J. F. Campbell Collection > Minstrelsy of the Scottish border > Volume 1

THE SCOTTISH BORDER. 131
for, I, the said Johne Armistrang, bindis and oblissis me and
myne airis, in manrent and service to the said Robert Lord
Maxwell, and his airis, for evermair, first and befor all uthirs,
rayne allegiance to our soverane lord, the King, aUanerly ex-
cept ; and to be trewe, gude, and lele servant to my said lord,
and be ready to do him service, baith in pece and weir, mth
all my kyn, friends, and servants, that I may and dowe to
raise, and be and to my said lord's airis for evermair. And
sail take his true and plane part in all maner of actions at myn
outer power, and sail nouther wit, hear, nor se my said lordis
skaith, lak, nor dishonestie, but we sail stop and lett the
samyn, and geif we dowe not lett the samyn, we sail warn him
thereof in all possible haist ; and geif it happenis me, the said
Johne Armistrang, or myne airis, to fail in our said service and
manrent, any maner of way, to our said lord (as God forbid
we do,) than, and in that caiss, the gift and nonentres maid be
him to us, of the said landis of Dalbetht, Schield, Dalblane,
Stapil-Gortown, Langholme, and * * * * » *^ ^ith the perti-
nentis, to be of no avale, force, nor effect ; but the said lord
and his airis to have free regress and ingress to the nonentres
of the samyn, but ony pley or impediment. To the keeping
and fulfilling of all and sundry the premisses, in form above
written, I bind and obliss me and my airis foresaids, to the said
lord and his airis for evennare, be the faithis treuthis in our
bodies, but fraud or gile. In witness of the whilk thing, to
thir letters of manrent subscrievit, with my hand at the pen,
my sele is hangin, at Dumfries, the secund day of November,
the yeir of God, Jaiv and XXV. yeiris.
Johne Armistrang, with my hand
at the pen.
The lands, here mentioned, were the possessions of Arm-
strong himself, the investitures of which not having been re-
gularly renewed, the feudal casualty of non-entry had been in-
curred by the vassal. The brother of Johnie Armstrang is said
to have founded, or rather repaired, Langholm castle, before
VOL. 1. 1