Ballads of Scottish Tradition and Romance | Page 8

landes
for years thre,
For a better man, of hart nare of hande,
was nat in all
the north contrë.'
40.
Off all that se a Skottishe knyght,
was callyd Ser Hewe the
Monggombyrry;
He sawe the Duglas to the deth was dyght,
he
spendyd a spear, a trusti tre.
41.
He rod uppone a corsiare
throughe a hondrith archery:
He
never stynttyde, nar never blane,
tylle he cam to the good lord Persë.
42.
He set uppone the lorde Persë
a dynte that was full soare;

With a suar spear of a myghttë tre
clean thorow the body he the Persë
ber,
43.
A the tothar syde that a man myght se
a large cloth-yard and
mare:
Towe bettar captayns wear nat in Cristiantë
then that day slan
wear ther.
44.
An archar off Northomberlonde
say slean was the lord Persë;

He bar a bende bowe in his hand,
was made off trusti tre.
45.
An arow, that a cloth-yarde was lang,
to the harde stele halyde
he;
A dynt that was both sad and soar
he sat on Ser Hewe the
Monggombyrry.
46.
The dynt yt was both sad and sar,

that he of Monggomberry sete;

The swane-fethars that his arrowe bar
with his hart-blood the wear

wete.
47.
Ther was never a freake wone foot wolde fle,
but still in stour
dyd stand,
Heawyng on yche othar, whylle the myghte dre,
with
many a balfull brande.
48.
This battell begane in Chyviat
an owar befor the none.
And
when even-songe bell was rang,
the battell was nat half done.
49.
The tocke ... on ethar hande
be the lyght off the mone;
Many
hade no strenght for to stande,
in Chyviat the hillys abon.
50.
Of fifteen hondrith archars of Ynglonde
went away but seventi
and thre;
Of twenti hondrith spear-men of Skotlonde,
but even five
and fifti.
51.
But all wear slayne Cheviat within;
the hade no strengthe to
stand on hy;
The chylde may rue that ys unborne,
it was the mor
pittë.
52.
Thear was slayne, withe the lord Persë,
Sir Johan of Agerstone,

Ser Rogar, the hinde Hartly,
Ser Wyllyam, the bolde Hearone.
53.
Ser Jorg, the worthë Loumle,
a knyghte of great renowen,
Ser
Raff, the ryche Rugbe,
with dyntes wear beaten dowene.
54.
For Wetharryngton my harte was wo,
that ever he slayne shulde
be;
For when both his leggis wear hewyne in to,
yet he knyled and
fought on hys kny.
55.
Ther was slayne, with the dougheti Duglas,
Ser Hewe the
Monggombyrry,
Ser Davy Lwdale, that worthë was,
his sistar's son
was he.
56.
Ser Charls a Murrë in that place,
that never a foot wolde fle;

Ser Hewe Maxwelle, a lorde he was,
with the Doglas dyd he dey.

57.
So on the morrowe the mayde them byears
off birch and hasell
so gray;
Many wedous, with wepyng tears,
cam to fache ther makys
away.
58.
Tivydale may carpe off care,
Northombarlond may mayk great
mon,
For towe such captayns as slayne wear thear
on the
March-parti shall never be non.
59.
Word ys commen to Eddenburrowe,
to Jamy the Skottishe
kynge,
That dougheti Duglas, lyff-tenant of the Marches,
he lay
slean Chyviot within.
60.
His handdës dyd he weal and wryng,
he sayd, 'Alas, and woe ys
me!
Such an othar captayn Skotland within,'
he seyd, 'ye-feth shuld
never be.'
61.
Worde ys commyn to lovly Londone,
till the fourth Harry our
kynge,
That lord Persë, leyff-tenante of the Marchis,
he lay slayne
Chyviat within.
62.
'God have merci on his solle,' sayde Kyng Harry,
'good lord, yf
thy will it be!
I have a hondrith captayns in Ynglonde,' he sayd,
'as
good as ever was he:
But, Persë, and I brook my lyffe,
thy deth well
quyte shall be.'
63.
As our noble kynge mayd his avowe,
lyke a noble prince of
renowen,
For the deth of the lord Persë
he dyde the battell of
Hombyll-down;
64.
Wher syx and thrittë Skottishe knyghtes
on a day wear beaten
down:
Glendale glytteryde on ther armor bryght,
over castille,
towar, and town.
65.
This was the hontynge off the Cheviat,
that tear begane this
spurn;
Old men that knowen the grownde well yenoughe

call it the
battell of Otterburn.

66.
At Otterburn begane this spurne
uppone a Monnynday;
Ther
was the doughtë Doglas slean,
the Persë never went away.
67.
Ther was never a tym on the Marche-partës
sen the Doglas and
the Persë met,
But yt ys mervele and the rede blude ronne not,
as
the reane doys in the stret.
68.
Ihesue Crist our balys bete,
and to the blys vs brynge!
Thus
was the hountynge of the Chivyat:
God send vs alle good endyng!
[Annotations:
1.5: 'magger' = maugre; _i.e._ in spite of.
2.4: 'let,'
hinder.
3.2: 'meany,' band, company.
3.4: 'the' = they; so constantly,
'shyars thre'; the districts (still called shires) of Holy Island, Norham,
and Bamborough. 5.3: 'byckarte,' _i.e._ bickered, attacked the deer.

6.1: 'wyld,' deer.
6.3: _i.e._ through the groves darted.
7.3: 'oware,'
hour.
8.1: 'mort,' note of the bugle.
8.4: 'bryttlynge,' cutting up.

10.2: shaded his eyes with his hand.
12.2: 'feale,' fail.
12.4: 'yth,' in
the.
13.2: 'boÿs,' bows.
14.3: 'glede,' glowing coal.
17.4: 'the ton,'
one or other.
20.1: 'cors,' curse.
21.4: 'on,' one.
24.3: 'And,' If.

25.4: 'sloughe,' slew.
26.4: 'wouche,' evil.
29.4: 'basnites,' light
helmets or skull-caps.
30.1: 'myneyeple,' = manople, a kind of long
gauntlet.
30.3: 'freyke,' man. So 32.1, 47.1, etc.
31.4: 'myllan,'
Milan steel. Cp. 'collayne,' _Battle of Otterburn_, 54.4
36.2: 'wane.'
One arrow out of a large number.--Skeat.
38.3: Addison compared
(Vergil, _Aen._ x. 823):--
'Ingemuit miserans graviter dextramque
tetendit,' etc.
41.3: 'blane,'