and was at present occupied by the English troops under the command of Sir Ingelram de Urn- * Barbour, p. 175. This is the same as the forest of Plater. It was not far from Fin- haven ; and the office of forester proves Philip to have been a man of some consequence, as. by a charter of Rob'ert II.. we find a grant of the lands of Fothnevyn (Finharen) to Alex- ander de Lindesay. with the office of forester of the forest of Plater, which David de Annand resigned- Alexander de Lindesay was a baron of a noble family. Jamieson's Notes to the Bruce, p. 446. * Rotuli Scotia?, vol. L p. 56. 5 Ibid. « Fcedera, voL iii. p. 95. 104 fraville, a Scottish baron, who, in 1305, had embraced the English interest, 1 and Sir John de St John. Umfraville and St John, assisted by- Donegal, or Dougal, 2 probably the same powerful chieftain who, in a former year, had defeated Bruce's brothers, colle6ted a force of twelve hundred men, and encountered Ed- ward Bruce at the Water of Crie. The English and the Galwegians, however, were unable to withstand * the attack of the Scots. Their ranks were immediately thrown into con- fusion, two hundred were left dead on the field, and the rest dispersed amongst the mountains ; while Umfra- ville, with his companion St John, with difficulty escaped to Butel, a castle on the sea-coast of Galloway. 3 After this successful commence- ment, Edward Bruce overran the country, compelled the inhabitants to swear allegiance to his brother, levied heavy contributions, and had already taken and destroyed many of the castles of that wild district, when he received intelligence that John de St John was again in Galloway, at the head of fifteen hundred men. Upon his near approach, Bruce discovered, by his scouts, that it was the design of the English to make a forced march, and attack him by surprise. The courage of this brave soldier, border- ing on temerity, now impelled him to an attempt, which many would have 1 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 56. * It seems probable that Donegal, Dongall, Donald, and Dougal are all the same name. These Macdowalls were probably descended from the Lords of the Isles, who were Lords of Galloway ; and the bitter hatred which they seem to have entertained against Bruce, originated in all probability from the circum- stance, that David the youngest son of Mal- colm III., when he possessed 'Northumber- land, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and the whole of Scotland south of the Forth and the Clyde, except the earldom of Dunbar, be- stowed the heiress of Ananderdale, in Gallo- way, upon Robert de Brus, a Norman baron, and the ancestor of the royal family. The king- dom of Galloway contained Ananderdale and Carrick ; and hence these proud Galwegian princes considered the Bruces from the first as strangers and intruders, who had wrested from them part of their hereditary dominions. See Macpherson's Geographical Illustrations of Scottish History, sub voce Galloway. 8 Ker's Bruce, vol. i. p. 345 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND [Chap. III. pronounced desperate. He stationed his foot soldiers in a straight valley, strongly fortified by nature, 4 and, early in the morning, under the cover of a thick mist, with fifty knights and gentlemen, well armed and mounted, he made a retrograde movement, and gained the rear of the English, without being perceived by them. Following their line of march about a bow-shot off, his intention seems to have been, to have allowed St John to attack his infantry, and then to have charged them in the rear ; but before this could be effected, the mist sud- denly cleared away, and Bruce's little party were discovered when retreat was impossible. In this desperate situation, Edward hesitated not to charge the English, which he did with so much fury, that their ranks were shaken, and many of their cavalry unhorsed. Before they could recover so far as to discern the insignificant numbers of their enemy, he made a second, and soon after a third charge, so sharp and well sustained, that the confusion became general and irretriev- able,; and believing, probably, that the Scottish troop was only the ad- vance of a greater force, the English broke away in a panic, and were en- tirely routed. Sir Alan de Cathcart, one of Edward Bruce's companions in this spirited enterprise, recounted the particulars to Barbour, the affectionate biographer of Bruce, who characterises, it in simple but energetic language as • a right fair point of chivalry. 5 This, however, was not the only success. Donald of the Isles collecting a large force of his Galwegian infantry, and, assisted by Sir Roland of Galloway, 6 4 " His small folk gait he ilk deil, Withdraw thaim till a strait tharby, And he raid furth with his fifty." —Barbour, p. 183. " Withdraw thaim till a strait tharby." Lord Hailes, and Ker, p. 346, from this expression, conclude that Bruce made his infantry cast up intrenchments. But for this there is no authority. lie ordered his men merely to withdraw into a strait, Or, in other words, made them take up a position in narrow ground, s Barbour, p. 183. ■« "Quendam militem nomine Rolandura.' In Rymer, vol. i. new edition, part ii. p. 772, we find mention made of Bctandftft t^Jvaleu- 1308.1 ROBERT BRUCE. 105 and other fierce chiefs of that district, made head against the royalists ; but Edward Bruce, flushed with, his recent victories, encountered them on the banks of the Dee, dispersed their army, with the slaughter of Roland and many of the chiefs, and in the pursuit took prisoner the Prince of the Isles. 1 This defeat, which happened on the 29th of June 1308, led to the entire expulsion of the English. It is said that in a single year this ardent and indefatigable captain besieged and took thirteen castles and inferior strengths in Galloway, and completely reduced the country under the domi- nion of the king. 2 During these repeated victories of his brother, Bruce received intelli- gence that his indefatigable partisan, Sir James Douglas, having cut off the garrison of Douglas castle, which he had decoyed into an ambuscade, had elain the governor, Sir John de Webe- ton, compelled the castle to surrender, and entirely destroyed the fortifica- tions. 3 Douglas soon after reduced to obedience the forests of Selkirk and Jedburgh ; and during his warfare in those parts had the good fortune to .surprise and take prisoners, Thomas Randolph, the king's nephew, and Alexander Stewart of Bonkill, both of whom were still attached to the English interest. 4 Douglas, to whom Stewart was nearly related, treated his noble prisoners with kindness, and soon after conducted Randolph to the king. "Nephew," said Bruce, "you have for a while forgotten your alle- giance, but now you must be recon- ciled." " I have been guilty of no- thing whereof I need be ashamed," answered Randolph. "You arraign my conduct ; it is yourself who ought to be arraigned. Since you have chosen to defy the King of England, why is it that you debate not the s-'o Dominus. This Roland may have been the grandson of Roland, prince of Galloway. 1 Fordun a Hearne, p. 1005. 2 Barbour, p. 186. :? Barbour, pp. 163, 164. I conjecture that the baron, whom Barbour calls Sir John of Webeton, was Johannes de Wanton, one of . Edward's barons, mentioned in Rymer, vol. l. 1>. 630, new edition. * Barbour, pp. 187, 188. matter like a time knight, in a pitched field?" "That," said Bruce, with great calmness, " may come hereafter, and it may be ere long. Meantime, since thou art so rude of speech, it is fitting thy proud words meet their due punishment, till thou knowest better my right and thine own duty." Hav- ing thus spoken, he ordered Randolph into close confinement. 5 It is pleasing to know that this lesson had its effect; for, after a short imprisonment, the young baron joined the party of the king, who created him Earl of Moray. Nor had he any reason to repent his forgiveness or generosity. Randolph soon displayed high talents for war ; he became one of the most illustrious of Bruce's assistants in the liberation of his country, and ever after served his royal master with unshaken fidel- ity. The king had never forgotten the attack made upon him by the Lord of Lorn, soon after the defeat at Meth- ven, and he was now able to requite that fierce chief for the extremities to which he had then reduced him. Accordingly, after the junction of Douglas with his veteran soldiers, he invaded the territory of Lorn, and arrived at a narrow and dangerous? pass, which runs along the bottom of Cruachin Ben, a high and rugged mountain between Loch Awe and Loch Etive. The common people of Scotland were now, without much exception, on the side of Bruce ; and although, in many districts, when kept down by their lords, they dared not join him openly, yet in conveying intelligence of the motions and inten- tions of his enemies, they were of essential service to the cause. In this manner he seems to have been in- formed that an ambuscade had been laid for him by the men of Lorn, in the Pass of Cruachin Ben, through which he intended to march. The Lord of Lorn himself remained with his galleys in Loch Etive, and waited the result. The nature of the ground was highly favourable for this design of Lorn ; but it was entirely defeated by the dispositions of Bruce. Having 5 Barbour, p. 189. 106 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND divided his army into two parts, he ordered Douglas, along with one divi- sion, consisting entirely of archers, who were lightly armed, to make a circuit round the mountain, and to take possession of the rugged high ground above the Highlanders. Along with Douglas were Sir Andrew Gray, Sir Alexander Eraser, and Sir William "Wiseman. This manoeuvre was exe- cuted with complete success ; and the king, having entered the pass, was, in its narrow gorge, immediately attacked by the men of Lorn, who, with loud shouts, hurled down stones upon him, and after discharging their missiles, rushed on to a nearer at- tack. But their opponents, whose sol- diers were light-armed, and prepared for what occurred, met his enemies more than half-way ; and, net content with receiving their charge, assaulted them with great fury. Meanwhile Douglas had gained the high ground, and discharging a shower of arrows, attacked the Highlanders in the rear, and threw them into complete dis- Drder. After a stout resistance, the men of Lorn were defeated with great slaughter; and their chief, the Lord of Lorn, had the mortification, from his galleys, to be an eye-witness of the utter rout of his army. 1 He immediately fled to his castle of Dunstaffnage ; and Bruce, after having ravaged the territory of Lorn, and delivered it to indiscriminate plunder, laid close siege to this palace of the Island Prince, which was strongly situated upon the sea-coast. In a short time the Lord of Lorn surrendered his castle, and swore hom- age to the king ; but his son, John of Lorn, fled to his ships, and continued in the service of England. 2 Whilst everything went thus suc- cessfully in the field, the Scottish king derived great advantage from the fluc- 1 Barbour, pp. 191, 192. 23d August 1308. 2 Ibid. p. 192. Fordun a Hearne, p. 1005. Fordun says that Alexander of Argyle fled to England, where he soon after died, and Lord Ilailcs follows his narrative ; but it is contra- dicted by Barbour, who is an earlier authority than Fordun. John of Argyle was with his men and his ships in the service of Edward the Second on 4th October 1308. Rotuli Scctire, m. 13, p. 58. [Chap. III. tuating and capricious line of policy which was pursued by his opponent. In less than a year Edward appointed six different governors in Scotland ; a and to none of these persons, however high their talents, was there afforded sufficient time to organise, or carry into effect, any regular plan of military operations. His enemy, on the other hand, betrayed no want of activity, and about this time laid siege to Rutherglen, in Clydesdale — a castle considered of such importance by Ed- ward that he despatched Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, with a strong force, to raise the siege; but either the expedition never departed, or it was too late in its arrival ; for Ruther- glen, in the beginning of the next year, appears to have been one of the castles in the hands of the Scots. 4 Indeed, Edward's measures seem to have mostly evaporated in orders and pre- parations, whilst he himself, occupied with the pleasures of the court, and engrossed by his infatuated fondness for his favourite, Piers Gaveston, dreamt little of taking the field. Alarmed at last by the near approach of the Scottish army to the English border, he consented to accept the mediation of Philip, king of France, who despatched Oliver de Roches to treat with Bruce, and Lamberton, bishop of St Andrews, upon measures preparatory to a reconciliation. This able and intriguing prelate, on renew- ing his homage to the English king, had been liberated from his impri- sonment, and permitted to return to Scotland; but his fellow-prisoner, Wishart, the bishop of Glasgow, con- sidered too devoted to his country, was still kept in close confinement. De Roches' negotiation was soon fol- lowed by the arrival of the king's brother, Lewis, count of Evreux, and Guy, bishop of Soisscns, as ambassa- dors, earnestly persuading to peace ; commissioners from both countries were in consequence appointed, and a truce was concluded, which, if we 3 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. pp. 94, 160, 161. This last deed ought to have been dated 16th August 1308, instead of 1309. 4 Rotuli Scotiaj, m. 12, p. 60. See Notes and Illustrations, letter Z. 1308-11.] may believe Edward, was ill observed by the Scots. 1 A trifling discovery of an intercepted letter clearly shewed that the King of France secretly fa- voured the Scottish king. The Sieur de Varrennes, Philip's ambassador at the English court, openly sent a letter to Bruce under the title of the Earl of Carrick; bathe intrusted to the same bearer secret despatches, which were addressed to the King of Scots. Edward dissembled his indignation, and contented himself with a com- plaint against the duplicity of such conduct. 2 Nearly a whole year after this ap- pears to have been spent by this monarch in a vacillating and contradic- tory policy with regard to Scotland, which was calculated to give every advantage to so able an adversary as Bruce. Orders for the muster of his arm}-, which were disobeyed by some of his most powerful barons — commis- sions to his generals to proceed against his enemies, which were counter- manded, or never acted upon — pro- mises to take the field in person, which were broken almost as soon as made — directions, at one time, to his lieutenant in Scotland to prosecute the war with the greatest vigour, and these in a few days succeeded by a command to conclude, and even, if required, to purchase a truce ; 3 — such is the picture of the imbecility of the English king, as presented by the pub- lic records of the time. To this everything in Scotland of- fered a striking contrast. Towards the end of the year 1309, on the 24th February, the prelates and clergy of Scotland held a general council at Dundee, and declared that Robert, lord of Annandale, the competitor, ought,, by the ancient laws and cus- toms of that country, to have been preferred to Baliol in the competi- 1 Rymer, vol. iii. p. 147, 30th July 1309. Tyrrel asserts, vol. iii. p. 235, that the Scots broke the truce at the instigation of the King of France, but does not give his authority. 2 Rymer, vol. iii. p. 150. The King of France himself, in writing to Edward, speaks of the "King of Scots and his subjects.'* fcedera, vol. iii. p. 215. s Hemingford, vol. i. p. 246. Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 71. ROBERT BRUCE. 107 tion for the crown; for which reason, they unanimously recognised Robert Bruce, then reigning, as their lawful sovereign. They engaged to defend his right, with the liberties and inde- pendence of Scotland, against all oppo- nents ; and they declared all who should contravene the same to be guilty of treason against the king and the nation. 4 It seems probable that these resolutions of the clergy were connected with the deliberations of a parliament which assembled at the same time, and in which an instru- ment of similar import was drawn up and signed by the two remaining Estates, although no record of such proceedings remains. These solemn transactions gave strength to the title of Bruce, and increased a popularity which was already great. The spirit of the king had infused itself into the nobility, and pervaded the lowest ranks of the people — that feeling of superiority, which a great military commander invariably communicates to his soldiers, evinced itself in con- stant and destructive aggressions upon the English marches ; and upon the recall of the Earl of Hereford and Lord Robert Clifford from the interior of Scotland, they were necessitated to advance a sum of money before their enemies would consent to a truce. 5 On the resumption of hostilities. Bruce advanced upon Perth, and threatened it with a siege. This town had been strongly fortified by the English, and was intrusted to John Fitz-Marmaduke and a powerful gar- rison. Edward was at last roused into personal activity. He ordered a fleet to sail to the Tay — he issued writs for levies of troops for its instant relief 6 — and he commanded his whole military vassals to assemble at Ber- wick on the 8th of September, to pro- ceed immediately against his enemies. Disgusted with the presence of his favourite, Gaveston, some of the great 4 Instrument in the General Register House, Edinburgh. 5 Hemingford, ut supra. Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. p. 80. The truce was to last till Christ- mas, and was afterwards prolonged till Mid- summer. Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 235. e Rotuli Scotiae, vcl. i. pp. 83, 8-1. 108 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. barons refused to repair in person to the royal standard ; yet a powerful army assembled, and the Earls of Gloucester and Warrene, Lord Henry Percy, Lord James Clifford, and many other nobles and barons, were in the field. 1 With this great force, Edward, in the end of autumn, invaded Scot- land; and Bruce, profiting by the lessons of former years, and recollect- ing the disastrous defeats of Falkirk and Dunbar, avoided a battle. It happened that Scotland was this year visited by a famine unprecedentedly severe; and the king, after driving away the herds and flocks into the narrow straits and valleys, retired, on the approach of the English, to the woods, and patiently awaited the distress which he knew the scarcity of forage and provisions must entail upon the enemy. The English king marched on from Roxburgh, through the forests of Selkirk and Jedburgh to Biggar, looking in vain for an oppo- nent. From this he penetrated to Renfrew, - and, with a weak and in- judicious vengeance, burnt and laid waste the country, so that the heavy- armed cavalry, which formed the strength of his army, soon began to be in grievous distress ; and, without a single occurrence of moment, he was compelled to order a retreat, and return to Berwick, where he spent the winter. Upon the retreat of the Eng- lish, Bruce and his soldiers, leaving their fastnesses, broke down upon [Chap. III. enemy ; 4 but the Scots pursued their usual policy, and Gaveston returned with the barren glory of having marched over a country where there was no one to oppose him. 5 A fourth expedition, conducted by the Earls of Gloucester and Surrey, penetrated into Scotland by a different route, marched into the forest of Selkirk, and again reduced that province under a short-lived obedience to England. 6 On the return of the English king to London, Robert collected an army, and gratified his soldiers, who had so long smarted under oppression, by an invasion of that country on the side of the Solway, in which he burnt and plundered the district round Gillsland, ravaged Tynedale, and, after eight days' havoc, returned with much booty into Scotland. Edward, in a letter to the Pope, complained in bitter terms of the merciless spirit evinced by the Scottish army during this invasion ; 7 but we must recollect that this cruel species of warfare was characteristic of the age ; and in Robert, whos« personal injuries were so deep and grievous, who had seen the captivity of his queen and only child, and the death and torture of his dearest rela- tives and friends, we are not to be surprised if, in those dark days, re- venge became a pleasure, and retalia- tion a duty. Not satisfied with this, and aware that the English king was exclusively engaged in contentions with his barons, Bruce and his army. Lothian ; 3 and Edward, hearing of 1 in the beginning of September, again the reappearance of his enemies, with a great part of his forces again entered Scotland ; but this second expedition concluded in the same unsatisfactory manner ; whilst a third army, equally formidable in its numbers and equip- ment, which was intrusted to his favourite, the Earl of Cornwall, pene- trated across the Firth of Forth, | advanced to Perth, and for some time anxiously endeavoured to find an i l Hemingford, vol. i. p. 24' entered England by the district of Redesdale, carried fire and sword through that country as far as Cor- bridge, then broke with much fierce- ness and rapacity into Tynedale, 8 ravaged the bishopric of Durham, and, after levying contributions for fifteen days, and enriching themselves * Chron. Lanercost, p. 214. ut supra. 5 Hemingford. vol. i. p. 248. 6 Chron. de Lanercost, ut supra. Lord Hailes, vol. ii. 4to, p 31, lias omitted these three last-mention etl expeditions. ~ Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 284. The expedition, 2 Ker is in an error in asserting that there is j according to the Chronicle of Lanercost, p. no evidence of Edward's having penetrated to Renfrew. The proof is in the Rotuli Seotice, vol. i. p. 103. * Chron. Lanercost, p 214. 216, took place in the middle of August. 8 Edward, in his epistle to the Pope, com- pares them to foxes. Rymer's Foedera, voL iii. p. 283. "Ad instar vulpium." 1311-12.] ROBERT with spoils and captives, marched back without opposition into Scot- land. 1 The miseries suffered from these invasions, and the defenceless state of the frontier, induced the people of Northumberland and the lord marchers to purchase a short truce from the Scottish king, — a cir- cumstance strongly indicative of the increasing imbecility of the English government. - On his return, Bruce determined to besiege Perth, and.sat down before it ; but, owing to the strength of the for- tifications, it defied for six weeks all the efforts of his army. It had been intrusted to the command of William Olifant, an Anglicised Scot, to whom Edward, in alarm for so important a post, had promised to send speedy succour ; 3 but a stratagem of the king's, well planned and daringly exe- cuted, gave Perth into the hands of the Scots before such assistance could arrive. The care of Edward the First had made Perth a place of great strength. It was fortified by a high wall, defended at intervals by stone towers, and' surrounded by a broad tleep moat full of water. Bruce, hav- ing carefully observed the place where the fosse was shallowest, provided scaling ladders; struck his tents, and raised the siege. He then marched to a considerable distance, and having cheated the garrison into insecurity by an absence of eight days, he sud- denly returned during the night, and reached the walls undiscovered by the enemy. The king in person led his soldiers across the moat, bearing a ladder in his hand, and armed at all points. The water reached his throat ; but he felt his way with his spear, waded through in safety, and was the second person who fixed his ladder and mounted the wall. A little inci- dent, related by Barbour, evinces the spirit which the example communi- cated to his companions, and the com- parative poverty of the Scottish towns 1 Foedera, vol. iii. p. 283. Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1006. 2 Chron. Lanercost, pp. 216. 217. » Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 105. 9th October 1311. BRUCE. 109 in those times. A French knight wa.s present in the Scottish army, and ob- serving the intrepidity with which Bruce led his soldiers, he exclaimed, "What. shall we say of our French lords, who live at ease in the midst of feasting, wassail, and jollity, when so brave a knight is here patting his life in hazard to win a miserable ham- let! 4 " So saying, he threw himself into the water with the gay valour of his nation, and having passed the ditch, scaled the walls along with the king and his soldiers. So complete was the surprise, that the town was almost instantly taken. Every Scot- man w r ho had joined the English in- terest was put to the sword, but the English garrison were spared, 5 and the king contented himself with the plun- der of the place and the total demoli- tion of its fortifications. In the midst of these continued successes of Bruce, the measures of the English king presented a striking contrast to the energetic administra- tion of his father. They were entirely on the defensive. He gave orders, indeed, for the assembling of an army, and made promises and preparation, for an invasion of Scotland. But the orders were recalled, and Edward, en- grossed by disputes with his barons, took no decided part against the ene- my. He wrote, however, to the dif- ferent English governors of the few remaining castles in Scotland, who had represented their incapacity of standing out against the attacks of the Scots without a reinforcement of men, money, and provisions: 6 he directed flattering letters to John of Argyle, the island prince, praising him for the annoyance which his fleet had occasioned to Bruce, and exhorting him to continue his services during the winter ; and he entreated the Pope to retain Wishart, bishop of Glasgow, as a false traitor and an * Barbour, vol. L p. 177. s Chron. Lanercost, pp. 221. 222. Such is the account in the above MS. Chronicle ; but Fordun a Hearne, p. 1006, affirms that both Scots and English were put to the sword. The town was taken on the 8th January 1311-12. e Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 106. 110 HISTORY OF enemy to his liege lord of England, in an honourable imprisonment at Rome, 1 fearful of the influence in favour of Bruce which the return of this able prelate to Scotland might occasion. These feeble efforts were followed up by an attempt to conclude a truce ; but the King of Scotland, eager to pursue his career of success, refused to accede 2 - to the proposal, and a third time invaded England, with a greater force and a more desolating fury than before. The towns of Hex- ham and Corbridge were burnt ; and his army, by a forced march, sur- prised the opulent city of Durham during the night, 3 slew all who re- sisted him, and reduced a great part of it to ashes. The castle and the precincts of its noble cathedral with- stood the efforts of the Scots, but the rest of the city was entirely sacked; and so great was the spoil that the inhabitants of the bishopric, dreading the repetition of such a visit, Offered two thousand pounds to purchase a truce. The terms upon which Robert agreed to this strongly evinced the change which had taken place in the relative position of the two countries. It was stipulated by the Scots that they should have free ingress and egress through the county of Dur- ham, whenever they chose to invade England; and with such terror did this proviso affect the inhabitants of the neighbouring country, that the counties of Northumberland, Cumber- land, and Westmoreland contributed each a sum of two thousand pounds to be included in the same truce. 4 During this invasion Bruce established his headquarters at Chester, while Sir James Douglas, with his veteran sol- diers, who were well practised in such expeditions, pushed on, and having sacked Hartlepool and the country round it, returned with many bur- gesses and their wives, whom he had made prisoners, to the main army. 5 1 Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 245. 2 Ibid. p. 301. 3 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 262. Chron. Laner- cost, p. 220. * Chron. Lanercost, p. 220. * Hemingford, vol. i. p. 262. " Bruce was bere only making a reprisal on his own Eng- SCOTLAND. [Chap. IIL Thus enriched with a store of prisoners and plunder, the king returned to Scotland, and on his road thither as- saulted Carlisle; but he found the garrison on the alert, and a desperate conflict took place, in which the Scots were beat back with great loss, — Douglas himself and many of his men being wounded. 6 This want of suc- cess did not prevent him from endea- vouring to surprise Berwick by a forced march and a night attack, which had nearly succeeded. The hooks of the rope-ladders were already fixed on the wall, and the soldiers had begun to mount, when the bark- ing of a dog alarmed the garrison, and the assailants were compelled to retire with loss. 7 On his return to Scotland, King Robert was repaid for his partial dis- comfiture by the recovery of some important castles. Dalswinton, in Galloway, the chief residence of his enemies the Comyns, and, soon after, the castles of Butel and of Dumfries, which last had been committed to the care of Henry de Beaumont, were taken by assault, and, according to the constant practice of Bruce, imme- diately razed and rendered untenable by any military force. 8 Edward now trembled for his strong castle of Caer- laverock, which had cost his father so long a siege ; and he wrote with great anxiety to its constable, Eustace de Maxwell, exhorting him to adopt every means in his power for its defence. In the winter of the same year, this monarch was driven to some mean compromises of his honour. The English garrison of Dundee had been so hard pressed by the Scots, that William de Montfichet, the warden, lish property. He had at Hartlepool, market and fair, assize of bread and victual, also a seaport where he takes keel dues." — Hutch- inson's History of Durham, pp. 234, 246. lowed Sir Andrew Gray, next came Randolph himself, who was folio wed by the rest of the party. Before > however, all had got up, the sentinels, who had heard whispering and the clank of arms, attacked them, and shouted " Treason ! " They were soon, however, repulsed or slain; and the Scots, by this time on the parapet, leapt down, and rushed on to the keep, or principal strength. The whole garrison was now in arms, and a desperate conflict ensued, in which the English greatly outnumbered their assailants. But panic and surprise deprived them of their accustomed bravery; and, although the governor himself made a gallant defence, he was overpowered and slain, and his garrison immediately surrendered at discretion. Randolph liberated Sir Piers Luband from his dungeon, and the Gascon knight immediately entered the service * Barbour, pp. 207, 208. 1313-14.] ROBERT of Bruce. The castle itself shared the fate of every fortress which fell into the hands of the Scottish king. It was instantly demolished, and ren- dered incapable of military occupa- tion. If we consider the small num- ber of men which he led, and the difficult circumstances in which the t assault was made, we shall probably \ be inclined to agree with the faithful old historian, who characterises this exploit of Randolph as one of the hardiest and most chivalrous which distinguished a chivalrous age. 1 1/ These great successes so rapidly /succeeding each other, and an inva- / sion of Cumberland, which soon after followed, made the English king trem- ble for the safety of Berwick, and in- duced him to remove the unfortunate Countess .of Buchan from her imprison- ment there, to a place of more remote confinement. The conferences for a cessation of hostilities were again re- newed, at the request of the French king; and'Edward ostentatiously talked of granting a truce to his enemies, in compliance with the wishes of 1 Philip, 2 which, when it came to the point, his enemies would not grant to him. Soon after this, the King of Scotland conducted, in person, a naval expedi- tion against Man. To this island his bitter enemies, the Macdo walls, had retreated, after their expulsion from Galloway, their ancient principality; and the then Governor of Man appears to have been that same fierce chief who had surprised Thomas and Alex- ander Bruce at Loch Ryan. Bruce landed his troops, encountered and routed the governor, stormed the castle of Russin, and completely sub- dued the island. 3 He then despatched 1 Barbour, pp. 207, 212. .In Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 259, it is said, on the authority of Scala Chronicon, that the foreigners to whom the Scottish castles were committed would hazard nothing in their defence, — an erroneous as- sertion, and arising out of national mortifica- tion. 2 Rymer, Feed. vol. iii. p. 411. 3 Fordun a Hearne, vol iv. p. 1007. 11th June 1313. In the Chron. of Man he is called Dingaway Dowill. In *the Annals of Ireland he is called the Lord Donegan Odowill. VOL. L BRUCE. 113 some galleys to levy contributions in Ulster, and returned to Scotland, where he found that his gallant and impetuous brother, Sir Edward Bruce, had made himself master of. the town and castle of Dundee, for the preserva- tion of which so many exertions had been made in a former year. After this success, Sir Edward laid siege to the castle of Stirling, nearly the last fortress of importance which now stood between Scotland and freedom. Its governor, Philip de Mowbray, after a long and successful defence, had begun to dread the iailure of provi- sions in the garrison, and made over- tures for a treaty, in which he agreed to surrender the castle by the ensuing midsummer, if not relieved by an English army. This was evidently a truce involving conditions which ought on no account to have been accepted* Its necessary effect, if agreed to, was to check the ardour of the Scots in that career of success which was now rapidly leading to the complete de- liverance of their country; it gave the King of England a whole year to assemble the strength of his domin- ions; and such were the chivalrous feelings of that age, as to agreements of this nature, that it compelled the King of Scotland to hazard the for- tunes of his kingdom upon the issue of a battle, which he knew must be fought on his side with a great dis- parity of force. We need not wonder, then, that Bruce was highly incensed on hearing that, without consulting him, his brother had agreed to Mow- bray's proposals. He disdained, how- ever, to imitate the conduct of Edward, who, in a former year, and in circum- stances precisely similar, had infringed the treaty of Dundee ; 4 and keeping his word unbroken, he resolved, at all hazards, to meet the English on the appointed day, 6 Edward, having obtained a partial reconciliation with his discontented barons, made immense preparations for the succour of the fortress of Stir- ling. He summoned the whole mili- tary force of his kingdoms to mesf 4 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 108. 5 Barbour, pp. 216, 217. H HISTORY OF SCOTLAND TChap. IIL him at Berwick on the 11th of June. 1 To this general muster ninety-three barons, comprehending the whole body of the great vassals of the crown, were commanded to repair with horse and arms, and their entire feudal service; whilst the different counties in England and Wales were ordered to raise a body of twenty-seven thousand foot soldiers; and although Hume, mistaking the evidence of the original record, has imagined that the numbers of this army have been exaggerated by Barbour, it is certain that the accumulated strength which the king commanded exceeded a w hundred thou- sand men, including a'T5o~dy~of forty thousand cavalry, of which three thousand were, both horse and man, in complete armour, and a force of fifty thousand archers. He now ap- pointed the Earl of Pembroke, a aobleman experienced, under his /ather, in the wars of Scotland, to be governor of that country, and de- spatched him thither to make prepar- ations for his own arrival. He ordered a fleet of twenty-three ves- sels to be assembled for the invasion of Scotland; 2 in addition to these, he directed letters to the mayor and authorities of the various seaport towns, enjoining them to fit out an additional fleet of thirty ships ; and of this united armament he appointed John Sturmy and Peter Bard to have the command. 3 He directed letters to O'Connor, prince of Connaught, and wenty-five other Irish native chiefs, equiring them to place themselves, with all the military force which they could collect, under the orders of Eichard de Burgh, earl of Ulster, and to join the army at the muster; he made the same demand upon the 1 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. pp. 463, 464. The writs, summoning the great feudal force of his kingdom — namely, the cavalry—are directed to ninety-three barons. See Notes and Illustrations, letters AA. 2 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 116, 119. 7 Ed. IT., m. 8. 18th March 1313-14. The writs are directed to twenty -three captains of vessels, of which the names are given. We have "the James, the Mary, the Blyth, the St Peter," &c. 3 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 115. 12th March 1313. English barons who possessed estates in Ireland. He requested the Bishop of Constance to send him a body of sixty mounted cross -bowmen. He took care that store of provisions for the troops, and forage for the cavalry, should be collected from all quarters ; he placed his victualling department under strict organisation ; he ap- pointed John of Argyle, who, pro- bably, had no inconsiderable fleet of his own, to co-operate with the Eng- lish armament, with the title of High Admiral of the western fleet of Eng- land ; 4 and he took care that the army should be provided with all kinds of useful artisans • — smiths, carpenters, masons, armourers — and supplied with waggons and cars for the transport of the tents, pavilions, and baggage, which so large a military array neces- sarily included. The various writs, and multifarious orders, connected with the summoning and organisation of the army of England, which fought at BajmorJUaiirn, are still .preserved, and may be seen in their minutest details; and they prove that it far! exceeded, not only in numbers b\:t in \ equipment, any army which was ever/ led by any former monarch against/ Scotland. 5 / With this great force, Edward pre- pared to take the field, and having first made a pilgrimage with his queen and the Prince of Wales to St Albans, and with the accustomed offerings re- quested the prayers of the Church, he held his way through Lincolnshire to York and Newcastle, and met his army at Berwick. He here found that the . Earls of Warrene, Lancaster, Arundel, and Warwick refused to attend him in person, alleging that he had broken his word given to the lord ordinars; but they sent their feudal services, and the rest of the nobility mustered, without any absentees, and with great splendour; so that the monarch having reviewed his troops, began his march for Scotland in high spirits, and with confident anticipations of victory. Meanwhile, Bruce, aware of the * Rotuli Scotiae, p. 121, m. 7, p. 12? 25th March 1313-14. 5 Ibid. 7 Ed* II., vol. i. passim. 1314.] ROBERT mighty force which was advancing against him, had not been idle. He ap- pointed a general muster of his whole army in the Torwood, near Stirling, 1 and here he found that the greatest force which could be collected did not amount +.n forty tJimisflUfJ fighting men ; and that IKtTsmali body of caval- ry which he had could not be expected to compete for a moment, either in the temper of their arms, or the strength of their horses, with the heavy cavalry of the English. He at once, therefore, resolved to fight on foot, 2 and to draw up his army in ground where cavalry could not act with effect, and where the English, from their immense num- bers, would be cramped and confined in their movements. For this purpose he chose a field not far from Stirling, which was then called the New Park. It was studded and encumbered with trees, and the approach to it was pro- tected by a morass, the passage of which would be dangerous to an enemy. 3 Bruce, having carefully ex- amined the ground, determined that his right wing should rest on the_rjyu- let called Bannockburn, whose broken ancl wooded bariks afforded him an excellent security against being out- flanked. His front extended to a vil- lage called St Ninians; and his left wing, which was unprotected by the nature of the ground, was exposed to the garrison of Stirling in the rear — a dangerous position, had not the terms of the treaty with the governor pre- cluded attack from that quarter. But Bruce did not leave the defence of his left to this negative security; for in a field hard by, so firm and level that it afforded favourable ground for cavalry, he caused many rows of parallel pits to be dug, a foot in breadth, and about three feet deep. In these pits he placed pointed stakes, with a number of sharp iron weapons, called in Scot- 1 Barbour, p. 221. 2 The Scala Chron., p. 142, says that Bruce determined to fight on foot, after the example of the Flemish troops, who a little before this had discomfited the power of France at the battle of Coutray. The same allusion to Coutray is made by the Monk of Malmesbury p. 152. f 3 Barbour, pp. 223, 224. BRUCE. 115 land calthrops, and covered them cara« fully with sod, so that the ground, apparently level, was rendered impas- sable to horse. 4 It does not appear, however, that the English cavalry at- tempted to charge over this ground, although, in the subsequent dispersion of the army, many lost their lives in the pits and ditches. 5 Having thus judiciously availed him- self of every circumstance, the king reviewed his troops, welcomed all courteously, and declared himself well satisfied with their appearance and equipment. The principal leaders of the Scottish army were Sir Edward: Bruce, the king's brother, Sir James Douglas, Randolph, earl of Moray, and Walter, the High Steward of Scotland.; These, with the exception of the last/ who was still a youth, were experi- enced and veteran leaders, who had been long trained up in war, and upon whom their master could place entire reliance ; and having fully explained to them his intended order of battle, the king waited in great tranquillity for the approach of the enemy. Soon after word was brought that the English army had lain all night at Edinburgh. This was on Satur- day evening, the 22d of June, and early in the morning of Sunday the soldiers heard mass. It was stated by the contemporary historians that they confessed themselves with the solemnity of men who were resolved to die in that field, or to free theii country ; and as it was the vigil of St John, they took no dinner, but kept their fast on bread and water. Mean- while the king, on Sunday, after hear- ing mass, rode out to examine the pits which had been made, and to see that his orders had been duly executed. Haviug satisfied himself, he returned, and commanded his soldiers to arm This order was promptly obeyed ; and all cheerfully arrayed themselves un- der their different banners. Bruce then caused proclamation to be made that all who did not feel fully resolved to win the field or to die with honour had at that moment free liberty to 4 Barbour, p. 226, 1. 365. * Fordun a Good 1, vol. ii. p. 246. 116 HISTORY OF leave the army ; but the soldiers raised a great shout, and answered with one accord that they were determined to abide the enemy. 1 The baggage of the army was placed in a valley at some distance in the .rear, and the sutlers and camp-follow- ers, who amounted nearly to twenty thousand, were stationed beside it, and commanded to await the result of the battle. They were separated from the army by a small hill, which is yet called the Gilles, or Gillies' Hill. The king now arranged his army in a line consisting of three square columns, or battles, of which he in- trusted the command of the vaward, or centre, to the Earl of Moray. His brother Edward led the right, and the left was given to Sir James Douglas and Walter, the Steward of Scotland. 2 He himself teok the command of the reserve, which formed a fourth battle, drawn up immediately behind the centre, and composed of the men of Argyle, Carrick, Kantire, and the Isles. Along with him was Angus of Islay, with the men of Bute ; and he had also under his command a body of five hundred cavalry, fully armed, and mounted on light and active horses. Having thus disposed his order of battle, the king despatched Sir James Douglas and Sir Robert Keith to re- connoitre, who soon after returned with the news that they descried the English host advancing in great strength, and making a very martial appearance. For this intelligence Bruce was Avell prepared ; yet, dread- ing its effect upon his soldiers, he directed them to give out to the army that the enemy, though numerous, were advancing in confused and ill- arranged order. 3 . Although this was not exactly the case, the rash character of Edward led him to commit some errors in the dis- posal of his troops, which led to fatal consequences. He had hurried on to Scotland with such rapidity that the horses were worn out with travel and want of food, and the men were not 1 Barbour, pp. 226, 227. 2 ibid, p . 225, 1. 344, compared with i 309. s.Barbour, p. 229. SCOTLAND. [Chap, III. allowed the regular periods for halt and refreshment, so that his soldiers went into action under great disadvantage. Upon advancing from Falkirk early in the morning, and when the English, host was only two miles distant from the Scottish army, Edward despatched an advanced party of eight hundred cavalry, led by Sir Robert Clifford, with orders to outflank the enemy and throw themselves into Stirling Castle . Bruce had looked for this movement, and had commanded Randolph, his nephew, to be vigilant in repelling any such attempt. 4 Clifford, however, un- observed by Randolph, made a circuit by the low grounds to the east and north of the church of St Is inians, and having thus avoided the front of the Scottish line, he was proceeding to- wards the castle when he was detected by the piercing eye of Bruce, who rode hastily up to Randolph, and reproach- ed him for his carelessness in having suffered the enemy to pass. " Oh,. Randolph ! " cried his master, "lightly have you thought of the charge com- mitted to you ; a rose has fallen from your chaplet." 5 Stung by such words, the Earl of Moray, leaving the centre, at the head of a select body of infan- try, hastened at all hazards to repair his error. As he advanced, Clifford's squadron wheeled round, and putting their spears in rest, charged him at full speed, but Randolph had formed his infantry in a square presenting a front on all sides, with the spears fixed before them ; 6 and although he had only five hundred men, he awaited the shock of Clifford with such firmness that many of the English were un- horsed, and Sir William Daynecourt, an officer of note, who had been more forward in his attack than his com- panions, was slain. 7 Unable to make any impression upon Randolph's square by this first attack, the English pro- ceeded more leisurely to surround him on all sides, and by a second furious and simultaneous charge on each front, endeavoured to break the line; but * Barbour, p. 228, * Ibid. p. 231. 6 Ibid. p. 232. 7 Ibid. p. 234. 1314.] the light armour, the long spears, and bhe short knives and battle-axes of the Scottish foot proved a match for the heavy-armed English cavalry, an4 a desperate conflict ensued, in which Randolph's little square, although it stood firm, seemed likely to be crushed to pieces by the heavy metal which was brought against it. All this passed in the sight of Bruce, who was sur- rounded by his officers. At length Sir James Douglas earnestly requested to be allowed to go with a reinforcement to his relief. M You shall not stir a foot from your ground," said the king, " and let Randolph extricate himself as best he can ; I will not alter my order of battle, and lose my advan- tage, whatever may befall him." " My liege," answered Douglas, " I cannot ►stand by and see Randolph perish when I may bring him help ; so by your leave I must away to his suc- cour." Bruce unwillingly consented, and Douglas immediately held his way towards Randolph. 1 By this time the King of England had brought up his main army, and ordered a halt for the purpose of con- sulting with his leaders whether it were expedient to join battle that same day, or take a night to refresh his troops. By some mistake, however, the centre of the English continued its march, not aware of this order, and on their approach to the New Park Bruce rode forward alone to make some new arrangements, which were called for by the absence of Randolph, and to take a final view of the dispo- sition of his army. He was at this time in front of his own line, meanly mounted on a hackney, but clad in full armour, with his battle-axe in his hand, and distinguished from his nobles by a small crown of gold sur- mounting his steel helmet. On the approach of the English vaward, led by the Earls of Gloucester and Here- ford, Sir Henry de Boune, an English knight, who rode about a bowshot in advance of his companions, recognised the king, and galloped forward to at- tack him. Boune was armed at all points, and excellently mountpd on a i Barbour, pp. 233, 234. ROBERT BRUCE. 117 heavy war-horse, so that' the contest was most unequal, and Bruce might have retired ; but for a moment he forgot his duties as a general in his feelings as a knight, and, to the sur- prise of his soldiers, spurred his little hackney forward to his assailant. There was an interval of breathless suspense, but it lasted only a moment ; for as the English knight came on in full career, the king parried the spear, and raising himself in his stirrups as he passed, with one blow of his battle- axe laid him dead at his feet, by al- most cleaving his head in two. 2 Upon this his soldiers raised . a great shout, and advanced hardily upon the Eng- lish centre, which retreated in confu- sion to the main army; and Bruce, afraid of disorder getting into his line of battle, called back his men from the pursuit, after they had slain a few of the English soldiers. When they had time to recollect themselves, the Scottish leaders earnestly remonstrated with the king for the rash manner in which he exposed himself ; and Bruce, somewhat ashamed of the adventure, changed the subject, and looking at the broken shaft which he held in his hand, with a smile replied, " He was sorry for the loss of his good battle- axe." 3 • All this passed so quickly, that the contest between Randolph and Clifford was still undecided; but Douglas, as he drew near to his friend's rescue, perceived that the English had by this time begun to waver, and, that dis- order was rapidly getting into their ranks. Commanding his men, there- fore, to halt, " Let us not," cried he, u diminish the glory of so redoubtable an encounter, by coming in at the end to share it. The brave men that fight yonder without our help will soon dis- comfit the enemy." And the result was as Douglas had foreseen; for Ran- dolph, who quickly perceived the same indications, began to press the English cavalry with repeated charges and in- creasing fury, so that they at length entirely broke, and fled in great dis- order. The attempt to throw sue- - Barbour, pp. 235, 236. s Ibid. p. '237. 118 cours into the castle was thus com- pletely defeated; and Clifford, after losing many of his men, who were slain in the pursuit, rejoined the main body of the army with the scattered and dispirited remains of his squad- ron. 1 So steadily had the Scots kept their ranks, that Randolph had sus- tained a very inconsiderable loss. From the result of these two at- tacks, and especially from the defeat of Clifford, Bruce drew a good augury, and cheerfully congratulated his sol- diers on so fair a beginning. He ob- served to them, that they had defeated the flower of the English cavalry, and had driven back the centre division of their great army ; and remarked, that the same circumstances which gave spirit and animation to their hopes must communicate depression to the enemy. 2 As the day was far spent, he held a military council of his leaders, and requested their advice, whether, having now seen the numbers and strength of their opponents, it was ex- pedient to hazard a battle, declaring himself ready to submit his individual opinion to the judgment of the ma- jority. But the minds of the Scottish commanders were not in a retreating mood; and although aware of the great disparity of force, the English army being more than triple that of Bruce, they declared their unanimous desire to keep their position, and to fight on the »morrow. The king then told them that such was his own wish, and commanded them to have the whole army arrayed next morning by daybreak, in the order and upon the ground already agreed on. He ear- nestly exhorted them to preserve the firmest order, each man under his own banner, and to receive the charge of the enemy with levelled spears, so that even the hindmost ranks of the English would feel the shock. He pointed out to them that everything in 'the approaching battle, which was to determine whether Scotland was to be free or enslaved, depended on their own steady discipline and deliberate valour. He conjured them not to 1 Barbour, pp. 238, 239. 2 Ibid. pp. 240, 241. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. allow a single soldier to quit his ban- ner or break the array ; and, if they should be successful, by no means to begin to plunder or to make prisoners, as long as a single enemy remained on the field. He promised that the heirs of all who fell should receive their lands free, and without the accustomed feudal fine; and he assured them, with a determined and cheerful coun- tenance, that if the orders he had now- given were obeyed they might con- fidently look forward to victory. 3 Having thus spoken to his leaders, the army were dismissed to their quarters. In the evening they made the necessary arrangements for the battle, and passed the night in arms- upon the field. Meanwhile the Eng- lish king and his leaders had resolved, on account of the fatigue undergone by the troops, and symptoms of dis- satisfaction which appeared amongst them, to delay the attack, and drew off to the low grounds to the right and rear of their original position, where they passed the night in riot and disorder. 4 At this time, it is said, a Scotsman, who served in the Eng- lish* army, deserted to Bruce, and in- formed him he could lead him to the attack so as to secure an easy victory. Robert, however, was not thus to be drawn from his position, and deter- mined to await ine enemy on the ground already chosen. On Monday, the 24th of June, at the first break of day, the Scottish king confessed, and along with his- army heard mass. This solemn ser- vice was performed by Maurice, the Abbot of Inchaffray, upon an emi- nence in front of their line, and after its conclusion the soldiers took break- fast, and arranged themselves under their different banners. They wore light armour, but of excellent temper. Their weapons were, a battle-axe slung at their side, and long spears, besides knives or daggers, which the former affair of Randolph had proved to be highly effective in close combat. When the whole army was in array, they proceeded, with displayed banners^ 3 Barbour, pp. 243, 244. * Thomas de la More, apud Camden, p. 594* 1314.] ROBERT to make knights, as was the custom before a battle. Bruce conferred that honour upon Walter, the young Steward of Scotland, Sir James Doug- las, and many other brave men, in due order, and according to their rank. 1 By this time the van of the English army, composed of archers and lances, and led by the Earls of Gloucester and Hereford,, approached within bow- shot ; and at a little distance behind the remaining nine divisions, which, confined by the narrowness of the ground, were compressed into a close column of great and unwieldy dimen- sions. 2 This vast body was conducted by the King of England in person, who had along with him a body-guard of five hundred chosen horse. He was attended by the Earl of Pembroke, Sir Ingelram Umfraville, and Sir Giles de Argentine, a knight of Rhodes, of great reputation. 3 When Edward ap- proached near enough, and observed the Scottish army drawn up on foot, and their firm array and determined countenance, he expressed much sur- prise, and turning to Umfraville, asked him, " If he thought these Scots would fight ? " Umfraville replied that they assuredly would ; and he then advised Edward, instead of an open attack, to pretend to retreat behind his encamp- ment, upon which he was confident, from his old experience in the Scot- tish wars, that the enemy would break their array, and rush on without order or discipline, so that the English army might easily attack and overwhelm them. Umfraville, an Anglicised Scot- tish baron, who had seen much ser- vice against Edward's father, and had only sworn fealty in 1305, spoke this from an intimate knowledge of his countrymen ; but Edward fortunately disdained his counsel . At this moment the Abbot of Inchaffray, barefooted, and holding a crucifix aloft in his hand, walked slowly along the Scottish line ; and as he passed, the whole army knelt down, 4 and prayed for a moment with 1 Barbour, p. 248. 2 Walsingham, p. 105. 3 Foedera, vol. iii. p. 441. FordunaGoodal, vol. ii. p. 295. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 250. BRUCE. 119' the solemnity of men who felt it might be their last act of devotion. " See," cried Edward, "they are kneeling — • they ask mercy ! " " They do, my liege," replied Umfraville, "but it is from God, not from us. Trust me, yon men will win the day, or die upon the field." 5 " Be it so then," said Ed- ward, and immediately commanded the charge to be soxmded. The Eng- lish van, led by Gloucester and Here- ford, now spurred forward their horses, and at full gallop charged the right wing of the Scots, commanded by Edward Bruce ; but a dispute between the two English barons as to prece- dency caused the charge, though rapid, to be broken and irregular. Glou- cester, who had been irritated the day before by some galling remarks of the king, insisted on leading the van, a post which of right belonged to Hereford, as Constable of England. To this Hereford would not agree ; and Glou- cester, as they disputed, seeing the Scottish right advancing, sprung for- ward at the head of his own division, and, without being supported by the rest of the van, attacked the enemy, who received them with a shock which caused the noise of the meeting of their spears to be heard a great way offj and threw many knights from their saddles, whose horses were stabbed and rendered furious by their wounds. 6 While the right wing was thus engaged, Randolph, who com- manded the centre division, advanced at a steady pace to meet the main body of the English, whom he con- fronted and attacked with great in- trepidity,, although the enemy out- numbered him by ten to one. His square, to use an expression of Bar- bour's, was soon surrounded and lost amidst the English, as if it had plunged into the sea ; upon which Sir James Douglas and Walter the Steward brought up the left wing ; so that the whole line, composed of the three battles, was now engaged, and the battle raged with great fury. 7 The » Barbour, p. 250, and Chronicle of Lanee- cost, p. 225. « Barbour, p. 251. 7 Ibid. pp. 252, 253. 120 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. English cavalry attempting, by re- peated charges, to break the line of the Scottish spearmen, and they standing firm in their array, and pre- senting on every side a serried front of steel, caused a shock and melee which is not easily described ; and the slaughter was increased by the re- membrance of many years of grievous injury and oppression, producing, on the part, of the Scots, an exasperation of feeling and an eager desire of re- venge. At every successive charge the English cavalry lost more men, and fell into greater confusion than before ; and this confusion was in- finitely increased by the confined na- ture of the ground and the immense mass of their army. The Scottish squares, on the other hand, were light and compact, though firm ; they moved easily, altered their front at pleasure, and suited themselves to every emer- gency of the battle. They were, how- ever, dreadfully galled by the English bowmen; and Bruce, dreading the effect of the constant and deadly showers of arrows, which fell like hail upon them, directed Sir Robert Keith, the marshal, to make a circuit, with the five hundred horse which were in the reserve, round the morass called Miltown Bog, and to charge the archers in flank. This movement was executed with great decision and rapidity ; and such was its effect that the whole body of the archers, who had neither spears nor other weapons to defend themselves against cavalry, were in a short time overthrown and dispersed, without any prolonged attempt at resistance; 1 Part of them fled to the main army, and the rest did not again attempt to rally or make head during the continuance of the battle. Al- though such was the success of this judicious attack, the English still kept fighting with great determination ; but they had already lost some of their bravest commanders, and Bruce could discern symptoms of exhaustion and impatience. He saw, too, that his own infantry were still fresh and well- breathed ; and he assured his leaders that the attack, continued but for a l Barbour, pp. 255, 256. short time, and pushed with vigour, must make the day their own. It was at this moment that he brought up his whole reserve, and the four battles of the Scots were now completely engaged in one line. 2 The Scottish archers, unlike the English, carried short battle-axes; and with these, after they had exhausted their arrows, they rushed upon the enemy, and made great havoc. The Scottish com- manders, too, the king, Edward Bruce, Douglas, Randolph, and the Steward, were fighting in the near presence of each other, and animated with a gene- rous rivalry. At this time Barbour, whose account of the battle is evi- dently taken from eye-witnesses, de- scribes the field as exhibiting a terrific spectacle. "It was awful/' says he, " to hear the noise of these four battles fighting in a line, — the clang of arms, the shouts of the knights as they raised their war-cry ; to see the flight of the arrows, which maddened the horses; the alternate sinking and rising of the banners, and the ground slippery with gore, and covered with shreds of armour, broken spears, pennons, and rich scarfs, torn and soiled with blood and clay ; and to listen to the groans of the wounded and the dying." The wavering of the English lines was now discernible by the Scottish soldiers themselves, who shouted when they saw it, and calling out, " On them, on them — they fail ! " pressed forward with renewed vigour, gaining ground upon their enemy. 3 At this critical mo-' ment there appeared over the little hill, which lay between the field and the baggage of the Scottish army, a large body of troops marching ap- parently in firm array towards the field. This spectacle, which was in- stantly believed to be a reinforcement proceeding to join the Scots, although it was nothing more than the sutlers and camp-boys hastening to see the battle, spread dismay amidst the ranks of the English; and King Robert, whose eye was everywhere, to perceive and take advantage of the slightest 2 Barbour, p. 258. Chronicle :f Lanercost, p. 225. » Ibid. p. 259. 1014.] ROBERT movement in his favour, put himself at the head of his reserve, and raising his ensenye, or war-cry, furiously pressed on the enemy. 1 It was this last charge, which was followed up by the advance of the whole line, that decided the day; the English, who hitherto, al- though wavering, had .preserved their array, now broke into disjointed squadrons; part began to quit the field, and no efforts of their leaders could restore order. The Earl of Gloucester, who was mounted on a spirited war-horse, which had lately been presented to him by the king, 2 in one of his attempts to rally his men, rode desperately upon the divi- sion of Edward Bruce ; he was instantly unhorsed, and fell pierced by numer- ous wounds of the Scottish lances. The flight now became general, and the slaughter great. The banners of twenty-seven barons were laid in the dust, and their masters slain. Amongst these were Sir Robert Clifford, a Vete- ra a and experienced commander, and Si p Edmund Mauley, the Seneschal of England. On seeing the entire route of his army, Edward reluctantly al- lowed the Earl of Pembroke to seize- his bridle, and force him off the field, guarded by five hundred heavy-armed horse. Sir Giles de Argentine accom- panied him a short way, till he saw the king in safety. He then reined up, and bade him farewell. " It has never been my custom," said he, " to fly ; and here I must take my fortune." Saying this, he put spurs to his horse, and crying ou£ " An Argentine ! " charged the squadron of Edward Bruce, and, like Gloucester, was soon borne down by the force of the Scottish spears, and cut to pieces. 3 Multitudes of the English were drowned when attempt- ing to cross the river Forth. Many, in their flight, got entangled in the pits, which they soem to have avoided in their first attack,, and were there i Barbour, p. 261. - Hutchinson's Hist, and Antiquities of the Palatinate of Durham, p. 261. « The Bishop of DuTham, Richard Kellow, had a short time before presented thijs war-horse, an animal of high price, along with one thousand marks, tp King Edward." » Barbour, p. 263. 1 BRUCE. 121 suffocated or slain ; others, who vainly endeavoured to pass the rugged banks of the Bannockburn, were slain in that quarter ; so completely was this little river heaped up with the dead bodies of men and horses, that the pursuers passed dry over the mass as if it were a bridge. Thirty thousand of the English were left' dead upon the field, and amongst these two hundred knights and seven hundred esquires. A large body of Welsh fled, under the com- mand of Sir Maurice Berklay, but the- greater part of them were slain, or taken prisoners, before they reached England. 4 Such also might have been the fate of the King of England himself, had Bruce been able to spare a sufficient body of cavalry to follow up the chase. But when Edward left the field, with his five hundred horse, many straggling parties of the enemy still lingered about the low grounds, and numbers had taken refuge under the walls, and in the hollow recesses of the rock on which Stirling castle is built. 5 These, had they rallied, might have still created much annoyance, a part of the Scottish army being occupied in plun- dering the camp ; and it thus became absolutely necessary for Bruce to keep the more efficient part of his troops together. When Douglas, therefore, proposed to pursue the king, he could obtain no more than sixty horsemen. In passing the Torwood, he was met by Sir Laurence Abernethy, hastening with a small body of cavalry to join the English. This knight immediately deserted a falling cause, and assisted in the chase. They made up to the fugitive monarch at Linlithgow, but Douglas deemed it imprudent to hazard an attack with so inferior a force. He pressed so hard upon him, however, as not to suffer the English to have a moment's rest ; knd it is a strong ( proof of the panic which had seized them that a body of five hundred heavy horse, armed to the teeth, fled before eighty Scottish cavalry, without ' attempting to make a stand. ,/* But it is probable they believed Douglas to * Barbour, pp. 266, 267. * Ibid. 122 HISTORY OF he the advance of the army. 1 j Edward at last gained the castle of Dunbar; where he was hospitably received by the Earl of March, and from which he passed by sea to Berwick. In the meantime, Bruce sent a party to attack the fugitives who clustered round the rock of Stirling. These were imme- diately made prisoners, and having ascertained that no enemy remained, the king permitted his soldiers to pursue the fugitives, and give them- selves up to plunder. The unfortunate stragglers were slaughtered by the peasantry, as they were dispersed over the country ; and many of them, casting away their arms and accoutre- ments, hid themselves in the woods, or fled almost naked from the field. 2 Some idea of the extent and variety of the booty which was divided by the Scottish soldiers may be formed from the circumstance mentioned by an English historian, "That the chariots, waggons, and wheeled carriages, which were loaded with the baggage and military stores, would, if drawn up in L a line, have extended for twenty leagues." 3 These, along with numerous herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep and swine; store of hay, corn, and wine ; the vessels of gold and silver belonging to the king and his nobility ; the money- chests holding the treasure for the payment of the troops ; a large assem- blage of splendid arms, rich wearing apparel, horse and tent furniture, from the royal wardrobe and private reposi- tories of the knights and noblemen who were in the field; and a great booty in valuable horses, fell into the hands of the conquerors, and were distributed by Bruce amongst his soldiers with a generosity and im- partiality which rendered him highly popular. Besides all this, Edward had brought along with him many instruments of war, and machines employed in the besieging of towns, such as petronels, trebuchets, man- gonels, and battering rams, which, 1 Henry Knighton, p. 2533. Walsingham, p. 105. 2 Monachi Malmesbur. p. 151. * Ibid. p. 147. SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. intended for the demolition of the Scottish castles, now fell into the hands of Bruce, to be turned, in future wars, against England. The living booty, too, in the many prisoners of rank who were taken, was great. Twenty-two barons and bannerets, and sixty knights, fell into the hands of the Scots. Considering the grievous injuries which he had personally sus- tained, the King of Scotland evinced a generous forbearance in the uses of his victory, which does him high honour : not only was there no unnecessary slaughter, no uncalled-for severity of retaliation, but, in their place, we find a high-toned courtesy, which has called forth the praises of his enemies. 4 The body of the young, and noble Earl of Gloucester was reverently carried to a neighbouring church, and every holy rite duly observed. It was afterwards sent to England, along with the last remains of the brave Lord Clifford, to be interred with the honours due to their rank. The rest of the slain were reverently buried upon the field. 5 Early next morning, as the king examined the ground, Sir Marmaduke de Twenge, who had lurked all night in the woods, presented himself to Bruce, and, kneeling down, delivered himself as his prisoner. Bruce kindly raised him, retained him in his com- pany for some time, and then dismissed him, not only without ransom, but enriched with presents. 6 It happened that one Baston, a Carmelite friar, and esteemed an excellent poet, had been commanded by Edward to accompany the army, that he might immortalise the ex- pected triumph of his master. He was . taken ; and Bruce commanded him, as an appropriate ransom, to celebrate the victory of the Scots at Bannockburn — a task which he has accomplished in a composition which still remains an extraordinary relic of the Leonine, or rhyming hexameters. 7 On the day after the battle, Mow- bray, the English governor of Stirling, * Joh. de Trokelowe, p. 28. * Barbour, p. 273. « Ibid. p. 269. t Fordun a Goodal, p. 251. IS14.] having delivered up that fortress, according to the terms of the truce, entered into the service of the King of Scotland ; and the Earl of Hereford, who had taken refuge in Bothwell castle, then in the hands of the Eng- lish, capitulated, after a short siege, to Edward Brute. This nobleman was exchanged for five illustrious prisoners, Bruce's wife, his sister Christian, his daughter Marjory, Wishart, the bishop of Glasgow, now blind, and the young Earl of Mar, nephew to the king. John de Segrave, made prisoner at Bannockburn, was ransomed for five Scottish barons ; so that, in these ex- changes, the English appear to have received nothing like an adequate Talue. The riches obtained by the plunder of the English, and the subse- quent ransom paid for the multitude of prisoners, must have been great. The exact amount cannot be easily estimated, but some idea of it may be formed from the tone of deep lamen- tation assumed by the Monk of Malmes- bury. "0 day of vengeance and of misfortune!" says he, "day of dis- grace and perdition ! unworthy to be included in the circle of the year, which tarnished the fame of England, and enriched the Scots with the plun- der of the precious stuffs of our nation, to the extent of two hundred thousand pounds. Alas ! of how many noble barons, and accomplished knights, and high-spirited young soldiers, — of what a store of excellent arms, and golden vessels, and costly vestments, did one short and miserable day deprive us." 1 Two hundred thousand pounds of money in those times, amounts to about six hundred thousand pounds weight of silver, or nearly three/ millions of our present money. It is remarkable that Sir William Vipont, 1 ; and Sir Walter Ross, the bosom friend ' of Edward Bruce, were the only persons of note who were slain on the side of the Scots, whose loss, even in common men, was small; proving how effec- tually their squares had repelled the English cavalry. ROBERT BRUCE. Such was the great battle of Ban- nockburn, interesting above all others which have been fought between the then rival nations, if we consider the issue which hung upon it; and glorious to Scotland, both in the determined courage with which it was disputed by the troops, the high military talents displayed by the king and his leaders, and the amazing disparity between the numbers of the combatants. Its consequences were in the highest degree important. It put an end for ever to all hopes upon the part of England of accomplishing the conquest of her sister country^ The plan, of which we can discern the foundations as far back as the reign of Alexander III., and for the furtherance of which the first Edward was content to throw away so much of treasure and blood, was put down in the way in which all such schemes ought to be defeated — by the strong hand of free-born men, who were determined to remain so ; and the spirit of indignant resistance to foreign power, which had been awakened by Wallace, but crushed for a season by the dissensions of a jealous nobility, was concentrated by the master-spirit of Bruce, and found fully adequate to overwhelm the united military energies of a kingdom, far superior to Scotland in all that con- stituted military strength. Nor have the consequences of this victory been partial or confined. Their duration throughout succeeding centuries of Scottish history and Scottish liberty, down to the hour in which this is written, cannot be questioned; and without launching out into any inap- propriate field of historical speculation, we have only to think of the most obvious consequences which must have resulted from Scotland becoming a conquered province of England; and if we wish for proof, to fix our eyes on the present condition of Ireland, in order to feel the reality of all that we owe to the victory at Bannockburn, and to the memory of such men as Bruce, Randolph, and Douglas. 1 Mon. Malmesburiensis, p. 152. 124 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. ("Chap. IV, CHAPTER IV. ROBERT BRUCE. 1314—1329. A deep and general panic seized the English, after the disastrous defeat at Bannockburn. The weak and unde- cided character of the king infected his nobility, and the common soldiers having lost all confidence in their officers, became feeble and dispirited themselves. "A hundred English would not hesitate," says Walsingham, "to fly from two or three Scottish sol- diers, so grievously had their wonted courage deserted them." 1 Taking advantage of this dejection, the king, in the beginning of autumn, 2 sent Douglas and Edward Bruce across the eastern marches, with an army which wasted Northumberland, and carried fire and sword through the principality of Durham, where they levied severe .contributions. They next pushed for- ward into Yorkshire, and plundered Richmond, driving away a large body of cattle, and making many prisoners. On their way homeward, they burnt Appleby and Kirkwold, sacked and set fire to the villages in their route, and found the English so dispirited everywhere, that their army reached Scotland, loaded with spoil, and un- challenged by an enemy. 3 Edward, indignant at their successes, issued his writs for the muster of a new army to be assembled from the dif- ferent wapentachs of Yorkshire ; com- manded ships to be commissioned and victualled for a second Scottish expedition ; and appointed the Earl of Pembroke to be governor of the coun- try between Berwick and the river Trent, with the arduous charge of defending it against reiterated attacks, and, to use the words of the royal 1 Walsingham, p. 106. 2 It was before the 10th of August. Itotuii Scotiae, vol. i. p. 129. 3 Chron. Lanercost, p. 228. I commission, "the burnings, slaugh- I ters, and inhuman and sacrilegious i depredations of the Scots." 4 These, however, were only parchment levies ; and before a single vessel was manned, or a single horseman had put his foot in the stirrup, the indefatigable Bruce had sent a second army into England, which ravished Redesdale and Tyne- dale, again marking their progress by the black ashes of the towns and villages, and compelling the miserable inhabitants of the border countries to surrender their whole wealth, and to purchase their lives with large sums of money. 5 From this they diverged in their destructive progress into Cumberland, and either from despair, or from inclination, and a desire to plunder, many of the English borderers joined the invading army, and swore allegiance to the Scottish king. 6 Alarmed at these visitations, and finding little protection from the in- activity of Edward, and the disunion and intrigues of the nobility, the barons and clergy of the northern parts of England assembled at York ; and having entered into a confederacy for the protection of their neighbour- hood against the Scots, appointed four captains to command the forces of the country, and to adopt measures for the public safety. Edward imme- diately confirmed this nomination, and, for the pressing nature of the emergency, the measure was not im- politic ; but these border troops soon forgot their allegiance, and, upon the failure of their regular supplies from the king's exchequer, became little better than the Scots themselves, 4 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 129. 10th August 1314. 5 Chron Lanercost, p. 229. 6 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 152, 153. 1314-15.] ROBERT BRUCE. 125> plundering the country, and subsist- ing themselves by every species of theft, robbery, 1 and murder. Robert wisely seized this period of distress and national dejection to make pacific overtures to Edward, and to assure him that, having secured the independence of his kingdom, there was nothing which he more anxiously desired than a firm and lasting peace between the two nations. Negotiations soon after followed. Four Scottish ambassadors met with the commissioners of England, and various attempts were made for the establishment of a perpetual peace, or at least of a temporary truce between the rival countries ; but these entirely failed, owing, probably, to the high tone assumed by the Scottish envoys ; and the termination of this destructive war appeared still more distant than before. 2 ( Towards the end of this year, the unfortunate John Baliol died in exile at his ancient patrimonial castle of Bailleul, in France, having lived to see the utter demolition of a power which had insulted and de- throned himA He had been suffered to retain a small property in England ; and his eldest son appears to have been living in that country, and under the protection of Edward, at the time of his father s death. 3 In addition to the miseries of foreign war and intestine commotion, England was now visited with a grievous fam- ine, which increased to an excessive degree the prices of provisions, and, combined with the destructive inroads of the Scots, reduced the kingdom to a miserable condition. A parliament, which assembled at London in Jan- 1 Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 137, 10th Jan- uary 1314. Walsingham, p. 110. Lord Hailes has stated that Edward assembled a parlia- ment at York in 1314, and quotes the Foedera, vol. iii. pp. 491, 493, for his authority. This, I think, must be an error ; as these pages rather prove that no parliament was then as- sembled, nor is there any writ for a parlia- ment in Rymer in this year at all. Walsing- ham, p. 106, says, indeed, that the king held a great council at York, immediately after his flight from Bannockburn. 2 Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. p. 131. Everwyk, 18th September 1314. See also pp. 132, 133, 6th October 1314. 3 Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 506, 4th January 1315. uary, (1314-15,) endeavoured, with short-sighted policy, to provide some remedy in lowering the market price of the various necessaries of life ; and making it imperative upon the seller either to dispose of his live stock at certain fixed rates, or to forfeit them to the crown 4 — a measure which a subsequent parliament found it neces- sary to repeal. 5 The same assembly granted to the king a twentieth of their goods, upon the credit of which he requested a loan from the abbots and priors of the various convents in his dominions, for the purpose of rais- ing an army against the Scots. 6 But the king's credit was too low, the clergy too cautious, and the barons of the crown too discontented, to give efficiency to this intended muster, and no army appeared. The famine, which had begun in England, now ex tended to Scotland ; and as that coun- try became dependent upon foreign importation, the merchants of Eng- land, Ireland, and Wales were rigor- ously interdicted from supplying it with grain, cattle, arms, or any other commodities. Small squadrons of ships were employed to cruise round the island, so as to intercept all for- eign supplies ; and letters were direct- ed to the Earl of Flanders, and to the Counts of Holland, Lunenburg, and Brabant, requesting them to put a stop to all commercial intercourse be- tween their dominions and Scotland — a request with which these sagacious and wealthy little states peremptorily refused to comply. 7 In the spring, another Scottish army broke in upon Northumberland, again ravaged the principality of Dur- ham, sacked the seaport of Hartle- pool, and, after collecting their plun- der, compelled the inhabitants to re- deem their property and their freedom by a high tribute. Carrying their 4 Rotuli Pari. 8 Edw. II. n. 35, 86, quoted in Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 263. « Tyrrel, vol. iii. p; 265. s Ibid. vol. iii. p. 263. Rymer, Foedera, vol. iii. p. 511. 7 Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. pp. 135, 136. Ry- mer, Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 770. Edward wrote also to the magistrates of Dam, Nieuport, Dunkirk, Ypre, and Mechlin, to the same im- port. Rotuli Scotise, 12 Edw. II. m. 8. 126 HISTORY OF arms to the gates of York, they wasted the country with fire and sword, and reduced the wretched English to the lowest extremity of poverty and de- spair. 1 Carlisle, Newcastle, and Ber- wick, defended by strong fortifications, and well garrisoned, were now the only cities of refuge where there was security for property; and to these towns the peasantry flocked for pro- tection, whilst the barons and nobility, instead of assembling their vassals to repel the common enemy, spent their time in idleness and jollity in the capital. 2 An important measure, relating to the succession of the crown, now occupied the attention of the Estates of Scotland, in a parliament held at Ayr, on the 26th of April. By a solemn act of settlement, it was de- termined, with the consent of the king, and of his daughter and pre- sumptive heir, Marjory, that the crown, in the event of Brace's death, without heirs male of his body, should descend to his brother, Ed- ward Bruce, a man of tried valour, and much practised in war. It was moreover provided, with consent of the king, and of his brother Edward, that, failing Edward and his heirs male, Marjory should immediately succeed ; and failing her, the nearest- heir lineally descended of the body of King Robert ; but under the express condition that Marjory should not marry without the consent of her father, and failing him, of the major- ity of the Estates of Scotland. If it happened that either the king, or his brother Edward, or Marjory his daugh- ter, should die leaving an heir male who was a minor, in that event Tho- mas Randolph, earl of Moray, was con- stituted guardian of the heir, and of the kingdom, till the Estates consi- dered the heir of a fit age to admin- ister the government in his own per- son ; and in the event of the death of Marjory without children, the same noble person was appointed to this office, if he chose to accept the burden, until the states and community, in 1 Chronicle of Lanercost, pp. 230, 231. 2 Walsingham, p. 107. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV their wisdom, determined the rightful succession to the crown. 3 Not long after this, the king be- stowed his daughter Marjory in mar- riage upon Walter, the hereditary High Steward 6T"Scotland ; an impor- tant union, which gave heirs to the Scottish crown, and afterwards to the 1 throne of the United Kingdoms. 4 J An extraordinary episode in the history of the kingdom now claims our attention. Edward Bruce, the king's brother, a man of restless ambi- tion and undaunted enterprise, fixed his eyes upon Ireland, at this time animated by a strong spirit of re- sistance against its English masters; and having entered into a secret cor- respondence with its discontented chieftains, he conceived the bold idea of reducing that island by force of arms, and becoming its king. 5 A desire to harass England in a very vulnerable quarter, and a wish to afford employment, at a distance, to a temper which was so imperious at home, 6 that it began to threaten dis- turbance to the kingdom, induced the King of Scotland to agree to a project replete with difficulty; and Edward Bruce, with six thousand men, landed at Carrickfergus, in the north of Ire- land, on the 25th of Slay 1315. He was accompanied by the Earl of Moray, Sir Philip Mowbray, Sir John Soulis, Sir Fergus of Ardrossan, and Ramsay of Ochterhouse. In a series of battles, which it would be foreign to the ob- ject of this history to enumerate, although they bear testimony to the excellent discipline of the Scottish knights and soldiers, Edward Bruce overran the provinces of Down, Ar- magh, Louth, Meath, and Kildare; but was compelled by want, and the s Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 256, 258. Robertson's Index, pp. 7, 8. * Stuart's History of the Stewarts, p. 18. 5 Barbour, p. 277. 6 Neither Lord Hailes nor.any other Scot- tish historian take notice of the ambitious and factious character of Edward Bruce, although Fordun expressly says: — "Iste Edwardus erat homo ferox, et magni cordis valde, nec voluit cohabitare fratri suo in pace, nisi dimidium regni solus haberet ; et hac de causa mota fuit guerra in Hibernia, ubi ut praemittitur finivit vitam."— Fordun a Hearne, p. 1009. 1315.] ROBER r reduced numbers of his little army, to retreat into Ulster, and despatch the Earl of Moray for new succours into Scotland. He was soon after crowned king of Ireland, and imme- diately after his assumption of the regal dignity laid siege to Carrickfer- gus. On being informed of the situa- tion of his brother's affairs, King Ro- bert intrusted the government of the kingdom to his son-in-law, the Stew- ard, and Sir James Douglas. He then passed over to the assistance of the new king, with a considerable body of troops ; and, after their junction, the united armies, having reduced Carrick- fergus, pushed forward through the county Louth, to Slane, and invested Dublin ; but being compelled to raise the siege, they advanced into Kilkenny, wasted the country as far as Limerick, and after experiencing the extremities of famine, and defeating the enemy wherever they made head against them, terminated a glorious but fruit- less expedition, by a retreat into the province of Ulster, in the spring of 1317. 1 The King of Scotland now returned to his dominions, taking along with him the Earl of Moray, but having left the flower of his army to support his brother in the possession of Ulster. A miserable fate awaited these brave men. After a long period of inaction, in which neither the Irish annals nor our early Scottish historians afford any certain light, we find King Edward Bruce encamped at Tagher, near Dun- dalk, at the head of a force of two thousand men, exclusive of the native Irish, who were numerous, but badly armed and disciplined. Against him, Lord. John Bermingham, along with John Maupas, Sir Miles Verdon, Sir Hugh Tripton, and other Anglo-Irish barons, led an army which was strong in cavalry, and outnumbered the Scots by nearly ten to one. Edward, with his characteristic contempt of danger, and nothing daunted by the disparity of force, determined, against the advice of his oldest captains, to give the enemy battle. In the course of a three years' war, he had already engaged the Anglo- 1 Fordun a Hearne, p. 1008. BRUCE. 127 Irish forces eighteen times; and al- though his success had led to no im- portant result, he had been uniformly victorious. 2 But his fiery career was now destined to be quenched, and his short-lived sovereignty to have an end. On the 5th of October 1318, the two armies joined battle, and the Scots were almost immediately discomfited. 3 At the first onset, John Maupas slew King Edward Bruce, and was himself found slain, and stretched upon the body of his enemy. Sir John Soulis and Sir J ohn Stewart also fell ; and the rout becoming general, the slaughter was great. A miserable remnant, how- ever, escaping from the field, under John Thomson, the leader of the men of Carrick, made good their retreat to Carrickf ergus, and from thence reached Scotland. Two thousand Scottish sol- diers were left dead upon the spot, and amongst these some of Bruce's best captains. 4 Thus ended an expedition which, if conducted by a spirit of more judicious and deliberate valour than distinguished its prime mover, might have produced the most serious annoy- ance to England. Unmindful of the generous courtesy of Bruce's behaviour after the battle of Bannockburn, the English treated the body of the King of Ireland with studied indignity. It was quartered and distributed as a public spectacle over Ireland, and the head was presented to the English king by Lord J ohn Bermingham, who, as a reward for his victory, was created Earl of Louth. 5 Having given a continuous sketch of this disastrous enterprise, which, from its commencement till the death of Edward, occupied a period of three years, we shall return to the affairs of Scotland, where the wise administra- tion of King Robert brought security and happiness to the people both at home and in their foreign relations. The ships which had transported Edward Bruce and his army to Ireland were immediately sent home ; and the 2 I have here followed the authority of Bar hour, p. 317. s Barbour, p. 364. * Their names will be found in Trivet, contin. p. 29. 5 Bymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 767. 128 HISTORY OF king undertook an expedition against the Western Isles, some of which had acknowledged his dominion/ whilst others, under John of Argyle, the firm ally of England, had continued for a long time to harass and annoy the commerce of his kingdom. Although constantly occupied in a land war, during the course of which he had brought his army into a high state of discipline, Bruce had never been blind to the strength which he must acquire by having a fleet which could cope with the maritime power of his rival ; and from the complaints of the English monarch in the state papers of the times, we know that on both sides of the island the Scottish vessels, and those of their allies, kept the English coast towns in a state of constant alarm. 2 Their fleets seem to have been partly composed of privateers, as well Flemish as Scottish, which, under the protection of the king, roved about, and attacked the English merchantmen. Thus, dur- ing Edward Bruce's expedition, he met, when on the Irish coast, and sur- rounded with difficulties, with Thomas of Doune, a Scottish " scoumar," or freebooter, "of the se," who, with a small squadron of four ships, sailed up the river Ban, and extricated his countrymen from their 3 perilous situ- ation. In his expedition to the Isles, Bruce was accompanied by his son-in-law, the Steward of Scotland ; and having sailed up the entrance of Loch Fine to Tar- bet, he dragged his vessels upon a slide, composed of smooth planks of trees laid parallel to each other, across the narrow neck of land which separates the lochs of East and West Tarbet. The distance was little more than an English mile; and by this expedient Bruce not only saved the necessity of doubling the Mull of Kantire, to the small craft of those days often a fatal 1 Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 238. 2 Rotuli Scot. vol. i. p. 151, date 6th No- vember 1315. s Barbour, book x. p. 288. In Leland, Col- lect, vol. i. p. 549, we find, ir> an extract from the Scala Chron., " One Cryne, a Fleming, an admiral, and great robber on the se, and in high favour with Robert Bruce." SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. enterprise, but availed himself of a su- perstitious belief then current amongst the Western islanders, that they should never be subdued till their invader sailed across the isthmus of Tarbet. 4 The presence of the king in the West- ern Isles was soon followed by the submission of all the little pirate chiefs who had given him disturbance, and by the capture and imprisonment of John of Lorn, who, since his defeat at Cruachin Ben, had been constantly in the pay of Edward, with the proud title of Admiral of the Western fleet of England. 5 This island prince was first committed to Dumbarton castle, and afterwards shut up in the castle of Lochleven, where he died. 6 After the termination of his peaceful mari- time campaign, the king indulged him- self and his friends in the diversion of the chase; whilst at home, his army, under Douglas, continued to insult and plunder the English Border counties. 7 On his return from the Western Islei, Bruce undertook the siege of Carlisle; but, after having assaulted it for ten days, he was compelled, by the strength of the works and the spirit of its towns- men and garrison, to draw off his troops. Berwick, too, was threatened from the side next the sea by the Scot- tish ships, which attempted to steal up the river unperceived by the enemy, but were discovered, and bravely re- pulsed. 8 Against these reiterated in- sults, Edward, unable from his extreme unpopularity to raise an army, con- tented himself with querulous 'com- plaints, and with some ineffectual ad- vances towards a reconciliation, 9 which as yet was far distant. * Barbour, p. 302. The fishermen con- stantly drag their boats across this neck of land. Tar-bat for trag-bat, or drag-boat. s Rotuli Scotise, p. 121. This John of Lorn seems to be the same person as the John of Argyle, so frequently mentioued in the Rotuli. e Barbour, p. 303. 7 Leland, Collect, vol. i. p. 24. Douglas wasted Egremont, plundered St Bees' Priory, and destroyed two manors belonging to the prior.' The work quoted by Leland is an anonymous MS. History of the Abbots of St Mary's, York, by a monk of the same reli- gious house. 8 Chron. Lanercost, pp. 230, 231, 264. This was in the end of July 1315. » Rotuli Scotia?, 9 Ed. II. m. 6, p. 149. 1316.] ROBERT About this time, to the great joy of the King of Scotland and of the nation, the Princess Marjory bore a son, Ro- bert, who was destined, after the death of David, his uncle, to succeed to the throne, and become the first of the royal house of Stewart ; but grief soon followed joy, for the young mother died almost immediately after child- birth. 1 Undaunted by the partial check which they had received before Car- lisle and Berwick, the activity of the Scots gave the English perpetual em- ployment. On one side they attacked Wales, apparently making descents from their ships upon the coast ; and Edward, trembling for the security of his new principality, countermanded the Welsh levies which were about to join his army, and enjoined them to remain at home ; but he accompanied this with an order to give hostages for their fidelity, naturally dreading the effect of the example of the Scots upon a nation whose fetters were yet new and galling. 2 On the other side, King Robert in person led his army, about midsummer, into Yorkshire, and wasted the country, without meet- ing an enemy, as far as Richmond. A timely tribute, collected by the neighbouring barons and gentlemen, saved, this town from the flames ; but this merely altered the order of march into the West Riding, which was cruelly sacked and spoiled for sixty miles round, after which the army returned with their booty' and many prisoners. 3 Bruce then embarked for Ireland; and soon after, the English king, encouraged by his absence and that of Randolph, summoned his mili- tary vassals to meet him at Newcastle, and determined to invade Scotland with great strength ; but the Earl of Lancaster, to whom the conduct of the enterprise was intrusted, and the 1 Fordun a Goodal, book xii. c. 25. Hailes, vol. ii. p. 81. It is strange that Fordun him- self does neither mention the birth of Robert the Second, nor the death of his mother. See Fordun a Hearne, p. 1008, 1009. Winton, too, says nothing of her death. 2 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 620. Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 159, 4th August. 3 Chron. Lanercost, p. 233. VOL. I- BRUCE. 129 barons of his party, having in vain waited at Newcastle for the king's arrival, returned home in displeasure ; 4 so that the original design of Edward broke down into several smaller inva- sions, in repelling which the activity and military enterprise of Sir James Douglas, and the Steward, not only kept up, but materially increased, the Scottish ascendancy. In Douglas, the adventurous spirit of chivalry was finely united with the character of an experienced commander. At this time he held his quarters at Linthaughlee, near Jedburgh; and having informa- tion that the Earl of Arundel, with Sir Thomas de Richemont, and an Eng- lish force of ten thousand men, had crossed the Borders, he determined to attack him in a narrow pass, through which his line of march lay, and which was flanked on each side by a wood. Having thickly twisted together the young birch trees on either side, so as to prevent escape, 5 he concealed his archers in a hollow way near the gorge of the pass, and when the English ranks were compressed by the narrow- ness of the road, and it was impossible for their cavalry to act with effect, he rushed upon them at the head of his horsemen, whilst the archers, suddenly discovering themselves, poured in a flight of arrows, so that the unwieldy mass was thrown into confusion, and took to flight. In the melee, Douglas slew Thomas de Richemont with his dagger; and although, from his in- feriority of force, he did not venture to pursue the enemy into the open country, yet they were compelled to retreat with great slaughter. 6 Soon after this, Edmund de Cailou, a knight of Gascony, whom Edward had appointed to be Governor of Ber- wick, was encountered by Douglas, as the foreigner returned to England loaded with plunder, from an inroad • into Teviotdale. Cailou was killed; and, after the slaughter of many of the foreign mercenaries, the accumu- lated booty of the Merse and Teviot- dale was recovered by the Scots. * Tyrrel, vol iii. p. 267. « Barbour, p. 324. « Ibid. p. 323, 1 130 HISTORY OF Exactly similar to that of Cailou was the fate of Sir Ralph Neville. This baron, on hearing the high report of Douglas's prowess, from some of De Cailou's fugitive soldiers, openly boast- ed that he would fight with the Scottish knight, if he would come and shew his banner before Berwick. Douglas, who deemed himself bound to accept the challenge, immediately marched into the neighbourhood of that town, and, within sight of the garrison, caused a party of his men to waste the country and burn the villages. Neville in- stantly quitted Berwick with a strong body of men, and, encamping upon a high ground, waited till the Scots should disperse to plunder ; but Doug- las called in his detachment, and in- stantly marched against the enemy. After a desperate conflict, in which many were slain, Douglas, as was his custom, succeeded in bringing the leader to a personal encounter, and the superior strength and skill of the Scottish knight were again successful. Neville was slain, and his men utterly discomfited. 1 An old English chro- nicle ascribes this disaster to "the treason of the marchers ; 99 but it is difficult to discover in what the treason consisted. Many other soldiers of distinction were taken prisoners, and Douglas, without opposition, ravaged the country, drove away the cattle, left the towns and villages in flames, and returned to Scotland. So terrible did the exploits of this hardy warrior become upon the Borders, that Bar- bour, who lived in his time, informs us the English mothers were accus- tomed to pacify their children by threatening them with the name of the " Black Douglas." 2 Repulsed with so much disgrace in these attempts by land, the English monarch fitted out a fleet, and invaded Scotland, sailing into the Firth of Forth, and landing his armament at Donibristle. The panic created by the English was so great, that the sheriff of the county had difficulty in assembling five hundred cavalry ; and 1 Leland, Collect, vol. i. p. 547. Barbour, p. 309. 2 Barbour, p. 31 SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. these, intimidated by the superior numbers of the enemy, disgracefully took to flight. Fortunately, however, a spirited prelate, Sinclair, bishop of Dunkeld, who had more in him of the warrior than the ecclesiastic, received timely notice of this desertion. Put- ting himself at the head of sixty of his servants, and with nothing clerical about him, except a linen frock or rochet cast over his armour, he threw himself on horseback, and succeeded in rallying the fugitives, telling their leaders that they were recreant knights, and deserved to have their gilt spurs hacked off. " Turn," said he, seizing a spear from the nearest soldier, "turn, for shame, and let all who love Scotland follow me ! " With this he furiously charged the English, who were driven back to their ships with the loss of five hundred men, besides many who were drowned by the swamping of one of the vessels. On his return from Ireland, Bruce highly commended his spirit, declaring that Sinclair should be his own bishop ; and by the name of the King's Bishop this hardy prelate was long remem- bered in Scotland. 3 Unable to make any impression with temporal arms, the King of Eng- land next had recourse to the thun- ders of spiritual warfare ; and in the servile character of Pope John the Twenty-second, he found a fit tool for his purpose. By a bull, issued from Avignon, in the beginning of 1317, the Pope commanded the observance of a truce between the hostile coun- tries for two years ; but the style of this mandate evinced a decided par- tiality to England. Giving the title of King of England to Edward, he only designated Bruce as his beloved son, " carrying himself as King of Scotland ; " 4 and when he despatched two cardinals as his legates into Bri- tain, for the purpose of publishing this truce upon the spot, they were privately empowered, in case of any opposition, to inflict upon the King of Scotland the highest spiritual cen- sures. In the same secret manner, s Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 259. * Rymer, Foedera, vol. iii. p. 594. 1317.] ROBERT he furnished them with a bull, to be made public if circumstances so re- quired, by which Robert Bruce and his brother Edward were declared ex- communicated persons. 1 The Pope also directed another bull against the order of Minorite Friars, who, by their •discourses, had instigated the Irish to join the Scottish invaders, and rise in rebellion against the English govern- ment. These attempts to deprive him of his just rights, and to overawe him into peace, were met by a firm resist- ance on the part of Bruce ; who, placed in a trying and delicate situa- tion, evinced, in his opposition to the Papal interference, a remarkable union of unshaken courage, with sound judg- ment and good temper, contriving to maintain the independence of his crown ; whilst, at the same time, he professed all due respect for the au- thority of his spiritual father, as head of the Church. Charged with their important com- missions, the cardinals arrived in Eng- land at the time when Lewis de Beau- mont was about to be consecrated Bishop of Durham. Their first step was to despatch two nuncios, the Bishop of Corbeil and Master Aumery, 2 who were intrusted with the delivery of the Papal letters to the Scottish king, and with the bulls of excommu- nication. As Durham lay on their road, Master Aumery and his brother nuncio set out with the bishop elect, and a splendid suit of churchmen and barons, intending to be present at the inauguration. But it proved an ill- fated journey for these unfortunate envoys. The Borders at this time were in a wild and disorderly state. Many of the gentry and barons of England, as already noticed, had en- tered into armed associations for the defence of the marches against the destructive inroads of the Scots ; but the habits of loose warfare, the ex- tremities of famine, and the unpopu- larity of the king's person and govern- ment, had, in the course of years, transformed themselves and their sol- diers into robbers, who mercilessly i Dated 4th April 1317. Rymer, Foedera* vol. iii. p. 661 BRUCE. 131 ravaged the country. 3 Anxious in every way to increase the confusions which then distracted the English government, the King of Scotland kept up an intelligence with these marauders ; and, on the present occa- sion, aware of the hostility which was meditated against him by the cardi- nals, and of their attachment to his enemy, it seems very probable that he employed two leaders of these broken men, Gilbert de Middleton and "Walter Selby, to intercept the nuncios, and make themselves masters of their letters and secret instruc- tions. It is certain that, on the approach of the cavalcade to Rushy Ford, a large body of soldiers, headed by these lawless chiefs, rushed out from a wood near the road, and in a short time made the whole party prisoners; seized and stript of their purple and scarlet apparel the unfor- tunate Churchmen ; rifled and carried off their luggage and horses ; but, without offering violence to their per- sons, dismissed them to prosecute their journey to Scotland. The bishop elect and his brother, Henry de Beau- mont, were carried to Middleton's castle of Mitford ; nor were they libe- rated from their dungeon till their plate, jewels, and the rich vestments of the cathedral were sold to raise money for their ransom. 4 Meanwhile the Papal nuncios, in disconsolate plight, proceeded into Scotland, and arrived at court. Bruce received them courteously, and listened with attention to the message with which they were charged. 5 Having then consulted with those of his coun- sellors who were present upon the proposals, he replied that he earnestly desired a firm peace between the king- doms, to be procured by all honour- able means, but that as long as he was only addressed as Governor of Scotland, and his own title of king withheld from him, it was impossible for him, without convening his whole council, and the other barons of his * Walsingham, p. 107. * Tyrrel, Hist. vol. iii. p. 269. Hutchin- son's History and Antiquities of Durham, p. 267. 1st Sept. 1317. 5 Rymer, vol. iii. p. 662. 132 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. realm, to admit the cardinal legates to an interview ; nor was it possible for him, before the Feast of St Michael, to summon any council for this pur- pose. " Among my subjects," said the king, "there are many bearing the name of Robert Bruce, who share, with the rest of my barons, in the government of the kingdom. These letters may possibly be addressed to them ; and it is for this reason that, although I have permitted the Papal letters, which advise a peace, to be read, as well as your open letters on the same subject; yet to these, as they refuse to me my title of king, I will give no answer, nor will I by any means suffer your sealed letters, which are not directed to the King of Scot- land, to be opened in my presence." The nuncios, upon this, endeavoured to offer an apology for the omission, by observing that it was not custom- ary for our holy mother, the Church, either to do or to say anything dur- ing the dependence of a controversy which might prejudice the right of either of the parties. " If, then," re- plied Bruce, " my spiritual father and my holy mother have professed them- selves unwilling to create a prejudice against my opponent by giving to me the title of king, I am at a loss to determine why they have thought proper to prejudice my cause by with- drawing that title from me during the dependence of the controversy. I am in possession of the kingdom. All my subjects call me king, and by that title do other kings and royal princes address me; but I perceive that my spiritual parents assume an evident partiality amongst their sons. Had you," he continued, " presumed to present letters so addressed to other kings, you might have received an answer in a different style. But I reverence your authority, and enter- tain all due respect for the Holy See." The # messengers now requested that the king would command a temporary cessation of hostilities. " To this," replied Bruce, " I can by no means consent without the advice of my par- liament, and especially whilst the English are in the daily practice of spoiling the property of my subjects* and invading all parts of my realm. * During this interview, the king ex- pressed himself with great courtesy, professing all respect for his spiritual father, and delivering his resolute an- swers with a mild and placid counte- nance. 1 The two nuncios, it seems, had taken along with them into the king's presence another Papal messen- ger, who, having come some time be- fore to inform the Scottish prelates of the coronation of the Pope, had been refused admission into Scotland. For this person, who had now waited some- months without being permitted ta execute his mission, the messengers entreated the king's indulgence; but Bruce, although the discarded envoy .stood in the presence-chamber, took no notice of him, and changed the subject with an expression of counte- nance which at once imposed silence and intimated a refusal. When the nuncios questioned the secretaries of the king regarding the cause of this severity, they at once replied that their master conceived that these- letters had not been addressed to him, solely because the Pope was unwilling to give him his royal titles. The- Scottish councillors informed the nuncios that if the letters had been addressed to the King of Scots, the negotiations for peace would have immediately commenced, but that neither the king nor his advisers would hear of a treaty so long as the royal title was withheld, seeing that they were convinced that this slight had been put upon their sovereign through the influence of England, and in con- tempt of the people of Scotland. 2 Repulsed by Bruce with so much firmness and dignity, the Bishop of Corbeil returned with haste to the cardinals. They had remained all this time at Durham, and anxious to fulfil their mission, they now determined at all hazards to publish the Papal truce in Scotland. For this purpose the Papal bulls and instruments were in- 1 These interesting particulars we learn, from the original letter of the nuncios them- selves. Bymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 662. 2 Rymer, Fcedera. vol. iii. p. 661. 1317-18.] ROBER trusted to Adam Newton, the Father- Ouardian of the Minorite Friars of Berwick, who was commanded to re- pair to the presence of Bruce, and to deliver the letters of his Holiness to the King of Scotland, as Well as to the Bishop of St Andrews and the Scottish prelates. Newton accordingly set out for Scotland, but, anticipating no cordial reception, cautiously left the Papal bulls and letters at Berwick until he should be assured of a safe- conduct. After a journey of much hardship and peril, the friar found King Robert encamped with his army in a wood near Old Cambus, a small town about twelve miles distant from Berwick, busily engaged in construct- ing warlike engines for the assault of that city, although it was now the middle of December. Having con- ferred with Lord Alexander Seton, the seneschal of the king, and received a safe-conduct, Newton returned for his papers and credentials to Berwick, and again repaired to Old Cambus. He was then informed by Seton that Bruce would not admit him to a per- sonal interview, but that he must de- liver to him his letters, in order to their being inspected by the king, who was anxious to ascertain whether their contents were friendly or hostile. Newton obeyed, and Bruce observing that the letters and Papal instruments were not addressed to him as King of Scotland, returned them to the friar with much contempt, declaring that he would on no account obey the bulls so long as his royal titles were withheld, and that he was de- termined to make himself master of Berwick. The envoy then publicly declared before the Scottish barons and a great concourse of spectators that a two years' truce was, by the authority of the Pope, to be observed by the two kingdoms; but his pro- clamation was treated with such open marks of insolence and contempt, that he began to tremble for the safety of his person, and earnestly implored them to permit him to pass forward into Scotland to the presence of those prelates with whom he was com- manded to confer, or, at least, to have 1 BRUCE. 133 a safe-conduct back again to Berwick. Both requests were denied him, and he was commanded, without delay, to make the best of his way out of the country. On his way to Berwick, the unfortunate monk was waylaid by four armed ruffians, robbed of his letters and papers, amongst which were the bulls excommunicating the King of Scotland, and, after being stript to the skin, turned naked upon the road. " It is rumoured," says he, in an inte- resting letter addressed to the cardi- nals containing the account of his mis- sion, " that the Lord Robert and his accomplices, who instigated this out- rage, are now in possession of the letters intrusted to me." 1 There can be little doubt that the rumour rested on a pretty good foundation. Throughout the whole of this nego- tiation, the Pope was obviously in the interest of the King of England. Ed- ward's intrigues at the Roman court, and the pensions which he bes tawed on the cardinals, induced his Holiness to proclaim a truce, which, in the pre- sent state of English affairs, was much to be desired; but Bruce, supported by his own clergy, and secure of the affections of his people, despised all Papal interference, and succeeded in maintaining the dignity and independ- ence of his kingdom. Having rid himself of such trouble- some opposition, the Scottish king determined to proceed with the siege of Berwick, a town which, as the key to England, was at this time fortified in the strongest manner. Fortunately for the Scots, Edward had committed its defence to a governor, whose severity and strict adherence to dis- cipline had disgusted some of the burgesses ; and one of these, named Spalding, 2 who had married a Scotch- woman, was seduced from his alle- giance, and determined, on the night when it was his turn to take his part in the watch rounds, to assist the enemy in an escalade. This purpose he communicated to the Marshal, and 1 Rymer, Fcedera, pp 683, 684. 2 Hardynge in his Chronicle, p. 308, Ellis' edition, tells us that Spalding, after betray- ing the town, went into Scotland, and was siain by the Scots. 134 HISTORY OF he carried the intelligence directly to Bruce himself, who was not slow in taking advantage of it. 1 Douglas and Randolph, along with March, were commanded to assemble with a chosen "body of men at Duns Park in the evening ; and at nightfall, having left their horses at the rendezvous, they marched to Berwick; and, by the assistance of Spalding, fixed their ladders, and scaled the walls. Orders seem to have been given by Bruce that they should not proceed to storm the town till reinforced by a stronger body; but Douglas and Randolph found it impossible to restrain their men, who dispersed themselves through the streets, to slay and plunder, whilst, panic-struck with the night attack, the citizens escaped over the walls, or threw themselves into the castle. When day arrived, this disobedience of orders had nearly been fatal to the Scots; for Roger Horsley, the gover- nor of the castle, 2 discovering that they were but a handful of men, made a desperate sally, and all but recovered the city. Douglas, however, and Ran- dolph, who were veterans in war, and dreaded such an event, had kept their own soldiers well together, arid, as- sisted by a young knight, Sir William Keith of Galston, who greatly distin- guished himself, they at last succeeded in driving the English back to the castle; thus holding good their con- quest of the town, till Bruce came up with the rest of his army, and effectually secured it. The presence of the king, with the men of Merse and Teviotdale, intimidated the garri- son of the castle, which soon sur- rendered ; and Bruce, with that gene- rous magnanimity which forms so fine 1 Barbour, p. 334. 2 Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 175, 19th August. Lord Hailes, vol. ii. p. 78, seems to think it an error in Tyrrel to imagine that there was a governor of the town, and a governor of the castle. But Tyrrel is in the right. John of Witham was governor or warder of the town, Rot. Scot. vol. i. p. 178, 30th Sept. 1317 ; and Roger of Horsle governor of the castle, Rotuli Scotise, p. 175. Maitland, vol. i. p. 490, and Guthrie, vol. ii. p. 254, finding in Rymer, vol. iii. p. 516, that Maurice de Berke- ley was governor of the town and castle of Berwick in 1315, erroneously imagine that he continued to be so- in 1318. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. a part of his character, disdaining to imitate the cruelty of Edward the First, readily gave quarter to all who were willing to accept it. For this we have the testimony of the English historians, Thomas de la More, and Adam Murimuth, although the Pope, in his bull of excommunication, re- presents him as having seized Berwick by treachery during a time of truce ; and charges him, moreover, with hav- ing committed a great and cruel slaughter of the inhabitants. Both accusations are unfounded. 3 The truce was publicly disclaimed by the king, and the city was treated with uncommon lenity. It was at this time the chief commercial emporium of England, and its plunder greatly enriched the Scottish army. There- were also found* in it great quantities of provisions and military stores, and Bruce, after having examined the\ fortifications, determined to make it\ an exception from his general rule/ of demolishing all fortresses rec^ vered from the English. 4 In execu- tion of this plan, he committed the keeping of both town and castle to his son-in-law, Walter, the Steward; and aware that, from its importance, the English would soon attempt to recover it, he provided it with every sort of warlike engine then used in the defence of fortified places. Springalds and cranes, with huge machines for discharging iron darts, called balistce de turno, were stationed on the walls ; a large body of archers, spearmen, and cross-bowmen, formed the garrison ; and the young Steward was assisted in his measures of de- fence by John Crab, a Fleming, famous for his skill in the rude engineering of the times. 5 Five hun- 3 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. pp. 708, 709. 4 Fordun a Groodal, p. 245. s Barbour, pp. 339, 340. Crab seems to have been a mercenary who engaged in the service of any who would employ him. In 1313, Edward the Second complained of de- predations committed by him on some Eng- lish merchants, to his sovereign, Robert, earl of Flanders. Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 403. Ia August 1333, after Berwick fell into the hands of the English, Crab obtained a pardon, and entered into the service of Eng< land. 1318-19.] dred brave gentlemen, who quartered the arms of the Steward, repaired to Berwick, to the support of their chief ; and Bruce, having left it victualled for a year, marched with his army into England, and ravaged and laid waste the country. He besieged and made himself master of the castles of \5£ark and Harbottle, surprised Mit- foraTand having penetrated into York- shire, burnt the towns of Ijo rthall er- ton, Boroughbridge, Scarborough, and Skipton in Craven. The plunder in these expeditions was great, and the number of the captives may be esti- mated from the expression of an ancient English chronicle, that the Scots returned into their own country, driving their prisoners like flocks of sheep before them. 1 Irritated at the contempt of their authority, the cardinal legates solemnly excommunicated Bruce 2 and his ad- herents; whilst Edward, after an in- effectual attempt to conciliate his- par- liament and keep together his army, was compelled, by their violent ani- mosities, to disband his troops, and allow the year to pass away in dis- content and inactivity. Meanwhile, the death of King Edward Bruce in Ireland, and of Marjory, the king's daughter, who left an only son, Robert, afterwards king, rendered some new enactments necessary re- garding the succession to the throne. A parliament was accordingly as- sembled at Scone in December, in which the whole clergy and laity renewed their engagements of obedi- ence to the king, and promised to assist him faithfully, to the utmost of their power, in the preservation and defence of the rights and liberties of the kingdom, against all persons . of whatever strength, power, and dignity they may be ; and any one who should attempt to violate this engagement and ordinance was declared guilty of trea- son. It was next enacted that, in the event of the king's death, without issue male, Robert Stewart, son of the Princess Marjory and of Walter, the Lord High Steward of Scotland, should 1 Chron. Lanercost, pp. 235, 236. „ 2 Bymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. pp. 707, 711. ROBERT BRUCE. 135 succeed to the crown; and in the event of that succession taking pjace during the minority of Robert Stew- art, or of other heir of the king's body, it was appointed that the office of tutor to the heir of the kingdom should belong to Thomas Randolph, earl of Moray, and failing him, to James, lord Douglas ; but it was expressly provided that such appoint- ment should cease whenever it ap- peared to the majority of the com- munity of the kingdom that the heir is of fit age to administer the govern- ment in person It was also declared that since, in certain times past, some doubts had arisen regarding the suc- cession of the kingdom of Scotland, the parliament thought proper to ex- press their opinion that this succession ought not to have been regulated, and henceforth should not be determined, by the rules of inferior fiefs and in- heritances, but that the male heir nearest to the king, in the direct line of descent, should succeed to the crown; and failing him, the nearest female in the direct line ; and failing the whole direct line, the nearest male heir in the collateral line — respect being always had to the right of blood by which the last king reigned, which seemed agreeable to the imperial law. 3 This enactment having been unani- mously agreed to, Randolph and Dou- glas came forward, and, after accept- ing the offices provisionally conferred upon them, swore, with their hands on the holy gospels and the relics of the saints, faithfully and diligently to discharge their duty, and to observe, and cause to be observed, the laws and customs of Scotland. After this, the bishops, abbots, priors, and in- ferior clergy, the earls, barons, knights, freeholders, and the remanent mem- bers of the community of Scotland, in the same solemn manner took the same oath, and those of the highest rank affixed their seals to the instrument of succession. 4 Having settled this important mat- ter, various other laws were passed, * Fordun a Goodal, voL ii. p. 290. * Ibid. vol. i. p. 29 J. 136 HISTORY OF relative to the military power, and to the ecclesiastical and civil government of the kingdom. All men were re- quired to array themselves for war. Every layman possessed of land, who had ten pounds worth of movable pro- perty, was commanded to provide him- self with an acton and a basnet, that is, a leathern jacket and a steel helmet, together with gloves of plate, and a sword and spear. Those who were not th.'S provided were enjoined to have an iron jack, or back and breastplate of iron, an iron head-piece, or hiapis- kay, with gloves of plate; and every man possessing the value of a cow was commanded to arm himself with a bow and a sheaf of twenty-four arrows, or with a spear. 1 It was made imperative upon all sheriffs and lords io insist on the execution of this law ; and in case of disobedience, to cause the recusant to forfeit his movable estate, half to the king, and half to his over- lord, or superior. All persons, while on the road to the royal army, were commanded to subsist at their own charges ; those who came from places near the rendezvous being commanded to bring carriages and provisions along with them, and those from remote parts to bring money; and if, upon an offer of payment, such necessaries were refused, the troops were autho- rised, at the sight of the magistrates or bailies of the district, to take what was withheld. All persons were strictly prohibited from supplying the enemy with armour or horses, bows and arrows, or any kind of weapons, or to give to the English assistance in any shape whatever, and this under the penalty of being guilty of a capital offence. All ecclesiastics were pro- hibited from transmitting to the Papal court any sums of money for the pur- chase of bulls * and all Scotsmen, who, although possessed of estates in their own country, chose to reside in Eng- land, were prohibited from drawing any money out of Scotland, — a clause apparently directed against David de Strabogie, earl of Athole, who at this l Regiam Majestatem. Statutes of King Robert I. See Chartulary of Aberbrothock, p. 283. M'Farlane Transcript. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. time stood high in the confidence of Edward the Second. 2 This weak monarch, when he found that Bruce could not be brought to terms by negotiation, or intimidated by the Papal thunders, determined once more to have recourse to arms ; and having assembled an army, he crossed the Tweed, and sat down before Berwick. 3 His first precaution was to secure his camp by lines of circumvallation, composed of high ramparts and deep trenches, so as to enable him to resist effectually any attempt of the Scots to raise the siege. He then strictly invested the town from the Tweed to the sea, and at the same time the English fleet entered the estuary of the river, so that the city was beleaguered on all points. This was in the beginning of September ; and from the strength of the army and the quality of the leaders much was expected. 4 The first assault was made on the 7th of the month ; it had been pre- ceded by great preparations, and mounds of earth had been erected against that part of the walls where it was expected there would be the greatest facility in storming. Early in the morning of St Mary's Eve, the trumpets of the English were heard, and the besiegers advanced in various bodies, well provided with scaling ladders, scaffolds, and defences, with hoes and pickaxes for mining, and ' under cover of squadrons of archers and slingers. The assault soon became general, and continued with various success till noon ; at which time the English ships entered the river, and, sailing up as far as the tide permitted, made a bold attempt to carry the town, from the rigging of a vessel which they had prepared for the pur- pose. The topmast of this vessel, and her boat, which was drawn up half- mast high, were manned with soldiers ; and to the bow of the boat was fitted a species of drawbridge, which was intended to be dropt upon the wall, and to afford a passage from the ship 2 Regiam Majestatem. Stat. Robert 1. 3 Barbour, p. 342. * Ibid. p. 343. 1319.] ROBERT BRUCE. 137 into the town. The walls themselves, which were not more than a spear's length in height, afforded little defence against these serious preparations; but the Scots, animated by that feeling of confidence which a long train of success had inspired, and encouraged by the presence and example of the Steward, effectually repulsed the ene- my on the land side, whilst the ship, which had struck upon a bank, was left dry by the ebbing of the tide ; and being attacked by a party of the enemy, was soon seen blazing in the mouth of the river. Disheartened by this double failure, the besiegers drew off their forces, and for the present intermitted all attack. 1 But it was only to commence new preparations for a more desperate assault. In case of a second failure in their escalade, it was determined to undermine the walls ; and for this purpose, a huge machine was constructed, covered by a strong roofing of boards and hides, and holding within its bosom large bodies of armed soldiers and miners. From its shape and covering, this formidable engine was called a sow. To co-operate with the machine, movable scaffolds, high enough to overtop the walls, and cap- able of receiving parties of armed men, were erected for the attack ; and undismayed at his first failure by sea, Edward commanded a number of ships to be fitted out similar to that vessel which had been burnt ; but with this difference, that in addition to the armed boats, slung half-mast high, their top-castles were full of archers, under whose incessant and deadly discharge it was expected that the assailants would drag the ship so near the walls as to be able to fix their movable bridges on the capstone. 2 Meanwhile the Scots were not idle. Under the direction of Crab, the Flemish engineer, they constructed two machines of great strength, simi- lar to the Roman catapult, which moved on frames, fitted with wheels, and by which stones of a large size were propelled with steady aim and 1 Barbour, pp. 345, 340. 2 Ibid. pp. 351, 352. destructive force. Springalds were stationed on the walls, which were smaller engines like the ancient bal- istse, and calculated for the projection of heavy darts, winged with copper; iron chains, with grappling hooks attached to them, and piles of fire- fagots, mixed with bundles of pitch and flax, bound into large masses, shaped like casks, were in readiness ; and to second the ingenuity of Crab, an English engineer, who had been taken prisoner in the first assault, was compelled to assist in the defence* The young Steward assigned, as before, to each of his officers a certain post on the walls, and put himself at the head of the reserve, with which he deter- mined to watch, and, if necessary, to reinforce the various points. Having completed these arrangements, he calmly awaited the attack of the Eng- lish, which was made with great fury early in the morning of the 13th of September. To the sound of trumpet and war-horns, their various divisions moved resolutely forward; and, in spite of all discharges from the walls, succeeded in filling up the ditch, and fixing their ladders ; but after a con- flict, which lasted from sunrise till noon, they found it impossible to over- come the gallantry of the Scots, and were beaten back on every quarter. At this moment the King of England ordered the sow to be advanced ; and the English, aware that if they allowed the Scottish engineers time to take a correct aim, a single stone from the catapult would be fatal, dragged it on with great eagerness. Twice was the aim taken, and twice it failed. The stone flew over the machine, the first second fell short of it ; the third, an immense mass, which passed through the air with a loud booming noice, hit it directly in the middle with a dread- ful crash, and shivered its strong roof- timbers into a thousand pieces. Such of the miners and soldiers who escaped death rushed out from amongst the fragments; and the Scots, raising a shout, cried out that the English sow had farrowed her pigs. 3 Crab, the engineer, immediately cast his chains s Barbour, p. 354. 138 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. and grappling hooks over the unwieldy machine, and having effectually pre- vented its removal, poured down burning fagots upon its broken tim- bers, and consumed it to ashes. Nor were the English more fortunate in their attack upon the side of the river. Their ships, indeed, moved up towards the walls at flood-tide; but whether from the shallowness of the water, or the faint-heartedness of their leaders, the attack entirely failed. One of the vessels which led the way, on coming within range of the cata- pult, was struck by a large stone, which damaged her, and killed and mangled some of the crew; upon which the remaining ships, intimi- dated by the accident, drew off from the assault. A last effort of the be- siegers, in which they endeavoured to set fire to St Mary's gate, was repulsed by the Steward in person; and at nightfall the English army, foiled on every side, and greatly disheartened, entirely withdrew from the assault. 1 The spirit with which the defence was carried on may be estimated from the circumstance that the women and boys in the town during the hottest season of the assault supplied the soldiers on the walls with bundles of arrows, and stones for the engines. Although twice beaten off, it was yet likely that the importance of gain- ing Berwick would have induced the King of England to attempt a third at- tack; but Bruce determined to raise the siege by making a diversion on a large scale, and directed Randolph and Douglas, at the head of an army of fifteen thousand men, to invade Eng- land. During the presence of her husband at the siege of Berwick, the Queen of England had taken up her quarters near York, and it was the plan of these two veteran warriors, by a rapid and sudden march through the heart of Yorkshire, to seize the person of the queen, and, with this precious captive in their hands, to dictate the terms of peace to her husband. 2 Bruce, 1 Barbour, p. 357. 2 "Certe si capta fuisset tuncRegina, credo quod pacem emisset sibi Scotia." — M. Mal- mesbur. p. 192. who, in addition to his talents in the field, had not neglected to avail him- self in every way of Edward's unpopu- larity, appears to have established a secret correspondence, not only with the Earl of Lancaster, who was then along with his master before Berwick, but with others about the queens person. 3 The plan had in consequence very nearly been successful; but a Scottish prisoner, who fell into the hands of the English, gave warning of the meditated attack, and Randolph, on penetrating to York, found the prey escaped, and the court removed to a distance. Incensed at this dis- appointment, they ravaged the sur- rounding country with merciless ex- ecution, marking their progress by the flames and smoke of towns and castles, and collecting much plun- der. The military strength of the country was at this time before Berwick, and nothing remained but the forces of the Church, and of the vassals who held lands by military service to the archi- episcopal see. These were hastily as- sembled by William de Melton, the archbishop of York, assisted by the Bishop of Ely, 4 and a force of twenty thousand men, but of a motley descrip- tion, proceeded to intercept the Scots. Multitudes of priests and monks, whose shaved crowns suited ill with the steel basnet — large bodies of the feudal militia of the Church, but hastily levied, and imperfectly disci- plined — the mayor of York, with his train-bands and armed burgesses, com- posed the army which the archbishop, emulous, perhaps, of the fame which had been acquired in the battle of the Standard, by his predecessor Thurstin. too rashly determined to lead against the experienced soldiers of Randolph and Douglas. The result was what might have been expected. The Scots were encamped at Mitton, near the small river Swale. Across the stream there was then a bridge, over which the English army defiled. Whilst thus occupied, some large stacks of ' Walsinsrham. pp. Ill, 112. < Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. p. 202. 4th Sept., 15 Edw. II. 1319-20.] hay were set on fire by the enemy, 1 and, under cover of a dense mass of smoke, a strong column of men threw themselves between the English army and the bridge. As the smoke cleared away, they found themselves attacked with great fury both in front and rear, by the fatal long spear of the Scottish infantry ; and the army of the arch- bishop was in a few moments entirely broken and dispersed. 2 In an incredibly short time four thousand were slain, and amongst these many priests, whose white surplices covered t&eir armour. Great multitudes were drowned in at- tempting to recross the river, and it eeems to have been fortunate for the English that the battle was fought in the evening, and that a September night soon closed upon the field ; for, had it been a morning attack, it is probable that Randolph and Douglas would have put the whole army to the sword. Three hundred ecclesiastics fell in this battle; from which cir- cumstance, and in allusion to the pre- lates who led the troops, it was deno- minated, in the rude pleasantry of the times, "The Chapter of Mitton." When the news of the disaster reached the camp before Berwick, the troops began to murmur, and the Earl of Lancaster soon after, in a fit of disgust, deserted the leaguer with his whole followers, composing nearly a third part of the army. 3 Edward immediately raised the siege, and made a spirited effort to intercept Douglas and Ran- dolph on their return, and compel them to fight at a disadvantage ; but he had to deal with veteran soldiers, whose secret information was accurate, and who were intimately acquainted with the Border passes. "While he attempted to intercept them by one road, they had already taken another, and leaving their route to be traced, as their advance had been, by the flames and smoke of villages and ham- lets, they returned, without experi- encing a check, into Scotland, loaded 1 Hardynge's Chronicle, p. 309. 2 J. de Trokelowe. p. 45. Hume's Douglas and Angus, vol. i. pp. 69. 70. Barbour, p. 350. •3 Harbour, p. 359. ROBERT BRUCE. 139 with booty, and confirmed in their feeling of military superiority. It may give some idea of the far-spreading devastation occasioned by this and similar inroads of the Scottish army when it is stated that in an authentic document in the Fcedera Anglise it appears that eighty-four towns and villages were burnt and pillaged by the army of Randolph and Douglas in this expedition. These, on account of the great losses sustained, are, by a royal letter addressed to the tax- gatherers of the West Riding of York- shire, exempted from all contribu- tion; 4 and in this list the private castles and hamlets which were de- stroyed in the same fiery inroad do not appear to be included. Bruce could not fail to be particu- larly gratified by these successes/' Berwick, not only the richest com/ mercial town in England, but of ex- treme importance as a key to that country, remained in his hands, after a siege directed by the King of Eng land in person ; and the young warrior who had so bravely repulsed the enemy was the Steward of Scotland, the husband of his only daughter, on whom the hopes and wishes of the nation mainly rested. The defeat upon the Swale was equally destruc- tive and decisive, and it was followed up by another expedition of the rest- less and indefatigable Douglas, who. about All-Hallow tide of the same year, when the northern Borders had gathered in their harvest, broke into and burnt Gillsland and the sur- rounding country, ravaged Borough - on-Stanmore, and came sweeping home through Westmoreland and Cumber- land, driving his cattle and his prison- ers before him, and cruelly adding to the miseries of the recent famine, by a total destruction of the agricultural produce, which had been laid up for the winter. 5 It was a part of the character of Bruce, which marked his great abili- ties, that he knew as well when to make peace as to pursue war; and that, after any success, he could select the * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. pp. 801, 802. I * Hume's Douglas and Angus, vol. i. n. 70 140 % HISTORY 0 moment best fitted for permanently securing to his kingdom the advan- tages which, had he reduced his enemy to extremity, might have eluded his grasp. The natural consequence of a long series of defeats sustained by Ed- ward was an anxious desire upon his own part, and that of his parliament, for a truce between the kingdoms; 1 and as the Scots were satiated with victory, and, to use the words of an English historian, so enriched by the plunder of England that that country could scarcely afford them more, the Scottish king lent a ready ear to the represen- tations of the English commissioners, and agreed to a truce for two years between the kingdoms, to commence from Christmas 1319. Conservators of the truce were appointed by England, 2 and, in the meantime, commissioners of both nations were directed to con- tinue their conferences, with the hope of concluding a final peace. One great object of Bruce in con- senting to a cessation of hostilities, was his earnest desire to be reconciled to the Roman See — a desire which apparently was far from its accom- plishment; for the Pope, instead of acting as a peace-maker, seized this moment to reiterate his spiritual cen- sures against the King of Scotland and his adherents, in a bull of great length, and unexampled rancour; 3 and some time after the final settlement of the * Walsingham, p. 112. "Igitur Rex, sen- tiens quotidie sua damna cumnlari, de com- muni consilio in treugas jurat biennales, Scotis libenter has acceptantibus, non tamen quia jam fuerant bellis fatigati, sed quia fuerant Anglica prasda ditati. " Lingard says nothing of the request of the parliament, that Edward would enter into a truce with the Scots, but observes, that the first proposal for a nego- tiation came from Scotland, and that the de- mand for the regal title was waved by Bruce. The truce itself is not published in Rymer, so that there is no certain proof that Bruce waved the regal title; and although, in the document in Rymer, vol. iii. p. 806, Edward, in a letter to the Pope, states that Bruce made proposals for a truce, the evidence is not conclusive, as Edward, in his public papers, did not scruple to conceal his disas- ters, by assuming a tone of superiority, when his affairs were at the lowest ebb. 2 This is said to be the first instance of the •;y>pointment of Conservators of truce for the Lorrlers. Ridpath, Border Hist. p. 265. s Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 797. F SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV truce, the Archbishop of York, with the Bishops of London and Carlisle, were commanded— and the order ia stated to have proceeded on informal tion communicated by Edward — to excommunicate Eobert and his ac- complices, on every Sabbath and fes- tival-day throughout the year. 4 Convinced by this conduct that their enemies had been busy in misrepre- senting at the Roman court their causes of quarrel with England, the Scottish nobility assembled in parlia- ment at Aberbrothock, 5 and with con- sent of the king, the barons, free- holders, and whole community of Scot- land, directed a letter or manifesto to the Pope, in a strain different from that servility of address to which the spiritual sovereign had been accus- tomed. After an exordium, in which they shortly allude to the then commonly, believed traditions regarding the emi- gration of the Scots from Scythia, their residence in Spain, and subsequent conquest of the Pictish kingdom; to their long line of a hundred and thir- teen kings, (many of whom are un- doubtedly fabulous;) to their conver- sion to Christianity by St Andrew, and the privileges which they had enjoyed at the hands of their spiritual father, as the flock of the brother of St Peter, they describe, in the following ener- getic terms, the unjust aggression of Edward the First : — " Under such free protection did we live, until Edward, king of England, and father of the present monarch, covering his hostile designs under the specious disguise of friendship and al- liance, made an invasion of our coun- try at the moment when it was without a king, and attacked an honest and un- suspicious people, then but little ex- perienced in war. The insults which this prince has heaped upon us, the slaughters and devastations which he has committed; his imprisonments of prelates, his burning of monasteries, his spoliations and murder of priests, and the other enormities of which ha 4 Rymer, Foedera, vol. iii. p. 810. » April 6, 1320. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 277. 1320.] ROBER' has been guilty, can be rightly de- scribed, or even conceived, by none but an eye-witness. From these in- numerable evils have we been freed, under the help of that God who wound- eth and who maketh whole, by our most valiant prince and king, Lord Robert, who, like a second Maccabseus or Joshua, hath cheerfully endured all labour and weariness, and exposed him- self to every species of danger and pri- vation, that he might rescue from the hands of the enemy his ancient people and rightful inheritance, whom also Divine Providence, and the right of succession according to those laws and customs, which we will maintain to the death, as well as the common con- sent of us all, have made our prince and king. To him are we bound both by his own merit and by the law of the land, and to him, as the saviour of our people and the guardian of our liberty, are we unanimously determined to adhere ; but if he should desist from what he has begun, and should shew an inclination to subject us or our kingdom to the King of England or to his people, then we declare that we will use our utmost effort to expel him from the throne as our enemy and the subverter of his own and of our right, and we will choose another king to rule over us, who will be able to defend us; for as long as a hundred Scotsmen are left alive we will never be subject to the dominion of England. It is not for glory, riches, or honour that we fight, but for that liberty which no good man will consent to lose but with his life. " Wherefore, most reverend father, we humbly pray, and from our hearts be- seech your Holiness to consider that you are the vicegerent of Him with whom there is no respect of persons, Jews or Greeks, Scots or English; and turning your paternal regard upon the tribula- tions brought upon us and the Church of God by the English, to admonish the King of England that he should be content with what he possesses, seeing that England of old was enough for seven or more kings, and not to disturb our peace in this small coun- try, lying on the utmost boundaries of BRUCE. 141 the habitable earth, and whose inhabi« tants desire nothing but what is their own." The barons proceed to say that they are willing to do everything for peace which may not compromise the freedom of their constitution and government; and they exhort the Pope to procure the peace of Christendom, in order to the removal of all impediments in the way of a crusade against the infidels; declaring the readiness with which both they and their king would under- take that sacred warfare if the King of England would cease to disturb them. Their conclusion is exceed- ingly spirited : — " If," say they, " your Holiness do not sincerely believe these things, giv- ing too implicit faith to the tales of the English, and on this ground shall not cease to favour them in their de- signs for our destruction, be well as- sured that the Almighty will impute to you that loss of life, that destruc- tion of human souls, and all those vari- ous calamities which our inextinguish- able hatred against the English and their warfare against us must neces- sarily produce. Confident that we now are, and shall ever, as in duty bound, remain obedient sons to you, as God's vicegerent, we commit the defence of our cause to that God, as the great King and Judge, placing our confidence in Him, and in the firm hope that He will endow us with strength and con- found our enemies ; and may the Al- mighty long preserve your Holiness in health." This memorable letter is dated at Aberbrothock on the 6th of April 1320, and it is signed by eight earls and thirty-one barons, amongst whom we find the great officers, the high steward, the seneschal, the constable, and the marshal, with the barons, free- holders, and whole community of Scot- land. 1 The effect of such a remonstrance, and the negotiations of Sir Edward Mabuisson and Sir Adam de Gordon, two special messengers, who were sent i A fac-simile of this famous letter was ein graved by Anderson, in his Diplomata Scot.i ae, plate 51. Fordun a Q-oodal, vol. ii. p. 275. 142 HISTORY OF by Bruce to the Papal court, induced his Holiness to delay for some time the reiterated publication of the Papal processes, and earnestly to recommend a peace between the two countries. For this purpose a meeting took place between certain Scottish and English commissioners, which was attended by two envoys from the King of France, who entreated to be allowed to act as a mediator, and by two nuncios from the Pope. But Edward was not yet sufficiently humbled to consent to the conditions stipulated by his antago- nist ; and Bruce was the less anxious to come to an agreement, as a danger- ous civil insurrection, headed by the Earl of Lancaster, his secret friend and ally, had just broke out in Eng- land, and promised to give Edward full employment at home. 1 In the midst of these unsuccessful negotiations for peace, a conspiracy of an alarming and mysterious nature Against the life of the King of Scots was discovered, by the confession of the Countess of Strathern, who was privy to the plot. William de Soulis, the seneschal, or high butler of Scot- land; Sir David de Brechin, nephew to the king, an accomplished knight, who had signalised himself in the Holy War; five other knights, Sir Gilbert de Malherbe, Sir John Logie, Sir Eus- tace de Maxwell, Sir Walter de Berk- lay, and Sir Patrick de Graham ; with three esquires, Richard Brown, Hame- line de Troupe, and Eustace de Rattray, are the only persons whose names have come down to us as certainly impli- cated in the conspiracy. Of these, Sir David de Brechin, along with Mal- herbe, Logie, and Brown, suffered the punishment of treason. 2 The destruc- tion of all record of their trial renders it difficult to throw any light on the details of the plot ; but we have the evidence of a contemporary of high authority that the design of the con- spirators was to slay the king, and place the crown on the head of Lord Soulis, a lineal descendant of the 1 Rymer's Foedera, vol. iii. pp. 866, 884. Ridpath's Border History, p. 267. Rymer, vol. iii. p. 924. 2 Fordun a Hearne, voL iv. p, 1010. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV daughter of Alexatfwler II. ; and who, as possessing such a claim, would have excluded both Bruce and Baliol, had the legitimacy of his mother been un^ questioned. 3 There is evidence in t'ne records of the Tower that both Soulis and Brechin had long tampered with England, and been rewarded for their services. In the case of Brechin, we find him enjoying special letters of protection from Edward. In addition to these he was pensioned in 1312, was appointed English warden of the town and castle of Dundee, and employed in secret communications, having for their object the destruction of his uncle's power in Scotland, and the triumph of the English arms over his native country. It is certain that he was a prisoner of war in Scotland in the year 1315, 4 having probably been taken in arms at the battle of Bannock- burn. In the five years of glory and success which followed, and in the re- peated expeditions of Randolph and Douglas, we do not one meet with his name ; and now, after having been received into favour, he became con- nected with, or at least connived at, a conspiracy, which involved the death of the king. Such a delinquent is little entitled to our sympathy. There was not a single favourable circum- stance in his case ; but he was young and brave, he had fought against the infidels, and the people w T ho knew not of his secret treasons could not see him suffer without pity and regret. 5 Soulis, who, with a retinue of three hundred and sixty esquires, had been seized at Berwick, was imprisoned in Dumbarton, where he soon after died; and Maxwell, Berklay, Graham, Troupe, and Rattray, were tried and acquitted. The parliament in which these trials and condemnations took place was held at Scone in the beginning of August 1320, and long remembered in Scot- land under the name of the Black Parliament. 6 3 Barbour, p. 380, 1. 385. 4 Rymer, Foedera, vol. iii. p. 311. Retuli Scotia?, 5 Edw. II. m. 3. Ibid. 8 Eclw. II. m. 7, dorso. « Barbour, pp. 381, 382. <* Hailes, trusting perhaps to Bower in hia additions to Fordun, p. 174, who was ignorant 1321-2.] ROBERT A brief gleam of success now cheered the prospects of Edward, and encou- raged him to continue the war with Scotland. The Earl of Lancaster, who, along with the Earl of Hereford and other English barons, had entered into a treaty of alliance with Bruce, and concerted an invasion of England, to be conducted by the King of Scotland in person, 1 was defeated and taken prisoner by Sir Andrew Hartcla and Sir Simon Ward, near Pontefract ; his army was totally routed, and he him- self soon after executed for treason. In the battle the Earl of Hereford was slain, others of the discontented nobility shared the fate of Lancaster, and the dangerous faction which had for so many years been a thorn in the side of the king was entirely broken and put down. Exulting at this suc- cess, Edward determined to collect an army which should at once enable him to put an end to the war, and in a tone of premature triumph wrote to the Pope, " requesting him to give himself no further trouble about a truce with the Scots, as he had deter- mined to establish a peace by force of arms." 2 In furtherance of this reso- lution, he proceeded to issue his writs for the attendance of his military vas- sals ; but so ill were these obeyed, that four months were lost before the force assembled; and in this interval the Scots, with their usual strength and fury, broke into England, led by the king in person, wasted with fire and sword the six northern counties, which had scarcely drawn breath from a visi- tation of the same kind by Randolph, and returned to Scotland, loaded with booty, consisting of herds of sheep and oxen, quantities of gold and silver, ecclesiastical plate and ornaments, of Brechin's connexion with Edward, laments over Brechin, and creates an impression in the readers mind that Bruce was unneces- sarily rigorous, and might have pardoned him ; yet, it seems to me, his case, instead of being favourable, was peculiarly aggravated. Bruce's generous nature had passed over manifold attempts by Brechin against the liberty of his country: in the conspiracy of Soulis, any extension of mercy would have been weak, if not criminal. 1 Foedera, vol iii. pp. 938, 939. 2 Kyiner, Feeders^ vol. iii. p. 944. BRUCE. 143 jewels, and table equipage, which they piled in waggons, and drove off at their pleasure. 3 Meanwhile Edward conti- nued his preparations, which, although dilatory, were on a great scale. 4 A supply of lancemen and cross-bowmen was demanded from his foreign sub- jects of Aquitaine, along with a due proportion of wheat and a thousand tuns of wine for the use of his army ; every village and hamlet in England was commanded to furnish one foot- soldier fully armed, and the larger towns and cities were taxed propor- tionally to their size and importance. A parliament held at York, in the end of July, granted large subsidies from the nobles and the clergy, the cities, towns, and burghs ; a fleet of transports, with provisions, was sent round to enter the Forth ; and an offensive squadron, under the command of Sir John Ley- bourn, was fitted out for the attack of the west coast and the islands. All things being ready, Edward invaded Scotland at the head of an army of a hundred thousand men ; 5 but the re- sult of the expedition was lamentably disproportionate to the magnitude of his promises and his preparations ; and manifested, in a striking manner, the superior talents and policy of Bruce. No longer bound, as at Bannockburn, by the rash engagement of his brother to risk his kingdom upon the fate of a battle, which he must have fought with a greatly disproportionate force, the king determined to make the numbers of the English army the cause of their ruin; to starve them in an enemy's country, and then to fall upon them when, enfeebled by want, they could | offer little resistance. Accordingly, on advancing to Edinburgh, the English found themselves marching through a desert, where neither enemy could be seen, nor provisions of any kind col- lected. The cattle and the sheep, the stores of corn and victuals, and the valuable effects of every kind, through- out the districts of the Merse, Teviot- 3 Knighton, p. 2542. Hume's History o! House of Douglas and Angus, vol. i. p. 72. * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. iii. pp. 930, 952, 955, 962. « In the month of August 1322. 1U HISTORY OF dale, and the Lothians, had entirely- disappeared; the warlike population, which were expected to debate the advance of the army, had retired under the command of the King of Scotland to Culross, on the north side of the Firth of Forth; and Edward having in vain waited for supplies by his fleet, which contrary winds prevented entering the Firth, was compelled by famine to give orders for a retreat. 1 The moment the English began their march homewards, the Scots com- menced the fatal partisan warfare in which Douglas and Randolph were such adepts; hung upon their rear, cut off the stragglers, and were ready to improve every advantage. An advanced party of three hundred strong were put to the sword by Douglas at Melrose ; but the main army, coming up, plundered and de- stroyed this ancient monastery, spoiled the high altar of its holiest vessels, sac- rilegiously casting out the consecrated host, and cruelly murdering the prior, and some feeble monks, who, from affection or bodily infirmity, had re- fused to fly. 2 Turning off by Dryburgh, the disappointed invaders left this monastery in flames, and hastening through Teviotdale, were overjoyed once more to find themselves sur- rounded by the plenty and comfort of their own country. Yet here a new calamity awaited them; for the scarcity and famine of an unsuccessful invasion induced the soldiers to give themselves up to unlimited indulgence ; and they were soon attacked by a mortal dysen- tery, which rapidly carried off immense numbers, and put a finishing stroke to this unhappy expedition, by the loss of sixteen thousand men. 3 But Edward was destined to expe- rience still more unhappy reverses. Having collected the scattered remains of his army, and strengthened it by fresh levies, he encamped at Biland Abbey, near Malton, in Yorkshire ; and when there, was met by the in- telligence that King Robert, having 1 Barbour, p. 370. 2 Fordun a Hearne, p. 1011. 3 Knighton, p. 2542. Barbour, pp. 373, 374. Fordun a Hearne, p. 1012. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV sat down before Norham castle with a powerful force, after some time fruit- lessly spent in the siege, had been compelled to retire. Scarce, however, had this good news arrived, when the advanced parties of the Scottish army were descried; and the English had only time to secure a strong position on the ridge of a hill, before the king was seen marching through the plain with his whole forces, and it became manifest that he meant to attack the English. This, however, from the na- ture of the ground, was no easy mat- ter. Their soldiers were drawn up along the ridge of a rugged and steep declivity, assailable only by a single narrow pass, which led to Biland Ab- bey. This pass Sir James Douglas, with a chosen body of men, undertook to force ; and as he advanced his ban- ner, and the pennons of his knights and squires were marshalling and wav- ing round him, Randolph, his friend and brother-in-arms, with four squires, came up, and joined the enterprise as a volunteer. The Scottish soldiers attacked the enemy with the utmost resolution, but they were received with equal bravery by Sir Thomas Ughtred 4 and Sir Ralph Cobham, who fought in advance of the column which defended the pass, and encouraged their men to a desperate resistance. Mean- while, stones and other missiles were poured down upon the Scots from the high ground ; and this double attack, with the narrowness of the pass, caused the battle to be exceeding obstinate and bloody. Bruce, whose eye intently watched every circumstance, deter- mined now to repeat the manoeuvre, by which, many years before, he en- tirely defeated the army of the Lord of Lorn, when it occupied ground similar to the present position of the English. He commanded the men of Argyle and the Isles to climb the * Ker, in his History of Bruce, vol. ii. p. 284, following Pinkerton, makes the name Enchter. The reading in Barbour, as restored by Dr Jamieson, is Thomas Ochtre. It is evidently the same name, and in all proba- bility the same person, as Thomas de Uchtred, mentioned in vol. iii. p. 963, of the Foed.era. as the keeper of the castle and honour of Pickering, and described as being of the county of York. 1322-3,] ROBERT rocky ridge, at some distance from the pass, and to attack and turn the flank of the force which held the summit. These orders the mountaineers, trained in their own country to this species of warfare, found no difficulty in obey- ing j 1 and the enemy were driven from the heights with great slaughter, whilst Douglas and Randolph carried the pass, and made way for the main body of the Scottish army. So rapid had been the succession of these events, that the English king, confident in the strength of his position, could scarcely trust his eyes when he saw his army entirely routed, and fly- ing in all directions; himself compelled to abandon his camp, equipage, bag- gage, and treasure, and to consult his safety by a precipitate flight, pursued by the young Steward of Scotland at the head of five hundred horse. It was with difficulty he escaped to Bridlington, having lost the privy seal in the confusion of the day. 2 This was the second time during this weak and inglorious reign that the privy seal of England had been lost amid the precipitancy of the king's flight from the face of his enemies. First, in the disastrous flight from Bannock- burn, and now in the equally rapid decampment from the Abbey of Bi- land. 3 In this battle John of Bretagne, earl of Richmond, Henry de Sully, grand butler of France, and many other prisoners of note, fell into the hands of the enemy. Richmond was treated by the king with unusual severity, commanded into strict confinement, and only liberated after a long cap- tivity, and at the expense of an enor- mous ransom. The cause of this is said to have been the terms of slight and opprobrium with which he had been heard to express himself against Bruce. 4 To Sully and other French knights, who had been taken at the same time, the king demeaned himself with that chivalrous and polished courtesy for which he was so distin- guished ; assuring them that he was 1 Barbour, p. 376. 2 Rymer, Fcedera,. vol. iii. p. 977. 3 Leland, Collect, vol. i. p. 250. * Barbour, p. 378. vol. r. BRUCE. 145 well aware they had been present in the battle, not from personal enmity to him, but from the honourable am- bition that good knights, in a strange land, must ever have, to shew their prowess ; wherefore he entreated them, as well for their own sake as out of compliment to his friend, the King of France, to remain at head-quarters. They did so accordingly; and after some time, on setting out for France, were dismissed, not only free of ran- som, but enriched with presents. 5 After this decisive defeat, the Scots plundered the whole country to the north of the Humber, and extended their ravages to Beverley, laying waste the East Riding with fire and sword, and levying from the towns and mo- nasteries, which were rich enough to pay for their escape from plunder, large sums of redemption money* The clergy and inhabitants of Beverley purchased their safety at the rate of four hundred pounds, being six thou- sand pounds of our present money. Loaded with booty, driving large herds of cattle before them, and rich in mul- titudes of captives, both of low and high degree, the Scottish army at- length returned to their own country. 7 The councils of the King of England continued after this to be weakened by dissension and treachery amongst his nobility. Hartcla, who, for his good service in the destruction of the Lancastrian faction, had been created Earl of Carlisle, soon after, imitating the example of Lancaster, entered into a correspondence with Bruce, 8 and organised an. extensive confederacy « Barbour, p. 379. • Ker's Bruce, vol. ii. p. 287. 7 Dr Lingard, (vol. iii. p. 442,) following the authority of John de Trokelowe, p. 64, haa represented the battle of Biland Abbey as a skirmish, in which, after Edward had dis- banded his army, Bruce surprised the English king, and the knights and suite who were with him. It appears to me that the accounts of Barbour, Fordun, and of Lord Hailes lead to a very different conclusion. In Dr Lingard*s narrative, the determined resistance made by the English army, the storming of their en- campment, the strong ground in which it was placed, and, indeed, the circumstance that there was an army at all with the king, is omitted. » Letend, Collect, vol. i. p. 466. K 146 amongst the northern barons, which had for its object, not only to conclude a truce with the Scots, independent of any communication with the king, but to maintain Eobert Bruce and his heirs in the right and possession of the entire kingdom of Scotland! On the dis- covery of the plot, he suffered the death of a traitor, after being degraded from his new honours, and having his and Thomas Seton, a comely and noble-looking youth, was : hanged before the gate of the town^ J so near, it is said, that the unhappy father could witness the execution from the walls. 3 Immediately after this, the citizens became alarmed for the lives of the rest of the hostages, 1 Scala Chron. pp. 163, 16-1 2 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1022. * See Illustrations, letters EE. 171 and from affection for their children, renewed the negotiations for surren- der, unless succoured before a certain day. To this resolution Keith, their governor, encouraged them, by holding out the sure hope of the siege being raised by the Scottish army, which he represented as superior to that of Ehg- land. 4 Unhappily they embraced his advice. It was stipulated, in a solemn instrument yet preserved, and with a minuteness which should leave no room for a second misunderstanding, that Berwick was to be given up to the English, unless the Scots, before or on the 19th of July, should succeed in throwing two hundred men-at-arms. into the town by dry land, or should overcome the English army in a pitched field. 5 Keith, the governor of the town, was permitted, by the treaty of capi- tulation, to have an interview with the regent, Archibald Douglas. He repre- sented the desperate situation of the citizens ; magnified the importance of the town, which must be lost, he said, unless immediately relieved ; and per- suaded the regent to risk a battle. The resolution was the most imprudent that could have been adopted. It was contrary to the dying injunctions of Bruce, who had recommended his cap- tains never to hazard a battle if they could protract the war and lay waste- the country ; and especially so at this moment, as desertion and mutiny now began to shew themselves in the Eng- lish army, which all the endeavours of Edward had not been able to suppress.** Notice, too, had reached the camp, 4 Scala Chron. in Hailes, pp. 163, 164. Art Murimuth, p. 80. Hailes says, and quotes Fordun, book xiii. chap, xxvii. as his autho- rity, that during a general assault the town was set on fire, and in a great measure con- sumed ; and that the inhabitants, dreading a storm, implored Sir William Keith and the Earl of March to seek terms of capitulation. Neither Fordun, nor his continuator, Bower, nor Winton, say anything of the town having been set on fire. The English historians, Walsingham and Hemingford, indeed assert it ; but it is not to be found in the narrative of the Scala Chronicle, which appears to be the- most authentic ; I have therefore omitted it. 5 Fcedera, vol. iv. pp. 566, 567. 6 Rotuli Scot. 7 Ed. III. m. 26, dorso, vol* i. p. 235, 172 HISTORY ( of illegal meetings and confederations having taken place in London during the king's absence, and the people of the northern shires had peremptorily refused to join the army ; so that there was every probability that it must soon have been disbanded. 1 It was in expectation of this result, Seton, the former governor, had de- termined to hold out the town to the last extremity, and sternly refused to capitulate, although the life of his son hung upon the issue. But his resolu- tion was counteracted by the rashness of Keith, the new governor of the town, as well as by the excusable affection of the citizens for their sons, who were hostages. The regent suf- fered himself to be overruled ; and on the day before the festival of the Virgin, being the 18th of July, the Scottish army crossed the Tweed, and encamped at a place called Dunsepark. Upon this, Edward Baliol and the King of England drew up their forces on the eminence of Halidon Hill, situated to the west of the town of Berwick. Nothing could be more advantageous than the position of the English. They were divided into four great battles, each of which was flanked by choice bodies of archers. A marsh separated the hill on which they stood from the opposite emi- nence, and on this rising ground the Scottish commanders halted and ar- ranged their army. 2 It consisted also of four divisions, led respectively by the regent Douglas; the Steward of Scotland, then a youth of seventeen, under the direction of his uncle, Sir James Stewart; the Earl of Moray, son of Randolph, assisted by two veteran leaders of approved valour, James and Simon Fraser ; and the Earl of Ross. The nature of the ground rendered it impossible for the English position to be attacked by 1 Rotuli Scotias. vol. i. pp. 234, 244. 2 I take this from an interesting and curi- ous manuscript preserved in the British Museum, Bib. Harleiana, No. 4690, of which L find a transcript by Macpherson, the editor of Winton, and an accurate investigator into .Scottish history, in his Mrf. Notes on Lord Ilailes' Annals. As it has never been printed, I have given it in the Illustrations, letters FF. Winton, vol. ii. p. 169. F SCOTLAND. |_Cha.p. V. cavalry. Their adversaries accordingly fought on foot, and the leaders and heavy-armed knights having dis- mounted, delivered their horses to be kept by the camp-boys in the rear. Before reaching their enemy, it was necessary for the Scottish army to march through the soft and unequal ground of the marsh ; an enterprise which required much time, and was full of danger, as it inevitably exposed the whole host to the discharge of the English archers, the fatal effects of which they had experienced in many a bloody field. Yet, contrary to the advice of the elder officers, who had been trained under Bruce and Ran- dolph, this desperate attempt was made ; and the Scots, with their characteristic impetuosity, eagerly advanced through the marsh. The consequence was what might have been expected : their ranks, crowded together, soon fell into confusion; their advance was retarded ; and the English archers, who had time for a steady aim, plied their bows with such deadly effect, that great numbers were every instant slain or disabled. An ancient manuscript says that the arrows flew as thick as motes in the sunbeam, and that their enemies fell to the ground by thousands. 3 It could not indeed be otherwise; for from the nature of the ground it was impossible to come to close fighting ; and having no archers, they were slaughtered without resistance — the English remaining in the meantime uninjured, with their trumpets and nakers sounding amid the groans of their dying opponents. Upon this dreadful carnage many of the Scots began to fly ; but the better part of the army, led on by the nobility, at last extricated themselves from the marsh, and pressing up the hill, attacked the enemy with great fury. It was difficult, however, for men, breathless by climbing the ac- clivity, and dispirited by the loss sustained in the marsh, to contend against fresh troops admirably posted, and under excellent discipline ; so s MS. Harleian, Illustrations, letters GG Ad Murimuth, p. 80. 1333-4.] DAV that, although they for a little time fiercely sustained the battle, their efforts being unconnected, the day, in spite of all their exertions, went against them. The Earl of Ross, in leading the reserve to attack the wing where Baliol commanded, was driven back and slain. Soon after, the Regent Douglas was mortally wounded and made prisoner. The Earls of Lennox, Athole, Carrick, and Sutherland, along with James and Simon Fraser, were struck down and killed; while the English, advancing in firm array with their long spears, entirely broke and drove off the field the remains of the Scottish army. In the pursuit which succeeded, the carnage was great. Besides the nobles and barons already mentioned, John Stewart and James Stewart, uncles of the Steward of .Scotland, were mortally wounded, iMalise, earl of Strathern, John* de Graham, Alexander de Lindesay, and other barons, were also slain; and with them fell, on the lowest calcula- tion, fourteen thousand men. Such was the disastrous defeat of the Scots at Halidon Hill. 1 The battle was fought on the 20th day of July, and the English monarch immediately addressed letters to the archbishops find bishops of his dominions, directing 2vhem to return thanks to God for so signal a victory. 2 In the conflicting accounts of the various annalists, the exact number of the two armies, and the extent of the 1 Winton, vol. ii. p. 170. Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1021. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 311. 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 166, says the Scots had an army fully sixty thousand strong. It is observed by Edward, in his letters ordaining a public thanksgiving, that the victory was obtained without great loss upon his "side; an expression proving the inaccuracy of the assertion of the English historians, that of their army only thirteen foot soldiers, with one knight and one esquire, were slain. Nor is it unworthy of remark that the king makes no allusion to any inferiority of force upon the English side ; which, had such been the case, he could scarcely have failed to do, if we consider the subject of his letter. When the English historians inform us that the Scots were five times more numerous than their opponents, we must consider it as exag- geration. D II. 173 loss on either side, cannot be easily ascertained. It seems probable that nearly the whole of the men-at-arms in the Scottish ranks were put to the sword either in the battle or in the pursuit; and that of the confused multitude which escaped, the greater part were pages, sutlers, and camp followers. So great was the slaughter of the nobility, that, after the battle, it was currently said amongst the English that the Scottish wars were at last ended, since not a man was left of that nation who had either skill or power to assemble an army or direct- its operations. 3 The consequences of the battle of Halidon were the immediate delivery of the town and castle of Berwick into the hands of the English, and the subsequent submission of almost the whole kingdom to Baliol, who tra- versed it with an army which found no enemy to oppose it. 4 Five strong castles, however, still remained in possession of the adherents of David, and these eventually served as so many rallying points to the friends of , liberty. These fortresses were Dum- barton, which was held by Malcolm Fleming ; Urquhart, in Inverness- j shire, commanded by Thomas Lauder ; Lochleven, by Alan de Vipont ; Kil- drummie, by Christian Bruce, the sister of Robert the First ; and Loch- maben, by Patrick de Chartres. 5 A stronghold in Lochdon, on the borders of Carrick, was also retained for David Bruce by John Thomson, a brave soldier of fortune, and probably the same person who, after the fatal battle of Dundalk, led home from Ireland the broken remains of the army of King Edward Bruce. 6 Patrick, earl of March, who had long been suspected of a secret leaning to the English, now made , his peace with them, and swore fealty to Ed- ward, and along with him many per- sons of rank and authority were com- pelled to pay a temporary homage; but the measures which this monarch * Murimuth. p. 81. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 311. 5 Rotuli Scotia?, 8 Ed. HL vol. i. p. 274. c Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 311. J 74 adopted on making himself master of Berwick were little calculated to con- ciliate the minds of those whom he somewhat prematurely considered as a conquered people. He seized and forfeited the estates of all the barons in the county of Berwick who held their property by charter from King Robert ; in giving leases of houses within the town, or of lands within the shire, he prohibited his tenants and vassals from subleasing them to any except Englishmen ; 1 he directed the warden of the town to transport into England all the Scottish monks whom he suspected of instilling rebel- lious principles into their countrymen, to be there dispersed amongst the monasteries of their respective orders on the south side of the Trent; and he commanded the chiefs of the dif- ferent monastic orders in that country to depute to Scotland some of their most talented brethren, who were capable of preaching pacific and salu- tary doctrines to the people, and of turning their hostility into friendship. Orders were also transmitted to the magistrates of London and other prin- cipal towns in the kingdom, directing them to invite merchants and traders to settle in Berwick, under promise of ample privileges and immunities ; and, in the anticipation that these measures might still be inadequate to keep down the spirit of resistance, he emptied the prisons throughout his dominions of several thousands of criminals con- demned for murder and other heinous offences, and presented them with a free pardon, on the condition of their serving him in his Scottish wars. 2 Baliol having thus possessed himself of the crown by foreign assistance, seemed determined to complete the humiliation of his country. An as- sembly of his party was held at Edin- burgh on the 10th of February. Lord Geoffrey Scrope, High Justiciar of England, attended as commissioner from Edward, along with Sir Edward Bohun, Lord William Montague, Sir Henry Percy, and Ralph Neville, HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. seneschal of England, As was to be expected, everything was managed by English influence. Lord Henry Beau- mont, the Earl of Athole, and Lord Richard Talbot, were rewarded .with the extensive possessions of the Oo- myns in Buchan and Badenoch. The vale of Annandale and Moffatdale, with the fortress of Lochmaben, were bestowed upon Lord Henry Percy; and the Earl of Surrey, Ralph Lord Neville, of Raby, Lord John Mow- bray, and Sir Edward Bohun, were remunerated for their labours in the Scottish war by grants of the estates of those who had fallen at Halidon, or who were forfeited for their adherence to David Bruce. To his royal patron more extensive sacrifices were due. Not only was the town, castle, and extensive county of Berwick surren- dered to the King of England, but the forests of Jedburgh, Selkirk, and Ettiick, the wealthy counties of Rox- burgh, Peebles, Dumfries, and Edin- burgh ; the constabularies of Linlith- gow and Haddington, with the towns and castles situated within these ex- tensive districts, were, by a solemn instrument, annexed for ever to the kingdom of England. 3 To complete the dismemberment of the kingdom, there was only wanting a surrender of the national liberties. Baliol accordingly appeared before Edward at Newcastle, acknowledged him for his liege lord, and swore fealty for the kingdom of Scotland and the Isles. Edward, thus rendered master of the fairest and most populous part of Scotland, hastened to send English governors to his new dominions; 4 while the friends of the young king once more retired into the mountains and fastnesses, and waited for a favour- able opportunity or rising against their oppressors. Nor was it long ere an occasion presented itself. Dissen- sions broke out amongst those English barons to whose valour Baliol owed his restoration ; and a petty family quarrel gave rise to an important counter-revolution. 1 Rotuli Scotise, 8 Ed. III. vol. i. pp. 272, 5 Rymer, Foedera, vol. iv. pp. 614, 616. 275. i Rotnli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 261, 262. 2 Ibid. 7 Ed. III. vol. i. p. 254 I 4 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 263. 1334.] The brother of Alexander de Mow- bray died, leaving daughters; but no male heirs ; upon which Mowbray claimed the estate, in exclusion of the heirs-female, and, by a deeision of Baliol, was put in possession : 1 an award the more extraordinary as it went to destroy his own title to the crown. The cause of the disinherited daughters was warmly espoused by Henry de Beaumont, Richard Talbot, and the Earl of Athole, all of them connected by marriage with the power- ful family of the Comyns; and, upon the denial of their suit by Baliol, these fierce barons retired in disgust from court. Beaumont, taking the law into his own hands, retreated to his strong castle of Dundarg in Buchan, and seized a large portion of the disputed lands w T hich lay in that earldom. Athole removed to his strongholds in the country of Athole ; and Talbot, who had married the daughter of the Bed Comyn slain by Bruce, 2 >collected his vassals and prepared for war. Encouraged by this disunion amongst their enemies, the old friends of the dynasty of Bruce began again to reap- pear from their concealment; and, at this favourable conjuncture, Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell 3 was released from his captivity, and returned to Scotland. At the same time some Scottish ships of war, assisted by a fleet of their allies laden with provisions and arms, and well manned with soldiers, hov- ered on the coast, and threatened to intercept the English vessels which had been sent by Edward with supplies for his adherents. 4 Baliol, in the meantime irresolute and alarmed, re- treated to Berwick, and reversed his decision in favour of Mowbray. But this step came too late to conciliate Beaumont, and it entirely alienated Mowbray, who, eager to embrace any method of humbling his rivals, went over with his friends and vassals to 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 312. Winton, vol ii. p. 175. 2 Macpherson's Notes on Winton, vol. ii. pp. 506, 509. Scala Chron. p. 165. s Erroneously called bv Maitland, vol. i. p. 520, the Earl of Bothwell. * Rotuli Scot vol. i p. 279. 20th Sept. 1334. DAVID II. 175 the party of David Bruce, and cordi- ally co-operated with Moray, the late regent. And now the kingdom which Ed- ward so lately believed his own, on the first gleam of returning hope, was up in arms, and ready again to become the theatre of mortal debate. Talbot, in an attempt to pass with a body of soldiers into England, was attacked and taken prisoner by Sir William K eith of Galston ; six of the knights who accompanied him, and many of his armed vassals, being put to the sword. 5 He was instantly shut up in the strong fortress of Dumbarton ; and one of their most powerful oppo- nents being disposed of, Moray and Mowbray hastened to besiege Beau- mont in the castle of Dundarg. This, however, was no easy enterprise. Situated on a precipitous rock over- hanging the Moray Firth, the strong retreat which the English baron had chosen was connected with the main- land by a neck of land so narrow, that a few resolute men could defend it against a multitude. To attempt to storm it would have been certain de- feat ; and Moray chose rather, by a strict blockade, to compel a surrender. An unexpected circumstance accele- rated his success. Having discovered the situation of the pipes which sup- plied the garrison with water, he mined the ground, cut them through, and reduced the besieged to extre- mity. Beaumont capitulated, and,upou payment of a high ransom, was per- mitted to retire into England. 6 Amongst the numerous confiscations which followed his brief possession of power, Baliol had conferred the exten- sive possessions of Robert, the Steward of Scotland, upon the Earl of Athole ; while this young baron, stript of his lands, and compelled to be a wanderer, had lain concealed in Bute since the defeat at Halidon Hill, and escaped the search of his enemies. With a prudence and determination superior 5 Walsingham, p. 134. Leland, Collect, vol. i. p. 554. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 325. 6 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 312. Stat. Acc. of Scotland, vol. xii. p. 578. 176 HISTORY OF to his years, he now organised a plan for escaping to the castle of Dumbar- ton, in which he happily succeeded. Two old vassals of the family, named Gibson and Heriot, brought a boat to Rothesay late in the evening, and the Steward, accompanied only by a cham- ber-boy and two servants, threw himself into it, and rowed that night to Over- tunnock, from which they crossed to Dumbarton, where they were joyfully welcomed by Malcolm Fleming, the governor. 1 Here he did not long re- main inactive ; but assembling his scat- tered vassals, with the assistance of Co- lin Campbell of Lochow, attacked and stormed the castle of Dunoon in Cowal. The news of this success soon flew to Bute; and there the hereditary vassals of the young patriot instantly rose upon the English governor, Alan de Lyle, put him to death, and pro- ceeded, carrying his head in savage triumph along with them, to join their master. The castle of Bute soon after fell into the hands of the insurgents. 2 The country of Annandale, as we have already stated, was presented by Baliol to Henry Percy ; but its moun- tains and fastnesses had given refuge to many brave men who obstinately refused to submit to the English king. On the first intelligence that the Stew- ard had displayed open banner against the English, these fugitives, says an ancient historian, came suddenly, like a swarm of hornets, from the rocks and woods, and warred against the common enemy. The chief amongst them was William de Carruthers, who, since the success of Baliol, had pre- ferred a life of extremity and hardship, as a fugitive in the woods, to the igno- miny of acknowledging a yoke he de- tested. He now left his strongholds, and with a considerable force united 1 Winton, vol. ii. p. 178. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 313. 2 Winton calls the vassals of the young Steward "The Brandanys of Bute;" and in describing the battle in which Lyle was slain, tells us they overwhelmed him with showers of stones, hence " Amang the Brandanis all The Batayle Dormang they it call." "The battle Dormang is evidently," Mac- pherson remarks, u a corruption of the Batail SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. himself to the Steward/ 5 Thomas Bruce, with the men of Kyle, next joined the confederacy ; and soon after Randolph, earl of Moray, who had escaped to France after the defeat at Halidon Hill, returned to his native country, and, with the hereditary val- our of his house, began instantly to act against the English. Strengthened by such accessions, the Steward in a short time reduced the lower division of Clydesdale ; compelled the English governor of Ayr to acknowledge King David Bruce ; and expelled the adhe- rents of Baliol and Edward from the districts of Renfrew, Carrick, and Cun- ningham. The Scottish nobles of his party now assembled, and preferred thia young patriot and the Earl of Moray to the office of joint regents under their exiled king. The choice was in every respect judicious. The Steward, although now only in his nineteenth year, had early shewn great talents for war ; he was the grandson of Robert the First, and had been already de- clared by parliament the next heir to the crown : Moray, on the other hand, was the son of the great Randolph; so that the names of the new gover- nors were associated with the most heroic period of Scottish history : a circumstance of no trivial importance at a period when the liberties of the country were threatened with an utter overthrow. About the same time, the friends of liberty were cheered by the arrival of a large vessel laden with arms, besides wines and merchandise, in the port of Dumbarton; a circum- stance which Edward considered of so much importance, that he directed his writs to the magistrates of Bristol and Liverpool, commanding them to fit out some ships of war to intercept her on her return. 4 The first enterprise of the regents was against the Earl of Athole, who now lorded it over the hereditary estates of the Steward, and whose im- nan dornaig ;" Dorneag being around stone : a proof that, in Bute, the Gaelic was then the common language. Winton, vol. ii, p. 186. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 316. s Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 316 * ftotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 320 DAVID II. 177 mense possessions, both ill Scotland and England, rendered him the most formidable of their enemies. 1 Moray, by a rapid march into the north, at- tacked the earl before he had time to assemble any considerable force, drove him into the wild district of Locha- ber, and compelled him to surrender. Thus, by the overthrow of Beaumont, Talbot, and Athole, the most power- ful branch in the confederacy of the disinherited barons was entirely de- stroyed ; and Baliol, once more a fugi- tive, passed into England, and implored the protection and assistance of Ed- ward. On being informed of the revolution in Scotland, this monarch, although it was now the middle of November, determined upon a winter campaign, and issued writs for the attendance of his military vassals. The expedition, however, proved so unpopular, that fifty-seven' of the barons who owed suit and service, absented themselves; 2 and, with an army enfeebled by deser- tion, Edward made his progress into Lothian, where, withoutmeetingan ene- my, if we except some obscure malefac- tors who were taken and executed, he ruled over a country which the Scots, following the advice of Bruce, aban- doned for the time to his undisturbed dominion. 3 Baliol, as usual, accom- panied Edward, and with a portion of hm army ravaged Avondale, and laid waste the districts of Carrick and Cun- ningham. The vassal king then passed to Renfrew, and affected a royal state in his Christmas festivities, distribut- ing lands and castles to his retainers, and committing the chief management of his affairs to William Bullock, a warlike ecclesiastic, whom he created chamberlain of Scotland, and governor of the important fortresses of St An- drews and Cupar. 4 Such castles as he . possessed were garrisoned with English soldiers; and John de Strivelin, with a large force, commenced the siege of Lochleven, which was then in the hands of the friends of David Bruce. 1 Douglas' Peerage, vol. i. p. 133. 2 Rotuli Scofciae, 8 Edxard III., voL I. p. 293. 3 Memingford, vol. ii. p. 277. * Winton, vol. 'X p. 177. VOL. I. From its insular situation this proved a matter of difficulty. A fort, however,\ was built in the churchyard of Kin- \> ross, on a neck of land nearest to the castle , ^nd from this point frequent boat attacks were made, in all of which the besiegers were repulsed. At last Alan Vipont, the Scottish governor, seizing the opportunity when Strivelin .was absent on a ruligious pilgrimage to .the shrine of St Margaret at Dun- fermline, attacked and carried the fort, put part of the English garrison to the sword, and raised the siege. He then returned to the castle with his boats laden with arblasts, bows, and other instruments of war, 5 besides other booty, and many prisoners. Encouraged by this success, and anxious to engage in a systematic plan of military operations, the Scottish regents summoned a parliament to meet at Dairsay. It was attended by Sir Andrew Moray, the Earl of Athole, the Knight of Liddesdale, lately re- turned from captivity, the Earl of March, who had embraced the party of David Bruce, and renounced his allegiance to Edward, Alexander de Mowbray, and other Scottish barons. But at a moment when unanimity was of infinite importance in the national councils, the ambition and overween- ing pride of Athole embroiled the de- liberations, and kindled animosities amongst the leaders. His motives cannot easily be discovered. It is probable that, as he became convinced that Baliol would never be suffered to reign in Scotland, his own claims to the crown became uppermost in his mind, and that he was induced to re- nounce the allegiance which he had sworn to Edward, in the hope that, if Baliol were set aside, he might have a chance, amid the confusions of war, to find his way to the throne. He ap- peared accordingly at the parliament, with a stato and train of attendants almost kingly ; and, having gained an ascendancy over the young Steward, * Winton, book viii. chap. xxix. vol. ii. p. i 183. I have rejected the story of the attempt t to drown the garrison by damming up the lake as physically improbable, and unnoticed by Winton. See MacpJaerson's Notes on Winton, *• p. 507. M 173 HISTORY OF treated Moray and Douglas with such haughtiness, that the assembly became disturbed by mutual animosities and heartburnings, and at length broke up in confusion. 1 Ambassadors soon after this arrived in England from Philip of France, earnestly recommending a cessation of hostilities between his ancient allies the Scots and the King of England ; but Edward, intent upon his scheme of conquest, although he consented to a short truce, continued his warlike preparations, and, despising all mediation, determined again to in- vade his enemies, and dictate the terms not of peace, but of absolute sub- mission. About midsummer, the English king, accompanied by Baliol, joined his army at Newcastle, having along with him the Earl of Juliers, with Henry, count of Montbellegarde, and a large band of foreign mercenaries. 2 Meanwhile his fleet, anticipating the movements of the land forces, entered the Firth of Forth ; and while Edward, with one part of his army, advanced by Carlisle into Scotland, Baliol, having along with him those English barons upon whom he' had bestowed estates, and assisted by a numerous body of Welsh soldiers, remarkable for their ferocious manners, proceeded from Berwick. But, notwithstanding the great pre- parations, the campaign was one of little interest. Having penetrated to Glasgow, the two kings united their forces, and advanced to Perth without meeting an enemy. By an order of the regents, the Scots drove their cattle and removed their good3 from the plain country to inaccessible fastnesses among the mountains, so that the English only wasted a country already deserted by its inhabitants. 3 They did not, however, entirely escape mo- lestation; for the Scottish barons, although too prudent to oppose them in a pitched field, hovered round their line of march, and more than once caught them at a disadvantage, sud- denly assaulting them from some con- i Fordun a Goodal, book xiii. chape xxiv. ?ol. ii. p. 317. - Leland, Collect, vol. i. p. 555. * Fordun a Hearne, voL iv. p. 1025. SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. cealed glen or ambush, and cutting off large bodies who had separated them- selves from the main army. In this way, a party of five hundred archers were attacked and cut to pieces by Moray the regent, and Sir William Douglas. 4 On another occasion, the Earls of March and Moray fell upon the Earl of Namur, as he was leading his band of foreign knights to join Edward at Perth. The two parties met on the Borough Muir; for the foreign troops, imagining that the country was wholly in possession of the English, had advanced fearlessly towards Edinburgh. The mercenaries, however, clad in complete steel, and strongly mounted, made a desperate defence ; nor was it till the appearance of the Knight of Liddesdale, with a reinforcement, that they found them- selves compelled to retreat into the town. Confined within the streets and lanes, the conflict now changed into a series of single combats ; and it is interesting to remark the warm spirit of chivalry which diffuses itself into the details of our ancient histo- rians, in their descriptions of this event. They dwell with much com- placency on a famous stroke made by Sir David de Annand, a Scottish knight, who, enraged by a wound from one of the mercenaries, raised himself in his stirrups, and wielding a pon- derous battle-axe with both hands, hewed down his opponent with such force, that the weapon cut sheer through man and horse, and was only arrested by the stone pavement, where the mark of the blow was shewn in the time of the historian. 5 The foreign soldiers were at last driven up the High Street to the castle. This for- tress had been dismantled, but Namur and his knights took their stand on the rock, and having killed their horses, piled their bodies into a mound, be- hind which they, for a while, kept the Scots in check. They were at last compelled to surrender; and Moray and Douglas treated their noble pris* oner, who was near kinsman to their * Knighton, p. 2567. * Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiae, folio 197, Fordun, vol. ii. p. S19. Scala Chron. p. 165. 1335.] DAV: ally the King of France, with much generosity. 1 He and his brother knights and soldiers were set at liberty without ransom, and their captors ac- companied them with an escort across the English border. But this act of courtesy cost Moray dear; for, on his return, his little party was attacked by the English, under William de Pressen, warden of Jedburgh Forest, and entirely routed. The regent was taken prisoner and instantly ironed, and shut up in the strong castle of Bamborough; Douglas, however, had the good fortune to escape a second captivity in England, but his brother James Douglas was slain. 2 From Perth, Edward and Baliol made a destructive progress through the north of Scotland ; and soon after the Earl of Cornwall, brother to the King of England, along with Sir An- thony Lucy, ravaged the western dis- trict of the kingdom, not even sparing the religious houses, but razing the churches to the ground, and burning along with them the unhappy wretches who had there taken sanctuary. After this he marched to Perth, and joined his forces to those of the king, who had returned from his northern expe- dition. 3 At this melancholy crisis, when, to use an expression of an ancient his- torian, none but children in their games dared to call David Bruce their king, 4 the Earl of Athole shewed his versatile and selfish character. The captivity of Moray the regent had de- livered him from a formidable oppo- nent, and his ambition now prompted him to aspire to the vacant office of regent, for the purpose, as was shewn by the result, of gratifying his rapa- city and his revenge. He accordingly informed Edward that he and his friends were willing to make their iinal submission ; and he despatched five deputies, who concluded a treaty at Perth, in which the English mon- arch agreed that " the Earl of Athole, ' Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1026. 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 194. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii p. 323. Scala Chron. pp. 165, 166. * Winton, vol. ii. p. 184. D II. 172 and all other Scottish barons who came under his peace, should receive a free pardon, and have their estates in Scotland secured." 5 By another article, the large English estates of this powerful baron were restored to him; and to give a colour of public zeal to an agreement essentially selfish, it was stipulated that the franchises of the Scottish Church, and the ancient laws of Scotland, should be preserved as they existed in the reign of Alexander the Third. 6 As the price of this pacification, Athole was im- mediately appointed governor in Scot- land under Baliol; Edward having repaired the fortifications of Perth, returned to England, and the new go- vernor, anxious to distinguish himself in the service of his master, began to slay or imprison the friends of Bruce, and to confiscate their estates, with a rapacity which filled the hearts of the people with an eager desire of ven- geance. 7 Nor was it long before this feeling was gratified. The handful of brave men, who still obstinately supported their independence, chose for their leader Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, in early life the pupil of Wallace, a soldier of great experience, and of undoubted integrity. This hardy vete- ran did not long remain inactive, and his first enterprise was eminently suc- cessful. It happened that within Kildrummie, a strong castle in the north, his wife, a noble matron, sistei of Robert Bruce, had taken refuge during the insolent administration of Athole, who, eager to make himself master of so valuable a captive, in- stantly attacked it. Moray hastily collected a small army, and burning with a resentment which was kindled by a sense both of public and private wrongs, flew to raise the siege : he was accompanied by the Knight of Liddes- dale and the Earl of March. Their troops encountered those of Athole in the Forest of Kilblene, and, after a 5 Knighton, p. 2566. This indemnity was declared not to extend to those who, by com- mon assent, should be hereafter excepted from it. 6 Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 387. * Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1024 180 short resistance, entirely dispersed them : At hole himself, with five knights who attended him. was slain in the wood. 1 He died young in years, but old in political intrigue and ambi- tion, and successively the friend of every party which promised him most personal advantage. Insolent and un- steady, he yet possessed, from his im- mense estates and noble birth., a great capacity of doing mischief : and not HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. V the restless desire, so often formed, and so constantly defeated, of com- pleting the subjugation of the country, the English monarch penetrated first to Perth, and afterwards into the more northern parts of the kingdom. His march was, as usual, marked br the utter destruction of the dis- tricts through which it lay. The counties of Aberdeen, Nairn, and In- verness, with their towns and villages. only his last agreement with Edward, were wasted by fire and sword ; but but the indiscriminate cruelty with which he was at that moment hunting down the few remaining friends of liberty, rendered his death, at this crisis, little less than a public benefit. It was followed by the election of Sir Andrew Moray to the regency of the kingdom, in a parliament held at Dun- fermline, 2 It might L.-.ve ';een evident to Ed- ward long before this that although it was easy for him to overrun Scotland, •and destroy the country by the im- mense military power which he pos- sessed, yet the nation itseif was further than ever from being subdued. The people were strong. in their love of liberty, and in their detestation of BalioL whom they now regarded with the bitterest feelings of contempt It was true, indeed, that many of their highest nobles, swayed by private am- bition, did not hesitate to sacrifice their patriotism to the lust of power ; yet, amongst the barons and gentry, there was a remnant left animated by better feelings, and kept up the spirit of resistance against the power of England. This was remarkably shewn in the history of the present period. The death of Athole was followed by the reappearance of Edward in Scotland, at the head of a formidable army, strengthened by the accession of the Anglicised Scottish barons and their numerous vassals. Alarmed at the declaration, now openly made by the French king, of his intention to assist his ancient allies, 3 and prompted by 1 Wimon. book viii. chap. xrxi. toI. iL p. 801. Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1027. 2 Fordun a Heanie. p. 1023. ' Rrm *t, toL ir. pp. 704-6. he in vain endeavoured to bring the regent. Sir Andrew Moray, to a battle.* Under the command of this leader, the Scots, intimately acquainted with the country, were ever near their enemy, and yet always invisible to- them ; and an anecdote of a masterly retreat, made during this northern campaign, has been preserved, which is characteristic of the cool discipline of Moray. On one occasion, word being brought to Edward that the regent was encamped in the wood of Stronkaltere, 5 he instantly marched against him. The intelligence was found to be true ; the English and Scottish outposts came in sight of each other, in a winding road leading through the wood, and after some skirmishing, the Scots fell back to in- form Moray of the near approach of the English army. The general was then at mass, and although the danger was imminent, none dared to interrupt him tiil the service was concluded. On being told that Edward and his army were at hand in the forest, he observed there was no need cf haste : and, when the squires brought him his horse, be- gan quietly to adjust its furniture^ and to see that the girths were tight and secure. When this was going on, the English every moment came nearer, and the Scottish knights around Moray shewed many signs of impatience. This, it may be imagined, was not lessened when one of the straps which braced his thigh armour snapt as he buckled it ; and the regent, turning to * Pordun a Hearne. p. 1028. 5 The exact position of this ancient wood cannot now be discovered- I conjecture it was in Perthshire, somewhere between Dan- 1335-8.] DAY an attendant, bade him bring a coffer from bis baggage, from which he took a skin of leather, and, sitting down leisurely on tha bank, cutoff abroad strip, with which he mended the frac- ture. He then returned the box to its place, mounted his horse, arrayed his men in close column, and com- menced his retreat in such order that the English did not think it safe to attack him ; and having at last gained a narrow defile, he disappeared from their view without losing a man. " I have heard," says Winton, "from knights who were then present, that in all their life they never found time to go so slow as when their old com- mander sat cutting his leather skin in the wood of Stronkaltere." 1 The widow of Athole was, soon after this, shut up by the army of Moray in the castle of Lochendorb : she was the daughter of Henry Beaumont, who, forgetful of the conditions under which he had obtained hi3 freedom at Dun- • darg, had accompanied Edward into Scotland, and she now earnestly im- plored the king and her father to have compassion on her infant and herself, and to raise the siege. It was an age in which the ordinary events of the day assumed a chivalrous and romantic character. A noble matron in sorrow for the slaughter of her husband, be- leaguered in a wild mountain fortress, and sending for succour to the King of England and his barons, is an inci- dent similar to what we look for in Amadis or Palmerin. The monarch obeyed the call, and hastened to her rescue. On his approach, the regent again retired into the woods and morasses ; and the king, having freed the countess from her threatened cap- tivity, wasted with fire and sword the rich province of Moray. Unable, how- ever, to dislodge the Scottish com- mander from his strengths, he was at last compelled to leave the country, with the conviction that every forest or mountain-hold which he passed afforded a shelter for his enemies, who would reappear the instant he retreated. He endeavoured, however, more effectually to overawe the spirit i Winton, vol. ii. pp. 204, 206. ID II. 181 of resistance, by having a powerful fleet in the Firth of Forth, and on the eastern and western coasts of the kingdom ; a and before he retired he repaired and garrisoned anew the most important fortresses in the kingdom. He then left a reinforcement of troops with his ar.my at Perth, intrusted the command to his brother, the Earl of Cornwall, and returned to England. On his departure, Sir Andrew Moray instantly appeared from his fastnesses. Sir William Douglas, the knight of Liddesdale, Sir "William Keith, and other patriot barons, assembled their vassals : and the castles of Dunnottar, Kinclevin, and Laurieston,were wrested from the English, after which, accord- ing to Bruce's old practice, they were broken up and dismantled. 3 Soon after, the regent made himself master of the tower of Falkland and the castle? of St Andrews, Leuchars, and Both* well, which he razed and destroyed. 4 A grievous famine, occasioned by the continued ravages of war, and the cessation of all regular agricultural labour, had for some time desolated Scotland ; and the regent, anxious to obtain subsistence for his army in the enemy's country, made various predatory expeditions into England. 5 On his return, he reduced the whole of the Lothians, and laid siege to the castle of Edinburgh. The lords marchers of England hastened with a strong body of troops to relieve it. They were encountered by William Douglas, the knight of Liddesdale, near Crichton castle, and, after much hard fighting, were compelled to retire across the Tweed. But Douglas was grievously wounded, and • his little army so crippled with the loss which 2 Fordun a G-oodal, vol. ii. pp. 313, 322. * Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1030. Leland, Coll. vol. i. p. 556. Winton, vol. ii. p. 214. * Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1031. It is stated by this historian that after this, Moray commenced the siege of Stirling ; but that the English monarch, advertised of thestfisasters, again flew to his army in Scotland ; while his wary antagonist, as was his custom, retired before a superior force, and awaited the return of Edward to his own dominions. This event, however, belongs, I suspect, to a later year. 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 324. Rotuli Scotia?, 2 Edward III., vol. i. p. 607. 182 HISTORY OP SCOTLAND. he sustained, that Moray deemed it expedient to abandon the siege. 1 During the whole of this obstinate war, the French king had never ceased to take a deep interest in the affairs of Ills allies. Before David had been compelled to take refuge in his king- dom, he had sent him a seasonable ^present of a thousand pounds. 2 By his earnest remonstrances he had suc- ceeded in procuring many truces in favour of the Scots ; and, as the breach between France and England gradually grew wider, the French ships had occa- sionally assisted the Scottish privateers in infesting the English coast, and had supplied them with stores, arms, and warlike engines. 3 Against these mari- time attacks, it was the policy of Ed- ward to arm the vessels of the petty sea-kings, who were lords of the nume- rous islands with which the western sea is studded; and for this purpose he had entered into an alliance with John of the Isles, 4 one of the most powerful of these island chiefs. But his efforts in the Scottish war began at length to. languish ; occupied with his schemes of continental ambition, he found himself unable to continue hostilities with his usual energy ; and, after four successive campaigns in Scotland, which he had conducted in person, at the head of armies in- finitely more numerous than any which could be brought against them, he had the mortification to discover that the final conquest of that country was as remote as ever. He now endeavoured to gain time, by amusing the Scots with the hopes of a general peace ; but the barons who led the opposition against England were well informed of the approaching rupture with France, and, aware that the oppor- tunity was favourable for the, entire 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 332. Scala Chron. p. 167. Leland's Coll. vol. i. p. 556. 2 Chamberlain Accounts, Compot. Came- rarii Scotia3, p. 253. Et de 56 lb. 13 sh. 4d. recept. de Dno Com. Moravie illis millelibris, concess. Dno nostro regi per regem Franciae ante adventum suam in Franciam. Ibid, p. 261. 8 Rotuli Scotite, vol. i. p. 513. * Rymer, Foedera. vol iv. p. 711. Rotuli Scotia?, 11 Edward III., p. 516. [Chap. V. expulsion of the English, they rejected all overtures for a pacification, and pushed on the war with vigour. The event shewed the wisdom of such conduct; for the English mon- arch had advanced too far in his- quarrel with Philip to withdraw, or even postpone his pretensions, and to the great joy of the Scots, war between the two countries was declared, by Edward making his public claim to the crown of France on the 7th of October 1337. 5 The Earls of Arundel, Salisbury, and Norfolk, with Edward Baliol, were now left in command of the army in Scotland; and on the failure of the negotiations for peace, Salisbury laid siege to the castle of Dunbar, a place of great importance, as the key to Scotland on the south-east border. 6 The Earl of March, to whom this fortress belonged, was not then on the spot ; but his wife, a daughter of the famous Randolph, earl of Moray, with the heroic spirit of her family, under- took the defence of the castle. 7 For five months, in the absence of her lord. Black Agnes of Dunbar, as she was called by the vulgar from her dark complexion, maintained an intrepid stand against the assault of the Eng- lish army, and with many fierce wit- ticisms derided them from the walls. When the stones from the engines of the besiegers struck upon the battle- ments, she directed one of her maidena to wipe off the dust with a white napkin, a species of female defiance which greatly annoyed the English soldiers. Perpetually on the ram- parts, or at the gate, she exposed her person in every situation of danger, directing the men at arms and the archers, and extorting even the praise of her enemies by her determined and warlike bearing. It happened that an arrow from one of the Scottish archers struck an English knight, who stood beside the Earl of Salisbury, through his surcoat, and, piercing the habergeon, or chained mail-coat, which 5 Rapin's Acta Rejria, voL i. p. 239. Hymen Foedera, vol. iv. p. 818. « Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p 325. i W.nton. vol. ii. p. 208. 1338.] DAVID II was below it, made its way through three plicatures of the acton which he wore next his body, and killed him on the spot. " There," cried Salisbury, " comes one of my lady's tire-pins : Agnes*s love-shafts go straight to the heart." At length the English, foiled in every assault, and finding that the strength of the walls defied the efforts of their battering engines, judged it necessary to convert the siege into a blockade. This had nearly succeeded. A fleet, amongst which were two large Genoese ships, entirely obstructed all communication by sea. ; and the garri- son began to suffer dreadfully from want of provisions, when Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie sailed at mid- night with a light vessel, from the Bass. Favoured by the darkness, he passed unobserved through the line of the enemy's fleet, and ran his ship, laden with provisions, and with forty stout soldiers on board, close under the wall of the castle. This last suc- cess deprived Arundel and Salisbury of their only hope of making them- selves masters of this important for- tress ; and, mortified by repeated fail- ure, they withdrew the army, and retired with the disgrace of having been foiled for five months, and at last entirely defeated, by a woman. 1 Edward now began to experience the distress which the expense of a double war, and the necessity of maintaining an army both in France and Scotland, necessarily entailed upon him. Ani- mated by the fiercest resentment, the Scots, under the guidance of such able Boldiers as the regent, the Knight of Liddesdale, and Ramsay of Dalhousie, were now strong enough to keep the open country, which they cleared of their enemies, compelling the English to confine themselves within the walls of their castles. Edinburgh, Perth, Stirling, Cupar, and Roxburgh were still in their hands, and the king com- manded large supplies of provisions to be levied upon his English subjects, and transported into Scotland; but this occasioned grievous discontent, and in 183 i Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1032. For- dun a Goortal, vol. ii. p. 325. MS. Extracta ex Chroniois Scotiaj, folio, p. 201. some cases the commissaries were attacked ajid plundered. 2 Nor even when the supplies were procured was it an easy matter to carry them to their destination ; for the enemy watched their opportunity, and be- came expert in cutting off convoys, and assaulting foraging parties ; so that the war, without any action of great consequence, was occupied by perpetual skirmishes, concluding with various success, but chiefly on the side of the Scots. Sir William Douglas, the knight of Liddesdale, whose bra- very procured him the title of the Flower of Chivalry, expelled the Eng- lish from Teviotdale ; overpowered and took prisoner Sir John Stirling, at the head of five hundred men-at-arms ; intercepted a convoy near Melrose as it proceeded to the castle of Hermitage, which he soon after reduced ; attacked and defeated Sir Roland de Vaux ; and routed Sir Laurence Abernethy, after a conflict repeatedly renewed, and ob- stinately contested. 3 Meanwhile, in the spirit of the age, these desperate encounters were some- times abandoned for the more pacific entertainments of jousts between the English and Scottish knights, the re- sult of which sometimes proved little less fatal than in the conflicts of actual war ; whilst to a modern reader they throw a strong light on the man- ners of the times. Henry de Lancas- ter, earl of Derby, with great courtesy, sent a herald to request the Knight of Liddesdale to run with him three courses ; but in the first Douglas was wounded by a splinter of his own lance in the hand, and compelled to give up the contest. The English earl then entreated Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie to hold a solemn jousting for three days at Berwick, twenty against twenty ; a proposition which was instantly accepted, but k turned out a sanguinary ' pastime. Two English knights were slain ; and Sir William Ramsay was struck through the bars of his aventaile by a spear, which penetrated so deep that 2 Rotuli Scotiae, 12 Ed. III., Oct. 12th, voL i. p. 546. See also pp. 438, 451. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 329. 184 HISTORY it was deemed certain he would expire the moment it was extracted. He was confessed, therefore, in his armour ; and as the knights crowded round, "So help me, Heaven," said Derby, who stood hard by, "I would desire to see no fairer sight than this brave baron thus shrived with his helmet on ; happy man should I be could I insure myself such an ending." Upon this, Sir Alexander Ramsay placed his foot upon his kinsman's helmet, and by main force pulled out the broken truncheon, when the wounded knight started on his feet, and declared he should soon ail nothing. He died, however, immediately in the lists. 1 " What stout hearts these men have ! " was Derby's observation ; and with this laconic remark the jousting con- cluded. On another occasion, Sir Pa- trick de Graham, a Scottish knight, having arrived from France, Lord Richard Talbot begged to have a joust with him, and was borne out of his 6addle and wounded, though not dangerously, through his habergeon. Graham was then invited to supper ; and in the midst of the feast an Eng- lish knight, turning to him, courteously asked him to run with him three courses. ' 'Sir knight," replied Gra- ham, "if you would joust with me, I advise you to rise early and confess, after which you will soon be delivered." This was said in mirth, but it proved true ; for in the first course, which took place next morning, Graham struck the English knight through the harness with a mortal wound, so that he died on the spot. 2 Such were the fierce pastimes of those days of danger and blood. On resuming the war, the tide of success still continued with the Scots, and Sir Alexander Ramsay rivalled the fame of the Knight of Liddesdale. At the head of a strong band of soldiers, he infested the rocky and wooded banks of the Esk ; and concealing him- self, his followers, and his booty, in the caves of Hawthornden, sallied ^■om their recesses, and carried his 1 Fordun a Qpodal, vol. i. p. 329. Winton, TOl. ii. pp. 220; 223. 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 224 OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. depredations to the English borders, cruelly ravaging the land, and leading away from the smoking hamlets and villages many bands of captives. In these expeditions his fame became so great that there was not a noble youth in the land who considered his military education complete unless he had served in the school of this brave captain. 3 On one occasion he was pursued and intercepted by the lords marchers in a plain near Werk Castle ; but Ramsay attacked and routed the enemy, took Lord Robert Manners prisoner, and put many to the sword. 4 A.bout this time Scotland lost one of its **biest supporters. Sir Andrew Moray, the regent, sinking uncler the weight of age, and worn out by the constant fatigues of war, retired to his castle at Avoch, in Ross, where he J soon after died ; upon which the High/ Steward was chosen sole governor of Scotland. Moray, in early life, had been chosen by Wallace as his partner} in command ; and his subsequent mili- tary career was not unworthy of that great leader. His character, as it is given by Winton, possesses the high merit of having been taken from the lips of those who had served under him, and knew him best. He was, says he, a lord of great bounty ; of sober and chaste life ; wise and upright in council ; liberal and generous ; devout and charitable ; stout, hardy, and of great courage. 5 He was endowed with that cool and somewhat stern and in- flexible character of mind which pecu- liarly fitted him to control the fierce temper of the feudal nobility at a period when the task was especially difficult ; and it may be added that, when the bravest, despairing for their country, had, by the sacrifice of its in- dependence, saved their estates, Moray scorned to follow such examples ; and, imitating his old master in arms, Wal- lace, appears never to have sworn fealty to any king of England. He was buried in the little chapel of Rose- martin ; but his body was afterwards raised and carried to Dunfermline, 3 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 333, 4 Ibid. Scala Chron. p. 168* 5 Winton, voi. ii. p. 217, I33MI.] 1>AV] where it now mingles witn the heroic dust of Bruce and Randolph. 1 The first act of the Steward was to despatch the Knight of Liddesdale upon a mission to the court of France to communicate with King Philip, and to procure assistance. He then assem- bled his army and commenced the siege of Perth, upon the fortifications of which the English, considering it a station of the first importance, had expended vast sums of money. Mean- while Baliol, universally hated by his countrymen, became an object of sus- picion to the English; and leaving Perth, in obedience to the orders of Edward, retired a pensioned dependant into England. Ughtred, a baron who had long served in the Scottish war, undertook its defence, and for ten weeks the town resisted every effort of the besiegers, so that the army of the Steward began to meditate a re- treat, when there suddenly appeared in the Tay five French ships of war. This squadron was commanded by Hugh Hautpile, a skilful naval officer, »nd had on board a strong party of men-at-arms, under the leading of Ar- nold Audineham, afterwards a niares- chal of France ; £ the Lord of Garen- cieres, who had formerly been engaged in the Scottish wars; and two esquires, Giles de la Huse, and J ohn de Bracy. Along with them came the Knight of Liddesdale ; and immediately, all idaiu of relinquishing the siege being aban- doned, hostilities recommenced by the French ships seizing the English vic- tualling vessels, and effectually cutting off every supply from the garrison. At this time William Bullock, Ba- nd's chancellor, who commanded in the castle of Cupar, which had baffled the attack of the late regent, betrayed his master, and joined the army be- fore Perth. This military ecclesiastic was one of those extraordinary indi- viduals whom the troubled times of civil disorder so frequently call out from the quiet path to w T hich more ordinary life would have confined i Fordim a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1032. - Froissartpar Buchon, vol. i. p. 211. Com- pot. Camerarii Scotia?, pp. 255, 277. Fordim a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 330. D II. 185 them. His talents for stato affairs and for political intrigue were great ; yet we are told by the historians of the time that his ability in these matters was exceeded by his uncommon genius for war ; and we cannot wonder that these qualities made him to be dreaded and courted by all parties. In addi- tion to this, he was ambitious, selfish, and fond of money : passions which could not be gratified if he continued attached to a falling cause. Accord- ingly, the arrival of the French auxi- liaries, the desertion of Scotland by Baliol, with the bribe of an ample grant of lands, 3 induced him to re- nounce the English alliance, and deliver up the castle where he commanded. He then joined the army besieging Perth, and his military experience was soon shewn by the success of the opera- tions which he directed. Although the Knight of Liddesdale was griev- ously wounded by a javelin, thrown from one of the springalds, and the two captains of the Scottish archers slain, yet Bullock insisted in continuing and pressing the siege ; 4 and the Earl of Ross, with a body of miners, having contrived to make a subterranean ex- cavation under the walls, drew off the water from the fosse surrounding the town, and rendered an assault more practicable. The minuteness of one of our ancient chronicles has preserved a striking circumstance which occurred during the siege. In the midst of the military operations the sun became suddenly eclipsed, and as the darkness gradually spread over all, the soldiers of both armies forgot their duties, and, sinking under the influence of super- stitious terror, gazed fearfully on the sky. 5 Bullock, however, unintimidated 8 It must have been ample, for Bullock re- nounced a considerable property conferred on him by Edward. See Rotuli Scotia?, 23th July, 13 Edw. III. vol. i. p. 571. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 330. Winton, vol. ii. p. 234. G Winton, vol. ii. p. 234. I find, by the re- sult of a computation, politely and kindly communicated to me by its distinguished author, Professor Henderson, that the eclipse took place on the 7th July, commencing at j twelve minutes after noon, the greatest ob- | servation being at twenty-eight minutes after one, when eleven one-third digits of the sun's i disc were eclipsed, leaving only two-thirds of 1S6 HISTORY OF by what was then considered an omen of wrath, gave orders for the tents to be struck and pitched nearer the town, previous to his attempt to storm ; but the English governor had now lost re- solution ; and, seeing his provisions; exhausted, his hope of supplies cut off, and his fosse dry and ready to be filled by the fagots of the besiegers, capitu- lated upon honourable terms. The soldiers of the garrison and the gover- nor Ughtred were instantly shipped for England, where his conduct be- came the subject of parliamentary in- quiry. 1 Thus master of Perth, the Steward, according to the wise policy of Bruce, cast down the fortifications, 2 and proceeded to the siege of Stirling. It is difficult to imagine a more lamentable picture than that presented by the utter desolation of Scotland at this period. The famine, which had been felt for some years, now raged in the land. Many had quitted their country in despair, and taken refuge in Flanders ; others, of the poorer sort, were driven into the woods, and, in the extremities of hunger, feeding upon the raw nuts and acorns which they gathered, were seized with dis- eases which carried them off in great agony. 3 The continued miseries of war reduced the district round Perth to the state of a desert, where there was neither house for man nor har- bour for cattle; and the wild deer coming down from the mountains, resumed possession of the desolate region, and ranged in herds within a short distance of the town. It is even said that some unhappy wretches were driven to such extremities of want and misery, as to prey upon human flesh ; and that a horrid being, vulgarly called Cristicleik, from the iron hook with which he seized his victims, took up his abode in the mountains, and, assisted by a feroci- ous female, with whom he lived, lay in ambush for the travellers who passed near his den, and methodically a digrit uneclipsed. The eclipse ended at farty-two minutes after two. I Foedera, vol. v. p. 131. * Winton. voi. ii. p 236. • Fordun n Goodal, vol. ii. p. 324 Winton, vol. ii. p. SCOTLAND. [Chap. V exercised the trade of a cannibal. 4 The story is perhaps too dreadful for belief; yet "Winton, who relates it, is in no respect given to the marvel- lous; and a similar circumstance is recorded as late as the reign of James the Second. In the midst of this complicated national distress, the Steward con- tinued to prosecute the siege of Stir- ling with much vigour and ability; and Rokesbury, the governor, after a long and gallant defence, was at last compelled by famine to give up the castle, which, being found too strong in its mason work and bastions to be easily dismantled, was intrusted to the keeping of Maurice of Moray. 5 In this siege, the Scots had to lament the loss of Sir William Keith, a brave and experienced soldier, who had done good service in these wars. As he mounted the ladder in complete ar- mour, he was struck down by a stone thrown from the ramparts, and, fall- ing heavily and awkwardly, was thrust through by his own spear. 6 It is related by Froissart that cannon were employed at the siege of Stirling ; but the fact is not corroborated by con- temporary historians. Scotland had of late years suffered severely from famine, and had owed its support more to provisions surrep- titiously imported from England, than to the fruits of native industry. 7 But the exertions of the High Steward, and his fellow soldiers Douglas and Ramsay, had now expelled the Eng lish from nearly the whole country ; the castles of Edinburgh, Jedburgh, Lochmaben, and Roxburgh, with some \ * Winton. vol. ii. p. 236. Fordun a G-oodal, vol. ii. p. 331. s Lord Hailes seems to have antedated the siege of Stirling, when he places it in the year 1339. We'find, from the Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. p. 600, 14 Edw. III. m. 15, that Stir- ling was in possession of the English as late as 1340 ; and that in June 1341 the Scots were employed in the second siege of Stir- ling. "What was the exact date of the first siege is uncertain, but it sterns to have been interrupted by an armistice. Fordun a Flearne, p. 1031, asserts that Sir "William Keith was slain at the siege of Stirling in 1337 ; but the date is an error. « Winton. vol. ii. p. 237. 7 Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. p. 541. r341 2.] DAVID IT. IS? /inferior strengths in their vicinity, I alarmed the governor; and the sol- 1 were all that remained in the hands of Edward ; and the regent seized a short interval of peace to make a pro- gress through the country, for the re- establishment of order and the distri- bution of justice. 1 The good effects of this were soon observable in the gra- dual revival of regular industry : to use the strong language of Bower, the kingdom began to breathe anew; husbandmen once more were seen at the plough, and priests at the altar : but the time which was allowed proved too short to give permanency to these changes. "War suddenly re- commenced with great fury ; and the castle of Edinburgh, commanded by Limosin, an English knight, fell into the hands of the enemy. The Scots owed the possession of this fortress to a stratagem of Bullock, the late go- vernor of Cupar, executed with ad- dress and boldness by the Knight of Liddesdale. The castle was strongly fortified both by art and nature ; and, as its garrison scoured and commanded the country round, they gave great annoy- ance to the Scots. Douglas, who lurked in the neighbourhood with two hundred soldiers, procured Wal- ter Curry, a merchantman of Dundee, 2 to run his ship into the Forth, under pretence of its being an English victualling vessel, and to make an offer to supply the garrison with wine and corn. The device succeeded; and the porter, without suspicion, opened the outer gate and lowered the drawbridge to the waggons and hampers of the pretended merchant and his drivers, who, throwing off the gray frocks which, covered their ar- mour, stabbed the warder in an in- stant, and sounded a horn, which called up Douglas and his men from their ambush at the foot of the hill. All this could not be so rapidly executed but that the cry of treason i Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 331, 332. * Curry seems to have been assisted by another person, named William Fairley. Chamberlain Accounts. Compotum Came- rarii Scotia?, p. 278. They received a grant of 100 lbs. reward from a parliament held at Scone. Ibid. diers arming in haste, and crowding to the gates, began a desperate con- flict. The waggons, however, had been so dexterously placed, that it became impossible to let down the portcullis ; and Douglas rushing in with his men, soon decided the affair. Of the garri- son, only the governor, Limosin, and six esquires, escaped ; 3 the rest were put to the sword, and the command of the castle was intrusted to a natural brother of the Knight of Liddesdale. There are two particulars regarding this spirited enterprise which are worthy of remark. Curry was a Scots- man, yet it seems he found no diffi- culty in introducing himself as an English merchant, from which there arises a strong presumption that the languages spoken in both countries were nearly the same ; and both he and his followers, before they engaged in the enterprise, took the precaution of shaving their beards, a proof that the Xorman fashion of wearing no beard had not been adopted in Scot- land in the fourteenth century. 4 Soon after this success, the regent and the Estates of Scotland, considering the kingdom to be almost cleared of their enemies, sent an embassy to France, requesting that their youthful sove- reign would return to his dominions. David accordingly, who had now for nine years been an exile in a foreign land, embarked with his queen ; and, although the English ships had al- ready greatly annoyed the Scots, and still infested the seas, he had the good fortune to escape all interrup- tion, and to land in safety at Inner- bervie on the 4th of June, where he was received with the utmost joy by all classes of his subjects. 5 The young king was now in his eigh teenth - year, and began to betray a character violent in its passions and resentments, and of considerable per- sonal intrepidity; but his education at the French court had smitten him * Froissart, vol. i. p. 359. Edition AV Ross, and all who had defied the royal authority in the northern parts of the kingdom, should be seized, and com- pelled to submit to the laws, and to pay their share in the general con- tribution ; besides being otherwise punished, as appeared best for secur- ing the peace of the community. This brief notice in the Parliamentary Re- cord is the only account which remains of what appears to have been a serious rebellion of the northern lords, who, encouraged by the present calamities, had thrown off their allegiance, at all times precarious, and refused to pay their proportion of the contribution for the relief of the kingdom. The principal leaders in this commotion were the Earl of Ross, Hugh de Ross, John of the Isles, John of Lorn, and John de Haye, who declined to attend the parliament, and remained in stern independence upon their own estates. 1 All sheriffs and inferior magistrates, as well within as without burgh, were commanded to obey the chamberlain and other superior authorities, under the penalty of a removal from their offices. It was directed that no barons or knights, travelling through the country with horse or attendants, should permit their followers to insist upon quarters with the inferior clergy, or the farmers and husbandmen, so as to destroy the crops and meadows and consume the grain ; that they should duly pay their expenses to the inns where they baited or took up their residence; and that the chamberlain should take care that, in every burgh, such inns be erected and maintained according to the wealth of the place. No prelate, earl, baron, knight, or other person, lay or clerical, was to be per- mitted to ride through the country with a greater suite than became their rank; and, under pain of imprison- ment, such persons were enjoined to dismiss their bodies of spearmen and archers, unleiSs cause for the attendance of such a force was shewn to the king's officers. All remissions for offences granted by the king w T ere declared can- celled, unless the fine was paid within Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 105. D II. 223 the year from the date of the pardon ; and it was finally directed that these regulations for the good of the state should be reduced to writing under the royal seal, and publicly proclaimed by the sheriffs in their respective counties. 2 In consequence of the resolutions in this parliament, an attempt appears to have been made to procure a peace, which, as usual, concluded in disap- pointment, and only entailed addi- tional expense upon the country. 3 It was followed by warlike indications upon the part of England. Orders were issued to the Bishop of Durham to fortify Norham, and hold himself in readiness to resist an invasion of the Scots ; Gilbert Umfraville was commanded to reside upon his lands in Northumberland ; an array was ordered of all fighting men between the ages of sixteen and sixty ; 4 and Henry Percy was enjoined to inspect the state of the castles upon the marches, and in the Anglicised part of Scotland. It happened, unfortunately for that country, at a time when a combination of their utmost strength was abso- lutely necessary, that petty feuds and jealousies again broke out amongst the Scottish nobles. During the long captivity of David, and the consequent disorganised state of his dominions, the pride and power of these feudal barons had risen to a pitch destruc- tive of all regular subordination : they travelled through the country with the pomp and military array of sove- reigns; affected the style and title of princes ; and, at their pleasure, refused to attend the parliament, 5 or to con- tribute their share to the relief of the king and the people. If offended, they retired to their own estates and castles, where, surrounded by their vassals, they could easily bid defiance to the 2 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp. 105, 106. The whole record of this parlia- ment, which has never been published, will be found in the Illustrations, letters KK. s Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 909. 8th Feb- ruary 1366. 4 Ibid. vol. i. pp. 909, 910, 911. s Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p» 106. 224 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. LChap. VI. authority of the laws ; or they retreated into England, to occupy their time in tournaments, visiting holy shrines, or travelling, with an array of knights and squires, to various parts of Europe, where they lavishly wasted, in the service of foreign powers, the blood and treasures which ought to have been spent in securing the inde- pendence of their country. 1 Of this idle and unworthy conduct of the Scottish nobility, the rolls of the Tower furnish us with repeated examples. The Earl of Douglas, one of the most powerful subjects in Scotland, along with the Earl of March, who held the keys of the kingdom on the Borders, and the Earl of Ross, a baron of for- midable strength in the north, proudly absented themselves from Parliament; and soon after, Douglas, with a retinue of four-and-twenty horse, obtained a safe- conduct from Edward to travel into England, and beyond seas; whilst his example in deserting his country was imitated by a body of thirteen Scottish clerks and barons, attended by a body of seventy-five horse. 2 In the battle of Xagera in Spain, fought, a short time before this, between Ed- ward the Black Prince and Peter the Cruel, against Henry of Transtamarre, many Scots were in the army of Henry ; and we have already seen that, some time before the same period, there appear to have been frequent emigra- tions of Scottish adventurers to join the Teutonic knights in Prussia. 3 These, however, were not the only distressing consequences attendant on the long captivity of the king. The patrimony of the crown had been seri- ously dilapidated during the period of confusion which, notwithstanding all the efforts of the See ward, succeeded the battle of Durham. It was no longer what it had once been. Its rents and customs ; its duties and its fines; its perquisites and privileges, had been gradually disused, or silently encroached upon ; and in some in- i Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 924. 16th Octo- ber 1368. > Ibid. vol. i. pp. 915, 916. 16th and 26th October 1367. - Dillon's History of Peter the Cruel, vol. Ii. 50. stances its lands had probably been seized, or made the subject of sale or gift : so that, from the actual want of funds, the king found it difficult to live in Scotland, or to support, as it became him, the expenses of his royal establishment, without a constant and oppressive taxation ; and this, perhaps, is the best excuse", although an insuf- ficient one, for his frequent visits to England, and long residences in that, country. /As far back as 1362, we find that David's first queen had been under the necessity of pawning her jewels for debt^ and, only four years after, her royal consort was compelled to adopt the same painful expedient. 4 This defalcation in the royal revenue amounted at length to a serious griev- ance ; and a parliament was summoned at Scone, on the 27th of September 1367, 5 for the purpose of taking the subject into consideration. It was determined that, to defray the ex- penses of the royal establishment, and to enable the king to live without oppressing the people, the patrimony of the crown must be restored to the condition in which it stood in the time of Robert Bruce and Alexander the Third ; and that all the rents, duties, customs, perquisites and emoluments which, having accrued to it in the interval between the death of these monarchs and the present day, had been grievously dilapidated, should be reclaimed. It was declared, with that short-sighted and sweeping spirit of legislation which marked a rude age, and a contempt of the rights of third parties, that if these rents or duties belonging to the crown had been dis- posed of ; or, under certain conditions, entirely abolished; or, if the crown lands had been let, either by the king or his chamberlain ; still, such was the urgency of the case, that everything was, by the speediest possible process, to be restored to it, as if no such trans- action had ever taken place : all such leases, gifts, or private contracts, were pronounced null and void, and the * Compotum Camerarii Scotiae, pp. 395, 464. s Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 108. 27th September 1367. "The record of this parliament will be found, printed in the Illustrations, letter LL. 1366-8.] DAVID II. whole patrimony was to be restored, with its ancient privileges, into the hands of the king. All lands in ward, all the feudal casualties, due upon the marriage of crown vassals, with the fines or perquisites of courts, were to remain in the hands of the chamber- lain for the king's use; and if the sovereign was anxious to promote or reward any individual, this was directed to be done out of the movable pro- perty of the crown, and with the ad- vice of the privy council. All deeds or charters, by which such dilapida- tions of the property of the crown had been made, either in the time of Ro- bert Bruce, or of the present king, were ordered by the parliament to be delivered into the exchequer at Perth, to remain in the hands of the chan- cellor and the chamberlain ; and any such deeds not so delivered upon the appointed day were abrogated, and declared to be of no force or effect in all time coming. 1 In the same parliament, a wise regu- lation was introduced with regard to those lands, which, as has been already mentioned, were at this time in the hands of the enemy. It was declared that, as several large districts in the different counties of the kingdom had long been, and still were, " under the peace " of the King of England, in which there were estates holding of the king, and whose heirs had remained in Scotland his faithful subjects, it was deemed expedient by the parliament, as soon as all regular forms had been complied with, and such persons found by a jury to be the true heirs, that they should receive letters of sasine addressed to the sheriffs of the coun- ties where the lands lay, which officers were commanded to give sasine to the true proprietors in their respective courts. This legal ceremony was pro- nounced to be as valid as if the feudal solemnity had taken place upon the lands themselves ; nor was their pos- session by the enemy, for however long a period, to operate to the pre- judice of their true proprietors. 2 Still clinging eagerly to the hopes 1 Robertson's Pari. Records, p. 108. 2 ibid. p. 109 VOL. I. 225 of peace, and well aware, from experi- ence, of the evils of a protracted war, the parliament recommended a re- newal of the negotiations on this sub- ject, and empowered the king and his privy council to choose commissioners, and to impose a tax for the payment of their expenses, without the necessity of calling a new parliament, and obtaining its sanction to their proceedings. 3 The greater the anxiety, however, which was manifested by the Scots, the less likely was Edward to listen to their representations, or to indulge them, so long as they asserted their independ- ence, with any hopes of a permanent peace. Two attempts at negotiation, which were made within the space of a few months, by the same commis- sioners who had hitherto been so unsuccessful in all their diplomatic undertakings, ended in new and more intolerable demands upon the part of Edward, and a determined refusal by the Scottish parliament to entertain them. 4 This, however, did not pre- vent the king and his consort from setting out on their usual visit to Eng- land. With a retinue of a hundred knights, and a numerous body of at- ' tendants, they travelled to the shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury ; and, in this foolish parade of pleasure and devotion, incurred a deeper load of debt, at the very time that their poverty had become the subject of parliamentary inquiry, and when they could not venture to visit the English court without a royal protection from arrest. The sums thus idly thrown away, on their return had to be wrung out of the hard-earned profits of the commercial and labouring classes of the community, in a country already impoverished by a long war ; and it is difficult to find terms sufficiently strong to reprobate such unworthy conduct upon the part of a sovereign who already owed so much to his people. The state of Scotland, and the rela- tions between that country and Eng- 3 Robertson's Pari. Records, p. 109. 4 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 916, 28th Oct. 1367; and p. 917, 22d Jan. 1367-8 Robert- son's Parliamentary Records, p. 112. 226 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. land, at the present period, were of a singular kind. There was a constant amicable correspondence between the merchants of both countries; and a commercial intercourse of unexampled activity, especially upon the part of Scotland, encouraged and protected by Edward ; pilgrimages to holy shrines, emigrations of Scottish students, with almost perpetual negotiations regard- ing a final peace, appeared to indi- cate the utmost anxiety to preserve the truce, and an earnest desire that the amity should continue. But much of this was hollow. Orders to the English wardens to strengthen the castles on the marches; to summon the vassals who were bound to give suit and service ; to call out the array of all able to bear arms ; and repeated commands to the lords marchers to be ready to repel the enemy at a mo- ment's warning, occurred in the midst of these pacific and commercial regu- lations, and gave ample proof that a spirit of determined hostility still lurked under the fairest appearances. Yet Edward, from the calamitous cir- cumstances in which the country was placed, had a strong hold over Scot- land. The king's, extreme unpopu-' larity with the people, the load of personal debt contracted by himself and his queen, and the constant irri- tation and jealousy with which he continued to regard the High Stew- ard, whom he had imprisoned, 1 ren- dered any lengthened residence in his own dominions unpleasant ; and in this manner not only did the breach between the sovereign and the barons who supported the cause of indepen- dence become every day wider, but David's anxiety to reside in England, and his unnatural desire to favour the intrigues of Edward, grew into a con- firmed passion, which threatened the most fatal effects. The nation had already been weighed down by a load of taxation which it i Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 380. Cham- berlains' Accounts, vol. i. p. 498. From these curious and authentic documents we learn that the expenses of the Steward's mainte- nance in prison for three weeks were 5 lb 13 sh., and of his son Alexander, 21 sh. Ibid. V 524. [Cha?. VI. was little able to bear; some of the strongest castles and most extensive districts on the marches were pos- sessed by English soldiers; the nor- thern parts of the kingdom were in actual rebellion ; many of the islands in the western seas were occupied! and garrisoned by the English ; 2 and Ed- ward possessed the power of cutting off the only source of Scottish wealth, by prohibiting the commercial inter- course between the two countries. We are not to wonder, then, at the sanguine hopes which this able mon- ' arch appears to have entertained of finally completing the reduction of Scotland, but rather to admire the unshaken perseverance with which, under every disadvantage, this country continued to resist, and finally to de- feat, his efforts. In a parliament held at Scone in the summer of the year 1368, 3 whose spirited rejection of the conditions of subjection and dependence proposed by Edward has been already alluded to, the rebellion of the northern parts of the kingdom, and the most effectual methods of reducing these wild dis- tricts to obedience, were anxiously considered. John of the Isles, one of the most powerful of the refractory chiefs, had married a daughter of the Steward of Scotland, 4 who was con- sidered, therefore, as in some measure responsible for his son-in-law; and David, probably not unwilling to im- plicate this high officer as a disturber of the peace of the kingdom, addressed him in person, and charged him, with his sons the Lords of Kyle and Men- teith, to defend his subjects within the territories over which their authority extended. It was his duty, he said, to put down the rebellion which had arisen, that in the event of war the estates of the kingdom might there have a safe place of retreat ; an allu- sion strongly descriptive of the despe- rate conjuncture to which the affairs of the country were reduced. 5 John of the Isles, Gillespie Campbell, and 2 Robertson's Pari. Records, p. 116. • Ibid. p. 112. 4 Ibid. p. 115. 5 Ibid. p. 112. 1368-9.1 DAVID II. John of Lorn, were at the same time commanded to present themselves be- fore the king, and to give security for their future pacific conduct, so that they and their vassals should no longer alarm and plunder the land ; but, with their equals and neighbours, submit to the labours and the burdens imposed upon them by the laws. There is something striking and melancholy in the tone of this parlia- ment, where mention is made of the feuds amongst the nobility; and a hopelessness of relief appears in the expressions employed, evincing how far above the reach of parliamentary remonstrance or command these petty sovereigns had raised themselves. They were addressed in the language of advice and entreaty, not of command; the absolute necessity- of providing for the defence of the kingdom was in- sisted on; and they were earnestly and somewhat quaintly admonished to compose their feuds and dissensions, or at least to satisfy themselves by disquieting each other in the common way of a process at law. The king was recommended to hold a council with the Earls of March and Douglas, the wardens of the east marches; although, it was added, these barons seemed little disposed to labour for the common weal. The chamberlain, assisted by a committee of four knights of soldierly talent and experience, was directed to visit, in the first place, the royal castles of Lochleven, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dumbarton, and to give orders for their being completely re- paired, garrisoned, victualled, and pro- vided with warlike engines and other necessaries for defence; after which, the remaining castles in the kingdom were to be carefully surveyed, and put into a state of effectual resistance. 1 But the strength and activity in the royal authority which was requisite to carry these wise regulations into effect were at this time pre-eminently wanting in Scotland; and, nine months after this, when the great council of 1 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp. 112, 113. The record of this parliament, which met at Scone on the 12th June 1368. will befouDd in the Illustrations, letters MM. 227 the nation again assembled, 2 the re- bellion in the north was still only partially extinguished. John of Lorn and Gillespie Campbell had indeed submitted, and again made their ap- pearance among the higher nobility; whilst the Earls of Mar and of Ross, with other northern barons, alarmed at last by a sense of the public danger, joined in the deliberations for the national security, and engaged, within their territories, to administer justice, put down oppression, and assist the royal officers to the utmost of their power and ability. The Steward of Scotland, also, who attended the par- liament in person with his two sons, came under the same obligation for the divisions of Athole, Strathern, Menteith, and other lands in the northern parts of the kingdom ; but J ohn of the Isles haughtily refused to submit ; and, in the wild and inacces- sible domains over which his authority extended, defied the royal power, and insisted that his islanders were not bound to contribute their portion to the public burdens. The truce was now within a single year of its expiry ; and many districts of the country, by the ravages of Border war, and long neglect of cul- ture, were unable to pay the contribu- tions, upon which its continuance could alone be secured. To prevent the misery of a famine in some places, Edward permitted the distressed in- habitants to purchase the common necessaries of life in England; and, to such^a height had the dearth pro- ceeded, that it was found necessary to import from that country, under a royal licence, the most ordinary supplies which were required for the use of David's household. 3 Yet, in the midst of this unexampled distress, it was resolved by parliament to make a last effort to discharge the remaining sum of the ransom, by imposing a tax of three pennies in the pound, to be levied generally over the kingdom ; and, at the same time the Bishop of Glasgow and Sir Robert Erskine were 2 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 113. 6th March 1368. 3 Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. pp. 924, 930. 228 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL despatched upon a mission to England, for the purpose of negotiating a proro- gation of the truce. 1 It was at this moment, when Scot- land seemed to be rapidly sinking under her accumulated distresses, that one of those events which are sent by God to alter the destiny of nations, again inspired life and hop'e into the coun- try. Edward, irritated at the con- tempt evinced by Charles the Fifth for the treaty of Bretigny, again plunged into a war with France, in which the successes of Du Guesclin soon convinced him that a concentra- tion of his whole strength would be absolutely required to restore his affairs on the continent to anything like their former prosperity. Peace to. him became now as necessary as" to the Scots; and the imperiousness of his demands experienced an immediate relaxation. There was now no longer any mention of those degrading terms of subjection and dismemberment which had been so indignantly re- pelled by the Scottish parliament; and the English monarch at last con- sented to a treaty, by which the truce between the kingdoms was renewed for the space of fourteen years. 2 Fifty- six thousand marks of the king's ran- som remained still unpaid ; and it was agreed that the country should annu- ally transmit to England the sum of four thousand marks till the whole was defrayed. As to the estates in the county of Roxburgh, then in pos- session of English subjects, and whose inhabitants had come under the peace of the English king, it was agreed that one-half of their rents should be re- ceived by the Scottish proprietors, who had been dispossessed by the superior power of England; while the lands, with their tenantry, were to remain in the same state of fealty to Edward and his heirs in which they now were, and to be governed by the advice and consent of a council of English and Scottish subjects. 3 1 Robertson's Pari. Records, p. 114. Rotuli Scotluj, vol. i. p. 928. 6th April 1369. 2 Robertson's Pari. Records, p. 116. From Feb. 2 to Aug. 24. or Purification of the Virgin, 1369 ; and from that date for fourteen years. * Ibid. p. 116. The letter of the prelates Some time before affairs took thia favourable turn, the condition of the northern districts, and the conduct of John of the Isles, again called for the interference of government. The Steward had engaged to reduce the disaffected districts ; but, either from want of power or inclination, had failed in his attempt ; and David, in- censed at the continued refusal of the Islands to contribute their share in the general taxation, and assuming an unwonted energy, commanded the at- tendance of the Steward, with the prelates and barons of the realm ; and surrounded by a formidable force, proceeded against the rebels in person. The expedition was completely suc- cessful. The rebel prince, John of the Isles, with a numerous train of those wild Highland chieftains who followed his banner, and had supported him in his attempt to throw off his depend- ence, met the king at Inverness, and submitted to his authority. He en- gaged for himself and his vassals that they should become faithful subjects to David, their liege lord; and not only give obedience to the ministers and officers of the king in suit and service, as well as in the payment of taxes and public burdens, but that they would put down all others, of whatever rank, who dared to resist the royal authority, and would either compel them to submit, or would pursue and banish them from their territories. For the fulfilment of this obligation, the Lord of the Isles not only gave his oath, under the penalty of forfeiting his whole principality if it was broken, but offered the High Steward, his father-in-law, as his se- curity ; and delivered his son Donald, his grandson Angus, and his natural son, also named Donald, as hostages for the performance of the articles of the treaty. 4 and barons of Scotland containing the con dition of the truce is not dated ; but it seems to have been written a few days before the 1st of August 1369. See Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p. 934. * Robertson's Pari. Records, p. 115. The submission of John of the Isles, dated the 15th of November 1369, will be found printed in the Illustrations, letters NN. 1369.] It is stated by an ancient historian, that in reducing within the pale of regular government the wild Scots and the islanders, who had long re- sisted' all authority, David employed artifice, as well as force, by holding out high premiums to all those who succeeded either in slaying or making captive their brother chiefs. In a short time, the expectation of reward and the thirst for power implanted the seeds of disunion amongst these rebel chiefs, and they gradually wrought out their own destruction ; so that, the leaders of the rebellion being cut off, their dominions were easily reduced into a state of quiet and subjection. 1 Soon after the king's return from an expedition which he had under- taken in the depth of winter, and con- ducted with great ability and success, a parliament was assembled at Perth for the" purpose of taking into con : sideration the state of the kingdom, the expenses of the royal household, and the administration of justice. In the parliament which had been held at Scone in the preceding year, 2 an expedient had been adopted, appa- rently for the first time, by which part of the community of estates were al- lowed to absent themselves, after they had chosen certain persons amongst the prelates and barons, who might deliver judgment in the pleas of law, and consult upon the general busi- ness of the nation. In this parlia- ment the same measure was repeated with greater formality and distinct- ness. A committee, consisting of six of the clergy, amongst whom were the Bishop of Brechin, the Chancellor, and the Chamberlain John de Carrie, fourteen of the barons, and seven of the burgesses, was appointed to deli- berate, and gave their judgment, upon all such judicial questions and com- plaints as necessarily came before the parliament. To a second committee, including in its numbers the clergy and the barons alone, was intrusted the management of some special and secret matters regarding the king and 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 380. 2 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 113. DAVID IL 229 the nation, which it was not deemed expedient, in the first instance, to communicate to the parliament at large. This was a dangerous and somewhat despotic [Innovation upon the freedom of the great council of the nation ; and had the change been introduced earlier in the present reign it would have placed an instrument in the hands of the king, and the cor- rupted part of the nobility, which might have been directed with fatal success against the independence of the country. This second committee consisted of six of the clergy and eleven of the barons, with such other members as the king chose to select ; and it was ordained that no person whatever, however high his rank, should be permitted to introduce into the council of parliament, or the privy council, any member as his adviser or assessor, unless such as had been chosen by the general vote of the par- liament. The necessity of this secrecy as to the affairs which came before the com- mittee intrusted with the considera- tion of the king's debts was soon ap- parent; and the object of excluding the representatives of the royal burghs could not be mistaken. It was de- clared that all the debts of the king, throughout the realm, which had been contracted up to the period of the Exchequer Court, held at Perth, at the Epiphany, in the year 1368, were remitted and cancelled ; that from this date, whatever was borrowed for the ransom or the royal expenses should be promptly paid, and that no cus- toms should be levied by the king's officers for the aid of the crown but according to the ancient and estab- lished practice of the realm. In this manner, by the very first public act of this partial and unconstitutional committee, were the great principles of good faith wantonly sacrificed; and the rights of the mercantile classes, who had advanced their money or sold their goods for the royal use, trampled upon and outraged by an act which was as mean as it was unjust. In the next place, an attempt was made, in consequence of the northern 230 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND: parts of the kingdom having been re- duced, under the king's authority, to equalise the taxation over the whole country. To pacify the dangerous murmurs of the Lowland districts, which produced wool, and paid on every sack a heavy tax to the crown, it was determined that in those upper counties where this tax was not col-, lected sheep not having been intro- duced, 1 but which abounded in agricul- tural produce, the chamberlain should either levy an annual tax upon the crops and farm-stocking, for support of the king's household, or that the king, at certain seasons, should remove his court to these Highland districts, and, during his residence there, assess them for his support. The extensive estates, or rather dominions, of John of Lorn, John of the Isles, and Gilles- pie Campbell, with the territories of Kantire, Knapdale, and Arran, were the lands where the new regulation tvas enforced. It was ordained in the same par- liament that no native subject or foreigner, of whatever rank he might be, should export money, either of gold or silver, out of the country, al- ways excepting such sums as were necessary for the travelling expenses of those who had been permitted to leave the realm, unless he paid forty pennies upon every pound to the ex- chequer; and with regard to those who made a trade of purchasing horses, cows, or other animals for ex- portation, they were commanded to pay a duty of forty pence upon every pound of the price of the horse, and twelve pence upon the price of all other animals. In the event of any contravention of the regulations as to the export of the coin, the delinquent was to be fined twenty shillings upon every penny of the duty which he had eluded ; a strict investigation was or- dained to be made of all such offenders, in order that the quantity of coin car- 1 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp. 109, 113. The exemption in favour of "white sheep" in the taxation by the parliament of 20th July 1366 (Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 105,) was intended, probably, as an encouragement to the introduction of a new breed. [Chap. VL ried out of the kingdom might be accurately determined; and they were directed to be tried by indictment be- fore the Justiciar. As grievous complaints had pro- ceeded from every county in the kingdom against the extortion of the mairs, sergeants, and other officers of the crown, and such accusations had even been made to the king in person, it was judged expedient to adopt some decided measures against this evil. Accordingly, orders were given to the justiciars and chamberlains, in their several counties, to cause all per- sons who, since the period of the king's captivity, had enjoyed these offices, to appear before them on a certain day, previous to the conclusion of the pre- sent parliament, when an investiga- tion was to be made, before the three estates, of the exact amount of the loss which the king had sustained by their malversation. All who were in this manner detected were ordered to be imprisoned, and to lose their offices for the whole period of their lives. 2 The justiciars, sheriffs, and other in- ferior judges were strictly commanded not to give execution to any mandate under any seal whatever, not except- ing the great or the privy seal, if such mandate were contrary to the law of the realm; and the merchants and burgesses were enjoined not to leave the kingdom without licence from the king or the chamberlain. Such were the only important regu- lations which were passed in this par- liament, the last held by David the Second. 3 The same year wasfrendered ) 'remarkable by the divorce of the^ queen; an incident of which the pri- vate history is involved in much ob- scurity. She was beautiful, and appa- rently fond of admiration. The little we know of her private life proves her to have been expensive, and addicted to costly pilgrimages, in which she was accompanied with a retinue of knights and attendants; expeditions, in those times, sometimes undertaken for the purposes of pleasure rather than devo* 2 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp. 117, 118. 3 18th February 1369. 1369-70. DA>VID II. tion. She appears, also, to have been ambitious to interfere in the public affairs of the kingdom ; and we have seen that, not long before this, hexin.- fluence persuaded the king to cast the Steward and his sons into prison. No- thing, however, can be more dark or unsatisfactory than the only notice of: this singular event which remains to us ; and, unfortunately, the public re- cords throw no light upon the transac- tion. The sentence of divorce was pronounced in Lent; but the queen, collecting all her wealth, found means to convey herself and her treasure, with great privacy, on board a vessel in the Forth, in which she sailed for France ; and carried her appeal in per- son to the Papal Court then at Avignon. She there obtained a favourable hear- ing; nor was the king, who sent his envoys for the purpose to the court of the Pope, able to counteract the im- pression in her favour. The cause disturbed the kingdom; and was so bitterly contested, that an interdict began to be threatened ; when the fair appellant died herself, on her journey to EomeT^" What became of the pro- cessTor what judgment was ultimately pronounced, cannot now be discovered; but, so late as the year 1374, Robert the Second considered" the cause of such moment that he despatched an embassy to Charles the Fifth of France, soliciting that prince to use his influ- ence with the Pope and cardinals to obtain a judgment. 2 i Immediately after the divorce, the i High Steward and his sons were libe- ls rated from prison, and restored to favour ; while the king, whose life had been devoted to pleasure, began to think of his sins, and, in the spirit of the age, to meditate an expedition to the Holy Land. For this purpose, he assembled at his court the bravest 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 380. 2 Robertson's Index to the Charters, p. 100, No. 4. When at Avignon, Margaret Logy borrowed 500 marks from three English mer- chants, one of whom was William of Wal- worth: in all probability the same person who afterwards became Mayor of London, and stabbed Wat Tyler. Fcedera, vol. vi. p. 727. She is mentioned as the quondam Queen of Scotland in the Chamberlains' Accounts, vol. i. p. 521. 231 knights of his time, declaring it to be his intention to appoint a regency, and depart for Palestine, with the purpose of spending the remainder of his life ' in war against the infidels. But, in the midst of these dreams of chivalrous devotion a mortal illness seized upon him, which baffled all human skill ; and he died in the castle of Edinburgh, on the 22d of February 1 370, in the forty- seventh year of his age, and the forty- first of his reign. It is painful to dwell on the charac ter of this prince, who was, in every respect, unworthy of his illustrious father. It happened, indeed, unfor- tunately for him, that he was pro- moted to the throne when almost an infant ; and not only lost the advantage of paternal instruction and example, but, by the early death of Douglas and Kandolph, was deprived of the only persons who might have supplied the want ; whilst his long exile in France, and a captivity of eleven years, ren- dered him almost a stranger to his people. Had there, however, been any- thing great or excellent in David Bruce, he would have surmounted these dis- advantages : yet we look in vain for a noble, or even a commendable, quality, whilst the darker parts of his disposi- tion are prominently marked. He was uniformly actuated by a regard to h is own selfish pleasures, and a reckless forgetfulness of all those sacred and important duties which a king owes to his people. His understanding was one of limited and moderate power; and, while he formed his opinions upon hasty and superficial views, he was both obstinate in adhering to them when evidently erroneous, and capri- cious in abandoning them before they were proved to be ill-founded. The battle of Durham, his captivity, and the long train of calamities which it entailed upon the nation till the con- clusion of his reign, were the fruits of his obstinacy : the inconsistent waver- ing and contradictory line of policy, which is so strikingly discernible in his mode of government after his re- turn, was the effect of his passion and caprice. Personal courage he undoubt- edly possessed. It was the solitary 232 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. quality which he inherited from his father ; and of this he gave a memo- rable proof, in his proposal to alter the order of succession in favour of an English prince, — a measure of singular baseness and audacity. It is this that forms the darkest blot upon his memory. His love of plea- sure, and devotion to beauty, will find an excuse in many hearts ; his extra- vagance some may call kingly, even when supported by borrowed money : but it can never be palliated or for- gotten that he was ready to sacrifice the independence of the kingdom to the love of his personal liberty, and his animosity against the Steward; that the most solemn oaths, by which he waa bound to his people, were lightly re- garded, when brought in competition with these selfish and sordid passions. Such a monarch as this, who, at the mature age of forty-seven, evinced no real symptoms of amendment, was little likely to improve in his latter years; and it is humiliating to think that the early death of the only son of Robert the Bruce must have been regarded as a blessing, rather than a calamity, by his country. AN HISTOKICAL INQUIRY INTO THE ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND EMBRACING PRINCIPALLY THE PERIOD FROM THE ACCESSION OF ALEXANDER THE THIRD TO THE DEATH OF DAVID THE SECOND. Having brought this work down to the great era of the accession of the house of Stewart, in the occupation of the throne by Robert the Second, I propose to pause for a short time, in order to cast our eye over the wide field through which we have travelled, and to mark, as fully as our imperfect materials will permit, the progress of the nation in some of those great sub- jects which form the body of its civil history. The general features and appearance of the country; its agri- culture, commerce, and manufactures ; the manners and amusements, the superstitions and character of the peo- ple ; the system of feudal government under which they lived ; their progress in the arts, which add comfort, or security, or ornament to life; the character of their literature, — are sub- jects upon which our curiosity is naturally active and eager for informa- tion; but it is unfortunate that the writers who can alone be considered as authentic have regarded such in- vestigations as either uninteresting, or beneath the dignity of the works in which they had engaged. Some lights, however, are to be found scat- tered through their works, or reflected from the public muniments and re- cords of the times; and it is to the guidance of these alone, however feeble and imperfect, that the historian can commit himself. It must necessarily happen that, in an attempt of this kind, owing to the ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 233 paucity of materials, and to the ex- treme remoteness of the period, any- thing like a full account of the country is unattainable ; and that it is exceed- ingly difficult to throw together, under any system of lucid arrangement, the insulated facts which have been col- lected. I have adopted that order which appears the most natural. SECTION I. GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. We must be careful not to permit the ideas which are derived from the condition of Scotland in the present day to influence our conclusions as to its appearance in those rude and early ages of which we have been writing. No two pictures could be more dis- similar than Scotland in the thirteenth and fourteenth, and Scotland in the nineteenth century. The mountains, indeed, and the rivers are stern and indomitable features of nature, upon which the hand of man can work but feeble alterations; yet, with this ex- ception, everything was different. The face of the country was covered by immense forests, chiefly of oak, in the midst of which, upon the precipitous banks of rivers, or on rocks which formed a natural fortification, and were deemed impregnable to the mili- tary art of that period, were placed the castles of the feudal barons. One principal source of the wealth of the proprietors of these extensive forests consisted in the timber which they contained, and the deer and other animals of the chase with which they abounded. When Edward I. subdued and overran the country, we find him in the practice of repaying the services of those who submitted to his autho- rity, by presents of so many stags and oaks from the forests which he found in possession of the crown. Thus, on the 18th of August 1291, the king directed the keeper of the forest of Selkirk to deliver thirty stags to the Archbishop of St Andrews ; twentj T tstags and sixty oaks to the Bishop of Glasgow; ten to the High Steward; and six to Brother Bryan, Preceptor of the Order of Knights Templars in Scotland. 1 To mark the names, or define the exact limits of these huge woods, is now impossible ; yet, from the public records, and the incidental notices of authentic historians, a few scattered facts may be collected. In the north, we find the forest of Spey, 2 extending along the banks of that majestic river; the forests of Alnete, and of Tarnaway, of Awne, Kilblene, Langmorgan, and of Elgin, Forres, Lochendorb, and Inverness. :i The extensive county of Aberdeen appears to have been covered with wood. We meet there with the forests of Kintore, of Cardenache, Drum or Drome, Stocket, Killanell, Sanquhar, Tulloch, Gasgow, Darrus, Collyn, and what is called the New Forest of Innerpeffer. 4 In Banff was the forest of Boyne; in Kincardine and Forfar the forests of Alyth, Drymie, and Plater; 5 in Fife, those of Cardenie and Uweth ; 6 in Ayrshire, the forest of Senecastre ; 7 in the Lowlands, those of Drumselch, 8 near Edinburgh; of Jedburgh and Selkirk, Cottenshope, Maldesley, 9 Ettrick, and Peebles; of Dolar, Traquhair, and Melrose. 10 The counties of Stirling and Clack- mannan contained extensive royal forests, in which, by a grant from 1 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 4, 5. 18th Aug. 1291. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 5. Anno 1291, m. 11. s Ibid. p. 9. Robertson's Index to the Charters, pp. 32, 35, 42. Rolls of Parliament, ii. 469, quoted in Caledonia, vol. i. p. 792. Fordun a Hearne, p. 1027. * Robertson, pp. 23, 33, 38, 58, 71, 72 ; also Rotuli Scotiae, in anno 1292, p. 10. Chamber- lains' Accounts. Compot. Vicecomitatis Aber- dein, p. 298. 5 Robertson's Index, pp. 39, 55, 67 ; and Rotuli Scotiae, p. 8. 6 Robertson, p. 47. Cartulary Dunferm. f. 12 and 20. 7 Cartulary of Paisley, p. 46, in Caledonia, vol. i. p. 793. s Caledonia, vol. i. p. 793. 9 Chamberla\ns' Accounts. Rotuli Comp. Temp. Custod. Jtegni, p. 62. 10 Rotuli Scotiae, in anno 1296. vol. i. p. 33. Ibid. pp. 5, 278, 380. Ibid. p. 748. Cartu- lary of Dunferm. p. 10. Rotuli Scotiae, p. 7 ; and Fordun, p. 1048. Robertson, p. 81. Chron. Melrose, ad anno 1184, quoted in Dalzel's Fragments, p. 32. Cartulary of Kelso, p. 323 Caledonia, p. 798. 234 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. David I., the monks of Holyrood had the right of cutting wood for building and other purposes, and of pasture for their swine. 1 In the reign of the same king, a forest covered the dis- trict between the Leader and the Gala; and in Perthshire, occupied the lands between Scone and Cargil. 2 Tracts which, in the present day, are stretched out into an interminable extent of desolate moor, or occupied by endless miles of barren peat-hags, were, in those early ages, covered by forests of oak, ash, beech, and other hard timber. Huge knotted trunks of black oak, the remains of these primitive woods, have been, and are still, discovered in almost every moor in Scotland. Such, indeed, was, at an early period, the extent and impervious nature of these woods, that the English, in their inva- sions, endeavoured to clear the coun- try by fire and by the hatchet; and Knighton relates that in an expedition of the Duke of Lancaster into this country, in the reign of Richard the Second, this prince, having recourse to these methods, employed in the work of destruction so immense a multitude, that the stroke of eighty thousand hatchets might be heard resounding through the forests, whilst the fire was blazing and consuming them at the same moment. 3 So erro- neous is the opinion of a conjectural historian, who pronounces that there is little reason to think that in any age, of which an accurate remem- brance is preserved, this kingdom was ever more woody than it is now. 4 In the times of which we write, however, many districts in the midst of these forests had been cleared of the wood, and brought under cultiva- tion. Thus, in the forest of Plater, in the county of Forfar, David the Second, in 1366, made a grant of four oxgangs of arable land for a reddendo 1 Caledonia, vol. i. p. 792. 2 Cart. Melrose, p. 104. Cart, of Scone, p. 16. Where I quote manuscript Cartularies, the reader will find the originals in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh, un- less some other collection is mentioned. 3 Knighton apud Twysden, vol. ii. p. 2674. Barbour's Bruce, p. 323. * Wallace on the Nature and Descent of Peerages, p. 35. of a pair of white gloves, or two silver pennies, to Murdoch del Rhynd. 5 In the same forest, the monks of Rest- ennet, at the death of Alexander the Third, enjoyed the tenth of the hay made in its meadows, 6 and in 1362, the king permitted John Hay of Tully- boll to bring into cultivation, and ap- propriate, the whole district lying between the river Spey and the burn of Tynot, in the forest of Awne. 7 From these facts it may be inferred that the same process of clearing away the wood, and reducing large districts of the forests into fields and meadow lands, had been generally pursued throughout the country. 8 It was a work, in some measure, both of peril and necessity; for savage animals abounded as much in Scotland as in the other uncleared and wooded re- gions of northern Europe; and the bear, the wolf, the wild boar, and the bison, to the husbandmen and culti- vators of those rude ages, must have been enemies of a destructive and for- midable nature. 9 Another striking feature in the as- pect of the country during those early ages was formed by the marshes or fens. Where the mountains sunk down into the plain, and the country stretched itself into a level, mossy fens of great extent occupied those fertile and beautiful districts which are now drained and brought under cultiva- tion. 10 Within the inaccessible wind- ings of these morasses, which were in- tersected by roads known only to the inhabitants, Wallace and Bruce, during the long war of liberty, frequently defended themselves, and defied the heavy-armed English cavalry ; and it is,\ said that from lying out amidst these J damp and unhealthy exhalations Brucey caught the disease of which he died.J/ 5 Robertson's Index, p. 81. « MS. Monast. Scotia?, p. 31, quoted in Caledonia, vol. i. p. 798. 7 Robertson's Index, p. 71. s Chamberlains' Accounts. Rotuli Compot, Temp. Cust. Regni, p. 63. » DalyePs Desultory Reflections on the State of Ancient Scotland, pp. 32, 33. io Triveti Annales, p. 316. n Palgrave's Parliamentary "Writs, Chrono^ logical Abstract, p. 76. Walsingham, p. 78 ' Barbour, pp. 110, 151. Trivet, 346. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 235 The royal castles must have pre- sented an additional and imposing feature in the external appearance of the country at this period. Built chiefly for strength and resistance during a time of war, these fortresses were the great garrisons of the coun- try, and reared their immense walls and formidable towers and buttresses in those situations which nature had herself fortified, and where little was to be done by man but to avail him- self of the power already placed in his hand. In the year 1292, when Ed- ward, after his judgment in favour of Baliol, gave directions to his English captains to deliver the royal castles into the hands of the new king, we find these to have been twenty-three in number. On the borders were the castles of Jedburgh, Roxburgh, and Berwick ; those of Dumfries, Kirkcud- bright, Wigtown, Ayr, Tarbet, 1 Dum- barton, and Stirling, formed a semi- circle of fortresses which commanded the important districts of Annandale, Galloway, Carrick, Kyle, Lanark, and the country round Stirling, containing the passes into the Highlands. Be- tween Stirling, Perth, and the Tay there was no royal castle, till we reach Dundee, where Brian Fitz-Alan com- manded ; after which the castles of Forfar, Kincardine, and Aberdeen, pro- tected and kept under the counties of Perth, Angus, Kincardine, and Aber- deen ; and travelling still further north, we find the castles of Cromarty or Crumbarthyn, Dingwall, Inverness, Nairn, Forres, Elgin, and Banff, which, when well garrisoned, were deemed sufficient to maintain the royal autho- rity in those remote and unsettled districts. 2 ' Such were the royal castles of Scot- land previous to. the war of liberty; but it was^the policy of Bruce, as we have seen, to raze the fortresses of the kingdom, wherever they fell under his power ; whilst, on the other hand, Edward, in his various campaigns, found it necessary to follow the same plan which had been so successful in Wales, and either to construct addi- 1 Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 9, 2 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 11, 12. tional fortresses, for the purpose of overawing the country 3 or to strengthen by new fortifications such baronial castles as he imagined best situated for his design. In this manner the architecture of the strong Norman castles, which had already been par- tially introduced by the Scoto-Norman barons, was more effectually taught by their formidable enemy to the Scots, who profited by the lesson, and turned it against himself. It not un- frequently happened that the siege of a baronial castle detained the whole English army for weeks, and even months, before it ; and although feebly garrisoned, the single strength of its walls sometimes resisted and defied the efforts of Edward's strongest ma- chines and most skilful engineers. To enumerate or to point out the situation of the baronial castles which at this early period formed the resi- dences of the feudal nobility and their vassals would be almost impossible. They raised their formidable towers in every part of the kingdom, on its coasts and in its islands, on its penin- sulas and in its lakes, upon the banks of its rivers, and on the crests of its mountains ; and many of those inha- bited by the higher nobility rivalled, and in their strength and extent some- times surpassed, the fortresses belong- ing to the king. 3 In the year 1309, when the military talents of Bruce had wrested from England nearly the whole of the royal castles, we find Edward the Second writing earnestly to his principal officers in Scotland, directing them to maintain their ground to the last ex- tremity against the enemy ; and it is singular that, with the exception of Edinburgh, Stirling, Dumfries, and Jedburgh, the posts which they held, and which are enumerated in his order, are all of them private baronial castles, whose proprietors had either been compelled by superior force, or in- duced by selfish considerations, to 3 Fordun, in speaking of the death of Ed - ward the First, asserts that within six year* of that event Bruce had taken and cast down a hundred and thirty-seven castles, fortalices, and towers. Fordun aG-oodal, vol. ii. p. 240, 236 HISTORY OF embrace the English interest. In his letters are mentioned the castle of. Kirkintilloch, between Dumbarton and Stirling ; Dalswinton in Galloway, a principal seat of the Comyns ; Caer- laverock, belonging to the Maxwells; Thrieve castle, also in Galloway ; Loch- maben in Annandale, the seat of the Eruces; Butel, the property of the Steward ; Dunbar, a castle of great strength and extent, one of the keys of the kingdom, by which the Earls of March commanded so much influence in an age of war and invasion ; Dirle- ton, also of great extent, and possessed by the Norman race of the De Vaux ; Selkirk, at that time in the hands of Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke ; and Both well, a castle at various times the property of the Olifards, Morays, -and Douglases. 1 Innumerable other castles and smaller strengths, from the seats of the highest earls, whose power was almost kingly, down to the single towers of the retainer or vassal, with their low iron-ribbed door, and loop- holed windows, were scattered over every district in Scotland; and even in the present day the traveller can- not explore the most unfrequented scenes, and the remotest glens of the country, without meeting some gray relic of other days, reminding him that the chain of feudal despotism bad there planted one of its thousand links, and around which there often linger those fine traditions, where fic- tion has lent her romantic colours to history. In the vicinity of these strongholds, in which the Scottish barons of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries held their residence, there was cleared from wood as much ground as was necessary for the support of that nu- merous train of vassals and retainers tfhich formed what was termed the *' following" of their lord, and who were supported in a style of rude and abundant hospitality. The produce of his fields and forests, his huge herds of swine, his flocks and cattle, his gra- naries and breweries, his mills and malting-houses, his dovecots, gardens, 1 Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. p. 80. Olifard, the ■same name, I conjecture, as Olipliant. SCOTLAND. orchards, and "infield and outfield" wealth, all lent their riches to main- tain those formidable bands of warlike knights and vassals, who were ready on every summons to surround the banner of their lord. Around these castles, also, were placed the rude ha- bitations and cottages belonging to the servants and inferior dependants . of the baron, to his armourers, tailors, wrights, masons, falconers, forest- keepers, and many others, who minis- tered to his necessities, his comforts, or his pleasures. It happened, too, not unfrequently, that, ambitious of the security which the vicinity of a feudal castle insured, the free farmers or opulent tradesmen of those remote times requested permission to build their habitations and booths near its walls, which, for payment of a small rent, was willingly allowed; and we shall afterwards have occasion to re- mark that to this practice we perhaps owe the origin of our towns and royal burghs in Scotland. It appears, also, from the authentic evidence of the Cartularies, that at this period, upon the large feudal estates belonging to the nobles or to the Church, were to be found small villages, or collections of hamlets and cottages, termed Villm, in the charters of the times, annexed to which was a district of land called a Temtorium? This was cultivated in various proportions by the higher ranks of" the husbandmen, who pos- sessed it, either in part or in whole, as their own property, which they held by lease, and for which they paid a rent, 3 or by the villeyns and cottars, who were themselves, in frequent in- stances, as we shall immediately see, the property of the lord of the soil. Thus, by a similar process, which we find took place in England under the Normans, and which is clearly to be traced in Domesday Book, the greater feudal barons were possessed not only of immense estates, embracing with- in them field and forest, river, lake, and mountain, but of numerous and 2 MS. Cartulary of Melrose, pp. 21, 22. Cartulary of Kelso, pp. 254, 255. » Cartulary of Kelso, p. 257, in 1258. Ibid, pp. 312, 317* ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 23? flourishing villages, 1 for which they received a regular rent, and of whose wealth and gains they always held a share, because they were frequently the masters of the persons and pro- perty of the tradesmen and villeyns, by whom such early communities were inhabited. In these villages the larger divisions, under the names of carucutes, bovates, or oxgates, were cultivated by the husbandmen and the cottars under them; while, for their own mainte- nance, each of these poor labourers was the master of a cottage with a small piece of ground, for which he paid a trifling rent to the lord of the soil. 2 It happened not unfrequently that the high ecclesiastics, or the convents and religious houses, were the pro- prietors of villages, from whose popu- lation there was not exacted the same strict routine of military service which was due by the vassals of the temporal barons ; and the consequences of this exemption were seen in the happier and more improved condition of their husbandmen and villeyns, and in the richer cultivation of their ample terri- tories. A great portion of the district attached to these villages was divided into pasture -land and woodland, in which a right of pasturage, for a cer- tain number of animals, belonged to each of the villagers or husbandmen in common. It is from the informa- tion conveyed in the Cartularies that the condition of these early villages is principally to be discovered. 3 Thus, for example, in the village of Bolden, in Roxburghshire, which be- longed to the monks of Kelso, in the latter part of the reign of -Alexander 1 HenshalFs Specimens and Parts of a His- tory of South Britain, p. 64. In the small part of this valuable work which has been published, and which it is much to be regret- ted was discontinued by the author from want of encouragement, a clear and authentic view is given of the state of England under the Normans, founded on an accurate examina- tion of the original record of Domesday Book. 2 Cartulary of Kelso, p. 477. In the same MS. there is a Donation, in 1307, by Nicholas dictus Moyses de Bondington, " Cotagii cum orto quod Tyock Uxor Andree quondam tene- rit de me in villa de Bondington." 3 Rotulus Reddituum Monasterii de Kal- chow. Cartulary of Kelso, p. 475. the Third, there were twenty-eight husbandmen, who possessed each a husbandland, with common pasture; for which he paid a rent of half a mark, or six shillings and eightpence, besides various services which were due to the landlord. There were, in the same village, thirty-six cottagers, each of whom held nearly half an acre of arable land, with a right of common pasture. The united rent paid by the whole cottagers amounted to fifty-five shillings; in addition to which, they were bound to perform certain services in labour. To the village there was attached a mill, which gave a rent of eight marks; and four brew -houses, each of them let for ten shillings, with an obligation to sell their ale to the abbot at the rate of a lagen and a half for a penny. 4 These villages, of course, varied much in extent, in the number of their mansions, and the fertility of their lands ; whilst the greater secu- rity, resulting from the increasing numbers and the wealth of the inhabi- tants, became an inducement for many new settlers from different parts to join the community, and plant them- selves under the protection of the lord of the soil. This emigration, however, of the cottars or villeyns from one part of the country or from one village to another, could not be legally effected without the express consent of the master to whom they belonged. A fact of which we shall be convinced when we come to consider the condi- tion of the great body of the people in those early ages. To one casting his eye over Scotland as it existed during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the numerous religious establishments, the cathe- drals, convents, monasteries, and epis- copal palaces, must have formed an- other striking feature in the external aspect of the country. Situated always in the richest, and not unfrequently in the most picturesque spots, and built in that imposing style of architecture which is one of the greatest triumphs of the Middle Ages, these structures reared their holy spires and towers in * Cartulary of Kelso, pp. 478, 479. See Illustrations, letters 00. 238 HISTORY OF almost every district through which you travelled ; and your approach to uhem could commonly be traced by the high agricultural improvements which they spread around them. The woods, enclosed and protected, were of loftier growth ; the meadows and corn- fields richer and better cultivated ; the population inhabiting the church-lands more active, thriving, and industrious than in the lands belonging to the €rown or to the feudal nobility. To give any correct idea of the num- ber or the opulence of the various episcopal and conventual establish- ments which were to be found in Scot- land at this remote era, would require a more lengthened discussion than our present limits will allow. Besides the bishoprics, with their cathedral churches, their episcopal palaces, and the residences of the minor clergy which were attached to them, our early monarchs and higher nobility, in the devotional spirit of the age, en- couraged those various orders of regu- lar and secular churchmen which then existed in Europe. The Canons Regu- lar of St Augustine, who were invited into Scotland by Alexander the First, and highly favoured by David, had not less than twenty-eight monas- teries ; the Cistertians or Bernardine Monks, who were also warmly patron- ised by David, possessed thirteen ; and the Dominican or Black Friars, fifteen monasteries, in various parts of the country. Although these orders were the most frequent, yet numerous other divisions of canons, monks, and friars obtained an early settlement in Scotland, and erected for themselves in many places those noble abbacies, priories, or convents, whose ruins at the present day are so full of pictur- esque beauty and interesting associa- tions. The Red Friars, an order originally instituted by St John of Matha and Felix de Valois for the redemption of Christian slaves from the Infidels, possessed nine monas- teries ; the Prsemonstratensian Monks, who boasted that the rule which they followed was delivered to them in a I vision by St Augustine, and written in golden letters, were highly favoured SCOTLAND. by David the First, Alexander the Second, and Fergus, lord of Galloway. The Tyronensian and Clunacensian Monks, the Templars, the Franciscans, and the Carmelites had all of them establishments in Scotland ; whilst the Augustinian, the Benedictine, and the Cistertian Nuns were possessed of numerous rich and noble convents ; which, along with the hospitals, erected by the wide-spread charity of the Catholic Church, for the entertain- ment of pilgrims and strangers, and the cure and support of the sick and infirm, complete the catalogue of the religious establishments of Scotland during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. 1 Although covered in many places with vast and impenetrable woods and marshes, the country around the mon- asteries and religious houses adjoining to the castles of the nobles, and to the great towns, royal burghs, and villages, appears in the reign of Alex- ander the Third to have been in a state of considerable cultivation. Even during the wars of the three Edwards, when we take into view the dreadful disadvantages against which it had to struggle, the agriculture of Scotland was respectable. The Scottish kings possessed royal manors in almost every shire, which were cultivated by their own free tenants and their villeyns ; and to which, for the purpose of gathering the rents, and consuming the agricul- tural produce, they were in the cus- tom of repairing, in their progresses through the kingdom. This fact is established by the evidence of the Cartularies, which contain frequent grants, by David the First, William the Lion, and the two Alexanders, to the convents and religious houses, of various kinds of agricultural produce to be drawn from the royal manors ; and the same truth is as conclusively made out by the original accounts of the Great Chamberlains of Scotland. 2 1 Account of the Religious Houses in Scot- land. Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops, p. 235. 2 Of these accounts, which contain a body of information upon the civil history of Scot- land, unrivalled in authenticity, and of high ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 239 David, for example, granted to the monks of Scone the half of the skins and the fat of all the beasts which were killed for the king's use on his lands to the north of the Tay ; and the half of the skins and hides of all the beasts slain upon festival days, at Stirling, and on his manors between the Forth and the Tay. 1 Innumer- able charters, by his successors, to the various monasteries and religious houses in the kingdom, evince the generosity or superstition of m our monarchs, and the extent of their royal demesnes. - Scarcely less numer- ous, and upon a scale not greatly in- ferior to those of the king, were the extensive feudal estates belonging to the religious houses, to dignified clergy, and to ohe magnates, or higher barons of Scotland ; who granted charters of lands to their own military vassals and retainers, or by leases, to other more pacific tenants, upon whom they de- volved the agricultural improvement of their domains. Thus, for example, tve find, in the Cartulary of Kelso, that the monks of this rich religious house granted to the men of Innerwick, in the year 1190, a thirty-three years' lease of certain woods and lands, for the annual rent of twenty shillings ; which was approved of by Alan, the son of Walter, the Steward, to whom the men of Innerwick belonged. 2 The clergy, whose domains, chiefly from the liberal and frequent endow- ments of David the First, and his suc- cessors, were at this period amazingly rich and extensive, repaid this pro- fusion, by becoming the great agricul- tural improvers of the country. From them those leases principally proceeded, which had the most beneficial' effect in clearing it from wood, and bringing it under tillage. In 1326 the Abbot of Scone granted a lease for life of his lands of Girsmerland to Andrew de Strivelyn. Henry Whitwell received from the Abbot of Kelso a lease for life of all the lands belonging to this monastery in the parish of Dumfries, interest, a short notice will be found in the Illustrations, letters CC. 1 Cartulary of Scone, pp. 2, 6, 8. 2 Cartulary of Kelso, p. 247. Caledonia, vol. i. p. 794. for which the yearly rent was twelve shillings; and numerous other in* stances might be brought forward. It was in this manner that there was gradually introduced and encouraged in the country a body of useful im- provers, who were permitted, from the pacific character of their landlords, to devote their time more exclusively to agricultural improvement than the vassals or tenants of the barons. 3 The system of agriculture pursued at this early period must have been exceedingly rude and simple in its de- tails; and although it is difficult to point out the exact mode of cultiva- tion, yet some information with re- gard to its general character, and the crops then raised in the country, may be found in the scattered notices of contemporary historians, and in the records and muniments of the times. Oats, wheat, barley, pease and beans were all raised in tolerable abundance. Of these by far the most prevalent crop was oats. It furnished the bread of the lower classes ; and the ale which they drank was brewed from malt made of this grain. In the innumer- able mills which are mentioned in the Cartularies, great quantities of oats were ground into meal ; and at the various malt-kilns and breweries which we find attached throughout the same records to the hamlets and villages, equally large proportions of oats were reduced into malt and brewed into ale. In the Wardrobe Accounts of Edward the First for the years 1299 and 1300, large quantities of oat malt, furnished to his different garrisons in Scotland, form some of the principal items of expenditure. In the same interesting and authentic record we find that Edward's cavalry in their return from Galloway, in September 1300, destroyed in their march through the fields eighty acres of oats upon the property of William de Carlisle, at Dornock, in compensation for which the king allowed him two butts of wine. 4 It appears in the same series s Cartulary of Scone, p. 32. Cartulary of Kelso, p. 329. Chamberlains' Accounts, vol. i. pp. 5, 12, 22. Cartulary of Inchcolm, p. 31. 4 Liber Cotidianus Garderobse Edwardi I., p. 126. 240 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. of accounts that Edward bought his oats, and oat malt to be brewed for the army, at various rates, extending from twenty pence to three shillings per quarter. From the multitudes of brew-houses with which every division of the kingdom appears to have been studded, from the royal manufactories of ale down to those in the towns, burghs, baronies, and villages, it is evident that this beverage must have been consumed in great quantities. Although oats was the principal grain raised in Scotland, yet wheat was also cultivated to a considerable 1 extent, chiefly by the higher orders : throughout the south and east districts of the country, wheaten bread was principally used at their tables; and the quantities of this grain which the Cartularies shew to have been ground in the mills evince the consumption to have been considerable. When Edward, in the year 1300, invaded Galloway, we find, by the Wardrobe Account of that period, that he pur- chased large quantities of wheat, which was exported from Kirkcudbright to Whitehaven and other ports in Cum- berland. It was there ground, and vhe flour sent back to supply the English garrisons in Galloway and Ayr. In the Wardrobe Account of the same monarch for the year 1299, it is stated that unground pease, for the use of the English garrisons, were furnished at* the rate of two shillings and ninepence, and beans for the horses at four shillings and sixpence the quarter. In addition to these crops, extensive districts of rich na- tural meadow, with the green sward which clothed the forest glades, fur- nished grass, which was made into hay, and with all other agricultural pro- duce, paid its tithe to the clergy. The fields, the mountain grazings, and the forests, were amply stocked with cows, sheep, and large herds of swine, 1 which fed on the beech mast. These last formed the staple animal food of the lower classes; for even the poor bondman or cottager seems to have generally possessed, in the territorium i Excerpt, ex Rotulo Compot. Temp. Alex. III. pp. 12, 15. of the village where he lived, a right of common pasture for a sow and her pigs. Another important part of the stock- ing of the farms and the forests of those times consisted in the numerous horses which were reared by their baronial proprietors. We learn from the Cartularies that great care was bestowed upon this interesting branch of rural economy. Many of the nobles had breeding studs upon their estates; 2 and in the forests large herds of brood mares, surrounded by their grown-up progeny, and with their young foals at their feet, ran wild, and produced a hardy and excellent stock of little horses, upon which the hobelers, or light-armed Scottish cavalry, were mounted, which, in the numerous raids or invasions of England, under Bruce, Kandolph, and Douglas, so cruelly ravaged and destroyed the country. Distinguished from these were the domestic horses and mares employed in the purposes of agricul- ture, 3 in war, or in the chase. Both the wild horses and those which had been domesticated were of a small hardy breed, excellently fitted for light cavalry, but too diminutive to be em- ployed as the great war-horse of the knight, which had not only to bear its master armed from head to foot in^ steel, but to carry likewise its own coat of mail. It is on this account that we find the Scottish barons im-/ porting a breed of larger horses fromj abroad. 4 Some idea may be formed of the extent of the stud possessed by the higher barons and the rich eccle- siastical houses by an inventory which is preserved in the Cartulary of New- 2 Cartulary of Melrose, p. 105. Cartulary of Kelso, pp. 283, 284. s In the farming operations of ploughing and harrowing, in the leading of hay, the carting of peats, or taking in the corn during the harvest, the wain driven by oxen appears to have been principally employed, while the conveyance of the agricultural produce to any great distance was performed by horse- labour. This appears from the minute de- tails of the services due by the tenants of the Abbey of Kelso, in the Cartulary of that rich religious house. Cartulary of Kelso, p. 475. * Lord Douglas brings ten "great horses ~ into Scotland, 1st July 1352. Kotuli Scotue, p. 752. vol. L ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 241 bottle. It states that the monks of Melrose possessed in old times three hundred and twenty-five forest mares and horses, fifty-four domestic mares, a hundred and four domestic horses, two hundred and seven stags or young horses, thirty-nine three-year colts, and a hundred and seventy two-year- old colts. But that branch of rural economy upon which the Scottish proprietors of this period bestowed most atten- tion was the rearing of large flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. 1 Sheep, in- deed, chiefly abounded in the* Low- lands ; and, during the latter part of the reign of David the Second, we have seen the parliament interposing in order to equalise the taxation of the districts where sheep-farming was un- known and the Lowland counties, where the wool-tax fell heavily upon the inhabitants; while, on another occasion, " white sheep" are exempted, probably meaning those sheep which, for the sake of producing a finer quality of wool, had not been- smeared with tar. 2 In a short tirzfe, however, the northern as well as the southern districts abounded in sheep, which became a principal branch of the wealth of the country. Their flesh was consumed at the baron's table; their wool formed the chief article of export, or was manufactured within the kingdom into the coarser kind of cloth for the farm servants ; 3 their skins were tanned, and converted into articles for home consumption, or ex- ported to England and Flanders. In like manner, the carcasses of the beeves were consumed by the troops pf retainers, or exposed for sale in the market of the burgh ; the skins were exported in great quantities, both with 1 Excerpta ex Rotulo Compotorum, Temp. Regis Alex. III. p. 11. 2 "White sheep" is the technical phrase for sheep which are not smeared with tar In the winter time. The smearing injures the wool ; and it is not improbable the exemption from tax may have been with a view to the production of wool better fitted to the pur- poses of the manufacturer. Robertson, .In- dex to the Records, p. 117. » Charter of William the Lion to the burgh of Inverness, printed in Wight on Elections, p. 411. VOL. I. and without the hair, or manufactured into shoes, leather jackets, buff coats, caps, saddles, bridles, and other articles of individual comfort or utility. In the more cultivated districts cows were kept in the proportion of ten to every plough ; but in the wilder parts of the country the number was infinitely greater. 4 Goats also were to be found in some districts, chiefly in the wilder and more mountainous parts of the country. 5 From the quantity of cheese which appears to have been manufactured on the royal demesnes throughout Scotland,' it is clear that the dairy formed a principal object of attention ; 6 and if such was the case upon the lands of the crown, it is equally certain that its proper management and eco- nomy was not neglected by the clergy or the barons. In the Cartulary of Kelso, we find that David the First conferred on the monks of that house the tenth of the cheese which he re- ceived from Tweeddale ; the same prince gave to the monks of Scone the tenth of the can of his cheese brought in from his manors of Gowrie, Scone, Cupar, and Forgrund; and to the monks of Rendalgross, the tenth of the cheese and corn collected from tha district round Perth. 7 From the sam. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 33, 42. 3 Fordun a Hearne, p. 724. 4 Chron. MeJross, a Stevenson, p. 100. * Foedera, vol. i. p. 155. « Hoveden, fol. 420. annual revenue of the King of Scot* land, proceeding from the crown landa and other sources, amounted to twenty- one thousand marks, 7 somewhat more than two hundred thousand pounds. The same monarch, notwithstanding the drain of the royal, treasury, in his father's time, gave ten thousand marks, besides lands, as a marriage portion with his second sister; and, on one memorable occasion, when the Scottish sovereign paid a Christmas visit to Henry the Third at York, in the mutual interchange of gifts be- tween the two kings, Alexander, for the purpose of fitting out his royal host for the continent, made him a present of two thousand marks, or twenty thousand pounds of our present money, taking from him, at the same time, an acknowledgment, that the gift was never to be drawn into a precedent, but proceeded solely from his liberality. 8 Under Alexander the Third, the riches of the royal revenue appear to have kept pace with the general pros- perity of the kingdom. We have seen that monarch obtain the king- dom of Man and the Western Isles by purchase from the King of Norway, paying down for them the sum of four thousand marks, with an annual pay- ment of a hundred marks for ever ; and, not long after this transaction, the same monarch, at the marriage of his daughter to Eric, king of Nor- way, assigned as her dower the sum of seven thousand marks in addition to lands worth seven hundred marks a year. 9 To give an exact account of the various sources of the royal revenue in those early times would require a careful and lengthened investigation. The rents and produce of the royal lands and manors throughout the country ; the dues payable under the name of can on the products of agriculture, hunting, and fishing ; the customs on the exports of wool, wool- 7 Math. Paris, p. 411. Macpherson's Notes on Winton, vol. ii. p. 481. 8 Chron. de Dunstaple, MS. Bib. Cotton, quoted in Macpherson's Notes to Winton, vol. ii. p. 480. Rotuli Pat. 14 Hen. III. m. 5. and 15. m. 7. * Fordun a Hearne, p. 1358. Foedera, voL ii. p. 1079. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 247 fels, and hides ; on articles of domestic manufacture, on foreign trade and shipping; the fees and fines which arose at this period in all countries where the feudal system was estab- lished, from the administration of justice upon the wardship and mar- riage of heirs, and in the escheats of estates to the crown ; the temporary • aids which the tenants and vassals of every feudal sovereign were bound to pay on great occasions, such as making the king's son a knight, the marriage of his daughters, his own coronation or marriage, or his ransom from cap- . tivity : these, amongst others, formed some of the principal sources of the revenue of the crown. 1 If we make allowance for the rude- ness of the period, the personal state kept up by the Scottish sovereign was little inferior to that of his brother monarch of England. The various officers of the royal household were the same ; and when encircled by these dignitaries, and surrounded by his pre- ■ lates, barons, and vassals, the Scottish court, previous to the long war of liberty, and the disastrous reign of David the Second, was rich in feudal pomp. This is proved by what has already been observed as to the con- dition of the royal revenue, when compared with the inferior command of money which we find at the same era in England ; 2 and some interest- ing and striking circumstances, which are incidentally mentioned by our an- cient historians, confirm this opinion. As early as the age of Malcolm Can- more, an unusual splendour was intro- duced into the Scottish court by his Saxon queen. This princess, as we / learn from her life by Turgot, her ( confessor, brought in the use of rich \ and precious foreign stuffs, of which she encouraged the importation from distant countries. In her own dress she was unusually magnificent ; whilst she increased the parade attendant on the public appearance of the sovereign, by augmenting the number of his per- 1 Chalmers' Caledonia, vol. i. p. 747. Chamberlains' Accounts, passim. 2 Gulielmus Neubrig. p. 98. Macpherson's Notes on Winton, vol. ii. p. 4S1. sonal officers, and employing vessels of gold and silver in the service of his table. 3 Under the reign of Alexander the First, the intercourse of Scotland with the East, and the splendid ap- pearance of the sovereign, are shewn by a singular ceremony which took place in the High Church at St An- drews. This monarch, anxious to shew his devotion to the blessed apostle of that name, not only endowed the religious house with numerous lands, and conferred upon it various immunities, but, as an additional evi- dence of his piety, he commanded his favourite Arabian horse to be led up to the high altar, whose saddle and bridle were splendidly ornamented, and his housings of a rich cloth of velvet. A squire at the same time brought the king's body armour, which were of Turkish manufacture, and studded with jewels, with his spear and his shield of silver; and these, along with the horse and his furniture, the king, in the presence of his prelates and barons, solemnly devoted and presented to the Church. The housings and arms were shewn in the days of the historian who has recorded the event." 4 On another occasion, the riches of the Scottish court, and, we must add, the foolish vanity of the Scottish monarch and his nobles, were evinced in a remarkable manner. Alexander the Third, and a party of a hundred knights, were present at the corona- tion of Edward the .First; and in the midst of the festival, when the king sat at table, and the wells and foun- tains were running the choicest wines, he and his attendants dismounted, and turned their horses, with their embroidered housings, loose amongst the populace, to become the property of the first person who caught them, —a piece of magnificent extravagance, which was . imitated by Prince Ed- mund, the king's brother, and others of the English nobles. 5 s Turgot, Vita Sanct. Marg. apud Pinkerton, Vitse Sanctorum. * Extract from the Register of the Priory of St Andrews, in Pinkerton's Dissertation, Ap- pendix, vol. i. p. 464. Winton, voL i. p. 286 6 Knighton, 2461. 248 HISTORY OF From these facts some idea may be I formed of the wealth of the royal court of Scotland. Like the other contemporary feudal monarchs of Eu- rope, the sovereign was surrounded by certain great ministers of state, under the names of the justiciar, the .chancellor, the constable, the marshal, the seneschal, the chamberlain, and the hostiarius or doorward. These offices were held by the richest and most powerful nobles, whose wealth enabled them to keep up a train of vassals which almost rivalled the circle round the sovereign; and who, in their own court and castle, mi- micked the royal pomp, and were surrounded by their own cupbearers, constables, seneschals, and chamber- lains. 1 Next to the king, therefore, such great officers held the highest rank in the nation ; and no correct picture of the feudal government of Scotland, during this early period, can be given, without briefly consider- ing the respective duties which de- volved upon them. In the history of our legal adminis- tration, during that long period which occupies the interval between the accession of the First Alexander and the First James, the office of great Justiciar holds a conspicuous place; although, from the few authentic records of those times, it is difficult to speak with precision as to its exact province. It has already been remarked that, fin this early age, the king was the | fountain of justice, and the supreme judge of his people. We are indebted to a contemporary historian for a fine picture of David the First in this great character. " It was his custom," says Ethel red, " to sit, on certain days, —*at the gate of his palace, and to listen in person to the complaints of the poorest suitors who chose to bring their cause before him. In this em- ployment he spared no labour to satisfy those who 'appealed to him of the justice of his decision; encourag- ing them to enter into argument, whilst he kindly replied, and endea- voured to convince them of the justice i Robertson's Index, p. 82. SCOTLAND. of his reasons. Yet," adds the histo- rian, with great simplicity, " they often shewed an unwillingness to ac- quiesce in his mode of argument." 2 The progresses which were annually made by the king, for the purpose of redressing grievances, and inquiring into the conduct of his officers through- out the realm, have been already noticed under the reign of Alexander the Third; but the general adminis- tration of justice, at an early period, seems to have been intrusted to two great judges, — the one embracing within his jurisdiction the northern, and the other the southern part of the kingdom. Under these supreme officers, a variety of inferior judges appear to have enjoyed a delegated and subordinate jurisdiction, who bor- rowed their designations from the district in which they officiated, and were denominated the Judge of Gowry, the Judge of Buchan, the Judge of Strath era, the Judge of Perth ; but of whose exact authority and jurisdiction no authentic record remains. 3 The existence both of the supreme and of the inferior judges can be traced in authentic muniments, preserved chiefly in the Cartularies, throughout the reigns of Alexander the First, David the First, and Mal- colm the Fourth, during a period of nearly sixty years, from 1106 to 1165. William the Lion, who assumed the crown immediately after Malcolm IV., appears to have changed or new- modelled these offices, by the creation of two great judges named Justiciars ; the one the Justiciarius LaudoniaB, whose authority extended over the whole of the country south of the two Firths ; and the other the Justi- ciarius Scotise, embracing within his jurisdiction the whole of Scotland beyond the Forth. The series of justiciars of Scotland from the reign of this prince, during a period of nearly a century, has been traced through documents of unquestionable 2 Fordun a Hearne, p. 940. 3 Chalmers' Caledonia, p. 703, vol. i. note IX Crawford's Officers of State, p. 431. Robert* son's Index to the Charters, Postscript, p, 53. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 249 Authenticity; 1 but that of the justi- ciaries of Lothian cannot be so ac- curately ascertained, 2 while there is a third officer of the same high dignity, the Justiciarius ex parte boreali aquae de Forth, whom we find incidentally mentioned at the same period ; upon whose authority and jurisdiction the utmost research of our antiquaries has not succeeded in throwing any dis- tinct light. 3 There can be little doubt, I think, that the judicial authority of these officers was pre- eminent, and that it embraced a civil and criminal jurisdiction, which was next to that of the sovereign. At the period of the temporary subjugation of Scotland by Edward the First, this monarch, in his new-modelling of the machine of government, introduced a change by appointing two justices in Lothian, two others in the country lying between the Forth and the Grampian range, called the Mounth, and, lastly, by separating the great northern district, extending from the Grampians to Caithness, into two divisions, over which he placed two supreme justiciars. 4 Scotland, however, soon recovered her independence ; and it seems pro- bable that the ancient institution of a single Justiciar of Lothian was re- stored, along with her other native dignities, by Robert Bruce. It is cer- tain, at least, that the existence of a single judge under that title can be traced through authentic documents, down to the period of James the Fifth. The latter institution of Edward, re- garding the four justiciaries of Scot- land, who presided over the regions to the north of the Forth, as it w T as sanc- tioned by ancient usage, was preserved by him w r ho was the restorer of ancient right. 5 It would thus appear that, 1 Dalyel's Desultory Reflections on the Ancient State of Scotland, p. 43. See Cham- berlains' Accounts, Excerpta ex Rotulo Com- potorum Tempore Regis Alex III. voL i. p. 8. 2 The Justiciarius Laudoniae appears in the year 1263, under Alexander the Third. Chamberlains' Accounts, Excerpta ex Rotulo Compot. Temp. Alexandri III. p. 15. 3 In the Excerpta ex Rotulo Compot. Temp. Custodum Regni, p. 58, there appears 44 William St Clair, Justiciarius Gahvythie." » Ryley's Placita, p 504. 3 Cartulary of Lindores, p. 10. MS. Monast. during the reign of Robert liruce, the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the country was, with the exceptions to be immediately noticed, divided between five different justiciars ; and it is pro- bable, although it cannot be stated with historical certainty, that these supreme judges acted by deputies, who officiated in their absence, or pre- sided in minor cases ; and that they continued to be the supreme judges in Scotland down to the time of James the Fifth. The office of great justice or justiciar was undoubtedly of Norman origin ; 6 and, reasoning from the analogy be- tween the office in England and in Scotland, it may be conjectured that the principal duties which it embraced, at this period, regarded those suits which affected the revenue or emolu- ment of the king. The office of Chancellor, next in dignity to that of the justiciar, is cer- tainly as ancient as the reign of Alex- ander the First; but the precise nature of the authority committed to this great officer at this remote era of our history cannot be easily ascertained; and where authentic records do not demonstrate its limits, speculation is idle and un- satisfactory. It existed at a very early period in France, under the reign of Charlemagne ; it is found in England in the Saxon times ; but it was not till a much later period in Scotland, when the traces of a Celtic government be- came faint and almost imperceptible, and the Gothic race of the Saxons and the Scoto-Normans drove back the Celtic people into the remoter regions of the country, that Herbert the chan- cellor appears amongst the officers of the crown. 7 From this period, down to the coronation of Bruce, the indus- try of Chalmers has given a series of these great officers ; and without enter- ing into any antiquarian or etymologi- cal discussion, we have an authentic muniment in the contract of marriage between the son of Edward the First Scotiae, p. 26, quoted in Caledonia, p. 707. Robertson's Index, pp. 67, 74. 6 Spelman's G-lossarium, p. 399. Chamber- lains' Accounts, Excerpta ex Rotul. Compot. Tempore Alex. III. pp. 29, 42. 7 Crawford's Officers of State, p. 4. 250 HISTORY OF and the Maiden of Norway, by which it appears that the custody of the king's seal, the examination of all writs which received the royal signa- ture, and the cancelling or refusing the royal sanction to such deeds as ap- peared irregular, were then the chief duties of this officer. In addition to this, the Chancellor was the most inti- mate councillor of the king : he was always lodged near the royal person ; he attended the sovereign wherever he went, both in peace and war ; and was generally witness to his charters, letters, and proclamations. 1 This great office continued, as is well known, down to the period of the union of the king- doms; an existence, if we compute from its appearance under Alexander the First, of nearly six centuries. It has been already observed that che supremacy of the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the great justiciars was limited by some exceptions ; and the first of these is to be found in the existence of the ancient office of sheriff, the earliest appearance of which is to be found in the beginning of the twelfth century, under the reign of Alexander the First. 2 This, however, is the very dawn of the institution; and the division of Scotland into regu- lar and certain sheriffdoms must be referred to a much later era. It seems to be a sound opinion of the author of Caledonia, that " sheriffdoms were gradually laid out, as the Scoto-Saxon people gained upon the Gaelic inhabi- tants, and as the modern law, intro- duced by the Saxons, prevailed over the ruder institutions of our Celtic forefathers." 3 Previous to the con- clusion of that division of our national history, which this author has termed the Scoto-Saxon period, extending from 1097 to 1306, the whole of Scotland, with the exception of Argyle, Gal- loway, and the western coast, had been progressively divided into sheriff- doms. Many of these offices, the appoint- 1 Rymer's Foedera, vol. ii. p. 483. Balfour's Practieks, p. 15. 2 Dalrymple's Collections, p. 405. Charta Fundacionis Abbacieapud Schelechyrch, nunc Selkrif?. 3 Caledonia, p. 715. 1 1 SCOTLAND. ment to which was originally in the crown, had, at this early period, be- come hereditary in certain families; and, in imitation of the regal state, every greater baron appears to have appointed his sheriff, 4 in the same manner as we find many of these petty feudal and ecclesiastical prin6es sur- rounded by their chamberlains, chan- cellors, mareschals, and seneschals. It is certain, from the evidence of authen- tic records, that the term schire was anciently given to districts of much smaller extent than the sheriffships of the present day. In the foundation charter of William the Lion to the Abbey of Aberbrothoc, we find the shires of Aberbrothoc, of Denechyn, of Kingoldrum, and of Athyn ; and in the Cartulary of the Abbey of Dun- fermline, Dumfermelineschire, Dolor- shire, Newburnshire, Musselburgh- shire, with the shires of Gelland and Gaitmilk. Over these minute divisions we do not discover any presiding judge enjoying the title of sheriff. Previous, however, to the memorable year 1296, these small er divisions had disappeared ; and the different enactments of Edward the First, preserved in the volumes of Prynne and Rymer, present us with an exact enumeration of thirty-four sheriffdoms, over most of which a sepa- rate sheriff presided. 5 The jurisdiction of this judge, both in civil and in criminal cases, appears to have been extensive, and within his own district nearly as unlimited as that of the great justiciars throughout the king- dom. Under that savage state of feudal liberty, which lasted for many cen- turies in Scotland, all the higher nobles, both civil and ecclesiastical, enjoyed the power of holding their own court, and deciding causes where the parties w T ere their vassals. The origin of this is curious. At a very early period, probably about the mid- dle of the twelfth century, in the reign of Malcolm the Fourth, the land of Scotland began to be partially divided 4 Cart, of Glasgow, 103-5, quoted in Cale- donia, p. 716. Cart. Newbottle, p. 89. s Robertson's Index to the Charters. Notes i to the Introduction, p. xl. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 251 into royalty and regality. Those parts which were distinguished by the term royalty were subjected to the juris- diction of the king and his judges; the districts, on the other hand, which were comprehended under the name of regalities acknowledged the juris- diction of those ecclesiastics or nobles who had received a grant of lands from the crown, with the rights of regality annexed to it. The clergy appear to have been the first who, in the charters of lands which they often procured from the crown, prevailed upon the sovereign to convey to them the right of hold- ing their own courts, and ' to grant them an immunity from the jurisdic- tion of all superior judges. As early as the reign of Alexander the First, a royal charter conferred upon the monks of the Abbey of Scone the right of holding their own court in the fullest manner, and of giving judgment either by combat^ by iron, or by water; together with all privileges pertaining to their court ; including the right in all persons resident within their terri- tory of refusing to answer except in their own proper court. 1 This right of exclusive jurisdiction was confirmed by four successive monarchs. The same grants were enjoyed, as we know from authentic documents, by the Bishop of St Andrews, and the Abbots of Holy- rood, Dunfermline, Kelso, and Aber- brothoc, and, we may presume, on strong grounds, by every religious house in the kingdom. These powers of jurisdiction excluded the authority or interference of every other judge, of which we have decided proof in the Cartulary of Aberbrothoc . 2 It appears that in the year 1299 the abbot of that house repledged from the court of the king's justiciar, which was held at Aberdeen, one of his own men, upon pleading the privilege of the regality of Aberbrothoc ; and in imita- tion of the clergy, the higher barons soon procured from the royal fear or munificence the same judicial rights and exemptions, which they in their turn conveyed to their vassals. 1 Cartulary of Scone, p. 16. 2 Cartulary of Aberbrothoc, p. 19. A superior baron in those ancient times was thus in every respect a king in miniature. Surrounded by the officers of hi« little feudal court, he possessed the privilege of dispensing justice, or what he chose to term jus- tice, amongst his numerous vassals* he was the supreme criminal judge within his far-extended territories, and enjoyed the power of life and death, of imprisonment within his own dungeon, and of reclaiming from the court, even of the high justiciar, any subject or vassal who lived upon his lands. Can we wonder that, in the course of years, men, possessed of such high and independent privileges, became too powerful for the crown itself ? It was in consequence of this that Bruce, in the disposition of many immense estates, which were forfeited for their determined Opposition to his claim to the crown, bestowed them in smaller divisions upon new proprietors, who rose upon the ruins of these ancient houses. 3 The frequent grants of these estates by Bruce diminished the strength of the ancient aristocracy ; but it is evident, at the same time, that, as the new charters frequently conveyed along with the lands the rights of holding their own court, the power which had controlled the crown during the struggle of this great prince for his kingdom was rather divided than diminished ; so that the new barons, under the weak reign and long captivity of his successor, became as independent and tyrannical as before. When we come to consider the origin of the royal burghs, and the privileges conferred upon them by the sovereign, we shall discover a different and infe- rior judicial power, which extended to the determination of all causes aris- ing within the limits of their jurisdic- tion. In this brief sketch of our civil history it is impossible to enter into details upon the great subject of the law of the kingdom, as it existed dur- ing this remote period ; but it may be generally remarked, that in the courts of the great justiciaries, as well as in 3 Robertson's Index. Charters of Bobert the First. ^52 HISTORY OF those held by inferior officers of jus- ] tice throughout the realm, most causes ! of importance appear to have been j determined by the opinion of an assize, j or an inquest ; a mode of legal deci- sion which we can discern as early as the reign of William the Lion. In the year 1184, we find an inquest appointed to decide a dispute regarding the pas- turage of the king's forest, which had arisen between the monks of Melrose and the men of Wedale. The inquest, which consisted of twelve "good men," fideles homines, and Richard Moreville the constable, were sworn on the relics of the Church, and sat in presence of the king, his brother David, earl of Huntingdon, and the prelates and nobles of the court. It is probable, although it cannot be affirmed with certainty, that, even at this early age, the opinion of the majority of this jury of thirteen decided the case, and that unanimity was not required. 1 In an inferior dispute, which seems to have arisen between the monastery of Soltre and the inhabitants of the manor of Crailing, in the year 1271, regarding the right of the monks to a thrave of corn every harvest out of the manor, the cause was determined by a jury summoned from the three contiguous manors of Eckford, Upper Crailing, and of Hetun, who, under the title of Avtiquiores patrice, decided it in favour of the monks of Soltre. 2 The office of constable, which ap- pears in Scotland as early as the reign of Alexander the First, was exclu- sively military, and undoubtedly of Norman origin. This great officer was the leader of the military power of the kingdom. In England, we find him iu 1163 denominated indiscriminately constabularius and princeps militiee; 3 and there is every reason to believe that the province of the constable, as head of the army, was the same in both countries. What was the exact distinction in our own country be- tween the office of the mareschal and the constable it is not easy to deter- 1 Chron. Melrose, p. 176. Cartul. of Mel- rose, p. 64. Chalmers' Caledonia, pp. 752, 753. 2 Cartul. of Soltre, No. 17. s Math. Paris, p. 1028, 1. 63, L EL Twys- den, x. scrip. voL ii. Glossary. SCOTLAND. mine. That they were different ap- pears certain from the fa^t that we find a mareschal and a constable under the same monarch, and held by dif- ferent persons; but we have no au- thentic record which describes the nature of the duties which devolved upon the mareschal, although there is no doubt that both offices, at an early period, became hereditary in cer- tain great families. 4 The offices of the seneschal, or high steward, and of the chamberlain, belonged to the per- sonal estate of the sovereign ; and those who held them enjoyed the supreme authority in the management of the king's household, and in the regulation of the royal revenue. Both are as ancient as the reign of David the first; and the rolls of the royal expenditure, and receipts of the vari- ous items and articles of revenue, which were kept by the chamberlain, in his capacity of treasurer, still for- tunately remain to us, — a most curi- ous and instructive monument of the state of the times. The offices of inferior interest, though of equal anti- quity — the panetarius, or royal butler; the hostiarius, or keeper of the king's door; the pincerna, or cupbearer; to which we may add the keepers of the king's hounds, the royal falconers, the keeper of the wardrobe, the clerk of the kitchen, and various other in- ferior dignitaries — sufficiently explain themselves, and indicate a consider- able degree of personal state and splen- dour. To whatever spot the king moved his court, he was commonly attended by the great officers of the crown, who were generally the richest and most powerful nobles of the realm. It will be recollected also that such high barons were, in their turn, encircled by their own seneschals, chamberlains, constables, and personal attendants, and brought in their train an assem blage of knights, squires, and inferioi barons, who regarded their feudal lord as a master to whom they owed a more paramount allegiance than even to their king. To these officers, knights, and vassals, who, with their * Chalmers' Caledonia, pp. 709, 710. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 253 own soldiers arid martial dependants, constituted what was termed the " fol- lowing" of every great baron, his voice was, in the most strict and literal meaning, a supreme law, his service their only road to distinction. This has been sometimes called the prin- ciple of honour ; but as their neglect was sure to be visited with punish- ment, if not with utter ruin and de- gradation, it was, in truth, a lower principle — of selfishness and necessity, which limited their duties to the single business of supporting their liege lord against those whom he chose to esteem his enemies. None, indeed, can atten- tively read the history of those dark times without being aware that the immense body of the feudal vassals and military retainers throughout Scotland regarded the desertion of their king, or their leaguing themselves against the liberty of their country, as a crime of infinitely lighter dye than a single act of disobedience to the commands of their liege lord ; and, considered in this light, we must view the feudal system, notwithstanding all the noble and romantic associations with which it has invested itself, as having been undoubtedly, in our own country, a principal obstruction to the progress of liberty and improvement. We shall conclude our remarks upon the distinction of ranks in Scotland by some observations upon the state of the lower classes of the people during this important period of our history. These classes seem to have been divided into two distinct orders. They were, first, the free farmers, or tenants of the crown, of the church, and of the greater or lesser barons, who held their lands under lease for a certain rent, were possessed of considerable w r ealth, and enjoyed the full power of settlement in any part of the country which they chose to select, or under any landlord whom they preferred. This class is generally known in the books of the Chamberlains' Accounts by the title of " liberi firmarii ; " and a convincing proof of their personal freedom at an early period is to be found in the fact, which we learn from the same curious and instructive re- cords, that the farmers of the king possessed the full power of removing from the property of the crown to a more eligible situation. During the minority of the Maiden of Norway a sum of money was advanced to the farmers of the king, in order to pre- vail upon them to remain on the crown lands of Liberton and Laurence- town, which they were about to de- sert on account of a mortality amongst their cattle. 1 It was, I conjecture, this free body of feudal tenants who were liable t'o be called out on military ser- vice, and formed the great proportion of the Scottish infantry, or spearmen, in the composition of the army. Very different from the condition of this first order was the second class of cottars, bondsmen, or villeyns. Their condition forms a marked and extra- ordinary feature in the history of the times. They were slaves who were sold with the land ; and their master and purchaser possessed over their persons the same right of property which he exercised over the cattle upon his estate. They could not remove with- out his permission; wherever they settled, his right of property attached to them ; and, whenever he pleased, he could 'reclaim them, with their whole chattels and effects, as effectu- ally as he could seize on any animal which had strayed from his domain. Of this state of slavery innumerable examples are to be found in the Cartu- laries, establishing, beyond contro- versy, that a considerable portion of the labouring classes of the community was in a state of absolute servitude. We find, for example, in the Cartu- lary of Dunfermline, that three bonds- men, Allan, the son of Constantine, with his two sons, had in 1340 trans- ferred themselves from the lands of the abbot of this religious house to some other habitation, under pretence that they were the villeyns of Duncan; i "Item firmariis regis terre de Liberton et Laurancyston quorum animalia anno pre- dicto moriebantur ad valorem x librarum iii. c. de gracia ad presens, et ne exeant terram regis in paupertate, et ne 'terra regis jaceat inculta."— Chamberlains' Accounts, Temp, Custodum Regni, p. 65. 254 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. earl of Fife. On being ordered to come back to their own master they had refused, upon which an inquest was summoned, for the purpose of de- termining to whom Allan, the son of Constantine, and his sons, belonged; when it was found that they were the property of the abbot. 1 So early as the year 1178, William the Lion made a donation of Gillan- drean M'Suthen and his children to the monks of Dunfermline for ever. 2 We find that David the First, in 1144, granted to the Abbot of Kelso the church of Lesmahago, along with the lands of the same name, and their men ; and still later, in 1222, the Prior and the Convent of St Andrews, by an express charter, which is still pre- served, permit a bondsman and his children to change his master, and to carry his property along with him. 3 In the year 1258, Malise, earl of Strathern, gave to the monks of Inch- affray, for the safety of his own soul and the souls of his ancestors and suc- cessors, John, surnamed Starnes, the son of Thomas, and grandson of Thor, with his whole property, and the children which he had begotten, or might beget ; 4 and this for ever. When a grant of land was made by the king, or by any of his nobility, either for military service or to be held blench for the payment of a nominal feu-duty, it carried along with it to the vassal the power of remov- ing the tenants, with their cattle, pro- vided they were not native bondsmen. The right to these, and the power of reclaiming them, remained in the per- son of the lord of the soil, or feudal superior. Thus, in a valuable col- lection of ancient papers, we find a charter by which one of the Roberts 1 Cartulary of Dunfermline, p. 654. M'Far- lane's Transcript. The folio in the original 98. 2 Ibid, folio 13. 3 MS. Monasticon Scotiae, p. 33 ; quoted in Chalmers' Caledonia, vol. i. p. 720, and MS. Original Charters in Advocates' Library, No. 27. See DalzeFs Fragments of Scottish His- tory, p. 2S. See also Cartulary of Kelso, p. 9, as to the bondage of the labourers in the time of Alexander the First, and the Cartulary of Dunfermline, M'Farlane's Transcript, pp. 592, 69& 4 Cartulary of Inch affray, p. 36 ; quoted in I Annals of Scotland, vol. i. p. 304. I confers upon Maria Comyn certain lands, a cum licentia abducendi tenen- tes, cum bovis suis, a terris, si non sint nativi et ligii homines." 5 In consequence of this certain and acknowledged right, in the feudal landlord or baron, to the property of his bondsmen, with their children and children's children for ever, it became a matter of great consequence to ascer- tain with exactness, and to preserve, the genealogy of this unfortunate clas3 of men, in order that, upon any deser- tion or removal, the power of reclaim- ing them might be exerted with cer- tainty and success.' Accordingly, the Cartularies present us with frequent examples of genealogies of this sort. 6 The names of these bondsmen are essentially different from the free- born vassals and tenants, who com- monly took their names from their lands. In an ancient deed, entitled a perambulation to determine the bound- aries between the lands of the Abbot; of Dunfermline and those of David Doorward, which took place in the year 1231, under Alexander the Se- cond, the names of the landholders and minor barons, and of the bonds- men who attended upon this occasion, are easily distinguishable from each other. We meet with Constantine de Lochor, and Philip de Loch, and many others, after which occur such uncouth appellatives as the following : — Gille- costentin, Bredinlamb, Gilleserfmac Rolf, Gillecolmmacmelg, John Trodi, Riscoloc, Beth MacLood, Gillepatric Macmanethin ; and it may be noticed as a singular circumstance, which proves how different were the habits and customs of' this degraded class from the freemen of the same coun- try, that the father does not seem to have transmitted his name or surname to his children, or, at least, that this did not necessarily happen. In the genea- logy of J ohn Scoloc, which is preserved in the Cartulary of Dunfermline, the son of Patrick Stursarauch was Allan Gilgrewer, and the son of Allan Gil- 5 Haddington's Collections, quoted by Bai- ze), Fragments, p. 27. « Cartul. of. Dunferm. pp.. 145, 146. See Illustrations, le'tera PP ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 255 grewer was John Scoloc. 1 It seems certain that no change in the situation of these bondsmen, by which they rose in eminence or opulence, could have the effect of removing them from their original degraded condi- tion. They might enter the Church and become clerks, or continue lay- men, and pursue a successful career as artisans or merchants, but they were still as much slaves as before; and, till the time they purchased or pro- cured their liberty by the grant of their master, their persons, profits, and whole estate belonged exclusively to him. This is strikingly exemplified in a convention preserved in the Car- tulary of Moray, which took place be- tween Andrew, the bishop of that see, and Walter Comyn. It was agreed, in this deed, that the Bishop of Moray and his successors in the see should have all the clerks, and two laymen, whose names were Gillemalavock Mac- nakengello, and Sythach Macmallon ; these clerical and lay bondsmen, the deed proceeds to say, are to belong to the bishop and his successors, with their cattle, possessions, and children for ever ; while the Lord Walter Comyn is to have all the remaining lay bonds- men of the lands of Logykenny and Inverdrummyn. 2 It may perhaps be doubted whether the clerici naiivi here spoken of do actually mean bondsmen who have become clerks, or may perhaps merely signify bondsmen belonging to Church lands. Yet the words of the deed, and the marked opposition in which we find the words clerici et laid nativi, seem to favour the meaning here attached to it. In England, under the government of the conqueror, it was the mark of freemen that they could travel where they chose; and exactlv the same criterion was established in our own country. In Doomsday Book, a Nor- man baron, Hugo de Port, is men- tioned as the master of two tenants, who, in the days of Edward the Con- fessor, might go where they pleased 1 Cartulary of Dunfermline, p. 145. M'Far- lane's Transcript. See Illustrations, letters QQ. - Cartulary of Moray, pp 53, 54. See Illus- trations, letters PP. Caledonia, p. 721. without leave. In like manner Robert Bruce, in the year 1320, grants a charter to Ade, the son of Aldan, in which he declares that it had been found, by an inquest held before his chamberlain and justiciary, that this person was not the king's slave or bondsman, but was at liberty to re- move himself and his children, with their goods and chattels, to any part of the kingdom which he might select, at his own will and pleasure, without molestation by any one : on which account the king declares the said Ade, with his sons, Beth, John, Ranald, and Duncan, to be his freemen, and as such not subject to any yoke or burden of servitude for ever. 3 As the master could reclaim his fugitive bonds- man from any place to which he had transferred himself, so it was in his power alone to make his slave a free- man whenever he pleased. Thus, by a charter, dated at Perth on the 28th February 1369, David the Second in- timates to all concerned that he has made William, the son of John, the bearer of these letters, who was his slave and bondsman, his freeman, and had emancipated all his posterity ; so that he had full right, without trouble or molestation, to travel with his pro- perty and his children to whatever place he chose, and there take up his abode. 4 Many examples of the manu- mission of such unfortunate persons by their baronial masters, and still more frequent instances of the gift of freedom, conferred by the rich eccle- siastics and religious houses, are to be found in records of undoubted authen- ticity. 5 But the progress of freedom amongst the labourers of the soil was exceedingly slow and gradual; the names which are indicative of this degraded condition, such as nativi, 3 Henshall's Specimens, p. 74. " Prseterhoe habet Hugo duos homines tenentes dimidium solinum, qui poterant tempore Regis Edwardi ire quolibet sine licentia." Doomsday Book, 601. Robertson's Index to the Charters, Postscript, p. 54, and Index, p. 16, No. 26. In Robertson's Index, P.S. p. 54, will be found another curious deed, illustrative ot the condition of the "nativi homines," which is taken from an original in the Advocates' Library. * Robertson's Index, pp. 89. 47, 66. s See Illustrations, letters PP. 256 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. servi, villani, homines fugitivi, bondi, mancipii, occur throughout the whole period of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; nor is it prior to the fifteenth that we can discern the ex- tinction of slavery, and the complete establishment of individual freedom. In Scotland, bondage appears to have been sooner abolished than in the sister country. It continued in force in England as late as the year 1536 ; and its last traces are still discoverable in 1574, when a commission was issued by Elizabeth for the complete manu- mission bf the last relics of bondsmen and bondswomen in her dominions. 1 SECTION III. ANCIENT PARLIAMENT OF SCOTLAND. In the course of these observations, a subject of great interest and import- ance now presents itself, the satisfac- tory elucidation of which would require many pages of careful and laborious investigation : I mean the history and constitution of the Ancient Parliament of Scotland. Long before the existence of the word parliament, or the mention of the three estates of the kingdom, in our authentic histories or records, the sovereign of Scotland, like every other contemporary feudal monarch, was accustomed to consult, on occasions of solemnity and importance, with his high council ; consisting of the bishops and abbots, the great officers of the crown, and the most powerful nobles and barons of the realm ; but nothing resembling a regular parliament is to be found during the reigns of Alexan- der the First, or of his brother David. The bold and imperious character of Alexander seems, indeed, to have stretched the royal prerogative to the utmost extent ; and. from the few and .mperfect records of his short reign which yet remain to us, he appears to have been his own chief-councillor; but it is more remarkable that we look in vain for a parliament, or for any solemn assembly of the estates of the realm, under the long reign of i Harrington on the Statutes, pp. 247, 351. David the First, although he has been pronounced by Buchanan, an impar- tial witness when kings are the sub- ject, the most perfect model of a wise and virtuous prince. Yet David was undoubtedly a legislator ; and on one memorable occasion, the death of the heir-apparent, his only son, Prince Henry, he adopted the most solemn measures for the regulation of the succession. It will, perhaps, be recollected by the reader, that, under the reign of Robert Bruce, when the death of the young Steward rendered necessary some new enactments regarding the succession to the throne, a parliament assembled, in which the entail of the crown was solemnly settled upon Ro- bert the Second and his descendants. "Now, David the First, in 1152, had exactly the same task to perform as Bruce in 1318. But the mode in which it was executed was entirely dilleie.nt. He called no parliament. We dc not even discover that he took the advice of his royal councillor of his nobility. But he assembled an army, of which he gave the command to one of the most powerful of his nobles, and, delivering to him his infant grandson, commanded him to march through his dominions, and to proclaim him heir to the crown ; 2 a circumstance from which there arises a strong pre- sumption that, at this period, a parlia- ment was unknown in Scotland. Neither do we find this great coun- cil under the reign of his successor, Malcolm the Fourth. Lord Hailes, indeed, in his Annals has stated that Malcolm, with the advice of his parlia- ment, gave his sisters, Ada and Mar- garet, in marriage to the Counts of Holland and Brittany ; but the words of Fordun, if accurately understood, do not appear to bear such meaning, and the conjecture which the same author has added, in a note, is the true sense : — " Malcolmus subsidio suorum et consilio,' , implies nothing more than that Malcolm, with the " assistance and advice of his nobles," married his sisters : the assistance here spoken of was probably an aid or 2 Simeon Dunelm. p. USO. ANCIENT STAT grant of money, given to the king to make up the marriage portions of the young princesses ; but there is not the slightest proof that a parliament was as- sembled, during the reign of Malcolm, upon this or any other occasion. 1 In 1174, William the Lion, the suc- cessor of Malcolm the Fourth, having been taken prisoner by the English, after a short confinement at Rich- mond, was sent, by Henry the Second, to a more secure and distant dungeon at Falaise, in Normandy. The event called for an immediate interference of those upon whom the principal management of the government de- volved ; and it is well known that, in the name of the nation, a disgraceful transaction took place, by which the king, with consent oE the Scottish barons and clergy, purchased his liberty at the price of the independ- ence of the country. The principal fortresses of the kingdom, and some of the highest barons of the realm, were placed in the hands of the Eng- lish king, as hostages for the perform- ance of this treaty; yet this whole transaction, which gave liberty to a king, and extorted from the nobles an acknowledgment of feudal superiority in the English crown, was carried through without a parliament. Upon the accession of Richard the First, that crusading monarch, anxious to collect money for his expeditions to the Holy Land, proposed to restore to the same prince who had resigned it the independence of the nation, upon payment of ten thousand marks, somewhat more than a hundred thou- sand pounds of our present money. This sum, we Learn from authentic evidence in the Cartulary of Scone, 2 was collected by means of an aid grant- ed by the clergy and the nobles ; and it is remarkable that there is not the slight- est mention of a parliament in the course of the whole transaction. Not long be- fore his death, the same monarch con- cluded a peace with King John of Eng- land ; by one of the articles of which he 1 Fordun a Goodal, book viii. chap. iv. Hailes' Annals, vol. i. p. 124, 8vo edition. 2 Cartulary of Scone, f. 10. Hailes' Annals, POL i. p. 156. VOL. L 2 OF SCOTLAND. 257 engaged to pay to this prince the large sum of fifteen thousand marks. This could not be done without assistance : and, when the term of settlement arrived, "a great council," says For- dun, " was held at Stirling, in which, having requested an aid from his nobility, they promised to contribute ten thousand marks, besides the bur- gesses of the kingdom, who agreed to give him six thousand." 3 That this was a national council, and not merelv a consultation of the king with his great officers, is, I think, evident from an expression of Benedictus Abbas, when describing the consideration given by William to a proposal of Henry the Second, for a marriage be- tween the Scottish prince and Ermin- garde de Beaumont, as contrasted with the words used by Fordun. "Rex, habito cum familiaribus consilio, tan- dem adquievit," are the words used by the first-mentioned historian ; 4 and they are essentially different from the expression of Fordun. 5 Yet, upon what grounds shall we presume tc call" this • great council a parliament, when no evidence remains to us that the spiritual estate were assembled at all, or that a single burgess or mer- chant sat in the assembly, although the royal burghs, as towns belonging to the king, were obliged to contribute their share in the public burden ? We shall, I think, be confirmed in this opinion by an examination of some of the great public transactions of the succeeding reign of Alexander the Second. Upon the marriage of\ this monarch with an English princess, \ Joan, the sister of Henry the Third, I it naturally happened that many in- tricate discussions and grave and material stipulations took place; yet these, as well' as the settlement of the jointure of the princess, were discussed, and finally concluded, without the intervention of a parlia- ment. And the same observation may be made on the second marriaige of this prince with Mary de Couci. 6 On 3 Fordun a Goodal, lib. ytii. chap, lxxiii, vol. i. p. 529. * Benedictus Abbas, p. 448. 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 529. ♦ Math. Fans, p. 411. Ed. a Wats. a 258 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. another occasion, when Alexander, in 1224, levied an aid of ten thousand pounds, for providing portions to his sisters, it was granted, or rather im- posed upon the nation, by the simple order of the king, without the slightest appearance of a meeting of the three estates^ or even of the council of the king ; 1 and although we are informed by Fordun, that* the same monarch, immediately after his coronation, held his parliament at Edinburgh, in which he confirmed to the chancellor, con- stable, and chamberlain, the same high offices which they had enjoyed under his father, 2 the expression is so vague, and the notice so brief, that no certain inference can be deduced from it. On the contrary, although he was one of the wisest and most popular of our early kings ; although statutes of his enactment have come down to us, and his reign is fertile in domestic troubles and in foreign war, a careful examination of our authentic historical records has failed to discover a single instance, if we except the above, in which a parliament was as- sembled ; and the government appears to have been entirely directed and controlled by the will of the king, and the advice and assistance of the great officers of the crown. Upon the accession of Alexander the Third there was no change in this respect. The important public mea- sure of the marriage of their youthful king with a daughter of Henry the Third; the appointment of counsel- lors, who were intrusted with the management of the kingdom during the minority of the sovereign ; and the frequent changes in the regency which occurred in the stormy commence- ment of this reign, were wholly carried through without a parliament. 3 But we shall not wonder at this, when one 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 53. 2 Ibid. voL ii. p. 34. s Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 84, 85, 90, 91. In the year 1259, we find in Math. Paris, p. 844, Ed. a Wats., that W. de Horton, a commissioner from Henry the Third to the King of Scotland, on his arrival in that country, found the king and queen, and the nobility of the realm, as- sembled in parliament ; but of this parliament we have no evidence in Fordun, or Winton, or any authentic record. It was in all probability a mt^re assembly of the court. of the most important transactions of his reign, the settlement of the dis- putes with Norway, and the acquisi- tion of the Western Isles, involving an intricate and laborious treaty with that kingdom, a grant of money, and a yearly payment of a hundred marks, was concluded entirely by the king. The words, " habito super hoc maturo avisamento," which are used by For- dun, cannot, by the utmost ingenuity, be construed into anything more than a consultation between the king and his council. 4 The mode of considering the expediency of any public measure during this reign, appears to have been by the king holding a council, or col- loquy, with the officers of the crown, and, probably, the most powerful of the nobility. In the year 1264, when the treaty with Norway was in agita- tion, Alexander held two colloquies of this kind at Edinburgh; and the ac- counts of the Chamberlain inform us that, on this occasion, the carcasses of twenty-seven cows, six calves, and fourscore of sheep, were sent to the capital for the consumption of the king's household. 5 On the death of the Prince of Scot- land, and of his sister, the Queen of Norway, events which left this mo- narch with an infant grandchild as the only heir to the crown, it became ne- t cessary, for the peace and welfare of the kingdom, that there should be a settlement of the succession ; and it is fortunate that, in two authentic his- torians, we have a clear, although exceedingly brief, account of this trans- action. Winton informs us that Alex ander the Third " caused make a great gathering of the states at Scone;" and by an original and contemporary re- cord in Rymer, it is shewn that in this "gathering," which took place on the 5th February 1283-4, the Scottish nobles bound themselves by a solemn oath to acknowledge Margaret, princess of Norway, as their lawful queen, fail- * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 102. 5 "In viginti septem carcosiis vaccarum et vi. vacc. et. iiijxx. multonibus empt. ad ser- vicium Dni Regis ad duo Colloquia que tene- bantur apud Edinburgh, anno McpLXiv." — Chamberlains' Accounts, vol. i. p. 52. Compo- tum Vicecom. de Edinburgh, Temp. Alex. Ill ANCIENT STATE ing any children of the monarch then •on the throne, or of the Prince of Scot- land deceased. 1 The expressions used by Fordun in describing the same as- sembly denominate it a council of the prelates and nobles of the realm. 2 Nei- ther of these historians makes use of the word parliament in recording this event ; nor is there the slightest evi- dence of the appearance of the repre- sentatives of the burghs upon this occasion ; and, as Alexander the Third died soon after, we must conclude that, during his whole reign, there is no evidence that a parliament, in the sense in which that word was used in England under Edward the First, ever sat in Scotland. Upon the death of this monarch, and the subsequent calamities in which the kingdom was involved by the am- bition and injustice of Edward the First, we begin to discern something like the appearance of the great na- tional council ; and it is a remarkable fact that, from the greatest and bit- terest enemy who ever coped with this country, we should have derived our first ideas regarding a regular parlia- ment, composed of the prelates, barons, and representatives of the royal burghs. But this, as may be naturally conjec- tured, was not a sudden, but a gradual change, of which the history is both interesting and important. Immediately after the death of Alex- ander the Third, we are informed by Winton that there was a meeting of the estates of Scotland, who held a parliament, in which they appointed six regents to govern the kingdom. It is to be observed that this is the first time that the word parliament is used by this historian; but unfortunately no authentic record of its proceedings has been preserved; and Fordun is even silent as to its existence. 3 With regard, however, to a meeting of the estates of Scotland, which, not long 1 Winton, vol. i. p. 397, and Rymer, vol. ii. pp. 1091, and 582. Winton is in an error in making this gathering of the states in 1285, as it appears in the Foedera to have been held 5th February 1283-4. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 127. 3 Winton, vol. ii. p. 10. Fordun a Hearne, p. 951. OF SCOTLAND. 259 after this, took place at Lrigham, we are fortunately not so much in the dark ; as the record of it is preserved, and proves beyond a doubt the exact constitution of the great national coun- cil or parliament in 1289. It consisted of the five guardians or regents, ten bishops, twelve earls, twenty-three ab- bots, eleven priors, and forty-eight barons, who address themselves to Ed- ward under the title of the Community of Scotland ;. and it is certain that, in this parliament held at Brigham, there is no appearance of the representatives of the burghs ; an evident proof that, although called upon frequently to contribute their portion in the aids or grants of money which the exigencies of the kingdom required, they as yet had no place in the national council, and were not considered, in a legis- lative light, as part of the community of the realm. In the treaty regarding the marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Maiden of Norway, which was concluded at Brigham, one of the articles expressly stipulates "that no parliament was ever to be held without the boundaries of Scotland;" but the deed itself throws no light upon the composition of this national council. The death of the Princess of Scotland, and the bold and unprincipled conduct of the English monarch, have been already detailed ; and as the various conferences pre- paratory to the decision of the great question of the succession took place in an English parliament, although attended by the whole body of the Scottish nobility, it would be unsound to draw any inferences from this part of our history illustrative of the con- stitution of the ancient Scottish par-, liament ; nor can we lay much stress on a passage in Fordun, 4 when he in- forms us that the parliament of Scot- land afterwards declared to Baliol that he had been compelled to swear ho- mage to Edward, " inconsultis tribus statibus regni." It is material, how- ever, to observe, that when Edward, in the interval between the delivery of the Scottish fortresses and the production of the claims of the cam- 4 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 15& 260 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. petitors, took his progress through Scotland for the purpose of exacting a general homage, he called upon the burgesses of the realm to come for- ward and take the oaths of allegiance ; and that the first record in which we find the names of this important class in the community is an English deed, and the first monarch who considered their consent as a matter of public consequence, an English sovereign. 1 Upon the accession of Baliol to the throne, we have seen the harshness and intolerance with which he was soon treated by his new master ; and it is worthy of remark that in the parliament which was held by this un- fortunate monarch immediately after these indignities had been offered him, there is the first authentic intimation that the majores populi, or chiefs of the people, formed a constituent part of this assembly. 2 This, therefore, is the first great national council in the history of our country which is truly entitled to be called a parliament : the first meeting of the estates, in which the clergy, the nobility, and the repre- sentatives or heads of the people, sat in deliberation upon the affairs of the country. It may, perhaps, be in the recollection of the reader that its pro- ceedings were of a bold and determined description . They banished all English- men from Scotland ; seized and confis- cated the estates of the Anglo-Scottish nobles ; compelled Baliol to renounce his homage and fealty; and resolved upon an immediate war with England. 3 In addition to this, the same parlia- ment negotiated a marriage between a daughter of France and the eldest son of their sovereign ; and the public in- strument which contains the treaty entered into between France and Scot- land upon this occasion affords another proof that the towns and burghs had arisen at this period into a considera- tion to which till now they had been strangers. In contains a clause which provides that it shall be corroborated 1 Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 573. Prynne, pp. 502, 512. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 153. Heming- forcl, vol. i. p. 75, gives a different descrip- tion as to the constitution of this parliament, hut I prefer Fordun's authority. a History, aupra, pp. 41, 42. by the seals and the signatures, not only of the prelates and nobles, but of the " communitatis villarum regni Sco- tia," — meaning, evidently, the royal burghs of the kingdom. 4 The ex- pression in another part of the treaty is, " universitatis et communitatis nota- biles regni" which is equally clear and definite. I venture, therefore, to affirm, that as far as an examination of the most authentic records which have yet been discovered entitles us to judge on the subject, the first ap- pearance of the royal burghs, as an integral part of the Scottish parlia- ment, is to be found under the third parliament of Baliol ; and that we pro- bably owe their admission into the great national council to our bitter enemy, Edward the First. Could we discover the original record of this important parliament, the question would at once be set at rest ; but the expression of Fordun, and the positive proof of the appearance of the burghs in the treaty with the King of France, appear to be conclusive upon the point. In the long train of national calami- ties which followed this alliance with Philip we do not once meet with any event which throws light upon the constitution of our ancient parliament, till the period when Edward, after the death of Wallace and the surrender of the castle of Stirling, in the premature belief that his Scottish wars were ended, proceeded to organise a final settlement of his conquest. Upon this occasion, the persons whom he consulted were, the Bishop of Glasgow, Robert Bruce, afterwards king, and John de Mowbray. By their advice, he issued an ordinance, directing that the " Community of Scotland," mean- ing the states of the realm, should as- semble at Perth on the 28th of May 1305, in order to elect ten commis sioners, who were to repair to the English parliament, which was to be held at London. This number of ten persons, who were vested with full powers from the Scottish parliament, was to include two bishops, two ab- bots, two earls, two barons, and two members to represent the " Com* 4 Rymer's Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 696. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 261 mune," or community of burghs; a clear and satisfactory proof that their right to be represented in the great national council was now distinctly recognised, and that they stood in this respect upon the same ground as the two other estates of the kingdom. 1 It is unfortunate that no authentic record has come down to us of the pro- ceedings of the Scottish parliament in which these ten commissioners were elected ; but it may be presumed that the representatives of the burghs sat in the national council at Perth, and elected the two commissioners who were to appear for them in the Eng- lish parliament at London. From this period till the year immediately sub- sequent to the battle of Bannockburn no parliament sat in Scotland. Per- haps it is more correct to say no record of any has been preserved, be- cause an important council of the clergy which was held at Dundee, and in which a solemn instrument was drawn up respecting the succession to •the crown, gives us some ground for supposing that about the same time a meeting of the three estates bad taken place. In-the year 1315, Bruce, whose only child was a daughter, yet unmarried, judging it prudent to settle the succession, assembled a parlia- ment at Ayr, on the 26th April 1315 ; and we know, from the authentic evi- dence of the instrument drawn up at this time, that the heads of the com- munities or burghs sat in this parlia- ment, and affixed their seals to the deed, along with the prelates, earls, and barons who were convoked upon this solemn occasion. 2 No other meaning can be given to the passage which affirms that the prelates, earls, barons, and heads of the communities or royal burghs, " majores communi- tatis," had appended their seals to the instrument. The same observations may be made 1 Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, Intro- ductory Chronological Abstract, p. 66. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 258. Robert- son's Index to the Charters, Appendix, pp. 7, 8. The original deed is now lost, although it appears to have been in the hands of Sir James Balfour, who made the copy which now exists amon erst theHarleian Manuscripts, 'No 4694. regarding the parliament which met at Scone in the year 1318, after the death of King Edward Bruce in Ireland ; in which it was deemed necessary, by King Robert, to introduce some new regulations regarding the same sub- ject, — the succession to the crown. 3 Of this assembly of the estates, as of the former, no original record remains ; but the presence of the " communi- ties w or burghs is proved by the oopy of the original deed, which is pre- served amongst the Harleian Manu- scripts. In like manner, strong evi- dence is afforded by the famous letter of remonstrance, which was addressed to the Pope in the year 1320, that the burghs were now considered as an in- tegral part of the parliament. This epistle was drawn up in a parliament held at Aberbrothoc ; and, after enu- merating in its exordium the names of the prelates, earls, and most noted of the barons present, it adds, the " libere tenentes ac tota communitas regni Scotise." 4 Hitherto, as far as the history of the ancient parliament of Scotland has been examined, we have been com- pelled to be contented with such pas- sages as afford, not indeed conclusive evidence, but certainly strong pre- sumptions, that from the period of the reign of Baliol the representatives of the burghs appear to have been ad- mitted into the great national council. But we have now reached the parlia- ment which was held by Bruce at Cambuskenneth in 1326 ; and although the original record of this assembly of the estates has perished, with many other* precious instruments which might have thrown a flood of light upon the obscure paths through which we have been travelling, an indenture has been preserved, which proves be- yond a doubt that, besides the earls, barons, and freeholders, or libere ten- entes, the representatives of the burghs sat in this parliament, and formed the third estate of the national council. 5 * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 290. Robert- son's Index, Appendix, p. 9. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 275. 5 This indenture is printed in Karnes' Law Tracts, Appendix, No. 4. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 287. 262 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. The expressions of the historian For- dun upon this occasion are different from what he generally uses. " In this year," says he, " at Cambuskenneth, the clergy of Scotland, with the earls, barons, and whole body of the nobles, along with the people there assembled, took the oaths of allegiance and hom- age to David, the son and heir of their king." On such an occasion, Bruce, whose health was fast declining, would be naturally desirous that the oaths to his son and successor should be ten- dered in the midst of a numerous and solemn concourse of his people. It may be presumed, therefore, on strong grounds, that the chief men of every burgh in the kingdom would be ad- mitted into the parliament at Cam- buskenneth. This is the last parliament of Bruce regarding which we have any certain account. There can be little doubt, however, that a parliament was as- sembled at Edinburgh, in which the peace of Northampton, which for ever secured the independence of the king- dom, was debated on, and finally ad- justed ; as we know that a treaty was concluded at Edinburgh on the 17th of March 1327, which was afterwards rati- fied by Edward the Third at North- ampton, on the 4th of May 1328. It is satisfactory to find that the expres- sions of this treaty clearly demonstrate that the burghs had been consulted in its formation. It is said to be con- cluded with consent of the prelates, earls, barons, and other heads of the communities of the kingdom of Scot- land. 1 In that disgraceful parliament held by Edward Baliol at Edinburgh, in 1333, in which this prince gave up the independence of the nation, and, by a solemn instrument, actually dismem- bered the kingdom, and annexed a great portion of its territory to Eng- land, the burghs did not appear, 2 an exemption of which Scotland ought to be proud. It is evident, indeed, from the account of it preserved in the original record in the Fcedera, that the assembly was not so much a parlia- i Robertson's Index, p. 103. * Rymer's Fcedera, vol. iv. p. 590. ment as a meeting of Baliol's adhe- rents, held under the direction and con- trol of Geoffrey Scrope, chief justice of England. From this period, for more than twenty years, the history of the country presents us with a frightful picture of foreign and domestic war ; of the minority and captivity of the sovereign ; and the intrigues and trea- sons of the nobles : with the enemy constantly at their gates, and fighting daily for their existence as a people. During all this time, no parliament appears to have assembled; and the different regents who successively held the reins of government were sum- marily chosen by the voices of the few nobles who continued to struggle for their liberty. 3 There is not pre- served to us a single document from which we can conclude that the pre- lates, the barons, and the community of burghs, ever consulted together throughout all this disastrous period ; but, to this era of obscurity and dark- ness, there succeeds a gleam of light, which suddenly breaks in upon us in the negotiations for the ransom of the captive king, and sets the question as to the constitution of the Scottish par- liament in 1357 nearly at rest. In a parliament held this year at Edin- burgh, we know, from the original instrument preserved in the Fcedera, 4 that the representatives or delegates of the seventeen royal burghs formed the third estate in this great council ; and when the prelates and the barons chose their respective commissioners to carry through the final arrangement regard- ing the restoration of their king, and the payment of his ransom,- the royal burghs nominated, for the same end, 3 In Fordun, book xiii. chap, xxii., xxv., xxvii., there are notices of the election of the Earl of Mar as regent, in a parliament held at Perth, 1332, and of the same high office being conferred, successively, on Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, in the same calamitous year, and on Archibald Douglas, in 1333; but the times were full of war and trou- ble, and all record of these elections has per- ished. * Fcedera, vol. vi. pp. 43, 44, 45. It is evi- dent, I think, that the royal burghs also sat in the parliament held at Perth on the 17tb January 1356-7 ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 263 eleven delegates, to whom ample powers were intrusted. 1 It would have been impossible in- deed for the nation to have paid the large ransom which was then exacted by England without the assistance of the class of the community which, next to the clergy, possessed the greatest command of ready money. It is important to observe that, in the record of the proceedings of this national council, which may be said to be the first Scottish parliament in which there is unquestionable evidence of the presence of the burghs as the third estate, the expressions employed in the instrument in Kymer are ex- actly the same as those which I have considered as demonstrative of the presence of the royal burghs in the parliaments of Baliol and Bruce. " De consensu et voluntate omnium com- itum, procerum, et Baronum et Com- munitates regni Scotise." 2 The records of the parliaments which were held by David after his return to his dominions in 1363, at Scone, being mutilated and imperfect, we are only able to say that the three estates were present; 3 but in the original record of the parliament held at Perth in 1364, it is not only certain that the representatives of the royal burghs formed the third estate, but the names of the worthy merchants who filled this important situation have been preserved. 4 Again, in a parlia- ment held at Scone on the 20th July 1366, we find it stated in the initiatory clause that it consisted of those who were summoned to the parliament of 1 Supra, p. 202. 2 The consideration into which the burghs or the merchants of Scotland had arisen during those tedious negotiations for' David's liberty, which called for an immediate supply of money, is evident from a deed in Rymer, vol. .v. p. 723, in which the clergy, nobles, and merchants of Scotland gave their oaths for the fulfilment of certain conditions. It is dated 1351. And again, in the abortive treaty for the king's ransom, which was con- cluded in 1354, and which will be found in Rymer, vol. v. p. 793, certain merchants and burgesses of Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, and Edinburgh, became bound for the whole body of the merchants of Scotland. * Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp. »6, 100. * Ibid. p. 101. the king according to ancient use and wont — namely, the bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, and free tenants who hold of the king in capite, anfl certain burgesses who were summoned from each burgh to attend at thb time, whilst, in a subsequent meeting of the great national council in th» autumn of the year 1367, we find th* earliest appearance of those com mittees of parliament which became afterwards so common, and, in all probability, gave rise to the later in- stitution of the Lords of the Articles. It is stated that, in consequence of ita being held at this season, " causa aa- tumni," certain persons had been elected to hold the parliament, while permission was given to the rest of the members to return to their own busi- ness. 5 On this occasion thirteen bur- gesses were chosen by their brethren ; the burghs of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, Montrose, and Had dington, each being represented by two burgesses, and the burgh of Lin- lithgow by a single delegate. The expense and inconvenience occasioned by a summons to attend as member* of the great national council are . apparent in the record of a parliament which assembled at Scone, on the 12th of June 1368, and of a second meeting of the three estates, which took place at Perth on the 6th of March of the same year. In the firs the practice of obtaining a leave of absence, and sending commissioners in their place, appears to be fully recognised; and in the second we find the same mea- sure again adopted, which is above alluded to, of making a selection of a committee of certain members, to whom the judicial business of the parliament, and the task of deliberat- ing upon the affairs of the country, were intrusted, leave being given to • the rest of the members to take their departure, and attend to their own concerns. It has been already remarked, 6 that, • in the last parliament of David the Second, which was held at Perth on 5 Robertson's Parliamentary Record*, pp. 105, 108. e Supra, p. 229. 264 HISTORY OP the 18th of February 1369, this new- practice of choosing committees of parliament was carried to a dangerous excess. To one of these committees, composed of six members selected from the clergy, fourteen from the barons, and six from the burgesses, was committed the decision of all judicial pleas and complaints, which belonged to the parliament; and to the other, which included in its num- bers the clergy and the barons alone, was intrusted the consideration of cer- tain special and secret affairs touching the sovereign and the kingdom, which it was thought expedient should be discussed by them alone previous to their coming to the knowledge of the great council of the nation. 1 I have endeavoured to trace the history of the ancient constitution of our Scottish parliament from the ear- liest appearance of a national council to the era of the full admission of the burghs as a third estate. Guided in our investigation by the sure light of authentic records and muniments, or of almost contemporary historians, we have seen the earliest appearance of the commons or burghs under Baliol ; their increased consequence in the conclusion of the reign of Bruce ; and their certain and established right of representation during the reign of David the Second ; and, in concluding this division of our subject, it may be remarked that the employment of the great national council in a judicial as well as a legislative capacity cannot be traced to an earlier period than the reign of this monarch. SECTION IV. EARLY COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION. In the course of these observations upon the condition of the country during this remote period of our his- tory, its commercial wealth and the state of its early manufactures are subjects of great interest, upon which it will be necessary to offer some re- marks ; and both points are so. inti- 1 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 117. SCOTLAND. mately connected with the navigation of the country, that it will be impos- sible to advert to the one without at- tending to the other. The general prosperity of the kingdom under the reign of Alexander the Third has already been noticed; and there is even reason to believe that, at an infi- nitely more remote period, the Scots had established a commercial inter- course with the continent, and, in the end of the sixth century, imported fine linen from foreign parts. 2 Under the reign of Macbeth — a monarch whom the patient research of our an-' tiquaries has rescued from the re- gion of fable and the immortal libels of Shakespeare — the kingdom was wealthy; and, from the discovery of large quantities of money coined by Canute, the almost contemporary King of England, we may infer the existence of some foreign commerce. It is cer- tain that, in a pilgrimage to Rome, this king exhibited a liberality in dis- tributing money to the poor which was considered remarkable even in that rich resort of opulent pilgrims. 3 The rich dresses which were imported by Malcolm the Third, the Asiatic luxuries of Alexander the First, and the grant by Edgar to the church of Durham of the duties on ships which entered the ports of a certain district in his dominions, all denote the exist- ence of a trade with foreign countries. Under the subsequent prosperous and able reign of David the First, the evidence of the Cartularies, and the minute and interesting details of his friend and biographer, Ethelred, en- able us to form some idea of the com- mercial wealth of the nation. Scotland was, a* this period, visited by many foreign ships ; and the merchants of distant countries traded and exchanged their commodities with her opulent burghers. It was the praise of this monarch, to use the language of For- dun, " that he enriched the ports of 2 Macpherson's Notes on Winton, vol. ii. p. 479. 3 A. D. ML. " Rex Scotiae Machetad Rome argentum seminando pauperibus distribuit." Marianus Scotus. Macpherson's Notes on Winton, vol. ii. pp. 469, 479. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 265 his kingdom with foreign merchandise, and to the wealth of his own land added the riches and the luxuries of foreign nations; that he changed its coarse stuffs for precious vestments, and covered its ancient nakedness with, purple and fine linen."' 1 In his reign the ports of Perth, Stirling, and Aber- deen were the resort of foreign mer- chant ships, which paid certain duties to government before they were per- mitted to trade ; and out of the sums thus collected, the king, who favoured the Church, gave frequent grants to the monasteries and religious houses. 2 One great cause of the wealth and prosperity- of Scotland during those early times was the settlement of multitudes of Flemish merchants in the country, who brought with them the knowledge of trade and manufac- tures, and the habits of application and industry which have so long cha- racterised this people. These wealthy citizens had been welcomed into Eng- land by the wisdom of Henry the First, and had settled upon the district contiguous to the Marches, from which they gradually spread into the sister country during the reign of Alexander the First. In 1155 Henry the Second, with angry and shallow policy, banished all foreigners from his dominions; 3 and the Flemings, of whom there were then great numbers in England, eagerly flocked into the neighbouring country, which offered them a near and safe asylum. Here, without los- ing their own particular tendency to make money by trade, and to establish commercial settlements, they accom- modated themselves to the warlike habits of the people, and willingly served with other mercenary troops of the same nation in the king's army; 4 whilst, at the same time, their wealth and industry as traders, fishers, manufacturers, and able and intelli- gent craftsmen, made them excellent instruments in the hands of David the First for humanising and amelio- rating the character of his people, and 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 305. 2 Dalrymple's Collections, p. 386. 3 Brompton, p. 1043. * Gulielmus Neubrigensis, p. 232. introducing amongst them habits of regular civil occupation. We can trace the settlement of these industrious citizens, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in almost every part of Scotland, — in Berwick, the great mart of our foreign com- merce ; in the various towns along the east coast ; in St Andrews, Perth, Dumbarton, Ayr, Peebles, Lanark, Edinburgh; and in the districts of Kenfrewshire, Clydesdale, and Annan- dale. There is ample evidence of their industrious progress in Fife, in Angus, in Aberdeenshire, and as far north as Inverness and Urquhart. It would even appear, from a record of the reign of David the Second, that the Flem- ings had procured from the Scottish monarchs a right to the protection and exercise of their own laws. 5 It has been ingeniously conjectured that the story of Malcolm the Fourth hav- ing dispossessed the ancient inhabit- ants of Moray, and of his planting a new colony in their stead, may have originated in the settlement of the Flemings in that remote and rebellious district. 6 The early domestic manu- factures of our country, the woollen fabrics which are mentioned by the statutes of David, and the dyed and shorn cloths which appear in the char- ter of William the Lion to the burgh of Inverness, 7 must have been greatly improved by the superior dexterity and knowledge of the Flemings ; and the constant commercial intercourse which they kept up with their own little states could not fail to be bene- ficial in importing the knowledge and the improvements of the continental nations into the remoter country where they had settled. 8 The insular situation of Scotland, and the boisterous seas and high rocky coasts which defend it, must have early accustomed its inhabitants to direct their attention to the arts of ship- building and navigation. Other causes 5 Robertson's Index, p. 61. c Chalmers' Caledonia, vol. i. pp. 627, 628 ' See also the charter of William the Lion to the royal burgh of Perth, in Cant's Muse's Threnodie, vol. ii. p. 6. s M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol , p. 403. '266 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, increased this. The early intercourse and colonisation of the Western Islands, and of the mainland districts of Caithness and. Sutherland, by the Norwegians, with the constant piratic battles which took place between this powerful people and the independent sea kings who broke off from their dominion, nursed up a race of hardy sailors and intelligent mercantile ad- venturers; and these, on becoming subjects and vassals of the Scottish kings, brought with them a stock of courage, skill, and enterprise, which was of the highest value to the nation. It is singular, too, that in these remote islands, when they remained under the dominion of the Norwegians, there is reason to believe that the arts and manufactures had been carried to a high pitch of excellence. The He- bridean chkfs, in the exercise of piracy, the principal source of their wealth, and then esteemed an honourable pro- fession, had made descents upon most of the maritime countries of the west of Europe ; had become acquainted with the navigation of their seas, and carried off to their islands the silks, the armour, the golden vases, the jewelled ornaments, and the embroi- dered carpets and tapestry which they plundered from the castles, churches, and palaces of the west. 1 Their skill in navigation, and the formidable fleets which they could launch against their enemies, are attested in many passages of their own historians. Alan, lord of Galloway, one of those independent princes who often disdained to acknow- ledge the sovereignty of Scotland, fitted out a fleet of a hundred and fifty ships, and drove Olave the Black, king of Man, from his dominions. 2 At an era anterior to this, Reginald Somerled, then the king of Man, was so opulent as to purchase the whole of Caithness from William the Lion, an exception being specially made of the yearly revenue due to the sovereign. 3 Ewen of Argyle, one of these island chiefs, 1 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. pp. 278, 279. 2 Torfsei Orcades, lib. ii. This happened in 1231. 3 Chronicon Manniae, aputl Johnstone, An- agreed, at an early period, probably towards the conclusion of the reign of Alexander the Second, to pay to the Scottish monarch an annual tribute of three hundred and twenty marks. 4 Instructed by the vicinity of such enterprising navigators, and aware of the importance of a naval force, our early sovereigns made every effort to attain it. Alexander the Second, who died on the expedition which he had undertaken against Angus of Argyle, had collected, if we may believe the author of the Chronicle of Man, a great fleet; and there is reason to think that, during his reign, as well as under that of his predecessor William, the navy of the country became an object of royal attention and encouragement. 5 In the year 1249, Hugh de Chastillon, earl of St Paul, one of the richest and most powerful of the French barons, consented to accompany Lewis the Ninth to the Crusade ; and it is certain that the ship which was to have borno him and his vassals to the Holy Land was built, by his orders, at Inverness. It may be inferred from this fact that the ship carpenters of Scotland had acquired a reputation at this period which had made them celebrated even in foreign countries ; and it furnishes, perhaps, another proof of those vast forests of oak and fir which at this period covered the greater part of the north of Scotland. 6 In naval and commercial enterprise, as in all the other arts and employ- ments which contributed to increase the comforts and the luxuries of life, the clergy appear to have led the way. They were the greatest shipowners in the country ; and the Cartularies con- tain frequent exemptions from the duties generally levied on the mer- chantmen who imported foreign manu- factures, which are granted to the ships of the bishops, abbots, and priors, who embarked the wealth of their religious houses in these profit- tiquitates Celto-Normanicae, p. 52. This happened in 1196. * Ayloffe's Calendars of Ancient Charters, p. 336. 5 Chronicon Manniae, p. 36. 6 Math. Paris, p. 668. Ed. a Wats. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 267 able speculations. At this period the staple exports of Scotland seem .to have been wool, skins, hides, and salted fish, in which there is evidence of a flourishing and constant trade. 1 For live stock also, embracing cattle, horses, and the indigenous sheep of the country, there seems to have been a frequent foreign demand; but the woollen and linen manufactures were too coarse to compete with the finer stuffs of England, Flanders, and Italy, and were probably exclusively em- ployed for the clothing of the lower classes. Still, there is ample proof that, limited as was this list of exports, the wealth of the country, even in those districts which were considered especially wild and savage, was con- siderable. Under William the Lion, Gilbert, the lord of Galloway, was able, from the resources of his own exchequer, to offer to pay to Henry the Second a yearly tribute of two thousand marks of silver ; five hun- dred cows; and five hundred swine. 2 From the account which has already been given of the wealth of the royal revenue under our early kings, and of the large sums of money expended on various public occasions by David, iVilliam, Alexander, and Malcolm the Fourth, we must infer a correspondent increase of wealth in the different classes of the kingdom, especially in the mercantile and trading part of the community ; and it is not improbable that many of these sums were partly contributed by an aid which was levied from the different orders of the state, although, if we except a few instances, all records of such grants have been lost. On one memorable occasion, where William the Lion had engaged to pay to John of England fifteen thousand marks, we have seen that the burghs contributed six thousand ; a sum equal to more than sixty thou- sand pounds of our present money; 3 and the large sums collected by the Papal legates during the reign of Alex- 1 Rymer's Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 95. Rymer, Coll. MS. vol. ii. p. 287, in M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 436. 2 This was in 1174. Benedictus Abbas, De vita Henrici II., p. 93. a Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p- 529. ander the Second evince no incon- siderable wealth at this period. 4 A poor country would not have attracted such frequent visits from those insa- tiable emissaries of the Pope ; and his Holiness not only continued his de- mands under the reign of Alexander the Third, 5 but appears to have highly resented the ambition of Edward the First when it interfered with them. The mercantile wealth and the general prosperity of the kingdom during the reign of Alexander the Third have been already noticed ; and the arrival of the Lombard merchants with a pro- posal of establishing settlements in Scotland is an event which itself speaks a decided progress in mercan- tile wealth and opulence. The repeated shipwrecks of merchantmen, and the loss of valuable cargoes, which are described as being far more frequent in this reign than before, were evi dently occasioned by the increased spirit of commercial adventure. Voy- ages had become more distant; the various countries which were visited more numerous ; the risks of loss by piracy, tempest, or arrestment in for- eign ports more frequent; and it is a circumstance worthy of note that the king, in consequence of this, became alarmed, and published an edict, by which he forbade the exportation of any merchandise from his dominions. "This measure, ,, observes an ancient historian, "was not carried into execu- tion without difficulty; and a year had not expired when the vessels of differ- ent nations, laden with merchandise, came into our ports, anxious to ex- change their commodities for the pro- ductions of our country ; upon which it was enacted that burgesses alone should be permitted to engage in traffic with these new comers." It is evident from all this that the Scot- tish exports were in considerable demand in continental markets; and the short-sighted policy of Alexander, in suddenly stopping the trade which was thus carried on, created a strong sensation, and occasioned an imme- * Math. Paris, a Wats., pp. 631, 422, 481, 509. 5 Foedera, vol. i. pp.552, 553, 582, 608, 609. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 122. 263 HISTORY OF diate resort of foreign vessels into the Scottish ports. Upon tins occasion, the Lombards, in their proposals to erect factories in Scotland, intended, probably, to step into the lucrative trade which the Scottish merchants, in consequence of the new edict of the king, were no longer permitted to carry on. 1 One of the most interesting subjects connected with the trade and early commerce of the kingdom is the rise of the towns and royal burghs, and the peculiar circumstances which in- duced our kings to bestow so many privileges upon these early mercantile communities. It is evident that the Celtic inhabitants of the country were averse to settle or congregate in towns ; and that, as long as Scotland continued under a purely Celtic government, the habits of the people opposed them- selves to anything lie regular indus- try or improvement. 5 Even so late as the present day, the pacific pursuits of agriculture, the labours of the loom, or the higher branches of trade and commercial adventure, are uncongenial to the character of this unsettled, though brave and intrepid, race ; and the pages of contemporary and au- thentic historians bear ample testi- mony to the bitter spirit with which they resisted the course of civilisation and the enlightened changes intro- duced by our early kings. So much, indeed, is this the case, that the pro- gress of improvement is directly com- mensurate with the gradual pressing back of the Celtic population into the remoter northern districts, by the more industrious race of the Saxons and the Anglo-Normans. In this inquiry, a description has already been given of the royal and baronial castles of Scotland in those remote periods, and of the clusters of hamlets which arose under their walls, inhabited by the retainers of the prince or the noble upon whose bounty they lived, and whose power protected them : Fordan a GoodaL vol. ii. p. 130. The ; '.aces where the Lombards proposed to make their settlement were on the hill above Qaeensferrv. or on one of the islands near Cramond. * - Ibid. vol. i. p. 44. SCOTLAND from molestation. To these small villje. and to the security which they enjoyed from the vicinity of the castle, is to be traced the first appearance of towns in Scotland, as in the other countries of Europe. Nor were the rich religions houses less influential than the royal and baronial castles ; for their proprie- tors, themselves the most opulent and enterprising class in the community, encouraged the industry of their nu- merous vassals, and delighted to see the houses and settlements of wealthy and enterprising artisans arising under the walls of their monastery. 3 The motives for the care and pro- tection extended to such infant villages and communities are easily discover- able, if we recollect the description already given of the condition of a great portion of the lower orders of the people, out of which class the manufacturers and traders arose. They were slaves ; and their children, their wealth, and the profits of their indus- try exclusively belonged to their lords; so that a settlement of wealthy manu- facturers, or a community of successful and enterprising artisans, under the walls of a royal castle, or rich abbey, or within the territory of a feudal noble, was just so much money added to the revenue of the king, the baron, or the abbot. 4 As wealth increased with security and industry, the in- habitants of these communities began gradually to purchase their liberty from their lords, 5 and to form themselves into insulated associations, which, from their opulence, were able to bribe the sovereign to grant them peculiar pri- vileges. 6 Into these bodies, freedom, * Houard, Traites sot les Coatomes Anglo- Nonnandes, vol. ii, pp. 361, 362. Ducange, Gloss, voce Commania. 4 Cartularv ol Kelso, pp. 209, 221. Ibid, pp. 3S9, 408. * In the Appendix to Lye's Saxon and Gothic Dictionary, Xo. Y., published by Mr Manning, we find a very early instance of this, entitled. »• Testificatio Manumissionis Aelwigi Rah." It is as follows : — •• Hie noti- ficatar in hoc Chiisti libra qnod Aelfwig Rajas redemit seipsam de Aelfico abbate. et toto convento. com ana libra. Cojos est in testimo- nium totos conventos in Bathonia. Christus earn oceaecet, qai hoc scriptam perverteriL* Aelfisra was abbot between 1075 and 1067- < Madox. II : story of the Exchequer, pp. 231, 275. 27 S. folio ed. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 26fr and the feeling of property, soon in- fused an additional spirit of enter- prise, and transformed their members from petty artisans into opulent mer- chants, whose transactions embraced, as we have seen, a respectable com- mercial intercourse with foreign coun- tries. It was soon discovered by the mon- archs of Scotland that these opulent communities of merchants formed so many different points, from which civilisation and improvement gradu- ally extended through the country; and the consequence of this discovery was their transformation, by the favour of the sovereign, into chartered corpo- rations of merchants, endowed with particular privileges, and living under the especial protection and superintend- ence of the king. 1 In this manner, at a very early period, royal burghs arose in Scotland. The various steps of this progress were, in all probability, nearly the same as those which are pretty clearly seen in the diplomatic collections and ancient mu- niments of different European king- doms; the hamlet growing into the village ; the village into the petty town ; and this last into the privileged and opulent burgh : and it is evident that our kings soon found that the rise of these mercantile communities, which looked up to the crown for protection, and repaid it by their wealth and their loyalty, formed a useful check upon the arrogance and independence of the greater nobles. 2 It is probably on this account that the rise of the burghs was viewed with great jealousy in France; and that their introduction into that kingdom is described, by a contemporary author, " as an execrable invention, by which slaves were en- couraged to become free, and to forget their allegiance to their master!" 3 At an early period in our history, the superior intelligence and the habits of industry of the English people induced our kings to encourage the tradesmen and the merchants of 1 Houard's Anciennes Loix des Francois, • vol. i. p. 235. 2 Fordim a Goodal, vol. i. p. 305. 3 Ducange, Glossar. voce Communia. this nation to settle in these infant- towns and communities. This policy seems to have been carried so far that, in 1173, under William the Lion, the towns and burghs of Scotland are spoken of by an English historian as almost exclusively peopled by his countrymen ; 4 and so late as the time of Edward the First, when this king, previous to his decision of the ques- tion of the succession, made a progress through Scotland, and compelled the inhabitants to take the oath of homage, the proportion of English names in the Scottish burghs is very great.* The earliest burghs which appear in Scotland cannot be traced to a remoter period than the reign of our first Alex- ander, under which monarch we find Edinburgh, Berwick, Eoxburgh, and Stirling ; to these Inverkeithing, Perth, and Aberdeen, Rutherglen and Inver- ness, were added in the course of years; and the policy of David the First, of William the Lion, and of the monarchs who succeeded him, had increased the number of these opulent mercantile communities, till, in the reign of David the Second, we find them extending to seventeen. These royal burghs, and the lands which were annexed to them, were the exclusive property of the king, sometimes held in his own hands, and possessed in demesne, but more gene- rally let out to farm. In this respect, the condition of the towns and burghs of England in the time of the Con- queror, as shewn in Domesday Book, was nearly similar to the state in which we find them in Scotland, from the reign of Alexander the First, to the accession of Robert the Second. 6 For the houses and factories possessed by the merchants, a certain rent was due to the exchequer; and previous to their appearance as a third estate in the great national council, the king ap- pears to have had a right of calling upon his . burghs to contribute aids or grants of money out of their coffers on any occasion of emergency. 7 The Car- 4 Gulielm. Neubrig. lib. ii. chap, xxxiv. p. • 409. 5 Prynne's Edward I., pp.653. 663. inclusive. 6 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 297. > Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 529. 270 HISTORY OF tularies are full n,ot only of grants from successive kings to new settlers, of ' lands in their various burghs, with the right of building on them, and of tofts or small portions of pasture and arable ground, but of annuities payable out of the royal farms, and pensions from the census of their burgesses, which testify the exclusive property of the sovereign in these infant mercantile communities. 1 From an early period these com- munities enjoyed a right of determin- ing, in a separate court of their own, all disputes which might arise amongst their mercantile subjects; and in ad- dition to this privilege, a right of ap- peal lay from the decision of the in- dividual court of the burgh to a higher tribunal, which was denominated the Court of the Four Burghs, and which owes its institution to the wisdom of David the First. The burghs which composed it were the four oldest in the kingdom, Berwick, Roxburgh, Stir- ling, and Edinburgh ; and it was the duty of the Chamberlain of Scotland to hold a court or ayr 2 once every year, at Haddington, to which the four burghs sent four commissioners, for the purpose of hearing and deciding upon the appeals brought before them. It seems to be certain that under David the First a code of mercantile law was gradually formed, which owed its origin to the decisions of this court, assisted probably by the practical wis- dom of the most enlightened merchants and traders. It was known by the name of the Assisa Burgorum, and, in an interpolated and imperfect state, has reached our own times. In the famous state paper of Edward the First, known by the title of an " Ordi- natio super stabilitate terrse Scotise," and published in 1305, the laws which King David had enacted are com- manded to be read by the English 1 Cartulary of Kelso, p. 1. Cartulary of Inchcolm, p. 19. Cartulary of Scone, pp. 41, 57. The Cartularies abound with examples of this. 2 Houard's Anciennes Loix des Francois, vol. i. p. 237. It is evident, from the descrip- tion given by this learned writer of the rights of the burghs under the Normans, that the Court of the Four Burghs was of Norman origin. SCOTLAND. guardian or lieutenant, in presence of the good people of the land ; and in a charter which is granted by William the Lion to the burgh of Glasgow in 1176, that monarch refers to the assizes of his burghs, as an established code of law. 3 It is the judicious observa- tion of Chalmers, that as Malcolm the Fourth is known not to have been a legislator, these assizes must be as-, eribed to David ; and this is confirmed by the ancient and respectable autho- rity of Fordun. 4 The policy of the sovereign in the erection of these privileged communi- ties was gradually imitated by the religious houses, and more rarely by the greater barons, who granted exclu- sive privileges to the towns or villages upon their territories, and turned their wealth into channels of mercantile adventure, employing the burghers to trade for them, and furnishing them with capital. In this way Selkirk was indebted, for its first passage from a vil- lage into a burgh ? to the Abbot of Kelso ; St Andrews, Glasgow, and Brechin, to the bishops of these sees ; Newburgh, to the Abbot of Lindores. The town of Kenfrew was expressly granted by David the First to Walter, the son of Alan ; Lauder was early the property of the ancient family of the Morvilles ; and Lochmaben, in consequence of a grant by David the First, belonged to the ancestors of Bruce. The rents of the houses and of the lands of these burghs ; the customs levied upon the ships which traded to such as were situated on the sea coast, or on navi- gable rivers ; and in all probability certain proportions of the profits of the various tradesmen and guild- brethren who inhabited them, be- longed to the spiritual or temporal lord upon whose lands they were erected, and whose favour and pro tection they enjoyed. If in the various s Gibson's History of Glasgow, p. 301. Ayloffe's Calendars of Ancient Charters, p. 335. M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 440. The Lex Mercatoria of Scotland is referred to by Edward the First, as an estab- lished and well-known code, in the Rotuli Scotiae, p. 3. 10th Aug. 1291. 4 Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 301. Cartu- lary of Glasgow, p. 73. Caledonia, pp. 726, 732. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 271 revolutions and changes of the times his lands happened to escheat or be forfeited to the crown, the whole wealth which belonged to them, the granges, castles, manors, villages, and burghs, became the property of the sovereign ; and in this way, in the course of years, many baronial or eccle- siastical burghs were changed into royal ones. Although, however, the rise of these trading communities was in the first instance eminently beneficial to Scot- land, and, it cannot be doubted, con- tributed to give an extraordinary im- pulse to the industry of the people, yet as soon as this commercial and manufacturing spirit was once roused into activity, the principle of monopoly in trade, for which the burghs con- tended, by giving a check to competi- tion, must have ultimately retarded the improvement of the country. In the meantime, however, under the severity of the feudal system, burghs were in their first introduction cities of freedom ; their inhabitants were no longer in the degrading condition of slaves, who could be transferred, like cattle or common property, from one master to another ; and we know, from the statutes of the burghs, that the same law prevailed in our own country as in England and France, by which a vassal or slave, if he escaped from his feudal superior, and was so fortu- nate as to purchase a house within a burgh, and live therein for a year and a day, without being claimed by his master, became a freeman for ever. 1 One of the consequences of this law was an increase in the trade and manu- factures of Scotland. During the long period of foreign war, civil faction, and domestic feuds, which fills up the his- tory of the country from the death of Alexander the Third to the settlement of the kingdom under Bruce, and after this, from the death of Bruce to the accession of Robert the Second, the i M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 307. Leges Ed. et Will, chaps, lxi. lxvi., in Selden's Eadmer, pp. 191, 193. Laws of the Burghs, chap. xvii. Houard, in his Anciennes Loix des Francois, vol. i. p. 238, says this privilege belonged only to royal burghs under the Normans. constant changes and convulsions in the state of private property threw great multitudes of the lower classes of serfs and bondsmen loose upon society. These fugitives would natur- ally seek refuge in the cities and burghs belonging to the king ; and bring with them an additional stock of enterprise and industry to the mercantile cor- porations, whose protection they en- joyed; in the course of years many of them must have risen to the state of freemen ; and, in consequence of this increase in the number of free mer- chants and enterprising traders, the wealth of the kingdom, during the latter part of the reign of David the Second, became proportionally great. It unfortunately happened that the excessive drain of specie, occasioned by the payment of the king's ransom, and the personal expenses of the mon- arch, with the large sums of money levied for the maintenance of ambas- sadors and commissioners, soon swal- lowed up the profits of trade, and reduced the kingdom to the very brink of bankruptcy. At a remote period, under Malcolm the Fourth, the great mart of foreign commerce was Berwick. A contem- porary English historian distinguishes it as a noble town, and as it possessed many ships, and enjoyed more foreign, commerce than any other port in Scot- land, 2 it shared the fate of all other opulent towns on the coast, in being exposed to the descents of the piratic fleets of the north. Erlind, a Norwe- gian, and Earl of Orkney, in 1156, carried off a ship belonging to a citizen of Berwick, whose name was Cnut the Opulent ; and we learn from Torf seus, who has preserved the story, that the merchant, incensed at the loss of his property, instantly hired and manned fourteen vessels, for which he paid one hundred marks of silver, and with these gave immediate chase to the pirates. Under succeeding sovereigns it increased in trade and opulence; till we find it, in the reign of Alexander the Third, enjoying a prosperity which 2 Gulielm. Neubrig. book v. chap, xxiii. Torfaei Orcades, book i. chap, xxxii. pp. 131, 132. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. threw every other Scottish port into the shade, and caused the contemporary- author of the Chronicle of Lanercost to distinguish it by the name of a Second Alexandria. 1 It enjoyed a lucrative export of wool, wool-fels, and -hides, to Flanders ; it was by the agency of the merchants of Berwick that the produce of Roxburgh, Jedburgh, and the adjacent country, in these same commodities, was shipped for foreign countries, or sold to the Flemish Com- pany established in that city ; its ex- port of salmon was very great ; and the single fact that its customs, under Alexander the Third, amounted to the sum of £2197, 8 s. sterling, while the whole customs of England, in 1287, produced only £8411, 19s. ll^d., amply demonstrates its extraordinary wealth. 2 At this period the constitution of the towns and burgha iii Scotland ap- pears to have been nearly the same as in the sister country. Berwick was governed by a mayor, whose annual allowance for his charges of office was ten pounds, a sum equivalent to more than four hundred pounds of our pre- sent money. 3 Under this superior officer were four provosts, or prcepositi. At the same period, Perth, Stirling, Roxburgh, and Jedburgh were each governed by an alderman, who appears to have been the chief magistrate ; Glasgow by three provosts ; Hadding- ton by one officer under the same name ; whilst the inferior burghs of Peebles and Montrose, of Linlithgow, Inverkeithing, and Elgin were placed under the superintendence of one or more magistrates called bailies. These magistrates all appear as early as the year 1296; 4 and, it seems probable, were introduced into Scotland by David the First, whose enlightened partiality to English institutions has already been noticed in this history. The comparative state of the trade 1 History, p. 43. 2 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. 446, with MS. note by the author. Rymer, vol. ii. pp. 605, 613. 3 Rotuli Scotia?, 8 Ed. III., m. 16. 4 Prynne's Edward I., pp. 653, 654. Rymer's Collection of MSS. vol. iii. No. 116 ; quoted by M'Pherson in Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 446. and exports of the remaining burghs of the kingdom, at this early period, cannot be easily ascertained. Perth, which had become opulent and flourish- ing in the time of William the Lion, by whom it was erected into a royal burgh, increased in its wealth and con- sequence under Malcolm the Fourth, who made Scone, the neighbouring monastery, the principal seat of his kingdom. The resort of the courts and the increased demand for the articles of domestic manufacture and foreign commerce, gave a stimulus to the enterprise and industry of the infant burgh ; and a contemporary poet, whose works have been preserved by Camden, characterises Perth as one of the principal pillars of the opulence of the kingdom. 5 These few and scattered, but au- thentic facts, regarding our early com- merce and manufactures, make it evi- dent that in such great branches of national wealth there is a discernible improvement, from the remote era of Malcolm the Third, to the period of the competition for the crown. In- deed, immediately before the com- mencement of the war of liberty, the commercial transactions of the country were of consequence enough to induce the merchants of St Omers, and part- ners of the Florentine houses of Pullici .and Lambini, to have correspondents in Scotland; and about the same period we find that Richard le Furbur, a trader of the inland town of Rox- burgh, had sent factors or supercar- goes to manage his business in foreign countries, and in various parts of Britain. With regard to the exports of the country at this time, we find them composed of the same articles as those already described ; wools, skins, hides, and wool-fels ; great quantities of fish, salted and cured ; 6 horses, sheep, and cattle; 7 and more rarely, pearls, fal- cons, and greyhounds. It is singular to find so precious an article as pearls amongst the subjects of Scottish trade ; s Necham apud G-ough's Camden's Brit., vol. iii. p. 393. c Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 40, 911, 929, 941, 944. 7 Ibid. p. 881. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 273 yet the tact rests on good authority. The Scottish pearls in the possession of Alexander the First were celebrated in distant countries for their extreme size and beauty ; and as early as the twelfth century there is evidence of a foreign demand for this species of luxury. 1 As the commercial inter- course with the East increased, the rich Oriental pearl, from its superior brilliancy and more perfect form, ex- cluded the ' Scottish pearls from the jewel market ; and by a statute of the Parisian goldsmiths, in the year 1355, we find it enacted ' that no worker in gold or silver shall set any Scot- tish pearls with Oriental ones, except in large ornaments or jewels for churches. 2 It is curious to find among the exports the Icporarii, or grey- hounds of the country, which were famous in France; for in 1396 the Duke de Berri sent his valet and three attendants into Scotland on a corimission to purchase dogs of this kind, as appears by. the passport pre- served in Kymer ; 3 and, at an earlier period under the reign of David the Second, Godfrey de Ross, an English baron, procured from Edward the Third a safe-conduct for his shield- bearer and two attendants who were travelling from Scotland with dogs and falcons, and who purposed to re- turn into the same country, under the express condition that they did not abuse their privilege by carrying out of England either bows, arrows, arms, or gold or silver, in the form of bulk, plate, or money. 4 Of the imports of Scotland at the same period it is difficult to give any- thing like an accurate or satisfactory account. Fine linen and silks ; broad cloth, and a rich article called sayes, 1 Nicolai Epist. in Anglia Sacra, vol. ii. p. 236. ki Prseterea rogo et valde obsecro ut margaritas Candidas quantum poteris mihi adquiras. Uriiones etiam quascunque gros- sissimas adquirere potes. Saltern quatuor mihi adquiri per te magnopere postulo; si aliter non vales saltern a rege, qui in hac re omnium hom'inum ditissimus est, pro munere expete."— M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. pp. 318, 555. 2 Du Cange. Gloss, voce Perlae. * Rymer's Fcedera, vol. vii. p. 831. * Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 891. VOfi. I. manufactured in Ireland from wool, and esteemed so beautiful as to be worn by the ladies of Florence; 5 carpets and tapestry ; wine, oil of olives, and occasionally corn and bar- ley ; 6 spices and confectionary of all kinds ; drugs and electuaries ; arms-, armour, and cutlery, were the chief commodities : and it has already been observed that many articles of Asiatic luxury .and magnificence had reached our country, by means of a constant communication with the Flemish and Italian merchants. In 1333 we know, from an authentic instrument pre- served in the Fcedera, that the Scot- tish merchants were in the custom of importing from the county of Suffolk vases of gold and silver into Scotland, besides silver in bars and in money ; 7 a proof that the silver mine which David the First worked at an early / period in Cumberland, and the gold I of Fife, to which the same monarch alludes in the Cartulary of Dunferm- line, had neither of them been turned to much account. 8 Under the reign of Bruce, and during the long war with England, every possible effort was made by Edward the First and his successor to crush and extinguish the foreign trade of Scotland ; but the success does not appear to have been in any degree proportionate to their exertions. All English or Irish merchants were pro- hibited, under the severest penalties, from engaging in any transactions with that country ; and repeated requests were addressed to the rich republics of the low countries, to the courts of Flanders, and the Dukes of Brabant, to induce them to break off all traffic with the Scots ; 9 but the exertions of Contraband traders and privateer vessels eluded the strictness of the prohibitions against English and Irish trade ; 10 and the Flemings and Bra- s M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. L p. 562. e Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 891. 7 Rymer's Fcedera, vol. iv. p. 575. s Johan. Hagulstad. p. 280. Cart, of Dun- ferm. folio 7 ; quoted in Dalzel's Tract on Monastic Antiquities, p. 30. 9 Rotuli Scotise, vol. i. p. 136. 1st April 1314. Ibid. 140. Rymer, vol. iv. p. 715. io Rotuli Scotioe, vol. i. pp. 491, 525. s- 274 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. banters steadily refused to shut their ports against any nation which could pay for their commodities. In 1315, a fleet of thirteen ships or galleys belonging to the Scots, and other "malefactors" who adhered to them, was at anchor in the port of Sluys in Flanders, waiting to be laden with arms, victuals, and other goods, which they intended to export from that country into Scotland, when Edward the Second, as the public order re- lative to the circumstance informs us, adopted vigorous, but apparently un- successful, measures for intercepting them. 1 To Bruce, whose life was spent in almost uninterrupted war, the great articles of demand were those which he could use for his soldiers and knights : arms of all kinds, helmets, cuirasses, chamfreyns, and horse armour, swords and daggers, bows of English yew, spear shafts, and lances, formed the staple cargoes of the Flemish merchantmen which traded to his dominions ; but, on the other hand, the export trade of the country, which had been principally carried on through England and Ire- land, although not extinguished, ex- perienced a material depression. But although some branches of national wealth were rendered less productive, other sources were opened peculiar to war. The immense plunder taken at Bannockburn ; the large sums of money paid by the English nobles and barons for their ransom ; the sub- sequent plunder in the repeated in- vasions of England ; and the frequent and heavy sums which were sub- scribed by the Border counties, to in- duce the Scottish leaders to spare their towns and villages, enriched the kingdom, and provided a mass of capital which is distinctly perceptible in the increased commercial specula- tion of the subsequent reign, and in the spirited and successful efforts made by the nation in fitting out a navy. Previous to the accession of David i Thig instrument is one of the deeds added by the- editors of the new edition of the Foedera Angliae, vol. ii. part i. p. 266. The original is in the Tower. the Second, we have already seen that little traces of a regular naval force exist in Scotland; and although the fleets of William the Lion and that of his successor, Alexander the Second, are commemorated in the Chronicle of Man, it seems probable that these naval armaments were furnished by the island vassals, who owned the superiority of the Scottish crown, and who held their lands by the tenure of furnishing a certain number of galleys for the use of the king. 2 The mari- time exploits of these kings were temporary and insulated ; and the same observation applies to the naval expeditions of their successors. It appears, indeed, from a passage in the Chamberlain Rolls of Alexander the Third that, in 1263, this monarch was in possession of several vessels, which, under the direction of the Earl of Menteith, were built in the port of Ayr, and that two hundred oars were manufactured for their use ; 3 but it is evident, from Alexander declining any naval contest with the King of Norway, that his fleet could neither have been numerous nor powerful. The reign of Bruce being principally occupied, with a land war, his efforts for distressing his enemy by sea were mostly confined to the commissioning piratic ships from the Flemings and Genoese, which cruised upon the Eng- lish coasts, and in the double capacity of traders and ships of war, landed their cargoes in Scotland and attacked the English merchantmen and victual- lers. Yet there is evidence in that interesting portion of the Chamberlain Accounts which relate to the expendi- ture of Bruce at his palace of Cardross the year before his death, that h*r and his old companion in arms, the great Randolph, were anxiously directing their attention to the subject of ship- ping and navigation. But the navy assumes a different and more formidable appearance under the reign of David Bruce. The Scot tish ships of war, along with numerous * Fordun a Goodal, vol. il p. 101. Robert son's Index, p. 100. s Excerpta ex Rotulo Compotorum Temp. Alexander III., p. 10. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 275 squadrons of foreign privateers in the pay of the Scots, swept the seas round England, plundered their mer- chant vessels, and made repeated and successful descents upon the coast, burning and destroying the seaport towns, and creating extreme alarm in the country. In 1334, a fleet of Scot- tish ships of war threatened a descent on the coast of Suffolk ; in the sub- sequent year, twenty-six galleys and other ships were hovering and watch- ing their opportunity for attack off the coasts of Chester and Durham ; and not long after this, notwith- standing the utmost exertions by the English government to fit out a fleet which should put an end to the naval aggressions of the Scots, and precau- tions taken to spread the alarm in case . of any hostile descents, by lighting beacons upon the cliffs above the sea ; the towns of Portsmouth, Fodynton, Portsea, and Easten, were burnt and plundered, and the country threatened with invasion by a numerous fleet of foreign ships and galleys, whose ap- proach is described by Edward the Second in an order addressed to the eherifis of England, and evidently written under extreme apprehension. 1 Yet the probability is, that none of these vessels were the property of the king, but merchant ships of Scottish and foreign traders fitted up for the expedition as ships of war, and com- missioned, like the mercenary troops of Hainault or Switzerland, to assist whatever country chose to pay them the highest price for their services. At this period, the same mode of fitting out a fleet of ships of war was adopted in both countries. There appears to have been no regular per- manent naval force of any consequence maintained in either. 2 In England, as the emergency of the moment required, the monarch was in the habit of direct- ing his writs to the wardens of the Cinque Ports, and to the magistrates of the different seaports, empowering them to press into the service, and 1 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 299, 317. Ibid, pp. 320, 363, 440. Rymer's Foedera, new edit. vol. ii. part ii. pp. 1055, 1067. 2 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. J>. 378. instantly arm and victual, any number of vessels he deemed necessary, and to commission such merchantmen as were fond of the adventure to fit out their traders as naves guerrince, or ships of war, 3 with the right of attacking the enemies of the king, under the condi- tion of giving up half the profits in the event of a successful capture. 4 We may form some idea of the size and strength of these vessels from an order issued by Edward the Third during his Scottish war, to the Mayor of Bristol, in which this magistrate is commanded to arrest three of the largest ships then in the port of that city. These are described to be two of a hundred tons, and one of sixty tons burden, on board of which a hundred and thirty-two men are in- stantly to be put for the king's service, which force is mentioned in the order as being double the ordinary comple- ment of mariners and soldiers. 5 Many of the privateers, however, which were at this time employed by the Scots against England appear to have been vessels of larger dimensions and more formidable equipment than those of England, probably from their being foreign built, and furnished by the Flemings, the Genoese, or the Vene- tians, .for the purposes both of trade and piracy. In 1335, a large foreign ship, laden with arms, provisions, and warlike stores, arrived in the port of Dumbarton; and for the purpose of intercepting her Edward not only ordered two of the largest merchant- men of Bristol to be manned and pro- visioned as ships of war, but com- manded Roger de Hegham, his admiral of the western fleet, to fit out two other vessels, with a double comple- ment of men, to be employed ap- parently on the same service. 6 * M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol i. p. 430. * "Galfridas Pypere Magister navis que vocatur le Heyte habet licentiam gravandi inimicos Regis ita quod de medietate lucri Regi respondeat." Teste R. apud Burdegal- liamxiii. Feb. 28. Henry III., m. 16. Rotuli Pat MS. note, by M 'Pherson in his own copy of the Annals of "Commerce, vol. i.p. 394. s Rotuli Scotiae, voL i. p. 231. 24th April 1333 « Ibid. vol. i. p. 340. 276 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. In 1357, three Scottish ships of war, manned with three hundred soldiers, infested the east coast, and grievously annoyed the English commerce. This large complement of soldiers must have been exclusive of the sailors em- ployed to navigate the ships, and proves them to have been of large dimensions when compared with the ordinary vessels of the time. 1 In the same year we have seen that the Scottish privateers captured a vessel called the Beaumondscogge, which was the property of that? powerful baron, Henry de Beaumont, who, along with Baliol and the rest of the disin- herited nobles, succeeded in driving David the Second from the throne ; and soon after, the united fleets of the Scots and their allies increased in numbers and audacity to such a de- gree, that the English coasts were kept in a state of continual terror. The merchantmen did not dare to sail except in great squadrons, and with a convoy of ships of war; and even when riding at anchor within the har- bours were cut out and carried off by the superior naval skill and courage of the Scottish seamen and their allies. 2 In a remarkable order, addressed by Edward the Third to his admirals and naval captains, this monarch complains in bitter terms of their pusillanimous conduct, in permitting the united fleets of the Scots, French, and Flem- ings to capture and destroy the ships of England in the very sight of his own navy, which kept aloof during the action, and did not dare to give battle. 3 Such appears to have been the great superiority of the Scottish navy over that of England in the beginning of the reign of David the Second. Mean- while, the long and inveterate war between the two countries, which arose out of the aggressions of Edward the First, entirely extinguished the regular Scottish commerce with that country. From the year 1291 to 1348 there appear only three safe-conducts for English merchants, permitting " Knighton, 2617. = Rota'.i Scotia;, pp. 451. 4.58, 437, 477. * Ibid. vol. i. p. 513. Ibid. 498. them to trade with Scotland ; and those repeated proclamations which were made against any commercial intercourse seem to have been so rigorously executed, that in this long interval, embracing more than half a century, we do not find a single pass- port for a Scottish merchant, allowing him to visit England for the purposes of trade. In 1348, the Scots being included in the truoe of Calais, the commerce of England, for the first time since the long war, was thrown open to their skill and enterprise; and in a few I years the mercantile intercourse be- tween the two countries rapidly in- creased At the request of the Queen of Scotland, important privileges were granted to the Scottish merchants; the Scottish nobles possessed com- panies of merchants, who speculated on their account, and under their pro- tection ; 4 and we have seen that, in- stead of the rigid and determined exclusion from all trade with their dominions, which for so long a time formed part of the policy of the three Edwards to their Scottish enemies, 5 a system of great liberality and indul- gence was pursued, under which the commerce of both countries was car- ried on with a surprising degree of energy and enterprise. The large sums of money which were drawn from the country for the ransom of the king ; the expenses in- curred by the residence and ransom of the noble prisoners taken in the battle of Durham; and the reiterated and heavy payments which were made during the various and protracted ne- gotiations with England, exhibit in a striking manner the increasing opu- lence of the country ; . and it cannot be doubted that one great source of this wealth is to be traced to the im- proved state of the national commerce, and to the increasing wealth of the- traders and manufacturers. I shall conclude this sketch of the early com- merce and navigation of Scotland by a * Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. p?. 753, 823. "Salvus conductas pro mercatorrbus Willielmi de Douglas." s Kotuli Scotiae, voL i. p. 140. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 277 lew remarks upon the money of those times, and upon the wages of labour, and the prices of the necessaries, of life. / All the Scottish coins which have ret been discovered previous to the /reign of Robert the Second are of (.silver; and this fact of itself furnishes, if not absolute proof, at least a strong presumption, that anterior to this period there was no gold coinage in Scotland. 1 Of this early silver money the most ancient specimens yet found are the pennies of Alexander the First, who succeeded to the throne in the commencement of the twelfth century; after which we can trace a regular coinage of silver pennies under the reigns of David the First, William the Lion, and the successive sovereigns who filled the throne, with the excep- tion of Malcolm the Fourth, whose money, if in existence, has hitherto eluded the utmost research of the Scottish antiquary. The silver pennies of Alexander the First, now extremely rare, are of the same fineness, weight, and form as the contemporary English coins of the same denomination, and down to the time of Robert the First the money of Scotland was of precisely the same value and standard as that of England. Towards the conclusion of the reign of William the Lion, that monarch reformed the money, which had been somewhat debased from its former standard ; 2 perhaps in consequence of an attempt to supply in this way the large sums which this monarch paid to Richard the First. 3 During the suc- ceeding reign, the standard value and the device continued the same as under William ; but almost imme- diately after the accession of Alexander the Third the ministry of this infant 1 In a parliament held at Scone by David the Second, in 1369, there is mention of gold money. Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 117. But the gold money of England was then current in Scotland, and the enactment may refer to it. Ruddiman's excellent In- troduction to Anderson's Diplomata, pp. 54, 55. 2 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. L p. 356. 3 Winton's Chron. vol. i. p. 342. Chron. Melross, p. 102. sovereign borrowed from England what was deemed an improvement in the mode of stamping the reverse. The history of this alteration is curi- ous. It appears that in 1248, the sterling money of England had been defaced, by clipping, to such a degree that the letters of the inscription were almost entirely cut away ; and the de- linquents were suspected to be the Jews, the Caursini, and the Flemish wool merchants. 4 At a meeting of the king's council, which was sum- moned to advise what steps ought to be taken, some of the members re- commended that, in imitation of the money of France, the. quality of the silver in the English money ought to be debased, under the idea that the temptation to make profit by clipping would thus effectually be removed. Fortunately this advice, which marks a rude age, and a limited knowledge on the subject, was not adopted ; but proclamation was made that all the defaced coin should be brought into the king's exchanges, and that a new coinage should be struck, out of which those who brought in the clipped money were to be paid weight for weight. On the old coins, the cross upon the reverse side had only reached half way from the centre to the edge, in consequence of which an expert clipper might have pared away a considerable breadth, without much chance of detection ; but now the ex- pedient was adopted of carrying the arms of the cross through the letters of the legend, and a border of small beads was added round the outer ex- tremity ; so that the money could not be clipped, without at least a greater chance of discovery. 5 The immediate adoption of this clumsy expedient in Scotland was probably occasioned by the same abuse of clipping having been practised in that country. 6 In Scotland, the very first sensible * Mathew Paris a Wats., p. 639. c " Ut non sine evidenti, et valde notabili dispendio, aliquid inde radi possit vel ab» scindi." — Annales "Waverleenses, p. 207. 6 Fordun a G-oodal, vol. ii. p. 83. The same monarch, Alexander the Third, appears to have coined silver pieces of two pennies. M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 432. 278 HISTORY OF diminution of the purity of the stan- dard money was introduced by Robert Bruce ; but the exact date of the de- preciation is unknown. Like the other alterations in the coinage, it was adopted in imitation of England ; and proceeded upon the unjust and erro- neous idea that the wealth of the kingdom might be increased by mul- tiplying the number of pennies coined out of the pound of silver. In 1300, Edward the First commanded two hundred and forty-three pennies to be coined out of the standard pound, in- stead of two hundred and forty, which was the old rate. 1 A diminution of three pennies in the value of the pound of account was deemed, perhaps, too trifling and imperceptible a change to be in any way detrimental; and the Scottish monarch not only fol- lowed, but went beyond, the pernicious example of England ; for, under the expectation that the pennies of both kingdoms would, as before, continue to pass indiscriminately, he coined two hundred and fifty-two pennies from the pound weight of silver, — an impolitic departure from the integrity of the national money, which had hitherto been strictly observed by the government of the country. 2 From this time till 1354 there ap- pears to have been no change in the money of Scotland ; which, according to a proclamation of Edward the Third, was received as of the same weight and alloy as the money of Eng- land. 3 This monarch, however, find- ing himself much distressed by the debts which he had incurred in his French war, unfortunately relieved himself by repeating the expedient which he had already partially adopted, although as dishonest as it was injuri- i Topham's Observations on the "Wardrobe Account of Edward the First, p. 11. "The pound weight of silver then (31 Ed. I.) con- sisted of twelve ounces, each containing twenty pennyweights, or of two hundred and forty pennies. These pennies were composed of mixed silver ; one pound, or twelve ounces, of which contained eleven ounces and two pennyweights of fine silver, and eighteen pennyweights of copper or alloy." 3 MPherson's Annals of Commerce. voL i. p. 466. Koikes on English Coins, pp. 8. 142. Edition 1763. 3 Rymer's Fcedcra, vol. v. p. 813. SCOTLAND. ous to the best interests of his king- dom. ^In order to pay his creditors with less money than he had borrowed, he commanded two hundred and sixty- six pennies to be made .out of the pound of standard silver ; ) and after- wardsQn the year 1346, ire diminished the money still further, by making two hundred and seventy pennies out of the poundA— a proceeding by which the people were greatly distressed, owing to the consequent rise in the prices of all the necessaries of life. In 1354, the Steward, who was now regent in Scotland during the captivity of David, imitating this mis- taken policy, issued a new coinage, which was not only far below the , original standard in value, but even in- ■ f erior to the money of England, depre- ciated as it then was. We are informed of this fact by a proclamation which the issue of this new money of Scot- land drew from Edward the Third. In a letter to the Sheriff of .Northum- berland, the king informs him that the new money of Scotland, although of the same figure with the old, was* not, like it, of the same weight and quality with the sterling money of England ; and he accordingly com- mands that officer to make proclama- tion within his district, that the new Scottish money should be taken only for its value as bullion, and carried to the proper office to be exchanged for current money ; but that the old money of Scotland, which, as appears from what was above stated, was con- siderably better than that of Eng- land, should be still current as be- fore." 4 Soon after the return of David the Second to his dominions, he appointed Adam Torre, a burgess of Edinburgh, and James Mulekin of Florence, joint keepers of the Exchange for all Scot- land, and Masters of the Mint. For- eigners appear to have been the great coiners or minters of those times. At an earlier period, in 1278, the Ex- change at London was under the direc- tion of some Lucca merchants and * M-Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 554. Rymer's Foedera, vol. v. p. 813. "Supra nova moneta Scotiae.*' ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 279 Gregory de Rokesley the mayor. 1 In 1366, the Scottish parliament had ordered the money of the kingdom to be coined of the quality and weight with that of England ; 2 but, in the subsequent year, the extreme scarcity of silver money, occasioned by the drain of specie from the country for the king's ransom, and other expenses, created an alarm, which unfortunately caused the parliament to relapse into the erroneous notion that the wealth of the kingdom might be increased by diminishing the intrinsic value, and increasing the number of the pieces coined. This produced an order, by which it was declared that the stan- dard pound of silver should be dimin- ished in the weight by ten pennies ; so that henceforth the pound of silver should contain twenty-nine shillings and four pennies ; out of which seven pennies were to be taken for the king's use. / To understand this order, it must /be remembered that the only coins , which had yet been struck, either in England or Scotland, were pennies, ; with their halves and quarters, along with a few groats and half groats ; so that when the parliament enacted that the pound of silver should contain twenty-nine shillings and four pennies, it was saying, in other words, tha* : t was to be coined into three hundred and fifty-two pennies ; an enormous departure from the integrity of the old standard of two hundred and forty pennies in the pound. In the same ordinance it is provided that eleven pennies are to be taken for the Mas- ter of the Mint and the payment of the workmen, and one penny for the Keeper of the Mint. If to these we add the seven pennies for the king's use, tw 7 enty-seven shillings and nine pennies would remain to the merchant for the pound of silver ; 3 so that, by this change in the coinage, the king practised an extensive and grievous fraud upon his subjects. 1 Madox's Hist, of Exchequer, chap. xxii. \ 4, chap, xxiii. 2 1. Compotum Custodis Monete, vol. i. Accounts of the Great Cham- berlains of Scotland, pp. 401, 402. 2 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 104. * Ibid. p. 109. It is curious to attend for a mo- ment to the consequences of this de- preciation of the money of the country. They are distinctly to be traced in a statute soon after passed by Edward the Third. 4 There was, in the first place, a rise in the prices of all the necessaries of life ; so that the labour- ing classes, being paid at the same rate as before, found that they could not procure the same subsistence. This they patiently bore for some time ; but when the immense mortality occa- sioned by the pestilence had dimin- ished the number of working men, and thus created a great demand for labour, the survivors naturally seized the op- portunity to raise their prices ; and, in consequence of this, the king, with the advice of his parliament, enacted the Statute of Labourers, " by which all men and women under sixty years of age, whether free or slaves, and having no occupation or property, were compelled to serve any master who hired them, for the same wages which were given before the year 1346, under pain of imprisonment." Arti- ficers were, at the same time, pro- hibited from exacting more than the old wages ; and the butchers, bakers, brewers, and other dealers in provi- sions were strictly enjoined to sell their commodities at reasonable prices. The legislators of those remote times had not yet learned that the price of food must be the standard for the price of labour ; and that by de- preciating the coin of the kingdom they raised the prices of the neces- saries of life, and compelled the labour- ing classes to adopt the very conduct of which they complained. There can be no doubt that the consequences of the depreciation in Scotland must have been the same as in the sister country ; and the sumptuary laws, which we find enacted towards the conclusion of the reign of David the Second, with the statutes regarding carrying the coin " furth of the realm/' are to be traced to the same causes as those 4 Statute 23 Ed. III. M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 542. 260 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. which led to the statute of labourers in England. 1 The price of labour, of the neces- saries of life, and of the articles of comfort or luxury, forms at all times an interesting subject of inquiry, pro- bably from that strong and natural desire which we feel to compare our own condition with that of our fellow- men, however remote may have been the period, in which they lived. Upon such points, however, previous to the transcription and printing of the Ac- counts of the Great Chamberlains of Scotland, little satisfactory informa- tion could be collected ; for our most ancient historians, although they occa- sionally mark the prices of provisions and of labour, commonly do so in years of scarcity, when the high rate to which they had risen fixed their attention upon the subject; and upon such data no correct inquiry could be founded. 2 These accounts, on the con- trary, as they contain the ordinary and common prices of most articles, are on this, as on all other points, which they embrace, our most authentic guides. It will be recollected that the value and the denomination of money, down to the reign of Robert the First, con- tinued the same in Scotland and in England ; and that, even under Ed- ward the Third, the depreciation of the Scottish money could not be very great, as it required a royal proclama- to put the people on their guard against it. 3 To begin with the price of grain, we find that, in 1263, a chalder of oat- meal, fourteen bolls being computed for a chalder, cost exactly one pound. 4 In the same year, six chalders of wheat vvere bought for nine pounds three shillings. 5 The prices, however, varied occasionally, as we might expect. In 1 Statuta Davidis II. Regiam Majestatem, pp. 45, 46. Robertson's Parliamentary Re- cords pp. 106, 117. 2 Preface to Fleetwood's Chronicon Pre- ciosum. 3 Madox's History of Exchequer, vol. i. p. 277. 4th Edition. The pound of silver by tale was twenty shillings ; the mark of silver thirteen shillings and fourpence, or one hun- ired and sixty pennies. * Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 9. Temp, ftegia Alexander III., p. 66. * Ibid. p. 9. 1264, twenty chalders of barley sold for ten pounds, although, in 1288, the price had fallen so low that we find forty chalders sold for six pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence, being at the rate of forty pence the chalder. 6 In 1288, twelve chalders of wheat brought twelve marks, or' thirteen shillings and fourpence the chalder. 7 In 1290, a chalder of barley sold for ten shillings, and a chalder of rye for four shillings ; 8 while, in 1329, we find the prices of the same grain fluctuating from twenty to twenty -four shillings the chalder for the best barley. 9 In 1326, four chalders of oatmeal cost a hundred and six shillings and eight- pence, being at the rate of twenty pence the boll ; whilst, of the same date, the same kind of grain, but pro- bably of a superior quality, sold for two shillings the boll. 10 In 1360, a chalder of barley cost thirteen shillings and fourpence, and five chalders of w^heat brought eight pounds; whilst, five years after this, four chalders and eleven bolls of fine wheat could not be had under twelve pounds sixteen shil- lings. 11 About the same time, twenty- nine barrels of beer, purchased for the king's household, cost eleven pounds nine shillings, and fifty-five barrels of herring twenty-nine pounds nineteen shillings. 12 As far back as 1263, we find that the price of a cow was four shillings and fivepence; 13 and that thirty muttons were purchased for the king's table, at the rate of twenty-five shillings, averaging exactly tenpence a piece. 12 In the following year, forty cows were sold for ten pounds, the price of each being five shillings; whilst thirty-eight swine brought fifty- 6 Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 66. 7 Ibid. p. 69. s Ibid. p. 77. » Ibid. vol. i. p. 37. 10 Ibid. Compotum Constab. de Tarbat, vol. i. p. 2. n Ibid. Compot. Clerici libation is, vol. i* p. 445. 12 Ibid. Compot. Clerici libationis, p. 445. In 132S, we find 1800 herring sold for twenty, eight shillings. Ibid. p. 28. In 1288, 100 eels brought three shillings, p. 69. 13 Ibid. Rotuli Compot. Temp. Regis Alex. III. p. 14. To twenty-four cows, one hundred and eight shilling*. " Ibid. p. 15. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. ' seven shillings, being no more than eighteenpence each; and, in 1288, twelve swine sold as low as a shilling a head. 1 In 1368, two oxen sold for thirteen shillings and fourpence, being six shillings and eightpence a head. In the concluding passage of the Chamberlains' Accounts, seven score hens are sold for eleven shillings and I eightpence, exactly a penny each ; and ■a tonegall of cheese, measuring six stones, sold for three shillings. 2 The common fuel of those times, consisting of peats and wood, was to be had at a moderate rate. In 1288, two hundred and five horse-loads of firewood, for the royal palace at Stir- ling, cost only thirty-six shillings and sixpence. Eight waggon -loads of peats, including the carriage and some small expenses, cost thirteen pounds seventeen shillings and fivepence. 3 Although coals were undoubtedly w r orked in Scotland as early as 1291, perhaps even anterior to this, yet we find them rarely mentioned previous to the reign of David the Second. Under this monarch, eighty-four chal- ders of coal being purchased for the use of the queen's household, cost twenty-six pounds. 4 Salt appears to have been one of those necessaries of life which varied considerably in its price. In 1288, twelve chalders of salt were sold for six shillings the chalder; whilst, in 1360, ten chalders could not be purchased under thirteen pounds six shillings and eightpence. 5 In comparing the wages of labour with the above prices of provisions, it is evident that, even in the most re- mote period which these researches have embraced, the lower orders must have lived comfortably. In the Cham- berlains' Rolls of Alexander the Third, the keeper of the king's' warren at Crail receives, for his meat and his wages during one year, sixteen shil- lings and eightpence ; and as this was 1 Chamberlains' Accounts, Temp. Custod. Regni, p. 56. Ibid. p. 77. 2 Ibid. pp. 77, 78. "Et sciendum est quod quilibet tonegall valet 6 petras.'-' * Ibid. p. 61. 4 Chalmers' Caledonia, vol. I, 793. Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 495. 5 Ibid. pp. 69, 392. 281 deemed too high, it is added that, for the coming year, he is to have his option to take either a mark, which was thirteen shillings and fourpence, or a chalder of oatmeal. 6 The gardener of the king at Forfar had, for his yearly wages, five marks ; the gardener at Menmouth, only one mark ; 7 and William, the king's cook and keeper of the royal larder, was paid, for his arrears of three years' wages, ten pounds. 8 The king's balistarius, or keeper of the cross-bows for the castle of Ayr, received yearly two marks and a half ; 9 whilst the warder of the same castle, for his yearly wages and support, cost the exchequer eight shillings. 10 When Alexander the Third was making preparations against the ex- pected invasion. of the King of Norway, in 1263, in order to secure the allegi- ance of the petty princes who held the Western Isles, he seized their children as hostages for their peaceable' beha- viour. These, of course, he had to support ; and this explains an entry iir the Chamberlains' Rolls, from which we may form some idea of the rate of living. For the expenses of the son of Angus, who was the son of Donald, with his nurse and a waiting woman, for twenty-six weeks, the king paid seventy-nine shillings and tenpence. 11 The expenses of another of these hos- tages, the son of Murchad, amounted to twenty-one shillings for twenty-four weeks; and we find that, in speaking of twenty-two hostages from Caithness and Skye, the first was allowed for his living a penny, and the second three- halfpence a day. 12 At the time of this expected inva- sion, Alexander possessed no regular navy ; but a few ships of war appear to have been stationed in the port at Ayr : such, however, was the unsettled state of the country, that these vessels had to be watched, probably only during the night ; and we find an entry in the same accounts of sixteen shillings and c Chamberlains' Accounts, Excerpta. ex Rotulo Temp. Alex. ILL p. 7. 7 Ibid. p. 13. 8 ibid. p. 1. 9 Ibid. p. 9. 10 Ibid, li Excerpta ex Rotulo Temp. Alex. III. p. 9 w Ibid. pp. 14, 22. 232 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. ninepence, to four men who had been employed watching the king's ships for twenty-three weeks. 1 In 1326, the fortifications of the castle of Tarbet having become insecure in some places, Robert the mason was employed to repair and strengthen the walls. This he did by contract, and as the quantity of work which was executed does not appear, no exact inference can be drawn from the sum paid, which amounted to two hundred and eighty-two pounds fifteen shil- lings. 2 But in this work, two labourers were employed in carrying lime from Thorall to Tarbet, for twenty-nine weeks and three days, and received four shillings a week for their wages, 3 being sixpence and a fraction for each day. Days' wages, however, sometimes fell still lower; five barrowmen, or carriers, for three weeks' work, received each only three shillings and fourpence; and for apparently the same repairs of Tarbet castle, seven labourers or barrowmen were engaged for thirty- two weeks at the rate of fourteen- pence a week each. 4 Higher craftsmen, of course, received nigher wage3. John the carpenter was engaged for thirty-two weeks at threepence a day, with his meat, which was each month a boll of oatmeal, and one codra of cheese, the boll being reckoned at two shillings, and the codra of cheese at sevenpence. 5 Nigel the smith had twelve pounds, and Nicolas the mason six pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence, for his yearly wages. 6 The cooks who exercised their mystery at the nuptial feast given on the marriage of David the Second at Berwick received, on that occasion, twenty-five pounds six shil- lings and eightpence. 7 To the min- strels who attended the ceremony, and we must remember that the rejoicings continued probably for many days, there was given sixty-six pounds fifteen 1 Excerpta ex Rotulo Temp. Alex. III. p. 9. 2 Compotum Constat), de Tarbat, vol. i. p. 3. 3 Ibid. p. 3. * Ibid. p. 4 5 Ibid. p. 5. In pp. 77, 78, we find a tone- pall of cheese, which is there stated to be equal to six stones, sold for three shillings. • Ibid. p. 5. t Chamberlains' Accounts, p. y6. shillings and fourpence. 8 John, the apothecary of King Robert Bruce, re- ceived for his salary eighteen pounds, and for his robe, a perquisite which we find given to many of the king's servants and officers, the sum of twenty-six shillings and eightpence. 1 It is somewhat singular that manj years after this, in 1364, Thomas Hall^ the physician of David the Second, received only ten marks for his salary. 11 ' In 1358, however, Hector, the doctor, received at once from the king a fee of five pounds six shillings and eight- pence, so that it is difficult to ascer- tain exactly the rate of the fees or the salaries of these learned leeches. The druggist, indeed, appears to have been a favourite ; for, in addition to his salary and his robe, we find him pre- sented by the king in the course of the same year with a gift of fourteen pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence. The prices of clothes, according to the coarseness or the costliness of the materials, varied exceedingly. A robe for the keeper of the gate of the king's chapel cost only twenty shillings ; a robe for Patrick de Monte-alto, which was, in all probability, lined with rich furs, cost four pounds ; n a robe for the clerk of the rolls, twenty-six shillings 12 on one occasion, and thirty shillings on another; 13 whilst John Bysit, a poor monk of Haddington, and one of King Robert's pensioners, was allowed, in 1329, twenty shillings annually for his clothing ; 14 and later than this, in 1364, a poor scholar, who is deno- minated a relation of the king, re- ceived from David the Second four pounds annually, to provide himself in food and clothing. 15 In 1263, Alex- ander the Third granted fifty shillings to nine prebendaries to provide them- selves with vestments. 16 Wine appears to have been con- sumed in. large quantities at the royal table. In 1263, under Alexander the Third, who is celebrated in a fragment * Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 96. » Ibid. p. 99. M Ibid. p. 539. u Ibid. pp. 101, 400. H Ibid. p. 47S. 12 Ibid. p. 526. M Ibid. p. 101. is Ibid. p. 413. w Excerpta ex Rotul. Compot. Temp. Alex. III. p. 13. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. of an old song for "wine and wax, gamyn and glee," a hundred and seventy-eight dolii, or hogsheads, of wine were bought for four hundred and thirty-nine pounds sixteen shil- lings and eightpence. In 1264, sixty- seven hogsheads and one pipe cost the royal exchequer three hundred and seventy-three pounds sixteen shillings and eightpence ; whilst, in 1329, forty-two hogsheads, purchased from John de Hayel, a merchant at Sluys, in Flanders, cost a hundred and sixty- eight pounds. 1 A pipe of Rhenish wine, bought for David the Second at the time he held his court at Dundee, cost five pounds ; but a pipe of the same wine, of finer flavour, which David had sent to the Countess of Strathern, cost seven pounds six shil- lings and eightpence, in 1361. 2 In 1364, the same lady received a hogs- head of wine by the king's orders, for which the chamberlain paid six pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence. a These wines were, without doubt, the same as those imported into England from Spain, Gascony, and Rochelle, and of which we find the prices fixed by a statute of Richard the Second. 4 Other wines of inferior price were probably mixtures compounded in the country, and not of pure foreign growth. Thus, in 1263, we find the dolius, or hogshead, of red wine, vinum rubimm, sold for thirty-six shillings and eightpence, and at the same time the hogshead of white wine brought two pounds. 5 In other articles of luxury for the table, the great expense seems to have been in spices, confec- tionary, and sweetmeats, in which quantities of mace, cinnamon, flower of gilliflower, crocus, and ginger ap- pear to have been used, upon the prices of which it would be tedious and useless to enlarge. Some idea of the prices of gold and silver plate may be formed from an 1 Excerpta ex Rotul. Compot. Temp. Alex. III. p.«17. Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 9T. - Ibid. p. 377. 3 Ibid. p. 412. See also p. 414. 4 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 592. 5 Excerpta ex Rotul. Compot. Temp. Ales. hi. P . 44. item in the Chamberlains' Accounts of the year 1364, in which it appears that Adam Torre, burgess of Edin- burgh, furnished for the king's table thirteen silver dishes, and six silver saltcellars, for which he was paid seven- teen pounds twelve shillings. 6 With regard to the rent and the value of land at this period, the sub- ject, to be investigated in a satisfac- tory manner, would lead us into far too wide a field ; but any reader who is anxious to pursue so interesting an inquiry will find in the Cartularies of the different religious houses, and in the valuable information communi- cated by the books of the Chamber- lains' Accounts, a mass of facts, from the comparison of which he might draw some authentic deductions. The great difficulty, however, in an investi- gation of this nature, would arise from the want of any work upon the exact proportion which the ancient divisions of land, known in the Cartularies by the epithets of carucatse, bovatse, per- ticatse, rodse, virgcttee, bear to the measures of land in the present day : a desideratum which must be felt by any one attempting such an inquiry in every step of his progress. For example, in an ancient roll containing the rents of the Monastery of Kelso preserved in the Cartulary of that religious house, and drawn up prior to 1320, we find that the monks of this opulent establishment possessed the grange, or farm, of Reveden in Rox- burghshire, in which they themselves cultivated five carucates of land. The remainder of the property appears to have been divided into eight husband- lands, terrce husbandomm, for which each of these husbandmen paid an annual rent of eighteen shillings. Upon the same grange they had nineteen cottages, for eighteen of which they received an annual rent of twelve- pennies, and six days' work at harvest and sheep-shearing. The ninth cot- tage rented at eighteenpence and nine days' harvest work. Upon the same property they had two breweries, yielding a rent of two marks, and une c Chamberlains' Accounts, j). 411. 234 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. mill, which brought them nine marks yearly. 1 The difficulty here is to ascertain the size of these husband- lands, in which inquiry, at present, I know not of any certain guide. The bovate, or oxgang of land, according to Spelman and Ducange, ' contained eighteen acres; a carucate contained eight bovates; and eight carucates made up a knight's fee : but that the same measures obtained in Scotland cannot be confidently asserted. In- deed, we know that they varied even in England, and that a deed quoted in " Dugdale's Monasticon," makes the bovate contain only ten acres ; whilst Skene, upon no certain authority, limits it to thirteen. In the same monastic roll, we find that Hugo Cay had a small farm, which consisted of one bovate, for which he paid to the monks a rent of ten shil- lings ; and for a cottage, with six acres attached to it, and a malt-house, the tenant gave six shillings a-year. At a remote period, under Alexander the Second, the monks of Melrose purchased from Richard Barnard a meadow at Farningdun, consisting of eight acres, for thirty-five marks. In 1281, we have already seen that the portion of Margaret, princess of Scot- land, who was married to Eric, king of Norway, was fourteen thousand marks. At the same time it was stipulated that, for one-half of the portion, the King of Scotland might, at his option, assign to the King of Norway during the continuance of the marriage, rents of lands amounting to a tenth part of the money, or to seven hundred marks yearly ; whilst it was settled that the princess was to have a jointure of one thousand four hundred marks ; and in both the public instru- ments drawn up upon this occasion, an annuity upon the life of Margaret, then in her twenty-first year, was valued at ten years' purchase. 2 In 1350 a perpetual annuity of eight marks sterling, or five pounds six shil- lings and eightpence, secured on land, was bought for one hundred and i Cartulary of Kelso, MS. Rotulus Reddi- tuum Monasterii de Kalchow. 3 History, supra, p. 21. twenty marks, being exactly fifteen years' purchase. 3 To any of my readers who may be solicitous to pur- sue these inquiries further ; to inves- tigate the comparative value of food and labour in the sister countries, and their relation to the prices in the present day, I would recommend the table of the prices of corn, and other necessary articles, subjoined to M'Pher- son's Annals of . Commerce, a work which is a storehouse of authentic and interesting information upon the early history, not only of European com- merce, but of European manners. SECTION V. STATE OF THE EARLY SCOTTISH CHURCH. During the period embraced by the above observations, the Catholic Church, from the fear of encouraging heresy and error, interdicted the un- restricted study of the Scriptures to the laity. Her solemn services were performed in a language not under- stood by the community at large. The people were dependent not only for religious knowledge, but for the commonest elements of secular in- struction, upon their parish priests; printing was unknown, manuscripts rare, and letters generally despised by the higher orders. Under such ob- stacles, we are not to be surprised that the common character of the age was that of great darkness and igno- rance, and that our Scottish ecclesias- tical annals (so far as I am able to .judge) present us with few active efforts for their removal. But there is another side upon which the view which they offer is more pleasing : I mean, the civil influence which the Church exerted upon the character of the government and of the people. And here I cannot help observing that the history of her early relations with Rome is calculated to place our clergy in a favourable light as the friends of liberty. The obedience 8 Hailes' Annals, vol. ii. p. 275. M'Pher- son's Annals of Commerce, Appendix, vol. iv. No. III., Chronological Table of the Prices of Corn, and other necessary articles. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 285 which, in common with the other churches in Christendom, they paid to the great temporal head of the Catholic religion, was certainly far from being either servile or unlimited ; and it is singular that the same fervid national spirit, the same genuine love of independence which marks the civil, distinguishes also the ecclesiasti- cal annals of the country. The first struggles of our infant Church were called forth, not against any direct encroachments of the Papal power, j but to repel the attacks of the metro- politan sees of York and Canterbury. It was, at an early period, the ambi- tion of one or other of these potent spiritual principalities to subject the Scottish primate, the Bishop of St Andrews, to the dominion of the Eng- lish Church, by insisting upon his receiving the right of consecration from the hands of one of the arch- bishops of England; 1 and nearly the whole reign of Alexander the First was spent in a determined resistance against such an encroachment, which concluded in the complete establish- ment of the independence of the Scot- tish Church. To introduce civilisation and im- provement amongst his subjects, and to soften the ferocity of manners and cruelty of disposition which charac- terised the different races over whom he ruled, was the great object of Alex- ander's successor, David the First; and he early found that the clergy, undoubtedly the most enlightened and learned class in the community, were his most useful instruments in the prosecution of this great design. Hence sprung those munificent endow- ments in favour of the Church, and that generous liberality to the ecclesi- astical orders which has been too rashly condemned, and which was perhaps necessary, in another point of view, in providing something like a counterpoise to the extravagant power of the greater nobles. Under this monarch the individual freedom of the Scottish Church was rigidly main- tained; while, at the same time, it l Eadmer, p. 99. Edition, folio, by Selden. Hailes, vol. i. pp. 54, 55. declared itself a willing subject of the Papal throne, and received the legate of the supreme pontiff with much humility and veneration. Individual independence, however, was esteemed in no degree incompatible with an acknowledgment of subjection to the chair of St Peter. It is remarkable, too, that at this remote period there are traces of a freedom of discussion and a tincture of heretical opinions which, if we may believe an ancient historian, had for a long time infected the faith of the Scottish clergy. 2 After a feeble and ineffectual at- tempt, under the reign of Malcolm the Fourth, to renew the attack upon the freedom of the Church, Henry the Second ungenerously availed himself of the captivity of William the Lion to extort an acknowledgment of spiritual, as well as feudal, sub- jection; but on this memorable occasion the dexterous diplomacy of the Scottish commissioners, the Bishops of St Andrews and Dunkeld, procured the insertion of a clause in the treaty which left the question of the independence of the national Church open and undecided ; 3 and at a council, soon after held at North- ampton, in the presence of the Papal legate, the Scottish bishops asserted their liberty, declaring that they never had yielded any subjection to • the English Church; and opposing, with a zeal and boldness which, in this instance, proved successful, the unfounded pretensions of the rival sees of York and Canterbury. 4 Hitherto engaged in repelling these inferior attacks, the Scottish clergy soon after found themselves involved, by the imperious character of the king, in a serious contention with the popedom itself. On the death of the Bishop of St Andrews, the chapter chose, for his successor, an English 'monk, in opposition to the wishes of the king, who intended the primacy for Hugh, his own chaplain. With the violence which marked his char- acter, William immediately seized the 2 R. Hagulstad. p. 325. s Fcedera, vol. i. p. 39. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 474. 586 ' HISTORY OF revenues of the see ; procured Hugh to be consecrated; put him in pos- session: and when his rival, who had" appealed in person to the Pope, re- turned with a decision in his fa- vour, he was met by a sentence of banishment, which involved his whole family and connexions in his ruin. On this information reaching Rome, legatine powers were conferred, by the incensed Pontiff, on the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Durham, with a reserved authority to direct the thunder of excommunication against the king, in the event of his con- tumacy ; and the clergy of the diocese of St Andrews were commanded, upon pain of suspension, to acknow- ledge the authority of the extruded primate. But nothing could shake the firmness of William. He replied to this new sentence of the Pope by banishing every person that dared to yield obedience to the Papal favourite ; upon which the sentence of excom- munication was pronounced by the legates, and the kingdom laid under an interdict. At this critical and ter- rible moment, when the monarch's de- termination to assert his own right of nomination had, in the sense of those times, plunged the land in spiritual darkness, the Pontiff, Alexander the Third, died, and the King of Scotland lost not a moment in sending his com- missioners to Rome, who succeeded in procuring from Lucius, the new Pope, a recall of the sentence of excommuni- cation and interdict, and an ultimate decision in favour of the king. The mode in which this was done was ingeniously calculated to gratify Wil- liam, without detracting from the supreme authority of the Roman see. The two rival candidates, John and Hugh, came forward, and resigned into the hands of the Pope all right to the contested bishopric; upon which the Pope installed Hugh, the favourite of the king, in the throne of St Andrews, and placed John in the in- ferior see of Dunkeld : a remarkable triumph, if we consider that it was achieved at a time when the proudest monarchs in Europe were compelled SCOTLAND. to tremble before the terrors of the popedom. 1 Not long after, Lucius, in his pater- nal anxiety to demonstrate his affec- tion for his northern son, sent the golden rose to William, an honour rarely bestowed, and highly prized in that age ; and this distinction only led to more important privileges, con- ferred by Clement the Third, the successor of Lucius, upon the Scottish Church. 2 It was declared that in consequence of William's devoted and zealous affection to the Chair of St Peter, (a singular compliment to a prince who had lately opposed it in so determined a manner,) the Scottish Church was adopted as the special and favourite daughter of the apos- tolic see, and declared to be subject to no other intermediate power what- ever. To the Pope alone, or to his legate a latere, was permitted the power of publishing the sentence of interdict and excommunication against Scotland ; upon no one, unless a na- tive of Scotland, or at least a person specially deputed by the Holy Father for this purpose, was the office of legate to be conferred; and in the event of any controversies arising re- garding benefices, it was enacted that no appeal should be competent to any foreign tribunal, except that of the Roman Church. 3 These were high privileges : they at once put an end to the pretended superiority of the English Church, and conferred upon the Scottish pre- lates a vantage ground, from which they jealously defended, and eagerly watched the opportunity to extend and improve their rights. This is strikingly exemplified in the reign of the successor of William, Alexander the Second. The Scottish monarch had made war upon John, king of Eng- land at the time that he had placed himself and his realm under the pecu- liar protection of the Pope — a pro- ceeding which drew down a sentence of excommunication and interdict l R. Hov. Hist. p. 621. * Chron. Melross, p. 92. Gulielm. Neubrig. p. 754. 3 Chronicon, Joan. Brompton, p. 1196. ANCIENT STATE against Alexander and his subjects. The temper with which this was re- ceived seems to have convinced the Roman court that the terrors of his spiritual thunder were little felt in Scotland; and fearful, perhaps, of losing its influence altogether, it per- mitted the Scottish king, without performing the ignominious penance which generally preceded absolution, to be again welcomed into the bosom of the Church. At the same time, the sentence was removed from the whole body of his lay subjects; but the pre- lates and the rest of the clergy found that they could only be restored to the exercise of their spiritual func- tions upon the payment of large sums of money to the legate and his deputies. 1 Against this severity the king, jealous of the rights of his clergy, appealed to Home, and obtained a judgment in his fa- vour, which declared that the legate had exceeded his powers, and con- firmed the privileges of the Scottish Church. 2 After a short time, this led to a still more important concession. In a mo- ment of carelessness or indulgence, Honorius listened to the artful repre- sentations of the Scottish clergy. They lamented that, from the want of a metropolitan, they could not hold a provincial council, and that, in con- sequence of this misfortune, many ■enormities had been committed, upon which he authorised them to dispense with this necessary solemnity, and to assemble a General Council of their own authority. This permission, there canuot be the least doubt, was meant to be temporary; but it was loosely expressed, and the Scottish clergy in- stantly perceived and availed them- selves of its ambiguity. They affected to understand it as of perpetual authority, assembled under its sanc- tion, drew up a distinct form of pro- ceeding, by which the Scottish pro- vincial councils should in future be held, instituted the office of Conser- vator Statutorum, and continued to assemble frequent provincial councils, 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 40. 2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 42. OF SCOTLAND. 287 without any further application for the consent of the holy see. 3 This happened in 1225, and the im- portance of the right which had been gained was soon apparent. For a long period Scotland had impatiently sub- mitted to the repeated visits of a Papal legate, who, under the pretext of watching over the interests and reforming the abuses of the Church, assembled councils and levied large sums of money in the country. On the meeting of the Scottish king and Henry the Third at York, Otho, a car- dinal deacon, and at that time legate in England, took an opportunity to intimate his intention of visiting Scot- land, in order to inquire into the ecclesiastical concerns of the kingdom. " I have never seen a legate in my dominions," replied Alexander, "and as long as I live I will not permit such an innovation. We require no such visitation now, nor have we ever re- quired it in times past." To this firm refusal the king added a hint, that should Otho venture to disregard it and enter Scotland, he could not answer for his life, owing to the ferocious habits of his subjects ; and the Italian prudently gave up all idea of the expedition. 4 But the zeal of the Papal emissary was checked, not extinguished; and after a few years Otho again attempted to make his way into Scotland. Alexander met him while he was yet in England, and a violent remonstrance took place, which ended in the legate being per- mitted to hold a council at Edinburgh, with a stipulation given under his seal that this permission to enter the king- dom should not be drawn into a pre- cedent. The king, however, refused to countenance by his presence what he affirmed to be an unnecessary inno- vation, and retired into the interior of his kingdom ; nor would he suffer the s Cart, of Moray, MS. Ad. Library, Edin. p. 11. The canons of the Church of Scotland were transcribed by Ruddiman from the Cartulary of Aberdeen, and communicated to Wilkins, who published them in the first volume of the Concilia Magnae Britannise. They were afterwards printed by Lord Hailes, with notes. * Math. Paris a Wats., p. 377. 288 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. legate to extend his pecuniary exac- tions beyond the Forth. 1 In Alexander the Third, who equalled his predecessor in firmness, and surpassed him in sagacity, the Church found a resolute patron and defender. A summons, by a Papal legate, addressed to the clergy of Scot- land, commanding them to attend his court at York, was pertinaciously re- sisted as being an infringement of their ancient privileges ; 2 whilst an attempt to levy money upon the cathedrals and parish churches, and to enter the country, was opposed by the king; and in both instances the opposition was successful. 3 But this was not all. The Scottish clergy disclaimed obedi- ence to the canons for the regulation of the ecclesiastical affairs of the coun- try, which were enacted in a council held by the Papal legate in England ; and aware of their own strength, as- sembled a provincial council at Perth, in which they promulgated canons of their own and asserted their independ- ence. In this manner the opposition which the firmness of the second Alexander begun, the resolution of his successor completed ; and before the conclusion of his reign the independ- ent rights of the Scottish Church may be regarded as firmly established. Whilst the Scottish monarchs and their clergy were thus amicably united in their resolutions to establish their independence, the internal relations which united the civil and ecclesiasti- cal authorities, and the good under- standing subsisting between the Crown and the Church, were little uninter- rupted by those fierce contentions which disturbed the repose of many other European kingdoms; and the superior information and influence of the clergy were employed by our monarchs as a mean of improving the savage habits of their people, and a counterpoise to the exorbitant power of the great feudal nobles. It was amongst the clergy alone that at this early period we find anything like a progress in the arts and in literature, « Math. Paris, p. 422. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 96. s Ibid. vol. ii. p. 105. if indeed, the learning of our country during this age deserves so high a name. In their disquisitions in scholastic theo- logy ; in an acquaintance with the civil and canon law ; in the studies of alche- my and judicial astrology ; and, in some rare instances, in a knowledge of the Oriental languages and the mathema- tics, the clergy of Scotland were not far behind their brethren of Europe. There were a few individual instances- in which the subtle, fervid, and inde- fatigable mind which, according to Galileo, marked the Scots at the era of the revival of letters, was to be seen amongst the Scottish scholars and philosophers of this remote age. 4 J ohn Duns Scotus, a name which is now as- sociated with feelings of unmerited ridicule, the founder of a school which extended its ramifications through every country in Europe, for the en- couragement of which princes lavished their treasures, and the most noted universities were ready to devote their exclusive patronage, was undoubtedly a Scotsman, born in the Merse in the latter end of the reign of Alexander the Third. Unable to procure instruc- tion in any of the higher branches of knowledge in his own country, he pur- sued his studies at Oxford ; and from this university repaired to Paris, where he found an asylum at the time that the arms of Edward the First had gained a temporary triumph over the liberties of his native country. The labours of this indefatigable school- man, shut up in twelve folios, once- handled with reverential awe, enjoy undisturbed repose upon the shelves of many a conventual library ; yet his genius undoubtedly impressed itself strongly and lastingly upon his age ; and the same mind, if fallen on better days, might have achieved less perish- able triumphs, and added to the stock of real knowledge. 5 It has been already remarked that in those dark days in Scotland, as well as in every other country in Europe, 4 This curious fact will be found mentioned in Sir R. Sibbald, Historia Literaria Gentis Scotorum, p. 30. MS. in the Ad. Library at Edinburgh. 5 Cave, Hist. Literaria, vol. ii. p, 3 of the Appendix. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 2S9 the whole stock of learning and science was shut up in the Church ; and as the great body of the Scottish clergy re- ceived their education in the universi- ties of Oxford or Paris, for as yet no great seminaries of learning had arisen in their own country, we must look for the intellectual acquirements of this influential body in the nature of the studies which were then fashion- able in the schools. That period of time which elapsed from the com- mencement of the thirteenth to the beginning of the fourteenth century has been distinguished in the history of human knowledge by the title of the scholastic age ; and a very slight view must convince us how dark a picture it presents. It is marked by the rise of the second age of the scholastic theology, in which the Aristotelian logic and metaphysics, were, for the first time, introduced into the demon- strations of divine truth, and employed as an aid in the explanation of the Holy Scriptures. The compilation of voluminous and intricate systems of divinity which was introduced in the Greek Church, as r shipped." 1 From this state of com- 1 JSlred, Speculum Caritatis, book ii. char:. SCOTLAND. plicated perfection to which the reli- gious music of England had arrived at so early a period, we may be permitted to attribute a considerable knowledge, if not an equal excellence, in the same science to our own country ; for we know that the Scottish clergy, in the cultivation of the arts which added solemnity and magnificence to their system of religious worship, were, in few respects, behind their brethren of the South ; yet this is conjectural, and not founded upon accurate historic proof. The churchmen of those remote times did not only monopolise all the learning which then existed, they were the great masters in the necessary and ornamental arts; not only the his- torians and the poets, but the painters, the sculptors, the mechanics, and even the jewellers, goldsmiths, and lapi- daries of the times. From their pro- ficiency in mathematical and mechani- cal philosophy, they were in an espe- cial manner the architects of the age ; and the royal and baronial castles, with the cathedrals, monasteries, and conventual houses throughout Scot- land, were principally the work of ecclesiastics. Into the numerous and elegant arts then practised by the clergy it is im- possible to enter ; but no apology will be required for submitting a few re- marks upon the last-mentioned sub- ject, the domestic and the religious architecture of the times, as the ques- tion, In what sort of houses or fort- alices were our ancestors accustomed to live ? is not one of the least in- teresting which presents itself in an inquiry into the ancient condition of the country. At a remote era the fortifications in the Lowland counties of Scotland, in- habited by tribes of Gothic origin, were, in all probability, the same as the castles called Anglo-Saxon in Eng- land. Their construction partook of the rude simplicity of the times in w T hich they were built. They con- sisted of an inner keep or castle, sur- rounded by a strong wall, beyond xx. Duaci, 1631, 4to, quoted in Pinkerton's Introductory Essay to* the Maitland Poems, vol. i. p. 67. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 301 which was a ditch or deep fosse, some- times twenty or thirty yards in breadth; and beyond this again was raised an outer vallum or rampart, of no great height, and apparently composed alone of earth. 1 They were generally placed on the brow of a steep hill, on a neck of land running into a river, or some such situation of natural strength; and as the art of war and the attack of fortified places had made then but little progress, the security they con- ferred was equal to the exigencies of the times. In the earliest age of Saxon archi- tecture, or at times when a temporary fortification was speedily required, it was common to build the walls round the castles of strong wooden beams. We learn, for instance, from the Scala Chronicle, that " Ida caused the castle of Bamborow to be walled with stone, that afore was but inclosed with woode ; " 2 and the castle of Old Bale, in Yorkshire, is described by Camden as being at first fortified with thick planks of wood eighteen feet in length, and afterwards encircled with a wall of stone. These stone walls were con- structed in a singular manner. They were faced, both without and within, with large square blocks, and the space between the facings was filled with a deposit of small rough flint stones or pebbles, mixed up with a strong cement of liquid quick-lime. 3 1 Strutt's Manners and Customs of the In- habitants of England, vol. i. p. 25. " The groundwork of another of these Saxon castles is yet remaining at Witham, being between the church and the town ; the form and size of it are yet very visible. This castle was likewise built by Edward the Elder, who re- sided at the castle of Maldon while this was completing, which was about the year 912 or 914. The middle circle contains the keep or castle, and is about 160 yards in diameter, and 486 yards round ; the ditch is, in its pre- sent state, 260 feet in breadth, and beyond the ditch is the external vallum, which is yet in a very perfect condition, full four feet high, and 18 or 20 feet in breadth, the circum- ference of the whole being about 1000 yards." 2 Leland's Collectanea, vol. i. p. 514. 3 Will. Malmesbury says, speaking of King Athelstan, — "Urbem igitur illam (Exeter) quain contaminatse gentis repurgio defseca- verat, turribus munivit, muro ex quadratis lapidibus cinxit." Willelmi Malmesburiensis Monachi. Gesta Regum Anglorum, vol. i. p. 214, edited, for the English Historical Society, In the progress of years the Saxon* made great improvement in the art of building; and, in point of strength and security, their castles were capa- ble of sustaining a creditable siege; but the apartments were low, ill- lighted, and gloomy ; and it is not till some time after the Conquest that we find the Norman style of architecture introduced, and a more lofty and mag- nificent species of structures begin- ning to arise in England, and to make their way, with the arts and the man- ners of this great people, into Scot- land. Owing, however, to the remote era in which the Scoto-Norman castles were built, time, and, in some in- stances, the tasteless and relentless hand of man have, in our own coun- try, committed great ravages. The necessary policy, too, of Bruce, who dismantled and destroyed most of the castles which he took has been fatal to the future researches of the anti- quary and the historian ; and few frag- ments remain which can, on satisfac- tory grounds, be pronounced older than the reign of this monarch. Yet the records of the Chamberlains' Ac- counts, and the incidental notices of our early historians, furnish us with ample evidence that, in the building of castles and fortalices, and in the erection of those magnificent churches of which little but the ruins are now seen, Scotland had made great pro- gress during the thirteenth century. We have already seen the effectual precautions against attack which were taken by Alexander the Third, when it became certain that Haco, the King of Norway, had determined to invade his kingdom. The castles on the coast of Scotland were carefully inspected : and from the details regarding their repairs, which are to be found in the few extracts that remain of the Cham- berlains' Accounts under thi3 mon- arch, some interesting information may be gathered. The northern coast of Scotland was defended by a series or chain of strong castles of stone, fortified by towers and enriched with valuable notes, by my learned friend, Mr Hardy, Principal Keeper of the Records in the Tower. 302 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. and drawbridges, and containing a dungeon, provided with iron fetters for the prisoners, accommodation for the stores and warlike engines, guard- rooms for the garrison, and a great hall or state apartment where the baron or castellan resided and enter- tained his vassals. Their situation was generally chosen with great skill. If on the coast, advantage was taken of the vicinity of the sea • if in the interior, of some river or hill, or insu- lated rock, which rendered the ap- proach on one side arduous or impos- sible, while care was taken to fortify the remaining sides by a deep fosse, and sttrong walls, with towers at each angle. Caerlaverock, a strong castle of the Maxwells, is thus described by an eye-witness in the year 1300, when it was besieged and taken by Edward the First : — " Its shape was like that of a shield, for it had only three sides all round, with a tower on each angle; but one of the towers was a double one, so high, so long, and so large, that under it was the gate with the draw- bridge, well made and strong, and a eufnciency of other defences. It had good walls, and good ditches filled to the edge with water; and I believe there never was seen a castle more beautifully situated : for at once could be seen the Irish sea towards the west, and to the north a fine country, sur- rounded by an arm of the sea ; so that no living man could approach it on two sides without putting himself in danger of the sea. Towards the south the attack was not easy, because there were numerous dangerous denies of wood and marshes, besides ditches where the sea is on each side, and where the river makes a reach round, so that it was necessary for the host to approach it towards the east where the hill slopes." 1 This minute description of Caerlave- rock may, with slight alterations, in- troduced by the nature of the ground, or suggested by the fancy and inge- nuity of the architect, be applied to most of the Scottish castles of the period. Two principles were to be 1 Siege of Caerlaverock. Edited, with notes, by Sir Harris Nicolas, pp. 61, 62. followed out in their construction: they were to be fitted, in the first place, for strength and resistance; whilst, according to the rank of the feudal baron, provision was to be made for his being comfortably or splendidly accommodated ; and although the first requisite was invariably made to regu- late and control the second, yet it is impossible not to admire the skill and ingenuity with which the genius of those ancient architects contrived to combine security and comfort. The earliest specimens of the strong Anglo- Norman castle present us with a single square tower; and it is evident that the lowest storey of the castle, being most exposed to attack, was required to be formed in the strongest manner. We find, accordingly, that the walls in this part of the building, which formed the chambers where the stores were kept, and the dungeons for the prisoners, were invariably the strong- est and thickest part of the building. These lower apartments were not lighted by windows, but by small loopholes in the solid stone, so inge- niously constructed, that it was nearly impossible from without to discharge into them any arrow or missile, so as to injure the soldiers within. The wall itself, which was here about twelve feet thick, was built in the same way as those of the Saxon castles, being cased within and without with, strong large square blocks of hewn stone, and filled up in the middle with flints embedded in fluid mortar; and we know that the same mode of build- ing was employed in both countries, not only by an examination of the Scoto-Norman castles which remain, but by the evidence of the entries in the Chamberlain Accounts. 2 The en- trance or principal door leading into the castle was not in the lower storey ; 2 Thus in the Chamberlain Accounts, Temp. Alex. III. p. 64. "Item in conductione cementariorum, et hominum fragentium lapi- des fabrorum, et aliorum operariorum. In pastu et ferrura Equorum cariancium lapides, in calcem et in aliis minutis expensis factis circa construccionem Castri de Strivelin." 94 lib. 17 d. See Statist. Account, vol. xviii. p. 417 ; Description of Kildrummie Castle, and of Dundargue, vol. xii. p. 578. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 303 but, for the purpose of sec7irity, gene- rally placed pretty far up the wall, and communicating by a drawbridge, 1 with a flight of steps or staircase of strong masonry. The door itself was not only secured by a strong gate of thick oak, with iron knobs, but by a portcullis or grating, composed sometimes wholly of iron, sometimes of timber fenced with iron, fur- nished at the bottom with sharp spikes, and so constructed as to slide up and down in a groove of solid stone work, made within the body of the wall, in the same way as we see a sash window slide in its frame. 2 Within the doorway, and built in the thick- ness of the wall, was generally a stone seat, where the warder stationed him- self, whose duty it was to keep castle guard, and who could at pleasure pull up the drawbridge and lower the port- cullis when he suspected an attack, or wished to have a safe parley with a suspicious guest. On the second floor were the apartments where the soidiers of the garrison had their residence and lodging, and which, as it was much exposed to attack, had generally no windows in the front wall. The rooms were lighted by loopholes in the three remaining sides, which, surrounded by the strong wall enclosing the bal- lium or outer court of the castle, were Tnore secure from the missiles of the 3nemy. The third floor contained the apartments of state, the hall of the castle where the baron lodged his friends and feasted his vassals. It was lighted by Gothic windows, highly ornamented, and was commonly hung with arras or rich tapestry, and adorned by a roof of carved oak. At each end of the apartment was a large recess in the wall, forming an arched fire- place, highly ornamented with carv- ing, and frequently formed so as to have a stone seat all round; and in the middle of the hall was an oaken table, extending nearly the whole 1 Seethe Description of the Ancient Castle of Dunaverty in Argyle, in which Bruce took refuge. Statistical Account, vol. iii. p. 365. 2 Mr King's Observations on Ancient Castles, published in the Archaeologia, vol. iv. p. 364, containing an acute and ingenious examination of this interesting subject. length of the apartment, and sup- ported on beams or pillars of oak. One of the finest specimens of the ancient feudal hall is still to be seen at Darnaway, once the seat of the great Kandolph. Its roof is supported by diagonal rafters of massive oak ; its height must originally have been above thirty feet, and its remaining propor- tions are eighty-nine feet in length, by thirty-five in breadth. At one end is a music gallery ; and in the middle of this magnificent apartment still stands the baron's board or table, sup- ported on six pillars of oak, curiously bordered and indented with Gothic carving. His ancient oaken chair, in form not unlike the coronation chair at Westminster, and carved with his arms and the insignia of his office, 3 is still seen; and although this descrip- tion of Kandolph' s hall is not to be understood as applicable to the state apartment of all, or even of most, of our feudal castles, yet, making allow- ance for the difference' in the propor- tions, the plan and disposition of the room is the same in all, and was singu- larly well adapted for that style of rude and abundant hospitality, when every man, who followed the banner of his lord, found a seat at his table, and every soldier who owned a jack and a spear might have a place at his hearth. The uppermost storey in the castle was composed of rooms of smaller dimensions, which were lighted by windows of considerable size ; and in this highest floor, as from the great height there were little precautions to be taken against attack, the architect was at liberty to indulge his fancy in ornamenting the windows and the battlements ; so that it is not unf re- quent, in the most ancient feudal castles, to find the windows in the floor next the roof of the largest dimensions, and with the richest carv- ing of any in the building. It was iu these highest rooms that, during a siege, the catapults, balistae, war-wolfs, and other instruments of annoyance and destruction were placed ; and there was a communication between this highest storey and the roof, » Statistical Account, vol. xx. p. 224. 304 HISTORY OF through which they could be drawn up upon the leads of the castle as the exigencies of the siege required. Such was the general construction and disposition of the feudal castles of those remote times; and any one fond of antiquities, and interested in the history of the country, may, in the course of a short tour in Scotland, convince himself of the truth of the description. Some, of course, were of larger dimensions, and covered a much greater extent of ground than others ; and according to the required strength and importance of the station, and the nature of the ground, to many was added an outer or base court, sur- rounded by walls and flanking towers. Besides this, the castle itself was com- monly encircled by a strong outer wall, communicating with a tower, the interior of which formed a kind of vestibule to the principal entrance of the castle ; whilst, beyond the wall, was a broad breastwork or barbican, and a moat, which encircled the whole building. In 1325, Bruce had com- manded the castle of Tarbet to be in- spected and repaired; and a minute account of the expense laid out in increasing the breadth of the walls, building a new tower, and fortifying the approach by a fosse, is to be found in the Chamberlains' Accounts. The repairs appear to have occupied seven months ; and, during this period, there was a consumption of seven hundred and sixty chalders of burnt lime, the expense of the whole work being four hundred and thirty pounds ten shil- lings and fivepence. 1 Besides these stone buildings, adapt- ed principally for strength and defence, it was common to construct halls and other apartments of wood within the outer court, and even to build castles and fortifications entirely of that perishable material. In the hall, the wooden framework, composed of strong beams of oak, was covered with a planking of fir, and this again laid over with plaster, which was i The items of the accounts will be found printed in the Illustrations. Chamberlains' Accounts, Compot. Const, de Tarbavt, pp. SCOTLAND. adorned with painting and gilding, 5 whilst the large oak pillars supporting the building rested in an embedment of strong masonwork. When the Earl of Athole was assassinated by the Bissets at the tournament at Hadding-, ton, in the early part of the reign of Alexander the Third, the 7wspitium in which he slept and was murdered seems to have been a wooden build- ing ; and after the deed, the perpetra- tors burnt it, and a manor and palace connected with it, to the ground. 3 There is a curious passage quoted by Camden, which, in describing the siege of Bedford castle during the reign of Henry the Third, throws considerable light on the disposition of these an- cient buildings ; and as the account is written by an eye-witness of the siege, the information is valuable and authen* tic : — " On the east side was one petrary and two mangonells daily playing upon the tower, and on the west were two mangonells battering the old tower; as also one on the south, and another on the north part, which beat down two passages through the walls that were next them. Besides these, there were two machines constructed of wood so as to be higher than the castle, and erected on purpose for the slingers and watchmen ; they had also several machines where the slingers and cross-bowmen lay in wait; and another machine called cattus, under which the diggers that were employed to undermine the castle came in and went out. The castle was carried by four assaults. In the first was taken the barbican ; in the second they got full possession of the outer ballia ; at the third attack the wall by the old tower was thrown down by the miners, 2 Chamberlains' Accounts, p. .6. "In servicio duorum carpentariorum area leva- cionem Aule in Castro ... In servicio portancium et cariancium lutum et sabulo- nem pro parietibus Aule, et servicio diver- sorum operariorum circa easdem, et servicio tauberiorum et coopiencium, cum servicio duorum cimentarionum subponencium postes Aule cum petris et calce 15sh. 8d." Ibid. p. 38. " Item in VI. petris crete empt. pro pictura nova Camerse apud Cardross." See also Strutt's Manners and Customs of the People of England, vol. ii. p. 95. s Foidun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 72. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 305 from which, by a vigorous attack, they possessed themselves of the inner bal- iia througn a breach. At the fourth assault, the miners set fire to the chief tower on the keep, so that the smoke burst out, and the tower itself was cloven to that degree as to shew visibly some broad rents, whereupon the ene- my surrendered. " 1 In the various sieges which occurred in Scotland during the war of liberty, the same mode of attack was invari- ably adopted, by mining and battering the walls, and wheeling up to them immense covered machines, divided into different stages, from which the archers and cross-bowmen attacked the soldiers on the battlements of the castle. With regard to the houses within burgh, which were inhabited by the wealthy merchants and artisans, and to the granges and cottages which formed the residence of the free far- mers, the liberi firmarii, and of the unfortunate class of bondmen or vil- leyns, they appear to have been in- variably built of wood. In the year 1243, eight of the richest burghs in Scotland were consumed by fire, and reduced to ashes; 2 and in the Cham- berlains' Accounts we constantly meet, amongst the items of royal expendi- ture, with the sums paid to the car- penter, and the moneys laid out in the purchase of wood, for the construction of new granges, sheds, and cottages, upon the various manors possessed by the king. In 1228, Thomas de Thirle- stane, one of those Lowland barons who had made his way into Moray, was attacked and slain in his strong- hold by Gillescop, a Celtic chief, who afterwards destroyed several wooden castles in the same country, and con- sumed by fire a great part of Inver- ness ; 3 and we know that the practice of building the houses within burgh of wood continued to a late period, both in England and Scotland. We gene- rally connect the ideas of poverty, privation, and discomfort with a man- 1 Camden, in Bedfordshire, p. 287, quoted in Strutt's Manners and Customs, vol. i. pp. 94, 95. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 76. s Ibid. pp. 57, 58. VOL. sion constructed of such a material ; but the idea is a modern error. At this day the mansion which Berna- dotte occupied as his palace when he was crowned at Drontheim, a building of noble proportions, and containing splendid apartments, is wholly built of wood, like all the houses in Norway ; and from the opulence of the Scottish burghers and merchants, during the reigns of Alexander the Third and David the Second, there seems good reason to believe that their houses were not destitute either of the com- forts, or w T hat were then termed the elegancies of life. I come now to say a few words upon the third, and by far the noblest class of buildings which were to be seen in Scotland during this remote period — the monasteries, cathedrals, and reli- gious houses. Few who have seen them will not confess that, in the grandeur of their plan, and the extra- ordinary skill and genius shewn in their execution, they are entitled to the highest praise; and if we read the description given in a monastic chronicle in the British Museum, of the earliest church at Gb-stonbury, 4 composed of wooden beams and twisted rods, and turn from this to the cathe- dral of St Magnus in Orkney, to the noble pile at Dunfermline, to the more light and beautiful remains of Melrose Abbey, or to the still more imposing examples of ecclesiastical architecture in England, — the strength of original genius in the creation of a new order of architecture, and the progress of mechanical knowledge in mastering the complicated details of its execution, are very remarkable. There cannot be a doubt that we owe the perfection of this noble style to the monks ; and although the exact era of its first appearance, either in England or in our own country, is difficult to be ascertained with preci- sion, yet there are some valuable and interesting notices in our early his- torians, which make it probable that our first masters in the art of building churches in stone were the Italians. * Cotton MS. Tib. A. Y. Bede, Hist Eccles. Gentis Anglorum, p. 169. U 306 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. ' It may have happened that some of those master-minds which appear in the darkest times, when they had once acquired a degree of skill in the man- agement of their materials, struck out the idea of imitating in stone the wooden edifices of the period ; and when working from models of twisted willow-rods, the pliable material of which the walls and ornaments of our ancient religious houses were con- structed, 1 the ideas of the arch, the pillars, the groined roof, and the tracery of the windows, began gradu- ally to develop themselves in a man- ner shewn by an able and acute writer 2 to be perfectly natural and intelligible. Indeed, when the idea was once seized, ' and it was found that the knowledge of working in stone, and of the mecha- nical powers which the. age possessed, was sufficient to reduce it to practice, we can easily conceive that its future progress towards perfection may have been tolerably easy and rapid. The infinity of beautiful Gothic forms which are capable of being wrought, and which almost necessarily suggest themselves to an artist work- ing in willow, and the admirable skill in carving and imitating in stone which was acquired by the monkish artists at an early period, produced an action and reaction on each other ; and the same writer already mentioned has shewn, by a careful analysis of every portion of a Gothic church, that there is not a single ornament in its struc- ture and composition which does not serve to corroborate this idea. As to our earliest Norman builders having been instructed by the Italians, there is historical evidence. In the year 1174, the cathedral church at Canter- bury was destroyed by fire, and in a description by Eadmer, a contempor- ary writer, it is stated that this ancient edifice was built by the assistance of Roman artists, after the model of the church of St Peter's at Rome. 3 1 Simeon Dunelm. p. 27. 2 Sir James Hall's Essay on the Origin, History, and Principles of Gothic Architec- ture. 3 Chronica Gervasii, Pars Prima, de Com- bustione et Reparatione Durobornenis Ec- tlesiaj, 1290. Twysden, vol. ii. That the most ancient churches in Britain were constructed of pillars and a framework of oak, covered with reeds or twisted rods, we know from authentic evidence ; and it is asserted by Gervas, in his account of the re- building of the church of Canterbury, after its destruction by fire, that, whereas in the ancient structure the roof had been composed of wood, and decorated with exquisite painting, in the new church it was constructed of an arch, built of stone, and light tufle- work. 4 Nay, even the name of the adventurous artist who first seems to have conceived the bold idea of work- ing the ribbed and vaulted ceiling in stone, in the same way in which it had • formerly been executed in wood, haa^ been preserved to us : it was William ] of Sens, a French artist. He invented^ also, as we learn from the monkish historian who was an eye-witness of his labours, ingenious machines for the loading and unloading the ships which brought the stones from foreign parts, in all probability from Nor- mandy, as well as for raising aloft the immense weights of lime and of stone which were required in the building; he furnished the stone-cutters with working plans, or models, which guided them in their nice and difficult opera- tions; and he began to form the ribbed arches and vaulted panels upon a framework of timber, to which was attached the scaffolding where the masons stood. As the building pro- ceeded, this scaffolding unfortunately gave way, and the adventurous artist was incurably maimed. But he had struck out the idea ; and it was more successfully carried into execution by an English architect who succeeded him. 5 It is the opinion of the acute writer who has pointed out this first and most important step in the progress of our ecclesiastical architecture, that the idea of ornamenting the great pillars with groups of smaller columns sur- rounding them, was introduced at the same period, and by the same artist. 6 4 Gervasii Chronica, p. 1298. 6 See Archaeologia, vol. ix. p. 115. Gover- nor Pownall on Gothic Architecture. « Ibid. p. 116. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 307 The art of executing large and magnificent buildings in timber frame- work was carried to high perfection in the northern countries of Europe dur- ing the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries. It had made great progress in England, and was there known and practised in the building of churches, under the name of the Teutonic style. Owing, however, to the perishable nature of the materials, and to acci- dents by fire, these churches were fre- quently either destroyed, or reduced to a state of extreme decay ; so that the ruinous state of the ecclesiastical edifices in the northern parts of Europe became a serious subject of inquiry at Rome about the commencement of the thirteenth century; and measures were taken to obviate the grievance. These measures were of a singular nature. The Pope created several cor- porations of Roman and Italian archi- tects and artisans, with high and ex- clusive privileges ; especially with a power of settling the rates and prices of their labour by their own authority, and without being controlled by the municipal laws of the country where they worked. ' To the various northern countries where the churches had fallen into a state of decay, were these artists deputed; and, as the first ap- pearances of the Gothic architecture in Europe was nearly coincident with this mission of Roman artists, and, as has already been observed, the new style of imitating the arched frame- work of wood by ribbed arches of stone was known by the name of the Roman style, there arises a presump- tion that we owe this magnificent style of architecture to these travel- ling corporations of artists, who in consequence of the exclusive privileges which they enjoyed assumed to them- selves the name of Freemasons, and under this title became famous through- out Europe. 1 These same corporations, from their first origin, possessed the power of taking apprentices, and ad- mitting into their body such masons as they approved of in the countries where their works were carried on; i Sir James Hall's Essay on Gothic Archi- tecture, yp. 109, 114. so that, although the style may have originated amongst Italian artists, it is quite possible it may have been brought to perfection by other masters, who were natives of the different countries to which these Roman workmen were sent ; and this will account for the fact that the church of Canterbury, in which the ribbed arch of stone is sup- posed to have been introduced for the first time into England, was originally the work of a Norman, and afterwards completed by an English architect. In speaking of these corporations of architects of the Middle Ages, Sir Christopher Wren has given, in his Parentalia, the following account of their constitution: — " The Italians, with some Greek refugees, and with them French, Germans, and Flemings, joined into a fraternity of architects, procuring Papal bulls for their encour- agement, and particular privileges: they styled themselves Freemasons, and ranged from one nation to another as they found churches to be built ; for very many, in those ages, were every- where in building, through piety or emulation. Their government was regular ; and where they fixed near the building in hand, they made a camp of huts. A surveyor governed in chief ; every tenth man was called a warden, and overlooked each nine; and the gentlemen of the neighbour- hood, either out of charity, or commu- tation of penance, gave the materials and the carriages. Those," adds Sir Christopher, " who have seen the ac- counts, in records, of the charge of the fabrics of some of our cathedrals, near four hundred years old, cannot but have a great esteem for their economy, and admire how soon they erected such lofty structures." 2 This new and noble style of ecclesi- astical architecture found its way into Scotland about the beginning of the twelfth century ; and, fostered by the increasing wealth of the Church, and by the devotion and munificence of 2 Parentalia, pp. 306, 307. I have in vain looked for the original authorities upon which Sir Christopher Wren and Governor Pownall have founded this description of the travelling corporations of Roman architects. 308 HISTORY OF our early monarchs, soon reached a pitch of excellence not far inferior to that which it had attained in England and in France. Besides fourteen bishops' sees, to most of which was attached a Gothic cathedral and palace, there existed at the time of the Refor- mation a hundred and seventy-eight religious houses, consisting of abbacies, priories, convents, and monasteries, most of which were richly endowed, situated in the midst of noble woods, surrounded by spacious gardens, parks, and orchards; and exhibiting, in the style of their architecture, specimens of the progressive improvement of the art, from the simple and massy Saxon to the most florid Gothic. It is subject of deep regret that some of the strong- minded and strong-handed spirits, who afterwards acted a principal part in the Reformation, adopted the erroneous idea that these noble edifices were in- consistent with the purity of the wor- ship which they professed ; and that they permitted, or, as some authors have asserted, encouraged the populace to destroy them. SECTION VI. SPORTS AND AMUSEMENTS. In this inquiry, where an attempt has been made to give something like a civil history of the country, the sports and amusements of our an- cestors form a subject of* interesting research ; although here, as on almost all otuer similar points, we have to lament the extreme scarcity of au- thentic materials. The chivalrous amusements of Scotland appear to have been the same as in the other feudal countries of Europe. Hunting and hawking, the tourney or play at arms, the reading of romances, the game of chess, masques and feasts, minstrelsy and jugglei-'s tricks, with the licensed wit of the fool, filled up the intervals of leisure which were spared from public or private war. With regard to huuting, the im- mense forests with which, as we have already seen, our country was covered during this period gave every facility | ' SCOTLAND. for the cultivation of this noble pas- time ; and there is ample evidence that at an early period the chase formed one of the principal recreations of the kings and the barons of Scot- land. David the First recounted to Ethelred, abbot of Rievaux, an anec- dote regarding Malcolm Canmore, his father, which illustrates this in a minute and striking manner. Mal- colm had received private information that a plot against his life was laid by one of his courtiers in whom he placed confidence. The king took no notice of the discovery, but calmly awaited the arrival of the traitor with his vas- sals and followers at court ; and when they came, gave orders for his hunts- men and hounds to prepare for the- chase, and be waiting for him on the first dawn of the morning. " And now," says Ethelred, " when Aurora had driven away the night, King Mal- colm assembled his chief officers and nobles, with whom he proceeded to take the pastime of the chase in a green plain which was thickly sur- rounded by a wood. In the middle of this forest was a gentle eminence profusely covered with wild flowers, in which the hunters after the fatigues of the chase were accustomed to re- pose and solace themselves. Upon this eminence the king stood ; and ac- cording to that law or custom of the chase which the vulgar call the trysta, having allotted certain stations to the different nobles and their dogs in such a manner that the game should meet death wherever it attempted to make its escape, he dismissed them, but re- quested the traitor to remain alone with him, whilst the rest departed. When this was done, the king took him aside to a more remote part of the wood, and drawing his sword, informed him that he knew well the whole of his treachery. ' We are alone,' said he, 'and on an equal footing, as be- comes brave men ; both are armed, both are mounted ; neither of us can receive assistance. You have sought my life : take it if you are able.'" 1 i Ethelrcdus de G-enealogia Re.cum An- glorum, p. 367. Inter X Scriptores Twysden, j voL i. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. It is hardly necessary to add, that this heroic conduct of the king was fol- lowed by the immediate contrition and pardon of his heart-struck vassal. The use of the term trysta in this passage enables us to throw some ad- ditional light upon the ancient cus- toms of the chase in Scotland. The law of trysta, which Ethelred here alludes to, was one by which the king's vassals, when he took the pastime of the chase, were bound to attend the royal muster at the ground appointed, with a certain number of- hounds; and the phrase yet used in Scotland, to "keep tryst," seems to be derived from this ancient practice in wood- craft. 1 In the Highlands at this day, the mode of hunting by what is called a tenkle is . very similar to the trysta held upon this occasion by Malcolm Canmore. David the First appears to have been no less fond of hunting than his father Malcolm. Indeed, we may believe that his intimate connexion with England, previous to his coming to the throne, must have given him an additional love for an amusement which the Normans then followed with an enthusiasm which transformed it from a recreation into a science. Accordingly, when Robert de Bruce, previous to the great battle of the Standard, in which David was so cruelly defeated, employed his elo- quence to persuade the king, his old friend and brother in-arms, to desist from his unjust invasion of England, he not only mentions the mutual perils and labours which they had shared, but especially alludes to the delight which they had experienced in the chase, and the pleasures of hawk- ing and hunting ; 2 and in that beauti- ful and touching eulogium which Ethelred has left us of the same' monarch, who was his friend and pa- tron, we find this testimony alike to his humanity and his love of the chase : — -'Often with these eyes have I seen him draw back his foot when it was i Ducange, voce Trista, who quotes'Coke, part iv. Institut. p. 306. In a charter of Ed- ward III., Monast. Anglican, vol. ii. p. 827, we find, "Et sont quieti de Henedpenny, Huckstall, et Tristis." * Eihelredus de Bello Standardi, p. 345. already in the stirrup, and he was just mounting to follow the diversion of the chase, should the voice of any poor supplicant be heard petitioning for an audience ; the horse was left, the amusement for that day given up, and the king would return into his palace." 3 Whether William the Lion, or Alexander the Second, the immediate successors of David the First, » were much addicted to this healthy and heart- stirring exercise, we have no ground to determine; but Alexander the Third certainly kept a falconer, and the sums of money expended in the support of his hawks and dogs appear in those valuable fragments, of the Chamberlains' Accounts of this early reign, which have been already so often quoted. In 1263, this monarch enjoyed the sport of hawking at his palace of Forfar, where, along with his queen and nobility, he held his court for twenty-nine weeks; and the expenses of the king's horses, of his falcons, and even of a bitch with seven puppies, are minutely recorded. 4 Besides the grain consumed by these winged and four-footed favourites, the king had to pay the sum of eight pounds twelve shillings and sixpence to his falconer, William de Hamyll ; and that of four pounds seven shillings to the grooms who kept his horses. 5 It appears to have been the custom of our monarchs to remove their court at different seasons to the various palaces, estates, or manors, which they possessed in private property ; and on such occasions, as well as when the 3 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 904. * Compotum E. de Montealto Vicecomitis de Forfar, pp. 12, 13. "Redditus farineordei de illo anno de Forfar et glammes. ix. celd. v boll, farine ordei. Expens. in servicio regis iii celd. ii bol. et i firthelota. Item in ser- vicio regine novem boll et dimidium. Item in expensis septem catulorum et eorum matris prehendinancium etc. iiii celd. x lib. . . Item in expensis Willielmi de Hamyll prehendinantis apud Forfar cum falconibus dni regis per xxix septimanas et duos dies anno 1263, viii C. et dimidium celdre, et tres partes unius boll. Item in expensis Equorum- dni regis prehendinancium apud Forfar usque ad diem hujus computi xiiii C. etvi bol. pre- bende." Ibid. p. 38, we find the four fal- coners oi Dunipace. , * Ibid. pp. 13, 14. •310 OF exigencies of the state required the personal presence of the sovereign in any part of his dominions,, the hounds of the royal household formed part of the equipage which accompanied him. 1 About the same period, the preser- vation of the game ; the enclosing the parLj or chases round the royal castles by strong wooden pales; the feeding the does during the winter; the employment of park-keepers, whose business was to guard the forest from waste or intrusion ; and of fox-hunters, who were hired to destroy the beasts of prey and noxious vermin, are all occupations which ap- pear in the Chamberlain's Accounts, and evince a sedulous attention to the sports of the field. 2 In the romance of Sir Tristrem, which may be quoted as good au- thority for the manners of Scotland in the days of Alexander the Third, we meet with some characteristic pic- tures of the sports and amusements of the times ; and amongst these the chase holds, as might be expected, a most conspicuous place. The hero is the very king of hunters, and his pro- found acquaintance with the mystery of woodcraft is dwelt upon with a fond minuteness, which proves how high was the place which the science occupied in what were then considered the accomplishments of a brave and perfect knight. Tristrem, in travelling through a forest, encounters a com- pany of huntsmen, who are returning from the chase with their hounds in leash, and the game which they had slain. He is scandalised at the awk- ward arid unsportsmanlike manner in which they had broke up the venison ; and on upbraiding them for their want of science, -an unflayed hart is thrown down before him, and he is courteously requested to give them a lesson. This he performs in a manner so masterly and admirable, that the huntsmen are in ecstacies ; and this new and superior mode of carving the buck is communi- 1 Compotum E. de Monteaito Vicecomitis de Forfar, p.. 20. 2 Compotum Patricii de Graham Vice- comitis de Strivelin. Chamberlains' Ac- counts, p. 61. SCOTLAND. cated to the king of tile country, who esteems himself fortunate in having lived at an era when knowledge was destined to make so important a step towards perfection. 3 From the whole adventure, it is evident, that to break up a stag, or, in the language of Sir Tristrem, to "clight the erber" ac- cording to the most scientific method; * to give his rights to the forester, the nombles to the hunters and spectators, the quarre to the hounds, and the expected corbin bone to the raven ; to' allot the due portion to himself a* carver ; to tie up the paunch with the grease ; to preserve the gufgiloun ; and, lastly, to recite the appropriate rhyme, and blow the tokening or death-note, were considered matters of deep study, and of no very easy attain- ment, which in those early ages formed a material part of a chivalrous and noble education, and which, it must be observed, constituted only a small portion of the complicated science of woodcraft. It is evident that Robert Bruce, who seems to have been ac- counted one of the most accomplished knights of his time, was an adept in the mysteries of the chase. He winds his horn in so masterly a way, that Sir James Douglas instantly pronounces* that blast to be none but the king's ; and the strength with which he draws the bow, and the unerring aim with which the shaft is directed, are par- ticularly mentioned by Barbour. In- deed, for many months, when he led the life of a proscribed and wandering fugitive, he and his followers were driven to support themselves by the chase ; 4 and there is evidence in the Chamberlains' Accounts that his dogs, his falcons, his horses, and his hunts- men were afterwards subjects of con- siderable care and expense. 5 8 Romance of Sir Tristrem, pp. 31, 32, 33. Fytte i. stanza 41 to 49 inch Notes, p. 277. 4 Barbour, pp. 40, 55, 80, 107. 5 "Grilisio Venatori ex dona dni regis p. lram. 13 sh. 4 d." Compotum Constab. de .Cardross, p. 39. Chamberlains' Accounts. Ibid. p. 40. "Item pro emendatione et tectura domus cuidam .pro falconibus ibidem, cum constructione cuidam sepis circa ipsaxn domum 2 sh." Ibid. p. 44. "Item Gilisio venatori capiente boll, per iii. septimanas," ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 311 At a remote period, indeed, we find that the Scottish stag-hounds and wolf-dogs were prized in foreign countries; 1 and, under the reign of David the Second, the character of the Scottish dogs and falcons stood so high, that they became an article of export ; ' 2 while in the charters of the island lords the eyries of falcons are particularly mentioned. 3 The hawks of Norway, however, for strength and flight, were the most famous in the world; and there is a curious early notice in Sir Tristrem, which shews that the Norwegian merchant-ships imported them into Scotland. "Ther com a schip of Norway To Sir Rohante's hold, With hawkes white and grey, And panes fair y fold." 4 In the Chamberlains' Accounts, the falconer of John of the Isles appears bringing falcons to David the Second; 6 and from the enthusiasm with which the sport of hawking is described in the early romances, and the gravity with which its mysteries are explained, we may conclude that in Scotland, as in the other countries of Europe, it was esteemed one of the most fascinating of feudal pastimes. It is easy, inde'ed, if we carry our mind back to the thirteenth or. fourteenth century, to imagine how imposing and delightful must have been those field sports of our ancestors. Let us for a moment dwell on the picture. We see the sun just rising upon a noble chase, or park, with breezy slopes and gentle undula- tions, variegated with majestic oaks, •and getting wilder and more rugged as you approach the mountains that surround it. His level rays are glanc- ing on the windows of a baron's castle, and illuminating the massy gray walls, 1 Sir James Ware's Antiquities of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 166. Edition by Harris. 2 Rotuli Scotise, p. 891. 20th May 1365. "Salvus' Cond. pro Scutifero Godefridi de Roos Canes, et Falcones e Scotia ducturo." 3 Robertson's Parliamentary Records, p. 89. Carta Reginaldi Filii Rodorici. " Una cum ceriis falconum. " * Sir Tristrem, p. 25, notes, p. 274. Ware's Antiquities of Ireland, in his works by Harris, vol. ii. p. 172. • * Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 282. "Cui- dam falconario Johannis de Insulis portant. falCones dni regis 13 sh. 4 d." till they look as if they were built of •gold. By and by, symptoms of busy preparation are seen : horses are led into the court; knights, squires, and grooms are booting and mounting, and talking of the coming sport; the hunts- men and the falconer stand ready at the gate ; and the ladies' palfreys, led by their pages, are waiting for their fair mistresses. At last, these gentle dames descend from their bower, and each, assisted by her favourite knight, "lightly springs to selle;" the aged baron himself is gravely mounted, and leads the way; and the court of the castle rings with hoof and horn as the brilliant and joyous cavalcade cross the drawbridge, and disperse them- selves through the good greenwood. There are few who could resist a wish to join in the pastime. Within doors, and when not occu- pied by war or the chase, we are apt to believe that the time must have passed somewhat heavily with our an- cestors; yet here, too, they had their resources. In the first place, their solemn feasts and banquetings were on a great scale, occupied much of their attention, and were not speedily concluded, if we may form an opinion from the variety and quantity of the viands. All great occasions of festivity or solemnity, such as baptisms and mar- riages, the installation of bishops or other dignified churchmen, the recur- rence of Christmas and the new year, the birthday of the king or the prince, it was the custom of those ancient times to commemorate by feasts ; and the Chamberlains' Accounts of our early monarchs afford ample evidence of the scale upon which these enter- tainments were conducted. Immense quantities of beef and mutton, of pork and poultry ; large and constant sup- plies of salmon, herring, hard fish and white fish, sturgeons, lampreys, and eels in great abundance ; large impor- tations of white and red wine, with a variety of spiceries and sweetmeats, besides figs, raisins, oil of olives, gin- gerbread, wax, vinegar, verjuice, and porpoises, form the anomalous and multifarious articles which swell the 312 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. account or "William de Buthirgask, clerk of the kitchen to the good king Robert. 1 These were the articles of •usual and daily consumption ; but on occasions of unusual festivity, the en- tertainments were in the last degree extravagant and expensive. At the feast given at Canterbury on the in- stallation of Ralph, abbot of St Augus- tine, six thousand guests sat down to a dinner of three thousand dishes : 2 and this was far exceeded by the splendour of the marriage banquet when the Earl of Cornwall espoused Cincia, the daughter of the Count of Provence, upon which occasion thirty thousand dishes were served up to an immense assemblage of guests, who had arrived from the remote parts of England as well as from Scotland. 3 In the feast which was given by the Archbishop of York upon the marriage of Alexander the Third, sixty stalled oxen were slain to furnish out the first course, and the rest" of the enter- tainment was on an equal scale of magnificence. It was the custom, at these feasts, to bring in the boar's head with .great state ; sometimes the whole boar himself, stuffed, and stand- ing on his legs, surrounded by a forti- fication of pastry, from the battle- ments of which little flags and banners waved over the grisly savage, was ushered in, carried by the master of the feast and his servants, with the trumpets sounding before him. In like manner the peacock, the swan, and the heron were greatly esteemed in those times, and brought in, with their plumage unbroken, upon pla- teaus richly gilt, and with a net- work of gold thrown over them ; whilst, between the courses, the guests were entertained by a species of opera, acted by little puppets of paste, in which Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Godfrey of Bulloign, or some such heroes, performed their parts amidst magic islands, captive ladies, turbaned pagans, fiery dragons, and all the fantastic machinery of the period. When this was concluded, 1 Chamberlains' Accounts, pp. 74 to 85. 2 Chronica, W. Thorn, p. 2010. s Math, Paris, p. 536. the company again resumed the feael which was continued till a late hour, and often prolonged for many days. These were the solemn banquets of the Middle Ages ; but even their ordi- nary meals, when the baron, in his feudal hall, feasted his vassals twice a day, were conducted with rude plenty and protracted hospitality. They dined early ; and from the quantity of wines and spices imported into the country, there is reason to believe they sat late. " In the reign of Alexander the Third, the famous Thomas the Rhymer and the Earl of Dunbar, in whose castle he lived, sat down to dinner before twelve o'clock; 4 and, between the di- version afforded by the licensed wit of the fools who were kept by the king and the higher nobles ; the hours spent in the game of chess, then popu- lar ; the listening to the lays of the harpers and minstrels, and the reading romances of interminable length, the day glided away. 5 We are to remem- ber, also, that much time was spent in the devotions of the Catholic Church ; that the labours of the needle and em- broidery filled up many hours of a lady's life ; whilst the older knights and barons, who received into their castles the sons of the nobility for the purpose of superintending their edu- cation, devoted much of their leisure to this occupation. In the speech which Walter Espec addresses to the English barons before the battle of the Standard, chess and dice are alluded to as the games in which the youthful knights passed their time ; while the reading works of history, or the listening to the gests of their war- like ancestors, are considered as the more appropriate employments of an aged baron. 6 At an early period in our history the system of chivalry made its way into Scotland, and gave that romantic tone to the character of the people 4 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 131. 5 Rotuli Compote-rum, Temp. Alex. III. p. 4. Compotum Constab. de Cardross, p. 41. Sir Tristrem, fytte. i. sec. 29, 30. Compotus Camerarii, p. 96. Barbour, pp. 49, 54. Sir Tristrem, notes on fytte ii. p. 306. 6 Ethelredus de Bello Standardi, p. 339. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 813 which its usages, in a greater or less degree, communicated to every coun- try in Europe. The early intercourse of our country with Scandinavia, the possession of the Western Isles, and of part of the mainland by the northern nations, and the circumstance that the Gothic tribes, at a remote period, had extended themselves over the whole of the Lowlands, created a predisposi- tion in favour of this system of man- ners ; for the first rude germ of chi- valry is undoubtedly to be found in the habits and the character of this heroic race of men. Their unshaken and generous courage ; the Jiigh and dignified station occupied by their women ; their love of enterprise and adventure ; their consideration for their scalds and minstrels ; and their passion for marvellous and romantic fictions, are just so many features which, with a slight change, we find in chivalry under its more advanced and artificial shape. We are not, therefore, to wonder that, even as early as the end of the eleventh cen- tury, when Duncan, assisted by the Norman knights and soldiers of Wil- liam Rufus, expelled Donald Bane Vom the throne, the light of chivalry is seen beginning to dawn in Scotland; 1 but the subsequent expulsion of the Normans and English by the Celtic population was unfavourable for a time to its further progress. 2 Under Alexander the First, and during the reign of that wise and ex- cellent prince, David the First, some traces of chivalrous manners and edu- cation are perceptible in the educa- tion of Henry of Anjou at the court of the latter monarch, and in the cere- mony of the young prince receiving from the hands of David the order of knighthood when he had completed his sixteenth year. 3 Under Malcolm 1 Sax. Chron. by Ingram, pp. 307, 310. Duncan was knighted by William Rufus. 2 Simeon Dunelm, p. 219. 3 Chron. Thorn. Wikes, p. 29. From this author, as well as from Hoveden, p. 490, there is little doubt, I think, that Henry was educated at the court of David. After his military education was completed, he appears to have gone over to Normandy ; and upon his return from tnat country to England, he re- paired to David at Carlisle, and was knighted. the Fourth and his successor in the throne, William the Lion, the thirst for knightly renown, and the existence of chivalrous manners, are distinctly seen. It. was not till Malcolm had gained his spurs in France, by fighting at the siege of Thoulouse under the banner of the King of England, that- this monarch, in the city of Tours, girded the youthful king with the belt of knighthood. During the same reign we have an example of a baron accused of treason appealing to his sword, and perishing in single combat; and the spirited speech of William the Lion, when he and a body of his barons were surprised and taken pri- soners before Alnwick, " Now it will be seen who are good knights ! " is decisive as to the progress of chivalry in Scotland during the twelfth cen- tury. 4 Indeed, the warm attachment of Richard Cceur de Lion, the most chivalrous of kings, to William the Lion, and the constant friendly inter- course which subsisted during this reign between the two countries, 5 coulc] not fail to have its influence in dis- seminating the principles of a system which, in England, had taken such a hold both upon the monarch and the nation. Accordingly when William, in 1186, married Ermengarde de Beau- mont, part of the dower stipulated in the marriage contract consisted in the feudal services of forty knights ; 6 and the virtues of this monarch, as they are enumerated by W T inton, his ten- derness and fidelity in friendship, his generous emulation and companion- ship with Richard in deeds of renown, his courtesy and generosity, are all of I differ here from Lord Hailes, who pro- nounces it to be certain that Henry had no more than an occasional interview with David, and founds his opinion upon G-ervas, p. 1366 ; W. Neubrig. p. 75 ; and J Hagulstad. p. 277. If the reader will examine these pas- sages, he will, I think, agree with me that they do not support such an assertion. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 450. Chronicon Sanctee Crucis, p. 33. Editio Bannatynian. Gervas, p. 1381. Gulielm. Neubrig. p. 237. " Illico ferociter arma concutiens, suoque ver- bo simul et exemplo accendens, modo inquit, Apparebit quis miles esse noverit." 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 507. Winton, vol. i. p. 333. • R. Hoveden, p. 632. 514 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. them chivalrous. A passion for reli- gious war, and a thirst for the glory which was gained against the Infidels, was the only ingredient wanting to complete the chivalrous character of the country; and this last principle is to be seen in the conduct of David, earl of Huntingdon, the brother of William the Lion, who assumed the cross immediately after his marriage, and departed for the Holy War in company with Richard the First. 1 Not long after the departure of the Earl of Huntingdon, for the Holy Land, William Malvoisine, the bishop of St Andrews, in a great council of the clergy held at Perth, preached a crusade, and deputed many emissaries throughout Scotland to enforce the same holy warfare in their sermons and addresses to the people ; but, al- though multitudes of the middle and lower classes. assumed the cross, they were joined by few of the rich and the powerful in the land. 2 The tournaments we find an estab- lished amusement in Scotland under Alexander the Second. This mon- arch himself received the belt of knighthood from John, king of Eng- land ; and, under the reign of his successor, we see, in the remarkable debate which arose on the subject whether the youthful monarch could be crowned before he was knighted, how strong a hold the system and in- stitutions of chivalry had taken of the national mind. When Bisset was ac- cused of the murder of the Earl of Athole, he instantly appealed to his sword. The marriage of Alexander the Third; the feasts and music ; the sumptuous dresses and largesses ; the future progresses of the youthful king and his consort to visit their father's court, — were full of all the pomp and circumstance of chivalry. The cha- racter of Alan Durward, celebrated as being the flower of Scottish knight- hood ; the solemnity with which we find this order conferred by the sove- 1 It ought to be observed, however, that this crusade of the king's brother rests only on the apocryphal-authority of Boece, and is not to be found in the more authentic pages of Fordun or Win ton. * fe'ordun a Goodal, vol. i. p. 53-L reign upon the sons of the nobility at the palace of Scone ; the increasing passion for the crusades ; and the de- parture of many of the Scottish nobles for Palestine, confirm this opinion : 3 but it is chiefly under the reign of Bruce, and his son David the Second, that we discover the complete intro- duction of chivalry into Scotland. The work, indeed, to which this great king devoted his life was of too serious a nature to be often interrupted or encroached upon by the splendid and fantastic trifling of chivalry. Yet! in personal prowess, and the use of his weapons, Bruce was accounted one of the best knights in Europe; and in Ireland we find the king halt- ing the army, when retreating in cir- cumstances of extreme difficulty, on hearing the cries of a poor lavender 'e, or washerwoman, who had been seized with labour, commanding a tent to be pitched for her, and taking measures for her pursuing her journey when she was able to travel : an action full of the tenderness and courtesy so espe- cially inculcated by chivalry, yet springing here, perhaps, not so much from the artificial feelings of a system, as from the genuine dictates of a brave and gentle heart. Bruce, and Doug- las, and Randolph, it may be said, were too good soldiers and patriots to be diverted from their objects by the pursuit of personal adventure ; but. from the nature of the long war with the English, feats of individual prow- ess, and gallant " points of arms," per- formed by a handful of brave vassals and partisans, were often the only efforts which kept up the desponding spirits of the nation ; and the spirit of chivalrous adventure, and of useful patriotic exertion, thus became simul- taneous and compatible in their opera- tion. The battle of Bannockburn, it has ' been said by a late writer on chivalry, was not a chivalrous battle. 4 In one respect it assuredly was not similar to Poictiers and Cressy, which the same writer has dwelt on with justifiable 3 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 72. 73, 80, 112. 113. * Mill's History of Chivalry, vol. i. p. 402. ANCIENT STATE enthusiasm ; for the laurels of Cressy and Poictiers were barren as to every- thing but glory, while at Bannockburn the freedom of a whole people was sealed and secured for ever. But it would be difficult, either at Cressy or : Poictiers, to select two finer examples of chivalrous daring than the defeat of Clifford by Randolph, and the single combat between Bruce and Boune in the presence of the two armies : and / the courtesy of Bruce to his noble I captives is more natural than the overstrained generosity of the Black Prince to his royal prisoner King John. , That well-known incident, the trium- phant entry of the Black Prince into London, mounted on a little palfrey, whilst the person of the King of France was displayed upon a noble horse in gorgeous trappings, had some- thing in it too ostentatious and con- descending to merit the encomium which has generally been bestowed on it. It is not to be forgotten, also, in estimating the comparative influence of chivalrous principles upon the cha- racter of Bruce, when compared w 7 ith that of the First and Third Edwards and the Black Prince, that there does not occur during the whole reign of the Scottish king, even in those mo- ments when most exasperated by per- sonal injuries, and w T hen he possessed ample power of giving loose to a* spirit of revenge, a single instance of cruel or vindictive retaliation. On the other hand, the massacre of Berwick, and the imprisonment of the Countess of Buchan by Edward the First ; the in- j tended sacrifice of the six citizens of Calais; the penurious economy with , which the captive king and the Scot- tish prisoners w T ere treated after the [ battle of Durham, by Edward the Third; [ and the massacre of Limoges by the Black Prince, remind us that these heroic men, although generous in the use of victory, could sometimes be irritated by defeat into cruelty and revenge. But while Bruce was true to his chivalrous faith in kindness, courtesy, and humanity, he permitted not the love of personal adventure to interfere with that strict military dis- cipline wmich he rigidly maintained; OF SCOTLAND. 315 and on one memorable occasion, in his Irish campaign, the king, with his truncheon, nearly felled to the ground a young knight, named Sir Colin Campbell, for daring to break the array, that he might revenge an insult offered him by one of the skirmishers of the enemy. 1 We have already seen what a rich glow of chivalrous devo- tion was shed over the last scene of his life ; and in the whole history of this singular system, which for so many centuries possessed such an influence over European manners, it will not be easy to point out a more striking event than the death of the good Sir James, in his first battle against the Moors in Spain. In this inquiry we have not yet made any remarks upon the dress, the arms, and the warlike accoutrements of those remote times ; and yet the subject, although of inferior interest to many other branches of the history of manners, is of considerable import- ance in estimating the civilisation of the period. Ascending, then, to that period under David the First, when, as we have already seen, his people w T ere of a mixed race, including the tribes of Celtic original, as well as the Saxons and Normans, w T e find that the first-mentioned race were in dress and arms far inferior to his subjects of Gothic origin. They were armed with long spears pointed with steel, but so blunt as to be incapable of doing much execution, and which not unfrequently broke at the first thrust; 2 they bore also swords, and darts or javelins, and made use of a hooked weapon of steel, with which they laid hold of their enemies ; their shields were formed of strong cowhide; a rough mantle, or outer coat of leather tanned with the hair on, was thrown over their shoul- ders, which, on occasions of show or ceremony, w T as exchanged for a scarlet i Barbour, pp. 315, 316. See, for a duel in 1329, Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 136. Et vie de Edinburgh pro factura Parci juxta Edinburgh ubi milites pugnabant, et in quo miles Anglie fuit devictus, vi lib. xiii sh. iiii d." And again, in 1364, under David the Second, Chamberlains' Accounts, p. 427, "Et Simoni Reed pro factura palicii pro duello." - Ethelredus de Bello Standardi, p. 340. 316 HISTORY OF robe ; and their under vestment was so short, that from the knee down- wards the leg was wholly bare. 1 They allowed their hair and beards to grow to such a length, that their coun- tenances were almost covered. Even their nobles and leaders appear to have been strangers to the steel armour of the Saxons and Normans ; for we have already remarked that the Earl of Strathern, on the eve of the battle of the Standard, reproached David the First for trusting too much to the steel coats of his Norman subjects; and boasted that, unarmed as he was, he would precede Alan de Percy in the onset. 2 This dress and these weapons were common to the whole race of the Celts; and are evidently the same with those used by the Irish, as we find them described by one of the ablest antiquaries who has written upon the subject. 3 The Galwegians appear to have been generally mount- ed ; but they were accustomed to act, according to the emergency, either on. foot or horseback ; and, by the fury of their charge, which they accom- panied with loud yells of " Albyn ! .Albyn!'' they not. unfrequently suc- ceeded in throwing into disorder, and eventually cutting to pieces the more disciplined troops which were brought against them. 4 • They understood, also, the art of defending their mountain passes by barriers of trees, which they felled and placed transversely, so as to oppose an almost impenetrable ob- stacle to an invading army. But al- though brave to excess, and, according to their own rude degree of knowledge, skilful in war, their manners were cruel and ferocious ; and the picture left us, by a faithful contemporary, of their excesses is too revolting to be dwelt upon. 5 1 " Hispida Chlamys, Crus intectum." For- dun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 82. 2 Ethelredus de Bello Standardi, p. 342. Ralph de Diceto, p. 573. s Sir James Ware, Irish Antiquities, vol. ii. pp. 175, 176. 4 Benedict. Abbas, p. 447. Hog. de Hoved. p. 813, quoted in Ritson's Ann. of Caledo- nians, vol. ii. p. 293. Richar. Prior. Hagul- etadi p. 322. Ethelredus de Bello Standardi, p. 345. s Ethelredus de Bello Standardi, p. 341. SCOTLAND. Different in their dress, superior in their arms and warlike accoutrements, and more civilised in their manners, were the races of Gothic extraction whom we find composing a great part of the army of David the First in the battle above alluded to, and which we can discern, from the time of Malcolm Canmore, gradually gaining upon and pressing back the Celtic population of Scotland. In the beginning of the eleventh century, Eadulph-ludel, a Saxon earl, surrendered to Malcolm the Second all his right to the terri- tory or province of Northumberland. Previous to this, the extensive district then denominated Cumberland, includ- ing the modern shires of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and part of Lancaster, had been acquired by the Scottish princes as feudatories of England ; and the Ijnarriage of David, earl of Cumberland, afterwards David the First,. to the daughter of Earl Wal- theof Jprocured as an appanage to the Scottish crown a part of the ancient kingdom of Northumberland, then known by the name of the earldom of Northumberland. All that fertile and extended tract of country which was formed by the union of these succes- sive acquisitions, and which compre- hended the greater portion of the south of Scotland, was peopled by the Saxons and the Normans, whose dress and arms, at the period of which we now speak, assimilated much to each other, the superiority in the richness of the stuffs and in the temper of the armour and the weapons of of- fence being on the side of the Nor- mans. The sword of the Scoto-Saxons was, in all probability, exactly similar to that of the Anglo-Saxons, — a long straight weapon, double-edged, and fitted both to cut and thrust. A late able English antiquary, in his deduc- tions and delineations from ancient illuminated manuscripts, has thrown much light upon the subject; and, following his authentic descriptions, we find that the shield was of a middle size, always convex, formed of wood covered with leather, and commonly armed in tb* centre with a strong ANCIENT STATE eliarp-pointed cone of iron. 1 At an early period the Saxons do not appear to have used armour for the body, but to have gone into battle with a short upper coat of leather, which was girded round the loins, and beneath which are seen the folds of the under tunic worn close to the skin, and reach- ing to within a little of the knee. 2 In persons of rank, the tunic and the coat were ornamented with rich bor- ders round the edges ; and the legs clothed in hose composed of twisted rolls of woollen, reaching to the middle calf ; while the feet were shod with buskins. Besides the shield and the sword, they carried a long spear with a sharp steel point, sometimes armed with a barb, and the battle-axe ; but we do not find either the cross-bow or the long-bow originally employed by them. These last weapons were brought in by the Normans, who used them with fatal and murderous effect, and from whom the Saxon soldiers bor- rowed them in the course of years. The head of the common soldier w T as protected by a species of conical cap, not unlike the Kilmarnock nightcap, which appears to have been made of the skin of some animal, with the hair turned outwards. This headpiece, however, in persons of rank, was formed of steel or brass, and frequently ornamented with a broad gilded bor- der, or even set with precious stones ; whilst, in the dress of kings and princes, it gave place to a crown itself, or to a small circlet of gold. The sword-hilts and scabbard, the shields and head-gear of the kings and nobles, were often richly ornamented, studded with precious stones, or inlaid with gold ; they animated their troops with the sound of a Long horn or trumpet ; whilst there were carried before them into battle rich banners, upon which the figure of a white horse, of a raven, or a fighting warrior, were curiously wrought in gold, and not unfrequently decorated with jewels. In the battle of the Standard, the -royal, .Scottish banner was embroidered with the 1 Mey rick's Ancient Armour, Introduction, Vol. i. p. 62. 2 Ibid p. 62. J 1 OF SCOTLAND. 317 figure of a dragon, around which ral- lying point, when the day was going against them, the flower of the Scot- tish army crowded in defence of their sovereign. The era, however, of the arrival of the Normans in England, and of the subsequent gradual progress of this remarkable people from England into Scotland, till they fixed their names and customs even in the remote pro- vinces of the north, is the era also of a perceptible change in the diess, arms, and warlike inventions of the Scoto-Saxons. The shirt of mail was probably known to the Saxons in its first rude state : it was composed of small pieces of iron sewed in rows upon a leathern jacket, overlapping each other like the scales of a fish, and seems to have been early intro- duced. An experiment was next made to form something like the same piece of body armour, by twisting or inter- weaving strong wires with each other, so as to create a species of iron wicker, which must have proved stiff and dis- agreeable to the free motion of the body. Probably, for this reason, it was not attempted to be carried lower down than the bottom of the stomach, and a short way below the shoulder, so as to leave the arms and limbs full room for action. In time, however, these rude beginnings were superseded by more correct and skilful imitations of the armour of the Normans; and as hitherto the chief force of the Scot- tish army had consisted in infantry, it is curious to trace the gradual depar- ture from this system as early as the reign of David the First, and the few feeble efforts which were then made to imitate the Normans, whose chief force consisted in cavalry. As early, for instance, as in the battle of the Standard, the Scottish horsemen make their appearance, although bearing no proportion to the infantry ; and it is singular that on both sides the leaders made the cavalry dismount and fight on foot. Yet, under the reign of Alexander the Second, when that mon- arch invaded England, we have already- seen the encomium pronounced by ) Mathew Paris upon his cavalry, which, HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 318 although mounted on neither Spanish nor Italian horses, made a splendid and martial appearance ; and in the battle of Largs, in the subsequent reign, the destruction of the Norwe- gians who had landed was completed by a Scottish army in which there was a body of fifteen hundred horsemen, the knights and leaders of which were mounted on Spanish horses, armed, both horse and man, from head to heel, in complete maii, and the rest on the small active horses, whose chests were protected by a steel breastplate. Be- sides this select body of cavalry, we find that the foot suldiers were well accoutred, and, in addition to the long spear of the Saxons, they now carried the Norman bow. 1 The principal arms of the Normans are well described in an ordinance, or assize of arms, of Henry the Second, preserved by Hoveden, in which it is declared that every man possessed of goods and chattels to the value of one hundred pounds is to provide, for the king's service, a horse and a soldier completely armed in mail ; whilst every man possessed of any sum, from forty to twenty-five pounds, was to have for his own use an albcrgellum, or hauber- geon, an iron helmet, a lance and a sword. This refers to the Norman dominions of the king. In England, the same monarch commanded every man who held a knight's fee to furnish a soldier completely armed in a coat of mail and a helmet, with a lance and a shield ; every freeman who possessed goods and chattels to the value of six- teen marks was to have a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and a lance ; every freeman possessed of the value of ten marks, to have a haubergeon, an iron cap, and a lance; and lastly, every burgess and freeman whatsoever, to furnish himself with a wambais, an iron cap, and a lance, which, on pain « »f severe penalties, he was not to sell or pawn. 2 In the reign, therefore, of Henry the Second, and in the year 11 SI, which is the date of this assize, 1 Norse Account of the Expedition, pp. 93, 94. 05. • - Hoveden, p. 614. Rerum Angl. Script, a : Savilie. the principal armour for the body was of three kinds : the lorica or entire coat of mail, the albergellum or hau- bergeon, and the wambais; the first worn by the richest knights ; the next by the higher order of yeomanry, or gentry ; and the last by the burgesses and freemen in general. It is not difficult to ascertain more minutely the construction of these different kinds of body armour, which it is certain were used promiscuously both in Scotland and in England The lorica, or coat of mail, is to be seen distinctly on the seals of the First and Second Henry. It appears to have been formed by rings of steel or iron, sewed or fixed closely together, upon a leathern coat, reaching from the neck, which it covers, to the knee, not unlike our modern surtout. In other instances, however, the neck and head were protected by a separate piece, called the chaperon, or hood of mail, which could either be drawn over the head in time of action, or after battle thrown loosely on the shoulder, so as to give the warrior air and refreshment. Over the chaperon the helmet was placed; 3 and of this graceful costume some beautiful ex- amples are to be seen in the recum- bent monuments of the knights which we frequently meet with in the Eng- lish churches, and more rarely in Scot- land. The sleeves of the coat, as seen in the seals of these two Henrys, cover the whole arm down to the wrist, I leaving the hands bare and unpro- tected ; but an elongation of the coat of mail was soon after introduced, so as to form a mailed glove, which com- pletely protected the hands; and yet from its pliancy, being formed of the same rings of steel, quilted on a simple leather glove, left them free room for action. Over this mail coat, which, under Richard the First, 4 was so formed as to cover the whole body from head to heel, it became the fashion, during * See Stmtt's Dress and Habits of the People of England, vol. i. plates 43 and 45. The seals of Henry the First and Henry the Second will be found beautifully engraved in I the new edition of the Fredera, vol. i. pp. f>. 19. * See the seal of this monarch, Fuedera, I new edition, vol. i. p. 48. ANCIENT STATE the reign of the Third Henry, for the knights to wear a surcoat, formed of cloth or linen, which at first appears to have been a mark of distinction, and which, latterly, during the four- teenth century, was ornamented with the arms of the wearer, richly em- broidered. Surcoats in England, al- though found at an earlier period abroad, were not worn before the reign of Henry the Second ; did not become general till the time of John; and bore no armorial bearings till the period of Henry the Third. 1 The albergellum, or haubergeon, in its early form, afforded less protection to the whole person than the coat of mail, and was a less costly article of body-armour. It appears to be exactly the same piece of armour with the halsberga of Ducange, and was origi- nally intended, as we learn from its component words, hals-berg, for the protection of the neck alone ; but it probably soon came to cover the breast and the shoulder. It was formed of the same ringed mail, quilted on leather, 2 and is particularly mentioned in the assize of arms passed by Robert Bruce. The wambais was nothing more than a soldier's coat-of-fenco, made of leather, or cloth, quilted with cotton, which, although it afforded a security inferior, in a great degree, both to the mail-coat and the hauber- geon, gave considerable protection against a spear-thrust or sword-cut. 3 It is well known that while the great force of the Saxons consisted in infan- try, the Normans fought on horseback ; and that, from a little after the time of William the Conqueror, the power of the Norman cavalry became so formidable as to be celebrated and dreaded throughout Europe. The horses were armed in steel, as well as the men ; and both being thus impene- trably protected, the long spears of Sheir enemies, (to use an expression 1 Meyrick's Ancient Armour, vol. i. p. 21. 2 So, in an old German anonymous poem quoted in Ducange, voce Halsberga. " Geh und bring mir doch here, Mein halsperg und mein schwerd." And in the Will of Duke Everard, in Mirasus, chap, xxi., " Et helmum cum halsberga." s Meyrick's Ancient Armour, vol. i. p. 67. OF SCOTLAND. 319 of Hoveden,) " might have as well struck against a wall of iron." 4 Under the Conqueror himself, indeed, and judging from the costume in which he is seen upon his seal, this horse-mail does not appear to have been used at all ; and the same observation is appli- cable to the seal of Henry the First, and to those of Richard Cceur de Lion, John, Henry the Third, and Edward the First. Upon the seal of Henry the Second, however, we find his horse armed with the chamfreyn, or steel frontlet; and the disappearance of it upon the seals of the monarchs who succeeded him was evidently a caprice of taste, either in the artist or the sovereign ; for we know for certain that the steel-clad steeds, or Equi Cooperti, formed the principal force in the battle of the Standard, fought in the reign of Stephen, against David the First ; and we have already seen, that the Scottish cavalry, at the battle of Largs, was composed partly of Spanish steeds in complete armour, and partly of horses with breastplates ; a convincing proof how completely the Norman habits and arms had been adopted in Scotland under Alexander the Third. 5 The offensive weapons of the Nor- man knights and higher soldiers con- sisted of the sword, which was in no respect different from the Saxon sword, and the lance, with a streamer or pen- non; whilst the arms of the lower classes of the infantry, not including the archers, were the club and mace, denominated, in the Norman-French of Wace, "pilx et macheues." 6 The arms of a higher baron, or count, in the time of the Conqueror, are accu- rately pointed out in an ordinance of this prince, which directs " that every count shall be bound to bring to the * Hoveden, p. 277. Strutt's Manners of the People of England, vol. i. p. 99. 5 Norse Account of Haco's Expedition, p. 95. 6 Wace, in describing the Duke of Nor- mandy's summons to the " vilains :" — " Par la contree fit mander Et a vilains dire et crier, Que a tiex armes, com il ont Viengnent a lui ains quil porront, Lors voissiez haster vilains, Pilx et macheues en lor mamg » 320 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. *.:5i ; ~ m : r . :ir £iiz ~:n.z i - - :ir: rii-n.v ; .n_Lr ~o ~:m si.iil^i^- i :r.ilri :V:r "-i .: :>i. :.j H-rirv lir *F:-~ : t>* Biiile 13 four kdneta^ 'iNf bn^ and four I pralred brfutc and behind, znd the s=r-rr£=."" - F^rse — err icrrzi-ri :t 1 ::t :- rli^ 15 : n:ciri:di ^~r_5. ir_il is :t 1 rl:i rr^r- r: — i :lt :r.r^ cut rici :: Lirr. ni r_ : :.r rm: m- in Azi ;:hrr luriizrs sr^imert of the *ir :: :r - - . : ::_r :ir . :>:■•: rr_5-L . r n : it :: :ir ~. 7 _ :~ 1 : t 1 - tine gis anna, or MB, the en»s-bew, [ tmyB tobe Beenon the Kalof E^^ i, 1Z1 2 :.L~.r-iIr «"-rTr ULTT'I'l" >rO ill ! 1 rS~ t1T_ II ry:~~ ~ ;• - - ZT.z'z.r7 if •'• ill ill t£.-r 2 s * m 111 ~ t>~ ' - 1_5 . I . 1 t 1 _ t _ 1 _ *lr . . . 1 . _~ I: Mr :"r..:: ! 1 rri t b: rr : — ~i c 7 :: r >::->>' : : — -,r.~ fr: zi by the contemporary Xonnan writers Irllri lr 1 1 15 5ol Tr-riiz-ri :n ~i- n. i s:li 1? i : :- -.:i His ult r cr: -11:1. m:i.r. -Irre el lij. : izzisei :r s:: ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 321 The shield which was used in Scot- land at this period was the kite-shaped shield of the Normans : and, although plain and unornamented at first, we find that in the beginning of the thir- teenth century, under Alexander the Second, the lion rampant of Scotland appears upon it for the first time. On the shield of Prince Henry, grand- father of William the Lion, who died about sixty years before the accession of that prince to the throne, there is no appearance of any heraldic blazon- ing, and the practice, which was first introduced by Richard Cceur de Lion into England, appears to have been adopted during this interval by our Scottish monarchs. 1 The strict friend- ship and constant intercourse which was maintained between William the Lion and Richard the First, and the attention which was paid by the latter monarch in Europe and in Palestine to everything connected with the im- provement of the military art, must have produced a correspondent en- thusiasm in our own country; and these improvements would speedily be brought into Scotland by David, earl of Huntingdon, and his compan- ions, the brother crusaders of Richard. This observation is accordingly con- firmed by the fact just noticed, that Richard first bore the three lions on . his shield, and that the same practice, formerly unknown, was adopted not long after in our own country. Another change appears in the hel- met of Alexander the Second, which confirms this remark. The aventayle or visor, and the cylindrical shape, are seen in its construction for the first time, and these we know were brought in by Richard the First, although under a slightly different form as used by the lion-hearted king. This Alex- ander succeeded his father, William the Lion, in the beginning of the thir- teenth century. He appears clothed in a complete coat of mascled mail, protected by plates at the elbows. The surcoat also, first worn in Eng- readers by the costly price which the plates render indispensable. i Anderson's Diplomata Scotise, plate xx. Meyrick's Ancient Armour, vol. i. p. 101. VOL. L land by John, is thrown over his armour — another proof of the progress of military fashions from England into this country; and his shield is hollowed so as to fit the body, and completely de- fend it. His horse, without any defen- sive armour, is Ornamented with a fring- ed and tasselled border across the chest, and an embroidered saddle-cloth, on which the lion rampant again appears. 2 Under the succeeding reigns of Alexander the Third, Baliol, Bruce, and his son David the Second, the military costume, the fashion, shape, and ornaments of the arms, and the science of war, appear to have been almost exactly the same in both coun- tries. Alexander the Third wears the cylindrical helmet, with the perforated aventayle ; there is a superior richness and splendour in the ornaments of his armour, and the horse is covered from head to foot with flowing housings, on which the lion rampant is richly em- broidered, with a bordure set with fleurs-de-lis. A plume of feathers surmounts the helmet, and the same ornament is seen on the head of his horse. 3 Little difference is discernible, in the military costume of Robert Bruce, except that his steel casque is surmounted by a royal crown, which we have seen him wearing at the battle of Bannockburn. As the arms and military costumes of both countries appear to have been exactly similar, so we may with equal truth apply the same remark to the science of war itself. The superior genius of Bruce soon indeed per- ceived that to cope with the English in cavalry was impossible, and he accordingly directed his principal at- tention to perfecting the arms and the discipline of his infantry, — a system taught him by the example of Wal- lace; but this was chiefly occasioned by the poor and exhausted state of the 2 Seal in Anderson, plate xxxi. Meyrick's Armour, vol. i. p. 101. 3 Anderson's Diplomata, plate xxxvi. See Chamberlains' Accounts, Temp. Alex. III. p. 35, "In reparacione loricae dni regis 18 sh." &c. Ibid. p. 38, "In mundacione armorum dni regis 13 sh. et 8 d." Ibid. p. 45, "Item in 14 targis bene munitis sciltarga pro 5 sh. 70 sh. In emendacione 3000 querellis 5 sh." X 522 HISTORY OF country. Previous to the long war of liberty, which drained away its wealth, and arrested it in its career of improve- ment, the cavalry of Scotland, as we have seen in our former allusions to the battle of the Standard and the battle of Largs, held a principal place in the composition of the army. Tho disastrous defeat which David experi- enced in the first of these actions was in all probability occasioned by his being compelled to place the ferocious and half -armed Galwegians in the first line; and, even after their undisci- plined conduct had introduced disorder and flight, the day was nearly restored by a successful charge of the Prince of Scotland, at the head of his men- at-arms, who, to use the expressive phrase of Ethelred, '''scattered the English army like a cobweb." In the battle of Largs, the appearance of the Scottish knights on Spanish horses, then considered of high value, and which were clothed in mail, evinces that, under Alexander the Third, the cavalry of Scotland was equal in equip- ment to the sister country. We learn, from the Chamberlains' Rolls of the same monarch, that, in the prepara- tions which were made for defence and security in the different castles, about the time of the expected invasion of the King of Norway, the warlike engine called the balista was in use ; and that there was an officer in the castle of Aberdeen called Balistarius, who was allowed twenty shillings for the purchase of staves, and other neces- saries which belonged to his office. 1 At an earlier period still, when David the First, and his son, Prince Henry, in- vaded England in 1138, they attacked the castle of Werk with balistge, and other warlike engines; 2 and we have i Chamberlains' Rolls, Temp. Alex. III. p. 19, "Item, Willelmo ballistario ad emen- Strutt's Dress and Habits of the People of England, vol. ii. plates lxxxiii. and Ixxxy. Chamberlains' ' Accounts, Temp. Alex. III. p. 13, " Augustino cissori per perceptum dni regis ad emendum panum et furor, ad opus dni regis vi. marcas et dimidium." See Ibid, p. 17, "In empcionibus tarn in panao serico etaliis, quam in peletria speciebus electuariis, et aliis minutis empcionibus, 10 lib. 8 sh. 1 d." Ibid. p. 43, --Item in duobus paribus ocreavunx ad opus dni regis 12 sh." 324 HISTORY OF I During the thirteenth century, a fantastic fashion prevailed of elothing one-half of the figure in one colour, and the other half in another; and, where this was not done, of having one stocking red or blue, and the other green or yellow; so that the man had the appearance of having stept into one-half of his neighbour's breeches or hose. But this absurd practice did not long continue, and appears to have been at last aban- doned to the exclusive use. of fools and jesters. The costume of the ladies at the same period was elegant, but so vari- ous, that it is difficult, in any written description, to give an idea either of its beauty, or of the complicated grouping of its parts. The upper part of the dress consisted of a jacket of rich broad cloth or velvet, with sleeves reaching to the wrist, and terminating in a border of gold embroidery, which was made to fit close to the bosom and the waist, so as to shew the beautiful outline of the female figure. It was fastened down the middle with a row of buttons of silver, gold, or precious stones, on each side of which was a broad border of ermine or miniver, and it reached considerably below the waist. Below this jacket appeared, in ample folds, an' under robe or tunic of a different colour, and under all, a slip or petticoat of silk or linen. The tucker was high and modest, and made so as to leave only the neck and throat bare. The head-dress consisted either of the wimple, of the turban, or of a small circlet of gold, or garland of artificial flowers, from beneath which the hair sometimes flowed down the back, and sometimes was gracefully plaited or braided in forms of great variety. Over the whole dress, it was not un- common, on days of state or ceremony, to wear a long cloak of velvet or other precious stuff, which was clasped across the bosom, and lined with ermine, martins, or gold lace. The golden girdle, too, worn round the waist, and sometimes set with pre- cious stones, must not be forgotten. The splendour of the civil dresses of SCOTLAND. this period, both in England and in Scotland, is alluded to in terms of reprobation by Mathew Paris in his account of the marriage of Alexander the Third at York ; and as the monas- tic historian was himself present, his account is the more curious and au- thentic. 1 It proves satisfactorily that the dresses of the higher ranks in England, Scotland, and France wers the same. A passage, therefore, which we find quoted by Strutt, from an, ancient MS. history of France, written in the fourteenth century, may be quoted as throwing light upon the costly variety of the dress of this period. It alludes to a sumptuous entertainment given at Paris in 1275, on the coronation of Mary. "The barons and the knights were habited in vestments of different colours : sometimes they appeared in green, sometimes in blue, then again in gray, and afterwards in scarlet, vary- ing the colours according to their fancies. Their breasts were adorned with fibulae or brooches of gold, and their shoulders with precious stones of great magnitude, such as emeralds, sapphires, jacinths, pearls, rubies, and other rich ornaments. The ladies who attended had rings of gold, set with topaz stones and diamonds, upon their fingers; their heads were ornamented with elegant crests or garlands ; and their wimples were composed of the richest stuffs, em- broidered with gold, and embellished with pearls and other jewels. ,, In the ancient French poem, the Romance of the Rose, which was com- pleted by John de Meun in 1304, the poet has introduced the story of Pig' malion, and he represents the ena* moured sculptor clothing his marble mistress in every variety of female finery. "He arrayed her," says he t " in many guises : in robes made with great skill of the finest silk and wool- len cloths, green, azure, and brunette, ornamented with the richest skins of ermines, minivers, and grays : these being taken off, other robes were tried upon her of silk, cendal, maliquins, mallbruns, damasked satin, camlet, i Math. Paris a Wats., pp. 715, 716. ANCIENT STATE OF SCOTLAND. 325 and all of divers colours. Thus de- corated, she resembled a little angel, her countenance was so modest. Then again he put a wimple upon her head, and over that a coverchief, which con- cealed the wimple, but hid not her face. All these garments were then laid aside for gowns, yellow, red, green, and blue, and her hair was handsomely disposed in small braids, with threads of silk and gold, adorned with little pearls, upon which was placed, with great precision, a cres- tine, and over the crestine a crown or circle of gold, enriched with precious stones of various sizes. Her little ears, for such they are said to have been, were decorated with two beau- tiful pendant rings of gold, and her necklace was confined to her neck by two clasps of gold. Her girdle was exceedingly rich, and to it was at- tached an aulmoniere, or small purse of great value." 1 This amusing and curious passage gives us some idea of the richness and intricacy of the female dress of the times : and we may conceive how striking and pictur- esque the spectacle must have been to have seen an ancient Gothic hall, on some night of solemnity and re- joicing, filled with fair forms in such splendid apparel, and crowded with barons, knights, squires, and pages, in their velvet robes and jewelled girdles, while the music of the minstrels echoed through the vaulted roof, and the torches threw their gleams upon its fretted arches, bringing out in clear relief their fantastic but often beauti- ful decorations. There remain a few gleanings of in- formation upon the state of some of the ornamental and . useful arts in Scotland, too scanty to be included Mnder any separate division, and which yet appear of importance, when we are collecting every scattered )ight 1 1 have employed the translation, or rather the abstract of this passage given by Mr Strutt in his excellent work on the Habits, and Dresses of the People of England, from a manuscript in the British Museum. Strutt's Habits and Dresses, vol. ii. pp. 235, 236. He has in some places used a little liberty with the original, which will be found in the Illus- trations, letters SS. which may serve to illustrate the man- ners and civil history of the country. At an early period, for instance, we can just tra^e an interesting attempt of David the First to soften the man- ners of his people, by introducing a taste for gardening. " He spent some portion of his time, as we learn from his friend and contemporary, in his orchard in planting young trees, or in the more difficult operation of graft- ing; and it was his anxious desire to encourage the same, occupations amongst his subjects. The gardener appears constantly in the Chamber- lains' Accounts of the royal household, as an established! servant, attached to the different palaces and manors. Alexander the Third had his gardeners at Forfar and Menmoreth. 2 We meet with the royal garden at Edinburgh as early as 1288 ; and the Cartularies contain ample evidence that the higher nobles and dignified clergy, and even the lesser knights and barons, considered their gardens and orchards as indispensable accompaniments to their feudal state. 3 It must be evident to any one who has perused this Inquiry, that besides this elegant branch of rural economy, many of the other useful and orna- mental arts must have arrived, during this period, at a state of considerable perfection in Scotland. The pitch of excellence, for instance, to which the architecture of the country had at- tained, necessarily includes a corre- spondent excellence in the masons, the carpenters, the smiths, the plum- bers, the plasterers, the painters, and the glaziers, of those remote times. The art of working skilfully in steel and iron must have been well known, and successfully practised, by a people and a nobility armed and accoutred for war, in the fashion we have just described; and the mysteries of em- broidery and needlework, with the professions of the clothier, silk-mer- chant, milliner, and tailor, could not fail to thrive and become conspicuous 2 Chamberlains' Accounts, Temp. Alex. III. p.13. " Item gardinario de Forfar, de illo anno v. marc. Item gardinario de Menmoreth de illo anno i. marc." See also pp. 59, 112. s Robertson's Index, p. 86. 326 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND in so splendid a court, and amid such a display of dames and knights as we have seen thronging the royal resi- dences during the course of the thir- teenth and fourteenth centuries. The jeweller, too, the goldsmith, and the enameller, must have been lucrative professions, where the girdles, ear- rings, brooches, tiaras, and jackets of velvet, powdered with pearls, were conspicuous articles in female dress ; and where the palls, copes, rocquets, crosiers, censers, and church plate, were still more sumptuous. There is, accordingly, decided evidence in the Chamberlains' Accounts, that the art of working in the precious metals had attained to . considerable perfection, although in the extent of their gold and silver plate, the kings and nobles of Scotland appear to have been far inferior to the splendour and extrava- gance of their English neighbours. It must be remembered, also, that the most splendid specimens of the armour, jewellery, and gold and silver work, which are met with in the wardrobe books of the times, or which we read of in the descriptions of contemporary historians, were of Italian, Flemish, or [Chap. VII. Oriental workmanship, imported from abroad by the Scottish merchants. In the sketch of the learning of those remote times, I have said nothing of .the state of the healing arts, during a period when it may be thought, from the frequency of war and bloodshed, their ministration was much called for. But, unfortunately, upon this subject no authentic data remain, upon which an opinion may be formed; yet it has been already seen that our kings had their apothecaries and physicians. As to the actual skill, the prescriptions, and operations of such persons, we are quite in the dark ; but, if we may form our opinion from the low and degraded condition of medicine in England at the same period, the patient who fell into the hands of these feudal practi- tioners must have rather been an ob- ject of pity than of hope; and it is probable, that a sick or wounded knight had a better chance for recovery from the treatment of the gentle dames or aged crones in the castles, whose know* ledge of simples was often great, than from the ministrations inflicted upon him by the accredited leeches of the. times. CHAPTER VII. ROBERT THE SECOND. • 1370- David the Second, the only son of Robert the First, dying without chil- dren, the succession to the throne opened to Robert, the High Steward of Scotland, in consequence of a so- lemn act of the Parliament, which had passed during the reign of his grand- father, Robert the First, in the year 1318. 1 The High Steward was the only child of the Lady Marjory Bruce, 1 Fordun'a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 290. -1390. the eldest daughter of Robert the- First, and of Walter the High Steward , of Scotland ; and his talents in dis- charging the difficult duties of regent ,, had already shewn him to be worthy of the crown, to which his title was unquestionable. Previous, however, to his coronation, opposition arose from an unexpected quarter. Wil- liam, earl of Douglas, one of the most powerful of the Scottish nobles, being at Linlithgow at the time of the king's 1370-1.] ROBE] death, publicly proclaimed his inten- tion of questioning the title of the Steward to the throne ; but the motives which induced him to adopt so precipitate a resolution are exceed- ingly obscure. \It is certain that Douglas could not himself lay claim to the throne upon any title preferable to that of Robert i but that the com- mon story of his uniting in his person the claims of Comyn and of Baliol is entirely erroneous, seems not- so ap- parent. 1 Some affront, real or imagin- ary, by which offence was given to the pride of this potent baron, was pro- bably the cause of this hasty resolution, which,, in whatever feeling it origi- nated/ was abandoned as precipitately as it was adoptecU Sir Robert Erskine, who, in the former reign, had risen into great power, and then commanded the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dumbarton, instantly advanced to Linlithgow at the head of a large force. He was there joined by the Earls of March and Moray ; and a conference having taken place with Douglas, he deemed it prudent to declare himself satisfied with their arguments, and ready to acknowledge a title which he discovered he had not strength to dispute. 2 It was judged expedient, however, to conciliate so warlike and influential a person as Douglas, and to secure his services for tjie support of the new government. \¥or this pur- pose the king's daughter, Isabella, w-as promised in marriage to his eldest sonj upon whom an annual pension was settled ; and the earl himself was pro- moted to the high offices of King's Justiciar on the south of the Forth, and Warden of the East Marches. 3 To the rest of the barons and nobles who supported him, the High Steward was equally generous. The promptitude of Sir Robert Erskine was rewarded 1 The story is to be found in Bower, the continuator of Pordun, vol. ii. p. 382 ; and in the MS. work, entitled, Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiae, fol. 225. It was repeated by Buch- anan, attempted to be proved to be erroneous by the learned Ruddiman, and again revived by Pinkerton, in his History of Scotland, vol. i..p. 10. See Illustrations, letters TT. 2 Winton, vol. ii. pp. 304 and 514. 3 Chamberlain Accounts, vol. ii. p. 26. Ibid. pp. 9, 10. lT II. 227 by the gift of three hundred and thirty-three pounds, an immense pre- sent for that time ; whilst the services of March and Moray, and of Sir Tho- mas Erskine, were proportionably ac- knowledged and requited. 4 This threatened storm having passed, the High Steward, accompanied by a splendid concourse of his nobility, proceeded to the Abbey of Scone, and was there crowned and anointed king, on the 26th of March 1371, by the Bishop of St Andrews, under the title of Robert the Second. 5 To confer greater solemnity on this transaction, which gave a new race of monarchs to the throne, the act of settlement by Robert the First was publicly read ; after which, the assembled prelates and nobles, rising in their places, sepa- rately took their oaths of homage. The king himself then stood up, and declaring that he judged it right to imitate the example of his illustrious grandfather, pronounced his eldest son, the Earl of Carrick and Stewartt""of Scotland, to be heir to the crown, in the event of his own death. This nomination was immediately and un- animously ratified by consent of the clergy, nobility, and barons, who came forward and took the same oaths of homage to the Earl of Carrick, as their future king, which they had just offered to his father ; and upon pro- clamation of the same being made before the assembled body of the people, who crowded into tne Abbey to witness the coronation, the resolu- tion of the king was received by con- 4 Chamberlain Accounts, vol. ii. pp. 26, 27. "Et in solucione facta Domino Willelmo Comiti de Douglas, circa contractum matri- moniale inter filium ipsius Comitis, et Isabel- lam filiam regis, ut patet per literas regis de predicto, et ipsius Comitis de re' ons*. super computum, Y c . Ii : "Et in.soluc : facto dno. Robto. de Erskine et de dono regis concess : sibi per literam ons. et cancellat. sr. compotum et ipsius Dni. Roberti de rc. ons. super computum II1 C , xxxiii li. vi s. viii d." 5 Robertson's Records of the Parliament of Scotland, p. 119, sub anno 1371. It is there stated that all the barons and prelates took the oaths of homage, except the Bishop of Dumblane and Lord Archibald de Douglas, who only took the oath of fidelity. Yet this Seems contradicted by the "Act of Settlement." 328 HISTORY OF tiuued shouts of loyalty, and the waving of thousands of hands, which ratified the sentence. An instrument, reciting these proceedings, was then drawn up, to which the principal nobles and clergy appended their seals, and which is still preserved amongst our national muniments : a venerable record, not seriously impaired by the attrition of four centuries and a half, and constituting the charter by which the house of Stewart long held their title to the crown. 1 Robert the High Steward, who now succeeded to the throne, had reached his fifty-fifth year, a period of life when the approaches of age produce in most men a love of repose, and a desire to escape from the care and an- noyance of public life. This effect was to be seen in the character of the king. The military and ambitious spirit, and the promptitude, resolution, and activity which we observe in the High Steward during his regency had softened down into a more pacific and quiet nature. He possessed strong good sense, and a judgment in state affairs matured by experience ; but united to this was a love of indolence and retirement, little suited to the part which he had to act, as head of a tierce and lawless feudal nobility, and the guardian of the liberty of the country against the unremitting at- tacks of England. Yet, to balance this inactivity t of mind, Robert enjoyed some advantages. He was surrounded by a family of sons grown to manhood. The Earl of Carrick, Robert, earl of Fife, afterwards Duke of Albany, and Alexander, lord of Badenoch, were born to him of his first marriage with Elizabeth More, daughter to Sir Adam More of Rowallan ; 2 David, earl of Strathern, and Walter, lord of Brechin, blest his second alliance with Eu- phemia Ross, the widow of Randolph, earl of Moray ; whilst seven daughters 1 Robertson's Index to the Charters, Ap- pendix, p. 11. "Clamore consono ac manu U-vata in signum fidei dationis." A fac- simile of this deed has been engraved, and j will be found in the first volume of the Acts uf the Parliament of Scotland, sub ann(\1371. - Records of the Parliament »f Scotland, I p. sub anno 137L SCOTLAND. . [Chap. VII. connected him by marriage with the noble families of the Earl of March, the Lord of the Isles, Hay of Errol, Lindsay of Glenesk, Lyon, and Doug- las. To these legitimate supports of the throne must be added the strength which he derived from a phalanx of eight natural sons, also grown to man's estate, and who, u ndepressed by a stain then little^ regarded , held tneir ptece' amo'hg thlT nooTes of the land. 3 Although, after his accession to the throne, the king was little affected with the passion for military renown, and thus lost somewhat of his popularity amongst his subjects, he possessed other qualities which endeared him to the people. He was easy of access to the meanest suitor : affable and plea- sant in his address ; and while possess- ing a person of a commanding stature and dignity, his manners were yet so tempered by a graceful and unaffected humility, that what the royal name lost in pomp and terror, it gained in confidence and affection. 4 In the political situation of the country at this period there were some difficulties of a formidable na- ture. A large portion of the ransom of David the Second, amounting to fifty- two thousand marks, was still unpaid; 5 and if the nation had been reduced to the brink of bankruptcy by its efforts to raise the sum already collected, the attempt to levy additional instalments, or to impose new taxes, could not be contemplated without alarm. The English were in possession of a large portion of Annandale, in which Edward continued to exercise all the rights of a feudal sovereign ; they held, besides, the castle3 of Roxburgh and Lochma- ben, with the town and castle of Ber- wick ; 6 so that the seeds of war and commotion and the materials of na- tional jealousy were not removed; and however anxious the English and Scottish wardens might shew them- selves to preserve the truce, it was 3 Duncan Stewart's History of the Royal Family of Scotland, pp. 56-58. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 383. 5 Records of the Parliament of Scotland; sub anno 1371, p. 120. « Rotuli Sc*.)tue, vol. i. pp. 94-1, 947, 951, 968, 963. 965. 1371-6,] scarcely to be expected that the fierce borderers of both nations would be long controlled from breaking out into their accustomed disorders. In addi- tion to these adverse circumstances, the kingdom, during the years imme- diately following the accession of Robert the Second, was visited by a grievous scarcity. The whole nobility of Scotland appear to have been sup- ported by grain imported from Eng- land and Ireland ; and a famine which fell so severely upon the higher classes must have been still more intensely experienced by the great body of the people. 1 But Scotland, although as far as her political circumstances are considered undoubtedly not in a prosperous con- dition, enjoyed a kind of negative se- curity from the weakness of England. Edward the Third was no longer the victorious monarch of Cressy and Poictiers. His celebrated son, the Black Prince, a few years before this, had concluded his idle though chival- rous expedition against Spain ; and after having been deceived by the monarch whom his valour had re- stored to the throne, again returned to France, drowned in debt, and broken in constitution. Prince Lionel, whom Edward had hoped to make King of Scotland, was lately dead in Italy, and still severer calamities were behind. Charles the Fifth of France, a sove- reign of much wisdom and prudence, had committed the conduct of the war against England to the Constable de Guesclin, a captain of the greatest skill and courage; and Edward, em- barrassed at the same time with hos- tilities in Flanders and Spain, saw with deep mortification the fairest pro- vinces, which were the fruits of his victories, either wrested from him by force of arms, or silently lost, from in- activity and neglect. In his attempts to defend those which remained, and to regain what was lost, the necessity of fitting out new armies called for immense sums of money, which, i Rotuli Scotia?, vol. i. pp. 963, 965, 966, 967, 968. The evidence of the Rotuli Scotia? con- tradicts the assertions of Bower, vol. ii. For- meet the enemy ; and here it became necessary for the captains of the dif- ferent divisions to deliberate whether they should await them where they were and hazard a battle, or fall back upon their own country. This last measure the Scots naturally preferred. It was their usual mode of proceeding to avoid all great battles ; and the re- sult of the war of liberty had shewn the wisdom of the practice. Indeed, outnumbered as they always were by the English, and far inferior to them in cavalry, in archers, in the strength of their horses and the temper of their arms, it would have been folly to have attempted it. But Vienne, one of the best and proudest soldiers in Europe, could not enter into this reasoning. He and his splendid column of knights, squires, and archers were anxious for battle; and it was with infinite reluctance that he suffered himself to be over-persuaded by the veteran experience of Douglas and Moray, and consented to fall back upon Berwick. In the meantime the King of Eng- land assembled an army more potent in numbers and equipment than any which had visited Scotland for a long period. It was the first field of the young monarch; and his barons, eager to demonstrate their loyalty, attended with so full a muster, that, according to a contemporary English historian, three hundred thousand horses vrere 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 324. 1385.] employed. 1 The unequal terms upon which a richer and a poorer country make war on each other were never more strikingly evinced than in the result of these English and Scottish expeditions. The Scots, breaking in upon the rich fields of England, mount- ed on their hardy little hackneys, which lived on so little in their own country that any change was for the better; carrying nothing with them but their arms ; inured to all weathers and fearlessly familiar with danger, found war a pastime rather than an inconvenience ; enriched themselves with plunder, which they transported w T ith wonderful expedition from place to place, and at last safely landed it at home. Intimately acquainted with the seat of war, on the approach of the English, they could accept or decline battle as they thought best ; if out- numbered, as was generally the case, they retired, and contented themselves with cutting off the convoys or forag- ing parties and securing their booty ; if the English, from want of pro- visions or discontent and disunion amongst the leaders, commenced their retreat, it was infested by their un- wearied enemy, who instantly pushed forward, and hovering round their line of march, never failed to do them serious mischief. On the other hand, the very strength and warlike and complicated equipment of the English army proved its ruin, or at least totally defeated its object ; and this was soon seen in the result of Richard's inva- sion. The immense mass of his host slowly proceeded through the Border counties by Liddesdale and Teviot- dale, 2 devouring all as they passed on, and leaving behind them a black desert. In no place did they meet an enemy; the Scots had stript the country of everything but the green crops on the ground ; and empty vil- lages which were given to the flames, and churches and monasteries razed pp. 316, 537. Otterbum, vValsingham p. 161. 2 In the Archaeologia, vol. xxii. part i. p. 13, will be found an interesting paper, de- scribing the army of Richard and its leaders, printed from a MS. in the British Museum, and communicated by Sir Harris Nicolas. ROBERT II. 341 an'd plundered, formed the only tri- umphs of the campaign. One event, however, is too charac- teristic to be omitted. When the news of this great expedition reached the camp of Douglas and Vienne, who had fallen back towards Berwick, the Scots, although aware of the folly of attempting to give battle, yet deemed it prudent to approach nearer, and watch the progress of their enemy. Here, .again, the impatient temper of the French commander broke out, and he insisted that their united strength was equal to meet the English, on which the Earl of Douglas requested him to ride with him to a neighbour- ing eminence, and reason the matter as they went. The admiral consented, and w r as surprised when they arrived there to hear the tramp of horse and the sound of martial music. Douglas had, in truth, brought him to a height which hung over a winding mountain pass, through which the English army were at that moment defiling, and from whence, without the fear of dis- covery, they could count the banners and perceive its strength. The argu- ment thus presented was not to be questioned, and Vienne, with his knights, permitted themselves to be di- rected by the superior knowledge and military skill of the Scottish leaders. 3 . Meanwhile, King Richard pushed on to the capital. The beautiful Abbeys t of Melrose and Dryburgh were given j to the flames ; Edinburgh was burned and plundered, and nothing spared but the Monastery of Holyrood. It had lately, as we have seen, afforded a re- treat to John of Gaunt, the king's uncle, who now accompanied him, and, at his earnest entreaty, was ex- cepted from the general ruin. But the formidable expedition of the king was here concluded, and that unwise and selfish spirit of revenge and de- struction, which had wasted the coun- try, began to recoil upon the heads of its authors. 4 Multitudes perished s Froissart, par Buchon, vol. ix. p. 144. * Froissart, vol. ix.p.147, asserts that the Eng- lish burnt St Johnston, Dundee, and pushed on as far as Aberdeen ; but I have followed Wal- singham and Fordun, who give the account of their ravages as it is found in the text. 312 HISTORY OF from want, and provisions became daily more scarce in -the camp. In such circumstances, the Duke of Lan- caster advised that they should pass the Forth, and, imitating the example of Edward the First, attack and over- whelm the northern counties. But Richard, who scrupled not to accuse his uncle of treasonable motives, in proposing so desperate a project, which was, in truth, likely to in- crease the difficulties of their situation, resolved to retreat instantly by the same route which he had already tra- velled. Before this, however, could be effected, the Scottish army, with their French auxiliaries, broke into Eng- land by the western marches; and, uniting their forces with those of Sir Archibald Douglas, lord of Galloway, ravaged Cumberland with a severity which was increased by the accounts of the havoc committed by the Eng- lish. Towns, villages, manors, and hamlets were indiscriminately plun- dered and razed to the ground ; crowds of prisoners, herds of cattle, waggons and sumpter-horses, laden with the. wealth of burghers and yeomen, were driven along ; and the parks and plea- sure grounds of the Earls of Notting- ham and Stafford, of the Mowbrays, the Musgraves, and other Border oarons, swept of their wealth, and plundered with a merciless cruelty, which increased to the highest pitch the animosity between the two nations, and rendered the prospect of peace remote and almost hopeless. After this destruction, the united armies made an unsuccessful assault upon the city of Carlisle, 1 the fortifications of which withstood their utmost efforts ; and upon this repulse, which seems to have renewed the heartburning be- tween the French and Scots, they again crosse t^he Border, the French boasting < i - they had burnt, de- stroyed, and plundered more in the bishoprics of Durham and Carlisle than was to be found in all the towns of Scotland put together. 2 i Winton, vol. ii. p. 325, affirms they would rot assault Carlisle, for " thai dred tynsale of men." SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIL When the army reached their former quarters, and proceeded to encamp in Edinburgh and the adjacent country, an extraordinary scene presented itself. The land, so late a solitary desert, was in a few hours alive with multitudes of the Scots, who emerged from the woods and mountain passes, driving their flocks and cattle before them, accompanied by their wives and chil- dren, and returning with their chattels and furniture to the burnt and black- ened houses which they had aban- doned to the enemy. The cheerful- ness with which they bore these calamities, and set themselves to re- pair the havoc which had been com- mitted, appears to have astonished their refined allies ; but the presence of two thousand Frenchmen, and the difficulty of finding them provisions, was an additional evil which they were not prepared to bear so easily; and when the Admiral of France, to lighten the burden, abandoned his design of a second invasion of England, and per- mitted as many as chose to embark for France; the Scots refused to furnish transports, or to allow a single vessel to leave their ports, until the French knights had paid them for the injuries they had inflicted by riding through their country, trampling and destroy- ing their crops, cutting down their woods to build lodgings, and plunder- ing their markets. To these conditions Vienne was compelled to listen ; in- deed, such was the miserable condition in which the campaign had left his knights and men-at-arms, who were now for the most part unhorsed, and dispirited by sickness and privation, that to have provoked the Scots might have led to serious conse- quences. He agreed, therefore, to dis- charge the claims of damage and re- paration which were made against his soldiers ; and for himself came under an obligation not to leave the country till they were fully satisfied, his knights being permitted to return home. These stipulations were strictly ful- filled. Ships were furnished by the 2 Pordun a (xoodal, vol. ii. p. 401. Frois- sai t, par Buchon, vol. ix. p. 155. 1385-7.] ROBERT II. 343 Scots, and, to use the expressive lan- guage of Froissart, "divers knights and squires had passage, and returned* into Flanders, as wind and weather drove them, with neither horse nor harness, right poor and feeble, cursing the day that ever they came upon such an adventure ; and fervently de- siring that the Kings of France and England would conclude a peace for a year or two, were it only to have the satisfaction of uniting their armies, and utterly destroying the realm of Scotland." Some knights who were fond of adventure, and little anxious to return to France in so miserable a condition, passed on to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; others took shipping for Ireland, desirous of visit- ing the famous cavern known by the name of the purgatory of St Patrick ; 1 and Vienne himself, after having corresponded with his government, and discharged the claims which were brought against him, took leave of the king and nobles of Scotland, and returned to Paris. Such was the issue of an expedition fitted out by France at an immense expense, and which, from being hastily undertaken, and only partially exe- cuted, concluded in vexation and dis- appointment. Had the naval arma- ment which was to have attacked Eng- land on the south been able to effect a descent, and had the Constable of France, according to the original in- tention, co-operated with Vienne, at the head of a large body of Genoese cross-bowmen and men-at-arms, 2 the result might perhaps have been dif- ferent ; but the great causes of failure are to be traced to the impossibility of reconciling two systems of military operations so perfectly distinct as those of the Scots and the French, and of supporting for any length of time, in so poor a country as Scotland, such a force as was able to offer battle to the English with any fair prospect of suc- cess. One good effect resulted from the experience gained in this campaign. It convinced the Scots of the superior 1 See Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 14. 2 Froissart, par Buchon, toI. ix. p. 162. excellence of their own tactics, which consisted in employing their light cavalry solely in plunder, or in attacks upon the archers when they were forced to fight, and in opposing to the heavy-armed cavalry of the English their infantry alone, with their firm squares and long spears. It also taught them that any foreign auxiliary force of the heavy-armed cavalry of the continent was of infinitely greater encumbrance than assistance in their wars with England, as they must either be too small to produce any effect against the overwhelming armies of that country, or too numerous to be supported, without occasioning severe distress. Upon the departure of the French, the war continued with great spirit; and from the imbecility of the govern- ment of Richard the Second, a feeble opposition was made against the suc- cesses of the Scots. The systematic manner in which their invasions were ' conducted is apparent from the plan and details of that which immediately succeeded the expedition of Vienne. It was remembered by the Scottish leaders that in the general devastation which had been lately inflicted upon the English Border counties that por- tion of Cumberland, including the rich and fertile district of Cocker- mouth and the adjacent country, had not been visited since the days of Robert Bruce; and it w r as judged proper to put an end to this exemp- tion. Robert, earl of Fife, the king's second son, James, earl of Douglas, and Sir Archibald Douglas, lord of Galloway, at the head of thirty thou- sand light troops, passed the Solway, and for three days 3 plundered and laid waste the whole of this beautiful district; so that, to use the expression of Fordun, the feeblest in the Scottish host had his hands full : nor do they appear to have met with the slightest opposition. A singular and character- istic anecdote of this expedition is s Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 403. "Exer- citum caute et quasi imperceptibiliter duce- bat usque ad Cokinnouth, . . . per terrain a diebus Domin Roberti de Bruce regis a Scotia non invasam. w 344 HISTORY OF preserved W this historian. Amid the plunder(an ancient Saxon charter of King Athelstane, with a waxen seal appended to it, was picked up by some of the soldiers, and carried to the Earl of Fife, afterwards the celebrated Regent Albany. Its lucid brevity astonished the feudal baron : — " I, King Adelstane, giffys here to Paulan, Oddam and Roddam, als gude and als fair, as ever thai myn war ; and th'airto witnes Maid my w r yf.* Often, says the historian, after th£ Earl became Duke of Albany and Governor of Scotland, when the tedi- ous and wordy charters of our modern days were recited in the causes which came before him, he would recall to memory this little letter of King Athelstane, and declare there was more truth and good faith in those old times than now, when the new race of lawyers had brought in such frivolous exceptions and studied pro- lixity of forms. 1 It is singular to meet with a protestation against the unnecessary multiplication of words and clauses in legal deeds at so remote a period. At the time of this invasion, another enterprise took place, which nearly proved fatal to its authors : a descent upon Ireland by Sir William Douglas, the natural son of Sir Archibald of Galloway, commonly called the Black Douglas. This young knight appears to have been the Scottish Paladin of those days of chivalry. His form and strength were almost gigantic ; and what gave a peculiar charm to his warlike prowess was the extreme gentleness of his manners : sweet, brave, and generous, he was as faith- ful to his frienfo as he was terrible to his enemies. (These qualities had gained him the hand of the king's daughter Egidia : a lady of such beauty, that the King of France is said to have fallen in love with her from the description of some of his courtiers, and to have privately de- spatched a painter into Scotland to bring him her picture ; J when he found, to his disappointment, that the Fordun a Goodal, vol. iL p. 403. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. princess had disposed of her heart in her own country. 2 ■ At this time the piracies of the Irish on the coast of Galloway pro- voked the resentment of Douglas, who, at the head of five hundred lances, made a descent upon the Irish coast at Carlingford, and immediately assaulted the town with only a part of his force, finding it difficult to procure small boats to land the whole. Before, however, he had made him- self master of the outworks, the citizens, by the promise of a large sum of money, procured an armistice ; after which, under cover of night, they despatched a messenger to Dun- dalk for assistance, who represented the small number of the Scots, and the facility of overpowering them. Douglas, in the meantime, of an honest and unsuspicious temper, had retired to the shore, and was busied in superintending the lading of his vessels, when he discerned the ap- proach of the English, and had scarce time to form his little phalanx, before he- was attacked not only by them but by a sally from the town. Yet this treacherous conduct was entirely unsuccessful : although greatly out- numbered, such was the superior disci- pline and skill of the Scots, that every effort failed to pierce their columns, and they at length succeeded in totally dispersing the enemy ; after which the town was burnt to the ground, the castle and its works demolished, and fifteen merchant ships, which lay at anchor, laden with goods, seized by the victors. 3 They then set sail for Scotland, ravaged the Isle of Man as they returned, and landed safely at Lochryan in Galloway ; from . which Douglas took horse and joined his father, who, with the Earl of Fife, had broken across the Border, and was then engaged in an expedition against the western districts of Eng- land. The origin of this invasion requires particular notice, as it led to import- ant results, and terminated in the 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 403. s Fordun a Hearne. pp. 1073, 1074. Win- ton, vol. ii. pp. 335, 336. 1387-8.1 ROBERT II. 345 celebrated battle of Otterburn. The Scots had not forgotten the miserable havoc which was inflicted upon the country by the late expedition of the King of England ; and as this country was now torn by disputes between the weak monarch and his nobility, it was deemed a proper juncture to retaliate. To decide upon this, a council was held at Edinburgh. The king was now infirm from age, and wisely anxious for peace; but his wishes were overruled, and the management of the campaign intrusted by the nobles to his second son, the Earl of Fife, upon whom the hopes of the warlike part of the nation chiefly rested, his elder brother, the Earl of Carrick, who was next heir to the crown, being of a feeble constitution, and little able to endure the fatigues of the field. It was resolved tfhat there should be a general muster of the whole military force of the king- dom at Jedburgh, preparatory to an invasion, upon a scale likely to insure an ample retribution for their losses. 1 The rumouf of this great summons of the vassals of the crown soon reached England; and the barons, to whom the care of the Borders was committed, began to muster their feudal services, and to prepare for resistance. On the day appointed, the Scots assembled at Yetholm, a small town not far from Jedburgh, and situated at the foot of the Cheviot Hills. A more powerful army had not been seen for a long period. There were twelve hundred men-at-arms and forty thousand infantry, including a small body of archers, a species of military force in which the Scots were still little skilled, when compared with the formidable power of the English bowmen. It was now necessary to determine in what manner the war should begin, and upon what part of the country its fury should first be. let loose; and, when the leaders were deliberating upon this, a prisoner was taken and carried to head-quarters, who proved to be an English gentle- man, despatched by the Border lords for the purpose of collecting informa- 1 Froissart, par Buchon, vol. xi. p. 8G8. tion. From him they understood that the wardens of the marches did not deem themselves strong enough at that time to offer battle, but that, having collected their power, they had determined to remain quiet till it was seen in w T hat direction the Scottish invasion was to take place, and then to make a counter expedition into Scotland ; thus avoiding all chance of being attacked, and retaliating upon the Scots by a system of simultaneous havoc and plunder. Upon receiving this information, which proved to be correct, the Earl of Fife determined to separate his force into two divisions, and for the purpose of frustrating the designs of the English, to invade the country both by the western and eastern marches. He himself, accordingly, with Archibald, lord of Galloway, and the Earls of Sutherland, Menteith, Mar, and Strathern, at the head of a large force, being nearly two-thirds of the whole army, began their march through Liddesdale, and passing the borders of Galloway, advanced towards Carlisle. The second division was chiefly intended to divert the atten- tion of the English from opposing the main body of the Scots; it consisted of three hundred knights and men-at- arms, and two thousand foot, besides some light-armed prickers and camp- followers, 2 and was placed under the command of the Earl of Douglas, a young soldier, who, from his boyhood, had been trained to war by his father, and who possessed the hereditary val- our and military talent of the family. Along with him went the Earls of March and Moray ; Sir James Lindsay, Sir Alexander Ramsay, and Sir John St Clair, three soldiers of great expe- rience ; Sir Patrick Hepburn with his two sons, Sir John Haliburton, Sir John Maxwell, Sir Alexander Fraser, Sir Adam Glendinning, Sir David Fleming, Sir Thomas Erskine, and many other knights and squires. With this small army, the Earl of 2 Winton, vol. ii. p. 337, gives a much higher number ; but we may here trust rather to Froissart, who affirms that he had no moi> than " three hundred men-at-arms, and twc thousand infantry." 346 HISTORY OF Douglas pushed rapidly on through Northumberland, having given strict orders that not a house should be burnt or plundered till they reached the bishopric of Durham. Such was the silence and celerity of the march, that he crossed the Tyne near Brans- peth, and was not discovered by the Enlgish garrisons to be in the heart of this rich nd populous district until the smoke of the naming villages, and the terror of the people, carried the first news of his arrival to the city of Durham. Nor did the English dare at present to oppose him, imagining his force to be the advanced guard of the main army of the Scots : a natural supposition, for the capture of their spy had left them in ignorance of the real designs of the enemy. Douglas, therefore, plundered without meeting an enemy; whilst Sir Henry Percy, better known by his name of Hotspur, and his brother Ralph, the two sons of the Earl of Northumberland, along with the Seneschal of York, the Cap- tain of Berwick, Sir Mathew Redman, Sir Ralph Mowbray, Sir John Felt on, Sir Thomas Grey, and numerous other Border barons, kept themselves, with their whole power, within the barriers of Newcastle, 1 and the Earl of North- umberland collected his strength at Alnwick. Meanwhile, having wasted the coun- try as far as the gates of Durham, the . Scottish leaders returned to Newcastle with a rapidity equal to their advance, and in the spirit of the times, deter- mined to tarry there two days, and try the courage of the English knights. The names of Percy and of Douglas were at this time famous : Hotspur having the reputation of one of the bravest soldiers in England, and the Earl of Douglas, although his younger in years, being little inferior in the esti- mation in which his military prowess was held amongst his countrymen. In the skirmishes which took place at the barriers of the town, it happened that these celebrated soldiers came to be personally opposed to each other ; and after an obstinate contest, Douglas I Winton, vol. ii. p. 338. Froissart, par Euchon, vol. xi. p. 377. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIL won the pennon of the English leader, and boasted aloud, before the knights who were present, that he would carry it to Scotland, and plant it, as a proof of his prowess, on his castle of Dal- keith. "That, so help me God!" cried Hotspur, " no Douglas shall ever do; and ere you leave Northumber- land you shall have small cause to boast/' "Well, Henry," answered Douglas, "your pennon shall this night be placed before my tent ; come and win it if you can ! " 2 Such was the nature of this defiance ; and Douglas knew enough of Percy to be assured that, if possible, he would keep his word. He commanded, there- fore, a strict watch to be maintained ; struck the pennon into the ground in front of his tent, and awaited the as- sault of the English. There were occasions, however, in which the bra- vadoes of chivalry gave way to the stricter rules of war ; and as the Eng- lish leaders still entertained the idea that Douglas only led the van of the main army, and that his .object was to draw them from their entrenchments, they insisted that Percy should Jnot hazard an attack which might )ring them into jeopardy. The Scots, ac- cordingly, after in vain expecting an attack, left their encampment, and proceeded on their way. Passing by the tower of Ponteland, they carried it by storm, razed it to the ground, and still continuing their retreat, came, on the second day, to the village and castle of Otterburn, situated in Redesdale, 3 and about twelve miles from Newcastle. • This castle was strongly fortified, and the first day resisted every attack ; upon which most of their leaders, anxious not to lose time, but to carry their booty across the Borders, proposed to proceed into Scotland. Douglas alone opposed this, and entreated them to remain a few days and make themselves masters of the castle, so that in the interval they might give Henry Percy full time, if he thought fit, to reach their encamp- ment, and fulfil his promise. This 2 Eroissart, par Buchon, vol. xi- p. 377. s Winton, vol. ii. pp. 339, 340. 1388.] they at length agreed to ; and having skilfully chosen their encampment, they fortified it in such a way as should give them great advantage in the event of an attack. In its front, and extending also a little to one side, was a marshy level, at the narrow entrance of which were placed their carriages and waggons laden with plun- der, and behind them the horses, sheep, and cattle which they had driven away with them. These were committed to the charge of the sut- tlers and camp-followers, who, although poorly armed, were able to make some resistance with their staves and knives. Behind these, on firm ground, which was on one side defended by the marsh, and on the other flanked by a small wooded hill, were placed the tents and temporary huts of the lead- ers and the men-at j arms ; and having thus taken every precaution against a surprise, they occupied themselves during the day in assaulting the castle, and at night retired within their en- campment } But this did not long continue. By this time it became generally known that Douglas and his little army were wholly unsupported ; and the moment that Percy ascertained the fact, and discovered that the Scot- tish earl lay encamped at Otterburn, he put himself at the head of six hundred lances, and eight thousand foot, and, without waiting for the Bishop of Durham, who was advanc- ing with his power to Newcastle, marched straight to Otterburn, at as rapid a rate as his infantry could bear.' 2 Hotspur had left Newcastle after dinner, and the sun was set before he came in sight of the Scots encamp- ment. It was a placid evening in the month of August, which had succeeded to a day of extreme heat, and the greater part of the Scots, worn out with an unsuccessful attack upon the castle, had taken their supper and fallen asleep. In a moment they were awakened by a cry of " Percy, Percy ! " and the English, trusting that they could soon carry the encampment from ROBERT II. 347 the superiority of their numbers, at- tacked it with the greatest fury. They were checked, however, by the barrier of waggoivi, and the brave defence made by the servants and camp-follow- ers, which gave the knights time to arm, and enabled Douglas and the leaders to form the men-at-arms before Hotspur could reach their tents. The excellence of the position chosen by the Scottish earl was now apparent; for, taking advantage of the ground, he silently and rapidly defiled round the wooded eminence already men- tioned, which completely concealed his march, and when the greater part of the English were engaged in the marsh, suddenly raised his banner, and set upon them in flank. It was now night; but the moon shone brightly, and the air was so clear and calm, that the light was almost equal to the day. Her quiet rays, however, fell on a dreadful scene ; for Percy became soon convinced that he had mistaken the lodgings of the servants for thoso of their masters; and, chafed at the disappointment, drew back his men on firm ground, and encountered the Scots with the utmost spirit. He was not, indeed, so well supported as he might have been, as a large division of the English under Sir Mathew Red- man and Sir Robert Ogle, 3 having made themselves masters of the encampment, had begun to plunder, and his own men were fatigued with their march ; whilst the Scots, under Douglas, Moray, and March, were fresh and well-breathed. Yet, with all these disadvantages, the English greatly outnumbered the enemy ; and in the temper of their armour and their weapons were far their su- perior. 4 For many hours the battle raged with undiminished fury ; banners rose and fell; the voices of the knights shouting their war-cries were mingled with the shrieks and groans of the dying, whilst the ground, covered with dead bodies and shreds of armour, and slippery with blood, scarce afforded room for the combatants, so closely 1 Froissart, par Buchon, vol. xi. p. 385. 2 Ibid. p. 334. 3 Winton, vol. ii. p. 340. * Froissart, par Buckon, vol. xi. p. 3S^V 348 HISTORY OF were they engaged, and so obstinately was every foot of earth contested. It was at this time that Douglas, wielding a battle-axe in both hands, and followed only by a few of his household, cut his way into the press of English knights, and throwing himself too rashly upon the spears, was borne to the earth, and soon mortally wounded in the head and neck. Yet at this time none knew who had fallen, for the English pressed on ; and a considerable interval elapsed before the Earls of March and Moray again forced them to give back, and cleared the spot where Douglas lay bleeding. Sir James Lindsay was the first to discover his kinsman ; and, run- ning up hastily, eagerly inquired how it fared with him. " But poorly," said Douglas. " I am dying in my armour, as my fathers have done, thanks be to -God, and not in my bed ; but if you love me, raise my banner and press forward, for he who should bear it lies slain beside me." Lindsay instantly obeyed; and the banner of the crowned heart again rose amid the cries of " Douglas ! " so that the Scots believed their leader was still in the field, and pressed on the English ranks with a courage which at last compelled them to give way. 1 Hotspur, and his bro- ther, Sir Ralph Percy, surrendered after a stout resistance; and along with them nearly the whole chivalry of Northumberland and Durham were •either slain or taken. Amongst the prisoners were the Seneschal of York, the Captain of Berwick, Sir Matliew Redman, Sir Ralph Langley, Sir Ro- bert Ogle, Sir John Lilburn, Sir Tho- mas Walsingham, Sir John Felton, Sir John Copland, Sir Thomas Abingdon, and many other knights and gentle- men, 2 whose ransom was a source of great and immediate wealth to the Scots. There were slain on the Eng- lish side about eighteen hundred and sixty men-at-arms, and a thousand were grievously wounded. 3 We are informed by Froissart that he received his ac- count of this expedition from English l Froissart, par Buchon. vol. xi. pp 393- 395. Winton, vol. ii. pp. 340-342. a Ibid. vol. xi. p. 39£. » Ibid. vol. xi. p. 420 SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. and Scottish knights who were engaged in it ; and " of all the battles," says he, " which I have made mention of hereto- fore in this history, this of Otterburn\ was the bravest and the best contested yJ for there was neither knight nor squire but acquitted himself nobly, doing well his duty, and fighting hand to hand, without either stay or faint- heartedness." And as the English greatly outnumbered the Scots, so sig- nal a victory was much talked of, not . ' only in both countries, but on the Continent. 4 The joy which was naturally felt upon such an occasion was greatly overclouded by the death of Douglas. His conduct became the theme of uni- > versal praise ; and his loss was the more lamented, as he had fallen in this heroic manner in the prime of manhood. All the soldiers mourned for him as their dearest friend; and the march to Scotland resembled more a funeral procession than a triumphant progress, for in the midst of it moved the car in which was placed the body of this brave man. In this manner was it conveyed by the army to the Abbey of Melrose, where they buried him in the sepulchre of his fathers, and hung his banner, torn and soiled with blood, over his grave. 5 The causes of this defeat of Hotspur, by a force greatly his inferior, are not difficult to be discovered. They are to be found in the excellent natural position chosen by Douglas for his encampment ; in the judicious manner in which it had been fortified ; and in the circumstance of Percy attempting to carry it at first by a coup-de-main ; thus rendering his archers, that por- tion of the English force which had ever been most decisive and destruc- tive in its effects, totally useless. 6 The difficulties thrown in the way of the English by the entrenchment of wag- gons, and the defence of the camp followers, were of the utmost conse- quence in gaining time ; and the sub- * Froissart, par Buchon, vol. xi. p 401. 6 Ibid. vol. xi. p. 422. « Ibid. vol. xi. p. 389. "Et etoient si joints Tun a l'autre et si attaches, que trait d'archers de nui cote n'y avoit point de lieu." 13S8-90.] ROBERT II. 34S sequent victory forms a striking con- trast to the dreadful defeat sustained by the Scots at Dupplin in conse- quence of the want of any such pre- caution. 1 Even at Otterburn, the leaders, who were sitting in their gowns and doublets at supper when the first alarm reached them, had to arm in extreme haste; so that Doug- las's harness was in many places un- clasped, and the Earl of Moray fought all night without his helmet; 2 but minutes in such circumstances were infinitely valuable, and these were gained by the strength of the camp. One circumstance connected with the death of Douglas is too characteristic of the times to be omitted. His chaplain, a priest of the name of Lun- die, had followed him to the war, and fought during the whole battle at his side. When his body was discovered, this warrior clerk was found bestriding his dying master, wielding his battle- . axe, and defending him from injur} T . \ He became afterwards Archdeacon of North Berwick. 3 On hearing of the defeat at Otter- burn, the Bishop of Durham, who, soon after Percy's departure, had en- tered Newcastle with ten thousand men, attempted, at the head of this force, to cut off the retreat of the Scots ; but, on coming up with their little army, he found they had again intrenched themselves in the same strong position, in which they could not be attacked without manifest risk ; and he judged it prudent to retreat, 4 so that they reached their own coun- try without further molestation. So many noble prisoners had not been carried into Scotland since the days of Bruce ; 5 for although Hotspur's force did not amount to nine thousand men, it included the flower of the English Border baronage. The remaining divi- sion of the Scots, under the Earl of Fife, amounting, as we have seen, to more than a third part of the whole army, broke into England by the west 1 History, supra, p. 165. 2 Winton, p. 339. 3 Froissart, par Buchon, voL xi. p. 393. * Ibid. vol. xi. p. 419. 6 Wir.ton, vol. ii. p. 343. marches, according to the plan already agreed on; and after an inroad, at- tended by the usual circumstances of devastation and plunder, being in- formed of the successful conclusion of the operations on the eastern border, returned without a check to Scotland. It is impossible not to agree with Froissart, that there never was a more chivalrous battle than this of Otter- burn : the singular circumstances un- der which it was fought, in a sweet moonlight night ; 6 the heroic death of Douglas ; the very name of Hotspur ; all contribute to invest it with that character of romance so seldom coin- cident with the cold realities of his- tory; and we experience in its recital something of the sentiment of Sir Philip Sidney, "who never could hear the song of the Douglas and Percy without having his heart stirred a? with the sound of a trumpet." But it ought not to be forgotten that it was solely a chivalrous battle : it had no- thing great in its motive, and nothing- great in its results. It differs as widely in this respect from the battles of Stirling and Bannockburn, and from the many contests which distinguish the war of liberty, as the holy spirit of freedom from the petty ebullitions of national rivalry, or the desire of plunder and revenge. It was fought at a time when England had aban- doned all serious designs against the independence of the neighbouring country ; when the king, and the great body of the Scottish people, earnestly desired peace; and when the accom- plishment of this desire would have been a real blessing to the nation : but this blessing the Scottish nobles, who, like their feudal brethren of England and France, could not exist without public or private war, did not appre- ciate, and had no ambition to see real- ised. The war originated in the char- acter of this class, and the principles which they adopted; and the power of the crown, and the influence of the commons, were yet infinitely too feeble to check their authority ; on the con- trary, this domineering power of the * It was fought on Wednesday, 5th August. M'Pherson's Notes on Winton, vol. ii. p. 516. 350 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, great feudal families was evidently on 1 the increase in Scotland, and led, as we shall see in the sequel, to dreadful results. But to return from this digression. I The age and indolence of the king, and his aversion to business, appear to have now increased to a height which rendered it necessary for the parlia- ment to interfere; and the bodily weakness of the Earl of Carrick, the heir-apparent, who had been injured by the kick of a horse, made it impos- sible that much active management should be intrusted to him. From necessity, more than choice or affec- tion, the nation next looked to Ro- bert's second son, the Earl of Fife; and in a meeting of the three estates, held at Edinburgh in 1389, the king willingly retired from all interference with public affairs, and committed the office of governor of the kingdom to this ambitious and intriguing man, who, at the mature age of fifty, succeeded to the complete manage- ment of the kingdom. 1 A deep self- ishness, which if it secured its own aggrandisement, little regarded the means employed, was the prominent feature in the character of the new regent. His faults, too, were redeemed by few great qualities, for he possessed little military talent; and although his genius for civil government has been extolled by our ancient historians, his first public act was one of great weakness. Since the defeat at Otterburn, and the capture of Hotspur, the Earl Mar- shal, to whom the English king had committed the custody of the marches, had been accustomed t<^ taunt and provoke the Scottish Borderers to re- new the quarrel, and had boasted that he would be ready to give them battle, if they would meet him in a fair field, though their numbers should double his. These were the natural and fool- ish ebullitions that will ever accom- pany any great defeat, and ought to have been overlooked by the governor ; but, instead of this, he affected to consider his knightly character in- 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol ii. p. 414 He died T) 1419, aged eighty. [Chap. VII. volved ; and prepared to sacrifice the true interests of the country, which loudly called for peace, to his own notions of honour. An army was as- sembled, which Fife conducted in person, having along with him Archi- bald Douglas, and the rest of the Scot- tish nobles. With this force they passed the marches, and sent word to the Earl Marshal that they had ac- cepted his challenge, and would expect his arrival ; but, with superior wisdom, he declined the defiance ; and, having intrenched himself in a strong position, refused to abandon his advantage, and proposed to wait their attack. This, however, formed no part of the pro- ject of the Scots, and they returned into their own country. 2 In such absurd bravadoes, resembling more the quarrels of children than any grave or serious contest, did two great na- tions employ themselves, misled by those ridiculous ideas which had arisen out of the system of chivalry, whose influence was now paramount through- out Europe. Not long after this, a three-years' truce having been concluded at Bou- logne between England and France, a mutual embassy of French and Eng- lish knights arrived in Scotland, and having repaired to the court, which was then held at Dunfermline, pre- vailed upon the Scots to become par- ties to this cessation of hostilities; so that the king, who, since his accession to the throne, had not ceased to desire peace, enjoyed the comfort of at last seeing it, if not permanently settled, at least in the course of being estab- lished. 3 He retired soon after to one of his northern castles at Dundonald, in Ayrshire, where, on the 13th May 1390, he died at the age of seventy-four, in the twentieth year of his reign. 4 The most prominent fea- tures in the character of this monarch have been already described. That he was indolent, and fond of enjoying himself in the seclusion of his nnrth- 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 414. Winton, vol. ii. p. 346. 3 Kotuli Scotia?, vol. ii. pp. 89, 99. * Winton, vol. ii. pp. 350. 351. Some fine remains of this ancient castle still exist. Biat. Account, vol. vii. p. 619. 1390.] ROBI ern manors, whilst he injudiciously conferred too independent a power upon his turbulent and ambitious sons, cannot be denied : but it ought not to be forgotten that, at a time when the liberties of the country were threat- ened with a total overthrow, the Steward stood forward in their de- fence, with a zeal and energy which Were eminently successful, a nd t hat he was the main instrument in~clefeating the ^designs of David the Second and Edward the Third, when an English- prince was attempted to be imposed upon the nation. The policy he pur- sueoTafteT his accession, so far as the character of the king was then allowed to influence the government, were essentially pacific; but the circum- stances in which the nation was placed were totally changed ; and to maintain peace between the two countries be- came then as much the object of a wise governor as it formerly had been his duty to continue the war. Unfor- tunately, the judgment of the king was not permitted to have that influ- ence to which it was entitled: and many years were yet to run before the two nations had their eyes opened to discern the principles best calculated to promote their mutual prosperity. During the whole course of this reign, the agriculture of Scotland ap- pears to have been in a lamentable condition — a circumstance to be traced, no doubt, to the constant interruption of the regular seasons of rural labour ; RT II. 351 the ravages committed by foreign in vasion, and the havoc which neces- sarily attended the passage even of a Scottish army from one part of the country to another. The proof of this is to be found in the frequent liceuces which were granted by the English king, allowing the nobles and the mer- chants of Scotland to import grain into that country, and in the fact that the grain for the victualling of the Scottish castles, then in the hands of the Eng- lish, was not unfrequently brought from Ireland. 1 But the commercial spirit of the country during this reign was undoubtedly on the increase ; and the trade which it carried on with Flanders appears to have been con- ducted with much enterprise and ac- tivity. Mercer, a Scottish merchant, during his residence in France, was, from his great wealth, admitted to the favour and confidence of Charles the Sixth ; and, on one occasion, the cargo of a Scottish merchantman, which had been captured by the English, was valued as high as seven thousand marks, an immense sum for those re- mote times. 2 The staple source of export wealth continued to consist in wool, hides, skins, and wool-fels. We have the evidence of Froissart, who had himself travelled in the country, that its home manufactures were in a very low condition. i Rotuli Scotiae, vol. i. pp. 963, 965. 9653. The page in the text refers to the new edition of the Fcedera. Littera continens quod Scoti et Wallenscs non facient pacem cum Rege Anglice sine mutuo consensu et assensu. " Omnibus sanctae Matris Ecclesise filiis, hoc' scriptnm visuris vel andituris, "Walt. Cumin Comes de Meneth, Alex. Cumyn Comes de Buchan Justic. Scotiae, Willielmus Comes de Mar, Willielmus Comes de Ros, Joannes Comyn Justi- ciar. Galwediae, Aimeris de Makeswel, Camerarius Scotiae, Fresekums de Mora- via, Hug. et "Walter, de Berkeleya fratres, Bernardus de Mohane, Rigi- naldus Cheyn, David Lochor, J ohannes Dundemor, Willielmus de Erch, Ector de Barrit. et eorum amici praesentes et alligati universi, salutem : "Noverint nos, anno Gratiae mille- simo ducentesimo quinquagesimo octa- vo, decimo octavo die mensis Martii, de communi nostrum consensu et assensu, cum Domino Lewelino filio Griffini, Principe "Wallise, et David filio Griffini fratre suo, Ycino Grufud fiL Maduc Domino de Bromfeld, Maredud fil. Ris, Maredud filio Ovenir, I£eso Jumori, Oweyn filio Maredud, Madant filio Wenwywym, Maredud Seis Lewelin, Vechan Owem, Mared filio Leweliner Domino de Methem, Owen filio Gruffud, Madant Parvo, Owen filio Bledyn, Howell filio Maredud, Elisse et Grufud filio Jornith, Gorone filio Edvenet ; Jornith Grugman, Eumay Yechan, Tudar filio Mad, Enmaun filio Karaduc, Jornith filio Maredud, David filio En- viayn, Jenev Chich Roys filio Ednevet, et eorum amicis et alligatis, hanc f ecisse conventionem mutuae confoederationis et amicitiae ; videlicet : ' ' Quod, sine communi consensu et assensu prsefatorum Principis et Mag- natum, de csetero nullam pacem, aut formam pacis, treugam aut formam treugae, faciemus cum Domino Rege Angliae, aut aliquo Magnate Regni Angliae, aut Regni Scotiae, qui tempore confectionis praesentis scripti, praefatis Principi, et Magnatibus, et terris suis, et nobis contrarii extiterint et rebelles, nisi illi ad omnem hanc eandem con- siderationem pariter nobiscum ten- eantur. " Nos etiam contra praefatos Princi- pem et Magnates nullam potentiam, utpote exercitum equitum aut peditum, r-xire permittemus de Scotia ; nec in aliquo contra ipsos praefato Regi Angliae succ ursum praestabimus aut f avoi em ; immo eisdem Principi et Magnatibu^ et terrae suae, fideliter auxsiliantea erimus et consulentes. " Et, si contingat quod cum Domino Rege Angliae, aut quocunque viro, prae- fatis Principi, et Magnatibus, aut nobis, jam adversante, per Domini nostri Regis Scotiae praeceptum, pacem aut treugam inire compellamur ; nos in bona fide, quantum poterimus et sciemus, ad praefatorum Principis, et Magnatum suorum, et terras suae commodum et honorem hoc fieri procurabimus cum effectu. " Nequaquam de voluntate nostra, nisi per praef ati Domini nostri districtam compulsionem hoc mandatum fuerit et praeceptum, in aliquo contra prsesentem confcederationem faciemus; immo Do-' minum nostrum, pro hac eadem con- foederatione nobiscum facienda et obser- vanda, quantum poterimus, inducemus. " Mercatoribus etiam Walliae, cum axl partes Scotiae cum suis negotiationibus venire valeant, licentiam veniendi, et prout melius poterunt negotiationes suas vendendi, pacem etiam et protectionem nostram salvo et secure morandi, et sine quacumque vexatione, cum eis placuerit, recedendi, concedimus ex affectu. " Mercatoribus etiam Scotiae ad partes "Walliae, de licentia nostra, cum suis venire negotiationibus persuadebimus ex corde. •'Ad praedicta omnia et singula, in * fide praedicti Domini Regis Scotiae fideliter, integre, et illaese, et sine fraude et dolo, et in bona fide obser- vanda, unusquisque nostrum in manu Gwyd. de Bangr. Nuncii praefatorum Principis et Magnatum, fidem suam praestitit, et, tactis sacrosanctis Evan- geliis, corporale sacramentum. "In cujus rei testimonium huic scripto, per modum Cyrographi con- fecto, et penes praefatos Principem et Magnates remanenti, quilibet nostrum sigillum suum fecit apponi. " Praedicti vero Princeps et Magnates in manu Alani Yrewyn, Nuncii nostri, similiter' praestitis fide sua, et tactis sacrosanctis Evangeliis, juramento, con- simili scripto hujus confoederationis et amicitiae, penes nos remanenti, in tes- timonium, singula sigilla sua appo- suerunt." Letter E, page 28. The letter of the "Community of Scotland, directed to Edward the First, from Brigham," is important and curi- NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 355 ous. It contains the names of the bishops, earls, abbots, priors, and barons of Scot- land, as they stood in 1289. I subjoin it from the Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 4/1. "Litem Communitatis Scotia?, per quam consulunt Regi Anglice quod Matrimonium fiat inter Primogeni- tum suum etNatam Regis Nor ivegios, Hceredem Scotice; et etiam per quam petunt quod Rex Anglias, concedat eis Petitioners suam, quam petituri sunt per Nuncios suos, in Parliamento ipsius Regis " A Tres noble Prince Sire Edward, par la grace de Deu, Roy de Engletere, Seygnur de Yrlaund, et Duk de Aqui- tain. Guillame e Robert, par meme cele grace, de Seint Andreu et de Glasgu Eves- ques. Johan Comyn, et James Seneschal de Escocc, Gardeyns du Reaume de Escoce. Maheu, Evesque de Dunkeldin, A rchebaud, Evesk de Moref, Henry, Eveske de Abirdene, Guillame, Evesque de Dunblain, Marc, Evesque de Man, Henry, Evesque de Gauway, Guillam, Evesque de Brechin, Alayn, Evesque de Catenes, Robert, Evesque de Ros, et- Laurence, Evesque de ErgaythiL Contes. Maliz de Slratherne, Patrick de Dunbar, Johan Comyn de Buchan, Dovenald de Mar, Gilbert de Hunfrauvill de Anegos, Johan de Asteles, Gauter de Meneteth, Roberd de Brus de Carrik, Guillam de Ros, Maucolom de Lovenaus. Guillam de Motherland, et Johan de Catenes. Abbes. De Kelquou, De Meuros, De Dunfermlin, De Aberbrothok, De la Seinte Crops, De Cambuskinel, De Kupre, De Driburg, De Neubotil, De Passelay, De Jedeicorth, De Londors, De Balmorinauchi De Glenluce, De Kihvynnin, De Incheafrau, De Culros, De Dundraynan, De Darwonguill, De Kinlos, De Deer, De Ylecolunkile, et De Tungeland. Prionrs. De Seint Andreu, De Coldingliam, et De Leasmahagu, De Pluscardin, De Beaulou, De Humcard, De Wy theme, De Rustinoth, De May, De Cononby, De Blantir. Barons. Roberd de Brus, Seyqnur de Val de. Anaunt, Guillam de Moref, Guillame de Soulys, Alisaundre de Ergayl, Alisaundre de Bayliol, dc Kavers, Geffray de Moubray, Nichol de Graham, Nichol de Lugir, Ingeram de Bailiol, Richard Siivard, Herbert de Macswell, David le Mariscal, Ingeram de Gynes, Thomas Randolf, Guillame Comyn, Seygnur de Kirke- tolauch, Simon Fraser, Renaud le Chen le Pere, Renaud le Chen le Fitz, Andreu de Moref, Johannes de Soules, Nichol de la Haye 9 Guillam de la Haye, Roberd de Camhron, Guillam de Seincler, Patrik de Grume, Johannes de Estrivenli, HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 353 Jv/tfznnes de Kalentir Johan de Malevile, Johan le Seneschal, Johan de Glenesk, Alisaundre de BonkylU Bertram de Car denes, Dovenald le fit Can, Magnus de Fetherith, Roberd le Flemyng, Guillam de Moref, de Drumsergwdi David de Betune, Guillame de Duglas, Alisaundre de Lyndeseye, Alisaundre de Mencteth, Alisaundre de Meners, Guillam de Muhaut, Thomas de Somervill, Johan de Inchemartin, Johan de Vaus, Johan de Moref, Maucolom de Ferendrauch, et Johan de Carniauch. "Du Realme de Escoce saluz, et totes honors. " Pour la vostre bone fame, et pur la droyture ke vous fetis si commune- ment a tut, et pur le bon veysinage et le grant profit, que le Reaume de Es- coce a resceu de vous, et voustre Pere, et de vous Auncestres, du tens cea en arere. " Sumes nus mut leez et joy us de ac- cones noveles, que mult de gent par- ■lent, ke le Apostoyll deust aver otree et fet dispensacion, ke Mariage se puist fere entre mun Sire Edicard, vostre Fitz, et Dame Margarete Beyne de Es- coce, nostres treschere Dame, non ostant procheynette de Saunk ; et prium vostre hautesee ke vous plese certefier nous de ceste chose. ' ' Kar, si la dispensacion graunte, vous seit grante, nus des hore, ke le mariage de eus face, otreom e nostre accord ; et nostre assent ydonom ; et ke vous facez a nus les choses, que nos mes- sages, que nous enverrom a voustre Parlement, vous mustrunt de par nus, que r enables serrunt. " Efc, si ele seit a purchacer, nus, pur les grant biens e profit, que purrunt de coe avenir al'un e le autre Eeaume, mettrom volenters conseyl, ensemble- ment ovesque vous, coment ele seit purchace. " E, pur ceste chose, e autres, ke tuchent l'estat du Reaume de Escoce, Sur queux nous aurom mester de aver seurte de vous ; nous, avauntdyt Gar- de, vim, Evesques, Countes, Abbes, IViurs, e Barons, enveroms a voua, a Londres, a voustre Parlement de Pasch prochein avenir, de bone gent du Reaume de Escoce, pur nus et pur eus, et pur tote la Commune de Es- coce. 44 Et, en tesmonage des avauntditea choses, nous, Gardeyns du Reaume, Prelats, Countes, e Barones avauntdit, en nom de vous, et de tote la Commune, le Seel Comun, que nus usom en Escoce, en nom de nostre Dame avauntdyte, auvom fet mettre a ceste lettre. 44 Done a Briggeham, le Vendredy procheyn a pres la Feste Seint Gregorie,. le an le nostre Seygnur, 1289." Letter F, page 46. Lord Hailes is at a loss to settle the exact chronology of this surrender by Baliol, but Prynne enables us to do this with considerable accuracy. The scroll of the resignation was prepared at Kin- cardine on the 2d July. The penance took place in the churchyard at Strath- kathro on the 7th of the same month ; L and the deed recording it is of the sam«* date : after which, on the 10th July, at the castle of Brechin, in the presence of Edward himself, Baliol made his final resignation, and a second instru- ment was drawn up exactly in the same terms as the scroll prepared at Kincar- dine. Bower, in his additions to For- dun, is evidently in an error when he states that Baliol underwent his pen- ance and made his resignation at Mon- •trose. Prynne, Edw. I. pp. 647, 650, 651. Baldred Bisset, the Scottish en- voy at Rome, who was sent there to confute the claims of Edward to the superiority over Scotland, may perhaps have founded his accusation, that Ed- ward had forged the instrument of Baliol's resignation, upon this discre- pancy in the dates. Letter G, page 47. A Diary of the Expedition of Edward in the year 1296, preserved in the Cot- tonian Collection, gives the following account of his progress. It is chiefly valuable from its fixing dates and places, being extremely meagre in de- tail. It is written in old French, and is probably nearly coeval with the events it describes. The corruption of 1 1 find in Mr Chambers's agreeable w ork, entitled "The Picture of Scotland," vol. ii. p. 255, that the tradition of the country affirms trie penance of Baliol to have btjea- performed at Strati kathro. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 3fi7 the Scottish names in it is very great. It lias been published in a valuable Miscellany edited by the Bannatyne Club. 1 On the 28th March 1296, being Wed- nesday in Easter Week, King Edward passed the Tweed and lay in Scotland, At Coldstream Priory. Hatton, or Haudene, March 29, Thurs- day. Friday, being Good-Friday, 30th March. Sack of Berwick. Battle of Dunbar, April 24, 26, 27. Edward marches from Berwick to Cold- ingham, 28th April ; to Dunbar. Haddington, Wednesday, Even of As- cension, May 3. Lauder, Sunday, May 6. Rpkesburgh, Monday, May 7, where Edward remained fourteen days. Jedworth, May 23. Wyel, Thursday, May 24 ; Friday, 25, to Castleton ; Sunday, 27, again to Wyel. Jedworth, Monday, May 28. Eokesburgh, Friday, June 1. Lauder, Monday, June 4. Newbattle, Tuesday, June 5. Edinburgh, Wednesday, June 6. Siege of Edinburgh. Linlithgow, June 14. Stirling, Thursday, June 14. At Out- reard, June 20. Perth, Thursday, J une 21, where he remained three days. Kinclevin, on the Tay, June 25. Cluny, Tuesday, June 26. Abode there till July 1. Entrecoit, Monday, July 2. Forfar, Tuesday, July 3. Fernwell, Friday, July 6. Montrose, Saturday, July 7. Abode till the 10th. Kincardine in the Mearns, Wednesday, July 11. Bervie, Thursday, July 12. Dunn Castle, Friday, July 13. Aberdeen, Saturday, July 14. Kinkell, Friday, July 20. Fyvie, Saturday, July 21. Banff, Sunday, July 22. Invercullen, Monday, July 23. In tents on the river Spey, district of Enzie, Tuesday, July 24. Bepenage, in the county of Moray, Wednesday, July 25. i The Antiquarian Society of London have also printed the Diary, with a learned pre- face by Sir Harris Nicolas, in their Transac- tions. A coincidence of this kind shews that there is a valuable spirit of research at work in both countries. Elgin, Thursday, July 26. Remained for two days. Bothes, Sunday, July 29. Innerkerack, Monday, July 30. Kildrummie, Tuesday, July 31. Kincardine in the Mearns, Thursday, August 2. Brechin, Saturday, August 4. Aberbrothoc, Sunday, August 5. Dundee, Monday, August 6. Baligarnach, the Bedcastle, Tuesday, August 7. St Johnston's, Wednesday, August 8. Abbey of Lindores, Thursday, August 9. Tarried Friday. St Andrews, Saturday, August 11. Markinch, Sunday, August 12. Dunfermline, Monday, August 13. Stirling, Tuesday, August 14. Tarried Wednesday 15th. Linlithgow, Thursday, August 16. Edinburgh, Friday, August 17. Tarried Saturday 18th. Haddington, Sunday, August 19. Fykelton, near Dunbar, Monday, Au- gust 20. Coldingham, Tuesday, August 21. Berwick, Wednesday, August 22. Having spent twenty-one weeks in his expedition. Letter H, page 55. Lord Hailes observes, p. 253, vol. i., that "Buchanan, following Blind Harry, reports that the bridge broke down by means of a stratagem of Wal- lace." Buchanan, however, expressly says that the "bridge broke down either by the artifice of the carpenter who had loosened the beams, as our historians assert, or from the weight of the English horse, foot, and machin- ery." Letter I, page 63. Hemingford, vol. i. p. 165, says these compact bodies were in a circular form — " qui quidem circuli Schiltronis vocabantur. " Schiltron seems to denote nothing more than a compact body of men. It is thus used by Barbour in his poem of "The Bruce," where he de- scribes the battle of Bamiockburn — " For Scotsmen that fhem hard essayed, That then were in a schiltrum all." Walsingham, p. 75, affirms that Wal- lace fortified the front of his posi- tion with long s takes driven into the HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. :>58 • ground , and tied together with ropes, so as to form a hedge. I find no men- tion of this in Hemingford; nor in Fordun, Winton, or Trivet. Walsing- ham's account is vague, and unlike truth. He tells us that Edward first commanded the attack to be made by the Welsh, and that they refused ; upon which a certain knight addressed the king in two monkish rhyming verses, in Latin. Hemingford's narrative, on the other hand, which I have chiefly ollowed, is strikingly circumstantial nd interesting. He describes the battle of Stirling as if he had the particulars from eye-witnesses; and Lord Hailes conjectures that this ac- count of the battle of Falkirk was taken from the lips of some who had been present. Letter K, page 64. Trivet, p. 313, says these two reli- gious knights were slain in the beginning of the battle ; but I prefer the autho- rity of Hemingford, p. 165, and Lang- toft, p. 305-6. Lord Hailes, following Mathew of Westminster, p. 431, says that Bryan de Jaye was Master of the Knights Templars in England; but it is certain, from the Rotuli Scotise, 29 Edward I. mm. 12. 11., that he was Master of that. Order in Scotland. We there find, "Brianus de Jaye, Preceptor Militias Templi in Scotia." There is a long note in Hailes upon the battle of Falkirk, Annals, vol. i. p. 262. Its object is to prove that every account of the battle of Falkirk which has been given by Scottish his- torians, from Fordun to Abercromby, is full of misrepresentation, and, on this subject, the English historians are alone to be trusted. In these misre- presentations of the' Scottish historians, he includes the assertion, "that there were disputes between Wallace and the Scottish nobles; that some of these nobles were guilty of treachery in abandoning the public cause ; and that, on the first onset, the Scottish cavalry withdrew, without striking a blow." That there was treachery among the Scottish nobles is, however, satisfac- torily proved by Hemingford, an Eng- lish historian. That the Scottish horse fled without striking a blow, u absque vXlo (jladii ictu" when the battle had just begun, is asserted by the same writer, Hemingford; vet, singular to Bay, this does not appear to Hailes to be anything like treachery. The Scot- tish cavalry were a body of a thousand armed horse, amongst whom were the flower of the Scottish knights and barons : are we to believe that these, from mere timidity, fled, before a lance was put in rest, and upon the first look of the English? But the note is also strikingly inconsistent with this authors own statement at p. 254, where, in giv- ing an account of the feelings of the Scot- tish barons with regard to Wallace, he asserts that ' 1 his elevation wounded their pride; his great services reproached their inactivity in the public cause that it was the language of the nobility, "We will not have this man to rule over us;" and that "the spirit of dis- trust inflamed the passions and per- plexed the counsels of the nation." This was the picture given by this his- torian of the sentiments of the Scottish nobles on 29th March 1298. Yet, when the Scottish historians observe that at the battle of Falkirk, only four months after this, the Scottish nobility were weakened by dissensions, and their army enfeebled by envy of Wallace, the account is deemed wholly in- credible. 1 Letter L, page 65. "Wherfor the Kyng, upon the Maudelyn day, At Fowkyrke fought with Scottes in great array. Where Scottes fled and forty thousand slaine ; And into Fiffes he went, and brent it.clene, And Andrew's toune he wasted then full plain e ; Blackmanshyre and Menteth, as men mene, And on the ford of Tippour, with host I wene, Bothvile, Glasgowe, and to the toune of Are, And so to Lanarke, Lochmaban, and Annand there." — Hardynge's Chronicle, 8vo, London, 1543, fol. clxv. Letter M, page 68. The negotiations between Philip and Edward, in 1297, on the point of in- cluding the kingdom of Scotland under the truce and pacification entered into at Tournay, were unknown to Lord Hailes, as the document which contains so full and explicit an account of them was not published at the time he wrote his history. They throw an important i See Mr Aikman's Translation of Bucha- nan's History, (pages 410, 413, and 416,) for some remarks on Lord Hailes* accounts of the battles of Falkirk and Roslin, and hi& apology for Menteith. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 359 light on the conduct of Comyn, and the higher Scottish nobility, who refused to join "Wallace in his resistance to Ed- ward ; as they prove that one motive for their refusal might be the hope that Philip's representations would in- duce Edward to include them and their country in the articles of truce, and in the subsequent treaty of peace, of which these articles were understood to be the basis. Even so late as the battle of Falkirk, July 22, 1298, Comyn, who drew off his vassals, and took no part in the day, might have indulged some hope that Philip's mediation, and the representations of the Pope, would suc- ceed in restoring peace to Scotland, and thus save his own lands, and the estates of the Scottish nobles. For Edward did not give his final answer, by which he totally excluded Scotland, and all its subjects, from the articles of truce and pacification, till the 19th August 1298, (Rymer, vol. i. new edit. p. 898,) when he was in camp at Edinburgh. At the same time, although these nego- tiations give some explanation of the motives which might have influenced the nobles of Scotland in refusing to act with "Wallace, they afford no excuse for their weak and selfish conduct. Letter N, page 75. This account of the battle of Roslin is taken from the English historians, Hemingford, Trivet, and Langtoft, and from our two most valuable and authen- tic Scottish historians, Winton and Fordun. Lord Hailes, who generally follows the English historians, has given a description of the battle in the shape of a critical note. He appears not to have consulted, when he composed his text, the curious and minute account given by Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 319, al- though he afterwards quotes him in the corrections and additions. So far from attempting to throw any veil over the events of the day, Langtoft is open and candid as to the entire defeat of the English. The same historian has fallen into a mistake, when he states the fact, ia saying that Segrave, instead of fall- ing back, rashly advanced and attacked the Scots. Segrave was surprised and attacked in his encampment by the Scots ; and so complete was the sur- prise, that his son and brother were taken in bed. As to the ridiculous story of Sir Robert Neville miraculously retrieving the day, and the invulnerable qualities conferred on those present at mass, it is a monkish tale, utterly un- worthy of belief, as Langtoft informs us that Neville was slain. There is some inconsistency in the manner in which this historian has recounted the battle of Roslin. He was aware, he tells us, that the English historians, whom he follows, gave a partial ac- count ; yet this account he incorporates into his text. He has brought no well- grounded argument against the narrative of Winton and Fordun, which is sup- ported by the English historian, Lang - toft ; yet he insinuates that the Scottish historians may have exaggerated the successes of the Scottish army at Roslin ; and with this affectation of superiority to national prejudice, he quietly passes them over. Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 153, says, quoting "Walsingham and the Chron. Abingdonense, that Wallace headed the Scots in this battle ; but I find no authority in the Scottish writers for such an assertion. Letter O, page 77. The fortalice at Lochindorb is thus described by Mr Lewis Grant, in his Account of the Parish of Cromdale : — " A thick wall of mason work, twenty feet high even at this period, and sup- posed to have been much higher, sur- rounds an acre of land within the loch, with watch-towers at every corner, all entire. The entrance to this place is a gate built of freestone, which has a grandeur in it easier felt than expressed. Several vestiges of houses are found within the walls, besides those of a church, which, without difficulty, can still be traced in the ruins. Great rafts, or planks of oak, by the beating of the waters against the old walls, occasionally make their appearance. Tradition says, and some credit is due to the report, that the particular account of this build- ing was lost in the days of King Edward the First of England. " Had the worthy clergyman who wrote this studied the history of Scotland in Fordun, infinitely the most valuable of all our historians, he would there have found that Edward, " in propria persona ad Lochindorb per- venit, et ibidem aliquamdiu moram faciens, partes boreales ad pacem cepit." It is very delightful to find tradition thus throwing its shadowy reflection upon history, and history its clear and certain light upon tradition. 360 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND Letter P, page 77. Kildrummie, of which there are still considerable remains, will be found described in Stat. Account, vol. xviii. p. 416. — Edward's progress, as ascer- tained by dates and authentic instru- ments in Eymer and Prynne, was as follows : — Newcastle, 7th May. — Prynne, p. 1016. Morpeth, 9th May. — Prynne, pp. 1015, 1016. Rokesburgh, 21st May. — Prynne, p. 1017. Fdinburgh, 4th June. LinUthgow, 6th June. — Rymer, vol. ii. old edit. p. .931. Perth, 10th June. — Rymer, vol. ii. p. 934. Clackmannan, ] 2th June. Perth again, 28th June. — Prynne, p. 1016. Same town, 10th July. — Prynne, p. 1009. Kincardine, 17th August. — Prynne, p. 1012. Aberdeen, 24th August. Banff, 4th September. — Prynne, p. 1021. Kinloss, in Moray, 20th September. Kildrummie, 8th October. — Prynne j p. 1017. Kinloss again, 10th October. Dundee, 20th October. —Prynne, 'p. 1015. Cambuskynel, 1st November. — Prynne, p. 1022. Kinross, 10th November. Dunfermline, 11th December. Letter Q, page 78. Lord Hailes observes, vol. i. p. 276, that " the Scots fondly imagined that Edward would attempt to force the passage, as the impetuous Cressingham had attempted in circumstances not dissimilar; but," he adds, "the pru- dence of Edward frustrated their ex- pectation ; having discovered a ford at some distance, he passed the river at the head of his whole cavalry." This is quite erroneous ; and Trivet, p. 337, whom he quotes on the margin as his authority, says something very differ- ent. He tells us, that Edward did attend to pass the river by the bridge, which, on his arrival, he found had been already destroyed by the Scots, that all passage thereby might be cut off. Baulked in his expectation, " Edward pitched his tents and prepared for din- ner, when John Comyn approached on i the opposite bank with the whole power of the Scots ; upon whose appearance the English army, seizing their arms, mounted their horses, and with th-se the king himself, entering the river, found, by the direction of the Lord, a ford for himself and his soldiers. " Edward, therefore, whose prudence Lord Hailes commends,, because he did not imitate the impetuous Cressingham, had actually intended to follow his example, and pass the river by the bridge ; and the Scots, whom he repre- sents as fondly imagining he would do so, evidently entertained no such idea, because they burnt the bridge to pre- vent him from passing the river. Letter R, page 78. Much as I respect the ability of Dr Lingard, I cannot altogether acquit him of prejudice in his narrative of Scottish affairs. Speaking, p. 328, vol. iii., of the conditions offered by Edward to Comyn, the Bishop of Glasgow, Sir Simon Eraser, and the rest, he adds,-*- " When the rest of his countrymen made their peace with England, his (that is, Wallace's) interests were not forgotten. It was agreed, that he also might put himself on the pleasure and grace of the king, if he thought pro- per ;" and he adds this note — "Et quant a Monsieur Guilliam de Galeys est accorde qu'il se mette en la volunte, et en la grace notre le Seigneur le Eoi, si lui semble que bon soit." Lord Hailes " thinks it doubtful whether the words ' si lui semble ' refer to Wal- lace or the king; but they evidently refer to Wallace. The offer is made in the same manner to the Bishop of Glas- gow, the Steward, &c. , 1 si lour semble que bon soit.' " By these expressions of the historian, the reader might be led to believe that Edward's conduct to his Scottish rebels was not ungene- rous or harsh ; and that to Wallace, the same, or nearly the same, terms were offered as to the rest of his countrymen. This is the impression made by the words, " it was agreed that he also," and by the observation, "the offer is made in the same manner." But it is proved by a state paper pub- j lished in Prynne's Edward the First, ) pp. 1119, 1120, that to Comyn, the! Bishop of Glasgow, Sir Simon Fraser, \ and the rest, Edward expressly stipu- lated, " that their life and limbs should be safe — that they should not suffer NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 361 punishment or lose their estates — and that the ransom they should pay, and the fines to be levied on them for their misdemeanours, should be referred by them to the good pleasure of the king. " This last condition related only to Comyn, and those who surrendered themselves along with him. Wishart the Bishop of Glasgow, Sir Simon Fraser, James the Steward of Scotland, John Soulis, and a few others, were promised security for life and limb, freedom from imprisonment, and that they should not lose their lands ; but, according to their degrees of guilt in Edward's mind, a fine of more or less extent, and a banishment for a longer or shorter time, was inflicted on them ; which conditions they were to accept, no doubt, " if to them seemed proper ; * " si lour semble que bon soit" Ajid what, by the same authentic deed, was promised to Wallace ? The terms were, an unconditional surrender of himself to the will and mercy of the king, terms which every man knows were almost equivalent to a declaration, that he was doomed to be executed the moment he was taken ; and yet Dr Lingard gravely tells us, "Wallace's interests were not forgotten. " Had he turned to Langtof t, p. 324, he would have found, that Wal- lace did, like the rest, propose to sur- render himself, on the assurance of safety in life, limbs, and estate ; but that Edward cursed him by the fiend for a traitor, and set a price of three hundred marks on his head. This was an attention to his interests with which, we may presume, he would willingly have dispensed. Letter S, page 8L The best, and evidently the most authentic, accounts of this memorable siege, are to be found in Langtoft's Chronicle, in Hemingford, Trivet, and Walsingham. Math. Westminster, in his turgid work, entitled " The Flowers of History," has given us a lengthy nar- rative, interwoven with speeches of his own composition, which he puts into the mouth of Edward. The last scene of the surrender of Olifant is in King Cambyses' vein; but there is a great want of keeping in MatheVs composi- tion. Edward, on receiving the sup- pliants, and hearing their appeal to his mercy, tells them it is his pleasure that they should be hanged and quartered ; after which he burst into tears. The names of the leaders in this defence of Stirling are preserved in Rymer. They are the following : — Domini Willielmus Olyfard, Willielmus de Dupplyn, milites, Fergus de Ardrossan, Robinus de Ardrossan, frater ejus, Willielmus de Ramseya, Hugo de Ramseya, Radulfus de Haleburton, Thomas de Knellhulle, Thomas Lellay, Patricius de Polleworche, Hugo Olyfard, Walterus Olyfard, Willielmus Gyffard, Alanus de Vypont, Andreas Wychard, Godefridus le Botiller, Johannes le Naper, Willielmus le Scherere, Hugo le Botiller, Joannes de Kulgas, Willielmus de Anant, Robertus de Ranfru, Walterus Taylleu, Simon Larmerer, Frater Willielmus de Keth ordinis Sancti Dominici Praedicato rum, Frater Petrus de Edereston de domo de Kelsou ordinis Sancti Benedicti. — Rymer, Fcedera, new edit. p. 966. The capitulation is dated July 24, 1304. Letteh T, page 82. The fact, that Wallace's four quarters were sent to different parts of Scotland and England, is mentioned by most ancient historians ; but I find the notice of the towns to which they were sent i in the MS. Chron. of Lanercost, a valu- \ able historical relic preserved in the I library of the British Museum, (Cotton / Library, Claudian D. vii. Art. 13), 1 some extracts from which were com- municated by Mr Ellis to Dr Jamieson. See Preliminary Remarks to Wallace, p. 12. This is the passage — " Captus fuit Willelmus Waleis per unum Scot- turn, scilicet per Dominum Johannem de Mentiphe, et usque London ad Regem adductus, et adjudicatum fuit quod traheretur, et suspenderetur, et decol- laretur, et membratim divideretur, et quod viscera ejus comburerentur, quod i Since printed by the Maitland Club, and one of their most valuable works. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 362 factum est; et suspensum est caput ejus super pontem London, annus autem dexter super ponfcenTNovi Castri super Tynam, et armus sinister apud Berwicum, pes autem dexter apud villain Sancti Johannes, et pes sinister apud Aberdene." — Fol. 211. See also "Illustrations of Scottish History, " p. 54, edited by Joseph Stevenson, Esq. , a valuable work presented to the Maitland Club, by Mr Steven of Polmadie. Letter U, page 83. Lord Hailes was fond of displaying his ingenuity in whitewashing dubious characters ; and his note upon Sir John Menteith is an instance of this. He represents the fact, that his friend Menteith betrayed "Wallace to the Eng- lish, as founded upon popular tradition, and the romance of Blind Harry, Wal- lace's rhyming biographer ; whom, he dds, every historian copies, but none but Sir Robert Sibbald ventures to quote ; and, in his Corrections and Additions, he observes, that "his Apology for Menteith lias been received with wonderful disapprobation by many readers, because it contradicts vulgar traditions, and that most respectable authority, Blind Harry. " In reply to this it may be observed, that the fact of Wallace being betrayed and taken by Sir John Menteith is cor- roborated by a mass of ancient his- torical authority, both from English and Scottish writers, superior to what perhaps could be brought for most other events in our history; and that as these writers lived long before Blind Harry, he may have copied from them, but it is impossible they could have copied from him. I shall shortly give' the English and Scottish authorities for the fact, and leave the reader to make his own inferences. We have already seen, from the last note, that the Chronicle of Lanercost Priory, a valuable MS. of the thirteenth century, preserved in the British Museum, Claudian D. vii. 13, and now printed by the Maitland Club, has this passage : — • " Captus fuit Willelmus Waleis per unum Scottum, scilicet per Dominum Johannem de Mentiphe, et usque London ad Regem adductus, et adjudicatum fuit quod traheretur, et suspenderetur, et decollaretur." 1 We cannot be surprised that Lord Hailes should have been ignorant of this pas- 1 Chronicle of Lanercost, p. 203. sage, as he tells us, Annals, vol. ii. p. 316. he had not been able to discover where the MS. Chronicle of Lanercost was preserved. The next piece of evidence, of Men- teith's having seized Wallace, is con- tained in Leland's extract from an ancient MS. chronicle, which Hailes has elsewhere quoted. I mean the Scala Chronicle, preserved in Corpus Christi Library, Cambridge. 2 Li Le- land's Collect, vol. i. p. 541, we have this passage from the Chronicle : — " Wylliam Waleys ims taken of the Counte of Menteth about GlasJcow, and sent to King Edward, and after was hangid, drawn, and quarterid at Lon- don." This is Leland's translation of the passage, which in all probability is much more full and satisfactory in the original. Yet it is quite satisfactory as to Menteith's guilt. The next English authority is Lang- toft's Chronicle, which Hailes has himself quoted in his Notes and Cor- rections, vol. ii. p. 346. It is curious, and, as to Menteith's guilt, perfectly conclusive : — "Sir Jon of Menetest sewed William so nehi, He took him when he wend lest, on nyght his leman bi ; That was thorght treson of Jak Schort his man ; He was the encheson, that Sir Jon so him nam." — P. 329. We learn from this, that Sir John Menteith prevailed upon Wallace's servant, Jack Short, to betray his master; and came, under cover of night, and seized him in bed, "his leman by," and when he had no sus- picion of what was to happen. How Hailes, after quoting this passage, which was written more than two cen- turies before Blind Harry, should have represented this poor minstrel as the only original authority for the guilt of Menteith, is indeed difficult to deter- mine. Fordun, who must have been born in the earlier part of the reign of Robert the First, received materials for his history from Wardlaw, bishop of Glas- gow. This prelate died in 1386. Say that Fordun concluded his history in 1376, ten years before Wardlaw's death, it will follow that it was ninety-four years before the poem of Blind Harry, the date of whose poem is somewhere 2 Since this printed by the Maitland Club. The passage will te found at p. 126. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 363 about 1470. Let us hear how he speaks of the death of Wallace : — "Anno Domini M.CCCV., Willel- mus Wallace per Johannem de Mentetk fraudulenter et prodicionaliter capitur, Kegi Anglian traditur, Londouiis de- membratur." — Vol. iv. p. 996. Winton, against whose credit as a historical authority Hailes could not possibly have objected, finished his chronicle in 1418, fifty-two years before Blind Harry's poem was written. Yet Winton thus speaks of the capture of "Wallace, vol. ii. p. 130 : — M A thousand thre hundyr and the fyft yere Efter the byrth of our Lord dere, Schyre Jon of Mentetli in tlia dayis Tuk in Glasco Willame Walays." And the chapter where this is men- tioned is entitled — " Quhen Jhon of Mentetli in his dayis, Dissawit gud Willanie Walays. :; Bower, the conUnuator of Fordun, and who possessed his manuscripts, was born in 1385, and is generally believed to have published his continuation about 1447, sixty-two years before Blind Harry's poem. He preserves, however, the very words of his master Fordun, as to the guilt of Menteith, and afterwards refers to him in some additions of his own, as the acknow- ledged traitor who had seized Wallace. Vol. ii. pp. 229, 243. With these authors — Fordun, Win- ton, and Bower — Lord Hailes was in- timately acquainted. He has, indeed, quoted the last of them, Bower, on the margin. He must have known that they were dead before the author of the Metrical Romance of Wallace was born. Annals, vol. i. p. 281. And yet he labours to persuade the reader that the tale of Wallace's capture by Menteith rests on the single and re- spectable authority of Blind Harry! He has also remarked, that he has yet to learn that Menteith had ever any intercourse or friendship and familiarity with Wallace. Whether there was any friendship or familiarity between Men- teith and Wallace is not easily dis- covered, and is of little consequence ; yet that Menteith acted in consort with Wallace, and must therefore have had intercourse with him, is proved by the following passage from Bower, pre- served in the Belationes Arnaldi Blair : — " In hoc ipso anno (1298) viz. 28 die mensis Augusti, Dominus Wallas Scotia? custos, cum Johanne Grahame, et Johanne de Menteith, militibus necnon. Alexandre. Scrymgeour, Constabulario villa; de Dundee et vexillario Scotia;, cum quinquagentis militibus armatis, rebelles Gallovidienses punierunt, qui Begis Angliae et Cuminorum partibus sine aliquo jure steterunt." 1 Having given these authorities, all of them prior to Blind Harry, it is un- necessary to give the testimony of the more modern writers. The ancient writers prove incontestably, that Sir John de Menteith, a Scottish baron, who had served along with and under Wallace against the English, deserted. his country, swore homage to Edward, and employed a servant of Wallace to betray his master into his hands ; that he seized him in bed, and delivered him to Edward, by whom he was instantly tried, condemned, and hanged. Yet all these circumstances are omitted by Lord Hailes, who appears surprised that vulgar tradition should continue from century to century to execrate the memory of such a man. Dr Lingard, in his History of Eng- land, vol. iii. pp. 328, 329. has attempt- ed to diminish the reputation of Wal- lace. He remarks, that he suspects he owes his celebrity as much to his execu- tion as to his exploits ; that of all the Scottish chieftains who deserved and experienced the enmity of Edward, he alone perished on the gallows ; and that on this account his fate monopolised the sympathy of his countrymen, who revered him as the martyr of their in- dependence ; he represents the accounts of his strength, gallantry, and patriotic efforts, as given by Scottish writers who lived a century or two after his death, and who therefore were of no credible authority; and he concludes with an eulogy on the clemency of Edward, who did not forget the interests of Wallace when the rest of his countrymen made their peace with England. These ob- servations will not bear examination ; for, first, it is a mistake to say, that of all the Scottish chieftains who deserved Edward's enmity, Wallace was the only one who perished on the gallows. Sir Nigel Bruce, Sir Christopher Seton, John Seton, the Earl of At hole, Sir Simon Fraser, Sir Herbert de Morham, Thomas Boys, Sir David Inchmartin.'- 1 Dr Jamieson. in his Notes on Wallace, p. 403, has ably combated the scepticism cf Hailes as to Menteith. The above passage is quoted from the Relationes Arnaldi Blair, I and seems to have been a part of Bower's additions to Fordun. 2 See sunra. du. 94-97 364 HISTORY OF Sir John de Somerville, Sir Thomas and Sir Alexander Bruce, both brothers of the king, and Sir Reginald Crawfurd, were all hanged by Edward's orders in the course of the year 1306, within a year of the execution of Wallace. So utterly untenable is the ground on which Dr Lingard has founded his con- jecture, that Wallace owes his celebrity ki to his execution." His next remark is equally unfortu- nate. The writers who have given us an account of the exploits of Wallace, did not live, as he imagines, a century or two after his death. John de Fordun, whom the historian, in his note on p. 328, includes amongst these writers, was born, as we have said, early in the reign of King Robert Bruce. He certainly received materials for his history from Bishop Wardlaw, who died in 1386. If we suppose that he began his history thirty years before, and that he was thirty years old when he commenced writing, this will give us 1326 for the year of his birth. So that Fordun was born twenty-one years after Wallace's execution. Even in the most favourable possible way in which the calculation can be taken, Fordun wrote his history only eighty-one years after Waiiace's execution ; and taking fifty as the aver- age life, it will follow he was born only thirty-one years after that event. Win- ton finished his history in 1418. He was born probably not more than fifty or sixty years after Wallace's death, and might have received his information from old men who had known him. As to Dr Lingard's praise of the clemency of Edward towards Wallace, the unsubstantial grounds on which it is founded have been already noticed ; 1 but I cannot help remarking, that this historian's whole account of Wallace does little justice to this great man. He begins by throwing a doubt over his early history. " Historians conjecture," he says, "that Wallace was born at Paisley, and they assert that his hos- tility to the English originated more in the necessity of self-preservation than the love of his country. He had com- mitted a murder, and fled from the pursuit of justice to the woods." Such* may be the vague assertion of the Eng- lish historians ; but Bower, an excellent authority, intimates a contrary opinion. Ke asserts that Wallace's hostility to the English arose from his despair at beholding the oppression of his relations i Page 360, letter R. SCOTLAND. and countrymen, and the servitude and misery to which they were subjected. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 169. He next observes, that after the sur- prise of Ormesby the Justiciary, by Wal- lace and Douglas, other independent chieftains arose in different counties, who massacred the English, and com- pelled their own countrymen to fight under their standards. These other independent chieftains are unknown to the contemporary historians, English or Scottish. But they do not appear upon the stage without a use. On the contrary, they first multiply, like Fal- staff's men in buckram, " into numer- ous parties," and then act a principal part in the next sentence ; for the historian goes on to observe, ' 4 that the origin and progress of these numerous parties had been viewed with secret satisfaction by the Steward of. Scotland and Wishart the Bishop of Glasgow, who determined to collect them into one body, and to give their efforts one common direction. Declaring them- selves the assertors of Scottish indepen- dence, they invited the different leaders to rally around them ; and the summons was obeyed by Wallace and Douglas, by Sir Alexander Lindsay. Sir Andrew Moray, and Sir Richard Lundy." — Vol. iii. p. 305. This last sentence has not, as far as I can discover, a shadow of historical authority to support it. The numerous independent parties and chief- tains who rose in different counties ; the secret satisfaction with which they were contemplated by the Bishop of Glasgow and the High Steward ; their determin- ation to collect them into one body, and to give them one common direction ; their declaring themselves the assertors of Scottish independence ; their sum- mons to the different leaders to rally round them, and the prompt obedience of this summons by Wallace, Douglas, and the rest — are not facts,, but the vivid imaginations of the historian : and the impression they leave on the mind of the reader appears to me to be one totally different from the truth. The Steward and the Bishop of Glasgow are the patriot chiefs under whom Douglas and Wallace, and many other indepen- dent chieftains, consent to act for the recovery of Scottish freedom, and Wal- lace sinks down into the humble par- tisan, whose talents are directed by their superior authority and wisdom. Now, the fact was just the reverse of this. The Steward and Wishart, encouraged NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 365 by the successes of Wallace and Douglas, joined their party, and acted along with them in their attempt to free Scotland ; but neither Fordun nor Winton nor Bower give us the slightest ground to think that they acted a principal part, or anything like a principal part, in organising the first rising against Ed- ward. On the contrary, these historians, along with Trivet and Walsingham, Tyrrel and Carte, ascribe the rising to Wallace alone, whose early success first caused him to be joined by Douglas, and afterwards by the Bishop and the Steward, along with Lindsay, Moray, and Lundy. Indeed, instead of playing the part ascribed to- them by Dr Lin- gard, the patriotism of the Steward and the Bishop was of that lukewarm and short-lived kind which little deserves the name. It did not outlive eight weeks, and they seized the first oppor- tunity to desert Wallace and the cause of freedom. The attack upon Ormesby the Justiciary took place some time in May 1297 ; and on the 9th of July of the same year did Bishop Wishart nego- tiate the treaty of Irvine, by which he and the other Scottish barons, with the single exception of Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell, submitted to Edward. The historian's other hero, the High Steward, who is brought in to divide the glory with Wallace, was actually in the English service at the battle of Stirling; and although he secretly favoured the Scottish cause, he did not openly join with his countrymen till he saw the entire destruction of Surrey's army. I may remark in con- cluding this note, that the idea of an attack upon Wallace, and an eulogy of the clemency of Edward, was perhaps suggested by Carte, vol. ii. p. 290 ; but his clumsy and absurd argument is dis- carded, and a more ingenious hypothesis is substituted in its place. On reading over Hemingford again, I find one ex- pression which may perhaps have had some weigbt with Dr Lingard. This historian says, speaking of Bruce, p. 120, that he joined the Bishop of Glas- gow and the Steward, 44 qui tocius mali fabricatores exstiterant. " Yet this is inconsistent with his own account in p. 118, and is not corroborated, as far as I know, by any other historian. The reader will find some additional re- marks in vindication of Menteith in my friend Mr Napier's excellent Life of his great ancestor, the inventor of the Logarithms, pp. 527-534. Letter V, page 89. A MS. in the Cottonian, Vitell. A xx, entitled " Historia Anglise a Bruto ad ann. 1348," has this passage : — " Anno 1306, Kal. Feb. Eobertus de Brus ad regnum Scotise aspirans, nobilem virum, J. de Comyn, quod see proditioni noluit assentire, in Ecclesia fratrum minorum de Dumfres interfecit ; et in festo an- nuntiationis Virginis, gloriose in Ecclesia Canonicorum regularium de Scone, -per Comitissam de Bohan, se fecit in regem Scotise solemniter coronari. Nam ger- manus predicte comitisse, cui hoc offici- um jure hereditario competebat, tunc absens in Anglia morabatur. Hanc Comitissam eodem anno Angli ceperunt, et in quadam domuncula lignea super murum Castri Berwyki posuerunt, ut earn possent conspicere transeuntes. " The original order of Edward for the imprisonment of the Countess of Buchan is to be found in Bymer, Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 1014. Lord Hailes treats the tale of the Countess of Buchan's criminal passion for Bruce with ridicule. If, however, we admit the fact, that the Countess of Buchan, whose brother was in the English interest, and whose hus- band, according to Hemingford, vol. i. p. 221, was so enraged that he sought to kill her for her treason, did, alone and unaccompanied, repair to Scone, and there crown Bruce, it seems to give some countenance to the story of her enter- taining a passion for the king. The circumstance that nothing of this second coronation is to be found in the Scottish historians, Barbour, Winton, or Fordun „ rather confirms than weakens the sus- picion. Letter W, page 94. " Hanc autem Comitissam eodem an- no ab Anglicis captam cum quidam peri- mere voluissent, non permisit rex, sed in domuncula quadam lignea super murum Castri Berewici posita est, ut possent earn transeuntes conspicere." — Trivet, p. 342. Lord Hailes, vol. ii. p. 10, has given an elaborate note to prove the impossibility of there being any truth in Math. Westminster's assertion, p. 455, "that the countess was in open day suspended at Berwick in a stone and iron chamber, formed like a crown, as a gaze to all passengers." He quotes the order preserved in the Fcedera, vol. ii. p. 1014, and then observes, that it is incon- 366 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. sistent with the story related by Math. Westminster. I confess that I can see no such inconsistency ; on the contrary, the one seems completely to corroborate the other. The place of confinement, as described^ in the express words of Edward, isr'to be a cage constructed v&-~ them were murderers. I know not on one of the turrets of the castle of Bemvick, • What authority he uses the plural " some latticed with wood, cross-barred, and - of them." Sir Christopher de Seton, be supported by pretty plausible evi- dence. Letter Y. page 96. Dr Lingard observes that some of secured with iron, in which the Cham berlain of Scotland, or his deputv, shall put the Countess of Buchan.^> Lord Hailes observes, that "to those who have no notion of any cage but one for a parrot, or a squirrel, hung out at a window, he despairs of rendering this mandate intelligible ." I know not what called forth this querulous remark ; but any one who has observed the turrets of the ancient Scottish castles, which hung like cages, on the outside of the walls, and within one of which the countess's cage was to be constructed, will be at no loss to understand the tyrannical directions of Edward, and the passage of Mathew Westminster. It is worthy of observation, that, in his text, Lord Hailes has wholly omitted to notice the severity of Edward the First to the Countess of Buchan, simply stating, that she was committed to close confine- ment in England, and characterising Edward's orders as being ridiculously minute. Dr Lingard, vol. iii. p. 377, softens the severity of Edward by a sup- position, which appears to me to be in- consistent with the tone and spirit of Edward's order. Letter X, page 95. We know by the evidence of a remis- sion under the Great Seal, communicated by Mr Thomson, the Deputy-Clerk Re- gister, to Dr Jamieson, that the delivery of Sir Christopher Seton to the English was imputed to Sir Gilbert de Carrick, but, upon investigation, not altogether justly, " minus juste ut verius intellexi- mus ; 99 and the same remission proves that the castle of Lochdon was, by the same knight, Sir Gilbert de Carrick, de- liverd into the hands of the English. Mr Thomson considers the remission as shewing for certain that Sir Christopher had taken refuge in the castle of Loch- don, of which Sir Gilbert de Carrick was hereditary keeper; but this is rather a strong inference than a certainty. The conjecture of the Statistical Account, vol. xi. No. 4. Parish of Urr, in favour of the castle of Loch Urr, seems to indeed, is represented by Hemingford, p. 219, as having slain Comyn's brother, Sir Robert; and Trivet, p. 345, points to the same thing in the sentence, " usque Dumfries ubi quendam militem de parte Regis occiderat;" but the his- torians, Barbour and Fordun, say no- thing of it ; a&d I suspect that all that can be proved against Seton, is the being present with IJpbert Bruce when he stabbed ComynJ Indeed, one MS. of Trivet says, thax Seton was condemned on account of a murder committed in a church with his consent. See Trivet, p. 345, and the various readings at the bottom. As to the others, I am not aware of a single act of murder which can be brought against them, on the authority either of English or of Scot- tish historians. The fealty sworn to Edward was extorted from them either by fetters, imprisonment, confiscation, or the fear of death. Letter Z, page 106. Lord Hailes has been misled by Rymer, who has erroneously placed a deed en- titled " Gilbertus Comes Gloucestrie Capitaneus pro Expeditione Scotise," on the 3d December 1309, instead of 1308. He conjectures that the siege was raised. We may, perhaps, infer the contrary, from the orders issued by Edward, on the 12th of May 1309, to most parts of England, and to Ireland also, to provide corn, malt, peas, beans, and wine, for his various castles, in Scotland, and in the enumeration of these, Rutherglen is not included. The castles mentioned are, Berwick, Roxburgh, Stirling, Edin- burgh, Banff, Perth, Dundee, Dumfries, Caerlaverock, and Ayr. Rotuli Scotiae, m. x. p. 63. Forfar is also mentioned, in a document dated 3d December 1308, as being at the time in possession of the English. Letters AA, page 114. Hume has mistaken the numbers of the English army who fought at Ban- nockburn, and has been corrected by NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 367 Hailes, vol. i. p. 41. Dr Lingard has remarked, that it is impossible to ascer- tain the exact numbers of Edward's army. He says the most powerful earls did not attend ; but he has omitted the fact, that although they did not come in person, they sent their knights to lead their vassals into the field, and perform their wonted services. We may infer from the mention, in the English histo- rians, of the absence of the Earls of Warwick, Surrey, Arundel, and Lan- caster, that if any of the other barons or counties had neglected to send their powers, they would have noted the cir- cumstance. The number given by Tyr- rel, vol. iii. p. 260, is a hundred thou- sand men ; and it is probable that this is rather under than above the fact. Letters BB, page 158. The leonine verses, called Bruce's tes- tament, are as follow : — "Scotica sit guerra pedites, mons, mossica terra: Silvse promuris sint, arcus et hasta, securis. Per loca stricta greges munientur. Plana per ignes • Sic inflammentur, utabhostibus evacuentur. Insidiae vigiles sint, noctu vociferantes. Sic maie turbati redient velut ense fugati Hostes pro certo; Sic Rege docente Roberto." I add the Scottish version from Hearne : — ' On fut suld be all Scottis weire, Be hyll and moss thaimself to weire, Lat wood for wallis be ; bow. and spier, And battle-axe, their fechting gear. 1 That ennymeis do thaim na dreire, In strait placis gar keip all s'toire, And birnen the planen land thaim befoire, Thanan sail they pass away in haist Quhen that thai fiDd nathing bot waist ; With wylles and wakenen of the nycht And mekil noyse maid on hycht; Thanen shall thai turnen with gret affrai As thai were chasit with swerd away. This is the counsall and intent Of gud King Robert's testament." Letters CC, pages 161 and 239. In the present volume, the reader will find many references to the Ac- counts of the Great. Chamberlains of Scotland. Two large quarto volumes of these accounts, which contain all that is yet printed, were politely communi- cated to me by Mr Thomson, the pre- i In the translation of "securis," I have adopted Ridpath's conjecture, Border History, p. 290. sent Clerk Register, to whose learning and enthusiasm the legal antiquities of the country are under deep obliga- tions. Neither of these volumes has as yet been published, as the Preface and Appendix to be subjoined to each is not yet printed; but when completed, the work will be one of the most valuable which has ever been presented to the student of the history and antiquities of his country. The accounts, indeed, are written in Latin, and, from the innu- merable contractions, present them- selves in a shape somewhat repulsive to the general reader ; but they contain a mass of information upon the state of ancient Scotland, its early agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and upon the manners and habits of the people, which is in a high degree interesting and im- portant. From the extreme minute- ness of the details, and the perfect au- thenticity of the records, there is a freshness and a truth in the pictures which they present, nowhere else to be met with. As a corroboration of this remark, let us take the following speci- men from the Compotum Constabularii de Cardross, vol. i. pp. 37, 38, 40, 41. 30th July 1329 :— "Item computat in empcione 2 celd- rarum frumenti 53 sh. 4 d. Et in emp- cione 40 celdrarum farina} 40 lib. boll pro 15 d. Et in empcione 130 celd. et 8 boll, ordei, et brasei ordei, secundum quod computans declarabit 166 lib. 11 solidi; videlicet 40 celdr. pro 40 lib. celdr. pro 20 solidis et 40 celdr. pro 44 lib. celdr. pro 22 solidis et 40 celdr. pro 4(f lib. celdr. pro 23 solidis et 30 celdr. pro 36 lib. celdr. pro 24 solidis et 8 boll pro 11 solidis " Item in empcione 77 martorum, 32 lib. In 7 martis emptis, 56 solidi Et in empcione 20 martorum pro pastu, 100 solidi. Et pro 5 multonibus emptis, 7 solidi et 6 denarii. . . . Et in 36 salmonibus salsis empt. 18 solidi. . . . " Item pro uno reti empto pro piscibus majoribus et minoribus capiundis, 40 solidi. Item pro maremio empto pro scaffaldis faciendis pro opera novae ca- merae, 3 solidi. " Item in 6 petros crete empt. pro pic- tura .nove Camerae apud Cardross, 3 solidi. Et in 10 lib. stanni pro clavis ad reparacionem ipsius Camerae deal- bandis et pro vitreo opere fenestraruni ejusdem, 3 solidi et 4 denarii. Et pro 30 ponderibus bosci ad comburendum pro negociis operis vitrei dictae camerae, 2 solidi et 6 denarii. Item pro 1 celdr. 368 HISTORY OF calcis albe empta pro dealbacione dictae camerse, 8 solidi " Item computat pro fabricatione 80 petrarum ferri pro navibus Domini Re- gis et Comitis Moravise, ac pro aliis ne- gociis manerii de Cardross, 26 solidi et 8 denarii, videlicet pro qualibus petra- rum 4 denarii. Item, levantibus mala Domini Regis per tres vices, 3 solidi. Item, pro duccione magna? navis Do- mini Regis ab aqua in rivulum juxta manerium, ac pro actiliis ipsius navis cariatis, et portatis in manerium de Cardross, 3 solidi. Item, pro 200 plaus- tratis petarum in sestate anni 11328, 4 lib. Item, in 200 plaustratis petarum, in omnibus custibus factis circa cariagium earundem usque ad Cardross in anno 1329, 4 lib Item pro custodia 61 martorum interf ectorum ut patet in- ferius per tres septimanas, 12 denarii. Item pro interfectione eorundem, 5 solidi. Item in portagio carcosiorum eorundem in lardarium, 12 denarii. . . . . Item Idem computat pro con- struccione unius porte juxta novam Cameram apud Cardross, 6 denarii. Item pro emendacione et tectura domus cujusdam pro falconibus ibidem cum construccione cujusdam sepis circa ip- 6am domum, 2 solidi. " Item in construccione cujusdam do- mus ad opus Culquhanoruml Domini Regis ibidem, 10 solidi. Item computat Johanni filio Gun pro negociis navium Domini Regis, 6 lib. 13 solidi et 4 de- narii. Item computat 12 hominibus de Dumbar transeuntibus usque le Tar- bart, pro magna nave Domini Regis re- ducenda, 28 solidi. Item in expensis hominum transeuncium cum Patricio stulto veniente de AngHa usque le Tar- bart, 18 denarii." Even within the small limits of this extract, it will be seen that much curi- ous and interesting information is to be found. The prices of grain, and the quantities furnished for the consump- tion of the royal household at Cardross, (it will be recollected that Robert Bruce spent there the two last years of his life, 1328, 1329;) the prices of the pro- visions for the larder, which consisted of marts, sheep, salted salmon, and numer- ous other articles not in this extract, enable us to form a pretty correct idea of the mode of living at this time. From i An obscure word which occurs nowhere else — conjectured by a learned friend to be " keepers of the dogs," from the Gaelic root, Gillen-au-con— abbreviated, Gillecon, Culqu- houn. 1 SCOTLAND. the next passage, we are not only able to glean some information as to the state of the necessary and ornamental arts, but we obtain, at the same time, an interesting view of the occupations of this great king during the last year of his life. "We see him and his illus- trious nephew, Randolph, employing: their rural leisure in experiments it shipbuilding and navigation, although, the circumstance that one of the king's great ships could be hauled from the firth to the running stream (rivulum) beside the manor of Cardross, gives us a very contemptible idea of the size of these vessels. The house for the king's hawks, and the expenses paid for the journey of Patrick the Fool, from Eng- land to Tarbet, are examples of the entries in these records which throw light on the manners of the times. Of the obscure sentence regarding the house which was constructed " ad opus culqu- hanorum domini regis," I am unable to give any explanation, in addition to the conjecture in the note ; but innumerable other passages might be selected, which would prove the high interest and value of these accounts. The first volume contains 543 pages, and its contents, as described in page 2, are as follows : — " L The Preface to the volume, with an Appendix. 1 4 2. Extracts from a roll of accounts in the reign of Alexander the Third, A.D. MCCLXiii.— mcclxvl, and from a roll of accounts during the Interregnum, A.D. MCCLXXXVin.— mccxc. Erom the ori- ginals, now lost, by Thomas, earl of Haddington, clerk register in the reign of .James the Sixth. 44 3. The accounts of the Great Cham- berlains of Scotland, and of the other officers of the Crown, now remain- ing in his Majesty's General Register House, arranged in the order of time, from the twentieth year of the reign of Robert the Eirst, a.d. mcccxxvt., to the death of David the Second, a.d. mccclxx." The second volume extends to Q>79 pages. Its contents are as follows : — 44 1. Preface to this volume. 44 2. The accounts of the Great Cham- berlains of Scotland, and of the other officers of the Crown, now remaining in his Majesty's General Register House, arranged in the order of time, from the accession of Robert the Second, a.d. mccclxx., io the death of Robert the I Third, A.D. MCCCCVI." NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 3C9 The third volume contains the ac- counts of the Great Chamberlains of Scotland, and some other officers of the kingdom, from 1406 to 1435. Letters DD, p. 164. Death 'of Randolph. Barbour, the metrical historian of Bruce, whose work is of the highest au- thority, informs us that Randolph was poisoned, without adding any particu- lars. • The lave sa weill mantenyt he, And held in pess swa the countre, That it wes nevir or his day Sa weill, as I herd auld men say. Bot syne, allace! pusonyt wes he; To see his dede was gret pite." — Barbour, p. 423. Barbour is generally believed to have been born about 1316, and, according to Lord Hailes' conjecture, was fifteen years old at the period of the death of Randolph. On what grounds are we entitled to set aside such an autho- rity? Winton is supposed, by his able editor, M'Pherson, to have been born about the year 1350, (Preface to Wiriton's Chronicle, p. 19,) only eighteen years after the death of Randolph. He com- posed his Chronicle in his old age, hav- ing commenced it in 1420, and finished it in 1424. (Ibid. p. 22.) His account is as follows : — " Tharefore with slycht thai thoct to gere Him wyth wenenous fell poysown Be destroyid, and fel tresown And that thai browcht swn til endyng Be swn tresownabil wndertakyng ; For at the Wemyss, by the se, Poysoicnyd at a /est toes he." —Vol. ii. p. 146. This is clear and direct testimony also. Let us next turn, not to Fordun, for he omits all mention of the circum- stance 1 of the poisoning, and simply states the death of the Regent, but to his continuator, Bower, who, as we learn from himself, was born fifty -three years after the death of Randolph, 2 in the year 1385. "Et ideo," says he, speakiDg of the designs of the disin- herited barons against Randolph, k< no- vam artem confixerunt, et ut Italici ferunt, bello tradimento verius vili effe- cerunt, ut quidam Anglicus religione corruptus dicto custodi familiaris capel- lanus, sibi venenum in vino propinaret. 1 Fordun a Hearne, p. 1018. 2 Lib. xiv. chap. 1. VOL. I. Quod et factum est ut supra." Lord Hailes, in opposition to these authori- ties, pronounces the story of the death of Randolph by poison to be a silly popular tale, and affirms that he was afflicted in the decline of life with a confirmed stone ; that in the progress of the disease he became gradually worse, was seized with colic pains, and at length died. But this circumstance of Randolph being afflicted with the stone, as well as the minute detail of the progress of the disease, on which Lord Hailes' whole theory proceeds, is not supported by an atom of authentic evidence. It rests solely on the author- ity of Hector Boece, whom Lord Hailes, in almost every page, represents, and truly represents, as a romancer, who is unworthy of all credit. Barbour, Win- ton, and Bower say not a word of it, but describe Randolph as being in the active discharge of his duties as governor, when he was suddenly cut off by the treachery of his enemies. "Why, then, should the historian adopt the story of an author whom none can trust, and whom, on other subjects, he never trusts himself, in preference to the posi- tive averment of authentic writers ? As for poor Hector, he is treated rather cavalierly, being first compelled to act as an ally, and then summarily put down as a fabricator. In speaking of the Scottish historians, we must be care- ful to separate Boece and his followers from those who flourished before him. The last class, including Barbour, Win- ton, Fordun, and Bower, are valuable ; the first, full of invention and apocry- phal details. For instance, Lord Hailes observes, that the Scottish historian* pretend that Randolph was poisoned by a vagrant monk from England, and that this was executed with the knowledge of Edward the Third. Now, neither Barbour, nor Winton, as we see, say a word of Randolph being poisoned by a monk, far less an English monk; and Fordun, although he lays the crime on an English chaplain, does not allege that Edward was privy to the plot. Boece, however, and those who followed him, assert both facts. Letteks EE, page 171. Death of Seton. Lord Hailes, in his Annals, has omitted the circumstance of Edward the Third having hanged the son of Sir Alexander Seton, reservingitasahistoricalproblem, S70 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. to be treated of in a separate dissertation. In that dissertation, given in the appen- dix, the fact of Seton's death is estab- lished beyond doubt, yet in future edi- tions the scepticism of the text is retained. The result of the dissertation is satisfac- tory in one way, as it proves that Winton and Fordun are corroborated in every particular by the narrative of the Scala Chronicle. Their account, also, of Seton being governor of the town, is confirmed by the testimony of the Chamberlains' Accounts. Letters FF, pages 172 and 323. Battle of Halidon Hill. Extract from a MS. Chronicle of Eng- land, down to the time of Henry the Fifth, by Douglas, a monk of Glaston- bury. Harleian, 4690, fol. 79. Ande the Scott es come in this araye in iiii bateilles ageste the II. kingges of Englond andSkottelond, as it is schewed herafter plenely by the names of the Lordes, as ye mough se in this nexte writingge. In the forewarde of Skottelonde, weren thes Lordes whas names folow- The Erie Moreffe. James Friselle. Simonde Friselle. Water Stywarde. Ranolde Cheyne. Patrick Graham. Jonne Graunte. James Cardeille. Patrick Parkers. Robert Caldecotes. Philip Meldrum. Thomas Kyrye. Gilbarde Wiseman. Adam Gurdun. James Gramat. Roberte Boyde. Hugh Parke. With forty knightes new dub- be de, vi c men of armes, and xiii m co- munes. J In the first parte of the halfe hende- ward of the bateille, weren these Lordes folwing : — Stywarde of Scottelonde. * Erie Moneteth. James hes unkelle. Withthritty William Donglas. I bachelers David Lindesaye. / new dub- . Malcome Flemyng. I bede. Wm. Kethe. Dunkan Kambel. J In th* *econde parte of the halfe hendewarde of the bateilles, wer thes Lordes : — James Stywarde of Col den. Alan Stywarde. William Abbrelim, William Moris. Robert Walham. Jon fitz William. Adam Mose. Water fitz Gilberte. Jon Cherton. In the III. warde of the bateilles of Skotelonde, weren these Lordes f olow- inge :— The Erie of Marre. The Erie of Rosse. The Erie of Straherne. The Erie of Southerlande. William Kirkeley. Jonne Cambron. Gilbert Haye. William Ramseye. William Prentegeste. Kirston Harde. William Gurdon. Arnalde Garde. Thomas Dolfine. In the IIII. warde of the bateilles of Skotelonde, were these Lordes whose names folowe : — Witn forty knightes newe dub- bede, ix men of armes, and xv m conii- ners. \ With xxx bachelers, ix c men of armes, xviii m and iiii c comi- ners. Archibald Donglas. The Erie of Levenax. Alesaunder Brus. Erie of Wiff e. Jonne Cambell, erle of Athelle. Roberte Laweder. William Vipont. William Launston. Jonne Lav els. Gilbert Schirlowe. Jonne Lindesay. Alesaunder Gray. Ingram Umfreville. Patrick Pollesworthe. David Wymes. Michel Scotte. William Landy. Thomas Boj^s. Roger Mortimer. The Erie of Dunbar, keeper of the castle of Berwicke, halpe the Scottes with 50 men of armes. Sir Alisaunder Seton, keeper of the towne of Berwicke, halpe the Scottes with an hundred men of armes ; and the comens of the town, with iiii men of armes, x m and v:ii c fote menne. The sum of Erles and Lordes amounteth Ixv. The sum of bachelers new dubbede, a c. and xl. The sum of NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 371 men of armes, iii m vi c and i. The sum of cominers iiii score m. and ii°. The sum total of alle the pepelle amounteth iiii xx m. xv m and v c and v. And these forsaid fifty five grete Lordes, with iiii bateilles, as it is before descrivede, come alle a f ote. And Kinge Edwarde of Englonde, and Kinge Ed- warde of Skottelonde, had well pair- tilled ther folke in iiii bateilles on fote, also to fighte agenste ther enemys. And then the Enghsche mynstrelles beten ther tabers, and blowen ther trompes, and pipers pipeden loude, and made a grete schoute uppon the Skottes, and then hadde the Englishe bachelers, eche of them ii winges of archers, whiche at that meeting mightly drewen ther bowes, and made arowes flee as thick as motes on the sonne beme, and so thei ■smote thei Skottes, that they fell to grounde by many thousau ds. And an one, the Skottes began to flee fro the Englishe menne to save ther pere lyves ; butt whan the knaves and the Skottishe pages, that weren behinde the Skottes to kepe ther horses, seyen the discom- fiture, thei prikened ther maisters horses awey to kepe themselfe from perille, and so thei towke no hede of ther maistars. And then the Englishe men towken many of the Skottes horses, and prikeden after the Skottes, and slewe them downe righte. And ther men might see the nowbell Kinge Edwarde of Englonde and his folke, "hough mannefully they chaseden the Skottes ; whereof this Romance was made. There men mighte well se Many a Skotte lightly flee ; And the Englische after priking "With sharp swerdes them stiking. And then ther baners weren founde Alle displayde on the grounde, And layne starkly on blode As thei hadde fought on the flode. But the Skottes ill mote thei Thought the Englisch adrenit schulde be, For bicause thei might not flee. JBut if thei adrenite schulde be, But thei kepte them manly on londe, So that the Skottes might not stonde, And felde them downe to grounde Many thousandes in that stounde, And the Englishe men pursuyed them so Tille the flode was alle a-goo. And thus the Skottes discomfite were, In litell tyme with grite feere, Tor no notherwise did thei stryve But as xx schepe, among wolfes fyve, Tor v of them then were Agenste ane Englisch eman there ; 80 there itte was welle semyng "Thatte with multitude is no scom.fi ting. Butt with God fulle of mighte Wham He will helpe in trewe fighte. So was this bi Godcles grace Discomfiture of Skottes in that place That men cleped Halidoun hille. For ther this bateill befelle Atte Berwicke beside the towne, This was do with mery soune With pipes, trompes, and nakers thereto, And loude clarionnes thei blew also ; And there the Skottes leyen dede xxx m. beyonde Tweed, And v. m. tolde thereto With vii c. xii and mo ; And of Englischemen but sevenne, Worschipped be God in hevenne ! And that were men on fote goyng By fely of ther oune doyng. On Seinte Margete-ys eve, as I yow telle, Befille the victory oMEalidoune hille. In the yere of Gode almighte A m. iii. c. and ii and thritty. Atte this discomfiture The Englische knightes towke ther hure Of the Skottes that weren dede, Clothes and habergiounes for ther mede, And watteever thei might finde, On the Skottes thei lefte not behinde And the knaves by ther purchas Hadde ther a mery solas, For thei hadde for ther degree In alle ther lyffe the better to be. Alle thus the bateille towke ending, But I cannot telle of the ymgoing Of the two kinges, where thei become, And whether thei wenten oute, or home. But Godde that is heveh King Sende us pes and gode ending ! Letters GG, page 192. Battle of Durham. Lord Hailes, (Annals, vol. ii. p. 218,) in his observations on the conduct of the Steward of Scotland at the battle of Durham, has this passage : — " Boece, book xv. fol. 324, has been pleased tc assert that the Steward and the Earl ot March, perceiving tK >he forces under their command were dispirited, and un- willing to fight any longer, withdrew them to a place of safety." He adds, "that this retreat was the cause of all the disasters which ensued." He then observes, that the proper vindication of the Steward is, that the narrative of Boece, although not altogether of his own invention, has no warrant from Fordun, or from any English historian of considerable antiquity. I have no desire to support the character of Boece, the most apocryphal of all our histo- rians ; but as I have differed entirely, in this part of the history, from the view given of this battle by Lord Hailes, it is necessary to observe, that this has been done on authentic grounds ; and. 372 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. first, it is to be observed, that Fordun' s j account of the battle of Durham, in- stead of giving no support to Boece, ] describes the flight of the Steward and | the Earl of March in strong expressions. *' Omnibus captis," says he, 44 exceptis Patricio de Dunbar et Roberto Sever Scotis, qui fugam cajjientes illcesi abie- rant." — Fordun a Hearne, p. 1033.' The Scala Chronicle, a contemporary English authority, from which Leland gave ex- ; tracts in his Collectanea, and which has since been printed, also corroborates the account of Fordun. 44 The Counte of March and the Seneschal of Scotland fled." To say that the Steward fled from the field without, striking a blow, would be highly inaccurate, for we know from Winton that he sustained j great loss ; but that, seeing the day on every side going against them, he | and the Earl of March effected their retreat without attempting to rescue i the king, seems to be the fact; and it is quite evident that David never for- gave it. Letteks HH, page 218. The Record of the proceedings of the Parliament held at Perth on the 13th of January 1364 is Valuable, and has never yet been published ; I there- j fore subjoin ifc, from the cancelled volume 4 4 Robertson's Parliamentary Re- cords." Apud Perth in Domo fratrum predica- torum dietercio decimo mensisJanu- arii anni domini millesimi trecen- tesimi sexagesimi quarti. Constitutis et comparentibus coram domino nostro rege tanquam in suo con- silio generali venerabilibus in Christo patribus dominis Sancti Andree Don- keldensis, Brechynensis, Rossensis, et Candide case ecclesiarum, episcopis De Dunf ermelyn de Aberbroth de Passeleto de Scona de Kylwynnyne et de Cupro abbatibus Et dominis Roberto senescallo Scocie Comite de Stratherne, Willielmo Comite de Rosse, Johanne Senescallo domino de Kyle, Willielmo de Keth marescallo Scocie, Roberto de Erskyn, Archembaldo de Douglas, Hugone de Esglyntoun, Waltero et Alexandro de Haliburtoun, Dauid de Grame, Alexan- dro Senescallo, "Willielmo de Dyssyn- toun, Rogero deMortemer, Dauid Flem- ing, Dauid de Anandia, et Roberto de Ramesay militibus, Alano de Erskyn, Malcolmo Fleming. Willielmo de Nev- byggyng, et Willielmo de Melgdrom* Johanne Wygmer, Adam Tor, Johanne Crab, Adam Pyn^le, Johanne Mercer, Johanne Gil, Willielmo de Harden, et Eliseo Falconier, Conuocatisque aliis ad huiusmodi consilium vocari consuetis et ad negocia infrascripta citatis et recita- tis articulis siue punctis reportatis a tractatu nuper habito cum rege et con- silio Anglie per nuncios vltimo illuc missos videlicet Dominum Willielmum episcopum Sancte Andree Dominum Robertum de Erskyn militem Magis- tros Walterum de Wardlau et Gilleber- tum Armistrang prout continetur in- ferius fuit per modum qui sequitur concordatum videlicet Quod eorum om- nium plena fuit intencio et assensus- quod tractatus super bona pace refor- manda et habenda perpetuo cum rege et regno Anglie acceptetur per vias modo* et condiciones subscriptas, et quod si tractatus huiusmodi super pace forte- deficiat, fiat tractatus super treugis habendis per redempcionem regis solu- endam, si possit haberi vt inferius est contentum ad quod nuncium faciendum eosdem prenominatos nuncios concordi- ter elegerunt. Primo quidem quo ad primum articu- lum seu punctum reportatum vt per- mittitur quod scilicet dominis exhere- datis existentibus in Anglia de regno Scocie restituantur terre sue iia ordin- atum est ad tractandum quod quinque persone alias nominate in diuersis trac- tatibus videlicet Comes Atholie, domini de Percy, de Beaumont, de Talbot, et de Ferrers, pro bono pads rehabeant terras suas Eciam pro bona pace habenda quod aliis diuersis videlicet Dominis Godfrido de Roos Patricio Macowlach Edwardo de Lechmere et Willielmo de Westheryngton sint sue hereditates restitute et quod dominus Alexander de Mowbray habeat ad summam centum marcatarum terre Etiam quod illi de regno Scocie qui fuerunt ad pacem regis Anglie videlicet existentes in Marchiis gaudeant terris suis Eciam quod ad terras quas vendicant heredes quondam domini de Walris infra regnum Scocie videtur prenotatis dominis super ipsis esse tractandum et quod si de aliis punctis concordari poterit ad bonam pacem non esse sic standum per hoc vt aliis concurrentibus impediatur trac- tatus. Secundo quo ad terras concedendunz filio juniori regis Anglie concordatum fuit sic esse tractandum (mod mi 11a librate terre infra Gaiwydiam aue tuit NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. hereditas quondam Edwardi de Balliolo concedantur eidem hereditarie eciam ?t similiter de Insula de Man que est ^aloris mille marcatarum cum tenendiis «t pertinenciis earundem quod si ad hoc concordari non possit quin Comes de Salisberi habeat dictam insulam per ipsum tractatum concedatur et tractetur quod dicto filio regis Anglie loco illarum mille marcatarum de Man mille marce stirlingorum per annum de certis red- ditibus hereditarie sint concesse quo- usque terre ad eundem valorem sibi valeantassignari ita tamen quod viterque . pro eisdem terris sit homo legius domini nostri regis Scocie. Tertio quod pro bona pace habenda et omnimodis accionibus etreprobacionibus finaliter sedandis ad hoc tractetur secun- dum quod nuncii domini nostri regis viderint melius expediri vt dominus noster rex f aciat guerram fieri ad tempus infra aliquas partes Hybernie ad quas sui commodius accedere poterunt per potenciam vias et modos ration abiles et possibiles consideratis marchiis regni Scocie et Hybernie quibus sibi et suo consilio visum fuerit faciendum. Preterea de tractatu habendo super pace reformanda si forte premissa omnia non sint accepta per partem aduersam, nec vellet per hoc assentiri ad pacem, volunt predicti domini et vnanimi con- sensu concordarunt antequam bona, pax et perpetua relinquatur, omnino. quod concedatur solucio redempcionis debite tollerabiliter facienda, nec non mutua confederacio regnorum perpetuo, quam- uis non per equalem potenciam, que tamen nullo modo sapiat seruitutem, vna cum omnibus supradictis si eorum aliqua nullo modo recindi valiant modi- ficari uel minui per fidelem industriam tractatorum verum concessio terre vallis Anandie que petita est alias relinquitur regie voluntatis Ceterum concordauerunt predicti do- mini congregati si forte defecerit trac- tatus pacis per vias pretactas tractan- dum esse super treugis et solucione redempcionis reformanda sic scilicet primo quod pro remissione et sedacione omnium penarum et reprobacionum remittantur penitus vinginti mille marche iam solute et deinde quod solu- antur per annum quinque mille marche quousque sexies vinginte mille marche sint solute treugis durantibus pro tem- pore solucionis predicte viz. ad vinginti quatuor annos que si non valeant ac- ceptari tractetur postea quod centum mille libre soluantur pro omnibus sup- 373 radictis remittendo etiam vt supra viginti mille marchas solutas et incipi- endo de nouo vt omni anno soluantur quinque mille marche prorogatis treugis pro toto tempore solucionis vt supra quibus omnibus forte deficientibus affir- metur finaliter quod dictis viginti mille marchis solutis omnino remissis soluan- tur centum mille marche infra decern annos quolibet anno videlicet decern mille marche prout in primo tractatu super deliberacione regis extitit concor- datum. Item ordinatum fuit per dictum con-, silium quod pecunia pro redempcione soluenda sic leuetur vt scilicet tocius lane regni custuma ad summam octo mille marcharum per annum ad minus ascen- dere estimetur, que vero custuma si tanta fuerit vel vberior per certos bur- genses committendos per regem et eciam per literas sub communi sigillo burgo- rum de quibus fuerint et sub periculo communitatum eorumdem recipiatur in Flandria in moneta regis Anglie ita tamen quod sit aliquis sufficiens ex parte regis ibidem qui astet continue et examinet ad domum ponderandi et sic fiat ibi solucio de octo mille mar- chis per annum vt in dicto primo trac- tatu est contentum ita quod intelliga- tur dicta solucio fieri si processum fuerit ad vltimam viam soluendi aliis recusatis. Item -drdinatum fuit quod fiat eciam contribucio omni anno, durante dicto decennio, sex denariorum de libra per totum, que leuetur per certos collectores annuatim eligendos, nulle persone par- cendo, de qua per camerarium et aliam sibi per regem adiungendam personam sumantur. primo ante omnia alia, due mille marche per annum ad solucionem dictarum decern mille marcharum re- demcionis complendum, residuum ipsius contribucionis permaneat cum camerario pro necessariis sumptibus domini nostri regis, manuceperunt eciam et efficaciter promiserunt prenominati domini omnes et singuli quod tractatum pacis siue treuge que dicti nuncii inient siue per- ficient cum rege Anglie et suo consilio per modos et vias prenotatas approba- bunt ratificabunt confirmabunt et sub pena reprobacionis et periurii perficient in omnibus et inuiolabiliter obseruabunt et eciam quod ordinacionem factam pro contribucione leuanda et solucione re- dempcionis facienda tenebunt fideliter et implebunt nec ipsam in se vel in suis hominibus impedient aut ei in aliquo contradicent. S74 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Similiter quod non impetrabunt nec exigent clam vel palam pro se vel pro aliis a domino nostro rege aliquas terras wardas releuia vel maritagia finis vel escaetas medio tempore contingentes sed remanebunt integre in manibus cam- erarii ad vtilitatem regis vna cum resi- duo dicti contribucionis vt est dictum in casu quo per dictam vltimam viam concordetur super treugis et summa re- dempcionis soluenda et quia si premissa non seruarentur sed procederetur forsi- tan in oppositum eorumdem manifeste sequeretur annullacio contractus initi in obprobrium et graue dispendium regis prelatorum et procerum nec- non destruccionem tocius communitatis regni. Promiserunt omnes efc singuli dicti domini congregati fideliter et tactis sa- crosanctis euuangeliis personaliter iurau- erunt quod contra quemcunque pre- missa vel premissorum aliquod infrin- gentem impedientem seu, contradicen- tem in aliquo cum sua tota potentia insurgent concorditer tanquam contra rebellem regis et rei publice subuer- sorem ac ipsum infractorem impedito- rem seu contradictorem ad obserua- cionem predictorum compellent sub pena reprobacionis et periurii vt pre- mittitur et sub pena pariter fidelitatis sue infracte contra regiam maiestatem In cuius rei testimonium sigilla prenom- inatorum prelatorum et sigilla dicti domini Senescalli Scocie Comitis de Stratharne et domini Patricii Comitis Marchie et Morauie et domini Willielmi Comitis de Douglas qui ad premissa omnia et singula suum consilium adhi- buerunt et consensum in presencia domini nostri regis apud Edenburgh corporali prestito iuramento licet per- sonaliter non interfuerit cum ordinaren- tur primitus apud Perth vna cum sigillis domini predicti Comitis de Ross et aliorum procerum predictorum nec non communibus sigillis burgorum de Edin- burgh Abriden Perth et Dunde presen- iibus sunt appensa Acta et data anno die et loco predictis. Letters II, page 221. ORDINATIO CONSILII. Octauo die Maii anni millesimi trecen- tesimi sexagesimi sexti apud mo- nasterium Sancti Cruris, Fuit per consilium ordinatum In pri- mia quod cum super quatuor punctis videlicet homugio, successione, regni i demembracione, ac subsidio gencium armorum perpetuo, per regnum Scocie regno Anglie et eciam infra propria duo regna et vltra per regnum Scocie extra regnum Anglie impendendo, fuisset ali- quandiu tractatum, finaliter refutatis primis tribus punctis tanquam intol- lerabilibus et non admissibilibus de~ liberatum extitit fore super quarto puncto tractandum per nuncios a par- lamento mittendos cum modificacione possibili habenda super eodem quarto puncto et in casu' quo per quartum punctum tolerabiliter modificatum fin- alis pax haberi non valeat vt petitur deliberatum, extitit quod iterum taxen- tur secundum, verum valorem et anti- quum per totum regnum terre et red- ditus tarn ecclesiastici quam alii, et ipse taxaciones ad paiiamentum presenten- tur, et eciam quod scribatur vicecomit- ibus quod ad certos dies sibi nominandos in scripto citari faciant coram ipsis diuites patrie et plebanos qui ad paiia- mentum non erunt, nec voluerunt per- mittere interesse ibidem, ad quos dies eciam erunt certe persone deputande per regem vel camerarium, et queratur a quolibet singillatim et ponatur in scripto quantum quisquis dare voluerit gratis ad redempcionem regis infra tres annos proximo futuros complete soluen- dam, et ipse donaciones ibidem pariter presententur, ad finem quo dicto tracta- tu pacis deficiente, habeatur saltern in fine quatuor annorum quibus treuge sunt iam firmate totum residuum re- dempcionis Domini nostri regis in promptu soluendum vt vitari valeant omnes reprobaciones et pene si que per partem aduersam possent inpingi vel peti per instrument a super magnis treu- gis et liberacione regis confecta. DE MONETA FABRICANDA. Item quod fabricetur moneta de ma- teria iam allata in regnum talis qualem fecit magister Jacobus in ponder e et metallo ita quod in hiis equipolleat monete currenti in Anglia et fiat in ipsa signum notabile per quod possit ab omni alia prius fabricata euidenter cognosci quousque in proximo parlamento possit super hoc maturius auisari Et interim super mercede monetarii et operariorum conueniat camerarius pro parte regis cum ipsis prout melius poterit con* uenire. 1 i Robertson's Pari. Records, pp. 104-106. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 375 Letters KK, page 223, ParJamentum tentum apud Sconam vi- cesimo die Juliianno grade millesimo trecentesimo sexagessimo sexto et regni Domini nostri regis Dauid tricesimo septimo summonitis et vo- catis more debito et solito episcopis abbatibus prioribus comitibus baron- ibus libere tenentibus qui de Domino nostro rege tenenl in capite et de quolibet burgo certis burgensibus qui ad hoc fuerunt ex causa summoniti comparentibus omnibus illis qui debuerunt potuerunt vel voluerunt commode interesse absentibus vero quibusdam aliis quorum aliqui legitime excusati fuerunt aliqui vero quasi per contumaciam absentarunt videlicet Willielmus Comes de Rosse Hugo de Ross Johannes de Insulis Johannes de Lorn et Johannes de Haye. Cum ipsum parlamentum principaliter inter cetera fuerit statutum ad delibe- randum de consensu et assensu illorum quorum supra super tractatu pacis habendo cum rege et regno Anglie in forma et super punctis vltimo reportatis per nuncios et super plenaria solucione redempcionis domini nostri regis facienda in fine treugarum iam per triennium duratarum in casu quo pax interim reformari aut vlteriores treuge haberi non poterunt et super necessariis expen- sis regis et suorum nunciorum tunc mittendorum in Angliam Primo et prin- cipaliter super negociis pacis fuerat ordinatum quod nuncii adhuc mitter- entur in Angliam qui fuerunt nuper illic videlicet dominus episcopus Sancti Andree Dominus Robertus de Erskyn Magister Walterus de Wardlau et Gille- bertus Armistrang sicut aliam planam commissionem habentes ad tractandum de pace vi bona et perpetua possit fir- mari inter regna concedendo omnia que in primo instrumento facto sub sigillis tlominorum fuerunt pro pace concessa et vltra tractando super quarto puncto videlicet subuencione guerratorum mu- tuo facienda quanto melius et ad minus grauamen fieri poterit sicut in vltimo instrumento sub sigillis vt supra inde facto super eodem puncto onerati fue- runt. Et vlterius hoc tractatu deficient e ad tractandum super prorogacione treu- garum ad viginti quinque annorum exi- tum soluendo summam redempcionis que restat soluenda videlicet quolibet anno quatuor millia librarurn vt habe- batur alias in tractatu. Quantum vero ad secundum punctum sic ordinatum fuit, quod cum iam habeatur in certo per presentaciones hie factas tarn anti- que extenti quam veri valoris omnium reddituum ecclesiarum et terrarum tarn ecclesiasticarum quam mundanarum taxentur eciam omnia bona burgensium et husbandorum preter oues albas ad presens, et infra festum natiuitatis beate virginis proximo futurum apud Edin« burgh consilio presententur et tunc habita totali summa veri valoris omnium bonorum tocius regni ordinabatur con- tribucio leuenda generaliter et adequa- bitur libra libre vt leuentur extunc incontinenti octo mille marce ad expen- sas regis et ad eius debita soluenda in regno, et ad expensas nunciorum et non plus, cum magna custuma ordinetur ad dictam solucionem quatuor mille lib- rarurn pro redempciohe vt premittitur facienda quousque nuncii reuertantur et ex hoc posset ordinacio quo ad tercium punctum videlicet. Quod cum dominus noster rex ordinauerit pro certiori mag- nam custumam suam ad solucionem dictarum quatuor mille librarurn pro sua redempcione facienda, per annum, dicte quatuor mille libre leuentur de dicte contribucione leuenda et duo millia marcharum eciam de eadem con- tribucione mille marche videlicet ad soluenda debita regis et ad expensas suas interim faciendas et mille marce ad expensas nunciorum que quidem duo millia marce sic mutuata fuerunt vt haberentur in promtu videlicet per barones mille marche per clerum sex- cente marche et per burgenses quad- ringinte marce que sibi refundentur cum dicta contribucio fuerit leuata. Plegiis ad solucionem faciendam bur- gensibus Domino Roberto de Erskyn et Domino Walterro de Bygar camerario Scocie. Et fuit in dicto parlamento ad instan- ciam trium communitatum per regem expresse concessum et eciam publice proclamation primo quod vnicuique fiat communis iusticia sine fauore cuiquam faciendo et absque accepcione cuiuscun- que persone et quod litere que emana- uerint de capella regis aut aliter per alios ministros quibus incumbit facere iusticiam pro iusticia facienda non reuo- centur per quascunque alias literas sub quocunque sigillo sed quod liceat min- istris quibus tales litere destineantur ipsis non obstantibus iusticiam facere ac iusws reniittere indorsatas. 376 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Item quod cum communitates se iam onerauerint ad tarn onerosam solucionem faciendam tarn pro redempcione domini uostri regis facienda, quam pro ipsius et nunciorum suorum necessariis et expen- ses, nichil de hiis que ad hoc ordinantur applicetur ad vsus alios quoscunque ex dono remissione vel aliter sed solum ad ea ad que sunt vt premittitur singulariter ordinata. Item quod viri ecclesiastici et terre sue elemosinate gaudeant suis libertati- bus et priuilegiis et quod nulla alia onera vel imposiciones sint eis imposite vltra onera in parlamento concessa et si qui sint impeditores assedacionis decimarum quod arceantur per regem ad querelam ipsorum qui in hoc grauati fuerint sio quod suis decimis possint pacifice et cum integritate gaudere sub pena excom- municacionis quo ad clerum et decern librarum penes regem . Item quod nichil capiatur a communi- tatibus ad vsus. regis sine prompta solu- cione nec eciam aliqua capiantur ad pricam nisi vbi et secundum quod fieri consueuit et debet fiat infra tempus consuetum et debitum solucio prompta et debita pro eisdem. Item quod isti rebelles videlicet de Atholia Ergadia Baydenach Lochaber et Rossia et alii si qui sint in partibus bo- realibus aut alibi arestentur per regem et ipsius potenciam ad subeundam com- munem iusticiam et ad contribucionem specialiter exsoluendam et aliter cori- gantur prout ad pacem vt vtiiitatem communitatis et regni magis fuerit opor- tunum. Item quod omnes officiarii regis videlicet vicecomites et alii inferiores ministri tarn infra burgum quam extra obediant camerario et aliis superioribus ministris sub pena amocionis eorumdem ab ipsorum officiis sine spe restitucionis imposterum ad eadem. Item quod non mittantur aliqui cum equis ad perhendinandum cum reli- giosis rectoribus vicariis aut husban- dis nec aliqui cum quibuscunque equis mittantur in patriam qui consumant bona blada vel prata husbandorum vel aliorum aut aliquis hoc facere pre* Rumat sub pena que pro huiusmodi debet infligi pro quantitate delicti et qualitate persone. Item quod remissiones regis concesse vel concedende pro quibuscumque trans- gressionibus sint casse et nulle nisi satis- fiat parti infra annum a data earundem nisi forte manifeste steterit per illos quorum interest d de hoc illi quibus concesse fuerinfc remissiones huiusmodi fecerint sufficientur doceri. Item quod camerarius faciat in singulis burgis iuxta locorum facultates de hos- pitiis competentibus prouideri. Item quod nullus prelatus comes vel baro vel alius cuiuscunque condicionis existat ecclesiasticus vel secularis equi- tet cum maiori familia in personis vel equis quam deceat statum suum ad destruccionem patrie quodque nullus ducat secum lanceatos vel architenentes equitando per patriam nisi causa ration- abilis subsistat de qua ministris regis super hoc questionem facientibus fidem facere teneantur sub pena incarceracionis corporum eorundem. Item quod quilibet iter faciens siue moram per regnum solucionem faciat suis hospitibus et aliis de quibuscunque receptis et expensis suis vtrobique ra- tionabiliter efc secundum forum patrie sic quod exinde nulla iusta quenmonia audiatur sub pena. Item quod dominus noster rex faciat omnia et singula prenotata sub sigillo suo in scripto redigi et per singuloi vicecomites puplice proclamari.* Letters LL, page 224. Acta in parlamento tento apud Scona'vt vicesimo septimo die mensis Septem- bris cum continuacione dierum anno grade millesimo trecentesimo sexa- gesimo septimo conuocatis tribus communitatibus regni congregatis ibidem Quedam certe persone electc fueruntper easdem adparlamentum tenendum data aliis causa autumpni licencia ad propria redeundi vide- licet. Ex parte cleri electi fuerunt domini episcopi Sancti Andree Glasguensis Mo- rauiensis Brechinensis Cancellarius et Dumblanensis Prior Sancti Andree, Ab- bates de Dunfermelyn, de Aberbroth, et de Lundors, de clero eciam Santi Andree, prepositus Sancti Andree, et Magister Alexander de Caroun de clero Glasguensis, Dominus Johannes de Car- rie Procurator Episcopi de Dunkelden cantor eiusdem, Procurator Episcopi Abirdonensis Magister Dauid de Marre, et Procurator Episcopi Rossensis, De- canus eiusdem. Pro parte vero baronum Domini Senescallus Scocie Comes de Strath- erne, Comes de Marr, Domini de Kyle et de Meneteth, Domini Willielmus de Keth marescallus Scocie, Robertus de * Robertson's Pari. Records, pp. 105, 106. . NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 377 Erskyn, Archibaldus de Douglas, Wal- terus de Lesley, Walterus de Halibur- toun, Hugo de Esglyntoun, Dauid de Grame, Duncanus Wallays, Dauid Wal- teri &c. absentibus contumaciter Comi- tibus de Marchia, de Ross, et de Douglas. Et pro parte burgensium electi de Edynburgth Adam de Brounhill, et Andreas Bee, de Aberden, Willielmus de Leth, et Johannes Crab, de Perth, Johannes Gill et Johannes de Petscoty, de Dunde, Willelmus de Harden, et Willielmus de Innerpeffre, de Monross, Elisieus Falconar et Thomas Black, de Hadyngstoun Johannes de Heetoun et Magister Willielmus de Tauernent, et de Lychcu Thomas Lethe. Cum super tribus punctis determin- andis fuerit presens parlamentum or- dinatum principaliter teneri. Primo videlicet quo ad modum viuendi regis, super quo dicti domini congregati deli- berant per hunc modum videlicet quod vt dominus rex viuere possit, et debeat sine oppressione populi, omnes redditus firme, cane, custume, foreste, et officia ac alia emolumenta quecunque ac omnes terre tarn dominice quam alie, in quorum possessione vt de feodo immediate re- colende memorie dominus rex Robertus pater doinini nostri regis qui nunc est, fuit tempore mortis sue, et quarum pos- gessio siue proprietas ad jus et proprie- tatem corone tempore regis Roberti, aut tempore regis Alexandri, pertinere con- sueuit et debuit, cum reuersionibus debitis, ratione corone, et que reuer- siones medio tempore contigerunt, eciam si dicti terre redditus et firme cane cus- tume foreste et alia emolumenta que supra sint per dictum quondam domi- num regem Robertum aut per dominum nostrum regem qui nunc est, aliquibus personis vel locis donata vel concessa ad certum tempus iam transactum vel sub certa limitacione condicione seu tallia- cione finita et extincta, et similiter terre per ipsum dominum nostrum regum vel suum camerarium assedat3 ad tempus, licet terminus seu exitus nondum vene- rit, plene et integre ab illis qui eas et ea hactenus habuerunt et ab omnibus aliis imposterum ad dictum nostrum regem et suam coronam reuocentur et redeant, cum ecclesiarum aduocacioni- bus, et debitis antiquis seruiciis per- petuo remansure, nec vnquam conce- dantur ' illis aut aliis nisi solum ex 'ieliberacione et consensu trium com- munitatum. Et si illi quibus terre huiusmodi fuerunt concesse, habeant iam ipsorum aliquas in sua propria cultura, redactas, non assedatas ad firmam, compellantur ad soluendum tantam firmam ad terminum Sancti Michaelis proximo futurum pro ipsis terris pro quanta ille terre vel aliqut alie eque bone, posent in presenti ra- tionabiliter et fideliter assedari, et quod omnes tvarde releuia maritagia et esca- eta ac exitus curiarum regis quarum- cunque remaneant ad sustentacionem domus sue in manibus camerarii pro vtilitate domini nostri regis disponenda, et cum dominus noster rex aliquem pro merito promouere vel remunerari vol- uerit, hoc fiat tantum de mobilibus et cum bona deliberacione consilii si quis autem remuneracionem seu promo- cionem a domino rege impetrauerit et ipsum male informauerit de valore uel summa cum fuerit compertum quod ipse valor vel summa maior fuerit per quantitatem excessiuam ita quod impe- tracio ilia surreptitia possit notari ipsam promotionem seu remissionem omnina amittet et reprobacionem incurret merito debitam in hoc casu ; aut si aliquis impetrauerit a domino rege de dictis demaniis, seu terris reuersionibus et reuocationibus aliquam partem nota- bilem tanquam a rege et suo consilio, reprobandus penam subibit debitam et carebit nichilominus impetracione. Item deliberant pro vtilitate com- muni quod omnes regalitates libertates, infeodaciones, infeodacionum innoua- ciones, per quas warde, releuia, mari- tagia, secte curiarum aut alia quecumque seruicia communia domini nostri regis diminuta sunt in aliquo vel subtracta post mortem domini dicti regis Roberti, quibuscunque partibus ; de nouo con- cessa reuocentur et cessent, omnino, et seruicia subeant communia cum vicinis prout facere consueuerunt ante conces- sam huiusmodi libertatem antiquis re- galitatibus libertatibus et immunitatibus in suo robore permansuris, et quod omnes carte et munimenta super reuo- cacionibus et reuersionibus vel aliqua eorum confecte vel confecta hactenus, reddantur et restituantur apud Perth in scaccario, ibidem tenendo, in manus cancellarii et camerarii, infra quindecim dies festum epiphanie domini proximo futurum immediate sequentes, et nichi- lominus si alique carte vel munimenta huiusmodi penes personas aliquas abinde remanserint non reddite vel non reddita ex tunc casse irrite et nulle cassa irrita et nulla habeantur et perpetuo nuJIiu* sint momenti. 378 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Secundum punctum videlicet quan- tum ad municionem castrorum requira- fcur in paruo registro. Quantum vero ad tertinm punctum videlicet disposi- cionem et statum regni deliberant quod si aliqua motiua de nouo occurrant pro parte regis Anglie vel pro parte nostra vltra alios tractatus per nuncios regni et per communitates negataque inducere poterunt bonam rationabilem et tollera- bilem pacem vel treugarum proroga- cionem vtilem habeant dominus noster rex et illi quos ipse ad tunc propinquius habere poterit de suis consiliariis juratis vicem et protestatemliberam prelatorum et procerum in hoc parlamento congre- gatorum eligendi nuncios et taxandi eorum expensas secundum laborem et negociorum exigenciam et personarum eligendarum qualitatem et statum ab- sque conuocacione super hoc parlamenti seu alterius consilii cuiuscunque, et quod propter promptitudinem et cer- titudinem solucionis redempcionis ha- bende tota magna custuma leuatur ad ipsam solucionem faciendam videlicet viginti solidi de sacco. Et ordinatur quod ad nullum aliud applicetur, et vt patet ex deliberacione et ordinacione premissorum, cum ipsis demaniis alia propria domini regis redire debent ad manus suas, et reuerti. Inter que comprehenditur dimidia marca que solet solui de sacco lane, et sic pro- portionaliter de aliis mercandisis con- similibus ad custumas. Habeant eciam dominus rex et illi quos ipse ad tunc propinquius habere poterit vicem et potestatem, vt supra ad ordinandum quasi per communem contribucionem leuari quantum recompensare valeat cum domino nostro rege ad sustenta- cionem domus sue, pro ilia dimidia marca de custuma recepta ad solucio- nem redempcionis antedicte, quando scilicet saccum ad plenum videlicet in exitu scaccarii in proximo tenendi de custuma integra mercatorum ad quan- tum videlicet ascenderit vsque ad nonam lanam. Et sic si quid ad dictam recom- pensacionem faciendam leuatum aut contributum fuerit non erit tanquam ad expensas domus regis sed ad sup- plecionem redempcionis eius tantum vt patet ex precedentibus ad quam solu- cionem redempcionis tota communitas obligatur. 1 * Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp. 108, 109. Letters MM, page 227. Parlamento tento apud Sconam duo* decimo die mensis Junii cum con* tinuatione &c. anno domini mil- lesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo octauo conuocatis prelatis proceri- bus et burgensibus qui tunc volue- runt et potuerunt personaliter interesse aliis per commissarios comparentibus . aliis auiem contu- maciter absentibus. Cum per relationem nunciorum nuper missorum ad curiam et presenciam regis Anglie domino nostro regi et toti con> munitati fuerit expresse nunciatum, quod non proficit inire nec attemptare tractatum cum rege et consilio Ajiglie super pace habenda, nisi per delibera- cionem et commissionem generalis con- silii regis, eb regni mittatur ad tractan- dum in bona fide super vno quatuor punctorum, principaliter, concedendo alias per ipsos aduersarios petito vna cum aliis diuersis articulis ipsis punctis adiunctis ex parte omnium congrega- torum in parlamento presenti. Habito per quatnor dies, et amplius, super pre- missis diligenti consilio et deliberacione matura deliberatum, fuit finaliter, quod cum adhuc restent treuge siue inducie vltimo capte et concordate inter regem et regnum vsque videlicet ad festum Purificacionis proximo futurum et deinde per vnum annum continuum et a tunc vsque rex fuerit per regem Anglie sub magno sigillo suo per dimi- dium anni spacium ante incepcionem guerre premunitus, non adhuc opportet nec expedit inire uec attemptare trac- tatum super aliquo dictorum punctorum concedendo, que alias in pleno parla- mento ad quod plures et maiores inter- fuerunt quam nunc sunt hie presentes per tres communitates vnanimiter fue- rant denegata, que tanquam inconueni- encia, intolerabilia et impossibilia ob- seruari reputabantur et expressam> inducencia ser'uitutem, verum non deliberant quin aliter forte aliis de- ficientibus secundum quod tunc op- portunum et expediens visum fuerit, possit attemptari in bona fide tractatus super ipsorum punctorum aliquo, cum punctis, articulis et moderacionibus, seruitutem per Dei graciam finaliter expellentibus si opportuerit conclu- de ndum. Item deliberant quod quia neces- sarkun est prouidere atque dispouere NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. super et pro defensione regni omnes dissensiones mote inter magnates et nobiles aliter quam per viam iusticie communis festinanter sopiri debeant et sedari per regem ita quod nullus in- quietet alium aliter quam per processum communis iusticie quam quideni domi- nus noster rex vnicuique debeat semper administrare equaliter sine fauore aliquo et acceptione personarum. Item diliberant quod insulani et illi de superioribus partibus compescantur per regem et Senescallum Scocie ne dampna inferant aliis sed quod in euentu guerre possint communitates tutum ha- bere refugium inter eos. Et sic dominus noster rex ibidem viua voce precepit et iniunxit expresse Senescallo Scocie, Comiti de Marre, Johanni Senescallo Domino de Kyle, et Roberto Senescallo, Domino de Meneteth, in fide et ligiancia quam sibi debent et sub pena que in- cumbit quod ab omnibus exist en tibus, infra limites dominiorum suorum seru- ent communitates regni indempnes. Et quod scienter voluntarie seu inquantum obsistere poterunt malefactores aliquos dampna aliis illaturos per ipsos limites transire aut in ipsis receptari non per- mittant sub pena vt supra. Item quod dominus noster rex statim sine more dispendio faciat Johanni de insulis per modum tactum inter ipsum et Senescallum Scocie ibidem et simili- ter Johanni de Loom ac Gillaspic Cam- bel venire ad suam presenciam, et de ipsis securitatem capiat sufficientem per quam tota regni communitas ab eis et suis hominibus et adherentibus et quili- bet eorum ab alio de cetero sint indemp- nes. Et eciam faciat quod ipsi et sui homines subeant labores et onera cum suis comparibus et vicinis. Preterea videtur dictis dominis con- gregatis ad cautelam et securitatem maiorem quod dominus noster rex de- beat scribere statim adhuc, cum instan- cia, regi et consilio Anglie super diebus reparacionum et emendacionum peten- dis teneri et assignandis de dampnis et iniuriis factis et illatis super marchiis iuxta colloquium factum inter ipsos in imrlamento presenti. Et deliberant quo ad custodias mar- chiarum quod statim dominus noster rex habeat consilium cum Comitibus Marchie et de Douglas alias constitutis custodibus marchiarum in oriente licet non sint iam bene dispositi ad laborem et secundum auisamentum eorum et consilium custodes constituat celeriter J et prudenter sed in occidentibus parti ' I bus remaneat Dominus Archibaldus de Douglas custos sicut prius. Et quantum ad castra deliberant, quod dominus noster rex mittat cum camerario Scocie hos milites subscriptos videlicet Dominos "VValterum de Lesly, "Walterum de Haliburtoun, Hugonem de Esglintoun, et Walterum Moygne vna cum custodibus castrorum quos ipse do- minus noster rex habere voluerit ad quatuor castra regia, videlicet Lacus de Leuyn, Edynburgh, Striuelyn, et Dun- bartan, visitanda et quod secundum quod per visum ipsorum dicta castra indiguerint tarn in hominibus tempore guerre quam in municione murorum in victualibus instrumentis et aliis neces- sariis ad ipsa castra debite et decenter tenenda contra hostes sine dilaciono aliqua eis faciat prouideri. Et quod aut per dictos milites aut per alios prouidos et circumspectos rex faciat in- dilate visitari alia castra et si inuenerint ea defensibilia et inexpugnabilia inter ipsum et dominos in quorum dominiis siue custodiis ipsa castra fuerint situata ordinetur celeriter de municione ip- sorum tarn in hominibus quam in vic- tualibus et aliis necessariis vt supra- finanter absque more dispendio preci- piat ea perstrui sub pena, &c. Est eciam ordinatum quod quia non adhuc videbatur expediens communitati imponere contribuciones aliquas vel col- lectiones debeant leuari de sacco lane viginti sex solidi et viii to denarii ad custumas regis et sic proportionaliter de coriis & pellibus custumandis quous- que cessatum fuerit a solucione redemp- cionis vel aliter pro exjjensis domus re- gis ordinatis. Et quia in quibusdam partibus non sunt oues sed animalia alia h abundant ordinant quod in partibus illis leuetur vna summa martorum ad expensas dicte domus que iuxta visum peritorum de consilio equipolleat oneri quod incumbit lane ouium in custuma. Ordinatum est discussum et publice proclamatum in presenti parlamento quod omnes processus facti super iudi- ciis contradictis quorum discussio et de- terminacio ad parlamentum pertinent presententur cancellario ante parlamen- tum proximum tenendum. Et quod omnes partes ad proximum parlamen- tum compareant ad audiendum et reci- piendum determinaciones ipsorum. Et discernitur quod ista premunicio seu proclamacio preualet citationes ac si mitteretur per breue de capella regis. 1 i Robertson's Parliamentary Records, pp I 380 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Letters NN, page 228. Yniuersis presentis literas inspecturis Johannes de Yle Dominus Insularum salutem in omnium saluatore Cum serenissimus princeps ac dominus meus metuendus dominus Dauid Dei gracia rex Scotorum illustris contra personam meam propter quasdam negligencias meas commissas commotusfuerit propter quod ad ipsius domini mei presenciam apud Yillam de Inuernys die quinto decimo mensis Nouembris anno gracie millesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo nono in presencia prelatoruni et plurium pro- cerum regni sui accedens humiliter ip- sius domini mei voluntati et gracie me optuli et summisi de huiusmodi negli- genciis remissionem et graciam suppli- citer postulando Cumque idem dominus meus ad instanciam sui consilii me ad suam beneuolenciam et graciam graciose admiserit concedens insuper quod in possessionibus meis quibuscunque re- maneam non amotus nisi secundum pro- eessuni et exigenciam juris Y niuersitati vestre per presencium seriem pateat euidenter, quod ego Johannes de Yle predictus promitto et manucapio bona tide quod de dampnis iniuriis et graua- minibus per me filios meos et alios quorum nomina in literis regiis de re- missione michi concessis plenius expri- muntur, quibuscunque regni fidelibus hucusque illatam satisfaccionem faciam et emendas terras et dominia in subiectis iuste regam et pro posse gubernabo, r>acifice filios rneos et homines et alios nobis adherentes subici faciam prompte et debite domino nostro regi legibus et ^onsuetudinibus regni sui et iustifica- biles fieri, et quod obedient et compare- bunt justiciariis, vicecomitatibus, cor- onatoribus, et aliis ministris regiis, in singulis vicecomitatibus, prout melius et obediencius aliquo tempore bone memorie, domini regis Roberti prede- cessoris mei : et inhabitantes dictas ter- ms et dominia sunt facere consueti, et quod respondebunt prompte, et debite, ministris regis de contribucionibus et aliis oneribus et seruiciis debitis impos- terum et eciam de tempore retroacto, et in euentu quod aliquis vel aliqui infra dictas terras seu dominia, deliquerit vel deliquerint contra regem seu aliquos vel aliquem de suis fidelibus et iuri parere contempserit, seu contempserint, aiit in premissis vel premissorum aliquo obedire noluerit, vel noluennt, ipsum seu ipsos tanquam inimicum vel inimi- cos et rebellem seu rebelles regis tfc regni dolo et fraude omnino remotia statim prosequar toto posse quousque a finibus terrarum et dominiorum expul- sus vel expulsi fuerit vel fuerint aut ipsum vel ipsos parere fecero iuri com- mnni, et ad hec omnia et singula fa- cienda inplenda et fideliter obseruanda in predictorum prelatorum et procerum presencia corporale prestiti iuramen- tum ; insuper et dedi et concessi obsides infra scriptos, videlicet Donnaldum, filium meum ex filia domini Senescali Scocie genitum Anagusium filium quon- dam Johannis filii mei et Donnaldum quemdam aliuni filium meum naturalem quos quia tempore confeccionis presen- tis presentialiter promptos et paratos non habui, ipsos intrare seu reddi faciam apud castrum de Dunbretane ad festum natalis Domini proximo iam f uturum si potero alias citra vel ad festum Purifica- cionis beate Yirginis proximo inde se- quens sub pena infraccionis prestiti iuramenti et sub pena amissionis om- nium que erga dominum nostrum regem amittere potero, quouis modo, ad quor- um obsidum intracionem vt premittitur faciendam dominum meum dominum Senescallum Scocie Comitem de Strath- erne fideiussorem inueni cuius sigillum causa fideiussionis huiusmodi et eciam ad maiorem rei euidenciam vna cum sigillo meo proprio est appensum pre- sentibus in testimonium premissorum Actum et datum anno die et loco pre- dictis.l Letters 00, page 237. In the MS. Cartulary of Kelso, pre- served in the valuable collection of the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh, is to be found the following interesting and curious Rent-roll of the possessions of that rich religious house, which throws great light on the state of the agriculture of ancient Scotland : — Rotulus reddituum Monasterii de Kalchou tarn de Temporalibus videlicet de antiquis firmis terrarum suarum, in burgis et extra burga, de antiquis exiti- bus grangiarum etDominuorum suorum, quam de spiritualibus scilicet de pen- sionibus debetis in ecclesiis suis et de antique assedatione decimarum suarum ubi sub compendio factus. i Robertson's Parliamcatiiry Records, p, 115. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 38c De Temporalibus. Habent monachi dicti Monasterii in vicecomitatu de Rokisburg in tempo- ralibus Grangiam de Reveden, cum villa in puram elemosynam : ubi habent dominium in quo colebant per quinque carucas, et ubi possint habere unum gregem ovium matricum circa xx et pasturam ad boves suos. Habent ibi octo terras husbandorum, et unam bova- tum terrce, quarum quilibet fecit talia servicia aliquo tempore videlicet. Qua- libet septimana in estate unum carra- gium cum uno equo apud Berwicum et portabit equus tres hollas bladi, vel duas bollas salis, vel unum bollam cum dimidia carbonum, et in hyeme fece- runt idem cariagium, sed non portavit equus nisi duas bollas bladi, unam et dimidiam bollam salis, unam bollam et ferloch carbonum : et qualibet septi- mana anni cum venerint de Berwic fecit quilibet terra unam dietam de oj>ere sibi injuncto. Item quum non venerunt apud Ber- wic coluerunt qualibet septimana per duos dies ; et in autumn o quum non venerunt apud Berwic fecerunt tres dietas ; et tunc quilibet husbandus cepit cum terra sua (staht ?) scil : duos boves unum equum tres celdras avine, sex bollas ordei, et tres bollas frumenti. Et postmodum quum Abbas Ricardus mutavit illud servicium in argentum reddiderunt sursum suum staht, et dedit quilibet pro terra sua per annum xviii solidos Habent ibi de- cern et novem cotagia, quorum octo decern quodlibet reddit per annum xii d. et sex dietas in autumno recipiendo cibos suos; et adjuvabant circa locio- nem et tonsionem bidentum pro cibis suis ; et decimum nonum cotagium reddit xviii d. et novem dietas. Item solebant ibi duae braccine esse, que reddebant duas marcas per annum. Habent ibi molendinum quod solebat reddere per annum novem marcas. Habent apud Hauden unam carruca- tam terra? quam semper habuerunt in manu sua. Habent apud Sprouston duas caruca- tas terrce in Dominio ubi solebant colere cum duabas carucis, cum communi pas- tura dicte ville ad duodecim boves, quatuor assos et iii c hoggass. Habent ibi unam bovatam terras quam Hugo Cay tenuit que solebat reddere per annum x solidos. Habent ibi sex cotagia quarum unum qriod est pro- pinquum domui vicarii habet sex acras terras sibi pertinentes cum bracina que solebat reddere per annum sex solidos. Apud Scottoun habent duas acras terns et communem pasturam pro iiii c mul- tonibus, et habent licenciam fodiendi focale quantum voluerint in ilia com- munia, et solebant haberi unum homi- nem in molendino ibidem et unum porcum, et ibi solebant molere bladum suum de Colpinhopis, sed nunc quod habent licenciam habendi molendinum apud Colpinhopis et molere bladum suum ad x^roprium molendinum dabunt annuatim molendino de Schottoun di- midiam marcam. Habent in tenemento de Yetham juxta molendinum de Colpinhopis tres acras terre cum communi pastura de Yetham quas molendinarius de Colpin- hopis solebat tenere, et ibi solebant monachi habere et facere receptacu- lum bonorum suorum de Colpinhopis quum viderint aliquid periculum ex altera parte. Apud Cliftoun habent septem acras terre quas dnus ecclesie de Mole dedit pro pane benedicto in- veniendo. Habent unam grangiam que vocatur Colpinopis ultra marchiam ubi possint colere cum duabus carucis pro tempore hiemali ; et habere pasturam viginti boves et xx u vaccas, et post annum deponere sequelam suam, et v° oves matrices et ii c alios bidentes. Apud Molle habent apud Altoriburn 1 acras terre arabilis et prati cum com- muni pastura ad iii c bidentes cum libero introitu et excitu, et ad decern boves et iiii assos, et habebunt in bosco de Scrogges stac et flac pro omnibus suis nrmandis, et virgas pro reparacione carucarum suarum Habent villam de Bolden in qua sunt viginti octo terre husbandorum quarum quilibet solebat reddere per annum vi sol. et viii denar. ad £>ente- costem et Sancti Martini, et faciendo talia servicia. Scil : metendo in au- tumpno per quatuor dies cum tota familia sua quilibet husbandus et uxor sua ; et faciet similiter quintain dietam in autumpno cum duobus hominibus. Et quilibet cariabit unum plaustrum petarum vel pullis usque ad Abbatiam in cestate et non plus. Et quilibet hus- bandus faciet cariagium per unum equum de Berwick una vice per annum et habebunt victum suum de Monasteries quum faciunt hujusmodi servicium, et quilibet eorum solebat colere qnolibet anno ad grangium de Newton unam 382 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. acram terre, et dimidiam acram, et herciabit cum uno equo per unum diem, et quilibet inveniet unum homi- nem in locotione bidentum et alium hominem in tonsione sine victu et re- spondebunt sibi de formseco servicio et de aliis Sectis, et cariabunt bladum in autumpno cum uno plaustro per unum diem, et cariabunt lanam Abbatis de baronia usque ad Abbatiam et invenient sibi cariagia ultra, moram versus Les- mahago. Abbas Ricardus mutavit illud servicium in denar. per assedacionem fratris Willmi de Alincromb. tunc Camerarii Sui. The limits to which this note must be confined will not allow me to give further extracts from this curious manuscript rental, demonstrating the riches of the early monasteries. It appears, in the concluding pages of it, that Kelso possessed no less than thirty- four churches, the united rents of which amounted to the sum of v c li lib. xi solid, iiii denarii. The rental was drawn up previous to 1316. Letteks PP, pages 254, 255. Slavery of the Loicer Orders. In the ancient manuscript Cartulary of Dunfermline, preserved in the library of the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh, and page 541 of the Macfarlane trans- cript, is to be found the deed entitled, ' ' Perambulatio inter terras Abbatis de Dumferm. et terram David Hostiarii. scilicet Dunduf. 1231," which illustrates the comparative situation of the higher classes and the lower orders in the thir- teenth century. A jury of probi homines are therein summoned by the precept of the king, to determine the marches be- tween the lands of David Durward and the domain of the Abbacy, who take the evidence of the countrymen residing on the spot, and determine the question. The jury are the freemen; and their names are, with a few exceptions, Saxon and Norman names : the witnesses were evidently the nativi bondi, who were the property of their lord; and their names are almost exclusively Celtic. In the same Cartulary, p. 592, will be found a deed entitled, " Assisa Super Alano, filio Constantini et duobus filiis," \>y which we find that, in 1340, an as- size was held in the churchyard of Kar- tyl before David Wemyss, sheriff of Fife, to determine whether Alan, the son of Constantine, and his two sons, ! were the property of the Abbot of Dun- fermline, or of the Earl of Fife ; when it was found, " per fidelem assisam fidi dignorum et nobilium," that these per- sons belonged to the Lord Abbot of Dunfermline. See the same Cartulary, p. 654, for the names of the slaves given by David, probably David the First, to the church of Dunfermline. Their names, Marcoran, Mevynir, Gyllemi- chael, Malmuren, Gillecrist, Gillema- hagu, are, with one or two exceptions, Celtic. Letters QQ, page 255. State of the Lower Orders. In the same valuable Cartulary, p. 145, are to be found many genealogies of the slaves, or bondmen, who belonged in property to the monastery, which shew how carefully the marriages, the families, and the residence, of this un- fortunate class of men were recorded. I shall subjoin one of them : — Genealogia Edillblac. " Edillblac genuit W de Lathanland, Willmus Constantinum, Constantinus J ohannem qui vivit : Iste sunt homines de Dumferm. et remanentes. Gilbertus de Cupromal manet in Balnyr in schyra de Rerays. Galfr. de Dumberauch manens apud Dumberauch. Oristinus films adse manens apud Westerurchard Ego filius Gilberte manens in terra Ach de Kynros. Joannes filius Kynect manens apud Walwein, Oenenus freber- ner manens apud hichir mokedi. Patri- cius frater ejus manens apud Renke- louch Mauricius Colms. manens apud Petyn Kyr." In other genealogies, the place of the death and burial of the bondman is par- ticularly specified. Letters RR, page 323. Arms and Armour. This assize of arms will be found in the manuscript Cartulary of Aberbro- thoc, preserved in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh. Mac- farlane Transcript, p. 205. " Quod quilibet homo de regno laicus habens decern libras in bonis habeat pro corpore suo in defensionem regni unam sufficientem aketonam, unum bacinetum et cyrotecas de guerre, cum lancea et gladio. Et qui non habuerit aketonam et bacinetum habeat unum habergellum, vel unum bonum ferrum pro corpore NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 383 auo, unum capellum de f erro et cyrote- j cas de guerra, ita quod quilibet sit para- tus cum attyliis predictis citra octavas paschi proxime futuri. Et quecunque habens decern libras in bonis, non habu- erit tunc omnia armorum attylia pre- dicta, perdat omnia bona sua. Ita quod dnus rex habeat unam medietatem bon- orum, et dnus illius qui in def ectu f uerit repertus habeat aliam medietatem. _ Et dnus rex vult quod singuli vicecomites rgni cum dnis locorum inquirant super his, et faciant monstracionem statim post octavas Paschae predictas. Praete- rea dnus rex vult et precipit quod qui- cunque habens valorem unius vacce in bonis habeat unam bonam lanceam, vel unum bonum arcum, cum uno scafo sagittarum, videlicet viginti quatuor sa- gittis, cum pertinenciis sub pena pre- scripta." Letters SS, page 325. Dress of the Ladies. I shall give the passage in the original, from the beautiful edition of this inte- resting and curious poem, published in 1814 by Didot:— «*Puis li revest en maintes guises Robes faites par grans maistrises De braus dras de soie, ou de laine De scarlate ou de tirelaine, De vert, de pers ou de brunete De color fresche, fine et nete Ou moult a riches pennes niises Erminees, vaires ou grises Puis les li oste, puis repoie Cum li siet bien robe de soie Cendaus, molequins Arrabis Indes vermaus jaunes, et bis Samis diapres, Camelos \ Por neant fut ung angelos ' Tant est de contenance simple- Autrefois li met une gimple Et par dessus ung cuevrechief , has suppressed the words, "sulde be imputyt to the kyng." His words are, "sulde be imput to the king's official's." 1398.] administer the office according to the directions of the Council-General ; or, in absence of the parliament, with the advice of a council of experienced and faithful men, of whom the principal are to be the Duke of Albany, and Walter Stewart, lord of Brechin, the Bishops of St Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, and the Earls of Douglas, Ross, Moray, and Crawford. To these were added, the Lord of Dalkeith, the Constable Sir Thomas Hay, the Mar- shal Sir William Keith, Sir Thomas Erskine, Sir Patrick Graham, Sir John Levingston, Sir William Stewart, Sir John of Ramorgny, Adam Forester, along with the Abbot of Holyrood, the Archdean of Lothian, and Mr Wal- ter Forester. It was next directed, that the different members of this council should take an oath to give to the young regent "lele counsail, for the common profit of the realm, nocht havande therto fede na f rendschyp ; " and that the duke himself be sworn to fulfil everything which the king, in his coronation oath, had promised to Holy Kirk and the people. These duties of the king were summarily explained to consist in the upright administration of the laws ; the main- tenance of the old manners and cus- toms for the people; the restraining and punishing of all manslayers, reifars, brennars, and generally all strong and masterful misdoers; and more especially in the seizing and put- ting down of all cursed or excommu- nicated men and heretics. Such being the full powers com- mitted to the regent, provision was made against an abuse very common in those times. The king, it was de- clared, shall be obliged not to "let or hinder the prince in the execution of his office by any counter-orders, as has hitherto happened; and if such were given, the lieutenant was not to be bound either to return an answer to obey them." It was next directed by the parliament that whatever mea- sures were adopted, or orders issued, in the execution of this office, should be committed to writing, with the date of the day and place, and the names of the councillors bv whose ROBERT III. 9 advice they were adopted, so tnat each councillor may be ready to answer for his own deed, and, if necessary, sub- mit to the punishment which, in the event of its being illegal, should be adjudged by the council-general. It was determined in the same parlia- ment that the prince, in the discharge of his duties as lieutenant, was to have the same salary allowed him as that given to the Duke of Albany, his pre- decessor in the office of regent, at the last council-general held at Stirling. With regard to the relations with foreign powers, it was resolved that an embassy, or, as it is singularly called, "a great message," be de- spatched to France, and that com mis* sioners should be appointed to treat at Edinburgh of the peace with England, to determine whether the truce of twenty-eight years should be accepted or not. On the subject of finance, a general contribution of eleven thousand pounds was raised for the common necessities of the kingdom, of which the clergy agreed to contribute their share, under protestation that it did not prejudice them in time to come; and the said contribution was directed to be levied upon all goods, cattle, and lands, as well demesne as other lands, excepting white sheep, riding-horses, and oxen for labour. With regard to the bur- gesses who were resident beyond the Forth, it was stated that they must contribute to this tax, as well as those more opulent burghers who dwelt in the south, upon protestation that their ancient laws and free customs should be preserved; that they should be required to pay only the same duties upon wool, hides, and skins, as in the time of King Robert last deceased, and be free from all tax upon salmon. The statutes which were passed in the council held at Perth in April last, regarding the payment of duties upon English and Scotch cloth, salt, flesh, grease, and butter, as well as horse and cattle, exported to • England, w T ere appointed to be continued in force; and the provisions of the same parlia- ment went on to declare that, con- sidering the "great and horrible de- 10 HISTORY OF structions, rerschips, burning, and slaughter, which disgraced the king- dom, it was ordained, by consent of the three estates, that every sheriff should make proclamation that no man riding or going through the coun- try be accompanied with more atten- dants than they are able to pay for; and that, under penalty of the loss of life and goods, no man disturb the country by such slaughters, burnings, raids, and destructions, as had been common under the late governor" The act also declared that, "after such proclamation has been made, the sheriff shall use all diligence to dis- cover and arrest the offenders, and shall bind them over to appear and stand their trial at the next justice ayre : if unable to find bail, they were immediately to be put to the know- ledge of an assize, and if found guilty, instantly executed." "With regard to those higher and more daring offenders, whom the power of the sheriff or his inferior offi- cers was altogether unable to arrest, (and there can be little doubt that this class included the greater portion of the nobles,) it was provided that this officer a should publicly declare the names of them that may not be arrested, enjoining them within fifteen days to come and find bail to appear and stand their trial, under the penalty that all who do not obey this summons shall be put to the king's horn, and their goods and estate confiscated." The only other provision of this par- liament regarded a complaint of the queen-mother, stating that her pension of two thousand six hundred marks had been refused by the Duke of Albany, the chamberlain, and an order by the king that it be immediately paid — a manifest proof of the jealousy which existed between this ambitious noble and the royal family. 1 "Whilst such was the course of events in Scotland, and the ambition of Rothe- say in supplanting his uncle Albany was crowned with success, an extra- ordinary event had taken place in England, which seated Henry of Lan- caster upon the throne, under the title i MS. Record of Parliament 1398, lit supra. SCOTLAND. [Chap. L of Henry the Fourth, and doomed Richard the Second to a perpetual prison. It was a revolution having in its commencement perhaps no higher object than to restrain within the limits of law the extravagant preten- sions of the king ; but it was hurried on to a consummation by a rashness and folly upon his part which alienated the whole body of his people, and opened up to his rival an avenue to the throne which it was difficult for human ambition to resist. The spec- tacle, however, of a king deposed by his nobles, and a crown forcibly appro- priated by a subject who possessed no legitimate title, was new and appalling, and created in Scotland a feeling of indignant surprise, which is apparent in the accounts of our contemporary historians. Nor was this at all extra- ordinary. The feudal nobility con- sidered the kingdom as a fee descend- ible to heirs, and regarded the right to the throne as something very similar to their own right to their estates ; so that the principle that a kingdom might be taken by conquest, on the allegation that the conduct of the king was tyrannical, was one which, if it gave Henry of Lancaster a lawful title, might afford to a powerful neighbour just as good a right to seize upon their property. It was extraordinary for us to hear, says Winton, with much sim- plicity, that a great and powerful king, who was neither pagan nor heretic, should yet be deposed like an old ab- bot, who is superseded for dilapidation of his benefice ; 2 and it is quite evi- dent, from the terms of the address which Henry used at his coronation, and his awkward attempt to mix up the principle of the king having va- cated the throne by setting himself above the laws, with a vague heredi- tary claim upon his own side, that the same ideas were present to his mind, and occasioned him uneasiness and perplexity. 3 It is well known that he was scarce seated on the throne when a conspiracy for the restoration of the deposed monarch was discovered, which was » Winton, vol ii. p. 386. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 427. 1398.] ROBE soon after followed by the news that Richard had died in Pontefract castle, and by the removal of a body declared to be that of the late king from Pom- fret to St Paul's, where, as it lay in state in its royal shroud, Henry him- self, and the whole of the nobility, officiated in the service for the dead. A report, however, almost immediately arose, that this was not the body of the king, who, it was affirmed, was still alive, but that of Maudelain, his private chaplain, lately executed as one of the conspirators, and to whom the king bore a striking resemblance. 1 After the funeral service, it is certain that Henry did not permit the body to be deposited in the tomb which Richard had prepared for himself and his first wife, at Westminster, but had it conveyed to the church of the preaching friars at King's Langley, where it was interred with the utmost secrecy and despatch. 2 Not long after this an extraordinary story arose in Scotland. King Richard, it was affirmed, having escaped from Pontefract, had found means to convey himself, in the disguise of a poor tra- veller, to the Western, or out Isles of Scotland, where he w T as accidentally recognised by a lady who had known him in Ireland, and who was sister- in-law to Donald, lord of the Isles. Clothed in this mean habit, the un- happy monarch sat down in the kit- chen of the castle belonging to this island prince, fearful, even in this remote region, of being discovered and delivered up to Henry. He was treated, however, with much kindness, and given in charge to Lord Montgomery, who carried him to the court of Robert the Third, where he was received with honour. It w r as soon discovered that, whatever was the history of his escape, either misfortune for the time had un- settled his intellect, or that, for the purpose of safety, he assumed the guise of madness, for although recog- nised by those to whom his features were familiar, he himself denied that 1 Metrical History o', the Deposition of Richard the Second. Archseologia, vol. xx. p. 220. 2 Otterburn, p. 229. Walsingham, p. 363. Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. i. p. 168. IT III. 11 he was the king; and Winton descril i s him as half mad or wild. It is cer- tain, however, that during the con- tinuance of the reign of Robert the Third, and after his death, throughout the regency of Albany, a period of nineteen years, this mysterious per- son was treated with the consideration befitting the rank of a king, although detained in a sort of honourable cap- tivity ; and it was constantly asserted in England and France, and believed by many of those best able to ob- tain accurate information, that King" Richard was alive, and kept in Scot- land. So much, indeed, was this the case that, as we shall immediately see, the reign of Henry the Fourth, and of his successor, was disturbed by re- peated conspiracies, which w r ere in- variably connected with that country, and which had for their object his restoration to the throne. It is cer- tain also that in contemporary records of unquestionable authenticity, he is spoken of as Richard the Second, king of England; that he lived and died in < the palace of Stirling ; and that he was buried with the name, state, and hon- ours of that unfortunate monarch. 3 A cloud now began to gather over Scotland, which threatened to inter- rupt the quiet current of public pro- sperity, and once more to plunge the country into w T ar. It was thought proper that the Duke of Rothesay, the heir-apparent to the throne, should no longer continue unmarried; and the Earl of March, one of the most power- ful nobles in the kingdom, proposed his daughter, with the promise of a large dowry, as a suitable match for the young prince. The offer was ac- cepted, but before the preliminaries w r ere arranged, March found his de- signs traversed and defeated by the intrigues and ambition of a family now more powerful than his own. Archibald, earl of Douglas, loudly complained that the marriage of the heir to the crown was too grave a matter to be determined without the advice of the three estates, and, with the secret design of procuring the- s See Historical Remarks on the Death of Richard the Second, infra. 12 .HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. prince's hand for his own daughter, engaged in his interest the Duke of Albany, who still possessed a great in- fluence over the character of the king. What were Rothesay's own wishes upon the occasion is not easily ascer- tained. It is not improbable that his gay and dissipated habits, which un- fortunately seem not to have been re- strained by his late elevation, would have induced him to decline the pro- posals Of both the earls; but he was overruled, the splendid dowry paid down by Douglas, which far exceeded the promises of March, was perhaps the most powerful argument in the estimation of the prince and the king, and it was determined that the daugh- ter of Douglas should be preferred to Elizabeth of Dunbar. In the meantime the intrigue reached the ears of March, who was not of a temper to suffer tamely so. disgraceful a slight; and, little able or caring to conceal his indignation, he instantly sought the royal presence and up- braided the king for his breach of agreement, demanding redress and the restoration of the sum which he had paid down. Receiving an evasive re- ply, his passion broke out into the most violent language ; and he left the monarch with a threat that he would either see his daughter righted, or take a revenge which should convulse the kingdom. The first part of the alter- native, however, was impossible. It was soon discovered that Rothesay with great speed and secrecy had rode to Bothwell, where his marriage with Elizabeth Douglas had been precipi- tately concluded ; and the moment that this intelligence reached him, March committed the charge of his castle of Dunbar to Maitland, his nephew, repaired to the English court, and entered into a correspondence with the new king. His flight was the signal for the Douglases to wrest his castle out of I the hands of the weak and irresolute youth to whom it had been intrusted, and to seize upon his noble estates; so that to the insult and injustice with which he had already been treated was added an injury which left him [Chap. I, without house or lands, and compelled him to throw himself into the arms of England. 1 On ascending the throne, the Duke of Lancaster, known henceforth by the title of- Henry the Fourth, was natu- rally anxious to consolidate his power, and would willingly have remained at peace ; but the expiration of the truce which had been concluded with his predecessor seems to have been hailed with mutual satisfaction by the fierce Borderers ; and careless of the pesti- lence which raged in England, the Scots broke across the marches in great force, and stormed the castle of Wark during the absence of Sir Thomas Gray, the governor,' 2 who, hurrying back to defend his charge, found it razed to the foundation. These in- roads were speedily revenged by Sir Robert Umfraville, who defeated the Scots in a skirmish at Fullhopelaw, which was contested with much ob- stinacy. Sir Robert Rutherford with his five sons, Sir William Stewart, and J uhn Turnbull, a famous leader, com- monly called " Outwyth Swerd," were made prisoners ; 3 and the ancient en- mity and rivalry between the two na- tions being again excited, the Borderers on both sides issued from their woods and marshes, and commenced their usual system of cruel and unsparing ravage. For a while these mutual excesses were overlooked, or referred to the decision of the march-wardens; but Henry was well aware that the secret feelings both of the king and of Albany were against him : he knew they were in strict alliance with France, which threatened him w T ith invasion ; and the story of the escape of the real or pre- tended Richard, whom he of course branded as an impostor, while the Scots did not scruple to entertain him as king, was likely to rouse his keenest indignation. He accordingly received the Earl of March with distinguished favour ; and this baron, whose remon- strances regarding the restoration of 1 Rotuli Scotise, vol. ii. p. 153. Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 153. 2 Walsingham, p. 362. s Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 162. "This expressive appellative" appears in Rymer, " Joaunus Tournebull Out wyth Swerd." 1398-1401.] KOBE his castle and estates had been an- swered with scorn, renounced his alle- giance to his lawful sovereign, and agreed to become henceforward the faithful subject of the King of Eng- land ; 1 upon which that monarch publicly declared his intention of in- stantly invading the c'ountry, and pre- pared, at the head of an army, to chastise the temerity of his vassal in the assumed character of Lord Su- perior of Scotland. In so ludicrous a light did \he revival of this exploded claim appear, that, with the exception of a miserable pasquinade, it met with no notice whatever. March in the meantime, in conjunction with Hot- spur and Lord Thomas Talbot, at the head of two thousand men, entered Scotland through the lands which he could no longer call his own, and wast- ing the country as far as the village of Popil, twice assaulted the castle of Hailes, but found himself repulsed by the bravery of the garrison; after which they burnt and plundered the villages of Traprain and Methill, and encamped at Linton, where they col- lected their booty, kindled their fires, and as it was a keen and cold evening in November, proposed to pass the night. So carelessly had they set their watches, however, that Archibald Douglas, the earl's eldest son, by a rapid march from Edinburgh, had reached the hill of Pencrag before the English received any notice of his ap- proach ; upon which they took to flight in the utmost confusion, pursued by the Scots, who made many prisoners in the wood of Coldbrandspath, and continued the chase to the walls of Berwick, where they took the banner of Lord Talbot. 2 Soon after this Henry determined to make good his threats ; and, at the "bead of an army far superior in num- ber to any force which the Scots could oppose to him, proceeded to New- castle ; and from thence summoned Robert of Scotland to appear before him as his liegeman and vassal. 3 To this ridiculous demand no answer was 1 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 153. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 429. 3 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. pp. iaT, 15S. IT III. 13 returned, and the king advanced into Scotland, directing his march towards the capital. Rothesay,- the governor, now commanded the castle of Edin- burgh, and, incensed at the insolence of Henry, sent him his cartel, publicly de- fying him as his adversary of England; accusing him of having invaded, for the sole love of plunder, a country to which he had no title whatever ; and offering to decide the quarrel, and spare the effusion of Christian blood which must follow a protracted war, by a combat of one hundred, two hun- dred, or three hundred nobles on each side. 4 This proposal Henry evaded, and proceeded without a check to Leith, from which he directed a moni- tory letter to the king, which, like his former summons, was treated with silent scorn. The continuance of the expedition is totally deficient in historical interest, and is remarkable only from the cir- cumstance that it was the last invasion which an English monarch ever con- ducted into Scotland. It possessed, also, another distinction highly honourable to its leader, in the unusual lenity which attended the march of the army, and the absence of that plunder, burn- ing, and indiscriminate devastation, which had accompanied the last great invasion of Richard, and indeed almost every former enterprise of the English. After having advanced to Leith, where he met his fleet, and reprovisioned his army, Henry proceeded to lay siege to the castle of Edinburgh, which was bravely defended by the Duke of Rothesay. Albany in the meantime having collected a numerous army, pushed on by rapid marches towards the capital, with the apparent design of raising the siege and relieving the heir to the throne from the imminent danger to which he was exposed. On reaching Calder-moor, however, he pitched his tents, and shewed no in- clination to proceed; whilst public rumour loudly accused him of an in- tention to betray the prince into the hands of the enemy, and clear for himself a passage to the throne. Yet,, although the prior and subsequent * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 158. 14 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. 1. conduct of Albany gave a plausible colour to such reproaches, it is not impossible that the duke might have avoided a battle without any such base intentions. The season of the year was far advanced, and the numerous host of the English king was already suffering grievously, both from sick- ness and. want of provisions. Rothe- say, on the contrary, and his garrison, were well provisioned, in high spirits, and ready to defend a fortress of great natural strength to the last extremity. The event shewed the wisdom of these calculations ; for Henry, after a short experience of the strength of the castle, withdrew his army from the siege; and receiving, about the same time, intelligence of the rebellion of the Welsh, commenced his retreat into England. It was conducted with the same discipline and moderation which had marked his advance. Wherever a castle or fortalice requested protection it was instantly granted, and a pennon with the arms of England was hung over the battlements, which was . sacredly respected by the soldiers. Henry's reply to two canons of Holy- rood, who besought him to spare their monastery, was in the same spirit of benevolence and courtesy. " Xever," said he, " while I live, shall I cause distress to any religious house what- ever : and God forbid that the monas- tery of Holyrood, the asylum of my father when an exile, should suffer aught from his son ! I am myself a Cumin, and by this side half a Scot; and I came here with my army, not to ravage the land, but to answer the defiance of certain amongst you who have branded me as a traitor, to see whether they dare to make good the opprobrious epithets with which I am loaded in their letters to the French king, which were intercepted by my people, and are now in my possession. I sought him" (he here probably meant the Duke of Albany) " in his own land, anxious to give him an opportunity of establishing his innocence, or proving my guilt ; but he has not dared to meet me." 1 1 Fardun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 430. That these were not the real motives which led to an expedition so pompous in its preliminaries, and so inglorious in its results, Henry himself has told us, in the revival of the claim of ho- mage, the summons to Robert as his vassal, and his resolution to punish his contumacy, and to compel him to sue for pardon; but when he discovered that any attempt to effect this would be utterly futile, and the rumours of the rebellion of Glendower made him anxious to return, it was not impolitic to .change his tone of superiority into more courteous and moderate language, and to represent himself as coming to Scotland, not as a king to recover his dominions, but simply as a knight to avenge his injured honour. He after- wards asserted that, had it not been for the false and flattering promises of Sir Adam Forester, made to him when he was in Scotland, he should not have so readily quitted that country; but the subject to which the king alluded is involved in great obscurity. 2 It may, perhaps, have related to the de- livery into his hands of the mysterious captive who is supposed to have been Richard the Second. The condition of the country m>w called for the attention of the great national council; and on the 21st of February 1401, a parliament was held at Scone, 3 in which many wise and salutary laws were passed. To some of these, as they throw a strong and clear light upon the civil condition of the country, it will be necessary to direct our attention; nor will the reader, perhaps, regret that the stir- ring narrative of war is thus some- times broken by the quiet pictures of peace. The parliament was composed of the bishops, abbots, and priors, with the dukes, earls, and barons, and the freeholders and burgesses, who held of the king in chief. Its enactments ap- pear to have related to various subjects connected with feudal possession : such as the brief of inquest; the duty of the chancellor in directing a precept 2 Parliamentary Hist, of England, vol. ii. p. 72. s Statutes of King Robert the Third, p. 51. Regiam Majestatem. MOl.] ROBEB of seisin upon a retour; the preven- tion of distress to vassals from all im- proper recognition of their lands made by their overlords ; the regulation of the laws regarding the succession to a younger brother dying without heirs of his body ; and the prevention of a common practice, by which, without consent of the vassal, a new superior was illegally imposed upon him. Owing to the precarious condition of feudal property, which, in the confusions in- cident to public and private war, was constantly changing its master, and to the tyranny of the aristocracy of Scot- land, it is not surprising that number- less abuses should have prevailed, and that, to use the expressive language of the record itself, u divers and sindrie our soverane lordis lieges should be many wayes unjustlie troubled and wexed in their lands and heritage be inquisitions taken favorably, and be ignorant persons." To remedy such malversation, it was enacted that no sheriff or other judge should cause any brief of inquest to be served, except in his own open court ; and that the inquest should be composed of the most sufficient and worthy persons resident within his jurisdiction, whom he was to summon upon a premonition of fifteen days. When an inquest had made a retour, by which the reader is to understand the jury giving their verdict or judgment, the chancellor was prohibited from directing a pre- oept of seisin, or a command to deliver the lands into the hands of the vassal, unless it appeared clearly stated in the retour that the last heir was dead, and the lands in the hands of the king or the overlord. It was enacted, at the same time, that all barons and freeholders who held of the king should provide them- selves with a seal bearing their arms, and that the retour should have ap- pended to it the seals of the sheriff, and of the majority of the persons who sat upon the inquest. It appears to have been customary in those unquiet times, when " strongest might made strongest right," for the great feudal barons, upon the most frivolous pre- tences, to resume their vassals' lands, r in. 15 and to dispose of them to some more favoured or more powerful tenant. This great abuse, which destroyed all the security of property, and thus in- terrupted the agricultural and com- mercial improvement of the country, called for immediate redress ; and a statute was passed, by which all such " gratuitous recognitions or resump- tions of lands which had been made by any overlord, are declared of none effect, unless due and lawful cause be assigned for such having taken place." It was provided, also, that no vassal should lose possession of his lands in consequence of such recognition until after the expiration of a year, provided he used diligence to repledge his lands within forty days thereafter. 1 The mode in which this ceremony is to be performed is briefly but clearly pointed out : the vassal being commanded to pass to the principal residence of his overlord, and, before witnesses, to de- clare his readiness to perform all feudal services to which he is bound by law, requesting the restoration of his lands upon his finding proper security for the performance of his duties as vassal ; and in order to the prevention of all' concealed and illegal resumptions, it is made imperative on the overlord to give due intimation of them in the parish church, using the common language of the realm ; whilst the vassal is commanded to make the same proclamation of any offer to repledge in the same public manner. In the event of a younger brother dying with- out heirs of his body, it is declared that his "conquest lands" — that is, those acquired not by descent, but by purchase, or other title — should be- long to the immediate elder brother, according to the old law upon the sub- ject ; and it. is made illegal for any vassal holding lands of the king to have a new superior imposed upon him by any grant whatever, unless he himself consent to this alteration. In those times of violence, it is in- teresting to observe the feeble attempts of the legislature to introduce these restraints of the law. In the event of i Statutes of King Robert the Third, pp, 52, 55. 16 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. L a baron having a claim of debt against any unfortunate individual, it seems to have been a common practice for the creditor, on becoming impatient, to have proceeded to his house or lands, and there to have helped himself to an equivalent, or, in the language of the statute-book, "to have taken his poynd." And in such cases, where a feudal lord, with hi3 vassals at his heel, met with any attractive property, in the form of horses or cattle, or rich household furniture, it may easily be believed that he would stand on little ceremony as to the exact amount of the debt, but appropriate what pleased him without much compunction. This practice was declared illegal, " unless the seizure be made within his own dominions, and for his own proper debt:" an exception proving the ex- treme feebleness of the government ; and, in truth, when we consider the immense estates possessed at this pe- riod by the great vassals of the crown, amounting almost to a total annulment of the law. 1 In somewhat of the same spirit of toleration, a law was made against any one attempting, by his own power and authority, to expel a vassal from his lands, on the plea that he is not the rightful heir : and it was de- clared that, whether he be possessed of the land lawfully or unlawfully, he shall be restored to his possession, and retain the same until he lose it by the regular course of law ; whilst no pen- alty was inflicted on him who thus dared, in the open defiance of all peace and good government, to take the execution of the law into his own hands. It was next declared unlawful to set free upon bail certain persons accused of great or heinous crimes; and the offenders thus excepted were described to be those taken for manslaughter, breakers of prison, common and noto- rious thieves, persons apprehended for fire-raising or felony, falsifiers of the king's money or of his seal ; such as have been excommunicated, and seized by command of the bishop ; those ac- cused of treason, and bailies who are in arrears, and make not just accounts l Statutes of King Robert the Third, p. 54. to their masters. 2 Any excommuni- cated person who complains that he- has been unjustly dealt with, was em- powered within forty days to appeal from his judge to the conservator of the clergy, who, being advised by his counsel, must reform the sentence ; and, if the party still conceived him- self to be aggrieved, it was made law- ful for him to carry his appeal, in the last instance, to the General Assembly of the Church. With regard to the trial of cases by " singular combat," a wise attempt seems to have been made in this parliament to limit the circum- stances under which this savage and extraordinary mode of judgment was adopted ; and it is declared that there must be four requisites in every crime before it is to be so tried. It must infer a capital punishment — it must have been secretly perpetrated — the person appealed must be pointed out by public and probable suspicion aa- its author — and it must be of such a nature as to render a proof by written evidence or by witnesses impossible. It was appointed that the king's lieu- tenant, and others the kings judges, should be bound and obliged to hear the complaints of all churchmen, widows, pupils, and orphans, regard- ing whatever injuries may have been committed against them ; and that jus- tice should be done to them speedily, and without taking from them any pledges or securities. Strict regula- tion was made that all widows, who, after the death of their husbands, had been violently expelled from their dower lands, should be restored to their possession, with the accumulated rents due since their husband's death ; and it was specially provided, that in- terest or usury should not run against the debts of a minor until he is of per- fect age, but that the debt should be paid with the interest which was owing by his predecessor previous to his decease. 3 Some of the more minute regulations of the same parliament were curious : a fine of a hundred shillings was im- posed on all who catch salmon within 2 Statutes of King Robert the Third, p. 54. 3 Ibid. p. 56. 1401.] the forbidden time; a penalty of six shillings and eightpence on all who slay hares in time of snow; and it was strictly enjoined, as a statute to be observed through the whole realm, that there should be no muir-burning, or burning of heath, except in the month of March ; and that a penalty of forty shillings should be imposed upon any one who dared to infringe this regulation, which should be given to the lord of the land where the burning had taken place. 1 With regard to a subject of great importance, "the as- size of weightis and measuris," it is to be regretted that the abridgment of the proceedings of this parliament, left by Skene, which is all that re- mains to us, is in many respects con- fused and unintelligible. The original record itself is unfortunately lost. The chapter upon weights and measures commences with the declaration, that King David's common elne, or ell, had been found to contain thirty-seven measured inches, each inch being equal to three grains of bear placed length- ways, without the tail or beard. The stone, by which wool and other com- modities were weighed, was to contain fifteen pounds; but a stone of wax, only eight pounds : the pound itself being made to contain fifteen ounces, and to weigh twenty-five shillings. It is observed, in the next section of this chapter, that the pound of silver in the days of King Robert Bruce, the first of that name, contained twenty- six shillings and four pennies, in con- sequence of the deterioration of the money of this king from the standard money in the days of David the First, in whose time the ounce of silver. was coined into twenty pennies. The same quantity of silver under Robert the First was coined into twenty-one pen- nies ; " but now," adds the record, " in our days, such has been the deteriora- tion of the money of the realm, that the ounce of silver actually contains thirty-two pennies." It was enacted that the boll should contain twelve gallons, and. should be nine inches in depth, including the i Statutes of King Robert the Third, pp. &3, 54. VOL. II. ROBERT III. 11 thickness of the tree on both the side3. In the roundness or circumference above, it was to be made to contain threescore and twelve inches in the middle of the "ower tree;" but in the inferior roundness or circumference below, threescore eleven inches. The gallon was fixed to contain twelve pounds of water, four pounds of sea water, four of clear running water, and four of stagnant water. Its depth was to be six inches and a half, its breadth eight inches and a half, including the thickness of the wood on both sides ; its circumference at the top twenty- seven inches and a half, and at the bottom twenty -three inches. 2 Such were all the regulations with regard to this important subject which appear in this chapter, and they are to be re- garded as valuable and venerable relics of the customs of our ancestors ; but the perusal of a single page of the Chamberlain Accounts will convince us how little way they go towards making up a perfect table of weights and measures, and how difficult it is to institute anything like a fair com- parison between the actual wealth and comfort of those remote ages, and thy prosperity and opulence of our own times. The parliament next turned its at- tention to the providing of checks upon the conduct and administration of judges : a startling announcement, certainly, to any one whose opinions are formed on modern experience, but no unnecessary subject for parliamen- tary interference during these dark times. It was enacted that every sheriff should have a clerk appointed, not by the sheriff, but by the king, to whom alone this officer was to be responsible ; and that such clerk should be one of the king's retinue and house- hold, and shall advise with the king in all the affairs which were intrusted to him. 3 The sheriffs themselves were to appear yearly, in person or by deputy, in the king's Court of Exche- quer, under the penalty of ten pounds, and removal from office ; their fees, or salaries, were made payable out of th* 2 Statutes of Jung Robert the Third, p. 50 s Ibid. p. 57. 18 HISTORY OF each eats in their own courts, and were not due until an account had been given by them in the. Exchequer ; and it was specially ordained that no sheriff should pass from the king's court to execute his various duties in the sheriffdom, without having along with him for his information the "Acts of Parliament, and certain instructions in writ, to be given him by the king's Privy Council." It was enacted that justiciars should be appointed upon the south side and north side of the water of Forth ; it was made imper- ative upon these high judges to hold their courts twice in the year in each sheriffdom within their jurisdiction ; and if any justiciar omitted to hold his court without being able to allege any reasonable impediment, he was to lose a proportion of his salary, and to answer to the king for such neglect of duty. The process of all cases brought before the justiciar was appointed to be reduced into writing by the clerk ; and a change was introduced from the old practice with regard to the cir- cumstances under which any person summoned before the justiciar should be judged and punished as contuma- cious for not appearing. Of old, the fourth court — that is, the court held on the fourth day — was peremptory in all cases except such as concerned fee and heritage; but it was now appointed that the second court, or the court held on the second day, and on the last day, should be peremptory; and any person who, being lawfully sum- moned, neglected to appear on either of these days, was to be denounced a rebel and put to the horn, as was the custom in " auld times and courts." 1 The officer of the coroner was to arrest persons thus summoned ; and it was declared lawful for such officers to make such arrests at any time within the year, either before or after the proclamation of the justice ayre. All lords of regality — by which the reader is to understand such feudal barons as possessed authority to hold their own courts within a certain division of property, all sheriffs, and all barons, i Statutes of King Robert the Third, p. 57. SCOTLAND. [Chap. i. who have the power of holding crimi- nal courts — were strictly enjoined to follow the same order of proceeding as that which has been laid down for the observance of the justiciars. These supreme judges were also com- manded, in their annual courts, to inquire rigidly into the conduct of the sheriffs and other inferior officers ; to scrutinise the manner in which they have discharged the duties committed to them ; and, if they found them guilty of malversation, to remove them from their offices until the meeting of the next parliament. Any sheriff or inferior officer thus removed, was to find security for his appearance before the parliament, who, according to their best judgment, were to determine the punishment due for his offence, whe- ther a perpetual removal from his office, or only a temporary suspension ; and, in the meanwhile, the person so offending was ordained to lose his salary for that year, and another to be substituted by the justiciar in his place. With regard to such malefactors as were found to be common destroyers of the land, wasting the king's lieges with plundering expeditions, burning and consuming the country in their ruinous passage from one part to another, the sheriffs were commanded to do all diligence to arrest them, and to bind them over to appear at the next court of the justiciar on a certain day, under a penalty of twenty pounds for each offender, to be paid in case of contumacy, or non-appearance, by those persons who were his sureties ; and it was strictly enjoined that no person, in riding through the country, should be attended by more persons than those for whom he makes full pay- ment, under the penalty of loss of life and property. In all time coming, no one was to be permitted with impunity to commit any slaughter, burning, theft, or u herschip ; " and if the of- fender guilty of such crimes be not able to find security for his appearance to stand his trial before the justiciar, the sheriff was enjoined instantly to try him by an assize, and, if the crime be proved against him, take order for 1401.] ROBERT III. his execution. In the case of thieves and malefactors who escaped from one sheriffdom to another, the sheriff within whose jurisdiction the crime had been committed, was bound to direct his letters to the sheriff in whose county the delinquent had taken refuge. It was made imperative on such officer, with the barons, free- holders, and others the king's lieges, to assist in the arrest of such fugitives, in order to their being brought to justice ; and this in eyery case, as well against their own vassals and retinue as against others ; whilst any baron or other person who disobeyed this order, and refused such assistance, was to pay ten pounds to the king, upon the offence being proved against him before a jury. . It was made lawful for any tenant or farmer who possessed lands imder a lease of a certain endurance, to sell or dispose of the lease to whom he pleased, any time before its expiry. Any vassal or tenant who was found guilty of concealing the charter by which he held his lands, when sum- moned by his overlord to exhibit it, was to lose all benefit he might claim upon it ; and in the case of a vassal having lost such charter, or of his never having had any charter, a jury was to be impannelled, in the first event, for the purpose of investigating by witnesses whether the manner of holding corresponds with the tenor of the charter which had been lost ; and, in the second case, to establish by what precise manner of holding the vassal was in future to be bound to his overlord, which determination of the assize was in future to stand for his charter. If any person, in conse- quence of the sentence of a jury, had taken seisin or possession of land which was then in the hands of an- other, who affirmed it to be his pro- perty, it was made lawful for this last to retain possession, and to break the seisin, by instituting a process for its reduction within fifteen days, if the lands be heritage, and forty days if they be conquest. If any pork or bacon, which was unwholesome from uny cause, or salmon spoilt and foul 19 from being kept too long, was brought, to market, it was to be seized by the bailies, and sent immediately to the "lipper folk," 1 — a species of barbarous economy which says little for the hu- manity of the age ; the bailies, at the same time, were to take care that the money paid for it be restored, and "gif there are no lipper folk," the obnoxious provisions were to be de- stroyed. 2 Such is an outline of the principal provisions of this parliament, which I have detailed at some length, as they are the only relics of our legislative history which we shall meet with until the reign of the first James ; a period when the light reflected upon the state of the country, from the parlia- mentary proceedings, becomes more full and clear. Important as these provisions are, and evincing no incon- siderable wisdom for so remote a period, it must be recollected that, in such days of violence and feudal tyranny, it was an easier thing to pass acts of parliament than to carry them into execution. In all probability, there was not an inferior baron, who, sitting in his own court, surrounded by his mail-clad vassals, did not feel himself strong enough to resist the feeble voice of the law ; and as for the greater nobles, to whom such high offices as Justiciar, Chancellor, or Chamberlain, were committed, it is certain, that instead of the guardians of the laws, and protectors of the rights of the people, they were them- selves often their worst oppressors, and, from their immense power and vassalage, able in frequent instances to defy the mandates of the crown, and to resist all legitimate autho- rity. Of this prevalence of successful guilt in the higher classes, the history of the country during the year in which this parliament assembled, af- forded a dreadful example, in the murder of the Duke of Rothesay, the heir-apparent to the throne, by his uncle the Duke of Albany. Rothesay's marriage, which in all probability was 1 Leprous folk. 2 Statutes of King Robert the Third, p. 20 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. rCHAP. t the result of political convenience more than of inclination, does not appear to have improved his character. At an age when better things were to be expected, his life continued turbu- lent and licentious ; the spirit of mad unbridled frolic in which, he indulged, the troops of gay and dissipated com- panions with whom he associated, gave just cause of offence to his friends, and filled the bosom of his fond and weak father with anxiety and alarm. Even after his assuming the temporary government of the country, his con- duct was wild and unprincipled; he often employed the power intrusted to him against, rather than in support of, the laws and their ministers ; plundered the collectors of the rev- enue ; 1 threatened and overruled the officers to whose management the public money was intrusted ; and ex- hibited an impatience for uncontrolled dominion. Yet amid all his recklessness, there was a high honour and a courageous openness about Rothesay, which were every now and then breaking out, and giving promise of reformation. He hated all that was double, whilst he despised, and delighted to expose, that selfish cunning which he had detected in the character of his uncle, whose ambition, however carefully concealed, could not escape him. Albany, on the other hand, was an enemy whom it was the extremity of folly and rash- ness to provoke. He was deep, cold, and unprincipled ; his objects were pursued with a pertinacity of purpose, and a eomplete command of temper, which gave him a great superiority over the wild and impetuous nobility by whom he was surrounded: and when once in his power, his victims had nothing to hope for from his pity. Rothesay he detested, and there is reason to believe had long determined on his destruction, as the one great obstacle which stood in the path of his ambition, and as the detector of his deep-laid intrigues ; but he was for a while controlled and overawed by the influence of the queen, and of i Chamberlain Accounts, vol. ii. pp. 512, *20, 476. her two principal friends and advisers, Trail, bishop of St Andrews, and Archibald the Grim, earl of Douglas. Their united wisdom and authority had the happiest effects in restraining the wildness of the prince : soothing the irritated feelings of the king, whose age and infirmity had thrown him into complete retirement; and counteract- ing the ambition of Albany, who pos- sessed too great an influence over tha mind of the monarch. But soon after this the queen died; the Bishop of St Andrews and the Earl of Douglas did not long survive her; and, to use thd strong expression of Fordun, it was now said commonly through th<3 land, 2 that the glory and the honesty of Scotland were buried with theso three noble persons. All began to look with anxiety for what was to follow ; nor were they long kept in suspense. The Duke of Rothesay, freed from the gentle control of ma- ternal love, broke into some of his ac- customed excesses; and the king, by the advice of Albany, found it neces- sary to subject him to a control which ; little agreed with his impetuous tem- per. It happened that amongst the prince's companions was a Sir John de Ramorgny, who, by a judicious ac- commodation of himself to his caprici- ous humours, by flattering his vanity and ministering to his pleasures, had gained the intimacy of Rothesay. Ramorgny appears to have been one of those men in whom extraordinary, and apparently contradictory qualities were found united. From his educa- I tion, which was of the most learned i kind, he seems to have been intended i for the church ; but the profligacy of ' his youth, and the bold and audacious spirit which he exhibited, unfitted i him for the sacred office, and he be- came a soldier and a statesman. His great talents for business being soon discovered by Albany, he was repeat- edly employed in diplomatic negotia- tions both at home and abroad; and ■ this intercourse with foreign coun- tries, joined to a cultivation of those 2 Fordun a G-oodal, vol. ii. p. 431. Extncta ex Chronicis Scotise, MS. p. 248. 1401-2.] ROBE] elegant accomplishments to which most of the feudal nobility of Scot- land were still strangers, rendered his manners and his society exceed- ingly attractive to the young prince. But these polished and delightful qualities were superinduced upon a character of consummate villany, as unprincipled in every respect as that of Albany, but fiercer, more audacious, and, if possible, more unforgiving. Such was the person whom Rothe- say, in an evil moment, admitted to his confidence and friendship, and to whom, upon being subjected to the restraint imposed upon him by Albany und his father, he vehemently com- plained. Ramorgny, with all his acute- ness, had in one respect mistaken the character of the prince ; and, deceived by the violence of his resentment, he darkly hinted at a scheme for ridding himself of his difficulties by the assas- sination of his uncle. To his astonish- ment the proposal was met by an expression of scorn and abhorrence; and whilst Rothesay disdained to be- tray his profligate associate, he up- braided him in terms too bitter to be forgiven. From that moment Ram- orgny was transformed into his worst enemy; and throwing himself into the arms of Albany, became possessed <»f his confidence, and turned it with fatal revenge against Rothesay. 1 It was unfortunate for this young prince that his caprice and fondness for plea- eure, failings which generally find their punishment in mere tedium and disappointment, had raised against him two powerful enemies, who sided with Albany and Ramorgny, and, stimulated by a sense of private in- jury, readily lent themselves to any plot for his ruin. These were Archi- bald, earl of Douglas, the brother of Rothesay's wife, Elizabeth Douglas, an<| Sir William Lindsay of Rossie, whose sister he had loved and for- saken. Ramorgny well knew that Douglas hated the prince for the cold- ness and inconstancy with which he treated .his wife, and that Lindsay had never forgiven the slight put 1 Extracta ex Chronicis Scotire, MS. Advo- «8tes bibrarv. Edinburgh, p. 248 IT III. 21 upon his sister ; and with all the dis- simulation in which he was so great a master, he, assisted by Albany, con- trived out of these dark elements to compose a plot which it would have required a far more able person than Rothesay to have defeated. They began by representing to the king, whose age and infirmities now confined him to a distant retirement, and who knew nothing but through the representations of Albany, that the wild and impetuous conduct of his son required a more firm exertion of restraint than any which had yet been employed against him. The bearers of this unwelcome news to the king w r ere Ramorgny and Lind- say; and such was the success of their representations, that they re- turned to Albany with an order under the royal signet to arrest the prince and place him in temporary confine- ment. Secured by this command, the conspirators now drew their meshes more closely round their victim ; and the bold and unsuspicious character of the prince gave them every advan- tage. It was the custom in those times for the castle or palace of any deceased prelate to be occupied by the king until the election of his suc- cessor; and although the triennial period of the prince's government was now expired, yet probably jealous of the resumption of his power by Al- bany, he determined to seize the castle of St Andrews, belonging to Trail the bishop, lately deceased, before he should be anticipated by any order of the king. The design was evidently illegal ; and Albany, who had received intimation of it, determined to make it the occasion of carrying his purpose into execution. He accordingly laid his plan for intercepting the prince; and Rothesay, as he rode towards St Andrews, accompanied by a small retinue, was arrested near Stratyrum by Ramorgny and Lindsay, and sub- jected to a strict confinement in the castle of St Andrews, until the duke and the Earl of Douglas should deter- mine upon his fate. This needed little time, for it .had been long resolved on ; and when 2a HISTORY OF SCOTLAND once masters of his person, the cata- strophe was as rapid as it was horrible. In a tempestuous day Albany and Douglas, with a strong party of sol- diers, appeared at the castle, and dis- missed the few servants who waited on him. They then compelled him to mount a sorry horse, threw a coarse cloak over his splendid dress, and hur- rying on, rudely and without cere- mony, to Falkland, thrust him into a dungeon. The unhappy prince now saw that his death was determined ; but he little anticipated its cruel nature. For fifteen days he was suf- fered to remain without food, under the charge of two ruffians named Wright and Selkirk, 1 whose task it was to watch the agony of their vic- tim till it ended in death. It is said that for a while the wretched prisoner was preserved in a remarkable man- ner by the kindness of a poor woman, who, in passing through the garden of Falkland, and attracted by his groans to the grated window of his dungeon, which was level with the ground, be- came acquainted with his story. It was her custom to steal thither at night, and bring him food by dropping small cakes through the grating, whilst her own milk, conducted through a pipe to his mouth, was the only way he could be supplied with drink. But Wright and Selkirk, suspecting from his appearance that he had some secret supply, watched and detected the charitable visitant, and the prince was abandoned to his fate. When nature at last sunk, his body was found in a state too horrible to be described, but which shewed that, in the extremities of hunger, he had gnawed and torn his own flesh. It was then carried to the monastery of Lindores, and there privately buried, while a re- port was circulated that the prince i John Wright and John Selkirk are th< names, as given by Fordun a Goodal, vol! iL p. 431. In the Chamberlain Accounts, vol;, ii. jx 666, sub anno 1405, is the following entry, which perhaps relates to this infamous person: "Johanni Wright uni heredum quondam Iticardi Ranulphi, per infeodacio- nem antiquam regis Roberti primi percipi- enti per annum hereditarie quinque libras de firm is dicti burgi, (Aberdeen.)" [Chap. I. had been taken ill and died of a dy- sentery. 2 The public voice, however, loudly and vehemently accused his uncle of the murder; the cruel nature of his death threw a veil over the folly and licentiousness of his life ; men began to remember and to dwell upon his bet- ter qualities ; and Albany found him- self daily becoming more and more the object of scorn and detestation. It was necessary for him to adopt some means to clear himself of such impu- tations ; and the skill with which the conspiracy had been planned was now apparent : he produced the king's letter commanding the prince to be arrested ; he affirmed that everything which had been done was in conse- quence of the orders he had received, defying any one to prove that the slightest violence had been used ; and he appealed to and demanded the judgment of the parliament. This great council was accordingly assem- bled in the monastery of Holyrood on the 16th of May 1402 ; and a solemn farce took place, in which Albany and Douglas were examined as to the- causes of the prince's death. Unfor- tunately no original record of the ex- amination or of the proceedings of the parliament has been preserved. The accused, no doubt, told the story in the manner most favourable to them- selves, and none dared to contradict them ; so that it only remained for the parliament to declare themselves satisfied, and to acquit them of all suspicion of a crime which they had no possibility of investigating. Even this, however, was not deemed suffi- cient, and a public remission was drawn up under the king's seal, declar- ing their innocence, in terms whiclr are quite conclusive as to their guilt/ The explanation of these unjust and extraordinary proceedings, is to be found in the exorbitant power of Douglas and Albany, and the weak- ness of the unhappy monarch, who 2 Pordun a Goodal, vol." ii. p. 431. Cham- berlain Accounts, vol. ii. p. 511. 3 This deed was discovered by Mr Astle, and communicated by him to Lord Hailes, who printed it in his Remarks on the Ilistoiy of Scotland. 1402.] bitterly lamented the fate of his son, and probably well knew its authors, but dreaded to throw the kingdom into those convulsions which • must have preceded their being brought to justice. Albany, therefore, resumed his situation of governor; and the fate of Rothesay was soon forgotten in preparations for continuing the A'ar with England. The truce, as was usual, had been little respected by the Borderers of either country; the Earl of Douglas being accused of burning Bamborough castle, and that baron reproaching Northumberland for the ravages com- mitted in Scotland. The eastern marches especially were exposed to constant ravages by the Earls of March and the Percies ; nor was it to be ex- pected that so powerful a baron as March would bear to see his vast pos- sessions in the hands of the house of Douglas without attempting either to recover them himself, or, by havoc and burning, to make them useless to his enemy. These bitter feelings led to constant and destructive invasions ; and the Scottish Border barons — the Haliburtons, the Hepburns, Cock- burns, and Landers — found it neces- sary to assemble their whole power, and intrust the leading of it by turns to the most warlike amongst them, a scheme which rendered every one anxious to eclipse his predecessor by some exploit or successful point of arms, termed, in the military language of the times, chevanches. On one of these occasions the conduct of the little army fell to Sir Patrick Hep- burn of Hailes, whose father, a vener- able soldier of eighty years, was too infirm to take his turn in command. Hepburn broke into England, and laid waste the country ; but his adventu- rous spirit led him too far on, and Percy and March had time to assemble their power, and to intercept the Scots at Nesbit Moor, in the Merse, where a desperate conflict took place. The Scots were only four hundred strong, but they were admirably armed and mounted, and had amongst them the flower of the warriors of the Lothians ; the battle was for a long time bloody ROBERT III. 23 and doubtful, till the Master of Dun- bar, joining his father and Northum- berland with two hundred men from the garrison at Berwick, decided the fortune of the day. 1 Hepburn was slain, and his bravest knights either shared his fate or were taken prisoners. The spot where the conflict took place is still known by the name of Slaughter Hill. 2 So important did Henry con- sider this success, probably from the rank of the captives, that, in a letter to his- privy council, he informed them of the defeat of the Scots; compli- mented Northumberland and his son on their activity, and commanded them to issue their orders for the array of the different counties, as their indefatigable enemies, in great strength, had already ravaged the country round Carlisle, and were me- ditating a second invasion. Nor was this inaccurate intelligence , for the desire of revenging the loss sustained at Nesbit Moor, and the cir- cumstance of the King of England being occupied in the suppression of the Welsh rebellion under Glendower, encouraged the Earl of Douglas to collect his whole strength; and Al- bany, the governor, having sent his eldest son, Murdoch, to join him with a strong body of archers and spearmen, their united force was found to amount to ten thousand men. The Earls of Moray and Angus ; Fergus Macdowall, with his fierce and half -armed Gal- wegians ; the heads of the noble houses of Erskine, Grahame, Mont- gomery, Seton, Sinclair, Lesley, the Stewarts of Angus, Lorn, and Duris deer, and many other knights and. esquires, embracing the greater part of the chivalry of Scotland, assembled under the command of the Earl of Douglas ; and, confident in their strength and eager for revenge, pushed on, without meeting an enemy, to the gates of Newcastle. But although Henry was himself personally engaged in his Welsh war, he had left the veteran Earl of Northumberland, and his son Hotspur, in charge of the Borders ; and the Scottish Earl of 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol: ii. p. 433. * Hume's Douglas aDd Angus, vol. i. p. 213. 24 HISTORY OF March, who had renounced his fealty to his sovereign, and become the sub- ject of England, joined the Percies, with his son, Gawin of Dunbar. Douglas, it may be remembered, had risen upon the ruins of March, and possessed his castle and estates ; so that the renegade earl brought with him, not only an experience in Scottish war and an intimate knowledge of the Border country, but that bitter spirit of enmity which made him a for- midable enemy. It was probably by his advice that the Scots were allowed to advance without opposition through the heart of Northumberland ; for the greater distance they were from home, and the longer time allowed to the English to collect their force, it was evidently the more easy to cut off their retreat, and to fight them at an advantage. The result shewed the correctness of this opinion. The Scottish army, loaded with plunder, confident in their own strength, and secure in the ap- parent panic of the enemy, retreated slowly and carelessly, and had en- camped near Wooler, when they were met by the intelligence that Hotspur, with a strong army, had occupied the pass in their front, and was advancing to attack them. Douglas immediately drew up his force in a deep square upon a neighbouring eminence, called Homildon Hill — an excellent position, had his sole object been to repel the attacks of the English cavalry and men-at arms, but in other respects the worst that could have been chosen, for the bulk of Percy's force consisted of archers ; and there were many eminences round Homildon by which it was completely commanded, the distance being within arrow-flight. Had the Scottish knights and squires, And the rest of their light-armed ^rivalry, who must have composed a body of at least a thousand men, taken possession of the rising ground in ad- vance, they might have charged the English archers before they came within bowshot, and the subsequent battle would have been reduced to a close -hand encounter, in which the Scots, from the strong ground 1 SCOTLAND. [CfiAP. I. which they occupied, must have fought to great advantage ; but from the mode in which it was occupied by Douglas, who crowded his whole army into one dense column, the position became the most fatal that could have been selected. The English army now rapidly ad- vanced, and on coming in sight of the Scots, at once occupied the opposite eminence, which, to their surprise* they were permitted to do without s single Scottish knight or horseman leaving their ranks ; but at this crisis the characteristic impetuosity of Hot- spur, who, at the head of the men-at- arms, proposed instantly to charge the Scots, had nearly thrown away the advantage. March, however, instantly seized his horse's reins and stopt him. His eye had detected, at the first glance, the danger of Douglas's posi- tion; he knew from experience the strength of the long-bow of England; and, by his orders, the precedence was given to the archers, who, slowly ad- vancing down the hill, poured their volleys as thick as hail upon the Scots, whilst, to use the words of an ancient manuscript chronicle, they were so closely wedged together, that a breath of air could scarcely penetrate their files, making it impossible for them to wield their weapons. The effects of this were dreadful, for the cloth-yard shafts of England pierced with ease the light armour of the Scots, few of whom were defended by more than a steel-cap and a thin jack or breast- plate, whilst many wore nothing more than the leather acton or quilted coat, which afforded a feeble defence against such deadly missiles. Even the better- tempered armour of the knights was found utterly unequal to resistance, when, owing to the gradual advance of their phalanx, the archers took a nearer and more level aim, whilst the Scot- tish bowmen drew a wavering and un- certain bow, and did little execution. 7 Numbers of the bravest barons and gentlemen were mortally wounded, and fell down on the spot where they i Walsingham, p. 366. Otterburn, p. 237. Fordun and Wintoo do not even mention th« Scottish archers. 1402.] were first drawn up, without the pos- sibility of reaching the enemy ; the horses, goaded and maddened by the increasing showers of arrows, reared and plunged, and became altogether un- manageable ; whilst the dense masses of the spearmen and naked Gal we - gians presented the appearance of a huge hedgehog, (I use the expression of a contemporary historian,) bristled over with a thousand shafts, whose feathers were red with blood. This state of things could not long continue. " My friends," exclaimed Sir John Swinton, " why stand we here to be slain like deer, and marked down by the enemy ? Where is our wonted courage ? Are we to be still, and have our hands nailed to our lances ? Follow me, and let us at least sell our lives as dearly as we can." 1 Saying this, he couched his spear, and prepared to gallop down the hill ; but his career was for a moment inter- rupted by a singular event. Sir Adam de Gordon, with whom Swinton had long been at deadly feud, threw him- self from his horse, and kneeling at his feet, begged his forgiveness, and the honour of being knighted by so brave a leader. Swinton instantly consented ; and, after giving him the accolade, tenderly embraced him. The two warriors then remounted, and at the head of their followers, forming a body of a hundred horse, made a des- perate attack upon the English, which, had it been followed by a simultaneous charge of the great body of the Scots, might still have retrieved the fortune of the day. But such was now the confusion of the Scottish lines, that Swinton and Gordon were slain, and their men struck down or dispersed before the Earl of Douglas could ad- vance to support them ; and when he did so, the English archers, keeping their ranks, fell back upon the cavalry, pouring in volley after volley, as they slowly retreated, and completing the discomfiture of the Scots by an appal- ling carnage. If we may believe Wal- singham, the armour worn by the Earl of Douglas on this fatal day was 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 434. Winton, vol. ii. p. 401. ROBERT III. 25 of the most exquisite workman* flip and temper, and cost the artisan who made it three years labour ; yet he was wounded in five places, and made prisoner along with Lord Murdoch Stewart, and the Earls of Moray and Angus. In a short time the Scottish army was utterly routed; and the archers, to whom the whole honour of the day belonged, rushing in with their knives and short swords, made prisoners of almost every person of rank or station. The number of the slain, however, was very great ; and multitudes of the fugitives — it is said nearly fifteen hundred — were drowned in an attempt to ford the Tweed. Amongst those who fell, besides Swinton and Gordon, were Sir John Levingston of Callander, Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, Sir Roger Gordon. Sir Walter Scott, and Sir Walter Sinclair, with many other knights and esquires, whose followers mostly perished with their masters. Besides the leaders, Douglas and Lord Murdoch, eighty knights were taken prisoners, and a crowd of esquires and pages, whose names and numbers are not ascertained. Among the first were three French knights, Sir Piers de Essars, Sir James de Hel- sey, and Sir J ohn Darni ; 2 Sir Robert Erskine of Alva, Lord Montgomery, Sir James Douglas, master of Dalkeith, Sir William Abernethy of Salton, Sir John Stew 7 art of Lorn, Sir John Seton, Sir George Lesley of Rothes, Sir Adam Forester of Corstorphine, Sir Walter Bickerton of Luffness, Sir Robert Stewart of Durisdeer, Sir William Sin- clair of Hermandston, Sir Alexander Home of Dunglas, Sir Patrick Dunbar of Bele, Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig, Sir Lawrence Ramsay, Sir Helias Kin- mont, Sir John Ker, and Fergus Mac- dowall of Galloway, with many others whose names have not been ascer- tained. 3 The fatal result of this day com- pletely proved the dreadful power of the English bowmen ; for there is not a doubt that the battle was gained by 2 TValsingham, pp. 407. 408. Otterburn, pj*. 236-8. a Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 434, 43o 26 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. TChap. L the archers. Walsingham even goes bo far as to say that neither earl, knight, nor squire ever handled their weapons, or came into action, but remained idle spectators of the total destruction of the Scottish host ; nor does there seem any good reason to question the correctness of this fact, although, after the Scots were broken, the English knights and horsemen joined in the pursuit. It was in every way a most decisive and bloody defeat, occasioned by the military incapacity of Douglas, whose pride was probably too great to take advice, and his judg- ment and experience in war too con- fined to render it unnecessary. Hot- spur might now rejoice that the shame of Otterburn was effectually effaced; and March, if he could be so base as to enjoy the triumph, must have been amply satiated with revenge : for his rival, Douglas, was defeated, cruelly wounded, and a captive. 1 The battle was fought on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, being the 14th September, in the year 1402 ; and the moment that the news of the defeat was earned to West- minster, the King of England directed his letters to the Earl of Northumber- land, with his son Henry Percy, and also to the Earl of March, commanding them, for certain urgent causes, not to admit to ransom any of their Scot- tish prisoners, of whatever rank or station, or to suffer them to be at liberty under any parole or pretext, until they should receive further in- structions upon the subject. To this order, which was highly displeasing to the pride of the Percies, as it went to deprive them of an acknowledged feudal right which belonged to the simplest esquire, the monarch sub- joined his pious thanks to God for so signal a victory, and to his faithful barons for their bravery and success ; but he commanded them to notify his orders regarding the prisoners to all who had fought at Homildon, con- cluding with an assurance that he had no intention of ultimately de- i Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 434,435. Ry- mer, Frcdera, vol. ix. p. 26. Walsincrharc, p. 266. Extracta ox Chronicis Sco: he, MS. p. 250. priving any of hia liege subjects of their undoubted rights in the persons and property of their prisoners ; a de- claration which would not be readily believed. 2 If Henry thus defeated the objects which the victory might have secured him by his precipitancy and imprudence, Hotspur stained it by an act of cruelty and injustice. Teviotdale, it may perhaps be remem- bered, after having remained in the partial possession of the English for a long period, under Edward the Third, had at last been entirely wrested from them by the bravery of the Douglases; and as the Percies had obtained large grants of land in this district, upon which many fierce contests had taken place, their final expulsion from the country they called their own was peculiarly irritating. It happened that amongst the prisoners was Sir William Stewart of Forrest, a knight of Teviotdale, who was a boy at the time the district " was Anglicised," and, like many others, had been com- pelled to embrace a virtual allegiance to England, by a necessity which he had neither the power nor the under- standing to resist. On the miserable pretence that he had forfeited his allegiance, Hotspur accused him of treason, and had him tried by a jury ; but the case was so palpably absurd and tyrannical, that he was acquitted. Percy, in great wrath, impannelled a second jury, and a second verdict of acquittal shewed their sense and firm- ness ; but the fierce obstinacy of feudal revenge was not to be so baffled, and these were not the days when the laws could check its violence. A third jury was summoned, packed, and over- awed, and their sentence condemned Sir William Stewart to the cruel and complicated death of a traitor. It was instantly executed : and his quar- ters, with those of his squire, Thomas Ker, who suffered along with him, were placed on the gates of York ; the same gates upon which, within a year, were exposed the mangled remains of Percy 1 himself. 3 The avidity with which Hotspur seems to have thirsted 2 Rvmer, Foedera, vol. viii. p. 278. * "VVinton, vol. ii. p. 403. 1402-3 ] ROBE] for the blood of tliis unhappy youth is only to be accounted for on the supposition of some deadly feud be- tween the families; for on no other occasion did this celebrated soldier shew himself naturally cruel, or un- necessarily severe. 1 The events which followed the de- feat of the Scots at Homildon are of an interesting nature, and merit par- ticular attention. Not long after the victory, the Percies began to organise that celebrated conspiracy against Henry the Fourth, the monarch whom their own hands had placed on the throne, which ended in the battle of Shrewsbury, and the defeat and death of Hotspur; but as the plot was yet in its infancy, an immediate invasion of Scotland was made the pretext for assembling an army, and disarming suspicion ; whilst Percy, in conjunction with the Earl of March, talked boldly of reducing the whole of the country as far as the Scottish sea. 2 It is probable, indeed, that previous to this the defeat at Homildon had been followed by the temporary occupation of the immense Border estates of the Earl of Douglas by the Earl of Nor- thumberland; as, in a grant of the earldom of Douglas, which was about this time made to Northumberland by the King of England, the districts of Eskdale, and Liddesdale, with the forest of Ettrick and the lordship of Selkirk, are noticed as being in the hands of the Percies ; but so numerous were the vicissitudes of war in these Border districts, that it is difficult to ascertain who possessed them with precision ; 3 and it is certain that the recovery of the country by the Scots was almost simultaneous with its occu- pation. In the meantime, the com- bined army of March and the Percies took its progress towards Scotland; and commenced the siege of the tower of Cocklaws, commanded by John Greenlaw, a simple esquire, 4 and situ- 1 Fordun a Hearne, pp. 1150, 1151. 2 The Firth of Forth usually went by this name. s Rotuli Scotia? , vol. ii. p. 163. 4 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 172. It appears by a MS. letter of the Earl of Northumberland, that on the 30th May he and his son had inden- :T III. 2T ated on the Bordera. The spectacle of a powerful army, commanded by the best soldier in England, proceed- ing to besiege a paltry march-tower, might have been sufficient to convince Henry that the real object of the Percies was not the invasion of Scot- land; and their subsequent proceed- ings must have confirmed this opinion. Assaulted by the archers, and battered by the trebuchets and mangonels, the little tower of Cocklaws not only held its ground, but its master, assuming the air of the governor of a fortress., entered into a treaty with Hotspur, by which he promised to surrender at the end of six weeks, if not relieved by the King of Scotland, or Albany the governor. 5 A messenger was de- spatched to Scotland with the avowed purpose of communicating this agree- ment to Albany, but whose real design was evidently to induce him to become a party to the conspiracy against Henry, and to support the Percies, by an im- mediate invasion of England. Nor was the mission unsuccessful; for Albany, anxious to avenge the loss sustained at Homildon, and irritated by the captivity of his eldest son, at once consented to the proposal, and assembled a numerous army, with which he prepared to enter England in person. 6 In the meantime, the Earl of Douglas, Sir Robert Stewart of Durisdeer, and the greater part of the barons and men-at-arms, who were made prisoners at Homildon, eagerly entered into the conspiracy, and joined the insurgents with a large force; but the Earl of March continued faithful to the King of England, actuated more, perhaps, by his mortal enmity to the Douglases, than by any great affection for Henry. Another alarm- ing branch of the rebellion was in Wales, where Owen Glendower had raised an army of ten thousand men ; and besides this, many of the English barons had entered into a correspond- ence with Percy, and bound themselves to join him with their power, although tures for the delivery of Ormiston Castle on. the 1st of Auprust, if not delivered by battles Pinkerton's History, vol. i. p. 77. 5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 435. 438. « Ibid. vol. ii. p. 436. 28 / HISTORY OF at the last most deserted him, and thus escaped his ruin. All things being thus prepared, Henry Percy and the Earl of Douglas at once broke off the prosecution of their Scottish expedition ; and, having joined the Earl of Worcester, began their march towards Wales, giving out at first that it was their design to assist the king in putting down the rebel Glendower. Henry, however, was no longer to be deceived ; and the representations of the Earl of March convinced him of the complicated dangers with which he was surrounded. It was his design to have delayed pro- ceeding against the insurgents, until he had assembled such an overwhelm- ing force as he thought gave a cer- tainty of victory ; but the Scottish earl vehemently opposed all procrasti- nation, maintaining the extreme im- portance of giving battle to Percy before he had formed a junction with Glendower ; and the king, following his advice, pushed on by forced inarches, and entered Shrewsbury at the moment that the advance of Percy and Douglas could be seen marching forward to occupy the same city. On being anticipated by their opponent, they retired, and encamped at Hart- field, within a mile of the town. Henry immediately drew out his army by the east gate ; and after a vain at- tempt at treaty, which was broken off by Percy's uncle, the Earl of Wor- cester, the banners advanced, cries of St George and Esperance, the mutual defiances of the king and Percy, rent the air ; and the archers on both sides made a pitiful slaughter, even with the first discharge. As it continued, the ranks soon became encumbered with the dead, " who lay as thick," says Wadsingham, "as leaves in autumn;" and the knights and men-at-arms get- ting impatient, Percy's advance, which was led by Douglas, and consisted principally of Scottish auxiliaries, made a desperate charge upon the king's party, and had almost broken their array, when it was restored by the extreme gallantry of Henry, and his son the Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry the Fifth. After this, the SCOTLAND. (Chap. L battle continued for three hours to be obstinately contested, English fighting against English, and Scots against Scots, with the utmost cruelty and determination. It could not indeed be otherwise. The two armies were fourteen thousand strong on each side, and included the flower not only of the English chivalry, but of the Eng- lish yeomen. Hotspur and Douglas were reckoned two of the bravest knights then living, and if defeated, could hope for no mercy; whilst Henry felt that, on his part, the battle must decide whether he was to continue a king, or to have the diadem torn from his brow, and be branded as a usurper. At one time he was in imminent danger ; for Hotspur and Douglas, during the heat of the battle, coming opposite to the royal standard, made a desperate attempt to become masters of the per- son of the king ; and had so nearly succeeded, that the Scottish earl sle-tf Sir Walter Blunt, the standard-bearer, struck down the Earl of Stafford, antf had penetrated within a few yards ol the spot where Henry stood, whec the Earl of March rushed forward tc his assistance, and prevailed on him not to hazard himself so far in advance. On another occasion, when unhorsed, he was rescued by the Prince of Wales, who this day gave promise of his future military genius ; but with all his efforts, seconded by the most determined courage in his soldiers, the obstinate endurance of the Scots, and the un- wearied gallantry and military skill of Hotspur were gradually gaining ground, when this brave leader, as he I raised his visor for a moment to get air, was pierced through the brain by ■ an arrow, and fell down dead on thej spot. His fall, which was seen by both sides, seems to have at once J turned the fortune of the day. The rebels were broken and dispersed, the Scots almost entirely cut to pieces, Sir Robert Steward slain, and the Earl of Douglas once more a captive, and severely wounded. 1 In the meantime, whilst the rebel- lion of the Percies was thus success- fully put down, Albany, the governor, i Walsingham, pp. 363, 360. 1403.] ROBERT III. assembled the whole strength of the kingdom ; and, at the head of an army of fifty thousand men, advanced into England. His real object, as dis- covered by his subsequent conduct, was to second the insurrection of Hot- spur; but, ignorant as yet that the rebellion bad openly burst forth, he con- cealed his intention, and gave out to his soldiers that it was his intention to give battle to the Percies, and to raise the siege of Coeklaws. 1 On arriving before ■ this little Border strength, instead of finding Hotspur, he was met by the news of his entire defeat and death in the battle of Shrewsbury j and, after ordering a herald to proclaim this to the army, he at once quietly retired into Scot- land. Discouraged by the inactivity of the Welsh, by the death of Percy, the captivity of Douglas, and the sub- mission of the Earl of Northumber- land, Albany judiciously determined that this was not the most favourable crisis to attack the usurper, and for the present resumed a pacific line of policy. In their account of the re- bellion of the Percies, and the expedi- tion of Albany, our ancient Scottish historians exhibit a singular instance of credulity in describing the investing of the Border fortalice by Hotspur, and the subsequent progress of Albany to raise the siege, as really and honestly engaged in by both parties ; and it is difficult not to smile at the import- ance which the tower of Coeklaws and its governor assume in their nar- rative. If Albany's government seemed destined to be inglorious in war, his civil administration was weak and vacillating, disgraced by the impunity, if not by the encouragement, of feudal tyranny and unlicensed oppression. Of this a striking instance occurred a little prior to the rebellion of the Percies. Sir Malcolm Drummond, brother to the late Queen of Scotland, had married Isabella, countess of Mar in her own right, whose estates were amongst the richest in Scotland. When resident in his own castle, this baron was attacked by a band of i Fordun a Hearne, dt> 1158-1160. 20 armed ruffians, overpowered, and cast into a dungeon, where the barbarous treatment he experienced ended in his speedy death. The suspicion of this lawless act rested on Alexander Stew- j art, a natural son of the Earl of Buchan J brother to the king, who emulated the ferocity of his father, and became notorious for his wild and unlicensed life. This chief, soon after the death of Drummond, appeared before the strong castle of Kildrummie, the resi- dence of the widowed countess, with an army of Jcetkerans, stormed it in the face of every resistance, and, whether by persuasion or by violence is not certain, obtained her in mar- riage. To murder the husband, to marry the widow, and carry off the inheritance from her children, were deeds which, even under the mis- government of Albany, excited the horror of the people, and called loudly for redress ; but before this could be obtained, an extraordinary scene was acted at Kildrummie. Stewart pre- sented himself at the outer gate of the castle, and there, in presence of the Bishop of Ross and the assembled tenantry and vassals, was met by the Countess of Mar, upon which, with much feudal pomp and solemnity, he surrendered the keys of the castle into her hands, declaring that he did so freely and with a good heart, to be disposed of as she pleased. The lady then, who seems to have forgotten the rugged nature of the courtship, hold- ing the keys in her hands, declared that she freely chose Alexander Stew- art for her lord and husband, and that she conferred on him the earldom of Mar, the castle of Kildrummie, and all other lands which she inherited. The whole proceedings were closed by solemn instruments or charters being taken on the spot; and this remark- able transaction, exhibiting in its com- mencement and termination so singu- lar a mixture of the ferocity of feudal manners and the formality of feudal law, was legalised and confirmed by a charter of the king, which ratified the concession of the countess, and per- mitted Stewart to assume the titles of Earl of Mar, and Lord of Garvy- 30 HISTORY OF ach. 1 Yet he who was murdered, to make way for this extraordinary in- trusion of the son of Buchan, was the king's brother-in-law ; and there seems to have been little doubt that the successful wooer and the assassin of Drummond were one and the same person. Nothing could give us a more striking proof of the pusillanimity of the sovereign, the weakness of the law, and the gross partialities of Albany. The unquiet and suspicious times of Henry the Fourth, whose reign was marked by an almost uninter- rupted succession of conspiracies, rendered it an object of great moment with him to keep at peace with Scot- land; and it was evidently the inter- est of that kingdom to cultivate an amicable relation with England. Its present danger consisted not so much in any fears of invasion, or any serious attempts at conquest, as in the dread of civil commotion and domestic tyranny under the partial administra- tion of Albany. The murder of the Duke of Rothesay, and the impunity permitted to the worst crimes com- mitted by the nobles, clearly proved that the governor would feel no scru- ples in removing any further impedi- ment which stood in the way of his ambition; and that he looked for in- dulgence from the favour with which he treated similar crimes and excesses in the barons who composed his court, and with whom he was ready to share the spoils or the honours which he had wrested from their legitimate possessors. Under a government like this, the king became a mere shadow. Im- pelled by his natural disposition, which was pacific and contemplative, he had at first courted retirement, and will- ingly resigned much of the manage- ment of the state to his brother; and now that the murder of Rothesay had roused his paternal anxieties, that the murmurs of the people loudly accused this brother of so dreadful a crime, and branded him as the abettor of all the disorders which distracted the country, he felt, yet dreaded, the ne- i Sutherland Case, by Lord Hailes, chap. v. p. 4o. Winiou, vol. ii. p. 404. SCOTLAND: [Chap. 1. cessity of interference ; and, while he trembled for the safety of his only remaining son, he found himself un- equal to the task of instituting proper measures for his security, or of reas- suming, in the midst of age and infir- mities, those toils of government, to which, even in his younger years, he had experienced an aversion. Bu* although the unfortunate monarch, thus surrounded with difficulties, found little help in his own energy or resources, friends were still left who pitied his condition, and felt a just indignation at the successful tyranny of the governor. Of these, the princi- pal was Henry Wardlaw, bishop of St Andrews, a loyal and generous prelate, nephew to the Cardinal Wardlaw, and, like him, distinguished for his emi- nence as a scholar and his devotion to literature. To his charge was com- / mitted the heir of the throne, James/ earl of Carrick, then a boy in his\ fourteenth year, who was educated in I the castle of St Andrews, under the ) immediate eye of the prelate, in the! learning and accomplishments befit- \ ting his high rank and already promis- ing abilities. In the meantime, the captivity of so many of the nobles and gentry, who had been recently taken at Nesbit Moor, and in the battles of Homildon Hill and Shrewsbury, had a manifest effect in quieting Scotland, encourag- ing its pacific relations, and increasing its commercial enterprise. The years which succeeded these fatal conflicts were occupied with numerous expedi- tions of the Scottish captives, who, under the safe-conducts of Henry, travelled into their own country, and returned either with money, or with cargoes of wool, fish, or live stock, with which they discharged their ran- som and procured their liberty. 2 The negotiations, also, concerning the ran- som of Murdoch, the son of Albany, the Earl of Douglas, and other eminen. prisoners, promoted a constant inter course ; whilst the poverty of Scotland, in its agricultural produce, is seen in the circumstance that any English 2 Rotuli Scotise, vol. ii. pp. 164, 166, 167. 172, 173, 177. 1403-5.] ROBE! captives are generally redeemed in grain, and not in money. Some Nor- folk fishermen, who had probably been pursuing their occupation upon the Scottish coast, having been cap- tured and imprisoned, Henry per- mitted two mariners of Lynne to carry six hundred quarters of grain into Scotland for their redemption ; and at the same time granted a licence to an Irish merchant to import corn, flour, and other victuals and merchan- dise into that country, during the continuance of the truce. 1 Upon the whole, the commercial intercourse between the two countries appears to have been prosecuted with great ac- tivity, although interrupted at sea by the lawless attacks of the English cruisers, 2 and checked by the depre- dations of the Borderers and broken men of both nations. One cause, however, for jealousy and dissatisfaction upon the part of Henry still remained, in the perpetual reports which proceeded from Scot- land, with regard to Richard the Second being still alive in that coun- try, where, it was said, he continued to be treated with kindness and dis- tinction. That these assertions as to the reappearance of the dethroned monarch long after his reputed death had some foundation in truth, there seems reason to believe; 3 but, whether true or not, it was no unwise policy in Albany to abstain from giving any public contradiction to the rumour, and at times even to encourage it, as in this manner he essentially weakened the government of Henry; and, by affording him full employment at home, rendered it difficult for him to engage in any schemes for the an- noyance of his neighbours. In 1404, a gentleman named Serle, who had formerly been of Richard's bed-chamber, repaired secretly to Scotland, and on his return positively affirmed that he had seen the king. 1 Rotuli Scotise, vol.- ii. p. 172. ~ Foedera. vol. viii. pp. 411. 420, 450 ; and MS. Bibl. Cot. F. vii. No. 22, 89, 116-118, quoted in M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 615. 3 See Historical Remarks on the Death of Richard the Second, infra. T III. 81 The old Countess of Oxford, mothei to Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland, the favourite of Richard, eagerly gave credit to the story ; and, by the pro- duction of letters, and the present of - little silver harts, the gifts which the late king had been fond of distribut- ing amongst his favourites, she had already contrived to persuade many persons to credit the report, when her practices were discovered, and the ex- ecution and confession of Serle put an end to the rumour for the present. It was asserted that Serle had actually been introduced, when in Scotland, to a person whom he declared to bear so exact a resemblance to Richard the Second that it was not astonishing many should be deceived by it; and it was evident that if Albany had not lent himself in any open manner to encourage, he had not, on the other hand, adopted any means to expose or detect the alleged impostor. 4 Eut this plot of Serle and the Countess of Oxford was followed by a conspiracy of greater moment, in which Scotland was deeply concerned, yet whose ramifications, owing to the extreme care with which all written evidence, in such circumstances, was generally concealed or destroyed, were extremely difficult to be detected. Its principal authors appear to have been the Earl of Northumberland, the father of Hotspur, Scrope, the archbishop of York, whose brother Henry had be- headed, and the Earl Marshal of Eng- land, with the Lords Hastings, Bar- dolf, and Faulconbridge ; but it is certain that they received the cordial concurrence of some party in the Scot- tish state, as Northumberland engaged to meet them at the general rendez- vous at York, not only with his own followers, but with a large reinforce- ment of Scottish soldiers, and it was calculated that they would be able to take the field with an army of twenty thousand men. 5 Besides this, they had engaged in a correspondence with the French king, who promised to * Walsingham, p. 371. s Hall's Chronicle, p. 35. Edition 1809. London, 4to. Hardy ng's Chronicle, p. 362. Edition 1812. London, 4to. 32 HISTORY OF despatch an expedit on, which, at the moment they took up arms in Eng- land, was to make a descent on Wales, where Owen Glendower, the fierce and * indefatigable opponent of Henry, had promised to j )in them ; and this for- midable opposition was to be further strengthened by a simultaneous inva- sion of the Scots. Northumberland's intentions in this conspiracy are very clearly declared in an intercepted letter which he ad- dressed to the Duke of Orleans, and which is preserved in the Parliamen- tary Rolls. " I have embraced," says he, " a firm purpose, with the assist- ance of God, with your aid, and that of my allies, to sustain the just quarrel of my sovereign lord King Richard, if he is alive; and if he is dead, to avenge his death ; and, moreover, to sustain the right and quarrel which my redoubted lady the Queen of Eng- land, your niece, may have to the kingdom of England ; for which pur- pose I have declared war against Henry of Lancaster, at present Regent of England." 1 A rebellion so ably planned that it seemed almost impossible that it should not succeed and hurl Henry from the throne, was ruined by the credulity of the Earl Marshal and the Archbishop, who became the victims of an adherent of the king's, Neville, Earl of Westmoreland. This noble- man, who had received intelligence of the plot, artfully represented himself as warmly interested in its success ; and having prevailed upon Scrope and Mowbray to meet him in a private conference, seized them both as they sat at his table and hurried them to the king at Pontefract, by whose i orders they were instantly beheaded. Northumberland, however, with his little grandson, Henry Percy, and the Lord Bardolf, had the good fortune to escape into Scotland, where they were courteously received by Albany. In this country, notwithstanding his advanced age and frequent failures, Percy continued to organise an oppo- sition to the government of Henry ; oils of Parliament, vol. iii. p. 605. The al is in French. SCOTLAND. [Chap. I. visiting for this purpose the court of France and the Flemish States, and returning to stimulate the exertions of his Scottish friends. Although un- successful in his continental negotia- tions, it is evident from the orders issued by Henry for the immediate array of the fighting men in the coun- ties of York and Lancaster, as well as in Derby, Lincoln, and Nottingham, that Albany had been induced to as- semble an army, and that the king had received intelligence of an in- tended invasion by the Scots, to be led, as the king expresses it, " by his common adversary, Robert, duke of Albany, the pretended governor of Scotland." 2 Previous, however, to any such expedition, an event took place which effectually altered the relations between the governor and the English monarch, and . introduced material changes into the state of the different parties in Scotland. The continuance of his own power, and the adoption of every means by which the authority of the king, or the respect and affection due to the royal family, could be weakened or de- stroyed, was the principle of Albany's government : a principle which, al- though sometimes artfully concealed, was never for a moment forgotten by this crafty statesman. In his designs he had been all along supported by the Douglases ; a family whom he at- tached to his interest by an ample share in the spoils with which his lawless government enabled him to gratify his creatures. Archibald, earl of Douglas, the head of the house, we have seen become his partner in the murder of the Duke of Rothesay, and rewarded by the possession of the im- mense estates of the Earl of March, — • a baron next to Douglas, — the most powerful of the Scottish aristocracy, but compelled by the affront put upon his daughter to become a fugitive in England, and a dependant upon the bounty of a foreign prince. The battle of Homildon Hill made Douglas a captive ; whilst many of his most powerful adherents shared his fate: and Albany, deprived of the 2 Rymer, Foedera, vol. viii. p. 414. H05-6.] ROBERT. III. 33 countenance of liis steadiest. support- ers, found the friends of the old king gradually gaining ground. A natural jealousy of the designs of the governor against a youth who formed the only impediment between his own family and the succession to the crown, in- duced these persons to adopt measures for the security of the Earl of Carrick, now an only son. It was with this view that they had placed him under the charge of the Bishop of St An- drews, a man of uncorrupted honour and integrity ; and, whilst- the studies of the young prince were carefully Conducted by this prelate, whose de- votion to literature well fitted him for the task, the presence of the warlike Earl of Northumberland, who with his grandson, young Henry Percy, had found an asylum in the castle of the bishop, was of great service to the ^oung prince in his chivalrous exer- cises. It was soon seen, however, that, with all these advantages, Scotland was then no fit place for the residence of the youthful heir to the throne. The intrigues of Albany, and the unsettled state of the country, filled the bosom of the timid monarch with constant alarm. He became anxious to remove him for a season from Scotland ; and, as France was at this time considered the best school in Europe for the educa- tion of a youth of his high rank, it was resolved to send the prince thither, under the care of the Earl of Orkney, 1 and Sir David Fleming of Cumber- nauld, an intimate friend and adherent of the exiled Earl of Northumberland. At this crisis a secret negotiation took place between the ' English mon- arch and the Duke of Albany regarding the delivery of Northumberland and Lord Bardolf ; and it appears that the party of the governor and the Doug- lases had embraced the treacherous plan of sacrificing the lives of two un- fortunate exiles who had found an asylum in Scotland, to procure in re- turn the liberty of Murdoch, the son of the governor, the Earl of Douglas, and other captives who had been taken at Homildon. A baser project could not well be imagined ; but it was acci- i Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 415. vol. n. dentally discovered by Percy's friend, David Fleming, who instantly revealed it to the exiled noblemen, and advised them to consult their safety by flight. This conduct of Albany, which af- forded a new light into the treachery of his character, accelerated the pre- parations for the young, prince's de- parture ; and all being at length ready, the Earl of Carrick, then a boy in his fourteenth year, took his progress through Lothian to North Berwick, accompanied by the Earl of Orkney, Fleming of Cumbernauld, the Lords of Dirleton and Hermandston, and a strong party of the barons of Lothian. The ship which was to convey him to France lay at the Bass; and having embarked along with the Earl of Ork- ney and a small personal suite, they set sail with a fair wind, and under no apprehension for their safety, as the truce between England and Scotland was not yet expired, and the only ves- sels they were likely to meet were English cruisers. But the result shewed how little was to be trusted to the faith of truces or to the honour of kings ; for the prince had not been a few days at sea when he was captured off Flamborough Head by an armed merchantman belonging to the port of Wye, and carried to London, where the king instantly committed him and his attendants to the Tower. 2 In vain did the guardians of the young prince remonstrate against this cruelty, or present to Henry a letter from the king his father, which, with much simplicity, recommended him to the kindness of the English monarch, should he find it necessary to land in his dominions. In vain did they . represent that the mission to France was perfectly pacific, and its only object the education of the prince at the French court. Henry merely answered by a poor witticism, declar- ing that he himself knew the French language indifferently well, and that his father could not have sent him to a better master. 3 So flagrant a breach 2 Walsingham, p. 375. Wiuton, vol. li. pp. 415,416. 3 Walsingham, p. 375. Extracta ex Ohroni- cia Scotia?, p. 253. 84 HISTORY OF of the law of nations as the seizure and imprisonment of the heir-apparent during the time of truce, would have called for the most violent remon- strances from any government except that of Albany. But to this usurper of the supreme power, the capture of the prince was the most grateful event which could have happened; and to detain him in captivity became, from this moment, one of the principal ob- jects of his future life ; we are not to wonder, then, that the conduct of Henry not only drew forth no indig- nation from the governor, but was not even followed by any request that the prince should be restored to liberty. Whilst Albany's satisfaction was great at this unfortunate event, his indignation, and that of the Douglases, at the conduct of Sir David Fleming, in attempting to convey the heir-ap- parent to a place of safety, and in facilitating the escape of Northumber- land, was proportionably fierce and un- forgiving ; nor was it quenched until they had taken a bloody revenge. At the moor of Lang-Hermandston, the party which had accompanied the prince to North Berwick were attacked by James Douglas of Abercorn, second son of the Earl of Douglas, and Alex- ander Seton, where, after a fierce con- flict, Fleming was slain, and the most of the barons who accompanied him made prisoners. A procession which passed next day through Edinburgh, conveying to Holyrood the body of this noble knight, who was celebrated for his courage, tenderness, and fide- lity, excited much commiseration; but the populace did not dare to rise against the Douglases, and Albany openly protected them. Those bitter feelings of wrath and desires of re- venge, which so cruel an attack ex- cited, now broke out into interminable feuds and jealousies, and, ramifying throughout the whole line of the vas- sals of these two powerful families, continued for many years to agitate the minds of the people, and disturb the tranquillity of the country. 1 The aged king, already worn out by i Winton,vol.ii.p.413. FordunaGoodal,vol ii.p 439. Extracta ex Chronicis Scotise, p. 153. SCOTLAND. rCHAP.L infirmity, and now broken by disap- pointment and sorrow, did not long survive the captivity of his son. It in said the melancholy news was brought him as he was sitting down to supper in his palace of Rothesay in Bute ; and that the effect was such upon his affectionate but feeble spirit, that he drooped from that day forward, re- fused all sustenance, and died soon after of a broken heart. His death took place on the 4th of April 1406, in the sixteenth year of his reign ; and Albany, his brother, immediately suc- ceeded to the prize which had so long been the paramount object of his am- bition, by becoming the uufettered governor of Scotland. The character of this monarch requires little addi- tional development. It was of that sweet, pacific, and indolent nature, which unfitted him to subdue the pride, or overawe and control the fierce passions and resentments of his barons; and although the generosity and affectionate feelings of his heart inclined him on every occasion to be the friend of the poorer classes of his subjects, yet energy and courage were wanting to make these good wishes effectual ; and it might almost be said, that in tbe dread of making any one his enemy, he made no one his friend. All the virtues of domestic life he pos- sessed in a high degree ; but these, as well as his devotion to intellectual accomplishments, were thrown away upon the rude times in which he lived. His wisdom, which was far before his age, saw clearly that the greatest bless- ing which could be conferred upon the country was peace; but it required firmness, and almost violence, to carry these convictions into the active man- agement of the government, and these were qualities which Robert could not command. Had he been born in the rank of a subject, he would have been among the best and wisest men in his dominions ; but as a king, his timidity and irresolution rendered all his vir- tues of none avail, and permitted the government to fall into the hands of a usurper, who systematically abused his power for the purposes of his own aggrandisement. 1406-8.] REGENCY i In person, Rooert was tall, and of a princely presence ; his countenance was somewhat florid, but pleasing and animated; whilst a beard of great length, and silvery whiteness, flowed down his breast, and gave a look of sanctity to his appearance. Humility, a deep conviction of the vanity of human grandeur, and aspirations for the happiness of a better world, were sentiments which he is said to have deeply felt, and frequently expressed ; and nothing could prevail on him, in the custom of the age, and after the example of his father and grandfather, to provide a monument for himself. It is said that his queen*, Annabella, remonstrated with him on this occa- sion, when he rebuked her for speak- ing like one of the foolish women. "You consider not," said he, "how little it becomes a wretched worm, and the vilest of sinners, to erect a proud tomb for his miserable remains : let them who delight in the honours of this world so employ themselves. As for me, cheerfully would I be buried in the meanest shed on earth, could I thus secure rest to my soul in the day of the Lord." 1 He was in- terred, however, in the Abbey church of Paisley, before the high altar. It has hitherto been believed by our Scottish historians, that there were born to him only two sons, David, x>. 341. 417. REGENCY OF ALBANY, AS of Durham, and the Earls of Nor- thumberland and Westmoreland, was intrusted the task of receiving the oatha of the Scottish king and his hostages, whilst the treaty had been so far suc- cessful that letters of safe-conduct were granted to the Bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, the Earls of Crawford,' Douglas, and Mar, Murdoch Stewart, Albany's eldest son, and John, his- brother, earl of Buchan, to whom the final adjustment was to be committed. But, from what cause cannot now be discovered, the treaty, when on the eve of being concluded, mysteriously broke off. Whether it was owing to the intrigues of the governor, or the jealousy of Scottish influence in the affairs of France, Henry became sud- denly cool, and interrupted the nego- tiation, so that the unfortunate prince saw himself at one moment on the eve of regaining his liberty, and being re- stored to the kingdom which was his rightful inheritance, and the next re- manded back to his captivity, and con- demned to the misery of that pro- tracted hope which sickens the heart. Are we to wonder that his resentment against the man whose base and selfish intrigues he well knew to be the cause of the failure of the negotiation should have assumed a strength and a violence which, at a future period, involved not only himself but his whole race in utter ruin ? In the meantime, however, the power of the state was fixed too firmly in the hands of Albany for the friends of the young king to defeat his schemes ; and as the governor began to suspect that a continuance of peace encouraged intrigues for the restoration of James and his own deposition, he determined as soon as the last short truce had ex- pired not only to invade England, but to send over an auxiliary force to the assistance of France. The object of all this was apparent — a war gave im- mediate employment to the restless spirits of the nobility, it at once in- terrupted their intercourse w T ith their captive sovereign, it necessarily in- censed the English monarch, put an end to that kind and conciliatory spirit with wh^h he had conducted his cor. 46 HISTORY OF respondence witli that country, and Tendered it almost certain that he would retain the royal captive in his hands. • The baseness of Albany in pursuing this line of policy cannot be too se- verely condemned. If ever there was a period in which Scotland could have enjoyed peace with security and with advantage, it was the present. The principles upon which Henry the Fifth acted with regard to that country were those of perfect honour and good faith. All those ideas of conquest, so long and so fondly cherished by the Eng- lish kings since the days of Edward the First, had been renounced, and the integrity and independence of the kingdom completely acknowledged. In this respect, the reigns of Edward the Third and Henry the .Fifth offer as striking a contrast in the conduct pursued by these two monarchs to- wards Scotland as they present a brilliant parallel in their ambitious attacks upon France. The grasping and gigantic ambition of Edward the Third was determined to achieve the conquest of both countries, and it must be allowed that he pursued his object with great political ability; but his failure in this scheme, and the unsuccessful result of the last inva- sion by Henry the Fourth, appear to have convinced his warlike son that two such mighty designs were incom- patible, and that one of the first steps towards ultimate success in his French war must be the complete restoration of amity with Scotland. It was now, therefore, in the power of that country to enjoy a permanent peace, established on the basis of in- dependence. The King of England was ready to deliver to her a youthful sovereign of great talents and energy, who, although a captive, had been educated at his father's court with a liberality which had opened to him every avenue to knowledge ; and, under such a reign, what might not have been anticipated, in the revival of good order, the due execution of the laws, the progress of commerce and manufactures, the softening the harshness and tyranny of the feudal SCOTLAND. [Chap. I. aristocracy, and the gradual ameliora- tion of the middle and lower classes of the community ? Yet Albany hesi- tated not to sacrifice all this fair prospect of national felicity to his individual ambition ; and once more plunged the country into war, for the single purpose of detaining his sove- reign in captivity, and transferring the power which he had so long usurped into the hands of his son. For a while he succeeded ; but he little an- ticipated the dreadful reckoning to which those who now shared his guilt and his triumph were so soon to be called. His talents for war, however, were of a very inferior description. An expedition which he had meditated against England in a former year, in which it was commonly reported that he was to besiege Berwick at the head of an army of sixty thousand men, and that the cannon and warlike ma chines to be employed in the enter prise had already been shipped on board the fleet, concluded in nothing, for neither army nor artillery ever appeared before Berwick. 1 Nor was his second invasion much more suc- cessful. He laid siege indeed to Rox- burgh, and the miners had commenced their operations, when hews was brought to his camp that the Duke of Bed- ford, to whom Henry, during his ab- sence in France, had intrusted the protection of the Borders, was advanc- ing, by rapid marches, at the head of an army of forty thousand men. Al- bany had foolishly imagined that the whole disposable force of England was then in France with the king; but, on discovering his mistake, he precipitately abandoned the siege ; and, without having achieved anything in the least degree correspondent to his great preparations, retreated into Scotland. The invasion, from its in- glorious progress and termination, was long remembered in the country by the contemptuous appellation of " The Foul Raid." 2 1 Walsingham, p. 399. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 449. 2 Rvmer, Foedera, vol. ix p. 307. A.D 1415. " 1419-23.] But if the war was carried on in this feeble manner by Albany, the English cannot be accused of any such inglorious inactivity. On the contrary, Henry bad left behind him, as guar- dians of the marches, some of his bravest and most experienced leaders ; and amongst these, Sir Robert Umfra- ville, governor of Berwick, eager to emulate the exploits of his country- men in France, invaded Scotland by the east marches, and committed dread- ful havoc and devastation. The whole country was reduced into one wide field of desolation, and the rich Border towns of Hawick, Selkirk, Jedburgh, Lauder, Dunbar, with the numerous villages, hamlets, and granges of Te- viotdale and Liddesdale, were burnt to the ground ; whilst the solitary success .upon the part of Scotland seems to have been the storming of Wark castle by William Haliburton, which, however, was soon afterwards retaken by Sir Robert Ogle, and the whole of the Scottish garrison put to the sword. 1 It was not long after this that the Dauphin despatched the Duke of Ven- dome on an embassy to the Scottish court. It's object was to request as- sistance against the English; and a parliament having been immediately assembled, it was determined by the governor to send into France a large auxiliary force, under the conduct of his second son, Sir John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, and the. Earl of Wigtown. The vessels for the transport of these troops were to be furnished by France ; and the King of Castile, with the In- fanta of Arragon, who were in alliance with the Scots, had promised to fit out forty ships for the emergency. Alarmed at a resolution which might produce so serious a diversion in fa- vour of his enemies, Henry instantly despatched his letters to his brother the Duke of Bedford, on whom, dur- ing his absence in France, he had devolved the government, directing him to seize and press into his service, in the various seaports where they could be found, a sufficient number i Fordun a G-oodal vol. ii. p. 458. Har- dyns's Chronicle, p. 382. REGENCY OF ALBANY. 47 of ships and galleons, to be armed and victualled with all possible despatch, for the purpose of intercepting the Scottish auxiliaries ; but the command was either disregarded, or came too late, for an army of seven thousand troops, amongst whom were the flower of the Scottish nobles, were safely landed in France, and were destined to distin- guish themselves in a signal manner in their operations against the English. 2 For a year, however, they lay in- active, and during this period impor* tant changes took place in Scotland. Albany the governor, at the advanced age of eighty, died at the palace of Stirling, on the 3d of September 1419. If we include the period of his manage- ment of the state under his father and brother, he may be said to have governed Scotland for thirty-four years; but his actual regency, from the death of Robert the Third to his own de- cease, did not exceed fourteen years. 3 So effectually had he secured the in- \ terest of the nobility, that his son j succeeded, without opposition, to the power which his father had so ably and artfully consolidated. No meet- ing of the parliament, or of any coun- cil of the nobility, appears to have taken place ; and the silent assump- • tion of the authority and name of governor by Duke Murdoch, during the continued captivity of the king, was nothing else than a bold act of treason. 4 It was soon apparent, how- ever, that the dangerous elevation was rather thrust upon him by his party than chosen by himself; and that he possessed neither the talents nor the inclination to carry on that system of usurpation of which his father had raised the superstructure, and no doubt flattered himself that he had secured the foundations. Within four years, under the weak, gentle, and vacillat- ing administration of Murdoch, it 2 Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiae, MS. p. 262. See Illustrations, C. s Fordun a G-oodal, vol. ii. p. 466. Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiae, p. 263, MS. * In Macfarlane's G-enealogical Collections, MS. vol. i. p. 3, is a precept of sasine by Duke Murdoch to the Laird of Balfour, in which he styles himself "Regni Scotia Gubernator." 4S HISTORY OF crumbled away, and gave place to a state of rude and unlicensed anarchy. The nobility, although caressed and flattered by Albany, who, in his de- sire to attain popularity, had divided amongst them the spoils of the crown lands, and permitted an unsafe in- crease of individual power, had yet been partially kept within the limits of authority ; and if the laws were not conscientiously administered, they were not openly outraged. But under the son all became, within a short time, one scene of rude, unlicensed anarchy; and it was evident that, to save the country from ruin, some change must speedily take place. In the mean- time, Henry the Fifth, alarmed at the success of the strong auxiliary force which the Earls of Buchan and Wig- town had conducted to France, in- sisted upon his royal captive, James the First, accompanying him in his expedition to renew the war in that country, having first entered into an engagement with that prince, by which he promised to permit him to revisit his dominions for a stipulated period, and under the condition of his deliver- ing into the hands of England a suffi- cient number of hostages for his re- turn. 1 Archibald, earl of Douglas, the most powerful noble in Scotland, appears at this time to have deeply interested himself in the return of James to his dominions. He engaged to assist Henry in his French war with a body of two bimdred knights and squires, and two hundred mounted archers; and that prince probably expected that the Scot- tish auxiliaries would be induced to detach themselves from the service of the Dauphin, rather than engage in hostilities with their rightful sovereign. According to the English historians, the Scottish king, when requested by Henry to command his subjects on their allegiance to leave the service of France, replied, that so long as he remained a prisoner, it neither became him to issue, nor them to obey, such an order. But he added, that to win renown as a private knight, and to be instructed in the art of war under so l itymer Fccclera, vol. x. pp. 19, 125. SCOTLAND. [Chap, t great a captain, was an opportunity ha willingly embraced. Of the particu- lars of his life at this period no ac- count remains, but there is ample evidence that he was in constant com- munication with Scotland. His private chaplain, William de Mirton, Alex- ander de Seton, lord of Gordon, Wil- liam Fowlis, secretary to the Earl of Douglas, and in all probability many others, were engaged in secret missions, which informed him of the state of parties in his dominions, of the weak administration of Murdoch, the un- licensed anarchy which prevailed, and the earnest wishes of all good men for the return of their sovereign. 2 It was aif this crisis that Henry the Fifth closed his heroic career, happier than Edward the Third in his being spared the mortification of outliving those brilliant conquests, which in the progress of years were destined to be as effectually torn from the hand of England. The Duke of Bedford, who succeeded to the government of France, and the Duke of Gloucester, who as- sumed the office of Regent in England during the minority of Henry the Sixth, appear to have been animated with favourable dispositions towards the Scottish king ; and within a few months after the accession of the infant sovereign, a negotiation took place, in which Alexander Seton, lord of Gordon, Thomas de Mirton, the chaplain of the Scottish monarch, Sir John Forester, Sir Walter Ogilvy, John de Leith, and William Fowlis, had a meeting with the privy council of England upon the subject of the king's return to his do- minions. 3 It was determined that on the 12th of May 1423, James should be permitted to meet at Pontefract with the Scottish ambassadors, who should be empowered to enter into a negotiation upon this subject with, the ambassadors of the King of Eng- land; and such a conference having accordingly taken place, the final treaty was concluded at London between the Bishop of Glasgow, chancellor of Scotland, the Abbot of Balinerinoch, 2 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. pp 166, 227. Ibid. pp. 174, 296. » Ihid. vol. x. p. 266 1423-1] REGENCY George Borthwick, archdeacon of Glas- gow, and Patrick Howston, licentiate in the laws, ambassadors appointed by the Scottish governor ; 1 and the Bishop of Worcester and Stafford, the treasurer of England, William Alnwick, keeper of the privy seal, the Lord Cromwell, Sir John Pelham, Robert Waterton, Esq., and John Stokes, doctor of laws, commissaries appointed by the English regency. It will be recollected that James had been seized by the English during the time of truce, and to have insisted on a ransom for a prince, who by the law of nations was not properly a captive, would have been gross injustice. The English commissioners accordingly de- clared that they should only demand the payment of the expenses of the King of Scotland which had been in- curred during the long period of his residence in England ; and these they fixed at the sum of forty thousand pounds of good and lawful money of England, to be paid in yearly sums of ten thousand marks, till the whole Was discharged. It was determined that the king should not only promise, upon his royal word and oath, to de- fray this sum, but that certain hostages from the noblest families in the country should be delivered into the hands of the English king, to remain in Eng- land at their own expense, till the whole sum was paid; and that, for further security, a separate obligation should be given by the four principal towns of Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, and Aberdeen, 2 by which they pro- mised to defray the sum to the Eng- lish treasury, in the event of its not being paid by their own sovereign. In addition to this, the ambassadors of both countries were empowered to treat of a marriage between the Scot- tish king and some English lady of noble birth; and as James, during his captivity, had fallen in love with the daughter of the Earl of Somerset, a lady of royal descent by both parents, and of great beauty and accomplish- i Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. p. 298. The com- mission by the governor is dated Inverkeith- August 19, 1423. a Ibid. vol. x. p. 303. VOL. II. OF ALBANY. 40 ments, this part of their n egotiation was without difficulty concluded. JohannaV Beaufort had already given her heari to the royal captive ; and the marriage was concluded with the customary feudal pomp in the church of St Mary Overy, in Southwark, 3 after which the feast was held in the palace of her uncle, the famous Cardinal Beaufort, a man of vast wealth and equal ambi- tion. 4 Next day, James received as the dower of his wife a relaxation from the payment of ten thousand marks of the original sum which had been agreed on. 5 A truce of seven years was con- cluded ; and, accompanied by his queen and a brilliant cortege of the English nobility, to whom he had endeared himself by his graceful manners and deportment, he set out for his own dominions. At .Durham, he was met by the Earls of Lennox, Wigtown, Moray, Crawford, March, Orkney, An- gus, and Strathern, with the Constable and Marshal of Scotland, and a train of the highest barons and gentry of his dominions, amounting altogether to about three hundred persons ; from whom a band of twenty-eight hostages were selected, comprehending some of the most noble and opulent persons in the country. In the schedule contain ing their names, the annual rent of their estates is also set down, which renders it a document of much interest, as illustrating the wealth and compara- tive influence of the Scottish aristo- cracy. 6 From Durham, James, still sur- rounded by his nobles, and attended by the Earl of Northumberland, the sheriff of that county, and an escort under Sir Robert Umfraville, Sir William Heron, and Sir Robert Ogle, proceeded in his joyful progress, and halted, on reaching the Abbey of Mel- rose, for the purpose of fulfilling the obligation which bound him to con- firm the treaty by his royal oath, upon * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. pp. 321, 323. * Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii. p. 127, plate 41, p. 148. Dugdale's Baronage, vol. ii. p. 122. fi Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. p. 323, dated 12th Feb. 1424. c Ibid. vol. x. pp. 307, 309. See Illugtra* tions, D. 50 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. the Holy Gospels, within four days after his entry into his own do- minions. 1 He was received by all classes of his subjects with expressions of tumul- [Chap. TL tuous joy and undissembled affection ; and the regent hastened to resign the government into the hands of a prince who was in every way worthy of the crown. CHAPTER II JAMES THE FIRST. 1424—1437. In James the First Scotland was at length destined to receive a sovereign of no common character and endow- ments. We have seen that when a boy of fourteen he was seized by the English, and from that time till his return in 1424, twenty years of his life, embracing the period of all others the most important and decisive in the formation of future character, had been passed in captivity. If unjust in his detention, Henry the Fourth appears to have been anxious to com- pensate for his infringement of the law of nations by the care which he bestowed upon the education of the youthful monarch. He was instructed in all the warlike exercises, and in the high-bred observances and polished manners of the school of chivalry ; he was generously provided with masters in the various arts and sciences ; and as it was the era of the revival of learning in England, the age especially of the rise of poetic literature in Chaucer and Gower, his mind and imagination became deeply infected with a passion for those elegant pur- suits. But James, during his long captivity, enjoyed far higher advan- tages. He was able to study the arts of government, to make his observa- tions on the mode of administering justice in England, and to extract wisdom and. experience from a per- 1 Iiymer, Fo:iera, vol. x. pp. 833, 343. Dated April 5, 1425. sonal acquaintance with the disputes between the sovereign and his nobility; whilst in the friendship and confidence with which he appears to have been uniformly treated by Henry the Fifth, who made him the partner of his cam- paigns in France, he became acquainted with the politics of both countries, re- ceived his education in the art of war from one of the greatest captains whom it has produced; and, from his not being personally engaged, had leisure to avail himself to the utmost of the opportunities which his peculiar situa- tion presented. There were other changes also which were then gradu- ally beginning to manifest themselves in the political condition of the two countries, which, to his acute and dis- cerning mind, must necessarily have presented a subject of thought and speculation — I mean the repeated ris- ings of the commons against the in- tolerable tyranny of the feudal nobility, and the increased wealth and conse- quence of the middle classes of the state ; events which, in the moral his- tory of those times, are of deep interest and importance, and of which the future monarch of Scotland was a per- sonal observer. The school, therefore, in which James was educated seems to have been eminently qualified to produce a wise and excellent king; and the history of his reign corrobor- ates this observation. On entering his kingdom, Jame* 142-1.] JA-M proceeded to Edinburgh, where he held the festival of Easter; and on the twenty-first of May he and his queen were solemnly crowned in the Abbey Church of Scone. According to an ancient hereditary right, the king was placed in the royal seat by the late governor, Murdoch, duke of Albany and earl of Fife, whilst Henry Ward- law, bishop of St Andrews, the same faithful prelate to whom the charge of his early education had been com- mitted, anointed his royal master, and placed the crown upon his head, amid a crowded assembly of the nobility and clergy, and the shouts and re- joicings of the people. The king then proceeded to bestow the honour of knighthood upon Alexander Stewart, the younger son of the Duke of Albany; upon the Earls of March, Angus, and Crawford ; William Hay of Errol, con- stable of Scotland, John Scrymgeourj constable of Dundee, Alexander Seton of Gordon, and eighteen others of the principal nobility and barons ; 1 after which he convoked his parliament on the 26th of May, and proceeded to the arduous task of inquiring into the abuses of the government, and adopt- ing measures for their reformation. Hitherto James had been but im- perfectly informed regarding the extent to which the government of Albany and his feeble successor had promoted, or permitted, the grossest injustice and the most unlicensed peculation. He had probably sus- pected that the picture had been ex- aggerated ; and with that deliberate policy which constituted a striking part of his character, he resolved to conduct his investigations in person, before he gave the slightest hint of his ultimate intentions. It is said, indeed, that when he first entered the kingdom, the dreadful description given by one of his nobles of the un- bridled licentiousness and contempt )f the laws which everywhere pre- vailed threw him for a moment off his guard. " Let God but grant me life," cried he, with a loud voice, " and there shall not be a spot in my dominions J Extracta- ex Chronicis Scotiae, MS. fol. 269, 270. Fordup a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 474. ES I. 51 where the key shall not keep the castle, and the furze-bush the cow, though I myself should lead the life of a dog to accomplish it!" 2 This, however, was probably spoken in con- fidence, for the object of the king was to inform himself of the exact con- dition of his dominions without excit- ing alarm, or raising a suspicion, which might foster opposition and induce concealment. The very persons who sat in this parliament, arid through whose assistance the investigation must be conducted, were themselves the worst defaulters; an imprudent word escaping him, and much more a sudden imprisonment or a hasty, perhaps an unsuccessful, attempt at impeachment, would have been the signal for the nobles to fly to their estates and shut themselves up in their feudal castles, where they could have defied every effort of the king to ap- prehend them ; and in this way all his plans might have been defeated or in- definitely protracted, and the country plunged into something approaching to a civil war. The three estates of the realm hav- ing been assembled, certain persons were elected for the determination of the "Articles " to be proposed to them by the king, leave of returning home being given to the other members of the parliament. Committees of parlia- ment had already been introduced by David the Second, on the ground of general convenience, and the anxiety of the barons and landholders to be present on their estates during the time of harvest. 3 From this period to the present time, embracing an in- terval of more than half a century, the destruction of the records of the parliaments of Robert the Second and Third, and of the government of Albany and his son, renders it impos- sible to trace the progress of this im- portant change, by which we now find the Lords of the Articles a certe persone ad articulos," an acknowledged institution, in the room of the par- liamentary committees of David the 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 511. 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland,, sub anno 1424, History, supra, vol. i. p. 263. 52 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. II, Second ; but it is probable that the king availed himself of this privilege to form, a small body of the nobility, clergy and burgesses, of whose fidelity he was secure, and who lent him their assistance in the difficult task upon which he now engaged. The parliament opened with an enactment commanding all men to honour the Church, declaring that its ministers should enjoy, in all things, their ancient freedom and established privileges, and that no person should dare to hinder the clergy from granting leases of their lands or tithes, under the spiritual censures commonly in- curred by such prevention. A procla- mation followed, directed against the prevalence of private war and feuds amongst the nobility, enjoining the king's subjects to maintain thencefor- ward a firm peace throughout the realm, and discharging all barons, under the highest pains of the law, from " moving or making war against each other ; from riding through the country with a more numerous fol- lowing of horse than properly belonged to their estate, or for which, in their progress, due payment was not made to the king's lieges and hostellars. All such riders or gangars," upon complaint being made, were to be apprehended by the officers of the lands where the trespass had been committed, and kept in sure custody till the king declared his pleasure regarding them ; and, in order to the due execution of this and other enact- ments, it was ordained that officers and ministers of the laws should be appointed generally throughout the realm, whose personal estate must be of wealth and sufficiency enough to be proceeded against, in the event of malversation, and from whose vigour and ability the " commons of the land " should be certain of receiving justice. 1 The penalty of rebellion or treason against the king's person was declared to be the forfeiture of life, lands, and goods, whilst all friends or supporters i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 2. Statutes of the Realm, Rich. II. vol. ii. pp. 9, 10. Statutes against Bonds or Con- federacies. of rebels were to be punished accord ing to the pleasure of the sovereign. The enactments which followed re- garding those troops of sturdy men- dicants who traversed the country, extorting charity where it was not speedily bestowed, present us with some curious illustrations of the man* ners of the times. The king com- manded that no companies of such loose and unlicensed persons should be permitted to beg or insist on quarters from any husbandman or Churchman, sojourning in the abbeys or on the farm granges, and devouring the wealth of the country. An excep- tion was made in favour of " royal beggars," with regard to whom it is> declared that the king had agreed, by advice of his parliament, that no beggars or " thiggars " be permitted to beg, either in the burgh or through- out the country, between the ages of fourteen and threescore and ten years, unless it be first ascertained by the council of the burgh that they are incapacitated from supporting them- selves in any other way. It was directed that they who were thus per- mitted to support themselves should wear a certain token, to be furnished them by the sheriff, or the alderman and bailies ; and that proclamation be made that all beggars having no such tokens do immediately betake them- selves to such trades as may enable them to win their own living, under the penalty of burning on the cheek and banishment from the country. 3 It is curious to discern, in this primi- tive legislative enactment, the first institution of the king's blue-coats or bedesmen, a venerable order of privi- leged mendicants, whose existence has but ceased within the present century. During the weak administration of Robert the Second and Third, and still more under the unprincipled govern- ment of Albany, the "great customs," or the duties levied throughout the realm upon the exportation or impoi* tation of merchandise, had been di- minished by various grants to private 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. pp. 2, 8. 14-24.] persons : and, in addition to this, the crown lands had been shamelessly alienated and dilapidated. It was declared by the parliament that in all time coming the great customs should remain in the hands of the king for the support of his royal estate, and that all persons who made any claim upon such customs should produce to the sovereign the deed or grant upon which such a demand was maintained. 1 With regard to the lands and rents which were formerly in possession of the ancestors of the king, it was pro- vided that special directions should be given to the different sheriffs through- out the realm to make inquiries of the oldest and worthiest officers with- in their sheriffdom, as to the particular lands or annual rents which belonged to the king, or in former times were in the hands of his royal predecessors, David the Second, Robert the Second, and Robert the Third. In these returns by the sheriffs, the names of the present possessors of these lands were directed to be included, and an inquest was then to be summoned, who, after having examined the pro- per evidence, were enjoined to return a verdict under their seals, adjudging the property to belong to the crown. To facilitate such measures, it was declared that the king may summon, according to his free will and pleasure, his various tenants and vassals to exhibit their charters and holdings, in order to discover the exact extent of their property. 2 The next enactment related to a very important subject, the payment of the fifty thousand marks w T hich were due to England, and the deliver- ance of the hostages who were de- tained in security. Upon this sub- ject it was ordained that a specific ium should be raised upor the whole lands of the kingdom, including regal- ity lands as well as others, as it would be grievous and heavy upon the com- mons to raise the whole "finance " at 1 See a statute of Richard the Second on the same subject, pp. 41, 42, vol. ii. Statutes of the Realm. 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, yoI. fi. p. 4. JAMES L 53 once. For this purpose, an aid or donative, expressed in the statute by the old Saxon word a zelde, and amounting to the sum of twelve pennies in every pound, was directed to be raised upon all rents, lands, and goods, belonging to lords and barons within their domains, including both corn and cattle. From this valuation, however, all riding horses, draught oxen, and household utensils, were ex- cepted. The burgesses, in like man- ner, were directed to contribute their share out of their goods and rents. In addition to this donative, the parliament determined that certain taxes should also be raised upon the cattle and the corn, the particulars of which were minutely detailed in the record. As to the tax upon all grain which was then housed, excepting the purveyance of the lords and barons for their own consumption, it was ordained that the boll of wheat should pay two shillings; the boll of rye, bear, and pease, sixteenpence ; and the boll of oats, sixpence. With regard to the green corn, all the standing crops were to remain untaxed until brought into the barn. As to cattle, it was de- termined that a cow and her calf, or quey of two years old, should pay six shillings and eightpence ; a draught ox the same ; every wedder and ewe, each at the rate of twelve pennies ; every goat, gimmer, and dinmont, the same ; each wild mare, with her colt of three year old, ten shillings; and lastly, every colt of three years and upwards, a mark. 3 For the purpose of the just collec- tion of this tax throughout the coun- try, it was directed that every sheriff should within his own sheriffdom sum- mon the barons and freeholders of the king, and by their advice select cer- tain honest and discreet men, who should be ready to abide upon all occasions the scrutiny of the sovereign as to their faithful discharge of their office in the taxation; and to whom the task of making an e * Extent," as it was technically called, or, in other words, of drawing up an exact inven- tory of the property of the country, * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, p. 4. 51 should be committed. These officers, or " extentours," are directed to be sworn as to the faithful execution of their office, before the barons of the sheriffdom; they are commanded, in order to insure a more complete in- vestigation, to take with them the parish priest, who is to be enjoined by his bishop to inform them faithfully of all the goods in the parish; and having done so, they are then to mark down the extent in a book furnished for the purpose, in which the special names of every town in the kingdom, and of every person dwelling therein, with the exact amount of their pro- perty, was to be particularly enume- rated ; all which books were to be de- livered into the hands of the king's auditors at Perth, upon the 12th day of July next. It is deeply to be re- gretted that none of these records of the property of the kingdom have reached our time. It was further declared upon this important subject, that all the lands of the kingdom should be taxed ac- cording to their present value, and that the tax upon all goods and gear should be paid in money of the like value with the coin then current in the realm. It was specially enjoined that no one in the kingdom, whether he be of the rank of clerk, baron, or burgess, should be excepted from pay- ment of this tax, and that all should have the money ready to be delivered within fifteen days after the taxation had been struck, the officers employed in its collection being empowered, upon failure, to take payment in kind, a cow being estimated at five shillings; a ewe or wedder, at twelve pence ; a goat, gimmer, or dinmont, at eight- pence ; a three-year-old colt at a mark ; a wild mare and her foal at ten shil- lings ; a boll of wheat at twelve pen- nies ; of rye, bear, and pease, at eight- pence ; and of oats, at threepence. 1 If the lord of the land, where such payment in kind had been taken, chose to advance the sum for his tenants, the sheriffs were commanded to de- liver the goods to him; if not, they 1 Acts ot the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii p. 4. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, [Chap. II. were to be sold at the next market cross, or sent to the king. It was next determined by the par- liament that the prelates should tax their rents and kirks in the same manner, and at the same rate, as the baron's land; every bishop in each deanery of his diocese being directed to cause his official and dean to sum- mon all his tenants and freeholders before him, and to select tax-gatherers, whose duty it was to "extend" the ecclesiastical lands in the same way as the rest of the property of the coun- try; it being provided, in every in- stance where a churchman paid the whole value of his benefice, that the fruits of his kirk lands should next year be free from all imposition or exaction. In the taxation of the rents and goods of the burgesses, the sheriff was directed to send a superintendent to see that the tax-gatherers, who were chosen by the aldermen and bailies, executed their duty faithfully and truly ; and it was directed that th(* salary and expenses of the various col- lectors in baronies, burghs, or church lands, should be respectively deter- mined by the sheriff, aldermen, and pre- lates, and deducted from the whole amount of the tax, when it was given into the hands of the " auditors " ap- pointed by the king to receive the gross sum, on the 12th day of July, at Perth. The auditors appointed were the Bishops of Dunkeld and Dunblane, the Abbots of Balmerinoch and St Colm's Inch, Mr John Scheves, the Earl of Athole, Sir Patrick Dunbar, William Borthwick, Patrick Ogilvy, James Douglas of Balveny, and Wil- liam Erskine of Kinnoul. I have been anxious to give the entire details of this scheme of taxation, as it furnishes us with many interesting facts illus- trative of the state of property in the country at this early period of its his- tory, and as it is not to be found in the ordinary edition of the Statutes of James the First. After some severe enactments against the slayers of salmon within the for- bidden time, which a posterior statute informs us was in the interval between the feast of the Assumption of Our 1424.] Lady .and the feast of St Andrew in the winter, it was declared that all yairs and cruves, (meaning certain me- chanical contrivances for the taking of fish by means of wattled traps placed between two walls in the stream of the river,) which have been built in fresh waters where the sea ebbs and flows, should be put down for three years, on account of the destruction of the spawn, or young fry, which they ne- cessarily occasion. This regulation was commanded to be peremptorily en- forced, even by those whose charters included a right of "qruve fishing," under the penalty of a hundred shil- lings ; and the ancient regulation re- garding the removal of the cruve on* Saturday night, known by the name of " Saturday's Slap," as well as the rules which determined the statutory width of the " hecks" or wattled inter- stices, were enjoined to be strictly ob- served. 1 The extent to which the fisheries had been carried in Scotland, and the object which they formed even to the foreign fishcurers, appeared in the statutory provisions regarding the royal custom imposed upon all herring taken within the realm, being one penny upon every thousand fresh her- ring sold in the market. Upon every last of herring which were taken by Scottish fishermen and barrelled, a duty of four shillings, and on every last taken by strangers, a duty of six shillings was imposed; whilst, from every thousand red herrings made within the kingdom, a duty of four pennies was to be exacted. 2 With regard to mines of gold or silver, it was provided that wherever such have been discovered within the lands of any lord or baron, if it Can be proved that three half pennies of silver can be produced out of the pound of lead, the mine should, according to the established practice of other realms, belong to the king — a species of pro- perty from which there is no evidence that any substantial wealth ever flowed into the royal exchequer. It was en- 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 5. 2 A last, according to Skene, contains twelve great barrels, or fourteen smaller barrels, pp. 139, 140. JAMES I. 55 acted that no gold or silver should be permitted to be carried forth of the realm, except it pay a duty of forty pence upon every pound exported ; and in the event of any attempt to contravene this provision, the de- faulter was to forfeit the whole gold or silver, and to pay a fine of forty-one pennies to the king. It was moreover provided that in every instance where merchant strangers have disposed of their goods for money, they should either expend the same in the pur- chase of Scottish merchandise, or in the payment of their personal expenses, for proof of which they must bring the evidence of the host of the inn where they made their abode; or, if they wished to carry it out of the realm, they were to pay the duty upon exportation. 3 It was determined that, the money in present circulation throughout the realm, which had been greatly depreciated from the original standard, should be called in, and a new coinage issued of like weight and fineness with the money of England. It having been found that a con- siderable trade had been carried on in the sale and exportation of oxen, sheep and horses, it was provided, in the same spirit of unenlightened po- licy which distinguished the whole body of the statutes relative to the commerce of the country, that upon every pound of the price received in such transactions a duty of twelve pennies should be levied by the king. Upon the same erroneous principle, so soon as it was discovered that a con- siderable trade was carried on in the exportation of the skins of harts and hinds, of martins, fumarts, rabbits, does, roes, otters, and foxes, it was pro- vided that a check should be given to this flourishing branch of trade, by imposing a certain tax or custom upon each of such commodities, in the event of their being purchased for exporta- tion. 4 It appears that many abuses 3 In England, by a statute of Henry IV., merchant strangers were permitted to export one-half of the money received for their manufactures. Statutes of the Realm, vol. ii. p. 122. * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 6. 56* had crept into the ecclesiastical state of the country by the frequent pur- chase of pensions from the Pope, against which practices a special sta- tute was directed, declaring that in all time coming no person should pur- chase any pension payable out of any benefice, religious or secular, under the penalty of forfeiting the same to Ihe crown ; and that no clerk, without an express licence from the king, should either himself pass over the sea, or send procurators for him upon any foreign errand. A singular and primitive enactment followed regarding rookeries ; in which, after a preamble stating the mischief to the corn which was occasioned by rooks building in the trees of kirkyards and orchards, it was provided that the proprietors of such trees should, by every method in their power, prevent the birds from building ; and, if this cannot be accomplished, that they at least take special care that the young rooks, or branchers, were not suffered to take wing, under the penalty that ;)11 trees upon which the nests are found at Beltane, and from which it can be established, by good evidence.^ that the young birds have escaped, should be forfeited to the crown, and forthwith cut down, unless redeemed by the proprietor. No man, under a penalty of forty shillings, was to burn muirs from the month of March till the corn be cut down ; and if any such defaulter was unable to raise the sum, he was commanded to be imprisoned for forty days. The great superiority of the English archers has been frequently pointed out in the course of this history; and the importance of introducing a more frequent practice of the long-bow ap- pears to have impressed itself deeply <>n the mind of the king, who had the best opportunity, under Henry the Fifth, of witnessing its destructive effects during his French campaigns. It was accordingly provided that all the male subjects of the realm, after reaching the age of twelve years, "busk them to be archers;" that is, provide themselves with the usual arms of an archer; and that upon HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. every ten pound land bow-marks be constructed, especially in. the vicinity of parish churches, where the people may practice archery, and, at the least, shoot thrice about, under the penalty of paying a wedder to the lord of the land, in the event of neglecting the injunction. To give further encourage- ment to archery, the pastime of foot- ball, which appears to have been a favourite national game in Scotland, was forbidden, under a severe penalty, in order that the common people might give the whole of their leisure time to the acquisition of a just eye and a steady hand, in the use of the long-bow. 1 Such is an abstract of the statutory regulations of the first parliament of James; and it is evident that, making allowance for the different circum- stances in which the two countries were situated, the most useful provi- sions, as well as those which imply the deepest ignorance of the true principles of commercial policy, were borrowed from England. Those, for instance, which imposed a penalty upon the ex- portation of sheep, horses, and cattle ; which implied so deep a jealousy of the gold and silver being carried out of the realm ; which forbade the ridd- ing armed, or with too formidable a band of servants ; which encouraged archery ; which related to mendicants and vagabonds; to the duties and qualifications of bailies and magis- trates; which extended to the privi- leges of the Church, and forbade the interference of the Pope with the benefices of the realm, are, with a few changes, to be found amongst the sta- tutes of Richard the Second, and the fourth and fifth Henries; and prove that the king, during his long detention in England, had made himself inti- mately acquainted with the legislative policy of that kingdom. It admits of little doubt that during the sitting of this parliament James was secretly preparing for those de- termined measures, by which, eight months afterwards, he effectually crushed the family of Albany, and i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. & 1424.] compelled the fierce nobility, who had bo long despised all restraint, to re- spect the authority of the laws, and tremble before the power of the crown. But in these projects it was necessary to proceed with extreme caution ; and the institution of the Lords of the Articles seems to have furnished the king with an instrument well suited for the purpose he had in view, which, without creating alarm, enabled him gradually to mature his plans, and conduct them to a successful issue. Who were the persons selected for this committee it is, unfortunately, impos- sible to discover; but we may be cer- tain that they enjoyed the confidence of the king, and were prepared to support him to the utmost of their power. With them, after the return of the rest of the most powerful lords and barons to their estates, who, from the warmth and cordiality with which they were re- ceived, had little suspicion of the secret measures meditated against them, James prepared and passed into laws many statutes, which, from the proud spirit of his nobles, he knew they would not hesitate to despise and disobey, and thus furnish him with an opportunity to bring the offenders within the power of the laws, which he had determined to enforce to the utmost rigour against them. Amongst the statutes, which were evidently designed to be the future means of coercing his nobility, those which re- garded the resumption of the lands of the crown, and the exhibition of the charters by which their estates were held, may be at once recognised ; and to these may be added the enactments against the numerous assemblies of armed vassals with which the feudal nobility of the time were accustomed to traverse the country, and bid de- fiance to the local magistracy. The loss of many original records, which might have thrown some certain light upon this interesting portion of our history, renders it impossible to trace the various links in the projects of the king. Some prominent facts alone remain ; yet from these it is not difficult to discover at least the outline of his proceedings. J AMISS L 57 He suffered eight months to expire before he convoked that celebrated parliament at Perth, at which he had secretly resolved to exhibit his own strength, and to inflict a signal venge- ance upon the powerful family of Albany. During this interval he ap- pears to have gained to his party the whole influence of the clergy, and to have quietly consolidated his own power amongst a portion of the barons. The Earl of Mar, and his son Sir Tho- mas Stewart, William Lauder, bishop of Glasgow and chancellor, Sir Wal- ter Ogilvy, the treasurer, John Came- ron, provost of the Collegiate Church of Lincluden, and private secretary to the king, Sir John Forester of Cor- storphine, chamberlain, Sir John Stew- art and Sir Robert Lauder of the Bass, Thomas Somerville of Carnwath, and Alexander Levingston of Callander, members of the king's council, were, in all probability, the only persons whom James admitted to his confi- dence, and intrusted with the exe- cution of his designs ; 1 whilst the utmost secrecy appears to have been observed with regard to his ultimate purposes. Meanwhile Duke Murdoch and his sons, with the Earls of Douglas, March, and Angus, and the most powerful of the nobility, had sepa- rated without any suspicion of the blow which was meditated against them ; and, once more settled on their own estates, and surrounded by their feudal retainers, soon forgot the sta- tutes which had been so lately en- acted; and with that spirit of fierce independence which had been nour- ished under the government of Albany and his son, dreamt little of producing their charters or giving up the crcwn lands or rents which they had received, of abridging their feudal state or dis- missing their armed followers, or, indeed, of yielding obedience to any part of the laws which interfered with their individual importance and autho- rity. They considered the statutes in i See Hay's MS. Collection of Diplomata, vol. iii. p. 98, foradeed dated 30th December 1424, which gives the members of the king's privy council. 58 HISTORY OF precisely the same light in which there is reason to believe all parliamentary enactments had been regarded in Scot- land for a long period before this : as mandates to be obeyed by the lower orders, under the strictest exactions of penalty and forfeitures ; and to be attended to by the great and the powerful, provided they suited their own convenience, and did not offer any great violence to their feelings of pride or their possession of power. The weak and feeble government of Robert the Second and Third, with the indul- gence to which the aristocracy were accustomed under Albany, had riveted this idea firmly in their minds; and they acted upon it without the suspi- cion that a monarch might one day be found not only with sagacity to pro- cure the enactment of laws which should level their independence, but with a determination of character, and a command of means, which should enable him to carry these laws into execution. On being summoned, therefore, by the king to attend a parliament, to be held at Perth on the 12th of March, they obeyed without hesitation ; and as the first subject which appears to have been brought before the three estates was the dissemination of the heretical opinions of the Lollards, which began to revive about this time in the country, no alarm was excited, and the business of the parliament pro- ceeded as usual. It was determined that due inquiry should be made by the ministers of the king whether the statutes passed in his former parlia- ment had been obeyed; and, in the event of its being discovered that they had been disregarded, orders were issued for the punishment of the offenders. All leagues or confederacies amongst the king's lieges were strictly forbidden ; all assistance afforded to rebels, all false reports, or "leasing- makings," which tended to create dis- cord between the sovereign and his people, were prohibited under the penalty of forfeiting life and lands ; and in every instance where the pro- perty of the Church was found to have been illegally occupied, restoration was SCOTLAND. [Chap. IL ordered to be made by due process of law. 1 The parliament had now continued for eight days, and as yet everything went on without disturbance ; but on the ninth an extraordinary scene pre- sented itself. Murdoch, the late gov- ernor, with Lord Alexander Stewart, his younger son, were suddenly ar- rested, and immediately afterwards twenty-six of the principal nobles and barons shared the same fate. Amongst these were Archibald, earl of Douglas, William Douglas, earl of Angus, George Dunbar, earl of March, William Hay of Errol, constable of Scotland, Scrymgeour, constable of Dundee, Alexander Lindesay, Adam Hepburn of Hailes, Thomas Hay of Yester, Herbert Maxwell of Caerlaverock, Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, Alan Otterburn, secretary to the Duke of Albany, Sir John Montgomery, Sir John Stewart of Dundonald, com- monly called the Red Stewart, and thirteen others. During the course of the same year, and a short time previous to this energetic measure, the king had imprisoned Walter, the eldest son of Albany, along with the Earl of Lennox and Sir Robert Gra- ham : a man of a fierce and vindictive I disposition, who from that moment vowed the most determined revenge, which he lived to execute in the mur- J der of his sovereign. 2 The heir of Albany was shut up in the strong castle of the Bass, belonging to Sir Robert Lauder, a firm friend of the king; whilst Graham and Lennox were committed to Dunbar; and the Duke of Albany himself confined in the first instance in the castle of St Andrews, and afterwards transferred to that of Caerlaverock. At the same moment, the king took possession of the castles of Falkland, and of the fortified palace of Doune, the favourite residence of Albany. 3 Here he found Isabella, the wife of Albany, a daugh- ter of the Earl of Lennox, whom h* immediately committed to the castle 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 7. 2 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1269. 3 Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xx pp. 57, 60. 1424. J JA1V1 of Tantallan ; and with a success and a rapidity which can only be accounted for by the supposition of the utmost vigour in the execution of his plans, and a strong military power to over- awe all opposition, he possessed him- self of the strongest fortresses in the country ; and, after adjourning the parliament, to meet within the space of two months at Stirling, upon the 18th of May, 1 he proceeded to adopt measures for inflicting a speedy and dreadful revenge upon the most power- ful of his opponents. In the palace of Stirling, on the 24th of May, a court was held with great pomp and solemnity for the trial of Walter Stewart, the eldest son of the Duke of Albany. The king, sitting on his throne, clothed with the robes and insignia of majesty, with the sceptre in his hand, and wearing the royal crown, presided as supreme judge of his people. The loss of all record of this trial is deeply to be regretted, as it would have thrown light upon an interesting but obscure portion of our history. We know only from an ancient chronicle that the heir of Albany was tried for rob- bery, " de roboria." The jury was composed of twenty-one of the princi- pal nobles and barons ; and it is a re- markable circumstance that amongst their names which have been pre- served we find seven of the twenty-six barons whom the king had seized and imprisoned two months before at Perth, when he arrested Albany and his sons. Amongst these seven were the three most powerful lords in the body of the Scottish aristocracy — the Earls of Douglas, March, and Angus ; the rest were Sir John de Montgomery, Gilbert Hay of Errol, the constable, Sir Herbert Herries of Terregles, and Sir Robert Cuningham of Kilmaurs. 2 Others who sat upon this jury we know to have been the assured friends of the king, and members of his privy council. These were, Alexander Stew- art, earl of Mar, Sir J ohn Forester of Corstorphine, Sir Thomas Somerville 1 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1270. * Ibid. pp. 1269-71. See also Extracta ex Chronicis Scotia-, MS. p. 272. IB I. 59 of Carnwath, and Sir Alexander Lev- ingston of Callander. It is probable that the seven jurymen above men- tioned were persons attached to the party of Albany, and that the inten- tion of the king in their imprisonment was to compel them to renounce all idea of supporting him and to abandon him to his fate. In this result, what- ever were the means adopted for its accomplishment, the king succeeded. The trial of Walter Stewart occupied a single day. He was found guilty, and condemned to death. His fate excited a deep feeling of sympathy and compassion in the breasts of the people ; for the noble figure and digni- fied manners of the eldest son of Albany were peculiarly calculated to make him friends amongst the lower classes of the community. On the following day, Duke Mur- doch himself, with his second son, Alexander, and his father-in-law, the Earl of Lennox, were tried before the same jury. What were the crimes alleged against the Earl of Lennox and Alexander Stewart it is now im- possible to determine ; but it may be conjectured, on strong grounds, that the usurpation of the government and the assumption of supreme authority during the captivity of the king, offences amounting to high treason, constituted the principal charge against the late regent. His father undoubt- edly succeeded to the regency by the determination of the three estates assembled in parliament; but there is no evidence that any such decision was passed which sanctioned the high station assumed by the son ; and if so, every act of his government was an act of treason, upon which the jury could have no difficulty in pronounc- ing their verdict. Albany was accord- ingly found guilty; the same sentence was pronounced upon his son, Alex- ander Stewart ; the Earl of Lennox was next condemned ; and these three noble persons were publicly executed on that fatal eminence, before the castle of Stirling, known by the name of the Heading Hill. As the condem- nation of Walter Stewart had excited unwonted commiseration amongst the 60 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND people, the spectacle now afforded was calculated to raise that feeling to a still higher pitch of distress and compassion. Albany and his two sons were men of almost gigantic stature, 1 and of so noble a presence, that it was impossible to look upon them without an involuntary feeling of admiration ; whilst the venerable appearance and white hairs of Lennox, who had reached his eightieth year, inspired a sentiment of tenderness and pity, which, even if they admitted the jus- tice of the sentence, was apt to raise in the bosom of the spectators a dis- position to condemn the rapid and unrelenting severity with which it was carried into execution. Even in their days of pride and usurpation, the family of Albany had been the favourites of the people. Its founder, the regent, courted popularity; and although a usurper, and stained with murders, seems in a great measure to have gained his end. It is impossible indeed to reconcile the high eulogium of Bower and Winton 2 with the dark actions of his life ; but it is evident, from the tone of these historians, that the severity of James did not carry along with it the feelings of the people. Yet, looking at the state of things in Scotland, it is easy to understand the object of the king. It was his inten- tion to exhibit to a nation, long ac- customed to regard the laws with con- tempt and the royal authority as a name of empty menace, a memorable example of stern and inflexible justice, and to convince them that a great change had already taken place in the executive part of the government. With this view, another dreadful exhibition followed the execution of the family of Albany. James Stewart, the youngest son of this unfortunate person, was the only member of it who had avoided the arrest of the 1 Albany and his sons were buried in the church of the Preaching Friars at Stirling, on the south side of the high altar, "figuris et armlg eorundem depictis." — Extracta ex Chronicle Scotiae, MS. p. 272. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 483. "Homines giganteae -t : i. nine." - Fordun a Hearne, p. 1228. Winton, voL ii. pp. 419, 420. See Illustrations. E. [Chap. II. king, and escaped to the Highlands. Driven to despair by the ruin which threatened his house, he collected a band of armed freebooters, and, assisted by Finlay, bishop of Lismore, and Argyle, his father's chaplain, attacked the burgh of Dumbarton with a fury which nothing could resist. The king's uncle, Sir John of Dundonald, called the Red Stewart, was slain, the town sacked and given to the flames, and thirty men murdered ; after which the son of Albany returned to his fast- nesses in the north. But so hot was the pursuit which was instituted by the royal vengeance, that he and the ecclesiastical bandit who accompanied him were dislodged from their retreats, and compelled to fly to Ireland. 3 Five of his accomplices, however, were seized, and their execution, which im- mediately succeeded that of Albany, was unpardonably cruel and disgust- ing. They were torn to pieces by wild horses, after which their warm and quivering limbs were suspended upon gibbets : a terrible warning to the people of the punishment which ' awaited those who imagined that the fidelity which impelled them to exe- cute the commands of their feudal lord was superior to the ties which bound them to obey the laws of the country. These executions were followed by the forfeiture to the crown of the im- mense estates belonging to Albany and to the Earl of Lennox ; a season- able supply of revenue, which, amid the general plunder to which the royal lands had been exposed, was much wanted to support the dignity of the throne, and in the occupation of a considerable portion of which, there is reason to believe, the king only re- sumed what had formerly belonged to him. With regard to the conduct of the Bishop of Lismore, James appears to have made complaint to the Pope, who directed a bull, addressed to the Bishops of St Andrews and Dunblane, by which they were empowered to inquire into the treason of the prelate, and other rebels against the king. 4 I Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1270. * Innes' MS. Chronology, quoted by Chal- 1424.] JAMES The remaining barons who had been imprisoned at the time of Albany's arrest appear to have been restored to liberty immediately after his execu- tion, and the parliament proceeded to the enactment of several statutes, which exhibit a singular combination of wisdom and ignorance, some being as truly calculated to promote, as others were fitted to retard, the im- provement and prosperity of the country. It was ordained that every man of such simple estate as made it reasonable that he should be a labourer or husbandman should either combine with his neighbour to pay half the expense of an ox and a plough, or dig every day a portion of land seven feet in length and six feet in breadth. In every sheriffdom within the realm, " weaponschawings, " or an armed muster of the whole fighting men in the county for the purpose of military exercise and an inspection of their weapons, were appointed to be held four times in the course of the year. Symptoms of the decay of the forest and green wood, or perhaps, more correctly speaking, proofs of the im- proved attention of the nobles to the enclosure of their parks and the orna- mental woods around their castles, are to be discerned in the enactment, which declared it to be a part of the duty of the Justice Clerk to make inquiries regarding those defaulters, who steal green wood, or strip the trees of their bark under cover of night, or break into orchards to purloin the fruit ; and provided that, where any man found his stolen woods in other lords' lands, it should be lawful for him on the instant to seize both the goods and the thief, and to have him brought to trial in the court of the baron upon whose lands the crime was committed. 1 With regard to the commerce of the country, some regulations were now passed, dictated by the same jealous spirit which has been already remarked as pervading the whole body of our 61 mere in his Li'e of James the First, p. 14, prefixed to the Poetic Remains. i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pr- 7. 8. commercial legislation. It wa3 strictly enjoined that no tallow should be exported out of the country, under the penalty of being forfeited to the king; that no horses were to be carried forth of the realm till they were past the age of three years; and that no mer- chant was to be permitted to pass the sea for the purposes of trade, unless he either possess in property, or at least in commission, three serplaiths of wool, or the value of such in mer- chandise, to be determined by an inquest of his neighbours, under a penalty of forty-one pounds to the king, if found guilty of disobeying the law. Upon the subject of the adminis- tration of justice to the people in general, and more especially to such poor and needy persons who could not pay an advocate for conducting their cause, a statute was passed in this parliament which breathes a spirit of enlarged humanity. After declaring that all bills of complaints, which, for divers reasons, affecting the profit of the realm, could not be determined by the parliament, should be brought before the particular judge of the district to which they belong, to whom the king was to give injunction to distribute justice, without fraud or favour, as well to the poor as to the rich, in every part of the realm, it proceeded as follows, in language re- markable for its strength and sim- plicity : — u And gif thar be ony pur creatur," it observes, " that for defalte of cunnyng or dispens, can nocht, or may nocht folow his caus ; the king, for the lufe of God, sail ordane that the juge before quhame the causs suld be determyt purway and get a lele and wyss advocate to folow sic creaturis caus. And gif sic caus be obtenyt. the wrangar sail assythe the party skathit, and ye advocatis costis that travale. And gif the juge refusys to doe the lawe evinly, as is befor saide, ye party plenzeand sail haf recours to ye king, ye quhilk sail sa rigorusly punyst sic jugis, vat it be ane en- sampill till all utheris." 2 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland. toL ii P. 8. 62 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, It was declared to be the intention of the sovereign to grant a remission or pardon of any injury committed upon person or property in the Low- land districts of his dominions, where the defaulter made reparation, or, ac- cording to the Scottish phrase, "as- sythement," to the injured party, and where the extent of the loss had been previously ascertained by a jury of honest and faithful men ; but from this rule the Highlands, or northern divisions of the country, were excepted, where, on account of the practice of indiscriminate robbery and murder which had prevailed, previous to the return of the king, it was impossible to ascertain correctly the extent of the depredation, or the amount of the assythement. The condition of his northern dominions, and the character and manners of his Highland subjects, — if indeed they could be called his subjects whose allegiance was of so peculiar and capricious a nature, — had given birth to many anxious thoughts in the king, and led not long after this to a personal visit to these remote regions, which formed an interesting episode in his reign. The only remaining matter of im- portance which came under the con- sideration of this parliament was the growth, of heresy, a subject which, in its connexion as with the first feeble dawnings of reformation, is peculiarly interesting and worthy of attention. It was directed that every bishop within his diocese should make in- quisition of all Lollards and heretics, where such were to be found, in order that they be punished according to the laws of the holy Catholic Church, and that the civil power be called in for the support of the ecclesiastical, if required. 1 Eighteen years had now elapsed since John Resby, a follower of the great WickKff, was burnt at Perth. It was then known that his preaching, and the little treatises which he or his disciples had dis- seminated through the country, had made a deep impression ; and the ancient historian who informs us of 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. u. pp. 7, 8. [Chap. II. the circumstance observes that, even in his own day, these same books and conclusions were secretly preserved by some unhappy persons under the in- stigation of the devil, and upon the principle that stolen waters are sweet. 2 There can be no doubt that at this period the consciences of not a few in the country were alarmed as to the foundations of a faith upon which they had hitherto relied, and that they began to judge and reason for themselves upon a subject of all others the most important which can occupy the human mind, — the grounds of a sinner's pardon and acceptance with God. An under-current of re- formation, which the Church denomi- nated heresy, was beginning gradually to sap the foundations upon which the ancient Papal fabric had been hitherto securely resting; and the Scottish clergy, alarmed at the symp- toms of spiritual rebellion, and pos- sessing great influence over the mind of the monarch, prevailed upon him to interpose the authority of a legis- lative enactment, to discountenance the growth of the new opinions, and to confirm and follow up the efforts of the Church, by the strength and terror of the secular arm. The educa- tion of James in England, under the direction of two monarchs, who had sullied their reign by the cruel perse- cution of the followers of Wickliff, was little .calculated to open his mind to the convictions of truth, or to the principles of toleration ; and at this moment he owed so much to the clergy, and was so engrossed with his efforts for the consolidation of the royal power, that he could neither refuse their request nor inquire into the circumstances under which it was preferred. The statute, therefore, against Lollards and heretics was passed ; the symptoms of rebellion, which ought to have stimulated the clergy to greater zeal, purity, and usefulness, were put down by a strong hand ; and the reformation was re- tarded only to become more resistless at the last. In the destruction of our national 2 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. d. 1169. 1421-5.] JA^ records many links in the history of this remarkable parliament have been Lost ; but the success with which the king conducted this overthrow of the house of Albany certainly gives us a bigh idea of his ability and courage ; and in the great outlines enough has been left to convince us that the undertaking was of a nature the most delicate and dangerous which could Lave presented itself to a monarch recently seated on a precarious throne, surrounded by a fierce nobility, to whom he was almost a stranger, and the most powerful of whom were con- nected by blood or by marriage with the ancient house whose destruction he meditated. The example indeed was terrible ; the scaffold was flooded with royal and noble blood ; and it is impossible not to experience a feeling of sorrow and indignation at the cruel and unrelenting severity of James. It seems as if his rage and mortification at the escape of his uncle, the prime offender, was but imperfectly satisfied with the punishment of the feeble Murdoch ; and that his deep revenge almost delighted to glut itself in the extermination of every scion of that unfortunate house. But to form a just opinion, indeed, of the conduct of the king, we must not forget the galling circumstances in which he was situated. Deprived for nineteen years of his paternal kingdom by a system of unprincipled usurpation; living almost within sight of his throne, yet unable to reach it; feeling his royal spirit strong within him, but detained and dragged back by the successful and selfish intrigues of Albany, it is not surprising that when he did at last escape from his bonds his rage should be that of the chafed lion who has oroken the toils, and that the principle of revenge, in those dark days esteemed as much a duty as a pleasure, should mingle itself with his more cool de- termination to inflict punishment upon his enemies. But laying individual feelings aside, the barbarism of the times, and the precarious state in which he found the government, compelled James to adopt strong measures. Nothing but ES L 63 an example of speedy and inflexible severity could have made an impres- sion upon the iron-nerved and ferocious nobles, whose passions, under the go- vernment of the house of Albany, had been nursed up into a state of reck- less indulgence, and a contempt of all legitimate authority ; and there seems reason to believe that the conduct pursued by the king was deemed by him absolutely necessary to consoli- date his own power, and enable him to carry into effect his ultimate designs for promoting the interests of the country. Immediately after the con- clusion of the parliament, James de- spatched Lord Montgomery of Eliot- ston, and Sir Humphrey Cunningham, to seize the castle of Lochlomond, 1 the property of Sir James Stewart, the youngest son of Albany, who had fled to Ireland along with his father's chap- lain, the Bishop of Lismore. Such was the terror inspired by the severity of James, that this "fierce youth never afterwards returned, but died in ban- ishment ; so that the ruin of the hous^ of Albany appeared to be complete. In the course of the preceding yeai the queen had brought into the world a daughter, her first-born, who was baptized by the name of Margaret; and, as the policy of France led those who then ruled in her councils to esteem the alliance of Scotland of great importance in her protracted struggle with England, it was deter- mined to negotiate a marriage between Louis of Anjou, the heir to the throne, and the infant princess. In that king- dom the affairs of Charles the Seventh were still in a precarious situation. Although the great military genius of Henry the Fifth no longer directed and animated the operations of the campaign, yet, under the Duke of Bedford, who had been appointed Re- gent of France, fortune still favoured the arms of the invaders ; and the successive defeats of Crevant and Ver- neuil, in which the auxiliary forces of the Scots were almost entirely cut to i " In the south end of the island Inchmurin, the ancient family of Lennox had a castle, but it is now in ruins." This is probably the castle alluded to, Stat. Acct. vol. ix. p. 16. j Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiae, fol. 273. 64 HISTORY OF pieces, had lent a vigour and confi- ^ dence to the councils and conduct of the English, and imparted a propor- ' tionable despondency to the French, which seemed to augur a fatal result to the efforts of that brave people. It became necessary, therefore, to court every alliance from which effec- tual assistance might be expected; and the army of seven thousand Scot- tish men-at-arms, which had passed over under the command of the Earls of Buchan and Wigtown in 1420, with the additional auxiliary force which the Earl of Douglas led to join the army of Charles the Seventh, con- vinced that monarch that the assist- ance of Scotland was an object, to at- tain which no efforts should be spared. Accordingly Stewart of Darnley, Lord of Aubigny and Constable of the Scot- tish army in France, along with the Archbishop of Rheims, the first prelate in the realm, were despatched in 1425 upon an embassy to negotiate the mar- riage between Margaret of Scotland and Louis the Dauphin, and to renew the ancient league which had so long connected the two countries with each other. 1 James received the ambassadors with great distinction, agreed to the proposed alliance, and despatched Leighton, bishop of Aberdeen, with Lauder, archdeacon of Lothian, and Sir Patrick Ogilvy, justiciar of Scot- land, to return his answer to the Court of France. It was determined that in five years the parties should be be- trothed, after which the Scottish princess was to be conveyed with all honour to her royal consort. About the same time the king appears to have sent ambassadors to the Court of Rome, but it is difficult to discover whether they merely conveyed those general expressions of spiritual allegi- ance which it was usual for sovereigns to transmit to the Holy See after their coronation, or related to matters more intimately affecting the ecclesiastical state of the kingdom. If we may judge from the numbers and dignity of the envoys, the communication was one of importance, and may, perhaps, i Pordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 484. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. have related to those measures for the extirpation of heresy which we have seen occupying the attention of the legislature under James's second par- liament. It was a principle of this en- terprising monarch, in his schemes for the recovery and consolidation of his own power, to cultivate the friendship of the clergy, whom he regarded as a counterpoise to the nobles ; and with this view he issued a commission to Leighton, the bishop of Aberdeen, authorising him to resume all aliena- tions of the lands of the Church which had been made during the regencies of the two Albanies, commanding his justiciars and officers of the law to assist in all proper measures for the recovery of the property which had been lost, and conferring upon the prelate the power of anathema in case of resistance. 2 During the same year there arrived in Scotland an embassy from the States of Flanders, upon a subject of great commercial importance. It ap- pears that the Flemings, as allies of England, had committed hostilities against the Scottish merchants during the captivity of the king, which had induced him to order the staple of the Scottish commerce in the Netherlands to be removed to Middelburgh in Zealand. The measure had been at- tended with much loss to the Flemish traders ; and the object of the em- bassy was to solicit the return of the trade. The king, who at the period of its arrival was engaged in keeping his birthday, surrounded by his barons, at St Andrews, received the Flemish envoys with distinction; and, aware of the importance of encouraging the commercial enterprise of his people, seized the opportunity of procuring more ample privileges for the Scottish merchants in Flanders, in return for which he agreed that the staple should be restored. 3 At this period, besides the wealthy citizens and burghers who adopted commerce as a profession, it was not uncommon for the richer nobles and 2 MS. in Harleian Coll. quoted in Pinker- ton's History, vol. i. p. 116. 3 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 487, 509. f 1425.] JAMES t gentry, and even for the sovereign, to embark in mercantile adventures. In 1408 the Earl of Douglas freighted a vessel, with one or two supercargoes, and a crew of twenty mariners, to trade in Normandy and Rochelle; in the succeeding year the Duke of Al- bany was the proprietor of a vessel which carried six hundred quarters of malt, and was navigated by a master and twenty- four sailors ; and at a still later period a vessel, the Mary of Leith, obtained a safe-conduct from the English monarch to unship her cargo, which belonged to his dear cousin James, the King of Scotland, in the port of London, and expose the merchandise to sale. 1 At the same time the Lombards, esteemed perhaps the most wealthy and enterprising merchants in Europe,^ continued to carry on a lucrative trade with Scot- land ; and one of their large carracks, which, compared with the smaller craft of the English and Scottish merchants, is distinguished' by the contemporary chronicler as an " enor- mous vessel," navis immanissima, was wrecked by a sudden storm in the Firth Df Forth. The gale was accompanied by a high spring- tide, against which the mariners of Italy, accustomed to the Mediterranean navigation, had taken no precautions ; so that the ship wa3 driven from her anchors and cast ashore at Granton, about three miles above Leith. 2 The tax of twelve pennies upon every pound of rent, and other ^ranches of income, which was di- rected to be levied in the first parlia- ment held at Perth after the king's return, has been already mentioned. The sum to be thus collected was destined for the payment of the ar- rears which the king had become bound to advance to England, as the amount of expense incurred by his maintenance during his captivity; and it appears by the account) of Walter Bower, the continuator of Fordun, who was himself one of the commis- 1 Rotuli Scotiae, voi. ii. p. 257. Ibid. 1st Sept. 9 Henry IV., p. 187. 2d Dec. 11 Henry IV., p. 193. 3 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 487. VOL. II. G5 sioners for this taxation, tjiat during the first year it amounted to fourteen thousand marks; which would give nearly two hundred and eighty thou- sand marks, or about three millions of modern sterling money, as the an- nual income of the people of Scotland in 1424. It must be recollected, however, that this does not include the lands and cattle employed by landholders in their own husbandry, which were par- ■ ticularly excepted in the collection. The tax itself was an innovation ; and in the second year the zeal of the peo- ple cooled ; they openly murmured against the universal impoverishment it occasioned ; and the collection was far less productive. In those primi- tive times, all taxes, except in cus- toms, which became a part of the apparent price of the goods on which they were charged, were wholly un- known in Scotland. The people were accustomed* to see the king support his dignity,- and discharge his debts, by the revenues of the crown lands, which, previous to the late dilapida- tions, were amply sufficient for that purpose ; and with equal prudence and generosity, although supported by a resolution of the three estates, James declined to avail himself of this invi- dious mode of increasing his revenue, and gave orders that no further efforts should be made to levy the imposi- tion.* Upon the 11th of March 1425, the king convoked his third parliament at Perth, and the institution of the Lords of the Articles appears to have been fully established. The various subjects upon which the decision of the great council was requested were declared to be submitted by the sove- reign to the determination of certain persons to be chosen by the three estates from the prelates, earls, and barons then assembled ; and the legis- lative enactments which resulted from their deliberations convey to us an animated and instructive picture of the condition of the country. After the usual declaration, that the holy 3 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 482. M'Pher- son's Annals o f Commerce, vol. i. p. 640. 66 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. TChap. II. Catholic Church and its ministers should continue to enjoy their ancient privileges, and be permitted without hindrance to grant leases of their lands, or of their teinds, there follows a series of regulations and improve- ments, both as to the laws themselves and the manner of their administra- tion, which are well worthy of atten- tion. It was first announced that all the subjects of the realm must be gov- erned by the statutes passed in par- liament, and not by any particular laws, or any spiritual privileges or customs of other countries ; and a new court, known by the name of the Session, was instituted for the admi- nistration of justice to the people. It was declared that the king, with the consent of his parliament, had ordained that his chancellor, and along with, him certain discreet persons of the three estates, who were to be chosen and deputed by himself, should, from this day forth, sit three times in the year, at whatever place the sovereign may appoint them, for the examina- tion and decision of all causes and quarrels which may be determined before the king's council ; and that these judges should have their ex- penses paid by the parties against whom the decision was given out of the fines of court, or otherwise as the monarch may determine. The first session of this new court was appointed to be held the day after the feast of St Michael the Archangel, or on the 30th of September ; the second on the Monday of the first week of Lent; and the third on the morning preceding the feast of St John the Baptist. 1 A Register was next appointed, in which a record was to be kept of all charters and infeftments, as well as of all letters of protection, or confirma- tions of ancient rights or privileges, which, since the king's return, had been granted to any individuals ; and, within four months after the passing of this act, all such charters were to be produced by the parties to whom they have been granted, and regularly 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. a. p. tL marked in the book of record. Any person who was a judge cr officer of justice within the realm, or any per- son who had prosecuted and sum- moned another to stand his trial, was forbidden, under a penalty of ten pounds, to sit upon his jury; and none were to be allowed to practise as at- torneys in the justice-ayres, or courts held by the king's justiciars, or their deputies, who were not known to the justice and the barons as persons of sufficient learning and discretion. Six wise and able men, best acquainted with the laws, were directed to be chosen from each of the three estates, to whom was committed the examina- tion of the books of the law, that is to say, "Regiam Majestatem," and "Quo- niam Attachiamenta ; " and these per- sons were directed by parliament, in language which marked the simple legislation of the times, " to mend the lawis that needis mendying," to re- concile all contradictory, and explain all obscure enactments, so that hence- forth fraud and cunning may assist no man in obtaining an unjust judgment against his neighbour. 2 One of the greatest difficulties which at this early period stood in the way of all improvement introduced by par- liamentary regulations was the slow- ness with which these regulations were communicated to the more distant districts of the country; and the ex- treme ignorance of the laws which sub- sisted, not only amongst the subjects of the realm and the inferior ministers of justice, but even amongst the nobles and barons, who, living in their own castles in remote situations, rude and illiterate in their habits, and bigoted in their attachment to those ancient institutions under which they had so long tyrannised over their vassals, wero little anxious to become acquainted with new laws ; and frequently, when they did penetrate so far, pretended ignorance, as a cover for their diso- bedience. To obviate, as far as pos- sible, this evil, it was directed by the parliament that all statutes and ordi- nances made prior to this should be 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 11. 1425-6.] first transcribed in the king's register, and afterwards that copies of them should be given to the different sheriffs in the country. The sheriffs were then strictly enjoined to publish and proclaim these statutes in the chief and most notable places in the sheriff- dom, and to distribute copies of them to prelates, barons, and burghs of bailiery, the expense being paid by those who made the application. They were commanded, under the penalty of being deprived of their office, to cause all acts of the legislature to be observed throughout their county, and to inculcate upon the people, whether burghers or landholders, obedience to the provisions made by their sovereign since his return from England ; so that, in time coming, no man should have cause to pretend ignorance of the laws. 1 The defence of the country was an- other subject which came before this parliament. It was provided that all merchants of the realm passing be- yond seas should, along with their usual cargoes, bring home such a sup- ply of harness and armour as could be stowed in the vessel, besides spears, spear-shafts, bows, and bow-strings; nor was this to be omitted upon any of their voyages. Particular injunc- tions were added with regard to the regulation of " weaponschamngs," or the annual county musters for the in- spection of arms, and the encourage- ment of warlike exercises. Every sheriff was directed to hold them four times in the year within his county, upon which occasion it was his duty to see that every gentleman, having ten pounds value in land, should be sufficiently harnessed and armed with steel basnet, leg-harness, sword, spear, and dagger, and that all gentlemen of less property should be armed accord- ing to their estate. All yeomen of the realm, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, were directed to be provided with bows and a sheaf of arrows. With regard to the burghs, it was appointed that the weaponschawing should be held within them also, four times 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. it p. 11. JAMES I. 67 during the year, that all their inhabi- tants should be well armed, and that the aldermen and the bailies were to be held responsible for the due ob- servance of this regulation ; whilst certain penalties were inflicted on all gentlemen and yeomen who may be found transgressing these enact- ments. 2 The regulations relating to the com- mercial prosperity of the country, and its intercourse with other nations, manifest the same jealousy and igno- rance of the true prosperity of the realm which influenced the delibera- tions of the former parliaments . Taxes were repeated upon the exportation of money, compulsory regulations pro- mulgated against foreign merchants, by which they were compelled to lay out the money which they received for their commodities upon the pur- chase of Scottish merchandise, direc- tions were given to the sheriffs and other ministers of the law, upon the coasts opposite to Ireland, to prevent all ships and galleys from sailing to that country without special licence of the king's deputes, to be appointed for this purpose in every seaport ; no merchant or shipman was to be al- lowed to give to any Irish subject a passage into Scotland, unless such stranger could shew a letter or pass- port from the lord of the land from whence he came declaring the busi- ness for which he desired to enter the realm; and all such persons, previous to their being allowed to land, were to be examined by the king's deputy of the seaport where the ship had weighed anchor, so that it might be discovered whether the business they had in hand were to the profit or the prejudice of the king and his estate. These strict enactments were declared to proceed from no desire to break or interrupt the good understanding which had been long maintained between the King of Scotland "and his gud aulde frendis the Erschry of Irelande;" but because at that time the open rebels of the king had taken refuge in that country, and the welfare and safety of 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. pp. 9, 10. 68 HISTORY OF the realm might be endangered by all such unrestrained intercourse as should give them an opportunity of plotting with their friends, or afford facilities to the Irish of becoming acquainted with the private affairs of the govern- ment of Scotland. 1 A quaint and amusing provision was introduced in this parliament, which is entitled, "Anent hostillaris in vil- lagis and burowyis." It informs us that hostlers or innkeepers had made grievous complaints to the king against a villanous practice of his lieges, who, in travelling from one part of the country to another, were in the habit of taking up their residence with their acquaintances and friends, instead of going to the regular inns and hostel- ries, whereupon the sovereign, with counsel and . consent of the three estates, prohibited all travellers on foot or horseback from rendezvousing at any station except the established hostelry of the burgh or village ; and interdicted all burgesses or villagers from extending to them their hospi- tality, under the penalty of forty shil- lings. The higher ranks of the nobles and the gentry would, however, have considered this as an infringement upon their liberty, and it was accord- ingly declared that all persons whose estate permitted them to travel with a large retinue in company might quarter themselves upon their friends, under the condition that they sent their attendants and horses to be lodged at the common hostelries. 2 The remaining enactments of this parliament related to the regulation of the weights and measures, and to the appointment of an established standard to be used throughout the realm ; to the obligation of all barons or freeholders to attend the parliament in person ; to the offering up of regu- lar prayers and collects by all priests, religious and secular, throughout the kingdom, for the health and prosperity of the king ; his royal consort, and their children ; and, lastly, to the apprehen- sion of all stout, idle vagabonds, who 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 11. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 10. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II possess the ability but not the inclina* tion to labour for their own living. These were to be apprehended by the sheriff, and compelled within forty days to bind themselves to some law- ful craft, so that they should no longer devour and trouble the country. The regulation of the standard size of the boll, firlot, half firlot, peck, and gallon, which were to be used throughout the kingdom, was referred to the next par- liament, whilst it was declared thai the water measures then in use should continue the same ; that with regard to weights there should be made & standard stone, which was to weigh exactly fifteen legal troy pounds, but to be divided into sixteen Scots pounds, and that according to this standard weights should be made, and used by all buyers and sellers throughout the realm. James had already increased the strength and prosperity of his king- dom by various foreign treaties of alliance and commercial intercourse.. He was at peace with England ; the an- cient ties between France and Scotland were about to be more firmly drawn together by the projected marriage between his daughter and the Dau- phin ; he had re-established his ami- cable relations with Flanders ; and the court of Rome, flattered by his zeal against heresy, and his devotedness to the Church, was disposed to support him with all its influence. To com- plete these friendly relations with foreign powers, he now concluded by his ambassadors, William, lord Crich- ton, his chamberlain, and William Fowlis, provost of the collegiate church of Both well, his almoner, a treaty with Eric, king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, in which the ancient alliances entered into between Alexander the Third, Robert the First, and the princes who in their days occupied the northern throne, were ratified and confirmed; mutual freedom of trade agreed upon, saving the peculiar rights and customs of both kingdoms; and all damages, transgressions, and de- faults on either side cancelled and for- given. James also consented to con- tinue the annual payment of a hundred 1426-7.] marks for the sovereignty of the little kingdom of Man and the Western Isles, which Alexander the Third had pur- chased in 1266 for the sum of four thousand marks. 1 Their allegiance, indeed, was of a precarious nature, and for a long time previous to this the nominal possession of the Isles, instead of an acquisition of strength and revenue, had proved a thorn in the side of the country; but the king, with that firmness and decision of character for which he was remarkable, had now determined, by an expedition conducted in person, to reduce within the control of the laws the northern parts of his dominions, and confidently looked forward to the time when these islands would be esteemed an acquisi- tion of no common importance. Meanwhile he prepared to carry his schemes into execution. Having sum- moned his parliament to meet him at Inverness, he proceeded, surrounded by his principal nobles and barons, and at the head of a force which ren- dered all resistance unavailing, to establish his residence for a season in the heart of his northern dominions. 2 It was their gloomy castles and almost inaccessible fastnesses which had given refuge to those fierce and independent chiefs who neither desired his friend- ship nor deprecated his resentment, and who were now destined at last to experience the same unrelenting se- verity which had fallen upon the house of Albany. At this period the con- dition of the Highlands, so far as it is discoverable from the few authentic documents which have reached our times, appears to have been in the highest degree rude and uncivilised. There existed a singular combination of Celtic and of feudal manners. Powerful chiefs of Xorman name and Xorman blood had penetrated into the remotest' districts, and ruled over multitudes of vassals and serfs whose strange and uncouth appellatives pro- claim their difference of race in the most convincing manner. 3 The tenure 1 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. pp. 1355, 135S. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 48S. 3 MS. Adv. Lib. Coll. Diplom. a Macfar- .lane. vol. i. p. 245. MS. Cart. Moray, p. 263. See Illustrations, F. JAMES L 6& of lands by charter and seisin, the feudal services due by the vassal to his lord, the bands of friendship or of manrent which indissolubly united cer- tain chiefs and nobles to each other, the baronial courts, and the compli- cated official pomp of feudal lifv j , were all to be found in full strength and operation in the northern counties; but the dependence of the barons, who had taken up their residence in these wild districts, upon the king, and their allegiance and subordination to the laws, were far less intimate and influential than in the Lowland divi- sions of the country ; and as they ex- perienced less protection, we have already seen that in great public emergencies, when the captivity of the sovereign, or the payment of his ransom, called for the imposition of a tax upon property throughout the kingdom, these great northern chiefs thought themselves at liberty to resist its collection within their mountain- ous principalities. 4 Besides such Scoto-Xorman barons, however, there were to be found in the Highlands and the Isles those fierce aboriginal chiefs who hated the Saxon and the Norman race, and offered a mortal opposition to the settlement of all intruders within a country which they considered their own. They exercised the same autho- rity over the various clans or septs of which they were the heads or leaders which the baron possessed over his vassals and their military followers ; and the dreadful disputes and colli- sions which perpetually occurred be- tween these distinct ranks of poten- tates were accompanied by spoliations, ravages, imprisonments, and murders, which had at last become so frequent and so far extended that the whole country beyond the Grampian rang& was likely to be cut off by these abuse* from all regular communication with the more pacific parts of the kingdom. This state of things called loudly for redress, and the measures of the king on reaching Inverness were of a prompt and determined character. He summoned the most powerful * History, supra, vol. i. pp. 227. 223. 70 HISTORY OF chiefs to attend his parliament, and this command, however extraordinary it may appear, these ferocious leaders did not think proper to disobey. It may be that he employed stratagem, and held out the prospect of pardon and reconciliation ; or perhaps a dread- ful example of immediate execution in the event of resistance may have persuaded the Highland nobles that obedience gave them a chance for their lives, whilst a refusal left them no hope of escape. But by whatever method their attendance was secured, they soon bitterly repented their fa- cility, for instantly on entering the hall of parliament they were arrested, ironed, and cast into separate prisons, where all communication with each other or with their followers was im- possible. So overjoyed was James at the success of his plan, and the ap- parent readiness with which these fierce leaders seemed to rush into the toils which had been prepared for them, that Bower described him as turning triumphantly to his courtiers whilst they tied the hands of the captives, and reciting some leonine or monkish rhymes, applauding the skill exhibited in their arrest, and the de- served death which awaited them. Upon this occasion forty greater and lesser chiefs were seized, but the names of the highest only have been preserved, — Alexander of the Isles; Angus Dow, with his four sons, who could bring into the field four thou- sand men from Strathnaver; Kenneth More, with his son-in-law, Angus of Moray and Makmathan, who could SCOTLAND. [Chap. IL Some of these, whose crimes had rendered them especially obnoxious,, the king ordered to immediate execu- tion. James Campbell was tried, con- victed, and hanged for his murder of John of the Isles; Alexander Mak- reiny and John Macarthur were be- headed, and their fellow-captives dis- persed and confined in different prisons throughout the kingdom. Of these not a few were afterwards condemned and executed, whilst the rest, against whom nothing very flagrant could be proved, were suffered to escape with their lives. By some this clemency was speedily abused, and by none more than the most powerful and ambitious of them all, Alexander of the Isles. This ocean lord, half prince and half pirate, had shewn himself willing, upon all occasions, to embrace the friendship of England, and to shake himself loose of all dependence upon his sovereign ; whilst the immense body of vassals whom he could muster under his banner, and the powerful fleet with which he could sweep the northern seas, rendered his alliance or his enmity a matter of no inconsider- able consequence. After a short con- finement, the king, moved, perhaps, by his descent from the ancient family of Lesley, a house of high and heredi- tary loyalty, restored him to liberty, after an admonition to change the evil courses to which he had been addicted, and to evince his gratitude by a life of consistent attachment to the throne. Alexander, however, after having re- covered his liberty, only waited to see command a sept of two thousand i the king returned to his Lowland do- strong; Alexander Makreiny of Gar- moran, and John Macarthur, a potent chief, each of whom could muster a thousand men ; along with John Ross, William Lesley, and James Campbell, are those enumerated by our contem- porary historian, whilst the Countess of Ross, the mother of Alexander of the Isles, and heiress of Sir Walter Lesley, a rich and potent baron, was apprehended at the same time, and compelled to share the captivity of her son. 1 i Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. pp. 1283, 1284 mmions, and then broke out into a paroxysm of fury and revenge. He collected the whole strength of Ross and of the Isles, and, at the head of an army of ten thousand men, griev- ously wasted the country, directing his principal vengeance against the crown lands, and concluding his cam- paign by razing to the ground the royal burgh of Inverness. 2 James, however, with an activity for which his enemy was little prepared, instantly collected a feudal force, and 2 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv p 1285. 1427.] flew, rather than marched, to the Highlands, where, in Lochaber, he came up with the fierce but confused and undisciplined army of the island chief. Although his army was pro- bably far inferior in numbers, yet the sudden appearance of the royal banner, the boldness with which he confronted his enemy, and the terror of the king's name, gave him all the advantage of a surprise ; and before the battle began Alexander found himself deserted by the clan Chattan and the clan Came- ron, who to a man went over to the royal army. It is deeply to be re- gretted that the account of this expe- dition should be so meagre, even in Bower, who was a contemporary. All those particular details, which would have given interest to the story, and individuality to the character of the persons who acted in it, and which a little pains might have then preserved, are now irrecoverably lost. We know only that the Lord of the Isles, with his chieftains and ketherans, was com- pletely routed, and so hotly pursued by the king that he sent an embassy to sue for peace. This presumption greatly incensed the monarch ; he de- rided the idea of an outlaw, who knew not where to rest the sole of his foot, and whom his soldiers were then hunt- ing from one retreat to another, arro- gating to himself the dignity of an independent prince, and attempting to open a correspondence by his ambassa- dors; and sternly and scornfully re- fusing to enter into any negotiation, returned to his capital, after giving strict orders to his officers to exert every effort for his apprehension. Driven to despair, and finding it every day more difficult to elude the vigilance which was exerted, Alexan- der resolved at last to throw himself upon the royal mercy. Having pri- vately travelled to Edinburgh, this proud chief, who had claimed an equality with kings, condescended to an unheard-of humiliation. Upon a solemn festival, when the monarch and his queen, attended by their suite, and surrounded by the nobles of the court, stood in front of the high altar in the church of Holyrood, a miserable- JAME3 L 71 looking man, clothed only in his shirt and drawers, holding a naked sword in his hand, and with a countenance and manner in which grief and desti- tution were strongly exhibited, sud- denly presented himself before them. It was the Lord of the Isles, who fell upon his knees, and delivering up his sword to the king, implored his cle- mency. James granted him his life, but instantly imprisoned him in Tan- tallan castle, under the charge of William, earl of Angus, his nephew. His mother, the Countess of Boss, was committed to close confinement in the ancient monastery of Inchcolm, situated in an island in the Firth of Forth. 1 She was released, however, after little more than a year's im- prisonment ; and the island lord him- self soon after experienced the royal favour, and was restored to his land? and possessions. This unbending severity, which in some instances approached the very borders of cruelty, was, perhaps, a necessary ingredient in the character of a monarch who, when he ascended the throne, found his kingdom,- to use the expressive language of an ancient chronicle, 2 little else than a wide den of robbers. Two anecdotes of this period have been preserved by Bower, the faithful contemporary historian of the times, which illustrate in a striking manner both the character of the king and the condition of the country. In the Highland districts, one of those ferocious chieftains against whom the king had directed an act of Parliament, already quoted, had broken in upon a poor cottager, and carried off two of her cows. Such was the unlicensed state of the country, that the robber walked abroad, and was loudly accused by the aggrieved party, who swore that she would never put off her shoes again till she had carried her com- plaint to the king in person. " It is false," cried he ; " I'll have you shod myself before you reach the court;" and with a brutality scarcely credible, the monster carried his threat into 1 Foni'in a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1286. 2 MS Ohronicon ab anno 1390 ad annum 1402. Cartulary of Moray, p. 220. 72 HISTORY OF execution, by fixing with nails driven into the flesh two horse shoes of iron upon her naked feet, after which he thrust her wounded and bleeding on the highway. Some humane persons took pity on her; and, when cured, she retained her original purpose, sought out the king, told her story, and shewed her feet, still seamed and scarred by the inhuman treatment she had received. James heard her with that mixture of pity, kindness, and uncontrollable indignation which marked his character ; and having instantly directed his writs to the sheriff of the county where the robber chief resided, had him seized within a short time, and sent to Perth, where the court was then held. • He was instantly tried and condemned ; a linen shirt was thrown over him, upon which was painted a rude representa- tion of his crime; and, after being paraded in. this ignominious dress through the streets of the town, he was dragged at a horse's tail, and hanged on a gallows. 1 Such examples, there can be little doubt, had an ex- cellent effect upon the fierce classes, for a warning to whom they were in- tended, and caused them to associate a degree of terror with the name of the king; which accounts in some measure for the promptitude of their obedience when he arrived among them in person. The other story to which I have al- luded is almost equally characteristic. A noble of high rank, and nearly re- lated to the king, having quarrelled with another baron in presence of the monarch and his court, so far forgot himself, that he struck his adversary on the face. J ames instantly had him seized, and ordered him to stretch out his hand upon the council table ; he then unsheathed the short cutlass which he carried at his girdle, gave it to the baron who received the blow, and commanded him to strike off the hand which had insulted his honour and was forfeited to the laws, threat- ening him with death if he refused. •There is little doubt, from what we know of the character of this prince, i Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. 610. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. that he was in earnest; but a thrill of horror ran through the court, his pre- lates and council reminded him of the duty of forgiveness, and the queen, who was present, fell at his feet, im- plored pardon for the guilty, and at last obtained a remission of the sen- tence. The offender, however, was , instantly banished from court. 2 One of the most remarkable features in the government of this prince was the frequent recurrence of his parlia- ments. From the period of his return from England till his death, his reign embraced only thirteen years ; and in that time the great council of the nation was thirteen times assembled. His object was evidently to render the higher nobles more dependent upon the crown, to break down that danger- ous spirit of pride and individual con- sequence which confined them to their separate principalities, and taught them, for year after year, to tyrannise over their unhappy vassals, without the dread of a superior, or the restraint even of an equal, to accustom them to the spectacle of the laws, proceed- ing not from their individual caprice or authority, but from the collective wisdom of the three estates, sanc- tioned by the consent, and carried into execution by the power, of the crown acting through its ministers. In a parliament, of which the prin- cipal provisions have been already noticed, it had been made incumbent upon all earls, barons, and freeholders to attend the meeting of the estates in person ; and the practice of sending procurators or attorneys in their place, which, there seems reason to believe, had become not unfrequent, was strictly forbidden, unless due cause of absence be proved. In two subsequent meetings of the great council of the nation, the first of which appears to have been held at Perth on the 30th of September 1426, and the second on the 1st of July 1427, some important enactments occur, which evince the unwearied attention of the king to the manufactures, the commerce, the agri- culture of his dominions, and to the speedy and impartial administration 2 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. pp. 1334, 1335. 1427,] JAM of justice to all classes of his subjects. 1 It is evident, from the tenor of a series of regulations concerning the deacons of the trades, or crafts, that the government of James, probably from its extreme firmness and severity, had already become unpopular. It was first commanded that the deacons of the crafts should confine themselves strictly and simply to their duties of ascertaining, by an inspection every fifteen days, whether the workmen be sufficiently expert in their business, but it was added that they should have no authority to alter the laws of the craft, or to punish those who have offended against them; and in the parliament of 1427 it was declared that the provisions regarding the ap- pointment of deacons of the crafts within the royal burghs having been found productive of grievous injury to the realm, were henceforth annulled ; that no deacon be permitted after this to be elected, whilst those already chosen to fill this office w T ere pro- hibited from exercising their func- tions, or holding their usual meetings, which had led to conspiracies. 2 It is possible, however, that these con- spiracies may have been combinations amongst the various workmen on sub- jects connected with their trade, rather than any serious plots against government. To the aldermen and council of the different towns was committed the charge of fixing the prices of the vari- ous kinds of work, which they were to regulate by an examination of the value of the raw material, and an esti- mate of the labour of the workman ; whilst the same judges were to fix the wages given to weights, masons, and such other handicraftsmen who con- tributed their skill and labour, but did not furnish the materials. Every far- mer and husbandman who possessed a plough and eight oxen was commanded to sow annually a firlot of wheat, half a firlot of pease, a nd forty beans , under a penalty of ten shillings, to Hoe paid to the baron of the land, for each in- i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 13, 14. a Ibid. I. 73 fringement of the law; whilst the baron himself, if he either neglected to sow the same quantity within his own demesnes, or omitted to exact the penalty from an offending tenant, was made liable in a fine of forty shillings for every offence, to be paid to the king. The small quantity of beans here mentioned renders it probable that this is the era of their earliest introduction into Scotland. 3 It would appear that although the castles of the Lowland barons, during the regencies of the two Albanies, had been maintained by their proprietors in sufficient strength, the houses of defence, and the various fortalices of the country, beyond that lofty range of hills known anciently by the name of the Mo unth, had gradually fallen into decay, a state of things proceed- ing, without doubt, from the lawless state of these districts, divided amongst a few petty tyrants, and the extreme insecurity of life and property to any inferior barons who dared to settle within them. To remedy this evil, it was determined by the parliament that every lord who had lands beyond the Mounth, upon which, in " auld tymes," there were castles, fortalices, or manor places, should be compelled to rebuild or repair them, and. either himself to reside therein, or to procure a friend to take his place. The object of the statute is described to be the gracious government of the lands by good polity, and the happy effects which must result from the produce of the soil being consumed upon the lands themselves where it was grown, — an error, perhaps, in civil policy, but which evinced, even in its aberration, an anxiety to discover the causes of national prosperity, which is remark- able for so remote a period. 4 The extreme jealousy with which the transportation of money, or bullion, out of the realm, had always been re- garded was carried to an extraordinary height in the parliament of the 1st of July 1427, for we find an enactment, entitled, u Anent the finance of clerks 8 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii 74 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. by which all such learned persons pro- posing to go beyond seas were strictly enjoined either to make change of their money, which they had allotted for the expenses of their travel, with the money-changers within the realm, or at least with the merchants of the country." The same act was made im- perative upon all lay travellers ; and both clerks and laymen were commanded not to leave the country before they had duly informed the king's chancel- lor of the exchange which they had transacted, and of the object of their journey. Some of the most important regu- lations in this parliament of July 1427 regarded the administration of civil and criminal justice, a subject upon which the king appears to have la- boured with an enthusiasm and assi- duity which evinces how deeply he felt the disorders of this part of the government. It was first declared that all persons who should be elected judges, in this or any succeeding par- liament, for the determination of causes or disputes, should be obliged to take an oath that they will decide the ques- tions brought before them to the best of their knowledge, and without fraud or favour. In the settlement of dis- putes by arbitration, it was enacted that for the future, where the arbiters consist of clerks, a churchman, having the casting vote, was to be chosen by the bishop of the diocese, with advice of his chapter; where the case to be determined had arisen without burgh, between the vassals of a baron or others, the oversman having the cast- ing vote was to be chosen by the sheriff, with advice of the lord of the barony ; and if the plea took place between citi- zens within burgh, the provost and his council were to select the oversman, it being specially provided that for the future all arbitrations were to be deter- mined, not by an even, but an uneven number of arbiters. 1 With regard to the case of Scottish merchants dying abroad in Zealand, Flanders, or other parts of the continent, if it be certain that they were not resident in these Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. [Chap. IL parts, but had merely visited them for the purposes of trade, all causes or disputes regarding their succession, or their other transactions, were declared cognisable by the ordinary judge with- in whose jurisdictions their testaments were confirmed ; even although it was proved that part of the property of the deceased trader was at that time in England, or in parts beyond seas. In a general council held at Perth on the 1st of March 1427 a change was introduced relative to the attend- ance of the smaller barons and free tenants in parliament, which, as intro- ducing the principle of representation, is worthy of particular attention. It was determined by the king, with con- sent of his council general, that the small barons and free tenants needed not to come hereafter to parliaments nor general councils, provided that from each sheriffdom there be sent two or more wise men, to be chosen at the head court of each sheriffdom, in pro- portion to its size. An exception, however, was introduced with regard to the sheriffdoms of Clackmannan and Kinross, which were directed to return each a single representative. It was next declared that by these commis- saries in a body there should be elected an expert man, to be called the Com- mon Speaker of the Parliament, whose duty it should be to bring forward all cases of importance involving the rights or privileges of the commons ; and that such commissaries should have full powers intrusted to them by the rest of the smaller barons and free tenants to discuss and finally to deter- mine what subjects or cases it might be proper to bring before the council or parliament. It was finally ordained that the expenses of the commissaries and of the speaker should be paid by their electors who owed suit and pre- sence in the parliament or council, but that this new regulation should have no interference with the bishops, ab- bots, priors, dukes, earls, lords of par- liament, and bannerets, whom the king declared he would continue to summon by his special precept. 52 It is probable Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. iL pp. 15, 16, cap. 2. 1427-9.] JA1\ that in this famous law, James had in view the parliamentary regulations which were introduced into England as early as the reign of Henry the Third, relative to the elections of knights of the shire, and which he had an opportunity of observing in full force, under the fourth and fifth Henries, during his long residence in England. 1 As far as we can judge from the concise, but clear, expressions of the act itself, it is evident that it contained the rude draught or first embryo of a Lower House, in the shape of a committee or assembly of the commissaries of the shires, who deliberated by themselves on the pro- per points to be brought before the higher court of parliament by their speaker. It is worthy of remark that an institution which was destined after- wards to become the most valuable and inalienable right of a free subject — that of appearing by his representa- tives in the great council of the na- tion — arose, in the first instance, from an attempt to avoid or to elude it. To come to parliament was considered by the smaller barons who held of the crown in capite an intolerable and expensive grievance; and the act of James was nothing else than a per- mission of absence to this numerous body on condition of their electing a substitute, and each paying a propor- tion of his expenses. In the same parliament other acts were passed, strikingly illustrative of the condition of the country. Every baron, within his barony, was directed, at the proper season, to search for and slay the wolves' whelps, and to pay two shillings a-head for them to any man who brought them : the tenants were commanded to assist the barons on all occasions when a wolf-hunt was held, under the penalty of " a wedder " for non-appearance; and such hunts were to take place four times in the year : no cruves, or machines for catch- ing fish, were to be placed in waters where the tide ebbed and flowed, for three years to come : where the mer- i Rapin's Acta Regia, vol, i. p. 41. Sta- tutes of the Realm, vol. ii. pp. 156, 170, 233. :es I. 7& chants trading to the continent could not procure Scottish ships, tney were permitted to freignt their cargoes in foreign vessels : no lepers were to dwell anywhere but in their own hospitals, at the gate of the town, or other places without the bounds of the burgh ; strict inquiries were directed to be made by the officials of the bishops, in their visitations, with regard to all persons, whether lay or secular, who might be smitten with this loathsome disease, so that they should be de- nounced, and compelled to obey the statute ; and no lepers were to be allowed to enter any burgh, except thrice in the week, — on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, between the hours of ten and two, for the purpose of purchasing their food ; if, however, a fair or market happened to be held on any of these days, they were to come in the morning, and not to mix indiscriminately with the multitude. If any clerk, whether secular or reli- gious, were desirous of passing beyond seas, it was made incumbent on him first to come to his ordinary to shew good cause for his expedition, and to make faith that he should not be guilty of any kind of simony or " barratrie"" a word meaning the purchasing of benefices by money. All such default- ers or " barratoures" were to be con- victed, under the statute already made against those who carried money out of the realm ; and not only who were convicted of this crime in time to come, but all now without the realm, being guilty of it, were made liable to the penalties of the statute, and none- permitted either to send them mone}^ or to give them assistance, to whatever rank or dignity in the Church they may have attained. 2 It was enacted that no man should dare to interpret the statutes contrary to their real mean- ing, as understood by those who framed them; and that the litigants in any plea should attend at court simply ac- companied by their councillors and " forespeakers," and such sober re- tinue as befitted their estate, and not 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 16. Skene, De Verborum Signineatione, voca Rantttrie. 76 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND with a multitude of armed followers on foot or horseback. In the same general council some strict regulations occur regarding the prices charged by various craftsmen, such as masons, smiths, tailors, weavers, and the like, who had been in the practice of insisting upon a higher price for their labour than they were by law entitled to. Wardens of each craft were directed to be yearly elected in every burgh, who, with the advice of other discreet and unsuspected men, were to examine and estimate the ma- terials and workmanship of every trade, and fix upon it a certain price, not to be exceeded by the artificer, under the forfeiture of the article thus over- charged. In lands without the burgh the duty of the warden was to be per- formed by the baron, and the sheriff to see that he duly performs it. The council concluded by an act imposing a penalty of forty shillings upon all per- sons who should slay partridges, plovers, black-cocks, gray-hens, muir-cocks, by any kind of instrument or contrivance, between lentryn and August. It may be remarked- that the meet- ing of the three estates in which these various enactments were passed is not denominated a parliament, but a gene- ral council — a term possibly implying a higher degree of solemnity, and con- ferring perhaps upon the statutes passed in it a more unchallengeable authority than the word parliament. It is difficult, however, to understand the precise distinction, or to discover wherein this superior sanctity consists; for, in looking to its internal constitu- tion, we find that the members who composed the general council were exactly the same as those who sat in the parliament ; the bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, and free tenants who held of the king in capite, and certain burgesses from every burgh in the kingdom, "some of whom were absent upon a legitimate excuse, and others contumaciously, who, on this account, were found liable in a fine of ten pounds." 1 Within four months after the meeting of this last general 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 15. [Chap. II. council, the king convoked another solemn assembly of the same descrip- tion at Perth, on the 12th of July 1428, in which it was determined that all successors of prelates, and all the heirs of earls, barons, and free tenants of the crown, should be bound before they were permitted to enter into possession of their temporalities or their estates, to take the same oath of allegiance to the queen which they had sworn to the sovereign — a regula- tion by which the king, in the event of his death, prepared his subjects to regard the queen as regent, and en- deavoured to guard against those con- vulsions which were too likely to arise during a minority. 2 It is time, however, to return from this history of our early legislation tc the course of our narrative. Although gradually gaining ground, France was still grievously oppressed by the united attacks of England and Burgundy ; and Charles the Seventh, esteeming it of consequence to secure the friend- ship and assistance of Scotland, fol- lowed up the betrothment between James's only daughter and the Dau- phin by a contract of marriage, for which purpose the Archbishop of Rheims, and Stuart, lord of Darnley and count of Dreux, again visited Scotland. Instead of a dower, which Scotland was at that time lit£le able to offer, James was requested to send to France six thousand soldiers ; and the royal bride was, in return, to be provided in an income as ample as any hitherto settled upon the queens of France. In addition to this, the county of Xaintonge and the lordship of Roch- fort were to be made over to the Scot- tish king ; all former alliances were to be renewed and ratified by the mu- tual oaths of the two monarchs ; and the French monarch engaged to send transports for the passage of the Scot- tish soldiers to France. The extraordinary rise and splendid military successes of the Maid of Or- J leans, which occurred in the year im- mediately following this embassy, rendered it unnecessary for the French 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 16, 17. 142^-30/] king to insist upon this article in the treaty ; but the jealousy and appre- hensions of England were roused by the prospect of so intimate an alliance, and the Cardinal Beaufort, the uncle of James's queen, who at this time was one of the leading directors in the government of England, made pro- posals for an interview upon the marches between the Scottish mon- arch and himself, for the purpose of consulting upon some affairs intimately connected with the mutual weal and honour of the two realms. James, however, seems to have considered it beneath the dignity of an independent sovereign to leave his kingdom and engage in a personal conference with a subject, and the meeting never took place. 1 The two countries, however, fortunately continued on amicable terms with each other, and time was given to the Scottish monarch to. pur- sue his schemes of improvement, and to evince his continued zeal for every- thing which affected the happiness of his sub j eels and the internal prosperity of his kingdom. It appears that at this period the poor tenants and labourers of the soil had been reduced to grievous distress by being dispossessed of their farms, and turned out of their cottages, when- ever their landlord chose to grant a lease of the estate, or dispose of it to a new proprietor ; and such was then the enslaved condition of the lower classes in Scotland that the king, who was bound to respect the laws which affected the rights of the feudal lords, could not of his own authority ame- liorate the condition of the labourers. He made it a request, however, to the prelates and barons of his realm, in a parliament held at Perth on the 26th of April 1429, that they would not summarily and suddenly remove the husbandmen from any lands of which they had granted new leases, for the space of a year after such transaction, unless where the baron to whom the estate belonged proposed to occupy the lands himself, and keep them for his own private use ; a benevolent 1 Rymer, vol. x. p. 410. Rotuli Scotiaj, Tol. ii. p. 264. JAMES L 77 enactment, which perhaps may be re- garded as the first step towards that important privilege, which was twenty years afterwards conceded to the great body of the farmers and labourers, and which is known in Scottish law under the name of the real right of tack. 2 A sumptuary law was passed at the same time, by which it was ordered that no person under the rank of knight, or having less than two hun- dred marks of yearly income, should wear clothes made of silk, adorned with the richer kinds of furs, or em- broidered with gold or pearls. The eldest sons or heirs of all knights were permitted to dress as sumptuously as their fathers ; and the aldermen, bailies, and council of the towns, to wear furred gowns ; whilst all others were enjoined to equip themselves in such grave and honest apparel as be- fitted their station, that is to say, in " serpis, beltis, uches, and chenzies." In these regulations, the apparel of the women was not forgotten. The increasing wealth and luxury of the commercial classes had introduced a corresponding, and, as it was then esteemed, an unseemly magnificence in the habiliments of the rich burghers' wives, who imitated, and in all pro- bability exaggerated, the dresses of the ladies of the court. It was com- manded that neither commoners' wives nor their servants should wear long trains, rich hoods or ruffs, purfled sleeves, or costly "curches" of lawn; and that all gentlemen's wives should take care that their array did not ex- ceed the personal estate of their hus- band. 3 All persons who were possessed of property affording a yearly rent of twenty pounds, or of movable goods to the value of a hundred pounds, were to be well horsed, and armed " from head to heel," as became their rank as gentlemen ; whilst others of inferior wealth, extending only to ten pounds in rent, or fifty pounds in goods, were bound to provide them- 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. pp. 17, 35. s Ibid. 17. 18. 78 HISTOKY OF selves with a gorget, rearbrace, vant- brace, breastplate, greaves, and leg- splints, and with gloves of plate, or iron gauntlets. The arms of the lower classes were also minutely detailed. Every yeoman whose property amount- ed to twenty pounds in goods was commanded to arm himself with a good doublet of fence, or a haber- geon, an iron hat, or knapscull, a bow and sheaf of arrows, a sword, buckler, and dagger. The second rank of yeo- men, who possessed only ten pounds in property, were to provide for them- selves a bow and sheaf of arrows, a sword, buckler, and dagger ; whilst the lowest class of all, who had no skill in archery, were to have a good "suir" hat, a doublet of fence, with sword and buckler, an axe also, or at least a staff pointed with iron. Every citizen or burgess possessing fifty pounds in property was commanded to arm him- self in the same fashion as a gentle- man ; and the burgess yeoman of in- ferior rank, possessing property to the extent of twenty pounds, to provide a doublet and habergeon, with a sword and buckler, a bow and sheaf of ar- rows, and a knife or dagger. It was finally made imperative on the barons within their barony, and the bailies within burgh, to carry these enact- ments into immediate execution, under certain penalties or fines, which, in the event of failure, were to be levied by the sheriff of the county. 1 In the late rebellion of the Lord of the Isles the want of a fleet had been severely felt, and these statutes re- garding the land force of the country were followed by other regulations of equal importance concerning the estab- lishment of a navy, — a subject which we have seen occupying the last exer- tions of Bruce. All barons and lords possessing estates within six miles of the sea, in the western and northern portions of the kingdom, and opposite the isles, were commanded to contribute to the building and equipment of galleys for the public service, in the proportion of one oar to every four marks' worth 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. of land, 2 and to have such vessels ready to put to sea within a year. From this obligation all such barons as held their lands by the service of finding vessels were of course excepted, they being still bound to furnish them according to the terms of their charter. In the event of any merchant-ships having been wrecked upon the coast, the confiscation of their cargoes to the king, or their preservation for their owners, was made dependent upon the law respecting wrecks in the country to which such vessels belonged ; it being just that they should receive from foreign governments the same protection which it was the practice of their government to extend to foreign vessels. It was enacted in the same parliament that all advocates, or forespeakers, who were employed in pleading causes in any temporal court, and also the parties litigant, if they happened to be present, should swear, before they be heard, that the cause which they were about to plead was just and true, according to their belief ; or, in the simple words of the act itself, " that they trow the cause is gude and lele that they shall plead." In the same year, to the great joy of the monarch and the kingdom, his queen was delivered of twin sons, whose baptism was celebraFea" with much solemnity, one of them being named Alexander, probably after Alexander the Third, whose memory was still dear to the people, and the other James. At the font the king created both these infants knights, and conferred the same honour on the youthful heirs of the Earl of Douglas, the Chancellor, Lord Crichton, Lord Borthwick, Logan of Restalrig, and others of his nobility. 3 The first of these boys died very young, but the\ second, James, was destined to succee< ) his father in the throne. / The truce w r ith England was now on the point of expiring, and the king, who was anxious to concentrate his 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 19. What is here the precise value of an oar cannot be discovered from any ex- pression in the act. 3 Fordun a Goodal, vol ii. p. 490. 1431.1 JAMES I. whole efforts upon the pacification of the northern parts of his dominions, and whose unremitted attention was required at home to carry his new laws into execution, felt equally disposed with Henry the Sixth to negotiate for a renewal of the armistice, and to dis- cuss the possibility of concluding a permanent peace. For this purpose, a meeting took place between com- missioners from both nations, who concluded a truce for five years, from the 1st of April 14.31, in the provi- sions of which an anxious desire was manifested on both sides to adopt every possible expedient for restrain- ing the intolerable lawlessness of the Border warfare. In' the same truce various rude accommodations to each other's commerce were agreed upon by the governments of the sister king- doms; it was forbidden to seize mer- chants, pilgrims, and fishers of either country, when driven into strange ports by stress of weather ; ship- wrecked men were to be allowed to pass to their own homes ; in cases of piracy, not only the principal aggressors, but all who had encouraged the adventure or received the plunder, were to be liable in compensation, and amenable to punishment ; and it was lastly agreed that no aggressions by the subjects of either kingdom should occasion a breach of the truce. 1 Having concluded this measure, James found himself at leisure to take into consideration the condition of the Highlands, which, notwithstanding the severity of the examples already made, called loudly for his interfer- ence. Donald Balloch, a near relation of the Lord of the Isles, enraged at what he deemed the pusillanimous submission of his kinsman, having col- lected a fleet and an army in the Heb- rides, ran his galleys into the neck of sea which divides Morven from the little island of Lismore, and, disem- barking at Lochaber, broke down upon that district with all the ferocity of northern warfare, cutting to pieces a superior force commanded by Alex- 1 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. p. 482. See M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p: 646. ander, earl of Mar, and Alan Stewart, earl of Caithness, whom James had stationed there for the protection of the Highlands. The conflict took place at Inverlochy ; and such was the fury of the attack, that the superior discipline and armour of the Low- land knights was unavailing against the broadswords and battle-axes of the islesmen. The Earl of Caith- ness, with sixteen of his personal retinue, and many other barons and knights, were left dead on the field ; while Mar, with great difficulty, suc- ceeded in rescuing the remains of the royal army. From the result of this battle, as well as the severe loss ex- perienced at Harlaw, it was evident that the islesmen and the ketherans were every day becoming more for- midable enemies, and that their arms and their discipline must have been of late years essentially improved. Don- ald Balloch, however, notwithstand- ing the dispersion of the royal army, appears to have considered it hazard- ous to attempt to follow up his suc- cess ; and having ravaged Lochaber, and carried off as much plunder as he could collect, re-embarked in his galleys, retreated first to the isles, and afterwards to Ireland. 2 About the same time, in the wild and remote county of Caithness, a desperate conflict took place between Angus Dow Mackay and Angus Mur- ray, two leaders of opposite septs or clans, which, from some domestic quarrel, had arrayed themselves in mortal opposition. They met in a strath or valley upon the water of Naver ; when such was the ferocity and exterminating spirit with which the battle was contested, that out of twelve hundred only nine are said to have remained alive ; 3 an event which, considering the infinite mischiefs lately occasioned by their lawless and undisciplined manners, was per haps considered a subject rather of congratulation than of regret to the kingdom. These excesses, however, for the 2 Fordun a Hearne, vol. K* p. 12S9. Ex- tracta ex Chronicis Scotioe, p. 277. * Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 491. 80 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IL time, had the effect of throwing the whole of the northern parts of the country into a state of tumult and rebellion ; and the king having col- lected an army, summoned his feudal barons to attend him, and determined to proceed against his enemies in person. With some of the most powerful of the nobility, this northern, expedition seems to have been un- popular ; and the potent Earl of Dou- glas, with Lord Kennedy, both of them nephews to James, were com- mitted to ward in the castles of Loch- leven and Stirling, probably from some disgust expressed at the royal commands. 1 The rendezvous was appointed at Perth, where, previous to his northern expedition, a parlia- ment was held on the 15th of Octo- ber ; and to defray the expenses of the undertaking, a land-tax, or i( zelcle" was raised upon the whole lands in the kingdom, ecclesiastical as well as temporal. Its amount was declared to be ten pennies in every pound from those lands where, upon a former occasion, the tax of two pennies had been levied, and twelve pennies in the pound out of all lands which had been excepted from the payment of this smaller contribution. At the same time, the king directed his justices to take proper measures for the punishment of those vassals who had disobeyed his summons, and ab- sented themselves from the host ; and, with the intention of passing into the Western Isles, and inflicting exemplary vengeance against the pirate chiefs who had joined Donald Balloch, he proceeded to Dunstaffnage castle. Here he found himself in a short time surrounded by crowds of sup- pliant island lords, who, dreading the determined character of James, were eager to make their submission, and to throw the whole blame of the rebel- lion upon Balloch, whose power they dared not resist. By their means three hundred of the most noted thieves and robbers were seized and led to immediate execution ; and soon after Donald Balloch was himself betrayed by one of the petty kings of Ireland, i Fordun a Ilcarne, vol iv. p. 1288. who, having entered into a secret treaty with James, cut off his head and sent it to the king. 2 It was at this period that the pesti- lence again broke out in Scotland ; but the visitation, although sufficiently! dreadful, appears to have assumed a less fatal character than that which in 1348 carried off almost a third part of the population of the kingdom., The winter had been unusually severe and stormy, and the cold so intense, that not only the domestic cattle, but the hardier beasts of the chase, almost entirely perished. It is difficult in the meagre annals of contemporary historians to detect anything like the distinguishing symptoms of this awful scourge. In contradistinction to the pestilences which, in 1348, 1361, and 1378, had committed such fatal ra- vages, Bower denominates this the 4< pes-, tilentia volatilis; " 3 and we know that,, having first appeared at Edinburgh in the month of February 1430, it con- tinued throughout the year 1432, at which time it was prevalent in Had* dington ; 4 while in the year imme diately preceding, (1431,) during the parliament which was held at Perth in October, the volatile character of the disease seems to be pointed out by the provision that the collectors of the land-tax should be obliged to arrange their accounts on the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, next to come, u at Perth, provided the pesti- lence be not there, and if it is there, at Saint Andrews." 5 The inclemency of the season, the poverty of the lower classes, and the dreadful ravages oc- casioned by private w ar, and by the ferocity of the northern clans, must, have greatly increased the distresses occasioned by such a calamity ; and 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 20. Buchanan, book x. chap, xxxiii. xxxvi. It is singular that James's expedi- tion against his northern rebels in 1431 is not mentioned either by Fordun, or Bower in his Continuation ; yet that such an expedition took place, the Acts of the Parliament held at Perth, 15th of October 1431, aflord undoubted evidence. s Fordun a Goodal. vol. ii. pp. 347, 365 391, 490. * Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiai, p. 277. 5 Acts of Parliament, vol. ii. p. 20- 0 1432-3.J JAMES L it appears from the accounts of our contemporary chroniclers, that dur- . ing the height of the ravages which the pestilence occasioned, the ^popular mind, under the influence of terror and ignorance, became agitated with fright- ful stories and wild and romantic superstitions. A total eclipse of the sun, which occurred on the 1 7th of June 1432, increased these terrors, the obscuration beginning at three in the afternoon, and for half an hour causing a darkness as deep as midnight. It was long remembered in Scotland by the name of the Black Hour. 1 The continuance of the successes of the French, and the repeated defeats which the English had experienced, now rendered it of importance to the government of Henry the Sixth to make a serious effort for the establish- ment of a lasting peace with Scotland ; and for this purpose Lord Scrope pro- ceeded as envoy to the court of J ames, with proposals so decidedly advan- tageous, that it is difficult to account for their rejection. The English king, he declared, was ready to purchase so desirable a blessing as a peace by the delivery of Roxburgh and Berwick into the hands of the Scots, and the restitution of all that had anciently belonged to their kingdom: Anxious to obtain the advice of his parliament upon so momentous an offer, James appointed a general council of the whole states of the realm to be held at Perth in October, 2 in which he laid before them the proposals, of England. The whole body of the temporal barons agreed in the expediency of entering upon an immediate negotia- tion, preparatory to a treaty of peace, and the majority of the prelates and higher Churchmen concurred in this proposal ; but amongst the minor clergy there existed a party attached to the interests of France, which was headed by the Abbots of Scone and Inchcolm. They warmly contended that, considering the engagements with 1 Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. p. 1307. 2 Ibid. vol. iv. p. 1308. I do not find in Eymer's Fcedera, in the Acts of the Parlia- ment, or in the Rotuli Scotise, any deed throwing light unon this transaction. VOL. II. 81 that country, and the treaty of mar- riage and alliance which the king had lately ratified, it was impossible to accept the proposals of England, con- sistently with his honour, and the regard due to a solemn agreement, which had been examined by the Uni- versity of Paris, and had received the ratification of the Pope. These argu- ments were seconded by the Abbot of Melrose, and with much violence op- posed by Lawrence of Lindores, who, as the great inquisitor of all heretical opinions, imagined that he detected in the propositions of his brethren cf the Church some tenets which were not strictly orthodox. This led to a warm reply, and the debate, insteaxl of a temperate discussion of the poli- tical question which had been sub- mitted to the parliament, degenerated into a theological controversy of use- less length and bitterness, which un- fortunately led, in the first instance, to a delay of the principal business, and ultimately to a rejection of all proposals of peace. 3 The succeeding year was barbar ously signalised by the trial and con- demnation of Paul Crawar, a Bohemian, who was burnt for heresy at St An- drews on the 23d of July. He had been sent by the citizens of Prague, who had adopted the tenets of Wick- liff, to open an intercourse with their brethren in Scotland. Of these earnest •inquirers after truth there appears to have been a small sect, who, undaunted by the dreadful fate of Resby, con- tinued secretly to examine the alleged errors of the Catholic Church, and to disseminate what they contended were principles more orthodox and scrip- tural. Crawar was a physician, and came into Scotland with letters which spoke highly of his eminence in his art; but he seized every opportunity of inculcating principles contrary to the established doctrines of the Church; and the inquisitor, Lawrence of Lin- dores, arraigned him before his court, and entered into a laboured confuta* tion of his opinions. He found him, however, not only a courageous, but, according to the admission of his ene. s Fordun a Hearne, vol. iv. pp. 1309,. 1310 82 HISTORY OF urles, a singularly acute opponent. In theological controversy, in an acquaint- i ance with the sacred Scriptures, and in the power of prompt and apposite quotation, the Bohemian physician I was unrivalled; but it was soon dis- covered that he had adopted all the opinions of the disciples of WicklifT 1 and of the heretics of Prague, and j that his profession of a physician was merely a cloak to conceal his real | character as a zealous reformer. That he had made many converts there can be no doubt, from the ex- pressions used by Bower ; and the laboured exposition and denunciation of his errors, which is given by the historian, contains evidence that his opinions were on some points those of "VVickliff. which had been propagated twenty-six years before by Resby. 'He and his followers taught that the Bible ought to be freely communicated to the people^ that, in a temporal kingdom, the spiritual power should be subservient to the civil ; that ma- gistrates had a right to arraign, on trial, and to punish delinquent eccle- siastics and prelates : that purgatory was a fable; (the eiicacy of pilgrim- ages an imposition^ jfhe power of the u keys," the doctrlnV of transubstan- tiation. and the ceremonies of absolu- tion, a delusion and invention of manj The historian adds, that this sect de- nied the resurrection of the dead, re- commended a community of goods, and that their lives were gross and licentious. 1 In the celebration of the Lord's Supper they departed entirely from the solemnities which distin- guished this rite in the usage of the Catholic Church. They used no splen- did vestments, attended to no canoni- cal hours or set form of words, but began the service at once by the Lord's Prayer : after which they read the history of the institution of the Sup- per as contained in the New Testa- ment, and then proceeded to distri- bute the elements, using common bread and a common drinking-cup or goblet. 2 These practices and principles, in 1 Fordun a Goodal. vol. ii. pp. 495. 49ft. 2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 495. SCOTLAND. [Chap. lr. some of which we can recognise not merely a dawning, but nearly a full development of the tenets of Luther, excited a deep alarm amongst the clergy, who found a warm supporter in the king. James had been brought up in a cruel and selfish school; for both Henry the Fourth and his son were determined persecutors, and the price which they did not scruple to pay for the money and the influence of the clergy was the groans and tor- tures of those who sealed their con- fession with their blood. A familiarity with religious persecution, and an early habit of confounding it with a zeal for the truth, became thus familiar to the mind of the youthful king; and the temptations to favour and encourage his clergy, as a check and counterpoise to the power of his nobles, was not easily resisted. When, accordingly, Lawrence of Lindores, the inquisitor of heresy, became ambitious to sig- nalise the same controversial powers against Crawar which he had already exerted in the confutation of Resby, he found no difficulties thrown in hia way. The Bohemian reformer was seized, arraigned, confuted, and con- demned ; and as he boldly refused to renounce his opinions, he was led to the stake, and gave up his life for the principles he had disseminated, with the utmost cheerfulness and resolu- tion. 3 The great council of Basle, which was held at this time, had taken special cognisance of the errors of WicklifF ; and as the Bishop3 of Glas- gow and Moray, with the Abbot of Arbroath, and many of the Scottish nobles, attended at this solemn assem- bly of the Church, it is probable that their increased devotion to the Catholic faith, and anxiety for the extermina- tion of heretical opinions in their own country, proceeded from their late in- tercourse with this great theological convocation. 4 In the midst of his labours for the pacification of his northern dominions, and his anxiety for the suppression of heresy, the king never forgot his great plan for the diminution of the exor- 3 Forclim a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 442. 4D5. « Rotiili Scotiae, toL ii. pp. 276. 2S4. 1433-4.] JAM bitant power of tlie nobles; and with this view he now disclosed a design of a bold character, but which, however expedient, was scarcely reconcilable to the principles of justice. The strong castle of Dunbar, and the extensive estate, or rather principality, of the Earl of March, since the days of David the First, had been a perpetual thorn in the side of the Scottish government; its situation having enabled each suc- cessive earl to hold in his hands a power far too great for any subject. It was a common saying, that March held the keys of the kingdom at his girdle. The possession of the various castles which commanded the passes permitted him to admit an enemy at pleasure into the heart of the country,/ and almost rendered the prosperity of the nation dependent upon the fidelity of a single baron.| These circum- stances, accordingly, had produced the effects which might have been anti- cipated ; and the Earls of March had shewn themselves for many generations the most ambitious and the most in- triguing of the whole race of Scottish nobles ; as pre-eminent in their power as they were precarious in their loyalty. The conduct of the father of the present earl had been productive of infinite distress and misery to Scot- land. Disgusted at the affront offered to his daughter by the Duke of Rothe- say's breach of his betrothed promise, and by his subsequent marriage with the house of Douglas, he had fled to England in 1401, and for eight years had acted the part of an able and un- relenting renegade. He had ravaged Scotland in company with Hotspur ; he had been the great cause of the disastrous defeat at Homildon ; his military talents were still more decid- edly displayed upon the side of Henry the Fourth at Shrewsbury; and his eon, the earl, against whom James now resolved to direct his vengeance, had defeated the Scots at West Nesbit. After the accession of Albany to the kingdom, the elder March, in 1408, returned to his native country; and having been restored to his estates, which had been forfeited to the crown SS I. 83 in consequence of his rebellion, he continued in the quiet possession of them till his death, which happened in 1420. He was succeeded by his son, George, earl of March, a baron who, with the single exception of having fought against the Scots at Nesbit, does not appear to have inherited any part of his father's versatility; and who, al- though arrested by James at the time when Duke Murdoch was imprisoned, shared that fate in common with many others of the nobility, who seem to have purchased their peace with the king by sitting upon the jury which condemned his unfortunate cousin . It was a remarkable feature, however, in the character of this monarch, that he retained his purposes with a steadiness and patience that gave little alarm, while it enabled him quietly to watch his opportunity ; that he was calculat- ing upon the removal of obstacles, and smoothing the road for the execution of his designs, when no one suspected that such designs existed. In the par- liament held at Perth, on the 15th of October 1431, it had been declared by the three estates 1 that the governor of the realm, during the period of his government, had no power to alienate any lands which, by the decease of a bastard, might have fallen to the crown ; and that, on this ground, the donation of the lands of Yetholm, which had been made by Albany, when governor, to Adam Ker, was of none effect, al- though it had been completed by feudal investiture. It is very probable that, at this or a subsequent period, other enactments may have been passed re- lative to the power possessed by the king to resume such estates as, having once been forfeited for treason, had been restored by the governor. No record of such, however, remains ; and we only know that James, having felt his w T ay, and being probably sure of his own strength, determined on the resumption of the immense estates of March into the hands of the crown. A parliament was accordingly as- sembled at Perth, on the 10th of 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol, ii. p. 20. 84 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND January 1434, and its first proceeding was to select a committee of nine per- sons, including three of the clergy, three of the barons, and three of the burgesses, to determine all causes which might be brought before them. The Abbots of Scone and of St Colm, 1 the Provost of the collegiate church of Methven, Sir Robert Stewart of Lorn, Sir Thomas Somerville of Somerville, and Sir Walter Haliburton of Dirleton, along with John Spens of Perth, Thomas Chambers of Aberdeen, and James Parkle of Linlithgow, were the judges chosen upon this occasion; but whether the important cause re- lating to the earldom of March came before them, or was pleaded in pre- sence of the whole body of the parlia- ment, is not easily ascertained. It is certain that the question regarding the forfeiture of the property, and its re- version to the crown, in consequence of the treason- of the late Earl of March, was discussed with all due solemnity by the advocates or prolocutors of the king, and of the earl then in posses- sion ; after which, this baron and his counsel being ordered to retire, the judges considered the reasons which had been urged oh both sides, and made up their opinion upon the case. March and his prolocutors were then readmitted, and the doomster de- clared it to be the decision of the par- liament that, in consequence of the forfeiture of Lord George of Dunbar, formerly Earl of March, all title of property to the lands of the earldom of March and lordship of Dunbar, with whatever other lands the same baron held of the crown, belonged of right to the king, and might immediately be insisted on. 2 Against this measure, which in a moment reduced one of the most powerful subjects in the realm to the condition of a landless dependant upon the charity of the crown, it does not appear that the earl or his friends dared to offer any remonstrance or resistance. They probably knew it 1 Walter Bower, the excellent Continuator of Fordun. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 23. [Chap. II would be ineffectual, and might bring' upon them still more fatal conse- quences ; and James proceeded to com- plete his plan for the security of the kingdom by taking possession of the forfeited estate, and delivering the keeping of the castle of Dunbar, which he had seized in the preceding year, to Sir Walter Haliburton of Dirleton. He then, to soften in some degree the severity of his conduct, conferred upon March the title of Earl of Buchan, and assigned to him, out of the revenues of that northern principality, an annual pension of four hundred marks. That noble person, however, full of resent- ment for the cruelty with which he had been treated, disdained to assume a title which he regarded as only a mark of his degradation ; and almost immediately after the judgment, bid- ding adieu to his country, in company with his eldest son, retired to England. 3 Although this extraordinary proceed- ing appears not to have occasioned any open symptoms of dissatisfaction at the moment, it is impossible to con- ceive that it should not have roused the jealousy and alarmed the minds of the great body of the feudal nobility. It cannot, perhaps, be pronounced strictly unjust ; yet there was a harsh- ness, it may almost be said a tyrannj r r in the manner in which such princely estates were torn from the family, after they had been possessed for twenty-six years without challenge or remonstrance. During the long usurpation of Al- bany, many of the nobles had either acquired, or been permitted to retain their lands, upon tenures in ever? respect as unsound as that by which March possessed his earldom, and none knew whether they might not be the next victims. A dark suspicion that the life of the king was incompatible with their security and independence began secretly to infuse itself into their minds : and from a proceeding which took place before the dissolution of the parliament, the monarch him- self appears to have been aware of the probability of conspiracy, and to have contemplated the possibility of hi* s Rotuli Scotise, vol. ii. p. 293. 1434-6.] JAM being suddenly cat off in the midst of bis schemes for the consolidation of his power. He did not allow them to separate and return to their homes, before the whole lords of parliament temporal and spiritual, as well as the commissaries of the burghs, had pro- mised to give their bonds of adherence and fidelity to their sovereign lady the queen. 1 About the same time the king ac- quired a great accession of property and power by the death of Alexander Stewart, the famous Earl of Mar, and a natural son of the Earl of Buchan, James's uncle. The estates of this wealthy and potent person, who, from a rude and ferocious Highland free- booter, had become one of the ablest captains and most experienced states- men in the nation, 2 reverted upon his death to the crown, upon the ground of his bastardy. The humiliation of the hated race of Albany was now complete. Murdoch and his sons, with the Earl of Lennox, had perished on 'the scaffold, and their whole estates had reverted to the crown; although the Earl of Buchan, who was slain at Verneuil, had left an only daughter, to whom the title belonged, by a stretch of power bordering upon injustice, the title had been bestowed upon the disinherited March, and now the immense estates of the Earl of Mar, the natural son of Buchan, re- verted to the crown. The power of the king became thus every day more formidable ; but it was built upon the oppression of his feudal nobility, a set of men with whom it was considered a meanness to forget an injury, and whose revenge was generally deep and terrible — and so the result shewed. Entirely occupied with a vain and unsuccessful effort to retain their con- quests in France, the English govern- ment evinced every anxiety to pre- serve inviolate the truce with Scot- land ; but the spirit of Border hostility could not be long restrained, and Sir Robert Ogle, from some cause which is 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, yol. ii. p. 23. The expression is, "dare literas suas retenencise et fidelitatis Domini nostre Heginei" 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 500. ES L 85 not easily discoverable, broke- across the marches, at the head of a strong body of knights and men-at-arms. He was met, however, and totally routed, near Piperden, by the Earl of Angus, Hepburn of Hailes, and Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, he himself being taken captive, forty slain, and nearly the whole of his party made prisoners. 3 James violently re- monstrated against this unprovoked infraction of the truce, and, in his letters to the English regency, insisted upon immediate redress ; but his com- plaints were overlooked or rejected, and the king was not of a temper to bear such an affront with tameness, or to forget it when an opportunity for retaliation occurred. These indignant feelings were in- creased by an occurrence which fol- lowed soon after the conflict at Piper- den. The Dauphin of France, who had been betrothed to Margaret, the daughter of the Scottish king, had now attained his thirteenth year, and the princess herself was ten years old : it was accordingly resolved to com- plete the marriage; and with this view, two French envoys having ar- rived in Scotland, the youthful bride was sent to the court of the King of France, accompanied by a splendid train of the nobility. The fleet which carried her to her future kingdom, where her lot was singularly wretched, was commanded by the Earl of Ork- ney, William Sinclair. The Bishop of Brechin, Sir Walter Ogilvy the trea- surer, Sir Herbert Harris, Sir John Max- well of Calderwood, Sir John Campbell of Loudon, Sir John Wishart, and many other barons, attended in her suite. They were waited on by a hundred and forty youthful squires, and a guard of a thousand men-at-arms; and the fleet consisted of three large ships and six barges. 4 In defiance of the truce which then subsisted between the two kingdoms, the English government determined,, if possible, to intercept the princess upon her passage to France, and for this purpose fitted out a large fleet, 3 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 501. * Ibid. vol. ii. p. 485. 86 HISTORY OF which anchored off the coast of Bre- tagne, in order to watch the motions of the Scots. It was impossible that so flagrant an insult should fail to rouse the indignation of the Scottish king. It convinced him how little was to be trusted to the honour of a go- vernment which disregarded a solemn truce the moment a favourable oppor- tunity for conquest, or annoyance, pre- sented itself, whilst it reminded him of the treachery by which he had him- self been seized, and brought all the bitterness of his long captivity before him. The project, however, was un- successful. The English were drawn away from their watch by the appear- ance of a company of Flemish mer- chantmen, laden with wine from Ro- chelle, which they pursued and cap- tured; but the triumph was of short duration ; for almost immediately after a Spanish fleet appeared in sight, and an engagement took place, in which the English were beaten, their Flemish prizes wrested from their hands, and they themselves compelled to take to flight. In the midst of these transac- tions, the little Scottish squadron, with the Dauphiness and her suite, Bafely entered the port of Rochelle, and disembarked at Seville Priory, where she was received by the Arch- bishop of Rheims and the Bishop of Poictiers and Xaintonge. The mar- riage was afterwards celebrated at Tours with much magnificence, in pre- sence of the King and Queen of France, the Queen of Sicily, and the nobility of both kingdoms. 1 By the fommon practice of most feudal states, an expensive ceremony of this kind was considered a proper occasion for the imposition of a general tax through- out the kingdom; but James refused to oppress the great body of his sub- jects by any measure of this nature, and contented himself with those gifts or largesses which the prelates and the chief nobility of the court were wont to contribute upon such joyful occur- rences. 2 The late infraction of the truce by Ogle, and the insidious attempt upon 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. h. pp. 485, 501. 2 Ibid. 1 SCOTLAND. [Chap. II the part of the English government to- intercept the Dauphiness, his daugh- ter, had inflamed the resentment of the Scottish king, and rendered him not averse to the renewal of the war. It is probable, however, that there were other causes for this sudden reso- lution; and these are perhaps to be sought in the irritated feelings with which a portion of the nobility began to regard the government of James. To find excitement and employment for such dangerous spirits, the monarch assembled the whole force of his do- minions ; and with an army formidable indeed in numbers, but weakened by intrigues and discontent amongst the principal leaders, he commenced the siege of Roxburgh. 3 The subsequent course of events is involved in much obscurity, which the few original documents that remain do not in any satisfactory manner re- move. After having spent fifteen days in the siege, during which time the warlike engines for the attack were broken and rendered useless, and the quarrels, arrows, and missiles entirely exhausted, the castle was on the eve of being surrendered, when the queen suddenly arrivpd in the camp, and James, apparently in consequence of the secret information which she com- municated, abruptly put a period to the siege, disbanded his army, and with a haste which implied some weighty cause of alarm, returned ingloriously ' into the interior of his dominions. For such an abrupt step no certain cause can be assigned, but su»ch, be- yond question, was the fact; and it naturally leads to the conjecture that James was suddenly informed of some treacherous designs against him, and" suspected that the conspirators lurked within his own kingdom. 4 This precipitate dismissal of his 3 Fordun a Groodal, vol. ii. p. 502. The king was engaged in the siege of Roxburgh 10th August 1436. Rotuli Scotiae, vol. ii. p. 295. 4 Bower (Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 502) says nothing of the arrival of the queen as. Roxburgh ; but the ancient MS., entitled Ex- tracta ex Chronicis Scotiae, p. 279, expressly states the fact: — " Per quindecim dies obsi- dioni vacabant et nihil laudis actum est veniens regina abduxit regem ; reliqui sunt I seculi et sic cessavit." 1436.] • J AMI forces took place in August, and two | months afterwards the king held a general council at Edinburgh, on the 22d of October 1436, in whose pro- ceedings we can discern nothing in- timating any continued suspicion of a conspiracy. Some commercial re- gulations were passed, which, under the mistaken idea that they were en- couragements, proved, in reality, re- strictions upon commerce. Exporters of wool were in future to give security to bring home and deliver to the mas- ter of the mint three ounces of bullion for every sack of wool, nine ounces for a last of hides, and three ounces for such quantity of other goods as paid freight, equal to an ancient measure called a serplaith ; whilst, in addition to the impolicy of restricting the mer- chants from importing such goods as they esteemed most likely to increase their profits, the delivery of the silver was regulated by weight or measure, and not by value. Other unwise re- strictions were imposed. "No English cloth was permitted to be purchased by the Scottish merchants, nor were English traders allowed to carry any articles of Scottish trade or manufac- ture out of the kingdom, unless such were specified particularly in their let- \ ters of safe-conduct. 1 Yet, in the midst of these parlia- mentary proceedings, more dark de- 1 signs were in agitation amongst the nobility; and the seeds of discontent and rebellion, which the king imagined had been entirely eradicated after the retreat from Roxburgh, were secretly expanding themselves into a conspi- racy, of which the history and rami- fications are as obscure as the result was deplorable. Its chief actors, how- ever, and the temper and objects by which they were regulated, may be as- certained on authentic evidence. The chief promoters of the plot were Sir Robert Graham, brother of Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine ; Walter Stew- art, earl of Athole, a son of Robert the Second ; and his grandson, Sir Robert Stewart, who filled the office of cham- 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 23, 24. M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 650. SS I. 87 berlain to the king, by whom he was much caressed and favoured. Graham's disposition was one which, even in a civilised age, would have made him a dangerous enemy ; but in those feudal times, when revenge was a virtue, and forgiveness a weakness, it became, un - der such nurture, peculiarly dark and ferocious. Unshaken courage, and a contempt of pain and danger, a per- suasive power of bending others to his purposes, a dissimulation which enabled him to conceal his private ambition under a zeal for the public good, and a cruelty which knew nei- ther hesitation nor remorse, were the moral elements which formed the cha- racter of this daring conspirator. Upon the return of the king from his detention in England, and at the time that he inflicted his summary vengeance upon the house of Albany, Sir Robert Graham had been impri- 'soned, along with the other adherents of that powerful family ; but it seems probable that he obtained his liberty, and for a while became reconciled to the government. Another transaction, however, was at hand, which, it is said, rekindled his feelings into a deter- mined purpose of revenge. This was the seizure or resumption of the earl- dom of Strathern by the king. David, earl of Strathern, the brother of the Earl of Athole, was the eldest son of Robert the Second, by his second wife, Euphemia Ross. He left an only daughter, who married Patrick Graham, son of Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine, and, in right of his wife, Earl of Strathern, to whose children, as the transmission of these feudal dignities through females was the ac- knowledged law of Scotland, the title and estates undoubtedly belonged. James, however, fixed his eyes upon this powerful earldom. He contended that it was limited to heirs-male; that upon the death of David, earl of Strathern, it ought to have reverted to the crown; and that Albany, the governor, had no power to permit Pa- trick Graham or his son to assume so extensive a fief, which he resumed as his own. Although, however, he dis- possessed Malise Graham, the son of 88 HISTORY OF the Earl of Strathern, of his lands and dignity, James appears to have been anxious to remove the appearance of in- justice from such conduct, and to con- ciliate the disinherited family . For this purpose he conferred the liferent of the earldom of Strathern upon Athole, and he created the new earldom of Menteith in favour of Malise Graham. 1 This attempt at conciliation, how- ever, did not succeed ; and indeed, not- withstanding the disguise which the king threw over it, it is easy to see that his conduct must have appeared both selfish and tyrannical. It was selfish, because, from the extreme age of Athole, James looked to the almost immediate possession of the rich earl- dom which he had torn from the Grahams ; and tyrannical, because there appears no ground for the asser- tion that it was a male fief. Malise Graham was now a youth, and absent in England; but his uncle, Sir Robert Graham, remonstrated, as the natural guardian of his rights ; and finding it in vain to sue for redress, he deter- mined upon revenge. It was no diffi- cult matter for a spirit like his to work upon the jealousies and discontented feelings of the nobles ; and there were yet remaining many friends of Albany, who remembered the dreadful fate of that unhappy house, and who con- sidered themselves bound by those strict ties of feudal vassalage then esteemed sacred to revenge it the mo- ment an opportunity presented itself. Amongst these persons, Graham, who himself felt the influence of such feelings in the strongest possible man- ner, found many ready associates ; but although the body of the higher nobi- lity were sufficiently eager to enter into his designs for the abridgment of the royal prerogative, and the resump- tion of the power which they had lost, they appear at first to have shrunk from anything beyond this. 2 It was determined meanwhile that Graham, who was an eloquent speaker, should detail their grievances in parliament, 1 Hailes, Sutherland Case, chap. v. p. 57. 2 Contemporary Account of "The dethe of the King of Scotis," first printed by Pinker- ton, Hist. vol. i. p. 462. SCOTLAND. [Chap. II. and that his remonstrance should be seconded by the rest of the nobles. The natural audacity of his character, however, made him exceed his com- mission. He spoke with open detesta- tion of the tyrannical conduct of tho government;; pointed out in glowing language the ruin of the noblest fami- lies in the state ; and concluded by an appeal to the barons who surrounded him, beseeching them to save the au- thority of the laws, were it even at the risk o^ laying a temporary restraint upon the person of the sovereign. The temerity of this speech confounded the barons who had promised to support him . they trembled and hesitated ; whilst James, starting from his throne, commanded them instantly to arrest the traitor, and was promptly obeyed. Graham meanwhile loudly expressed the bitterest contempt for the pusil- lanimity of his associates ; but he was hurried to prison, soon after banished from court, and his estates confiscated to the crown. 3 James, if not already sensible of the dangerous character of Graham, must have now been fully aware of it ; and how he should have suffered so bold and able a rebel to escape, is difficult to understand. It is evident, I think, that the connexion between Graham, the Earl of Athole, and Sir Kobert Stewart had not at this time proceeded to the formation of those atrocious designs which they afterwards carried into execution, for we cannot doubt that the king must have examined the whole affair with the utmost anxiety ; and his banishment of Graham only may convince us that, in this instance, he did not suspect him of plotting with others of his nobility. Enraged at the ruin of his fortunes, this audacious man retreated to the Highlands, and within their gloomy recesses meditated a desperate revenge. But the mode in which he proceeded had something great about it, and shewed that he was no hired or com- mon assassin. He sent a letter to James, in which he renounced his alle- giance ; he defied him, as a tyrant who * Contemporary Account of " The dethe of the King of Scotis," Hist. vol. i. p. 464. 1436.] JAM had ruined his family, and left him houseless and landless ; and he warned him that, wherever he could find op- portunity, he would slay him as his mortal enemy. These threats, coming from a vagabond traitor, James de- spised ; but he made proclamation for his apprehension, and fixed a large sum of gold on his head. 1 In the meantime parliament met, and Graham, although immured in his Highland retreats, found means to communicate with the discontented nobles, and to induce the Earl of Athole, and his grandson, Sir Robert Stewart, to enter fully into his schemes ' for~*he destruction of the king. He represented to this baron, who, though now aged, inherited . the proud ambi- tion of his family, that Robert the /Third was born out of wedlock, and j that the crown belonged to him, as the llawful son of the second marriage of |Robert the Second, or, if he chose to published amongst the Royal and Noble Wills. I p. 191. The king there directs his body to be l buried in "Ecclesia Sancti Petri Westmonas- I terii — in monumento quod ad nostrum et in- ; clitae recordacionis Anna? dudum Regin« Angliae consortis nostra?, cujus animae pros- I picietur altissimus erigi fecimus memoriam." A description and engraving of this monu- ment is to be seen in Gougfc.'s Sepulchral I Mouuments. ON THE DEATH was conveyed, apparently, in the same car in which it lay in state, to Langley, in Hertfordshire, and there interred with great secrecy, and without any funeral pomp. "When the funeral service," says Walsingham, "was con- cluded in the church of St Paul, the king and the citizens of London being present, the body was immediately carried back to Langley, to be interred in the church of the Preaching Friars ; the last offices being performed by the Bishop of Chester, the Abbots of St Albans and of Waltham, without the presence of the nobles, and unattended by any concourse of the people, nor was there any one who, after their labours, would invite them to dinner." 1 It must be evident to every one that as Henry's avowed object was to con- vince the English people that Richard, their late king, was dead and buried, the greater concourse of people who attended his funeral, and the more public that ceremony was made, the more likely was he to attain his de- sire. In this light, then; the sudden removal from London, the secret burial at Langley, " sine pompa, sine magna- tum prcesentia, sine populari turba," are circumstances which, I own, create in my mind a strong impression that Henry was not in possession of the real body of the king ; that either the head of Maudelain the priest, or some other specious contrivance, was em- ployed to deceive the people, and that the king did not think it prudent to permit a public funeral; because, however easy it may have been to impose upon the spectators, so long as they were merely permitted to see the funeral car in which the body lay covered up with black cloth, and hav- ing nothing but the face exposed, the process of removing from the litter, arraying it for the grave, and placing it in the coffin, might have led to a discovery of the deception which had been practised. It is clear that the evidence of a single person who had known the king, had he been per- mitted to uncover the head and face, and to examine the person, would have been itself worth the testimony of i Walsingham, p. 363. Otterburn, p. 229. OF RICHARD II. 107 thousands who gazed for a moment on the funeral car, and passed on ; and it is for this reason that I set little value on the account of Froissart, (whose history of the transactions connected with Richard's deposition is full of error,) 2 when he asserts that the body was seen by twenty thousand persons, or of Hardy ng, who relates that he himself saw the " corse in herse rial; " and that the report was he had been " forhungred " or starved, " and lapte in lede." Another proof of the conviction of the country that this exhibition of the body of Richard was a deception upon the part of Henry is to be found in the reports of his escape which not long afterwards arose in England, and the perpetual conspiracies in which men of rank and consequence freely hazarded, and in many cases lost their lives, which were invariably accom- panied with the assertion that Richard, was alive in Scotland. It is a remark- able circumstance that these reports and conspiracies continued from the alleged year of his death, through the whole period occupied by the reigns of Henry the Fourth and Henry the Fifth. The year 1402 absolutely teemed with reports that Richard was alive, as appears from Walsingham. A priest of Ware was one of the first victims of Henry's resentment. He had, it seems, encouraged his brethren, by affirming that Richard was alive, and would shortly come forward to claim his rights ; in consequence of which he was drawn and quartered. Not long after eight Franciscan friars w r ere hanged at London for having asserted that Richard was alive, one of whom, a doctor of divinity, named Frisby, owing to the boldness and obstinacy with which he maintained his loyalty, was executed in the habit of his order. About the same time, Walter de Baldock, prior of La undo in Leicestershire, was hanged because he had published the same story. Sir Roger de Clarendon, a natural son of the Black Prince, and one of the 2 Webb's Translation of the Metrical Hist, of the Deposition of Richard the Second, p. 7 Archaeoiogia, vol. xx. 108 HISTORICAL gentlemen of the bedchamber to Rich- ard the Second, along with his armour- bearer and page, were condemned and executed for the same offence. 1 In these cases there appears to have been no regularly-formed conspiracy, as in the instances to be afterwards men- tioned. The Franciscan friars, it is well known, were in the habit of travelling through various countries, and were in constant intercourse with Scotland, where they had many con- vents. 2 They had probably seen the king, or become possessed of certain evidence that he was alive, and they told the story on their return. Of these reports, however, we have the best evidence in a paper issued by Henry himself, and preserved in the Fcedera'Anglise. 3 It is a pardon under the privy seal to John Bernard of Offely; and from it we learn some interesting particulars of the state of public belief as to the escape and existence of Richard. Bernard, it seems, had met with one William Balshalf of Lancashire, who on being asked what news he had to tell, an- swered, " That King Richard, who had been deposed, was alive and well in Scotland, and would come into Eng- land upon the Feast of St John the Baptist next to come, if not before it." Balshalf added, " That Serle, who was then with King Richard, had arranged everything for his array and entrance into England, and that they would have timely warning of it : whilst he reported that Henry the Fourth, in fear of such an event, had collected great sums of money from his lieges with the intention of evacuating the kingdom, repairing to Brittany, and marrying the duchess of that country. Bernard then asked Balshalf what was best to be done, — who bade him raise certain men, and take his way to meet King Richard; upon which he went to John Whyte and William Threshire of Offely, to whom he told the whole story, and who immediately consented 1 Walsingham, p. 365. Otterburn, p. 234. rsichol's Leicestershire, vol. iii. pp. 260, 305. 2 Quetif et Echard, Scriptores Ordinis Prae- dicatorum, pp. 10, 11. * Rvmer, Feed era, voL viii. p. 262. a.d. 1402, 1st June. REMARKS to accompany him to Athereston, near the Abbey of Merivale, there to await the king's arrival, and give him their ' support." This conversation Bernard revealed to Henry, and having offered to prove it on the body of Balshalf, who denied it, the king appointed a day for the trial by battle, which accordingly took place, and Balshalf was vanquished. The consequence was a free pardon to Bernard, which is dated on the 1st of June 1402, and in which the above circumstances are distinctly stated. The person of the name of Serle here mentioned as being with Richard in Scotland was un- doubtedly William Serle, gentleman of the bedchamber to Richard the Second, and one of the executors of his will. 4 He was infamous as one of the murderers of the Duke of Glou- cester, and was soon after engaged in a second plot to restore the king. These transactions took place in 1402, and sufficiently prove the little credit given by the people of England to the story of the king's death, and the funeral service which was enacted a* Westminster. / Next year, in 140S, vccurred tha I celebrated rebellion of the Percies, I which ended in the battle of Shrewsl^ bury and the death of Hotspur. Pre- vious to the battle the Earl of Wor- cester and Henry Percy drew up a manifesto, which was delivered to King Henry upon the field by two squires of Percy, in which Henry was charged with having caused Richard to perish by hunger, thirst, and cold, after fifteen days and nights of suffer- ings unheard of among Christians. Yet, however broad and bold this ac- cusation of murder, the principal per- sons who made it, and the only ones who survived its publication, after- wards altered their opinions, and em- ployed very different expressions. This manifesto was drawn up in the name of the old Earl of Northumber- land, although he had not then joined the army which fought afc Shrewsbury, and it was sanctioned and approved by Richard Scrope, archbishop of York. * Richard's Will, in Nichols, p. 200. It i* dated 16th April 1399. ON THE DEATH OF RICHARD II. 109 It commences, " Xos Henricu3 Percy, come3 Xorthumbrie, constabularius Angliae ; " and Hardyng the chronicler, who was then with Hotspur and Wor- cester in the field, as he himself in- forms us, adds, "that their quarrel was be goode advyse and coimsei.il of Maister Richard Scrope, archebishope of Yorke." Now, it will immediately be seen that two years after this, in 1405, Scrope and the Earl engaged in a second conspiracy against Henry: and in the articles which they then published, the positive statement in the manifesto as to Richard's death is materially changed. 1 I may here again use the words of Mr Aniyot, in his paper on the death of Richard the Second. " On turning," says he, "from this letter of defiance in 1403 to the loDg and elaborate manifesto of Archbishop Scrope and the Yorkshire insurgents in 1405, we shall find a considerable diminution in the force of the charge, not indeed that one single day is abated out of the fifteen allotted to the starvation, but the whole story is qualified by the dilut- ing words, ' nt vulgar iter dicitur.' So that in two years the tale, which had t>efore been roundly asserted as a fact, must have sunk into a mere rumour." 2 The accusation of the Percies, there- fore, which is the only broad and un- qualified charge brought against Henry by contemporaries, is not entitled to belief, as having been virtually aban- doned by the very persons to whom it owes its origin. This conspiracy of Hotspur having been put down in 1403, in 1404 Henry was again made miserable by new re- ports proceeding from Scotland re- garding the escape of Richard, and his being alive in that country. These rumours, we learn from Otter burn, not only prevailed amongst the popu- i We owe the publication of this curious And interesting manifesto to Sir Henry Ellis, Archseologia, toI. xvi. p. 141. M Tu ipsum dominum nostrum regem et tuum, proditorie in castro tuo de Pountefreite, sine consensu buo. sen judicio dominorum regni, per quin- decim dies et tot noctes, quod horrendum est inter Christianos audiri. fame, scitu. et frigore interfici fecisti. et murdro periri, untie per- Joratus es, et falsus," * Arclu*>logiaL toL xx. p. 436. lace, but were common even in the household of the king. 3 Serle, one of the gentlemen of Richard's bedcham- ber, who, as we have already seen, had repaired to Scotland, returned from that country with positive assertions that he had been with Richard, from whom he bright letters and c;m- ' munications. addressed under his privy seal to his friends in England. 4 Xaud. the old Countess of Oxford, a lady far advanced in life, and littlr likely t:> ecgage upon slight inf orma- tion in any plot, u caused it to be re- ported/' says Walsingham, " through- out E~ex V. y Ler i : i_\es:::s that Kir._- Richard was alive, and would soon come back to recover and assert his former rank. She caused also little stags of silver and gold to be fabri- cated, presents which the king was j wont to confer upon his most favourite I knights and friends, so that by dis- tributing these in place of the king she might the more easily entice the : most powerful men in that district to accede to her wishes. In this way,*" continues Wdfan^ham, '•she com- pelled many to believe that the king was alive, and the report was daily brought from Scotland that he had I there procured an asylum, and only waited for a convenient time when, with the strong assistance of the French and the Scots, he might re- cover the kingdom.'" 3 Walsingham then goes on to observe that the plo- of the countess was not only favoured by the deception of Serle. but that she had brought over to her belief several abbots of that country, who were tried and committed to prison : and that in particular a cle rk, who ! had asserted that he had lately talked with the king, describing minutely his dress and the place of the meeting, was rewarded by being drav.n and handed. 6 It is stated by Dr Lingard, in his account of this conspiracy," on the * Otterbum. p. 249. u Quo mortno c^ssavii in regno de vita Regis Ric : confabulat'o qure prius viguit non solum in vulgari populo sci etiam in ipsa dommis regis domo." * Walsingham p. 370. * Ibid. ■ Ibid. pp. 370. 371. I VoL iv. p. 395. 110 HISTORICAL REMARKS authority of Rymer's Fotdera. and the Rolls of Parliament, that Serle being disappointed of finding his master alive, prevailed upon a person named Warde to personate the king, and that many were thus deceived. Although, however, this personification by "Warde is distinctly asserted in Henry's pro- clamation, it is remarkable that it is not only omitted by Walsingham, but is inconsistent with his story ; and the total silence of this historian, as also that of Otterburn, (both of them con- temporaries.) induces me to believe that the story of Thomas Warde per- sonating King Richard was one of those forgeries which Henry, as I shall afterwards shew, did not scruple to commit when they could serve his purposes. What became afterwards of Warde cannot be discovered, but Serle was entrapped and taken by Lord Clifford, and according to Wal- singham, confessed that the person whom he had seen in Scotland was indeed very like the king, but not the king himself, although to serve his own ends he had persuaded many both in England and in Scotland that it was Richard. 1 It would be absurd, however, to give much weight to this confession, made by a convicted mur- derer, and spoken under the strongest motives to conciliate the mind of the king and obtain mercy for himself. To obtain this, the likeliest method was to represent the whole story re- garding Richard as a falsehood. It may be remarked also that in Otter- burn there is not a word of Serle' s confession, although his seizure and subsequent execution are particularly mentioned. 2 The conduct of the king immedi- ately after this is well worthy of re- mark, as we may discern in it, I think, a striking proof of his own convictions upon this mysterious subject. He issued instructions to certain commis- j sioners, which contain conditions to be insisted on as the basis of a treaty | with Scotland, 3 and in these there is no article regarding the delivery of l Walsingham, p. 371. » Otterburn. p. 249. * Rymer, Foedera, voL viii. p. 384 j this pretended king, although his pro- clamation, as far back as the 5th June 14 02, 4 shews that he was quite aware of his existence, and his constant in- j tercourse with that country must have ; rendered him perfectly familiar with | all the circumstances attending it. Is ! it possible to believe that Henry, if he was convinced that an impostor was harboured at the court of the Scottisli king, whose existence there had been : the cause of perpetual disquiet and rebellion in his kingdom, would not have insisted that he should be de- livered up, as Henry the Seventh stipulated in the case of Perkin War- beck? But Warbeck was an impos- tor, and the seventh Henry never ceased to adopt every expedient of getting him into his hands, whilst Henry the Fourth, at the very mo- | ment that he has put down a conspi« racy which derived its strength from 1 the existence of this mysterious per- son in Scotland, so far from stipulat- ing as to his delivery, does not think it prudent to mention his name. This difference in the conduct of the two monarchs, both of them distinguished for prudence and sagacity, goes far, I think, to decide the question, for, under the supposition that he who was kept in Scotland was the true Richard, it became as much an object in Henry the Fourth to induce the Scots to keep him where he was as in Henry the Seventh to get Perkin into his hands, and a wary silence was the line of policy which it was most natural to adopt. There is a remarkable passage in Walsingham regarding an occurrence which took place in this same year, 1404, which proves that in France, although Henry at first succeeded in persuading Charles the Sixth that his son-in-law, Richard, was dead, the de- ception was discovered, and in 1404 the French considered the king to be alive. " The French," says this writer, " at the same time came to the Isle of Wight with a large fleet, and sent some of their men ashore, who demanded supplies from the islanders in the name of King Richard and Queeu « Rymer, Foedera, vol viii. p. 261. ON THE DEATH OF RICHARD II. Ill Isabella, but they were met by the answer that Richard was dead. " 1 An additional proof of the general belief in France of Richard's escape and safety is to be found in a ballad composed by Creton, the author of the Metrical History of the Deposition of Richard the Second, which has been already quoted. We see from the passage giving a description of the ex- position of the body at St Paul's, that this author inclined to believe the whole a deception, and gave credit to the report, even then prevalent, that the king was alive. In 1405, however, he no longer entertains any doubt upon the subject, but addresses an epistle in prose to the king himself, expressing his joy at his escape, and his astonish- ment that he should have been able to survive the wretched condition to which he had been traitorously re- duced. I am sorry that the learned author, from whose notes I take this il- lustration, enables me only to give the commencement of the epistle, and the first stanza of the ballad; but even these, though short, are quite decisive. His epistle is thus inscribed : — " Ainsi come vraye amour requiert a tres noble prince et vraye Catholique Richart il'Engleterre, je, Creton ton liege ser- viteur te renvoye ceste Epistre." The first stanza of the ballad is equally conclusive. " 0 vous, Seignors de sang royal de France, Mettez la main aux armes vistement, Et vous avez certaine cognoissance Du roy qui tant a souffert de tourment Par faulx Anglois, qui traiteusement Lui ont tollu la domination ; Et puis de mort fait condempnation. Mais Dieu, qui est le vray juge es saintz Lui a sauve la vie. Main et tart [cieulx, €hascun le dit par tut, jeunes et vieulx. C'est d' Albion le noble Roy Richart." 2 Not long after the plot of Serle had been discovered and put down in 1404, there arose, in 1405, the conspiracy 1 w~alsingham, p. 370. " Gallici," says this writer, "circa tempus illud venerunt ante Vectam insulam cum magna classe, mise- runtque de suis quosdam qui peterent nomine regis Riohardi et Isabellae reginae tributum, vel speciale subsidium ab insulanis. Qui responderunt regem Richardum fuisse de- functum." 2 Metrical History of the Deposition of Richard the Second, with notes by Mr Webb. Archiuologia. vol. xx. p. 189. of the Earl of Northumberland and Archbishop Scrope, to which I have al- ready alluded. In their manifesto, pub- lished before the battle of Shrewsbury, they had accused Henry in unqualified terms of the murder, whereas now, in the "Articles of Richard Scrope against Henry the Fourth," 3 the addi- tion of the words " ut vulgariter did- tur," shews, as I have already observed, that the strong convictions of Henry's guilt had sunk by this time into vague rumour ; but the Parliamentary Rolls, 4 which give a minute and interesting account of the conspiracy, furnish us with a still stronger proof of North- umberland's suspicion of Richard's being alive, and prove, by the best of all evidence, his own words, that one prin- cipal object of the conspirators was to restore him, if this was found to be true. It appears from these authentic documents that in the month of May 1405 the Earl of Northumberland seized and imprisoned Sir Robert Waterton, " esquire to our lord the king," keeping him in strict confine- ment in the castles of Warkworth, Alnwick, Berwick, and elsewhere. The reader will recollect that, according to the evidence of Winton, Richard was delivered to two gentlemen of the name of Waterton and Swinburn, who spread a report of his escape ; and it is not improbable that the object of Northumberland, in the seizure of Waterton, was to arrive at the real truth regarding this story of his escape, to ascertain whether it was a mere fable, and whether the king actually had died in Pontefract castle, or might still be alive in Scotland, as had been confidently reported. It is of conse- quence, then, to observe Northumber- land's conduct and expressions regard- ing Richard, after having had Water- ton in his hands ; and of both we have authentic evidence in the Parliamen- tary Rolls. He, and the rest of the conspirators,* the Archbishop of York, Sir Thomas Mowbray, Sir John Fau- conberg, Lord Hastings, and their accomplices, sent three commissioners, named Lasingsby, Boy n ton, and Bur- 8 Wharton's Anglia Sacra, p. 362. pars ii. * Rolls of Parliament, vol. iii. p. 605. 112 HISTORICAL ton, into Scotland, to enter into a treaty with Robert the Third, who died soon after, and at the same time to communicate with certain French ambassadors, who, it appears, were at that time in Scotland; and the avowed object of this alliance is expressly de- clared by Northumberland in his let- ter to the Duke of Orleans. It is as follows : — " Most high and mighty prince, I recommend myself to your Lordship ; and be pleased to know that I have made known by my ser- vants, to Monsieur Jehan Chavbre- liack, Mr John Andrew, and John Ar- dinguill, called Reyner, now in Scot- land, and ambassadors of a high and excellent prince, the King of France, your lord and brother, my present intention and wish, which I have writ- ten to the king your brother. It is this, that with the assistance of God, with your aid, and that of my allies, I have embraced a firm purpose and intention to sustain the just quarrel of my sovereign lord King Richard, if he is alive, and if he is dead, to avenge his death ; and, moreover, to sustain the right and quarrel which my re- doubted lady, the Queen of England, your niece, may have to the kingdom of England, and for this purpose I have declared war against Henry of Lancaster, at present Regent of Eng- land." This letter, which will .be found at length in the note below, 1 i Rolls of Parliament, vol. iii. p. 605. " Tres haut et tres puissant prince, jeo me recomance a vostre seigneurie ; a laquelle plese asavoir que jay notifie par mes gentz, a Mon r . Johan Chavbreliak, Meistre Johan An- drew, et Johan Ardinguill dit Reyner, ambas- satours de tres haut et tres excellent prince le Roy de France, vostre sieur et frere, es- teantz en Escoce, mon entencion et voluntee, laquelle je escriptz au roy vostre dit sieur et frere ; laquelle est, que a l'aide de Dieu, de le vostre et des plusours mes allies, j'ay en- tencion et ferme purpos de sustener le droit quereHe de mon soverein sieur le Roy Rich- ard, s'il est vif, et si mort est, de venger sa mort, et aussi de sustener la droit querele que ma tres redoubte dame le Royne d'Eng- leterre, vostre niece, poit avoir reasonable- ment au Roiaeme d'Engleterre, et pur ceo ay moeve guerre a Henry de Lancastre, a pre- sent regent d'Angleterre ; et car jeo foy que vouz ames et sustenuz ceste querelle, et autres contre le dit Henry jeo vous prie tit require, que en ceo vous moi voilles aider et soccorer, et ausi moi aider eius REMARKS is written from Berwick, and although the precise date is not given, it appears, by comparison with other deeds con- nected with the same conspiracy pre- served in the Fcedera and the Rotuli Scotise, to have been written about the 1 0th of June. The Parliamentary Rolls go on to state that, in this same month of June, Northumberland and his ac- complices seized Berwick, and traitor- ously gave it up to the Scots, the enemies of t'he king, to be pillaged and burnt. It is of importance to attend to the state of parties in Scotland at this time. The persons in that country with whom Northumberland confede- rated to sustain the quarrel of King Richard were the loyal faction opposed to Albany, and friends to Prince James, whom that crafty and ambi- tious statesman now wished to sup- plant. Albany himself was at this moment in strict alliance with Henry the Fourth, as is shewn by a manu- script letter preserved in the British Museum, dated from Falkland on the 2d of June, and by a mission of Rothe- say herald, to the same monarch, on ' the 10th of July. 2 YWardlaw, bishopx of St Andrews, Sinclair, earl of Orkney, and Sir David Fleming of Cumber- nauld, to whose care, it will be recol- lected, Winton informs us Richard of England had been committed, opposed themselves to Albany, and hawing de- termined, for the sake of safety, to send Prince James to France, entered, le tres haut et tres excellent prince le Roy de France, vostre dit sieur et frere, que les choses desquelles jeo lui escriptz, et dont vous enformeront au plain les ditz ambassa- tours, preignent bone et brief conclusion, quar en vite, en tout ceo que jeo vous pourra servier a sustener de par decea les ditz quer- elles encontre le dit Henry, jeo le ferra volun- tiers de tout mon poair. Et vous plese de croiere leo ditz ambassatours de ceo qu'ils vous dirront de par moy ; le Saint Esprit tres haut et tres puissant prince vous ait en sa garde. Escript a Berwyck, &c. " A tres haut et tres puissant prince le Due d'Orleans, Count de Valois et de Blois, et Beau- mond et Sieur de Courcy." No date is given, but it immediately succeeds June 21, 1405. 2 Pinkerton, Sist. vol. i. p. 82. In the Cottonian Catalogue, p. 498, No. 114, I find a letter from Robert, duke of Albany/ to Henry the Fourth, thanking him for his good treat- ment of Murdoch, his son, and the favourable audiences given to Rothesay, his herald, dated Falkland, June 4, 1405. THE DEATH i as we see, into a strict alliance with the Earl of Northumberland, in his conspiracy for overturning the govern- ment of Henry the Fourth. The events which followed imme- diately after this greatly favoured the usurpation of Albany. Prince James was taken* on his passage to France, probably in consequence of a concerted plan between Albany and Henry. David Fleming, according to Bowerj 1 was attacked and slain on his return from accompanying James to the ship, by the Douglases, then in alliance with Albany ; and the old king, Robert the Third, died, leaving the government to the uncontrolled management of his ambitious brother, whilst his son, now king, was a prisoner in the Tower. Meanwhile, Sinclair, the earl of Ork- ney, joined Northumberland at Ber- wick ; 2 but the rebellion of that potent baron and his accomplices having en- tirely failed, he and the Lord Bardolf fled into Scotland, from which, after a short while, discovering an intention upon the part of Albany to deliver them into the hands of Henry, they escaped into Wales. We know, from the Chamberlain Accounts, that imme- diately after the death of Robert the Third Albany obtained possession of the person of Richard. In this way, by a singular combination of events, while the Scottish governor held in his hands the person who, of all others, was most formidable to Henry, this monarch became possessed of James the First of Scotland, the persorrtf all others to be most dreaded by the governor. The result was, that Al- | 1 If we believe Walsingham, pp. 374, 375, however, the chronology is different. Flem- ing was not slain till some months afterwards, and lived to receive Northumberland and Bardolf on their flight from Berwick ; after which he discovered to them a plot of Al- bany's for their being delivered up to Henry, and, by his advice, they fled into Wales, in revenge for which Fleming was slain by the party of Albany.* 2 John, son of Henry, says, in a letter to his father, (Vesp. F. vii. f. 95, No. 2,) that Orkney had joined Northumberland and Bar- dolf at Berwick. The letter is dated 9th June, in all appearance 1405, says Pinkerton, vol. i. p. 52. The circumstances mentioned prove that it was, without doubt, in 1405. Ypodigma Neujjtria, p. 666. VOL. II. OF RICHARD II. 113 bany and Henry, both skilful politi- cians, in their secret negotiaiaons could play off their two royal prisoners against each other ; Albany consenting to detain Richard so long as Henry agreed to keep hold of James. The consequence of this policy was just what might have been expected. : Richard died in Scotland, and James, so long as Albany lived, never returned to his throne or to his kingdom ; al- though, during the fifteen years of Albany's usurpation, he had a strong party in his favour, and many attempts were made to procure his restoration It seems to me, therefore, that this circumstance of Albany having Rich- ard in his hands furnishes us with a satisfactory explanation of two points, which have hitherto appeared inex- plicable. I mean, the success with which the governor for fifteen years defeated every negotiation for the re^ turn of James, and the immitigable severity and rage which this monarch on his return, and throughout his reign, evinced towards every member of the family of Albany. Even after this grievous disaster of Northumberland in 1405, the reports regarding Richard being still alive re- vived, and broke out in the capital ; and Percy, the indefatigable enemy of Henry, along with Lord Bardolf, made a last attempt to overturn his government. "At this time/' says Walsingham, .speaking of the year 1407, " placards were fixed up in many places in London, which declared that King Richard was alive 7> and that he | would soon come to claim his king dom with glory and magnificence ; but not long thereafter the foolish in- ventor of so daring a contrivance was taken and punished, which allayed the joy that many had experienced in con- sequence of this falsehood." 3 Who the person was whom Walsingham here designates as the inventor of these falsehoods does not appear from any part of his own history, or from any of the public papers in the Foedera or the Parliamentary Rolls; but we may connect these reports, on good grounds I think, with Percy and Lord Bar- s Walsingham, p. 376. H HISTORICAL REMARKS 114 dolf, v\rho, in 1408, proceeded from Scotland into Yorkshire, and after an ineffectual attempt to create a general insurrection in that country, were en- tirely defeated, Northumberland being slain, and Bardolf • dying soon after of his wounds. The reader will recol- lect, perhaps, a passage already quoted from Bower, 1 in which this historian states that, amongst other honourable persons who fled with Northumber- land and Lord Bardolf into Scotland, was the Bishop of Bangor ; and I may mention it as a striking confirmation of the accuracy of this account, that the Bishop of Bangor, according to Walsingham, was taken in the battle along with Percy, and that as the historian argues, he deserved to have his life spared because he was unarmed. His fellow-priest, the Abbot of Hayles, who was likewise in the field, and had changed the cassock for the steel coat, was hanged. 2 When Bower is thus found correct in ono important parti- cular, I know not why we are entitled to distrust him in that other limb of the same sentence which mentions the existence of Richard in Scotland. It was originally my intention to have entered into an examination of the diplomatic correspondence which took place subsequent to this period between Albany, the governor of Scot- land, and Henry the Fourth and Fifth ; in which, I think, it would not be difficult to point out some transactions creating a presumption that Albany was in possession of the true King Richard. The limits, however, within which I must confine these observa- tions will not permit me to accomplish this; and any intelligent reader who will take the trouble to study this correspondence as it is given in the Rotuli Scotise will not find it difficult to discover and arrange the proofs for himself. I must be permitted, there- fore, to step at once from this con- spiracy of Northumberland, which took place in 1408, to the year 1415, when Henry the Fifth was preparing for his invasion of France. At this moment, when the king saw himself at the head i Fordun a Goodal vol. ii. p. 441. « Walsingham, p. 377. of a noble army, and when everything was ready for the embarkation of the troops, a conspiracy of a confused and obscure nature was discovered, which, like every other conspiracy against the government of Henry the Fourth and Henry the Fifth, involved a supposi- tion that Richard the Second might still be alive. The principal actors in this plot were Richard, earl of Cam- bridge, brother to the duke of York, and cousin to the king, Henry, lord Scroop of Marsham, and Sir Thomas Grey of Heton in Northumberland; and the only account which we can obtain of it is to be found in a confes- sion of the Earl of Cambridge, pre- served in the Foedera Anglise, and in the detail of the trial given in the Rolls of Parliament, both papers evi- dently fabricated under the eye of Henry the Fifth, and bearing upon them marks of forgery and contradic- tion. According to these documents, the object of the conspirators was to carry Edmund, the earl of March, into Wales, and there proclaim him king, as being the lawful heir to the crown, in place of Henry of Lancaster, who was stig- matised as a usurper. This, however, was only to be done, provided (to use the original words of the confession of the Earl of Cambridge) "yonder manis persone, wych they callen Kyng Rich- ard, had nauth bene alyve, as Y wot wel that he wys not alyve." 3 The absurdity and inconsistency of this must be at once apparent. In the event of Richard being dead, the Earl of March was without doubt the next heir to the crown, and had teen de- clared so by Richard himself ; and the avowed object of the conspirators being to place this prince upon the throne, why* they should delay to do this, till they ascertain whether the person calling himself King Richard is alive, is not very easily seen, especially as they declare, in the same breath, that they are well aware this person is not alive. Yet this may be almost pronounced consistency, when com pared with the contradiction which follows : for we find it stated, in al- » Foedera, yoI- is. a. 300. ON THE DEATH OF RICHARD II. 115 most the next sentence, by the Earl I of Cambridge, that he was in the knowledge of a plan entered into by Umfraville and Wederyngton, for the purpose of bringing in this very " per- eone wych they named Kyng Richard/' and Henry Percy, out of Scotland, with a power of Scots, with whose assistance they hoped to be able to give battle to the king, for which treason- able intention the earl submits himself wholly to the king's grace, It is dif- ficult to know what to make of this tissue of inconsistency. The Earl of March is to be proclaimed king, pro- vided it be discovered that the im- postor who calls himself Richard is not alive, it being well known that he is dead, and although dead, ready, it would seem, to march out of Scotland with Umfraville and Wederyngton, and give battle to Henry. 1 The account of the same conspiracy given in the Parliamentary Rolls is equally contradictory, and in its con- clusion still more absurd. It declares that the object of the conspirators was to proclaim the Earl of March king, "in the event that Richard the Second, king of England, was actually dead ; " and it adds, that the Earl of Cam- bridge and Sir Thomas Grey had know- ledge of a design to bring Thomas of Trumpyngton, an idiot, from Scot- land, to counterfeit the person of King Richard, who, with the assistance of Henry Percy and sume others, was to give battle to Henry. 2 It was already remarked, in the account of the con- spiracy of the old Countess of Oxford, in 1404, that the assertion then made by Henry the Fourth, in a proclama- tion in Rymer, that Thomas Warde of Trumpyngton " pretended that he was King Richard," was one of those forgeries which this monarch did not scruple to commit to serve his political purposes; none of the contemporary historians giving the least hint of the appearance of an impostor at this time, and Serle, in his confession, not having a word upon the subject. Besides, we hear nothing of Warde till 1404 ; and we know, from Henry's own proclama- * Foedera, vol. ix. p. 300. * Parliamentary Rolls, vol. iv. p. 66. ' [ tion, that Richard the Second was stated to be alive in Scotland as early as June 1402; 3 whilst, in 1404, when Warde is first mentioned, he comes before us as having personated the king in England, or rather as then in the act of personating the king in England. Here, too, by Henry the Fourth's description of him in 1404, he is an Englishman, and in his sound senses; how, then, in 1415 does he come to be a Scotsman, and an idiot ? The truth seems to be, that Henry the Fifth, in . manufacturing these con- fessions of the Earl of Cambridge, having found it stated by his father that Thomas Warde of Trumpyngton, in 1404, pretended to be King Richard, and that " there was an idiot in Scot- land who personated the king," joined the two descriptions into one porten* tous person, Thomas of Trumpyngton, a Scottish idiot, who was to enact Richard the Second, and at the head of an army to give battle to the hero of Agincourt. Most of my readers, I doubt not, will agree with me in think-; ing that, instead of an idiot, this gentle- man from Trumpyngton must have been a person of superior powers. It is impossible, in short, to believe for a moment that the accounts in the Parliamentary Rolls and in Rymer give us the truth, yet Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey were executed ; and the summary manner in which their trial was conducted is as extraordinary as the accusation. A commission was issued to J ohn, earl Marshal, and eight others, empowering any two of them, William Lasingsby, or Edward Hull, being one of the number, to sit as judges for the inquiry of all treasons carried on within the county by the oaths of a Hampshire jury. Twelve persons, whose names Carte observes were never heard of before, having been impannelled, the three person* accused were found guilty on the single testimony of the constable of Southampton castle, who sw*ore that, having spoke to each of them alone , upon the subject, they had confessed, their guilt, and thrown themselves on the king's mercy Sir Thomas Grey I 3 Rymer, vol. viii. p. 201. HISTORICAL REMARKS lir, was condemned upon this evidence, of which, says Carte, it will not be easy to produce a precedent in any former reign ; but the Earl of Cambridge and Lord Scroop pleaded their peerage, and Henry issued a new commission to the Duke of Clarence, who sum- moned a jury of peers. Thi3, how- ever, was a mere farce ; for the com- mission having had the records and process of the former jury read before them, without giving the parties ac- cused an opportunity of pleading their defence, or even of appearing before their judges, condemned them to death, &e sentence being carried into instant Execution. It is obvious, from the haste, the studied concealment of the evidence, the injustice and the extraordinary severity of the sentence, that the crime of Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey was one of a deep dye ; and, even in the garbled and contradictory accounts given in the Parliamentary Rolls, we may discern, I think, that their real crime was not the design of setting up March as king, but their having entered into a correspondence with Scotland (for the restoration of Richard the Second. That the story regarding March was disbelieved is indeed shewn by Henry himself, who instantly par- doned him, and permitted him to sit as one of the jury who tried Scroop and Cambridge ; but that Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, were in possession of some important secret, and were thought guilty of some dark treason which made it dangerous for them to live, is quite apparent. 1 It seems to me that this dark story may be thus explained : Scroop and 1 We have seen that Henry directs that one of the two justices who are to sit on the trial shall be either Edward Hull or William Lasingsby; and it may perhaps be recol- lected that William Lasingsby, Esq., was him- self engaged with Northumberland, in 1405, in the conspiracy for the restoration of Richard, being one of the commissioners sent into Scotland to treat with Robert the Third and the French ambassadors. It is probable, therefore, that he knew well whether Richard of Scotland was, or was not, the true Richard ; and his being selected as one of the judges makes it still more probable that 'the real crime of the conspirators was a project for the restoration of the kiug. Cambridge, along with Percy, Umfra ville, and AVederyngton, had entered into a correspondence with the Scot* tish faction who were opposed to Albany, the object of which was to restore Richard, and to obtain the re- turn of James, Albany himself being then engaged in an amicable treaty with Henry, with the double object of obtaining the release of his son Mur- doch, who was a prisoner in England, and of detaining James the Fir.st in captivity. At this moment the con- spiracy of Cambridge was discovered ; and Henry, in order to obtain full in- formation for the conviction of the principals, pardoned Percy, and the two accomplices Umfraville and Wederyng- ton, and obtained from them a dis- closure of the plot. He then agreed with Albany to exchange Murdoch for Percy; but we learn, from the MS. instructions regarding this exchange,, which are quoted by Pinkerton, 2 that a secret clause was added, which de- clared that the exchange was only to take place provided " Percy consent to fulfil what Robert Umfraville and John Witherington have promised Henry in his name." Percy's promise- to Henry was, as I conjecture, to re- veal the particulars of the plot, and renounce all intercourse with Richard. This conspiracy was discovered and put down in 1416, and the campaign which followed was distinguished by the battle of Agincourt, in which, amongst other French nobles, the Duke of Orleans was taken prisoner, and became a fellow captive with James the First. In July 1417, Henry the Fifth again embarked for Norman- dy ; but when engaged in preparations for his second campaign he detected a new plot, the object of which was to bring in the " jbLamuct" of Scotland,/ to use the emphatic expression vvhich he himself employs. I need scarcely remark that the meaning of the old English word Mamuet, or Mammet, is a puppet, a figure dressed up for the purpose of deception ; in other words, an impostor. The following curious letter, which informs us of this con- spiracy, was published by Hearne, in a VoL i. p. 97*. ON THE DEATH OF RICHARD II. 117 ■his Appendix to the Life of Henry the Fifth, by Titus Livius of Forojulii: — "Furthermore I wole that ye com- mend with my brother, with the Chan- cellor, with my cousin of Northumber- land, and my cousin of Westmoreland, and that ye set a good ordinance for my north marches ; and specially for the Duke of Orleans, and for- all the remanent of my prisoners of France, and also for the King of Scotland. For as I am secretly informed by a man of right notable estate in this lond, that there hath bene a man of the Duke of Orleans in Scotland, and accorded with the Duke of Albany, that this next summer he shall bring in the Mamuet of Scotland, to stir what he may; and also, that there should be f oundin wayes to the having away especially of the Duke of Orleans, and also of the king, as well as of the remanent of my forsaid prisoners, that God do defend. Wherefore I wole that the Duke of Orleance be kept still within the castle of Pomfret, without going to Robertis place, or any other disport. For it is better he lack his disport, than we were dis- teyned of all the remanent." 1 With regard to Albany's accession to 'this plot, it is probable that Henry was misinformed; and that the party which accorded with Orleans was the faction opposed to the governor, and desirous of the restoration of James*. The letter is valuable in another way, as it neither pronounces the Mamuet to be an idiot, nor identifies him with Thomas of Trumpyngton. There* is yet, however, another wit- ness to Richard's being alive in 1417, whose testimony is entitled to the greatest credit, not only from the character of the individual himself but from the peculiar circumstance g i Titi Livii Forojul. Vita Henrici V. p. 99- This letter, also, is the first in that very in- teresting publication of Original Letters, which we owe to Sir Henry Ellis. Neither this writer, however, nor Hearne have added any note upon the expression the Mamuet of Scotland, which must be obscure to an ordi- nary reader. The letter itself, and the proof it contains in support of this theory of Richard's escape, was pointed out to me by my valued and learned friend, Adam Urqu- hart, Esq. under which his evidence was given — I mean Lord Cobham, the famous sup- porter of the Wickliffites, or Lollards, who was burnt for heresy on the 25th of December 1417. When this un- fortunate nobleman was seized, and brought before his judges to stand his trial, he declined the authority of the . court ; and being asked his reason, answered, that he could acknowledge no judge amongst them, so long as his liege lord King Richard was alive in Scotland. The passage in Walsing- ham is .perfectly clear and decisive : — " Qui confestim cum summa superba et abusione respondit, se non habere judicem inter eos, vivente ligio Do- mino suo, in regno Scotise, rege Rich- ardo ; quo responso accepto, quia non opus erat testibus, sine mora jussus- est trahj et suspendi super furcas at- que comburi, pendens in eisdern." 2 Lord Cobham, therefore, at. the trying moment when he was about to answer to a capital charge, and when he knew that the unwelcome truth which he told was of itself enough to decide his sentence, declares that Richard the Second, his lawful prince, is then alive in Scotland. It is necessary for a mo- ment to attend to the life and cha- racter of this witness, in order fully to appreciate the weight due to hia testimony. It is not too much to say that, in point of truth and integrity, he had borne the highest character during his whole life; and it is inir possible to imagine for an instant that he would have stated anything as a fact w T hich he did not solemnly believe to be true. What, then, is the fair in- ference to be drawn from the dying declaration of such a witness? He had sat in parliament, and had been in high employments under Richard the Second, Henry the Fourth, and Henry the Fifth. He was sheriff of Herefordshire in the eighth year of Henry the Fourth ; and as a peer, had summons to parliament among the barons in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth of that king's reign, and in the first of Henry the Fifth. He was, therefore, in high confidence and em- ployment, and could not have been 2 Walsingham, p. f,01. 118 HISTORICAL ' ignorant of the measures adopted by- Henry the Fourth to persuade the people of England that Richard was dead. He sat in the parliament of 1399, which deposed him ; there is every reason to believe he was one of the peers summoned in council on the 9th of February 1399-1400, only four days previous to Richard's reputed death ; and that he sat in the succeed- ing parliament, which met on the 21st of January 1401. The exhibition of the body at St Paul's, where all the nobility and the barons attended ; the private burial at Langley, and the pro- clamations of Henry, declaring that Richard was dead and buried, must have been perfectly well known to him ; and yet, in the face of all this, he declares in his dying words, pro- nounced in 1417, that Richard the Second, his liege lord, is then alive in Scotland. We have, therefore, the testimony of Lord Cobham that the reputed death of Richard in Ponte- fract castle, the masses performed over the dead body at St Paul's, and its burial at Langley, were all impudent fabrications. It is, I think, impossible to conceive evidence more clear in its enunciation, more solemn, considering the time when it was spoken, and, for the same reason, more perfectly un- suspicious. I know not that I can better con- clude these remarks upon this mys- terious subject than by this testimony of Lord Cobham in support of the hypothesis which I have ventured to maintain. Other arguments and illus- trations certainly might be added, but my limits allow me only to hint at them. It might be shewn, for instance, that not long after Sir David Fleming had obtained possession of the person &f Richard, Henry the Fourth engaged in a secret correspondence with this baron, and granted him a passport to have a personal interview ; it might be shewn, also, that in 1404 Robert the Third, in his reply to a letter of Henry the Fourth, referred the English king to David Fleming for some par- ticular information ; that Henry was about the same time carrying on a private negotiation with Lord Mont- REMARKS, &c. gomery, to whom the reader will re 1 collect Richard had been delivered ; J whilst there is evidence that, with the Lord of the Isles, and with the chap- lain of that pirate prince in whose dominions Richard was first discovered, the King of England had private meet- ings, which appear to have produced a perceptible change in the policy of Henry's government towards Scotland. I had intended, also, to point out the gross forgeries of which Henry had condescended to be guilty, in his public account of the deposition of Richard, in order to shew the very slender credit which is due to his assertions regarding the death and burial of this prince ; but I must content myself with once more referring to Mr Webb's Notes on the Metrical History of the Deposition of Richard, from which I have derived equal instruction and amusement. In conclusion, I may observe, that whatever side of the question my readers may be inclined to adopt, an extraordinary fact, or rather series of facts, is established, which have hither- to been overlooked by preceding his- torians. If disposed to embrace the opinion which I have formed after a careful and, I trust, impartial exa- mination of the evidence, the circum- stance of Richard's escape, and subse- quent death in Scotland, is a new and interesting event in the history of both countries. If, on the other hand, I they are inclined still to believe the ordinary accounts of the death of this monarch in 1399, it must be admitted, for it is proved by good evidence, that a mysterious person appeared suddenly I in the dominions of Donald of the J Isles ; that he was challenged by one who knew Richard as being the king in disguise : that he denied it steadily, and yet was kept in Scotland in an honourable captivity for eighteen years, at great expense ; that it was believed in England, by those best calculated to have accurate information on the subject, that he was the true King Richard ; and that, although his being detained and recognised in Scotland was the cause of repeated conspiracies for his restoration, which shook the 1436.] . JAMES II. government both of Henry the Fourth and Henry the Fifth, neither of these monarchs ever attempted to get this impostor into their hands, or to expose the cheat by insisting upon his being delivered up, in those various nego- tiations as to peace or truce which took place between the two kingdoms. This last hypothesis presents to me difficulties which appear at present insurmountable ; and I believe, there- fore, that the chapel at Stirling con- tained the ashes of the true Richard. I entertain too much respect, how- 119 ever, for the opinion of the many learned writers who have preceded me, and for the public judgment which has sanctioned an opposite belief for more than four hundred years, to ven- ture, without further discussion, to transplant this romantic sequel to the story of Richard the Second into the sacred field of history. And it is for this reason that, whilst I have acknow- ledged the royal title in the Notes and Illustrations, I have expressed myself more cautiously and hypothetically in the body of the work. 1 CHAPTER, III. JAMES THE SECOND. 1436—1460. The assassination of James the First, and the succeeding minority of his con, a boy of only six years of age, was, if not a triumph to the majority of the Scottish nobility, at least an event eminently favourable to their power and pretensions. His murder- ers, it is true, whether from the in- stant execration which bursts out against a deed of so dark and sanguin- ary a character, or from the personal revenge of the queen-mother, were punished with speedy and unmitigated severity. Yet," when the first senti- ments of horror and amazement were abated, and the Scottish aristocracy begun to regard the consequences likely to arise from the sudden de- struction which had overtaken the king in the midst of his schemes for the abridgment of their exorbitant power, it is impossible but that they should have contemplated the event of his death with secret satisfaction. The sentiments so boldly avowed by Graham in the midst of his tortures, that the day was near at hand when r>hey would bless his memory for hav- ing rid them of a tyra"jttj must have forcibly recurred to their minds ; and when they regarded the fate of the Earl of March, so summarily and cruelly stript of his immense posses- sions, and contemplated the magnitude of James's plans, and the stern firm- ness with which, in so short a reign, he had carried them into effect, we can readily believe that the recovery of the privileges which they had lost, and the erection of some permanent barriers, against all future encroach- 1 The critical reader is referred to an able answer to these " Remarks," by Mr Amyot, in the twenty-third vol. of the Archaeologia, p. 277 ; to some additional observations by the same gentleman, Archaeologia, vol. xxv. p. 394; to a critical "Note," by Sir James Macintosh, added to the first volume of his " History of England ;" to a "Dissertation on the Manner and Period of the Death of Rich- ard the Second," by Lord Dover; to observa- tions on the same historical problem, by Mr Riddell, in a volume of Legal and Antiquarian Tracts, published at Edinburgh in 1835 ; and to some remarks on the same point by Sir Harris Nicolas in the Preface to the first volume of his valuable work, the " Proceed- ings and Ordinances of the Privy Council o/ England," Preface, pp. 29 to 32. 120 merits of the crown, would be the great objects to which, under the mi- nority of his successor, they would direct their attention. It happened also, unfortunately for Scotland, that such a scheme for the resumption of power by the feudal nobility — in other words, for the return of anarchy and disorder throughout the country — was but too likely to prove successful. The improvements introduced by James the First — the judicial machinery for the more per- fect administration of justice ; the laws for the protection of the lower orders against the insolence of the great; the provisions for the admis- sion of the representatives of the com- mercial classes into parliament, and for the abridgment of the military strength of the great feudal lords — were rather in tho state of prospective changes than of measures whose salu- tary effects had been tried by time, .and to which the nation had become attached by long usage. These im- provements had been all carried into effect within the short space of four- teen years ; they still bore upon them the hateful gloss of novelty and inno- vation, and, no longer supported by the firmness of the monarch with whom they originated, they could present but a feeble resistance to the attacks of the numerous and powerful classes whose privileges they abridged, and with whose ambition their con- tinuance was incompatible. The pros- pect of recovering, during a long minority, the estates and the feudal perquisites which had. been resumed or cut down by James the First ; the near view of successful venality which constantly accompanied the possession of the great offices under an infant sovereign ; and the facility in the exe- cution of such schemes which every feudal government offered to any fac- tion who were powerful or fortunate enough to possess themselves of the person of the king, rendered the period, upon which we now enter one of great excitement amongst the Scottish nobles. The greater chiefs amongst them adopted every means to increase their personal strength and impor- HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [.Chap. III. tance, recruiting the ranks of their armed vassals and followers, and plac- ing persons of tried fidelity in their castles and strongholds; the lesser barons attached themselves to the more powerful by those leagues or bands which bound them by the strictest ties to work the will of their lord ; and both classes set themselves attentively to watch the course of events, and to take immediate advan- tage of those sudden changes and emergencies which were so likely to arise in a country thrown into the utmost dismay and confusion by the murder of the sovereign. But although such appear to have been the low and interested feelings of the greater proportion of the no- bility, we are not to suppose that the support of the crown and the cause of order and good government were ut- terly abandoned. They still retained many friends in the dignified clergy, as well as among those learned and able Churchmen from whose ranks the legal officers of the crown, and the diplomatic agents who transacted all foreign missions and alliances, were generally selected; and they could undoubtedly reckon upon the attach- ment of the mercantile and commer- cial classes, now gradually rising into importance, and upon the affectionate support of the great body of the lower orders, in so far as they were left untrammelled by the fetters of their feudal servitude. Whilst such were the sentiments which animated the various bodies in the state upon the murder of the king, it may easily be supposed that terror was the first feeling which arose in the bosom of the queen-mother. Ut- terly uncertain as to the ramifications of the conspiracy, and trembling lest the same vengeance which had fallen upon the father should pursue the son, she instantly fled with the young prince to Edinburgh, nor did she" esteem herself secure till she had re- treated with her charge within tli£ castle. The command of this fortress, rendered now a place of far higher importance than usual by its affording a retreat to the queen and the prince, ,1436-8.] JAM was at this time in the hands of "William Crichton, baron of Crichton, and master of the household to the late king, a person of great craft and ambition, and who, although still in the ranks of the lower nobility, was destined to act a principal part in the future history of the times. 1 After the first panic had subsided, a parliament assembled at Edinburgh within less than a month after the murder of the king, and measures ap- pear to have been adopted for the government of the country during the minority. The first care, however, was the coronation of the young prince, and for this purpose the principal nobles and barons of the kingdom, with the dignified clergy and a great multitude of the free tenants of the crown, conducted him in procession from the castle of Edinburgh to the abbey of Holyrood, where he was crowned and anointed amid demon- strations of universal loyalty. 2 Under any other circumstances than those in which James succeeded, the long-established custom of conducting the ceremony of the coronation at the Abbey of Scone would not have been departed from, but its proximity to the scene of the murder rendered it dangerous and suspected; and as de- lay was equally hazardous, the queen 1 Registrum Magni Sigilli, B. III. No. 161. His first appearance is in Rymer, vol. x. p. 309, amongst the nobility who met James the First at Durham, on his return from his long detention in England- See also Crawford's Officers of State, p. 25, for his title of Magis- ter Hospitii, as proved by a charter then in the possession of Sir Peter Fraser of Dores, Bart. See also MS. Chamberlain Rolls, July 4, 1438. "Etpro quinque barellis de Ham- burgh salmonum salsorum, liberatis per com- putantem et liberatis Domino Willielmo de Crechtoun, custodi Castri de Edinburgh, fa- tenti receptum super computum, ad expensas domini nostri regis moderni, de quibus dictus dominus respondebit ix. lib." Again, MS. Chamberlain Rolls, July 5. 1438. "Per liber- acionem factam Domino Willielmo de Crech- toun, Vice-comiti et custodi Castri de Edin- burgh, ut patet per literam suam sub signeto ostensam super computum iiii" librarum de quibus asserit quinquaginta libras receptas ad expensas coronacionis domini nostri regis moderni." 2 "Cum maximo applausu et apparatu ad laudem Dei et i^ticiam tocius populi." — Acts of the Parliament oi Scotland, vol. ii. p. 31. 5S II. 121 was obliged to purchase security and speed at the expense of somewhat of that solemnity which would other- wise have accompanied the pageant. Two important measures followed the coronation. The first, the nomination of the queen-mother to undertake the custody of the king till he had attained his majority, and to become at the same time the guardian of the prin- cesses, his sisters, with an annual al- lowance of four thousand marks; 3 th'j second, the appointment of Archibald, fifth earl of Douglas and duke of Tou- raine, to be lieutenant-general of the kingdom. 4 This baron, undoubtedly the most powerful subject in Scotland, arid whose revenue from his estates at home and in France was probably nearly equal to that of his sovereign was the son of Archibald, fourth earl of Douglas, who was slain at the battle* of Verneuil, and of Margaret, daugh ter to King Robert the Third, so that he was nephew of the late king. Hi* power, however, proved to be of short duration, for he lived little more than a year after his nomination to this high office. It is unfortunate that no perfect record has been preserved of the pro- ceedings of the first parliament of James the Second. From a mutilated fragment which remains, it is certain that it was composed, as usual, of the clergy, barons, and commissaries of the burghs, and that all alienations of lands, as well as of movable property, which happened to be in the posses- sion of the late king at his death, and which had been made without consent of the three estates, were revoked, whilst an inventory of the goods and treasure in the royal coffers was di- rected to be taken, and an injunction given that no alienation of the king's lands or property should be made to 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 54. 4 Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock, in his account in Exchequer of the rent of Duehale in Ward, takes credit for the following payment : — "Et per solucionem factam Domino" Comiti de Douglas, locum tenenti domini regis, in partem feodi sui de anno. 1438, dicto domino locum tenenti fatenti receptum super com- putum sexaginta librarum." — MS. Chamber- lain Rolls, sub anno 1438. 122 HISTORY OF any person whatever without the con- sent of the three estates, until he had reached his full age of twenty-one years. 1 We may conjecture on strong grounds that the subjects to which the general council next turned their at- tention were the establishment of a peace with England, and the renewal of amicable relations with the court of France and the commercial states of Holland. With regard to peace with England, various circumstances concurred in the condition of that country to facilitate the negotiation. Under the minority of Henry the Sixth, the war with France, and the struggle to maintain unimpaired the conquests of Henfy the Fifth, required a concentration of the national strength and resources which must have been greatly weak- ened by any invasion upon the part of Scotland ; and the Cardinal of Win- chester, who was at this time pos- sessed of the principal power in the government, was uncle to the Queen of Scotland. Commissioners were ac- cordingly despatched by the Scottish parliament, 2 who, after a meeting with the English envoys, found little diffi- culty in concluding a nine years' truce between the two kingdoms, which was appointed to commence on the 1st of May 1438, and to terminate on the 1st of May 1447. 3 Its provisions contain some interesting enactments regarding the commercial intercourse between the two countries, deformed indeed by those unwise restrictions which were universal at this time through- out Europe, yet evincing an ardent anxiety for the prosperity of the country. In addition to the common stipulations against seizing vessels driven into port, and preventing .shipwrecked mariners from returning home, it was agreed that if any ves- sel belonging to either country were 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 31. 2 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. pp. 679, 680, 684. s Chamberlain MS. Rolls computum Johan- nis cle Fyfe Receptoris firmarum de Schines, etc. 44 Et allocatur pro expensis Dominorum de Gordoun, et de Montegomeri ac aliorum ambassatorum regni factis in Augliapro treu- gis inter regna ineundis. iiii" iijiib vi=» viiR" 1 SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. carried by an enemy into a port of the other kingdom, no sale of the vessel or cargo should be permitted without the consent of the original owners ; that no vessel driven into any port should be liable to arrest for any debt of the king or of any other person, but that all creditors should have safe- conducts in order to sue for and re- cover their debts with lawful damages and interest; that in cases of ship- wreck the property should be pre- served and delivered to the owners; that when goods were landed for the purpose of repairing the ship they might be reshipped in the same, or in any other vessel without payment of duties ; and that vessels of either king- dom putting into ports of the other in distress for provisions might sell goods for that purpose without being chargeable with customs for the rest of the cargo. It was finally provided that no wool or woolfels should be carried from one kingdom to the other, either by land or by water ; and that in all cases of depredation not only the chief offenders, but also the receivers and encouragers, and even the com- munities of the towns in which the plundered goods were received, should be liable for compensation to the suf- ferers, who might sue for redress be- fore the conservators of the truce or the wardens of the marches. The principal of these conservators for England were the king's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, and his kinsman, the Duke of Norfolk, with the Earls of Salisbury, Northumberland, and West- moreland; and for Scotland, Archi- bald, earl of Douglas and duke of Tou- raine, with the Earls of Angus, Craw- ford, and Avendale, and the Lords Gordon, Maxwell, Montgomery, and Crichton. 4 Care was taken to send an intimation of the truce to the Scot- tish merchants who were resident in Holland and in Zealand ; and with re- gard to France, although there can be little doubt from the ancient alliance with Scotland, and the marriage of the sister of the king to the Dauphin, * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. x. p. 605. Rotuh Scotia), vol. ii. pp. 306, 310. M'PhersonV Aunals of Commerce, vol. i. p. 654. 1438.] that the feelings of the country were strongly attached to the cause of Charles the Seventh, and that the cotal expulsion of the English would have been an event joyfully welcomed in Scotland; yet the reverses experi- ended in the battles of Crevant and Verneuil effectually cooled the ardour of that kingdom for foreign war, and appear to have compelled the nation to a temporary and unwilling neu- trality. We have seen that Antony, bishop of Urbino, the Papal legate, was in Scotland at the time of the murder of the late king, and that a general council of the clergy, which had been called at Perth for the purpose of re- ceiving his credentials, was abruptly broken off by this event. The destruc- tion of all contemporary records has unfortunately left the proceedings of this council in complete obscurity; and we only know that, towards the conclusion of the year 1438, Sir Andrew Meldrum, a knight of St John of Jerusalem, was despatched through England into Scotland, on a mission connected with the " good of religion," and that a Papal nuncio, Alfonso de Crucifubreis, proceeded about the same time to the Scottish court. 1 It is not improbable that the Church, which, at the present moment, felt deep alarm from the disorders of the Hussites in Bohemia, and the growth of heresy in England, was anxious to engage on its side the council and ministers of the infant monarch of Scotland, and to interest them in putting down those heterodox opinions which, it is certain, during the last reign, had made a consider- able progress in that country. An extraordinary event now claims our attention, which is involved in much obscurity, but drew after it im- portant results. The queen-mother soon found that the castle of Edin- burgh, an asylum which she had so willingly sought for her son the king, \Vas rendered, by the vigilance and jealousy of Crichton the governor, much too difficult of access to herself and her friends. It was, in truth, no i Rotuli Scotiae, vol. ii. p. 311. JAMES II. w /J 125 longer the queen, but this ambitious baron, who was the keeper of the royal person. Under the pretence of superintending the expenses of the household, he seized 2 and dilapidated the royal revenues, surrounded the young sovereign by his own creatures, and permitted neither the queen- mother, the lieutenant-general of the kingdom, nor Sir Alexander Living- ston of Callander, a baron- who had been in high favour with the late king, to have any share in the government. Finding it impossible, by any remom strances, to obtain her wishes, the queen had recourse to stratagem. At the conclusion of a visit of a few days, which she had been permitted to pay to her son, it was dexterously managed that the prince should be concealed in a large wardrobe chest, which was carried along with some luggage out of the castle. In this he was conveyed to Leith, and from thence transported by water to Stir- ling castle, the jointure-house of~h"is mother, which was at this time under the command of Livingston of Callan- der. Whether the Earl of Douglas, the Bishop of Glasgow, who was chan- cellor, or any of the other officers of state, were privy to this successful enterprise, there are unfortunately no documents to determine ; but it seems difficult to believe that the queen should have undertaken it and carried it through without some powerful as- sistants; and it is still more extra- ordinary that no proceedings appear to have been adopted against Crichton for his unjustifiable seclusion of the youthful monarch from his mother, — • an act which, as it appears in the his- tory of the times, must have almost amounted to treason. The records of a parliament which was held at Edinburgh on the 27th of November 1438, by the Earl of Doug- las, therein styled the lieutenant-gene- ral of the realm; and of a second meeting of the three estates, which assembled at Stirling on the 13th of March, in the same year, are so brief 2 Chamberlain MS. Rolls, computum Thomas Cranstoun. Receptoris redituum regis ex I parte australi aquae de Forth. July 18, 1438. 124 HISTORY OF and mutilated, that little light can be elicited either as to the different fac- tions which unquestionably tore and divided the state, or regarding the pro- visions which were adopted by the wisdom of parliament for the healing of such disorders. There is indeed a general provision for the remedy of the open plunder and robbery then prevalent in the country. The sheriff, within whose county the thieves had taken refuge, was commanded to see strict restora- tion made, and to denounce as rebels to the king's lieutenant all who refused to obey him, under the penalty of being himself removed from his office, and punished as the principal offender. But where there is strong reason to sus- pect that the lieutenant and the greater barons were themselves the robbers, and that the sheriffs were their im- mediate dependants, it may easily be believed that, unless in instances where they were desirous of cutting off some unfortunate spoiler who had incurred their resentment, the act was most im- perfectly executed, if not universally evaded. 1 Having liberated her son the king from the durance in which he had been kept by Crichton, the queen-mother appears for some time to have reposed unlimited confidence in the fidelity of Sir Alexander Livingston ; whilst the Earl of Douglas, the most powerful man in the state, refused to connect himself with any faction ; and, al- though nominally the lieutenant-gene- ral of the kingdom, took little interest in the scene of trouble and intrigue with which the youthful monarch was surrounded. It does not even appear bhat he presided in a parliament which iVas assembled at Stirliug, probably a short time after the successful issue of the enterprise of the queen. In this meeting of the three estates the dreadful condition of the kingdom and the treasonable conduct of Sir "William Crichton were, as f ar as we can judge from the mutilated records which have been preserved, the prin- cipal subjects for consideration. It i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 32. SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. was resolved that there should be two sessions held yearly within the realm, in which the lord-lieutenant and the king's council should sit — the first to begin on the day after the exalta- tion of Holy Cross ; and the second on the first Monday in Lent thereafter following. At the same time, an enactment was passed, with an evi- dent reference to Crichton, by which it was ordained that where any rebels had taken refuge within their castles or f ortalices, and held the same against lawful authority, or wherever there was any " violent presumption of re- bellion and destruction of the country," it became the duty of the lieutenant to raise the lieges, to besiege such places, and arrest, the offenders, of whatever rank they might be. 2 The Earl of Douglas, however, either too indolent to engage in an employ- ment which would have required the utmost resolution, or too proud to embroil himself with what he con- sidered the private feuds between Crichton and Livingston, refused to carry the act into execution; and Livingston, having raised his vassals, laid siege in person to the castle ol Edinburgh. The events immediately succeeding are involved in much ob scurity; so that, in the absence oi original authorities, and the errors and contradictions of historians, it is diffi- cult to discover their true causes, or to give any intelligible account of the sudden revolutions which took place. Amid these difficulties, I adopt the narrative which approaches nearest to those fragments of authentic evidence that have survived the common wreck. When he perceived that he was be- leaguered by the forces of Livingston, Crichton, who did not consider him- self strong enough to contend singly against the united strength of the queen and this baron, secretly pro- posed a coalition to the Earl of Doug- las, but his advances were received by that powerful chief with infinite scorn. The pride of the haughty potentate could ill brook any suggestion of a division of authority with one whom 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, yoL ii. p. «2. 1438-9.] JAMES II he considered so far beneath him ; and it is said that in a fit of bitter irony he declared how much satisfaction it would give him if his refusal should cause two such unprincipled disturbers of the public peace mutually to de- stroy each other. These rivals, how- ever, although either of them would willingly have risen upon the ruin of the other, were too crafty to fulfil the wishes of the Earl of Douglas ; and his proud answer, which was soon carried to their ears, seems to have produced in their minds a disposition towards a settlement of their differences. It was evident that singly they could have little hope of resisting the lieu- tenant-general of the kingdom : but Livingston possessed the confidence of the queen-mother, and the custody of the king, her son ; and with this weight thrown into the scale, it was not un- likely, that a coalition might enable them to make head against his autho- rity. The result of such mutual feel- ings was a truce between the rival lords, which ended in a complete re- conciliation, and in the delivery of the castle of Edinburgh into the hands of Sir William Livingston. The young king, whom he had carried along with him to Edinburgh, was presented by Crichton with the keys of the fortress, and supped there on the night when the agreement was concluded ; on the morrow, the new friends divided be- tween them the power which had thus fallen into their, hands. Cameron, bishop of Glasgow, who was a partisan of the house of Douglas, and filled the place of chancellor, was deprived of a situation, in which there is reason to believe he had behaved with much ra- pacity. The vacant office was bestowed upon Crichton, whilst to Livingston was committed the guardianship of the king's person, and the chief man- agement in the government. 1 With regard to Douglas, it is not easy to as- certain what measures were resolved upon ; and it is probable that this great noble, confident in his own power, and in the high trust committed to him by the parliament, would have im- mediately proceeded against the con- federate lords, as traitors to the state. But at this important crisis he was suddenly attacked by a malignant fever, and died at Restalrig on the 26th of June 1439, 2 leaving an im- mense and dangerous inheritance of power and pride to his son, a youth of only seventeen years of age. The coalition might, therefore, for the present, be regarded as completely triumphant; and Livingston and Crich- ton, possessed of the king's person, and. enjoying that unlimited command over the queen-mother against which an unprotected woman could offer no resistance, w T ere at liberty to reward their friends, to requite their enemies, and to administer the affairs of the government with a power which, for a while, seemed little short of absolute. The consequences of this state of things were such as might have been antici- pated. The administration of the government became venal and dis- orderly. Owing to the infancy of the king, and the neglect of appointing a lieutenant-general, or governor of the realm, in the place of the Duke of Touraine, the nation knew not where to look for that firm controlling authority which should punish the guilty, and protect the honest and in- dustrious. Those tyrannical barons, with which Scotland at this period abounded in common with the other countries of Europe, began to stir and be busy in the anticipation of a rich harvest of plunder, and to entertain and increase their troops of retainers ; whose numbers and strength, as they calculated, would induce Livingston, Crichton, and the lords of their party, to attach them at any price to their service. Meanwhile, in the midst of this general confusion, the right of private i May 3, 1439, Cameron is Chancellor. Mag. Sig. iii. 123. J an 3 10, 1439, Crichton is Chancellor. Ibi l. ii. 141. 2 Gray's MS. Advocates' Library, rr. i. 17. "Obitus Domini Archibaldi Ducis Turonensis Comitis de Douglas ac Domini Galwidise, apud Restalrig, 26 die mensis Junii, anno 1439, qui jacet apud Douglas." See, for a beautiful en- graving of his monument, Blore's Monumental Remains, Part I. No. IV., a work which, it is to be regretted, did not meet with the en- couragement it justly merited. 126 HISTORY OF war, and the prevalence of deadly feud, those two curses of the feudal system, nourished in increased strength and virulence. Sir Alan Stewart of Darnley, who had held the high office of Constable of the Scottish army in "France, 1 was treacherously slain at Polmais Thorn, between Falkirk and Linlithgow, by Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock, for " auld feud which was betwixt them," in revenge of which, Sir Alexander Stewart col- lected his vassals, and, in " plain bat- tle," to use the expressive words of an old historian, " manfully set upon Sir Thomas Boyd, who was cruelly slain, with many brave men on both sides." The ground where the conflict took place was at Craignaucht Hill, a ro- mantic spot, near Neilston, in Ren- frewshire ; and with such determined bravery was it contested, that it is said the parties by mutual consent retired sundry times to rest and re- cover breath, after which they recom- menced the combat to the sound of the trumpet, till the victory at last declared for the Stewarts. These slaughters and contests amongst the higher ranks produced their usual abundant increase of robbery, plunder, burning, and murder, amongst the large body of the friends and vassals who were in the remotest degree con- nected with the parties; so that, whilst Livingston and Crichton possessed the supreme power, and, with a few of their favourites, flourished upon the outlaw- ries and forfeitures, and kept a firm hold over the person of the youthful mon- arch, whom they immured along with his mother, the queen, in Stirling castle, the state of the country became so de- plorable as to call aloud for redress. It was at this dark period that the queen-mother, who was in the prime of life, and still a beautiful woman, finding that she was little else than a prisoner in the hands of Livingston, determined to procure protection for herself by marriage. Whether it was an alliance of love or of ambition, is tiot apparent ; but it is certain that Margaret, unknown to the faction by i Andrew Stewart's Hist, of the Stewarts, pp. 165, 16G. SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. whom she was so strictly guardedA espoused Sir James Stewart, third son / of John Steward lordT of Lorn, 2 and\ commonly known by the name of the • Black Knight of Lorn. This powerful baron was in strict alliance with the house of Douglas/ 1 . As husband of the queen-mother, to whom, in the first instance, the parliament had com- mitted the custody of the king's per- son, he might plausibly insist upon a principal share in the education of the youthful prince, as well as in the ad- ministration of the government ; and a coalition between the party of the queen- mother and the Earl of Douglas might, if managed with prudence and address, have put a speedy termination to the unprincipled tyranny of Livingston. But this able and crafty baron, who ruled all things around the court at his pleasure, had earlier information of these intrigues than the queen and her husband imagined ; and whilst they, confiding in his pretended ap- proval of their marriage, imprudently remained within his power, Sir Jamea was suddenly arrested, with his bro- ther, Sir William Stewart, and cast into a dungeon in Stirling castle, with every circumstance of cruelty and ignominy. An ancient manuscript affirms that Livingston put " thaim in pittis and bollit thaim:" 4 an' ex- pression of which the meaning is ob- scure ; but to whatever atrocity these words allude, it was soon shewn that the ambition and audacity of the governor of Stirling was not to be contented with the imprisonment of the Black Knight of Lorn. Almost immediately after this act of violence, the apart- ments of the queen herself, who then resided in the castle, were invaded by Livingston ; and although the servants of her court, headed by Napier, 5 one of her household, made a violent re- sistance, in which this gentleman was 2 Duncan Stewart's Hist, and Geneal. Ac- count of the Royal Family of Scotland, p. 171. s Lesley's History, p. 14. Bannatyne edit. * Auchinleck Chronicle, privately printed by Mr Thomson, Deputy-Clerk Register of Scotland, p. 34, almost the solitary authentic record of this obscure reign. 5 Royal Charter by James II., March 7, 1449-50, to Alexander Napier, of the lands of Philde, Mag. Sig. iv. 4. 1439.] jam: wounded, his royal mistress was torn from her chamber, and committed to an apartment, where she was placed under a guard, and cut off from all communi- cation with her husband or his party. It is impossible to believe that Livingston would have dared to adopt these treasonable measures, which af- terwards cost him his head, unless he had been supported by a powerful faction, and by an armed force, which, for the time, was sufficient to over- come all resistance. The extraordinary scene which followed can only be ex- plained upon this supposition. A general convention of the nobility was held at Stirling, after the imprison- ment of the queen. It was attended by the Bishops of Glasgow, Moray, Ross, and Dunblane, upon the part of the clergy ; and for the nobility, by the Earl of Douglas, Alexander Seton, lord of Gordon, Sir William Crichton, chan- cellor, and Walter, lord of Dirleton ; and at the same time, that there might at least be an appearance of the pre- sence of a third estate, James of Par- cle, commissary of Linlithgow, Wil- liam Cranston, burgess and commis- €ary of Edinburgh, and Andrew Reid, burgess and commissary of Inverness, were present as representatives of the burghs, and sanctioned, by their seals, the transaction which took place. In this convention, the queen-mother, with advice and consent of this faction, which usurped to themselves the name of the three estates, resigned into the keeping of Sir Alexander Livingston of Callander the person of the king, her dearest son, until he had reached his majority ; she at the same time surrendered in loan to the same baron her castle of Stirling, as the residence of the youthful monarch ; and for the due maintenance of his household and dignity, conveyed to him her annual allowance of four thousand marks, granted by the parliament upon the death of the king her husband. The same deed which recorded this strange and unexpected revolution declared that the queen had remitted to Sir Alexander Livingston and his accomplices all rancour of mind which she had erroneously conceived against SS II. 127 them for the imprisonment of her person, being convinced that their conduct had been actuated by none other motives than those of truth, loyalty, and a zealous anxiety for the safety of their sovereign. It provided also that the lords and barons who were to compose the retinue of the queen should be approved of by Livingston ; and that this princess might have access to her son at all times, with the cautious proviso, that such interview should take place in the presence of unsuspected persons : in the event of the king's death, the castle was to be redelivered to the queen; and it was lastly stipulated that the Lord of Livingston and his friends were not to be annoyed or brought "nearer the death" for anj part which they might have acted in these important transactions. 1 It would be ridiculous to imagine that this pardon and sudden confi- fidence, bestowed with so much appa- rent cordiality, .could be anything else than hollow and compulsory. That the queen should have received into her intimate councils the traito rs who, not a mjmjth before, had violently seized and imprisoned her husband, invaded her royal chamber, staining it with blood, and reducing her to a state of captivity, is too absurd to be ac- counted for even by the mutability of female caprice. The whole transac- tion exhibits an extraordinary picture of the country, — of the despotic power which, in a few weeks, might be lodged in the hands of a successful and un- principled faction, — of the pitiable weakness of the party of the queen, and the corruption and venality of the great officers of the crown. It must have been evident to the queen-mother that Livingston and Crichton divided between them the supreme power ; and, in terror for the life of her hus- band, and dreading her own perpetual imprisonment, she seems to have con- sented to purchase security and free- dom at the price of the liberty and independence of the king, her son, i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voJ. ii. p. 54. The act is dated September 4. 1439. 128 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. then a boy in his ninth year. He was accordingly delivered up to Living- ston, who kept him in a state of honourable captivity at Stirling. This state of things could not be of long continuance. The coalition was from the first purely selfish; it de- pended for its continuance upon the strict division of authority between two ambitious rivals ; and soon after, the chancellor, jealous of the superior power of Livingston, determined to make him sensible on how precarious a basis it was founded. Seizing the opportunity of the governor's absence at Perth, he rode with a strong body of his vassals, under cover of night, to the royal park of Stirling, in which the king was accustomed to take the pastime of the chase. Ciacjiton, fa- voured by the darkness, concealed his followers in the wood ; and, at sun- rise, had the satisfaction to see the royal cavalcade approach the spot tvhere he lay in ambush. In an in- stant the youthful monarch was sur- rounded by a multitude which ren- dered resistance hopeless ; and the chancellor, kneeling, and with an action rather of affectionate submis- sion than of command, taking hold of his bridle rein, besought him to leave that fortress, where he was more a prisoner than a king, and to permit himself to be rescued by his faithful subjects, and restored to his free rights as a sovereign. Saying this, Crichton conducted his willing victim, amid the applauses and loyal protestations of his vassals, to Linlithgow, where he was met by an armed escort, who conducted him to the castle of Edinburgh. 1 To the king himself this transaction brought merely a change of masters ; but to Livingston it was full not only of mortification, but danger. Although he would have been glad to have availed himself of the power, he distrusted the youth and versatility of the Earl of Douglas. To the queen-mother he had given cause of mortal offence, and there was no other individual in the country whose authority, if united to his own, was weighty enough to counteract the exorbitant power of the i January 14G0. Lesley's Hist, p lit. [Chap. Ill, chancellor. He had recourse, there- fore, to dissimulation ; and coming to Edinburgh, accompanied by a small train, he despatched a flattering mes- sage to Crichton, deplored the mis- understanding which had taken place, and expressed his willingness to submit all differences to the judgment of their mutual friends, and to have the ques- tion regarding the custody of the royal person determined in the same manner. It happened that there were then pre- sent in Edinburgh two prelates, whose character for probity and wisdom peculiarly fitted them for the task of reconciling the rival lords. These were Leighton, bishop of Aberdeen, and Winchester, bishop of Moray, by whose mediation Crichton and Living- ston, unarmed, and slenderly attended, repaired to the church of St Giles, where a reconciliation took place ; the charge of the youthful monarch beins once more intrusted to Livingston/*) whilst the chancellor was rewarded by an increase of his individual authority in the management of the state, and the advancement of his personal friends to offices of trust and emolument. 3 In the midst of these selfish and petty contests for power, the people were afflicted by almost every scourge which could be let loose upon a devoted country : by intestine feuds, by a severe famine, and by a wide- spread and deadly pestilence. The fierce inhabitants of the Western Isles, under the command of Lauchlan Maclean and Murdoch Gibson, two leaders notorious for their spoliations and murders, broke in upon the con- tinent; and, not content with the devastation of the coast, pushed for- ward into the heart of the Lennox, where they slew Colquhoun of Luss in open battle, and reduced the whole district to the state of a blackened and depopulated desert. 4 Soon after this, the famine became so grievous, that multitudes of the poorer classes died of absolute want. It is stated in an Pin- 2 Crawford's Officers of State, p. 28. kerton, vol. i. p. 191. * Buchanan and Bishop Lesley erroneously suppose that the custody of .the king's person remained with the chancellor Crichton. 4 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 34. 1439-40.] ancient contemporary chronicle that the boll of wheat was then generally- sold at forty shillings, and the boll of oatmeal at thirty. We know from the authority of Stow that the scarcity was also severely felt in England, where wheat rose from its ordinary price of five shillings and fourpence the quarter to one pound; and soon after, in the course of the year 1440, to one pound four shillings. The con- sequences of unwholesome food were soon seen in a dreadful sickness of the nature of dysentery, which broke out amongst the people, and carried away great numbers; so that, when the pestilence soon after arrived in Scot; land, and its ravages were added to the already widely spread calamity, the unhappy country seemed rapidly advancing to a state of depopulation. ; This awful scourge, which first shewed , itself at Dumfries, was emphatically .denominated "the pestilence without tmercy," for none were seized with it Who did not certainly die within twenty-four hours after the attack. 1 . To these prolific causes of national misery there was added another in th^e overgrown power of the house of Douglas, and* the evils which were en- couraged by the lawless demeanour of its youthful chief. Upon the death of Archibald, duke of Touraine and fifth earl of Douglas, we have seen that the immense estates of this family devolved upon his son William, a youth who was then only in his seventeenth year ; a period of iff e liable, even under the most common circumstances, to be corrupted by power and adulation. To Douglas, however, the accession brought a complication of trials, which it would have required the maturity of age and wisdom to have resisted. As Duke of Touraine, he was a peer of France, and possessed one of the richest principalities in that kingdom. In his own country he inherited estates, or rather provinces, in Gallo- way, Annandale, Wigtown, and other counties, which were covered by war_ 1 Auchinletk Chronicle, p. 34. "Thar tuke it nain that ever recoverit, bot that deit within twenty -four houris." Fleetwood, Chron. Preciosum, p. 83, VOL. II. JAMES IL 129 like vassals, and protected by numerous castles and fortalices ; and in ancestry he could look to a long line of brave progenitors, springing, on the father's side, from the heroic stock of the Good Sir James, and connected, in the ma- ternal line, with the royal family of Scotland. The effects of all this upon the character of the youthful earl were not long of making their appear- ance. He treated every person about him with an unbounded arrogance of demeanour ; he affected a magnificence which outshone the splendour of the sovereign ; when summoned by the governor in the name of the king, he disdained to attend the council-general, where he was bound to give suit and service as a vassal of the throne ; and in the reception he gave to the mes- sages which were addressed to him carried himself more as a supreme and independent prince than a subject who received the commands of his master. Soon after the death of his father he despatched Malcolm Flem- ing of Biggar, along with Alan Lauder of the Bass, as his ambassadors to carry his oath of allegiance to the French monarch, and receive his investiture in the dukedom of Touraine. The envoys appear to have been warmly welcomed by Charles the Seventh; and, flattered by the reception which was given them, as well as by his immediate accession to his foreign principality, Douglas increased his train of followers, enlisted into his service multitudes of idle, fierce, and unprincipled adventurers, who wore his arms, professing themselves his vassals only to obtain a licence for their .tyranny, whilst within his own vast territories he openly insulted the authority of the government, and tram« pled upon the restraints of the laws. A parliament in the meantime was assembled (2d August 1440) at Stir- ling, for the purpose of taking into consideration the disordered state of the country, and some of those reme- dies were again proposed which had already been attended with such fre- quent failure, not bo much from any defect in principle, as from the imper- I 130 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. feet manner in which they were carried into execution. It was declared that the Holy Church should be maintained in freedom, and the persons and pro- perty of ecclesiastics universally pro- tected; according to ancient usage, the justiciars on the southern and northern sides of the Firth of Forth were commanded to hold their courts twice in the year, whilst the same duty was to be faithfully performed by the lords of regalities, within their jurisdiction, and by the judges and officers of the sovereign upon the royal lands. On the occurrence of any re- bellion, slaughter, or robbery, it was ordained that the king should instantly ride in person to the spot, and, sum- moning before him the sheriff of the county, see immediate justice done upon the offenders ; for the more speedy execution of which, the barons were directed to assist with their per- sons, vassals, and property. 1 It was, in all probability, at this parliament that those grievous complaints were presented concerning the abuses which then prevailed throughout the country, which Lindsay of Pitscottie, the amus- ing historian of these times, has de- scribed as originating in the over- grown power of the house of Douglas. " Many and innumerable complaints were given in, whereof the like were never seen before. There were so many widows, bairns, and infants, seeking redress* for their husbands, kindred, and friends, that were cruelly .slain by wicked bloody murderers, sicklike many for herschip, theft and reif, that there was 'no ""man but he ^would have ruth and pity to hear the same. Shortly, murder, theft, and slaughter were come in such dalliance among the people, and the king's acts had fallen into such contempt, that no man wist where to seek refuge, unless he had sworn himself a servant to some common murderer or bloody tyrant, to maintain him contrary to the invasion of others, or else had given largely of his gear to save his life, and afford him peace and rest." 2 i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. li. pp. 32, 33. ? Pitscottie's History of Scotland, p 24. [Chap. III. There can be little doubt that this dreadful state of things was to be ascribed as much to the misgovern- ment of Livingston, and the lawless N dominion of Crichton, as to the evil example which was afforded by the> Earl of Douglas. On the one hand, that proud potentate, whilst he kept at a distance from court, and haughtily declined all interference with govern- ment, excused himself by alleging that the custody of the sovereign and the management of the state were in the hands of two ambitious and unprin- cipled tyrants who had treasonably possessed themselves of the king's per- son, and sanctioned by their example the outrages of which they complained. On the other, Livingston and the chan- cellor, with equal asperity, and more of the appearance of justice — for, how- ever unwarrantably, they represented the supreme authority — complained that Douglas refused obedience to the summons of his sovereign; that he affected a state and magnificence un- becoming and dangerous in a subject; and traversed the country with an army of followers, whose excesses created the utmost misery and dis- tress in whatever district he chose to fix his residence. Both complaints were true ; and Livingston and Crich- ton soon became convinced that, to secure their own authority, they must crush the power of Douglas. For this purpose, they determined to set spies upon his conduct, and either to dis- cover or create some occasion to work his ruin; whilst, unfortunately for himself, the prominent points of his character gave them every chance of success. He was still a youth, ambi- tious, violent, and courageous even to rashness; his rivals united to a coolness and wariness, which had been acquired in a long course of successful intrigues, an energy of purpose and a cruelty of heart which left no hope for a fallen enemy. In a contest be- tween such unequal enemies, the triumph of the chancellor and Living- ston might have been easily antici- pated; but, unfortunately, much ob- scurity hangs over the history of their proceedings. In thin failure of authen- 1440.] tic evidence, a conjecture may be hazarded that these crafty statesmen, by means of the paid flatterers with whom they surrounded the young earl, \ prevailed upon him to express doubts as /to the legitimacy of the title of James * the Second to the throne, and to advo- cate the pretensions of the children of > Euphemia Ross, the second queen of \ Robert the Second. Nor, considering Douglas's own descent, was it at all unlikely that he should listen to such j suggestions. 1 By his mother, Euphe- mia Graham, the daughter of Patrick, earl of Strathern, he was descended from Robert the Second; and his second queen, Euphemia, countess of Ross, whose children, notwithstanding an act of the legislature which declared the contrary, were disposed to consider their title to the crown preferable to any other. It is well known, on the other hand, that the Earl of Carrick, the son of Robert the Second, by his (iirst marriage with Elizabeth More, was born to that monarch previous to /his marriage with his mother, and that he succeeded to the crown by the title of Robert the Third, in consequence of that legal principle which permits the subsequent marriage of the parties -to confer legitimacy upon the issue born out of wedlock. Under these' circumstances, it is not difficult to imagine that the Earl of Douglas may have been induced to consider his mother's brother, Malise, earl of Strath- ern, as possessed of a more indubit- able title to the crown than the pre- sent sovereign, and that a conspiracy to employ his immense and overgrown power in reinstating him in his rights may have been a project which was broached amongst his adherents, and carried to the ready ears of his •enemies. 2 This theory proceeds upon 1 Douglas's Peerage, vol. i. p. 428. By his father, the Earl of Douglas was a near kins- man of the king, for Douglas's father was cousin-german to James the Second, his mother being a daughter to Robert the Third. 2 The reader will perhaps remember that f the injustice of James the First to this noble I youth, in depriving him of the earldom of [ Strathern, and the determined - purpose of I vengeance which instantly arose in the bosom Vof his uncie, Robert Graham, were the causes JAMES II. 131 the idea that Douglas was inclined to support the issue of Euphemia Ross, the queen of Robert the Second, in opposition to those of his first wife, w ho di ed before his accession to the throne - whilst, on the other hand, if the earl considered the title of James the First as unquestionable, he, as the grandson of James's eldest sister, Margaret, daughter of Robert the Third, might have persuaded himself that, upon the failure of James the Second without issue, he had a specious claim to the crown. When we take into consideration the fact that Doug- las and his brother were tried for high treason, and remember that when the young king interceded for them, Crichton reprimanded him for a desire to gratify his pity at the expense oi the security of his throne, it is diffi- cult to resist the inference that in one or other of these ways the youthful baron had plotted against the crown. Having obtained sufficient evidence of the guilt of Douglas to constitute against him and his near adherents a charge of treason, the next object of his enemies was to obtain possession of his person. For this purpose the chancellor Crichton addressed a letter to him, in which he flattered his youthful vanity, and regretted, in his own name and that of the governor Livingston, that any misunderstanding should have arisen which deprived the government of his services. He ex- pressed, in the strongest terms, their anxiety that this should be removed, and concluded by inviting him to court, where he might have personal intercourse with his royal kinsman, where he would be received with the distinction and consideration befitting his high rank, and might contribute his advice and assistance in the man- agement of the public affairs, and the suppression of those abuses which then destroyed the peace of the country. By this artful conduct, Crichton suc- ceeded in disarming the resentment, without awakening the suspicions, of his opponent; and Douglas, in the openness of his disposition, fell into which led directly to the murder of that monarch. — -* 132 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. the snare which had been laid for him. Accompanied by his only brother, David, his intimate friend and counsel- lor Sir Malcolm Fleming, and a slender train of attendants, he proceeded to- wards Edinburgh, at that moment the royal residence, and on his road thither was magnificently entertained by the chancellor at his castle of Crichton. 1 From thence he continued his journey to the capital ; but before he entered the town it was observed by some of the gentlemen who rode in his train that there appeared to be too many private messages passing between the chancellor and the governor ; and some of his counsellors, reminding him of an advice of his father, that in circum- stances of danger he and his brother ought never to proceed together, en- treated him either to turn back, or at least send forward his brother and remain himself where he then was. Confident, however, in his own opinion, and lulled into security by the mag- nificent hospitality of Crichton, Doug- las rebuked his friends for their sus- picions; and, entering the city, rode fearlessly to the castle, where he was met at the gates by Livingston with every expression of devotion, and con- ducted to the presence of his youthful sovereign, by whom he was treated with marked distinction. The vengeance destined to fall upon the Douglases does not appear to have been immediate. It was necessary to secure the castle against any sudden attack ; to find pretences for separat- ing the earl from his accustomed at- tendants; and to make preparations for the pageant of a trial. During this interval, he was admitted to an intimate familiarity with the king; and James, who had just completed his tent h year, with the warm and sudclen affection of that age, is said to have become fondly attached 'to him : but all was now ready, and the catas- trophe at last was deplorably rapid and sanguinary. \Whilst Douglas and his brother sat at dinner with the chancellor and Livingston, after a 1 Auctarium Scotichronici, apud Fordun, vol. ii. p. 514. Same vol. p. 490. Ferrerius, sumptuous entertainment, the courses were removed, and the two youths found themselves accused, in words of rude and sudden violence, as traitors J to the state. 2 ^ Aware, when too late, that they were betrayed, they started from the table, and attempted to escape from the apartment ; but the door was beset by armed men, who, on a signal from Livingston, rushed into the chamber, and seized and bound their victims, regardless of their indignation and reproaches. It is said that the youthful monarch clung around Crichton, and pleaded earnestly, and even with tears, for his friends ; yet the chancellor not only refused to listen, but sharply com- manded him to cease his intercession for traitors who had menaced his throne. A hurried form of trial was now run through, at which the youth- ful king was compelled to preside in person ; and, condemnation having been pronounced, the earl and his\ brother were instantly carried to' .execution, and beheaded in the back (court of the castle^ What were the ; precise charges brought against them cannot now be discovered. That they involved some expressions which re- flected upon the right of the sove- reign, and perhaps embraced a design for the restoration of the children of the second marriage of Robert the Second, from which union Douglas was himself descended, has been al- ready stated as the most probable hy- pothesis in the absence of all authentic evidence. 3 It is certain that threa 2 Lesley's Hist, of Scotland, p. 16. I can- not follow the example of this writer in retaining the fable of the bull's head, which is unsupported by contemporary history. Illustrations, H. 3 All the conspiracies against the royal family of Scotland, from the time of Robert Bruce to the execution of the Douglases, may be accounted for by two great objects : the first which characterises the conspiracy of * David de Brechin against Robert the First, ' and that of the Earl of Douglas on the aoces- \ sion of Robert the Second, was the restoration ' of the right of the BalioKTiT-preTerence to that of the Bruces ; in other words, the rein- stating thedescendants of the eldes t daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, brottfer to King William the Lion, in their rights, in contra- distinction to the children of the seco i f daughter, whom they regarded as haviaglar" 1440-1.] clays after the execution, Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld, their con- I iidential friend and adviser, was brought to trial on a charge of trea- / son, and beheaded on the same ground, I which was still wet with the blood of his chief. 1 It might have been expected that the whole power of the house of Douglas would have been instantly directed against Livingston and the chancellor, to avenge an execution which, although sanctioned by the formality of a trial, was, from its secrecy and cruelty, little better than a state murder. Judging also from the common course adopted by the government after an execution for treason, we naturally look for the con- fiscation of the estates, and the division of the family property amongst the adherents of the governor and the chancellor; but here we are again -met by a circumstance not easily explained. James, earl of Avendale, the grand-uncle of the murdered earl, to whom by law the greater part of his immense estates reverted, entered immediately into possession of them, and assumed the title of Earl of Douglas, without question or difficulty. That he was a man of fierce and de- termined character had been early shewn in his slaughter of Sir David Fleming of Cumbernauld, the father of the unfortunate baron who now shared the fate of the Douglases ; 2 and yet, in an age when revenge was esteemed a sacred obligation, and under circumstances of provocation which might have roused remoter blood, we find him not only singularly supine, but, after a short period, united in the strictest bonds of inti- macy with those who had destroyed truded into them. But in addition to this, a second object arose out of the first and (second marriages of Robert the Second, which furnished another handle to discontent and conspiracy. To illustrate this, however, i would exceed the limits of a note. See Illus- trations, I. i Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 35. In the charter-chest of the earldom of Wigtown at •Cumbernauld is preserved the "Instrument of Falsing the Doom of the late Malcolm firming of Biggar." See Illustrations, K. Supra, p. 34. JAMES II. 133 the head of his house. The conjec- ture, therefore, of an acute historian, that the trial and execution of the Earl of Douglas was, perhaps, under- taken with the connivance and assist- ance of the next heir to the earldom, does not seem altogether improbable ; whilst it is difficult to admit the easy solution of the problem which is brought forward by other inquirers, who discover that the uncommon obesity of the new successor to this dignity may have extinguished in him all ideas of revenge. The death of the Earl of Douglas had the effect of abridging, for a short season, the overgrown power of the family. His French property and dukedom of Touraine, being a male fief, returned to the crown of France, whilst his large unentailed estates in the counties of Galloway and Wigtown, along with the domains of Balvenie and Ormond, reverted to his only sister Margaret, the most beautiful woman of her time, and generally known by the appellation of the Fair Maid of Galloway. The. subsequent history of this youthful heiress affords another presumption that the alleged crime of Douglas, her brother, was not his overgrown power, but his treason- able designs against the government ; for within three years after his death William, earl of Douglas, who had succeeded to his father, James the Gross, was permitted to marry his cousin of Galloway, and thus once more to unite in his person the im- mense estates of the family. Euphemia also, the duchess of Touraine, and the mother of the murdered earl, soon after the death of her son, acquired a powerful protector, by marrying Sir James Hamilton of Oadyow, after- wards Lord Hamilton. 3 In the midst of these proceedings, which for a time strengthened the au- thority of Livingston and the chan- cellor, the foreign relations of the kingdom were fortunately of the most friendly character. The intercourse with England, during the continuance of the truce, appears to have been s Andrew Stewart, Hist, of House of Stewart, p. 464. 134 HISTORY OF maintained without interruption, not only between the subjects of either realm, who resorted from one country to the other for the purposes of com- merce, travel, or pleasure, but by vari- ous mutual missions and embassies, undertaken apparently with the single design of confirming the good disposi- tions which subsisted between the two countries. With France the commu- nication was still more cordial and constant ; whilst a marriage between the Princess Isabella, the sister of the king, and Francis de Montfort, eldest son to the Duke of Bretagne, increased the friendship between the two king- doms. An anecdote, preserved by the historian of Brittany, acquainls us with the character of the princess, and the opinions of John, surnamed the Good and Wise, as to the qualifications of a wife. On asking his ambassadors, after their return from Scotland, what opinion they had formed regarding the lady, he received for answer, that she was beautiful, elegantly formed, and in the bloom and vigour of health; but remarkably silent, not so much, as it appeared to them, from discretion, as from extreme simplicity. " Dear friends," said John the Good and Wise, (i return speedily and bring her to me. She is the very woman I have been long in search of. By St Nicho- las ! a wife seems, to my mind, suffi- ciently acute if she can tell the dif- ference between her husband's shirt and his shirt-ruffle." 1 The general commercial prosperity of the Netherlands, with which Scot- land had for many centuries carried on a flourishing and lucrative trade, had been injured at this time by a war with England, and by intestine commotions amongst themselves ; but with Scotland their commercial rela- tions do not appear to have experi- enced any material interruption ; and, although the precise object of his mission is not discoverable, Thomas, bishop of Orkney, in 1441, repaired to Flanders, in all probability for the 1 See Lobineam, Histoire de Bretagne, pp. 619, 621, for a beautiful portrait of this prin- cess, taken from an original in the catnedrai church of Vannes. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IIL purpose of confirming the amicable correspondence between the two coun- tries, and congratulating them on the cessation of foreign war and domestic dissension. 2 Whilst such were, the favourable dispositions entertained by England, France, and the Netherlands, it appears, from the public records, that the court of Rome was anxious at this time to maintain a close cor- respondence with Scotland ; and there is reason for suspecting that the growth of Lollardism, and the progress of those heretical opinions for which Resby had suffered in 1407, and against which, the parliament of James the First di- rected their censures in 1424, were the causes which led to the frequent missions from the Holy See. In 1438, Andrew Meldrum, a knight of St John of J erusalem, paid a visit to the Scot- tish court on a mission connected with the good of religion. In the follow- ing year, Alfonso de Crucifubrais, the Papal nuncio, obtained a passport for the purpose of proceeding through England into Scotland; and, in 1439, William Croyser, a native of that coun- try, but apparently resident at Rome, invested also with the character of nuncio of the apostolic see, and in company with two priests of the names of Turnbull and Lithgow T , repaired to Scotland, where he appears to have remained, engaged in ecclesiastical ne- gotiations, for a considerable period. It is unfortunate that there are no public muniments which tend to ex- plain or to illustrate the specific object of the mission. 3 But although threatened with no dangers from abroad, the accumulated evils which in all feudal kingdoms have attended the minority of the, sovereign continued to afflict the coun- try at home. On the death of his ] father, James the Gross, the ability, the pride, and the pow T er of the house of Douglas, revived with appalling ] strength and vigour in William, the / eighth Earl of Douglas, his son and/ successor, inferior in talents and am- bition to none who had borne the name- before him. By his mother, Lady 2 Rotuli Scotia?, vol. ii. p. 319. 3 Ibid, p, 302-315. Ibid. pp. 311, S17. 1441-3.] JAMI Beatrix Sinclair, he was descended from a sister of King Robert the Third j 1 by his father, from the Lady- Christian Bruce, sister of Robert the First. 2 His extensive estates gave him the command of a more powerful army of military vassals than any other baron in the kingdom, whilst the situation of these estates made him almost an absolute monarch upon the Borders, which, upon any disgust or offence offered him by the government, he could open to the invasion of Eng- land, or fortify against the arm and authority of the law; He was sup- ported also by many warlike and po- tent lords in his own family, and by connexion with some of the most an- cient and influential houses in Scot- land. His mother, a daughter of the house of Sinclair, earl of Orkney, gave him the alliance of this northern baron ; his brothers were the Earls of Moray and Ormond; by his married sisters he was in strict friendship with the Hays of Errol, the Flemings, and the Lord of Dalkeith. The possession of this great influ- ence only stimulated an ambitious man like Douglas to grasp at still higher au- thority; and two paramount objects presented themselves to his mind, to the prosecution of which he devoted himself with constant solicitude, and which afford a strong light to guide us through a portion of the history of the country, hitherto involved in ob- scurity. The first of these was to marry the Fair Maid of Galloway, his own cousin, and thus once more unite in his person the whole power of the house of Douglas. The second, by means of this overwhelming influence, to obtain the supreme management of the state as governor of the kingdom, and to act over again the history of the usurpation of Albany and the cap- tivity of James the First. It must not be forgotten, also, that the heiress of Galloway was descended, by the father's side, from the eldest sister of James the First, and, by the mother, from David, earl of Strathern, eldest son of Robert the Second by his se- 1 Douglas's Peerage, vol. i. p. 429. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 220. S II. , 135 cond marriage. It is not tnerefore impossible that, in the event of the death of James the Second, some vague idea of asserting a claim to the crown may have suggested itself to the imagination of this ambitious baron. Upon Livingston and the chancellor, on the other hand, the plans of Doug- las could not fail to have an impor- tant influence. The possession of such overgrown estates in the hands of a single subject necessarily rendered his friendship or his enmity a matter of extreme importance to these states- men, whose union was that of fear and necessity, not of friendship. Both were well aware that upon the loss of their offices there would be a brief interval between their disgrace and their destruction. Crichton knew that he was liable to a charge of treason for S the forcible seizure of the king's per- son, at Stirling; Livingston, that his imprisonment of the queen and his \ usurpation of the government made him equally guilty with the chancel- lor; and both, that they had to an- swer for a long catalogue of crimes, con- fiscations, and illegal imprisonments, which, when the day of reckoning at last arrived, must exclude them from all hope of mercy. To secure, there- fore, the exclusive friendship of Doug- las, and to employ his resources in the mutual destruction of each other, was the great - object which governed their policy. In the meantime, the youthful monarch, who had not yet completed his thirteenth year, beheld his kingdom transformed into a stage on which his nobles contended for the chief power ; whilst his subjects were cruelly oppressed, and he himself handed about, a passive puppet, from the failing grasp of one faction into the more iron tutelage of a more suc- cessful party in the state. It is scarcely possible to conceive a more miserable picture of a nation, either as it regards the happiness of the king or of the people. It is not therefore surprising that, soon after this, the state of the country, abandoned by those who pos- sessed the highest offices only to con 136 HISTORY OF vert them into instruments of their individual ambition, called loudly for some immediate interference and re- dress. Sir Robert Erskine, who claimed the earldom of Mar, and apparently on just grounds, finding himself opposed by the intrigues of the chancellor, took the law into his own hands, and laying siege to the castle of Kildrummie, carried it by storm ; upon which the king, or rather his ministers, seized the castle of Alloa, the property of Erskine. This sam"e" baron, as sheriff of the Lennox, was Governor of Dumbarton, one of the strongest fortresses in the kingdom; but during his absence in the north, Galbraith of Culcreuch, a partisan of the Earl of Douglas, with the conniv- ance of his master, and the secret encouragement of Crichton, ascended the rock with a few followers, and forcing an entrance by Wallace's tower, slew Robert Sempill, the captain, and overpowering the garrison, made them- selves masters of the place. 1 In the north, Sir William Ruthven, sheriff of Perth, attempting, in the execution of his office, to conduct a culprit to the gallows, was attacked by John Gorme Stewart of Athole, at the head of a strong party of armed Highlanders, who had determined to rescue their countryman from the vengeance of the law. Stewart had once before been serviceable to government, in employ- ing the wild freebooters whom he commanded to seize the traitor Gra- ham, who, after the murder of James the First, had concealed himself in the fastnesses of Athole ; but. under the capriciousness of a feudal government, the arm which one day assisted the execution of the law might the next be lifted up in defiance of its autho- rity ; and Stewart, no doubt, argued that his securing one traitor entitled him, when it suited his own conveni- ence, to let loose another. Ruthven, however^ a brave and determined baron, at the head of his vassals, re- sented this interference ; and, after a l Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 35. Wallace's tower was probably the tower in which Wal- ace was confined after his capture by Men- teith. SCOTLAND. fCnAP. III. sanguinary conflict upon the North Inch of Perth, both he and his fierce op- ponent were left dead upon the field. 2 In the midst of these outrageous . proceedings, the Earl of Douglas, in prosecution of his scheme for his mar- riage with the heiress of Galloway, entered into a coalition with Living- ston, the king's governor. Living- ston's grandson, Sir James Hamilton of Cadyow, had married Euphemia, dowager -duchess of Touraine, tho mother of Douglas's first wife ; and it is by no means improbable that the friends of the 'Maiden of Galloway, who was to bring with her so noble a dowry, consented to her union with the Earl of Douglas upon a promise of this great noble to unite his in- fluence with the governor, and put down the arrogant domination of the chancellor. The events, at least, which immediately occurred demonstrate some coalition of this sort. Douglas, arriving suddenly at Stirling castle with a modest train, instead of the army of followers by which he was commonly attended, besought and gained admittance into the royal pre- sence, with the humble purpose, as he declared, of excusing himself from any concern in those scenes of violence which had been lately enacted at Perth and Dumbarton. The king, as was reported, not only received his apology with a gracious ear, but was so much prepossessed by his winning address, and his declarations of de- voted loyalty, that he made him a member of his privy council, and ap- pears soon after to have conferred upon him the office of lieutenant- general of the kingdom, 3 which, had been enjoyed by the first Duke of Touraine. The consequence of this sudden elevation of Douglas was the immediate flight of the chancellor Crichton to the castle of Edinburgh, where he began to strengthen the for- tifications, to lay in provisions, and to 2 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 35. 3 Ibid. p. 36. Lesley's Hist. p. 17. The appointment of Douglas to be, lieutenant- general is not founded on certain historical evidence, but inferred from his. subsequent conduct, and from h/s subsequent deprive tion. Postea, p. 152. 1443-4.] recruit his garrison, as if he contem- plated a regular siege. To imagine that this elevation of Douglas was accomplished by the king, a boy who had not yet completed his thirteenth year, would be ridiculous. It was evidently the work of the governor, who held an exclusive power over the king's person ; and it indicated, for the moment, a coalition of parties, which might well make Crichton tremble. In the meantime, Livingston, plead- ing his advanced age, transferred to his eldest son, Sir James, the weighty charge of the sovereign's person, and his government of Stirling castle ; whilst Douglas, in the active exercise of his new office of lieutenant-general, which entitled him to summon in the king's name, and obtain delivery of any fortress in the kingdom, assembled a large military force. At the head of these troops, and attended by the members of the royal household and privy council, he proceeded to the castle of Barnton, in Mid-Lothian, the property of the chancellor Crichton, demanded its delivery in the king's behalf, and exhibited the order which entitled him to make the requisition. To this haughty demand, the governor of the fortress, Sir Andrew Crichton, sent at first a peremptory refusal ; but, after a short interval, the preparations for a siege, and the display of the king's banner, overcame his resolution, and induced him to capitulate. En- couraged by this success, Douglas levelled the castle with the ground, and summoned the chancellor Crich- ton, and his adherents, to attend a parliament at Stirling, to answer be- fore his peers upon a charge of high treason. The reply made to this by the proud baron was of a strictly feudal nature, and consisted in a raid ■or predatory expedition, in which the whole military vassals of the house of Crichton- broke out with fire and sword upon the lands of the Earl of Douglas, and of his adherent, Sir John Forester of Corstorphine, and inflicted that sudden and summary vengeance which gratified the feelings of their •chief, and satisfied their own lust for JAMES II. 137 plunder. 1 Whilst the chancellor thus let loose his vassals upon those who meditated his ruin, his estates were confiscated in the parliament which met at Stirling ; his friends and ad- herents, who disdained or dreaded to appear and plead to the charges brought against them, were outlawed, and declared rebels to the king's au- thority ; and he himself, shut up in the castle of Edinburgh, concentrated his powers of resistance, and pondered over the likeliest method of averting his total destruction. Douglas, in the meantime, received, through the influence of the Living- stons, the reward to which he had ardently looked forward. A divorce was obtained from his first countess ; a dispensation arrived from Rome, permitting the marriage between him- self and his cousin ; and although still a girl, who had not completed her twelfth year, the Fair Maid of Gallo- way 2 was united to the earl, and the immense estates which had fallen asunder upon the execution of Wil- liam were once more concentrated in the person of the lieutenant-general of the kingdom. In this manner did Livingston, for the purpose of gratify- ing his ancient feud with the chan- cellor, lend his influence to the ac- cumulation of a power, in the hands of an ambitious subject, which was incompatible with the welfare of the state or the safety of the sovereign. But although the monarch was thus abandoned by those who ought to have defended his rights, and the happiness of the state sacrificed to the gratifica- tion of individual revenge, there were still a few honest and upright men to be found, who foresaw the danger, and interposed their authority to pre- vent it; and of these the principal, equally distinguished by his talents, his integrity, and his high birth, was. 1 Auchinleck Chronicle, pp. 36, 37. 2 In the dispensation obtained afterwards for her marriage with her bro'ther-in-law, it appears that, at the time of her first mar- riage, she was "infra nubiles annos." An- drew Stewart's Hist. p. 444. The existence of a first countess cf Earl William is shewn by the " Great Seal, vii. No. ^14. under 13m Oct. 1472 ; and 24S. under 22d Jan. 1472-3 * ' 138 Kennedy, bishop of St Andrews, a 1 sister's son of James the First, and by this near connexion with the king, entitled to stand forward as his de- fender against the ambitious faction who maintained possession of his per- son. Kennedy's rank, as head of the Scottish Church, invested him with an authority, to which, amid the general corruption and licentiousness of the other officers in the state, the people looked with reverence and affection. His mind, whioh was of the highest order of intellect, had been cultivated by a learned and excellent education, enlightened by foreign travel, and exalted by a spirit of un- affected piety. During a residence of four years at Rome, he had risen into esteem with the honester part of the Roman clergy ; and, aware of the abuses which had been introduced, during the minority of the sovereign, into the government of the Church — of the venality of the presentations — the dilapidation of the ecclesiastical lands — the appointment of the licen- tious dependants of the feudal barons who had usurped the supreme power, — Kennedy, with a resolution which nothing could intimidate, devoted his attention to the reformation of the man- ners of the clergy, the dissemination of knowledge, and the detection of all abuses connected with the ecclesiastical government. Upon the disgrace of Crichton, this eminent person was ad- vanced to the important office of chan- cellor, which he retained only for a brief period ; and in his double capa- city of primate and head of the law, there were few subjects which did not, in one way or other, come within the reach of his conscientious and inquir- ing spirit. Upon even a superficial examina- tion of the state of the country, it required little discernment to discover that out of the union of the two par- ties of the Livingstons and the Doug- lases had already sprung ' an infinite multitude of grievances, which weighed heavily upon the people, and that, if not speedily counteracted, the further growth of this coalition might en- danger the security of the crown, and HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. threaten the life of the sovereign. The penetrating spirit of Kennedy soon detected an alarming confirma- tion of these -suspicion?! in the assi- duity evinced by Douglas to draw- within the coalition between himself and Livingston all the proudest and most powerful of the feudal families, as well as in the preference which he manifested for those to whom the severity of the government of James the First had already given cause of offence and dissatisfaction, and who, with the unforgiving spirit of feudal times, transferred to the person of his son the hatred with which they had regarded the father. Of this there was a striking example in a league or association which Douglas at this time entered into with Alexander, the second earl of Crawford, who had married Mariot de Dunbar, the sister of that unfortunate Earl of March whom we have seen stripped of his ancient and extensive inheritance by James the First, under circumstances of such severity,' and at best of such equivocal justice, as could never be forgotten by the remotest connexions of the sufferer. 1 When Kennedy ob- served such associations, indicating in Douglas a purpose of concentrating around him, not only the most power- ful barons, but the most bitter ene- mies of the ruling dynasty, he at once- threw the whole weight of his autho- rity and experience into the scale of the late chancellor, and united cordi- ally with Crichton in an endeavour to defeat such formidable purposes. But he was instantly awakened to the dangers of such a proceeding by the ferocity with which his interference was resented. At the instigation of the lord-lieutenant, the Earl of Craw- ford, along with Alexander Ogilvy, Livingston, governor of Stirling castle, Lord Hamilton, and Robert Reoch, a wild Highland chief, assembled an over- whelming force, and, with every cir- cumstance of savage and indiscrimi- nate cruelty, laid waste the lands be- longing to the bishop, both in Fife and Angus; leading captive his vassals, 1 Douglas's Peerage, vol. i. p. 376. His- tory, supra, p. 84. 1444-5.] JAMES II. destroying his granges and villages with tire, and giving up to wide and indiscriminate havoc the only estates, perhaps, in the kingdom, which, under the quiet and enlightened rule of this prelate, had been reduced under a system of agricultural improvement. Kennedy, in deep indignation, in- stantly summoned the Earl of Craw- ford to repair the ravages which had been committed ; and finding that the proud baron disdained to obey, pro- ceeded, with that religious pomp and solemnity which was fitted to inspire awe and terror even in the savage bosoms of his adversaries, to excom- municate the earl and his adherents, suspending them from the services and the sacraments of religion, and denouncing, against all who harboured or supported them, the extremest curses of the Church. 1 It may give us some idea of the danger and the hope- lessness of the task in which the Bishop of St Andrews now consented to labour — the reformation of the abuses of the government — when we remember that three of the principal parties engaged in these acts of spolia- tion were the lieutenant-general of the kingdom, the governor of the royal person, and one of the most confiden- tial members of the king's privy council. 2 Douglas, in his character of king's lieutenant, now assembled the vassals of the crown, and laid siege to Edin- burgh castle, which Crichton, who had anticipated his movements, was prepared to hold out against him to the last extremity. The investment of the fortress, however, continued only for nine weeks ; at the expiration of which period, the chancellor, who, since his coalition with the Bishop of St Andrews and the house of Angus, was discovered by his adversaries to 1 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 39. Robert Reoch, or Swarthy Robert, was the ancestor of the Robertsons of Strowan. He had appre- hended the Earl of Athole, one of the mur- derers of James the First. He is sometimes styled Robert Duncanson. See Hist, supra, p. 92. 2 MS. indenture in the possession of Mr Maule of Panmure, between the king's coun- cil, and daily about him, on one part, and Walter Ogilvy of Beaufort, on the other. 1 13* have a stronger party than they were at first willing to believe, surrendered the castle to the king, and entered, into a treaty with Livingston and Douglas, by which he was not only insured of indemnity, but restored to no inconsiderable portion of his former power and influence. 8 There can be- little doubt that the reconciliation of this powerful statesman with the fac- tion of Douglas was neither cordial nor sincere : it was the result of fear and interest, the two great motives which influence the conduct of such men in such times ; but from the friendship and support of so pure a. character as Kennedy, a presumption arises in favour of the integrity of the- late chancellor, when compared with, the selfish ambition and lawless con- duct of his opponents. In the midst of these miserable scenes of war and commotion, the queen-mother, who since her marriage with the Black Knight of Lorn had gradually fallen into neglect and ob- scurity, died at the castle of Dunbar, Her fate might have afforded to any moralist a fine lesson upon the insta- bility of human grandeur. A daughter of the noble and talented house of Somerset, she was courted by James the First, during his captivity, with romantic ardour, in the shades of Windsor, and in the bloom of beauty became the queen of this great monarch. After fourteen years of happiness and glory, she was doomed herself to witness the dreadful assassi- nation of her royal consort ; and hav- ing narrowly escaped the ferocity which would have involved her in &- similar calamity, she enjoyed, after the capture of her husband's murderers, a brief interval of vengeance and of power. Since that period, the tumult of feudal war and the struggles of aristocratic ambition closed thickly around her; and losing her influence with the guardianship of the youthful, monarch, the solitary tie which in- vested her with distinction, she sunk at once into the wife of a private baron, by whom she appears to have been early neglected, and at last utterly 5 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 37- 140 HISTORY OF forsaken. The latest events in her history are involved in an uncertainty which itself pronounces a melancholy commentary on the depth of the ne- glect into which she had fallen; and we find her dying in the castle of ; Dunbar, then in the possession of a I noted freebooter and outlaw, Patrick Hepburn of Hailes. Whether this baron had violently seized the queen, or whether she had willingly sought a retreat in the fortress, does not appear ; but the castle, soon after her death, was delivered up to the king by Hep- burn, who, as a partisan of the house of Douglas, was pardoned his excesses, and restored to favour. 1 It was a melancholy consequence of the inse- curity of persons and of property in those dark times, that a widow be- came the mark or the victim of every daring adventurer, and by repeated nuptials was compelled to defend her- self against the immediate attacks of licentiousness and ambition. Upon the death of their mother the queen, the two princesses, her daugh- ters, Jane and Eleanor, were sent to the court of France, on a visit to their sister, the Dauphiness — anxious, in all probability, to escape from a country which was at that moment divided by contending factions, and where their exalted rank only exposed them to more certain danger. On their arrival in France, however, they found the court plunged in distress by the death of the Dauphiness, who seems to have become the victim of a conspiracy which, by circulating suspicions against her reputation, and estranging the affections of her husband, succeeded at last in bringing her to an early 1 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 37. Douglas's Peerage, vol. i. p. 224. Hepburn was ancestor of the Earl of Both- j well, husband of Mary Queen of Scots. Three ] manuscript letters of James the Second are preserved at Durham, amongst a collection of original papers belonging to the monastery of Coldingham. Raines' Hist, of North Dur- ham, Appendix, p. 22. One of them, dated 28th April 1446, mentions the "maist tresson- able takyn of our castell of Dunbar, bernyng her schippis, slaughtyr, pressonying, oppres- sion of our peple, and destruction of our land, and mony other detestabill enormyties and offence done be Patrick of hepbnrn, sone till Adam hepburn of hales, Knychfc." SCOTLAND. [Chap. IIL grave. There is strong evidence of her innocence in the deep sorrow for . her death expressed by Charles the \ Seventh, and his anxiety that the Dauphin should espouse her sister Jane, a marriage for which he in vain • solicited a Papal dispensation, Her husband, afterwards Lewis the \ Eleventh, was noted for his craft and his malignity; and there is little doubt that even before the slanderous attack upon her character by Jamet de Tillay, the neglect and cruelty of the Dau- phin had nearly broken a heart of much susceptibility, enfeebled by an over-devotion to poetry and romance, and seeking a refuge from the scenes of domestic suffering in the pleasures of literary composition, and the pa- tronage of men of genius. 2 In the meantime, amid a constant series of petty feuds and tumults, which, originating in private ambition, are undeserving the notice of the his- torian, one, from the magnitude ■ of the scale on which it was acted, as well as from the illustrations which it affords us of the manners of the times, requires a more particular recital. The religious house of Arbroath had appointed Alexander Lindsay, eldest son of the Earl of Crawford, their chief justiciar, a man of ferocious habits, and of great ambition, who, from the length and bushiness 1 of his beard, was afterwards commonly known by the appellation of the " Tiger, or Earl Beardy." The pru- dent monks, however, soon discovered that the Tiger was too expensive a protector, and having deposed him from his office, they conferred it upon Ogilvy of Innerquharity, an unpar- donable offence in the eyes of the Master of Crawford, who instantly 2 Berry, Hist, de Charles VII. Duclos III. 20. Paradin, Alliances Genealogiques des Rois et Princes de Graule, p. 111. "Mar- guerite, fille de Jacques, Roy d'Escosse, pre- mier de ce nom, fut premiere femme de ce Louis, lui estant encores dauphin, et deceda, n'ayant eu aucuns enfans, l'an 1445, a Cha- lons, en Champaigne, auquel lieu fut inhume son corps en la grand eglise la, ou demeura jusqu'au regne de Roy Louis, qui le feit lors apporter en l'Abbaie de Saint Laon de Thouars, en Poitou, ou il giu N See same work, p. 307. 1445-8.] JAMES II. collected an army of his vassals, for the double purpose of inflicting ven- geance upon the intruder and repos- sessing himself of the dignity from which he had been ejected. There can be little doubt that the Ogilvies must have sunk under this threatened attack, but accident gave them a powerful ally in Sir Alexander Seton of Gordon, afterwards Earl of Huntly, who, as he returned from court, hap- pened to lodge for the night at the castle of Ogilvy, at the moment when this baron was mustering his forces • against the meditated assault of Craw- ford. Seton, although in no way personally interested in the quarrel, found himself, it is said, compelled to assist the Ogilvies, by a rude but ancient custom, which bound the guest to take common part with his host in all dangers which might occur so long as the food eaten under his roof remained in his stomach. 1 With the small train of attendants and friends who accompanied him, he joined the forces of Innerquharity, and proceeding to the town of Ar- broath, found the opposite party drawn up in great strength on the outside of the gates. The families thus opposed in mortal defiance to each other could number amongst their adherents many of the bravest and most opulent gentlemen in the country ; and the two armies exhibited an imposing appearance of armed knights, barbed horses, and em- broidered banners. As the com- batants, however, approached each other, the Earl of Crawford, who had received information of the intended combat, being anxious to avert it, suddenly appeared on the field, •and galloping up between the two lines, was mortally wounded by a soldier, who w r as enraged at his interference, and ignorant of his rank. The event naturally increased the' bitterness of hostility, and the Crawfords, who were assisted by a large party of the vassals of Douglas, infuriated at the loss of their chief, attacked the Ogil- vies with a desperation which soon 1 Lesley, De Rebus GJ-estis Scotorura, p. 286. History of Scotland by the same author, p. 18. 141 broke their ranks, and reduced them to irreclaimable disorder. Such, how- ever, was the gallantry of their re- sistance that they were almost entirely cut to pieces ; and five hundred men, including many noble barons in Forfar and Angus, were left dead upon the field. 2 Seton himself had nearly paid with his life the penalty of his ad* herence to the rude usage of the times; and John Forbes of Pitsligo, one of his followers, was slain ; nor was the loss which the Ogilvies sustained in the field their worst misfortune : for Lind- say, with his characteristic ferocity, and protected by the authority of Douglas, let loose his army upon their estates; and the flames of their castles, the slaughter of their vassals, the plunder of their property, and the captivity of their wives and children, instructed the remotest adherents of the Justiciar of Arbroath how terrible was the vengeance which they had provoked. What must have been the state of the government, and how miserable the consequences of those feudal manners and customs, which have been admired by superficial in- quirers, where the pacific attempt of a few monks to exercise their un- doubted privilege in choosing their own protector, could involve a whole province in bloodshed, and kindle the flames of civil war in the heart of the country! It does honour to the ad- ministration of Kennedy that, al- though distracted by such domestic feuds, he found leisure to attend to the foreign commercial relations of the state, and that a violent dissension which had broken out betwixt the Scots and the Bremen ers, who had seized a ship freighted from Edin- burgh, and threatened further hos-. tilities, was amicably adjusted by en- voys despatched for the purpose to Flanders. 3 The consequences of the death of the Earl of Crawford require particu- lar attention. That ambitious noble had been one of the firmest allies of Douglas; and the lieutenant-general, well aware that superior power was 2 Auchinleck Chronicle, 'p. 38. 3 See Illustrations. L. 142 HISTORf OF the sole support of an authority which he had very grossly abused, immedi- ately entered into a league with the new Earl of Crawford, and Alexander, earl of Ross and lord of the Isles, in whose mind the imprisonment and degrading penance inflicted upon him by James the First had awakened de- sires of revenge, the deeper only from their being long repressed. The alli- ance between these three nobles was . 184. [Chap. III. after some correspondence upon these points, instead of an appeal to arms, the parties adopted the expedient of referring all differences to the decision of Charles the Seventh, their mutual friend and ally; who, after various delays, pronounced his final decision at a convention of the commissioners of both kingdoms, which was not held till four years after this period, in 1460. In the meantime, in consequence of the re-establishment of the influence of the house of Lancaster by the resto- ration of Henry the Sixth, and his queen, a woman of masculine spirit,, affairs began to assume a more favour- able aspect on the side of England ; and the King of Scotland having de- spatched the Abbot of Melrose, Lord Graham, Vans, dean of Glasgow, and Mr George Fala, burgess of Edinburgh as his commissioners to the English government, a truce between the two countries was concluded, which was to last till the 6th of July 1459. 4 This change, however, in the administration of affairs in England did not prevent the Earl of Douglas, who during the continuance of the power of the York- ists had acquired a considerable in- fluence in that country, from making the strongest efforts to regain the vast estates of which he had been deprived, and to avenge himself on the sovereign whose allegiance he had forsworn. He accordingly assembled a force in con- junction with the Earl of Northum- berland, and breaking across the Bor- der, wasted the fertile district of the Merse in' Berwickshire with the mer- / ciless fury of a renegade. After a course of plunder and devastation, which, without securing the confi- dence of his new friends, made him detested by his countrymen, he was met and totally defeated by the Earl of Angus, at the head of a division of the royal army ; nearly a thousand of the English were slain, seven hundred taken prisoners, and Douglas, once more driven a fugitive into England, found himself so effectually shorn of his power and limited in his resources, that he remained nerfectty inoffen- * Rymer Fcedera, vim. xi. pp. 389 399. JAMES II remainder of this 1456-8.] sive during the reign. 1 The lordship of Douglas a>id the wide domains attached to this dignity- were now, in consequence of his im- portant public services, conferred upon the Earl of Angus, a nobleman of great talents and ambition, connected by his mother, who was a daughter of Robert the Third, with the royal family, and inheriting by his father, George, first earl of Angus, a son of the first earl of Douglas, the same claim to the crown through the blood of Baliol which we have already seen producing a temporary embarrassment upon the accession of Robert the Second in the year 1370. 2 Upon the acquisition by Angus of the forfeited estates of Douglas, the numerous and powerful vassals of that hous-e imme- diately attached themselves to the fortunes of this rising favourite, whom the liberality of the king had already raised to a height of power almost as giddy and as dangerous as that from which his predecessor had been pre- cipitated. Apparent, however, as were the dangerous consequences which might be anticipated from this policy, we must blame rather that miserable feudal constitution under which he lived than censure the monarch who was compelled to accommodate him- self to its principles. The only wea- pons by which a feudal sovereign could overwhelm a noble whose strength menaced the crown, were to be found in the hands of his brethren of the aristocracy; and the only mode by which he could insure their co-opera- tion in a struggle, which, as it involved in some degree an attack upon their own rights, must have excited their jealousy, was to permit them to share in the spoils of his forfeiture. Some time previous to this conclu- sive defeat of Douglas, the parliament had again assembled at Edinburgh ; when, at the desire of the king, they took into consideration the great sub- i The MS, Chronicle in the Library of the University of Edinburgh dates this conflict October 23, 1458. See supra, vol. i. pp. 326, 327. Duncan 17a jects of the defence of the country, the regulations of the value of the current coin, the administration of justice, and the establishment of a set of rules, which are entitled, " concern- ing the governance of the pestilence a dreadful scourge, which now for the fifth time began to commit its ravages in the kingdom. Upon the first head, it was provided that all subjects of the realm possessed of lands or goods should be ready mounted and armed, according to the value of their pro- perty, to ride for the defence of the country the moment they received warning, either by sound of trumpet or lighting of the beacon ; that all manner of men, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, should hasten to join the muster on the first intelligence of the approach of an English host, ex- cept they were in such extreme po- verty as to be unable to furnish them- selves with weapons. Every yeoman, however, worth twenty marks, was to furnish himself at the least with a jack and sleeves down to the wrist, or, if not thus equipped, with a pair of splents, a sellat, 3 or a prikit hat, a sword and buckler, and a bow and sheaf of arrows. If unskilled in archery, he was to have an axe and a targe, made either of leather cr of fir, with two straps in the inside. Warn- ing was to be given by the proper officers to the inhabitants of every county, that they provide themselves with these weapons, and attend the weapon-schawing, or armed muster, before the sheriffs, bailies, or stewards of regalities, on the morrow after the "lawe days after Christmas." The king, it was next declared, ought to make it a special request to some of the richest and most powerful barons, "that they make carts of war; and in each cart place two guns, each of which was to have two chambers, to be sup- plied with the proper warlike tackling, and to be furnished also with a cunning man to shoot them. And if," it was quaintly added, "they have no skill in the art of shooting with them at the time of passing the act, it is hoped Stewart's Accoun i of the Royal ' Family of j tQat tne y make themselves master Scotland, p. 62. 3 a helmet, or headpiece for foot-sol diere. 174 HISTORY 01 of it before they are required to take the field against the enemy." 1 With regard to the provisions for defence of the realm upon the Borders during the summer season, the three estates declared it to be their opinion that the Borderers did not require the same supplies which were thought necessary when the matter was first referred to the king, because this year they were more able to defend them- selves than in any former season ; first, it was observed they were better, and their enemies worse provided than before ; secondly, they were certain of peace, at least on two Borders, till Candlemas. On the west Borders, it was remarked, the winter was seldom a time of distress, and the English would be as readily persuaded to agree to a special truce from Candlemas till " Wedderdais," as they now did till Candlemas ; considering, also, that during this last summer the enemy have experienced great losses, costs, and labour in the war, and, as it is hoped, will have the same in summer, which is approaching. The English, it was said, had been put to far more labour and expense, and had suffered far greater losses in the war this last summer than the Scottish Borderers. It was therefore the opinion of the three estates that the Borderers should for the present be contented without overburdening the government by their demands ; and if any great in- vasion was likely to come upon them, the parliament recommended that the midland barons should be ready to offer them immediate supplies and assistance. 2 Upon the subject of the pestilence., the great object seems to have been to prevent contagion, by shutting up the inhabitants both of town and country, tor a certain season, within their houses. The clergy, to whom the consideration of the most difficult matters of state policy appears to have been at this period invariably com- mitted, were of opinion, in the words of the statute, "that no person, either 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol il p. 45. 2 Ibid vol. ii. p. 45. f SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. dwelling in burgh or in the upland districts, who had provision enough to maintain himself and his followers or servants, should be expelled from his own house, unless he will either not remain in it," or may not be shut up in the same. And should he disobey his neighbours, and refuse to keep him- self within his residence, he was to be compelled to remove from the town. Where, however, there were any people, neither rich enough to maintain them- selves nor transport their families forth of the town, the citizens were directed to support them at their own J expense, so that they did not wander ! away, from the spot where they ought I to remain, and carry infection through i the kingdom, or "fyle the cuntre about thanie." "And if any sick folk," it was observed, "who had been put j forth from the town, were caught | stealing away from the station where I they had been shut up," the citizens were commanded to follow and bring | them back again, punishing them for j such conduct, and compelling them to I remain in durance. ' It was directed by the same statute that no man should burn his neighbours' houses, meaning the mansions which had been deserted as infected, or in which the whole inhabitants had died, unless it could be done without injury to the- adjoining healthy tenements; and the prelates were commanded to make general processions throughout their dioceses twice in the week, for the stanching of the pestilence, and "to grant pardon" (by which word possibly is meant indulgences) to the priests who exposed themselves by walking in these processions. 3 With regard to the important sub- ject of the money and coinage of the realm, it will be necessary to look back for a moment to the provisions of the parliament held at Stirling a few years before this period, which were then purposely omitted that the state of the coinage under this reign and the principles by which it was re- gulated might be brought under the eye in a connected series. 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. p. 40. X456-7.] JAME; We find it first declared in a public paper, entitled, The Advisement of the Deputes of the Three Estates) touching the Matter of the Money, that on many accounts it was con- sidered expedient there should be an issue of a new coinage, conforming in weight to the money of England. Out of the ounce of burnt or refined silver, or bullion, eight groats were to be coined, and smaller coins of half- groats, pennies, halfpennies, and farth- . ings, of the same proportionate weight and fineness. The new groat was to have course for eightpence, the half- groat for fourpence, the penny for two- pence, the halfpenny for one penny, and the farthing for s. halfpenny. It was also directed that the English groat, of which eight groats contained one ounce of silver, should be reckoned of the value of eightpence the piece ; that the English half-groat, agreeing in weight to the same, should be taken for fourpence ; and that the English penny should only be received for such value as the receiver chooses to affix to it. From the time that this new groat was struck, and a day appointed for its issue, the groat now current was to descend in its value to fourpence, and the half-groat to two- pence, till which time they were to retain the value of the new money. It was next directed by the parlia- ment that there should be - struck a new penny of gold, to be called " a lion," with the figure of a lion on the one side, and on the reverse the image of St Andrew, clothed in a side -coat reaching to his feet, w 7 hich piece was to be of an equal weight with the half English noble, otherwise it should not be received in exchange by any per- son, — the value of which lion, from the time it w T as received into currency, was to be six shillings and eightpence of the new coinage, and the half -lion three shillings and fourpence. After the issue of the new coinage, the piece called the demy, which, it was declared, had now a current value of nine shil- | lings, was to be received only for six shillings and eightpence, and the half- demy for three shillings and fourpence. 1 i The exact value of the foreign coins then 3 II. 175 The master of the mint was made responsible for all gold and silver struck under his authority, until the warden had taken assay of it, and put it in his store ; nor was any man to be obliged to receive this money should it be reduced by clipping ; the same master having full power to select, and to punish for any misdemeanour, the coiners and strikers who worked under him, and who were by no means to be goldsmiths by profession, if any others could be procured. 2 Such were the regulations regarding the current money of Scotland, which were passed by the Scottish parlia- ment in 1451 ; but it appears that, in the interval between this period and the present year, 1456, the value affixed to the various coins above mentioned, including those of foreign countries as well as the new issue of lions, groats, and half -groats, had been found to be too low; so that the merchants and traders discovering that there was actually more bullion in the money than the statutory value fixed by par- liament, kept it up and made it an article of export. That such was the case, appears evident from the expres- sions used by the parliament of 1456 with regard to the pieces called demys, the value of which we have seen fixed in 1451 at six shillings and eightpence. " And to the intent," it was remarked, "that the demys which are kept in hand should ' come out,' and have course through the realm, and remain within it, instead of being carried out of it, the parliament judged it expe- current in Scotland was fixed at the same time : the French real being fixed at six shillings and eightpence ; the salute, which is of the same weight as the new lion, at the same rate of six shillings and eightpence ; the French crown, now current in France, having on each side of the shield a crowned fleur-de-lys, the Dauphin's crown, and the Flemish ridar, are in like manner to be esti- mated at the same value as the new lion. The English noble was fixed at thirteen shil- lings and fourpence ; the half-noble at six shillings and eightpence ; the Flemish noble at twelve shillings and eightpence ; and all the other kind of gold not included in the established currency was to have its value according to the agreement of the buyer and seller. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. pp. 39, 4a 176 dient that the demy be cried to ten shil- lings/' Upon the same principle, and to prevent the same occurrence, which was evidently viewed with alarm by the financiers of this period, a corre- sponding increase of the value of the other current coins, both of foreign countries and of home coinage, above that given them in 1451, was fixed by the parliament of 1456. Thus, the Henry English noble was fixed at twenty -two shillings ; the French crown, Dauphin's crown, salute, and Flemish ridars, which had been fixed at six shillings and eightpence, were raised, in 1456, to eleven shillings; the new lion, from its first value of six shillings and eightpence, was raised to ten shillings ; the new groat from eightpence to twelvepence; the half- groat from fourpence to sixpence. In conclusion, the lords and auditors of the exchequer were directed by the same parliament . to examine with the utmost care, and make trial of the purity of the gold and silver, which was presented by the warden of the mint. 1 It was provided that, in time of fairs and public markets, none of the king's officers were to take distress, or levy any tax, upon the goods and wares of so small a value and bulk as to be carried to the fair either on men's backs, in their arms, or on barrows and sledges. On the other hand, where the merchandise was of such value and quantity, that it might be exposed for sale in great stalls, or in covered " cramys " or booths, which occupied room in the fair, a temporary tax was allowed to be levied upon the proprietors of these, which, however, . was directed to be restored to the mer- chant at the court of the fair, provided he had committed no trespass, nor excited any disturbance during its continuance. 2 The enactments of this parliament upon the subject of the administration of justice, were so com- pletely altered or modified in a subse- quent meeting of the estates, that at present it seems unnecessary to advert to them. 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, v>l. ii. p. 46. 2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 47. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. ITL In the meanwhile the condition of the kingdom evidently improved, fos- tered by the care of the sovereign, whose talents, of no inferior order,, were daily advancing into the strength and maturity of manhood. Awake to the infinite superiority of intellect in the clergy over the warlike but rude and uninformed body of his nobles, it was the wise policy of James to select from them his chief ministers, employ- ing them in his foreign- negotiations and the internal administration of the kingdom, as far as it was possible to do so, without exciting resentment in the great class of his feudal . barons. It was the consequence of this system that a happy understanding and a feeling of mutual affection and sup- port existed between the monarch and this numerous and influential class,, so that, whilst the king maintained them in their independence, they supported him in his prerogative. Thus, at a provincial council which was convoked at Perth, where Thomas, bishop of Aberdeen, presided as conservator sta- tutorum, it was declared, in opposition to the doctrine so strenuously insisted on by the Holy See, that the king had an undoubted right, by the ancient law and custom of Scotland, to the ecclesiastical patronage of the kingdom, by which it belonged to him to pre- sent to all benefices during the vacancy of the see. Whilst James, however, was thus firm in the assertion of those rights which he believed to be the unalienable property of the crown, he was careful to profess the greatest reverence in all spiritual matters for the authority of the Holy See; and on the accession of Pius the Second, the celebrated iEneas Sylvius, to the Papal crown, he appointed commis- sioners to proceed to Rome, and per- form his usual homage to the sovereign pontiff. 3 It was about this same time that the crown received a valuable addition to its political strength, in the annexa- tion of the earldom of Mar to the royal domains. Since the period of the failure of the heii-male in 1435, in the person of Alexander Stewart, * Mag. gig. v. 82. 1457-9] natural son of the Earl of Buchan, brother of Robert the Third, this wide and wealthy earldom had been made the subject of litigation, being claimed by the crown, as ultimus hceres, by Robert, lord Erskine, the descendant of* Lady Ellen Mar, sister of Donald, twelfth earl of Mar, and by Sir Robert Lyle of Duchal, who asserted his descent from a co-heiress. There can be no doubt that, the claim of Erskine was just and legal. So completely, indeed, had this been established, that in 1438 he had been served heir to Isabel, countess of Mar; and in the due course of law, he assumed the title of Earl of Mar, and exercised the rights attached to this dignity. In consequence, however, of the act of the legislature already alluded to, which declared that no lands belong- ing to the king should be disposed of previous to his majority, without con- sent of the three estates, the earl was prevented from attaining possession of his undoubted right ; and now, that no such plea could be maintained, an assize of error was assembled in presence of the king, and, by a verdict, which ap- pears flagrantly unjust, founded upon perversions of the facts and miscon- structions of the ancient law of the country, the service of the jury was re- duced ; and the earldom being wrested from the hands of its hereditary lord, was declared to have devolved upon the king. The transaction, in which the rights of a private individual were sacrificed to the desire of aggrandising the crown, casts a severe' reflection upon the character of the king and his ministers, and reminds us tod strongly of his father's conduct in appropriating the earldom of March. It was fortunate, however, for the monarch, that the house of Erskine was distinguished as much by private virtue as by hereditary loyalty; and that, although not insensible to the injustice with which they had been treated, they were willing rather to submit to the wrong than endanger the country by redressing it. In the meantime, J ames, apparently un visited by any compunction, settled the noble territory which he had thus acquired VOL II. JAMES II. 177 upon his third son, John, whom he created Earl of Mar. 1 Soon after this, the clemency of the monarch was implored by one who, from the course of his former life, could scarcely expect that it should be extended in his favour. John, lord of the Isles and earl of Ross, a baron from his early years familiar with re- bellion, and whose coalition with the Earls of Crawford and Douglas had, on a former occasion, almost shook the throne, being weakened by the death of Crawford, and the utter defeat of Douglas, became alarmed for the fate which might soon overtake him, and, by a submissive message, entreated the royal forgiveness, offering, as far as it was still left to him, to repair the wrongs he had inflicted. To this com- munication the offended monarch at first refused to listen; because the suppliant, like Crawford, had not in person submitted himself uncondi- tionally to his kingly clemency; but after a short time, James relented from the sternness of his resolution, and consented to extend to the hum- bled chief a period of probation, within which, if he should evince the reality of his repentance by some notable exploit, he was to be absolved from all the consequences of his rebellion, and reinstated in the royal favour. What notable service was performed by Ross history has not recorded ; but his pre- sence, three years subsequent to this, at the siege of Roxburgh, and his quiescence during the interval, entitle us to presume that he was restored to the royal favour. The aspect of affairs in England was now favourable to peace, and Henry the Sixth, with whom the Scottish monarch had always cultivated a friendly intercourse, having proposed a prolongation of the truce by letters transmitted under the privy seal, James immediately acceded to his wishes. A desire for the tranquillity of his kingdom, an earnest wish to be united in the bonds of charity and love with all Christian princes, and a reverent obedience to the admonitions 1 Sutherland Case, by Lord Hailes, chap. v. p. 50. 178 HISTORY 0 of the Pope, exhorting to peace with all the faithful followers of Christ, and to a strict union against the Turks and infidels, who were the enemies of the Catholic faith, were enumerated by the king as the motives by which he was actuated to extend the truce with England for the further space of four years, 1 from the 6th of July 1459, when the present truce terminated. Having thus provided for his security for a considerable period upon the side of England, James devoted his atten- tion to the foreign political relations of his kingdom. An advantageous treaty was concluded by his ambassa- dors with John, king of Castile and Leon. The same statesmen to whom this negotiation was intrusted were empowered to proceed to Denmark, and adjust the differences between Scotland and the northern potentate upon the subject of the arrears due for the Western Isles and the kingdom of Man; whilst a representation was made at the same time to Charles the Seventh of France, the faithful ally of Scotland, that the period was now long past when the Scottish crown ought to have received delivery of the earl- dom of Xaintonge and lordship of Rochfort, which were stipulated to be conveyed to it in the marriage treaty between the Princess Margaret, daugh- ter of James the First, and Lewis, the Dauphin of France. It appears by a subsequent record of a parliament of James the Third that the French monarch had agreed to the demand, and put James in possession of the earldom. 2 It is impossible to understand the causes, or to trace clearly the conse- quences of the events which at this period occurred in Scotland without a careful attention to the political con- dition of the sister country, then torn by the commencement of the fatal contest between the houses of York and Lancaster. In the year 1459 a struggle had taken place amongst' these fierce competitors for the possession of supreme power, which terminated 1 Rymer's Fcedera, vol. xi. p. 407. - Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. 11 p. 104. 1 SCOTLAND. [Chap. IIL in favour of Henry the Sixth, who ex- pelled from the kingdom his enemy, the Duke of York, with whom the Earl of Douglas, on his first flight from Scotland, had entered iuto the strictest friendship. Previous to this, however, the Scottish renegade baron, ever versatile and selfish, observing the sinking fortunes of York, had em- braced the service of the house of Lancaster, and obtained a renewal of his English pension as a reward from Henry for his assistance against his late ally of York. James at the same time, and prior to the flight of York to Ireland, had despatched an embassy to Henry for the purpose of conferring with him upon certain "secret mat- ters," which of course it is vain to look for in the instructions delivered to the ambassadors ; but Lesley, a historian of respectable authority, in- forms us that, at a mutual conference between the English and Scottish com- missioners, a treaty was concluded, by which Henry, in return for the assis- tance to be given him by the Scottish king, agreed to make over to him the county of Northumberland, along with Durham and some neighbouring dis- tricts, which in former times it is well known had been the property of the Scottish crown. 3 We are not to be astonished that the English ambassa- dors, the Bishop of Durham, and Beau- mont, great-chamberlain of England, should have been required to keep those stipulations concealed which, had they transpired, must have ren- dered Henry's government so highly unpopular; and it may be remarked that this secret treaty, which arose naturally out of the prior political connexions between James and Henry, explains the causes of the rupture of the truce, and the subsequent invasion of England by the Scottish monarch, an event which, ag it appears in the narrative of our popular historians, is involved in much obscurity. In consequence of this secret agree- ment, and irritated by the disturbances which the Duke of York and his ad- herents, in contempt of the existing truce, perpetually excited upon the s Lesley, History of Scotland, p. 28 1457-9.] JAMES II. Scottish Borders, James, in the month of August 1459, assembled a formid- able army, which, including camp fol- lowers and attendants, composing nearly one-half of the whole, mus- tered sixty thousand strong. With this force he broke into England, and in the short space of a week won and destroyed seventeen towers and castles, ravaging Northumberland with fire and sword, pushing forward to Durham, and wasting the neighbouring terri- tories with that indiscriminate havoc which, making little distinction be- tween Yorkists or Lancastrians, threat- ened to injure rather than to assist the government of his ally the English king. 1 Alarmed, accordingly, at this desolating progress, Henry despatched a messenger to the Scottish camp, who in an interview with the monareh ex- plained to him that the disturbances which had excited his resentment originated solely in the insolence of the Yorkists ; but that he trusted to be able to put down his enemies within a short period without calling upon his faithful ally for that assistance which, if his affairs were less prosper- ous, he would willingly receive. In the meantime he besought him to cease from that invasion of his do- minions, in which, however unwillingly, his friends as well as his foes were ex- posed to plunder, and to draw back his army once more into his own king- dom. To this demand James readily assented, and after a brief stay in England recrossed the Borders, and brought his expedition to a conclusion. 2 Immediately after his retreat an English army, of which the principal leaders were the Duke of York and the Earl of Salisbury, and which included various barons of both factions, ap- proached the Scottish marches, but the meditated invasion was interrupted by the dissensions amongst the leaders, and a host consisting of more than forty thousand men fell to pieces, and dispersed without performing anything of consequence. 3 To account for so 1 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 57. 2 Extracta ex MS. Chronicis Scotiae, fol. 389, r. s Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 57. 179 singular an occurrence, it must be re- collected that at this moment a tem- porary and hollow agreement had been concluded between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists, in which, under the outward appearance of amity, the causes of mortal dissension were work- ing as deeply as before, 4 so that, whilst it was natural to find the two factions attempting to coalesce for the purpose of inflicting vengeance upon the Scots, it was equally to be expected that the king and the Lancastrians, who now possessed the supreme power, should be little inclined to carry matters to extremities. A few months, however, once more saw England involved in the misery of civil war, and although Henry was totally defeated by the Earl of Salisbury, who commanded the Yorkists in the battle of Bloreheath, yet his fortunes seemed again to revive upon the desertion of the Duke of York by his army at Ludford Field ; and James, rejoicing in the success of his ally, immediately despatched his ambassadors, the Bishops of Glasgow and Aberdeen, with the Abbots oi Holyrood, Melrose, and Dunfermline, and the Lords Livingston and Aven- dale, to meet with the commissioners of England, confirm the truces between the kingdoms, and congratulate the English monarch on his successes against his enemies. But short was the triumph of the unfortunate Henry, and within the course of a single month the decisive victory gained by the Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick at Northamp- ton at once destroyed the hopes of his party, reduced himself to the state of a captive in the hands of his implac- able enemies, and saw his queen and the prince, his son, compelled to seek a retreat in Scotland. It was now time for J ames seriously to exert him- self in favour of his ally, ana the as- sistance which, under a more favour- able aspect of his fortunes, had been deprecated, was now anxiously im- plored. Nor was the Scottish monarch insensible to the entreaty, or slow to answer the call. He received the f ugi- * Carte, Hist, of England, voL ii. pp. 750, 761. NOW 180 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. tive queen and the youthful prince with much affection, assigned them a residence and allowance suitable to their rank; and having issued his writs for the assembly of his vassals, and commanded the Earl of Huntly, his lieutenant-general, to superintend the organising of the troops, he deter- mined upon an immediate invasion of England. Previous, however, to this great expedition, which ended so fatally for the king, there had been a meeting of the three estates, which lasted for a considerable period, and from whose united wisdom and experience pro- ceeded a series of regulations which relate almost to every branch of the civil government of the country. To these, which present an interesting picture of Scotland in the fifteenth century, even in the short sketch to which the historian must confine him- self, we now for a few moments direct our attention. The first subject which came before parliament is entitled concerning the " article of the session," and related to the formation of committees of parlia- ment for the administration of justice. It was directed that the Lords of the ' Session should sit three times in the year, for forty days at a time, in Edin- burgh, Perth, and Aberdeen ; and that the court or committee which was to sit should be composed of nine judges, who were to have votes in the decision of causes, three being chosen from each estate, along with the clerk of the regis- ter. Their first sitting was directed to begin at Aberdeen on th« 15th of June, and continue thenceforward for forty days ; the second session was to com- mence at Perth on the 5th of October, and the third at Edinburgh on the 13th of February. The names of the persons to be selected from the clergy, the barons, and the burghers, as the different members of the session, were then particularly enumerated for the three several periods ; and the sheriff was directed to be ready to receive them on their entry into the town, and undergo such trouble or charges as might be found necessary. In a succeeding statute, however, it was observed that, considering the short- l Chap. III. ness of the period for which the Lords of Session are to hold their court, and the probability that they will not be called upon to undertake such a duty more than once every seven years, they ought, out of their benevolence, to pay their own costs; and upon the con- clusion of the three yearly sessions the king and his council promise to select other lords from the three estates, who should sit in the same manner as the first, at such places as were most con« venient. 1 The next subject to which th« parliament directed their attention, regarded the defence of the country and the arming of the lieges. " Wap. inscbawings," or musters^ in which the whole disposable force of a district assembled for their exercise in arms, and the inspection of their weapons, were directed to be held by the lorda and barons, spiritual as well as tem- poral, four times in the year. The games of the football and the goli were to be utterly abolished. Care was to be taken that adjoining to each parish church a pair of butt3 should be made, where shooting was to be practised every Sunday : every man was to shoot six shots at the least ; and if any person refused to attend, he was to be found liable in a fine of twopence, to be given to those who carne to the bow-marks, or " wap- inschawings," for drink money. This mode of instruction .was to be used from Pasch to Allhallowmas ; so that by the next midsummer it was ex- pected that all persons would be ready, thus instructed and accoutred. In every head town of the shire there were to be a good bow-maker, and " a ' fledger " or arrow-maker. These trades- men were to be furnished by the town with the materials for their trade, ac- cording as they might require them ; and if the parish was large, according to its size, there were to be three or four or five bow-marks set up ; so that every man within the parish, who was within fifty, and past twelve years of age, should be furnished with hia weapons, and practise shooting ; whilst 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, toL h. p. 48. 1457.] those men above this age, or past threescore, were directed to amuse themselves with such honest games 1 as were best adapted to their time of life, excepting always the golf and foot- ball. There followed a minute and in- teresting sumptuary law, relative to the impoverishment of the realm by the sumptuous apparel of men and women ; which, as presenting a vivid picture of the dresses of the times, I shall give as nearly as possible in the words of the original. It will perhaps be recollected, that in a parliament of James the First, held in the year 1429, 2 the same subject had attracted the attention of the legislature ; and the present necessity of a revision of the laws against immoderate costli- ness in apparel, indicates an increasing wealth and prosperity in the country. "Seeing," it declared, "that each estate has been greatly impoverished, through the sumptuous clothing of men and women, especially within the burghs, and amongst the commonality ' to landwart/ the. lords thought it speed- ful that restriction of such vanity should be made in this manner. First, no man within burgh that lived by merchandise, except he be a person of dignity, as one of the aldermen or bailies, or other good worthy men of the council of the town, should either himself wear, or allow his wife to wear, clothes of silk, or costly scarlet gowns, or furring of mertricks ; " and all were directed to take especial care " to make their wives and daughters . to be habited in a manner correspond- ent to their estate ; that is to say, on their heads short curches, with little hoods, such as are used in Flanders, England, and other countries ; and as to the gowns, no woman should wear mertricks or letvis, or tails of unbe- fitting length, nor trimmed with furs, except on holydays." 3 At the same time, it was ordered, "that poor gentle- men living in the country, whose pro- perty was within forty pounds, of old 1 See supra, p. 56. 2 See supra, p. 77. s Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. I ii. p. 49. The word letvis is obscure. ' JAMES II. 181 extent, should regulate their dress ac- cording to the same standard ; whilst amongst the lower classes, no labour- ers or husbandmen were to wear, on their work-days, any other stuff than gray or white cloth, and on holydays, light blue, green, or red — their wives dressing correspondently, and using curches of their own making. The stuff they wore was not to exceed the price of f ortypence the ell. No wo- man was to come to the kirk or mar- ket with her face 'mussalit,' or covered, so that she might not be known, under the penalty of forfeiting the curch. And as to the clerks, no one was to wear gowns of scarlet, or furring of mertricks, unless he were a dignified officer in a cathedral or college-church, or a nobleman or doctor, or a persor having an income of two hundred marks. These orders touching the dresses of the community, were to be immediately published throughout the country, and carried into peremptory and rigorous execution." 4 . Other regulations of the same par- liament are worthy of notice ; some of them evincing a slight approach to- wards liberty, in an attention to the interests of the middle and lower classes of the people, and a desire to get loose of the grievous shackles im- posed by the feudal system upon many of the most important branches of national prosperity ; others, on the contrary, imposing restrictions upon trade and manufactures, in that spirit of legislative interference which, for many ages after this, retarded com- mercial progress, and formed a blot upon the statute book of this country, as well as of England. With regard to " feu-farms," and their leases, it was thought expedient* by the parliament that the king should begin and set a good example to the rest of his baronSj so that if any estate happened to be in " ward," in the hands of the crown, upon which leases had been granted, the tenants in such farms should not be removed, but remain upon the land, paying to the king the rent which had been stipulated during the cur- 4 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. j>. ±9. 182 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. III. rency of the lease ; and, in like man- ner, where any prelate, baron, or free- holder, wished to set either the whole or a part of his land in " feu-farm," the king was to be obliged to ratify such " assedations," or leases. With regard to " regalities," and the privileges con- nected with them, a grievance essen- tially arising out of the feudal system, it was declared that all rights and freedoms belonging to them should be interpreted by the strictest law, and preserved, according to the letter of their founding charter ; and that any lord of regality who abused his privi- leges, to the breaking of the king's laws and the injury of the country, should be rigorously punished. 1 In the same parliament it was made a subject of earnest request to the king that he would take into considera- tion the great miseries inflicted upon men of every condition, but especially upon his poor commons, by the man- ner of holding his itinerant chamber- lain courts ; and that, with the advice of his three estates now assembled; . some speedy remedy might be pro- vided. Another heavy grievance, re- moved at this time, was a practice which prevailed during the sitting of parliament, and of the session, by which the king's constables, and other officers, were permitted to levy a tax upon the merchants and trades men who then brought their goods to mar- ket, encouraged by the greater demand for their commodities. This was de- clared henceforth illegal, unless the right of exaction belonged to the con- stable " of fee," for which he must shew his charter. 2 An attempt was made in the same parliament to abo- lish that custom of entering into " bands or leagues," of which we have seen so many pernicious consequences in the course of this history. It was declared, that " within the burghs throughout the realm no bands or leagues were to be permitted, and no rising or commotion amongst the com- mons, with the object of hindering the execution of the common law of the 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 49- 2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 60. realm, unless at the express com- mandment of their head officers ; " and that no persons who dwelt within burghs should either enter into " man^ rent," or ride, or " rout" in warlike apparel, with any leader except the king, or his officers, or the lord of the burgh within which they dwelt, under the penalty of forfeiting their lives and having their goods confiscated to the king. 3 With regard to those lawless and desperate, or, as they are termed in the act, " masterful persons, who did not scruple to seize other men's lands by force of arms, and detain them from their owners," application was directed to be instantly made to the sheriff, who, under pain of being dismissed from his office, was to proceed to the spot and expel such occupants from the ground, or, on their refusal, com- mit them to the king's ward; a service easily prescribed by the wisdom of the three estates, but, as they were pro- bably well aware, not to be carried into execution except at the peril of the life of the officer to whom it was intrusted. All persons of every de- gree, barons, lords spiritual, or simple freeholders, were enjoined, when they attended the justice -ay res or sheriff courts, to come in sober and quiet manner, with no more attendants than composed their daily household, and taking care that on entering their inn or lodging, they laid their harness and warlike weapons aside, using for the time nothing but their knives; and where any persons at deadly feud should happen to meet at such assem- blies, the sheriff was directed to take pledges from both, binding them to keep the peace ; whilst, for the better regulation of the country at the period when justice-ayres were held, and in consequence of the great and mixed multitude which was then collected together, the king's justice was com- manded to search for and apprehend all masterful beggars, all idle sornars, all itinerant bards and feigned fools, and either to banish them from the country, or commit them to the com- * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p £0 1457.] mon prison. Lit, or dye, was to be " cried up" and no litstar or dyer was to follow the trade of a draper, or to be permitted to buy or sell cloth; whilst regarding the estate of mer- chandise, and for the purpose of re- stricting the multitude of " sailors," it was the unanimous opinion of the clergy, the barons, and the king, that no person should be allowed to sail or trade in ships but such as were of good reputation and ability; that they should have at the least three ser- plaiths of their own goods, or the same intrusted to them; and that those who traded by sea in merchan- dise ought to be freemen and indwell- ers within burghs. 1 In the same parliament some striking regulations are met with regarding the encouragement extended to agricul- ture, and the state of the woods and forests throughout the country. Every man possessed of a plough and of eight oxen was commanded to sow, at the least, each year, a firlot of wheat, half a firlot .of pease, and forty beans, under the penalty of ten shillings to the baron of the land where he dwelt, as often as he was found in fault ; and if the baron sowed not the same propor- tions of grain, pease, and beans, in his own domains, he was to pay ten shil- lings to the king for his own offence, and forty shillings if he neglected to levy the statutory penalty against his husbandmen. The disappearance of the wood of Scotland under the reign of James the First, and the attention of the legislature to this subject, have already been noticed. 3 It appears from one of the provisions of this parliament, held by his successor, that some anxiety upon this subject was still entertained by the legislature ; for we find it de- clared that, "regarding the plantation of woods and hedges, and the sowing of broom, the lords thought it ad- visable that the king should advise all his freeholders, both spiritual and tem- poral, to make it a provision in their Whitsunday's lease that all tenants should plant woods and trees, make 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 49. 2 See supra, p. 61. JAMES II, 183 hedges, and sow broom, in piaces best adapted, according to the nature of the farm, under a penalty to be fixed by the proprietor ; and that care should be taken that the enclosures and hedges were not constructed of dry stakes driven into the ground, and wattled, or of dry worked or planed boards, but of living trees, which might grow and be plentiful in the land.'-' 3 With regard to the preservation of such birds and wild fowls as " are gainful for the sustention of man," namely, partridge, plover, wild-ducks, and suchlike, it was declared that no one should destroy their nests or their eggs, or slay them in moulting time when unable to fly ; and that, on the contrary, all manner of persons should be encouraged, by every method that could be devised, utterly to extirpate all " fowls of reiff," such as erns, buz- zards, gleds, mytalls, rooks, crows, wherever they might be found to build and harbour; "for," say the three es- tates, " the slaughter of these will cause the multiplication of great mul- titudes of divers kinds of wild fowls for man's sustentation." In the same spirit, red-fish, meaning salmon and grilse, were forbidden to be taken in close time under a fine of forty pounds ; and no manner of vessel, creel, or other contrivance, was to be used for the purpose of intercepting the spawn or smelt in their passage to the sea, under the like penalty. Touching the destruction of the wolf, it was enjoined by the parliament that where such animals were known to haunt, the sheriff, or the bailies of the district, should assemble the popula- tion three times in the year, between St Mark's day and Lammas, which is the time of the whelps ; and whoever refused to attend the muster should be fined a wedder, as is contained in the old act of James the First on this subject. He who slew a wolf was to be entitled to a penny from every household in the parish where it was killed, upon bringing the head to the sheriff ; and if he brought the head of a fox, he was to receive sixpence from s Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. p. 51. 184 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. the same officer. The well-known enactment passed in the reign of James the First, against leasing-making, or the crime of disseminating false reports, by which discord might be created be- tween the king and his subjects, was confirmed in its full extent ; and the Statutes of the same prince regarding the non-attendance of freeholders in parliament whose holding was under forty pounds; the use of one invari- able " measure" throughout the realm; the restriction of "muir burning" after the month of March, till the corn had been cut down; and the publication of the acts of the legislature, by copies given to the sheriffs and commissaries of burghs, which were to be openly proclaimed and read throughout their counties and communities, were re- peated, and declared to be maintained in full force. The enactments of the parliament concluded by an affectionate exhorta- tion and prayer, which it would injure to give in any words but its own : " Since, ,, it declared, " God of His grace had sent our sovereign lord such progress and prosperity, that all his rebels and breakers of justice were removed out of his realm, and no potent or masterful party remained there to cause any disturbance, pro- vided his highness was inclined him- self to promote the peace and common profit of the realm, and to see equal justice distributed amongst his sub- jects ; his three estates, with all hu- mility, exhorted and required his high- ness so diligently to devote himself to the execution of these acts and statutes abo\e written, that God may be pleased with him, and that all his subjects may address their prayers for him to God, and give thanks to their heavenly Father, for His goodness in sending them such a prince to be their governor and defender." 1 Such was the solemn conclusion of the last parliament of James of which any material record has been preserved; for, although we have certain evidence of three meetings of the great council of the nation subsequent to this, the 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 52. [Chap. III. fact is only established by insulated charters, which convey no information of their particular proceedings. The peroration is affectionate, but marked, also, with a tone of honest- freedom approaching to remonstrance. It might almost lead us to suspect that James's late unjustifiable proceedings, regarding the earldom of Mar, had occasioned some unquiet surmisings in the minds of his nobility, that he possibly intended to use the excuse afforded him by the reiterated rebel* lion of the Douglases to imitate the designs of his father, and to attempt to complete the scheme for the sup- pression of the aristocracy of the king- dom, which had cost that monarch his life. In the meantime, however, the king assembled his army. An acute writer has pronounced it difficult to discover the pretences or causes which induced James to infringe the truce; 2 but we have only to look to the captivity of Henry the Sixth, the triumph of the Yorkists in the battle of Northampton, and the subsequent flight of the Queen of England to the Scottish court, to account satisfactorily for the invasion. James was bound, both by his per- sonal friendship and connexion with Henry, by a secret treaty, already alluded to, and by his political rela- tions with France, the ally of the house of Lancaster, to exert himself for its restoration to the throne ; and it has already been shewn that, by the articles of the treaty, his assistance was not to go unrewarded. As long, however, as Henry and his energetic queen had the prospect of reducing the opposition of the house of York, and, by their unassisted efforts, secur- ing a triumph over their enemies, the invasion of the Scottish monarch would have detracted from the popularity of their party, and thrown an air of odium even over their success; but now that the king was a captive in the hands of his enemies, and his queen a fugitive in a foreign land, the assist- ance of James, and the fulfilment of the stipulations of the treaty, were 2 Pinkerton, Hist, of Scotland, vol. i. p 242. 1459-60.7 JAMES II. 185 anxiously required. The only key to the complicated understanding of the transactions of Scotland during the wars of the Two Roses, is to recollect that the hostilities of "James were directed, not against England, but against the successes of the house of York. Since the calamitous battle of Dur- ham, and the captivity of David the Second, a period embracing upwards of a hundred years, the important frontier fortress of Roxburgh had been in the possession of England. It was now commanded by Neville, lord Faucpnberg, 1 a connexion of the Earl of Warwick, the principal sup- porter of the cause of the Yorkists, and James determined to commence his campaign by besieging it in person. On being joined, accordingly, by the Earl of Huntly, his lieutenant-general, and the Earl of Angus, who had risen into great estimation with his sove- reign from the cordial assistance which he had given in the suppression of the rebellion of Douglas, the king pro- ceeded across the Borders, at the head of an army which was- probably su- perior in numbers to that which he had lately conducted against England. He was joined also by the Earl of Ross, to whom we have seen that he had extended a conditional pa*don, and who, eager to prove himself worthy of an entire restoration to the royal favour, came to the camp with a powerful body of his fierce and war- like vassals. 2 The siege was now opened, but it was destined to receive' a sudden and melancholy interruption. The king, who had carried along with the army some of those rude pieces of ordnance which began now to be em- ployed in Scottish war, 3 proceeded, in 1 Ayloffe's Calendars of Ancient Charters, p. 281. 2 The Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 57, says, " The yer of God, 1460, the thrid Sunday of August, King James the Secund, with ane gret oist. was at the sege of Roxburgh." 3 Barbour, p. 392, informs us, that at the skirmish on the Were, in 1327, the Scots ob- served two marvellous things in the English svrmy, which were entirely new to them : — " Tymmeris for helmys war the tane, The tothyr crakys were of weir." These "crakys of weir" were in all proba- company with the El/i of Angus, and others of his nobility, to examine a battery which had begun to play upon the town. Of the cannon which com- posed it, one was a great gun of Flem- ish manufacture, which had been pur- chased by James the First, but little employed during his pacific reign. It was constructed of longitudinal bars of iron, fixed with iron hoops, which were made tight in a very rude manner, by strong oaken wedges. This piece, from the ignorance of the engineer, had been overcharged, and as the king stood near, intently observing the di- rection of the guns, it unfortunately exploded, and struck the monarch with one of its massy wooden wedges in the body. The blow was followed by in- stant death, 4 having fallen upon the mortal region of the groin, and broken the thigh ; whilst the Earl of Angus, who stood near, was severely wounded by the same fragment. 5 An event so lamentable, which cut off their prince in the sight of his army, whilst he was yet. in the flower of his strength, and in the very en- trance of manhood, was accompanied by universal regret and sorrow ; and, perhaps, there is no more decisive proof of the affection with which the nobility were disposed to regard the monarch, thus untimely snatched from them, than the first step which they adopted, in despatching a message to the court, requiring the immediate attendance of the queen, with a strict injunction to bring her eldest son, the prince > now king, along with her. 6 ' Nor was the queen-mother, although overpowered by the intelligence of her husband's death, of a character which, in the over-indulgence of feminine bility the first attempts to use cannon ; but although Froissart asserts that, in Scotland, guns were used at the siege of Stirling, in 1339, the fact is exceedingly doubtful. * MS. Extracta ex Chronicis Scotige, f. 289. " Casus iste de morte regis si dici potest, longo ante, ut fertur, preostensa est regi, per quendan Johannem Tempelman, qui fuit pater Domini Willmi Tempelman, Superioris Monasterii de Cambuskenneth, qui dum gre- gem in Montibus Ochillis." Here the manu- script abruptly breaks off without concluding the tale of wonder. 5 Lesley, Hist. p. 31. . • Aucklrdec'k Chronicle, p. 57. 86 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. Ill ' sorrow, was likely to forget the great I duties which she owed to her son. Attended by a small suite, in which were some of the prelates who formed the wisest counsellors of the deceased monarch, she travelled night and day to Roxburgh, and soon presented her- self in the midst of the army, clothed in her weeds, and holding in her hand the little prince, then a boy of only eight years of age, whom, with tears-, she introduced to them as their king. The sight was well calculated to arouse to a high pitch the feelings of loyalty and devotedness ; and availing herself of the enthusiasm of the moment, she with a magnanimity and vigour which did her honour, besought the nobles to continue the siege, and earnestly de- precated the idea of breaking up the leaguer, or disbanding the army, be- fore they had made themselves masters of a fortress, the possession of which was of the first importance to Scot- land. Heart-broken as she was with the loss of her beloved lord, she would rather celebrate his obsequies, she said, by the accomplishment of a victory which he had so much at heart, than waste the time in vain regrets and empty lamentations. And such was the effect of her appeal, that the leaders of the army, and the soldiers themselves, catching the ardour with which she was animated, instantly re- * commenced the attack, and, pressing the assault with the most determined fury, carried the castle by storm, on the very day of her arrival in the camp. 1 It must be recollected that James had not completed his thirtieth year when he met his death in this untimely manner ; and of course the greater portion of his life and reign was -occu- pied by a minority, during which the nation was in that state of internal disorganisation so lamentably frequent where such an event occurs under a feudal government. Taking this into consideration, we need not hesitate to pronounce him a prince of unusual vigour and capacity ; and perhaps the eulogium of Buchanan, no obsequious granter of praise to kings, is one of i Lesley, Hist. p. 32. the strongest proofs of this asser- tion. His wisdom in the internal administration of his kingdom was conspicuously marked by the fre- quency with which he assembled his parliament, and by a series of zea- lous and anxious, if not always en- lightened, laws for the regulation of the commerce, and the encouragement of the agriculture of the country, for the organisation of the judicial de- partments, and the protection of the middling and lower classes of his sub- jects, whether farmers, artisans, or- merchants. His genius in war was not exhibited in any great; military triumphs, for he was cut off in the outset of his career ; but the success with which he put down, by force of arms, the repeated rebellions of some of the most powerful of his nobility ; the attention which he paid to the arming of his subjects, and the en- couragement of warlike exercises amongst the people ; his directions to his higher nobles to devote themselves to the study of artillery and the con- struction of cannon ; and the ardour with which he appears to have engaged in his first war with England, although it does not justify the hyperbolical panegyric of Abercromby and Johnson, entitles us to believe, that in a mili- tary contest with England, the na- tional honour would not have been sullied in his hands. It is not impro- bable, however, that, had he lived a little longer, his maturer wisdom and experience would have considered even a successful war, which was not undertaken for the purposes of na- tional defence, a severe calamity, rather than a subject of glory or con- gratulation. His policy of employing the most able and enlightened amongst the clergy as his chief ministers, to whom he intrusted his foreign negotiations, as well as the chief offices in the judicial and financial departments of the government, was borrowed from the example of his father, but improved upon, and more exclusively followed by the wisdom of the son ; whilst his discrimination in selecting for the military enterprises in which he was. ^9 I /MA h^.W^K 1460.1 JAMES III. 187 engaged, such able commanders as Huntly and Angus, and that judici- ous union of firmness and lenity by which he ultimately disarmed of their enmity, and attached to his interest, such fierce spirits as the Earl of Craw- ford and the Lord of the Isles, do equal honour to the soundness of his judg- ment, and to the kindly feelings of his heart. That he was naturally of a violent and ungovernable temper, the unjustifiable assassination of Douglas too lamentably demonstrated ; but the catastrophe appears to have made the deepest impression upon a youthful mind which, though keen, was of an affectionate temperament fitted to feel deeply the revulsion of remorse ; apd the future lenity of a reign fertile in rebellion, is to be traced perhaps to the consequences of his crime, and the lessons taught him by his repent- ance. In estimating his character, another subject for praise is to be found in the skill with which he divided into sepa- rate factions an aristocracy which, under any general or permanent com- bination, would have been far too powerful for the crown; in the art by which he held out to them the prospect of rising upon the ruins of their associates in rebellion, and, by a judicious distribution of the estates and the dignities which were set afloat by treason, induced them to destroy, or at least to weaken and neutralise the strength of each other. This policy, under the management of such able ministers as Kennedy and Crichton> was his chief instrument in carrying to a successful conclusion one of his most prominent enterprises, the de- struction of the immense and over- grown power of the house of Douglas, an event which is in itself sufficient to mark his reign as an important era in the history of the country. The person of this prince was robust, and well adapted for those warlike and knightly exercises in which he is said to have excelled. His countenance was mild and intelligent, but deformed by a large red mark on the cheek, which has given him, amongst contemporary chronicles, the surname of " James with the fiery face." By his queen he left three sons : James, his succes- sor, Alexander, duke of Albany, and John, earl of Mar ; and two daughters : Mary, who took to her first husband Lord Boyd, and afterwards Lord Hamil- ton, and Margaret, who married Sir William Crichton, son of the chancel- lor. From a charter which is quoted by Sir James Balfour, it would appear that he had another son, named David, created Earl of . Moray, who, along with a daughter, died in early in- fancy. 1 CHAPTER IV. JAMES THE THIRD. 1460—1488. Scotland, once more exposed to the . danger and the woe pronounced upon the nation whose king is a child, was yet entitled to expect a pacific com- mencement of the minority, from the wisdom and experience of the queen- mother, the apparent union amongst the nobility, and the sage counsels of the chief ministers of the late king, i Sir Lewis Stewart's MS. Collections, Ad. Library, and Extracta ex Chronicis Scotiai, MS. Ad. Library, f. 283. 188 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Ceap. IV. who, frcui attachment to the father, were likely to unite for the support of the son. Immediately after the sur- render of the fortress of Roxburgh, which was i dismantled, and the demo- lition of Wark castle, which had been stormed by another division of the army, the further prosecution of the war was intermitted, and the nobility conducted their monarch, then only eight years old, to the monastery of Kelso, where he was crowned with the accustomed pomp and solemnity, more than a hundred knights being made to commemorate the simultane- ous entrance of the prince into the state of chivalry, and his assumption of his hereditary throne. 1 The court then removed to Edinburgh, where the remains of the late king were com- mitted to the sepulchre in the vener- able abbey of Holyrood. 2 We have already seen that at this moment the neighbouring nation of England was torn and distracted by the wars of York and Lancaster ; and the captivity of Henry the Sixth, the ally of Scotland, with the escape of his queen, and her son, the prince, into that country, are events belonging to the last reign. Immediately after the royal funeral, intelligence was brought that this fugitive princess, whose flight had lain through Wales, was arrived at Dumfries, where she had been re- ceived with honour, and had taken up lier residence in the college of Linclu- den. To this place the queen-mother of Scotland, with the king and the royal suite, proceeded, and a conference took place relative to the public affairs of both kingdoms, of which, unfortun- ately, we have no particular account, /except that it lasted for twelve days. A marriage was talked of between the English prince and the sister of the King of Scotland, but the energetic consort of the feeble Henry required more prompt and warlike support than was to be derived from a distant matri- monial alliance, and, encouraged by the promise of a cordial co-operation upon the part of Scotland, she returned with 1 Auchinleck Chronicle, p. 58. 2 Extracta ex Chronicis Scotia?, tel. 289. rize of the crown, it may account for -the readiness with which the party of the young queen, who was naturally jealous of the influence which the (Boyds had usurped over her husband, embraced the earliest opportunity of accomplishing their downfall ; and a conjecture may be hazarded, that their chief enemies were the Chancellor Evandale and the Lord Hamilton although the particular details of the conspiracy, and the names of the other powerful and ambitious persons whom it included in its ranks, have /been unfortunately lost. It is certain that the house of Hamilton, which, previously to the reign of James the Second, had never possessed any very formidable power, rose into high dis ti action upon the ruins of the fam ily the respect entertained for the roya] of Boyd. '' At the command of the ^person, and accustomed them to look rking, the Princess Mary, who was the /upon the sovereign as a prize to be / played for and won by the most bold and fortunate faction in the state. To counteract this, the possession of a steady judgment, and the exertion of a zealous attention to the cares of government, were required from the king; and in both James was deficient. That he was so weak and even wicked a monarch as he is described by a certain class of historians, contrary to the evidence of facts, and of contem- poraries, there is no ground to believe ; (but his education, which after the cteath of the excellent Kennedy had been intrusted to the Boyds, was ill calculated to produce a sovereign fitted to govern a country under the circum- stances in which Scotland was then placed?^ It was the interest of this family, the more easily to overrule everything according to their own wishes, to give their youthful charge^ a distaste for public business, to in- 1 dulge him to an unlimited extent in \ his pleasures and amusements, to uumour every little foible in his cha- I wife of the banished Earl of Arran, was \ compelled to leave her husband, with I whom she had fled to the continent^ and return to the Scottish court, (a. divorce was then obtained, and the (Countess of Arran gave her hand to Lord Hamilton, to whom it had been /promised in 1454, in reward for the / good services performed to the king's j father in the great rebellion of the (^Earl of Douglas. 1 It is well known that by this marriage^the family of Hamilton, under the reign of Mary, became the nearest heirs to the Scot- tish crown. Undismayed by the miser- able fate of his family, the Earl of Ar- ran, whose talents as a statesman and a warrior were superior to most of the nobles by whom he had been de- serted, soon after entered the service of Charles the Bold, duke of Bur- gundy, in which he rose to high dis- tinction, and became employed in ne- gotiations with the court of England. 2 1 Abercromby, vol. ii. p. 397. a Eastern Letters, vol. i. pp. 260, 271. The king had now reached that age when a fair prognostication might be made of his future character. He had completed his. eighteenth year. He had married a princess, who although considerably his junior, wa? endowed, if we may trust the concurrent tes- timony of all historians, with a rare union of wisdom and sweetness ; and it was evident that, in any endeavour to extricate himself from the difficul- ties with which he was surrounded, much, almost all of its success de- pended upon his own personal quali- ties. The power of the Scottish aris- tocracy, which had greatly increased during his own and his father's mino- rity, required a firm hand to check its dangerous growth ; and it happened, unfortunately, that the temporary triumph which had attended the in- trigues of the Livingstons under James the Second, and more lately the du- rance in which the king himself was kept by the usurpation of the house of Boyd, had diminished in the eyes of the nobles, and even of the people, 1469-70.] JAMES III. racter, to keep him ignorant of the state of the country, and to avoid the slightest approach to that wholesome severity, and early discipline of the heart and the understanding, with- out which nothing that is excellent or useful in after life can be expected. Qrhe effects of this base system pur- sued by his governors were apparent in the future misfortunes of the king,;:* whose natural disposition was good, and whose tastes and endowments were in some respects superior to his age. The defects in his character were mainly to be attributed to an ill- directed education ; but from the political circumstances by which he was surrounded, they were unfortun- ately of a nature calculated to produce the most calamitous consequences to himself as well as to the country. He had indeed fallen on evil days ; and whether we look to the state of the continent or to the internal condi- tion of Scotland, the task committed to the supreme governor of that coun- try was one of no easy execution. In England, Edward the Fourth was engrossed by his ambitious schemes against France, although scarcely se- cure upon the throne which he had mounted amid the tumult and confu- sion of a civil war; and it was his policy, fearful of any renewal of the war with Scotland, to encourage dis- content and sow the seeds of rebellion in that country, which, under an ambi- tious and a popular prince, might, by uniting its strength to his adversary of France, have occasioned him in- finite annoyance and loss. ( It was, on the other hand, the object of his saga- cious and unprincipled rival, Lewis the Eleventh, to engage James, by every possible means, in a war with England; \ whilst Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, who had married the sister of Edward, and whose pos- session of the Netherlands gave him ample means of inflicting serious in- jury upon the commerce of Scotland, was equally anxious to interrupt the amicable relations between that coun- try and France, and to preserve invio- late the truce between James and Ed- ward. The aspect of affairs in Eng- 205 land and on the continent, in illation to Scotland, was therefore one of con- siderable complication and difficulty, whilst the internal state of the country was equally dark and discouraging. In the meantime, the same parlia- ment which had destroyed the power of the Boyds continued its delibera- tions, and passed some important acts relative to the administration of jus- tice, the tenures of landed property, the privileges of sanctuary, the consti- tution of the courts of parliament and justice-ayres, and the liability of the property of the tenants who laboured the ground for the debts of their lord. 1 Of these enactments, the last was the most important, as it affected the rights and the condition of so large and meritorious a class of the community, over whom the tyranny exercised by the higher orders appears to have been of a grievous description. Previous to this, when a nobleman fell into debt, his creditor, who sued out a brief of distress, and obtained a judgment against the debtor for a certain sum, was in the practice of having immediate recourse against the tenant of the lordly debtor's lands, seizing his whole property, to his utter loss and ruin. To remedy this, an act was passed, by which it was declared that, " to prevent the great impover- ishment and destruction of tjie king's commons and rentallers, and of the inhabitants of the estates of the nobles, which was occasioned by the brief of distress," the poor tenants should not be distrained for their landlord's debts, further than the sum which they were due to him in rent ; so that if the sum in the brief of distress exceeded the rent due, the creditor was bound to have recourse against the other goods and property of the debtor. If he had no other property except his land, it was provided that the land should be sold, and the debt paid, so that the poor tenants and labourers should not be distressed,— a legislative provision which exhibits a more liberal consi- deration for the labouring classes than at this period we might have been i Acte of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 95. 206 prepared to expect was to enjoy the privilege of reclaim- ing his land from the purchaser, if, at any time within seven years, he should pay down the price for which it had "been sold. 1 In the same parliament the three estates, after having con- cluded their deliberations, elected a committee of prelates, barons, and com- missaries of the burghs, to whom they delegated full powers to advise upon certain important matters, and report their opinion to the next parliament. Amongst the subjects recommended for their consideration are the " in- bringing or importation of bullion into the realm, the keeping the current money within the kingdom, and the reduction of the king's laws, compre- hending the Eegiam Majestatem, the acts, statutes, and other books, into one code or volume ; " whilst the rest, meaning probably those statutes which had fallen into desuetude, or had been abrogated by posterior enactment, were unscrupulously di- rected to be destroyed. The course of public events in Eng- land now became deeply interesting, exhibiting those sudden changes of fortune which seated the unfortunate Henry upon the throne, only to hurl him from it within a few months to a prison and a grave. In October 1470, the successful invasion of that country by the Earl of Warwick, and the desertion of Edward by the greater part of his army, compelled the mon- arch of the Yorkists to make a sud- den and hurried escape to Flanders. Within five months he again landed in England, at the head of two thou- sand men ; and such was the astonish- ing .progress of his intrigues and of his arms, that in little more than a month, the city of London was de- livered up, and the sanguinary and (decisive battle of Tewkesbury com- pletely and for ever annihilated the hopes of the house of Lancaster. Henry, as is well known, immediately fell a victim to assassination in the Tower; and his queen, after a cap- j tivity. of five years, was permitted to 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 96. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. The debtor also ) retire to Anjou, where she died? Soon after this important event, a negotia- tion appears to have been opened with Scotland, and commissioners were ap- pointed to treat of a truce, which was apparently to be cemented by some matrimonial alliance, of which the particulars do not appear. 2 We have seen that the excellent Kennedy, who had filled the see of St Andrews with so much credit to him- self and benefit to the nation, died in the commencement of the year 1466. Patrick Graham, his uterine brother, then Bishop of Brechin, a prelate of singular and primitive virtue, was chosen to succeed him; and as his promotion was obnoxious to the power- ful faction of the Boyds, who then ruled everything at court, the bishop- elect secretly left the country for Rome, and on his arrival, without difficulty, procured his confirmation from Pope Paul the Second. Fearing, however, that his enemies were too strong for him, he delayed his return ; and the controversy regarding the claim of the see of York to the supre- macy of the Scottish Church having been revived by Archbishop Nevill, Graham, during his stay in Italy, so earnestly and successfully exerted himself for the independence of his own Church, that Sixtus the Fourth, Pope Paul's successor, became con- vinced by his arguments that the claim of York was completely un- founded. The result was a measure which forms an era in the history of the national Church. The see of St Andrews was erected into an arch- bishopric, by a bull of Sixtus the Fourth; and the twelve bishops of Scotland solemnly enjoined to be sub- ject to that see in all future time. 3 In addition to this privilege which he had gained for his own Church, Graham, who felt deeply the abuses which had deformed it for so long a period, induced the Pope to confer upon him the office of legate for the space of three years, purpos- ing, on his return to Scotland, to 2 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xi. p. 719. 3 Spottiswood's History of the Church of Scotland, pp. 58-60. JAMES III. effort for their 1470-3.] make a determined removal. But little did this good man foresee the storm which there awaited him : the persecution which a nobility who had fattened on the sale of church livings, a dissolute priesthood, and a weak and capricious monarch, were prepared to raise against him. His Lulls of primacy and legation, which xiad been published before his arrival, eeemed only to awaken the jealousy of the bishops, who accused him to the king of intruding himself into the legation, and carrying on a private negotiation with the Roman court, without having first procured the royal licence. The moment he set his foot in Scotland, he was cited to an- swer these complaints, and inhibited from assuming his title as archbishop, or exercising his legatine functions. In vain did he remonstrate against the sentence — in vain appeal to the bulls which he spread before the court — in vain assert what was conspicuously true, that he had been the instrument / of placing the Scottish Church on a proud equality with that of the sister kingdom, and that his efforts were .conscientiously directed to her good. The_ jnyal mind was poisoned.; his fudges were corrupted by money, which the prelates and ecclesiastics, who were his enemies, did not scruple to expend on this base conspiracy. Accusations were forged against him by jSchevez, an able but profligate man, who, from his skill in the then fashion- able studies of judicial astrology, had risen into favour at court; agents were employed at Rome, who raked up imputations of heresy; his bankers and creditors in that city, to whom he was indebted for large sums expended in procuring the bull for the arch- bishopric, insisted on premature pay- ment ; and the rector' of his own uni- versity forging a quarrel, for the pur- pose of persecution, dragged him into his court, and boldly pronounced against him the sentence of excommu- nication. Despising the jurisdiction of his inferior, and confident in his own rectitude, Graham refused obe- dience, and bore himself with spirit 207 against his enemies ; but the unworthy conduct of the king, who corroborated the sentence, entirely broke his heart, and threw him into a state of distrac- tion, from which he never completely recovered. He was committed to the charge of Schevez, his mortal enemy, who succeeded him in the primacy; and, unappeased in his enmity, even by success, continued to persecute his victim, removing him from prison to prison, till he died at last, overcome | with age and misfortune, in the castle/ of Lochleven. 1 s/ Amidst these ecclesiastical intrigues, the attention of the privy council and the parliament was directed to France, with the design of attempting a recon- ciliation between the French king and the Duke of Burgundy, both of them the old and faithful allies of Scotland. The Earl of Arran had fled, we have seen, after his disgrace in Scotland, to the court of Burgundy, and his talents and intrigues were successfully em- ployed in exciting the animosity of the duke against France and Scotland. The same banished noble had also sought a refuge in England, probably with the same design which had been pursued under similar circumstances by the Douglases, that of persuading Edward the Fourth to assist him in the recovery of his forfeited estates by an invasion of the country. To coun- teract these intrigues, it was resolved immediately to despatch ambassadors to these powers, whose instructions were unfortunately not communicated in open parliament, but discussed se- cretly amongst the lords of the privy council, owing to which precaution it is impossible to discover the nature of the political relations which then sub- sisted between Scotland and the conti- nent. To the same ambassadors was. committed the task of choosing a pro- per matrimonial alliance for the king's sister, a sum of three thousand pounds being contributed in equal portions by the three estrtes to meet their expenses. About the same time, Lewis the Eleventh despatched the Sieur Con- i Spottiswood's History of the Church of Scotland, p. 59. 206 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. cressault to the court of James, with the object of persuading that monarch to attack and make himself master of the county of Brittany, which he pro- mised to assign in perpetuity to the Scottish crown ; and it appears he had so far succeeded, that orders were given for a levy of six thousand men-at-arms, which the king had determined to con- duct in person, whilst the three es- tates engaged to contribute six thou- sand pounds for the expenses of the expedition. Against this extraordi- nary project of deserting his dominions at a period when the state of the coun- try so imperiously demanded his pre- sence, the wiser and more patriotic portion of the nobility steadily remon- strated. 1 They represented that it must be attended with great peril to the realm if the sovereign, in his ten- der age, and as yet without a successor, should leave the country, torn as it then was by civil faction, by the dread of threatened war, and by ecclesiasti- cal dissension and intrigue. They ex- posed to him the duplicity of the conduct of Lewis, who had delayed to put him in possession of the county of Xaintonge, his undoubted right, and now attempted to divert him from insisting on the fulfilment of his sti- pulations by an enterprise equally hazardous and extravagant. The pre- lates, in particular, drew up the strong- est remonstrance upon the subject; imploring him, by the tender love which they bore to his person, not to leave his dominions open to the incur- sions of his enemies of England; to recall the letters already written to the King of France ; and to content himself with an earnest endeavour, by the negotiations of his ambassadors, to make up tfye differences between Lewis the Eleventh and the Duke of Burgundy. 2 They advised him to use every method to discover the real in- tentions and disposition of the French monarch ; and if they found him ob- stinate in his refusal to deliver up the county of Xaintonge, it was recom- mended that the ambassadors at the i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. 11. p. 102. a Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 102, 104. court of Burgundy should arraign th© injustice of such conduct to the duke, and prevail upon that prince to assist the Scottish monarch in his attempt to recover his rights, as well as to get possession of the. rich duchy of Guel- dres, which, they contended, had be- come the property of the crown of Scotland, in consequence of the impri- sonment of the old Duke of Gueldres' by his son. 3 Burgundy, however, had himself cast the eyes of affection upon this prize; and, with the design of" uniting it to his own territory, and erecting the whole into a separate sovereignty, under the title of the kingdom of Burgundy, soon after pre- vailed upon the imprisoned potentate to declare him his heir, and took forcible possession of the duchy. 4 Whilst engaged in these complicated negotiations with the continent, the pacific relations with England were renewed; and the repeated consulta- tions between the commissioners of the two countries, on the subject of those infractions of the existing truce, which were confined to the Borders, evinced an anxiety upon the part of both to remain on a friendly footing with each other. 5 Edward, indeed, since his decisive victory at Tewkes« bury, was necessarily engaged in con* solidating his yet unstable authority ; and after having accomplished this task, he engaged in a league with the Duke of Burgundy against France, with the determination of humbling the pride of Lewis, and reviving in that country the glory of Edward the Third and Henry the Fifth. Under such circumstances, a war with Scot- land would have been fatal to the concentration of his forces. On the other hand, James and his ministers had full occupation at home, and wisely shunned all subjects of altercation which might lead to war. The tumults in the northern parts of Scotland, which had arisen in conse- quence of a feud between the Earls of » Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. p. 104. * Henault, Hist, of France, vol. i. p. 318,. Haroei Annal. Ducum Brabantise, p. 438. | * Rotuli Scotiae, vol. ii. pp. 430-439, inel 1473-5.] JAM] Ross and Huntly, whose dominions and vassalry embraced almost the whole of the Highlands, rendered it absolutely requisite that immediate measures should be adopted for the " stanching the slaughters and depre- dations" committed by their depen- dants, and attempting to reduce these districts under the control of ju3tice and civil polity. 1 A practice of sell- ing the royal pardon for the most out- rageous crimes had lately been carried to a shameless frequency; and the Lords of the Articles, in the late par- liament, exhorted and entreated his highness that " he would close his hands for a certain time coming against all remissions and respites for mur- der, and in the meantime, previous to any personal interference in the affairs of the continent," take part of the labour upon himself, and travel through his realm, that his fame might pass into other countries, and that he might obtain for himself the reputa- tion of a virtuous prince, who gave an example to other sovereigns in the establishment of justice, policy, and peace throughout his domin- ions. 2 The plan for the amendment of the laws recommended in a late statute, appears to have made but little pro- gress, if we may judge by a pathetic complaint, in which the lords and barons besought the sovereign to select from each estate two persons of wis- dom, conscience, and knowledge, who were to labour diligently towards the " clearing up of divers obscure matters which existed in the books of the law, and created a constant and daily per- plexity." These persons were recom- mended, in their wisdom, to "find good inventions which shall accord to law and conscience, for the decision of the daily pleas brought before- the king's highness, and concerning which there was as yet no law proper to regulate their decision." This singu- lar enactment proceeded to state, that after such persons in their wisdom 1 MS. extracts from the Books of the Lord High Treasurer, March 21, 1473. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 104. VOL. II. IS III. 209 had fixed upon such rules of law, the collection which they had made should be shewn at the next parliament to the king's highness and his three estates; and upon being ratified and approved, that a book should then be written, containing all the laws of the realm, which was to be kept at a place where " the lafe " may have a copy ; 3 and that none other books of the law be permitted thenceforth to be quoted but those which were copies from this great original, under a threatened penalty of personal punishment and perpetual silence to be inflicted upon all who practised in the laws and in- fringed these injunctions. 4 A few other regulations of this meeting of the estates, regarding the manufacture of artillery, or, as they were- termed, " carts of war," the regulation of the coin, the importation of bullion, the examination of goldsmiths' work, and the prohibition of English cloth as an article of import, do not require anv more extended notice. 5 On the 17th of March 1471-2, the birth of a prince, afterwards James the Fourth, had been welcomed with great enthusiasm by the people ; and the king, to whom, in the present dis- contented and troubled state of the aristocracy, the event must have been especially grateful, was happily in- duced to listen to the advice of his clergy, and to renounce for the present all intentions of a personal expedition to the continent. He suffered him- self also to be guided by the wisdom of the same counsellors in his resolu- tion to respect the truce with Eng- land ; and on a proposal being made by Edward the Fourth, that a lasting peace should be concluded between the two nations, on the basis of a marriage between the Prince Royal of 1 Scotland and one of his own daughters, | James despatched an embassy for the purp'ose of entering into a negotiation s The "lafe" probably means the body of the inferior judges of the realm. * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 105. « A parliament was held at Edinburgh, October 6, 1474, of which nothing is known but its existence. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 108. O 210 with the English commissioners upon this important subject. 1 The lady, or rather the infant fixed on, for she was then only in her fourth year, was Edward's youngest daughter, the Princess Csecilia ; and the Bishop of Aberdeen, Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, and the chamberlain, James Shaw, having repaired to England, and concluded their deliberations, Ed- ward directed the Bishop of Durham, along with Russel, the keeper of his privy seal, and John, lord Scrope, to proceed to Edinburgh, and there con- clude a final treaty of marriage and alliance, which they happily accom- plished. 2 A curious illustration of the for- mality of feudal manners was pre- sented by the ceremony of the betroth- ment. On the 26th of October, David Lindsay, earl of Crawford, J ohn, lord Scrope, knight of the garter, along with the Chancellor Evandale, the Earl of Argyle, and various English commissioners and gentlemen, assem- bled in the Low Greyfriars' church at Edinburgh. The Earl of Lindsay then came forward, and declaring to the meeting that he appeared as pro- curator for an illustrious prince, the Lord James, by the grace of God King of Scots, demanded that the notarial letters, which gave him full powers in that character to contract the espou- sals between Prince James, first-born son of the said king, and heir to the throne, and the Princess Csecilia, daughter to an excellent prince, Lord Edward, king of England, should be read aloud to the meeting. On the other side, Lord Scrope made the same declaration and demand; and these preliminaries being concluded, the Earl of Crawford, taking Lord Scrope by the right hand, solemnly, and in presence of the assembled par- ties, plighted his faith that his dread lord, the King of Scotland, and father of Prince James, would bestow his son in marriage upon the Princess Csecilia of England, when both the parties had arrived at the proper age. Lord Scrope, having then taken the Scottish i Rymer, Feed era, vol. xi. p. 814. » Ibid. vol. xi. p. 821. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Char IV. earl by the right hand, engaged, and, in the same solemn terms, plighted his faith for his master, King Edward of England. After which, the condi. tions of the treaty upon which the espousals took place, were arranged by the respective commissioners of the two countries, with an enlightened anxiety for their mutual welfare. It was first declared that, for the better maintenance of peace and pro- sperity in the " noble isle called Bri- tain," some measures ought to be adopted by the Kings of Scotland and England, which should promote a spirit of mutual love between the sub- jects of both realms more effectually than the common method of a truce, which was scarcely sufficient to heal the calamities inflicted by protracted jealousies and dissensions, followed as they had been by an obstinate war. A more likely method for the settle- ment of a lasting peace was then de- clared to be the intended marriage between Prince James and the Lady Csecilia ; and the conditions upon which it had been concluded were enumerated. The truce between the kingdoms, agreed upon first at York in 1464, and afterwards prolonged to 1519, was to be strictly observed by both countries. As the__prince was yet only two years old, and the prin- cess four, the two monarchs were to give their solemn word to use every effort to have the marriage celebrated whenever the parties had completed the lawful age. During the life of King James, the prince and princess were to possess the whole lands and rents which belonged to the old heri- tage of the prince-apparent of Scotland during the lifetime of his father, namely, the duchy of Rothesay, the earldom of Carrick, and the lordship of the Steward's lands of Scotland. With his daughter, the King of Eng- land was to give a dowry of twenty thousand marks of English money; and it was lastly agreed that, in the event of the death of the prince or princess, the heir-apparent of Scotland for the time should, upon the same terms, marry a princess of England. 3 ' » Bymer, Foedera, vol. xi. p. 821. T 475-8.] JAME Such were the principal stipulations of a treaty which, had it been faith- fully fulfilled by the~fcwoT countries, might have guaranteed to both the blessings of peace, and essentially pro- moted their national prosperity. &.t first, too, the English monarch appears to have been extremely solicitous to fulfil the agreement. Two thousand five hundred marks of the dowry of the princess were advanced ; and in consequence of some remonstrances of the Scottish king regarding the St Salvator, a vessel belonging to the see of St Andrews, which had been plun- dered by the English, with another ship, the property of the king himself, which had been captured by a priva- teer of the Duke of Gloucester, Ed- ward despatched his envoy to the Scot- tish court, with instructions to meet the Admiral of Scotland, and afford complete redress upon the subject. This mission acquaints us with the singular circumstance that the nobil- ity, and even the monarch, continued to occupy themselves in private com- mercial speculations, and were in the habit of freighting vessels, which not only engaged in trade, but, when they fell in with other ships similarly em- ployed, did not scruple to attack and make prize of them. 1 The state of the northern districts, and the continued rebellion of the Earl of Ross, now demanded the interfer- ence of government, and a parliament was assembled at Edinburgh, in which this insurgent noble was declared a traitor, and his estates confiscated to the crown. His intimate league with Edward the Fourth, his association with the rebellious Douglases, and his outrageous conduct in " burning, slay- ing, and working the destruction of the lands and. liege subjects of the king," fully justified the severity of the sentence ; but as the mountain chief continued refractory, a force was levied, and the Earls of Crawford and Athole directed to proceed against him. The extent of these preparations, which comprehended a formidable fleet as well as a land army, intimi- dated Ross, and induced him, through i Rymer, Fcedera, vol. xi. pp. 820, 850. 3 III. 211 the mediation of Huntly, to petition for pardon. Assured of the favour able disposition of the monarch, he soon after appeared in person at Edin burgh, and with many expressions of contrition, surrendered himself to the royal mercy. The earldom of Ross, with the lands of Knapdale and Kentire, and the office of hereditary Sheriff of Inverness and Nairn, were resigned by the penitent chief into the hands of the king, and inalien- ably annexed to the crown, whilst he himself was relieved from the sen- tence of forfeiture, and created a peer of parliament, under the title of John de Isla, lord of the Isles. 2 The king had now attained his full majority of twenty-five years, and, according to a usual form, he revoked all alienations in any way prejudicial to the crown, which had been made during his minority, and especially all convey- ances of the custody of the royal cas- tles, resuming the power of dismiss- ing or continuing in office the per- sons to whom they had been com- mitted. He at the same time intrusted the keeping and government of his son, Prince James, to his wife and consort, Margaret, queen of Scotland, for the space of five years ; and for this purpose delivered to her the castle of Edinburgh, with an annual pension, and full power to appoint her own constable and inferior officers. 3 With the desire of cementing more strongly the friendship with England, a double alliance was proposed. His sjster, the Princess Margaret, was to marry the Duke of Clarence ; and his brother, the Duke of Albany, the Dowager-duchess of Burgundy, sister to Edward the Fourth. This monarchy however, appears to have courteously/ 1 wajied -the proposal, 4 although he seized the opportunity of an intended visit of James to the shrine of St John of Amiens, to request, in press- ing terms, a personal interview with 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. p. 113. " Baronem Banrentum et Dominum Dominum Parliamenti." Ferrerius, p. 393. s Mag. Sig. viii. 80. Feb. 7, 1477. * Letter of Edward IV. to Dr Legh his envoy. Vespasian, c. xvi. f. 121, quoted by Pinkerton's History, vol. i p. 287. 212 this monarch* But the Scottish king was induced to delay his pilgrimage, and in obedience to a common practice of the age, caused a large medal of gold to be struck, as a decoration for the shrine of the saint. 1 Hitherto the reign of this prince had been in no usual degree prosperous, and his administration signalised by various acquisitions, which added strength, security, and opulence to the kingdom. The possession of the Orkneys and Shetland, the occupation of Berwick and Koxburgh, the annexa- tion of the earldom of Ross to the crown, the establishment of the inde- pendence and liberty of the Scottish Church by the erection of St Andrews into an archbishopric, the wise and nonourable marriage treaty with Eng- land, were all events, not only for- tunate, but glorious. They had taken place, it is true, under the minority of the monarch; they were to be attri- buted principally to the counsellors who then conducted the affairs of the government ; (fand the history of the country, after the monarch attained his full majority, presents a melan- choly contrast to this early portion of his reign?) It is difficult, however, to detect tfie causes which led to this rapid change ; and it would be unjust to ascribe them wholly to the character of the king. It must be recollected that for a considerable time previous to this the feudal nobility of Europe had been in a state of extraordinary commotion and tumult ; and that events had occurred which, exhibiting the deposition and imprisonment of hereditary sovereigns, diminished in the eyes of the aristocracy and of the people the inviolable character of -the throne. At this time insurrection had become frequent in almost every corner of Europe ; and the removal of the hereditary prince, to make way for some warlike usurper, or successful invader of royalty, was no uncommon occurrence : men's minds were induced to regard the crime with feelings of far greater lenity than had hitherto been extended to it ; whilst the aris- tocracy, who were the instruments of Ryraer, Foederak vol. xii. p. 53. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. such revolutions, and shared in th* spoils and forfeitures which they occa* sioned, began to be animated by a consciousness of their own power, and a determination to stretch it to the utmost bounds of illegal aggression and kingly endurance. The revolu- tion in England, which placed Henry the Fourth upon the throne, — the sub- sequent history of that kingdom dur- ing the contest between the houses of York and Lancaster, — the political struggles of France under Lewis the Eleventh, — the relative condition of the greater nobles in Germany, and of the rights of the imperial crown under the Emperor Sigismund, — the dissen- sions which divided the Netherlands, — and the civil factions and repeated conspiracies amongst the higher nobles, which agitated the government of Spain, all combine to establish the truth of this remark; and if we re- member that the communication be- tween Scotland and the continent was then frequent and widely spread over the kingdom, the powerful influence of such a state of things may be readily imagined. In addition to such causes of dis- content and disorganisation, there were other circumstances in the habits of the Scottish nobility, as contrasted with the pursuits of the king, which no doubt precipitated the commotions that conducted him to his ruin. The nobles were haughty and warlike, but rude, ignorant, and illiterate; when not immediately occupied in foreign hostilities, they were indulging in the havoc and plunder which sprung out of private feuds; and they regarded with contempt every pursuit which did not increase their military skill, or exalt their knightly character. At \ their head were the king's two bro- 1 thers, the Duke of Albany and the j Earl of Mar, men of bold and stirring ' J spirits, and .fitted by their personal qualities to be the favourities of the aristocracy. Their noble and athletic figures, and delight in martial exer- cises, — their taste for feudal pomp, for fine horses, and tall and handsome attendants, — their passion for the chase, and the splendid and generoui 1478.] • JAMES III. iiospitality of their establishment, familiar united to the courtesy and graceful- ness of their manners, made them universally admired and beloved; whilst Albany concealed under such popular endowments an ambition which, there is reason to believe, did not scruple, even at an early period, to entertain some aspirations towards the throne. To that of his brothers, the dispo- sition of the king presented a remark- able contrast. It has been the fashion of some historians to represent James as a compound of indolence, caprice, and imbecility; but the assertion is rash and unfounded. His character was different from the age in which he ]ived, for it was unwarlike; but in some respects it was far in advance of his own times. A love of repose and seclusion, in the midst of which he devoted himself to pursuits which, though enervating, were intellectual, and bespoke an elegant and cultivated mind, rendered him unpopular amongst a nobility who treated such studies with contempt. A passion for mathe- matics and the study of judicial astro- logyV'a taste for the erection of noble alicT splendid buildings, an addiction to the science and practice of music, and a general disposition to patronise the professors of literature and philo- sophy, rather than to surround himself with a crowd of fierce retainers ; such were the features in the character of this unfortunate prince, which have drawn upon him the reprobation of most of the contemporary historians, but which he possessed in common with some of the most illustrious mon- archs who have figured in history. 1 This turn of mind, in itself certainly rather praiseworthy than the contrary, led to consequences which were less excusable. (Aware of the impossibility of finding men of congenial tastes amongst his nobles, James had the weakness, not merely to patronise, but to exalt to the rank of favourites and companions, the professors of his fav- ourite studies>> Architects, musicians, painters, and astrologers, were treated with distinction, and admitted to the 1 Ferrerius, p. 391. 213 converse of the sovereign; whilst the highest nobles found a cold / and distant reception at court, or re- ' tired with a positive denial of access. Cochrane, an architect, or as he is indignantly termed by our feudal his- torians, a mason ; Rogers, a professor of music ; Ireland, a man of literary and scientific acquirements, who had been educated in France, were warmly favoured and encouraged ; whilst, even upon such low proficients as tailors, smiths, and fencing- masters, the trea- sures, the smiles, and encouragement of the monarch were profusely lavished. Disgusted at such conduct in the sove- reign, the whole body of the aristocracy looked up to the brothers, Albany and Mar, as the chief supports of the state; and as long as the king con- tinued on good terms with these popu- lar noblemen, the flame of discontent and incipient revolution was checked at least, though far from extinguished. But in the ambitious contests for power, and in the sanguinary collisions of jurisdiction, which were of frequent occurrence in a feudal government, it was to be dreaded that some event might take place which should have the effect of transforming Albany from a friend into an enemy, and it was not long before these fears were realised. The government of Berwick, and the wardenship of the eastern marches, had been committed to this warlike prince by his father, James the Second, from whom he had also inherited the important earldom of March, with the key of the eastern Border, the castle of Dunbar. 2 In the exercise of these extensive offices, a rivalry had sprung up between Albany and the powerful family of the Humes, with their fierce allies the Hepburns, and their resist- ance to his authority was so indig- nantly resented by the warden, that his enemies, to save themselves from his vengeance, attached Cochrane, the king's favourite, to their party, and, by his advice and assistance, devised a scheme for his ruin. At this period a belief in astrology and divination, and a blind devotion to such dark studies, was a predominant feature of 2 Pitscottie, Hist. p. 115 2H the age. James himself was passion- ately addicted to them ; and Schevez, the Archbishop of St Andrews, who had received his education at Lou- vaine, under Spernicus, a famous as- trologer of the time, had not scrupled to employ them in gaining an influence over the king, and in furthering those ambitious schemes by which he in- truded himself into the primacy. Aware of this, Cochrane, who well knew the weakness of his sovereign, insinuated to his new allies, the Humes, that they could adopt no surer instrument of working upon the royal mind than witchcraft. One Andrews, a Flemish astrologer, whom James had prevailed upon to reside at his court, was induced to prophesy that a lion would soon be devoured by his whelps ; whilst a prophetess, who used to haunt about the palace, and pretended to have an intercourse with a familiar spirit, brought the information that Mar had been em- ploying magical arts against the king's life, 1 and that her familiar had in- formed her the monarch was destined to fall by the hands of his nearest kindred. The warm affection which James entertained for his brothers at iirst resisted these machinations ; but the result shewed that Cochrane's esti- mate of his sovereign's weakness was too true. His belief in the occult sciences gave a force to the insinua- tion ; his mind brooded over the pro- phecy; he became moody and pen- sive; shut himself up amidst his books and instruments of divination; and, admitting into his privacy only his favourite adepts and astrologers, attempted to arrive at a clearer deli- neation of the threatened danger. To Cochrane and his brother conspirators such conduct only afforded a stronger hold over the distempered fancy of the monarch, whilst the proud char- acter of Albany, and his violent attack upon the Humes, were represented by his enemies as confirmations of that conspiracy against his royal brother, which was to end in his deposition 1 Ferrerius, p. 393. Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 43. Buchanan, book xii. chap. 37. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. and death. That Albany at this moment entertained serious designs against the crown, cannot be made out by any satisfactory evidence ; but that his conduct in the exercise of hia office of warden of the marches was illegal and unjustifiable, is proved by authentic records. Instead of em- ploying his high authority to estab- lish the peace of the Borders, he had broken the truce with England by / repeated slaughters and plundering expeditions; whilst within his own country he had assaulted and' mur- dered J ohn of Scougal, and surrounded himself by a band of desperate re- tainers, who executed whatever law- less commission was intrusted to them. Such conduct, combined with the dark suspicions under which he la- boured, effectually roused the king ; ?> and Albany, too confident in his power and his popularity, was sud- denly seized and committed to confine- ment in the castle of Edinburgh. 2 Immediately after this decided mea« sure, a parliament assembled, in which , the three estates, with the] laudable design of strengthening the amity with England, granted to the king a' subsidy of twenty thousand marks, for the purpose of bringing to a con- clusion the intended marriage between the Princess Margaret, his sister, and J Lord Rivers, brother-in-law to Ed- ward. The divided and distracte'd state of the country is strikingly de- picted by the simple enumeration of the matters to which the Lords of the Articles were commanded to direct their attention. They were to labour for the removal of the grievous feuds and commotions, which in Angus had broken out between the Earls of Angus and Errol, the Master of Craw- ford and Lord Glammis; they were to attempt to put down the rebellion in Ross, Caithness, and Sutherland; to persuade to an amicable under- standing the Lairds of Caerlaverock and Drumlanrig, who were at deadly feud in Annandale; to bring within the bonds of friendship the Turnbulls and the Rutherf ords of Teviotdale ; 2 Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 43. Bu- chanan, book xii. chap. 39. 1438-80.1 JAME and to promote a reconciliation be- tween the sheriff of this district and the Lord Cranstoun. 1 The subject of coinage, the state of the commerce of the country, and the expediency of a renewal of the negotiations with the qourt of Burgundy, were likewise re- commended for their consideration; but in the midst of their deliberations, Albany found means to elude the vigilance of his guards, and to escape from the castle of Edinburgh, an event which threatened to plunge the kingdom into a civil war. 2 The duke immediately retreated to his fortress of Dunbar, where he concentrated his force; appointed Ellem of Butterden his constable; and by increasing his military stores, • and enlisting in his service some of the fiercest of the Border chieftains, seemed determined to hold out to the last extremity. The power of the king, however, soon after shook his resolution, and he took a rapid journey to France, with the design of procuring assistance from Lewis the Eleventh, and returning to Scotland at the head of a band of foreign auxiliaries. In this, however, he was unsuccessful. He was re- ceived, 'indeed, by the French monarch with distinction; but Lewis steadily refused to adopt any part against his brother and ally of Scotland, or to assist Albany in his unnatural rebel- lion. 3 /-In his conduct at this moment, flames exhibited a decision and an jenergy which vindicates his character v£rom the charge of indolence or im- becility, so commonly brought against him. He despatched the Chancellor Evandale at the head of a strong force to lay siege to Dunbar, which, after a spirited defence of some months, was delivered up to the royal arms. A train of rude artillery accompanied the army upon this occasion. The construction of cannon, and the proper method of pointing and discharging them, appear, from contemporary re- cords, to have been one of the subjects i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 122. a Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 43. s Buclos. Hist, de Lewis XI. vol. ii. p. 308. 3 III. 215 to which not only the king himself directed particular attention, but which he anxiously encouraged in his nobility, and even amongst his clergy. Artillerymen and skilful artisans were procured from the continent ; and some of the principal entries in the treasurer's books at this period relate to the experiments made in the prac- tice of gunnery, an art still in its in- fancy in Scotland. In the present siege of Dunbar, the uncommon strength of the walls withstood for some months the artillery of the be- siegers ; but, on the opposite side, the cannon mounted on the ramparts of the castle appear to have been well served and pointed — a single ball at one moment striking dead three of the best knights in the army, Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, Sir Adam Wallace of Craigie, and Sir James Schaw of Sauchie. 4 When at last Evandale made himself master of the castle, he found that the governor and the greater part of the garrison, availing themselves of its communication with the sea, had escaped in boats, and taken refuge in England from the fury of their enemies. It was not so easy for them, however, to escape the severe process of the law ; and a par- liament was summoned to carry it into immediate execution. Albany, who was still in France, was solemnly cited at the market-cross of Edinburgh and before the gates of his castle of Dunbar, to appear and answer to a charge of treason ; whilst many of his boldest friends and retainers, Ellem of Butterden, George Home of Polwarth, John Blackbeird, Pait Dickson the laird, and Tom Dickson of the Tower, were summoned at the same time, and upon a similar accusation. 5 Previous to the meeting of the three estates, however, an embassy arrived from Lewis the Eleventh, the object of which was to persuade the Scottish monarch to pardon his brother, and to assist the French king in the war which Edward the Fourth meditated against him, by the usual method of * Lesley, History, p. 43. I * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol I ii. p. 128. 2!<3 HISTORY OF infringing the truce, and producing a hostile diversion on the side of the English Borders. The ambassador on this occasion was Dr Ireland, a Scottish ecclesiastic of great literary acquire- ments, who had been' educated in France, and in whose conversation the king took so much delight, that he had anxiously endeavoured to fix him at his own court. Personally disposed, however, as he was to be pleased with the envoy, the circumstances in which the king was then placed rendered it extremely difficult to break with Eng- land. The marriage treaty which had been concluded between the Princess Csecilia, Edward's daughter, and the heir-apparent to the Scottish throne, had been sanctioned and ratified by the payment of three instalments of the dowry. 1 Another royal marriage, also, that of the Princess Margaret of Scotland to the Earl of Rivers, was on the eve of being concluded ; and Ed- ward had lately granted passports not only to this noble lady, but to James himself, who, with a suite of a thou- sand persons, contemplated a pilgrim- age to the shrine of St John of Amiens. These were powerful obstacles in the way of any rupture of the truces, and with the greater part of the nobility the renewal of a war with England was equally unpopular and unpolitic ; but the attachment of the king to the ancient league with France prevailed ; and although there is undoubtedly no evidence of the fact, a conjecture may be hazarded that James had detected, at an earlier period than is generally supposed, the existence of certain in- trigues between Edward the Fourth and the Duke of Albany, which are proved by authentic documents to have taken place in the succeeding year. It does not appear that the conduct of the Scottish monarch at this trying conjuncture is deserving of the repro- bation with which it has been visited by some historians : to Albany, who had been guilty of treason, it was al- most generous. He did not, indeed, agree to the request of Lewis in grant- ing him an unconditional pardon, but 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. pp. 40, 41. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. he adjourned the process of forfeiture from time to time, in the hopes that he might in the interval return to his allegiance, and render himself deserv- ing of the royal clemency; and the same lenient measure was adopted in the case of his offending vassals and retainers. Against Mar, indeed, his j younger brother, who was accused of , using magical arts for the purpose of I causing the king's death, the royal ■ vengeance broke out with rapid and/ overwhelming violence ; but the death of this accomplished and unfortunate prince is involved in much obscurity. It is asserted by Lesley and Buchanan that he was suddenly seized by the king's order and hurried to Craigmillar, and that at the same time many witches and wizards, whom he had been in the habit of consulting upon the surest means of shortening the life of the monarch, were condemned to the flames. 2 The evidence derived from these unhappy wretches left no doubt of the guilt of the prince ; and the choice of his death being given him, he is said to have ^preferred that of Petronius, directing his veins .to be opened in a warm bath.^) In opposi- tion to this tale of our popular his- torians, a more probable account is given by Drunimond of Hawthornden, derived, as he affirms, from the papers of Bishop Elphinston, a contemporary of high character. According to his version of the story, before James had fixed on any definite plan of punish- ment, Mar, from the violence of his own temperament and the agitation attendant upon his seizure, was at- tacked by a fever which soon led to delirium. In this alarming state he was removed, by the king's command, from Craigmillar to a house in the Canongate at Edinburgh, where he was carefully, attended by the royal physicians, who, to reduce the frenzy, opened a vein in his arm and in his | temple. This, however, proved the cause of his death; for the patient, when in the warm bath, was attacked by an accession of his disorder, and J- 2 Old Chronicle at the end of Winton, printed by Pinkertori. Hist. vol. i. p. 50& Lesley'i Hist. pp. 43, 44. 1480-1.] JAM] furiously tearing off the bandages, ex- | pired from weakness and exhaustion before any styptic could be applied. The silence of the faction of the nobles which afterwards deposed the king upon the subject of Mar's death, at a moment when they were eager to seize every method to blacken the conduct of their sovereign, seems to corroborate the truth of this story. 1 But although innocent of his death, James considered the treason of his brother as undeserving the leniency which he still extended to Albany ; and the rich earldom of Mar was for- feited to the crown. In the midst of these transactions, Edward the Fourth, who for some time had forgotten his wonted energy in a devotion to his pleasures, began to rouse himself from his lethargy, and to complain of the duplicity of Lewis and the treachery of James, with a violence which formed a striking contrast to the quietude of his late conduct. Nor can we be surprised at this burst of indignation, and the sudden resolution for war which accompanied it. He found that Lewis, who had amused him with a promise of mar- riage between the Dauphin of France and his daughter the Princess Eliza- beth, had no serious intention of either accepting this alliance or fulfilling the .treaty upon which it proceeded; he ^discovered that this crafty prince had not only proved false to his own agree- ment, but had corrupted the faith of his Scottish ally. Unnecessary and suspicious delays had occurred to pre- vent the intended marriage between James's sister and her affianced hus- band, the Earl of Rivers; and the same monarch, who had already re- ceived three payments of the dowry of the Princess Csecilia, Edward's daughter, in contemplation of the marriage between this lady and his eldest son, instead of exhibiting a friendly disposition, had begun to make preparations f oy war, and to exhibit un- equivocal intentions of violating the truce, and invading his dominions. 2 1 Drummond's History of the Jameses, p. 48. 2 Rymer, vol. xii. pp. 41, 115. 3 III. • 217 Upon the part of the Scottish king, this conduct was unwise; and it is easy to see that, in his present resolu- tion to engage in a war with England, James allowed himself to be the dupe] of the French monarch, and shut hia eyes to the best interests of his king^ dom. He was unpopular with the great body of his nobility : they des- pised his studious and secluded habits ; they regarded with the eyes of envy and hatred the favourites with whom he had surrounded himself, and the pacific and elegant pursuits to which he was addicted. The kingdom was full of private war and feudal disorder; the Church had been lately wounded by schism ; and the lives of some of the higher clergy, under the loose sup- erintendence of Schevez, who on the death of the unfortunate and virtuous Graham had succeeded to the primacy, were careless and corrupt. Nothing could be more injurious, to a kingdom thus situated, than to add to its in- ternal distresses the misery of foreign war; and indeed if there was one cheering circumstance in the aspect of public affairs, it was in the prospect of peace with England. The happy effects of a long interval of amity be- tween the two kingdoms were begin- ning to be apparent in the diminution of that spirit of national animosity which had been created by protracted war ; and now that the nation was no longer threatened with any designs against its independence, it must have been the earnest wish of every lover of his country that it should remain at peace. So much indeed was this the conviction of one of James's most faithful counsellors, Spence, bishop of Aberdeen, that after presenting a strong protestation against the war; after explaining that a continuance of peace could alone give stability to the government, and secure the im- provement and the happiness of the nation, he was so overpowered with grief when he found his remonstrances neglected, that he fell into a profound melancholy, from which he never re- covered. 3 I Both countries having thus resolved | » Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 44. 218 HISTORY OF on hostilities, Edward appointed his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, after- wards known as Richard the Third, to the office of lieutenant-general of the north, with ample powers to levy an army, and conduct the war against Scotland. Meanwhile, before Glouces- ter could organise his force, the Earl of Angus broke across the marches, at the head of a small army of Borderers. To these men, war was the only ele- ment in which they enjoyed existence; and, with the celerity and cruelty which marked their military opera- tions, they ravaged Northumberland for three days, burnt Bamborough, plundered the villages and farm- granges, and drove before them their troops of prisoners and cattle without any attack or impediment. 1 Roused by this insult, and by the intelligence that the King of Scotland was about to invade his dominions in person, Edward hastened his preparations; issued orders for the equipment of a fleet against Scotland; entered into a negotiation with the Lord of the Isles and Donald Gorm, whose allegiance was never steady except in the imme- diate prospect of death and confiscation; and aware of the desperate condition of Albany, who was still in France, • the English monarch, by private mes- sages, in which he held out to him the 1 prospect of dethroning his brother, and seizing the crown for himself, at- tached this ambitious prince to his service, and prevailed upon him to sacrifice his allegiance, and the inde- X>endence of his country, to his ambi- tion and his vengeance. 2 Nothing could be more ungrateful than such conduct in Albany. The process of treason and forfeiture which had been raised against him in the Scottish parliament, had, with much leniency and generosity upon the part of the king, been suffered to expire, and an opportunity thus afforded for his return to his former power and fetation in the government. Having Jdivorced his first wife, a daughter of 1 Chronicle at the end of Winton, in Pin- kerttm, Hist. vol. i. p. 503. Rymer, vol. xii. p 117. - Kymer, Foedcra, vol. xii. p. 140. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. the potent house of Orkney, he had married in France the Lady Anne de la Tour, daughter of the Count d'Au vergne ; and there can be little doubt that the friendship of the Frencb monarch had a principal effect in pre- vailing on his ally James to suspend the vengeance of the law, and hold out to the penitent offender the hope of pardon. But Albany, actuated by pride and ambition, disdained to sue for mercy; and without hesitation, entering into the proposed negotiation, threw himself into the arms of Eng- land. In the meantime the Scottish mon- arch deemed it necessary to assemble his parliament, and to adopt vigorous measures. The wardenry of the east marches was committed to the Earl of Angus, that of the west to Lord Cath- cart; the fortresses of Dunbar and Lochmaben were strongly garrisoned and provisioned; the Border barons, and those whose estates lay near the sea, were commanded to repair and put into a posture of defence their castles of St Andrews, Aberdeen, Tan- tallon, Hailes, Dunglass, Hume, Ed- rington, and the Hermitage ; the whole body of the lieges were warned to be ready, on eight days' notice, to assem- ble under the royal banner, in their, best array, with bows, spears, axes, and other warlike gear, and to bring with them provision for twenty days. A penalty was imposed on any soldier whose spear was shorter than five ells and a half; every axe-man who had neither spear nor bow was commanded to provide himself with a targe made of wood or leather, according to a pat- tern to be sent to the sheriff of the county ; 3 and all former statutes con- cerning the regular military musters, or " weapon-schawings," were enjoined to be rigidly observed. A tax of seven thousand marks was at the same time ordered to be levied for the victualling and defence of the town of Berwick, which was threatened with a siege by England. Having finished these preparations, James despatched an envoy to the « Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 132, 133. 1481-2.] English monarch, with a request that he would abstain from granting aid to the Duke of Burgundy, otherwise he should esteem it his duty to send as- sistance to the King of France. He at the same time commissioned a herald to deliver a remonstrance to Edward in a personal interview, but this prince treated the messenger with haughty neglect, detained him long, and at last dismissed him without an answer. In- dignant at such conduct, James assem- bled his army, and advanced in great strength to the frontiers. A singular and unexpected event, however, inter- rupted the expedition. Before the Scottish monarch had crossed the Bor- ders, a nuncio from the cardinal legate, who then resided in England, arrived in the camp, and exhibiUng the Papal bull, commanded the king under pain of excommunication to abstain from war, and to beware of the violation of that peace which the Holy See had enjoined to be observed by all Chris- tian princes, that they might unite their strength against the Turks and the enemies of Christendom. To this | remonstrance the Scottish king found himself obliged to pay obedience, and I the army, which was numerous and / well-appointed, wa*> immediately dis- banded. The king, go use the words of the parliamentary record, dispersed his great host which had been gathered for the resistance and invasion of his enemies of England, at the request and monition of the Papal bulls shewn him at the time, in the hope and trust that his enemies would have been equally submissive to the command of their holy father. 1 In this expecta- tion, however, he was disappointed. To the Papal bulls, or the remon- strances for the preservation of the peace of Christendom, Edward paid noj^gard. Berwick was vigorously thdugn ineffectually attacked, and the English army broke across the Bor- der^, carrying fire, bloodshed, and de- vastation into the country, whilst a squadron of English ships appeared in the Forth, but were gallantly repulsed by Andrew Wood of Leith, whose i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 138. JAMES III. ' 21* maritime skill and courage raised him afterwards to the highest celebrity as a naval commander. 2 But these open attacks were not so dangerous as the intrigues by which Edward contrived to seduce from the cause of their sovereign the wavering affections of some of the most power- ful of the Scottish nobility. The banished Duke of Albany had, it may be believed, many friends at court, s and Edward having recalled him from \ France, determined to carry into im- mediate execution his project for the dethronement of the present King of Scotland, and the substitution of his brother in his stead. These designs, in which the English monarch was supported by the banished Earl of Douglas, the Lord of the Isles, Donald Gorm, and not long after by many others of the Scottish nobility, led to an extraordinary treaty between Al- bany and Edward, which was con- cluded at Fotheringay castle. 3 In this the Scottish prince at once assumed the title of Alexander, king of Scot- land, by the gift of Edward the Fourth, king of England. He then bound himself and his heirs to assist that monarch in all his quarrels against all earthly princes or persons. He so- lemnly engaged to swear fealty and perform homage to Edward within six\ months after he was put in possession of j the crown and the greater portion of the kingdom of Scotland; to break the confederations which had hitherto- existed between Scotland and the realm of France ; to deliver into the hands of England the town and castle of Berwick, the castle of Lochmaben, and the counties of Liddesdale, Esk- dale, and Annandale ; whilst, in the last place, he promised, if according to the laws of the Christian Church he could make himself " clear of other women," that within a year he should marry the Lady Csecilia, King Ed-/ 'wards daughter, the same princess who was already espoused to the heir- 1 apparent of Scotland, Prince James. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 138, 138. 3 On dune 10, 1482. Rymer, Fcedera, vol. xii. pp. 154, 156. 320 HISTORY OF In the event, however, of its being found impossible to carry into execu- tion this contemplated alliance, he stipulated that he would not marry his son and heir, "if any such there be," without the consent of King Edward. 1 In return for these obligations, by which Albany basely consented to sacrifice the independence of his coun- try, the English monarch engaged to assist the duke in his designs for the occupation of the realm and crown of Scotland; and both these remarkable papers, which are yet preserved in the Tower, bear the signature Alexander R., (Rex,) evincing that Albany lost no time in assuming that royal name and dignity to which he so confidently aspired. But these were not the only dangers to which the King of Scotland was exposed. There" was treachery at work amongst his nobles and in his army. The Earl of Angus, one of the most powerful men in the country, Lord Gray, and Sir James Liddal of Halkerston, appear to have been no- minated by Albany as his commis- sioners to complete those negotiations with the English monarch, of which only the rude outline was drawn up in Fotheringay castle. Angus was warden of the eastern marches, and as such, possessed on that side the keys of the kingdom. To the common feudal qualities of courage and cruelty this chief united a haughty pride of birth and a con- tempt for those intellectual studies to which his sovereign was so deeply de- voted. His high offices, his opulence, and his magnificent establishment made him popular; and, by what means it is now difficult to discover, he suc- ceeded in organising a conspiracy in conjunction with Edward and Albany, which included within its ranks the most powerful persons amongst the Scottish aristocracy, and had for its object the delivery of the monarch into the hands of his enemies. The Earls of Huntly, Lennox, Crawford, and Buchan ; the Lords Gray, Hailes, Hume, and Drummond, with certain bishops whose names are not recorded, assembled their forces at the command i Rymer. Foedera, vol. xii. p. 156. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. of the king, but with the secret de- termination to desert him. It hap- pened unfortunately for the prince, who was thus marked out for destruc- tion, that he had at this moment lavished upon his favourite Cochrane the principal revenues of the earldom of Mar, and had imprudently raised this low-born person to an influence in the government which made him an object of envy and hatred. These bitter feelings were increased by some unpopular counsel given at this time to the king. At a season of great dearth he is said to have persuaded him to imitate the injurious device practised by other European princes, of debasing the current coin by an issue of "black money," or copper ' pieces mixed with a small quantity of silver, which increased the public dis- tress, and raised the price of all the necessaries of life. 2 To the people, therefore, he was peculiarly obnoxious — to the barons not less so, and his character and conduct aggravated this enmity. Possessing a noble figure, and combining great personal strength and skill in the use of his weapons, with undaunted bravery, he fearlessly returned the feudal chiefs the scorn with which the*, regarded him. In the splendour of his apparel and estab- lishment he eclipsed his enemies, and it is not improbable that the king was weak and shortsighted enough to enjoy the mortification of his nobility, little aware of the dark plot which at that moment was in agitation against him. Angus and the rest of the conspir- ators determined to disguise their real design for the dethronement of their sovereign, under the specious cloak of J a zeal for reforming the government,^ and dismissing from the royal councils such unworthy persons as Cochrane and his companions. Having matured their plans, the English monarch com- manded his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, to assemble his army ; aftid this able leader, along with Albany and 2 Chronicle at the end of Winton, in Pin- kferton's History, vol. i. p. 503. Ruddiman's Preface to Anderson's Diplomata, pp. 145, 146, of the English translation : Edinburgh 1773. 1482.] Douglas, advanced, at the head of a great force, accompanied by a park of artillery, to the siege of Berwick. Being informed of this procedure, James commanded a muster of the whole force of his dominions in the Borough Muir, an extensive common to the west of Edinburgh ; and, with- out the slightest suspicion of the base intentions of the conspirators, pro- ceeded with his army, which amounted to fifty thousand men, first to Soutra, and from thence to Lauder. Cochrane, who, either in derision, or from his own presumption, was known by the title of Earl of Mar, commanded the artillery, and by the unusual splendour of his camp furniture, provoked still further the envy of the nobles. 1 His tent or pavilion was of silk ; the fastening chains were richly gilt; he was~~accompanied by a bodyguard of three hundred stout retainers, in sump- tuous liveries, and armed with light battle-axes ; a helmet of polished steel, richlj jnlaid with gold, was borne be- fore him ; and, when not armed for the field, he wore a riding suit o¥ black velvet, with a massive gold chain round his neck, and a hunting horn, tipt with .gold and adorned with precious stones, slung across his shoul- der. On reaching Lauder, the Scottish army encamped between the church and the village ; and the principal leaders, next morning, having secretly convoked a council, without sending any communication either to the sove- reign or to his favourite, proceeded to deliberate upon the most effectual method of betraying their master, and fulfilling their promises to Edward and Albany. In the course of this debate, all were agreed that it would be ex- pedient to rid themselves, without delay, of the hated Cochrane. His well-known courage, — his attachment to the king, — and the formidable force which he commanded, rendered this absolutely necessary. They hesitated, however, as to the best mode for his seizure : and, amid the general em- barrassment and uncertainty, Lord Gray introduced the well-known apo- 1 Ferrerius, pp. 395, 393. JAMES III. 221 logue of the mice having agreed, for the common safety, that a bell should be suspended round the neck of their tyrannic enemy the cat; but, being thrown into great perplexity when it came to the selection of one bold enough to undertake the office, " De- lay not as to that," cried Angus, with his characteristic audacity; " leave me to bell the cat ! " — a speech which has procured for him, from the Scottish historians, the homely appellative of Archibald Bell-the-cat. It happened, by a singular coincidence, that at this critical moment Cochrane himself arrived at the porch of the church where the leaders were assembled, under the idea, probably, that it was a council of war in which they were engaged, and fatally ignorant of the subject of their deliberations. He knocked loudly, and Douglas of Loch- leven, who kept the door, inquired who it was that so rudely demanded ad- mittance. "It is I," said he, "the Earl of Mar." — " The victim has been beforehand with us," cried Angus, and stepping forward, bade Douglas unbar the gate to their unhappy visi- tor, who entered carelessly, carrying a riding whip in his hand, and in his usual splendid apparel. " It becomes not thee to wear this collar, " said Angus, forcibly wrenching from his neck the golden chain which he wore; "a rope wouldsuitthee better." — "And the horn too," added Douglas, pulling it from his side ; " he has been so long a hunter of mischief that he needs must bear this splendid bauble at his breast." Amidst such indignities, Cochrane, a man of intrepidity, and not easily alarmed, was for a moment doubtful whether the fierce barons who now crowded round him were not indulging in some rude pastime. "My lords," said he, "is it jest or earnest?" a question which he had scarcely put when his immediate seizure effectually opened his eyes to the truth. His hands were tied ; his person placed under a guard, which rendered escape impossible ; and a party was instantly despatched to the royal tent. They broke in upon the monarch; seized Rogers, his master 222 HISTORY OF of music, and others of his favourites, with whom he was surrounded, before a sword could be drawn in their de- fence ; and James, who appears to have been unaccountably ignorant of the plots which had been so long in preparation against him, found him- self, in the course of a few moments, a prisoner in the hands of his subjects, and beheld his friends hurried from his presence, with a brutality and violence which convinced him that their lives would be instantly sacri- ficed. 1 Nor was it long before his anticipations were realised. The mo- ment the royal person was secured, the conspirators dragged Cochrane to the bridge of Lauder. It is said that this unfortunate minion besought his butchers not to put him to death, like a dog, with a common rope, but at least to gratify him by using one of the silk cords of his tent equipage; but even this was denied him, and he was hanged by a halter over the par- apet of the bridge. At the same mo- ment, Dr Rogers, a musician of great eminence, whose pupils were famous in Scotland at the time that Ferrerius composed his history, 2 shared a similar fate; and along with them, Hommil, Torphichen, Leonard, Preston, and some others, whose single fault seems to have been their low birth and the favour with which the king regarded their talents, were put to death with the like cruel and thoughtless preci- pitation. When they had concluded this disgraceful transaction, the nobles disbanded the army, leaving their country exposed to the advance of the English under Gloucester and Albany ; and having conveyed their sovereign to the capital, they shut him up in the castle of Edinburgh. 3 The consequences of this base con- duct were, for the time, fatal to the kingdom. Berwick, whose trade formed one of the richest sources of the Scottish revenue, fell into the hands of the English ; and Gloucester advanced to the capital through a * Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 48. Illus- trations, letter P. 2 Ferrenus, p. 395. * Chronicle at the end of "Winton, in Pin- kcrtun's History, vol. i. p. 503. July 1482. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. country where there was no army to resist him. The Duke of Albany now ' deemed himself secure of the crown ; ' and the Earl of Angus, possessed of the person of the king, awaited only a full deliberation with the English com- j mander, to complete the revolution by the dethronement of his sovereign. But although the whole body of the Scottish nobility had united willingly with Angus, and even lent their assist- ance to Albany and Edward to com- plete the destruction of Cochrane and the king's favourites, Angus had hitherto concealed from them the darker portion of the plot ; and when hints were thrown out as to his real intentions — when it was obscurely proposed that the Duke of Albany should be placed upon the throne, and their rightful sovereign deposed — he immediately discovered that he could no longer reckon upon the support of the nobles in his ultimate designs. 1 The very idea seems to have caused 5 an immediate separation of parties ; and the friends of the government and of the sovereign, suspicious of a leader who began to speculate on treason, withdrew themselves from Angus, and collected an army near Haddington, with, which they determined to keep in check the further proceedings of \ Albany and Gloucester. 4 It was fortunate for these barons that the full extent of their baseness — the convention at Fotheringay, the 1 assumption of the title of king, the I . sacrifice of the superiority and inde- pendence of the country — were not then revealed ; and that, having been convinced that a coalition with the royal party was absolutely necessary, they had not so far betrayed them- selves as to render it impossible. A negotiation was accordingly opened, in which Schevez, archbishop of St Andrews, and Livingston, bishop of Dunkeld, along with Evandale, the chancellor, and. the Earl of Argyle, j undertook the difficult task of promot- / ing a union between the two parties, and effecting a reconciliation between \ Albany and his royal brother. 5 It * Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 49. 4 Bymer, Fcedera, vol. xii. p. 160. 5482.] JAMES III. C was impossible for these leaders to act under a commission from the king; for since the disastrous execution of his favourites at Lauder, this unfortu- nate prince had been imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, under the care of his two uncles, the Earls of Athole and Buchan. They engaged, therefore, on their own authority, to procure a pardon for Albany, and a restoration to his estates and dignities, provided he was content to return to his allegiance, and assist his sovereign in the government of his realm and the maintenance of justice. The friends of the duke, with the excep- tion of those whose names had already been marked in the act of parliament, were to be included in the indemnity ; and to these conditions they engaged, by the same deed, to procure the con- sent of the king and the confirmation of the three estates. 1 To such an agreement, it may readily be believed that Albany was not loath to accede. It extricated him, indeed, from a situation which was not a little perilous : for he found himself unpopular amongst the nobles, and trembled lest circumstances might reveal the full extent of his baseness ; whilst Gloucester, discovering that the schemes of the duke for the de- thronement of his brother, and the sacrifice of the independence of the country, had excited an odium for which he was not prepared, determined to withdraw his army, and to be satis- fied with the surrender of Berwick as the fruit of the campaign. 2 There was no difficulty, therefore, in effecting a full reconcilement between Albany and the king's party, which was headed by the Chancellor Evandale, and .the prelates of St Andrews and Dunkeld. But it was found a less easy task to reduce to obedience the Earls of Athole and Buchan, who commanded the castle of Edinburgh, and retained possession of the person of the sove- reign. These chiefs were the sons of Sir James Stewart, the black knight of Lorn, by Johanna, queen-dowager of James the Firsfr; and if we are to 1 Rymer, Fcedera, vo\. xii. p. 161. 2 Ibid. vol. xii. p. 162. believe the assertions of the king him- self, they not only kept the most jealous watch over his person, but would actually have slain him, had he not been protected by Lord Darnley and other barons, who remained be- side him, and refused either by night or day to quit his apartment/ It may be doubted, however, whether the documents in which these facts ap- pear present us with the whole truth ; and it seems highly probable that, amid the dark and complicated in- trigues which were carried on at this moment amongst the Scottish nobles, the faction of Athole and Buchan, in- stead of having a separate interest from Albany, were only branches of the same party, and kept possession of the king's person, that the duke, by the eclat of delivering his sovereign from imprisonment, might regain some- what of the popularity which he had lost. It is certain, at least, that Albany, upon his restoration to his former high offices of warden of the east and west marches, and lord high admiral, immediately collected an army, and laid siege to Edinburgh castle. - The English army 4 at the same time J commenced its retreat to England; and the burgesses of Edinburgh, an- s xious to re-establish a good under- standing between the two countries,- agreed to repay to Edward the sunu which had been advanced as the dowry < of the Lady Caecilia, his daughter, pro- vided he should think it expedient to J drawback from the proposed marriage between this princess and the heir- apparent of the Scottish throne. 5 In reply to this, ^dward intimated his? resolution that the intended alliance' 7 should not take place •> and, in terms of their obligation, the full amount of the dowry already paid was re-trans- mitted by the citizens to England. In the meantime, after a decent interval of hostilities, the Earls of Athole and ( Buchan thought proper to capitulate ; and the castle of Edinburgh, with its royal prisoner, was delivered into the hands of the Duke of Albany, who s Mag. Sig. x. 44. Oct. 19, 1482. * Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 49. * Rymer, vol. xii. p. 161. 224 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. now became the keeper of the sove- reign, and, in concert with an over- whelming party of the nobility, as- sumed the direction of the govern- ment. 1 The unhappy king, thus transferred from a prison only to fall under a durance still more intolerable, had yet left to him a few friends in the Arch- bishop of St Andrews, the Chancellor Evandale, and the Earl of Argyle ; but, for the present, it was impossible for them to make any effectual stand against the power of Albany, and they fled precipitately to their estates. Ev- andale was in consequence deprived of the chancellorship, which was con- ferred upon Laing, bishop of Glasgow; whilst Andrew Stewart, an ecclesiastic, and brother to the Earls of Athole and Buchan, was presented to the bishopric of Moray, and promoted to the office of keeper of the privy seal. A parliament now assembled at Edinburgh, and all was conducted under the control of the Duke of Albany. (The sovereign was. treated with the greatest harshness ; at times, being actually in fear of his life, he found himself compelled to affix his signature and authority to papers which gave the falsest views of the real state of affairs; and it is curious to trace how completely the voice of the records was prostituted to eulogise the conduct of Albany and his friends. The monarch was made to thank this usurper in the warmest terms for his delivery from imprisonment ; and the abettors of the duke in his treasonable assumption of the supreme power were rewarded, under the pretence of hav- ing hazarded their lives for the pro- tection of the king. 2 1 Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 50. 2 It is evident that the whole of the acts of this parliament, 2d December 1482, the char- ters which passed the great seal, and the various deeds and muniments which pro- ceeded from the great officers of the crotrn, ought to be viewed with the utmost suspicion by the historian. They are not only the de- positions of parties in their own favour; but they are the very instruments by which they sacrificed the public good, the liberty of the lieges, and the property of the crown, to their own aggrandisement ; and amid such a mass of intentional misrepresentation and error, it would be vain to look for the truth. At the request of the three estates, the king, upon the plea of its being improper for him to expose his person to continual danger in defence of his realm against its enemies, was recom- mended to entreat the Duke of Albany to accept the office of lieutenant-gene- ral of the kingdom, with a provision to meet the great expenses which he must incur in the execution of its duties. By conferring this high office upon his brother, the sovereign was in reality compelled to be the instru- ment of superseding his own authority, and declaring himself unworthy of the crown. ' But this was not all. The extensive earldom 'of Mar and Garioch was deemed a proper remuneration for the services of the lieutenant-general in delivering his sovereign from im- prisonment, and the principal offices in the government appear to have been filled by his supporters and de- pendants. 3 Nor did he neglect the most likely methods of courting popu- larity. Privileges were conferred on the provost and magistrates of the capital ; the burgesses of the city were lauded for their fidelity to the king ; the office of heritable sheriff within the town was conferred upon their chief magistrate ; and his rights in exacting customs, and calling out the trained bands and armed citizens be- neath a banner presented to them o*n this occasion, and denominated the Blue Blanket, were considerably ex- tended. 4 Sensible of the strong spirit of national enmity which still existed between the two countries, and the jealousy with which many regarded his intimacy with Edward the Fourth, the lieutenant-general issued his orders to the lieges to make ready their war- like accoutrements, and prepare for hostilities. But nothing was farther from his intentions than war. He 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, p. 143. Mag. Sig. x. 32. December 2, 1482. The expressions employed in the royal char- ter are evidently dictated by Albany himself. It is granted to him "for the faith, loyalty, love, benevolence, brotherly tenderness, piety, cordial service, and virtuous attention," manifested in freeing the king's person from imprisonment. * Inventory to the City Chartulary, i. 33. 1482-^.] meant only to strengthen his popu- larity by the enthusiasm with which he knew' such a measure would be received by a large proportion of the country, whilst, at the same time, he privately renewed his intrigues with the English monarch. A secret treaty was negotiated between the commis- sioners of Edward and the Earl of Angus, Lord Gray, and Sir James Lid- dal, the friends and envoys of the duke, by which it was agreed that, from this day forth, there should be good amity, love, and favour between the King of England and a high mighty prince, Alexander, duke of Albany, and between the subjects of either prince dwelling within the one realm and the other. By another article in the same treaty, the King of England and the Scottish ambas- . sadors engaged to Albany, that they would not only preserve inviolate the truce between the two kingdoms, but, if need be, would assist him in the conquest of the crown of Scotland "to his proper use," so that he in his turn, and the nobles of Scotland, might do the King of England great service against his enemy the King of France. Another stipulation provided that, upon the assumption of the crown of Scotland by the duke, he should in- stantly and for ever annul the league between that country and France; that he should never in all time com- ing pretend any right or title to the town . and castle of Berwick ; that he should restore to his lands and dignity in Scotland the banished Earl of Doug- las ; and after he is king, and at free- dom as to marriage, espouse one of the daughters of King Edward. In the event of Albany dying without heirs, Angus, Gray, and Liddal, the three ambassadors, engaged for them- selves, and their friends and adherents, to keep their castles, houses, and strengths from James, now King of Scots, "and to live under the sole allegiance of their good and gracious prince, the King of England." In return for this base and treasonable sacrifice of his country, Edward under- took to further the views of Albany in his Conquest of the crown of Scot- VOUTL JAMES III. ^25 land, by sending his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, and his cousin, the Earl of Northumberland, with such aid of archers and men-at-arms as was thought necessary for the emergency. For thje present, three thousand arch- ers were to be furnished, paid and provisioned for six weeks; and, in case. there should happen "a great day of rescue," or any other immediate danger, Edward promised that the Duke of Albany should be helped . by an army, through God's grace, suffi- cient for his protection. 1 The contradictions and errors of our popular historians, and the deficiency of authentic records, have left the period immediately succeeding this convention between Edward and* Al- bany in much obscurity. Its conse- quences seem to have been much the same as those which followed the in- trigues of Angus; 2 and it is evident that, although the duke, in his endeav- ours to possess himself of the crown, was assisted by Athole, Buchan, Gray, Crichton, and others of the most powerful nobility in Scotland, another and a still stronger party had ranged themselves on the side of the king, incited to this more by their detesta- tion of the schemes of Albany, by which the integrity and independence of their country as a separate kingdom were wantonly sacrificed, than by any strong affection for the person of then- sovereign. The measures, too, of the duke appear to have been rash and precipitate. He accused the sovereign of countenancing a conspiracy to take him off by poison, and he retaliated by a violent but abortive attempt to seize the king, which weakened his faction, and united in still stronger opposition to his unprincipled designs the friends of order and good govern- ment. 3 By their assistance, the mon- arch, if he did not regain his popu- larity, was at least enabled to make a temporary stand against the ambition of his brother, who, convinced that he was on the verge of ruin, be- 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. pp. 173-175. 2 Supra, p. 222. 5 Lesley's History,, p. 50. Original Lettei, James III. to Arbuthnot. Caledonia, vol ii p. 602. V 226 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. sought and obtained a timely recon- ciliation. In a parliament which was as- sembled at Edinburgh in the con- clusion of the . eventful year 1482, Albany was compelled to acknowledge his manifold treasons, and to lay down his office of lieutenant-governor of the realm. 1 He was, however, with great weakness and inconsistency upon the part of the government, permitted to retain his wardenship of the marches ; and whilst he and his adherents, the Bishop of Moray, the Earls of Athole, Buchan, and Angus, were discharged from approaching within six miles of the royal person, he was indulged by the sovereign and the parliament with a full pardon for all former offences, and permitted to retain his dignity and his estates unfettered and unim- paired. At the same time the duke delivered a public declaration, authen- ticated under his hand and seal, in which he pronounced it to be a false slander that the king had ever medi- tated his death by poison ; he promised from thenceforth to discontinue his connexion with Angus, Athole, Buchan, and the rest of his faction, "not hold- ing them in dayly household in time to come ; " and he engaged to give his letters of manrent and allegiance to the sovereign under his seal and sub- scription, and to *endure for the full term of his life. By the same agree- ment the most powerful of his sup- porters were deprived of the dignities and offices which they had abused to the purposes of conspiracy and rebel- lion. The Earl of Buchan was de- graded from his place as great cham- berlain, which was bestowed upon the Earl of Crawford ; deprived of his command of deputy-warden of the middle marches; and, along with Lord Crichton and Sir James Liddal, who appear to have been considered the most dangerous of the conspirators with England, banished from the realm for the space of three years. Angus was compelled to remove from his 1 Indentura inter Jacobum Tertium et Du- com Albaniae Alexandrum ejus fratrem. 16th March 1482. MS. General Register House, Edinburgh. [Chap. IV. office of great justiciar on the south half of the water of Forth, to resign his stewartry of Kirkcudbright, his sheriffdom of Lanark, and his com- mand of the castle of Trief ; 2 whilst John of Douglas, another steady as' sociate of Albany, was superseded in his sheriffdom of Edinburgh. The whole conspiracy, by which nothing less was intended than the seizure of the crown, and the destruction of the independence of the country, was acknowledged with an indifference and effrontery which adds a deeper shade of baseness to its authors, and punished by the government with a leniency which could only have proceeded from a want of confidence between the sove reign and the great body of his nobility The causes of all this seem to hav« been a weakness in the party opposed to Albany, and a dread in the king's friends lest, if driven to despair, this ambitious and unprincipled man might yet be able to withstand or even to overcome them. But the result of so wavering a line of policy was the same here as in other cases where half mea- sures are adopted. It discouraged for the time the patriotic party, which, having the power in their own hands, did not dare to employ it in the pun- ishment of the most flagrant acts of treason which had occurred since the time of Edward JBaliol ; and, by con- vincing Albany of the indecision of the government, and the manifest un- popularity of the king, it encouraged him to renew his intercourse with England, and to repeat his attempt upon the crown. Accordingly, soon after the dissolu- tion of the parliament, he removed to his castle of Dunbar, which he garri- soned for immediate resistance; he provisioned his other castles; sum- moned around him his most powerful friends and retainers, and despatched into England Sir James Liddal, whose society he had lately so solemnly for- sworn, for the purpose of renewing his league with Edward, and requesting his assistance against his enemies. In consequence of these proceedings, an English envoy, or herald, named Blue 2 MS. Indenture, aa quoted above. H83-4J JAME Mantle, was commissioned to renew the negotiations with Albany; and he himself, indefatigable in intrigue, soon^after repaired to England. 1 At his desire, an English force invaded the Border, and advancing to Dunbar, was admitted into that important fortress by GhTord of Sheriff hall, to whom it had been committed, for the purpose of being delivered into the hands of \ his ally, King Edward. The duke i himself remained in England, busy in , concerting his measures with Douglas and his adherents for a more formid- able expedition ; and his friend Lord Crichton, one of the most powerful and warlike of the Scottish barons, engaged with the utmost ardour in concentrating his party in Scotland, and fortifying their castles for a de- termined resistance against the sove- reign. 2 I At this critical moment happened (the death of Edward the Fourth, — an event which greatly weakened the /party of the duke r and contributed eventually to his total discomfiture. Its effects, however, were not immedi- ately fatal; and Richard the Third, who usurped the throne, and with whom, when Duke of Gloucester, we have seen Albany preserving an inti- mate correspondence, received the renegade at court with much' courtesy and distinction. In the meantime his repeated conspiracies excited, as was to be expected, a very general in- dignation in Scotland. A parliament assembled, in which he was again sum- moned to answer to a charge of treason; and, having failed to appear, the three estates found him guilty of the crime laid to his charge, declaring that his life, lands, offices, and all other posses- sions, were forfeited to the king. Lord Crichton, Sir James Liddal, Gifford of Sheriff hall, and a long list of their adherents, experienced a similar fate ; 3 whilst the monarch of England, sur- rounded by difficulties, and threatened 1 Processus Forisfacture Ducis Albanie. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 147. 2 Processus Forisfacture Domini de Crech- toun. Ibid. pp. 154, 134. s Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. U. pp. 152, 154, 164. S III. 227 with daily plots in his own kingdom* evinced an anxiety to cultivate the most amicable relations with Scotland, and granted safe-conducts to Elphin- ston, bishop of Aberdeen, and the Earl of Crawford, as ambassadors from James, 4 with the object of renewing the truces, and arranging the best measures for the maintenance of peace upon the Borders. At the same time there arrived at court, as ambassador from Charles the Eight of France, who had lately suc- ceeded to the throne of that kingdom, Bernard Stewart, lord Aubigny. ' This eminent person, whose Scottish descent made him peculiarly acceptable to the king, Jwas received with high distinc- tion ; and the ancient league between France and Scotland was renewed by the Scottish monarch with much so- lemnity. Soon after, an embassy, which consisted of the Earl of Argyle and Schevez, archbishop of St Andrews, with the Lords Evandale, Fleming, and Glammis, proceeded to France, 5 and in their presence, Charles the Eighth, then only in his fourteenth year, con- firmed and ratified the league, and consented to grant the most prompt assistance to his ally for the expulsion of the English from the kingdom, and the reduction of his rebellious sub- jects. 6 So far the treasonable conspiracy of Albany had been completely defeated by the energy of the king, and the co-operation of his nobility ; and James, shaking off that indolent de- votion to literature and the fine arts, which he was now convinced had too much intruded upon his severer duties as a sovereign, collected an army, and laid siege to the castle of Dunbar, which had been delivered by Albany to the enemy, and strongly garrisoned with English soldiers. 7 Meanwhile, Albany and Douglas, al- though courteously received by the English king, soon discovered that it was his determination to remain at peace with Scotland; and, with the 4 Rjmer, vol. xii. p. 207. Illustrations, Q. * Crawford's Officers of State, p. 45. 6 Ibid. 1 i Ferrerius, p. 397 Drummond, p. 55. 228 desperate resolution of making a last struggle for the recovery of their in- fluence, they invaded Scotland, at the head of a small force of five hundred horse, and pushed forward to Loch- maben, under the fallacious idea that they would be joined by some of their late brothers in conspiracy, and by their own tenantry and vassals, who were numerous and powerful in this district. It was St Magdalene's day, 1 upon which* an annual fair was held in the town, and a numerous concourse of neighbouring gentry, along with a still greater assemblage of merchants, hawkers, and labourers, were met to- gether, all of whom, according to the fashion of the times, carried arms. On the approach of Albany and D.oug- las at the head of a body of English cavalry, it naturally occurred to the multitude, whose booths and shops were full of their goods and merchan- dise, that the object of the invaders was plunder; and with a resolution whetted by the love of property, they threw themselves upon the enemy. The conflict, however, was unequal; and on the point of terminating fatally for the brave burghers and peasantry, when a body of the king's troops, of which the chief leaders were Charteris of Amisfield, Crichton of Sanquhar, and Kirkpatrick of Kirkmichael, along with the Laird of Johnston and Mur- ray of Cockpule, advanced rapidly to the rescue of their countrymen, and attacked the English with a fury which broke their ranks and decided the con- test. 2 After a grievous slaughter and , complete dispersion of their force, the Duke of Albany escaped from the field ' by the fleetness of his horse ; but Doug- las, more aged, and oppressed by the weight of his armour, was overtaken and made prisoner by Kirkpatrick, who, proud of his prize, carried him instantly to the king. 3 j His career had, as we have seen, been such as to claim little sympathy. It was that of a self- ish and versatile politician, eyexxeady to sacrifice his country to his personal 1 22d July. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. p. 173. Mag.-Sig. xi. 77. August 10, 1484. 3 Acta Domin. Concilii, 19th January 1484. Mag. Sig. xi. 72. July 9, 1484. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. ambition." But his rank and his mis- fortunes, his venerable aspect and gray hairs, moved the compassion of the king; and he whose treason had ba-) njshed him from Scotland, who for nearly thirty years had subsisted upon the pay of its enemies, and united himself to every conspiracy against its independence, was permitted to escape' with a punishment whose leniency re- \ fleets honour on the humanity of the sovereign. He was confined to the monastery of Lindores, where, after a few years of tranquil seclusion, he I died, — the last branch of an ancient and illustrious race, whose power, em- ployed in the days of their early great- ness in securing the liberty of the country against foreign aggression, had latterly risen into a fatal and treason- able rivalry with the' crown. It i3~ said that, when brought into the royal presence, Douglas, either from shame or pride, turned his back upon his so- vereign, and on hearing his sentence^ muttered with, a bitter smile, "He/ who may be no better, must needs J turn monk." 4 His associate, Albany," first took refuge in England, and from thence passed over to France, where, after a few years, he was accidentally slain in a tournament. 5 ^ Two powerful enemies of the king"\ were thus removed ; and instead of d/ monarch who, like Edward the Fourth, encouraged rebellion amongst his sub- jects by intrigue and invasion, the Scottish king found in Richard the Third that calm and conciliatory dis- position, which naturally arose out of his terror for the occurrence of foreign* war, before he had consolidated his newly-acquired power. To him, tran- quillity. &nd popularity with the great body of his nobility and of his people, were as necessary as to James; and had the Scottish aristocracy permitted their development, the government of either country would have been con- ducted upon the principles of mutual friendship and unfettered intercourse. An embassy, consisting of the Earl of * Drummond, Hist. p. las and Angus, p. 381. a Anselme, Histoire p. 525. 53. Hume's Doug- Gen ealogique, ir. 1484-6.] JAMES IIL Argyle, the chancellor, Lord Evandale, "VVhitelaw, the secretary to the king, and the Lord Lyle, was received with' great state by Richard at Nottingham; and having conferred with the English commissioners, the Archbishop of York, the Chancellor of England, and the Duke of , Norfolk, they determined upon a truce for three years, which was to be cemented by a marriage be- tween the heir of the Scottish crown, James, duke of Rothesay, now a boy in his fourteenth year, and Lady Anne, niece of the King of England, and ^daughter to the Duke of Suffolk. 1 By one of the articles of this truce, the castle of Dunbar, then in the pos- session of the English, having been delivered to them by Albany, and for recovery of which the King of Scot- land had made great preparations, was to enjoy the benefit of the cessation of hostilities for six months ; after the expiration of which period, James was to be permitted to recover it, if he was able, by force of arms. At the same time that this embassy took place, the purport of which was openly declared, and appears in the public records, much secret inter- course was carried on between Richard the Third and the Scottish nobility and clergy, in which the names occur of several barons who took a promi- nent part against the king in the sub- sequent rebellion. From the brief and cautious manner in which the passports for such persons are worded, it is im- possible to point out the subjects of their private negotiation; but there seems ground to presume that the aristocratic faction, which had been for a long time opposed to the king, and which gave him its lukewarm support solely for the purpose of crush- ing the desperate treasons of Albany, had now begun to intrigue with England. From the time of the rising at Lau- der, the execution of Cochrane and his associates, and the subsequent impri- sonment of the sovereign, many of the Scottish nobles must have been sensible that they had subjected them- selves to a charge of treason, and that i Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. pp. 236, 244, 250. 229 the monarch only waited for the op- portunity of returning power to employ it in their destruction. The blood of his favourites, shed with a wanton- ness and inhumanity which nothing could justify, called loud for ven- geance : however devoted to the indo- lent cultivation of the fine arts, or enervated by the pursuit of pleasure and the society of the female sex, the character of James partook somewhat of the firmness and tenacity of revenge which distinguished his grandfather, James the First; and it was antici- pated that his return to liberty, and the free exercise of his prerogative, would bring a fearful day of reckoning to the conspirators at Lauder. The instances of the Douglases, the Living- stons, and the Boyds, some of whom, previous to their trial and execution, had stood in far more favourable cir- cumstances than most of the present nobles, must to them have been full of warning; and it was natural for those who felt the treacherous and unstable ground on which they stood, to endeavour to strengthen their fac- tion by a secret negotiation with Eng- land. To what extent Richard listened to such advances, does not appear; but there seems to be little doubt that, on the meeting of parliament in the com- mencement of the year 1485, a large proportion of the Scottish aristocracy had persuaded themselves that the se- curity o£ their lives and their property was incompatible with the resumption of his royal authority by the monarch whom they had insulted and impri- soned : on the other hand, it is evi- dent that, by whatever various motives they were actuated, a more numerous party, consisting both of the clergy and of the barons, had attached them- selves to the interest of the sovereign; and whilst many must be supposed to have beeri influenced by the selfish hope of sharing in the plunder and confiscation which invariably accom- panied the destruction of a feudal fac- tion, a few perhaps were animated by a patriotic desire to support the autho- rity of the crown, and give strength and energy to the feeble government of the country. Such appear to have 230 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. been the relative situations of the two great factions in the state on the open- ing of the parliament in the commence- ment of the year 1485; and most of its acts seem to have been wisely- calculated for the good of the com- munity. It was resolved to despatch an em- bassy to the court of England, for the purpose of concluding the marriage between the Duke of Rothesay and the niece of Richard. Provisions were adopted for the maintenance of tran- quillity throughout the realm, by hold- ing justice-ayres twice in the year; the king was advised to call a part of the lords and head men of his king- dom, who were to bring to trial and execution all notorious offenders, and Schevez, the Archbishop of St An- drews, was to be despatched on an embassy to the court of Rome, having instructions to procure the Papal con- firmation of the alliances which had been concluded between Scotland and me kingdoms of France and Denmark. Other matters of importance, affecting mutually the rights claimed by the crown, and the authority maintained by the see of Rome, were intrusted to the same diplomatist. It was to be reverently submitted to the holy father, that the king, ' having nomi- nated his " tender clerk and coun- sellor," Alexander Inglis, to the bi- shopric of Dunkeld, requested the Papal confirmation of his promotion as speedily as possible ; and the ambas- sador was to declare determinately, that his sovereign would not suffer any other person, who had presumed to procure his promotion to this bi- shopric contrary to the royal will, to enter into possession. An earnest re- monstrance was to be presented to the Pope, requesting, that on the decease of any prelate or beneficed clergyman, his holiness would be pleased to delay the disposition to such dignities for six months, in consequence of the dis- tance of the realm of Scotland from the Holy See, within which time the king's letter of supplication for the promotion to the vacant benefice of such persons as were agreeable to him might reach the pontiff, — a privilege [Chap. IV D which, it was remarked, the sovereign considered himself entitled to insist upon, since the prelates of his realm had the first vote in his parliament, and were members of his secret coun- cil. In the same parliament, an act . of James the Second, which made it treason for any clerk to purchase benefices in the court of Rome, the presentation to which belonged to the crown, was directed to be rigidly car- ried into execution; and all persons who maintained or supported any ecclesiastics who had thus intruded themselves into vacant sees, were ordered to be punished by the same penalties of proscription and rebel- lion as the principal offenders. Some homely provisions regarding the ex- tortion of ferrymen, who were in the habit of taking double and treble freight, and a regulation concerning the coinage, concluded the subjects which upon this occasion occupied the wisdom of Parliament. 1 It was within four months after this, that Richard the Third was cut off in the midst of his unprincipled, but daring and energetic career, by a re- volution,, which placed Henry, earl of J Richmond, upon the throne of Eng- land, under the title of Henry the Seventh. That a faction in Scotland supported the Earl of Richmond, we have the authority of his rival Richard for believing ; 2 but who were the indi- viduals to whom the king alluded, and to what extent their intrigues had been carried on, there are no authentic documents to determine. The plot of Richmond, as it is well known, was fostered in the court of France; and Bernard Stewart, lord Aubigny, com- manded the body of French soldiers which accompanied him to England. Aubigny was, as we have seen, of Scot- tish extraction, and nearly related to the Earl of Lennox. 3 He had been 1 Acts of the Par. of Scot. vol. ii. p. 173. 2 Fenn's Paston Letters, vol. ii. p. 326. 3 Bernard Stewart, lord Aubigny, and John , Stewart of Darnley, first Earl of Lennox, were brothers' children. Mathew, earl of Lennox, to whom Aubigny left his fortune, was the son of the first earl. By his sisters, the Ladies Elizabeth, Marion,' Janet, and Mar- garet Stewart, the Earl of Lennox was con- nected by marriage with the Earl of Argyle, 1436-7.] JAMES III 231 ambassador tc the Scottish court in I Accordingly, Eiphinston, bishop of the year 1484 ; and it is by no means improbable that, to further the plot for the invasion of England by the Earl of Richmond, Aubigny, an able politician, as well as an eminent mili- tary leader, had induced that party of the Scottish lords, who were already disaffected to the king, to make a diversion by invading England, and breaking the truce between the king- doms. The impetuosity of Richard, however, hurried on a battle before any symptoms of open hostility had broken out; and when the death of the usurper, on the field of Bosworth, had placed the crown upon the head of Henry, this monarch became natu- rally "as desirous of cultivating peace as he had formerly been anxious to pro- mote a war. Yet with this change of policy, the connexion of the new king with the faction of the Scottish barons which was opposed to the government of James, may have remained as inti- mate as before'; and when many of the same nobles, who had conspired with France against Richard, began to form plots for the destruction of their »wn sovereign, it is by no means im- probable that they looked for support to their friend and ally the King of England. The extraordinary caution with which Henry carried on his diplo- matic negotiations, has rendered it ex- ceedingly difficult for succeeding his- torians to detect his political intrigues, but there are some circumstances which create a presumption that the designs of James's enemies were neither un- known nor unacceptable to him. In the meantime, however, the accession of Henry seemed, at first, to bring only a continuance of friendly dispositions between the two kingdoms. Within a month after the death of Richard, the English monarch made overtures for the establishment of peace, and appointed the Earl of Nor- thumberland, who was warden of the marches, to open a negotiation with such envoys as James might select. 1 Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, Lord Ross of Halkhead, and Sir John Colquhoun of Luss. Douglas Peerage, vol. ii. pp. 95, 96. i Rymer, vol. xii. pp. 285-316 * Aberdeen, Whitelaw, the king's secre- tary, with- the Lords Bothwell and Kennedy, and the Abbot of Holy rood, were despatched as ambassadors ; and after various conferences, a three years' truce was agreed on, preparatory to a final pacification, whilst the Earl of Angus and the Lord Maxwell were ap- pointed wardens of the middle and western marches. Upon the part of England, the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Dacres were nominated to the same office on the eastern and western Borders, whilst overtures were made for a marriage between James, marquis of Ormond, James's second son, and the Lady Catherine, daughter of Edward the Fourth, and sister-in-^ law to King Henry. Soon after this, James was deprived, by death, of his queen, the Lady Mar* / garet, daughter to Christiern, king of | Denmark, a princess whose virtues, were of that modest and unobtrusive character which make little figure in history, and to whom, if we may be- lieve the report of his e nemi es, the king was notjyarmly attached. 2 The aspersions, indeed, which were so un- sparingly poured upon the memory of this monarch by the faction which dethroned and destroyed him, and the certain falsehood of some of their most confident accusations, render the stories of his alienation from his queen, and his attachment to other women, at best extremely doubtful. It is certain, however, that before a year of grief had expired, the royal widower began to think of another marriage, which should connect him more intimately in the bonds of peace and affectionate intercourse with England. The prin- cess upon whom he had fixed his affec- tions, was the Queen-dowager of Eng4 C land, the widow of Edward the Fourth^ and the mother-in-law of Henry the Seventh ; but before this union could be effected, a conspiracy broke out, 2 The period of her death, Pinkerton (vol. i. p. 324) observes, has not been mentioned by the Scottish historians. We are enabled, however, to approximate nearly to the exact time, by the expression used in a charter in the Mor- ton Cartulary, dated 16th Oct. 1486, which men- tions her as that time " nuper defuncta." 232 HISTORY OF which had been long collecting strength and virulence, and whose effects were as fatal as its history is obscure and complicated. We have already remarked that since the period of the conspiracy at the bridge of Lauder, in which a great body of the Scottish nobles rose against the sovereign, imprisoned his person, usurped the administration of the go- vernment, and, without trial or con- viction, inflicted the punishment of death upon his principal favourites and counsellors, the barons engaged in ^hat enterprise had never been cordi- ally reconciled to the king, and were well aware that they lived with a charge of treason hanging over their heads — that they held their estates, and even their lives, only so long as their party continued in power. Nearly five years had now elapsed since the execution of Cochrane, and in that interval some alterations had occurred, which were quite sufficient to alarm them. The character of the king had undergone a material change ; he had attached to his intetsst some of the wisest of the clergy, and not a few of the most powerful of his- nobility-; he had preserved peace with England,—^ had completely triumphed over the traitorous designs of his brother Al- bany and the Earl of Douglas, — had maintained his alliance with France, Flanders, and the northern courts of Europe, unbroken, — had supported with great firmness and dignity his royal prerogative against the encroach- ments of the see of Rome, — and had made repeated endeavours to enforce the authority of the laws, to improve the administration of justice, and re- strain the independent power of the feudal nobility, by the enactments of his parliament, and the increasing energy and attention with which he devoted himself to the cares of govern- ment. It has indeed been the fashion of some of our popular historians to represent the character of this unfor- tunate prince as a base mixture of wickedness and weakness ; but nothing can be more untrue than such a pic- ture. The facts of his reign, and the \ measures of his government, demon- I ' SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV, strate its infidelity to the original ; and convince us that such calumnies pro- ceeded from the voice of a faction de- sirous to blacken the memory of a monarch whom they had deserted and betrayed. But, even admitting r that the full merit of the wise and active administration of the government which had lately taken place, did not belong to - the king, it was evident to his enemies that their power was on the decline, and that their danger was becoming imminent. The character of the monarch, indeed, was far from relentless or unforgiving ; and the mild- ness of the punishment of Albany, and the benevolence of the sentence against Douglas, might have inspired them with hope, and promoted a reconci- liation ; but they knew also that there were many about the royal person who would advise a different course, and to whom the forfeiture, and the expectation of sharing in their estates, would present an -inviting prospect. On consulting together they appear to have come to the resolution to mus- ter their whole strength at the ensuing parliament ; to sound the disposition of the king and his party towards accept- ing their submission, and encouraging a coalition; and when they had warily estimated the comparative strength of their own faction, and that of the monarch, to form their plan, either of adherence to the government and sub- mission to the king, or of a determined rebellion against both. • In the mean- time, however, the death of the queen, and the treachery of those to whom the keeping and education of the heir- apparent was intrusted, enabled them to usurp an influence over his mind, which they artfully turned to their own advantage. To gain the prince to favour their designs against his father, and to allure him to join their party, by the pros- pect of an early possession of the sove- reign power, was a project which had been so frequently and successfully repeated in the tumultuous transac- tions of Scotland, and other feudal kingdoms, that it naturally suggested i itself to the discontented nobles ; and t it was no difficult task for such crafty 1487.1 JAM] and unscrupulous intriguers to work upon the youthful ambition of his character. James, duke of Rothesay, was now in his fifteenth year ; his dis- position was~"aspiring and impetuous ; and, although still a boy, his mind seems to have been far beyond his years. It was easy for them to in- flame his boyish feelings against his father, by the same false and unfound- ed tales with which they afterwards polluted the popular mind, and ex- cused their own attacks upon the government; and previous to the meeting of the parliament, they had succeeded in estranging the affections of the son from the father, and pro- ducing in his mind a readiness to unite himself to their party. Whilst such had been the conduct of the faction which opposed itself to the govern- ment, the king, shaking off the love of indolent retirement which he had too long encouraged, mustered his friends around him, consulted with his most confidential officers, and resolved that the proceedings of the ensuing parlia- ment should be conducted with an energy and a wisdom which should convince his enemies that they were mistaken in him. Such appears to have been the re- lative position of the monarch, and the faction of the discontented nobles, at the period of the meeting of parlia- ment, on the 13th of October 1487. 1 On that day a more numerous as- semblage of the nobles attended than for many years had been seen in the Scottish parliament ; and although the barons who were inimical to the king were pleased to find that they mus- tered in formidable strength, it was thought expedient to make overtures to the sovereign for an* amicable ad- justment of all their disputes and grievances, upon condition that a full pardon should be granted to all such barons as had made themselves ob- noxious to the laws, by treason, ra- pine, or other offences. To such a proposition, however, the party of the sovereign, too confident in their own power, gave an absolute denial. They 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 170. S IIL 238 brought in an act of parliament;, which declared, that for the purpose of re-establishing justice and tranquil- lity throughout the realm, which, in consequence of the delay of inflicting " sharp execution upon traitors and murderers, had been greatly broken and distressed, the king's highness had acceded to the request of his three estates, and was determined to refuse all applications for pardon of such crimes, or of any similar offences, for seven years to come." In return for the readiness with which the king had obeyed the wishes of his parliament, the lords spiritual and temporal, with the barons and freeholders, gave their promise that, in all time coming, they would cease to maintain, or stand at the bar with traitors, men-slayers, thieves, or robbers, always excepting that they must not be prevented from taking part in " sober wise," with their kin and friends, in the defence of their honest actions. They en- gaged also to assist the king and his officers to bring all such offenders to justice, that they might ''underly" the law ; and when, in consequence of the strength of the party accused, the coroner was unable to make his arrest- ment, they promised, with their armed vassals, to apprehend the delinquent. Other acts were passed at the same time, to which it is unnecessary to refer ; but the proceedings were amply sufficient to convince the barons, whose rebellion against the sovereign had made them liable to a charge of treason, that extreme measures were meditated against them. The parlia- ment was then prorogued to the 11th of January ; and it was intimated by the sovereign that a full attendance of the whole body of the prelates, barons, and freeholders would be in- sisted on, it having been resolved that all absent members should not only be punished by the infliction of the usual fine, but in such other me- thod as the king was wont to adopt to those who disobeyed his orders and incurred his high displeasure. In the intepval an important nego- tiation took place between the Bishops of Exeter and Aberdeen, who met ■I 234 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. at Edinburgh, and agreed that the present truce subsisting between the kingdoms should be prolonged to the 1st of September 1489. It was determined also that the proposed marriage between the King of Scots and the Princess Elizabeth, widow of Edward the Fourth, should take place as soon as the preliminaries could be settled, in a diet to be held at Edinburgh; whilst the peace be- tween the two countries should be further cemented by the marriage of James's second son, the Marquis of Ormond, to the Lady Catherine, third daughter of Edward the Fourth, and of James, prince of Scotland and duke of Rothesay, to another daughter of the same royal line. 1 These royal alliances were interrupted by a de- mand of the Scottish monarch. As a preliminary, he insisted upon the sur- render of the town of Berwick, which for so long a period had been the pro- perty of Scotland, and the rich em- porium of its trade. To this last con- dition Henry would by no means con- sent. 2 He was well aware of the importance of this Border fortress, as commanding a frontier against the Scots ; and so high a value did he set upon its continuing in the possession of England, that, from the moment that James had pertinaciously required its restoration, all serious thoughts of the proposed alliances were at an end ; and the politics of the English mon- arch, instead of being animated by the desire of a friendly union with the king, became infected with a partiality for the faction of his discontented nobles. Nor had these barons, during this interval, been idle : they ha.d consoli- dated their own strength; appointed various points of rendezvous for their vassals and retainers, and put their castles into a posture of defence : they had prevailed on some of the prelates and dignified clergy to join their party, whose affections the king had alienated by his severe reprobation of their pro- ceedings, in purchasing the nomination 483. Rymer, Feed era, vol. xii.'p. 329. Feb. 10, 1487. Rotuli Scotia?, vol. n. p. [Chap. IV. to vacant benefices at the Papal court : they had completely corrupted the principles of the king's eldest son, the Duke of Rothesay, and prevailed upon him to lend his name and his presence to their treasonable attack upon the government ; and although it cannot be asserted upon conclusive evidence, there is some reason to believe that the conspiracy was countenanced at least, if not supported, at the court of Henry the Seventh. In the meantime the parliament, which had been prorogued to the month of January, again assembled, 3 and was attended in great force by both factions. Aware of the intrigues which were in agitation against him, and incensed at the conduct of his enemies in working upon the ambition, and alienating from him the affections, of his son and successor, J ames pro- ceeded to adopt decided measures. He brought forward his second son, created him Duke of Ross, Marquis of Ormond, Earl of Edirdale, and Lord of Brechin and Novar, and by accumu- lating upon him these high titles, appeared to point him out as his in- tended successor in the throne. He strengthened his own party by raising the Barons of Drummond, Crichton of Sanquhar, Hay, and Ruthven, to the dignity and privileges of lords of par- liament ; he procured the consent of the three estates to the immediate departure of an embassy to the court of England, for the purpose of making a final agreement regarding his own marriage and that of the prince his son ; with instructions to the ambas- sadors that they should insist either on the delivery of the castle and the city of Berwick into the hands of the Scots, or upon the castle being cast down anct-- destroyed. He appointed the Earls of Crawford and Huntly to be justices on the north half beyond the Forth ; and from the Lords Bothwell, Glammis, Lyle, and Drummond, directed the parliament to select two justices for the southern division of the kingdom. With regard to the rights, which he contended belonged to the crown, in 8 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland. voL ii p. 180. 1487.] JAMES III. 235 disposing of vacant benefices, — rights I first explained to his highness the which interfered with those ecclesias- tical privileges claimed by the court of Rome as part of its inalienable pre- rogative, the conduct of the monarch was spirited and consistent. He had united the priory of Coldingham to the royal chapel at Stirling, 1 a measure which the potent Border family of the Humes affected to consider as an interference with their patronage, but upon what ground is not apparent. They made it a pretext, however, for joining the ranks of the discontented nobles; opposed the annexation in a violent and outrageous manner, and attempted to overturn the act of the king by an appeal to the Pope. The monarch, in the first instance, inter- dicted all persons from presenting . or countenancing such appeals, under penalty of the forfeiture of life, lands, and goods ; and finding this warning insufficient, he directed summonses to be issued against the offenders, ordain- ing them to stand their trial before a committee of parliament, and abide the sentence of the law. 2 Aware also that there would be some attempt at interference on the part of the Papal court, it was declared by the parlia- ment that the king was bound to pre- serve that ancient privilege which had been conferred upon his progenitors by a special bull, and by which the Scottish monarchs were not obliged to receive any legate or messenger of that court within their realm, unless a communication were first made to the king t and his council as to the nature of the message, so that it might be perfectly understood, before they were permitted to enter the kingdom, that they brought no communication con- trary to the will of 'the sovereign or the common prosperity of his realm. If therefore, it was said, any such legate happened to be now on his journey, or hereafter arrived, the par- liament recommended that messengers should be immediately sent to the Borders to prohibit him from setting his foot within the kingdom until he i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 179. * Ibid. vcl. ii. p. 183. cause of his coming. 3 In .the same parliament, and with a like resolute spirit, the king obtained an act to be passed, which insisted on his right to nominate to vacant benefices as an inalienable prerogative of his' crown, and in which his determination was declared, to keep his clerk, Mr David Abercromby, unvexed and untroubled in the enjoyment of the deanery of Aberdeen, notwithstanding any at- tempt to the contrary by persons who founded their title of interference upon a purchase or impetration of this ecclesiastical preferment at the court of Rome. The parliament was then adjourned to the 5th of May, and the members dispersed ; but the quiet was of short continuance, and the materials of civil commotion, so long pent up in the bosom of the country, in consequence of the determined measures adopted by the king, at length took fire, and blazed forth into open rebellion. In the severity of the late acts of parlia- ment, the Earls of Argyle and Angus, the Lords Lyle, Drummond, and Hailes, Blacader, bishop of Glasgow, and many other powerful barons who had joined their party, saw clearly the measures which were intended for their destruction, and determined, ere it was too late, to convince their ene- mies that their power was more for- midable than they anticipated. They accordingly concentrated their forces. The young prince, already estranged from his father, and flattered with the J adulation of a party which addressed ' him as king, issued from Stirling castle, 4 the governor of which, James Shaw of Sauchie, had early joined the I conspiracy, and placed himself at the I head of the insurgent army; whilst James, who had unfortunately per- mitted his friends and supporters to return to their estates after the disso- lution of the parliament, found him- self almost alone amidst a thickening tumult of revolt and violence, which it was impossible to resist. Cut to the 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, toI ii. p. 183. * Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 211, 2JS. 236 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. heart also, by seeing his own son at the head of his enemies, the king formed the sudden resolution of retir- ing from the southern provinces of his kingdom, which were occupied I chiefly by his enemies, to those nor- \ thern districts, where he could still •rely on the loyalty of his subjects, and the support of a large body of his nobility. Previous to this, however, he despatched the Earl of Buchan, along with Lord Both well and the Bishop of Moray, on an embassy to Henry the Seventh, to solicit the ( assistance of that monarch, and pro- cure the presence of a body of Eng- lish troops to overawe his rebels, and defend him against the imminent dangers with which he was sur- rounded. 1 He at the same time, de- prived Argyle of the office of chan- cellor, and conferred that dignity upon Elphinston, bishop of Aberdeen, one of the ablest and most faithful of his counsellors ; and anxious to detach his son from the party of the insurgents, and to save him from incurring the penalties of treason, he sent proposals I to the misguided youth, in. which the . severity of the king and the affection V)f the father were judiciously blended. But all was in vain. From the mo- ment that the prince left Stirling, and placed himself at the head of their party, the rebels boldly declared that James the Third, having forfeited the affections of his people, oppressed his nobility, and brought in the English to subdue the nation, had forfeited the crown, and ceased to reign. They then proclaimed his son as his suc- cessor, under the title of James the Fourth, and in his name proceeded to carry on the government. The Earl of Argyle was reinstated in his office of chancellor ; 2 a negotiation was opened with the court of England ; and Henry, who had looked coldly on the father, in consequence of his in- sisting upon the restoration of Ber- wick, did not scruple to treat with the son as King of Scots, and to grant passports for his ambassadors, the Bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld, the 1 Ttvmer, Foedera, vol. xii. p. 334. i * Mag. Big. x.,122. Feb. 18, 1437. [Chap. IV Earl of Argyle, the Lords Lyle and Hailes, with the Master of Hume. 3 The alarm of the king at the bold- ness and success of such measures was great. He was surrounded on all sides by his enemies, and in daily risk of being made a captive by his son. It was absolutely necessary, therefore, to hasten his retreat to the north ; but beforairis preparations were completed, the rebels advanced upon Edinburgh, his baggage and money were seized at Leith, and the monarch had scarcely time to throw himself into a ship be- longing to Sir Andrew Wood, and pass over to Fife, when he heard that the whole southern provinces were in arms. 4 The disaffection, however, had reached no further, and James, as he proceeded towards Aberdeen, and issued orders for the array of Strathern and Angus, had the gratification to find himself within a short time at the head of a numerous and formid- able army. His uncle, Athole, with the Earls of Huntly and Crawford, and j a strong assemblage of northern barons, joined his standard. Lord Lindsay of the Byres, a veteran commander of great talent and devoted loyalty; who" had served in the French wars, assem- bled a body of three thousand foot* men and a thousand horse. The old baron, who led this force in person, was mounted on a gray courser of great size and spirit. On meeting the king, he dismounted, and placing the reins in the hands of his sovereign, begged him to accept of the best war- horse in Scotland. " If your grace will only sit well," said the blunt old soldier, " his speed will outdo all I have ever seen either to flee or follow." The present was highly valued by the monarch, but it was thought ominous at the time, and lejl to fatal results. Soon after this, the king was met by Lord Ruthven at the head of a thou- sand gentlemen well mounted and clothed in complete body-armour, with a thousand archers, and a thousand infantry. 5 As he advanced, his forces s Hymer, Fcedera, vol. xii. p. 340. * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 202. * Pitscottie, Hist. p. 140. Ferrerius. p. 400. I4S7-8J JAMES IIL daily increased. The Earls of Buchan and Errol; the Lords Glammis, Forbes, and Kilmaurs ; his standard-bearer, J Sir William Turnbull ; the Barons of Tullibardine and Pourie : Innes of Innes, Colessie of Balnamoon, Somer of Balyard, and many other loyalists, incensed at the unnatural rebellion, and commiserating the condition of the country, warmly espoused his cause ; so that he soon found himself at the head of a well-appointed army of thirty thousand men, with which he instantly advanced against the rebel lords. 1 He found them stationed with the prince his son at Blackness, on the coast between Qugeij&ferry and Bor- rowstounness ; but the sight of his sub- jects-arrayed in mortal conflict against each other, and commanded by the Their to his throne, affected the bene- ) volent heart of the monarch, and in- duced him to listen to the advice of /"the Earls of Huntly and Errol, who j earnestly besought permission to at- 1 tempt an accommodation. A negotia- tion was accordingly opened, and cer- tain articles of agreement were drawn up and corroborated by the royal sig- nature, which, if we may believe the suspicious evidence of the conspirators themselves, were violated by the king, who suffered himself to be overruled by the stern councils of the Earl of Buchan. 2 Irritated at such undue influence, the Earl Marshal, along with Huntly, Errol, and Lord Glammis, / deserted the royal camp, and retired ( to their respective estates ; whilst Buchan, who perhaps wisely dreaded to lose an opportunity of extinguish- ing the rebellion which might never again occur, attacked the prince's army, and gained an advantage, which, although magnified into a victory, appears to have been little else than ^ a severe skirmish, too undecided to deter the prince and his associates from keeping the field in the face of bhe royal army. 3 The odious sight of civil bloodshed, however, created in both armies an indisposition to push 1 Acts of Pari, of Scotland, vol. iL jy. 202. 2 Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 202, 210. s Ibid. vol. ii. p. 204. 237 the battle to extremities; and the monarch, whose heart sickened at the prospect of protracted rebellion, again, by the mediation of his uncle, the Earl of Athole, made proposals for an amicable adjustment of the grievances for the redress of which his opponents were in arms. • Commissioners were, accordingly appointed, and a pacifica- tion agreed on, remarkable for the leniency of its stipulations, and the tenderness with which the royal pa- rent conducted himself towards his son. It will be remembered that James was at the head of an army flushed with recent success, — that he had been grossly calumniated by the rebellious subjects whom he was now willing to admit to pardon, — that his son, a youth in his sixteenth year, had usurped his name ' ancTlmtEority of king, — that they had filled his king- dom with confusion and bloodshed; under such circumstances, the condi- tions agreed on contradict in the strongest manner the representations of the popular historians regarding the character of this unfortunate prince. It was stipulated that the royal- estate and authority of the sove- reign should be maintained, so that the king might exercise his preroga- tives, and administer justice to his lieges, throughout every part of his realm; that his person should at all times be in honour and security;, and that such prelates, earls, lords, and barons, as were most noted for wisdom, prudence, and fidelity, should be kept around him. All those barons whom the prince had hitherto ad- mitted to his confidence, and whose evil councils had done displeasure to the king, were to make honourable amends to the monarch, by- adopting a wise and discreet line of conduct, under the condition that full security was to be given them for. their lives, honours, and estates. The king en- gaged to maintain the household of the heir-apparen?t, and support the lords and officers of his establishment in befitting dignity, provided they were honourable and faithful persons, distinguished for wisdom and fidelity, uader whose directions my lord tha * 238 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IV. prince might become obedient to his royal father, and increase in that dutiful love and tenderness which ought ever to be preserved between them. On these conditions, the king declared his readiness to forgive and admit to his favour all the prince's friends and servants against whom he had conceived any displeasure ; whilst his highness the prince intimated his willingness to dismiss from his mind all rancorous feelings against the lords spiritual and temporal who had ad- hered to the service of their sovereign in this time of trouble. In conclu- sion, it was agreed by both parties that all feuds or dissensions which at that moment existed between various great lords and barons, and more especially between the Earl of Buchan and the Lord Lyle, s"hould be com- posed and concluded; so that our sovereign lord and his lieges might once more live in peace, justice, and concord, and tranquillity be re-estab- lished throughout the realm. 1 Whatever causes led to this pacifica- tion, it is evident that the terms offered to the prince and his rebellious party were far too favourable, and that the humanity which dictated so feeble and insecure a compromise was little else than weakness. The king was then in circumstances which, if properly turned to advantage, must, . in all probability, have given him a complete triumph over a conspir- acy whose ramifications had spread throughout the kingdom. Under, the pretence of the redress of grievances partly ideal, partly true, but princi- pally of their own creation, a faction of his prelates and nobles had with- drawn their allegiance from their sovereign, seduced the affections of the prince, and attempted to over- turn the government of the country by force of arms. To have entered into terms with such offenders upon any other basis than a full and uncon- ditional surrender, was the extremity of folly; but instead of this, James, in his anxiety to avoid a mortal con- test, which, after the advantage at 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 210. Blackness, the insurgent lords would scarcely have hazarded, permitted the son who had usurped his kingly name, and the subjects who had defied the laws of the realm, to nego- tiate, with arms in their hands, on a footing of equality. No petition for forgiveness, no expression of peni- tence, was suffered to escape : the prince spoke throughout, not as a son conscious that he had offended, but as a sovereign transacting a treaty with his equal. The pacification of Black- ness was, in truth, a triumph to the faction of the discontented nobles; and it required little penetration to foresee that the tranquillity^ which was established on jsuch a foundation cou ld n ot be of any long duration : it was a confession of weakness, pro- nounced at a time when firmness at least, if not severity, were the only guides to the permanent settlement of the convulsions which now agitated the kingdom. Unconscious,, however, of the dan- gers which surrounded him, and trust- ing too implicitly to the promises of the insurgents, James retired to Edin- burgh, dismissed his army, and per- mitted the northern lords, upon whose fidelity he chiefly depended, to return to their estates. He then proceeded to reward the barons to whose zeal he had been indebted, and who had dis- tinguished themselves in the conflict at Blackness. The Earl of Crawford was created Duke of Montrose ; Lord Kilmaurs was raised to the rank of Earl of Glencairn ; Sir Thomas Turn- bull, his standard-bearer, Sir Andrew Wood, the Lairds of Balnamoon, Lag, Balyard, and others of his adherents, received grants of lands ; and the king weakly imagined that, if any bitter feelings were yet cherished in the bosoms of his son and his nobles, the mediation of the French monarch, to whom he had lately despatched am- bassadors, and the interference of the Holy See, to which a mission had been also directed, might effectually remove them. 2 Nothing, however, could be more vain than such anticipations. 2 Mag. Sig. x. 69. May 18, 1488. Ibid. isc. 77, same date. Ibid. xii. 365. June 25, 1492. 1488.J JAMES III. The monarch had scarcely time to re- organise his court, and take up hia residence within his castle of Edin- burgh, when he was informed that his son, and the same fierce and ambitious faction, had resumed their schemes of insurrection, and assembled in more formidable numbers than before. It may be doubted, indeed, whether they had ever dispersed ; and it is difficult to account for the infatuation of the king and his advisers, when we find them consenting to the dismissal of the royal army at the very moment the rebels continued to retain their arms. James, however, had a few powerful friends around him, and these urged him, ere it was too late, to reassemble his army without a moment's delay. The Duke of Montrose, the Earls of Menteith and Glencairn, the Lords Erskine, Graham, Ruthven, and Lord Lindsay of the Byres, immediately col- lected their followers ; and such was the popularity of the royal cause, that within a short time the royal army mustered in sufficient strength to take the field against the insurgents. Sum- monses were rapidly forwarded to the northern lords, and it was at first de- termined that, till these reinforcements joined the army, the sovereign should remain at Edinburgh, and avoid the risk of a battle. But this resolution, undoubtedly the wisest that could be adopted, was abandoned. It was sug- gested that Stirling would be a more convenient rendezvous for the northern chiefs and clans ; and, abandoning his strong castle of Edinburgh, the mon- arch advanced to this town, attacked the prince his son, who was encamped in the neighbourhood, drove him across the Forth, and after dispersing this portion of the rebels, demanded ad- mittance into his castle of Stirling. 1 This, however, was peremptorily re- fused him by Shaw of Sauchie, the governor, who had joined the prince ; and before time was given him to de- cide whether it would be expedient to jay siege to the fortress, intelligence was brought that his enemies had pressed on from Falkirk, and occupied i Mag. Sig. xii. 64. 9th January 1488. •289 the high level plain above the bridge of the Torwood. 2 Upon hearing this, James immediately advanced against them, and encountered the insurgent army on a tract of ground known at the present day by the name of Littie Canglar, which is situated upon the east side of a small brook called Sauchie Burn, about two miles from Stirling, , and one mile from the celebrated field ' of Bannockburn, where Bruce had de- feated Edward. Although inexperi- enced in war, James was not deficient in courage. By the advice of Lord Lindsay, with other veteran soldiers, the royal army, much inferior in num- bers to the insurgents, was drawn up in three divisions. The first, consist- ing of such of the northern clans as had arrived before the battle, wa? commanded by the Earls of Athole and Huntly, forming an advance of Highlandmen armed with bows, long daggers, swords, and targets ; in the rear division were the westland and Stirlingshire men, commanded by the Earl of Menteith, with the Lords Erskine and Graham ; whilst the king himself led the main battle, composed of the burghers and commons*. 3 He was splendidly armed, and rode the tajj^ayhorse which had lately been presentecFto him by Lord Lindsay. On his right this veteran soldier, with the Earl of Crawford, commanded a fine body of cavalry, consisting of the chivalry of Fife and Angus ; whilst Lord Ruthven, with the men of Strath- ern and Stormont, formed his left wing, with a body of nearly five thousand spearmen. Against this array, the rebel lords, advancing rapidly from the Torwood, formed themselves also in three battles. The first division was led by the Lord Hailes and the Master of Hume, and composed of the hardy spearmen of East Lothian and the Merse. 4 Lord Gray commanded the second line, formed of the fierce Gal- wegians, and the more disciplined and hardy Borderers of Liddesdale and 2 Pitscottie, History, vol. i. pp. 218, 219, by Dalyeil. 3 Nimmo's Stirlingshire, p. 226. Lesley's History, p. 57. * Ferrerius, p. 400. Buchanan, book xiL chap. €1. Pitscottie, History, vol. i. p. 219. 240 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Annandale — men trained from their infancy to arms, and happy only in a state of war. In the main battle were the principal lords who had conspired against the king, and at their head the young prince himself, whose mind, /torn between ambition and remorse, ks said to have sought for comfort in /issuing an order that no one should /dare, in the ensuing conflict, to lay [violent hands upon his father. 1 The onset commenced by showers of arrows, which did little execution, as the bow, although lately more en- couraged amongst the Highland troops, was never a favourite or formidable weapon with the nation. In the charge with the spear, however, the royalists drove back the enemy's first line and gained a decided advantage ; but it lasted only till the advance of the Borderers, who attacked with such steady and determined valour, that they not only recovered the ground. which aad been lost, but made a dread- ful slaughter, and at last compelled the Earls of Huntly and Menteith to retreat in confusion upon the main battle, commanded by the king. The conflict, however, was continued for some time with grea£ obstinacy, and James's forces, although inferior in i number to the insurgents, made a desperate stand. They at last, how- ever began to waver, and the tumult and slaughter approached the spot where the king had stationed himself. The lords who surrounded his person implored him not to run the risk of death or captivity, which must bring ruin upon their cause, but to leave the field whilst there was yet a chance of safety. To this advice James con- sented, not unreluctantly, if we may believe his enemies; and whilst his nobles obstinately protracted the bat- tle, the monarch spurred his horse, (and fled at full speecL towards the vil- lage of Bannockburn. VThe precaution, however, which was intended to secure his safety, only hastened his destruc- l Pinkerton (vol. i. p. 334) has represented the conflict which followed these dispositions as a brief skirmish, hurried to a conclusion by the timidity and flight of the king. Of this, however, there is no evidence. [Chap. IV. tion. On crossing the little river Ban- nock, at a hamlet called Milltown, he came suddenly upon a woman drawing water, who, alarmed at the apparition of an armed horseman, threw down her pitcher, and fled into the house. 2 j At this noise the horse, taking fright, \ swerved in the midst of his career, / and the king, losing his seat and fall- ) ing heavily, was so much 'bruised byj the concussion and the weight of bis armour, that he swooned away. He was instantly carried into a miller 's\ cottage hard by, whose inmates, ig-i norant of the rank of the sufferer, bufcS compassionating his distress, treated) him with great humanity. They placed him on a bed; cordials, such as their poverty could bestow, were administered, and the unhappy mon- arch at length opening his eyes, ear- nestly required the presence of a priest, to whom he might confess be- fore his death. On being questioned regarding his name and rank, he in- cautiously answered, " Alas ! I was your sovereign this morning ; " upon which the poor woman rushed out of the cottage, wringing her hands, and calling aloud for a priest to come and confess the king. By this time a party of the straggling soldiers of the prince's army had reached the spot, and one whose name is not certainly known, but whom some historians assert to have been an ecclesiastic named Borth- wick, in Lord Gray's service, hearing the woman's lamentation, announced himself as a priest, and was admitted into the cottage. He found the mon- arch lying on a flock-bed, with a coarse cloth thrown over him, and kneeling down, inquired with apparent tender- ness and anxiety how it fared with him, and whether with medical assist- ance he might yet recover. The king assured him that there was hope, but in the meanwhile besought him to receive his confession, upon which the ruffian bent over him, under pretence of proceeding to discharge his holy office, and drawing his dagger, stabbed 2 The cottage, called Beaton's Mill, where the king was murdered, is still pointed out to the traveller; and the great antiquity and thick- ness of the walls corroborate the tradition. I 1488.] JAMES III his unresisting victim to the heart, repeating Lis strokes till he perceived life to be completely extinct. The atrocity of the deed seems to have had the effect of throwing over it a studied obscurity ; so that, although it is as- serted that the murderer carried off the body'of his sovereign, his move- ments were never certainly traced, and his name and condition are to this day undiscovered. A body, however, ascertained to be that of James, was afterwards found' in the neighbour- hood, and interred with royal honours, • beside his queen, in the Abbey of Cambu skenneth . 1 Alter thellight of the king, the bat- tle " was neither long nor obstinately contested. Anxious to save their army, and dispirited by a vague rumour of the death of their master, the royal- ist leaders retired upon Stirling, and were not hotly pursued by the prince, who is said to have been seized with <5udden and overwhelming remorse on being informed of the melancholy fate of his father. . Dazzled, however, by his accession to the throne, and flat- tered by the professions of devoted- ness and affection of his party, these repentant feelings for the present were evanescent, although they afterwards broke out with a strength which oc- casionally embittered his existence. In the battle the loss was on neither Bide very great, although the Earls of Glencairn and Bothwell, with the Lords Erskine, Semple, and Ruthven, were amongst the slain in the royalist party. The army of the insurgent ■ nobles passed the night upon the field, and next day fell back upon Linlith- gow, when the lords permitted their vassals to disperse, and began anxious- ly to consult regarding the measures which it was necessary to adopt for the immediate administration of the government. 2 Thus perished, in the prime of life, and the victim of a conspiracy, headed by his own son, J ames the Third of Scotland; a prince whose character appears to have been misrepresented 1 Ferrerius, p. 400. Lesley's History, p. 57. Mag. Sig. xiii. 251. 6th April 1496. 2 Ferrerius, p. 400. VOL. II. and mistaken by writers of two very different parties, and whose real dis- position is to be sought for neither in the mistaken aspersions of Buchanan, nor in the vague and indiscriminate panegyric of some later authors. Buch- anan, misled by the attacks of a fac- tion, whose interest it was x . paint the monarch whom they had deposed and murdered, as weak, unjust, and aban- doned to low pleasures, has exagge- rated the picture by his own prejudices and antipathies ; other writers, amongst whom Abercromby is the most con- spicuous, have, with an equal aberra- tion Tfom the truth, represented him as almost faultless. That James had any design, similar to that of his able and energetic grandfather, of raising the kingly power upon the ruins of the nobility, is an assertion not only un- supported by any authentic testimony, but contradicted by the facts which are already before the reader. That he was cruel or tyrannical is an un- founded aspersion, ungraciously pro- ceeding from those who had expe- rienced his repeated lenity, and who, in the last fatal scenes of his life, abused his ready forgiveness to com- pass his ruin. That he murdered his brother is an jrnjfcrjjjh, emanating from the same source, contradicted by the highest contemporary evidence, and abandoned by his worst enemies as too ridiculous to be stated at a time when they were anxiously collecting every possible accusation against him. Yet it figures in the classical pages j5f Buchanan, — a very convincing proof of tn"e slight examination which that great man was accustomed to bestow upon any story which coincided with his preconceived opinions, and flat- tered his prejudices against monarchy. Equally unfounded was that imputa- tion, so strongly urged against" this prince by his insurgent nobles, that he had attempted to accomplish the perpetual subjection of the realm to England. His brother Albany had truly done so ; and the original records of his negotiations, and of his homage sworn to Edward, remain to this day, although we in vain look for an account of this extraordinary intrigue in the Q 242 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. pages of the popular historians. In this attempt to destroy the independ- ence of the kingdom, it is equally cer- tain that Albany was supported by a great proportion of the nobility, who oow rose against the king, and whose names appear in the contemporary muniments of the period; but we in vain look in the pages of the Foedera, or in the rolls of Westminster and the Tower, for an atom of evidence to shew that James, in his natural anxiety for assistance against a rebellion of his own subjects, had ceased for a moment to treat with Henry the Seventh as an independent sovereign. So far, indeed, from this being the case, we know that, at a time when conciliation was necessary, he refused to benefit him- self by sacrificing any portion of his kingdom, and insisted on the redeli- very of Berwick with an obstinacy which in all probability disgusted the English monarch, and rendered him lukewarm in his support. James's misfortunes, in truth, are to be attributed more to the extraordinary circumstances of the times in which he lived, than to any very marked defects in the character or conduct of the monarch himself, although both were certainly far from blameless. At this period, in almost every kingdom in Europe with which Scotland was con- nected, the power of the great feudal nobles and that of the sovereign had been arrayed in jealous and mortal hostility against each other. The time appeared to have arrived in which both parties seemed convinced that they were on the confines of a great change, and that the sovereignty of the throne must either sink under the superior strength of the greater nobles, or the tyranny and independence of these feudal tyrants receive a blow from which it would not be easy for them to recover. In this struggle another remarkable feature is to be discerned. The nobles, anxious for a leader, and eager to procure some counterpoise to the weight of the king's name and authority, generally attempted to se- duce the heir-apparent, or some one of the royal family, to favour their designs, bribing him to dethrone his [Chap. IV. parent or relative by the promise of placing him immediately upon the throne. The principles of loyalty, and the respect for hereditary succession, were thus diluted in their strength, and weakened in their conservative effects; and from the constant inter- course, both commercial and political, which existed between Scotland and the other countries of Europe, the examples of kings resisted or deposed by their nobles, and monarchs impri- soned by their chiidren, were not lost upon the fervid and restless genius of the Scottish aristocracy. In France, indeed, the struggle had terminated under Lewis the Eleventh in favour of the crown; but the lesson to be de- rived from it was not the less instruc- t tive to the Scottish nobility. In Flan- ders and the states of Holland, they had before them the spectacle of an independent prince deposed and impri- soned by his son; and in Germany, the reign of Frederick the Third, which was contemporaneous with our James the Third, presented one constant scene of struggle and discontent between the emperor and his nobility, in which this weak and capricious potentate was uniformly defeated. 1 In the struggle in Scotland, which ended by the death of the unfortunate monarch, it is important to observe, that whilst the pretext used by the barons was resistance to royal oppres- sion and the establishment of liberty, the middle classes and the great body of the people took no share. They did not side with the nobles, whose efforts on this occasion were entirely selfish and exclusive. On the contrary, so far as they were represented by the commissaries of the burghs who sat in parliament, they joined the party of the king and the clergy; by whom frequent efforts were made to intro- i " Although," says Eneas Sylvius, in his address to the electoral princes, " we acknow- ledge Frederic to be our emperor and king, his title to such an appellation seems to be in no little degree precarious ; for where is his power ? You give him just as much obedience as you choose, and you choose to give him very little." "Tantum ei parietis quantum vultis, vultis enim minimum." A sentence which might be applied with equal if not greater Ibree to Sc( tland. 1488.] JAMES III. riuce a more effectual administration of justice, and a more constant respect for the rights of individuals, and the protection of property. With this object laws wer promulgated, and alternate threats and exhortations upon these subjects are to be found in the record of each successive parlia- ment; but the offenders continued refractory, and these offenders, it was notorious to the whole country, were the nobility and their dependants. The very men whose important offices ought, if conscientiously administered, to hare secured the rights of the great body of the people, — the justiciars, chancellors, chamberlains, sheriffs, and others, — were often their worst oppres- sors : partial and venal in their admini- stration of justice; severe in their exactions of obedience ; and decided in their opposition to every right which interfered with their own power. Their interest and their privileges, as feudal nobles, came into collision with their duties as servants and officers of the government ; and the consequence was apparent in the remarkable fact that, in the struggle between the crown and the aristocracy, wherever the greater offices were in the hands of the clergy, they generally supported the sove- reign; but wherever they were in- trusted to the nobility, they almost . uniformly combined against him. When we find the popular historians departing so widely from the truth in the false and partial colouring which they have thrown over the history of this reign, we may be permitted to receive their personal character of the monarch with considerable suspicion. According to these writers, James's great fault seems to have been a devotion to studies and accomplish- ments which, in this rude and warlike age, were deemed unworthy of his rank and dignity. He was an enthu- siast in music, and took delight in architecture, and the construction of splendid and noble palaces and build- ings ; he was fond of rich and gorgeous dresses, and ready to spend large sums in the encouragement of the most skil- ful and curious workers in gold and steel ; and the productions of those 243 artists, their inlaid armour, massive gold chains, and jewel-hilted daggers, were purchased by him at high prices, whilst they themselves were admitted, if We believe the same writers, to an intimacy and friendship with the sove- reign which disgusted the nobility. The true account of this was probably that James received these ingenious artisans into his palace, where he gave them employment, and took pleasure in superintending their labours — an amusement for which he might have pleaded the example of some of the wisest and most popular sovereigns. But the barons, for whose rude and unintellectual society the monarch shewed little predilection, returned the neglect with which they were un- wisely treated, by pouring contempt and ridicule upon the pursuits to which he was devoted. Cochrane the archi- tect, who had gained favour with the king by his genius in an art which, in its higher branches, is eminently intel- lectual, was stigmatised as a low mason. Rogers, whose musical compositions were fitted to refine and improve the barbarous taste of the age, and whose works were long after highly esteemed in Scotland, was ridiculed as a com- mon fiddler or buffoon; and other artists, whose talents had been warmly encouraged by the sovereign, were treated with the same indignity. It would be absurd, however, from the evidence of such interested witnesses, to form our opinion of the true char- acter of his favourites, as they have been termed, or of the encouragement which they received from the sovereign. To the Scottish barons of this age, Phidias would have been but a stone- cutter, and Apelles no better than the artisan who stained their oaken wain- scot. The error of the king lay, not so much in the encouragement of in- genuity and excellence, as in the in- dolent neglect of those duties and caret of government, which were in no de- gree incompatible with his patronage of the fine arts. Had he possessed the energy and powerful intellect of his grandfather — had he devoted the greater portion of his time to the ad' minist^ition of justice, to a friendly 244 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. intercourse with his feudal nobles, and a strict and watchful superintendence of their conduct in the offices intrusted to them, he might safely have employed his leisure in any way most agreeable to him ; but it happened to this prince, as it has to many a devotee of taste and sensibility, that a too exquisite perception of excellence in the fine arts, and an enthusiastic love for the studies intimately connected with them, in exclusion of more ordinary duties, produced an indolent refine- ment, which shrunk from common exertion, and transformed a character originally full of intellectual and moral promise, into that of a secluded, but not unamiable misanthropist. Nothing can justify the king's inattention to the cares of government, and the reck- lessness with which he shut his ears to the complaints and remonstrances of his nobility ; but that he was cruel, unjust, or unforgiving- — that he was a selfish and avaricious voluptuary — or that he drew down upon himself, by these dark portions of his character, [Chap. V. the merited execration and vengeance of his nobles, is a representation founded on no authentic evidence, and contra- dicted by the uniform history of his reign and of his misfortunes. By his queen, Margaret, daughter to Christiern, king of Denmark, James left a family of three children, all of them sons : James,_his_£ucjcessor ; a second son, alsoThame'd James, created Marquis of Ormond, and who" after- waro!s5ecame Archbishop of St An- drews; and John, earl jof _Mar, who died without issTte."" The king^^was eminently handsome ; his figure was tallp-alMetic, and well proportioned ; his countenance combined intelligence with sweetness; and his deep brown complexion and black hair resembled the hue rather of the warmer climates of the south, than that which we meet; in colder latitudes. His manners were dignified, but somewhat cold and dis- tant, owing to his reserved and secluded habits of life. He was murdered in the t hirty -fifth year of his age, and tho twenty : eigEih of his reign. CHAPTER V. JAMES THE FOURTH. 1488—1497. When James the Fourth appeared in arms against his father, and, in conse- quence of the murder of that unfor- tunate prince, ascended the throne, he [ was a youth in his seventeenth year. 1 i He was born March 17, 1471-2 ; and at his accession was aged sixteen years and eighty-five days. MS. Notes of the Chron- ology of the reign of King James the Fourth, drawn up by the late Rev. Mr Macgregor Stirling. To this useful compilation, which is drawn almost exclusively from original documents preserved in the Register House at Edinburgh, and in other collections, I have been greatly indebted in writing the history l»f this reign. That he had himself originated the rebellion, or taken a principal part in organising the army, which dethroned the late king, does not appear; but that he was an unwilling, or a perfectly passive tool in the hands of the con- spirators, is an assertion equally remote from the truth, although brought for* ward in the pages of our popular his* torians. It is, on the contrary, pretty apparent that the prince was seduced and blinded by the flattery and false views offered by the discontented barons. He was dazzled by the near 1488.] prospect "of a throne; and his mind, which was one of great energy and ambition, co-operated, without much persuasion, in their unworthy designs. After some time, indeed, the remon- strances of the few faithful adherents of his father awakened in him a vio- lent fit of remorse ; but his first ac- cession to the throne does not appear to have been embittered by any feel- ings of this nature ; and the voice of self-reproach was drowned for the time in the applauses of a flagitious but successful faction. The leaders of this party did not lose a moment in rewarding their friends and adherents, and in distribut- ing amongst themselves the offices which the rapid and total change in the administration of the government ; placed at their disposal. The assist- ance of the powerful families of the Humes and Hepburns was remune- rated by grants dated the very day after the battle of Sauchie ; the prin- cipal castles were intrusted to parti- sans of tried fidelity 1 — the money in the royal treasury was secured and delivered into the keeping of Sir Wil- liam Knollys, lord St John of Jeru- salem, treasurer to the king; and a deputation, consisting of the Bishop of Glasgow, the Earls of Angus and Ar- gyle, with the Lords Hailes and Home, repaired to the castle to examine, and place in the hands of faithful persons, the jewels, and royal plate and apparel, which belonged to the late monarch at the time of his decease. The in- ventory taken upon this occasion is still preserved, and impresses us with no contemptible idea of the riches and splendour of the Scottish court. 2 After the body of the king had been interred in the Abbey of Cambuskeh- neth, 3 with all due solemnity, the court immediately proceeded to Perth, and held the ceremony of the corona- \ tion in the Abbey of Scone. 4 The or- 1 Mag. Sig. xii. 8, June 16, 1488. Ibid, xii. 7, June 17, 1488. 2 See Illustrations, letter E. 3 For proof of the interment of James the Third in the Abbey of Cambuskenneth, see Mag. Sig. xiii. 251, April 6, 1496. ■* Balfour states (vol. i. p. 214) that James was crowned at Kelso. Pitscottie places the coronation, equally erroneously, at Edinburgh; 24o ganisation of the government, and di&» tribution of its various offices to per- sons of tried fidelity, now took place. To the Prior of St Andrews was com- I mitted the keeping of the privy seal ; / upon the Earl of Argyle was bestowed the high office of chancellor ; Hepburn, lord Hailes, was made master of the household ; the Lords Lyle and Glam- mis became justiciaries on the south and north of the Forth; Whitelaw, sub-dean of Glasgow, was chpsen to fill the office of secretary to the king; and upon the Vicar of Linlithgow, an- other of the now influential family of the Hepburns, was bestowed the office of clerk of the rolls and the council. 5 From Scone the king proceeded to / his palace of Stirling, where he took I j up his residence ; and it seems to have been immediately resolved by ' the members of his council, that an embassy should proceed to England, for the purpose of conciliating the favourable disposition of that govern- ment to the revolution which had lately taken place in Scotland. It was perhaps dreaded that the spectacle of a prince dethroned by his subjects, under the authority of his son, was not likely to be acceptable to the Eng- lish monarch ; but IJenry the Seventh, with his characteristic caution, did no- thing precipitately. He granted safe- conducts to the Scottish ambassadors at the request of his dear cousin, James, . king of Scots ; whilst he, at the same time, took the precaution to provision and strengthen Berwick, a fortress against which, in the event of hos- tilities, he knew the chief efforts of Scotland would be directed. 6 The successful faction, however, in whose hands the government- was now placed, were too anxious to preserve tranquil- lity at home to dream at present of a war with England. To conciliate the attachment of the youthful monarch • — to reward their principal partisans — and Lesley and Buchanan are silent on the subject. The Lord High Treasurer's books, under the date of July 14, 1488, prove it to have been at Scone. The day on which the coronation was held seems to have been the 26th of June. 1 5 Mag. Sig. xii. 1, June 25, 1488. « Rotuli Scotise, vol. ii. pp. 485, 486- JAMES IV. 246 . HISTORY OF to arrest and disarm their enemies, and to acquire the affection of the people, by evincing an anxiety for the adminis- tration of justice, were objects which afforded them full employment. J ames already, ~at this early age, began to ( evince that admiration for the fair sex which wrought him much distress in his after years ; and an attachment which he had formed, when Duke of Rothesay, j for the Lady Margaret Drummond, the beautiful and unfortunate daughter of I Lord Drummond, was encouraged by the obsequious father and the nobles I who filled the principal offices about , court. 1 Splendid shows and presents which were lavished on his mistress — theatrical entertainments gotupTJor the solace of the youthful lovers — dances and masked balls at night, and hunting parties during the day, were artfully provided by those unscrupu- lous ministers, who knew that there is no more effectual method of degrading and destroying the human character than by dissolving it in pleasure. 2 Amidst such revellings, however, the lords of the council devoted them- selves uninterruptedly to more serious employment. Summonses of treason were issued against the Earl of Bu- chan, the Lords Forbes and Bothwell, along with Ross of Montgrenan, the king's advocate, whose bravery in a skirmish at the bridge of Stirling, pre- vious to the battle of Sauchie, had endangered the life of the present king : these barons were commanded to abide their trial in the next parlia- ment, and along with them were as- sociated the Lairds of Cockpule, Amis- field, Innermeith, and Innes, with Sir Thomas Fotheringhame and Sir Alex- ander Dunbar. 3 At the same time, i Treasurer's Books, Sept. 15, 1488 ; and Ibid. October 3. For twa elne of fransche to be hir my Lady Mergatt, a goune, v lb. Item, for three elne of black ryssillis for a goune till her, v lb. viii. sh. Item, for golde, aysure, silver, and colouris till it, and warken of it, vi lb. xvii. sh. Item, for three unce of sylkis to frenzeis till it, xiii sh. Illustrations, letter S. « Treasurer's Books, Aug. 5, 1488. To the players of Lythgow that playt to the king, v lb. Ibid. Aug. 20. Item, to dansaris and gysaris, xxxvi sh. Ibid. Aug. 16. Ibid. Aug. 10. a Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. pp. 2J1-206. SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. the lords justiciars, accompanied by the king in person, held their ambula- tory courts or justice-ayres at Lanark, Dundee, Ayr, and other parts of the kingdom, taking care that the mon- arch should be attended by his hunts- men and falconers, his fool, " English John^' and his youthTuTlmsTf ess, the "Latly Margaret, lest a too exclusive attention to. business should irritate or disgust the royal mind. A three years' truce was soon after concluded with England; and on the 6th of October the first parliament of the new reign was opened at Edinburgh with great solemnity : it was numerously attended by all the three estates. For the clergy, there appeared Schevez, archbishop of St Andrews, with the prelates of Glas- gow, Dunkeld, Aberdeen, Whitchurch, Dunblane, and the Isles, fourteen ab- bots, four priors, and various officials, deans, archdeans, and provosts of col- legiate churches : for the temporal es- tate, there were present the Earl of Argyle, chancellor, along with the Earls of Angus, Huntly, Morton, Errol, Marshal, Lennox, Rothes, and Athole ; the Lord Hailes, master of the house- hold, Lord Lyle, high justiciar, with the Lords Hamilton, Glammis, Gray, Oliphant, Montgomery, Drummond, Maxwell, Grahame, Carlisle, Dirleton, and other noble persons, entitled either by their rank or by their offices to sit in parliament. There were present- also the commissaries of the fifteen burghs. Upon the second day a com-' mittee of parliament, known as usual by the title of the Lords of the Articles, was nominated, consisting of nine mem- bers for the clergy, fourteen for the barons, and five for the burghs ; whilst a smaller judicial committee, embracing three members of each estate, was se- lected for the decision of those weighty causes which were brought before par- liament as a court of last appeal. These preliminaries having been ar- ranged, the more immediate business of the parliament proceeded, and the Earl of Buchan, Lord Bothwell, Ross of Montgrenan, the king's advocate, and others who had appeared in arms at the field of Stirling, were summoned to answer upon a charge of treason 1488.] jam: Of these persons the Earl of Buchan made confession of his guilt, and sub- mitted himself to the king's mercy, a procedure which was rewarded by his pardon and restoration to the royal f avour. The others were found guilty, and sentence of forfeiture pronounced against them ; but in perusing the crimes laid to their charge, we must remember that the object of the op- posite party, who now ruled all at court, Was to throw the odium of the late rebellion on their opponents : they accused them accordingly of bringing in upon the kingdom their enemies of England; of an attempt to reduce under subjection and homage to that country the independent crown of Scotland ; and of having advised their late sovereign, James the Third, to infringe repeatedly the stipulations which he had entered into with the cobles who were in arms against him. 1 There can be little doubt that if any party in the state were truly guilty of such crimes, it was rather that of the youthful king than those who hs.ti ad- hered to his father, but the treason of the prince's party had been crowned with success, and they were now all- powerful. Although Buchan there- fore was pardoned upon his submis- sion, Lord Bothwell was forfeited, and his lands and lordship erected into an earldom, and bestowed upon Lord Hailes, the master of the household; whilst the lands of Ross of Montgrenan, who at the same time was found guilty of treason, were conferred on Patrick Hume of Fast castle, for his services in the late disturbances. It was deter- mined also that an embassy should be despatched to France, Spain, and Brit- tany, for the purpose not only of con- tinuing amicable relations between Scotland and these powers, but with a special commission to search for a wife to the king, taking care that she be * ,r anoble princess born, and descended from some worshipful house of ancient honour and dignity." The embassy was directed to consist of a bishop, an earl, a lord of parliament, a clerk, and a knight, with a retinue of fifty horse, i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 210. IS IV. 247 and for the payment of their expenses, a tax of five thousand pounds was to be levied throughout the kingdom, two thousand to be contributed by the clergy, two thousand by the ba- rons, and one thousand by the burghs ; whilst at the same time it was special- ly directed that the contribution of the barons was to be paid by them and the free tenants, and not by the common people. A remarkable enactment followed. In consequence of the high displeasure conceived by the sovereign against all who by their appearance in the field at Stirling were regarded as the chief promoters of the slaughter of his late father, it was directed that such of the rebels as were in possession of heredi- tary offices should be deprived of them for the period of three years. A determined effort was next made for the putting down of theft, robbery, and murder, crimes which at this mo- ment were grievously prevalent, by dividing the kingdom into certain dis- tricts, over which were placed various earls and barons, to whom full author- ity was intrusted, and who promised on oath that they would to their ut- most power exert themselves in the detection and punishment of all of- fenders. The Merse, Lothian, Linlith- gow, and Lauderdale were committed to the care of Lord Hailes and Alex- ander Hume, the chamberlain, and Kirkcudbright and Wigtown also to Lord Hailes ; Roxburgh, Peebles, Sel- kirk, and Lanark were intrusted to the Earl of Angus ; whilst the same powerful baron, along with Lord Max- well, undertook the charge of Dum- fries. The districts of Carrick, Ayr, Kyle, and Cunningham were commit- ted to Lord Kennedy, the Sheriff of Ayr, the Laird of Craigie, and Lord Montgomery ; Renfrew, with Dum- barton, the Lennox, Bute, and Arran, to the Earl of Lennox, Lord Lyle, and Matthew Stewart; Stirlingshire to the Sheriff of Stirlingshire and James Shaw of Sauchie ; Menteith and Strait- gartney to Archibald Edmonston ; Ar- gyle, Lorn, Kentire, and Cowal to the chancellor, assisted by his son, the Master of Argyle; Glenurquhart, Glea- 248 HISTORY OF lyon, and Glenfalloch to Neil Stewart, with Duncan and Ewen Campbell; Athole, Strathern, and Dunblane to the Earl of Athole, Lord Drummond, and Robertson of Strowan ; the low . country of Perthshire, and the district of Dunkeld, to Lord Oliphant ; Angus, both in its highland and lowland dis- trict, to Lords Gray and Glammis, with the Master of Crawford ; the sheriffdom of Fife to Lord Lindsay and the sheriff of the county ; the Mearns to the Earl Marshal ; and the extensive district reaching from the hilly range called the Mounth, north- ward to Inverness, to the Earls of Huntly and Errol, and the Laird of Inverugie. 1 The parliament next directed their attention to the investigation of the causes of the late rebellion. From such interested judges, however, it would be vain to look for an impartial examination of this momentous ques- tion, and we accordingly find that the whole blame was thrown upon the late king and his iniquitous advisers, for so his ministers were denominated. The object of the conspirators was, of course, to deceive the people and the portion of the nobility and middle classes not immediately connected with the rebellion, and to insure safety to themselves under any subsequent re- volution, by enabling them to plead a parliamentary pardon. It is not, there- fore, matter of surprise that the opin- ion of parliament should be couched in strong terms. It declared that the whole matter having been examined by the three estates, they were unani- mously of opinion, each man for him- self, and under his loyalty and allegi- ance, that the slaughter committed in the field of Stirling, where the king's father happened to be slain, with others of his barons, was wholly to be ascribed to the offences, falsehood, and fraud practised by him and his per- verse counsellors previous to this fatal conflict. The acquittal of the young king and his advisers was equally broad and energetic ; and con- sidering who it was that composed the I Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. *i. p 208. SCOTLA>7D. [Chap. V, act, it is difficult to peruse it without a smile. It observed,. u that our sove- reign lord that now is, and the true lords and barons who were with him in the same field, were innocent, quit, and free of the said slaughters, battle, and pursuit, and had no blame in fo- menting or exciting them ; n and it recommended that a part of the three estates, now assembled, selected from the bishops, great barons, and bur- gesses, should affix their seals 'to this declaration, along with the great seal of the kingdom, to be exhibited to the Pope, the Kings of France, Spain, Denmark, and such other realms as were judged expedient by the parlia- ment. 2 In addition to these measures adopted for. their own security, the party who now ruled the government commanded that all goods and mov- ables belonging to a the poor unlanded folk," which had been seized during the troubles, should be restored ; that all houses, castles, and lands, which had been plundered and occupied by the lords of the "one opinion" or of the other, should be again delivered to their proprietors; and that the heirs of those barons and gentlemen who died in arms against the king in the battle of Stirling, should be per- mitted to succeed to their hereditary estates and honours, notwithstanding the legal impediment arising out' of their having been slain when in a state of rebellion. The remaining provisions of this parliament related to the administra- tion of justice, the commerce and the coinage of the realm, and the rewards and offices bestowed upon those who had figur-ed in the late rebellion. It was directed that the king should ride in person to the various justice-ayres, and that his high justiciar should accompany him. Crichton of Ruth- ven was appointed warden of the ( mint, with injunctions to examine and assay the fineness of the gold and silver; and a singular provision was added, relative to the importation of bullion into the country. The mer- chants were commanded to bring in a 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, voL ii. p. 207. 1438-9.] certain bulk of pure bullion, called in the act burnt silver, in proportion to the description and quantity of the goods which they exported. 1 It was next ordered that the castle of Dun- bar should be entirely dismantled and destroyed, on account of the damage which it had already occasioned to the kingdom, and the likelihood of greater injury, in the event of its falling into the hands of the enemies of the go- vernment. The command of Edin- burgh castle, with the custody of the Lord James, duke of Ross, the king's brother, whose education, had hitherto been conducted in his tender years by Shaw, the abbot of Paisley, was in- trust'ed to Lord Hailes, master of the household;- and another powerful Bor- der baron, Alexander Hume of Hume, was rewarded for his services by the office of high chamberlain. 2 In the same parliament the penalties of treason were denounced against the purchasers of presentations to bene- fices at the court of Rome, whether clergy or seculars, by which great damage was occasioned to the realm, and the proceedings were closed by a declaration that all grants signed by the late king, since the 2d of Feb- ruary 1487, the day upon which the prince, now king, took the field in arms against his father, were revoked, because made for the assistance of that treasonable faction which had been enemies to the realm, and had occasioned the death of the king's father. 3 Such is a view of the princi- pal proceedings of four successive par- liaments, the first of which, as already noticed, met on the 6th of October 1488, and the last on the 3d of Feb- ruary 1489. But although the proceedings of the faction which had deposed and slain the king were vigorously con- 1 Thus for every serplaith of wool, for e very last of salmon, for every four hundredth of cloth, four ounces of bullion were to be brought* in, for which, on its delivery to the warden of the mint, the importer was to be paid at the rate of twelve shillings an ounce. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. :i. p. 211. Mag. Sig xii. 52. October 13k. 1488. * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol- u. pp. 21i, 223. 249 ducted, and their measures for the security of their own power and the destruction of their opponents pushed forward with feverish haste and an- xiety, it was soon demonstrated that they were ineffectual. The Earl of Lennox and Lord Lyle, disappointed probably with the division of the plunder, broke into revolt. Lyle oc- cupied the strong fortress of Dumbar- ton, and held it out against the king ; whilst Lennox and Ma^jtJiew Stewart ) raised their vassals, garrisoned their castles and strongholds, and communi- cating with the northern counties, where attachment to the government of the late monarch seems to have been stronger than around the court, succeeded in organising a serious in- I surrection. In the murder of James the Third they possessed a subject for powerful appeal to the feelings of the nation, of which they were not slow to avail themselves. Lord Forbes marched through the country with the king's bloody shirt displayed upon the end of a spear, and this ghastly banner excited multitudes to join the insurrection. It was affirmed, and apparently on good grounds, that those who had cruelly murdered the father, i now completely overruled the son, \ abusing his youthful facility of temper, and intruding into the highest offices .of the state. Lord Drummond, whose daughter was mistress to the young monarch, presuming upon this circum- stance, insulted the authority of the laws, and with his sons and kinsmen committed open spoliation in the coun- try ; 4 whilst Hepburn of Hailes, whom we ha\e seen, in the former reign, in the rank of a minor baron, and whose conduct was then marked only bj lawlessness and ferocity, suddenly rose into a state of power and consequence, which, left the oldest nobility in tho background. Within less than a year he had been created Earl of Both-well, I promoted to the office of lord high admiral, intrusted with the command of the castles of Edinburgh, Lc ch- in aben, and Treiff, with the custody cf the king's brother, the Duke of * Acta Dominorum Concilii, Oct. 22, 1488. Ibid. Nov. 3. JAMES IV.- 250 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Ross, and tha wardenship of the west- ern and middle marches. But although liable to the charge of partiality and favouritism, the govern- ment of the young monarch partook of that energy which, in a greater or lesser degree, is always elicited by a revolution. Unlike his predecessors in their jealousy of the power of the nobles, James seems, on the contrary, to have early adopted the opinion, that the monarch was singly far too weak either to abridge the authority of his barons, or to rule the kingdom without their cordial co-operation. In the fate of his father he had before his eyes a terrible example of aristo- cratic vengeance ; and aware that the same remorseless hands which had J placed the crown upon his head, might, if provoked or injured, be the first to remove it in favour of a more obse- quious prince, he determined to secure ; the stability of his throne by cultivat- ing the affectionate attachment of his nobility. Amongst them were many men of great intellectual vigour and military talent. Drummond, the Earl of Bothwell, Hume, the high chamber- lain, Argyle, the chancellor, and White- law, subdean of Glasgow, the secre- tary, were all able assistants ; and the character of the king himself, who was ' not only generous, openhearted, and liberal almost to profusion, but who possessed fair abilities along with great activity and courage, was well fitted to secure their friendship and com-, rcand their respect. It is not surprising, therefore, that .the united strength of the throne and the nobles was too powerful for the rash attempt of Lennox. At the head of a force rapidly raised for the occa- sion, and accompanied by his chief officers of state, the king laid siege to his castles of Duchal and Crookston, which had been occupied by the rebels ; whilst he sent Argyle, the chan- cellor, to assault Dumbarton, which was then held by Lord Lyle and Len- nox's eldest son, Matthew Stewart. 1 Proclamation was also made, offering a reward of forty pounds' worth of i Arts of the Parliament' of Scotland, yoI. li. j> 223. [Chap. V. land, or one thousand marks of silver, for the apprehension of these barons ; and so vigorously did the young mon- arch proceed in his bombardment of Crookston and Duchal, 2 that he made himself master of both places within a short period. He then marched to- wards Dumbarton, where the rebels, having been joined by Lord Forbes, the Earl Marshal, Lord Crichton, and the Master of Huntly, only awaited the arrival of Lennox, before they made a united and desperate effort for the destruction of that faction, which, as they alleged, had enslaved the king, and risen on the ruins of the estab- lished government. They were not destined, however, to be successful. On his descent from the Highlands into the low country, Lennox's first intention was to pass the bridge at Stirling. Receiving information, how- ever, that his enemies had occupied the town, and rendered this imprac- ticable, he resolved to cross the Forth at a ford not far from the source of the river, and for this purpose en- camped in a level plain called Talla Moss, about sixteen miles from Stir- ling. His force was principally com- posed of Highlanders ; and one of these mountaineers, named Macalpin, de\ serting the camp, brought intelligence I to the king and Lord Drummond at/ Dunblane, that it would be easy to destroy Lennox by a night attack, his army being so secure and careless, that they used no precautions against a surprise. This enterprise was no sooner suggested than it was carried into effect. In the middle of a dark October night, Drummond and the young monarch, at the head of a force hastily raised, and chiefly composed of the royal household, broke in upon the intrenchments of Lennox, and slew, dispersed, or made prisoners his whole army, pursuing the fugitives as far as Gartalunane, on the opposite side of the river. This success was immediately followed by the surrender * The siege of Duchal seems to have taken place in the end of July 1489. Mag. Sig. xii. 132. July 28, 1489. There were still some remains of this ancient castle in 1792. Stat. Account, vol. lv. p. 278. 1489-90.] JAMES IV. of Dumbarton, and the complete sup- pression of the conspiracy ; after which the sovereign and his ministers appear to have acted with a judicious clem- ency, which had the effect of quieting the kingdom; Lennox, Huntly, Mar- shal, Lyle, and Forbes being not only pardoned, but soon after restored to the royal favour. The necessary consequence of this abortive attempt at insurrection, was to give additional strength to the government ; and a brilliant naval ac- tion which took place about the same time, increased its popularity. Under the former reign, Sir Andrew Wood, a naval officer of high talent and ex- perience, had distinguished himself by his successes against the English, but his attachment to his old master, James the Third, of whom he was a favourite, prevented him from giving in his immediate adherence to the go- vernment of his son. He was soon reconciled, however, to the young monarch, who early evinced an en- lightened desire to encourage the ma- ritime strength of the country by applying himself personally to the study of ship-building and naval tac- tics ; and about the time of Lennox's defeat, Wood commanded a small squadron in the Forth, which had been successful in its cruises against the English pirates who then infested the narrow seas. 1 Unauthorised by their own government, these audacious adventurers committed great depreda- tions, plundering the Scottish mer- chantmen and fishing-craft, making descents upon the coast towns, and carrying off their riches and their in- habitants. At this time a fleet of five pirate ships had entered the Clyde, and after committing their usual ha- voc, greatly incensed the young mon- arch by giving chase to a vessel which was his own property. 2 James earn- 1 That the exploits of Sir Andrew Wood were performed against pirates is proved by a charter dated May 18, 1491. Mag. Sig. xii. 304. Illustrations, letter T. 2 Treasurer's Books. Feb. 18, 1489. Item, after the kingis schip wes chaysit in Dun- bertane be the Inglismen, and tynt hir ca- billis and Oder graytht sent with Johne of Uaw, xviii lib. 25! estly represented the matter to Wood, and required his assistance in repelling so unjustifiable an attack, committed at a period of profound peace, when a three years' truce existed between the two countries. Nor, whatever might be his opinion regarding the persons i who managed the government, could / this brave officer resist the appeal off his sovereign. With only two ships,, the Flower and the Yellow Carvel, he attacked the English squadron ; and, notwithstanding his inferiority in force, ' after an obstinate action, the five pi- \ ratic vessels were captured and carried ' into Leith. 3 If we are to believe the- Scottish historians, the King of Eng- land, although in the time of truce he could not openly attempt retaliation, or give his countenance to hostilities, took care to let it be understood that nothing would be more grateful to him than the defeat of Wood; an# Stephen Bull, an enterprising mer- chant and seaman of London, 4 having fitted out three stout vessels, manned by picked mariners, a body of cross- bows, and pikemen, and various knights who volunteered their services, pro- ceeded with much confidence of suc- cess against the Scottish commander. Bull, who had intelligence that Wood had sailed for Flanders, and was soon expected on his voyage homeward, directed his course to the May, a small island in the mouth of the Firth of Forth, about an equal distance from the opposite shores of Fife and Lothian, behind which he cast anchor, and, concealed from any vessels entering the Forth, awaited the expected prize. ' It is probable that this first action of Sir Andrew Wood took place some time after the 18th of February 1489. . * I find in the valuable historical collec- tions, entitled " Excerpta Historica," edited by Sir Harris Nicolas, No. I. p. 118, the following entry in the privy purse expenses of Henry the Seventh :— " To Steven Bull and Barnesfeld, seeking for Perkin, for their costs, £1, 6s. 8d." Perkin Warbeek, at this time, (1498,) had eluded his keepers, and fled to the sea-coast ; and Henry, afraid of his making his escape from the kingdom, em- ployed Bull, probably his most active sea- captain, to watch the coast and recapture him. This is corroborated by the next entry : — u To four yeomen watching one night with four botes, 6s. 8d." 252 It was not long before two vessels ap- peared in the looked-for course off St Abb's Head, a promontory on the coast of Berwickshire ; and the English cap- tain, who had seized some Scottish fish- ing-boats with their crews, sent the prisoners aloft to watch their approach, and report whether it was Wood. On their answering in the affirmative, Bull cleared his ships for action, and the Scottish admiral, who sailed fear- lessly onward and little dreamt of inter- ruption, found himself suddenly in the presence of the enemy. He had time, however, for the necessary orders ; and such was the excellent discipline of his ships, and rapidity of his prepara- tions, that the common mischiefs of a surprise were prevented, and his gun- ners, pikemen, crossbows, and fire- casters stood ready at their several stations, when he bore down upon the English. All this had taken place in the early dawn of a summer morning; and whilst Wood skilfully gained the windward of his opponents, the sun rose, and shining full upon them, exhibited their large size and splendid equipment to the best advantage. Bull instantly opened his cannonade, with the object of deciding the action whilst the Scots were still at some distance ; but, from the inferior di- mensions of their ships, the shot passed over them and took little effect ; whilst their opponent hoisted all his canvas, and ran close in upon the English, casting out his grappling hooks, and even lashing the enemy's ships by cables to his own. A close and dreadful combat succeeded, in which both parties fought with equal spirit, so that night parted the com- batants, and found the action unde- cided. In the morning the trumpets sounded, and the fight was renewed with such determined bravery, that the mariners, occupied wholly with the battle, took little heed to the management of their vessels, and per- mitted themselves to be drifted, by a strong ebb-tide, into the mouth of the Tay. Crowds of men, women, and children now nocked to the shore, exhibiting, by their cries and gesticu- lations, the interest they took in their HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. countrymen ; and wi last, though with great difficulty, the valour and supe- rior seamanship of Wood prevailed over his brave opponent. The three English ships were captured and car- ried into Dundee, whilst Bull, their commander, was presented by Wood to his master, King James, who re- ceived him with much courtesy, and after remonstrating against the injuries inflicted by the English privateers upon the Scottish shipping, dismissed him without ransom, and gave the prisoners their liberty. \ It is said, however, that he at the same time warned Henry that this liberal con- duct could not be repeated ; and that he trusted~iiie lesson given to his* cap- tains w^ould convince him that the Scots possessed the power of defend- ing their commerce, which they would not scruple to exert on every occasion where the liberties of their merchant- men were invaded. To Wood, the king, with the ardour and enthusiasm for warlike renown which distin- guished his character, extended his special favour. When the seaman was not engaged in his naval or commercial duties, for the two professions of a mer- chant and a sailor were then strictly connected, he retained him at court—- kept him much about his person — re- warded him by grants of lauds, and under his instructions devoted much of his attention to the improvement of the naval strength of his dominions. Soon after this an extraordinary conspiracy against the Scottish mo- narch was fostered au the English court, of which James and his minis- ters appear at the moment to have had no suspicion. Kamsay, lord Both- well, the favourite of James the Third, who, after the accession of his son, had escaped to England along with the Earl of Buchan, so lately the subject of the royal clemency, and a person designing himself "Sir Thomas Tod, of the realm of Scotland," entered into an agreement with Henry the Seventh, that they would seize and deliver the King of Scots, and his brother, the Duke of Ross, into the hands of the English monarch. To assist them in this treasonable enterprise, Henry ad- 149C-1.] ) vanced the loan of two hundred and > gixty-six pounds, which, as he carefully .stipulated, was to be restored to him . by a' certain day, and for the fulfil- \ ment of this agreement Tod delivered i his son as a hostage. 1 It is affirmed in the obligation drawn up at Green- wich, unfortunately the only public paper which throws light upon this dark transaction, that besides Buchan, Bothwell, and Tod, various other per- sons were involved in the conspiracy. Their names certainly appeared in the original "indentures," but these are now lost; and such seems to have been the secrecy which covered the whole transaction, that ,at the moment when the English king was engaged in bribing James's subjects to lay vio- lent hands upon his person, the Scot- tish monarch had despatched the Arch- bishop of St Andrews on an embassy to England, and a meeting was ap- pointed between his commissioners and those of Henry, to make an ami- cable arrangement regarding the mu- tual infractions of the truces upon the Borders, and the prolongation of the pacific intercourse between the two kingdoms. 2 Soon after this the parliament as- sembled at Edinburgh, and various important measures were carried into effect regarding the foreign alliances of the country, and the internal ad- ministration of the government. The Earl of Huntly was appointed king's lieutenant north of the water of Esk, till the sovereign, who was now in his twentieth year, had reached the age of twenty-five. It was resolved that Hepburn, . earl of Bothwell, and the Bishop of Glasgow should be sent on an embassy to France for the purpose of renewing the alliance with that kingdom, and confirming the commer- cial privileges mutually enjoyed by the French and the Scottish mer- chants; after which the ambassadors were to proceed to the court of Spain, . or other parts, to seek a bride for the . young king. An embassy, was also despatched to the court of Denmark, 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. p. 18, 1491. 2 Rotuli Scotiae, vol. ii. p. 497. JAMES IV. '253 with the object of renewing the ami- cable commercial relations which al- ready subsisted between Scotland and that country; some wise but ineffec- tual measures were attempted for the restoration of peace and good order, by the punishment of those who com- mitted slaughter or rapine, and were guilty of dismembering the king's lieges ; enactments were renewed against the old grievance of leagues or bands amongst the nobles and their feudal tenantry; and the chancellor, with certain lords of council, or in their absence the lords of session, were commanded to sit for the admi- nistration of justice thrice every year. Attention was also paid, to the interests of the burghs. It was ordained u that the common good, meaning the profits and revenues of all the royal burghs within the realm, should be so regu- lated as to promote the prosperity of the town, by being spent according to the advice of the council of the burgh upon things necessary for its security and increase, whilst the burgh rents, such as lands, fishings, mills, and farms, were not to be disposed of ex- cept upon a three years' lease." At the same time, all sheriffs, bailies, and provosts of burghs were commanded to take copies of the acts and statutes now passed, which were to be openly proclaimed within the bounds of their office. 3 Some of the consequences which might easily have been anticipated from the conspiracy which had placed the young monarch upon the throne began now to take place in Scotland. James, as he increased in years and understanding, became convinced that he had been made the tool of an artf* f ul and selfish faction, whose principal object was priyate^lunder, the pre- servation of "TEeirown overgrown power, and the diminution of th"e" au- thority of the crown. By degrees . he called around him, and restored to places of trust and authority, the I counsellors of his late father, whom he attached to his interests by the re- morse which he expressed for his crime, » Acts of the Parliament ' of Scotland, vol ii. p. 227. 440. April 254 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. and the warmth, openness, and gene- rosity of his disposition. Amongst these advisers were some able indivi- tltials. Andrew Wood of Largo, whom we have so lately seen victor over the English fleet, and whose genius for naval adventure was combined with a powerful intellect in civil affairs, rose gradually to be one of the most intimate and confidential servants of the king, and appears to have been often consulted, especially in all his financial concerns. Wood combined in his character various qualities, which to .our modern judgment ap- pear strange and inconsistent. He was an enterprising and opulent mer- chant, a brave warrior and skilful naval commander, an able financier, intimately acquainted with the man- agement of commercial transactions, tind a stalwart feudal baron, who, without abating anything of his pride and his prerogative, refused not to adopt in the management of his estates some of those improvements whose good effects he had observed in his voyages and travels over various parts of the continent. The advice of such a counsellor was of great value to the young monarch, and as Wood was remarkable for his affectionate attachment to the late king, and for the bold and manly tone in which he had reprobated the rebellion against him, it was not wonderful that his influence over the present sovereign should be exhibited in a decided change in the principles upon which the gov- ernment was conducted. The .leading lords who had instigated the revolt were treated with coldness, suspicion, and, at last, open severity. The Earl / of Angus, from his great estates and connexions one of the most powerful nobles in Scotland, resented this by passing into England, where he con- cluded with Henry the Seventh a secret and treasonable treaty, of which unfortunately little but the existence is known. 1 On his return, however, he was met by the lion herald, who 1 Ayloffe's Calendars of Ancient Charters, p. 313. A fragment of these "Articles" is preserved amon£«± Rymer's unpublished col- lections, now in the British Museum. Henry VII. vol. i. p. 126. charged him in the king's name to \ enter his person in ward in his fortress/ of Tantallon; 2 and soon after James deprived him of his lands and lordship of Liddesdale, with the strong castle of Hermitage, which, as the price of / his pardon, he was compelled to resign I to the Earl of Bothwell, admiral of Scotland, and warden of the west and middle marches. 3 A reward was offered at the same time to any person who ] should discover the murderers of the late king, but as it was well known that if this expression had been under- stood to include the authors of the conspiracy, the search could not have been a protracted one, the cautious proviso was added, that the sum was only to be given in the event of the informant making it certain who were the persons who slew the king j " with their own hands," an expression J thrice repeated in the body of the ; statute, and from which it may per- haps be fairly inferred that whilst the actual butcher of the unhappy prince was unknown, the "heavy murmurs" and voice of the people pointed out some potent individuals with whom it was certain that he was connected. It does not appear, however, that the hundred marks' worth of land in fee and heritage — the reward held out — » was ever claimed by any one ; and to this day the hand by which the kirig was so foully slain is unknown. Another proof of the change of coun- cils, and of the determination of the sovereign to withdraw his confidence from those who had possessed them- selves of the supreme power imme- diately after the battle of Sauchie, ia to be found in a oomplaint which was now made regarding the disappearance of the rQyul jewels and treasure. We have already seen 4 that these, a few days after the death of the late king, were taken possession of by the Bishop of Glasgow, along with the Earls of Angus and Argyle, with the intention of being placed in the hands of faithful i persons, who were to be responsible for their safe custody. It was now 2 Treasurer's MS. Accompts, July 29, 1491. 3 Mag. Sig xii. 323, 344. March 6, 1491. 4 Supra, p. 245. 1491-3.] jam: discovered, however, that a very small (part of this treasure had reached the ( coffers of the king; a strict inquiry- was ordered to be instituted for the detection of those who had stolen or concealed it ; and they to whom it had been first intrusted were directed to be examined before the king's council, so that it might be discovered how they had parted with the treasure — into what hands it had been delivered —and what was its exact amount. 1 Whether such measures were followed by the desired success, seems more than problematical. But although all this very decidedly demonstrated a change in the prin- ciples upon which the government was conducted, the party which headed the late rebellion were still too strong, and the young king had identified himself too deeply with their proceedings, to render it advisable to commence a more serious or direct attack ; and with regard to the foreign relations of the country, the preservation of peace with England, and the maintenance of a friendly intercourse with the courts of France, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands, were wisely insisted on by the counsellors of the young mo- *narch as absolutely necessary for the wellbeing of his kingdom. Yet, se- cured as it was by repeated truces, and strengthened by negotiations and proposals of marriage for the young * monarch with some princess of the blood-royal, the good understanding with England could neither be cordial nor sincere. The treasonable inter- course which some of the most power- ful of James's subjects carried on with Henry the Seventh, and the audacious designs of seizing the king's person, which this monarch encouraged, if they transpired even partially, must have disgusted an ardent and impetu- ous spirit, such as James, with the crafty and dishonourable politics of the English king ; and as it is certain that, as this period, in Scotland, the system of employing paid spies became prevalent, it may be conjectured that the king was not wholly ignorant of i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 230. 2S IV. 255 the plots in agitation against him. It was his secret desire, therefore, al- though not yet his declared resolution, to break with England, and the causes of the war which, in a few years, was kindled between the two countries, may be traced, with great probability, to this period ; but in the meantime the appearance of peace was preserved, and James assiduously devoted him- self to the preservation of good order throughout his dominions, and the dis- tribution of strict and impartial jus- tice to all classes of his subjects. In a parliament held at Edinburgh in the summer of the year 1493, some important laws were passed, which evinced the jealousy of the king re- garding any interference with his eccle- siastical privileges in the disposal of church benefices, and his determina- tion to resist all unreasonable encroach- ments upon the part of the court of Rome. Eight months were to be allowed, after the occurrence of a va- cancy in any see, for the king's letter, appointing a successor, to reach the Pope ; no interim promotion was to be allowed; and any of the lieges who were detected lending themselves or their interest to oppose these regula- tions, were declared guilty of treason. No legate was to be permitted to enter the realm, unless he was a cardinal or a native of Scotland; and the Arch- bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, who had been for some time engaged in a violent litigation, which had been carried on before the Papal court, and the expense of which plea had been attended, it is declared, with " inesti- mable damage to the realm," were ex- horted to cease from their contention before a foreign ecclesiastical tribunal, submitting to the decision of the king; under the serious denunciation, that if they demur to this proposal, their tenants and " mailers " shall be inter- dicted from paying to them their rents till they have repented of their contu- macy. 2 The king's orators and ambas- sadors who were sent to Italy received directions to exhort and entreat all his subjects, whether of the clergy or lay- 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 232. 258 HISTORY OF men, who had pleas depending in the Roman Court, to withdraw their liti- gation, and to return, like dutiful sub- jects, to their own country, bringing with them their bulla, writs, and other muniments, after which the monarch undertook that justice should be ad- ministered to them by their ordinary judge within whose jurisdiction the cause lay, and over whose conduct, in delivering an impartial decision, he engaged to have a strict superintend- ence. As the king had now attained majority, and his counsellors were anxious that the wild and capricious passions in which his youth had hitherto been passed should, if pos- sible, be restrained by a legitimate union, the proposal was renewed of sending an embassy abroad to treat in France, or in any other realm where it might be judged expedient, of the king's marriage; and in addition to the tax already agreed to by the clergy, barons, and commissaries of the burghs for this purpose, the three estates con- sented to give a thousand pounds ad- ditional, " for the honourable hame- bringing of a queen." Some enactments were also passed at this time, which evinced a faint dawning of a more liberal spirit of commercial legislation than had yet appeared in parliament. The deacons, and head craftsmen of particular trades, were in the custom of " imposing a taxation penny upon men of the same craft coming to market on the Mon- days," by which it necessarily followed that the prices demanded for the ar- ticles were higher than those at which they had afforded to sell them previ- ous to such an imposition. The tax was therefore commanded to be dis- continued, so that the craftsmen, with- out interference upon the part of the deacons of the burghs, might be at liberty to sell their commodities at the usual prices. The parliament, how- ever, proceeded too far, when they abo- lished, for a year to come, the office of deacons of men of craft in burghs, re- stricting their authority to the simple examination of the sufficiency and fine- ness of the work executed by the arti» sans of the same trade. It had been SCOTLAND. [Chap. V. found, it was declared, that the autho- rity of these officers, and the by-laws which they enacted, were the cause of great trouble in th? burghs, in leading to. convocations and ** *ysing " of the king's lieges, in increasing tae prices of labour, and encouraging those com- binations for the purpose of compelling a consent to their unreasonable de- mands, from which we have sometimes seen such injurious effects in our own days. It was declared, accordingly, that all u makers and users of these statutes were to be prosecuted as op- pressors of the king's lieges." Another grievance was removed, which bore heavily upon the agricultural pros- perity of the country. Hitherto the flour brought to the various markets throughout the kingdom, or to the port of Leith, had been subjected to the payment of a certain tax or " mul- ture," in addition to the local tax for grinding, which, by the feudal law, it was bound to pay to the barony mill where it had been ground. This se- vere double duty was now removed ; and it was declared that for the future all flour should be permitted to be brought to market, and sold without payment of any new taxation, and that all manner of persons should be free to bring and sell their victual through- out the land, all the days of the week, as well as on the market-days. 1 An act followed, which evinced in the legislature an awakening interest in the fishery, — a branch of national wealth from which, under proper cul- tivation, the richest fruits might be expected, but which had hitherto been unwisely neglected. It was enacted that, u considering the great and innumerable riches " that is lost for want of ships and boats, with their appropriate nets and tackling, which are found in all other realms commanding a great extent of sea- coast, the parliament judged it proper that ships and " buschis," or fishing- boats, should be built in all burghs and fishing-towns within the realm, so that they might be ready to pro- ceed to the fishery before Fastren's 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 234. .1493-4.] JAM] Even following. These boats were directed to be of twenty tons, and the burghs and sea-coast towns were to be obliged to build and rig them out, according to their substance, with all conveniences for the taking of large and small fish. The officers in the burghs and regalities were ordered at the same time to apprehend and press on board these vessels all " stark idle men," under pain of their being ban- ished in case of refusal. Whilst the parliament was thus se- vere upon the idle and the dissolute who refused to submit to all regular labour, it is pleasing to discern a glimpse of sympathy for the un- merited Suffering and hard condition of the great body of the lower orders of the people. In a former statute a severe fine had been imposed upon all persons who were detected setting fire to the heather or gorse in which the birds of game had their nests, — a practice often absolutely necessary for the success of any attempt at agricul- tural improvement, but encroaching upon that feudal mania for hunting and hawking which, since the period of the Norman Conquest, had infected the nobles of Britain, and grievously abridged the rights and liberties of the subject. It was now discovered that the persons detected in " mure- burning " were not the real offenders. " It was found," to use the expressive words of the statute, " that the poor bodies that dwelt in ' malings,' or upon small divisions of land rented to them by their landlords, in setting fire to the gorse, were simply obeying the bidding of their masters ; '* and in consequence of this the fine was hence- forth directed to be levied, not on this large and meritorious class, but upon the proprietors of the 16 maling " which they laboured. 1 Some regulations regarding the coinage and importation of bullion, and an enactment by which the high and disproportionate prices which were charged by craftsmen and vic- tuallers were ordered to be reduced to a more equitable standard, termi- i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. li. p. 235. VOL. II. S IV. 257 nated the resolutions of the three estates in this parliament. 2 Hitherto there is reason to believe that the great majority of the barons were deplorably ignorant, and careless of all liberal education. A better spirit, however, now appeared ; and the invention of printing, with the revival of classical learning, causes which had long been operating the happiest effects in the continental na- tions, began, from their frequent com munication with Scotland, to be per- ceptible in producing the moral and intellectual improvement of that coun- try. In a parliament held three years subsequent to that which has just been noticed, 3 it was ordered that, throughout the kingdom, all barons and freeholders, whose fortunes per- mitted it, should send their sons to the schools as soon as they were eight or nine years old, to remain there until they had attained a competent know- ledge of the Latin tongue ; after which they were directed to place them, for the space of three years, as pupils in the seminaries of art and law, so that they might be instructed in the knowledge of the laws, and fitted as sheriffs and ordinary judges, to admi- nister justice, under the king's high- ness, throughout the realm ; whilst, it is added, by this provision the " poor people of the land will not be obliged, in every trifling offence, to seek redress from the king's prin- cipal council." For a considerable time past the condition of the Highlands, and the reduction of such wild and remote districts under a more regular form of government than that to which they had hitherto submitted, appears to have been a subject which occu- pied a large share of the attention and anxiety of the sovereign. To attach to his interest the principal chiefs of these provinces ; .to overawe and sub- due the petty princes who affected independence; to carry into their territories, hitherto too exclusively go- verned by their own capricious or ty- 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 238. » Parliament. June 13, 1496. R 25S HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. rannical institutions, the same system of a severe, but regular and rapid ad- ministration of civil and criminal jus- tice, which had been established in his Lowland dominions, was the laudable object of the king; and for this pur- pose he succeeded, with that energy arid activity which remarkably distin- guished him, in opening up an inter- course with many of the leading men in the northern counties. With the Captain of the clan Chattan, Duncan Macintosh; with Ewan, the son of Alan, Captain of the clan Cameron ; with Campbell of Glenurcha; the Macgilleouns of Dowart and Loch- buy; Mackane of Ardnamurchan ; the Lairds of Mackenzie and Grant ; and the Earl of Huntly, a baron of the most extensive power in those northern districts — he appears to have been in habits of constant and regular communication, rewarding them by presents, in the shape either of money or of grants of land, and securing their services in reducing to obedience such of their fellow-chieftains as proved contumacious,- or actually rose into rebellion. 1 But James was not con- tent with this. He rightly' judged that the personal presence of the sovereign in those distant parts of his 'dominions would be attended with salutary effects ; and in 1490, on two different occasions, he rode, accom- panied by his chief counsellors and , the lords of his household, from Perth across the "Mounth," the term ap- plied to the extensive chain of moun- tains which extends across the coun- try, from the border of the Mearns to the head of Loch Rannoch. In 1493, although much occupied with other cares and concerns, he found time to penetrate twice into the Highlands, proceeding as far as Dunstaffnage and Mingarry in Ardnamurchan, 2 and in the succeeding year such was the in- * Treasurer's MS. Accompts, Nov. 21, 1488. * Item, til ane" man to passe to the lard of Erauchie [Grant] for a tratoure he tuke, x sch." Ibid. September 19, 1489. Ibid. Octo- ber 22, 1489 ; November 10, 1489 ; August 16, 1490 ; August 26, 1492 ; August 18, 1493 ; January 5, 1493. 2 Mag. Sig. xiii. 200. August 18, 1493. Ibid. xiii. 104. October 26, 1493. [Chap. Y defatigable activity with which he executed his public duties, that he thrice visited the Isles. 3 The first of these voyages, which took place in April and May, was conducted with great state. It afforded the youthful monarch an opportunity of combining business and amusement, of gratifying his passion for sailing and hunting, of investigating the state of the fisheries, of fitting out his barges for defence as well as pleasure, and of inducing his nobles to build and furnish, at their own expense, vessels in which they might accompany their sovereign. It had the effect also of impressing upon the inhabitants of the Isles a salutary idea of the wealth, grandeur, and mili- tary power of the king. The rapidity with which he travelled from place to place, the success and expedition with which he punished all who dared to oppose him, his generosity to his friends and attendants, and his gay and condescending familiarity with the . lower classes of his subjects, all com- bined to increase his popularity, and to consolidate and unite, by the bonds of equal laws and affectionate alle- giance, the remotest parts of the kingdom. At Tarbet, in Cantire, he repaired the fort originally built by Bruce, and established an emporium for his ship- ping, transporting thither his artillery, laying in a stock of gunpowder, and carrying along with him his master- gunners, in whose training and prac- tice he appears, from the payments in the treasurer's books, to have busied himself with much perseverance and enthusiasm. 4 These warlike measures were generally attended with the best effects ; most of the chieftains readily submitted to a prince who could carry hostilities within a few days into the heart of their country, and attack them in their island fastnesses with a force which they found it vain to re-'\ sist ; one only, Sir John of the Isles, ) * Treasurer's Accounts, "To J. M'chadame, after Pasche, the time that the king past to the Isles, 3£ elns rowane tany iii lb. xvii shillings." April 1494. * Treasurer's Accounts. Julv 5 — July 24, 1494. 1494.] jam: had the folly to defy the royal Ven- geance, ungrateful for that repeated lenity with which his treasons had been already pardoned. His great power on the Isles probably induced him to believe that the king would ' not venture to drive him to extremi- ) ties ; but in this he was disappointed. James instantly summoned, him to stand his trial for treason; and in a } parliament, which assembled at Edin- burgh soon after the king's return from the north, this formidable rebel was stripped of his power, and his lands and possessions forfeited to the crown. 1 A singular and interesting episode in the history of Scotland now pre- sents itself in the connexion of James the Fourth with that mysterious im- postor, Perkin. Warbeck; and there seems to be a strong presumption, al- most amounting to proof, that the plots of the- Duchess of Burgundy re- ceived the countenance and support of the Scottish monarch at a much earlier period than is commonly assigned by the popular historians of either coun- try.' 2 One of the most remarkable features in the government of the Scottish monarch, and one which strik- ingly points out the rising influence and importance of the kingdom, was the constant and intimate communi- cation which he maintained with the continent. With France, Spain, Por- tugal, Denmark, and Flanders, the in- tercourse was as regular and uninter- rupted, not only in the more solemn way of embassies, but by heralds, en- voys, and merchants, as that carried jm with England; and with the Duchess rof Burgundy, the inveterate enemy of \Henry the Seventh and the house of 1 Treasurer's Accounts, August 24, 1494. u Item, to summon Sir John of the Isles, of treason in Kintire, and for the expense of witnesses, vi lb. xiii sh. iiii d." This, accord- ing to Mr Gregory, was Sir John, called "Ca- noch" or the handsome, of Isla and Cantire, and Lord of the Glens in Ireland— executed afterwards at Edinburgh about the year 1500. 2 Warbeck's connexion with James is gene- rally believed to have commenced shortly be- fore his alleged arrival in Scotland, in 1496. It is certain, however, that he arrived there in 1495, and he seems to have been long in aecret treaty with James. BS IV. 259 Lancaster, James had established a secret correspondence only five months after his accession to the throne. It is well known that the plots of this enterprising woman were chiefly fos- tered by her friends and emissaries in Ireland ; and when we find, as early as the 4th of November 1488, Sir Richard Hardelston and Richard Lude- lay de Ireland proceeding on a mission to the Scottish court from this prin- cess, it is difficult to resist the con- clusion that James was well aware of her intended conspiracy, although whether he was admitted into the secret of the imposition attempted to be practised upon England is noil easily discoverable. 3 This accession to the plot is corroborated by other strong facts. In the course of the same month, in which the first en- voys arrived, James received letters from the duchess by an English herald ; and towards the conclusion of the year in which this intercourse took place, the Scottish monarch was visited by a herald from Ireland, who was imme- diately despatched upon a private mission to the Duchess of Burgundy, whilst a pursuivant was sent from Scotland to communicate with certain individuals in England, whose names do not appear. 4 It is well known that the conspiracy was encouraged by Charles the Eighth of France, who in- vited Perkin into his kingdom, and received him with high distinction; whilst the Earl of Bothwell, one of James's principal favourites and coun- sellors, repaired soon after to that 3 Mag. Sig. xii. 59. Nov. 4, 1488. Safe- conduct by James the Fourth at Edinburgh to Richard Hardelstoun, knight, and Richard Ludelay de Ireland, Englishmen, with forty persons, at the request of Dame Margaret, duchess of Burgundy. * Treasurer's Accounts, Nov. 26, 1488. "To an English herald* that came with letters from the Dutchess of Burgundy, x lb." Again, in Treasurer's Accounts, September 21, 1489, " Item, to Rowland Robyson," (this person was afterwards in the intimate confidence of Perkin,) "that brought the letters to the king from the Dutchess of Burgundy, v lb. viiish." Ibid. Feb. 27, 1489. "Item, to the harrot that came furth of Ireland, and past to the Dutchess of Burgundy, xviii lb. Item, to the Scottis bute persyvant that past the same time in England, xvii lb. viii sh." 260 HISTORY OF court, and remained for some months engaged in these private negotiations. Warbeck was at this time treated like a prince. A guard of honour was ap- pointed W wait upon his person, com- manded by Monipenny Sieur de Con- cressault, a Scotsman by descent, but whose family had been long settled in France, and who, not long after, pro- ceeded as ambassador to Scotland from the court of France. 1 Towards the conclusion of the year 1491, the intercourse, which hitherto had been involved in great obscurity, became more open and avowed. War- beck, who was then in Ireland, where he had been joined by the Earl of Desmond, despatched one of his English followers, named Edward Ormond, to the Scottish court with letters for ths king, and the readiness with which James entertained the communication, although deeply engaged with the in- ternal administration of his own do- minions, evinces a prior intimacy with the conspiracy and its authors. 2 The intrigues, however, with which this extraordinary person was then occu- pied in France, England, and Flanders, left him little time to follow out his correspondence with the Scottish mon- arch, and it was not till the year 1494 that he renewed his intercourse with James. On the 6th of .November of that year the king received intima- tion from the Duchess of Burgundy, that the ''Prince of England," the name by which he is mentioned in the ancient record which informs us of this fact, was about to visit Scotland; and preparations for his honourable reception were commenced at Stirling. 3 Henry, however, there is reason to believe, was well aware of these in- trigues in Scotland. Various Scots- 1 Bacon's Life of Henry VII. Apud Ken- net, vol. i. v. 607. Pinkerton, vol. ii p. 28. 2 Treasurer's Books, March 2, 1491. 14 Given at the king's command to an Englishman, called Edward Ormond, that brought letters forth of Ireland fra King Edward's son and the Earl of Desmond, ix lb." s "Item, for carriage of the arras work forth of Edinburgh to Stirling, for receiving the Prince of England, xxx sh." Treasurer's Bowks, November 6, 1404. SCOTLAND [Chap. V; men, amongst the rest a Scottish knight of Rhodes, probably Sir John Knollis, who had lately passed into England, and Ramsay, lord Bothwell, the favour- ite of James the Third, were in the pay of the English king; 4 whilst in Flanders, Lord Clifford, who had at, first warmly embraced the cause of \ the counterfeit prince, was corrupted by a large bribe; and after amusing his friends and adherents by a series of negotiations which drew into the plot some of the ancient and noble J families of England, concluded his \ base proceedings by betraying them to, the English monarch. This discovery was a fatal blow to the Yorkists. Their pro j ect was probably to have proclaimed Perkin in England, whilst his numer- ous adherents engaged to rise in Ire- land; and the Scottish monarch was to break at the head of his army across the Borders, and compel Henry to divide his force. B ut the Border chiefs, impatient for war, invaded England too soon ; and it happened, unfortun- ately for Warbeck, that whilst a tumultuous force, including the Arm- strongs, Elwalds, Crossars, Wighams, Nyksons, and Henrisons, penetrated into Northumberland, 5 with the hope of promoting a rising in favour of the asserted Duke of York, the treachery of Clifford had revealed the whole particulars of the conspiracy ; and the apprehension and execution of the ringleaders struck such terror into the nation, that the cause of Perkin in that country was for the present con- sidered hopeless. He had still, however, to look to Ireland and Scotland. Amongst the Irish the affection for the house of York, and the belief in the reality of his pretensions, was. exceedingly strong. It is difficult, indeed, to discover whether the Scottish king was equally credulous; yet, either as a believer or a politician, James determined to sup-\ port the sinking fortunes of the coun- \ terfeit prince. For this purpose an 4 Nicolas, Excerpta Historica, part i. p. 93. * This raid or invasion, which is unknown to our historians, is mentioned nowhere but in the record of justiciary, Nov. 1493. Mr Stirling's MS. Chron. Notes, pp. 50, 55. •1494-7.] J AMI intercourse was opened up with Ire- land, and O'Donnel, prince of Tirconnel, one of the most powerful chiefs in that country, repaired to the Scottish court, where he was received by the king with great state and distinction. 1 The particulars of their conferences are unfortunately lost to* history ; but there can be little doubt that they re- lated to the efforts which James had determined to make for the restoration of the last descendant of the' house of York to the throne of his alleged an- cestors. At this time war appears to have been resolved on ; and although Henry, justly alarmed by the state of his kingdom, still torn by public discontent and secret conspiracy, en- deavoured to avert the storm by pro- posals for the marriage of James with his daughter the Princess Margaret, 2 this monarch rejected the alliance with coldness; and resolved that he who had not scrupled to sow treason amongst his barons, and to lay plots for the seizure of his person, should at length feel the weight of his resentment. ( Accordingly, in the month of No- i vember 1495, Warbeck, under the / title of Prince Richard of England, 3vas received with royal honours at the palace of Stirling ; 3 and whatever scepticism James may hitherto have . indulged in, there is certainly strong ground to believe that the art of this accomplished impostor, his noble ap- pearance, the grace and unaffected dignity of his manners, and the air of mystery and romance which his misfor- ' tunes had thrown around him, contri- buted to persuade the king of the identity of his person, and the justice of his claim upon the throne of Eng- land. He was welcomed into Scotland with great state and rejoicing. The king addressed him as " cousin, " and 1 Treasurer's Accounts. Sub anno 1494. iut without any further date. 4 1 Item, passing A-ith lettres in the east and south-landis, for > he receiving of great Odonell, x shillings. Item, to Master Alexr Schawes expenses pass- ing from the toun'of Air to Edinburgh for the cupboard, and remaining there upon the king's clothing, to the receiving of Odonnell, xx shillings." 2 Rymer, Fcedera, vol. xii. p. 572. ' Treasurer's Accompts, November 6, 1405. He arrived at Stirling, November 20. S IV. 261 publicly countenanced his title to the crown. Tournaments and other courtly festivals were held in honour of his arrival ; and James, accompanied by his nobility, conducted him in a pro- gress through his dominions, in which, by his handsome person and popular manners, he conciliated to himself the admiration of the people. But this was not all. The Scottish monarch bestowed upon his new ally the hand | of Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntly, a lady of extraordinary beauty and accomplishments, who, by her mother, the daughter of James the First, was nearly related to the royal family, — a step which appears to guar- antee the sincerity of James's present belief in the reality of his pretensions. More serious measures were now resorted to, and a general muster of the military force of the kingdom was ordered by " letters of weapon-schaw- ings," which were followed by an order to the whole body of the lieges, includ- ing the men of the Isles, to meet the king at Lauder. A communication at the same time took place between the Irish and Anglo-Irish barons who sup- ported in that island the cause of Per- kin; 4 the king himself rode through the country with his usual activity, superintending the equipment of the rude train of artillery, which had to be collected from various forts and castles ; 5 Andrew Wood of Largo was despatched into the north with letters to the barons of that district; and all the preparations having been com- pleted, the young monarch placed himself at the head of his army. He was accompanied by Warbeck, who, * Treasurer's Accompts, June 4, 1496. Ibid. June 29. 5 Ibid. Sept. 1, 1496. Ibid. May 3. Ibid May 10. "Item, to the man that gydit the king to Drymmyne" (Drummond castle, in Strathern) " that night, viii d. May 10, Item, •to the king in Strivelin, to play at the each. August 8, Item, to the man that castis the brazen chambers to the gun, xxviii sh. Item, Sept. 1, to John Lamb of Leith, for xxxvi gun- chambers, and for nykkis and bandis to ye gunnis, and for iron graith to the brazen gun, and lokkis, finger and boltis to the bombards | that were in Leith. Sept -9, For ane elne, half j h quartere, and a nail of double red taffety to j the Duke of York's (Perkin "Warbeck) banner, ' for the elne, xviii sh." 262 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND adopting the title of the Duke of York, was treated with distinguished honours, and equipped for war with a personal magnificence almost equal to that of the king. At this moment, Roderic de Lalain, with two ships, which bore a force of sixty German men-at-arms, arrived from Flanders, bringing with him, from the Duchess of Burgundy, arms, harness, crossbows, and other necessary military stores; whilst there landed at St Andrews, on a mission from Charles the Eighth, the Lord of Concressault, who had formerly commanded Perkin's body-guard in France. 1 The very selection of so in- timate a friend of the counterfeit prince, indicated a secret disposition to favour his cause ; and although the French monarch publicly proposed, by his ambassador, that he should be per- mitted to act as a mediator between Henry and the Scottish king, it is cer- tain that he secretly encouraged the invasion. At the same time, many of the English, chiefly of the Border barons, resorted to Perkin from Ber- wick and Carlisle; the Nevilles, Dacres, Skeltons, Lovels, and Herons, were in constant communication with him ; and it was confidently expected by the young King of Scots, that the disposi- tion in his favour would become gene- ral the moment he penetrated into England. 2 But James, whose rash and over- bearing temper often misled his judg- ment, was little aware of the means which Henry had sagaciously adopted to defeat the threatened invasion. With the Scottish people, who cared : little for the pretensions of the house I of York, or the cause of the mysterious stranger, the war was unpopular ;j and in Both well, the favourite of James the Third, who had been suffered by his son to remain in Scotland, Henry' possessed an active and able partisan. By his means, the king's brother, the Duke of Ross, the Earl of Buchan, and the Bishop of Moray were induced to promise Henry their utmost assistance 1 Supra, p. 260. 2 Letters from Ramsay, lord Bothwell, to Henry the Seventh, first published by Pinker- ton, from the originals in the* British Mu- seum. Pinkerton's Hist. vol. ii. pp. 438, 443. [Chap. T. in defeating the object of the invasion; \ the young prince even engaged to place himself under the protection of the King of England, the moment his royal brother crossed the Borders; and a plot for the seizure of Warbeck, at night, in his tent, was, at Henry's suggestion, entered into between Buchan, Bothwell, and Wyat, an* Eng- lish envoy, which, probably, only failed from the vigilance of the royal guard whom James had directed to keep watch round the pavilion. Whilst many of the most powerful Scottish barons thus secretly lent themselves to Henry, and remained with the army only to betray it, others, who had been the friends and coun- sellors of his father, anxiously laboured to dissuade James from carrying hos-- tilities to extremity ; but the glory of restoring an unfortunate prince, the last of a noble race, to his hereditary throne ; the recovery of Berwick, which he engaged to place in the hands of the Scottish king; and the sum of one thousand marks, which he promised to- advance for the expenses of the war, were motives too powerful to be re- sisted by the young monarch; and, after a general muster of his army at Ellame Kirk, within a few miles of. the English Border, he declared war, and invaded England. At this time Warbeck addressed a public declara- tion to his subjects, in the name of Richard, duke of York, true inheritor of the crown of England. He branded Henry as a usurper — accused him of the murder of Sir William Stanley, Sir Simon Montfort, and others of the ancient barons and nobility — of having invaded the liberties and franchises of the Church — and of havipg pillaged the people by heavy aids and unjust taxes . He pTedged his worcftb remove these illegal impositions, to maintain unin- jured the rights of the Church, the privileges of the nobles, the charters of the corporations, with the commerce and manufactures of the country ; and he concluded by setting a reward of one thousand pounds on Henry's head. . This proclamation was judiciously drawn up, yet it gained no proselytes^ and James, who had expected a very- 1497.] J AMI different reBult, was mortified to find that the consequences which had been predicted by his wisest counsellors ^ere speedily realised. So long as Warbeck attempted to assert his pre- tended rights to the throne by the assistance of the English, whom he claimed as his own subjects, he had some chance of success ; but such was still the hatred between the two na- tions, that the fact of his appearance at the head of a Scottish army at once destroyed all sympathy and affection for his cause. Instead of a general rising of the people, the Scottish mon- arch found that the English Border barons who had joined him were avoided as traitors and renegades, and the large force of Germans, French, and Flemish volunteers, who marched along with the army, only increased the odium against the impostor, whilst they refused to co-operate cordially with their allies. James, however, held his desolating progress through Northumberland, and incensed at the failure of his scheme, and the disap- pointment of his hopes, with a cruel and short-sighted policy, indulged his revenge by delivering over the country to indiscriminate plunder. It is said that Warbeck generously and warmly remonstrated against such a mode of making war, declaring that he would rather renounce the crown than gain it ' at the expense of so much misery : to which James coldly replied, that his cousin of York seemed to him too soli- citous for the welfare of a nation which hesitated to acknowledge him either as a king or a subject, — a severe retort, evincing very unequivocally that the ardour of the monarch for the main object of the war had experienced a sudden and effectual check. 1 The ap- proach, however, of an English army, the scarcity of provisions in an ex- hausted country, and the late season ! of the year, were more efficacious than the arguments of the pretended prince ; and the Scottish king, after an expedi- tion which h*ad been preceded by many boastful and expensive preparations, •retreated without hazarding a battle, i Carte, Hist of England, vol. ii. pp. 843, «49. 8 IV. 263 and regained his own dominions. Here, in the society of his fair mistress, the | Lady Drummond, and surrounded by the flatterers and favourites who thronged his gay and dissipated court, he soon forgot his ambitious designs, and appeared disposed to abandon, for the present, all idea of supporting the pretensions of Warbeck to the throne of England. But the flame of war, once kindled between the two countries, was not so easily extinguished. The Borderers on either side had tasted the sweets of plunder, and the excitation of mutual hostility. An inroad by the Homes, which took place even in the heart of winter, again carried havoc into Eng- land; and Henry, whose successes against his domestic enemies had now seated him firmly upon the throne, commanded Lord Dacre, his warden of the west marches, to assemble the whole power of these districts, and to retaliate by an invasion into Scotland. The sagacious monarch, however, soon discovered, by those methods of ob- taining secret information, of which he so constantly availed himself, that James's passion for military renown, and his solicitude in the cause, had greatly diminished ; and although hos- tilities recommenced in the summer, and a conflict took place at Dunse, the war evidently languished. The English monarch began to renew his negotiations for peace; and his pro- posals were repeated for a marriage between the young King of Scots and his daughter the Princess Mar- garet. ^4JuJL&lT James, however, although disposed to listen to these overtures, was too generous to entertain for a moment Henry's proposal that Perkin should be abandoned, and delivered into his hands. Yet the expenses incurred by his stay in Scotland, where he was maintained with a state and dignity in every way befitting his alleged rank, were necessarily great. 2 His servants and attendants, and those of his wife, 2 Treasurer's Books, May 10, 1497, " Item, Griffin to Holland Robysonn for his Maister (Zorkes) months pensionne, lcxii lb." — York here means Perkin Warbeck. 264 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL the Lady Catherine Gordon, who took ( the title of Duchess of York, were all supported by the king; and the limited exchequer of the country could ill bear I these heavy drains, in addition to the disbursement of .a monarch, whose I habits were unusually profuse, and who was frequently obliged to coin his per- l sonal ornaments, that he might procure money for the demands of pleasure, I or the more serious urgencies of the state. 1 In such circumstances, it seemed to the king the best policy to continue the demonstrations of war for. some time, without any intention of pushing it to extremities, whilst, under cover of these hostilities, Warbeck should be suffered quietly to leave Scotland. James accordingly again • advanced into England, accompanied by a considerable train of artillery, in which that large piece of ordnance, still preserved in the castle of Edin- burgh, and known by the familiar name of Mons Meg, made a conspicuous appearance. 2 Meanwhile, during his absence with the army, preparations were secretly made for the embarka- tion of Warbeck. A ship, commanded / by Robert ^Barton, a name destined to become afterwards illustrious in the naval history of the country, was or- dered to be got ready at Ayr, and thi- ther this mysterious and unfortunate adventurer repaired. He was accom- panied by his wife, who continued his faithful companion amid every future V reverse of fortune, and attended by a ) body of thirty horse. 3 In this last scene of his connexion with Scotland, nothing occurred which evinced upon the part of James any change of opi- nion regarding the reality of his rank and pretensions. He and his beautiful consort preserved their titles as Duke and Duchess of York. The vessel which carried them to the continent was equipped at great expense, com- manded by one of the most skilful seamen in the kingdom, and even the minutest circumstances which could affect their accommodation and com- fort were not forgotten by the watchful and generous anxiety of the monarch, who had been their protector till the cause seemed hopeless. At last, all being in readiness, the ship weighed anchor on the 6th of July 1497, and Warbeck and his fortunes bade adieu to Scotland for ever. 4 CHAPTER VL JAMES THE FOURTH. 1497^-1513. The departure of Perkin Warbeck from Scotland was followed, after a short interval, by a truce with Eng- i Treasurer's Books, July 27, 1497. " Item, ressavit of Sir Tho» Tod for iii pund wecht, foure unce and three quarters of an unce of gold in xxxvi linkis of the great chain, coined by the king's command, iiiicxxxii unicorns iiiclxix lbs. xvi shillings." Ibid. Feb. 20, 14%. Again, in the Treasurer's Books, Aug. 4, 1497, we find eighteen links struck off the great chain, weighing thirty -five ounces, land. It was evidently the interest of Henry the Seventh and of James to be at peace. The English monarch was unpopular ; every attack by a coined into two hundred unicorns and a half. Sir Thomas Tod was rather a dangerous per- son to be placed in an office* of such trust. See supra, p. 252. a Illustrations, letter TJ-. s Treasurer's Books, July 5, 1497. . * Treasurer's Books, July 6-, 1497. Illustra- tions letter V. Note on Perkin Warbeck. 1497.] foreign power endangered the stabi- lity of his government, encouraging domestic discontent, and strengthen- ing the hands of his enemies : on the side of the Scottish king there were not similar causes of alarm, for he was strong in the affections of his sub- jects, and beloved by his nobility; but grave and weighty cares en- grossed his attention, and these were of a nature which could be best pur- sued in a time of peace. The state of the revenue, the commerce and do- mestic manufactures of his kingdom, and the deficiency of his marine, had now begun to occupy an important place in the thoughts of the still youthful sovereign : the disorganised condition of the more northern por- tions of his dominions demanded also the exertion of his utmost vigilance; so that he listened not unwillingly to Henry's proposals of peace, and to the overture for a matrimonial alliance, which was brought forward by the principal Commissioner of England, Fox, bishop of Durham. The pacific disposition of James appears to have been strengthened by the judicious counsels of Pedro D'Ayala, the Spanish envoy at the court of Henry the Seventh : this able foreigner had received orders from his sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, to visit Scot- land as the ambassador from their ' Catholic majesties ; and on his arrival in that country, he soon acquired so strong an influence over this prince, that he did not hesitate to nominate him his chief commissioner for the conducting his negotiations with Eng- land. A seven years' truce was ac- cordingly concluded at Ayton on ♦he 31st of September 1497 ; 1 and m a meeting which took place soon after, between William de Warham, Henry's commissioner, and D'Ayala, who appeared on the part of James, it was agreed that this cessation of hostilities should continue during the lives of the two monarchs, and for a year after the death of the survivor. Having accomplished this object, the Spanish minister and his suite left the Scottish court, to the regret of the 1 Rymer, vol. xii.-pp. 673, 678 inolcsiw*. JAMES IV. 265 king, who testified by rich presents the regard he entertained for them. 2 This negotiation with England be- ing concluded, James had leisure to turn his attention to his affairs at home ; and, although in the depth of winter, with the hardihood' which marked his character, he took a pro- gress northward as far as Inverness. It was his object personally to inspect the state of these remote portions of his dominions, that he might be able to legislate for them with greater suc- cess than had attended the efforts of his predecessors. The policy which he adopted was, to separate and weaken the clans by arraying them in opposition to each other, to attach to his service by rewards and preferment some of their ablest leaders — to main- tain a correspondence with the re- motest districts — and • gradually to accustom their fierce inhabitants to habits of pacific industry, and a res* pect for the restraints of the laws. It has been objected to him that his proceedings towards the Highland chiefs were occasionally marked by an unbending rigour, and too slight a regard for justice ; but his policy may . be vindicated on the ground of ne- cessity, and even of self-defence. These severe measures, however, were seldom resorted to but in cases of rebellion. To the great body of his nobility, James was uniformly indulgent ; the lamentable fate of his father convinced him of the folly of attempting to rule without them ; he was persuaded that a feudal monarch at war with his nobles, was deprived of the greatest sources of his strength and dignity; and to enable him to direct their efforts to such objects as he had at heart, he endeavoured to gain their affections. Nor was it difficult to effect this : the course of conduct which his own disposition prompted him to pursue, was the best calculated to render him a favourite with the aristocracy. Under the former reign they seldom saw their prince, but lived in gloomy inde- pendence at a distance from court, 2 MS. Accounts of the High Treasurer of Scotland under the 31st of October 1497. 266 HISTORY OF resorting thither only on occasions of state or counsel ; and when the par- liament was ended, or the emergency had passed away, they returned to their castles full of complaints against a system which made them strangers to their' sovereign, and ciphers in the government. Under James all this was changed. Affable in his manners, fond of magnificence, and devoted to pleasure, the king delighted to see himself surrounded by a splendid nobility : he bestowed upon his high- est barons those offices in his house- hold which insured a familiar attend- ance upon his person : his court was a perpetual scene of revelry and amusement, in which the nobles vied with each -other in extravagance, and whilst they impoverished themselves, became more dependent from this cir- cumstance upon the sovereign. The seclusion and inferior splendour of their own castles became gradually irksome to them ; as their residence was less frequent, the ties which bound their vassals to their service were loosened, whilst the consequence was favourable to the royal authority. But amid the splendour of his court, and devotion to his pleasures, James pursued other objects which were truly laudable. Of these the most prominent and the most im- portant was his attention to his navy : the enterprises of the Portuguese, and the discoveries of Columbus, had created a sensation at this period throughout every part of Europe, which, in these times, it is perhaps impossible for us to estimate in its full force. Every monarch ambitious of wealth or of glory, became anxious to share, in the triumphs of maritime adventure and discovery. Henry the Seventh of England, although in most cases a cautious and penuri- ous prince, had not hesitated to en- , courage the celebrated expedition of I John Cabot, a Venetian merchant, settled at Bristol; and his unwonted spirit was rewarded by the discovery of the continent of North America. 3 1 Mr Biddel in his Life of Sebastian Cabot, a work of great acuteness and research, has endeavoured to shew that ti'e discovery of SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL A second voyage conducted by hia son Sebastian, one of the ablest navi- gators of the age, had greatly ex- tended the range of our geographical knowledge ; and the genius of the Scottish prince, catching fire at the successes of the neighbouring king- dom, became eager to distinguish itself in a similar career of naval en- terprise. But a fleet was wanting to second these aspirings; and to supply this became his principal object. His first care was wisely directed to those nurseries of seamen, his domestic fisheries and his foreign commerce. Deficient in anything deserving the name of a. royal navy, Scotland was nevertheless rich in hardy mariners and enterprising merchants. A for- mer parliament of this reign had ad- verted to the great wealth still lost to the country from the want of a suffi- cient number of ships, and busses, or boats, to be employed in the fisheries. 2 An enactment was now made that vessels of twenty tons and upwards should be built in all the seaports of the kingdom; whilst the magistrates- were directed to compel all stout va- grants who frequented such districts to learn the trade of mariners, and labour for their own living. 3 Amongst his merchants and private traders, the king found some men of ability and experience. Sir Andrew- Wood of Largo, the two Bartons, Sir Alexander Mathison, William Merri- month of Leith, whose skill in mari- time affairs had ' procured him the title of " King of the Sea," and various other naval adventurers of inferior note, were sought out by James, and treated with peculiar favour and dis- North America belongs solely to Sebastian and not to John Cabot. From the examina- tion of his proofs and authorities, I have arrived at an opposite conclusion. The reader who is interested in the subject will find it discussed in the Appendix to *\ A His- torical View of the Progress of Discovery in North America." 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 235. " Anent the greit innumerable riches yat is tint in fault of schippis ami buschis." 3 M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol ii. pp. 17, 18. 1497-1502.] tinction They were encouraged to extend their voyages, to arm then trading vessels, to purchase foreign ships of war, to import cannon, and to superintend the building of ships of force at home. In these cares the monarch not only took an interest, but studied the subject with his usual en- thusiasm, and personally superintended every detail. He conversed with his mariners — rewarded the most skilful and assiduous by presents — visited familiarly at the houses of his princi- pal merchants and sea officers — prac- tised with his artillerymen — often discharging and pointing the guns, and delighted in embarking on short voyages of experiment, in which, under the tuition of Wood or the Bar- tons, he became 'acquainted with the practical parts of navigation. The consequences of such conduct were highly favourable to him : he became as popular with his sailors as he was beloved by his nobility ; his fame was carried by them to foreign countries ; shipwrights, cannon-founders, and for- eign artisans of every description flocked to his court from France, Italy, and the Low Countries; and if amongst these were sdme impostors, whose pre- tensions imposed upon the royal cre- dulity, there were others by whose skill and genius Scotland rose in the scale of knowledge and importance. But the attention of James to his navy and his foreign commerce, al- though conspicuous, was not exchi- his energy and activity in the administration of justice, in the sup pression of crime, and in the regulation of the police of his dominions, were equally remarkable. Under the feudal government as it then existed in Scot- land, the obedience paid to the laws, and the consequent increase of in- dustry and security of property, were dependent in a great degree upon the personal character of the sovereign. Indolence and inactivity in the monarch commonly led to disorder and oppres- sion. The stronger nobles oppressed their weaker neighbours ; murder and spoliation of every kind were practised by their vassals ; whilst the judges, deprived of the countenance and pro- JAMES IV. 267 tection of their prince, either did not dare or did not choose to punish the delinquents. Personal vigour in the king was invariably accompanied by a diminution of crime and a respect for the laws ; and never was a sovereign more indefatigable, than James in visiting with this object every district of his dominions; travelling frequently alone, at night, and in the most in- clement seasons, to great distances ; surprising the judge when he least expected, by his sudden appearance on the tribunal, and striking terror into the heart of the guilty by the rapidity and certainty of the royal vengeance. Possessed of an athletic frame, which was strengthened by a familiarity with all the warlike exer- cises of the age, the king thought little of throwing himself on his horse and riding a hundred miles before he drew bridle ; and on one occasion it is recorded of him, that he rode un* attended from his palace of Stirling in a single day to Elgin, where he per- mitted himself but a few hours' repose, and then pushed on to the shrine of St Duthoc in Koss. 1 Whilst the monarch was occupied in these active but pacific cares, an event occurred which, in its conse- quences, threatened once more to plunge the two countries into war. A party of Scottish youths, some of them highly born, crossed the Tweed at Norham, and trusting to the protection of the truce, visited the castle; but the national antipathy led to a mis- understanding : they were accused of being spies, attacked by orders of the governor, and driven with ignominy and wounds across the river. James's chivalrous sense of honour fired at this outrage, and he despatched a herald to England, demanding in- quiry, and denouncing war if it .were refused. It was fortunate, however, that the excited passions of this prince were met by quietude and prudence upon the part of Henry ; he repre- sented the event in its true colours, as an unpremeditated and accidental attack, for which he felt regret and was ready to afford redress. Fox, the bishop i Lesley's History, Bannatyae edit. p. 76. 268 HISTORY OF of Durham, to whom the castle be- longed, made ample submissions ; and the king, conciliated by his flattery, and convinced by his arguments of the ruinous impolicy of a war, allowed himself to be appeased. Throughout the whole negotiation, the wisdom and moderation of Henry presented a striking contrast to the foolish and overbearing impetuosity of the Scot- tish monarch : it was hoped, however, that this headstrong temper would be subdued by his arrival at a maturer age ; and in the meantime the English king despatched to the Scottish court his Vice -Admiral Rydon, to obtain from James the final ratification of the truce, which was given at Stirling on the 20th of July 1499. 1 In the midst of these threatenings of war which were thus happily averted, it is pleasing to mark the efforts of an enlightened policy for the dissemination of learning. By an act of a former parliament, (1496,) 2 it had been made imperative on all barons and freeholders, under a fine of twenty pounds, to send their sons at the age of nine years to the schools, where they were to be competently founded in Latin, and to remain after- wards three years at the schools of " Art and Jury," so as to insure their possessing a knowledge of the laws. The object of this statute was to secure the appointment of learned persons to fill the office of . sheriffs, that the poorer classes of the people might not be compelled from the ignorance of such judges to appeal to a higher tribunal. These efforts were seconded by the exertions of an emin- ent and learned prelate, Elphinston, bishop of Aberdeen, who now com- pleted the building of King's College in that city, for the foundation of which he had procured the Papal bull in 1494. In the devout spirit of the age, its original institutions embraced the maintenance of eight priests and .seven singing boys ; but it supported also professors of divinity, of the civil and canon law, of medicine and hu- 1 Rymer. Fcedera, vol. xii. p. 728. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. tt. p. 238. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL manity ; fourteen students of phil- osophy and ten bachelors were edu- cated within its walls : nor is it un- worthy of record that its first prin- cipal was the noted Hector Boece, the correspondent of Erasmus, and a scholar whose classical attainments and brilliant fancy had already pro- cured for him the distinction of pro- fessor of -philosophy in Montague College at Paris. Scotland now pos- sessed three universities : that of St Andrews, founded in the commence- ment of the fifteenth century ; Glas- gow, in the year 1453 ; and Aberdeen in 1500. Fostered amid the security of peace, the Muses began to raise their heads from the slumber into which they had fallen ; and the genius of Dunbar and Douglas emulated in their native language the poetical tri- umphs of Chaucer and of Gower. 3 It was about this time that James concluded a defensive alliance with France and Denmark ; and Henry the Seventh, who began to be alarmed lest the monarch should be flattered by Lewis the Twelfth into a still more intimate intercourse, renewed his pro- posals for a marriage wrth his daugh- ter. The wise policy of a union be^ tween the Scottish king and the Princess Margaret had suggested itself to the councillors of both countries some years before; but the extreme youth of the intended bride, and an indisposition upon the part of James to interrupt by more solemn ties the love which he bore to his mistress, Margaret Drummond, the daughter of Lord Drummond, had for a while put an end to all negotiations on the sub-, ject. His continued attachment, how-, ever, the birth of a daughter, and, perhaps, the dread of female influence l over the impetuous character of the king, began to alarm his nobility, and James felt disposed to listen to their remonstrances. He accordingly de- spatched his commissioners, the Bishop of Glasgow, the Earl of Bothwell, his high admiral, and Andrew Form an, apostolical prothonotary, to meet with s Memoirs of William Dunbar, p. 45, pre- fixed to Mr Laing's beautiful edition of that poet. 1502.] JAM] those of Henry; and, after some inter- val of debate and negotiation, the marriage treaty was concluded and signed in the palace of Richmond, on the 24th of January 1502. 1 It was stipulated that, as the princess had not yet completed her twelfth year, her father should not be obliged to send her to Scotland before the 1st of September 1503 ; whilst James en- gaged to espouse her within fifteen days after her arrival. 2 The queen was immediately to be put in posses- sion of all the lands, castles, and manors, whose revenues . constituted the jointure of the queens-dowager of Scotland; and it was stipulated that their annual amount should not be under the sum of two thousand pounds sterling. She was to receive during the lifetime of the king her husband, a pension of five hundred marks, equi- valent to one thousand pounds of Scot- tish money; and in the event of James's death, was to be permitted to reside at her pleasure, either within or without the limits of Scotland. On the part of Henry, her dowry, consider- ing his great wealth, was not munifi- cent. It was fixed at thirty thousand nobles, or ten thousand pounds ster- ling, to be paid by instalments within three years after the marriage. 3 Be- sides her Scottish servants, the princess 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. pp. 776, 777, 787. 2 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. p. 765, gives the dispensation for the marriage. It is dated 5 th August 1500. s At a period as remote as 1281, when silver was far more valuable than in 1502, Alexan- der the Third gave with his daughter to the King of Norway the value of 9333 pounds of standard silver, one-half in money, for the other half an annuity in lands, valued at ten years' purchase, whilst the stipulated jointure was to be ten per cent, of her portion. Henry the Seventh, on the other hand, when it might be thought more necessary for him to conciliate the affection of his sonrin-law, gives only 5714 pounds, silver of the same standard, and stipulates for his- daughter a jointure of twenty percent., besides an allow- ance for her privy purse. — M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. iv., in Appendix, Chronological Table oi Prices. The well- known economy, however, of the English monarch, and his shrewdness in all money transactions, preclude us from drawing any general conclusions from this remarkabl fact, as to the comparative wealth of Scotland in the thirteenth and England in the six- teenth century. S IV. 209 was to be at liberty to keep twenty - four English domestics, men and women ; and her household was to be maintained by her husband in a eta I conformable to her high rank as the daughter and consort of a king. It was lastly agreed that, should the queen die without issue before the three years had expired within which her dowry was to be paid, the balance should not be demanded; but in the event of her death, leaving issue, the — whole sum was to be exacted. 4 Such was this celebrated treaty, in which the advantages were almost exclusively on the side of England; for Henry retained Berwick, and James was con- tented with a portion smaller than that which had been promised to the Prince of Scotland by Edward the Fourth, when in 1474 this monarch invited him to marry his daughter j Caecilia. 5 But there seems no ground I for the insinuation of a modern histo- rian, 6 that the deliberations of the Scottish commissioners had been swayed by the gold of England; it is more probable they avoided a too rigid scrutiny of the treaty, from an anxiety that an alliance, which pro- mised to be in every way beneficial to the country and to the sovereign, should be carried into effect with as much speed as possible. The tender age of the young prin- cess, however, still prevented her im- mediate union with the king, and in the interval a domestic tragedy occur- red at court, of which the causes are as dark as the event was deplorable. It has been already noticed that James, whose better qualities were tarnished by an indiscriminate devotion to his pleasures, had, amid other temporary amours, selected as his mistress Lady Margaret Drummond, the daughter of a noble house, which had already given a queen to Scotland. At first little anxiety was felt at such a connexion; the nobles, in the plurality of the royal favourites, imagined there ex- * Rymer, Foedera, vol. xii. pp. 787, 792, in- clusive. s The portion of Caecilia was 20,000 marks, equal to £13,333 English money of that age — Rymer, Fcedera, vol. xi. pp. 825, 836. 6 Pinkerton. vol. ii. p. 41. 270 HISTORY OF isted a safeguard tor the royal honour, and looked with confidence to James's fulfilling his engagements with Eng- land; but his infatuation seemed to increase in proportion as the period for the completion of the marriage approached. His coffers were ex- hausted to keep up the splendid estab- lishment of his mistress : large sums of money, rich dresses, grants of land to her relations and needy domestics, all contributed to drain the revenue, whilst her influence must have been alarming. The treaty was yet uncon- firmed by the oath of the king, and his wisest councillors began to dread the consequences. It was in this state of things that, when residing at Drum- mond castle, Lady Margaret, along with her sisters, Euphemia and Sybilla, were suddenly seized with an illness which attacked them immediately after a repast, and soon after died in great torture, their last struggles exhibiting, it was said, the symptoms of poison. The bodies of the fair sufferers were 1 instantly carried to Dunblane, and there buried with a precipitancy which increased the suspicion; yet no steps were taken to arrive at the truth by disinterment or examination. It is possible that a slight misunderstand- ing between James and Henry con- cerning the withdrawing the title of King of France, which the Scottish monarch had inadvertently permitted to be given to his intended father-in- law, 1 may have had the effect of ex- citing the hopes of the Drummonds, and reviving the alarm of the nobles, who adopted this horrid means of removing the subject of their fears; or we may, perhaps, look for a solution of the mystery in the jealousy of a rival house, which shared in the mu- nificence" and clisputed for the affec- tions of the king. 2 From the sad reflections which must have clouded his mind on this occa- sion, the monarch suddenly turned, with his characteristic versatility and energy, to the cares of government. 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xiii. pp. 43, 44. 2 The Lady Janet Kennedy, daughter of John, lord Kennedy, had born a son to the king, whom James created Earl of Moray. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL Sometime previous to this (but the precise date is uncertain) he provided the King of Denmark with vessels and troops for the reduction of the Nor- wegians, who had risen against his authority. The Scottish auxiliaries, in conjunction with the Danish force and a squadron furnished by the elec- tor of Brandenburg, were commanded by Christiern, prince royal of Den- mark, and the insurgent Norwegians for the time completely reduced, whilst their chief, Hermold, was taken pri- soner and executed. James's fleet now returned to Scotland; the artil- lery and ammunition which formed their freight were carried to the castle of Edinburgh, and a mission of Snow- don, herald to the Danish king, to whom James sent a present of a coat of gold, evinced the friendly alliance which existed between the two countries. 3 All was now ready for the approach- ing nuptials of the king. The Pope had given his dispensation, and con- firmed the treaties ; James had renewed his oath for their observation, and the youthful bride, under the care of the Earl of Surrey, and surrounded by a splendid retinue, set out on her jour- ney to Scotland. Besides Surrey and his train, the Earl of, Northumberland, Lord Dacre, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Durham, and other civil and ecclesiastical grandees, accom- panied the princess, who was now- in her fourteenth year ; and at Lamber- ton kirk, in Lammermuir, she was met by the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Earl of Morton, and a train of Scottish barons. The royal tents, which had been sent forward, were now pitched for her reception; and according to the terms of the treaty, the Earl of Northumberland delivered her with great solemnity to the commissioners of the king. The cavalcade then pro- ceeded towards Dalkeith. ' When she reached Newbattle, she was met bv, » This expedition of the Scottish ships to Denmark, in 1502-3, is not to be found in Pinkerton. Its occurrence is established be- yond doubt by the MS. accounts of the Lord High Treasurer, and by the Historians of Denmark. — Lacombe, Histoire de Danne- mar*, vt». i. p. 257. u *r r JA 1502-3.] f the prince himself, with all the ardour of a youthful lover, eager to do honour to the lady of his heart. The inter- view is described by an eye-witness, and presents' a curious picture of the manners of the times. Darting, says he, like a hawk on its quarry, James eagerly entered her chamber, and found her playing at cards : he then, after an embrace, entertained her by his performance upon the clarichord and the lute : on taking leave, he sprung upon a beautiful courser with- ; out putting his foot in the stirrup, and pushing the animal to the top of ' his speed, left his train far behind. 1 At the next meeting the princess ex- I hibited her musical skill, whilst the king listened on bended knee, and highly commended the performance. When she left Dalkeith to proceed to . the capital, James met her, mounted v on a bay horse, trapped with gold ; he and the nobles in his train riding at full gallop, and suddenly checking, and throwing their steeds on their haunches, to exhibit the firmness of their seat. A singular chivalrous ex- hibition now took place : a knight appeared on horseback, attended by a beautiful lady, holding his bridle and carrying his hunting horn. He was assaulted by . Sir Patrick Hamilton, who seized the damsel, and a mimic conflict took place, which concluded by the king throwing down his gage and calling "peace." On arriving at the suburbs, the princess descended from her litter, and, mounted upon a pillion behind the royal bridegroom, "T^ocTe'tErough the streets of the city to the palace, amid the acclamations of the people. 2 On the 8th of August the ceremony of the marriage was per- formed by the Archbishop of St An- drews in the abbey church of Holy- rood ; and the festivities which followed were still more splendid than those which had preceded it. Feasting, masques, morris dances, and dramatic entertainments, occupied successive nights of revelry. Amid the tourna- ments which were exhibited, the king appeared in the character of the Savage 1 Leland, Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 284. 2 Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 286 3 287. 271 Knight, surrounded by wild men dis- guised in goats' skins ; and by his un- common skill in these martial exercises, carried off the prize from all who com- peted with him. Besides the English nobles, many foreigners of distinction attended the wedding, amongst whom, one of the most illustrious was An- thony D'Arsie de la Bastie, who fought in the barriers with Lord Hamilton, after they had tilted with grinding spears. Hamilton was nearly related to the king ; and so pleased was J ames with his magnificent retinue and noble appearance in honour of his marriage, that he created him Earl of Arran on the third day after the ceremony. 3 De la Bastie also was loaded with gifts; the Countess of Surrey, the Archbishop of York ; 4 the officers of the queen's household, down to her meanest domestic, experienced the liberality of the monarch ; / and the revels broke up, amidst enthusiastic aspirations for his happiness, and com- mendations of his unexampled gene- rosity and gallantry. Scarce had these scenes of public rejoicing concluded, when a rebellion broke out in the north which de- manded the immediate attention of the king. The measures pursued by James in the Highlands and the Isles had been hitherto followed with com- plete success. He had visited these remote districts in person ; their fierce chiefs had submitted to his power, and in 1495 he had returned to his capital, leading captive the only two delin- quents who offered any serious re- sistance — Mackenzie of Kintail, and Macintosh, heir to the Captain of clan Chattan. From this period till the year 1499, in the autumn of which the monarch held his court in South Can- tire, all appears to have remained in tranquillity; but after his return (from what causes cannot be dis- covered) a complete change took place in the policy of the king, and the wise and moderate measures already adopted were succeeded by proceed- ings so severe as to border on injus- s Mag. Sig. xiii. 639. Aug. 11, 1503. * Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer, sub anno 1503. August 9, 11, 12, 13. J • t 72 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, tice. The charters which had been granted during the last six years to . the vassals of the Isles, were sum- marily revoked. Archibald, earl of Argyle, was installed in the office of lieutenant, with the ample and invi- dious power of leasing out the entire lordship of the Isles. 1 The ancient proprietors and their vassals were vio- lently expelled from their hereditary property; whilst Argyle and other royal favourites appear to have been enriched by new grants of their estates and lordships. We are not to won- der that such harsh proceedings were loudly reprobated : the inhabitants eaw, with indignation, their rightful masters exposed to insult and indi- gence, and at last broke into open rebellion. Donald Dhu, grandson of John, lord of the Isles, had been shut up for f orty years, a solitary captive in the ' castle of Inchconnal. His 'mother was a daughter of the first Earl of Argyle ; and although there is no doubt that both he and his father were illegitimate, 2 the affection of the Islemen overlooked the blot in his scutcheon, and fondly turned to him as the true heir of Ross and Innisgail. To reinstate him in his right, and place him upon the throne of the Isles, was the object of the present rebel- lion. 3 A . party, led by the Maclans of Glencoe, broke into his dungeon, liberated him from his captivity, and carried him in safety to the castle of Torquil Macleod in the Lew js ; whilst measures were concerted throughout the wide extent of the Isles for the establishment of their independence, and the destruction of the regal power. Although James received early intelligence of the meditated insurrection, and laboured by every method to dissolve the union amongst its confederated chiefs, it now burst forth with destructive fury. Bade- noch was wasted with all the ferocity of Highland warfare, — -Inverness given to the flames; and so widely and > The island of Isla, and the lands of North and South Cantire, were alone excepted. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol, li. p. 247. » Ibid. [Chap. VI rapidly did the contagion of independ- ence spread throughout the Isles, that it demanded the most prompt and de- cisive measures to arrest it. But James's power, though shook, was too deeply rooted to be thus destroyed. The whole array of the kingdom was called forth. The Earls of Argyle, Huntly, Crawford, and Marshall, witli Lord Lovat and other barons, were ap- pointed to lead an army against the Islanders ; the castles and strongholds in the hands of the king were fortified and garrisoned; letters were addressed to the various chiefs, encouraging the loyal by the rewards which awaited them, whilst over the heads of the wavering or disaffected were sus- pended the terrors of forfeiture and execution. But this was not all : a parliament assembled at Edinburgh on the 11th of Inarch 1503, 4 and in addition to the above vigorous resolu- tions, the civilisation of the Highlands, an object which had engrossed the at- tention of many a successive council, was again taken into consideration. To accomplish this end, those dis- tricts, whose inhabitants had hitherto, from their inaccessible position, defied the restraints of the law, were divided into new sheriffdoms, and placed under the jurisdiction of permanent judges. The preamble of the act complained in strong terms of the gross abuse of justice in the northern and western divisions of the realm, — more espe- cially the Isles; it described the people as having become altogether savage, and provided that the new sheriffs for the north Isles should hold their courts in Inverness and Dingwall, and those for the south, in the Tarbet of Lochkilkerran. The in- habitants of Dowart, Glendowart, and the lordship of Lorn, who for a long period had violently resisted the juris- diction of the justice-ayres or ambu- latory legal courts, were commanded to come to the justice- ayre at Perth, and the districts of Mawmor and Lochaber, which had insisted on the same exemption, were brought under the jurisdiction of the just ice-ay re 4 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol, ii. pp. 239 2-19. 1503-4.] of Inverness. The divisions of Bute, Arran, Knapdale, Cantire, and the larger C umbrae, were to hold their courts at Ayr, whilst the deplorable condition of Argyle was marked by the words of the act, " that the court is to be held wherever it is found that each Highlander and Lowlander may come without danger, and ask justice," —a problem of no easy discovery. The districts of Ross and Caithness, now separated from the sheriffdom of Inverness, were placed under their own judges; and it was directed that the inhabitants of these three great divisions of the kingdom should as usual attend the justice-ayre of In- verness. It appears that, for the purpose of quieting the Lowland districts, the king had adopted a system, not un- common in those times, of engaging the most powerful of the resident nobles and gentry in a covenant or " band," which, under severe penal- ties, obliged them to maintain order throughout the country. By such means the blessings of security and good government had been enjoyed by Dumfriesshire, a district hitherto much disturbed; and the Earl of Bothwell now earnestly recommended a similar method to be pursued in the reduction of Teviotdale. In the same parliament a court of daily council was appointed, the judges of which were to be selected by the king, and to hold their sittings in Edinburgh. The object of this new institution was to relieve the lords of the " Session " of the confu- sion and pressure of business which had arisen from the great accumula- tion of cases, and to afford immediate redress to those poorer litigants whose matters had been delayed from year to year. The ferocity of feudal man- ners-and the gradual introduction of legal subtleties were strikinglyJaJended in another law passed at this time, by which it was directed that no remis- sions or pardons were hereafter to con- tain a general clause for all offences, as it was found that by this form much abuse of justice had been intro- duced. A ferooious ruffian, for ex- VOL. IL JAMES IV. 273 ample, who to the crime of murder had, as was generally the case, added many inferior offences, in purchasing his remission, was in the practice of stating only the minor delinquency, and afterwards pleading that the mur- der was included under the pardon. It was now made imperative that, be- fore any remission was granted, the highest offence should be ascertained, and minutely described in the special clause ; it being permitted to the of- fender to plead his remission for all crimes of a minor description. The usual interdiction was repeated against all export of money forth of the realm ; forty shillings being fixed as the maxi- mum which any person might carry out of the country. The collection of the royal customs was more strictly insured: it was enjoined that the magistrates of all burghs should be annually changed; that no Scottish merchants should carry on a litigation beyond seas, in any court but that of the Conservator, who was to be as- sisted by a council of six of the most able merchants, and was commanded to visit Scotland once every year. The burghs of the realm were amply secured in the possession of their ancient privileges, and warning was given to their commissaries or head- men, that when any tax was to be proposed, or contribution granted by the parliament, they should be care- ful to attend and give their advice in that matter as one of the three estates of the realm, — a provision demonstrat- ing the obsoleteness of some of the former laws upon this subject, and proving that an attendance upon the great council of the kingdom was stil] considered a grievance by the more laborious classes of the community. With regard to the higher landed pro- prietors, they were strongly enjoined to take seisin, and enter upon the su- periority of their lands, so that the vassals who held under them might not be injured by their neglect of this important legal solemnity ; whilst every judge, who upon a precept from the Chancery had given seisin to any baron, was directed to keep an attested register of such proceeding in a court- 274 HISTORY OF book, to be lodged in the Exche- j quer. It appears by a provision of the same parliament that " the green wood of Scotland " was then utterly destroyed, a remarkable change from the picture formerly given in this work of the extensive forests which once covered the face of the country. To remedy this, the fine for the felling or burning of growing timber was raised to five pounds, whilst it was ordered that every lord or laird in those dis- tricts where there were no great woods or forests, should plant at the least one acre, and attempt to introduce a further improvement, by enclosing a park for deer, whilst he attended also to his warrens, orchards, hedges, and dovecots. All park-breakers and tres- passers within the enclosures of a land- holder were to be fined in the sum of ten pounds, and if the delinquency should be committed by a child, he was to be delivered by his parents to the judge, who was enjoined to ad- minister corporal correction in propor- tion to its enormity. In the quaint language of the act, " the bairn is to be lashed, scourged, and dung accord- ing to the fault." All vassals, although it was a time of peace, were command- ed to have their arms and harness in good order, to be inspected at the annual military musters or weapon- scha wings. By an act passed in the year 1457 it had been recommended to the king, lords, and prelates to let their lands in u few farm;" but this injunction, which when followed was highly beneficial to the country, had fallen so much into disuse that its legality was disputed; it loosened the strict ties of the feudal system by per- mitting the farmers and labourers to exchange their military services for the payment of a land rent ; and although it promoted agricultural improvement, it was probably opposed by a large body of the barons, who were jealout of any infringement upon their privileges. The benefits of the system, however, were now once more recognised. It was declared lawful for the sovereign, hi3 prelates, nobles, and landholders, to " set their lands in few," under any ] SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL condition which they might judge ex- pedient, taking care, however, that by such leases the annual income of their estates should not be diminished to the prejudice of their successors. No cre- ditor was to be permitted to seize for debt, or to order the sale of any in- struments of agriculture ; an equalisa- tion of weights and measures was com- manded to be observed throughout the realm; it was ordained that the most remote districts of the country, including the Isles, should be amen- able to the same laws as the rest of the kingdom; severe regulations were passed for an examination into the proper qualifications of notaries ; and an attempt was made to reduce the heavy expenses of litigation, and for the suppression of strong and idle paupers. The parliament concluded by introducing a law which materially affected its own constitution. All barons or freeholders, whose annual revenue wa3 below the sum of one hundred marks of the new extent established in 1424, were permitted to absent themselves from the meeting of the three estates, provided they sent their procurators to answer for them, whilst all whose income was above that sum were, under the usual fine, to be compelled to attend. 1 Such were the most remarkable provisions of this important meeting of the three estates, but in these times the difficulty did not so much consist in the making good laws as in carrying them into execution. This was par- ticularly experienced in the case of the Isles, where the rebellion still raged with so much violence that it was found necessary to despatch a small naval squadron under Sir Andrew Wood and Robert Barton, two of the most skilful officers in the country, to co-operate with the land army, which was commanded by the Earl of Arran, lieutenant-general of the king. 2 James, who at present meditated an expedition in person against the broken clans of Eskdale and Teviotdale, could not accompany his fleet further than i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 240-254. s Treasurer's Accounts, 1504. March 14 1504-5.] JAM Dumbarton. 1 The facility with which Wood and Barton reduced the strong insular castle of Carneburgh, which had attempted to stand a siege, and compelled the insurgent chiefs to abandon their attempts at resistance, convinced him that in his attention to his navy he had not too highly esti- mated its importance. Aware also of the uncommon energy with which the monarch directed his military and naval resources, and witnessing the rapidity with which delinquents were overtaken by the royal vengeance, Macleod, Maclan, and others of the most powerful of the Island lords, adopted the wiser policy of supporting the crown, being rewarded for their fidelity by sharing in the forfeited estates of the rebels. 2 A temporary tranquillity having been thus established in the north, the king proceeded, at the head of a force which overawed all opposition, into Eskdale. Information was sent to the English monarch, requesting him to co-operate in this attempt to reduce the warlike Borderers, whose habits of plunder were prejudicial to the se- curity of either country; and Lord Dacre, the warden, received his mas- ter's instructions to meet the Scottish king and afford him every assistance. He repaired accordingly to James's head-quarters at Lochmaben, and pro- ceedings against the freebooters of these districts were commenced with the utmost vigour and severity. None, however, knew better than James how to combine amusement with the weightier cares of government. He was attended in his progress by his huntsmen, falconers, morris dancers, and all the motley and various minions of his pleasures, as well as by his judges and ministers of the law ; and whilst troops of the unfortunate ma- rauders were seized and brought in irons to the encampment, executions and entertainments appear to have succeeded each other with extraordi- nary rapidity. 3 The severity of the 1 Treasurer's Accounts, sub anno 1504. April 18, 30 ; Mav 6, 9, 10, and 11. 2 Ibid. L504. May 7, 11. ^ Ibid. August 9, 1504 ; also under August S IV. 275 monarch to all who had disturbed the peace of the country was as remark- able as his kindness and affability to 1 the lowest of his subjects who respect- \ ed the laws ; and many of the fero- cious Borderers, to whom the love of plunder had become a second nature, but who promised themselves im- munity because they robbed within the English pale, lamented on the scaffold the folly of such anticipation. The Armstrongs, however, appear at this time to have made their peace with the crown, 4 whilst the Jardines, and probably other powerful septs, purchased a freedom from minute in- quiry by an active co-operation with the measures of the sovereign. On his return from the "Raid of Eskdale " to Stirling, James scarcely permitted himself a month's repose, which was occupied in attention to tho state of his fleet, and in negotiation by mutual messengers with the Lord Aubigny in France, when he judged it necessary to niake a progress across the Mounth as far as Forres, visiting Scone, Forfar, Aberdeen, and Elgin, inquiring into the state of this part of his dominions, scrutinising the conduct of his sheriffs and magistrates, and declaring his readiness to redress every grievance, were it sustained by the poorest tenant or labourer in his dominions. 5 Soon after his return he received the unpleasant intelligence that disturb- ances had again broken out in the Isles, which would require immediate interference. In 1504 great efforts had been made, but with little per- manent success, and the progress of the insurrection became alarming. Macvicar, an envoy from Macleod, who was then in strict alliance with the king, remained three weeks at court : Maclan also had sent his emissaries to explain the perilous condition of the country ; and, with his characteristic energy, the king, as soon as the state of the year permitted, despatched the 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 31, For the particulars see the entries on this expedition. 4 Treasurer's Accounts, 1504, September 2. 5 Ibid. 1504, sub mense October. See also September 26. 276 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND Earl of Huntly to invade the Isles by the north, whilst himself in person led an army against them from the south ; and John Barton proceeded vp ith a fleet to reduce and overawe these savage districts. 1 The terror of the royal name; the generosity with which James rewarded his adherents ; and the vigorous measures which he adopt- ed against the disaffected, produced a speedy and extensive effect in dissolv- ing the confederacy. Maclean of Dow- art, Macquarrie of Ulva, with Macneill of Barra, and Mackinnon, offered their submission, and were received in bo fa- vour; and the succeeding year (1506) • witnessed the utter destruction of Torquil Macleod, the great head of the rebellion, whose castle of £>tor noway in Lewis was stormed by iTunEIy"; whilst Donald Dhu, the captive upon whose aged head his vassals had made this desperate attempt to place the crown of the Isles, escaping the gripe of the conqueror, fled to Ireland, where he soon after died. 2 It was now proper for the monarch to look to his foreign relations, to seize the interval of peace at home, that he might strengthen his ties with the continent. France, the ally of Scot- land, had been too constantly occu- pied with hostilities in Italy, to take an interest in preventing the negoti- ations for the marriage of the king to the Princess of England. The con- quest of the Milanese by the arms of Lewis the Twelfth, in which Robert Stuart, lord of Aubigny, had distin- guished himself, and the events which succeeded in the. partition of the king- dom of Naples between the Kings of France and Castile, concentrated the attention of both monarchs upon Italy, and rendered their intercourse with Britain less frequent. But when the 1 Treasurer's Accounts, 1505, September 6. 2 Nor whilst the Bartons, by their naval skill secured the integrity of the kingdom at home, did the monarch neglect their inte- rests abroad. Some of their ships, which had been cruising against the English in 1497, had been seized and plundered on the coast of Brittany, and a remonstrance was addressed to Lewis the Twelfth by Panter, the royal secretary, which complained of the injustice, and insisted on redress. Epistolse Regum Scotorum, vol. i. pp. 17, 18. [Chap. VI. quarrel regarding the division of the kingdom of Naples broke out between Ferdinand and Lewis, in 1503, and the defeats of Seminara and Cerignola had established the superiority of the Spanish arms in Italy, negotiations be- tween Lewis and the Scottish court appear to have been renewed. The causes of this were obvious. Henry the Seventh of England esteemed noneX of his foreign alliances so highly as j that with Spain : his eldest son, Ar-/ thur, had espoused Catharine the In/ fanta; and on the death of her hus- band, a dispensation had been procured from the Pope for her marriage with his brother Henry, now Prince of Wales. It was evident to Lewis that his rupture with Spain was not unlikely to bring on a quar- rel with England, and it became therefore of consequence to renew his negotiations with James the Fourth. These, however, were not the only foreign cares which attracted the at- tention of the king. In the autumn of the year 1505, Charles d'Egmont, duke of Gueldres, a prince of spirit and ability, who with difficulty main- tained his dominions against the un- just attacks of the Emperor Maxi- milian, despatched his secretary on an embassy to the Scottish monarch, re- questing his interference and support. 3 Nor was this denied him. -The duke had listened to the advice of the Scot- tish prince when he requested him to withdraw his intended aid from the un- fortunate Edmund de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, the representative of the house of York, who had sought a refuge at his court; and James now anxiously ex- erted himself in his behalf. He treated ' his envoy with distinction ; despatched an embassy to the duke, which, in passing through France, secured the assistance of Lewis the Twelfth, and so effectually remonstrated with Henry the Seventh and the Emperor Maxi* milian, that all active designs against the duchy of Gueldres were for the present abandoned. 4 3 Accounts of the High Treasurer, 1505, September 6. 4 Ibid. 1506, July 6 and 8. Epistola; Regum Scotorum, vol. i. pp. 21, 30, 34. 1506-9.] In the midst of these transactions, and whilst the presence of Huntly, Barton, and the Scottish fleet was still necessary in the Isles, the more pacific parts of the country were filled with joy by the birth of a prince, which took place at Holyrood on the 1 0th of February 1506. None could testify greater satisfaction at this event than the monarch himself. 1 He instantly despatched messengers to carry the news to the Kings of England, France, Spain, and Portugal ; and on the 23d of February the baptism was held with magnificence in the chapel of Holyrood. The boy was named James, after his father ; but the sanguine hopes of the kingdom were, within a j year, clouded by his premature death. At this conjuncture an embassy from Pope Julius the Second arrived at the court of Scotland. Alarmed at the increasing power of the French, in Italy, this pontiff had united his strength with that of the Emperor Maximilian and the Venetians, to check the arms of Lewis, whilst he now attempted to induce the Scottish monarch to desert his ancient ally. The endeavour, however, proved fruit- less. James, indeed, reverently re- ceived the Papal ambassador, grate- fully accepted the consecrated hat and sword which he presented, and loaded him and his suite With presents; he communicated also the intelligence which he had lately received from the King of Denmark, that his ally, the Czar of Muscovy, had intimated a de- sire to be received into the bosom of the Latin Church; but he detected • the political finesse of the warlike Julius, and remained steady to his alliance with France. Nay, scarcely had the ambassador left his court, when he proposed to send Lewis a body of four thousand auxiliaries to serve in his Italian wars, — an offer which the rapid successes of that monarch enabled him to decline. Turning his attention from the con- tinent to his affairs at home, the king 1 To the lady of the queen's chamber, wh\ brought him the first intelligence, he pre-' sented a hundred gold pieces and a cup of silver. JAMES IV. 277 recognised with satisfaction the effects of his exertions in enforcing, by severity and indefatigable personal superintend- ence, a universal respect for the laws. The husbandman laboured his lands in security, the merchant traversed the country with his goods, the foreign trader visited the markets of the various burghs and seaports fearless of plunder or interruption ; and so convinced was the monarch of the success of his efforts, that, with a whimsical enthusiasm, he determined to put it to a singular test. Setting out on horseback, unac- companied even by a groom, with no- thing but his riding cloak cast about him, his hunting knife at his belt, and six-and-tweniy pounds for his travel- ling expenses in his purse, he rode, in a single day, from Stirling to Perth, across the Mounth, and through Aber- deen to Elgin; whence, after a few hours' repose, he pushed on to the shrine of St Duthoc in Ross, where he heard mass. In this feat of bold and solitary activity the unknown mon- arch met not a moment's interruption ; and after having boasted, with an ex- cusable pride, of the tranquillity to which he had reduced his dominions, he returned in a splendid progress to his palace at Stirling, accompanied by the principal nobles and gentry of the districts through which he passed. Soon after, he despatched the Arch- bishop of St Andrews and the Earl of Arran to the court of France, for the purpose of procuring certain privi- leges regarding the mercantile inter- course between the two countries, and to fix upon the line of policy which appeared best for their mutual interest regarding the complicated affairs of Italy. In that country an important change had taken place. The brilliant successes of the Venetians against the arms of Maximilian had alarmed the jealousy of Lewis, and led to an inac- tivity on his part, which terminated in a total rupture ; whilst the peace concluded between the Emperor and James's ally and relative, the Duke of Gueldres, formed, as is well known, the basis of the league of Cambrai, which united, against the single re- public of Venice, the apparently irre- 278 HISTORY OF sistible forces of the Pope, the Empe- ror, and the Kings of France and Spain. For the purpose, no doubt, of induc- ing the king to become a party to this powerful coalition, Lewis now sent the veteran Aubigny to the Scottish court, with the President of Toulouse ; 1 and the monarch, who loved the ambassa- dor for his extraction, and venerated his celebrity in arms, received him with distinction. Tournaments were held in honour of his arrival ; he was placed by the king in the highest seat at his own table, appealed to as su- preme judge in the lists, and addressed by the title of Father of War. This eminent person had visited Scotland twenty-five years before, as ambassa- dor from Charles the Eighth to James the Third ; and it was under his aus- pices that the league between the two countries was then solemnly renewed. He now returned to the land which contained the ashes of his ancestors, full of years and of honour; but it was only to mingle his dust with theirs, for he sickened almost immedi- ately after his arrival, and died at Corstorphine. 2 Another object of Lewis in this em- bassy was to consult with James re- garding the marriage of his eldest daughter, to whom Charles, king of Castile, then only eight years old, had been proposed as a husband. Her hand was also sought by Francis of Valois, dauphin of Vienne ; and the French monarch declared that he could not decide on so important a question without the advice of his allies, of whom he considered Scotland both \he oldest and the most friendly. To this James replied, that since his brother of France had honoured him by asking his advice, he would give it frankly as his opinion, that the prin- cess ought to marry within her own realm of France, and connect herself rather with him who was 1 " Vicesima prima Martii antedicti, Galliae oratores, D««s videlicet D'Aubeny et alter, supplicationum regise domus Magister, octo- ginta equis egregie comitati, urbuem ingressi snt, Scotiam petituri." — Narratio Hist, de gestis Henrici VII. per Bernardum Andream Tholosatcm. Cotton. MSS. Julius A. iii. 2 Lesley's History, Bannatyne edit. p. 77. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL to succeed to the crown than with any foreign potentate ; this latter being a union out of which some colourable or pretended claim might afterwards be raised against the in- tegrity and independence of his king- dom. The advice was satisfactory, for it coincided with the course which Lewis had already determined to follow. Happy in the affections of his sub- jects, and gratified by observing an evident increase in the wealth and industry of the kingdom, the king found leisure to relax from the severer cares of government, and to gratify the inhabitants of the capital by one of those exhibitions of which he was fond even to weakness. A magnifi- cent tournament was held at Edin- burgh, in which the monarch enacted the part of the Wild Knight, attended by a troop of ferocious companions dis- guised as savages; Sir Anthony d'Arsie and many of the French nobles who had formed the suite of Aubigny, were still at court, and bore their part in the pageant of Arthur and his Peers of the Round Table, whilst the prince attracted admiration by the uncom- mon skill which he exhibited, and the rich gifts he bestowed ; but the pro- fuse repetition of such expensive en- tertainments soon reduced him to great difficulties. The constant negotiation and inti- macy between France and the Scottish court appear at this time to have roused the jealousy of Henry the Seventh. It required, indeed, no great acuteness in this cautious prince to anticipate the probable dissolution of the league of Cambrai, in which event he perhaps anticipated a revival of the ancient enmity of France, and the pos- sible hostility of James. His suspicion was indicated by the seizure of the Earl of Arran and his brother, Sir Patrick Hamilton, who had passed through England to the court of Lewis, without the knowledge of Henry, and were now on their return. In Kent they were met by Vaughan, an emis- sary of England; and, on their refusal to take an cath which bound them to the observation of peace. with that 1509.] JAMES IV. country, they were detained and com- mitted to custody. To explain and justify his conduct, Henry despatched Dr West on a mission to the king, who resented the imprisonment of his sub- jects, and declared that they had only fulfilled their duty in refusing the oath. He declined a proposal made for a personal interview with his ^oyal father-in-law, insisted on the liberation of Arran, and on these con- ditions agreed to delay, for the pre- sent, any renewal of the league with France. The imprisoned nobles, how- ever, were not immediately dismissed ; and, probably in consequence of the delay, James considered himself re- lieved from his promise. The death of the English king oc- curred not long after, an event which was unquestionably unfortunate for Scotland. His caution, command of temper, and earnest desire of peace, were excellent checks to the inconsi- derate impetuosity of his son-in-law; nor, if we except, perhaps, the last- mentioned circumstance of the deten- tion of Arran, can he be accused of a single act of injustice towards that kingdom, so long the enemy of Eng- land. The accession of Henry the Eighth, on the other hand, although not productive of any immediate ill effects, drew after it, within no very distant period, a train of events inju- rious in their progress, and most cala- mitous in their issue. At first, indeed, all looked propitious and peaceful. The Scottish king sent his ambassador to congratulate his brother-in-law of England on his accession to the throne; 1 and the youthful monarch, in the pleni- tude of his joy on this occasion, pro- fessed the most anxious wishes for the continuance of that amity between the kingdoms which had been so sedulously cultivated by his father. The existing treaties were confirmed, and the two sovereigns interchanged their oaths for their observance ; 2 nor, although so nearly allied to Spain by his marriage, did Henry seem at first to share in the jealousy of France which was enter- tained by that power ; on the contrary, 1 Rotuli Scotise, vol. ii. p. 572. 2 Rymer, Poedera, vol. xiii. pp. 261, 262. 27* even after the battle of Agnadillo had extinguished the hopes of the Vene- tians, he did not hesitate to conclude a treaty of alliance with Lewis the Twelfth. All these fair prospects of peace, however, were soon destined to be overclouded by the pride and impe- tuosity of a temper which hurried him into unjust and unprofitable wars. • In the meantime Scotland, under the energetic government of James, con- tinued to increase in wealth and con- sequence : her navy, that great arm of national strength, had become not only respectable, but powerful : no method of encouragement hadbeen neglected by the king ; and the success of his efforts was shewn by the fact, that one of the largest ships of war then known in the world was constructed and launched within his dominions. This vessel, which was named the Great MichaeL appears to have been many years in building, and the king personally super* intended the work with much perse- verance and enthusiasm. 3 The family ■ of the Bartons, which for two genera* tions had been prolific of naval com- manders, were intrusted by this mon- arch with the principal authority in all maritime and commercial matters : they purchased vessels for him on the continent, they invited into his king- dom the most skilful foreign ship- wrights ; they sold some of their own ships to the king, and vindicated the honour of their flag whenever it was insulted, with a readiness and severity of retaliation which inspired respect and terror. The Hollanders had at- 3 Her length was two hundred and forty- feet, her breadth fifty-six to the water's edge, but only thirty-six within ; her sides, which were ten feet in thickness, were proof against shot. In these days ships carried guns only on the upper deck, and the Great Michael, notwithstanding these gigantic dimensions, could boast of no more than thirty-five— six- teen on each side, two in the stern, and one in the bow. She was provided, however, with three hundred small artillery, under the names of myaud, culverins, and double-dogs ; Whilst her complement was three hundred seamen, besides officers, a hundred and twenty gunners, and a thousand soldiers. M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. ii. p. 42. The minuteness of these details, which are extracted from authentic documents, may be pardoned upon a subject so important as the navy. ) 280 HISTORY OF tacked a email fleet of Scottish mer- chantmen, — plundering the cargoes, murdering the crews, and throwing the bodies into the sea. The affair was probably piratical,' for it was fol- lowed by no diplomatic remonstrance ; but an exemplary vengeance followed the offence. Andrew Barton was in- stantly despatched with a squadron, which captured many of the pirates ; and, in the cruel spirit of the times, . the admiral commanded the hogsheads which were stowed in the hold of his vessels to be filled with the heads of the prisoners, and sent as a present to his royal master. 1 So far back as 1476, in consequence of the Bartons having been plundered by a Portuguese squadron, letters of reprisal were granted them, "under the protection of which, there seems rea- son to believe, that they more than indemnified themselves for their losses. The Portuguese, whose navy and com- merce were at this time the richest and most powerful in the world, re- taliated; and, in 1507, the Lion, com- manded by John Barton, was seized at Campvere, in Zealand, and its com- mander thrown into prison. The sons of this officer, however, having pro- cured from James a renewal of their letters of reprisal, fitted out a squad- ron, which intercepted and captured at various times many richly-laden carracks returning from the Portu- guese settlements in India and Africa; and the unwonted apparition of blacka- moors at the Scottish court, and sable empresses presiding over the royal tournaments, is to be traced to the spirit and success of the Scottish pri- vateers. The consequence of this earnest at- tention to his fleet, was the securing an unusual degree of tranquillity at home. The Islanders were kept down by a few ships of war more effectually than by an army ; and James acquired at the same time an increasing autho- rity amongst his continental allies. By his navy he had been able to give assistance on more than one occasion to his relative the King of Denmark ; and while the navy of England was 1 Lesley's History, Bunnatyrie edit. p. 74. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VI. still in its infancy, that of the sister country had risen, under the judicious care of the monarch, to a respectable rank, although far inferior to the armaments of the leading navigators of Europe, the Spaniards, the Portu- guese, and the Venetians. It was at this period that the me-, morable invention of printing — that art which, perhaps, more than any other human discovery, has changed the condition and the destinies of the world — found its way into Scotland, under the auspices of Walter Chep- man, a -servant of the king's household. 2 Two years before, the. skill and ingenu- ity of Chepman appear to have at- tracted the notice of his royal master ; and as James was a friend to letters, and an enthusiast in every new inven- tion, we may believe that he could not view this astonishing art with in- difference. We know that he pur- chased books from the typographer; and that a royal patent to exercise his mystery was granted to the artist ; the original of which still exists amongst our national records. The art, as is well known, had been im- ported into England by Caxton. as early as the year 1474. Yet more than thirty years elapsed before it penetrated into Scotland, — a tardiness to be partly accounted for by the strong principle of concealment and monopoly. Amidst all these useful cares, the character of the monarch, which could no longer plead for its excuse the levity or thoughtlessness of youth, exhibited many inconsistencies. He loved his youthful queen with much apparent tenderness, yet he was unable to renounce that indiscriminate ad- miration of beauty, and devotion to pleasure, which, in defiance of public decency and moral restraint, sought its gratification equally amongst the highest and lowest ranks of society. He loved his people, and would, in the ardent generosity of his disposition, have suffered any personal privation to have saved the meanest of his subjects 2 He printed in the year 1508 a small volume of pamphlets, and soon after, the 14 Breviary of Aberdeen." 1509-12.] J AMI from distress ; ' but his thoughtless prodigality to every species of em- piric, to jesters, dancers, and the lowest retainers about his court, with his devotion to gambling, impover- ished his exchequer, and drove him in his distresses to expedients which his better reason lamented and aban- doned. Large sums of money also were expended in the idle pursuits of alchemy, and the equally vain and expensive endeavours for the discovery of gold mines in Scotland : often, too, in the midst of his labours, his plea- sures, and his fanta >tic projects, the monarch was suddenly seized with a fit of ascetic penitence, at which times he would shut himself up for many days with his confessor, resolve on an expedition to Jerusalem, or take a solitary pilgrimage on foot to some favourite shrine, where he wept over his sins, and made resolutions of amendment, which, on his return to the world, were instantly forgotten. Yet all this contradiction and thought- lessness of mind was accompanied by bo much kindliness, accessibility, and warm and generous feeling, that the people forgot or pardoned it in a prince, who, on every occasion, shewed him- self their friend. It was now two years since the accession of Henry the Eighth to the crown; and the aspect of affairs in England began to be alarming. The youthful ambition of the English king had become dazzled with the idle vision of the conquest of France ; he already pondered on the danger- ous project of imitating the career of Edward the Third and Henry the Fifth; whilst such was the affection of J ames for his ally, that any enter- prise for the ' subjugation of that kingdom was almost certain to draw after it a declaration of war against the aggressor. Nor were there want- ing artful and insidious friends, who, to accomplish their own ends, en- deavoured to direct the arms of Henry against Lewis. Pope J ulius the Second and Ferdinand of Spain having gained the object they had in view by the league of Cambrai, had seceded from that coalition, and were now anxious I IV. 281 to check the successes of the French in Italy. The pontiff, with the violence which belonged to his character, left no measure unattempted to raise a powerful opposition against a monarch whose arms, under Gaston de Foix and the Chevalier Bayard, were everywhere triumphant ; and well aware that an invasion of France by Henry must operate as an immediate diversion, he exhausted all his policy to effect it : he at the same time succeeded in de- taching the emperor and the Swiss from the league; and the result of these efforts was a coalition as formid- able in every respect as that which had been arrayed so lately against the Venetians. Julius, who scrupled not to command his army in person, Fer- dinand of Spain, Henry the Eighth, and the Swiss republics, determined to employ their whole strength in the expulsion of the French from the Italian states ; and Lewis, aware of the ruin which might follow any at- tempt to divide the forces of his king- dom, found himself under the neces- sity of recalling his troops, actid aban- doning the possessions which had cost him so many battles. These transactions were not seen by James without emotion. Since the commencement of his reign, his alli- ance with France had been cordial and sincere. A lucrative commercial intercourse, and the most friendly ties between the sovereigns and the nobil- ity of the two countries, had produced a mutual warmth of national attach- ment; the armies of France had re- peatedly been commanded by Scots- men ; and, throughout the long course of her history, whenever Scotland had been menaced or attacked by England, she had calculated without disappoint- ment upon the assistance of her ally. As to the wisdom of this policy upon the part of her sovereigns, it would now be idle to inquire ; it being too apparent that, except where her in- dependence as a nation was threatened, that kingdom had everything to lose and nothing to gain by a war with the sister country. But these were not the days in which the folly of a war of I territorial conquest was recognised by 282 European monarchs; and the gallantry of the Scottish prince disposed him to enter with readiness into the quarrel of Lewis. We find him accordingly engaged in the most friendly corres- pondence with this sovereign, request- ing permission, owing ^to the failure of the harvest, to import grain from France, and renewing his determin- ation to maintain in the strictest man- ner the ties of amity and support. At this crisis an event happened which contributed in no small degree to fan the gathering flame of animosity against England. Protected by their letters of reprisal, and preserving, as it would appear, a hereditary ani- mosity against the Portuguese, the Bartons had fitted out some privateers, which scoured the Western Ocean, took many prizes, and detained and searched the English merchantmen under the pretence that they had Portuguese goods on board. It is well known that at this period, and .even so late as the days of Drake and Cavendish, the line between piracy and legitimate warfare was not pre- cisely defined, and there is reason to suspect that the Scottish merchants having found the vindication of their own wrongs and the nation's honour a profitable speculation, were dis- posed to push their retaliation to an extent so far beyond the individual losses they had suffered, that their hostilities became almost piratical. So, at least, it appeared to the Eng- lish : and it is said that the Earl of Surrey, on hearing of some late ex- cesses of the privateers, declared that " the narrow seas should not be so infested whilst he had an estate that could furnish a ship, or a son who was able to command it." He accordingly fitted out two men-of-war, which he intrusted to his sons, Lord Thomas Howard and Sir Edward Howard, afterwaids Lord High- admiral ; and this officer having put to sea, had the fortune to fall in with Andrew Bar- ton, in the Downs, as he was return- ing from a cruise on the coast of Portugal. The engagement which followed was obstinately contested : Barton commanded his own ship, the HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VI. Lion; his other vessel was only an armed pinnace : but both fought with determined valour till the Scottish admiral was desperately wounded ; it is said that even then this bold and experienced seaman continued to en- courage his men with his whistle, 1 till receiving a cannon shot in the body, it dropped from his hand, and he fell dead upon the deck. His ships were then boarded, and carried into the Thames ; the crews, after a short im- prisonment, being dismissed, but the vessels detained as lawful prizes. It was not to be expected that James should tamely brook this loss sustained by his navy, and the insult offered to his flag in a season of peace. Barton was a personal favourite, and one of his ablest officers ; wTnilst the Lion, the vessel which had been taken, was only inferior in size to the Great Harry, at that time the largest ship of war which belonged to England* Rothesay herald was accordingly des« patched on the instant, with a re* monstrance and a demand for redress; but the king had now no longer to ne- gotiate with the cautious and pacific Henry the Seventh, and his impetuous successor returned no gentler answer than that the fate of pirates ought never to be a matter of dispute among princes. It happened unfortunately that at this moment another cause of irrita- tion existed : Sir Robert Ker, an officer of James's household, master of his artillery, and warden of the middle marches, having excited the animosity of the Borderers by what they deemed an excessive rigour, was attacked and slain by three Englishmen named Lil- burn, Starhead, and Heron. 2 This happened in the time of Henry the Seventh, by whom Lilburn was deliv- ered to the Scots, whilst Starhead and Heron made their escape ; but such 1 Lesley, Bannatyne edition, ' pp. 82, 83. Pinkerton, ii. 69, 70. A gold whistle was, in England, the emblem of the office of High- admiral. Kent's Illustrious Seamen, vol. i. p. 519. 2 The nnme as given by Buchanan (book xiii. c. 26) is Starhead. Starhedus. Pinker- ton (vol. ii. p. 71) has Sarked ; but he gives no authority for the change. 1512.] was the anxiety of the English king to banish every subject of complaint, that he arrested Heron, the brother of the murderer, and sent him in fet- ters to* Scotland. After some years Lilburn died in prison, whilst Star- head and his accomplice stole forth from their concealment ; and trusting that all would be forgotten under the accession of a new monarch, began to walk more openly abroad. But An- drew Ker, the son of Sir Robert, was not thus to be cheated of his revenge : two of his vassals sought out Star- head's residence during the night, although it was ninety miles from the Border, and, breaking into the house, murdered him in cold blood; after which they sent his head to their master, who exposed it, with all the ferocity of feudal exultation, in the most conspicuous part of the capital, — a proceeding which appears to have been unchecked by James, whilst its summary and violent nature could hardly fail to excite the indignation of Henry. There were other sources of animosity in the assistance which the English monarch had afforded to the Duchess of Savoy against the Duke of Gueldres, the relative and ally of his brother-in-law, in the au- dacity with which his cruisers had attacked and plundered a French ves- sel which ran in for protection to an anchorage off the coast of Ayr, and the manifest injustice with which he refused to deliver to his sister, the Queen of Scotland, a valuable legacy of jewels which had been left her by her father's will. Such being the state of affairs be- tween the two countries, an envoy appeared at the Scottish court with letters from the Pope, whilst nearly about the same time arrived the am- bassadors of England, France, and Spain. Henry, nattered by the adula- tion of Julius, who greeted him with the title of Head of the Italian League, had nov* openly declared war against France ; and anxious to be safe on the side of Scotland, he condescended to express his regret, and to offer satis- faction for any violations of the peace. But James detected the object of this JAMES IV. 28^ tardy proposal, and refused to accede to it. To the message of the King of France he listened with affectionate deference, deprecated the injustice of the league which had been formed against him, and spoke with indigna- tion of the conduct of England, regret- ting only the schism between Lewis and the See of Rome, which he de- clared himself anxious by every means to remove. Nor were these mere words of good-will : he despatched his uncle, the Duke of Albany, as ambas- sador to the emperor, to entreat him to act as a mediator between the Pope and the King of France, whilst the Bishop of Moray proceeded on the same errand to that country, 1 and afterwards endeavoured to instil pacific feelings into the College of Cardinals, and the Marquis of Mantua. To the proposals of the ambassador of Ferdinand, who laboured to engage him in the Papal league against Lewis, it was answered by the king, that his only desire was to maintain the peace of Christendom ; and so earnest were his endeavours upon this subject, that he advised the summoning of a general council for the purpose of deliberating upon the likeliest methods of carrying his wishes into effect. To secure the co- operation of Denmark, Sir Andrew Brownhill was deputed to that court, and letters which strongly recommend- ed the healing of all divisions, and the duty of forgiveness, were addressed to the warlike Julius. It was too late, however : hostilities between France and the Papal confederates had begun; and James, aware that his own king- dom would soon be involved in war, made every effort to meet the emer- gency with vigour. His levies were conducted on a great scale; and we learn from the contemporary letter of the English envoy then in Scotland, that the country rung with the din of preparation : armed musters were held in every part of the kingdom, not ex- cepting the Isles, now an integral por- tion of the state : ships were launched — forests felled to complete those on the stocks — Borthwick, the master gunner, was employed in casting ean- i Epistolae Reg. Scot. vol. i. pp. 126-128. 284 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. non; Urnebrig, a German, in the manufacture of gunpowder : the Great Michael was victualled and cleared out for sea : the castles in the interior dismantled of their guns, that they might be used in the fleet or the army : and the ablest sea officers and mariners collected in the various sea- ports. 1 In the midst of these pre- parations the king visited every quar- ter in person — mingled with his sailors and artisans, and took so constant an interest in everything connected with his fleet, that it began to be rumoured he meant to command it in person. Yet whilst such was the hostile ac- tivity exhibited throughout the coun- try, negotiations with England were continued, and both monarchs made mutual professions of their desire to maintain peace; Henry in all proba- bility with insincerity, and James cer- tainly only to gain time. It was at this time that the Scottish queen gave birth to a prince in the palace of Lin- lithgow, on the 10th of April 1512 ; who afterwards succeeded to the throne by the title of James the Fifth. 2 Early in the year 1512, Lord Dacre and Dr West arrived as ambassadors from England, and were received with a studied courtesy, which seemed only intended to blind them to the real de- signs of Scotland. Their object was to prevail on the king to renew his oath regarding the peace with Eng- land; to prevent the sailing of the fleet to the assistance of the French ; and to offer, upon the part of their master, his oath for the observation of an inviolable amity with his bro- ther. 3 But the efforts of the English diplomatists were successfully counter- acted by the abilities of the French ambassador, De la Motte : they de- parted, with splendid presents indeed, for the king delighted in shewing his generosity even to his enemies, but without any satisfactory answer ; and James, instead of listening to Henry, renewed the league with France, con- senting to the insertion of a clause which, in a spirit of foolish and ro- Treasurer's Accounts, 1511, 1512. Lesley, p. 84. 1 Ibid. p. 85. [Chap. VI. mantic devotion, bound himself and his subjects to that kingdom by stricter ties than before. 4 About the same time an abortive attempt by the Scots to make themselves masters of Ber- wick, and an attack of a fleet of Eng- lish merchantmen by De la Motte, who sunk three, and carried seven in triumph into Leith, must be considered equivalent to a declaration of war. Barton, too, Falconer, Mathison, and other veteran sea officers, received or- ders to be on the look-out for English ships; and, aware of the importance of a diversion on the side of Ireland, a league was entered into with O'Don- nel, prince of Connal, who visited the Scottish court, and took the oath of homage to James : Duncan Campbell, one of. the Highland chiefs, engaged at the same time to procure some Irish vessels to join the royal fleet — which it was now reckoned would amount to sixteen ships of war, be- sides smaller craft; a formidable ar- mament for that period, and likely, whew united to the squadron of the King of France, to prove, if skilfully commanded, an overmatch for the navy of England . Yet J ames's preparations, with his other sources of profusion, had so completely impoverished his exchequer, that it became a question whether he would be able to maintain the force which he had fitted out. In a private message sent to Lord Dacre, the Treasurer of Scotland appears to have stated that a present from Henry of five thousand angels, and the pay- ment of the disputed legacy, which with much injustice was still with- held, might produce a revolution in his policy; 5 and it is certain that, on the arrival of letters from Lewis, in- stigating Scotland to declare war, the reply of the monarch pleaded the im- possibility of obeying the injunction unless a large annuity was remitted by France. The Borderers, however, of both countries had already com- * MS. Leagues, Harleian, 1244, pp. 115, 116. * Letter, Lord Dacre to the Bishop of Dur- ham, 17th of August. Caligula, b. iii. 3, quoied by Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 78. Also Letter, John Ainslow to the Bishop of Dur- ham, 11th of September. Caligula, b. vi. 22. 1512-13.] JAM menced hostilities ; and Robert Barton, acting under his letters of reprisal, and scouring the narrow seas, came into Leith, after a successful cruise, with thirteen English prizes. 1 In their mutual professions of a desire for peace, both governments appear to have been insincere : Henry had determined to signalise his arms by the reconquest of Guienne, and only wished to gain time for the em- barkation of his army; James, shut- ting his eyes to the real interests of his kingdom, allowed a devotion to Lewis, and a too violent resentment for the insult offered to his fleet, to direct his policy. To concentrate his strength, however, required delay. Re- peated messages passed between the two courts ; the Scottish prince, by his ambassador, Lord Drummond, even proceeded so far as to offer to Henry a gratuitous remission of all the late injuries sustained by his subjects, pro- vided that monarch would abandon the confederacy against France ; 2 and although the proposal was rejected, Dr West again proceeded on an em- bassy to Scotland, of which his original letters have left us some interesting particulars. He found the king en- grossed in warlike preparations, yet visited for the moment by one of his temporary fits of penance, in which he projected an expedition to Jerusalem, animated equally by a romantic desire of signalising his prowess against the infidels, and a hope of expiating the guilt which he had incurred in appear- ing in arms against his father. He had been shut up for a week in the church of' the Friars Observants at Stirling; but the effect of this reli- gious retirement seems to have been the reverse of pacific. He expressed himself with the utmost bitterness against the late warlike pontiff, Julius the Second, then recently deceased; declaring that, had he lived, he would have supported a council even of three bishops against him. He had resolved to send Forman, the Bishop of Moray, and the chief author of the war against England, as ambassador to Leo the 1 Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. 85. 2 Rymer, Fuedera, vol. xiii. pp. 347, 348. ES IV. 285 Tenth, the new Pope ; and it wa3 re- ported that Lewis had secured the services of this able and crafty prelate by the promise of a cardinal's hat. To Henry's offers of redresi for the infrac- tions of the truce, provided the Scot- tish monarch would remain inactive during the campaign against France, he replied that he would not proceed to open hostilities against England without previously sending a declara- tion by a herald ; so that if the king fulfilled his intention of passing into France with his army, ample time should be allowed him to return for the defence of his kingdom. It was unequivocally intimated that peace with France was the only condition upon which an amicable correspon- dence could be maintained between the two kingdoms; and amongst minor subjects of complaint, Henry's conti- nued refusal to send his sister's jewels was exposed in a spirited letter from that princess, which was delivered by Dr West on his return. 3 La Motte soon after again arrived from France with a small squadron laden with provisions for the Scottish fleet, besides warlike stores and rich presents to the king and his principal nobles. About the same time the King of Denmark sent several ships into Scotland freighted with arms, harness, and ammunition ; and O'Don- nel, the Irish potentate, visited the court in person to renew his offers of assistance against England. But an \ artful proceeding of Anne of Brittany, J the consort of Lewis, had, it was be- lieved, a greater effect in accelerating the war than either the intrigues of the Bishop of Moray or the negotia- tions of La Motte. This princess, who understood the romantic weakness of the Scottish king, addressed to him an epistle conceived in a strain of high- flown and amorous complaint. She described herself as an unhappy dam- sel, surrounded by danger, claimed his protection from the attacks of a trea- » West to Henry, 1st April. MS. Letter, Brit. Mus. Calipr. b. vi. 56. This letter is now printed in " Illustrations of Scottish His- tory," (pp. 76-89,) presented by Moses Steven, Esq., to the Maitland Club. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. cherous monarch, and sent him, not [ only a present of fourteen thousand crowns, but the still more tender gift of a ring from her own finger — a token to her faithful knight upon whose ready aid she implicitly relied. She concluded her letter by imploring him to advance, were it but three steps, into English ground for the sake of his mistress, as she had already suf- fered much misconstruction in defence of his honour, and in excusing the de- lay of his expedition. 1 To another monarch than James an appeal like this would have been only excusable at a court pageant or a tournament; but such was his high-wrought sense of honour, that there can be little doubt it accelerated his warlike move- ments; and when, soon after its de- livery, intelligence arrived of the pas- sage of the English army to France, and the opening of the war by Henry the Eighth in person, he at once con- . sidered all negotiation as at an end, issued his writs for a general muster of the whole force of his dominions, I and ordered every ship in his service to put to sea. ' The fleet which assembled evinces that the efforts of the king to create a navy had been eminently successful. It consisted of thirteen great ships, all of them, in the naval phraseology of the times, with three tops, besides ten smaller vessels, and a ship of Lynne lately captured. In addition to these there was the Great Michael, a thirty- oared galley which belonged to her, and two ships, the Margaret and the James, which, although damaged in a late gale, were now repaired and ready to put to sea. Aboard this fleet was embarked a force of three thousand men, under the command of the Earl of Arran, a nobleman of limited ex- perience in the art of war ; one of the principal captains of the fleet was Gordon of Letterfury, 2 a son of the Earl of HuntlyY but unfortunately Arran's higher feudal rank and his title of Generalissimo included an au- thority over the fleet as well as the army, and this circumstance drew Finkerton, vol. ii. p. 87. i Lindsay, p. 171. s Le§ley, p. 87. [Chap. VI. after it disastrous consequences. Why James should not have appointed some of his veteran sea officers — Barton, Wood, or Falconer — to conduct a navy of which he was so proud to its des- tination in France, is not easily dis- coverable, but it probably arose out of some hereditary feudal right which entailed upon rank a command due only to skill, and for which it soon appeared that the possessor was utterly incompetent. Instead of obeying the orders which he had received from the king, who, with the object of encouraging his sea- men, embarked in the Great Michael, and remained on board for some time, Arran conducted the fleet to Carrickfergus, in Ireland, landed his troops, and stormed the town with much barbarity, sparing neither age nor sex. 3 The reckless brutality with which the city was given up to the unlicensed fury of the soldiery would at all times have been blamable, but at this moment it was committed dur- ing a time of peace, and against the express promise of the king ; yet such was the folly or simplicity of the per- petrator, that, with the spirit of a suc- cessful freebooter, he did not hesitate to put his ships about and return to Ayr with his plunder. Incensed to the utmost by such conduct, and dread- ing that his delay might totally frus- trate the object of the expedition, James despatched Sir Andrew Wood to supersede Arran in the command ; but misfortune still pursued his mea- sures, and before this experienced sea- man could reach the coast the fleet had again sailed. Over the future his- tory of an armament which was the boast of the sovereign, and whose equipment had cost the country an immense sum for those times, there rests a deep obscurity. That it reached France is certain, and it is equally clear that only a few ships ever re- turned to Scotland. Of its exploits nothing has been recorded — a strong presumptive proof that Arran's future conduct in no way redeemed the folly of his commencement. The war, in- deed, between Henry and Lewis was * FinkertQu's Scottish Poems, vol. i. p. 150. 1513.] JAM so soon concluded, that little time was given for naval enterprise, and the solitary engagement by which it was distinguished (the battle of Spurs) appears to have been fought before the Scottish forces could join the French army. With regard to the final fate of the squadron, the proba- bility seems to be that, after the defeat at Flodden, part, including the Great Michael, were purchased by the French government ; part arrived in a shat- tered and disabled state in Scotland, whilst others which had been fitted out by merchant adventurers, and were only commissioned by the government, pursued their private courses, and are lost sight of in the public transactions of the times. But we must turn from these unsatisfying conjectures to the important and still more disastrous events which were passing in Scot- land. Although the war was condemned by the wisest heads amongst his coun- cil, and the people, with the exception of the Borderers, whose trade was plunder, deprecated the interruption of their pacific labours, so great was the popularity of the king, that from one end of the country to the other his summons for the muster of his army was devotedly obeyed. The Lowland counties collected in great strength, and from the Highlands and the re- motest Isles the hardy inhabitants hastened under their severf chiefs to join the royal banner. T^e Earl of Arg} T le, Maclan of Ardnamurchan, Maclean of Dowart, and Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenurcha, with many other barons, led their clansmen and vassals to support the quarrel of their sovereign, and within a short period James saw himself at the head of an army, which at the lowest computation was a hundred thousand strong. On the sltme^day in^lnch his fleet had sailed, a herald was despatched to France, who found the English monarch in his camp before Terouen, and de- livered a letter, of which the tone was calculated to incense a milder monarch than Henry. It dwelt with some ex- aggeration upon the repeated injuries and insults which J ames had received ES IV. 287 from his brother-in-law. It accused him of refusing a safe- conduct to his ambassador, (a proceeding worthy only of an infidel power ;) it upbraided him with a want of common justice and affection in withholding from his sister, the Queen of Scotland, the jewels and the legacy which had been left her by her father ; 1 it asserted that the con- duct of England, in a late meeting of the commissioners of the two countries on the Borders, had been deficient in honour and good faith; that Heron, the murderer of a Scottish baron, who was dear to the king, was protected in that country; that Scottish subjects in time of peace had been carried off in fetters across the Border ; that An- drew Barton had been slaughtered, and his ships unjustly captured by Henry's admiral; whilst that prince not only refused all redress, but shewed the contempt with which he treated the demand by declaring war against James's relative, the Duke of Gueldres, and now invading the dominions of his friend and ally, the King of France. Wherefore, it concluded, "We require you to desist from further hostilities against this most Christian prince, cer- tifying your highness that in case of refusal we shall hold ourselves bound to assist him by force of arms, and to compel you to abandon the pursuit of so unjust a war." 2 On perusing this letter, Henry brofce out into an expression of ungovern- able rage, and demanded of the 'Scot- tish envoy whether he would carry a verbal answer to his master. "Sir," said the Lion herald, "I am his na- tural subject, and what he commands me to say that must I boldly utter; but it is contrary to my allegiance to -report the commands of others. May it please your highness, therefore, to send an answer in writing — albeit the matter requires deeds rather than words — since it is the king my mas- ter's desire that vou should straightway 1 Ellis's Letters, first series, vol. i. p. 64.— Queen Margaret to Henry the Eighth. 2 These are not the exact words, but a pa- raphrase of the conclusion of the letter which exists in the British Museum. Caligula, b. vi. 49, 50. It has been printed by Holin- shed, p. 135. 288 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. return home." "That shall I do," replied Henry, " at mine own pleasure, and not at your sovereign's bidding," adding many injurious reflections upon the broken faith and treachery of the Scottish king; to which the herald replied, as he had been in- structed, by a denunciation of war. It was thought proper, however, that a graver answer should be sent to James's remonstrance, and a letter was forthwith drawn up which in violence exceeded it ; but as the herald was detained on his return in Flan- ders, and did not reach Scotland till after the fatal result of Flodden, it was never delivered to the king. 1 The English monarch boasted, on being informed of James's resolution, that he had left the task of defending his dominions to a noble person who knew well how to execute it with fidelity, and he now addressed his orders to the Earl of Surrey, enjoin- ing him with all expedition to sum- mon the array of the northern coun- ties, and to hold himself in readiness fco resist the invasion. It was, indeed, high time to accelerate his levies, for Home, the Lord-chamberlain, at the head of a force of eight thousand men, had already burst across the English Border, and after laying waste the country, was returning home with his booty. A long interval of peace, how- ever, had been followed, as usual, by a decay of military skill amongst the Scots. The chamberlain neglecting his discipline, forgot to push on his pickets, but marching in a confused mass, embarrassed by the cattle which he drove before him, and thoughtless of an enemy, was surprised and de- feated with great slaughter at a pass called the Broomhouse, by Sir William Bulmer. The action was, as usual, i "We cannot greatly marvel," says Henry to James, " considering the auncient accus- tumable manners of your progenitors whiche never kept longer faithe and promise than pleased them. . . . And if the example of the King of Navarre being exclused from his real me for the assistance given to the French King cannot restrain you from this unna- tural dealing, we suppose ye shall have the assistance of the said French King as the King of Navarre hath nowe, who is a king without a realme." — Holinshed, p. 139. [Chap. VI decided by the English aichers, who, concealing themselves in the tali furze with which the place abounded, struck down the Scottish companies by an unexpected discharge of their arrows. 2 This being often repeated, the confusion of their ranks became irrecoverable, and the English horse breaking in upon them gained an easy victory. Five hundred were slain upon the spot, and their leader compelled to fly for his life, leaving his banner on the field, and his brother, Sir George Home, with four hundred men prisoners in the hands of the English. The remainder, con- sisting of Borderers more solicitous for the preservation of their booty than their honour, dispersed upon the first alarm, and the whole affair was far from creditable to the Scots. So much was the king incensed and mortified by the result of this action, that his mind, already resolved on , war, became impatient to wipe out the stain inflicted on the national honour, and he determined instantly to lead his army in person against England. This was a fatal resolve, and ap- peared full of rashness and danger to his wisest councillors, who did not scruple to advise him to protract hos- tilities. The queen earnestly besought him to spare her the unnatural spec- tacle of seeing her husband arrayed in mortal contest against her brother; and when open remonstrance produced no effect, other methods were employed to work upon the superstition which formed so marked a feature in the royal mind. At Linlithgow, a few days before he set out for his army, whilst attending vespers in the church of St Michael, adjacent to his palace, a venerable stranger of a stately appear- ance entered the aisle where the king knelt; his head was uncovered, his hair, parted over his forehead, flowed down his shoulders, his robe was blue, tied round his loins with a linen girdle, and there was an air of majesty about him, which inspired the be- holders with awe. Nor was this feel- 2 Holinshed, edit. 1808, p. 471. Hall, p. 556. 1513.] JAM ing decreased when the unknown visitant walked up to the king, and leaning over the reading-desk where he knelt, thus addressed him : " Sir, I am sent to warn thee not to proceed in thy present undertaking — for if thou dost, it shall not fare well either with thyself or those who go with thee. Further, it hath been enjoined me to bid thee shun the familiar society and counsels of women, lest they occasion thy disgrace and de- struction." The boldness of these words, which were pronounced aud- ibly, seemed to excite the indigna- tion neither of the king nor those around him. All were struck with superstitious dread, whilst the figure, using neither salutation nor reverence, retreated and vanished amongst the crowd. Whither he went, or how he disappeared, no one, when the first feelings of astonishment had subsided, could tell ; and although the strictest inquiry was made, all remained a mystery. Sir David Lindsay and Sir James Inglis, who belonged to the household of the young prince, stood close beside the king when the stranger appeared, and it was from Lindsay that Buchanan received the story. 1 The most probable conjecture seems to be, that it was a stratagem of the queen, of which it is likely the monarch had some suspicion, for it produced no change in his purpose, and the denunciation of the danger of female influence was disregarded. On arriving at headquarters, James was flattered with the evidence he had before him of the affectionate loyalty of his subjects. The war was un- popular with the nobles, yet such was the strength with which the Lowland counties had mustered, and the readi- ness with which the remotest districts had sent their vassals, that he saw him- self at the head of a noble army, ad- mirably equipped, and furnished with a train of artillery superior to that which had been brought into the field by any former monarch of Scotland. Leaving his capital, and apparently without having formed any definite i Buchanan, xiii. 31. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. ©6. VOL. II. ES IV. 289 plan of operations, the monarch en- tered England on the 22d of August; encamping that night on the banks of the river Till, a tributary stream to the Tweed. 2 Here he seems to have remained inactive for two days; and on the 24th, with the view of encour- aging his army, he passed an act, that the heirs of all who fell in the present campaign should not be subject to the common feudal fines, but should be free from the burdens of " ward, relief or marriage," without regard to age. 3 The proclamation is dated at Twisel- haugh, and from this place he moved down the side of the Tweed, and in- vested the castle of Norham, which surrendered after a siege of a week. He then proceeded up the Tweed to Wark, of which he made himself master with equal ease ; and advanc- ing for a few miles, delayed some pre- cious days before the towers of Etal and Ford — enterprises unworthy of his arms, and more befitting the raid of a Border freebooter, than the efforts of a royal army. At Ford, which was stormed and razed, 3 Lady Heron, a beautiful and artful woman, the wife of Sir William Heron, who was still a prisoner in Scotland, became James's captive ; and the king, ever the slave of beauty, is said to have resigned him- self to her influence, which she em- ployed to retard his military operations. Time was thus given for the Eng- lish army to assemble. Had Douglas or Randolph commanded the host, they would have scoured and laid waste the whole of the north of England within the period that the monarch had already wasted ; but James's mili tary experience did not go beyond the accomplishments of a tournament; and although aware that his army was en- camped in a barren country, where they must soon become distressed, he idled away his days till the oppor- tunity was past. Whilst such was the course .pursued by the king, the Earl of Surrey, con- 2 Lord Herbert's Life of Henry the Eighth, Kennet, vol. ii. p. 18. Hall says the army amounted to a hundred thousand men. * Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 278. * Weber's Flodden Field, pp. 186, 18T. T 290 HISTORY OF centrating the strength of the northern c aunties, soon raised an army of twenty- six thousand men; and marching through Durham, received there the Bacred banner of St Cuthbert. He was soon after joined by Lord Dacre, Sir William Bulmer, Sir Marmaduke Constable, and other northern barons ; and on proceeding to Alnwick, was met by his son, Lord Thomas Howard, who on the death of his brother, Sir Edward, had succeeded him in the office of Lord High-admiral of Eng- land, with a reinforcement of five thou- sand men. 1 On advancing with* this united force, Surrey despatched Rouge Croix herald to carry his challenge to the King of Scots, which was couched in the usual stately terms of feudal defiance. It reproached him with hav- ing broken his faith and league, which had been solemnly pledged to the King of England, in thus invading his do- minions, — and offered him battle on the succeeding Friday, if he would be content to remain so long in England and accept it. Lord Thomas Howard added a message informing the king that, as high -admiral, and one who had borne a personal share in the action against Andrew Barton, he was now ready to justify the death of that pirate, for which purpose he would lead the vanguard, where his enemies, from whom he expected as little mercy as he meant to grant them, would be sure to find him. To this challenge James instantly replied that "he de- sired nothing more earnestly than the encounter, and would abide the battle on the day appointed." As to the ac- cusation of broken honour, which had been brought against him, he desired his herald to carry a broad denial of the statement. " Our bond and pro- mise," he observed, u was to remain true to our royal brother, so long as he maintained his faith with us. This he was the first to break ; we have de- sired redress, and have been denied it ; we have warned him of our intended hostility, — a courtesy which he has refused to us; and this is our just quarrel, which, with the grace of God, 1 Stow says five thousand. Lord Herbert, j ore thousand, Kennet, vol. ii. p 18. • SCOTLAND. [Chap. VI. we shall defend." These mutual mes- sages passed on the 4th of September ; and on the day appointed, Surrey ad- vanced against the enemy. By this time, however, the distress for provi- sions, the incessant rains, and the ob- stinacy of the king in wasting upon his pleasures, and his observation of the punctilios of chivalry, the hours which might have been spent in active warfare, had created dissatisfaction in the soldiers, many of whom deserted with the booty they had already col- lected, so that in a short time the army was much diminished in num- bers. To accept the challenge of his adversary, and permit him to appoint a day for the encounter, was contrary to the advice of his best councillors ; and he might have recollected that, in circumstances almost similar, two great masters in war, Douglas and Randolph, had treated a parallel pro- posal of Edward the Third with a sar- castic refusal. He had the sagacity, however, to change his first encamp- ment for a stronger position on the hill of Flodden, one of the last and lowest eminences which detach them- selves from the range of the Cheviots ; a ground skilfully chosen, inaccessible on both flanks, and defended in front by the river Till, a deep sluggish stream, which wound between the armies. On advancing and reconnoitring the spot, Surrey, who despaired of being able to attack the Scots without ex- posing himself to the probability of defeat, again sent a herald, to re* quest the king to descend from the eminence into the plain. He com- plained somewhat unreasonably that James had "putte himself into a ground more like a fortress or a camp, than any indifferent field for battle to be taxed ; " 2 and hoping to work on the chivalrous spirit of the monarch, hinted that " such conduct did not sound to his honour; " but James would not even admit the messenger into his presence. So far all had suc- 2 Letter of Surrey ; published by Ellis, vol. i. pp. 86, 87 ; dated at " Woolerhaugh, the 7th day of Sept., at five of the clock in the afternoon." 1513.] JAMES IV. ceeded, and nothing was required on the part of the king but patience. He had chosen an impregnable, position, had fulfilled his agreement by abiding the attack of the enemy; and such was the distress of Surrey's army in a wasted country, that to keep it longer together was impossible. He at- tempted, therefore, a decisive mea- sure, which would have appeared des- perate unless he had reckoned upon the carelessness and inexperience of his opponent. Passing the Till on the 8th of September, he proceeded along sortie rugged grounds on its east side to BarmOor Wood, about two miles distant from the Scottish position, where he encamped for the night. His march was concealed from the enemy by an eminence on the east of Ford ; but that the manoeuvre was exe- cuted without observation or interrup- tion, evinced a shameful negligence in the Scottish commanders. Early on the morning of the 9th he marched from Barmoor "Wood in a north- westerly direction; and then turning suddenly to the eastward, crossed the Till with his vanguard and artillery, which was commanded by Lord Howard, at Twisel bridge, not far from the confluence of the Till and the Tweed, — whilst the rear division, under Surrey in person, passed the river at a ford, about a mile higher up. Whilst these movements were taking place, with a slowness which afforded ample opportunity for a successful attack, the Scottish king remained un- accountably passive. His veteran offi- cers remonstrated. They shewed him that if he advanced against Surrey, when the enemy were defiling over the bridge with their vanguard sepa- rated from the rear, there was every chance of destroying them in detail, and gaining an easy victory. The Earl of Angus, whose age and experience gave great weight to his advice, im- plored him either to assault the Eng- lish, or to change his position by a re- treat, ere it was too late ; but his pru- dent counsel was only received by a cruel taunt, — " Angus," said the king, " if you are afraid, you may go home 291 Bursting into baron could not brook, tears, he turned mournfully away, ob- serving that his former life might have spared., him such a rebuke iroiii the lips of his sovereign. " My age,/ said he, " renders my body of no ser- vice, and my -counsel is despised; but I leave my two sons, and the vassals of Douglas in the field : may the result be glorious, and Angus's foreboding unfounded!" The army of Surrey was still marching across the bridge, when Borthwick, the master of the artillery, fell on his knees before the king, and earnestly solicited permission to bring his guns to bear upon the columns, which might be then done with the most destructive effect ; but J ames commanded him to desist on • peril of his head, declaring that he would meet his antagonist on equal terms in a plain field, and scorned to avail himself of such an advantage. The counsel of Huntly was equally in- effectual; the remonstrance of Lord Lindsay of the Byres, a rough warrior, was received by J ames with such vehe- ment indignation, that he threatened on his return to hang him up at his own gate. Time ran on amidst these useless altercations, and the oppor- tunity was soon irrecoverable. The last divisions of Surrey's force had dis- entangled themselves from the narrow bridge ; the rear had passed the ford ; and the earl, marshalling his army with the leisure which his enemy al- lowed him, placed his entire line be- tween James and his own country. He was thus enabled, by an easy and gradual ascent, which led to Flodden, to march upon the rear of the enemy ; and, without losing his advantage for a moment, he advanced against them in full array, his army being divided into two battles, and each battle hav- ing two wings. 1 On becoming aware of this, the king immediately set fire to the temporary huts and booths of his encampment, and descended the hill, with the object of occupying the eminence on which the village of 1 Original Document in Stat.vpaper Office, entitled " Articles of the Bataill, betwixt the Kyng of Scott is and ihi ErU ot Surrey, in a reproach which the spirit of the old | Srankston Field, the 2'M day of Se^ernier." 292 Brankston L built divided into five battles, some of which had assumed the form of squares, some of wedges ; and all were drawn up in line, about a bow-shot distance from each other. 1 Their march was con- ducted in complete silence ; and the clouds of smoke which arose from the HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VL His army was loped forward with his caTalry, to the support of the vanguard. 2 Nothing could have been more timely than this assistance; he not only checked the career of the Scottish earls, but, being seconded by the intrepid attack of the admiral, drove back the division of Huntly with great slaughter, whilst burning camp, being driven in the face i Home's men, who were chiefly Bor- of the enemy, mutually concealed the armies ; so that when the breeze fresh- ened, and the misty curtain was with- drawn, the two hosts discovered that they were within a quarter of a mile of each other. The arrangement of both armies was simple. The van of the English, which consisted of ten thousand men, divided into a centre and two wings, was led by Lord Thomas Howard ; the right wing being in- trusted to his brother, Sir Edmund, and the left to Sir Marmaduke Con- stable. In the main centre of his host, Surrey himself commanded; thecharge of the rear was given to Sir Edward Stanley ; and a strong body of horse, under Lord Dacre, formed a reserve. Upon the part of the Soots, the Earls of Home and Huntly led the vanguard or advance ; the king the centre, and the Earls of Lennox and Argyle the rear : near which was the reserve, con- sisting of the flower of the Lothians, commanded by the Earl of Bothwell. The battle commenced at four in the afternoon by a furious charge of Huntly and Home upon the portion of the English vanguard under Sir Edmund Howard : which, after some resistance, was thrown into confusion, and totally routed. Howard's banner was beaten down ; and he himself escaped with difficulty, falling back on his brother, the admiral's division. That commander, dreading the conse- quences of the defeat, instantly de- spatched a messenger to his father, Lord Surrey, entreating him to extend his line with ail speed, and strengthen the van by drawing up a part of the centre on its left. The manoeuvre was judicious, but it would have required too long a time to execute it ; and at this critical moment, Lord Dacre gal- i Gazette of the Battle in the Ilerald's Office. Pinkerton, voL ii. p. 45$- derers, imagining they had already gained the victory, began to disperse and pillage. Dacre and the admiral then turned their attack against an- other portion of the Scottish vanguard, led by the Earls of Crawford and Mon- trose, who met them with levelled spears, and resolutely withstood the charge. Whilst such was the state of things on the right, a desperate con- test was carried on between James and the Earl of Surrey in the centre. In his ardour, however, the king forgot that the duties of a commander were distinct from the indiscriminate valour of a knight ; he placed himself in the front of his lances and billmen, sur- rounded by his nobles, who, whilst they pitied the gallant weakness of such conduct, disdained to leave their sovereign unsupported. 3 The first con- sequence of this was so furious a charge upon the English centre, that its ranks- were broken ; and for a while the stan- dard of the Earl of Surrey was in dan- ger; but by this time Lord Dacre and the admiral had been successful in defeating the division led by Craw- ford and Montrose ; and wheeling to- wards the left, they turned their whole strength against the flank of the Scot- tish centre, which wavered under the shock, till the Earl of Bothwell came up with the reserve, and restored the day in this quarter. On the right the divisions led by the Earls of Lennox and Argyle were composed chiefly of the Highlanders and Islemen; the Campbells, Macleans, Macleods, and other hardy clans, who were dreadfully galled by the discharge of the English archers. Unable to reach the enemy with their broadswords and axes, which formed their only weapons, and at no 2 Letter of Lord Dacre. in PinkertoD, vol. ii. p. 460. .» Hall. p. 5*2. 1513.] JAM time very amenable to discipline, their squadrons began to run fiercely for- ward, eager for closer fight, and thought- less, of the fatal consequences of break- ing their array. 1 It was to little pur- pose that La Motte and the French officers who were with him attempted by entreaties and blows to restrain them; they neither understood their language nor cared for their violence, but threw themselves sword in hand upon the English. They found, how- ever, an enemy in Sir Edward Stanley, whose coolness was not to be surprised in this manner. The squares of Eng- lish pikemen stood to their ground; and although for a moment the shock of the mountaineers was terrible, its force once sustained became spent with its own violence, and nothing remained but a disorganisation so complete that to recover their ranks was impossible. The consequence was a total rout of the right wing of the Scots, accom- panied by a dreadful slaughter, in which, amid other brave men, the Earls of Lennox and Argyle were slain. Yet, notwithstanding this defeat on the right, the centre, under the king, still maintained an obstinate and dubi- ous conflict with the Earl of Surrey. The determined personal valour of James, imprudent as it was, had the effect of rousing to a pitch of desperate courage the meanest of the private soldiers, and the ground becoming soft and slippery from blood, they pulled off their boots and shoes, and secured a firmer footing by fighting in their hose. No quarter was given on either side ; and the combatants were disput- ing every inch of ground, when Stan- ley, without losing his time in pursuit of the Highlanders, drew back his divi- sion, and impetuously charged the rear of the Scottish centre. It was now late in the evening, and this movement was decisive. Pressed on the flank by Dacre and the admiral, opposed in front by Surrey, and now attacked in the rear by Stanley, the king's battle /ought with fearful odds against it ; • yet James continued by his voice and his gestures to animate his soldiers, and the contest was still uncertain i Buchanan, xiii. 38. 3S IV. 298 when he fell pierced with e»n arrow, and mortally wounded in the head by a bill, within a few paces from the English earl, his antagonist. The death of their sovereign seemed only to animate the fury of the Scottish nobles, who threw themselves into a circle round the body, and defended it till darkness separated the combatants. At this time Surrey was uncertain of the result of the battle, the remains of the enemy's centre still held the field; Home with his Borderers hovered on the left, and the commander wisely allowed neither pursuit nor plunder, but drew off his men, and kept a strict watch during the night. When the morning broke, the Scottish artillery were seen standing deserted on the side of the hill, their defenders had disappeared, and the earl ordered thanks to be given for a victory which was no longer doubtful. He then created forty knights on the field, and permitted Lord Dacre to follow the retreat ; yet, even after all this, a body of the Scots appeared unbroken upon a hill, and were about to charge the lord admiral, when they were com- pelled to leave their position by a dis- charge of the English ordnance. 2 The soldiers then ransacked the camp, and seized the artillery which had been abandoned. It consisted of seventeen cannon, of various shapes and dimen- sions, amongst which were six guns admirable for their fabric and beauty, named by the late monarch the Six Sisters, which Surrey boasted were longer and larger than any in the ar- senal of the King of England. The loss of the Scots in this fatal battle amounted to about ten thousand men. 3 Of these a great proportion were of high rank ; the remainder being com- posed of the gentry, the farmers, and ' landed yeomanry, who disdained to fly when their sovereign and his nobles lay stretched in heaps around them. Amongst the slain were thirteen earls — Crawford, Montrose, Huntly, Len- nox, Argyle, Errol, Athole, Morton, 2 Hall, in Weber's Flodden Field, p. 364. 3 Original G-azette of the battle preserved in the Herald's Office, London. Apud Pin- k erton. vol. ii. p. 456. 294 HISTORY OF Cassillis, Bothwell, Rothes, Caithness, and Glencairn, the king's natural son, the Archbishop of St Andrews, who had been educated abroad by Erasmus, the Bishops of Caithness and the Isles, the Abbots of InchafFray and Kilwin- ning, and the Dean of Glasgow.. To these we must add fifteen lords and chiefs of clans : amongst whom were Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenurcha, Lauchlan Maclean of Dowart, Camp- bell of Lawers, and five peers' eldest sons, besides La Motte, the French ambassador, and the secretary of the king. The names of the gentry who fell are too numerous for recapitula- tion, since there were few families of note in Scotland which did not lose one relative 'or another, whilst some houses had to weep the death of all. It is from this cause that the sensa- tions of sorrow and national lamenta- tion occasioned by the defeat were peculiarly poignant and lasting; so that to this day few Scotsmen can hear the name of Flodden without a shudder of gloomy regret. 1 The body of James was found on the morrow amongst the thickest of the slain, and recognised by Lord Dacre, although much disfigured by wounds. It was carried to Berwick, and ultimately interred at Richmond. 2 J In Scotland, however, the affection of the people for their monarch led them to disbelieve the account of his death; ib was well known that several of his nobles had worn in the battle a dress similar to the king's ; and to this we may probably trace a report that James had been seen alive after his defeat. Many long and fondly believed that, in completion of a religious vow, he had travelled to Jerusalem, and would re- turn to claim the crown. 3 1 See Notes and Illustrations, letter X. 2 Weever's Funeral Monuments, p. 181. s Godwin in his Annals, p. 22. mentions, M That when James's body was found, his neck was opened in the middle with a wide wound, his left hand, almost cut off in two places, did scarce hang to his arm, and the archers had shot him in many places of his body." The sword and dagger of the unfortunate monarch are to be seen at this day preserved in the College of Arms in London, and have been engraved by the late Mr Weber as a frontis- piece to the battle of ''Flodden Field," an ancieut poem published by that author. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VI The causes which led to this defeat are of easy detection, and must be traced chiefly to the king himself. His obstinacy rendered him deaf to the advice of his officers, and his ignorance of war made his individual judgment the most dangerous guide. The days which he wasted in the siege of Nor- ham and Etal, or squandered at Ford, gave his enemy time to concentrate his army, and, when the hosts were in sight of each other, he committed an- other error in permitting Surrey to dictate to him the terms on which they were to engage. A third blunder was the neglect of attacking the Eng- lish in crossing the river, and his ob- stinacy in not employing his artillery, which might have broken and destroyed the enemy in detail, and rendered their defeat when in coufusion comparatively- easy. Last of all, James's thoughtless- ness in the battle was as conspicuous as his want of judgment before it. When Surrey, mindful of his duty, kept himself as much as possible out of the deadly brunt of the conflict, and was able to watch its progress, and to give each division his prompt assist- ance, the Scottish monarch acted the part of Richard or Amadis, more soli- citous for the display of his individual bravery and prowess, than anxious for the defeat of the enemy. It was a gallant but a fatal weakness, which cannot be sufficiently condemned ; dearly expiated, indeed, by the death of the unfortunate prince himself, whose fate, some may think, ought tc defend him from such severity of cen- sure ; but when we consider the flood of noble and of honest blood which was poured out at Flodden, and the long train of national misfortmies which this disaster entailed upon the country, it is right that the miseries of unne- cessary warfare, and the folly of a thirst for individual glory, should be pointed out for the admonition of future ages. The character of this monarch may be sufficiently understood by the his- tory which has been given of his reign ; and it is pleasing, in running over ita most prominent features, to exchange censure for applause. His energy, firm* 1513.J JAM ness, and indefatigable activity in the administration of justice ; his zeal for the encouragement of the useful arts ; his introduction of the machinery of law and justice into the northern dis- tricts and the dominions of the Isles ; his encouragement of the commerce and the agriculture of the country; his construction of a naval power ; his provision for increasing the means of national defence by casting artillery, building forts, and opening by his fleet a communication with the remotest parts of his kingdom, were all worthy of high praise : whilst his kindness of heart, and accessibility to the lowest classes of his subjects, rendered him deservedly beloved. His weaknesses iJS V. ' 295 were, a too anxious desire for popu- larity, an extravagant love of amuse- ment, and a criminal profusion of expenditure upon pleasures which di- minished his respectability in the eyes of his subjects, and injured them by the contagion of bad example. He was slain in the forty-second year of his age, leaving an only son, an infant, who succeeded him by the title of James the Fifth. His natural chil- 1 dren, by various mothers of noble 3 blood as well as of homely lineage, were numerous; and some of them who have hitherto escaped the research of the antiquary may be traced in the manuscript records of the high-trea- surer. CHAPTER VII. JAMES THE FIFTH. 1513—1524. The news of the discomfiture of the Scottish army at Flodden spread through the land with a rapidity of terror and sorrow proportionate to the greatness of the defeat, and the alarm- ing condition into which it instantly brought the country. • The wail of private grief, from the hall to the cot- tage, was loud and universal. In the capital were to be heard the shrieks of women who ran distractedly through the streets, bewailing the husbands, the sons, or the brothers, who had fallen, clasping their infants to their bosoms, and anticipating in tears the coming desolation of their country. In the provinces, as the gloomy tidings rolled on, the same scenes were re- peated ; and, had Surrey been inclined, or in a condition to pursue his victory, the consequences of the universal panic were much to be dreaded ; but the very imminency of the public danger was salutary in checking this violent outburst of sorrow in the capital During the absence of the chief magi- strates who had joined the army with the king, the merchants to whom their authority had been deputed, exhibited a fine example of firmness and pre sence of mind. They issued a pro- clamation which was well adapted to restore order and resolution. It took notice of the rumour touching their beloved monarch and his army, which had reached the city, dwelt on its un- certainty, and abstained from the men- tion of death or defeat ; it commanded the whole body of the townsmen to arm themselves at the sound of the common bell, for the defence of the city. It enjoined, under the penalty of banishment, that no females should be seen crying or wailing in the streets, and concluded by recommending all women of the better sort to repair to 298 the churches, and there offer up their petitions to the God of battles, for their sovereign lord and his host, with those of their fellow-citizens who served therein. 1 It was soon discovered that, for the moment at least, Surrey had suffered so severely that he did not find him- self .strong enough to prosecute the victory, and an interval of deliberation was thus permitted to the country. Early in October a parliament assem- bled at Perth, which from the death of the flower of the nobility at Flodden, consisted chiefly of the clergy. 2 It proceeded first to the coronation of the infant king, which was performed at Scone with the usual solemnity, but amid the tears, instead of the rejoic- ings of the people. Its attention was then directed to the condition of the country; but its deliberations were hurried, and unfortunately no satis- factory record of them remains. Con- trary to the customary law, the re- gency was committed to the queen- mother, from a feeling of affectionate respect to the late king. The castle of Stirling, with the custody of the infant monarch, was intrusted to Lord \Borthwick ; 3 and it was determined, till more protracted leisure for consul- tation had been given and a fuller parliament assembled, that .the queen should use the counsel of Beaton, arch- bishop of Glasgow, with the Earls of Huntly and Angus. It appears, how- ever, that there was a party in Scot- land which looked with anxiety on the measure of committing the chief situa- tion in the government to a female, whose near connexion with England rendered it possible that she might act under foreign influence; and a secret message was despatched by their leaders to the Duke of Albany, in France, — a nobleman who, in the event of the death of the young king, was the next heir to the throne, — re- questing him to repair to Scotland 1 Hailes' Remarks on the History of Scot- land, chap. viii. 2 Dacre to the Bishop of Durham, 29th Oct. I Brit. Mus Caligula, b. iii. 11, quoted in Pin- kerton, vol. ii. p 112. * . 3 Dacre to the King's Highness — Harbottle, I 13th Nov. Caligula, b. vi. 38, d. * HISTORY 6F SCOTLAND. [Chap. VH* and assume the office of regent, which N > of right belonged to his rank. 4 In the meantime the apprehensions of the country were quieted by the intelligence that Surrey had disbanded his host — a proceeding to which that able commander was reduced not only by the loss which he had sustained, but by the impossibility of supporting an invading army without the co- operation of a fleet. It was probably on his own responsibility that Howard thus acted, for, on receiving accounts of the victory, whilst still in France, Henry appears to have been solicitous to follow up his advantage, and trans- mitted orders to Lord Dacre of the north, warden of the eastern marches, and • Lord Darcy, directing them to make three principal incursions into Scotland. These orders were partially obeyed, .and in various insulated in- roads much devastation was committed by the English ; but the retaliation of Home, the warden of the Scottish marches, was equally prompt and de- structive, whilst the only consequences from such mutual hostilities, were to protract the chances of peace by the exacerbation of national animosity. The condition of the country, mean- while, was alarming ; and when men began to recover from the first im- pulses of grief, and to consider calmly the most probable schemes for the preservation of order, under the shock which it had received, the prospect on every side appeared almost hopeless. The dignified clergy, undoubtedly the ablest and best educated class in Scot- land, from whose ranks the state had been accustomed to look for its wisest councillors, were divided into feuds amongst themselves, occasioned by the vacant benefices. The Archbishop of St Andrews, the prelates of Caithness and the Isles, with other ecclesiastical dignitaries, had fallen in the field of Flodden, and the intrigues of the various claimants distracted the Church and the council. There were evils also to be dreaded from the character and the youth of the queen-mother. Margaret had been married at f aurteen, * Leslev, Bannatyne edit. p. 97. Pinker* ton, vol. ii. p. 112. 1513-14.] and was now only twenty-four : her talonts were of so high an order that they drew forth the unbiassed en- comium of Surrey, Dacre, and Wolsey ; but there were some traits in her dis- position which remind us of her brother, Henry the Eighth. Her re- sentments were hasty, her firmness sometimes degenerated into obstinacy, "her passions were often too strong for her better judgment; her beauty, vivacity, and high accomplishments, were fitted to delight and adorn a court, but in) parted an early devotion to pleasure, too much encouraged by the example of the late king; and which his sudden and unhappy fate rather checked than eradicated. For a while, however, the excess of grief, and her situation, which promised an increase to the royal family, kept her in retirement, and rendered her an object of deep interest to the people. The Duke of Albany had now re- ceived the invitation from the lords of his party ; and unable instantly to «bey it in person, he sent over the Sieur d'Arsie de la Bastie, 1 the same accomplished knight whom we have seen a favourite of James the Fourth, and who was already personally known to many of the Scottish nobles. Along with him came the Earl of Arran, who, ; since the unfortunate result of his naval expedition, by which the late king had been so deeply incensed, appears to have remained in France, in command of that portion of the fleet which was the property of the crown; the re- mainder, consisting of merchant vessels commissioned by government, having probably long ago dispersed on private adventure. He was cousin-german to Albany : the former being the son of Mary, sister to James the Third; the latter of Alexander, the brother of that prince, whose treason, as we have seen, against the government in 1482, did not scruple to aim at the crown, and even to brand the reigning mon- arch with illegitimacy. , Arran still bore the title of high-admiral, and brought to Scotland a few ships, the three largest vessels having been left behind in France. His high birth and 1 Lesley, p. 97. JAMES V. 297 near relationship to the royal family impressed him with the idea that his interference would be respected ; but his abilities were of an inferior order and he found many proud nobles ready to dispute his authority. Amongst these, the principal were Home, the chamberlain ; the Earl of Angus, the recent death of whose father and grandfather had placed him, when still a young man, at the head of the potent house of Douglas; and the Earls of Huntly and Crawford, who were the most influential lords in the north. Between Home and Angus a deadly feud existed — the lesser nobles and gentry in the south joining them- selves to one side or the other, as seemed most agreeable to their indi- vidual interests ; whilst in Athole, and other northern districts, bands of rob- bers openly traversed the country; and on the Borders the dignities and revenues of the Church, and the bene- fices of the inferior clergy, became the subjects of violent and successful spoliation. 2 In the midst of these scenes of public disorder, repeated attempts were made to assemble the parlia- ment; but the selfishness of private ambition, and the confusion of con- tradictory councils, distracted the de- liberations of the national council; and the patriotic wisdom of the vener- able Elphinston in vain attempted to compose their differences. 3 It was, however, determined that for the im- mediate repressing of the disturbances, the Earl of Crawford should be ap- pointed chief justice to the north of the Forth, and Home to the same office in the south ; whilst, in contem- plation of the continuance of the war with England, an attempt was made to derive assistance from the courts of Denmark and France. To the sove- reigns of both these countries Scotland had readily lent her assistance in troops and in money : the insurrection of the Norwegians against the Danish monarch had been put down by her instrumentality; and the war with 2 Pinkerton, vol. ii. p 120. 8 Dacre to the Kins*. 10th March, Caligula, b. vi. 48, quoted in Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 219. 298 HISTORY OF England, which had cost the country so dear, had been undertaken at the insti- gation of France ; yet trom neither the one nor the other did the Scots, in their day of calamity, receive anything like an equivalent for her sacrifices. The present policy of Lewis the Twelfth, who had been reduced to extremity by the league formed against him, rendered this monarch solicitous for peace with England, and fearful o any step which might exasperate its sovereign. He not only, therefore, refused all active assistance, but un- generously threw difficulties in the way of Albany's departure, pretending that he could not dispense with the services of so valuable a subject, — a mortifying lesson to Scotland upon the folly of . her foreign alliances, but of which she had not yet the wisdom to make the proper use. In the midst of this disturbance at home, and disappointment abroad, the queen-mother was delivered of a son, who was named Alexander, and created Duke of Ross; whilst a parliament, which met immediately after her re- covery, confirmed her in the regency, and appointed "three wise lords," whose names do not appear, to have the keeping of the young king and his brother. 1 Yet, in spite of every endea- vour to allay them, the disorders of the country continued; and whilst the queen corresponded with her brother, lamenting the selfish ambition and fierce independence of Home, who ar- rogated to himself an . almost royal authority, that monarch ungenerously abused her information, by directing his wardens of the Border to repeat their inroads, and carry havoc and war into the defenceless country. It was a miserable feature of feudal Scotland (it may be said, indeed, of feudal Eu- rope) that a woman of any wealth or rank, who was deprived of the protec- tion of a husband or father, became an object of attack, liable to be invaded in her castle and carried off by some of those remorseless barons, who, in the prosecution of their daring ends, little recked the means they used. The greater the prize, the more certain i Margaret to Dacre, Caligula, b. vi. 78. SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. and alarming was the danger; and as the possession of the person of the in- fant monarch gave to any faction which obtained it the chief influence in the government, we may easily understand that the queen-mother, surrounded by a fierce and ambitious nobility, for the suppression of whose lawless proceed- ings the authority with which she had been intrusted was insufficient, soon began to long for some more powerful protector. That Margaret, therefore, should have thought of a second mar- riage was by no means extraordinary ; but when it was declared that, without any previous consultation with her council, she had suddenly given her hand to the Earl of Angus, her best friends regretted her choice. It was evidently a match not so much of policy as of passion, for Angus is de- scribed by the sagacious Dacre as "childish young, and attended by no wise councillors;" but his person, a nd countenance were beautiful, his ac : complishments showy and attractive* whilst his power, as the head of the house of Douglas, was equal, if not superior, to that of any baron in the kingdom. The queen herself was still in the bloom of her youthful charms ; and when her affections fixed upon, Angus, she only waited for her reco- very from childbirth, to hurry into marriage with a precipitancy which was scarcely decorous, and certainly unwise. (By the terms of the royal will, it aVbnce put an end to her re- gencyj) and although Angus flattered himseS that his new title, as husband of the queen, would confer upon hini the tutelage of the infant sovereign, he was met by an opposition far mora powerful than he anticipated. The peace between France and Eng-' land was now concluded ; and although Scotland was embraced in the treaty at the desire of Lewis, the cold and cautious terms in which that country was mentioned, might have convinced her rulers of the folly which had squan- dered so much treasure, and sacrificed so much national prosperity, for a sovereign whose gratitude lasted no longer than his necessity. It was stated that if, upon notification of the- 1514-15.] JAM peace, the Scots were desirous of being included, there should be no objection urged to their wishes; 1 but if, after intimation of these terms, which was to be made before the 15th of Sep- tember, any invasions took place on the Borders, the clause comprehend- ing that country was to be of no effect. No invasion of any note did take place, but minor inroads on both sides dis- turbed, as usual, the peace of the marches ; and the difficulty of adjust- ing these in the courts of the wardens, with the desire to postpone all leading measures till the arrival of Albany, oc- casioned a delay of eight months before Scotland acceded to the treaty. One of the immediate effects of the imprudent marriage of the queen seems to have been the separation of the no bility and the country into two great factions, which took the names of the English and French parties. At the head of the former were Angus and the queen; indeed, if we except the great power and widely ramifying vassalage of the house of Douglas, there were few other permanent sources of strength on which they could build their hopes. The latter, the French faction, embraced almost the whole nobility, and was supported by the sympathies of the people. The fatal defeat at Flodden was yet fresh in their memory, and revenge, a natural feeling, to which the principles of the feudal system added intensity, prompt- ed them to fruitless desires for a con- tinuance of the war; a jealousy of the interference of Henry, a certainty that the queen-mother had entered into an intimate correspondence with this mon- arch, consulting him upon those public measures which ought to have been regulated by the council and the par- liament, and a recollection of the in- tolerable domination, once exercised by the house of Douglas, all united to increase the numbers of the French faction, and to cause a universal desire for the arrival of the Duke of Albany. Nor could this event be much longer delayed. Lewis had now no pretext for his detention; the peace with England was concluded, the sentence i Pinkerton, voL ii. pp. 121, 122. SS V. ' 29r> of forfeiture, which had excluded the- duke from the enjoyment of his rank and estates in Scotland was removed, and the condition of the country called loudly for some change. At this crisis, by the death of the venerable and patriotic Elphinston, bishop of Aberdeen, was removed the only man who seemed to possess autho- rity in the state, an occurrence which increased the struggles of ecclesiastical ambition. 2 It was the intention of the queen to have appointed Elphinston to the archbishopric of St Andrews, but on his death she nominated to that see the celebrated Gawin Douglas, her husband's uncle, — a man whose genius, had this been the only requisite for the important dignity, was calculated te bestow distinction upon any situation , Hepburn, however, Prior of St An drews, a churchman of a turbulen* and factious character, had interest enough with the chapter to secure hia own election ; whilst Forman, bishop of Moray, the personal favourite of the late king, whose foreign negotiations and immense wealth gave him great- influence at the court of Rome, was appointed to fill the vacant see by a Papal bull, which he for a while did not dare to promulgate. An indecent spectacle was thus exhibited, which could not fail to lower the Church in the eyes of the people : the servants of Douglas, supported by his nephew and the queen, had seized the archiepisco- pal palace, but were attacked by Hep- burn, who carried the fortress, and kept possession of it, although threat- ened by Angus with a siege. Forman, however, had the address to secure the interest of Home, the chamberlain, and a treaty having been entered into, in which money was the chief peacemaker it was agreed that Hepburn should sur- render the castle, on condition of retain- ing the revenues which he had already collected, and receiving for his nephew the rich priory of Coldingham. 3 These ecclesiastical commotions, how- ever, were surpassed in intensity by the feuds amongst the nobles, who traversed 2 Lesley, p. 100. * Ibid. p. 101. Coldingham is in Lammer- muir, near St Abb's Head. 300 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 'Chap. VIL tbe country at the head of large bodies of their armed vassals, and waged pri- vate war against each other with a fero- city which defied all interference. The Earl of Arran, encouraged by the pro- tracted delay of Albany, aspired to the regency ; and being joined by the Earls of Lennox and Glencairn, declared war against Angus, who narrowly escaped falling into an ambuscade which was laid for his destruction. The castle of Dumbarton was seized by Lennox; and Erskine, the governor, who held it for the queen, was expelled from his place. Dunbar, the most important fortress in the kingdom, was delivered to the French knight, De la Bastie, who claimed it as that part of the earldom of March which belonged to his mas- ter, Albany. Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow, a prelate of a selfish and in- triguing temper, keenly supported the interests of the French party ; whilst the Earl of Huntly, one of the most powerful barons in the north, threw his influence into the scale of the queen and Angus, which was supported also by Lord Drummond and the Earl Mar- shal. 1 Under this miserable state of things, Henry the Eighth, by means of his able minister, Lord Dacre, who enter- tained many Scottish spies in his pay, kept up a regular correspondence with the queen, and availed himself of their confusion, to acquire a paramount in- fluence over the affairs of the country. He even carried his intrigues so far «as ! to make a secret proposal to Margaret : for her immediate flight with the in- } i ant monarch and his brother into Eng- land, a scheme which amounted to no- thing less than treason : the agents in this plot were "Williamson, one of the creatures of Dacre, an English eccle- siastic resident in Scotland, and Sir James Inglis, the secretary of the queen. Margaret, in reply, regretted that she was not a private woman, able to fly with her children from the land where she was so unhappy, but a queen, who was narrowly watched ; 1 Orig. Letter, quoted by Pinkerton, vol. ii. 1>. 126, Sir James Inglis to Williamson, 22d Jan 1615. Caligula, b. i. 22; also b. vi. 114. Adam Williamson to the Bishop of Dunkeld. whilst any failure in such an attempt . might have cost her servants theif heads, and herself her liberty. It is, perhaps, not extraordinary that such a scheme should be regarded with no very strong feeling of revolt by the youthful queen, to whom Henry art- fully held out the inducement of her . son being declared heir-apparent to the I English throne. But that Angus and * his uncle Douglas should have enter- tained the proposal, that they should rather have declined it as dangerous and not strictly honest, than cast it from them as an insult to their feel- ings of national honour and individual integrity, presents the principles of these eminent persons in no favourable light. Meanwhile, although baffled in the perpetration of this project, the intrigues of Dacre contributed greatly to strengthen the English faction, and Home, whose formidable power and daring character rendered his accession no light matter, embraced the party of the queen. Albany, w T ho had long delayed his voyage, now began to think in earnest of repairing to Scotland. The death of Lewis the Twelfth, which had been followed by the accession of Francis the First, was accompanied by no material change in the policy of his kingdom towards her ancient ally; and an embassy was despatched to in- duce the Scottish government to de- lay no longer accepting those terms by which they were comprehended in the peace between France and Eng- land. In a letter from the Council of State, this request was complied with, on the ground that, although not so far weakened by their recent disaster as to doubt they should be soon able to requite their enemies, yet, for the love they bore to France, and their zeal for the crusade against the infidels, which was then in agitation, they would be sorry that Scotland should oppose itself to a general peace. 2 Scarce had Le Vaire and Ville- bresme, the French ambassadors, re- . ceived this favourable answer, when, on the 18th of May, the Duke of Al- bany, with a squadron of eight ships, 5 Bymer, vol. xiii. p. 509. 1515,] came to anchor at Dumbarton. 1 His arrival had been anxiously expected : he landed amidst the unaffected joy of all who desired the re-establishment of good government in the country ; and he was soon after installed in the office of regent; 2 but the task of re- storing order was one of no easy exe- cution ; and even to a statesman of far superior talents, some of the dif- ficulties which presented themselves would have been almost insurmount- able. The intrigues of Henry the Eighth, conducted with much skill and judgment by Lord Dacre, had separated from his party some of the most potent of the nobility, who at a former period anxiously requested his presence; and many good men, who anxiously desired a continuance of peace, and deplored the calamities which an unnecessary war had already entailed upon the country, dreading the politics of Albany, which soon disclosed an unreasonable animosity to England, threw their influence into the faction which opposed him : others, indeed, resented the interference of England in the Scottish councils, deeming it impolitic and unnatural, that the monarch who had slain the father, and shed with unexampled profusion the noblest blood in the land, should be selected as the favoured counsellor of the infant successor and his widowed mother. To assert their independence as a kingdom, and to cherish a hope of revenge, were the principles which actuated no incon- siderable party; nor is it to be doubt- ed, that amongst the great body of the people these feelings were regarded with applause. Of this numerous class the new regent might have easily secured the support, had he not ali- enated them by a too servile devotion to France; whilst the English party brought forward very plausible argu- 1 These vessels appear to have been the remains of that fleet which James had des- patched, under the Earl of Arran, to the as- sistance of the French monarch, and whose building and outfit had cost the country so large a sum. Lesley, p. 102. 2 He was made regent on the 10th July. Dacre to the Council. Caligulas, b. ii. 341. Kirkoswald, 1st August. JAMES V. 801 ments to shew the danger of intrust- ing the government of the kingdom, or the custody of the sovereign and his brother, to one so circumstanced as Albany. From his father, who had traitorously attempted to seize the crown, and to brand the royal family with the stain of illegitimacy, he was not likely, they said, to imbibe very loyal ideas ; whilst the late in- stance in England, of the crimes of Richard the Third, would not fail to suggest a lesson of successful usurpa- tion and murder to a Scottish usurper, between whom and his title to the throne there stood only the slender lives of two infants. Even setting aside these weighty considerations, they contended that he evinced no- thing of the feelings or national in- dependence of a Scotsman. He was ignorant of the constitution, of the language, of the manners of the coun- try : his loyalty to the French king, whom he constantly styled his master ; his ties to that kingdom, where his life had been spent, his honours won, and his chief estates were situated; his descent from a French mother, and marriage with the Countess of Auvergne, were all enumerated, and with much plausibility, as circum- stances which incapacitated him from feeling that ardent and exclusive in- . terest in Scotland which ought to be found in him to whom the regency was committed. When to all this it is added, that Albany was passionate in his temper, and sometimes oapri- cious and wavering in his policy, it was not expected that his government would be attended with much success. Yet these prognostications were not verified, and his first measures con- tradicted such surmises by the steady determination which they evinced to put down the English party, and to curb the insolence of power which had been shewn by the supporters of Angus and the queen. Lord Drum- mond, grandfather to Angus, and con- stable of Stirling castle, was committed prisoner to the castle of Blackness, for an insult offered to Lion herald in the queen's presence. 3 Soon after, Gawin 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotlan \, vol $02 HISTORY OF Douglas, the talented and learned Bishop of Dunkeld and uncle to Angus, was shut up in the sea tower of St Andrews, on a charge of having illegally procured his nomination to that see by the influence of Henry the Eighth with the Papal court : it was in vain that the queen implored, even with tears, the pardon and delivery of her councillors, — the first, recom- mended by his venerable age, and steady attachment to the royal family, the other by his distinguished talents. Albany was unmoved; and the sup- porters of the queen, with the excep- tion of Home and Angus, shrunk from an alliance which exposed them to so severe a reckoning. 1 But the most important affair, and one which required immediate atten- tion, was the custody of the young monarch and his brother. These princes were still under the charge of their mother, the queen-dowager. The negotiations, however, into which she had entered with Henry the Eighth, and in the course of which Williamson and Dacre had almost prevailed on her to deliver the royal children to Eng- land, proved clearly that since her new connexion with Angus, she was un- worthy to remain their protector. The regent, therefore, wisely judged that no time ought to be lost in re- moving them from her charge ; and for this purpose a parliament was as- sembled at Edinburgh. The measures which were adopted appear to have been framed with as much attention to the feelings of the mother, as was compatible with the security of the princes. Eight lords were nominated by the parliament, out of which num- ber four were to be chosen by lot; and from these Margaret was to select three, to whose custody the king and his brother were to be committed. This having been done, the three peers proceeded to the castle of Edinburgh, where the commands of the parlia- ment were to be carried into effect; ii. p. 284. Caligula, b. vi. 105. Remembrance of an Informacion by me, Margaret, Quene of Scots. 1 Queen Margaret's Remembrance. Cali- gula Ij. vi 105. J SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. but nothing was further than obedi- ence from the mind of the queen. When the nobles approached, the gates of the fortress were thrown open, disclosing to the populace, who rent the air with their acclamations, their royal mistress standing at the entrance, with the king at her side, his hand locked in hers, and a nurse behind, who held his infant brother in her arms. 2 The sight was imposing; nor was its effect diminished, when, with an air of dignity, and a voice, whose full tones all could distinctly hear, she bade them stand and declare their errand. On their answer, that they came in the name of the .parlia- ment to receive from her their sove- reign and his brother, the princess commanded the warder to drop the portcullis, and that massive iron bar- rier having instantly descended be- tween her and the astonished dele- gates, she thus addressed them : — " I hold this castle by the gift of my late husband, your sovereign, who also in- trusted to me the keeping and govern- ment of my children, nor shall I yield them to any person whatsoever ; but I respect the parliament, and require a respite of six days to consider their mandate." Alarmed for the conse- quences of this refusal, which, if per- severed in, amounted to treason, Angus, who stood beside the queen, entreated her to obey the order of the parliament, and took a notarial instru- ment on the spot, that he had con- sented to the surrender of the children ; but Margaret was firm, and the peers retired to acquaint the regent with their ill success. 3 Meanwhile their mother removed them from Edinburgh castle, which she dreaded could not be defended against the forces of the parliament, to Stirling, a city more completely de- voted to her interest. She then trans-* mitted her final answer to the regent : it proposed that the children should be committed to the custody of Angus, 2 Dacre to the Council. Caligula, b. ii. 341 ; an interesting original letter, first opened by the research of Pinkerton, vol. ii- p. 137. 3 Caligula, b. ii. 341, b. 2. 1515.] Home, the Earl Marshal, and Lauder of the Bass, — all of them, with the ex- ception of the Marshal, devoted to her interest, and in intimate correspond- ence with England. 1 This evasion, which was nothing more than a reiter- ation of her refusal to obey the orders of parliament, rendered it necessary for Albany to adopt decisive measures. He accordingly collected an armed force, summoned all the lords, on their allegiance, to lend their assistance in enforcing the orders of the supreme council of the nation ; directed Ruth- ven and Borthwick to blockade the castle of Stirling, so that no provisions should be permitted to enter; and commanded Home, who was then pro- vost of Edinburgh, to arrest Sir George Douglas, the brother of Angus, that peer being himself intheMearns; whilst his uncle held Douglas castle. Home indignantly refused, and, under cover of night, fled to Newark, a Border tower upon the Yarrow; whilst Angus, who had received orders to join the host at the head of his vassals, kept himself within his strength, in his own country, and concentrated his power for the storm which he saw approaching. A proclamation was now issued against such persons as illegally re- tained the castle of Stirling; and Albany, at the head of seven thousand men, and attended by all the peers except Home and Angus, marched against that fortress, and summoned it to an immediate surrender. Re- sistance was hopeless ; and the queen had already carried her obstinacy be- yond all prudent bounds ; her party, which chiefly consisted of friends re- tained in her service by the money of England, deserted her when the dan- ger became imminent ; and requesting an interview with the regent, she de- livered the keys of the castle to the infant monarch, who placed them in the hand of Albany, and only added her hope, that the royal children, her- self and Angus, would be treated with favour. The answer of the regent as- sured the princess that, to herself and his infant sovereign, he was animated by no feelings but those of devoted i Caligula > ii. 341, b. 2. JAMES V. 303 loyalty; but for Angus, whose- oppo- sition to the will o£ parliament, and dangerous correspondence with Eng- land, amounted, he declared, to trea- son, he would promise nothing, so long as he and his followers were banded together in open rebellion. 2 The king and his infant brother were then com- mitted to the custody of the Earl Marshal, (a nobleman who had been nominated on a former occasion by the royal mother herself,) along with ' the Lords Fleming and Borthwick, whose fidelity to the crown- was unsuspected. John Erskine was appointed governor of the fortress ; a guard of seven hun- dred soldiers left in it ; and the queen conducted with every mark of respect to Edinburgh, where she took up her residence in the castle. The Earl of Home, on being informe'd of this de- cided success, no longer hesitated to throw himself into the arms of* Eng- land ; and in a private conference with Dacre, concerted measures of resistance and revenge. To this meeting Angus was not admitted, by the sagacity of the English warden; his youth and versatility of purpose being dreaded ; but Home continued to work on the husband of the queen, and the strength of Teviotdale was raised to resist the alleged tyranny of the regent, and avert the destruction which hung over the English party in Scotland. 3 In this emergency the conduct of Albany was marked by prudence and decision; he summoned the force of the kingdom ; but, before proceeding to hostilities, transmitted a message to the queen, in which he expressed his earnest desire for a pacification, and proposed articles of agreement, which were more favourable than the con- duct of her party deserved. He en- gaged to support her and her husband in all their just and equitable actions: to put her in full possession of her jointure lands, and maintain her in the state and dignity befitting her rank, under the condition that she 2 Dacre to the Council, Harbottle, 7th August. Caligula, b. ii. 369. Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 6. See Notes and Illustrations, letter Y. 3 Dacre to the Council Caligula, b. ii. 369. S04 should accede to the wishes of the parliament, co-operate in those mea- sures which were esteemed best for the security and independence of the state, and renounce all secret connex- ion with other realms, especially with England. "When Henry's schemes for the removal of the king and his brother, and the intrigues by which Dacre con- trived to defeat every attempt to re- duce the country to order and good government are taken into view, these proposals appear wise and conciliatory. Yet such was the unhappy infatuation of the queen, that she rejected them without hesitation, and to make a merit of her firmness, transmitted them privately to Dacre. 1 To Home, the chamberlain, Albany was less leni- >nt : he insisted that he should leave icotland; and the haughty chief at once justified the severity by address- ing a message to the English warden, in which he requested the assistance of an English army, and held out the inducement to Henry, that the coun- try lay open to invasion. The crisis, he said, only required immediate activity and vigour, by which the monarch might destroy his enemies, and new model the government ac- cording to his interest and wishes. 2 These offers were strongly seconded by Dacre, who advised an invasion ; whilst the chamberlain, assured of the support of England, assembled a power- ful force, and commenced the war by retaking the castle of Home, which had been seized by the regent; and securing the strong tower of Blacater, situated on the Borders, within five miles of Berwick. 3 To this safehold the queen, who had continued her secret correspondence with Henry, now resolved to retire, finding herself, as she represented, in a sort of cap- tivity at Edinburgh, whilst her friends were imprisoned, and her resources impoverished by the injustice of the regent. Dacre had recommended Bla- cater -from its proximity to England, 1 Caligula, b vi. 83, 84. 2 Ibid. b. ii. 186. Lord Home to Dacre, Pink'erton, vol. ii. p. 145. 3 Franklin to the Bishop of Durham, Nor- ham, 29th August. Caligula, b. iii. ]33. Bla- rater is situated on a stream of . the same name. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIL and the facility she would enjoy of support and communication with her royal brother, — shrewdly observing, also, that, being within the Scottish Borders, her enemies could not allege that she had forfeited . her rights by deserting the country. She accord- ingly found means to join Lord Home, who, at the head of an escort of forty soldiers, conveyed her in safety to Blacater, from whence, if danger be- came imminent, she could 'secure a rapid and easy retreat into England. 4 Nothing could be more imprudent than such a proceeding. Henry, al- though professing peace, was at this moment the worst enemy of Scotland. Having been baffled in his attempt to get the young king into his hands, it became his object to increase the ne- cessary evils of a minority, by thwart- ing every measure which promised to . restore tranquillity to that country. By means of his indefatigable agent, Lord Dacre, he had not only corrupted some of its leading nobility, but so sue* cessfully fomented dissensions amongst them, that every effort of the regent to re-establish the control of the laws was rendered abortive by the preval- ence of private war. To league her- self, therefore, with England, against the independence of that country of which her son was sovereign, whilst Albany, with much earnestness and sincerity, offered her a complete re- storation to all those rights and revenues, as queen-dowager, which sh* had not forfeited by her marriage, waa an excess of blindness and pertinacity difficult to be understood, and which drew after it the most calamitous con- sequences. The conduct of Albany had been marked hitherto by a laudable union of firmness and moderation; and so completely was- it seconded by the ap- proval of the nobles and the clergy, that, although on other points at vari- ance amongst themselves, all appear to kave united in support of his deter- mination to enforce obedience to the parliament, and restore some degree of * Credence to Lord Dacre and Thoma* Magnus, by the Queen of Scots. Caligula, b ri. 85 151H] JAU stability to the government. He found little difficulty, therefore, in raising an army of forty thousand men : but anxious that his intentions should be clearly understood — that none should mistake his resolution to reduce an internal rebellion, which was headed by disaffected subjects, for the desire of foreign war — he despatched Sir William Scott and Sir Robert Lauder to meet Henry's commissioners, Dacre and Dr Magnus, and to labour for the satisfactory adjustment of all dis- putes upon the Borders. At the same time, John Duplanis, a French envoy, was commissioned to renew the terms for an agreement, which had been for- merly offered to the queen, and which this ill-advised princess once more in- dignantly repelled. The regent instantly advanced to the Borders, where it was expected the Earl of Home would be able to make some serious resistance;, but the power of this dreaded chief melted away before the formidable array of Albany: he was taken prisoner; com- mitted to the charge of the Earl of Arran; found means to seduce his keeper, not only to favour, but to ac- company his escape; and fled to Eng- land, ^whither he was soon after fol- lowed by the queen and Angus*> No step could have been adopted more favourable to the intrigues of Henry ; and the fugitives were received by Lord Dacre with' open arms. The queen, shortly before this, had ad- dressed a letter to Albany, in which she attempted a vindication of her conduct ; necessity had compelled her, she asserted, to forsake her country, no* without fears for her life; she protested against the conduct of the regent, and claimed, as a right con- ferred on her by the will of the late king, her husband, (a deed which, had received the Papal confirmation,) the government of the kingdom, and the tutelage of the infant monarch. 2 The 1 Dacre and Dr Magnus to Henry the Eighth, Harbottle, 18th October. Caligula, b. vi. 110. 2 Caligula, b. vi. 119. The Queen of Scots to the Duke of Albany, 10th October. Har- bottle. vol- II- ES Y. 305 first pretence was ridiculous ; for since his arrival in Scotland, Margaret had been treated by Albany with in- variable respect. To the second re- quest the council of Scotland returned the answer, that by her second mar- riage, Margaret, according to the terms of the royal will, had forfeited all right to the tutelage of her son ; whilst the disposal of the government could neither be affected by the will of a deceased monarch, nor the sanction of a living Pope, but belonged to the three estates, Who had conferred it upon the Duke of Albany. 3 That nobleman, notwithstanding the infatuation of the mother of his sove- reign, was still anxious to make a last effort for a compromise ; he addressed two letters to her on the same day : the first, a manifesto from the council ; the other, a private communication, written with his own hand. The terms of both were moderate, and even indulgent. The council implored her to awake to her duty; declared their aversion to all rigorous measures; besought her to come back amongst them; and; as an inducement, pro- mised that she should enjoy the dis- posal of all benefices within her dowry lands, a benefice to her late councillor, Gawin Douglas ; and, lastly, the guar- dianship of her children, if she would solemnly promise that they should not be carried out of the kingdom. These proposals the queen imprudently rejected; for what reasons, does not clearly appear. An acute historian 4 pronounces them too specious to be honest; but Albany's whole conduct shews them to have been sincere, although Margaret, acting under the influence of Angus, Home, and Arran, had been taught to regard them with suspicion. Immediate acceptance of them was indeed impossible, for within^ eight days after she had taken refuge^ in England the queen bore a daughter ' to Angus, the Lady Margaret Douglas, the future mother of the Weak and unfortunate Darnley; at the same s Council of Scotland, 13th October 1515. Caligula, b. vi. 120. " Madame, we com- mend our humyle service to your grace." * Pinkerton. vol. ii. p. 151. a time her husband entered into a J private bond with Home and Arran, by which they engaged, for themselves, their vassals, and supporters, to resist the regent, and to deliver their infant sovereign from the suspected guar- dianship in which he was held by those who then ruled in Scotland. This agreement, which was dated 15th of October 1515, although it bears no express reference to England, ap- pears to have been concluded under the direction of Lord Dacre. 1 Nothing now remained for Albany but to exercise with firmness the authority which had been committed to him ; yet, although the conduct of those who leagued themselves against the government compelled him to measures of just severity, he evinced an anxiety for conciliation. The flight of Arran rendered it necessary for him to seize the castles of a rebel; but when, at Hamilton, his mother presented herself before the regent, and passionately interceded for her son, he received the matron, who was a daughter of James the Second, with the respect due to her royal descent, and assured her of forgiveness, could she prevail on him to return to his allegiance; nor was he forgetful of his promise, for Arran, a nobleman of a weak and vacillating, though ambi- tious character, renounced the league with Angus as precipitately as he had embraced it, and was immediately received into favour. At this moment the Duke of Ross, the infant brother of the king, was seized with one of the diseases incident to his early years, and died at Stirling, — a circum- stance which, it was to be expected, would not be lost upon the queen, who instantly fulminated against Al- bany an accusation of poison. So atrocious a charge fell innoxious upon the upright character of the regent, who, although the nearest heir to the crown, had felt enough of its thorns to make him rather dread than desire the kingdom ; and the future conduct 1 Caligula, b. vi. 124 Copie of the Bande made betwixt the Erles of Angus and Arran, and the Chamberlane of Scotland. Cold- i Etrcam. 15th October 1515. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Cn^p. VIL of Angus and Home, from whose fac- tion the calumny proceeded, demon- strates its falsehood. Yet the enmity of Gawin Douglas, the accomplished Bishop of Dunkeld, did not hesitate, in 1522, to repeat the story. These events were followed by a renewal of the alliance with France ; and to evince that the governor was animated by a sincere desire for that tranquillity which could alone afford him leisure to compose the troubles of the country, Duplanis, tLe French ambassador, and Dunbar, archdean of St Andrews, were sent to meet the English commissioners at Coldingham for the negotiation of a peace between the two countries. At this moment Henry earnestly desired such an event ; the success of Francis the First, at the battle of Marignano, had given to this prince the whole Milanese, and roused the jealousy of Wolsey, who now directing, but with no profound policy, the councils of England, prevailed on his master and the emperor to enter into a league for the expulsion of the French from Italy. It was necessary, therefore, to be secure on the side of Scotland; and although a general peace could not be then concluded, the truce between the kingdoms was renewed. 2 Home and Angus, whose conduct had been dictated by the selfishness of disappointed ambition, were awakened by these prudent measures to the desperate , state of their affairs; and soon after, with- drawing themselves from the queen, who lay dangerously ill at Morpeth, they retired into Scotland, where, re- stored once more to their hereditary possessions, they for a time abstained from all opposition to the government. The facility with which these nobles appear to have procured their pardon, was in the regent perhaps more gene- rous than prudent ; but it evinces the sincerity of his desire for the welfare of the country, and seems completely to refute those charges of insatiate avarice and profuse dissipation raised against him by the malice of his ene- mies, and too hastily retailed by a 2 Ryxner, vol. xiii. p. 649. 1515-10.] JAM historian of this period. 1 For the conduct of Home, the queen found some excuse, but to be thus deserted at her utmost need by a husband for I whom she had sacrificed her royal pomp and power, was an ungrateful return for her love, which Margaret's proud spirit never forgave. She waited only for her recovery to fly to the English court, where she loaded Albany and Angus with reproaches, imploring her royal brother to inter- fere for the preservation of her son, and her restoration to those rights which in truth had been forfeited solely by her own imprudence. Nor was Henry deaf to her en- treaties; overlooking the conciliatory principles which marked the govern- ment of Albany, and which, in spite of the bribery and intrigues of Dacre, had received the support of the people, this monarch directed a letter to the three estates, in which, in no mea- sured terms, he called upon them not only to remove that nobleman from the regency and the care of the king's person, but to expel him from the kingdom ; upon the ground that, as the nearest heir to the throne, he was the most suspicious person to whom bo sacred a charge could be committed. To this extraordinary epistle, which was laid before them in a parliament assembled at Edinburgh, on the first of July 1516, the estates returned a decided answer. They reminded Henry that the Duke of Albany was governor by their own deliberate choice, expressed in a general council of the nation held immediately after the coronation of their youthful sove- reign. He had undertaken, they said, this high and responsible office, which, by the canon law, belonged to him as nearest relative to the infant king, not from his own wishes, but at their earnest request. He had left the ser- vice of France, and his estates and honours in that country, with reluct- ance ; he had fulfilled its duties with i Pinkerton, (vol. ii. p. 155,) who without considering its suspicious tenor, gives im- plicit belief to the Memorial of Gawin Doug- las, (Caligula, b. iii. 309,) and to the "Wrongs " of the queen, (Caligula, b. ii. 211 :) an original feigpcd by " Margaret." SB V. 307 much talent and integrity ; and they declared that, so essential did they consider his remaining at the head of affairs to the national happiness, that, were he willing, they would not permit him to escape his duties, or to leave the country. With regard to the anxiety expressed for the safety of the infant monarch, they observed that it appeared wholly misplaced in the pre- sent instance, as the person of the sovereign was intrusted to the keeping of the same lords to whose care he had been committed by his mother the queen ; whilst they concluded with great firmness and dignity, by assuring the English monarch that it was their determination to resist with their lives every attempt to disturb the peace of the realm, or endanger the security of the present govern- ment. 2 This spirited epistle might have con- vinced Henry of the folly of his ambi- tion to become the chief ruler in the kingdom of his nephew ; but although the haughtiness with which he had disclosed his intentions had for the moment defeated his design, and united against him the discordant elements of the Scottish aristocracy, it was not long before the intrigues of his minis- ter, Lord Dacre, succeeded in creating distrust and disturbance, and once more reinstating in its strength the English faction in Scotland. The' means and agents by which this was effected were as base as they were suc- cessful. From an original letter of the warden himself, addressed to Wolsey, we learn that he had in his pay four \ hundred Scots, whose chief employ- j ment was to distract the government / of Albany by exciting popular tumults, encouraging private quarrels, and re- kindling the jealousy of the higher nobles. "I labour and study all I can," says he, "to make division and debate to the intent that, if the- duke will not apply himself, that then de- bate may grow that it shall be impos- sible for him to do justice; and for that intended purpose I have the Mas- ter of Kilmaurs kept in my house secretly, which is one of the greatest 2 Rymer, Fuedera, vol. xiii. p. 560. 308 parries in Scotland. . . . And also," he adds, " I have secret messages from the Earl of Angus and others, . . . and also four hundred outlawes, and giveth them rewards that burnetii and destroyeth daily in Scotland, all being Scotsmen that should be under the obedience of Scotland." 1 Such was the commencement by Dacre of that shameful system for the fostering of internal commotions, by the agency of spies and the distribution of bribes amongst the nobles, which was con- tinued by Sir Ralph Saddler, and after- 1 wards brought to "perfection by Lord Burleigh under Elizabeth. It is to this cause, and not, as has generally been believed, to any fault or gross mismanagement upon the part of the regent, that we must ascribe the misery of the country. Albany was sup- ported by the affection and confidence of the middle classes, and the great body of the nation; but their influ- ence was counteracted, and hi3 efforts completely paralysed, by the selfish rapacity of the clergy, and the insolent ambition of the aristocracy. 2 Scarcely had Arran returned to his allegiance, when he entered into a new combina- tion with Lennox, Glencairn, Mure of Caldwell, and other barons, with the apparent object of wresting from the j regent that share of the government I to which Arran not unjustly deemed | himself entitled, by his affinity to the royal family, but for which his vacil- i lating character totally incapacitated him. The rebellion at first assumed a | serious aspect : the castle of Glasgow, belonging to Beaton, archbishop of that see, and which was important from its being the depot of the king's artillery, was stormed and plundered j by Mure, who enriched himself by the I spoil, and retained it for Arran ; 3 but the promptitude and energy of Albany, | 1 Letter, Dacre to Wolsey, 23d August 1516. Caligula, b. i. 150, published by Sir j Henry Ellis, in his valuable Collection of Letters, vol. i. p. 131, first series. 2 To this observation there were a few ex- ceptions, but these had little influence where the majority were corrupted. i Mure of Caldwell had married Lady Jane Stewart, sister to the Earl of Lennox. MS. document, in possession of William Mure, Es^. of Caldwell. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIL who instantly assemb.ed an army and marched to the spot, overawed thfr conspirators and compelled them to submit to terms. The fortress was surrendered. Beaton the primate em- ployed his influence to obtain the par- don of Arran with his associate earls ; and Albany, who often erred on the side of leniency, once more received them to the peace of the king ; whilst Mure, an able and turbulent baron, who was nearly connected with Len- nox, profiting by the commotion, con- tinued to excite disturbances in the west country. It had been under the condition of his renouncing all secret intercourse with Henry the Eighth, and residing peaceably on his estates, that Albany had extended forgiveness to Home. But it soon became apparent that the attempt to secure his adherence to the government was hopeless. His corre- spondence with Dacre was renewed; bands of hired marauders, known to be followers of the Scottish earl, and in the pay of England, broke across the marches, and Ravaged the country with unexampled boldness and ferocity. Murders, rapine, fire-raising, and every species of outrage, threatened the total dissolution of society ; and it be- came necessary either to vindicate the laws by an example of instantaneous severity, or weakly to abandon the government to the anarchy by which it was invaded. Under these circum- stances, Home and his brother, either trusting to Albany's ignorance of their correspondence, or inveigled by his promises, imprudently visited the court, and were instantly apprehended. Much obscurity hangs over the trial which followed ; and if we may believe some of our historians, the charge of having excited the late commotions against the regent, was mingled with a more atrocious accusation of being accessary to the defeat at Flodden, and the death of the late king. That this last imputation was unfounded, seems to be proved by sufficient evidence ; but the truth of the first was notori- ous, and could be established by a multiplicity of witnesses. The lord chamberlain was accordingly found 1513.] guilty : JAMES V. 309 against his brother the same sentence was pronounced; and both were executed without delay, their heads being afterwards exposed above the Tolbooth, or public prison of the capital. 1 Ker of Ferniehirst, 2 one of their chief followers and a baron of great power on the marches, was also tried and condemned, but respited by the regent, who instantly led a power- ful force to Jedburgh, and, by a judi- cious severity, reduced the unquiet districts on the Border to a state of temporary repose. The office of cham- berlain was bestowed upon Lord Flem- ing, a nobleman of tried fidelity, whilst the French knight, De la Bastie, who was much in the confidence of the re- gent, and possessed of equal courage and experience, became warden of the east Borders, — an appointment deeply resented by the friends of Home, who secretly meditated, and at length ac- complished a cruel revenge. On his return to Edinburgh, Albany assembled the parliament. Its princi- pal business was the disposal of a singular claim presented by his step- brother Alexander Stewart, """which, had it been supported by the three estates, must have excluded him from the regency. Stewart was the eldest son of Alexander, duke of Albany, the regent's father, by his first marriage with a daughter of the Earl of Orkney ; but it was now declared that this marriage had been pronounced unlaw- ful by a vote of a. former parliament, and on this ground the title of Albany, he eldest son by a* second marriage, was confirmed as the second person in the realm, and nearest heir to the crown. 3 Not long after, Francis de Bordeaux, ambassador from the court of France, arrived in Scotland ; and the expectations of the regent and the parliament were sanguine as to the as- sistance about to be derived from this country against the continued efforts 3f Henry the Eighth. It was soon, 1 Lesley, Hist. Bannatyne edit. p. 107. The chamberlain suffered on the 8th, and his brother on the 9th of October 1516. 2 The castle of Ferniehirst is onjthe river Jed. 3 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 233. Keith's Catalogue of Bishops, p. 88. P ukerton, vol. ii. p. 161. however, discovered that the policy of that kingdom towards Scotland had undergone a considerable change. The treaty of Noyon, concluded on the 26th of August 1516, between Francis the First and the King of Spain, had secured to the former monarch his conquests in Italy : the Emperor Maxi- milian, after an ineffectual attempt to wrest from him the Duchy of Milan, had been compelled to retire and ac- cede to its provisions ; whilst to France the single difficulty remained of re- moving the enmity of Henry the Eighth. It is this object which ex- plains the coldness of Francis to his ancient allies, the Scots. They had claimed a restitution of the county of Xaintonge, originally assigned by Charles the Seventh to James the First in 1428; but their demand was evaded ; they had requested the aid of France against England ; it was not only re- fused, but an advice added, recom- mending the regent to conclude a peace with that country upon the first occa- sion which offered; nay, not content with this startling dereliction of those principles upon the permanence of which Albany had too securely rested, the French monarch refused to ratify the alliance between France and Scot- land, which had been renewed by his ambassador Duplanis and the Scottish council of regency within a year after the death of James the Fourth. We are not to wonder that such conduct increased, in no small degree, the difficulties which already embar- rassed the regent. His conduct in his high office had been marked by ability and disinterestedness. He had main- tained the independence of Scotland by resisting the rude dictation of Henry ; but he shewed every desire to cultivate peace with England upon a fair basis : he had punished, with a severity to which he was compelled by their frequent repetition, the treasons of Home, and the excesses of the Borders; he had shewn the utmost anxiety to recall the queen-mother to her country and her duties, provided such an event could be accomplished without endangering the safety of the young monarch ; and the confidence in S10 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. his administration which, was expressed by parliament, had given a decided re- futation to the injurious attacks of his enemies. But these enemies were still powerful : the money of England and the intrigues of Dacre continued to seduce many venal persons amongst the Scottish nobles : their vassals were encouraged to weaken the government by spoliations, private feuds, and every species of unlicensed oppression; whilst every attempt to introduce jnto the great body of the aristocracy a princi- ple of cordial union, which might at once secure the integrity of the coun- try and promote their own interests, was broken by the selfishness and ra- pacity of their leaders. Under such disheartening circumstances, the regent had looked to the support of France, as a counterpoise to the concealed at- tacks of England ; but this was now about to be withdrawn ; 1 and in the parliament which assembled in Novem- ber 1516, to deliberate upon the com- munication of the French ambassador, Albany, with much earnestness, re- quested permission of the three estates to revisit France for a short period. From all who were interested in the welfare of the country, this proposal met with a vigorous opposition. They contended, and with plausibility, that the absence of the governor would be .the signal for the return of the anar- chy and confusion which had preceded his arrival, and that, having accepted the regency under an act of the three estates which declared him the nearest heir to the throne, it was his duty .to remain in the country, to share the labour and responsibility of that sta- tion : they hinted that, should he now leave Scotland, his return to the office of regent could not, and perhaps ought not to be guaranteed to him ; and they anticipated the renunciation of the al- liance with France, and the certain triumph of the English faction. 2 In such predictions there was much wis- dom ; yet Albany, who was intent on revisiting his foreign estates, a pro- ceeding to which he was invited by a J Epistolse Repr. Scot. vol. i. pp. 243, 248. s Calijr. b. vi. 138. " Clarencieux." to "My i Lord Cardinal; dated Alnwick," 3J6fcNov. [Chap. YII. private message brought by La Fay- ette from the French king, at length extorted an unwilling consent from the parliament. His leave of ab- sence, however, extended only to four months, and in this interval the ma- nagement of the government was in- trusted to a council of regency, con- sisting of the prelates of St Andrews and Glasgow, with the Earls of Hunt- ly, Argyle, Angus, and Arran. The young king was brought to Edinburgh castle, and intrusted to the keeping of Lord Erskine and the Earl Marshal. Prior to his departure, the Bishop of Dunkeld, and Panter, the secretary, were despatched on an embassy to the French court; and he himself, eager to revisit the land which was endeared to him by all the recollections of his former life, embarked at Dumbarton on the 7th of June. 3 Some time before this it had been arranged in parliament that the queen- mother should be permitted to revisit Scotland, under the condition that she should abstain from all interference with the authority of Albany-; and this princess, whose intrigues and am- bition had occasioned so much distress to the country, the moment she heard of the arrival of the governor in France, set out for the Scottish capital, ac- companied by a slender train, more befitting her misfortunes than her rank. At Lamberton Kirk, the same familiar spot where, fourteen years be- v fore, she had been received by the J Scottish nobles, the blooming bride j of her sovereign, she was met by An- gus, Morton, and De la Bastie ; but on her arrival in Edinburgh was not per- mitted to visit her son the king. It was soon after understood that the plague had made its appearance in the capital, and his guardians took the precaution of removing the young mo- narch to Craigmillar, where, relaxing in their rigrmrpliis mother was Jn- dulged with occasional interviews ; but a report having arisen that a secret project had been formed for his being carried into England, (an attempt which the former conduct of the queen rendered it exceedingly likely * Lesley, p. 109. Caligula, b. vi. 107. 1517.] JA1V would be repeated,) it was thought proper once more to restore him to the security of his original residence. 1 To insure, if possible, the contin- uance of quiet to the country during his absence, Albany had carried along with him, as hostages, the eldest sons of many of the noblest families, whilst he had committed the principal com- mand upon the Borders, at all times the most distracted and lawless por- tion of the country, to the chivalrous and polished De la Bastie, whose tal- ents in the field and in the cabinet were still higher than his accomplish- ments in the lists. The title of lieu- tenant, or deputy of the governor, was likewise conferred on him, and he was intrusted with the invidious and deli- cate task of transmitting to the absent regent reports upon the conduct of the Scottish Border chiefs. The friends and vassals of the Earl of Home, men familiar with blood, and who esteemed revenge a sacred duty, had never for- given Albany the execution of this powerful and popular rebel, and they now determined, the moment an occa- sion offered, that De la Bastie, the deputy of the governor, should suffer for the crime of his master. Nor was this opportunity long of occurring : keeping his state as warden in the for- tress of Dunbar, La Bastie exerted himself with indefatigable diligence in repressing disorder. On the first intelligence of any commotion he was instantly in person on the spot; and it was out of this fearless activity that his enemies contrived his ruin. A plot to entrap him was laid by Home of Wedderburn, and other Border chiefs; and, to draw their unsuspect- ing victim into it, they pretended to besiege the tower of Langton. 2 On receiving intelligence of this outrage, De la Bastie, with some French knights in his train, galloped towards the scene of commotion, and ere he was aware i Lesley, Hist. p. 109. * I have heard that there is a curious MS. history of the family of Wedderburn, at Wed- derburn House, which gives some minute and interesting particulars regarding the murder of De la Bastie. He was slain by John and Patrick Home, younger brothers of the Laird of WedderbUffn. SS V. 3u found himself surrounded by the un- relenting Borderers. Conscious of the cruel fate which awaited him, he pushed his horse to speed, and, from the extraordinary fleetness of the ani- mal, had nearly escaped, when his ig- norance of the country unfortunately led him into a marsh. Every effort entangled him more deeply ; it was in vain that he struggled to extricate himself — in vain that he besought his merciless pursuers, as they valued their honour as knights, to spare his life and accept his submission : the only reply was, insult and mockery ; and, throw- ing themselves upon him, he was cruelly murdered. The ferocious Lord of Wedderburn, exulting in the com- plete though tardy vengeance, cut off his head, tied it by its long and plaited tresses to his saddlebow, and, gallop- ing into the town of Dunse, affixed the ghastly trophy on the market-cross. He then threw himself into his castle, where for a season he defied the utmost efforts of the laws. 3 The death of La Bastie was a serioua blow to the maintenance of the autho- rity of Albany ; but, although unable instantly to arrest the perpetrators, the regents exerted themselves with considerable vigour. It was suspected that Angus, or at least his brother, Sir George Douglas, had been involved in the guilt of the Homes ; and on this ground Arran, the next in power amongst the nobles, was appointed warden of the marches. Without de- lay he seized Douglas and his accom- plice, Mark Ker : measures also were taken for the trial of the Homes, whose escape might have produced the worst consequences; and a parliament hav- ing assembled at Edinburgh on the 19th of February, sentence of forfeit- ure was passed against all concerned in the assassination of La Bastie. Th& more difficult task remained in the apprehension of the culprits ; but Ar- ran having assembled a powerful force, accompanied by the king's artillery, an arm of war which the nation owed to the late monarch, marched against the insurgents. Ere he had advanced many miles, however, the rebels be- I » Lesley, p. 110. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 170. B12 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Bought his mercy. The keys of the castle of Home were delivered to him at Lauder, the fortified houses of Lang-, ton and Wedderburn thrown open, and the warden, with perhaps too great a leniency, extended even to the princi- pal murderers a pardon. The four months' absence permitted by the parliament to Albany had now expired : but they had been passed in such unquietness, and the collision of opposite factions had so much in- creased, that he preferred the security and comfort of France to the precari- ous and thankless power of the re- gency, and wrote earnestly to the queen-mother, recommending her, if she could obtain the concurrence of the nobles, to resume her former sta- tion as hea4 of the government. 1 But Margaret, with female weakness, in- sisted that her husband, Angus, to whom she had been lately reconciled, should be nominated regent ; a pro- posal which the Earl of Arran, and the whole body of the Scottish nobles who had experienced his insolence and weakness; resolutely opposed. The chief power, therefore, continued in the hands of the regency, and a re- newal of the truce with England 2 gave some leisure to attend to the healing of the wounds which still deeply rankled in the country. Of these one of the chief was to be found in the condition of the Isles, where the rude inhabitants had lately sig- nalised themseives by unusual violence and disorder. Under the latter years of the reign of James the Fourth, these districts had been unusually tranquil. It had not been the sole policy of that monarch to overawe the seditious by the severity of his measures : he had endeavoured to humanise them by education, and to introduce a know- ledge of the laws, and a respect for their sanctions ; not through the sus- pected medium of Lowlanders, but by supporting Highland scholars at the universities, and afterwards encourag- ing them to reside permanently within the bounds of the Isles. It was as an 1 Caligula, b. i. p. 247. Margaret to Lord Dacre, Lithgow, 13th October. 3 Rymer, Fuedera, vol. xiii. p. 599, [Chap. VII additional means fcr the accomplish- ment of this enlightened purpose that this monarch was ever anxious to get into his power the sons of the High- land chiefs, whom he educated at court ; hoping thus to attach them to his service, and to employ them after- wards as useful instruments in the civilisation of their country. With this view he had secured, in some of his northern expeditions, the youthful sons of Sir Alexander Macdonald of Lochalsh ; 3 and the eldest of these be- came a favourite of the monarch. He restored part of his paternal estate, conferred on him the distinction of knighthood, and permitted him fre- quently to visit the Isles. 4 Upon the death of this sovereign it was soon dis- covered that these favours had been thrown away, for scarcely had the chieftains escaped from the carnage at Flodden and returned home, when a rebellion was secretly organised, of which the object was to restore the ancient principality of the Isles in the person of Sir Alexander Macdonald of Lochalsh. At the head of this insur- rection was Maclean of Do wart, 5 com- monly called Lauchlan Cattanach, and Macleod of Dunvegan, who seized the castles of Carnelreigh and Dunskaich, and threatened with the extremity of fire and sword all who resisted the au- thority of the new Lord of the Isles. It needed not this fresh source of dis- organisation to weaken the adminis- tration of Albany; and although a commission to put down the insurrec- tion was early given to the Earl of Ar- gyle, and his efforts were seconded by the exertions of Mackenzie of Kintail, Ewen Alanson, and Monro of Foulis, the rebellion against the government spread through Lochaber and western Ross. Many of the most powerful families, especially those of Maclean and Macleod, with the clan Ian Mhor of Isla, persisted in their resolution to establish an independent sovereignty ; •and it was not till after a considerable « An extensive district in Ross-shire. ^ Gregory's Hist, of the West Highlands and Isles, p. 106. He was known in the Highlands by the name of Donald Galda, or Donald the Foreigner. 5 Dowart Castle in MulL 1513-19.] JAMES V. interval of tumult and predatory war- fare that the exertions of Argyle suc- ceeded in reducing the insurgents, who were treated with uncommon leniency. Under assurances of safety, the prin- cipal leaders repaired to court, and the chief of Lochalsh procured for himself and his followers favourable terms of reconciliation. 1 Scarce, however, had he returned to his remote dominions when, owing to a feud which he had long maintained against Maclan of Ardnamurchan, the flames of civil dis- cord were again kindled in the Isles, and the ferocity of private warfare soon assumed the more serious shape of rebellion against the state. Ample powers were again granted to Argyle, as lieutenant-general over the Isles; and Maclean of Dowart, lately the chief supporter of Sir Donald, having pro- cured a remission for all the crimes committed by himself and his adher- ents during the insurrection, not only deserted his cause, but engaged in hos- tilities against him with a violence which declared that nothing but the utter destruction of the " wicked blood of the Isles", would restore tranquillity to the government of his sovereign, or security to the inhabitants of these re- mote districts. There seems reason to believe, however, that the extensive power granted by the council to Ar- gyle and Maclean was more nominal than real; for although broken in his strength, the indefatigable claimant of the throne of the Isles remained un- subdued; and having united his forces to those of the Macleods and Alex- ander of Isla, he was strong enough to attack and entirely defeat his mor- tal enemy Maclan, at Craiganairgid, in Morvern. Maclan himself, with his two sons, were amongst the slain : the ferocious Islanders, who had a heavy arrear of blood to settle with this powerful chief, exulted in the ample vengeance by which he had been overtaken ; and the consequences of this victory might have proved seri- ous had not the rebellion been brought to an unexpected close by the death of Sir Donald of Lochalsh, who left no i Gregory's History of the West Highlands, pp. 114-117. descendants to dispute the claims of the throne to the lordship of the Isles. From this period till the assumption of the supreme power by James the Fifth, the principality of the Isles remained in comparative tranquillity, owing prin- cipally to the exertions of the Earl of Argyle, whose activity and loyalty are, perhaps, to be traced as much to his ambition of family aggrandisement, as to any higher patriotic motive. Although tranquillity was thus re- stored in these remote districts, the country continued disturbed. Much, of the disorder was to be traced to the violence and ambition of Angus, whose feudal ' power was too great for a sub- ject, and whose disappointment in being refused the regency, delighted to vent itself in an open defiance of the laws. For a while his reconcilia- tion with the queen, to whom, as the mother of their sovereign, the nation still looked with affection, imparted a weight to his faction, which rendered him a formidable opponent to the re- gency ; but the fickleness of his attach- ment, his propensity to low pleasures, and the discovery of a mistress whom he had carried off from her friends and secluded in Douglasdale, once more re- kindled the resentment of the proud princess whom he had deserted, and an open rupture took place. She as- sumed a high tone, violently upbraided him for his inconstancy, reminded him that with misplaced affection she had^ even pawned her jewels to support J him in his difficulties, and concluded by expressing her determination to v , sue for a divorce. 2 As soon as this resolution, in which the queen was supported by the most powerful of the nobles, became known in England, Henry, who foresaw in its being carried into effect a deathblow to his influence in Scotland, opposed it with his characteristic impetuosity. He despatched Chats worth, a friar who filled the office of minister-gene- ral of the Observantines in England, with letters to his sister, and enjoined him at the same time to remonstrate against the divorce, — a commission 2 Caligula, b. i. 2T6. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 31* HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. which he fulfilled with much violence, declaring that the measure was illegal, that she was labouring under some damnable delusion ; and insinuating, in no measured terms, that a strict ex- amination of her own conduct might provoke from Angus a counter-charge of adultery. It is easy to see in all this a proof that Henry considered Angus as the head of the English fac- tion, and that the queen, with the principal nobles, Arran, Argyle, Len- nox, Fleming, and Maxwell, had be- come aware of the importance of a more cordial union against the intrigue and domination of England. Such, however, was the effect of this remon- strance, that Margaret, if not convinced, was intimidated; and, against the ad- vice of her councillors, a reconciliation took place between her and Angus, which was as insincere as it was pre- cipitate. 1 From these domestic dissensions the attention of the regency was drawn to ^ mission from Christiern the Second, the Danish king, who earnestly peti- tioned from his Scottish allies a sub- sidy of a thousand Highland soldiers, 2 to assist him in his Norwegian wars. With more wisdom, however, than their late regent, the three estates eluded the request, on the ground that, from the uncertain dispositions of Eng- land, they could reckon little on the continuance of peace at home, and that the internal state of their own country could not at present spare its defenders. A few years after this, however, the reiterated requests of the Danish mo- narch were met by the grant of a small body of troops, under the com- mand of Stewart of Ardgowan, 3 but the tyranny of Christiern, and the piracies of the Danish privateers upon the fleets of their merchantmen, effec- tually cooled the zeal of their allies, and no further auxiliaries appear to have left the country to the assistance of the unpopular monarch. On his return to France, Albany i Caligula, b. ii. 333. Dacre to Wolsev, Hnrbottle, 22d Oct. Caligula, b. vi. 194. Chatsworth to the Queen. - " Mille Silvestres Scotos." E^stolae Regum Scot. vol. i. p 302. » Ibid. vol. i. pp. 317, 318. carried with him an authority from the parliament to superintend the fo- reign affairs of Scotland; and it is to his credit that, in the disposal of bene- fices, at that period one of the most lucrative sources of peculation, his ap- plications to the Pope were, without exception, in favour of natives, — a cir- cumstance which affords a satisfactory answer to the accusations which his enemies have brought against him of a blamable love of money, and a want of national feeling. The continued' change in the- policy of the French king now caused the renewal of the peace with England ; and Francis hav- ing included his allies, the Scots, in the treaty, 4 provided they agreed to its terms, La Fayette and Cordelle ar- rived as ambassadors in England, from whence, in company of Clarencieux herald, they proceeded into* Scotland. It was now found that without a par- liament the powers of the council of regency were insufficient to conclude this transaction ; and the three estates having assembled, the French ambas- sador intimated, in no unequivocal terms, that if this treaty were rejected, in which his master considered the prosperity of his kingdom to be in- volved, his northern ' allies must no longer' look for the support of France, — a consideration of such weight that it was not judged prudent to delay its acceptance ; 5 and the prolongation of the truce between England and Scot- land, to the 30th November 1520, was proclaimed at Stirling in presence of the regents and the French and Eng- lish ambassadors. To these wise proceedings the only opposition which was offered came from the Earl of Angus. As this haughty noble, whose great estates and numerous vassalry rendered him at all times formidable, increased in years, his character, throwing off the excesses of youth, discovered a power and talent for which his opponents were not pre- pared, and his ambition, which had * Rymer, Fcedera, vol. xiii. p. 627. Octo- ber 2, 1518. 6 Margaret to Wolsey, Stirling, 26th Dec. Caligula, b. vi. 270. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 378, gives the substance of the queen's letter, but misdates it Dec 17. 1579-20.] JAM hitherto only given occasional distress, became systematically dangerous to the government. His faction was nume- rous, embracing the Earls of Crawford and Errol, the Lord Glammis, the pre- lates of St Andrews, Aberdeen, Ork- ney, and Dunblane, with many other dignitaries and partisans. On the ar- rival of the French ambassadors at the capital, he had made an ineffectual effort to intrude into the place of Arran, and undertake the management of the treaty ; but this being peremp- torily declined, he intercepted them on their return to England, at the head of a formidable array of his vassals, and rudely upbraided them for their alleged contempt of his authority. 1 In the capital his intrigues amongst the citizens were more successful, and led to sanguinary results. Arran had been chosen provost of Edinburgh, — a situation which was at this period an object of contest amongst the highest nobles, and he confidently looked to his re-election. But on repairing from Dalkeith, where the court was then held, to the metropolis, he found the gates shut against him, and Archibald Douglas, the uncle of Angus, installed in the civic chair. 2 The partisans of the lieutenant-general, the title now given to Arran, attempted to force their entrance, but were repulsed with bloodshed; and Gawin, a carpenter, the friend of Angus, and the principal leader of the tumult, was slain by Sir James Hamilton, commonly called the bastard of Arran. About the same time, Home of Wedderburn, whose wife was the sister of Angus, and whose hands had been recently stained by the blood of De la Bastie, added the guilt of sacrilege to murder by assassinating the Prior of Coldingham, with six of his family, and thus making way for the intrusion of William Douglas, the brother of Angus, who instantly seized the priory. When such were the steps of ecclesiastical promotion, and such the character of the dignitaries who ascended them, we are scarcely to 1 Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. 114. 21 Cali- gula, b. ii. 264. Dacre to Wolsey, 10th Dec. Harbottle. 2 Dacre to Wolsey, 10th Dec. Ibid. ES V. 315 wonder that respect for the hierarchy did not form a feature in the age. But to this censure it must be allowed that there were eminent exceptions; and a remarkable one is to be found in the learned, pious, and venerable Dun- bar, bishop of Aberdeen, who, living himself in primitive simplicity, refused to expend the minutest portion of his revenues upon his personal wants, and entirely devoted them to works of pub- lic utility and extensive charity. 3 Amid much intestine commotion, Arran and the lords of the regency vainly attempted to exercise their pre- carious authority, and it would be fruitless to enumerate the individual excesses which were constantly occur- ring in a country torn by contending factions, and groaning under the mise- ries incident to a feudal minority. But, upon the meeting of a parliament which had been summoned for the healing of these disturbances, a scene occurred which is too characteristic to be omitted. The capital, where the estates were to assemble, had been partially abandoned by the partisans of Angus, who retained as a body- guard only four hundred spearmen ; whilst, in consequence of a recom- mendation transmitted by Albany the late regent, which wisely directed that, for the public peace, no person of the name of Hamilton or Douglas should be chosen provost, Archibald Douglas had resigned that dignity, and Robert Logan had been elected in his place. The party of Angus were thus greatly weakened in the city, and Arran, the governor, mustered in such strength, that his friends, of whom Beaton, the archbishop of Glasgow and chancellor of the kingdom, was the principal, deemed that the opportunity of reduc- ing the overgrown power of Angus was too favourable to be neglected. For the discussion of their designs a coun- cil of the principal leaders was held in the church of the Black Friars, where Gawin Douglas, the celebrated Bishop of Dunkeld, appeared as a peacemaker between the contending factions. Ad- dressing himself to Beaton, the pri- mate, who wore a coat of mail under 3 Lesley, History, p. 112 316 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. bis linen rocquet, he earnestly remon- strated against their intention of ar- resting Angus, and so warmly urged his entreaty, that Beaton, suddenly striking his hand on his breast, de- clared on his conscience that they had no hostile intentions, or at least that he was ignorant of their existence. " Alas, my lord," said Douglas, as the steel plates of Beaton's armour rang to the blow, " I perceive your con- science clatters." The spirited appeal of Douglas, however, had nearly suc- ceeded, and Sir Patrick Hamilton, the brother of the governor, had agreed to become umpire, when Hamilton of Finnart, a man distinguished for his ferocity, upbraided him with coward- ice in declining the combat; and pointed to the spearmen of Angus, who, being joined by a band of Bor- derers, under Home of Wedderburn, had arrayed themselves in a formidable phalanx upon the causeway. It was a reproach which the proud spirit of Hamilton could not bear. " Bastard smaik" 1 said he, " I shall fight this day where thou darest not be seen." Upon which he rushed into the street, followed by a few of his retainers, and threw himself, sword in hand, upon the ranks of the spearmen, whilst Angus pressing forward slew him on .the fepot, and fiercely assaulted his follow- ers, most of whom fell pierced by the long pikes of the Borderers : all for- bearance was now at an end ; and the conflict becoming general, the party of Arran, after a fierce resistance, were entirely routed, the chief himself being chased out of the city, and Beaton compelled to fly for safety behind the high altar of the church of the Domi- nican convent. 2 Even this sanctuary was not enough to screen him from the ferocity of the soldiers, who tore off his rocquet, and would have slain him on the spot, but for the timely interference of his rival prelate, the Bishop of Dunk eld. 1 Smaik, a silly mean fellow. 2 " Considering that th' Erie of Anguisse slew Sir Patrick Hamilton, brother to the said Erie of Arayn (with) his own hand, in- tending also to have killed him if he could." Letter, Wolsey to the Duke of Norfolk. Cali- gula, b. i. 32G, 327. Angus now remained master of the capital, and for some months appears to have ruled its proceedings with a boldness which 'defied the authority of the governor and the restraint of the laws. The heads of Home and his brother, which, since their execu- tion, had remained exposed on the front of the public prison, were re- moved, masses said for their souls, and their obsequies celebrated with great solemnity. 3 A sudden attempt was soon after made to seize the governor and the chancellor, who, with some of their party, had deter- mined to meet at Stirling, but receiv- ing intelligence of their danger, they hastily dispersed; and Angus, whose private affairs required his presence in the extensive district which owned his authority, by retiring thither gave a temporary respite to the coun- try. It was still the interest of Francis the First to cultivate the amity of England. His influence with Wolsey had already procured the restitution of Tournay, and his hopes were high that the more important city of Calais, might, ere long, be restored to France, — a policy which affords a key to his transactions with Scotland. Stuart, lord of Aubigny, and Duplanis were despatched as his ambassadors to that country, and the advice which, by their master's orders, they tendered to the Scottish estates, was strikingly at variance with the former policy of France, and the feelings of a great proportion of the Scottish .nobles. The necessity of maintaining peace with England, the prolongation of the truce, and the evil consequences which would result from the return of Albany, were earnestly insisted .on. It was added that Francis could never con- sent to his leaving France, and once more rekindling, with all their ancient intensity, the flames of internal dis- cord in Scotland, whilst no effort was left untried by the ambassadors to reconcile the differences between the French and English parties, and to re-establish the peace of the coun- 3 Lesley, Hist. p. 116. Lindsay, Hist. pp» 120, 111. Buchanan, xiv. 12. 1520-1.] JAM try. 1 To effect this, however, exceeded the "skill of these French diplomatists. The hatred of the queen-dowager to her husband Angus, was now too deep to admit even the semblance of a re- conciliation ; her temper, which par- took of her brother's violence, resented his imperious mandates ; and as Dacre and Wolsey, who regarded Angus as the pillar of the English interest, be- gan to treat her with coldness, Mar- garet, not unnaturally, was induced to look to France, in whose policy towards England a very sudden revolution now took place, in consequence of the elec- tion of Charles the Fifth to the im- perial throne. The political treachery of Wolsey, whose personal ambition had beoome incompatible with the continuance of his devotion to Francis, is well known to the student of Euro- pean history ; and one of its immediate effects was the reconciliation of Albany and the queen-dowager, who, by a letter under her own hand, entreated his return to Scotland, 2 anticipating, by a union of their parties, the com- plete submission of the kingdom to their authority. It was even rumoured that Albany had employed his interest at the Papal court to procure the queen's divorce from Angus, with the design of offering her his hand ; whilst a still more ridiculous report was cir- culated, of which it is difficult to trace the origin, that the young king had been conveyed to England, and that the boy to whom royal honours were then paid in Stirling was a plebeian child, which had been substituted in his place. In the meantime, Angus, whose nomination as one of the regents gave him a title to interfere in the govern- ment, effectually counteracted ' the superior authority of Arran; and, strong in his partisans and vassals, he gained a weight in the councils of go- vernment, which was maintained with much arrogance. All things, there- fore, seemed to urge upon the queen's party the necessity of immediate action; and as the open accession of 1 Caligula, b. vi. 140. Instructions a Moar. Robert Estuard, Seigneur d'Aubigny. 2 Caligula, b. ii. 125. Margaret to Dacre. SS V. 517 Henry the Eighth to the interests of the emperor, by dissolving the ties between that monarch and the French king, had removed every impediment to the departure of Albany, this noble- man set sail from France, and arrived in Scotland on the 19th of November, disembarking from the Gareloch in Lennox ; from thence he proceeded to Stirling, 3 where he was immediately joined by the queen, and welcomed by that princess, whose affections were as violent as her resentments, with an indiscreet familiarity, which gave rise to reports injurious to her honour. Lord Dacre, in a letter to his sovereign, represents her as closeted with Albany, not only during the day, but the greater part of the night, and careless of all appearances; whilst he refers his majesty to the Bishop of Dunkeld, then at the English court, for a con- firmation of the intimacy which existed between them. 4 Whatever truth we are to attach to these accusations, to which the character of the queen gives some countenance, the immedi- ate effects of Albany's arrival were highly important. It was an event which reunited the discordant fac- tions, and gave the promise of some- thing like a settled government. The nobility crowded to the palace to wel- come his arrival, and he soon after entered the capital, accompanied by the queen and the chancellor, and with such a show of strength, that Xhe party of Angus precipitately deserted the city ; he then proceeded to the castle, where he was admitted to an interview with the young king, on which occasion the captain delivered the keys of the fortress into his hands ; these, the regent with much devotion, laid at the feet of the queen-dowager, and she again presented them to Albany, intimating, that she con- sidered him the person to whose tried fidelity the custody of the monarch ought to be intrusted. 6 Albany, thus once more reinstated, s Caligula, b. vi. 204, dorso. Instructions and Commission for my Lord of Dunkeld. * Caligula, b. vL 204, 205, dorso. * Instructions. Angus to Dunkeld. Cali- gula, b. vi. 201. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 188. 318 ' HISTORY OF after an interval of five years, in the precarious honour of the regency, summoned a parliament to meet within a short period at Edinburgh, and fulminated a citation against the Douglases to appear in that assembly, and reply to the weighty charges to be brought against them; but although determined to put down with a firm hand these enemies of the state, the regent was anxious for peace with England. The principles of his go- vernment, of which the venality of the Scottish nobles, and the intrigues of Dacre, the minister of Henry, alone 'prevented the development, were, to maintain the ancient independence of Scotland, and, whilst he dismissed all dreams of conquest or glory, to resist that • secret influence, by which the English monarch, for his own ambitious designs, sought to govern a kingdom, in whose administration he had no title to interfere. The means by which he sought to accomplish these ends were, to reunite the discordant elements of the Scottish aristocracy, co persuade the queen-mother that her interest and those of her son the king were one and the same, and to open immediately a diplomatic correspon- dence with England, in which he crusted to convince that power of the uprightness and sincerity of his inten- tions. But the difficulties which presented themselves, even on the threshold of his schemes, were great. Dacre, one of the most crafty diplomatists in the political school of Henry the Eighth, had no intentions of renouncing the hold he had so long maintained for his master over the Scottish affairs ; he reckoned with confidence on the im- petuous temper and capricious affec- tions of the queen -dowager, he was familiar with the venality of the nobles, and he knew that the means he pos- sessed of disturbing the government were many and powerful. 1 He there- i In a letter from Wolsey to Henry, Novem- ber 1521, the secret and insidious policy ol Henry towards Scotland is strikingly laid down. ' 'Nevertheless, to cause him notonly to take a more vigilant eye to the demeanour of- the Scots, as well within Scotland as without, and to be more diligent, hereafter, in writing SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII. fore entered into a correspondence with Albany and the queen, with con- fident anticipations of success ; but for the moment he was disappointed ; he had not reckoned on the strength of their united parties, and, baffled in his efforts, his anger vented itself in accusations of the grossest and darkest nature against the governor. In the letters addressed to his royal master and to Wolsey, he represented the re- gent's intimacy with the queen as scandalous and adulterous; it was re- ported, he said, that they had endea- voured, by a high bribe, and in con- templation of their* marriage, to induce Angus to consent to a divorce; that Albany evidently looked to the throne ; and that some men did not scruple to affirm that the life of the young mon- arch was in danger. It may be con- jectured that, although Dacre repeats these as the rumours which had be- gun to circulate amongst the people, he was himself the principal author from whom they emanated. Such were the secret practices by which this busy political agent, and the creatures whom, on another occa- sion, he mentions as being in his pay, endeavoured to bring into disrepute the government of Albany; but for the present they were too gross to be successful. The only portion of truth which was to be found in them related probably to the governor's intrigue with the queen, which the licentious manners of the timef, and the well- know gallantries of that princess, ren- dered by no means an improbable event. That Albany had any design of marriage, that he was ambitious of the royal power, or that he contem- plated the atrocious crime by which he must have ascended the throne, are calumnies refuted by the whole tenor of his former and subsequent life. to your grace and me, but also favourably to entertain the Homes and other rebels, after his accustumable manner, so that they may continue the divisions and sedition in Scot- land, whereby the said Duke of Albany may, at his coming hither, be put in danger ; and though some money be employed for the en- tertainment of the said Homes and rebels, it will quit the cost at length " — State Papers, published by Government, p. CI. 1521-2.] JAMES The best practical answer, indeed, to these imputations was the success and popularity of his government. Angus, whose power had been too in- tolerable for the council of regency, with his adherents, Home and Somer* ville, were compelled to fly for secu* rity to the kirk of Steyle, a retreat whose obscurity denotes the contempt into which they had fallen. From this place they engaged in a negotia- tion with Henry, which was managed by the celebrated Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, a keen and unscrupulous partisan of his nephew Angus. 1 This prelate was empowered to visit Dacre on his journey to England, and after- wards, in a personal interview with Henry, to explain to that monarch the political state of Scotland, and the al- leged excesses of the regent. These, there is reason to believe, he had every disposition to exaggerate ; and in con- sulting the original papers which he has left, and the diplomatic correspon- dence of Lord Dacre, the historian who is anxious to arrive at the truth, must recollect that he is perusing the tvidence of partisans who were entirely devoted to the English interest, and whose object it was to reduce the country under the complete control of the English monarch. It is, there- fore, with some distrust that we must listen to the accusation brought against the regent of a profligate venality in the disposal of ecclesiastical patronage, when we recollect his different con- duct at a time when his actions could be closely watched, and the tempta- i "The Instructions and Commission for my Lord of Dunkeld to be shewen to the king's grace of England " is a curious docu- ment. It is preserved in the British Museum, [Caligula, b. vi. 204,] and commences with the following startling accusation: — "Item first, ye shall shaw how the Duk of Albany is com to Skotland, and throw his pretended title that he has to the crown, it is presumed, he havand the kepand of the king our soveran lord, your nephew, and the reull of his realme and subjects, [there] is grete suspicion and danger of his person ; wherefore, without hasty assistance, and help of the king's grace ©f England, it is thought to us that our sove- rain lord forsaid stands in gret jeapardie of his life." See also the valuable volume of State Papers published by Government, part i. pp. 17, 18. Wolsey to Henry VIIX. July 152L 319 To Dacre, tion was, perhaps, greater. Albany strongly remonstrated against the infractions of the truce, and the encouragement held out by Henry to those rebellious chiefs in Scotland, who had been cited to answer for their treasons before the great council of the nation; whilst the English warden, withholding from Albany his title of regent, and addressing him simply as one of the council, retorted a com- plaint against the conduct of Lord Maxwell, who had refused to proclaim the peace, and permitted an invasion of the English Borders. There can be no doubt that the accusations on both sides were w r ell founded, as, in these times, from the ferocious habits of the Borderers, nothing could be more dif- ficult than to enforce the observation of a truce ; but the regent, who seems to have been sincere in his desire of peace, promised immediate redress, whilst Dacre, although he recommend- ed his master the king to abstain from any abrupt declaration of war, craftily suggested a plan by which, through pensions granted to the English nor- thern lords on condition of their in- vading the Scottish Borders, he might distress the country even more than by avowed hostilities. 2 He excited the animosity of the English king at the same time by informing him that, to the prejudice of the title of his royal nephew, the regent had assumed the style of majesty ; and he insinu- ated, from some expressions which had been used by the Scottish governor, that his zeal in the office of lord warden might not improbably expose him to attempts against his life. 3 In the meantime the Bishop of Dunkeld proceeded on his secret mission to Henry, and the strength of Albany became so great, that after an ineffec- tual endeavour to abide the tempest which awaited them, Angus and his partisans deemed it prudent to escape into England. It is unfortunate that the principal original records which remain of these troubled times, and from which we must extract the history of the second 2 Caligula, b. vi. 205, 206. * Piakerton, vol. ii. p. 190, 320 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, regency of Albany, are so completely j the composition of partisans, and so ; contradictory of each other, that to arrive at the truth i3 a matter of no ; little difficulty. But in examining the impetuous measures adopted by Henry, I the violent accusations against the | government of Albany which pro- ceeded from Dacre and the Bishop of Dunkeld, and the animated, though partial, defence of his and her own con- duct, which is given by the queen, it is clear, I think, that the views pre- sented of the character of the regent by Pinkerton, and some later writers, are unjust and erroneous. Soon after the flight of Angus, his uncle, the Bishop of Dunkeld, addressed a memorial to the English king, in which he bitterly arraigned the con- duct of the regent, accusing him of reiterated act3 of peculation, and al- leging that his avarice had proceeded so far as to have converted the royal robes and tapestries into dresses for his pages ; the young king, he affirmed, was kept in a state not only of dur- ance, but of want; the fortresses of the kingdom were garrisoned by Frenchmen ; the ecclesiastical bene- fices shamelessly trafficked for gold; and the crown lands dilapidated by a I usurper, who, he maintained, had no ; title to the regency — it having been i expressly declared by the parliament, i that should Albany remain more than j four months in France, he should for- feit that high office. Margaret, on the other hand, despatched an envoy to her brother, to whom she gave full in- structions, written with her own hand, in which she contradicted, in the most pointed terms, the distorted represen- tations of the Bishop of Dunkeld. She described the conduct of the re- gent as respectful and loyal ; he had in nothing interfered, she said, with the custody of the king her son, who, by the permission of the lords whom -he parliament had appointed his guardians, resided with herself in the castle of Edinburgh. She entreated Henry not to listen to the scandal which had been raised against her by a traitorous and unworthy prelate, who had forfeited his bishopric, of [Chap. TIL which the governor had given her the disposal ; and she besought her brother not to imitate, in his present answer, the sternness of a former message, but to give a favourable audience to her envoy, and a friendly construction to her remonstrances. 1 Nothing, however, could be further from the mind of this monarch, who, giving himself up completely to the sel- fish policy of Wolsey,had resolved upon a war both with France and Scotland ; he denounced his sister a3 the para- mour of the governor, declared that' he would listen to no terms until he had expelled this usurper from Scot- land; accused him of having stolen out of France, in defiance of the oath of the French king, which guaranteed his remaining in that country ; he de- spatched Clarencieux herald with a severe reprimand to the queen, and addressed, at the same moment, a message to the Scottish estates, which gave them no choice but the dismis- sal of Albany, or immediate hostilities with England. To this haughty com- munication the Scottish parliament replied with firmness and dignity. They derided the fears expressed by Henry for the safety of his nephew the king, and the honour of his sister, as idle, entreating him to refuse all credit to the report of such Scottish fugitives as abused his confidence ; they reminded him that Albany had been invited by themselves to assume the regency ; that he had .C( >nducted himself in this office with all honour and ability, as clearly appeared by hi3 discovering and defeating the iniquit- ous designs of those traitors who had conspired to seize their youthful king, and transport him out of the realm ; and they declared that, however soli- citous for peace, they would never so far forget themselves or their duty to their sovereign, as to remove that i Caligula, b. vi. 208. 6th January 1521-2. An original in the queen's hand. " And far- ther," says Margaret, "ye shall assure his grace, in my name, oi my lord governor, that his mind is aluterlie to naif peace, and for the weill of this realm e, without ony other thought or regard, and his coming here, is alanarlie to kepe his aith and promise, and for na other causa. And without his coming it had been imDOis.bJl to me to haf bidden in this realme." 1522.] JAMES V. governor whom they had chosen, and once more abandon the commonwealth to those miserable intestine divisions to which it had been exposed during his absence. Here it is our pleasure, said they, that he shall remain, during the minority of our sovereign, nor shall he be permitted or enjoined to depart from this realm, at the request of your grace, or any other sovereign prince whatever. And if, they con- cluded, "for this cause we should happen to be invaded, what may we do but trust that God will espouse our just quarrel, and demean ourselves as our ancestors have done before us, who,'in ancient times, were constreyned to fight for the conservation of this realm, and that with good success and honour. ,, 1 Meanwhile, Angus, a fugitive on the English Borders, yet little trusted by Henry, grew impatient of his obscurity and inaction ; and although still unre- conciled to his wife, so far prevailed on her latent affection, as to induce her to intercede on his behalf with Albany, who, on the condition that he and his brother, George DouglaSj should retire into a voluntary exile, consented that the process of treason and for- feiture should not be carried into exe- cution against him. He accordingly passed into France, where he appears to have devoted himself to such stu- dies as rendered him, on his return, a more formidable opponent than he had ever yet been. 2 Whilst the estates replied in this spirited manner to the proposal of Henry, neither they nor the governor could shut their eyes to the injurious consequences of a war with England. Repose and good government were the only means by which their coun- try, worn out by long intestine com- motions, could revive ; they were, in- deed, once more the allies of France, and the French monarch, against whom the emperor and Henry had now de- clared war, was anxious by every method to employ their arms in his favour ; but their eyes were now open to the sudden changes which , were 1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. xiii. pp. 761, 763. * Lesley, p. 117. Pinkerton, voL ii. p. 201. VOL.IL 321 perpetually taking place in European politics, and they had not forgotten the facility with which, on a late occa- sion, Francis had abandoned their in- terests when they became incompatible with his own views of ambition. It was determined, therefore, to assemble an army, but to act on the defensive, and to make the best provision for the preservation of peace, by assuming the attitude of war. To these calm and wise counsels, the: violent conduct of Henry offered a striking contrast. He published a sen- tence* of confiscation and banishment against all French and Scottish sub- jects who were resident in England, and insisted that the Scots should be driven from his dominions on foot, with a white cross affixed to their upper garments. He commanded the Earl of Shrewsbury to raise the power of the northern counties; and this leader, suddenly penetrating as far as Kelso, gave that beautiful district to the flames, but was repulsed with con- siderable loss, by the Borderers of Merse and Teviotdale. About the same time an English squadron ap- peared in the Forth, and, after ravag- ing the coast, returned without oppo> sition to the Thames, — a proof that, during this calamitous minority, the naval enterprise of the Scots had de- clined. It was impossible, however, that these outrages, which might be only preludes to more serious hostili- ties, could be overlooked; and Al- bany having assembled a parliament at Edinburgh, it was resolved that war should be instantly declared against England. The young king, now in his eleventh year, was removed from the capital to Stirling castle, Lord Erskine, a peer of tried fidelity, being appointed his sole governor; and letters were issued for the array of the whole feudal force of the king- dom. At this moment, whether in- duced by the promises of Dacre, or actuated by that capricious mutability in her affection, which Margaret seems to have possessed in common with her brother Henry, the queen suddenly cooled in her attachment to the inter- ests of the regent, and betrayed the x 322 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. whole secrets of his policy to the Eng- lish warden; becoming an earnest ad- vocate for peace, and intriguing with the chiefs and nobles to support her views. It was now the period which had been appointed for the muster of the Scottish host, and Albany, at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army, eighty thousand strong, and with a formidable train of artillery, advanced towards the English Bor- ders, and encamped at Annan. Neither party, however, were sincere or earnest in their desire of war. Henry wished to avoid it, from his anxiety to con- centrate his undivided strength against France; the Scottish governor, from a conviction that a war of aggression, although favourable to the interests of Francis, was an idle expenditure of the public strength and the public money. On commencing hostilities, therefore, both belligerents appear to have mutu- ally intimated the condition on which they considered that the war might be speedily concluded. Henry had so far altered his tone as io insist simply on the stipulation that the King of Scots should be placed in the hands of faithful guardians, without adding a word regarding the necessity of Al- bany's departure from the realm ; whilst the regent declared that he was ready to stay the march of his army, under the single condition that France should be included in the treaty to be negotiated by the belligerents. The Scottish force, however, advanced to Carlisle ; and as the flower of the Eng- lish army was with their sovereign in France, a universal panic seized the northern counties, which seems to have communicated itself to the de- sponding despatches of Wolsey; but Dacre, who knew from the queen- dowager the aversion of the leaders to the war, and the pacific desires of the regent, immediately opened a corre- spondence with the governor, and, by a course of able negotiations, suc- ceeded in prevailing upon him to agree to an abstinence of hostilities for a month, for the purpose of sending am- bassadors into England. He then dis- banded his army, without striking any [Chap. VII. blow of consequence. 1 It has been the fashion of the Scottish historians to arraign the conduct of Albany on this occasion, as singularly pusillani- 1 mous and inglorious ; but a little re- flection will convince us that the accusation is unfounded. It had been the advice of Bruce, a master in the art of Scottish war, from whose judg- ment few will be ready to appeal, that, in maintaining their independence, the Scots should abstain from any length- ened or protracted expedition against England ; that they should content themselves with harassing the enemy by light predatory inroads, and never risk a pitched battle, which, consider- ing the inferior resources of the coun- try, might, even in the event of a vic- tory, be ultimately fatal. By this coun- sel the regent was now wisely guided; and it ought not to be forgotten that the obstinate neglect of it, in opposi- tion to the remonstrances of some of James's ablest commanders, had brought on the defeat of Flodden, and the subsequent calamities of the coun- try. Dacre and Shrewsbury were in- deed unprepared to meet the Scots with a force at all equal to that which they led against him ; and had they been combating, as in the days of Bruce, for their national existence, it might have been a question, whether they ought not to have taken advan- tage of the opportunity, by wasting the country, in a rapid inroad; but now the circumstances were entirely changed. Albany, the queen, and the Scottish nobles, were all equally de- sirous of peace. Aware of the folly of sacrificing their country to the ambi- tion of France, the peers had declared to Dacre, that " for no love, favour, or fair promises of the French king, would they in any wise attempt war against England, or invade that coun- try : 2 nothing but Henry's command that they should dismiss the regent from the country, and submit to his dictation, having compelled them to 1 Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. 123. State Papers, p. 107. Wolsey to Henry the Eighth. 2 Caligula, 0. vi. 256, dorse, Instructions by the king's highness to Clareneieux king at-arms. 1522-3.] JAM] take arms/' From this demand he now departed. Dacre, in an altered tone, only stipulated that measures should be taken for the security of the young king ; he promised an im- mediate truce, and to stay the advance of the English army ; to command a cessation of all hostilities on the Bor- ders, and to procure a safe conduct for the Scottish ambassadors to the court of England. It would have been unwise to have sacrificed such favour- able terms to any idle ambition of conquest or invasion ; and the writers who have accused the regent, on this occasion, of weakness and infatuation, must have given an imperfect examin- ation to the peculiar and trying cir- cumstances in which he was placed : whilst it appears, however, that the conduct of Albany was undeserving the severity of the censure with which it has been visited, it is not to be denied that Lord Dacre acted through- out with great political ability. I have digressed thus far in examining the conduct of the regent, because our more ancient historians have attributed the sudden peace to dissensions in the Scottish host, whilst Pinkerton, and those who have followed his steps, trace it solely to the pusillanimity of Albany, both opinions being founded, as it appears to me, on erroneous grounds. * On the dismissal of his army, Al- bany returned to the capital, and re- sumed the anxious labours of his regency : the queen, at the same time, with characteristic caprice, continued her private correspondence with Dacre, betraying the secrets of the governor, and thus enabling him to defeat his measures by sowing dissensions amongst the nobles ; whilst the nego- tiations for continuance of the truce were brought to an abrupt termination by Henry's decided refusal to include France within its provisions. Nothing, indeed, could be more irksome or com- plicated than the duties which on every side pressed upon the governor. His engagements to France prompted him to hostilities with England; his own opinion, and his attachment to his nephew the king, convinced him that CS V. 323 peace wag to be preferred, for the best interests of the kingdom committed to his care : he had none beside him upon whom he could place implicit reliance in the discussion of state affairs, or the execution of his designs. Many of the nobles were corrupted by the money of England : if he attempted •to punish or detect them, they re- belled ; if he shut his eyes to their excesses, his indulgence was inter- preted into weakness ; and the queen- dowager, by the junction of whose party with his own he had so lately succeeded in putting his enemies to a precipitate flight, was not to be trusted for a moment. It was, perhaps, the difficulties of his situation, and the impossibility of reconciling these various parties and interests, which now induced him to meditate a visit to France for the purpose of a conference with Francis the First, in which he was no doubt solicitous to vindicate what must have appeared to that monarch the culpa- bility of his late inaction. About the same time the Earl of Shrewsbury, whose age incapacitated him for the activity of a military command, was removed, and Surrey, a nobleman of great vigour and ability, appointed chief warden of the Borders ; whilst the Marquis of Dorset, and the expe- rienced Dacre, acted under him as wardens of the east and.west marches. 1 The governor now appointed a council of regency, which consisted of the Archbishop of Glasgow, chancellor, with the Earls of Huntly, Arran, and Argyle, to whom he added Gresolles, a French knight, much in his con- fidence ; he bound them by oath to attempt nothing which should weaken his authority f and promising to re- turn within ten months, under the penalty of forfeiting his regency, he sailed for France, where he was re- ceived by the king with much respect and kindness. i Lesley, p. 123. a Caligula, b. ii. 327. Dacre to Wolsey. "The same lordes are bodely sworne, and ob- lisshed to do nothing contrary to the said Luke's office of tutory unto his retourne."— * | 31st October 1522, at Harbottle. 324 During his absence, the war, not- withstanding the assurances of Dacre, and the promises of Henry to preserve peace, continued to rage with undi- minished violence on the Borders. The conduct of the English monarch, indeed, must have appeared intolerable to every one who contrasted it with his hollow professions of love to the person and government of his nephew. 1 Dorset, the warden of the east marches, with Sir William Bulmer, and Sir Anthony Darcy, made an incursion into Teviotdale, and sweeping through the country, left its villages in flames, and robbed it of its agricultural wealth. Surrey, who commanded a force of ten thousand men, broke in- to the Merse, reduced its places of strength, and afterwards assaulted Jedburgh, which he burnt to the ground, destroying, with sacrilegious barbarity, its ancient and beautiful monastery : Dacre reduced the castle of Fernyhirst, took prisoner the cele- brated Dand Ker, a Border chief of great military skill, and afterwards led his host against Kelso, which, with the adjacent villages, he entirely sacked and depopulated. Yet Henry had but lately declared, by Clarencieux, whom, on the retirement of Albany, he had despatched into Scotland, that he con- sidered the war unnatural, and was earnestly desirous to live at peace with his royal nephew. It was scarcely to be expected that the intimation of such violent' pro- ceedings should not have incensed Al- bany ; and, although out of the king- dom, and aware of the difficulty of persuading its divided nobility to any union, he determined to make a last effort to repel the insult offered to his government, and save the kingdom from being alternately wasted as a rebellious district, or administered as i Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 212. State Papers, p. 115. " Wherefore, my lords, the king's highness, my sovereign lord, bering tender zele to the good of peax, and specially with his derest nephew, and the Queen of Skot- land hath sent me to know whether ye per- sever and continew in your vertuous intente and mynde towards the eutablissment of good peax betwix both the realms." Instructions to Clarencieux, an original corrected by the cardinal. Caligula, b. vi. 254. Ibid. 261. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VII a province of England. 2 To this he was the more inclined, as the extreme cruelty with which the country had been wasted, had, for the moment, roused the resentment of the nobles ; and anxious to profit by these feelings, the governor returned to Scotland with a fleet of eighty-seven small vessels and a force of four thousand foot, to which were added five hundred men- at-arms, a thousand hagbutteers, six hundred horse, of which one hundred were barbed, and a fine park of artil- lery. 3 It was reported he was to be followed by an illustrious pretender to the crown of England, Richard de la Pole. His claim as a descendant of a sister of Edward the Fourth, had been supported by Francis the First, and it was now, with the object of dis- turbing the government of England, espoused by Albany. 4 On his arrival, the condition in which the regent found his affairs was far from encouraging. His former ally, the queen-dowager, had com- pletely embraced the English interest, and was eagerly engaged in a negotia- tion with Dacre and Surrey, which threatened to change the whole aspect of affairs. It was proposed, with the object of flattering the princess, that her son, the young king, should solemnly assume the supreme power, whilst she, at the' head of a council, should conduct the government ; and the correspondence upon this subject, although at this moment not con- ducted to a favourable termination, was not long after resumed with com- plete success. When Albany looked to the nobles, he discovered that, al- though willing to assemble an army for the defence of the Borders, they were totally averse to an invasion upon a great scale, or to a war of continued aggression, in which they argued that, for the sole object of obliging France, they could gain nothing, and might hazard all ; whilst, on turning to Sur- 2 Letter of Wolsey to Sampson and Jer- ningham, 31st August 1523, in App. ta Fiddes' Life of Wolsey, p. 137. s Caligula, b. iii. 58. Copy of the Lord Ogle's letter. 4 Carte, vol. iii. p. 55 State Papers, 122- 125. 1523.] JAM r ey, the English commander, he found him with peace, indeed, upon his lips, yet, by his whole conduct, shew- ing a determination for immediate war. "We know, by a letter of this stern leader to Wolsey, that he had resolved to conduct such an invasion as should lay waste the Scottish Border to the breadth of twelve miles, and reduce it for ever after to the state of an uninhabited desert. 1 To these difficulties, which pressed him on every side, must be added the circumstance that the regent had little experience in the peculiar sys- tem of Scottish war, but had been trained in the military school of Italy ; and that any designs which he at- tempted to form for the conduct of the campaign, were communicated to Surrey by the queen, whose conduct had made her contemptible in the eyes of both parties. With such com- plicated embarrassments, ultimate suc- cess could scarcely be expected; but, for the moment, Albany, whose cof- fers had been recently filled, and were Jiberally opened, found the venality of the Scottish nobles a sure ground to work upon ; and even the queen, who at first had thoughts of retreat- ing to England, was so dazzled by his presents, .and won by his courtesies, that her allegiance to that country be- gan to waver ; nor did she scruple to inform the Earl of Surrey that Henry must remit more money, else she might be induced to join the French interest. 2 It was of material consequence to the regent that hostilities should in- stantly commence, as the foreign auxi- liaries were maintained at a great ex- pense, and the dispositions of the no- bility were not to be trusted for any length of time. A parliament was as- sembled without delay; a proclama- tion issued for an array of the whole force of the kingdom on the 20th of October; whilst Albany, surrounded by the principal nobles, made an im- posing display of his foreign troops, 1 Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 217. Caligula, b. vi. 318-320. 2 Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 223. Caligula, b. vL 380. The Queen of Scots to Surrey. ES V. 325 exercised his park of artillery, ha- rangued the peers upon the still un- avenged defeat of Flodden, and joy- fully received their assurances of at- tachment to his service, many falling on their knees, and with earnest pro- testations, declaring their readiness to obey his orders. 3 Nothing, however, was further from their intention ; their secret determination, as the result soon shewed, was to decline a battle and not advance a step into England ; whilst these hollow professions were merely used to secure the pensions which they were then receiving from France. For the selfishness and ve- nality of such conduct, little excuse can be pleaded; and it is unfortu- nately too frequently to be found in the preceding and subsequent history of the Scottish aristocracy. Meanwhile, all looked fair for the moment. On the day appointed, the army mustered in considerable strength on the Borough-muir, near Edinburgh. Argyle, indeed, delayed at Glasgow, for the purpose of assembling the High- landers and Islesmen ; the Master of Forbes did not hesitate to speak openly against the expedition; and Huntly, one of the most powerful of the peers, excused himself by feigning indisposi- tion ; yet a respectable force assem- bled, amounting, in effective num- bers, to about forty thousand men, not including camp followers, which, on such occasions, were always nume- rous. With this army, Albany ad- vanced towards the Borders ; whilst symptoms of an early winter darkened around him, and his march was im- peded by dragging his train of artil- lery through the rude and heavy roads of a country totally dissimilar from that in. which they had been accus- tomed to act. The Scottish soldiers and their leaders became jealous of the foreign auxiliaries, who required much attendance and consumed the best of everything ; whilst the towns and burghs complained of the neces- sity imposed on them to furnish tran- sports for their baggage. Owing to » Caligula, b. iii. 57. Sir William Eure to Surrey. Bedelston, 19th Oct. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 224. 826 HISTORY OF these causes the march was slow, and j indications of disorganisation early began to exhibit themselves. Meanwhile tidings arrived that Sur- rey had assembled his host, which out- numbered Albany by a thousand men ; whilst the confidence they expressed in their leader, and the unanimity and discipline by which they were .ani- mated, offered a striking contrast to their enemies. The whole army was eager to engage in hostilities ; but, till Albany commenced an offensive war, it was reported that Henry's orders confined their commander to defen- sive operations. This last rumour appears to have revived amongst the Scottish peers their former indisposi- tion to invade England, and suggested the notion that the war might be yet avoided. It happened that the cele- brated Buchanan was at this moment a volunteer in the army ; and the , account of such an eye-witness is highly valuable. On arriving at Mel- rose, where a wooden bridge was then thrown across the Tweed, murmurs of discontent began to break forth, which all the entreaties and remon- strances of Albany could not remove ; and these gathering, force, soon pro- ceeded to an open refusal to advance. It was with the greatest difficulty that the regent, putting himself at their head, prevailed upon part of the van of the army to cross the bridge ; the rearward obstinately refused to fol- low; 1 and soon after, the divisions which had passed over turned their backs, and returned to the Scottish side. To struggle against such a de- termination was impossible; and Al- bany, disgusted and incensed with the treachery of men whose solemn pro- mises were so easily forgotten, adopted perhaps the only other alternative, and encamping at Eccles, on the left bank of the Tweed, laid siege to Wark castle with his foreign troops and artillery. The description given by Buchanan of this Border fortress is valuable, as, with little variation, it presents an accurate picture of the Scoto -Norman castles of this period. It consisted of a high tower 1 Buchanan's Hist, of Scotland, b. xiv. c. EXiL SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIL placed within an inner court, and sur- rounded by a double wail. The outer wall enclosed a large space, within which the country neople in time of war sought refuge with their cattle; whilst the inner embraced a narrower portion, and was defended by a fosse and flanking towers. With their cha- racteristic spirit and ready valour, the French easily carried the first court; but the English, setting fire to the booths in which they had stowed their farm produce, smoked the enemy out of the ground they had gained. The artillery then began to batter the inner wall, and effected a breach, through which the men-at-arms charged with great fury; and had they received support from the Scots, there is little doubt the fortress would have been stormed ; but, on effecting a lodge- ment within the court, so destructive a fire was poured in upon them from the ramparts, shot holes, and narrow windows of the great tower, which was still entire, that it was difficult for such a handful of men to maintain their ground. The assault, neverthe- less, was continued till night, and when darkness compelled them to de- sist, it was proposed to renew it next day. 2 But it was now the 4th of No- vember, the winter had set in, and a night of incessant snow and rain so flooded the river, that all retreat was threatened to be cut off. The assault, ing party, therefore, recrossed the Tweed with the utmost speed, leav- ing three hundred slain, of which the greater number were Frenchmen, and once more joined the main body of the army. 3 . While these events occurred, Surrey was at Holy Island; and, on hearing of the attack on Wark castle, he issued orders for his army to rendezvous at Barmore Wood, within a few miles of Wark. The news of his speedy ap- proach confirmed the Scottish nobles in their determination not to risk a battle. So completely had the majo- rity of them been corrupted by the 2 Caligula, b. vi. 304-306. Surrey to the Kin S- .. r s Buchanan, book xiv. c. xxi. xxu. Left* ley, Bannatyne edit. p. 125. 1523-4.] money and intrigues of Dacre and the queen-dowager, that Albany did not venture to place them in the front ; but, on his march, formed his vanguard of the French auxiliaries, — a proceeding rendered the more necessary by the discovery of some secret machinations amongst the peers for delivering him, if he persisted in urging hostilities, into the hands of the enemy. 1 To attempt to encounter Surrey with his foreign auxiliaries alone, would have been the extremity of rashness ; and to abide the advance of the English earl with an army which refused to fight, must have exposed him to discomfi- ture and dishonour. Under such cir- cumstances, the regent, whose per- sonal courage and military experience had been often tried on greater fields, adopted, or rather had forced upon him, the only feasible plan which re- mained. At the head of his artillery and foreign auxiliaries, the single por- tion of the army which had behaved with spirit, he retreated to Eccles, a monastery six miles distant from Wark; and, little able or anxious to conceal his contempt for those nobles who, almost in the presence of the enemy, had acted with so much faith- lessness and pusillanimity, he permit- ted them to break up and disperse amid a tempest of snow, — carrying to their homes the first intelligence of their own dishonour. 2 Such was the result of that remarkable expedition which a historian, whose opinion has been formed upon imperfect evidence, has erroneously represented as reflect- ing the utmost disgrace upon the cou- rage and conduct of Albany. When carefully examined, we must arrive at an opposite conclusion. The retreat of Albany is only one other amongst many facts, which establish the venal- ity and selfishness of the feudal aristo- cracy of Scotland, and the readiness with which they consented, for their 1 Caligula, b. i. 281. Queen Margaret to Surrey, Stirling, 14th November 1523. 2 Buchanan, b. xiv. c. xxii. p. 228. Ellis's j Letters, vol. i. First Series, p. 234. Lord Surrey indulges in somewhat unnecessary triumph on Albany's cowardice and fear in this retreat — as if a general could fight when | his officers and soldiers are in miiiu^r* JAMES V. b27 own private ends, to sacrifice their in' dividual honour and the welfare of the country. Nor, in this point of view, is it unimportant to attend to some re- markable expressions of Surrey, which occur in a letter addressed to his sove- reign. They furnish not on]y an in- structive commentary on Henry's al- leged anxiety for the welfare of the kingdom of his nephew, but demon- strate the folly of those ideas which, it is • probable, guided some of the Scot- tish leaders, — that an abstinence from hostilities upon their part would be at- tended by a corresponding moderation on the side of Surrey. That earl ob- serves, that in this expedition he had so much despoiled the south of Scot- land, that seven years would not repair the damage ; 3 whilst he estimates the English losses sustained by the pre- sence of Albany's army at ten pounds. On his return to the capital, the governor assembled a parliament, of which the proceedings were distracted by mutual accusations and complaints. The peers accused the regent of squandering the public treasure, al- though the greater part of the money which he had brought from France had found its way in the shape of pensions into their own coffers, or had been necessarily laid out in the support of the foreign auxiliaries. They in- sisted on dismissing the French troops, whose further residence was expen- sive; and, notwithstanding the incle- ment season of the year, compelled them to embark, — an ungenerous pro- ceeding, which led to the wreck of the transports on the shores of the "Western Isles, and the loss of great part of their crews. 4 To Albany, such conduct was mortifying in the extreme; it con- vinced him that every effort must fail to persuade such men to adopt the only line of conduct which was likely to render the government respected, and to free the country from the die- * tation of England. He determined, i therefore, *once more to retire to s "And hath made suche waste and spoil in his own countre, that they shall not recover these seven years." — Surrey to Henrv the Eighth. Belford. Caligula, b. vi. p. 306. 4 Caligula, b. i. 5. Dacre to Wolsey. Mor- peth, 2Sth January. 328 France ; anu, ia <* conference with the nobility, requested three months' leave, in which he might visit that kingdom, and discover what further assistance might be expected from the French king in carrying on the war with Eng- land. His demand, after much oppo- sition, was granted, under the condi- tion that, if he did not return on the 31st of August, the league with France and his own regency should be consi- dered at an end: 1 but the various advices and injunctions to which he desired their attention in his absence were received with much distrust, the queen-mother declaring that, if he left the kingdom, she must needs act for herself, and the barons replying in nearly the same terms. A loan of forty thousand crowns was positively refused him, and the lords consented with an ill grace to the high and con- fidential office of treasurer being given, HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIIL during his absence, 2 to Gresolles, the same knight who had been added to the council of regency in 1522. These arrangements being completed, and having prevailed on the parliament to intrust the keeping of the king's per- son to the Lords Cassillis, Fleming, Borthwick, and Erskine, he took an affectionate leave of his youthful sove- reign, and sailed for the continent, com- mitting the chief management of affairs to the chancellor, with the Bishop of Aberdeen, and the Earls of Huntly and Argyle. 3 On quitting the king- dom, Albany asserted that his absence would not exceed three months; but it is probable that his repeated reverses in a thankless office had totally dis- gusted him, both with Scotland and the regency, and that, when he em- barked, it was with the resolution, which he fulfilled, of never returning to that country. CHAPTER VIIL JAMES THE FIFTH. 1524—1528. For the last two years the Earl of An- gus, who had formerly shewn himself so cordial a friend of England, had resided in France, whence Henry the Eighth, desirous of employing him in his designs for embroiling the govern- ment of Albany, had secretly called him into his dominions. It was now esteemed the moment when his pre- sence in Scotland might once more reinstate the English faction, which had been long gaining strength, in un- disputed power; and the earl, whose foreign residence had increased his experience and talent, but not im- proved his patriotic feelings, at once lent himself to the projects of Henry, i Ellis's Letters, vol. i. p. 247, First Seriea. During his banishment, he had corre- sponded with that monarch ; although an exile, he had made himself master of the political divisions and intrigues by which the kingdom was distracted ; and having agreed upon his plan of operations, he accelerated his prepara- tions for his return to his native coun- try. Before, however, this project could be put into execution, the de- parture of the regent had given rise to a revolution, which, for a season, totally changed the aspect of public affairs. In this the chief actors were 2 Lord Dacre to Cardinal Wolsey. 31st May 1524. Ellis's Letters, vol. i. p. 240, First Series s Lesley, p. 128. 1524.] jam: Margaret the queen-dowager and the Earl of Arran, whilst its sudden and " startling success seems to prove that the project had been gradually ma- tured, and only waited for the depar- ture of Albany to bring it into effect. The young king had now entered his thirteenth year, and already gave pro- f mise of that vigour of character which afterwards distinguished him. His mother, no longer controlled by the presence of a superior, determined to place him upon the throne ; a scheme which, by the assistance of England, she trusted might be easily accom- plished ; whilst Henry was ready to lend himself to the design, from the persuasion that the royal power, though ostensibly in the king, would be truly in the hands of a council overruled by England. Surrey there- fore remained in the north to overawe any opposition by the terror of an im- mediate invasion ; and Margaret, hav- ing gained to her interest the peers to whom the person of the sovereign had been intrusted, suddenly left the palace of Stirling, and, accompanied by her son and a small retinue, proceeded to Edinburgh, which she entered amid the joyful acclamations of the popu- lace. The procession, which, besides the queen -mother and her train, con- sisted of the Earls of Arran, Lennox, Crawford, and others of the nobility, moved on to the palace of Holyrood, where a council was held, the king declared of age, and proclamations in- stantly issued in his name. He then formally assumed the government, the peers tendered their oaths of allegiance, and many, as well of the spiritual as temporal estate, entered into a solemn agreement, by which they abjured the engagements which had been made to Albany, declared his regency at an end, and promised faithfully to main- tain the supreme authority of their sovereign against all who might dare to question it. 1 Against this extraordinary act, of tvhich the real object on the part of i Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 238. Lesley, p. 129. Caligula, b. vi. 378. Profession of obedience by the Lords of Scotland. Edinburgh, 31st Tuly 1524. £S V. 329 j Henry could not be concealed, and over which' the capricious character of I the queen, alternately swayed by the most violent resentments or partiali- ties, threw much suspicion, the only dissentient voices were those of the Bishops of St Andrews and Aberdeen. They contended that to confer the supreme power upon a boy of twelve years old was ridiculous; that to re- move him from the governors to whom his education had been intrusted, and plunge him at once in his tender years into the flatteries and vices of a court, must be certain ruin; and they re- minded the nobles of their promises so lately pledged to the Duke of Albany, to whom the regency at this moment unquestionably belonged. For this bold and honest conduct they were by the queen's party immediately committed to prison ; nor could the offer from Wolsey of a cardinal's hat induce Beaton to renounce his pro« mises to Albany, or become the tool of England. 2 The news of the success of this revolution, which in its rapid' ity had anticipated the wishes oi Henry, was received with the utmost satisfaction in England. 3 A guard of two hundred men-at-arms was imme- diately sent by that monarch, at the queen's request, for the security of the person of the young king; whilst, as a token of his complete approval of her conduct, and an earnest of future favours, Margaret received a present of two hundred marks, and Arran a hundred pounds. In return, she ear- \ nestly remonstrated against Henry's I permitting the return of Angus into/ Scotland, not without a threat that, should her request be overlooked, she would find another support than that 2 Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 241. Caligula, b. vi. 353. Wolsey to the Duke of Norfolk. Hampton Court, August 19, 1521. s State Papers, p. 150. The etter written to Henry in the name of the young king, in- forming him of his assumption of the govern- ment, was sent by Patrick Sinclair, whom Wolsey denominates a right trusty servant of James, and at the same time describes as a spy of Dr Magnus, and a constant friend of England. Such was the character of this re- volution. George Shaw, another personal servant of James, was a spy of Norfolk. — Norfolk to Wolsey, 19th September 1524. Caligula, b. vi. 362, dorso. S30 of England. She demanded, at the same time, a pension and the order of the garter for Arran, and declared that without greater supplies it would be impossible for her to defray the charges of the government. In the meantime a full account of these changes was transmitted by Gresolles, the captain of Dunbar, to the Duke of Albany, 'and a truce hav- ing been concluded for three months with England, it was determined that Dr Magnus, a person of great acute- ness and diplomatic experience, should proceed as ambassador to Scotland. He was accompanied by Roger Rat- eliffe, a gentleman of the privy cham- ber, whose agreeable and polished manners would, it was expected, have a favourable influence on the young king. In the midst of these transactions, the sincerity of the queen became sus- pected. Her late demands were con- sidered too peremptory and covetous, and the countenance shewn to Angus at the English court in no small degree alienated ■ her affections from her brother; nor was her personal con- duct free from blame. With a vola- tility in her passions which defied the voice of reproof or the restraints of decency, she had now become ena- moured of Henry Stewart, the second son of Lord Evandale, and in the ardour of her new passion, raised him to the responsible office of treasurer. The people had hitherto regarded her with respect, but they no longer re- strained their murmurs : Lennox and Glencairn, who had warmly supported her in the late revolution, left the capital in disgust; and Arran, who had never ceased to look to the re- gency of Scotland as his right, and in whose character there was a strange mixture of weakness and ambition, though he still acted along with her, held himself in readiness to support any party which promised to forward his own views. Whilst this earl and the queen con- tinued to receive the money of Eng- land for the support of the guards and the maintenance of their private state, they deemed it prudent to open a ne- HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1 [Chap. VIIT. gotiation with Francis the First, then engaged in preparations for his fatal expedition into Italy. That monarch received their envoy with distinction ; professed his anxiety to maintain the ancient alliance between the kingdoms ; reminded them of the intended mar- riage between the Scottish king and his daughter, and declared that Angus having secretly escaped from his do- minions, without asking his permis- sion or that of Albany, was undoubtedly animated by hostile intentions, and ought to be treated as a fugitive and a rebel. 1 He addressed also a letter to the queen, in which he besought her to adopt such measures as must secure the true interests of her son. But Margaret's blinded attachment to Henry Stewart, upon whose youth she had now bestowed the high office of chancellor, and Arran's devotion to his own interests, effectually estranged from both the attachment of the nobles, who found themselves excluded from all influence in the government. They indeed, as well as the queen, were in the pay of England ; and to such a degree of organisation had the system of bribery and private infor- mation been carried, that whilst the Duke of Norfolk maintained his spies even in the palace of the king, the original correspondence of the period presents us with the exact pensions allowed to the Scottish adherents of the English court, from the queen and Arran to the lowest agent of this venal association. 2 Amongst the principal were. Arran, Lennox, and the Master of Kilmaurs, afterwards Earl of Glen- cairn, a nobleman who thus early be- gan to make a profitable trade of his attachment to England. The faction, however, contained within itself the seeds of its disunion; for whilst the queen and Arran dreaded the power of Angus, and warmly remonstrated against his return, the peers of the party who found themselves neglected in the administration looked to this event as the most probable means of 1 Caligula, b. vi. 411. Instructions a l'am- bassadeur du Roy d'Escosse. 2 Pinkerton, vol. ii, p. 246. Caligula, b. i, 70. Robert Lord to the Lord Cardinal. Ibid. 222. 1524] recovering the importance which they had lost. It was in this state of things that'Wolsey, who began to find that Margaret and Arran would not be sufficiently subservient to England, entered into a secret agreement with Angus, 1 in which that peer, on condi- tion of his being permitted to enter Scotland, stipulated to support the English interest in that country and the government of James, equally against the open hostility of Albany, and the intrigues of the faction of the queen, which, from the venality and insolence of its measures, seemed to be rapidly hastening its ruin. An attempt was first made to reconcile Margaret to her husband, which completely failed ; and symptoms appearing of a coalition between the party of Albany and that of Arran and the queen, Angus was no longer detained by Henry; but, after an exile of two years, with increased ambition and exalted hopes, he returned to his na- tive country. At the same time, the English ambassadors, Dr Magnus and Ratcliffe, arrived at the capital ; and a complicated scene of intrigue and dip- lomacy commenced, into the minuter particulars of which it would be tedi- ous to enter. The scene which presented itself was indeed pitiable. It exhibited a minor sovereign deserted by those who owed him allegiance and support, w T hilst his kingdom was left a prey to the rapacity of interested councillors, and exposed to the attacks of a power- ful neighbour, whose object it was to destroy its separate existence, and re- duce it to the condition of a dependent province. When we look more narrowly into its condition, we find that three great parties or factions at this moment dis- tracted the minority of James. The first was that of Albany the late re- gent, supported by the influence of France, and conducted during his ab- sence by the talents and vigour of the Chancellor Beaton ; of the second, the leaders were the Earl of Arran and the 1 Caligula, b. vi. 395. Articles of Agree- ment, dated October 4, 1524 ; signed by An- gus, and his brother GJ-eorge Douglas. JAMES Y. 331 queen-mother, in whom the present power of the state resided, and who possessed the custody of the king's person ; whilst at the head of the third was Angus, who had sold himself to the English government. The secret treaty, however, between this peer and Henry, was unknown in Scotland ; and so great was the affection of the people for the house of Douglas, with whose history they associated so much chiv- alrous enterprise and national glory, that on his arrival in his native coun- try, he was received by all ranks with joy and enthusiasm. Meanwhile Wolsey's jealousy of the Queen of Scots became confirmed, when he found that the' Bishop of Aberdeen and the Chancellor Beaton were set at liberty, and perceived the party of Albany once more rising into a dan- gerous importance. Such was the state of affairs on the arrival of' Angus in Scotland, and his improvement in judgment was seen by the moderation of his first mea- sures. He addressed to the queen a submissive letter, professing his at- tachment to his sovereign, and his anxiety to do him service; he ab- stained from shewing himself at court ; and, although able to command an army of vassals, he travelled with a modest retinue of forty horse, in obedi- ence to an order of the government. These quiet courses, however, produced no effect on Margaret, whose ancient love to Angus had long before this turned into determined hatred, whilst, with a contempt of all decency, she made no secret of her passion for Henry Stewart, intrusting to his weak and inexperienced hands the chief guidance of affairs. Magnus, the Eng- lish ambassador, attempted, but with equal want of success, to effect a reconciliation between her and her husband. The continuance of the pensions, the support of the Eng- lish guard of honour, the present of a considerable sum for the exigen- cies of the moment, and lastly the promise of a matrimonial alliance be- tween her son and the princess Mary, were artfully held out as inducements to consent to a pacification and to S82 HISTORY OF abandon her opposition to Angus. Margaret was immovable, and, avow- ing her venality, she did not scruple to assign as her chief motive, that in the event of a treaty of peace with England, the kingdom, by which we may understand herself and Arran, would lose the annual remittance of Francis, which amounted to forty thousand francs. 1 Thus thwarted in his application to the queen, Magnus, who, in the complicated parties and interests by which he was surrounded, required the exertion of his whole diplomatic talents, began to sound the peers, and not only found that there was no insurmountable impedi- ment to the reconciliation of Angus and Arran, but that even Beaton the chancellor, the leader of the party of Albany, evinced, though we may sus- pect his sincerity, no unfavourable disposition to England. 2 The late regent's continued absence in France, and the vanity of expecting any active co-operation from the French monarch, then occupied with his campaign in Italy, had greatly weakened the in- fluence of Albany, and the great body of the nobility detested the govern- ment of the queen. It was deter- mined, therefore, that a sudden blow should be struck, which might at once punish her obstinacy, and insure the pre-eminence of the English interest. 1 Caligula, b. i. 285-290 inclusive. The Queen of Scots to the Duke of Norfolk. Pin- kerton, vol. ii. p. 248. 2 Caligula, b. vi. 333. Dr Magnus and Roger Ratcliffe to Wolsey. Edinburgh, 15th November. In this letter there is a fine de- scription of James V. when a boy of thirteen : — " The queues saide grace hath had vs furth to solace with the kingges grace here, at Leeth and in the feildes, and to see his saide grace stirre his horses, and renne with a spere amongges other his lordes and ser- uauntes at a gloove, and also by the quenes procuring we haue seen his saide grace vse hym selff otherwise pleasauntly booth in singging and daunsing, and shewing fami- liarity e amongges his lordes. All whiche his princely actes and doingges be soe excellent for his age not yet of xiii. yeres till Eister next, that in our oppynnyons it is not pos- sible thay shulde be amended. And myche moore it is to our comforte to see and con- ceiue that in personnage, favor, and counte- naunce, and in all other his procedingges, his grace rosembleth veray myche to the kingges *ughnes [Henry VIII.] our maister." SCOTLAND. [Chap. VIIL A parliament having assembled at Edinburgh, the distracted condition of the government, and the expediency of an immediate embassy to England preparatory to a general peace, came' before the three estates. In one measure all parties seemed to agree. Albany's regency, in consequence of his continued absence, was declared at an end, and a committee of regency appointed. It consisted of the Chan- cellor Beaton, the Bishop of Aberdeen, and the Earls of Arran and Argyle, whilst, apparently to lull, the sus- picions of the queen, she was. declared chief in this council. Such was the state of matters, and the parliament had now sat for a week, when, on the 23d of November, before daylight, an alarm was heard at the walls of the capital, and a party of armed men, fixing their scaling-ladders on the parapet, made good their entrance into the town, after which, with shouts and acclamations, they opened the gates to their companions. It was now discovered that this force, which amounted only to four hundred men, was led by the Earls of Angus and Lennox ; Scott of Buccleuch, thg Master of Kilmaurs, and other chiefs, had joined them; and as daylight broke they advanced fearlessly to the cross, and proclaimed that they came as faithful subjects to the king's grace; they next proceeded to the council of regency, which had assembled in great alarm, and repeating the same assur- ance, declared that the young king was in the hands of evil-disposed per- sons, who were compassing their ruin and that of the whole nobility ; where- fore they required them to assume the custody of their monarch, and exercise the chief rule in the government. 3 During these proceedings the castle, which was in the hands of the queen's party, began to open its fire upon the town with the object of expelling Angus; and in the midst of the thunder of its artillery, and the shouts of the infuriated partisans, a deputa- tion, consisting of the Bishop of Aber- 3 Magnus and Roger Ratcliffe to the Lord Cardinal. Edinburgh, 26th Nov. Cal. b. L 12L Lesley, p. 131. 1524-5.] JAIV deen, the Abbot of Cambuskenneth, and Magnus, the English ambassador, hurried to the palace, where they found the queen, and some lords of her party, denouncing vengeance against Angus, and mustering a force of five hundred men, with which they proposed to assault him. On their arrival Margaret consented to receive the bishop and his associate, but she peremptorily ordered Magnus to be- gone to his lodging, and abstain from interfering in Scottish ^flairs, — a man- date which that cautious civilian did not think it prudent to disobey. Mean- while the fire of the fortress continued, and the peaceful citizens fell victims to the unprincipled efforts of two hostile factions. The conduct of Angus, however, was pacific; his fol- lowers abstained from plunder; no blood was shed, although they met with various peers with whom they were at deadly feud ; and upon a pro- clamation, commanding him, in the king's name, to leave the city, he re- tired to Dalkeith towards dusk. After dark the queen, taking with her the young king, proceeded by torchlight to the castle, and dismissing all the lords except Moray, who was devoted to the French interest, shut herself up in the fortress, and meditated some determined measures against her ene- mies. 1 Although there is no decisive evidence of the fact, there appears a strong presumption that this attack upon the queen was preconcerted by English influence, and probably not wholly unexpected by Beaton the chancellor. Magnus indeed, in writ- ing to the cardinal, represents it as unlooked for by all parties, but there i The letter above quoted, in which Magnus and Ratcliffe give an account of this affair, is interesting and curious. " The queen's grace taking with her the young king, her sonne, departed in the evening by torchlight from the abbey to the castell, andther contynueth, all the lordes being also departed from hence, but only the Erie of Murray fully of the Frenche Faction, and newly comen into favor with the queen's said grace ; and as we her, the said erle, and one that was the Duke of Albany's secretary, begyne to compass and practyse newe thynges as muche to the daunger of the said younge kinge as was at the Duk of Albany's being here." Caligula, b. i. 121, dorso ES V. 333 exists a letter from the Earl of Rothes^ which seems to throw a doubt upon the sincerity of his ignorance. 2 It was probably a contrivance of the chancellor to try the strength and judgment of Angus, and its conse- quences were important, for it led to a coalition between this potent prelate, generally esteemed the richest subject in Scotland, and the Douglases, whose extensive possessions and vassalage placed them at the head of the Scot- tish aristocracy. Alarmed at so sudden a turn of affairs, the queen and Arran hastened to appease Henry by an embassy, of which the purpose was to treat of an immediate pacification, upon the basis of the proposed marriage between the young king and the princess Mary. 3 As a further means of accomplishing this, Marchmont herald was despatched to France, with the announcement that the regency of Albany had been formally declared at an end, and a remonstrance was addressed to Francis against the injurious consequences which too steady an attention to his interests had brought upon the com- merce of Scotland. 4 These measures, if adopted some time before this, might have been attended with the recovery of her influence by the queen ; but they came too late ; their sincerity was suspected ; and although Margaret continued to retain possession of the king's person, whom she kept in the castle of Edinburgh, the Earl of Angus and the chancellor Beaton already wielded an equal if not a superior authority, and had succeeded in at- taching to themselves not only the great majority of the nobility, but the affections of the citizens; they were supported also by the English influence; and it became at length evident to the haughty spirit of the queen, that to save the total wreck of her power in Scotland, she must consent to a reconciliation with her husband, and a division of the power which she had abused, with those 2 Pinkerton, vol. h. p. 254. Caligula, h» i. 81. s Caligula, b. vi. 191, dorso. * Epistolse Reg. Scot. i. 351-356. 834 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. who were entitled to a share in the government. The situation of the country, which was the theatre of constant rapine and assassination, called loudly for a settled administration; the nation were dis- gusted with the sight of two factions who fulminated against each other ac- cusations of treachery and rebellion, Such was the prodigality of the queen, who squandered the royal revenues upon her pleasures, that when the English monarch withdrew the pen- sions which had hitherto supported her administration, and recalled the guard which waited on the sovereign, the necessities of the state became urgent, and the palace and the court were left in poverty. Under such circumstances, it was absolutely neces- sary that some decisive step should be adopted by Angus and the chancellor ; and in a meeting of the principal lords of their party, held at St Andrews, a declaration was drawn up which called upon all who were interested in the good of the common weal to interfere for the establishment of its indepen- dence and that of the young king. They represented the sovereign as im- prisoned by an iniquitous faction in an unhealthy fortress, exposed to the unwholesome exhalations of the lake by which it was surround ed, and in- curring additional danger from the reiterated commotions of the capital. 1 They protested that no letters or orders of the king ought to be obeyed until promulgated by a council chosen by the parliament, and they summoned a convention of the three estates to meet on the 6th of February, at Stirling. These were bold measures ; but the queen determined to make yet one effort for the confusion of her enemies. i Caligula, b. vi. 394. Articles concluded between my Lord Cardinal's Grace and the Earl of Anguish. 25th January 1524, i.e., 1524-5. It commences thus : — "We dou you to witt, that for as mekill as it is under- standin be the weill avisit lordis of oure soveran lordis counsaill, they seand daily .slaughteris. murtharis, reiffis, theftis, depre- dationis, and heavy attemptates that ar daily and hourly committit within this realme in fait of justice, our soveran lord beand of less age," &c. [Chap. VIII. She appealed tt, England, .flattered Henry by a pretentled acquiescence in his designs, urged the accomplishment of the marriage between her son and the princess, and earnestly requested the advance of the Duke of Norfolk with ten thousand men to the Borders; she next assembled the few peers who remained with her in the castle, ex- patiated on the arrogance of their op- ponents, and implored them to raise their followers, and give battle to the enemy ; but Henry suspected her sin- cerity, the peers dreaded the insolence of her new favourite, Henry Stewart; and she discovered, with the deepest mortification, that from neither could she expect anything like cordial sup- port. She submitted, therefore, to the necessity of the case, and agreed to a conditional reconciliation with her hus' ^and, 4 - the" terms which- she was permitted to dictate being more favourable than from her dependent situation might have been expected. Her first stipulation evinced the in- veteracy of her feelings against Angus, who, upon pain of treason, she insisted should not assume any matrimonial rights, either over her person or her estate ; the king, her son, she agreed to remove from the castle to a more salubrious and accessible residence in, the palace of Holyrood; the custody of his person was to be intrusted to a council of peers nominated by the parliament, and over which the queen was to preside ; 3 the patronage of all the highest ecclesiastical benefices was to belong to a committee of the nobles, amongst whom Margaret was to be chief, whilst all benefices below the value of a thousand pounds were to be placed at her sole disposal. Upon these condi- tions the pacification between the two parties was concluded, and Angus, supported by the chancellor Beaton, who was now the most influential man in Scotland, resumed his authority in the state. Magnus, the acute minister of Henry, had from the first suspected the sin- 2 Magnus to Wolsey. Edinburgh. 22d Feb. 1524-5. Caligula, b. ii. 59-61. Lesley, p. 132. 3 Acts ttf the Parliament of Scotland, vol- < ii. p. 289 22d Feb. 1524-5. 1525.] JA1\: cerity of the queen, and within a short period her duplicity was completely detected. 1 The very day on which the agreement with the peers and her husband was concluded, she opened a secret negotiation with Albany, ac- knowledged his authority as regent, professed a devotion to the interests of France, denounced as ignominious the idea of a peace with England, de- clared that she would leave* Scotland sooner than consent to a sincere re- conciliation with Angus, and eagerly requested the interest of Francis and Albany to accelerate at the Roman court her process of divorce. For such conduct, which presented a lamentable union of falsehood and selfishness, no apology can be offered ; and it is satisfactory to find that it met with its reward in almost imme- diate exposure and disappointment. Her letters were intercepted and trans- mi tted to _E n^kno!7~ancr the French monarch long before they could have reached him was* defeated and made prisoner in the battle of Pavia. 2 A minute account of the continued plots and intrigues which for some time occupied the adverse factions would be equally tedious and unin- structive. Nothing could be more unhappy than the condition of Scot- land, torn by domestic dissension, ex- posed to the miseries of feudal anarchy, with a nobility divided amongst them- selves, and partly in the pay of a foreign power ; a minor monarch, whose education was neglected, and his caprices or prepossessions indulged that he might be subservient to his interested guardians; a clergy, amongst whom the chief prelates were devoted to their worldly interests; and a people who, whilst they groaned under such manifold oppressions, were yet prevented by the complicated fetters of the feudal system from exerting their energies to obtain redress.. All was dark and gloomy, the proposal of a lengthened peace with England, and a marriage between the king and the 1 Caligula, b. ii. 61. 2 Caligula, b. vi. 416. A packet of letters sent from the Duke of Albany to his factor at Rom? intercepted within the Duchy of Milan. EES V. 335 princess Mary, appeared to be tfce single means whicli promised to secure anything like tranquillity; and this measure, if guarded so as to prevent a too exclusive exertion of foreign in- fluence, might have been attended with the happiest results; yet such was the infatuation of the queen- mother, that~sFe gave the match her determined opposition, and, by her influence with her son, implanted an/ aversion to it in his youthful mind, v It was not to be expected that the characteristic impetuosity and haughti- ness of Henry should brook such con- duct, and he addressed to his sister a letter so replete with reproaches, that, on perusing it, she burst into tears, and bitterly complained that the style of the king was more fit for some vul- gar railer, than to be employed by a monarch to a noble lady. 3 Yet, terri- fied by its violence, and convinced that her partisans were gradually dropping away, she replied in a submissive tone. So deep, indeed, were her suspicions of Angus and the chancellor, with whom she had lately entered into an agreement, that she refused to trust her person in the capital, where her presence in a parliament was necessary as president of the Council of State; and as the recent truce with England could not be proclaimed without her ratification, the country was on the point of being exposed to the ravages of Border war. It was, therefore, determined that the deed should be effectual without this solemnity, and, irritated by this last indignity, she at- tempted a secret negotiation with the queen-mother of France, who, upon the captivity of her son in the battle of Pavia, had succeeded to the regency. Even this resource failed her, for by this time Wolsey had quarrelled with the emperor, and according to those selfish views by which his public policy was often directed, had prevailed upon his royal master to conclude a treaty with France, — a deathblow to the hopes of the Scottish queen, and the prospects of the French faction. In the proceedings of the same parlia- 3 Caligula, b. vii. 3. Letter of Magnus to I WoJsey. Edinburgh, 31st March. 3S6 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. ment there occurs a strong indication of the increase of the principles of the Reformation; and we learn the im- portant fact that the books of Luther had made their way into Scotland, and excited the jealousy of the Church. It was enacted that no merchants or foreigners should dare to bring into the realm, which had hitherto firmly persevered in the holy faith, any such treatises, on pain of imprisonment and the forfeiture of their ships and cargoes ; and it was enjoined that all persons who publicly professed such doctrines should be liable to the same penalties. 1 An embassy now proceeded to Eng- land, a truce of three years was con- cluded ; and whilst the queen-mother retained merely a nominal authority, the whole of the real power of the state gradually centred in Angus and the chancellor. A feeble attempt was indeed made by Arran to prevent by force the ratification of the truce ; and for a moment the appearance of a body of five thousand men, which advanced to Linlithgow, threatened to plunge the country into war ; but the storm was dissipated by the promptitude of Douglas. Taking the king along- with him, and supported by the terror of the royal name, he instantly marched against the rebels, who, without at- tempting to oppose him, precipitately retreated and dispersed. 2 At this moment the country, so long distracted by the miseries of Border war and internal anarchy, enjoyed something like a prospect of tran- quillity. A pacification of three years had been concluded with England; 3 and this was an important step to- wards the marriage which had been lately contemplated between the young king and the princess Mary. The alli- ance between England and France had destroyed, for the moment, the French party in Scotland, and removed that fertile source of misery which arose to that country out of the hostilities of these great rivals ; the anxiety of 1 Acts cf the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. T . 295. 2 Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 271. Lesley, p. 133. 8 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. U. pp. 296, 297. [Chap. VIII. Henry to accomplish a reconciliation between Angus and his sister the queen was sincere; and if Margaret had consented to a sacrifice of her pri- vate feelings, it would have probably been attended with the best effects. Magnus, whose prolonged residence in the capital as the envoy of England was disliked by the people, had, by his departure, removed this cause of enmity; and the able Lord Dacre, whose intrigues for so many years had sown disunion and treachery amongst the nobles, and defeated every exertion of the well-affected to promote peace and good government, was removed by death from the stormy element in which he had presided. 4 Everything, therefore, seemed to promise repose ; but this fair prospect was defeated by the obstinacy of the queen-mother, and the towering ambi- tion of Douglas. Blinded by her attach- ment to Stewart, Margaret would not for a moment listen to the proposal of a reunion with her husband ; and he, who desired it not from any affection, but with the motive of possessing him- self of her large estates, renounced all desire of reconciliation . the moment he discovered that the council would withhold their consent from such a project. The divorce accordingly was pronounced with that mischievous j facility which marked the prostitution i of the ecclesiastical law; and scarcely was the sentence passed when Margaret precipitately wedded her paramour, Henry Stewart, who disdained to ask the consent of the king, or to com- municate the event to his chief minis- ters. Incensed at this presumption in * This able and busy lord, whose MS. cor- respondence, first opened by the acute Pinker- ton, presents the most interesting materials for the history of this period, is entitled to the equivocal merit of being the inventor of tha~ policy which was afterwards carried to per fection by the sagacious Burleigh under Elizabeth : the policy of strengthening the go- vernment of his sovereign by the organised system of corruption, bribery, and dissen- sions, which he encouraged in the sister kingdom ; he died 25th October 1525. Pinker- ton informs us the estates of Dacre after- wards passed by marriage to th,e Howards, earls of Carlisle. It is possible, therefore, that in the papers of ifiat noble house, there may be some of Lord Dacre's manuscripts. 15*25-6.] JAM an untitled subject, the lords of the council, in the name of the king, sent Lord Erskine with a small military force to Stirling, where the queen re- sided ; and the princess was compelled to .deliver up her husband, who sub- mitted to the ignominy of a temporary imprj.s^njrjent. 1 Hitherto the great object of Angus fhad been to accomplish a reconciliation with the queen, and, possessing her in- fluence and estates, with the custody of the king's person, he thus hoped to engross the supreme power. This scheme was now at an end, and its dis- comfiture drove him upon new and more violent courses. His authority in the capital, and throughout the whole of the south of Scotland, was immense ; since the marriage of the queen, he had effected a union with Arran and his adherents, — a party which, in feudal dignity and vassalage, was scarcely inferior to his own ; he was warden of the marches, an office of great authority ; and his place as one of the council of state gave him, according to the act of a recent parlia- ment, a command over the person of the young king, which he had em- ployed with great success to win his boyish affections. The party of Albany had gradually disappeared ; the queen since her marriage had fallen into con- tempt : Lennox, one of the most powerful of the peers, had become a firm ally of Angus; and nothing but the authority of the secret council, which resided chiefly in the Chancellor Beaton, stood between the earl and the entire command of the state. In these circumstances, an artful stroke of Douglas's enabled him at once to reach the summit of his ambition. The king had now completed his fo urteenth year, a period when, by the law of the country, his majority as an independent sovereign commenced. The event took place in April, and be- tween this period and the month of June, Angus appears to have matured his plans. On the 13th Qf that month, a parliament assembled at Edinburgh, and an ordinance was suddenly passed i Lesley, p. 133. Caligula, b. vii. 29. Sir William Dacre to Wolsey, 2d April 1525. VOL, Jr. 5S V. 337 which declared that the minority of the sovereign was at an end; that the royal prerogative now rested solely in the hands of the king, who had as- sumed the government of the realm, and that all other authority which had been delegated to any person whatever was annulled ; 2 a measure against which , as it was founded apparently on the most substantial legal grounds, neither the chancellor nor the secret council could protest, but which in one mo- ment destroyed their power. But ah though the statute which gave the powers of the. government to the secret council was annulled, the act of the three estates, which intrusted the keeping of the king's person to certain peers in rotation, remained in force, — of these, Angus was one; and this crafty statesman had taken care to convene the parliament at the pre- cise time when, by a former act, it be- longed to himself and the Archbishop of Glasgow to assume the guardianship of the king, so that this new resolution of the three estates evidently placed the supreme power in the hands of him who had the custody of the sove reign. It was an able stroke of policy , but it could not have occurred under any other than a feudal government. To mask this usurpation, a new secret council was appointed, consist- ing chiefly of the friends of Angus, and including the Archbishop of Glasgow, the prelates of Aberdeen and Galloway, the Earls of Argyle, Morton, Lennox, and Glencairn, with the Lord Maxwell, whose advice, it was declared, his grace the sovereign will use for the welfare of the realm ; but it was shortly per- ceived that their authority was cen- tred in Angus alone, and that it was to be wielded with no mild or impar- tial sway. One of their first acts was to grant a remission to themselves for all crimes, robberies, or treasons, com- mitted by them during the last nine- teen years ; 3 and within a few months 2 Acts of the Parliament Qf Scotland, vol. ii. p. 301. Crawford's Officers of State, pp. 67, 68. s Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 307. This remission the Douglases afterwards pleaded in 1528. Acts of Paiiia ment, vol. ii. p. 323 Y 338 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VTTX. there was not an office of trust or emolument in the kingdom which w T as not filled by a Douglas, or by a creature of that house : Archibald Douglas of Kilspindy was made high-treasurer ; Erskine of Halton, secretary; Crich- ton, abbot of Holyrood, a man wholly devoted to the interests of Angus, privy-seal; and, to crown the whole, the earl sent a peremptory message to Beaton, requiring him to resign the great seal, which this prelate not dar- ing to disobey, he without delay in- stalled himself in the office of chan- cellor. The ancient tyranny of the house of Douglas now once more shot up into a strength which rivalled or rather usurped the royal power ; the Borders became the scene of tumult and con- fusion, and the insolence of the nume- rous vassals of this great family was intolerable. Murders, spoliations, and crimes of varied enormity were com- mitted with impunity. The arm of the law, paralysed by the power of an unprincipled faction, did not dare to arrest the guilty ; the sources of jus- tice were corrupted, ecclesiastical dig- nities of high and sacred character became the prey of daring intruders, or were openly sold to the highest bidder, and the young monarch, who was watched with the utmost jealousy and rigour, began to sigh over a cap- tivity, of which he could not look for a speedy termination. Such excesses at length roused the indignation of the kingdom ; and Len- nox, one of the most honest of the peers, secretly seceded from Angus. It was now the middle of summer, and as the Armstrongs had broken out into their usual excesses on the Borders, Angus, with the young king in his company, conducted an expedi- tion against them, which was attended with slight success. Before this, how- ever/ James had contrived to transmit a secret message to Lennox and the laird of Buccleuch, a potent vassal of that house, which complained bitterly of the durance in which he was held by the Douglases; and as the royal caval- cade was returning by Melrose to Edin- burgh, Walter Scott of Buccleuch sud- denly appeared on a neighbouring height, and, at the head of a thousand men, threw himself between Angus and the route to the capital. 1 Douglas instantly sent a messenger, who corn- manded the Border chief, in the royal name, to dismiss his followers; but Scott bluntly answered that he knew the king's mind better than the proudest baron amongst them, and meant to keep his ground, and do obeisance to his sovereign, who had honoured the Borders with his pre- sence. 2 The answer was meant and accepted as a defiance, and Angus in- stantly commanded his followers to dismount; his brother George, with the Earls of Maxwell and Lennox, forming a guard round the young king, retired to a little hillock in the neigh- bourhood, whilst the earl, with Flem- ing, Home, and Ker of Cessford, pro- ceeded with levelled spears, and at a rapid pace, against Buccleuch, who also awaited them on foot. His chief followers, however, were outlawed men of the Borders, whose array offered a feeble resistance to the determined charge of the armed knights belonging to Angus ; the conflict accordingly was short, eighty of the party of Buccleuch were slain, the chief was compelled to retire ; and, on the side of the Doug- lases, the only material loss was the death of Cessford, a brave baron, who was lamented by both parties. 3 Not long after this, another and more determined effort to rescue the king from his ignominious thraldom wag made by Lennox, who, it was pri- vately suspected, had encouraged the attempt of Buccleuch. Having leagued himself with the chancellor and the queen, this nobleman advanced to Stir- ling at the head of an army of ten thousand men, whilst, with the hope of conciliating his hostility, the Doug- lases despatched against him his uncle Arran, who commanded a superior force. The mission, however, was vain : Lennox declared that he would enter the capital, and rescue his sove- 1 Lesley, p. 134. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 330. s Ibid. p. 312. 1526-7.] . JAMES V. reign, or die in the attempt. Arran 339 instantly despatched a messenger to Angus, then at Edinburgh; who, com- manding the trumpets to sound, dis- played the royal banner, and, unable to restrain his impatience, pushed on towards- Linlithgow, leaving the king to follow, under the charge of his bro- ther, Sir George Douglas. It was on this occasion that a slight circumstance occurred which produced afterwards important effects, and marked the ferocious manners of the times. The young monarch, who was fond of Lennox, and knew that he had taken arms from affection to his person, ad- vanced slowly and unwillingly, and was bitterly reproached for his delay by Douglas. On reaching Corstor- phine the distant sound of the artil- lery announced the commencement of the battle, and his conductor urging speed, broke into passionate and brutal menaces. " Think not," said he, " that in any event you shall escape us — for even were our enemies to gain the day, rather than surrender your per- Ison, we should tear it into pieces ;" a threat which made an indelible im- pression on the royal mind, and was never forgiven. 1 Meanwhile the action had commenced ; and Arran having, with considerable military skill, seized the bridge across the river Avon, about a mile to the west of Linlith- gow, Lennox found himself compelled to attempt a passage at a difficult ford, opposite the nunnery of Manuel, — an enterprise by which his soldiers were thrown into disorder, and exposed to a severe fire from the enemy. Yet they made good their passage, and some squadrons, as they pressed up the op- posite bank, attacked the army of Arran with great gallantry ; but their array had been broken, they found it * impossible to form, and were already giving way, when the terrible shout of a Douglas," rose from the advanc- ing party of Angus, and the rout became complete." 2 Lennox himself fell amongst the foremost ranks, and Arran, a man of a gentle and affec- tionate nature, was found kneeling 1 Buchanan, xiv. 28. 2 Lesley, p. 136. beside the bleeding body of his uncle? which he had covered with his cloak> and passionately exclaiming that the victory had been dearly purchased by the death of the wisest and bravest knight in Scotland. 3 The triumph of Angus was great ; his power was con- solidated by the total failure of the coalition against it, and the chains of the young king appeared more firmly riveted than ever. It was hardly to be expected that the Douglases would use their suc- cess with moderation, or neglect the opportunity it offered to destroy ef- fectually the power of their enemies. They accordingly made a rapid march to Stirling, with the intention of seizing the queen and the chancellor ; but both had fled, and Beaton found the pursuit so hot, that he was com- pelled for some time to assume the disguise of a shepherd, and to conceal himself in the mountains till the alarm was over. 4. The distress of the young king was great on hearing of the death of Lennox, and it rose to a feeling of the deepest resent- ment, when he discovered that after he had surrendered, he was murdered^ in cold blood by Hamilton, the bas- > tard of Arran, a ferocious partisan of Angus. On hearing that the day was going against him, James had sent forward Sir Andrew Wood, with ear- nest entreaties that his life might be spared, but in the rejoicings for their, victory, his humanity was treated with derision by the Douglases, whose triumph soon after seemed complete, when Henry the Eighth despatched his letters to offer them his congratu- lations on their late successes, with his best advice for the education of his nephew, and the entire destruction of their enemies. 5 Upon this last point Angus scarcely needed instruction ; and having con- voked a parliament, he proceeded, with no gentle hand, to the work of spoliation and vengeance. It was first declared, that his and Arran' s proceed- ings in the late rebellion of Lennox, s Lindsay, 215. s Caligula, b. vii. 67, 69. to Wolsey, 21st Sept. * Ibid. 217. Sir Thomas More 340 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. were undertaken for the good of the king, and the safety of the common- wealth ; and this act was followed by the forfeiture of the estates of the in- surgent lords. To Arran were pre- sented the lands of Cassillis and Evan- dale; to Sir George Douglas the estate of Stirling of Keir, who had been slain; whilst Angus took for himself the ample principality of Lord Lind- say, and the lands of all the eastern and northern barons who had support- ed Lennox. To the queen-mother, for whom the king had become a suppliant, he behaved with moderation. She was invited to the capital, welcomed on her approach by her son, who met her with a numerous retinue, permitted to con- verse with him familiarly, and received with courtesy by Angus, — a conduct adopted out of respect to Henry the Eighth, and which shewed that her power was at an end; Beaton the chancellor had, in the meantime, by large gifts and the sacrifice of the abbey of Kilwinning, made his peace with his enemies, and counted himself happy in being permitted to retire from court; whilst Arran, the success- ful colleague of Angus, becoming a prey to the most gloomy remorse for the death of Lennox, shut himself up in one of his castles, and declined all interference in matters of state. The government was thus abandoned to an undivided despotism, and the tyranny of the house of Douglas became every day more intolerable to the nation. To bear the name was esteemed sufficient to cover the most atrocious crime, even in the streets of the capital ; and, dur- ing the sitting of parliament, a baron who had murdered his opponent on the threshold of the principal church, was permitted to walk openly abroad, solely because he was a Douglas ; and no one, by his apprehension, dared to incur the vengeance of its chief. 1 There were men, however, breoj in these iron times, and nursed in that enthusiastic attachment to their chief, i Caligula, b. vi. 420. Sir C. Dacre to Lord William Dacre, Dec. 2, 1526. The murderer mentioned in the text was the Laird of Lochin- var, who had slain the Laird of Bondby at St Giles' kirk door. " As for th' ord'ring of God's justice there is noon done in all Scotland." [Chap. VIIL created by the feudal principle, who despised all danger, in the desire of fulfilling their duty. Of this an event, which now occurred, strikingly de- monstrated the truth. A groom of Lennox, having arrived in the capital, whether by accident or intention does not appear, met a fellow-servant in the street, and eagerly demanded if he had seen Hamilton the bastard of Arran? "I have, and but a short time since," was the reply. " What ! '* said he, " and wert thou so ungrateful a recreant to thy murdered lord x as t till the majority of his nephew. Scarcely had he assumed this dignity, when he sent Moray a peremptory order to deliver up the infant^ and, on his refusal, mercilessly ravaged his lands, sacked the town of Dyke, which belonged to him, and stormed and razed to Jhe ground his i Lesley, p. 136- * Ibid. p. 137. 341 castle of Tarnaway. 3 Nor was this enough : the young heir of Macintosh had been committed to the care of the Ogilvies, Moray's near kinsmen ; and, to revenge this imaginary insult, the ferocious mountaineer appeared before the castle of Pettie, belonging to Ogilvy of Durness, and, carrying it by assault, murdered twenty-four of their house. . But the triumph was brief; for when Hector was about to continue his outrages, Moray, who had procured a royal commission, rapidly assembled an army, and suddenly invading the Macintoshes, defeated them with the utmost slaughter. Two hundred of the principal delinquents were made prisoners, and led to instant execu- tion; but the chief himself escaped; and such was the fidelity of his clans- men, that neither rewards nor tortures could induce them to disclose the place of his retreat. His brother, however, was seized and hanged, whilst Hector, flying to the capital, obtained the royal mercy only to fall a victim to the dagger of a monk at, St Andrews, whose history and mo- tive are alike unknown. 4 Amid these dark and sanguinary scenes, the govern- ment of Angus continued firm, being strengthened by the friendship of England, to whose interests he cor- dially attached himself, and by the apparent accession of the chancellor Beaton. The great wealth of this crafty prelate, and the liberality with which it was distributed to the Doug- lases, obtained for him a ready ob- livion of his former opposition; and, although Sir George Douglas warned his brother of the dangerous designs which might be in agitation under the . pretended reconciliation, Angus, who was inferior to his rival in a talent for intrigue, derided his suspicion. The reconciliation of the archbishop to his powerful rivals, and his re- admission to a share in the govern- ment, were signalised by a lamentable event, — the arraignment and death of Patrick Hamilton, abbot of Ferne, the earliest, and, -in some respects, the most eminent of the Scottish re- * Now called Darnaway, on the river Find- horn. • * Lesley, p. 138. 342 formers. This youthful sufferer was the son- of Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavil, and Catherine Stewart, a daughter of the Duke of Albany. Educated at St Andrews, in what was then esteemed the too liberal philosophy of John Mair, the master of Knox and Buchanan, he early dis- tinguished himself by a freedom of mind, which detected and despised the tenets of the schoolmen. He after- wards imbibed, probably from the treatises of Luther, a predilection for the new doctrines; and, being sum- moned before an ecclesiastical council, he preferred at that time, when his faith was still unsettled, an escape to the continent to the dangerous glory of defending his opinions. At Wittem- berg, he sought and obtained the friendship of Luther and Melancthon ; they recommended him to the care of Lambert, the head of the university of Marpurg, and by this learned scholar Hamilton became fully in- structed in the reformed opinions. No sooner did a full conviction of the errors of the church of Rome take possession of his mind, than a change seemed to be wrought in his char- acter; he that before had been scep- tical and timid, became courageous, almost to rashness; and, resisting the tears and entreaties of his affection- ate master, declared his resolution of returning to Scotland, and preach- ing the faith in his native country. 1 He embarked, arrived in 1527 at St Andrews, publicly addressed the people, and, after a brief and zealous career, was arrested by the ecclesias- tical arm, and thrown into prison. His youth, (he was then only twenty- eight,) his talents, his amiable and gentle manners, interested all in his favour; and many attempts were made to induce him to retract his •opinions, or, at least, to cease to dis- turb the tranquillity of the church by their promulgation to the people. But all was in vain : he considered this tranquillity not the stillness of peace, but the sleep of ignorance ; he defended his doctrines with such ear- nestness and acquaintance with Scrip- i Spottiswood, pp. 62, 63. Knox, pp. 7, 8. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. VI I L ture, that Aless, a Catnolic priest, who j had t visited him in his cell with a desire to shake his resolution, became I himself a convert to the captive, and \ he was at last condemned as an ob- ] stinate heretic, and led to the stake. On the scaffold, he turned affection- ately to his servant, who had long attended him, and, taking . off his gown, coat, and cap, bade him receive all the worldly goods now left him to bestow, and with them the example of his death. " What I am about to suffer, my dear friend/' said he, " ap- pears fearful and bitter to the flesh ; but, remember, it is the entrance to everlasting life, which none shall possess who deny their Lord." 2 In the midst of his torments, which, from the awkwardness of the executioner, were protracted and excruciating, he ceased not to exhort those who stood near, exhibiting a meekness and un- affected courage, which made a deep impression. Lifting up his eyes to heaven, he exclaimed, " How long, O God! shall darkness cover this king- dom ? How long wilt thou suffer this tyranny of men ? " and when death at last came to his relief, he expired with these blessed words upon his lips, u Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 3 The leading doctrines of Hamilton were explained by himself in a small Latin treatise, which has been trans- lated by Fox, and incorporated in his Book of Martyrs. It contains a clear exposition of the manner in which a sinner is justified before God, through faith in Jesus Christ, and a beautiful commentary on some of the princi- pal Christian graces. Although occa- sionally quaint and obscure, it proves that the mind of this good man was in advance of his age, at least in Scot- land. 4 It was now two years since Angus had obtained the supreme power. Dur- ing this time the despotism of the 2 There is some reason to believe that a scheme for his rescue had been organized by Andrew Duncan of Airdrie, in Fife,* one of his most attached followers, but it was dis~ covered and defeated. s Biographia Brit. Art. Duncan, Kippis^ edition. . 4 Knox, p. 8, Grlagow edition. 1528.] JAM house of Douglas had been complete ; and the history of the country pre- sented the picture of a captive mon- arch, 1 a subservient and degraded no- bility, and a people groaning under oppression, yet bound by the ties of the miserable system under which they lived to the service of their oppressors. To use the strong and familiar language of an ancient historian, " the Douglases would frequently take a progress to punish thieves and traitors, yet none were found greater than in their own- company;" and an attempt made at this time, by the arch-plunderer him- self, to obtain possession of the queen's dowry lands, so alarmed Margaret and her husband that, giving way to terror, they suddenly threw themselves into the castle of Edinburgh. But Doug- las, taking the young monarch in his company, and summoning the lieges to muster under the royal standard, laid siege to the fortress; and Margaret, although she knew that her son was an unwilling enemy, and weary of his fetters, did not dare to disobey his summons. Falling on her knees be- fore the king, she presented the keys of the fortress, and implored pardon ;for herself and her husband, whilst Angus, in the insolence of uncontroll- able dominion, smiled at her constrain- ed submission, and ordered Henry Stewart to a temporary imprisonment. 2 The secret history of this enormous power on the one hand, and implicit obedience on the other, is to be found in the fact that the Douglases were masters of the king's person : they compelled the young monarch to affix his signature to any deeds which they chose to orfer him. Angus was chan- cellor, and the great seal at his com- 1 In Caligula, b. ii. 118, Aug. 30th, 1527, is a letter from Magnus to Wolsey, which shews that James had ineffectually remonstrated to Henry VLII. against the thraldom in which he was held by Angus. " This daye," says Magnus, "passed from hence a chaplaine of the Bishoppe of St Andrews, wyth a letter addressed from the younge kyng of Scottes to the kinge's hieness, a copy whereof I send ; mentioning, among other thynges, that the said yong king, contrary his will and. mynd, is kept in thraldom and captivitie with Archi- bald erle of Anguisshe." 2 Lesley, p. 140. ES V. 343 mand; his uncle was treasurer, and the revenues, as well as the law of the country, with its terrible processes of treason and forfeiture, were completely under his control. So long as James remained a captive all this powerful machinery was theirs, and their autho- rity, which it supported, could not be shaken ; but as soon as the king became free, the tyrannical system was under- mined in its foundation, and certain to disappear. The moment destined for the libera- tion of the monarch and the country was now at hand ; nor can it be doubt- , ed that James, who had completed his sixteenth year, and began to develop a S character of great vigour and capacity, was the chief contriver of the plot for J his freedom. Beaton, the ex-chancellor and his assistant in his schemes, hav- ing given a magnificent entertainment to the young king and the Douglases in his palace of St Andrews, so com- pletely succeeded in blinding the eyes of Angus, that the conspiracy for his destruction was matured when he deemed himself most secure. 3 James prevailed first on his mother, whom it was not deemed prudent to entrust with the secret, to exchange with him her castle of Stirling for the lands of Methven, in Strathern, to be given with the dignity of peer to her husband; and having placed this fortress in the hands of a captain on whose fidelity he could rely, he induced Angus, under some plausible pretext, to permit him to re- move to his palace of Falkland, within a moderate distance from St Andrews. 4 It was here easy for him to communi- cate with Beaton, and nothing remained but to seize a favourable moment for the execution of their design : nor was this long of presenting itself. Lulled into security by the late defeat of the queen, and the well-feigned indiffer- ence of the chancellor, the Douglases 3 Caligula, b. iii. 136. By a letter of Thomas Loggen, one of Magnus's spies, to that am- bassador, it appears that the Douglases had . detected Beaton secretly writing to the pope, representing his services, and requesting a cardinal's hat. It is singular this did not make Angus more cautious. Lindsay, p. 206. 4 Caligula, b. vii. 73. Credence gevin by the Q.ueene of Scots to Walter Taite. 344 HISTORY OF had for a while intermitted their rigid watch over the king. Angus had passed to Lothian, on his private af- fairs; Archibald, his uncle, to Dundee ; and Sir George Douglas, the master of the royal household, having entered into some transactions with Beaton regarding their mutual estates, had been induced by that prelate to leave the palace for a brief season, and to visit him at St Andrews ; only Doug- las of Parkhead, captain of the royal guard, was left with the young mon- arch, who instantly took his measures, fcor escape. Calling Balfour of Ferny, jihe keeper of Falkland forest and chamberlain of Fife, he issued orders for a hunting party next morning, commanding him to warn the tenantry, and assemble the best dogs in the neighbourhood ; he then took supper, went early to bed, under pretence of being obliged to rise next morning be- fore daybreak, and dismissed the cap- tain of his guard, who, without suspi- cion, left the royal apartment. When all was quiet in the palace, James Started from his couch, disguised him- self as a yeoman of the guard, stole to ^the stable, attended by two faithful i servants, and, throwing himself upon a fleet horse, reached Stirling before sunrise. On passing th ' when many of the highest nobles de« i clined or dreaded the task of enforcing their" obedience, and others were no- torious for their violation of them. A strong example of rigour was, he said, absolutely required ; . and this remark was instantly followed by the arrest of the Earl of Bothwell, lord of Teviot- dale : Home, Maxwell, Ker of Fernie- hirst, Mark Ker, with the barons of Buccleuch, Polwarth, and Johnston, shared his imprisonment ; 3 and hav- 2 "And howbeit, the said Erie [Angus] beand our ehancellare, wardane of our est and middil marches, and lieutenant of the samyn e, procurit divers radis to' be maid upon the brokin men of our realme ;• he usit our auto- rite, not against yame, bot against our baronis and uthers our lieges, yat wald not enter in bands of manrent to him, to be sa stark of power, that we suld not be habit to reign as his prince, or naif dominatioun aboun hym or our lieges." MS. Caligula, b. ii. 224. Ar- ticles and Credence to be shewn to Patrick Sinclair, July 13, 1528. Signed by James the Fifth. 3 Lesley, pp. 141, 142. 1528-31.] JA1V ing thus secured some of the greatest offenders, the king placed himself at the head of a force of eight thousand men, . and traversed the disturbed dis- tricts with unexpected strength and celerity. Guided by some of the Borderers, who thus secured a pardon, he penetrated into the inmost recesses of Eskdale and Teviotdale, and seized Cockburn of Henderland and Scott of Tushielaw before the gates of then own castles. Both were led to almost instant execution ; and by a sanguin- ary example of justice, long remem- bered on the marches, the famous freebooter, Johnnie Armstrong, was hanged, with forty-eight of his retain- ers, on the trees of a little grove, where they had too boldly presented them- selves to entreat the royal pardon. The fate of this renowned thief, who levied his tribute, or black mail, for many miles within the English Bor- ders, has been commemorated in many of the rude ballads of these poetic districts; and if we may believe their descriptions, he presented himself to the king, with a train of horsemen, whose splendid equipments almost put to shame the retinue of his prince. 1 This partial restoration of tranquil- lity was followed by the news of a for- midable but abortive attempt to sepa- rate the Orkneys from the dominion of the crown. The author of the re- bellion, whose ambition soared to the height of an independent prince, was the Earl of Caithness ; 'but his career was brief and unfortunate, the majority of the natives of the islands were steady in their loyalty, and in a naval battle, James Sinclair, the governor, encountered -the insurgents, defeated and slew their leader, with five hun dred men, and, making captives of the rest, reduced these remote districts to a state of peace. 2 But whilst tran- quillity was restored in this quarter of his' dominions, the condition of the Isles became a subject of serious alarm. The causes of these renewed disturb- ances are not to be traced, as in the former rebellion, to any design in the Islesmen, to establish a separate and 1 Lesley, pp. 142, 143. Lindsay, p. 220. 2 Lesley, p. 141. ES V. 34> independent principality under a prince of their cw. election; and it is probable that the imprisonment of Donald of Sleat, in the castle of Edin- burgh, extinguished for a season all ambition of this sort. The sources of disaffection originated in a fierce family feud which had broken out between the Macleans of Dowart and the Earl of Argyle, who, holding the high office of governor of the Isles, was frequently tempted to represent any attack up- on himself or his adherents as a rebel- lion against the authority of the sove- reign. A daughter of the earl, Lady Elizabeth Campbell, had been given in marriage to Maclean of Dowart, and the union proving unhappy, the ferocious chief exposed, her upon a desolate rock near the isle of Lismore, which, at high water, was covered by the sea. 3 From this dreadful situation she was rescued by a passing fishing- boat; and, not long after, Sir John Campbell of Calder avenged' the wrongs of his house by assassinating Maclean, whom he stabbed in his bed, although the Highland chief had pro- cured letters of protection and be- lieved himself secure. 4 Other causes s Still called the Lady Rock. * This murder by Sir John Campbell is al hided to in strong terms in an interesting document, preserved in the State-paper office, dated August 1545, entitled, "Article pro- posed by the Commissioners of the Lord of the Isles to the Privy-council, as the basis of an agreement to be entered into between Henry the Eighth and him for the service of his troops." The passage is curious, as evinc ing the enmity of the Islemen to Scotland ; Quhairfor, your Lordships sail considder we nave beyne auld enemys to the realme of Scotland, and quhen they had peasche with ye kings hienis, thei hanged, hedit, presoned, and destroied many of our kyn, friendis, and forbearis, as testifies be our Master, th' Erie of Ross, now the king's grace's subject, ye quhilk hath lyin in presoun afoir he was borne of his moder, and is not releiffit with their will, bot now laitlie be ye grace of Grod. In lykeWise, the Lord Maclanis fader was cruellie murdressit, under traist, in bis bed, in the toun of Edinbruch, be Sir John Camp- bell of Calder, brudir to th' Erll of Argyle. The capitane of Clanranald, this last zeir ago, in his defens, slew the Lord Lovett, his son-in-law, his three brethren, with xiii scoir of men ; and many uther crewell slachter, burnying, and herschip that hath beyn be- twix us and the saidis Scottis, the quhilk war lang to wryte. 850 of jealousy increased the mutual exas- peration; the Macleans, strengthened by their union with the clan Ian Mhor, ancl led by Alexander of Isla, defied the authority of Argyle, and carried fire and sword through the extensive principality of the Campbells ; whilst they, on the other hand, retaliated with equal ferocity, and the isles of Mull and Tiree, with the wide dis- trict of Morvern, were abandoned to indiscriminate plunder. Such was the state of things, in these remote districts, during the years 1528 and 1529; about which time Argyle earnestly appealed to the coun- . cil, and, describing the deplorable con- dition of the country, demanded more extensive powers to enable him to re- duce it under the dominion of the law. But the sagacity of James suspected the representations of this powerful noble ; and, whilst he determined to levy a force sufficient to overawe the disaffected districts, and, if necessary, to lead it against the Isles in person, he endeavoured to avert hostilities, by offering pardon to any of the Island chiefs who would repair to court and renew their allegiance to their sove- reign. These conciliatory measures were attended with success. Nine of /the principal Islesmen, with Hector 1 Maclean of Dowart, availed themselves of the royal safe-conduct, and person- ally tendered their submission ; whilst, soon after, Alexander of Isla repaired to the palace of Stirling, and in an in- terview with the monarch, expressed his contrition for his offences, and was received into favour. He promised to enforce the collection of the royal rents upon the crown lands of the Isles ; to support the dignity and re- spect the revenues of the Church ; and to maintain the authority of the laws, and the inviolability of private pro- perty. Under these conditions the monarch reinstated the Island lord and his vassals in the lands which they had forfeited by their rebellion. 1 In the late negotiations, Henry the Eighth had alluded to his wishes for 1 These particulars I derive from Mr Gre- gory's interesting work, " History of the West- ern Highlands and Isles," pp. 132, 133, 136. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. a matrimonial alliance with Scotland, 5 and his ally, Francis the First, whose interests at this time were inseparable from those of England, was disposed to promote the scheme. To Charles the Fifth, however, their great rival, whose policy was more profound than that of his opponents, any match be- tween J ames and a daughter of Eng- land was full of annoyance; and he exerted every effort to prevent it. He proposed successively to the youthful monarch, his sister, the queen of Hun- gary, and his niece, the daughter of Christiern, king of Denmark ; and so intent was he upon the last-mentioned union, that an envoy was despatched to Scotland, who held out as a dower the whole principality of Norway. But the offer of an offensive and de- fensive league with so remote a power as Austria was coldly received by James and his parliament ; whilst the preservation of peace with England, and his desire to maintain the alliance with France, inclined him to lend a more favourable ear to the now reit- erated proposals of Henry. In the meantime his attention was wisely directed to the best measures for promoting the security and happi- ness of his kingdom, still distracted by the unbridled licentiousness of feudal manners. Blacater, the baron of Tulliallan, with some ferocious ac- complices, among whom was a priest named Lothian, having assassinated Sir James Inglis, abbot of Culross, was seized and led to instant execu- tion ; whilst the priest, after being de- graded and placed without the pale of the ecclesiastical law, was beheaded. 3 To secure the commercial alliance be- tween Scotland and the Netherlands was his next object ; and for this pur- pose, Sir David Lindsay of the Mount — a name dear to the Scottish Muses — and Campbell of Lundie were sent on an embassy to Brussels, at that moment the residence of the emperor, who received them with a distinction proportioned to his earnest desire to 2 Caligula, b. vii. 121. Copy of a letter from Magnus to Sir Adam Otterburn, Decern-, ber 5, 1528. * Diurnal of OccurrenAs in Scotland, p. 13. 1531-2.] JAMES V. secure the friendship of their young master. The commercial treaty, for one hundred years, originally con- cluded by James the First, between his dominions and the Netherlands, now about to expire, was wisely re- newed for another century. 1 But it was in vain that the king strengthened his alliances abroad, and personally exerted himself at home, whilst a large proportion of his nobles thwarted every measure for the public weal. Spoilt by the licence and im- punity which they had enjoyed under the misrule of Angus, and trammelled by bands of manrent amongst them- selves, or with that powerful baron, they either refused to execute the commands of the sovereign, or received them only to disobey, when removed out of the reach of the royal displea- sure ; and in this manner the laws, which had been promulgated by the wisdom of the privy-council or parlia- ment, became little else than a dead letter. Against this abuse, James was compelled to adopt decided measures. The Earl of Argyle was thrown into prison; Crawford, on some charges which cannot be ascertained, lost the greater part of his estates ; the dislike to the house of Douglas, and the de- termination to resist every proposal for their return, assumed a sterner form in the royal mind ; and the Earl of Moray, Lord Maxwell, and Sir James Hamilton, who had shared for a while the intimacy and confidence of their sovereign, found themselves treated with coldness and disregard. 2 On the other hand, many of the clergy were highly esteemed, and promoted to the principal offices in the govern- ment ; nor are we to wonder at the preference evinced by the monarch, when it is considered, that in learning, talents, and acquaintance with the management of public affairs, the superiority of the spiritual over the temporal estate was decided. It was probably by the advice of Dunbar, the archbishop of Glasgow, 1 Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 310. 2 Caligula, b. v. 216. Communicacions had between th' Erie ot Northumberland and th' Erie Bothwell, December 21, 1531. 351 who had been his preceptor, and now held the office of chancellor, that the king at this time instituted the Col- lege of Justice, a new court, of which the first idea is generally said to have been suggested by the Parliament of Paris. Much delay, confusion, and partiality accompanied those heritable jurisdictions, by which each feudal baron enjoyed the right of holding his own court; and although an appeal lay to the king and the privy- council, the remedy by the poorer litigant was unattainable, and by the richer tedious and expensive. In a parliament, there- fore, which was held at Edinburgh, (May 17, 1532,) the College of Justice was instituted, which consisted of fourteen Judges, — one-half selected from the spiritual, and the other from the temporal estate, — over whom was placed a President, who was alw r ays to be a clergyman. The great object of this new court was to remove the means of oppression out of the hands of the aristocracy; but, as it was pro- vided that the chancellor might pre- side when he pleased, and that on any occasion of consequence or difficulty, the king might send three or four members of his privy-council to influ- ence the deliberations, and give their votes, it was evident that the subject was only freed from one grievance, to be exposed to the possibility of an- • other, — less, indeed, in extent, but scarcely more endurable when it oc- curred. 3 It is an observation of Bu- chanan, that the new judges, at their first meetings, devised many excellent plans for the equal administration of justice, but disappointed the nation by their future conduct, especially in their attempts to prevent any en- croachments upon their authority, by the provisions of the parliament. We must not forget, however, that, as he approaches the period of the Reforma- tion, impartiality is not the first virtue of this eminent man : that the cir- cumstance of one-half of the court being chosen from the spiritual estate had an effect in retarding the progress of the reformed opinions cannot be doubted. s Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. pp. 33r, 336. 352 All Europe was now at peace ; the treaties of Barcelona and Carabrai had for a season settled the elements of war and ambition. Charles was re- conciled to the Pope, and on friendly terms with his rival Francis; whilst Henry the Eighth, under the influ- ence of his passion for Anne Boleyn, was about to pursue his divorce, and become the instigator of that great re- ligious reformation, in the history of which we must be careful to distin- guish the baseness of some of its in- struments from that portion of the truth which it restored and estab- lished. It w T as in the meantime the effect of all these events to give a continuance of peace to Scotland ; but the intrigues of the Earl of Bothwell, who had traitorously allied himself with England; 1 the restless ambition of Angus, whose services against his native country had also beenpurchased V>y Henry ; a and the spirit of war and i In the State-paper Office, Border Corres- pondence, is an interesting and curious ori- ginal MS. letter, dated Newcastle, 27th De- cember 1531, from the Earl of Northumber- land to the king, giving a full account of a conference with the Earl of Bothwell. Both- well first declared the occasion and ground of his displeasure towards the King of Scots, — namely, J, the giving of his lands to the Carres of Teviotdale ; the keeping him half a year in prison, and seeking to apprehend him and his colleagues, that he might lead them to execution." The letter continues thus, — "and touching the second article in your most gracious lettres, as to know what he could do for revenging of his displeasure, or releving of his hart and stomach against the Skottes kyng, the said erle doth securely promise, your higness being his good and gracious prince and helpyng him to his right, .... that he should not only serve your most noble grace in your wars against Skot- land trewly with a thousand gentlemen, and sex thousand commons, but also becomes your highness's true subject and liegeman. Thyrdly, to know what lykelihood of good effect shall ensue ; hereof the said erle doth say, remembering the banyshment of the Erie of Anguisse, the wrongfull disinherityng of the Erie of Crawford, the sore imprison- ment of the Erie of Argyle, the litill estima- cyon of the Erie Murray and the Lord Max- well, the simple regarding of Sir James Hamilton for his good and paynfull services, he puts no doubt with his own power and the Erie of Anguisse's, seeing all their nobles hartes afore expressed : be withdrawen from the kiDg of Skottes, to crown your grace in the toune of Ediriburg within brief ty me." - Caligula, b. v. 216. The object of Both- HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. plunder which was fomented in un- extinguishable strength upon the Bor- ders, combined to distract the king- dom and defeat the wisest efforts for the preservation of tranquillity. Mutual inroads took place, in which the ban- ished Douglases and Sir Anthony Darcy distinguished themselves by the extent and cruelty of their ravages; whilst it was deemed expedient by James to divide the whole body of the fighting men in Scotland into four parts, to each of which, in rotation, the -defence of the marches was intrusted under the command of Moray, now recon- ciled to the king, and created lieuten- ant of the kingdom. This measure appears to have been attended with happy effects ; and at the same time, the Scottish .monarch evinced his power of distressing the government of Henry, should he persist in encour- aging his rebel subjects, .by raising a body of seven thousand Highlanders, under the leading of Maclan, to assist O'Donnel, the Irish chief, in his at- tempts to shake off the English yoke. It appears from a letter of the Earl of Northumberland to Henry the Eighth, that the Earl of Argyle, about the same time, had been deprived of the chief command m the Isles, which was conferred upon Maclan, — a ch> cumstance which had completely alienated the former • potent chief, and disposed him, with the whole strength of his vassals and retainers, to throw himself into the arms of England. . But this dangerous discon- tent was not confined to Argyle; it was shared in all its bitterness by the Earl of Crawford, whose authority in the same remote districts had been plucked from his grasp, and placed in . the hands of Maclan. 3 Neither was well, as it appears by the original agree- ment, was to seek Henry's assistance, " that, by his grace, the realme of Skotland sal be brocht into gud stait agayn, and not the nobles thereof be kept down as they are in thralldom, but to be set up as they haif bene before," 21§t December 1531. Angus bound himself, as we learn by a copy of the original writing between him and Henry, Caligula, b. i. 129, to "makunto us the othe of allegi- awnce, and recognise us as supreme Lorde of Scotland, and as his prince and soveraigne." s Caligula, b. i. 129. " The king of Skottis hath plucked from the Erie of Argile, and 1532-4.] JAME James absolutely secure of the sup- port of the clergy : they viewed with jealousy an attempt to raise from their dioceses a tax of ten thousand crowns, within the period of a single year; and so effectually addressed them- selves to the Pope, that a bull was ob- tained, which limited the sum, and extended the period for its contribu- tion. The mutual hostilities upon the Borders had now continued with un- mitigated rancour for more than a year, each sovereign professing his anxiety for peace ; yet unwilling, when provoked by aggression, to deny him- self the triumph of revenge, and the consolation of plunder. The flames of towns and villages, the destruction of the labour of the husbandman, and of the enterprise and industry of the merchant ; the embittering of the spirit of national animosity, and the corruption of the aristocracy of the country, by the money and intrigues of England, — all these pernicious con- sequences were produced by the pro- traction of the war, which, although \ no open declaration had been made by either monarch, continued to desolate the country. It was in vain that Francis the First despatched his am- bassador to the Scottish court, with the object of mediating between the two countries, whose interests were now connected with his own. James upbraided him, and not without jus- tice, with his readiness to forget the alliance between their two kingdoms, and to sacrifice the welfare of Scot- land to the ambition of Henry his new ally. The negotiation was thus defeated, but again Francis made the attempt : Beauvois, a second ambas- sador, arrived at the Scottish court ; and the monarch relaxed so far in his opposition, that he consented to a conference for a truce, which, although it had been stipulated to commence from his heires for ever ; the rule of all the oute Isles, and given the same to Mackayne and his heires for ever ; and also taken from the Erie Crawford such lands as he had ther, and given the same to the said Mackayne : the whiche hath engendered a grete hatrit in the said Erie's harte against the said Skottis king." VOL. II. ;s V. 353 early in June, was protracted by the mutual disputes and jealousies of the contracting parties till near the win- ter. In the meantime the king resolved to set out on a summer progress through his dominions, in the course of which an entertainment was given to the yet youthful monarch by the Earl of Athole, which is strikingly illustrative of the times. This potent Highland chieftain, who perhaps in- dulged in the hope of succeeding to a portion of the power so lately wrested from Argyle, received his sovereign at his residence in Athole, with a magni- ficence which rivalled the creations of romance. A rural palace, curiously framed of green timber, was raised in a meadow, defended at each angle by a high tower, hung in its various chambers with tapestry of silk and gold, lighted by windows of stained glass, and surrounded by a moat, in tEenBianner of a feudal fortress. In this fairy mansion the king was lodged more sumptuously than in any of his own palaces: he slept on the softest down ; listened to the sweetest music ; saw the fountains around him flowing with muscadel and hippocras; angled for the most delicate fish which gleamed in the little streams and lakes in the meadow, or pursued the pastime of the chase amid woods and moun- tains which abounded with every species of game. The queen-mother accompanied her son; and an ambas- sador from the Papal court having ar- rived shortly before, was invited to join in the royal progress. The splen- dour, profusion, and delicacy of this feudal entertainment, given by those whom he had been accustomed to consider barbarians, appeared almost miraculous, even to the warmth of an Italian imagination ; and his astonish- ment was not diminished when Athole, at the departure of the royal cavalcade, declared that the palace which had given delight to his sovereign should never be profaned by a subject, and commanded the whole fabric, with its innumerable luxuries, to be given to the flames. Although provoked by the continu- z 3o4 ance of the Border inroads, which were carried on with the connivance of the English monarch, at the moment he professed an anxiety for peace, James wisely suppressed his resentment, and contented himself with a temperate remonstrance. His situation indeed, owing to the continued intrigues of the adherents of the house of Douglas, and the secret support they received from England, 1 was perilous and har- assing; and whatever might be his in- dividual feelings, it became evident that peace with that country must be secured, even at some sacrifice. The Bishop of Aberdeen and Sir Adam Otterburnwere accordingly despatched to the English court with full powers; and having met with the English com- missioners, the Secretary Crotuwell and Dr Fox, a pacification was concluded, which was to last during the lives of the two monarchs, and to continue for a year after the death of him who first deceased It appears that the Dou- glases, since their forfeiture, had gained possession of Edrington castle, which James, who was jealous of their retaining even the smallest property within his dominions, in- sisted should be restored On this condition he agreed that Angus, Sir George Douglas, his brother, and Archibald, his uncle, might remain un- molested in England, supported by Henry as his subjects, — provided, ac- cording to the Border laws, reparation was made for any enterprise which either he or they might conduct against Scotland. The treaty was concluded on the 12th of !May 1534, and soon after ratified with circum- stances of much solemnity and rejoic- ing by both monarchs. 2 . The young king was soon after flattered by the arrival of Lord "William Howard, with the Order of the Garter from Eng- land; J whilst Francis the First re- i In the State-paper Office is a letter from James to Henry, dated 18th March 1533-4^ in which he complains that, since the depar- I true of his ambassador towards England, an i incursion had been made by some Borderers under Sir R. Fenwick into Teviotdale, which had done more damage than any raid during | the war. | - Rymer, vol. xiv. pp. 480-537. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chai. IZ. quested his acceptance of that of 9t v Michael ; and the Emperor Charles the Fifth transmitted the Golden Fleece,*) by his ambassador Godeschalco. James was now in his twenty -second year, and his marriage was earnestly desired by his subjects. His fearless- ness in his constant efforts to suppress in person the disturbances which agi- tated his kingdom exposed him to con- stant danger; he would often, with no greater force than his own retinue, attack and apprehend the fiercest ban- ditti ; riding by night through solitary and remote parts of his dominions ; invading them in their fastnesses, and sharing in peril and privations with the meanest of his followers. Nor was he content with this nobler imitation of his father, but he unhappily in- herited from him his propensity to I low intrigue, and often exposed his life to the attacks of the robber or the assassin in his nocturnal visits to hid I mistresses. It was observed that the Ham il tons, who, next to the Duke of Albany, (now an elderly man without children,) had the nearest claim to the throne, looked upon this courage and recklessness of the king with a satis- faction which was scarcely concealed ; and Buchanan has even .stated, al- though upon no certain evidence, that they had made attempts against his life. With some probability, there- fore, of success, the Spanish ambassa- dor, in the name of his master, pro- posed a matrimonial alliance with his niece, the Princess Mary of Portugal ; J but the Scottish king evaded the offer, and dismissed him with general expressions of esteem. He regretted at the same time the continued hos- tility between his uncle and the em- peror, expressed his sorrow for the vio- lent measure of his double divorce from Queen Catherine and the Papal see, and declared his own determination to sup- port the religion of his fathers,, and to resist the enemies of the Church. 4 s Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 19. In the State-paper Office is an original letter from William, bishop of Aberdeen, to Secretary Cromwell, dated 8th July 1534. promising that the King his master will soon send his proxy to be installed Knight of the Garter. * Maitland. vol. ii. p. 809. 1534-5.] JAMES V. This resolution he soon after ful- filled, by encouraging a renewed per- secution of the Reformers. An eccle- siastical court was held in the. abbey of Holyrood; Hay, bishop of Ross, pre- side'd as commissioner for the cardinal; and the king, completely clothed in scarlet, the judicial costume of the time, took his seat upon the bench, and gave unwonted solemnity to the unholy tribunal. Before it many were cited to answer for their alleged here- tical opinions ; some recanted and publicly abjured their errors ; others, amongst whom were the brother and sister of Patrick Hamilton, who had sacrificed his life for his opinions, 1 fled from the country and took refuge in England; but David Strajton and Norman G^uxlay, a priest, appeared before the judges and boldly defended their faith. Strait on was a gentleman of good family, brother to the Baron of Laurieston. He had engaged in a quarrel with the Bishop of Moray on the subject of his tithes ; and in a fit of indignation had commanded his servants, when challenged by the col- lectors, to throw every tenth fish they caught into the sea, bidding them seek their tax where he found the stock. From these violent courses he had softened down into a more quiet in- quiry into the grounds of the right claimed by Churchmen ; and frequent- ing much the company of Erskine of Dun, one of the earliest and most eminent of the Reformers, became at length a sincere convert to their doc- trines. It is related that listening to the Scriptures, which was read to him by the Laird of Laurieston, he came upon that passage where our Saviour declares He will deny before His Fa- ther and the holy angels any one who hath denied Him before men : upon which he was deeply moved, and fall- ing down on his knees, implored God that, although he had been a great sinner, He would never permit him, from the fear of any bodily torment, to deny Him or His truth. 2 And the trial soon came, and was most cou- rageously encountered. Death, in one J Supra, p. 342. 2 MS. Calderwood, quoted in Pitcairn's Cri- 355 of its most terrible forms, was before him ; he was earnestly exhorted to escape by abjuring his belief; but he steadily refused to purchase his par- don by retracting a single tenet, and encouraged his fellow-sufferer Gour- lay in the same resolution. Both were burnt on the 27th of August 1534. 3 It was during this persecu- tion that some men, who afterwards became active instruments in the Re- formation, but whose minds were then in a state of inquiry and transition, consulted their safety by flight. Of these the most noted were, Alexander Aless, a canon of St Andrews, who became the friend of Melancthon and Cranmer, and professor of divinity in the university of Leipsic ; and John Majibee, better known by his classical surname Machabgeus, the favourite of Christiern, king of Denmark, and one oLihe-translators-of the Danish Bible. 4 It was now one great object of Henry to induce his nephew to imi- tate his example by shaking off the yoke of Rome. To this end he made an earnest proposal for a marriage between James and his) daughter the princess Mary ; he de-' spatched successively, Dr Barlow, his chaplain, and Lord William Howard into Scotland, with the suggestion that a conference should take place at York between himself and the Scottish king; 5 and he endeavoured to open James's eyes to the crimes and usurpations of the hierarchy of the Church of Rome. But it was the frequent fault of the English mon- arch that he defeated many a wise minal Trials, vol. i. p. 210*. 211*. Spottis- wood's Church History, p. 66. 3 The place of execution was the Rood or Cross of Greenside, on the Calton Hill, Edin- burgh. * G-erdes' Hist/Evangelii Renovati, vol. iiL p. 417. M'Crie's Appendix to Life of Knox, vol. i. p. 357. Macbee's true name, as shewn by Dr M 'Crie, on the authority of Gerdes and Yinding, was M 'Alpine, a singular transfor- mation. s It appears, from a copy of Henry's in- structions to Lord William Howard, pre- served in the State-paper Office, he not only proposes a conference at York, but suggests that James should afterwards accompany him I to Calais, where they would meet the French king. J 356 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. rcuAP. ix. purpose by the impetuosity with which he attempted to carry it for- ward ; and, in this instance, the keen- ness of Barlow and the haughtiness of Howard were ill calculated to manage so delicate a negotiation. James, acting by the advice of his privy-council, who were mostly ecclesiastics, and are de- scribed by Barlow as " the Pope's pes- tilent creatures, and very limbs of the devil," refused to accept the treatise entitled " The Doctrine of a Christian Man," which had been sent him by his uncle. The conference, to which, through the influence of the queen- dowager, the king had at first consent- ed, was indefinitely postponed; 1 and the feelings of the sovereign and his counsellors regarding the marriage with an English princess, were soon plainly expressed by the despatch of an embassy to France for the purpose of concluding a matrimonial alliance with that crown. The death of Clement the Seventh, which took place in the autumn of this year, was followed, as is well known, by the most decided measures upon the part of Henry the Eighth. The con- firmation of his supremacy as head of the Church by the English parliament, the declared legality of the divorce, and the legitimacy of the children of Anne Boleyn, with the cruel impri- sonment and subsequent execution of Fisher and More, convinced the new pontiff, Paul the Third, that he had for ever lost the English monarch. It only remained for him to adopt every me- thod for the preservation of the spiritual allegiance of his remaining children. Amongst other missions he despatched his legate, Antonio Campeggio, into Scotland, with instructions to use every effort for the confirmation of James in his attachment to the pope- dom, whilst he trusted that the mar- riage of the second son of Francis the First to the Pope's niece, Catherine de Medici, would have the effect of en- listing the whole interest of this mon- arch against the dissemination of the Lutheran opinions in his dominions. i MS. Letter in State-paper Office. Queen Margaret to Henry the Eighty* dated 12th December 1535. To James, Campeggio addressed an ex- position of the scandalous conduct of the English king in making his reli- gious scruples,, and his separation from the Church of Rome, a cloak for the gratification of his lust and ambition ; he drew a flattering contrast between the tyranny and hypocrisy which had guided his conduct, and the attach< ment of his youthful nephew of Scot* land to the Holy See, addressing him by that title of Defender of the Faith, 8 which had been unworthily bestowed upon its worst enemy \ and he laid at his feet a cap and sword which had been consecrated by the Pope upon the anniversary of the Nativity. We are to measure the effects of such gifts by the feeiings of the times, and there can be little doubt that their in- fluence was considerable ; but a per- mission from his holiness to levy an additional contribution upon his clergy, was, in the present distressed state of the royal finances, not the least efficacious of his arguments. In the meantime the Scottish am- bassadors in France had concluded a marriage between their sovereign and 1 Marie de Bourbon, daughter of the Duke of Vendosme ; . whilst Henry, jealous of the late Papal embassy, and aware that such a union must confirm the attachment of his nephew to the Roman see, encouraged the discon- tents amongst the Scottish nobility, promoted the intrigues of the Dou- glases for their restoration to their native country, and even succeeded in corrupting the fidelity of James's am- bassador, Sir Adam Otterburn, who> was afterwards imprisoned for a secret negotiation, with the partisans of Angus. 3 A parliament was held this summer, (June 8, 1535,) in which, amid much that is uninteresting to the historian, 2 It appears, by a letter in the State-paper Office, that Henry remonstrated against this title being given to James. 3 In the State-paper Office is a letter from Otterburn to Cromwell, dated 18th of October, (probably of the year 1535,) in which he re- grets that he was not able, from illness, to pay more attention to the English ambassa- dors ; and states, that although they could not agree touching the authority of the Pope, he would u*e every effort to nrestrve the amity 1535-7.] JAMES Y. there are found som« provisions worthy of attention. It was made imperative on the Border barons and gentlemen to restore something like security to their disturbed districts, by re- building the towers and " peels" which had been razed during the late wars ; " weapon -schawings," or armed mus- ters, were enforced; and the importation of arms, harness, and warlike ammuni- tion was encouraged. The act passed in a late parliament against the im- portation of the works of " the great heretic, Luther," with his disciples or followers, was repeated; and the dis- cussion of his opinions, except with the object of proving their falsehood, was sternly prohibited, whilst all per- sons having any such works in their possession were commanded to deliver them up to their Ordinary within forty days, under the penalty of con- fiscation and imprisonment. It is evi- dent that the late cruel exhibitions had only fostered the principles which they were meant to eradicate. One other act relating to the burghs, in that dark age the little nurseries of industry and freedom, is striking, and must have had important consequences. It appears that a practice had crept in of electing the feudal barons in the neighbourhood to the offices in the magistracy of the burgh ; and the effects, as might have been anticipat- ed, were highly injurious. Instead of industrious citizens occupied in their respective trades, and adding by their success to the wealth, the tranquillity, and the general civilisation of the country, the provost and aldermen or bailies were idle, factious, and tyran- nical; domineering over the indus- trious burgesses, and consuming their substance. To remedy this, it was provided that no man hereafter should be chosen to fill any office in the ma- gistracy of the burgh, but such as were themselves honest and substan- tial burgesses, — a wise enactment, which, if 'carried strictly into execu- between the two kingdoms. The practices of Otterburn, and his secret correspondence with the English, had been of long duration. He seems to have been one of those busy intri- guers who, in the minority of James, made a gain of giving secret information to England. 357 tion, must have been attended with the best effects. 1 The continued war between Francis and the emperor made it expedient for the former monarch to keep on good terms with Henry ; and so effec- tually was the English interest exerted, both at the court of France and of Scotland, in creating obstacles to the king's marriage, that James secretly determined to leave his dominions in disguise, and overrule every objection in a personal interview with his in- tended father-in-law, — a romantic and somewhat imprudent resolution, in which, however, it is not improbable that he may have been encouraged by some of his confidential advisers amongst the clergy. The vessel in which he embarked with his slender retinue encountered a severe gale ; and the monarch, who had fallen asleep from fatigue, found himself on awaken- ing once more close to the coasts of Scotland, — a result which some of our historians have ascribed to the jealousy of his companion, Sir James Hamilton, who, during the slumber of his master, seized the helm, and put about the ship. It is well known that the Hamiltons, from their hopes of suc- cession to the crown, were opposed to the marriage; yet it may be ques- tioned whether they would thus publicly expose their ambition. But the king was not to be so easily deterred from his design; and his pro- ject of a voyage in disguise having failed, he determined to execute his purpose with suitable deliberation and magnificence. A regency was appointed, which consisted of Beaton, the arch- bishop of St Andrews ; Dunbar, arch- bishop of Glasgow, the chancellor; the Earls of Eglinton, Montrose, and Huntly, with the Lord Maxwell ; and the king, having first paid his devo- tions at the shrine dedicated to our Lady of Loretto near Musselburgh, and offered his prayers for a happy voyage, sailed from Leith with a squadron of seven vessels, accompanied by a splendid suite of his spiritual and temporal nobility. A fair wind brought 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 349. 353 HISTORY OF them on the 10th day to Dieppe ; and Francis, whose hopes were at this mo- ment highly elated by his successes against the emperor, immediately in- • vited the royal visitor to Paris, and despatched the dauphin to conduct him thither. James's first desire, [l however, was to see his affianced bride ; and, repairing in disguise to the palace of the Duke de Vendosme, he was re- cognised as he mingled with the gay crowds that peopled its halls, by his likeness to a miniature portrait which he had sent her from Scotland. Marie de Bourbon is said to have been deeply captivated by the noble mien and gal- lant accomplishments of her intended husband; but the impression was not mutual : and whether from the ambi- tion of a higher alliance, or the fickle- ness of youthful affection, J ames trans- ferred his love from the Lady of Ven- dosme to the princess Magdalen, the only daughter of Francis, a beautiful girl of sixteen, but over whose features consumption had already thrown a melancholy languor, which was in vain pointed out to the king by the warn- ing voice of his counsellors. It is said by the French historians that the prin- cess had fallen in love with" the Scot- tish monarch at first sight ; and, al- though her father earnestly and affec- tionately dissuaded the match, on account of her extreme delicacy of constitution, James would hear of no delay, arid on new-year's day the mar- riage was celebrated with much pomp in the church of Notre Dame. The Kings of France and Navarre, and many illustrious foreigners, surrounded the altar ; and Rome, as if to confirm and flatter its youthful champion, lent a peculiar solemnity to the ceremony by the presence of seven cardinals. Feasts, masks, tournaments, and all the accompaniments of feudal joy and magnificence succeeded ;• nor was it till the spring that the king thought of his departure with his youthful queen. An application had been made by Francis to Henry that the royal couple should be allowed to pass through Kngland, but it was refused. The secret reasons of this ungracious pro- ceeding, which appear in a minute of SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. the privy-council, were the discontent felt by the English monarch at the refusal of his request for the par- don of Angus, and a desire to avoid the expense of receiving his royal nephew with the honours due to his rank. Compelled to return by sea, James embarked at Dieppe, and arrived with his youthful bride at Leith on the 19th of May. On de- scending from "the ship, Magdalen knelt upon the beach, and, taking up some portion of the sand, kissed it with" deep emotion, whilst she im- plored a blessing upon her new coun- try and her beloved husband, — an affecting incident, when viewed in connexion with her rapid and early fate. Meanwhile nothing could exceed the joy of the people at the return of their prince; and the graceful and elegant festivals of France were suc- ceeded by the ruder, but not less cor- dial, pageants of his own kingdom. James had remained in Paris for^ nearly nine months, an interval of ? no little importance when we consi- der the great changes which were so suddenly to succeed his arrival in his dominions. The causes of these- events, which have hitherto- escaped the notice of our historians, are well worthy of investigation. Of these the first seems to be the remark- able influence which Francis acquired \ over the mind of his son-in-law,— an influence which, notwithstanding the peace then nominally existing between Henry and the French monarch, was- unquestionably employed in exciting him against England. The progress of the reformed opinions in France, the violence and selfishness of Henry, and the dictatorial tone which he was accustomed to infuse into his negotia- tions, although for the time it did not produce an actual breach between the two monarchs, could not fail to alien- ate so high-minded a prince as Francis. The Pope, whose existence seemed to hang on the result, intermitted no effort to terminate the disputes be- tween the French king and the em- peror, projecting a coalition against Henry as the common enemy of Chris- tendom, He had so far succeeded in 1537-8.] JAB 1537, as £o accomplish a truce con- cluded at Nice between these two great potentates, which was extended in the following year to a pacification of ten years. From this time the cordiality b tween Francis and Henry was com- pletely t an end, whilst the Pope did not despair to bring about a combina- tion which should make the royal in- novator tremble for his boasted supre- macy, and even for his throne. It was with this object that James was flat- tered by every argument which could have weight in a young and ardent mind, to induce him to unite himself cordially in the league. On the other hand, the conduct of Henry during the absence of the Scottish king was little calcu- lated to ally the feelings of irritation and resentment which already existed between . them. Sir Ralph Sadler, a minister of great ability, had been sent into Scotland to complete the system of secret influence and intelligence in- troduoed and long acted on by Lord Dacre. He was instructed to gain an influence over the nobility, to attach to his interest the queen-mother, arid to sound the inclinations of the people on the subject of peace or war — an adoption of the reformed opinions, or a maintenance of the ancient religion. The Douglases were still maintained with high favour and generous allow- ances in England; their power, al- though nominally extinct, was still far from being destroyed ; their spies penetrated into every quarter, followed the king to France, and gave informa- tion of his most private motions ; x their feudal covenants and bands of manrent still existed and bound many of the most potent nobility to their interest, whilst the vigour of the king's govern- ment, and his preference of the clergy to the temporal lords, disgusted these proud chiefs, and disposed them to hope for a recovery of their influence from any change which might take place. All these circumstances were well known to the Scottish .king, and a more prospective policy might perhaps have dictated a reconciliation with the Douglases as the likeliest means of ac- i Letter of Penman to Sir Gr.'Douglas. Cali- gula, b, iii. 293. Paris, 29th October 1536. ES Y. 359 complishing his great design for the maintenance of the Catholic religion and the humbling the power of Eng- land ; but the tyranny of this haughty house, and the injuries which they had accumulated upon him, were yet fresh in his memory. He had determined that, so long as he lived, no Douglas should ever return to Scotland : he underrated, probably, the power pos- sessed by a feudal nobility, and, being naturally endowed with uncommon vigour and resolution of mind, deter- mined to attempt the execution of his plans, not only without their support, but in the face of their utmost endea- vours against him. We may thus dis- cern the state of parties at the return of James to his dominions. On the one hand is seen Henry the Eighth, the great foe to the supremacy of the see of Eome, supported in Scotland, not only by the still formidable power and unceasing intrigues of the Doug- lases, but by a large proportion of the nobles, and the talents of his sister, the queen-mother. On the other hand we perceive the King of Scotland, backed by the united talent, zeal, and wealth of the Catholic clergy, the loyalty of some of the most potent peers, the cordial co-operation of France, the approval of the emperor, the affection of the great body of his people, upon whom the doctrines of Luther had not as yet made any very general impression, and the cordial support of ,the Papal see. The pro- gress of events will strongly develop the operation and collision of these various parties and interests. We shall be enabled to observe the slow but uninterrupted progress towards the reception of the great principles of the Reformation, and, amid much indivi- dual error and suffering, to mark the sublime manner in which the wrath and the sin of man are compelled to work out the predetermined purposes of a most wise and holy God. To resume the current of events : the monarch had scarcely settled in his dominions, and entered upon the administration of the government, when his youthful and beautiful queen sunk under the disease which had so 360 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND strongly indicated itself before her marriage; and, to the deep sorrow of her husband and the whole nation, ex- pired on the 7th of July. The mind of the sovereigh7"aftK6ugh clouded for a season by the calamity, soon shook off the enervating influence of grief, and James demonstrated the firmness of purpose with which he had adopted his plans, in the decided step which he took within a few months after this sad event. David Beaton, bishop of Mirepoix, and afterwards the celebrated cardinal, was sent on a matrimonial embassy to France, accompanied by Lord Maxwell and the Master of Glen- cairn,' where, with the least possible de- lay, he concluded the espousals between Mary of Guise, the widow of the Duke of Longueville, and his royal master. ' Nor was the full year of grief allowed to elapse before the princess arrived, and the king celebrated his second marriage in the cathedral church at St Andrews. 1 The ties which attached nim to France were thus doubly strengthened, and the consequences of this union with the house of Guise may be long detected in those clouds of dark and complicated misfortune which were now slowly gathering around the country. In the interval between the death of Magdalen and the union with Mary of Guise, the life of the monarch had ■ been twice menaced by secret con- spiracy ; and there seems to be little doubt, that both plots are, to be traced to the widely-spreading intrigues of the house of Douglas ; nay, there is a strong presumption that they were directly connected with each other. The first plot, and that which seems to have attracted least notice, was headed by the Master of Forbes, a fierce and turbulent chief, distinguish- ed, under the government of Albany, i Henry the Eighth, as it appears by the Ambassade de M. Chatillon, Lettres Dec. 10 and 11, had become, by the report of Mr Wallop, one of his agents, enamoured of the same lady, chiefly on account of her large and comely size. He demanded her of Francis, and took the refusal violently amiss, although it was stated to him that the contract of mar- riage between this princess and James the Fifth had been solemnly concluded. Carte's History, vol. iii. p. 152. fCHAP. IX. for his murder of Seton of Meldrum, and his subserviency to the schemes of England. This person was tried, condemned, and executed on the same day; but unfortunately, in the ab- sence of all authentic records, it ia difficult to detect the particulars of the conspiracy. Having married a sister of the Earl of Angus, he was naturally a partisan of the Douglases ; and, upon their fall from power, and subsequent banishment from Scotland, he appears to have vigorously exerted himself in those scenes of private co- alition and open violence by which their friends attempted to promote their interests and accelerate their Te- turn. For the same reason he had been a decided enemy of Albany dur- ing his government, and the refusal of the Scottish lords encamped at Wark to lead their vassals against England, was mainly ascribed to his conduct and counsel, — a proceeding which was, in the eye of law, an act of treason, as Albany was then regent by the ap- pointment of the three estates. There is no evidence that any notice was taken of this at the time, but as early as the king's journey to France, in June 1536, Forbes had been accused by. Huntly of a design to shoot the king as he passed through his burgh of Aberdeen, and of conspiring the de- struction of a part of the army of Scotland, — charges upon which both himself and his father, Lord Forbes, were then imprisoned ; nor did the trial take place till upwards of four- teen months after. The meagre de- tails of our early criminal records, un- fortunately, do not permit us to ascer- tain the nature of the proofs against him. He was found guilty by a jury, against whom Calderwood has brought an unsupported assertion that they were corrupted by Huntly, 2 but, as far as can be discovered, the accusation seems un- just : no bias or partiality can be traced to any of the jurymen; no previous animosity pan be established against Huntly, but rather the contrary; 3 and the 2 Calderwood Hist. MS. quoted in Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, p. 183. 3 Pitcairn's Collection of Criminal Trials, pp. 183-187 inclusive. 153S-9.] leniency of James, in the speedy libe- ration of Lord Forbes, in admitting the brother of the criminal to- an office in his household, and abstaining from the forfeiture of his estates, prove the ab- sence of everything like vindictive feeling. All men rejoiced at the ac- quittal of tbe father, and some doubt- ed whether the crime for which he suffered was brought home to the son, but none lamented the fate of one al- ready stained by murder and spoliation of a very atrocious description. 1 Over the story of assassinating the king the obscurity is so deep, that all efforts to reach its truth, or even its circum- stances, are baffled ; but of the refusal to invade England, and the endeavour to compass the destruction and dis- honour of the Scottish army, there can be little doubt that Forbes was guilty in common with many other peers. Nor is it to be forgotten that Albany, on his return from this unfortunate expedition, accused the Scottish nobles not only of retiring in the face of the enemy, but of entertaining a secret design of delivering him to the Eng- lish. 2 It is not improbable that the secret reason for the long delay of the trial is to be found in the anxiety of the king to obtain from Albany, who was then in France, decisive evidence against the criminal. The other conspiracy, of which the guilt was more certain, and in its character more dreadful, excited a deeper interest and sympathy, from the sex and beauty of the accused. Janet Douglas, the sister of the ban- ished Angus, had married Lord Glam- mis, and, after his- death, took to her second husband a gentleman named Campbell of Skipnish. Her son, Lord Glammis, was in his sixteenth year, and she, a youthful matron, in the ma- turity of her beauty, had mingled little with the court since the calamity of 1 Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. pp. 183, 187. See letter Z, in Notes and Illustrations, on the trial of Lady Glammis. 2 Caligula, b. i. 281. Letter of Queen Mar- garet to Surrey, " Bot he thynketh na schame of it, for he makyth hys excuse that the lords wold not pass in Ingland with hym ; also that my lord of Aren, and my lord of Lenos, wyth other lordys, he sayth, that they wold haf seld hym in Ingland." • JAMES V. 361 her house. A week had scarcely' passed since James had paid the last rites to his beloved queen, and the mind of the monarch was still ab- sorbed in the bitterness of recent grief, when, to the astonishment of all men, this noble matron, only two days after the execution of the Master of Forbes, was publicly arraigned of conspiring the king's death by poison, pronounced guilty, and condemned to be burned. 3 She suffered her dreadful fate with the hereditary courage of her house; and the sympathy of the people, ever readily awakened, and unenlightened by any knowledge of the evidence brought against her, too hastily pro- nounced her innocent, ascribing her condemnation to James's inveterate hostility to the Douglases. Her son, Lord Glammis, a youth in his six- teenth year, was convicted, upon his, own confession, that he knew and had ; concealed the conspiracy; but the^ monarch commiserated his youth, and the sentence of death was changed in- to imprisonment ; Archibald Campbell of Skipnish, her husband, having been shut up in -the castle of Edinburgh, in attempting to escape, perished miser- ably by being dashed to pieces on the rocks ; John Lyon, an accomplice, was tried and hanged; whilst Makke, by whom the poison had been prepared, and from whom it was purchased, escaped with the loss of his ears and banishment. 4 It must be confessed that the circumstances of this remark- able tragedy are involved in much ob- scurity; but an examination of the s The Master of Forbes was tried, con- demned, and executed on the 14th of July ; Lady Glammis was tried, condemned, and executed on the 17th of the same month. — Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. pp. 184. 190. Lord Glammis was tried and found guilty on the 10th July. His confession was probably employed as evidence against his mother. * Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. pp. 199, 202, 203. John Lyon was found guiity, at the same time, of an attempt to poison the Earl of Rothes ; the families of Rothes and Glammis were connected. The mother ot John, sixth Lord Glammis, (Lady Glammis's husband,) was Elizabeth Grey. On the death of her first husband, John, fourth Lord Glam- mis, she married Alexander, third Earl of Huutly ; and on his death she married George, earl of Rothes. Douglas, voL ii. np 429, 563 Vol. i. pp. 646, 668. 3^2 evidence which has been lately pub- lished, leaves upon the mind little doubt of her guilt. 1 Although James supported his clergy in their persecution of the Protestant, doctrines, which were now rapidly gaining ground in the country,' it was not so much with the zeal of a bigot as with the views of a politician. That he was not indisposed to a moderate reformation of the abuses in the Catho- lic Church is evident from the liber- ality with which he permitted the exhibition of the dramatic satire of Lindsay, and the severity of his cen- sures upon the excesses of some of the prelates ; but his determination to humble the power of the nobles, to destroy the secret influence of Eng- land, and to reign a free monarch over an independent kingdom, was, he thought, to be best accomplished by the assistance of the great body of the clergy, whose talents, wealth, and in- fluence formed the only effectual coun- terpoise to the weight of the temporal peers. The impetuosity of the cha- racter of Henry, and the haughtiness with which he dictated his commands, alienated from him the mind of his nephew, and disposed him to listen with greater favour to the proposals of Francis and the wishes of the house of Guise. The state of England also encouraged him to hope that the king would be soon too much engrossed with his domestic affairs to find leisure for a continuance of his intrigues with Scotland. The discontents amongst his Catholic subjects had become so deep and general that within no. very long period three insurrections had broken out in different parts of the country; various prophecies, songs, and libellous rhymes, which spoke openly of the accession of the Scottish monarch to the English throne, began to be circulated amongst the people; i See in the Illustrations, a note on the conspiracy of the Lady GHammis, letter Z. That this unfortunate lady, by her secret practices with the Earl of Angus and the Douglases, had brought herself within the statute which made such intercourse trea- son, is certain ; but her participation in any conspiracy against the king has been much questioned, as it appears to me, on insuffi- cient grounds. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. and numerous parties of disaffected Catholics, intimidated by the violence . of Henry, took refuge in the sister kingdom. • James, indeed, in his inter- course with the English council, not only professed his contempt for such "fantastic prophecies," but ordered that all who possessed copies of them should instantly, under the penalty of death and confiscation, coihmit them to the flames ; 2 yet, so far as they in- dicated the unpopularity of the king, it may be conjectured that he re- garded them with satisfaction. An- other event which happened about this time was attended with important con- sequences. James Beaton, archbishop of St Andrews, who had long exercised a commanding influence over the affairs of the kingdom, died in the autumn of the year 1539, and was succeeded in the primacy by his nephew, Cardinal Beaton, a man far superior in talent, and still more devotedly attached to the interests of the Church from which he derived his exaltation. It was Beaton who had negotiated the second marriage of the king with Mary or Guise ; and such was the high opinion which his royal master entertained of his abilities in the management of state affairs, that he appears soon to have selected him as his principal adviser in the accomplishment of those great schemes which now occupied his mind. Beaton's accession to the supreme ecclesiastical authority was marked by a renewed persecution of the Reformers. It was a remarkable circumstance that however corrupt may have been the higher orders of the Roman Catholic Church at this period in Scotland, the great majority of converts to the prin- ciples of the Reformation were to be found amongst the orders of the in- ferior clergy. This was shewn in the present persecution. Keillor, a black friar; Dean Thomas Forret, vicar of Dollar, and a canon regular of the monastery of St Colm's Inch ; Simp- 2 Caligula, b. i. 295. James in an original letter to the Bishop of Landeth, (Landaff,) dated 5th of February, in the 36th year of his reign, informs him that he suspects such ballads are the composition either of Henry's own subjects, or of Scottish rebels residing in England. 1539.] JAM son, a priest; John Beveridge, also black friar ; and Forrester, a notary in Stirling, were summoned to appear be- fore a council held by Cardinal Beaton and William Chisholme, the bishop of Dunblane. It gives us a low opinion of the purity of the ecclesiastical judges before whom these early disciples of the Reformation were called when we find the bench filled by Beaton and Chisholme — the first notorious for his gallantry and licentiousness, the second commemorated by Keith as the father of three natural children, for whom he provided portions by alienating the patrimony of his bishopric. 1 Friar Keillor had roused the indig- nation of the Church by the composi- tion of one of those plays, or dramatic u mysteries," common in these times, in which, under the character of the chief priests and Pharisees who con- demned our Saviour, he had satirised the prelates who persecuted his true disciples. Against Forret, who ow r ed his conversion to the perusal of a volume of St Augustine, a more singu- lar charge was preferred, if we may believe the ecclesiastical historian. He was accused of preaching to his parishioners, a duty then invariably abandoned to the orders of friars, and of exposing the mysteries of Scripture to the vulgar in their own tongue. It was on this occasion that Crichton, bishop of Dunkeld, a prelate more cele- brated for his generous style of living and magnificent hospitality than for any learned .or theological endowments, undertook to remonstrate with the vicar, observing, with much simplicity, that it was too much to preach every Sunday, as it might lead the people to think that the prelates ought to preach also : " Nevertheless," continued he, u when thou findest any good epistle or gospel which sets forth the liberty of the Holy Church, thou mayst read it to thy flock." The vicar replied to this, that he had carefully read through both the Old and New Testament, and in its whole compass had not found one evil epistle or gospel, but if his lordship would point them out, he would be sedulous in avoiding them, i Keith's Catalogue, p. 105. ES V. 3C3 " Nay, brother Thomas, my joy, that I cannot do," said the bishop, smiling, " for I am contented with my breviary and pontifical, and know neither the Old or. New Testament, and yet thou seest I have come on indifferently well ; but take my advice, leave these fancies, else thou mayst repent when it is too late." 2 It was likewise objected to Forret, upon his trial, that he had taught his parishioners the Load's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Creed, in the vulgar tongue ; that he had questioned the right of taking tithes, and had restored them to the poorer members of his flock. His defence, which he grounded on Scrip- ture, was received with insult; his Bible plucked from his hand by Lauder, who denounced as heretical the conclusions he had drawn from it, and himself and his companions condemned to the stake. The sentence was executed on the Castlehill of Edinburgh, on the 31st February 1538-9. 3 But such cruel exhibitions were not confined to the capital. In the same year, Ken- nedy, a youth of eighteen years of age, and Russel, a gray friar, were found guilty of heresy, and burnt at Glasgow; Archbishop Dunbar having, it is said, in vain interceded with the cardinal to spare their lives. Kennedy is de- scribed by Knox as one who possessed a fine genius for Scottish poetry; and it is not improbable he may, like Lindsay and Dunbar, have distin- guished himself by some of those satirical effusions against the higher clergy, which, it is well known, were not the least efficient weapons in pre- paring the way for the Reformation. But the prospect of so cruel a death shook his resolution, aiid it was ex- pected he was about to recant, when the exhortations of Russel, a meek but courageous partisan of the new doc- trines, produced a sudden change. Falling on his knees, he blessed the goodness and mercy of God, which had saved him from impending destruction, and breaking out into an ecstacy of triumph, declared he now coveted death, and would readily endure the 2 MS. Calderwood, Pitcairn, vol i. p. 212*. < Diurnal of Occurrents in Gotland, p. 23. 364 utmost tortures they could inflict. " Now," said Russel, fixing his eyes on the prelates who presided — " Now is your hour, and the power of darkness ; ye now sit in judgment, whilst we stand before you falsely accused and most wrongfully condemned. But the day is coming when we shall have our innocence declared, and ye shall dis- cover your blindness — meanwhile pro- ceed, and fill up the measure of your iniquities." 1 The effect of these inhuman execu- tions was highly favourable to the principles of the Reformation, a cir- cumstance to which the eyes of the clergy, and of the monarch who lent them his sanction, were completely blinded ; and it is extraordinary they should not have perceived that they operated against them in another way by compelling many of the persecuted families to . embrace the interests of the Douglases. The continued and mutual inroads upon the Borders now called loudly for redress;' and Henry, having de- spatched the Duke of Norfolk, his lieutenant in the north, to punish the malefactors, the Scottish king, in a letter addressed to that nobleman, not only expressed his satisfaction with this appointment, but his readiness to deliver into his hands all English sub- jects who had fled into Scotland. 2 The presence of the English earl in the dis- turbed districts was soon after followed by the mission of Sir Ralph Sadler to the Scottish court, an event accelerated by the intelligence which Henry had re- ceived of the coalition between Francis the First and the emperor, and by his anxiety to prevent his nephew from joining the confederacy against him. Of Sadler's reception and negotiation we fortunately possess an authentic account, and it throws a clear light upon the state of parties in Scotland. His instructions directed him to dis- cover, if possible, James's real inten- tions with regard to the league by the emperor and Francis against England; to ascertain in what manner the mon- 1 MS. Calderwood, Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 216. 2 Original letter in the State-paper Office. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. arch was affected towards the reformed opinions, and by an exposure of the tyranny of the Papal power, the scan- dalous lives of the majority of the clergy, and the enormous wealth which had been engrossed by the Church, to awaken the royal mind to the necessity and the advantage of a suppression of the monasteries, and a rupture with the supreme pontiff. To accomplish this more effectually, the ambassador carried with him certain letters of Car- dinal Beaton, addressed to Rome, which had accidentally fallen into Henry's hands, and the contents of which it was expected would awaken the jealousy of his master, and lead to the disgrace of the cardinal; whilst Sadler was to renew the proposal for a personal conference between the two princes, and to hold out to his ambi- tion the hope of his succession to the crown of England, in the event of the death of Henry's infant and only son, Prince Edward. 3 On his arrival in Scotland the am- bassador was welcomed with cordial- ity, and although he failed in the main purpose of his mission, his reception indicated a desire upon the part of James to preserve the most amicable relations with England. This prince declared, and apparently with sincer- ity, that if Henry's conduct corre- sponded to his professions, nothing should induce him to join in any hostile coalition with Charles or Fran- cis, but he steadily refused to imitate his example in throwing off his allegi- ance to the head of the Church, dis- solving the monasteries, or abjuring the religion of his fathers. As to the letters of the. cardinal, the king remarked that he had already seen them ; and he smiled with polite contempt when Sadler attributed to Beaton a scheme for the usurping the government of his realm, and placing it in the hands of the Pope. He admitted, at the same time, the profligacy of sonne of his clergy, and declared with an oath that * It gives us a mean opinion of the wisdom of the English monarch, to find Sadler in- structed to remonstrate with James upon his unkingly mode of increasing his revenue, by his keeping vast flocks nf sheep, and busying himself in other agricultural pursuits. 1539-40.] he would compel them to lead a life more suitable to their profession; but he pronounced a merited eulogium on their superior knowledge and talents, their loyalty to the government, and their readiness to assist him in his difficulties. When pressed upon the point of a conference, he dexterously waved the subject, and, without giving a refusal, declared his wish that his ally the King of France should be pre- sent on the occasion, — a condition upon which Sadler had received no instruc- tions. On the whole, the conference between James and the ambassador placed in a favourable light the pru- dence and good sense of the Scottish monarch, under circumstances which required the exertion of these qualities in no common degree. 1 He now meditated an important en- terprise, and only awaited the confine- ment of the queen to carry it into effect. 2 The remoter portions of his kingdom, the northern counties, and the Western and Orkney Islands, had, as we have already seen, been griev- ously neglected during his minority; they had been torn by the contentions of hostile clans ; and their condition, owing to the incursions of the petty chiefs and pirate adventurers who in- fested these seas, was deplorable. This the monarch now resolved to redress, by a voyage conducted in person, and fitted out upon a scale which had not before been attempted by any of his predecessors. A fleet of twelve ships was assembled, amply furnished with artillery, provided for a lengthened voyage, and commanded by the most skilful mariners in his dominions. Of these, six ships were appropriated to the king, three were victuallers, and the remaining three carried separately the cardinal, the Earl of Huntly, and the Earl of Arran. 3 Beaton conducted 1 Sadler's State-papers, vol. i. pp. 29, 30. 2 Caligula, b. iii. 219. "Albeit it is said the kynge of Scottis causes the-schippys to be furnysched and in a redines, and after the queene be delivered he will go hymself." J. Thompson to Sir Thomas Wharton, Carlisle, May 4, 1540. * " Ther be preparyt in all twelf shyppys, whereof thre as is aforesaid for the cardinal! and the two erlys, and thre other shypis for yytalis only, and six for the kyng and hys JAMES V. 365 a force of five hundred men from Fife and Angus ; Huntly and Arran brought with them a thousand, and this little army was strengthened by the royal suite, and many barons and gentlemen who swelled the train of their prince, or followed on this distant enterprise the banner of their chiefs. It was one laudable object of the king in his voy- age, to complete an accurate nautical survey of the northern coasts and isles, for which purpose he carried with him Alexander Lindsay, a skilful pilot and hydrographer, whose charts and obser- vations remain to the present day. 4 But his principal design was to overawe the rebellious chiefs, to enforce obedi- ence to the laws, and to reduce within the limits of order and good govern- ment a portion of his dominions, which, for the last thirty years, had repeatedly refused to acknowledge their depend- ence upon the Scottish crown. On the 2 2d of May, to the great joy of the monarch and his people, thel queen presented them with a prince,/ and James, whose preparations were complete, hoisted the royal flag on board the admiral's ship, and favoured with a serene heaven and a favourable breeze, conducted his fleet along the populous coasts of Fife, Angus, and Buchan, till he doubled the promon- tory of Kennedar. 5 He next visited the wild shores of Caithness, and cross- ing the Pentland Firth was gratified on reaching the Orkneys by finding these islands in a state of greater im- provement and civilisation than he had ventured to expect. Doubling Cape Wrath the royal squadron steered for the Lewis, Harris, and the isles of North and South Uist; they next crossed over to Skye, made a descent upon Glenelg, Moidart, and Ardnamur- chan, circumnavigated Mull, visited Coll and Tiree, swept along the ro- mantic coast of Argyle, and passing the promontory of Cantire, delayed a while 6n the snores of Arran, and cast anchor beside the richer and more trayne, . . . the said ships ar all weil orda- nansyd." Edward Agiionby to Sir Thomas Wharton, Carlisle, May 4, 1540 Caligula, b. iii. 217. 4 Harleian MSS. 3996. 5 Probably Kinnaird's Head is here meant* 366 HISTORY OF verdant fields of Bate. Throughout the whole progress, the voyage did not exhibit exclusively the stern aspect of a military expedition, but mingled the delight of the chase, of which James was passionately fond, with the graver cares and labours of the monarch and the legislator. The rude natives of these savage and distant regions flocked to* the shore to gaze on the unusual apparition, as the fleet swept past their promontories ; and the mountain and island lords crowded round the *royal pavilion, which was pitched upon the beach, to deprecate resentment and proffer their allegiance. The force which was aboard appears to have been amply sufficient to secure a prompt submission upon the part of those fierce chieftains who had hitherto bid defiance to all regular government, and James, who dreaded lest the departure of the fleet should be a signal for a re- turn to their former courses, insisted that many of them should accompany him to the capital, and remain there as hostages for the peaceable deport- ment of their followers. 1 Some of the most refractory were even thrown into irons and confined on board the ships, whilst others were treated with a kind- ness which soon substituted the ties of affectionate allegiance for those of compulsion and terror. 2 On reaching Dumbarton, the king considered his labours at an end, and giving orders for the fleet to proceed by their former course to Leith, travelled to court, only to become exposed to the renewed enmity of his nobles. Another conspiracy, the third with- 1 Lesley, p. 157. Maitland, vol. ii. p. 814. 2 The names of the chiefs seized by James in this expedition may be interesting to some of my readers. In Sutherland, Donald Mackay of Strattnaver ; in the Lewis, Roderick Macleod and his principal kinsmen ; in the west of Skye, Alexander Macleod of Dunvegan, or of Harris ; in the north of Skye, at Trouterness, John Moydertach, captain of clan Ranald, Alexander of Glengarrie, and others who were chieftains of " MacConeyllis kin," by which we must understand relatives of the late Donald Gruamuch of Sleat, who was under- stood to have the hereditary claim to the lord- ship of the isles ; in Kintail, John Mackenzie, chief of that clan; Cantire and Knapdale, Hector Maclean of Dowart and James Mac- connel of Isla. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. in the last three years, was discovered, and its author, Sir James Hamilton, arrested and brought to trial on a charge of treason. This baron, who has been already mentioned as notoriv ous for his cruelty in an age not fas-| tidious in this respect, was the illegitiJ mate son of the Earl of Arran, and had acquired over the early youth of the king an influence, from which his more advanced judgment recoiled. Such, however, was his power and wealth, that it was dangerous to at- tempt anything against him, and as he was a zealous and bigoted supporter of the ancient religion, he could reckon on the friendship of the clergy. His temper was passionate in the extreme, and during the king's minority had often hurried him into excesses, which, under a government where the law was not a dead letter, might have cost him his head; but he had hitherto escaped, and latterly had even experi- enced the king's favour. Such was the state of things when the monarch, who had left the capital to pass over to Fife, was hurriedly accosted by a stranger, who demanded a speedy and secret audience, as the business on which he had been sent was of im- mediate moment, and touched the king's life. James listened to the story, and taking a ring from his finger, sent it by the informer to Learmont, mas- ter of the household, and Kirkaldy, the treasurer, commanding them to investi- gate the matter and act according to their judgment of its truth and import- ance. 3 He then pursued his journey, and soon after received intelligence that Hamilton was arrested. It was found that his accuser was James Hamilton of Kincavil, sheriff of Lin- lithgow, and brother to the early re- former, Patrick Hamilton, in whose miserable death Sir James had taken an active part. The crime of which he was arraigned was of old standing, though now revealed for the first time. It was asserted that Hamilton, along with Archibald Douglas of Kilspindy, Robert Leslie, and James Douglas of Parkhead, had in the year 1528 con- spired to slay the king, having com- 3 Drummond, 110. Maitland, 825. 1540.] JA1IES V. municated their project to the Earl of Angus and his brother, Sir George Douglas, who encouraged the atrocious design. 1 Some authors have asserted that the intention of Hamilton was to murder James, by breaking into the royal bed-chamber, 2 but in the want of all contemporary record of the trial, it is only known that he was found guilty and instantly executed. His innocence he is said to have affirmed to the last, 3 but no one lamented the death of a tyrannical baron, whose hands were stained by much innocent and un- avenged blood; and the fate of the brave and virtuous Lennox who had been ^murdered by him after giving up his sword, was still fresh in the recol- lection of the people. 4 After the execution, the monarch is represented by some of our historians as having become a stranger to his former pleasures, and a victim to the most gloomy suspicions ; his court, the retreat of elegant enjoyment, was for a while transformed into the solitary residence of an anchorite or a misan- thropist, and awakening to the convic- tion that he was hated by his nobility, many of whom had retired to their castles alarmed at the fate of Hamilton, lie began to fear that he had engaged in a struggle to which he might tall a victim. For a wnile the thought preyed upon his peace, and disturbed his imagination. His sleep became dis- turbed by frightful visions; at one time he would leap out of his bed-, and, calling for lights, command his attendants to take away the frightful spectacle which stood at his pillow, and assumed the form of his " Justiciar," who cursed the hour he had entered his service; at another, his chamberlain was awakened by groans in the royal apartment, and entering, found the king sitting up in bed, transfixed with terror, and declar- ing that he had been visited by the bastard of Arran, who brandished a naked sword, and threatened to lop off both his arms, affirming that he would return, after a short season, and 1 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. il. p. 423. 2 Anderson, MS. History, in Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, p. 229. » Lesley, p. 158. * Supra, p. 339. C67 These stories* reject them, be more fully revenged. 5 whether we believe or were undoubtedly so far founded m truth, that the king became deeply en- grossed and agitated by the difficulties of his situation, and it is no unusual thing to find the visions of the night borrowing their gloomy and fantastic pictures from the business of the day ; but James's mind, however paralysed for the moment, was composed of .too strong materials to be shaken by such ideal terrors, and as it recovered its strength he soon resumed his wonted activity. A parliament which assembled in the month of December, and a second meeting of the three estates con- voked in the succeeding March, deli- berated upon some subjects of great importance. To preserve the peace with England, to support the Church, now hourly becoming more alarmed by the acknowledged progress of the reformed opinions, to strengthen the authority of the crown, and humble the power of the nobles, were at this moment the leading features of the policy adopted by the Scottish mon- arch : and easy as it is to detect his errors when we, illuminated by the light of nearly three centuries of in- creasing knowledge, look back upon the past, it would scarcely be just to condemn that conduct which sought to maintain the independence of the kingdom, and the religion of his fathers against what he esteemed the attacks of heresy and revolution. When in France, in 1537, James had published at Rouen a revocation of all the grants of lands, which during his minority had been alienated from the crown, and he now fol- lowed this up by a measure, upon the strict justice of which the want of contemporary evidence precludes us from deciding. This was an act of annexation to the crown of all the isles north and south of the two Can- tires, commonly called the Hebrides. That these districts had been the scenes of constant treason and open defiance of the laws, must be acknow- ledged, and at this moment James re- * Drum mon d j 111. 368 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. tained in various prisons many of their chiefs whose lives had been par- doned on their surrender of their per- sons during his late expedition to his insular dominions. But whether it was just or prudent to adopt so vio- lent a measure as to annex the whole of the isles to the cr-own as forfeited lands may be doubted. To these also were added the Orkney and Shetland Isles, the seat of the rebellion of the Earl of Caithness, with the lordships of Douglas, Bonkill, Preston, Tan- tallon, Crawfora-Lindsay, Crawford- john, Bothwell, Jedburgh forest, and the superiority of the county or earl- dom of Angus. But this was not all ; Glammis with its dependencies, Lid- desdale, the property of Bothwell, who was attached to the Douglases, and Evandale, the estate of Sir James Hamilton, increased the growing power of the crown, and even the best disposed among the nobility trembled for themselves when they observed the unrelenting rigour of the monarch and the rapid process of the law. Having thus strengthened his hands by this large accession of influ- ence, James attempted to conciliate the uneasy feelings of the aristocracy by a general act of amnesty for all crimes and treasons committed up to the day of its publication ; but unfor- tunately its healing effects were de- feated by the clause which excepted the banished Earl of Angus, his bro- ther, Sir George Douglas, and the whole body of their adherents. Nor was the sternness of regal legislation confined to the hated Douglases. The Catholic clergy, whose councils were gradually gaining influence in the bosom of the monarch, procured the passing of many severe statutes against heresy. To argue against the supreme authority, or to question the spiritual infallibility of the Pope, was made a capital offence ; no person even sus- pected of entertaining heretical opi- nions was to be admitted to any office in the government, whilst those who had fled from judicial examination were to be held as confessed, and sen- tence passed against them. All pri- vate meetings or conventicles, where fCHAP. IX. religious subjects were debated, were declared illegal, rewards were promised to those who revealed where they were held ; and such was the jealousy with which the Church provided against the contamination of its ancient doc- trines, that no Catholic was to be per- mitted to converse with any one who* had at any time embraced heretical, opinions, although he had repented of his apostacy and received absolution for his errors. It is more pleasing to notice that in the same parliament the strongest exhortations were given to Churchmen, both of high and low de- gree, to reform their lives and conver- sation, whilst the contempt with which the services of religion had been lately regarded was traced directly to the dis- honesty and misrule of the clergy, pro- ceeding from their ignorance in divine- and human learning and the licentious- ness of their manners. For the more- general dissemination of the know- ledge of the laws amongst the in- ferior judges and the great body of the people, the acts of parliament were ordered to be printed from an authentic copy attested by the sign- manual of the clerk register ; and an act passed at the same time against the casting down of the images of the saints, informs us that the spirit of demolition, wkich afterwards ga- thered such strength, had already directed itself with an unhappy nar- rowness of mind against . the sacred edifices of the country. 1 Other enactments in a wise spirit provided for the more universal and impartial administration of justice by the sheriffs and temporal judges throughout the realm; The abilities of deputies or inferior judges, the education and election of notaries, and the ratification of the late insti- tution of the College of Justice, form the subjects of some important changes; various minute regulations were introduced concerning the do- mestic manufactures and foreign com- merce of the country, and to defend the kingdom against any sudden pro- ject for its invasion (a measure which' i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 370. 1540-1.] JAMES V. the violent temper of Henry rendered by no means improbable) the strictest orders were given for the observance of the stated military musters, and the arming of all classes of the com- munity. It was declared that the army of Scotland should fight on foot, that the yeomen who brought horses with them should only use them for carriages or baggage waggons, and that none should be permitted to be mounted in the host except earls, barons, and great landed proprietors. Such leaders were directed to be armed in white harness, light or heavy according to their pleasure, and with the weapons becoming their rank; whilst all persons whose fortune was below a hundred pounds of yearly rent, were to have a jack, or a hal- krick, 1 or brigantine, and gloves of plate, with pesane and gorget; no weapons being admitted by the mus- ter officer, except spears, pikes of six ells length, Leith axes, halberds, hand- bows and arrows, cross-bows, culverins, and two-handed swords. Such in 1540 were the arms of the Scottish host; 2 and these cares for the increase of the* military strength of his dominions were succeeded on the part of the king by more decided demonstrations. A proclamation was read in the capital, and forwarded to every part of the country, by which all persons between sixteen and sixty years of age were commanded to be ready on a warning of twenty-four hours to join the royal banner, armed at all points ; and a train of sixteen great, and sixty lesser cannon was or- dered to be fitted out, to take the field within twenty days after Easter. It may be doubted, however, whether such symptoms of impending hostility were not rather preventive than pre- paratory of war. The individual feel- ings of the sovereign at this moment appear to have been in favour of a re- form in the Church, a measure almost synonymous with a peace with Eng- land ; he not only permitted/ but en- couraged and sanctioned by his pre- 1 A corslet. 2 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 362. VOL. II. 369 sence, the celebrated play of Lindsay, which, under the name of a satire on the three estates, embodied a bitter attack upon the Catholic clergy; he remonstrated with the prelates on the scandalous lives of some of their body : and if we may give full credit to the representations of the Duke of Nor- folk, 3 who repeated the information of an eye-witness, he began to look with a covetous longing upon the immense revenues, and meditated, at least so the clergy dreaded, the appropriation of a portion of the possessions of the Church. Yet the same authority pro- nounces him a decided enemy to the power and interference of England in the internal administration of his kingdom ; and the queen, whose in- fluence over her husband was increased at this time by the birth of another prince, was a devoted adherent of Kome. To counteract the disposition of the sovereign towards the Reforma- tion, the great reliance of Beaton and the prelates was in the prospect of a war with England ; for the attainment of this object.no industry and no in- trigues were omitted, no sacrifice con- sidered too dear; and it unfortunately happened that the violence of Henry the Eighth, with the unrelenting en- mity of the Scottish monarch against the Douglases, and that large portion of the nobility connected with them by alliance or by interest, presented the two kings with materials of mutual provocation, of which they well knew how to avail themselves. In the midst of these transactions the queen-mother was taken ill at Methven, the castle of her husband, and died after a varied and turbulent life, during the latter years of which she had lost all influence in the affairs of the kingdom. Great violence of temper, a devotedness to her pleasures, and a disregard of public opinion, were qualities in which she strongly resembled her brother, Henry the Eighth; and after the attempt to * accomplish a divorce from Methven, her third husband which for the sake of decency was quashed by her son ? s Norfolk to Lord Privy Seal, 29th Marc) 1543. Caligula, b. yii. 228. 2 A 370 HISTORY OF /she appears to have been neglected by- all parties. Her talents, had they not been enslaved to her caprice and passion, were of a high order, as is amply proved by that large and curious collection of her original letters pre- served in our national archives ; 1 but the influence she exerted during the minority of her son was mischievous, and her individual character such as could not long command either affec- tion or respect. She was interred with much solemnity and magnificence in the- church of the Carthusians, at Perth, in the tomb of its founder, James the First. The decease of the queen was fol- lowed by an event which plunged the court and the people into sincere grief. Arthur,, duke of Albany, the infant I prince whose birth had lately given I such joy to his royal parents, was suddenly cut off at Stirling by some infantine disease ; and scarcely had he ceased to breathe, when Prince James, the eldest born, and heir to the throne, was attacked with a similar malady, which defied all human skill, and hurried him within a brief period to share the grave of his brother. 2 It was a blow which fell heavily upon the affections of the monarch ; and, in a political point of view, its conse- quences were equally distressing; it shook the security of a sovereign, who was at variance with his nobility, and whose throne needed, on that account, the support communicated by the certainty of succession; but James never permitted his cares and duties to be long interrupted by an excessive indulgence in sorrow, and he wisely sought for alleviation in an attention, to those peaceful arts, which were in- timately connected with the welfare of his kingdom From France and Flanders, from Spain and Holland, he invited the most skilful artisans, in those various branches of manufacture and industry, wherein they excelled his subjects, inducing them by pen- sions to settle in the country; he improved the small native breed of 1 In the State-paper Office and the British Museum. 1 Pinkerton, vol. li. 371. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. the Scottish horses by importations from Denmark and Sweden; 3 and anxious for the encouragement of use- ful learning, he visited the University of Aberdeen in company with his queen and his court, listened to the classic declamations of the students, and enjoyed the dramatic entertain- ments which were recited, during a residence of fifteen days, in this in- fant seat of the Scottish Muses. On his return, a mission of Campbell of Lundy to the Netherlands, for the redress of some grievances connected with the fisheries, and an embassy of Beaton and Panter, the secretary of the king, to Rome, evinced that the royal • mind had recovered its wonted strength and activity. The avowed object of the cardinal was to procure his nomination as Papal legate within the dominions of his master; but there can be little doubt that his secret instructions, which unfortun- ately have not been preserved, em- braced a more important design. The extirpation of heresy from Scotland, and the re-establishment of the Catho- lic faith in the dominions of Henry the Eighth, by a coalition between Francis, James, the emperor, and the Papal see, formed, it is probable, the main purpose of Beaton's visit. Events, however, were now in progress, which counteracted his best laid schemes ; and the rupture which soon after took place between Francis and the em- peror, for the present dissolved the meditated confederacy. It was this moment which the English monarch selected for a second embassy of Sadler to the court of his nephew ; and, had Henry's instructions to his ambassador been less violent, a favourable impression might have been made; but James, who never forgot his station as an independent prince, was not to be threatened into a com- pliance with a line of policy which, if suggested in a tone of conciliation, his judgment might perhaps have ap- proved ; and if the English ambassa- dor besought him not to " be as brute 3 Epistolse Regain Scotorum, vol. ii p. 36: — " Cataphractos aliquot e regno tuo de- sifleramus." 1541-2.]. JAM as a stocke," or to suffer the practices of juggling prelates to lead hirn by the nose, and impose a yoke upon his shoulders, the spirit of the prince must have been roused by the in- solence of such language to a deeper resentment than he had yet felt against his uncle. 1 Yet, although inimical to the purposes of the embassy, the re- quest of Henry, that James should meet him in a conference to be held on the Borders, was received with a less marked opposition ; and before the departure of Sadler, the monarch appears to have given a reluctant assent to the interview. 2 It, however, most inopportunely happened, that at this time the English Borderers, not only with the approval, but under the guidance of the wardens, renewed, with every circumstance of cruelty and havoc, their invasions of the ' Scottish territory ; and the king, dis- gusted, with such contradiction and duplicity, presented a remonstrance, m which he not only demanded re- dress, but declined the promised inter- view till it should be obtained. 3 Meanwhile Henry proceeded to York, in the autumn of the year 1541, and for six days held his court in that city, in hourly expectation of the arrival of his nephew ; but he looked for him in vain, and in deep indignation retraced his steps to his capital. To act on the resentment of the moment, and to per- mit the impatience of personal revenge to dictate the course of his policy, was the frequent failing of this monarch; and there can be no doubt that, from the instant he found him- self disappointed of the intended in- terview at York, war with Scotland was resolved on. Instructions were despatched to Sir Robert Bowes, to levy soldiers and put the east and ^Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 374. Caligula, b. i. 57. 2 Copy of Articles delivered by the Bishops of Aberdeen and Orkney, December 1541, promising that James would meet Henry at York on 15th January next. State-paper Office. 3 Paper in State-paper Office, December 1541. Articles delivered by the King of Scots to the Bishops of Orkney and Aberdeen, nnd Mr Thomas Bellenden, relative to the depredations by the English Borderers. :s v. 371 middle marches in a state of defence ; an army was ordered to be raised for immediate service in the north ; the fortifications of Berwick were in- spected; and the monarch, having determined to revive the idle and ex- ploded claim of superiority, issued his commands to the Archbishop of York, requesting him to make a search into the most ancient records and muni- ments within his diocese, so as to ascertain his title to the kingdom of Scotland. 4 Some circumstances, however, for a short season delayed, although they could not prevent, an open rupture. James, from a deference . to the opinion of his ecclesiastical council- lors, had disappointed Henry of the intended interview at York ; but he despatched an ambassador, who was commissioned to express his regret on the occasion, in terms of respect and conciliation ; whilst Beaton's devices being somewhat thwarted by the re- newal of the quarrel between Francis and the emperor, this ambitious minister required an interval to examine his ground, and alter his mode of attack. An event, however, which Occurred about this time, was improved by the cardinal and the clergy, to bring about the desired war. The king had long maintained an intercourse in Ireland, not only with his Scottish subjects, who possessed a considerable portion of the island, but with many of the principal chiefs, in whose eyes the English monarch was a heretic and a tyrant. Hitherto, Henry's predecessors and himself had been contented to call themselves lords of that country ; but, in a par- liament of this year, he had assumed the more august style of King of Ireland, 5 — a proceeding so ill received by its native chiefs, that they sent a deputation to the Scottish court, in- viting its monarch to accept their homage, and making a proffer of the crown, which had already, in ancient times, although for a brief period, * State-paper Office. Letter from Privy Council of England, April 28th, 1542, and Sir Thomas Wriothesley to Sir Robert Bowes, July 2Sth, 1542. « Lesley, p. 160. 372 HISTORY OF been placed upon the head of a Scottish prince. 1 It is not probable that the offer was ever viewed by James in a serious light ; yet his as- sumption of the title of Defender of the Faith, with which the Pope had conde- scended to natter him, the gracious reception which he gave to the Irish chiefs, and his warlike preparations, which could not be concealed, excited the jealousy, and increased the resent- ment of the English king to so high a pitch, that it was evident war could not be long averted. Under such circumstances nothing seemed wanting but a slight spark to ignite the mass which had been ac- cumulating for many years ; and this was soon furnished by the restless Borderers. Upon whose side hostilities began seems uncertain; the Scottish monarch in one of his letters insisted that before his subjects retaliated they had been provoked by two English invasions; whilst the mani- festo of Henry broadly imputed the first aggression to his nephew. Mutual ■incursions were probably succeeded by a mutual wish to throw the odium of an infraction of the peace upon each other ; and, at the moment when Sir James Learmont had proceeded with a message of regret and concilia- tion to the English court, Sir James Bowes, captain of Norham, and warden of the east marches, broke across the Border; and, with a body of three thousand horse, penetrated into Teviot- dale. He was accompanied by the banished Earl of Angus, Sir George Douglas, and a large body of their retainers; but the Earl of Huntly encountered him with a strong force at Hadden-Rig,. and with the assist- ance of Lord Home, who joined the host with four hundred lancers, ob- tained a complete victory. Six hun- dred prisoners of note fell into the hands of the enemy, amongst whom were the lord warden himself and his brother. Angus was nearly taken, but slew his assailant with his dagger, and saved himself by flight. 2 Open and determined war appeared i Maitland, vol. ii. 826. * Maitland, vol. ii. p. 831. Lesley, p. 162. SCOTLAND. [Chap. IX. now inevitable; and Henry, having sent orders to the Duke of Norfolk to levy a force of forty thousand men, this able leader, who had obtained from his master the name of the Scourge of the Scots, proceeded by rapid marches towards York. Along with him, each leading their respective divisions, came the Earls of Southamp- ton, Shrewsbury, Derby, Cumberland, Rutland, and Hertford, with Angus, and some of his Scottish adherents; but on their march they were arrested by a deputation of commissioners, in- structed by James to make a final effort for averting a war. Whether the Scottish king was sincere in this, or merely used it as an expedient to gain time, does not appear ; but, as the sea- son was far advanced, even a short delay was important, and, in all pro- bability, he had become convinced of the fatal effects which the dissatisfac- tion of his nobility with his late mea- sures might produce upon the issue of the campaign. He accordingly pre- vailed on Norfolk to halt at York, and amused him for a considerable period with proposals for a truce, and a per- sonal interview, which had long been the great object of the English king.' It was now, however, too late ; the conferences conducted to no satisfac- tory conclusion; and Henry, issuing imperative orders to his lieutenant to advance into Scotland, published at the same moment a manifesto, in which he stated his reasons for en- gaging in war ; his nephew, he affirmed, supported some of his chief rebels within his dominions; his subjects had invaded England when a treaty of peace was in the course of negotiation; he was refused the possession of some districts to which he affirmed he had established an unquestionable title , and lastly, James had disappointed him of the promised interview at York. These trifling causes of quarrel were followed up by a revival of the claim of superiority over Scotland, and a tedious enumeration of the false and exploded grounds upon which it was maintained. The winter had now commenced; yet Norfolk, aware of the impetuosity 1542.] JAISj of his masters temper, penetrated into Scotland, and finding no resistance, gave many of the granges and villages on the banks of the Tweed to the flames ; whilst J ames, becoming more aware of the secret indisposition of his nobles to a contest with England, once more despatched Learmont and the Bishop of Orkney to request a confer- ence, and carry proposals of peace. 1 All negotiation, however, was in vain ; and commanding a force under Huntly, Home, and Seton, to watch the opera- tions of Norfolk, the Scottish king himself assembled his main army, con- sisting of thirty thousand men, on the Borough-muir, near Edinburgh. 2 But, though strong in numbers and equip- ment, this great feudal array was weakened by various causes. It was led by those nobles who had regarded the late conduct of the king with senti- ments of disapproval, and even of in- dignation. Many of them favoured the doctrines of the Reformation, some from a conscientious conviction of their truth, others from an envious eye to those possessions of the Church, which, under the dissolution of the English religious houses, they had seen become the prey of their brethren in England ; many dreaded the severity of the new laws of treason, and trem- bled for their estates, when they con- sidered they might thus be rendered responsible for the misdeeds of their deceased predecessors; others were tied by bands of manrent to the in- terests qf the Douglases; and a few, who were loyal to the king, were yet anxious to adopt every honourable means of averting a war, from which they contended nothing could be ex- pected, even should they be victorious, but an increase of those difficulties which perplexed the councils of the government. It appears abo to have been a rule amongst, these feudal barons which, if not strictly a part of the military law, had been established by custom, that they were not bound to act offensively within the territories of a foreign state, although their feudal tenure compelled them, under the pen- i Lesley, p. 161. , 2 Herbert, in Kermet, vol. ii. p. 232. FcS V. 373 alty of forfeiture, to obey the royal command in repelling an enemy who had crossed the Borders, and encamped within the kingdom. Such were the sentiments of the Scottish nobles when James lay with his army on Fala Muir, a plain near the western termination of the Lam- mermuir Hills ; and intelligence was suddenly brought to the host that Norfolk, compelled by the approach of winter and the failure of his supplies, had recrossed the Border, and was in full retreat. It was now the end of November ; and such was the scarcity of provisions, produced by the recent devastation of the English, that, hav- ing consumed the allowances which they brought along with them, the Scottish army began to be severely distressed. 3 Yet, the opportunity for retaliation appeared too favourable to be lost, and the monarch eagerly pro- posed an invasion of England, when he was met with a haughty and unanimous refusal. The crisis recalls to our minds the circumstances in which James the Third was placed at Lauder Bridge; and it is even insinuated by some of our historians that the nobles, who had been long secretly dissatisfied with the conduct of the king, meditated a re- petition of the ferocious scenes which then occurred; but they had to do with a more determined opponent, and contented themselves by a steady re- fusal, alleging as their reason the ad- vanced period of the year, and the impossibility of supporting, so large a force. Yet this was enough to arouse to the highest pitch the indignation of the king. He alternately threatened and remonstrated ; he implored them, as they valued their honour as knights, or esteemed their allegiance as sub- jects, to accompany him against the enemy ; he upbraided them as cowards and poltroons, who permitted Norfolk to burn their villages, and plunder their granges under their eyes, with- out daring to retaliate. But all was in vain, — the leaders were immov- able; the feudal feeling of loyalty 3 Letter from the Duke of Norfolk to the Privy-Council, dated 3d November 1542. State-paper Office, B. C. 874 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. to their prince, and revenge against their enemies, seemed to be extin- guished by a determination to seize the opportunity to shew their own strength, and use it for the redress of their grievances; and the king, over- whelmed with disappointment and chagrin, disbanded the army and re- turned to his capital. 1 Yet, although thus abandoned by a great majority of his nobles, the mon- arch was not without some supporters amongst them; the opulent body of the clergy were unanimous in his favour, and a few peers making an effort to recall their brethren to their duty, resolved to muster the army for a second time, under what it was hoped would be more favourable auspices. For this purpose Lord Maxwell offered his services, and a force of ten thou- sand men having been assembled with great expedition and secrecy, it Was determined to break into England by the western marches ; whilst the mon- arch, with the sanguine and energetic temper by which he was distinguished, shook off the anguish which preyed on his mind, and eagerly awaited at Caer- laverock the result of the invasion. He had given secret orders that his favourite, Oliver Sinclair, should take the command of the little army so soon as it reached the Esk; and scarcely had the soldiers encamped on English ground when a halt was ordered, and this minion of the king, as he is termed in a contemporary do- cument, was raised on a platform sup- ported on the shoulders of the troops, whilst the royal commission appoint- ing him generalissimo was read aloud by a herald. The intelligence was re- ceived with murmurs of disapproba- tion: many of the ancient nobility declared they could not serve without degradation under such a leader ; their clansmen and retainers adopted their feelings; and whilst Maxwell and a few of the most loyal peers attempted to overcome their antipathy, the whole army became agitated with the discus- sion, presenting the spectacle of a dis- orderly mob tossed by conflicting 1 John Car to My Lord of Norfolk, 1st No- vember 1542. State-paper Office. [Chap. IX. sentiments, and ready to fall to pieces on the slightest alarm. It was at this crisis that Dacre and Musgrave, two English leaders, advanced to recon noitre, at the head of three hundred horse, and, approaching the Scottish camp, became sensible of its situation, nor did they delay a moment to seize the opportunity, but charged at full speed with levelled lances, and in a compact body. In the panic of the moment they were believed to be the advance of a larger force ; and such was the effect of the surprise, that the rout was instantaneous and decisive. Ten thousand Scottish troops fled at the sight of three hundred English cavalry, with scarce a momentary re- sistance; and a thousand prisoners ' fell into the hands of the enemy, amongst whom were the Earls of Cas- sillis and Glencairn, the Lords Somer- ville, Maxwell, Gray, Oliphant, and Fleming, the Masters of Erskine and Rothes, and Home of Ayton. 2 .. The intelligence of this second ca- lamity fell like a thunderbolt upon the king ; he had awaited at Caerlaverock, ' in the most eager expectation, the first intelligence from the army; he trusted that the success of the in- vasion would wipe away, in some de- gree, the dishonour of the retreat from Fala; and he anticipated, with san- guine hope and resolution, the re- newal of the war, and a restoration of the feelings of cordiality and attach- ment between himself and his barons. In an instant every prospect of this kind was blasted; and in the first\ agony of the moment he embraced an i idea which overthrew the balance of his mind, and plunged him into des- pair : he became convinced that his nobility had entered into a conspiracy to ' betray him to England, to sacri- fice their own honour, and the in- dependence of* the kingdom, to the determination to gratify their revenge / against the crown, and their personal/ hatred to himself. 3 At Fala they had disgraced him by an open con- 2 Hall, p. 856. Maitland, vol. ii. p. 83& Lodge's Illustrations, vol. i. pp. 44-54 inclu- sive. 2d edition. a Lesley, d. 165. • 1542.] ,1 JAMES V. 375 tempt of his command; at Solway they had followed up the blow by an act which exposed themselves, their sovereign, and the Scottish name, to ridicule and contempt. James had often borne misfortune ; but his mind was too proud and impatient to endure dishonour, or to digest the anguish of reiterated disappointment; ' and, al- though in the vigour of his strength and the flower of his asre, with a con- stitution unimpaired and almost un- visited by disease, he sunk under this calamity, and seems truly to have died of a broken heart. From the moment the intelligence reached him, he shut himself up in his palace at Falkland, and relapsed into a state of the deepest gloom and despondency ; he would sit for hours without speaking » word, brooding over his disgrace ; or would awake from his lethargy, only tu strike his hand on his heart, and make a con- vulsive effort, as if he would tear from his breast the load of despair which oppressed it. Exhausted by the vio- lence of the exertion, he would then drop his -arms by his side, and sink into a state of hopeless and silent melancholy. This could not last : it was soon discovered that a slow fever pre?*»d upon his frame ; and having its seat tn the misery of a wounded spirit, no remedy could be effectual. When in this state, intelligence was brought him that his queen had given birth to a daughter. 1 At another time it would have been happy news ; but now it seemed to the poor monarch the last drop of bitterness which was reserved for him. Both his sons were dead. Had this child been a boy, a ray- of hope, he seemed to feel, might yet have visited his heart ; he received the mes- 1 Mary queen of Scots was born at Linlith- gow on the 7th December 1542. senger and was informed of the event i without welcome, or almost recogni- tion; but wandering back in his thoughts to the time when the daugh- ter of Bruce brought to his ancestor v the dowry of the kingdom, observed, j with melancholy emphasis, " It came > with a lass, and it* will pass with a lass."^JjA few of his most favoured friends and councillors stood round his couch ; the monarch stretched out his hand for them to kiss ; and regard- ing them for some moments with a look of great sweetness and placidity, turned himself upon the pillow and expired. 3 He died (13th December- 1542 4 ) in the thirty-first year of his age, and the twenty-ninth of his reign ; leaving an only daughter, Mary, an in- fant of six days old, who succeeded to the crown ; anoTamongst other natural > children, a son J ames, afterwards the fa- j mous Regent Moray. There were some striking p6mts*T>f similarity between the character and destiny of this prince and his great ancestor, James the First. To the long captivity of the one, we find a parallel in the protracted minor- ity of the other; whilst, in both, we may discover that vigour, talent, and energetic resolution to support the prerogative against the attacks of their nobility, to which we can trace the assassination of the first, and the pre- mature death of the fifth James. Both were accomplished princes, and exhi- bited in a rude and barbarous age a re- markable example of literary and poeti- cal talent ; whilst they excelled in all those athletic and military exercises, which were then considered the only proper objects of aristocratic ambition, 2 A lass ; a girl, or young maiden, s Lesley, pp. 165, 166. Drummond, p. 114. Maitland, vol. ii. p. 834. Lindsay, pp. 176, 177. « Keith d. 22. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Letter A, page 41. Site of the Battle of Harlaw, ' In the manuscript geographical de- scription of Scotland, collected by Mac- f arlane, and preserved in the Advocates' Library, vol. i. p. 7, there is the follow- ing minute description of the site of this battle: — "Through this parish (the Chapel of Garioch, called formerly, Ca- pella Beate Marias Yirginie de Garryoch, Chart. Aberdon., p. 31) runs the king's highway from Aberdeen to Inverness, and from Aberdeen to the high country. A large mile to the east of the church lies the field of an ancient battle, called the battle of Harlaw, from a country town of that name hard by. This town, and the field of battle, which lies along the king's highway upon a moor, ex- tending a short mile from SE. to NW. , stands on the north-east side of the water of Ury, and a small distance therefrom. To the west of the field of battle, about half a mile, is a farmer's house, called Legget's Den, hard by, in which is a tomb, built in the form of a malt steep, of four large stones, covered with a broad stone above, where, as the country people generally report, Donald of the Isles lies buried, being slain in the battle, and therefore they call it commonly Donald's tomb." So far the MS. It is certain, however, that the Lord of the Isles was not slain. This may probably be the tomb of the chief of Maclean, or of Macintosh, both of whom fell in the battle. In the genea- logical collections of the same industri- ous antiquary, (MS. Advocates' Library, Jac. V. 4, 16, vol. i. p. 180,) we find a manuscript account of the family of Maclean, which informs us that Lauch- lan Lubanich had, by M'Donald's daugh* ter, a son, called Eachin Rusidh ni Cath, or Hector Rufus Bellicosus. He com- manded as lieutenant-general under the Earl -of Ross at the battle of Harlaw in 1411, where he and Irvine of Drum, seeking out one another by their armo- rial bearings on their shields, met and killed each other. He was married to a daughter of the Earl of Douglas. Sir Walter Ogilvy, on 28th January 1426, founded a chaplainry in the parish church of St Mary of Uchterhouse, in which perpetual prayers were to be of- fered up for the salvation of King J ames and his Queen Johanna; and for the souls of all who died in the battle of Harlaw. Diplom. Regior. Indices, vol. i. p. 97. Letter B, page 42. The Retour of Andrew de Tullidiff , mentioned in the text, will be found in the MS. Cartulary of Aberdeen, pre- served in the Advocates' Library, folio 121. It is as follows : — " Inquisitio super tercia parte Ledintusche et Rothmais. Hsec inquisitio facta fuit apud rane coram Willmo de Cadyhow Ballivo Reverendi in Christo patris, et Dni Gilberti Dei gracia'Episcopi Aberdonen: die martis, nono die mensis Maii anno 1413, per probos et fideles homines sub- scriptos, viz., Robertum de Buthergask, Johannem Rous, Johannem Bisete, Ro- bertum Malisei, Hugonem de Kyncavil, Duncanum de Curquhruny, Johannem Morison, Johm Yhung, Adam Johannis, Johannem Thomson, Johannem de Lo- vask, Johannem Duncanson, Walterum Ranyson, et Johannem Thomson da 878 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Petblayne. Qui magno sacramento ju- rat i dicimt, quod quondam Willmus de Tulidef latoris prsesencium obiit vestitus et saysitus ut de feodo ad pacem ei fidem Dni nostri regis, de tercia parte terrarum de Ledyntusche, et de Eotli- mais cum pertinenciis jacentium in schyra de Eane infra Vicecom. de Aber- den. Et quod dictus Andreas est leg- gitimus et propinquior heres ejusdem quondam "Willmi patris sui de dicta tercia parte dictarum terrarum cum per- tinenciis, et licet minoris setatis existit tamen secundum quoddam statutum consilii generalis ex priviligio concesso haBredibus occisorum in bello de Hare- law, pro defensione patriae, est hac vice leggittime eetatis, et quod dicta tercia dictarum terraimm cum pertinenciis nunc valet per annum tres libras, et viginti denarios, et valuit tempore pacis quatuor libras," &c, kc. The remain- der of the deed is uninteresting. Letter C, page 47. Battles of Bauge and Verneuil. The exploits of the Scottish forces in France do not properly belong to the History of Scotland, and any reader who wishes for authentic information upon the subject will find it in Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 461, 463, and Monstrelet's Chronicle, by Johnes, vols, v. and vi. There were three import- ant battles in which the Scots auxiliaries were engaged.- First, that of Bauge, in Anjou, fought on the 22d March 1421, in which they gained a signal victory over the Duke of Clarence, who was slain, along with the "flower of his chivalry and esquiredom," to use the words of Monstrelet. Secondly, that of Crevant, which was disastrous to the Scots. And lastly, the great battle of Verneuil, fought in 1424, in which John, duke of Bedford, commanded the English, and completely defeated the united army of the French and Scots. There is a singular coincidence be- tween the battle of Bauge and the battle of Stirling, in which Wallace defeated Surrey and Cressingham. The two armies, one commanded by the Duke of Clarence, and the other by the Earl of j Buchan, were separated from each other j by a rapid river, over which was thrown a ; narrow bridge. Buchan had despatched j a party, under Sir Eobert Stewart of I Darnley, and the Sieur de Fontaine, to j reconnoitre, and they coming suddenly I upon the English, were driven back in I time to warn the Scottish general of the approach of Clarence. Fortunately, he had a short interval allowed him to draw up his army, whilst Sir Robert * Stewart of Eailston, and Sir Hugh Ken- nedy, with a small advanced body, de- fended the passage of the bridge, over which the Duke of Clarence, with his best officers, were eagerly forcing their way, having left the bulk of the English army to follow as they best could. The consequences were almost precisely the same as those which took place at Stir- ling. Clarence, distinguished by his coronet of jewels over his helmet, and splendid armour, was first fiercely at- tacked by John Carmichael, who shiver- ed his lance on him ; then wounded in the face by Sir "William de Swynton ; and lastly, felled to the earth and slain by the mace of the Earl of Buchan. 1 His bravest knights and men-at-arms fell along with him ; and the rest of the army, enraged at the disaster, and crowding over the bridge to avenge it, being thrown into complete disorder, as they arrived in detail, were slain or taken by the Scots. Monstrelet 2 affirms that two or three thousand English were slain. Bower limits the number who- fell to sixteen hundred and seventeen, and asserts that the Scots only lost twelve, and the French two men. 3 It is well known that for this service Buchan was rewarded with the baton of Constable of France. After the battle, Sir Robert Stewart of Darnley bought Clarence's jewelled coronet from a Scot- tish soldier for 1000 angels. 4 Having been thus successful at Bauge, the conduct of the Scots at Crevant, considering the circumstances under which the battle was fought, is inexpli- cable. On consulting Monstrelet, 5 it will be found that the river Yonne separated the two armies, over which there was a bridge as at Bauge. The Scots occupied a hill near the river, with the town of Crevant, to which they had laid siege,- in their rear. Over this bridge they suffered the whole English army to defile, to arrange their squares, 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 461. Thia John, or, as he is called by Douglas, Sir John Carmichael, was ancestor to the noble family of Hyndford, now extinct. The family crest is still a shivered spear. Douglas, vol. i. p. 752. 2 Monstrelet, by Johnes. vol. v. p. 263. s Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 461. * Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii p. 58. 5 Vol. vi. p. 48. STOTES AND. ILLUSTRATIONS. and to advance in firm order against them, when they might have pre-occu- nied the ttte-du-pont, and attacked the enemy whilst they were in the act of passing the river. Either the circum- stances of the battle have come down to us in a garbled and imperfect state, or it is the fate of the Scots to shut their eyes to the simplest lessons in military tactics, — lessons, too, which, it may be added, have often been written against them with sharp pens and bloody ink. The consequences at Crevant were fatal. They were attacked in the front by the Earls of Salisbury and Suffolk, and in the rear by a sortie from the town of Crevant, and completely defeated. 1 The battle of Verneuil was still more disastrous, and so decisive, that it ap- pears to have completely cooled all future desires upon the part of the Scots to send auxiliaries to France. The account given by Bower 2 is, at first sight, confused and contradictory ; but if the reader will compare it with Monstrelet, vol. vi. pp. 90, 94, it be- comes clearer. It seems to have been lost by the Scots, in consequence of the unfortunate dissension between them and their allies the French, which pre- vented one part of the army from co- operating with the other ; whilst on the side of the English, the steadiness of the archers, each of whom had a sharp double-pointed stake planted before him, defeated the charge of the Lombard cross-- bowmen, although they were admirably armed and mounted. 3 Letter D, page 49. In this treaty for the relief of James the First, which is to be found in Bu- rner's Fcedera, vol. x. p. 307, the list which contains the names of the host- ages is not a little curious, as there is added to the name of each baron a statement of his yearly income, pre- senting us with an interesting picture of the comparative wealth of the mem- bers of the Scottish aristocracy in 1423. The list is as follows : — _ Thomas Comes Moraviae, reddituatus et possessionatus ad M. marc. Alexander Comes Crauffurdiae, vel films ejus et haeredes ad M. marc. Willielmus Comes Angusiae, ad vi C marc. 1 Monstrelet, vol. vi. pp. 48, 49. 2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 463. s Ibid. 37f> Maletius Comes de Stratherne, ad v C marc. Georgius Comes Marchiarum, vel films ejus primogenitus ad viii U marc. David films primogenitus Comitis Atholiae, vel filius ejus et haeres ad xii C marc. Willielmus Constabularius Scotiae, vel filius et haeres ad viii. C marc. Dominus Kobertus de Erskyn, ad M. marc. Bobertus Marescallus Scotiae, vel filius ejus et haeres ad viii C marc. Walterus Dominus de Drybtoim (Drylton) vel filius ejus et haeres ad viii C marc. Johannes Dominus de Cetoun, miles vel filius ejus et haeres ad vi C marc. Johannis de Montgomery, miles de Ardrossane, vel filius ejus et haeres ad vii C marc. Alexander Dominus de Gordonne, ad iv C marc. ■ Malcolmus Dominus de Bygare, ad vi C marc. Thomas Dominus de Yestyr, ad vi C marc. Johannis Kennady de Carryk, ad v C marc. Thomas Boyde de Kylmernok, vel filius ejus et haeres ad v C marc. Patricius de Dounbarre Dominus de Canmok, vel filius ejus et haeres ad v C marc. Jacobus Dominus de Dalketh, vel filius ejus primogenitus ad xv C marc. Duncanus Dominus de Argill, ad xv C marc. 4 Johannes Lyon de Glammis, ad vi C marc. Letter E, page 60. It is not easy to account for the high character of Albany, which is given both by Winton and by Bower. It is certain,- because it is proved by his actions, which are established upon authentic evidence, that he was a crafty and sel- fish usurper, whose hands were stained with the blood of the heir to the crown — yet he is spoken of by both these writers, not only without severity, but with enthusiastic praise. Indeed, Win- ton's character of him might serve for the beau ideal of a perfect king. VoL ii. p. 418. Bower, though shorter, is equally complimentary, and throws in some touches which give individuality to the * It may be conjectured, that there is some error Doth here and in the preceding name. 380 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. picture. On one occasion, in the midst of the tumult of war, and the havoc of a Border raid, we find the governor re- cognised by his soldiers as a collector of the relics of earlier ages, (Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 409,) and at another time a still finer picture is presented of Albany sitting on the ramparts of the castle of Edinburgh, and discoursing to his courtiers, in a clear moonlight night, on the system of the universe, and the causes of eclipses. I am sorry I have neglected to mark the page where this occurs, and cannot find it at the moment. Letter F, page 69. A curious instrument, which throws some light on the state of the Highlands in 1420, and gives an example of the mixture of Celtic and Norman names, is to be found in a MS. in the Adv. Lib., Jac. V. 4. 22, entitled Diploma- turn Collectio. It is as follows : — "John Touch, be the grace of God Bishop of Rosse ; Dame Mary of ye lie, Lady of the rles and of Rosse ; Hu- cheon Fraser, Lord of the Lovat ; John Maeloyde, Lerde of Glenelg; Angus Guthrason of the Ylis ; Schyr William Farquhar, Dean of Rosse; Walter of Douglas, Scheraff of Elgin; Walter of Innes, Lord of that ilke ; John Syncler, Lord of Deskf ord ; J ohn ye Ross, Lord of Kilravache ; John M'Ean of Arna- murchan, with mony othyr, — Til aland syndry to the knawleclge of the quhilkis thir present lettres sal to cum, gretyng in God ay listand. Syn it is needeful and meritabil to ber lele witness to suthfastness to your Universitie, we mak knawyn throche thir present lettres, that on Friday the s extent day of the moneth of August, ye yher of our Lord a thousand four hundreth and twenty yher, into the kyrke yharde of the Chanonry of Ross mar kyng, compeirit William the Grahame, the sone and the hayr umquhil of Henry the Grame. In presence of us, befor a nobil Lorde and a mychty, Thomas Earl of Moreff, his ovyr lord of his lands of the Barony of Kerdale, resignande- of his awin free will, purly and symply, be fast and bas- ton, intill the hands of the sayde Lorde the Erie," kc. An entail of the lands follows, which is uninteresting. At page 263 of the same volume, we find a charter granted by David II. , in the 30th year of his reign, entitled, " Carta remissionis Thomse Man et multis aliis. actionis et secta? regiae turn pro homicidiis, combustionibus, furtis, rapmis," &c,, in which the preponder- ance of Celtic names is very striking. The names are as follows: — "Thomas Man, Bridan filii Fergusi, Martino More, Maldoveny Beg Maldowny Macmarti- can, Cristino filio Duncani, Bridano Breath, Alexro Macronlet Adse Molen- dinario, Martini M'Coly, Fergusio Cleri- co Donymore, Michaeli Merlsway, Bri- dano M'Dor, Maldowny M'Robi, Colano M'Gilbride, Maldowny Macenewerker, et AdaeFovetour latoribus presencium," &c- Apud Perth, primo die Novemb. regni xxx. quinto. Letter G, page 92. I am indebted for the communication of the following charter to the Rev. Mr Macgregor Stirling, a gentleman inti- mately acquainted with the recondite sources of Scottish History : — Apud Edinburgh, Aug. 15, 1451, a. r. 15. Rex [Jacobus II.] confirmavit Ro- berto Duncansoun de Strowane, et heredibus suis, terras de Strowane, — terras dimidicatis de Rannach, — terras de Glennerach, — terras de duobus Bo- haspikis, — terras de Grannecht, cum lacu et insula lacus ejusdem, — terras de Carrie, — terras de Innercadoune, — de Farnay, — de Disert, Faskel, de Kylkeve, — de Balnegarde, — et Balnef arc, — et terras de Glengary, cum foresia ejus- dem, in comitatu Atholie, vie. de Perth, quas dictus Robertus, in castrum [sic] Regium de Blar in Atholia pereonaliter resignavit, et quas rex in unam inte- gram Baroniam de Strowane univit et incorporavit (pro zelo, fauore, amore, quas rex gessit erga dictum Robertum pro captione nequissimi proditoris quon- dam Roberti de Grahame, et pro ipsius Roberti Duncansoune gratuitis diligen- ces et laboribus, circa captionem ejus- dem sevissimi proditoris, diligentissime et cordialissime factis.) — Mag. Sig. iv. 227. Letter H, page 132. Boece and the Story of the Bull's Head* \ The story of the bull's head being 1 presented to the Douglases at the ban- / quet, as a signal for their death, ap- J pears, as far as I have discovered, for the first time, in Hector Boece, p. 363 : — " Gubernator, assentiente Cancellario, . . . amotis epulis, taurinum caput ap- point jubet. Id enim est apud nostrates NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 381 Bupplicii capitalis symbolum ." Although this extraordinary circumstance is not found in the Auchinleck Chronicle, an almost contemporary authority, yet, had I found evidence of the truth of Boece's assertion, that the production of a bull's head was amongst our countrymen a well-known signal for the infliction of a capital punishment, I should have hesi- tated before rejecting the appearance of this horrid emblem immediately pre- vious to the seizure of the Douglases. The truth is, however, that the produc- tion of such a dish as a bull's head, or, according to the version of the tale given by a great writer, 1 a black bull's head, as an emblem of death, is not to ' be found in any former period of our history, or in any Celtic tradition of which I am aware. For this last asser- tion, the non-existence of any Celtic or Highland tradition of date prior to Boece's history, where this emblem is said to have been used, I rest not on my own judgment, for I regret much I am little read in Gaelic antiquities, but on the information of my friends, Mr Gregory, secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, and the Reverend Mr Macgregor Stirling, who are, perhaps, amongst the ablest of our Celtic anti- v quaries. 2 After the time of Boece, whose work was extremely popular in Scotland, it is by no means improbable that the tale of the bull's head should have been transplanted into Highland traditions. Accordingly I understand, from Mr Stirling, that Sir Duncan Campbell, the seventh laird of Glen- urcha, on an occasion somewhat similar to the murder of the Douglases, is said to have produced a bull's head at table, which caused his- victims to start from 1 Sir Walter Scott's History of Scotland, vol. i. p. 281. 2 Mr Gregory, I am happy to see, is about to publish "A History of the Western High- lands and the Hebrides during the Sixteenth arid Seventeenth Centuries." Hitherto, all that we know of the history of this most in- teresting portion of the kingdom, is perplex- ing, vague, and traditionary. But, from the mass of authentic materials which the indus- try of the secretary of the antiquaries has collected, a valuable work may at last be ex- pected. The able work alluded to in the above note •appeared in 1836. Its author, in whom I lost a friend always ready to communicate infor- mation out of his abundant stores, died in the course of the same year. He was the son of the celebrated Dr Gregory of Edinburgh— the direct descendant of a family long distin- guished for hereditary talent of the highest kind. the board and escape. Sir Duncan lived in the interval between 1560 and 1631. Letter I, page 133. George, Earl of Angus. It is to be regretted that Godscroft, in his 4 4 History of the House of Douglas and Angus, " vol. i. p. 287, instead of his own interminable remarks and digres- sions, had not given us the whole of the ancient ballad in which some indig- nant minstrel expressed his abhorrence of the deed. One stanza only is pre- served : — *? Edinburgh Castle, Town and Tower, God grant thou sink for sin, And that even for the black dinner Earl Douglas gat therein." The late Lord Hailes, in his Remarks on the History of Scotland, chap. vii. , satis- factorily demonstrated "that Archi- bald, third earl of Douglas, could not, according to the common opinion, have been a brother of J ames, second earl of Douglas, slain at Otterburn, and that he did not succeed to the earldom in right of blood. " He added — 1 * By what means, or under what pretext, George, earl of Angus, the undoubted younger brother of Earl James, was excluded from the succession, it is impossible at this dis- tance of time to determine. During the course of almost a century the de- scendants of Archibald, third earl of Douglas, continued too powerful for the peace of the crown, or for their own safety. At length, in 1488, the male, line ended by the death of J ames, ninth earl of Douglas, and xhe honours of Douglas returned into the right channel of Angus." A learned and, as it ap- pears, conclusive solution of this diffi- culty, appeared in a paper in the Scots Magazine for September 1814, where it is shewn that George, earl of Angus, con- sidered by Lord Hailes, by Douglas, and all our genealogical writers, as the legi- timate brother of James, earl of Douglas, was an illegitimate son of William, earl of Douglas, and as such had no title to succeed to the earldom. It is to be wished that the same acute antiquary, who has successfully solved this and many other genealogical difficulties, would bring his researches to bear upon some of those obscurer points in the his- tory of the country, which are intimately connected with genealogy, and would derive from it important illustration. The hypothesis, for instance, upon 382 HISTORY OF which I have ventured as to the causes which may have led to the trial and execution of William, sixth earl of Douglas, and Ids brother David, in 1440, is an example of one of the sub- jects upon which an intimate knowledge of genealogy might enable its possessor to do much fur history. Lettek K, page 133. Execution of the Douglases, | The Douglases, along with their un- fortunate friend and adherent Malcolm Fleming, were beheaded, according to Cray's MS., " in vigilio Sancte Katerine Virginis — viz, xxiiii. die mensis Novem- bris anno Domini I m iiii c XL. 99 The date in the Extracta ex Veteribus Chronicis Scotiae agrees with this ; but it appears, from the following curious instrument, that Malcolm Fleming was executed, not at the same time as the Douglases, but on the fourth day thereafter : — In Dei nomine Amen. Per hoc presens publicum instrumentum cunctis pateat evidenter quod anno ab incarnacione Do- mini, secundum computacionem Regni Scocie M m0 cccc mo XL mo mensis Januarii die VII. Indictione quarta Pontificatus Sanctissime in Xpo patris et Domini nostri, Domini Eugenii divina provi- dentia Papse quarti Anno X mo . In mei Notarii publici et testium subscripto- rum presencia personaliter constitut. Nobiles viri Walterus de Buchqwhanane et Thomas de Murhede scutif eri, ac pro- curatores nobilis viri Roberti Flemyng scutiferi, filii et heredis Malcolmi Fle- myng quondam Domini de Bigar, hab- entes ad inf rascripta potestaten et suffi- ciens mandatum, ut meipso notario constabat per legitima documenta, acce- dentes ad Crucem fori Burgi de Lithgw, coram Willmo de Howstoun deputato Vicecomitis ejusdem, procuratorio no- mine dictiRoberti, falsaverunt quoddam judicium datum seu prelatum super Malcolmum Flemyng, patrem dicti Roberti, super montem Castri de Edyn- burch, Secundum modum et formam, 2t propter racionem inferius script um, quarum tenor sequitur in wulgar. We, Waltyr of Buchqwanane and Thomas of Murhede, speciale procura- tors and actournais, conjunctly and seve- rally, to Robert Flemying, son and ayr to Malcolm Flemying, sumtyme Lord of Bigar, sayis to thee, John of Blayr Dempstar, that the Doyme gyffin out of thy mouth on Malcolm Flemying in a Gaid Court e haldvn befor our soverane ' SCOTLAND. Lordy 8 King on the Castle -hill of Edyn* burch, on Mononday the acht and twenty day of the moneth of November the yere of our Lord M m0 cccc mo and f ourty zeris, sayande " that he had forfat land, lyff, and gud as chete to the King, and that yow gave for doyme that doyme for- said giffynout of thy mouth is evyl, fals, and rotten in itself ; and here We, the foresaid Walter and Thomas, procura- tors to the said Robert for hym, and in I his name, fals it, adnull it, and again cancel it in thy hand William of How- ston Deput to the Sherray of Lithgow, and tharto a borch in thy hand ; and for this cause the Courte was unlach- full, the doyme unlachfull, unordeily gyffn, and agane our statut ; for had he been a common thef takyn redhand, and haldyn twa Sonys, he sulde half had his lawdayis he askande them, as he did before our Soverane Lord the King, and be this resoune the doyme is evyll giff yn and weil agane said; and her we, the foresaid Walter and Thomas, procura- tors to the foresaid Robert, protests for ma resounys to be giffyn up be the said Robert, or be his procurators qwhar he acht, in lawfull tyme. Dictum judicium sic ut premittitur falsatum et adnullatum dicti procurato- rs, nomine dicti Roberti, invenerunt plegium ad prosequendum dictas adnul- laciones et falsaciones predicti judicii, in manu Roberti Nicholson serjandj domini nostri regis qui dictum plegium recepit. Postmodo vero dicti procura- •tores offerebant falsacionem adnullacio- nem dicte judicii sub sigillo praefati Roberti Flemyng dicto Willelmo de Ho"wstoun deputato dicti vicecomitis, qui recipere recusavit, dicendo quod reeepcio Ejusdem pertinebat ad Justi- ciarium, et non ad vicecomitum, et tunc ipsi procurators continuo publice pro- testati sunt, quod dicta recusacio nul- lum pre judicium dicto Roberto Flemyng generaret in futurum. Super quibus omnibus et singulis praefati Walterus et Thomas procuratorio nomine ut supra a me notario publico infrascript sibi fieri pecierunt publicum instrumentum, seu publica instrumenta : Acta fuerunt haec apud crucem ville de Lithgw hora qu decima ante meridiem Anno, die, mense, Indiccione et Ponti-, ficatu quibus supra, presentibus ibidem providis viris, Willelmo de Houston Deputato ut supra, Domino Willmo llane, Domino Johanne . person, Pres- byteris, Jacobo Forrest et Jacobo Fowly s publico notario cum multis aliis testi- NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 383 bus, ad preimssa vocatis specialiter et rogatis. This instrument, which exhibits in a striking light the formal solemnity of feudal manners, is printed from a copy- communicated to me by my friend Thomas Thomson, Esq., Depute-clerk Register, and taken from the original in the archives of the Earldom of Wig- town, preserved in the charter-chest of Admiral Fleming at Cumbernauld. Letter L, page 141. Early Connexion hetiueen Scotland and the Hanse Towns. The intercourse of Scotland with the Hanse towns and the commercial states of Flanders took place, as has been shewn in another part of this history, at a very early period. When that portion of the work was written, I was not aware of the existence of an interesting document on the subject of early Scot- tish commerce, which had been included by Sartorius in his work on the origin of the league of the Hanse towns ; for the publication of which, after the death of the author, the world is in- debted to the learned Dr Lappenberg of Hamburg; -and to which my atten- tion was first directed by Mr J. D. Carrick's Life of Sir William Wallace, published in Constable's Miscellany. The document is a letter from Wallace and Sir Andrew Moray, dated at Bad- sing-ton in Scotland, evidently a mis- reading for Haddington,' on the 11th of October 1297. It is as follows : — "Andreas de Morauia et Willelmus Wallensis, duces exercitus regni Scotie c?t communitas eiusdem Regni, prouidis viris et discretis ac amicis dilectis, maioribus et communibus de Lubek et de Hamburg salutem et sincere dilec- tionis semper incrementum. Nobis per *icLe dignos mercatores dicti regni Scotie tat intimatum, quod vos vestri gratia., in omnibus causis et negociis, nos et ipsos mercatores tangentibus consulen- tes, auxiliantes et favorabiles estis, licet, nostra non precesserent merita, et ideo magis vobistesiemur ad grates cum digna remuneracione, ad que vobis volumus obligari; rogantes vos, quatinus pre- conizari facere velitis inter mercatores vestros, quod securum accessum ad omnes portus regni Scotie possint ha- bere cum mercandiis suis, quia regnum Scotie, Deo regraciato, ab Anglorum potestate bello est recuperatum. Va- lete. Datum apud Badsingtonam in Scotia, undecimo die Octobris, Anno gracie, millesimo ducentesimo nonagesi- rao septimo. Rogamus vos insuper vt negocia Johannis Burnet, et Johannis Frere, mercatorum nostrorum piomoueri dignemini, prout nos negocia mercato- rum vestrorum promovere velitis. Va- lete dat: ut prius." The original letter, of which a tran- script was communicated by Dr Lappen- oerg, the editor of Sartorius's work, to Mr Carrick, through Mr Repp, one of the assistant librarians of the Faculty of Advocates, is still preserved among the archives of the Hanseatic city of Lubeck. "It appears,'' says Dr L. "to be the oldest document existing relative to the intercourse of Hamburg and Lubeck, or other Hanseatic cities, with Scotland." It is much to be wished that a correct fac-simile of it should be pro- cured. The battle of Stirling, in which I Wallace defea ted " Cressingham, was ■ fought on the" #d of September 1297. A great dearth and famine then ra?.ed in Scotland, and Wallace led his army into England. 1 The letter to the cities of Lubeck and Hamburg was evidently written on the march into Northumber- land, which corroborates the reading of Haddington, a town lying directly in the route of the army, for Badsington, a name unknown to Scottish topography. In Langtoft's Chronicle, a high author- ity, we meet with a corroboration of . Wallace's mission to Flanders, immedi- ately after the battle of Stirling : — After this bataile, the Scottis sent over the se A boye of ther rascaile, quaynt and deguise 2 To Flandres bad him fare, through burgh and cite, Of Edward where he ware to bryng them cer teyrte. 3 It is probable that this boy or page, who was sent to spy out the motions of Edward, was the bearer of the letter to the cities of Lubeck and Hamburg. ^ We possess now four original deeds granted by Wallace! The above letter to Lubeck and Hamburg — the protec- tion to the monks of Hexham, dated the 8th of November 1297 — the passport to the same monks — and the famous grant, published by Anderson in his Diplomata, plate xliv., to Alexander Skirmishur, of the office of Constable of the castle of Dundee, for his faithful service, in bearing the royal standard in the army of Scotland. It is curious to mark the progressive style used by Wallace in 1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 171, 172. 2 Disguised. » Langtoft, vol. ii. p. 298. 584 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. tliese deeds. In the first, the letter to the Hanse Towns, dated 11th October 1297, it is simply commander of the army of Scotland, " Dux exercitus regni Scotia?." In the second, daled 7th Nov- ember 1297, he is " Leader of the army of Scotland, in the name of an illustrious prince. Lord John, by the grace of God, King of Scotland, by the consent of the community of the same kingdom/' 1 In the third, which is dated at Torphichen, the 29th March 1298, we no longer find Andrew Moray associated in the com- mand of the army with "Wallace ; his • style is simply William "Wallace, Guar- I dian of the Kingdom- of Scotland, and leader of the armies of the same, in the name of an excellent prince, Lord John, by the grace of God, the illustrious King of Scotland. With the exception of this valuable document, I am not aware that there exist any additional letters or charters relative to the early commerce between Scotland and the Hanse towns, till we arrive at the first quarter of the fifteenth century, dining which repeated com- plaints were made on the part of the associated cities, that the Scots had plundered their merchantmen. In con- sequence of this they resorted to re- prisals ; the members of the league were prohibited from all intercourse with the Scots ; and every possible method was adopted to persecute and oppress the merchants of this country, wherever the Hanseatic factories were established ; for example, in Norway, and in Flan- ders, to which the Scots resorted. It is ordered by a Hanse statute of the year 1412, that no member of the league should purchase of Scotsmen, either at Bruges or any other place, cloth either dressed or undressed, or manufactured .from Scottish wool; whilst the mer- chants of the Hanse communities who did not belong to the league, were forbid to sell such wares in the markets of the leagued towns. It would appear that these quarrels continued for upwards of ten years, as in 1418 the Compter at Bruges was enjoined, under pain of confiscation, to renounce commercial intercourse with the Scots, till all dif- ferences were adjusted ; from which we may fairly conclude, that the Bruges market was the principal emporium of trade on both sides. A few years after this, in 1426, the prohibition of all trade with the Scots was renewed, un- i Knighton, p. 2521. Apud Twysden x. Scriptores, vcl. ii. less they consented to an indemnification for . damages already sustained. At a still later period, in 1445, it appears that the Bremeners had captured, amongst other vessels, a ship coming from Edinburgh, laden with a cargo of cloth and leather ; and in the course of the same year, a commission was issued by James the Second, to certain Scottish delegates, empowering them to enter into negotiations with the towns of Bremen, Lubeck, Hamburg, Wismar, Stralsund and Rostock, regarding the termination of all such disputes. The original commission, which has never been printed in any English work, is preserved in the archives of the city of Bremen, and is to be found m a rare German pamphlet, or Thesis, which was discovered and communicated by Sir William Hamilton to Mr Thomson, to whom I am indebted for the use of it. It is as follows : — 4 'Jacobus Dei gratia Rex Scotorum. Universis ad quorum noticiam present es literae pervenerint, salutem. Sciatis quod nos ex matura deliberatione nostri parliamenti, de fide et legalitate delec- torum, et fidelium nostrorum, Thome de Preston, scutiferi et familiaris nostri J ohannis Jeffrason et Stephani Huntare, cumburgensium burgi nostri de Edin- burgh, ac Andree Ireland, burgensis burgi nostri de Perth, plurimum confi- dentes, ipsos, Thomam, Johannem, Ste- phanum, ac Andream, nostros commis- sarios, deputatos, et nuncios speciales fecimus, constituimus, et ordinavimus. Dantes et concedentes eisdem Thome, J ohanni, Stephano, et Andree, et eorum, duobus, conjunctim, nostram plenariam potestatem et mandatum speciale ad comparendum coram nobilibus et cir- cumspecte prudentie viris burgimastris, Scabinis et consulibus civitatum, vil- larum, et oppidorum de Lubec, Bremen, Hamburg, Wismere, Trailsond, et Ros- tock, seu ipsorum et aliorum, quorum interest commissariis et deputatis suf- ficientem potestatem habentibus, ad communicandum, tractandum, concor- dandum, componendum, appunctuan- dum, et finaliter concludendum, de et super spoliatione, bonorum restitutione, lesione et interf ectione regni nostri Mer- catorum per Bremenses anno revoluto in mare factorum, et perpetratorum, ac literas quittancie pro nobis et dicti3 nostris mercatoribus dandi et conce- dendi, ac omnia alia, ac singula faciendi, gerendi et exercendi, que in premissia necessaria fuerint, seu opportuna. Ra- NOTES- AND ILLUSTRATIONS, turc: et gratum habentes, pro pcrpetuo habituri quicquid dicti nostri coinmissarii vel eorum duo conjunctim in premissis duxerint faciendum. Datum sub magno sigillo nostro apud Edynburgh, decimo quarto die mensis Augusti, anno domini millesimo quadragintesimo quadragesi- mo quinto, et regni nostri nono." In consequence of this commission, the following treaty, included in the same rare tract, was entered into on the 16th October 1445. It is drawn up in an ancient dialect of Low German, still spoken in those parts. For its trans- lation — a work which I believe few scholars in this country could have per- formed — I am indebted to the kindness and learning of my friend Mr Leith. Letter of the Scottish ambassadors concerning the reconciliation of the town of bremen with the subjects of the kingdom of scot- land, and the treating of the damage which they had occa- sioned each other. "We, John Jeff reson, Stephen Hunter, provost of Edinburgh, and Andrew Ire- land, bailie of Perth, ambassadors and procurators plenipotentiary of our most gracious beloved master, the most illus- trious prince and lord, James king of Scots, of the noble city of Edin- burgh, and others of his towns and sub- jects, acknowledge and make known openly in this letter, and give all to understand, who shall see it, or hear it read. " Since those of Bremen, in years but lately past, took on the sea, from the subjects of the afore-mentioned most powerful prince and lord, the King of Scots, our gracious beloved lord, a cer- tain ship, laden with Scottish cloth, and in order that all capture, attack, and damage, which have happened to ships, people, or goods, wherever they have iaken place, and that all other damage which has happened to the kingdom of Scotland, and the subjects of the said kingdom, on the part of those of Bre- men, or their people, up to the date of this letter, may be removed : "And also, in order to compensate for, to diminish, and extinguish, any great and remarkable damage which they of Bremen have suffered and re- ceived in former years and times, from the subjects of the afore-mentioned lord the king : "Therefore, have we, the "ibove- VOD. II. 881 mentioned John, Stephen, and An- drew, by the grace, full powers, and command of our afore-mentioned gra- cious and beloved lord the king, and others of his towns and subjects, pro- curators plenipotentiary, (according to th.e contents of all their procuratories, together with that of his royal gracious majesty, sealed with all their seals, which we have delivered over to the afore-mentioned people of Bremen, and received answer,) negotiated, effected, and made conditions of a friendly treaty, with the honourable burger- meister and counsellors of Bremen, in all power, and in the manner as here- after is written. " Although the afore-mentioned peo- ple of Bremen, in strict right, as also on account of the delay which has taken place, and also on account of the great damage which they have suffered in former years from the said kingdom, could not be bound, and were not bound, yet on account of their affection to, and to please the afore-mentioned, our most gracious lord, and his royal grace, and for the sake of peace, and an equitable treaty, the same people of Bremen, to compensate for the expense, wear, and great inconvenience, which then was occasioned, have given us, and do presently give a Butse, 1 called the Rose, with anchors, tackling, and ropes, as she came out of the sea, and there- unto forty measures of beer ; and there- with shall all attack, damage, and hurt, which they of Bremen and their allies have done to the kingdom of Scotland, and the subjects of the said kingdom, up to the date of this letter, whether the damage may have been done to crews, goods, or ships, and wherever the damage may have been received, be declared to be compen- sated for, acquitted, and completely forgiven. " And, in like manner also, shall all attack, damage, and hurt, which they of Bremen, in these years, have suf- fered from the kingdom of Scotland, and the subjects of the said kingdom, and particularly that which happened to one of their coggen 2 which was lost 1 Butse, a particular kind of ship. Herring busses is a term frequently used in the Acts of Parliament. 2 Coggen, another kind of ship, of some particular build, used for warlike as well as for mercantile purposes. Kreyer and kreyger can only be explained in the same genera) way. 2B 386 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. in the Firth, and to a Ireyer lost near Wytkopp, and to a kreyger lost near the Abbey of Arbroath, and other ships, which damage those of Bremen esti- mated, and said they had suffered, to the amount of six thousand nobles, the same shall also be held acquitted and compensated for. , " And we, the above-mentioned John, Stephen, and Andrew, procurators plenipotentiary, by power and grace of our gracious lord the king, his towns, and subjects, and according to the con- tents of our procuratories, do acquit, and have acquitted all and each one of the afore -mentioned persons of Bremen, and their allies, by power and might of this letter, of all the afore-mentioned damage and attacks, let it have hap- pened when and where it will, and wherever it may have been received, in all time afore this, and will never revive the same complaints, either in spiritual or secular courts. " Furthermore is agreed, negotiated, and settled, that if it should be that the subjects and merchants of the above- mentioned kingdom, should ship any of their goods in bottoms belonging to powers hostile to Bremen, and the pri- vateers 1 of Bremen should come up to them on the sea, so shall the above- mentioned Scots and their goods be unmolested, with this difference — if it should be that enemy's goods were in the ship, such goods shall they, on their oaths, deliver over to those of Bremen ; and the ship, crew, and freight shall be held to ransom for a certain sum of gold, as they shall agree with the allies 2 of those of Bremen, and these shall allow the ship, with the crew and the goods of the Scots, to sail away to their de- stined market. And further, shall all the subjects and merchants of the above-mentioned most mighty prince and lord, the King of Scots, our most graciotfs and beloved master, as also those of Bremen and their merchants, visit, touch at, and make use of the ports and territory of the said kingdom of Scotland, and of the said town and territory of Bremen, with .their mer- chant vessels, velinqen, 3 lifes, and merchandise, with security, and under good safe-conduct, and velichkeit, 4 as they have been used to do in peace and love for long years before. " For the greater authenticity and truth of this document, have we, John i Redliggere. 2 Vrunden. 3 Unknown. * Unknown. Jeffreson, Stephen Hunter, and Andrew Ireland, ambassadors and procurators plenipotentiary, affixed our true seals to this letter. kS Given and written after the birth of Christ our Lord, fourteen hundred years, and thereafter in the fortieth and fifth, on the day of St Gall, the holy abbot, (d. 16 Oct.)" Letter M, page 161. James, ninth Earl of Douglas. As this authentic and interesting document has never been published, it may properly be included amongst the Notes and Illustrations of this his- tory. It is taken from the manuscript volume preserved in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, entitled, "Sir Lewis Stewart's Collec- tions," a 4, 7, p. 19. Appoyntement betwixt J ames II. and James Earle Douglas. Be it kend till all men be thyr pre- sent letters, me James, Earle of Doug- las, to be halden and obleist, and be thir present letters, and the faith in my body, lelie and truelie binds and obliges me till our sovereane Lord James, be the grace of God, King of Scotland, that I shall fulfill, keep, and observe all and sundrie articles, and condeciones, and poyntis underwrittin. That is to say — in the first, I bind and oblige me till our said soverayne lord, that I shall never follow nor persew, directly nor indirectly, be law, or any other maner of way, any entrie in the lands of the earldome of "Wigtone, with the pairti- nents or any part of them, untill the tyme that I may obtaine speciall favour and leicence of oure soverayne Lady Mary, be the grace of God, Queen of Scotland, be letter and seal to be given and maid be hir to me thairupon. And in the samen wise, I bind and obliss me to our soverayne lord, that I shall never persew nor follow, directly nor indi- rectlie, the lands of the lordshipe of Stewartoun, with the pertinents, or any pairt of them, the whilk wer whiluni the Dutches of Turinies, until the time that I may obtaine our soverayne lord's special licence, grace, and favour of en- trie in the said lands ; and alswa, I bind and oblidge me till our soverayne lord, to remitt and forgive, and be thir pre- sent letters fullie remitts and forgives, for evermair, for me, my brother, and the Lord Hamiltoune, and our (enver- NOTES AND IL dance) all raaner of rancour of heart, malice, fede, malgre, and invy, the quhilk I or any of us had, lies, or may have in t}^me to come, till any of our said soverane lord's lieges, for any ac- tions, causes, or querrels bygane, and speciallie till all them that had arte or parte of the slaughter or deid of whylum William, Earle of Douglas, my brother, and shall take thay personnes in heart- lines and friendship at the ordinance :md advyce of our said soverayne lord. And outter, I bind and obliss me till our said soverayne lord, that all the tenants and maillers being within my lands quatsomever, sail remane with thair tacks and maling quhile Whitson- day come a year; except them that oc- cupies the grangis and steids whilk war in the hand of the said Earle William, my brother, for his own proper goods the tyme of his decease, and yet thay persones to remaine with thyr tacks, at our said soverayne lord's will, of the said granges and steids while Whitson- day next to come ; and alswa I bind and oblige me to our said soverayne lord to revock, and be thir present letters re- vocks, all leagues and bands, if any hes been made be me in any tyme bygane, contrare to our said soverayne lord ; and binds and obliss me, that I shall make na band, na ligg in tyme coming, quhijk sail be contrar til his hienes. Alswa I bind and obliss me till our said sove- rayne lord, to remitt and forgive, and be thir present letters remitts and forgives till his hienes all maner of maills, goods spendit, taken, sould, or analied be him or his intromitters, in any manner of wayes before the xxii day of the moneth of July last bypast, before the makyng of thir present letters. And if any thing be tane of the good of Gallaway, I put me thairof, to our said soveraigne lady, the Queen's will. Alswa I bind and ob- lige me to our said soveraigne lord, that I shall maintaine, supplie, and defend the borders and the bordarars, and keep the trewes taken, or to be taken, at all my guidly power, and in als far as I aught to do as wardane or liegeman till him. Alswa I bind and oblidge me to doe to our said soverane lord, honor and worschip in als far as lyes in my power, I havand sic sovertie as I can be content of raasoun for safety of my life. Item, I oblige me that all harmes done, and guides taken under assurance be mandit and restored. In witness of the whilk thing, in fulfilling and keeping all and bundrie articles, poynts, and conditiones ' LUSTRATIONS. 287 beforr written m all manier of forme, force, and effect, as is aforsaid, all fraud and guile a Way put, 1 the said James, for me, my brother, and the Lord Hamiltoune, and all our pairts, (averdance,) to ther present letters sett my seall, and for the mair sickerness the haly evangillis twichit, hes given our bodily oath, and subscryved with my own hand at Douglas, the xxviii day of the month of Agust, the year of our Lord jm. four hundreth and feftie-twa years. Sic subscribitur, James, Earle Douglas. James, Lord Hamiltone. Sir Lewis Stewart does not say where the original is preserved ; but his trans- cript is evidently much altered and mo- dernised in the spelling. Letter N, page 165. " Eodem anno Comes Mora viae f rater Comitis de Dowglas cum fratre suo Comite de Ormont, et Johannes Doug- las eorundem fratre intraverunt Anan- derdaill et illam depredati sunt; et spolia ad matrem in Karleil portarunt, presentantes. Quibus (dominus) de Johnston cum ducentis occurrit, et acriter inter illos pugnatum est. In quo conflictu dominus Comes Moravian occiditur, et caput ejus regi Jacobo pre- sentabatur, sed rex animositatem viri commendabat, licet caput ignorabat. Occisus eciam fuit Comes de Ormont. Tunc convocato Parliamento annexae erant illorum terrse, Coronas regioe, viz. Ettrick forest, tota Galvaia, Ballincreiff , Gifford, cum aliis multis dominiis Eor- undem." The manuscript from which this ex- tract is taken, and Which has never been printed, is preserved in the Library of the University of Edinburgh. A. C. c. 26. Letter O, page 195. Rise of the Power of the Boyds. The remarkable indenture quoted in the text is preserved amongst the arch- ives of the earldom of Wigtown, in the charter-chest of Admiral Fleming at Cumbernauld. As only twenty copies of it, printed for private circulation, exist, I am happy to render it more accessible to the Scot- tish antiquary. It is as follows : — " Yis indentour, mad at Striuelyn, the tend day of februar, the zer of God 338 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. a thousand four hundreth sixty and fyf zeris, betwyx honourable and worschip- ful lordis, yat is to say, Robert, Lord Flemyng on ye ta pairt, and Gilbert, Lord Kennedy and Sir Alexander Boid of Duchal, knight, on the todir pairt, yat yai ar fullelie accordit and appointit in maner and form as eftir follouis : Yat is to say, yat ye said lordis ar bundyn and oblist yaim selfis, yair kyn, friendis, and men, to stand in afald kendnes, supple, and defencs, ilk an til odir, in all yair caussis and querrell leifull and honest, movit and to be movit, for all ye dais of yair liffis, in contrery and aganis al maner of persones yat leiff or d-5e may ; yair allegiance til our soueran lord alanerly outan, excepand to the lord flemyng, his bandis mad of befoir, to ye Lord Levynston, and to yhe lord Hamilton,* and, in lyk maner, excepand to the saidis lordis kenned y and Sir Alexander, yair bandis mad of befoir, til a reverend fadir in Crist, master patrik the graham, bischop of Sanc- tander, ye Erie af Crawford, ye lord mungumer, the lord maxvel, the lord boid, the lord levynston, the lord ham- ilton, and the lord Cathcart. Item, yat the said lord flemyng salbe of special service, and of cunsail to the kyng, als lang as the saidis lordis kenedy and Sir Alexander ar speciall seruandis and of cunsail to ye kyng ; the said lord flem- yng kepand his band and kyndnes to the foirsaidis lord kennedey and Alexander, for al the f oirsaid tym : And attour, the said lord flemyng is oblist yat he sal nodirwit, consent, nor assent, til, (avas,) nor tak away the kyngis person fra the saidis lord kenedy and Sir Alexander, nor fra na udyr yat yai leff , and ordanis to be doaris to yaim, and keparis in yair abcens; and gif the said lord flemyng getis, or may get, ony bit of sic thyng to be done in ony tym, he sal warn the saidis lord kennedy and Sir Alexander, or yair doars in do tym, or let it to be done at all his power ; and tak sic part as yai do, or on an of yaim for ye tymin, ye ganstandyng of yat mater, but fraud and gil ; and the said lord fleming sal adwis the kyng at al his pertly power wycht his gud cunsail, to be hertly and kyndly to the foirsaidis lord kenedy and Sir Alexander, to yair barnis and friendis, and yai at belang to yaim for ye tym. Item, giff yah* happynis ony vakand to fall in the kyngis handis, at is a reson- able and meit thyng for the said lord flemyngis seruice, yat he salbe furdirit yairto for his reward: and gif yair hap- pynis a large thyng to fal, sic as vard, releiff, marriage, or oflls, at is meit for hym, the said lord flemyng sal haff it for a resonable compocicion befoir udir. Item, the saidis lord kennedy and Sir Alexander sal haff thorn of Sumeiwel and wat of twedy, in special mantenans, supple, and defencs, in all yair accionis, causs, and querrel, leful and honest, for the said lord flemyngis sak, and for yair seruis don and to be don, next yair awyn mastiris, yat yai wer to of befoir. And, at all and sundry thyngis abovn writtyn salbe lelily kepit, bot fraud and gil, ather of yhe pairtis hes geffyn till udiris, yair bodily aithis, the hali evan- gelist tuychit, and enterchangable, set to yair selis, at day, yheir, and place abovn written." Letter P> p. 222, and Q, p. 227. Revolt of his Nobility against James the Third, in 1482. The history of this revolt of the nobles against James the Third, as it is found in the pages of Lesley and Buchanan, furnishes a striking example of the necessity of having access to the con- temporary muniments and state papers of the period, as the materials from which historical truth must be derived. Les- \ ley was a scholar and a man of talent — I Buchanan a genius of the first rank of [ intellect ; yet both have failed in their I attempt to estimate the causes which / led to the struggle between James and ) his barons; and it is not," perhaps, tooA muclTtcfsay that the narrative of Buc- J hanan, where he treats of this period, / is little else than a classical romance*/ The extent of Albany's treasonable cor- respondence with Edward the Fourth, his consent to sacrifice the independence of the kingdom, his actual assumption of the title of king, and the powerful party of the nobles by whom he was supported, are all of them facts un- known to this historian, and which the publication of the "FcederaAnglise" first revealed to the world. — instead "of these facts, which let us into the history of the proceedings of both parties in the state, and afford a pretty clear notion of the motives by which they were actu- ated, we are presented by Buchanan with a series of vague and scandalous reports, calculated to blacken the me- mory of the king, arising at firstjaiit^Sl the falsehoods propagated by Albany and the nobles of his faction, against the monarch whom *hex had deter- NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 389 mined "to dethrone, increased by the credulous additions of the common peo- ple, and invested by him with all the charms of style which his sweet and classic muse has so profusely scattered over his history. " Hae quidem in acta publica causae sunt redactse. Yerum odium regis ob causam privatam con- ceptual plus ei (i.e. Domino Crichtonio) nocuisse creditur. Erat Gulielmo uxor c nobile Dumbarorum familia nata, ab- que insigni pulchritudine. Earn cum a rege maritus corruptam comperisset, consilium temerarium quidem sed ab animo amore segro et injuria irritato non alienum suscepit. Minorem enim e regis sororibus, et ipsam quoque forma egregia et consuetudine fratris infamem, compressit, et ex ea Margaritam Crich- tonium quae non adeo pridem decessit genuit." B. xii. cli. For this compli- cated tale, which throws the double guilt of adultery and incest upon the unfortunate monarch, there is_ no evi- dence whatever ; and of the first part of it, "~thxT inaccuracy may be detected. William, third Lord Crichton, did not marry a daughter of the noble house of Dunbar. The Lady Janet Dunbar was his mother, not his wife. (Douglas's Peerage, vol. i. p. 609. Crawford's Offi- cers of State, p. 311. Sutherland case, by Lord Hailes, c. vi. p. 81. ) On the other hand, it seems almost certain that William, third Lord Crichton, the asso ciate of Albany, of whom Buchanan is speaking, did mar ry Margaret, sister to James the ThircT ; but the dark asper sion of her previous connexion with her brother the king, is found, as far as I have yet seen, in no historian prior to Buchanan, not even in the credulous Boece, whose pages are sufficiently hos- tile to, James the Third, to induce us to believe that the story would not have been neglected. That the treaty of Albany with Edward the Fourth, and his assumption of the royal title, should have been unknown to Buchanan and Lesley, to whom all access to the ori- ginal-records was probably impossible at the time they wrote, is not extraor- dinary ; but it is singular that the cir- cumstances illustrative of this period of our history should have escaped the [notice of Mr Aikman, the latest trans- lator of Buchanan. As to Lesley, the ^causes which he_ assigns for the hostility of the nobility to James and his favour- ites, are his having suffered Cochrane to debase the current coin, by the issue of copper money, unmeet to have course in the realm — the consequent dearth and famine throughout the country — his living secluded from his queen and his nobles, and his entertaining, in place of his royal consort, a mistress, named the Daisy — the slaughter of the Earl of Mar, his brother — and the banishment of the Duke of Albany. With regard to the first of these subjects of com- plaint, the issue of a new copper coin, the fact is certain, and the discontent and distress which it occasioned cannot be doubted. In the short Chronicle at the end of Wiriton's MS. Keg. 17, d. xx., printed by Pinkerton, Appendix, vol. i. p. 502, Hist, of Scotland, is the follow- ing passage : — " Thar was ane gret hum gyr and deid in Scotland, for the boll of meill was for four pounds; for thair was black cunye in the realm strikin and ordynit be King James the Thred, half pennys, and three penny pennys innumerabill, of copper. And thai yeid twa yier and mair : And als was gret weir betwix Scotland and England, and gret distruction thro the weiris was of corne and cattel. And thai twa thyngs causyt bayth hungar and derth, and mony puir folk deifc of hunger. And that samyn yeir, in the moneth of July, the Kyng of Scotland purposyt till naif passit on gaitwart Lawdyr : and thar the Lords of Scotland held thair coun- saill in the Kirk of Lawdyr, and cryit doune the black silver, and thai slew ane pairt of the Kyng's housald ; and other part thai banysyt; and thai tuke the Kyng himself, and thai put hym in the Castell of Edinburgh in firm kepyng. . . . . And he was haldyn in the Castell of Edynburgh fra the Magda- lyne day quhil'l Michaelmas. And than the wictall grew better chaip, for the boll that was for four pounds was than for xxii. sh. of quhyt silver. " The circum- stance of crying down the black money is corroborated by the act passed in the par- liament of 1473, c. 12, "and as touching the plakkis and the new pennys, the lordis thinkis that the striking of thame be cessit. And they have the course that they now have unto the tyme that the fynance of them be knawin. And whether they halde five shillings fyne silver of the unce, as was ordainit by the King's hieness, and promittet by the cunzeours." 1 So far the narrative of Lesley is supported by authentic evi- dence, but that Cochrane was the ad- viser of this depreciation of the current i Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 105. 390 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. coin does not appear in any. contem- porary record ; and the assertion of James's attachment to a mistress, called the Daisy, who had withdrawn his affec- tions from the queen, rests solely on the authority of the later and more popular historians. Letter R, page 245. Inventory of the Jewels and Money of James the Third. . As the inventory referred to in the text is valuable, from the light which it throws upon the wealth -and the man- ners of Scotland at the close of the fifteenth century, I am sure the anti- quarian, and I trust even the general reader, will be gratified by its insertion. It is -extracted from the accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, and a few copies have been already printed, although not published, by Mr Thom- son, to whom this volume is under re- peated obligations, and who will not be displeased by its curious details being made more generally accessible to the public. INVENT ARE OF ANE PARTE OP THE GOLD AND SILVER, CUNYEIT AND UNCUNYEIT, JOWELLIS, AND UTHER STUPF, PERTEN- ING TO UMQUHILE OURE SOVERANE LORDIS FADER, THAT HE HAD IN DE- POIS THE TYME OF HIS DECEIS, AND THAT COME TO THE HANDIS OF OUR SOVERANE LORD THAT NOW IS. M.cccc.Lxxxvni. Memorandum deliuerit be dene Ro- bert hog channoune of halirudhouse to the thesaurar, tauld in presens of the chancellar, lord Lile, the prior of Sanc- tandrois, in a pyne pig 1 of tynn. In the fyrst of angellis twa hundreth four score & v angellis Item in ridaris nyne score and aucht ridaris Item in rialis of France fyfty and four Item in unicornis nyne hundrethe & four score Item in demyis & Scottis crounis four hundreth & tuenti Item in rose nobilis fyfti and four Item in Hari nobilis & salutis fourti & ane Item fyftene Flemis ridaris Item tuelf Lewis i Pyne Pig; perhaps our modern Scots "penny pig." Item in Franche crounis thre score antil thre Item in unkennyt 2 golde thretti pundis Memorandum, be the command of the king, thar past to the castell to see the jowalis, silver money, & uther stuff, the xvii day of Junii, the yer of god one- thousand four hundreth and eighty- eight yeris, thir persouns under writtin, that is to say The eile of Angus The erle of Ergile The bischope of Glasgw The lord Halis The lord Home The knycht of Torfichane thesaurar Memorandum, fund be the saidis per- sonis in the blak kist, thre cofferis, a box, acageat. 3 It'em fund in the maist of the said cofferis, lous & put in na thing, bot liand within the said coffyr, fyve hundreth, thre score ten rois nobilis, and ane angell noble Item in a poik of canves, beand within the said coffre, of angell nobilis, sevin hundreth and fyfty angelis Item in alitillpurs, within the said coffre, of quarteris of rois nobilis, sevin score nyne rois nobilis, a quarter of a nobill Item in a little coffre, beand within the said coffre, of rois nobilis sevin hun- dreth fyfty & thre nobilis Item in a Htill payntit coffre, beand ' within the said blak kist, of Henry nobilis a thousand thre hundreth, and sevintene nobillis Item in ane uther coffre, beand within the said blak kist, a poik of canves, with demyis contenand aucht hun- dreth, ane less Item in a box, beand within the said blak kist, the grete bedis of gold, contenand six score twa bedis, and a knop Item in the said box, a buke of gold like ane tabell, and on the glasp of it, four perlis, and a fare ruby Item in the said box the grete diamant, with the diamantis sett about it Item in the said box, a thing of gold with a top like a tunnele Item in the same box a stomok,4 &; on 2 Gold of unknown denomination. 8 Cageat — casket. Jamieson, who quotes this inventory. * Stomok — stomacher. Jamieson. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 891 it set a hert, all of precious stains, & perle Item in a trouch 1 of cipre tre within the said box, a point maid of perle, contenand xxv perle with hornis of gold Item twa tuthpikis of gold with a chenye, a perle, & erepike, a moist ball of gold, ane hert of gold, with uther small japis 2 Item in a round buste,- within the said box, a cors of gold, with four stanis. Item a collar of gold, twa glassis with balme Item in a litill paper, within the said box, ane uche, with a diamant, twa hornis, four butonis horse nalis blak Item ane uche 3 of gold, like a flour the lis, of diamantis & thre bedis of gold, a columbe of gold & twa rubeis. Item in a cageat, beand within the said blak kist, a braid chenye, a ball of cristal Item a purs maicl of perle, in it a moisfc ball, 4 a pyn 5 of gold, a litill chenye of gold, a raggit staff, a serpent toung sett _ ' Item in the said cageat, a litill coffre of silver, oure gilt, with a litil salt- fat 6 and a cover Item a mannach 7 of silver Item in a small coffre, a chenye of gold, a hert of gold, anamelit, a brassalet of gold, sett with precious stanis Item a collar of gold maid with eli- phantis and a grete hingar at it Item sanct Michaell of gold with a perle on his spere Item a quhissill 8 of gold Item a flour the lys of gold Item a ryng with a turcas 9 Item a small cors with twa pecis of gold at it Item a grete precious stane Item a Htil barrell maid of gold Item twa berialis, and a grete bene Item in a litill coffre, a grete serpent toung, set with gold, perle, & pre- cious stanis, and twa small serpent toungis set in gold, and ane ymage of gold Item in ane uther coffre, beand within the blak kyst, ane roll with ringis, ane with a grete saffer, 10 ane emmor- 1 Trouch — a deep long box. 2 Japis — playthings, trifles. * Uche— brooch. Not in Jamieson. * A moist ball — a musk ball. 5 Pyn— pin. 6 Saltfat— saltcellar. i Unknown ; perhaps a little man. Not in Jamieson. 8 Quhissill — whistle. 9 Turquois. J o Sapphire. ant, 11 a stane of pillar, and ane uther ring Item in the same coffre ane uther roll with ringis, ane with a grete ruby, k uther iiii ringis Item ane uther roll with ringis in it, of thame, thre grete emmorantis, a ruby, a diamant Item a roll of ringis, ane emmorant, a topas, & a diamant Item ane uther roll of ringis, ane with a grete turcas, and ane uther ring Item a roll with sevin small ringis, dia- mantis, rubeis, & perle Item a roll with ringis, a turcas, a stane of pillar, & a small ring Item a roll with ringis, a ruby, a dia- mant, twa uther ringis, a berial 12 Item in ane uther small coffre, within the said blak kyst, a chenye with ane uche, in it a ruby, a diamant, maid like a creill Item a brasselat of gold, with hede & pendes 13 of gold Item sanct Antonis cors, and in it a dia- mant, a ruby, and a grete perle Item a grete ring with a topas Item a wodward 14 of gold with a dia- mant Item ane uche of gold, maid like a rose of diamantis Item a kist of silver, in it a grete cors, with stanis, a ryng, a berial hingand . at it Item in it the grete cors of the chapell, sett with precious stanis > Memorandum, fundin in a bandit kist like a gardeviant, 15 in the fyrst the grete chenye of gold, contenand sevin score sex linkis Item thre platis of silver Item tuelf salfatis Item fyftene discheis ouregilt Item a grete gilt plate Item twa grete bassingis ouregilt Item four masaris, 16 callit king Robert the Brocis, with a cover Item a grete cok maid of silver Item the hede, of silver, of ane of the coveris of masar Item a fare diaile Item twa kasis of knyffis Item a pare of auld knyffis Item takin be the smyth that opinnit the lokkis, in gold fourty demyis ii Emerald. 12 Beryl. ™ Pendants. 1* Unknown. 1 5 Cabinet. Jamieson. is Drinking cups. An interesting item- four drinking cups of Robert the Bruce's. 392 HISTOEY OF Item in Inglys grotis xxiiii li. & the said silver gevin agan to the ta- karis of hym Item ressavit in the cloissat of Davidis tour 1 ane haly water fat of silver, twa boxis, a cageat tume, a glas with rois water, a dosoune of torchis, 2 king Robert Brucis serk 3 Memorandum, gottin in the quenis kist, quhilk come fra Striveling,in a litill coffre within the same, In the" fyrst a belt of crammassy 4 hernessit with gold & braid Item a braid belt of blak dammas, her- nessit with gold Item a small belt of claith of gold, her- nessit with gold Item a belt of gold, unhernessit Item twa bedis of gold Item a litill belt of gold, hernessit with gold Item in a box beand within the said kist, a collar of cassedonis, with a grete hingar of moist, twa rubeis, twa perlis contenand xxv small cassedonis set in gold 1 tern a chenye of gold maid in fassone of frere knottis, 5 contenand fourti four knottis. Item a pare of bedis of gold contenand fyfti and sex bedis Item a grete cheyne of gold, contenand of linkis thre score and a lynk Item ane uther cheyne of gold gretar, contenand fifti and aucht linkis Item a frete 8 of the quenis oure set with grete perle, sett in fouris & fouris Item viii uchis of gold sett with stanis & perle Item tuenti hingaris of gold set with rubeis Item a collar of gold fassonit like roisis anamelit Item a serpent toung, & ane unicorne home, set in gold Item a grete hingar of gold with a ruby Item a grete ruby set in gold Item a hingar with a diamant & a grete perle Item a diamant set in gold Item a small chenye w* ane hingar set 1 David's Tower, in the castle. 2 Unknown ; perhaps turquoises. * Perhaps his mail shirt. 4 Crimson. * Friar's beads. * A large ho^p or ring. SCOTLAND. with diamantis in maner of M. and a grete perle Item a grete safer set in gold Item a hert of gold with a grete perle at it Item a small chenye with ane hingar of rois & diamant Item ane hingar of gold with twa perle without stanis Item in a clout nyne precious stanis unsett Item in a box in the said kist a. collar of gold, with nynetene diamantis Item a coller of rubeis, set with threis of perle contenand xxx perlis and xv rubeis with ane hinger, a diamant, and a grete perle Item ane ege of gold with four grete diamantis pointit and xxviii grete perlis about thame Item ane uther grete ege with viii rubeis and xxxvi perlis grete Item in the said kist of the quenis ane string of grete perle contenand fyfti & a perle, and stringis of small perle Item twa lingattis 7 of gold Item sex pecis of the said chenye of gold frere knottis Item twa grete ringis with saferis Item twa ringis with turcacis Item a ring with a paddokstane with a charnale 8 Item a ring with a' face Item a signet & na thing in it Item thre small ringis with rubeis Item fyve ringis with diamantis Item a cassit coller of gold, maid like suannis, set in gold, with xvi rubeis, and diamantis, and viii quhite suannis 6 set with double perle Item a grete round ball, in maner of a chalfer, of silver ouregilt Item a levare 9 of silver ouregilt with a cover Item a cop with a cover ouregilt & punchit Item thre brokin gilt pecis of silver Item thre quhite pecis, a fut & a cover of silver ouregilt Item a grete vice nail maid of silver Item twa brokin platis of silver and a dische Item in a gardeviant in the fyrst a grete hosterage fedder 10 Item a poik of lavender Item a buke with levis of golde with xiii levis of gold fulye 7 Ingot. s a hinge. 9 Laver. io Ostrich feather. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 393 Item a covering of variand purpir tarter, browdin with thrissillis & a unicorne Item a ruf & pendiclis of the same Item a pare of metingis 1 for hunting Item the surples of the robe riall In ane uther gardeviant, in the fyrst a lamp of silver, a corperale with a cais. Item thre quhippis 2 and twa bukis Memorandum, gotten in a box quhilk was deliverit be the countas of Athole, and tauld in presens of the chancellar, lord Lile, the prior of Sanctandrois & the thesaurar. In the fyrst in a purs of ledder within the said box thre hun- dreth rois nobilis of the quhilkis thare is vii Hari nobilis Item in the same purs of half rois no- billis fyve hundreth hail rois nobilis, sextene rois nobillis Item gottin in ane uther box, fra the said countas, the xxi day of Junii, in a canves poik, within the said box, tuelf hundreth & seven angel no- bilis 3 Item in ane uther purs, of ledder, beand in the same box, ane hundreth angelis Item in the same purs, thre hundreth fyfti & sevin demyis Memorandum, fund in a blak coffre quhilk was brocht be the abbot of Ar- broth, in the first the grete sarpe 4 of gold contenand xxv schaiffis with the tedder betuix Item a water pot of silver Item a pare of curale bedis, and a grete muste ball Item a collar of cokkilschellis contenand xxiiii schellis of gold Item a bane coffre, & in it a grete cors of gold, with four precious stanis and a chenye of gold Item a beid of cassedonne Item twa braid pecis of brynt silver bullioune "Item in a leddering purs, beand in the said blak coffre, tuelf score & xvi salutis Item in the same purs thretti & sex Lewis and half nobilis Item in the same purs four score and thre Franche crounis Item in the same purs f ourtene score of ducatis, and of thame gevin to the erle of Angus fyve score and six ducatis Item in the said coffre, quhilk was 1 Hunting gloves. 2 Whip. * Thir boxis put in the thesaurhous in the crete kist nerrest the windo. 4 Belt. brocht be the said abbot, a litil cora with precious stanis Item in a blak box brocht be the said abbot to the toune of Perth the xxvi day of Junii, in the first, lows in the said box, four thousand thre hundreth and fourti demyis Item in a purs of ledder in the said box four hundreth tuenti & viii Lewis of gold, and in the same purs of ledder, of Franche crounis fyve hundreth thre score and sex. And of thame twa salutis and four Lewis Item in a quhite coffre of irne deliverit be the said abbot, thre thousand, nyne hundreth, four score & viii an- gelis Memorandum, ressauit in Scone, be the thesaurar, in presens of the bischop of Glasgw, lord Lile, the prior of Sanct- androis, Patrik Home, & lord Drum- mond, the xxiii day of Junii, in Avereis box, lous, without ony purs, a thousand and thretti Hari nobilis Item in a purs of ledder, within the gaid box, a thousand & twenti rois nobilis, and in the said purs fyfti & four Hari nobilis in half Hari nobilis Item a grete gugeoune 5 of gold Item thare was a writ fund in the said box sayand, in hac boxa xii c Hari nobilis, et in eadem boxa, xi c rois nobilis Thir ar the names of thame, that wist of the said box quhen it was in the rnyre James Averi William Patonsone William Wallace Item ressavit fra lang Patric Hume, & George of Touris, xvi skore of Hare nobehs, quhilkis tha had of a part of the money takin be the Cuntas of Atholl and Johne Steward Item of the same some & money gevin to the said Patric for his reward - - - - fourti Hare nobilis The Compt of schir William Knollis, lord saint Johnnis of Jerusalem, &c. thesaurar till our soverain lord maid at Edinburgh the xxiiii day of Februar, the yer of god &c. nynte ane yeris . . of all his ressait & expens fra the ferd day of the moneth of Junii in the yer of god &c. auchty and aucht yeris unto the day of this present compt & Unknown. 394 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. In the first lie chargis him with vii m v c lxxxxvii li iiii s in gold of sex thou- sand thre hundreth thretty a pece of angell nobillis ressavit be the comptar as is contenit in the beginning of this buke writtin with Johnne Tyriis hand, And with ii c xvi li iiii s in gold of ane hundreth fourscore aucht Scottis ri- daris, as is contenit in this sainmyn buke j±nd with liiii li be fifty four Fraunce riallis of gold And with viii c lxxxii li be nyne hun- dreth fourscore unicornis And with vi c lxvi li xiiii s iiii d in ane thousand Scottis crownis " And with iii c xxxiii li vi s viii d in tua thousand demyis ressauit and gevin for a merke the pece And with ii m lxix li iiii s in tua thousand nyne hundreth fifty sex demyis gevin the pece for fourtene schillingis And with vi m xix li ix s in thre thou- sand thre hundreth. fifty five rose nobillis and ane quarter, the quhilk wer gevin for thretty sex schillings the pece, except four hundreth that war gevin for thretty five schillings the pece And with iiii m iiii c lxvi li viii s in tua thousand sevin hundreth tuenty nyne Hary nobillis gevin for thretty tua schillingis the pece And Avith x li v s in fiftene Flemis ridaris fiftene schilling the pece And with iiii 0 xxxii li in four hun- dreth four score Lewis and halve rose nobillis gevin for auchtene schilling the pece And with iiii c lxxxxiiii li iiii s in sevin hundreth sex Fraunce crounis gevin for fourtene schillingis the pece And with xxx li in Duch gold And with ii c vi li viii s in tua hundreth fifty aucht salutis gevin for sextene schillingis the pece And with i c xxxix li iiii s in ane hun- dreth sevinty four ducatis gevin for sextene schillingis the pece Summa of this charge xxiiii m v° xvii li x s Letter S, page 246. Margaret Drummond, mistress to James IV. From a note of the Eev. Mr Mac- gregor Stirling's, in his valuable manu- script collections on the chronology of the reign of James the Fourth, I am enabled to give some curious particulars regarding this unfortunate favourite of James the Fourth. She was daughter of John, first Lord Drummond, and the king seems to have become attached to t her at an early period. In his first par- liament, 3d October 1488, she had an allowance for dresses, (mentioned in the text, p. 246. ) She bore a daughter to r~ the king in 1495, as it may be presumed from an entry in the Lord High Trea- surer's Books, which states that twenty- one pounds seven shillings had been expended on the " Lady Mergetis doch- ter." In Douglas's Peerage, vol. i. p. 51, and vol. ii. p. 361, she is mentioned as having been poisoneoTmTSOL But she appears to have been alive on 24th June 1502, as in the Treasurer's Books under that date is the following entry : — " Item, the xxiiii day of Junii, the kyng wes in Drummonde giffin to Mergrett Drummonde be the kingis commande, twenty-one pounds. Item, to her nuriss forty-one pounds/' It is possible, how- ever, this may have been the king's daughter, not his mistress. Great mys- tery hangs over the death of this royal favourite, and the most minute account is td be found in a celebrated work where one would certainly little expect to meet an obscure portion of Scottish history— Moreri's Dictionary. It is taken from a MS. history of the family of Drummond, composed in 1689. Speak- ing of the first Lord Drummond — " He had," says this author, " four daughters, one of whom, named Margaret, was so i much beloved by James the Fourth, \ that he wished to marry her ; but as J they were connected by blood, and a £ dispensation from the Pope was re- v. quired, the impatient monarch con- i eluded a private marriage, from whicjf. > clandestine union sprang a daughter, ) who became the wife of the Earl of \ Huntly. The dispensation having ar- A rived, the king determined to celebrate \ his nuptials publicly ; but the jealousy v - of some of the nobles against the house x ; of Drummond suggested to theni the a cruel project of taking off Margaret by - poison, in order that her family might £ not enjoy the glory of giving two queens * to Scotland," (Moreri sub voce Drum- mond.) It is certain that Margaret Drummond, with Euphemia Lady N Fleming, and the Lady Sybilla, her J sisters, died suddenly at the same time, with symptoms exciting a strong sus- picion of poison, which it was thought had been administered to them at breakfast. So far the story subsrjan- NOTES ANT) II tially agrees with Moreri; but that the unfortunate lady fell a victim to the jealousy of the Scottish nobles, rests on no authentic evidence; nor does this explain why her two sisters, Lady Fleming and Lady Sybilla. should have shared her fate. The story tells more like some dreadful domestic tragedy, than a conspiracy of the aristocracy to prevent the king's marriage to a com- moner. Besides this, it is shewn by a deed preserved in the Foedera, vol. xii. p. 787, that James, previous to the catastrophe of Margaret Drummond, had entered into an indenture, binding himself to marry the Princess Margaret of England, — a circumstance certainly not wholly disproving the story of her having fallen a victim to aristocratic jealousy, but rendering it more impro- bable. If the dispensation for J ames's marriage with Margaret Drummond had been procured, it is probable that it would haye been discovered by Andrew Stewart during those investigations into the Papal records which he instituted at Rome on the subject of the great Doug- las case, when he accidentally fell upon the documents which settled the long- I agitated question regarding the mar- i riage of Robert the Second to Elizabeth More. The three ladies thus united in death were interred together in the centre of the choir of the cathedral ( church at Dunblane. Their grave was marked by three plain blue marble flags, which remanTeTt^ntouche7rHi}r~r^l7, when they were removed to make way for some repairs on the parochial church into which the choir of the ancient cathedral had been transformed. Sir Walter Drummond, lord clerk-register, their paternal uncle, was, at the time of their death, Dean of Dunblane,— a circumstance, says Mr Stirling, which seems to have led to their interment there, the family having lately removed from Stobhall, their original seat on the banks of the Tay, to Drummond Castle, where they probably had no place of interment. An entry in the Treasurer's Books, June 18, 1503, shews that the king's daughter by Margaret Drum- mond had some time before been re- moved from Drummond Castle to the palace at Stirling : — " Item to the nuriss that brocht the king's dochter fra Drum- myne to Strivilin, 3 lbs. 10 sh." The child was brought up in Edinburgh castle under the name of the Lady Margaret; she married John^__lord Gordon, son and heir-apparent of Alex- LUSTRATIONS. 3D~ amTer, earl of Huntly, (Mag. Sig. xv. 193.) 26th April 1510. In the Trea- surer's Books, under the 1st February 1502-3, is this entry:— "Item to the priests of Edinburgh for to do dirge and saule messe for Mergratt Drummond, v lb." Again, February 10, 1502-3. " Item to the priests that sing in Dum- blane for Margaret Drummond their quarters fee v lbs." Entries similar to this are to be found in the Treasurer's Books, as far as they are extant, down to the end of the reign, from which it ap- pears that two priests were regularly employed to sing masses for her soul in Dunblane. Letter T, page 251. Sir Andreiv Wood of Largo. The connexion of this eminent per* son with James the Third is illustrated by a charter under the great seal x. 87, dated 8th March 1482, which states that this monarch had taken into con- sideration " Gratuita et fidelia servicia sibi per familiarem servitorem suum And ream Wod commorante in Leith, tarn per terram, quam per mare, in pace et in guerra, gratuiter impensa, in Regno Scotiaa et extra idem, et signanter con- tra inimicos suos Angliae, et dampnum per ipsum Andream inde sustenta, suam personam gravibus vitas exponendo peri- culis." On this ground it proceeds to state that James granted to him and his heirs, hereditarily and in fee, the lands and village of Largo, in the sheriffdom of Fife. It is probable that "Wood was originally a merchant trader of Leith, and that a genius for naval enterprise was drawn out and cherished by casual encounters with pirates in defence of his property; after which, his talents, as a brave and successful commander, becoming known to James the Third, this monarch gave him employment, not only in war and against his enemies of England, but in diplomatic negotiations. It has been stated in the text that the brilliant successes of Wood during the reign of James the Fourth were against Eng- lish pirates. This fact seems established by a charter under the great seal xii. 304, 18th May 1491, in which James the Fourth grants to Andrew Wood a licence to build a castle at Largo with iron gates, on account of the great ser- vices done and losses sustained by the said Andrew, and for the services which it was confidently hoped he would yet 393 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. reader; and because the said Andrew had, at great personal expense, built certain houses and a fortalice, on the lands of Largo, by the hands of Eng- lishmen captured by him, with the object of resisting and expelling pirates who had often invaded the kingdom, and attacked the lieges. The existence of a truce between the two kingdoms at the time when these actions of Wood are described as having taken place, neither throws any suspicion on the truth of this assertion, nor proves that Henry may not have privately encour- aged the expedition of Stephen Bull against Wood. A truce existed -be- tween the kingdoms, and proposals for bringing about a final peace on the basis of a marriage between James and an English princess were actually under consideration,Cwhen Henry had bribed the Lord Bothwell and Sir Thomas Tod to seize the Scottish king and deliver him into his hands,' (Rymer, vol. xii. p. 440.) Some of the items of this date, 1491, in the Treasurer's Accounts, prove, in a very convincing manner, that J ames, in all probability in consequence of the advice and instructions of Andrew Wood, had begun to pay great atten- tion to everything calculated to increase the naval strength of the kingdom. He built ships at his own expense, made experiments in sailing, studied the principles of navigation and gunnery, and attached to his service, by ample presents, such foreign captains and mariners as visited his dominions for 3he purposes of trade and commerce. Letter U, page 264. Mons Meg. Popular as Mons Meg has been amongst the Scottish antiquaries of the nineteenth century, her celebrity, when she was carried by James the Fourth, July 10, 1489, to the siege of Dum- barton, if we may judge from some of tne items in the Treasurer's Books, was of no inferior description. Thus, under that date we have this entry: — "Item given to the gunners to drink-silver when they cartit Monss, by the King's command, 18 shillings." Mons, how- ever, from her enormous size and weight, proved exceedingly unmanageable ; and after having been brought back from Dumbarton to Edinburgh, she enjoyed an interval of eisht years' inglorious | repose. When James, however, in 1497, sat down before Norham, the great gun was, with infinite labour and/ expense, conveyed to the siege, and; some of the items regarding her trans^ port are amusing. The construction of a new cradle or carriage for her seems to have been a work of great labour. Thus, on July 24, 1497, we have, " Item to pynouris to bere ye trees to. be Mons new cradill to her at St Leonards quhare scho lay, iii sh. vi d and again, July 28, " Item for xiii stane of irne to mak graith to Monsis new cradill, and gavil- okkis to ga with her, xxx sh. iiii* 1 . ' ' Item to vii wri^hts for twa dayis and a half ya maid Monsis cradill, xxiii sh. iiii d "Item for xxiiii li of talloun [tallow] to Mons." " Item for viii elne of canwas to be Mons claiths to coyer her. " "Item for mare talloun to Mons. " "Item to Sir Thomas Galbraith for paynting of Monsis claiths, xiiii sh." " Item to the Minstralis that playit before Mons doune the gait, xiiii sh.'' The name of this celebrated gun, a«, stated in the Treasurer's Accounts, is simply Mons. Drummond of Haw- thornden is the first author who calls her Mons Meg. For these curious particu- lars I am indebted to the manuscript notes of the Rev. Mr Macgregor Stir- ling. Letter V, page 264. PerTcin Warbeck. It is difficult to solve the problem whether James was a sincere believer in the reality of Warbeck's pretensions. I am inclined to think that, from poli- tical motives, he first entered into the intrigues with the Duchess of Burgundy, which commenced soon after Lambert Simnel's defeat and capture — though without any steady 'conviction of the truth of Warbeck's story — but that he became afterwards, on the arrival of this extraordinary person in Scotland, a con- vert to his being a son of the Duke of York ; and that he entertained the same opinion even when he found it necessary to advise his departure from Scotland. Of the residence of Warbeck in this country, the Treasurer's Accounts fur- nish some curious illustrations. It ap- pears that Jamie Doig, a person whose name occurs frequently in the Trea- surer's Books, and who is embalmed in Dunbar's Poems, " tursed the arrass work," or arranged the hanging and tapestry at Stirling, on the 20th Novem- ber 1495, in contemplation of Prine* Richard's arrival, (Treasurer's Book NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 39r under that date.) A person named David Caldwell received eighteen shil- lings for the " graithing" or furnishing of his chamber in the town ; and couriers were sent with letters to the Lords of Strathern and Athole, and to the Earl Marshal and the Barons of Angus, re- quiring them to attend upon the meet- ing of the King and Prince Richard in Saint Johnston, (Treasurer's Book, sub anno 1495. ) It is mentioned in the text that a tournament was held in honour of his arrival, and many entries in the Treasurer's Books relate to it and to the preparations at the same time for the war against England. Thus, on the 9th September 1496. "Item, for an elne, half a quarter, and a nail of double red taffety to the Duke of Zorkis banare — for the elne, xviii sh. — xxi sh. iiii d. Item, given for ii c of gold party for the Duke of Zorkis banere, xxvii sh. vii d. Item, for iii quaris of a silver buke to the same banare, vi sh. Item, for half a book of gold party to ye Duke of Zorkis standart, xx sh. Item, for a book of fine gold for the king's coat armour, iii lb. x sh. Item, to the Duke of York in his purse by the king's com- mand, xxxvi lb." In the following en- try we find mention of an " indenture," drawn up between J ames and the Duke of York, which is now unfortunately lost. " Item, given to Roland Robison (he was a French gunner or engineer, who had probably been in Warbeck's service when at the court of Charles the Eighth) ''for the red" (settlement) "of the Inglismen to the sea, like as is con- "tenit in an indenture made betwixt the king's gude grace and the Duke of Zork, ii" lb." It is probable that one of the condi- tions entered into by James in this in- denture was to pay to Warbeck a month- ly pension of one hundred and twelve pounds. Thus, in the Treasurer's Books, May 6, 1497, we find this entry. "Item, to Roland Robison, for his Maisteris" ("Zork" on the margin) "monethis pen- sioun, i c xii lb." Again, June 7, 1497. "Item, to Roland Robison and the Dean of Zork, for their Maisteris mone- this pension, i c xii lb." And again, June 27. " Giffin to the Dean of Zork and Roland Robison for the Dukis (of Zorkis) monethlie pensioun to come in, i c xii lb. " This large allowance, which amounted to one thousand three hun- dred and forty-four pounds yearly, was probably one great cause for James's anxiety to see Warbeck out of the king- dom's for, besides the pension to the Duke of York, it must be recollected that the king supported the whole body ) of his English attendants ; and the en- tries of payments to Roland Robison for " redding," or settling, the Englishmen's costs, are numerous. Warbeck, too, appears to have been extravagant ; for notwithstanding his allowance, he had got into debt, and had pledged his brown horse, which he was forced to leave in \ the innkeeper's hands, although thir- teen shillings would have set him free. "Item, giffin to the prothonotare to quit out the Duke of Zorkis browu horse that lay in wed in the toune, xiii sh. * The same Books contain a minute detail of the victualling of the ship in which Warbeck, accompanied by his wife, Lady Catherine Gordon, quitted Scotland. The vessel was not only under the command, but was the pro- perty of the afterwards celebrated Ro- bert Bertoune. Amongst the stores were "twa tun and four pipes of wine, eight bolls of ait mele" (oatmeal,) "eighteen marts of beef, twenty-three muttons, and a hoghead of herring." Andrew Bertoune, the brother of the captain, is mentioned as having furnished biscuit, cider, and beer for the voyage. The Duchess of York, by the king's com- mand, received three elns and a half of "rowane cannee," to make her "ane see goune," with two elne and a half of ; ryssilis black, to make her cloaks. It is well known that, after the execution of Warbeck in 1498, the extraordinary beauty and misfortunes of this lady in- duced Henry the- Seventh, whose dis- position, although cautious, does not ,( appear to have been either cold or un- ' amiable, to treat her with kindness and humanity. The populace applied to her the epithet of the White Hose of Scot- land. She was placed under the charge *of~the queen — received a pension — and , A^Z* afterwards married Sir Mathew Cradock / ^ s <^ of North Wales, ancestor of the Earls of | Pembroke, (Stewart's Genealogy, p. 65. ) From an entry in the privy purse expenses of Henry the Seventh, pub- lished by Sir Harris Nicolas, (p. 115, part ii. of the Excerpta Historica,) she seems to have been taken on 15th Octo- ber 1497. Sir Mathew Cradock and the White J Rose had an only daughter, Margaret, / who married Sir Richard Herbert of Ewyas, natural son of William, first Earl of Pembroke, (Dugdale's Baron- age, vol. ii. p. 255. ) Their stn William. 533 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. on the extinction of the legitimate male line of the Earls of Pembroke, was cre- ated Earl of Pembroke by Edward the Sixth, (Dugdale's Baronage, vol. ii. p. 258.) Sir Mathew Cradock and the Lady- Catherine, his wife, are interred in the old church at Swansea, in Glamorgan- shire, under a monument of the altar kind, richly decorated, but now much mutilated and defaced — beneath which is this inscription : — HERE LTETH SIR MATHU CRADOCK, KNIGHT, SOME TIME DEPUTIE UNTO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES GRIE OF WORCET ... IN THE COUNTY OF GLA- MORGAN . . . MOR . . CHANCELLOR OF THE SAME, STEWARD OF GOWER AND KILVEI, AND MY LADY CATHERINE HIS WIF. 1 " Sir Edward Herbert of Ewyas is buried," says Dugdale, (Baronage, vol. ii. p. 258,) " under a noble tomb at Bar- gavenny, beside Margaret his wife." Letter X, page 294. Battle of Flodden. It is difficult, from the conflicting accounts of historians, to arrive at the numbers of each army in the battle of Elodden ; and even more difficult to es- timate the loss on both sides. That nearly a hundred thousand souls mus- tered on the Borough-muir is extremely probable ; but it is to be recollected, that of these a great many were wag- goners, sutlers, servants, and camp-fol- lowers ; that the presence of the king and the whole body of the nobles in- ferred the attendance of more than the usual number of servants ; and that, owing to the delay in active operations, and the scarcity of provisions, the army was diminished by desertion previous to the battle. When this is considered, the estimate of thirty-five or forty thou- sand men (the latter number is that of Dr Lingard) is probably pretty near the truth. On the side of the English, it is certain from the English contem- porary account of the battle, that Sur- rey's army was, at the lowest computa- tion, twenty-six thousand strong; and it is by no means improbable that this was rather a low estimate. The battle 1 Ree's Beauties of England and Wales, vol. xviii. p. 725. 2 The rare contemporary tract reprinted by my friend, Mr Pitcairn, and entitled, " Batayle T>f Floddon-felde, called Brainston Moore," thus commences " The maner of th' ad- | began between four and five in the after- noon of the 5th of September, and con- tinued, according to an 2 authentic con- temporary chronicle, "within night," that is some time after nightfall ; all accounts agreeing that the combatants were only separated by darkness. It is a mistake in Lingard, therefore, to tell us it was decided in something more than an hour. From half -past four on the 5th of September, till after night- fall, will give a continuance to the com- bat of at least three hours. As to the loss sustained, the common estimate of ten thousand Scots is probably under the truth. After giving the names of the nobles and chiefs who were slain, the ancient chronicle already quoted observes, that over and above the said persons, eleven or twelve thousand of the Scots who were slain were viewed by my Lord Dacre, 4 and on the inscrip- tion on Surrey's monument at Thetf ord, the number is seventeen thousand. 5 But whilst this last, which may be consider- ed a eulogistic estimate, is yet perhaps not very far from the truth, it is evident that there is an endeavour on the part of the English historians to conceal their own loss, when they state it at fifteen hundred men. Holinshed, who gives this, admits that the "victory was dearly bought on the side of the Eng- lish," and when it is considered that it was a fair stand up fight, which lasted with the utmost obstinacy for three hours — that no pursuit took place till next day — and that no quarter was given on either side, the assertion that only fifteen hundred English were slain, can- not be believed. In noticing the very few Scottish prisoners taken, the ancienfc English account of the battle observes, "many other Scottish prisoners could and might have been taken, but they were so vengeable and cruel in their fighting, that when Englishmen had the better of them, they would not save them, though it were that diverse Scottes offered great suines of money for their lives." 6 Lord Thomas How- ard, indeed, in his message to the king, had declared, that as he expected no vauncyng of my lord of Surrey, tresourier and marshall of Englande, and levetenente gene- rail of the north parties of the same, with xxvi M. towards the kynge of Scotts and his armye, vewed and nombred to an hundred* thousande men at the leest." 3 Ibid. p. 12. 4 Batayle of Brainston Moore, p. 11. s Ridpath's Border History, p. 491. « Batayle of Brainston Moore, p. ItL "A T OTES AND IL quarter himself he would give none ; and this fierce resolution of the English admiral was probably rendered more intense in its operation by the silence of the Scottish king, who replied with courtesy to the cartel of Surrey, but did not condescend to send Howard an answer. With the exception of the Highlanders and Islemen, the Scots pre- served good discipline. Their army, when first seen by Howard, was drawn up in five divisions : some in the form of squares, others in that of wedges, and they descended the hill on foot in good order, after the mamier of the Germans, in perfect silence. 1 Every man, for the most part, was armed with a keen and sharp spear, five yards in length, and a target which he held before him. When their spears failed, they fought with great sharp swords, making little or no noise. The old ac- count of the battle expressly states that few were slain by arrows, as the rain had damaged the English bows, but that most fell by the bills of the English- men ; and yet the armorial device given as an augmentation to his arms to Sur- xey, in commemoration of his victory — a demi-lion gules, transfixed with an arrow — seems to contradict this ; whilst the impatience of the Highlanders, under Huntly and Lennox, has always been ascribed to the deadly discharge of the English bowmen. The English ar- tillery were well served, and did con- siderable execution ; whilst the Scottish guns, injudiciously placed, and ill- directed, fired over the heads of the enemy— a blunder probably to be as- cribed to the obstinacy of the king, who would not suffer them to play upon the English columns when they were pass- ing the river. James thus lost the great advantage which might have been derived from the acknowledged excel- lence in the make and calibre of the Scottish ordnance. . As the battle of Flodden is of much importance in tracing the military his- *ory of the country, I may notice an inaccuracy of Hume, which to the gene- ral student might seem of little impor- tance, but to the military reader it will not appear so. This historian informs i Original Gazette of the Battle of Flodden, MS. in herald's office, printed by Pinkerton. —Appendix to 2d vol. No. X.— La battaile dud : Roy D'Escosse estoit divisee en cinq : battailles, Et chacun battaille loing Tun de l'autre environ un trait d'arc * * partie d'Eulx Estorent er quadrans, et autres en man i era de pointe. •LUSTRATIONS, 309 us 2 that Surrey, finding that the river Till prevented his attack, marie a feint by marching to Berwick, as if lie meant to enter Scotland; upon which Jame?> descended from his encampment, having fired his huts. " On this Surrey/' says he, "took advantage of the smoke, and passed the river with his army, render- ing a battle inevitable, for which both sides prepared with tranquillity and order." This, any one who will study the battle as it is given in this history, from contemporary records, will dis- cover to be a misapprehension of the fact. Letter Y, page 303. Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland. 2 — Authenticity of the First Part of this Work. The frequent references in the text to the first part of this work, as an ori- ginal and valuable authority, renders it necessary to explain the reasons which have led the author to form a different opinion of its authenticity from that given by its learned editor. In the Prefatory Notice to the volume, there is this sentence, "to those who are at all acquainted with the minute details of Scottish history in the sixteenth cen- tury, a very slight perusal of the work will suggest that in its different parts it is of very unequal value. From the era of the battle of Flodden and the death of King James the Fourth, in the year 1513, at which it commences, down to the termination of the government of the Earl of Arran in 1553, its details, comparatively meagre and occasionally inaccurate, are obviously not recorded by a contemporary chronicler, but must have been derived from tradition and other imperfect sources. Yet, even in this first and least valuable portion of the work, will be found many minute facts and notices that would be vainly looked for in the ordinary histories of the reign of King James the Fifth, and the first ten years of the reign of Queen Mary." 3 In pronouncing this first por- tion of the Diurnal of Occurrents the work, not of a contemporary chronicler^ but of some subsequent writer, deriving his materials from tradition, and other imperfect sources, the editor appears to me to have fallen into an error, which could scarcely have been avoided by one 1 Hume's History, p. 292. 2 Published by the Bannatyae Club. 8 Preface, d. 1. 400 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. who compared the Diurnal of Occur- rents with our earlier historians, Lesley and Buchanan, or even with the later volumes of Maitland. It not only is contradicted by them in some important particulars, but it contains events, and these not minute, but grave and mate- rial facts, which are not to be found in either of these authors. These events, however, can be proved to have occurred by evidence of which the authenticity is unimpeachable; and it is the disco- very of their perfect truth which has in- duced me to consider the greater por- tion of the first part of the Chronicle, entitled the " Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland," as the work of a contempo- rary, who wrote from his own know- ledge, and not a compilation from tra- ditionary sources. I say the greater portion, because such a character be- longs not to the whole of the first part ; and it seems probable that this valuable original matter has fallen into the hands of some later and ignorant compiler, who, preserving the purer ore, has in some places mixed it up with erroneous additions of his own. To support these conclusions, let me give some proofs ; the years 1543, 1544, occurring in the Regency of Arran, form an obscure era in our history ; and did we possess no other guides than the common historians, Lesley, Buchanan, or Maitland, we should be left in a maze of confusion and contradiction. The revolutions in state affairs are so sudden and so frequent during this period ; the changes in the politics and the conduct of the different factions so rapid and so apparently contradictory, that without some more authentic assistants, the task of unravelling or explaining them would be hopeless. It is upon this period that the original correspondence in the State- Paper Office throws a flood of clear and useful light, introducing us to the ac- tors in these changes, not through any second-hand or suspected sources, but by supplying us with their original let- ters to Henry the Eighth and his min- isters. Now, to come from this obser- vation to the work entitled the Diurnal of Occurrents. When it is found that it, and it only, contains various facts, demonstrated by these original letters to be true, and which sometimes are not mentioned, sometimes are positively contradicted by our general historians, such a circumstance must create a strong presumption in favour of its value and authenticity ; that a work which stands this severe test should have been, not a contemporary, but a later production, compiled from tradition, and imperfect sources, seems to me nearly impossible. To take an example from the period already mentioned. In the year 1544, in the Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 33, we find this passage : — "Upon the thrid day of Junii, thare was ane general counsall haldin at Stirling, quhairat was all the nobellesof Scotland, exceptand the Erles of Lennox and Glencairn; quhair the governor was dischargit of his auctorite ; and maid proclamation through the- realm, that nane obeyit him as gover- nor ; and als thair thei chesit thrie erlis, thrie lords, thrie bishops, thrie abbotes to be the secreit counsale ; quhilk lastet not lang, for everie lord ded for' his- awin particular profit, and tuk na heid of the commonweill; but tholet the Inglismen and theivis to overrin this realm." In the same chronicle, p. 34, is this sentence, — "Upon the last day of Julii, thare was ane Parliament sould have been halden in Edinburgh ; and the governor, with his complices furneist the town, and held it, becaus he gat word the queenis grace drowarie wai? cummit out of Striveling to the Parlia- ment ; becaus thai yet being in hir com- pany was full of dissait, sho past to Stir- ling with meikle ordinance and swa the Parliament was stayit. , ' Again, in the same chronicle, p. 36, we find this pas- sage, — "Upon the 5th day, (1544,) the governor held ane parliament in Edin- burgh. — Upon the 12th of November, the queen's grace drowrier [dowager] held ane parliament in Striveling, and thareafter the parties suld have met, and stayet in hope of aggreance, and the cardinal raid betwix them, quha come to Edinburgh and tuk the governor to- Stirling with him, quhair gude aggre- ance was made to be bund to hir grace, and twentee four Lordis counsall." It will be at once perceived that these passages embody the history of an im- portant revolution, which for nearly six months changed the whole face of af- fairs in Scotland. In May 1544, Arran was the unchallenged governor of the kingdom; in June, the queen-dowager arose against him, was joined by the whole body of the peers excepting Len- nox and Glencairn, held a general coun- cil at Stirling, in which he was dis- charged from his office, made procla- mation through the realm that none should obey him, and appointed a new seciet council for the management of NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 401 the affairs of the state. In July, as is shewn by the second extract, an attempt was made by Arran, who still claimed rhe name and authority of governor, to hold a parliament in Edinburgh ; but the queen-dowager advanced with great force to the city ; the governor fortified it against her; she retreated to Stirling, and the parliament was delayed. Three months after this, in the beginning of November, Arran the governor assem- bled a parliament at Edinburgh; the queen issued writs for a rival parlia- ment, to be held on the 12th of the same month at Stirling; and the car- dinal dreading the effects of this miser- able disunion, acted as a peace-maker between the two parties, and at length brought them to an agreement. Now, of these very important events, no notice whatever was to be found in our general historians ; nay, the tenor of their narratives seemed to contradict them ; the question, therefore, at once came to the credibility of the Diurnal of Occurrents. In this dilemma I was delighted (the reader, who knows the satisfaction of resting, in researches of this nature, upon an authentic docu- ment, will pardon the warmth of the expression) to meet with the following paper in the State -paper Office, which, it will be seen, completely corroborated the assertion of the Diurnal as to the deprivation of the governor. It is dated June 1544, and entitled, 4 * Copy. — Agreement of the principal Scots nobility to support the authority of the queen-mother as regent of Scotland against the Earl of Arran, declared by this instrument to be deprived of his office." This valuable paper in its en- tire state will be given in the forth- coming volume of State-papers relative to Scotland, published by Government, j n the meantime, the following extract will be sufficient for my purpose. After slating the fact of a convention having been held at Stirling on the 3d of J une, it proceeds thus to describe their delibe- rations and proceedings. "After long and mature consultacion had, in the said matiers, by the space of iii. or iv. daies contynuall, fynally [they] fand that oon great part why inobedience hath ben within this realme, sithins the king's grace's, and that other incon- veniences which have happened, was, and is in my lord governor, and his counsaile, that was chosen to have ben with him for the time : and for remedye herof in times commyng, and that per- VOL. II. fit obedience maie be to our soverain ladie's aucthorite, [that] unite, Concorde, and amitee maie be hacld among all our soverain ladie's lieges, and speciallie among the great men ; and that they maie convent at all times to give their counsaile in all matiers concernyng the quene's grace our soverain ladye, and her realme ; and that justice maie be doon and executed among the lieges therof i and that resistance maie be made to our ennymies : They all, without variaunce, consulted and deliberated, that the quene's grace, our soverain ladye's mo- ther, shulde be egall with him therin- till; and that oon great counsaile, ad- joyned with my lord governor in the using of th' aucthoritie of governement in all times comyng, shulde be chosen, of xvi. persones — xii. of them the greatest erles and temporal lords of the realme, and iv. spiritual men, as in the deliveraunce mad therupon. the vi.th daie of the saide monith of Junii, is at more length conteyned. The whiche deliveraunce and counsaile was shewen and declared to my lorde Governor, be- fore the quene's grace and the whole lords, the saide vi.th daie of JuniL And the lords who devised the same, praied my lord governor that he wold consent thefto, 'both for his owne weale and for the weale of our soverain ladye the quene, and of the whole realme, for divers causes and respects particularly appointed and declared; and specially, because the quene's grace our soverain ladie's mother is a noble ladye of highe linage and bludde, of great wisedome, and haile of lief, having the king of Ffrance, and the greattest nobles of that realme, and others about hyr, tendre kynsmen and friends, who will be the more readye to supporte the realme for defense of the same if hyr grace be well favoured and honored by the nobles therof, and h olden, in honor and dignitie; and also, because the whole nobles have theire special confi- dence in hyr grace, and dob think them sure to convene in any place where hyr grace is present. My lord Governor tuke to be advised while the morne at even, viz. the vii.th daie of the saide monith, and then to give the answer. Attour , that same daie incontinent the saide de- liveraunce and consultacion was shewen to the remanent of the lords, both pre- lates, erles, lords, barons, and other noble men of, the realme personallie present, who being all singularlie asked of theire opinion, declared, ilk man fr»r 2 c 402 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. himselfe, that the saide deliveraunce and consultacion was good and for the common weale of this realme : and therfore affirmed the same. The which viith daie being bepast, and noon an- swer made nor sent by my lorde Gover- nor on the premises, and aftre diverse messages sent to him of the lords of Counsaile, and nothing reaported again but vayne delaies : The lords of Coun- saile, upon the ix.th daie of the saide moneth, directed furth our soverain ladie's (letres) to require my saide lorde Governor to compare in the said Graye ffrers place of Striveling, where the said convencion is holden, upon the x.th daie of the said moneth, to accept and con- sent to the saide ordinaunce and articles, and to concurre with the quene's grace in th' administration of the governement with th' advise and counsaile of the lords ; with certification, that if he faileth it, the lords wolde determyn him to be suspended from th' adminis- tracion of his offices, and wolde provide howe the same shulde be used in time to coom while further remeadie weare founde therto, as in the saide letres di- rected therupon more fully is conteyned. At the which x.th daie of Junii the lords convented in the fratre of tlie said graie ffreers, and there consulte'd upon the matiers concerning the commonweale- fande, and awayted upon the coming of my lord governor, and upon his answer, for a x houres before noon while xii howers was stryken. And he neither compared by himself, nor sent his an- swer to accept and consent to the said ordinaunces and statutes there. Than the lords gave theire decrete, decerning my lord Governor to be suspended, and suspending him from iW administration of his offices, while further remeadye weare funde therfor. And because of the urgent necessite of the realme, and invading of the same by our old enny- mies of England, and for the furthe setting of our soverain ladie's aucthorite, and perfit obedience to be had therto, unitie concord to be had among all them of this realme both great and smale without th' administration of the go- vernement weare put in soom persones hands most convenient therfor, the saide lords, without -variaunce, have thought noo other persone more convenient ther- to nor the quene's grace our soverain ladie's mother, for the good and urgent causes before expressed. And therefore have chosen hyr grace to use and min- ister in the saide office of governement, with th' advise of the lords of counsaile conforme to the acts and ordinaunces made therupon of before, while further remedye be made herto. And hyr grace hath accept the same in and upon hyr to be used with th' advise of the saide lords as said is. And bicause hir grace can not doo the same without she be starklie mainteyned and defended ther- intyll, Therefore we archbishopps, bish- opps, erles, lords, barons, abbotts, and others noble men whose names herafter subscribed, doo bynd and oblige us, and promitt by the faithes in our bodies, and have gyven our aithes herupon, that we shall maintein and defende the quene's grace our soverain ladie's mother in the using and administracion of th' office of governement and th' aucthorite in all things. And we shall gyve unto hyr our best counsaile in all things. And shall resist with our bodies and friends and our hole substance, to all them that will impugne or comen in the contrarie therof undre the payne of perjurie and infamy e. And also ilk oon of us shall tak afalde part with others, without excus or fenzeing in this niatier and defense therof. Undre the paine afor- saide. " Gawen of Glasgow. Patrick Morvinen. Willm of Dumblane. Eo. Orchaden : Epis. T. Commendator of Driburt, D. de Cuper, V. de Culros. Archbald Erie of Anguss. Erie Bothwile. "Willm Erie of Montross. Willm Lord Sanchar. Kobart Maxwell; George Erie of Huntlie. G. Erie of Caslis. Erie of Merschell. John Erie of Mentieth. Hew lord ^omerwell. George Duglass. Erie of Murray. Archd Erie of Argile. George Erie of Erroll. John lord Erskin. Willm lord of Sanct John. Malcum lorde chalmerlane. Hew lord Lovett. Schir John Campbell of Cawder, Kgt. 1 " This extract settles the point as to the i In the State-jpaper Office ; now published I for the first time. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 403 correctness of the Diurnal in its narra- tive of the revolution of the 3d of June. Next came the question regarding the rival parliaments, the meeting of the three estates at Edinburgh, by sum- mons of the governor, on the 5th of November, and the meeting of the par- liament at Stirling, by summons of the queen-regent, on the 12th of the same month : upon this point the correspond- ence in the State-paper Office was silent; but fortunately the evidence of the Acts of the Scottish parliament estab- lishes the accuracy of the facts stated in the Diurnal of Occurrents. In the second volume of the Acts, p. 445, we rind that the governor Arran held a parliament at Edinburgh on the 6th of November ; and one of the acts then passed by the three estates is thus en- titled : — " Deliverance annulling ane Proclamation be the Queen's Moder, and certain Lordis, of ane pretendit parliament, and of certane other pre- tendit actis." In turning to the act we find the whole narrative of the Diurnal thus fully corroborated. It states, that " the queen mother (I use the modern spelling) to our sovereign lady, with a part of lords and others our sovereign lady's lieges, ill-advised, has caused proclaim a pretended parliament to be held at the burgh of Stirling, the 12th day of November, instant, with continu- ation of days, without any sufficient authority;" after this preamble, the decision of the three estates is thus given: — "the whole three estates of parliament, with the votes of many others, nobles, barons, and gentlemen, being present, has declared, and declares the said pretended parliament to be held at Stirling, as said is, and the pre- tended summons raised against my lord Governor, in their manner, to have been and to be, from the beginning, of none avail, force, nor effect. And such like all prete ded acts made at Stirling re- garding the suspending of my lord Governor from the administration of his said office, and discharging him of his authority in their manner." The evidence contained in this statute so clearly proves the accuracy of the Diur- nal of Occurrents, that upon this point any other remark would be superfluous. A second proof of the authenticity of the same work is - to be found in the accuracy of the account there given of the intrigues of the Douglases and their treasonable correspondence with Eng- land, at a time when our general his- torians know nothing of any such matters. Here the Diurnal of Occur- rents maintains its character for truth, when examined by the severest of all tests, the original correspondence of the principal actors in the events. Of this I shall give a striking example. In the Diurnal, pp. 39, 40, is an account of that abortive invasion of the governor, (August 10, 1545,) in which he broke into England with an army of thirty thousand men, and again on the third day thereafter, the 13th of August, was compelled to return home. Now, on this occasion, the Diurnal ascribes the failure of the expedition, and the re- treat and dispersion of the army, to the deceit and treachery of George Douglas and his party. 1 The dispersion of the Scottish army is thus mentioned, p. 39 : — " Upon the nynt [ninth] day of August, the governor with his company made their musters on Fawnrig Mure to the number of 30,000 men by [besides] the Frenchmen whilk [which] were 3000. And the same day at even they passed in England, and burnt Cornwall and Tilmouth, Edderslie, Brankston, with sendrie other e towns thereabouts, and there did no other thing to their lak and dishonour. " * ' Upon the tenth day of August, the said Scottis was pairted [divided] in three battles [battalia], in the vanguard the Earl of Angus, Mar- shall, Errol, Glencairn, and Cassillis, Lords Gray, Glammes, and Yester; in the rereward Erles Huntly, Bothwell, Lords Kuthven, Drummond, Borth* wick, Fleming, Home; in the middle ward the Governor, with the body of the realme and Frenchmen, with twa wings, the ane [one] Lord Seton, the Laird of Bass, and many other gentle- men, the other the Laird of Buccleugh, i The retreat from Coldingham is ascribed to the same cause, " On the morne [morrow] the Scots without any skaith [harm] fled misordeiiie. The Inglishmen persevand this, twa thousand of thame followit the chase to Cockburne quha durst not bide [stay] a strike. Of this hoste the Erie Angus had the wangaird [vanguard], there was with him the Erles of Cassillis, G-lencairne, the Lords Somerville, Yester, the sheriff of Ayr, quha [who] did but feebly ; in the rear was the Earl of Bothwell, quha baid [abided] stiffly quhill [until] he might no more. George Douglas had the wyte [blame] hereof, for he said the Englishmen were ten thousand men, lyin within the said town : the invention [artifice] was saissit on chance by the Erie of rothwell." 404 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. with all Liddesdale and Teviotdale ; **nd on this order they raid [rode] inEng- and, and burnt Tweesdale, Grendonrig, the great tower, Newbigging, and Dudie, with the towers thereof ; and there was dn the Pethrig of Englishmen 6000 (had] the Scots followed with speed, ihey had vanquished all the said Eng- lishmen. Upon the 13th day of Au- gust, . the Scottish men come hame, through the deceit of. George Douglas, and the vanguard, who would not pass again through his tyisting. " Such is the history of this remark- able invasion given in the Diurnal, and to this narrative the same observation may be applied which was already made regarding the revolution in 1544, namely, that such an explanation of the cause of its failure is new to Scottish history, and to be found in the Diurnal alone. We find no mention of any such thing in Lesley, Maitland, or Buchanan. How, then, are we to discover the truth upon this subject? Simply by going to the letters of the actors themselves, which describe these events, and are fortu- nately accessible. In the State-paper Office we find an original despatch from the Earl of Hertford and the Council of the north to Henry the Eighth, in which, after detailing the plan of his proposed invasion, he encloses a letter in cipher which he had received from George Douglas and the Earls of Angus, Cassillis, and Marshal. It may be well to give Hertford's description of the mode in which this letter was conveyed to him, as it contains a curious illus- tration of the extreme caution with which this secret correspondence be- tween Henry the Eighth and the Doug- lases was cariied on. " After this device of the said proclamation, one Thomas Forster, who was of late, by your majestie's commandment, at the desire of the Earls of Angus and Cas- sillis, George Douglas and others, sent to them into Scotland, came hither to me the said earl, and shewed me a let- ter sent to him from one Sym Penango, servant to George Douglas, of such effect as 'your majesty may perceive by the same letter here enclosed ; upon the sight whereof I willed the said Thomas Forster to go and speke with the said Penango according to his desire, with whom he hath been at the place ap- poynted between them, where he re- ceived of the said Penango a letter in cipher, sent him from George Douglas, which we have deciphered, and send both the cipher and the decipher to your majesty herewith." 1 The letter here described not only establishes the fact of the general treasonable corre- spondence between Henry and the Earls of Angus, Cassillis, Marshal, George Douglas, and others, which is men- tioned in the "Diurnal," but contains this remarkable ^jassage relative to the expedition of Arran into England, on the 9th of August, and his return home on the 13th of the same month, which, in the same work, is ascribed to the de- ceit of George Douglas and the van- guard. " Further, as to this last jour- ney of ours, it was advised by the queen, cardinal, and this French capitaine,. Lorges Montgomery. Huntly fortified this army at his power. Notwithstand- ing, at short, all that they devised icas stopped by us that are the king's friends. Their whole intent was to have besieged the king's houses, unto the time they had gotten bargain, but all was stoph whereof they stood nothing content.''' 2 Now, looking to the passage above in the Diurnal, we find it there asserted that the expedition was ruined "thro the deceit of George Douglas and the van- guard." We know, from the same work, that in the vanguard were the Earls of Angus, Cassillis, and Marshal, with others. The journey or invasion took place on the 10th of August, the retreat on the 13th, and here on the 25th of the same month, we have a letter from George Douglas and the Earls of Angus, Cassillis and Marshal, in. which they declare to the .tarl of Hertford, that the- whole expedition was stopped by them, and cla'im credit for it with the English king. This coin- cidence offers a fine example of the cor- roboration of an ancient chronicle by the original correspondence of the times ; and the learned editor of the Diurnal will readily allow that a work thus corroborated could not have been com» piled from traditional and imperfect sources, but must have been the pro- duction, not only of a contemporary writer, but of one minutely and ac- curately informed in the history of the times. " It is for this reason I have quoted it as an original authority, and have preferred any information it com- municates to the vague, loose, and ima- 1 Orig. State-Paper Office; not before pub* lisherl. 2 Ibid NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. ginary details of the general historians of this period. Other instances might be given of the accuracy of the first part of the Diurnal when checked by the correspondence of the times, but my limits will not permit me. That there are occasional errors in the narrative is not to be disputed : but they may be chiefly traced, I think, to the ignorance or carelessness of the transcribers of the manuscript. Letter Z, pages 361 and 362. Conspiracy of Lady Glammis. That a noble matron, in the prime of life, and of great beauty, should be tried, condemned, and burnt, for an attempt to compass the king's death by poison, and should also have the crime of witchcraft imputed to her by most of our historians, is an appalling event. In the absence of direct proof, Mr Pit- cairn, in his notes upon the trial of Lady Glammis, has adopted the story told by Buchanan, (bookxiv. c. 54,) and repeated by all following writers, with the exception of "Pinkerton ; jie pro- nounces her innocent of the crimes laid to her charge, and a victim of James's implacable hatred to the house of Doug- las. The examination of the curious evidence which he has published has led me to form a different opinion. /As to her being justly found guilty of treason, in assisting the Earl of Angus and George Douglas, in their attempts to "invade" the king's person, and re-establish their authority in Scotland, there seems to be no question." It was natural she should support her brothers ; and had her ^ offences been confined to this, although the act was undoubtedly treason, it is probable the sentence of death wouldi have been exchanged for banishment or imprisonment^ But a little investiga- tion will convince us, I think, that the king was not so unjust and implacable as has been imagined,, nor the lady the injured and innocent woman she has been represented. Let us look a little into her life. She married, probably about the year 1521, John, sixth Lord Glammis. He died on the 8th of August 1528, in his thirty-seventh year; and, about four months after his death, (Dec. 1, 1528,) Lady Glammis was summoned, with Patrick Hume of Blacater, Hugh Ken- nedy of Girvanmains, and Patrick Char- teris, to answer before parliament for 40* having given assistance to the Earl of Augus in convocating the king's lieges for the invasion of his majesty's per- son. 1 (Jhese men were all bold and active partisans of the Douglases^) On September 20, 1529, we find that Lady Glammis and Patrick Charteris of Cu- thelgurdy, a person who, in the inter- val, had been indicted to stand his trial for fire-raising and cow-lifting, 2 ob- tained a letter of licenced cTpass to parts beyond sea, on their pilgrimage, and other lawful business. 3 Whether Pat- rick and the lady had gone upon their pilgrimage, does not appear, but she did not interrupt her political intrigues, and seems to have been again not only summoned, but found guilty of treason ; for, on July 1, 1531, we find that Gavin Hamilton got a gift from the crown of the escheat of all the goods heritable and movable, of Janet Lady Glammis, which had been forfeited on account of her intercommuning with our sove- reign lord's rebels, or for any other crimes. 4 . At this time she appears to have fled from justice, and we lose sight of her for some time ; but, on 31st January 1532, a far darker crime than caballing with rebels, or associating with fire- raisers, was laid to her charge. She was summoned to stand her trial at the justice-ayre of Forfar, for the poison- ing her husband Lord Glammis. The crimes of poisoning and witchcraft were then very commonly associated, as may be seen from many interesting trials in Mr Pitcairn's Collections. The great dealers in poisons were witches, and the potency of their drugs was thought to be increased by the charms and in- cantations with which they were con- cocted : hence probably the mala fama, against Lady Glammis, as a witch or sorceress. But however this may be, it is certain that, on February 2, and February 26, 1532, Lord Kuthven, Lord Oliphant, with the Lairds of Ardoch, Moncrieff, Tullibardine, and a great many other barons, to the number of twenty-eight, were fined for not appear- ing to pass upon the Lady Glammis* jury : 5 and the imperfect and mutilated state of the criminal records of this period, unfortunately leaves us in the 1 Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 188. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 141. 3 Ibid. vol. i. p. 244. * Ibid. vol. i. p. 246. 5 Pitcairn's Trials, vol. i. p 158. 406 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. dark as to the future proceedings upon this trial. The probability seems to be, that she was either acquitted, or the charge dropped from want of evidence. If innocent, she was certainly most un- fortunate ; for, on the 17th of July [ 1537, she was, for the fourth time, brought to trial, found guilty of having been art and part in the conspiring the j death of the king by poison, and also for her having treasonably assisted Ar- chibald, earl of Angus, and George Doug- las his brother, who were traitors and rebels. For this crime she was con- demned to be burned at the stake, the j common mode of death, as Mr Pitcairn informs us, for all females of rank in cases of treason and murder, and from which he plausibly conjectures, that the vulgar opinion of her having been burn- ed for a witch may have partly arisen. Her son Lord Glammis, then only six- teen years old, her husband Archibald Campbell, a priest, and a barber named John Lyon, were tried along with her. The witnesses, as was usual in this cruel \ age, being examined under the rack, or pynebaukis, Lord Glammis, on his own confession, was found guilty of conceal- ing the conspiracy, and imprisoned till the death of James the Fifth, when he was restored to his estates and honours, upon the ground, that, in fear of his life, and having the rack before his eyes, lie had made a false confession. 1 The long extracts given by Mr Pitcairn, from the histories of Scott, (not Sir Walter Scott,) Lesley, Hume of Godscroft, and the Genealogy of the house of Drum- mond, seem to me scarcely worthy of the place he has assigned them, 2 and cannot be quoted as authentic evidence. Scott's story is a mere repetition of Buchanan's, with some ludicrous addi- tions of his own — as, where he tells us, Archibald Campbell, the husband of Lady Glammis, commanded the third regiment in the king's army. Lesley falls into blunders which Mr Pitcairn has detected ; Sir James Balfour re- peats them ; and as for David Hume of Godscroft, none acquainted with his his- tory will trust him, when he stands un- supported by other evidence. The only authentic, and, as I believe, contemporary account of the trials of the Master of For- bes and Lady Glammis, is to be found in the following passage from the Diurnal of Occurrents,p. 22 :— " In this menetyme, 1 Pitcairn's Trials, vol. i. p 327. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 244. the Master of Forbes was accusit of tressone by the Laird of Lenturk, and was put in ward in the castell of Edin- burgh. In the said moneth of Julii, the Lady Glammis, sister to Archibald, earl of Angus, was accusit for tressonne ; her husband, Archibald Campbell of Skepnische ; her son, the Lord Glammis, of sixteen yeares of age ; ane harbour John Lyon, and ane priest, all accusit in the tolbooth of Edinburgh. The said lady was condamnit to be brynt quhell deid : scho deet ; and her hus- band, sone, and the rest, ordanyt to remain in prisone in the castell of Edin- burgh forsaid. 3 — Upon the 13th day of July, the Master of Forbes was con- victed for tressonne, and drawin, hangit, and heidit." That there is any ground on which we may conclude, that unprincipled witnesses were brought forward to give false testimony, upon which the jury were compelled to convict her, I can- not admit ) still less do I perceive the proceedings to have been characterised by any savage traces of unmanly revenge upon the part of the king. On the other hand, it appears clear, that at this time the Douglases, whose last hope of restoration had been destroyed, began to embrace desperate designs. " The letters of Penman, their secret agent," says Pinkerton (vol. ii. p. 350,) 44 to Sir George Douglas, his employer, betray a malice, and designs the most horrid." "The king is crazed, and ill spoken of by his people." "He has beggared all Scotland. " * 4 All are weary of him." 44 James shall do the com- mandment of the Douglases, God will- ing. " 4 4 All hate him and say he must go down." 4 4 His glass will soon run out." These diabolical expressions against a prince in the vigour of early life, what can they insinuate but poison or the dagger ? Could they be ad- dressed to a person who did not seal them with approbation? And could a more fit or secret agent than a sister be 3 We may infer, I think, from the omission of any notice of the horrid fate of the husband of Lady G-lammis, who, some time after his imprisonment, was dashed to pieces on the rocks in attempting to escape from the castle of Edinburgh, that the Diurnal was written at the very time of his trial.. It is hardly possible, if it had been a subsequent com- pilation, that this circumstance, which ap- pears in all our historians, would have been omitted. That the author was a Roman Catholic appears from a passage in p. 19. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. employed to promote the interests of her family at any risk ? " If the reader will turn to Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, p. 190, and read the names of the jury- men who gave the verdict against her, he will scarcely admit the idea of her being innocent ; and it is worthy of notice, that instead of having the least appearance of its being a packed jury, some of the leading men amongst them (were friends and near connexions of the Douglases. John earl of Athole, one of the jury, marriebTtTanet, a sister of that Master of Forbes who suffered for treason at the same time as Lady Glammis, and who was a supporter of the Douglases. — (Douglas Peerage, vol. i. p. 141.) Ro- bert lord Maxwell, another of the jury, it is well known, was intimately con- nected with the Douglases. He mar- ried a daughter of Douglas of Drum- lanrig, (Douglas, vol. ii. p. 317,) and his daughter, Margaret Maxwell, was after- wards married to Archibald, earl of An- gus, brother to Lady Glammis. Wil- liam, Master of Glencairn, a third jury- man, was also nearly related to the Douglases, and constantly of their party. His mother was Marjory, a daughter of Archibald, fifth Earl of Angus, a sister of Gawin Douglas, the celebrated trans- lator of Virgil, and a grand-aunt of the Earl of Angus, and of Lady Glammis. Gilbert, earl of Cassillis, another of the jurymen, and the pupil of Buchanan, was also a firm partisan of the Doug- lases. Are we to believe that these men violated their oaths, and found guilty, upon false evidence, an innocent and noble lady, in whose favour they must have felt a strong bias ? > Pinkerton, whilst he defends James' on good grounds, too rashly pronounces the cases of the Master of Forbes and of Lady Glammis to have had no con- nexion with each other. There is, I think, a strong presumption to the con- trary. The similarity in the charges /against them, the circumstance that i both were apprehended, tried, and exe- cuted within two days of each other — the Master of Forbes on Saturday the 14th of July, and Lady Glammis on Tuesday the 17th ; and the fact that the object of both appears to have been to procure the restoration of the Doug- lases by compassing the death of the king, are striking circumstances, and look as if both plots had been coined in the same mint. The revealer of the tonspiracy of Forbes was, as we learn 407 from the extract from the Diurnal of Occurrents, the Laird of Lenturk ; and this gentleman, we find from Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 200, was Thomas Strachan. His son, John Strachan, was accused as being a participator in the Master of Forbes's treason, and it is worthy of notice, that David Strachan, probably of the same family, was one of those apprehended at the same time that Lord Glammis the son, and Home of Wed- derburn the brother-in-law of Lady Glammis, were imprisoned. 1 David Strachan, whose piteous petition for liberation has been given by Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 206, is nowhere mentioned as having been concerned in the treason oi the Lord Forbes. The presumption seems to be, that he was imprisoned for his participation in Lady Glammis's plot, and this seems in some degree to connect the two conspiracies. But ali this is conjectural. 2 It was not till the 22d of August, about five weeks after Lady Glammis had suffered, that John Lyon, her accomplice, was tried and found guilty of imagining and conspir- ing the king's death by poison ; and of using the same poison for the destruc- tion of the Earl of Kothes ; whilst, on the same day, Alexander Makke, who had sold the poison, knowing from Lyon for what purpose it was bought, was also tried and convicted. Lyon was be- headed : and Makke had his ears cut off and was banished by a singular sen- tence from all parts of Scotland, except the county of Aberdeen. 3 Mr Pitcairn has drawn an inference for the /innocence of Lady Glammis, from the fact that a number of lords and inferior barons suffered themselves to be fined rather than act as jurymen against her. This, however, one of his most noted ^ cases, shews to be no proof. The Master of Forbes confessed on the scaffold that he was guilty of the murder of Seton of Meldrum ; yet when tried on the 27th of August 1530, Gordon of Achindown, Lyon of Colmelegy, and fifteen other barons and landed gentlemen, were fined 1 Sir Thomas Clifford's Letter, quoted >y Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 198. 2 Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 202* 203*. s John Strachan and Donald Mackay were accomplices with the Master of Forbes, in the murder of Seton of Meldrum. Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 150-175. Alexan- der Makke (Mackay) and David Strachan were accomplices with Lady Grlammis in her at- tempt to poison the king:. 408 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. for not appearing to pass on his assize. A refusal of this kind was in fact a proof of the power, not of the innocence of the party accused. In concluding this note, I may mention that Lord Glammis 1 had made himself obnoxious to the Douglases, and may therefore have incurred the resentment of his high-spirited and determined consort, by refusing to join them with his vas- sals on the noted occasion, when they proceeded against the Border thieves, taking the young king along with them — (Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 136.) It was on this occasion that Scott of Buccleuch unsuccessfully attempted to rescue his sovereign from the captivity in which he was held. ^> l/l -.AAJL-y sites'. CtKKr^-^ £ ^-w^^v^ l**^tfi^ ■ '/U^i^ &>lui'!&w JL^y//£M^jJ . ... ...... ^ t END OF VOL. II. mr^y jnrtv^ ■ ^ / %vJIajXo M*r*H Inassvjd /JuW'J (iU^(jA^*£&*. J ♦ Date Due BOSTON COLLEGE 243282 Boston College Library Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. Books may be kept for two weeks unless a shorter period is specified. Two cents a day is charged for each 2-week book kept overtime; 25 cents a day for each overnight book. 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