Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Actis and deidis of the illustere and vailzeand campioun, Schir William Wallace, Knicht of Ellerslie

NOTES TO FIRST BOOK (369-421). 389
369. The Irvine winds 7^ miles along the northern border of the
parish of Riccarton.
371. Child—i.e., young man. The modern chid, a man, is its repre¬
sentative.
377. Ten hours—i.e., ten a.m.,—a French idiom.
379. Persye. The ‘ Calendar,’ vol. ii. p. 225, shows that on September
8,1296, Henry de Percy was appointed Warden of Galloway, and of the
castles of Ayr, Wigton, Cruggelton, and Botel. If Harry’s chronology
is of any value here, the adventure at the Water of Irvine must have
taken place in April 1297, four months before his victory at Stirling
Bridge. He would be only nineteen years of age when he won that
victory, according to Harry’s reckoning.
383. Martyns fysche. No explanation of this phrase that I can give
is satisfactory. Mr Skeat takes it to mean, fish to feast on—i.e., to
form part of such a feast as was held on St Martin’s Day (Martinmas,
nth November). He refers to Chambers’s ‘Book of Days,’ ii.
567, and Nares’s Glossary under “ Martinmas.” The difficulty I see in
accepting this is that the incident is connected with 23d April, not
with nth November. It is worth while asking why the minstrel is
so careful as to the date, 23d April. It is not as if he were going to
describe a battle or other great event. I suspect that the period of
Lent has something to do with the demand for fish.
391. Observe the dramatic power of Harry in these and simi¬
lar scenes; how well Wallace bears himself,—courteous and gentle
until exasperated by aggression and insult, and then fierce and irre¬
sistible.
399. Dowis. So in MS.; but clearly it is meant for thowis, a verb
formed from pronoun thou. This use of the word expresses contempt.
See Abbott’s ‘ Shakesperian Grammar,’ 3d edition, p. 153.
399. Serwis, deserves. In Mod. Sc. we hear, it sairit him richt, it
served him well; weel sairt, well served.
402. Poutstaff, in A., fiolt staff. I take this style of fishing to have
consisted in catching the fish in a bag-net attached to a pole or staff.
In Brunton’s ‘ Wallace ’ it is called a coult staff.
407. Awksvart. This word is an adverb, meaning “with a back¬
ward stroke ”—from M.E. awke, in a wrong, a back direction, -1— ward,
as in forward.
415. Ane othir. In the MS., ane is only used before a vowel. In
A. it is used before both vowels and consonant. This Dr Murray
ascribes to French influence, and says, after 1500 this use of atie came
in. “Dialects of Lowland Scotch.”
416. Quhill, for “till,” is a peculiarity of the northern dialect.
417. The tothir, for that othir: See Glossary.
421. Twyne, separate, part. It is used in the song—
‘' My daddy is a cankerit carle,
Will no’ twin wi’ his gear.”