Full text of "The romance and prophecies of Thomas of Erceldoune : printed from five manuscripts, with illustrations from the prophetic literature of the 15th and 16th centuries"

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

This book is purchased from

The Schofield Fund

given in memory of

William Henry Schofield

Victoria College, B.A. 1889

Harvard University, Ph. D. 1895

Professor of Comparative Literature

Harvard University, 1906-20.

Harvard Exchange P rofessor at

University of Berlin, 1907

Lecturer at the Sorbonne and

University of Copenhagen, 1910.

Harvard Exchange Professor at

Western Colleges, 1918.

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anir

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PRINTED FROM FIVE MANUSCRIPTS :

WITH

Illustrations from tje IBrojJtttt f itoatmt

OF THE 15TH AND 16TH CENTUKIES.
EDITED, WITH

INTRODUCTION AND NOTES,

JAMES A. H, MURRAY, LLD.

LONDON :

PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY,
BY N. TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGATE HILL.

MDCCCLXXV.

H13

no.UI

40987
22-J-37

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.

PREFATORY NOTE.

. IN printing the complete text of the 15th-century "Romance and Prophecies
of Thomas of Erceldoune," with lengthy illustrations from the prophetic literature
of that and the following century, it seemed desirable to give in the Introduction
a summary of all that History, Legend, and Tradition have to tell of Thomas and
his alleged sayings. Since the subject was taken up by Mr (afterwards Sir)
Walter Scott in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, it has been touched upon
by numerous writers, who have pointed out additional historic references, discussed
the authenticity of the works attributed to the Rhymer, or contributed to the
Folk-lore of the question by collecting rhymes and traditions associated with hi:?
name. The present Editor begs to acknowledge his indebtedness to all these his
predecessors, of whose writings he has made free use. At the same time no state-
ment' has been taken at second hand which was capable of verification by original
reference. In particular, all the documentary evidence has been examined afresh,
and the quotations from MSS. verified, leading in some cases to the correction of
important errors, which have passed current from writer to writer for seventy
years. The inferences which the Editor has drawn from these data, and the
theories which he has founded upon them, are of course his own ; as is the view
which he has taken of the origin and development of the prophetic literature
generally. He has also given an independent investigation to the scenery and
locale of the Romance, in which he has been zealously assisted by the local re-
searches of his friends, Mr Andrew Currie of Darnick, the well-known Sculptor
and Border Antiquary, and T. B. Gray, Esq., late of Hawkslie, who has had the
good fortune to seize and fix an almost obliterated local tradition of the site of
" Huntlee Bankis." The Editor has also to acknowledge the valued kindness and
help of Henry Bradshaw, Esq., of the University Library, Cambridge, both during
a visit to that Library in 1874, and on numerous occasions since; of the Rev. H.
0. Coxe, M. A.,, for the kindness with which he made several searches among the
MSS. in the Bodleian ; and of the Rev. Dr Bennett, Chancellor of Lincoln, for his
arrangements to facilitate the Editors access to the Thornton MS. in 1874.

Vi PREFATORY NOTE.

Acknowledgments are also due to the Rev. W. W. Skeat, for many a timely
service, to James Tait, Esq., of the Kelso Chronicle, and Charles Wilson, Esq., of
Rhymer's Lands, Earlstoun, for investigation of local matters ; and to the Rev. Dr
R. Morris, F. J. Furnivall, Esq., and David Laing, Esq., LL.D., for assistance on
special points.

The following works touch in one way or another on Thomas and his prophecies :

Lord Hailes (David Dalrymple). Remarks on the History of Scotland. Edin.,

1773.

John Pinkerton. Ancient Scottish Poems never before in print. London, 1786.
Sir Walter Scott. The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. 1st Edition. Kelso,

1802. (Reprinted, London, 1869.)
Sir Walter Scott. The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. 5th Edition, 3 vols.

Edin., 1821.
Sir Walter Scott. Sir Tristrem, a metrical Romance of the 13th century. 2nd Ed.

Edin., 1806.
Robert Jamieson, F.A.S. Popular Ballads and Songs from Tradition, Manuscripts,

and scarce editions. Edin., 1806.
David Laing, LL.D. Select Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of Scotland.

Edin., 1822.
Thomas Warton, D.D. The History of English Poetry. (Edited by R. Price,

with the additional Notes of Ritson, Ashby, Douce, and Park.) London,

1840.
History of the Berwickshire Naturalist's Club. Part for 1837 contains "The

Popular Rhythmes of Berwickshire," by Mr Henderson; Part for 1866 con-
tains " Earlston," by James Tait, Esq.
J. 0. Halliwell, Esq. Illustrations of the Fairy Mythology of "A Midsummer

Night's Dream." The Shakespeare Society. London, 1845.
Robert Chambers, LL.D. The Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 3rd Edition. Edin.,

1858. New Edition, much enlarged; London, 1870.
David Irving, LL.D. History of Scotish Poetry. Edin., 1861.
Professor F. J. Child. English and Scottish Ballads. London, 1861.

After research has done its utmost, the facts as to Thomas are still few and
scanty. When we have summed them all up, we can appropriately adapt the
words of the minstrel who first told his tale, and like him conclude :

" Of ' man or woman yet ' walde I here,

That couthe mare telle of swilke ferly !
Ihesu, corounde with crowne of brere,
Thow brynge us to thy heuene on bye !

Amen."
Hill School, Nov. 1875.

Vll

CONTENTS.

FAtiH

INTRODUCTION (FOR PLAN, SEE COMMENCEMENT) ......... ix

" TRADITIONAL " BALLAD OF THOMAS AND THE QUEENE OF FAERIE ... Ill

DESCRIPTION OF THE MSS. AND EDITIONS ... ... ... ... Ivi

COLLATION OF MSS ...................... Ixiv

NOTES TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY ... ... ... ... ...

TOMAS OFF ERSSELDOUNE :

FYTTE I ........................ 2

FYTTE II ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18

FYTTE III .. ................ ...... 32

-.-

APPENDIX :

i. THE [SCOTTISH] PROPHECIE OF THOMAS RYMOUR (isis 1648) ... 48
ii. THE [ENGLISH] "PROPHISIES OF RYMOUR, BEID, AND MARLYNG"

(1516 1525) ............ * ......... 52

III. ENGLISH PROSE PROPHECY OF GLADSMOOR, SANDEFORD, AND SETON

AND THE SEE (l549) ... ... ... ... ... ... 62

INTRODUCTION.

1. Documents fixing tlie existence and date

of Thomas of Erceldoune . . . page ix

2. His family, and name ... ... xi

3. Historical (?) notices of Thomas person-

ally ... ... ... ... ... xiii

4. Thomas as a prophet early citations of

Ills prophecies ... ... ... xvii

5. Thomas as a poet testimony of Robert

of Brunne Sir Tristrein ... ... xx

6. The Romance of Thomas and the Queen,

Outline of xxiii

7. Its date and authorship ... xxiii

8. The 2nd fytte of prophecies historical

written after the event . . . xxiv

9. The 3rd fytte of prophecies legendary

their Arthurian origin ... xxvii

10. Subsequent prophetic literature connected

with Thomas ... ... xxix

11. " The whole prophecies of Scotland, #c.,"

1603, examined xxx

12. Influence of TJiomas the Rymour at the

Union, 1603 xl

13. Credit during the Jacobite risings Lord

Hailes xli

14. English Prophecies attributed to TJiomas

xlii

15. Local traditions of the Rymour and his

prophecies ... ... ... ... xliii

16. Eildon Tree and Huntlee Hanks ; the

" Rhymer's Glen" ... ... ... 1

17. The "traditional" Ballad of TJiomas and

the Queen Hi

Description of the MSS. of TJiomas of Ercel-
doune ... ... ... ... Ivi

Printed editions ... ... ... Ixi

Plan of the present Text Ixii

Collation of the five MSS. Ixiv

Notes textual and explanatory

Ixix

1 , THOMAS OF ERCELDOUNE, commonly known as the Ehymer, occupies a more
important place in the legendary history of Scotland than in the authentic annals,
though the few notices of him which occur in the latter are sufficient to prove his
personality and to fix the age in which he lived. The name of Thomas Rymor de
Ercildune occurs along with Oliver, Abbot of Dryburgh ; "Willelm de Burudim ;
Hugh de Peresby, Viscount of Kokysburgh ; and Will, de Hattely, as witnessing
a deed whereby Petrus de Haga de Bemersyde (on the Tweed) binds himself and
his heirs to pay half a stone of wax (dimidiam petram cere) annually to the Abbot
and convent of Melrose, for the chapel of Saint Cuthbert at Old Melros. 1 This

1 The following copy of Petrus de Haga's Charter is taken from the Cartulary of Melrose
MS. Harl. No. 3960, leaf 109 a. It is also printed in the Liber de Melros (Bannatyne Club).
Carta Petre de Haga de dimidia petra Cere.

Omnibus hoc seriptuw uisuris uel audituris. Petrus de Haga donfinus de Bemerside,
saluter/i in domino. Nouo-itis vniu<?ysi. quod cum olim conuenissem cum viris religiosis
Abbtfte et Cow-uentu de Melros pro quib?dam transgressionibws eisdem per me & meos illatis.
quod, eisdew singulis annis ego & heredes mei decew salmoues quinque videlicet recentes. &
quinque veteres in p<?/'petuuw soluerimr/s ; Tandem ijdew religiosi pietate ducti p0rpendcrut

)UCTION.

document has no date, but the grantor, Petrus de Haga, is himself witness to another
charter, by which Richard de Moreville, Constable of Scotland (from 1162 to 1189),
granted certain serfs to Henry St Glair. It thus defines Thomas's age to the extent
of showing that he was a contemporary a junior one doubtless of one who was
himself at least old enough to witness a document in 1189. In the year 1294
(November 2nd), Thomas de Ercildoun filius et heres TJwmce Rymour de Ercildoun,
conveyed by charter, to the Trinity House of Soltra, all the lands which he held by
inheritance in the village of Ercildoun. 1

hoc e.<tse in exheredacionewt mei & heredim meorum. mediantib?/s viris bonis consencie/ite &
co/icedente Johaiwe filio & herede meo cum dictis Abbate et Conuentu taliter comieui.
scilicet quod ego et heredes [mei] tenemw & present! scripto in perpetuum obliganmr ipsis
Abbati & Co/iuewtui soluere singwlis annis dimidiaw petram Cere bone & pacabilis ad Gapellam
sancti Cuthberti. de veteri Melros die beati Ciithberti. in quadragesima uel triginta denarios.
sub pena triginta denarior?m singulis mensibus soluendorim ad luminare dicte Capelle. quibus in
solucione dicte Cere aut trtginta denariorum pr<?dicorum fuerit cessatuw post diem & terminum
memoratos. Subiciendo me & heredes meos lurrisdiccioni & potestati domini IZpiscopi &ancti
Andree. qui pro tempwe fuerit. ut me -& heredes meos per censuraw ecclmasticaw qualemcuw-
que possit compellere ad solucionew dicte Cere, aut triginta denariorum predictorim vna cum
pena si cowmittatur. Renuwciando pro me & heredibws meis in hoc facto onmi accioni
defencioni & accepcioni. & onmi leguw* auxilio canonici. & civilis. beneficiq restitucionis in
integruw. & omnibus aliis que -micJii & heredibws meis prodesse potueru/it in hoc facto & dictis
Abbafi & Cowuentui obesse. qiio min?^ solucio fieri valeat dtc^e cere, aut triginta denariorum
predictorum,. una cum pena si oommittattfn In cui?<s rei testimonimw present! scHpto sigilluw
meum. vna cum sigillo domini Oliueri tuwc Abbtis de DriburgA est appensum. Testibw*
domino Oliuero Abbdtfe de Driburg^ domino WiUelmo de Burudim. milite Hugone de Perisby
tune vicecomtYe de Rokysburg/t Willelmo de Hatteley Thome Rymor de Ercildune & aliis,

1 The following is a transcript of Thomas de Ercildoun's Charter, from the Cartulary of the
Trinity House of Soltra, Advocate's Library, W. 4. 14 :

Ersylton

Omnibus has li^ras visuris v<?l audituris Thomas de Ercildown filius et heres Thowe
Rymowr de Ercildon, Salwtem in domino. Noueritis me per fustuw & bacMl?/m in pleno
iudicio resignasse ac per presentes quietom clamasse pro me & heredibus meis M.a,gistro dom?/s
Sancte trtnitatis de Soltre, & fratribiis eiusdem donate totam terram meam cuw omnibus
pertinentis suis qua,m in tenemento de ErcildoMn hereditarie tenui Renuwciando de cete?-o pro
me et heredibus meis omni iuri & clameo que ego seu antecessores mei in eadem terra alioqw<?
temp/'/'e de preterito habuims siue de future habere poterimus. In cuitts rei testimowmm
presentibws li^eris sigilluwi meuw apposui Data apnd Ercildown die Martis proximo post festuw
Sanctorum apostolorum Symowis & lude Anno Domini millesimo et nonogesimo quarto.

Although this document has been printed half-a-dozen times, and its date quoted twenty
tunes at least, the latter has been given by every editor as 1299, and in the Border Minstrelsy
it is actually printed nonagesimo nono, which looks like an attempt to evade the chronological
difficulty it offers. Mr Skeat kindly points out that the Sunday letter for 1294 was C, and Easter
the 18th April, so that St Simon's and St Jude's, the 28 Oct. (the old day for electing mayors,
&c., advanced by Mew Style to 9th Nov.) fell on Thursday, and the next Tuesday after (die
Martis proximo post) was 2nd November.

"The superiority of the property called < Rhymer's Lands,' now owned by Mr Charles Wil-
son, Earlstoun, still belongs to the Trinity College Church in Edinburgh. It would almost ap-
pear as if Thomas had held his lands not direct from the Crown, but from the Earls of Dunbar ;
for his name does not appear in any State document of that period. Nor does it appear thai

THOMAS'S FAMILY AND NAME. xi

Contemporary documents thus fix Eymour's existence between the end of the
twelfth and end of the thirteenth century; and, as will be seen in the sequel, he is
further historically identified, on sufficient, though not contemporary, evidence, with
the latter part of this period, by his connexion with events in the year 1286, and
(though less authentically) 1296. From 1189 to 1296 is, of course, more than
a century ; but, as has been shown by Sir Walter Scott, these dates involve no
difficulty, for supposing De Moreville's charter to have been granted towards the
end of his career in 1189, and De Haga to have been then about 20, the grant of
the latter was probably not made before the end of his life, say between 1230 and
.1240. If Erceldoune was about 20 when he witnessed this, it would fix his birth
somewhere between 1210 and 1220, so that he would be between 66 and 76 in 1286,
and may, so far as this is concerned, have outlived the latter date by several years.
The prima fade purport of the charter of 1294 is that Thomas is already dead, and
his son in possession of the paternal property, which he in his turn gives away.
Considerations at variance with this inference will be noticed further on.

2. Of his family, or how much was actually implied by his surname, de Erceldoun,.
we know nothing. The latter was, however, evidently derived from the village of
Ercheldun, Erceldoune, Ersyltoun, in Berwickshire, on the banks of the Leader,
a northern tributary of the Tweed, from which, in still earlier times, there had
emerged a shepherd boy, destined to become the apostle of his native Northumbria,
St Cuthbert. Ercheldoun, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, seems to have
been a place of considerable importance, and is connected both with the family of
Lindesey, and the Earls of March. A Cart a Wilhelmi Linseia, de Ecclesia de Erchel-
doun to the priory of Coldingham, dating to the reign of David I. or Malcolm the
Maiden (1124 1163) is preserved in the Durham archives, and a Carta W. de-Lin-
dessi de Fauope iuxta Ledre, ante 1165, to the monks of Melros, is also in existence,
witnessed among others by Arosine de lindeseia, Swano de Ercedun, and Cospatn'cio
de Ercedun. The Lindesey family do not appear ever to take the surname de
Erceldoun, which is borne by that of Cospatric, Earl of March (called often, from
his chief residence, Earl of D unbar). The Earls of March are said to have had a
castle at the east end of the village, which was probably the scene of the royal visits
in the reign of David I., when various documents, including the Foundation Charter

the lands were of large extent, for through old deeds the dimensions of the lands can be ob-
served unaltered for the last three centuries back at least." James Tait, Esq., in l History of
Jiermickshire Nat. Club,' vol. v. p. 264. The actual area of Rhymer's Lands, as I learn by
letter from Mr Wilson, is only 9^ acres, and no other land in Earlstoun or its neighbourhood
owns the superiority of Trinity College Church.

Xii INTRODUCTION.

of Melroso Abbey in June 1136, and its confirmation by his son Prince Henry in
1143, were subscribed apud Ercheldon.

Whether Thomas de Erceldoune was related to the family of March, as might
perhaps be assumed from the way in which his name appears more than once
in connexion with the Earl and Countess of that house, or whether his relations
with them were those of a vassal, or of a neighbour merely, cannot be ascertained.
Of a tower, traditionally pointed out as his, the ruins still exist at the west end of
the village, though the family connexion with it must have ceased in 1294, when,
as already stated, the patrimonial estate in Erceldoune was conveyed to the religious
establishment at Soltra. The Earl's Tower at the other end of the village continued
to be an important fortress, and, according to popular belief, to it is due the cor-
ruption of the old name of Ercheldoun or Ersyltoun, to the modern spelling of
Earlstoun, which railway and postal authorities contract to Earlston. 1

Thomas is not known to any of the older authorities by any surname save his
territorial one of Erceldoune, or that of Rymour, derived, it is generally supposed,
from his poetic or prophetic avocations ; " though even this is uncertain, for Rymour
was a Berwickshire name in those days, one John Eymour, a freeholder, having done

1 My friend, Andrew Currie, Esq., of Darnick, to whom I am indebted for much local in-
formation as to the Rhymer, and who is himself, I helieve, a native of Earlstoun, considers that
Erceldoun, or Ersyltoun, has not been altered into Earlstoun, but supplanted by it. He thinks
that the original village of Ercildoune is represented by the hamlet of thatched houses at the
west, on the road to Lauder, and immediately to the north of Rbrmour's Tower, and that the
hamlet which rose nearly a mile to the east round the Earl's Tower, was distinguished as the
Earl's Town ; and this having in process of time become the main village, and absorbed the
more ancient Ercildoune, gave its name to the whole. But Erceldoune was originally the
general name, as the Earl was Cospatric de Ercvldun, so that the " Earl's Town," if it existed,
would be the " Earls-town at or in Erceldoun." Rhymer's Lands, beside the ruins of Thomas's
Tower, also contained an ancient water-mill, of which Mr Currie says : " Rhymer's Mill was
renewed by me in 1843. The old one had a stone in the gable with the words in antique letters,
ICU&pnur jktll ; I think this stone was replaced in the new mill above the water-wheel. The
site of the Earl's Tower, a much more extensive structure than Rhymour's Tower, is now occu-
pied by the Gasworks. I remember seeing hewn pavement, &c., turned up on the spot some
forty years ago, besides large chiselled blocks, which had been part of the original walls and
foundations. A little to the west of this, and by the burn-side, is a knowe or moraine, which
still bears the name of the Hawk's Kalm, and is traditionally remembered as the site of the
Falconry of the Earls of Dunbar. A long level strip of ground between it and the burn is still
called The Butts, and said to have been the archery practice ground. Of Rhymer's Tower, the
decay has proceeded rapidly within my memory ; about 1830, the fireplace was still entire,
with massive red stone lintel and corbels from the free stone of the Black Hill behind Cowden-
knowes. A curious discovery was made, when clearing out the brushwood of this old quarry,
of a corbel nearly finished, identical in pattern and size with those remaining in Rhymer's
Tower. This is now preserved at Cowdenknowes. There is no male inhabitant of Earlstoun
now claiming descent from the Rhymer, since the death of the last of the Learmonts, an old
bachelor, Robert by name, and a weaver by trade, from whom I learned many traditions of
Ercildoun, some 35 years ago." (See some additional particulars at end of the Notes.)

HISTORICAL (?) NOTICES OF THOMAS. XJU

homage to Edward I. in 1296." The inscription on the front wall of the church at
Earlstoun, which marks the traditional place of his sepulture,

" Auld Rymer's race
Lies in this place,"

seems to point to Rymour as the name of the family. l But Hector Boece or Boyce
(1527) gives him the surname of Leirmont; 2 and Nisbet, the Herald, in a work
written 1702, styles him Sir Thomas Learmont of Earlstoun in the Merss, in which
he is followed by later writers; and, according to Sir Walter Scott in 1804, "an
unvarying tradition corresponds to their assertion." A tradition of the eighteenth
century, however, corresponding to a statement which has passed current in books
since the sixteenth, has no independent value ; and as Msbet quotes as evidence for
Thomas's surname " charters of an earlier date " which no one has ever seen, we may
dismiss the subject with a mere mention of the hypotheses suggested by David
Macpherson and others to account for Boyce's and Nisbet's nomenclature, such as
" that Thomas, or his predecessor, had married an heiress of the name of Learmont,
and occasioned this error," or that " some family of that name may have traced their
descent from him by the female side." For us, it will be sufficient to know him as
he was known to Barbour, Fordun, and Robert of Brunne, as Thomas of Erceldoune,
otherwise Thomas Rymour.

3. The incident by which he is associated with the year 1286 is his so-called
prediction of the calamitous death of Alexander III. ; the earliest notice of which
is found in the Scotichronicon of John of Fordun, or rather his continuator Walter
Bower (born 1385, wrote about 1430). According to this account, on the night
before the king was killed, by being thrown over the precipice at Kinghorn ;
" Thomas of Erseldon, visiting the castle of Dunbar, was interrogated by the Earl
of March, in the jocular manner which he was wont to assume with the Rymour,

1 Mr Tait, in the Berwickshire Nat. Transact, already quoted, says, Tradition says the
stone was transferred from the old church, which stood some yards distant from the present
edifice. In 1782 the ancient inscription was defaced by some senseless fellow in a drunken
frolic, but the clergyman compelled him to replace it in the same words as before. The defaced
characters were very ancient, the present are quite modern, and the spelling also is modernised.
The right of sepulture is still claimed there by persons named Learmont, an indication that if
Thomas did not bear that surname, it was adopted by his descendants," [or some who claimed
to represent him]. " The church itself," says Mr Currie, " may not be more than 150 years old.
It stands on the site of an older one which was a vicarage of Coldinghame. In the east gable
is built a red stone bearing a dagger-shaped cross, the well-known symbol of the Knights
Templars. (See additional particulars at end of the Notes.)

8 Boece lib. xiii. f. 291 a (Parisiis, 1575). Tradunt scriptores pridie quam Alexander
fate functus esset, comitem merchiarum percunctatum sub noctem insignew quendam vatem ac
praedicendi arte hand saepe falleratem, Thomas Leirmont nomine, vtrum aliquid in posterum
diem noui euenturum esset.

XIV INTRODUCTION.

what another day was to bring forth. Thomas, fetching a heavy sigh from the
bottom of his heart, is said to have expressed himself to this effect : ' Alas for
to-morrow, a day of calamity and misery ! Before the twelfth hour, shall be heard
a blast so vehement that it shall exceed all those that have yet been heard'in Scot-
land : a blast which shall strike the nations with amazement, shall confound those
who hear it, shall humble what is lofty, and what is unbending shall level to the
ground.' In consequence of this alarming prediction, the Earl and his attendants
were induced to observe the state of the atmosphere next day ; but having watched
till the ninth hour without discovering any unusual appearance, they began to
deride Thomas as a driveller. The Earl, however, had scarcely sat down to dinner,
and the hand of the dial pointed the hour of noon, when a messenger arrived at the
gate and importunately demanded admission ; they now found that the prediction
was fatally verified ; for this messenger came to announce the intelligence of the
king's death." l Bower's story is repeated by Mair (Joannes Major Scotus), and
Hector Boece (Boethius) (see note 2, p. xiii), the former adding, " To this Thomas
our countrymen have ascribed many predictions, and the common people of Britain
yield no slight degree of credit to stories of this nature ; which I for the most part
am wont to treat with ridicule." Bellenden also, in his vernacular version of Boece,
tells the story in more moderate language than Fordun :

"It is said ye day afore ye kingis deith, the Erie of Merche demandit ane
propheit naniit Thomas Eimour, otherwayis namit Ersiltoun, quhat weddir suld be

1 " Annon recordaris quod ille vates ruralis, Thomas videlicet de Erseldon, nocte praecedenti
mortem regis Alexandri, in castro de Dunbar, obscure prophetando, de occasu ejus dixerat
comiti Marchiarum interroganti ab eo, ut solitus quasi jocando, quid altera dies futura novi
esset paritura ? Qui Thomas attrahens de imo cordis singultuosum suspirium, sic fertur comiti
coram aulicis palam protulisse : ' Heu diei crastinas ! diei calamitatis et miseries ! qua ante
horam explicite duodecimam audietur tarn vehemens ventus in Scotia, quod a magnia
retroactis temporibus consimilis minime inveniebatur. Cujus quidem flatus obstupescere faciet
gentes, stupidos reddet audientes, excelsa humiliabit, et rigida solo complanabit.' Propter
cujus seria affamina comes cum aulicis crastinum observantes, et horas diei usque ad nonam
considerantes, et nullum vestigium in nubibus vel signis ventosis cceli auspicantes, Thomam
tanquam inscnsatam reputantes, ad prandium properarunt. Ubi dum comiti vix mensge
collocate, et signo borologii ad meredianam horam fere approximato, affuit quidam ad portam,
importunis pulsibus aures comitis concutiens, aditum sibi ocius fieri flagitavit. Intromissus
igitur advena, et de novis impetitus, 'Nova,' inquit, 'habeo, sed nosciva, toto regno Scotise
deflenda, quia inclitus, lieu ! rex ejus finem praasentis vitoe hesterna nocte apud Kingorn
sortitus est, et haec veni nunciare tibi.' Ad hanc narrationem, quasi de gravi somno excitatus,
comes una cum familiaribus tutuderunt pectora, et dicti Thomas experti sunt credibilia nimis
facta fore vaticinia." Bower, Scotichronicon, lib. x. c. 43. "The local tradition," according
to Mr Currie, " has it that the prophecy was delivered in the Earl of Dunbar's castle at Ercel-
doune, the royal herald announcing his arrival by a bugle blast from the Corse-Hill Head, on
the Huntshaw road, to the north of the village. The spot is still called, if my memory serves
me right, The Trumpet or Bugle Knowe."

HISTORICAL (?) NOTICES OF THOMAS. XV

on ye morrow. To quhome answerit this Thomas, that on the morrow afore noun,
sail blaw the greatest wynd that euir was herd afore in Scotland. On ye morrow,
quhen it wes neir noun, ye lift appering loune but ony din or tempest, ye Erie sent
for this propheit and repreuit hym that he pronosticat sic wynd to be and na
apperance yairof. Yis Thomas maid litel answer, bot said, noun is not jit gane.
And incontinent ane man come to the jet schawing y* the king was slain. Yan
said ye propheit, Zone is the wynd yat sail blaw to ye gret calamite and trouble of
all Scotland. Yis Thomas was ane man of gret admiration to the people, and
schew sindry thingis as they fell. Howbeit yai wer ay hyd vnder obscure
wourdis."

Divested of the grandiloquence of it's monkish chroniclers, " the story," says Sir
Walter Scott, " would run simply that Thomas presaged to the Earl of March that
the next day would be windy the weather proved calm, but news arrived of the
death of Alexander III., which gave an allegorical turn to the prediction, and saved
the credit of the prophet. It is worthy of notice that the rhymes vulgarly ascribed
to Thomas of Erceldoune are founded apparently on meteorological observation.
And doubtless before the invention of barometers, a weather-wise prophet might be
an important personage."

Whatever the foundation of the story, and however explained, it may be taken,
at least in conjunction with the documentary evidence already given, as showing
that Thomas was alive in 1286. According to Harry the Minstrel he survived also
to 1296, when he was identified with a critical passage in the life of Wallace.

Towards the beginning of that hero's career, as reported by his minstrel biographer,
he was seized in the town of Ayr, by the soldiers of the English garrison under
Lord Percy, whose steward, amongst several others, Wallace had slain in a market
brawl. While lying in prison awaiting his trial, the rigour of his treatment and
filthiness of his dungeon brought on dysentery, under which he sank, and was
found by the jailor apparently dead. His body was cast over the walls upon a
" draff myddyn," whence it was begged by an old nurse, who desired to do the last
rites to the corpse. While washing the body, however, she noticed faint signs of
animation, and by dint of careful nursing, secretly restored him to life and health,
while observing all the outward show of mourning for his death.

thomas Bimour in to the faile 1 was than, The peple demyt of witt mekill he can ;

With the mynystM-, quhilk was a worthi man : ' And so he told, thocht at thai bliss or ban,
He wsyt offt to tha,t religiouss place. Quhilk hapnyt suth in many diuerss cace,

1 The Faile or Fcale, a priory of the Cluniacenses in the neighbourhood of Ayr, which was
still flourishing in the sixteenth century.

XVI

INTRODUCTION.

I can nocht say, be wrang or

In rewlle of wer, qahethir thai tynt or wan ;

It may be demyt be diuisioun of grace.

Thar man that day had in the merket bene,
On Wallace knew this cairfull cass so kene.
His master speryt, quhat tithingts at he saw.
This matt ansuerd ; "of litill hard I meyn."
The mynister said ; ' It has bene seildyn seyn,
quhar scottw and Ingliss semblit bene on Raw,
Was neuir ^it, als fer as we coud knaw,
Bot oilier a scot wald do a sothroun teyn,
Or he till him, for awentur mycht faw.'

" Wallace," he said, " je wist tayne in that

Bteid ;

Out our the wall I saw thaim cast him deide,
In presoune famys[i]t for fawt of fude."
The mynister said vfith hart hewy as leid,
1 Sic deid to thaim, me think, suld foster

feid;

For he was wicht and cuwmyn of gentill blud.'
Thomas ansuerd " thir tythingis ar noucht

gud;

And that be suth, my self sail nenir eit breid,
For all my witt her schortlye I concind.
' a woman syne of the Newtoun of Ayr,
Till him scho went fra he was fallyn ther ;
And On her kneis rycht lawly thaim besocht,
To purchess leiff scho mycht thin with him

fayr.

In lychtlyness tyll hyr thai grant to fayr.
Our the wattyr on till hir houss him brocht,
To berys him als gudlye as scho mocht.'
^hit thomas said " Thau sail I leiff na mar,
Gj'ff that be trew, be-god, that all has wrocht."
the mynister herd quhat thomas said in playne.

He chargyt him than "go speid the fast

agayne

To that sammyn houss and werraly aspye."
The man went furth, at byddyng was full

bayne ;

To the new town to pass he did his payn,
To that ilk houss ; and went in sodanlye,
About he blent on to the burd him bye.
This woman raiss, in hart scho was [nocht]

fayn.

quha aw t his lik, he bad hir noclit deny.
" Wallace," scho said, " that full worthy has

beyne,"

Thus wepyt scho, that pete was to seyne.
The man thar to gret credens gaif he nocht :
Towart the burd he bowned as he war teyne.
On kneis scho felle, and cryit : ' For maiye

scheyne,
Lat sklandyr be, and flemyt out of our

This man hir suour "be him that all has

wrocht,

Myc/it I on lyff him anys se with myn eyn,
He suld be saiff, thocht Ingland had him

scho had him wp to Wallace be the dess ;
He spak with him ; syne fast agayne can press
With glaid bodword, thar myrthis till amend.
He told to thaim the first tithingis was less.
Than thomas said : "forsuth, or he decess,
Mony thousand in feild sail mak thar end.
Off this regioune he sail the sothroun send ;
And Scotland thriss he sail bryng to the pess :
So gud off hand agayne sail nenir be kend."

This incident, if authentic, could not have taken place before 1296 or 1297 ; and
it is at once evident that it conflicts with the idea that Thomas was already dead in
1294, when Thomas de Ercildoun filius et heres Thomce Rymour de Ercildoun de-
vised the paternal estates. It is easy, of course, to say that, the charter being un-
doubted, Harry's story must be set aside as a mere fable. But I am not disposed
to treat the Minstrel's circumstantial narrative quite so lightly ; and I would sug-
gest that it is not impossible that Thomas, wearied and dispirited with the calami-
ties under which his country was sinking, may before his death have transferred his
estates, and retired to end his days in the priory of the Faile. If Harry is to be
trusted in saying that Thomas " usyt offt to that religiou:0 place," we may even have
a key to those temporary disappearances from his home, which popular superstition
accounted for by visits to Fairyland ; and a final retirement while still alive may

EARLY CITATIONS OF THOMAS'S PROPHECIES. XVU

really be the fact concealed under the legend of his sudden disappearance from the
world. Then, are we correct in assuming that the charter in question is granted by
Thomas's son, and not by Thomas himself? If Eymour was the family surname,
the latter is not impossible. It is at least a pleasing fancy to picture Thomas, the
last mayhap of his line, after setting his house in order and disposing of his worldly
goods, retiring from earthly cares and pursuits, and leaving his neighbours to marvel
at his departure, and attribute it to the powers of another world, who could spare
him to " middle-erd " no longer. Many a myth has gone farther astray from its
simple basis. Patrick Gordon, in his rhymed History of Robert Bruce (Dort, 1615),
says Eymour survived to 1307 ; but as he gives us no authority for the statement,
his evidence is of very doubtful value.

4. Such are the only notices which refer, or purport to refer, to Thomas in his
lifetime. They seem to point to him as a man of sagacity and foresight, who, veiling
his observations " under obscure wourdis," had already before his death attained to
the repute of something like prophetic power. As a patriot, and one who had lived
during the palmy days of the old Scottish monarchy before

Alysandyr owre kyng wes dede
That Scotlande led in luve and le,

he must have keenly felt the sorrows which overtook his country in his last years,
and if he understood the temper of his countrymen, he may well have expressed his
hope and confidence of their final triumph in tones which fell from the lips of the
" old man eloquent " with all the weight of inspiration. That his reputed sayings
were so quoted early in the course of the struggle, and within a few years after his
own death, is abundantly evident from various references. One of these occurs in
Barbour's Bruce, where, after Bruce had slain the Eed Cumyn in the Grey Friars
church at Dumfries in 1306, news of the event reached amongst others the patriotic
Bishop of St Andrews :

TJie lettir tauld hym all the deid, off hersildoune sail weryfyd be

And he till his men gert it reid, In him ; for, swa our lord help me I

And sy thyn said 7taim, " sekyrly I haiff gret hop he sail be king,

I hop Thomas prophecy And haif tJiis land all in leding."

Andro of "Wyntown also in his " Orygynale " (Book VIII, chap. 32), referring
to the battle of Kilblane, fought by Sir Andrew Moray against the Baliol faction

in 1334, says : Of tJtis fycht qwhylum spak Thomas
of Ersyldoune, that sayd in derne,

There suld mete stalwarthe, 1 stark, and sterne. L 1 MS. stalwartlyj
He sayd it in his prophecy ;
But how he wist it was ferly.

ERCILDOUN. b

INTRODUCTION.

At a still earlier period the prophetic renown of Thomas is alluded to by the
author of the Scalacronica, a French chronicle of English History, compiled by Sir
Thomas Grey, constable of Norham, during his captivity in Edinburgh Castle in
1355. One of the Notabilia, extracted by Leyland from the unpublished part of
this chronicle, is headed : "William Banestre and Thomas Erceldoune, whose words
were spoken in figure, as were the prophecies of Merlin." 1

Most of these writers, however, lived a century after Thomas, and it might of
course be, that their references to the notoriety of his prophetic powers represented
rather the current opinion of their own age than of that of which they wrote \ that
Barbour, for example, in making Bishop Lamberton quote " Thomas' prophecy,"
described what he was very likely to do himself, though he might have no ground
either in tradition or history for imputing it to the Bishop of St Andrews But
this is sufficiently met by the fact that a MS. of the beginning of the fourteenth
century not only credits Thomas with oracular powers, but preserves what purports
to be one of his prophecies, in the following form (MS. Harl. 2253, If 127, col. 2) :

La countesse de Donbar dernanda a Thomas de Essedoune quant la guere descoce prendreit
fyn. e yl la repoundy e dyt,

When man as mad akyng of a capped man ;

When mon is leuere o^ermones j^yng >en is owen ;

When londyonys forest, ant forest ys f elde ; a

When hares kendles oe herston ;

When Wyt & Wille werres togedere ;

When mon makes stables of kyrkes, and steles castles wy}? styes ;

When rokesbourh nys no burgh 3 ant market is at Forwyleye ;

1 The Kev. W. W. Skeat has been so kind as to find the original of Leyland's extract in
the manuscript in the library of Corpus Christi Coll. Cambridge (No. 133, leaf 60, back). He
says : "It is a long paragraph, in which the name of 'Merlyns' occurs repeatedly ; some re-
marks at the end imply that he spoke so much ' en figure ' as to render the interpretation of
his meaning very doubtful. It is remarked that much is said about boars, dragons, bears,
eagles, lions, asses, moles, trees, and brooks ; and that the object seems to have been to make
the prophecies obscure ' ne purra estre determyne en certayne, si fussent, en le hour de le-
scriuer de cest cronicle, passe ou auenir. pusq?/<? tauwtes des Eoys sount passez. tanco/n. dure-
rent les Kegnes des .vij. reaulmes Saxsouns. en queux la grant bretaigne estoit deuise. et dez
autres puscedy Engles & Normawdes. pur quoy ne agreast a le deuisour de cest cronicle plus
dez parolis de Merlyne de soy entremettre. lie dez autres queux horn disoit en le houre pre-
destino?/rs. com de Willam Banastre. ou de Thomas de Erceldoun. les parolis de queux
furount ditz en fig?/re. od diuers entendemewtz aptez a lestimaciouw de les comentowrs. q<?
en cas pwroint desacorder.' "

2 The letters \> and y are in the MS. only distinguished by the y having a dot, which is often
omitted ; n and u also are indistinguishable ; londyonys or loudyonys may be London is or
Loudyon, i. e. " Lothian is forest, and forest is field." Forest may refer to the old name of
Selkirkshire, or Etterick Forest.

3 Roxburgh, the ancient county town of Roxburghshire, and one of the " four great burghs "
of Scotland, the remains of whose castle still crown the promontory between the Tweed and
Teviot at their confluence, has been " no burgh " since 1517, and not a stone of the once great
town now remains in situ,.

EARLY CITATIONS OF THOMAS'S PROPHECIES.

XIX

When \>Q aide is gan ant j?e newe is come J?* don (or dou) noj?t

When bambourne is donged Wyj? dedemen ;

When men ledes men in ropes to buyen & to sellen ;

When a quarter of whaty whete is chaunged for a colt of ten markka ;

When prude prikes & pees is leyd in prisoun ;

When a scot ne may hym hude ase hare in forme J?* \>Q englysshe ne sal hym fynde ;

When ry|?t ant Wrong ascentej? to gedere ;

When laddes weddef> louedis ;

When scottes flen so faste, J? 1 for faute of ship, hy drownej? hem selue

Whenne shal j?is be 1 Nouj?er in >ine tyme ne in myne ;

ah comen & gon wij? inne twenty wynter ant on.

This is in a southern (or south-midland) dialect, and doubtless by an English
author. The effect of it seems to be that many improbabilities will happen, and in
especial that many calamities will happen to Scotland, before the war with that
country shall end, which shall not be in the time of either Thomas or his
interrogator, but within twenty-one years after. (See further at end of the
Notes.)

Mr Pinkerton, who first printed the lines in the " List of the Scotish Poets," pre-
fixed to his " Ancient Scotish poems never before in print" (London, 1786, Yol. I,
p. Ixxviij), and Sir Walter Scott, who quoted it from Pinkerton (very inaccurately,
and with loss of one line), in the " Border Minstrelsy," assume that the Countesse de
Donbar is the heroic Black Agnes, daughter of Randolph, so celebrated for her
defence of Dunbar Castle in 1337, and also referred to in the following poem. But
as Mr Bond says the MS. is undoubtedly before 1320, this is not possible; and by
the Countess is no doubt meant the wife of the Earl to whom Thomas predicted the
death of Alexander III, and with whom, as already said, he seems to have been a
familiar visitor. Bambourne is evidently Bannockburn, and the reference to its
being " donged with dede men," leads one to infer that the prediction was composed
after, or or least on the eve of that battle, in 1314. But there w T as no time between
that battle and 1320, or even Bruce's death in 1329, when a prophecy that " the
Scots should hide as hare in form," would suit events or even distant probabilities ;
and I am inclined therefore to suppose that it was actually composed on the eve of
the Battle of Bannockburn, and circulated under Thomas's name, in order to dis-
courage the Scots and encourage the English in the battle. It is well known that
Edward II felt so sure of gaining that battle, and finishing the war at a blow, that
he held a council in the camp on the previous day, and drew up statutes and
ordinances for the disposal of Scotland and its inhabitants, which were found in the
English camp after his defeat. Counting back from 1314, " twenty wynter ant on"
would bring us to 1293, when Thomas was, as we have seen, still alive.

That prophecy formed an important weapon on both sides during the wars

INTRODUCTION.

between England and Scotland appears from many sources, and a passage in Higden's
Polychronicon (as translated by Trevisa) referring to this very period says :

" The Scottes waxed stronger & stronger thyrty yeres togyder, vnto Kyng
Edwardes tyme the thyrde after the Conquest, and bete down Englyshemen ofte,
and Englyshe places, that were nygh to theyr marches. Some seyd that that mys-
happe fell for softnesse of Englyshemen ; and some seyde, that it was goddes own
wreche, as the prophecye said, that Englyshemen sholde be destroyed by Danes, by
Frenshemen, and by Scottes."

The prophetic powers of Thomas of Erceldoune seem thus to have been suffi-
ciently credited to give importance to predictions purporting to be his within the
twenty years that followed his own life-time ; and it is noteworthy that all these
early references agree in attributing to his utterances the u derne," " obscure," and
" figurative " character so well exemplified in those still preserved as his j also, that
the writers who quote them agree in their doubts as to the quarter whence Thomas
derived his inspiration, while making no doubt of the inspiration itself.

5. We have equally early authority for his poetical abilities. Eobert Mannyng
of Brunne, who was actually a contemporary of Thomas, since his " Handlyng of
Synne " was written in 1303, appears in his English Chronicle, written about 1330,
to celebrate him as " the author of an incomparable romance of the story of Sir
Tristrem." After stating his intention of telling his Story of England in the sim-
plest speech, and without using intricate rhymes, since he has observed that such
artificial compositions, though they may exhibit their authors' talent, are most
spoiled by readers, Mannyng adds as an illustration of this :

I see \n song in sedgeyng tale
of Erceldoun & of Kendale,
Non J?am says as fai J?am wroght,
& \n \>er sayng it semes noght ;
pat may fan here in sir Tristrem ;
oner gestes it has fa steem,
Oner alle fat is or was,
if mene it sayd as made Thomas ;
But I here it no mane so say,
fat of som copple som is away ;
So fare fayre sayng here beforne
is fare tmuayle nere forlorne ;

fai sayd it for pride & nobleye,
fat non were suylk as fai ;
And alle fat fai wild ouerwhere,
Alle fat ilk wille now forfare.
fai sayd in so qwante Inglis,
fat many one wate not what it is.
farfore [I] henyed wele fa more
In strange ryme to trauayle sore ;
And my witte was oure thynne
So strange speche to trauayle in ;
And forsoth I couth [e] noght
so strange Inglis as fai wroght.

It is not certain whether the " Thomas " here is Thomas of Erceldoun or Thomas
of Kendale ; nor indeed that the first four lines refer to the same subject as those
that follow : Sir Tristrem may, for anything that appears, be a third example, in
addition to the works of Erceldoun and Kendale, of the liability of "qwante

THOMAS AS A POET. SIR TRISTREM.

Inglis " to be marred by reciters, and its author " Thomas " may not be the
Erceldoun of the second line, especially as the earlier German versions of Sir
Tristrem quote as their authority one Thomas von Brittanien, or Thomas of
Brittany, who must have lived, whoever he was, long before Thomas of Erceldoun.
On the other hand, the Romance of Sir Tristrem in the Auchinleck MS., supposed
to have been transcribed about the middle of the fourteenth century, and which,
though it has been altered by a Southern transcriber, is demonstrably a copy of an
earlier Northern one, begins by claiming Thomas of Erceldoune as the authority
for its information, in terms which have induced Sir Walter Scott and others to
consider the romance as his own production :

I was at Erceldoun '
WiJ? tomas spak y f?are

j?er herd y rede in roune
Who tristrem gat & bare

Who was king wi> croun
& who him fosterd are

& who was bold baroim
As J>air elders ware
bi ^ere
tomas telles in toun

J?is auentours as j?ai ware.

In stanzas 37-38 Thomas is mentioned, at the point where Tristrem found
himself left on an unknown shore by the mariners who had carried him off from

home

J?o tomas asked ay

Of tristrem trewe fere,
To wite J?e rijt way,

\>e styes for to lere ;
of a prince proud e in play

Listnef? lordinges dere ;
Who so better can say,

His owhen he may here,
As hende

of thing J?at is him dere
Ich man preise at ende.

In o robe tristrem was boun,

j?at he fram schippe hadde brou^t ;
Was of a blihand broun,

J?e richest }?at was wrou^t ;
As tomas tellejj in toun ;

He no wist what he moujt,
Bot semly set him doun,

& ete ay til him gode
Ful sone

J?e forest for}? he sou^t
When he so hadde done.

In Fytt III, stanza 45, the authority of " Tomas " is quoted again :

Beliagog }?e bold

As a fende he fau^t ;

Tristrem liif nei^e he sold,
As tomas ha)? ous tau^t

Tristrem smot, as god wold,
His fot of at a draujt ;

Adoun he fel y fold,

J^at man of michel mau^t,
& cride

" Tristrem, be we sau^t,
& haue min londes wide."

Notwithstanding that in all these passages, the author professes to have learned
his tale from " Thomas," Sir Walter Scott, in editing Sir Tristrem, assumed it as

1 This word is cut through in the MS. by some former possessor who cut out the illumina-
tions ; but the catchword at foot of preceding, leaf (280) has "y was at erj?eldoun " (not
erseldoun), and the lower part of the word including the \> is quite clear in the folio itself.
Erceldoun for Ertheldoun may be the scribe's error for Ercheldoun in his original.

XX11 INTRODUCTION.

undoubtedly the genuine work of Erceldoune, committed to writing by some one
who had learned it from him personally ; and started a theory that Thomas had
himself collected the materials from the Britons of Strathclyde, and that his work,
being thus original in its character, was the source of the numerous versions in con-
tinental languages which quote one " Thomas " as their authority. Dr Irving, in
his History of Scottish Poetry, also considered it as " not altogether absurd to sup-
pose that he was nevertheless the real author, and had recourse to this method "
\i. e. quoting his own name as his authority] " of recording his own claims," and so
preventing reciters from claiming the romance as their own composition. But in
the additions to Warton's History of English Poetry (editions of 1824 and 1840)
it is shown that not only did the romance exist in several European languages long
before the days of Erceldoune, but that the " Thomas " quoted in some of the French
and German poems was the writer of one of the French versions of the story, who
must have lived before 1200 ; that this French version was apparently the original
of the English translation in the Auchinleck MS., and that while it is doubtful
whether the latter be the work referred to by Eobert of Brunne, it is still more
doubtful whether it is the production, either directly or indirectly, of Erceldoune.
Mr Garnett, in summing up his review of the subject, considers it proved, " 1. That
the present Sir Tristrem is a modernized [rather a southernized, it cannot well be a
much more modern] copy of an oldfer] Northumbrian romance, written probably
between 1260 and 1300. 2. That it is not, in the proper sense of the word, an
original composition, but derived more or less directly from a Norman or Anglo-
Norman source. 3. That there is no direct evidence in favour of Thomas of Ercel-
doune's claim to the authorship of it, while the internal evidence is, as far as it
goes, greatly adverse to that supposition. It is however by no means improbable
that the author availed himself of the previous labours of Erceldoune on the same
theme. The minstrels of those days were great plagiarists, and seldom gave them-
selves the trouble of inventing subjects and incidents when they found them ready
prepared to their hands." Later criticism is still more adverse to the claims of Er-
celdoune. Mr Wright thinks it most probable that the person who translated the
Auchinleck version from the French original, finding a "Thomas" mentioned therein,
and not knowing who he was, " may have taken him for the Thomas whose name
was then most famous, viz. Thomas of Erceldoune, and thus put the name of the
latter to his English edition." I must confess that, looking at the way in which
the name and authority of Erceldoune were afterwards affixed to productions with
which he had no connexion, Mr Wright's theory seems to me most probable, espe-

THE ROMANCE OF THOMAS AND THE LADYE. XX1U

cially as this English, version must have been originally by a northern writer who
would be well acquainted with Thomas's name, and probably wrote soon after his
death, so that the southernized transcript in the Auchinleck MS. could be made
before the middle of the 14th century. But the Early English Text Society has
Sir Tristrem in its list for early reprinting, when the question of the origin and
authorship of the romance will of course be fully discussed. At present we have
only to note that, however the opinion was founded, Thomas of Erceldoune at least
passed in popular estimation as a poet of renown within thirty years after his own
death.

6. In the twofold character of poet and prophet, thus attributed to him from the
earliest period, the name of Thomas of Erceldoune continued to be venerated for
.many centuries, and numerous compositions claiming to be his, or at least to derive
their authority from or through him, are still preserved. The earliest of these is the
poem printed in the following pages, the completion of which, from internal evidence,
must be placed shortly after 1400, or about a hundred years after Thomas's death.
It represents Thomas as meeting " a lady gaye," who is described as the Queen of a
realm not in heaven, paradise, hell, purgatory, or on middel-erthe, but "another
cuntre " from all these, answering to the Eae'rie or Fairy-land of later tales, but no-
where so called in the poem itself. Thomas makes love to her, and is transported
by her power to her own country, where he dwells for three years and more. On
his dismissal, necessary to prevent his seizure by a foul fiend of hell, who is coming
next day for his tribute, he asks a token from the lady, and, in compliance with his
repeated request to abide and tell him some ferly, she proceeds to give an outline in
prophetic form of the wars between England and Scotland from the time of Bruce
to that of the death of Robert III, with a mysterious continuation, which must still
rank as " unfulfilled prophecy," and ending with a reference to Black Agnes of
Dunbar, whose death is predicted. After an affectionate farewell, in which she
promises to meet Thomas again at the same spot, the lady leaves him and takes her
way to Helmsdale.

7. In regard to the professed authorship of this poem, we meet with even greater
difficulty than in Sir Tristrem, the narrator passing from the first to the third
person, and from the third to the first again, with the most sudden transition, so
that it is difficult to say whether it even claims to be the work of Thomas. Thus
in the first 72 lines (including the prologue), the writer describes himself as lying
on Huntly banks himself alone, and seeing the lady, whose array he describes as a
professed eye-witness ; but in line 73 it is :

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

Thomas laye & sawe that syghte
Vndir-nethe a semly tree :
He sayd, &c. &c.

Gyff it be als the story e sayes
He hir mette at Eldone Tree,

and so on for 200 lines, the author describing Thomas and his actions as if he him-
self had them only by hearsay, till in 1. 273 we have again the sudden transition to

the first person : Thomas duellide in that solace

More than j ^owe saye parde ;
Till one a day, so hafe I grace,

My lufly lady sayde to mee ;
Do buske the, Thomas, the buse agayne, &c. &c. ;

but this is only a momentary interruption, for the narrator immediately speaks of
Thomas again in the third person, a style which he continues to the end of the
narrative. In the prophecies from 1. 317 to 672 the speeches of Thomas and the lady
are merely quoted without even as much as an introductory " he said " or " she
said," so that nothing can be determined as to the professed narrator. The conclu-
sion, however, 11. 673 700, is very decidedly narrative in the third person :

Scho blewe hir home on hir palfraye, Of swilke an hird mane wold j here
Lefte Thomas vndir-nethe a tre ; That, couth Me telle of swilke ferly.

To Helmesdale scho tuke the waye , Ihesu, corouned with a crowne of brere,
And thus departede scho and hee I Brynge vs to his heuene So hyee !

where, even if with the Cambridge MS. we read woman for hird mane, it is clearly
the wish of a third party that he had such an experience as Thomas had, and not
of Thomas himself.

8. But, whoever the professed author, I have said that the poem in its present
form bears evidence of being later than 1401, the date of the invasion of Scotland
by Henry IV, or at least 1388, the date of the Battle of Otterbourne, the last of
the historical events " hyd vnder obscure wourdis " in Fytt II. For the whole of
the events described in that Fytt are really historical and easily identified, pre-
serving, with a single important exception, the chronological order ; and this part
of the poem must have therefore been composed after the last of them had happened.
But of the events predicted in Fytt III, after the second, which seems to refer to
Henry IVs invasion of the country in 1401, I cannot make any such sense, and I
prefer to consider these as real predictions or expectations of the future. Moreover,
the oldest MS. of the poem, the Thornton, itself clearly not an original, dates to
1430 1440, some time before which the poem must have existed in its present
form, so that we have the period between 1402 and 1440, with strong reasons in
favour of the earlier date, for its completion. But portions of it may have been

THE SECOND FYTTE OF THE PROPHECIES HISTORICAL. XXV

earlier even than this, for it is clearly possible that the prophecies may have been
altered, added to, and interpolated, from time to time, since each incident of them
is separate, and easily detachable from the context. There seems indeed to be
evidence of very early treatment of this kind in Fytt II, in examining which it will
be seen that the events therein " predicted " are

The failure of Baliol's party in the struggle with David Bruce 1333
the battle of Halidon Hill 1333

The battle of Falkirk . . . . . .1298

the battle of Bannockburn . . . .1314

the death of Eobert Bruce . . . . .1329

the invasion and partial success of Edward Baliol, who lands at

Kinghorn . . . . . . 1332

the battle of Dupplin and occupation of Perth . . 1332

the English withdraw to the Trench war . . .1337

David Bruce fetched from France .... 1342

he invades England, is captured at Durham, and led to London 1346
Scotland again invaded by Baliol .... 1347

Scotland heavily taxed for the ransom of King David . . 1357

Eobert Stewart made king . . . . 1370

Douglas invades England, and slain at Otterbourne . . 1388

Excluding the two first entries, we have here an outline of the chief events in
Scotland from the Battle of Ealkirk under "Wallace to that of Otterbourne under
-Eobert II, references being specially numerous to the period of the Second "War of
Independence under David Bruce. But the prediction of the eventual ruin of
Baliol's party, and the battle of Halidon Hill a battle " that shall be done right
soon at will," come out of order and quite apart from this chronological list, as if
they had no connexion with it, while they are also intimately connected with the
introduction of this Fytt, and Thomas's request to the lady

Telle me of this gentill blode

Wha sail thrife, and wha sail thee,
Wha sail be kynge, wha sail be none,

And wha sail welde this northe countre ?

a question as to the conflicting claim of the Bruce and Baliol families scarcely likely
to be made after 1400, when the latter line was extinct. I am inclined to suppose,
then, that this part, with perhaps Fytt I, the conclusion, and an indefinite portion
of Fytt III, which is in all probability a melange of early traditional prophecies,

XXVi INTRODUCTION.

may have been written on the eve of Halidon Hill, with a view to encourage the
Scots in that battle ; in which the oldest text, it will be observed, makes the Scots
win with the slaughter of six thousand Englishmen, while the other texts, wise
after the fact, make the Scots lose, as they actually did.

The question has been asked before, whether the " fairy tale " contained in Fytt
I is not distinct from the " prophetical rhapsody " to which it serves as an intro-
duction, and collectors of ballads have generally answered the query in the affirma-
tive ; thus Jamieson, in editing the poem in his "Popular Ballads and Songs," is of
opinion that " In the introduction to the prophecies, there is so much more fancy
and elegance than in the prophecies themselves, that they can hardly be supposed
to be the composition of the same person. Indeed, the internal evidence to the
contrary almost amounts to a proof that they are not." Professor Child, also, in his
" English and Scottish Ballads " (London, 1861), vol. I, p. 95, says, " the two ' fytts '
of prophecies which accompany it (the ballad) in the MSS. are omitted here,
as being probably the work of another, and an inferior, hand." Although diffident
of venturing an opinion at variance with that of poets and poet-editors, I can
hardly think that Fytt I stands alone. Some of the prophecies may be later than
others, but I think that, as a whole, they flow so naturally from the tale, as a
response to Thomas's request for a token of his intercourse with the Lady, without
any trace of patching or awkward joining, as to preclude the suspicion of having
been afterwards tacked on. As to their style, they could not well, from their nature,
be rendered so interesting or lively as the ballad ; yet the introduction to them, as
well as their conclusion and the parting of Thomas and the Queen, seem not
inferior in execution to any part of Fytt I.

On the other hand, it must be granted that, artistically considered, the tale of
Thomas and the Lady is far too long and minute to have been invented as a mere
introduction to the prophecies, and I willingly admit that the story, perhaps even
in a poetic dress, may have existed some time before it was caught up and told anew
as an introduction and passport to the predictions. The reference in line 83,

Gyff it be als the story e sayes,
He hir mette at Eldone tree,

implies that there was in existence an older tale of Thomas and the Queen, which
fixed the place of their meeting. If we are to suppose that part of the work as it
now exists is as old as Halidon Hill, we are taken to a date little more than thirty
years after Thomas's own time, a fact, so far as it goes, in favour of the idea of those
who think that this older tale may have been composed by Thomas himself, and

THE THIRD FYTTE OP THE PROPHECIES LEGENDARY. XXVii

that the first-personal style of parts of the existing ballad may have been transferred
from his narrative.

If modern editors despise the prophecies, and look upon them as a rubbishy
addition to the ballad, it is very clear, that early scribes thought otherwise, and
that it was to the respect which the prophecies inspired, that we owe so many MS.
copies of the poem as have come down to us ; we may be glad that their appreciation
of the relative merits of the parts did not lead them all to do like the scribe of the
Sloane MS., who omits Fytt I, and dignifies the prophecies alone with a place
in his pages. In addition to this MS. four others preserve the poem more or less
perfectly, and with considerable differences, as exhibited in the following text.
These MSS. and the peculiarities of their texts will be described hereafter; it
is only necessary here to note that the poem appears to have been originally by a
Scottish author, though all the copies of it now exist in English MSS., and that the
strongly northern character of the language as preserved by Robert Thornton, who,
as a northern Englishman, would leave it nearly as he found it, is more or less
modified in the others, especially in the Lansdowne and Sloane, which are also
comparatively late in their transcription. The various modifications introduced by
southern or midland transcribers may be well seen in lines 357 372. In these
repeated transcriptions also the proper names of Scottish families, and of battles,
have suffered so much at the hands of scribes to whom they were devoid of
meaning, as often to become quite unintelligible. The results of the battles also are
often altered in the different texts, doubtless because the transcribers in many cases
did not understand the application of the predictions, and perhaps patriotically
changed their burden, in accordance with their own wishes or hopes.

9. 1 look upon the greater part of the predictions in Fytt III as in reality adapt-
ations of legendary prophecies, traditionally preserved from far earlier times, and
furbished up anew at each period of national trouble and distress in expectation of
their fulfilment being at length at hand. The origin of these effusions takes
us back to the period of Arthur himself, and the expiring efforts of the Britons
against Saxon conquest. It is well known that the flush of enthusiasm and hope
which swelled the breasts of his countrymen, during Arthur's series of victories over
the pagan invaders, was too fondly cherished to be willingly renounced on his
premature removal from the scene. Their hero could not be really dead, he
had only withdrawn from them for a while gone on a pilgrimage to a far-off land,
retired to some desert sanctuary, or fallen asleep with his warriors in some secret
cavern, and would yet return to rule "broad Britaine to the sea "and scatter

XXViii INTRODUCTION.

the Saxons to the winds of heaven. 1 " Hicjacet Arturus, rex olim rexque futurus "
Here lies Arthur, king of yore and king to be, reported to have been found
inscribed on his coffin at Glastonbury, represented, it is certain, the sacred belief of
his people. That belief was common to all the relics of the Cymric race, from
Strathclyde to Cornwall, and the shores of Armorica, and was preserved not least
faithfully in that Northern land, which, according to all early authority, had
witnessed alike Arthur's most splendid achievements and his death. The belief in
the "kyd conqueror" yet to come must have cheered the Cumbrian Britons during
the long struggle which ended in their incorporation with the Scottish monarchy,
and fusion into the mingled stock which produced the later Scottish nation. Even
after that fusion, and the loss of their ancient tongue, the loss even of all memory
of the actual events to which these expectations and beliefs and dreams of the
"good time coming" originally referred, the dreams and prophetic aspirations
themselves survived, as dim mysterious legends of the future, foreboding great
national crises, perils, and deliverances. Hence the legends of- "a bastard in
wedlock born, who should come out of the west," " a chieftain unchosen that shall
choose for himself, and ride through the realm and Roy shall be called," "a
chiftane stable as a stone, stedfast as the christull, firme as the adamant, true as the
steele, immaculate as the sun, without all treason," whose "scutifers shal skail
all the faire South, fra Dunbertane to Dover, and deil al the lands he shall be kid
conqueror, for he is kinde lord, of al Bretaine that bounds to the broad sea "
against whom in vain

the Saxonys shall chose them a Lord
That shall make them greatly to fall vnder.
The ded man shall rise : and make them accord
And this is much wonder and slight,
That he that was dead and buried in sight
Shall rise again and live in the land ;

1 A similar belief was cherished by the Britons as to Cadwaladyr, son of Cadwallawn, who,
a century and a half after Arthur, "waged, in conjunction with Penda, a successful war
against the Angles of Northumbria. For one year he had actually been in possession of that
kingdom, and his successful career of upwards of twenty years roused the courage and hopes
of the Cymry to the highest." When Cadwaladyr died in the pestilence of 664, his country-
men could not realize that he was gone ; " the death was denied, and he was said to have
retired to Armorica, whence the Cymry looked for him to return, and re-establish their suprem-
acy over the Angles." Skene : The Four Welsh Books, vol. I, p. 75. It is interesting to see
that this British legend also had been preserved in the north. " The prophecy of Merlin,"
afterwards quoted, has

When the Calualider of Cornwall is called
And the Wolfe out of Wales is wencust for ay.

ARTHURIAN ORIGIN OF THE LEGENDARY PROPHECIES. XXIX

who should conquer " Gyane, Gaskone, and Bretane the blyth," and

turne into Tuskane but trety or true,
And busk him ouer the mountaines on mid winter euen,
And then goe to Eome and rug downe the walles,
And ouer all the region Roy shall be holden ;

who should ride with pride over England and Scotland, and overthrow all false
laws, and establish righteousness, till

" bothe the londes breton shal be ; "
who should finally, like a true Christian knight, die in the Holy Land

For euerie man on molde must de

But end he shall in the land of Christ

And in the valle of Josaphat buried shall be.

The resemblance of many of these expressions, and actual identity of many of
the epithets, with those to be found in the old Northern " Morte Arthur," and
other kindred works, is very notable.

10. During the wars between England and Scotland, under the three Edwards,
and after, down even to the reign of Henry VIII, these scraps of old traditional
prophecy were eagerly called to mind, and their dim light anxiously sought for in
each successive crisis, the English, as we may suppose, dwelling specially on any
passages which brought the "kyd conqueror" put of the south, or spoke of his
ruling from " Cornwall to Caithness all Britain the broad," the Scots finding
encouragement in the promise that he should finally extirpate the " Saxons," a
name which, from its being used by their Celtic fellow-subjects as equivalent
to " English " in a linguistic or ethnological sense, the Lowlanders now adopted as
equivalent to " English " in the political sense. Strictly speaking, they also were
" Sasunnach," or Saxon, to the Celts ; but the effect of the struggle with England
was to make them disclaim all " Saxon " connexion, and to use the term only
of their enemies of England. Prior to the death of Alexander III, Scotland had
enjoyed peace and tranquillity for many generations, and no wonder that the
sudden outburst of calamity, with which the country was then assailed, stirred
deeply the minds of the people, and led them to anticipate that the mighty
overturnings, which were the mysterious burden of these ancient saws, were at
length at hand.

Is it too much to suppose that Thomas of Erceldoune may, from his literary
tastes, have been a repository of such traditional rhymes, and himself have counte-
nanced the application of their mysterious indications to the circumstances of his
country, and thus to some extent at least given currency to the idea of his own

XXX INTRODUCTION".

prophetic powers 1 It is certain at least that many of these ancient fragments were
mixed up with the prophecies attributed to him, even as fragments of the latter
were from time incorporated in, and blended with, later " prophecies " or prophetic
compilations, which continued to be supplied whenever the demand arose, down to
the union of the Kingdoms, and to be reverenced and consulted even as late as the
Jacobite risings in the '15, and the '45. In these the name of Thomas Kymour is
associated with those of Merlin, Bede, Gildas, and others ; and collections of this
mystic literature, such as the Sloane MS. 2578, and Lansdowne 762 in the British
Museum, from which two of the following texts are printed, and Rawlinson C. 813
in the Bodleian, already existed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when Sir
David Lyndesay entertained the boyhood of James V with

The prophisies of Rymour, Beid, and Marlyng,

and the author of the " Complaynt of Scotland" in 1529 found it necessary to
warn his countrymen against " diuerse prophane prophesies of merlyne, and vther
aid corruptit vaticinaris, the quhilkis hes affermit in there rusty ryme, that Scotland
and ingland sal be vndir ane prince," to which " the inglismen gifis ferme credit."
Merlin, whose name takes us back to the Arthur period itself, was evidently the
oldest of these " vaticinaris," and at one time the most venerated, but in Scotland
the fame of Thomas Kymour gradually outshone that of all his rivals, so that
his pretended sayings were interpolated, and even his authority quoted, to give
greater authority to theirs. This is well seen in a collection of these occult com-
positions printed in Edinburgh in 1603, and since then constantly reprinted down
to the beginning of the present century, some of the contents of which must have
been written as early as the reign of the Scottish James I (died 1437), while of
others, MS. copies are in existence belonging to the same century.

11. The oldest printed edition yet discovered bears the following title: "The
Whole prophecie of Scotland, England, and some part of Trance and Denmark, pro-
phesied 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 Waldegraue, Printer to the King's most Ex-
cellent Maiestie. Anno 1603." To the goodly fellowship of Prophets here exhibited
the later editions add " Also Archbishop Usher's wonderful prophecies."

As several of the pieces in this collection quote Thomas by name, and illustrate
the subject of this volume, it seems desirable to give some account of them. The
first piece is, like all the older ones, in alliterative verse, arid begins, without any
title :

"THE WHOLE PROPHECIES OF SCOTLAND." MERLIN. xxxi

Merling sales in his booke, who will reade right, One thousand and more after Christes birth

Althoght his sayings be vncouth, they shalbe When the Calualider of Cornwall is called

true found And the Wolfe out of Wailes is win cust for ay

In the vij. chap, reade who so will Then many ferlie shall fall & many folke die.

As to the long-expected return of Calualider, or Cadwaladyr, see p. xxviii, note.
This article really consists of three distinct compositions, of which the first predicts
that a " Ereik fostered farre in the South " shall return to the " kyth that he come
from" with much wealth and worship, on whose arrival in Albanie many shall laugh ;
but his severity will soon give others cause to weep :

At his owne kinde bloode then shall he begin Two bloodie harts shall be taken with a false
Choose of the cheif est and chop of there heads, traine,

Some haled on sleddes, and hanged on hie And derflie dung downe without any dome.

Some put in prison & much pain shal byde. Ireland, Orknay, and other lands manie

In the month of Arrane an selcouth shal For the deth of those two great dule shall
fall, make

in which we see a description of the return of James I. from his detention in Eng-
land, and his severity against the family of his uncle who had prolonged his
captivity. The latter part of this passage was a century later quoted in connexion
with the execution of the Eegent Morton. " When that nobleman was committed
to the charge of his accuser, captain James Stewart, newly created Earl of Arran, to
be conducted to his trial at Edinburgh, Spottiswoode says that he asked ' Who was
earl of Arran 1 ' and being answered that Captain James was himself the man, after
a short pause, he said, 'And is it so? I know then what I may look for !' mean-
ing, as was thought that the old prophecy of the Falling of the heart (the cognizance
of Morton) by the mouth of Arran should, then be fulfilled. Whether this was his mind
or not, it is not known ; but some spared not, at the time when the Hamiltons were
banished, in which business he was held too earnest, to say that he stood in fear of
that prediction, and went that course only to disappoint it. But if it was so, he
did find himself now deluded ; for he fell by the mouth of another Arran than he
imagined." Spottiswoode, 313. In all ages, it would appear, it has been orthodox
to wrest a verse of prophecy from its context and circumstances, and find a fulfil-
ment for it in spite of these.

The second and third sections of this piece are found in a much older form in
the Cambridge University Library MS., Kk. i. 5, whence they were printed for the
E. E. T. S. by Eev. J. R. Luinby in 1870. (Bernardus de cura rei familiaris ; with
( some Early Scottish Prophecies, &c. p. 18.) This MS. is late fifteenth century,
but the character of the language shows it to be a copy of one belonging to the first
half of that century. The order of the two divisions is here reversed, the first part

xxxii

INTRODUCTION.

of the poem in the Cambridge MS., lines 1 72 of the E. E. T. S. edition being
the third in the edition of 1603, and following lines 73 139, which forms the
second part in the Edinburgh prophecy. This second part quotes a figure found
also in " Thomas of Ersseldoune/' and recurring in almost all the prophecies, which
thus appears in the older copy (line 103 of Mr Lumby's copy).

In his fay re forest sail ane ern bygye,

And mony on sail tyne thai- lyff in the mene tyme ;

They sail founde to the felde, and then fersly fyght,

Apone A brode mure Jmr sail A battell be,

Be-syde a stob crose of stane th&t standis on A mure :

It sail be coueret wyth corsis all of a kyth,

That the craw sail nocht ken whar the cross standis.

Compare lines 567 576 of Thomas ; both are evidently borrowed from some
traditional prophecy :

A Kaven shall comme ouer the moore,
And after him a Crowe shalle flee,

To seeke the moore, without(en) rest
After a crosse is made of stane

Ouer hill & dale, bothe easte & weste ;

Bot wiete wele, Thomas, he sail find nane.
He sail lyghte, whare the crose solde bee

And holde his nebbe vp to the skye ;
And drynke of gen till blode and free ;

Thane ladys waylowaye sail crye.

This section does not quote or name Thomas ; it ends with a reference to the
legend of " wily Vivien."

For bedis buke haue I seyn, & banysters ! als ;
And merwelus merlyne is wastede away
Wyth A wykede womane woo mycht sho bee !
Scho has closede him in a cragge of cornwales coste.

The third part is in rhyme, with much alliteration, and begins
in the northe halows his

Qwhen the koke

nest,

And buskys his birdys and bunnys to flee,
lhan shall fortune his frende the y&iiis vp-

caste,
And Rychte shall haue his Free entree ;

Then the mone shall Eyse in the northwest

In A clowde als blak as the bill of A crawe ;
Then shall the lyonne be lousse, the baldest

& best

That euer was in brattane sen in Arthuris
daye.

It was one of the most popular prophecies of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, and besides forming, as already mentioned, the first half of Mr Lumby's
" Ancient Scottish prophecy" from the Cambridge Kk. MS., it occurs in two of the
MSS. that contain "Thomas of Erceldoune" viz. in Lansdowne 762, fol. 65, with
the title " Brydlington," and twice over in Sloane 2578 (leaves 15 & and 100&).
It names Thomas's prophecy as an authority, and mentions several of the mysterious
episodes of the third fytte of our romance ; thus :

1 " William Banister, a writer of the reign of Edward III. The Prophecies of Banister
of England are not uncommon among MSS." Warton. Among the contents of Rawl. C. 813
is "Pars visionis Domini Willielmi JBanistre, milytis" (leaf 142 Z>).

"THE WHOLE PROPHECIES OP SCOTLAND." BEDE. xxxiii

At Sandyfurde, for-suthe, in the south syde,

A pruude prunce in the prese lordly sail lythe,
Wyth balde bernes in bushment the batell sail mete ;

Thar sail profecy proffe that thomas of tellys, &c.

Betuix Setone and the See sorow sail be wrought.

Then the lyonne wytht the lyonisses efter thai sail Reigne ;

Thus bretlingtone bukis and bawestre us tellis,
Merlyne and mony moo that mene of may mene,

And the expositwis Wigythtoune & thomas wytht-all iellis.

In the printed edition of 1603 the two last lines run :

Merling & many more that with meruels melles
and also Thomas Rymour in his tales telles.

What follows is also reproduced in many later prophecies :

Sone at the Saxonis -shall chese {?ame a lorde, He that is dede ande beryde in syght

And full sone bryng hyme at \nder, Sail Ryse ayane, and lyffe in lande,

A dede maw sail make [thame] A-corde In comforte of A yhong knyght

And that sail be full mekyl wonder. That fortoune has schose to be hir husbande.

The " prophecie of Beid," the second in the collection, appeals to Thomas for
confirmation, and mentions Sandeford, as in 1. 624 of our Eomance :

Who so trusts not this tale, nor the tearme knowes,
Let him on Merling meane, and his merrie words,
And true Thomas tolde in his time after
At Sandeford shall be seen example of their deeds.

Bede died five hundred and fifty years before True Thomas ; but clearly the
support of the latter was too valuable to be sacrificed to a trifling question of dates !
His prophecy is specially directed to Berwick- on-Tweed, formerly the first of
the four great burghs of Scotland, but now, alas ! in the grip of the English :

Though thou be subiect to the Saxons, sorrow thou not,
Thou shall be loosed at the last, belieue thou in Christ .!

The year MCCCCLXXX is indicated by a method of which many imitations
occur after, for the prophets had on the whole but little original genius, and when
one of them started game, however poor, the rest all followed in the chase till it was

done to death :

Who so doubts of this dead or denyes heereon,
I doe them well for to know, the dait is deuised,
Take the formest of midleird, & marke by the selfe [M]
With foure crescentes, closed together, [COCO]

Then of the Lyon the longest see thou choose [L]

Loose not the Lyones, let her lye still,
If thou castes through care, the course of the heauen,
take Sanctandrois Crose thrise [XXX]

Keep well these teachments as Clarkes hath tolde
thus beginnes the dait, deeme as thou likes,
thou shall not ceis in that seit assumed in the text.
ERC1LDOUN, C

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

The year 1480 was that in which James III allowed himself to be enticed "by
the King of France into breaking the truce with Edward IV, as a result of which
Berwick was captured by the English in 1482, and in spite of the prophecy, which
was no doubt composed or compiled soon after, was never again recovered by
Scotland. As to the influence which pretended prophecies had upon the conduct
of the king at this very time, see Ty tier's History of Scotland, p. 214. Nor was
the belief in such occult agencies less powerful in England : see Greene's History
of the English People, p. 268.

" The prophecie of Merlyne," which follows, after 16 lines of alliterate rhyme,
beginning

It is to fal when they it finde The Beare his musal shal vpbinde,

that fel on face is faine to flee And neuer after bund shal be

That commed are of strodlings strinde, Away the other shal wxe with winde
Waxing through the worke of winde And as they come so shall they flee

introduces an ancient alliterative poem of marked Arthurian cast, which I have
reprinted in my Introduction to the " Complaynt of Scotland," p. xlvi. From its
contents, I am inclined to think that it may have been compiled shortly after the
death of Alexander III, and I think the description of the " kid conqueror " and
" kind lord of all Bretaine that bounds to the broad See," is clearly derived from
obscure legends of the expected return of Arthur.

" The prophecie of Bertlingtoii " the Brydlyngton, 1 to whom the Lansdowne
MS. attributes the " Cok in the North " prophecy is a medley of older fragments
of various ages, some alliterative, some in rhyme, some in both, and some in neither,
ingeniously adapted and fitted together, and interpolated with others here first met
with, about the son of a French wife, a descendant of Bruce within the ninth
degree, who should unite England and Scotland in one kingdom. This, which be-
came in the sequel by far the most famous of all the prophecies, was skilfully
analyzed by Lord Hailes in his " Eemarks on the History of Scotland " (Edin., 1773),
and shown to have been intended originally for John, Duke of Albany, son of
Alexander, brother of James III and his French wife, the daughter of the Count of
Boulogne, who came to Scotland, after the death of James IY in the Battle of
Flodden, and from whose regency great things were hoped. Lord Hailes, however,
has inadvertently accused the author of inventing many things, which he really
found in prophecies of the preceding century, and transferred, as they were still

1 " John Bridlington, an Augustine Canon of Bridlington in Yorkshire, who wrote 3 books
of ' carmina vaticinaliaj in which he pretends to foretell many accidents that should happen
to England. MSS. Digby, Bibl. Bodl. 89 and 186. He died, aged 60, in 1379, and was canon-
ized." Warton.

"THE WHOLE PROPHECIES OP SCOTLAND." BERTLINGTON.

xxxv

unfulfilled, to his own prediction, honestly believing, no doubt, that they were now
to be accomplished. Such were the prediction that Albany should land in the
Forth (which he did not), and the "thrice three " years after '13, given him for the
performance of his doughty deeds (which he utterly failed to do). He starts with
alliterative verse :

When the Ruby is raised, rest is there none,

But much rancour shal rise in River & plane.

Throw a tretie of a true, 1 a trayne shal be made,

That Scotland shal rew, and Ingland for ever,

For the which Gladsmoore, & Gouan mure gapes thereafter.

Then, an adaptation of some lines in the prophecy of Merlin introduces the
new prediction :

And then shall come againe riding

With eyes that men may see,
At Aberladie he shall light

With hempen halters & hors of tree ;
On Gosforde greene it shall be scene,

On Gladsmoore shall the battle be.
Now Albanie thou make the boun,

At his bidding he thou prompt, [? yare]
He shal deile both towre and towne,

His guiftes shal stand for euer more.

[? mare]
Then boldly boun the thereafter.

Betwixt Temptallon & the Basse

thou shall see a right faire sight,

Of barges & bellingars, and many broad saile,

With iij Libertes and the flourdelice hie vpon

hight
And so the dreadful Dragon shall rise from

his den
And from the deepe doughtelie shall draw to

the height.
Of Bruce's 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 ;

The original of this is in the " Ancient Scottish Prophecy," No. 1 in E. E. T. S.,
No. 42, edited by Mr Lumby, already referred to :

Fra bambrwgh to the basse on the brayde See,

And fra farnelande to the fyrth salbe a fayr syghfc

O barges and ballungerys, and mony brod sayle :

and the lybberte with the flurdowlyss sail fayr ther apon.

Thar sal A huntter in hycht come fra the Southe.

Wyth mony Rechis on Raw Rewleyd full Ryght.

Then the stob-cross and the crow, the dead man rising, and Gladsmoor, as before :

Upon a broad moore a battle shal be,

Beside a stob crose of stone,
Which in the Moore stands hie,
It shal be clearly cLed ouer with corps of

knights,
That the crow may not find where the crose

stoode,

Many wife shal weepe, and Sice shall vnder,
the ded shal rise, and that shal be wonder,

And rax him rudely in his shire shield,
For the great comfort of a new King.
Now hye the powok with thy proud showes,
Take thy part of the pelfe when the pack opens.
It shall not be Gladsmoore by the sey
It shall be Gladsmoore where euer it be
And the little lowne that shall be
Is betuixt the Lowmond and the sea.

1 True, trew, the proper singular of trewis, treives, truce, now treated in English as a
singular ; Fr. treve, pi. treves.

XXXVI

INTRODUCTION.

Then, after much alliterative matter about a hound out of the south, an Egle
out of the north, a Ghost out of the west, and the bastard in wedlock born, as in
Thomas, to do doughty deeds, and bring all to peace again, comes a clearer
delineation of Albany, several quotations from Thomas and Merlin, and appeals to
them and Bede for confirmation, ending appropriately with an Arthur bit to clench

all:

How euer it happen for to fall,

The Lyon shal be Lord of all.

The French wife shal beare the sonne,
Shal welde al Bretane to the sea,

And from the Bruce's blood shall come.

As near as the ninth degree.
Meruelous Merling that many men of tells,
And Thomas sayings comes all at once
Thogh their sayings be selcouth, they shal be suith found.
And there shal all our glading be,

The Crowe shal sit upon a stone
And drink the gentle blood as free

Take of the ribes, and beare to her birdes,
As God hath said, so must it be,

Then shal Ladies laddes wed,

And brooke Castles, and Towers hie.
Bede hath breued in his booke, and Banister also,
Meruelous Merling, and al accordes in one,
Thomas the trew, that neuer spake false
Consents to their saying, & the same terme hath taken,
Yfet shall there come a keene Knight ouer the salt sea,

A keene man of courage, and bolde man of armes,
A Duke's son doubled, a born man in France,

That shal our mirthes amend, and mend all our harmes,
After the date of our Lord 1513. & thrise three there after,
Which shal brooke al the braid He to him selfe,
Betwixt xiij. and thrise three the Threip shal be ended,
the Saxons shal neuer recouer after,
He shal be crowned in the kith, in the Castle of Douer,
Which weares the golden garland of Julius Cesar
More worship shal he win, of greater worth,
Than euer Arthur himselfe had in his daies,
Many doughtie deedes shal he doe there after,
Which shal be spoken of many dayes better.

I have treated this composition at greater length, because it illustrates very
clearly the history of the prophecies generally, which were formed by compiling the
unfulfilled portions of older predictions already current, and giving them point and
application to events now in view or expectation. The prophecy of the French
wife's son was a very striking one, and was fondly cherished by the nation. After
miserably failing in its original application to Albany, it was served up again and
again in new combinations all through the sixteenth century.

"THE WHOLE PROPHECIES OF SCOTLAND." THOMAS RYMOUR. xxxvii

It reappears in the next piece in the collection of 1603, "the prophecie of
Thomas Kymour " himself, which, from its nominal connexion with the subject of
this work, I print entire in the Appendix. Although, unconnected with the older
poem, it bears a considerable resemblance to it in imagery. There is a vision of
a lady on a " louely lee," whose mount and array is fully described, and several
lines and couplets are actually taken from the older Thomas. It seems originally to
have appeared shortly after the battle of Flodden, referring in lines 109 125 to the
doubtful fate of James IV, and in

The sternes three that day shall die,
That beares the harte in silver sheen,

to the death of the heir of the house of Douglas.

But it seems to have been interpolated to suit the time of the battle of
Pinkie, which is cleverly identified with the " Spyncarde clow " in line 496 of our
Romance. Now also the prediction of " the French Wife " and her son was added
to the prophecy, being awkwardly interpolated into an inquiry as to the narrator's
name, at the close. The origin of this prediction, forty years before, being now
quite forgotten, it was accepted as a genuine deliverance of the Rymour himself,
and continued to be held in the highest credit as his. It was applied to Queen
Mary, as having been the wife of a French prince, by the poet Alexander Scott in
his " New Year's Address to the Queen," and finally, when her son James YI actu-
ally succeeded to the English throne, the renown of Thomas as the accredited author
of the prophecy filled all Britain, and excited attention even beyond the seas.

" The prophecie of Waldhaue," * which comes next, is in fine alliterative
measure, reminding one in its commencement of " Piers Plowman " :

Upon Loudon Law a lone as I lay
Looking to the Lennox, as me leif thought,
The first morning of May, medicine to seeke
For malice and melody that moued me sore.

While in this situation the author " hears a voice which bids him stand to his
defence ; he looks round, and beholds a flock of hares and foxes pursued over the
mountains by a savage figure, to whom he can hardly give the name of a man. At
the sight of Waldhave, the apparition leaves the object of his pursuit, and assaults
him with a club. Waldhave defends himself with his sword, throws the savage to
the earth, and refuses to let him rise till he swear, by the law and leid he lives

1 St Waldhave or Waltheof, the most famous of the early abbots of Melrose (1148 1159),
was grandson of the great Earl Waltheof, by his daughter Matilda, wife of Simon de St Liz,
earl of Northampton, and afterwards of David I. His life, full of miraculous legends, was
written by Josceline, a monk of Furuess Abbey.

xxxviii INTRODUCTION.

upon, ' to do him no harm.' This done, he permits him to rise, and marvels at
his strange appearance :

He was formed like a freike, all his foure quaters
And then his chin and his face haired so thick,
With haire growing so grime, fearful to see.

He answers briefly to Waldhave's inquiry concerning his name and nature, that
he 'drees his weird,' i. e. endures his fate, in that wood; and having hinted that
questions as to his own state are offensive, he consents to tell ' the fate of these
wars,' and concludes with

Go musing upon Merlin if thou wilt
For I mean no more, man, at this time."

The whole of this scene is exactly similar to the meeting of Merlin and
Kentigern as related by Fordun. Merlin's prophetic outpourings consist chiefly
of short apostrophes to the principal towns and fortresses of Scotland; for

What Jangelst thou Jedburgh, thou Jages for nought,
there shal a gyleful groom dwel thee within,
The Towre that thou trustes in, as the truth is,
Shal be traced with a trace, trow thou non other.

The next piece, " Here followeth how Waldhaue did coniure this Spirit to
shew much more of sindrie things to come, as foloweth," seems to be a later com-
pilation, made up of pieces from the older prophecies in the name of Merlyne and
true Thomas. The transactions of " the Lillie, the Lyon, and the Libbart," form
its immediate burden, but it quotes the legend of the dead man rising again,

' as meruelous Merling hath said of before.'
There are also many references to Thomas :

The first roote of this war shal rise in the north,

That the lies and Ireland shal mourne for them both,

And the Saxons seased into Brutes landes.

This is a true talking [takyn] that Thomas of tells,

that the Hare shal hirpil on the hard stones,

In hope of grace, but grace gets she non,

Then Gladsmoore and Gouane shal gape there after.

The "token" here alluded to is in the very ancient prophecy of Thomas to the
Countess of Dunbar, in the Harleian piece already quoted (p. xviii). The date
fixed on seems to be 1485, and the prophecies of Merling, Bede, Thomas and
"VValdhave, are quoted as already existing :

''THE WHOLE PROPHECIES OP SCOTLAND." WALDHAVE. xxxix

When the Moone is dark in the first of the number, [M]

With foure Crescentes to eik forth the daies [CCCC]

And thrise ten is selcouth to see, [XXX]

With a L. to lose out the rest of the number, [L]

Syne let three and two Threipe as they will [V]

This is the true date that Merling of tells,

And gaue to King Uter, Arthures father :

And for to mene and muse with there merrie wordes,

For once Brittaine shal be in a new knightes handes,

Who so hap to byde shall see with his eies,

As Merling and Waldhaue hath said of before,

And true Thomas told in his time after,

And Saint Beid in his booke breued the same,

Mute on if ye may, for mister ye haue,

I shal giue you a token that Thomas of tells,

When a lad with a Ladie shal goe ouer the fields,

And many faire thing weeping for dread,

For loue of there dear freindes lies looking on hilles,

That it shal be woe for to tel the teind of there sorrow.

The token of the "Lad," or man-servant and "the Lady," is found both in the
old Harleian piece and our Eomance ; in the former, among the paradoxical things
to happen before the war's end

When ry^t and wrong ascentej? to gedere,
When laddes weddej? levedies ;

in the latter, 1. 651, as a result of the carnage in the last battle at Sandyford,

ladys shalle wed laddys ^yng,
when \>er lordis ar ded away.

See the same figure repeated in the "Prophecie of Eertlington," already cited,
p. xxxvi.

Waldhave's pieces are followed by "the Scottes prophesies in Latine," and
" the prophesie of Gildas," seemingly directed against reformation in the church.
Older still than Bede by three centuries, Gildas, to do homage to Thomas, still
more daringly defies chronology :

Prepare thee, Edinburgh, & pack up thy packes,
thou shalt be left void, be thou leif or loath,
Because thou art variant, and flemed of thy faith
throgh Envie & couetousnes that cumbered thee euer.
True Thomas me told in a troublesome time
In a haruest morning at Eldound hilles.

Passing " the prophecie of the English Chronicles," an extract from Higden,
we come to " the prophecie of Sibylla and Eltraine," which appears to refer to the
troubles during the regency of the Earl of Arraij in the minority of Mary :

INTRODUCTION.

When the Goate with the gilden home is

chosen to the sea

The next yeare there after Gladsmoore shal be
Who so likes for to reade,
Mereuelous Marling and Beid,
In this maner they shal proceede,
Of thinges unknowne
the truth now to record,
And that from the date of our Lord,
Though that it be showne,
take a thousand in Calculation [M]

And the longest of the Lyon, [L]

Foure Crescentes under one Crowne [CCCC]
With Saint Andrews Grose thrise, [XXX]
then threescore and thrise three, [LX.IX]
Take tent to Merling truly,
Then shal the warres ended be
And neuer againe rise.

In that yeare there shal ring
A Duke and no crowned king.
Because the prince shall be young
and tender of yeares.

"The date above hinted at seems to be 1549, when the Regent, by means of
some succours derived from France, was endeavouring to repair the consequence of
the fatal Battle of Pinkie. Allusion is made to the supply given to the Moldi-
warte [England] by the fained hart [the Earl of Angus]. The regent is described
by his bearing the antelope ; large supplies are promised from France, and com-
plete conquest promised to Scotland and her Allies."

Thus shall the warres ended be
Then peace and pollicie
Shall raigne in Albanie
Still without end,

And who so likes to looke,
The description of this booke,
This writes Beid who will looke.
And so doth make an end.

" Thus was the same hackneyed stratagem repeated, whenever the interest of the
rulers appeared to stand in need of it."

Happily the need was not to last for ever. That Union, so long expected, and
so oft deferred, of England and Scotland, under one sovereign was at length accom-
plished. To add lustre to it, the Queen of Sheba and the Cumaean Sibyl are rolled
into one, and furnish the crowning " prophecy " of the book :

" Heere followeth a prophesie pronounced by a Noble Queene and matron
called Sibylla Regina Austre. That came to Solomon throgh the which she com-
piled foure bookes at the instance and request of the said King Solomon and
others diuers, and the fourth booke was directed to a noble King called Baldwine,
King of the broade He of Bretaine : of the which she maketh mention of two
Noble princes and Emperours the which is called Leones of these two shall subdue
and ouercome all earthlie princes, to their Diademe & Crowne, and also be glorified
and crowned in the heauen among Saints. The firste of these two, Is, Magnus
Constantinus that was Leprosus, the Son of S. Helene that found the Croce. The
second is, the Sixte King of the name of Steward of Scotland the which is our,
most Noble King ! "

12. It was in the year that James VI ascended the English throne that
the prophecies, having at length been accomplished, were in greatest credit and
renown. Robert Birrell, in his Diary, tells us that "at this time all the haill
commons of Scotland that had red or understanding, wer daylie speiking and

INFLUENCE OF THOMAS AT THE UNION, AND IN 1746. Xli

exponing of Thomas Rymer hes prophesie, and of vther prophesies quhilk wer
prophesied in auld tymes." John Colville, in his funeral oration on Queen
Elizabeth, mentioned the " carmina " of Thomas the Rhymer, which as a boy he
had heard quoted by lalathrones ceraulas, and then looked upon as only subjects
for laughter, but now recognized as serious and authentic ; though, like his prede-
cessor "Wyntown, he was equally in doubt whether the inspiration of Thomas was
Delphic or divine. Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling (1580 1640), in
dedicating his " Monarchicke Tragedies " to King James, refers to the same

belief :

Ere thou wast borne, and since, heaven thee endeeres,

Held back as best to grace these last worst times ;
The world long'd for thy birth three hundreth yeeres,

Since first fore-told wrapt in propheticke rimes.

Nor does his more celebrated contemporary, William Druminond of Hawthorn-
den (1585 1649), neglect to offer to his royal patron the same nattering

incense :

This is that king who should make right each wrong,

Of whom the bards and mysticke Sibilles song,

The man long promis'd, by whose glorious raigne

This isle should yet her ancient name regaine,

And more of Fortunate deserve the stile

Than those where heauens with double summers smile.

Forth Feasting, Edin., 1617.

Archbishop Spottiswood (1565 1639) was a firm believer in the authenticity
of these compositions. In his " History of the Church of Scotland " he says, " the
prophecies yet extant in Scottish JRithmes, whereupon he was commonly called
Thomas the Rhymer, may justly be admired, having foretold, so many ages before,
the union of England and Scotland, in the ninth degree of the Brace's blood, with
the succession of Bruce himself to the crown, being yet a child, and other diuers

particulars which the event hath ratified and made good Whence or

how he had this knowledge, can hardly be affirmed ; but sure it is, that he did
divine and answer truly of many things to come." (Spottiswoode Society's Ed.,
Vol. I, p. 93. Edin., 1851.)

13. These alleged revelations received considerable attention even during the
Jacobite rising in 1745. It appears that the final accomplishment of the unful-
filled parts of Thomas's predictions was now expected. The Duke of Gordon, one
of the friends of the Stuart cause, was recognized as the "Cock of the North;"
and in the flush of triumph at their easy victory of Prestonpans, within six miles
of the parish church of Gladsmuir in East-Lothian, and not a third of that distance

xlii

INTRODUCTION.

from Seaton, a village about a mile from the sea, on the line of the railway "between
Edinburgh and Dunbar, the Jacobites identified it with the great Armageddon of
the prophecies, the " Battle of Gladsmoor " itself. Hamilton of Bangor sang

As over Gladsmoor's blood-stained field,
Scotia imperial goddess flew,

Her lifted spear & radiant shield,
Conspicuous blazing to the view ;

*****

while in other songs we find

With him I plough'd the stormy main,
My breath inspir'd the auspicious gale ;

Eeserv'd for Gladsmoor's glorious plain,
Through dangers wing'd his daring sail.

Cope turn'd the chace, & left the place ;

The Lothians was the next land ready ;
And then he swure that at Gladsmuir

He would disgrace the Highland plaidie.

The battle of Gladsmoor, it was a noble stour, For Master Johnnie Cope, being destitute of

And weel do we ken that our young prince hope,

wan ; Took horse for his life & left his men ;

The gallant Lowland lads, when they saw the In their arms he put no trust, for he knew it

tartan plaids, . was just

"Wheel 'round to the right, and away they ran. That the king should enjoy his own again.

It was no doubt in reference to the use thus made of them, that Lord Hailes, in
his Remarks on the History of Scotland (Edin., 1773), thought it necessary to give
a serious refutation of the alleged prophecies of Thomas the Rhymer ; " for, let it
be considered," he says, " that the name of Thomas the Rhymer is not forgotten in
Scotland, nor his authority altogether slighted, even at this day. Within the
memory of man, his prophecies, and the prophecies of other Scotch soothsayers,
have not only been reprinted, but have been consulted with a weak, if not criminal
curiosity. I mention no particulars ; for I hold it ungenerous to reproach men with
weaknesses of which they themselves are ashamed. The same superstitious credulity
might again spring up. I natter myself that my attempts to eradicate it will not
prove altogether vain."

The " Whole Prophecies " continued to be printed as a chap-book down to the
"beginning of the present century, when few farm-houses in Scotland were without
a copy of the mystic predictions of the Rhymer and his associates.

1 4. NOT was the name of Thomas of Erceldoune less known and reverenced in
England than in Scotland. Exclusive of the fact that all t'ie copies we have of
the old romance and prophecies have come down to us at the hands of English
transcribers, the English prophetic writings of the 15th and 16th centuries abound
in appeals to his authority and quotations acknowledged and unacknowledged from
the predictions attributed to him. The period in English History, when these

ENGLISH PROPHECIES ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS. xliii

predictions were most in vogue, was that which intervened between the decline
of the fortune of the House of Lancaster, about 1430, and the full establishment
of the Tudors, and completion of the rupture with Borne under Henry VIII. The
numerous battles during the Wars of 'the Roses, especially that of Barnet, the over-
throw of the Yorkist cause at Bosworth, the appearance of Yorkist pretenders under
Henry VII, the defeat of the Scots at Flodden, and the daring of Henry VIII in
defying the pope and suppressing the religious orders, were all the theme of soi-
disant prophetic rhymes. One of these, claiming to be a joint production of
" Veneraibilis Bede, Marlionis, Thome Arslaydoun, et aliorum " (the last being by
far the most certain of the ingredients), and which is in all probability the actual
" Prophisies of Eymour, Beid, and Marly ng," with which Sir David Lyndesay re-
galed the childish ears of James V, I have printed in Appendix II. In its com-
mencement it is identical with the Scotch " Prophesie of Thomas Rymer," in Ap-
pendix I, and the two have evidently been expanded from the same original nucleus.
It occurs both in the Lansdowne MS. of 1529, which supplies one of the copies of
our romance, and in the Bawlinson MS. C. 813 at Oxford. Both texts, as will be
seen, are transcripts of older ones.

The Sloane MS. 2578 also contains many kindred productions, one of which,
concerned with the battles "between Seton and the Sea," at Gladsmoor, and at
Sandeford, and other mysterious episodes of Fytt III of " Thomas of Ersseldowne,"
and giving to these an English application, is added in Appendix III ; shorter
" prophecies " of the same nature appear among the illustrative notes to Fytt III of
the romance.

1 5. In Thomas's own locality of Tweedside, as well as elsewhere in Scotland,
many traditional predictions ascribed to him have long been current. Several of
these were recorded by Scott in " the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," others
have since been given in the " History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club " and
other local publications, and by Eobert Chambers in his " Popular Ehymes of Scot-
land." (N&w Edition, 1870.) Among these, "the Bhyrner" is said to have pro-
'phesied of the ancient family of Haig of Bemerside, with an early member of
which, Petrus de Haga, we have already seen him connected, and whose family
motto, according to Msbet, was " Tide what may,"

Betide, betide, whate'er betide,
Haig shall be Haig of Bemerside.

"The grandfather of the present (1802) proprietor of Bemerside had twelve
daughters, before his lady brought him a male heir. The common people trembled
for the credit of their favourite soothsayer. The late Mr Haig was at length born,

INTRODUCTION.

and their "belief in the prophecy confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt." Minstr.
Scott. Bord. 9 vol. iii. p. 209. Dr R. Chambers, in a note to this "prophecy" in
" Popular Ehymes of Scotland," p. 297, says, "1867 The prophecy has come to
a sad end, for the Haigs of Bemerside have died out." My local correspondents
inform me that the condolence is premature, as Miss Sophia Haig, the 21st in un-
interrupted line from Petrus de Haga, is still alive in Italy.

Sir Walter Scott continues, " Another memorable prophecy bore that the old
Kirk at Kelso (fitted up in the ruins of the Abbey) should fall when at the fullest."
At a very crowded sermon, about 30 years ago (1770), a piece of lime fell from the
roof of the Church. The alarm for the fulfilment of the words of the seer became
universal, and happy were they who were nearest the door of the doomed edifice.
The church was in consequence deserted, and has never since had a chance of
tumbling upon a full congregation.

" Another prediction, ascribed to the Rhymer, seems to have been founded on
that sort of insight into futurity, possessed by most men of sound and combining
judgment. It runs thus :

At Eldon tree if you shall be,

A brigg ower Tweed you there may see.

The spot in question commands an extensive prospect of the course of the
river ; and it was easy to foresee that when the country should become in the least
degree improved, a bridge would be somewhere thrown over the stream. In fact,
you now see no less than three bridges from that elevated situation."

Others of these traditional predictions are recorded as :

Vengeance ! vengeance ! when & where 1

On the house of Coldingknow, now & ever mair !

The burn o' breid, [Bannockburn]
Sail rin fu reid.

A horse sail gang on Carolside brae
Till the red girth gaw his sides in twae.

The hare sail kittle [litter] on my hearth stane
And there will never be a laird Learmont again.

The three latter of these are evidently distorted echoes of passages in the old
prophecies. The last of them, in the form " When hares kendles o the herston," is
really a line of the old Cottonian prophecy describing the desolation to which Scot-
land was to be reduced before the end of the English War, but locally it has been
adapted to the fate of Thomas's own roof-tree, and in this acceptation says Mr
Currie, "I saw it, with my own eyes, fulfilled in 1839, as it may easily have been

LOCAL TRADITIONS OF THOMAS AND HIS PREDICTIONS. xlv

many times before. The rumour spread in Earlstoun that one of the Ehymer's most
celebrated prophecies had been fulfilled, and I well remember running with all the
rest of the town, to see the hare's nest ; and sure enough there it was two young
hares in a nettle bush in the fire place ! "

" One of the more terrible predictions of the Rhymer is as follows :

At Threeburn Grange, in an after day,

There shall be a lang and bloody fray ;

Where a three thumbed wight by the reins shall hald

Three kings' horse, baith stout and bauld,

And the Three Burns three days will rin

Wi' the blude o' the slain that fa' therein.

"Threeburn Grange (properly Grains) is a place a little above the press,
Berwickshire, where three small rills meet, and form the water of Ale. ' Thirty
years ago, this rhyme was very popular in the east end of Berwickshire; and
about the time of the French Eevolution, a person of the name of Douglas being
born in Coldingham parish with an excrescence on one of his hands, which bore
some resemblance to a third thumb, the superstitious believed that this was to be
the identical ' three-thumbed wight ' of the Rhymer, and nothing was looked for
but a fearful accomplishment of the prophecy." x

" The following," says Dr R. Chambers, " is perhaps not ancient, but it ex-
presses that gloomy fear of coming evil which marks so many of the rhymes attri-
buted to Thomas :

When the white ox comes to the corse,
Every man may tak his horse.

Similar in spirit is :

Atween Craik-cross and Eildon-tree,
Is a' the safety there shall be,

varied in Galloway

A' the safety there shall be,

Sail be atween Criffel and the sea.

" The first space is one of about thirty miles ; the second much narrower. Sir
Walter Scott relates that the first of these rhymes was often repeated in the
Border Counties during the early years of the French revolutionary war, when the
less enlightened class of people laboured under the most agonizing apprehensions
of invasion. In the south of Scotland, this prophecy then obtained universal
credence ; and the tract of country alluded to was well surveyed, and considered
by many wealthy persons, anxious to save their goods and lives, as the place to
which they would probably fly for refuge * in case of the French coming.' "
1 History of Berwickshire Naturalist's Club, vol. i. p. 147.

xlvi INTRODUCTION.

Within my own memory a prophecy used to be quoted of a time when " men
shall ride to the horses' reins in blude,

And if any safety there shal be

'Twill be 'tween Craig House & Eildon Tree,"

often varied, however, with " 'tween Hawick & Eildon Tree." Craig House is a
small estate, between Leader-foot and Smailholm, about a mile from Bemerside,
and thus at a very short distance from Eildon. The oldest form of this couplet is
found in the " Prophecy of Bertlington " of 1515, already quoted p. xxxv :

And the little lowne [shelter] that shall be
Is betuixt the Lowmond and the sea.

" A verse referring to the future improvement of the country may be taken as a
curious specimen of foreseeing wisdom. Thomas had the sagacity to discover that
the ground would be more generally cultivated at some future period than it was
in his own time ; but also knowing that population and luxury would increase in
proportion, he was enabled to assure the posterity of the poor that their food would
not consequently increase in quantity. His words were :

The waters shall wax, the wood shall wene,
Hill and moss shall be torn in ;

But the bannock will ne'er be braider."

" It is certain that many rhymes professedly by our hero were promulgated in
consequence of particular events. Of this character is :

There shall a stone wi' Leader come,
That'll make a rich father, but a poor son ;

an allusion to the supposed limited advantage of the process of liming. The High-
landers have also found, since the recent changes of tenantry in their country, that
Thomas predicted that ' The teeth of the sheep shall lay the plough on the shelf.'
I have been assured that the name of Thomas the Rhymer is as well known at
this day among the common people in the Highlands, nay, even in the remoter of
the "Western Isles, as it is in Berwickshire. His notoriety in the sixteenth
century is shown in a curious allusion in a witch-trial of that age namely, that of
Andro Man, which took place at Aberdeen in 1598. In his ditty, Andro is
charged with having been assured in his boyhood by the Queen of Elfin, * that thow
suld knaw all things, and suld help and cuir all sort of seikness, except stane deid,
and that thow suld be weill intertenit, but wald seik thy meit or tliow deit, as
Thomas Rymour did ' [that is, beg his bread]. Also : ' Thow affermis that the
Quene of Elphen hes a grip of all the craft, but Christsondy [the devil] is the
guidman, and hes all power vnder God, and that thow kennis sindrie deid men in

LOCAL TRADITIONS OP THOMAS AND HIS PREDICTIONS.

tliair cumpanie, and that the kyng that deit in Flowdoun and Thomas Rymour is
their.' 1 Spalding Club Miscellany r , i. 119 121.

" The common people at Banff and its neighbourhood preserve the following
specimens of the more terrible class of the Rhymer's prophecies :

At two full times, and three half times,

Or three score years and ten,
The ravens shall sit on the Stones o' St Brandon,

And drink o' the blood o' the slain !

The Stones of St Brandon were standing erect a few years ago in an extensive
level field about a mile to the westward of Banff, and immediately adjacent to the
Brandon How, which forms the boundary of the town in that direction. The field
is supposed to have been the scene of one of the early battles between the Scots
and Danes, and fragments of weapons and bones of men have been dug from it.

"An Aberdeenshire tradition represents that the gates of Fyvie Castle had
stood for seven years and a day wall-wide, waiting for the arrival of True Tammas,
as he is called in that district. At length he suddenly appeared before the fair
building, accompanied by a violent storm of wind and rain, which stripped the
surrounding trees of their leaves, and shut the castle gates with a loud clash. But
while the tempest was raging on all sides, it was observed that, close by the spot
where Thomas stood, there was not wind enough to shake a pile of grass or move a
hair of his beard. He denounced his wrath in the following lines :

Fyvie, Fyvie, thou s' never thrive,
As lang's there's in thee stanis three :
There's ane iutill the highest tower,
There's ane intill the ladye's bower,
There's ane aneath the water-^ett,
And thir three stanes ye s' never get.

The usual prose comment states that two of these stones have been found, but that
the third, beneath the gate leading to the Ythan, or water-gate, has hitherto baffled
all search.

" There are other curious traditionary notices of the Ehymer in Aberdeenshire ;
one thus introduced in a View of the Diocese of Aberdeen written about 1732 : ' On
Aiky Brae here '[in Old Deer parish] are certain stones called the Cummin's Craig,
where 'tis said one of the Cummins, Earls of Buchan, by a fall from his horse at
hunting, dashed out his brains. The prediction goes that this earl (who lived under
Alexander III.) had called Thomas the Rhymer by the name of Thomas the Lyar,
to show how much he slighted his predictions, whereupon that famous fortune-teller
denounced his impending fate in these words, which, 'tis added, were all literally
fulfilled :

Xlviii INTRODUCTION.

Tho' Thomas the Lyar thou call'st me, Thy neckbane shall break in twa,

A sooth tale 1 shall tell to thee : And dogs shall thy banes gnaw,

By Aiky side thy horse shall ride, And, maugre all thy kin and thee,

He shall stumble and thou shalt fa', Thy own belt thy bier shall be.'

" It is said that Thomas visited Inverugie, which in later times was a seat of the
Marischal family, and there from a highstone poured forth a vaticination to the fol-
lowing effect : Inverugie by the sea,

Lordless shall thy landis be ;

And underneath thy hearth-stane

The tod shall bring her birdis hame.

This is introduced in the manuscript before quoted, at which time the prophecy might
be said to be realized in the banishment and forfeiture of the late Earl Marischal
for his share in the insurrection of 1715. The stone in which the seer sat was
removed to build the church in 1763 ; but the field in which it lay is still called
Tammas's Stane.

" One of Thomas's supposed prophecies referring to this district appears as a mere
deceptive jingle : when Dee and Don shall run in one>

And Tweed shall run in Tay,
The bonny water o' Urie
Shall bear the Bass away.

The Bass is a conical mount, of remarkable appearance, and about 40 feet high,
rising from the bank of the Urie, in the angle formed by it at its junction with the
Don. The rhyme appears in the manuscript collections of Sir James Balfour, which
establishes for it an antiquity of fully two hundred years. It is very evident that
the author, whoever he was, only meant to play off a trick upon simple imaginations,
by setting one (assumed) impossibility against another.

"A native of Edinburgh, who in 1825 was seventy-two years of age, stated
that when he was a boy, the following prophetic rhyme, ascribed to True Thomas,

was in vogue : Y ork was, London is, and Edinburgh will be

The biggest o' the three.

In his early days, Edinburgh consisted only of what is now called the Old Town ;
and the New Town, though projected, was not then expected ever to reach the
extent and splendour which it has since attained. Consequently, it can scarcely be
said that the prophecy has been put in circulation after its fulfilment had become a
matter of hope or imaginable possibility. It is to be remarked, however, that there
is a similar rhyme popular in England. Stukely, in his Itinerarium Curiosum,
after expatiating upon the original size and population of Lincoln, quotes as an old

LOCAL TRADITION OF THOMAS'S DISAPPEARANCE. xlix

Lincoln was, London is, and York shall be
The fairest city of the three.

' One of the rhymes most popular at Eaiistoun referred to an old thorn-tree which
stood near the village, and of which Thomas had said,

This thorn-tree, as lang as it stands,
Earlstoun shall possess a' her lands.

The lands originally belonging to the community of Earlstoun have been, in the
course of time, alienated piecemeal, till there is scarcely an acre left. The thorn-
tree fell during the night in a great storm which took place in the spring of 1814.

" The Ehymer is supposed to have attested the infallibility of his predictions by
a couplet to the following effect :

When the saut gaes abune the meal
Believe nae mair o' Tammie's tale.

In plain English, that it is just as impossible for the price of the small quantity of
salt used in the preparation of porridge to exceed the value of the larger quantity of
meal required for the same purpose, as for his prophecies to become untrue."
Popular Rhymes of Scotland, by Eobert Chambers, LL.D. New Edition, 1870,
pp. 211 224. (See some additional particulars after the Notes.)

There is said also to have been a popular tradition, how far independent of the
written remains, one does not know of the intercourse between Thomas and the
Fairy Qneen as related in the Ballad. " The popular tale bears, that Thomas was
carried off at an early age to the Fairy Land, where he acquired all the knowledge
which niade him afterward so famous. After seven years' residence he was permitted
to return to the earth, to enlighten and astonish his countrymen by his prophetic
powers ; still, however, remaining bound to return to his royal mistress, when she
should intimate her pleasure. Accordingly, while Thomas was making merry with
his friends in the Tower of Ercildoune, a person came running in, and told, with
marks of fear and astonishment, that a hart and hind had left the neighbouring
forest, and were composedly and slowly parading the street of the village. The
prophet instantly arose, left his habitation, and followed the wonderful animals to
the forest, whence he was never seen to return. According to the popular belief, he
still ' drees his weird ' in Fairy Land, and is one day expected to revisit earth. In
the meanwhile his memory is held in most profound respect. The Eildon Tree,
from beneath the shadow of which he delivered his prophecies, now no longer
exists ; but the spot is marked by a large stone called Eildon Tree Stone. A neigh-
bouring rivulet takes the name of the Bogle Burn (Goblin Brook), from the
ERCILDOUN. d

I> 1RODUCTIOX.

Rhymer's supernatural visitants." 1 Border Minstrelsy, Vol. Ill, p. 209. Scott
adds that " the veneration paid to the dwelling-place of Thomas even attached
itself in some degree to a person, who, within the memory of man, chose to set up
his residence in the ruins of Learmont's tower. The name of this man was Murray,
a kind of herbalist ; who, by dint of some knowledge in simples, the possession of a
musical clock, an electrical machine, and a stuffed alligator, added to a supposed
communication with Thomas the Rhymer, lived for many years in very good credit
as a wizard." But Dr R. Chambers, in a note (Pop. Rhymes, p. 214), pronounces
this account a strange distortion and mystification of the fact that a respectable and
enlightened physician, Mr Patrick Murray, who "pursued various studies of
a philosophical kind not common in Scotland during the eighteenth century," and is
known as the author of some medical works, lived in the tower of Thomas of
Ercildoun, then a comfortable mansion ; and adds, " when we find a single age, and
that the latest and most enlightened, so strangely distort and mystify the character
of a philosophical country surgeon, can we doubt that five hundred years have
played still stranger tricks with the history and character of Thomas the Rhymer 1 "
16. Eildon Tree, referred to in the Romance, and connected traditionally with
Thomas's prophecies, stood on the declivity of the eastern of the three Eildon Hills,
looking across the Tweed to Leader Water, Bemerside, Earlstoun, and other places
connected with Thomas. Its site is believed to be indicated by the Eildon Stone,
" a rugged boulder of whinstone " standing on the edge of the road from Melrose to
St Boswell's, about a mile south-east from the former town, and on the ridge of a
spur of the hill. 2 " The view from this point," says a correspondent, " is unsur-

1 My friend, Mr Andrew Currie of Darnick, has sent me tbe following tradition of the disap-
pearance of Thomas, which he took down 35 years ago from the mouth of " Rob Messer, a very
intelligent matter-of-fact man, well versed in all traditionary lore about Earlston, and possess-
ing a wonderful memory for a man of 85 " : " Ye want to ken if ever aw heard how Tammas
the Rymer disappeared ? Weel, aw can tell ye something aboot that, as aw had it frae ma
graanfaither, an' nae doot he had it frae his fore-bears, for we're als auld a family in Yerlsten,
or raither Ercildoun, as it was caa'd i' thae days we're als auld as the Learmonts. D'ye
see thae auld waa's i' the front o' yeir ain shop ? weel man, aw mind o' that bein' a gay an'
subtantial boose i' maa young days, an' Tammas the Rymer was last seen gaan' oot o' that
hoose eae nicht afore the derknin', an' he set off up Leader for Lauder Cas'le ; but he ne'er gat
there he never was sene againe. Aw've heard 'at he geade in there to get some deed signed
or wutness 't, an' that he was carryan' money wi' him to some Lord or great man up there, 'at
he was inimate wi'. But ma granfaither uist to say an' nae doot he had it bandit doon
that Leader was i' great fluid at the time, an' that Tammas the Rymer had been robbit an'
murdert an' his body thrawn into the water, whulk micht take it to Berwick. An' that's
likker-like than the Fairy story ! Sae ye hae 'd, as aw had it, frae thaim 'at was afore us."

2 Mr Currie has a verbal tradition that the tree stood not by the stone, but a quarter of a
mile higher up the base of the hill, where he says " the site of it was pointed out to me thirty
years ago by the late James Williamson of Newstead, and I believe I could still plant my stick

THE EILDON TREE, AND " HUNTLEE BANKIS." li

passed ; on the north you have the vale of Leader almost up to Earlston, and
Cowdenknowes with its ' Black Hill ' rising abruptly from the bed of the stream ;
while downward to Tweed the undulating expanse of woody bank is so beautiful,
that in the time of the ' bonny broom,' I am often tempted to bend my steps to the
spot, and ' lie and watch the sight/ from a spot once ' underneath the Eildon Tree.'
In the close vicinity is the ' Bogle Burn,' a stream which rises on the slope of the
Eastern Eildon, and flows down a deep glen into the Tweed a little to the north of
Newtown St Boswell's. From the Eildon Stone the road descends some 500 yards
in a straight line to the bed of the burn, and rises at the same angle to the opposite
bank in true Roman fashion. In all probability the name of Bogle Burn is derived,
as Sir Walter Scott suggested, from the Rhymer's supernatural visitants."

About half a mile to the west of the Eildon Stone, and on the slope of the same
hill, we find the " Huntlee bankis " of the old romance. The spot lies a little above
the North British Railway, at the point where it is crossed by the road to St Bos-
well's already referred to, about a quarter of a mile after leaving Melrose Station.
The field next the road and railway at this point (No. 2405 on the Ordinance Map)
is called Monks' Meadow; and higher up the hill above this are two fields (Nos. 2548
and 2408) which have preserved the name of Huntlie Brae, and to which in old
John Bower's time tradition still pointed as the scene of Thomas's vision of the
" Ladye." West of these lie the site of Gallows Hill and Bower's Brae, and a long
narrow strip to the east, ascending from the road to the top of Huntlie Brae, is
called the Corse Rig, and still burdened in its charter with an annual payment for
the maintenance of the Town Cross of Melrose. From the small plantation at the
head of the Corse Rig, at the east end of Huntlie Brae, a magnificent view is afforded
of the surrounding locality, and in particular the eye has a full sweep along the road
and hill side as far as the Eildon Stone and site of the ancient Tree. 1

on the spot." But the general voice of tradition is, and apparently has been, that the tree stood
by the stone itself. "This spot," says T. B. Gray, Esq., in a note to me on the subject, "is
in fact the point of vantage whence the most extensive view in the neighbourhood is com-
manded. Higher up the hill, or lower down the hill, or farther back on the road, Melrose and
all its beauties are lost, and Huntlee Brae itself shut out from sight ; while from the stone, Be-
merside, Smailholm Tower, Gladswood, Drygrangc, Cowdenknowes, the Black Hill, Earlstoun
(almost), Leader-foot and bridge, Galtonside, Galawater, and a long stream of silvery Tweed,
start at once upon the view." Mr Gray also thinks that the spot was probably in olden times
the site of a cross for the special devotion of pilgrims catching their first glimpse of St Mary's
shrine from the east. There was a similar one on the west, at a point called to this day " High
Cross," between Melrose and Daruick ; and according to old Milne, in 1743, "a little to the
southwest of Dingleton was a famous Cross, yet called the Crosshillhead, but anciently the Hale-
sing of St Wada ; for those that came from the South had first a view of the church here, and
of the Tomb of St Waldhaue, and bowed and said their Are."

1 For the satisfactory identification of "Huntley Baukes" I am indebted entirely to

lii

INTRODUCTION.

Sir Walter Scott seems at first to have looked for "Huntlee bankis" in the vi-
cinity of the Eildon Tree, but, as is well known, he afterwards affected to identify
the name with a wild and picturesque ravine, then called "Dick's Clench," which runs
by the base of the "Western Eildon, two or three miles to the west of this, which he,
" with his peculiar enthusiasm, purchased at probably fifty per cent, above its real
value, in order to include it in his estate of Abbots ford." By skilfully planting
the steep and often rugged sides, and leading a romantic pathway up the margin of
the burn, which with many a cascade flows through it, he made " the Rhymer's
Glen," as he christened it, a place of beauty to be visited by every tourist, albeit its
real" associations are with the modern "wizard of Tweedside," and not with the an-
cient seer of legend and tradition. The locality in fact possesses no view, and is
not even in sight of the Eildon Tree, distant more than two miles on the other side
of the mountain mass of the Eildons, and it may be more than suspected that the
desire of bringing some of the romance of the old story to his own estate, was Sir
Walter Scott's reason for naming it " the Rhymer's Glen ; " although he had this
" hair to mak a tether o'/' that the name of " Huntley Wood " appears to have been
borne by a small plantation which once stood on the hill side above Chiefswood,
and so not far from his glen, and his l ' Huntley-burn."

1 7. Scott, in the " Border Minstrelsy," and Robert Jamieson, in his " popular
Ballads and Songs," Edinburgh, 1806, give what professes to be a traditional ballad
of "Thomas and the Queen of Elfland," considered by the former to be a genuine
descendant of the old romance modified by oral tradition. " It will atford great

T. B. Gray, Esq., already mentioned, who by indefatigable perseverance has succeeded in seiz-
ing the last vestiges of an expiring tradition as to the site. Mr Gray first called my attention
to the following passage in old John Bower's Account of Melrose : " At the foot of the Eil-
don Hills, above Melrose, is a place called HuntUe Brae, where Thomas the Rhymer and the
Queen of the Fairies frequently met, according to tradition. A little to the east of this is the
trysting-tree stone" Mr Gray expressed his opinion that the place referred to must be the field
or bank, adjoining what is called the Gallows Hill, but he was as yet unable to find the faintest
tradition of the place having borne this name. Subsequently however he writes (8th Nov. 1875) :
" I am happy to say that I have identified IIiintlie-Brae to my entire satisfaction, and in such
a situation as to give a vivid tone pf reality to the old Romance. Through the kindness of
James Curie, Esq., of Messrs Curies & Erskines, solicitors here, I have been able to confirm old
Bower's statement that there was such a place, arid the senior partner of the firm assures me
that he recollects quite well his father (an old man when he died) pointing out the very field
my suspicions had fallen upon, as ' Huntlie-Brae.' By the Parish Ordinance Map Mr Curie
was able to put his finger on the identical spot as fields 2408 and 2584. And now I am pleased
to add that the locality is in entire harmony with the poetical reference ; for if ' True Thomas '
lay on Huntlie Brae or Bank, he would have a clear and distinct view of the ' ladye gaye ' all
the way along the road, or the hill side, to the Eildon Stone, a distance of fully half a mile.
I had the pleasure on Friday afternoon to lead our friend Mr Currie over the spot, and he
agrees with me as to the entire harmony between the site and the description in the ballad."

THE "TRADITIONAL" BALLAD OF TRUE THOMAS. liii

amusement," he says, " to those who would study the nature of traditional poetry,
and the changes effected by oral tradition, to compare the ancient romance with the
ballad. The same incidents are narrated, even the expression is often the same ;
yet the poems are as different in appearance, as if the older tale had been regularly
and systematically modernized by a poet of the present day." That the " as if " in
the last sentence might safely be left out, and that the "traditional ballad" never
grew " by oral tradition " out of the older, is clear enough to me, even without the
additional particulars that the source of the verses was that Mt Athos of antique
ballads, Mrs Brown's MS. Jamieson only says his copy was " procured from Scot-
land." The two copies differ in extent and expressions. To complete our Thomas
literature they are here added in parallel columns. l

THOMAS THE KEYMEE.

JAMIESON. SCOTT.

True Thomas lay o'er yonder bank, True Thomas lay on Huntlie bank ;

And he beheld a lady gay, A ferlie he spied wi' his ee ;

A lady that was brisk and bold, And there he saw a ladye bright,

Come riding o'er the fernie brae. 4 Come riding down by the Eildon tree.

Her skirt was of the grass- green silk, Her shirt was o' the grass-green silk,

Her mantle of the velvet fine ; Her mantle o' the velvet fyne ;

At ilka tate o' her horse's mane At ilka tett of her horse's mane,

Hung fifty siller bells and nine. 8 Hung fifty siller bells and nine.

1 Jamieson's copy apparently came from the same source as Scott's ; see the following
extract from a letter of Anderson, of the "British Poets," to Bishop Percy, given by
Nicholl : " Mr Jamieson visited Mrs Brown on his return here from Aberdeen, and obtained

from her recollection five or six ballads and a fragment The greatest part of them is

unknown to the oldest persons in this country. I accompanied Mr Jamieson to my friend
[Walter] Scott's house in the country, for the sake of bringing the collectors to a good under-
standing. I then took on me to hint my suspicion of modern manufacture, in, which Scott had
secretly anticipated me. Mrs Brown is fond of ballad poetry, writes verses, and reads every-
thing in the marvellous way. Yet her character places her above the suspicion of literary
imposture ; but it is wonderful how she should happen to be the depository of so many curious
and valuable ballads." See Nicholas Illustrations of Literature, p. 89.

Elsewhere in the same letter we read : " It is remarkable that Mrs Brown never saw any
of the ballads she has transmitted here, either in print or manuscript, but learned them all
when a child by hearing them sung by her mother and an old maid-servant who had been long
in the family, and does not recollect to have heard any of them either sung or said by any one
but herself since she was about ten years of age. She kept them as a little hoard of solitary
entertainment, till, a few years ago, she wrote down as many as she could recollect, to oblige
the late Mr W. Tytler, and again very lately wrote down nine more to oblige his son, the pro-
fessor."

liv

INTRODUCTION.

JAMIESON.

True Thomas he took off his hat,

And bow'd him low down till his knee ;

" All hail, thou mighty queen of heaven !
For your like on earth I never did see ! " 1 2

" no, O no, True Thomas," she says,
" That name does not belong to me ;

I am but the queen of fair Elfland,

And I am come here to visit thee. 1G

" But ye maun go wi' me now, Thomas,
True Thomas, ye maun go wi' me ;

For ye maun serve me seven years, 27

Through weal and wae, as may chance to be."

She turned about her milk-white steed,
And took true Thomas up behind,

And ay whene'er her bridle rang,

Her steed flew swifter than the wind. 32

O they rade on, and farther on,

Until they came to a garden green ;

" Light down, light down, ye lady free,

Some o' that fruit let me pull to thee." 40

" no, no, True Thomas," she says,
" That fruit maun no be touch'd by thee ;

For a' the plagues that are in Hell

Light on the fruit o' this countrie. 44

" But I have a laef here in my lap,
Likewise a bottle of clarry wine ;

And now, ere we go farther on,

We'll rest a while, and ye may dine."

When he had eaten and drank his fill,
The lady said, " ere we climb yon hill,
Lay your head upon my knee,
And I will show you ferlies three.

SCOTT.

True Thomas, he pull'd aff his cap,
And louted low down to the knee,

" All hail, thou mighty queen of heaven !
For thy peer on earth I never did see."-

" no, O no, Thomas," she said,
" That name does not belang to me ;

I am but the queen of fair Elfland,
That am hither come to visit thee.

" Harp and carp, Thomas," she said ;

" Harp and carp along wi' me ;
And if ye dare to kiss my lips,

Sure of your bodie I will be." 20

" Betide me weal, betide me woe,

That weird shall never daunton me "

Syne he has kissed her rosy lips,

All underneath the Eildon tree. 24

" Now ye maun go wi' me," she said ;

" True Thomas, ye maun go wi' me ;
And ye maun serve me seven years,

Thro' weal or woe as may chance to be."

She's mounted on her milk-white steed ;

She's ta'en True Thomas up behind :
And aye, whene'er her bridle rung,

The steed flew swifter than the wind.

O they rode on, and further on ;

The steed ga'ed swifter than the wind ;
Until they reached a desert wide,

And living laud was left behind. 3G

" Light down, light down, now, true Thomas,
And lean your head upon my knee ;

Abide and rest a little space,

And I will show you ferlies three.

THE "TRADITIONAL" BALLAD OF TRUE THOMAS.

JAMIESON.

' see you not yon narrow road,

So thick beset with thorns and briers?

That is the path of righteousness,

Though after it there's few inquires. 56

" And see ye not yon braid, braid road,

That lies across yon lily leven ?
That is the path of wickedness,

Though some call it the road to heaven. 60

" And see ye not that bonny road,
That winds about the fernie brae ?

That is the road to fair Elfland,

Where you and I this night maun gae. 64

" But, Thomas, ye maun hald your tongue,
Whatever ye may hear or see ; 66

For gin a word ye should chance to speak,
You will ne'er get back to your ain countrie."

For forty days and forty nights

He wude through red blood to the knee ;

And he saw neither sun nor moon
But heard the roaring of the sea.

He's gotten a coat o' the even cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green ;

And till seven years were past and gone,
True Thomas on earth was never seen.

SCOTT.

" see ye not yon narrow road,

So thick beset with thorns and briers ?

That is the path of righteousness,
Though after it but few enquires.

" And see ye not that braid braid road,

That lies across that lily levin ?
That is the path of wickedness,

Though some call it the road to heaven.

"And see ye not that bonny road,
That winds about the fernie brae ?

That is the road to fair Elfland,

Where thou and I this night maun gae.

" But Thomas ye maun hold your tongue,

Whatever ye may hear or see ;
For, if you speak a word in Elflyn land,

Ye'll ne'er get back to your ain countrie."

they rade on, and farther on,

And they waded through rivers aboon the

knee,

And they saw neither surt nor moon,
But they heard the roaring of the sea.

It was mirk mirk night, and there was nae

stern light,
And they waded through red blude to the

knee ;

For a' the blude that's shed on earth 75

Rins through the springs o' that countrie.

Syne they came to a garden green,
And she pu'd an apple frae a tree

" Take this for thy wages, true Thomas :
It will give thee the tongue that can never
lee." 80

" My tongue is mine ain," true Thomas said ;
" A gudely gift ye wad gie to me !

1 neither dought to buy nor sell,

At fair or tryst where I may be. 84

" I dought neither speak to prince or peer,
Nor ask of grace from fair ladye."

" Now ask thy peace ! " the lady said,

" For as I say, so must it be." 88

He has gotten a coat of the even cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green ;

And till seven years were gane and past
True Thomas on earth was never seen.

INTRODUCTION.

DESCRIPTION OE THE MSS.

THE three fyttes of Thomas of Erceldoune are preserved in four MSS. : the
THORNTON MS. in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral; the MS. Ff. 5. 48. in the
University Library, CAMBRIDGE ; the COTTON MS., Yitellius E. x. ; and the Lans-
downe MS. 762, in the British Museum ; while the prophecies alone, without the
introductory Fytt I., are found in a fifth, the SLOANE MS. 2578, also in the British
Museum.

The THORNTON MS. (Lincoln A. 1. 17.) is a well-known repository of romances
and devotional pieces in the Northern dialect, many of which have already been
printed by the Early English Text Society, written mainly by Eobert Thornton of
East Newton, Yorkshire, about A.D. 1430 1440. It " is written on 314 leaves of
paper, in a somewhat small hand, in folio, measuring llf in. by 8; but un-
fortunately imperfect both at the beginning and end, and also wanting leaves in a
few other places." The first piece which it contains, a " Li-fe of Alexander the
Great," appears to be in an older hand, and to have been originally a distinct MS.
In it the letters "J>" and "y" are distinct; while elsewhere in the MS. they are re-
presented by the same character, except in the Romance of Syr Perecyuelle of Galles,
also in a different hand. " Tomas of Ersseldowne " occupies nine pages, beginning at
top of leaf 149, back, and ending on the 2nd column of leaf 153, back, with 15 lines,
and the remainder of the column blank. It is written in double columns of from
36 to 40 lines in a column. All these leaves are more or less injured; leaf 149
very slightly so, at the lower corner, where the beginnings of 11. 35, 36 are worn
off. In leaf 150, the bottom lines in the outer columns 178 on the front, and
218 on the back are torn through ; at bottom of leaf 151, the ends of lines 336
339 and the beginnings of lines 377 379 are torn off. Leaf 152 is greatly injured,
the lower part having been torn out by a tear extending diagonally across from
beginning of 1. 446 to end of 1. 440, and from beginning of 1. 478 to end of 475
on the front, and from beginning of 1. 512 to end of 514, and beginning of 1. 555 to
end of 560 on the back. Of leaf 153 there remains only a fragment containing on
the front 20 lines of the first column nearly entire, the first letters of 15 more, and
the four last with the whole of eol. 2 gone ; on the back similarly, col. 1 is gone
entirely, and col. 2 wants a large part of the beginnings of the lines. The
mutilated state of this MS. is the more to be regretted, that it occurs at a part of
the poem originally found in the Thornton only, and now therefore entirely lost.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MSS. Ivii

This MS. presents, on the whole, a very careful and accurate text ; only in a few
places, as mentioned in the subsequent notes, Eobert Thornton has misread his
original, which can however generally be restored. It is, in date probably, in form
certainly, the oldest of the existing MSS., retaining the original Northern form of
the language little altered ; while it is free from most of the corruptions with which
the next two MSS., the Cambridge and Cotton, abound.

MS. CAMBRIDGE, Ff. 5. 48. A paper manuscript in quarto, of 140 leaves, with
about 30 lines on a page, English handwriting of the middle of the 15th century.
It consists of five parts, whereof the first, leaves 1 66, contains 13 different pieces,
the majority being devotional poems; the second, leaves 67 78, five pieces similar
in character; part third, leaves 79 94, Homilies for St Michael's day, the feast of
the Annunciation, Palm Sunday, &c. ; part 4, leaves 95 114, four articles, of which
the first is entitled Prindpium Anglie ; and part 5, leaves 115 140, four articles, of
which the second (No. 26 in the MS.) is Thomas of Erseldoun. It begins without any
title on leaf 119 a, and ends leaf 1285, occupying nearly 10 leaves, in single
columns. The writing, besides confusing o and e, c and t, which in most cases can-
only be distinguished by the sense, is in many places so much effaced as to present
great difficulties to the reader. R. Jamieson, who printed it in his Ballads and
Songs at the "beginning of the present century, says: "The Cambridge MS. has
suffered by rain-water nearly as much as the Cotton has by fire, a great part of
each page having become illegible by the total disappearance of the ink. By wet-
ting it, however, with a composition which he procured from a bookseller and
stationer in Cambridge, the writing was so far restored in most places, that, with
much poring and the assistance of a magnifying glass, he was able to make it out
pretty clearly. The greatest difficulty he met with was from the unlucky zeal and
industry of some person who long ago, and in a hand nearly resembling the
original, had endeavoured to fill up the chasms, and, as appeared upon the revival
of the old writing, had generally mistaken the sense, and done much more harm
than good." Jamieson little thought that his own "unlucky zeal and industry"
would in process of time entitle him to equal or even greater reprobation, for the
" composition," which he so naively confesses to have applied to the MS., has
dried black, and both disastrously disfigured the pages and seriously increased
their illegibility. Nevertheless, with the experienced help of Mr Bradshaw, to
whose kindness words fail to do justice, I have been enabled to reproduce the text
with greater accuracy than either of its previous editors, leaving only a very few
blanks where words are quite illegible. It presents a South ernized version of the

Ivlii INTRODUCTION.

original, with the sense not seldom-, and the rhyme and phraseology often, sacrificed
in transliteration (as where myglit and mayne becomes mode and mone, in order to
rhyme with gone). It has also many scribal blunders, due apparently to its tran-
scriber not being able perfectly to read his original. In its extent it often agrees
with the Thornton MS. as against later interpolations and omissions, but it has also
large omissions of its own. Where its readings differ from the Thornton, it is
generally unsupported by the other MSS. In some places where it presents the
greatest discrepancy, it can be seen that originally it had the same reading as T.,
but was subsequently altered, and this not always, as Jamieson thought, by some
one trying to restore indistinct passages, for the original is quite distinct, but
crossed through and something substituted. In several instances it misplaces one
or more stanzas as to the order of which all the other MSS. agree. My opinion ot
its text is therefore different from that of Mr Halliwell, who calls it " the earliest
and best," and attributes it to the early part of the 15th century, not to mention
the idea of Mr Wright, who considered it of the age of Edward II. Nevertheless,
it is a valuable MS., especially for those parts where the Thornton and Cotton are
partially or wholly destroyed.

MS. COTTON, Vitellius E. x. " A paper volume in folio, in very bad condition,
consisting of 242 leaves." This is one of the MSS. that suffered severely in the
fire, and consists of charred fragments of greater or less extent of the original
leaves, inlaid and rebound. It contains 26 different articles of the most varied
character, in very different handwriting, but apparently all of the 15th century, a
" Colloquium de rebus aulicis sub initio regni Edwardi IV.," " A sermon preached at
the beginning of Parliament, anno 1483," and other similar sermons in the reigns of
Edward V. or Eichard III. The copy of Thomas of Erseldown which it contains is
in a heavy clumsy handwriting of "about or slightly after 1450." It begins on
the middle of leaf 240 b, with the rubric, " Incipit prophecia Thome de Arseldon,"
and this page contains two columns of 30 lines each. But the rest of the poem is
written in double lines across the page of about 50 (i. e. 100 lines) to the page,
divided in the middle by a heavy red line, or (on leaves 241 b, 242 a, and part of
242 b) by a red paragraph mark. Occasionally the scribe has only got one line in,
which throws him out, so that his following lines consist not of the two first and
two last lines of a stanza respectively, but of the 2nd and 3rd, followed by the
4th and 1st of the next. The poem is written without a break from beginning to
end, except that after line 301-2, line 309-10 (the first two of Fytte II.) imme-
diately follows, but is struck out in red, and repeated after leaving a blank space

DESCRIPTION OP THE MSS. Kx

of one line. ' Fytt I. thus wants its last three (i. e. six) lines. The poem ends at the
very bottom of leaf 243 a, with the rubric .... hecia thome de Arseldoune. From
the burning of the inner side of the leaves of the MS. scarcely one line of the poem
is perfect } very often half the double line is burned away, so that when printed in
single lines it shows in many places only the alternate ones. See lines 221, &c.
The text of this MS., so far as it goes, agrees closely with the Thornton, but it
omits stanzas very often, and, like all the MSS. except the Thornton, it has not
11. 577 604. It has also some singular additions of its own, as lines 109 116,
and others near the end.

MS. LANSDOWNE 7^2, a small 4to MS. of 99 leaves of mixed parchment and
paper, of about 1524 30. It contains a memorandum of the different orders of
Friars in London, and their quarters, as then existing, " the writing of Valeraurice
upon the xxi conjunccion of planetes in the moneth of February, the yere of our
Lord 1524;" a few lines satirizing the craving for prophecies, ending

your tethe whet in this bone
Amonge you euerychone
And lett Colen ) cloute alone.
The prophecy of Skylton
1529

also a prediction of signs and prodigies to happen

In the yere of our lorde I vnderstande
xv" & one and thirty folowand.

as well as various similar predictions for later years. The second naif of the MS.
consists almost entirely of prophetic literature, articles 45, 61 74, 79, 82, 83, be-
ing of this description. " Thomas of Arsildoun " begins without title on middle of
leaf 24 a, and breaks off on leaf 31 a with the first line of a stanza, some 70 lines
from the end, and leaving a blank space of several lines' extent on the page. Leaves
24 28 are paper, 29 31 parchment. The writing is very neat and distinct, in
single columns of 32 lines to the page, and without a single break from beginning
to end, or any larger letter at the fyttes ; but it is divided (in this MS. only) into
double stanzas of eight lines, by paragraph marks down the margin. The omission of
two lines in the 6th stanza (11. 71, 72) causes the paragraph marks for a short way
to be displaced. In addition to its unfinished ending, this MS. omits long passages,
and has three additions of its own, lines 141 156, with its counterpart 237 248,
and the reference to Robert II., 1. 465468.

MS. SLOANE 2578 is a paper MS. of Prophecies, small 4to (8i x 6 in.) of 117
leaves, of the year 1547. It contains several (unfulfilled) predictions of prodigies

INTRODUCTION.

for the years 1550, 1553, and 1556; and the following table, which no doubt
applies to the year of its compilation (leaf 31) :

The Sttm of y' Age of ye worlde vnto y* yeare
of Christ 1547 after the computation

fthe Ebrues f5509]

I mirandula 5041 1

of \ Eusebius <j 6737 1-

Augustyne 1 6891

[alphonse '^8522J

I copy from the Catalogue the following abstract of its contents, with additions
of my own :

1. Alphabetical index of persons, places, and subjects to the ensuing collection, ff. 1 4.

2. Prophecies relative to events in English History, written in verse and prose. Among them

the following may be distinguished.

[Of him that shall wyne the holy cross, leaf 5, a]

The second canto of the prophetic rhymes of Thomas of Ercildon, ff. 6 11 J.
The prophecy of Cadar and Sibilla, ff. 12 15. Beginning:
" Cadar and Sibell bothe of them sayes

The name of Fraunce in his writinge
Kinge to be clepid in many case

In all his lyfe and his lykinge."
Ending :

" As tray tours attainte all shalbe tyde

And thus their sorrow shall wax newe."
Extract from a prophecy by Merlin, ff. 15 b 17 a. Begins :

" When the cock of the northe hathe buylde his neaste."
[See ante, p. xxxii.] Ends :

" desteny shall him not dere."
[Many leaves of short prose prophecies, including those in Appendix II., and at p.

Ixxx, of this volume ; also the computation of the year 1547 already given.]
Prophecy of events to happen in the year 1553, ff. 61 64. Begins :
" To judge the trouthe as before us hathe bene,
So judge we maye all that shall us beseme."
Stanzas f. 64. Begins :

" An Egle shall flye
Up into the Skye

With fyer in his mowthe."

Of the York and Lancaster contests, ff . 68 79. Begins :
" The Scotts shall ryse and make ado
But the Bull shall purvey therfore,
That they shall vanishe & home againe go
And forthink ther rysinge for evermore."
A prophecy of events in English History, ff. 79 I 86. Begins :

" The lande of Albion shall come to corruption by the synne of pride, letcherye,

herysye and tratorye."
A prophecy of the persecutions of the Church, ff. 86 88 &. Begins :

" In the yere of our Lorde God a M.v c Ixv a great tyrant ageynste the Church
with might and mayne shall sley many of the Churche."

PRINTED EDITIONS. Ixi

Another copy of the verses begins :

" When the cocke of the Northe hathe bilde his neste." f. 100 b.

3. A key to the prophecies comprised in the foregoing collection, ff. 112 b 116.

It might be worth while for one of our publishing societies to print the whole
of this MS., as illustrating one phase of English thought in the middle of the
16th century. One of the prose prophecies which specially illustrates Fytt III.
of Thomas of Erceldoun is here added in Appendix II., and two other short ones
will be found in the Notes.

The prophecy of Erceldoun begins at top of leaf 6 a, with the heading,

^ Heare begynethe j?e ij d fytt I saye
of Sir thomas of Arseldon.

It is written in single ^columns of 28 lines each, uninterrupted by a single break,
and ends at foot of leaf 11 b with the word "Finis." A peculiarity of the text of
this MS. is the very frequent omission of the first line of a stanza, to supply the
place of which another is generally interpolated at the end, or some lines farther
on, so as to complete the rhyme. The conclusion is also very much abridged, the
writer seemingly being impatient of everything not prophetic. In other respects
the text agrees very closely with the Thornton MS. both in its extent and readings,
always excepting lines 577 604, found only in that MS.

PRINTED EDITIONS.

FYTTE I. of Thomas of Erseldoune was printed by Scott from the fragmentary
Cotton MS. as a note or Appendix to the so-called " traditional ballad " in the
Border Minstrelsy.

The whole poem was shortly after printed by Eobert Jamieson in his Popular
Ballads and Songs from Tradition, Manuscripts, and Scarce editions, Edin.
1806, from the Cambridge MS., with collations from the Lincoln and Cotton MSS.
Jamieson's edition presents many misreadings and not a few wanton alterations of
the text.

It was also printed in full by David Laing, Esq., LL.D., in his Select Remains
of the Ancient Popular Poetry of Scotland, Edin. 1822, from the Lincoln MS.,
with the blanks of that manuscript partially supplied from the Cambridge text.

In 1845 it was printed by J, 0. Halliwell, Esq., in his "Illustrations of the

Ixii INTRODUCTION.

Fairy Mythology of a Midsummer Night's Dream " for the " Shakespeare Society."
The Editor used the Cambridge MS. (which he calls the " earliest and best," and
attributes to "the early part of the 15th century"), but printed it with much more
care than had been done by Jamieson. He also first indicated the existence of
copies of the poem in the Lansdowne and Sloane MSS., mentioning at the same
time a later transcript to be found in MS. Rawlinson C. 258, in the Bodleian
Library. But a careful examination of this MS. (now C. 813) by Mr Cox
shows that it contains no copy of Thomas of Erceldoune, but that its second half
consists of prophecies, embracing many of those found in Lansdowne 792 and
Sloane 2578, some of which quote Thomas's authority. The Rawlinson C. MSS.
have lately been catalogued, and no copy of "Thomas of Erceldoune" appears
among them.

Finally, Professor F. J. Child of Harvard University, U.S., in the first volume
of his English and Scottish Ballads, London, 1861, reprinted the first fytte of the
Thornton text from Dr Laing's edition of 1822, with corrections. He endorses Dr
Laing's opinion that the Thornton is the earliest text, and " in every respect pre-
ferable to that of either of the other manuscripts ; " an opinion, the correctness of
which will be apparent on a very slight examination of the following pages.

THE PRESENT EDITION.

THE following text exhibits all the MSS. printed in parallel columns. In
Fytte L, where there are only four versions, they are printed in the following
order : THORNTON, COTTON : LANSDOWNE, CAMBRIDGE. But from Fytte II., where
the SLOANE MS. begins, it takes the place of the Cotton in the parallels, and the
fragmentary Cotton text is printed below. Up to line 88 of this edition, the lines
of the Cotton text represent those of the MS., but at that point the latter begins
to be written in double lines across the page, so that the printed lines represent
the half lines of the MS. indicated by a red paragraph mark in middle of the line.
This will explain why, in many places, full lines alternate with defective ones or
blank spaces, where the beginning or end of the MS. lines are burned. But from
Fytte II., where the Cotton text occupies the foot of the page, the lines are printed
as in the MS. with a dot separating the two halves, though for convenience of
reference they are numbered to agree with the single lines above. I have used the
thorn (j>) all through wherever the MSS. represent th by a single character,

THE PRESENT EDITION. Ixiii

whether or not this is identical in form with the y of the MS. In the Lincoln
MS., the thorn is identical with the y, and except at the beginning of a line is
regularly used for th in the 2nd personal pronoun and demonstrative words, ac-
cording to the ordinary MS. usage. In the Cambridge and Cotton MSS., where
also the J> is in form identical with the y y its use for th is still more regular. The
Lansdowne uses the thorn sparingly, but where it does occur it is usually a true J>
with a tall head, and quite distinct from y. Its usual place is here in the 2nd
personal pronoun forms, also often in olpe r, ano^er ; and occasionally it turns up
in strange positions, as in fry}, 1. 319; \ryue and \e, 1. 344; ]>ryue again 464;
lofye, 1. 525.' In the Sloane MS. the thorn is more frequent, and always like a y.

The punctuation and inverted commas are the Editor's, but the capital letters
are as in the MSS. In the Cambridge and Lansdowne MSS., however, it is often
doubtful to say whether the initial A is meant for a capital or not ; both in form
and size, it has a sort of medial or hybrid character which passes insensibly into
either the capital or small letter. In the Thornton the single and final i has
always a tail extending below the line. It is here printed *j '; but of course it
was not a distinct letter, only a "distinguished i" used when the letter stood
alone, or at the end of a word to render it more prominent. The barred H and h",
tagged n), and other marked letters, whose meaning if they had any is doubtful,
are retained in the text. Letters and words accidentally omitted, illegible, obscure,
or in any way doubtful, are enclosed in brackets. These will be found very
frequent in the Cambridge text for reasons already given in describing that MS. ;
and it will be understood that all words there enclosed in brackets indicate indis-
tinct places in the MS., as to the reading of which there exists a reasonable
certainty. Where I have put dots the words are quite gone, although comparison
with the other texts there also generally indicates what is to be supplied.

On account of the different extent of the poem in the various MSS., and the
fact that passages which are found in one are wanting in another, the arrangement
of the texts in parallel columns necessitates frequent breaks in every text, and in
almost every page. There are no breaks or paragraphs in the MSS., which are
written straight on uninterruptedly, with no recognition of any omitted passages.
The stanzas, if indicated, are shown only by lines connecting the ends of the rhym-
ing lines, except in the Lansdowne, which indicates them by marginal paragraph

1 Through an error in the press the thorn appears in the printed text in the following
places where the MS. has th full : 1. 44 the, 108 whet here, 133 clothyng, 135 other, 139, 140
the, 171 that, 188 the, 231 the, 261 The, 284 thre, 292 the, 296 Tliere, 449 The, 544 the. In
ev?ry other place it is as in the MS,

Ixiv INTRODUCTION.

marks. There are no breaks even at the beginnings of Fyttes II. and III., though
some of the MSS. commence these with large initial letters as shown in the
printing.

In a few places where the Cambridge MS. misplaces stanzas, so that the parallel
arrangement cannot be maintained, the transposition is carefully noted by the
numbering of the lines, as, for example, 11. 264, 272 ; 628, 640.

The poem is really in 8-syllabic four-line stanzas, the first line rhyming with
the third and the second with the fourth ordinary " Long Metre " indeed and
would have been here printed as such, but for difficulties occurring where the
second line of one text answers to the first of another, as is the case several times
with the Sloane MS.

In numbering the lines, every line and stanza is counted that occurs in any MS.,
except such as are clearly accidental interpolations, like the two lines in the
Thornton, between 1. 136 and 137, or those added in the Sloane MS. to make up
for a line previously omitted. To this numbering, which is applicable to all the
texts, all references are made. To show, however, what would be the actual
numbering of the separate texts, and to what lines of each any given lines of the
printed edition answer, the following Collation is added, which will also serve to
show more distinctly the passages present and absent in each MS. In cases
where a different order of stanzas or lines occurs in different MSS., I have followed
the order of the majority, or if there are only two texts, that which the sense
seemed to recommend.

COLLATION

OF THE CONTENTS OF THE FIVE MANUSCRIPTS OF THOMAS
OF ERCELDOUNE,

showing the lines present and absent in the various MSS., and the actual lines in

each, which answer to each other and to those numbered in the printed text.

The black line indicates the absence of the passage in that MS.

(For example, the five lines, 89 93 of the printed text, represent 11. 81 85 of the Thornton
MS., 59 63 of the Lansdowne, 61 65 of the Cambridge, and originally answered to 61 65
of the Cotton, destroyed through the partial burning of the MS. They are altogether wanting
in the Sloane.

The four lines 229232 represent 199202 Thornton, 169172 Cotton, 183186 Lans-
downe, 173176 Cambridge, in which MS. they are misplaced between 11. 224 and 225 of the
general numbering.)

COLLATION OF THE CONTENTS OF THE FIVE MANUSCRIPTS.

Ixv

PEOLOGUE.

PRINTED TEXT THORNTON

1_24 124

SLOANE

COTTON

LANSDOWNE CAMBRIDGE LINES

2541

4245

4664

6568

7172

7388

8993

94108

109116

2541

4260

accidentally
omitted '

62
6364

6580
8185
86100

117136 101120

(unnumbered) 121122

137_140 123126
141156

157160 127130

161164 131134

165188 135158

189192 159162

193196 163166

197200 167170

201208 171178

209212 179182

213224 183194

[229232] (see below)

225228 195-198

229232 199202

233236 203206
237248

249260 207218

[269272] (see below)

ERCILDOUN.

FYTT I.
117

1-17
18 1

117

At,

4
19
4
1
1
2
16
5
15
8
20

[2]
4
16
4
4
24
4
4
4
8
4
12

[4]
4
4
4
12
12
W

1C Q

2240

1836
37 40

37 40

42
4344
4560
6165
6680

43 \\

4560

/A1 fi5Mn~f

4358

KQ Q

6680
81 88

6478

GO ino

7998

81100

10Q 11

qq i no

101 104

103 118

mi i a

1 1 q 100

105 108

1 OQ 11

H7_140

123146
147 150

113136
ml 40

ml \ \

151 1 54

ml \\

145_148
1 4Q 1 5fi

1 A K 1 PjO

155 1 fi

IfiS Ififi

157 IfiO

1 K9 If* A

Ifi7 178

ml 7

(see below)
165168
IfiQ 17

(see below)
179182
183186
i Qq i qo

173176
177_180
(see above)
181 184

ml 7fi

iqQ ono

177188

203214
(see below)

185196
m200

Ixvi

INTRODUCTION.

PRINTED TEXT THORNTON

261268 219226

269272 227230

273302 231260

303308 261266

SLOANE

COTTON LANSDOWNE CAMBRIDGE LINES

189196 215222 201208 8

197_200 223226 (see above) 4

201230 227256 209238 30

257262 238244 6

FYTT II.

309316
317320
321324

QOPC QOS

267274

275278
279282

OQQ OQ

18
912
1316
17 on

237244

245248

O/iQ O^O

261270
269274
273278

245252
253256
257260

OAT Ofi/|

8
4
4
4
1
3
4
4
12
4
4
4
8
4
8

[4]
4
8
4
12
4
2
2
2
2
2
2

[2]

329
330332
333_336
337_340
341352
353356
357360
361364
365372
373_376
377_384
[397_400]

3K QQ

287
288290

OQ1 OQ/i

/O1 \ accidentally
(**) omitted

2224

O5 OQ

253
254256

265
266268
fiO 7

OQPC OQQ

OQ QO

0^7 ofiO

073 o7

299310

Ql 1 Q1 A

3344

AK AQ

261272

277290

277288

ooq ooo

315318
319322
323330

4952
5356
5764

273276

277280
281288

289292
293 298
297306

293296
*297 300
301308
309312
313320

321324

331338
(see below)

33Q 3^0

6572
(see below)
7376

77 84

289296
297300

305314
(see below)
313 318

3Q 30fi

343 350

301 308

317 39fi

397400
401 ^11

351354
355 3fifi

8588
8Q 100

(see above)
30Q 30

325330
QOQ 340

413 416

367370
371372
373_374
375376

377 37ft

101 104-

311 34fi

417418
419420
421422
423424
425426
427428
(extra lines)
429430
4.31 439

105106
107108

321 322
323324
3 5 3-^ ft

345348
347350
349352
351 351

325326
327328
329330

379380
381382

109110
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(extra line) 134 [1]

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FYTT III.

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Ixviii

INTRODUCTION.

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Ixix

NOTES TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

The PROLOGUE is found only in the Thornton MS., and is presumably no part of the
Romance in its original form, although from its occurrence in the earliest MS. it must
be little later than the completion of the poem itself as we now have it. It takes the
form of a prelude by a minstrel or reciter to commend the poem to the attention of
his audience who are twice committed as " ynglyschemen " to the safe keeping of
Christ. Unless the word may have been changed for " Scottismen," the prologue is
therefore the addition of a northern English author. Its dialect is pure Northern, less
altered even than the text itself.

L. 1 lystyns, 1. 2 takis, 1. 10, 12 hase. In the Northern dialect since the 12th or
13th century the plural of the present indicative and imperative has ended in -s, when
unaccompanied by its proper pronoun we, ye, they. When these are present there is no
termination. See Dialect of Southern Scotland, pp. 211 214.

1. 2. takis gude tente, take good heed ; tent, no., care, attention, vb. to attend, take
heed; " Tent me, billie there 's a gullie ! " Burns.

1. 7. pristly, readily, quickly, actively. 1. 8. blyne, cease.

1. 11. sere, various, several. 1. 15. tyte, soon, quick.

1. 16. sythene, for the Northern sen, syne, as in 1. 6, which would improve the rhyme.

1. 22. by-leue, remain ; German bleiben, Dutch b-lijven.

FYTTE I.

1. 25 28. The Cotton differs considerably from the others, Th. and Ca. showing
the original reading.

1. 25. Endres-day = ender day, this by-gone day. Icel. endr, of yore, formerly.
Lat. ante. As j myse if e ] ay this enderz nyght

All alone withowten any fere." MS. Rawl. C. 813, leaf 54.

1. 26. grykyng, the graying, or gray of the morning :
" It was na gray day-licht."

1. 28. Huntle banJcys, on Eildon Hills, near Melrose. See Introduction, p. li.

1. 30. Mawes, mavys / L. corruptly maner for manes, the mavis or song thrush ; but
the throstyll of the preceding line is also the thrush, which L. accordingly changes
into the merle or blackbird, menyde, Co. corruptly movyde, bemoaned herself, sung
plaintively.

1. 30, 32. songe, ronge, doubtless originally tne Northern sang, rang, as in 1. 56.

1. 31. The Wodewale, the wood-lark, bcryde, Ca. corruptly farde, vociferated, made

IxX NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

a noise ; " the rumour of rammasche foulis and of beystis that maid greie leir"
Compl. of Scotl, p. 38, 1. 24.

1. 32. shawys in L. for wode of others, still used as an equivalent, in the north.
IB], sJcdg, Dan. skov.

1. 36. lonely, Ca. and L., is no doubt the original, corrupted by T. to longe, and
glossed by Co. asfayre. In Ca. lonely would be as good a reading of MS., but was
lonely = al-onely, then in existence ?

1. 37. jogh, Co. for ]pogh, the j) and 3 frequently confounded by ignorant scribes.

1. 38. wrabbe andwrye : wrolle, ivralle = warble ? sing ; wry = wray, bewray, reveal.
Or perhaps Sc. wrable, warble, wurble, to wriggle, and wrye\ to twist ; to wriggle and
twist with the tongue in the attempt to find language to describe her.

1. 40.. aslcryed, skryed, discryued, described ; Fr. escri-re, descri-re.

1. 41 72. Tiie description of the lady, in which T. and Ca. closely agree, varies
much in Co. and L., the latter inserting 1. 42 45.

1. 46 48. none, schone, bone, stone, in pure Northern would be nane, scheme, bane,
stane; which the original doubtless had. See 11. 81, 83 ; 345, 347.

1. 49. Selle, sadyl, sege, equivalents, the latter properly a seat (of honour). Roelle
bone, called also rewel lone, rowel lone, reuylle lone, " an unknown material of which
saddles especially are in the romances said to be made." See Chaucer's " Sir Topas,"
which presents several points of contact with the description here :

" His jambeux were of cuirbouly, His spere was of fin cypress

His swerdes sheth of ivory, That bodeth werre, and nothing pees,

His helme of latoun bright, The hed ful sharpe y-ground ;

His sadel mas of rewel-bone, His stede was all dapple gray,

His bridel as the sonne shone, It goth an aumble in the way

Or as the mone light. Fully softely and round

In lond."

Rev. W. W. Skeat suggests that " rowel - Latin rotella, Fr. rouelle, i. e. bone rounded
and polished, for the front or peak of the saddle."

1. 52. Crapotee, toad stone : srnaragdus or emerald, " which often contains a flaw, in
shape suggesting a toad." The Promptorium Parvulorum has " Crepawnde, or crapawnde,
precyous stone (crepaud, P.) Samaragdus."

Note. " Crapaude, a precious stone, crapaudine." Palsgrave. Cotgrave explains
crapaudine as signifying " the stone chelonitis, or the toad stone." In the Metrical
Romance of Emare is described a rich vesture, thickly set with gems, rubies, topaze,
" crapowtes and nakette ;" the word is also written crapawtes. More detailed information
will be found in Gesner, de quadrup. ovip. II. 9. See also Donee's Illustrations o'f Shake-
speare, " As You Like It," Act 2, Sc. i. ; and the word " toadstone " in Nares' Glossary.
1. 53. Stones of Oryente, Eastern or Oriental gerns ; the name may have been given
definitely to some stones or varieties of stones only found in the East, as the Turquoise,
which derives its name (pierre turquoise) from Turkestan, where alone it is found.
" The name Oriental Emerald is given to a very rare beautiful and precious green
variety of Sapphire." " The finest red rubies are generally called Oriental Rubies"
So also in " Alliterative Poems," edited by Dr Morris, we have

" f?e grauayl that on grounde can grynde
Wern precious perlez of oryente"

Oryons in Ca. may be oryens, as o and e are generally indistinguishable in this MS.

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY. Ixxi

1. 54. hang, Northern past tense of king.

1. 55, 56 are properly wanting in L., but lines 71, 72 are brought from their own
place instead ; 11. 57 60 are quite altered in L. and Co.

1. 56. a whylle, one while ; indef. article and numeral, identical in N. dialect.

1. 57. garthes, girths or garters ?

1. 60. perelle, pearl ; Ca. perry, pierreries, jewels, precious stones.

1. 61. payetrelle, "breast-leather of a horse"; Fr. poitrail ; L. corruptly parrell,
apparel.

Iral, T. jral fyne, Ca. riall fyne, Co. yra L. Alarane ; the original

probably, Iral-stane, rhyming with scheme. So in the "Anturs of Arthur at Tarn-
wathelan," the Ireland MS. has

" Betun downe berels, in bordurs so brj^te
That with stones iraille were strencult and strauen,
Frettut with fyne gold that failis in the fijte."

And the Thornton MS. of the same :

" Stones of iral they strenkel, and strewe,
StiJ>e stapeles of stele J>ey strike don stijt."

I can get no liglii on iral-stane ; the scribes also seem not to have understood it,
and hence their alterations, rial, alarane, &c.

1. 62. Orphare, orfevrie, goldsmiths' work ; Lat. aurifaber, Fr. orfevre, a goldsmith.

1. 63. Reler in L. perhaps corrupt for silver, as gold, which the others have, had
been already put in the rhyming line.

1. 65 68 in Co. look like a variation of the stanza before, with the lines,

" A semly sy^t it w[as to se]
In euery joynt [hang bellis thre]."

1. 65. Ca. for iij,/o?* was originally written and struck out.

1. 67 70 in Ca. are clearly an awkward interpolation in the midst of an original
stanza; the lines are omitted in MS., but written at side and foot with marks of
insertion.

. 68. lire in Ca. (A.S. Ueor} face, cheek.

. 69. grewe hound, the Grey hound or Greek hound, Canis Grains, still called in
Scotland a Grewe, which was the Older Scotch for a Greek.

. 70. rache, a hound that follows by the scent, as the Grewe does by sight.

. 71. halse, neck ; A.S. heals.

. 72. flone, properly flane, to rhyme with rane above, an arrow; A.S. flan.

. 74. ane semely tree, bespeaks a Scotch original.

. 75. He sayd : so 1. 87, and sayd ; 1. 157, scho sayd ; 1. 161, And say d. These
words, as in the old Romances generally, are extra-metrical, and are rather directions
to the reader or reciter, like the names of speakers in a Shakspearian play, or our
modern inverted commas, than part of the poem, to be said or sung. They were read
only by a change of tone or a gesture.

1. 75, 77. $one, Th. ; the other MSS. show that this demonstrative was already
little used in English proper.

1. 80, 84. Eldoune tree. A solitary tree that formerly stood on the slope of one of
the three Eildon Hills near Melrose ; see Introduction, p. 1. Ca. does not understand
the local reference, and makes eldryne = eldera, like oaken, beechew.

Ixxii NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

1. 81. radly, rathely ; A.S. hrcedllce, quickly, readily. The Northern rase, when
altered to rose in the other three MSS., ceases to rhyme- with sayes.

1. 83. als the storye sayes, and again 123, als the siorye tellis full ryghte, implies an
older version of the tale than that in the poem. See Introduction, p. xxiv.

1. 87. and sayd, T. and Co. See 1. 75, n.

1. 89. mylde of thoght in T. and L., shown by the rhyme to be the original.

1. 94. payrelde, apparelled.

1. 95. fee in the original sense of A.S./eoA, Germ. Vieh, beasts, cattle.

1. 96. rynnys, Northern pi. with noun subject, of which Ca. rannen for rennen is
Midi., and L. rennyng, a scribal misconception of the latter.

1. 98. balye in Ca. mistake of scribe for folye ; so 1. 3\,farde for beird.

1. 99. ivysse, wyce, wise, rhymes with price. It is still always so pronounced in
North.

1. 102. Ca. reads let meb me be.

1. 104. synne in T. probably an interpolation ; gives rise to mistake in L. of syne,
then, thereafter.

1. 106. L. read dwelle. 1. 107. trowche = trowthe.

1. 108. by hues. See 1. 22.

1. 109 116, interpolated in Co., are not in keeping with the context, but probably
the boast which the lady fears was true to the manners of the age.

1. 115. crystenty ; Fr. chretiente, Christendom.

" Three blither lads that lang lone nicht

Were never found in Christendee" Burns.

1. 116. Co. wryede, accused, bewrayed; A.S. wrfyean, wre^od.

1. 119. T. chewys fyewerre ; Co. cheuyst, achievest, succeedest, comest off, the worse;
Ga. glosses thryuist, and L. corrupts to chece hit, perhaps chesit, chose !
1. 125. the[e\ lykes, impersonal, te delectat.

"At first in heart it liked me ill
When the king praised his clerkly skill." Scott, Marmion, vi. 15.

1. 126. byrde, bride, married lady ; Piers Plowman has burde, buirde, birde, berde ;
deel = dele, deal, probably the original ; Ca. has dwel.
1. 132. are, A.S. cer, ere, before.
1. 135. hir a schanke blake, her one leg black, her other grey. Ca. had originally,

" \}Q too shanke was blak, J?e io\>ur gray
and alle hir body like J>e leede."

which is the same as T. (J>e too, ]?e fojmr = tyet oo, J?e-ojmr, the one, the other) ; but
the second hand has altered it into the reading of the text, where 6foo, beten, and leed,
may be equally blee, beton, lood.

1. 139. fasyd in L., a scribal error for fadyd.

1. 141 156. L. The conduct attributed to Thomas is unworthy, and the whole
scene out of keeping. The rhymes also break down into mere assonances.

1. 157. scho sayd, T. See 1. 75, n.

1. 158. Ca. again brings in the eldryne ire.

1. 159. gone can hardly be original, as the pure Northern would be gaa. I suggest
wone = dwell.

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

1. 1GO. Mc.dill-ertlie ; A.S. middan-eard Isl. mid-gard, the Earth, as the middle
region of the Old Northern cosmogony.

1. 161 164. Ca. has a remarkable variation, bringing out more clearly that Thomas
invokes not the lady, but the Queene of Heuene, Mary mylde.

1. 167. by-teche, be-teche ; A.S. be-tcecan, to deliver, commit.

1. 169. Eldone Hill, on the Tweed, near Melrose ; a mountain mass divided into
three summits. See Introduction, p. xlix. Ca. again says eldryne tre, but the latter
word is erased, and hill substituted.

1. 170. derne, secret. Ca. has grenewode tre } the last word obliterated, and lee
substituted.

1. 171. Ca. had originally, -.

" It was derk as mydnyght myrke,"
as in Th., but this is altered to,

" Wher hit was derk as any hell."

The former would seem to be the correct reading, though it rhymes with itself, instead
of 1. 169, and the attempt to make it rhyme with the latter has caused the three
different readings in Ca., Co., and L.

1. 173. montenans, amount ; glossed space in Ca., mistaken in L.

1. 176. fowte in Ca. looks \\kefewte; fawte is correct ; Fr.faute, failure, want.

1. 177. herbere, garden of herbs or trees, enclosed garden, later summer-house. The
original word appears to have been the O.Fr. herbier, a herbary, in O.E. herber, erber ;
but to have been confounded with the O.E. herber^e, hereberwe, herborwe, herbor, herber,
A.S. hereberge, Icel. herbergi, O.H.G. heriberga, harbour, shelter, hospitium. " Wo bist
du zur Herberge" John i. 38. Luther. Then it has been misspelt in modern times
arbour from its assumed connexion with trees. At Cavers, in Roxburghshire, there is
a hill called the Herber Law or Pleasure-garden Hill (pronounced as in " to herber
[harbour] thieves." The Herbere in the poem was clearly a garden of fruit trees.
Note that Orchard (in South Sco. Wurtshert) now a garden of fruit trees, was originally
also a garden of herbs or vegetables, Wyrtyard.

1. 180. damasee, the Damascene, or Damson :

" J>er weore growyng so grene
\}Q Date wijj the Damesene." Pystil of Sivete Susanne.

" The plum is a native of Caucasus and Asia Minor. Cultivated varieties, according to
Pliny, were brought from Syria into Greece, and thence into Italy. Such was, for
instance, the Damson or Damascene Plum, which came from Damascus in Syria, and
was very early cultivated by the Romans." Treasury of Botany, p. 932.

1. 181. wyneberye, the grape ; A.S. win-berime, pynnene in L. is perhaps adjective
from pine, but fre is no doubt for tre. %

1. 182. T. nyghtgale, A.S. nihtegale, night-singer, night-gladdener ; the others have
the inserted n, nyghtyw-gale, found in the South as early as Chaucer.

1. 183. paydays; Ital. papagallo, i.e. Pope-cock; Sp. papagay ; O.Fr. papegay,
Russian popagay, a parrot or " popinjay ; " Sc. Papingo.

1. 191. or, ere, before ; " or ever they came at the bottom of the den," Dao. vi. 24.
Or is still the regular Northern form of ere, antequam.

1. 193. hyghte, call, command, past used for present.

1XX1V NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

1. 199. paye, to pacify, please, satisfy, and hence pay; Lat. pacare; Ital. pagare ;
Fr. payer.

1. 201 216. The MSS. differ much in particulars, but, with exception of Co., all make
four ways, which seem to be to heaven, purgatory, and hell, and (but coming first in
the list) from purgatory to heaven, " whan synful sowlis haue duryd ther peyn."

1. 204. rysse, ryce, rese, rise; A.S. hris, twig, brushwood. Still in common use in N.

1. 209 212. Wanting in Co., and varies greatly in the others, tene & traye, pain
and trouble; A.S. te6na and trega. drye, Ca. endure; A.S. dreogan; Sc. dree.

1. 219. it bearis the belle, occupies the first rank, surpasses all, alluding to the leader
of a flock or herd which has a bell round its neck.

1. 223. me ware leuer, impersonal, mihi fuerit satius, I had rather =. I would rather
have it.

1. 225. Here Ca. transposes two stanzas, but the order is obvious. The lady takes
the most certain means of preventing Thomas from divulging secrets by binding him
to answer no one but her.

1. 230. L. thirty bolde barons and thre: this jingling combination of numbers dis-
tinguishes the later prophecies, and modern-antique ballads, but is not found in the earlier.

1. 231. desse, deyce, the raised dais (O.Fr. dels ; Lat. discus) at top of the hall.

1. 235. as white as whelys bone, the ivory of the narwhal or walrus.

1. 237 252. These inquisitive demands of Thomas are only in L., but seem old.

. 250. hir raches couplede, her hounds having been coupled again.
. 261. Ca. here again transposes three stanzas.

. 267. T. bryttened, cut up, broke down; A.S. brytan, to break; brytnian, to dis-
pense ; L. trytlege, scribal error for brytlning, as in Ca. ; wode, mad.
. 274. parde, per deum.

. 276. My lufly lady sayd to me ; so all the older MSS. L. alone changes it into 3rd

perSOD ' " To hym spake that ladye fre.' '

. 277. \e buse = (it) behoves thee ; past tense, bud, byd, behoved ; he byd be a fule !

. 286. thre ^ere ; Ca. says seuen, which is the traditional period.

. 288. sJcylle, reason, cause, as well as the reasoning faculty.

. 289. to-morne, still Northern English, " to-morn 't morn," to-morrow morning ;
Scotch the morn.

1. 290. amange this folke will feche his fee, refers to the common belief that the
fairies " paid kane " to hell, by the sacrifice of one or more individuals to the devil

every seventh year.

" Then wod I never tire, Janet,

In Elfish land to dwell ;
But aye at every seven years

They pay the teind to hell ;
And I'm sae fat and fair of flesh,

I fear twill be my-sell."

"I'd paid my kane seven times to hell

Ere you'd been won away." TJie Young Tamlane.

1. 291. hende, gentle, also skilful.

1. 294. hethyne, hence ; the scribes, with the exception of Co., misunderstand this
Northern word, and write heven.

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY. IxXV

1. 296. I rede, I counsel; A.S. raedan ; uerm. rathen.

. 200. fowles singes ; see 1. 1.

. 301 304. This stanza, though in all, comes in very awkwardly, nor can I ex-
plain to what it refers.

. 303. T. Erlis ; Ca. yrons, an erne's or sea eagle's.

. 306. yon benttis browne. L. distorts into yowre brwtes broume.

. 303308. These lines are wanting in the Co. MS., which after 1. 301-2 proceeds
to 1. 309-10, but this is first struck out, and then repeated after one blank line.

FYTTE II.

The Sloane MS. begins here. For the first 70 lines, the MSS. closely agree, though
L. omits numerous passages, as all that about the Baliols, 1. 324 340.

1. 313. carpe, speak, or sing. Thomas has the choice of excelling in instrumental,
or in vocal (rather oral) accomplishments ; he prefers the latter, "for tonge is chefe of
mynstralsie."

1. 314. chose, the choice ; often so spelled in Scotch.

" in our Inglis rethorick the rose,
As of Rubeis the Charbunckle bene clwse" Lyndesay, Papyngo, 26.

1. 317. spelle, discourse; A.S. spellian ; in Ca. corruptly spill; L. and S. gloss,

1. 318. lesynge, lying, falsehood. Lesynge tJiow sail neuer lee; from this cha-
racteristic Erseldown derived the name of " True Thomas," generally given to him in
the later prophecies and traditional rhymes.

1. 319. fry the or fell, enclosed field or open hill.

1. 324. ferly, a wonder, strange thing or event. Usually derived from A.S. f&rlic,
sudden ; fc&r, fearful ; but I think more truly both in form and meaning from A.S.
feorlic,feorlen, far away, foreign, strange. Compare strange from extraneus.

1.327. wyte; A.S. wit-an, to depart, decease. Ca. has dwyne ; A.S. dwin-an, to
pine, dwindle away.

1. 329. T. baylliolfe for baylliolse or baylliolfs ; Co. bali]oves ; S. misreads baly of;
Ca. scribal error folkys ; see before, 1. 101, balye for/o/y. The Baliols' blood, the family
of John Baliol, the rival of Robert Bruce for the Scottish crown, and his son Edward,
rival of David Bruce.

1. 331 332. The Comyns, Barclays, Russells, and Friseals, or Erasers. Semewes in
Ca. is a very simple misreading of Comenes in old writing, and the Sea-mews suggest
the teals, telys, probably for barclys, with the ar contracted, of the original. The Comyns
and Frasers were prominent, though on different sides, during the English War in the
minority of David II. David Cumyn, the dispossessed Earl of Athol, was one of
Edward Baliol's leaders, when the latter invaded Scotland in 1332, was appointed
viceroy of Scotland by Edward III. in 1335, and soon after slain in the forest of Kil-
blane, by Sir Andrew Moray, when, according to Buchanan, " fortissimus quisque
Cuminianorum aut in praelio aut in fuga caesus est." This is the battle for which
Barbour quotes a prophecy of the Rhymer, ante, p. xvii. Walter Cumyn was also slain
in the Battle of Annan, 1332, and his brother Thomas executed after the battle. Of
the Frasers, Buchanan has, " Eraser vel Frisel, cog. in varias familias tributum in
quibus emmet Lovetiae, Saltonii, & Fraserise Reguli, cum suis quisque tribulibus."

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

Alexander Fraser was one of the commanders at Dupplin, 1332; James and Simon
Fraser, after capturing Perth from Baliol, were slain at Halidon Hill, 1333. Of the
Barclays : in 1345 David de Berklay waylaid and assassinated William Bullock, the
able English ecclesiastic so intimately connected with the intrigues of the period. Sir
Walter de Berklay was also concerned in the plot against Robert Bruce, and tried
before the Black Parliament of 1320, and in 1322, according to Fordun's Annals, " on
the 1st of October, Andrew Barclay was taken, and having been convicted of treachery,
underwent capital punishment." The Russels I cannot trace ; and the word may be
a scribal error for some of the other names conspicuous in the history of the period
the Rosseis, for instance.

1. 333. wyte, dwyne. See I. 327.

1. 335. spraye, to spread out, sprout out, like spray of water, or a spray of blossom ;
Platt-Deutsch spreden, spreen; G. spruhen, to sputter, flow forth.

1. 341 348. Thomas's inquiry is as to the issue of the doubtful contest between the
Bruce and Baliol families, 1332 1355.

1. 341. ivhatkyns, of what kind; used adjectively, "what kind of" quails.

1. 344. tliryue and thee (A.S. ]peon) are synonymous ; S. changes to vnthrive.

1. 345. none ; tane in 1. 347 shows that the original had the Northern nane.

1.352. Co. halyndon hill; L. helydowne hill ; T. and L. Eldone ; Ca. ledyn for Eldyn.
I think there is little doubt, though the two oldest MSS. say otherwise, that the Battle
of Halidon Hill, 1333, is meant. tf So great was the slaughter of the nobility, that,
after the battle, it was currently said amongst the English that the Scottish wars were
at last ended, since not a man was left of that nation who had either skill or power to
assemble an army or direct its operations." Tytler, quoting Murimuth, p. 81. But
there may have been a legendary prophecy as to Eldone Hill, which was after the,
event changed to Halidown Hill, as " Spincarde Clough " was to Pinkie-cleuch.

1. 353 354. Breton's Bruyse blode, the common terms in this Fytte for English and
Scotch. The English claims to the superiority of Scotland were founded upon the
Cymric version of the legend of the Trojan Brutus, from whom the name of Britain
was "derived," who was said to have divided the realm, after he had conquered it
from the giants, between his three sons, Locrinus, Cyrnber, and Albanactus, eponymi
of English, Welsh, and Scotch, with the feudal supremacy to Locrinus. Thus adopting
the Brute, Breton, or British legend, the English were the Brutes or Bretons blode.
There was, of course, an alliterative antithesis between Bretons and Bruces ; but in
some of the MSS. the latter word might be either Bruces or Brutes, confounding the
two opposites. I have printed Bruces, the word originally meant, though perhaps the
scribes thought it Brutes.

1. 354. spraye ; Gaelic spreidh, booty, prey. Gawain Douglas has spreith, spreicht.

1. 357. The foregoing passage refers to a cluster of events in the minority of
David II., 1332 1345. They seem to have been written at that time. What follows
to the end of the Fytte, and perhaps even to 1. 520 in Fytte III., is a general sketch of
battles and other events in Scotland from 1298 to 1400 or so, and was probably written
about the latter date, when the poem took its present form. 1. 357 364 refer to the
battle of Falkirk (S. and L. do not understand the proper name) ; Ca. Co. and L.
erroneously make the Scotch win.

1. 367 376. The lady wishes to go because her hounds are impatient. Thomas
detains her, giving (in Ca. only) a reason.

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

1. 371. god schilde, Dieu defende ! God defend ! God forbid.

3. 375. Ca. reyke, roam, ramble.

holtely or ? holteby I cannot explain ; it is probably a proper name. Holt is of
course a wood, but it is a word not now current in the North.

1. 377388. The battle of Bannockburn, June, 1314 ; here all the MSS. agree that
the Brucys-Uode shall win, though Ca. corrupts to Brutys, and L. to Ebruys (!).

1. 379 380 seem to be the origin of the traditional prophecy attributed to

Thomas (ante, p. xliv),

' The burn of bveid

Sail rin fu' reid."

a bannock being a cake of (home made) bread.

1. 381 385 describe the well-known device of Bruce of defending his flank by pits
dug, and concealed by hurdles and turf, snapre L. = stumble.

1. 389, 390. The death of Robert Bruce, leaving a son of 6 years old, so that Scot-
laud kingless stood.

1. 391 412. The tercelet, or young falcon, is Edward Baliol, who now seeing his
opportunity took with him tercelettes grete & gay, the dispossessed lords, Henry Percy,
Lord Wake, Henry Beaumont, David Cumyn and others, and landed (1. 401) at Wester
Kinghorn, 1332, where Alexander Seton, with a handful of followers, threw themselves
upon them, but was overpowered and cut in pieces on the sands (1. 402). They then
pushed on towards Perth, surprised the Scottish army at Duplin Moor, by the River
Earn, which flows over the old red-sandstone (11. 403 408), with great slaughter, and
next day took Perth, the " town of great renown near the water of Tay."

1. 400. T. Royalle blade; S. baly of blud, corruptly for Balyolu.es blode, as
in Co.

1. 414. cheuede, achieved. 1. 415. bowne, ready.

1. 416. the werre of Fraunce. Edward III., thinking Scotland reduced under Baliol,
declared war against France in 1337, and in 1339 invaded that country.

1. 417 436. The text is here in great confusion, none of the MSS. apparently
being complete. The event itself is also misplaced, as the coronation of David II.
really occurred before Baliol's invasion, and not now (1341) when he returned from
his exile in France to reign. Ca. does not mend the matter by reading Robert, as the
events which follow belong to David.

1. 427, 428 in L. refer to the special bull obtained from Rome for the anointing of
David II.

1. 423. More and myne, greater and lesser.

1. 425. sJcyme, T., error for Skynne = Scone or Skune.

1. 427. beryns = bernys ; A.S. beorn, chieftains, barons, nobles.

1. 429 448. David II. 's invasion of England in 1346, six years after his return from
France, when he took Hexham (1. 431) ; was defeated at Beaurepair, close to Durham
(1. 433, 434) ; and himself, after being grievously wounded (1. 440), taken prisoner
(1. 444), and led to London (1. 447).

1. 430. lygges, lies (A.S. licgan) ; the Northern form still well-known.

1. 437. taggud, togged, confined, encumbered, for tane of T., Ca. has teyryd } ? for
telpryd, tethered.

1. 439. nebbe, nose ; A.S. nyb.

1. 441, 442. fode, a brood. Thefahfode, who betray the king, points to the High

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

Steward, and the Earl of March, who escaped with their division from the field, and
were blamed for not adequately supporting David.

I. 448. the goshawke fynd his Make, David II. find his mate or consort, Joanna,
sister of Edward III.

1. 453 456 I cannot explain, unless they refer to the slaughter in Ettrick Forest
of the Knight of Liddesdale, who had been gained over to the English interest by
Edward.

1. 457 460 describe the great exertions made in Scotland to raise the enormous
sum of the king's ransom (equal to 1,200,000 of modern money) ; for fulle and fere I
suggest felle andflese, or Wolle and fell, full many one. The money was principally
raised by granting to the king all the wool and wool-fells in the kingdom at a low
rate, to be exported and sold at a profit abroad.

1. 464. bygge & browke the tre, apparently to build (their nests) and use or enjoy
the tree.

1. 467. Robert II., the first of the Stewarts, ascended the throne 26 March, 1371.

1. 469 484. The Cheuanteyne or Chef tan is the Earl of Douglas (1. 480), who invaded
England 1388, burned and plundered, especially in the bishopric of Durham (1. 473-4),
rode to Newcastle, and challenged Hotspur (1. 475-6), and was by him overtaken and
slain at Otterbourne, in a marsh by the Reed (1. 477 480). Hotspur was taken
prisoner (1. 481) and led to Scotland.

1. 479. in fere, together, in company (A.S. gefera).

1. 480. Co. doglas, i. e. Douglas ; misunderstood, and variously corrupted in the
others.

1. 486. The original seems to have been as in 1. 306, Me by-houis ower yone benlis
browne, variously corrupted in L. and S.

FYTTE III.

The first stanza, wanting in Ca. and S., differs greatly in the others.

1. 489. gente, handsome, elegant ; ihende, see 1. 291.

1. 492. worthe, become, A.S. weor^an.

1. 494. wandrethe, trouble, sorrow. Isl. vandrcedi ; woghe, A.S. woh, injustice,
wrong ; wankill, A.S. wancol, unstable, shaky.

1. 496. spynkarde cloughe, slough, spynar hill ; I can find no trace of this locality,
and do not know if it refers to any actual event (unless it be the skirmish between Sir
John Gordon and Lilburn "in a mountain pass" on the border, in 1378) ; but it was
quoted in the later prophecies as Pinken or Pinkie clench.

1. 505 512 perhaps refer to the invasion of Scotland and siege of Edinburgh by
Henry IV. in 1400, although it more recalls that of Richard II. in 1385.

1. 509. T. Sembery is a curious error for Edinbery, but very simply made in the MS.

1. 513 516, a repetition of 1. 409 412 in the preceding Fytte.

1. 521. From this point the prophecies are not historical ; they constitute a series
of legendary predictions. They are principally occupied by three battles, that between
Seton and the Sea, and those of Gladsmoor and Sandyford, and the career of " the
Bastard out of the west," which I take to be a distorted Arthurian legend. These four
ideas fill all the later prophecies, Scottish and English alike, of the battles. Dr Robert
Chambers says : " It is broadly notable throughout the history of early prophecy in

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

Scotland, how strongly the notion was impressed that there was to be a great and
bloody conflict near Seton, or at the adjacent Gladsmuir, both in East Lothian [about
7 miles E. of Edinburgh]. There had existed, before the battle of Pinkie (1547), a

prophetic rhyme :

Between Seton and the sea,

Mony a man shall die that day.

And we know that the rhyme and the day were so from the following passage in
Patten's Account of the Expedition of the Duke of Somerset, printed in 1548 : ' This
battell and feld [Pinkie] the Scottes and we are not yet agreed how it shall be named.
We cal it Muskelborough felde, because that is the best towne (and yet bad inongh)
nigh to the place of our meeting. Sum of them cal it Setou felde (a town thear nigh
too), by means of a blind prophecy of theirs, which is this or sum such toye : Betwene
Seton and the seye, many a man shall dye that day.' The same rhyme is incorporated
in the long irregular and mystical poems which were published as the prophecies of
Thomas in 1615. We humbly think that our countrymen strained a point to make
out the battle of Pinkie as the fulfilment of a conflict at Seton, which is four or five
miles distant ; not to speak of the preciseness of the prophecy in indicating between
'Seton and the sea.

"That there should be a great and bloody fight at Gladsmuir appears in the old
Scotch prophecies. A traditionary one, attributed as usual to ' True Thomas/ bare
reference to the fate of Foveran Castle in Aberdeenshire, long ago the seat of a family

named Turinsr :

When Turing's Tower falls to the land,

Gladsmuir then is nigh at hand :
When Turing's Tower falls to the sea,
Gladsmuir the next year shall be.'

A local writer about 1720 (View of the Diocese of Aberdeen, Spalding Club) gives
this rhyme, and adds: 'It seems that Gladsmuir is to be a very decisive battle for
Scotland ; but if one fancy the place of it to be Gladsmuir on the coast of East Lothian,
he will find himself mistaken ; for

' It shall not be Gladsmoor by the sea,
But Gladsmoor wherever it be.'

[See before, p. xxxv ; also the English Prophecy in Appendix II. 1. 80.] That is,
the number of corpses will make it a resort of birds of prey, and so a Gled's muir.

"When the battle of Prestonpans took place in 1745, the victorious Highlanders
were for calling it ' Gladsmuir,' in reference to the old prophecy [see before, p. xli,
xlii] ; but in truth, the scene of conflict was nearly as far from Gladsmuir as Pinkie
was from Seton, It must be admitted to have been near to Seton, though not strictly
betwixt Seton and the Sea" Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p. 218.

The " Whole Prophecies of Scotland, &c.," 1603, already discussed (p. xxx), are full
of references to these battles. But they were equally famous in England, as is shown
by the prose prophecy of 1529, quoted in Appendix II. from the Sloane MS., and many
other references in the same volume. At an earlier date, the Battle of Barnet, doubt-
less on account of the enormous carnage by which it was distinguished, as well as its
decisive effect on the Wars between York and Lancaster, was called by contemporaries
the Battle of Gladsmoor. In the following quotation from Holinshed, the name occurs
as belonging to the site, but I suspect it was an ex post facto one : " Hervpon remouved

1XXX NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

they towards Barnet, a towne standing in the midwaie betwixt London and saint
Albons aloft on a hill ; at the end whereof towards saint Albons there is a faire plaine
for two armies to meet vpon, named Gladmore heath, on the farther side of which
plaine towards saint Albons the earle pight his campe." Holimlied, ed. 1587, vol.
iii. p. 684.

Compare Dravton, Polyolbion, Song xxii (Chalmers's English Poets, vol. iv.
p t 345) ;

" the armies forward make,

And meeting on the plain to Barnet very near,

That to this very day is called Gladmore there."

As to Sandyford, I can offer no conjecture, even of the place hinted at ; but the
battle at Sandyford is equally prominent in the other Scottish and English prophecies,
as in the following, culled from the Sloane MS. already quoted :

" Ouer Sandiford shalbe sorowes sene on the southe side on a mondaye, wheare
gromes shall grone on a grene, besides englefield yere standethe a Castelle on a moun-
taine Clif the which shall doo yeir enernyes tene, & save england yat day./ (leaf 41 a.)

" At Sandiford betwix ij parkes a pallace & a parishe churche, a hardy prwice downe
shall lyghte. troye vntrue yen shall tremble & quake yat daye for feare of a deade
man when yei heare him speake. all thoffycem yerin shall caste him the keyes, from
vxbrydge to hownslowe y e bushment to breake. and fare as a people that weare wudd.
the ffather shall sleye y e sone y e brother y e brother, y* all London shall renw bludde."
(leaf 44 6.)

1. 541 544. A vivid picture of the desolation to be produced ; this seems the origin
of one of the traditional sayings of Thomas quoted on p. xliv :

" A horse sal gang on Carolside brae,
Till the red girth gaw his side in twae."

Carolside, properly Crawhillside, lies on the bank of the Leader about a mile above
Earlstoun.

1. 549. T. omits baners. This line and the next in Ca. have been overwritten so
as to make the original words irrecoverable. The words eneglych shal rone away have
thus been inserted, probably for nyght shal dee.

1. 553. trewe, the correct singular ; of which trewis, trewes, truce is properly the
plural. Fr. treve, treves.

1. 555. dere, A.S. derian, to hurt, harm.

1. 557. betwene twa sainte Marye dayes. The same date is given to Gladsmoor in
the English prose prophecy in Appendix III.

1. 560. S. claydon moore, above this in the MS. dvnnes more is written, referring
perhaps to Dunse Moor, and the " Warden Raid " of 1378.

Ca. gleydes more, the moor of the gleydes or kites ; but in the next stanza in Ca.
only, and evidently an afterthought, the word is played on as glads-moor. This stanza
is quoted in the prophecy of Bertlington, ante, p. xxxvi, and in many other prophecies,
Scotch and English.

1. 565 576. See as to the Crow and the Raven, Introduction, p. xxxii, &c.

1. 576. wayloway, A.S. wd Id wd, wo ! wo !

1. 577 604. In T. only (where also 1. 592 604 are'lost) contain a list of the lords
described by their armorial bearings, by which they might no doubt still be identified.
" The publication of predictions, either printed or hieroglyphical, in which noble

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY. IxXXl

families were pointed out by their armorial bearings, was, in the time of Queen Eliza-
beth, extremely common ; and the influence of such predictions on the minds of the
common people was so great as to occasion a prohibition, by statute, of prophecy by
reference to heraldic emblems. Lord Henry' Howard also directs against this practice
much of the reasoning in his learned treatise, entitled ' A Defensation against the
Poyson of Pretended prophecies.' " Scott, Border Minstrelsy.
1. 619. boune, ready, prepared.

1. 621 644. In great confusion in the MSS. Ca. seems to transpose two stanzas,
putting the death of the bastard before Sandyford, while the others put it last, and
make it the cause of the lady's emotion. S. agrees with Co. and L. so far as these are
entire, in the order of the stanzas, but as elsewhere mixes up their lines greatly.

. 625. braye, T. had probably braa, a brae, or steep incline. Ca. corruptly wroo.

. 633. Remnerdes, what this word is corrupted for cannot be ascertained through

the

defects in the other MSS.

. 635, dynge, Isl. dcenga, Sw. danga, to knock, push violently, drive.

. 640. bod-word, message.

. 644. that mycull may, who hast great might.

1. 651. ladys shall wed laddys jong ; compare the Harleian prophecy, addressed to
the Countess of March, " When laddes weddeth lovedies," and Waldhaue's quotation
of Thomas's prophecy, ante, p. xxxix.

1. 660. S. annes, perhaps rather aunes. Blals Agnes of Donbar, the heroic daughter
of Earl Thomas Randolph, and wife of Patrick Earl of March, so famed for her defence
of the Castle of Dunbar, which, in absence of her husband, she held for five months
(1338) against the assault of an English army, led by the earls of Salisbury and
Arundel, and at last obliged them to raise the siege. Her husband's career was marked
by much oscillation between Scotland and England, and his son finally took the
English side, which may account for the hostility to the family here displayed.
Thomas of Erceldowne lived a whole generation earlier than Black Agues, and it is
probable that traditions of his relation with an earlier Countess of March, who waa
"sothely lady at arsyldone" (see Introd., p. xi, xiv), were transferred to her more
famous successor.

1. 661 664 differ much in Ca. and Co. The latter is doubtless the original.

1. 664. ploos, Ca. looks as like plees or ploes. 1. 666. the, thrive, flourish.

1. 672. magrat, O.Fr. malgrat, maugret, in spite of.

The conclusion, 1. 673 700, differs a good deal in the four MSS. wnich possess it.
Co. being fullest, T. next, and perhaps had all the original text. S. is roughly
curtailed.

1. 695. Helmesdale in Sutherland, in the far north, whence fairies and witches were
believed to come.

APPENDIXES I. AND II.

IT is not very easy to define the relations between these two compositions, which
have about 70 lines in common at the beginning, but are otherwise entirely different.
Apparently, the original nucleus consisted of a prophecy referring to the Wars of the

EECILDOUN. /

Ixxxii NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

Roses, and the Battle of Glad-moor, seemingly identified with Barnet. This seems to
be preserved in lines 1 44, and 73 180 of the English prophecy. Afterwards this
composition was extended to embrace the early fortunes of the House of Tudor, and
the Battle of Flodden, and probably at this time, 1515 1525, the episode of the
English and Scottish knight, 1. 45 72, which comes in very awkwardly, was intro-
duced, as well as the later part of the poem. The compiler of the Scottish prophecy
then borrowed this introduction as far as line 72, and made it the commencement of a
different account of the Battle of Flodden suited to Scottish needs, and alluding, 1. 119,
to the idea long cherished that James IV. did not die in the battle. Apparently, after
the Battle of Pinkie, 1547, and perhaps about the time of the marriage of Queen Mary
to the Dauphin, 1558, this was rewritten with interpolations referring to these events-
lines 193 and 194 being cleverly adapted from 1. 496 of the Komance of Thomas, and
lines 239 244 from " the Prophecy of Bertlington : " see ante, p. xxxvi. The copy
printed in 1603, and here followed, is much modernized, and bears traces in every line
of the original having been pure northern. Thus in L 65, gone must have been went ;
1. 69, said for saw ; 1. 71, two for two, ; 1. 79, so for swa, rhyming with ta = take;
1. 114 121, the rhyme breaks down, and the text is in confusion ; 1. 139, two for twa,
rhyming with na ma, changed into no more in 1. 141 ; ]. 146. hurte and woe for trouble
and tene, rhyming with shene ; 1. 163 is corrupt ; 1. 171, blew for bla, rhyming with sla
in 173, and in 1. 178, 180, blew, two, for bla, twa; 1. 182, 184, goe, slay for ga, sla; 1.
224, stone for stane. Many lines and pairs of lines are also lost at various places.
Perhaps one day an older and more perfect copy may be found.

; APPENDIX II. I have ventured to apply to this a title recorded by Sir David
Lyndesay, about 1528 {The Dreme, 1. 43), which agrees also with the rubric at end of
the MS. It is found in the Lansdowne MS. of 1529, which supplies one of the texts of
the Romance of Thomas, and in the Rawlinson MS. C. 813, of a later date. The
Lansdowne is evidently a copy by a southern scribe of an older northern text, the true
readings of which he has often mistaken and made into nonsense. Still more frequently
the rhyme has been injured in the transliteration, as in lines 229 236, where the
rhyming words blowe, lee; Jcnowe, swaye ; fall, hie; call, dye, represent an original
blaw, le ; Jcnaw, swe ; fa 1 , he ; ca\ de. The Rawlinson copy is still more modernized,
and as a whole weaker, but it contains fewer absolute blunders, and so often enables us
to restore the sense of the original. Only the more important of its variations are here
given as notes to the Lansdowne text ; but occasionally where the latter is very cor-
rupt, it is relegated to the notes (there marked L.), and the Rawl. reading placed in
the text. Words, &c., added from R. in the text are in brackets.

The last historical event recorded in it is the Battle of Flodden, or rather the
capture of Tournay by Henry VIII. a few days later. Its date is no doubt shortly
after this, and nearer to 1515 than 1525. England is of course still faithful to Rome,
and the pope occupies a prominent place in the concluding events ; but in the Rawlin-
son copy, curiously enough, the word " pope," wherever it occurs, is struck out by a
line drawn across it, a witness to the feelings of a later date.

Besides the ascription at the end, the authorities for the different sections of the
prophecy are cited at 1. 135, as " saint Bede ; " 1. 291, " bredlynton ; " 1. 292, " bede ; "
1. 294, " Arseldowne ; " 1. 346, " Arsalldoune ; " 1. 380, " Merlyon ; " 1. 409, " Marlyon ; "
1. 444, " Arse[l]doun;" 1. 445, "the holly man that men calles Bede." Opposite
some of these the name is repeated in larger letters in the margin ; thus, opposite

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY. Ixxxill

to 1. 346, Arysdon; opp. 1. 380, Merlyon ; opp. 1. 409, Marly on ; opp. lines 428 and
445, Bede.

1. 15, 16. Comp. 1. 195, 196 of Thomas.

1. 21, &c. Comp. the description of the lady in 1. 41 of Thomas.

1. 45 72. An interpolation dislocating the natural sequence between the 1. 44 and
73. The two knights, St George and St Andrew, of course symbolize England and
Scotland.

1. 60 Ms. a superfluous line, interpolated as if the first of next stanza. Allowed
for in R. by omitting 1. 72 ; but of course the proper one to omit was 1. 68.

1. 68. Note the Anglo-Saxon and Danish ' burgh and by.'

1. 70. wrong heyres. e. g. Henry IV., Edward IV., Richard III., Henry VII.

1. 72. The fling at the Scots here and in line 183 indicates an English author.

1. 73 naturally follows 44. The Lady having consecrated the ground, now declares
that it will be the site of the battle of Gladmoor (? Barnet), and vanishes. The writer
applies to the " lytell man " to give him more distinct information about Gladmoor ;
the latter predicts the dissension (between the Nevilles and Woodvilles) ; the son fight-
ing against the father (Clarence and Warwick) ; falsehood and envy (the House of
York) reigning in England for 33 years. (The Duke of York took up arms in 1452,
and the Battle of Bosworth was in 1485.) A king reigning without righteousness
(Edward IV.) ; then a break when " he that hath England hent (Warwick) shall be
made full lowe to light." Two princes have their deaths with treason dight ; then
when all expect peace, the landing of Henry VII. and Battle of Bosworth. Henry is
crowned, and known as the " king of covatyce." " The fourth leaf of the tree (the
house of York) dies, that lost hath bowes moo " almost all the descendants of Edward
III. are extinct ; traitors taste the Tower (Warwick and ? Richard, Duke of York,
nicknamed by the Tudors, Perkin Warbeck), and Henry VII. dies.

1. 77. gladismore that shall glad vs all,

yt shalbe gladyng of oure glee ;
identical with lines 561-2 of Thomas.

1. 79. yt shalbe gladmore wher euer yt fall,

but not gladmore by the see.
Also in the prophecy of Bertlington, p. xxxv ; and see Notes to 1. 521 of Thomas.

1. 181 284 describe the Battle of Flodden, naming the localities of Millfield,
Branxton, and Flodden itself. The "red lion" is of course James IV.; the "white
lyon," Sir Edmund Howard ; and the " Admyrall, 1 ' Thomas Howard, who commanded
the English right. The MS. (Lansd. 762) contains, on leaf 70, a contemporary ex-
planation of the emblems under which various persons are designated in the prophecies.
They include the following :

The mowlltf the Erie of Westmerlonde. The white Lyo?m Duke of NorffoZ^.

The wolffe the lorde Martyne. The Crepawde Rex Frauncie.

The mone the Erie of Northimberlonde. The Red Lyo?m Rex Scotorum.

The Blew bore Erie of Oxford^. The Lylye the Duke of Lancaster.

The Red dragown barne of Clyfforde. Pye, Lorde Ryvers.

The Scots are referred to in 1. 250 and 298 as." Albenactes blode," from the legendary
Albanactus, son of Brutus, eponymus of the Albannaich or Scottish Celts.

1. 285. " The prynce that is beyonde the flode" (Henry VIII. now in France) takes
two towns (Terouanne and Tournay).

1XXX1V NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

1. 296. An allusion to True Thomas's absence from earth, which the later tradition
extends to seven years. See Thomas, 1. 286, Cambridge Text.

1. 297. The passage commencing here may originally have referred to the arrival
in Scotland of the Duke of Albany, already mentioned more than once ; but at this
point the " prophecy " ceases to be historical.

1. 305. stanis more, this battle figures also in the prose prophecy in Appendix III.

1. 317. " A king " or " duke of Denmark" and " the black fleet of Norway" shew
that even now, five hundred years after their invasions had come to an end, the name
of the Danes and Norseman was still mentioned in terror.

1. 341. sondysfurth, on the south side, and 1. 371, " beside a well there is a stronde,"
compare the prophecy of Merlyne, p. xxxiii, and the prose prophecy in Appendix III. ;
see also 1. 624 632 of Thomas, and Notes to 1. 521 of the Romance.

1. 373. Snapeys-more is referred to also in the prose prophecy, Appendix III.

1. 385 388. Gladmore and its doubtful issue ; see in Thomas, 1. 549 560.

1. 405 408. The " okes thre " and the " headless cross of stone" compare Thomas,
1. 569 578, and 1. 629, 630. See also various similar passages in " the Whole Pro-
phecies of Scotland."

1. 543. " In the vale of Josephate shall he dye" So in the end of the " koke of the
north" prophecy, edited by Mr Lumby ; see ante, p. xxxii, and Thomas, 1. 641, " The
bastarde shall dye in the holy land."

1. 609. he sayd, "a long time thow holdest me here;" compare the lady's repeated
remonstrances in Thomas.

]. 627. when he thynketh tyme to talk. Query too tall, i. e. too long ; or error for
to calle.

ADDITIONAL NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION.

EARLSTOUN CHURCH AND RYMOUR'S STONE. In part correction of the note to p. xiii
Mrs C. Wood of Galashiels, a native of Earlstoun, writes : " The present church was
renewed in 1736, but there are many stones in the churchyard as old as 1600, and the
bell, which was cast in Holland, bears the date of 1609. The older building stood a
few yards further forward, more to the south. Chambers, in his ' Picture of Scotland,'
says that the inscription on the stone built into the wall of Earlstoun Church was
defaced by a person named Waterstone, who considered it interfered with his right of
property to the burial-place. I believe that this is quite correct, and also that the
characters of the former inscription were very ancient. In a plan I have of the church-
yard, made in 1842, there are 16 graves belonging to ' Lermonts,' 11 of which lie in a
row, and the first of these has the date 1564. But none of the Learmont graves aro
near the church ; in fact, there is only one gravestone in the vicinity of the Rhymer's
Stone, and this belongs to the Waterstones." This disposes of any inference in favour
of Rymour's name having been Learmont.

HAIG OF BEMERSIDE, p. xliii. In the account of the family of Haig, written by
the Earl of Bnchan, we find : "Zerubabel Haig, 17th Baron of Bemerside, who married
Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of Thomas Gordon, Esq., Clerk to the Court of Justiciary,

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY. IxXXV

by whom he had one son and twelve daughters This Zerubabel Haig died

in 1752." This was the gentleman referred to by Sir Walter Scott.

RHYMER'S THORN, p. xlix. Mr James Wood, Galashiels, says, " Rhymer's Thorn
stood in a garden belonging to the Black Bull Inn, occupied by a man named Thin.
It was a large tree, and sending out its roots in all directions, it absorbed much of the
growing power of the soil. Thin set his son to cut the roots all round, and clear the
garden of them. This was in the spring of 1814, and the Thorn which had defied the
blasts of probably 900 years, now shorn of its roots, succumbed shortly after to a violent
westerly gale. It was immediately replanted, with several cart loads of manure dug
in round about it ; but, notwithstanding all the efforts of the people to keep it alive, it
never took root again. In 1830 the ground on which it stood came into the possession
of the late John Spence, writer, Earlstoun, who built a high wall round the garden,
leaving a square opening near the top to mark the site of the tree.

" The Thorn is described by John Shiel, a native of Earlstoun, 12 years old when
the tree was blown down, and now 73, as ' the grandest tree ever I saw ; it was a big
tree, wi' a trunk as thick as a man's waist, an' its branches were a perfect circle, an'
sae round i' the tap ! I' the spring it was a solid sheet o' white flourishin', scentin' the
whole toon end, an' its haws there was na the like o' them in a' Scotland ! they were
the biggest haws ever I saw in my life; ay, I've been up the tree scores o' times pu'ing
them when I was a laddie.'

"Rhymer's Thorn must have been an object of the utmost veneration to the people
of Earlstoun, as they believed their prosperity to be bound up in its existence; and on
the day it was blown down, a great many people ran with bottles of Wine and Whisky,
and threw their contents on it, so as, if possible, to preserve it alive. It was always
said that the Rhymer prophesied that Earlstoun should prosper so long as the Thorn
stood ; and it was a remarkable coincidence that the year it was blown down all the
merchants in Earlstoun ' broke.' "

THOMAS'S DISAPPEARANCE, p. 1. " The late Mr Whale, wno was a great repository
of the traditions of Earlstoun, said, that the Public House, at the door of which the
Rhymer sat when the white hind went through the village, stood in the Close, behind
the present Reading-Room. There is, however, another tradition known in Earlstoun
connected with the sudden disappearance of Thomas. It is said, that on the night
when he so mysteriously disappeared, he had attended a banquet given by the Earl of
March at his Castle in Earl's Town, and on his way home to the Tower was waylaid
and murdered, either by some of the neighbouring barons, or by agents of the Earl
of March, to whom he was an object of fear and dislike, in consequence of his close and
intimate friendship with Sir William Wallace. The road between Earl's Town and
Ersildoun passed in those days to the south of the present road, and a large two-handed
sword, which was dug up a good many years ago in the garden (through which the
old road is said to have crossed) of the late Mr George Noble, was purchased lately by
a descendant of the Earlstoun Learraonts, on account of its supposed connection with
this tradition." C. W.

" This ' sword of Thomas the Rhymer ' was a huge two-handed sword, in pretty
good preservation. From the form of handle, it may have possibly been of tho
12th or 13th century." A. C.

Ixxxvi

NOTES, TEXTUAL AND EXPLANATORY.

THE OLD HARLEIAN PROPHECY, p. xviii.

I DID not think of insulting the reader by a translation of this, but as I have been
asked more than once " what does it mean ? " here it is :

The Countess of Dunbar asked Thomas of Erceldoune when the Scottish war should
have an end, and he answered her and said :

When people have (man has) made a king of a capped man ;

When another man's thing is dearer to one than his own ;

When Loudyon [or London?] is Forest, and Forest is field ;

When hares litter on the hearth-stone ;

When Wit and Will war together ;

When people make stables of churches, and set castles with styes.

When Roxburgh is no burgh, and market is at Forwylee ;

When the old is gone and the new is come that is worth [or do] nought ;

When Bannockburn is dunged with dead men ;

When people lead men in ropes to buy and to sell ;

When a quarter of * indifferent ' wheat is exchanged for a colt of 10 merks ;

When pride rides on horseback, and peace is put in prison ;

When a Scot cannot hide like a hare in form that the English shall not find him ;

When right and wrong assent together ;

When lads marry ladies ; x

When Scots flee so fast, that for want of ships, they drown themselves.

When shall this be ? Neither in thy time nor in mine ;

But [shall] come and go within twenty winters and one.

1 In the 14th, of course, and not the 19th century meaning of these words, when the " lads "
in a shop may wed the "ladies" behind the counter, without any disparity. But lads have
"looked up," and ladies gone, well-a-day 1 a long way down, since Thomas's time ; although
in old-fashioned country districts the farm-servants are still "the lads," and the daughters of
the baron "the leddies."

One might suppose that Shakspere had these lines in view, where he makes the Fool in
Lear (Act III. Scene ii.) parody these species of composition :

" He speake a Prophesie ere I go : When Vsurers tell their Gold i' th' Field ;

When Priests are more in word, then matter; And Baudes, and whores, do churches build ;
When Brewers marre their malt with water;
When Nobles are their Taylors Tutors
No Heretiques burn'd, but wenches Sutors ;
When euery Case in Law, is right ;
No Squire in debt, nor no poore Knight;
When slanders do not Hue in Tongues ;
Nor Cut-purses come not to throngs ;

Then shal the Realme of Albion,
Come to great confusion ;
Then comes the time, who Hues to see 't
That going shalbe vs'd with feet.
This prophecie Merlin shall make, for I Hue
before his time."

Comas Off

[Thornton MS. leaf 149, lack, col. 1.]

Lystyns, lordyngs, bothe grete &. smale,
And takis gude tente what j will saye :
I saH 3ow telle als trewe a tale,

Als euer was herde by nyghte or daye : 4

And f e maste merueHe ffor owttyne naye,
That euer was herde by-fore or syene,
And f er-fore pristly j $ow praye,
That 36 wiH of 3oure talkyng blyne. 8

It es an harde thyng for to saye,
Of doghety dedis fat hase bene done ;
Of feHe feghtyngs & bateHs sere ;
And how J>at J)ir knyghtis hase wonne fair schone. 12
Bot jhesu crist fat syttis in trone,
Safe ynglyscfre mene bothe ferre & nere ;
And j satt telle ^ow tyte and sone,
Of BateHs donwe sythene many a 3ere j 16

And of bateHs fat done satt bee ;
In whate place, and howe, and whare j
And wha saH hafe f e heghere gree,
And whethir partye saH hafe f e werre ; 20

"Wha saH takk f e flyghte and flee,
And wha saH dye and by-leue thare :
Bot jhesu crist, fat dyed on tre,
Sane jnglysche mene whare-so pay fare. 24

ERCILDOUN. 1

THOMAS, LYING ON HUNTLEY BANKS, SEES THE LADY BIDING BY.

\Thornton, continued.]
[FYTTE THE FIRSTE.]

A Is j me wente J>is Endres daye,
ffuH faste in mynd makand my
mone,

In a mery mornywge of Maye,
By huntle bankkes my selfe allone, 28
I herde jje jaye, & )>e throstyH cokke,
The Mawys menyde hir of hir songe,
}3e wodewale beryde als a belie,
That aHe J?e wode a-bowte me ronge. 32
Allonwe in longynge thus als j laye,
Vndyre-nethe a semely tree,

j whare a lady gaye

ouer a longe lee. 36

If j solde sytt to domesdaye, [coi. 2]

With my tonge, to wrobbe and wrye,
Certanely )?at lady gaye,
JSTeuer bese scho askryede for mee. 40
Hir palfraye was a dappili graye,

[Cotton, Vitell. E .x. leaf 240, lack.]
1 Incipit prophecia Thome Arseldon

[icol.1]

IN" a lande as I was lent,
In fe grykyng of J>e day,

Me a lone as I went,
In huntle bankys me for to play.
I sawe Y throstyl & J>e lay ;
J?e mawes movyde of hyr songe
J>6 wodwale sange notes gay,
)>at all J>e wod a boute range.
In Jjat longynge as I lay,
vndir nethe a dern tre,
I was war of a lady gay,
Come rydyng ouyr a fayre le.
^ogh I sulde sitt to domysday,
With my tonge to wrabbe & wry,
Sertenly, all hyr aray,
It beth neuer discryuyd for me.
hyr palfra was dappyll gray,

Swylke one ne saghe j neuer none ;
Als dose J>e sonne on someres daye,
])ai faire lady hir selfe scho schone. 48
Hir seHe it was of roeHe bone,
ffuH semely was pat syghte to see !
Stefly sett w^ precyous stones,
And compaste ail with crapotee, 52
Stones of Oryente, grete plente ;
Hir hare abowte hir hede it hange ;
Scho rade ouer Jjat lange lee ; 55

A whylle scho blewe, a-no]?er scho sange.

THORNTON

Syche on say I neuer none ;

... als son in sorners day,

All abowte Jjat lady schone.

hyr sadyl was of a jewel bone,

A semely sy^t it was to se ;

. [wjroght with mony a precyouse stone,

And compasyd all w^ crapote.

Stones of pjosrt gret plente ;

a boute hyr hede it hang ;

. J?e fair le

shee blewe anofer she sange.

COTTON

HER PALFREY, HARNESS, AND ATTIRE, SHINE WITH GOLD AND GEMS. 3

[Lansdowne 762, leaf 24.] - [Cambridge Univ. Lib. MS.Ff., leaf 119.]

[FOOTT THE FIKST.] [FYTTE THE FIESTE.] u "

As I me went this thender day, . As I me went "pis Andyrs day,

So styll makyng my Mone,

In a Mery Moriiyng of May,

In huntly bankes My self alone, 28

I harde the Meryll and the lay,

the Maner Menede of hir song,

the wylde wode-wale song notes gay, 31

that alle the shawys abowte hem Kong.

IT But in a loning, as I lay,
Ynder neth a semely tre,
I saw where a lady gay
Cam rydyng oner a lonely le. 36

thowh that I letie styll tyll domys day,
with any my tonge to worble or were,
The certayn) sothe of hir Array
May neuer be descreued for me. 40

IF Hir palfray was of daply gray,
x The farest Molde that any myght be;
here sadell bryght as any day. c 1 leaf 24, bki
Set with pereles to J?e kne. 44

And furthermore of hir Aray,
Diners clothing she had vpon ;
And as the sonne in somerys day,
Forsouthe the ladye here sylffe shone. 48

IT here sege was of ryall bone,
Syche one sau I neuer with ye !
Set w^t/i many A precious stone,
And cumpasyde all with crapote. 52
"With stonys of oryoles, grete plenty ;
Dyamondes thick aboute hir honge ;
She bare a home of gold semely,
And vnder hir gyrdell a none. 56

LANSDOWNE

ffast on my way makyng my mone,

In a mery mornyng of may,
Be huntley bankz's my self alone,
I herde J>e iay, & J?e throstell,
J>e mavys menyd in hir song,
j?e wodewale farde as a bell.
Jjat J?e wode aboute me rong.
Alle in a longyng, as I lay,
Vndwrneth a cumly tre,
Saw I wher a lady gay
Came ridand ouer a louely le.
^if I shuld sitte till domwsday,
Alle with my tong to know & se,
Sertenly, alle hur aray,
Shalle hit neuer be scryed for me.
Hir palfray was of dappull gray,

Sike on se I neuer non ;
As dose j>e sune on somers day,
J>e cumly lady hir selfe schone.
hir sadill was of reuyll bone,
Semely was pat sight to se !
Stifly sette with precious ston,
Compaste aboute with crapote,
Stonys of oryons, gret plente ;
hir here aboute hir hed hit hong
She rode out ouer j>at louely le
A while she blew, a while she song

CAMBRIDGE

4 THOMAS TAKES HER FOR THE QUEEN OP HEAVEN, AND RUNS TO MEET HER. [FYTTE I.

Hir garthes of nobyH: sylke fay were, . . . er of cn'stall cler,

The bukytts were of BereHe stone, 58 war fay sett ;

Hir steraps were of crystaHe clere, Sadyll & brydil wer a [ooi. 2]

And aH with pereHe ouer-by-gone. 60 with sylk & sendell fy . . . .

Hir payetreUe was of jrale fyne, hyr paytrel was of y ......

Hir cropoure was of Orphare ; And hir croper of yra . . . .

And als clere golde hir brydili it schorie, hyr brydil was of g

One aythir syde hange bellys three. 64 on euery syde for soth ....

hyr brydil reynes w

A semly sy}t it w

Croper & paytrel . . .*

In euery joynt.

[ .' . . . . no break in the MSJ] She led thre gre

And seuene raches by hir fay rone ; & racches cowpled

Scho bare an home abowte hir halse, She bare an horn a

And vndir hir belte fuH many a none. 72 & vndir hyr gyrdy 11

Thomas laye & sawe fat syghte, Thomas lay & sawe

Vndir-nethe ane semly tree ; In )>e bankes of h

Hesayd, '3 one es maryemoste of myghte, he sayd ' 3onder is ma

J)at bare fat childe fat dyede for mee. 76 fat bar f e child fat

Bot if j speke wii/i ^one lady bryghte, certes bot I may s

I hope myne herte wiH bryste in three ! ellys my hert w

IsTow saH j go with aH my myghte, I shal me hye with

Hir for to mete at Eldoune tree.' 80 hyr to mete at 30

Thomas rathely vpe he rase, P leaf iso] Thomas rathly up a

1 And he rane ouer fat Mountayne hye; & ran ouyr mountay

Gyff it be als the storye sayes, if it be sothe f e story

He hir mette at Eldone tree. 84 he met hyr euyn a

He knelyde downe appone his knee, Thomas knelyd down on h ...

Vndir-nethe fat grenwode spraye ; vndir nethe f e gr

And sayd, ' lufly ladye ! rewe one mee, And sayd ' louely lad

Qwene of heuene als f on wele maye ! ' 88 Qwene of lieu

Than spake fat lady Milde of thoghte, [leaf 2413

' Thomas ! late swylke wordes bee ;

Qwene of heuene ne am j noghte,

ffor j tuke neuer so heghe degre. 92

THORNTON COTTON

FYTTE I.] HE DOES HER REVERENCE, SHE TELLS HIM SHE IS OF " ANOTHER COtJNTRY." 5

IT She blewe 3 A note, and treblyd Als, ,
the Ryches into the shawe gan) gone ;
There was no man) ? that herd fe npyes,
Saue thomas there he lay a lone. .60
here cropyng was of ryche gold,
here parrell alle of Alaran ;
here brydyll. wa,s of Reler bolde ;
On euery side hangyd bellys then. 64

^T She led iij greue hwndes in a leshe,
Seue richys aboute hir syde ran) ; 70

Thomas ley and beheld this sygfrt,
vnder neth a sembly tre ;
' yendyr ys that ladye most of myglit,
That bare the chylde that blede for me.
But yf I speke with that lady brygfit, 77
I trowe my harte wolde breke in thre ;

^T I wyll go wyth all my myglit,
And mete with hir at Elden tre.' 80
Thomas Raythly vp A Rose,
And Ran ouer that Montayne hye j
yf it be as the story sais,
1 He met with hir at elden tre. 84

He knelyd vpon his kne, [Ueaf25j

Vndernethe a grene wode spraye ;

^[ ' Louely lady ! rewe on me ;
Quene of heuyn), as ye wele may ! ' 88
Then said that lady Mylde- of Bought,
' Thomas, lat suche wordes be !
For quene of heuyn) am I not,
I toke neuer so hye degre. 92

LANSDOWNE

2 Hir garthis of nobull silke fei were,

hir boculs fei were of barys ston ;

hir stiroppis thei were of cristall clere,

And alle with perry aboute be gon.

Hir paytrell was of a riall fyne,

Hir cropur was of Arafe ;

Hir bridull was of golde fyne ;

On every side hong bellis thre.

She led iij grehoundis in a leesshe,

viij rachis be hir fete ran ;

To speke with hir wold I not seesse ;

Hir lire was white as any swan.

fforsothe, lordyngz's, as I yow teH,

Thus was ])is lady fayre begon ;

She bare a home aboute hir halce,

And vndwr hir gyrdill mony flonne.

Thomas lay and saw fat sight,

Yndwrneth a semely tre ;

he seid, yonde is mary of myght,

fat bare J?e childe fat died for me.

Eut I speke with fat lady bright,

I hope my hert wille breke in thre ;

But I will go with alle my myght,

Hir to mete at eldryn tre.

Thomas radly vp he rose,

And ran oner fat mounteyn hye.

And certanly, as f e story sayes,

he hir mette at eldryne tre.

he knelid downe vpon his kne,

Yndwrneth f e grenewode spray ;

louely lady ! f mi rew on me ;

qwene of heuen, as foil well may !

Than seid fat lady bright, [leaf 120]

Thomas, let such wordis be !

ffor quen of heuon am I noght,

I toke neuer so hye degre.

CAMBRIDGE

6 HE PROFFERS HIS LOVE, FROM WHICH SHE TRIES TO DISSUADE HIM. [FTTTE I.

Bote j ame of ane of er coiwtree,

If j be payrelde moste of prysse ; most of prise

I ryde aftyre this wylde fee, "^a-*^

My raches rynnys at my devyse.' 96 at my devys.'

* If f ou be parelde moste of prysee,

And here rydis thus in thy folye, lady in strange foly,

Of lufe, lady, als f ou erte wysse,

Jpou gyffe me leue to lye the bye !' 100 fou 3eue me leue to lige 36 by.'

Scho sayde, ' f ou mane, fat ware folye, oly

I praye f e, Thomas, f ou late me bee ; * I pray f e, thomas, late me be 1

fibr j saye fe fuH sekirlye, 103 erly

)3at synne will for-doo all my beaute.' fat wolde fordo all my bewte.'

* Tow, lufly ladye, rewe one mee, rew on me,

And j will euer more -with the dueHe ; & euyr more I shal with f e dwell ;

Here my trouthe j wiH the plyghte, nowe I plyght to f e,

Whethir f ou wiH in heuene or heHe.' 108 where f ou byleues in heuyn or hell.'

* .... t f ou myght lyg[e] me by,
vndir nethe f is grene wode spray,

tell to morowe full hastely,

fat f ou hade layne by a lady ga[y.]' .

* I mote lygge by f e,

vndir nethe )>is gren wode tre,
. . . . 11 J>e golde in crystyenty,
sulde J>ou neuyr be wryede for me.'

' Mane of Molde ! fou will me marre, * ... on molde, fou will me marre,
Bot 3itt fou saH hafe aH thy wiH ; And J?e, bot J>ou may hafe J?i will,

And trowe it wele, }?ou chewys fe werre, . . . J>ou wele, thomas, Jjou cheuyst fe
ffor aHe my beaute wiH J?ou spyrle.' 120 foil al my bewte wilt fou spyl[l.]' [ warre >
Do\vne fane lyghte fat lady bryghte, . . une lyghtyd ft lady bry3ht,

Vndir-nethe fat grenewode spraye ; vndir nethe f e gren wod spray ;

And, als the storye tellis fuH ryghte, . . . . f e story sayth full ry^t,

Seuene sythis by hir he laye. 124 Seuyn tymes by hyr he lay.

Scho sayd, * mane, the lykes thy playe : ' .... yd, man, f mi lyste f i play,
Whatebyrdeinboure maye dellew^t/i the? what berde in boure my^t dele with 30 ?

Thou merrys me aH f is longe daye, [coi. 23 es me all f is longe day,

I praye the, Thomas, late me bee ! ' 128 I pray f e, thomas, lat me be ! '

THORNTON COTTON

FlTTE I.] THROUGH COMPLIANCE WITH HIS DESIRE ALL HER BEAUTY IS MARRED.

1T I am of a nothere centre,
Thowgh" I be perlyd moste in pryce ;
And ryde here after the wylde fe,
My raches rennyng att my deuyce.' 96
' Yf f ou "be perled most in price,
And ryde here in thy foly,
louely lady, ware wyce,
yeue me leue to lye the bye.' 100

IF She said, ' man), that were foly ;
I pray the Thomas lett me be ;
For I the say sekerelye,
Syn) wolde fou for-do al my bewte.' 104
* A lowly lady ! reu one me,
And euer I wole withe the dwell .
My trowcfre I plyg&t to the,
whef ere fou wylt to hevyne or hell.' 108

But I am a lady of anof er cuwtre,

If I be parellid moost of price ;

I ride aftur f e wilde fee,

My raches rannen at my deuyse.

If fou be pareld most of price,

And ridis here in pi balye,

Lufly lady, as pou art wyse,

To gif me leve to lye pe by.

Do way, thomas, fat were foly ;

I pray f e hertely let me be ;

ffor I say the securly,

fat wolde for-do my bewte.

Lufly lady, fou rew on me,

And I shall euermore with f e dwell ;

here my trouth I plight to fe,

Whedttr fou wilt to heuon or hell.

*IT * A Man) of Molde ! fou wolte me Mare,
And yete J>ou shalte haue all thy wyll ;
But wete )?ou well, J?ou chece hit the war,
For all my bewte J?ou wolte spyll.' 120
A downe alyght that lady bryght,
vnder nethe that grene wode spraye ;
And, as the story tellythe ryght,
Seuen) sythes by hir he laye. 124

IT ' A man), ]je lykythe wele thy playe :
Whate byrde in bowre may dele with the]
Thou marrest me here this long day,
I pray the, Thomas, [lett] me be ! ' 128

LANSDOWNE

Man of molde ! Jjou wilt me m&rre,
But $et J>ou shalt haue thy wille ;
But trow fou well, J?ou thryuist fe warre,
ffor alle my beute fou wille spille.
Down fen light fat lady bright,
yndwrneth a grenewode spray
And, as fe story tellus ful right, [imo.bk]
vij tymes be hir he lay.
She seid, thomas, f ou likw f i play :
What byrde in boure may dwel with f e 7
f ou marris me here Jra's lefe long day,
I pray the, Thomas, let me be !

CAMBRIDGE

8 THOMAS IS APPALLED AT THE TRANSFORMATION, AND KNOWS NOT WHAT TO DO. [FYTTE I.

Thomas stode vpe in pat stede,
And he by-helde pat lady gaye j
Hir hare it hange aH over hir hede,
Hir eghne semede owte,patareweregraye.
And aHe pe riche clothynge was a-waye,
J}at he "by-fore sawe in pat stede ; 134
Hir a schanke blake, hir oper graye,
And aH hir body lyke the lede. 136
Thomas laye & sawe pat syghte,
Yndir-nethe pat grenewod tree ;
J}an said Thomas, * alias ! alias ! 137
In faythe pis es a dullfuH syghte ;
How arte pou fadyde pus in pe face,
J)at schane by-fore als pe sonne so
bryght[e]! 140

ode yp in pat stede,

& behelde pat lady gay ;

hange downe a bowte hyr hede ;

hyr eyn semyt oute be sorow grey. 132

thynge was all away,

pat he before had sene in pat stede ;

blake, pat oper gray,

hyr body als bio as ony lede.

de, & sayd l alias !

.Me thynke pis is a dulfull syght \

, fadyd in pi face,

before pt?u shone as son so bry^t.'

[& Mon[e],

Scho sayd, ' Thomas, take leue at sonne '.'.... e, thomas, at son & mone,

And als at lefe pat grewes on tree ; 158 at gresse & at euery tre ;

.This twelmoneth" satt pou with me gone, .... ethe sal pou vrith me gone,

And MediH-erthe saH pou none see.' 160 Medyl erth pou sail not se.'
He knelyd downe appone his knee,

THORNTON COTTON

FYTTE I.] SHE BIDS HIM TAKE LEAVE OF SUN AND MOON, AND GO FROM EARTH WITH HER. 9

Thomas stode vp in that stede, [leaf 25, bk]

And behelde that shulde be gay ;

hure here honge aboute hir hede,

here yene semyd out that were, gray. 132

IT And all hir clopyng were Awaye,

There she stode in that stede ;

her colour blak, oper gray,

And all hir body as betyn lede. 136

Thomas stondand in pat sted,
And beheld pat lady gay ;
hir here pat hong vpon hir hed,
hir een semyd out, pat were so gray.
And alle hir clothis were Away,
pat here before saw in pat stede ;
pe too pe blak, pe topwr gray,
pe body bloo as bete?i leed.

T[h]an said Thomas, 'Alas ! alas !
This is A dewellfull sight ;
now is she fasyd in pe face, 139

that shone be fore as pe sonne brygfrt ! '

IF On euery syde he lokyde abowete,
he sau he mygfrt no whare fle ;
Sche woxe so grym and so stowte,' . . >
The Dewyll he wende she had be. 144
In the Name of the trynite, .
he corciuryde here anoii) Rygfct,
That she shulde not come hym nere,
But wende away of his syght. 148

IT She said, ' Thomas, this is no nede,
For fende of hell am I none ;
For the now am I grete desese,
And suffre paynis many one. 152

this xij Mones pou shalt wzt/? me gang,
And se the maner of my lyffe j
for thy trowche thou hast me tane,
Ayene pat may ye make no stryfe. 156

IT Tak thy leue of sone and Mone,
And the lefe that spryngyth on tre ;
pis xij monthes pou most with me gone,
Middylle erthe pou shalt not se.' . 1.60

LANSDOWNE

Thomas seid, Alas ! Alas !
In feith p^'s is a dolfull sight ;
pat pou art so fadut in pe face,
pat before schone as sunne bright !

Take pi leve, thomas, at sune & mone,
And also at levys of eldryne tre ;
This twelmond shall pou with me gon,
pat mydul erth pou shalt not se.
he knelyd downe vpon his kne,

CAMBRIDGE

10 THEY ENTER UNDER EILDON HILL, AND TRAVEL THREE DAYS IN DARKNESS. [FYTTE I.

Vndir-nethe fat grenewod spraye; 162
And sayd, ' lufly lady ! rewe on mee,
Mylde qwene of heuene, alsf oubeste maye,

Alias ! ' he sayd, ' & wa es mee 1 11 wo is me !

I trowe my dedis wyH wirke me care ; I trowe my dedes will werke me care :

My saulle, jhesu, by-teche j the, 167 ake to fe,

Whedir-some f at euermy banes saH fare/ "Whedir so euyr my body sal fare.'

Scho ledde hyra jn at Eldone hill, h with all hyr my3t,

Vndir-nethe a derne lee ; vndir nethe fat derne lee ;

Whare it was dirke als mydnyght myrke, s derke as at mydny^t,

And euer fe water till his knee. 172 & euyr in watyr vnto fe kne.

The montenans of dayes three, of dayes thre

He herd hot swoghynge of f e flode j he herde but swowynge of a flode ;

At f e laste, he sayde, ' fuH wa es mee ! . . . . s sayde, ' ful wo is me,

Almaste j dye, for fewte of f [ode.] ' 176 No we I spy 11 for fawte of fode.'

Scho lede hym in-tiH a faire herbere, she lede hym tyte ;

Whare frwte was g[ro]wan[dgretplentee;] fer was fruyte gret plente;

1 Pere and appitt, bothe ryppe fay were, les ]>er were rype,

The date, and als the damasee ; [iifiso.bk] fe date & fe damese ;

Jje fygge, and als so fe wyneberye ; 181 fylbert tre;

The nyghtgales byggande on fair neste j f e nyghtyngale bredynge in hyr neste ;

J)e papeioyes faste abowte gane flye ; a bowte gan fle.

And throstyHs sange wolde hafe no reste. f e throstylkoke sange wolde hafe no ...

He pressede to pulle frowyte with his pulle fruyt with hys hande ;

hande, 1 85

Als mane for fude fat was nere faynt ; as man for fawte fat was

Scho sayd, 'Thomas ! foulatefamestande, ' lat all stande,

Or eHs fe fende the wiH atteynt. 188 er els fe deuyl wil fe ataynte, 188

If f ou it plokk, sothely to saye,
Thi saule gose to f e fyre of hefte ;
It commes neuer owte or domesdaye,
Bot fer jn payne ay for to dueHe. 192

Thomas, sothely, j the hyghte, tomas, I f e hyjt,

Come lygge thyne hededowne on my knee, & lay f i hede vp on my kne ;

And [f ou] saH se f e fayreste syghte, a fayrer syjt,

j)at euer sawe mane of thi contree.' 196 fat euyr sawe man in fu kofitre.
He did in hye als scho hym badde ;

THORNTON COTTON

FYTTE I.] THOMAS IS FAINT WITH HUNGER, AND WOULD FAIN EAT FORBIDDEN FRUIT. 11

To mary mylde he made his mone :

Lady ! but J>ou rew on me,

Alle my games fro me ar gone.

Alas ! he seyd, woo is me, [leaf 121]

I trow my dedis *wil wyrk me woo ;

Ihesu, my soule beteche I the,

Wher so euer my bonys shall goo.

She led hym to J?e eldryn hill,

Yndwrneth ]?e grenewode lee,

Wher hit was derk as any hell,

And euer water tille )>e knee.

f er J?e space of dayes thre,

he herd but J?e noyse of J?e node ;

At ]?e last, he seid, wo is me !

Almost I dye, for fowte of fode.

She led hym into a fayre herbere,

J?er frute groande was gret plente ;

peyres and appuls, bothe ripe ]>ei were,

J>e darte and also fe damsyn tre ;

pe fygge and also ]>e white bery ;

J>e nyghtyngale biggyng hir nest,

]>e popyniay fast about gan flye,

fe throstill song wolde haue no rest.

he presed to pul )>e fr[ute with] his honde,

' Alas ! ' he said, ' full wo is me,

I trowe my werkes wyll wryche me care ;

My soule, Ihesu, I be take the,

"Where on erthe my body shall fare.' 168

I IT She lede hym downe at elden hyll,
vnder neth a derne le, C 1 leaf 26]
In weys derke Jjat was full ylle,

And euer water vp to his kne. 172

The monetaynis of dayes thre
he harde but swoyng of the node ;
Att the last he said, ' full wo is me !
All most I dye for defawte of fode.' 176
1F Sche browght hym tyl A fayre erbore,
where fruyt growyd grete plente ;
Peres and Apples Rype they were,
Datys and the damyse ; 180

the fyges and the pynnene fre ;
the nyghtyngalle byldyng hire nest ;
the popyngay abowte gan fle,
the throssell song hauyng no rest. 184

II Thomas presyd to pull the frute Wi't/t
his hand,

As man for fode hade been feynte ;
Sche said, 'Thomas, let that stonde, 187
Or elles ]>e dewele wole the Ateynte :
Yf J?ou pull there of Asay,
Thowe myght be damped into hell ;
Thowe co??imyst neuer owte agayne,
But euer in payn) J)ou shalt dwell. 192

IT Bat Thomas southly I the heght,
Come ley thy hed on my kne,
And jjou shall se the farest sight,
that euer saw man of thy contrey. 196

LANSDOWNE

As man for fode was nyhonde feynte ;

She seid, thomas, let J?em stande,

Or ellis J?e feend [will] J>e ateynte.

If Jiou pulle, jje sothe to sey, Deaf 121, back]

]?i soule goeth to Jje fyre of hell ;

hit cumraes neuer out til domws day,

But Jjer euer in payne to dwelle.

She seid, thomas, I j?e hight,

Come lay J)i hed on my kne,

And ]?ou shalle se ]?e feyrest sight,

Jjat euer saw mon of Jn cuntre.

He leyd down his hed as she hym badde ;

CAMBRIDGE

12 HE IS SHOWN THE WAYS TO PARADISE, PURGATORY, HELL. AND TO HER OWN COUNTRY.

Appone hir knee his hede he layde,

ffor hir to paye he was fuH glade,

And fane fat lady to hyra sayde : 200

' Seese f ou nowe 3one faire waye, tomas, 3one fayre way,

})at lygges ouer 3one heghe mouwtayne 7 fat lyggys ouyr 3one fayr playn ?

3one es fe waye to heuene for aye, 203 ay to heuyn for ay,

"Whene synfuH sawles are passede f er whan synfull sawles haf ful . . . . 204

Seese f ou nowe 3one ofer waye, [P avne ' is 3one secwnd way,

J?at lygges lawe by-nethe 3one rysse ? fat ligges la we vndir f e rese ?

3one es f e waye f e sothe to saye, ay, sothly to say,

Yn-to fe joye of paradyse. 208 . . . to fe joyes of paradyse.

Seese f ou 3itt 3one thirde waye,
J)at ligges vndir 3one grene playne 1
3one es f e waye, with tene and traye,
Whare synfutt saulis suffirris faire payne.

Bot seese f ou nowe 3one ferthe waye, . t s 3one thyrde way,

})at lygges ouer 3one depe deBe? 214 fat lygges ouyr 3one . . .

3one es f e waye, so waylawaye, ......... sothly to say,

Yn-to f e birnande fyre of heHe. to f e bry?myrcg fyer of hell.

Seese fou 3itt 3one faire castette, ........ 3one fayr castell,

[fat standis ouer] 3one heghe hiH 1 ? 218 fat standes ouyr 3one . . .

1 Of towne & towre, it beris f e beHe ; . . peaf 241, back]

In erthe es none lyke it vn-tiH. pcoi.2] . .

ffor sothe, Thomas, 3one es myne awenne, . . . . . tomas

And f e kynges of this Countree ; 222

Bot me ware leuer be hanged & drawene, . . . hade leuer be han . .

Or fat he wyste fou laye me by. .

When fou commes to 3one castelle gaye, whan f u comyst in 3one . .

I pray f e curtase mane to bee ; 226

And whate so any mane to f e saye, what so any man to f e say,

Luke fou answere none bott mee. s

My lorde es seruede at ylk a mese, My lorde is seruyd at eche mese,

With thritty knyghttis faire &free; 230 with thry

I saH saye syttande at the desse, I sail say, syttynge on f e dese,

I tuke thi speche by^onde the see.* I toke f i sp

Thomas still als stane he stude, Thomas stode as still as stone,

And he by-helde fat lady gaye ; 234 & byhelde fat lady ....

THORNTON COTTON *

HOW HE MUST BEHAVE, ON REACHING HER COUNTRY, AND SPEAK TO NONE BUT THE LADY. 13

200

Seest thow yender that playn) way,
That lyeth ouer youre playn) so cuyne ?
That is the wey, sothely to say,
To the hight blysse of hewyne. 204

IT Seyst pou yendyr, A noper way,
That lyeth yendyr vnder the grene Eyce ?
T[h]at is the wey, sothely to say,
To the loye of paradyce. 208

Seyst pow yender thrid way,
a That lyeth vnder that hye Montayne?
that is the wey, sothely to say, pieaf26,bk]
where synfull soulis sofferis payne. 212

If Seyst pou yendur forthere way,
that lyeth yendur full fell ?
hit it the wey, sothely to saye,
To the brynyng fyer of hell. 216

Seist pou yonder, that fayre castell,
that standyth hye vpon) that hyll 1
of Townys and towris it berys the bell ;
On erthe is lyke non) oper tyll. 220

IT Forsothe, Thomas, that is myne owne,
And the kyngis of this countre ;
Me were as goode be hengyd or brent,
As he wyst pou layst me bye. 224

when) thou eommyst to pe percdyr castell
I pray the curtace man pou be ; Lo a y>
And what .any man to the say,
loke pou answere no man) but me. 228
< IT My lorde is seruyd at the Messe,
with xxx 11 bolde barons and thre.
And I wyll say, sittyng at pe deyce,
I toke the speche at elden tre.' 232

Thomas stode styll as stone,
And behelde this lady gay ;

LANSDOWNE

His lied vpon hir kne he leide,

hir to pleese he was furl gladde,

And pen pat lady to hyw she seide :

Sees pou jon&ur fayre way

pat lyes ouer ^ondf^r mownteyne ?

3ondw is J>e way to heuera for ay,

Whan synful sowlis haue duryd J>er peyn.

Seest J?ou now, thoms, 3ondwr way,

pat lyse low vndwr $on rise 1

3ondwr is pe way, pe sothe to say,

Into J?e ioyes of paradyse.

Sees ]?ou 3onder thrid way,

pat lyes ouer 3ondwr playne 1

3onder is pe way, pe sothe to say,

per sinfull soules schalle drye per payne.

Sees pou now ^ondwr fourt way, [leaf 122]

pat lyes ouer ^ondwr felle ?

3onder is pe way, pe sothe to say,

Vnto pe brennand fyre of hell.

Sees pou now jondur fayre casteU,

pat stondis vpon ^ondwr fayre hitt ]

Off towne & toure, it berith pe bell ;

In mydul erth is non like per-till.

In faith, thomas, ^ondwr is myne owne,

And pe kyngus of pi's cuntre ;

but me were bettz^r be hengud & drawyn,

pen he wist pat pou lay be me.

My. lorde is serued at ilk a messe, (229)

w/tft xxx* 1 kny^tzs fayre & fre ;

And I shalle say, sittyng at pe deese,

I toke pi speche be ^onde pe lee. (232)

Whan pou comes, to 3ondwr casteH gay,

I pray pe curtes man to be ; (226)

And what so euer any man to pe say,

Loke pou answer non but me. (228)

Thomas stondyng in pat stode,

And be helde pat lady gay ; ,

CAMBRIDGE

14 THE LADY IS RESTORED TO HER FORMER BEAUTY, AND THEY ENTER THE CASTLE.

Scho come agayne als faire & gude, fan was she fayr & ryche onone,

And also ryche one hir palfraye. 236 & also ryal on hyr ....

Hir grewehundis fillide -with dere blode ;
Hir raches couplede by my faye ;
Scho blewe hir home, w^tAmayne& mode,
Vn-to fe casteHe scho tuke fe waye. 252
In-to f e hauHe sothely scho went ;
Thomas foloued at hir hande \
Than ladyes come, bothe faire & gent,
With curtassye to hir knelande. 256
Harpe & fethiH bothe fay fande,
Getterne, and als so f e sawtrye ;
Lutte and rybybe bothe gangande,
And aft manere of mynstralsye. 260
\)Q moste merueHe fat Thomas thoghte,
Whene fat he stode appone f e flore ;
ffor feftty hertis jn were broghte,
Jjat were bothe grete and store. 264

Raches laye lapande in f e blode,
Cokes come with dryssynge knyfe ;
Thay brittened fame als fay were wode,
ReueHe amanges fame was fuH ryfe. 268
1 Knyghtis dawnesede by three and three,
There was revelle, gamene, and playe ;
Lufly ladyes faire and free, c 1 leaf 151]

THORNTON

f e grewhondes had fylde f aim on f e dere,
& ratches ..........

she blew hyr home, thomas to' chere,

& to f e castel she to

f e lady in to f e hall went,
thomas folowyd at hyr h . . . .
far kept hyr mony a lady gent,
with curtasy & lawe kne ...
harpe & fedyl both he fande,
f e getern & f e sawtery ;
Lut & rybib f er gon gange,
f er was all maner of mynstralsy.
f e most ferly fat thomas thoght,

whan he come o myddes

fourty hertes to quarry were bro^t,
fat had ben before both sty . . .
lymors lay lapynge blode,
& kokes standyng with dressynge . . .
& dressyd dere as f ai were wode,
& reuell was f er wonder r . . .
kny^tes dansyd by two & thre,
all fat leue lange day ;
ladyes fat were gret of gre,
COTTON

FYTTE I.] HERE THOMAS DWELLS 3 YEARS AMID REVEL, GAME, AND MINSTRELSY. 15

Sche was as white as whelys bone,
And as Kyche on hir palefray. 236

1F Thomas said, ' lady, wele is me,
that euer I baide this day ;
no we ye bene so fayre and whyte,
By fore ye war so blake and gray ! 240
I pray you that ye wyll me say,
lady, yf thy wyll be,
why ye war so blake and graye ?
ye said it was be cause of me.' 244

IT ' For sothe, and I had not been) so,
Sertayne sothe I shall the tell ; neaf 2?]
Me had been as good to goo,
To the brynnyng fyre of hell ; 248

My lorde is so fers and fell,
that is king of this centre,
And fulle sone he wolde haue y e smell,
of the defaute I did with the.' 252

1F In to the halle worldely they went,
Thomas folowde at hir honde ;
Forthe came ladyes fayre and gent,
Curtesly Ayene hir kneland. 256

Harpe and fythell bothe they foynd,
the sytoll and the sawtery ;
the gytorne and rybbe gan) goyn),
And all maner of Menstrally. 260

IF J?e noeste ferly that thomas hade,
when he was stondyng on the flowre,
the gretest hert of alle hys londe,
that was stronge, styfe, and store ; 264
Raches lay lapyng of his blode,
And kokes with dressyng knywy s A hande,
Trytlege the dere, as they were wode,
there was Ryfe, reuoll Amonge. 268

1T Knyghtys dawnsyng by iij and thre,
there was reuell, game, and play ;
louely ladyes, fayre and fre,

LANSDOWNE

She was as feyre and as gode,
And as riche on hir palfray.

1 Hir greyhoundis fillid with )?e dere blode ;
Hir rachis coupuld be my fay ; c 1 if 122, bk]
She blew hir home, on hir palfray gode,
And to J>e castell she toke J)e way.
Into a haH sothly she went ;
Thomas folud at hir hande j
Ladis came, bothe faire & gent,
fful curtesly to hir kneland.
harpe and fidul both Jjei fande,
J>e getern, and also J?e sautry ;
J?e lute and J>e ribybe both gangand,
And alle maner of mynstralcy. 260

kny^t/s dawrisyng be thre & thre,
J>er was revel, both game & play ;
j>er ware ladys, fayre and fre,
Dawnsyng [one ric]he aray. (272)

J>e grettist ferlye fat thomas tho^t,
whew xxx ti hart/5 ley [up]on flore ;
And as mony dere in were broght,
pat was largely long & store. (264)

Rachis lay lappand on J?e dere blode,
J?e cokys J>ei stode with dressyng kny ves j
Brytnand ]>e dere as J>ei were wode ;

CAMBRIDGE

1 6 THOMAS IS SUDDENLY BIDDEN TO RETURN TO EARTH, TO ESCAPE SEIZURE BY A FIEND;

That satte and sange one riche araye.
Thomas duellide in that solace 273

More fane j $owe saye parde ;
Titt one a daye, so hafe I grace,
My lufly lady sayde to mee : 276

' Do buske the, Thomas, f e buse agayne ;
ffor f ou may here no lengare be ;
Hye the faste with myghte & mayne,
I satt the brynge titt Eldone tree.' 280
Thomas sayde fane with heuy chere,
' Lufly lady, nowe late me bee,
ffor certis, lady, j hafe bene here
Noghte bot f e space of dayes three ! ' 284
* ffor sothe, Thomas, als j f e teHe,
J>ou hase bene here thre 3ere & more ;
Bot langere here f ou may noghte dueHe,
The skylie j saH f e tette whare-fore ^288
To Morne, of heHe f e fouHe fende.
Amange this folke witt feche his fee ;
And f ou arte mekiH mane and hende,
I trowe fuH wele he wolde chese the.
ffor aHe f e golde fat euer may bee, 293
ffro hethyne vn-to f e worldis ende,
J}ou bese neuer be-trayede for mee ;
J}ere-fore with me j rede thou wende.'
Scho broghte hym agayne to Eldone tree,
Vndir-nethe fat grenewode spraye ; 298
In huntlee bannkes es mery to bee,
Whare fowles synges bothe nyght & daye.
' fferre owtt in 3one Mountane graye,
Thomas, my fawkone bygges a neste ;
A fawconne es an Erlis praye, 303

ffor-thi in na place may he reste. c 1 col. 2]
1 ffare wele, Thomas, j wend my waye,
ffor me by-houys ouerthir benttis browne.'
loo here a fytt more es to saye,
AH of Thomas of Erselldowne. 308

THORNTON

sat & sange of ryche aray.

Thomas sawe more in fat place,

fan I kan discry pardfe] ;

Til on a day, alias ! alias !

My lonely lady sayd to . .

* buske f e, thonias, f ou most agayn,

here f ou may no la

hy f e 3 erne at f ou wer at hame,

I sail f e brynge to '

thomas answerd with heuy chere,
& sayd, * louely lady, lat . . . .
for I 'say f e sertenly, here

hafe I be bot f e space of d '

' Sothly, tomas, as I tell f e,

f ou hath ben here thre 3ere

& here f ou may no langer be,

& I sail tell f e a skele

to morowe, of hell f e foule fende,

A mawg oure

for f ou art a large man, & an hende,

trowe f ou wele

for all f e golde fat may be,

fro hens vnto f e wor

sal f ou not be bytrayed for me ;
& f er for sail f ou hens ....
She bro3t hym euyn to eldon tre,

vndir neth f e gr

In huntle bankes was fayre to be,

f er breddis syng

Ferre ouyr 3on montayns gray,
f er hathe my facon

COTTON

FYTTE I.] THE LADY BEINGS HIM AGAIN TO EILDON TREE, AND BIDS HIM FAREWELL. 17

Satte syttyng in A ryall Araye. 272

Thomas dwellyd in that place

longer J?an I sey, parde,

Tyll one day, by fyll that cace,

To hym spake that ladyes fre. 276

IF ' Buske the, Thomas, thou most
for here ]?ou may no lenger be ; [Ay ene >
x hye the fast with" Mode and Mayne,
I shalte the bryng at elden tre.' p if 27, bk]
Thomas said, with heuy chere, 281

' louely lady, lat me be !
For certaynlye, I haue ben here
But the space of dayes Jjre.' 284

IT ' Forsoth, Thomas, I wolle the tell,
thou hast been her iij yere and More ;
And here J)ou may no lenger dwell,
I shall the tell A skele wherefore ; 288
To morowe, a fowle fend of hell,
A Mongis this folke shall chese his fe,
And for thou arte long man and hende,
I lewe wele, he wyll haue fe. 292

1T And for all the goode that euer myght be,
For hevene to the worldris ende,
Shalt Jjou neuer be bytrayed by me ;
Jjere fore I rede the with me wend.' 296
IS he browght hym Ageyn to elden tre,
Vnder neth" A grene wode spray ;
In huntely banker is man) to be,
Where fowlis syngith nyght and day. 300

IT ' For ouere youre Montayne graye,
"Where my fawcone beldith his nest,
the fawcone is the herons pray,
therefore in no place may she Rest. 304
Faire wele, Thomas, I wende my way,
Me bous ouere yowre brwtes broume.'
Here is A foott, And tway to say,
Of Thomas of Assildown. 308

LANSDOWNE
ERC1LDOUN.

Reuell was among fern rife. (268)

There was reuell, game, & play, [leaf 123]

More pan I yow say parde

Tille hit fel vpon a day,

My lufly lady seid to me :

Buske J>e, thomas, for J?ou most gon,

ffor here no longer mayst jjou be ;

hye J?e fast, with mode and mone ;

I shalle j?e bryng to eldyn tre.

Thomas answerid with heuy chere,

Lufly lady, fou let me be ;

ffor certenly, I haue be here

But J>e space of dayes thre.

ffor sothe, thomas, I J>e telle,

Jjou hast bene here seuen $ere and more ;

ffor here no longer may Jwu dwell,

I shal tel j>e the skyl wherfore :

To morou, on of hel, a fowle fende,

Among ]?ese folke shal chese his fee ;

Jjou art a fayre man and a hende,

fful wel I wot he wil chese the.

ffor alle pe golde pat euer myght be,

ffro heuon vnto J?e wordis ende,

Jjou beys neuer trayed for me ;

fforfth] with me I rede the wende.

She broght hym agayn to eldyn tre,

Vndwrneth Jje grenewode spray ;

In huntley banka's ^'s for to be, [leaf 123, bk]

ther foulys syng bope ny^t & day,

' ffor out ouer ^on mownten gray,

Thomas, a fowken malm his nest ;

A fowkyn is an yrons pray,

ffor ])ei in place wiH haue no rest.

ffare wel, thoms, I wende my way,

ffor me most ouer ^on bent^s brown/

This is a fytte ; twayn ar to sey r

Off Thomas of Erseltown.

CAMBRIDGE

THOMAS ASKS A TOKEN AS A PARTING GIFT.

[FYTT THE SECONDS.]

[are wele, Thomas, j wend my waye,
I may no lengare standew?'t/t the !'
1 Gytf me a tokynynge, lady gaye,
That j may saye j spake with the.' ,312
' To harpe or carpe, whare-so ])ou gose,
Thomas, fou saH hafe J>e chose sothely.'
And he saide, ' harpynge kepe j none ;
ffor tonge es chefe of mynstralsye.' 316

* If fou wiH speHe, or tales tette,
Thomas, fou saH neuer lesynge lye,
Whare euer fou fare, by frythe or fefte,
I praye the, speke none euyH of me !
ffare wele, Thomas, w^t^-owttyne gyle,

I may no lengare dueHe with the.' 322
1 Lufly lady, habyde a while,
And teHe fou me of some ferly ! *

* Thomas, herkyne what j the saye :
Whene a tree rote es dede, 326
The leues fadis fane & wytis a-waye j

& froyte it beris nane fane, whyte ne rede.
Of f e baylliolfe blod so saH it fatte :
It satt be lyke a rotyne tree ; 330

The comyns, & ])e Barlays alle,
The KusseHs, & f e ffreseHs free,

THOENTON

[FYTTE n,

[Sloane 2578, leaf 6 (begins at Fytt 2).]
[FYTT THE SECOND.]

IT Heare begynethe J?e ij d fytt I saye

of Sir thomas of Arseldon.

' Farewell, thomas, I wend my waye ; 309

I may no lenger dwell with the.'

' Gnyve me some token, Lady gaye,

that I may saye I spake with the.' 312

' to harpe or carpe, whither thowe can ;

thomas, J>ou shalt haue sothely.'

he said ' herpinge kepe I none ;

for tonge is chief of mynstrelsy.' 316

* & jjou wilt speake, & tales tell,

thowe shalt neuer leasynge lye ;

whither J?ou walke by frythe or fell,

I pray the, speake none ivell by me ! 320

Fare well, thomas, wi't/zouten gile,

I may no lenger abide w^tft the.'

' Lovly lady, abide a while,

and some ferly tell thowe me ! ' 324

' thomas, herken what I shall saye :

whew a tre rote is deade,

the leaves faden & fallen awaye,

Fruyt it bearethe none on in elde. 328

[No break in the MS.]
the baly of blud it shalbe,
their comens, & J?er barons all,
the Kusselles, & J?e fresselles fre, 332
SLOANE

Continuation of COTTON Manuscript*
[FYT THE SECOND.]

Fare wele thomas I wende my way I may no lang
[Gyfe] me a tokyn lady gay If euyr I se }ow w
[To ha]rpe or carp wher fat fou gon f fou sal hafe J>
thomas sayde harpywg kep I non for tonge is che[f
[Fare] wele thomas for nowe I go I will no langer sta[y

312
316

HE ASKS TO HEAR SOME FERLY j SHE PREDICTS THE RUIN OF THE BALIOLS. 19

[EOOTT THE SECOND.]

[FYTTE THE SECOND.]

IT 'Eare wele, Thomas, I wend my way;

I may no langer dwell with the.'

[' G]yf sum tokyne, my lady gay, [leaf 28]

that euer I saw the with my ye ' 312

' To harp or carp, where euer I gone,

Thomas, f ou shalt chese sojiele.'

' I, lady, harpyng wyll I none,

Eor townge is cheffe Mynstralye.' 316

1T ' Yf f ou wolte speke, or tails tell,
lesynges shalt f ou neuer lye ;
But where f ou go by fryf or fell,
I pray the, speke no ewylle by me ! 320
Fare wele, Thomas, I wend my wey ;
I may no langere dwell with the,'
1 yete, louely lady ! goode and gay,
A byde and tell me More ferlye.' 324

LANSDOWNE

' T7^ are we l> Thomas, I wend may,

JL I may no lengur stand with the ! '
' gif me sum tokyn, lady gay,
fat I may say I spake with the.' 312
To harpe or carpe, thomas, wher so euer
Thomas, take f e chese with the. k e S on >
harpyng, he seid, kepe I non,
ffor tong is chefe of mynstralse. 316
* If Jjou wil spiH, or talys telle,
Thomas, f ou shal neuer make lye ;
"Wher so euer ])ou gos, be frith or felle,
I pray ]?e, speke neuer no ille of me ! 320
ifare wel, Thomas, and wel J>ou be ;
I can no lengwr stand J>e by.'
' Lovely lady, fayre & fre,
Tel me jet of som farley ! ' .324

1 Thomas, truly I J?e say : [leaf 124]

Whan a tre rote is ded,
J>e levys fal, and dwyne away ;
ffrute hit berys, nedwr white nor red. 328
So shalle J?zs folkys blode be faH,
fat shal be like 3 on roten tre ;
fe semewes & fe telys alt,
f e resuH & fe frechel fre, 332

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

[Louely] lady wo is me so A byde & tell me [some] fe
[Herken] thomas as I f e sey whan f e trees rode is de
[The leues] fallyth & wastyth a way it beryth no fruy

[. . . . i bali]oves blode be fall I lyken to f e ro

[. ] & f es elders all * all for soth a way

324
328
332

SHE PREDICTS THE BATTLE OP HALIDON HILL.

[FYTTE n.

AH saH fay fade, and wyte a-waye ;
JSTa ferly if fat froyte than dye. 334
And mekiH bale sail after spraye,
Whare joye & blysse was wonte [to bee ;]
ffare wele, Thomas, j wende m[y waye]
I may no langer stand w[ith the.] ' 338
' Now lufly lady gud [and gay]
Telle me }itt of some ferly ! ' [leaf 151, back]
* Whatkyns ferlys, Thomas gude,
Sold j f e telle, and thi wiHs bee ? ' 342
' Telle me of this gentiH blode,
Wha satf thrife, and wha sail thee :
Wha saH be kynge, wha sail be none,
And wha saH welde this northe couwtre ?
Wha saH flee, & wha saH be tane, 347
And whare thir bateHs donne saH bee 1 '
' Thomas, of a BateHe j satt f e teHe,
J)at saH be done righte sone at wiHe :
Beryns saH mete bothe fers & fette, 351
And freschely fighte at Eldone hiHe.
The Bretons blode saH vndir fete,
)?e Bruyse blode saH wyne f e spraye ;
Sex thowsande ynglysche, wele f ou wete,
SaH there be slayne, fat jlk daye. 356
ffare wele, Thomas, j wende my waye ;
To stande with the, me thynk fuH jrke.
Of a bateft j wiH the saye,
Jpat satt be done at fawkirke : 360

THORNTON

all shall fade & fall awaye,
no farly then if fat fruyt dye !
and mykell bale shall after spraye, [if e, bio
wheare that blis was wont to be. 336
farewell, thomas, I wend my waye j
I maye no lenger stande with the.'
1 Lovly Lady, good & gaye,
tell me yet of somme farle ! ' 340

' what kyns farly, thomas good,
shuld I the tell, if thi will be V
6 tell, of the gentle blud
who shall vnthrive, & who shall the ; 344
who shalbe kynge, who shalbe none,
who shall weld f e northe centre 1
who shall fie, who shalbe tane,
& wheare f e battell3 done shalbe V 348
' of a battelle I wiU the telle,
that shalbe done sonne at will :
birdes shall mete, both fresshe & fell,
& fyersly fight at eldon hill. 352

the brusse blud shall vnder gonge,
the bretens shall wynrce all f e praye ;
thre thowsand scottes, on f e grownde,
shalbe slayne that ilk daye. 356

farewell, thomas, I wend my waye ;
to stand with the me thynk it irk.
of a battell I will the saye,
that shalbe done at fowse kyrk ; 350
SLOANE

COTTON

[Farew]ele thomas I wende my waye I may no langer s
[Lonely lady] gentyl & gay a bide & tele me so 340

( [2 lines lost at top of page] [leaf 242]

11] weld f e north cun

FYTTE II.]

THE BATTLE OF FALKIRK.

1T f "What kynne, Thomas, ferly gode,
wold ye fayri) wete of me ? '
' Lady, of this gentyll blode
who shall J>ryue, and who shall J>e ; 344
who shalbe kyng, and who shall be none,
And where any battell done shall be,
who shall be slaye, who shalbe Tane,
And who shall wyne the north Centre ? '

1F < Of A batell I shall the tell, 349
that shalbe done sone at wyll :
Barons shall mete, boith fers and fell,
And freslye fygfrt at helydowne hyll. 352

Fare wele, Thomas, I wende my way,
To stande here me thinke it yrke ;
But of A batell I shall the say
that shalbe don) at faw Chirch. 360

LANSDOWNE

Alle shalle falle, & dwyn away ;

No wondwr 03 J>e rote dy.

And mekiH bale shal aftur spray,

\er ioy and blisse were wont to be. 336

ffare wel, thomas, I wende my way ;

I may no lengwr stand )>e by.'

< lufly lady, gude and gay,

telle me jet of som ferly ! ' 340

' What kyns ferly, thomas gode,

Shuld I tel Je, if Jjiwilbe?'

* telle me of Jus gentil blode,

Who shal thrife, and who shal the ; 344

Who shal be kyng, who shall be non,

And who shal weld Jje north cuntre ;

Who shall fle, & who shal be tane,

And wher ]>es batelis don shal be ] ' 348

1 Off a batelle I will j>e teU,

J0at shall come sone at will : pieaf 124, back]

1 Barons shall mete, both fre and feH,

And fresshely fejt at ledyn hill. 352

the brucys blode shalle vndwr faH,

the bretens blode shaH wyn Jje spray ;

C. thowsand men \er shal be slayn, 355

Off scottysshe men at nyght and day.

ffare wel, thomas, I wende my way ;

To stande with the, me thynk full yrke !

Off J)e next bat[elle] I will fe say,

fat shall be at fawkyrke : 360

CAMBEIDGE

COTTON

e] wher ]?es batels don sal b[e] 348

J)* sal be done ful son at wyll

r]yke & feU & freshly fyjt at halyndon hiU 352

e]nde my way to stonde witJi ]> e me thynk ful yrke
sail] ye say J?t sal be don at fawkyrke 360

22 HER GREYHOUNDS ARE IMPATIENT, AND SHE AGAIN WISHES TO GO. [FYTTE II.

Baners saH stande, bothe lang & lange ;
Trowe this wele, with mode & mayne ;
The bruysse blode satt vndir gane, 363
Seuene thowsande scottis \er saft be

slayne.

ffare wele, Thomas, j pray J>e sesse ;
No lengare here J?ou tarye mee ; 366
My grewehundis, j>ay breke J?aire lesse,
And my raches Jjaire copiHs in three.
Loo ! whare J?e dere, by twa and twa,
Haldis ouer ^one Montane heghe.' 370
Thomas said, ' god schilde ]wu gaa !

baner} shall stand, longe & longe ;
trowe Jjou well, with mode & mayne ;
the brusse blod shall vnder gonge, [leaf 7]
v. thowsand scottes shalbe slayne. 364

farewell, thomas, I praye the cease ;
no lenger heare )>0u tary me ;
my greyhowndes breaken the flesshe,
& my ratchettes their coupulles in thre.
loke ho we fe deare, by ij & ij, 369

rvom ouer yonder mountain high 1 '
thomas said, ' god shild thowe goo !

Bot teHe me jitt of some ferly.' 372 but tell me yet of some farly.' 372

[' Of a] bateUe, j sail the saye, 377

[That saH] gare ladyse morne in mode ;
[ . , . . ]e, bothe wat^r & claye
Satt be mengyde ^riih mannes blode : [001.20
Stedis satt stombiH with tresoune, 381
Bothe Baye & broune, grysselle and graye ;
GentiH knyghtis saH stombiH downe,
Thorowe ]>e takynge of a wykkide waye.
])Q Bretons blode saH vndir faHe ; 385
The Bryusse blode saH wyne f e spraye ;

THORNTON

t of a battell I will the saye,
that shall garr ladies to morne in mode :
at bannokbwrne, bothe water & claye,
it shalbe mynged with red blud. 380
steades shall stvmbull with treason,
with blak & browne, grysell & graye ;
& ientill knightes shall tvmbull downe,
thurghe takinge of a wicked waye. 384
fe bretens blud shall vnder fall,
the brusse shall wywne all the praye ;
SLOANE

COTTON

sal stonde both large & lange * trowe Jwu wel .t. ws'tft mode & mayn
blode sal vndir gange vj thowsand of ynglych j?er sal be sla[yn] 364
le .t. for now I go * I may no langer stande with J?e
hondes breke J>air leches in two my raches shere hyr copies in thre 368
jone dere by two & two * holdes ouyr 3one lange le

FYTTE II.] ENTREATED TO STAY, SHE PREDICTS THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN. 23

IF Baners shall stande there A longe,
Trowe jje wele, vrOh- Mode and Mayne ;
the bratones blode shall vndere gange,
1 A thowsand englysche there shalbe

slayne. [i leaf as, back]

fare wele, Thomas, I pray J>ou sese, 365
I May no langere dwele with the ;
My greyhondes brekyng here leyse,
And my Eaches here Cowples a thre. 368

*fT Lo, where the dere, by two and ij,
holdes owere yone Montayn) hye ! '
* God forbeide ! ' saide Thomas, ' J>ou fro

me go,
Or More of the warres J>ou tell me.' 372

' Of a batale I shall the say,
that shall Make ladies morne in Mode :
Bankes bowrne, wattere and clay, 379
Shall be Mengyd witJi Mannis blode ;

IT Stedes shall snapre throwghttresouw,
Bothe bay and browne, bresyll and gray;
Gentyll Knyghtes shall tumbell downe,
thrwgh takyn) of A wrong way. 384
Bretons blode shall vndere fall,
the Ebruys there shall wyne the pray ;

LANSDOWNE

pe bretans blode shalle vndwr fall,
J?e brucys blode shalle wyn J>e spray ;
vij thousynd Englisshe men, grete &

smalle,

ther shalbe slayne, [J?at] nyght and day.
ffare wel, [tho]mas, [I] pray ]?e sees ; 365
No lengwr here J)0u tary me ;
lo wher my grayhounds breke \er leesshe ;
My raches breke ]?eir coupuls in thre. 368
lo, qwer J?e dere goos be too & too,
And holdis ouer ^onde mownten hye ! '
Thomas seid, ' god [schilde thou] goo,

But tell me ^et of sum ferly ! 372

holde Jn greyhounds in fi h[onde,]
And coupiH ])i raches to a [tre ;] [ 2 leaf 1253
2 And lat }>e dere reyke ouer ])e londe ;
ther is a herde in holtely. 1 376

' Off a bateU I wil jje say,
]?at shalle gar ladys niourne in mode :
At barnokys barne is watwr & clay, 379
J?at shal be myngyd w^t& mannys blode.
And stedys shalle sturabutt for treson,
bothe bay and brown, grisell & gray ;
And gentil kny^s shalle tombuii: down,
thoro tokyn of pat wyckud way. 384
the Bretans blode shalle vndwr faH,
the brutys blode shalle [wyn] J?e spray ;

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

say lady gode shelde $e go * abyde & tel me som ferle 372

attel I can J>e say Sal gar ladies morn in mode
kes borne both water & clay It sal be mengyd -with rede blode 380
[Stedes] sal stumbyl thrugh tresoun) both bay & brouri) gresel & gray

1 knyghtes sal tuwzbyl doun) for takyng of a wylsom way 384

THE DEATH OF BRUCE, AND USURPATION OF ED\?ARD BALIOL. [FYTTE II.

Sex thowsand ynglysche, grete & smalee,
SaH there be slane, fat jlk a daye. 388
Than saH scottland kyngles stande ;
Trow it wele, fat j the saye !
A tercelet, of the same lande,
To bretane SaH take f e Eedy waye, 392
And take tercelettw grete and graye,
"With hym owte of his awene contree ;
Thay sail wende on an ryche arraye,
And come agayne by land and see. 396
He saH stroye the northe contree,
Mare and lesse hym by-forne ;
Ladyse satt saye, alias ! & walowaye !
)?at euer fat Eoyalle blode was borne.
He saH ryse vpe at kynke home, 401
And tye f e chippis vn-to f e sande.
At dipplynge more, appone f e Morne,
Lordis wiH thynke fuH lange to stande ;
By-twix depplynge and the dales, 405
The watir fat rynnes one rede claye
There saH be slayne, for sothe, Thomas,
Eleuene thowsandez scottis, fat nyghte

& daye.

Thay saH take a townne of grete renownwe,
]3at standis nere the water of Taye ; 410
))e ffadir & f e sone saH be doiigene downe,
And with strakis strange be slayne a-waye.

THORNTON

vj thowsand Englishe, greate & small,

shalbe slayne fat ilk daye. 388

then shall Scotland stande ;

trowe thowe well, as I the saye !

a tarslet of the same land

to breten shall wynde f e redy waye ; 392

& take tarslettes, greate & gaye,

"with him, owte of his awne contre ;

ther shall winde in riche araye, [leaf 7, back]

& comme againe by land & seye. 396

he shall stroye f e northe contre,

moare & les him before ;

lades, welawaye ! shall crye,

fat euer f e baly of blud was borne. 400

he shall ryse vp at kynkborne,

& slaye lordes vpon the sand ;

to foplynge moore, vpon f e morne,

lordes will think full longe to stand. 404

betwin f e depplinge & f e dasse

f e water f er reraiynge on f e red claye

f er shalbe slayne, forsothe, thomas, 407

xi thowsand scottes, fat night & daye.

they shall take a towne of greate renowne,
that standethe neare f e water of taye ;
the father & f e soraie shalbe donge downe,
vrith strokes stronge be slaine awaye. 412
SLOANE

COTTON

w on al fat day both by hynde & als be fore

s]al syng welaway fat euyr f e balyolues blod was bore
nge kyngles be trowe f ou wele thomas as I f e say

1 take fly3t & fle to bruces lande f e redy way
seletes gret & gray with hym of hys awn contre
n ryche aray bothe by lande & eke by see

398*
400*

392
396

FYTTB II.]

THE BATTLE OF DUPLIN AND SEIZURE OF PERTH.

vij thousand ynglis, grete and smalle,
In a day there shalbe slay. 388

IT then shall Scotland kyngles be,
Trou }>ou well, that I the say !
A tarslet shall take his flyght, & fle
To bretons lande the Eedy wey j 392
And take tarslettes grete and gray,
With hym, oute of his lond ;
he shall wende in A Eyche Aray, 395
And come agayne by seye and londe.

IF He shall stroye the north Centre,
More and les hym be-forne ;
Ladyes shall say ' waleway !
that euer in Scotland war we borne.' 400
He shall Eyn vt at kynges horne,
And sley lordis on the sonde ; [leaf 29]
At deplyng More vppon the Morowe,
Lordes shall thynke there long stonde. 404

IT By twyx duplyng and the gray ston,
the water that Eynnes gray,
there shalbe slayne v thousand englismen,
that nyght and that day. 408

And yet they shall take A walled Towne ;
the fader and the sone be slayn away ;
A knyght shall wyn the warisoura,
w^'t7i dynt of swerd for ones and ay. 412

LANSDOWNE

viij thousand englissemen, grete & small,
ther shal be slayn, J>at nyght & day.

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

[397400, see above]

vp at kynche horn fele lordes vp on j?e sande
m]ore vp on J>e morn lordes sal thynke ful lang to stand 404
ge] & a dale J?at water of Erne J?at rynnes gray
v?{]th myche bale x thowsand scottes a ny^t & a day 408
wallyd toune standynge ful nere J)e water of tay

CORONATION OP DAVID BRUCE, AND HIS INVASION OP ENGLAND. [pYTTE II.

"Whene ]>ayhafe wowne J>at wallede towne,

[i leaf 152]

And ylke mane hase cheuede )>ayre chance,
x Than saH thir bretons make j>ame bowne,
And fare forthe to jje werre of fraunce.
Than sari: Scotland kyng-lesse stande,
And be lefte, Thomas, als j the saye ;
Than saH a kyng be chosene, so ^ynge,
That kane no lawes lede par faye : 420
Dauid, with care he saH be-gynne,
And with care he saH: wende awaye.
Lordis & ladyse, more and Myne, 423
SaH come appone a riche araye,
And crowne hym at the towne of skyme,
Appone an certane solempe daye. 426
Beryns balde, bothe 3onge and aide,
SaH tiH hym drawe wft/i-owttyne naye ;
Enyne he saft to ynglande ryde,
Este and weste als lygges the waye. 430

Be-twixe a parke and an abbaye,
A palesse and a paresche kyrke,
Thare saH $our kynge faiH of his praye,
And of his lyfe be wondir jrke. 436
He sari be tane, so wondir sare,
So J>at a- waye he saH noghte flee ;

THORNTON

when ]?ei haue wonne ]>e walled towne,

& euery man chosen his chaunce,

J?e bretens they shall make J?era bowne,

& forthe to )>e warres of Fraunce. 416

Jjen shall Scotland without kinge stand ;

beleve, thomas, as I the saye !

thei shall chuse a kinge full yonge.

J?at can no lawes leade, parfaye j 420

& crowned at fe towne of scone,
on a serteine solemne daye. [leafsj

birdes bolde, bothe olde & yonge,
shall to him drawe without naye \ 428
into England shall thei ride,
easte, weste, as ligges the waye,
& take a towne with greate pn'de,
& let J>e menw be slaine awaye. 432
betwixt a parke & an abbaye,
a pales & a parishe kirk,
there shall jour kinge faile of his praye,
& of his lyfe be full irk. 436

he shalbe taggud wunder sare,
so ]?at awaye he maye not fle ;
SLOANE

COTTON

yn a doun with sore dyntes be kylled a way 412
n]ge jjat is ful $ynge he kan no lawes lede pa/fay
he sal be gyn w?^ sorowe sal he wende a way 420

ppes both more & myn al sal gedir to \er a ray

m]at Y toun) of scoyne vp on J?e tn'nyte Sonday 424
both 3onge & aide sail fal to hym with owtyn nay 428

FYTTE II. J

DAVID BRUCE TAKEN AT NEVILI/S CROSS, NEAR DURHAM.

1F Whan they haue take that wallyd

towne,

And euery man has chosyn his chans,
the bretons blode shall make hym bone
And fare to the wanes of fraunce. 416
And then shall scottland be withoute kyng,
Trowe the wele that I the sey !
they shall chese a kyng full yonge,
that can not lede no laweys, perfay. 420

1F Dauid, without^ care he shall begyne,
And withoute care he shall wend away ;
Bysshoppes and lordes, More and myne,
Shall come to hym in Eyche A Raye,
And Crowne hym at A Towne of Scone,
Forsothe vpoii A Setterday. 426

Bornes blode shall wend to Rome,
To get lyve of the pope yf they may. 428

1F By twyxte a parke and ane Abbey,
A palys and A perishe church,
there shall that kyng fayll at his pray,
And of his lyfe he shall be full yrke.
He shall be togged, the wonde sore, 437
that Away he maynot fle ;

LANSDOWNE

pen shalle Scotland kyngles be sen ;
trow pis wel, pat I pe say !
And thei shalle chese a kyng ful $ong,
pat can no lawes lede, parfay : 420

Robert, with care he shal be gynne,
And also he shaH wynde awey. 422

lordys and ladys, bothe olde & yongg,
shalle draw to hym with outyn nay ; 428
And they with pryde to Englond ryde,
Est and west pat liggys his way ;
And take a tource of mycul pryde,

And sle [ ] kny^tes veray. 432

Betwene a parke & an abbay, [leaf 125, back]
A palys and a parissh kyrke,
ther shalle pe kyng mys of his way,
[And] of his life be fuH yrke. 436

He shal be teyrydC?) ful wondwr sore,
So a way he may not fle ;

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

sal he holde And bryn & sla al in hys way extra
sal he ryde par sal he J>at ilke day
fat wondes wyde pat werne ful bolde in hyr aray 432

ke & an abbay a paleys & a paryshe kyrke
a]yle of hys pray & of hys lyfe he sal be yrke 436
ke in .... e ful sare * so pat a way he may not fle

DAVID BRUCE A PEISONER IN LONDON.

[FYTTE n.

Hys nebbe saH rynrce, or he thethyne fare,
}5e rede blode tryklelandevn-to his kn[ee].
He saH fan be, with a false f . . 441
Be-trayede of his awene . . . .

And whef er it torne

He satt byde 444

Jpat rau

Tho ,

[5 lines lost at foot of page in MS.~\

In fe northe to do owttraye. [coi.2] 452
And whene he es mane nioste of Mayne,
And hopis beste fane for to spede,
On a ley lande saH he be slayne,
Be-syde a waye for-owttyne drede. 456
Sythene saH: selle Scotland, par ma faye,
ffulle and fere, futt many ane,
ffor to make a certane paye ; 459

Bot ende of it saH neuer come nane.
And fane saH Scotland kyngles stande ;
Trowe this wele, fat j telle the !
Thre tercelettis of f e same lande 463

THORNTON

his nebbe shall or he thens fare,

of red blud, tn'kell to J>e kne. 440

he shall, -with a false fode,

[No break in the MS.]
whither it twrne to ivell or goode ;
& he shall bide in a ravens hand. 444
the ravin shall f e Goshawke wywne,
if his fethers be neuer so black ;
& leide him strayte to London, 447

f er shall jour fawcone fynde his make.
f e ravin shall his fethers shake,
& take tarslettes gaye & greate,
with him, owte of his awne centre; PjJJ-
& f e kinge shall him M r make,
in fe northe to do owtraye. 452

when he is man of moste niayne, [ifs, bk]
& hopes beste for to spede,
on a leye land he shalbe slayne,
beside a waye w^'tAout drede. 456

then shall they sell in Scotland, parfaye,
fowles & fee full many one,
for to make a sertein paye ;
but end ]>er of commethe neuer none. 460
fen shall Scotland kingles stand ;
trowe fou well, as I the saye !
iij tarslettes, of that same land,

SLOANE

COTTON

1 ren with myche care of rede blode douri) to hy[s kne] 440
a fals fode betrayed of hys awn) lande
rn) to euyl or gode be sesyd in to a rauyn[es hande] 444
. . goshauke wyn be hyr fethyrs neuyr so [blake]
reght to london with hym \er sal jour foule [fynd his make] 448
hyr fethyrs folde & take J? e tarsletes [grete & gay]

FYTTE II.] DAVID BRUCE RANSOMED WITH "A CERTANE PAYE.'

1 His nose shall Rynwe, or lie theflse go,
the blode shall trykle downe to his kne.

IF He shall, throwght a fals fode, 441
Be betrayde of his owne lond; cneaf29,bk]
Wherere it turne to ewyll or good,
He shall Abide a Rauenes honde. 444
the Rauyne shall the goshawke woym,
thowght his fedres be neuer so blake ;
And lede hym to London Towne, 447
there shall the goshawke fynd his Make.

IT J>e Rawyn shall his fedres shake,
And take tasletis grete and gay ;

the kyng shall hym Maister Make,

In the north for to do outray. 452

And whan he is most in his mayil,

And best wenes for to spede,

On a ley londe he shall be slayn,

By side awey without dred. 456

IF And than most Scotland, parfay,
By se & land, mony one,
For Dauid make certayn pay ; 459

But end of hym commytS neuer none,
then most Scotland kyngles stond ;
Trowe the wele, J?at I say the !
' A taslet of A nother land. 463

LANSDOWNE

his neb shaft rise or he then fare,

the red blode triklond to his knee. 440

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

hym maystyr bold In )>e north [sal he do owtray] 452

p 2 lines lost at top of page .] [leaf 242, back]

. en of dauy[d 459 .

sail ryde & go hyr wa[y 1

J>an sal scotlande kyngles 461 .

thre lordes of J?at same londe 463 .

30 ROBERT STEWART KING OF SCOTLAND ; THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. [FYTTE II,

464

Satt stryfe to bygg & browke fe tree.
He sail bygg & browke the tree,
That hase no flyghte to fl ey a-waye ;

to breten fen shall wend f er waye.
he shall bigge & breake f e tre,
f at hathe no flight to fle away,

466

Thay sal! with pryde to y[n]gland ryde, }ai shall, with pride, to england fre,

Este & weste als lygges f e waye. 472 easte & weste as lygges f e waye. 472

Haly kyrke bese sett be-syde, holy kirk be sett beside,

Relygyous byrnede on a fyre ; & religious men bwme in fyre ;

Sythene saft fay to a castelle gl[yde], thei shall to a castell glide,

And schewe fame fare with . . 476 & shewe fern there with mykell ire. 476

By-syde a wyH betwixt a well & a weare,

A wh[yt a withwell & a slyke stone,

. . . . f er shall ij chef tens mete in fere,

the on shall doughtles be slayne. 480

. the brusse bind shall with him fle,

. . . . 483 & leade him to a worthi towne ;

[10 lines lost at foot of page in MS.~\ and close him in a castell lyght, [leaf &]

theare to be with greate renowme. ^^'

. Farewell, I wend my waye ;

. me behoves ouer yonder bent so browne/

^ ..... here endethe J?e ij d fytt, I saye,

. . . of sir thomas of Arseldon. 488

THORNTON SLOANE

COTTON

fat hath no fly^t to fle a way In to [yng

& bryn & sla day by day * To a towre fan

And hald fer in myche ire holychyrche is set

relegious fai bryn hyin in a fyre

bytwys a wethy & a water a well & a haly stane

466 . 471

472 . 475

476 . 473

474

FYTTE II.]

DOUGLAS SLAIN, AND HOTSPUR TAKEN PRISONER.

Shall fryue & bygge, & browke }?at tre.

IT He shall bygge, and broke ]>at tre
He toke his flygh, & flye A wey ;
Eobert steward kyng shalbe 467

of Scotland, and Eegne mony A day.
1 A cheuantey ne then shall ryse with pride,
of all Scotland shall here the floure ;
he shall into Englonde Eide, [Ueafso]
And make men haue full sharpe schoure.

IT holy chirche to set on syde, 473
And religyons to bren on fyre ;
he shall to the new castell Eyde,
And shew hym there with grete Ire. 476
By twyx A wey of water,
A well, & A grey stone,
there cheuanteynes shall mete on fere,
And that o dowghty ther shall be slayne.

IF that other cheuanteyne shall there

be tayne, 481

And proude blode withe hyme shall fle,

And lede hyme tyll A worthe Towne,

And close hym vp in A castell hye. 484

be twene A wycked way & A watwr, 477
A parke and A stony way then ;
ther shal a cheften mete \n fere,
A ful dutey \er shal be slayn. 480

the todwr chef tan shal be tane,

A pesans of blode hyme shal slee ;

And lede hym a[w]ay in won,

And cloyse hym in a casteH hee. 484

Fare wele, Thomas, I wend my wey ; flare wel, thomas, I wende my way ;

Me bus ouer your brutes brome.'
. here is a fote ; anoj?er to sey,
of Thomas of Assilldone.

LANSDOWNE

488

flbr I must ouer $ond . . bentw brown.'

here ar twoo fjttis ; on is to say,

Off Thomas of Erseldown. 488

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

$er sal two chyftans met in fere p e doglas fer sail be s[l 480

A tarslet sal in halde be tane chyftans a way with hym

& lede hym to an hold of stane & close hym in a castel [h 484

Whar wele thomas I wend my way me most ouyr 3one be

anoper fyt more is to say of Jje prophecy of arseldoun 488

THOMAS AGAIN DETAINS THE LADY TO TELL HIM MORE FERLY. [JFYTTE III.

[FYTT THE THIRD.]

[i leaf 152, back]

owe, lufly lady, gente and hende,
TeHe me, $if it thi willis bee,
Of thyes BateHs, how fay schaH

ende,
And whate schaHe worthe of this northe

couwtre?' 492

This worlde, Thomas, sothely to tette,
Es noghte hot wandrethe & woghe !
Of a bateHe j witt the teHe, 495

That schattbe donrce at spynkarde cloughe :
The bretons blode schaHe vndir faHe,
The bruyse blode. schaHe wyne f e spraye;
Sex thowsande ynglysche, grete & smaHe,
SaHe thare be slayne fat nyghte & daye.
The rerewarde satt noghte weite, parfaye,
Of that jlke dulfuHe dede ; 502

Thay saH make a grete jowrnaye,
Dayes tene wz^-owttyne drede.
And of a bateHe j wiH f e teHe, . 505
That saH be donwe now sone at wiH :
Beryns satt mete, bothe ferse & feHe,
And freschely fyghte at pentland hyH.
By-twyx Sembery & pentlande, 509
J)e hauHe fat standis appone fe rede

claye

THORNTON

[FYTTE THE THIKJD.]

' thies wordes, thomas, fat I saye,

is but wanderyng & wough"

of a battell I shaU the tell,

that shalbe done at Spenkard slough : 496

the bretens blud shall vnder fall,

the brusse blud shall wywne J>e praye ;

vij thowsand englishe, greate & small,

shalbe slayne J>at ilk daye. 500

the reareward shall not witt, parfaye,

of fat same dolfull dede ;

thei shall make a greate iomaye,

dayes x w^out drede. 504

of a battell I will you tell,

that shalbe done sonne at will :

barons shall mete, bothe fyers & fell,

& fyersly fight at Eldon hill. 508

betwin Edynburgh & Pentland,

at pe hall ]?at standethe on J?e redd claye,

SLOANE

COTTON

[FYT THE THIRD]

Far wel thomas I wewde my way me most ouyr ^one bro . .
sothly .t. I ]?e say * men sal haf rome ry^t iiy faire dor
Sothly .t. as I J?e say Jjis world sal stond on a wondir w
of a batel tel I J>e may fat sal be don at spynkar cl
J> e gret wreth sal not persayuyd be * of fat gret vnk . .

492
496

PYTTE III.] SHE PREDICTS THE INVASION OP SCOTLAND UNDER HENRY IV.

[FOTE THE THIRD.]

^T 'Fare wele, Thomas, I wend my way;
I may no longer duell with the.'
yet, louely lady, goode and gey,

Abyde, & tell me more ferele ! ' 492

' And Jms, thomas, truly to tell,
hyt Is wondrand & wow ;
but of a batyll I shall the tell,
that shall be don at spincar clow : 496
IT the bretonys blode there shall vnder-
the Ebrues ther shall wyn the pray; L* a ^>
v thousand yngleffl there, gret & small,
In a Sunday mornyng shall be slay. 500
the fowarde shall not wit, parfey,
Certeyn of that dolfull dede ;
they shall make agayne a grete lorney,
Dayes x wzt/^outen drede. 504

P leaf 30, back] [lond

1 1F Bytwix Eden brought and the Pent-
the hall that stond on the Rede glay

[FYTTE THE THIED.]

* nnhomas, truly I fe say,

JL J>e worlde is wonder wankill !
Off J?e next batell I wyll the say,
that shal be done at spynard [?] hift : 496
the bracks blode shall vndwr fall,
the brettens blode schall wyn [the spray;]
xiij thousand \er shal be slayne, [leaf 126]
Off scottisshe men J>at nyght & day. 500

Off the next bateU 1 wil }e telle,
fat shal be done sone at wiH :
Barons bothe flesshe & feH
shalle fresshely fy^t at pentland hyll. 508
but when pentland & edynborow,
And J>e hill J?at standt's on J?e red cley,

LANSDOWNE

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

v. thowsande slayn sal be of scottes men wiih outyn
Fare wele .t. I wend my way I may no langer stand
louely lady gentyl & gay a byde & tel me more f
Of a batel I can f e tell * J?at sal be done hastely at
bernes sal met both fryk & fel & freshely fy$t at
by twys edynburgh & pentlande an hyl \er stand

ERCILDOUN. 3

500
504
508

THE ENGLISH GO TO WAR IN FRANCE.

[PYTTE III.

There schaH be slayne Eleuene thowsande there shalbe slayne xij thowsand,

[Of scotjtis mene, fat nyghte & daye. forsothe, of scottes, fat night & daye. 512

. . . . a townee, of grete renowne, thei shall take a walled towne, E 1 leaf 9, bk]

e water of Taye 514 * the father & fe sonne bene slayne awaye;

knightes shall wynne f er warysone,

thurghe dyntof swerdfor euer &aye. 516

whew f ei haue wonne the wallid towne,

and euery mawn chosen his chaunce,

[13 lines lost at foot of page in MS.] the bretens Jjen shall make them bowne,

and forthe to J>e warres of Fraunce. 520

thei shalbe in fraunce full

thomas, I saye, iij yeares & mare ;

and dynge downe tower}, & castelles

to euery mawn in sonder fare, [stronge,

thera shall thei be bought full stronge,

betwixt Seiton & fe seye ;

the bretens shalbe ]>e greaves amonge,

The tofer oste at barboke. [coi.2] 528 the other este at Barwik fre. 528

fforryours furthe sail flee, [No break in the MS.]

On a Sonondaye, by-fore J?e messee ; on a Sondaye before J?e masse,

Seuene thowsandes sothely sail be slayne, v thowsand sothely slayne shalbe,

One aythir partye, more and lesse. 532 of brusse blud, bothe moare & les. 532

rTor Jjer saH be no baneres presse, for ]pat daye shuld no baner} presse,

Bot ferre in sondir sail thay bee ; but farr in sonder shall thei be ;

CarefuH: saH be jje after mese, 535 carefull shalbe the enter messe,

THORNTON SLOANE

COTTON

Iper sal be slayn twelf \ owsande of Scottes [m
fan sal J>ai take a wallyd toun) fadir & [s
kny^tes of yngland wyn fair warysoun) th
whaw f ai haf tak f is wallyd toun) & ich maw hath,
hym to hys chance * fan sal f e bretons make
& fare in to f e werres of fraunce

512
516

520

FTTTE III.]

A BATTLE "BETWEEN SETON AND THE SEA."

there shall be slayne vij m 1
of scottes men, that nyght & day. 512
And f et they shall take A walled Towne
that stonde on the water of Tay ;
knyghtes shall wyne the waryson, 515
By dyntes of swerde for ones & Aye.

IF And whan they haue toke fat walled

towne,

And eche man hathe take his chaunce,
the britons blode shall make hym boune,
And fare agan) to werres of fraunce. 520
then shall they be in fraunce full longe ;
Thomas, iij yere & more ; [stronge,

And dyng downe castellis & towres
And then shall euery man home fare. 524

IT they shall mete, bof e fers & stronge,
By twyx Ceton and the see ;
the englyshe shall ly in craggis amonge,
That othere oste at barkle. 528

A sore semble there shall be,
On a sonday by fore the Masse ;
v thousand shalne 1 shall be, c 1 Psiayne]
of bothe partes more & lesse. 532

IT For there shall no baner presse,
Bot fer in sundre shall they be ;
Carefull shall be there last Masse,

LANSDOWNE

vij thousande shal be slayn fere, 511
Off scottisshe men fat nyght & day.

then shalle they met, bathe stiff & strong,

Betwene seton and f e see ;

the englisshe shalle lyg f e cragys among,

the tojwr at f e est banke faHef hye. 528

the fflorence forth shall fare,

Vpon a sonday before the masse ;

v thousande fer shalbe slayne,

off bothe party es more and lesse. 532

ffor fat fer shall no barrens presse,

but fer asondwr shalle they be ;

CarfuH shalbe f e furst masse,

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

f aj sal be in fraunce ful lang sothly .t. thre $er
& bet douri) tounes & castels strange to do owtr
fan sal f ai mete both styf & strang * by twys Seton
f e Inglyshe sal lyg f e cragges amang f e frenshe
[freres] fast a way sal fle On a sonday be for f e
. thowsande slayn sal be * of bernes both m
[J>er] sal no man wyn f e pn'se sertenly f is I tell f

524
528
532

A BATTLE BETWEEN SETON AND THE SEA.

[FYTTE in.

By-twixe Cetone and f e See.

Scliippis saH stande appone f e Sande,
Wayffande with f e Sees fame ; 538

Thre 3ere and mare, fan saH fay stande,
Or any beryne come foche fame hame.
Stedis awaye Maysterles sail flynge,
Ouer f e Mountans too and fraa ;
Thaire sadiHs one f aire bakkis saH hynge,
Vn-to fe garthis be rotyiie in twaa. 544
^itt saft fay hewe one aHe f e daye,
Vn-to f e son??.e be sett nere weste ;
Bot f er es no wighte fat ^itt wiete maye,
Whef er of thayme saH hafe f e beste.
Thay saH plante downe faire thare, 549

"Worthi mene al nyghte saft dye ;
Bot One f e Morne f er saH: be care,
ffor nowfer syde saH hafe fe gree. 552
Than saH fay take a trewe, and swere,
ffor thre 3 ere & more, j vndirstande,
J}at nane of fame saH of er dere,
[Nbwf er] by See ne }itt by lande. 556
. . . . saynte Marye dayes

djayes lange

. . . . . . Baners rayse

; e lande 560

THORNTON

[leaf 10]
540

544

betwin seytone & fe seye, 536

of f e brusse, bothe moare & les.
shipp^ shall stand vpow the sande,
wavand with f e seye fome,
thre yeares & moare, vnderstand,
or any barons fetche them home
steades maistexles shall flynge,
to the mountains to & fro ;
f er sadel^ on f er backer hynge,
till f er girthes be rotten in to.
thei shall hewe on helme & sheld,
to f e sonne be sett neare weste ;
no manw shall witt, in fat fyeld,
whithether partie shall haue f e beste. 548
thei shaU caste downe banne?^ there ;

wonden many one fat night shall dye ;
vpoft the morne there shalbe care,
for neither partie shall haue f e degre. 552
thei shall take a trewce, & sware,
iij yeares & moare, I vnderstand,
fat none of them shall other dare,
neither by water ne by land. 556

betwin ij Saint mary dayes,
when f e tyme waxethe longe, 558

then shall thei mete, & banne^ raise,
on claydon moore, bothe styf & stronge.
SLOANE

COTTON

[ ] sal f * ost be aftyr mes by twys seton &

[Shijppes sal be on f e strande * wallyng with f e s

T[hr]e 3er & more f er sal fai stande no man to f

[Stedjes maysterles a way sail flynge to f e mountt ....
[Sadels on] hyr bakkes sail hynge to f e gyrthes be

536
540

544

FYTTB III.] A BATTLE AT GLADSMOOR.

Bytwyx ceton & the see. 536 be twene seton & the see.

Shippes shall stonde ther on J?e sonde,
hem selfe mene the the fome ;
Seue yere & more theyr shall they stonde
And no barne shall bryng hem' home. 540

1 1T And stedes shall maisterles fleng
To the Montayns them fro ; [Ueafsi]
the sadles shall on ther bakes hyng,
Thyll J?e gerthes be rotten them fro. 544
they shall hewe on, all that day,
.*Tyll the sonne be sett west ;
ther is no man, that wete may,
which of them shall haue the best. 548

37
536

LANSDOWNE

J?en shalle fei [fe^t] wit7i helmys & shylde

there > [awey ;

And woundyt men al eneglych shal rone

but on J)e morne \er schal be care,
ffbr nedyr [side] shall haue J>e gree. 552
2 Then shalle Jjei take a truce & swere,
thre 3 ere and more, I vndwrstonde ;
j?er noufer side shalle odir dere, ^ci] 26 '
Noufer be se nor be londe. 556

betwene twoo seynt mary dayes,
When J?e tyme waxis nere long,
then shalle thei mete, and banerse rese,
In gleydes more, Jjat is so long. 560

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

[fai sal plantt] doun hir baners par & wondid men s
[Jris is }?e] begynw-yng [of \er\ care whan nofer party sa
[)>en sal J>ai] take a trew & swere thre 3er & more
[Jjat none of] fern sal [o]?er dere nofer] by se
[ ] saynt mary dayes [when] j?e da

548
554

558
560

THE BATTLE AT GLADSMOOR.

[FYTTE in.

[7 lines lost at foot of page in

*Bot wiete wele, Thomas, he sail fynd
nan[e]. [Ueafiss] 572

He saH lyghte, whare pe crose solde bee,
And holde his nebbe vp to the skye ;
And drynke of gentitf blode and free ;
))ane ladys, waylowaye, satt crye. 576
Ther sail a lorde come to J)at werre,
J)at saH be of fuH grete renown[ne] ;
And in his Banere satt he bere,
Triste it wele, a rede lyono. 580

Thar satt anofer come to ]>at werr[e],
J}at saH fyghte fuH fayre in [
And in his banere saH he ber[e] 583
A Schippe w/t/i an ankyre of golde.
3itt salt an o]>er come to fat werre,
J}at es noghte knawene by northe n[e
southe] ; 586

And in his Banere saH he bere
A wolfe with a nakede childe in hia

mo[uthe].

3itt sail j>e ferthe lorde come to fatwferre],
J)at saH grete Maystries after ma[ke] ;
And in his B[anere sa]H he b[er]e
The bere 592

THORNTON

iij crowned kinges, with dyntes sore,
shalbe slayne, & vnder be.
a Raven shall cowme ouer ]?e moore ;
and after him a crowe shalle flee, 568
to seke j>e moore, without reste,
after a crosse is made of stone, [leaf io,backi
ouer hill & dale, bothe easte & weste ;
but trowe j?0u well, he shall fynde none.

he shall lyght wheare J>e crosse shuld be,
& holde his nebbe into J?e skye ;
& drynk of ientle bind & fre, 575

of doughti knightes fat downe shall lye.
SLOANE

[Lines 577-604 not in this MS.]

FYTTE III.] THE LORDS WHO SHOULD COME TO THAT BATTLE. 39

Gladysmore, J>at gladis vs aft,

This is begynyng of oure gle ;

gret sorbw J>en shall fall,

Wher rest and pees were wont to be. 564

Crowned kyngus ]>er shal be slayn,

"With dyntis sore, and wondwr se ;

Out of a - more a rauen shal cwn ;

And of hym a schrew shall flye, 568

And seke jje more, with owten rest,

Atur a crosse is made of ston ;

Hye and low, boj) est and west,

But vp he shall [fynde] non. 572

He shalle li^t J?er the crosse shuld be,
And holde his neb vp to J>e skye \
And he shaH drynk of [ ],
Ladys shalle cry welawey ! 576

LANSDOWNE CAMBRIDGE

[Lines 577-604 in no MS. but the Thornton.]

COTTON

[5 lines lost at top of page.] [leaf MS]

[fynd no] 572

neb vp to J?e sky 574

[w]elaway sal cry 576
[Lines 577-604 not in this MS]

HOW A BASTARD SHOULD COME OUT OF THE WEST [FYTTE III.

And pa

Bot

J>er .596

J>e .

An 600

Th . . .

The 604

pa frely pel shall fight pat daye, 605

Y .'.... 606 to pat pe sonne be sett neare weste ;

none of them shall witt, I saye,

[4 lines entirely lost at bottom of column.] whither partie shall haue pe beste. 608

a basted shall comme owte of a fforreste,

in sothe england borne shalbe

[col. 2] lie shall wynne pe gre for pe beste,

& all pe land after bretens shalbe. 612

thew he shall into England ryde,

. . . . easte weste, as we heare sayne. 614

[Coil. 2 entirely torn off.]

y . . . all false lawes he shall laye downe,

. pat ar begowne in pat contre ;

. . . . ' trewthe to do, he shalbe bone,

& all pe land, after, bretens shalbe. 620

THORNTON SLOANE

COTTON

sunn]e syt euyn weste

w]yt may whethir party sal hafe pe best 608

of pe forest In south yngland born sal be
f]or best And al ledes bretayns sal be 612

FYTTE III.J

AND BECOME LEADER OF ALL BRITAIN.

IT A basterd shall come out of the west,
And there he shall wyne the gre ;
he shall bothe Est and west,
And all the lond breton shall be. 612
he shall In to Englond Kyde,
Est and west in hys tyme ;
And holde A parlament of moche pryde,
that neuerno parlament by fore was seyne.

And fals lawes he shall ley doune, 617
that ar goyng in that countre ;
And treu workes he shall begyn,
And bothe londes bretton shalbe. 620

LANSDOWNE

}?en shal they fi^t with heflme &] sohilde,
Ynto j?e sun be set nere west \ Deaf 127]
$er is no wy^t in fat fylde, 607

]?at wottis qwylke side shali haue j?e best.
A bastarde shal cum fro a forest,
Not in ynglond borne shall he be j
And he shalle wyn fe gre for J?e best,
Alle men leder of bretan shal he be. 612
And with pride to ynglond ride,
Est and west as .... layde

And holde a parlement w[ .]

Where neuer non before was sayd 616
Alle false lawes he [shalle laye doune],
Jpat ar begune in Ipat cuntre ;
Truly to wyrke, he shal be boune ;
And alle leder of bretans shal he be. 620

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

s]al he ryde est & west with myche tene

ment with myche pryde )>* neuyr non sych be for was sene 616
es he sal dyng down) J?at wer begun in hys cuntre
o wirke he sal be bown trewly thomas as I tell j?e 620

42 THE LAST BATTLE SHOULD BE AT SANDYFORD. [FYTTE III.

thomas ! trowe fat I the tell,

that it be so, eumche worde.

of a battell I shall the spell,

that shalbe done at sandyford : 624

ney pe forde per is a braye,

and ney pe braye p er is a well ; Qeafii]

[Leaf 153, col 2, and 153, back, col 1, a stone per is, a lytell fraye,

torn out of MS.] & so per is, J)e sothe to tell. 628

thowe may trowe this, euery wurde 632

growand per be okes iij ; 629

that is called the sandyford, 630

per the laste battell done shalbe. 631

, Kenmerdes&Clyffordesboldeshalbe,633

.. . . . in Bmse land iij yeares & mare, 634

. . . & dynge downe tower} & castell^ high ;

to do owtraye thei shall not spare. 636

J>e basted shall gett him power stronge,

, . . . . all ]?e fyue leishe lande 639

thereshallnotonhimbodwordbrynge,640

. . . . as I am for to vnderstand.

. . . fe basted shall die in ]>e holly lande; 641

Ihesu Criste ! pat mykell maye, 644

his sowle pou take into pi hande, 643

whewheisdeade&layedinclaye!'^*^ "

. . . & as she tolde, at the laste, 645

. . , J>e teares fell oner hir eyen graye.

THORNTON SLOANS

FYTTE III.]

THE BASTARD SHOULD DIE IN THE HOLY LAND.

And thus is that I you tell ;
belefe it wele euery word !
And of A baytale I wote full wele,
that shalbe done at Sawdyngford.
By that forde there is a bro,
And by that bro ther is A well :
A stone there is a lityll there fro ;
And by the stone sothe to tell,
And at Jjat stone Ar cragges iij,

[The MS. here ends abruptly thouyh
there is more room on the page.]

LANSDOWNE

Jje bastarde shal get hym power strong,
And alle his foes he shall doune dyng ;
Off alle Jje v kyngws landzs,
Jjer shal non badfword] home bryng. 6-40
Jje bastard shal dye in Jje holy land ;-*-
Trow Jw's wel [I] Jje sey ;
Take his sowle to his hond,
Ihesu criste, [that] mycuti may ! 644
Thomas, [truly] I jje say,
Jj/s is [trewth] ylke a worde !
Off Jjat laste battel I jje say,
624 !It [shall] be done at Sandeford : 624
Nere sendyforth Jjer is a wroo, [Ufi27,bk]
And nere jjat wro is a weH ;
A [ston] Jjer is Jje wel euen fro ;

628 And nere Jje wel, truly to teH, 628

629 On Jjat grounde Jjer groeth okys thre,
And is called sondyford ;

]>er Jje last battel done shal be,
Thomas, trow Jjou ilke a worde.' 632
Jjen she seid "with heuy chere ;
Jje terys ran out of hir een gray.

CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

owe J)is ful wele * Jjat Jjis is soth euery worde

[Of a bate]l I can Jje telle Jjat sal be done at Sandyforde 624

[Nere Jje] forde J)ar is a bro & nere Jje bro Jjer is a well
standes Jje welle euyn fro & nere it a ston sothely to tell 628
[& nere] Jjat ston growith okes thre Jjat men call sandyforde
[Jjar Jje la]st batel don sal be thomas trowe Jjou wele Jjis euery worde 632
e]s & clyffordes in werre sal be * In bruces lande thre ^ere & more
u) tones & castels fre to do owtray Jjai sal not spare 636

e] Jjat I Jje say * Jje bastard sal de in Jje holy lande

Jjou wele may sese hys sawle into Jji hande 644

d with mych care * Jje teres ran doun) of hyr eyn grey

THE LADY WEEPS FOR THE WOE THAT IS ,TO BE. [FYTTE III.

fleaf 163, back, col. 1]

[Leaf 153, back, col. 1, torn out of
Thornton MS.]

1 Lady, or you wepe so faste,

take yowr leave & goo jour waye ! ' 648

' I wepe not for my waye wyndinge,

but for ladyes, faire & fre,

whew lordes bene deade, Wi't/iout leasynge,

shall wedd yomew of poore degre. 652

J he shall have steades in stabull fedd;

a hawke to bare vpon his hand ;

a lovly lady to his bedd ; pieafii.back]

his elders before him had no land ! 656

farewell, thomas, well the be !

for all this daye thowe wilt me marr.

' nowe, lovly lady, tell thowe me,

of blak annes of Dvnbarr.' 660

THORNTON

' of blak annes comme neuer gode,
therfor, maye she neuer the :
for all hir welthe, & worldes gode,
in london shall she slayne be. 668

the greateste merchaunte of hir blud,
in a dike shall he dye ;
houndes of him shall take J>er fode,
mawger all per kynwe & he.' 672

SLOANE

COTTON

J>ou wepe so sare take Jri houndes & wende ]>i wey 648

my way wendyng sothly thomas as I J?e say
s sal wed ladyes wft7* ryng Whan hyr lordes be slain [away 652
des in stabil fed a fayr goshauk to hys hande
to hys bed hys kyn be fore had neuyr lande 656

m]as & wele fe be al J>is day J>ou wil me mare

of blake aunes of Dunbare 660

FYTTE III.] THOMAS ASKS THE FATE OF BLACK AGNES OF DUNBAR. 45

* lady, or J>ou wepe so sore,

Take J>i houndis & wend J>i way ! ' 648

' I wepe not for my way walkyng,

Thomas, truly I J>e say ;

But fer ladys, shaH wed laddys 3ong,

When \er lordis ar ded away. 652

He shaft haue a stede in stabul fed,

A hauk to beyre vpon his hond ;

A bright lady to his [bed],

fat be fore had none [londe]. 656

ffare wel, thomas, I wende my way ;

Alle ]>is day J>ou wil me [mar] ! \

* Lufly lady, tel JJGU me,

Off blake Agnes of Don[bar] ; 660

a And why she haue gyven me J>e warre,
And put me in hir prison depe ; [ l leaf 1 28]
ffor I wolde dwel with hir,
And kepe hir ploos and hir she[pe].' 664
' Off blak Agnes cum neuer gode :
Wher for, thomas, she may not the ;
fibr al hir welth and hir wordly gode,
In london cloysed shal she be. 668

"per preuisse neuer gode of hir blode ;
In a dyke J?en shall she dye ;
Houndis of hir shaH haue ]?er fode,
Magrat of aH hir kyng of le.' 672

LANSDOWNE CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

)?e war & put me depe in hyr pmoune
vriih hyr sothely lady at arsyldoun 664

e] neuyr gode thomas sche may do not to J>e
& wordely gode * In london sal she closyd be 668

xt of hyr blode In a foule dyke sal sche dye
r sal hafe her fode mawgre of al hyr kyn & she 672

46 THE LADY PROMISES TO MEET THOMAS AGAIN AT HUNTLEY BANKS. [FYTTE III.

[leaf 153, back, col. 2]

To huntlee bankkis fou take the way[e] ;
[T]here saH: j sekirly "be bowne, 679
[And] mete the Thomas whene j maye.
[lines 681-4 found only in Cotton MS.]
[I sa]H th& ke/me whare euer thon gaa,
[To ber]e J>e pryce of curtaysye ; 686
[For tujnge es wele, & tunge es waa,
[And tun]ge es chefe of Mynstrallsye.'
[lines 689-692 found only in Cotton MS.]
[Scho blejwe hir home on hir palfraye,
[And left]e Thomas vndir-nethe a tre ;
[To Helmesd]ale scho take the waye j
[And thus] departede scho and hee !
[Of swilke] an hird mane wolde j here,
[pat couth] Me teHe of swilke ferly. 698
[Ihesu], corounde with a crowne of brere,
[Bry]nge vs to his heuene So hyee !
amene, amene. 700

Explicit Thomas
Of Erseledownne

THORNTON

thomas^ drere manw was he,
teares fell ouer his eyen so graye.

* nowe, lovly lady, tell jjou me,

if we shall parte for euer & aye 1 ' 676

* naye ! ' she saide, ' thomas, parde,
whew thowe sitteste in Arseldon,

to hontley bankzs J?ou take J?e waye ;
Jjer shall I sykerly to the recomme. 680

I shall reken, wheare euer I goo, 685
to beare the pn'ce of curtese.' 686

and thus departid she & he ! 696

Finis.

SLOANB

COTTON

a drery man was he J? e teres ran of his eyn grey
y tel J?0u me if we sal part for onys & ay
at arseldoun) to huntly bankes tak j>i way
edy boun) to mete fe ]?ar if J?at I may
ende my way I may no langer stande wft& fe
f e pray * tel neuyr y frendes at home of me
y a lady fre I sal fe comfort wher fat fou go

676

680
684

FYTTE III.] SHE GOES HER WAT, LEAVING THOMAS UNDER THE TREE. 47

fen Thomas, a sory man was he,

f e terys ran out of his een gray ;

* lufly lady, $et [tell f ou] me,

If we shaH parte for euer and ay ? ' 676

' Nay ! when f ou sitt[es] at erseldown,

To hunteley [bankes] f ou take thi way ;

And f er shal I be redy bowne,

To mete f e thomas, if fat I may.' 680

She blew [hir] home, on hir palfray,
And lef [fed] thomas at eldryn tre ;
Til helmesdale she toke J)e way ; [if i28,bk]
thus departed fat lady and he ! 696
Off such a woman wold I here,
That couth telle me of such ferly !
Ihesu, crowned with thorne so clere,
Bryng vs to thi hatt on hye ! 700

Explicit

LANSDOWNE CAMBRIDGE

COTTON

profe of curtasy tong is weke & tong is wo 688

e of mynstralsy tong is water & tong is wyne

[Tong is che]fe of melody & tong is thyng fat fast wil bynd 692

[fen went] forth fat lady gay vpon hyr wayes for to w[ende]
[She blewe hi]r horn on hyr palfray & lefte thomas vndir a [tre] 696
man wold I here fat couth tel more of f is ferly

kyng so clere bryng vs to f i halle [on hye] 700
[Explicit prop]hecia thome de Arseldounc

APPENDIX I.

From " The Whole prophesie of Scotland," &c. Edinburgh, Robert Waldegrave, 1603.
Collated with Andro Hart's Edition, 1615.

!* $wpfe*e
$irm0ttt.

[B j, back]

Still on my waies as I went,

Out throgh a land, beside a 1 lie,

I met a 2 beirne vpon the 3 way.

Me thought him seemlie for to see,

I asked him 4 holly his intent, 6

Good Sir, if your 5 wil be,

Sen that ye byde vpon the bent

Some vncouth tydinges tell you me,

When shal al these warres be gone,

That leile men may 6 leue in lee, 10

Or when shall falshood goe from home

and laughtie blow his home on hie.

I looked from me not a mile,

And saw two Knights vpon a 7 lie,

they were armed seemely new, 15

two Croces on 8 there brestes they bare,

and they were 9 cled in diuers hew,

Of sindrie countries as they were,

the one was red as any blood,

Set in his Shield a IO Dragone keene, 20

He n steird his Steed as he were 12 mad,

With crabbid words sharpe and keene

Right to the other beirne him by.

His Horse was al of siluer sheene

His Shield was shaped right seemlie, 25

In it a Ramping Lyon keene.

Seemly into golde was set,

His bordour was of Asure sheene,

With silke and Sabil well was plet,

I looked from me ouer a greene, 80

And saw a Ladie on a lie,

That such a one had I neuer seene.

the light of her shined so hie,

Attour the moore where 13 at she fure,

The fields me thought faire and greene 35

She rode vpon a Steid ful sture,

That such a one had I seldome seene :

Her Steid was white as any milke,

His top his taile 14 war both full blae

A side I5 saydle sewed with silke, 40

As al were golde it glittered so,

His harnessing was of silke of ynde,

Set with precious stones free,

He ambled on a noble kinde :

Vpon her head stoode Crownes three : 45

Her garment ws of Gowles gay,

But other colour saw I none,

A flying fowle then I aaw,

Light beside her on a stone

A stoope into her hand she baere, 50

and holy water she had readie,

She sprinkled the field both here & there

Said heere shal many dead corpes lie.

At yon bridge vpon yon burne,

Where the water runnes bright and sheene, 55

There shal many steides spurne,

' Ley
9 clad

2 bairne 3 bent 4 wholly 5 wils
10 Dragon sheene " stirde 12 wood

6 Hue 7 Ley 8 their
13 aa " wer 1S saddle

THE PROrHECIE OF THOMAS EYMOUB.

And Knightes die throw battles keene

1 To the two Knightes did she say,

Let be your strife my Knightes free,

Ye take your Horse and ride your way 60

As God hath ordained so must it be, [B ij, back]

Saint Andrew thou hast the 2 hight,

Saint George thou art my owne Knight,

they 3 wrongous aires shall worke thee woe,

Now are they one there 4 waies gone, 65

The Ladie and the Knightes two,

to that beirne then can I ment,

and asked 5 tythings be my fey,

What kinde of sight was that I said ?

6 Thou shewed to me upon yone lie, 70

Or wherefrow came those Knights two

They seemed of a farre countrie,

That Ladie that I let thee see,

that is the Queene of heauen so bright

the fowle that flew by her knee, 75

that is Saint Michael much of might

the knightes two the field to ta

Where manie men in field shall fight.

know you well it shal be so,

that die shal manie a gentle knight. 80

With death shall manie doughtie daile,

the Lordes shal be then away,

there is no Harret that can tell,

who shal win the field that day,

A crowned King in armes three 85

Vnder the Baner shal be set,

two false and feyned shal be,

the third shal light and make great let

Baners fiue againe shal striue,

and come in on the other side, 90

the white Lyon shall beate them downe,

and worke them woe with woundes wide,

The 7 Bares heade with the "read Lyon, [B iij]

So seemely into 9 read golde set,

That day shal slay the King with Crowne, 95

Though many Lordes make great let,

there shal attour the water of Forth

Set in golde the read Lyon.

And many Lords out of the North

to that battell shal make them boun, 100

there shal Crescentes come ful keene,

that weares the Croce as read as blood.

On euerie side shal be sorrow seene,

Defouled is many doughtie foode,

Beside a Lough, vpon a lie, 105

they shal assemble vpon a day,

And many doughtie men shal die

Few in quiet shal be found away,

Our Scottish King shal come full keeue,

The read Lyon beareth he, 110

A feddered arrow sharpe I weene

Shal make him winke and warre to see,

Out of the 10 filde he shal be led

When he is bloodie and woe for blood,

Yet to his men shall he say 115

For Gods loue n you turne againe

and giue 12 those Sutherne folke a 13 fray,

Why should I lose, the right is mine.

My date is not to die this day.

Yonder is M falshoode fled away, 120

and IS laugh tie blowes his home on hie,

Our bloodie King that weares the Crowne,

Ful boldlie shal 16 he battell byde,

His Baner shal be beaten downe, 124

And hath no hole his head to hide, [B iij, back]

the Sternes three that day shall die,

That beares the 17 Harte in siluer sheene :

there is no riches golde nor fee,

May lengthen his life 18 an howre I weene, 129

Thus through the field 19 that Knight shal ride

And twise reskew the King with Crowne,

He will make many a Banner yeeld,

the Knight that beares the toddes three,

He wil by force the field to ta,

But when he sees the Lyon 20 die, 135

Thinke ye wel he wil be wae,

Beside him lightes beirnes three,

Two is white the third is blae,

1 Knights then did they sey 2 right 3 wrangous heires 4 wayes * tydings by

6 Then 7 Beares * red 9 red gold I0 field " turne you l2 these

13 frey 14 falget is i ou( iii e is the battell bide n heart I8 one houre

19 n,~ 20 dee

ERCILDOUN.

the

APPENDIX I.

the toddes three, shall slay the two,

The third of them shall make him die, 140

Out of the field shall goe no more,

But one Knight and knaues three.

There comes a Banner red as ' blud,
In a Ship of siluer sheene,
With him comes many 2 ferlie fude, 146

to worke the Scottes much hurte and woe,
There comes a Ghost out of the west,
Is of another language then he,
to the battle bownes him best,
As soone as he the Senyour can see, 150

the Batches workes them great waurest,
Where they are rayed on a lie,
I cannot tell who hath the best
Each of them makes other die
A white Swane set into blae, 165

Shal semble from the South sey,
To worke the 3 Northen folk great wae, [B 4.]
For knowe you well thus shal it be,
the staikes 4 aucht with siluer set,
Shal semble from the other side, 160

till he and the Swan be met,
They shal worke woe with woundes wide,
throw woundes wide, there weeds hath wet
So boldlie will 5 there beirnes byde,
It is no 6 rek who gets the best, 165

they shal both die in that same tide.
, There comes a Lord out of the North,
Riding vpon a Horse of tree,
that broad landes hath beyond Forth,
The white Hinde beareth he, 170

And two Batches that are blew,
Set 7 into golde that is so free,
that day the 8 Egill shal him slay.
and then put up his Banner hie :
The Lord that beares 9 the Losanes three, 175
Set into gold with Gowles two,
Before him shal a battel be,
He weares a banner that is blew,

blood
7

3 Northerne
9 omits the

2 ferly food
in golde 8 Egle ........... _

13 fiftie flue 14 Carlill 15 bedeene
19 guilt w men cals 2I lies 22 Beares
26 red 27 beareth

Set with Pecok tailes three :

and lustie Ladies heads two, 1 80

10 Vnfane of one, each other shal be,

all through griefe to gether they goe

I cannot tel who wins the gree,

Each of them shal other slay,

the n Egill gray set into greene, 185

that weares the 12 hartes heades three,

Out of the South he shal be seene,

to light and ray him on a lie,

With 13 55. Knights that are keene, [B 4, back]

And Earles either two or three, 190

From 14 Carlel shal come 15 bedene,

Againe shal they it neuer see,

at Pinkin Cleuch lfi their shal be spilt,

Much gentle blood that day,

17 Their shal the 18 Baire lose the 19 gylt, 1 95

And the Eagle beare it away,

Before the water 20 man calles Tyne,

And there ouer 2I lyes a brig of stone,
the 22 Baires three, looses the gree,
there shall the Eagle win his name. 200

There comes a beast out of the west
With him shal come a faire manie,
His Baner 23 hes beene seldome seene,
A bastard trowe I best he be,
Gotten 24 with a Ladie sheene, 205

25 With a Knight in priuitie
His armes are full eath to knowe,
the 26 read Lyon 27 bears he,
that Lyon shall forsaken be,
and 28 he right glad to ^flee away 210

Into an Orchyard.on a lie,
With hearbs greene and allayes gray,
there will he inlaiked be,
His men sayes harmesay,
the Eagle puts his Baner on hie 215

and sayes the field he woone that day.
their shal the Lyon lye full still,
Into a vallie faire and bright,

4 eight 5 their bairnes bide 6 reck
10 Unfaine n Egle 12 hearts heads
16 There shall 17 There 18 Beare
23 hath bene 24 betweene 2i And

28 be 29 be

THE PROPHECIE OP THOMAS UYMOUB.

A Ladie shoutes with words shrile,

and sayes woe worth ' the coward knight 220

Thy men are slaine vpon yon hil, [B 5]

To dead are many 2 dougtie dight,
Theareat the Lyon likes ill,
And raises his baner hie on hight
Vpon the moore that is so gray, 225

Beside a headles Croce of stone,
There shal the Eagle die that day,
And the read Lyon win the name
The Eagles three shal lose the gree,
that they haue had this manie day, 230

the read Lyon shal win renowne,
Win all the field and beare away,
One 3 Crowe shal come, another shal goe,

and drink the gentle blood sa free.

When all these ferlies was away 235

then sawe I non, but I and he
then to the 4 birne couth I say
Where dwels thou or in what countrie :
Or who shal rule the lie of Bretaine
From the North to the South sey : 240

a French 5 wife shal beare the Son,
Shall rule all Bretaine to the sey,
that of the Bruces blood shall come
As neere as the nint degree
I franed fast what was his name, 245

Where that he came from what countrie ?
In Erslingtoun, I dwell at hame
Thomas Rymour men calles me. 248

thee

doughtie 3 Crowne

Bairne could

Queene

which

[My idea at first was to print the above in 4-line stanzas, thus :

Still on my waies as I went,

Out throgh a land, beside a lie,
I met a beirne vpon the way ;

Me thought him seemlie for to see.

But, though this is clearly the original structure, it breaks down in twelve places, in the copy
as we have it (a clear proof of its imperfections), and in others is so uncertain, that I finally

resolved to let it alone, and give it in the form in which I found it. An examination will

show :

two lines (half stanza) 1214

three uncertain lines 23 25

three lines of a stanza 62 64

nine uncertain lines 113 121

three odd lines 130132

two lines (half stanza) 137138

two lines (half stanza) 179180

six uncertain lines 197 202

two lines (half stanza) 207208

two lines (half stanza) 233234

two lines 239240

Three regular

stanzas 1 12

two

1522

nine

2661

twelce .

65112

two

122129

one

133136

ten

139178

four

181196

one

203206

six

209232

one

235238

one doubtful

241244

one regular

245248.]

APPENDIX II.

"THE PEOPHISIES OF EYMOUE, BEID, AND MAELYNG :

AN ENGLISH PROPHECY.
{Lansdonne MS. 762, leaf 75, collated with Rawl. MS. C. 813, leaf 72, laclt.~}

WELL on my way as I forth wente

ouer a londe beside a lee,
I met with 1 a baron 2 vpon a bente,

Me thought hym semely for to see.
I prayed hym with good entente

To abide awhile and speke with me
Som vncowth tidynges [in] verament

3 That he wolde tell me ij or iij. 8

'Whan shall all these warres be gone 4
Or trewe men ly ve in love & 5 lee 1

Or whan shall falshed fange 6 from home,
OrTrewth shall blow his home on hyeT

He said, x ' man, set thy fote on myne,
And ouer my Shulder loke thyn lie 7

The fairest sight I shall shewe the [syne] 8
That euer saw 9 man in 10 thy countre.'

Ouer a lande forth I blynte, 11

A semely sight me thought I se

A crowned quene in verament,

With a company of Angelles fre. 20

Her stede was grete & dappyll gray,

her aparell was of silke of Inde ;
with peryll and perrye 12 set full gay,

her stede was of a ferly kynde. 24
13 So Eyally 14 in her Array e,

I stode and mwsyd in my mynde ;
all the clerkes a live to day

So fayre a lady colde l5 none ffynde. 28

An Angyll kneled on his kne,

and other many apon that land
went to that faire of ffelycite,

and gave her a holy water sprynckell
in hand. 32

her crowne was Graven in graynis iij,

she halowyd the grownd with her

owen 16 hand,
both ffrythe & ffelde and fforest ffree ;

and I behelde 17 and styll did stand. 36

She halo wed yt both 18 farre & nere; 18

the Angelles after her did hie ;
She said, ' lesu, that bowght vs dere, 19

what here shalle many a dede corse
lye! 40

'here most barnies 20 be brought on
here,

and welle- away 21 shall ladyes crye,
lesu, that bowght mankynde so dere,

vpon the[r] soulles haue mercy e ! 44

then I lokyd ouer a lovely lande

that was a selcowth thinge 22 in

sight
I se come ouer a bent rydaunde

23 A goodly man as armyde knyght. 24 48
he shoke his spere ferselye 25 in hand,

Eight cruell[ye] and kene ;
Styfly & stowre as he wolde stonde,

he bare a shylde of Syluer shene. 52

1 E. omits.

buron

3_3

to tell me what hereafter shulde be.
6 be founde 7 thow nye 8 E. ffyne, L. nil. 9 s
11 Ouer a louely lande as I was lente 12 L. perle perre
14 Soo Eyall she was 15 can 16 om. 17 L. behinde yt and

19 L. man kynde 20 burons 21 L. wyll away 22 L. inserts ' to se
24 He semed In felde as he wolde ffight M L. f uryously

4 done 5 L. or
3 10 of
13 leaf 75, back.

18 - 18 L. fere & nye
23 leaf 76.

THE PKOPHISIES OF RTMOUR, BEID, AND MABLYNG.

A crosse of gowles therm Mid be j 1

he carpyd wordes cruell & kene,
And shoke a shafte of a suer tree ;

2 1 blent wele f order apon a 2 grene :
A nother armyd knyght I see,

In his crest he bare, I wene,
A Eede lyon that did rawmpyng be ;

he spake wordes cruell & kene 60
to that other 3 that was hym by.

This crowned quene rode them betwene,

Right as fast as she colde 4 hie,
She saith, ' men what do you meane 1

stente jour Stryff & jour folly e, 64
Remember that ye 5 be sayntes in heven ;

and fro my dere son comen am I
to take this ffelde you [twoo] betwene.

whereuer yt shall 6 fall in 7 burghe
or bye.' 7 68

8 She said ' Seint G[e]orge thow art my

knyght

oft wronge heyres haue done the tene ;
Seint Andrew yet 9 art thow in the 9

right,

of thy men if it be syldom sene. 10 72

here [dye] shall many a doughty knyght,

And gromes shall grone apon yat

grene,

here lordly leedes loo shall lyght, 75
And many a douty knyght by dene. 11

here shalbe gladismore that shall glad
vs all,

yt shalbe gladyng of oure glee ;
yt 12 shalbe gladmore wher euer yt fall,

but not gladmore by the see. 80

13 ouer cache more 13 a coke shall crowe,

of[ter] tymes 14 then tymes thre,
In the thirde yere a ferly shall fall, 83

At yermes 15 broke a kynge shall dye.'

This crowned quene vanyshed awaye

with her companey of Angilles bright,
so dide both these knyghtes that day ;

no more 1 16 sawe them 16 in my sight,
to a 17 lytell man I toke my waye, 89

I 18 prayed hym with mayn & myght,
19 more of this matier he wold me saye ;

he answered me with reason 20 Right :

' I 21 wyll the tylle 21 with trew Intent,

but I haue no space to bide with the,
To tell the [the] trouth in varament

what shall fall & 22 gladismore be. 96
dissencion amonges yowr 23 lordes shalbe
lent,

of them that are of blode full nye,
where many a man shall their be shent,

And doughtyly in batell dye. 100

Charyty shalbe layed awaye,

That ryffe in londe hath been ;
Come shall tene and tray,

This man can melle & mene. 104
those 24 that love[s] well to-day

belyve 25 shall tray & tene, 25
In batell 26 shall barons 26 them araye

Right doughtely 27 by dene. 108

gret batell[es] in Englond men shall see,

be yt wronge or Right ;
The sone ageinst the father shalbe,

Right frussely 28 to ffyght. 112

29 then shall truth be banysshed ouer
the see,

And falle [bothe] mayn and myght ;
then shall falcede 30 and envy

bio we 31 their homes on high[t]. 116
This shall Reigne vnto the space

of xxx ti yeres and thre ;
In Englond shalbe la[k]ke of grace,

So much treson shall be. 120

I dyd see

! - 2 & past fforwarde vppon the 3 other buron
4 ther 6 om. 7 - 7 L. bought or by 8 leaf 76, back.

10 This line omitted in R. u These four lines omitted in R.

isis on Cachemore 14 of ter 15 yernea l6 I6 see them I7 that

19 leaf 77. 20 reason and 81 ~ 21 wolde tell the 22 or
85 - 25 shalbe traied by teene 26 ~ 26 buryns shall 27 dulfully

20 leaf 77, back. 30 falshede 3I L. browe

4 might
thou art In
12 \>er

and

om. 24 these
28 fercelye ffor

APPENDIX II.

A kynge shall reigne without Eight-
wysnes,

And put downe blod full hye ;
Another shalbe lost for fawlte of grace,

To here shalbe [grett] petye. 124

yet shall deth haue a dynt

In 1 tor[na]ment and fyght; 1
he that hath ynglond hent

2 shalbe made lowe in leght. 2 128
3 Then wenis men 3 that ware shall stynt,

but yt Eyseth new on hight ;
Then shall ij prynces harnes hent,

with treason) ther dedys be dyght. 132

wrongwise werkes lokes after wrake

with 4 clerkes on-wissely 4 wrought;
Seint Bede in booke did make

5 When the proffycies was sought, 136
that god he will vengyance take,

when all Englond is on lofte ;
A duke shall suffer for their sake,

which he to dede hath brought. 140

when euery [man] wenys that ware is
goone,

And Eest and pese shall be,
Then shall entre at Mylford haven

vpon a horse of tree 144

A banyshed barone 6 that is borne

of brutes blode shalbe ;
through helpe of a[n] Egyll an-one

he shall broke all 7 bretayne to the see.

be side bosworth a felde shalbe pight, 8

ther mete shall bores two,
of dyuerse colors shalbe dight ; 9

the one shall the other sloo. 152

A hartes hed with tenes 10 bright

shall werke his armes 11 woo;
The white bore [to dethe] shalbe dight :

The profficies saith soo. 156

12 After Lordes shall to London Eide

That mykyll is of prise ; 13
A parliament shalbe sett that tyde,

and chose a kynge at ther devisse. 160
euery man of englond large & wyde

14 wene[s] they ar sett of pryce, 14
yet he shalbe called in that tyde

the kynge of covetyse. 15 164

when sonday goth by B and C,

And pryme by one 16 and two,
the[n] selcouthe[s] men shall see,

that seme not to be soo. 168

Barnes 17 in batell shall brednet 18 be,

And barors 19 of blod full bloo ;
the iiij*! 1 lefe of the tree shall dye,

that lost hath bowes moo. 172

A ffedder from heth shall falle in hast,

his name shall torne to a 20 tree :
21 dulfull dede shall women wast, 21

22 And make folke to felde flee. 22 176
Tray tors shall towers tast,

And doughtlesse be done to dye ;
All London shall trymble in hast, 179

23 A dede kynge when they shall 24 see.

A prynce shall bowne [hym] ouer a
node,

Oner 25 a streme straye : 25
those that were neuer of Consciens good

shall breke truse on a daye. 184

Mekyll 26 care barnes brues ; 26

when they cast there truthes awaye ;
then in englonde men shall here newes,

And A kynge slaine on a day. 188

betwene a traytise of trust, 27

with a ffalse assent,
A castell sone shall lost be

Apon a Eyver [in] varament.

192

' l turn amet off ffight
3 R. then men weneth ; L. then wyns men

6 buron 7 otn. 8 L. piched
12 leaf 78, back. 13 L. pryde

15 L. covitous 16 iij 17 burons
21 *' dulfull dedes shall warnes waste 22 2a

2-2 shall make hym lowe to light
1 werkes, R. dedes vnwisely

the stremes staye

5 leaf 78.

9 L. Right 10 tynes " enemyes
14 R. thinke they be sett att prise ; L. pryde

18 beyton 19 barons otn.
make ffolk^s to ftelles to fflye 23 leaf 28.

bale burons bruen

truse

THE PROPHISIES OF RYMOUR, BEID, AND MARLYNG.

[betwen) Seyton) & the see

then) shalbe warre In veremewt,]

And many a towne brent shalbe

! when ware is with assent. 1 196

2 then shall wacone woo & wrothe 3

and barnys to batell shalbe bowne : 4
their shall com oner the water of 5 forth

wele arrayed in golde, a rede lyon; 200
with many a lorde out of the North,

for to bete their enymys downe.
mikell 6 blode with hym 7 & broth 7

shalbe spyllyd vpon [bentis browne]. 8

9 out of the south shall entre Right

a whyt lyon [vppjon) a daye,
ageinst the Rede lyon for to fyght ; 207

but their shall begyne a dulfull fraye.
their shall dye many a doughty knyght,

And ladys [shalle] crye welle awaye !
Men of the chirch shall 10 fiersly fyght,

with shaft and shelde them to 11 asaye:

Est and west, north and south,

shall 12 some Ryall 12 in their araye :
At mylnefylde they shall splaye banars

couth

Ageinst the Rede lyon that day. 216
they shall begyne at yerne^mowth,
many a Ryall 13 knyght in fay ;
14 Many a doughty 14 that day be put to

deth;

A[tt] flodden felde begynnys the
afraye : 220

15 Att Branstone 15 hill shall semble a
herd,

and bright baners shall dysplaye ;
And many frekes shalbe a-ferde, 16

and fewe to bere the 17 lyff away. 224

those that is brede of vncouthe erde
shall doubtlesse lese they[r] lyrYes jat
day :

18 The Rede Lyon was neuer a ferde, 227
he shall 19 doubtlesse dy 20 that day.

A beme full 21 burle shall ther 21 blowe

vnder a montayne apon a lee ;
A splayd egle that men do know

shall make a C standertes [swe]. 22 232
ther shall frekes full frely fall,

and of them he shall wyne the mon-
tane hie ;
doutye knyghtes shall clype 23 & call, 235

and many a man that day shall dye.

A bull & a bastarde together [shalle]

mete,

shall fyght in fylde full manfully ;
the Rede blode shall rone as rayne in

strete,

and many a doughty that day shall
dye. 240

the Rede lyon made shalbe full meke,
and come downe from a mountayne

hye;

belyve be [ffallen downe] 24 vnderfete
and in yerne} broke slayne shall he 25
be. 244

A white lyon shall kepe a stale,

An admyrall shall come from the see,
And make 26 his enymys 27 for to fall, 27

And dryve them to the mountayn hye :
their shal be-gyn a dulfull swale, 249

when the Albenackes 28 blod begyn-

nyth to fle ;

29 they shall be dreven) downe into a
dale, 30

ther fayrest flower [ther] lost shalbe.

1-1 and warre shall waken In violent
2 K. inserts as first line of stanza : That many a wiffe shall wydoo ben

5 L. at 6 L. Muche

9 leaf 79, back.
14 14 and many l
19 shalbe 20 dede

21 L. failed, ? fouled

ys broghte

orthe 4 L. bounde
L. a bent of brome (this line is omitted in E.)

selffe

ojn.
L. on

21 -- 1 borle ther shall

12 - 12 semble rially I3 doughtye
16 L. a-frayde " ther 18 leaf 80.

22 L. to shake & swaye M clepe

25 om. 26 doo 27 - 27 mekell bale 28 almanak^s [!]
29 leaf 80, back. 30 This line is omitted in R.

APPENDIX II.

the mowle 1 and the 2 mayre mayden
shall be layed awaye, 2

and shalbe done dulfully to dye ;
The golde anker shalbe slayne that day,

So shall the besand 3 with the beres
thre; 4 256

A white lyon in 5 armyn graye 5

shall fyght that day full manfully,
to helpe the Egell [in] all he maye, 259

And make his enymys fayne to fle. 6

the day shall fayle 7 both leine & light,

the nyght shall entre vpon them tho,
their enymys ther [shalbe] put to flyght

with blody woundes & hartes woo. 264
then shall they cry & call on hight,

vnfaithfull 8 f rendes that 9 are goo ; 9
their shall mysse manye a Eyall knyght

that gladly to that ffelde dyd goo. 268

on morow the day shalbe full bright.

the people shall asemble fare in fere,

soin with hevy hartes & som with ligh[t] ;

who fyndes his frynde[s] shall 'make

good chere. 272

10 But the Eede lyon n to dede shalbe 11

dight,

and by the adwise of a woman clere
ther shall they fynde hym sone 12 full

Eight,

or elle^ 13 they wiste nott 13 which he
were, 276

then leyve 14 every lorde shall take,

and bowne 15 them home to their

contry,
som with weale, & som with wrake, 279

who that haue lost their frendes fre.
but the rede lyon, wele I wot,

to London towne browght shalbe ;
the whit lyon shall grath his gate 283

and to London [shallt?] cary that fre.

then ther shall happen such a chauns ;

the prynce that is beyonde the flode
two townes shall take that longe 16 to
Fraunce, 287

with lytyll shedyng of Crysten) blod ;
boldely his people he shall avaunce,

and nother spare for golde ne good.
bredlynton) 17 this profficy graunte?, 291

and so did bede that well vndirstoud.

when euery man said yt shulde be were, 18

Arsaldowne 19 then proficied he,
And said in englond 20 y not dere 20 295

21 tyll vij yere com) and goan) shulde be.
In hast ther shall 22 a messynger

In Albanack 23 from ouer the see,
that many a man shall suffer dere

th[r]ought his falsed and sotylty. 300

A childe -with a chaplet shall raye hym
right,

with many a hardy man of hande,
with many a helme that clyderith 24 bright

And he shall com ouer soelway sand ;
on 25 stanys more begyn to 25 fyght, 305

wher lordes shall light vpon that londe,
And 26 aske Nothing 26 but his Eight,

yet shall his enymys hym with stand.

holly chirch shall harnys hent,

and iij yeres stonde on stere,
mete & fyght vpon a bent,

Even as the[y] seculers were. 312
the Euif shall Euffully be Eent,

And stond in grete daunger,
vnto the synne of Simony be shent

that they haue vsed here. 316

A kinge 27 of Denmarke shall hym dyght

28 Into Englond vpon a day,
[bat] shall make many a lorde low 29 to

lyght,

And ladyes 30 to say wele away ! 320

3 bason
9 - 9

4 L. ther ; E. om. beres thre
is agoo 10 leaf 81. " n

1 mule * 2 mairemedon shalbe awaye

6 fflye - 7 ffade 8 on feithffull
12 om. 13 L. not wyt H L. lyvye

18 warre 19 L. Arsedowne

23 Almanake 24 gliderethe 25 - 25 Stanesmore begywnethe the
37 Duke out. L. had also originally duike 28 leaf 82. 29 full lowe

5 5 harnes gaye
vnto dede is

L. Bounde I6 L. belongeth 17 Bridlynton to
20 - 20 itt shulde not deire 21 leaf 81, back. 22 is

26 26 askethe noo thyng
30 many a ladye

THE PROPHISIES OF RYMOUR, BEID, AND MARLYNG.

then frekys in felde shall frely fyght ;

A kynge shall com out of Norway ;
The blake flet with mayn and myght

their enymys full x boldly shall 2

asay.

324

In bretayn londe shalbe a knyght,

on) them shall make a felon) fray,
A bytter bere with mayn and myght 327

shall brynge a Ryall Rowt that day.
ther 3 shall dy 3 many a [stalworthe]
knyght,

And dryve them to [the] flodes graye ;
they shall losse both sayle & syght, 4

And a crowned kynge be slayne that
day. 332

then shall the North Ryse ageinst y e
south,

And the est ageinste the west :
care in contry shalbe couthe, 5

vntyll couytyce downe be caste. 336
out of a dene shall drawe a wolf

Right Radly in that rest,
And he 6 shall come in at the south,

And bett downe of the best. 340

7 on sondysforth shall this 7 sorow be
sene,

8 9 on the south syde vpon a monday ; 9
The[r] gromes shall grone vpon a grene,

besyde the greues 10 graye. 344

their standith a castell on) a montayn
clene

thus Arsalldoune 11 did saye
which shall do there enymys tene,

and save englond that day. 348

to gethers ther shall mete with banars
bright

crowned kynges tnre,
And hew on other with mayne and myght,

tyll one of them slayne shalbe. 352

the blake flet of Norway shall take y^ 1

flyght,

And be full fayne to flee ;
they shalbe dreven ouer 12 Rockes &

clyffes, 12
And many one drowned shalbe. 356

they shall flee in the salt strond, 13

fer forthe in 14 the fome :
xx u thowsand without dynt of hand,

shall losse their lyves ylke one. 360
A darf 15 dragon, I vnderstonde,

shall come yet over the fome,
And with hym bryng a Eyall
baunde/ 6

ther lyves shall yet be lorne. 364

this darf 15 dragon, I vnderstond,

that comyth oner the flodefs] browne,
17 when his tayle is in Irelond,

his hede shalbe in staiford towne ; 368
he shall so boldly bryng his bonde, 18

thynkyng to wyn Renowne ;
beside a welle ther is a stronde 19

ther he shall be beten downe. 372

on Snapys more they shal be-gyne,

these doughty men & dere,
with sterne stedes together thring, 20

and hew on helmes clere. 376

an Egyll shall mount without lettyng

and freshely fyght in 21 fere,
and in a ford [shalle] kyll a kynge ;

thus mrtrlyon) 22 said in fere. 23 380

knyghtes shall rydd 24 in ryche araye,

and hew on 25 helmes bright : 25
a gerfacon) shall mounte that day, 383

and iij 26 merlyon[s] fers of flyght. 26
on gladmore, I dare well say,

dye shall many a knyght ;
who shall bere the gree 27 away

no sege can rekyne 2 ^ right. 388

om.

om,

2 ffor to 3 - 8 dye shall 4 ffight 3 L. wroght

7 7 on the Southe side Sondiforde shall 8 leaf 82, back.

9 - 9 vppon a murcday In the mornings gaye 10 grayves n L. arsedowne

12 - 12 Rocke & Cliffe 13 strounde M on 15 derffe l6 L. bownde l7 leaf 83.

bande 19 fforde 20 L therin 21 on 22 msrlyn 23 prophesye 24 counter

27 L. gere 28 L. reke a

.
25_25 helmettes clere 26 ~ 23 marleons In ffere

APPENDIX II.

the egyll shall so wery be

for fyghtynge, as I wene,
he wyll take 1 an Ilande 1 in the see,

wher 2 herbes is ffaire & alsoo grene; 2
3 then shall mete hym a faire Lady, 393

she shall speke with voice so clene :
'helpe thy men?ze Right hardely 4

loke where they dye in batelles kene ! '

then shall this egyll buske with pride,

th[r] ought counsell of this faire lady,
entre 5 in [on] euery side, 5 399

make xx w standertes 6 for to swey. 6
A ra??ipyng lyon, mekyll of pride,

In syluer sett with Armyn) 7 free,
shall helpe the egyll in that tyde,

where shall many a doughty dye. 404

In a forest stondith 8 Ookes thre,

In a fryth all by ther one ;
beside a hedlesse crosse of tree

A well shall Ronne of blode alone. 408
Marlyori) said in his profecy

that in 9 their stondith 9 a stone :
A crowned kynge shall heddid be

And 10 to losse his lyife alone. 412

The egyll shall fyersly fyght that day

to hym shall draw hys frendes nere ; n
a Reu?zaunde 12 hounde, withoute delaye,

shall 13 brynge the chace 13 both fere &
nere. 416

barnes 14 shall on helmettes laye

15 doubtfull dyntes on sides sere;
twis for sworne, I dare well say,

ther song shalbe on) sorow ther. 16 420

the derf dragon shall dye in fight,

the bere shall holde his hede on) high ;

A wyld wolf low shall light ;

the brydelyd stede shall manfully 424

In felde ageinst his enymes fight,

the dowble flowre maynteyn shall he ;

a swane shall Swymne with mayn and

myght ;
this bede saith in his profecy. 428

The bull of westmerlande shall bell &
bere,

the boldest best in varament ;
he shall afterward without were 431

be made lustice from tyne 17 to trent.
a bastard shall do dedys dere,

the fox he shall in handes hent,
the ffullemarte 18 shalbe disfigured in
fere,

what side soeuer he be [on] lent. 436

then shall the egyll calle on hight, 19

and say this fylde is our 20 to day;
then shall aliens take their flyght,

their songe shalbe wele awaye ! 440
the duble Rose shall laughe 21 full Right,

And bere the gre for euer & aye,
when false men) shall take ther flyght,

as arse[l]down 22 hymself did say. 444

then spake the 23 holly man that men
called 24 Bede

In profecy saith [he] in fere :
A childe with a chaplet shall do a dede

25 That is doughtye & deere ; 25 448
In handes he shalbe take[n] at nede,

and brought to his blode full nere.
he shalbe saved that day from drede

with a prynce that hath no pere ; 452

And 26 of that barne he shall haue grete 26
pety

[that] tyll hym is leve 27 & dere ;
And afterward, in proffecy

as clerkes sayne 28 in fere, 456

l ~ l L. in Irelonde 2 2 L. herkes ar faire & ale is 3 leaf 83, back. 4 egerlye

5 5 shall In on the Southe side 6 6 to fflee 7 hermene 8 stands

9 9 the fforde ther stands 10 & ther n neere 12 ravand<? 13 13 ring the shawes

14 burons 1S leaf 84. 16 here 17 L. tyme 18 L. fyluer or syluer

R. heght ; L. high

owres

L. that doughty dere & fere

L. lought 22 Arsaldoune

om.

leefe

23 that

24 calks

saye

THE PROFH1SIES OF RYMOUR, BEIB, AND MARLYNG.

he shall Rayne in 1 Ryaltye

v & fyfty yere.

then 2 of them lordes shall a 2 coun-
sell be

that doughty are 3 & dere. 460

when all this is comprehended to 4 ende,

than men may bide & blyne ;
to London then 5 lordes shall wende

yrith that Eyall 6 kynge. 464

7 then all wares is brought to ende

[that] hath been englonde within ;
8 Suche a 8 grace god shall send,

[that] exyled shalbe all sjnne. 468

then A parliament he shall make,

that kynge of high degre :
9 truse In 9 englond shalbe take

with his blod full nye. 472

then 10 goo shall ware 10 & wyked wrake

that longe in englonde hath be,
then shall all sorow in englond slake

this saith the profecye. 476

then 11 the blake dett of Norway is
cowmyrc 12 & gone,

And drenchid in the 13 flode truly; 13
Mekelle 14 ware hath bene beforne,

but after shall none be ; 480

then shall truth blow his home

truly lowde and hye ; 15
he shall Reigne both even & morne, 483

And ffalshed 16 shalle banisshed be. 16

then shall this kyng a protector make

his cosyn of his kynne ;
then the farre 17 node he shall take,

vncouthe londes to wyne, 488

for to fyght for lesus 18 sake,

19 that dyed for all our synne,
And he shall worke them woo and wrake,

or euer he byde or blyne. 492

at bareflet 20 he shall do battellc* thre

this prmce of mekyl 21 myght,
And to parys wend shall he

with many a doughty knyght. 496
ther shall they yelde hym vp the kaye 22

of all the Citie wyght,
[And] vnto Rome wend shall he

with many A doughty knyght. 500

The pope of rome with prossession

shall mete hym the 23 same day,
And all the cardynalles shalbe bowne 24

In their best araye. 504

Ther shall knele iij kinges with crowne,

and homage make that day,
And many of the spmYuall of Rome

shall brynge hym on the waye. 508

to the woodes 25 then shall he Ryde

this comly kynge with crowne,
And wyn his enymys on euery side,

And boldely bete them downe. 512
Ther shall advaile 26 no erthly pn'de

in castell, towre, ne towne,
but geve they warkyng wondes wyde,

27 who 23 ageinst hym in batell is
bowne. 28 516

then to Iherusalem this prince 29 shall fare

as conqueror of myght
vij mortalle 30 batelles shall he wynne
there

And the turkes to dede shall dight. 520
[then to the sepulcre shalle he ffare

To see that gratious sight,
where cryst ffor vs suffred sare 31

when he to dethe was dight.] 524

All the Citie of Iherusalem

shall a-Raye them with Ryalte,

And for to fyght shalbe [fulle] fayne
vpon the heithen meynye. 528

6 noble 7 leaf 85.
when 12 L. compis

1 In welthe & 2 shall lordes off 3 is 4 to an 5 these
8 - 8 And suche 9 - 9 L. the ruffin 10 - 10 shall goo woo "

13 - 13 fifome so ffree H L. much 1S L. hight 16 - 16 L. shalbe vanyshed awaye

17 faire 18 lesu 19 leaf 85, back. 20 harefleete 21 L. mylke ' 22 L. kynge

23 that 24 L. bound 25 Rodes 26 L. avale them 27 leaf 86. 28 L. bownd

29 L. parrys 30 L. Mortye 31 MS. sore

APPENDIX II.

To Synay that p?-mce shall bowne anone,
wher seint Kateryn doth beryed be \

vij hethen) kynges ther shalbe slayne,
that sight or euer he [se] 1 532

xxxij 2 batelles that crowned kynge

shall wyn, I vnderstonde,
[and] then the holly crosse he shall
wyne,

And bryng yt into criston lande. 536
In hast their 3 shall seme 3 to hym,

that dare not him wit/zstonde ;
xxxij 2 hethen kynges

he shall cristeu with his hand. 540

he shall send this rich Eelycke to Eome,

to that worthy wones :
All the belles, I tell you sone,

they shall rynge [alle] at ons ; 544
the pope 4 shall mete yt wit/a prosses-
siouw,

5 And 6 all the cardynalles for the

nones,
And all the senators of Rome

shall knele on knes at ons. 548

then towardes 7 Iherusalem this kynge
shall hie

with many a crysten wight,
In the vale of losephate y er8 shall he
dye

without batell or fyght. 552

xxiiij 9 kynges that do crystened be

shall take that 10 worthy wight,
[and] brynge hym to Rome Right hastely

before the popes 11 sight. 556

all the belles of Rome at one[s],

ye 12 shall wele vnderstond,
they shall rynge withyn. those 13 wones

without helpe of manrces hand. 560

the pope shall bowne [hym] to bery his

bones
in seint peter[}] mynster wher yt doth

stonde,

14 All that clerkes [of Rome] that ons 14
Shall not styre that bere 15 with hand.

then the pope, with many a kynge

and cardenalles grete plenty,
to the citie of Colyne they shall hym
brynge,

where ther lyes kynges three, 568
that offred to lesu a ryche thinge 16

that nyght he borne did be,
17 bethelem that burghe 17 withyn),

18 of aMaydenfree. 572

Than balthaser shall speke on heght 19

and say to 20 Melchore in fere : 20
* Make a rome, curteys knyght,

21 our f ourt f elo w 21 is here. ' 576

A grete 22 of golde hath Rased 23 in sight,

vpon a good maner,
And ther they shall bery this worthi wight

betwene thes kynges dere. 580

the pope 24 shall 25 grave hym 25 with his
hond

trewly, this holly kynge,
And all the lordes of faire englond

he shall geve them his blessinge. 584
They shall bowne 26 ouer [the] stalworth
strond

Fayre englond withjn ;
Many shall wayle & wryng ther hande 27

when they here that tydynge. 28 588

[then] he that was protector englond
withyn

hath wrought so wordely, 29
In London they [shalle] cro wne hym kyn ge

with gret solempnytie. 592

1 MS. be 2 Two and thritte 3 - 3 shall be sworne
5 leaf 86, back. 6 with 7 to fi 01

4 pope offe Rome [pope crossed through"]

9 ffoure & thrittye 10 this
11 Crossed through in R. 12 yow 13 this 14 14 butt all the clerks of Rome tlm ones

15 beere 16 relike 17 - 17 In Betheleme that riall borough 18 leaf 87.
19 L. high 20 - ao Melcheser in ffeere 21 - 21 our ffourthe brother 22 grate 23 resyd
24 Crossed through in R. 2525 i a y e .i n grave x bowne them 27 L.
28 R. tithing ; L. tydyng^s ^ worthelye

THE PROPHISIES OF RYMOUR, BEID, AND MARLYNG.

And so noble shalbe ^is reigne,
In tyme when yt 2 shalbe,

3 lv yere 3 Englond with yn,
so long his Kayne shalbe.

596

than shall falshede be vanyshed away 4

5 and trouth shalbe redy
trew men both by nyght & day

shall lyve in chary tie 600

dayly, me 6 thynke, we ought to pray

to god in trynytie,
for 7 to exele all vickednes away 8

pray we [vn]to our lady 604

I prayfed] this littell man in fere

that he wolde truly [vtito] me say,
when shall 9 this ende witftout[en] were,

or when shall come that day ? 608
he said, ' a long tyme thow boldest me

but yet I wyll the say, [here,

of yt 10 I shall not fayle a 11 yere,

And thow 12 wylt take hede 12 what I
say: 612

In the yere of our lorde, I vnder-
stonde,

13 xvc yere, 13
& one and thirty folowand,

all this shall apere ; 616

14 the crosse in 14 cristen men?zes hande, 15

that is worth i and dere,
yt shalbe brought I vnderstond

to Rome 16 wythouten were. 10 620

betwene the walcoen & the wall

this lytyll man mett with me,
17 tolde me this proffecy all,

And what tyme it shulde be. 624
god that dranke esell & gall

and for vs dyed on a tree,
when he thynketh tyme to tall,

to heven bryng you & me ! Amen.

Explicis proficia Yenerabilis
bede, Marlionis, Thome Asslaydon)
et Aliorum

2 thys

1-1 thys realme

6 L. my o

12 - 12 take good hede
15 L. haudes 16 - 16 L. wit/tout ware ; E adds,

33 ffyve & ffyf tye yeres 4 ffor aye 5 leaf 87, hack.
>. 8 ffor aye 9 L. inserts all 10 that " on
13 13 ffyffetene himdreth In ffere 14 ~ 14 The hollye cross In-to

finis, and ends here.

17 leaf 88.

The Lansdowne MS, 762 also contains, among a collection of short prophetical
notes, the following of

THOMAS OF ERCELDOUNE.

leaf 49, lack.

Thomas of Ashledon sayth the fadem of the modem church / shall cause the
Roses bothe to dye in his Avne fonte ther / he was cristened.

leaf 50.

Thomas of Asheldon sayeth the egle of the / trewe brute shall see all inglond
in peas & rest / both spirituall and temporall ; and euery estate of / in thaire degre
and the maydens of englonde / bylde your howses of lyme and stone.

APPENDIX III.

AN ENGLISH PROPHECY

GLADSMOOK, SANDISFOBD, AND SEYTON AND THE SEYE,

PREDICTED OP 1553.

[Sloane 2578, leaves 38 b 41.]

The begynniwge of wanes & myschef in england as Bede saiethe is anno dommi
1553. The first battell shalbe fowght betwin englishe men & the scottes with
y e frenchmen on jer company at Somerhill beside Newecastell (the battell shalbe
sore 1 ) the scottes & frenchemen shall ouercom, scape who that maye, vntill a newe
yeare. H The next yeare after this battell, shall Philip of Spayne com in with a greate
hoste betwin Seyton & the seye, beside Westcheschester, 2 and at a Skyrmyshe
there shalbe slaine 5000 on bothe parties. Then shall thei mete with jer greate
battelles at Gladismore we & they, & there shall our nobles fyght so greate a
battell with them that it shalbe hard to saye who shall haue the better, on the
morowe thei shall mete agayne at Snapes moore 3 therby wheare he shalbe slaine &
all his men, and thende shalbe at 4 Sandisford downe, wheare jer shippes shall lye
till y e crowes buylde jer neastes in them. 1T Then shall com owte of Denmark
a Duke and he shall come into England with 16 Lordes, with whose concent he
shalbe crowned kinge in a towne of Northumberland, and shall raign 3 monethes &
odd dayes. he shall fight a battell at Snapes more, 3 wheare he shalbe slaine, &
xx m of his men drowned in the seye. IF Then comethe Pole owte of rome and his
power shalbe so greate jat he shall not cease vntill he win to London and then shall
he fight so soare a battell jat none shall knowe who shall haue y e better and so on
the morowe bi the mone light thei shall come to London, and thei shall fight an
other battell betwin Peter, John, Jamys Gylys, & charynge crosse, then at that
battell shall thei wynrae London & contynue there a while doinge jer will. Then
shall a Cardynall yat neuer was worthy of that estate, come to the tower of London,
and take one by the hand, & saye come forthe ientle brother & though the poles
haue bene so longe drye in england jat men myght wade ouer them in pynsons,
which nowe ouerflowe all England. 5 ^f Then shall come the frenche kinge at

1 The words between ( ) are inserted in another hand.
3 " Sande? more " written over in another han<* 4 fol. 39.

2 Sic.

5 fol. 39, back.

AN ENGLISH PROPHECY. C3

wabwme holte (or hoke) 1 15 myles from norwiche, there shall he be lett in bi a false
mayre and that shall lie kepe for his lodging a while, then at his ret?/?,-ne he shalbe
mett at a place callid the redd bank, y e place is 30 miles from Westchester wheare
at y e first assaye shalbe slaine ix m welchmen, and y e dowble nombre of enemyes,
then on y e morowe shall y e stranger desire a peace for 3 yeares moare, but y e pease
shall endure no lenger then ij inaye 2 dayes when y e dayes waxe somwhat longe,
then shall mete bothe parties at Sandisforde, and jer shalbe so mortall a battell
that xx m enemyes shalbe dryven into the seye without dent of swerd H the?i shall
our noble kinge toward London ryde, & at Stanesmore jer shall he mete & fight
with y e pole & y e spiritualtie a greate battel, so yat jer shalbe slaine xxx m prestes
& prestes servauntes which shall haue shaven crownes as jer maisters, & made to
beleve yat thei shall dye goddes servauntes then shall the kinge ryde to London &
23 Aldermen shall lease jer heddes & a besom 3 of equitie shall swepe all thinges cleane,
holly churche shall tremble & quake, therfor lett them to jer prajourj take.
IT A prophet of portyngale say the, Awake englishemen & guive hede, for a tyme ;
shall come when a kinge with a myter shall raigne oner you & he shalbe a wulf of;
y e seye, he shall holde in him y e strengthe of ij bisshopp^, & the shadowe of a pope;
shall lye in him by y e sufferaunce of a Lion, & he shall take his iowney north-'
ward, & shall come againe into his contrey, & in the hemrae of his mantell
shalbe lapped iij thinges hunger, pestilence, & sorowe. IT An heremyt of Fraunce
saithe Woo be to you englishmen, drawe neare, for it shalbe said emonge you, wuld
god I weare for 3 monethes a Foxe in a hole lyenge, a bird in the Aire Flyenge, or a
fishe in y e seye swymynge. IT Bede saythe, vnto a councell in winter englishmen
make haste, and from a Feaste in Somer Fie, fle, fle. 11 An Abbott of the land said,
guyve you hede englishmen when a pn'vie hatred shal be in merlyn castell 4 betwin
a larke, or a 5 rearemouse, and a Eaven, wfach shalbegynrce in one daye, but shall
not be endid in 3 yeares. but within jat yeare shalbe a councell in winter and in
somer folowinge shall y e greate men of england be bidden to a feaste, amonge whom
thei shall saye, woo, woo, woo, what shall we doo, whither shall we goo, but to y e
messenger of deathe. IT M. shall liaise vpon you greate tribulac^on & sorowe, the
kinge of y e romans & grekes shall com vporc you with a greate fury, and E. shall
.rise owte of his slepe like a lyve man, whom all men thought to be deade. 1T The
4rone of Constance, & thomas with his tales all said, jat y e saxons shuld chuse
them a Corde yat shuld brynge the?ft all vnder. A deade man shuld make betwin
them a corde, & jat shuld be right myche wonder, that he jat deade is & buryed in
sight, shuld rise againe & live in lande, thurgh y e comfort of a yonge knight, jat
fortune hathe chosen to hir husband, y c wheale shall twrne to hym 'right, yat
fortune hathe chosen to be hire 6 feere. 1T When Father blithe the begger can
saye ij credes, & hathe libertye to walke with his wallet, and mother symkyn of
the sowthe takethe againe hir beades, then thowe preste take hede of thi pallett.

Finis.

1 Added by another hand. 2 " Midsomer " is written over " maye." 3 fol. 40.

4 " Salisbury castell " written over these words. 5 fol. 40, back. 6 fol. 41.

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.

ADDITIONS FOR MEDITATIONS.

NO. 60, ORIGINAL SERIES.

VARIOUS READINGS OF A MS, IN TRIN. COLL. CAMB. B. 14. 19.

BY THE REV. J. B. LUMBY, B.D. 1

Line 16. . . . fei may lere.

18. But }?at bat is proved of cristis fay.

,, 38. bat in bis cene crist haj) wrou^t,

40. J?e secounde his disciplis waischyng.

4:6. To make redi his pask a^enus he come.

49. ... as bou herd seie.

54. . . . bei saten him bi.

58. So trist so trewe as was Joon.

73. ... men han seen.

74. ... of Laterain

75. An ober manere bou understonde.

80. To slepen on his brest loon ban. liste.

86. For as a seruaunt . . .

92. Crist seide bese wordis wib sad chore.

95, Forsobe forsobe I wole 3011 seie.

101. For ye this MS always spells 136.

105. Priueli loon to crist gan seie.

127. Biholde and benke ])is in ]?i mynde.

133. To an inner hous gunnen Janne tee.

So seyn fat ]?e houshold hanne see.

He dide hem sitten adoun in jjat stide.

166. Whanne he waischide . . .

175. In stidfast praier . . .

178. Into his blis J>ei wolen j?ee lede.

180. Hou dereworpili aforn his ende

181. om. with.

183. atyer in one word. It is genitive plural of all, and

probably is only written divisim here by accident.

185. ... he gan sowne.

195. In memoraunce . . .

,. 203. . . . more cleer.

1 Mr Lumby also notes that there is a prose version of the Meditations in
the Bodleian MS. 789 (new number : 2643 in the ordinary catalogue), leaves
1-51, bk ; and that the tract "To kunne deie" in the same volume is of worth
for its dialect.

ADDITIONS FOR MEDITATIONS, NO. 60, ORIGINAL SERIES.

Line 207. From hevene he list . . .

214. To 37 ve fee peyne . . .

216. ... quyk not deed.

245. J?e fridde he tau^te hem bi monesting

To kepyng his comaunding

264. J?at schulen . . .

267. Jjese wordis and ofere ]?at he hem tolde

kitten her hertis and waxen coolde.

271. ... wij? naanye si^yng.

277. Jns sermoun at his brest he souke.

283. For}) pel wente . . .

286. As chikenes crepten to ]?e dammes wyng

291. Faste Jjei wenten fei camen anoon.

295. om. yn.

299. Schame . . .

300. For he schamed not to die for fee
305. He biddij? . . .

328. . . . have golden a stounde.

336. fei han me prisid my woo to make.

347. . . . delven . . .

356. He foond hem slepyng and summe he woke

Her i}en weren slepyng . . .

362. . . . and dide more

372. ... praie j)i god abone.

406. To my fadir in his sete.

414. Al bisprongen . . .

427. Summe bynden summe blenden him sum on him spit

Summe buffetiden him and summe seyn telle who j?e

smyt

Summe scornen him sum syngen on hym a song.

436. Jjerfor J>ou schalt have dej> as ri^t

438. Help J?i silf if fou be boun.

441. Summe drugge him summe drawe him fro see to see.

450. pei wepen fei weileii her wristis J>ei wryngen.

464. Be brou3t

473. Thenke man and rewe of her sekyng

477. Bofe lorels and ech gadlynge.

490. Aswoun sche fel doun in J?e feeld.

Jjanne crist was torment in moost care.

502. }?o was maad frenschip fere firste was bate.

505. fei crieden on him as foule on owle.

516. j?ei beten him and renten hym wounde to wounde.

520. Biholdif he ...

522. Til J>ei ben weeri fei moun no more.

538. ))e doyng of fe fridde our now wole I ryme.

541. ... a reehed J?ei took.

543. J>ei setten hym openli in her clepyng

ADDITIONS FOB MEDITATIONS, NO. 60, ORIGINAL SERIES. 49

Line 546. fou modi man fi sauyour biholde

548. And for oo word fou woldist men grame

Eft soone to pilat f ei camen accusyng

And seiden saif sir Cesar we han no kyng.

567. fei punchid him forf forou ilke a slow}

573. fei hi^en hym lie goif wif outen striif

583. ... folowef a fer.

585. A schort weie sche is goon to chese.

599. For evere it seme)) a^enus his wille.

627. To f e cross forth fei drowen him defiyng.

632. A schortere laddere biforn was set,

fere as f e feet schortere weren.

637. Wif out a}en seiyng . . .

642. ... crucifieris hem bereijt. .

648. ... be merciful . . .

,, 654. fat oon Jew . . .

655. f e of ere him drowen til veynes to brest.

663. Eueri ioynt fanne brast atwynne.

,, 702. I praie fee somdeel hise peynes lisse.

715. ... was nome.

728. ... me takist.

733. He taastif sumdeel his f reste to lif en.

,, 737. $it treuli man firstide on rode.

746. . . . calle me to fee.

760. ... I take.

763. ... centurio gan torne.

812. "Whiche I bar wemles of mij bodi.

817. . . . grete sone . . .

823. To sle hem and caste her cors awei

fat noon schulde se hem on sabat dai

835. . . . scharpli sche ran.

856. . . . f orow merci . . .

,, 859. f orou out his herte he preent him wif mood.

888. If we goon hennes f is bodi worf stole

,, 896. Joseph of Armathie . . .

934. ... for feyntise . . .

944. A grettir pris my^te nevere be brou3te.

949. . . . seide marie . . .

960. Prikid, brisid . . .

990, And greifide hem faste fennis to goon.

1007. But I hadde trist to his seying

Myn herte schulde aborst at his diing.

1015. I must do nedis as jrou me biddest.

1023. ... now departid.

1027. If fou risist up as fou me behi^tist

Myn herte schal rise wif f e latest

1030. I am stoon deed for oones and ay

ADDITIONS FOR MEDITATIONS. NO. 60, ORIGINAL SERIES.

Line 1032. And kij?e fat fou art goddis sone.
1034. Sche romyde
1047. Sche sai }?e

1087.
1118.
1123.

cros : Abide, sche seide
. . . maistras.
... lie soukide it ...
Fro fendis bounde to make pee free.

ADDITIONAL NOTES BY THE REV. W. W. SKEAT, M.A.

Line 328. Eead ' a stounde,' two words. At any rate, it means ' at

any time.'

414. Eead ' be-sprunge,' with a hyphen.
513. Read ' vndyr-neme,' with a hyphen.
570. Eead ' a-sterte,' with a hyphen.
,, 577. Dele comma after 'owne.'
Lines 632, 633. The full stop should be at the end of 1. 633, and

the comma at the end of 1. 632.

Line 918. Observe that here only one nail is used for fastening the
feet. So in Piers the Plowman 'nailede hym with Hire
nayles,' C. xxi. 51.

In the Glossary, note the following corrections :

Angred means afflicted, not made sorry, and refers to the infliction of
pain. The use of anger in the sense of affliction, pain, is
curious, yet common. See anger in Stratmann.

Astounde, at any time (for a stounde), 328.

Besprunge, besprinkled, 414. Wrongly entered as Sprunge.

Cleuyn, cleave, 616. Cleuyn on = cleave to, cling to.

Fode, a child, 939. Omitted.

luwyse, instrument of punishment, 577. It commonly means punish-
ment only, as in Chaucer's Knightes Tale.

Knotvlechyng, recognition, 424. To knowleche is to recognize, to
acknowledge ; not ' to know. 1

Kylpe, make manifest, shew, 1032. Not 'to know. 1

Mi/^e, meek, mild, 156. See MetJie in Halliwell. (Certainly not
mighty.)

Owne, own; not 'only.'

Heal, royal, 640. So also in 11. 33, 34. (The usual meaning.)

Myue, rife (in great numbers, or else quickly), 839.

Seche, to seek, 621. It simply means to seek, examine.

Soke, sucked, 1118. Omitted.

Too, 654. The too = thet oo, the one. (Very common.)

Vndyrneme, reprove, 513. See Vnderneme in Prompt. Parv. ; and
cf. P. PI. B. v. 115.

JOHN CH1LD8 AND SON, PRINTERS.

I I

MAY2-1904