Читать книгу Ballads of Scottish Tradition and Romance - Various - Страница 10

1.

1.⁵ ‘magger’ = maugre; i.e. in spite of.

The Persë owt off Northombarlonde,

and avowe to God mayd he

That he wold hunte in the mowntayns

off Chyviat within days thre,

In the magger of doughtë Dogles,

and all that ever with him be.

2.

2.⁴ ‘let,’ hinder.

The fattiste hartes in all Cheviat

he sayd he wold kyll, and cary them away:

‘Be my feth,’ sayd the dougheti Doglas agayn,

‘I wyll let that hontyng yf that I may.’

3.

3.² ‘meany,’ band, company.

3.⁴ ‘the’ = they; so constantly, ‘shyars thre’; the districts (still called shires) of Holy Island, Norham, and Bamborough.

Then the Persë owt off Banborowe cam,

with him a myghtee meany,

With fifteen hondrith archares bold off blood and bone;

the wear chosen owt of shyars thre.

4.

This begane on a Monday at morn,

in Cheviat the hillys so he;

The chylde may rue that ys vn-born,

it wos the mor pittë.

5.

5.³ ‘byckarte,’ i.e. bickered, attacked the deer.

The dryvars thorowe the woodës went,

for to reas the dear;

Bomen byckarte vppone the bent

with ther browd aros cleare.

6.

6.¹ ‘wyld,’ deer.

6.³ i.e. through the groves darted.

Then the wyld thorowe the woodës went,

on every sydë shear;

Greahondës thorowe the grevis glent,

for to kyll thear dear.

7.

7.³ ‘oware,’ hour.

This begane in Chyviat the hyls abone,

yerly on a Monnyn-day;

Be that it drewe to the oware off none,

a hondrith fat hartës ded ther lay.

8.

8.¹ ‘mort,’ note of the bugle.

8.⁴ ‘bryttlynge,’ cutting up.

The blewe a mort vppone the bent,

the semblyde on sydis shear;

To the quyrry then the Persë went,

to se the bryttlynge off the deare.

9.

He sayd, ‘It was the Duglas promys

this day to met me hear;

But I wyste he wolde faylle, verament;’

a great oth the Persë swear.

10.

10.² shaded his eyes with his hand.

At the laste a squyar off Northomberlonde

lokyde at his hand full ny;

He was war a the doughetie Doglas commynge,

with him a myghttë meany.

11.

Both with spear, bylle, and brande,

yt was a myghtti sight to se;

Hardyar men, both off hart nor hande,

wear not in Cristiantë.

12.

12.² ‘feale,’ fail.

12.⁴ ‘yth,’ in the.

The wear twenti hondrith spear-men good,

withoute any feale;

The wear borne along be the watter a Twyde,

yth bowndës of Tividale.

13.

13.² ‘boÿs,’ bows.

‘Leave of the brytlyng of the dear,’ he sayd,

‘and to your boÿs lock ye tayk good hede;

For never sithe ye wear on your mothars borne

had ye never so mickle nede.’

14.

14.³ ‘glede,’ glowing coal.

The dougheti Dogglas on a stede,

he rode alle his men beforne;

His armor glytteryde as dyd a glede;

a boldar barne was never born.

15.

‘Tell me whos men ye ar,’ he says,

‘or whos men that ye be:

Who gave youe leave to hunte in this Chyviat chays,

in the spyt of myn and of me.’

16.

The first mane that ever him an answear mayd,

yt was the good lord Persë:

‘We wyll not tell the whoys men we ar,’ he says,

‘nor whos men that we be;

But we wyll hounte hear in this chays,

in the spyt of thyne and of the.

17.

17.⁴ ‘the ton,’ one or other.

‘The fattiste hartës in all Chyviat

we have kyld, and cast to carry them away:’

‘Be my troth,’ sayd the doughetë Dogglas agayn,

‘therfor the ton of us shall de this day.’

18.

Then sayd the doughtë Doglas

unto the lord Persë:

‘To kyll alle thes giltles men,

alas, it wear great pittë!

19.

‘But, Persë, thowe art a lord of lande,

I am a yerle callyd within my contrë;

Let all our men vppone a parti stande,

and do the battell off the and of me.’

20.

20.¹ ‘cors,’ curse.

‘Nowe Cristes cors on his crowne,’ sayd the lord Persë,

‘who-so-ever ther-to says nay!

Be my troth, doughttë Doglas,’ he says,

‘thow shalt never se that day.

21.

21.⁴ ‘on,’ one.

‘Nethar in Ynglonde, Skottlonde, nar France,

nor for no man of a woman born,

But, and fortune be my chance,

I dar met him, on man for on.’

22.

Then bespayke a squyar off Northombarlonde,

Richard Wytharyngton was his nam:

‘It shall never be told in Sothe-Ynglonde,’ he says,

‘to Kyng Herry the Fourth for sham.

23.

‘I wat youe byn great lordës twaw,

I am a poor squyar of lande:

I wylle never se my captayne fyght on a fylde,

and stande my selffe and loocke on,

But whylle I may my weppone welde,

I wylle not fayle both hart and hande.’

24.

24.³ ‘And,’ If.

That day, that day, that dredfull day!

the first fit here I fynde;

And youe wyll here any mor a the hountyng a the Chyviat,

yet ys ther mor behynde.

. … .

25.

25.⁴ ‘sloughe,’ slew.

The Yngglyshe men hade ther bowys yebent,

ther hartes wer good yenoughe;

The first off arros that the shote off,

seven skore spear-men the sloughe.

26.

26.⁴ ‘wouche,’ evil.

Yet byddys the yerle Doglas vppon the bent,

a captayne good yenoughe,

And that was sene verament,

for he wrought hom both woo and wouche.

27.

The Dogglas partyd his ost in thre,

lyk a cheffe cheften off pryde;

With suar spears off myghttë tre,

the cum in on every syde:

28.

Thrughe our Yngglyshe archery

gave many a wounde fulle wyde;

Many a doughetë the garde to dy,

which ganyde them no pryde.

29.

29.⁴ ‘basnites,’ light helmets or skull-caps.

The Ynglyshe men let ther boÿs be,

and pulde owt brandes that wer brighte;

It was a hevy syght to se

bryght swordes on basnites lyght.

30.

30.¹ ‘myneyeple,’ = manople, a kind of long gauntlet.

30.³ ‘freyke,’ man. So 32.¹, 47.¹, etc.

Thorowe ryche male and myneyeple,

many sterne the strocke done streght;

Many a freyke that was fulle fre,

ther undar foot dyd lyght.

31.

31.⁴ ‘myllan,’ Milan steel. Cp. ‘collayne,’ Battle of Otterburn, 54.⁴

At last the Duglas and the Persë met,

lyk to captayns of myght and of mayne;

The swapte togethar tylle the both swat

with swordes that wear of fyn myllan.

32.

Thes worthë freckys for to fyght,

ther-to the wear fulle fayne,

Tylle the bloode owte off thear basnetes sprente,

as ever dyd heal or rayn.

33.

‘Yelde the, Persë,’ sayde the Doglas,

‘and i feth I shalle the brynge

Wher thowe shalte have a yerls wagis

of Jamy our Skottish kynge.

34.

‘Thou shalte have thy ransom fre,

I hight the hear this thinge;

For the manfullyste man yet art thowe

that ever I conqueryd in filde fighttynge.’

35.

‘Nay,’ sayd the lord Persë,

‘I tolde it the beforne,

That I wolde never yeldyde be

to no man of a woman born.’

36.

36.² ‘wane.’ One arrow out of a large number.—Skeat.

With that ther cam an arrowe hastely,

forthe off a myghttë wane;

Hit hathe strekene the yerle Duglas

in at the brest-bane.

37.

Thorowe lyvar and longës bathe

the sharpe arrowe ys gane,

That never after in all his lyffe-days

he spayke mo wordës but ane:

That was, ‘Fyghte ye, my myrry men, whyllys ye may,

for my lyff-days ben gan.’

38.

38.³ Addison compared (Vergil, Aen. x. 823):— ‘Ingemuit miserans graviter dextramque tetendit,’ etc.

The Persë leanyde on his brande,

and sawe the Duglas de;

He tooke the dede mane by the hande,

and sayd, ‘Wo ys me for the!

39.

‘To have savyde thy lyffe, I wolde have partyde with

my 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.

41.³ ‘blane,’ lingered.

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.

44.² ‘say,’ saw.

An archar off Northomberlonde

say slean was the lord Persë;

He bar a bende bowe in his hand,

was made off trusti tre.

45.

45.² i.e. till the point reached the wood of the bow.

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.

47.³ ‘whylle the myghte dre’ = while they might dree, as long as they could hold.

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.

53.¹ ‘Loumle,’ Lumley; previously printed Louele (= Lovel).

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.

57.⁴ ‘makys,’ mates, husbands.

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.

58.⁴ ‘March-parti,’ the Border; so ‘the Marches,’ 59.³

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.

60.¹ ‘weal,’ clench(?).

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.

63.⁴ The battle of Homildon Hill, near Wooler, Northumberland, was fought in 1402. See 1 King Henry IV., Act I. sc. i.

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.

65.² ‘spurn’ = kick(?): Child suggests the reading:—‘That ear [= e’er] began this spurn!’ as a lament. But the whole meaning is doubtful.

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.

67.⁴ as the rain does.

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.

68.¹ ‘our balys bete,’ our misfortunes relieve.

Ihesue Crist our balys bete,

and to the blys vs brynge!

Thus was the hountynge of the Chivyat:

God send vs alle good endyng!