"Pretendand now without titill of richt,
"Becaus tha ar of sic power and micht,
"Haiffand no e to richt or it to wrang,
"The realme befoir oure fatheris brukit lang,
"In heretage also to ws hes left,
"Fra ws on force tha think it salbe reft,
"And leve [ws] alsua nother les no moir,
"And all oure riches, nother corne nor stoir,
"Siluer or gold or ony vther geir,
"Nocht be the clething on oure bak to weir; 50,050 "Oure self also tha think for to distroy,
"Oure heretage syne for to bruke and joy, "Fra we be past withoutin pley or pleid,
"Baith tour and toun, with tenement and steid.
"Mair honest is, and far mair to commend,
"To tak the chance that God will to ws send
"Now at this tyme, and at his will to be,
"Na with greit lak out of the feild to fle,
"And lois oure law, oure libertie and landis,
"And syne on force to fall into thair handis,
"Without refuge at thair plesour and will,
"To quhat torment that tha will put ws till.
"Also 3e knaw that gratius God of micht
"Most fauour hes to thame that hes the richt,
"And in him self sic power hes, for-thy,
"Quhair plesis him to gif the victory,
"To ony part thocht thair power be small,
"With litill force ma mak thair fa to fall.
"And sen it is that we haif all the richt,
"And hes sic traist in his power and micht,
Quhy sould we dreid or zit of thame stand aw, Suppois this tyme oure power be richt smaw? "Sen God till ws hes schawin speciall grace, "Be ane greit miracle in this samin place, "Bot laitlie now be Sanct Phillane zistrene,
"As ze zour self rycht planelie all hes sene.
"Quhairfoir," he said, "be all of confort gude,
"And thank greit God of sic ane gratitude,
"Be speciall grace hes sic ane taikin schawin
"Of victorie that all salbe oure awin.
Quhairfoir," he said, "ilkane I 30W exhort, "Be of curage and tak to zow confort, "And haif no dreid of all zone multitude, "Quhair we ma wyn greit riches, gold and gude, "And greit honour that euir mair sall lest, 50,085 "And all your tyme syne leif in peax and rest.” Be sic persuasioun as he maid thame than, In all his ost wes nother lad no man, Bot he consentit glaidlie with his hart All in ane purpois for to tak his part, In gude and ill wnto the latter end, As plesis God of his grace for to send. Siclike king Edward, on the tother syde, Gart euirilk natioun fra vther diuyde,
And with ilk natioun thair langage hes knawin, 50,095
To rewlit be ane captane of thair awin;
Syne gaif command withoutin ony pley,
That ilk natioun thair captane sould obey.
Beseikand thame to be of confort gude,
Haiffand sic strenth, sic mycht and multitude,
Richt weill he wist, but ony stryfe or sturt,
Withoutin harme or in the bodie hurt,
Baith gold and gude thair wes aneuch to wyn,
Lordschip and land for thame and all thair kyn.
THE ENTERING AND JOYNYNG OF THE BATTELL.
Be this wes said the browdin baneris brycht
Aboue thair heid wes haldin vp on hicht,
Flureist and frie, weill wrocht ouir with gold wyre,
Glitterand as gleid or Phebus flammand fyre;
And staitlie standartis st[r]eikit in the air,
Wyde witht the wynd waiffand heir and thair, 50,110
Of siluer, sabill, and of asur blew,
Depantit ouir with mony sindrie hew,
With rosis, lillie, and with flourdelyce,
And mony pynsall precious wes of pryce,
Agane the schyning of the sone tha schew,
Palit with purpure and with asur blew.
Thair basnetis bricht with mony bureall stone,
Agane the schyning of the sone tha schone ;
Baith helme and habrik wes of hevenlie hew,
Lyke schynand siluer ouir the schaw that
schew;
With breist[plait], brasar, and with birneis
bricht,
Lyke ony lanterne lemit all of licht;
In cote armour of mony sindrie hew,
Pleneist with perle and mony sapheir blew,
And rubeis reid weill circulit ouir and set,
And all the feild with fynest gold ouirfret.
Moir semelie sicht saw neuir man beforne
Of Adamis seid zit sen that God wes borne.
The schalmes als in mony sindrie tune,
Sum into bas and sum in alt abone,
Blew with sic beir quhill all the bruik reboundit ;
The bemand buglis tha sa scharplie soundit,
With trumpet, talburne in so stalwart stevin,
Quhill that thair noyis rang vp to the hevin,
Out-throw the cloudis of the hevinlie sky,
Mixand the air all full of melody.
King Robert als vpoun the tother part,
Of policie the quhilk wes richt expert,
In all prattik tha men vsit in weir
Perqueir he wes, in nothing for to leir,
To his bruther gude Edward gaif to gyde
Sevin thousand men to fecht on his rycht syde.
Sevin thousand als, that weill durst stryke and
To gude erle Thomas on the tother hand
He gaif to gyde, all into armour bricht.
Schir James of Douglas, that wes wyss and wicht,
Commandit hes into the mid-mest ward,
Nixt hand him self for to gyde all that gard.
Mauritius, of quhome 3e hard me sa,
That abbot wes than of Inchafra,
Ane crucifix that samin tyme buir he
Befoir the feild that euerie man micht se,
Quhairon ane siluer image of the rude
Affixit wes for ws bleidand his blude:
Syne on his kneis lawlie did inclyne,
And as he did, so did tha ilk man syne,
Richt humblie ouir all the oist that tyde,
Beteichand thame in his cuir to gyde,
Quhilk on that cors deit for thair trespas.
Thair ennimeis seand that so it was,
Content tha war quhen tha that sycht had sene;
Trowand to thame tha had all oldin bene,
Full mony freik thairof war wounder fane.
Syne on thair feit quhen tha rais vp agane,
And streikit vp richt stoutlie in that steid
The rampand lyoun all in gold so reid,
Borderit about with birneist gold so brycht,
And staitlie standertis streikit vp on hicht,
With mony pynsall that wes proude of pryce,
With buglis blast quhill1 rairdit all the ryce,
And schalmes schill quhill that the schawis schuik,
Quhairof that tyme rycht greit terrour tha tuke.
The contrapart quhen tha beheld and saw
First to the croce as tha inclynit law,
With humbill hart prostrand on the streit,
So manfullie syne as tha rais on thair feit,
Lib. 14, f.227b. Richt weill tha wist that da and tha wan oucht
Col. 1.
Into that feild, it wald be richt deir boucht,
Quhilk causit hes to lurk wnder the laik
Richt mony cowart durst nocht cum to straik. 50,180
HOW THIR TUA KINGIS MET AND CRUELLIE ON
VTHER SET, AND HOW GUDE KING ROBERT
BRUCE VINCUST AND WAN THE FEILD.
This beand done as I haif said tow heir,
Thir tua princes that potent wes but peir,
With baith thair poweris planelie met in feild,
Quhair basnetis bricht and mony targe and scheild,
And mony helme war hewin all in schunder,
And mony syde maid sowand that war wnder.
The bairdit hors vpoun the Ingliss syde,
Formest in feild with greit power and pryde,
Baith hors and men into tha fowseis fell,
Wes maid befoir, as ze haif hard me tell,
Be king Robert, quhilk war baith wyde and deip.
The Scottismen that stude than for to keip,
Neuir ane of thame tha leit ryiss vp agane,
Baith hors and men with lang speiris hes slane.
Syne as als mony enterit of the new,
Ilkone of thame also siclike tha slew,
Of nobill men quhilk war out of nummer,
That in that feild maid so greit sturt and cummer,
Of hors and men soir woundit wnder scheild,
In the deid thraw la walterand in the feild.
The laif also behind thair bak that was,
Ay as tha presit ford wart for to pas,
Ilkane ouir vther in the hoillis fell;
Ane lang quhile so, as my author did tell,
That Inglismen1 out of nummer wntald,
Thair slew of thame als mony as tha wald.
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