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Source Information: Hanna, Charles A. The Scotch-Irish: The Scot in North Britain, North Ireland, and North America Vol.1 New York, NY: G. P. Putnam, 1902.
THE SCOTTISH KIRK AND HUMAN LIBERTY
On the same subject, Green says: Knox had been one of the
followers of Wishart; he had acted as pastor to the Protestants who after
Beaton's murder held the CASTLE of St. Andrews,
and had been captured with them by a French force in the summer of
1547.The Frenchmen sent the heretics to the galleys; and it was as a galley
slave
Henry Hall of Haughhead, having had religious education, began early to mind a
life of holiness; and was of a pious conversation from his youth; he was a
zealous opposer of the public resolutions, insomuch that when the minister of
the parish where he lived complied with that course, he refused to hear him, and
went to Ancrum, to hear Mr. John Livingston. Being oppressed with the malicious
persecutions of the curates and other malignants for his nonconformity with the
profane courses of abomination, that commenced at the unhappy restoration of
that most wicked tyrant Charles II. he was obliged to depart his native country,
and go over the border into England in the year 1665, where he was so much
renowned for his singular zeal in propagating the gospel among the people, who
before his coming among them were very rude and barbarous; but many of them
became famous for piety after. In the year 1666, he was taken in his way to
Pentland, coming to the assistance of his convenanted brethren, and was
imprisoned with some others in Sessford CASTLE,
but by the divine goodness he soon escaped thence through the favour of the Earl
of Roxburgh, to whom the CASTLE pertained, the
said earl being his friend and relation; from which time, till about the year
1679, he lived peaceably in England, much beloved of all that knew him, for his
concern in propagating the knowledge of Christ in that country; insomuch that
his blameless and shining christian conversation, drew reverence and esteem from
his very enemies. But about the year 1678, the heat of the persecution in
Scotland obliging many to wander up and down through Northumberland and other
places; one colonel Struthers intended to seize any Scotsman he could find in
those parts; and meeting with Thomas Ker of Hayhope, one of Henry Hall's nearest
intimates, he was engaged in that encounter upon the account of the said Thomas
Ker, who was killed there: upon which account, he was forced to return to
Scotland, and wandered up and down during the hottest time of the persecution,
mostly with Mr. Richard Cameron and Mr. Donald Cargil, during which time,
besides his many
About a quarter of a year after his return from Holland, being in company with
the Rev. Mr. Donald Cargil, they were taken notice of by two blood-hounds the
curates of Borrowstounness and Carridden, who went to Middleton, governor of
Blackness-CASTLE, and informed him of them; who
having consulted with these blood-thirsty ruffians, ordered his soldiers to
follow him at a distance by two or three together, with convenient intervals for
avoiding suspicion; and he (the said Middleton) and his man riding up, observed
where they alighted and stabled their horses; and coming to them, pretended a
great deal of kindness and civilties to Mr. Donald Cargil and him, desiring that
they might have a glass of wine together. When they were set, and had taken each
a glass, Middleton laid hands on them, and told them they were his prisoners,
commanding in the king's name all the people of the house to assist, which they
all refused, save a certain waiter, through whose means the governor got the
gates shut till the soldiers came up; and when the women of the town, rising to
the rescue of the prisoners, had broke up the outer gate, Henry Hall, after some
scuffle with the governor in the house, making his escape by the gate, received
his mortal blow upon his head, with a carbine by Thomas George, waiter, and
being conveyed out of the town by the assistance of the women, walked some
pretty space of way upon his feet, but unable to speak much, save only that he
made some short reflection upon a woman that interposed between him and the
governor, hindered him to kill the governor, and so to make his escape timeously.
So soon as he fainted, the women carried him to a house in the country, and
notwithstanding the care of surgeons, he never recovered the power of speaking
more. General Dalziel being advertised, came with a party of the guards, and
carried him to Edinburgh; he died by the way: his corpse they carried to the
Cannongate tolbooth, and kept him there three days without burial, though a
number of friends convened for that effect, and thereafter they caused bury him
clandestinely in the night. Such was the fury of these limbs of antichrist, that
having killed the witnesses, they would not suffer their dead bodies to be
decently put in graves.
THE TUDOR-STUART CHURCH RESPONSIBLE FOR EARLY AMERICAN ANIMOSITY
TO ENGLAND
The Scotch were not of a cowardly race, nor were they weak and spiritless louts,
subject to their masters for life or death, like dumb, driven cattle. They
cannot be judged by modern standards, but must be compared with people of other
races who were their contemporaries. It is true they endured unjust persecutions
and grievous oppressions for long periods without open complaint or effective
resistance. But they rebelled against their tyrants and oppressors earlier, and
more often, and more efficaciously than did the people of any other nation. They
anticipated the English by a full century in their revolutions, and their claim
for the rights of the individual. They were more than two centuries ahead of the
French in fighting and dying for the principles of the French Revolution. They
were farther advanced three centuries ago than the Germans are to-day in their
conceptions and ideals of individual liberty. Buckle well says, in speaking of
his own English race, "If we compare our history with that of our northern
neighbors, we must pronounce ourselves a meek and submissive people." There
have been more rebellions in Scotland than in any other country, excepting some
of the Central and South American republics. And the rebellions have been very
sanguinary, as well as very numerous. The Scotch have made war upon most of
their kings, and put to death many. To mention their treatment of a single
dynasty, they murdered James I. and James III. They rebelled against James II.
and James VII. They laid hold of James V. and placed him in confinement. Mary
they immured in a CASTLE, and afterwards
deposed. Her successor, James VI., they imprisoned; they led him captive about
the country, and on one occasion attempted his life. Towards Charles I. they
showed the greatest animosity, and they were the first to restrain his mad
career. Three years before the English ventured to rise against that despotic
prince, the Scotch boldly took up arms and made war on him. The service which
they then rendered to the cause of liberty it would be hard to overrate. They
often lacked patriotic leaders at home, and their progress was long retarded by
internecine and clan strife. They were hard-headed, fighting ploughmen. Though
with a deep religious character, and conscientiousness to an extreme that often
has seemed ridiculous to outsiders, their material accomplishments as
adventurers, pioneers, and traders, in statesmanship, in science, in
metaphysics, in literature, in commerce, in finance, in invention, and in war,
show them to be the peers of the people of any other race the world has ever
known.
SCOTLAND OF TO-DAY
In this district are to be found the chief evidences in Scotland of the birth or
residence of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Dumbartonshire is
the reputed birthplace of St. Patrick, Ireland's teacher and patron saint.
Elderslie, in Renfrewshire, is said to have been the birthplace of Scotland's
national hero, William Wallace. Robert Bruce also, son of Marjorie, Countess of
Carrick and daughter of Nigel or Niall (who was himself the Celtic Earl of
Carrick and grandson of Gilbert, son of Fergus, Lord of Galloway), was,
according to popular belief, born at his mother's CASTLE
of Turnberry, in Ayrshire. The seat of the High Stewards of Scotland, ancestors
of the royal family of the Stuarts, was in Renfrewshire. The paternal
grandfather of William Ewart Gladstone was born in Lanarkshire. John Knox's
father is said to have belonged to the Knox family of Renfrew-shire. Robert
Burns was born in Ayrshire. The sect called the "Lollards," who were
the earliest Protestant reformers in Scotland, appear first in Scottish history
as coming from Kyle in Ayrshire, the same district which afterwards furnished a
large part of the leaders and armies of the Reformation. The Covenanters and
their armies of the seventeenth century were mainly from the same part of the
kingdom. Glasgow, the greatest manufacturing city of Europe, is situated in the
heart of this district. These same seven coun-
THE SCOTS AND PICTS
"Between them and the kingdom of the Picts proper lay a central district,
extending from the wall to the river Forth, and on the bank of the latter was
the strong position afterwards occupied by Stirling CASTLE;
and while the Angles of Bernicia exercised an influence and a kind of authority
over the first district, this central part seems to have been more closely
connected with the British kingdom of Alclyde. The northern part, extending from
the Forth to the Tay, belonged to the Pictish kingdom, with whom its population,
originally British, appears to have been incorporated, and was the district
afterwards known as Fortrein and Magh Fortren.
THE BRITONS
Then it was that the magnanimous Arthur, with all the kings and military force
of Britain, fought against the Saxons. And though there were many more noble
than himself, yet he was twelve times chosen their commander, and was as often
conqueror. The first battle in which he was engaged was at the mouth of the
river Gleni. The second, third, fourth and fifth, were on another river, by the
Britons called Dubglas, in the region Linnius. The sixth on the river Bassas.
The seventh in the wood Celidon, which the Britons call Cat Colt Celidon. The
eighth was near Guinnion CASTLE, where Arthur
bore the image of the Holy Virgin, mother of God, upon his shoulders, and
through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy Mary, put the Saxons to
flight, and pursued them the whole day with great slaughter. The ninth was at
the city of Legion, which is called Cair Lion. The tenth was on the banks of the
river Tribruit. The eleventh was on the mountain Breguoin, which we call Agned.
The twelfth was a most severe contest, when Arthur penetrated to the hill of
Badon. In this engagement, nine hundred and forty fell by his hand alone, no one
but the Lord
"If any reality could be extracted from them, Scotland would have full
share in it, since much of .the narrative comes northward of the present border.
Berwick was the Joye-use garde of Sir Lancelot, and Aneurin describes a bloody
battle round Edinburgh CASTLE. Local tradition
and the names of places have given what support such agencies can to the
Scottish claims on the Arthurion history. So the curious Roman edifice on the
bank of the Carron was called Arthur's Oon or Oven; and we have Arthur's Seat,
Ben Arthur, Arthurlee, and the like. The illustrious 'Round Table' itself is at
Stirling CASTLE. The sculptured stones in the
churchyard of Meigle have come down as a monument to the memory and crimes of
his faithless wife. A few miles westward, on Barry Hill, a spur of the Grampians,
the remnants of a hillfort have an interest to the peasant as the prison of her
captivity. In the pretty pastoral village of Stowe there was a 'Girth' or
sanctuary for criminals, attributed to the influence of an image of the Virgin
brought by King Arthur from Jerusalem, and there enshrined....
THE NORSE AND GALLOWAY
.........wald, subdued the Hebrides, inclusive of the Isle of Man. Thorstein the Red, son
of Olaf the White, King of Dublin, and Earl Sigurd, subdued Caithness and
Sutherland, as far as Ekkielsbakkie, and afterwards Ross and Moray, with more
than half of Scotland, over which Thorstein ruled, as recorded in the
Landnama-bok.About 963, Sigurd, son of Earl Hlodver, and his wife Audna (the
daugh-ter of the Irish king Kiarval), became ruler over Ross and Moray, Suther-land
and the Dales (of Caithness), which seems also to have included old Strathnavar.
Sigurd married, secondly, the daughter of Malcolm (Malbrigid), called King of
Scotland. He was slain at Clontarf near Dublin, in 1014.By his first marriage he
left issue, Sumarlidi, Brusi, and Einar, who dividedthe Orkneys between them. By
his second marriage he had issue, Thorfinn,on whom King Malcolm bestowed the
earldom of Caithness.To quote from the introduction, Njal Saga, by Dasent [Saga
of BurntNjal, George Webbe Dasent, 1861], "Ireland knew them [the Vikings]
Bretland or Wales knew them, England knew them too well, and a great
partof Scotland they had made their own. To this day the name of almost every
island on the west coast of Scotland is either pure Norse, or Norse distorted,
so as to make it possible for Celtic lips to utter it. The groups of
Orkneyand Shetland are notoriously Norse; but Lewis and the Uists, and Skyeand
Mull are no less Norse, and not only the names of the islands them-selves, but
those of reefs and rocks, and lakes, and headlands, bear witnessto the same
relation, and show that, while the original inhabitants were notexpelled, but
held in bondage as thralls, the Norsemen must have dwelt anddwelt thickly too,
as conquerors and lords."The foregoing extract gives a description which
investigation corroborates. The blank in the history of Galloway after the
termination of the Strathcluyd kingdom is now fully met. The only difficulty is
to determineat what date Galloway became separated from Strathcluyd. Earl (Jarl)Malcolm,
who lived near Whithorn in 1014, is the first Norseman specially named. His place
of residence is believed to have been Cruggleton CASTLE,
of
historic renown in after-times. Eogan the Bald, who fought at Carham,and died in
1018, was the last King of Strathcluyd. We have thus only adifference of four
years, and certain it is that Earl Malcolm was in Galloway,and evidently located
there as one in possession. In the Burnt Njal we findthe following: "They
(Norsemen) then sailed north to Berwick (the Sol-way), and laid up their ship,
and fared up into Whithorn in Scotland, andwere with Earl Malcolm that
year." . . .Another point certain from close investigation is, that Jarl
(Earl) Thor-finn (son of Sigurd II.) ruled over Galloway in 1034, the time
mentioned,and continued to do so until his death in 1064 or 1066 [1057]. In
1034he was twenty-seven years of age. In Scottish history we learn nothing ofhim,
although in possession of a large part of Scotland. During his lifetimehe ruled
Galloway from Solway to Carrick. The Flateyjarbok contains theOrkneyinga Saga
complete in successive portions: and in Munch's Historieet Chronican Manniae,
Earl Thorfinn is distinctly mentioned.It is also related that the Earl Gille had
married a sister of Sigurd II.,and acted as his lieutenant in the Sudreys. He is
said to have resided atKoln, either the island of Coll or Colonsay; and when
Sigurd fell at Clon-tarf in 1014, he took Thorfinn, the youngest son, under his
protection, whilethe elder brothers went to the Orkneys, and divided the
northern dominions
"Even at so late a period as the reign of Robert Bruce, the CASTLE
of Irvine was accounted to be in Galloway. There is reason to suppose that a
people of Saxon origin encroached by degrees on the ancient Galloway. The names
of places in Cuningham are generally Saxon. The name of the country itself is
Saxon. In Kyle there is some mixture of Saxon. All the names in Carrick are
purely Gaelic."--Lord Hailes, Annals of Scotland, vol. i., p. 118.
"In this manner closed the dominion of the Norsemen
over Galloway and such parts along the Solway shore of Dumfriesshire as they had
been able to hold by force. Their strength ever lay in their ships, but of their
handiwork some traces probably remain in a peculiar kind of cliff tower, which
may be seen at various parts of the coast, such as CASTLE
Feather and Cardhidoun near the Isle of Whithorn, and Port
CASTLE
on the shore of Glasser-ton parish."--Maxwell, pp. 43, 44.
SCOTTISH HISTORY IN THE ENGLISH OR ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE
..........came in Tostig the earl from beyond sea into the Isle of Wight, with so great a
fleet as he might procure; and there they yielded him as well money as food. And
king Harold, his brother, gathered so great a ship-force, and also a land-force,
as no king here in the land had before done; because it was made known to him
that William the Bastard would come hither and win this land; all as it afterward
happened. And the while, came Tostig the earl into Humber with sixty ships; and
Eadwine the earl came with a land-force and drove him out. And the boatmen
forsook him; and he went to Scotland with twelve smacks. And there met him Harald
king of Norway with three hundred ships; and Tostig submitted to him and became
his man. And they then went both into Humber, until they came to York; and there
fought against them Eadwine the earl, and Morkere the earl, his brother:
butthe Normen had the victory. Then was it made known to Harold king of Angles
that this had thus happened: and this battle was on the vigil of St.Matthew.
Then came Harold our king unawares on the Northmen, and metwith them beyond
York, at Stanford-bridge, with a great army of English peo-ple; and there during
the day was a very severe fight on both sides. There was slain Harald Harfagri
["the Fairhaired"], and Tostig the earl; and the Northmen who were
there remaining were put to flight; and the English from behind hotly smote them,
until they came, some, to their ships, some were drowned, and also burned; and
thus in divers ways they perished, so that there were few left: and the English
had possession of the place of carnage.The king then gave his protection to Olaf,
son of the king of the Nor-wegians, and to their bishop, and to the earl of
Orkney, and to all those who were left in the ships: and they then went up to our
king and swore oaths that they ever would observe peace and friendship towards
this land; and the king let them go home with twenty-four ships. These two great
battles were fought within five days. Then came William count of Normandy into Pevensey, on the eve of St. Michael's mass: and soon after they
were on their way, they constructed a CASTLE at
Hasting's-port. This was then made known to king Harold, and he then gathered a
great force, and came to meet him at the hoar apple-tree; and William came
against him unawares, before his people were set in order. But the king
nevertheless strenuously fought against him with those men who would follow him;
and there was great slaughter made on either hand. There was slain king Harold,
and Leofwine the earl, his brother, and Gyrth the earl, his brother, and many
good
men; and all the Frenchmen had possession of the place of car-nage, all as God
granted them for the people's sins. Archbishop Ealdred
1067. This year the king came back to England on St. Nicholas's mass-day, and on
that day Christ's Church, Canterbury, was consumed by fire. Bishop Wulfwig also
died, and lies buried at his see of Dorchester. Child Eadric and the Britons
were hostile this year, and fought with the men of the CASTLE
at Hereford, to whom they did much harm. The king this year imposed a heavy tax
on the unfortunate people; but, notwithstanding, he let his men plunder all the
country which they passed through: after which he marched to Devonshire and
besieged Exeter eighteen days. Many of his army were slain there: but he had
promised them well and performed ill: the citizens surrendered the city, because
the thanes had betrayed them. This summer the child Eadgar, with his mother
Agatha, his sisters Margaret and Christina, Maerleswegen and several good men,
went to Scotland under the protection of king Malcolm, who received them all.18
Then it was that king Malcolm desired to have Margaret to wife: but the child
Eadgar and all his men refused for a long time; and she herself also was
unwilling, saying that she would have neither him nor any other person, if God
would allow her to serve him with her carnal heart, in strict continence, during
this short life. But the king urged her brother until he said yes; and indeed he
did not dare to refuse, for they were now in Malcolm's power. So that the
marriage was now fulfilled, as God had foreordained, and it could not be
otherwise, as he says in the Gospel, that not a sparrow falls to the ground,
without his foreshowing. The prescient Creator knew long before what he would do
with her, namely that she should increase the Glory of God in this land, lead
the king out of the wrong into the right path, bring him and his
This year Harold's mother, Githa, and the wives of many good men with her, went
to the Flatholm, and there abode some time; and afterwards went from thence over
the sea to St. Omer's.This Easter the king came to Winchester; and Easter was
then on the tenth day of the Kalends of April. Soon after this the lady Matilda
came to this country, and archbishop Ealdred consecrated her queen at
West-minster on Whitsunday. It was then told the king, that the people of the
North had gathered together and would oppose him there. Upon this he went to
Nottingham, and built a CASTLE there, and then
advanced to York, where he built two CASTLEs: he then did the same at Lincoln,
and everywhere in those parts. Then earl Gospatric and all the best men went into
Scotland. During these things one of Harold's sons came with a fleet from
Ireland unexpectedly into the mouth of the river Avon, and soon harried all that
neighborhood. They went to Bristol, and would have stormed the town, but the
inhabitants opposed them bravely. Seeing they could get nothing from the town,
they went to their ships with the booty they had got by plun-dering, and went to
Somersetshire, where they went up the country. Eadnoth, the constable fought with
them, but he was slain there, and many good men on both sides; and those who were
left departed thence. A. 1068. This year king William gave the earldom of
Northumberl and to earl Robert, but the men of that country surrounded him in the
burgh atDurham and slew him and 900 others with him. And then Eadgar aethel-ing
marched with all the Northumbrians to York, and the townsmen treated with him; on
which king William came from the south with all his army,and sacked the town,
and slew many hundred persons. He also profaned St. Peter's monastery, and all
other places, and the aetheling went back to Scotland.After this came Harold's
sons from Ireland, about midsummer, with sixty-four ships and entered the mouth
of the Taw, where they incautiously landed. Earl Brian came upon them unawares
with a large army, and slewall their bravest men: the others escaped to their
ships, and Harold's sons went back again to Ireland.A. 1069. This year died
Ealdred archbishop of York, and he lies buried in' his episcopal see. He died on
the festival of Prothus and Hyacinthus, having held the see with much honor ten
years, all but fifteen weeks. Soon after this, three of the sons of king Svein
came from Denmark with240 ships, together with jarl Asbiorn and jarl Thorkell,
into the Humber; where they were met by child Eadgar and earl Waltheof, and
Maerleswegen,
and earl Gospatric with the men of Northumberland and all the landsmen, riding
and marching joyfully with an immense army; and so they went to York, demolished
the CASTLE, and gained there large treasures.
They also slew many hundred Frenchmen, and carried off many prisoners to their
ships; but, before the shipmen came thither, the Frenchmen had burned the city,
and plundered and burnt St. Peter's monastery. When the king heard of this, he
went northward with all the troops he could collect, and laid waste all the
shire; whilst the fleet lay all the winter in the Humber, where the king could
not get at them. The king was at York on midwinter's day, remaining on land all
the winter, and at Easter he came to Winchester.
1075. This year king William went over sea to Normandy; and child Eadgar came
into Scotland from Flanders on St. Grimbald's mass-day. King Malcolm and
Margaret his sister received him there with much pomp. Also Philip, king of
France, sent him a letter inviting him to come, and offering to give him the CASTLE
of Montreuil, as a place to annoy his enemies from. After this, king Malcolm and
his sister Margaret gave great presents and much treasure to him and his men,
skins adorned with purple, marten-skin, weasel-skin and ermine-skin-pelisses,
mantles, gold and silver vessels, and escorted them out of their dominions with
much ceremony. But evil befell them at sea; for they had hardly left the shore,
when such rough weather came on, and the sea and wind drove them with such force
upon the land, that their ships went to pieces and they saved their lives with
much difficulty. They lost nearly all their riches and some of their men were
taken by the French: but the boldest of them escaped back to Scotland, some on
foot and some mounted on wretched horses. King Malcolm advised Eadgar to send to
king William beyond the sea, and pray his peace. Eadgar did so, and the king
acceded to his request and sent to fetch him. Again, king Malcolm and his sister
made them handsome presents, and escorted them with honor out of their
dominions. The shire-reeve of York met him at Durham, and went all the way with
him, ordering him to be provided with food and fodder at all the CASTLEs which
they came to, until they reached the king beyond the sea. There king William
received him with much pomp, and he remained at the court, enjoying such
privileges as the king granted him.
1092. This year king William went northward to Carlisle with a large army, and
he repaired the city, and built the CASTLE. And
he drove out Dolphin, who had before governed that land; and having placed a
garrison in the CASTLE, he returned into the
south, and sent a great number of country folk thither, with their wives and
cattle, that they might settle there and cultivate the land.
FROM MALCOLM CANMORE TO KING DAVID
The Scottish king invaded England again in 1079 and wasted the country as far as
the river Tyne. The following year William sent an army against the Scots under
the leadership of his son Robert, who, after meeting with some reverses, was
fain to content himself with the erection of a fortress near the Tyne, which was
called New CASTLE. William died in 1087, and
four years later the king of the Scots again invaded England, taking his army
some distance south of New CASTLE. In the same
year (1091) William Rufus, son and successor of the Conqueror, prepared to
invade Scotland with a large fleet and army. His ships were destroyed by a storm
before they reached Scotland, but the army proceeded by land, and on nearing the
borders of the two kingdoms, was confronted at "Lothene in England "5
by Malcolm, in command of a large force. Here, through the efforts of Edgar
AEtheling and Earl Robert, brother of William Rufus, a treaty of peace was
concluded between the two monarchs and the armies were both withdrawn from the
border.
However, the conditions of this peace not being carried out by William Rufus to
the entire satisfaction of Malcolm, an interview for a further consideration of
the matter was arranged between the two kings, which took place at Gloucester in
August, 1093. At this meeting William desired Malcolm to do homage to him as
liegeman for the territories which the latter held in England. Malcolm declined
to perform homage in the interior of England, such a course being derogatory to
his dignity as an independent sovereign; but offered to do so on the frontiers,
and in presence of the chief men of both kingdoms. This proposition not being
satisfactory to William, the interview was accordingly terminated, with bitter
feeling on both sides. Malcolm, on returning home, immediately assembled an army
and again invaded Northumberland with his wonted ferocity. On this occasion,
while besieging the CASTLE of Alnwick in that
country, he was slain by Robert de Moubray. His second son, Edward, perished
with him. Malcolm's surviving children by his second wife were Ethelred, Edmund,
Edgar, Alexander, David, Matildis, or Maud, who afterwards became the wife of
Henry I. of England, and Mary, who married Eustace, Count of Boulogne.
The next year, Stephen being absent in Normandy, David again prepared to invade
Northumberland, claiming the lordship of that district in the name of his son,
Prince Henry, by fight of his descent from Waltheof, the deceased Earl of
Northumberland, father of David's wife. However, he was prevailed upon to grant
a truce until Stephen should return out of Normandy. The latter, on reaching
England, rejected David's claim, and in 1137 the king of the Scots invaded
Northumberland with a large army, one division being under command of his
nephew, William, son of Duncan, and the other commanded by the king in person
and his son. They assaulted the CASTLE of Wark
but were unable to carry it.
On the 22d of August, 1138, the armies met near North
Allerton, and the celebrated Battle of the Standard was fought, which resulted
in the defeat of the Scottish army.12 David retired to Carlisle with his
depleted forces; but shortly afterwards led them to the siege of Wark
CASTLE,
and succeeded in reducing that stronghold by famine.
1138. William, the son of Duncan, nephew of David king of Scotland, with part of
the army of the same David, assailed, with nocturnal treachery, the CASTLE
which is called Carrum, in the land of the king of England, and, destroying the
country all around, began to attack it by storm. Afterward, the king himself,
with Henry his son, and a greater army, coming thither, and trying the
endeavours of all their force, attempted to carry the town by engines which
throw stones and other machines, and, by various attacks, and thereafter
besieged it three weeks. But he profited nothing, nay rather, God assisting,
each of his attempts was turned against himself. Now the king, perceiving his
labour there to be fruitless, and a grievous loss to him and his from day to day
to grow, inflamed with indignation and anger; at length, leaving the town,
hastened, with all his multitude, to destroy Northumberland. Therefore that
detestable army, more atrocious than every kind of pagans, carrying reverence
neither to god nor to men, having plundered the whole province, everywhere
killed persons of each sex, of every age and condition, destroyed, pillaged,
burned towns, churches, houses. For men sick in bed, and women pregnant, and in
the act of delivery, and infants in cradles, and other innocents, between the
breasts and in the bosoms of their mothers, with the mothers themselves, and
decrepit old men, and worn out old women, and all other feeble persons from
whatever cause where they were found, they killed with the point of the sword,
or thrust through with their lances: And by how much the more miserable kind of
death they could destroy them, by so much the more they
Malcolm IV., son of Prince Henry, succeeded to his grandfather's throne, being
at that time twelve years of age. His reign was inaugurated by an insurrection
which was organized by Somerled, the father-in-law of Malcolm Mac Heth, who
invaded Scotland with the sons of that Malcolm, and committed many depredations.
One of these sons, Donald, was captured at Whithorn in Galloway, in 1156, and
imprisoned with his father in Rox-burgh CASTLE.
In 1157 King Malcolm surrendered to Henry II., then king of England, all Crown
possessions in the northern counties of that country, including the earldoms of
Northumberland, Cumberland, and Huntingdon, and received in return Henry's
acknowledgment of his own title to Huntingdon, which presumably belonged by
inheritance to Malcolm's youngest brother, David.
WILLIAM THE LION
The following year William, while still in Northumberland, was one day riding
with a small party of mounted attendants in a field near Alnwick
CASTLE,
when he came up with a body of horsemen whom at first he mistook for Scots; but
who proved to be a company of Yorkshire barons. They had ridden to the North,
intending to render such assistance as they could in opposing the Scots, and now
bore down upon the Scottish knights, making some of them prisoners. Among these
captives they were astonished to find King William himself.1 They immediately
carried him off to the South and delivered him to the English king.
Henry was fully aware of the value of such a capture, and had had sufficient
provocation to lead him to make the most of it. Accordingly he had the Scots'
king conveyed to the strong CASTLE of Falaise in
Normandy, where he would be unable to communicate with his subjects in Scotland.
Henry then proposed, as the condition for William's release, that he himself be
given sovereignty over all Scotland; and that William should become Henry's
vassal for that country, as he was already for his English earldoms. Although
this involved an entire surrender of independence on the part of Scotland, the
King of the Scots was fain to accept the terms proposed; and
In 1196 William De Moreville, constable of Scotland, having died, Roland, lord
of Galloway, who had married De Moreville's sister, succeeded him. The same year
a revolt occurred in Caithness, some of the Norse inhabitants having arisen
under the lead of Harald, Earl of Orkney and Caithness. William suppressed the
rebellion by marching an army into that district; but the attempt was repeated
the following year, when the rebels appeared in arms under the command of Torfin,
son of Harald. William again marched to the North, and having seized Harald held
him until his son Torfin surrendered himself as a hostage. The same year (1197)
William built the CASTLE of Ayr, as a menace to
the turbulent Galwegians.
1. "1174. Immediately after the close of Easter, the King of Scotland
marched his army into Northumberland, and there, by his Scots and Galwegians,
acted execrably. For they divided pregnant women, and threw the extracted
foetuses upon the points of their lances. They slew boys, young and old, and
infants of each sex, from the greatest to the least, without any ransom or
mercy. They also mangled the priests and clerks, in the very churches, upon the
altars. Whatever things, therefore, the Scots and Galwegians reached, all were
full of horror and cruelty. In the meantime the king of Scotland with his army
besieged Carlisle .... And thence departing, besieged the CASTLE
of Prudehou, of Ordenel de Dunfranville; but was not able to take it: For the
army of Yorkshire made ready to come upon him. Now the leaders of this army were
Robert de Stuteville, and William his son, and William de Vesci, and Randal de
Glanvilla, and Randal de Thilli; and Bernard de Balliol, and Odenel de
Dunfranville. When this was announced to the king of Scotland, he left the CASTLE,
which he had besieged, and flying thence came to Alnwick, and besieged it, and
sent thence the Earl Duncan, and the Earl of Angus, and Richard de Morville,
THE SECOND AND THIRD ALEXANDERS TO JOHN BALIOL
Alexander retaliated by laying waste the western borders with fire and sword. He
burned the monastery of Holmcultram in Cumberland, took possession of Carlisle,
and assaulted Bernard CASTLE. King John's death
occurring shortly afterwards, the war was soon brought to a close; and Carlisle
was surrendered back to the English.
In 1233, John de Baliol, Lord of Bernard CASTLE,
married Dervergoyll, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, and of Margaret, cousin
to King Alexander. Through this union arose the claim of the Baliols to the
Scottish throne. The same year Alan of Galloway died, leaving three heiresses:
Helen, wife of Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester; Dervergoyll, wife of John
Baliol; and Christian, wife of William des Forts, son of the Earl of Albemarle.
The Galwegians, unwilling to have their country parcelled out to the various
Anglo-Norman barons who had married the heiresses, now besought the king to
attach that district to the possessions of the Scottish Crown. Failing in this,
they next requested that Thomas, the bastard son of Alan, who had married the
daughter of the king of Man, be appointed as his
In 1255, the leaders of the opposition party, among whom were Patrick, Earl of
March, Malise, Earl of Strathern, Nigel, Earl of Carrick, Robert de Brus,
Alexander the Steward, and Alan Durward, having surprised Edinburgh CASTLE
and seized the persons of the king and queen, constituted themselves wardens of
the royal couple and regents of the kingdom. In this they had the active
cooperation of Henry III. of England, who with an army marched toward the
Scottish borders. An interview between the two kings was held at Roxburgh in
September, 1255, when it was arranged that the following persons should act as
regents of the kingdom during the Scottish king's minority: Richard Inverkeithen,
Bishop of Dunkeld; Peter de Ramsay, Bishop of Aberdeen; Malcolm, Earl of Fife;
Patrick, Earl of Dunbar or March; Malise, Earl of Strathern; Nigel, Earl of
Carrick; Alexander the Steward of Scotland; Robert de Brus; Alan Durward; Walter
de Moray; David de Lindesay; William de Brechin; Robert de Meyners; Gilbert de
Hay; and Hugh Gifford.
each side, as is the wont of courtiers, she besought him to
stay and hunt, and walk about; and seeing that he was rather unwilling to do so,
she by force, so to speak, with her own hand, made him pull up, and brought the
knight, although very loath, to her CASTLE of
Turnberry with her. After dallying there, with his followers, for the space of
fifteen days or more, he clandes-tinely took the countess to wife; while the
friends and well-wishers of both knew nothing about it, nor had the king's
consent been got at all in the matter. Therefore the common belief of the whole
country was that she had seized--by force, as it were--this youth for her
husband. But when this came to King Alexander's ears, he took the CASTLE
of Turnberry, and made all her other lands and possessions be acknowledged as in
his hands, because she had wedded with Robert of Bruce without having consulted
his royal majesty. By means of the prayers of friends, however, and by a certain
sum of money agreed upon, this Robert gained the king's goodwill, and the whole
domain. Of Martha, by God's providence, he begat a son, who was to be the
savior, champion, and king of the bruised Scottish people, as the course of the
history will show forth; and his father's name, Robert, was given him.
WALLACE AND BRUCE
March 26, 1296, the king of the Scots having assembled a large force, and
relying too strongly upon the fair promises of his new ally, began open
hostilities against the English by an invasion of Cumberland. He assaulted
Carlisle, but was obliged to retreat without effecting its reduction. About ten
days later his army entered Northumberland, whence, after burning some
ecclesiastical posts and making an unsuccessful attempt against the CASTLE
of Harbottle, it retired empty-handed. Edward, in the meantime, led a strong sea
and land force against Berwick. After capturing that town and butchering the
garrison and inhabitants,1 he forced the capitulation of the CASTLE.
Baliol at this time formally renounced his allegiance to Edward.
The latter soon afterwards sent a strong body of troops under Earl Warren to
invest Dunbar CASTLE; and the Scottish army,
marching to its relief, encountered the English before that stronghold. Warren's
forces repulsed and defeated the Scots with great slaughter. King Edward and the
remainder of his army coming up the next day, the garrison of the CASTLE
surrendered. Roxburgh CASTLE was soon afterwards
yielded up to the English by James, the Steward of Scotland. The CASTLEs of
Edinburgh and Stirling were likewise surrendered with little resistance. These
operations placed Edward in control of the kingdom; and before the middle of the
following July (1296) Baliol surrendered, acknowledged himself a rebel, went
through a humiliating public penance, and resigned the government of Scotland
entirely to Edward.
In William Wallace, however, his countrymen found the incarnation of all those
noble and heroic traits apotheosized in the reputed character of the mythical
Tell. Scorning submission to the English, resolutely determined to free his
country from Edward's grasp, and perhaps lacking only the opportunity to mete
out fitting punishment to those barons who had deserted their nation's cause,5
Wallace did not for a moment relax his efforts to make the revolution general,
nor cease in his hostile operations against the invaders. Notwithstanding the
defection of the barons, his army continued daily to increase in strength and
numbers. He laid siege to the CASTLE of Dundee.
While there, he received intelligence of the English army's movement toward
Stirling. Hastening with all his forces to the passage of the Forth, he there
posted his troops on the north bank of the river and prepared to intercept the
progress of the enemy. On September 12, 1297, the English approached, fifty
thousand strong,6 and attempted to cross over on the long, narrow bridge which
at that place spanned the channel. They were led by Hugh de Cressingham, King
Edward's Treasurer for Scotland. A considerable body, consisting of about half
the English force, soon passed the bridge, and then made ready to form on the
other side. Wallace, awaiting this opportunity, instantly pounced down upon them
with the Scots, cut off their communication with the other side, and at once
charged on the divided body with all his forces. Taking them at such a
disadvantage, his onslaught was irresistible and proved sufficient to carry the
day. Cressingham was slain; his troops were mown down like blades of grass; and
such as escaped death by the sword were pushed into the river and drowned. A
panic seized the remainder of the English soldiers on the south bank of the
river. They burned the bridge, abandoned their baggage, fled in terror to
Berwick, hastened on into England, and Scotland was once more free.
This brilliant success was immediately followed
by the surrender of Dundee CASTLE and the
evacuation of Berwick; and then Wallace led his victorious army into England and
wasted all the country as far south as Newcastle. Soon returning, he organized a
regency, proclaimed himself
During the progress of these operations Edward had been absent in Flanders. Upon
his return in the early part of the year 1298, having first vainly summoned the
Scottish barons to meet him in a Parliament at York, he assembled an army and
marched toward the Border.7 At this time, as we have seen, Wallace had the
active support of but a few of the Scottish noblemen, the great majority being
deterred from taking up arms through fear of Edward or by reason of their
jealousy of Wallace. Among his followers, however, were John Comyn of Badenoch,
Sir John Stewart of Bon-kill, brother to the Steward, Sir John Graham of
Abercorn, Macduff, the granduncle of the Earl of Fife, and young Robert Bruce,
Earl of Carrick. The leader last named guarded the CASTLE
of Ayr.
Edward now marched into the West, stopping first to repair Stirling
CASTLE
which had been burned by the Scots, and then proceeding into Annan-dale. At his
approach, it is said, Bruce burned the CASTLE of
Ayr and retired. Edward thereupon seized Bruce's CASTLE
of Lochmaben in Dumfries, wherein were confined the hostages given in 1297 as
pledges for the loyalty of Galloway.
After the disastrous defeat at Falkirk, Wallace resigned his office as governor
of Scotland, and in the summer of 1299, William Lamberton, Bishop of St.
Andrews, Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and John Comyn of Badenoch, the younger,
were chosen guardians of the kingdom in his place. Soon afterwards they besieged
and took Stirling CASTLE. From this time on the
name of Wallace as a national leader disappears from the records of the councils
and conflicts of Scotland.
For some time after that the Earl of Carrick acted a very dubious part.
Heming-burgh says that "when he heard of the king's coming [westward, after
Falkirk], he fled from his face and burnt the CASTLE
of Ayr which he held." But the testimony of both English and Scottish
chroniclers is of little value, for it was the object of both, with different
motives, to make it appear that Bruce attached himself early to the national
cause. There is extant a letter written by Bruce from Turnberry
CASTLE
on July 3d, apparently in this year, to Sir John de Langton, Chancellor of
England, begging a renewal of the protection to three knights who were with him
on the king's service in Galloway. Again, in another document, undated, but
apparently written in the late autumn of 1298, Bruce is commanded by King Edward
to bring 1000 picked men of Galloway and Carrick to join an expedition about to
be made into Scotland. However, as there is some doubt about the date of these
papers, Bruce's attitude during 1298 must be held to be uncertain. It is to be
noted, however, that when Edward, on returning to England after his victory at
Falkirk, made grants of land in Scotland to his followers, Annandale and Carrick,
held by the elder and younger Bruce, were not among the lands so disposed of.
Nevertheless, the Bruces do not seem to have been in possession of Annandale at
this time, for in 1299 Sir Alan FitzWarin defended Lochmaben
CASTLE
against the Earl of Carrick from 1st to 25th August. This was the immediate
outcome of a notable arrangement come to during that summer, whereby the Earl of
Carrick (whom, to avoid confusion, I may hereafter designate by his modern title
of Bruce), William de Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, and John Comyn of
Badenoch (the "Red Comyn") constituted themselves guardians of
Scotland in the name of King John (de Balliol). Bruce, as the principal
guardian, was to have custody of the CASTLEs, but he appears to have been still
wavering, for we hear nothing definite of his movements till after the year
1300,
JOHN OF FORDUN'S ANNALS OF WALLACE AND BRUCE XCVIII RISE AND
FIRST START OF WILLIAM WALLACE
In the year 1297 the fame of William Wallace was spread all abroad, and, at
length, reached the ears of the king of England; for the loss brought upon his
people was crying out. As the king, however, was intent upon many troublesome
matters elsewhere, he sent his treasurer, named Hugh of Cres-singham, with a
large force to repress this William's boldness, and to bring the kingdom of
Scotland under his sway. When, therefore, he heard of this man's arrival, the
aforesaid William, then busy besieging the English who were in Dundee
CASTLE,
straightway intrusted the care and charge of the siege of the CASTLE
to the burgesses of that town on pain of loss of life and limb, and with his
army marched on, with all haste, towards Strivelyn [Stirling] to meet this Hugh.
A battle was then fought, on the 11th of September near Strivelyn, at the bridge
over the Forth. Hugh of Cressingham was killed, and all his army put to flight;
some of them were slain with the sword, others taken, others drowned in the
waters. But, through God, they were all overcome; and the aforesaid William
gained a happy victory, with no little praise. Of the nobles, on his sided the
noble Andrew of Moray alone, the father of Andrew, fell wounded.
from days of old, to the throne of Scotland. But Baldred, in
a lucid discourse, shortly answered all his arguments, plainly showing, by
strong proofs and very clear evidence, that they were utterly devoid of
truth--as may be seen in his pleading. The same year, a CASTLE,
viz., the Pel de Lithcu [Peel of Linlithgow], was built by the king of
England.
The same year, after the whole Estates of Scotland had made their submission to
the king of England, John Comyn, then guardian, and all the magnates but William
Wallace, little by little, one after another, made their submission unto him;
and all their CASTLEs and towns--except Strivelyn [Stirling]
CASTLE,
and the warden thereof--were surrendered unto him. That year, the king kept Lent
at Saint Andrews, where he called together all the great men of the kingdom, and
held his parliament; and he made such decrees as he would, according to the
state of the country--which, as he thought, had been gotten and won for him and
his successors forever--as well as about the dwellers therein.
Just after Easter, in the year 1304, that same king besieged Strivelyn
[Stirling] CASTLE for three months without a break. For
this siege, he commanded all the lead of the refectory of Saint Andrews to be
pulled down, and had it taken away for the use of his engines. At last, the
aforesaid CASTLE was surrendered and delivered
unto him on certain conditions, drawn up in writing, and sealed with his seal.
But when he had got the CASTLE, the king belied
his troth, and broke through the conditions: for William Oliphant, the warden
thereof, he threw bound into prison in London, and kept him a long time in
thrall. The same year, when both great and small in the kingdom of Scotland
(except William Wallace alone) had made their submission unto him; when the
surrendered CASTLEs and fortified towns which had formerly been broken down and
knocked to pieces, had been all rebuilt, and he had appointed wardens of his own
therein; and after all and sundry of Scottish birth had tendered him homage, the
king, with the Prince of Wales, and his whole army, returned to England. He
left, however, the chief warden as his lieutenant, to amend and control the
lawlessness of all the rest, both Scots and English. He did not show his face in
Scotland after this.
The same year, while this king was fleeing from his foes, and lurking with his
men, in the borders of Athol and Argyle, he was again beaten and put to flight,
on the 11th of August, at a place called Dalry. But there, also, he did not lose
many of his men. Nevertheless, they were all filled with fear, and were
dispersed and scattered throughout various places. But the queen fled to Saint
Duthac in Ross, where she was taken by William, Earl of Ross, and brought to the
king of England; and she was kept a prisoner in close custody, until the battle
of Bannockburn. Nigel of Bruce, however, one of the king's brothers, fled, with
many ladies and damsels, to Kyndrumie [Kildrummie] CASTLE,
and was there welcomed, with his companions. But, the same year, that CASTLE
was made over to the English through treachery, and Nigel, and other nobles of
both sexes, were taken prisoners, brought to Berwick, and suffered capital
punishment. The same year, Thomas and Alexander of Bruce, brothers of the
aforesaid king, while hastening towards Carrick by another road, were taken at
Loch Ryan, and beheaded at Carlisle --and, thus, all who had gone away and left
the king, were, in that same year, either bereft of life, or taken and thrown
into prison.
now left alone in the islands; now alone, fleeing before his enemies; now
slighted by his servants; he abode in utter loneliness. An outcast among the
nobles, he was forsaken; and the English bade him be sought for through the
churches like a lost or stolen thing. And thus he became a byword and a
laughing-stock for all, both far and near, to hiss at. But when he had borne
these things for nearly a year alone, God, at length, took pity on him; and,
aided by the help and power of a certain noble lady, Christiana of the Isles,
who wished him well, he, after endless toils, smart, and distress, got back, by
a roundabout way, to the earldom of Carrick. As soon as he had reached that
place, he sought out one of his CASTLEs, slew the inmates thereof, destroyed the
CASTLE, and shared the arms and other spoils
among his men. Then, being greatly gladdened by such a beginning after his long
spell of ill-luck, he got together his men, who had been scattered far and wide;
and, crossing the hills with them in a body, he got as far as Inverness, took
the CASTLE thereof with a strong hand, slew its
garrison, and levelled it with the ground. In this .very way dealt he with the
rest of the CASTLEs and strongholds established in the north, as well as with
their inmates, until he got, with his army, as far as Slenach [Slaines].
The same year, within a week after the Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary,
the king overcame the men of Argyle, in the middle of Argyle, and subdued the
whole land unto himself. Their leader, named Alexander of Argyle, fled to
Dunstafinch [Dunstaffnage] CASTLE, where he was,
for some time besieged by the king. On giving up the CASTLE
to the king, he refused to do him homage. So a safe-conduct was given to him,
and to all who wished to withdraw with him; and he fled to England, where he
paid the debt of nature.
ROXBURGH CASTLE TAKEN BY JAMES OF DOUGLAS
On Fasten's Even, in the year 1313, Roxburgh CASTLE
was happily taken by the Lord James of Douglas, and, on the 14th of March,
Edinburgh CASTLE, by the Lord Thomas Randolph,
Earl of Moray; and their foes were overcome. The same year, the king entered the
Isle of Man, took the CASTLEs thereof, and victoriously brought the land under
his sway.
The same year, a few days after their retreat, the king of Scotland besieged
Norham CASTLE, and, soon after, Alnwick CASTLE,
one after the other; and, in that siege of Norham, William of Montealt, knight,
John of Clap-ham, and Robert of Dobery, were killed through their own want of
skill. The same year, on the. 17th of March, ambassadors were sent by the king
of England to the king of Scotland, at Edinburgh, to arrange and treat for a
firm and lasting peace, which should abide for all time. So, after sundry
negotiations, and the many and various risks of war incurred by both kingdoms,
the aforesaid kings there came to an understanding together about an
indissoluble peace; and the chiefs and worthies of either kingdom tendered their
oaths thereto, which were to last unshaken for all time, swearing upon the soul
of each king faithfully to keep all and sundry things, as they are more fully
contained under certain articles of the instruments thereof, drawn up on either
side as to the form of the peace. And, that it might be a true peace, which
should go on without end between them, and between their respective successors,
the king of Scotland, of his own free and unbiassed will, gave and granted
30,000 merks in cash to the king of England, for the losses he himself had
brought upon the latter and his kingdom; and the said king of England gave his
sister, named Joan, to King Robert's son and heir, David, to wife, for the
greater security of peace, and the steady fostering of the constancy of love.
By examining the dates of
instruments in Prynne and Rymer, we may, with tolerable exactness, ascertain the
progress of Edward during this fatal year: At Rokesburgh, 21st May, 1303;
Edinburgh, 4th June; Linlithgow, 6th June; Clackmannan, 12th June; Perth, 28th
June-l0th July; An instrument in Foedera, t. ii. p. 934, is dated Perth, 10th
June, 1303; but this is a mistake instead of 10th July, as will appear from
comparing it with a relative instrument (ibid.), Aberdeen, 24th August; Kinlos
in Moray, 20th September-10th October; Dundee, 20th October; Kinros,
(erroneously printed Kinlos,) 10th November; Dumfermline, 11th December. Hence
we may conclude that Edward crossed the Forth near Clackmannan, and that the
siege of the CASTLE of Brechin happened in the
interval between 10th July and 24th August. As Edward was at Aberdeen 24th
August, and at Kinlos in Moray 20th September and 10th October, there is a
probability, at least, that he never marched his army into Caithness. While
residing in Moray, he had a view of the coast of Caithness. He may, perhaps,
have crossed over in a ship, from curiosity. This may account for the expression
of historians, "that Edward went as far north as Caithness." The truth
is, that, at that time, the country to the north of Ross-shire was of small
account in the political system of Scotland--Hailes, Annals of Scotland, vol. i,
p. 303.
"They were, William of Lambyrton, Bishop of St Andrew's; Robert Wisheart,
Bishop of Glasgow; the Abbot of Scone; the four brothers of Bruce, Edward,
Nigel, Thomas, and Alexander; his nephew, Thomas Randolph of Strathdon; his
brother-in-law, Christopher Seaton of Seaton; Malcolm (5th) Earl of Lennox; John
of Strathbogie (l0th) Earl of Athole; Sir James Douglas; Gilbert de la Haye of
Errol, and his brother Hugh de la Haye; David Barclay of Cairns of Fife;
Alexander Fraser, brother of Simon Fraser of Oliver CASTLE;
Walter de Somerville of Linton and Carnwath; David of Inchmartin; Robert Boyd;
and Robert Fleming; Randolph, afterwards Earl of Moray; Seaton, ancestor of the
Duke of Gordon, Earl of Winton, Earl of Dunfermline, and Viscount Kingston; De
la Haye, of Earl of Errol; Fraser of Lord Lovat and Lord Salton; Somerville, of
Lord Somerville; Inchmartin, of Earl of Findlater, Earl of Airley, and Lord
Banff; Boyd, of Earl of Kilmarnock; Fleming of Earl of Wigton. Matth. Westm., p.
452, adds Alan Earl of Mentieth. Nigel Campbell, the predecessor of the Duke of
Argyle, etc., and Fraser of Oliver CASTLE, were
also engaged in the cause; but it does not appear that they assisted at the
coronation of Robert I.--To this list David Moray, Bishop of Moray, might be
added. The English asserted that he preached to the people of his diocese, '
that it was no less meritorious to rise in arms for supporting the cause of
Bruce, than to engage in a crusade against the Saracens.' "--Hailes, Annals
of Scotland, vol ii., pp. 2, 3.
"June 24. The two nations fought. The English were totally routed. Edward
II. fled sixty miles without halting. The Earl of March threw open the gates of
his CASTLE of Dunbar to Edward, and conveyed him
by sea into England,
"The CASTLE of Stirling surrendered
according to treaty. Moubray, the governor, entered into the service of
Scotland.
"The CASTLE of Bothwell was besieged. The
Earl of Hereford, who had taken refuge there after the rout at Bannockburn,
capitulated.
FROM BRUCE TO FLODDEN
The Steward thereupon laid siege to Perth, where Baliol's forces were quartered,
and in August, 1339, it capitulated. During that year, Stirling and all the
northern CASTLEs were recovered, but those of
Edinburgh, Rox-burgh,
Jedburgh, Berwick, and others remained in the hands of the English.
Edinburgh CASTLE
was retaken in April, 1341.
In 1398, by reason of the infirmity or imbecility of King Robert III.,
Parliament appointed his oldest son, the Duke of Rothesay, as regent for three
years, under the title of Lieutenant of the Kingdom. Rothesay's uncle, the Duke
of Albany, plotted to destroy that prince, and in 1401 had him seized and
imprisoned in the CASTLE of Falkland, where he
died of starvation. Albany then resumed his former position as Governor of the
Kingdom.
In 1427, James, having restored order in the Lowlands, proceeded north to
Inverness, where he summoned the Lord of the Isles and fifty of the Highland
chiefs to attend his Parliament. They attended, were instantly seized and
imprisoned, and many of them were executed. The Lord of the Isles, having made
submission, was released. But immediately after the departure of the king he
revolted, and attacked Inverness. The king returned, fought and defeated him in
Lochaber, and kept up such a vigorous warfare against him that the insurgent was
obliged to surrender. In 1429 he was imprisoned in the CASTLE
of Tantallon.
In February, 1452, Douglas was invited to visit the king at
Stirling CASTLE, and he complied. After dining
and supping with the royal party, the king took him aside for a private
interview. During their conversation the subject of Douglas's bonds with the
Earls of Crawford and Ross was discussed. The king insisted that Douglas should
break these secret bonds, but this the latter declined to do. At last the king
drew his dagger, exclaimed, "This shall!" and twice stabbed his guest.
The nobles at hand then rushed upon the bleeding man and killed him outright.
Civil war at once broke out in the kingdom of Scotland. The new Earl of Douglas
and his brothers defied and scorned the king's authority, and burned and wasted
the country. After many fruitless efforts the king managed to muster an army,
and advanced in person against Douglas, entering his territory, and proceeding
through Peeblesshire, Selkirk Forest, Dum-fries, and Galloway. Douglas
CASTLE
was captured, and peace was concluded in August, 1452.
But the head of the house of Douglas once more united the territories of his
family by marrying his brother's widow. He conspired against the king, and
sought to overthrow the Stuart dynasty. The king raised an army and marched
again into the lands of Douglas, besieging and capturing the CASTLE
of Abercorn and other strongholds. Douglas was defeated at Arkinholm, one of his
brothers was killed, and another captured and beheaded. Douglas himself fled to
England, and the estates of the earldom were forfeited to the Crown. The Earl of
Angus, himself a Douglas, had stood by the king and rendered him important
service in this formidable contest. On him James conferred the title and estates
of the house, and it passed into a saying that "the Red Douglas had put
down the Black."
The Scottish army laid siege to
Roxburgh CASTLE,
at Berwick, which was still retained by the English. It finally capitulated; but
in 1460 King James
James III. was a prince of cultivated tastes but feeble character. He shrank
from the rude society of his peers, and surrounded himself with artists of
humble origin, whose influence and accomplishments excited the scorn and
animosity of the illiterate nobles. In 1482, many of the king's favorites were
murdered by the Earl of Angus and his associates at Lauder Bridge, and James
himself was imprisoned in Edinburgh CASTLE for a
season.
age, and understood his duties, he gave up these intrigues. When I arrived he
was keeping a lady with great state in a CASTLE.
He visited her from time to time. Afterwards he sent her to the house of her
father, who is a knight, and married her. He did the same with another lady by
whom he had had a son. It may be a year since he gave up, so at least it is
believed, his lovemaking, as well from fear of God, as from fear of scandal in
this world, which is thought very much of here. I can say with truth that he
esteems himself as much as though he were Lord of the world. He loves war so
much that I fear, judging by the provocation he receives, the peace will not
last long. War is profitable to him and to the country.
THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION
The Earl of Angus now returned, and with the concurrence of the Earl of Arran
and others, he became guardian of the king, and assumed the office of chancellor
of the kingdom; having obliged Archbishop Beaton to resign that post. The
latter, in 1528, organized a conspiracy, by means of which King James effected
his escape from the Douglases, and took refuge in the CASTLE
of Stirling. "This sudden reaction," says Buckle, "was not the
real and controlling cause, but it was undoubtedly the proximate cause
In 1525, Parliament prohibited the importation of Luther's books. In 1527,
Patrick Hamilton, who had been a disciple of Luther in Germany, returned home,
and began to promulgate his teachings. Early in the following year, he was
seized and imprisoned in the CASTLE of St. Andrews, where he was tried, convicted, and burned for heresy on February 29,
1528. In 1534, Gourly, a priest, and Straiton, a layman, were both condemned for
heresy, and hanged and burned.
Early on the morning of May 29, 1546, Norman Leslie, son of the Earl of Rothes,
with two other men, secretly gained admission to the CASTLE
of St. Andrews, where Beaton was then living. They were followed by James
Melville and three others, who asked an interview with the cardinal. Immediately
afterwards, Kirkaldy, Laird of Grange, approached, with eight armed men. They
aroused the suspicion of the porter at the gate, but he was instantly stabbed
and cast into the ditch. A few minutes later the party was within the walls of
the CASTLE. Its defenders and the workmen on the
ramparts were turned out with surprising alacrity, and all the gates shut and
guarded. The unusual noise aroused the cardinal from his bed, but he had taken
only a few steps when his enemies entered the room and ruthlessly murdered him.
Meanwhile the alarm was raised in the town. The common bell was rung. The cry
running through the city that the CASTLE was
taken, the cardinal's friends came rushing forward to scale the walls and rescue
him. "What have ye done with my Lord Cardinal?" they cried.
"Where is my Lord Cardinal? Have ye slain my Lord Cardinal? Let us see my
Lord Cardinal." They that were within bade them go home, for the cardinal
had received his reward and would trouble the world no more. The crowd still
insisted on seeing him, and the cardinal's body was brought to the blockhouse
head and lowered over the battlements by means of sheets tied to an arm and a
leg. The terrified citizens recognized their master, and dispersed to their
homes.
The determined band of conspirators who had slain the cardinal, joined by one
hundred and fifty of their friends, succeeded in holding the CASTLE
of St. Andrews against the regent for more than a year. No attempt was made to
reduce it until three months had passed, and then Arran laid siege to the CASTLE.
After several weeks' unavailing effort, he raised the siege
and departed. John Knox joined the garrison about ten months
after the cardinal's death. In the end of June, 1547, a number of French galleys
appeared off the coast, and the attack on the CASTLE
was renewed from the seaward side. This soon brought the defenders to
submission. The garrison surrendered to the French commander, and were conveyed
to France. A number, including the principal gentlemen, were distributed among
various French prisons. The remainder, of whom John Knox was one, were confined
on board the galleys. Here Knox, chained to his oar, lived and rowed as a galley
slave for nearly two years. In 1549, he obtained his liberty, came to England,
and preached at Berwick and NewCASTLE. He was appointed one of King Edward VI.'s
chaplains in 1551.
THE DAYS OF KNOX
George Gordon, fourth Earl of Huntly, and ruler of the Highland chieftains,
rebelled against the Government in the summer of 1562, during the visit of Mary
to his territories. The Forbes, Fraser, and Mackintosh clans, and others, who
had been under Huntly, now that they had the opportunity deserted his standard
and joined the queen. The gates of the CASTLE of
Inverness were closed against her, but the CASTLE
was soon taken, and the garrison hanged. When the royal party returned to
Aberdeen, Huntly and his retainers followed them. An engagement ensued at
Corrichie, in which Huntly was defeated and slain.
In June, 1566, Mary retired into the CASTLE of
Edinburgh, and there, on the 19th day of that month, James VI. of Scotland and
I. of England was born. Much sympathy has been lavished upon the unfortunate and
guilty queen of Scotland for her sufferings in after life, and the sad ending of
her troubles. Sympathy has not been lacking, also, for the unhappy Rizzio, who
perished because he was the queen's favorite. No doubt in their untimely deaths
they both expiated many of their crimes against society of their own day. But
the death of many Marys would not atone for the long and grievous burden of
oppression, persecution, and murder inflicted upon humanity during the next
century by the progeny of that ill-fated woman.
Darnley's destruction, which was signed by the Earls of Huntly, Argyle, Morton,
and others who took part in the conspiracy. The queen joined in the plot, and
was the chief instrument in luring her husband to his death. During Darnley's
convalescence she appeared very attentive to him, and for several nights slept
in a room below the one he occupied. By means of duplicate keys, which Bothwell
had caused to be made, the latter's agents had free access to the house. A
barrel of powder was sent for to Bothwell's CASTLE
of Dunbar, and a large quantity placed in the queen's room, directly under
Darnley's bed in the room above. On Sunday night, February 9th, the queen passed
from Holyrood and joined her husband. There was some conversation between them,
and then Mary recollected that she had promised to attend the ball to be held
that night in honor of the marriage of two of her servants. She bade Darnley
farewell, and departed with Bothwell and Huntly. Before the powder train was
finally set off, Darnley and his servant seem to have discovered their danger
and attempted to escape, but were caught and strangled to death in the garden.
Bothwell, with a company of his followers, returned from Holyrood about
midnight, and joined the two conspirators, Hepburn and Hay, who had already
lighted the train. The explosion shook the earth for miles around, and aroused
the citizens of Edinburgh. Bothwell hurried back to the palace, and after
drinking some wine, retired to his apartments. A short time later, when news of
Darnley's assassination was brought to him, he sprang up, crying out,
"Treason! Treason!" Gordon, his brother-in-law, and others, rushed
into his room in alarm, and together they sought the queen and told her of the
consummation of the crime.
Eight or nine days after the trial, the queen visited her infant son at Stirling.
On her return, when within a few miles of Edinburgh, she was met by Bothwell, at
the head of eight hundred horsemen, and, taking her bridle-rein, he conducted
Mary to his CASTLE of Dunbar. Soon after,
Bothwell escorted the queen to Edinburgh, where preparations for their marriage
were hastened. Previous to the seizure of Queen Mary, Bothwell's wife, Lady Jane
Gordon, sister to the Earl of Huntly, had sued for a divorce. This was granted
on May 7th; and on the 15th of the same month Bothwell and the queen were
married at Holyrood.
Bothwell and the queen left Edinburgh on the seventh of June, and passed to
Borthwick (or Botherwick). CASTLE, about ten
miles south of the capital. Morton and Hume, with eight hundred of their
Borderers, appeared before Borthwick, and the guilty couple escaped with
difficulty to the CASTLE of Dunbar. The nobles
seized Edinburgh. The queen mustered about three thousand men, and marched upon
the capital. The forces confronted each other at Carberry Hill near Musselburgh,
where, after a day spent in parleying, Mary surrendered to the nobles, and
Bothwell was allowed to ride off in the direction of Dunbar. The queen was taken
to Edinburgh on the 15th of June, and on the 17th she was conveyed a captive to
Lochleven CASTLE, which stood on an island in
the lake. On the 23d, she was forced to sign her abdication of the throne, and
to confirm the appointment of Moray as regent, to govern during the minority of
her son.
Through the assistance of the Duke of Hamilton and his brother, the Archbishop
of St. Andrews, Mary escaped from Lochleven CASTLE
after more than ten months' captivity. One of her partisans, young George
Douglas, half-brother to the regent, had bribed some of the servants at the CASTLE,
and gained them to the queen's interest. One evening in May, 1568, a page who
served at the table managed to purloin the key of the outer gate from the keeper
of the CASTLE while he was at supper. The page
carried the key to the queen; they gained the gate unperceived, locked it behind
them, and crossed the lake in a boat which had been left for the garrison. Lord
Seton and a party of Mary's friends were waiting on the shore, and when the
queen landed they mounted her on horseback and rode off to Hamilton town.
When Bothwell was separated from Queen Mary at Carberry Hill on the day of her
surrender to the lords, he repaired to Dunbar CASTLE,
and thence fled to Orkney. Before leaving Dunbar, he sent George Dalgleish, his
servant, to the CASTLE at Edinburgh, instructing
him to bring back a certain silver casket which Bothwell had left in a desk in
his apartment. This casket had been given to Mary by her first husband, Francis
II., and she had afterwards presented it to Bothwell. Sir James Balfour,
governor of the CASTLE, delivered the box to
Dalgleish, but privately informed the earl of Morton that he had done so. In
consequence, the messenger was intercepted on his return.
One of the letters reveals the queen's knowledge of, and assent to, Bothwell's
plan of carrying her off to Dunbar CASTLE by a
pretended show of force after Darnley's murder. The Earl of Huntly had been let
into the secret, and tried to dissuade the queen from carrying out the design.
Mary wrote to Bothwell, "He preached unto me that it was a foolish
enterprise, and that with mine honor I could never marry you, seeing that being
married, you did carry me away .... I told him that, seeing I had come so far,
if you did not withdraw yourself of yourself no persuasion, nor death itself,
should make me fail of my promise."
JAMES STUART, SON OF MARY
Moray was in Paris when he heard of the revolution which had dethroned Mary, and
of his own nomination to the regency. He returned home at once, and taking the
reins of government into his own hands, soon proved his ability to perform the
work to which he had been called. After the battle of Langside and the flight of
his sister into England, the regent continued his efforts to maintain order. But
it was a difficult undertaking, as he had many enemies and his position tended
to multiply them. Sir William Kirkaldy of Grange, governor of Edinburgh CASTLE,
and Maitland of Leth-ington, now joined the queen's party, and a period of civil
war ensued. For some years the factions of the regent and the queen kept the
kingdom in incessant turmoil. Early in the year 1570, during a period of civil
strife, Moray marched his army to Stirling. While returning through Linlithgow,
on January 23d, he was shot by Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, and died within a few
hours.
the CASTLE of Edinburgh. The
CASTLE was surrendered toward the end of May.
Its governor, Kirkaldy of Grange, and his brother, were hanged at the Cross of
Edinburgh.
JAMES STUART, SON OF MARY
Alexander Erskine, keeper of Stirling CASTLE,
and guardian of the young king, held a secret meeting with some of the
dissatisfied nobles, in 1578, at which the twelve-year-old James was present. At
this meeting the king was advised to take the reins of government into his own
hands. Knowledge of the meeting having come to Morton's ears, he tendered his
resignation as regent, which James accepted.
The government was then committed to a council of twelve members; and a
competition between the rival factions in Scotland began for the possession of
the juvenile king's favor. In 1579, Esme Stewart, Lord D'Aubigne, nephew of the
Regent Lennox, and cousin to James, arrived in Scotland from France, where he
had been brought up. This unworthy nobleman soon became a favorite of the king.
He was first created Earl, then Duke of Lennox, and was appointed High
Chamberlain and governor of the CASTLE of Dumbarton. Captain James Stewart, second son of Lord Ochiltree, and
brother-in-law to John Knox, was another of the king's favorites. He was
elevated to the rank of Earl of Arran in 1581.
In December, 1580, Captain Stewart entered the king's council chamber, Earl
Morton being present, and accused the latter of having taken part in the murder
of Darnley. Two days later, the ex-regent was imprisoned in Edinburgh
CASTLE,
and was tried on the 1st of June, 1581. Almost every man upon the jury was his
known enemy. Morton was condemned and beheaded on June 2d. Before his death he
acknowledged that Bothwell had told him of the plot, and tried to induce him to
join in the conspiracy. When asked why he had not revealed the intended crime,
he replied "To whom could I have revealed it? To the queen? She was the
doer of it
The unworthy favorites of James, having disposed of Morton, their most dreaded
rival, now became supreme in the Council of the king. Naturally, they abused
their power, and before long a conspiracy was formed against them by many of the
noblemen and gentry. The boy king was invited to Ruthven
CASTLE,
in Perthshire, for a season of hunting. Here he was to be entertained by the
Earl of Gowrie. On the night of James's arrival, the earl and his friends
assembled a thousand men and surrounded the CASTLE.
The next morning the king was told that he must remain as a prisoner. The Earl
of Arran was seized and imprisoned, and the Duke of Lennox ordered to leave the
kingdom. This plot is known in history as "The Raid of Ruthven."
Notwithstanding James's professions there were still rumors of plots and designs
of the Jesuits, and the clergy were annoyed at the lenity of the King to the
Catholic nobles, Huntly, Errol, and Angus. In 1593, James made a demonstration
against the Catholic earls, and they retired to Caithness. Later, they rebelled,
and the Earl of Argyle was commissioned to march against them. He met them in
battle at Glenlivet, on October 13, 1594. After a severe engagement, Argyle was
completely defeated, and his followers fled in confusion. The king then marched
with an army into Aber-deenshire, where Huntly fled before him. The latter's CASTLE,
together with that of the Earl of Errol, were dismantled; and in March, 1595,
the Catholic earls left Scotland.
THE WISEST FOOL IN CHRISTENDOM
On the 2nd of July, 1605, notwithstanding the king's prorogation, nineteen
ministers met in Assembly at Aberdeen. While they were sitting, a
messenger-at-arms entered and charged them in the king's name to dismiss or
incur the penalty of rebellion. The Assembly did dismiss, but appointed to meet
again in three months. The wrath of the king, when informed of the meeting of
this Assembly, knew no bounds. The ministers were forthwith arrested, and
fourteen were sent to prison. Eight of these were banished to the remotest parts
of the kingdom. The other six, among whom were John Forbes, the moderator, and
John Welsh, son-in-law to John Knox, were confined in dungeons in the CASTLE
of Blackness, and after suffering fourteen months' imprisonment, were banished
to France.
SCOTLAND UNDER CHARLES II. AND THE BISHOPS
In Ireland, Coote declared for Charles, took Dublin CASTLE,
and by Presbyterian support became master of that kingdom. A Convention was
called, which, in February, 1660, met in Dublin. A majority consisted of
Episcopalians. Yet, until the wishes of the king were known, they seemed to
favor Nonconformists, and the Rev. Samuel Cox, a Presbyterian, was chosen
chaplain. Sir John Clotworthy was deputed to treat with Charles, but the rapid
march of events prevented any results for good. The Convention deprived
Anabaptist ministers of their salaries, but gave to the Presbyterian pastors,
and to about a hundred others reported to be orthodox, a right to the tithes of
the parishes in which they were placed.
IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS
This countrye of Clanneboy is in woodes and bogges for the greatest parte
wherein lyeth Knockfergus, and soe to the Glynne's where the Scotte doe inhabitt.
As much of this countrye as is neare the sea is a champion countrye, of xx.
myles in length, and not over iiii. myles in breadeth or little more. The same
Hughe hath two CASTLEs: one called Bealefarst [Belfast] an oulde CASTLE
standinge uppon a fourde that leadeth from Arde to Clan-neboye, which being well
repayred, being nowe broken, would be a good defence betwixt the woodes and
Knockfergus. The other called Castell-rioughe [CASTLEreagh] is fower myles from
Bealfarst, and standeth uppon the playne, in the middest of the woodes of the
Dufferin; and beinge repayred with an honest companye of horsemen, woulde doe
much good for the quyett and staye of the countrye there about; havinge besides
a good bande of horsemen in Lecaille contynuallie to resorte and doe servyce
abroade upon
content with the same. For it coulde not bee perceyved that they were greatlye
offended for the same. Shane, being at peace till Maye, hearinge of the arryval
of the Scotte, did send to them to give them entertaynmente; and soe he sent to
divers other Irishe men to joyne with him, and promysed to devyde his goodes
with them, which they, for the most parte, refused to doe; but some did. And I
hearinge the same, one Maye daye, went to him with suche a bande of horsemen and
Kerne of my frinds, to the number of ccc. men, and did parlye with them, and did
perceyve nothinge in him but pryde, stubbornes, and all bent to doe what he
coulde to destroye the poore countrye. And departing from me, beinge within iiii.
myles to Dongannon he went and brent the earle's house; and then perceyveing the
fyer, I went after as fast as I coulde, and sent light horsemen before to save
the house from breakinge: and uppon my comeinge to the towne, and findinge that
a small thinge woulde make the house wardeable, what it wanted I caused to be
made upp, and left the baron's of Dongannon's warde in the CASTLE.
And having espyed where parte of his cattle was, in the middest of his pastures,
I took from him viic kynes, besides garranes; and they sessed in the countrye
cc. galloglas, and joyned all the gentlemen and souldiers of the countrye with
the baron; wherewith all they were contented and pleased, and swore them all to
the kinge's majestie: soe as I trust in God, Tyron was not soe like to doe well
as within a shorte tyme I trust it shal be: and doe trust, yf a good presedent
were there, to see good orders established amongst them, and to putt them in due
execution, noe double but the countrye woulde prosper.
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