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Another Scotish poet of this time the style and spirit as well as the subject of whose poetry must be admitted to be exclusively national is Henry the Minstrel, commonly called Blind Harry, author of the famous poem on the life and acts of Wallace. The testimony of the historian John Major to the time at which Henry wrote is sufficiently express: "The entire book of William Wallace" he says, "Henry, who was blind from his birth, composed in the time of my infancy (mea infantiae tempore cudit), and what things used popularly to be reported wove into popular verse, in which he was skilled." Major is believed to have been born about 1469; so that Henry's poem may be assigned to the end of the third quarter of the fifteenth century. There is reason to believe that it was printed at Edinburgh as early as 1520; but the oldest impression now known is an Edinburgh one in 4to. of the year 1570. There were many reprints of it in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some of them greatly modernized in the language and otherwise altered: the standard edition is that published from a manuscript dated 1488 by Dr. Jamieson along with Barbour's poem 4to. Edin. 1820. 'The Wallace,' which is a long poem of about 12,000 decasyllabic lines, used to be a still greater favourite than was 'The Bruce' with the author's countrymen; and Dr. Jamieson does not hesitate to place Harry as a poet before Barbour. In this judgment, however, probably few critical readers will concur, although both Warton and Ellis, without going so far, have also acknowledged in warm terms the rude force of the Blind Minstrel's genius. It may be remarked, by the way, that were it not for Major's statement, and the common

epithet that has attached itself to his name, we should scarcely have supposed that the author of 'Wallace' had been either blind from his birth or blind at all. He no where himself alludes to any such circumstance. His poem, besides, abounds in descriptive passages, and in allusions to natural appearances and other objects of sight: perhaps, indeed, it might be said that there is an ostentation of that kind of writing, such as we meet with also in the modern Scotch poet Blacklock's verses, and which it may be thought is not unnatural to a blind person. Nor are his apparent literary acquirements to be very easily reconciled with Major's account, who represents him as going about reciting his verses among the nobility (coram principibus), and thereby obtaining food and raiment, of which, says the historian, he was worthy (victum et vestitum, quo dignus erat, nactus est). "He seems," as Dr. Jamieson observes, "to have been pretty well acquainted with that kind of history which was commonly read in that period." The Doctor refers to allusions which he makes in various places to the romance histories of Hector, of Alexander the Great, of Julius Cæsar, and of Charlemagne ; and he conceives that his style of writing is more richly strewed with the more peculiar phraseology of the writers of romance than that of Barbour. But what is most remarkable is that he himself distinctly declares his poem to be throughout a translation from the Latin. The statement, which occurs toward the conclusion, seems too express and particular to be a mere imitation of the usage of the romance-writers, many of whom appeal, but generally in very vague terms, to a Latin original for their marvels :

Of Wallace life wha has a further feela
May show furth mair with wit and eloquence;
For I to this have done my diligence,
Efter the proof given fra the Latin book
Whilk Maister Blair in his time undertook,
In fair Latin compiled it till ane end:
With thir witness the mair is to commend.b
Bishop Sinclair than lord was of Dunkell
He gat this book, and confirmed it himselĺ
For very true; thereof he had no drede ;c
Himself had seen great part of Wallace deed.
His purpose was till have sent it to Rome,
Our fader of kirk thereon to give his doom.
But Maistre Blair and als Shir Thomas Gray
Efter Wallace they lestita mony day:

Thir twae knew best of Gud Schir William's deed,
Fra sixteen year whilef nine and twenty yeid.s

In another place (Book V. v. 538 et seq.) he says:—

Maistre John Blair was oft in that message,

A worthy clerk, baith wise and right savage.
Lewita he was before in Paris town
Amang maisters in science and renown.
Wallace and he at hame in schul had been:
Soon efterwart, as verity is seen,

He was the man that principal undertook,
That first compiled in diteb the Latin book
Of Wallace life, right famous in renown;
And Thomas Gray, person of Libertown.

Blind Harry's notions of the literary character are well exemplified by his phrase of "a worthy clerk, baith wise and right savage." He himself, let his

* Knowledge.

We do not profess to understand this line. Thir is Scotch for these. Mair is mar in Jamieson.

[blocks in formation]

d Survived (lasted).

g Went, passed.

a Dr. Jamieson's only interpretation is "allowed, left."

b Writing.

scholarship have been what it may, is in spirit as thorough a Scot as if he had never heard the sound of any other than his native tongue. His gruff patriotism speaks out in his opening lines :—

Our antecessors, that we suld of read,
And hold in mind their noble worthy deed,
We lat owerslide, through very sleuthfulness,
And casts us ever till other business.
Till honour enemies is our hail intent;
It has been seen in thir times bywent:
Our auld enemies comen of Saxons blud,
That never yet to Scotland wald do gud,
But ever on force and contrar hail their will,
How great kindness there has been kythee them till.
It is weil knawn on mony divers side

How they have wrought into their mighty pride
To hald Scotland at under evermair:

But God above has made their might to pair.d

Of the fighting and slaying, which makes up by far the greater part of the poem, it is difficult to find a sample that is short enough for our purpose. The following is a small portion of what is called the battle of Shortwoodshaw :

On Wallace set a bicker bauld and keen ;
A bow he bare was big and well beseen,
And arrows als, baith lang and sharp with aw;a
No man was there that Wallace bow might draw.
Right stark he was, and in to souer gear;b
Bauldly he shot amang they men of wer. d

с

a Allow to slip out of memory.

c Shown.

b Whole

d Diminish, impair.

Dr. Jamieson's only interpretation is owe. It would almost seem as if we had here the modern Scotish witha' for withall.

In sure warlike accoutrements.

• Those.

d War.

Ane angel heade to the huiks he drew
And at a shot the foremost soon he slew.
Inglis archers, that hardy war and wight,
Amang the Scots bickered with all their might;
Their aweful shot was felon for to bide;
Of Wallace men they woundit sore that tide;
Few of them was sickers of archery;
Better they were, an they gat even party,
In field to bide either with swerd or spear.
Wallace perceivit his men tuk mickle deir : h

He gart i them change, and stand nought in to stead; i
He cast all ways to save them fra the dead. *
Full great travail upon himself tuk he;
Of Southron men feil' archers he gart deem
Of Longcashiern bowmen was in that place
A sairo archer aye waitit on Wallace,
At ane opine, whar he usit to repair;
At him he drew a sicker shot and sair
Under the chin, through a collar of steel
On the left side, and hurt his halse 4 some deal.
Astonied he was, but nought greatly aghast;
Out fra his men on him he followit fast;
In the turning with gud will has him ta'en
Upon the crag,' in sunder straik the bain.

It will be seen from this specimen that the Blind Minstrel is a vigorous versifier. His descriptions, however, though both clear and forcible, and even not unfrequently animated by a dramatic abruptness and boldness of expression, want the bounding airy spirit and flashing light of those of Barbour. As a specimen of his graver style we may give his Envoy or concluding lines:

• The barbed head of an arrow.
f Terrible.

g Sure.

h Took much hazard, ran much risk.

i Caused.

JStand not in their place. Perhaps it should be "o stead,"

that is, one place.

1 Many.

• Skilful?

k Death.

n Lancashire.

r Throat.

m Caused die.
P Open place? q Neck.

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