Chapter XI

_Literature of the Nation in the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries._

THE language of the people of Scotland at the commencement of the fourteenth century was still Celtic over the greater part of the country, although the Saxons or Angles had occupied a portion of the country in the south from the sixth century onward, and had gradually spread along the eastern coasts, and partly commingled with the Celtic inhabitants, retaining, however, under slight variation, their own speech and customs. North of the Tay the dialect of the Angles was limited to a comparatively narrow strip along the east coast. Originally the Lowland Scotch dialect was essentially similar to the Anglo-Saxon speech of Northumbria, and the process of its introduction and development on the north of the Tweed extended over a period of seven centuries. In the fourteenth century this dialect was spoken from the Humber to the Forth, and onward round the eastern seaboard toward the Moray Firth. Hence it has sometimes been a matter of debate amongst literary antiquaries, whether some of the early metrical romances, such as “Sir Tristrem,” were written on the south or the north side of the Tweed. For the twelfth and thirteenth centuries no writings have been preserved in this dialect which could with certainty be claimed as the compositions of writers living on the north side of the borders; but a considerable number of words and phrases of the vernacular occur in the early acts of the Scotch parliament, and in the ancient laws and customs of the burghs, which indicate some of the characteristics of the current dialect. As the Lowland people of Scotland were a mixed race, so the Lowland Scotch language shows traces of contact with the Celtic dialects of the country, and a number of Celtic words occur in the common vocabulary of the Lowland Scotch. It was, however, mainly in its ballad literature and poetry that the Lowland Scotch received real Celtic characteristics; much of the charm, pathos, penetrating passion, and chord of melancholy of its poetry, is derived from a Celtic source.

The earliest native songs, ballads, and tales of Britain were Celtic. The Celts had their Finn and Ossian, and many other great heroes, whose imaginary actions, deeds of valour, and feats of bravery, were originated in prehistoric ages, and orally learned and transmitted from generation to generation, with such additional variations as the fine imagination of the Celts might figure in ideal forms to recall the memory of their mighty leaders and departed ancestors. As century after century passed, these heroes in some instances became invested with more than mortal power; and thus the imagination of the poet had ample scope for the creation of ideal attributes and characteristics.

In the early part of the sixteenth century the Dean of Lismore made a collection of Gaelic poetry, and in 1862 a selection from his collection was published under the title of _The Dean of Lismore’s Book_. The pieces and fragments thus collected and published, appears to belong to different periods. The fragments of Ossianic poetry which were the common productions of the Celtic race, are the oldest in the collection, while the other pieces mostly belonged to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This Gaelic poetry has a glow and charm which cannot be fully shown in an English translation. Celtic poetry usually presents a fine sense of style, and the characteristics of heightened expression, intense passion, piercing regret, and melancholy. The subjects of most of these old fragments are associated with feats of bravery and strength in battle, or feats and incidents connected with the chase of the deer and the boar, and other wild animals. The following presents a description of one of Ossian’s heroes:――

“His helmet close about the head
Of this brave and dauntless man;
His right arm bore a round black shield,
The surface of its back engraved;
A heavy, large, broad-bladed sword,
Tightly-bound, hung by his side.
He comes in attitude of fence,
As where we stood he swift approached;
Two javelins, with victory rich,
Rest on the shoulder of his shield;
For strength, for skill, for bravery,
Nowhere could his match be found:
A hero’s look――the eye of a king
Shone in that head of noblest mould,
Ruddy his face, his teeth pearl white;
No stream ran swifter than his steed,
Then did his steed bound on the shore,
And he in whom we saw no fear,
The well-formed warrior, then approached.
In rage, sustained by his great strength,
The maid he rudely bears away,
Though by Finn’s shoulder she had stood.
The son of Morne then hurled his spear,
With wonted force, as he bore off;
No gentle cast was that, in truth,
The hero’s shield was split in twain.
The wrathful Oscar then did shake
The red dyed belt from his right arm,
And killed the hero’s prancing steed,
A deed most worthy of great fame;
Then when the steed fell on the plain,
He on us turned in fiercest wrath,
And battle does, the onset mad,
With all our fifty warriors brave.
On the same side with me and Finn,
The fifty stood in front of him;
Yet though they oft stood firm in fight,
His arm did now them force to yield.
Two blows, and only two he gave,
With vigour to each sep’rate man,
When we were stretched upon the earth,
Each man of us with whom he fought.

* * * * *

Then did the manly Gaul advance,
The conquering hero to assail,
Whoe’er he was could see them then,
The struggle and the fight were fierce.
Then did Mac Morne slay with his arm
The King of Sorcha’s son, most strange;
Sad was the coming of the maid
Now that the brave in fight had fallen.”¹

¹ The Dean of Lismore’s Book, pages 22‒24.

This fragment presents clear description, strong passion, and characteristic individuality. Both English and Scotch poetry and literature were indebted to the mind and the genius of the Celtic race for several of their most charming and attractive features. It has been repeatedly stated by the most competent authorities that without the Celtic genius England would never have produced a Shakespeare.¹ Further, it has been recognised and admitted that English poetry received some of its distinctive features of style from a Celtic source. “The Celt’s quick feeling for what is noble and distinguished gave his poetry style; his indomitable personality gave it pride and passion; his sensibility and nervous exaltation gave it a better gift still, the gift of rendering with wonderful felicity the magical charm of nature. The forest solitude, the bubbling spring, the wild flowers, are everywhere in romance. They have a mysterious life and grace there; they are nature’s own children, and utter her secret in a way which makes them something quite different from the wood, waters, and plants of Greek and Latin poetry. Now, of this delicate magic, Celtic romance is so prominent a mistress, that it seems impossible to believe the power did not come into romance from the Celts.... Rhyme――the most striking characteristic of our modern poetry as distinguished from that of the ancients, and a main source, to our poetry, of its magic and charm, of what we call the romantic element,――rhyme itself, all the weight of evidence tends to show, comes into our poetry from the Celts.”² The popular Celtic heroes were known to the early writers of Lowland Scotch, and allusions to them occur in the writings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; and thus Lowland Scotch literature is not an isolated stream springing from one source, as it derived its form and some of its most characteristic elements from the Celtic mind and genius.

¹ Morley, and Matthew Arnold.

² M. Arnold, _The Study of Celtic Literature_, page 132. 1891.

The earliest compositions in the Scotch dialect or northern English assumed the form of ballads or songs in rhyme, and they were common long before it became customary to commit them to writing. The rhymed form had taken such a hold of the national mind that our first three historical writers, Barbour, Wyntoun, and blind Henry, all composed their works in rhyme. The rhymed literature which preceded the long chronicles of Barbour and Wyntoun consisted: 1, of ballads and songs associated with historic incidents; and 2, short metrical tales, and romances. The subjects of the first class were varied, and embraced battles, personal encounters, feuds, domestic matters, and local incidents. Some of the second class assumed a tragic character, and many of them treated of incredible achievements and adventures; the marvellous in various forms, such as the realms of fairyland, spirits, ghosts, and other inhabitants of the supernatural regions, were presented in these tales and romances. They mainly owe their preservation to tradition, and the greater part of them have been collected from oral recitation during the last two centuries; but portions of early Scotch poetry and a number of ballads were collected in the sixteenth century and preserved in the well-known manuscripts of George Bannatyne, and Sir Richard Maitland. In 1507 a small collection of popular poetry was printed at Edinburgh by Walter Chapman; and the _Complaynt of Scotland_, which was published in 1549, gave a list of stories and tales then popular, and a collection of ballads was published about the time of the Reformation.

A collection by James Watson was issued in three parts――1706, 1707, 1710――which contained some pieces of ancient poetry. In 1724 Allan Ramsay’s _Evergreen_ was published, which consisted mainly of extracts from Bannatyne’s manuscript, with a few early ballads, including one on the battle of Harlaw; and the same year he published the _Tea-Table Miscellany_, which contained seven old ballads. Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, in 1755 gave the result of his researches to the public in his well-known collection, entitled _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_; and seven of the pieces printed by him have been claimed as Scotch productions. In 1769 Herd published a collection of _Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Ballads, etc._, in two volumes, and twenty ballads were printed in it for the first time; a new edition of this collection was recently issued. Pinkerton in 1781 published a volume entitled _Scottish Tragic Ballads_; and _Select Scottish Ballads_ in two volumes in 1783; amongst these he inserted twelve pieces of his own composition, and passed them off as old ballads, but afterwards he admitted his offence. Joseph Ritson published several collections of _Old Songs and Ballads_; and in 1794 he issued a valuable collection of _Scottish Songs with Music_. James Johnson, a music-seller in Edinburgh, published a work called the _Scots Musical Museum_, 1787‒1803, which extended to six volumes, and in these ten ancient ballads were for the first time printed.

In the year 1802 Sir Walter Scott’s first and second volumes of the _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders_ appeared, and a third volume followed in 1803. This work contained a great number of historic and romantic ballads, many of which had not been before printed; and it also presented in the form of introductions and notes a body of exceedingly valuable, varied, curious, and interesting information, touching the characteristics and the superstitions of the people, and the work formed an invaluable contribution to the ballad literature of Scotland. Robert Jamieson in 1806 published _Popular Ballads and Songs_ in two volumes, and this meritorious work added sixteen ballads to Scottish traditional poetry. In 1808 John Finlay issued a collection of _Scottish Historical and Romantic Ballads_. Mr. Kinloch published a collection of _Ancient Scottish Ballads_ in 1827, in which a number of traditional pieces were, for the first time, printed. The same year Motherwell’s _Ancient and Modern Minstrelsy_ appeared, accompanied with a very valuable introduction and explanatory notes, which showed considerable critical power and historic insight. A new edition of this work was published in 1873. Peter Buchan, a faithful collector of traditional ballads, published in 1828 _Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland_, hitherto unprinted, in two volumes; there are a few historical ballads in this collection, but not of an early period. Professor Aytoun published a good collection of _Scottish Ballads_ in two volumes; and a number of other collections have been issued, which it is unnecessary to particularise. Various versions of many of these traditionary ballads occur; the same story and incidents may be presented in a somewhat different form in one district of the country from that in which it appears in another district, and sometimes different versions of a ballad may be found in the same locality. Some ballads have two or three more verses in one version than in another, though, excepting the additional verses, the versions may be nearly similar.

A traditional character under the names of Thomas of Ercildoune, or Thomas the Rhymer, was supposed to have been a writer of romance among the people on the Borders, and he was for long recognised as a poet and a prophet; but his life and writings seem to be involved in a haze of mist. The date of his birth has not been ascertained, but it appears that he attained the height of his reputation about 1283, and at this time it was reported that he foretold the death of Alexander III. He died before the end of the century. In 1804 Sir Walter Scott published the _Romance of Sir Tristrem_, from a manuscript of the fourteenth century, but it seems extremely doubtful if this be a work of Thomas of Ercildoune. The quaint character of the language of the romance indicates that it was an early production; but there seems to be no ground for assigning it to Scotland more than to the north of England. The style of _Sir Tristrem_ is brief and elliptical, and the rhymes much complicated.

The ballad containing Thomas the Rhymer’s prophecies has been preserved in three early manuscripts, which are all more or less incomplete. The chief points and incidents of the piece may be presented thus:――On a fine May morning Thomas was reclining at Huntly Bank, near Eildon Hills, when he suddenly espied a lady of exquisite beauty, mounted on a dapple-grey palfrey, and richly apparelled. Thomas thought she was the Virgin Mary, and on finding that she was not the Queen of Heaven, he made love to her, but she declared that to listen to his requests would destroy all her beauty; but the Rhymer’s ardour could not be repressed, and at last she was induced to alight, then at once all her beauty vanished, which threw him into great amazement. She then told him that he must leave the middle earth and go with her for a twelvemonth. Accordingly they descended by a secret passage at Eildon Hill, and for three dreary days Thomas heard nothing but the soughing of the flood. At length they approached a fair herbary, well filled with flowers and fruit, and enlivened by the chirping of a great variety of birds; and Thomas, almost exhausted with hunger, then stretched his hand to snatch some of the tempting fruit, but she warned him to desist under the pain of being attainted by the fiend and falling into hell. She directed him to lay his head in her lap, and she pointed out to him the way to heaven, and to the palace of her own fairyland; and Thomas observed that she had recovered her beauty and resumed her rich attire. When they reached the palace it resounded with music and revelry. The scene was exceedingly merry. “The harp and fiddle, the lute, and rebeck, were playing, accompanied with every kind of minstrelsy; and knights were dancing three and three with lovely ladies, fair and free, all bedecked in rich array.” After Thomas had enjoyed this solace much longer than he thought, the queen of the fairies intimated to him that she must conduct him back to the Eildon tree. He was extremely reluctant to leave this fine lady, but she then expressed her fear lest the fiend of hell, who to-morrow was coming to claim his dues, should select him. When they returned to the Eildon tree, he entreated her to grant to him some token of their pleasant intimacy, and in compliance with his request she gave him the tongue that would never lie. She then poured forth a string of rather confused prophecies, in which allusions to the events and personages of the Scottish wars of Edward III. may be discerned.

Barbour and Wyntoun mention Thomas the Rhymer, and Bower noticed his prediction of the death of Alexander III., and Mair said: “To this Thomas our countrymen have ascribed many predictions, and the common people of Britain yield no slight degree of credit to stories of this kind, which I, for the most part, am accustomed to treat with ridicule.” Metrical prophecies ascribed to Thomas the Rhymer were current in the reigns of James V., Queen Mary, and James VI., and they were collected and published in Latin and in English. At the time of the Union of the Crowns Thomas reached the height of his fame. Birrel, touching this point, said――“At this time all the whole commons of Scotland that had read or understood, were daily speaking of and expounding the prophecies of Thomas the Rhymer, and other prophecies which were prophesied in old times.” John Colville, in a Latin oration which was published at Paris in 1604, expressed his wonder at the fulfilment of the prophecies of Thomas the Rhymer; the Earl of Stirling alluded to this subject in one of his compositions, and Drummond also mentioned it. With reference to the Rhymer’s prophecies Bishop Spottiswoode said:――“Whence or how he had this knowledge can hardly be affirmed, but sure it is that he did divine and answer truly many things to come.”¹

¹ Barbour’s _Bruce_, page 25, Jamieson’s Edition; Wyntoun,
Volume II., page 157; _Scotichronicon_, Volume II., page 131;
Birrel’s _Diary_; Irving’s _History of Scottish Poetry_,
page 46.

The touching monody on the death of Alexander III., which has been preserved in Wyntoun’s _Chronicle_, presents an early specimen of the Scotch dialect. When Edward I., in 1296, approached to attack Berwick, the citizens were reported to have derided him in these rude lines:――

“What wenys Kynge Edwarde, with his lang shankys,
To have wonne Berwyk, all our vnthankys;
Gaas pykes hym.”

From this time till the Battle of Bannockburn the heroic struggles of the people afforded ample materials and incidents for historic ballads and rhymes; and many ballads and stories in rhyme associated with the name of Wallace and his deeds, were then composed in rude forms. Wyntoun mentioned one of Wallace’s earliest achievements, which still lives embodied in a ballad, and he also added that――“Of his good deeds and manhood, great gests I have heard are made, but not so many I trow as he in his day worked.” Barbour indicates that songs relating to the War of Independence were common among the people in his time, but few of these have been preserved; and it seems that the greater part of them were gradually incorporated into the three metrical narratives of Barbour, Wyntoun, and more especially Blind Henry’s _Wallace_, for Mair explicitly stated that Henry’s _Wallace_ was composed from the traditional stories and ballads current among the people. An old English chronicler said that the Scots commemorated the national triumph of Bannockburn in the following strains:――

“Maydins of Englande, sore may ye morne
For your lemmans ye have loste at Bannockysborne,
Wyth heue a low;
What wenyt the King of Englande
So soon to have wonne Scotlande,
Wyth a rumbylow.”

The narrator said that this song was for long afterwards sung by the maidens and the minstrels of Scotland, to the reproof and disdain of the English, with other songs which he considered it unnecessary to particularise.

A spirited and graphic ballad on the Battle of Otterburn has been preserved. The battle was fought in 1388, and the Scots were led by the Earl of Douglas and the English by Henry Percy, the redoubtable Hotspur. Douglas fell in the heat of the engagement, but the Scots gained the battle:――

“When Percy with the Douglas met,
I wot he was fu’ fain;
They swakkit swords, and they twa swat,
Till the blude ran down like rain.
But Percy wi’ his gude braid sword,
That could sae sharply wound,
Has wounded Douglas on the brew,
That he fell to the ground.
And then he called his little foot-page,
And said――‘run speedilie
And fetch my ain dear sister’s son,
Sir Hugh Montgomerie.’
‘My nephew gude,’ the Douglas said,
‘What recks the death of ane,
Last night I dreamed a dreary dream,
And I ken the day’s thy ain.
My wound is deep, I fain would sleep;
Take thou the vanguard of the three,
And bury me by the bracken bush,
That grows on yonder lily lea.
O bury me by the bracken bush,
Beneath the blumin’ brier;
Let never living mortal ken,
That a kindly Scot lies here.’”¹

¹ Aytoun’s _Scottish Ballads_, Volume I., page 17.

The ballad on the Battle of Harlaw was probably written shortly after the event. It is a dry narrative, without ornament of any kind, and extends to 248 lines. But a much shorter traditional ballad on this battle has been preserved, of which several versions were popular in the North; and in the early part of the seventeenth century there was a tune known under the name of the Battle of Harlaw.

The ballad entitled “Sir Patrick Spens” has been supposed to have originated in connection with the marriage of James III. and the Princess of Denmark. It presents some striking description, and some very touching incidents:――

“They hadna sailed a league, a league,
A league but barely three,
When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud,
And gurly grew the sea.
The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap,
It was sic a deadly storm;
And the waves came o’er the broken ship,
Till a’ her sides were torn.

* * * * *

And mony was the feather bed
That floated on the faem,
And mony was the gude lord’s son
That never mair came hame.
The ladyes wrang their fingers white,
The maidens tore their hair,
A’ for the sake o’ their true loves――
For them they’ll see na mair.
O lang, lang may the ladyes sit,
Wi’ their gowd kaims in their hair,
A’ waiting for their ain dear lords,
For them they’ll see na mair.
Half ower, half ower to Aberdour,
It’s fifty fathom deep,
And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens,
Wi’ the Scots lords at his feet.”

A few of the romantic rhymes published in Scott’s _Border Minstrelsy_ were probably composed in the fifteenth century, such as the fairy ballad of _Tamlane_. The fairies and elves, and other airy and subterraneous beings, were the surviving members of a numerous progeny descended from the far-gone past, and they still continued to hold a place in the popular imagination. Stories and rhymes relating to these imaginary beings were quite common among the Scots. The fairies of Scotland were a diminutive race, with a mixed and rather dubious character. They were extremely capricious in disposition, and mischievous in their resentment. They inhabited the interior of green hills, and danced by moonlight on the tops of them. They usually dressed themselves in green, but occasionally they wore heath brown. They were great riders, and sometimes their presence was discovered by the shrill ringing of the bridles of their invisible horses; while they occasionally indulged in the pleasures of the chase. One form of their resentment was to seize and carry off the infants of those who had in any way offended them.

There were romantic tales in the vernacular touching King Arthur and his knights, but these were common throughout Britain, and popular in France, and not in any way peculiar to Scotland. Still such tales had some influence on the productions of Barbour, Wyntoun, and Blind Henry. The ballad tales touching the adventures and the exploits of the popular heroes――Robin Hood, and his fellow, Little John――were well known among the Scots, although they had their origin on the English side of the border.

A long moral fable called Holland’s _Howlat_, seems to have been written about the middle of the fifteenth century. It was founded on the old fable of the jackdaw in borrowed plumage, but it is tedious and deficient in energy; the construction of the verse was strained to attain the alliterative form, which was a favourite style of composition with many of the rhymers of the period. The curious poem entitled ♦_Cockelbie’s Sow_, belonged to the same period. It is an unpolished rambling production, though some touches of humour occur in it, while it contained an enumeration of the names of songs, tunes, and dances, which were then popular in Scotland.

♦ “Cokelbie’s” replaced with “Cockelbie’s”

In the preceding pages I have briefly indicated the original sources, some of the elements, and the conditions and circumstances from which the literature of Scotland was developed; and I will now proceed to deal with the ascertained and definite literature of the nation.

John Barbour, the writer of the metrical story of Robert Bruce’s chequered, interesting, and glorious career, was born in 1316, two years after the battle of Bannockburn; but the exact date of his birth has not been discovered, and there is little known touching his early life. He was holding the position of Archdeacon of Aberdeen in 1357, and that year Edward III. granted a safe conduct to him to visit the University of Oxford for the purpose of study, with three scholars accompanying him. In 1364 Edward III. granted a safe conduct to Barbour with four horsemen in his company, to proceed through England and study at Oxford or elsewhere as he thought fit. In the following year he received permission from Edward to pass through England with six horsemen accompanying him, and to proceed to St. Denis, near Paris, and to other sacred places. In 1368 Edward III. gave him a safe conduct to pass through England accompanied by two servants and two horses, and to proceed to France for the purpose of study.¹

¹ _Rotuli Scotiæ_, Volume I., pages 808, 886, 897, 926.

Barbour was often engaged in the public service. In 1373 he was one of the Auditors of Exchequer, and soon after he was discharging the duties of Clerk of the Audit. He acted as one of the Auditors of Exchequer from 1382 to 1384, and for his public service in the year 1382, he received six pounds, thirteen shillings, and fourpence.¹

¹ _Exchequer Rolls of Scotland_, Volumes II. and III.

He was then composing the remarkable national work which has handed down his name and fame to posterity. According to his own statement the work was more than half written in 1375. In 1377 he received a gratuity of ten pounds from Robert II. In 1379 he obtained by charter to himself and his assignees an annuity of twenty shillings from the Crown rents of Aberdeen; and in 1388 he received a grant of ten pounds yearly from the customs of Aberdeen under a charter of Robert II., as a reward for his faithful service. Barbour died at an advanced age about the year 1396. He exercised the power of assignation of his annuity of twenty shillings in favour of the cathedral of Aberdeen for the celebration of his anniversary, and the dean and chapter received this sum annually after his death. In the Exchequer Rolls of 1428 and subsequent years, it was expressly stated that this annuity had been granted to Barbour “for the compilation of the book of the deeds of King Robert the Bruce.”

Barbour resolved to write his story of Bruce in the language of the people of the Lowlands; his chief aim was to produce a plain and “soothfast story that every man might understand.” As indicated above, he had sojourned in England and in France in pursuit of knowledge; and no doubt he could have written his story of Bruce in Latin, if he had thought fit to follow the fashion of the educated class of his time. He was gifted with good natural faculties; his imaginative and reproductive powers were considerable, and he showed practical insight and good judgment; his feelings and sentiments were keen and warm, and his opinions were very liberal for the age. His general fairness and moderation was characteristic, though in a few instances his love of freedom and his patriotism caused him to use harsh expressions. His severe imprecation on the person who betrayed the brave Sir Christopher Seton, “In hell condemned mot he be;” but then it should be observed that Sir Christopher was one of those who formed the forlorn hope of Scotland under Bruce. Barbour detested Edward I. and Edward II., and a few other historic characters, on the ground of their extreme cruelty.

The literary merits of Barbour’s work, taking everything into account, were great. His language and style were, for the period, remarkably good. His style possessed the qualities of clearness, brevity, terseness, and point; his descriptions of scenes and positions, and delineations of historic characters, were generally vivid and interesting; while, in short, his poem was pervaded by a dignified simplicity and a directness of aim admirably calculated to attract and to sustain attention; its historical value has been long recognised by Scottish historians.

The work in its original form extended to one hundred and fifty chapters, which was the arrangement followed in Cosmo Innes’ edition; but Pinkerton and Jamieson in their editions divided the work into books. The earliest known edition of Barbour’s _Bruce_ was printed at Edinburgh in 1571, of which only one copy now exists; the next edition was printed at Edinburgh in 1616, and it is also very scarce; but since then many editions have been issued.

Barbour devoted the first part of the work to the early career of Bruce; and he so far assumed the licence of the poet, as to make Bruce the competitor――the hero who endured so much privation and recovered Scotland――when in fact the competitor was only the grandfather of the real hero. This was, however, merely an introductory device for effect. The varied fortunes of Bruce, his reverses, privations, and many exploits, were all narrated with much spirit and energy; then after the tide turned in favour of Bruce, the progress of the war, the capture and the demolition of castles. A clear account of the preparations for the memorable battle of Bannockburn;――and here Barbour exerted his powers to the utmost, and produced a masterly description. He presented graphic pictures of the mustering of the English army and its march to Stirling; and the magnificent appearance of the great host――divided into ten divisions, with all the accompanying pomp and circumstance of war,――mounted knights, and burnished armour, shields, banners and pennons waving and glowing in the sun’s beams, “as if all the land was in a glare.” On the other hand, his description of the mustering of the small army of Scots, and Bruce’s homely manner of cheering his men, were very effectively contrasted with the glittering splendour of the opposing hosts. After noting a number of striking incidents as a prelude, and the speech which Bruce addressed to his army on the eve of the battle, saying to his men:――

“We have three great advantages:
The first is, that we have the right,
And for the right ay God will fight.

* * * * *

The third is, that we for our lives,
And for our children, and for our wives,
And for our freedom, and for our land,
Are constrained to stand fast in battle.”

The great battle then began, the fierce charge of the English cavalry, the reeling of horses, and the mighty hosts of England broken by the wall of Scottish spears; the crash of lances and the blows with axes which cleft both helmets and heads, the thumps of the steel weapons hewing the mail armour of the enemy; and the intense eagerness of the Scots in the midst of the fight, the confusion and the slaughter of the English, the grass red with blood, and the final panic and flight of the enemy, were all described with graphic power and effect.

The remaining part of the work continued the narrative to the close of Bruce’s reign, and presented characteristic sketches of Bruce’s companions in arms――Douglas, Randolph, Edward Bruce, and others. Barbour also wrote another poem, which gave a genealogical history of the Kings of Scotland, and was entitled “The Brute,” but it is now lost.

The deeds and achievements of Bruce have been celebrated by several other Scottish poets, one of which preceded Barbour. A monk of Melrose, named Peter Finton, was said to have produced a work on Bruce, but not a fragment of it is known to be extant. Patrick Gordon composed in heroic verse “The Famous History of the Renowned and Valiant Prince, Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.” The first book only was printed at Dort in 1615, and reprinted at Edinburgh in 1718, and at Glasgow in 1753; this poem came no further down than the Battle of Bannockburn. Dr. Jamieson mentioned a work in manuscript on Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, written about the end of the reign of James VI., which was in the archives of the Society of Antiquaries. A poem by John Harvey entitled “The Life of Robert Bruce, King of Scots,” was published at Edinburgh in 1727.

Barbour’s _Bruce_, after a comparatively short interval, was followed by Wyntoun’s _Metrical Chronicle_. Andrew Wyntoun, the Prior of St. Serf’s Monastery, wrote his _Original Chronicle of Scotland_ in the language of the people, but still in the metrical form. Nothing has been ascertained touching the date of his birth and early life, but he was Prior of St. Serf’s Monastery in 1395, and lived at least till 1420. Thus it appears that Wyntoun was a contemporary of Barbour, and he several times mentioned and applauded the Archdeacon. Wyntoun complained of the scarcity of written materials, though perhaps he had access to some historic documents now lost. He stated that he had part of the _Chronicle_ compiled by Peter Comestor, the _Chronicles_ of Orasius and Friar Martin, and English and Scottish stories; the latter would include the ballads then current among the Scots. He inserted about three hundred lines in his own _Chronicle_ from Barbour’s _Bruce_, and transferred thirty-six chapters from a person not named and adopted them in his own _Chronicle_. He mentioned the names of a number of ancient classic writers, and some of the fathers of the Church.

Although Wyntoun called his work _The Original Chronicle of Scotland_, he commenced it with a general history of the world. He treated at length of angels, creation, the death of Abel, the generations of Cain and Seth, the primeval race of giants, the ark of Noah and the Flood; the situation of Asia, Africa, Egypt, Europe, Britain, Ireland, and various other countries; the confusion of tongues, the lives of the patriarchs, the judges of Israel, the siege of Troy, the origin of poetry, and the arrival of Brutus in Britain. Five of the nine books into which his work was divided, were mostly occupied with the heterogeneous topics indicated above, in the sixth book he treated of the wars between the Picts and the Scots, and gradually limited his narrative to Scotland.

The language of Wyntoun’s _Chronicle_ is nearly similar to that of Barbour’s _Bruce_, except that the orthography of a number of words exhibit variations, but they both followed the same form of versification. In genius and vigour Wyntoun stood much below Barbour, while he was more under the influence of superstitious feeling, the original _Chronicle_ presenting many fabulous legends and stories, which convey a curious impression of his credulity. Wyntoun was a zealous churchman, and embraced every opportunity to magnify the power of the clergy. Still the latter portion of his work possesses considerable historic value, and contains useful information. A number of manuscripts of his _Chronicle_ have been preserved, and it seems to have been popular in the Middle Ages. The part of this book relating to Scotland was edited by David Macpherson and published in 1795; and recently a new edition containing the entire work has been issued in the series entitled _The Historians of Scotland_.

James I. was not only an able ruler and a wise legislator, but, besides other accomplishments, he also attained distinction as a poet. When a prisoner in England, he had many opportunities of cultivating his mind, which he seems to have assiduously embraced. His genius and energy would have enabled him to attain distinction in any walk of life. It has been reported that he was an adept in all the manly exercises of his time; that he was well acquainted with the use of the bow and the spear; that he handled the sword with all the ease and dexterity of a master; that he was an excellent horsemen, a great pedestrian, and a fleet runner. He was a consummate musician, and excelled both in vocal and in instrumental music; he was especially distinguished as a performer on the harp, and touched its strings like another Orpheus. He has been extolled for his proficiency in polite literature, in philosophy, and in jurisprudence.¹ His habitual energy did not permit a single hour of his life to be wasted in listlessness, he was always occupied with his varied business and recreations. It is mainly by such mental activity, combined with a power of continuous attention, that eminence in anything of importance has been attained.

¹ _Scotichronicon_, Volume II., pages 504, 505; Buchanan’s
_History of Scotland_, Book X. Chapter 57.

James’s chief work was a poem entitled the _King’s Quair_, which he composed when a prisoner in England; and its subject was the praise of the lady who subsequently became his wife. It was divided into six cantos, and extended to one hundred and ninety-seven stanzas. The poem showed a keen imagination, much feeling, and some touches of genuine poetry; and it also manifested a comprehensive and discriminative appreciation of the beauties of external nature, which indicated that the author’s capacity for the enjoyment of life was very great. As a specimen of his style, a few verses slightly modernised may be quoted:――

“Then, as it hapt, mine eyes I cast below,
And there I spied, beneath my prison tower,
Telling her beads, in walking to and fro,
The fairest and the freshest youthful flower
That ever I beheld before that hour:
Entranced I gazed, and with the start
Rushed instant all my blood into my heart.

Awhile I stood, abased and speechless quite,
Nor wonder was; for why?――my senses all
Were o’ercome with pleasure and delight,
Only with letting thus my eyes to fall,
That instantly my heart became her thrall
For ever of free will: for nought was seen
But gentleness in her soft looks serene.

* * * * *

In her beauty, youth, and bounty dwell,
A virgin port, and features feminine,
Far better than my feeble pen can tell,
Did meek-eyed wisdom in her gestures shine,
She seemed, persay, a thing almost divine――
In word, in deed, in shape, in countenance,
That nature could no more her child advance.”

James concluded his poem, by recommending it to his masters, Gower and Chaucer.

The humourous poem entitled _Christ’s Kirk on the Green_, has sometimes been attributed to James I., but it seems to belong to a later period. This piece extended to twenty-three stanzas, and is characteristically comic and humourous, and brimful of rustic pleasantry. The subject of the poem was a rural gathering, which was common, where the assembled multitude danced, and engaged in sports and revels. After the dancing and other comic incidents of the scene, the bow was introduced and the poet then ridicules the awkwardness of the men in handling it, and describes their attempts thus:――

“With that a friend of his cry’d fy!
And up an arrow drew,
He forgit it so furiously
The bow in flinders flew.
So was the will of God, trew I,
For had the tree been trew,
Men said that kend his archery,
That he had slane anew
That day.

An eager man that stude him neist
Lous’d aff a schott with ire,
He ettilt the barn in at the breast,
The bolt flew o’er the bire.
Ane cry’d fy! he had slane a priest
A mile beyond a mire;
Then bow and bag fra him he keist
And fled as fers as fire
Of flint.

Then Lawrie as ane lyon lap
And soon an arrow feathered,
He aimed to pierce him at the pap,
Thereon to win a wager;
He hit him on the wame a wap,
It buft like onie bladder,
But sa his fortune was and hap
His doublet was of leather,
And saved him.”

Another burlesque poem of unascertained authorship, entitled _Peblis to the Play_, has been supposed to be a description of the annual gatherings held at Peebles in the month of May. It opens with a description of the people flocking from all quarters of the country to hold their holiday.

Henry the Minstrel, familiarly called “Blind Harry,” was a remarkable character, and composed the well known metrical _Life of Sir William Wallace_. The few particulars of the life of Blind Henry himself may be shortly told. John Mair, who wrote in the latter part of the fifteenth century and the early part of the sixteenth, said that Henry was blind from his birth, and in the time of my infancy, he composed an entire book on the deeds of Sir William Wallace, from such stories as were then current touching his deeds of daring. That by the recitation of his stories before men of the highest rank, he earned his food and raiment.¹ Some of those who have carefully studied Henry’s long poem, have on reasonable grounds doubted the statement that the minstrel was blind from his birth, as it has been observed that his descriptions of scenery are comparatively vivid, and he makes no allusion to his blindness himself. He called himself a rustic man, but it appears from his book that he had in some way obtained a very good education for the period. It seems that he was able to translate Latin, he used a number of words of French origin, and he knew a little about the ancient history of Greece and Rome, and much more of French romances, and current tales touching King Arthur.

¹ Mair’s _Gestio Scotorum_, page 169, 1740.

It would appear, from what was stated in a preceding chapter, that beggars and other idle vagabonds who infested the country, had sometimes feigned the role and assumed the character of minstrels, merely to enable them to pursue their unlawful modes of living with greater success and impunity. This explains the meaning of clauses which occur in several Acts of Parliament, for it is evident that the real minstrels were in high repute throughout this period. Robert I. occasionally gave gratuities to the minstrels; and for their services in connection with the marriage of David II., the minstrels received a fee of £66 15s. 4d.; and on the occasion of the coronation of David II. the minstrels present received a sum of £20 from the King, and £10 from the Queen. Robert II. granted his own minstrel, Thomas Aearsane, an annuity of five pounds per annum, and he gave payments to Thomas Fulhope, and other minstrels. In 1392 a payment was made for shields to the minstrels. The gratuities given by James IV. to the minstrels were already mentioned. During this period some of the burghs had minstrels, who were paid from the common fund, for performing public services and appearing in their official character on great occasions. Blind Henry was not altogether forgotten by James IV.; in April, 1490, he received eighteen shillings, in September the same year a similar sum; in April, 1491, eighteen shillings, in September the same year five shillings, and in January, 1492, nine shillings; and as no more entries of his name occur in the accounts, it has been supposed that he died shortly after.¹

¹ _Exchequer Rolls of Scotland_, Volumes I., II., III., IV.;
_Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer_, Volume I.

Blind Henry’s _Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace_ was written in rhyme, and divided into eleven books, and extends in length to nearly twelve thousand lines. He professed to draw the materials of his narrative chiefly from a Latin chronicle by John Blair, who was Wallace’s chaplain, but not a trace or fragment of Blair’s work is now known to exist; he also mentioned Con’s chronicle, and in the course of his narrative he frequently speaks of “the book and my author,” but no Con’s chronicle has ever been discovered. It appears, however, that there were materials relating to Wallace’s deeds before Henry’s work appeared, but these, in all probability, were merely ballads and stories orally learned and repeated among the people. The only manuscript preserved of Henry’s work of authority and historic value is the one in the Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh, which is dated 1488, and purports to have been written in that year by John Ramsay. At that time Ramsay was a common surname in Scotland. John Ramsay of Bothwell was one of James III.’s favourites, who escaped execution on account of his youth, being subsequently employed in various offices under the Crown. Thus Henry’s book was put into the form, in which it has been preserved, before his own death, and from the sentiment which he expressed at the conclusion of his work it seems that he was pretty well satisfied with his production. What then were the actual sources from which it was drawn?

From a careful consideration of what is known about Blind Henry and his mode of life, and the actual historic facts, in so far as they have been ascertained, touching the national career of Wallace, I arrived at the ♦conclusion many years ago that the work in question was mainly derived from the traditions, the tales, and the rhymed ballads, which had accumulated around the name of Wallace since his execution in 1305, and were current among the people of Scotland in the second half of the fifteenth century. The blind minstrel probably commenced his work between the years 1450 and 1460, or one hundred and fifty years after the death of Wallace. The floating traditions and stories touching the deeds and the heroic achievements of Wallace, the idol of the people, were then ample and varied; all that Henry had to execute was to use these materials, which were naturally and specially suitable for his calling and mode of life, and finally to form them into a rhymed composition around the great national hero. This process of manufacturing would account for all the peculiar characteristics and inconsistences presented in the blind minstrel’s work, while it makes no assumption that the minstrel intended to mislead any one or misrepresent anything. As he simply embodied the ideas, the sentiments, the national prejudice, and the traditional notions of the acts and deeds of Wallace, which the people of Scotland entertained and gloried to hear repeated in his day, it consequently follows that Henry’s work was in complete harmony with the feeling and the notions of the Scots touching their greatest national hero, and they were ready to receive it with exulting delight. As an embodiment of the notions, the feelings, and the traditions of the people concerning Wallace, the work is genuine and invaluable, but considered as a historic narrative of facts and events relating to Wallace or any one else it is worthless. No doubt a strata of distorted facts were introduced into the work, but they were so much mingled with romance, prejudice, hate, and ferocity, as rendered them utterly valueless. For instance, Henry ascribed a degree of cruelty to Wallace himself which was quite inconsistent with all that is known of his character and life.

♦ “couclusion” replaced with “conclusion”

Touching the literary qualities of Henry’s long poem, the style was vivid and full of spirit. His account of adventures and battles was not constructed with much art, but the vigour of his mind and the glow of his patriotism were well fitted to fix the reader’s attention, and the author moves on from one adventure to another, and encounter after encounter, with unabated ardour. A few references to the face of nature occur in the work, and some touches which stand in marked contrast to the general series of blows and fights. He concluded his work thus:――“Go noble book, full of good sentences, suppose thou art barren of eloquence; go worthy book, full of true deeds, but in language thou hast great need of help. When there were many good poets in Scotland, it was a great pity that none of them cast their attention on thee, yet there is a part that can many advance; now bide thy time and be a remembrance. I bespeak your benevolence, for the book is said as well as I can.”

The book really did prove to be a great remembrance, as it had for three centuries an unexampled popularity among the Scots; it had passed through more editions than any other Scotch book before the period of Burns and Scott. It appears to have been amongst the first books printed in Scotland, for fragments of an edition of it printed by Walter Chapman about the year 1508 were discovered by the late Dr. David Laing. The earliest complete edition still preserved in the British Museum was printed at Edinburgh in 1570, and since then editions have appeared in 1594, 1601, 1611, 1620, 1630, 1648, 1661, 1665, 1673, 1699, 1711, 1713, and a number of more recent ones. An excellent and valuable edition by Dr. Jamieson, the author of the _Scottish Dictionary_, was published in 1820. Dr. James Moir edited for the Scottish Text Society an edition, to which he has contributed an introduction, a long series of expository notes, and a comprehensive glossary.

From the evidence indicated in the above paragraph, it seems manifest that the influence of Blind Henry’s _Wallace_ on the feeling, the national prejudice, and the patriotism of the Scots, has been considerable. Burns, in a letter to Dr. Moore, said――“The story of Wallace poured a tide of Scottish prejudice into my veins which will boil along there till the flood-gates of life shut in eternal rest.” Think then how many Scotsmen may have been similarly affected by the story of Wallace in the three hundred years during which it was the most popular book in Scotland!

Robert Henryson was a contemporary of the blind minstrel, and one of the most eminent and estimable of the early Scotch poets. It has been supposed that he was born about 1425, but little has been ascertained touching his early life. It appears that he received a liberal education, for in 1462 he was admitted a member of the newly founded University of Glasgow as a licentiate in arts and bachelor in degrees. He seems to have acted for some time as schoolmaster of the Grammar School of Dunfermline, and he also acted as a notary public. His writings show that he had an accurate knowledge of the state of society in his time; he was a keen observer, and feelingly alive to the suffering and the injustice which prevailed in the nation. He died at an advanced age about the end of the fifteenth century.

As a poet who wrote in the language of the people, Henryson held a high place. His style was easy and flowing; and, though he did not show great inventive genius or passion, he had a fine perception of the beauties of external nature, and handled the objects around him with remarkable skill, and often presented vivid and touching descriptions. The piece entitled _The Testament of Cresseid_, which extended to over six hundred lines, has been considered his chief work. It was intended to be a supplement to Chaucer’s _Troilus and Cresseid_; as Henryson thought the conclusion of that work was unsatisfactory, he composed this piece to finish it off in proper character. The character, Cresseid, proved inconstant and false to her devoted lover, and she was in consequence afflicted at last with leprosy as a punishment, and though touches of pathos occur, the piece presented a rather sad and grotesque narrative, mixed with classic mythology. It first appeared in a printed form in the collected edition of Chaucer’s works, which was published at London in 1532, and the earliest known Scotch edition of the piece was printed by Charteris in 1593, of which a copy has been preserved in the British Museum.¹

¹ Laing’s Edition of Henryson’s Poems, pages 257‒258.

A number of Henryson’s short poems present very good examples of didactic poetry, such as his “Abbey Walk,” “The Praise of Age,” “Age and Youth,” and others. They are pervaded by a solemn, moral, and religious tone of feeling and thought; and though they lack the highest characteristics of poetry, yet they will compare favourably with the productions of his contemporaries. His poem entitled “Robene and Makyne” is a fine specimen of pastoral poetry, written in a natural and flowing style. He also produced thirteen Moral Fables, which were characterised by a quiet humour, simplicity, and clearness of style. His fables contained many allusions to the state of society, the rapacity of the aristocracy, and the hard treatment of the people. He showed considerable skill in narrating a story, and always endeavoured to produce a moral effect.

Sir John Rowll, a priest, produced a remarkable poem about the close of the fifteenth century, which presented a scathing denunciation of the persons who had stolen his fowls, and committed other serious depredations. This piece extended to two hundred and sixty-two verses, and is a curious specimen of style. The denunciation of the offenders proceeded thus:――“Black be their hour, black be their part, for five fat geese of Sir John Rowll’s, with capons, hens, and other fowls.... Now cursed and accursed be their fate while they are living on the earth; hunger, strife, and tribulation, and never be without vexation; of vengeance, sorrow, trouble, and care, graceless, thriftless, and threadbare, and at all times in their legacy fire, sword, water, and wodie.”¹ There were a number of other writers of rhyme in the fifteenth century, whose names have been preserved.

¹ Laing’s _Select Remains of the Ancient Popular Poetry of
Scotland_.

John of Fordun produced the first long prose _Chronicle and Annals of Scotland_, composed in Latin, in the later half of the fourteenth century. He wrote the first five books, and left some materials which came down to 1383. Walter Bower, Abbot of St. Colm, wrote a continuation to the death of James I., and this compilation has long been known under the title of the _Scotichronicon_; the parts of it relating to the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, have been considered to possess historic value, but the earlier portions of it are of less value. Latin language and literature in the Middle Ages had a considerable influence on some of the institutions of Scotland. Latin was used in the service and public worship of the Church, and English and Scotch writers enlarged their vernacular vocabulary from the Latin. “Until the end of the fifteenth century it was only in the theological and moral departments that Latin had much direct influence upon English, most of the Latin roots introduced into it up to that time having been borrowed from the French, but as soon as the profane literature of Greece and Rome became known to English scholars through the press a considerable influx of words drawn directly from the classics took place.”¹ From the later part of the fifteenth century the Scotch writers drew words very freely from Latin sources. The close political relations, and the long intercourse between France and Scotland had the effect of introducing a number of French words into the Scotch dialect, and in a few instances slightly affected its grammatical form.

¹ Marsh’s _Lectures on the English Language_, page 434.

The growing importance of the vernacular appeared in various directions. For a long time the Acts of Parliament were recorded in Latin, but toward the end of the fourteenth century they were sometimes written in the Scotch dialect, and after the return of James I. the Acts of Parliament were henceforth recorded and proclaimed in the language of the Lowland people. In the latter half of the fifteenth century the proceedings of the King’s Council and of the Judicial Committee of Parliament were recorded in the vernacular, and the early laws of David I., William the Lion, Alexander II., and Robert I., were translated into Scotch in the same century. The ancient code of burgh laws was also rendered into Scotch, and the records of the proceedings of the burghs in the fifteenth century were mostly written in the current vernacular; even some of the records of the religious houses then began to be engrossed in the Scotch dialect. Then, as now, there were two distinct living languages in Scotland――the Gaelic and the Lowland Scotch――and in each of these two languages, respectively, the traditions, the legends, the ballads, the poetry, and the tales of the nation were embodied, and were more or less familiar to the humblest of the people in the kingdom.