Many a freyke, that was full free,
Ther undar foot dyd lyght.

At last the Duglas and the Persè met,

Lyk to captayns of myght and mayne; The swapte togethar tyll the both swat With swordes, that wear of fyn myllan.

Thes worthè freckys for to fyght
Ther-to the wear full fayne,

25

30

Tyll the bloode owte off thear basnetes sprente,
As ever dyd heal or rayne.

8 Wane, i. e. ane. one, sc. man; an arrow came from a mighty one: from a mighty man.

To have savyde thy lyffe I wold have pertyd with

My landes for years thre,

60

For a better man of hart, nare of hande

Was not in all the north countrè.

Off all that se a Skottishe knyght,

Was callyd Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry,

He sawe the Duglas to the deth was dyght;
He spendyd a spear a trusti tre:

65

75

Athe tothar syde, that a man myght se,
A large cloth yard and mare:

Towe bettar captayns wear nat in Cristiantè,
Then that day slain wear thare.

V. 49, throroue. P.C.

V. 74, ber. P. C.

V. 78, ther. P. C.

9 This seems to have been a gloss added.

An archar of Northomberlonde
Say slean was the lord Persè,

80

He bar a bende-bow in his hande,

Was made off trusti tre:

An arow, that a cloth yarde was lang,
To th' hard stele halyde he;

85

A dynt, that was both sad and soar,

He sat on Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry.

The dynt yt was both sad and 'soar,'
That he of Mongon-byrry sete;
The swane-fethars, that his arrowe bar,
With his hart blood the wear wete 10.

90

Ther was never a freake wone foot wolde file,
But still in stour dyd stand,

Heawyng on yche othar, whyll the myght dre,

With many a bal ful brande.

Of fifteen hondrith archers of Ynglonde
Went away but fifti and thre;

Of twenty hondrith spear-men of Skotlonde,
But even five and fifti:

V. 80, Say, i.e. sawe.

V. 84, haylde. P. C.

V. 87, sar. P. C.

V. 102, abou. P. C.

105

10 This incident is taken from the battle of Otterbourn; in which Sir Hugh Montgomery, Knt. (son of John Lord Montgomery) was slain with an arrow. Vide Crawfurd's Peerage.

But all wear slayne Cheviat within:

The hade no strengthe to stand on he: The chylde may rue that is un-borne,

It was the mor pittè.

Thear was slayne with the lord Persè
Sir John of Agerstone,

Sir Roger the hinde Hartly,

Sir Wyllyam the bolde Hearone.

Sir Jorg the worthè Lovele

A knyght of great renowen,

Sir Raff the ryche Rugbè

110

115

With dyntes wear beaten dowene.

For Wetharryngton my harte was wo,

That ever he slayne shulde be;

120

For when both his leggis wear hewyne in to,
He knyled and fought on hys kne.

Ther was slayne with the dougheti Douglas

Sir Davye Lwdale, that worthè was,

125

Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry,

His sistars son was he:

Sir Charles a Murrè, in that place,

That never a foot wolde fle;

Sir Hewe Maxwell, a lorde he was,
With the Duglas dyd he dey.

So on the morrowe the mayde them byears
Off byrch, and hasell so 'gray';

Many wedous with wepyng tears 1,
Cam to fach ther makys a-way.

V. 108, strenge. hy. P. c.

....

130

V. 115, lóule. P. C.

V. 121, in to,

V. 132, gay. P.C.

i. e. in two. V. 122, Yet he.... kny. P. c.

1 A common pleonasm, see the next poem, Fit 2nd, v. 155. So Harding in his Chronicle, chap. 140, fol. 148, describing the death of Richard I., says,

Tivydale may carpe off care,

Northombarlond may mayk grat mone,

For towe such captayns, as slayne wear thear,
On the march perti shall never be none.

135

Word ys commen to Edden-burrowe

To Jamy the Skottishe kyng,

140

That dougheti Duglas, lyff-tenant of the Merches,

That lord Persè, leyff-tennante of the Merchis,
He lay slayne Chyviat within.

150

God have merci on his soll, sayd kyng Harry,

Good lord, yf thy will it be!

I have a hondrith captayns in Yynglonde, he sayd,

For the names in this and the foregoing page, see the remarks at the end of the next ballad.

V. 146, ye seth. P.C.

V. 149, cheyff tennante. P. C.

and wepyng teares.

He shrove him then unto Abbots thre

With great sobbyng...

So likewise Cavendish, in his Life of Cardinal Wolsey, chap. 12, p. 31, 4to. "When the Duke heard this, he replied with weeping teares," &c.