Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Historie of Scotland > Volume 1, 1888

THE HISTORIE OF SCOTLAND. IO3
finalie gif thay be takne, thay ar sa eloquent, & sa
mony fair and sueit wordes thay ca« gyue, that thay
moue the Juges ^e and thair aduersaries howseueir saeuir
thay be, gif nocht to pitie, at leist to woundir vehe-
5 mewtlie. Bot because perchance our 76 orisone hes bene
langre of thir twa peoples than of sum hes bene desyret,
quhat of the rest of the peples of the land we ar about to
say, we sail cutt schorter, because thair maneris differis
noch verie far frome thair nychtbouris chieflie thame,
1 o quha ar maist 77 politick and decent in maniris.
THE MANERIS OF THE RESTE OF THE PEPLE OF
THE LANDE HEIR FOLLOW.
About now to speik of the rest of the people of Scot¬
land, at the nobilitie we wil begin. The nobilme;* had
leuir duel in the feildes, quhair nocht only ar palices bot
castelis of strenth and touris, quhilkes ilk hes conforme
15 to his substance, heir I say had thay leuir duel than
in the tounes. Gret families thay feid, and that perpet-
uallie, pairtlie to defend thame selfes frome thair nycht¬
bouris, with quhome oft thay haue deidlie fead, partlie
to defend the Realme. With glade wil and frilie thay
20 vse to luge kin,freind and acquaintance, je and strangers
that turnes in to thame. * A 78 sclandirous thing thay
esteime it to be, to deny this, and a poynt of smal or na
liberalitie. This was the cause, that quhen strangeris
haue no1 bene far cum frome the sey syd, thay haue
25 funde comnoune Lugengs, nathir verie magnifike, bot
few.
Our tounes we fortifie nocht w‘ walis, bot first the
bordiris of the Realme, thaireftir the feildes, quhen
mister is, thay fence about and defend, wl the force of
30 thair body, and armour, accordeng to the lawis of thair
* L. “ Illiberales ea in re dici probrosum esse ducunt.”—They
esteem it a dishonourable thing to be called stingy in this matter.
The elo¬
quence of
the reiuaris
gif they be
takne.
Rathir in
the feildes
than in the
tounis had
thay duel, to
wit the no-
bilis.
gret families
haue thay
and feid
thay.
few publik
and com-
mone tau-
erwis in
Scotland.
Quhy few
tounis ar
walit.