1. Fair as the earliest beam, etc. "This introductory stanza is well worked in with the story. The morning beam 'lights the fearful path on mountain side' which the two heroes of the poem are to traverse, and the comparison which it suggest enlists our sympathy for Roderick, who is to be the victim of defeat" (Taylor).
5. And lights, etc. The MS. has "And lights the fearful way along its side."
10. Sheen. See on i. 208.
14. The dappled sky. Cf. Milton, L'Allegro, 44: "Till the dappled dawn doth rise;" and Shakespeare, Much Ado, v. 3. 25:
"and look, the gentle day,
Before the wheels of Phoebus, round about
Dapples the drowsy east with spots of gray."
15. By. The word is used for the rhyme, but perhaps gives the idea of a hurry—muttered off the prayers.
16. Steal. The word here is expressive of haste.
18. Gael. "The Scottish Highlander calls himself, Gael, or Gaul, and terms the Lowlanders Sassenach, or Saxons" (Scott).
22. Wildering. Bewildering. See on i. 274 above. For winded, see on i. 500.
32. Bursting through. That is, as it burst through—"a piece of loose writing" (Taylor).
36. At length, etc. The MS. reads:
"At length they paced the mountain's side,
And saw beneath the waters wide."
44. The rugged mountain's scanty cloak, etc. The MS. reads:
"The rugged mountain's stunted screen
Was dwarfish | shrubs | with cliffs between."
| copse |
46. Shingles. Gravel or pebbles. See on iii. 171 above.
Taylor says: "Note how the details of this description are used in stanza ix.—shingles, bracken, broom."
51. Dank. Damp, moist. Cf. Shakespeare, R. and J. ii. 3. 6: "and night's dank dew;" Milton, Sonnet to Mr. Lawrence: "Now that the fields are dank, and ways are mire," etc.
64. Sooth to tell. To tell the truth. See on i. 476 above. Sooth to say, to say sooth, in sooth, in good sooth, etc., are common in old writers. Cf. the Lay, introd. 57: "the sooth to speak."
65. To claim its aid. The MS. has "to draw my blade."
78. Enough. Suffice it that.
81. A knight's free footsteps, etc. The MS. reads:
"My errant footsteps | far and wide."
A Knight's bold wanderings |
86. I urge thee not. The MS. has "I ask it not," and in 95 "hall" for Doune.
106. Outlawed. The 1st ed. has "exiled."
108. In the Regent's court, etc. Cf. ii. 221 above.
124. Albany. The Regent of 108 above. He was the son of a younger brother of James III., who had been driven into exile by his brother's attempts on his life. He took refuge in France, where his son was made Lord High Admiral. On the death of James IV. he was called home by the Scottish nobles to assume the regency.
126. Mewed. Shut up. The word seems originally to have meant to moult, or shed the feathers; and as a noun, "the place, whether it be abroad or in the house, in which the hawk is put during the time she casts, or doth change her feathers" (R. Holmes's Academy of Armory, etc.). Spenser has both noun and verb; as in F. Q. i. 5. 20: "forth comming from her darksome mew;" and Id. ii. 3. 34: "In which vaine Braggadocchio was mewd." Milton uses the verb in the grand description of Liberty in Of Unlicensed Printing: "Methinks I see her as an eagle mewing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam." In England the noun is still used in the plural to denote a stable for horses. Pennant says that the royal stables in London were called mews from the fact that the buildings were formerly used for keeping the king's falcons.
Scott says here: "There is scarcely a more disorderly period of Scottish history than that which succeeded the battle of Flodden, and occupied the minority of James V. Feuds of ancient standing broke out like old wounds, and every quarrel among the independent nobility, which occurred daily, and almost hourly, gave rise to fresh bloodshed. 'There arose,' said Pitscottie, 'great trouble and deadly feuds in many parts of Scotland, both in the north and west parts. The Master of Forbes, in the north, slew the Laird of Meldrum, under tryst' (that is, at an agreed and secure meeting). 'Likewise, the Laird of Drummelzier slew the Lord Fleming at the hawking; and, likewise, there was slaughter among many other great lords.' Nor was the matter much mended under the government of the Earl of Angus; for though he caused the King to ride through all Scotland, 'under the pretence and color of justice, to punish thief and traitor, none were found greater than were in their own company. And none at that time durst strive with a Douglas, nor yet a Douglas's man; for if they would, they got the worst. Therefore none durst plainzie of no extortion, theft, reiff, nor slaughter done to them by the Douglases or their men; in that cause they were not heard so long as the Douglas had the court in guiding."
150. Shingles. Cf. 46 above.
152. As to your sires. The target and claymore were the weapons of the Ancient Britons. Taylor quotes Tacitus, Agricola: "ingentibus gladiis et brevibus cetris."
161. Rears. Raises. The word was formerly less restricted in its application than at present. Cf. Shakespeare's "rear my hand" (Temp. ii. 1. 295, J. C. iii. 1. 30), "rear the higher our opinion" (A. and C. ii. 1. 35), etc.; Milton's "he rear'd me," that is, lifted me up (P. L. viii. 316), "rear'd her lank head" (Comus, 836), etc. Spenser uses it in the sense of take away (like the cant lift = steal); as in F. Q. iii. 10. 12:
"She to his closet went, where all his wealth
Lay hid; thereof she countlesse summes did reare;"
and Id. iii. 10. 53:
"like as a Beare,
That creeping close among the hives to reare
An hony-combe," etc.
Wb. does not give this sense, which we believe is found only in Spenser.
165. Shall with strong hand, etc. Scott has the following note here: "The ancient Highlanders verified in their practice the lines of Gray (Fragment on the Alliance of Education and Government):
'An iron race the mountain cliffs maintain,
Foes to the gentler genius of the plain;
For where unwearied sinews must be found,
With side-long plough to quell the flinty ground,
To turn the torrent's swift descending flood,
To tame the savage rushing from the wood,
What wonder if, to patient valor train'd,
They guard with spirit what by strength they gain'd;
And while their rocky ramparts round they see
The rough abode of want and liberty
(As lawless force from confidence will grow),
Insult the plenty of the vales below?'
"So far, indeed, was a Creagh, or foray, from being held disgraceful, that a young chief was always expected to show his talents for command so soon as he assumed it, by leading his clan on a successful enterprise of this nature, either against a neighboring sept, for which constant feuds usually furnished an apology, or against the Sassencach, Saxons, or Lowlanders, for which no apology was necessary. The Gael, great traditional historians, never forgot that the Lowlands had, at some remote period, been the property of their Celtic forefathers, which furnished an ample vindication of all the ravages that they could make on the unfortunate districts which lay within their reach. Sir James Grant of Grant is in possession of a letter of apology from Cameron of Lochiel, whose men had committed some depredation upon a farm called Moines, occupied by one of the Grants. Lochiel assures Grant that, however the mistake had happened, his instructions were precise, that the party should foray the province of Moray (a Lowland district), where, as he coolly observes, 'all men take their prey.'"
177. Good faith. In good faith, bona fide; as often in old writers.
192. Bower. See on i. 217 above.
195. This rebel Chieftain, etc. The MS. reads:
"This dark Sir Roderick | and his band;"
This savage Chieftain |
and below:
"From copse to copse the signal flew.
Instant, through copse and crags, arose;"
and in 205 "shoots" for sends.
208. And every tuft, etc. The MS. reads:
"And each lone tuft of broom gives life
To plaided warrior armed for strife.
That whistle manned the lonely glen
With full five hundred armed men;"
and below (214):
"All silent, too, they stood, and still,
Watching their leader's beck and will,
While forward step and weapon show
They long to rush upon the foe,
Like the loose crag whose tottering mass
Hung threatening o'er the hollow pass."
219. Verge. See on iv. 83 above.
230. Manned himself. Cf. Addison's "manned his soul," quoted by Wb.
238. The stern joy, etc. Cf. iv. 155 above.
239. Foeman. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; "foeman" in many recent eds.
246. Their mother Earth, etc. Alluding to the old myths of the earth-born Giants and of Cadmus.
252. Glinted. Flashed; a Scottish word. Jamieson defines glint "to glance, gleam, or pass suddenly like a flash of lightning."
253. Glaive. See on iv. 274 above. The jack was "a horseman's defensive upper garment, quilted and covered with strong leather" (Nares). It was sometimes also strengthened with iron rings, plates, or bosses. Cf. Lyly, Euphues: "jackes quilted, and covered over with leather, fustian, or canvas, over thick plates of yron that are sowed to the same." Scott, in the Eve of St. John, speaks of "his plate-jack." For spear the 1st ed. has "lance."
267. One valiant hand. The MS. has "one brave man's hand."
268. Lay. Were staked.
270. I only meant, etc. Scott says: "This incident, like some other passages in the poem, illustrative of the character of the ancient Gael, is not imaginary, but borrowed from fact. The Highlanders, with the inconsistency of most nations in the same state, were alternately capable of great exertions of generosity and of cruel revenge and perfidy. The following story I can only quote from tradition, but with such an assurance from those by whom it was communicated as permits me little doubt of its authenticity. Early in the last century, John Gunn, a noted Cateran, or Highland robber, infested Inverness-shire, and levied black-mail up to the walls of the provincial capital. A garrison was then maintained in the castle of that town, and their pay (country banks being unknown) was usually transmitted in specie under the guard of a small escort. It chanced that the officer who commanded this little party was unexpectedly obliged to halt, about thirty miles from Inverness, at a miserable inn. About nightfall, a stranger in the Highland dress, and of very prepossessing appearance, entered the same house. Separate accommodations being impossible, the Englishman offered the newly-arrived guest a part of his supper, which was accepted with reluctance. By the conversation he found his new acquaintance knew well all the passes of the country, which induced him eagerly to request his company on the ensuing morning. He neither disguised his business and charge, nor his apprehensions of that celebrated freebooter, John Gunn. The Highlander hesitated a moment, and then frankly consented to be his guide. Forth they set in the morning; and in travelling through a solitary and dreary glen, the discourse again turned on John Gunn. 'Would you like to see him?' said the guide; and without waiting an answer to this alarming question, he whistled, and the English officer, with his small party, were surrounded by a body of Highlanders, whose numbers put resistance out of question, and who were all well armed. 'Stranger,' resumed the guide, 'I am that very John Gunn by whom you feared to be intercepted, and not without cause; for I came to the inn last night with the express purpose of learning your route, that I and my followers might ease you of your charge by the road. But I am incapable of betraying the trust you reposed in me, and having convinced you that you were in my power, I can only dismiss you unplundered and uninjured.' He then gave the officer directions for his journey, and disappeared with his party as suddenly as they had presented themselves."
277. Flood. Flow; used for the sake of the rhyme, like drew just below. Wont = wonted.
286. And still, etc. The MS. reads:
"And still, from copse and heather bush,
Fancy saw spear and broadsword ruch."
298. Three mighty lakes. Katrine, Achray, and Vennachar. Scott says: "The torrent which discharges itself from Loch Vennachar, the lowest and eastmost of the three lakes which form the scenery adjoining to the Trosachs, sweeps through a flat and extensive moor, called Bochastle. Upon a small eminence called the Dun of Bochastle, and indeed on the plain itself, are some intrenchments which have been thought Roman. There is adjacent to Callander a sweet villa, the residence of Captain Fairfoul, entitled the Roman Camp."
301. Mouldering. The MS. has "martial."
309. This murderous Chief, etc. Cf. 106 above.
315. All vantageless, etc. Scott says: "The duellists of former times did not always stand upon those punctilios respecting equality of arms, which are not judged essential to fair combat. It is true that in formal combats in the lists the parties were, by the judges of the field, put as nearly as possible in the same circumstances. But in private duel it was often otherwise. In that desperate combat which was fought between Quelus, a minion of Henry III. of France, and Antraguet, with two seconds on each side, from which only two persons escaped alive, Quelus complained that his antagonist had over him the advantage of a poniard which he used in parrying, while his left hand, which he was forced to employ for the same purpose, was cruelly mangled. When he charged Antraguet with this odds, 'Thou hast done wrong,' answered he, 'to forget thy dagger at home. We are here to fight, and not to settle punctilios of arms.' In a similar duel, however, a young brother of the house of Aubayne, in Angoulesme, behaved more generously on the like occasion, and at once threw away his dagger when his enemy challenged it as an undue advantage. But at this time hardly anything can be conceived more horridly brutal and savage than the mode in which private quarrels were conducted in France. Those who were most jealous of the point of honor, and acquired the title of Ruffines, did not scruple to take advantage of strength, numbers, surprise, and arms, to accomplish their revenge."
329. By prophet bred, etc. See iii. 91 fol. above; and for the expression cf. iv. 124.
347. Dark lightning, etc. The MS. has "In lightning flashed the Chief's dark eye," which might serve as a comment on Dark lightning.
349. Kern. See on iv. 73 above.
351. He yields not, etc. The MS. has "He stoops not, he, to James nor Fate."
356. Carpet knight. Cf. Shakespeare, T. N. iii. 4. 257: "He is knight, dubbed with unhatched rapier and on carpet consideration."
364. Ruth. Pity; obsolete, though we still have ruthless. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 50:
"to stirre up gentle ruth
Both for her noble blood, and for her tender youth;"
Milton, Lycidas, 163: "Look homeward, Angel, now, and melt with ruth," etc.
380. His targe. Scott says: "A round target of light wood, covered with strong leather and studded with brass or iron, was a necessary part of a Highlander's equipment. In charging regular troops they received the thrust of the bayonet in this buckler, twisted it aside, and used the broadsword against the encumbered soldier. In the civil war of 1745 most of the front rank of the clans were thus armed; and Captain Grose (Military Antiquities, vol. i. p. 164) informs us that in 1747 the privates of the 42d regiment, then in Flanders, were for the most part permitted to carry targets. A person thus armed had a considerable advantage in private fray. Among verses between Swift and Sheridan, lately published by Dr. Barrett, there is an account of such an encounter, in which the circumstances, and consequently the relative superiority of the combatants, are precisely the reverse of those in the text:
'A Highlander once fought a Frenchman at Margate,
The weapons, a rapier, a backsword, and target;
Brisk Monsieur advanced as fast as he could,
But all his fine pushes were caught in the wood,
And Sawny, with backsword, did slash him and nick him,
While t'other, enraged that he could not once prick him,
Cried, "Sirrah, you rascal, you son of a whore,
Me will fight you, be gar! if you'll come from your door."'"
383. Trained abroad. That is, in France. See on i. 163 above. Scott says here: "The use of defensive armor, and particularly of the buckler, or target, was general in Queen Elizabeth's time, although that of the single rapier seems to have been occasionally practised much earlier (see Douce's Illustrations of Shakespeare, vol. ii. p. 61). Rowland Yorke, however, who betrayed the fort of Zutphen to the Spaniards, for which good service he was afterwards poisoned by them, is said to have been the first who brought the rapier-fight into general use. Fuller, speaking of the swash-bucklers, or bullies, of Queen Elizabeth's time, says, 'West Smithfield was formerly called Ruffian's Hall, where such men usually met, casually or otherwise, to try masteries with sword or buckler. More were frightened than hurt, more hurt than killed therewith, it being accounted unmanly to strike beneath the knee. But since that desperate traitor Rowland Yorke first introduced thrusting with rapiers, sword and buckler are disused.' In The Two Angry Women of Abingdon, a comedy, printed in 1599, we have a pathetic complaint: 'Sword and buckler fight begins to grow out of use. I am sorry for it; I shall never see good manhood again. If it be once gone, this poking fight of rapier and dagger will come up; then a tall man and a good sword and buckler man will be spitted like a cat or rabbit.' But the rapier had upon the Continent long superseded, in private duel, the use of sword and shield. The masters of the noble science of defence were chiefly Italians. They made great mystery of their art and mode of instruction, never suffered any person to be present but the scholar who was to be taught, and even examined closets, beds, and other places of possible concealment. Their lessons often gave the most treacherous advantages; for the challenged, having the right to choose his weapons, frequently selected some strange, unusual, and inconvenient kind of arms, the use of which he practised under these instructors, and thus killed at his ease his antagonist, to whom it was presented for the first time on the field of battle. See Brantome's Discourse on Duels, and the work on the same subject, 'si gentement ecrit,' by the venerable Dr. Paris de Puteo. The Highlanders continued to use broadsword and target until disarmed after the affair of 1745-6."
385. Ward. Posture of defence; a technical term in fencing. Cf. Falstaff's "Thou knowest my old ward" (1 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 215), etc.
387. While less expert, etc. The MS. reads:
"Not Roderick thus, though stronger far,
More tall, and more inured to war."
401, 402. And backward, etc. This couplet is not in the MS.; and the same is true of 405, 406.
406. Let recreant yield, etc. The MS. has "Yield they alone who fear to die." Scott says: "I have not ventured to render this duel so savagely desperate as that of the celebrated Sir Ewan of Lochiel, chief of the clan Cameron, called, from his sable complexion, Ewan Dhu. He was the last man in Scotland who maintained the royal cause during the great Civil War, and his constant incursions rendered him a very unpleasant neighbor to the republican garrison at Inverlochy, now Fort William. The governor of the fort detached a party of three hundred men to lay waste Lochiel's possessions and cut down his trees; by in a sudden and desperate attack made upon them by the chieftain with very inferior numbers, they were almost all cut to pieces. The skirmish is detailed in a curious memoir of Sir Ewan's life, printed in the Appendix of Pennant's Scottish Tour (vol. i. p. 375):
'In this engagement Lochiel himself had several wonderful escapes. In the retreat of the English, one of the strongest and bravest of the officers retired behind a bush, when he observed Lochiel pursuing, and seeing him unaccompanied with any, he leapt out and thought him his prey. They met one another with equal fury. The combat was long and doubtful: the English gentleman had by far the advantage in strength and size; but Lochiel, exceeding him in nimbleness and agility, in the end tript the sword out of his hand; they closed and wrestled, till both fell to the ground in each other's arms. The English officer got above Lochiel, and pressed him hard, but stretching forth his neck, by attempting to disengage himself, Lochiel, who by this time had his hands at liberty, with his left hand seized him by the collar, and jumping at his extended throat, he bit it with his teeth quite through, and kept such a hold of his grasp, that he brought away his mouthful; this, he said, was the sweetest bit he ever had in his lifetime.'"
435. Unwounded, etc. The MS. reads:
"Panting and breathless on the sands,
But all unwounded, now he stands;"
and just below:
"Redeemed, unhoped, from deadly strife:
Next on his foe his look he | cast,
| threw,
Whose every breath appeared his last."
447. Unbonneted. Past tense, not participle.
449. Then faint afar. The MS. has "Faint and afar."
452. Lincoln green. See on i. 464 above.
462. We destined, etc. Cf. iv. 411 above.
465. Weed. Dress. See on iv. 506 above.
466. Boune. Ready. See on iv. 36 above.
479. Steel. Spur. Cf. i. 115 above.
485. Carhonie's hill. About a mile from the lower end of Loch Vennachar.
486. Pricked. Spurred. It came to mean ride; as in F. Q. i. 1. 1: "A gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine," etc. Cf. 754 below.
490. Torry and Lendrick. These places, like Deanstown, Doune (see on iv. 19 above), Blair-Drummond, Ochtertyre, and Kier, are all on the banks of the Teith, between Callander and Stirling. Lockhart says: "It may be worth noting that the poet marks the progress of the King by naming in succession places familiar and dear to his own early recollections—Blair-Drummond, the seat of the Homes of Kaimes; Kier, that of the principal family of the name of Stirling; Ochtertyre, that of John Ramsay, the well-known antiquary, and correspondent of Burns; and Craigforth, that of the Callenders of Craigforth, almost under the walls of Stirling Castle;—all hospitable roofs, under which he had spent many of his younger days."
494. Sees the hoofs strike fire. The MS. has "Saw their hoofs of fire."
496. They mark, etc. The to of the infinitive is omitted in glance, as if mark had been see.
498. Sweltering. The 1st ed. has "swelling."
506. Flinty. The MS. has "steepy;" and in 514 "gains" for scales.
525. Saint Serle. "The King himself is in such distress for a rhyme as to be obliged to apply to one of the obscurest saints in the calendar" (Jeffrey). The MS. has "by my word," and "Lord" for Earl in the next line.
534. Cambus-kenneth's abbey gray. See on iv. 231 above.
547. By. Gone by, past.
551. O sad and fatal mound! "An eminence on the northeast of the Castle, where state criminals were executed. Stirling was often polluted with noble blood. It is thus apostrophized by J. Johnston:
'Discordia tristis
Heu quotis procerum sanguine tinxit humum!
Hoc uno infelix, et felix cetera; nusquam
Laetior aut caeli frons geniusve soli.'
"The fate of William, eighth Earl of Douglas, whom James II. stabbed in Stirling Castle with his own hand, and while under his royal safe-conduct, is familiar to all who read Scottish history. Murdack Duke of Albany, Duncan Earl of Lennox, his father-in-law, and his two sons, Walter and Alexander Stuart, were executed at Stirling, in 1425. They were beheaded upon an eminence without the Castle walls, but making part of the same hill, from whence they could behold their strong Castle of Doune and their extensive possessions. This 'heading hill,' as it was sometimes termed, bears commonly the less terrible name of Hurly-hacket, from its having been the scene of a courtly amusement alluded to by Sir David Lindsay, who says of the pastimes in which the young King was engaged:
'Some harled him to the Hurly-hacket;'
which consisted in sliding—in some sort of chair, it may be supposed—from top to bottom of a smooth bank. The boys of Edinburgh, about twenty years ago, used to play at the hurly-hacket on the Calton Hill, using for their seat a horse's skull" (Scott).
558. The Franciscan steeple. The Greyfriars Church, built by James IV. in 1594 on the hill not far from the Castle, is still standing, and has been recently restored. Here James VI. was crowned on the 29th of July, 1567, and John Knox preached the coronation sermon.
562. Morrice-dancers. The morrice or morris dance was probably of Spanish (or Moorish, as the name implies) origin, but after its introduction into England it became blended with the Mayday games. A full historical account of it is given in Douce's Illustrations of Shakespeare. The characters in it in early times were the following: "Robin Hood, Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian (Robin's mistress and the queen or lady of the May), the fool, the piper, and several morris-dancers habited, as it appears, in various modes. Afterwards a hobby-horse and a dragon were added" (Douce). For a description of the game, see Scott's Abbot, ch. xiv., and the author's note. See also on 614 below.
564. The burghers hold their sports to-day. Scott has the following note here:
"Every burgh of Scotland of the least note, but more especially the considerable towns, had their solemn play, or festival, when feats of archery were exhibited, and prized distributed to those who excelled in wrestling, hurling the bar, and the other gymnastic exercises of the period. Stirling, a usual place of royal residence, was not likely to be deficient in pomp upon such occasions, especially since James V. was very partial to them. His ready participation in these popular amusements was one cause of his acquiring the title of the King of the Commons, or Rex Plebeiorum, as Lesley has latinized it. The usual prize to the best shooter was a silver arrow. Such a one is preserved at Selkirk and at Peebles. At Dumfries a silver gun was substituted, and the contention transferred to firearms. The ceremony, as there performed, is the subject of an excellent Scottish poem, by Mr. John Mayne, entitled the Siller Gun 1808, which surpasses the efforts of Fergusson, and comes near those of Burns.
"Of James's attachment to archery, Pitscottie, the faithful though rude recorder of the manners of that period, has given us evidence:
'In this year there came an ambassador out of England, named Lord William Howard, with a bishop with him, with many other gentlemen, to the number of threescore horse, which were all able men and waled [picked] men for all kind of games and pastimes, shooting, louping, running, wrestling, and casting of the stone, but they were well sayed [essayed or tried] ere they past out of Scotland, and that by their own provocation; but ever they tint: till at last, the Queen of Scotland, the King's mother, favoured the English-men, because she was the King of England's sister; and therefore she took an enterprise of archery upon the Englishmen's hands, contrary her son the King, and any six in Scotland that he would wale, either gentlemen or yeomen, that the Englishmen should shoot against them either at pricks, revers, or buts, as the Scots pleased.
'The King, hearing this of his mother, was content, and gart her pawn a hundred crowns and a tun of wine upon the English-men's hands; and he incontinent laid down as much for the Scottish-men. The field and ground was chosen in St. Andrews, and three landed men and three yeomen chosen to shoot against the English-men,—to wit, David Wemyss of that ilk, David Arnot of that ilk, and Mr. John Wedderburn, vicar of Dundee; the yeomen, John Thomson, in Leith, Steven Taburner, with a piper, called Alexander Bailie; they shot very near, and warred [worsted] the English-men of the enterprise, and wan the hundred crowns and the tun of wine, which made the King very merry that his men wan the victory.'"
571. Play my prize. The same expression occurs in Shakespeare, T. A. i. 1. 399: "You have play'd your prize." Cf. also M. of V. iii. 2. 142: "Like one of two contending in a prize," etc.
575. The Castle gates. The main entrance to the Castle, not the postern gate of 532 above.
580. Fair Scotland's King, etc. The MS. reads:
"King James and all his nobles went...
Ever the King was bending low
To his white jennet's saddle-bow,
Doffing his cap to burgher dame,
Who smiling blushed for pride and shame."
601. There nobles, etc. The MS. reads:
"Nobles who mourned their power restrained,
And the poor burgher's joys disdained;
Dark chief, who, hostage for his clan,
Was from his home a banished man,
Who thought upon his own gray tower,
The waving woods, his feudal bower,
And deemed himself a shameful part
Of pageant that he cursed in heart."
611. With bell at heel. Douce says that "the number of bells round each leg of the morris-dancers amounted from twenty to forty;" but Scott, in a note to The Fair Maid of Perth, speaks of 252 small bells in sets of twelve at regular musical intervals.
612. Their mazes wheel. The MS. adds:
"With awkward stride there city groom
Would part of fabled knight assume."
614. Robin Hood. Scott says here: "The exhibition of this renowned outlaw and his band was a favorite frolic at such festivals as we are describing. This sporting, in which kings did not disdain to be actors, was prohibited in Scotland upon the Reformation, by a statute of the 6th Parliament of Queen Mary, c. 61, A. D. 1555, which ordered, under heavy penalties that 'na manner of person be chosen Robert Hude, nor Little John, Abbot of Unreason, Queen of May, nor otherwise.' But in 1561, the 'rascal multitude,' says John Knox, 'were stirred up to make a Robin Hude, whilk enormity was of mony years left and damned by statute and act of Paliament; yet would they not be forbidden.' Accordingly they raised a very serious tumult, and at length made prisoners the magistrates who endeavored to suppress it, and would not release them till they extorted a formal promise that no one should be punished for his share of the disturbance. It would seem, from the complaints of the General Assembly of the Kirk, that these profane festivities were continued down to 1592 (Book of the Universal Kirk, p. 414). Bold Robin was, to say the least, equally successful in maintaining his ground against the reformed clergy of England; for the simple and evangelical Latimer complains of coming to a country church where the people refused to hear him because it was Robin Hood's day, and his mitre and rochet were fain to give way to the village pastime. Much curious information on this subject may be found in the Preliminary Dissertation to the late Mr. Ritson's edition of the songs respecting this memorable outlaw. The game of Robin Hood was usually acted in May; and he was associated with the morrice-dancers, on whom so much illustration has been bestowed by the commentators on Shakespeare. A very lively picture of these festivities, containing a great deal of curious information on the subject of the private life and amusements of our ancestors, was thrown, by the late ingenious Mr. Strutt, into his romance entitled Queen-hoo Hall, published after his death, in 1808."
615. Friar Tuck. "Robin Hood's fat friar," as Shakespeare calls him (T. G. of V. iv. 1. 36), who figures in the Robin Hood ballads and in Ivanhoe. Scarlet and Little John are mentioned in one of Master Silence's snatches of song in 2 Hen. IV. v. 3. 107: "And Robin, Scarlet, and John." Scathelocke is a brother of Scarlet in Ben Jonson's Sad Shepherd, which is a "Tale of Robin Hood," and Mutch is a bailiff in the same play.
626. Stake. Prize.
627. Fondly he watched, etc. The MS. reads:
"Fondly he watched, with watery eye,
For answering glance of sympathy,
But no emotion made reply!
Indifferent as to unknown | wight,
Cold as to unknown yeoman |
The King gave forth the arrow bright."
630. To archer wight. That is, to any ordinary archer. Scott has the following note here:
"The Douglas of the poem is an imaginary person, a supposed uncle of the Earl of Angus. But the King's behavior during an unexpected interview with the Laird of Kilspindie, one of the banished Douglases, under circumstances similar to those in the text, is imitated from a real story told by Hume of Godscroft. I would have availed myself more fully of the simple and affecting circumstances of the old history, had they not been already woven into a pathetic ballad by my friend Mr. Finlay. 11
'His [the King's] implacability [towards the family of Douglas] did also appear in his carriage towards Archibald of Kilspinke, whom he, when he was a child, loved singularly well for his ability of body, and was wont to call him his Gray-Steill. 12 Archibald, being banished into England, could not well comport with the humor of that nation, which he thought to be too proud, and that they had too high a conceit of themselves, joined with a contempt and despising of all others. Wherefore, being wearied of that life, and remembering the King's favor of old towards him, he determined to try the King's mercifulness and clemency. So he comes into Scotland, and taking occasion of the King's hunting in the park at Stirling he casts himself to be in his way, as he was coming home to the Castle. So soon as the King saw him afar off, ere he came near, he guessed it was he, and said to one of his courtiers, "Yonder is my Gray-Steill, Archibald of Kilspindie, if he be alive." The other answered that it could not be he, and that he durst not come into the King's presence. The King approaching, he fell upon his knees and craved pardon, and promised from thenceforward to abstain from meddling in public affairs, and to lead a quiet and private life. The King went by without giving him any answer, and trotted a good round pace up the hill. Kilspindie followed, and though he wore on him a secret, or shirt of mail, for his particular enemies, was as soon at the Castle gate as the King. There he sat him down upon a stone without, and entreated some of the King's servants for a cup of drink, being weary and thirsty; but they, fearing the King's displeasure, durst gave him none. When the King was set at his dinner, he asked what he had done, what he had said, and whither he had gone? It was told him that he had desired a cup of drink, and had gotten none. The King reproved them very sharply for their discourtesy, and told them that if he had not taken an oath that no Douglas should ever serve him, he would have received him into his service, for he had seen him sometime a man of great ability. Then he sent him word to go to Leith, and expect his further pleasure. Then some kinsman of David Falconer, the cannonier, that was slain at Tantallon, began to quarrel with Archibald about the matter, wherewith the King showed himself not well pleased when he heard of it. Then he commanded him to go to France for a certain space, till he heard further from him. And so he did, and died shortly after. This gave occasion to the King of England (Henry VIII.) to blame his nephew, alleging the old saying, That a king's face should give grace. For this Archibald (whatsoever were Angus's or Sir George's fault) had not been principal actor of anything, nor no counsellor nor stirrer up, but only a follower of his friends, and that noways cruelly disposed' (Hume of Godscroft, ii. 107)."
637. Larbert is a town about ten miles to the south of Stirling, and Alloa another seven miles to the east on the north side of the Forth.
641. To Douglas gave a golden ring. Scott says: "The usual prize of a wrestling was a ram and a ring, but the animal would have embarrassed my story. Thus, in the Cokes Tale of Gamelyn, ascribed to Chaucer:
'There happed to be there beside
Tryed a wrestling;
And therefore there was y-setten
A ram and als a ring."
Again, the Litil Geste of Robin Hood:
'By a bridge was a wrestling,
And there taryed was he
And there was all the best yemen
Of all the west countrey.
A full fayre game there was set up,
A white bull up y-pight,
A great courser with saddle and brydle,
With gold burnished full bryght;
A payre of gloves, a red golde ringe,
A pipe of wine, good day;
What man bereth him best, I wis,
The prise shall bear away.'"
648. To hurl the massive bar. Cf. iv. 559 above.
658. Scottish strength. The MS. has "mortal strength."
660. The Ladies' Rock. A point in the "valley" between the Castle and the Greyfriars Church. It was formerly the chief place for viewing the games, which were held in this "valley," or depression in the hill on which the Castle stands. It must not be confounded with the Ladies' Lookout, a favorite point of view on the Castle walls.
662. Well filled. The MS. has "weighed down;" and in 664, "Scattered the gold among the crowd."
674. Ere Douglas, etc. The MS. has "Ere James of Douglas' stalwart hand;" and in 677, "worn" for wrecked.
681. Murmurs. Some eds. have "murmur."
685. The banished man. The MS. has "his stately form."
724. Needs but a buffet. Only a single blow is needed.
728. Then clamored, etc. The MS. and 1st ed. have "Clamored his comrades of the train;" and in 730 the MS. has "warrior's" for Baron's.
735. Atone. See on iv. 421 above.
744. But shall a Monarch's presence, etc. The MS. reads:
"But in my court injurious blow, And bearded thus, and thus out-dared? What, ho!" etc.
747. Ward. Guarding, confinement under guard. Cf. Gen. xl. 3.
752. Misarray. Disorder, confusion. Neither Wb. nor Worc. gives the word.
754. Pricked. Spurred, rode. See on 486 above.
755. Repelled, etc. The MS. has "Their threats repelled by insult loud."
768. Hyndford. A village on the Clyde, a few miles above Lanark.
790. Widow's mate expires. An instance of prolepsis, or "anticipation" in the use of a word. He must expire before she can be a widow. Cf. Macbeth, iii. 4. 76:
"Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden time,
Ere human statute purg'd the gentle weal;"
that is, purged it and made it gentle.
794. Ward. Ward off, avert.
796. The crowd's wild fury, etc. The MS. reads:
"The crowd's wild fury ebbed amain
In tears, as tempests sink in rain."
The 1st ed. reads as in the text, but that of 1821 has "sunk amain."
The figure here is a favorite one with Shakespeare. Cf. R. of L. 1788:
"This windy tempest, till it blow up rain,
Held back his sorrow's tide, to make it more;
At last it rains, and busy winds give o'er;"
3 Hen. VI. i. 4. 146:
"For raging wind blows up incessant showers,
And, when the rage allays, the rain begins;"
Id. ii. 5. 85:
"see, see, what showers arise,
Blown with the windy tempest of my heart;"
T. and C. iv. 4. 55: "Where are my tears? rain, to lay this wind, or my heart will be blown up by the root;" and Macbeth, i. 7. 25: "That tears shall down the wind."
808. The rough soldier. Sir John of Hyndford (768 above).
811. He led. The 1st ed. has "they led," and "their" for his in 813.
812. Verge. Note the rhyme with charge, and see on iv. 83 above.
819. This common fool. Cf. Shakespeare's "fool multitude" (M. of V. ii. 9. 26). Just below Lockhart quotes Coriolanus, i. 1. 180:
"Who deserves greatness
Deserves your hate; and your affections are
A sick man's appetite, who desires most that
Which would increase his evil. He that depends
Upon your favors swims with fins of lead
And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye! Trust ye?
With every minute you do change a mind,
And call him noble that was now your hate,
Him vile that was your garland."
821. Douglas. The reading of the 1st ed., as in 825 below; not "Douglas'," as in some recent eds.
830. Vain as the leaf, etc. The MS. has "Vain as the sick man's idle dream."
838. Cognizance. "The sable pale of Mar." See on iv. 153 above.
853. With scanty train, etc. The MS. has "On distant chase you will not ride."
856. Lost it. Forgot it.
858. For spoiling of. For fear of ruining. Cf. Shakespeare, Sonn. 52. 4:
"The which he will not every hour survey,
For blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure;
T. G. of V. i. 2. 136: "Yet here they shall not lie for catching cold;" Beaumont and Fletcher, Captain, iii. 5: "We'll have a bib for spoiling of thy doublet," etc.
887. Earl William. The Douglas who was stabbed by James II. See on 551 above.
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