Full text of "The Complaynt of Scotlande wyth ane exortatione to the thre estaits to be vigilante in the deffens of their public veil. 1549. With an appendix of contemporary English tracts, viz. The just declaration of Henry VIII (1542), The exhortacion of James Harrysone, Scottisheman (1547), The epistle of the Lord Protector Somerset (1548), The epitome of Nicholas Bodrugan alias Adams (1548)"

See other formats

THE LIBRARY

of
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY

Toronto

Extra Series, XVII.

falitl;

mt fcmitiim to t|e Sbrc (fcstaits ID be digi-
tate m % grffcns of tijcir public (ml.

A.D. 1549.

WITH AN APPENDIX OF CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH TRACTS,

<Lbc fust xhdaraiion af ^tnrg VIII
£bc (Lvvbortatioir of lames '|arnrsouc, §tottisljtma« 0.547).
' (The (Epistle of iljc ^orb |rotcttor Sonwrstt (1548),
(The Epitome of ^icljolas Ipobrugatt «/?«.>• ^bams

RE-EDITED FKOM THE ORIGINALS

fottb Kntr0bwt.ti0it antr

•j ^--'

JAMES A. H. MURRAY.
PAUT I.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY,
BY N. TRtJBNEE & CO., 60, PATEENOSTFt EOW.

MDCCCLXX1I.

Price Ten Shillings.

irlii (English Jest

Committee of Management :

Director: FKKPKRICK J. l-TUNIYALL. I

Treasurer: HKNKY 15. WHKATI.KY. Ks<>.

Hon. Sec.: <i. -l< »A( 'II I.M. ESQ., >T AMM:I:\V HOUSE, CHANGE AI.I.M. E.G.
J. MKAKOWS COWPER, KS(I,. HKV. l)i:. KirilAUD MOKKIS.

Al.KXANDF.l; .1. KU.1>. J. A II. MURRAY,

I)\Ni:Y I'. FKY KM.. EDWAIMt I1.. PEACO< K. Ksi,.

H BDCKSGIBBS, ESQ. REV. WALTKK \V. SKKAT.

REV. J.RAWSON I.T.MMY. HKNKY SWEET, ESQ.

( With pinn-r to udtl Wurlti-rn ti> thr'tr number.')

Bankers :

T1IK 1IKAD nFFK'K <>!•' THK TMoX I'.ANK OF L< XI"
l'i;i i:r. K.( '.

Publications for 1^1)5 and out of print, ut a ••> itc-

subscription lias been opened for their innnediate reprint. .he i « s tor

and all but. four for 1 Mi."), have been reprinted. Subscribers who desire

>f all or any of these years should send their names at once to the

\eral hundred additional names are required before the

12. Wright's Chaste Wife, ah. 14»i2. ed. F. J. F.

1. Early English Alliterative Poems, ab. l:WO

i. K Morn-. lij.<.

•2. Arthui. ab. 1 tH>. ed. F. J. Furnival:
:>. Lauder on the Dewtie of Kyngis, &c..

4. Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight, ab. 1300,

K. Morris, lo.v.

. Hume's Orthographic and Congruitie of the
Britan Tongue, ab. lt'.17.ed. H. H. \\ i

•;. Lancelot of the Laik, :, lli-v. \V.

\V. Skcat. Sg.
~. Genesis and Exodus, nb
s. Morte Art:.
;< Thynne on Chaucer's Works, ab. !

Hi. Merlin, nb. l' i id. l':lrl l..cd. II. I;. Wheatley.

II. Lyndesay's Mon

I- I

.arche, &c., l,V>i, 1'art I., «

Tin' 1 'iiliVn-al inim fur

13. Seinte Marherete. 1200-1330, ud. U(-v. O

ivne.

14. Kyng Horn. Floris and Blancheflour tc.., et'.

Ii'. v. J. R. Lunihy.

15. Political, Religious, and Love Po~ a. F."
J. Furnivall.

16. The Book of Quinte Essence, ab. 14«"

(•'. J. l-'nniivall.

17. Parallel Extracts from 29 MSS. of Piers the
Plowman, ed. Krv. \V. \' -

IS. Hali Meidenhad, ah. 12(K), ed. B
ayne.

19. Lyndesay's Monarche. &c., Part II., ed. F.

Hall.

20. Hampole's English Prose Treatises, ed. Rev .

Perry.

21. Merlin. 1'art II.. ed. H. 15. Wheatley.

22. PartenayorLusignen, eil. R<jv. \V. \\

23. Dan Michel's Ayenbite of Inwyt, 1340. ed. K.

Morris.

.< .V«. L'l. 2i "0 are : —

•21. Hymns to the Virgin and Christ : the Parliament of Devils, &c.. ;ili. 1W«, ed. F. J. Furnivall. 3*.
i'i. The Stacions of Rcme. the Pilgrims' Sea-voyr.ge, with Clene Maydenhod. ed. F. J. Furnivall. Is
2ti. Religious Pieces in Prose and Verse, from H. I'lmrntdn's MS. :ih. 1U11 < '•. IVrry. 2,v

17. Levins's Manipulus Vocabulorum. l">7n, ed. H. 15. V. "heatley. 12.v.
iN. William's Vision of Piers the Plowman, lof,2 A.I > 1'art I. Tiie earliest or Vernon Text ; Text A.

±'. Early English Homilies in unique MSS. in the Lambeth and other Libraries.

1'art 1. Kdih'd by K. M
.nrce the Ploughmans'Crede. ed. Kc\ . V, 2*.

•• ; —

SI. Myrc's Duties of a Parish Priest, in \Vrse. :ili. H2o A.l>.. ed. E. I'eacock. 4.v.
S.'. The Babees Book. TJrbanitatis, the Bokes of Norture of John Russell and Hugh Rhodes, the Bokes
of Keruyng. Curtasye. and Demeanour, Sec., with some French and Latin Poems on like

.1. Furnivall. 15\.
:«. The Knight de la Tour Landry from French of A. P. 1H72 . ah. I t Hi A.II. A Fallier's l>ook for

hi- I-:. \is.i7t-.ia:. irsion, by Thomas WriRhl

:U. Early English Homilies Ix-l uni(|U-j MSS. in the Lambeth and other

Mb II.. cd. K. Mo,ri-. I.I..U

:c,. Lyndesay's Works. 1'art HI.: The Historii lentof Squyer Meldrum.ed. F.HalL 2s.

Tin : —

*i. Merlin, !' 11. I!. Wheatley, i;-q.; with an Essay on Arthurian Localities,

by .1
^7. Sir David Lyndesay's Works, 1'art IV.. contnininir Am- Satvre of the Tlii Edited

by F. II:,
S- William's Vision of Piers the Plowman. 1 'art II. T. \t K. Edited from the MSS. bv the Rev

\V. \

Hi. The Alliterative Romance of the Destruction of Troy, translated from Guido de Colonna.
- i tin- HmiU-riaii Mu>cuiii. (ila^'ow, liy I). Donaldson,
.1 th<- Hcv. (i. A. Pant.iu. Part I. l»w. Od.

flfomjjtagiti 4

(Earlg (Bnglisjj Ct*t

«dra Smts. No. xvn.

1872.

DUBLIN: WILLIAM M?GEE, 18, NASSAU STREET.

EDINBURGH : T. G. STEVENSON, 22, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET.
GLASGOW: HUGH HOPKINS, ROYAL BANK PLACE.

BERLIN : ASHER & CO., UNTER DEN LINDEN, 11.

NEW YORK : C. SCRIBNER & CO. ; LEYPOLDT & HOLT.
PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.

O .!

djjonqjfapi of

fortetione to % Cjjre flfeteits to ie irigi-
lantc in % geffens of %ir IfluHk fail.

1549.

WITH AN APPEm)IX OF CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH TRACTS,

|ust ^duration of fjenrg VIII (1542),
6*^ortation of |anus ^arrgsone, Sfoitis^mait (1547),
Epistle of % forb |rottrfor Srmurstt (1548),
(gpitome of |(w^olas §obrugan alias ^bams (1548).

KB- EDITED PBOM THE ORIGINALS

hntjj |ntr0tnttfi0it anij (Slossarg

JAMES A. H. MURRAY.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY 'ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY
N. TEUBNEB & CO., 60, PATEENOSTEE EOW.

11(9

no. IJ

7384

<F*tra Smrs,

XVII.

JOHX CB1LPS AND SO>% I'BINTEBS.

CONTENTS,

SPECIMEN FOLIO ... vi

INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... ... ... ... VU

THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND 1

APPENDIX I. THE JUST DECLARATION OF HENRY VIII ... 191

„ II. THE EXHORTACION OF JAMES HARUYSON, SCOT-

TISHEMAN 207

„ III. THE EPISTLE OF THE LORD PROTECTOR SOMERSET 237

„ IV. THE EPITOME OF NICHOLAS BODRUGAN ALIAS ADAMS 247

OLOSSARIAL INDEX ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,^7

INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS ... ... ... ... 297

SPECIMEN FOLIO OF THE COXPLAYST.

•;

• * A !

*>fl § 5

* -S * i

s i

1-^

^ =

= £
: *

: S
; ."-

i 2

?'§«*•:

: I

> :

» tjq

9 | -°

rt
_=

^'ililJflilili

•-*-
o
•si

_>,

•SI-

2 *

c"S

10* u "o

w u

S
l|

owSc'S'S^e re

il^llill §1-f 1

c
.2

is.

bO ^

6S"2

•8-1

3 U O

"•g s' J s ^ s ^ 1-^ 1 ^

'EL

"rt

o —

rt o

.-I
h

-S-g §•

tr!

•3

•J

F autorite be

"§ *S 1 ^ *§ S «2 ? r8 *•« u-

H 1 T ^ K 1 1 if.t

Jj|i>!r0.i'<ilij AiMS

^-•f <2 a->*-f3 e 1 « « s a

uTo-wpE C~.tij=-Srt
S<2rt Q.J SS^u- &„<,- E

oS'S'--c0 -a o «,

:is. this exem

rt
_5

•yT

ther efter, th
til eild ande t

fe,
.0

u
—
u
•o
u

ther magnificens in ru
riours to be coquest, ;
quhile fubiectis be di

for thai commadit be

O
•£

P
5.

>
_u

e
'C

fi^ «4-S « *, S :s S S ^ -o

O, +j O ^j «i- rt •*-• 4~» -*•* *«* t* C

f"ss'-sii.*r5a

iJJI^wlHf&i

•wlt«tj;*{l

•i'si rf«S^|^ M I

•S s-S^-S i-i9 Sivj«

il^lllfitill

. — <L> u ' /-i • — u u != C-X 92
J3 CUJ3 2 JS J= P E ^ CU'C rt

"H.

-s

profperite. childir tha
increflis quhil thai be

stryntht of men : hot
decrefle ande declinis

O -2
O o-

2 **• u

8 J3 •;

vii

INTRODUCTION.

I. CIRCUMSTANCES out of which the
Complaynt arose. State of Scotland

from Flodden to Pinkie— Intro-
duction of Reformed Doctrines —
French and English parties — Ap-
pearance of the Complaynt — its
purpose... ... ... page vii

II. THE WORK :

§ 1. External. Four copies of the
original edition extant xvi
Account of these ... xvii
Description of the book xix

Its cancellations and substitu-
tions ... ... xxi

§ 2. Internal. Plan of the work
xxiii

The Dedication . . . xxiv
The Prologue to the Reader

xxv

The Exhortation or Complaint

of the Author . . . xxvii

Monologue of the Author (as

originally planned) xxxi

The Author's Vision of Dame

Scotia and her three sons

The subsequent additions to the
Monologue page Ixviii

The Sea scene , . . Ixix

The Cosmography Ixxii

The Tales and Stories Ixxiii
The Songs ... Ixxxii

The Tunes ... Ixxxvii

The Musical Instruments xci
The Dances ... xciii

The Flon-ers and Herbs xcvi

III. LANGUAGE of the Work :
Middle Scotch ... xcvi
SoutJiern Variety ... cii
French inftuetice . . . civ

IV. The AUTHOR and place of Fruit-

ing

Printed abroad . . . cvi

Attributed to Sir James Inglis

cviii

Attributed to Vedderburn ex
Attributed to Sir David Lyn-

desay ... ... cxiii

Conclusion ... ... cxvi

V. REPIUNTS :

Leyden's (1801) edition cxvi
The present edition ex vii

The Appendix Documents cxix

I. CIRCUMSTANCES OUT OF WHICH THE COMPLAYNT

AROSE.

0 understand fully the position of affairs which gave
birth to the Complaynt of Scotland, it will be neces-
sary to take a brief retrospect of the political history
of the country during the period which immediately
preceded the appearance of that work. Of the three
centuries of Scottish history which elapsed between the struggle for

Viii INTRODUCTION.

National Independence under Robert Bruce, and the accession to
the English crown of James VI. , nearly a century and a half were
occupied by the reigns of infant sovereigns; during the last two
centuries of the period, or from the accession of James L, regencies
de jure or de facto covered a space of one hundred and twenty years.
Not one of the seven sovereigns whose reigns extend over this period
had reached the age of manhood when called to the throne ; several
of them were helpless infants when the crown devolved upon them,
by the violent and premature death of their predecessors. Not with-
out reason do we find writer after writer 'taking up as the burden of

^ " Wo to the realme that hes ouir joung ane kvng 1 "

for the chronic condition of the country was one of anarchy, con-
fusion, and outrage, fitfully varied by brief intervals of more or less
vigorous efforts in the direction of order by rulers whose footing was
scarcely secured before they fell victims to their own abounding
activity, leaving the country to another ten or twenty years of mis-
rule, destined in like manner to task all the energies of their
successors. That the kingdom was at all able to maintain its
independence through these centuries of trouble, was owing to two
causes. No English king after Edward I. devoted himself to the
subjugation of Scotland with the singleness of purpose which marked
that indefatigable monarch ; in the early part of the period the more
glittering prize of the crown of France, at a later date the Wars of
the Roses, fully occupied the attention of his successors. But of
much greater importance than even the distractions of England, was
the offensive and defensive league between Scotland and France, by
which these two nations made common cause against their common
foe, and through which, even after England became once more united
and powerful, her efforts against Scottish independence were effect-
ively checkmated. This

" weill keipit ancient alliance,
Maid betuix Scotland and the realme of France,"

provided that neither country should ever make a separate peace
with England, but that when England attacked either, she was her-
self to be invaded by the other, while a defined number of men-at-

ORIGIN OF THE COMPLAYST. ix

arms were to be sent to the assistance of the country attacked. It
was in compliance with the terms of this arrangement, that the in-
vasion of France by Henry VIII. in 1512 was at once followed by
the invasion of England by James IV., who, as is well known, fell
with the whole chivalry of his kingdom on the field of Branxton near
Flodden. The infancy of his son and heir, a child of eighteen months,
gave full scope to all the elements of disorder, which the preceding
twenty years had in some measure composed. During the scramble
of two or three rivals for the regency, and for possession of the
person of the infant prince as the symbol of authority, the barons,
unawed by any superior, assumed prerogatives of more than sovereign
power, the ecclesiastical dignitaries stretched their pretensions to
unparalleled limits, while the body of the clergy revelled in the
grossest depravity, only equalled by the rapacity with which they
plundered the miserable commons. To crown the edifice of
suffering, the uncivilized clans of the Highlands, — who were to the
Scottish kingdom of that day much what the Indians of the Prairies
are to the western settlers of America now, — and the borderers or
dwellers on the English marches, whom chronic familiarity with the
ravages of fire and sword had rendered scarcely less savage and
barbarous, carried on their depredations with impunity in the very
heart of the most settled districts of the country.

At length, after sixteen years of what must have been to the
industrious and productive part of the community well nigh the un-
sounded bottom of misery, the young king, James V., having effected
his escape from the clutches of the particular noble brigand (an Earl
of Angus he was) who then held him, and wrought his own pleasure
in his name, at once began with a vigorous hand to attack the
gigantic abuses which he found around him. The power of the
barons was curbed, the highlanders and borderers reduced by sum-
mary examples of severity to a wholesome dread of law, while the
intolerance, greed, and shameless immorality of the clergy were, with
the approbation and countenance of the king himself, exposed with
scathing sarcasm by the Lord Lyon King at Arms. That little was
done practically to reform the Church, appears to have been due less
to the king's private convictions, than to political exigencies which

X INTRODUCTION.

impelled him in religious, as in secular matters, to side with France
rather than with his uncle, Henry VIII., and, moreover, to the fact
that in his struggle with the temporal barons he found support and
counsel in prominent members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Had
he lived, the forecastings of Lyndesay's muse, which ceased not to
remind him in acceptable terms that now that temporal abuses were

reformed, « Swa is ^ere nocht, I vnderstand,

Without gude ordour in this land
Except the spiritualitie
Prayand thy Grace thareto haue ee,"

incline us to believe that the Reformation in Scotland as well as in
England might have started with the impress of a royal hand. From
the contagion of such a king's evil, fortunately for the liberties of
Britain, the Scottish Reformation was to be saved. The very energy
of the king sowed around "him a harvest of troubles. The defeat of
Flodden, the most signal and disastrous in the national history, had
left in the minds of many in Scotland a conviction that it was time
to make an end of this perpetual struggle with England ; and novf
many of the dispossessed and discontented barons took refuge in
that country, where they were welcomed and entertained by Henry
VIII., in the hope of their one day proving useful to his designs.
Some even of the Border clans, in revenge for the rigour with which
James had visited their chiefs, transferred their allegiance bodily to
England. Moreover, the reformed doctrines somewhat late in the
day were beginning to make impression on Scotland, and their ad-
herents, smarting under the fiery persecution that the Bishops were
permitted to carry on against heretics, naturally looked to England
and its anti-popish king with cordial sympathy. From all these
causes there gradually rose in the country an English faction,— a
party who would substitute for the ancient close connection with
France, an amicable understanding with England, and most of whom
would have been willing to see the two kingdoms united under ~a
common head, though they might differ widely as to the means of
attaining that desired end.

The animosity of the nation as a whole against " our aid enemeis
of Ingland " was so much blunted, that when James declared war
against that country in 1542, his troops, maintaining that they were

ORIGIN OF THE COMPLAYXT. xj

ready to defend their country, but not disposed to assist in an
invasion of England, mutinied on reaching the frontier at Solway
Moss, and being in their confusion and deray attacked by a small
English force, fled without striking a blow. The king, already worn
out by the difficulties of his position, succumbed under this new
disgrace, and died within a few days after, at the age of 30, leaving
an infant daughter of eight days old to be the bone of contentions
even more disastrous than those which had closed around his own
infant cradle.

The aim of Henry VIII. was at once to arrange a marriage
between this infant, Mary Stewart, and his son Edward, now in his
fifth year. After a good deal of scheming, during which the Scottish
barons, who had taken refuge in England, as well as the captives of
Solway Moss, were allowed to return home on the understanding
that they should assist the English interest, the Earl of Arran,
Regent of Scotland, was gained over, and a treaty concluded in
August, 1543, arranging for such a marriage when Mary should reach
the age of ten. But there was in Scotland at this time a master-
spirit more powerful than Arran, in the person of David Beaton,
the Cardinal Archbishop of St Andrew's, a staunch supporter of
French interests, and a cordial hater of everything English, from the
English New Testament to the English king. This prelate had
gained great influence over the late sovereign, and, according to
contemporaries, was the chief cause of his embroilment with
England : —

Sone eftir that, Harye, of Ingland Kyng,
Off oure Soueraine desyrit ane commonyng.
Off that melting our Kyng wes weill content,

So that in ^orck was sett baith tyme and place :
Bot our Prelatis nor I wald neuer consent

That he suld se Kyng Harye in the face ;

Bot we wer weill content, quhowbeit his grace
Had salit the sey, to speik with ony vther,
Except that kyng, quhilk was his mother brother :
Quhair throch }>ar rose gret weir & mortal stryfe,

Greit heirschippis, hounger, darth, and desolatioun :
On ather syde did mony lose thare lyfe.

Geue I wald mak ane trew Narratioun, •

I causit all that tribulatioun :
For tyll tak peace I neuer wald consent,
Wythout the kyng of france had bene content.

XU IN'TnODUCTIOX.

Duryng this weir war takin presoneris,

Off nobil men fechtyng full furiouslie,
Mony ane Lorde, Barrone, and Bachileris,

Quhar throuch our king tuke sic melancolie

Quhilk draue him to the dede, rycht dulef ullie.
Extreme Dolour ouirset did so his hart.
That frome this lyfe, allace ! he did depart.
Bot efter that baith strenth and speche was lesit,

Ane paper blank his grace I gart subscryue,
Into the quhilk I wrait all that I plesit

Efter his deth — quhilk lang war tyll discryue.

Throuch that wrytting I purposit, belyue,
With supporte of sum Lordis beneuolens,
In this Kegioun tyll haue Preemynens.

Lyndesay, Tragedie of the Cardinall, 97 — 126.

The confession is put in his mouth by one who, though an avowed
enemy, had the amplest means of knowing who pulled the wires of
events. The production of the "forged will" referred to did not
prevent the elevation of Arran to the regency, but brought the
Cardinal himself into prison, and it was during his forced absence
from the scene, that the treaty with England was arranged. The
influence of the Queen Dowager, Mary of Guise, and a judicious use
of French gold, soon restored Beaton to liberty, and he set himself at
once to mar the good understanding initiated between the two
nations. In accomplishing this, his ends were served only too well
by the arrogant and impatient conduct of the English king, who was
but half satisfied with a treaty in which he had had to yield many of his
first demands, and, above all, failed to obtain immediate possession of
" the child." The astute churchman gained the weak Eegent over
to his views, the treaty was disowned, and the old league with
France renewed in all its vigour. If the conduct of the Scottish
Estates boded ill for an amicable settlement, the passionate measures
immediately taken by Henry VIII. were such as to render it
altogether hopeless. Vowing that he would drag " the child " from
the strongest fortress the Scots could hold her in, he sent, as a fore-
taste of his temper, a maritime expedition under the Earl of Hertford,
which sacked Leith, burnt Edinburgh to the ground, and plundered
and fired the thriving Scottish burghs which crowded the coast of
Fife. A division of the army, which carried the work of destruction
southward to the banks of the Tweed and Teviot, was encountered

ORIGIN OF THE COMPLAYKT. xiii

and routed by the Earl of Douglas at Ancrum Moor, but the Scottish
army, largely composed of the followers of Lords in the English
interest, dispersed without following up their advantage, or even
maintaining the defensive. A second razzia of the English on a
much larger scale followed in 1545, during which the entire south of
Scotland was laid waste, its towns, castles, villages, and farm houses
levelled to the ground, and the magnificent abbeys of Tweedside re-
duced to that ruinous condition in which they still remain. The
fortresses allowed to stand were garrisoned by English soldiers, and
most of the barons of Teviotdale, Eskdale, Annandale, Nithsdale, and
Galloway, with their clans, made their submission, and were received
into English protection as assured Scots. Whatever might be the
genuine feeling of these latter toward England, there were some at
least of their countrymen who still sympathized with the English.
These were the adherents of the Eeformation, who, after enjoying
some measure of toleration from the Eegent at first, had, since the
ascendancy of Beaton, again been mercilessly pursued with the faggots
and the flame. Common interests drew some of these Reformers
to make common cause with the King of England, against the
prelate whom both had so much reason to desire out of the way, and
a plot was formed for the death of the Cardinal. The burning for
heresy of George Wishart, one of their number, brought their resent-
ment to a climax, and two months after that event a small body of
armed men surprised and murdered Beaton in his own castle, which
they forthwith held as a refuge for the protestant and English
interest in the country. The death of Henry VIII. shortly after
caused the results to be other than they expected. The party opposed
to England still comprised the great bulk of the nation, and the
leading place vacated by the Cardinal was filled by the Queen
Dowager, whom a packed meeting of the Estates at Stirling in 1544
had indeed recognized as Governor or Regent, to the exclusion of
the facile Arran, whom they formally deposed. Although her
position was not regularly recognized till the voluntary abdication of
Arran in 1554, she was now generally looked up to as the rightful
governor. To back her up, a force of 1 6 French galleys appeared on
the Scottish coast, and in August, 1547, compelled the insurgents,

XIV INTRODUCTION.

who had held Beaton's castle for 14 months, to surrender. The last
injunction of Henry VIII. had been that the marriage of his son with
the young Queen of Scots, and the union of the kingdoms should be
carried through by persuasion or force ; but it was not till after the
surrender of the Castle of St Andrew's to the French that the Pro-
tector Somerset himself invaded Scotland with an army of 15,000
men. At Pinkie-cleuch, near Musselburgh, he was met on the 4th
Sept. by a Scottish force, it is said of nearly twice the number, who
proved their allegiance to the Catholic faith by saluting their enemies
with opprobrious epithets, as "foresworn heretics and infidel louns."
In their confidence of victory, the Scots repeated the error of Flodden,
and allowed themselves to be drawn from their position of advantage,
and, being attacked when still in disorder, were routed with pro-
digious slaughter. Such was the battle of Pinkie, " which at once
renewed the carnage of Flodden and the disgrace of Solway." The
sequel was such as to recall the curses of Old Testament story, when
what was left by the hail should be consumed by the mildew, and
what the mildew left over, the locust should eat; for the twice
ravaged country was ravaged yet once more, till one should think
there could not possibly be anything left to destroy. The threat of
Henry VIII. to drag the child from any Scottish fortress seemed at
length in danger of fulfilment, when the leaders of affairs determined
at once to consult her safety, and remove the bait for the " bitten
wooing " "of the English,, by affiancing the princess to the Dauphin of
France, and sending her to that country for protection and education.
This was safely accomplished in the summer of 1548, while at the
same time a large body of French auxiliaries, bringing with them a
supply of cannon, for the reduction of the fortresses in English
hands, landed in Scotland.

It was while the presence of these foreign auxiliaries formed a
nucleus round which his countrymen might once again rally with
better hopes of success than had followed their efforts in times by
past, that an ardent patriot and staunch adherent of the ancient
alliance with France was moved to appeal to his countrymen to
cease from their feuds and factious strifes, which had brought the
country to so low an ebb, and by showing moderation and rendering

ORIGIN OF THE CGMPLAYXT. XY

justice to one another, to make common cause against their merciless
enemy. Pamphleteering was the order of the day, and England had
led the way in carrying on the contest with the pen no less eagerly
than with the sword. When Henry VIII. declared war in 1542,
he had issued an elaborate vindication of his conduct, detailing the
provocations of the Scots, and at the same time raising anew the
title of the English kings to the supremacy of Scotland. l After the
expedition of Hertford, a narrative of " the late Expedicion in Scot-
land" was printed in London in 1544, to show the calamities which
the obstinacy of the Scots had brought upon them. In 1547, just
before the battle of Pinkie, "James Harryson, Scottisheman," — in the
eyes of our author, it is to be feared, one of the " renegat Scottis,"
and probably one of the " Scottismen abufe thre thousand, that hes
duelt in Ingland thir fiftye }eir by-past," — put forth a tract upholding
the English claims, and earnestly appealing to his countryme%-tp
yield to them, and let the realms be united in one.2 In 1548,
after Pinkie had been fruitlessly won, Somerset sent an Eirenicon,
deploring that battle, and trying too late to effect by an appeal to
friendship and reason what he had only put farther from his reach
by an appeal to arms.3 He carefully avoided any allusion to the old
English claims of supremacy ; but as if to show that these were still
at hand, if persuasion failed, there appeared at the same time from
the press of the King's Printer, a tract by Nicholas Bodrugan, alias
Adams, addressed to Edward VI.,4 and doubtless with the Protector's
sanction, reminding him that though it was all very well to travail
to unite Scotland to England by marriage, his majesty's right to the
sovereignty of that kingdom remained as undoxibted and intact as
ever. Finally, Patten? who published the same year a graphic
account of the new campaign which culminated at Pinkie, had pre-
faced the record of Somerset's martial achievements with an eloquent
exhortation to his " Countrymen of the North," as he would venture
to call them, to bow to the will of the God of battles, and as they
were one with their English brethren in language, manners, and
interests, to be one with them also in government and allegiance.
Borne of these numerous appeals must have reached Scotland, all of
1 Appendix No. I. "Appendix II. 3 Appendix III. 4 Appendix IV,

XVI INTRODUCTION.

them were probably known to the author of the Complaynt, and :
was partly to counteract their influence, as well as to arouse h;
countrymen, that he now took up his pen. Thus appeared tl
" Complaynt of Scotland, with an Exhortation to the Three Estate
to be vigilant in defence of their public weal ; " and the book's ow
statements assign to its composition the date of the beginning (
1549. The author cast his work, after the fashion of the age, ini
the form of an allegory of Dame Scotia and her three sons, and sougl
to give each of the Estates of the realm, the Nobility, Spirituality
and Commons, the special exhortation which they needed, and 1
awaken them to the gravity of the crisis. "What direct results ma
have flowed from his appeal we do not know ; no contemporary writ<
deigns to notice him or his work ; but the object which he had j
heart was, for the time being at least, accomplished, the countr
being recovered, bit by bit, by the Scotch and their French allie
till at length an honourable peace, secured in connection with i\
treaty of Boulogne, between England and France, April, 1550, ga-v
Scotland a breathing-time from its miseries. Perhaps this result ma
even have been accomplished before the Complaynt left the printer
hands, and may account for the recasting which the author saw f
to give to many portions of his book, and the extraneous attractior
which he subsequently added in the " Monologue Recreative of tli
Author", the interest of which to us now far transcends that of th
original and legitimate contents of his main work.

II. THE WORK.

§ 1. EXTERNAL.

OF the book in these circumstances given to the world, only fon
copies are known to have come down to recent times. Two of thes
were in the collection of Harley, Earl of Oxford, and in the elaborat
Catalogue of his Library1 published after his death, in order t

1 Catalogus Bibliothecae Harleianae in locos communes distributes cm
Indice Auctorum. Lomlini apud Thomam Osborne, 5 thick vols., 8vo, appear
ing at intervals from 1743 to 1745. The editors, who do not give their name!
are said to have been B. S. Johnson, M. Mattaire, and W. Oldys. In thei

THE WORK. — EXTERNAL. XVII

acquaint the public with its riches, and, if possible, lead to its being
acquired by the nation or some public body, they are thus entered :

In Vol. I. under heading "HISTOKY OF SCOTLAND,
OCTAVO," Nos. 8341—8394 :

No. 8371. Vedderburn's Complainte of Scotlande, vyth ane
Exortatione to the thre Estaits to be vigilante in the Deffens of
their Public Veil. 1549.

In Vol. IV. under heading " Books relating to the Ecclesiastical
and Civil History of Scotland, its Parliamentary affairs, Law, Policy,
Government, and Trade, Octavo," Nos. 11952 — 12074.

No. 12070. Vedderburn's Complainte of Scotland, with ane
Exoratione to the three Estates to be vigilant in Defence of their
public Weel.1 1549.

One of these copies was acquired by the British Museum, where
its press mark is C. 21. a. The other was secured for the library of
the Duke of Roxburgh, where it was when Dr Leyden printed his
edition of the Complaynt in 1801. After the dispersion of the
Roxburgh collection, it passed successively through the hands of
Constable2 and Heber, was secured by Mr Grenville, and finally with

preface, they say " Our Design like our Proposal is uncommon, and to be
prosecuted at very uncommon Expense ; it being intended, that the Books
shall be distributed into their distinct Classes, and every Class ranged with
some regard to the Age of Writers ; that every Book shall be accurately de-
scribed, that the Peculiarities of Editions shall be remarked, and Observations
from the Authors of Literary Histories occasionally interposed, that, by this
Catalogue, we may inform Posterity, of the Excellence and Value of this great
Collection, and promote the Knowledge of scarce Books and elegant Edi-
tions."

1 Mr David Laing, to whose valued assistance I am greatly indebted in
tracing the bibliography of the Complaynt, believes that there was only one
copy in Harley's Collection, and that No. 12070 is evidently a repetition of No.
8371, the book still remaining unsold. I am unable to come to this conclusion,
which seems inconsistent with the plan of the Catalogue. Mr Laing kindly
adds the information that many of the books of this class in Harley's
Collection bad belonged to Mr James Anderson, Writer to the Signet, who
latterly settled in London ; and having ruined himself by his great work
" Diplomata et Numismata Scotiae," published after his death in 1739, was
obliged to sell his own library to Harley.

2 " The copy from the Koxb. sale, I remember well in its old original bind-
ing. It was bought for Mr Archibald Constable, publisher, Edinburgh, for
£31 10s. In the Catalogue, it is marked (No. 8734) as wanting the Title and
& pages in the middle ; it really wanted the Title only. Mr Constable's private
collection was purchased by Mr Thorpe, London, and Mr Heber, to whom

COMPLAYNT, 6

Xviii INTRODUCTION.

the rest of his library was bequeathed also to the British Museum,
where it forms ~No. 5438 iu the Grenville Library. The third and
fourth copies were, when. Leyden wrote his preliminary dissertation,
in the possession of Mr George Paton of the Custom's House, Edin-
burgh, and of John M'Gowan, Esq., an Edinburgh collector, who
died about the beginning of this century. The former of these is now
in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh ; l Mr M'Go-
wan's copy was afterwards acquired by George Chalmers of the Cale-
donia, and at the sale of the 3rd section of his library in November,
1842, No. 127, the Complaynt of Scotland, Printed circa 1548, was
purchased by T. "Rodd, a well-known London old bookseller, for £5 5s.
A copy, evidently the same, appears in the Catalogue of Mr H. B.
Bright's sale in 1845, described as imperfect, wanting all before p. 16.2
It was again purchased by Eodd for £4, but for whom it was bought,
and what have been its further fortunes, I have been unable to learn.
Leyden, writing in 1801, says, "all four copies were imperfect, but
three of them have been completed from each other."3 Having had

Leyden had dedicated his reprint, secured the best part, including this little
volume. At Heber's sale, the Complaynt fell to Grenville, and so to the
Museum." — D. Laing in private note.

1 In the Catalogue of Mr Paton's sale, 25 March, 1809, it is thus inaccurately
entered : " No. 2722. The Complaynt of Scotland. The most perfect copy
extant" (!). It was bought by William Laing, Bookseller, Edinburgh, for
£7 10*., and in his Catalogue for 1810, it occurs with this notice, "the leaves
are inlaid, and completed from the new edition printed at Edinburgh in 1801."
D. Laing.

* It is thus described : — No. 4993. The Complaynt of Scotland, n. d.
(circa 1550) "This very curious and extremely rare little volume is imperfect
(as are all the existing copies), wanting all before page 16, and a portion of
the last leaf. Its appearance tempts one to believe it to be the identical copy
which Jonathan Oldbuck revelled in the possession of, and which is immortal-
ized by Scott : ' For that mutilated copy of the Complaynt of Scotland, I sat
out the drinking of two dozen bottles of strong ale wjth the late learned pro-
prietor, who, in gratitude, bequeathed it to me by his last Will.' — The Anti-
quary, Chap. III."

3 Meaning, I presume, not that three of them have been completed at the
expense of the fourth, the only way in which they could really be " completed
from each other," but that their deficiencies have been supplied by transcripts
from each other. Yet, that something more than this was done, appears from
Ames? Typographical Antiquities, 1790, where it is stated that the "British
Museum copy has recently been perfected, except the title page, from another
copy in the possession of Mr G. Paton, of the Custom House, Edinburgh ; to
whom I am greatly indebted for his kind intelligence concerning printing in
Scotland." And yet the " Museum copy " is not perfect, while the two leaves

THE WORK. EXTERNAL. xix

opportunities of fully and carefully examining the three first-
mentioned copies, I am able to say that the only imperfection in the
Grenville is the want (common to all the four) of the title-page, of
which it alone shows a trace, or what is supposed to be a trace (it
may be part of the binding), in the shape of a narrow fragment of
the inner margin, bearing a small italic long f of the beginning of a
line, near the middle of the page. The other Museum copy, C. 21. a.,
wants, beside the title-page, leaves 59 and 142 of the original foli-
ation, which are supplied, not with perfect accuracy, in writing.
That in the Advocate's Library is still more imperfect, wanting
leaves 1, 2, 3, 25—30, (47), (50, 51), 35 (57), 36 (58), 47 (67), and
84 (96), sixteen leaves in all, including the title-page. The fourth
copy, judging from its description in Bright 's sale catalogue, is the
most deficient of all. The Grenville copy, in addition to its com-
pleteness, is also in excellent condition, but the rebinding of it at
some recent period in its present yellow morocco cover has obliterated
the tokens of the original excisions, cancellations, and substitutions
so well seen in the other British Museum copy,1 which appears to
retain its original binding ; the leaves, however, of the latter are in
places much decayed and rotten, and so brittle as hardly to bear
handling.2 The Advocate's Library copy fails most of all to give an
idea of the original form of the book, the leaves being cut out and
"inlaid" in a large quarto of the size of the large-paper copies of
Leyden's reprint, leaves of which are also interpolated to supply the
numerous deficiencies of the old copy.

The original edition of the Complaynt of Scotland, as represented

wanting and supplied in writing are still in Paton's copy in the Advocate's
Library. On the other hand, if Leyden meant only " completed " by tran-
scripts, the Koxburgh copy has needed no such completion. Clearly neither
his statement nor that of Herbert can be taken in its literal meaning. What
they did mean to say I have no idea.

1 Alas ! Ti'ojafuit! since writing these words, I have again had occasion
to refer to this copy, and find that it also has in the interim been reclad in
yellow morocco, and in consequence, the treatment to which the original sheets
were subjected before publication, as shown by the left edges of the excised
leaves, the pasting in of substitutes, &c., is much less distinctly traceable than
when I handled it in 1869. I could only feel thankful that I had then tho-
roughly examined these witnesses to the alterations, while they still survived
in their original distinctness.

* In the late rebinding these brittle parts have disappeared.

XX INTRODUCTION.

by these surviving copies, is a small book about the size of a modern
foolscap IGrno, the pages measuring 4£ by 3£ inches, and the
printed matter 3^ by 2^ (exclusive of heading, marginal notes, and
signatures), consisting of 26 lines Long Primer Roman type. The
Headings, which are in capitals of the same size, run across the folio,
and are from leaf 2, back, to 7, ANE EPISTIL / TO THE QVENIS GRACE ;
from 7, back, to 15, PROLOG / TO THE EEDAR ; then, on to the end of
the book, simply THE COMPLAYNT / OP SCOTLAND. (In the present
edition, for the convenience of the reader, a heading to each chapter
has been supplied on the right-hand page.) The titles of the
chapters are, with exception of the first (for which see fac-simile),
uniformly in italics, small Bourgeois or Brevier, as are also the side-
notes, which are mainly the Scriptural or Classical texts quoted in
the subject matter; (They are retained in this edition in italics, and
thus distinguished from the modern marginal notes.) With the
exception of the words "To THE EXCEL," on leaf 2, and "THE FYRST
CHE," on leaf 15, back, which are larger, no other types than the two
mentioned occur; no old English or Black letter is used in the
book. The Roman fount has no w, using a single v instead, nor, so
far as the Scotch is concerned, any j, although that letter occurs in
numerals, as iij, and Latin words like filij. The letter z does not
occur, the 3 being used alike for z and y consonant, as in "3enyth"
and " ^ou." The italic fount has an open splay z instead, and other-
wise agrees with the Roman.

The leaves — not the pages — are numbered in the right-hand top
corner, and the sheets (eights) are likewise signed C, C ij, C iij, C iiij.
A comparison of these shows that the work, as originally printed off,
consisted of 144 leaves, or 18 sheets of 8, the signatures running
from A to S. But before his work emerged to light, the author saw
fit to make numerous important alterations in it, on the reasons for
which we can now only speculate. Any how, they entailed the
cancellation of no fewer than thirty-three of the original leaves, and
the substitution of thirty-seven others, which in one of the Museum
copies, as already mentioned, are seen to be pasted in on a narrow
edge of the original, and are moreover distinguished by a difference
in the paper, being generally thinner and harder than the original

THE WORK. — EXTERNAL. XXI

leaves, so that on them the ink has not spread so much, and con-
sequently the print looks paler and cleaner. It is worthy of notice
also that it is these inserted leaves which in C. 21. a. have become
so "brittle and rotten, as already mentioned. The new leaves do not
at all correspond in number to their predecessors, for while in some
cases a single original leaf has been replaced by a new one, bearing
the same number, in others 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9 leaves have been cut out,
and only one inserted to bridge over the hiatus or close the chapter,
leaving a gap in the paging ; and in one notable instance a single
leaf is cut out, and no fewer than 23 leaves interpolated, being the
greater part of the " Monolog Recreative," with the lists of animals
and their cries, the sea scenes, the shepherd's cosmographical lecture,
the lists of tales, songs, dances, musical instruments, and herbs. Of
these supposititious leaves the first is numbered 31, leaving 22 leaves
unnumbered before 32. The signatures are similarly interrupted,
the first page of each sheet of the interpolation being marked simply
with an *, while the regular series is resumed with the original
leaves. The following is a list of these alterations.

One leaf 31 (D 7) cut out, and 23 leaves inserted, the first of
which is numbered 31, the rest being unnumbered. The inserted leaves
consist of 2 sheets of 8, and 1 of 7 leaves, which have no signatures,
the beginning of each sheet being marked with an * instead

Leaf 32 (D 8) follows these, and is pasted in the place of the
last leaf of the third * sheet.

Three leaves, 37, 38, 39 (E 5, 6, 7), cut out, and one leaf sub-
stituted, numbered 37.

Six leaves, 47 to 52 (F 7 to G 4), cut out; one leaf substituted,
numbered 47.

Four leaves, 71 to 74 (I 7 to K 2), cut out; one leaf substituted,
numbered 71.

Four leaves, 112 to 115 (0 8 to P 3), apparently cut out; jive
leaves substituted, numbered 112 to 116; the original 116 and 117
remain, so that there are two leaves numbered 116. The inserted
leaves have no signatures, nor is the second 116 (P iiij) signed.

Nine leaves, 118 to 126 (P 6 to Q 6), cut out; one leaf sub-
stituted, numbered 126.

XX11

INTRODUCTION.

Two leaves, 137, 138 (S i, S ii), cut out; two leaves substituted
with same numbers and signatures.

Three leaves, 140 to 142 (S iiij, 5, 6), cut out; two leaves sub-
stituted, numbered 69, 116, (!) no signature.

One leaf, 144 (S 8), cut out, and replaced by unnumbered leaf,
bearing " Tabula " of chapters.

The result of these various excisions and insertions is, that the
numbers on the leaves, and the signatures of the sheets, do not at all
correspond to the form of the book, as it finally appeared, containing
148 leaves, of which the following is the Register

Signatures.

Leaves numbered.

Actual No.
reckoning in
order.l

A 1—8

1—8

A, leaf 1, the title page, no

longer exists in any copy.

B 1—8

9—16

B ij, iij, iiij, are errone-

ously signed A ij, iij, iiij.

Cl— 8

17—24

D 1—6

25—30

D 7 unrepresented, D 8

see after * sheets.

1st * (1—8)

31 & 7 unnumbered

(31—38)

2nd * (1—8)

eight „

(39—46)

3rd * (1—7)

seven „

(47—53)

(54)

takes the place of (3rd *

8) cut out.

E 1—5

33—37

(65—59)

(38—39 omitted)

E 8

(60)

F 1—7

41—47 '

(61—67)

(48—52 omitted)

Go— 8

63—56

(68—71)

H 1—8

67—64

(72—79)

11—7

65—71

(80—86)

(72—74 omitted)

K3— 8

75—80

(87—92)

L 1—8

81—88

(93—100)

L iij has no signature.

Ml— 8

89—96

(101—108)

Nl— 8

97—104

(109—116)

O 1—8

105—112

(117—124)

PI— 4

113—116

(125—128)

P 4 bis— 5

116 bis, 117

(129, 130)

P iiij has no signature.

(118— 125 omitted)

Q6— 8

126—128

(131—133)

1 In the Harleian copy (C 21. a.)

R 1—8
81—3

129—136
137—139

(134—141)
(142—144)

the leaves are so numbered by a
recent hand in pencil ; in this
edition, in references, the actual

S6— 8

69, 116, 143, and
one unnumbered

(145—148)

number of the leaf is added to the
toi ditant number, within parcu-
heses.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. XX111

§ 2. INTERNAL.

The Complaynt of Scotland consists of two principal parts, viz.
the author's Discourse concerning the affliction and misery of his
country, and his Dream of Dame Scotia and her Complaint against
her three sons. These are, with rather obvious art, connected to-
gether by what the writer terms his Monologue Recreative, in which
he relates the circumstances that interrupted his discourse, and led
to his beholding the Vision. In revising his work before it was
published, the author took advantage of this interruption to his
theme, to introduce what he knew of Cosmogony, Botany, Naval
Architecture, Native Songs, Dances, and popular Tales, under colour
of having had these brought under his notice during his " recreative "
ramble. Preliminary to all these, is " Ane Epistil to the Quenis
Grace" dedicating to Mary of Guise this first production of his pen,
and a "Prolog to the Redar" wherein the author apologizes first
for writing at all, and then for using " domestic Scots langage."

I proceed to consider these various divisions in the order in
which they come in the Book, leaving, however, the extraneous con-
tents of the " Monologue " to the end.1

The " EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE," which in title suggests
the " Epistil to the Kingis Grace " prefixed by Sir David Lyndesay
to his Dreme, is addressed not to the infant Queen Mary now in
France, but to the Queen-Mother Mary of Guise, who, as we have
seen in the Historical introduction, now held de facto the office of
Regent or Governor, to which the abdication of Arran a few years
later gave her undisputed title. Elevated by his subject, the author
begins in a florid and highly metaphorical style to extol the heroic
virtues of his patroness, " the Margareit and Perle of Princessis," and
her services in relieving the unutterable ills of his poor country,
scourged at once by the three plagues of invasion, pestilence, and

1 In this account I incorporate the remarks of Dr Leyden in the preliminary
Dissertation to his edition of 1801, wherever these seem satisfactory, omitting,
however, most of his illustrative quotations (often very remotely bearing on the
subject) from works then existing only in MSS. or scarce editions, but which
have since been printed in full, and, therefore, have not the value which they
had when Leyden's Dissertation was the only source at which the general reader
could obtain an idea of them.

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

intestine strife. The germ of her nobility brings forth, not only
branches and tender leaves of virtue, but also the salutary and
health-giving fruit of honour for the healing of a desolate and wasted
nation. The heroines of ancient story, the good and noble women
raised to eternal fame in the pages of Plutarch and Boccaccio, —
Valeria, daughter of Publicola, Clelia, Lucretia, Penelope, Cornelia,
Semiramis, Thomyris, and Penthesilea, — are none of them worthy
to be compared in virtue or valour to her, who daily signalizes her
prowess against the cruel wolves of England, that, since the death
of her husband, James V., have not ceased to plot the utter de-
struction of Scotland. But even as Queen Esther and Judith were
divinely raised up to save the Jews from their enemies, so is the
Queen Regent inspired to deliver Scotland. !N"o meaner praise can
be given to one who sacrifices her pleasure and ease to dwell in this
foreign land, exiled not only from her own kindred, but from her
only daughter, the infant Mary Stewart, now safe under the govern-
ance of the King of France, " the most illustir potent prince of the
most fertile and peacable realme under the machine of the supreme
Olimp." In short, Ysicrata never endured greater hardships attend-
ing Mithridates in his most perilous situations than the Queen
Regent sustains every day. From praise of the personal virtues of
Mary of Guise, the author proceeds to that of her ancestors, Godfrey
de Bouillon, Baldwin, his brother, Rene, king of Sicily, Antonio,
duke of Calabria, John Cardinal Archbishop of Lorraine, finishing
with her father the Duke of Guise, many of whose actions he
celebrates, particularly his success in quelling a formidable insurrec-
tion of the peasants on the Upper Rhine, for a knowledge of which
he was probably indebted to John Carion's Chronicle, subsequently
quoted.

To a princess thus illustrious alike by virtue and genealogy, the
author had resolved to dedicate the first labour of his pen ; and after
great difficulty in finding a subject to write about, he has at last
concluded it to be most meet for him to rehearse the miseries of
Scotland and their causes. Poor as his offering is, he trusts her
Grace will humanely accept of it ; and by way of example he relates
a story of Darius and a poor man of Persia, as well as our Saviour's

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. XXV

commendation of the widow's offering of her "tua half penneis"
when " she hed na mair " to give.

The " Epistil to the Quenis Grace " is followed "by the " PROLOG
TO THE REDAR," which reminds us again of Lyndesay's Epistil to the
Redar, PROLOG, and Exclamatioun to the Redar twycheyng the
wryttyng of vulgare and maternal language, at the "beginning of the
Monarche. He first quotes with approbation ancient decrees against
idleness, and then proceeds to reply to the ignorant detractors who
might think him idle, in that he uses his pen instead of practising
some mechanic craft. Every craft is necessary for the public good ;
and he that has the faculty of traduction or of composition, has a
faculty as honourable, useful, and necessary as that of the mariner,
merchant, cordiner (shoemaker), carpenter, captain, or civilist. No
man is a gladius delphicus; each has his talent which he must
cultivate. His own is that of the study and the pen ; even in that
he will seek not to go beyond his capacity ; and in illustration of the
danger of doing so, he gives his first long classical " exempil " in the
story of Antiochus and Hannibal at the academy of Phormio, from
the Apothegms of Plutarch. Having thus apologized for writing at
all, which but for his " ardent favour towards this affligit realm, his
native country," he had not presumed to do, he next begs the
learned among his readers to excuse his " barbir agrest tennis, and
domestic Scottis langage," which he chooses as " maist intelligibil for
vulgare pepil." There have been diverse writers before him who
have taken pleasure in mixing their language with uncouth terms,
riven from Latin, and who measured their eloquence by the length
of their words, as did he who wrote " gaudet honorificabilitudinitati-
bus ; " but for himself he repudiates all such fantastic conceits, and
means to use his " natural Scottis tong," except where compelled to
admit such terms as augur, auspices, questors, tribune, for which
there was no Scottis term, or animal for which it had no precise
equivalent. This declaration of intentions sounds very curious in
the light of the fact, that no Scottish writer of his own or any other
age has left us a work so groaning under the burden of its foreign
words, for which see the section on the Language. Yet there is no
reason to suspect him of irony in the passage, and we can only

XXvi INTRODUCTION.

extend to him that charitable correction which he craves in closing,
and which one hopes he received in his own day with the result of
" garring him studye mair attentivlye in the nyxt werkis," that he
intended to set forth. The practice of writing apologetic prefaces to
works in the vulgar tongue, of which Chaucer and Lydgate had
given examples, was still common with the Scottish writers.
Gawayne Douglas had thus introduced his translation of the Eneid
into " Scottis metir :

" And ^it, forsoith, I set my besy pane,
As that I couth, to make it brade and plane,
Kepand no Sodroun, bot cure awin langage,
And speke as I lerned quhen I wes ane page ;
Na ^it so clene all Sudroun I refuse,
Bot sum worde I pronunce as nychboure dois,
Like as in Latlne bene Grewe tennes sum,
So me behuffit quhilum, or be dum,
Sum bastard Latyne, Frensche, or Ynglis ois
Quhare scant wes Scottis, I had nane vther choise ;
Not that oure toung is in the seluin skant,
Bot for that I the fouth of langage want,
Quhare as the cullour of his propirte
To keip the sentence, thareto constrenit me,
Or that to mak my sayng schort sumtyme,
Mair compendius, or to likly my ryme."

And in the Dialog of the MonarcJie, completed by Sir David
Lyndesay only four years later than the date of the Complaynt of
Scotland, twenty-one stanzas are devoted to " ane exclamatione to
the Redar, twycheyng the wryttyng of vulgare and maternal
language." In terms not unlike those employed by the author of
the Complaynt, he says,

" Gentyl Redar, haif at me non dispyte,

Thinkand that I presumptuously pretend
In vulgair toung so heych mater to writ ;

Bot quhair I mys, I pray the till amend.
Tyll vnlernit I wald the cause wer kend
Off our maist miserabyll trauell and torment,
And quhow, in erth, no place bene parmanent.

Quhowbeit that diuers deuote cunnyng clerkis
In Latyne toung hes wrytten syndrie bukis,

Our vnlernit knawis lytill of thare werkis,

More than thay do the rauyng of the Rukis.
Quharefore to Colzearis, Cairtaris, & to Cukis, —

To Jok and Thome — my Ryme sail be diractit

With cunnyng men quhowbeit it wyl be lactit."

THE WORK. INTERNAL. XXV11

Probably the latest example of such apologizing for a plain style
is to be found in the preface to the Rolment of Courtes, written by
Abacuc Bysett, servant to Sir John Skeane, in the reign of Charles
L, and which deserves publication, as perhaps the latest specimen
of the Literary Middle Scotch existing.

"I haue nocht bene copious in langaige be far drevin uncouth
evil placed tennes, and multiplicatioune of wordis, be paraphraces,
and circumloquitioun of speich, silogismes, and refutatioun of
argumentes be parablis or comparisouns. Nor haue I adhered to
auld proverbis, or bywordis, fair flatterand fenzeit and allurand
fictiouns, uttered by archdiaciens, maid up, contrefait, and fraising
langaige, nor haue I used min^earde nor effeminate tantting invectiue,
nor skorneful wordis, vane saterik, or lowse wowsting and waunt-
ting speiches. Nor haue I ower fauerablie or luifinglie loved or
prased, or ^it haue I ouer disdainefullie detracted, lakked, or out-
braided in ony wayiss. Nather }it haue I prophained nor abused
the halie and sacreit scriptouris, be vnlerned and vnskilfull applica-
tiounis, as sum of the vulgar and raschest, railing, simpilest comounis
dois, eftir yr awin vaine fantasticall fantasies, with[out] ony
authoritie, schame, understanding, or knawlege. Bot be the con-
trare, I haue writtin reuerendlie and spairinglie, usand my awin
maternal Scottis langaige, or mother toung as we call it, in als pithie,
schoirte, and compendious termes, and clene dictionare, according to
my simpill iudgment & knawlege for oppyning up and declaratioun
of the truth of my intensiounis of the mater or purpoiss in hand, and
making it sensabill to unlerned and vulgare sortis understanding."

THE AUTHOR'S DISCOURSE. — After the Prolog, the author proceeds
to the subject of his discourse. He starts with the fundamental
principle that the mutations of monarchies are due not to fortune,
as the ignorant fancy, but to the operations of Divine providence,
and illustrates his point by the fate of the great nations of antiquity,
and the successive tenure of the empire of the world by Assyrians,
Persians, Greeks, Romans, French, and Germans. Descending from
the general to the particular, the author of the Complaynt next con-
cludes that the late disastrous defeat sustained by Scotland at
Pinkie was no mere result of the disfavour of fortune, but a part of
the Divine dealings with the nation. This conviction has set him a-
pondering upon the meaning of this and the other national disasters,
and in his search for light, the perusal of certain chapters of Deut-
eronomy, Leviticus, and Isaiah, has filled him with trouble and

XXV111 INTRODUCTION.

dismay ; for these seem to indicate that the Divine indignation is so
hot against Scotland, as to threaten the country with irretrievable
ruin.

That his countrymen may read these passages for themselves, he
gives in Chapter II. a vigorous Scotch version of them, from the
Vulgate,1 noting the original Latin in the margin ; and in Chapter
III. deplores the unutterable calamities which they portend, hinting,
however, the hope of mercy reserved for those who bow to the
.chastening rod. The chastening is, after all, for the sake of the
sufferers, not of the rod, and when this has fulfilled its purpose on
his children, the father will gladly break it and cast it into the fire.
It may be that the English are but the scourge in God's hand to do
his chastening work, and thereafter to be rejected and cast out.
Chapter IV. compares in detail the threatenings before quoted with
the actual state of Scotland. One of the calamities threatened in
the third of Isaiah is that the Lord would give them young princes
to govern them. This, as we have already seen, had been the stand-
ing curse of Scotland for generations ; but our author is too loyal to
his young illustir princess to allow that she can be in any way
associated with her country's woes, and consequently quotes " diverse
of the maist famous doctours of the kyrk," to show that this
particular curse must not be taken literally ; it means a prince not
young in years, but lacking in discretion. The chapter concludes
with a vigorous lunge at the sceptical readers who might perversely
hint that the threatenings of Moses and Isaiah referred perhaps not
to Scotland but to Israel.

Chap. V. considers various opinions current both in ancient and
modern times about the world, its nature and duration. Too many
still hope that it will last 37,000 years, as Socrates taught, but will
that make human life one day longer ? To show the falsity of this hope
however, the author quotes John Carion's2 account of the prophecy

1 Dr Leyden makes the remarkable oversight of saying " In his references
to the Old and New Testament, the Bible of Junius is always quoted." The
earliest edition of the well-known version of Junius appeared in 1580. When
the Complaynt was written, the Vulgate and the N. T. of Erasmus were the
only Latin versions existing.

2 John Cariou, professor of Mathematics at Frankfort on the Oder, where

THE WORK. INTERNAL. XXIX

of Elijah that the world shall endure but 6000 years, and shows that
as 1548 of the last two thousand are already past (thus fixing the
date of his writing), there remain but 452 till the final consumma-
tion of all things ; and as these are, for the elects' sake, to be indefi-
nitely shortened, the end of the world may, in fact, be close upon
them. A train of reasoning precisely parallel is followed by
Lyndesay in the Monarche (Bk IV, 1. 5284) :

Bot be the sentence of Elie,

The warld deuydit is in thre ;

As cunnyng Maister Carioun

Hes maid plane expositioun, —

How Elie sayis, withouttin weir,

The warld sail stand sax thousand ^eir, —

From the Creatioun of Adam,

Two thousand ^eir tyll Abraham ;

Frome Abraham, be this narratioun,

To Christis Incarnatioun,

Eychtso, hes bene two thousand jeris ;

And, be thir Prophiceis, apperis

he had for scholar Melanchthon, was born at Butickheim in 1499, and died at
Berlin, aged 39. He first published his Ephemerides, extending from 1536 to
1550, and containing astrological predictions ; his Practices Astrologicce ; but
these two works gained him no reputation, when he became all at once
famous by a chronicle of which he was not the author, but which had in the
16th century a prodigious success, and appeared in many editions and transla-
tions. Carion had composed a chronicle in German, and before printing it,
desired Melanchthon to correct it. Instead of doing so, Melanchthon made
another, and published it in German at Wittemberg in 1531. This we learn
from himself in writing to Camerarius, " Ego totum opus retexi, et quidem
Germanice." While M. published this chronicle under the name of Carion, the
latter printed his own work, which he dedicated to Joachim, marquis of Bran-
denburg. He ended it with four or five prophecies applying to Charles V., all
of which turned out false. The two chronicles under the name of Carion had
many translators. Hermann Bonnus gave a later version of Melanchthon' s,
and Jean Leblond translated into French that of Carion, Paris, 1556. That
quoted in the Complaynt by Lyndesay is Melanchthon's " Chronicon absolutis-
simum ab orbe condito vsque ad Christum deductum ; in quo non Carionis
solum opus continetur, verum etiam alia multa eaq : insignia explicuntur,
adeo ut iustse Historiae loco occupatum esse possit." An English version
appeared in 1550, "The thre bokes of Cronicles, whyche John Carion (a man
syngularly well sene in the Mathematycall sciences) gathered wyth great dili-
gence of the beste Authours that haue written in Hebrue, Greke, or Latiue.
Whervnto is added an Appendix, conteynyng all such notable thynges as be
mentyoned in Cronicles to haue chaunced in sundry partes of the worlde from
the yeare of Christ 1532 to thys present yeare of 1550. Gathered by John
Funcke of Nuremborough, whyche was neuer afore prynted in Englysh. Ded.
to Ed. VI. by Gwalter Lynne."

XXX INTRODUCTION.

Frome Christ, as thay mak tyll us kend,

Two thousand tyll the warldis end,

Off quhilkis ar bygone, sickirlye,

Fyue thousand, fyue hundreth, thre & fyftye ;

And so remanis to cum, but weir,

Four hundreth, with sewin and fourtye jeir :

And than the Lorde Omnipotent

Suld cum tyll his gret lugement.

Christ sayis, the tyme sal be maid schort,

As Mathew planelye doeth report,

That for the warldis Iniquite,

The letter tyme sail schortnet be,

For plesour of the chosin nummer

That thay may passe from care and cummer.

So be this compt, it may be kend,

The warld is drawand neir ane end.

The passage of Carion's Chronicle quoted by both authors is as
follows :

" It is useful always to have in view, so far as is possible, the
whole course of time, and the principal revolutions of the human
race. To this end it is most conducive to know a saying which is
recited in the commentaries of the Jews,1 thus :

' The Tradition of the House of Elias

Six thousand years the world shall last, and then the conflagration.

Two thousand years void of law ;

Two thousand in the law ;

Two thousand in the days of Messiah. And because of our
sins, which are many and great, the years shall lack that shall
be lacking.'

Thus did Elias prophesy concerning the duration of mankind, and

distinguish the principal revolutions Of the third period,

he signifies, that the two millenniums shall not be completed, for that
iniquity shall abound, on account of which the whole human race
shall be the sooner blotted out, and Christ shall appear for judg-
ment, as he saith, Tor the elects' sake shall those days be
shortened.' We shall therefore divide our History into three parts,
according to the saying of Elias."

" His historical examples are chiefly drawn from the Chronicle
of John Carion, and from Boccaccio ; but the painting exhibits, in
some instances, the strength and richness of old romance," as when
the author mentions the silver columns and ivory portals of Castell

1 This tradition is recorded in the Gemara, a division of the Talmud. —
Rev. W, W. Skeat.

THE WORK. INTERNAL. XXxi

Ylione of the rich triumphant town of Troy, for which, as well as
his account of the Tower of Babel, he was evidently indebted to
Lydgate's translation of Boccaccio. His invective against those who
acknowledged the influence of Dame Fortune in "the subversions
and mutations of prosperitye " is probably aimed at Boccaccio and
his translator Lydgate, Gower, and a host of their imitators, all of
whom have represented Fortune as the prime dispenser of the happi-
ness and misery of human life. " To shewe Fortune's variaunce " is
the object of Lydgate's translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus virorum
illustrium,

" By example, as there is no rose

Springyng in garden, but there be sum thorne ;
Nether fayrer blossome then nature list dispose,
Then may their beuty, as men hath sene toforn,
With bitter winds be from the braunches born ;
Ne none so high in his estate coutune
Fie from the wayling and daunger of Fortune."

THE MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. — At this point of the author's
discourse a sudden transition occurs ; in the preceding five chapters
he has put forth his theses as to the causes of national decline and
ruin, and the identity of the miseries of Scotland with those
threatened against obstinate and vicious nations ; and having thus
established the framework of his argument, he prefers to convey its
special application to the different classes of his countrymen under
the similitude of a vision of Dame Scotia and her three sons. To
introduce this vision, he now abruptly represents himself as mentally
and physically fatigued with the labour of writing the preceding five
chapters. To prevent himself from falling asleep right off, he turned
out into the open air for a walk, which the beauty of the scenery
led him to prolong, first into, and finally through, the short mid-
summer night. For the sun had that day entered the 25th degree
of Gemini, and it was thus within five days of the summer solstice.1
A stream clear as beryl, and teeming with fishes of silvery scale,
skirted the base of a little mount, on which there hung a verdant
wood, vocal with the various melody of birds hopping from bush to
branch. The boreal blasts of the three borrowing days of March

1 It was the 6th June, Old Style, the 15th by modern reckoning.

INTRODUCTION.

had chased the blossom of the fruit trees far over the fields, and the
fruit was set on the leafy boughs. In such contemplations the
night passed, and the messengers of Aurora appeared in the north-
north-east horizon. Diana, the lantern of the night, and her
attendant stars grew pale, and fled to hide themselves from Titan's
golden face. Misty vapours rose lazily from vale and plain, and the
green fields drank up the copious dew. Then began the myriad
voices of the morning, " the rumour of rammasche (rammasse) foulis,
ande of beystis that made grite beir," which answered each other
even as if blabbering Echo had herself been hid in a " hou hole "
crying her half-answer to Narcissus. In the description of these
natural scenes, the author displays an eloquence to which he never
attains in the Complaynt; all the resources of alliteration and of
assonance are called in to aid him in telling how " the grene feildis
for gret cZroutht, Jrank up the eifrops of the <2eu, quhilk befor hed
maid tftkis and cZailis very done," and how " the brutal sound did
redound, to the hze sky is, of beistis that maid greet Jeir, as they
part beside frurnis and foggis on grene &anks" to seek their food.
The enumeration of the cries of animals which follows is exceedingly
curious, almost every species having a verb appropriate to itself.
Some of these are also to be found in Holland's Houlate, Mont-
gomery's Clierry and the Slae, and here and there in Lyndesay.

Passing on through the fragrant fields the author met many
'landuart grumis' or rural hinds going forth to their morning
labour, and himself, contented with his night's recreation, turned
his steps townward, to proceed with the compilation of his book.
But the sleepy god whom he had defied all night, was not to be so
easily baulked of his prey. Assailed with a sudden drowsiness, the
author yielded so far as to recline on the cold ground, and with a
grey stone to support his head, he attempted the experiment of
closing his eyes and looking through his eyelids ; but the subterfuge
was of course unsuccessful, for he sank into a profound slumber, in
which his perturbed brain was visited by the dream of Dame Scotia
and her three sons, which forms the subject of the remaining
chapters of his work.

In taking this as the original form of the " Monolog Recreative,"

THE WORK. INTERNAL. XXxiti

we are guided at once by the original foliation, and by the contents
of the chapter themselves. The cries of the animals end at the
bottom of leaf 31, and the author meets the "landuart grumis" and
bends his steps homeward at the top of leaf 32 ; the contents of the
44 interpolated pages consequently are no part of the original
Monologue. Even as to the cries of the animals we cannot be quite
sure ; the leaf on which they occur is a cancel replacing the original
31, but it is probable that the changes made in it extended only to
the few last lines, so as to lead the reader to the inserted sea-scene,
instead of taking him back towards town. The contents of the
Monologue form so complete an interruption to the course of the
work, that the reader naturally loses all idea of time, when listening
to the shepherd's cosmogony, and the tales and ballads which follow ;
but when his attention is directed to the notes of time occurring
before and after, the inconsistency of the actual form of the Mono-
logue with the plan of the work becomes at once evident. The sun
has already risen, and all the noise of day commenced, when the
author describes the cries of the animals ; after this comes the sea-
scene, to which we cannot allow less than two hours at least ; then
the author returns to the fields, and finds the shepherds who have
brought their sheep down from the hills to the lower pastures, and
who now sit down to the morning meal brought to them by their
wives and children, *. e. an eight or nine o'clock breakfast after they
had completed their early morning work. The head-shepherd's
"lang prolixt orison," which his wife reasonably enough found
" tedious & melancolie," implies a good two hours at least. How
long time the forty-eight tales, told each at full length — the thirty-
eight and " mony vthir " sweet songs sung " in gude accordis and
reportis of diapason prolations, and dyatesseron" — the dances, of
which the thirty named are only a poor specimen of the "mony
vthir, quhilkis are ouer prolixt to be rehersit " — the walk through
the meadow leisurely enough to permit the examination of 22 and
" mony other eirbis," are to be supposed to have taken, I do not
presume to say — half a week seems a moderate allowance ; but when
all is over, to our astonishment it is still only sunrise, "landuart
grumis " are on their way to the dewy fields to commence their day's

COMPLAYNT. C

INTRODUCTION.

work, and all that the author has seen is but " a pleysand nychtis
recreation." Bring the "landuart grumis" in immediately after the
description of sunrise and the awakening din of nature, and all
becomes simple ; what comes between is a subsequent interpolation,
which the author did not attempt to make consistent (for the very
good reason that he could not) with the notes of time that precede
and follow.

THE VISION OF DAME SCOTIA, which ostensibly occupies the
rest of the book, shows " action " only in Chap. VII. In the Ex-
hortations, Eeproaches, and Recriminations, which follow, the alle-
gorical veil vanishes from sight, and the bare poles on which it may
be supposed to have been stretched, alone remain standing, in the
now-and-then-repeated " o 36 my thre sonnis," or the labourer's " o
my dolorus mother."

Chap. VII., however, presents us with very characteristic por-
traits of the " affligit lady " Dame Scotia, and her three sons. Scotia
is represented as a lady of excellent extraction and ancient genealogy,
now in deep affliction ; her golden hair is disordered and dis-
hevelled ; her crown of gold tottering on her head. The red lion,
blazoned on a field of gold bordered with the fleur de Us, appears
wounded on her shield ; and her mantle is so rent and torn, that the
various devices with which it was adorned "in aid tymys" are
almost erased. These devices are of three kinds : on the upper
border are embroidered weapons and accoutrements of war, character-
istic of Nobility ; in the middle, characters, books, and scientific
figures, with many charitable acts and supernatural miracles, emblem-
atic of the occupations of the Clergy ; while round the lower border
appear various figures emblematic of husbandry, traffic, and me-
chanical arts, in allusion to the various occupations of the Commons.
This lowest part of the mantle was worse destroyed than the two
others ; so completely indeed was it disfigured, that there seemed no
possibility of restoring it by any art or device to its original con-
dition. As the lady in this woful plight gazed across her once
fertile, but now withered and barren, fields, she beheld approaching
her three "native natural sons." These are again described in
terms agreeing with the description of the parts of the mantle. The

THE WORK. INTERNAL. XXXV

ignorance of the allegorical second son Spirituality is graphically
noted by a single touch. He is described as clad in a long gown,
sitting in a chair, with an aspect of great gravity, holding in his
hand a book, " the clasps of which are fast locked with rust." So
also the misery of the Commons is depicted in the Youngest Son
lying flat on his side on the cold earth, with clothes riven and
ragged, making a dolorous moan, and so grievously distressed as to
be unable to stand upright even when set on his feet. Dame
Scotia begins to reproach the three wretched wights with the
cowardice, vice, and unnatural dissensions, which have brought
themselves and her to this miserable condition.

Chap. VIII. contains a general reproach, in which all the sons
are charged with degeneracy, unnaturalness, and selfishness, in sacri-
ficing their country to their individual interests, for the sake of
which many have been content to take assurance of England, and
others to become neutral like the " ridars " that dwelt on the
Debatable Lands, i. e. those portions of the frontier which were
claimed by both England and Scotland, and became in consequence
the head-quarters of the border freebooters or moss-troopers,

" Who stole the beeves that made their broth
From England and from Scotland both,"

and to whom it was convenient to have a place of retreat into which
the wardens of neither country could pursue them without risk of
kindling a quarrel with the other.1 During the minority of the late
king, James V., the depredations of the moss-troopers had been
extended with impudent daring even to Edinburgh and the towns of
Fife. In Lyndesay's " Satyre of the Thre Estaits," we find Com-
inoun Thift, a riever from Ewesdale, inquiring,

Will na gude fallow to me tell

Quhair I may find
The Earle of Rothus best haiknay ?
That was my earand heir away.
He is richt stark as I heir say,

And swift as wind.

1 The Debatable Land, between the Esk and Sarke, was divided between
England and Scotland by royal commissioners appointed in 1522. Scot's Dyke
Station, on the railway between Carlisle and Hawick, takes its name from the
boundary then constructed. It continued, however, long after to be the ren-
dezvous of the thieves and banditti, who had so long made it their home.

XXXVI INTRODUCTION.

Heir is my bridill & my spurris,

To gar him lance ouir land and furris

Micht I him get to Ewis durris

I tak no cuir.

Of that hors micht I get ane sicht,
I haif na doubt, jit or midnicht,
That he and I sould tak the flicht

Throch Dysert Mure.
Of cumpanarie, tell me, brother,
Quhilk is the richt way to the Strother [Anstruther'J
I wald be welcum to my mother,

Gif I micht speid ;
I wald gif baith my coat and bonet,
To get my Lord Lyndesayis broun lonet ;
War he beyond the watter of Annet

We sould nocht dreid.

The salutary severity of the king in his raid of 1531, when he
executed Johnnie Armstrong and his retinue, as well as Cockburn of
Henderland, and Adam Scott of Tushielaw, all renowned chiefs of
freebooting clans, quieted the Borderers for the rest of his life, ren-
dering property so safe that, according to Lyndesay, he "gart the
rasche bus keip the cow." But since his death the marauders had
again become the terror of the country, and their depredations, even
at a later period, are plaintively recorded by Maitland of Letli-

ington : —

Off Liddisdail the common theifis
Sa peartlie steilis now and rein's,

That nane may keip

Hors, nolt, nor scheip,

Nor jeit dar sleip
For their mischiefis.
They plainly throw the country ridis,
I trow the mekil deuil thame gydis I

Quhair thay on-set,

Ay in thair gait

Thair is na jet
Nor dor thame bydis.
Thay leif richt nocht, quhair euer thay ga,
Their can na thing be hid them fra ;

For gif men wald

Thair housis hald,

Than wax thay bald
To burne and slay.

Tha thiefis have neirhand herreit hail
Ettricke Forest and Lawder daill ;

Now are they gane

In Lowthiane,

And spairis nane
That thay will waill.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL.

The Englishmen's Assurance, in which Dame Scotia accuses
many of her children as living, dated especially from the battle of
Pinkie. On the 24th September, 1547, the Duke of Somerset
received the homage of most of the nobles and gentry of the Eastern
borders, and took them and their clans into English protection as
" assured Scots," while shortly after Lord Wharton, as Warden of
the West Marches, compelled the submission of the principal clans
of the west, and took them into assurance to the number of more
than 7000 men.1 Their forced submission, however, we find, lasted
only till the arrival of the French auxiliaries in 1549.

1 Patten gives a list of those chiefs of the Eastern borders who submitted
to Somerset in Septr., 1547, namely : the lairds of Cessfoorth, Fernyherst
(ancestors of the noble families of Roxburghe and Lothian), Grenehed, Hunt-
hill, Hundely, Makerston, Bymerside, Bounjedworth, Ormeston, Mellestains,
Warmesay, Lynton, Egerston, Merton, Mowe, Rydell. Of gentlemen, George
Tromboul, Ihon Haliburton, Robert Car, Robert Car of Greyden, Adam Kirton,
Andrew Meyther, Saunders Purvose of Erleston, Mark Car of Littledean,
George Car of Faldenside, Alexander Macdowal, Charles Rutherford, Thomas
.Car of the Yeir, Ihon Car of Neynthorn, Walter Haliburton, Richard Hangan-
syde, Andrew Car, James Douglas of Cavers, James Car of Mersington, George
Hoppringle, William Ormeston of Edmersden, John Grymslowe. — Expedition
of the Duke of Somerset. London, 1548. On the West Marches, the fol-
lowing barons and clans submitted and gave pledges to Lord Wharton, that
they would serve the king of England, with the number of men annexed to
their names : ANNERDALE — Laird of Kirkmighel, 222 ; Rose, 165 ; Hemps-
field, 163; Home Ends, 162; Wamfrey, 102; Dunwoody, 44; Newby and
Gratney, 122; Tinnel (Tinwald), 102; Patrick Murray, 203; Christie Urwin
of Coveshawe, 102 ; Cuthbert Urwin of Robbgill, 34 ; Urwens of Sennersack,
40 ; Wat Urwen, 20 ; Jeffrey Urwen, 93 ; T. Johnson of Crackburn, 64 ; James
Johnston of Coites, 162 ; Johnstons of Craggyland, 37 ; Johnstons of Dries-
dell, 46 ; Johnstones of Malinshaw, 65 ; Gawen Johnston, 31 ; Will Johnston,
the laird's brother, 110; Robin Johnston of Lochmaben, 67; Laird of Gil-
lersbie, 30; Moffits, 24; Bells of Tostints, 142; Bells of Tindills, 222; Sir
John Lawson, 32 ; Town of Annan, 33 ; Roomes of Tordephe, 32 ; Lord Carl-
isle, 101 ; Laird of Applegirth, 242. NITHSDALE — Mr Maxwell and more,
1000 ; Laird of Closeburn, 403 ; Lug, 202 ; Cransfield, 27 ; Mr Ed. Creighton,
10 ; Laird of Cowhill, 91 ; Maxswells of Brakenside, and vicar of Carlaverick,
310. LIDDESDALE and DEBATABLE LAND — Armstrongs, 300 ; Elwoods
(Elliots), 74 ; Nixons, 32. GALLOWAY — Laird of Dawbaylie, 41 ; Orcherton,
lit; Carlisle, 256 ; Loughenvar, 45 ; Tutor of Bombie, 140 ; Abbot of New
Abbey, 141 ; Town of Dumfries, 201 ; Town of Kircubrie, 36. TIVIDALE —
Laird of Drumlire, 364 ; Caruthers, 71 ; Trumbells, 12. ESKDALE— Battisons
and Thomsons, 166. Total under Englisli Assurance in the west, 7008 men. —
BelVs Introd. to Hist, of Cumberland, quoted by Scott, Introd. to Border
Minstrelsy. Practically, therefore, when the Complaynt was written, the en-
tire population of the counties of Berwick, Roxburgh, Dumfries, and Kirkcud-
bright, were living in the English Assurance, and had English soldiers in their
fortresses.

XXXviii INTRODUCTION.

Having given vent to her natural indignation, the " affligit lady "
proceeds in Chap. IX. to urge her children to put forth efforts for
their own relief, and recites, for their encouragement, examples of
diverse countries whose struggle for independence has been success-
ful. The bravery of Mattathias Machabseus and his sons, of Gideon,
Miltiades, Leonidas, and Themistocles, is recounted; and they are
bidden to remember how, not six score years before, the English, after
becoming masters of nearly all France, had been ignominiously driven
from that country ; as, indeed, they had long ago been expelled from
Scotland by the persevering bravery of Eobert Bruce. The doom of
ambition and tyranny is illustrated by the fates of many ancient
usurpers; the Lord Protector of England may yet stand in the
chronicles alongside of Philaris, and Nero.

From the early part of this chapter or the end of the preceding,
two leaves have been cut out, and leaf 37, on which Chap. IX.
begins, is a substitute bridging over the gap. There is nothing to
indicate the contents of the excised leaves, or the reason of their
cancellation.

Chap. X. combats some of the peculiar weapons which the Eng-
lish had begun to employ against Scotland, viz., "ane poietical buik
oratourly dytit," which had been set forth at the Protector's instance,
to show that Scotland was originally a colony of England ; and that
it was essential that the two should again be united under one
prince, and called the Isle of Britain as it was in the beginning
when the Trojan Brutus conquered it from the giants ; also certain '
pretended prophecies of Merlyne, which in rusty rhyme foretold the
same consummation. Kingdoms are conquered not by books, but
by blood ; and the English may find these pretended prophecies like
the ancient ambiguous answers of the oracles, fulfilled in a way they
little expect. Against them is to be set a prophecy recorded in
Higden's Polychronicon, which says that the English are to be
successively conquered by Danes, Saxons, Normans, and Scots ;
and the author expresses his own belief that the generation then
alive would yet see England ruled by a Scottish prince, a con-
jecture which, seventy years later, circumstances proved to' be ,
correct.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL.

We have no trace of any work which quite answers to the " beuk
oratourly dytit ;" and the description of a "poietical beuk" seems
to be due to a confusion with the Merlyne prophecies quoted at the
same time. Bat as we have seen in the historical section (p. xv),
f jur English pamphlets have come down to us (besides the appeal to
tlie Scots in Patten's narrative of Somerset's campaign), the contents
of which answer to the description here given, and are evidently in
the author's mind here and elsewhere in the Complaynt. These are
printed in the Appendix ; and it will be seen that the Exhortacion
of the " Scottisheman," the Epistle of the Lord Protector, and the
" Epitome " of Bodrugan, as well as Patten's Preface, all have as their
" tenor, that it var verra necessare for the veilfare of ingland and
Scotland, that baytht the realmis var coniunit togiddir, to be vndir
the gouuernyng of ane prince, and the tua realmis to be callit the ile
of bertan as it vas in the begynnyng." The "Just Declaracion" of
Henry VIII., and the tracts of the " Scottisheman " and Bodrugan
further profess as here described, " to preue that Scotland was an
colone of Ingland, quhen it was first inhabit ; and to gar ther cruel
inuasions contrar our realme, apeir in the presens of forrain princis
that they haue ane iust titil to mak veyr contrar vs." They also
refer to " the begynnyng quhen the troian brutus conquest the ile fra
the giantis."

The story of Brutus is one of the earliest myths of British history.
There were two distinct versions of the legend, the older of which is
to be found in Nennius, and was at an early period received by the
Scottish and Irish Celts. According to this, Brutus and Albanus,
the two sons of Isacon (Ascanius), first conquered the island and
shared it between them, naming their respective territories after
themselves, Briutain and Alban. The Duan Albanach which
was sung or recited at the coronation of the Scottish kings, down to
Alexander II., and which bears internal evidence of having come
into its present form about the year 1070, recites this legend in its
opening stanzas :

A eolchan Alban uile,
A shluagh feuta foltbhuidhe,
Cia ceud ghabhail, an eol diubh,
Ho ghabhasdair Albanbruigh.

INTRODUCTION.

Albanus ro ghabh, Ha a shlogh
Mac sen oirderc Isicon,
Brathair is Briutus gan brath,
0 raitear Alba eathrach.

Ro connarb a brathair bras,
Briotus tar muir n-Icht n-amhnas,
Ro gabh Briutus Albain ain,
Go rinn fhiadhnach Fotudain.

0 all ye learned of Alban (Scotia)
Ye well-skilled host of yellow hair,

What was the first invasion — is it known to you ?
Which took the land of Alban ?

Albanus possessed it, numerous his hosts,
He was the illustrious son of Isacon,
He and Briutus were brothers without deceit,
From him Alban of ships has its name.

Briutus banished his active brother

Across the stormy sea of Icht,

Briutus possessed the noble Alban,

As far as the conspicuous promontory of Fotudain.1

Skeue, Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, No. vi.

Among the Southern Britons the legend assumed a somewhat
different form, which we meet with first in Geoffrey of Monmouth,
and the contemporary Welsh Brats, whence it found its way into
"Wace, and Layamon, and having thus gained the ear of the Norman
and the Saxon, found an acceptance far wider than the elder Celtic
version of the myth. Brutus the son of Ascanius here appears as
the father of Alban, or Albanactus, who has besides an elder brother
Locrinus, and a younger Camber. Brutus, having conquered the
island from the giants, names it after himself, and at his death
divides the whole among his three sons, giving to the eldest the
larger portion, which thence derived its British name of Lloygir
(England) ; to the second the northern and smaller part called after
him, Alban ; and to Camber, the territory west of Severn, thenceforth
known as Cymry. Locrinus moreover inherits his father's supremacy
over the whole island. The later character of this form of the myth
is palpable on the surface. The Nennius legend originated at a time
when the only facts in British ethnology to be accounted for, were i

1 Of the Ottadini— St Abbs' Head, or the Bass ?

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. xli

the presence in Britain of the Bretts or Britons in the south, and
the Albannaich, Caledonii, or Gadhels in the north. These two
branches of the Celtic stock, with their obvious relationship and no
less obvious points of difference, were satisfactorily accounted for on
the hypothesis of two brothers who had shared the island from the
beginning, with a shadowy reference to a time when the Gaelic
division had extended much farther south, before they had been
driven north beyond the Forth by the superior force of the British
section. But Geoifrey's legend is adapted to account for facts and
names which had no existence till long after the Saxon settlement,
as well as to feudal notions of a still later age. It was destined,
however, to play a solemn part in the disputes between England
and Scotland, forming as it did the starting-point from which the
English kings rested their claim to the supremacy of the sister
country. Thus we find it paraded with a pompous roll of Latinity
in the reply of Edward I. to the Bull of Pope Boniface interposing
on behalf of Scotland, in 1300.

" Now about the time of Ely and Samuel the prophet, a certain
brave and distinguished hero, Brutus by name, of Trojan race, after
the destruction of the city of Troy, betook himself with a multitude
of Trojan nobles to a certain island, then called Albion, and inhabited
by giants. These having been overthrown and slain by the strength
of himself and his followers, he gave to the country the name of
Britannia, and to his companions that of Britons, after himself ; and
he built a city which he named Trinovantum, which is now called
London.

" And afterwards he divided his realm among his three sons ; to
wit, as follows :

" To Locrinus, the first born, that part of Britain which is now
called Anglia ;

" And to Albanactus, the second born, that part which was then
called, from the name of Albanactus, Albania, but now Scocia.

" And to Camber, his youngest sou, the part then called from his
name Cambria, now known as "Walia.

" There being reserved to Locrinus, the elder, the royal supremacy.

" Then, two years after the death of Brutus, there landed in
Albania a certain king of the Huns called Humber, and slew
Albanactus, the brother of Locrinus ; on hearing which, Locrinus,
King of Britain, proceeded against him ; who fleeing was drowned in
a river, which from his name is called Humber, and thus did Albania
revert to the foresaid Locrinus;" &c., &c.

Xlii INTRODUCTION.

In the equally elaborate reply of the Scottish nation, no attempt
is made to combat Edward's assertions by producing the older legend
of the Duan Albanach, now forgotten like the language in which
it lay buried ; the Scots admit the story of Geoffrey and the Bruts,
but pick holes in the king's logic, and brush away his deductions.
Granted that Brutus and his sons ruled all the island, it was as
Britons and over Britons that they reigned ; but since that distant
day, the southern part of Britain had been successively conquered by
Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans, and the northern part by
Picts and Scots ; what the mutual relations between Britons in the
days of Eli and Samuel could have to do with the relations between
Scots and Normans in the 14th century, they could not see, neither
did they believe could the pope. But as the Brutus legend grew
more and more distasteful to the Scots, something must be provided
as a set-off, and hence arose the fable that the Scots were descended
from Scota, daughter of Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea,
and Gathelus, Gaidhel, or Gayel-glas, a prince of Greece, the former
giving her name to the country, the latter leaving his to the race of
the Gaidhel or Gael and the Gadhelic or Gaelic language. This
brought the Scots into Britain centuries before the era of Brutus, at
whom Scottish historians could accordingly afford a passing sneer,
when in their annals they arrived at the comparatively late date at
which he and his Trojans landed in the " south partes of oure He, and
callit it Britan, the quhilk was never callit Bertan but to the Scottis Se,
and not be northe." The " impudissimum mendacium" of Brutus,
and " non minus fabulosa " legend of Scota, as they were afterwards
called by Buchanan in his scarcely less fabulous history, were of too
great value, as political weapons, to be lightly surrendered, and were
gravely recited on the one side and the other down to the sixteenth
century ; so that Brutus and Albanactus figure prominently once
more, in the Vindication of Henry VIII., and in the subsequent
pamphlets of the " Scottisheman " and Bodrugau alias Adams.

The fashion of writing History in the form of prophecy is said to
have begun in "Wales, where the " Cyvoesi Myrddin," written partly
in the reign of Hywel dda in the 10th century, and partly in the
reign of Henry II., is given in the shape of a prophecy supposed to

THE WORK. INTERNAL. xliii

be uttered by Myrddin or Merlin in the 6th century. Afterwards
the fashion extended to Ireland and Scotland, and a Latin poem of
this class assigned to the reign of the Scottish Edgar claims to con-
tain predictions of Merlin and Gildas.1 These ancient remains were
from age to age added to and altered, so as to suit the course of
events, and, after giving a history of occurrences already accomplished,
under a thin veil of allegory, ended with a few dark and ambiguous
allusions to the future. Thomas the Rymour, Bede, Gildas, St
Berchan, St Columba, Thomas a Beckett, and at a later date many
others, were thus held in popular esteem as prophets, and had pre-
dictions fathered upon them ; but the name of the ancient British
bard Myrddin or Merlin appears to have inspired the widest credit.
Prophecies attributed to him exist in Welsh, Latin, English, French,
Italian, and German. They are cited by Geoffrey of Monmouth,
Robert of Gloucester, and Laurence Minot; and a "Tretise of
Merlyn," or his Prophecies in verse, was printed by Wynkyn de
Worde in 1510 and 1529, and afterwards by John Hawkins in 1533.
As, according to the Welsh writers, as well as Scottish tradition,
Merlin was a native of that Northern Wales (Gwened a Gogledd)
which became at length a part of the Scottish Lowlands, his name
and fame flourished with special vigour in the south of Scotland,
even after many of the Arthur legends had been allowed to die out
in this their original birth-land, on account of the unpalatable
support which they gave to the English claims over Scotland. Two
such prophecies in the Scotch of the second half of the 15th century
have been edited for the Early English Text Society, 1870, by the
Rev. J. R. Lumby, from a MS. in the Cambridge University Library.
They are to be found also in a more modern form in a chapbook
which continued to circulate down to the beginning of the present
century, under the title of "The whole prophecies of Scotland,
England, France, Ireland, and Denmark, prophesied by Thomas
Rymer, Marvellous Merling, Beid, Berlington, Waldhave, Eltraine,
Banester, and Sybilla [to which the later editions add " Also Arch-
bishop Usher's wonderful prophecies "], all agreeing in one ; both in
Latin Yerse and in Scottish Meeter ; containing many strange and
1 Skene, Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, No. xi.

INTRODUCTION.

Marvellous Matters, not of "before read or heard." This pamphlet con-
tains a dedication to James VI., after whose accession to the English
throne it was compiled.1 Part of the contents also belong to that
late period, or at least to the declining years of Elizabeth, such as
the Hempe prophecy (first in the edition of 1615) :

" When Hempe is come and also gone,
Scotland and England shall be all one.

K. K. Q. K. Q.

Henry Edward Mary Philip Elizabeth

the VIII. the VL of Spain, Q.

M.'s husb.
HEMPE

Praised be God alone, for Hempe is come and gone,
And left in Old Albion, only Peace joined in one."

A reference to the battle of Pinkie, in the prophecie of Thomas
Ptymour, At rinkie cieuch their shall be 8pilt

Much gentle blood that day,

must of course be later than that event. Another, referring to a
French wife having a son who should rule all Britain, has been
shown by Lord Hailes (Eemarks on the History of Scotland, Edin.
1773) to have been composed shortly after the battle of Flodden,
and to have announced the arrival of the Duke of Albany (born in
France, and of a French mother), from whom as Eegent great things

were hoped.

THE PROPHECIE OF BERTLINGTOST.

Of Bruces left side shall spring out a leif

As neere as the ninth degree,

And shall be flemed of faire Scotland,

In France farre beyond the see,

And then shall come againe riding,

With eyes that many may see ;

At Aberladie he shall light,

With hempen bolters, and hors of tre.

1 The first edition has been reprinted by the Bannatyne Club, its title is
" The whole prophesie of Scotland, England, and some part of France and
Denmark, prophesied bee meruellous Merling, Beid, Bertlington, Thomas
Rymour, Waldhaue, Eltraine, Banester, and Sibbilla, all according in one.
Containing many strange and meruelous things. Printed by Robert Walde-
graue, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majestie. Anno 1603." The
Dedication to James VI. first appeared in Andro Hart's enlarged edition of
1615, which continued to be reprinted almost verbatim down to the beginning
of this century. A copy dated 1806 is in the British Museum. Leyden speaks
of it as well-known in his time; I have never come across it, but have heard
portions quoted by elderly people in rny childhood.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. xv

How euer it happen for to fall,

The Lyon shal be Lord of all ;

The French wife shal beare the Sonne,

Shal weild al Bretane to the sea ;

And from the Bruces blood shall come

As neere as the ninth degree.

"When the prediction miserably failed in Albany's case, it was
fondly applied to tbe offspring of other French wives (of whom
James V. had two), the nine degrees being counted now from Brace
himself, now from his daughter Marjory, through whom the succession
had come to the Stewarts ; and finally, when Queen Mary arrived
home in Scotland, a French widow if not a wife, we find Alexander
Scott, a poet of the day, applying the prophecy to her : —

Giffe sawis be suth to schaw thy celsitude,
Quhat berne sould bruke all Bretane be \>Q see ?
The prophecie expreslie dois conclude,
The Frensch wyfe of the Brucis blude suld be :
Thow art be lyne fra him the nynte degree,
And wes King Frances pairty maik and peir ;
So be discente, the same sowld spring of \>e,
By grace of God agane this gude new-^eir.

At this time also apparently a new version of the prediction
appeared, in a prophecy fathered upon Thomas the Kymour, con-
taining the allusion to Pinkie Cleuch already mentioned. When
Mary's son, James VI., did actually succeed to the English throne,
the people considered their favourite prophet's credit quite sub-
stantiated, although the nine degrees could only be got by lopping
off both ends of the line.

Setting aside, however, all these later productions which are in
rhyme, we find a number of pieces in alliterative verse, of some of
which, as already mentioned, 15th-century originals have lately
turned up. These are undoubtedly

" The prophiseis of Rymour, Beid, and Marlyng,"

with which Sir David Lyndesay tells us, in the Epistil prefaced to
his Dreme, he entertained the youth of James V. ; and they are no
less certainly the " misteous propheseis of Merlyne and vthir aid
corruppit vaticinaris " referred to by the author of the Complaynt.
It may, therefore, be of interest to quote a passage from the " rusty
ryme," which predicted the union of England and Scotland under
one prince : —

INTRODUCTION.

THE PROPHECY OF STERLING.

Their shal a Galyart gayt with a gilten Home,

A Pilledow, with a Tode, sic a prime holde,

With their pieres in a place by the Streame-side :

To strive with the streame, but they no strength have,

For their mooving they meete in the mid-way,

All the Grooms shall grounch be the way-side,

And many bairnes shal have his byth on the backside.

And that meruaile shall fal be a Fyrth-side :

Where the Leader of the Land shal his Life lose,

But that bargain shall brew in a baire Burgh,

That shall banish from Blisse many bright Helme,

When it is breued on his back, and his brief knowne

Of dumb Organes dight, then may thou wel deeme

Of all the weil & the wealth before then was wroght ;

With Hunger and Heirshipe on euerie Hill.

Yet this wicked World shall last but a while ;

While a chiftane unchosen choose forth himself,

And ride over the Region, and for Roy holden :

Then his scutifiers shall skail all the fair South,

Fra Dunbartone to Dover, and deil all the lands.

He shall be kid conquerour, for he is kinde Lord,

Of all Bretaine that bounds to the broad Sea,

The conquessing shall be keeped and never conquest after.

Be the coast ye shal know when the knight comes ;
He has a mark in the middle, where no man may know :
When he is set in the East where the Sun riseth :
He has a signe that shal shew on the South Side.
Signum venenosi sanguinis de venire matris sues,
All Wailes I wis, shall wend with that Roy,
For to work his wil, where he thinke would,
Guiane, Gaskoigne, and Bretane the blyth,
Shall busk to his bidding on their best wise :
The whole men will help in his most hight,
Then shall he turn into Tuskane but trety or true,
And busk him over the mountains on mid winter even ;
And then goe to Rome, and rug downe the wallea
And over all the Region Roy shall be holden,
Oft this booke have I scene, and better thereafter,
Of meruelous Merling, but it is wasted away
With a wicked Woman, wo might she be 1
(For she hath closed him in a Craig on Cornwe! cost.)1

Among the other contents of the chaphook we find, curiously
enough, the prophecy cited in the Complaynt as a set-off to the

1 As showing the variations and corruptions introduced by time, compare
the four last lines (which are found as the termination of several of the pro-
phecies) with the same in the Cambridge MS. :

For Bedis buke have I seyn, & Banysters als ;

And Merwelus Merlyne is wastede away

Wytht a wykede womane, — woo mycht sho bee ! —

Scho has closede him in a cragge of Cornewales coste.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. xlvii

English pretensions. It is thus given, nearly in the words of
Trevisa's translation of Higden :

THE PEOPHECIE OF THE ENGLISH CHKONICLES.
There shal proceede a holy Heremeet in King Elfridus time : in
this manner, (in the booke of King Henry the sixth),1 saying, These
Englishmen, forasmuch as they use to dnmkennesse, to treason, to
carelesnesse of Gods House, First by the Daines, then by the
Normands, and the thirde time by the Scottes that they hold the
most wretches, and least worth of all other, They shall bee overcome
and vincust. Then the world shall be unstabeU.

" During the unsuccessful wars of the English against Robert
Bruce, this prophecy seems to have had a powerful effect on their
desponding minds ; for Higden in another passage, says (according
to Trevisa's version) ' The Scottes waxed stronger & stronger thyrty
yeres togyder, unto Kyng Edwardes tyme, the thyrde after the Con-
quest, and bete down Eiiglyshemen oft, and Englyshe places, that
were nygh to theyr marches. So'me seyd that that myshappe fell
for softnesse of Englyshemen; and some seyde, that it was goddes
own wreche, as the prophecye sayd, that Englyshemen sholde be
destroyed by Danes, by Frenshemen, and by Scottes.' " — Leyden.

At the end of this chapter occurs one of the largest cancellations
in the book, six leaves, 47 — 52, having been excised, and the existing
leaf 47, on which Chap. X. now ends and Chap. XI. begins, inserted
to bridge over the gap. This may have been a curtailment of Chap.
X. by the omission of other ancient examples of ambiguous pro-
phecies and oracular responses ; but, inasmuch as the next chapter is
called XIII., it seems more probable that an entire chapter has here
been omitted, and that the one which follows was originally Chap.
XII., but altered to XI. on the cancel leaf. In the Tabula of Chep-
tours at end of the book, this omission is disguised by the chapters
not being numbered beyond XI, At the same time Chap. XI. is a
very long one, and might naturally be divided into two parts, as
indicated in note to page 95.

1 A mistranslation, as may be seen from Trevisa : " Therof prophecyed
an holy anker in king E^elfredus tyme in this maner (Henricus libro sexto)
Englyshemen for as muche as they use them to dronkelewnes, to treason & to
rechelesnes of goddes house, fyrste by Danes, and thenne by Normans, & at
the thyrde tyme by Scottes, that they holde moost wretches, and lest worth of
al other, they schal be ouercome."

xlviii INTRODUCTION.

The foundation of the claims advanced in the various English
tracts was, as we have seen, that the English sovereigns legally
represented the Trojan Brutus. In this chapter the author, without
ostensibly referring to these statements, essays to overthrow their
conclusions by shewing that the English kings are usurpers even in
England, and ergo can have no title to the crown of Scotland, even
though it were at one time a fief of lawful sovereigns of England.
So far from the English representing Brutus and the old Britons, they
are descended from the false blood of Sergest and Hengest, the two
Saxons who had treacherously overcome and dispossessed these very
Britons. Since that time, moreover, there have been many breaks in
the legal succession, and many usurpations by kings who have been
borreaus and murderers of their predecessors — witness King John,
Henry IV., Eichard III., Henry VII. , &c. &c. Although the
natives of the Scottish Lowlands were, in the main, as pure Saxons
as their English neighbours — purer Angles, in fact — yet they had,
since the wars of Bruce, been led by association with their Celtic
fellow-subjects to adopt from these the use of the word Saxon as
equivalent to Englishman, and indeed as a term of hatred and
reproach. Thus we find it in Harry the Minstrel's Wallace, and so
also is it used by the author of the Complaynt, who, we may be sure,
little dreamed that this " false Saxons blude " was the fluid which
coursed in his own veins, and that the Saxon's pure vernacular was
better represented in his own pages than in many contemporary
English writings. He owned no such relationship ; his relations with
the Saxon consisted merely in twelve hundred years of mutual
enmity — true enough as regarded his Celtic fellow-subjects, — but
amusing in a Teuton, and instructive as showing how sentimental
and destitute of any real basis may be the feeling of race, since it
may exist in direct opposition to all the facts of blood, of language,
and of history itself, when this is unknown or forgotten. To con-
stitute a " race " or " nationality " wants only a history ; and for this
a false one, if only believed, is as good — nay, often better — than a
true. Ireland, Switzerland, Scotland, the United States, each com-
posed of diverse stocks speaking different tongues, united by belief
in a common history, are our witnesses.

THE WORK. INTERNAL.

During these twelve centuries of enmity, according to our author,
the English had never ceased to profit by Scottish dissensions, even
as Darius knew how to profit "by the quarrels of the Athenians and
Lacedaemonians, and Henry VIII. endeavoured to make use of the
quarrels of Francis and Charles V. Would his countrymen only
consider how their intestine divisions opened the door for English
interference, they would remove from among them the injustice and
extortion rampant in the land ; and by shewing themselves strong
and united, soon oblige their enemies to sue for that peace which
they were only too glad to obtain when Scotland was at peace with
itself. The example of their own valiant predecessors who had so
stoutly resisted the Saxon slavery ought to move them to imitate
their deeds. The murder of so many Scottish leaders by Edward I.
at the Black Parliament at the Barns of Ayr (a circumstance vouched
for only by " the authority of Henry the Minstrel, and the relations
of Arnold Blair, but which is supposed to have been mentioned in
the chapters of Book XI of the Scotochromion, amissing in the
Scottish MS."), is held up as a specimen of what might happen
again if the English should obtain as full possession of Scotland.
To deprive a conquered country of its natural leaders had always
been a recognized policy of conquerors ; witness the directions which
Tarquin the Proud gave, in dumb show, as to the chief men of
Gabii. The cruel oppression of Wales and Ireland by the English
is then expatiated on, and a glimpse afforded us of the Irish
Difficulty in an early, but sufficiently intractable stage. We have
then an account of the Statutes made by Edward II. on the field of
Bannockburn before the battle, and their discovery by the capture of
Friar Conraldus ; whence by a sudden transition we find ourselves
in the Caudine Forks, to see the Eomans forced to submit to humili-
ating terms by the Samnites, for the purpose of being told that a
still straiter yoke awaits the necks of those Scots who have assisted
the English in their invasions. That the " Assured Scots " on the
borders at times accompanied the English army, we find from various
entries in the "Diurnal of Eemarkable Occurrents happening in
Scotland 1513 to 1575."1

1 Edited for the Bannatyne Club in 1833, 4to.

COMPLAYNT. d

1 INTRODUCTION.

January 1545 : " the English garysoun that lay in Coldinghame to
the nornber of vj™ come and brynt Morhame, Bathgait, Stanpath,
and Datrie, quha wes helpit be our fals Scottis, for Lawder was
sworne all Inglismen ; the wardane of Ingland delt thair landis to
quhome he plesit."

A month later,

" Ypoun the xxij day of Februar, the lord Gray come to Hadin-
toun with tua thowsand men, with all the Merss and Teviotdaill, and
gat all the houssis on Tyne, and tuke plegis of all gentilmen thaj
gat, quha did na skaith, bot pait for the thing thaj take, and
depairtit hame eftir that thaj had remaynit foure dayes ; and in this
tyme, the cuntrie for the maist pairt, was of the opinioun of Inglis-
men. The Inglismen passand to burne Drunilanrik, the thevis tuke
pairt with the Scottis, and pat thame abak, and sua thaj pairtis come
to the auld style agane. And vpoun the xxiiij day, the Inglismen
being all out of Scotland, the gouernour past & brynt Ormistoun,
and wan the hous of Saltounhall ; and heirefter Hallis was randerit
to the Scottis agane."

The "thieves" were slippery allies to either side, as another
entry shows :

" 1547. xix Apryle. Thairefter the governour ^eid at Ewis
Durris, and doun the watter of Ewis, bot our awin thevis of Tindaill
and Ewisdaill come to the gouernour, quha war sworne Inglismen,
for he brynt all thair cornis and houssis, quhair the governour
remaynit ten day is ; bot in thair returnyng, they had ewill wedder."

The feat of Edward at the Barns of Ayr had, we are told, been
attempted to be repeated by the Lord Protector in March 1547, in a
raid made into the West Marches of Scotland. How then should
any Scotsman trust the English promises ? More than 3000 Scots
with their wives and children, says the author, have gone to dwell
in England during the last fifty years, but these have been obliged
to disown their nationality and live as " renegat Scottis," who may
indeed now be favoured while their treason serves the English king,
but will meet the fate of traitors in the end. These fugitives con-
sisted, no doubt, largely of the followers of the banished lords in the
reign of James V., and of others who had in like manner either been
exiled from their country, or had fled from it to avoid justice — or in-
justice : they certainly also included many refugees who had adopted
the Reformed faith and removed to England for safety from persecu-
tion, and perhaps some of the industrious and peace-loving inhabitants

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. 11

of the southern counties, who sought in England that quiet which
their own country had not enjoyed for forty years. Among them
we may probably include " James Harryson, Scottisheman," whose
appeal to his countrymen before Pinkie is one of the tracts printed
in the Appendix.

In Chap. XIII. the "affligit lady" undertakes to explain the
chief cause of the deplorable familiarity between England and Scot-
land, which she finds in the intercourse at markets and conventions
on the borders, an intercourse directly opposed to the laws of the two
countries, which declared that Scotch and English, like Jews and
Samaritans, should have no dealings with each other. The writers
of the tracts, on the other side, had used as an argument for the
union of the two nations the oneness of their language, character,
and customs, but Dame Scotia, while, curiously enough, admitting
the unity of language, finds the two peoples utterly opposed in
nature and " complexion," and favours us with an analysis of the
English and Scottish characters, very much, of course, in favour of
that of her own children. It may be contrasted with the equally
partial delineation of Higden in the Polychronicon, " Scottes ben
light of herte, straunge and wylde ynough, but by medlyng (mixing)
of Englyshemen they ben moche amended : they ben cruell upon
theyr enemyes, & hateth bondage moost of ony thynge, and holde
for a foul slothe yf a man deye in his bed, & grete worshyp yf he
dye in ye felde. They ben lytell of meate, and mowe faste longe,
and eten selde whan the sun is up ; and ete fleshe, fyshe, my Ike, and
frute, more than brede : and though they ben fayre of shappe, they
ben defouled, and made unsemely ynough with theyr owne clothyng.
They prayse faste the usage of theyr owne forfaders, and despysen
other mennes doynge. Theyr londe is fruytfull ynough in pasture,
gardyns and feldes." For this character the authority of Giraldus is
cited. The English are thus described : — " In beryng outward, they
ben mynstrales and herawdes ; in talkynge, grete spekers ; in etynge
and drynkynge, glotons; in gaderynge of catell, hucksters and
tauerners ; in araye, tourmentours ; in wynnynges, Argy ; in trauayll,
Tantaly; in talkynge lude, Dedaly; in beddes, Sardanapaly; in
chirches, mawmetes; in courtes, thonder; onely in preuelege of

1U INTRODUCTION.

clergye and in prebendes, the knowledge themselfe clerkes." An
amusing speech of the Duke of Exeter to Henry V., in 1414, on the
character of the Scotch and their dependence on France, is recorded
in Hall's Chronicle (Edn. 1809, p. 55): "Scotland is like a noun
adiective that cannot stand without a substantiue. Their nature is
to tary at home in idlenes, ready to defende their countree like brute
beastes, thinkyng their rusticall fashion to be high honestie, and
their beggerly liuyng to bee a welfare."

The result of the familiar intercourse between the two countries,
our author goes on to say, has been that the king of England has
been enabled to tamper with sundry gentlemen of Scotland ; and
there are traitors that, for the sake of private interest, do not scruple
to reveal all the deliberations of the Scottish Council to England, so
that within twenty hours a full account of all that has been done is
presented in Berwick, and three days after, the Berwick Post delivers
it in London. With the light that has of late years been thrown on
the secret history of the period by the revelations of the State
Papers, we know that the practices reprobated by the author pre-
vailed to an extent which even he probably did not dream of.
There were few indeed of the Scottish nobles or gentry, who, for
English gold, were not willing to volunteer their services (often, it is
true, but indifferently performed) as spies to the king of England ;
and the author's denunciation of the avarice which had " blyndit the
reason and infekkit the hartis " of so many of his countrymen who
were ready for their " particular profit " to let the common-weal go
to the devil, was by no means beside the mark.

In the middle of this chapter three leaves, 72 to 74, have been
cancelled ; they perhaps contained a further collection of ancient
examples of the demoralizing effects of avarice. Lest persuasion and
invective should fail to arrest these traitors, Chap. XIV. quotes
divers classical and scriptural instances to show that conspirators
are always punished, even by those who have profited by their
treason. The fate of the chief citizens of Capua, of Pausanias, the
Amalekite who slew Saul, Eechab and Baanah, Bessus, and the Black
Jacobin Friar who poisoned the Emperor Henry, are recounted at
large and held up as warnings.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. llU

Thus far Dame Scotia has had the talk all to herself, "but now
the third son seizes an opportunity to reply, by pointing out that the
vices denounced by his disconsolate mother are chargeable on his
two 'brothers, Nobility and Spirituality, but not on himself ; and in
Chapter XV. he pours forth his lamentable wail against his unnatural
kinsmen, who are far more cruel to him than the " aid enemies of
ingland." Like a dull ass he is kicked and prodded, and obliged
like a body-slave to " ryn & rasche in arage and carriage," i. e. servi-
tude for tillage of the landlord's ground and carrying in his crop at
harvest time. Bitter are his complaints against the oppression
exercised by the landlords, temporal and spiritual, who plunder him
of his " cornis and cattel," and raise his tacks and steadings to such
a rent that he is reduced to beggary and starvation. Moreover, he
is forced to lend and entrust his little savings to his oppressors, and
on daring to ask repayment, is cuffed, kicked, and even killed. That
this miserable picture of the state of the commonalty of Scotland is
in no point overdrawn, we know only too well from witnesses who
wrote both before and after the date of the Complaynt. Lyndesay's
Satyre of the Thre Estaitis, 1540, shows us the common process by
which an honest industrious husbandman was turned, by the united
offices of priest and laird, into a vagrant pauper.

PAUPEB. Gude-man, will le gif me ^our charitie,
And I sail declair }ow the black veritie.
My father was ane auld man and ane hoir,
And was of age fourscoir of icirs and moir ;
And Maid, my mother, was fourscoir and fyf teine ;
And with my labour I did thame baith susteine.
Wee had ane Meir that caryit salt and coill ;
And ever ilk ^eir scho brocht vs hame ane foill.
Wee had thrie ky, that was baith fat and fair —
Nane tydier into the toun of Air.
My father was sa waik of blude and bane
That he deit ; quhairfoir my mother maid great maine.
Then scho deit, within ane day or two ;
And thair began my povertie and wo.
Our gude gray Meir was baittand on the feild,
And our Lands laird tuik hir for his hyreild.
The Vickar tuik the best Cow be the head,
Incontinent quhen my father was deid ;
And, quhen the Vickar hard tel how that my mother
Was dead, fra-hand he tuke to him ane vther.
Then Meg, my wife, did mum both evin and morow
Till at the last scho deit for verie sorow.

iv INTRODUCTION.

And quhen the Vickar hard tell my wyfe was dead,
The thrid Cow than he cleikit be the head.
Thair vmest clayis, that was of rapploch gray,
The Vickar gart his Clark bear them away.
Quhen all was gaine, I micht mak na debeat,
Bot, with my bairns, past forth till beg my meat.
Now haue I talde jow the blak veritie,
How I am brocht into this miserie.

DILIGENCE. How did the persone ? Was he not thy gude freind ?
PAUPER. The deuil stick him ! He curst me for my teind,
And halds me jit vnder that same proces,
That gart me want the Sacrament at Pasche. — 1. 1971 — 2004.

Ten years after the date of the Complaynt, William Lauder
published his " Lamentatioun of the Pure," with its burden, " How
lang, Lord ! sail this Warld indure ? " and in his " Mirrour " thus
addressed the gentry :

Jour gredynes ! it stinkis and fylis the air 1

I vg jour Murther and Hirschip to declair 1

For thocht je sla nocht pure men with jour knyues,

git with jour dearth je tak from thame the hues 1

The pure Plewmen and lauboraris of jour lands,
Quhen tha haue nocht to fill jour gredie hands,
Quhair je can spye ane man to geue jow mair,
ae schute thame furth ; syne puts ane vther thair.
Howbeit the first haue Bairnis aucht or nyne,
ge tak no thocht, thocht man and all sulde tyne ;
Within few jeris je herye him also,
Syne puts him furth ; to beggin most he go ;
Thus schift je our, in to most gredie wyse,
The quhilk ane Vengeance from the Heauin cryis.
git for all this je neuer ar content !
Howbeit je haue, be fer mair land and rent
Nor euer had jour Fatheris jow before ;
Bot euer gredie, and gaping still for more.

Lyndesay had in his Satyre represented King Correction as
redressing these grievances, but we find from Henrie Charteris's
Preface to his Complete Works, published the same year that
Lauder wrote, that his exposure of the wrongs under which the
Commons groaned had had little permanent effect.

"Quhat laubouris tuke he (Lyndesay), that the landis of this
cuntrie micht be set out in Fewis, eftir ye fassioun of sindrie vthir
Realmes, for the incres of policie and riches. Bot quhat hes he pro-
fitit ] Quhen ane pure man with his haill raice and offspring hes
laubourit out thair lyfis on ane lytill peice of ground, and brocht it
to sum point and perfectioun : then must the Lairdis brother, kin-

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Iv

nisman, or surname, half it ; and ye pure man with his wyfe and
babeis for all yair travellis, schot out to beg yair meit. He yat tuke
lytill laubouris on it, mon enioy ye frutis, and commoditeis of it : he
man eit vp the sweit & laubouris of ye pure mannis browis. Thus
the pure dar mak na policie, nor bigging, in cace yai big yame selfis
out. Bot althoucht men wink at yis, }it He sitts abone yat seis it,
and sal iuge it. He yat heiris ye sichis and complaintis of ye pure
oppressit, sal not for euer suffer it vnpunischit. Quhat hes he alswa
written aganis yis Heriald hors, deuyset for monie pure mannis
hurt1? Bot quha hes dimittit it] And gif he had leifit in yir
lait dayis, quhat had he said, of ye vnnatural murtheris : ye cruel
slauchteris : ye manifest reiffis : ye continuall heirschippis : ye plane
oppressionis : ye lytill regard of all persones to ye common-weilth ] "

After this picture of his position in the "good old times," the
labourer gives us a bit of his philosophy. He is vulgarly reputed
for the youngest brother, but is in truth the eldest, existing long
before his "twa brother," nobles and clergy, came into being. In
truth he had created their state, though now they profess to be
gentlemen forsooth, and to despise him as an untutored rustic.
They would fain have it that they are the descendants of angels and
archangels, and not of Adam, forgetful of the many instances of dis-
tinguished men that have risen from the ranks of the poor. "With
regard to Dame Scotia's special accusation, it is not the commonalty
who are guilty of treason. They have neither the power nor the
opportunity, and all conspiracies are fomented by the great. As to
taking assurance of the English, what else can the commons do ]
There is no help in the nobles and clergy, as some who have trusted
to them have found to their sad experience. That s\ich was the
bare truth, we find from the " Diurnal of Occurrents"

" 1544. Ypoun the xvij day of December the lieutennent past to
Haddingtoun, quhair thair suld haue met him the lardis of Low-
tbiarie, quha com nocht ; and thairefter past to Tamptalloun, and
thair held his 3ule, and tuke litill heid to the cuntrie, but let thame
doe for thameselfis, quhilk causit the cuntrie to be clene herijt ; the
cuntrie seiand na helpe of the lieutennant, maid bandis amang thame
selffis that ilk ane sould help vtheris, quhairamang was greit
watches, ilk ane efter his degrie."

No wonder the narrator has to add, "And the cuntre was all
Inglismen sworne, seing na help."

But this attachment to England, the labourer continues, is only

Ivi INTRODUCTION.

pretended, under that necessity which owns no law ; give them but
leaders, and a prospect of a successful resistance to the yoke, and
their lives and goods will be freely risked in defence of their country.
The truth of this was soon shown after the arrival of the French
auxiliaries, who supplied the needed rallying-point.

The Labourer's Complaynt, thus analyzed, forms one of the most
important and interesting chapters in the book, and no one can read
it without feeling that the author thoroughly felt the force of the
sentiments which he put in the mouth of the commonalty, albeit in
the next chapter he points out that they are by no means themselves
devoid of fault.

Chap. XVI. is Dame Scotia's answer to her youngest son. She
declines to give ear to his excuses, or to look at his accusation
against his two brothers, until he shall have cleared himself from
fault. The commonalty deserve punishment no less than the nobles
and spirituality, for if their overt acts have not been so bad, that
arises solely from lack of opportunity. Then we have the usual
argument about the unfitness of the lower orders for liberty, as if
men ripened for freedom under slavery, and liberty were a privileged
position instead of a condition of growth in any position. The meet-
ings of the commons are described in terms which remind us of too
many working-class meetings still ; and then we have a description
of the labourer viewed from the standpoint of his superiors, which, I
think, quite comes up to anything we used to hear of the character
of the negro during the old slavery days. He is worse than the
brute beast, having all the brutal passions without the compensating
instincts : intemperate, lustful, unbridled, lazy ; he is steady only by
compulsion, and only sometimes then. Give him freedom indeed !
what next 1 We have heard such arguments used of Jamaica in the
nineteenth century, and it is well for those free-born Britons who
now talk so contemptuously of, and, when they have the chance,
tyrannize so unmercifully over, the "inferior races," to read what
their superiors said of their fathers in England for centuries after the
conquest, and in Scotland in the sixteenth century. They will pro-
bably find that oppression engenders in all skins the same vices, and
in all oppressors the same moral blindness.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Ivii

But it will sometimes happen that one of these besotted, brutal-
ized creatures will " conquer riches and heretagis ; " then he becomes
more ambitious and arrogant than any lord, and his children, for
want of education, exhibit all the odious characteristics of the
parvenu. Hence they speedily revert to the base degree from which
their fathers rose. In early times it was said of the English serf,

" Give the villein of gold his fill,
What will he be but a villein still ? "

In the same spirit the author of the Complaynt (or Dame Scotia
rather — one really forgets that an allegorical personage is supposed to
be speaking) quotes the question of the " Preist of Peblis in ane
beuk that he compilit," " Quhy burges ayris thryuis nocht to the
thrid ayr ] " and adds, that what the priest asked as to the heirs of
townsfolks might with equal force be asked of the universal com-
monalty both "to burgh and land." "The thrie Tailes of the thrie
Priests of Peblis," is a Scottish poem attributed to the reign of
James III., 1460 — 1488, which survives, however, only in an
edition printed (very incorrectly) by Robert Charteris in 1603, from
which it has been successively printed by Pinkerton in 1792, and
(in part) by Sibbald in 1801, and by David Laing, in his "Early
Metrical Tales," Edin. 1826, p. 105. Instead of being, as might be
supposed from the reference in the Complaynt, a book compiled by
a priest of Peebles, it is a metrical tale of three priests who meet
together on St Bride's day for the purpose of regaling themselves,
and, while their capons are roasting, agree that each shall in turn
tell a story to amuse the others. The first tale, " tald be maister
lohne," relates of a certain king, who, assembling together the Three
Estates of his realm, propounds to each of them a question ; of the
Burgesses he asks,

" Quhy Burges bairns thryves not to the thrid air,
Bot casts away it that thair eldars wan ? "

of the Nobility,

" Quhairfoir and quhy, and quhat is the caia,
Sa worthie Lords war in my eldaris days ;
Sa full of f redome, worship, and honour,
Hardie in hand to stand in everie stour,
And now in yow I find the haill contrair ? "

Iviii INTRODUCTION.

The Spirituality are asked why it is that, since in old times so
many bishops and clergy had power by their prayers to heal all
manner of suffering and " al gude warkis to wirk," their successors
now find their strongest resource in cursing ; " quhairfoir may not
ye, as thay did than ? " The answers are given at length, after due
consultation, with great humour and point ; in that of the Burgesses,
we have a vivid picture of the labour, diligence, and self-denial, by
which a poor trader would raise himself to a wealthy merchant ;
while his bairns, born to affluence, " begin not quhair thair fatheris
began," and unchastened by a youth subjected to the yoke, speedily
scatter all to the winds, " Can never thryue, bot of all baggis is
bair." "We hope that Mr Laing, whose book is now very scarce,
will soon give us the long-promised new edition of this and the
other pieces in his " Early Metrical Tales."

Chap. XVTI. Having thus, with palpable exaggeration, which
might arouse, but could scarcely convict, disposed of the vices of the
Commons, Dame Scotia turns with more moderate language but
weightier argument to those of the nobility and gentlemen, if such
indeed they are to be called, who have scarce a spark of nobleness or
" gentrice " among them. A gentleman ought to be the reverse of a
villein or carl. The origin of a privileged class is then discussed,
and a picture of the golden age

"When Adam delved and Ere span,"

and people drank no wine or beer, or other " confekkit " drinks, or
rummaged foreign lands for spices, herbs, drugs, gums, or sugar,
to provoke a disordered appetite; nor did they wear sumptuous
clothing of fine cloth and gold, and silk of diverse hues. It was
after the entry of the Iron age that men, to escape oppression, began
to choose them governors and defenders who formed the first nobles
and gentlemen. But true nobility is not hereditary, and when the
progeny of nobles and gentlemen cease to do noble and gentle deeds,
they ought to be degraded from their privileged position as "lasche
couardis, vilainis, and carlis." Such a process would thin the ranks
of the Scottish nobility, whose imbecility, avarice, and contentions,
are unworthy of the ensigns and honours which they had inherited.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. lix

The writer of the " Diurnal of Occurrents " can tell us something of
this also :

"1544. Vpoun the thrid day of Junij, thair was ane generall
counsall haldin at Stirling, quhairat was all the nobillis of Scotland,
exceptand the erle of Lennox and Glencarne ; quhair the gouernour
was dischargit of his auctorite and maid prcclarnatiouns, throw the
realme that nane obeyit him as gouernour. And als thair thai
chesit thrie erlis, thrie lordis, thrie bischopis, thrie abbotts, to be the
secreit counsale ; quhilk lastit nocht lang, for euerie lord did for his
awne particulare proffeit, and tuke na heid of the commounweill, but
tholit the Inglismen and the vis to overrin this realme. Thair ^cas
na credit amang the nobilitie at this present."

Little wonder ! When they did show themselves busy at an
occasional time, men knew there was sure to be a carcase at hand,
since the vultures were thus flocking together :

" 1545. Ypoun the xxviij day of September, the Parliament was
haldin in Linlithgow, quhair the maist part of the nobillis wes. It
was suspectit thaj com for land, becaus few was at the Parliament
befoir. In this Parliament was foirfaltit the erle of Lennox, his
brothir, the bischope of Cathnes, and the laird of Tulibarden wes
respletit. Thair landis was delt, pairt to the erle of Argyle, maister
of Sympill, and pairt to the erle of Huntlie, quha gat the bischoprik
of Cathnes at this parliament. The lordis made ane taxt throw the
realme, of ilk pund land of aid extent, to pay viij shillingis to fie
men on the bordouris."

In similar terms James Harryson, Scottisheman, in 1547, had
characterized the indifference of the nobility and clergy to the
misery of the country :

" If this miserie fell onely vpon the mouers and mainteiners of
suche mischief, it were lesse to be lamented, but thei sitte safe at
home, and kepe holy daie, when the feldes lie ful of their bodies,
whose deathes thei moste cruelly and vnchristianly haue procured.
If Edenbrough, Lieth, Louthian, Mers, or Tiuidale had tongues to

speake, their loude complainte would perse the deafe eares

If these [authors of the mischief] should fele but half the miserie
which the poore people be driuen to suffre, thei would not be halfe
so hastie to ryng alarmes."

It is his own virtue, our author goes on to say, and not the
honour of his predecessors, that makes a man noble ; and, tested by
this standard, counterfeit nobility is plentiful in Scotland. Some
of the " counterfeit " Scottish nobles and gentlemen were ashamed

IX INTRODUCTION.

that their ancestors had been of plebeian rank, — evidently Scotland
had already some who would have been glad to believe, like the
Highland Laird, that at the general Flood his ancestor had a
" private airk o' his nain," when Noah's more vulgar vessel contained
the ancestors of common mortals. To teach them better manners,
our author relates the conduct of Agathocles, king of Sicily, who
boasted of his father having been a potter. Moreover, the longest
line begins in mud and clay, and in this clay there is no distinction
of ranks, as indeed there will not be when dust shall have received
back its own. To enforce this, we have an anecdote of Cyrus and
Croesus, and diverse quotations from the Sacred Scriptures and
apocryphal "Wisdom of Solomon. A chief form taken by the
prodigality of the Scottish nobles is said to have been costly
clotliing above their means — for which, see the monstrous hose
denounced by "William Lauder — and the keeping of large numbers
of horses and dogs. Like the horses of Diomede and the hounds of
Actseon, these may be said to worry men, for not only do they eat
up the substance of their owners, but they devour the poor people
as well by consuming the food of the country which the universal
dearth has already made scanty enough.

The five leaves, 112 — 116, in which this chapter ends and the
next begins, are cancels, representing four original leaves, showing
that the author in his recension made great alterations in the next
chapter, which treats of the Spirituality. The latter chapter ought
to have been, and before these alterations evidently was, XVIII. ;
it is now numbered XIX. ; the original Chap. XIX., which ought to
have followed, having been at the same time taken out of the book
altogether, leaving a gap of sixteen pages, from leaf 118 to 126, as
hereafter noted.

In reading the Reproof of the Spirituality, we discover a con-
siderable difference of treatment between it and the complaints
against the nobles and commons. These two orders had been
accused of very special and distinct offences ; but in dealing with
the clergy, while we have very orthodox representations of the
greater heinousness of those who sin against light, and the power-
lessness of good precept when unaccompanied by good practice;

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Ixi

while we have general exhortations to the clergy to repent their
negligence and remedy their long " ahusion ; " the author does not
" condescend " upon any particular forms in which this negligence
and abusion manifested themselves. In reading the chapter, I have
been reminded of the words of an eminent modern preacher : " A
man will confess sins in general ; but those sins which he would
not have his neighbour know for his right hand, which bow him
down with shame like a wind-stricken bulrush, those he passes over
in his confession. Men are willing to be thought sinful in disposition;
but in special acts they are disposed to praise themselves. They
therefore confess their depravity and defend their conduct. They
are wrong in general, but right in particular."1 God knows there
were special enormities enough of which to reprove the clergy ; and we
can fancy what this reproof of the Spiritualitie would have been, if
Sir David Lyndesay, for instance, had had the writing of it ; 2 if any
layman, indeed, in the Scotland of the day had had the writing of
it ; for this chapter is quite sufficient to convince me that the author
of the Complaynt was himself an ecclesiastic. A good specimen of
his class, I have no doubt he was, sincerely attached to the Catholic
faith, and with a healthy, not an acrid, hatred of schism ; one who
had sense enough to see, not the unrighteousness indeed — that we
need not expect — but the blunder, the mistaken policy of burning
schismatics, so long as the Spirituality remained in the " abusion, &
sinister ministration," which had provoked " the scismas and divers
sectis that trublis al cristiantie." Probably he had not a troop of
bastard sons and daughters openly owned, and another assortment
of spurious ones in the families of his parishioners, like so many of

1 Henry Ward Beecher — " Life Thoughts."

2 I need hardly say " we can fancy " — we have specimens both before and
after this date ; ride his Complaynt, 409 — 448 ; the Commonyng betuix the
Papyngo and her Holye Executoris ; the "fragedie of the Cardinall in toto ;
Mtteis Confessimm ; the Monarch^, 608 — 684 ; 2279 — 2708 ; 5850 — 5925 ;
and above all the Satyre, " the whole matter whereof," as Sir Ralph Eure
wrote to England, concludes " upon the declaration of the naughtiness in re-
ligion, the presumption of the bishops, the collusion of the spiritual courts,
called the consistory courts in Scotland, and the misusing of priests." The
Early English Text Society have published Lyndesay's poems in full, and his
" reproof of the Clergy " can be better read in situ than if I were to exhibit it
in morsels here.

Ixii INTRODUCTION.

his celibate brethren ; and with his notions of the duty of a priest
to bear arms in battle, he would be above staying at home, debauch-
ing the wives and wasting the substance of the honest patriots who
went to the war, like others of his cloth (vide Froude, chap. 18, p.
401) ; but from his very vague general reproof one never would
suppose that the ecclesiastical system of the day was the monstrous
compound of lust, fraud, extortion, and cruelty, which we find it in
the pages of his contemporaries. He was, however, though evidently
in all good faith and conscience, one of those abettors of their
country's misery, of whom James Harryson, Scottisheman, had said :

" How much is their wikednes to be detested, which haue kindled
the fire and still laie on brandes to feede the same ! In whom if
either respect of Religion, which they professe, or zeale of Justice,
whereunto thei are sworne, either feare of God, or loue to their
countrey, did any thing woorke, thei would refuse no trauaill, nor
torment of body nor mynde, no, nor death (if it wer offered) fer ye
sauegarde of thaim, whose distruccion thei haue wrought. And
there bee onely twoo sortes, the one is of suche, as either for feare of
their Hypocrisy to bee reueled, or euill gotten possessions to be
translated would haue no peace nor concord. . . . These be thei
whiche professyng knowledge, abuve the ignoraunce of the nobilitie,
and commonaltie, to ye destruccion of bothe, haueyng peace in their
mouthes, and all rancor and vengeaunce in their hartes, pretendyng
religion, perswade rebellion, preachyng obedience, procure al dis-
obedience, semyng to forsake all thyng, possesse all thyng, callyng
themselfes spirituall, are in deede moste carnall, and reputed heddes
of the churche, bee the onely shame and slaunder of the churche.
If these people would as earnestly trauail for the concord of bothe
realmes, as thei indeuour with toothe and naill to the contrary, these
mischeues aforesaied, should either not haue happened, or els at the
leaste, not so long haue continued ; by whose lure, so long as the
nobles and commons of Scotlande be led, I am in despaire of any
amitie or frendeship betuene these two realmes. God bryng their
falsehed once to light, and turne their iniquitie vpon their awne
heddes."

But then the " Scottisheman " had clearly passed the boundary
line between Romanism and Protestantism, and the .author of the
Complaynt was what would have been called in the nineteenth
century an "Old Catholic," with reforming tendencies, but a
shrinking from " scismas and sectis."

There was need for reform, too, upon other considerations than

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Ixiii

those of abstract right, and the well-being of the country. If the
English king once got Scotland in his clutches, the nobles and com-
mons might feel his hand heavy enough, but the clergy — there's the
rub — could only expect those terrible tender mercies of Henry VIII.
which had made every churchman in Christendom shiver. Least of
all would forbearance be shown to the spirituality of Scotland,
whom — and in this friends and foes were quite at one — the English
king reputed for his mortal enemies. Well he might, too, for from
the minority of James V. to the breaking of the marriage contract
and the spiriting away of the child-queen to France, it was the
clergy who had stuck fast to the French side, and frustrated all the
hopes of England. The chapter finishes with an Exhortation to the
spiritual order to change their spiritual habits, "bayth coulis and
syde gounis, in steil iakkis and in coitis of mail^e," and assist their
countrymen to repel the invasions of the enemy ; after the war had
been brought to a successful issue, they might reassume their,
spiritual garb. That this might be lawfully, nay, laudably, done, he
proves alike from scriptural example and from the Canon law, in
which he here and elsewhere shows himself well versed. Even the
Pope's license is not necessary for this action ; the Canon law has
expressly justified war against Saracens, and Englishmen are more
Saracen than Christian ; it has declared war against the excommuni-
cated and the infidel to be meritorious, and the English are excom-
municated and denounced God's rebels for their infidelity, unbelief,
cruelty, tyranny, and sacrilege. It is to be feared the clergy were as
deaf to admonition as the laity. So, at least, says the writer of one
of the " Gude and Godly Ballates,"1 referring to this very war :

" Scotland was neuer in harder case,

Sen Fergus first it wan :

The preistis we may fairly ban,
Quhilk hes the wyte that brak the peace

For to put downe the word of Christ.
Ane hundreth thousand thay wald se

sockit in till ane f eild,

Under the speir and sheild ;
Bot with the wyfis thay wald be

At hame, to smoir the word of Christ.

1 Reprinted by David Laing from the original edition of 1578, p. 159,
" I am wo for thir wolfis sa wylde."

' INTRODUCTION.

Defend na mair thir wolfis sa wylde,

Sa ful of cruelnes,

Thair cloikit halynes,
Baith men and wyfis sa lang hes fylde,

And ar the verray Antichristis."

After the Eeproof of the Spirituality, as we have already seen, a
chapter extending over sixteen pages has been subsequently rescinded,
and in Chap. XX. Dame Scotia concludes her exhortations with an
address to her three sons in general. She recounts anew the evils
of intestine strife which had rendered Scotland the theatre of all the
various kinds of war described in history. Among these the author
mentions that he has seen nine or ten thousand men collected in an
illegal manner for the violent ejection of tenants, or the seizure of a
poor man's teind or tithe in harvest; a witness to the way in
which the barons and churchmen took the law into their own hands
when the country had no effective ruler.

If the weeping philosopher and his laughing brother were to
traverse Scotland, both would find matter enough to exercise their
diverse humours. On this subject the author quotes six lines from
the Italian poet, Philiremo Fregoso, and gives us a specimen of his
own talent in versifying, by translating the same into Scottish metre.
The three plagues with which the book began — war, hunger, and
pestilence — are again mentioned; they abound indeed in all the
literature of the time. The Scottisheman, in 1547, had deplored
the fruite which the " warre bryngeth furthe, whiche is sackyng of
tounes, subuersion of holdes, murder of men, rauishment of women,
slaughter of olde folke and infantes, burnyng of houses, and corne,
with hunger and pestilence, twoo buddes of the same tre." To us
now, trying to pierce the mist of three centuries, the war stands out
in darkest outline on the horizon, but the famine which followed the
destruction of the corn crops, and the pestilence which, like a
shadow, stalked behind the famine, were perhaps even more severely
felt by the sufferers. To one reading the domestic history of Scot-
land in the 16th century, every third year seems to bring a famine,
and every sixth the pestilence. " Little doubt is now entertained
that the exanthematous disease called long ago the Pest, and now
the Plague, and which has happily been unknown in the British

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. xV

Islands for two centuries, was the consequence of miasma arising
from crowded and filthy living, acting on bodies predisposed by
deficient aliment and other causes, and that at a certain stage it
assumed a contagious character. It will be found that the malady
generally, though not invariably, followed dearth and famine — a
generalisation harmonizing with the observations of Professor
Alison as to the connection between destitution and typhus fever,
and supporting the views of those who hold that it is for the interest
of the community that all its members have a sufficiency of the
necessaries of life."1 How the Pest — the Plague of God, Harryson
calls it — haunted the country all these dismal years of strife, we see
from occasional entries in the Diurnal of Occurrents, already quoted :

" 1545. In this tyme (Aug. 9) the Pest was wonder greit in all
burrowis townis of this realme, quhair mony peipill diet with greit
skant and want of victuallis.

" 1549. Vpoun the xiiij day (of Septr), the Inglismen past out
of Haddingtoun, and brunt it and Leidingtoun, and past away with-
out ony battell, for the Pest and hungar was rycht evill amangis
tham, quha mycht remayne na langer thairin."

And in November, 1548, the following entry occurs in the
Treasurer's Accounts (Compot. Thesaur. 1546-50. General Eegister
House, Edin.) :2

" The Quenis Grace [the child Mary Stuart] being suspect of the
Pest, the Treasurer paid for the expensis of his Graces douchfcer,
Lady Barbara, eight dayis in Alexander Guthries chalmer in the
Castle-hill, being with hir in cumpany with three other gentlewomen
with thair servantis, ijli. xixs. iijd."

The Pest has left its mark deeply in the popular traditions of
Scotland ; numerous stories relate its ravages ; in many districts
conical mounds, in some cases natural, in others human works of the
prehistoric ages, are accounted for by a legend of a cottage in which
the Pest had broken out, when the whole horror-struck inhabitants
of the surrounding district assembled, each man with his stone, and
buried up the dwelling with its ill-fated occupants from human
sight. Almost everywhere, too, large flat stones or throughs (Anglo-

1 Robt. Chambers— Domestic Annals of Scotland, sub. 1568.
9 D. Laing, in Additional Note to Lauder's Poems, Early Eng. Text Soc.,
No. 41, 1870.

COMPLATNT. 6

INTRODUCTION.

Saxon Jmrh, a coffin) are pointed out, in the lonely glen, or on the
bare moor, under which the Pest is supposed to be buried, and which
the peasant is careful never to move. Leyden, in his " Scenes of
Infancy," tells us of Denholm Dean, in Teviotdale :

" Mark, in yon vale, a solitary stone,
Shunn'd by the swain, with loathsome weeds o'ergrown I
The yellow stone-crop shoots from every pore,
With scaly, sapless lichens crusted o'er :
Beneath the base, where starving hemlocks creep,
The yellow pestilence is buried deep,
Where first its course, as aged swains have told,
It stayed, concentred in a vase of gold ; "

and relates an associated legend, similar to that of the well-knc wn
tale of Bessie Bell and Mary Gray.1

To avoid the three plagues, the "affligit Lady" exhorts her
children to turn their hearts unto God, and their affection towards
each other, and fortifies her exhortation with various stories from
ancient history, illustrative of the strength of unity and the weak-
ness of division. Turning once more to the treason of which so
many of the nobility are accused, she is willing to believe that some
of them are falsely slandered by the Commons, but reminds them
that the proper course for men under suspicion is to clear themselves
by some signal deed of valour against the enemy, as divers of the
ancient heroes did when they were unjustly suspected. Finally, she
devotes a parting word to the neutrals — from her earnestness,
evidently still a numerous party — who, when they spake with Eng-
lishmen, cursed the fickleness of the Scottish lords that had broken
their promise and bond, honestly contracted, to complete the mar-
riage of the two youthful sovereigns ; and when they spake with
Scotsmen, deplored the dissensions of the Scotch, which rendered
them vulnerable to the falsehood and subtilty of the English.
These she implores to cease from their do-nothing-ism, which will
land them in the end between the two chairs, both of which they
try to secure. War is preferable to an insecure peace. No peace

1 Poems and Ballads of Dr John Leyden, edited by Eobert White of New-
castle. Kelso, J. & J. H. Rutherfurd, 1858, p. 154 ; where in the notes a
large number of Pest-legends are given. See also on this subject Chambers's
Edin. Journal, 1833, i. 7 ; 1842, x. 11.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Ixvii

must be made with England, except on conditions humiliating to
that power, and which, translated into practical language, meant
IS'EVEK !

The hook ends with a quotation from Cicero, " Nihil est turpius,
quam sapientis vitam ex insipientium sermone pendere," having no
discernible bearing upon the context, and seemingly explicable only
on the supposition of Leyden, that the author did not give his name,
but preferred thus obscurely to hint the folly of a wise man by dis-
closure of his identity, making his life depend on the suffrages of
fools.

" A Historian of extensive erudition, and indefatigable research,
tsrms the Complaynt of Scotland ' a most curious piece, well written,
and fraught with great learning — the only classic work in old
Scotish prose.' " Though the position thus claimed for it by
Pinkerton can by no means be conceded, we may agree with Dr
Leyden " that the Complaynt is well written and fraught with great
learning. The style of remark is shrewd and forcible, though fre-
quently quaint and affected ; and the arrangement of the materials,
though sometimes careless, is not devoid of method. The refining,
logical mode of demonstrating the plainest truisms was the fault of
the age, as it had formerly been that of the scholastic philosophers,
and some traces of the habit may be observed in the Complaynt.
The author displays a degree of erudition which, in a refined age,
would be denominated pedantry, but which, at that early period,
did not deserve so severe an appellation. After the discovery of the
ancient models, the general admiration which they excited, while it
established the principles of taste upon a sure basis, produced, in an
equal degree, a servility of understanding, which never considered
that ' no ancient of them all was so old as Common Sense.' For
this reason the author of the Complaynt, instead of establishing his
opinion by solid and rational arguments, is often contented with
exhibiting his authority or exempli. This species of reasoning,
however inconclusive, is attended with the advantage, that it
informs us what kind of reading was fashionable, and what authors
were popular when the work was composed." The following is a list
of authors cited in the Complaynt ; and it may be noticed, that in

Ixviii INTRODUCTION.

no case does the original of any Greek author appear to be quoted ;
Greek was only struggling for recognition at Oxford and Cambridge ;
it was not till after the Eeformation that it became an ordinary
acquirement of the Scholar.

AUTHORITIES CITED. Aristotle, Politics ; St Augustine ; Boccac-
cio ; Eoethius ; Carion's Chronicle ; Cato ; Cicero, De Officiis, Parod.,
De JFinibus, Epistolse; Diodorus; Josephus; Justin; Juvenal;
Lactantius ; Livy ; Mimus Publianus ; Persius ; Philiremo Fregoso ;
Plutarch ; Priest of Peebles ; Sallust ; Seneca the tragedian ;
Thucydides ; Valerius Maximus ; Yincentius ; besides many refer-
ences to the Civil and Canon Law, to the Annals of Borne, and to
the Old and New Testament, with the Apocryphal books, when the
Vulgate is of course always quoted.

THE SUBSEQUENT ADDITIONS TO THE MONOLOGUE.

The fact of these additions has already been discussed ; as to the
cause of them, I can only suggest that, by the time the work was
printed, either the flame of the author's patriotism had begun to
burn less fiercely, or the course of events had rendered his work less
necessary ; and he, fond parent, anxious that his literary child
should present some attractions to commend it to public esteem,
made these miscellaneous additions that those who cared nothing for
his patriotism might be attracted by his physical science, and those
who cared not for physical science might be moved by his music or
tickled by his tales.

According to these additions, then, the author, after listening to
the cries of the animals which saluted the awakening day, made his
way to the sea-side, where he became spectator of a naval conflict
between a galiasse — a broad vessel moved at once by oars like
a galley and by sails, and another ship. The whole scene strongly
suggests passages in Lyndesay's Dreme, the author of which, like-
wise, after describing a rural scene, passes in pensive mood to the
sea-shore, where he has his dream, and is awakened from it by the
" felloun fray " of a ship, when

" Al hir Cannounis scho leit crak of at anis."

THE WORK. INTERNAL.

The account in the Complaynt is, however, much fuller and more
valuable, inasmuch as it preserves to us the sea-cries then in use,
several of which also are the same still, as well as a list of the
various kinds of artillery and firearms known in Scotland early in
the 16th century. "The cheers and terms," says Leyden, "are
chiefly of Norman and Flemish origin, and, with many others of a
similar kind, were preserved to a late period, by that singular race
of men, the fishers of the east coast of Scotland, many of whom
have hardly, at this day, abandoned the peculiar habits and
phraseology by which they were long distinguished from the
pastoral and agricultural inhabitants of the interior parts of the
country." To me they seem, to a great extent, to be Lowland
Scotch, phonetically spelt as heard ; the author himself says that he
will " reherse & report ther crying and ther cal," although he " wist
nocht quhat thai menit." I am bound to say still less should I, a
landsman barely knowing starboard from larboard, and I therefore
gladly insert the following notes upon the subject, which Mr Furni-
vall has kindly procured for me from a friend of ample naval
experience, Mr G. M. Hantler.

" In the first the master of the galiasse caused the boatswain to
pass up to the top, &c. Then the master whistled (the boatswain
whistles now), and bade the mariners lay the cable to the windlass,
to wind and weigh [the anchor]. Then the mariners began to wind
the cable (the cable is wound about three turns round the windlass,
and the anchor is weighed, or lifted from the bottom, by turning or
winding the windlass by means of handspikes), with many loud cry ;
and as one cried, all the rest cried as it had been an echo (they all
cry together, as it is necessary that they pull together), one man
leading with a few words, some of which are the same now as in the
Complaynt. ' Oh, one and all ! heigho I ' the rest then sing
' Cheerily man,' pulling with the words ' Wind, I see him, haul him
up.1 [The words in the Complaynt seem to be " Ware all ! ware
all ! gentle gallants ! wind, I see him, pourbossa (? pu' our best a'),
haul all and one, haul him up to us ! " — J. A. H. M.] Then when
the anchor was hauled up above the water, &c., caupona — cat head
him? (The cable passes through the hawse hole, close to the stem
of the vessel, the anchor hanging there would stop the vessel's way
and would cut through the stem ; it is therefore brought round to
the Cat-head on the bow of the vessel, which is sufficient for a vessel
working by tides in a tide-way, but in a sea-way it is necessary to

1XX INTRODUCTION.

fish the anchor, i. e. to bring up the flukes, so that it lies horizontal.)
And the master whistled ' Two men aloft to the foreyard, loose the
raibands, i. e. yard bands, gaskets (flat small yarn plaited flat like
ladies' hair, bending the sails to the yard), and let fall the fore sail ;
haul down the starboard luff (we say tack now) hard aboard ; haul
aft the fore sheet (sail not now used), haul out the bmc-line.

"The upper part of the fore-sail being fixed to the yard, the
lower ends are each provided with two ropes, called the tack and
the sheet. There is a starboard tack and sheet, and a larboard
ditto ; there is also a block on each side of the deck to make fast the
tacks, and a sheave over the bulwarks and outside the vessel, through
which the sheet is brought and made fast inside. The starboard
luff or tack being hard a board, means that the wind was from the
starboard side, and hard a board, that she was close hauled, either a
foul wind or nearly so. The bmc-line is a small rope attached to the
edge of the sail to keep it from shaking or lifting. [The words to
which this is done, seem to be, " Ho ! ho ! Pull, pull all ! bow

line all ! , haul out stiff, before the wind ; God send fair

weather ! many prizes ! good foreland ; stop ! make fast, and belay ! "
J. A. H. M.]

' Then the master cried, and bade rein a bonnet, vire the trosses,
now hoist, and the mariners began to hoist up the sail ' :

" A bonnet can scarcely be a bonnet-sail, which would only be
set after all the ordinary sail ; the sail next in order would be
one of the head sails, viz. those from the bowsprit, called jibs or
staysails, because they run upon small wooden hoops up the stays, or
support to the masts. A bonnet is now often attached to a jib in a
yacht or small vessel ; it may once have been the name of the sail.
' Now heise ' shows that it was to be raised from the level of the
deck or bowsprit. The words ' More might, young blood, great and
small, one and all,' are used still in the hauling songs. [The Corn-

•jplaynt has in full " Hoist all, , wow ! wow ! a long draught,

more might, young blood, more mood, false flesh, lie aback, long
swack (= jerk), that, that ! there, there ! yellow hair, hips bare, to
him all, gallows-birds all, great and small, young and all, hoist all."
J. A. H. M.] ' Make fast the tiers ' — now the haulyards. Then
the master cried ' Top your topinels, i. e. set your topsails ; haul out
your top-sail sheets ' ; the sheets, already explained, are hauled out
to the yard-arm below them ; they require no tacks as the lower sail
do, as they change tacks by the wind carrying them round. ' Vire
your lifters ', = loose or let go your clew-lines, ' and your top sail
trosses or braces, and hoist the top sail higher, haul out the top sail
bowline ' : when a sail is furled, the two lower ends, called the clews
to which the sheets are fixed, are hauled up to the yard to which the
upper part of the sail is attached, by means of clew lines attached to

THE- WORK. — INTERNAL. Ixxi

the clew and to the centre of the yard (the bunf), and as they thus
lift the sail to the bunt, may have been called lifters; to set the
sail, these must be loosed, as also the bunt-lines, which are small
ropes attached to the lower ends of the sail towards the centre,
bringing up the belly of the sail to the yard. The braces on the
top-sail yard which would be hauled tight — taught, sailors say —
to steady the yard when furling the sail, must be loosed when the
yard is to be hoisted. When the sails are furled, all the upper
yards are lowered on to the cap ; when set, they are raised to the
top of their several masts. ' Hoist the mizen and change it over to
leeward ' : the mizen is the fore and aft sail on the mast nearest the
stern ; it is fixed aloft to a gaff, — not a yard — and below to a boom,
and this boom required swinging over to leeward before the sail was
set, or the wind would have done so, and probably taken the helms-
man's head along with it. ' Haul the linche, and the sheets, haul the
brace to the yard ' : linche I can't make out [Leyden says ' linch-pin
or linspin for belaying the ropes on '] ; the sheet is here hauled out
to the end of the boom ; the brace was hauled from the gaff to the
yard, after the sail was set to keep it steady. Then the master cried
to the helmsman, i Mate, keep [her] full and by, a luff — i. e. close to
the wind — but come no higher ; holdbar ' — this word I give up, —
' arryua ' 1 as you are ; ' steer clear up the helm — this and so ' — thus
and so we say, meaning ' keep her as you are now going.' Then
when the ship was tackled, i. e. all her sail set, or all her gear upon
her, the master cried, ' Boy ! to the top [mast head], shake out the
flag ; take in your topsails and furl them, pull down the nook or
corner of the yard dagger- wise ' — apparently furling the top-gallant
sail because the wind was too strong, and pointing the yard toward
the wind, so that it should offer less resistance to it. ' Mariners,
stand by your gear in ' — I should read and — ' tackling of your sails '.
Afterwards the galiasse puts forth her stoytene, i. e. studding-sails,
— small sails outside the others, carried only with a fair wind — and
a hundred oars on each side to accelerate her speed."

The artillery seem to comprise most of the various kinds of
guns then known : several of them are mentioned in Pitscottie's
account of the Great Michael, a vessel of enormous magnitude, built
by James IV., which " cumbered al Scotlande to put her to the
see ; " " she bare many cannons, six on every side, with three great
bassils, two behind & one before ; with three hundred shott of small
artailljarie, that is to say, myand and battert falcon and quarter
falcon, slings, pestilent serpentens, and double dogs, with hagtor and
culvering, corsbows and handbows. She had three hundred
marincllis to gouerne hir, six scoir of gunneris to vse hir artaill^iario,

Ixxii INTRODUCTION.

& ane thowsand men of warr, by (i. e. besides) capitanes, skipperis,
and quarter masteris."

Leaving the two vessels veiled in the smoke of powder, the
author returns to the fields in time to see a party of shepherds, who
had been early astir after their flocks, sit down to a breakfast al
fresco brought out for them by their wives and children, and for
which each was forearmed with a horn spoon in the lug of his
bonnet — an outfit provided by reapers and other out-of-door labourers
almost to the present day. After the repast, the chief shepherd
makes an oration to his comrades, extoDing the advantages and
superiority of the pastoral life, and claiming for those of his occupa-
tion in ancient times the credit of first observing the motions of the
heavenly bodies, and founding the sciences of astronomy and physics.
To vindicate this claim, he himself gives a long scientific lecture,
traversing the fields of astronomy and meteorology, with numerous
excursions into the domain of astrology, and forming a useful
popular compendium of the natural science of the time. The Solar
system is of course described according to the Ptolemaic theory ; but
the author stoutly fights against St Augustine and other doctors of
the Church in behalf of the Antipodes. His statement that the
Milky Way was commonly known in Scotland as Wailing Street,
and his account of the dog-days, and of curious freaks of thunder,
are among the points of special interest.

Having thus made the shepherd a mouthpiece for his scientific
lore, the author next uses his dramatis personce with less incongruity
to introduce a list of the popular tales, songs, and dances then cur-
rent in Scotland, by professing to give us the titles of them as they
were said or sung by the shepherds, as a recreation after the dry
"prolixt orison" of their leader. These lists are of the utmost
value in connection with the history of Scottish Popular Literature
— indeed, of the ballad literature of Great Britain as a whole, giving
us our earliest data for the existence of many tales, ballads, and
tunes. To them is, without doubt, due the chief part of the interest
which the Complaynt has for the modern reader ; and we cannot but
be grateful to the author for the afterthought which led him to make
this welcome addition to his book. The work of analyzing these

THE WORK. — INTERNAL.

lists, very imperfectly done by Dr Leyden, from the lack of
materials seventy years ago, has recently been done so thoroughly by
Mr Furnivall in his Introduction to " Captain Cox, his Ballads and
Books," edited by him for the Ballad Society, 1871, that my labour
is altogether saved, and the following account is transferred entirely
from Mr Furnivall's Introduction.

THE TALES.

(1) The taylis of cantirberrye. By Geoffrey Chaucer. Editions
before 1548 : by Caxton, about 1478, from a bad MS., and ab. 1484
from a better MS. ; by Pynson about 1493 and (with the Boke of
Fame, and Troylus,) in 1526 ; by Wynkyn de Worde in 1498 ; in
The Workes (ed. Wm. Thynne), by Thomas Godfray in 1532; and
by John Reynes or Wyllyam Bonham in 1542.

(2) Robert le dyabil, due of Normandie. The prose Life (from
the French Romant de Robert le diable) was twice printed by
Wynkyn de Worde without date : ' the lyfe of the moost feerfullest
and vnmercyfullest and myscheuous Robert ye deuyll, whiche was
after warde called the seruant of our lorde Ihesu cryste.' A copy of
one edition is in the British Museum, C. 21. c. ; and another is in
the Cambr. Univ. Library. Mr Thorns reprinted this in vol. i. of
his Early Popular Romances, 1828, and says it is taken direct from
the French, and is not a reduction of the English verse text.

Of the verse Life, which, says Mr Hazlitt, 'follows in general
the prose narrative, but exhibits occasional amplifications,' 'a frag-
ment printed with the types of Wynken de Worde or Pynson is in
the Bodleian Library.'- The verse romance was reprinted for J.
Herbert in 1798, 8vo, from a MS. 'which appears to have been
transcribed word for word' (Thorns) from the old printed edition,
and has been again reprinted in Mr Hazlitt's Remains of the Early
Popular Poetry of England, i. 217—263 : see also p. 264-9. (The
story is told by Mr Furnivall, Captain Cox, cxxxviii.)

(3) The tayl of the volfe of the varldis end. Volfe is, without
doubt, a misprint for voile or velle = well. Robert Chambers, in
his Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, tells at p. 105-7 a fairy tale
of " The Wai at the Warld's End " (Fife), whither a nasty queen,
with a nastier daughter, sends the nice daughter of a king to fill a
bottle with water. The nice daughter comes back ten times nicer,
and marries a bonnie young prince ; but the nasty daughter, when
sent, comes back ten times nastier, and marries a cobbler, who licks
her every day with a leather strap.

(4) Ferrand, erl of Flandris, that mareit the deuyl. The story
is probably the same which is related by Gervase of Tilbury, " de
Domina castri de Espervel1," and by Bournaker, of the ancestor of

1 Otia Imperialia, ap. Script. Her. Brunsvic. vol. i, p. 978.

INTRODUCTION.

the Plantagenet family1. Leyden, p. 237. Barbour mentions Earl
Ferrand's mother in Tfie Bruce, book iv, L 241, etc., p. 85, ed. Skeat:

The erll ferrandis moder was
Ane nygramansour, and sathanas
Scho rasit, and him askit syne,
Quhat suld worth of the fichtyne
Betuix the franch kyng and fair sone.

The devil gave an ambiguous answer ; and the outcome was that

the Earl

. . discumfit wes, & schent, (1. 280)

And takyn, and to pans sent.

See also Complaynt, ch. x, p. 84, where the story is told among the
' exempils ' of ambiguous responses.

(5) The taiyl of the reyde eyttyn vitht the thre heydis. A.S.
Eaten, a giant. " Sir David Lindsay relates, in the prologue to his
Dreme, that he was accustomed, during the minority of James V., to
lull him asleep with ' tales of the red-etin and the gyre carlin." "
Leyden, p. 319. See the Early English Text Society's ed. of Lynde-
say, p. 264, 1. 45. As Lyndesay mentions several of the stories
named in the Complaynt, it may be as well to quote his lines here : —

More plesandlie the tyme for tyll ouerdryue, 32

I haue, at lenth, the storeis done discryue
Off Hectour, Arthour. and gentyll lulyus,
Off Alexander, and worthy Pompeyus,

Off lasone and Media, all at lenth, 36

Off Hercules the actis honorabyll,

And of Sampsone the supernaturall strenth,

And of leill Luffaris storeis amiabyll ;

And oft tymes haue I feinjeit mony fabyll, — • 40

Off Troylus the sorrow and the loye,

And Seigis all, of Tyir, Thebes, and Troye.

The Prophisei* of Rymour, Beid, & Marly ng,
And of mony vther plesand storye, — 44

Off the reid Etin, and the gyir carlyng, —
Comfortand the, quheu that I saw the sorye.

Robert Chambers, in his Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p.
89-94, prints " from Mr Buchan's curious manuscript collection " —
an untrustworthy source, I assume — a fairy tale of the Red Etin of
Ireland, a three-headed giant, who is killed by a poor widow's son
who answers his three questions, " Whether Ireland or Scotland was
first inhabited ? Whether man was made for woman, or woman for
man 1 Whether men or brutes were made first 1 " The young man
frees the giant's prisoners, and among them a king's daughter, whom
he marries.

1 Forduni Scotichron. a Goodall, vol. 2. p. 9.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. btXV

(6) 77f.e tail quliou perseus sauit andromada fra the cruel mon-
gtir. Ovid's Metamorphoses, iv. 663, etc. This and the other
classical stories were probably only short tales from some translation
of Ovid, and, most likely, not printed ones.

(7) The prophysie of merlyne. [See ante, p. xlii-xlvi.]

(8) Tlie tayl of the giantis that eit quyk men. [Probably some
version of Jack the Giant-killer, or Jack and the Bean-stalk, many
varieties of which used to thrill me when a boy, when, after dark-
ness had put an end to " Kings, Covenanters ! " " Duck," or " Hy-
Spy," we used to gather into an entry to " tell boglie tales," till our
hair stood on end, and we were too frightened to separate to go
home.-^T. A. H. M.]

(9) On fat, by fortht, as i culd found. That is, " On foot, by
Forth, as I did go." A ballad not now known.

(10) Vallace. Of the only edition known before 1548, a frag-
ment of 20 leaves only has been preserved. It appears to be printed
with Chepman and Myllar's peculiar types, and is supposed to be
about 1520 A.D. It is translated from the Latin of Robert Blair,
written in the beginning of the 14th century (Hazlitts Handbook}.
Many later editions exist. The translator is said to have been Blind
Harry the Minstrel, about 1470.

(11) The bruce. By Chaucer's contemporary, John Barbour,
Archdeacon of Aberdeen, who died in 1395 or 1396. No printed
edition before about 1570 is now known. Only two MSS. of the
poem are known, of which the best, which has lost its first third, is
in the Library of St John's College, Cambridge, and is dated 1487 ;
the other in the Adv. Lib. Edin. is complete, dated 1489. Now
being edited for the E. E. T. Soc. by Rev. W. W. Skeat ; part I.
publ. 1870.

(12) Tpomedon' "The Life of Ipomydon." Colophon: "En-
prynted at London in the Fletestrete at the sygne of the Sonne by
Wynkyn de Worde ; " no date, 4to, but with " L'enuoye of Robert
C[opland] the prynter." Only one incomplete copy known. This
romance was printed by Weber in his Metrical Romances, 1810, vol.
ii. p. 279, from the Harl. MS. 2252 ; and the story of it is told in
Elljs's Early English Metr. Rom., p. 505, etc., ed. Bohn. " The
hero of this romance is a Norman, though his name be derived from
the Theban war. He is son of Ermones, King of Apulia, and, by
his courtesy and skill in hunting, gains the affections of the heiress
of Calabria, whom he visits in disguise." (Ley den, p. 240.)

(13) The tail of the three futtit dog of norrouay. Robert
Chambers gives the story of "The Black Bull of Norroway" in his
Popular Rhymes, p. 95-99, and that of the similar " Red Bull of
Norroway" at p. 99-101.

(14) The tayl quhou Hercules sleu the serpent hidra that hed vij
heydis. Doubtless a short story from Ovid's Metamorphoses, ix. 70.

The earliest known English Romance on Hercules is late : " The

INTRODUCTION.

History of the Life and Glorious Actions of the mighty Hercules of
Greece, his encountering and overthrowing serpents, lions, monsters,
giants, tyrants, and powerful armies ; his taking of cities, towns,
kings, and kingdoms, &c. With many rare and extraordinary
adventures and exploits, wonderful and amazing. Also the manner
of his unfortunate death : being the most excellent of histories.
Printed for S. Bates at the Sun and Bible in Pye-Corner." Small
4to, no date. One copy is among Malone's books in the Bodleian,
and another was sold at Mr Corser's second sale (Catalogue, p. 55),
where was sold also " HERCULES. Sensuyt les proesses et vaillances
du preux et vaillant Hercules. Bk 1., small 4to. Paris, par Alain
Lotrian. s.d."

(15) The tail quhou the kyng of est mure land mareit the kyngis
dochtir of vest mure land. Can this be " King Estmere " in Percy's
Reliques ? Percy tore this ballad out of his Folio Manuscript — con-
found him for it ! — so that we cannot tell how badly he cookt the
copy he has left us. See the Percy Folio Ballads and Romances,
vol. ii, p. 200, note 1 ; p. 600-7.

(16) Skail gillenderson, the kynyis sone of shelly e. Some Scandi-
navian legend.

(17) The tayl of the four sonnis of aymon. A translation by
Caxton about 1489, of one of the French Romances of the Charle-
magne cycle. Of Caxton's edition no perfect copy is known. The
colophon of the 3rd edition by Wylliam Copland in 1544, now in
Bridgewater House, is the only evidence we have of the existence
of a second edition by Wynkyii de Worde in 1504.

For story see Mr Furuivall's Captain Cox, p. xx.

(18) The tayl of the brig of the mantribil. No doubt a lost
English Charlemagne romance, for in Barbour's Bruce it is said that
Charlemagne

"... wan Mantrybill, and passed Flagot."

Ed. Pinkerton, i. 81 (Leyden, p. 237).

(19) The tail of syr euan, art/tours knycht. No separate printed
tale of Sir Ywain is known except the poem of " Ywaine and
Gawin," printed by Ritson in his Metrical Romances from the
Cotton MS. Galba E ix. Leyden says, p. 256, "in Peringskiold's
list of Scandic MSS. in the Royal Library of Stockholm, besides a
metrical history of King Arthour, which records his league with
Charlemagne, the following titles occur : Sagan af Icent, Eingland
Kappe ; — the history of Ewain, Arthur's best beloved knight in
England, containing his combats with the Giants and Blacks. This
is undoubtedly the romance of Ewain mentioned in the Complaynt.
— Sagan af Herra Bewus, the Romance of Sir Be vis."

(20) Rauf collyar. Dunbar, in his address " To the King," and
Gawin Douglas, in his " Palice of Honour," mention this poem of
Ralph the Collier, though no printed edition of it is known before
that " Imprentit at Sanct Androis by Robert Lekpreuik, anno 1572,"

THE WORK. INTERNAL. IxXVli

•which Mr David Laing reprinted in his Select Remains of the Early
Popular Poetry of Scotland, 1822: "Heire beginnis the taill of
Rauf Coll^ear, how he harbreit King Charlis." See living's History
of Scotish Poetry, p. 88-92. A capital poem it is, that ought to be
known better in England. It is the Scotch parallel of John the
Reve in the Percy Folio (with which Dunbar and Douglas couple it),
and is told in humorous alliterative stanzas ; only, the Collier treated
Charlemagne more roughly than the Eeve treated Edward Long-
shanks, for he

. . hit him vnder the eir with his richt hand

Quhill he stakkerit thair-with-all

Half the breid of the hall.

Mr Laing has kept us waiting a most tantalizingly long time for a
new edition of his excellent Select Remains. The volume contains
several English pieces.

(21) Tlie seige of millan. Milan has seen many a siege since, at
the end of the third century, Maximianus surrounded it with walls.
Attila devastated it ; so did the Goths in 539 A.D. under Vitiges.
Frederic Barbarossa and his Germans took it by assault, and razed
it to the ground in 1162. In the petty wars of the Italian cities in
the 13th and later centuries, Milan took a prominent part. But I
suppose the Complaynt tale to refer to the great Barbarossa siege.

(22) Gauen and gallogras. A titleless copy of 1508 is in the
Adv. Lib. Edin., and its colophon is " Heir endis the Knyghtly tale
of golagrus & gawene [imprentit] in the south gait of Edinbrugh be
Walter Chepman, & Androw Millar, the viii day of Aprile, the
yhere of god M. cccc. and viij yheris." Edited by Sir F. Madden
for the Bannatyne Club in 1839. See Mr FurnivalTs Capt. Cox, p.
xxxiv.

(23) Lancelot du lac. No early printed Scotch or English
Lancelot is known ; and we have only one MS., a Scotch one at
Cambridge, in the University Library, printed by Mr Stevenson for
the Maitland Club, 1839 (Lancelot of the Laik}, and carefully edited
for the Early English Text Society, 'l865, by the Rev. W. W. Skeat.
It is short, and contains only a small part of the French Lancelot.

(24) Arthour knychl, he raid on nycht,
vitht gyltin spur and candil lycht.

Leyden says, p. 229, " The romance, of which these lines seem
to have formed the introduction, is unknown ; but I have often
heard them repeated in a nursery tale, of which I only recollect the
following ridiculous verses :

Chick my naggie, chick my naggie !
How mony miles to Aberdeagie ?
'Tis eight, and eight, and other eight ;
We'll no win there wi' candle light."

I don't believe in Leyden's supposed " romance." It was probably
a ballad.

Ixxviii INTRODUCTION.

(25) The tail offloremond of albanye, that sleu the dragon be the
sen. This Tale is lost. Leyden says (p. 229) that the name of the
hero is mentioned in the romance of Roswall and Lilian (Edinb.
1663, blk. lr., 846 lines ; and Laing's Early Metrical Tales, 1826) :—

Because that I love you so well,
Let your name be Sir Lion dale,
Or great Florent of Albanie,
My heart, if ye bear love to me ;
Or call you Lancelot du Lake,
For your dearest true-love's sake ;
Call you the Knight of arm[e]s green1,
For the love of your Lady sheen.

(26) TJie tail of syr valtir, the bald leslye. Leyden says (p. 230),
" This seems to have been a romance of the Crusades. Sir Walter
Lesly accompanied his brother Norman to the East, in the Venetian
expedition, to assist Peter, king of Cyprus ; where, according to
Fordun (Scotichronicon, lib. xvi, cap. 15) 'ccepenmt civitatem
Alexandrinam tempore ultimi regis David.' After the death of his
brother he became Earl of Ross, and Duke of Leygaroch in France.
The romance," if one ever existed, is lost.

(27) The tail of the pure tynt. " Probably the groundwork of
the Fairy tale of ' the pure tint Rashycoat,' a common nursery tale."
Leyden, p. 236. The tale of ' Rashie-Coat ' (Fife) is told in R.
Chambers's Popular Rhymes, 1870, p. 66-8, and an inferior version
follows it. It is " the Scottish edition of the tale of Cinderella"

(28) Claryades and maliades. No printed copy is known earlier
than 1830, when Dr David Irving edited the romance of Clariodus
from an imperfect MS. of about 1550 A.D., for Mr Edward Piper's
present to the Maitland Club. The romance is earlier than its MS.,
and is translated from a French prose original, of which there was
once an English translation, made before the Scotch one. The
story is of England : — how, after the days of King Arthur, the
young knight Clariodus, son of the Earl of Esture, or the Asturias,
wins and weds the lovely lady Meliades, daughter and heiress of
Philipon, king of England ; and how, after their marriage (at p. 304)
feastings, adventures, tourneys, journeys to Castalie, Ireland, &c., go
on, till the text ends, imperfectly, at p. 376 of the printed edition.

(29) Arthour of* litil bertang^e. This is the book reprinted in
4to by Utterson in 1814 as "Arthur of Brytayn. The hy story of
the moost noble and valyaunt knyght Arthur of lytell brytayne,
translated out of frensshe in to englushe by the noble Johan
Bourghcher knyght lorde Barners, newly Imprynted : " no date,
black letter, folio, 179 leaves. (CoUier, Bill. Cat. i. 63.) Colo-
phon : " Here endeth the hystory of Arthur of lytell Brytayne.
Imprynted at London in Powles churche yeard at the sygne of the

1 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Roxb. Club, and E. E. Text Soc.).

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Ixxix

Cocke by Roberte Redborne." Only two perfect copies exist, at
Althorp and Bridgewater House ; and one imperfect copy.

(30) Robene hude and litil ihone. The earliest edition known is
from the press of Chepman and Myllar, Edinburgh, circa 1508, in
4to, black letter, of which a very imperfect copy is in the Adv. Lib.
Editions also by Wynkyu de Worde, and Pynson (1), before 1549.
See Capt. Cox's Robin Hood, p. li.

(31) The meruellis of mandiueil. We know three editions be-
fore 1548 of this most amusing book of travels and legends,
1. Wynkyn de Worde's in 1499 ; 2. at his sign of the Sun in 1503 ;
3. Pynson's, without date.

(32) (33) The tayl of the ^ong tamlene, and of the bald braband.
Leyden identifies Tamlene with the later ballad of The Young Tarn-
lane in Scott's Minstrelsy, A.D. 1802 (p. 474-480 of A. Murray's re-
print, 1869), a few verses of which appeared in Herd's Scottish
Songs, 1776, i. 159 (ed. 1869), as « Kertouhe, or the Fairy Court,'
and Johnson's Museum. He therefore makes The Bald Braband a
separate romance of French or Norman origin. Mr J. A. H. Mur-
ray does so too, notwithstanding the author's singular " tayl,"
which would lead us to suppose that the two heroes belonged to one
story. See some doggrel verses on " Tarn o' the Linn " in R. Cham-
bers's Popular Rhymes, ed. 1870, p. 33, and Captain Cox, p. cxxvii.

(34) The ryng of the roy Robert, i. e. The reign of King
Robert. In Mackenzie's Lives, vol. i, and Pinkerton's list of the
poems in the Folio Maitland MS., this poem is ascribed to Deine
David Steill. It begins " In to the ring of the roy Robert." A
modernized copy was issued in 1700 under the title of " Robert the
III, king of Scotland, his Answer to a Summonds sent by Henry
the IV. of England to do homage for the Crown of Scotland," is
[rejprinted in Watson's Collection of Scottish poems, pt 3, which
begins " Dureing the reigne of the Royal Robert." Leyden, p. 231.
It is also reprinted " in two different publications of Mr Laing,
Fugitive Scotish Poetry, and Early Metrical Tales. It contains a
magnanimous and indignant answer, supposed to have been returned
by Robert the Third, when Henry the Fourth of England summoned
him to do homage for his kingdom. The author's patriotism may
be more safely commended than his poetry, which is of a very
inferior order." Irving's Hist, of Scot ish Poetry, p. 201, ed. 1861.

(35) Syr egeir and syr gryme. Of this verse Romance no printed
copy is known earlier than 1687. It belongs to Mr David Laing,
who reprinted the 2nd edition known, that of 1711, in his Early
Metrical Tales, 1826. By far the best copy is in Bp Percy's Folio
MS., and is printed in the Ballads and Romances of it, i. 354-400,
in 1474 lines. Its "subject is the true and tried friendship of Sir
Eger and Sir Grime. It sings how a true knight (Sir Grime) stood
faithfully by his friend when misfortune overtook him, and fought
his battle, and won it, and was rewarded with the same happiness

IxXX INTRODUCTION.

which he had so nobly striven to secure for his friend — success in
love." In 1497, the sum of nine shillings was paid to "twa
fithelaris that sang Gray Steil to the King." See Mr D. Laing's
Introduction, and Mr Hales's in the Percy Folio BaL and Rom.
Gray steel was the knight who overcame Sir Eger, and who cut off
the right little finger of every knight he vanquisht. But Grime
slew him for Eger's sake.

(36) Beuis of southamtoun. The earliest copy of this Romance,
•which is translated from a " Frensche boke," is in the Auchinleck
MS. ab. 1320-30 A.D. and was printed by the Maitland Club in
1838. Other MSS. are in the University Library, Cambridge, and
the Library of Caius College, Cambridge, &c. The first printed
version that we know, is from the press of Pynson, without date,
and the only copy known is among Douce's books in the Bodleian.
Of the next print that we know, Wynkyn de Worde's, " a fragment
of two leaves is in the Bodleian among Douce's books." Of the
third print, William Coplande's, a copy is among Garrick's books in
the British Museum.

(37) The goldin targe. This is a poem of Dunbar's, first printed
on six leaves by Walter Chepman and Andro Millar at Edinburgh
in 1508, though the copy in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, has
no place or date on it. It is reprinted in Mr Pavid Laing's edition
of Dunbar's Works, 1834 (with a Supplement 1865), i. 11, and
" the object of this poem is to demonstrate the general ascendency
of love over reason : the golden terge, or the shield of reason, is
found an insufficient protection against the assaults of the train of
love." Irving's Hist, of Scotish Poetry, p. 235, ed. 1861.

(38) The paleis of honour. No copy of this is known so early
as 1548-9, though a Scotch printer's copy must have existed earlier.
As William Copland was at the Rose Garland in 1548, his undated
edition might have been printed in the first year of Mary's reign :
" The Palis of Honoure composed by Gawyne Dowglas, Byshope of
Dunkyll. Imprinted at London in flet-stret, at the sygne of the
Rose garland by wyllyam Copland. God saue Quene Marye," 4to,
black letter, 40 leaves. Henrie Charteris's edition of 1579 was
reprinted for the Bannatyne Club in 1827, 4to. The poem, which
is the longest of Douglas's original works, seems to have been
written in 1501, and describes the author's dream of all the worthies
of antiquity down to nearly his own day, — heathen gods and god-
desses, as well as Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate, — journeying to the
Palace of Honour. This he describes, and the lake, wherein those
who fail to seek it, fall. The poem is an odd mixture of ancient
and modern : Calliope expounds the scheme of human redemption.
See Ii-ving, p. 269-277, for an outline of it.

(39) The tayl quhou acteon vas transformit in ane hart, and syne
slane be his auen doggis. Ovid's Metamorphoses, iii. 155, &c.

(40) The tayl of Piramus and tesbe. No doubt a short tale

THE WORK. — INTERNAL.

from some lost translation of Ovid (Met. iv, 55-165). Golding's
translation was not publislit till 1567.

(41) The tail of the amours of leander and hero. The only
notice we have of the earliest and otherwise unknown, translation of
the work of Musseus the Grammarian, De Amore Herois et Leandri,
is a marginal note in Abraham Fleming's translation of Virgil's
Georgics, 1589, 4to : " The poet alludeth to the historic of Leander
and Hero, written by Musaeus, and Englished by me a dozen yeares
ago [1577], and in print." J. P. Collier, in Notes and Queries, Dec.
8, 1849, p. 84-5. This "tayl" of the Complaynt before 1548 may
— like many others in the list — have been a broadside. Ovid men-
tions the story, Her. xviii. 19.

(42) The tail quhou lupiter transformit Ms deir loue yo in ane
cou. More Ovid : Metamorphoses, bk i.

(43) The tail quhou that iason van the goldin fleice. This may
be " A Boke of the hoole Lyf of Jason " printed by Caxton about
1477, consisting of 148 leaves, and reprinted in 1492, by Gerard
Leeu of Antwerp, with cuts, " The veray trew History of the
valiaimt Knight Jasow ; " but was probably only a short Tale from
the 7th book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Caxton's edition is trans-
lated from Raoul Le Fevre's French original.

(44) Opheus, kyng of porting al. This cannot be the romance of
Orfeo and Heurodis in the Affleck MS., printed in Mr D. Laing's
Select Remains, 1822, in which Orfeo is a king in England, has the
city of Traciens or Winchester, and recovers Heurodis who has been
carried off by the King of the Fairies. Nor can it be Henryson's
poem printed by W. Chepman and A. Millar in 1508 : — " Heire be-
gynnis the traitie of Orpheus kyng, and how he yeid to hewyn and
to hel to seik his quene : And ane other ballad in the lattir end ; —
and reprinted in Mr David Laing's edition of Henryson's Works,
1865. Henryson rightly makes his Orpheus, king of Thrace. Per-
chance some Middle-age writer altered Thrace to Portugal. Geo-
graphy was " of no consequence " with the story-tellers of those
days.

(45) The tayl of the goldin appil. That of Eris, inscribed " to
the fairest," thrown among the Gods at the wedding of Peleus and
Thetis, whence sprang the dispute between Juno, Minerva, and
Venus, its decision by Paris, the rape of Helen, and the fall of Troy,
that central romance of the Middle-ages. Plenty of stories of it, —
long to shorten, short to translate, — were there to serve as the
original of the Complaynt " tayl."

(46) The tail of the thre veird si/stirs. " Clotho, the spinning
fate ; Lachesis, the one who assigns to man his fate ; and Atropos,
the fate that cannot be avoided." Ovid, Met. xv. 781, 808, &c.

(47) The tayl quhou that dedalus maid the laborynth to keip the
monster minotaurus. Ovid, Met. viii.

(48) The tail quhou kyrig midas gat tua asse luggis on his hede,

COMPLAYNT. /

INTRODUCTION.

le cause of his auereis. Another story from Ovid, book xi of the
Metamorphoses.

Ballad on the same subject among the broadsides of the Society
of Antiquaries, written by T. Hedley, and imprinted at London,
by Hary Sutton, dwellyng in Poules Churchyard, and reprinted in
Mr Halliwell's Introduction to Shakespeare's Midsummer Nighfs
Dream, p. 18-19. Sutton printed and publisht from 1557 to 1575.

THE SONGS.

(49) Pastance vitht gude companye. English. Written by
Henry VIII. Facsimiled, with the tune, for Mr "Win Chappell, in
Archceologia, xli. 372, from a MS. that once belonged to Henry
VIII., and now belongs to a Mrs Lamb. The song was also printed
by Dr Eimbault in his Little Book, p. 37, and Mr Chappell in his
Popular Music, from the Additional MS. 5665 in the British
Museum, which was once Joseph Eitson's. It is there called " The
Kyngis Balade." Here it is from Mrs Lamb's MS., pages 24, 25, as
facsimiled in Archceologia, vol. xli, PI. xvi, p. 372 ; but in the MS.
every 11 has a line across its top.

The kynge. H. viij.

(1)

PAstyme wit/t good companye
I loue, & shall vntyll I dye ; —
gruche who lust, but none denye,
so god be plesyd, thus leue wyll I.

for my pastawce

huwt, syng, & dau»ce,
my hart is sett !

all goodly sport,

for my comfort,
who shall me let f

(2)

youthe must haue mm daliance,
off good or yll, SUTO pastance ;
Company me thynke* then best,
all thoughts & fansys to deiest ;

ffor Idillnes
is cheff mastrea

of vices all ;
then who can say
but mirth and play
is best of all ?

(3)

Company wit A honeste
is vertu, vices to flee ;
Company is good & ill,
but euery man hath hys fre wyll ;
the best ensew,
the worst eschew,

my mynde shalbe ;
vertu to vse,
vice to refuce ;

thus shall I vse me.

(50) The Ireir byndis me soir.

(51) Stil vndir the leyuis grene. See (96). In the Maitland
MS., and printed by Pinkerton in his Maitland Poems, p. 205. In
his notes, p. 424, Pinkerton says, " This piece, for the age it was
written, is almost miraculous. The tender pathos is finely recom-
mended by an excellent cadence. An age that produced this, might
produce almost any perfection in poetry." I wonder what the
worthy editor's notion of " quite miraculous " was, though the
" sang " is a good one. See in Mr Furnivall's Captain Cox, p. cl.

(52) Cou thou me the raschis grene. Appendix to the Royal
MSS., 58 (No. 26 in the " Catalogue of the Manuscript Music in the

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. Ixxxiii

British Museum," 1842, p. 10). The Fayrfax MS., leaf 2. Printed
in Ritson's Ancient Songs, vol. i, p. Ixxv, with the music. See
Captain Cox, clii.

(53) Allace, i vylt zour tua fayr ene!1 i. e. I blame your two
fair eyes.

(54) Gode zou, gude day, ml boy.

(55) Lady, help zour presoneir1.

(56) Kyng villzamis note.

(57) The land nounenou [= nonny no].

(58) TJie cheapel calk.

(59) Faytht is there none.

(60) Skald abellis nou.

(61) The abirdenis nou.

(62) Brume brume on hil. English. See Capt. Cox, p. cxxviii,
and Pop. Mus. p. 459.

(63) Allone i veip in grit distres. Godlified in The Gude and
Godlie Ballates, p. 129, ed. D. Laiug, 1868.

(64) Trolee lolee, lemmen dou. Cp. Capt. Cox's Troly lo, p.
cxxix.

(65) Bille, ml thou cum by a lute,

and belt the in Sanct Francis cord ?

In Constable's MS. Cantus the following lines [probably] of this
song are introduced into a medley :

Bille, will ye cum by a lute,

And tuich it with your pin ? trow low ! (Leyden, p. 279.)

(66) The frog cam to the myl dur. Pinkerton, in his Select
'Ballads, ii. 33, says that "The froggie came to the mill door" was

sung on the Edinburgh stage shortly before 1784. Leyden, p. 279,
gives a few lines of another nursery song on the frog (or cat) and
mouse. The earliest English notice of a Frog-song that we have is
' the entry on the Stationers' Register of a license to Edward "White
on 21 November 1580 of four ballads, of which the first is " A moste
strange weddinge of the frogge and the mouse " (Collier's Stat. Reg.
ii. 132). Dr Rimbault has printed in his Little Book, p. 87-94,
three versions of the wedding of the Frog and Mouse, — one Scotch,
from Mr C. K. Sharpe's Ballad Book, 1826, — and mentions another
old "Frogge Song" in Halli well's Nursery Rhymes, ed. 1843, p. 87,
and a parody upon the same in Tom d'Urfey's Pills to purge Melan-
choly, 1719, vol. i, p. 14.

(67) The sang of gilquhiskar.

(68) Rycht soirly musing in my mynde. Godlified in the Godlie
Ballates, p. 54, ed. D. Laing, 1868.

(69) God sen the due hed byddin in France^
And delaubaute hed neuyr cum hame.

1 Mr David Laing thinks, from these first lines, that their songs ar« likely
to have been Alexander Scott's. Al. Scott's Poems, p. x.

INTRODUCTION.

" This song is not known ; it must have been on ' the Chevalier
de la Beaute ' (de la Bastie properly), who was left as Pro-regent in
Scotland when John Duke of Albany retired to France, in the
minority of James V., and who was murdered in 1515." Leyden,
p. 276. See in Dunbar's Works, ed. Laing, i. 251, "Ane Orisoun
quhen the Governour past into France."

(70) Al musing of meruellis, amys lief i gone. A verse of this
song occurs in Constable's MS. Cantus :

" All musing of mervells in the mid morne,
Through a slunk in a slaid, amisse have I gone ;
I heard a song me beside, that reft from me my sprite,
But through my dream as I dreamed, this was the effect."

Leyden, p. 279.

(71) Mastresfayr, ze vilforfayr. i. e. Go to ruin.

(72) 0 lusty maye, vitht flora queue. " This beautiful song was
printed by Chepman and My liar in 1508, and also in Forbes's
Aberdeen Cantus [thence reprinted by Ritson, Scotish Songs, Hist.
Essay, p. xli] : a copy with several variations, is preserved in the
Bannatyne MS." Leyden, p. 279. The latter, not modernized as
in Forbes, whose second song it is, is printed at the end of Alexander
Scott's Poems, p. 97-9, ed. D. Laing. See also Capt. Cox, cliv.

(73) 0 myne liart, hay, this is my sang. Godlified in the
Goalie Ballates, p. 121.

(74) The battel of the Jiayrlau1. The battle was fought in 1411
by the Earl of Mar and his force against the plundering Donald of
the Isles with an army of 10,000 men. A copy of a ballad on the
battle dated 1668 was in the collection of Mr Robert Mylne, the
Collector. " But the earliest edition that can now be traced was
published by Ramsay : and all the ancient poetry which passed
through his hands was exposed to the most unwarrantable altera-
tions. . . The poem consists of 248 lines . . is a dry and circum-
stantial narrative, with little or no embellishment, and can only be
considered as valuable in the belief of its being ancient. Of the
author's historical vein a sufficient estimate may be formed from the
subsequent " stanza :

Gude Sir Alexander Irving,

The much renownit laird of Drum,
Nane in his days was bettir sene,

Quhen thay war semblit, all and sum ;

To praise him we sould not be dumm,
For valour, witt, and worthyness.

To end his days he ther did cum,
Quhois ransom is remeidyless."

Irving's Hist, of Scotish Poetry, p. 162-3.

The ballad, as we now have it, is printed in Allan Ramsay's
Evergreen, 1724, and Laing's Early Metrical Tales, 1826 (Haz-

1 See the Dance Tune, The Battel of Harloe, in the British Museum
Addit. MS. 10,444, leaf 4, back, No. 8.

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. IxXXV

litt's Handbook, p. 32, col. 2), in " Two old Historical Scots Poems
giving an account of the Battles of Harlaw and the Beid-Squair,"
Glasgow, 1748, &c., &c. [Ramsay's copy is the original of all
those in existence, and it is really impossible to tell whether that
is a recooking of the genuine old ballad, or a modern one produced
to supply its place. The philological evidence leads me to consider
it a pure forgery of Eamsay's. — J. A. H. M.]

(75) The hunttis of cheuet. This is the older and far finer
version of the well-known ballad of Chevy-Chase. A noble ballad
it is, this Hunting of the Cheviot, — no doubt that which stirred the
heart of Sidney more than a trumpet, — though it's not known nearly
so well as its poorer modernization, Chevy-Chase. The only copy
we have of it is in the Ashmole MS. 48, leaves 15-18. Hearne first
printed it in his Preface to the History of Gulielmus Neubrigensis,
p. Ixxxii. Percy made it the first ballad in his Reliques, and it has
been reprinted in Prof. Child's Ballads, vii. 29, &c., &c. The
liychard Sheale, whose name is at the end of the ballad, was a well-
known minstrel and writer of doggrel, and made either this copy or
the one from which it was taken. Copiers in old times often signed
their names to that which they copied. The fight of which the
ballad tells, is not known to History, except in so far as it's mixt up
with the battle of Otterbourne fought in 1388.

Of the modern version of the ballad, Chevy-CJiase, the copies
and variations are many. Perhaps the oldest copy is in the Percy
Folio Ballads and Romances, ii. 7-16. That in "the Scotch edition
printed at Glasgow, 8vo, 1747, is remarkable," says Bp Percy, "for
the wilful Corruptions made in all the Passages which concern the
two nations."

See Maidment's Scotish Ballads, 1868, i. 81 ; Dr Rimbault's
Musical Illustrations to Percy's JReliques, p. 1 ; Chappell's Popular
Music, &c., &c.

(76) Sal i go vitht zou to nimbelo fayr ? No such place as
Rumbelo or Rumbeloch is known, though the word rumbelow has
been common in ballad-burdens from early times. " The unmeaning
phrase Rumbylow" says David Irving, " appears to have been used
in the burden of a song by the poets of both kingdoms." It is thus
introduced in a passage of Skelton's Boioge of Court :

I wolde be mery what wynde that euer blowe :

Heue and how, rombelom, row the bote, Norman, rowe.

So in the Scottish song on the battle of Bannockburn, 1314, pro-
served by the English chronicler Fabyan :

Maydins of England, sore may ye morne

For your lemmans ye haue loste at Bannockysborne,

Wyth heue a lowe.
What wenyt the kynge of England
So soone to have wonne Scotlande,

Wyth rumbylow ?

INTRODUCTION.

It occurs also in connection with Heve how! in "Peblis to the
Play," stanza 5 :

Hop, Cal^e, and Cardronow l

Gaderit out thik-fald,
With hey and Juiw, rohumbelow,
The joung folk were full bald.

(77) Greuit is my sorrow. Godlified in the Godlie Bollates, p.
132. The poem is English : The lament of a sad lady whom her
lover's unkindness slays. Sloane MS. 1584, leaf 85. Printed also
by Ritson, in his Ancient Songs, 1790, p. 93; and in the Reliqiiico
Antiquce, 1841, i. 70. See Copt. Cox, clvi.

(78) Turne the, sueit ville, to me:

(79) My lufe is lyand seik ;
Send hym ioy, send hym ioy !

I suppose these two lines belong to one song. '

(80) Fayr luf, lent thou me thy mantil ? ioy ! The original song
is probably lost, but a ludicrous parody, in which the chorus is pre-
served, is well known in the South of Scotland. It begins,

Our guidman's away to the Mers

Wi' the mantle, jo 1 wi' the mantle, jo !
Wi' his breiks on his heid, and his bonnet on his ers,

Wi' the merry merry mantle o' the green, jo ! — Ley den, p. 279.

(81) The perssee fy the mongumrye met. This is line 117 of the
modernized Scotch version of the ballad of " The Battle of Otter-
bourne," printed in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, i. 354, and
Prof. Child's Ballads, vii. 19, &c. :—

The Percy and Montgomery met,

That either of other were fain ;
They swapped swords, and they twa swat,

And aye the blood ran down between.2

The two verses before it have a suspiciously modern twang, and this
verse seems to me a modern cooking of the earlier verse about Percy
and Douglas :

English version. Scotch version.

The Percy and the Douglas mette, When Percy wi' the Douglas met,

That ether of other was fayne ; I wat he was fu' fain ;

They schapped together, whyll They swakked their swords, till sair

that the swette, they swat,

With swords of fyne collayne. And the blood ran down like rain.

1 Places near Peebles.

2 In the differing and short version in Herd's Scottish Songs, i. 154 (ed.
1869), and Child's Ballads, vii. 177-180, where Douglas is killed by a little
boy with a little penknife, the verse above runs thus :

Then Percy and Montgomery met,

And weel a wat they war na fain :
They swapped swords, and thay twa swat,

And ay the blood ran down between. (lines 33-6.)

THE WORK. INTERNAL.

But it may be one of the genuine repetitions that the old ballad
writers often indulged in.

The oldest copy of the ballad that we have is that of the English
version, in a MS. of about 1550 A.D., Cotton, Cleopatra C iv, leaf
64, and was printed by Percy in the fourth edition of his Reliques,
instead of the later and less perfect copy that he had given in his
earlier editions from the Harleian MS. 293, leaf 52. The English
version says nothing of Sir Hugh Montgomery killing Percy, but only

Then was ther a Scottyshe prisoner tayne,

Sir Hugh Mongomery was hys name. (1. 161-2.)

See the treatise by Mr Robert White of Newcastle, on the Battle
of Otterbourne, with appendix and illustrations, London, 1857, and
his advertised " History " of the battle.

(82) That day, that day, that gentil day. The notion that
Prof. Child seems to have started (Ballads, vii. 34, note), and that
Mr Hales sanctions (Percy Fol. Bal. § Rom. ii. 2), that the " That
day, that day, that gentill day " of the Complaynt, is a misquotation
of " That day, that day, that dredfull day ! " 1. 99 of The Hunting
of the Cheviot, and therefore means that Ballad, I cannot away with.
For, 1. the Complaynt has already put The Hunttis of Cheuet in its
list of "sueit sangis," eight above "That day, that clay, that gentil
[or dredfull] day," and would not, of course, repeat it : 2. Why
should we suppose the careful writer of the Complaynt to have put
"gentil "for "dredfull," and thus made a double fool of himself,
when the natural supposition that the ballad — like so many others
in the list — has not come down to us, removes all difficulty ? It is
true that Dauney (Ancient Scotish Melodies, Edinburgh, 1838, p.
53) runs the two lines together as part of one song or ballad,

The Persee & the Mongumrye met
That day, that day, that gentil day ;

but if he is right, this must be a new ballad, and all prior critics
have been wrong in identifying the first line with the Battle of
Otterbourne ballad. Till the discovery of the new ballad, most of us
will hold on to the old one, especially since " That day " has four
accents, as if it were a first line ; though four accents often occur in
second lines.

(83) My luf is laid apon ane Jmycht.

(84) Allace, that sainyn sueit face ! Godlified in the Godlie
Ballates, p. 56.

(85) In ane myrthtfnl morou.

(86) My hart is leiuit [= left] on the land.

THE DANCE TUNES.

(87) Al cristyn mennis dance.

(88) The northt of Scotland.

(89) Huntis vp. This is a lively English tune well fitted for

INTRODUCTION.

dancing, printed in Mr ChappelTs Popular Music,, i. 60, with much
information about the tune and the various words to it. The reader
will find a reprint of the first mention of the tune in my Ballads
from Manuscripts for the Ballad Society, vol. i, p. 310. This was
"in 1537 when information was sent to the Council against one
John Hogon, who had offended against the proclamation of 1533,
which was issued to suppress ' fond hooks, ballads, rhimes, and
other lewd treatises in the English tongue,' by singing ' with a
crowd or a fyddyll' a political song to that tune." (Pop. Mus. i. 60.)
Of "William Gray — " one Gray, what good estimation did he
grow vnto with the same king Henry [VIII], and afterward with
the Duke of Sommerset, Protectour, for making certaine merry Bal-
lades, whereof one chiefly was The hunte it [= is] vp, the hunte is
vp " — the reader will find some Birthday Verses to Somerset in my
said Ballads, p. 311. Religious parodies of The hunt is up are
printed at the end of Mr Halli well's edition of the moral play of
Wit and Science, from the Addit. MS. Brit. Mus. 15,233, and in the
Godlie Ballates, p. 153, ed. D. Laing, 1868: "With huntis vp,
with huntis vp." Any song intended to arouse in the morning,
even a love-song, was formerly called a Imnfs-up. Chappell.

(90) The comount entray.

(91) Lang plat fut of gariau. i. e. Long flat foot of Garioch.

(92) Robene hude. Captain Cox, p. li. ] Does the translator of
the Roman de la Rose refer to this dance :

But haddest thou knowen hym beforne,
Thow woldest on a booke have sworne,
Whan thou hym saugh in thylke araye,
That he, that whylome was so gaye, i
And of the daunce Jolly Robyn,
Was tho become a Jacobyn.

Romaunt of the Rose (? Chaucer's), 1. 7455.

Cotgrave has " Chanson de Rubin, a merrie and extemporall song,
or fashion of singing, whereto one is ever adding somewhat, or may
at pleasure adde what he list. . ."

(93) Thorn of lyn. Leyden quotes at p. 274, a verse from
Forbes's Aberdeen Cantus : —

The pypers drone was out of tune,

Sing Young TJiomlln,
Be merry, be merry, and twise so merrie,

With the light of the moon.

F suppose this to be the English ballad licensed later to Mr John
Wallye and Mr Toye in 1557-8, Stationers' Register A, leaf 22
(Collier's Stat. Reg. i. 4), and quoted by Moros in Wager's Interlude :

Tom a lin and his wife, and his wiues mother,
They went ouer a bridge all three together ;
The bridge was broken, and they fell in :
" The Deuil go with all ! " quoth Tom a lin.

THE WORK. INTERNAL. IxXXlX

See Capt. Cox, p. cxxvii.

(94) Freris al

(95) Ennyrnes [= Inverness, Gael. lonar nis].

(96) The loch of slene [= Slijne}.

(97) The gosseps dance.

(98) Leuis grene. See No. (51), ante.

(99) Makky.

(100) Thespeyde.

(101) The flail.

(102) The lammes vynde.

(103) Soutra. [Soutra or Soultra edge forms the watershed
between the Forth and the Tweed ; and Soutra is a small hamlet on
the ridge, on the highroad from Edinburgh to Lauder. Soutra
separates the South countrie from Lothian. — J. A. H. M.]

(104) Cum kyttil me naykyt vantounly.

(105) Schayke leg fut be/or gossep.

(106) Rank at the rute. -.

(107) Baglap and al.

(108) Ilionne ermistrangis dance. The earliest ballad that we
have on Johnny Armstrong is an English one, but Mr "Win Chappell
has not yet found the tune of it. The words are in Wit restored,
1658, and in Wit and Drollery, Jovial Poems, 1682, called "A
Northern Ballet," beginning :

" There dwelt a man in fair Westmoreland,
Johnny Armstrong men did him call ;
He had neither lands nor rents coming in,
Yet he kept eight score men in his hall."

Popular Music, i. 260, note.

Another English ballad about this hero is entitled " Johnny Arm-
strong's last Good-night ; shewing how John Armstrong with his
eight-score men fought a bloody battle with the Scotch king at
Edenborough, To a pretty Northern Tune" A copy is in the Bag-
ford Collection (643, m. 10, p. 94) printed by and- for W. O[nley] :
also in Old Ballads, 1727, i. 170, and in Evans's Old Ballads, 1810,
iii. 101. Pop. Mus. ii. 776.

But the Complaynt dance must have been one named in honour
of the great Border plunderer Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, who
was hanged1 by James V. soon after that king attained his majority
in 1524, and about whom Allan Ramsay published a ballad in his
Evergreen, which he says he took down from the recitation of a
gentleman of the name of Armstrong, who was the sixth in descent
from the hero. It was printed too in the " Minstrelsy of the Scot-

1 See, in Lyndesay's Satyre (ed. E. E. T. Soc.), p. 454, 1. 2092-4 :
Heir is ane coird baith great and lang —
Quhilk hangit Johne tJie Armistrang —

Of gude hemp, soft and sound.
"Johne the" = "John ye" is a misprint for " Johnye," of the Bannatyne MS.

XC INTRODUCTION.

tish Border," in R. Chambers's Scottish Ballads, p. 35, &c., &e,
How much of the ballad is Eamsay's writing, no one knows.
" Jock o' the Syde " was another Armstrong, and there's a third
Johnie Armstrong in " Dick o' the Cow : " see the Ballads in Cham-
bers, p. 40, 46.

In R. Chambers's Scottish Songs, ii. 528, is also an "Armstrong's
Good-night " cookt up from two bits of four lines each found by
Burns. He, being a poet, left the bits as he found them. When
will his countrymen learn to follow his example, and keep their
meddling fingers off their old singers' remains 1

(109) The alman haye. The Almayne or German haye. The
Hay was a country-dance, of which the reel was a variety. " In Sir
John Davie's Orchestra, ' He taught them rounds and winding heys
to tread.' (In the margin he explains 'rounds and winding-heys '
to be country dances.) In The Dancing Master the hey is one of
the figures of most frequent occurrence. In one country-dance, ' the
women stand still, the men going the hoy between them.' This is
evidently winding in and out. In another, two men and one
woman dance the hey — like a reel. In a third, three men dance
this hey, and three women at the same time — like a double reel.
In Dargason, where many stand in one long line, the direction is
'the single hey, all handing as you pass, till you come to your
places.' When the hand was given in passing, it was always so
directed ; but the hey was more frequently danced without ' hand-
ing.' In ' the square dance,' the two opposite couples dance the
single hey twice to their places, the woman standing before her
partner at starting. When danced by many in a circle, if hands
were given, it was like the ' grande chaine ' of a quadrille." Pop.
Mus. ii. 629.

(110) The bace of voragon.

(111) Dangeir.

(112) T/ie beye,

(113) The dede dance. Not known, I believe, in Scotland ; but
it is, no doubt, either the tune referred to in Hawkins (see below)
or " The Doleful Dance and Song of Death," of which the tune, and
a late Ballad, are printed by Mr Chappell in his Popular Music, i.
85. The tune is also called " The Shaking of the Sheet," and " is
frequently mentioned by writers in the 16th and 17th centuries,
both as a country dance and as a ballad tune." In the recently-
discovered play of Misogonus, produced about 1560, The Shaking of
the Sheets, The Vicar of St Fools, and the Catching of Quails, are
mentioned as country dances. . . The tune is also mentioned in
Lilly's Pappe with a Hatchet, 1589 ; in Gosson's Schoole of Abuse,
1579 ; by Rowley, Middleton, Taylor the water-poet, Marston, Mas-
singer, Hey wood, Dekker, Shirley, &c., &c. "There are two tunes
under this name, the one in William Ballet's Lute-Book, which is
the same as [that] printed by Sir John Hawkins in his History of

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. XC1

Music (vol. ii. p. 934, 8vo. edit.); the other, and in all probability
the more popular one, is contained in numerous publications from
The Dancing Master of 1650-51, to the Vocal Enchantress of 1783."
Pop. Mus. i. 84.

(114) The dance of hylrynne.

(115) The vod and the val.

(116) Schaika trot.

THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.1

" The enumeration of musical instruments used by the shepherds
not only supplies an important chasm in the history of Scottish
music, by informing us what instruments were popular at that
period, but enables us, from the compass of these, to appreciate the
comparative antiquity of our most popular airs." The musical
instruments are eight in number ; " the drone bag-pipe" " the pipe
maid of a.ne bleddir and ane reid," " the trump," " the corne pipe"
" the pipe maid of ane gait horn" " the recorder, the fiddil, and the
quhissil" The bag-pipe, in some form or other, has been known in
almost every country ; at this time it appears to have been as great
a favourite among the Italian peasantry, especially the shepherds of
Calabria, as among the peasants of Scotland. It seems also to have
been the favourite instrument of the French peasantry. It is men-
tioned in a pastoral dirge on the death of Charles VII. of France, in
which many traits of the shepherd-life of that country are exhibited.
Although now usually associated with the Scottish Highlands, it is
only in later times that the bagpipe has there become the favourite
instrument, superseding the ancient Celtic harp. Giraldus Cam-
brensis, about 1188, notices it as a Welsh instrument, but does not
include it among the musical instruments of Scotland and Ireland.
" Ireland," he says, " makes use of only two, the harp and the drum ;
Scotland hath three, the harp, the drum, and the chorus (probably
the crwth) ; and Wales has the harp, the pipes, and the chorus."
The same instruments are enumerated in one of the institutions of
Howel Dda, about 942 : "Every chief Bard to whom the prince
shall grant an office, the prince shall provide him an instrument ; a
harp to one, a crwth to another, and pipes to a third ; and when
1 Chiefly abridged from Ley den.

Xeii INTRODUCTION.

they die, the instruments ought to revert to the prince." From the
Welsh, the bagpipe seems to have passed to the English, and Scot-
tish Lowlanders, and finally to have been appropriated by, and left
to, the Highlanders. In corroboration of this we have the Gaelic
names piob, piobair (pronounced peep, peeper), simply the old
English pipe, piper, whence piubaireachd, pipership, in recent times
imported back from the Gael as pibroch. In olden times a town's
piper was a common adjunct of the Scottish burghs, but the Low-
land bagpipe was a different instrument from that of the Highlanders,
being inflated by bellows instead of the mouth, so that " the per-
fection of the piper's art was supposed to consist in. being able to
sing, dance, and play on the bagpipe at the same time."

The " Pipe made of a bladder and a reed," the second instrument
mentioned, is the original and simple form of the bagpipe or corne
muse. The simplicity of its structure renders it the favourite of
shepherd boys, as its formation is scarcely more difficult than the
whistle. The Trump, or Jews harp, is now chiefly confined to boys,
but in the absence of other instruments has been used for dancing
to, and about the close of the 16th century was held to be the
favourite musical instrument of witches in Scotland. The Corne
pipe is probably Virgil's " tenuis avena," Chaucer's " pipe maid of
grene corne," still formed by shepherd boys under the name of the
drone, and capable of producing tones resembling those of the bag-
pipe. The " pipe maid of ane gait home " is the " stock and horn,"
or " buckhorn," of the Scottish peasantry, formed by inserting a
reed or pipe into a horn, which gives a full and mellow expression
to the sound. The reed or whistle was often formed of the exca-
vated elder branch, to which there is an allusion in the ancient
poem of Cockelbie's Sow, where the " pype maid of a borit bourtre "
is mentioned as the appropriate musical instrument of the " nolt
hirdis."

The Recordar was a small species of flute, or rather flageolet,
and has always been a favourite with the Scottish shepherds ; it is
mentioned as their appropriate instrument in Cockelbie's Soio.
The fiddilly a musical instrument of great antiquity, has, in the
Scottish Lowlands, supplanted the bagpipe. From the number of

THE WORK. — INTERNAL. XC111

MS. canhis of the last two centuries dispersed through the country,
it seems to have been long a very favourite instrument. But the
origin of the Fiddle ascends to a very high antiquity. It is fre-
quently mentioned in the ancient Metrical Romances ; and in some
of these the highest degree of female beauty is expressed by the
simile, " sweet as the cream of milk, or the music of a fiddle."

THE DANCES consisted of dancing " in ane ring," " licht lopene
(leaping), galmonding (gambolling), stendling (striding) bakuart &
forduart, dansand base dansis, pauuans, ga^ardis, turdions, braulis,
and branglis, buffons, vith mony vthir licht da?zcis." " The Ring
dance," says Leyden, " was formerly a favourite in the south of
Scotland, though now gone into desuetude. It was the common
dance at the Kirn, or feast of cutting down the grain, and was
always danced with peculiar glee by the reapers of that farm where
the harvest was first finished in any district. On such occasions,
they danced on an eminence, in the view of the reapers in their
vicinity, to the music of the Lowland bagpipe, commencing the
dance with three loud shouts of triumph, and thrice tossing up their
hooks in the air. The intervals of labour during harvest were often
occupied by dancing the Ring, to the music of the piper who
formerly attended the reapers. The custom of the piper playing
behind the reapers, which has now fallen into desuetude, is alluded
to in the Elegy on the piper of Kilbarchan :

1 Or quha will cause our shearers shear 1
Wha will bend up the brags of weir 1 '

This dance is still retained among the Highlanders, who frequently
dance the Ring in the open fields when they visit the south of Scot-
land, as reapers during the autumnal months. Similar seems to be
the Rinceadhfada, Rinkey, or field dance of the Irish."

Of the "galmonding," Lyndesay (Complaynt, 1. 181) describes
the courtiers of James V.,

" Castand galmoundis, with bendis and beckis,
For wan tones, sum braik thare neckis."

Some of the dances are also mentioned in a work contemporary
with the Complaynt, " The Boke named the Gouernour, deuised by
Sir Thomas Elyot, knyght, London, 1546" (fol. 71), where, after

XCIV INTRODUCTION.

describing the dances of antiquity, the Eumelia, Cordax, Enoplie,
and Hormus, he says, " In stede of these we haue now Base daunses,
bargenettes, pauyons, turgions and roundes." A little later Webbe,
in his "Discourse of English Poetry," 1586, says, "neither is their
anie tune or stroke which maye be sung or plaide on instruments
which hath not some poetical ditties framed according to the
numbers thereof; some to Rogero, some to Frenchmore, to downe
right Squire, to Galliardes, to Pauines, to lygges, to Braicles, to all
manner of tunes which euerie Fidler knowes better then myselfe."
(Ariel's Reprint, 1870, p. 61.)

At the conclusion of " The Introductory to wryte and to pro-
nounce Frenche compyled by Alexander Barcley" (London, 1521,
4to), a spare leaf is occupied by a treatise " Here foloweth the maner
of dauncynge of bace dauwces after the vse of fraunce & other
places, translated out of frenche in englysshe by Eobert coplande,"
which Mr Furnivall has printed at p. clx of his Captain Cox. "We
are told that " for to daunce ony bace daunce there behoueth .iiii.
paces, that is to wite syngle, double : repryse & braule. And ye
ought fyrst to make reuerence towarde the lady / & than make .ii.
syngles .i. double / a repryse / & a braule." Also " ye ought to
wyte that in some places of fraunce they call the repryses /
desmarches and the braule they call / conge in englysshe / leue."
Then follows a description of " Bace daunces," consisting of " Filles,
a marier / with .iiii. measures ; le petit rouen / with .iiii. measures ;
Amours, with two measures ; la gorriere / thre measures ; la alle-
inande. thre measures ; la brette / foure measures ; la royne / foure
measures." These, the translator says, he has put at the end of his
book " that euery lerner of the sayd boke after theyr. dylygent study
may reioyce somwhat theyr sprytes honestly in eschewynge of ydle-
nesse the portresse of vice."

" The Pavan," says Leyden, " was a solemn majestic dance, of
Spanish origin, originally performed by nobles dressed with a cap
and sword, lawyers in their robes, and ladies in gowns with long
trains ; the motion of which in the dance was supposed to resemble
the tail of a peacock, from which the dance is supposed to have
derived its name. From the Pavan, a lighter air denominated the

THE WORK. INTERNAL. XCV

Galliard, was formed ; so that every Pavan had its corresponding
Galliard. Pavans and Galliards frequently occur in the musical
compositions even of the 17th century, and among some verses
annexed to Hume of Logic's MS. Poems, I find ' Certaine wise
sentences of Salomon, to the tune of Wigmore's Galliard.' " But Mr
Chappell says, " Pavana, according to Italian writers, was derived
from Paduana — and not from Pavo — a peacock." Pop. Mus. ii. 772.
" Morley says, ' The pavan for grave dancing ; galliards, which
usually follow pavans, are for a lighter and more stirring kind of
dancing. . .' Baker, in his Principles of Musick, 1636, says, 'Of
this sort (the Ionic mood) are pavans, invented for a slow and soft
kind of dancing, altogether in duple proportion [common time].
Unto which are framed galliards for more quick and nimble motion,
always in triple proportion ; and therefore the triple is oft called
galliard time, and the duple, pavan time.'" — Pop. Mus. i. 157.
"The Galliard was not introduced into England till about 1541
A.D. It is mentioned in the ballad of John de Reeve, in the Percy
Fol. Bal. $ Rom. ii. 579, 1. 529." — F. J. Furnivall. " Cotgrave has
' Galop galliard. The Gallop Galliard ; or a Passasalto ; or one
pace and a leap ; ' and ' Baladinerie : f. High, or lively dancing, as
of Galliards, Corantoes, or Jigges.' Tourdion he explains as 'the
daunce tearmed a Eound. Dancer les Buffons : to daunce a
moms.' The latter name was also known in Scotland, for in
Christes Kirk of the Grene,

Auld Lychtfute thair he did forleit,

And counterfutet Franss
He vced him self as man discreit
And vp the Moreisi dansa

He tuik

At Christes Kirk of the Grene."

Some, of the musical terms employed in the Monologue are
illustrated by the following passage from Higdeii (Polychronicon,
1495, f. 101), quoted by Dr Leyden : "Here wyse men I tell, that
Pictagoras passed som tyme by a smythes hous, and herde a swete
sowne, and accordynge in the smytynge of foure hamers vpon an
anuelt, & therefore he lette weye the hamers, & found that one of
the hamers weyed twyes so moche as another. Another weyed

XCV1 INTRODUCTION.

other halfe so moche as another ; and another weyed so moche as
another and the thyrde dele of another. As though the fyrste hamer
were of syx pounde, the seconde of twelue, the thyrde of eyght, the
fourth of ix. — "When these accordes were founden, Pictagoras gaue
them names, & so that he called in nombre, double, he called in
sownes DYAPASON, and that he called in nombre other hal/e, he
called in sowne DYAPENTE, & that that in nombre is called alle and
the thyrde dele, hete in sownes DYATESSERON, and that that in
nombres is called alle fy the eyghteth dele, hete in tewns DOUBLE
DYAPASON. As in melodye of one strenge, yf the strenge be
streyned enlonge vpon the holownesse of a tree, and departe euen
atwo by a brydge sette there vnder in eyther part of the strenge, the
sowne shall be Dyapason, if the strenge be streyned and touched.
And yf the strenge be departed euen in thre, and the brydge sette
vnder, soo that it departe bytwene the twey deles and the thyrde,
then the lenger dele of the strenges yf it be touched, shal gyue a
sowne called Dyatesseron. And yf it be departed in nyne, and the
brydge sette vnder bytwene the laste parte and the other dele, and
the lenger dele of the strenge, yf it be touched, shall gyue a sowne
that hete Tonus."

Before altogether leaving rural scenes, the author exhibits his
varied knowledge in another direction, by giving us the various
names applied to sheep at different ages, and a herbalist's account of
the various plants which he found in the fields. One may suspect,
however, that his botany was rather book-knowledge than field
work, as he includes in his list several plants not native to Scotland
or even Britain, as, for instance, Anise seed, Cypress, coriander, and
fennel and hyssop. In his birds, at the beginning of the Monolog,
he had similarly included the nightingale and the crane.

III. THE LANGUAGE.

For a complete account of the chronological and topographical
divisions of the Lowland Scotch, I must refer the reader to the
Historical Introduction to my "Dialect of the Southern Counties of
Scotland." I have there shown that the language of Lowland Scot-

LANGUAGE OF THE COMPLAYNT. XCvii

land was originally identical with that of England north of the
Humber. The political and purely artificial division which was
afterwards made between the two countries, unsanctioned by any
facts of language or race, had no existence while the territory from
the Humber to the Eorth constituted the North Anglian kingdom or
eorldom of Northumbria. The centre of this state, and probably of
the earliest Angle settlement, was at Bamborough, a few miles from
the Tweed mouth, round which the common language was spoken
north of the Tweed and Cheviots as well as south. This unity of
language continued down to the Scottish War of Independence at
the beginning of the 14th century, and even after that war had
made a complete severance between the two countries, down to the
second half of the fifteenth century. In England, previous to this
period, three great English dialects, the Northern, Midland, and
Southern, had stood on an equal footing as literary languages, none
of which could claim preeminence over the others as English par
excellence. But after the Wars of the Eoses, the invention of print-
ing, and more compact welding of England into a national unity,
the Midland dialect, the tongue of London, Oxford, and Cambridge,
of the court and culture of the country, assumed a commanding
position as the language of books, and the Northern and Southern
English sank in consequence into the position of local patois, heard
at the fireside, the plough, the loom, but no longer used as the
vehicles of general literature. But while this was the fate of the
Northern dialect in the English portion of its domain, on Scottisli
ground it was destined to prolong its literary career for two centuries
more, and indeed to receive an independent culture almost justify-
ing us in regarding it, from the literary side, as a distinct language.
At the same time, the shifting of its centre of gravity from Lindis-
farne and Durham to the banks of the Forth, where the Angle blood
was mixed with that of the Celts of the original Scotia, north of that
river estuary — and where the speech would in consequence be
affected by Celtic pronunciation — as well as the influences exercised
by a distinct ecclesiastical and legal system, a foreign alliance, and a
national life altogether severed from that of England, began to pro-
duce modifications in the original North Anglian type of the lan-

COMPLAYNT. (J

XCV111 INTRODUCTION.

guage, which finally became so important as to entitle us to consider
the period between 1450 and 1500 as the commencement of a dis-
tinct era in the language and literature of Scotland — an era in which,
for the first time, it became truly national or Scottish. I have
thus divided the language and literature of Scotland into three
periods, an EARLY, a MIDDLE, and a MODERN — the latter dating from
the union of the kingdoms, when Scotch, following in its turn the
fate of the Northern English in England, ceased to be used in books,
or for ordinary purposes in writing, though preserved as the speech
of the people and of popular poetry. Viewed in its relation to the
Middle Scotch of the 16th century, and the Modern Scotch of Burns
or Scott, the language of the early period may be called Early
Scotch, although, in relation to its contemporary dialects, it was
neither more nor less than Northern English. The Grecian scholar
may compare this with a similar fact in the history of the Attic
dialect : the language of Solon in its relations to the Middle Attic
of Sophocles and the New Attic of Demosthenes was Old Attic ;
in its relation to contemporary dialects it was simply Ionic, the same
as the language of Herodotus.

The differences between the Middle Scotch of the 16th century
and the Early Scotch or Northern English — call it which you like —
of the 14th century, was not one of inflections or grammatical forms.
Before the date of the very earliest connected specimens of the North-
ern dialect in the 12th and 13th centuries, that dialect had stripped
itself of the trammels of inflection almost as completely as Modern
English. The plurals of nouns, the tenses and persons of the verb,
the cases of the pronouns, and uninflected state of the adjectives in
Cursor Mundi, Barbour, and the oldest Scottish Fragments, are
identical with those still in use in Scotland and the North of
England, probably the only inflection lost since the 13th century
being the -s of the plural imperative of verbs, still in use in the 16th
century.1 The Southern English dialect, on the other hand, retained

1 In the West Saxon, the plural of the imperative was, without the
pronoun, Cuma&, with it Cume y. In the Old North Anglian Cuines, and
Citme 30. In Early Scotch Cttm-s, and Cum y. In the Middle Scotch Cums
was still used, but when more than one verb came in a sentence, only the first
usually took the -s or -eg.

LANGUAGE OF THE COMPLAYNT. XC1X

a great part of the inflection system of the Anglo-Saxon for some
centuries later; hence there is a vast difference "between the lan-
guage of* Cursor Muridi and Barbour, and that of the Ancren Riwle
and Ayenbite of Inwyt. In the absence of inflection changes, the
transition from the Early to the Middle period in Scotch is marked
by a great change in the system of spelling, by the appearance of
new words or expressions, and the incorporation of a vast number of
French words and Latin words in a French form, as a result of the
intimate relations with France. In the very earliest remains, con-
sisting of isolated words and phrases from the vernacular in the old
Latin laws, &c., the Anglo-Saxon vowels are retained unchanged, as
in blode, fade, fote, thurch, o]>er, boke, ut, tun, bur, forutin, abute ;
by 1400, these had come to be spelt blude, fude, fute, throucli, uthir,
buke, out, toun, bour, forowtin, aboute, but original vowels, Anglo-
Saxon or French, were still kept simple and distinct from diph-
thongs, as in quha, aid, cald, barne, tham, gam, wele, Jcepe, deme,
rose, thole, flour, mure, buke, wyf. In the Middle period these
simple long vowels were written as diphthongs, quliay, auld, cauld,
bairn, thaim, gayne, weill, keyp, deim, rois, roys, thoill, flouir, muir,
buik, wyif. The indefinite article was in the Early period an or ane
before a vowel, a before a consonant, as ane aid man, an ere, a
kyng ; in the Middle Scotch it was ane always, ane auld man, ane
eyre, ane kyng. The relative in the Early period is \at, more
commonly at, fa landis at war gottyn ; in the Middle Scotch quhilk,
plural quhilkis, thay landis quhilkis war gottin. Late in the period,
even quha was used in imitation of the English, 30 quha hes ane
judgis cure. The past participle of weak verbs in the Oldest Scotch
as in English was in -d, assemlyd, grypyd, trastyd (Wyntoun) ; in
Middle Scotch always in -it, assemblit, gryppit, traistit. The
demonstrative tha = those, and the pronoun thai, thay = they, are
always kept distinct by the Early writers ; by the Middle writers
constantly confounded. The participle etand, and gerund etyng, are
always distinct with the Early writers, often confused by those of
the Middle Period. In the plural of nouns the syllable -is, -ys,
formed a distinct syllable after monosyllables in Early Scotch ; in
the Middle, the vowel was not pronounced, and gradually dropped

C INTRODUCTION.

in writing. For other points of difference and specimens of different
date the reader is referred to the work already mentioned.

The Complaynt of Scotlande belongs to the 'Middle Scotch period,
which had already produced the works of Bellenden, Gawain Doug-
lass, and Lyndesay. The orthographical peculiarities of this period
of the language have just been pointed out, and it is to be noted
that on account of these the Middle Scotch is more difficult to read
for a modern Englishman — even for a modern Scotchman — than the
language of two centuries earlier. In the case of the Complaynt the
difficulty is not lessened by the use of v, u, for u, v and w, without
distinction, and the general absence of capitals. I hope, however,
all readers will not be as puzzled with it as a literary friend — one
who has done some Early English work too — who, after curiously
scanning one of the proof-sheets for a minute, asked, " What lan-
guage is this ] Old Flemish — or some Low German dialect dashed
with French?"

Of grammatical forms of interest in the text, we may notice the
plurals, brether, childer, wemen, eene, ky, liors, nolt, still in use in
the North ; the French fashion of using nouns in -s as singular and
plural alike, as in vers, burges, burgeis, verses, burgesses ; the
occasional occurrence of the genitive without inflection, as in " the
inglismen handis," "3our nobil fadir broder," "his systir sone."
The original genitives of these words had been lost, and the modern
substitute not yet fully recognized.

The numeral one, and article an, a, as usual in Middle Scotch,
are expressed by the single form one. The demonstratives are this,
that, with their plurals thir, tha (confused with the pronoun thai,
thay), and ^one of both numbers. In the adjectives we find the
distinction between mair, the comparative of mylcil, and ma, com-
parative of monie, still observed in the folk-speech of the South of
Scotland : " ther is maye of the sect of sardanapalus among vs nor
ther is of scipions ; " " ane pure vedou that hed na mair moneye."

As in the modern dialect also, vthir and vthirs are used re-
flectively for the English each other ; " there tua natours and com-
plexions ar contrar til vthirs ;" "marcus emilius lepedus and fuluius
flaccus, quha hed mortal heytrent & deidly fede contrar vthirs"

LANGUAGE OF THE COMPLAYNT. Cl

The personal pronouns are as still used in Scotland. In the
plural of the 2nd person $e is of course always nominative, $ow
objective ; the 3rd person plural has thai, thay (often confused
with demonstrative tha), and thaym, tham. In the singular scho, as
common in Scotch, represents she. Its is of course not in use, being
often supplied simply by the, " it hes the leyuis appin as lang as
the soune is in oure hemispere, ande it closis jkhe leyuis quhen the
soune pass vndir our orizon " (p. 57. 14).

The Eelative at, so common in the Early writers, nowhere appears ;
the usual Eelative pronoun being quhilk, quhilkis (compare French
lequel, lesquels). The use of quha as a relative — unknown to the
spoJcen dialects of Scotland, the earliest instance of which that I
have found in Scottish literature is in the Acts of thB Scots Parlia-
ment for 1540 — is also familiar to the author of thB Complaynt ;
thus, p. 5, " Siclyke that maist sapient prince ande prelat fadir in
gode, Ihone of Loran, quha is ^our fadir broder, q/thilk be his
prudens hes bene mediatour betuix divers forane princis, quha hes
nocht alanerly vset him lyik ane vail^eant captan," &c.

In the compound pronouns we find self treated as a substantive
in the 3rd person as well as the 1st and 2nd, "al the vicis that his
self committis." There is also, as still in Scotland, a distinction be-
tween our self and ourselves, the former being collective, the latter
distributive : " the quhilk misknaulege of themself and of god sal be
occasione of there auen ruuyne ; " " grete familiarite betuix inglismen
and scottismen amang theme selfis"

The present tense of the verb is thus conjugated with the
pronoun subjects :

I bryng. We bryng.

Thow bryngis. 3e bryng.

He bryngis. Thai bryng.

but when unaccompanied by the pronoun, bryngis is used in all
persons, a peculiarity still marked in the spoken dialect ; thus,

" I that hes bene in inaist fortunat prosperite," " my thrie sonnis
that standis heir in my presens."

" It aperis that the lau of nature is mair perfytly accompleist in
brutal beystes, nor it is in 5011 that professis to be natural men ; for

Oil INTRODUCTION.

3 our werkis testifei-s that $e ar mair disnaturellit nor is brutal beystes
that hes na vndirstanding of raison."

" 30, vndir the collour of frendeschip, purchessis my final exter-
minatione."

" Sum of jou remanis in, jour auen housis."

" Quhen 30 h aue fulfillit the inglismennis desyre, & hes helpit to
distroye jour natyue cuntre."

" Al thir thingis befor rehersit is said to gar 3011 consider that
mankind is subject to the planetis and to ther influens ; for quhou
be it that thai ar" &c.

" We that ar comment pepil vsis na vthir trason, bot murmur is
.and bannis our 'prince secretlye."

The verb to be is thus conjugated :

I am. We ar.

Thow art. Je ar.

He is. Thay ar.

but apart from the pronoun, is is used in all persons.

The past tense does not vary for the persons : / sau, thou sau,
&c., but vas has var or vas in the plural. The Preterit Lve verbs are
also invariable, I vait, thou vait, he vait, we vait, I sal, thow sal, &c.

With regard to the special dialect of the Complaynt, a very care-
ful examination has led me to the conviction that the author was a
Southern Scot, and, probably, even a native of the Border Counties.
I have already said that the shifting of the linguistic centre north-
ward from the Tweed and Tyne to the Forth, caused the Middle
Scotch to represent specially the spoken dialect of Lothian and
Fife. From this it has come that the dialect of the Southern
Counties of Scotland at the present day approaches more closely to
the earliest Scottish remains, which were founded on this dialect, than
to ordinary written Scotch of the 16th century, founded on a more
northern type. Now in many minute points of language in which the
Complaynt differs from other Scottish productions of the period, it
agrees with the peculiarities of the Southern counties. Tims, in the
dialect of Fife at the present day, into or intil is regularly used for
in : he's sitten' intil the hoose ; this usage is constantly employed by
Lyndesay, and other of his contemporaries, thus :

the purifyit Virgin trew,
In to the quhome the prophicie was compleit.

LANGUAGE OP THE COMPLAYNT. Clll

Into that Park I sawe appeir

Ane ageit man quhilk drew me nere.

Moses gaif the Law in mont Senay
Nocht in to Greik nor Latyne I heir say,

Quhairfoir I wald al bukis necessare

For our faith wer in tyll our toung vulgare.

Thocht we in till our vulgare toung did know
Off Christ Jesu the lyfe and Testament.

Arestotill thow did precell
In to Phylosophie naturell ;
Virgill, in tyll his Poetrye,
And Cicero in tyll Oratrye.

But this idiom is never found in the Complaynt ; on the contrary,
in is used for into, which is hardly recognized ; " he resauis in his
fauoir ane desolat prince ; " " thir tua princis entrit in the acha-
demya ; " " he gams them fal in the depe fosse of seruitude, ande
fra magnificens in ruuyne ; " " when the sune cummis in the fyrst
degre of aries ; " "I passit in ane grene feild."

The sparing use of til for to — so common in Fife and Lothian
at the present day, and equally so in Lyndesay, &c. — may be
noticed ; the author of the Complaynt uses it for to before a vowel
to avoid hiatus, as is the usage in the South still : " til al them ; "
" to the grene hoilsum feildis." The dialects of Central Scotland
have lost the distinction between the gerund and participle, pro-
nouncing both as -en, syngen' ; but in the Southern counties as well
as in Northumberland, they are still rigidly separated, as -an1 (and)
and -ene (-ing). Already in Lyndesay we find them constantly con-
fused, in the Complaynt never. Moreover, the gerund is often spelt
-ene, -een, as still pronounced in the South : " the ropeen of the
rauens;" "the jargolyne of the suallou;" "the lang contemplene
of the hauynis ; " " lycht lowpene," &o. Compare tillene for tilling
(p. 39), and, as showing that -ing and -een were convertible, lateen,
lating, garding, gardene.

There are many points of a similar kind, which I might adduce ;
but instead of doing so, I make the general statement, that while I
cannot read ten lines of Lyndesay without having it forced upon
me, as a native of Roxburghshire, that his form of Scotch is not

CIV INTRODUCTION.

mine, I have everywhere found the language of the Complaynt
familiar as the tones of childhood, and ever and anon have been
surprised at the sanction which it gives to forms or idioms which I
had thought to be modern " vulgarisms " of the local patois, but
which are thus shown to have a pedigree of three and a half
centuries to plead.

But the most salient characteristic of the language of the Com-
playnt is the French element in it. The intimate connection
between Scotland and France in the 15th and 16th centuries, the
presence of Frenchmen in Scotland, and still more the education
and temporary residence of all Scotchmen of standing in France,
exerted a powerful influence upon the language and literature of
Scotland, of which it is difficult to say how great the result would
have been, had the intimacy not been disturbed by the Eeformation,
and finally terminated by the acquisition of the English crown by
James VI. The literary Scotch of the 16th century teems with
French words, not derived through the Xorman channel, like the
French words in English, — but taken direct from the French of the
day. As might be expected from the French sympathies of its
author, the Complaynt exhibits this French element to an enormous
extent, not merely to supply the want of native terms, but in pre-
ference to words of native origin, as when contrar is preferred to
against, esperance to hope, reus to streets, bestial to cattle, verite to
truth.

Among the more remarkable French words, and Latin words in
a French form, occurring in the book are the following : —

allya,1 ally, alliance. bullir, boil, gurgle.

antecestres, ancestors. butin, booty.

arryua, arrive. caduc, fleeting.

avanse, advance. calkil, calculate.

barbir, barbarous. carions, corpses, caroignes.

bereis, Fr. berce. cauteil, craft, caution.

bestial, cattle. chasbollis, onions, ciboulcs.

boreau, executioner. chen^eis, chains.

borrel, rude. chestee, chastise.

bonle, ball. citinaris, citizens, citoiena.

brangland, shaking, branlant. conqueise, conquer.

1 final a often used for French final c.

LANGUAGE OF THE COMPLAYNT.

conteneu, lenor.
contrair, against,
corbeis, ravens,
cordinair, shoemaker,
cronic, chronicle,
curtician, courtier,
difficil, difficult,
disjune, breakfast,
dyte, to word, dit.
ensens, incense,
escarmuschis, skirmishes,
eschet, forfeiture,
euoir, ivory, ivoire.
expreme, express,
facil, easy,
fard, paint, farder.
fasson, fashions,
felloun, fierce,
fleurise, blossom,
freuole, frivolous,
fumeterre, fumitory,
fyne, end.
galmound, gambol,
gal^ard, galliard.
garnison, garrison,
gloire, glory,
gre, degree,
impesche, hinder,
importabil, unbearable,
lasche, base, Idche.
loue, praise,
maculat, spotted,
maltalent, ill-will,
manneis, threat,
rnarbyr, marble,
merle, blackbird,
mel, mix.

mistir, need, mestier.
mue, bushel, muid.
murdresar, murderer,
neurise, nurse,
nouvelles, news,
obfusquis, darkens,
olymp, olympus.
oultraige, outrage,
pastance, pastime.

pasuolan, Fr. passevolant.

paveis, Fr. pavoise.

pauuan, Fr. pavane.

perdurabil, lasting.

pissance, power.

plasmatour, creator.

popil, poplar.

potent, stake, gibbet.

prochane, neighbour.

prodig, prodigal.

pulce, push, poulser.

puldir, powder, pouldre.

rammasche, collected, rammasse,

rammel, branching, ramel.

rasche, pull, arracher.

repreme, repress.

ren^e, rein.

reprocha, reproach.

reu, street.

roy, king.

roridellis, Fr. rondelles.

rotche, rock, roche.

salut, safety.

salutifere, healthful.

seremons, ceremonies.

scisma, schism.

siege, seat, see.

siecle, age, century.

sklaue, slave, esclave.

solist, solicitous.

spacier, to walk, Ital. spazlare.

succur, sugar, sucre.

supped it, assist.

suppreme, suppress.

temerair, rash.

turdion, a dance, tordion.

turques, pincers.

vaig, to ramble, vaguer.

veschel, vessel.

vertu, virtue.

vilite, vileness.

ulye, oil, huyle.

vollage, fickle, volage.

unctit, anointed, oincte.

visye, visit.

zelaturs, zealots.

CVl INTRODUCTION.

This list, extensive as it is, conveys but a poor idea of the
influence of the French as shown even in the spelling of common
•words, as verite, felicite, remeid, abusion, souveraine, propriete,
astrologien, damyselle, Inde, Perse, Crisp Salust, Absolon, Hieremye,
Deutronome,:t'Levitic, Capes (Capua), Cartagiens, Senegue, Italie,
Mathou, Marc, Luc. To the French influence we may also refer the
plural form taken by adjectives of Romance origin, as in batellis
socialis, batellis intestynis, invectyues philipiques, demonstrations
mathematiques, lynis parallelis ; and probably the plurals tlie
quhilkis, the saidis, the foirsaidis, the pures = les pauvres, of which
the commons, the rustics are modern instances.

IV. THE AUTHOE AND PLACE OF FEINTING.

To take the latter of these first ; it has generally been assumed
that the Complaynt was printed in Scotland. Dr Mackenzie, the
earliest writer who mentions the work, indeed expressly says,
" Scotland's Complaint against her Three Sons, the Nobility, Clergy,
and Commons, was imprinted at St Andrew's, in 8vo, 1548."
Dr Leyden adopts without question the same view, which is followed
by the Scottish bibliographers generally. My doubts as to its
correctness were first aroused in the process of preparing this edition
for the printer. The misprints in the original, as a glance at the
bottom of the following pages will show, are very numerous, and I
could not help remarking that, in kind as well as number, they bore
a strong resemblance to those in Jascuy's Paris edition of Lyndesay's
Monarche, 1558, part of which I had recently collated, on taking
up the editing of the Early English Text Society's Lyndesay. These
consist mainly in the confounding of t and c, of n and u, f and /,
in, ni, iu, ui, and m, &c., errors very natural for a compositor who
did not know the language setting from MS., but, as it appeared to
me, impossible for a native printer to make, and a native reader to
pass. At kast they were such as native printers did not make in
other works of the day, as may be seen from the typographical pro-
ductions of Chepman and Millar, John Skot, Henrie Charteris, and

THE AUTHOR AND PLACE OF PRINTING. Cvii

Eobert Bassandyne, all of which are very accurately printed ; one
really could not imagine any of these repeatedly printing cJie, chem,
clioJt, bernik, hanyn, notht, mitht,faych, slandris, vuinersal, enyl, uotht,
Jiane, enryie,laudnart,nouch, nenreisuig,anareis, sterius,soucht, jenych,
muue and mnue, sneit, prysomt, scettis, saytlitful, for the, them, that,
Beruic, kauyn, nocht, micht, fayth, Flandris, vniuersdl, etiyl, nocht,
haue, euryie, landuart, mouth, neurising, auareis, sternis, foucht,
$enyth, mune, sueit, prysonit, Scottis, fayihful, with hundreds of
similar blunders, which have their parallels in Jascuy's Lyndesay.
Then came the facts that the printer used no w or j, while w at
least is common in Old Scotch books, being often used for initial v,
whereas here, v and u have each to do duty in three capacities, as in
vyuis, vniuers, vou, muue, = wyvis, unicers, vow, muve ; and
that the entire book contains no vestage of the black letter in which
all the Old Scotch books that I had seen were printed.

Accordingly, when in Scotland in 1870, I set myself, under the
guidance of Mr David Laing, and Mr Halkett of the Advocate's
Library, to examine all the specimens of Early Scottish typography
preserved, and found that until a period long after the date of the
Complaynt, there was no book printed in Scotland in Roman type ;
while among the few words in Eoman which occur in the title pages,
&c., of Early Scottish books, there is no vestige of any type approach-
ing that of the Complaynt. On the other hand, the typography bore
a striking likeness to that in many French works of the 16th
century which I had examined,1 and I had no hesitation in coming
to the conclusion, which the contents of the work entirely favoured,
that it was printed in France. I have since been pleased to find
that the bibliographer Herbert had come to the same conclusion,
and in a copy of his edition of Ames's Typ, Antiq. furnished with
copious MS. notes for the purposes of a new edition, he supports his
opinion by saying that Mr Pinkerton possessed a French book of
about the same date — provokingly vague, it must be confessed —
printed with the same type. Finally, I find that the experts in
typography at the British Museum have just come to the same con-

1 I may mention as a work in question an edition of laques Amyot's Trans-
lation of Plutarch's Lives, Paris, 1600, which I have at the moment beside me.

CV1U INTRODUCTION.

elusion; and that in the new Index, the book has been entered
during the last month as " The Complaynt of Scotlande (vyth ane
Exortatione to the thre estaits to be vigilante in the deffens of their
public veil). Attributed to "Wedderburn, Sir J. Inglis, or Sir D.
Lindsay, Paris] 1549? 16°."

The first mention we have of the work, as already hinted, occurs
in Dr George Mackenzie's Lives of Scottish Writers (Edinburgh,
1708, 3 vols. folio). In the third volume we find what is termed
a life of Sir James Inglis, Knight, who is stated to have been born
in Fife, of an ancient family; to have studied at St Andrew's,
finished his education at Paris, and afterwards returning to Scot-
land, to have ingratiated himself by his skill in poetry with James
V. At the death of that prince he became an abettor of the French
faction ; but after the disastrous battle of Pinkie, in which he com-
manded a troop of cavalry with such distinction as to obtain the
honour of knighthood from the Governor, he retired to Fife " where
amid the innocent amusements of a country life, he composed several
treatises both in prose and verse, of which we have still extant one
called Scotland's Complaint, printed at St Andrew's in 1548; by
which it appears he was well seen in the Grecian and Eoman
histories, and was a great mathematician and philosopher ; a most
faithful and loyal subject, and a great lover of his country."
Mackenzie then gives a very full and careful analysis of the Com-
playnt as we have it, and in conclusion relates that Inglis died at
Culross in 1554. Besides the Complaynt he attributes to him
"Poems, consisting of songs, ballads, plays, and farces, in MS."
Now, not to speak of other palpable errors, we find that Mackenzie
here confounds two different persons of the name of Sir James
Inglis, or, at least, one person of that name, with somebody else who
may probably have been the other Sir James Inglis. Lyndesay, in
the prologue to the Complaynt of the Papyngo (1530), mentioning
the living poets of his day, says :

And in the Court bin present in thir dayis
That ballattis breuis lustely, and layis ;
Quhilkis to our prince daily thay do present ;
Quha can say mair than Schir lames Inglis sayis,
In ballatis, farses, and in plesand playis ?
Bot Culros hes his pen maid impotent.

THE AUTHOR AND PLACE OF PRINTING. C1X

The Maitland MS. also attributes to "Schir James Inglis" a
poem entitled "A General Satire," which the Bannatyne MS. has
with the name of "Dunbar" affixed. This Sir James Inglis,1 a
" Pope's Knight," was a churchman of considerable distinction at
court in the reign of James V. He is shown from, the Treasurer's
Accounts to have been attached to the Royal household in 1511,
was subsequently " Chapellane to the Prince," James V., while Sir
David Lyndesay was Gentleman Usher, Secretary to Queen
Margaret (1515), Chancellor of the Kingis chapell at Stirling
(1527). The earliest and almost the latest entries we have in regard
to him concern expenses for materials " to be hym and his collegia
play-coitis, agane ^ule," for the "farssis and the plesand playis"
commemorated above by Lyndesay. Before 1530 he was advanced
to the Abbacy of Culross in Fife. These circumstances seemed all
to favour the statement of Mackenzie*; a priest who enjoyed well-
earned preferment, and had the best reasons to desire the stability of
the spiritual and temporal powers in Scotland, above all, one who
could write ballads, farces, and plays, and lash the vices of the age
in a " General Satire," seemed the very man who united the talents
displayed in the Complaynt of Scotland. But unfortunately, for the
presumption, eighteen years before the book was written, Sir James
Inglis, Abbot of Culross, was murdered on March 1, 1531, by the
Baron of Talliallane and his followers, who a month after were con-
victed of " art and part of the cruell slauchtir," and beheaded at
Edinburgh, as related in Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. °151.

Thus the Inglis theory seemed to be irretrievably ruined, when
the Scottish Scholar, to whom Scotland owes more than to any
other for the exact history of her early literature, Mr David Laing,
discovered that contemporary with the courtier, preacher, play-
wright, and satirist, there was another Schir lames Inglis also 'n
priest's orders, who from about 1508 to 1550 was chaplain of the
Abbey of Cambuskynneth, in connection with which his name
occurs repeatedly in the Treasurer's books — in the not very literary

1 See a full account of all that is known of him in a long note to the
"General Satire," Dunbar's Poems, edited by David Laing, Edin., vol. ii. p.
398, to which I am mainly indebted for the particulars here quoted.

CX INTRODUCTION.

capacity certainly of singing masses " for the saullis of vmquhile
our souerane Lord, (quham God assol^e !) King James the Third,
and Quene Margarete his spouss." Now as this Inglis lived over
1550, it is just possible that Mackenzie confounded (naturally
enough — till Mr Laing's time, others had done the same) the two
men, and that those portions of the " Life " which do not refer to
the Abbot of Culross, viz. his share in Pinkie, survival to 1554, and
authorship of the Complaynt, may refer to the chaplain of Cambuskyn-
neth. The author of the Complaynt on his own showing, see Chap.
XIX., was likely to be in the fore front in battle with the English ;
and it is not even a fatal objection to this that Inglis had been a
chaplain for 40 years at least, and must, therefore, have been 60
years old in 1547. Nor is it an insurmountable objection to say
that he was " an old obscure chaplain, whose name is in no way
connected with history or literature." Both directly and incidentally
the author of the Complaynt calls it his " first werk," and the entire
Dedication and " Prolog to the Eedar " consistently support this
statement, which there really was no reason to feign if it was
not true.

Our next information on the authorship of the Complaynt is the
Harleian Catalogue, already quoted, p. xvii, where the book is with-
out note or comment set down as " Vedderburn's." Now there is
no known external authority for the title and author's name there
given ; yet the title is unquestionably genuine and authentic in
form, spelling, and entire character, while it is such as nobody
would have invented — at least, it is what I, if after an intimate
study of the book I had been required to write a title for it, should
certainly never have hit upon, while, the moment I saw it, I felt it must
be the genuine one ; it follows, therefore, that the authors of the
Catalogue must have had internal authority for what they wrote,
either in a printed title existing in one of the copies, or a written .
transcript of one. True, neither of the copies traceable to Harley's
Library has now a title-page ; but when Ley den wrote in 1801, the
Roxburgh Copy, he was " informed," bore still a fragment of one,
with the words Tlie Comp alone remaining. Supposing this infor-
mation to be true, and comparing it with what I have said as to all

THE AUTHOR AND PLACE OF PRINTING. Cxi

that remains of the title-page of the Grenville copy now (ante, p.
xix.), it is certainly possible that if so much has perished since
1801, more may have perished between that date and 1743, and that
i.t the earlier date enough was in existence to supply the title given
in the Harleian Catalogue. But while it is, I think, certain that the
compilers of that Catalogue had a genuine title-page before them, it
is not certain that the title-page bore the author's name : the spell-
ing Vedderburn suggests, indeed, the orthography of the book, and
implies an early authority at least ; but internal evidence is, so far
as it goes, rather against the author's name having appeared, and
the " Vedderburn's," which, from the spelling, I cannot think to
have been their own conjecture, may yet have been a written
addition merely of an earlier possessor.

The name "Wedderburn occurs frequently in Scottish History;
the family took their name from the lands and barony of Wedder-
burn in Berwickshire, and the Wedderburns of Blackness and of
Gosford both figure in the Baronage of Scotland. A member of
the family settled in Dundee in the reign of James III., where the
"Wedderburns had multiplied into a numerous connection in the
middle of the 16th century.1 Three brothers, James, John, and
Robert, are specially distinguished in connection with the early
history and literature of the Scottish Reformation. James, the eldest,
" exhibited proofs of dramatic talents, having converted the History
of John the Baptist into a dramatic poem, and also the History of
Dionysius the Tyrant," in both of which, acted at Dundee, "he
carped roughlie the abusses & corruptions of the Papists, counter-
feiting their lying impostures, miracles," &c. Such performances
soon attracted the attention of the clergy, and obliged him in the
year 1540 to flee to France ; notwithstanding that he was denounced
from Scotland as " an heretick " he continued to reside at Dieppe,
or Rouen, till about 1550, when he died, according to Calderwood,
giving to his son the dramatic injunction, " "We have been acting our
part in the theater : you are to succeid ; see that you act your part faith-

1 Preface to "The Gude and Godlie Ballates of 1578," edited by David
Laing, Edinburgh, 1868, where will be found all that is known of the Dundee
Wedderburns, with the accounts in Calderwood's MS. History, 1636, given in
full.

CX11 INTRODUCTION.

fullie." The second brother John took priest's orders, but soon begin-
ning to profess the reformed doctrines, was summoned on a charge of
heresy, and escaped to Germany (ab. 1538), where he sat at the feet
of Luther and Melanchthon. " He translated manie of Luther's dyte-
ments into Scotish meter, and the Psalmes of David. He turned
manie bawdie songs and rhymes in godlie rymes. He returned after
the death of James V. in Dec. 1542, but was again pursued by the
Cardenall, and fled to England," where we hear no more of him.
The youngest brother Robert, likewise in priest's orders, shared the
Lutheran opinions of the two others. "When he was coming home
from Paris (where he completed the education began at St Andrew's),
in a ship which was driven by stress of weather on the coast of
Norway "upon the Saturday before Whitsonday even 1546, after
continuall disputing and reasoning among the passengers, some
Popish, and some Protestantes, he, and the rest of his fellowes tooke
the boldnesse, notwithstanding they understood nothing of the
Cardinall's death, to make his portraiture, or statue of ane great
oaken blocke, and therupon write his name in paper affixed theron.
They accuse him, condemne him, and burne his statue in a great
fire of timber. The Cardinall was slaine that verie day, in the
morning, in his own Castell of Sanct Andrewes." Calderwood. Not-
withstanding these opinions Robert Wedderburu succeeded his
mother's brother, Mr Robert Barry, as Vicar of Dundee (Scottish
benefices were even more directly hereditary than this in the 16th
century), which office he still held in 1553, and to him are ascribed,
as to his brother John, a large part of those parodies or alterations
of Popular Songs or Ballads, found in the collection of the " Gude &
Godlie Ballates," recently reprinted by Mr Laing from the original
edition of 1573.

To this Robert "Wedderburn, also, as being in 1549 "still alive
and officially connected with the Romish church," MX Laing seems
at length disposed to assign the authorship of the Complaynt of
Scotland. " I have little hesitation," he says, " in assigning to
Mr Robert Wedderburn, Vicar of Dundee, the credit of being the
author of that remarkable production, the COMPLAYNT OF SCOT-
LAND, printed (at St Andrew's) in 1549. In coming to this con-

THE AUTHOR AND PLACE OP PRINTING. CXlil

elusion, we have his residence in the vicinity of St Andrew's, the
general tone and character of the book, as conveying the sentiments
of one who was, perhaps, inclined in his heart to be a Eeformer,
although retaining his connection with the Romish Church, and who
imitated Sir David Lyndesay in exposing (with a deal of pedantic
learning) the prevailing abuses of the time ; and more especially his
familiarity with the popular literature of the time, while enumerat-
ing the names of songs, dances, &c., of which Dr Leyden mentions
seven among those which Wedderburn himself is supposed to
have ' metamorphosed ' in the present collection of GUDE & GODLIB
BALLATES." The argument from St Andrew's of course (as I think
that the writer of these words saw, when we examined the early
Scotch printed remains in 1870) falls to the ground. But independ-
ently of that, and while disposed to give every weight to the authority
of the Harleian Catalogue as to " Vedderburn " — while admitting
also, that in a growing age like that of the Eeformation, a man who
wrote the Complaynt one year, might come to write "Hay trix,
tryme go trix, under the greenwood tree," "Hay now the day
dawis," or " God send euerie Priest ane wyfe and euerie Nunne ane
man," a few years after, wide as is the gap between the two
positions — I yet cannot identify our author with the Vicar of
Dundee. If my view of Chapter XIX. be correct (see ante, p. Ix),
one who was years before so far advanced in Lutheranism as to
have made (according to Calderwood) professed Protestants his chief
associates in Paris, and to have, not in a momentary freak, but as
the outcome of a " continual disputation between Protestants and
Papists," burned in effigy the great Cardinal, was not the man to
write that chapter, nor, indeed, to be the thorough-paced partisan of
the French faction, of which the Cardinal was the hero and the
martyr, that the author of the Complaynt proved himself to be.
Further, Wedderburn a native of Dundee would not have written in
the Southern variety of Scotch.

Leaving the external authority as too slender and conflicting to
lead to any conclusion, Dr Leyden, in editing the Complaynt in
1801, endeavoured from internal evidence to make out a case in
favour of the authorship of Sir David Lyndesay of the Mount, Lord

COMPLAYNT. h

CX1V INTRODUCTION.

Lyon King at Anns of Scotland, and the most prominent poet of
his day, whose works, after half a century of neglect, have again
heen rendered accessible to the general reader by the editions of
the Early English Text Society, and of Mr Laing. Leyden elaborated
a very extensive and, it must be confessed, very striking series of
coincidences, in form, style, manner, and matter, between the Com-
playnt and the Poems of Lyndesay, maintaining that these were of
such a kind as to be explicable only on the hypothesis of common
authorship. I do not think I am called upon here to reproduce his
argument, which is probably one of the most successful pieces of
special pleading in existence, but need only say that under coincid-
ences in title, he points out that Lyndesay wrote many Complaints
(The C. of the Papyngo — the C. of Sir D. Lyndesay — the C. of Bagsche
— the C. of the Commounweill of Scotland), and many Exhortations ;
that, in manner, both authors apologize for writing in the vulgar tongue
— he does not tell that Lyndesay's was for writing in our "Inglische
toung," — both quote, and in almost similar terms, Carion's account of
the prophecy of " Hely," applying it so as to fix the date of their own
writing; Lyndesay in his Dialogue discusses the mutabilities of
monarchies and the causes of present misery, enumerates in similar
terms the miseries of Scotland, " a thrinfald wand of flagellation,
mortal weiris, hunger and peste;" quotes the proverb, "Wo to the
realme that hes ouir joiing ane kyng;" uses the simile of the correct-
ing rod thrown into the fire when it has done its work ; refers to the
young Queen in France ; uses many of the same historical illustra-
tions (Death of Cyrus, Battle of Cannae, Sardanapalus, &c.), quotes
several of the same authors ; in his Dreme of Dame Remembrance,
uses machinery similar to that employed in the Vision of Dame
Scotia, depicting a rural scene, and a sea scene, where, it must be
confessed, the similarity of treatment is very remarkable ; describes
lohne the Commonweil in terms closely agreeing with those employed
of Dame Scotia's youngest son in the Complaynt ; causes him in the
Sat lire to complain of the Spiritualise and Temporalitie, accusing
the latter at least of nearly the same oppression and wrong, &c. In
short, had there been nothing on the other side, the circumstantial
evidence for Lyndesay's authorship would almost have been decisive ;

THE AUTHOR AND PLACE OP PRINTING. CXV

but there is another side with arguments, as I think, far stronger.
It has already been shown that our author was almost certainly a
priest ; Lyndesay was a layman, with a mental character about as
far removed from the priestly as has ever existed. But, besides, he
had long since crossed the line which separates the Catholic from
the Protestant. His works date from 1528 to 1553 ; they exhibit in
the author's religious belief a steady and progressive revolt against
the dogmas of the Church, and an eye wide awake, as any in the
nineteenth century, to the bottomless abyss of hypocrisy and pollu-
tion in which the Spirituality had plunged Scotland. Whether we
take his sentiments as exhibited in works written years before, or
those which he must even then have been committing to paper in
his long poem of the Monarch e published three or four years after,
we cannot for a moment imagine him as the writer of any of the
passages in the Complaynt bearing upon the Spirituality, the Sectes,
or the Schism. As little can we impute to him the political opinions,
or the exclusive sentiments of nationality exhibited by our author ;
Lyndesay, as a Reformer, a friend of Knox, and avenger of George
Wishart, an avowed enemy and satirizer of Cardinal Beaton, no-
where in his Avorks manifests the Anglophobia of the Complaynt ;
but, on the contrary, denounces the Prelates as the cause of the
unhappy embroilments with England. While the author of the
Complaynt endeavours to separate Scotch and English, as sheep and
wolves, Jews and Samaritans, Lyndesay ignores political distinc-
tions, claiming " Chaucer, Gower, and Lidgate laureate," as poets
who wrote " in till our vulgare toung," and in every passage where
the subject comes up, speaks of his language as "our Inglisch
touug," an epithet which the author of the Complaynt rejects with
indignation and contempt. Lyndesay does, indeed, in an early work
put into the mouth of FOLIE, when enumerating the competitors for
a fool's cap she has to bestow, after the mode of a cardinal's hat,

Quhat cummer haue je had in Scotland,

Be our auld enemies of Ingland ?

Had nocht bene the support of France,

We had bene brocht to great mischance. — Satyre, 1. 4564 ;

but our " auld enemies of Ingland " was a stock phrase, recited in
all the Scottish acts, and the poem in question was written long

CXV1 INTRODUCTION.

before James V. quarrelled with England, when, indeed, he was
raising high hopes in Henry VIII. that he would join him in
resistance to the papal power. Lyndesay's later allusions to Eng-
land and English things are uniformly friendly and favourable.
Finally, Lyndesay has left us copious specimens of his language. It
is most characteristically the dialect of Fife, abounding in peculiarities
which differ entirely from the Southern Scotch of the Complaynt,
and which would have been to me an insuperable difficulty, even
though it had stood alone, in viewing him as the author.

In conclusion, the only things I consider certain as to the author,
are, (1) that he was a distinct and thorough partisan of the French
side ; (2) that he was a churchman, still attached to the Catholic
faith ; (3) that he was a native of the Southern, not improbably of
the Border, counties. Sir David Lyndesay is peremptorily excluded
from consideration ; no less so, I think, is Wedderburn, Vicar of
Dundee ; in lack of further evidence, the claims of Sir James Inglis
of Cumbuskenneth, and of some unknown priest of the name of
"Wedderburn, are equally balanced, though, if the part of Mackenzie's
Life which calls Inglis a Fife man belongs to this Inglis, the
evidence of dialect would be against him.

V. REPRINTS.

LORD HAILES in editing poems from the Bannatyne MS. had de-
clared, that " if the study of Scottish History should ever revive, a
new edition of Inglis's Complaynt would be an acceptable present
to the public," and a limited edition extending to 150 copies was
printed by Dr John Ley den (author of the " Scenes of Infancy "
and other poems), at Edinburgh, 1801. Leyden's work is very care-
fully and faithfully done, the few errors in the text which I have come
upon occurring mainly in those leaves which were wanting in the
copies to which the editor himself had access, and for which he was
obliged to depend on the work of others. His edition, however,
professes to answer page for page, and line for line, to the original ;
this it does only roughly ; at the beginnings of the chapters
especially, which have a large 6-line letter in the original, the first

REPRINTS. CXV11

twenty or thirty lines have . no correspondence. Notwithstanding
minor defects, however, as the use of a z for the 3 of the original,
occasional omissions of the sign of contraction, which Leyden did
not expand, &c., the work is a creditable piece of scholarship for the
beginning of this century, when such low feelings prevailed generally
as to the importance of literal accuracy — indeed the editor was
attacked by no less an authority than Pinkerton, for not printing
the text " as a classic," i. e. cooking the spelling, &c., as he himself
would have done. A long and valuable Introduction, though badly
arranged, and sometimes irrelevant, displayed an immense acquaint-
ance with early literature, and by the accounts and specimens which
it furnished of works only existing in MS. or unique old impressions
did much to stimulate the formation of the great printing clubs of
Scotland a generation ago, which again in their turn paved the way
for the Early English Texb and kindred popular Societies of the
present day. Remarks on the language, for which Leyden was
specially fitted, and which would have been a real gain to Scottish
Philology, clearing the subject of the fantastic nonsense with which
Pinkerton and his followers managed to invest it, he was obliged
for want of space to omit. His glossary, however, is of very con-
siderable value, and the information contained in it has been largely
used by others with and without acknowledgment.

The accuracy of Leyden's edition has enabled me to dispense
with copying the original ; a copy of Leyden's was carefully read and
collated by me with the originals in the British Museum first of all,
and having been brought into conformity with these, was used for
printing from. The sheets have subsequently been twice read with
the original, and now, I believe, accurately reproduce it, although
one Erratum in the text has unfortunately escaped my notice till
after the sheet was printed off :

page 176, 1. 124, for the spyit read and spyit.

Contractions, according to the rule of the Society, have been
expanded, and side-notes added, epitomizing the text. These addi-
tional notes being in small roman type, will not be confounded with
the marginal notes of the original in larger italics. I felt a little

CXV1U INTRODUCTION.

difficulty what to do with the misprints of the original, whether to
let them stand in the text, and correct them beneath, in which one
might often be merely perpetuating a turned n as a u, and vice versa,
or to correct them in the text and place the original under ; the lat-
ter has been done, at the risk, it may be, of now and then altering,
as a misprint, what was only a variety of spelling on the part of the
writer. At least, in every alteration, the original is given below,
except in the case of Latin citations in the margin, where obvious
misprints have been corrected without remark. Having had oppor-
tunities of fully examining the two copies in the British Museum,
and that in the Advocate's Library (for which I have to acknowledge
the courteous help of the late Mr Halkett, and of Mr Jamieson in the
Advocate's Library, of the late Mr "Watts, of Mr "W. Blenchley Rye,
and many other officers of the British Museum), I have paid especial
attention to the indications of alterations made in the original edition
before the sheets left the printer, and which are described in the
preceding pages. The true character of these alterations had not
before" been observed : Leyden does not seem to have known of their
existence.

The specimen folio (p. vi), in which our excellent printers,
Messrs Childs — to whose care, indulgence, and patience with the
irregularities of amateur editors I have to bear grateful testimony —
have produced as close a facsimile of the original as could be done
by new clean type, gives an excellent idea of the appearance of the
book, presenting as it does all the varieties of type contained in it ;
the outside lines show the size of the pages. Mr "VV. H. Hooper,
who cut the initial A for us, was so much taken with the T which
begins the book, that he reproduced it also, and made a present of it
to the Society : unluckily the first sheet of the text had long been
printed off, but I have managed to make use of his gift to lead off
this Introduction, where it faces the specimen folio ; many readers
will join me in thanking him for this full illustration of the orna-
mental initials of the original. The assistance which I have re-
ceived from numerous fellow-workers, especially from Mr David
Laing of Edinburgh, Mr Furnivall, Mr G. M. Hantler, and Rev.
"VV. "VV. Skeat, has been acknowledged as occasion presented, and I

THE APPENDIX DOCUMENTS.

have here again to express my thanks for their valued aid, as well
as for the painstaking labour of my wife who compiled the Glossary,
and of Miss Toulmin Smith, who copied the Appendix documents
from the originals in the British Museum.

The APPENDIX contains four tracts on the English side of the
question, which it seemed desirable to print, on account of their
extreme scarcity, and because they, or some of them at least, are
referred to and combated in the Complaynt.

No. I. The " Declaration of the just causes of the warre with
the Scottes" was issued in 1542 on the outbreak of hostilities be-
tween Henry VIII. and James V., in consequence of the latter
breaking his promise to meet his uncle at York. " The first step
was a letter to the Archbishop of York by the Council, who .... state
the resolution ' to have the king's majesty's title to the realm of Scot-
land more fully, plainly, and clearly set forth to all the world ; ' and
the Archbishop Lee, who is understood to be learned in such matters,
is ordered to assist in making out a case ' with all convenient expe-
dition.' " x The Declaration accordingly recounts the acts of kindness
done by Henry VIII. to his nephew during the minority of the
latter, the repeated disappointments and indignities with which he
had been rewarded by the bad faith of the Scottish king, and the
determined spirit of hostility which leaves him no resource but that
of the sword. Then passing from the immediate cause of the war
we have a revival of the English claims over Scotland as put forth
by Edward I. with Brutus, Albanactus and Locrinus once more
trotted out in their support, and followed by a long list of the occa-
sions on which the English supremacy had been acknowledged or
enforced by their successors. This pamphlet, of which the part
referring to current events has been reproduced in Holinshead's
History of Scotland, and by Mr Froude, seemed worth printing in
full, as, whether or not directly referred to in the Complaynt, it is
the foundation of the pamphlets which followed on the English side
and are attacked by our author. It is here reprinted from the Gren-
ville copy 5945, in the British Museum Library, a small 4to, black-
1 J. H. Burton, Hist, of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 3G9.

CXX INTRODUCTION.

letter, of fourteen leaves, besides those bearing the title-page and
colophon.1

No, II. " An Exhortacion to the Scottes to conforme themselfes
to the honorable, Expedient, & godly Ynion betweene the two
Eealmes of Englande & Scotland." This is a longer document
than the preceding; it was published in 1547, when the Duke of
Somerset was already approaching the Scottish frontier on the ex-
pedition which terminated at Pinkie, by "James Harryson, Scottishe-
man," who therein implores his countrymen to pause in their career
of blind antipathy to England, before they feel the weight of the
Protector's arm. The writer displays especial antagonism to the
[Roman] clergy of Scotland, whom he accuses again and again of
being the instigators of the deplorable hostilities between the two
countries ; he was probably himself one of the refugees who had- fled
to England to escape the tender mercies of the Cardinal. One sen-
tence in the tract ought to help us in identifying the author and his
share in the events of the time; it is this (p. 225) : "If I should
here entre into declaracion of the righte & title, wherby the kynges
of England claime to be superior lordes of Scotland, I should of some
be noted, rather a confounder of our liberties and fredomes, then a
conseruator, (which name I had late)." As in the Declaration of
Henry VIII., to which Harryson refers his readers for further in-
formation, the story of Brutus and his sons is duly set forth and
defended ; but not content with this, the author proceeds to a critical
dissection of the rival Scottish legend of Scota and Gathelus, which
he stigmatizes as a mere monkish lie, a specimen of the bread made
from the " Coccle which their father Sathan had sowen emong the
Corne," wherewith the priests " have fedde the silly people, utteryng
their dreames and inuencions, in stede of trouthes & verities." He
raises his voice, too, against the Scottish league with France, holding
up to ridicule the sorry figure cut by poor Jehan de Escoce, when
" as a Cypher in Algorism," he serves but as Jupiter's block for the
contumely and insults of the Frogges of France. It is noteworthy

1 It bears a MS. note in the handwriting of Mr Grenville : " I have not
heard of any copy of the original Declaration being extant except the
present."

THE APPENDIX DOCUMENTS. CXX1

also that in personifying Britain as the common mother of English
and Scotch, addressing her unnatural and discordant children, he
gives a first sketch of a figure amplified in the two following pam-
phlets, and developed at full length in the Complaynt, in the personi-
fication of Dame Scotia and her sons. The pamphlet is reprinted
from the copy in the King's Library, 288a 40, Brit. Mus. (64 leaves,
small 8vo, black-letter), which wants the title-page (here supplied
from Lowndes, and therefore not an imitation, as in the case of the
other documents of the Appendix).

No. III. The " Epistle or Exhortacion to vnitie and peace " ap-
peared in the year following the " Scottisheman's " Exhortation, after
the battle of Pinkie, foreshadowed in it, had been fruitlessly fought
and won. It differs greatly from the manifestoes that had preceded
it, in its moderation of tone, persuasive reasoning, and omission of
all claim to supremacy over Scotland, leaving us with the impression
that had it appeared first rather than last, its results might have
been more satisfactory. From it we learn that the preceding pam-
phlets had been by the leaders of affairs in Scotland kept from the
knowledge of the people ; to this the Protector attributes in part the
necessity for the recent battle, which he professes to deplore as
deeply as the Scots can. The main part of the argument is devoted
to showing the advantages which would result to Scotland from a
union of the two realms, by the marriage of the sovereigns, for
which he vainly implores the Scottish nation to renew the contract.
Great attractions are also held out to individual Scotchmen who will
adhere to the English interest, and further the reasonable aims of the
English statesmen. The pamphlet is reprinted from the copy in the
Grenville Collection, No. 5912, a small 8vo of twenty-eight leaves,
black:letter. That foreign nations might be enabled to judge of the
righteous character of the English demands, this pamphlet appeared
simultaneously in English and Latin, the title of the latter being
" Epistola exhortatoria ad pacem missa ab illustrissimo Principe
Domino Protectore Angliae, ac caeteris Regiae Maiestatis Consiliariis
ad Nobilitatem ac plebem, universumq : populum Regni Scotiae,
Lond. per Reg. "Wolfium, 1548." 4to, contains D, in fours (Lowndes),
printed, like the English edition, by Richard Grafton.

CXX11 INTRODUCTION.

JSTo. IV. " An Epitome of the title that the Kynges Maiestie of
Englande hath to the souereigntie of Scotlande, continued vpon the
auncient writers of both nacions." This pamphlet appeared in the
same year (1548), and from the same press as the preceding. It is
probably to be regarded as a weapon kept in reserve, lest the silence
of Somerset's epistle as to the English claims of supremacy should
ever be adduced as a renunciation of these claims. The author in
his dedication to Edward VI. styles himself Nicholas Bodrugan,
othenvise Adams, and the contents of his pamphlet, no less than his
name, testify to his being a "Welshman. His history is an abridg-
ment of that of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and it is amusing to see how
in vindicating the rights of the English kings, he ignores the fact
that the English are not descendants of the ancient Britains, mention-
ing indeed Hengist and Horsa and the false Saxons' blood as inva-
ders, against whom the English kings had to contend, while Alfred
and Athelstan are lineal descendants of Arthur and the old British
princes. To this fiction the author of the Complaynt probably refers
in Chapter XL p. 86, top. As the pamphlet is very lengthy, I
have not thought it necessary to print his tedious abstract of Geoffrey,
and have therefore cut short his " history " at Ferrex and Porrex,
and returned to him when he returns to Scottish matters (see p. 251).
The author says that one objection alleged by the Scotch to the
proposed union was their dread of the severity of the English laws ;
in reply to which he volunteers to show that those of Scotland are
much more iniquitous. But the objection in any case was untenable,
as it would be quite possible for Scotland to retain her own laws, as
indeed " divers places of England have sundry laws to this day."
Taking up the figure of the " Scottisheman," he concludes with a
personification of " oure countrey the common parent to vs all,"
calling upon her rebellious children of Scotland to deport themselves
no longer as a Viper's brood, rending and tearing the mother who
had brought them forth ; and asking " the whole members of her
family of all great Briteigne " henceforth to cultivate friendship and
mutual love, as zealously as they had aforetime persecuted one
another with fire and sword. Two copies of Bodrugan's " Epitome"
are in the Library of the British Museum. One of these c.i.b. has

THE APPENDIX DOCUMENTS. CXX111

MS. notes by the author correcting its numerous typographical errors,
and sometimes inserting clauses: these are here included within
brackets. The book is small 8vo, black-letter, containing 62 leaves,
and one page bearing the colophon.

Such were the works " set furth by the oratours of ingland at
ther protectours instance," which, along with the prophecies of Mer-
line already given (p. xlii), the author of the Complaynt sought to
combat in his vision of Dame Scotia. A perusal of them helps us
to realize more vividly the conditions under which he wrote ; and
though they have swollen the volume beyond the limits originally
intended, it is believed that readers will be glad to have them all
together as necessary accompaniments of a complete edition of the
Complaynt of Scotland.

I have now only to apologize for the length to which these intro-
ductory remarks have extended. I should have been glad if they
could have been shortened without the omission of any point requir-
ing illustration ; failing this, I have endeavoured by clearness of
arrangement, to put it in the power of readers to find at once what
they want ; and I hope that they will in return, and in consideration
of the very great labour which the work has cost me, look leniently
upon the numerous points in which, under a heavy pressure of other
work, I may have failed to satisfy their ideas of an Editor's duty.

JAMES A. H. MURRAY.

Sunny side, Mill Hill, N. W.,
July, 1872.

TO THE EXCEL-

LENT AND I L L V S T I K

Marie Quene of Scotlande, the mar-

gareit and perle of

princefsis.

HE immortal gloir, that procedis be the rycht The renown of

i ,, P . . „ your administra-

lyne 01 vertu, fra jour magnamme auarcsmg of tion is spread

the public veil of the affligit realme of scotlande, coun"^
is abundantly dilatit athort al cuntreis ; throucht the 4
quhilk, the precius germe of jour nobilite bringis nocht producing not

, .. T i • <• only branches and

furtht, alanerly, branchis ande tendir leyuis of vertu: leaves of virtue,
bot as veil it bringis furtht salutiffere & hoilsum frute but salutary fruit
of honour, quhilk is ane immortal ande supernatural a sovereign
medicyne, to cure & to gar conuallesse al the langorius auction 'of' "
desolat & affligit pepil, quhilkis ar al mast disparit of th.e peop't

o r jr 7 i who are almost

mennis supple, ande reddy to be venquest & to be cum driven *° despair

by the invasions

randrit in the subiection ande captiuite of our mortal °T our old

enemies.

aid enemeis, be rason that ther cruel inuasions aperis 13

to be onremedabil. The special cause of our afflictio'ne [* leaf 2, back]

. i-ni i Our afflictions

nes procedit of thre vehement plagis quhilk hes al proceed from

maist succumbit oure cuntre in final euertione. that is cause3:

to saye, the cruele inuasions of oure aid enemeis, the the inroads of the

English, the

vniuersal pestilens ande mortalite, that hes occurit pestilence, and
mercyles amang the pepil, ande the contentione of dissension.

COMPLAYNT. 1

2 ANE EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE.

diuerse of the thre estaitis of Scotland, throucht the

quhilk thre plagis, the vniuersal pepil ar be cum disti-

3 tute of iustice, policie, ande of al verteus bysynes of

illustrious body ande sauL Ande nou, illustir princes, engendrit

princess !

of magnanime genoligie, & discendit of Eoyal pro-
your rule daily genituris, jour regement ande gouernyng, ande also

adds to the

public well-being. 3 our honorabil amplitude of verteouse digmte incressis

8 daly in the contenual auansing of the defTens of oure

Tour virtue sur- cuntre : quhar for 2our heroyque vertu is of mair admi-

passes that of the

ancient heroines ratione, nor vas of Valeria the dochtir of the prudent

consul publicola, or of cloelia, lucresia, penolope, cor-

12 nelia, semiramis, thomaris, penthasillie, or of ony vthir

recorded by piu- vertcouse lady that plutarque or bocchas hes discriuit,

tarch or Boccac- . e> i t • t -i •

cio, in your skilful to be in perpetual memore. for al thair nobil actis ar

resistance of the ,, , ., ., .L-J/I.I i

cruel wolves of nocht to be comparit to the actis that jour prudews
England, gams daly be exsecut, cowtrar the cruel voffis l of ing-

[* leaf s («««>. 5)] land. The quhilkj volffis ar nocht the ra'uand sauuage
tha^thoge'tnat volffis of strait montanis ande vyild fforrestis, that
ghee" Ca"le and deuoris nolt ande scheip for ther pray : bot rather tha
They have ever ar dissaitful volfis quhilkis hes euir been oure aid

been our enemies, .

and since the enemeis. Ande nou sen the deceis of oure nobil illustir

death of your late . , . . ,-, ,. .,., •, ., ,. .-!•/> i

husband, James pnnce kying lames the fyift, jour vmquhile faythtful

V-> lord and hisband, tha said rauisant volfis of ingland hes

24 intendit ane oniust veyr be ane sinister inuentit false

they have titil contrar our realine, in hope to deuoir the vniuersal

plotted anew the _ . ,. .. , ..

ruin of Scotland, noc of oure scottis natione, ande to extinct oure genera-

tione furtht of rememorance : Bot nochtheles, gode of

his diuyne bounte, heffand compassione of his pure

29 affligit pepil, ande alse beand mouit contrar the rauisant

But Providence volfis of ingland, he of his grace hes inspirit jou to be

has made you an . 0,1 , • •, » , i

instrument of ane instrament to delyuir vs fra the captmite oi the

cruel philaris the protector of ingland : as he inspirit

as Queen Esther queen esther to delyuir the captiue ieuis, quhen thai &

was from .

Haman, mordocheus var simsteiiy accusit, and alse persecutit,

be amman, befor2 assuerus kyng of inde.3 and as the

l mitprintjbr volfis? * be for » iude

ANE EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE. 3

holy vedou iudich vas inspirit to delyuir the ieuis fra and Judith from

. . Holophernes.

the crualte of that infideil pagan l oliphernes. Ther is ju(nt 8.
na prudent man that vil iuge2 'that this pistil procedis [* leaf s, back]

,, .. -I 1 , • • i i j i j No one can accuse

ot assentatione or adulatiowe, cowsiderant that ve maye me of flattery

see perfytlye quhou that 3001 grace takkis pane to Th^sacrmceTyou

duelle in ane straynge cuntre distitute of iustice. Ande j££ in ataying

als sour grace beand absent fra sour only Jong dochter, absent from your

only daughter

our nobil princes, and rychteous heretour of Scotland : (Mary Stewart),

quha is presentlye veil tretit in the gouernance of hyr 9

fadir of lau, the maist illustir potent prince of the maist who is with her

father-in-law

fertil & pacebil realme, vndir the machine of the in France,

,. , - , p that rich and

supreme olimp, quhar that 3our grace mycht remane & peaceful realm,
duel amang the nobil princis & princessis of France,

quhilkis ar 3our natiue frendis of consanguinite ande 14

afnnite, ande ther 30 mycht posses abundance of al where you also

might dwell in

pleiseirs most conuement for 3our nobilite, hot 3it, the comfort,

feruent loue that 3 our grace baris touart that tendir

pupil 3 our only dochtir, ande for the delyuering of hyr but for your

•L i f _I/LJ. f A- -j. j i j? j interest in your

heretage* turtht oi captmite, 30 daly 01 3our gudnes daughter's

induris as grit pane, as the queen ysicrata indurit vitht

hyr lorde metredates. 3our grace deseruis nocht to be 21

callit ane nobil, alanerly throcht4 3our verteous verkis,

bot as veil 36 suld be callit ane nobil of genolligie, be YOU are also noble

rason that 30 ar discendit of the maist vai^eant princis

that ar vndir the cape *of hauyn.5 ther can nocht be t* leaf 4]

as proved by the

ane mair ample probatione, nor is the famous atentic authentic chro-

., ,. oj- i ^ i ,-, nicies of diverse

cromklis oi diuers realmes, ande alse the verteouse realms,

verkis dune be 3our antecessours in oure dais ar w"?hin0oOTownn

euident til vs in this present seicle. In the fyrst, 30111 memory-

grace is discendit of them, quhilkis be ther vertu ande 30

be ther vie tore us6 actis hes kepit ande defiendit the Tour ancestors

liberte of ther subiectis in sure pace ande tranquilite, liberties of their

ande hes repulsit vai^eantly al externe violens. 30111 peope>

foir grandscheir godefroid of billon kyng of iherusalem, Your great-grand-

father, Godfrey
de Bouillon,
1 pagam 2 inge 3 here age (not heruage, as L. says).

* trocht 5 hanyn * victore'

4 ANE EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE.

defended Lor- hes nocht alaneriy kepit ande deffendit his pepil ande

subiectis of loran, fra his prochane enemeis that lyis

3 contigue about his cuntre : bot as veil be his magnanyme

and delivered the proues ande martial exsecutione, he delyurit the holy

Holy Land.

land of iudia furtht of the handis & possessione of the

infideil pagans : quhar for the vniuersal ' historiagreph-

ours hes baptist hym to be ane of the principal of al

8 the nyne noblis. for quha vald coresidir the longinquite

of his martial voyaige, ande the grite forse of the

Think how he was oriental pepil, ande the multitude of infidelis ande

withstood by the 1-1

Paynim hosts ! pagan prmcis, quhilkis impeschit hym in that barbir

12 straynge cuntre be diuerse cruel battellis: this veil

[•leaf 4, back] cowsidrit, thai sal fynd that his magnanyme he'roique

ande martial entreprise, vas conuoyit & succurrit be ane

diuyne miracle, rather nor be the ingyne of men. it vil

16 be ouer prolixt to rehers all the vailjeant actis of

His brother baudouyne2 his broder ande successour to the realme of

Baldwin, and hig . - . . - „ , .

successors, kings lerusalem, ande na les prolixt to rehers of his succes-

of Sicily, dukes of i -n • 3 t • # -T

sours, quhilkis var jour predecessours, kyngis of secilie,

Anjou, caiabna, dukis of aniou, calabre, ande of loran. i suld nocht forget

'me' the tryumphant victore, exsecut ande conqueist be the

Tour grandfather . .

Rene, king of vailjeant ande nobil rene inuictissime kyng of secilie,

Charles the Bold due of calabre, ande loran, jour gudscheir, contrar that

potent prince Charles due of Burgungje, quhilk vas

Charlie due repute to be ane of the maist nobil men of veyr in

»'r0* Wl6 cristianite : jit nochtheles, he vas vewqueist ande slane,

gcheir to this be syde the toune of nancy, be the foir said rene jour

erharl'Urth gudscheir : quhar for it aperis veil (illustir princes) that

fyift Ttyng je ar discendit doune lynyalye of them that hes been

/ paug^ . propungnatours for the libertee of ther cuntre ande

31 subiectis. Siklyke the nobilnes of jour vmquhile fadir

Your father's broder antonius, due of calabre, loran, ande of bar, quha

brother Anthony,

duke of Calabria, maye be compant to the deuot kyng, Numa powpilms,

r> the sycond kyng of rome, for his prudens ande dixtiiite,

[*ie»f5] be rason that he hes kepit 'his subiectis in liberte but

1 vninersal » bandonyne

ANE EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE. 5

oppressione, quhou belt his cuntre lay betuix tua of the

maist potent princis that ringis in this varld : that is to 2

say, the catholic kyng of spa/zje elect empriour on ane skilfully steered

, his realm between

syde, ande the maist potewt cristyn kyng of France on France and Spain

the tothir syde, the quhilkis tua riche kyngis hes hed

diuerse tymes birnand mortal veyr contrar vthirs, ait which were often

at war.

nochtheles jour nobil fadir broder, due of calabre ande

loran, hes kepit his landis in liberte fra ther oppression, 8

the quhilk he did be vailjeantnes ande prudens.

Siklyke that maist sapiewt prince ande prelat fadir in

gode, ihone of loran, be the permissione diuyne, Cardi- JohnofLorrain,

nal of the apostolic seige, archebischop of narbon, abbot bishop of Nar-

of cluny, fekkera, ande of sanct ouyne, quha is jour F°camp, anTst

fadir broder, quhilk be his prudens for the public veil J^"' your

off cristianite, hes been mediatour betuix diuers forane 15

princis, to treit pace ande concorde in diuerse cuntreis,

as in ytalie, germanie, flawdris,1 ande spanje, quha hes

nocht alanerly vsit hym lyik ane sperutual pastor, bot

as veil he hes vsit hym lyik ane vaibeant captan, for renowned both in

spiritual and

ane verteous captain can nocht exsecut ane mair vail- temporal matters.

jeant act as quhen he -purchessis pace ande concord, 21

vytht out diminutiowe of his rycht, an'de vitht out [* leaf 5, back]

domage slauchtir or hayrschip to be aruawg the pepil,

as this nobil prelat hes dune diuerse tymes, vytht out

dirrogatiowe of his speritual dignite. Nou (illustir 25

princes) i vil reherse of jour nobil ande vailjeant fadir, Tour father, the

,,,,,.,. , , ., , .. Duke of Guise,

the due oi guise, lieutenant general to the kyng of
France, of all the cuntre of champayngje ande brie :
his actis vald be prolixt to reherse, quhilkis hes been
laitly exsecutit in oure dais. The memor of ane of his
actis is recent, quhen he pat ane garnison of tua tbou- 31
sand men vitht in the toune of sanct quintyne, rycht relieved st
vailjeawtly, contrar the vil of thretty thousand of his
enemeis, quhar he gart mony of his enemeis resaue ther
sepulture be for the said toune, vytht out domage or 35

1 slandris

6 ANE EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE.

hurt til his men of veyr, quhar for euerye man maye

2 meruel of his dexterite, vertu, ande martial sciens. his

magnanyme proues did ane vthir vailjeant act, he

beand bot sex thousand men, he held in subiectione

and raised the fourtv thousand at the seige of perone, ther durst none

siege of Perone;

of that grit cowpanye pas bakuart nor forduart, be rason

7 of the mony assaltis ande escarmuschis that he maid

cowtrar them, quhar that he sleu mony of them, vytht

[*ieaf6] out domage tyl his men of veyr; be that 'industreus

martial act, he renforsit the toune vitht victualis, hag-

butaris, ande munitions, for the hagbutaris past neir to

12 the camp of ther enemeis, ande entrit in the toune but

while he kept the resistance, be cause that jour nobil fadir held the grit

enemy awake on ,, . n n . i , X-L • j xi

the other side. armye of enemeis valkand on tner tothir syde, throucht
the grit assaltis ande escarmuschis that he maid contrar
The town of them. The toune of sauerne baris vytnes of his dele-
witness of ins gent vailjeantnes, that he maid contrar the iminerat
dangeir that vas cummand on the realme of France, at
in the Peasant that tyme quhen ane multitude and infinit nummir of
men of veyr, ande vthirs that lyuit vitht out lau, dis-
21 cendit fra the hicht of germanye. thai var of diuerse
sectis, haldant straynge opinions contrar the scriptour.
thai purposit to compel al cristianite tyl adhere to ther
peruerst opinione : jit nochtheles ther disordinat inten-
25 tiowe vas haistyly repulsit ande extinct be the martial
Ton are thus sciens of jour nobil & vailjeant fadir. Thir vailjeant

truly noble both .. „ , ,.-., ,• • \ i

by virtue and actis ot jour predecessouTS (illustir pnnces) ande jour

grit prudews, makkis manifest, that jour grace is ane

rycht nobil, baytht of vertu ande of genoligie. al thir

30 thingis befor rehersit, i beand summond be institutione

[•leaf e, back] of ane gude jeil,1 hes tane ane teme'rare consait to

I have been so .

bold as to present present to jour nobil grace ane tracteit ot the fyrst
workUof my pen. laubir of my pen. bot jit i vas lang stupefact ande
i had difficulty in timide, for fait of ane peremptoir co«clusione, i nocht

deciding what to

write about. heffand ane perfyte determinatione of quhat purpos or

l i. e, zeal

ANE EPISTIL TO THE QVENIS GRACE. 7

mater that var maist necessair ande honest to be dilatit : 1

than dredour ande schame heand repulsit fra my melan-

colius cogitations, i began to reuolue the librarye of i searched the

treasury of my

my vndirstanding, ande i socht all the secreit corneris1 brain,

of my ga^ophile, ymaginant vitht in the cabinet of my 5

interior thochtis, that ther var na mater mair conuenient and concluded it

ande necessair for this present dolorus tyme, nor to re- rehearse the

herse the cause ande occasione of the onmersiful afflic- "'.Tand "their0

tione of the desolat realme of Scotland, the quhilk deso- w lses'

latione hes occurrit be the mischance of fureous mars, 10

that hes violently ocupeit the domicillis of tranquil

pace, that sueit goddes of humaine felicite. the quhilk

tracteit i hef dediet ande direckyt to sour nobil grace, Deign to accept

of my poor

in hope that $our grace vil resaue it as humainly as it tractate ;
var ane riche present of grit consequens. it vas the 15
custum of perse, that none of the subiectis durst cum custom required
in the presens of ther kyng, bot gyf tha brocht sum every°newh°
gyft or present to be delyurit til hym efferawd 'for ther [*ieaf7]
qualite. the historigraphours rehersis of ane pure man Mng^bring a
of perse, quha be chance rencountrit2 kyng darius. this Apo0rmanwh0
pure man throucht grit pouerte hed no thyng to present ^"^Tand10
tyll his kyng efftir the custum of perse,3 quhar for he ran fe.tch,e^ * "sow-
til ane reueire that ran neir by, & brocht the palmis of water-

Darius accepted

his handis ful of that fresche vattir to the kyng for ane it for the spirit

it showed,

present, that nobil kyng, persauand the gude vil ande and gave a hand-
hartly obediens of this pure man, he resauit that litil
quantite of cleen vattir as humainly as it hed been ane 27

riche presewt of gold, ande he gart delyuir to the said -Exiguim

, P u j ij- munug cum

pure man sex thousand peces 01 gold, and ane goldm dattibipau-

vattir lauar. fra this exewpil cummis ane vlgare adagia, Per amicvs,
quhilk sais, that quhen ane pure man makkis ane

sacrefeis, & throucht his pouerte he vantis ensens to plene lavdare
mak the seremons of his sacrefeis, that sacrefeis sal be

acceptabil befor the goddis, be cause that he dois sa The gods areept

a poor man's

mekil as his pissance maye distribute, it is vrytin in oblation though

he has no incense.
i rnisp. cornetis '•' rcconntrit * pse

8 PROLOG TO THE REDAR.

st Mark tells Sanct marc, quhou cure saluiour estemeit ande com-
commendeTthe' mendit the oblatione of tua half penneis that vas offrit
^SShSSL in the tempil be ane pure vedou that hed na mair

Cum venisset moneye nor1 he estemeit the grite offrandis that vas
autem una vv-

[* leaf 7, back] offrit he riche opulent men. Nou for conclu'sione
dua pauper : .... . , . . , . , . .„

duo (illustir princes) my esperance is sa gnte, that i beleil

minuta, qtiod that ^our grace vil resaue this tracteit as humainly, as

13 ' ' ^yng darius resauit the clene vattir fra the pure man of

My hope is that perse, this tracteit is na bettir nor as mekil vattir. hot

you will similarly

accept my poor ^it my gude vil & hartly intentione, ande my detful

for the sake of my obedicns, excedis the hartly intentione of the pure man

God preserve "' that offrit the fayr vattir to kyng darius, prayand to

god to preserue ^our grace in perpetual felicite. 13

PROLOG TO THE EEDATt.

Amasis ii., king i MASIS the svcond, quMlk vas the last kyng ande

of Egypt, made an M

ordinance against /M indegete of the egiptiews, (ande, as diodore rehersis,
Il0digete» var ±\. te vas the fyift legislator of egipt), maid ane
goddis of egipt ordinance contrar the vice of ydilnes, that al his sub-
f "ene l*erte- iectis of egipt var obHst, vndir the pane of dede, to

wise princes bring euery jeir ther namis, in vrit, to the prouest of
quhenthai . . , , , ,

lyuit. ^e prouince quhar ther remanyng vas, ande ther to

[•leaf 8] testife the stait of 'ther vacatione, ande the maneir
of ther Ivuing. be this politic ordinance, the egiptiens
var inducit tyl adhere to vertu, ande to leyrne scie?zs,
craftis, ande mecanyke occupations, maist comodius

man refreshment Q^^Q conuenient for the public veil of egipt. Thaw efftir

until he could

show that he had this ordinance of amasis, the Gymniosophistes institut

justly earned it.

Gymnioso- ane mair strict ordinance amang the pepil of inde : that

phistes var ^ to gay ^at ane person sui(i nocht be admittit to re-
phllosophours •• o • . 1-1 i 1

of inde, saue nis corporal refectione quhil on to the tyme that

var ^e jjg^ manjfest realye, or ellis be certau testificatione
ay naltyt

i Bead mair nor

PROLOG TO THE REDAR.

the frutis of his laubours of the daye precedent, the vitht out ony
seuerite of thir strict ordinance var augmentit be ane yn tjier doc_

edict of sesostris the grit kyng of egipt : for he statut trine aperit

to be rather
ane ordinance til excerse his propir childir ande the ciu^ iau nor

3ong princis ande gewtil men of his court to vse them philosophic.

til indure excesse of laubirs : he statut that none of

them suld tak ther refectione quhil thai hed gone ande sesostris allowed

run the tyme of fife or sex houris : to that effect, that refection tin they

throucht sic excerse, ther membris mycht be purgit fra Sf^^*1***

corruppit humours, the quhilkis humours nocht beand 10

degeistit,1 mycht be occasione to dul ther spreit, ande to

mak ther body onabil2 to resist ydilnes. thir ordinances

of the egi'ptiens are verray necessair to be vsit in al [• leaf s, bade]

These ordinances

realmys, be rason that the maist part of the pepil, are stm needed.
throucht ther natural fraigilite, consumis the maist part Most people are

. 8tilllazy.

of ther dais in ydilnes. This detestatione that i haue
rehersit of ydilnes, par chance maye be iugit be inuyful 17
ignorantis, that i condampe my self, in sa far as thai ignorant critics

... •, •j.t.j. -L may think me

persaue me nocht ocupeit vitht mecanyc byssynes. nou, idle in not

P j. j.jj.11 ••! -J.-LJ. practising some

to confound ignorant detrakkers, i vil arme me vitht mechanical art.

the vordis of publius scipio, as cicero rehersis in the

prologe of the thrid beuk of his officis, sayand, that 22

scipio vas neuyr les ydil as quhera he aperit to be idil,

nor he vas neiuyr les solitair as quhew he aperit to be

solitair ; for quhe?& he aperit to be ydil, thaw he vas Let them

solist in his mynde anent the gouuernyng of the public wonuTof'scip'io

veil, ande quhen he aperit to be solitar, than he vas

speikand vitht hym self anent his auen byssynes, 28

& sa he vas neuir ydil nor solitair, quhou beit that

he aperit sum tyme in the sycht of the vulgaris to be

ydil & solitair. nunquam se minus ociosum quam

cum ociosus, nee minus solum quam cum

solus esset. i vil apply thir vordis to my self, for The labour of the

pen is no idle

quhou beit that the laubir vitht the pen & the studie pastime, whatever
on speculation of vertu apeir to be ydilnes, ^it thai ar

» deycistlt 2 on abil

10 PROLOG TO THE REDAB.

[Meaf9] *no ydilnes, bot rather ane solist byssynes of the body

2 & of the spreit. ande nou, sen gode hes nocht dotit me

it is my proper vitht spe'culatione of liberal sciens nor philosophe, nor

talent.

vitht stryntht of my body til indure seruile subiectio?ze,

nor ^it vitht no art nor mecanyc craft, ther for i vil

6 help to the auansing1 of the public veil vitht my studye

The pen did more & vitht my pen. In the antiant dais, the romans var

for the Romans

than the sword, mair rcnforsit in curageus entreprisis be the vertu of

the pen, ande be the persuasions of oratours, nor thai

var renforsit be the sourdis of men of veyr. Euerye craft

Every craft is is necessair for the public veil, ande he that hes the gyft

of traductione, compiling or teching, his faculte is ashonest,

13 as crafty, ande as necessair, as is to be ane marynel, ane

marchant, ane cordinar, charpenteir, captan, ciuilist, or

ony vthir crafft or scie?is. ther is na degreis of vertu

amawg them, for gyf ane craft or sciens be gude, than

it is as gude as ony craft can be, for al sortis of ver-

18 teows2 facultes ar of ane lyik vertu, as cicero sais in the

thrid of his paradoxis, that ane gude maw can be na

bettir nor ane vthir man that is gude ; for gyf ane man

and equally be gude, than he is as gude as ony gude man can be :

siclyik, gyf ane craft be gude, than it is as gude as ony

[•leaf 9, back] craft *can be; ther for ane maw of ane craft suld nocht

24 detest ane vthir sort of craft, considerand that oure

hurt nature hes nocht dotit ane man til vse al craftis.

Aristotil sais in the fyrst beuk of his politiques, that

Man is not a

nature hes nocht maid ane man lyik gladius delphicus.

Nlhil enim The significatione of gladius delphicus is of this sort.

tale'qnale0* delphos is ane solemnit place, on the hyl of pernasus,

statuarij quhar ther standis ane tempil dedicat til appollo. ther
delphimna. _ .. ..

aladium ob cam ^av *° that tempil diuerse pure men in pilgremage.

indiciam sed ther duelt on that hil, smythis, & forgearis of yrn ande

vnum ad . f

vnum. staii, the quhilkis culd inak ane instrament ot yrn con-

Polit. 1. uenient for mony officis, for tha vald gar ane instra-

hammeTa8piiicers ment serue *'or ane hamniyr, ane turkes, ane file, ane

i auausuig a verteo'

PROLOG TO THE REDAR. 11

sourd, ane knyf, ande ane borrel. this sort of instra- file, sword, kiiife,

mentis var sellit to pure pilgryms that hed nocht mekil in one.

moneye to by ilk instrament be the self : ande be cause 3

that instalment seniit til mony officis, ther for it vas

callit gladius delphicus. of this sort aristotil makkis ane

cowzparisone, sayand, that nature hes nocht maid ane

man abil for euerye craft or office, bot nature hes maid Each man has ins

-,.,., . , ., , , faculty;

ane man abil to be ane prince, ane abil to be ane

seruand, ane abil to be ane clerk, ane abil to be ane 9
craftis man, be rason 'that oure hurt nature hes diuidit [*ieafio]

oure complexions to be of diuerse qualiteis ; ande for NHle homi-

that cause ve sal fynd amang ane thousand men, ane *^™w*^^,.

thousand consaitis ande ane thousand conditions, for that rsus; velle
cause aristotil hes said in his politiques, that in ilk . ™-c^J'*

comunite ther is ane multitude, ande ilk ane hes sum vi-uitw- vno.

part of vertu of diuerse degreis, ande ilk ane of thir ^er

degreis ar ordand til help vthirs in necessite. Cicero

tot sententie.

gyuis ane exempil in hjs retoric, quhou that the a. dejini.

citinaris of cartomat in ytalye, sende for ane excellent 19

payntur, callit eracleon. thai promest to gyf hym ane

grit some of moneye, for to paynt ane fayr ymage of

the deesse iuno. than eracleon gart al the fayr ande Heracieonin

i i i -i p 11 A •! ' i • painting a Juno,

best lyik ^ong vemen ot that cite cum in his presens, cnose the select
ande thaw he chesit fife of the best lyik amang them al, maidena."' five
to be his patrone.2 qulien he hed contemplit & spyit 25
the proportions & propreteis of nature of thir fife ladeis
he chesit the face of ane, the een of ane vthir, the
handis of the thrid, the hayr of the feyrd, the annis,
the myddil, ande the feit of the fyift ; of this sort he
formit the patrone of the ymage of iuno, efftir the pro- 30
-.portione of diuerse of the membris of thir foirsaid fife

ladeis, be cause he culd nocht *get al his patrone [* leaf 10, back]

in ane special lady, for sche that vas pleysand of hyr For no one was
face, vas nocht pleysand of hyr hayr, ande sche that and uniformly
hed plesand handis, hed nocht pleysand een, ande sche

« Perslns, Sat. IT. 1. 51, 2. * i. t. pattern.

12 PROLOG TO THE REDAR.

JVbu in omves that bed ane veil proportionet body, bed euil propor-
tionet feit; ande to conclude, he culd nocht get ane

Clc. pro ro- lady in special, that vas sufficient to be his patrone, nor

scio ameri- .. .-, . -,-,•, -j. J.M -i j- j i i_- -LMI

no jit that culd be comparit til gladius delphicus, quhilk

5 vas ane instrament that seruit til mony officis. be this
so no man can exempil ve maye cowsidir, that nature hes nocht dotit

practise all crafts,

ane person to be qualifeit to excerse al sortis of craftis ;

for that cause aristotil sais that al sortis of craftis suld

but each must concur to gyddir, ande ilkane til help vthirs, as nature

contribute his

own talent prouidit fyrst in the begymiyng. thir prolixt vordis be-

1 1 for rehersit, ar ane preparatiue, corctrar the detractione

o^detractUrtTof °^ inuyful clerkis that ar mair expert in latyne tong

critics, nor J anij quhiikig yji nocht set furtht ane gude verk

°n ^ 6a tyl induce the pepil to vertu, nor ^it vil correct my

sunt prolan- ignorant error ; bot rather thai ar mair prompt to repreif

ur, quam^qite ang gmaj ignorant fait, nor to commende ane grit ver-

fastidiis ad- teous act ; bot jit no man suld decist fra ane gude pur-

f}'™! pose, quhou beit that detractione be armit vitht inuy

[* leaf a] *reddy to suppedit & tyl impung ane verteoz^1 verk : for

to carp at those quhat euyr he be that intendis to compile ane verk to

who do their best,

than to try content euerye man, he suld fyrst drynk furtht the

He who would occean see. Ande quhou beit, that ther var na detrak-

kers tyll accuse or to repreif my verkis, ^it nochtheles i
the ocean dry. guj^ ^Q(^ ^e ouer temerair to set furtht ane verk that
Difficile m
dicendo surpassis my ingyne ; for ane hen that seikis hyr meyt

omnibus ga- jn ^e my(j(Jing) may scraipe sa lang amang the fyltht,

t'lSjdCGTGt

Yet i will not go quhil sche scraip furtht sum aid knyfe that hes been
tynt' tlie ^uhilk ^^ cuttis hvr throt eftiruart, as i
29 sail apply ane exempil conformand to this samyn pur-
pose, as eftir follouis.
s ^[ Annibal, that vaibeant cartagien, beand venquest

adversity was

the guest of be nobil scipion, past for refuge tyl anthiocus kyng of

Antiochus. . . . .

This starve i SUTle' (yj^a- vas ^ that tyme ane vail^eant prince : he
intJteapothiff- resauit annibal in his realme, ande in his protectione,
mes ofptu- ande did hym grit honour ande reuerens. ane prince

i verteo'

PROLOG TO THE REDAR. 13

can nocht schau hym mair nobil, nor mair verteouse, as

quhen he resauis in his fauoir ane desolat prince, disti- 2

tute of remeide, ande disparit of consolatione, quhilk

hes bene violently affligit be aduerse fortoune. thir tua

princis vsit oft to visye the feildis to tak ther 'recrea- [*ieaf 11, back]

tione, ande to pas til hounting, ande til vthir gammis, 6

conuenient for ther nobilite. at sum tyme thai vald pas The two princes

once entered

to the sculis, to heir the lecture of ane philosophour the Academy

. PI- ofPhormio,

callit phormion, quha remanit in the toune of ephisye,

ande techit natural ande moral philosophie to the aong to hear hta»

expound

men of the cuntre. on ane day, thir tua princis be philosophy;
chance entrit in the achademya, to heir ane lesson of 12
philosophie techit be the said phormion, philosophour.
he persauand thir tua princis entir in his scule, he but he, seeing

them, changed

changit the mater of that present lecture, ande but his topi* to the

. . , , art of war,

prouisione, he began to teche the ordour of the veyris,

declarand quhou that captans suld ordour battellis con- 17

trar ther enemeis. this philosophour techit sa profundly teaching.with

marvellous

the maneir of the ordoryng of battellis in presens of thir readiness the

1-1111 PIP ordering of

tua princis, that thai that herd hym neuyr of befor, battles.
meruellit nocht alanerly of his quyk ingyne, bot as veil
thai that herde hym daly var in grit admiratione. it is 22
the nature of ane man that hes ane quyk spreit, ande
ane ripe ingyne, that euerye purpos ande questione is
familiar tyl hym. kyng anthiocus tuke grit gloir be Antiochuswas
cause he hed sic ane prudent philosophour 'in his cun- [*ieafi2]
tre : quhar for he inquirit annibal, quhat iugement he 27
hed of his philosophour phormion. Annibal ansuert but Hannibal
vitht as hardy curage as quhen he venqueist the romana
at the battel of Cannes ; for ane vailjeant prince tynis
nocht his curage, quhou beit that aduerse fortune resist
his felicite, bot rather hes gude hope that dame for-
toune1 vil mittigat hyr auen crualte. this vas the ansuer 33
of annibal tyl anthiocus, in the presens of phormiott :
Nobil prince anthiocws,2 i hef seen mony aid men tyne

i fortonne 2 anthioc'

14 PROLOG TO THE REDAR.

thought phormio ther vyt, bot i sau neuyr sa grite ane fule amang them

the very mirror of

foiiy al as is thy philosophour phormion, for he maye be callit

3 the mirrour of folye. ther can nocht be ane mair folye,

and presumption; as quhen ane ydiot, distitute of knaulage, presumis to

teche or to leyrne ane man that hes baytht speculatione

ande experie?as. i pray the to tel me (kyng anthiocus)

quhat hart can thole, or quhat tong can be stil, quhew

thai see, or heris tel, of the presumpteous consait of thy

9 vane philosophour, quhilk hes been neurest al his dais in

who dared to ane golitar achademva of greice,1 ande jit he dar be sa

treat of the

theory of battles bold to present hym befor prince annibal, to disput ande

before him, who

[* leaf 12, back] tyl indoctryne the2 maneir of the veyris ande of the

had been so ,,•,,• , • f a- • e

much in the batclus, as he var prince ot aflnca, or captan ot rome :
for verite he hes ane smal iugement of sic maters, or
15 ellis he estemeis vs to be litil experementit in the
veyris. be his vane consaitis that he hes studeit on
beukis, he beleuis to leyrne annibal the prettik of the
veyris, ande the conquessingis of realmis. o kyng an-

God knows the thlOCUS, al the goddis Vait, quhat defferenS is betuix phi-
difference between t • • T 1 •

a battle on paper losophie techit in sculis, ande betuix the stait of captans

fiem i in the ordering of batellis on the feildis ; ande quhat

between wielding defferens is to vrit vitht ane pen, & the vsing of ane

Bpear! speyr vail^eantly in battel ; ande quhat defferens is ther

24 betuix mony beukis, ande ane captan hefiand his enemy e

befor his ee. Ther is diuerse men that can blason the

veyris in the tauerne, or at the fyir syde, amang the

vulgar ignorant pepil ; hot i fynd nocht mony that dar

has3arde ther lyue corctrar ther enemeis. 0 anthiocus,

Your philosopher thy philosophour phormion sau neuyr the iunyng of ane

service ; battel, vitht cruel escharmouschis in the ryding of for-

31 rais : he sau neuyr the array of men of veyr brokyn,

ande tua armeis myxt amang vthirs, fechtand be fellone

[•leaf is] forse, quhar the defluxione of blude *hed payntit ande

he never heard cullourt all the feildis : he herd neuyr the dolorua

the charge

sounded; trompet sounde befor the iunyng of ane battel, nor 3it

i gttice - the the

PROLOG TO THE REDAB. 15

he harde it neuyr sound to gar the men of veyr retere 1

fra ane dangeir : he persauit neuyr the trason of ane

party, nor the couuardeis of ane vthir party : he sail

neuyr the litil nunimir of them that fechtis, nor the

grite nummir of them that fleis for dreddour. 0 an- 5

thiocus, thy philosophour suld teche the thyng that he let him stick to

u u J M. j. ru v o 4.-U ±v J.-U t. 1, v his philosophy,

hes studeit at the scuhs, & the thing that he hees seen that he does

vitht his een, to them that vas neuyr at the sculis, ande

to the//i that vas neuyr pretykkit in the veyris, rather

nor til vs, that hes been experimentit in the veyris al 10

cure dais, the prettik of the veyris is mair facil to he

leyrnit on the feildis of affrica, nor in the sculis of

greice. Thou vait, kyng anthiocus, that this sex ande

thretty ^eiris i hef heene excersit in the veyris, baytht in

ytalie ande in spangle, quhar that fortoune hes schauen 15

hyr rycht aduerse contrar me, as is hyr vse to do to

them that vndirtakkis difficil entrepricis, as thou may x wag a ^^^

see be experiens ; for or i hed ane beyrde, i vas seruit j^°™ x had a

lyik ane captan, ande nou, quhen my beyrd is be *cum [* leaf is, back]

quhyt, i am be cum ane seruaud. i sueir to the (kyng

anthiocus) be the gode mars, that gyf ony persone vald 21

speir at me the maneir of the gouernvng of ane battel, yetieanrot

. ' expound the

i vait nocht quhat ansuere to mak, be raison that proper mode of

, .. „. ... ,. , ordering a battle,

batteliis consistis vndir the gouernance of fortune, ande

nocht in the ingyne of men, nor in the multiplie of

pepil. all veyris ar begun be princis on ane iust titil, 26

ande syne procedis be visdome ; hot the ende of the which depends on

fortune.

veyns consistis in the chance of fortune. Ther for, it
is grit folye to thy philosophour til vndirtak to leyrn
the ordiring of batteliis vitht in his solitair achademya :
it var mair necessair ande honest for hym to vse his 31
auen professione ande faculte, nor to mel vitht ony
faculte that passis his knaulage. annibal said mony Nesutor ultra
vthir gude purposis tyl anthiocus, anent this samyn
purpose, as plutarque rehersis in his apothigmatis.

IT This exempil tendis, that al prude/it men hes 36

16 PROLOG TO THE REDAR.

mair occasione to condainp & repreif this raggit naykyt

2 tracteit, nor annibal hed occasione to repreif the philo-

i had not been so sophour phonnion ; for my dul rude brane suld nocht

rash as to make .

this tractate, hef been sa temerair as to vndirtak to correct the imper-

[* leaf 14] 'fectio/ze of ane comont veil, be cause the maist part of

6 my knaulage is the smallest part of my ignorance : jit

but for my ardent nochtheles i hope that vyise men vil reput my ignor-

patriotism. .

arace for ane mortiieit prudens, be rason of my gude m-

tentione that procedis fra ane affectiue ardant fauoir

rustic speech ! that i hef euyr borne touart this affligit reaLme quhilk is

JVullnt locus my natiue cuntre. !NTou heir i exort al philosophouris,

nobis dnlcwr ,.,.-, p » ,, •

esse debet pa- historigraphours, & oratours of our scottis natione, to

trio,. support & til excuse my barbir agrest termis : for i

Marc fa- thocht it nocht necessair til hef fardit ande lardit this

m*" *• tracteit vitht exquisite termis, quhilkis ar nocht daly

recherch* terms, vsit, bot rather i hef vsit domestic scottis langage, maist

srotsTn&uage. intelligibil for the vlgare pepil. ther hes bene diuerse

Sermone, eo translatours ande compilaris in aid tymys, that take

aid notiis est S"^e pleseir to contrafait ther vlgare langage, mixa?id

twbit. ther purposis vitht oncoutht exquisite termis, dreuyn,
or rather to say mair formaly, reuyn, fra lating, ande

There have been

writers who were sum of the?tt tuke pleiseir to gar ane vord of ther pur-
fond of mixing .
their vulgar pose to be ful of sillabis half ane myle of lyntht, as

Lathi,6 W ther was ane callit hermes, quhilk pat in his verkis thir

SfedTo'rds"^ lang tailit vordis, conturbaburetur, constantino-

[* leaf 14, back] politani, innumerabilibus, so'licitudinibus.

.27 ther vas ane vthir that vrit in his verkis, gaudet

but such things honorificabilitudinitatibus. al sic termis procedis

proceed from vain ,„ .., n •, •j.-'ii-j-

conceit. of fantastiknes ande glonus consaitis. i net red in ane

beuk of ane preceptor that said til his discipulis, lo-
quere verbis presentibus, & vtere moribtfs1
32 antiquis : that is to saye, thou sal speik comont law-
gage, ande thou sal lyue eftir the verteous maneirs of.

Tet i have been antiant men. jit nochtheles ther is mony vordis of
antiquite that i hef rehersit in this tracteit, the quhilkis

i morib1

PROLOG 10 THE REDAR. 17

culd nocht be translatit in oure scottis langage, as to use some

classical terms

auguris, auspices, ides, questeours, senaturus, where scots was

censours, pretours, tribuns, ande mony vthir ,r ,

J Verba in-

romane dictions : ther for gyf sic vordis suld be disusit ticnta sunt,

or detekkit, than the phrasis of the antiquite vald be n™ .sue 'im~

pedirent, sea

confundit ande adnullit : ther for it is necessair at sum que indlca-
tyme til myxt oure langage vitht part of tennis dreuyn T.eKt volunta~

t&'IYI/,

fra lateen, be rason that oure scottis towg is nocht sa Clc. pro a.
copers1 as is the lateen to rag, ande alse ther is diuerse c> nn"
purposis & propositions that occurris in the lating There are phrases

,, . ,,, , , ... , , that cannot be

tong that can noc/ic2 be translatit deuly in oure accurately

scottis langage : ther for he that is expert in latyn tong

suld nocht put reproche to the compilation, quhou beit

that he fynd sum 'purposis trawslatit in scottis that ac- [*ieafi5]

cords nocht vitht the lateen regester : as ve hef exempil 15

of this propositione, homo est animal, for this terme for idioms differ.

homo signifeis baytht man ande voman : bot ther is

nocht ane scottis terme that signifeis baytht man ande Homo and

animal have no

voman: ande animal signifeis al thyng that hes lyue exact equivalent*.

ande is sensibil, bot ther is nocht ane scottis terme that 20

signifeis al quyk sensibil thyng, ther for this proposi-

tione, mulier est homo is treu, ande $it ve suld

nocht saye that ane vomara is ane man. Ande siclyik

this propositione, homo est animal is treu, ande }it

ve suld nocht say that ane man is ane beyst. of this 25

sort ther is baytht tennis ande propositions in lateen ^on tam ea .

que recta sunt
towg, the quhilk vil be difficil to translait them, i hef prob

rehersit thir vordis, in hope to eschaipt the detractione

praiM sunt
of inuyful gramariaris, quhilkis ar mair prompt to re- fastidiis ad-

prehende ane smal fait, nor tha ar to commend ane ver- re^-

Ci. de ora.
teouse act. Nou for conclusione of this prolog, i ex- Then, let me not

ort the (gude redar) to correct me familiarly, ande be email fault;
cherite, ande til interpreit my intentione fauorablye, look favourably
for doutles the motione of the compilatione of this intentions.
tracteit procedis mair of the compassione that i hef of 35

i cope' * non

COMPLAYNT. 2

18 PROLOG TO THE BEDAB.

[* leaf is, back] the public necessite, nor it dois of presumptione or
2 vane gloir. thy cheretabil correctione maye be ane pro-
it will encourage uocatione to gar me studye mair attentiulye in the nyxt
works.1"7 verkis that i intend to set furtht, the quhilk i beleif in

gode sal be verray necessair tyl al them that desiris to
lyue verteouslye indurawd the schort tyme of this oure
so fere-weii i fragil peregrinatione, & sa fayr veil.

CAUSE OF THE MUTATIONS OF MONARCHIES. 19

THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND.

Cfjeptofcr

atclaris % rrnts* of %

J&utattons of Jftonarrfjeis,

CHAP. I.

AS the hie monarchis, lordschips, ande autoriteis, Rulers are set up
ar1 stablit be the infinite diuyne ordinance, and providence!™
menteinit2 be the sempeternal prouidews, siclyik 3
ther ruuyne cummis be the sentence gyffin be the
souerane consel of the diuyne sapiens, the quhilk doune
thringis them fra the hie trone of ther imperial domina- 6
tions, and garris 'them fal in the depe» fosse3 of serui- [*ieafie]

tude, ande fra magnificens in ruuyne, ande causis •R<#WM.m a

J gente in

corcqueriours to be conquest, ande til obeye ther vmquhile genteus tran-
subiectis be dreddour, quhome of be for thai commarcdit *

be autorite. This decreit procedis4 of the diuyne vniuersos

iustice, be rason that princis ande vthirs of autorite j? ?' 10

becummis ambitius ande presumpteous, throucht grite This is divine

superfluite of veltht : ther for he dois chestee them be JUS

the abstractione of that superfluite : that is to say, he 15
possessis vthir pure pepil that knauis his gudnes, vitht
the samyn reches that he hes tane fra them that hes

arrogantly misknauen hym. Ane pottar vil mak of ane 18
masse of mettal diuerse pottis of defferent fassons, &

. i at 2 mentomit 3 foffe < prpcedis

20 THE COMPLATNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. I.

The potter uses syne he vil brak the grite pottis quhen thai pleyse hym

his clay as he , , . _ • /• i i i

will, nocht, ande he makkis smal pottis ot the brokyn verk

3 of the grite pottis, ande alse of the mettal ande mater

of the smal pottis he fonnis grit pottis. this exempil

may be applyit to the subuertions ande mutations of

6 realmis ande dominions, ande of al varldly prosperite.

Men and nations childir that ar neu borne grouis & incressis quhil thai

grow and decay.

be ascendit to the perfyit stryntht of men : hot ther
efter, tha begyn to decrease ande declinis til eild ande
[»ieaf IB, back] to the dede. 'siklyik lordschips ande digniteis hes in-
11 cressing, declinatione, ande exterminatione. the muta-
tions of euerye varldly thyng is certane, quhou beit
that prospers1 men prouidis nocht to resist the occasions
of the mutabiliteis : quhilk occasions ar ay vigilant
15 to suppedit & to spul^e al them that ar ingrate of the
This appears benefecis of gode. the mutations of monarchis ande
scriptures and dominions, ar manifest in the holy scriptur, ande in the
Ty' verkis of the maist famous anciarct historigraphours.
where is now quhar is the grite ande riche tryumphand cite of

Nineveh ?

nynyue, quhilk hed thre dais iournais of circuit? at

21 this tyme ther is nocht ane stane standant on ane vthir.

where Babyi<n? Quhar is the grite tour of babilone? the quhilk vas

biggit be ane maist ingenius artifeis, of proportione,

quantite, ande of stryntht. it aperit to be perdurabil

ande inuyncibil, bot nou it is desolat, ande inhabit be

what has been serpens ande vthir venemuse beystis. Quhat sal be

said of the riche tryumphant toune of troye, ande of

28 castell ylione, quhilk hed al the portis of euoir bane,

ande the pillaris of fyne siluyr ? bot at this tyme ane

fut of hicht of the vallis can nocht be sene, for al the

grond of the palecis2 of that tryumphand toune ande

[•leaf IT] castel is ouer'gane vitht gyrse ande vild scroggis.

what has become Quhar is the grite toune of thebes 1 quhilk vas foundit

be cadmus the sone of agenoir, the quhilk vas at that

35 tyme the maist pepulus toune abufe the eird. it hed ane

i prosper1 z palec is

CAUSE OF THE MUTATIONS OF MONARCHIES. 21

hundretht tourettis ande portis, bot nou at this tyme 1

tlier is no thyng quhar it stude bot barrane feildis.

Siklyik lacedemonya, quhar the legislator ligurgus gef and of Sparta ?

to the pepil strait famous lauis, of the quhilk ane grit

part ar vsit presently in the vniuersal varld, is nocht 5

that nobil tonne extinct furtht of rememorance ? Quhat

sal be said of athenes, the vmquhile fontane of sapiens, What Bha" *»

said of Athens ?

ande the spring of philosophee : is it nocht in perpetual

subuersione ? Quhar is the toune1 of cartage that dantit or of Carthage?

the elephantis, ande vas grytumly doutit & dred be the

romans 1 vas it nocht brynt in puldir ande asse ? ande 1 1

nou the grond of it is pastour for bestial, quhat sal be

said of the riche monarche of rome, quhilk dantit ande yea. even °f

Rome herself?

subdeuit al the varld ? is nocht nou the superiorite of

it partit ande diuidit in mony ande diuerse partis, con-

formand to the vordis of lucan, quha said that the 16

vecht of rome suld gar it ryue in mony partis : the

vecht of it signifeit nocht the vecht of hauy vallis,

housis, stonis, ande vthir 'materials : bot rather it C* leaf 17, back]

signifeit the vecht of the inexorbitant extorsions that it

committit on the vniuersal varld, quhilk is the cause 21

that the monarche of it is diuidit amang mony diuerse

princis. of this sort euere thyng hes ane tyme, for Every worldly

thing has its day.

mutations of varldly felicite is ane natural habitude,

quhilkis is the cause that na thyng remanis lang con-

stant in ane prosperus stait : ande that is the special 26

cause that al dominions altris, dechaeis, ande cummis

to subuersione. The fyrst monarche of the varld vas The empire of

translatit fra the assiriens to them of perse, ande fra been successively

perse to the greikis, and translatit fra the greikis to the
romans, fra the romans to the franche men, ande fra
the franche men to the germanis. ande quhou be it that Quis enim

the pepil knauis thir mutations to be of verite, ait ther C09ttabit

sensum do-
is nocht mony that knauis the cause of thir mutations, mini aut

be rason that the iugement of gode (quhilk virkis al 4vis consi~
F ' • liarius eius

thyng) is ane profound onknauen deipnes, the quhilk Sapien. 9.

1 tonne

22 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. I.

The ways of God passis humaine ingyne to comprehende the grounds or

are inscrutable. . .

limitis of it : be cause oure vit is ouer febil, oure ingyne

3 ouer harde, oure thochtis ouer vollage, ande oure ^eiris

The ignorant ouer schort. Ther is mony ignorant pepil that imputis

[* leaf is] the subuersiows 'ande mutations of prosperite to pro-

idea?16' a Pagan ceid. °f fortoune : sic consaitis procedis of the gentilite

Intellexi ande pagans doctryne, ande nocht of goddis lau, nor sit

quern MNMMB

opemm dei w moral philosophic : quhou be it that luuenal hes

nullam. poggit s^} that fortoune is the cause that ane smal man

homo inuenire

rationem ascendis to digniteis, ande that ane grite man fallis in

eorum que ruuyne. Sic opinions suld nocht be haldin nor beleuit :

fiunt gub sole. . .

JBccl. 8. f°r ther is no thing in this varld that cummis on man-

Every thing is of kynde as prosperite or aduersite, bot al procedis fra the

the divine power. . .

Sifortiina dyuyne pouer, as is vntyne in the xi. cheptour of

volet, fieg de ecclesiasticus, bona & mala, vita & mors, pauper-
rethore con-

»i volet, *as <* honestas, a deo sunt. Ther for it maye be

hec eadem,fieg ^^ tna^ a] thai that imputis aduersite or prosperite to

de congule re-

tJwr iuuenal, proceid of fortune, thai maye be put in the nuwmyr of

Sati. 7. them that Sanct paul propheti3it in the sycond epistil

st Pani warned to tymothie, erit enim tempus, cum sanam doc-
"tto'efwhenthey trinam non sustinebunt, & ce. Ande alse the
prophet esaye, spekend be the spreit of gode, he gyffis

&c" his maledictione on al them that beleuis that fortoune

Isaiah curses

those that believe hes ony pouuer. quhar he vritis in the Ixv. cheptour,1

in fortune :

"Wotoyonwho ve qui fortune ponitis mensam tanquam dee.2

to fortune as e This contradictione that i hef rehersit coTztrar for-

your goddess." .•• A-UJ • ••I-L

[• leaf is, back] toune, is be cause that mony ignorant pepil hes con-

p'uted our fermit ane ymaginet onfaythtful opinions in ther hede,

sayand that the grite afflictione quhilk occurrit on oure
fortune. realme in September m.v.xlvii. ^eris, on the feildis be-

syde mussilburgh, hes procedit fra the maltalent of
dame fortoune, the quhilk ymaginet opinione euld be
33 detestit ; for fortune is no thyng bot ane vane consait
ymaginet in the hartis of onfaythtful men. $it noch-
theles, quhen i remembir on the cruel dolourus distruc-

1 chetonr * die

CAUSE OF THE MUTATIONS OP MONARCHIES. 23

tione of oure nobil barrens, & of mony vthirs of the 1

thre estaitis, "be cruel ande onmercyful slauthyr, ande

alse be maist extreme violent spubee ande hairschip of i have pondered

over the national

ther inouabil gudis in grite quantite, ande alse oure aid calamities,

enemeis, be traisonabil seditione, takkand violent pos-

sessione of ane part of the strynthis ande castellis of 6

the bordours of oure realme, ande alse remanent vitht

in the plane mane landis far vitht in oure cuntre, ande

violentlye possessand ane certan of our burghis, villagis

ande castellis, to ther auen vse but corctradictione ;

ande the remanent of the pepil beand lyik dantit 11

venqueist slauis in maist extreme vile subiectione,

rather nor lyik prudent cristin pepil, quhilkis suld lyue

in ciuilite, policie1, *& be iustice vndir the gouernawce [*ieafi9]

of ane christin priwce. Al thir thingis cowsidrit, causit and searched the

Scriptures, &c.,

me to reuolue diuerse beukis of the holy scnptur, & of to see whether

, . , . , • . • -I'll' they a™ of mefcy

humanite, in hope to get ane lust lugemewt, quhiddir Or judgment.

that this dolorws2 afflictione be ane vand of the fadir to 18

correct & chestie the sone be mercy, or gyf it be ane

rigorus mercyles decreit of ane iuge, to exsecute on vs

ane final exterminatione. than efftir lang conteneuatiowe

of reding on diuerse sortis of beukis, i red the xxviii. of i read Deuter-

dcutrono, the xxvi. of leuitic, & the thrid of ysaye, the Leviticus xxvi.,

quhilk causit my trublit spreit to trymmyl for dred-

dour, ande my een to be cum obscure throucht3 the 25

multiplie of salt teyris, ande throucht the lamentabil

suspiring that procedit fra my dolorus hart, be rason

that the sentens ande conteneu of thyr said cheptours

of the bibil, gart me cowsaue, that the diuyne indigna- which ailed me

with trouble and

tione hed decretit ane extreme ruuyne on oure realme ; dismay,
bot gyf that ve retere fra oure vice, ande alse to be cum 31
vigilant to seik haisty remeide & medycyne at hym
quha gyms al grace ande comfort to them that ar maist
distitute of mennis supple.

' The original has only poli, the cie having fallen away and been erroneously
added to end of leaf 20, which thus reads ttraicie-Jcit for etraikis,
2 dolor" » throutht

THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND.

[CHAP. ii.

Deuteronomy
xxviii. (transla-
tion from the
Vulgate).
Quod ii
audire no-
lueris voce
domini del

per te omnes
maledicti-
ones, eris in
ciuitate,
maledictus.
Deut. 28.

Quod gi non
avdieritis me,
ego qiioqtte
Jiecfaciam
vobis, visitabo
vog velociter
in egestate $
-ardore.
Leui. 26.

[•leaf 20]
Leviticus xxvi.
(from the Vul-
gate),

Ejir rfjeptouts ftat tftix follouis,
plants tfje tfjretnsnjj ante
sing of ©olie contrar
nat, fctcius

CAP. II.

IT is vrityne in the xxviii. of deutronome, tliir vordis :
Gyf thou obeyis nocht the voce of the lorde thy
gode, ande kepis nocht his ordinance, thir maledic-
tions sal cum on the : thou sal be cursit on the feildis,
thou sal be cursit in the cite ; the lord sal send male-
dictione ande tribulatione on al thy byssynes ; the lord
sal sende pestilens on the, the heyt feueir, droutht, the
sourde, tempest, ande all euil seiknes, ande he sal
persecut the, quhil he hef gart the perise : thou sal
thole iniuris & spu^e, ande ther sal be na man that
can saue the : thou sal spouse ane vyfe, bot ane vthir
sal tak hyr fra the be forse : thou sal big ane house,
bot thou sal neuyr duel in it : thy ox sal be slane befor
thy eene, & thou sal get nane of hym tyl eyt : thy
flokkis of scheip sal be gyfiSn to thy enemeis j the
oncoutht ande straynge pepil sal eyt the frute of the

•

eyrd that thou hes lauborit. Leuic. xxvi. 'moyses
sais, be the spreit of gode,1 gyf 30 obeye nocht my
command, i sal visee ^ou vitht dreddour, vitht fyir,
ande vitht suellieg : 30 sal sau the cornis on ^our
feildis, bot 30111 enemeis sal eit it : 3our enemeis sal be
3our masters, ande 30 sal flee fast for dreddour, quhen
ther sal be litil dangeir, & there sal be no man follou-
uand 3ou ; ande gyf 30 remane obstinat ande vil nocht
be correckt, i sal strik 3ou vitht ane plag, seuyn tymes

i go, degyf

GOD'S THREATS AGAINST WICKED NATIONS. 25

mair vehement ; for i sal gar the sourde curn on jou to
reuenge iny alliance; ande quhen 30 ar assemblit to-
gyddir vitht in 3our tounis, i sal send the pestilens 3
amang 3011, ande i sal delyuir 3011 in the handis of jour Ecce enim

IT It is vritin in the thrid cheptor of esaye thir ertituum au-

vordis : behold the dominator ande the lorde of armis, l'

the quhilk sal tak fra hierusalera ande fra iuda, the Itida validum

mychty ande the sterk maw, the victuelis, the men of

veyr, the iugis, the precheours. i sal gyf them jong

childir to be ther kynges, ande effemenet1 men sal be I8*th m. (ftom

ther dominatours ; ande the pepil ilk ane sal ryise con- the VuJsate)-

trar vthirs, ande ilk man sal be aduersair tyl his nycht- 13

bour : }ong childir sal reproche aid men, ande mecanyc

lauberaris sal reproche 'gentil men. Esaye iii. [* leaf 20, back]

CHAP. III.

HE kyng anchises lamentit the distructiowe of the AncMses,

-u j i-o. r AT. .... Rosaria, Jere-

superb troy, exsecutit be the princis of greice : miah, David,

,1 . .... * . , Cleopatra, &c.,

the queene rosana regrettit hir spouse kyng &c., have aii had

quhew he vas venqueist be grite allexander :
the prophet hieremye vepit for the stait of the public 20
veil of babillone, quhen it vas brocht in captiuite :
kyng dauid lamentit his sone absolon, quhen loab sleu
hym : cleopatra vas lyike to dee in melancolie, quhen
hyr loue marcus antonius vas venquest be the empriour
agustus : the consule marcus marcellus regrettit hauyly 25
the cite of Syracuse, quhen he beheld it birnawd in ane
bold fyir : Crisp salust regrettit the euyl3 gouernyng of
the public veil of rome : the patriarche lacob lamentit
the absens of his sone loseph: the kyng demetrius 29

• effement » dart' » enyl

26 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. III.

1 regrettit hauyly the slauchtir of his fadir antigonus, at

the battel of maraton : 3ong octouian lamentit hauyly

the slauchtir of his fadir adoptiue cesar, that gat xxii.

[* leaf 2 1] straTkis1 vitht pen knyuis in the capitol: thir nobil

5 personagis deplorit the calamiteis that occurrit in ther

i have as great, dais ; hot i hef as grit cause to deploir the calamiteis

in the present

calamities of my that ringis presently vitht in ouer realme, throucht the

vice of the pepiL & quhou beit that the thretnyng of

9 gode contrar vs be verray seueir ande extreme, ^it

Yet i hope the nochtheles i hope that his auful scurge of aperand

rod is that of a ..

father. externiinatiowe sal change in ane faderly correctione, sa

Siinpre- \k&\, ye vil knau his mageste. ande to retere fra ouer

ceptis meig

ambulaue- vice ; for he hes promest grace tyl al them that repentis,

ritis, dabo ande til al them that kepis his command, as is vrityn in

romsplu-

uias tempo- the xxvi. cheptor of leuitic thir vordis as follouis : Gyf

ribus suis, $ „ j^™ my or(Jinance i sal send sou rane on sour

terra g\gnet * v J

germen sumo, grond in conuenient tyme ; 3our feildis sal bryng furtht

#»i&f acemin cornis ; $our treis sal bayr frute ; 36 sal eyt 30111 breyde

vestris. in suficiens; 30 sal sleipt at 3our eyse. i sal sende

"' pace amang sou, the sourde of vengeance sal nocht pas

Moses l.olds out r

promises to ail throucht 20UT cuntre : 2e sal follou 2our enemeis. ande

that repent.

22 3our sourdis sal gar them fal befor 3ou ; fiue of 3ou sal

follou & chaisse ane hundretht, & ane hundretht of

}ou sal chaisse ten thousand; ande 3our enemeis sal

[* leaf 21, back] fal to the gro«d 'vcnquest in 3our presens, sa that 30

26 vil obeye to my command,
Regnum a IT 0 quhat familiar promese is this that god hes

geute in gen- promeist2 tyl ^ them fl^ ^ obey til j^ command !

t em transit, r

propter iniu- quhar for gyf ve refuse this grit promes, i suspect that

stiffmsfvni- j^ iustice sal extinct oure generatione furtht of re-

uersog dolos.

Eccle. 10. memorawce, ande that he vil permit our aid enemeis, or

32 sum vthir straynge natione, til ocupie & posses our

i hope that we natural natiue cuntre. bot 3it i hope in gode that our

•hall come to .., . _

repentance. obstinatione sal altir in obediens, quhilk sal be occa-

> Original reads ttraicie-M* for itraikit, the et« having fallen away from end
of leaf 18, leaving poli fcr policie. • prormeiat

HOW THE AUTHOR LAMENTS THE THREATENING OF GOD. 27

sione that fiue of vs sal chaise ane hundretht of our aid 1
enemeis, ande ane hundretht of vs sal chaisse ten thou-
sand of them furtht of our cuntre, as is rehersit in the
foir said xxvi cheptour of lenitic. for quhou be it that The English have

been divinely

god hes permittit the inglis men to scurge vs, as he permitted to
permittit sathan to scurge the holy man lob, it follouis j^ ca/t 2.
nocht that god vil tyne vs perpetualye, nor $it it fol-
louis nocht that the cruel inglis men, quhilkis ar 8
boreaus ande hang men permittit be god to puneis vs, but it does not
that thai ar in the fauoir of god, for the exsecutione of are m God's
goddis punitione on vs, as i sal explane be ane exempil favour-
of comparisone. ane boreau or hang 'man is permittit [* leaf 22]

be ane prircce to scurge ande to puneise trawsgressours, A public hang-
man is not a

ande ther efftir that samyn boreau is stikkit or hangit favourite;

eftiruart for his cruel demeritis, as is the end of them 15

that settis ther felicite to skattir & to.skail blude.

Siklyike the cruel inglis men that hes scurgit vs, hes

nocht dune it of manhede or visdome, nor of ane gude the English are

301! : bot rather the supreme plasmator of hauyn ande pointed execu-

eird hes permittit them to be boreaus, to puneis vs for

the mysknaulage of his magestie. Quhar for i treist 21

that his diuine ' iustice vil permit sum vthir straynge i trust that they

natiowe to be mercyles boreaus to them, ande til extinct turn from

that false seid ande that incredule generatione furtht of w

rememorance, be cause thai ar, ande alse hes beene, the they have caused

. . . •• -i the wars of

special motione of the iniust veyris that hes trublit Christendom for

cristianite thir sex hundretht $eir by past, quha listis ye^jlast.

to reide the prophesye of ysaye^ tha sal fynd ane 28

exempil cowformand to this samyn purpos, quhou that

the realme of the assiriens vas the scurge of gode to The Assyrians

puneise the pepil of israel for ther disobediens. bot fra judgment on

tyme that the pepil of israel vas reterit fra ther vice, f

gode distroyit there scurge, that is to saye, he distroyt 33

assure *the kyng of the assirriens, ande transportit his [* leaf 22, back]

realme in the subiectione of the kyng of perse ande

meid. Sikliyk the grite toune of babillon vas permittit

28 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. IV.

BO did Babylon, be gode to scurge the pepil of Israel : ande ther efftir

but both were

punished after- quhen tne israclieteis var reterit fra ther inniquite, gode

delyurit them fra the captiuite of bahillon, ande dis-

4 troyit that grite toune, ande maid it ane desert inhabit-

abil for serpens ande vthir venesum ' beystis. Euyrie

thing is corruppit be ane vthir corruppit complexione.

one sinner is ane file is ane instrument2 to file doune yrn, ande ane

made to grind

down another, synnar is maid ane instrument of the diuyne iustice to

as a file iron,

puneise ane vther synnar. the file that filit the yrne is

10 vorne ande cassin auaye as ane thing onutil to serue to

but it is for the do ony gude verk : hot the yrn that hes beene filit be

eake of the iron,

not of the me. the forgear or be ane smytht, is kepit to serue to the

necessite of men. the father takkis the vand or the

scurge to puneise his sonne that hes brokyn his com-

15 niand, ande quhen his sonne becummis obedient, the

The father father brakkis the vand ande castis it in the fyir : bot

chastises his son

for hu good, $it gyf his sonne rebeUis contrar the correctione of the

not for the sake

of the rod. vand, than the father takkis ane batton or sum vthir

[•leaf 28] sterk vappin to puneise his sonne, & for^et'tis fatherly
20 discipline, ande vsis rigorus extreme punitione. ane ox
that repungnis the brod of his hird, he gettis doubil
broddis, & he that misprisis the correctione of his pre-
ceptor, his correctione3 is changit in rigorus punitione.

<&itf)ou tfje ^ctor confems tfje passagis of

tfje tfjritr4 rfjqjtottr of Usage fcitfjt

tfje afllicticme of Scotland

CHAP. mi.

Deute. 28. "fclTE maye persaue for certan, that ve haue bene
^git vittt a1 the P1^ tliat ar befor rehersit
the xxviii cheptour of deuteronome, that is to

"fclTE
|W
fi

Or ig. readt venesom ; probably tliould be venemus, or perhapt venem sum.
2 instrumeiito • • correctioue * tbrid

APPLICATION OP ISAIAH III. TO SCOTLAND. 29

say, vitht pestelens, vitht the sourde, vitlit brakkyng 1
doune of our duelling housis, vitht spulje of our cornis
ande cattel.

Siclyik as it is befor rehersit in the xxvi of le- Md *" Leviticus,
uitic, ve haue sauen cure feildis to the behufe of
oure enemeis, ve haue fled fast fra oure enemeis, 6
quhen ther vas nocht mony of them perseuuawd vs,
ande also ve maye persaue that ve haue beene scurgit
vitht the plagis that ar 'contenit in the thrid cheptour [* leaf 23, back]

and by Isaiah.

of esaye, quhilk sais that the lord sal tak auaye the Esaye. 3. c.

mychty men & the sterk men fra hierusalem ande fra 11

iuda, that is to saye, the lord hes tane fra vs oure we have lost our

great men.

lordis ande barons ande mony vthir nobil men that
vald haue deffendit vs fra oure aid enemeis. the said
cheptour sais that the lord sal tak the iugis ande the
prechours. that passage of ysaye maye be veil applyit 16
tyl vs, for as to the iugis ande iustice that ringis pre- God ««nd «•

. ° better judges

sently in oure cuntre, god maye sende vs bettir quhen and justices!
he pleysis. ande as to the precheours, i refier that to not to telk of

preachers.

the vniuersal auditur of oure realme. the foir said thrid Sardana-
cheptour sais, that the pepil of iherusalem ande iuda palu« kyng
ilk ane sal ryise contrar vthirs. that passage of the text cletMt hym
nedis nocht ane alligoric expositione, for the experiens *» vemens
of that passage is ouer manifest in oure cuntre. the man on ane
said cheptour of esaye sais that efiemmenet men sal roc.
be superiors to iherusalem ande iuda. that passage is ine' l' '
ouer euident in oure cuntre, for ther is maye of the w* have many a

... Sardanapalus

sect ot sardanapalus amang vs, nor ther is of scipions among us.

or camillus. the foir said cheptour of esaye sais that the AS for the ca-
lamity of a young
lord sal gyf to iherusalem ande iuda ^ong kyngis to prince,

gouuerne them, that passage of esaye *vald be veil con- [*ieaf 2*]
sidrit, ande nocht to be vndirstandin be the letteral taken uteraiiy,
expositione, as diuerse of the maist famous doctours of qu°en (Mary
the kyrk hes rehersit : for quhou be it that oure }ong j^um7ante; °^*
illustir princis be ane tcndir pupil, ande nocht entrit 35
in the aige of puberte, that follouia nocht that hyr

30 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. IV.

1 3outhed is ane plage sende be god to scurge vs, for the
3outhed of ane prince or of ane princesse is nocht the
cause of the ruuyne of ane realme, nor 3it the perfyit

4 aige of ane prince is nocht the cause of the gude gou-
3 Reg. 12. uernyng of ane public veiL Roboam kyng of israel

but, as shown by , , . „ . ,

the contrast of beand fourty 361T of aige, he tynt ten tribis of his
2. Para. 16 realmis throucht misgouuernance that procedit of euil
and Josiah, counseL Ande in opposit, Osias vas bot aucht 3eir of
Vlrtw quam aige quhen he vas vnctit kyng, & quhou be it of his
sm celerior. 3011thed, 3it he gouuernit veil the cuntre ande the
Oice. phi- public veil ther for as the eloquent cicero sais, ve suld

nocht leuk to the aige, nor to the 3outhed of ane per-
13 son,1 bot rather to ther vertu. ve haue diuerse uthir

exemplis, quhou that real mis hes beene veil gouuernit
as well as many quhen the princis var in tendir aige, as of spangle ande

instances in .

history, flandns, quhen charlis elect empriour vas bot thre 3eir

[* leaf 24, back] of aige. ande quhou be it 'that Salomon hes said, cursit

be the eird that hes ane 3ong prince, thai vordis ar to

it refers to a "be vndirstandin of inconstant superiors of ane cuntre

fickle and discord-
ant government, that ar nocht in ane accord to gouuerne the public veil,

21 nor 3it hes ane constant substancial counsel to gou-
uerne ane realme quhen the prince or princes ar in ten-
dir aige, ther for, that terme 3outhed suld be vndir-
not to a prince standin for ignorance & inconstance, ande nocht for

young in years.

3ong of 3eiris, for euyre inconstant or ignorant person
26 is aye repute ande comparit to 3ong childir that hes na

1. Corin. 14. discretione. Sanct paul vritis to the corinthiens that
var pepil in perfect aige. quod he, my bredir, be 30
nocht in 3our vit lyik childir, bot 30 sal be of litil

Detractors may maleise, ande of profond knaulage. parchance sum

malign me,

inuyful detrakkers vil mah'ng contrar me, sayand that i
32 suld nocht2 haue applyit nor conferrit3 the xxviii of
deutero. nor the xxvi of Leuitic, nor the thrid of esaye,
j to the afflictione of oure cuntre, be rason that the con-
nd not to Scot- tenu of thir for said cheptours var said to the pepil of

ma; *

' pson t aocht * confetrit

APPLICATION OP ISAIAH III. TO SCOTLAND. 31

israel, ande nocht to the pepil of Scotland, thir detrak- they may say the

same of the De-

kers maye saye as veil that the ten commandis var caiogue and the
gyffin to the pepil of Israel, ande nocht tyl cristin men, Paul's Epistiea.
ande sic *lyik thai maye saye that the doctryne of the [* leaf 25]

,. ,. . , , , ... ... • i M Such remarks

euangelistis is nocht to be kepit be cristin mew. siclyik are unworthy of
thai may saye that the epistylis of paul suld be kepit ^™ ians'
he the romans, corrinthiens, epheseis, & be vthir na- scripta sunt

tions that he vrit to in his dais, ande nocht to be kepit °f no*tram

_ r doctnnam

be vs that professis vs to be cristin men. Sic opinions scripta svnt :

ande allegeance suld nocht haue audiens amang eristic vtperpatien-

tuno. <$• con-
pepil. for ther is no thyng said in the scriptour, bot it solationem

is said generelye tyl al them that hes resauit the joilk ^rpuraru

' spem hdbe-
ande the confessione of crist. Sanct paul vritis to the amus.

romans, sayand, euyrye thing that is vritin in the ^°m- *5-
scriptur is vrityn tyll oure edeficatione : thir vordis AH scripture is

«. .« V, .1. • • p • r i given for our

maye suffice til adnul the peruerst opinions 01 inuyiul
calumniaturis ande of secret detrackers. 17

f fritter* opinions1 tfjat tfje pagan

pfjottrs jeltr of tfje contritions antre intmrins

of tjje barltJ> antie qujjoit tjje actor

teclarts tfjat tjc barlfr

is ncir ane enfre.

CHAP. v.

E special cause of the scurge that hes affligit vs, [leaf 25, back]

The chief cause

hes procedit of our disobediens contrar the com- of our afflictions
mand of god. Ande the cause of our disobediens disobedience

hes procedit of ane varldly afiectione ande cupidite that '

• . . .. Facite vo-
ve haue touart the vile corruption of this varld that ns amicos

the scriptour callis mammon, quhilk ve hald for ane de inawnona

iniquitatis.
i opinions Luce. 16.

. x

32 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. V.

and our worship souerane felicite, bot nochtheles it is bot ane corrupit

of mammon.

2 poison, in sa far as ve can nocht serue gode ande it to
Non potestis gyddir. as Sanct mathou hes said, 30 may nocht serue
deo servire et ~0(j g^fe maramon. Ther is ane vthir cause that makkis

•MHMMMi

Hat. 6. ca. vs disobedient, mony of us beleuis in our consait that
Many believe that ther is na thyng perdurabil bot the varld alanerly. sic
world is lasting, abusione procedis of onfaythtfuLues ande of oure blynd
afiectione, quhilk makkis vs sa brutal, that ve vait
9 nocht quhat thing the varld is, nor quhou lang it sal
indure, bot rather ve beleue that it sal be perpetual.
ther for oure cupidite constrenjeis vs to desire prolong-
and value tem- atione of oure dais, that ve maye vse the blynd sensual
above eternal felicite of it, quhilk mony of vs thynkis mair comodius
leing' ande necessair for our veilfayr, nor ve thynk of the

[•leaf 26] sem'peternal olimp. Bot vald ve considir the diffini-
16 tione of the varld, than i beleue that oure solistnes
ande vane opinione vald altir in ane faythtful consait.
Many speak of Ther is mony that speikis of the varld, & jit thai vait
kneow°not what nocht quhat thing is the varld. the pagan philosophours
held mony vane opinions, & tynt mekil tyme in vane

questions & speculations, ande hes tormentit1 the[r]
n spreitis, drauand & compiland mony beukis, quhilkis
23 ar set furtht in diuerse cuntreis : bot jit ther vas neuyr
* ane final accordance concludit amang them :2 for of the
final verite that thai socht, thai gat litil, ande the ig-
norance that thai haue put in vrit, is verray mekil, be
rason that the smallest part of ther ignorance in super-
28 natural cacis, excedit the maist part of ther knaulage.
Plata, Aristotle, Plato, aristotel, pithagoras, empedocles, epecurius,
tried'tTde^ribe' thales, & mony vthir of the pagan philosophours, hes
world. " ted grite defferens ande contentione to paynt ande di-

Pythagoras dis- scriue the origyne ande propriete of the varld. Pitha-
tween'8the world goras said, that the varld is ane thing, & it that ve cal
T^e^anT™"*' vniuersal is ane vthir thyng. the philosophour thales
tliat ^er is ^°t a116 varld.3 the astrologien metro-

'tormentir « chem • vardl

THE END OF THE WORLD PROVED TO BE NEAR. 33

dore affennit that ther is niony & infinit varldis. se- 1

'leucus ' the philosophour said that the varld2 is eternal. [*ieaf 26, back]

Seleucus and

Plato said that the varld hed ane begynnyng, ande sal Plato as to its
haue ane end. epicurius said that the varld is ronde Epicurus and
lyik ane boule, & empedocles said that the varld is lang toitasii&pe. **
& ronde lyik ane eg. Socrates techit in his achademya, Socrates taught

, . . that all things

sayand, that eftir seuyn ande thretty thousand ^eiris, should repeat

. . , , ., ,, • themselves in

al thingis sal retourne to that sammyn stait as thai 37,000 years;
began, ande he to be borne agane in his mother 9
voymbe, ande to be neurist til his aige, ande sal teche
philosophic3 in athenes. dionisius sal exsecute his aid Dionysius, csesar,

Scipio, Alexander,

tirranye in siracuse. lulras cesar sal be lord of rome, &c., play their

, , , . . . - parts over again.

ande annibal sal conques ytalie. scipio sal put cartage

to sac ande to the sourde, ande grit Allexander sal 14

venques kyng darius. of this sort, al thingis that ar by

past sal returne agane to there fyrst stait. My purpos i don't mean to

speak of the

is nocht to speik of this material varld that is maid of material world,

the four elementis, of the eird, the vattir, the ayr, ande 18

the fvir : bot rather i vil speik of the varld that garris but of the world

in its theological

vs mysknau gode, ande [be] disobedient tyl his com- sense.

mand. quhew the creator of al thingis cam in this varld

to redeme vs fra the eternal captiuite of sathan, he 22

complenit ande repreuit the varld, bot }it *he repreuit [* leaf 27]

nocht the eird, the vattir, the ayr, nor the fyir, for thai

foure elementis brae nocht his command, i haue4 herd i have heard

ill,. many malign the

diuers pepil regret, maling, ande mak exclamations con- world, calling it
trar the varld, sayand, o false varld ! o miserabil varld ! &c*'
o dissaitful varld ! o inconstant varld ! o malicius 28

varld ! ande ?it thai kneu nocht quhat thing is the

Nunc iudi-
varld. eftir my purpos, that varld5 that the pepil ma- cium egt

lingnis, is nocht ane substancial material mas, maid of m/tmdi •' nuno

. . , - flilBMft

eird, vattir, ayr, & fyir, bot rather it is the euyl lyfe of huius mnndi.

the pepil that conuersis viciuslye, ande the prince of ^ohan. 12.

when they meant

this last varld is the deuyl, the quhilk sal be cassin the evil life of the

people in it.

furtht, as is rehersit in the euangel of Sanct ihone. 35

i selencus 2 vardl 3 philhsophie 4 hane 5 yard

COMPLAYNT. 3

34 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. V.

This world is not this varld is nocht formit of the fouer elementis, as of

composed of the

four elements, eird, vattir, ayr, ande fyir, as gode creat the material
but of seven varld in the begynnyng, bot rather it is creat of seuyn

elements (the

seven cardinal elementis of sathans creatione, that is to saye, auereise,

amhitione, luxure, crualte, dissait, onfaythtfulnes, dis-

6 simulatione, & insaciabil cupidite. allace ! al thir seuyn

Alas ! they super- elementis that this last varld is creat of, ar ' ouer

abound in our

afflicted realm, abundand vitht in oure affligit realme, quhilk is the

cause of the calamite that it induris. bot var ve as

[* leaf 27, back] solist to considir the vani'te of this last varld as Salo-

Ciimqve me mon considrit it, than doutles ve vald be verray solist

eonuertntem ^ resigt ^ inuasiong Of ft quhilk prouokis vs to vice :

ad rniuersa

opera quefe- or var ve as solist til impung the occasione of syn, as

cerent manus ve ar so]|s^ ^o gg^ remeid contrar the exterior accidentis

mee not in

omnibus va- that oft occurris til hurt oure body, than doutles our

mtatem % sensual cupidite vald be cum mortefeit ande venqueist.

ajnwtwnem.

animi. Oft tymys ve seik remeide to keip vs fra euyl accidentis

Eccle. 2.c. Uj ^ hurtis oure body, as, quhen the sune castis oure

We are ready J '

enough to seek grite hevt. ve pas vndir the vmbre or the schaddou :

remedy against

material ills, as quhen ve ar tint to gang on oure feit, ve ar solist to

hurt, heat, wean- ^

ness, wet, thirst, seik horse to ryde : quhew the rane cummis, ve pas

plague;

22 vndir the thak, or vthir couuert place : quhen_ ve ar

thirsty,2 ve seik drynk : quhen the plag of pestilens

occurris, ve ar solist to seik ane cleene duelling place

but not against vndir ane temperat climat. Bot in opposit, quhen

moral diseases, .

avarice, luxury, auereise assail^eis vs, ve seik nocht the vertu ot

anger, arrogance, ... ..i •• -i i 11- -n

cupidity. liberalite, nor quhen vile luxure trubJis vs, ve adhere

28 nocht to the vertu of temperance ande contenens :

quhen ire affligis vs, ve seik nocht the vertu of patiens :

quhen arrogans ande ambitione entris in our hartis, ve

seik nocht the vertu of humilite. ande iiou, be cause

[•leaf as] that ve seik na remeid contrar 'our disordinat cupidite,

33 nor jit resistis the occasions ande temptations of the

prouocations of vice, ve becum haistylye venqueist, bo

rason that oure smal resistance generis grit hardynes in

i at 2 thrsty

THE END OF THE WORLD PROVED TO BE NEAR. 35

the aduerse party of oure saul. ther is ane mair odius Worse than that,

,, . ,, , ,1 . . ,, . . ,.. our moral blind-

thing amang vs ; lor al the vicis that oure cupidite pro- ness makes us

, . . , i i i «> , • i believe these

uokis vs to commit, our blynd anectiowe gams vs be- vices to be

leue that tha ar supreme vertu ande felicite, "be cause

thai ar pleisand tyl oure fragil nature ; the quhilk is they are pleasing

to our frail nature.

the principal occasione that ve conuerse sa viciusle, as

this miserabil sewsual lyif var perpetual, ande as the 7

dede hed na pouuer to sla oure bodeis, & as there var 7am viuunt

nocht ane hel to torment oure saulis, bot as ther var komines tan~

quam mors
ane fenjet hel of the poietis fictions, as virgil hes set nulla sequa-

furtht in the sext beuk of his eneados. Bot, as i hef

fernusfaoula

befor rehersit, i suspect that there is ouer mony that fictaforet.
beleuis in the opinione of Socrates, that is to saye, that 'the^mil^i^t
the varld sal indure seuyn ande thretty1 thousand 87'000yeai
^eiris. bot admittand, vndir p[r]otestatione, that Socrates though it were

. . . i , 8°> would the

opinione var of verite, ^it socrates hes nocht said that duration of

the terme of oure lyue dais sal pas the course of nature, any longer ?

that is to saye, to pas the course of ane hundretht ^eir. 18

*ve haue experiens daly, that quhar ane man lyuis ane [* leaf as, back]

hundretht ^eir in ony cuntre, ane hundretht lyuis

nocht ane hundretht monetht. N"ou, to confound the But i win dis-

prove this idea :

opinione of Socrates, ande to confound al them that vil
nocht beleue that the varld is neir ane final ende, i vil 23
arme me vitht the croniklis of master ihone carion, John carion
quhar he allegis the prophesye of helie, sayand, that phecyofEHas, to
fra the begynnyng of the varld, on to the consumma- whole duration
tione of it, sal be the space of sex thousand ^eir. the Bhau'bTomy
quhilk sex thousand 3eir sal be deuydit in thre partis. divldedTnto three
the fyrst tua thousand 3eir, the varld sal be vitht out di"Pensations-
ony specefeit lau in vrit, quhilk vas the tyme betuix 30
adam ande abraham. the nyxt tua thousand ^eir vas
the lau of circoncisione, vitht ane institutione of diuyne
policie, ande vitht adoratione of god, quhilk vas the
tyme betuix Abraham ande the incarnatione, quhen
crist ihus resauit our humanite for our redemptione. 35

« thtetty

36 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. V.

1 the thrid txia thousand 3011 sal be betuix the incar-

natione & the last aduent, quhilk sal be the consum-

The last two matione of the varld. bot thir last tua thousand jeir

thousand shall be

shortened for the (as master ihone carion allegis in the prophesye of

[» leaf 29] helie) sal nocht be completit, be rason 'that the daye

6 of iugement sal be antecipet, be cause of them that ar

as written by his electis, as is vrityn in the xxiiii cheptour of Sanct

Saint Matthew.

mathou, & nisi breuiati fuissent dies illi, non

fieret salua omnis caro : sed propter electos

breuiabuntur dies illi. quha listis to reide al the

11 xxiiii cheptour of Sanct mathou, tha sal persaue eui-

The world is very dently that the varld is verray neir ane ende, be rason

near an ond ;

that mony of the singis & taikkyns that precedis the

daye of iugement, that ar expremit in the foirsaid chep-

most of the signs tour, ar by past. & the remanent ar nou presently in

are already past.

oure dais : ther for, efftir the supputatione of helie, as

17 mastir ihone carion hes rehersit, the varld hes bot four

1548 of the last hundretht fyfty tua seir tyl indure, be cause that ther

two thousand

years are past; is fiue hundrethe fourty aucht jeir by past of the foir

said sex thousa?*d ^eir; bot eftir the vordis of Sanct

the remaining mathou, the consummatione of the varld sal be haistiar

452 shall be

shortened; nor foure hundretht fyftye & tua ^eir; ^it god hes
23 nocht affixt ane certan daye to fal vitht in the said

tenne of iiiL c. lii 3eir, as is rehersit in Sanct mathou, de
the exact date u die autem ilia & hora, nemo scit neque angeli

celorum, nisi solus pater, ther for ve haue mistir

27 to be vigilant ande reddy, sen the terme of cristis cum-

[* leaf 29, back] ming is schort, ande 'the day oncertane, as is said in

the foir said euangel. vigil ate ergo quia nescitis

qua hora dominus vester venturus sit. this veil
Therefore, considrit, maye be ane probabil rason that the varld is

detest the world, . . ,•-,-, • , •

which is so near neir ane ende, quhilk suld be occasione til haue it in
detestatione, ande til haue premeditatione of the future
34 eternal beatitude & felicite, that gode hes promeist til
al them that haldis it in abhominatione.

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 37

of tje

CHAP. VI.

HE solist ande attentiue laubirs that i tuke to vrit The labour of

•if i •, i i -IJ-L writing the

thir passagis betor renersit, gart al my body be cum above chapters

. , .,, , i ., -i •, fatigued the

imbecille ande verye, ande my spreit be cum sopit author.

in sadnes, throuclit the lang conteneuatione of studie,

quhilk did fatigat my rason, ande gart al my membris 5

be cum impotent, than, til eschaip the euyl accidentis TO avoid the evil

that succedis fra the onnatural dais sleip, as caterris, by day,

hede verkis, ande indegestione, i thocht it necessair til he thought he

. would take some

excerse me vitht sum actyuerecreatione, to hald my spretis active recreation.
valkand fra duTnes. than, to exsecute this purpose, i [* leaf so]
past to the greene hoilsum feildis, situat maist comodi- He walked out to

, „ ,. .. , ., . „ ,. the green fields,

usly fra distempnt ayr ande corruppit infectione, to re-
saue the sueit fragrant smel of tendir gyrssis, ande of 13
hoilsum balmy flouris maist odoreferant. besyde the fut to the foot of a

. "hill where there

of ane ktil montane, there ran ane fresche reueir as cleir was a stream,
as berial, quhar i beheld the pretty fische va/ztounly ™ gm

stertland vitht there rede vermeil fynnis, ande there

skalis lyik the brycht siluyr. on the tothir syde of that 18

reueir, there vas ane grene bane ful of rammel grene overhung by a

treis, quhar there vas mony smal birdis hoppand fra melodious with

busk to tuist, singand melodius reportis of natural music birds?ng
in accordis of mesure of diapason prolations, tripla ande

dyatesseron. that hauynly ermonyie aperit to be artificial 23

music, in this glaidful recreatione i conteneuit quhil Amid these

11 j- j-j. j- J.-L -u.1,4. t -uv scenes he lingered

phebus vas disce?idit vndir the vest northt vest oblique tui sunset,
oris3one, quhilk vas entrit that samyn daye in the xxv.
degre of the sing of gemini, distant fiue degreis fra oure

symmyr solstice, callit the borial tropic of cancer, the 28

quhilk, be astrolog supputatione, accordis vitht the sext (it was the etu

daye of iune. there eftir i entrit in ane grene forrest, to and then entered

contempil the tendir 3ong ' frutes ' of grene treis, be [* icaf'so, back]

i frutss

THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND.

[CHAP. vi.

where he walked
to and fro, the
greater part of
the night.
laraque ru-
bescebat
stellis aurora
fugatis.
Eneo 2.
He saw the first
break of dawn in
the N.N.E.,

at which the
stars grew pale,

and Diana, the
" lantern of the
night," waxed
dim.

The misty
exhalations
vanished ;

the green fields
drank up the
[•leaf SI]
dew.

Birds and beasts
began their din,

making the
welkin ring with
their various
noises.

Methamor-
pho. 3.

To tell of the
beasts and fowls,
there were

cause the borial blastis of the thre borouing dais of
marche hed chaissit the fragrant flureise of euyrie frute
tree far athourt the feildis. of this sort i did spaceir vp
ande doune but sleipe, the maist part of the myrk
nycht. instantly there eftir i persauit the messengeiris
of the rede aurora, quhilkis throucht the mychtis of
titan ' hed persit the crepusculyne lyne matutine of the
northt northt est ori3one, quhilk vas occasione that the
sternis & planetis, the dominotours of the nycht, ab-
sentit them, ande durst nocht be sene in oure hemi-
spere, for dreddour of his auful goldin face. Ande als
fayr dyana, the lantern of the nycht, be cam dym ande
pail, quhen titan hed extinct the lycht of hyr lamp on
the cleir daye. for fra tyme that his lustrant beymis var
eleuat iiii. degres abufe oure oblique orisjone, euery
planeit of oure hemespeir be cam obscure, ande als al
corrupit humiditeis, ande caliginus fumis & infekkit
vapours, that hed bene generit in the sycond regione of
the ayr quhen titan vas visiawd antepodos. thai consumit
for sorrou quhen thai sau ane sycht of his goldin scheaip.
the grene feildis, for grite droutht, drank vp the drops
of the 'fresche deu, quhilk of befor hed maid dikis &
dailis verray done, there eftir i herd the rumour of ram-
masche foulis ande of beystis that maid grite beir,
quhilk past besyde burnis & boggis on grene bankis to
seik ther sustentatione. there brutal sound did redond
to the hie skyis, quhil the depe hou cauernis of cleuchis
& rotche craggis ansuert vitht ane hie not, of that saniyn
sound as thay beystis hed blauen. it aperit be presum-
yng & presuposing, that blaberand eccho hed beene hid
in ane hou hole, cryand hyr half ansueir, quhen narcis-
sus rycht sorye socht for his saruandis, quhen he vas
in ane forrest, far fra ony2 folkis, & there eftir for loue
of eccho he drounit in ane drau vel. nou to tel treutht
of the beystis that maid sic beir, & of the dyn that the

i titam 2 omy

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 39

foulis did, ther syndry soundis hed nothir temperance 1

nor tune, for fyrst furtht on the fresche feildis, the nolt the neat-cattle,

maid noyis vitht mony loud lou. baytht horse & meyris horses and mares,

did fast nee, & the foils nechyr. the bullis "began to bulls, sheep,

bullir, quhen the scheip began to blait, be cause the 5

calfis began tyl mo, quhen the doggis berkit. than the calves and dogs,

suyne begare to quhryne quherc thai herd the asse rair,1 swine, the ass,

quhilk gart the hennis *kekkyl quhen the cokis creu. [* leaf si, back]

the chekyns began to peu quhen the gled quhissillit. fowls and

chickens, the

the fox follouit the fed geise, & gart them cry claik. the kite,
gayslingis cryit quhilk quhilk, & the dukis cryit quaik. gosling's, and'
the ropeen of the rauynis gart the craws crope, the ravens', cranes,
huddit crauis cryit varrok varrok, quhen the suannis swans?0""™'
murnit, be cause the gray goul mau pronosticat ane the grey guii
storme. the turtil began for to greit, quhen the cuschet and cushat-dove,
3oulit. the titlene follouit the goilk, ande gart hyr sing lparro/and
guk guk. the dou croutit hyr sad sang that soundit lyik ^ ^°°'
sorrou. robeen and the litil vran var hamely in vyntir. [^tie wren^the
the iargolyne of the suallou gart the iay iangil. than the ?wallow and the

jay, the thrush

maueis maid myrtht, for to mok the merle, the lauerok ana blackbird,

the lark and the

maid melody vp hie in the skyis.2 the nychtingal al nightingale,

the lapwings and

the nycht sang sueit notis. the tuechitis cryit theuis magpies,

., . ... , ,. .. ., ,. ,, , , .. the starling and

nek, quhen the piettis clattnt. the garruling 01 the stir- the sparrow,
lene gart the sparrou cheip. the lyntquhit sang cuntir- the linnet and

•11-1 ouzel,

point quhen the osjil ^elpit. the grene serene sang the greenfinch

., , ,, ,, , , ... ,, , , , and the goldfinch,

sueit, quhen the gold spynk chantit. the rede scnank the redshank and

cryit my fut my fut, & the oxee cryit tueit. the3 herrons the^ero^s and

gaif ane vyild skrech as the kyl hed bene in fyir, quhilk

gart the quhapis for fleyitnes fle far fra hame. Tharc 29

eftir quhera 'this dyn vas dune, i dreu me doune [* leaf o (32), the

first of th'un-

throucht mony grene dail ; i beand sopit in sadnes, i numbered leave*.]

, . . i -, , -I j- v • j Leaving this the

socht neir to the see syde. than vndir ane hmgand author next pro.
heuch, i herd mony hurlis of stannirs & stanis that g^dg*de.0t
tumlit doune vitht the land rusche, quhilk maid ane 34
felloune sound, throcht virkyng of the suella?(d valh's of

> tair « skryis ' tbe

40 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 the brym seye. than i sat doune to see the flouyng of
Gazing across the the fame, quhar that i leukyt far furtht on the salt

flood he saw a n t t • -i i i i

gaiiasse accoutred nude, there i beheld ane galiasse gayly grathit for the

for war.

veyr, lyand fast at ane ankir, and hyr sails in hou. i

5 herd mony vordis amang the marynalis, bot i vist nocht

quhat thai menit. $it i sal reherse and report ther cry-

what happened ing and ther cal. in the fyrst, the master of the galiasse

on board ;

gart the botis man pas vp to the top, to leuk far furtht

gyf he culd see ony schips. than the botis man leukyt

10 sa lang quhil that he sau ane quhyt sail, than he cryit

a sail descried, vitht ane skyrl, quod he, i see ane grit schip. than the
maister quhislit, and bald the marynalis lay the cabil to
the cabilstok, to veynde and veye. than the marynalis

the anchor began to veynd the cabil, vitht mony loud cry. ande as

weighed.

ane cryit, al the laif cryit in that samyn tune, as it hed

16 bene ecco in ane hou heuch. and as it aperit to me, thai

[* leaf 0(32), back] cryit 'thirvordis as effcir follouis. veyra veyra, veyra veyra.

The words to

which the sailors gentil galla/zdis, gentil gallawdis. veynde i see hym, veynd
i see hym. pourbossa, pourbossa. hail al ande ane, hail al
and ane. hail hym vp til vs, hail hym. vp til vs. Than
2 1 quhen the ankyr vas hah' t vp abuf e the vattir, ane marynel
cryit, and al the laif follouit in that sam tune, caupon
caupona, caupon caupona. caupun hola, caupun hola.
caupun holt, caupon holt, sarrabossa, sarrabossa. than

The sans thai maid fast the schank of the ankyr. And the maistir

unfurled.

26 quhislit and cryit, tua men abufe to the foir ra, cut the

raibandis, and lat the foir sail fal, hail doune the steir

burde lufe harde a burde. hail eftir the foir sail scheit,

hail out the bollene. than the master quhislit ande cryit,

tua men abufe to the mane ra, cut the raibandis, and lat

31 the mane sail and top sail fal, hail doune the lufe close

aburde, hail eftir the mane sail scheit, hail out the mane

The sailors again sail boulene. than ane of the marynalis began to hail and

words. to cry, and al the marynalis ansuert of that samyn sound.

hou hou. pulpela pulpela. boulena boulena. darta darta.

hard out steif, hard out steif. afoir the vynd, afoir the

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 41

vynd. god send, god send, fayr vedthir, *fayr vedthir. [* leaf o (33)1

mony pricis, mony pricis. god foir lend, god foir lend. 2

stou, stou. mak fast & belay. Than the master cryit,

and bald renje ane bonet, vire the trossis, nou heise.

than the marynalis began l to heis vp the sail, cryand, The unfurling of

. the sails

heisau, heisau. vorsa, vorsa. vou, vou. ane lawg draucht, continued.

ane lang draucht. mair maucht, mair maucht. jongblude, 7

jong blude. mair mude, mair mude. false flasche, false

flasche. ly a bak, ly a bak. lawg suak, lawg suak. that

that, that that, thair thair, thair thair. gallon hayr,

gallon hayr. hips bayr, hips bayr. til hyni al, til hym al.

viddefullis al, viddefuls al. grit and smal, grit and 12

smal. ane and al, ane and al. heisau, heisau. nou

mak fast the theyrs. Than the master cryit, top jour

topinellis, hail on jour top sail scheitis, vire jour

liftaris2 and jour top sail trossis, & heise the top sail

hiear. hail out the top sail boulene. heise the mysjen, 17

and change it ouer to leuart. hail the linche and the

scheitis, hail the trosse to the ra. thaw the master cryit

on the rudir man, mait keip ful and by, a luf. cumna

hiear. holabar, arryua. steir clene vp the helme, this

and so. than quhen the schip vas taiklit, the master 22

cryit, boy to the top. schaik out the flag on the top The flag hoisted.

mast, tak in jour top salis, *and thirl them, pul doune [* leaf o(ss), back]

the nok of the ra in daggar vyise. marynalis, stand be

jour geyr in taiklene of jour salis. euery quartar master 26

til his auen quartar. boitis man, bayr stanis & lyme They prepare for

an engagement.

pottis ful of lyme in the craklene pokis to the top, and

paueis veil the top vitht pauesis and mantilHs. Gun-

naris, cum heir & stand by jour artailjee, euyrie gunnar

til his auen quartar. mak reddy jour ca?mons, culuerene 31

moyens, culuerene bastardis, falcons, saikyrs, half saik-

yrs, and half falcons, slangis, & half slangis, quartar

slangis, hede stikkis. murdresaris, pasuolans, bersis, The artillery

r ' ' brought into

doggis, doubil bersis, hagbutis of croche, half haggis, readiness.

i begam * Or listaris f the letter is indistinct.

42 THE COMPLATNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 culuerenis, ande hail schot. ande 30 soldartis & con-

pang^ons of veyr, mak reddy ^our corsbollis, hand

bollis, fyir speyris, hail schot, lancis, pikkis, halbardis,

rondellis, tua handit sourdis and tairgis. than this gaye

Thegaiiasse galliasse, beand in gude ordour, sche follouit fast the

bears down on .

the ship, samyn schip that the botis man hed sene, and ior mair

7 speid the galliasse pat furtht hir stoytene salis, ande

ane hundretht aris on euerye syde. the master gart al

his marynalis & men of veyr hald them quiet at rest, be

rason that the mouyng of the pepil vitht in ane schip,

[* leaf o(84)] stoppis hyr of *hyr faird. of this sort the said galiasse

12 in schort tyme cam on vynduart of the tothir schip.

and engages her. than ef tir that thai hed hailsit vthirs, thai maid them

reddy for battel. than quhar i sat i hard the cannons

and gunnis mak mony hiddeus crak duf, duf, duf, duf,

duf, duf. the barsis and falcons cry it tirduf, tirduf, tir-

17 duf, tirduf, tirduf, tirduf. than the smal artailje cryit,

A description of tik tak, tik tak, tik tak, tik tak. the reik, smeuk, and

the stink of the gun puldir, fylit al the ayr maist lyik

as plutois paleis hed been birnand in ane bald fyir,

quhilk generit sik mirknes & myst that i culd nocht

The author see my lyntht about me. quhar for i rais and returnit to

fresh fields, the fresche feildis that i cam fra, quhar i beheld mony

24 hudit hirdis blauuand ther hue hornis and ther come

and saw the pipis, calland and conuoyand mony fat floe to be fed

shepherds taking . .

out their flocks, on the icildis. than the scheiphirdis pat there scheip on

bankis and brais, and on dry hillis, to get ther pastour.

Their breakfast than i beheld the scheiphirdis vyuis and ther childir

to them by their that brocht there mornyng bracfast to the scheiphirdis.

children1- thaw the scheiphyrdis vyuis cuttit raschis and seggis,

31 and gadrit mony fragrant grene meduart, vitht the

they sat down on quhilkis tha couurit the end of ane leye rig, & syne sat

a bed of rushes - .

[*ieafo(34),back] doune al to gyddir to tak there refe ctione, quhar thai
and imrtook°of aU maid grit cheir of euyrie ' sort of mylk, baytht of ky
curds,** "lk> mjlk & joue mylk, sueit mylk and sour mylk, curdis

• emyie;

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 4

and quhaye, sourkittis, fresche buttir ande salt buttir, whey, butter,

n , i -i • -, I-, . cream, and

reyme, not quhaye, grene cheis, kyrn my Ik. euyne cheese;

scheiphird hed ane home spune in the lug of there 3

bonet : thai hed na breyd bot ry caikis and fustean their bread was

rye-cakes and

skonnis maid of flour, than ef tir there disiune, tha be- scones ;
gan to talk of grit myrrynes that vas rycht plesand to then followed

mirth and glee,

be hard, in the fyrst, the prencipal scheiphirde maid and the chief

,,,,,,.,.„,. p.. shepherd made

ane orisone tyl al the laif of his conpang3ons as eftir an oration,

follouis. 9

IF 0 36 my frendis that ar scheiphirdis, ve hef grit

cause to gyf thankis to god for the hie stait and dignite He pointed out

the excellence of

that he hes promouit vs to posses, the quhilk stait pref- the pastoral life ;

ferris al vthir faculte of this varld, baytht in honour

and in profeit. for sen the varld vas creat, scheiphirdis 14

prefferrit al vthir staitis. quhar for the maist anciant

nobilis that hes bene in aid tymis, tha detestit vrbanite,

and desirit to lyue in villagis and landuart1 tounis to be acting the

1 -I • T 11- • • 11 ancients,

scheiphirdis, or to laubir rustic ocupation on the hoil-

sum feildis, as diuerse historigraphours hes maid mew- 19

tione. for in aid tymis pastoral and rustical 'ocupatione [*ieaf o(S5)]

vas of ane excellent reputatione, for in thai dais quhen

the goldin varld rang, kyngis and princis tuke mair and the manners

of the golden age ;

delyit on the feildis and forrestis to keip bestialite and

to manure corne landis, nor thai did to remane in pre- citing also the

, , . . ... . examples of

toral palecis or in tryumphand citeis. riche kyng amph- Amphion,
ion vas verray solist to keip his scheip, and at euyn2
quhen thai past to there faldis, scheip cottis and
ludgens, he playt befor them on his harpe. Siklyik 28
kyng dauid hed mair affectione to play on his harpe King David,
amawg his flokkis of scheip, nor he hed to be gouuer-
nour of the pepil of Israel, ande appollo, that the Apoiio,
poietis callis the god of sapiens, he vas scheiphird to
keip kyng admetus scheip. siklyik the nobil roma,TS in 33
aid tymis var nocht eschamit to laubir and to manure
the baran feildis vitht there auen handis, to gar the

i landnart 2 enyn

44 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 eird becum fertil to bayr al sortis of corne, eirbis, gyrse

& spice, as ve hef exempli of the prudent quintus

cindnnatus, cincinatus, quha vas chosyn be the senat to be dictatur

of rome, at that samyn tyme he vas arand the land

5 vitht his auen hand at the pleuch. siklyik the sapient

Poreinscato, porcus cathon censor of rome vas verray solist on the

Romulus, art of agreculture. Siklyik romulus the fyrst kyng of

I* leaf 0(35), back] ro'me set his hail felicite on the manuring of the feildis.

Fabricius, &c. ande alse the tua vail^eant romans, fabricius and curius

10 dentatus, var nocht eschamit til excerse them on the

Numa Pompiiius, culture of the feildis. Siklyik numa pompilius, that

deuot kyng of rome, statut that the senaturis of rome

suld keip there scheip, as is rehersit in ane verse that i

14 hef red of ane senatur, pascebatque suas ipse senator

Pans son of oues. Siklyik paris the thrid soune of kyng Priam of

Priam,

troy vas ane scheiphird, and kepit bestialite on montht

frican™, ydea. And alse the nobil Scipio, quhilk vas vail^eant
ande no les prudent, he conqueist affrica, and pat cart-
19 age to sac, and subdeuit numance, and venqueist
Annibal, and restorit the liberte of rome. than in his
aige of lij ^eir, he left the toune of rome, ande past to
remane the residu of his dais in ane landuart village
betuix pe3ole & capue in ytalie, and there he set his
24 felicite on the manuring of the corne land, & in the
Lucuiius, keping of bestialite. Ande alse lucullus, that prudent

consul of rome, quha hed conqueist diuerse battellis
contrar the parthiens, than in his last dais he left the
toune of rome, and past to duel in ane village besyde
29 naples, quhar that he excersit hym on rustic occupatioue
[* leaf o(S6)] ande on be'stialite. Siklyik the nobil Empriour
Diocletian, dioclesiaw, eftir that he hed gouuernit the empire xviij

^eir, he left the tryumphand toune of rome, & past til
ane village be syde florens, and ther he vsit the laubor-
34 ing of the cornis and vynis, & on bestialite. Ande alse
and Pericles, the prudent due perccles, quha hed the gouuerning of
the comont veil of athenes xxxvj ^eiris, ^it in his aige

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 45

of Ix ^eiris, he left the glorius stait of athenes, & past 1

to remane in ane litil village quhar he set his felicite to

keip nolt and scheip. quhat sal be said of the patriarchis

Abraam, Isaac & lacob, and of the princis & prophetis Abraham, isaao,

and Jacob,

of Israel 1 var thai nocht hirdis & scheiphirdis ? for ther were they not ail

prencipal vacatione vas on the neuresing1 of bestialite.

Ther for (0 30 my companions, scheiphirdis and hirdis) 7

ve hef grit cause to gloir and to gyf thankis to god for

the grit dignite that ve posses, for ther is na faculte, what estate can

compare with

stait, nor vacatione in the vniuersal varld, that can be this ?

conparit til oure stait. for al vthir staitis of al degreis,

baytht temporal and speritual, that remanis in tryumph- 12

and citeis and burroustounis, ther ringis na thing amang

them bot anareis, inuy, hatrent, dispyit, discention, &

mony vthir detestabil vicis : and alse there bodeis *ar [* leaf o (36), back]

subiect tyl al sortis of seiknes, be rason of the corrupit Cities engender

infectione and euyl ayr that is generit in ane cite quhar

maist confluens of pepil resortis, quhilk causis pestilens 18

and diuerse vthir sortis of contagius maladeis, & alse

ocasione that the maist part of them endis ther the in-

temperans of ther moutht2 in eyting & drynkyng, con- nndintemper-

ftnc6*

sumis ther stomakis & al ther membris, quhilk is occa-

siowe that the maist part of tham endis ther dais in 23

there green ^outhed. bot it is nocht siclyik of vs that

ar scheiphirdis, for ve lyif on the fragrant feildis quhar shepherds live in

ve ar neureist3 vitht the maist delicius temperat ayr, fields

and ther is nothir hatrent, auareis4 nor discord amang

vs, nor there is nothir detraction, leysingis, nor calumni- 28

ations amang vs. ve hef cherite to god, & lone tyl our

nychtbours, and the maist part of vs hes gude hail in

our body quhil ve be ane hundretht 3eir. ande alse to an old age.

quhou be it that the riche and opulent potestatis that

dueillis in citeis and burroustounis, reputis vs that ar 33

scheip/m'dis 5 to be ignorant, inciuil, & rude of ingyne,

account them

nochtheles al the sciencis and knaulage that thai rude,

I iienresing 2 moucht 3 ncnreist < anareis 5 scheiphis

46 THE COMPLATNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

ascribe and proffessis to be dotit in them, hes fyrst pro-
[*ieaf 0(37)] cedit fra our faculte, nocht alanerly in the 'inuentione

but all science had

its beginning of natural mecanyc consaitis, bot as veil the speculatione

of supernatural thingis, as of the firmament and of the

5 planetis, the quhilk knaulage ve hef prettikyt throucht

the lang contemplene of the motions and reuolutions of

Especially the nyne hauynis. Siklyik phisic, astronomye and

natural philosophic, var fyrst prettikit and doctrinet be

9 vs that ar scheiphirdis, for our faculte knauis the natur

and the vertu of the sternis and planetis of the spere,

and of the circlis contenit in the samyn : for throucht

they have long the lang studie and contemplene of the sternis, ve can

contemplated the

stars. gyf ane mgement of diuerse lutur accedentis that ar

14 gude or euyl, necessair or domageabil for man or beyst :

for it is manifest that scheiphirdis hes discriuit and

definit the circlis and the mouyng of the speris, as i sal

reherse to $ou that ar }ong scheiphyrdis, to that effect

18 that 30 may hef speculation of the samyn. In the

josephus tells fyrst, ihosephus the historigraphour that treittis of the

seth were°the° antiquite of the ieuis, rehersis in his fyrst beuk, that

first astronomers. (quhilk yas the ^^ Qf

the fyrst inuentours of the art of astronomic, and in-

23 uestigatours of the celest coursis & mouimentis, the

[•leaf 0(37), back] quhilk art thai grauit vitht 'lettris (for the vtilite of

they recorded there posterite) in tua tablis of stane. ane of the tabilis

on two tablet^, vas of baikyn stane, and the tothir tabil of onbaykyn

stane. the quhilk thing thai did be cause thai hed herd
28 ther father seth reherse, that his father Adam hed pro-

phetysjit that the varld sal end be vattir and be the
one of brick to fyir, and for that cause the baikyn stane vald thole the
anyone of sTone fyir, & the onba[k]yn stane vald thole the vattir, and of

to stand the flood. , •• . , •, /> • i j

this sort the art of astronomie suld ay remane oncon-
33 sumit. ande thai tua tablis hes bene regester and fund-
atione til al them that hes studeit in cosmographie,
geographic, and in topographic. There for, to niak ane
diffinitione of cosmaghraphie (as far as ve scheiphirdis

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 47

hes ccmtemplit) it is ane vniuersal discriptione of the Cosmography
varld, contenand in it the four elementis, the eird, the universe,
vattir, the ayr, and the fyir, the sone and mune, and al elements;
the sternis : l ther for ane man that desiris tyl hef ony 4
iugement of cosmaghraphie, he suld fyrst contempil and
considir the circlis of the spere celest : for be that dis- the great circles

of the sphere ;

tinctione of the said circlis, it sal be facil to knau the

distance of diuerse cuntreis that lyis vndir the said

circlis, baytht of there longitude and of ther latitude, 9

and the proportione *of the climatis, and the diuersite [*ieaf ocss)]

of the dais & nychtis of the four quartars of the varld,

and it sal declair the mouyng, eleuatione, and declina- the motions of

sun, moon, fixed

tione of the sone, mune, and of the sternis fixt, and stars and planets.

sternis erratic, and it sal declair the eleuatione of the 14

polis, and the lynis parallelis, and the meridian circlis,

and diuerse vthir documentis and demonstrations mathe-

matikis.

IT Nou fyrst to speik of the mouyng of the spere,
and of the diuisione of the hauynis, ^e sal knau that 19

the varld is diuidit in tua partis, that is to say, the The world con-
sists of two parts,

fyrst part is the regione elementair, quhilk is subiect a terrestrial and

til alteratione and to corruptione. the nyxt part of the

varld is callit the regione celest (quhilk philosophours

callis quinta essentia) vitht in the concauite of the 24

quhilk is closit the regione elementar. this said regione

celest is nothir variabil nor corruptabil. it is diuidit in The celestial

world consists of

ten speris, and the gritest spere quhilk is the outuart ten spheres,

spere, inclosis in it the spere that is nyxt til it, & sa be

progressione and ordur, euyrie spere inclosis the spere 29

that is nerest tyl it. in the fyrst, the regione elementair

is inclosit vitht in the spere of the mune, and nyxt it

is the spere of mercu'rius, and syne the spere of venus, [* leaf 0(38), back]

and nyxt it is the spere of the sone, and abufe and

about it is the spere of mars, and syne the spere of

lupiter, and than the spere of Saturnus. and ilk ane of

l sterlus

48 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

seven having thir speris hes bot ane -sterne or planete that mouis in

the jodiac contrar the muuyng of the fyrst mobil that

the eighth is the ve cal the tent spere. nyxt thir speris is the firmament,

firmament;

quhilk is callit the hauyn, or the spere of the sternis,
the ninth is the and about it is the nynte spere, callit the hauyn cristel-

crystalline

heaven; lyne, be cause1 that there can nocht be na sternis seen

7 in it. Al thir nyne speris or hauynis ar inclosit vitht
the last the in the tent spere, quhilk is callit the fyrst mobil, the

priraum mobile,

quhilk makkis reuolutione and course on the tua polis
fra day to daye in the space of xxiiij houris fra orient
til Occident, and returnis agane to the orient, bot the
12 mouyng of the tother nyne hauynis is fra the Occident
to the orient, quhilk is contrar to the mouyng of the
tent spere callit the fyrst mobil. $it nochtheles the

which carries the mouyng of the fyrst mobil is of sic violens, that it con-

others along

with it. stren^eis the tothir nyne speris or hauynis to pas vitht

17 it fra orient tyl Occident, quhilk is contrar to there auen

natural mouyng, there for the corapulsit retrograid

[* leaf o(89)] mouyng is callit be astrono'mours, motus raptus

accessus, & recessus stellarum fixarum. al the

21 thyng that circuitis this last tent hauyn or fyrst mobil,

Beyond this, ail is immobil and mouis nocht : there for it is callit the

is immovable ;

it is the empyrean hauyn empire, quhar the trone diuine standis, as effermis

the throne. the famous doctours of the kyrk. !N"ou to proceid in

the discriptione of the speris of the hauynis. in the

26 fyrst, 36 sal ymagyn ane lyne that passis throucht the

The axis of the spere lyik til ane extree of ane cart, callit axis spere,

quhilk is the rycht dyametre of the spere, on the quhilk

lyne or extre the speris & hauynis turnis on. than at

30 the endis of the said lyne, 30 sal ymagyne tua sternis,

ends in the two quhilk ar callit the tua polis of the firmament, ane of

them standis at the northt, quhilk is callit the pole

artic, boreal, or septewitrional. it aperis til vs in our

habitatione, be rason that it is eleuat abufe our orijone.

35 the tothir sterne standis at the southt, and it is callit

i canfe

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 49

the pole antartic austral or meridional, it is ay hid fra The south polo

... . . , , , ., we never see.

vs, for it aperis neuyr in our hemispere be rason that it

is vndir our orijow. 30 sal vndirstand, that the sterne 3

quhilk the scheiphirdis and marynalis callis the north

sterne, that sterne is nocht the pole artic, for the pole

artic is bot ane ymaginet point, distant *iiij degreis fra [* leaf o (39), back]

that sterne that ve cal the northt sterne, the quhilk

sterne is callit alrukaba. and alse 36 sal vndirstand, 8

that the southt1 sterne that is eleuat abufe the orison.

of them that duellis be3ond the equinoctial, it is callit

canapus. ther for it suld nocht be callit the pole

antartic, for the pole antartic is bot ane ymaginet The poles are

imaginary points.

point, quhilk standis iiij degreis fra the sterne that is

callit canapw.9.2 There is ane vthir circle calHt ori3one, 14

the quhilk cuttis the spere in tua partis, there is tua The horizon

divides the sphere

sortis of ori3ons, ane is callit the rycht ori3on, the in twain.

tothir is callit the oblique ori3one. thai that hes there

3enith in the equinoctial, thai hef the rycht ori3on,

be rason that the tua polis ar in there ori3on, ande thai 19

that hes ane oblique ori3on, ane of the polis is eleuat

abufe ther ori3on, ande the tothir pole is hid vndir

there hemispeir and ori3on. Ther is ane vthir circle in

the spere callit meridian, the quhilk gais betuix the tua The meridian

polis rycht abufe our hede. than quhen the sune 1

cummis fra the orient to that circle, it is iust tuelf 25
houris of the daye, & quhew the sune is in opposit til
our meridian vndir our 01130??, thaw it is mydnycht.
There is ane vthir circle of the spere, callit the circle
equinoctial, the qu'hilk deuidis the spere in tua partis. [*ieafo(40)]

.... . .. ,. , ,, ,, ,. ... .... The equinoctial

it is of ane lyik distance ira the tua polis. it is callit lies even between

.•in iii i , i • , • i • , the two poles.

equinoctial, be cause that quhen the sune cummis til it,
than the day and the nycht ar of ane lyntht in euerye3 32
part of the varld, and that occurris tua tymis ilk 3eir,
that is to say, quhen the sune cummis in the fyrst
degre of aries, quhilk is the xj daye of marche, & in the

1 siiuriit 3 canap* * enerye

COMPLAYNT. 4

50 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 fyrst degre of libra, quhilk is the xiij day of September.

Ther is ane vthir grit circle in the spere, callit the

The zodiac aodiac, the quhllk deuidis the circle equinoctial in tua

and its twelve .

signs. partis, the ^odiac is deuidit in tuelf partis, and ilk part

is callit ane sing, the quhilk ^odiac extendis til tuelf
6 singnis, callit Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo,
Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aqua-
rius, Pisces. Ande euyrie sing is diuidit in xxx
degreis. Ther is tua vthir circlis in the spere callit

The coiures. colures. ane of them passis be the ^odiac in the begyn-

11 nyng of Aries and Libra, quhilkis ar tua singnis equi-

noctialis. the tothir circle passis in the begynnyng of

Cancer and capricom, quhilk ar tua solstice singnis.

Ther ar four vthir litil circlis in the spere. ane is callit

The tropics. the tropic of Cancer, quhilk is the solstice of symmyr.

[* leaf 0(40), back] it is distawt xxiij degreis xxx mu'netis fra the equi-
1 7 noctial touart septemtrion. quhen the sune cumis til it,

The summer and than it is the langest day of the ^eir to them that

duellis betuix the pole artic and the equinoctial. The

circle of capricorne is callit the solstice of vyntir.

quhen the sune cummis til it passand touart the pol

22 antartic, than thai that duellis betuix the equinoctial

winter solstice, and the pole antartic, hes ther langast day of the ^eir,
& thaw ve hef the schortest day of the jeir. The circle
artic is xxiij degreis xxx munitis fra the pole artic.
siclyik the circle antartic is xxiij degreis xxx munitis
27 fra the pole antartic. & alse the septemtrional solstice
callit the tropic of cawcer, is xxiij degreis xxx munitis
fra the equinoctial, and the meridional solstice of capri-
corn is xxiij degreis xxx munitis fra the equinoctial.

The zenith is The point that is rycht abufe our hede is callit 3enyth,1

right above our ., , .,, . , ,. , , ,,

iiead8. the quhilk is iiij scoir and ten degreis distant tra our

33 orison, ande as oft as ve change fra place to place, as

oft ve sal hef ane vthir ^enytht,2 and the place that is

The antipodes. direct contrar til our ^enyth1 is callit antipodes, tha

i jenych z jenycht

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 51

that duellis in thai partis, thai hef ther solis direct 1

contrar til our solis, ande thai hef the hauyn for ther

^enyth1 as veil as2 ve, & quhen ve hef the langest day of

sy'myr, than thai hef the schortest day in vyntir, t*ieafo(4i);j

ande quhen thai hef symmyr, than ve hef vyntir. ^it 5

nochtheles, lactantius firmien, that famous doctor of the Lactantius and

holy kyrk, in his thrid beuk, in the xxiiij cheptor, he ridiculed the idea

scornis the mathematiciews that effermis antipodes : & ol Lntlpodes;

syklyik Sainct agustyne de ciuitate dei, in the ix chep-

tour of his seuynt beuk, allegis mony freuol argumentis 10

contrar the antipodes : quhar for it aperis veil that thir

tua doctours, agustin & lactantius, var mair expert in they were better

theologians than

theologie nor thai var in cosmographie, cowsiderand cosmographers.

that ther is sa mony probabil rasons that preuis that

the eird is round, ande that the eird is the centir of the 15

ix hauynis,3 and that the sune circuitis and gais about

the eird euyrie xxiiij houris. for ve maye see be ex- Undoubtedly the

fc * . earth is round,

penens, that quhen the sune rysis at our est orison,
than it ascendis quhil it cum til our meridian, and ther
eftir it declynis and passis vndir our vest orison, quhilk 20
is ane manifest taikyn that the sune gais about al the
eird : quhar for it aperis veil, that ther is pepil duel- and people

dwelling under

land vndir vs. and alse ve hef ane vthir probabil sing us.

to preif that the eird and the vattir is rond. for admit- 24

tand that sum man vald set ane stabil mark at the *see [«ieafo(4i),back]

syde, and syne this man departand in ane schip fra that

mark, sailand quhil he be furtht of the sycht of the said

mark, than he beand in the body of the said schip The example of a

quhen he hes tynt the sycht of his mark, than he La^howsthe

mentis and passis vp to the top of the schip, and than

he persauis his mark perfytly, the quhilk he culd nocht 31

persaue in the body of the schip, quhou be it that the

body of the schip be nerar his mark nor is the top of

the schip. this exempil makkis plane that the eird is

rond. Siklyik ane man beand on the hede of ane hil, 35

1 jenych 2 rs 3 hanynis

52 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 he vil see ane schip farrar on the seye nor he vil see at

the fut of the hil, quhou be it that the fut of the hil be

nerar the said schip nor is the hede of the hyl. i hef

Let the obstinate rehersit thir vordis to gar obstinat ignorant men consaue

be convinced

there are that ther is antipodes, that is to say, that there is pepil

that duellis vndir our feit. i suld hef rehersit of befor,

7 quhou that thai that hes the equinoctial for ther 3enyth,1

ande hes the tua polis in ther orison, thai hef tua sym-

myrs and tua vintirs euyrie ^eir. for ther fyrst symmyr

is quhen the sune entris in the fyrst degre of aries,

1 1 quhilk is in the xj day of marche, and ther fyrst vintir

[* leaf 0(42)] is quhen the sune entris in the fyrst degre of 'cancer,

quhilk accordis vitht the xij. day of iune ; and ther

sycond symmyr is quhen the sune entris in the fyrst

degre of libra, quhilk accordis vitht the xiiij. daye of

16 September; & ther sycored vintir is quhen the sune

entris in the fyrst degre of Capricorn, quhilk accordis

vitht the xij. day of december. the tua vintirs that thai

hef ar nocht verray vehement cald, bot ther tua sym-

20 myrs ar vondir birnand heyt, quhilk is occasione that the

why the people pepil that duellis vndir the equinoctial ar blac of ther

under the line

are black; cullour. And fra tyme that the sune be past the equi-

noctial, touart the meridian tropic of Capricorn, than
thai that dueillis vndir the northt pole, thai hef ane
25 conteneual nycht and no day, quhil on to the tyme
that the sune return, & is entrit in the fyrst degre of

of the long night Aries, the rason of thir lang nychtis is, be cause that

at the north pole

the sune beand past the equinoctial, touart'' the men-

dional tropic, than it is al that tyme vndir the orison

30 of them that hes the northt pole for ther ^enyth.3

Siklyik, quhen the sone cuwmis fra the equinoctial,

passand touart the septemtrional tropic of cancer, than

and south pole, thai that duellis vndir the meridional pole, hes con-

34 teneual nycht quhil the sone returne agano to the fyrst

[•leaf 0(42), back] degre *of libra, be rason that quhen the sone is northt

i zenych 2 tonart • zenych

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 53

fra the equinoctial, than it is vndir the orison of them 1

that hes the meridional pole for ther ^enyth l ; & sa be

this narratione, thai that duellis vndir the pole artic,

hes ane conteneual nycht half ane $eir to gyddir, and luting half a

the tothir half ^eir thai hef conteneual day and no

nycht half ane 3eir to gyddir ; and it is of the samyn 6

sort to them that duellis vndir the pol antartic. And

nou, sen i hef declarit the circlis of the spere, i vil

speik of the reuolutions and of the nature of the vij

planetis. 0 36 scheiphirdis,2 je sal contempil in the

firmament ane sterne callit saturn, quhilk is hie abufe Saturn.

al the laif of the planetis, and for that cause it aperis 1 2

verray litil to mennis sycht. it makkis reuolutione in

thretty ^eir, and returnis to the samyn point that it revolves in so

cam fra. it makkis ane circle fra Occident til orient,

contrar the fyrst mobil. it is of ane cald frosty natur.

Nyxt saturne standis the spere & hauyn of lupiter, 17

quhilk makkis the cours & circuit in tuelf ^eiris. it is lupiter.

of ane temperat natur, be cause it standis in the myd In 12 years-

vay betuix the caldnes of Saturn & the byrnand heyt

that Mars induris throucht the vicinite of sol. Ande 21

nyxt to lupiter standis 'the. hauyn and spere of Mars, [*ieafo(43j]

quhilk sum men callis3 Hercules, it reuoluis in ane Mars.

i ...... a ... f , •, , revolves in two

circle in tua jeiris. it is innammit in ane feruent heyt years.
that ascendis fra the sone. Nyxt to Mars standis the 25
hauyn of the sone, the quhilk makkis reuolutione in Sol.
tlire hu/zdretht thre scoir of degreis, quhilk is the space yeL-j""' "'
of ane ^eir. the verteous heyt of it temperatis al the
sternis of the firmament. Nyxt vndir the spere of the 29
soune standis the spere & hauyn of "Venus,4 quhilk is Venus.
ane grit sterne of ane meruelous lustir. in the mornyng roo^ngstar,
it aperis ane lang tyme or the soune ryise, and gyffis
ane grit lycht. at that tyme it is callit lucifer, be cause 33
it auancis the day befor the crepusculine. and siclyik it
aperis verray haisty on fayr day lycht, quhen the soune

i jenych 2 sheiphirdir 8 cellis * Ven'

54 THE COMPLATNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 discendis vndir the vest orison : at that tyme it is callit
sometimes an vesper, be cause it prolongis the day. sum men callis it

evening star ;

luno, and sum callis it isis. al thing that the eird pro-

creatis is confortit be it, be rason of the vertu of the

5 fresche deu that discewdis fra it. it makkis ane onstabil

revolves in 348 reuolution in thre hundretht xlviij dais, and ay it is

days ;

vitht in xlvj degreis fra the soune. Nyxt vndir the

Mercurlus. spere of Venus, standis the spere & hauyn of Mercurius,

[* leaf 0(43), back] quhilk sum men callis ap'pollo, quhilk makkis reuolu-

10 tione nyne dais mair haistiar nor dois venus, bot it

aperis nocht as grit as Venus, it is ay sene befor the

soune rysing, and haisty eftir that the soune is cum to

the vest orison, & it is ay xxij. degreis neir to the

14 soune. The last and the nerest planet, quhilk is callit

Luna. the mune, the quhilk is ane familiar frende to the eird,

the creator of al thingis ordawd it to be ane remeid

The moon is the cowtrar mirknes of the nycht. it is the maist admirabil

most admirable

star, sterne of the firmament, the diuersite & the variance of

19 it hes trublit the vndirstanding of them that contemplit

having many it, be rasow that sum tyme it grouis & sum 'tyme it

decressis,1 quhilk is contrar the natur of vthir sternis ;

for sum tyme it aperit neukyt, heffand hornis, and sum

tyme it vas al rond, and sum tyme it vas bot half rond ;

24 sum tyme it vald schau lycht2 half the -nycht, and sum

tyme it vald schau lycht al the nycht, & sum tyme it

vald be thre dais to gyddir nocht sene; & alse the

reuolutione & circuit of it maid as lawg passage in xxvij

28 dais & viij houris, as the planet saturn did in thretty

which i shall ^eir. N"ou i vil rehers the cause of the variance ande

tha mutations of the cours of the Mune. 30 sal vndir-'

[*ieaf 0(44)] stand, that the mutatione and variance of the mu'ne,

in sa mony diuerse sortis, procedis as i sal reherse. The

33 mune is ane thik masse, round lyik ane boule or bal,

The moon has no heffand no lycht of hyr self ; for sche and al the vthir

>wn> sternis resauis ther lycht fra the soune. there for, sa

i— i it decressis tyme 2 lycbt

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 55

mekil of the mune that hes hyr aspect touart the soune, 1

hes lycht ; bot the tothir half of the toune, that hes no

aspect to the soune, resauis no lycht. The cause quhy but receives hei

light from the

that the mune schauis lycht one time, and is obscure su&.
ahe vthir tyme, is be rason that sche is moir suift in
hyr retrograid cours nor the soune is : for of hyr auen 6
propir mouyng fra Occident til orient in the jodiac,
sche cummis euyrie xxvij dais viij houris vndir the
samyn degre that the sone is in til. at that tyme the
vulgaris sais that the mune is in the co/ziunctio«e vitht
the sone. Sum tyme the mune is in oppositione, that 11
is, quhew the mune & the soune ar in apposit degreis.
thara ve see the maist part of the lycht that the mune
hes resauit fra the soune. the vulgaris sais, at that
tyme, that the mune is ful, jit nochtheles the mune is The moon is
ay ful, as veil at the conjunction as at the appositione,
bot quhen the mune is in the eclipis. for in the tyme 17
of the eclipis, the eird is betuix the mune and the
sou'ne, quhilk is occasione that the mune resauis no [*ieafO(44),back]
lycht fra the soune at that tyme. There is ane vthir
admiration of the variant course of the mune,1 for sche 21
resauis mair lycht in hyr oppositione fra the soune, nor she receives more
aperis tyl vs. The quhilk i sal preif be this rason. 8ppearsato us.
Ane grit roundnes of lycht sal gyf lycht to mair nor
the half of ane les roundnes, be rason that the superfice
of ane grit roundnes hes ane largear aspect touart ane 26
roundnes of ane les quantite, nor ane smal roundnes
can 2 hef touart ane grit roundnes. There for, sen the
soune is of ane gritar quarctite nor is the mune, be that
cause, mair nor the half of the mune resauis lycht fra
the soune. bot jit ve see nocht sa mekil lycht in the 31
mune as sche hes resauit fra the soune in hyr apposi-
tione. Ane parsow that behaldis ane roundnes of ane
gritar quantite nor is the space betuix his tua een, that
parson sal nocht see sa mekil as is the half of that

i mnue » cam

•

56 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

Concerning roundnes, be rason that the superfice of that roundnes

eclipses. . .

is of mair quantite nor is the space or largenes that is
betuix his tua een.

Tlic ecllps of IT NOM i vil reherse the cause of the eclipsis of the
e soune. soune an(j mune. ve may persaue manifestly^, that the
[* leaf 0(45}] eclips of the soune cummis *be the interpositione of
7 the mune betuix vs and the soune, the quhilk empeschis
and obfusquis the beymis of the soune fra our sycht.
of Siklyik, the mune is in eclips be the obiectione of the

eird, the quhilk eird empeschis the soune to gyf lycht

11 to the mune1. of this sort, the soune is maid obscure til

vs quhew it clips, be cause the vmbre and schaddou of

the bak of the mune is betuix vs and the soune. And

alse the mune is maid obscure quhen it clips, be rason

that the vmbre and schaddou of the eird empeschis hyr

16 to resaue lycht fra the soune. ther for i may eflerme,

that the myrk nycht is na vthir thyng bot quhen the

soune and mune ar vndir our orijon

The influence of ^[ Xou, to speik of the influens and constellation of

the stare.

the soune and mune, and of the sternis, doutles man &
21 beyst, ande al vthir2 thyng that euyr vas procreat on
AII are subject the eird, ar subiect to ther operatiowe, & rasauis altera-
tion throucht there influens. The speculatione and
contemplatione of mennis ingyne culd neuyr consaue
ane final detenninatione of the soune, mune, and of

They cause ail j-ne gtenjjg. f^ ther operations and constellations pro-
mundane changes,

27 cedis tempest, stormis, fayr veddir, foul veddir, heyt,

[•leaf 0(45), back] cald, pestilens, cora'ualescens, rane, frost and snau, and

- al vthir accidentis that cummis on the eird, and on man

yet the Almighty and beyst : bot jit, at sum tyme, god almychty, be his

ovf miles them. .,,. ,. ,. .

diuyne permissione, mittigatis, augmentis, or dimuneuis
baytht the gude operations and euil operations of the
33 planetis, efferand for the vertu and vice that ringis
amang the pepil. ve ar veil experimentit, that quhen
ther multipleis ane grit numir of sternis in the equi-

1 mune * vrhir

' T

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 57

noctial of Libra, or in the solstice of Capricorn, at that influence of the

,, ., , , . , , , . „ , planets in Libra,

tyme ther occurris grit tempestis and tormentis ot euyl

veddir. Ande alsa, at that tyme, men and vemen of 3

ane tendir complexione, ar in dangeir of diuers mala-

deis, as of fluxis, caterris, collie and gut, and to diuers

vthir contagius seiknes. Sic lyik, throucht the opera-

tione of the sternis, the oliue, the popil, & the os^er

tree changis the cullour and ther leyuis, at ilk tyme 8

quhen the soune entris in the tropic of Cancer, sic in cancer,

lyik, the dry mynt that hingis in ane house, resauis

sum vertu of the eird, quhen the soune entris in the

fyrst degre of capricorne. Siklyik, ther is ane eirb in Capricorn.

callit helytropium, the quhilk the vulgaris callis 13

soucye ; it hes the leyuis appin as lang as the soune is

in our hemispere, and it closis 'the leyuis, quhen the [»ieafO(46)]

soune passis vndir our orhon. Siklyik, oistirs and sheii-fish increase

and decrease with

mussillis, & al vthir schel fysche, grouis and incressis the moon.
in ther natural qualite, eftir the coniunctione of the 18
mune, quhil on to the tyme of the appositione. than
eftir the appositione, thai schel fische dimuneuis and
grouis les, and of ane var qualite.

Siklyik ther is ane sterne callio canis. the euyl The evil influence

of the dog-star.

constellatione of it begynnis at the sext daye of iulye,

and endis at the xx daye of agust. the natur of it is 24

contrar tyl euyrie thyng that is procreat on the eird.

The tyme of the operatione of it in our hemispere, is

callit be the vulgaris the caniculair dais, the euyl natur in the dog-days

of it inflammis the soune vitht ane onnatural vehement

heyt, the quhilk oft tymis trublis and altris the vyne 29

in ane pipe in the depe caue, ande alse it generis

pestilens, feuyrs, & mony vthir contagius seikness

quhen it ringis in our hemispere, than dogis ar in dogs run mad.

dangeir to ryn vod, rather nor in ony vthir tyme of the

^eir. Siklyik ther is mony vthir euyl accide?*tis that 34

occurris throuch the euyl constellations of the planetis

and of the sternis ; ande alse sum of them erris and

58 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

1 altirs oft tymis fra ther auew natural course, quhilk is
t* leaf 0(46), back] ane taikyn and sing of 'prodigeis precedent euyl acci-

The motions of . .

the planets por- dentis tliat ar tyl occur1 on princis or superiors of ane

and disasters, realme. the historigraphours rehersis, that there vas

5 thre sonnis sene at one tyme in the lyft, befoir the

ciuil veyris that occurrit betuix anthoniws2 and agustus

cesar ; and alse ther vas thre munis sene in the, lyft,

quhen domitius caius and flauius lucius var consulis of

rome. Siklyik there is diuerse vthir sternis of ane

10 euyl constellation, quhilk pronosticatis future euyl

accidentis. ther is ane sterne that aperis nocht oft in

especially the star our hemispere, callit ane comeit. quhen it is sene,

called Comet, , , . .. „ . .

ther occurns haistyly eftir it sum grit myscheif. it

aperis oft in the northt. it aperis oft in the quhyt circle

winch appears callit circulus lacteus, the quhilk the marynalis callis

often in Watling-

street (.the Milky vatlant streit. sum tyme it vil apeir lyik lang bludy
17 hayr, sum tyme lyik ane dart, su.m tyme lyik ane bludy
speyr. it aperit in the lyft lyik ane sourd be for the
detht of lulius cesar, and alse it aperit lyik ane trumpet,
quhen the kyng of perse straik ane battel contrar the
grecians. sum tyme it hes aperit lyik tua gait buckis

of the cause of iustawd cowtrar vthirs. Non to speik of the genera-

tione of the rane. it is ane exalatione of humid vapours,

[* leaf 0(47;] generit in calme veddir abufe the vattirs on the *eird,

25 and syne ascendis in the sycond regione of the ayr,

quhar that it coagulatis in ane thik clud : than the

sternis of ane euyl constellatione brakkis that clud :

than it fallis on diuerse partis of the eird, in diuerse

sortis of schouris, sum mair, sum les ; sum be grit

30 vehemens and tempest, and sum tyme in soft & varme

in ancient days schouris. iw the antiawt dais there vas sene grit meruellis
in the rane, quhilkis signifeit prodigies of future euyl
accideratis. In the tyme that marcus actilius and cayus

it rained milk, portius var consulis of rome, the lyft did rane mylk,

Hood, and on the morne it ranit rede blude. siclyik, quhen

i occur z anthoni'

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 59

lucius volumnius and sergius sulpitius var consulis in 1
rome, the lyft did rane rau flasche. And alse, quhen raw flesh,
the vail^eant roman, marcus crassus, vas slane be the
parthiens, the lyft did rane yrn. Siklyik, quhen lucius "•»".
paulus and cayus marcellus var consuls in rome, the 5
lyft did rane grit quantite of vol ; and alse, quhen titus wool,
annius milo1 vas slane, the lyft did rane tile stanis. tae-stones.
Nou, to speik of the generatiowe of the deu, it is ane Of the dew-
humid vapour, generit in the sycond regione of the ayr
in ane fair calme nycht, & syne discendis in ane tern- 10
perat caldnes on the grene eirbis in smal droppis. The
hayr ryim *is ane cald deu, the quhilk fallis in mysty [* leaf 0(47), back]

. / The hoar-frost,

vapours, and syne it fresis on the eird. the myst, it is the mist,

the excrement or the superfluite of the cluddis, the

quhilk fallis fra the ayr in ane sueit rane, quhilk rane 15

can nocht be persauit be the sycht of men. Hail stonis hail,

is ane congelit rane, quhilk fallis on the eird be grit

vehemens, and it fallis rather on the day lycht nor on

the nycht. The snau is ane congelit rane, frosyn and snow,

congelit in the sycond regione of the ayr; bot it is 20

nocht sa ferme and hard congelit as is the hail stonis ;

3it nochtheles it remanis langar onmeltit, be rason that

it fallis aye in cald vedthir, ande the hail stonis fallis

comontly in symmyr. The thoundir is ane corrupt thunder.

fume generit on the eird, of vapours, and syne it as- 25

cewdis in the sycond regione of the ayr, and congelis in

diuerse massife cluddis, quhilk stoppis and empeschis

the operatione of the planetis to excerse ther natural

course, than the vehemens of the planetis brakkis thai

cluddis, fra the forse of the quhilk there cummis fyir 30

and ane grit sound, quhilk is terribil to be hard, & that

terribil sound is the thyng that ve cal the thondir ; bot

or ve heir the thondir, ve see fyrst the fyir, quhou be it

that thai proceid at ane in'stant tyme. the cause that [*ieaf 0(48)]

ve see the fyire or ve heir the thoundir, is be rason 35

i nilo

60 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

Light travels that the sycht and cleirnes of ony thing is mair suyft

more swiftly than

sound. touart vs nor is the sound. The euyl that the thondir

dois on the eird, it is dune or ve heir the crak of it.

Curious freaks of Oft tymis ve vil see fyir slaucht, quhou be it ther be

na thorcdir harde. The thondir slais mony beystis on

6 the feildis ; & quhew it slais ane man that is sleipand,

he sal be fundin dede, and his ene close ; and quhen it

slais ane valkand man, he sal be fundin1 dede, and his

Most dangerous ene appin. The thoundir is maist dangerous for man

when unac- . ... __

oompanied by ande beyst, quhen there cummis na rane vitht it. The

rain.

fyir slaucht vil consume the vyne vitht in ane pipe in

12 ane depe caue, & the pipe vil resaue na skaytht. the fyir

slaucht sleu ane man on the feildis, and it meltit the

gold that vas in his bag, and it meltit nocht the vax

of ane seyl that vas in that samyn bag. In rome there

1 6 vas ane nobil princesse callit martia grit vitht child ;

sche vas on the feildis for hyr recreatione, quhar that

the fyir slaucht straik hyr, & sleu hyr nocht, bot jit it

Three things safe sleu the child in hyr voyme. There is thre thyngis

from thunder— ,-,, •, -PJI i • f • i i_ j.

that ar neuyr in dangeir of thoundir nor iyir slaucht,

the laurel, that is to saye, the laurye2 tree: the sycond is the

[* leaf o(48), back] 'selcht, quhilk sum men callis the see volue : the

the eagle. thrid thyng is the eyrn, that fleis sa hie. The histori-

graphours rehersis, that tybereus Cesar, empriour of

25 rome, hed euyr ane hat of laure tree on his hede, and

alse he gart mak his pailjons and tentis on the feildis,

of selcht skynnis, to that effect that he mycht be furtht

of the dangeir of the thouwdir and fyir slaucht. The

The best remedy best remeid cowtrar thouradir & fyir slaucht, is to men

against thunder. . , ,. ., . ,

and vemen to pas in hou cauerms vndir the eird, or in
31 depe cauis, be cause the thoundir dois maist domage tyl

hie placis.

The winds. ^[ Nou, to speik of the cause and of the natur of

the vynd, eftir the discriptione of the scheiphirdis and
hirdis of the antiant dais. 30 sal undirstand, that the

1 sundin * laury e, perhupj should be lauryre

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 61

vynd is no vthir thyng bot ane vapour or exalatione, 1

heyt and dry, generit in the concauiteis and in the

bouellis of the eird, the quhilk ascendis and discendis

vp and doune betuix the eird and the sycond region of 4

the ayr. The marynalis at this present tyme hes set

furtht and discriuit thretty tua sortis of vyndis ; bot ve Mariners oouat

that ar scheiphirdis, hes no iugement bot of viij sortis

of vyndis, of the quhilk numir ther is iiij. calh't vyndis 8

cardinal, and the tothir iiij. ar callit vyn'dis collateral. [*ieafo(49)]

the fyrst cardinal vynd is callit auster or meridional The four cardinal

winds

vynd, quhilk the vulgaris callis southyn vynd. it is
heyt and humid of natur. it generis thondir, cluddis, 12
and smal soft ranis, ande alse it is the cause of pesti- and their

qualities.

lens, and of vthir cowtagius seiknes. The nyxt car-
dinal vynd is callit subsolanws1 or oriental, quhilk
the vulgaris callis estin vynd, quhilk, throucht the
vertu of the soune, is heyt and dry of natur. it is
hoilsum for man and beyst, and alse it nureseis al 18
thyng that the eird procreatis. The thrid cardinal
vynd is callit septemtrional or borial, quhilk vulgaris
callis northin vynd. it is cald and dry, of ane me-
lancolic natur. it is hoilsum for man and beyst that
ar kepit fra excessif2 caldnes, bot it is verray contrar
& noysum to the frutis of the eird. The feyrd cardinal 24
vynd is callit fauonius or occidental, quhilk vulgaris
callis vestin vynd. it is cald and humid, of ane flegmatic
natur. it is neuresant for the frute of the eird, bot it is
contrar tyl tendir complexions that ar subiect tyl seik-
nes. Nou, to speik of the iiij. collateral vyndis. the The four coi-

f j. • -IV.L T- • -L-n • -U i • lateralwinds

fyrst is callit auster aphncus, quhilk is betuix auster

and fauonius. it is callit be the vulgaris southt vest. 31

it generis baytht humi'diteis & maledeis. The nyxt [* leaf 0(40), back]

colateral vynd is callit furo auster, quhilk is betuix

auster & subsolanus. the vulgaris callis it southt est.

it is heyt and dry of natur, and it generis cluddis and »nd their in-
fluence.

1 Bubsolau' ! excessis

62 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [ciIAP. VI.

1 maladeis. The thrid collateral vynd is callit aquilon,

quhilk is betnix septemtrion and subsolanus. tlie vul-

garis callis it northest. it is cald and dry of natur. it is

mair hoilsum tyl ane l person nor it is pleysand. it is

5 contrar to the frutis, fleureis, and eirbis of the eird.

The feyrd collateral vynd is callit circius, quhilk is

'betuix septemtrione and fauonius. the vulgaris callis it

nortuest. it is cald & dry of natur. it generis snau,

tempest, & vehement stormis. it is verray noisum til al

10 them that occupeis baytht be see and land. Al thir

From the fore- thingis befor rehersit, of the circlis of the speir, & of

going it appears

that mankind are the hauynis and planetis, is said, to gar 2ou2 consider

subject to the

influence of the that man kynd is subiect to the planetis and to ther

influens. ther for ve suld prepair and prouid to resist

15 ther euyl constellations, for quhoube it that thai ar the

Sapient do- instramentis of god, jit nochtheles he of his gudnes

nnnaUtur resistis there euyl influens, fra tyme that ve be cum
astris.

obedient tyl his command.

[•leaf o(50)] *^T Quhen the scheiphird hed endit his prolixt

The author mar- oris(m to the laif of the scheiphirdis, i meruellit nocht

veiled at the

shepherd's litil quhen i herd ane rustic pastour of bestialite, distitut

scientific lore,

22 of vrbanite, and of speculatione of natural philosophe,

indoctryne his nychtbours as he hed studeit ptholome,

auerois, aristotel, galien, ypocrites or Cicero, quhilk var

but the shepherd's expert practicians in methamatic art. Than the scheip-

wife bade him

cease his prosing, hirdis vyf said, my veil belouit hisband, i pray the to

27 decist fra that tideus melancolic orison, quhilk surpassis

thy ingyne, be rason that it is nocht thy facultee to

disput in ane profund mater, the quhilk thy capacite

and proposed can nocht comprehend, ther for, i thynk it best that

some lighter , , ...

recreation; ve recreat our selfis vytht ioyus comonyng qunil on to

32 the tyme that ve return to the scheip fald vytht our

flokkis. And to begyn sic recreatione i thynk it best

i aue * jon

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 63

that euyrie ane of vs tel ane gude tayl or fabil, to pas for example, each
the tyme quhil euyn.1 Al the scheiphirdis, ther vyuis

andsaruawdis2 var glaid of this proposition, than the The proposition

eldest scheiphird began, and al the laif follouit, ane be \>y au.

ane in ther auen3 place, it vil be ouer prolixt, and no of their tales the

les tideus to reherse them agane vord be vord. bot i sal ™*e thTnames!'

reherse sum of ther namys that i herd. *sum vas in [* leaf 0(50), back]

Some were in

prose, & sum vas in verse : sum var storeis, and sum prose, and some

var flet taylis. Thir var the namis of them as eftir Their names:

follouis. the taylis of cantirberrye. Robert le dyabil Tales;

due of Normaredie, the tayl of the volfe4 of the varldis 11

end, Ferrand erl of Flandris that mareit the deuyl, the worursend;'6

taiyl of the reyde eyttyn vitht the thre heydis, the tail The Red Etin

quhou perseus sauit andromada fra the cruel mowstir, J^},,*!16 tt

the prophysie of merlyne, the tayl of the giantis that

eit quyk men, on fut by fortht as i culd found, vallace, The Wallace and

the Bruce;

the bruce, ypomedon, the tail of the thre futtit dog of

norrouay, the tayl quhou Hercules sleu the serpent 18

hidra that hed vij heydis, the tail quhou the kyng of HOW the king of

, ij •. ji i -i i , • <> Estmoreland

est mure land mareit the kyngis dochtir 01 vest mure married the
land, Skail gillenderson the kyngis sone of skellye, the Westmoreland;
tayl of the four sonnis of aymon, the tail of the brig of
the mantribil, the tail of syr euan, arthours knycht, ?,ir;?vfn'-^~

J ' thur^s knight j

rauf col^ear, the seige of millan, gauen and gollogras, 24
lancelot du lac, Arthour knycht he raid on nycht vitht Lancelot du Lac;
gyltin spur and candil lycht, the tail of floremond of he rode on night;
albanye that sleu the drago?^ be the see, the tail of syr
valtir the bald leslye, the tail of the pure tynt, clary ades the Bold Lesley;
and maliades, Arthour of *litil bertangae, robene hude [*ieafo(5i)]

Arthur, of Little

and litil ihone, the meruellis of mawdiueil, the tayl of Britain;
the 3owg tamlene, and of the bald braband, the ryng of wonders;

the roy Eobert, syr egeir and syr gryme, beuis of south- 32
amtonn, the goldin targe, the paleis of honour, the tayl Southampton;
quhou acteon vas transformit in ane hart, and syne
slane be his auen doggis, the tayl of Pirramus and Pyramus and

i enyn 8 sarnandis * aueu * should probably be voile or velle

64 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

TMsbe; tesbe, the tail of -the amours of leander and hero, the

The transforms- tail quhou lupiter traiisforinit his deir loue yo in ane

tionoflo;

3 cou, the tail quhou that iason van the goldin fleice,

The Golden Opheus kyng of portingal, the tayl of the goldin appil,

the tail of the thre veird systirs, the tayl quhou that

dedalus maid the laborynth to keip the morastir mino-

iiow Midas got taurus, the tail quhou kyng midas gat taa asse luggis

two ass's ears. i • i i i

on his hede be cause of his auereis.

9 IT Quhen thir scheiphyrdis hed tald al thyr pley-
Tiiey next began sand storeis, than thay and ther vyuis began to sing
of ancfenTimtive sueit melodius sangis of natural music of the antiquite.

the foure marmadyns that sang quhen thetis vas mareit

on month pillion, thai sang nocht sa sueit as did thir
14 scheiphyrdis, quhilkis ar callit to name, parthenopie,

leucolia, illigeatempora, the feyrd callit legia, for thir
[* leaf o(5i), back] scheiphiidis excedit al thir foure * marmadyns in me-
Thcy sang in lodius music, in gude accorddis and reportis of dyapason
harmony'?™ prolations, and dyatesseron. the musician amphion1

quhilk sang sa dulce, quhil that the stanis niouit, and
20 alse the scheip and nolt, and the foulis of the ayr, pro-

nuncit there bestial voce to sing vitht hym. ^it noch-

theles his ermoniMS2 sang prefferrit nocht the sueit sangis
rhenames of of thir foir said scheiphirdis. Nou i vil reherse sum of
songs: the sueit3 sangis that i herd amang them as eftir fol-

Pastance with louis. in the fyrst, pastance vitht gude companye, the

good company ;

26 breir byndis me soir. Stil vndir the leyuis grene, Cou

thou me the raschis grene, allace i vyit ^our tua fayr

ene, gode $ou gude day vil boy, lady help 3our pre-

Kinjj William's soneir, kyng villjamis note, the lang nounenou, the

cheapel valk, faytht is there none, skald abellis nou,

The abirdenis nou, brume brume on Ml, allone i veip

in grit distres, trolee lolee lemmen dou, bille vil thou

33 cum by a lute and belt the in Sanct Francis cord, The

The frog came to frog cam to the myl dur, the sang of gilquhiskar, rycht

the Mill door. , , , , •, T.JVJ

soirly musing in my mynde, god sen the due hed bya-

1 ampuiou * ermoni" 3 sneit

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 65

din in France, and delaubaute hed neuyr1 cum hame, DeiaBasUe,

al musing of meruellis amys hef i gone, Mastres fayr 30 2

vil forfayr, o lusty maye vitht flora quene, 0 myne hart

hay this is my sang, the 'battel of the hayrlau, the [*ieafo(52)j

hunttis of cheuet, Sal i go vitht $ou to rumbelo fayr, chevy chase.

Greuit is my sorrou, turne the sueit ville to me, My lufe 6

is lyand seik, send hym ioy, send hym ioy, fayr luf

lent thou me thy mantil ioy ; The perssee & the mon- The Percy and

gumrye met, that day, that day, that gentil day ; my

luf is laid apon ane knycht, allace that samyn sueit 10

face, in ane myrthtful morou, my hart is leiuit on the

land.

1F Thir scheiphirdis ande there vyuis sang mony They sang many
vthir melodiws2 sangis, the quhilkis i hef nocht in
memorie. than eftirthis sueit celest armonye, tha began 15
to dance in ane ring, euyrie aid scheiphyrd led his vyfe then joined in
be the hand, and euyrie ^ong scheiphird led hyr quhome
he luffit best. Ther vas viij scheiphyrdis, and ilk ane The names of the
of them hed ane syndry instrament to play to the laif. instruments on
the fyrst hed ane drone bag pipe, the nyxt hed ane Jiayed. ey
pipe maid of ane bleddir and of ane reid, the thrid 21
playit on ane trump, the feyrd on ane corne pipe, the
fyft playit on ane pipe maid of ane gait home, the sext
playt on ane recordar, the seuint plait on ane fiddil,
and the last plait on ane quhissil. kyng amphion that Amphionor

, ., ,. , , , , ., ,. , . Apollo could not

playit sa sueit on his harpe quhen he kepit his scheip, have surpassed

nor }it appollo the god of sapiens, that kepit kyng ad-

metus scheip, 'vitht his sueit menstralye, none of thir t*ieaf o(52),ba«k]

tua playit mayr cureouslye nor did thir viij scheiphyrdis 29

befor rehersit ; nor $it al the scheiphirdis that virgil

makkis mention 3 in his bucolikis, thai culd nocht be

comparit to thir foir said scheiphyrdis; nor orpheus nor Orpheus,

that playit sa sueit quhew he socht his vyf in hel, his

playing prefferrit nocht thir foir said scheiphirdis ; nor 34

jit the scheiphyrd pan, that playt to the goddis on his

1 nenyr * molodi' s mcntnon

COMPLAYNT. 5

66 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VI.

nor Pan with his bag pype, nor mercurius that playit on ane sey reid,

bag-pipe,

none of them culd prefer thir foirsaid scheiphirdis. i

3 beheld neuyr ane mair dilectabil recreatione. for fyrst

They began with thai began vitht tua bekkis and vitht a kysse. euripides,

two becks and a .

kiss. luuenal, perseus, horasse, nor nane of the satiric poiettis,

quhilkis mouit ther bodeis as thai hed bene dansand
quhen thai pronuncit ther tragiedeis, none of them
8 kepit moir geomatrial mesure nor thir scheiphyrdis did
in ther dansing. Nor ludius that vas the fyrst dansar
of rome, culd nocht hef bene comparit to thir scheip-

it was a celestial hirdis. it vas ane celest recreation to behald ther lycht

sight to see.

lopene, galmonding,1 stendling bakuart & forduart,

13 dansand base dansis, pauuans, galjardis, turdions,

braulis and branglis, buffons, vitht mony vthir lycht

dancis, the quhilk ar ouer prolixt to be rehersit. $it

[*ieafOt53); nochtheles i sal rehers *sa mony as my ingyne can put

The names of the in memorie.2 in the fyrst, thai dancit al cristyn mennis

dances.

dance, the northt of Scotland, huntis vp, the comou??t

entray, lang plat fut of gariau, Eobene hude, thorn of

20 lyn, freris al, ennyrnes, the loch of slene, the gosseps

dance, leuis grene, makky, the speyde, the flail, the

lammes vynde, soutra, cum kyttil me naykyt vantounly,

schayke leg, fut befor gossep, Eank at the rute, baglap

and al, ihonne ermistrangis dance, the alman haye, the

25 bace of voragon, dangeir, the beye, the dede dance, the

dance of kylrynne, the vod and the val, schaik a trot.

when the dancing than, quhen this dansing vas dune, tha departit and

went about their past to cal there scheip to ther scheip cottis. thai bleu

vp there bagpipis. than the bel veddir for blythtnes

30 bleyttit rycht fast, and the ram mis raschit there heydis

to gyddir. than the laif of ther fat flokkis follouit on

the fellis baytht ^ouis and lammis, kebbis and dailis,

gylmyrs and dilmondis, and mony herueist hog. than i

The autnor departit fra that companye, and i entrit in ane onmauen

entered a

meadow full of medou, the quhilk abundit vitht al sortis of hoilsura 3

flowers, grasses

and herbs. i galmouding * menorie & holisum

A MONOLOGUE RECREATIVE. 67

flouris, gyrsis, and eirbis maist conuenient for medycyn. 1

in the fyrst, i sau ane erb callit barba aaron, quhilk vas Among them were

., -in Aaron's beard,

gude remeid for emoroyades of the fundament, i sau

vir'met, that vas gude for ane febil stomac, & sourak- [* leaf o (53), back]

kis, that vas gude for the blac gulset. i sau mony grene sourocks (sorrel),

seggis, that ar gude to prouoke the flouris of vemen. i fi

sau the vattir lille, quhilk is ane remeid contrar go- water-lily,

moria. i sau tansay, that is gude to purge the neiris, t8118^ s°od for

7 the kidneys ;

and ennetseidis that consumis the ventositeis of the anise-seed,
stomac. i sau muguart, that is gude for the suffocatione mugwort,
of ane vomans bayrnis hed. i sau veyton, the decoctione whitten,
of it is remeid for ane sair hede. i sau betis, that is beet,
gude contrar constipatione. i sau borage, that is gude borage,
to confort the hart, i sau cammauyne, quhilk is glide camomile,
for ane scabbit moutht. i sau hemp, that coagulis the hemp,
flux of the sparme. i sau madyn hayr, of the quhilk »aiden-hair,
ane sirop maid of it is remeid contrar the infectione of 17
the melt, i sau celidone, that is gude to help the sycht celandine,
of the ene, & cipresses, that is gude for the fluxis of cypresses,
the bellye. i sau corriandir, that is gude for ane aid coriander, good

against an old

hoste. i sau finkil, that slais the virmis of the bellye i cough;

finkel, or fennel,

sau fumeterre, that tempris ane1 heyt lyuyr. i sau fumitory,
brume, that prouokis ane person to vome aid feume. i broom,
sau raschis, that prouokis men to sleip. i sau ysope, rashes,

hyssop, which

that is gude to purge congelit2 fleume of the lychtis.3 brings phlegm

( from the lungs,

i sau mony vthir eirbis on thai fresche fragrant feil dis. t* leaf 32 (M)]

and many other

ande als i sau mony landuart grumis pas to the corne herbs.

land to laubir there rustical ocupatione. al this be me 28

veil contemplit, ande beand contentit of that pleysand contented with

his night's recre-

nychtis recreatione, i maid me reddy to returne to the ation, the author

prepared to return

toune that i cam fra, to proceid in the compiling of my to the compilation

of his book,

beuk. Bot morpheus that slepye gode, assail^eit al my but he was over-
membris, ande oppressit my dul melawcolius nature, sleep,
quhilk gart al my spreitis vital ande animal be cum
impotent & paralitic : quhar for on neid forse, i vas

i ame * congeli * lychtnis

68 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. Vi.

1 cowstren^eit to be his sodiour. than in ane takyn of
and in his obediens, i maid hym reuerens on my rycht syde on

slumbers

the cald eird, ande i maid ane cod of ane gray stane.

than i purposit to preue ane prettic. i closit my een to

5 see gyf i culd leuk throucht my ee liddis. bot my ex-

periens vas sune expirit. for tua houris lang, baytht my

eene greu as fast to gyddir as thai hed bene gleuit vitht

glar or vitht gleu. i beand in this sad solitar soune

dreamed the foi- gopit in sleipe, ane hauy melancolius dreyme perturbit

10 the foure quartaris of my dullit brane, the quhilk

dreyme i sal reherse in this gros dyit as neir the verite

as my rememorance can1 declair to my rude ingyne.

Fistone tjat apertt Mot tf)e
in fjts

CHAP. VII.

in his dream he ~TN my dullit dreyme ande sopit visione, i thocht

that ther aperit to me ane lady of excellent ex-

15 JL tractione ande of anciant genolygie, makkand ane

melancolius cheir for the grite violens that sche hed

sustenit & indurit. it aperit be hyr voful contenens,

in great trouble, that sche vas in grite dout ande dreddour for ane mair

dolorus future ruuyne that vas aperand to succumb hyr

20 haistylye, in the maist extreme exterminatione. hyr

hayr, of the cullour of fyne gold, vas feltrit & trachlit

out of ordour, hingand ouer hyr2 schuldirs. sche hed

ane croune of gold, hingand & brangland, that it vas

24 lyik to fal doune fra hyr hede to the cald eird. sche

Her shield had a bure ane scheild, in the quhilk vas grauit ane rede

red lion rampant

in a field of gold, rampand lyow in ane feild of gold, bordoryt about vith3

bordered with

double fleurs- doubil floure delicis. This rede lyon vas hurt m mony
placis of his body, the acoutrementis ande clethyng of

i cam * byr * vilit

THE AUTHOR'S VISION. 69

this doloras lady, vas ane 'syde mantil that couurit al [* leaf 33(55)]
hyr body of ane meruelouse ingenius fassoune, the 2
quhilk hed bene tissu ande vrocht be thre syndrye fas-
sons of verkmenschips. l the fyrst part, quhilk vas the The ^P*' Part of

her mantle (the

hie bordour of hyr inantil, there vas mony precius nobility),
stanis, quhar in ther vas grauit scheildis, speyris, 6
sourdis, bayrdit horse harnes, ande al vthir sortis of
vaupynis ande munitions of veyr. in the middis of that 2?™*JI5i5S^i

*• J (the spirituality),

mantil, there vas grauit in carrecters, beukis, ande
figuris, diuerse sciensis diuyne ande humain, vitht mony 10
cheretabil actis ande supernatural miraclis. on the
tlirid part of that mantil, i beheld, brodrut about al hyr the lower Part

J (the commons).

tail, al sortis of cattel ande profitabil beystis, al sortis

of cornis, eyrbis, plantis, grene treis, schips, marchant-

dreis, ande mony politic verkmanlumis for mecanyc 15

craftis. This mantil, quhilk hed bene maid & vrocht

in aid tymys be the prudewt predecessours of this foyr

said lady, vas reuyn & raggit in mony placis, that This mantle was

skantly mycht i persaue the storeis ande figuris that

hed bene grauit, vrocht, ande brodrut in aid tymis in 20

the thre partis of it. for the fyrst part of it varttit (the nobimy were

degenerate),

mony of the scheildis ande harnes that vas fyrst vrocht

in it, ande ane vthir part of 'the schieldis & harnes [*ieafss(55),i>ack]

var brokyn ande roustit, ande reddye to fal ande tyne

furtht of the bordour of that mantil. Siklyik the 25

pleisand verkmenschips that vas in the middis of hyr (the spirituality

J had left their

mantil vas seperat fra vthirs, ande altrit fra the fyrst first fesnion),

fassone, that na man culd extract ony profitabil sentens

nor gude exempil furtht of ony part of it. Nou to

speik of the thrid part of hyr mantil. it vas verst (the commons

were abused worst

grathit, ande spy It be ane grit deflferens nor vas the of*")-
tothir tua partis of that mantil : for it aperit that al
the grene treis, cornis, bestialite, mecanyc craftis, ande 33
s ships, ande marchandreise, that hed bene curiouslye
vrocht in aid tymis in the bordour of the tail of that

i read On the fyrst part

70 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VII.

1 mantil, vas spilt ande distroyit, ande the eird vas becum
barran & stirril, ande that na ordinance of policye culd
be persauit in it, nor esperance of releif. Kou to con-
clude of the fassone of this ladeis mantil, it vas baytht
5 altrit in cullour ande in beaulte,1 and reuyn in mony
placis, hingand doune raggit in pecis in sic ane sort,
The first makers that gyf thay hed bene present that vrocht ande maid

would not have '

recognized their it in the begynnyng, thai vald haue clair myskend it,

be rasone that it vas sa mekil altrit fra the fyrst fassone.

[•leaf 84 (56)] This 'affligit lady beand of this sort troublit ande dis-

11 aguisit, ande al hyr gaye clathis reuyn & raggit,

throucht the grite violens that sche hed sustenit, sche

began to suspire lamentabil regrettis, vitht mony salt

teyris distillawt doune fra hyr piteous ene. this desolat

15 affligit lady beand in this perplexite, ande disparit of

remeid, sche began to contempil the vidthrid barran

feildis, quhilkis in vthir tymis hed bene fertil in al

The lady saw her prosperiteis, quhar sche persauit cummand touart hyr

three sons ap-
proaching, thre of hyr auen natiue natural sonnis. The eldest of

The eldest aed them vas in harnes, traland ane halbert behynd hym,

beand al affrayit ande fleyit for dreddour of his lyue.

the second had a The sycond of hyr sownis vas sittand in ane chair,

book, whose

clasps were fast beand clethd2 in ane sydegoune, kepand gnte grauite,

24 hefland ane beuk in his hand, the glaspis var fast lok-

the third was in kyt vitht rouste. hyr jongest sone vas lyand plat on

p^ighfthat he his syde on the cald eird, ande al his clathis var reuyn

ande raggit, makkand ane dolorus lamentatione, ande

ane piteouse complaynt. he tuke grite pane to ryise vp

29 on his feit, bot he vas sa greuouslye ouer set be violens,

that it vas nocht possibl til hym to stand rycht vp.

[»ieaf34(56),back] Than quhen this lady persauit hyr thre so?i'nis in that

langorius stait, sche began to reproche them inuectyuely

33 of ther neclegewes, couuardeis ande ingratitude vsit

The lady began to contrar hyr : the quhilk reproche sche pronuncit vitht

mony dolorus suspiris, the quhilk be aperens procedit

i i. e. beauty ; to in Lyndetay. * clehd

THE AUTHOR'S VISION. 71

fra ane trublit spreit, desolat of consolatione, ande dis- 1
parit of remede. than i beand in my sopit melancolius
dreyme, i thocht that i inquirit of hyr stile, of hyr
duelling place, & of the dolorus cause of hyr lamentabil
regrettis. Sche ansuert vitht ane dolorouse contenens, 5
quod sche, my name is callit the affligit lady dame Her name was

Dame Scotia.

scotia. vthir tymis i haue tryuraphit in gloir ande

prosperite, bot nou aduerse fortoune hes bene inuyful 8

contrar my veil fayr, quhilk is the cause that my tri- Nichil est

umphant stait is succumbit in decaderes. ther can auame^beato

nocht be ane mair vehement perplexite as quhen ane effeci miser.

person beand in prosperite at his hartis desire, ande ora
syne dechays in miserabil aduersite. thir vordis maye be

applyit ande conferrit vitht the dolorouse accidewtis 14

that hes persecutit me. for i that hes bene in maist Persecuted by

her foes,

fortunat prosperite, nou i am inuadit ande affligit be my abandoned of her

cowardly sons,

aid mortal enemeis be the maist extreme assaltis that gari gunt
ther pouuer1 can exse'cute, the quhilk i beleuit til [* leaf 35 (5?)]

haue resistit be the support ande supple of mv thre *. en>P™~ .

pinqmfa'mi-

sonnis,2 that standis heir in my presens, be rason that Hares, sed
thai ar oblist be goddis lau, ande be the lau of nature, OTM">! om^1'

llTQi CnrdWvQJtC-^

to be my deffens contrar al externe inuasions, bot thai patria com-
haue schauen them self ingrat3 dissymilit ande couuardis Plectltur> Vro
in the iust deffens of my veil fayr, as thou sal heir be bonus duUta-
this reproche that i sal pronunce to them in thy presens, f mortem

as effcir follouis. ei sit prof u-

turus. dc.

n-ffi 1

i ponuer 2 somnis s ingrat w*» *•

72 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VIII.

reprocjjtt Jjsr tfjre Sonnis, rallit

tjje 2H)re l£stattis of

CHAP. VIII.

IGNORANT, abusit, ande dissaitful pepil, gone
by the path ' vaye of verteouse knaulage, beand of
ane effemenet courage, degradit fra honour, ande
Degenerate degencrit fra the nobilite of 30111 foir fadirs & predeces-
sours, 0 quhat vanhap, quhat dyabolic temptatione,
6 quhat misire, quhat maledictiowe, or quhat vengeance is
l»ieafS5(57),back] this that hes succumbit 3our honour, *ande hes blyndit
Vim neque 3our ene && the perspectiowe of 30*0- extreme ruuyne ?

parenti neque ailace quhy haue 2e nocht pytie of me aour natural

jpatrie offerre

oportet. mother, or quhy haue 30 no pytie of jour selfis 1 ailace,

dc. lentulo. quhat oratour can dyscryue, blame, or repreue 3our

have ye forgotten neclegews, couuardeis, ande 3our ingratitude? ailace,

nature ? quhy remembir 30 nocht that natur hes oblist ^ou til

14 auance the salute ande deffens of jour public veil? ande

Nan. egt magis quhat thai be (as Cicero sais) that hurtis the public

^roditorpa? ve^' ^a (^eserue ^ &"te reproche as tha hed sellit
trie, quam traisonablye the realme to there enemeis ; for the pro-
vtilitatis ditione of ane realme succedis to the hurt of the public
aut galutis veil, ailace, than, quhy vil 30 nocht haue misericord &
T^6 °^ 3our natiue cuntre, quhar that 36 var engenerit,

lutem aut borne, ande neureist, ande 3010- frendis and childir hes

Clc defini 3our sustentatione in it? ailace, the natiuite of ane man

suld be litil prisit, ande his lang liue dais les desirit

24 quhen ther procedis na frute of his laubirs bot for his

have ye no auew singulair vtilite, ande nocht for the public veil.

ailace, the natural loue of 3our natiue cuntre suld be

inseperablye rutit in 3our hartis, considerand that jour

i paht

DAME SCOTIA REPROACHES HER THREE SONS. 73

lyuis, 3our bodeis, 30111 habitations, 3our frendis, 3our 1

lyuyngis, ande 'sustewtan, 30111 hail, 30111 pace, 30111 [* leaf se (58)]

refuge, the reste of 30111 eild, ande 30111 sepulture is in

it. than allace quhy ar 30 nocht solist to deffende the

liberte, ande to saue the dominione of it? i maye say 5

ande conferme be raisone, that al pepil ar disnaturalit

fra there gude nature, quhilkis in necessite enforsis

them nocht, at there pouer, to purches & til auance the

public veil of there natiue cuntre, it beand distitut of

supple, & desolat, throucht grite persecutione of mortal 10

enemeis : for thai that vil nocht expose there bodeis Those tha* w>u

not defend their

ande gudis to perrel ande dangeir, for the iust defFens country are lower

than brute beasts.

of there honour, lyuis, frendis, ande gudis, bot rather

vil thole them selfis, ther public veil, & ther natiue

cuntre, to perreis al to gyddir, thai ar mair brutal nor 15

brutal beystis. it aperis that the lau of nature is mair

perfytly acompleist in brutal beystis, nor it is in 3011

that professis to be natural men ; for 3010- verkis testi-

feis that 30 ar mair disnaturellit nor is brutal beystis Suohareye.

that hes na vndirstanding of raison. the foulis of the Eestiepro suo

ayr vil deffende ther nestis vitht there nebbis ande Pa^^taPr°-

pugnant, vt
feit: thebeiris, lyons, voluis,foxis, and dogis, vil deffende vulnera exci-

there cauerne & there quhelpis, vitht there *tethe & [*ieafs6(58),back]
„ ., A11 ,,. . , . , , plant, nullos

ieit. Allace, this sair complaynt is to me rycht hauy, impetus md-

bot the litil support that i vil get of 30U is far hauyar ; los ^asus re-

for 30 quhilkis suld sustene, deffende ande releif me, 30 ^ 5 ^^

ar the aduerse party of my prosperite ; for in the stede

of reuarde ande gratitude that 30 ar oblist to gyf to me, 28

5e purches ande auancis my distructione for 3our par- YOU sacrifice your

' * country to your

fcicular veiL My aid enemeis hes persecutit me outuartly private interest.
in cruel veyris be fyir ande sourde ; bot the veyr that
30 mak inuartly contrar me, be auereise & ambitione, is
mair cruel, my mortal enemeis purchessis to raif my 33
liberte, ande to hald me in ane miserabil subiectione ;
bot 30 hald me in ane mair seruitude, be 3our disordinat
neclegens ande couuardise. my aid enemeis dois me

74 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. VIII.

1 grite domage vitht ane grite armye of men of veyr, be

see ande be land ; bot 30, vndir the cullour of frend-

schip, purchessis my final exterminatione, for fait of

None of you gude reul ande gouuernance. Ande alsa, 20 ar sa di-

trusts another.

uidit amang ^our selfis, that nocht ane trouis ane vthir ;

6 for throucht the suspetione that ilk ane of 3011 hes of

vthirs, euyrye ane of jou seikis his particular releif : for

sum of 3ou ar fled far vitht in the cuntre, sum of jou

[* leaf 37 (59)] ar fled to the hillis, *ande sum of ^ou remanis in $oure

10 auen housis on the inglis mennis assurance, ande sum

of 3ou ar be cum neutral men, lyik to the ridars that

dueillis on the debatabil landis. of this sort 30 haue run

some of yon have to sour auen distructione. ande quhou be it of al thir

yielded to the

English, particular onleiful consaitis that 30 haue vsit to saue

15 3ou fra the crualte of ingland, 3it the maist subtel nor

the maist dissymilit of 3ou al is nocht saue ; for as sune

as the inglis men dreymis that 30 haue fai^et to them,

than thai repute 3ou for there mortal enemeis far mair

nor thai repute ony scottis man that vas neuyr assurit.

20 ande quhew 30 haue fulfillit the inglis mennis desyre, &

hes helpit to distroye 3our natyue cuntre, 3it the inglis

men sal neuyr1 cal 3ou ane vthir vord bot renegant

scottis, and 30 sal neuyr be reput bot for barbir slauis,

as 3our croniklis vil testifee ; and alse the practic of

25 yis2 present tyme makkis it manifest, al the gude treit-

and have become tyng that scottis men gettis in inglawd changis in ane

vile slaves. .

vile seruitude.

1 meuyr * i. e. this, one of the fete instances in the book ofy used for \> or th.

DAME SCOTIA'S EXHORTATION. 75

tfje aflUjjtt 3La&2 cxortts tfje
(JHstattis to taft exempt! of fciuerse
ftuntreis tfjat ffiotie fjes rele=
utt fra

CHAP. IX.

3E my thre sonnis, i exort 3011 to praye to re- Pray to God, and

, .„ „ m- A- PI help yourselves.

leif 3ou of 3our afflictione, & alse to put

handis to verk to help 30111 selfis, thaw doutles 3
god sal be mersyful to 3011, & he sal fulfil his promes
that is vrittyn in the xxvi of leuitic. that is to saye, fiue
of 3ou sal chaisse ane hundretht of 30111 enemeis,1 & ane
hundretht of 3ou sal chasse ten thousand of 30111 ene-
meis ; for god is as mychty nou as euyr he vas. it is Ecce non est

vrityn in the lix of Esaye thir vordis, Behold, the hand aUreu^ta .

manus doimm

of the lorde is na scheortar nor it vas, na it maye saue vt saluare
3ou : nor his eyris ar nocht stoppit, bot he maye heir
3ou : bot 3our iniquiteis hes maid diuisione betuix 3ou
ande hym, ande 3 our synnis hes hid his face fra 3ou. 13

IF 3e maye persaue be thir vordis of Esaye, that the
scurge that hes affligit 3ou, is ane pu'nitione for 3our r*ieaf40(60)]

, . . , , . . Ye have been

dementis ; ande alse 30 maye persaue be this sammyn scourged for your

text, that 3our grite afflictione ande tribil sal turne in

ioye ande prosperite, gyue sa beis that 30 vil retere fra Repent, and

jour vice. 30 haue mony manifest exemplis of diuerse

cuntreis that hes bene scurgit be the hand of gode, ande 20

hes bene in dangeir of final exterminatione ; 3it noch-

theles gode of his grace hes restorit them eftiruart in

ane mair abundand prosperite nor thai var of befor, fra 1 Machabe, 2.

tyme tha be cam" obedient til his magestie. Quhar is

there ane mair euident exempil nor is in the bibil in Remember the

example of the

the fyrst beuk of the machabeis, quhou anthiocus kyng Maccabees.
of sirrie, be vsurpatione ande tirranrye, subdeuit the 27
cuntre of iuda ande the cite of ierusalem ? he spu^eit

1 jonr renemies

7G TUB COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. IX.

1 the tempil, ande reft the goldin alter, the chandelaris of

lycht, ande al the goldin veschel, ande the tabil of pro-

positione, the coupis, tassis, crouettis, crounis, ande al

the goldin ornamentis of the sanctuar. he sleu men,

5 vemera ande childir, $ong ande aid, ande brynt there

housis. the remanent of the pepil var cowstren^eit to fle

to strait montanis ande deseirtis for refuge ; for al ihe-

rusalem ande mekil of iuda vas put tyl extreme desola-

[*ieaf40(60),back] tione. At that *tyme, ane man of Israel callit mata-

How Matathias

thias, the neuo of Symeon the hie preist, vas sittand on

1 1 the hil of modin, ande his fine sonnis besyde hym, callit
lohannam gaddes, symon thasi, iudas machabeus, elea^ar
abaron, ande iehonathan aphus. thir fiue bredir var soir
vepand for the desolatione of iuda ande iherusalem.
1 de Than matathias there father said to them, vanhap1 be
on me, allace that euyr i vas borne, to see the distruc-

J*i . 1-. c. O.

tione of my pepil, & the tribnlatione of the holy cite of

18 iherusalem, quhilk is violentlye possest be my enemeis.

aid ande 3ong ar slane on the reuis but mercy, & the

remanent of the cuntre ar in captiuite, or ellis fled to

the strait montanis for refuge, allace, quhat bettir vil

22 ve be to lyue ony la?zgar, cowsiderand of this myschief

exhorted ins Bve that is fallin on oure cuntre. Allace, my fiue sonnis, i

8onS|

praye ^ou to be jelaturs of the lau of gode, ande to

gyue 3our saulis for the alliance of 3our foir fathers,

26 ande remembir of the verkis thai haue dune to there

Genesis 22. generations, ande than 36 sal resaue grite gloir ande

Gene. 41. eternal name, tak gode for jour protector, ande 30 sal

prospir. vas nocht oure father Abraham faythful in

[*iear*i(6i)] temptatione, quhilk vas repute til hym for iusti'ce?

31 Joseph keipit the command of the lau, quhew he vas per-

Gene. 4. secutit, there for he vas maid lieutenent to pharon

kyng of egipt. phinehes oure foir father vas maid hie

preist of the tempil for the jeil that he bed to the lau

Josue. 1. of god. losue for the keping of his promis vas maid

i van hap

DAME SCOTIA'S EXHORTATION. 77

captaw of Israel. Dauid, for the pitie that he hed of 2 Samuel 2.

the pepil that var affligit be the philistiens, conqueist 2

the royal sege of Israel. Ananias, A^arias and misael, Danyel 3.

var delyuerit fra the flam of the fyir, throucht the faitht

that tha hed to god. Danyel, throucht his simplicite Daniel 6.

and meiknes, vas delyuerit fra the throttis of the lyo??s. 6

Of this sort (o 30 my fine sonnis) ^e may beleue, that

fra generation to generatione, that al thai that puttis

there hope in god sal nocht he distroyit. quhen mata- and Judas was

• 11 -I • i • • -i t stirred up to

thias hed endit his miserabil and piteous regret, in. deliver Israel,
presens of his fiue sonnis, than his thrid sone, callit 11
ludas machabeus, past athort the montanis and desertis,
and gaddyryt to giddyr al the desolat bannest pepil,
and vitht ane gryt curage, heffand hope in god, thai
cam contrair anthiocus, and venqueist hym vailjeantly,
and also venqueist al the israliates that var part takers 16
vitht hym; and ther eftir thai re'formit the distruc- [*ieaf4i(6i),back]
tione of the tempil, and vsit extreme punitione on the
tratours and conspiratours, and thai gart extreme neces-
site becum prosperus vertu : for thai changit the dispayr 20
of mennis help in esperance of goddis help : quhar for,
throucht the mycht1 of god, venqueist men be cam
conqueriours, and fugityuis be cam assailjeours, and
humil affligit pepil of ane lytil nuwmer be cam lordis
and maisters of ane gryt rnultiplie of tirraws. There is 25
ane vthir exempil of gedeon, in the tyme of the cruel Gideon also,
oppression that the kyng of madian did on the pepil of
Israel, gedeow, vitht thre hundretht men, discumfeist Indicvm 8.
ane hundretht and tuenty thousant men, and he dely-
uerit the remanent of the pepil of Israel fra captiuite 30
and misere, 3it nochtheles he vas ane pure lauberar of
lytil reputatione, and discendit of smal linage of the
tribe of menasses. quhar for ve may persaue, that quhar
the grace of god and the vertu of men ar coniunit to
giddir, there is no leiful thing onpossibil to be exsecut. 35

i mytht

78 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. IX.

1 And oft tymis god puttis in the pouer of men the thing

that mennis vit can nocht beleue that it is possibil to be

when Darius done. There is ane vthir exempil of darius kvng of

invaded Greece

[•leaf 42 (62)] perse, 'that entrit in grece vitht ane hundretht thou-

5 sand fut men, and ten thousand men of annis. At that

tyme thair vas gryt sedition and discentione amang al

the gryt personagis of grece, quhair for athenes vas of

ane opinion to randir them to darius, be rason that the

grekis var diuidit amawg them selfis. Bot nochtheles1

he was discom- god sterit vp ane due in athenes callit miltiades, quhilk,

fitedbyMiltiades. °

vitht ten thousand men, discumfeist al kyng darius
1 2 gryt annye, and delyuerit al grece furtht of captiuite.
xentes and his ^ Thair is ane vthir exempil, of xerxes kyng of

great host .

perse, the sone of kyng darius, quha gaddent ane annye
of thre scoir and ten thousand men of armis of his auera
16 realme of perse, and alse he hed of strangearis that var
his frendis, and of his allya, to the nuTnmer of thre hun-
dretht thousand men, as iustin rehersis; and also he
brocht sa mony schipis to grece vitht al ordonnanco,
20 quhilkis closit al the reueirs, quhairfor it vas moist lyk
that he hed maid ane brig of tre to couuer al the see.
jit nochtheles1 his pride vas sune put doune; for le-
was checked by onides, kyng of lacedemonia, cam be hynd the gryt

Leonidas and his i-i-ii-i*

four hundred. armye of perse vitht four hundretht lacedemomens, and
[*ieaf42(62),back] escharmouschit xerxes gryt * armye, and sleu tuenty
26 thousand persuns betuix tua hillis. $it nochtheles,1 the
Passing to Athena remanent of his gryt armye past til athenes, quhilkis
var reddy to be randrit til xerxces, throucht the coun-
sel of ane prince of athenes callit circisus, quha hed
30 secret intelligens vitht xerxes kyng of perse, quhilk vas
occasione that he seducit diuerse grit personagis to rebel
cowtrar athenes. bot the prudewt themosticles vas con-
trair til his opinione (sayand) O nobil valiant pepil of
athenes, 36 suld keyp the liberte of ^our cuntray, &
35 nocht2 to thole the persans to be 3our superiors; for

1 noththeles * notht

DAME SCOTIA'S EXHORTATION. 79

fra tyme that ,30 be subiect til xerxes, al ^our honest 1
policie sal be aboleist, & al verteo^1 Industrie sal be
brocht to nocht;2 for the persans sal do vitht 3001
vyuis and cheldyr at there pleseir, as it is manifest
quhou thai haue dune til vthir partis of grece that is he was defeated
nou in thair subiection : there for it is mair honest to 6
dee in the deffens of ^our h'berte, nor to Hue lyik ven-
queist slauis in captiuite. Throcht the counsel of the-
mistocles, al the atheniens tuke gryt curage contrar the
gryt armye of perse, and also the vemen of the toune 10
stanet cyrsilus to deitht be cause of his euil counsel, by the skm of
Than the atheniens and ther allya, *be gryt vail^eant- [*ieaf«(es)]
nes, assail^et the persans be escharmouschis and incur-
sions, quhil that exerxes and his gryt armye var con- Themistocies.
stre^eit to depart fra grece. of this sort god turnit the 15
hazard of fortoune, and tuke vengeance on xerxes gryt
pryde, quhilk suld be ane gryt exempil til al princis,
that thai gyf nocht2 there trest in ane particular pouer
of multiplie of men,, hot rathere to set there trest in
god : for xerxes, vitht four hundretht thousand men, 20
purposit til vsurpe the dominione of al grece ; hot fra
the tyme that the greikis accordit amang them selfis,
ane sobir companye of greikis chaissit the persans
furtht of grece. It is nocht2 sex scoir of jeiris sen the consider how the

• v ' • l 4. J • 4. f 1 Ml f TV English have been

inglismen var violent dominatours ot mekill 01 Pic- chased out of
cardye, and of al Uormandye, Gascun^e, guien, and of
mekil of France ; and the kyng of ingland vas crounit 27
kyng of France in Paris; bot, as god vald, he vas
schamefully chaissit furtht of France, and his pepil
slane doune be gryt multiplie. The exempil of the
persecutione of oure auen cuntre is manifest til vs al, 31
quhou the inglismen var violent vsurpatours of al scot- They also usurped

Scotland

land, est, vest, and northt, quhar thai duellit paciablie,

and vsit thare auew *lauis. thai biggit triumphand [*ieaf4s(63),back]

edeficis in al the burrous of Scotland, as the grondis of

1 verteo' * notht

80 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. IX,

1 there fundatione makis manifest presently at this tyme.

in the days of kyng eduard, throucht supple and trason of ihone Bal3ol

and vthir scottis tratours, vas cronit kyng of Scotland,

vitht in the toune beruic ; l and the rychteous kyng of

5 Scotland, Kobert bruce, durst nocht remane in no pace-

bil place, he tint threttyne battellis contrar inglismen :

bnt were driven then2 he fled furtht of Scotland to norouay to saue his

oat by Robert

Bruce. Ivue. }it nochtheles god almychty3 hauand pitie of our

affligit cu?itray, he restorit Robert bruce to the crone,

10 quha rycht4 vai^eantly brocht the realme in guid or-

Ad generum dour, vitht gryt confusion til our aid enemis. Be thir
cereris tine -,. -j.i Av • j •, •>.

cede £ vvl- exemplis 30 maye euidently persaue, that god almychty

ner e panel tholis nocht5 violent vsurpatours of realmes to ring

reaes 4* sicca ^anS> ^ot rather he scurgis and distroys the tirrans, and

mortetiranni. he restoris the aflligit innocentis til ane guide stait.

The famous historiographours and croniklis of al cun-

17 treis makis manifest of the miserabil ruynis that god

Ambition and sendis on vrangus conquestours, quhilkis be ambitione

tyranny meet .

their doom, and oultrageus pryde hes be thair tyranny inuadit vthir

[«ieaf44(«)] cuntrays, and eftiruart hes tint there auen cun'tray,

as in Queen and there self hes maid ane euil end. The queen se-

Semiramis,

meramis vas nocht contentit vitht sirrie and babillon,
23 bot sche vald pas to mak veyre contrar ethiope and

Hercules, Inde ; sche vas slane vitht hyr auen son. Hercules vas

nocht content vitht the gryt cuwtray of libie and of
creit, bot vald pas to conques the occian see ; than ane

Mithridates, voman poysonit6 hym vitht ane sark. Mitridates vas
nocht content of his auen realme of pont, bot vald pas
in batel contrar the romanis. he dred neuyr to dee bot
30 be poyson, quhair for7 he bure ay apon hym tuewty
leyuis of reu, tua kyrneUis of nutis, & tua feggis, and
ane lytil quawtite of salt, the quhilkis he mixt al to

Regemen giddyr, and thai mixtions he eit euyrie daye vitht ane

mitridates fastan stomak, to keip hym fra poysonyng. that con-

cvntra ve-

nenvm. fectione vas callit to name eftiruart, antidotum mitri-

1 breuic * them » almythty * rytht * notht 6 prysonit 1 fot

DAME SCOTIA'S EXHORTATION. 81

dates, bot }it that1 drog culd nocht2 sauehislyif frahis 1
sone that sleu hym. kyng philip vas noclit2 content of

J J '

Macedon,

the ryche realme of macedone, quharfor he past and
perturbit al greice ; bot syne he vas slane vitht ane of
his auen sodiours. Grite alexander vas nocht2 content Alexander the

Great.

of al the varld, bot syne ane drynk of poyson gart hym

be content of ane sepulture of flue fute of lyntht *or [*ieaf44(64),back]

there by. xerxes vas nocht contentit of tua realmys, xerxes,

perse and meid, bot ane of his officiaris contentit hym

vitht ane dagar throucht the hart, kyng cirus vas nocht 10

coratentit of his auen realme, bot vald pas to conques

sithia ; jit thomaris gart hym be content, quhen sche

pat his hede in ane pipe ful of bluid, sayand til it, 0

cirus, thou culd neuyr be saciat of menis blude, bot nou Cyrus,

thou maye drynk thy fil of blude. Annibal, that lustm.

redoutit capitan, triumphit in conquessing of vthir w

realmis, bot in his last days he vas fugitiue fra al cuw-

treis, and for melancolye he poysonnit hym self. It is 18

nocht necessair to multiplie ouer mony of thir exemplis.

there for, quha listis to reid the tragedeis of lucius se-

neque, or ihone Bocchas, in his buik of the ruuyne of Bocchas*

nobillis, thai sal fynd al cruel vsurpatours of vthir cun- Seneque, in

treis mak ane mischeuous ende. There for i hope in *** tra9e^s>

I hope the same

god that vitht in schort days the protectour of ingland, win befaii the

' Protector of

and his cruel coxinsel, sal be put in the croniklis in as England.
abhominabil stile as vas philaris, dionysius, nero, cal-
lugala, or domician, the quhilkis maid ane mischeuous 27
ende, for the violent inuasions of vthir princis cuntreis
but ony iust titil.

i tsiat * notht

COMPLAYNT.

82 TflE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [cUAP. X.

Deaf « «*)] Eije &ctor trcclarts qujjou tfjc Encjltsmcn
gifts fcane crcticns to tfjc propijc^
sies of ifterlgne.
CHAP. x.

Ciiiitates a FilHE oratours of Ingland, at there protectors in-

stance, hes set furtht ane buik, quhair be thai
ciuitatioua
reludpo- -•- intende to preue that Scotland vas ane colone of

2>nlorum. ex- ingla?id quhe/i it vas fyrst inhabit, there rasons that

a minions con- ,

dite, colonie thai allege aperis to them to be inuincibil, quhou beit

niincvpantur. ^jiaj jje ^0^ fteuol. there speciale intentione is to gar

Augu. de

dm. del, there cruel inuasions perpetrat contrar oure realme,

LI, 10. ca. apeir in the presens of forrain princis, that thai haue

The English have

put forth a book ane iust titil to mak veyr contrar vs. and quhou beit

claiming Scotland

as originally a that the said poietical beuk be dytit oratourly to per
tend"7' suaid the vulgar ingnorans til adhere til inuentit fablis

but realms are contrar the iust verite, }it notheles realmis ar nocht con-

SJSSjt <iuest be buikis> bot ratlier be bluid- there is ane p*8-

sage in the said beuk, the quilk the inglismen hes ane

."15 ardant desyr to se it cum til effect. The tenor of the

[*iear*5(65).back] passage sais, that it var verray necessare 'for the veil-

This book says it fayre of inglaud and Scotland, that baytht the reabnis

is necessary for

England and var coniumt to giddir, and to be vndir the gouuernyng

nnitedlntb one of ane prince, and the tua realmis to be callit the ile of

again «aiedd bertan, as it vas in the begynnyng, quhen the troiaw1

Bntain. brutus conquest it fra the giantis. and also the inglismen

The English give gifis ferine credit to diuerse prophane propheseis of mer-

great credence to i-ii-ii • o -i-

pretended pro- lyne, and til vthir aid corruppit vaticinans, to quhais

phecies of Merlin, , . . . . • /• • , i, , i_

ymaginet verkis thai gyue mair faitht nor to the pro-

25 phesie of ysaye, Ejechiel, leremie, or to the euangel : the

who has predicted quhilkis prophane prophetis and vaticinans hes affermit

in there rusty ryme, that Scotland and ingland sal be

vndir ane prince. The ardant desire, and the disordinat

auerisius affectione, that inglismen hes to be violewt

1 torian * vaticiuaris

THE ENGLISH PUT FAITH IN MERLIN. 83

dominatours of cure cuntray, hes prouokit them to male Therefore have

, ,, . . . , ., , they made cruel

cruel veyris contrar vs tmr mony 3 ems bypast, to that wars,
effect that there diabolic prophane propheseis may be i hope the pro-
fulfillit, nocht regardand gyue the vil of god hes per- fuieTirTa aitter-

.,,., -i I- j- j ru .1 • i • i-1 ent way from that

mittit be his diuyne gudnes that sic propheseis cum til WMch they expect,
affect : Nor ^it thai considyr nocht that al propheseis 6
hes doutsum and duobil expositionis. }it nochtheles i
hope in god that the rycht sens of there prophane pro-
phesy e sal be fuTfillit in this generatione, and that [*ieaf*6(66}j
inglismen sal get there desire to there perpetual confu-
sione. the inglismen exponis the prophesye of merlyne 11
to there auen affectione, as the iueis exponit the pro-
phesie of cayphas. Cayphas of ane euyl intent spak The Jews inter-

, -.,.,, , ,, . . . , , ., , preted the pro-

treu prophesye; bot 3it he and the iueis interpret it to phecyofcaiaphaa

. , i -11 t> >i i to their own

the vrang sens, quhilk vas cause of there auen condam- condemnation.

nation. Of this sort, cresus kyng of lidie exponit and Croesus misin-
terpreted the
interpret the ansuer ot apollo to the vrang sens, quhen response of

the cruel veyris vas betuix hym and cirus kyng of pers 18
and meid. At that time the tua gryt battellis of on-
numerabil men of veyr var campit neir to giddir, except
that the reueir of almy ran betuix them. On the
morne, kyng cresus past to the oracle of appollo in the the oracle

of Apollo at

tempil of delphos, desyrand to knau the fyne of the Deiphos.
veyris that vas sa cruel betuix hym and kyng ciruSi 24
Appollo gaue to kyng cresus ane doutsum ansuere of
ambiguite. this vas his ansuer. cresus perdet almi " if crasus cross

. theAlmlshe

trawsgressa maxima regna. This vord perdet is wnidestroy

, . ., . .f . j. , j ., mighty king-

ane verb equiuocum; it signifeis to distroye, and it doms,"
signifies to tyne, it is vritin in the fyft psalme of 29
Dauid, perdes omnes qui loquuntur mendacium. psaimv.e,
the expositione of this passage signifies nocht that god [* leaf 46 (66), bk]
tynis them that ar learis ; for god can tyne na thing,
there can no thing be tynt, bot quhen he that tynis
ane thing, and syne knauis nocht quhair it is : bot god 34
knauis al thing, of this sort kyng cresus exponit the Oresnspcr-
ansuer of appollo of ane sens, and appollo said his

84 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. X.

maxima ansuer of ane vthir sens. Cresus interpret that verb

regna. perdet for to distroye ; and for that cause he and his

3 gryt armye past ouer the reueir of almi, in hope to

distroye kyng cirus. bot cirus venquest cresus and al

and so brought his prryt armye ; the qnhilk mischeif cam on kyng cresus

mischief on

himself. for the vrang interpretatione of the ansuer of appollo ;

for he considerit nocht that perdet vas ane verb
8 equiuocurn, quhilk hed ane expositione of ambiguite.
it happened There is ane syklik exernpil of pirrus kyng of

similarly to

pyrriius, king eporite, that past to the oracle of appollo til inquyre of

the fyne of the veyris that vas betuix hym and the

romanis. appollo gaue ane doutsum ansuere of this sort ;

13 dico te pirre romanos vincere posse. Pirrus

exponit that verse of this sort, pirre, dico te vincere

romanos. bot appollo said it of ane vthyr sort, pirre,

dico romanos te vincere ; as cam til effect eftyruart,

• [* leaf 47 (67)] for the romanis venquest kyng pirrus, 'and chaissit

and to Fen-ana, hym furtht of Italie. There is ane vthir exempil of

Earl of Flanders. .

lerrand erl of F^deris, quha maid mortal veyr contrar
Augur e is, the kyng1 of France, he, his mother and his vyfe, past
"tlkattellis ^ ane auoure i° holland, til inquyre of the fyne of the
of thyngis veyris betuix hym and the kyng of France, the augure
cum throu- ansuer*;, quod he, thou sal entir in Paris, quhair that
cht the iu- gryte tryumphe and ioye sal be maid at thy entres.
tkailiane of ferrand beand rycht glaid of the ansuere of his augure,
Urdis rods, he enterit in France vitht2 ane gryt armye ; bot or he
fleina cam ^° -Paris> ^e an<^ his armye var venqueist, and he

28 vas tane presoner and led to paris. than al the parisiens

maid gryt triwnphe and ioye for blythtnes be cause that
so may it be ferrand there mortel enemye vas disconfeist. Of this
prophecies of sort, ferrand exponit the ansuere of his augure til ane

vrang sens. Thir exemplis may be conferrit and ap-

plyit vitht the prophesies of merlyne, to the quhilk the

i inglismen giffis mair confide?zs nor thai gif to the

35 euangel, be cause that there aid prophane propheseis

1 ykng * vilht

THE ENGLISH PUT FAITH IN MERLIN. 85

sais, that inglawd and scotlawd sal be "baitht vndir ane which say that

England and

prince, on this misteous propheseis,1 thai haue intewdit Scotland simii

be under one

veyris cowtrar Scotland, in hope to conques it. hot as i king;

haue befor rehersit, i beleue that there prophe'sie sal [*ieaf47(67),bk]

I believe it will

cum til effect, bot nocht to their inte?it, and that ing- so come to pass,

but not in the

land and Scotland sal be ane monarche vndir ane prince way the English
m this generatione, cowformand til ane prophesie that i nor in 'this
haue red in the inglis chronyklis, in ane beuk callit g(
polichornicon, the quhilk prophesie sais, that ingland but, as foretold

in the Poly

sal be first conqueist be the deynis, and syne be the chromcon,
saxons, and thirdly be the Normandis ; and there last
••onquessing sal be conquest be the scottis,2 quhome 12
inglismen haldis maist vile ; and fra that tyme furtht,
inglarad and Scotland sal be bot ane monarche, and sal England and

Scotland shall

lyue vndir ane prince : and sa inglis men sal get there be ruled by a

, . , *. . , .„, Scottish prince.

prophesie fulnllit to there auen mischeii.'*

tje pretenlitt Hingis of Entjlano fjes
no iust ttttl to tfje realme of England, notf)tr
fte electtone nor be successtone, ano qufyou
ttjat pretenott %ugnQi$ of ftnglano
practiJtst ane crafty ofesait
contrar Falts anti ||rlantr.

CHAP. XI. [AND XII.]

HIE vordis befor rehersit (0 26 my thre sonnis) These words

ought to arouse

suld prouoke sou to tak curaige ; ther for i vald your courage.

that hope of victoree var augmewtit, & dreed var

'banest fra aou. vald je al perpend 3our iust defens and [* leaf ss (68)]

querrel, thaw hardines5 and curage vald returne vitht in 21

1 propheseis a scoctis ' mischeii * hee » hrrdines

86 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XI.

Examine the }our hartis. and fyrst 30 suld considyr the pepil, and

persecutors: the titil of them that persecutis jou be on iust veyris.

3 quhen 36 hef veil socht the verite, 30 sal fynd that it is

they are the the false blude that discendit of sergestes and engestes,1

descendants of ,

sergest and quhilk var tua saxons that cam vitlit aleum thousand
two saxons, saxons fra thair auen cuntra to support and supple the
who came to kyng of grit bertame, quhilk is nou callit ingland, quha

assist the king

of Great Britain vas opprest be cruel ciuil veyris. than eftir that thir

in his wars,

tua saxons hed venquest the enemas of the kyng of

10 bertan^e, thai trasonablie banest the rychteus2 kyng and

and treacherously his posterite fra the realme. and sen syne that false

dispossessed him.

blude lies possest that cuntre violently be tyrranye, and

Most of the the maist part of thay tirran kyngis that hes succedit

have murdered of that fals blude hes beenc borreaus to their predeces-

cessors: sours, as the cronikls of ingland makis manyfest, as of

16 henry the first of that name, quhilk vas banest fra the

crone. Siklik henry the thrid vas banest fra the crone
King John was be his second sone Eichart. ihone kyng of ingland

a murderer:

gart slay the heretours of his predecessours, and brukit

the realme tuenty jeirs, and syne ther eftir he vas

['leaf 53 (68), bk] ba'nest, and eftir that kyng eduard vas gart dee meser-

Edwardll. and ., iTi-n--Li.il 11

Richard ii. per- ablye in preson. syklik liichart the sycond vas cruelly

ished miserably. , , , . , , •, «,. •. ,,

slane be his auen men ; and ther eltir he??ry the saxt

24 lossit his liyf be3 eduard the thrid of that name, than

Richard in. slew eftir hym succedit rechart the thrid, quha gart sla the

the children of •»••»•« it t • t t 11-1

Edward [iv.]. childir of ecluard the thrid. and sa brukit the cuntre
certara tyme, and ther eftir vas exilit fra the crone, and
henry the seuynt, be the support and supple of the

Not one of them kyng of France, gat the crone of ingland ; and sa none

had a just title

to England, of them hed rycht4 to the crone of ingland : ergo, thai

much less to , iiiii.-i

Scotland. hef na titil to the crone of Scotland. Al this veil con-

siderit, suld inflam ^our hartis vitht curage to resist

33 ther cruel vrawgus assaltis, & to menteine5 be vail3eant-

nes the iust defens of 3our natyf cuwtre. 30 knau quhou

They have been thai and there forbears hes beene 3 our aid mortal

your mortal

1 eusestes 2 rythteus * de * rytht 5 menteme

TUE KINGS OF ENGLAND ARE PRETENDEUS. 87

enemes tuelf hundretht 3eiris by past, makand cruel enemies for

twelve hundred

veir contrar jour predecessours be fyir and suerd, dayly years,

distroyand jour feildis, villagis and buroustounis, vytht

ane ferme purpos to denud Scotland fra 3our genera- 4

tione; and there vas neuer faitht nor promes kepit be

them, bot aye quhen 30 beleifit til hef hed maist sure

pace betuix sou and them, than thai lay at the vatch,1 laying wait

against you,

lyik the aid subtil doggis, byda?zd 'quhil conspiratione [* leaf 54 (69)]

or discentione suld ryes amang jou. than be there

austuce and subtilite thai2 furnest vitht money baitht taking advantage

of your dis-

tbe parteis aduersaris to slay doune vderis, quhilk vas sensions;
ane reddy passage to gar them conqueis our realme
vithtout straik or battel, throcht the occasion of the
social ciuil and intestyne veyre that rang sa cruelly 14
throucht our cuwtre. Valerius maximus rehersis ane
exempil conformand to this samyn purpos. quhen the

atheniens and the lacedemoniens, quhilkis3 var the tua as Darius pro-
fited by the
maist famous tounis vitht in the monarche of greice, quarrels of the

Athenians and

thair raise ane discention and discord betuix the said Lacedemonians,

tua tounis. than darius kyng of perse, quha hed euer

ane ardant desyir to conqueis greice, be cause the

greiciens hed euer been mortal enemes til hym and til 22

his predecessours, and speciale the toun of athenes re-

sistit hym mair in his veyris nor did al the remanent

of greice : for that cause he send his prouest tasifernes "«ndins Tiss<>-

phernea to the

vitht gold and siluer to lacedemonia to furneis them in ^tier with gold

and silver,

there veyns contrar the atheniens. at that tyme, alcibi-

ades vas bannest fra athenes, and excommunicat be the 28

prestis of there tempil, eftir the consuetude of there

lau. than alcibia'des past for refuge to the lacede- [*'eaf54(69),bk]

moniens, quha var mortal enemes to the atheniens : he

vas resauit rycht4 honorabilye, and gat gryt credit

amang them, quhilk vas occasion that throcht5 his con- 33

sel, and throu the gold that the prouest tacifernes hed through which

they defeated the

brocht to lacedemonia fra his maister kyng darius, Athenians.

1 vacht * rhrai » quhilkis superfluous. * rosauit rytht * rhrocht

88 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XI.

the lacedemoniens tryumphit contrar the atheniens.

alcibiades persaua^d that lacedemonia vas aperand to

be superior of athenes, he said to the prouest of kyng

4 darius, jchir, 50 suld nocht furneis the lacedemoniens

vitht sa grit quantite of gold and siluer contrar athenes ;

Then, by advice for gif athenes be conquest be the laceden^niens, than

the lacedemonieras sal be superiors of al greice ; and fra

tyme that thai be pacibil gouuernours of greice, and hes

9 no ciuil veyris, discord, nor discention ama??g them,

than doutles thai sal intend veir cowtrar ^our maister

darius kyng of perce, as there forbears did in alld

tymis. there for i think it maist comienient that kyng

darius furneis lacedemonia bot vitht sa mekil money as

14 may keip them on venquest be the atheniens, and als

it var verray necessair that kyng darius furnest the

atheniens vitht sa mekil money as may resist the lace-

[» leaf 55 (70)] demoniens, and that sal gar al the cun'trey of greice

he subsidized the hef perdurabil veyr amang them selfis, and than kyng

Athenians also, , ., . . .., , ,.. ., ,

darius may eysily conqueis greice, vitht litol dommage

20 to his cuwtrey. the prouest of darius adherit to the

counsel of alcibiades, and send nocht sameikil monye

to the lacedemoniens as mycht1 gar them conqueis

athenes, nor $it he send nocht so litil money that

throcht necessite thai suld leaue or desist fra the veyris.

25 of that samyn sort he send money to athenes to defend

and so had his them contrar the lacedemoniews. and sa, be the counsel

purposes served

by both parties, of alcibiades, darius kyng of perce cowqueist mair of
greice, vitht ane hundretht tallentis that he distribuit
secretly amang the grecians, to menteine2 there ciuil
veyris, ilk ane cowtrer vderis, nor he conquest be forse,
so Henry viir. vitht ten thousand tallentis. As hary the eycht kyng of
traiity between ingland did to the empriour & to the kyng of Frawce3
in *ne le™ °f g°de ane thousand fiue hundretht tuenty
foure jeris : he professit hym self to be neutral, bot ^it
35 he furnest the empriour vitht sex thousand fut men,

1 111 rt lit * mcnteme * Frece.

THE KINGS OP ENGLAND ARE PRETENDERS. 89

and tua hundretht lycht horse, on his auen expensis, 1

quhen the kyng of France vas past ouer the alpes to

seige paue. ande alse that samyn kyng hary lent to the while secretly

kyng of France aucht scoir of thousandis engel noblis,

of 'the quhilk the empriour vas surly aduertest ; for [*ieaf55(7o),bk]

quhen the kyng of France ande his armye var deffait as was discovered

-r» i it on the defeat of

be the due ot J3urbon, the viceroy 01 naples, the mar- Francis.

quis of pesquaire, and the marquis of gonnast, thir said

princis gat, in the spu^e of the Frence1 men, the2 kyng 9

of Francis pose, quhilk vas al in engel noblis ; ande

alse thai gat the kyng of inglandis preua vriting, quhilk

he hed sende to the kyng of France at the seige of paue.

of this sort the kyng of ingland playit vitht baytht the

handis, to gar the empriour and the kyng of France ilk

ane distroye vthirs. (0 36 my thre sonnis) the discen- 15

tion & discord that ryngis amang ^ou hes done mair

distructione til our realme nor quhen the gryt armye &

pouer of inglawd inuadit jou. the experiens of this The English

samyn is manifest, quhou that the kyngis of ingland giad enough to

hes bene mair solist to hef pace & fauoir of scotla?zd, scotiand^wihen1

quhera iustice & concord gouuernit the thre estaitis of £,a ^ron^f

Scotland, nor tyl hef hed the fauoir & pace of al the

riche realmis that the empriour possessis. and in oppo- 23

sit, quhen the kyngis of ingland persauis discord, dis-

centione, ciuil veyris, iniusteis & diuisione, vitht in

Scotland, than thai forgit3 fen^et querrellis contrar our putting forward

i» • i XT. L -n ii- 11 , i their false claims,

realme, in hope that ilk scottis man sal be mortal [* leaf 56 (71)]

,.-. i . -Lit. f\ i_ ^ • only in times of

enemye til his nychtbour. <^uhar lor i exort $ou ^ou intestine dis-
my thre sonnis, that 30 be delegent to remeide 3our
abusions of the tymis by past, quliilk sal neuir cum til Be diligent, then,
effect bot gyf that 30 remoue & expel discentione, dis- causes ^discord,
cord and hatrent that ringis amang 3ou ; for gyf 30 be
enemeis to 3our selfis, thaw quhy suld the kyngis of
ingland be accusit quhen thai intend veyris contrar 3ou,
considerant that thai hef bene euyr $our aid enemeis ] 35

i France 2 tbe 3 forgie

90 TilE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XI.

what castle can i vald spere quhat castel can be lang kepit, quhen the

be kept against

besiegers, if enemeis seigis it cruelly vitht out, and vitht in the said

mortal war reign 1 , . ,

among the castel ther ringis mortal veyr1 amang the soudartis,

men of veyr, quhilkis suld lyf in ane mutual & faytht-

5 ful accord in deffens of the said castel cotttrar externe

violensl this veil cowsidrit, suld be occasio«e to gar

3ou expel hatrerat, diuiskme, & auaricius lyffing furtht

Remember also of jour hartis, & alse it suld prouoke 3ou to remembir

your forefathers, of the nobil actis of ^our foir fathers & predecessours,

quha deffe?zdit this realme be there vail^earztnes, & alse

reducit there liberte, quhilk vas ane lawg tyrae in cap-

1 2 tiuite, be the machination of ^our aid enemes, as 30 may

reid in diuersis passis of 3our cronikillis. And sen 30

[* leaf 56 (7i), bk] knau2 that god hes schauen sic fa'uoir to ^our foir-

bearis, throcht the quhilk thai hef vewqueist thair

enemes, and brocht the realme, be visdome & manhede,

17 in sykkyr pace, qukou beit thai var onequal, baytht in

ana make you a iimnmer & puissance, to ^ouT aid enemes, 36 suld mak

mirror of their . '/.,•• r ••, .• f t •* A.I. t

noble deeds. ane mirrour ol there nobil actis; lor sen 30 knaud that
3our aid enemes hes intendit to conqueis & to subdieu
3ou to there dominione, nocht throcht there manhede
22 & visdome, bot rather throcht the discentione that
ringis amawg jou, je suld schau 3ou verteous & vail^eant
in 3our rycht4 defence, for quhen 36 ar in accord. &
lyuis in tra?/quilite, 3our aid enemes sendis ther imbas-

Peace with sadours5 to dcsyre pace & fauoir, quhilk is mair necessari

Scotland is more . . , ... . . .

necessary than to them nor it is honest, considenng ot there grit

England. pouer & mycht6 be see & be lond. bot nochtheles, the

mail reches that thai posses, the mair schame redondis

30 to them, & the mair gloir is 3ouris, sen thai hef beene

vewquist be 3ou diuerse tymes, quhome thai held maist

vile and febil. and nou, sen 30 knau the apering dan-

geir of 3our natif cuntre, 30 suld prudently consult to

escheu al dangeir; and to begyn sic gude ordour, 30

35 suld prouide al vays to remoue discentione, sedetione,

1 feyr * linau * knan * rytht s imbassadpnrs • mytht

THE KINGS OP ENGLAND ARE PRETENDERS. 91

and auaricius lyffyng, quhilk may induce hatrent, inuy 1

and 'rancor amang jou, to that effect that ilk persone [* leaf 57 (72)]

, . Remove from

may lyf eysylye on his auen lust corcques, and that among you in-

none of the realme hef occasione to do extorsions til extortion.

vthyris; for sic gude pollycie, veil ordorit, sal cause

the cuntre to increse in gloir, honour and reches, and

dreddor to 3our enemes, quha ar verray solist and 7

vigilant to conques jou. ther prouisione of diuerse sortis

is vonder grit, nocht alanerly he gryt multitude of men Your enemies

of veyr, and ane grit nauen of schipis be seey burde, army and navy;

bot as veil be secret machinatiorce to blynd jou be

auereis, presentand to jou gold, siluyr, and grit pro-

messis of heretagis, to persuaid jou to commit traison 13

contrar jour faitht, honour and comon veil, quhilk is

ane rycht passage to bring jou and jour posterite til

ane vile & final exterminatione. vald je maturly con-

sydir the subtilite of inglismen, 30 sal fynd them aper-

and faithtful and humain in thair aduersite ; bot quhen they are tyrants,

., . ., ., . . , , and cruel above

thai ar in prosperite, thai ar ingrat tirraws and cruel ail other nations,
abuf al vdir natione. Och ! quhou dangerus is it til 20
ony sort of pepil til hef ane cruel tirran ryngand abuf

them: and to eschaip sic tirranny 3 our forbears hes HOW your fore-
fathers resisted
debatit jour cuntre this mony jems be grit manhede the tyranny

and visdo'me, quhou beit it vas in dangeir to be in final [* leaf 57 (72), bk]

euersione. the croniklis vil certifie jou quhou that1 jour 25

nobil predecessours and foir bears var slane, and the

comont pepil brocht to vile seruitude ane lang tyme be and slavery of

,, , , , , ., . , ., , ,. the Saxons!

the saxons blude. and jit sic calamite and persecutione

indurit bot for ane tyme. for god almychty,2 that

knauis jour iust defens, hes euer schauen gryt fauoir

touart jou, therfor je suld tak curage in jour iust quer- 31

rel. je hef no cause3 to dispayr for fait of supple, for

jour predecessours hes been in mair dangeir quhen jour They were harder

pressed than

strynthis and castellis hes nocht been sa defensabil, nor you are,
jit the cuwtre heffand supple of na forane prince. It is 35

1 thae * almythty ' cause

92 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XI.

1 tideous to reliers the grit calamiteis, the sair battellis,
and the cruel slauchtyr that vas cruelly exsecutit on
and subjected scottis1 men ; and to conclude, al the cuntre vas in ex-
treme subiectione fourty jeirs, and possest be our aid
enemes. But nochtheles, god almychty2 valknit vitht
6 his grace the hartis of jour predecessours, as he did to
sampson, Dauid, and iudas macchabeus, contrar the
but God de- enemes of Israel, quhair for al jour cuntre vas delyuerit
fra captiuite, to the grit domage of reches, and effusione
[•leaf ss (78)] of blude on jour aid enemes. je vait veil that the ciuil
1 1 and intestyne veir, and the discentione and discord and
rancor that ryngis amang jou, is the speciale cause of
Your enemies the inglisme[n]is inuasions and of jour miserite; for

would not again .

have troubled jour aid enemes, qunou beit ot ther puissans, vald neuer

you had not your ,„ ..... . J-L--L- .LI-LJ

discord opened hef maid sic incursions ande hairschips on the bordours

and limitis of jour cuwtre, var nocht jour selfis maid ane

17 reddy passage to them throcht the occasione of jour

Reflect before auen discentions that ryngis amang jou. ther for it is

finaT/UI necessair that je sal3 perpend that sic discentione be

nocht the cause of jour auen distructione and final

ruyne of jour naticne. the kyng of ingland knauand

22 the discention that ryngis amang jou, he vil tret, cheris,4

and promes grit reches til ony of jou that vil adhere

yourselves en- til hym contrar jour comont veil ; hot fra tyme that he

wives and get dominione of the cuntre, je sal be his sklauis in ex-

ravished? treme seruitude, jour vyfis and dochteris 5 deflorit be

the onbridilit lust of jour aid enemes, and violently led

28 auay befoir jour facis be the extreme lauis of the veyr.

your property jour gold and siluyr, and vthir gudis, public and priuat,

sal be distribut and disponit amang them, the frutis

and cornis of jour grond to be vsit at ther dispositione,

[* leaf ss (73), bk] and je sal *be compellit to laubir the naikyt feildis

vitht jour auen handis to there proffet. je sal nocht

alanerly be iniurit be euil vordis, hot als je sal be

35 violently strykkyn in jour bodeis, quharfor je sal ly f in

1 scoctis * almythty ' thai jeal * tretcheris * doctheris

THE TREATMENT OF WALES AND IRELAND. 93

mair thirlage nor brutal bestis, quhilkis ar thirlit of 1

nature. And ony of jou that consentis til his fals con-

ques of jour cuntre, je sal be recompenssit as jour for- Bear in mind the

bears var at' the blac perliamerct at the bernis of ayre,

quhen kyng eduard maid ane conuocatione of al the

nobillis of Scotland at the toune of ayre, vndir culour

of faitht and cowcord, quha comperit at his instance,

nocht heffand suspitione of his tresonabil consait. than 8

thai beand in his subiectione vndir culour of familiarite,

he gart hang, cruelly and dishonestly, to the nummer where Edward r.

of sexten scoir of the maist nobillis of the cuntre, Tua score of your

and tua ouer ane balk, the quhilk sextene scoir var

cause that the inglismen conquest sa far vithtin jour

cuntre. $e may reid the croniklis of al cuntreis, and 14

30 sal fynd, that quhen forain princis hes violewtlye,

but iust titil, gottin dominatione on vthir cuntreis, thaw Foreign con-

, , , . , . , ,, . , querors are ever

in the begynnyng thai haue tretit and flatterit the deceitful and

principal inhabitans, quhil on to the tyme that thai var

pacebil domina'tours : and there eftir thai haue vsit [* leaf 59(7*)]

there dissymilit intent on the pepil, and hes distroyit 20

them, as kyng eduard did at the bernis of ayre befor re-

hersit. There is ane exempil conformand to this samen Titus liuius

purpos rehersit be Valerius maximus, and in titus Libro- 1>

liuius, quhou that tarquinus superbus the sext kyng of witness the case

•UMI -J i ii, -A f v ofTarqninthe

rome, quhilk maid cruel veyre contrar the cite ol gabine proud, when

til hef hed it subdeuit to the dominione of rome. bot against GaMni.

that nobil cite deffendit there liberte rycht1 vailjeantly.

his sone sextus tarquinus vas in grit melancolye be

cause his father culd nocht conques that cite be fors, 29

nor be loue, nor jit be flattery, ther for he departit fra

his father vitht ane fenjet displeseir, and past to the

cite of gabine, makand ane pitteus complaint2 on the

crualte of his fader contrar hym, prayand to them of

gabine that thai vald be his deffens contrar his father,

and he sal be subiect to that cite in perpetual.3 the 35

1 rytht * complanit s impcrpetual

94 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XI.

1 cite of gabine, throcht there facilnes, gef hasty credit
to sextus tarquinus, and resauit hyni and trettit hym
be grit familiarite. than day be day be his fayr vordis,
thai gef hym credens in sic ane sort, that al the pepil
be cam obediewt til hym. than he send ane of his

[*ieaf59(74),bk] familiaris til 'his fader tarquinus superbus, declarand

quhou he hed conqueist the fauor of al the pepil, de-

syrand his fatheris counsel quhou he suld vse hym to

9 hald them in subiectione. the messager of sextus past

to tarquine superbe, declarand his message, quhar he

The dumb show, gat aid tarquine in ane garding. bot aid tarquine gef

by which Tarquin - .

intimated what nay ansuer to the messanger, bot tuike his stai, and

to "the chief men. syne past throcht his gardin, and quhar that he gat ony

chasbollis that greu hie, he straik the heidis fra them

vitht his staf, and did n« thyng to the litil chasbollis.

16 the messengeir gat nay ansuer be tong fra aid tarquine,

bot returnit til gabine til his maister sextus tarquinws,1

quha askit ane ansuer of his message, the messenger

tald quhou his father send nay ansuer be tong, bot past

vp and doune his gardyng vitht his staf cuttand doune

21 the hie chasbollis. than sextus tarquiuus kneu veil his

fatheris mynd, that his counsel vas to strik of al the

hedis of the principal men of the cite of gabine, and

than the remanent of the pepil durst nocht reuolt con-

trar hym. of this sort the nobil cite of gabine vas dis-

26 auit be flattery e and facilnes of gyffing credit til ane

tirrane. sextus tarquinus vsit his father counsel, for he

[•leaf GO (75)] 'distroyit and sleu al the principal lordis of gabine, as

kyng eduard did to the lordis of Scotland at the bernis

Take warning by of ayre. The onfaithful cruel act that kyng henry the

the treatment of

Ireland and aucht vsit contrar yrland and valis quhen he becam

ther superiors, suld be mirrour and ane exempil til al

Scotland : for he vsit the samen practik contrar irland

and valis as sextus tarquinus exsecut on the cite of

35 gabine, and as kyng eduard exsecutit on the barrens of

1 tarquiu'

THE TREATMENT OF WALES AND IRELAND. 95

Scotland at tlie bernis of ayre : for quhou belt that the Even though the

present king of

kyng of ingland nou present be discendet of the blude England is of

. . Welsh descent,

of valis, jit nochtheles the pepil of valis ar in sic sub-

iectione that thai dar neuer ryde bot iiij to giddir, and 4

als that nane of the?w sal cum vitht in the mane cuntre

of ingland vitht out ane certificat fra the sc[h]eref to

gar it be knauen that thai hef sum speciale byssynes

vitht in ingland. and als ther1 sal nane that is borne in [> rher]

valis beyr office in valis, nor jit in ingland. and alsa theWeishare

subjected to all

the principal men of valis ar subiect to pas to the kinds of

oppression.

veyris in propyr person contrar Scotland or co?ztrar

France quhen euer thai ar chargit be the kyng of ing- 12

la/idis lettris. Bot at the first apoyntement that vas

accordit betuix the kyng of ingland and the lordis of

'valis, he promest them grit liberte, quhil he hed re- [*ieaf60(75),bkj

sauit the castellis and strynthis of valis, and hed put

inglis captans in them, bot incontinent ther efter, he 17

gart strik the heidis fra al the lordis of valis, and fra

the principal barronis. and syklik to spek of irland, so have the

Knglish op-

quhen the kyng of ingland vas accordit vitht the lordis pressed Ireland;
of irland, and that he hed resauit ane certaw of castellis,
and sum of the principal tounis, than ane lang tyme
eftir he tretit the lordis of irland vitht fayr vordis, and 23
gef them riche gyftis, quhil he be his subtilite gart
tue[l]f of them cum to london, quha cam at his com-
mand, be cause thai dreid na cruelte. than incontynent of which the

i -i i i T o -i • i if.ii- o-i i chief men have

he gart strik the hedis fra the said tueli lordis of irland. been beheaded,
and sen sine al the irland men ar sklauis til hym, ex- and the people

enslaved ;

cepand ane certan that kepis them sel on the strait
montanis of irland, quhilkis vil nocht obeye to his 30
tyrranye, for thai hed rather remane in cald and hunger except those that

have found

in the vyild forestis ande hillis at there liberte, nor for refuge in the

wilds.

to be in his captiuite to be hangit and hedit as he hes
dune causles til mony vthyr innocent men. The extor-
tione that the kyngis of inglawd hes dune to j^ur pre- 35
decessours, is manifest to 3011 al. the chro'ni1 makis [»ieaf6i(7C)]

96 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XI.

King Edward manifest quhou that kyng eduard, eftir that he hed

overran Scotland

and compelled ouer run al ^oui cuntre, and hed brocht al the pepil til

your forefathers

to render extreme captiuite, quhar for compulsione and necessite

causit them til obeye, and to mak homage til ingland.

He invaded than the crualte of this said kyng eduard, nocht satesfet

Scotland with

100,000 men, nor saceat, he brocht fra ingland ane huwdretht thou-
7 sand men, and als he brocht1 ane freir vitht hym callit
bringing one conraldus, the quhilk freir hed commissione to mak
friar, to write a ane chronikil of the actis that kyng eduard and his
£cts.n hundretht t[h]ousand men suld do in Scotland, this

Before Bannock- said grit annye of ingland b"eand befor bannochtburne,
sundry statutes, kyng eduard maid ane perlament vitht in his camp

vitht ane certaw of statutis & ordinance, quhilk vas put
14 in- vryit be the said freir. This vas the tenor of the

said ordinance, in the fyrst, he ordand thre vaupyn-
as to how he schauyngis to be maid al on ane day in Scotland be

would deal with / to . *

Scotland, scottis'2 men in thre of the farrest placis of Scotland, as

in til the marse, in gallouaye, and in the northt of
scotlande, and at thay vappynschauyngis, al the
20 vaupynis and armour of Scotland to be delyuerit to the
iuglismen to be kepit in castellis quhil on to the tyme
that the kyng of inglawl intewd to mak veir aganis

[•leaf ei (76), wo vthyr 'cuntres. thenixt statut he ordand that na scottis
man suld veyr na vaupyn bot ane knif of fife inche of
lyntht, vitht out ane point, in the thrid statut, he
26 ordand that na scottis man suld duel in ane house that
vas loftit, bot rather in ane litil cot house, in the ferd
he ordarad that na scottis man suld veir ony clais bot

after gaining hardyn cotis. in the fyft artikle he ordand that the

the victory.

scottis men of Scotland suld be partit in thre partis.

31 the first part suld remane in Scotland, to laubeir the
cornis on the grond. the sycond part suld be send in
ingland to be seruandis to laubyr thair grond. and the
thrid part of them of the best lyik men suld be banest

35 fra Scotland, and to hef ane lecens to pas in ony straynge

i brotht » scoctis

SUBMISSION TO ENGLAND WOULD BE FATAL. 97

untre to seik ther gude auenture. This cruel ordin- 1

nee vas maid in the kyng of ingland campt befor ban-

.ochtburne.1 he beleifit at that tyme that al vas his He believed, at

uen. than god almychty2 quhilk beheld his pryde and Wae8 M^wn?' a

rrogance and his onmerciful intent, he valknyt vitht 5

is spreit the hartis of the nobil men of Scotland, the

uhilkis in ane feu numer cam vitht ane hardy curage

ontrar kyng eduard, and sleu thretty thousand of his but he was

lew, and chaissit hym self thre scoir of mylis vitht in

iglarcd. *^nd in ther returnyng hamuart, thai vaistit [* leaf 62 (77)]

nd brvnt northt humyrland and mony vthir plaicis of 1 1

igland. this battel vas fochtyn at bannochburne,3 as

tie inglis croniklis rehersis mair large, thew quhaw the

3wtis, pail^ons, & spouse of the inglis armye vas tane Among the spoil,

j gaddrit vp be scottis mew, thai gat the forsa?'d inglis Friar conraidus

reir conraldus vithtin kyng eduardis tent, & als thai captivVwith

til p -i ft i" a T i -11 ,1 • i- the statutes made

at thyr lorsaid artiklis & ordinance quhilk the inglis- against the

len purposit to execut on the scottis mew. bot inglis- s<

lew tuik nocht god to be their cheiftane, bot rather 19

sit there auew arrogawt mynde; therfor their gryt

ouer hed na grace to fulfil ther entreprice. this ex- These exemplify

the cruelty

wpil is vowdir probabil that inglismen vil vse this which win be

. . used towards

imyn crualte on ^ou al, gif sa beis that je cum subiect you.
3 them. 36 knau that thir tuelf hundretht jeirs thai leit
m neuyr lief pace xvi ^eir to giddir, bot ^it ther 25
yrranye redowdit aye to their auen dishonestye and

omage. and quhou beit at sum tyme jour cuntre gat ^ncertl swn*

exitvspu-
rit skaytht be them, sic thing suld nocht gar ^ou tyne gnarum

>ur curagis. for the chancis of veir ar nocht certan to mars$*ie est

commnms qin
a party. 4al thir vordis befor said ar rehersit, to that Sepe spolian-

Efect that jour facilnes be nocht sedusit be ther astuce

' exultantem

nd subtil persuasions. Titus 'liuius rehersis ane ex- [*ieaf62(77),bk]

mpil in his nynt beuk conformand to this samyn percvtit ab
urpos, quhilk vas eftir the fundatione of rome 420 abiecto.
T! . at that tyme their vas in rome tua consulis, ane milo.

1 bannothtbnrne 2 almythty 3 bannothburne

* CHAP. XII., not distinguished in the original, should probably begin here.
COMPLAYNT. 7

98 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XII.

Titus litiias callit titus viterius, and the tothyr callit spurius1 post-
humus, quha var committit to be cheiffis and captans
3 of the armye of the romans, to pas contrar the samnetis,
quhilkis hed maid mortal veyr thertty ^eir to giddir

Valerius [cowjtrar rorne. the captaw of the samnetis vas callit

maximus. ,• T_-TI_ ii p -i n-^

Libra 7 pontius, quhilk vas the sone ot ane vailjeant man callit

hereneus, quha vas exempit fra the veyris, and fra the

8 gouernyng of the public veil, be raison of his grit aige.

FOW the Rr man The grit armye of the samnites campit them secretly

army was shut

up by the Sam- besyde ane place callit furce caudide, the quhilk place

nites in the nar-
row pass of the hed ane narrou entres & narrou isching, and vitht in it

Caudine Forks.

their vas mony cragis and vyild treis. that place stude

13 betuix tua strait montanis inhabitabil and onmontabil.
In the myddis of it their vas ane large grene plane
feild. than quhen the samnetis var their logit and
campit, thai var aduertist be ther exploratours and
spyis, quhou that the romans var campit neir them in

18 ane place callit calacia. than pontius the captan of the

L* leaf 63 (78)] samnetis causit ten of his 'knychtis to cleitht them

lyik hyrdis, and he gef them cattel, nolt, ande scheip

to keip, giffand them command to pas vitht tha cattel

on the feildis be syde the romans, and ilk ane in ane

23 syndry part be hym self, sayand to them, gif ony of
the romans cumis and inqxiiris at ony of $ou quhair our
armye is campit, $e sal ansuer, that ve ar past to
apuilya to gif ane assalt to the cite of lucere, quhilk
partenis to the romans. than thir neu maid hyrdis past

28 vitht bestial, quhar thai var re[n]contrit be the forreours
and exploratours of the romanis, quha led them al ten
befor the tua consulis that var captans to the romans.
quhen thir ten hyrdis var exemnit seueralie ilk ane be
hym self, quhar the samnete armye vas campit, thai

33 ansuerit as ther captan pontius hed giffin them com-
mand ; to the quhilk vordis the romans gef credit, be
Uanc hi- rason that thai al beand ane be ane examinit2 condis-

1 spurnius : ciamit

SUBMISSION TO ENGLAND WOULD BE FATAL. 99

cendit in ane ansuer. than ' the romans hefiand sic ane storiam cor-
feruent loue to the cite of lucere, quhilk vas of their an- r^.,oraj' •
ciant alya, thai raisit ther camp to pas to reskeu lucere
fra the samnetes. ther vas tua passagis to pas betuix 4
the romans camp and lucere. the first passage vas plane
and plesand "be the see syde, *bot it vas ouer lang about. [*ieaf63(78),bk]
the nixt passage vas ful of roche cragis, and verray
strait and narou, bot }it that passage vas verray schort.
than the romaws, for haist that tha hed to saif that cite 9
of lucere,2 thai tuke that narrou strait passage, and
quhen thai var entrit in it, the samnetes be grit sub-
tilite hed gart cut doun grit treis, & brae doune roche
cragis, quhilkis thai pat in grit numer at the entres and
at the ischyng furtht of that strait passage, and als thai 14
set mony of ther men of veir amang the cragis to em-
pesche the romans that thai culd nothir returne, nor
jit to pas forduart. quhen the romans var disauit of this
sort, thai var lykly to dispayr for the displeseir3 and
melancole that affligit them, bot the samnetes var 19
vondir glaid fra tyme that thai hed the romaws in that
puwdfald, quhar thai culd nothir fecht nor fle, deffend
nor resist, bot on verray neid thai behufnt to remane
vencust vitht out straik or battel. the samnetes beawd
in this grit blythtnes be cause of ther happy chance, 24
thai determit to send ane message til aid herenius, quha
vas the father of ther captan pontius, til hef his
opinione and consel quhou thai suld vse them cowtrar
the romanis that thai hed closit vithtin 'them, this aid [* leaf 64 (79)]
herenius send his ansuer and cowsel, and bald the HowtheSam-
samnetes gyf the romans ther fre liberte to pas hame J
saue, vitht out hurt of ther honour, bodys or guidis. caPu
the armye of the samnetes nocht beawd satesfit nor
contentit of this ansuer of herenius, thai send the mes-
senger agane til hym til hef ane bettir consel. thaw aid
herenius send ane vthir ansuer, and bald them slaye al 35

1 thau s lutere » displesier

100 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XII.

1 the romans, and nocht to lat ane of them return vitht
ther 1) if. quhen the samnetes herd the tua discordabil
consellis of herenius, thai culd nocht meruel aneucht l
of his onconstant ansuer, quhar for pontius his sone
suspekit that his father dottit in folie throcht his grit

6 aige, jit noththeles he vald nocht conclude na exsecu-

tione contrar the romans quhil he hed spokyn vitht his

father : therfor vitht the consent of the samnettes, he

send for his father to cum to their camp, quha cam at

his command in ane charriot, be cause he niycht2 nothir

11 ryde nor gang he cause he vas decrepit for aige. he

beand aryuit, his sone pontius spent quhou he suld vse

hym contrar the romans that var inclosit betuix the tua

The two counsels strait montans. the aid herynyus changit nocht his tua

of Herenius

fyrst consellis that he hed send to them : bot jit he de-

[* leaf 64 (79), bit] clarit *to them the cause of thyr tua deferent consellis,

17 sayand ; my sone pontius, and je my frendis of samnete,

the first consel that i send to jou the quhilk i think

for the best, that is to say, i consellit jou to thole al

the romans and ther guidis depart saifly in liberte but

ony hurt or displeseir ; than throcht3 that grit benefice

22 that 30 hef schauen to them of ther free vil & vitht ane

guide mynde, thai vil allaya them vitht jou, quhilk sal

cause ferme and perpetual pace to be betuix rome and

are disregarded samnete. the tothir co?zsel that i send to jou, i ordand

jou to slay doune al the romans, and nocht to saif ane

27 of them, for than it sal be ane lang tyme or the romaws

can purches sa grit ane armye contrar jou. & sa 30 maye

lyif in pace and surete ane lang tyme, considerand that

the grit pouer and the maist nobilis of rome ar in this

present armye inclosit to giddir. ane of thir tua con-

32 seUis is necessar to be vsit, and the thrid consel can

and a middle nocht be gifin to jou for jour veilfair. than pontius and

the princis of samnete nocht beand contentit of thir tua

consellis, inquyrit at aid herenyus, sayand, ve think it

i aneuthc » mytht » throtht

SUBMISSION TO ENGLAND WOULD BE FATAL. 101

bettir to tak ane myd vaye betuix vs and them to saif 1
their lyiffis, and to resaif them as vencust pepil, and
ther eftir ve *sal mak strait lauis and ordinance quhilk [*ieaf65(so)]
ve sal compel them til obeye. aid herynyus ansuert,
that sentens, says he, purchessis na frendis, nor it
makis na reconsiliatione of enemes, therfor 30 suld 6
animaduert varly to quhat pepil that je purpos to vse
sic iniurius rigor, for 30 knau the nature of the roman
pepil is of sic ane sort, that gif thai resaif oultrage, and
beis vencust be rigor be jou, thai can neuer hef rest in
ther spreit quhil that thai heif reuengit jour crualte, 11
for thai ar of ane vendicatife nature, and the displeseir
that thai sal resaif be jou sal euer remane in their hartis
quhil thai hef reuengit the iniurius defame that je haue
perpetrat coretrar1 them, thyr tua sentensis of herynyus
var repulsit and nocht admittit, therfor he departit and 16
returnit in his chariot to samnite to end the residu of
his days, the romans beand inclosit betuix thir tua
montans, thai purposit mony maneyrs to ische furtht
fra that strait place, & to pas to fecht in fair battel
contrar the samnetes ; bot al ther laubyr2 vas in vane, 21
for thai var sa strait closit that thai culd nothir pas
bakuart nor forduart. than thai send ther legatis to de-
sire concord and pace at the samneties, or els to desire
battel on the plane feildis. pontius 'ansuert to the [»ieaf63(80),bk]
legatis of the romans : quod he, the battel is fochtyn 26
al reddy ; & quhou beit that 30 ar al vencust, jit none
of 3011 vil confesse jour euil fortoune, ther for ve gif
jou for ane final ansuer, that al jour armye sal be spxtl- ortheigno-

. , /> i /» i • • -ii i minions terms

jit oi jour armour and 01 jour clais, except ilk ane sal imposed upon
hef ane singil coit on jou, & ther eftir ve sal put jour
cragis in ane joik to be ane perpetual takyn that je ar
vencust be vs, and alsa je sal delyuer til us the villagis,
castellis, and vthir placis, the quhilkis jour predeces-
>sours conquest fra vs in aid tymis, and alsa je sal lyif 35

1 eontrat * lanbyr

102 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XII.

1 and obeye til our lauis. and gif this ansuer vil nocht
cowtent the romaws, i gif 3ou expres charge that 30 re-
turne nocht heir agane. the legatis of the romans re-
turnit to the camp of the romans vitht the ansuer of
pontius, the quhilk ansuer did mair displeseir to the
6 romans nor that powtius ansuer hed been to sla them al
cruelle ; for in aid tymes ther culd nocht be ane gritar
defame nor quhen ane mannis crag vas put in the 3oik
be his enemye, for that defame and punitione vas haldin
mair abhominabil and vile nor the punitione that tres-
1 1 passours indurit in the galeis for demeritis. bot ^it ther
[•leaf ee (si)] vas no remeid to saif the romans, therfor ex'treme
In diwfrus necessite vas resauit for vertu. than throcht the coun-
gej 0£ ang no-kii romane callit lucius lentulus. thai con-

ffiendum ma-

ju*t leuius discendit to cheis the leyst of tua euillis, and til indure

erteligautom. that ^ pulliti0ne rather nor tU hef been crueUy slane.

\JtC€t I CLd \

Qvintura. than the cruel samnetes ordand the instrument of tho

fratrero.. ^oik Of ft^ gorj. as j g^ rehers. ther vas tua speyris set

19 fast in the eyrd, and ane vthir speyr set & bundyn

athort betuix the tua speyris that stude vp fra the eyrd

lyik ane gallus. than the desolat and vencust romana

var constren^et to pas vndir that ^oik ane and ane ; bot

the tua consellaris, quhilkis var captans to the romans,

24 thai var compellit to pas fyrst vndir that $oik vitht out

their harnes or vaupynnis. than the remanent of the

romans follouit ilk ane eftir his aue?z degre. on euerye

syde of this $oik ther vas ane legione of the armye of

samnetes vitht ther sourdis drauen in ther handis,

29 quhar thai manneist and scornit the sillie romans that

This was cruel var in that gryt vile perplexite. O 30 my thre sonnis,

punishment,

this defame and vile punitione of the samnites perpetrat
but a 8tm stratter contrar1 the romaTis, vas verray cruel : bot doubtles, thai

yoke shall be put . . .

on the necks of that ar participant of the cruel inuasione of inghs men
C* leaf ee (si), bio contrar their natyue cuntreye, ther crag'gis sal be put
England1*; in ane mair strait 3oik nor the samnetes did to the -

* » contrat

SUBMISSION TO ENGLAND WOULD BE FATAL. 103

romans, as kyng eduard did til scottis men at the blac as King Edward

hanged 16 score

parlament at the bernis of ayr, quhen he gart put the of his adherents

f ,, , , . -, , . , at the Barns of

craggis of sexten scoir in faldomis oi cordis, tua and Ayr.

tua oner ane "balk of the maist principal of them that 4
adherit til hym in his oniust querrel quhen he vrangusle

brocht ' mekil of Scotland in his subiectione. this pro- The Protector

f ' i 3 -L i-i j/u- ii • Somerset in-

tector of mgland purposit til vse this samyn crualte in tended to repeat
the jeir of god ane thousand fyfe2 hundretht fourty March* iw,
seuyn jeris, in the monetht of marche, quhen the vardan
of the vest marchis of ingland cam to hald ane vardan when the English

Warden came to

court on the vest marchis of Scotland vitht in the hold a court in

n .. the West Marches

schirefdome of galloua, as Scotland hed been in pacebil Of Scotland,
subiectione to the crone of ingland ; bot, as god vald, 1 4
the maister of maxuel, the lard of drumlanrik,3 and
diuerse vthir nobil barronis and gentil men cam vitht
ane hie curage contrar the inglismen, quhome thai ven- but he was
quest vai^eantlye, and sleu ane grit part of them, and
tuke ane vthir part of them presoners, and chaissit the 1 9
thrid part of them ten myle vithtin ingland : and ther
eftir the barronis & gentil men of oure vest cuntre gat and among the
the inglismens spul^e, vitht in the quhilk 'spul^e thai SP[°« leaf 67(82)
gat tua barrellis ful of cordis, and euerie cord bot ane barrels fuii of
faldome of lyntht,4 vitht ane loupe on the end al reddy 5f^r^wiUl
maid, quhilk thai ordant til hef hangit sa mony scottis ^victim!06
men as thai purposit til hef venquest at that iournay.
Than to quhat effect suld ony scottis men gif credens, 27
or til adhere til inglesmen ? our croniklis rehersis of
diuerse scottis men of al staittis that hes past in ing-
land. sum hes past for pouerte, and sum hes past in Many Scotsmen

have gone into

hope to lyue5 at mair eyse and liberte nor thai did in England, for

poverty, &c.

Scotland, and sum hes been denunsit rebellis be the
authorite, quhilk vas occasione that thai past in ing-
land for refuge, quhom the kyngis of ingland hes re-
sauit6 fameliarly, and hes trettit them, and hes gifin
them gold and siluir, the quhilk he did nothir for piete 35

1 brotht » fyse 8 doumlanrik * lyncht 5 lyne 6 resanit

104 THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND. [cHAP. XII.

1 nor humanite, Lot rather that thai suld help to distroye

there auen natif cuntre. bot jit he vald neuer gif them

heretage nor credit, for the experiens of the samyn is

There are more manifest presewtlye. for quhou beit that there be abufe

men now in thre thousand scottis men, and there vyfis and childir,

that hes duellit in ingland thir fyftye jeir by past, and

who have thriven hes conquest be there industre batht heretage and

in the world,

but dare not own guidis, jit nocht ane of them dar grant that thai ar

[* leaf e? (82), bk] 'scottis men, bot rather thai man deny and refuse there

cuntre, there surname, and kyn & frendis. for the

in the south, scottis men that duellis in the southt part of ingland,

they give out ..,, ,.

that they are thai suere and menteinis1 that thai var borne in the
of England— in northt part or in the vest part of ingland; and scottis
they are natives men that duellis in the vest or in the northt of inglawd,

thai man suere and menteine2 that thai var borne in
Londoners, &c. kynt schire, joirke schire, in london, or in sum vthir

part of the southt partis of ingland. than to quhat effect
18 suld ony scottis men adhere til inglis men, to gar them

selfis be cum sklauis, and to remane in perpetual serui-
Thoughthe tude ? ther for ve may verray veil beleif, that quhou
patronizes rene- beit that the kyng of ingland garris tret scottis men
would be wen vitht gold and siluer as thai var his frendis, jit doutles
Scotsman had7 ne va^& be rycht3 glaid sa that euerye scottis man hed
Btoraach!n ' ane v^hyr scottis man in his bellye. and als fra tyme

that god sendis trawquilite ainang princis, thai that ar
26 maist familiar vitht the protector sal be haldin maist

odius in ingland, and euerye inglis knaif sal cal them,

dispytfully, renegat scottis ; and gif ony of them passis

to the protector, to regret and lament the abstractione
He uses them for of his familiarite that he scheu to them in the begyn-

his own ends, . .

[*ieaf 68 (83)] nyng of the vey ris, he vil ansuer to them as agustu?

csesar did cesar ansuerit til ane captan of thrace callit rhymirales,

qua betrasit his maister anthonius, & past to remane

vitht agustws4 cesar, quha vas mortal enemye til an-

35 thonitts.8 than be the supple of rhymirales, agusv-.is

i menteinis * menteme s rytht * agust' ! anthoni'

SUBMISSION TO ENGLAND WOULD BE FATAL. 105

cesar ve[n]quest antonius. than quhen the veyris var endit 1
betuix cesar and antonms,1 rhymirales vas nocht sa veil
trettit as he vas indurand the tyme of the veyris, quhar
for he past til cesar, sayand ; 0 nobil empriour, i hef left
my cuntre and my maister anthonius for $our pleseir, and
i hef been the cause that 36 hef venquest my maister 6
anthonius, & nou 30 schau me nocht sa grit lone and
familiarte as 30 scheu me in the tyme of the veyris,
quharfor 30 haif schauen jou rycht ingrat coratrar me.
Cesar ansuerit to rhymirales, i vil hef na familiarte heioredthe

treason that

vitht 3ou, for i loue bot the trason that cumis to my suited his

effect, and louis nocht the tratours that committis the the traitor.

trason. this forsaid exempil maye be veil applyit til al 13

scottis men that beleuis to get mair liberte and honor

in inglawd nor thai did in Scotland ; for this exempil

hes been prectykit thir fyfe hundretht ^ers bygane til

al scottis men that hes adherit til inglis men contrar 17

ther natyfe cuntre, as the croniklis 'makis manifest; [* leaf es(83), bio

for quhou be it that the kyng of ingland louis the

traison that scottis men committis contrar ther prince,

}it he louis nocht the tratours that committis the

traison. 22

1 antoni"

106

THE COMPLAYNT OP SCOTLAND.

[CHAP. XIIL

Your attachment
to England arises
chiefly from
familiarity on the
borders,

which is un-
lawful.

[•leaf 69 (84)]
Different nations
count each other
barbarous.

No two nations
more diverse than
English and
Scotch, though
neighbours, and
•peaking the
same tongue.

tfje aflJtjjtt lalfji Ueclaris til fjgr tfjre

sonnis tfjat tfje familiarite tfjat is foetuix ingUs

men & scottis men in ane pace barto1 at met;

cattis2 anfccowuentions on tfje tuafoortrours,

is tfje cause of tfje traison tfjat tfje

scottis men rommittis cowtrar

tfjer natgfe cuntre,

CHAP. XIII.3

THERE is no thing that is occasione (0 30 my thre
sonnis) of ^our adhering to the opinione of ingland
cowtrar ^ournatife cuntre,l>ot the grit familiarite that
inglis men and scottis hes hed on baitht the boirdours,
ilk ane vitht vtheris, in marcha?ideis, in selling and by-
ing hors and nolt and scheip, out fang and in fang, ilk
ane amang vtheris, the quhilk familiarite is expres con-
trar the lauis and consuetudis bay tht of ingland and scot-
land, in the dais of moises, the ieuis durst nocht haue
familiarite* vitht the samaritanis, nor vitht the philistiens,
nor the romans vitht the aflricans, nor the grekis vitht
the persans, be rason that ilk ane repute vtheris to be
of ane barbir nature ; for euere nations reputis vthers
nations to be barbariens, quhen there tua natours and
complexions ar contrar til vtheris ; and there is nocht
tua nations vndir the firmament that ar mair contrar
and different fra vthirs nor is inglis men and scottis
men, quhoubeit that thai be vitht in ane ile, and
nychtbours,4 and of ane lawgage. for inglis men ar subtil,
and scottis men ar facile, inglis men ar ambitius in
prosperite, and scottis men ar humain in prosperite.
inglis men ar humil quhen thai ar subieckit be forse

> so original ; probably misread for baith in MS.
s so original. * iiythtbours

» atorcattii

THE FAMILIARITY WITH ENGLAND A CAUSE OP TREASON. 107

and violence, and scottis men ar furious quhen thai ar 1
violently subiekit. inglis men ar cruel quhene thai get They behave

... , ... .p , , ,, . , differently in

victorie, and scottis men ar merciful quhen thai get prosperity and in

victorie. and to conclude, it is onpossibil that scottis

men and inglis men can remane in concord vndir ane 5

monarche or ane prince, be cause there naturis and con-

ditions ar as indefferent as is the nature of scheip and They are as

unlike as sheep

voluis.1 quintus cursius rehersis, that darius kyng of and wolves.

. Darius offered

perse send ane imbassadour to alexander kyng ot ma- Alexander

, , . -v, ., , v i •. -.-I, u six mules' burden

cedon, and onrit hym sax muhs chargit vitht gold, sa [* leaf 69 (84), bio
that he vald lyue vitht hym in pace and concord vndir peace with him*
ane crone and monarche. alexander ansuert to the im- Alexander

answered that

bassadour, quod he, it is as onpossibil to gar me and they could no

more exist

kyng danus duel to giddir in pace and concord vndir together than

, ... ., ., ,, . , two suns or two

ane monarche, as it is onpossibil that tua sonms and moons in the
tua munis can be at one tyme to giddir in the firma-
ment. This exempil may be applyit to ingland and 17
Scotland ; for i trou it is as onpossibil to gar inglis men it is equally

.... . 1 ... . impossible for

and scottis men remane in gude accord vndir ane prince, Englishmen and

as it is onpossibil that tua sonnis and tua munis can be iv

at one tyme to giddir in the lyft, be raison of the grit sovereisn-

defferens that is betuix there naturis & conditions.

quhar for, as i hef befor rehersit, there suld be na There ought

therefore to be no

fammarite betuix inglis men and scottis men, be cause familiarity

of the grit defferens that is betuix there tua naturis. in

aid tymis it vas determit in the artiklis of the pace be 26

the tua vardanis of the bordours of ingland and scot-

land, that there suld be na familiarite betuix scottis The old laws of

,.,. . , , Li-.Li.L- tne Marches

men and inglis men, nor manage to be contrakit betuix forbade any

, v , . i. i j • • j dealings between

them, nor conuentions on holy dais at gammis and England and
plays, nor marchandres to be maid amang them, nor Sl *nd>
scottis men *til entir on inglis grond vitht out the kyng [*ieaf7o(R5)]
of ingland saue conduct, nor inglis men til entir on 33
scottis grond vitht out the kyng of scotlandis saue con-
duct, quhou beit that there var sure pace betuix the even during

peace.
> Tolius

108 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XIII.

But daring the tua realmis. bot thir seuyn ^eir bygane, thai statutis

these statutes ' and artiklis of the pace ar adnullit, for there hes been

nullified. as grit familiarite & conuentionis, and makyng of

Englishmen and marchandreis, on the bourdours this lang tyme betuix

Scotchmen have . . .

been dealing on inglis men and scottis men, baytht in pace and in veir,

as scottis men vsis amang theme selfis vitht in the

7 realme of Scotland, and sic familiarite hes been the

and the fang of cause that the kyng of ingland gat intellegens vitht

England

tampering with diuerse gentil men of Scotland, it is nocht possibil to

sundry Scottish .

gentlemen. keip ane1 realme fra conspiratione and trason, fra tyme

that the pepil of that realme vsis familiarite vitht there

12 enemeis. ther is ane aid prouerb that says, that ane

« A listening herand damysele, and ane spekand castel, sal neuyr end

damsel and a

parleying castle vith honour; for the damysele that hens and giffis

shall not end with . „ n .,

honour." eyris to the amourus persuasions ot desolut 3ong men,

sal be eysile persuadit to brae hyr chaistite. siklik ane

17 spekand castel, that is to saye, quhen the captan

or sodiours of ane castel vsis familiar speche and com-

[*ieaf70(85),bk] ionyng vitht there enemeis, that castel sal *be eysylie

between enemies conquest, be rason that familiarite and speche betuix'

begets treason. . . . , „

enemeis generis trason. in aid tymis, the vail^eant an-

nibal, and vtheris grit captans, baitht romans and

other ancient .

captains acted grecians, thai set mair there felecite to purches secret

familiarite and comonyng vitht there enemeis, nor to

get battel. for fra tyme that thai gat familiarite and

26 comonyng vitht there enemeis, than thai vrocht to bring

there entreprice and intent to there effect, be trason,

and be gold and silueir. Salust de bello iugurtino

as did jugurtha, confermis this samyn purpos. quhen iugurtha of numi-

who, after having die in afirica, hed tynt diuerse battellis contrar the.

defeated by the romans, quhilk vas occasione that he hed almaist lossit

Rowans m j^g g^f.^ ^an his frendis consellit hym to decist fra

his veyris, be rason that he prosperit nothing, and

lossit mekil. than iugurtha, nocht beand disparit of

35 guid fortone, he past in Italie vitht ane fresche annye

1 sne

THE FAMILIARITY WITH ENGLAND A CAUSE OF TREASON. 109

of men of veir, and also he tuik vitht hym ane riche 1
quawtite of gold and siluyr, cumet & oncuwaet. than passed into

Italy with great

his frendis reprochit hym be cause his entrepnce apent store of gold and
to be vane, rather nor to precede of ane prudewt &
mortifet cowsait. iugurtha ansuert til his frewdis, qwod 5
he, my forse is nocht sufficient to conques rome, bot
nochtheles,1 gif 'that i can purches secret familiarite & [* leaf 71 (86)]
intelligens vitht sum of the romans that hes authorite,
i beleif to venques them vitht gold and syluyr rathere believing
nor vitht forse of mew of veyr, for euyrie thing is to sel everything to be

. . venal at Rome.

in rome for monye : ther for i dout nocht bot i sal gar

them sel there liberte for gold, for the auariese that is Avarice makes

• A m one betray

ama??g the romaws vil gar ilk ane betraise vthers. Thir another.

vordis of iugurtha makkis manifest that there is nay

thing that bringis ane realme to ruyne sa sune and sa 15

reddy as dois the familiarite that the pepil hes vitht

there enemeis, throucht the quhilk familiarite there is There is some

traitor that

sum euil persoune that knauis the secret determinations reveals the
of the lordis of the counsel, & there eftir he reuelis it to the Scottish
sum traisonabil maw that hes intelligens vitht the kyng K^ng°of England,
of inglawd. i can nocht expreme ane speciale man that 21
perpetratis this traisonabil act, bot $it i am sure that as when the Lords
sune as the lordis of the counsel hes determit ony guide resolve on any
purpos for the deffens & veilfair of the realme, incow- witb/n'twenty
tinewt vitht in tuenty houris there eftir, the sammyn a^unt'of^t'is in
cou?isel is vitht iw the toune of beruik, & vitht iw thre and^ithin three
dais there eftir the post of beruyk2 p/esentis it in ^* 'resfntTit*
londow to the couwsel of ingland, quhilk is occasione in,Lo"do!?i

whereby the

that the inglismen hes there deffens reddy contrar 'our t*leaf7i (ss), bk]

English are

purpos, or ve begyn to exsecut the counsel that vas ready to thwart

the purpose

detennit. It var verray necessair that the committers before ever it is
of that reuelen var punest mair realye nor hes been ony The m-eaiers of

.,.,,.,, , . these matters

punitione that hees been exsecut cowtrar ony scottis deserve severer

,1,1 •iii» i- * i • iiiii*i punishment.

man that hes cum vitht inglis men in plaine battel til than those who
inuaid Scotland, thir secret reuelaris of the counsel of thrown' country

in open battle.
1 noththeless * bernik

110 THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND. [CHAP. XIII.

They have not Scotland takkis nocht exempli of the tua vai^eant

the heroism of . . . .

Pompeius and romans pompeus and quintus metellus, quhilkis kneu al

Meteiius. the secre[t] of the senat, bot there vas nothir gold nor

4 landis, tormenting nor pyne, that vald gar ony of them

reueil the secret of the senat to the enemes of rome.

Valerius Valerius maximus rehersis, in the t[h]rid cheptour of

maanmus. j^g ^hrid beuk, quhou the romans send pompeus in ini-

JjlO. o. C. o.

bassadre til aysia, quhilk vas of the allya of rome, and
when the former be chance he vas tane presoneir in his voyage be gew-
prisonerbya thius the kyng of esclauonia, quha vas mortal enemye1

hostUe king, . . , . .

to the romans : the said kyng genthius coniunt, per-

12 suadit, solistit, and alse he manneist nobil pompeus to

reueil the secret counsel of the senat. pompeus behald-

he put MS finger and his onrasonabil request, he pat his fingar in the

[* leaf 75 (a?)] heyt fyir,2 and tholit it to birn ; and be the 'tollerance

paciens of that cruel pane, gewtius kneu that there
nVtoZe'nuiouid vas na torment that culd gar pompeus reueil the secret
Valeriu* of the senat. bot allace, there is sum men that knauis
*ke secre^ of Scotland that vil reueil it til inglismen

ratlier nor to kim tne fin8ar of ther 8lufe- ^a16"118
Ajnaieih a maximws3 rehersis ane vthir exempil quhou that quintus
Scotsmen who metellus beand proconsul of rome, vas send vitht ane

would reveal

every secret of armye in to span^e contrar the celtibriens, quhilkis

their country

before they would duellit in the realme of nauerne. he set ane seige about

burn a finger of •-_«•« i -n A • xi. I/L T.

their glove! the toune of tribie, quhilk4 is the methropolitane &
MetenusUbes^eged capital cite of that cuntre. that cite resistit and def-

fendit vail^eantly contrar quintus metellus. than he
28 beand in melancole be cause he culd nocht conqueis

that cite, he deuisit ane subtil consait to desaue the
he formed a celtibriens. he gart rais his camp and departit fra that
throw the1 cite, and past til vtheris diuerse tounis of nauern, sum

their guard". ° tyme bakuart, sum tyrne forduart, sum tyme he past to

the montannis, and sum tyme to the valeis, and remanit

neuer in ane stedefast place, and he gart al his armye
35 keip them in arraay. the cause of this agitatione and

1 enyeme * fyit * maxim' * quhilki is

THE FAMILIARITY WITH ENGLAND A CAUSE OP TREASON. Ill

commotione of his army vp and doun, vas nocht knauen 1

be none of his men of veyr, nor }it knauen be 'his [* leaf 75 (87), bio

enemes, quhar for ane of his familiar frewdis inquyrit A familiar friend

. „ , , „ , . . - asked to know

hym oi the cause 01 his inconstant vagatione, quha Ws plans;
ansuert, quod he, decist and inquyre na mair of that
purpos, for gif that i vndirstude that my sark hed knau- but Meteiius
lege of my secret, or of the deliberatione of my mynde, his own shirt
doutles i suld birn it hastelye in ane bald fyir. than mind.
quhen metellus hed vagit vp and doune there ane lang 9
tyme, and hed put his host and armye in ignorance,
and his enemes in errour, ef tir diuerse turnand coursis
athourcht1 the cuwtre, he returnit suddanlye to the for-
said toune of tribie, and laid ane sege about it or his
enemes var aduertest to mak deffens, and sa be this 14
dissimilatione, and be the keping of his counsel secret By keeping his
fra his frendis and fra al vtheris, he conquest the said nuTobjectf'1
toune. vald god that the counsel and deliberatione of w°uid God

Scotsmen could

Scotland var kepit as secret as metellus kepit his secret do the same!

fra his men of veyr, than doutles the inglis men vald

nocht be so bold. There is na thing that is cause that 20

the counsel of ingland gettis sa haisty aduertessing of

the priuitate that is amawg the lordis of scotlawd, bot

the vice of auareis that hes blyndit the raison, & hes But avarice has

. . infected diverse

infekkit the hartis of diuers grit mew of scotlawd. the of our great men;
aid 'prouerb is treu that sais that it is as onpossibil to [* leaf 76 (88)]
gar ane auaricius man be faythtful, as it is onpossibil and the avaricious

-i-ii -I cannot be faithful.

to gar ane fische of the depe nude speik hebreu or greik.

Quhar for (o 30 my thre sonnis) i exort ^ou to tak ex- Take example

ernpil of diuerse nobil men that culd neuir be seducit m°™wh™cc!nuii0

nor persuadit to tak gold nor reches fra there enemeis. ™l£ seduced by

There is ane exempil of allexarcder kyng of macedon,

quha hed mortal veyr contrar the grekis. he sende ane 32

riche present extendant til thre scoir of thousawdis

peces of gold, til ane nobil man of athenes callit such was

Phocion

phosion, ane man heifand gret autorite in athenes. of Athens,

i athourtht

PRA

FEB241984
WATT

JAN 4 1988

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

See other formats