NOTE C.

Wilt thou lend me our King's standard,

To bear a little way ?-P. 51. col. 1.

In all ages, and in almost all countries, the military standards have been objects of respect to the soldiery, whose duty it is to range beneath them, and, if necessary, to die in their defence. In the ages of chivalry, these ensigns were distinguished by their shape, and by the various names of banners, pennons, penoncelles, etc., according to the number of men who were to fight under them. They were displayed in the day of battle, with singular solemnity, and consigned to the charge only of such as were thought willing and able to defend them to the uttermost. When the army of Edward the Black Prince was drawn up against that of Henry the Bastard, King of Castile, "Than Sir Johan Chandos brought his baner, rolled up togyder, to the Prince, and said, 'Sir, behold, here is my baner. 1 requyre you display it abrode, and give me leave this daye to raise it; for, sir, I thanke God and you, I have land and heritage sulficiente to maynteyne it withal.' Than the Prince, and King Dampeter (Don Pedro), toke the baner betwene their hands, and spred it abrode, the which was of sylver, a sharp pyle gaules, and delyvered it to hym, and said, 'Sir Johan, behold here youre baner; God sende you joye and honour thereof!' Than Sir Johan Chandos bare his baner to his owne companye, and sayde, 'Sirs, beholde here my baner, and youres; kepe it as your owne.' And they toke it, and were right joyful thereof, and sayd, that by the pleasure of God, and Saint George, they would kepe and defend it to the best of their powers. And so the baner abode in the handes of a good English squyer, called William Alery, who bare it that day, and acquaytted himself right nobly."-FROISSART, vol. i. ch. 257. The loss of a banner was not only great dishonour, but an infinite disadvantage. At the battle of Cocherel, in Normandy, the flower of the combatants, on each side, were engaged in the attack and defence of the banner of the captail of Buche, the English leader. It was planted amid a bush of thorns, and guarded by sixty men at arms, who defended it gallantly. "There were many rescues, and many a one hurt and cast to the earth, and many feates of armes done, and many gret strokes given, with good axes of steel, that it was wonder to behold." The battle did not cease until the captall's standard was taken and torn to pieces.

We learn, from the following passage in STOWE'S Chronicle, that the standard of Edward I. was a golden dragon. "The King entered Wales with an army, appointing the footmen to occupie the enemies in fight, whiles his horsemen, in a wing, set on the rere battell himselfe, with a power, kept his place, where he pight his golden dragon, unto whiche, as to a castle, the wounded and wearied might repair."

NOTE D.

"Where wast thou bred? where wast thou born? Where, or in what countrie?"— "In north of England I was born :"

(It needed him to lie.)-P. 51. col. 1.

Sir Galahaut, in the name of Sir Bartylmewe de Bonnes. Sir Galahaut helde himselfe styll secrete, and answered but fayntly, and sayd, Let us ryde forth; and so rode on, and hys men, on the one syde, and the Almaygnes on the other. Whan Sir Renolde of Boulant saw theyr maner, and how Sir Galahaut rode sometyme by hym, and spake no word, than he begane to suspecte. And he had not so ryden, the space of a quarter of an hour, but he stode styll, under his baner, among his men, and sayd, 'Sir, I have doubt what knyght ye be. I thinke ye be nat Sir Bartylmewe, for I woll ye I knowe him well and I see well that yt ys nat you. tell me your name, or 1 ryde any farther in your company. Therewith Sir Galahaut lyft up his vyser, and rode towards the knyght to have taken hym by the raynse of his brydell, and cryed, 'Our Ladye of Rybamont!' Than Sir Roger of Coloyne said, ' Coloyne to the rescue!': Whan Sir Renolde of Boulant sawe what case he was in, he was nat greatly afrayd, but drewe out his sworde; and, as Sir Galahaut wolde have taken hym by the brydell, Sir Reynolde put his sworde clene through hym, and drue agayne hys sworde out of him, and toke his horse, with the spurres, and left Sir Galahaute sore hurt. And, whan Sir Galahautes men sawe theyr master in that case, they were sore dyspleased, and set on Sir Renoldes men; theyre were many caste to the yerth, but as sone as Sir Renolde had given Sir Galahaut that stroke, he strak his horse with the spurres, and toke the feldes. Than certayne of Galahautes squyers chasyd hym, and, whan he sawe that they followed hym so nere, that he muste other tourne agayne, or els be shamed, lyke a hardy knyghte he tourned, and abode the foremost, and gave hym such a stroke, that he had no more lyste to folwe him. And thus, as he rede on, he served three of theym, that folowed hym, and wounded them sore; if a good axe had been in hys hand, at every stroke he had slayne a man. He dyd so muche, that he was out of danger of the Frenchmen, and saved himselfe without any hurte; the whyche hys enemyes reputed for a grete prowess, and so dyd all other that harde thereof; but hys men were nere slayne or taken, but few that were saved. And Sir Galahaut was caryed from thence sore hurt to Perone; of that hurt he was never after perfectly hole; for he was a knycht of suche courage, that, for all his hurte, he would not spare hymselfe; wherefore he lived not long after."-FROISSART, vol. i. chap. 207.

NOTE E.

They rade their horse, they ran their horse, Then hovered on the lee, ete.-P. 52. col. 2.

The sieges, during the middle ages, frequently afforded opportunity for single combat, of which the scene was usually the drawbridge, or barriers, of the town. The former, as the more desperate place of battle, was frequently chosen by knights, who chose to break a lance for honour and their ladies' love. In 1387, Sir William Douglas, Lord of Nithsdale, upon the drawbridge of the town of Carlisle, consisting of two beams, hardly two feet in breadth, encountered and slew, first, a single champion of England, and afterwards two, who attacked him together.-Forduni Scolichronicon, lib. xiv. chap. 51.

"He brynt the suburbys of Carlele

And at the bareris he faucht sa wel,
That on thare bryg he slew a man,
The wychtast that in the town wes than :
Qubare, on a plank of twa feet brade,
He stude, and swa gude payment made,
That be feld twa stout fechteris,
And but skath went till his feres."

WYNTOWN'S Cronykil, Book Ix. chap. 8.

These combats at the barriers, or palisades, which formed the outer fortification of a town, were so frequent, that the mode of attack and defence was early taught to the future knight, and continued long to be practised in the games of chivalry. The custom, therefore, of defying the inhabitants of a besieged town to this sort of contest, was highly fashionable in the middle ages; and an army could hardly appear before a place, without giving rise to a variety

of combats at the barriers, which were, in general, conducted without any unfair advantage being taken on either part.

The following striking example of this romantic custom occurs in Froissart. During the French wars of Edward the Black Prince, and in the year 1370, a body of English, and of adventurers retained in his service, approached the city of Noyon, then occupied by a French garrison, and arrayed themselves, with displayed banners, before the town, defying the defenders to battle. "There was a Scottysh kuyghte dyde there a goodly feate of armes, for he departed fro his companye, hys speare in hys hand, and mounted on a good horse, hys page behynde hym, and so came before the barryers. Thys knyght was called Sir Johan Assueton, a hardy man and a couragyous. Whan he was before the barryers of Noyon, he lyghted a-fote, and sayd to hys page, Holde, kepe my horse, and departe nat hens; and so wente to the barryers. And wythyn the barryers there were good knyghts; as, Sir John of Roy, Sir Lancelot of Loutys, and a x or xií other, who had grete marveyle what thys sayde knyght wolde do. Then he sayde to them, 'Sirs, I am coine hyder to se you. I se well, ye wyll nat issue out of your barryers; therefore I will entre, and I can and wyll prove my knyghthode agayust yours; wyn me and you can.' And therewyth he layde on round about hym, and they at hym. And thus, he alone fought agaynst them, more than an hour; and dyd hurte two or three of them; so that they of the towne, on the walles and garrettes, stode still, and behelde them, and had great pleasure to regarde his valyauntness, and dyd hym no hurte; the which they myght have done, if they hadde list to have shotte, or cast stones at hym. And also the French knyghtes charged them to let hym and them alone togyder. So long they foughte, that at last, his page came near to the barryers, and spake in his language, and sayd, Sir, come awaye; it is time for you to departe, for your cumpanye is departying hens.' The knyghte harde hym well, and then gave a two or three strokes about him, and so, armed as he

was,

he lept out of the harryers, and lepte upon his horse, without any hurte, behynde his page; and sayd to the Frenchmen, *Adue, sirs! I thank you;' and so rode forthe to his own cumpanye. The whiche dede was moche praysed of many folkes."—Froissart, cap. 278.

The barriers, so often alluded to, are described, by the same admirable historian, to be grated palisades, the grates being about half a foot wide. In a skirmish before Hony court, Sir Henry of Flanders ventured to thrust his sword so far through one of those

spaces, that a sturdy abbot, who was within, seized his sword-arm, and drew it through the barriers, up to the shoulder. In this awkward situation he remained for some time, being unwilling to dishonour himself by quitting his weapon. He was at length rescued, but lost his sword; which Froissart afterwards saw preserved, as a relic, in the monastery of Honycourt.-Vol. 1. chap 39. For instances of single combats, at the barriers, see the same author, passim.

NOTE F.

But, wi' the poll-axe in his hand,

Upon the brigg sprang he.-P. 52. col. 2.

The battle-axe, of which there are many kinds, was a knightly weapon, much used in the middle ages, as well in single combat as in battle. "And also there was a young bachelor, called Ber

of Lancaster, in 1537.-FROISSART, vol. i. c. 175. With the same weapon Godfrey of Harcourt long defended himself, when surprised and defeated by the French. "And Sir Godfraye's men kepte no good array, nor dyd nat as they had promised; moost part of theyme fledde; whan Sir Godfraye sawe that, he sayde to hymselfe, how he had rather there be slayne than be taken by the Frenchmen; there he toke hys axe in hys handes, and set fast the one legge before the other, to stonde the more surely; for hys one legge was a lytell crooked, but he was strong in the armes. Ther he fought valyantly and long; none durste well abyde hys strokes; than two Frenchmen mounted on theyr horses, and ranne both with their spears at once at hym, and so bare him to the yerth; then other, that were a-fole, came wyth theyr swerdes, and strake hym into the body, under his harneys, so that ther he was slayne." Ibid. chap. 172. The historian throws Sir Godfrey into a striking attitude of desperation.

THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE.

THE SCOTTISH EDITION.

The following ballad of the Battle of Otterbourne, being essentially different from that which is published in the Reliques of Ancient Poetry, vol i., and being obviously of Scottish composition, claims a place in the present collection. The particulars of that noted action are related by Froissart, with the highest encomiums upon the valour of the combatants on each side. James, earl of Douglas, with his brother the Earl of Murray, in 1387, invaded Northumberland at the head of 3000 men, while the Earls of Fife and Strathern, sons to the King of Scotland, ravaged the Western Borders of England, with a still more numerous army. Douglas penetrated as far as Newcastle, where the renowned Hotspur lay in garrison. In a skirmish before the walls, Percy's lance, with the pennon, or guidon, attached to it, was taken by Douglas-as most authors affirm, in a personal encounter betwixt the two heroes. The Earl shook the pennon aloft, and swore he would carry it as his spoil into Scotland, and plant it upon his Castle of Dalkeith. That," answered Percy, "shalt thou never!" Accordingly, having collected the forces of the Marches, to a number equal, or (according to the Scottish historians) much superior, to the army of Douglas, Hotspur made a night attack upon the Scottish camp, at Otterbourne, about thirty-two miles from Newcastle. An action took place, fought by moonlight, with uncommon

66

lyshman called Sir Nycholas Dagerne; and that battayle was takene thre courses wythe a speare, thre strokes wyth an axe, and thre wyth a dagger. And eche of these knyghtes bare themselves so valyantly, that they departed fro the felde wythout any damage,

and they were well regarded, bothe of theyme withyn, and they wythout." This happened at the siege of Rennes, by the Duke

By the terms of the peace betwixt England and Scotland, the Scottish were left at liberty to take service either with France or England, at their pleasure. Sir Robert Knolles, therefore, who commanded the expedition, referred to in the text, has under his command a hundred Scottish spears.

a Assueton is a corruption for Swinton. Sir John Swinton of Swinton was a Scottish champion, noted for his courage and gigantic

with an iron mace, which few but he could wield, rushed into the thickest of the English battalions, followed only by his chaplain, and two squires of his body. Before his followers could come up, their brave leader was stretched on the ground, with three

stature. [Sir John Swinton was one of Sir Walter Scott's own ancestors.-ED.]

3 Their names were Robert Hart and Simon Glendinning. The chaplain was Richard Lundie, afterwards Archdeacon of Aberdeen.-GODSCROFT. Hart, according to Wintoun, was a knight. That historian says, no one knew how Douglas fell.

and extraordinary cause for the death of a great man. The following ballad is also inaccurate in many other particulars, and is much shorter and more indistinct, than that printed in the Reliques, although many verses are almost the same. Hotspur, for instance, is called Earl Percy, a title he never enjoyed. Neither was Douglas buried on the field of battle, but in Melrose Abbey, where his tomb is still shown.

This song was first published from Mr. Herd's Collection of Scottish Songs and Ballads, Edin. 1774, 2 vols. octavo; but fortunately two copies have since been obtained from the recitation of old persons residing at the head of Ettrick Forest, by which the story is brought out, and completed in a manner much more correspondent to the true history.

I cannot dismiss the subject of the battle of Otterbourne, without stating (with all the deference due to the father of this species of literature) some doubts which have occurred to an ingenious correspondent, and an excellent antiquary, concerning the remarks on the names subjoined to the ballads of Chevy Chace and Otterbourne, in the Reliques of Ancient Poetry, vol. i. p. 34. 4th edition.

"John de Lovele, Sheriff of Northumberland, 34th Hen. VII.," is evidently a mistake, as Henry VII. did not reign quite twenty-four years; but the person meant was probably John de Lavale, knight, of Delavale Castle, who was sheriff, 34th Henry VIII. There seems little doubt that this was the person called in the ballad "the gentil Lovel." Sir Raff the rich Rugbe, was probably Sir Ralph Neville of Raby Castle, son of the first Earl of Westmorland, and cousin-german to Hotspur. In the more modern edition of the ballad, he is expressly called Sir Ralph Raby, i. e. of Raby.

With respect to the march of Douglas, as described in the ballad, it appears that he entered Northumberland from the westward. Redesdale, Rothely-crags, and Green Leighton, are a few miles eastward of Otterbourne. Otterscope hill lies southwest from Green Leighton..

The celebrated Hotspur, son of the first Earl of Northumberland, was, in 1335, Governor of Berwick, and Warden of the East Marches; in which last capacity it was his duty to repel the invasion of Douglas.

Sir Henry Fitzhugh, mentioned in the ballad, was one of the Earl of Northumberland's commanders at the battle of Homeldown.

As to the local situation of Otterbourne, it is thirty statute miles from Newcastle, though Buchanan has diminished the distance to eight miles only.

The account given of Sir John of Agurstone seems also liable to some doubt. This personage is supposed by Bishop Percy to have been one of the Hagerstons of Hagerston, a Northumbrian family, who, according to the fate of war, were sometimes subjects of Scotland. I cannot, however, think, that at this period, while the English were in possession both of Berwick and Roxburgh, with the intermediate fortresses of Wark, Cornhill, and Norham, the Scots possessed any part of Northumberland, much less a manor which lay within that strong chain of castles. I should presume the person alluded to rather to have been one of the Rutherfords, Barons of Edgerstane, or Edgerston, a warlike family, which has long flourished on the Scottish Borders, and who were, at this very period, retainers of the house of Douglas. The same notes contain an account of the other Scottish warriors of distinction who were present at the battle. These were, the Earls of Monteith, Buchan, and Huntly; the Barons of Maxwell and Johnston; Swinton of that ilk, an ancient family, which about that period produced several distinguished warriors; Sir David (or rather, as the learned Bishop well remarks, Sir Walter) Scott of Buccleuch, Stewart of Garlies, and Murray of Cockpool.

Regibus et legibus, Scotici constantes,
Vos clypeis et gladiis pro patriis pugnantes,
Vestra est victoria, vestri est et gloria,
In cantu et historia, perpes est memoria!"

It fell about the Lammas tide,

When the muir-men win their hay, The doughty Douglas bound him to ride Into England, to drive a prey.

He chose the Gordons' and the Græmes,'
With them the Lindesays, light and gay; 3
But the Jardines wald not with him ride,
And they rue it to this day.4

And he has burn'd the dales of Tyne,
And part of Bambrough shire;

And three good towers on Reidswire fells,
He left them all on fire.

And he march'd up to Newcastle,

And rode it round about;
"O wha's the lord of this castle,
Or wha's the lady o't?"

But up spake proud Lord Percy, then,
And O but he spake hie!

"I am the lord of this castle,

My wife's the lady gay."

"If thou'rt the lord of this castle,
Sae weel it pleases me!
For, ere I cross the Border fells,
The tane of us shall die."—

He took a lang spear in his hand,
Shod with the metal free,

And for to meet the Douglas there,
He rode right furiouslie.

But O how pale his lady look'd,

Frae aff the castle wa,'

When down before the Scottish spear
She saw proud Percy fa.'

"Had we twa been upon the green,
And never an eye to see,
I wad hae had you, flesh and fell;
But your sword sall gae wi' me.'

5

"

3

4 The Jardines were a clan of hardy West-Border men. Their chief was Jardine of Applegirth. Their refusal to ride with Douglas was, probably, the result of one of those perpetual feuds, which usually rent to pieces a Scottish army.

5 Fell-Hide. Douglas insinuates that Percy was rescued by his soldiers.

Fend-Support.

7 Froissart describes a Scottish host, of the same period, as consisting of "1111. M. men of armes, knightis, and squires, mounted

"But gae ye up to Otterbourne,
And wait there dayis three;

And, if I come not ere three dayis end,
A fause knight ca' ye me."-

"The Otterbourne's a bonnie burn;

'Tis pleasant there to be; But there is nought at Otterbourne, To feed my men and me.

"The deer rins wild on hill and dale,

The birds fly wild from tree to tree;
But there is neither bread nor kale,
To fend my men and me.
"Yet I will stay at Otterbourne,

Where you shall welcome be;
And, if ye come not at three dayis end,
A fause lord I'll ca' thee."-

"Thither will I come," proud Percy said,

66

My troth I plight to thee."

They lighted high on Otterbourne,
Upon the bent sae brown ;
They lighted high on Otterbourne,
And threw their pallions down.

And he that had a bonnie boy,

Sent out his horse to grass;
And he that had not a bonnie boy,
His ain servant he was. 7

But up then spake a little page,
Before the peep of dawn-

"O waken ye, waken ye, my good lord, For Percy's hard at hand."

"Ye lie, ye lie, ye liar loud!
Sae loud I hear ye lie:
For Percy had not men yestreen $
To dight my men and me.

8

on good horses; and other X. M. men of warre, armed, after their gyse, right hardy and firse, mounted on lytie hackneys, the whiche were never tied, nor kept at hard meat, but leite go to pasture in the fieldis and bushes."-Cronykle of Froissart, translated by Lord Berners, chap. xvii.

8 The English ballad has here :

"Now by my troth,' the Douglas sayed,

'It ys but a fayned tayle;

He durst not looke on my broad banner,
For all Yoglande so baylle.'