No. 305: The Outlaw Murray
[There are no known US or Canadian traditional versions of this ballad.]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (There are no footnotes for this ballad)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-C (Changes for Ab-d are found in End-Notes)
5. End Notes
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 305. The Outlaw Murray
A. Roud No. 3296: The Outlaw Murray (10 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 305. The Outlaw Murray (Bronson gives no music )
3. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-C)
Child's Narrative: 305. The Outlaw Murray
A. a. 'The Sang of the Outlaw Murray,' Herd's Manuscripts, II, fol. 76; The Outlaw Murray,' I, 255.
b. 'The Sang of the Outlaw Murray,' Scott's Minstrelsy, second edition, 1803, I, 1.
c. 'The Song of the Outlaw Murray,' Aytoun's Ballads of Scotland, 1859, II, 131, "from an old manuscript in the Philiphaugh charter-chest."
d. 'The Sang of the Outlaw Murray,' the copy now extant among the Philiphaugh papers.
B. 'An old song called Outlaw Murray,' Glenriddell Manuscripts, XI, 61, 1791.
C. 'Outlaw Murray, an ancient historical ballad,' fragments, "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 31, Abbotsford, in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.
First printed in Scott's Minstrelsy, 1802, I, 1.
A a, b, c (disregarding Scott's interpolations in b), do not differ more than transcripts of one original may be expected to do, remembering that copyists are apt to indulge in trivial verbal improvements.[1] a was sent David Herd, with a letter dated January 12, 1795, by Andrew Plummer, Sheriff-Depute of Selkirk, as received by carrier from a lady, who neglected to impart how she came by the copy. In this instance, contrary to what I believe to be the general rule, the second volume of Herd's Manuscripts seems to have the original text.[2] a was printed, but not with absolute fidelity, by Maidment, Scotish Ballads and Songs, 1868, II, 66. For b, "the copy principally resorted to," says Scott, "is one, apparently of considerable antiquity, which was found among the papers of the late Mrs. Cockburn of Edinburgh." Scott made occasional use of Herd's Manuscript and of Glenriddell's, inserted some stanzas which he had received from Sheriff Plummer, and in the second edition (otherwise slightly altered) two stanzas from the recitation of Mungo Park. Mrs. Cockburn's Manuscript evidently agreed very nearly with the copy in Herd, so far as the latter goes. I much regret that exertions made to secure the Cockburn Manuscript did not result successfully, c. "From a note appended to the ballad, explanatory of its circumstances, in which reference is made to Lord Philiphaugh (a judge of Session) as being then alive," says Aytoun, "the manuscript must have been written between the years 1689 and 1702."[3] The original manuscript, unfortunately and inexplicably, is no longer in the Philiphaugh archives, and has not come to light after search. The text, if earlier transcribed, shows no internal evidence of superior age, and exhibits several inferior readings, two that are highly objectionable.[4] d, the copy actually preserved among the Philiphaugh papers, is evinced by a watermark to be not older than 1848. It shows variations from Aytoun's printed text which cannot be other than wilful alterations.
B, which is both defective, corrupted, and chargeable with flat repetition, and C, a few fragmentary verses, are all that have been retrieved from tradition, although Scott says that the ballad "has been for ages a popular song in Selkirkshire."
A manuscript copy was understood to be in possession of the late Mr. George Wilson, S. S. C., Edinburgh, but, as in the case of the original of the Philiphaugh Manuscript and in that of Mrs. Cockburn's copy, inquiry and search were fruitless.
The king of Scotland is informed that there is an Outlaw in Ettrick Forest who makes no account of him; the king vows that he will be king of Ettrick Forest, or the Outlaw shall be king of Scotland. Earl Hamilton advises that an envoy be sent to the Outlaw to ascertain whether he is willing to do homage to the king and hold the forest of him; if the Outlaw should refuse, then they will proceed to extremities with him. The king sends Boyd, Earl of Arran, to announce his terms: the Outlaw is to do homage; otherwise he and his lands will be subjugated, his castle levelled, his wife made a widow, and his men be hanged. The messenger demands of the Outlaw, in the king's name, of whom he holds his lands; the Outlaw replies that the lands are his own, won by himself from the Southron, and that he recognizes no king in Christendom. The messenger intimates that it will nevertheless be necessary for the Outlaw to do homage to the king of Scotland, under the penalties before mentioned. Many of the king's nobles shall lie cold first, he replies. Boyd reports to his master that the Outlaw claims to hold the forest by his own right, which he will maintain against all kings in Christendom; the king prepares to enforce his sovereignty with five thousand men.
The Outlaw vows that the king shall pay dear for his coming, and sends for succor to three of his kinsmen, all of whom promise help. As the king approaches the forest, Hamilton ventures to give further advice: that the Outlaw should be summoned to come with four of his best men to meet the king and five earls; fire, sword, and forfeiture to follow upon refusal. The Outlaw bethinks himself of his children, and complies. He and his company fall on their knees and implore the king's mercy; his mercy shall be the gallows, says the king. The Outlaw protests again that he won his lands from the enemy, and as he won them so will he keep them, against all kings in Christendom; but having indulged in this vaunt asks mercy again, and offers to give up the keys of his castle if the king will constitute him and his successors sheriffs of the forest. The king, on his part, is equally ready for a compromise. The Outlaw, on surrendering the keys of his castle, shall be made sheriff of Ettrick Forest, and shall never be forfeited as long as he continues loyal, and his men shall have pardon if they amend their lives. After all the strong language on both sides, the Outlaw has only to name his lands (but gives a very imperfect list), and the king (waiving complete particulars) renders him whatever he is pleased to claim, and makes him sheriff of Ettrick Forest while upwards grows the tree.
So far all the copies of A concur, as to the story, except that c 22, 33, by an absurd corruption, makes the Outlaw to have won his lands, not from the Soudron, the Soudronie, but from Soldan Turk, the Soldanie; in which respect A c is followed by B 26, C 3, 5. Between 52 and 53, b introduces this passage:
Then spak the kene laird of Buckscleuth,
A stalworthye man and sterne was he:
'For a king to gang an outlaw till
Is beneath his state and his dignitie.
'The man that wons yon foreste intill,
He lives by reif and felonie;
Wherefore, brayd on, my sovereign liege,
Wi fire and sword we'll follow thee,
Or, gif your courtrie lords fa back,
Our borderers sail the onset gie.'
Then out and spak the nobil king,
And round him cast a wilie ee:
'Now haud thy tongue, Sir Walter Scott,
Nor speik of reif nor felonie,
For had everye honeste man his awin kye,
A right puir clan thy name wad he.'[5]
B represents that the king, after appointing a meeting with the Outlaw 'in number not above two or three,' comes with a company of three hundred, which violation of the mutual understanding naturally leads the Outlaw to expect treachery. The king, however, not only proceeds in good faith, but, without any stipulations, at once makes the Outlaw laird of the Forest.
From the note, otherwise of no value, which accompanies the Philiphaugh Manuscript, it is clear that the ballad was known before 1700; how much earlier it is to be put we can neither ascertain nor safely conjecture, but we may say that there is nothing in the language of the piece as it stands which obliges us to assign it a much higher antiquity.[6]
As to James Murray, laird of Traquair, whose lands the king had gifted lang syne, A 453, 481, Sheriff Plummer remarks in Herd's Manuscript: "Willielmus de Moravia had forfeited the lands of 'trakware' ante annum 1464. As of that date I have a charter of these lands, proceeding upon his forfeiture, granted Willielmo Douglas de Cluny." Thomas Boyd was created Earl of Arran after his marriage with the eldest sister of James III, 1467. The Earl of Hamilton is mentioned A 71, 501. Sheriff Plummer observes that there was an earl of that surname till 1503.
Scott, in his preface in the Border Minstrelsy, after professing himself unable to ascertain the foundation of the tale, goes on to state the following historical possibilities:
"This ballad ... commemorates a transaction supposed to have taken place betwixt a Scottish monarch and an ancestor of the ancient family of Murray of Philiphaugh in Selkirkshire. ... It is certain that during the civil wars betwixt Bruce and Baliol the family of Philiphaugh existed and was powerful, for their ancestor, Archibald de Moravia, subscribes the oath of fealty to Edward I, A. D. 1296. It is therefore not unlikely that, residing in a wild and frontier country, they may have, at one period or other during these commotions, refused allegiance to the feeble monarch of the day, and thus extorted from him some grant of territory or jurisdiction. It is also certain that, by a charter from James IV, dated November 30, 1509, John Murray of Philiphaugh is vested with the dignity of heritable Sheriff of Ettrick Forest, an office held by his descendants till the final abolition of such jurisdictions by 28th George II, cap. 23. But it seems difficult to believe that the circumstances mentioned in the ballad could occur under the reign of so vigorous a monarch as James IV. It is true that the dramatis personæ introduced seem to refer to the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century; but from this it can only be argued that the author himself lived soon after that period. It may therefore be supposed (unless further evidence can be produced tending to invalidate the conclusion) that the bard, willing to pay his court to the family, has connected his grant of the sheriffship by James IV with some former dispute betwixt the Murrays of Philiphaugh and their sovereign, occurring either while they were engaged upon the side of Baliol, or in the subsequent reigns of David II and Robert II and III, when the English possessed great part of the Scottish frontier, and the rest was in so lawless a state as hardly to acknowledge any superior.
"At the same time, this reasoning is not absolutely conclusive. James IV had particular reasons for desiring that Ettrick Forest, which actually formed part of the jointure-lands of Margaret, his queen, should be kept in a state of tranquillity: Rymer, vol. xiii, p. 66. In order to accomplish this object, it was natural for him, according to the policy of his predecessors, to invest one great family with the power of keeping order among the rest. It is even probable that the Philiphaugh family may have had claims upon part of the lordship of Ettrick Forest, which lay intermingled with their own extensive possessions, and in the course of arranging, not, indeed, the feudal superiority, but the property of these lands, a dispute may have arisen of sufficient importance to be the groundwork of a ballad.
"It is farther probable that the Murrays, like other Border clans, were in a very lawless state, and held their lands merely by occupancy, without any feudal right. Indeed, the lands of the various proprietors in Ettrick Forest (being a royal demesne) were held by the possessors, not in property, but as the kindly tenants, or rentallers, of the crown. ... This state of possession naturally led to a confusion of rights and claims. The kings of Scotland were often reduced to the humiliating necessity of compromising such matters with their rebellious subjects, and James himself even entered into a sort of league with Johnnie Faa, the king of the gypsies. Perhaps, therefore, the tradition handed down in this way may have had more foundation than it would at present be proper positively to assert."
In the way of comment upon these surmises of Scott, which proceed mainly upon what we do not know, it may be alleged that we have a fairly good record of the relations of Selkirkshire to the Scottish crown during the fourteenth century, when this district was so often changing hands between the English and the Scotch, and that there is no indication of any Murray having been concerned in winning it from the Southron, as is pretended in the ballad, either then or at any time, so that this part of the story may be set down as pure invention.[7] Hardly less fictitious seems to be the dispute between the Scottish king and a Murray, in relation to the tenure. The Murrays first became connected with Selkirkshire in 1461. John de Moravia then acquired the lands of Philiphaugh, and was afterwards appointed Gustos of Newark Castle, and came into possession of Hangingshaw and Lewinshope. All of these are attributed to the Outlaw in the ballad. This John Murray was a contemporary of Boyd, Earl of Arran, and of the forfeited Murray of Traquair, but, with all this, nobody has pitched upon him for the Outlaw; and it would not have been a happy idea, for he was on perfectly good terms, and even in great favor, with the court under James III. His grandson, John Murray, was in equal or greater favor with James IV, and was made hereditary Sheriff of Selkirk in 1509, and for this last reason has been proposed for the Outlaw, though " nothing could be more improbable than that this orderly, 'circumspect,' and law-enforcing officer of the crown should ever take up an attitude of rebellious defiance so diametrically opposed to all we really know of his character and conduct."[8]
Scott thought that light might be thrown upon the history of the ballad by the Philiphaugh family papers. Mr. Craig-Brown gave them the accurate examination which Scott suggested, and came to the same conclusion as Aytoun, that the story told in the ballad is, if not altogether fictitious, at least greatly exaggerated. He is inclined to think that "some clue to the date of the ballad lies in the minstrel's animus against the house of Buccleuch" (shown only in A b). "James Murray, tenth laird," he says, "is the last mentioned in the family Manuscripts as possessor of Newark, which castle passed into the hands of Buceleuch either in his lifetime or that of his successor, Patrick Murray. After the death of James IV at Flodden, the Queen-Regent complained loudly of Buccleuch's encroachment upon her dowry lands of Ettrick Forest, the Gustos of which domain had Newark for a residence. Buceleuch continued to keep his hold, and, as he could only do so by displacing Murray, the ill-will of the latter family was a natural consequence. By way of showing the earlier and superior title of the Murrays, the ballad-writer has either invented the story in toto, or has amplified the tradition of an actual visit paid to a former Murray by the king. Both Sir Walter Scott and the compiler of the Family Records are of opinion that John Murray, eighth laird, is the presumptive Outlaw of the song; and, as he was undoubtedly in great favor with King James IV, nothing is more likely than that the young monarch may have ended one of his hunting-expeditions to the Forest by confirming John in his hereditary sheriffship, interrupted for a few years by the appointment of Lord Home. As a matter of fact, John Murray did in 1509 obtain a royal charter from his sovereign, of the sheriffship; but, as the office had been vacant since 1506, there is Hothing improbable in the supposition that he had already claimed the family rights and taken possession of the castle. Indeed, in 1503, he acted as sheriff at the queen's infeftment in her dowry-lands of Ettrick Forest. It would have been in thorough keeping with all that is known of James IV if his Majesty had taken the opportunity to give his favorite a half-jesting reproof for his presumption; but that Murray was ever seriously outlawed is out of the question. His king heaped honors on him; and only eighty years after his death his descendant obtained a feudal precept of his lands for gratuitous services rendered to the crown by his family, ' without default at any time in their due obedience as became faithful subjects.' So that, granted a royal progress to Newark, followed by Murray's investiture with the sheriffship, the poet remains chargeable with considerable embellishment. A glorification of the family of Philiphaugh and a sneer at the rapacity of Buceleuch are the evident motives of his rhyme."[9]
"The tradition of Ettrick Forest," says Scott, Minstrelsy, 2d ed., 1803, I, 4, "bears that the Outlaw was a man of prodigious strength, possessing a batton or club with which he laid lee (i. e. waste) the country for many miles round, and that he was at length slain by Buceleuch or some of his clan."[10] This account is not in keeping with the conception of the Outlaw given by the ballad, but indicates the ferocious robber and murderer, the Cacus of popular story, of whom no doubt the world was actually once very guilty, and of whom there are many specimens in British tradition as elsewhere.[11] As such he seems to turn up again in Galloway, where he haunts a forest of Kirkcudbrightshire, called the Black Morrow wood, from which he sallies out "in the neighboring country at night, committing horrible outrages." Of this personage, Mactaggart, in his Gallovidian Encyclopedia, p. 73, says:
"Tradition has him a Blackimore, ... but my opinion is that he was no Blackimore; he never saw Africa; his name must have been Murray, and as he must have been, too, an outlaw and a bloody man, gloomy with foul crimes,[12] Black prefaced it, as it did Black Douglass, and that of others; so he became Black Murray." And he adds that this pest was disposed of by the people pouring a barrel of spirits into a spring one night when he was out on his rambles, whereof drinking the next day, he was made drunk and fell asleep, in which condition his foes dirked him; or according to others, one of the McLellans of Kirkcudbright took to the wood single-handed, found the outlaw sleeping, and drove a dirk through his head, whence the head on the dagger in the McLellans' coat of arms.[13]
2. The castle, says Scott, is supposed by the common people to have been the castle of Newark; but "this is highly improbable, because Newark was always a royal fortress." The only important point, however, would seem to be who was the keeper of the castle. The Douglasses are spoken of as holding it from about 1326 to 1455; John de Moravia was Gustos after 1462. The Outlaw's five hundred men are shooting on Newark lee in A b 184, and Newark lee is twice mentioned elsewhere in that copy. Sheriff Plummer in his letter to Herd says: This I take to be the castle of New-wark, on the west end of which are the arms of Scotland supported by two unicorns. But in Scott's preface we are told that Sheriff Plummer has assured the editor that he remembered the insignia of the unicorns, etc., so often mentioned in the ballad, in existence upon the old tower at Hangingshaw. Whether the etc. covers the picture of the knight and the lady bright, and Sheriff Plummer had therefore changed his opinion, does not appear.
153. "Birkendale brae, now commonly called Birkendailly [see C 21], is a steep descent at the south side of Minchmoor, which separates Tweed-dale from the Forest, at the top of which you come first in sight of New-wark Castle." Plummer's letter to Herd.
19. Mr. MacRitchie, II, 141 ff., considers that the Lincoln green dresses of the Outlaw's men, and perhaps the purple of the Outlaw and his wife, show that they were "gypsies," not perhaps of a swarthy color, but still people "living a certain archaic 'heathen' life," at any rate a "wild and lawless life," and "refusing to follow the course of civilization." This inference from the costume seems to be not quite necessary, unless, or even if, all outlaws are "gypsies." Robin Hood, in 'Robin Hood and Queen Katherine,' is dressed in scarlet red, and his men in Lincoln green (III, 199, 201). But green is the regular attire for men who shoot with the bow, III, 76 f., 91. Johnie Cock, when going out to ding the dun deer down, puts on Lincoln green, III, 3 ff. Will Stewart, even, when only going to a ball-match, clothes his men in green, and himself in scarlet red, II, 434, 437.
51. "Penman's core, generally called Perman's core [Permanscore in Scott, ed. 1833], is a nick or hollow on the top of a high ridge of hills a little to the east of Minchmoor." Plummer, as before. In B 50, poor man's house; 52, poor man's score.[14]
Footnotes:
1. That the four copies of a are transcripts from writing, and not from oral recitation, will be obvious when we observe their correspondence. The first thirty stanzas of a, b, have the same lines in the same order, aud with an approach to verbal agreement. There is not so close a concurrence after 30, but still a virtual concurrence, excepting that b inserts sixteen lines between 52 and 53 which the other copies lack, c has throughout the same lines as a, in the same order (with verbal differences), excepting that c introduces two lines after 504 (which are a repetition, with corruption, of 81,2), and that a repeats 43 at 60, which c does not. d has only a few verbal variations from c.
2. Plummer's letter follows the ballad in the second volume, but is not given in the first.
3. Rather 1708. Sir James Murray was appointed an ordinary Lord of Session October 28, 1689, and took his seat as Lord Philiphaugh November 1. In 1702 he was appointed Lord Clerk Register, and this place he held, except a short interval, till his death, July 1, 1708. (T. Craig-Brown, History of Selkirkshire, II, 345 f.)
4. I mean Soldan Turk, c 223, for Soudron, a, b, d, and Soldanie, c 332, for Soudronie, Southronie, a, b. (Soudan Turk, also B 263, Souden Turk, C 33, 53.) Nothing is easier than the corruption of Soudron into Soudan, upon which change the addition of Turk would be all but inevitable. The corruption would be likely to be made by one who had heard of an irruption of Saracens (or, if you please, Moors) into Galloway. (See note, p. 190.) The winning of Ettrick Forest by and from the Southron is historical, and this pretends to be an historical poem.
5. "The feud betwixt the Outlaw and the Scots may serve to explain the asperity with which the chieftain of that clan is handled in the ballad." Were it not for these words in Scott's preface, I should have been inclined to think that this humorous episode came from the hand of the editor of 'Kinmont Willie.' It is quite in Scott's way, and also in contrast with the tone of the rest of the narrative. If the author of the ballad was capable of this smartness, he ought to have been aware that the Outlaw (not to say the king), after all his bluster, cuts a ridiculously tame figure in the conclusion. I now observe that the line 'Wi fire and sword we'll follow thee' is in A a, 522, and nearly the same in c; which suggests that something may have been lost in the Manuscript.
6. A 223,4 might be a reminiscence of 'Johnie Armstrong,' C 273,4, III, 371. C 33,4 (from recitation) agrees strikingly with the stanza cited III, 363, note *; but this fact is of not the least importance. Mr. Macmath notes that A a 13, 'The hart, the hynd, the dae, the rae,' occurs in Alexander Montgomerie's Cherrie and the Slae, Edinburgh, 1597.
7. Mr. David MacRitchie, in his very interesting Ancient and Modern Britons, a book full of novel matter and views, accepts the ballad as "partly true," apparently to the extent "that this 'outlaw' was as yet an actual, independent king, and that modern Selkirkshire was not a part of Scotland:" and this whether the king of Scotland was James IV or an earlier monarch, II, 136-139. This is pitting the ballad against history.
8. Craig-Brown, II, 336-338.
9. History of Selkirkshire, IT, 355-357; see also p. 338.
10. An account varying as to the place where the Outlaw was slain specifies Scott of Raining as the author of his death. John Murray, the Sheriff, was killed in 1510, and Andrew Ker and Thomas Scot were charged with the act, traditionally put to the account of Buceleuch and his clan, and, in particular, of Scott of Haining. (Craig-Brown, II, 338.)
11. See Mr. MacRitchie's Ancient and Modern Britons, I, 156 ff., 136 ff., for these monsters, often described as black, in which sense, it is maintained, Murray (Morrow, Moor) is frequently to be understood.
12. More of this Murray in Historical and Traditional Tales, Kirkcudbright, 1843, p. 112.
13. "Sometimes it [the crest] represents some valiant act done by the bearer; thus McClelland of Bombie did, and now Lord Kirkcudbright does, bear a naked arm supporting on the point of a sword a More's head, because, Bombie being forfeited, his son killed a More who came in with some Sarazens to infest Galloway, to the killer of whom the king had promised the forfeiture of Bombie, and thereupon he was restored to his father's land." Sir George Mackenzie, The Science of Herauldry, 1680, p. 90. (This reference and those to Mactaggart and the Kirkcudbright Tales were given me by Mr. W. Macmath in 1883.)
14. That it was not originally intended to insert 'The Outlaw Murray' in this collection will be apparent from the position which it occupies. I am convinced that it did not begin its existence as a popular ballad, and I am not convinced that (as Scott asserts) "it has been for ages a popular song in Selkirkshire." But the "song" gained a place in oral tradition, as we see from B, C, and I prefer to err by including rather than by excluding.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
This ballad was known before 1700; how much earlier it is to be put cannot be ascertained. There is, however, nothing in the language of the piece as it stands which obliges us to assign it a much higher antiquity. It is here given according to the copy in Herd's Manuscripts. (A a), which he received in 1795 from Andrew Plummer. Scott's version in the Minstrelsy agrees substantially, except for his interpolations. B (from Glenriddell's Manuscripts.) is defective and corrupt, and C (from an Abbotsford Manuscript) is a fragment. Various attempts have been made to find an historical foundation for 'The Outlaw Murray,' but the ballad corresponds to nothing that is known, or even probably surmised, in the relations between the Murrays and the Scottish kings.
Child's Ballad Texts
'The Sang of the Outlaw Murray'- Version A a; Child 305 The Outlaw Murray
a. Herd's Manuscripts, II, fol. 76, I, 255, 1795.
b. Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1803, I, 1; principally from a copy found among the papers of the late Mrs. Cockburn, of Edinburgh.
c. Aytoun's Ballads of Scotland, 1859, II, 131; "from an old manuscript in the Philiphaugh charter-chest," now not accessible.
d. A copy among the Philiphaugh papers, transcribed not earlier than 1848.
1 Etrick Forest is a fair foreste,
In it grows manie a semelie trie;
The hart, the hynd, the dae, the rae,
And of a' [wylde] beastis grete plentie.
2 There's a castell biggit with lime and stane,
O gin it stands not pleasantlie!
In the fore front o that castell fair
Twa unicorns are bra to see.
3 There's the picture of a knight and a ladye bright,
And the grene hollin aboon their brie;
There an Outlaw keepis five hundred men,
He keepis a royalle companie.
4 His merrie men are in [ae] liverie clad,
Of the Lincoln grene so fair to see;
He and his ladie in purple clad,
O if they live not royallie!
5 Word is gane to our nobell king,
In Edinburgh where that he lay,
That there was an Outlaw in Etterick forest
Counted him nought and all his courtrie gay.
6 'I mak a vowe,' then the goode king said,
'Unto the man that dear bought me,
I'se either be king of Etrick forest,
Or king of Scotland that Outlaw's bee.'
7 Then spak the erle hight Hamilton,
And to the noble king said he;
My sovereign prince, sum counsell tak,
First of your nobles, syne of me.
8 'I redd you send yon bra Outlaw till
And see gif your man cum will he;
Desire him cum and be your man,
And hald of you yon forest frie.
9 'And gif he refuses to do that,
We'll conquess both his lands and he,
Or else we'll throw his castell down,
And mak a widowe of his gaye ladie.'
10 The king called on a gentleman,
James Boyd, Erle of Arran, his brother was he;
When James he came before the king
He fell before him on his knie.
11 'Welcum James Boyd,' said our nobil king,
'A message ye maun gang for me;
Ye maun hie to Etrick forrest,
To yon Outlaw, where dwelleth he.
12 'Ask hym of quhom he haldis his lands,
Or, man, wha may his master be;
Desyre him come and be my man,
And hald of me yon forrest frie.
13 'To Edinburgh to cum and gang
His safe-warrand I sall be;
And, gif he refuses to do that,
We'll conquess baith his lands and he.
14 'Thou mayst vow I'll cast his castell doun,
And mak a widow of his gay ladie;
I'll hang his merrie men pair by pair
In ony frith where I may them see.'
15 James Boyd took his leave of the nobill king,
To Etrick forrest fair came he;
Down Birkendale brae when that he cam,
He saw the fair forest with his ee.
16 Baith dae and rae and hart and hynd,
And of all wylde beastis grete plentie;
He heard the bows that bauldly ring,
And arrows whidderand near him by.
17 Of the fair castell he got a sight,
The like he nere saw with his ee;
On the fore front of that castell
Twa unicorns were bra to see.
18 The picture of a knight and a ladie bright,
And the grene hollin aboon their brie;
Thereat he spy'd five hundred men,
Shuting with bows upon the lee.
19 They a' were in ae liverie clad,
Of the Lincoln grene, sae fair to see;
The knight and his ladye in purple clad;
O gif they lived right royallie!
Therefore he kend he was master-man,
And served him in his ain degree.
20 'God mot thee save, brave Outlaw Murray,
Thy ladie and a' they chivalrie!'
'Marry, thou's wellcum, gentleman,
Sum king's-messenger thou seems to be.'
21 'The King of Scotland sent me hier,
And, gude Outlaw, I'm sent to thee;
I wad wat of whom ye hald your lands,
Or, man, wha may thy master be.'
22 'Thir landis are mine,' the Outlaw said,
'I own na king in Christentie;
Frae Soudron I this forest wan,
When the king nor's knights were not to see.'
23 'He desires you'l come to Edinburgh,
And hald of him this forest frie;
And gif you refuse to do this,
He'll conquess both thy landis and thee;
He has vowd to cast thy castell down,
And make a widow of thy gaye ladie.
24 'He'll hang thy merrie men pair by pair,
In ony frith where he may them finde;'
'Aye, by my troth,' the Outlaw said,
'Then wad I think me far behinde.
25 'Eere the king my fair countrie get,
This land that's nativest to me,
Mony of his nobils sall be cauld,
Their ladies sall be right wearie.'
26 Then spak his ladye fair of face,
She said, Without consent of me
That an outlaw shuld come before the king:
I am right rad of treasonrie.
27 'Bid him be gude to his lordis at hame,
For Edinburgh my lord sall never see:'
James tuke his leave of the Outlaw keene,
To Edinburgh boun is he.
28 And when he came before the king,
He fell before him on his knie:
'Wellcum, James Boyd,' said the nobil king,
'What foreste is Etrick forest frie?'
29 'Etrick forest is the fairest forest
That ever man saw with his ee;
There's the dae, the rae, the hart, the hynde,
And of all wild beastis great plentie.
30 'There's a prittie castell of lime and stone,
O gif it stands not pleasauntlie!
There's on the fore side of that castell
Twa unicorns sae bra to see.
31 'There's the picture of a knight and [a] ladie bright,
And the grene hollin aboon their brie;
There the Outlaw keepis five hundred men,
O gif they live not royallie!
32 'His merry men in [ae] liverie clad,
O the Lincoln grene, so fair to see;
He and his ladye in purple clad,
O gif they live not royallie!
33 'He says yon forest is his ain,
He wan it from the Soudronie;
Sae as he won it, sae will he keep it,
Contrair all kings in Christentie.'
34 'Gar ray my horse,' said the nobil king,
'To Etrick [forest] hie will I me;'
Then he gard graith five thousand men,
And sent them on for the forest frie.
35 Then word is gane the Outlaw till,
In Etrick forest where dwelleth he,
That the king was cumand to his cuntrie,
To conquess baith his lands and he.
36 'I mak a vow,' the Outlaw said,
'I mak a vow, and that trulie,
Were there but three men to tak my part,
Yon king's cuming full deir suld be.'
37 Then messengers he called forth,
And bade them haste them speedilie:
'Ane of you go to Halliday,
The laird of the Corehead is he.
38 'He certain is my sister's son,
Bid him cum quick and succour me;
Tell Halliday with thee to cum,
And shaw him a' the veritie.'
39 'What news? what news,' said Halliday,
'Man, frae thy master unto me?'
'Not as ye wad; seeking your aid;
The king's his mortal enemie.'
40 'Aye, by my troth,' quoth Halliday,
'Even for that it repenteth me;
For, gif he lose fair Ettrick forest,
He'll take fair Moffatdale frae me.
41 'I'll meet him wi five hundred men,
And surely mae, if mae may be:'
[The Outlaw calld a messenger,
And bid him hie him speedily.]
42 'To Andrew Murray of Cockpool,
That man's a deir cousin to me;
Desire him cum and make me aid,
With all the power that he may be.
43 'The king has vowd to cast my castell down,
And mak a widow of my gay ladye;
He'll hang my merry men pair by pair
I[n] ony place where he may them see.'
44 'It stands me hard,' quoth Andrew Murray,
'Judge if it stands not hard with me,
To enter against a king with crown,
And put my lands in jeopardie.
45 'Yet, gif I cum not on the daye,
Surelie at night he sall me see:'
To Sir James Murray, laird of Traquair,
A message came right speedilie.
46 'What news? what news,' James Murray said,
'Man, frae thy master unto me?'
'What needs I tell? for well ye ken
The king's his mortal enemie.
47 'He desires ye'll cum and make him aid,
With all the powers that ye may be:'
'And, by my troth,' James Murray said,
'With that Outlaw I'll live and die.
48 'The king has gifted my lands lang syne,
It can not be nae war with me;'
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
49 The king was cumand thro Cadden ford,
And fiftene thousand men was he;
They saw the forest them before,
They thought it awsom for to see.
50 Then spak the erle hight Hamilton,
And to the nobil king said he,
My sovereign prince, sum counsell take,
First at your nobles, syne at me.
51 'Desyre him meet you at Penman's Core,
And bring four in his cumpanie;
Fyve erles sall gang yoursell before,
Gude cause that you suld honord be.
52 'And, if he refuses to do that,
Wi fire and sword we'll follow thee;
There sall never a Murray after him
Have land in Etrick forest frie.'
53 The king then called a gentleman,
Royal-banner-bearer then was he,
James Hope Pringle of Torsonse by name;
He came and knelit upon his knie.
54 'Welcum, James Pringle of Torsonse;
Ye man a message gae for me;
Ye man gae to yon Outlaw Murray,
Surely where bauldly bideth he.
55 'Bid him meet me at Penman's Core,
And bring four of his companie;
Five erles sall cum wi mysell,
Gude reason I suld honord be.
56 'And if he refuses to do that,
Bid him look for nae gude o me;
There sall never a Murray after him
Have land in Etric forest frie.'
57 James came before the Outlaw keene,
And served him in his ain degree:
'Wellcum, James Pringle of Torsonse,
What tidings frae the king to me?'
58 'He bids you meet him at Penman's Core,
And bring four of your companie;
Five erles will cum with the king,
Nae more in number will he be.
59 'And gif you refuse to do that,
I freely here upgive with thee,
There will never a Murray after thee
Have land in Etrick forest frie.
60 'He'll cast your bonny castell down,
And make a widow of your gay ladie,
He'll hang your merry men pair by pair
In ony place where he may them see.'
61 'It stands me hard,' the Outlaw said,
'Judge if it stands not hard with me;
I reck not of losing of mysell,
But all my offspring after me.
62 'Auld Haliday, young Haliday,
Ye sall be twa to gang wi me;
Andrew Murray and Sir James Murray,
We'll be nae mae in cumpanie.'
63 When that they came before the king,
They fell before him on their knee:
'Grant mercy, mercy, royal king,
Een for his sake who died on tre!'
64 'Sicken-like mercy sall ye have,
On gallows ye sall hangit be;'
'God forbid!' quo the Outlaw then,
'I hope your Grace will better be.
65 'These lands of Etrick forest fair,
I wan them frae the enemie;
Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them,
Contrair all kings in Christentie.'
66 All the nobilis said, the king about,
Pitye it were to see him die:
'Yet graunt me mercye, sovereign prince,
Extend your favour unto me!
67 'I'll give you the keys of my castell,
With the blessing of my fair ladie;
Mak me the sheriff of the forest,
And all my offspring after me.'
68 lt thou give me the keys of thy castell,
With the blessing of thy fair ladye?
I'll mak the[e] shiryff of the forest,
Surely while upwards grows the trie;
If you be not traytour to the king,
Forfaulted sall ye never be.'
69 'But, prince, what sall cum o my men?
When I go back, traitour they'll ca me;
I had rather lose my life and land,
Eer my merry men rebuk d me.'
70 ll your merry men amend their lives
And all their pardouns I grant thee:
Now name thy landes whe'ere they be,
And here I render them to thee.'
71 'Fair Philiphaugh, prince, is my awin,
I biggit it wi lime and stane;
The Tinnies and the Hangingshaw,
My leige, are native steeds of mine.
72 '. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
I have mony steeds in the forest shaw,
But them by name I dinna knaw.'
73 The keys of the castell he gave the king,
With the blessing of his fair ladye;
He was made sheryff of Etrick forest,
Surely while upward grows the trie;
And, if he was not traytour to the king,
Forfaulted he suld never be.
74 Wha ever heard, in ony tymes,
Sicken an outlaw in his degree
Sic favour get before a king
As did the Outlaw Murray of the forest frie?
-------------
'An old song called Outlaw Murray'- Version B; Child 305 The Outlaw Murray
Glenriddell's Manuscripts, XI, 61, 1791.
1 Etterick Forest's pleasant land,
And it grows mony a bonny tree;
With buck and doe and a' wild beast,
As castle stands right bonnilie.
2 Yon castle has twa unicorns,
The like I never saw wi my ee,
The picture of a knight and lady bright,
And the green hollin's aboon her [bree].
3 Word is gane to Edinbro town
. . . . . . .
That there's an Outlaw in Etterick forest
That keeps as fine a court as he.
4 The king has sworn a solemn oath,
And he has sworn by [the Virgin Mary],
He would either be king of Etterick forest,
Or king of Scotland the Outlaw should be.
5 He has ca'd up Mr. James Boyd,
A highland laird I'm sure was he:
'Ye must gae to Etterick forest
And see of wha he hads his land,
And wha pays yon men meat and fee.'
6 He's tane his leave o the king and court,
Een as hard as he may dree;
When he came in O'er London edge,
He viewed the forest wi his eee.
7 He thought it was as pleasant a land
As ever his two eyes did see,
But when he came in oer . . .,
They were a' ranked on Newark lee.
8 O waly, but they were bonny to see!
Five hundred men playing at the ba;
They were a' clad in the Lincoln green,
And the Outlaw's sell in taffety.
9 'Weel met you save, Outlaw,' he says,
'You and your brave companie;
The King of Scotland hath sent me here,
To see whom on you hold your lands,
Or who pays thir men meat and fee.'
10 The first ae man the answer made,
It was the Outlaw he:
'The lands they are all mine,
And I pay thir men meat and fee,
And as I wan them so will I lose them,
Contrair the kings o Cristendie.
11 'I never was a king's subject,
And a king's subject I'll never be;
For I wan them i the fields fighting,
Where him and his nobles durst not come and see.'
12 O out bespeaks the Outlaw's lady,
I wot she spake right wisely;
'Be good unto your nobles at home,
For Edinbro mine shall never see;'
But meat and drink o the best I'm sure got he.
13 He has taen his leave o the Outlaw free,
And een as hard as he may dree,
While he came to the king's court,
Where he kneeld low down on his knee.
14 'What news? what news, James,' he says,
'Frae yon Outlaw and his company?'
'Yon forest is as fine a land
As ever I did see.
15 'Yon Outlaw keeps as fine a court
As any king in Cristendie;
Yon lands they are here all his own,
And he pays yon men meat and fee,
And as he wan them so will he lose them,
Contrair the kings of Cristendie.
16 'He never was a king's subject,
And a king's subject he'll never be;
For he wan them in the fields fighting,
Where the king and his nobles durst not come to see.'
17 The king has sworn a solemn oath,
And he has sworn by the Virgin Mary,
He would either be king of Etterick forest,
Or king of Scotland the Outlaw should be.
18 The king has ca'd up Mr. James Pringle,
Laird of Torson[s]e at the time was he:
'Ye must gae to Etterick forest,
And see wha of he hads his land,
And wha pays yon men meat and fee.'
19 He's tane his leave o the king and court,
Een as hard as he may dree;
When he came in O'er London edge,
He viewed the forest wi his eee.
20 He thought it was as pleasant a land
As ever his two eyes did see,
But when he came in oer . . .,
They were a' ranked on Newark lee.
21 O waly, but they were bonny to see!
Five hundred men playing at the ba;
They were a' clad in the Lincoln green,
And the Outlaw's sell in taffety.
22 'Weel met you save, Outlaw,' he says,
'You and your brave companie;
The King of Scotland hath sent me here,
To see whom on you hold your lands,
Or who pays thir men meat and fee.'
23 The first ae man the answer made,
It was the Outlaw he:
'The lands they are all mine,
And I pay thir men meat and fee,
And as I wan them so will I lose them,
Contrair the kings o Cristendie.
24 'I never was a king's subject,
And a king's subject I'll never be;
For I wan them i the fields fighting,
Where him and his nobles durst not come and see.'
25 O out bespeaks the Outlaw's lady,
I wot she spake right wisely;
'Be good unto your nobles at home,
For Edinbro mine shall never see;'
But meat and drink o the best I'm sure got he.
26 'And as I wan them so will I lose them,
Contrair the kings o Cristendie;
I wan them frae the Soudan Turk,
Whem their cuckold king durst not come to see;
For I wan them in the fields fighting,
Where him and his nobles durst not come to see.'
27 O out bespeaks the Outlaw's lady,
I wot she spake right wisely;
'Be good unto your nobles at home,
For Edinbro mine shall never see;'
But meat and drink o the best I'm sure got he.
28 He has taen his leave o the Outlaw free,
And een as hard as he may dree,
While he came to the king's court,
Where he kneeld low down on his knee.
29 'What news? what news, James,' he says,
'Frae yon Outlaw and his company?'
'Yon forest is as fine a land
As ever I did see.
30 'Yon Outlaw keeps as fine a court
As any king in Cristendie;
Yon lands they are here all his own,
And he pays yon men meat and fee,
And as he wan them so will he lose them,
Contrair the kings of Cristendie.
31 'He hever was a king's subject,
And a king's subject he'll never be;
For he wan them in the fields fighting,
Where the king and his nobles durst not come to see.'
32 The king has sworn a solemn oath,
And he has sworn by the Virgin Mary,
He would either be king of Etterick forest,
Or king of Scotland the Outlaw should be.
33 'Gar warn me Perthshire and Angus both,
Fifeshire up and down, and Loudons three,
For I fear of them we hae great need,
. . . . . . . .'
34 Then word is come to the Outlaw then,
'Our noble king comes o the morn,
Landless men ye will a' be;'
He's called up his little foot-page,
His sister's son I trow was he.
35 'Ye must tak Etterick head
Een as hard as ye can drie;
Ye must gae to the Corhead and tell
Andrew Brown this frae me.
36 'The noble king comes in the morn,
And landless men we will a' be;
. . . . . . .
And tell him to send me some supply.'
37 The boy has taen Etterick head,
And een has hard as he may drie,
Till he came to the Corhead,
And he shouted out and cry'd well he.
38 'What news? what news, my little boy?
What news has thy master to me?'
'The noble king comes in the morn,
And landless then ye will a' be.
39 'Ye must meet him on the morn,
And mak him some supply;'
'For if he get the forest fair frae him,
He'll hae Moffat-dale frae me.
40 'I'll meet him the morn wi five hundred men,
And fifty mair, if they may be;
And if he get the forest fair
We'll a' die on the Newark lee.'
41 Word is gane to the Border then,
To . . . , the country-keeper I'm sure was he:
'The noble king comes in the morn,
And landless me ye will a' be.'
42 'I'll meet him the morn wi five hundred men,
And fifty mair, if they may be;
And if he get the forest fair,
We'll a' die on the Newark lee.'
43 Word is gane to Philiphaugh,
His sister's son I'm sure was he,
To meet him the morn wi some supply,
'For the noble king comes in the morn,
And landless men ye will a' be.'
44 'In the day I daur not be seen,
For he took a' my lands frae me
And gifted me them back again;
Therefore against him I must not be;
For if I be found against him rebel,
It will be counted great treason[rie].
45 'In the day I daur not be seen,
But in the night he shall me find
With five hundred men and fifty, if they may be,
And before he get the forest fair
We'll a' die on the Newark lee.'
46 When the king came in oer Loudon edge,
Wi three thousand weel teld was he,
And when he came in oer . . .
He viewd that forest wi his ee.
47 The Outlaw and his men were a'
Ranked on the Newark lee;
They were a' clad in the Lincoln green,
And he himsell in the taffety.
48 An auld grey-haird knight has taen aff his cap,
. . . . . . .
'Pardon, pardon, my sovereign liege,
Two or three words to speak wi you.
49 'If you please to send for the Outlaw,
To see if he could with you agree,
There's not a man yon Outlaw has
But of yours he'll choose to be.'
50 The king he has taen af his cap,
He held it on his majesty;
'I'll meet him the morn at the poor man's house,
In number not above two or three;'
The Outlaw says, I'll hae as few as thee.
51 'There's Andrew Brown, and Andrew Murray,
And Mess James Murray shall gang wi me,
. . . . . . . .
And nae mae shall my number be.'
52 And when they came to the poor man's core
They waited two lang hours or three,
And they were aware of the noble king coming,
And hundreds three in his company.
53 'I wonder what the muckle Deel
He'll learned kings to lie,
For to fetch me here frae amang my men
Even like a dog for to die;
But before I gang to Edinbro town
Monny toom saddles shall there be.'
54 The king he has taen aff his cap;
. . . . . .
'It [were] great offence here,' he says,
'And great pity to see thee die.
55 'For thou shalt be laerd o this forest fair
As lang as upwards grows the tree
and downward the twa rivers run,
If the steads thou can but rightly name to me.'
56 'There's Hangingshaw high and Hangingshaw laigh,
. . . . . . .
The Tinis and the Tinis-burn,
The Newark and the Newark lee.'
* * * * * * *
-----------
'Outlaw Murray, an ancient historical Ballad'- Version C; Child 305- The Outlaw Murray
"Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 31, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.
1 'Gae fetch to me James Pringle wi hast,
An see that he come speedilie,
For he maun on to Ettrick forest,
An see whae pays yon men meat and fee.'
2 When James Pringle cam down oer Birkendalee,
The hawks war yellin right loudlie,
The hunds war rinnin oer hill and dale,
As the bugle-horn soundit bonnilie.
3 'Gae tell yer king this land's my ain,
An to thir men I pay meat and fee;
I took it thrae the Souden Turk,
When nae sic cuckold king might be.
4 'Sae as I wan, sae will I lose,
Spite o the kings in Christendie;
I never was a king's subject,
Nor a king's subject will I ever be.'
5 'Outlaw Murray says yon land's his ain,
And to yon men he pays meat and fee;
He took it frae the Souden Turk,
When you and your men durstna come and see.'
6 It was than the king he gat up in hast,
An wow an angrie man was he!
'I'se either be king o Ettrick forest,
Or king o Scotland sal he be.
7 'Gar warn me Fife an a' Lothian land,
An Perth an Angus, to ride wi me,
For gin we war five thousan strang
Master and mair I fear he'll be.'
8 When the king came oer be Birkendalee,
He spy'd the forest wi his ee;
There war daes an raes an monie wild beast,
An a castle stannin right bonnilie.
9 An in that castle a unicorn,
An, waly, but they war fair to see!
A warlike knight and a lady bright,
An the green halleen aboon her bree.
10 An Outlaw Murray an his merry men
War a' rankit up i the Newark lee,
Well mountit on a milk-white steed;
Waly, he rankit them bonnilie!
11 His men war a clad oer wi green,
An he was clad i the taffatie,
Wi belt an pistle by his side;
O waly, but they war fair to see!
* * * * * * *
12 'Haliday young an Halliday auld,
Ye ir the men that man ride wi me;
But gin we war five hunder strang
Master an mair I fear they'll be.'
* * * * * * *
13 'Philliphaugh it is my ain,
An Newark it belangs to me;
Lewinshope an Hanginshaw
Nae mortal man can claim thrae me.'
* * * * * * *
14 It was than James Boyd got up in hast,
An to his merry men a' spak he;
. . . .
. . . . .
----------
End-Notes
A. a. The division of stanzas as made in the Manuscript has been changed in 195-236, 685-736. Of course all the stanzas were originally of four verses, but in some cases it is not now possible to determine at what points verses have been lost. Two lines are in the Manuscript indicated (conjecturally, no doubt) to have dropped out after 412, 482, 704. 413,4 have been supplied from the copy in Herd's first volume. There are asterisks in Herd I after 524.
14. Cf. 162, 294, and b.
41, 321. Cf. 191 and b. But c agrees with a.
51. Side note in Manuscript: James II, 1454.
314. lived.
342. Cf. b, c.
Variations in Herd, I (not regarding spelling).
24, 41. are wanting.
32. the brie.
33. hundir.
54. his country.
61. then wanting.
114. he dwelleth he.
164. him near by.
173. fair front.
213. land.
311. and a.
313. keeps him: hunder.
351. Outlaws (wrongly).
413,4. As supplied in the text. Cf. c.
582. bring him four.
584. Nae mae.
624. nae mair.
634. sake that.
651. Thir.
683. mak thee.
684. upward.
b. 13. There's hart and hynd and dae and rae.
14. wilde beastes.
21. a feir.
33. keeps.
41. are a' in ae.
42. sae gaye.
44. gin they lived.
54. nor a'.
64. outlaw sail.
71, 501. the lord.
74. at your: at me.
81. ye.
91. And wanting.
92, 121, 134, 213, 354, 444, 481, 651, 703. landis.
101. then called a.
102. the erle.
104. He knelit.
114. where bydeth.
123. And desyre.
132. sail gie.
164. hym neir bi.
171. Of that.
173. castell feir.
174. were gaye.
184. on Newark lee.
191. were a'.
192. sae gaye.
194. 1802, gin. 1803, instead of 193,4:
His men were a' clad in the grene,
The knight was armed capapie,
With a bended bow, on a milk-white steed,
And I wot they ranked right bonilie.
195. Thereby Boyd.
204. seemis.
222. I ken.
224. his knightis.
233, 373, 581. ye.
236. hath.
253, 504. nobilis.
263. befor a.
273. James Boyd.
281. When James he.
282. He knelit lowlie on: seyd our.
303. in the forefront.
311. and a.
312. Wi the.
314. He keepis a royalle cumpanie.
321. in ae.
322. sae gaye.
324. gin.
332. frae the Southronie.
334, 654. kingis.
34. 'Gar warn me Perthshire and Angus baith,
Fife up and down and the Louthians three, (cf. B 331,2)
And graith my horse,' said the nobil king,
'For to Ettricke Foreste hie will I me.'
353. 1803, cuming.
364. 1802, cumand.
372. hie them.
373, 692. gae.
383,4. The king cums on for Ettricke Foreste,
And landless men we a' will be. (Cf. B 34.)
401. said.
412. surely mair.
Between 411,2 and 413,4:
And before he gets the Foreste feir,
We a' will die on Newark Lee. (Cf. B 40.)
413,4. The Outlaw calld a messenger,
And bid him hie him speedilye.
43 Wanting.
441. Andrew Murray said.
442, 612. gif: na.
444. And set.
451. if.
453. laird wanting.
471,2. And now he is cuming (1802, cumand) to Ettricke Foreste,
And landless men ye a' will be. (Cf. B 413,4).
474. will I live.
482. 1802, canna: warse.
491. 1803, cuming.
492. full five.
493. the derke.
503. sovereign liege.
511. mete thee.
521, 561. gif.
522. We'll conquess baith his landis and he.
524. Hald.
Between 52 and 53:
Then spak the kene laird of Buckscleuth,
A stalworthye man and sterne was he;
'For a king to gang an Outlaw till
Is beneath his state and his dignitie.
'The man that wons yon Foreste intill,
He lives by reif and felonie;
Wherefore, brayd on, my sovereign liege,
Wi fire and sword we'll follow thee; (see a 522)
Or, gif your courtrie lords fa back,
Our borderers sail the onset gie.'
Then out and spak the nobil king,
And round him cast a wilie ee;
'Now haud thy tongue, sir Walter Scott,
Nor speik of reif nor felonie,
For, had everye honeste man his awin kye,
A right puir clan thy name wad he.'
532. there was.
533. Hop.
542. A message ye maun gang.
552, 582. four in.
574. What message.
583. erles sail gang himsell befor.
593,4. He'll cast yon bonny castle down,
And mak a widowe o that gaye ladye.
60. He'll loose yon bluidhound borderers
Wi fire and sword to follow thee;
There will nevir a Murray after thysell
Have land in Ettricke Foreste frie.
613. Wha reck not losing.
After 61:
My merryemen's lives, my widowe's teirs,
There lies the pang that pinches me!
When I am straught in bluidie eard,
Yon castell will be right dreirie.
633. nobil king.
634. sake that.
643. Over God's forbode, quoth.
After 644 (added in 1803):
Else ere ye come to Edinburgh port
I trow thin guarded sail ye be.
651. Thir.
652. from.
661. said wanting.
662. Said pitie.
671. give thee.
672, 682. gaye for fair.
673. Gin thoult mak me sheriffe of this.
683. I'se: of Ettricke Foreste.
686. sail thou.
703. they lie.
71. 1802. Fair Philiphaugh, prince, is my ain,
But and a part of the Newark lee,
The Finnies and the Hangingshaw,
My liege, are native steads to me.
1803. Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right,
And Lewinshope still mine shall be;
Newark, Foulshiells and Tinnies baith
My bow and arrow purchased me.
721,2. 1803.
And I have native steads to me
The Newark lee and Hangingshaw;
734. upwards.
735. was na.
c. This copy agrees closely, as to substance, with a. After 504 it has two lines, partially corrupted, which do not occur in a, and it lacks st. 60, which, it is to be observed, does not occur in the king's instructions to Pringle, 54-56 (though found in the instructions to Boyd, 14), and was therefore not to be expected. Verbal differences are numerous, but in only a very few cases of the least importance, and in these for the worse.
14, 162, 294. wild beasts.
21. builded of.
23. There's in.
24. is braw.
31. and lady.
33,4, 313. keeps.
41. men's in livery.
42. is fair.
44. O gin.
54. country.
61. then wanting.
64. sail be.
71, 261. spoke.
74. good nobles, and syne.
82, 451, 591. if.
82. yon man.
83, 123, 423, 511, 551. him to.
91, 133, 194, 233, 302, 314, 324, 403. gin.
91, 133. refuse.
92, 134, 234, 354. conqueist.
93. we'll cast.
94, 142, 236, 432. his (thy, my) fair.
102. and his brother-in-law.
111. said the.
112. gae.
113. to fair E.
121. holds.
124. yon fair forrest of me.
131, 152, 443. Till.
141. may: I'se.
163. There heard he bows did.
164. whithering him near by.
171. the great.
173. the castle he saw.
174. unicorns so braw.
191. They were all in ane.
194. not royallie.
195. he knew.
196. He served.
201. Good mot ye.
202. Thy fair lady and thy.
211. he sent.
214. may your.
221. lands is.
222. And I ken.
223. From Soldan Turk.
224. king and his men was.
231. ye, man, to come.
233. ye.
243. Then.
244. will I.
252. Thir lands.
253. they sail lie.
262. Said she.
263. That any: enter before a.
264. rad for.
271. lords.
273. leave at.
274. Unto: bound he.
291. is ane of the: forrests.
303. that fair c.
311. There's wanting: and a.
313. There an.
314. live.
321. is in l.
322. is fair.
331. is truely his.
332. He says he: Soldanie.
333. Like as: he loss it.
342. In E. Forrest.
344. And made for.
351. to the.
352. where lay.
353. coming to this.
354. And ould.
363. Will: men take.
364. Your: sail.
372. speed them.
381. Be certain he.
382. And bid him come and.
383. Till Halliday till that he come.
384. You show.
393. Nought.
401, 441. said.
403, 693. loss.
412. if I.
413,4 wanting.
421. Laird of.
424, 472. that wanting.
442, 612. O gin it.
452. in the night ye.
454. right hastilie.
463. needs me.
471. desired ye to.
481. he's.
483. no worse for.
491. coming oer Cadron.
494. awfu.
502. Unto.
504. First of: and then of.
After 504:
Yet I reid you send yon Outlaw till,
And if you man them, come will he.
(Repetition, with corruption, of 81,2.)
512. four of the best of.
513, 622. gae.
513, 553. aun sell.
514. Good reason you.
522. follow will we.
523. never after him again.
531. king he called.
532. bearer of Scotland.
533. Hoppringle.
534. on.
541, 573. Laird of.
542,3. Thou.
551. Desire.
552, 582. Bring four of the best of the (your).
554. reason in some part I.
562. good from.
574. What biddings.
581. desires you to.
584. Naemae.
591. ye.
592. Truelie here I.
60 wanting.
613. What rack of the.
623. Sir wanting.
634. sake that.
641. Siccan mercie you sal.
642. sal you.
643. said the O. syne.
651. The.
652. from.
653. sae will I loss.
661. noblemen.
662. Pitie, Outlaw: see thee.
664. Let your favour be given to.
671. my fair.
673. Why, ye will make me sheriff: the fair.
681. Will ye: your.
682. of your.
683. of Ettrick Forrest.
685. If ye be not a: to your.
686. Forfeited.
691. But alace, prince: become.
693. lands.
701. thy.
702. grant I frie.
703. where.
714. Prince, they are native lands.
724. But well their names I do not.
733. He made him.
735. a traitor to the crown.
736. should he.
741. any time.
743. Sic ane Outlaw.
744. Outlaw in the Forrest.
d. The Manuscript extant in the Philiphaugh archives exhibits, besides many differences of spelling, the following variations in reading from c as printed by Aytoun:
51. Side note: Jas the 2d, 1454.
174. is bra for so braw.
192. is fair for so fair.
214. mak for man, wrongly.
222. From Soudron for From Soldan Turk.
242. see for find.
262. said wanting, wrongly.
332. Soudonie for Soldanie.
333, 653. tyne for loss.
383. Tell for Till.
404. Mosaldale for Moffat-dale.
432. ane for a.
452. he for ye.
482. work for worse, wrongly.
504. syne for then.
511, 551, 581. Penman score, wrongly.
521, 561. refuse for refuses.
562. frae for from.
651. Thir for the.
732. With his for With the, wrongly.
B. The division of stanzas has been rearranged.
52. "Reciters," says Scott, "sometimes call the messenger the laird of Skene."
21=8.
213. the wanting.
214. in the.
22=9.
224. land.
24=11.
244. come to.
353. Carhead.
50, 54. Passing over the king's taking off his cap to an outlaw, which is monstrously 'beneath his state and his dignitie,' I can make nothing of the line which succeeds in each of these stanzas.
521. score for core.
C. 14. Displaced. James Boyd should of course come in before James Pringle.