The Yngglyshe men let thear bowys be,
And pulde owt brandes that wer bright;
It was a hevy syght to se

Bryght swordes on basnites lyght.

Thorowe ryche male, and myne-ye-ple
Many sterne the stroke downe streght :
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 myllàn.

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

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

"Holde the, Persè," sayd the Doglas,

"And i' feth I shall the brynge

Wher thowe shalte have a yerls wagis
Of Jamy our Scottish kynge.

Thoue shalte have thy ransom fre,

I hight the hear this thinge,

For the manfullyste man yet art thowe,
That ever I conqueryd in filde fightyng."

"Nay then"" sayd the lord Persè,
"I tolde it the beforne,

That I wolde never yeldyde be

To no man of a woman born."

With that ther cam an arrowe hastely
Forthe off a mightie wane,*

V. 32, ran. P. C.

20

25

30

35

40

45

V. 18, briggt. P. C. V. 21, throrowe. P. C.
V. 26, to, i. e. two. Ibid. and of. P. C.

V. 33, helde. P. C.

*Wane, i. e. ane, one, sc. man. An arrow came from a mighty one from a mighty man.

Hit hathe strekene the yerle Duglas

In at the brest bane.

Thoroue lyvar and longs bathe

The sharp arrowe ys gane,

That never after in all his lyffe days,

He spayke mo wordes but ane,

50

That was, "Fyghte ye, my merry men, whyllys

ye may,

For my lyff days ben gan."

The Persè leanyde on his brande,
And sawe the Duglas de;

He tooke the dede man be the hande,
And sayd, "Wo ys me for the !

To have savyde thy lyffe I wold have pertyd with

My landes for years thre,

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,

55

60

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

65

He rod uppon a corsiare

Throughe a hondrith archery;

He never styntyde, nar never blane,
Tyll he came to the good lord Persè.

70

He set uppone the lord Persè

A dynte, that was full soare;

With a suar spear of a myghtè tre

Clean thorow the body he the Persè bore,

75

Athe tothar syde, that a man myght 30,
A large cloth yard and mare:

V. 49, throroue. P. C.

V. 74, ber. P. C.

*This seems to have been a Gloss added.

Towe bettar captayns wear nat in Christiantè,
Then that day slain wear ther.

An archar off Northomberlonde
Say slean was the lord Persè,
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;

A dynt, that was both sad and soar,

80

85

He sat on Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry,

The dynt yt was both sad and sar,
That he of Mongon-byrry sete;

The swane-fethars, that his arrowe bar,
With his hart blood the wear wete.*

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

Heawyng on yche othar, whyll the myght dre,
With many a bal-ful brande.

This battell begane in Chyviat
An owar befor the none,

And when even-song bell was rang
The battell was nat half done.

The tooke 'on' on ethar hand

Be the lyght off the mone;

Many hade no strenght for to stande,
In Chyviat the hyllys aboun.

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

90

95

100

V. 80, Say, i. e. Sawe. V. 84, haylde. P. C. V. 87, sar. P. C. V. 102, abou. P. C.

*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. Vid. Crawfurd's Peerage.

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

But all wear slayne Cheviat within :

The hade no strengthe to stand on hie;
The chylde may rue that ys 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

With dyntes wear beaten dowene.

For Wetharryngton my harte was wo,
That ever he slayne shulde be;

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

Ther was slayne with the dougheti Douglas
Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry,

Sir Davye Lwdale, that worthè was,
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,*

Cam to fach ther makys a-way.

V. 108, strenge hy. P. C. V. in to, t. e. in two. V. 122, kny. P. C. For the Names in this page, see the next Ballad.

105

110

115

120

125

130

A common pleonasm; see the next poem, Fit. 2d. V. 155. So

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.

Word ys commen to Edden-burrowe,
To Jamy the Skottishe kyng,

135

140

That dougheti Duglas, lyff-tenant of the Merches,
He lay slean Chyviot with-in.

His handdes dyd he weal and wryng,
He sayd, "Alas! and woe ys me!
Such another captayn Skotland within,"
He sayd, "y-feth shuld never be."

Worde ys commyn to lovly Londone
Till the fourth Harry our kyng,

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

145

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,
"As good as ever was hee:

But Persè, and I brook my lyffe,
Thy deth well quyte shall be."

As our noble kyng made his a-vowe,
Lyke a noble prince of renowen,

For the deth of the lord Persè,

He dyd the battel of Hombyll-down:

155

160

V. 136, mon. P. C. V. 138, non. P. C. V. 146, ye seth. P. C. V. 149, cheyff tennante. P. C.

Harding in his Chronicle, chap. 140, fol. 148, describing the death of Richard I. says,

He shrove him then unto Abbots thre

With great sobbyng. and wepyng teares.

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.