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

398
SCHIR WILLIAM WALLACE (336-677).
336-340. The grammatical construction of these lines is far from
correct. There is a manifest confusion between substantives and
verbs. The first line, for instance, would read better thus—
“ Now wants, now has ; now losis, now can wyn.”
342. Six years and seven months. This seems to mean that for this
period he was struggling to free his country. If we calculate from
the battle of Dunbar, which may be regarded as the beginning of war
between the two countries, and which took place 28th April 1296, the
period indicated would bring us to the end of 1302. But the difficulty
here is that, whether we follow Harry or more trustworthy records,
Wallace won peace and left Scotland long before 1302. The 1 Calen¬
dar’ shows that Wallace was going abroad in August 1299. It is to
be noticed that A. reads seven for six. This only makes things worse.
Harry makes Wallace pay his first visit to France before the battle of
Falkirk (1298), and his second immediately after it, but both before
1302. If we try to count backward six years and seven months from
1297, when Wallace may be said to have cleared Scotland of the
English, we arrive at 1291, and Wallace could not have been fighting
the English in Scotland then.
350. Sand Jho7istoun. Perth.
359. The mar, kepyt. Relative pronoun again omitted.
368. Will Malcomsone—that is, William, the son of Malcolm.
Wallace’s father’s name was Malcolm.
393. Schir Jamys Butler. I can find nothing to corroborate the
statement that Butler held Kinclaven Castle at this time. The
‘Documents’ show that there were Butlers possessed of lands in
Scotland at this time.
394. Kyndewyn. Kinclaven, a royal castle in the parish of the same
name, at the junction of the Isla and the Tay.
396. Sir Gerard Heron. I can find no trace of this man.
501. Schortwode schaw. I can’t trace this place. But see 1. 677.
583. William Lorraine. I can find no trace of this name in Scot¬
land at this time.
584. Gowry. The well-known Carse of Cowrie.
616. Note the alliteration, and cp. viii. 834.
636. Unless they help themselves, they know no other succour.
644. Wrandly. See Glossary. The Glossary to the Perth Edition
gives meaning of wrandly, like a flock. A good reading would be
eidently, orythandly—i.e., constantly, without breathing-space.
663. Relative pronoun which omitted before mycht.
671. Scry was the word used in Keith, Banffshire, when I was a boy,
for the cry of the town-crier. See Glossary for explanation of the
form of the word.
677. In J.’s edition there is a note: “In MS. Gargyll. But it is
Cargill, edition 1594, and this must be the true reading, Shortwood-