For we have brente Northomberlonde,

Thy eritage good and ryght;

And syne* my logeyng I have take,

With my brande dubbyd many a knyght.

Sir Harry Percy cam to the walles,
The Skottyssh oste for to se;
"And thow hast brent Northomberlond,
Full sore it rewyth me.

"Yf thou hast haryed all Bambarowe shyre,†

Thow hast done me grete envye; For the trespasse thow hast me done, The tone of us schall dye."

Where schall I byde the? sayd the Dowglas,

Or where wylte thow come to me? "At Otterborne in the hygh way,‡ Ther maist thow well logeed be.

"The roo full rekeles ther sche rinnes, To make the game and glee :

The fawkon and the fesaunt both,

Amonge on the holtes on 'hee.'

"Ther maist thow have thy welth at wyll, Well looged ther maist be.

Yt schall not be long, or I com the tyll," Sayd Syr Harry Percye.

Ther schall I byde the, sayd the Dowglas, By the fayth of my bodye.

Ther he mayd the Douglas drynke,

And all hys oste that daye.

The Dowglas turnyd him homewarde agayne,

For soth withowghten naye,

He tooke his logeyng at Otterborne
Uppon a Wedyns-day :

And ther he pyght hys standerd dowyn,
Hys gettyng more and lesse,
And syne he warned hys men to goo
To chose ther geldyngs gresse.

A Skottysshe knyght hoved upon the bent,
A wache I dare well saye :

So was he ware on the noble Percy

In the dawnynge of the daye.

He prycked to his pavyleon dore,
As faste as he myght ronne,
Awaken, Dowglas, cryed the knyght,
For hys love that syttes yn trone.*

*

Awaken, Dowglas, cryed the knyght,

For thow maiste waken wyth wynne: Yender have I spyed the prowde Percy, And seven standardes wyth hym.

Nay by my trowth, the Douglas sayed, It ys but a fayned taylle:

He durste not loke on my bred banner, For all Ynglonde so haylle.+

Percy;

My trowth I plyght to the.

A pype of wyne he gave them over the walles,

For soth, as I yow saye :

* Syne seems here to mean since.

+ Bamboroughshire, so called from the town and castle of Bamborough, formerly the residence of the Northumbrian kings.

Otterbourn is near the old Watling Street Road, in the parish of Elsdon. The Scots were encamped in a grassy plain near the iver Read. The place where the Scotch and English fought is still called Battle Riggs.

That stonds so fayre on Tyne? For all the men the Percy hade,

He cowde not garre me ones to dyne.

He stepped owt at hys pavelyon dore,
To loke and it were lesse;
Araye yow, lordyngs, one and all,
For here bygynnes no peysse.

The yerle of Mentaye,‡ thow arte my eme,
The forwarde I gyve to the:

*Sits upon the throne. + To gain.

The Earl of Menteith.

The yerlle of Huntlay, cawte and kene, He schall wyth the be.

Every man schoote hys horsse him froo, And lyght hym rowynde abowght.

On the other hand he schall be ; Lorde Jhonstone, and lorde Maxwell,† They to schall be with me.

Swynton fayre fylde upon your pryde
To batell make yow bowen:
Syr Davy Scotte, § Syr Walter Stewarde,
Syr Jhon of Agurstone.

A FYTTE.

The Perssy came byfore hys oste, Wych was ever a gentyll knyght, Upon the Dowglas lowde can he crye, I wyll holde that I have hyght:

For thow haste brente Northumberlonde,
And done me grete envye;

For thys trespasse thou hast me done,
The tone of us schall dye.

The Dowglas answerde hym agayne

With grete wurds up on "hee," And sayd, I have twenty agaynst "thy"

one,

Byholde and thow maiste see.

Wyth that the Percye was grevyd sore,
For soothe as I yow saye :
[He lyghted dowyn upon his fote,
And schoote his horsse clene away.

Every man sawe that he dyd soo, That ryall was ever in rowght;

*The Lord Buchan.

†The families of Johnstone and Maxwell were always powerful on the borders.

Swinton is a small village within the Scotch border. The family of Swinton still exists, and is very ancient.

§ Sir David Scott, one of the ancestors of the Dukes of Buccleuch.

All that follows included in brackets was not in the first edition.

For soth, as I yow saye :
Jesu Cryste in hevyn on hyght
Dyd helpe hym well that daye.

But nyne thowzand, ther was no moo;
The cronykle wyll not layne:
Forty thowsande Skottes and fowre
That day fowght them agayne.

But when the batell byganne to joyre,
In hast ther came a knyght,
"Then" letters fayre furth hath he tayne,
And thus he sayd full ryght:

My lorde, your father he gretes yow well, Wyth many a noble knyght;

And he desyres yow to byde

That he may see thys fyght.

The Baron of Grastoke ys com owt of the west,

Wyth hym a noble companye;
All they loge at your fathers thys nyght,
And the Battel fayne wold they see.

For Jesu's love, sayd Syr Harye Percy,
That dyed for yow and me,
Wende to my lorde my Father agayne,

And saye thow saw me not with yee:

My trowth ys plyght to yonne Skottysh knyght,

It needes me not to layne,
That I schulde byde hym upon thys bent,
And I have hys trowth agayne:

And if that I wende off thys grownde
For soth unfoughten awaye,
He wolde me call but a kowarde knyght
In hys londe another daye.

Yet had I lever to be rynde and rente,

By Mary that mykel maye;

Then ever my manhod schulde be reprovyd Wyth a Skotte another daye.

Wherfore schote, archars, for my sake,

And let scharpe arowes flee : Mynstrells, playe up for your waryson, And well quyt it schall be.

Every man thynke on hys trewe love, And marke hym to the Trenite : For to God I make myne avowe

Thys day wyll I not fle.

The blodye Harte in the Dowglas armes, Hys standerde stode on hye;

That every man myght full well knowe : By syde stode Starres thre:

The whyte Lyon on the Ynglysh parte, Forsoth as I yow sayne;

The Lucetts and the Cressawnts both : The Skotts faught them agayne.]*

Uppon sent Andrewe lowde cane they crye,

And thrysse they schowte on hyght, And syne marked them one owr Ynglysshe

men,

As I have tolde yow ryght.

Sent George the bryght owr ladyes knyght,
To name they were full fayne,
Owr Ynglysshe men they cryde on hyght,
And thrysse the schowtte agayne.

Wyth that scharpe arowes bygan to flee,

I tell yow in sertayne;
Men of armes byganne to joyne ;

Many a dowghty man was ther slayne.

The Percy and the Dowglas mette,

That ether of other was fayne;

*The ancient arms of Douglas are pretty accurately emblazoned in the former stanza, and if the readings were, "The crowned harte," and "Above stode starres thre," it would be minutely exact at this day. As for the Percy family, one of their ancient badges or cognizances was a white lyon statant, and the silver crescent continues to be used by them to this day; they also give three luces argent for one of their quarters.

They schapped together, whyll that the swette,

With swords of fyne Collayne;*

Tyll the bloode from ther bassonetts ranne,
As the roke doth in the rayne.
Yelde the to me, sayd the Dowglas,
Or ells thow schalt be slayne:

For I see, by thy bryght bassonet,
Thow arte sum man of myght;
And so I do by thy burnysshed brande,
Thow art an yerle, or ells a knyght.

By my good faythe, sayd the noble Percy,
Now haste thou rede full ryght,
Yet wyll I never yelde me to the,

Whyll I may stonde and fyght. They swapped together, whyll that they swette,

Wyth swordes scharpe and long ; Ych on other so faste they beette,

Tyll ther helmes cam in peyses dowyn.

The Percy was a man of strenghth,

I tell yow in thys stounde,

He smote the Dowglas at the swordes length,

That he felle to the growynde.

The sworde was scharpe and sore can byte,

I tell yow in sertayne ;
To the harte, he cowde hym smyte,

Thus was the Dowglas slayne.

The stonderds stode styll on eke syde,

With many a grevous grone; Ther they fowght the day, and all the nyght, And many a dowghty man was "slone."

Ther was no freke, that ther wolde flye,
But styffly in stowre can stond,
Ychone hewyng on other whyll they myght
drye,

Wyth many a bayllefull bronde.

* Cologne steel.

D