Critical Inquiry into the Scottish Language With the View of Illustrating the Rise and Progress of Civilization in Scotland

Author(s): Michel, Francisque Xavier

THE RISE AND PROGRESS
OF
CIVILISATION IN SCOTLAND
Of this work 500 copies only have
been printed — of which this is
No.
A CRITICAL INQUIRY
into the
SCOTTISH LANGUAGE
with the view of illustrating the
RISE AND PROGRESS OF
CIVILISATION IN
SCOTLAND
BY FRANCISQUE-MICHEL
F.S.A. LOND. AND SCOT.
CORRESPONDANT DE L'INSTITUT DE FRANCE
ETC. ETC:. ETC.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
MDCCCLXXXII
All Rights reserved

TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
ALEXANDER WILLIAM CRAWFORD
EARL OF CRAWFORD AND BALCARRES; BARON LINDSAY
OF BALCARRES; LORD LINDSAY AND BALNEIL;
AND BARON WIGAN OF HAIGH HALL;
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF A FAMILY UNITING IN ITSELF
THE TRADITIONS OF BOTH FRANCE AND SCOTLAND,
THIS ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE INFLUENCE
OF THE ANCIENT LEAGUE
Is Dedicated
BY HIS OBLIGED SERVANT,
FRANCISQUE-MICHEL.
PREFACE.
THE close political and social ties that bound
Scotland to France form a very striking feature
in the history of both countries, especially
in that of the former. The Ancient League,
traditionally dating from the days of King
Achaius and the Emperor Charlemagne, became in the fourteenth
century an undoubted fact, when both countries had a
common interest in resisting the ambition of the Plantagenet
kings. The frequent royal alliances, the steady intercourse,
and the consequent mutual change of ideas between the two
kingdoms during the Stuart era, could not fail to leave recognisable
marks upon both nations. On Scotland, as the more
backward of the two countries, French influence made a
deep impression. Scottish early civilisation was cast mainly
in a French mould; its Universities drew their constitution
almost wholly from French sources; its municipal institutions
were largely copied from French examples; its religion at the
Reformation elected to be guided by French rather than by
German rites; its language, its social customs, its business,
its pastimes, — were all more or less modified by the French
conviction. To thoroughly understand Scottish civilisation,
we must seek for most of its more important germs in French
sources. We must recall the steady tide of intercourse flowing
between the two countries; the crowds of Scotsmen flocking
to France for study or for military service, and coming back
to imbue their students and their tenants with their own experience;
the French courtiers and men-at-arms who came to
Scotland in the train of each royal alliance; the scholars of
the Reformation who strove to introduce the principles and
forms of the Huguenots; the Jacobite emissary of a later century
full of French sympathies and French ideas; and the
French followers who often accompanied the "Scot abroad"
back to his own country.
The present volume is an attempt to illustrate the extent to
which this French influence pervaded the life of the Scottish
people. Exception may be taken to some of the lines on
which our research has proceeded, and some of our conclusions
will perhaps prove subject of controversy. For this we are
prepared. Our object is achieved when we have shown the
part that French influence exercised in Scottish progress finding
its way into every rank and into every walk of life. The
book is not set forth as a complete exposition, but rather as
an opening up of a question of much general interest in the
history of British culture. Such as it is, it is now after much
labour submitted to the learned of the two countries that have
always shown such goodwill to each other. It is now high
time to gratefully acknowledge a debt which has been running
on for upwards of two years. The Rev. Walter Gregor,
minister of Pitsligo, — one of those scholars whose learning
cannot be confined within the quiet bounds of a Scottish manse,
and whose abilities are perhaps better known to savants in
other countries than his own, — has given me assistance
without which the book could not have been what it is. In
suggesting, revising, correcting, modifying views, and supplying
illustrations, Mr Gregor has indeed been indefatigable;
and gratitude is due from the public as well as from myself
to him for his arduous labours.
The author cannot close without acknowledging with thanks
the zeal and talent evinced by Messrs William Blackwood &
Sons during the progress of this book through the press.
FRANCISQUE-MICHEL.
PARIS, 13 RUE DE L'ANCIENNE COMÉDIE,
January 1882.

Contents.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION, 1
CHAPTER I.
ARCHITECTURE, . . . 19
CHAPTER II.
FURNITURE, . . . . 31
CHAPTER III.
BANQUETING AND VIVERS, . . . 39
CHAPTER IV.
CLOTHING, . . . . 67
CHAPTER V.
FINE ARTS, . . . .99
CHAPTER VI.
MONEY, . . . . . 115
CHAPTER VII.
ANIMALS, . . .127
CHAPTER VIII.
EDUCATION: TERMS RELATING TO IT, . 137
CHAPTER IX.
MEDICINE, . . . .147
CHAPTER X.
LAW, . . . . . 159
CHAPTER XI.
ROGUES AND VAGABONDS — PUNISHMENTS, 175
CHAPTER XII.
WAR — MILITARY TERMS, . . . 185
CHAPTER XIII.
SEA TERMS, . . . . 201
CHAPTER XIV.
MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, . 213
CHAPTER XV.
DANCES, 229
CHAPTER XVI.
GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS, . . . . 245
CHAPTER XVII.
WORDS EXPRESSING ABSTRACT IDEAS, . 253
CHAPTER XVIII.
SUNDRIES — PHRASES DERIVED FROM THE FRENCH,. . 311
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX I., 42!
APPENDIX II., 429
INDEX, 435

INTRODUCTION.
THE Scotch language is acknowledged to be a
dialect of the Saxon or old English, with
some trifling variations; indeed the two languages
originally were so nearly the same,
that the principal differences at present between
them are owing to the Scotch having retained many
Words and phrases which have fallen into disuse among
the English. So says John Sinclair, in the introduction to
his Observations on the Scottish Dialect;1 but he seems
to overlook that there are many Scotch words and idioms
which cannot be traced to an English source. Moreover,
he fails to show how the uniformity he points out could
have taken place between two countries so long strangers
to each other — divisos toto orbe Britannos, if we may say
1 This book has been superseded by a more
elaborate one, published by Dr James A. H.
Murray, under the title of 'The Dialect of the
Southern Counties of Scotland: its Pronunciation,
Grammar, and Historical Relations,'
&c.: London, 1873 — 8vo. Another Scottish
doctor — Charles Mackay — has issued a 'Celtic
and Gaelic Etymology of the Languages of
Western Europe, and more especially of the
English and Lowland Scotch, and their Slang
and Colloquial Dialects:' London, 1878. Let
us mention also Lord Neaves' "Some Remarks
on the Scottish Language, particularly
as employed by the earlier Scottish Poets" —
'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland,' vol. v. part i. pp. 65-78.
so in a figurative sense — and where a Southron was at a loss
to understand a North Briton.1
The Scottish and the English languages were both formed
in the same manner and of the same elements, but independently
of each other. This fact did not prevent them from
running in parallel lines without meeting. As might be expected,
North Britain was, to a certain extent, peopled by
Norsemen; and Jamieson has remarked that among the common
people, the names of herbs, in the north of Scotland, are
either the same with those still used in Sweden and other
northern countries, or are nearly allied. The same observation
applies pretty generally throughout Scotland to the names
of quadrupeds, birds, and fishes.2
A Teutonic dialect was the generally spoken language of
Lothian, Merse, and Teviotdale, from the time of David I.
When that prince succeeded to the throne, he appears, with a
generous and an enlightened policy, to have endeavoured to
introduce civilisation into the ruder part of the island, by
encouraging the emigration of the Normans into his new
dominions. It may be mentioned as a circumstance which
confirms, in a striking manner, the above remark regarding
this policy, that the names of the witnesses to a charter of
William the Lion still extant — Moreville, Fitz Allan, Umfra1
In a conference between Mary of Lorraine,
queen-dowager and regent of Scotland, and an
English envoy, the conversation was at first
carried on in the Scottish tongue; but as the
latter did not readily understand that language,
he was forced to speak French. — 'Calendar of
State Papers,' foreign series, Feb. 16, 1560,
p. 380, No. 737, i.
2 'Dissertation on the Origin of the Scottish
Language,' p. 24. See also "On the Introduction
of the English Language into Scotland;"
Dr Irving's 'Lives of the Scottish Poets,'
vol. i. p. 50 et seq; and the statistical accounts
of the different counties.
ville, Lovel, and De Hay — are all, without exception, of
Norman origin.1
The men who bore those Norman names did not stand alone
in introducing the French language into Scotland, then swarming
with English men and women, enticed thither by the
liberal policy of the kings.2 Many who followed the profession
of arms reached the country with the wave of foreigners
that flowed northward after the Conquest. We, in time, got
our own share, says Professor Innes, of those dashing adventurers
who introduced among us the customs of chivalry 3 and
the surnames they had adopted from their ancestral castles
across the Channel. The courts of David I. and his grandsons
were full of knightly men, bearing the names of De Brus, De
Balliol, De Morevil, De Umfravil, De Berkelai, De Quinci,
De Vipont, De Vaux, and a hundred others;4 so that these
1 Vide Leland's 'Collectanea,' vol. i. p.
207. Bishop Lesley states that many of
Edgar's friends fled from England into North
Britain and settled there — namely, "Lindsay,
Loyal, Touris, Prestoun, Sandelandis, Bissat,
Foulis, Wardlaw, Maxuel." — 'De Origine,
Moribus, et Rebus gestis Scotorum,' lib. vi.
p. 210. The names which follow ("Crychtoun,
Fodringanne, Giffert, Manlis, Brothik,
Leslie") are ascribed to emigrants from Hungary
in the retinue of Edgar's family.
2 "Repleta est ergo Scotia servis et ancillis
Anglici generis, ita ut etiam usque hodie nulla
non dico villula, sed nec domuncula sine his
valeat inveniri." Simeon Dunelmensis, 'De
Gestis Regum Anglorum,' col. 201, 1. 28;
apud Roger. Twysden, Historiæ Anglicanæ
Scriptores X.' Cf. Hailes's 'Annals of Scotland,'
vol. i. pp. 12, 13; A.D. 1070.
3 Among other customs we should be inclined
to add the handfasting, or betrothing
by joining hands, in order to cohabitation
before the celebration of marriage, a custom
which appears to have existed in France. —
See Jamieson and Du Cange's glossaries.
4 'Concerning some Scotch Surnames:'
Edinburgh, 1860 — 8vo. Cf. 'Sketches of
Early Scotch History,' pp. 9-11; and 'Scotland
in the Middle Ages,' pp. 88, 89. Father
Richard Augustine Hay gives another list,
including, besides his own name, those of
Frazer, Bodwell, Montgomery, Monteith,
Boes, Campbell, Vervin, Telfer, Boswell. —
'The Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of
Rosslyn,' p. 4: Edinburgh, 1835 — 4to.
Mr Isaac Taylor, in his work, Words and
Places,' attributes to many Scotch families a
Norman origin, and among others, to the
Campbells and Grants. But Campbell is
evidently, as a writer in Notes and Queries'
princes had to recognise the importance of the French element
among their subjects.1
Many of the names of those adventurers have disappeared
from the land in which they were once so illustrious, and many
of them have been altered past recognition. The grand old
Norman name of De Vesci is now Veitch; De Vere, once still
greater, is in Scotland Weir. De Limessay, which is inferior
to none of them, has become Lindsay. De Montaut has been
transformed into the respectable but not illustrious name of
shows, from the Celtic cam, crooked or awry;
and bel, a mouth. It was a common practice
among the Celts to give a name from some
personal peculiarity. Thus, in the 'Annals
of the Four Masters,' we find Aedh Balbh, or
the Stammerer, A.D. 737 (a word undoubtedly
derived from the Latin balbus, Ital. balbo,
old French baube, which gave rise to the verb
balbutier, still in use); Aedh Buidhe, or the
Tawny, A.D. 600; Bran Beg, or the Little,
A.D. 733, &c. The name of Grant, which
Mr Taylor derives from the French le Grand,
is found in the 'Annals of the Four Masters'
so early as A.D. 716, when we have Conan
Grant, or Connel the Gray.
1 There are several charters of David I.,
of his son Earl Henry, of Malcolm IV.,
and William, which are addressed to their
mixed subjects in those early times, — to the
French, English, Scots, Welsh, and Gallowaymen
— Francis, Anglis, Scottis, Walensibus,
et Galweiensibus. — See Liber Sancte Marie
de Melros,' &c., Nos. 1-3 (vol. i. pp. 3,
4, 6: Edinburgi, 1837 — 4to); 'Liber S.
Marie de Calchou,' &c., Nos, 1, 29, 32, 40,
241 (vol. i. pp. v, 3, 26, 28, 34, 196:
Edinburgi, 1846 — 4to); 'Liber Ecclesie
de Scon,' &c., Nos. 5, 9, 31 (pp. 5, 9,
22: Edinburgi, 1843 — 4to); Registrum
Episcopatus Glasguensis,' &c., Nos. 12,
29, 70, 107 (vol. i. pp. 14, 28, 63, 92:
Edinburgi, 1843 — 4to). A last fact to be
alleged for the multiplicity of Frenchmen
in Scotland is, that the early laws of the
Brets and Scots are in Norman French. — See
Innes's Scotland in the Middle Ages,' p.
180. At the beginning of the fourteenth
century, the leaders in the defence of Stirling,
named in the capitulation, were Alarms de
Vypont, Godefridus, and Hugo le Botiller,
Johannes le Naper, Walterus Taylleu, and
Simon l'Armerer. See Rymer's 'Fœdera,'
last edit., vol. i. pars ii. p. 966. When the
town of Jedburgh swore fealty to Edward I.,
as we see by the transaction in the "Ragman
Roll," there were, among the townsmen, Robert
le Mareschal and Steven le Mareschal
[stablers, I presume, according to the phrase at
Edinburgh], Rauf le Spicer [grocer], Thomas
le Tayllur and Simon le Tayllur. When the
aldermen and burgesses of Roxburgh swore
fealty at the same time, there submitted with
them Walter le Orfevre [goldsmith], Richard
le Forblaur [sword cutler], Michael le Saeler
[saddler, perhaps], Austyn le Mercer. — See
Prynne's 'Records,' vol. iii. p. 653; and
Chalmers's 'Caledonia,' vol. ii. pp. 146, 147,
note p.
Mowat. De Montfiquet is Muschet, pronounced Muchet in
Portugal, to which the family emigrated perhaps at the same
time the Gordons settled at Xeres de la Frontera in the wine
trade. De Vaux, if it lives still, does so in the shape of Vans,
by turning a letter upside down; while De Bellassize, carrying
us back to the times of the Crusades, has become Belsize in
England, and in yet homelier northern mouths has degenerated
into Bellsches. In fine, who could recognise in the name of
Wishart the French huissier, corresponding to Doorward,
Scotch Durward?
We learn from a curious passage in the Latin chronicle
attributed to Walter of Coventry, that as early as the reign
of William the Lion the Scottish Court had adopted the
manners, dress, and even language of France,1 then fashionable
in England. We are also aware that during the long wars in
which Robert Bruce wrested the kingdom from the English,
many Scottish estates were bestowed by the Southron monarchs
upon their nobles. It is true that the thorough Court
French imported by them never gained much ground in Scotland;
and although, doubtless, it was exclusively used by the
English settlers of that disturbed period, it seems not to have
long survived their departure,2 when Latin became the univer1
"Moderniores enim Scotorum reges
magis se Francos fatentur, sicut genere, ita
moribus, lingua, cultu; Scotisque ad extremam
servitutem redactis, solos Francos in familiaritatem
et obsequium adhibent." — 'Memoriale
fratris Walteri de Coventria,' &c., edited by
William Stubbs, vol. ii. p. 206, A.D. 1212:
London, 1873 — 8vo.
2 The following passages afford a sufficient
proof of the use of the French at Court,
and of the necessity of a translation for the
million:—
"Quhen Schyr Anton the Bek had dwne
Hys spek, the Kyng hym awnsweryd swne
All in till Frawnkis, as oysyd he:
'Par le sang Dew, vos avese chawnté,
'Be Goddis blud (he sayd), yhe sang.'"
— 'The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland,' by
sal language of public business, and continued to be so down to
the end of the fourteenth century.1 But the taste for French
manners and language was not utterly lost. It continued to
prevail more or less to a comparatively recent period, and
must have had a considerable influence on Scottish literature
in general. That such was the case at the close of the fourteenth
century, there is abundant proof in the various poems
composed by Huchowne,2 which exhibit not only a familiar
acquaintance with French compositions, but abound with
words and phrases borrowed from the French language.
The Scottish clergy, being generally educated abroad,
chiefly at the University of Paris, in spite of the exertions
of England in opposition to this custom,3 imported thence
Androw of Wyntoun, b. viii. c. v. 1. 911.: D.
Laing's edit., vol. ii. pp. 303, 304: Edinburgh,
1872 — 8vo.
"Thus to that Kyng then sayd he swne:
`A Mere de Dew! drede thow noucht.'"
— Ibid., I. 958, p. 305. Cf. c. x. 1. 1660,
1664, pp. 327, 328.
1 C. Innes, Sketches of Early Scotch History,'
pp. 108, 109. See, on the condition of
Scotland at the end of the fourteenth century,
Buckle, 'History of Civilisation in England,'
vol. ii. p. 183, and following.
2 "Huchowne,
That cunnand wes in literature.
He made the gret Gest off Arthure,
And the Awntyre off Gawane,
The Pystyl als off swete Swsane.
He wes curyws in hys style,
Fayre of facund, and subtille,
And ay to plesans and delyte
Made in metyre met his dyte."
— Wyntown, The Orygynal Cronykil
Scotland,' b. v. 1. 4322, vol. i. p. 122, ed.
Macpherson, 1795-4to; and ed. D. Laing,
vol. ii. p. 12.
"This year, the King compelled all such
Scotchmen as were of any singular knowledge
in learning or literature, to be resident in
Oxford, doubting least the Scotch nobility,
increasing in politic prudence by their instructions,
should seek to throw off the yoke of
bondage." — Anth. à Wood, 'The History and
Antiquities of the University of Oxford,' &c.,
vol. i. p. 366: Oxford, 1792-4to. Wood
refers to Holinshed's History of Scotland,'
p. 212.
In the year 1282, Dervorgil, the daughter
of Allan, Lord of Galloway, and the wife of
the elder Sir John Balliol, father of the King
of the Scots, founded and endowed a college
at Oxford. Baliol College, it may be presumed,
was opened for the reception of
Scottish students; though it does not appear
from the statutes that those of other countries
improvements in all the useful arts, with the words pertaining
to them, and planted them in Scotland. They cleared the land
of brushwood, drained the marshes, enclosed the fields with
hedges, made orchards, laid out gardens, erected mills and
farm granges, and encouraged their serfs and cottagers to settle
in little villages and communities, which they protected and
fostered. They were the great architects and builders. Beautiful
churches, and princely convents and monasteries, rose under
their hands, with a splendour of ornament, and an imposing
grandeur of effect, which contrasted with the houses of the
were excluded.* The Rev. Joseph Stevenson
has lately published Edward I.'s Letters
of Protection for Thomas de Umfraville
and John de Mar, students at Oxford, A.D.
1295, Aug. 15 ('Documents illustrative of
the History of Scotland,' &c., vol. ii. p. 5,
No. 339: Edin. 1870 — 8vo); and before him
Rymer had given a circular issued by the
same king, 'De non molestando Scotos hinc
inde transeuntes,' A.D. 1305, ann. 33 Ed. I.
('Foedera,' vol. ii. p. 967: Lond., 1705 —
fol.) There is extant a passport from Edward
III., which authorises John Barbour to conduct
three students to the University of Oxford,
A.D. 1357, ann. 31 Ed. III. (ibid.,
tom. iii. part i. p. 144, col. 2.) Towards the
end of the fourteenth century, Oxford was
in the high-tide of popularity, and crowds
of young Scotsmen obtained passports and
hurried thither to complete their course of
philosophy; but northern men were never
popular at Oxford. In 1382, Richard II.
addressed a writ to the chancellor and proctors,
forbidding them to molest the Scotch
students. "Such inconveniences," as remarks
Professor Innes, "hastened that which must
have come without them; and three universities
were founded within the fifteenth century
in Scotland ('Scotland in the Middle Ages,'
c. ix. p. 274), which, however, did not prevent
the Scots from resorting to the English
ones."
To quote a single instance, there is some
reason to believe that Dunbar studied in the
University of Oxford. 'Learning vain without
guid Lyfe, written at Oxinfurde,' is the
title of one of his poems.* "It is obvious,
indeed," says Dr Irving, "that he might
visit Oxford in some other capacity than
that of a student." †
Scottish students resorted also to Cambridge.
According to an ancient record quoted by
John Kay, the students of that university were
in the year 1370 classed by nations, and three
Scottish collegians were invested with a kind
of rectorial power for the purpose of maintaining
order among their countrymen.‡
* Anth. à Wood,' The History and Antiquities of the
Colleges and Halls in the University of Oxford,' &c.,
PP. 70-74: Oxford, 1786-4to.
* 'The Poems of William Dunbar,' coll. by David
Laing, vol. i. p. 199. Cf. vol. ii. pp. 347-349.
† 'The Lives of the Scottish Poets,' &c., vol. i. p.
394: London, 1810 — 8vo.
‡ Caius, 'De Antiquitate Cantabrigiensis Academiæ,'
&c., p. 555: Lond. 1563 — 8vo.
nobility, and much more with the huts which crowded round
the walls of those huge piles which not unfrequently were
called by French names.1
The construction of these buildings demanded, and of course
encouraged, the arts of numerous workmen and craftsmen.
The iron work required the labour of the smith; the timber
work, that of the carpenter; the exquisite carved screens
and painted windows, the silver shrines and ornamented
vestments of the priests, and their processional banners,
encouraged the painter, glass-stainer, carver, jeweller, and
embroiderer; and by affording these artisans constant employment,
increased their skill and ingenuity in their crafts.
The domestic arts, too, which might minister to the comfort or
comparative luxury of a rude life (for one who studies the progress
of society must observe in the statutes of the churches
a union of provision for magnificent religious solemnities with
the antique simplicity of life and manners in the actors in the
pageant), the management of the dairy, the rearing of domestic
animals, the erection of dovecots, the enclosure and preservation
of rabbit-warrens, and numerous other branches of domestic
economy and "outfield" wealth, undoubtedly owed to the
Scottish clergy of those remote times their highest improvement,
if not their original introduction. They were, besides,
the greatest mercantile adventurers in the country, employing
ships which were their own property, and freighting them with
their wool and hides, their cured fish and skins, to Bordeaux,
1 For instance, New Abbey, or Sweet Heart,
in Kirkcudbright, was originally called Duz
Quer, Douce Cœur, or Dulce Cor. — See Androw
of Wyntown's Cronykil,' b, viii. c. 9,
1. 1507; D. Laing's edit., vol. ii. p. 322.
Flanders, and other parts of the Continent. For these goods
they received in return the silks, spices, and other rarities of the
East, along with the richest productions of the Flemish and
Italian looms.
What has just been said applies chiefly to the wealthier
bodies; but in a humbler sphere the mendicant friars likewise
contributed their part to the progress of civilisation in Scotland,
and deserve to be mentioned. Mostly of low extraction,
those orators who boldly delivered their passionate sermons
before crowded assemblies, not only in the churches, but in
public places, at the corners of the streets, in the open air,
and in the fields, had also pursued their studies abroad, chiefly
in France, and must have got into the habit of imitating
certain preachers on the Continent, who liked to give a relish
to their Latin sermons by inserting into them words and
sentences in the vernacular.1 The most celebrated of those
forerunners of the Reformation, Olivier Maillard and Michel
Menot, are well known to us, especially since Mons. Antony
Méray has rescued them from oblivion, along with the Alsatian
Franciscan Johann Poli, Geiler of Kaisersberg, Cesarius of
Heisterbach, Jean Clerée, and Guillaume Pepin;2 but who remembers
those who in Scotland paved the way for Calvin and
Knox? Either the fanaticism of the Reformation times has
made us lose the very remembrance of those mighty trumpets
whose sound had overturned the walls of the ancient Church, or,
if the sermons of these forgotten preachers had been collected,
1 See in the Histoire littéraire de la
France,' vol. xxi, pp. 313-317, many instances
of such mixture as early as the thirteenth
century.
2 'La Vie au temps des libres Prêcheurs,
ou les Devanciers de Luther et de Rabelais,'
&c. (2 vols.): Paris, 1878 — -8vo.
the fruits of their eloquence must have been destroyed amid
the turmoil that convulsed Scotland during that troublous
period. The fact is, that nothing whatever remains of those
Scottish preachers of the Roman Catholic Church, except that
we may trace back to them the custom of preaching in the open
air.1 We can therefore only surmise that the friars of North
Britain did not act otherwise than their French or Flemish
brethren, in whose company a great many of them had pursued
their studies; and that, on their return to Scotland, they had
brought over a large number of words and phrases, which, in
preference to English terms, were introduced into a language
as poor as those by whom it was spoken.
In concluding this picture of ecclesiastical industry and
improvement, with its lights and shadows, it must not be
forgotten that within the walls of the same religious houses
was preserved that small portion of knowledge and literature
which was then to be found in Scotland; and that in the
cell of the monk, the feeble and wavering spark of science
was saved at least from utter extinction.2
1 See Jamieson's 'Etym. Dict.,' Suppl., p.
546, voce "Tent Preaching."
2 Tytler, 'Lives of Scottish Worthies,'vol.
i. pp. 88, 89: London, 1831 — 18mo.* In
'Customs and Valuation of Merchandises,'
A.D. 1612, we find imported to Scotland,
"barlie hurld or French barley, beds of aik or
walnut trie of French making, canves, gloves
of Bridges of French making, gloves of Vandosme,
iron pottis, quilts, French wool," and
"yarne (raw linning), Dutch or Frenche." —
'The Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' pp.
289, 298, 309, 325, 333. Without entering
here into the history of the commercial inter*
An historical allusion to the ancient commerce of the
Western Isles is given in a Scottish Gaelic romance of
the sixteenth century, quoted in 'The Costume of the
Highland Clans,' p. 90.
"Thugadh air luing o'n Fhràing 's o'n Spàinn
An àm soirbheachaidh, nach gànn;
Airgid agus òr, gu leòr
Fion, a's sioda, a's céur, a's sròl;
Séudan grinn air iomadh dăth,
Clachan luachmhor, boilsgleach glăn."
"Then brought the ships of France and Spain —
In the time of our prosperity —
Abundance of silver and gold,
Silk and satin, wax and wine,
With clear gems of many hues,
Precious, glistening, pure and bright."
— `Loisgeadh Caisteil Tirorma,' l. 105.
"Ptholome, Averois, Aristotal, Galien, Ypocrites, or Cicero,
quhilk var expert practicians in mathematic art," 1 — their names
at least — were known to Scottish clergymen; but their works did
not leave the shelves of the monastic libraries, on which they
were very seldom displaced,2 while the French romances, that
lay by them,3 very often found their way to the feudal mansions,
course between Scotland and Flanders, which
is illustrated by the register of the Privy
Council of Scotland, we will content ourselves
by noting that "cremar," a pedlar,
"sture," a sturgeon, and "Rusiliss," the
name constantly used for Lille — which is
clearly the Dutch Rijissel — with many more,
are of unmistakable Flemish origin. — `The
Saturday Review,' July 28, 1877, p. 118,
col. 1.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotland,' p. 97.
2 The monks, at least in England, appear
to have made no use of their books, as Leland
complained, when he had to shake off the
dust and the cobwebs of Abingdon library.
3 The libraries of the monasteries, according
to Warton, were full of romances, a statement
which Ritson pronounces to be very
doubtful. — 'Dissertation on Romance and
Minstrelsy,' p. ci. In Glastonbury Abbey, at
any rate (probably the largest in England),
we only find the four following: the 'Gesta
Normannorum,' the 'Liber de excidio Trojæ,
the 'Gesta Ricardi Regis,' and the 'Gesta
Alexandri Regis,' all of which, it is most probable,
were in French verse, in which they are
known to exist. But, at the same time, it
is obvious that the author of the catalogue
which was taken in 1248 (vide Johann. Glaston.,
'Chronica de Rebus Glastoniensibus,' ed.
Th. Hearne, vol. ii. p. 435: Oxon., 1726 —
8vo), called romance any work written in
French, either of history or fiction. In the
appendix to Dart's 'History of the Church of
Canterbury' is a meagre catalogue of books
anciently in the monastic library, among
which there are not two articles of that kind;
but Peterborough Cathedral was better provided
(vide Gunton's 'History of the Church
of Peterburgh,' p. 204); much less, however,
than the Abbey of Bardsley, in Worcestershire,
to which Guy Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
bequeathed a valuable collection of
books in 1291; on the conditions expressed at
the end of his will: "Lesqueus livres nous
grauntouns pur nos heyrs, e pur nos assignés,
q'il demorront en ladit abbeye, à garder à
touz jours, saunz estre donez, vendeuz, ou
aloynez par nous, ou par null de nos heyres,
ou de nos assignés; issint nequedent qe bein
list à nous, e nos heyrs, &c., avaunt dis, seygnurs
de Warrewick ou de Aumeleye, que
leure e quaunt nous plerra fere quere deus
ou treys des ditz romaunces, pur solas avoyr,
e les remaunder à ladit abbeye, en ces qe plus
des romaunces et fesoins maunder," &c. That
interesting will, first partly printed by henry
John Todd in his Illustrations of the Lives
and Writings of Gower and Chaucer,' pp. 161,
162, has been given in extenso in our "Tristan,"
vol. i. pp. cxxi, cxxii, and elsewhere.
In the Escheator's roll of the Duke of
Gloucester's effects at Plescy, plundered after
his death in 1397, there is a list of "livres de
diverses rymances et estories," which has been
published by the Rev. H. O. Coxe its the
preface of his edition of John Gower's 'Vox
Clamantis,' pp. xlix-lii: London, 1350 — 4to.
and sowed there many words and idioms which were afterwards
transplanted into the national language. We will only
mention a single instance, which is supplied by an archdeacon
of Aberdeen.
From many passages in his great poem, Barbour appears to
have been, like Dunbar after him,1 well read in the romances
of the day, as well as in classical literature.2 The fidelity of
the wife and of the sister of Bruce, as well as that of the wives
of his companions, is illustrated by a parallel instance of female
heroism taken from the Romance of Thebes:—
"Men redys when Thebes wes tane,
And King Arista's men wer slane
That assailyt the cité,
That the women of his cuntré
Come for to fetch hym hame agane
Quhen thai hard all hys folk wes slayne." — B. ii. 1. 334.
On another occasion, alluded to in the life of Bruce, when
the king, by an exertion of great personal strength and courage,
escapes from the attack of John of Lorn, this Celtic chief, with
1"O feyrse Achill, in furius hie curage!
O strong invincible Hector, undir scheild!
O valyeant Arthur, in knyghtly vassalage!
Agamemnon, in governance of feild!
Bold Hanniball, in batall to do beild!
Julius, in jupert, in wisdom and expence!" &c.
— "Welcom to Bernard Stewart, Lord of
Aubigny," 1. 57; 'The Poems of William
Dunbar,' vol. i. p. 131.
2 The spurious productions of Dares Phrygius
and Dictys Cretensis are almost the
only books to which Barbour formally refers
(see book i. 1. 395, 521; book iv. 1. 835 et
seq.); but his acquaintance with ancient history
and ancient fable was relatively extensive.
The favourite classic of the time was Statius,
and he also appears to have been the author
beloved by Barbour. The chaste compositions
of Virgil and Horace were less gratifying to
the reigning taste than the strained thoughts
and gorgeous diction of Statius and Claudian.
A writer who flourished so lately as the seventeenth
century, speaks of the former as being,
Virgil only excepted, "the prince of poets,
as well Greeke as Latine." — Henry Peacham,
The Compleat Gentleman,' &c., p. 90: London,
1622 — 4to.
much propriety, alludes to an adventure which befell Golmak
Morn, or Gaul the son of Morni, a hero of Irish story; but
Barbour, judging from the name, a poet of Norman blood and
nursed in the lap of romantic fiction, observes it would have
been "mar manerlyk," or more appropriate, to have compared
him to Gaudier de Laryss:—
"Quhen that the mychty Duk Betys
Assailyeit in Gadyrs the forrayours,
And quhen the king thaim maid recours,
Duk Betyss tuk on hym the flycht
That wald ne mair abide to fycht;
Bot gud Gaudiffer the worthy
Abandonyt hym so worthily
For hys reskew, all the fleirs
And for to stonay the chassers,
That Alexander to erth he bar.
And alswa did he Tholimar
And gud Coneus alswa,
Dankline alswa, & othir ma;
Bot at the last thar slayne he wis,
In that failyeit the liklynes." 1 — P. 48.
A little further on we are presented with the romantic pic1
In the same book Bruce comforts his followers
by an example of the constancy of
Scipio, taken from the history of Rome at the
time when Hannibal had reduced the Romans
to the greatest distress:—
"Quhen Hannibal thaim wenensyt had
That off ryngs with rich stanys,
That war off knychts fyngyrs taneys,
He sent three belles to Carthage." — P. 47.
Surely Barbour had read the above fact in a
romance. Chaucer, in his "Dreme," to pass
the night away, rather than play at chess, calls
for a romaunce, in which "were writtin fables
of quenis livis, & of kings, & many other
thingis smale." This proves to be Ovid: see
v. 52, &c. Chaucer's translation of the most
famous of French romances cast the original
into oblivion. A reference to Jean de Meung
in fol. yi.b of a MS. preserved in the Cottonian
collection, and marked Nero A X, proves the
popularity of the "Roman de la Rose" in
Scotland as well as in England during the
course of the fourteenth century.
ture of the king reading to his faithful friends, as they sat on
the banks of Loch Lomond, the romance of the worthy Ferambrace
with the brave Oliver and Duke Peris, who were
besieged by the Soldan Lawyne, or Laban, in the renowned
city of Egrimor or Agramore, on the river Flagot:1—
"Throw the rycht doughty Olywer,
And how the Duk Peris wer
Assegit intill Egrymor,
Quhar King Lawyne lay them befor,
With ma thousands then I can say:
And bot elewyn within war thai
And a woman — that war sa stad
That thai na mete thair within had,
Bot as thai fra thair fayis wan,
Yet sa contenyt thai thaim than
That thai the tower held manlily,
Till that Rychard of Normandy.
Mare hys fayis warnyt the king,
That wis joyful off this tything:
For he wen'd thai had all bene slayne,
Tharfor he turnyt in hy agayne,
And wan Mantrybill, & passit Flagot,
And syne Lawyne and alle his flote
Dispitously discumfyt he,
And delevyrit hys men al free." — P. 54.
This romance of Fierabras, which derives an additional
interest from its having been a favourite book with Bruce,
must have been, from the similarity of the names, the Norman
French original of the same story, which has been epitomised
1 Such a practice seems to have been imported
from France. In the middle of the
sixteenth century the Lord of Gouberville had
much pleasure in reading aloud to his servants
gathered, in a rainy day, under a mantelpiece,
'Amadis of Gaul, how he vanquished Dardan.'
— 'Revue des Deux Mondes,' May 1,
1878, p. 159.
by Ellis in his Specimens of the Early English Metrical
Romances.'
Sir James Douglas, and probably many of the barons who
followed the king, had been educated in France,1 and were
well acquainted with the French romances of the time; of
which Fierabras, from the variety of its incident, and the
humorous descriptions in which it abounds, was one of the
most popular.2
In later times, the institution of the Scottish body-guard and
1 Lindsay of Pitscottie expressly states that
such was the case with another James Douglas,
"a man of guid conditione, and weill beseine
in divine letteris, broucht up ane long tyme
at the scooles in Paris, and luiked for the
bischoprick of Dunkell," &c.— 'The Cronicles
of Scotland,' vol. i. p. 85: Edin. 1814-8vo.
Another member of the same family knew
how to read. See the Chronicle of J. de
Lalain, by G. Chastelain, ch. liv., ed. of the
"Panthéon Littéraire," p. 662, col. 1 and 2.
Don Pedro de Ayala, writing to the Spanish
Government, says of the Scots: "The inhabitants
speak the language and have the
habits of the Irish. But there is a good deal
of French education in Scotland, and many
speak the French language; for all the
young gentlemen who have no property go
to France, and are well received there, and
therefore the French are liked." — 'Calendar
of State Papers preserved at Simancas,' and
publ. by Bergenroth, Henry VII. 1498, vol. i.
p. 174.
There is no occasion to wonder if in 1566
the noblemen wrote their letters "sume in
Latin and sume in Frenche," that language
being taught at St Andrews, and generally
in all the chief schools of Scotland, "with
the reiding and right pronunciation of that
toung." — The Autobiography and Diary
of Mr James Melvill,' pp. 17, 125, 307, A.D.
1566, 1592: Edinburgh, 1842 — 8vo. Cf.
'Les Ecossais en France,' &c., vol. ii. pp.
78, 79.
The Earl of Dunbar, writing to the King of
England in 1400, excuses himself for preferring
the vernacular to either Latin or French,
less familiar to him, but he signs his letter Le
Count de la Marche d'Escoce, and directs it
Au tres-excellent et tres-puissant et tres-noble
prince le roy d'Engleterre. Four older letters
written by the Earl of Douglas and Mar,
Annabella, Queen of Scotland (1394), and
David, Earl, &c. of Carrick ("cunnand into
letterature," says Wyntoun, ix. 23), and another
written by Christiana, Countess of March, are
in French. Vide Pinkerton, History of Scotland,'
vol. i. Appendix No. vi., p. 449:
London, 1797 — 4to. Cf. Nos. i. iii-v., vii.;
and 'Scotland in the Middle Ages,' ch. ix.
p. 263.
2 Sir David Lyndsay, who was surely acquainted
with the romances of the twelve
Peers of France ('Ducheperes, Dugepers,' v.
The Awntyrs of Arthure,' st. i. 1. 4, p. 95
and st. xxii. 1. 264, p. 108), as well as with
the settlement of some of its members in France, in which they
planted new branches of their families, and from which they
kept up a correspondence with their relatives in Scotland; and
the successive emigrations of Roman Catholics faithful both to
their religious convictions and political principles, combined
with other minor circumstances, fully detailed in a book of
ours, 'Les Ecossais en France, les Français en Ecosse,' must
have been the means of maintaining a close and constant intercourse
between the two countries, and thus of adding a certain
amount of French idioms to the stock already in existence in
North Britain, and of giving refinement to a country whose
civilisation required improvement, even at the beginning of
last century.1
Our conclusion therefore is, that French literature, being
those of the Round Table' and others, said
in his 'Historic of Squyer Meldrum:'—
"Rolland with Brandwell, his bricht brand,
Faucht never better, hand for hand,
Nor Gawin aganis Gologras,
Nor Olyver with Pharambras."
— 'The Poetical Works of Sir David Lyndsay,'
vol. ii. p. 296, ed. 1806.
In his 'Dreme,' 11. 31-35-43, the same poet
mentions his having diverted James V.,
when young, with "antique stories and
deidis marciall:" —
"Of Hectur, Arthour, and gentyle Julyus,
Of Alexander, and worthy Pompeyus,…
Of Jasone and Medea, all at lenth,
Of Hercules the actis honorabyll,
And of Sampsone the supernaturall strenth,
Of Troylus, the sorrow and the joye,
And saigis all of Tyir, Thebes, and Troye," &c.
"In Princes' Courts," says Hume of Logie,
in the preface to his 'Hymnes or Sacred
Songs' (printed in 1599), "in the houssis of
great menn, and at the assembleis of yong
gentlemen and yong dameseles, the chief pastime
is to sing prophaine sonnets and vain
ballatis of love, or to rehers some fabulos
faites of Palmerine, Amadis, or uther such
like reveries," &c.
A contemporary author stigmatises his age
as unlettered: "Nam si ego mediocri ingenio,
re familiari prope nulla, seculo inerudito, ita
tamen cum temporum iniquitate conflixerim,
ut aliquid præstitisse videar, certe quibus,
feliciore seculo natis, ætas, opes, ingenium
abunde suppetunt, hi neque labore ab honesto
instituto deterreri deberent, neque tot adminiculis
adjuti desperare possent." — G.
Buchanan, 'De Jure Regni apud Scotos,'
p. 1.
1 'Rules of Good Deportment, or of Good
Breeding,' &c. By Adam Petrie. Edinb.,
1720 — 8vo; and 1835 — sm. 4to.
thus spread in Britain as well as in the rest of Europe,1 was a
natural channel for the introduction and diffusion of French
words into the Scottish language.
1 The author of the 'Complaynt of Scotland,'
who wrote in 1548, gives this catalogue
of the storeis and flet taylis current at the
time in Scotland, some of which were in prose,
some other in verse: 1. 'The Canterbury
Tales;' 2. 'Robert the Devil;' 3. 'The Tayl
of the Well of the Varldis end' (no doubt St
Patrick's Well, or Purgatory); 4. 'Ferrand
earl of Flanders;' 5. 'The Tayl of the reyde
eyttyn with the thre heydis;' 6. 'The Tayle of
Perseus and Andromeda;' 7. 'The Prophecies
of Merlin;' 8. 'The Tayl of the giantis that
eit quyk men on fut by fortht as i culd found;'
9. 'Wallace and the Bruce;' 10. 'Ypomedon;'
11. 'The Tale of the three-footed dog of Norway;'
12. 'The Tale how Hercules slaughtered
the serpent Hydra;' 13. 'The Marriage of
the King of Estmorland with the daughter of
the King of Westmorland;' 14. 'The Tale of
the four sons of Aymon;' 15. 'The Tale of
the Bridge of Mantrible;' 16. 'The Tale of
Sir Ivain, Arthur's knight;' 17. Rauf Collzear;'
18. 'The Siege of Millan;' 19.
'Gawayn and Gologras;' 20. 'Lancelot du
Lac;' 21. 'The Tale of Floremond of Albany;'
22. 'The Tale of Sir Walter the bold Leslye;'
23. 'The Tale of the pure tynt;' 24. Claryades
and Maliades;' 25. 'Arthur of Little
Britain;' 26. 'Robin Hood and Little John;'
27. 'The Mervellis of Mandiveil;' 28. 'The
Tayl of the young Tamlene and of the bald
Braband;' 29. 'The Ring of the Roy Robert;'
30. 'Sir Egeir and Sir Gryme;' 31. 'Bevis
of Southampton;' 32. 'The Golden Targe;'
33. 'The Paleis of Honour;' 34. 'The Tale
how Acteon was transformed into a hart;'
35. 'The Tale of Pyramus and Thisbe;' 36.
'The Tale of the "amours" of Leander and
Hero;' 37. 'The Tale how Jupiter transformed
Io into a cow;' 38. 'The Tale how
Jason won the Golden Fleece;' 39. 'Orpheus,
Kyng of Portingal;' 40. 'The Tale of the
Golden Apple;' 41. 'The Tale of the three
Weird Sisters;' 42. 'The Tale how Dedalus
made the Labyrinth;' 43. 'The Tale how
King Midas got two ass's ears.' The only
observations which we will venture to offer
upon this catalogue, which has been profusely
illustrated by Dr Leyden, are, that it is not
complete, unless we suppose that many rimes
and romans, formerly current in Scotland, had
utterly disappeared in the middle of the sixteenth
century. For instance, we find no
mention either of 'Clariodus' or of 'Sir
Tristrem.' Sir Walter Scott, in his notes to
the latter, p. 374, ed. 1833, cites 'Clariodes,
MS.;' but as the lines he quotes do not occur
in the former, published by Dr David Irving
for the Maitland Club, it would be very desirable
to know where Sir Walter's authority is
preserved. We surmise that it may be the
same as 'Claryades and Maliades' mentioned
above under No. 24, which was no doubt
translated from the French romance 'Cleriadus
et Meliadice,' printed in prose at Paris for
Antoine Verard. Secondly, among so many
worthies enumerated in the 'Complaynt of
Scotland,' we do not find the great Macedonian
hero, who was not, however, unknown
in the country. The 'Buik of King Alexander
the Conquerour,' still inedited, is a
translation of the heavy French 'Roman
d'Alexandre,' executed by Sir Gilbert Hay, c.
1460, and extends to about 20,000 lines. Vide
'Bannatyne Miscellany,' vol. iii. p. 93, and
'Sketches of Early Sc. Hist.,' p. 406, col. 2.
The northern and the Gaelic elements in the Scottish language
will be dealt with in an Appendix.
It is proper to state at the outset that we treat not
merely of the popular element in Scottish derived from
French, but of the literary and what may be called the
technical element in the language. There is no doubt but
that Dunbar and other sixteenth-century poets affected a
Frenchified style, and that many of the words used by them
never became folk-words. This affectation of what was of
France, however, only goes to strengthen our position — the
influence France exercised over the civilisation of Scotland.
The same remark must be made regarding many, if not the
greater part, of the terms used in law, medicine, building,
hunting, &c. Not only the learned professions, but also those
engaged in the different callings common to the country, seem
to have borrowed, under the influence of France, the technical
terms of their professions and callings. It may be safely
stated that not a few of the words discussed were at one time
words of the people, but that they have fallen into disuse by
the substitution of others, or from a change of the circumstances
that called them into use.
Some of the words have lost their primary meaning, but
still linger as folk-words with a figurative sense. Thus
runcy (chap. vii.) is still applied in Banffshire, and, it may be,
in other districts, to a woman of coarse manners and doubtful
character. Mort-head (chap. vii.) is another word to the
point. In short, it is to the whole French element contained
in the Scottish language, in as far as we have been able to
ascertain it, that we have directed our researches.
CHAPTER I.
Architecture.

CHAPTER 1.
ARCHITECTURE.
ORIGINALLY in Scotland many, if not most, of
the mansions of the chiefs and other large buildings
were, as in France,1 built of wood. Without
going back to the foundation of the See of
Whithorn, recorded by Venerable Bede, it will be sufficient
to state that in the rebellion of Gillescop, in 1228, he burnt,
within the province of Moray, several castles constructed of
that material.2 Inflammable though such castles must have
been, many of them were impregnable from the sites 3 which
they occupied, and in them the great chieftains were able to
defy with impunity all the power of the Crown.
According to Philippe de Remi, Sire de Beaumanoir, however,
the towers were not all built of such material. He refers
to a certain king calling a mason, and giving him instructions
about building a tower for him in the following terms:—
1 "Karles fist bois trenchier et le mairien atraire,
Chapeles et moustiers et maisons en fist faire."
— 'La Chanson des Saxons,' st. LXXXI.
vol. i. p. 136. Instead of le mairien (timber),
a MS. reads les pierres (stones).
2 Fordun, 'Scotichronicon,' lib. ix. c. 47;
ed. Goodall, vol. ii. p. 57. Cf. lib. xiii. c.
37, 38, p. 322, 323.
3 Buckle, 'History of Civilisation in England,'
vol. ii. p. 173, and note 29.
"Maistres, fait-il, je vous requier
Que de piere et de bon mortier
Me faites ci une grant tour,
Qui soft reonde tout entour;
Les murs faites bons et espès,
De xv piés ou plus d'espès;
Faites-la-moi et haute et lée
En bas ne faites nule entrée,
Bien haut faites une fenestre
Par où on verra dedens l'estre.'
Qui done véist machonner,
Les uns les pieres tronçonner,
Les autres taillier au martel,
Et les autres tost et isnel
Faire le bon mortier de cauch,1
Les autres drecier escafaus
Pour le mortier faire millor…
Et ces machons crier et braire:
'Çà de la pierre! ou çà mortier!'
Il déist bien: 'Sans espargnier
Pensent de cele tour parfaire.'" 2
— 'Le Roman de la Manekine,' p. 150, l. 4469.
Caerlaverock, a strong castle of the Maxwells, is thus described
by an eyewitness in the year 1300, when it was
besieged and taken by Edward I. "Its shape was like that
of a shield, for it had only three sides all round, with a tower
on each angle; but one of the towers was a double one, so
1 With vinegar, see the "Roman de la
Rose," Méon's edit., vol. i. p. 156.
2 "Master," says he, "I request you, with
stone and good mortar, to build me here a
large tower entirely round; make the walls
good, and fifteen feet or more in breadth; let
the tower be lofty and wide; no entrance
below, but high up a window, through which
one may see into the place."… Whoever
had seen the masons at work, cutting the
stones, or dressing them with hammers, whilst
others with speed prepared good lime-mortar,
or raised scaffolds to hasten the work, many
screaming and yelling, "Here stone! here
mortar!" surely would have said, "They
mean unsparingly to finish that tower."
high, so long, and so large, that under it was the gate with
the drawbridge, well made and strong, and a sufficiency of
other defences,"1 &c.
Such stone towers were objects of wonder, and tradition in
course of time came to ascribe the construction of at least
some of them to demoniac art.2
Leaving apart buildings temporarily erected on grand occasions,3
it may be stated that, if the towers of the nobility
made little pretension to architectural strength and stability,
still less did the houses of the people. It is true some of
the wealthier of the commonalty imitated the nobility, and
chose inaccessible sites for their dwellings.
1 'The Siege of Carlaverock,' ed. by Sir N.
H. Nicolas, pp. 61, 62. The baronial architecture
of Scotland has been so thoroughly
and so admirably illustrated by R. W. Billings,
that it would be superfluous to do otherwise
than refer to his work, which is in everybody's
hand. As to ecclesiastical architecture, see
Muir's 'Notes of the Churches of Scotland.'
2 The castle of Yester was such a building.
"Hugo Giffard de Zester moritur,
cujus castrum, vel saltem caveam, et dongionem,
arte dæmoniaca antiquæ relationes
ferunt fabrifactas: nam ibidem habetur mirabilis
specus subterraneus, opere mirifico constructus,
magno terrarum spatio protelatus,
qui communiter Bohall appellatus est." —
'Scotichr.,' lib. ix. c. 21; vol. ii. p. 105. Cf.
Caledonia,' vol. i. p. 517; and 'Marmion,'
canto iii. 19. The same tradition applies
to the Grimes-dike — i.e., the ditch made by
magic, an appellation common to other works
of the same sort, and indiscriminately given
to ancient trenches, roads, and boundaries,
whether British, Roman, Saxon, or Danish.
— Ibid., b. i. ch. 4; vol. i. p. 119.
3 "… this noble earle of Atholl caused
mak ane curious pallace to the King, his
mother, and the ambassadour (of the Paipis)
… and equivalent to the tyme of thair
hunting; quhilk was biggit in the midle of
ane greine medow, and the wallis thairof was
of greine timber wovin with birkis, and biggit
in four quarteris, as if it had beine ane pallace,
and in everie quarter ane round lyk ane blokhous,
quhilkis war loftit and jeasted thrie hous
hicht; the floore wes laid with grein earthe,
and strowed with sick floures as grew in the
medow, that no man knew quhairow he yead,
bot as he had beine in ane greine gardeine.
Farder, thair was tuo great roundis on everie
syd of the yet, and ane great portcullies of
trie falling doun as it had beine an barrace
yett with ane gritt draw bridge, and ane
foussie of sixteine fute deip, and thrittie fute
broad of watter. This pallace was hung
with fyne tapistrie within, and weill lighted
in all necessar pairts with glassin windowis."
— Pitscottie's 'Cronicles,' vol. ii. p. 344:
James V.
Describing the house of "uns villans de Pullande," living
near the Irish Sea, a trouvère of the thirteenth century says:—
"Desus une grant roche bise
Estoit la maison 1 bien asise,
Faite de cloies tout entour.
En son le pui ot une tour,
Qui n'iert de piere ni de caus;
De terre estoit li murs fais haus
Et cretelés et bateliés.
Molt fu li vilains aaisiés,
Ki si bel manoir ot sur mer…
Qi ens est ne puet avoir garde
D'enginéur, de nul assaut:
La roche fu faite trop haut." 2
— ‘Le Roman des Aventures de Fregus,'
p. 12; l. II.
So rare, however, were dwelling-houses of stone, that when
such were mentioned, the material of which they were constructed
was expressly specified; and Stonehouse is a name
not unknown in more than one locality.3
From such facts one may fancy what was the appearance of
1 S. mason; vide 'Clariodus,' p. 75, l. 775.
2 "On a great hoary rock, the house was
well situated, built on all sides with wicker--
work. On the top of the hill was a tower
which was neither stone nor plaster. The
earthen wall was raised on high, indented
and embattled. The cottager was well to do,
who had such a fine manor on sea.… The
inmate needs not heed either engineer or
assault: the rock was too lofty."
3 Blind Harry, 'Wallace,' b. viii. l. 1599,
speaking of John de Menteth's stay at Dumbarton,
says that "A houss he foundyt apon
the roch off stayne;" and Jamieson, stating
that Wallace gave orders for building "a
house of stone" at Dumbarton, seems not to
have understood that passage: vide p. 403,
4to edit. From the chartulary of Scone, we
learn that Roger de Quincy, the constable
of Scotland, granted to the monks of that
abbey the land which William the Lion had
held in Perth, with the stone house, cum domo
lapidea, in the same town. — 'Liber ecclesie
de Scon,' &c., No. 80, p. 49: Edinburgi,
1843 — 4to. Fordun, mentioning a house of
that description, says that it was ascribed to
Julius Cæsar. — 'Scotichronicon,' lib. ii. cap.
16; edit. Goodall, vol. i. p. 51.
the villages and even the cities in Scotland in ancient times.1
Edinburgh itself was very meanly built; the houses in many
cases were little better than hovels. They were constructed of
earth, and roofed with turf, or "divot" and thatch, so that, after
the destruction of the town by the English in 1385, it was not
difficult to restore it to its former state, as allowed by the
Scots themselves, who, if we may believe Froissart, complained
of Jean de Vienne and his companions, sent to their rescue by
Charles V. of France.
In 1597 the Town Council of Aberdeen ordered a house to
be built of wood for an office to the town clerk;2 and at the
beginning of last century there might have still been seen
"many wooden, mud, and thatched houses, within the gates
at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen; and few others without
the gates there or in other towns."3
That Scotland produced architects of her own there is clear
proof. The name of John Morow or Morvo has come down.
That name may be Jean Moreau,4 but it seems more probable
to be the same as the name now spelt Murray, still pronounced
by old people Morra, or Morrow. Cochrane,5 one of the favour1
On the dwellings of the Scots in the
middle ages, see also Chalmers's 'Caledonia,'
b. iv. ch. 6; vol. i. pp. 802, 803.
2 Extracts from the Council Register of
the Burgh of Aberdeen,' 1570-1625, vol. ii.
p. 152: Aberdeen, printed for the Spalding
Club, 1843—4to.
3 Memoirs [of the state of the country in
the early part of the eighteenth century, by
Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk.] — 'Harl.
Miscellany,' vol. vi. p. 139: 1810—4to.
'The Miscellany of the Spalding Club,' vol.
ii. p. 100: Aberdeen, 1842—4to. 'Les
Ecossais en France,' vol. i. p. 86.
4 'Scoti-Monasticon,' &c., by Mackenzie
E. C. Walcott, pp. 29, 38, 280, 404: London,
1874—4to. 'Proceedings of the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 166.
5 "Olim lapicida, seu latomus insignis."
James III., A.D. 1482. See Ferrarius, fol.
395, l. 63 (Appendix to Hector Boyce's
Scotorum Historiæ,' &c.: Parisiis, 1574—
fol.); and Pitscottie, ed. 1728, p. 79, or ed.
1814, vol. i. p. 193.
ites of King James III., is well known. It was John Melzour
who finished the "Register House," Edinburgh, in 1541.
Augt. 15th: "Item, to Johnne Melzour, in complete payment
of his lawbouris, warkmanship and furnesing of the Register
Hous biggit within the Castell of Edinburcht, abone the
sowme of ane hundreth and twenty pundis, tane allowance in
the last Chekker; conform to the contract maid betwix him
and the Clerk Register thairvpoune, jclxxx lib."
It is not easy to state the exact amount of influence which
the French connection exercised in the introduction of a better
class of buildings. It is, however, unquestionable that the
high-roofed gable and the pepper-box turret of the French
chateau gave to Scotland a style of architecture which became
domesticated in the sixteenth century, and which has been
revived in our own days with much taste and great propriety,
and even obtained some footing in England, chiefly through
the indefatigable exertions of my friend John Henry Parker,
author of 'Some Account of Domestic Architecture in England,'
from Richard II. to Henry VIII.1
The same statement may be made regarding cathedrals,
churches, and monasteries. The origin of some of them is
involved in obscurity, and the names of the architects are
unknown. As many of the clergy were trained abroad,2 and
not a few of them were skilled in architecture and the kindred
art of carving, some of those buildings, no doubt, were planned
by such ecclesiastics and built under their superintendence.3
1 Oxford, 1859—8vo. On domestic architecture
in Scotland, its semi-military character
and existing remains, see p. 385.
2 Introduction, p. 7.
3 For instance, the rector of the church of
St Bathans in Berwickshire (Bothanis in Laodonia)
had caused the beams of the choir of St
Cuthbert's Church to be carved, to do honour
Others of them were either designed or built by Frenchmen
and Flemings. It was a Frenchman who improved the palace--
paradise of Reid, Bishop of Orkney, as well as the horticulture
and gardens of the diocese.1 John Roytel — probably the son
of Nicholas, a Frenchman, appointed the king's master-mason
22d April 1539, and whose own name appears as such in the
Treasurer's Accounts in 1579, fifty years before John — is, with
Murdoch Valker, mentioned as the mason who constructed
the place of the sepulture of the Regent, Earl of Murray, in
1570, at the expense of £133, 6s. 8d.2 By careful search,
it might not be impossible to find other names of architects
and builders, chiefly of monasteries and abbeys.
Even in the minor details of ecclesiastical buildings, the Scots
were under the necessity of having recourse to the Continent.
In the fourteenth century, Thomas de Chartres received a
commission to make at Paris the tomb of King Robert I.;3 and
the brazen cock of the steeple of St Nicholas's parish church of
Aberdeen had to be sent to Flanders to be repaired and gilded.4
both to the patron of that sanctuary and to
the place. — 'Chronicon de Lanercost,' p. 108,
A.D. 1282. William of Malmesbury, 'De
Gestis regum Anglorum,' b. ii., mentioning
Maydulphus, a reputed Scotchman, philosopher,
and monk, who had raised the monastery
of Malmesbury from a mean to a flourishing
condition, perhaps meant that this man
had improved the fabric. Vide 'Rer. Angl.
Script. post Bed. præcip.,' p. 10 to, l. 27;
and 'Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. i. p. 253,
col. 1
1 Walcott's 'Scoti-Monasticon,' p. II.
2 David Laing's "Notice respecting the
Monument of the Regent," &c., in the 'Proceedings
of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,'
vol. vi. part. i. pp. 51, 53.
3 "Thome de Carnoto pro tumulis domini
regis faciendis apud. Parisios,lxvj łi xiiij s.
iiij d." — 'Chamberlain's Accounts,' A.D.
1329, vol. i. pp. 99-101.
4 Extracts from the Council Register of
the Burgh of Aberdeen,' 1570-1625, vol. ii.
p. 283, A.D. 1606. Twelve years later a
clockmaker had to be brought from the south
to mend three clocks (horleigis — G. Douglas,
ii. 148) of the town, because "pairtlie they
ar auld and worne, and pairtlie for want of
skilfull men to attend thame." — Ibid., p. 358,
A.D. 1618.
Scotland was indebted to France not merely for a style of
architecture and the construction of many ecclesiastical edifices,
but also for not a few terms applied to parts of buildings, and
used in fortification and masonry.
The word muralyeis (Fr. murailles) comes forward in the
sense of walls, fortifications; and muryt (Fr. murer), in that
of walled, enclosed in walls. Whatever may have been the
exact nature of the orchle in Mearns (Fr. porche, or arceau)
and of the "muralyeis " seen by Bishop Douglas, the wall
made of earth mentioned by the old Norman trouvère was
assuredly what is called afterwards pisé building,1 from a
word still in use in France. The Scots borrowed also from
that country brettys, a fortification, properly denoting wooden
towers or castles (Fr. bretèches); and kirnel, kyrneill, in the
plural kirnellis,2 an interstice in a battlement, is the Fr.
créneau. The O. Fr. parpeigne, Fr. parpaing, is the origin
of parpane, a wall in general. Parpen- or parpane-wa' (Aberd.),
a word still in use in the north, signifies the parapet of a
bridge. Pittivout, a small arch (Kincardine), is the Fr. petite
voute.
Place, a mansion-house, a castle, a stronghold, corresponds
to the Fr. place, a castle; chemys, chymes, chymmes, chymis, a
principal or head dwelling, is the old Fr. chef-mez, chef-mois
(Lat. caput mansı).
Sale, sail, saill, a palace, a hall, a parlour, comes from the
Fr. salle; and jam, jamb, jambe, a projection, a wing, a word
1 Dr Singer, 'General View of the Agriculture…
in the County of Dumfries,'
&c., Appendix, No. 10, p. 551: Edinburgh,
1812 — 8vo.
2 G. Douglas, i. 89, 6.
applied also to the aisle of a church,1 is the Fr. jambe. The
word jam was at times applied to a large house having a
wing, and is yet applied to a large rambling house, or even
to a large cupboard, or to the hob of a hearth.
Of other terms applied to parts of buildings may be mentioned:
foundment, the foundation of a building (Fr. fondement);
fenester,2 fenyster (Fr. fenêtre), a window; scuncheon (O. Fr.
escoinson, escouisson), an undressed stone on the inner side
either of a window or a door; while rebbit, ribbit (Fr. raboter, to
polish 3), is the same stone dressed — two words still in common
use; charnaill-bandis (Fr. charnière, a hinge), strong hinges for
heavy doors or gates, riveted, and often having a plate on
each side of the door or gate; tarlies, tirless, tirlass, tirlies,
(Fr. treillis), the lattice of a window; turngreis (Fr. tourner,
to turn, and gré, contracted from degré, pl. degrés, stairs), a
winding stair; stege,4 stage (Fr. étage), a step, or perhaps the
storey of a house. Timpan, tympany,5 tympany gavel (Moray),
the middle part of the front of a house raised higher than the
level of the rest of the wall, in the form of a gable to carry up
a vent and to give an attic apartment in the roof, is the Fr.
tympan, the gable-end of a house (Cotgrave). The first part
of the word corbie-steps, the projections of the stones, on the
1 In Eng. jamb is side of a door, window,
&c.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 85, 17. In Eng. fenestral
is used in the sense of belonging to a window.
3 Raboter, in Fr., is used, at least from the
sixteenth century, with the sense of " to plane,
to smooth with a plane."
4 G. Douglas, iii. 300, 22; iv. 82, 15.
5 Tympanum is an Eng. architectural term,
and signifies in classical architecture the triangular
space between the sloping and horizontal
cornices on the front of a pediment; also in mediæval architecture the space immediately
above the opening of a doorway,
&c., when the top of the opening is square
and has an arch over
slanting part of a gable, resembling the steps of a stair, is of
the same origin as the English corbel (Fr. encorbellement, corbelet,1
corbeille, a basket; It. corba, corbella).
To crown the whole, we will mention garrit, garret2 (Fr.
guérite, a watch-tower, the top of a hill), a word still used in
the north to signify that part of a house contained under the
slope of the roof; and fester, to roof (O. Fr. fester).
Reprise means the indentation of stones in a building; 3
and to spairge, sparge (Fr. asperger) a wall, is to rough-cast a
wall, — to haarl a wall in northern dialect; whilst spargeon is
to plaster a wall, and sparginer is a plasterer.
Coruie, a crooked iron employed to pull down walls, comes
from the Fr. corbeau, "a certaine warlike instrument" (Cotgrave).
In all likelihood the instrument received its name
from some fancied resemblance to a crow (corbeau, a crow).
Of tradesmen, one derived his designation in part from Fr.
square-man, square-wright (Fr. équarrir). Square-wright may
still be heard in the north.
1 Vide 'L'Histoire universelle du Sieur
d'Aubigné,' b. v. ch. vii. part I, p. 278.
2 Al. garrot, garet, and hence garritour,
garitour, the watchman on the battlements
of a castle. At Lyons there is a street called
rue du garet. It is scarcely necessary to remark
that in Eng. garret means a room on the
highest floor of the house, and garreteer an
inhabitant of a garret; but it may not be out
of place to state that garreted occurs with the
meaning of protected by turrets.
3 "Skarsment, reprise, corbell, and battelingis."
— 'Palice of Honour,' iii. 17.
CHAPTER II.
Furniture.

CHAPTER II.
FURNITURE.
FOR a long period in Scottish houses, and even in
the royal palaces, the movables, under the name
of mobillis (in the sing. mobil, moble, Fr. marbles),
were far from being numerous, and, like a number
of other at ticles of luxury, not a few of such mobillis came
from the Continent, chiefly from Flanders1 and France, and
retained their foreign designations in little-altered forms.
Thus, dease, or, in other forms, deis, dess, deas, dais, mentioned
in the quotation, "The tapestrie quilk covered" (at Aberdeen)
"the king's dease 2 and the colledge loft," 3 &c., is the O. Fr.
1 "Oliver Sincler presentit upone the buird
… ane littill box, coverit with ledder,
of Flanderis mak." — 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p.
476, A.D. 1605.
"Cofferis of Frenche or Flanders making,
covered with blak lether and barred with
irone, the piece, vi łi." — 'Customs and
Valuation of Merchandises, A.D. 1612;' "The
Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p. 297.
"Have you any pots or pans,
Or any broken chandlers?
I am a tinker to my trade,
And newly come frae Flanders,
As scant of siller as of grace,
Disbanded, we've a bad run," &c.
— "Clout the Caldron," st. 1 — 'Ancient and
Modern Songs,' &c., collected by David
Herd, vol. ii. p. 32: Glasgow, 1809—8vo.
Chandler, chanler, has become in Gaelic
coinnleir.
2 "Dais." — "The Uplandis Mous and the
Burges Mous," 1. 76, ap. Henryson, p.111
"Chalmer of davis," a room of state. —
Richard Bannatyne, 'Journal of the Transactions
in Scotland,' &c.: Edinburgh, 1806—-
8vo, p. 486, May 1576. "Chamber of dice,"
as if it were the room where they played at
dice." — 'Memorie of the Somervilles,' &c.,
July 1589, vol. i. p. 468: Edinburgh, 1815—-
8vo. "The chamber of dais." — Sir W.
Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor,' chap.
xxvi.
3 Aberdeen Accounts for 1660-61. — 'The
Book of Bon Accord,' &c., vol. i. p. 83,
note.
dais. Sege, a form,1 is the Fr. siège; and sell, a stool, the
Fr. selle. In the words, "ane paill above the prince's bed of
statis,"2 paill, written also pail, paile,3 is the O. Fr. paille,
and seems to denote a canopy; and testor, the cover of a bed,
the O. Fr. testiere. Subbasment, the lower part of a bed, is
the Fr. soubassement.
Almerie, almorie, ambry, amry, awmrie, cupboard, chest,
cabinet, secretaire, press4 (Gael. amraidh),5 is the Fr. armoire,6
as scrutoire, scriptour, is escritoire,7 the chest, still known in
old French under the name of bahut.8 A plain box, a chest,
called a boist (Aberd.), buist, sometimes pronounced busht,
is evidently the Fr. boîte.9 Back, a large vat, used for cooling
liquor, as well as backet, baikie, a shallow wooden trough for
carrying fuel or ashes, also, in a different sense, for keeping
salt, is very like the Fr. baguet; and basing, bassing, bassie,
1 Melvill's Diary, p. 69.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p.302*, A.D. 1540.
Cf. Jamieson's Dict., voce "Pail, paile."
3 The word in the form of pall is used in
the sense of covering, cloak, or stuff of which
the covering was made. Thus, in the ballad
of "Glenkindie," 1. 14—
"I'll gie to you a robe, Glenkindie,
A robe o' the royal pa',
Gin ye will harp i' the winter's night,
Afore my nobles a'."
— 'The Ballads of Scotland,' Aytoun;
second edition, vol. ii. p. 57: Edin. and
London, 1859—post 8vo.
4 'Cr. Tr.,' vol. i. p. 399, A.D. 1596; and
Sir W. Scott, "Donald Caird" and 'The Heart
of Mid-Lothian.' "Chambres bien amrués "
occur in a document of 1488, published by
J. Gairdner — 'Hist. Regis Henrici VII.,' &c.,
p. 196.
5 Properly a recess in a cottage wall, done
over with wicker-work, as still seen in many
parts of the Highlands. A retired seat in a
chapel, having a kind of screen, was called
traverse, from the French.
6 Another form of the word was aumoire,
aumaire; ".i.aumoire troverent par dejoste. i.
piler, En l'aumaire troverent iiii. pains buletés,"
&c. — "Gui de Bourgogne," l. 2054, p. 63.
The original meaning of the word is a chest
for keeping arms: "Armarium repositorium
armorum," hence armoire. — See Cléomadès,
t. ii. p. 55, l. 10795.
7 G. Douglas, iv. 89, 25.
8 "Cofferis called balhuves, the piece, viii łi.''
— 'Customs and Valuation of Merchandises,'
A.D. 1612, in 'The Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,'
p. 297.
9 Vide 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 2531, A.D.
1591.
bassy, bossie, a large wooden dish used for carrying meal from
the "girnal" (granary) to the bake-board, or containing the
meal designed for immediate use, is nearer the Fr. bassin than
the English basin. Mawn, basket, properly for bread, comes
from O. Fr. mande, Fr. manne, Eng. maund. Bowie, a cask
or tub, is the Fr. buie.
Articles of household furniture were not the only mobils
imported. Requisites for the ornamentation of churches came
from abroad. Amongst the Records of West Flanders there
is a document relating to a dispute which had arisen at Bruges,
in the year 1441, between a Scots merchant, a monk of Melrose
Abbey, and a master of the art of carpentry of Bruges,
who had contracted to supply certain sedilia or stalls, and to
erect them in the Abbey Church of Melrose, after the fashion
of the carved stalls of two Flemish monasteries.1 Latron,
lettrone, lettrune, letteron, letterin, or, according to northern
pronunciation, laitrin, the desk from which the precentor or
clerk officiates,2 now used for the most part to signify the
precentor's desk in Presbyterian churches, as well as the Fr.
leutrin, lectrun, letrin,3 comes from the Lat. lectrum (lego).
Tapestry of various kinds seems to have been brought into
the country in considerable quantities. James V. expended
large sums of money on it. Oct. 9, 1539 — "Item, to William
1 See 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries
of London,' 1846, No. 6, January 8,
p. 112; 'Archæologia,' vol. xxxi. p. 346; and
'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland,' vol. iii. p. 21.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 78, 25; Cr. Tr.,' vol. i.
p. 284*, A.D. 1535-36; vol. iii. p. 92, A.D.
1610; R. Bannatyne's Journal, p. 486, May
1576. Cf. de Laborde, 'Notice des émaux
… du Musée du Louvre,' IIe part. pp. 358,
359, art. "Leutrin, lectrun."
3 Vide 'Les Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,'
fol. 71 recto.
Schaw, in part of payment of jmjclxxiij lib. xiiijs. rest and
awand to him for the new tapesscherye brocht last furth of
Flanderis, lxxiij lib. xiiijs." Feb. 26, 1540 — "Item, gevin to
Williame Schaw, in complete payment of 2466 crownis of the
sone, xvijs., for tapeschery brocht hame be him to the kingis
grace, as his compt and precept direcit thairupovne beris, ane
thousand crowns of wecht, summa, jmjc lib." March 26, 1541 —
"Item, for the browdery and warkmanschip of thre Jesus wrocht
with crowne of thorne, thre names of Jacobus Quintuss with
the Kingis armes and croune above the heid, and twa vnicornis
berand the samin, price of all, vij lib." Augt. 17 — "Item,
deliuerit to Johnne Moffettis servand, conservatour in Flanderis,
send hame be him at the Kingis grace command, to complete
ane chalmer of the Antique Historie, 273 crownis of the
son, iijc lib. vjs."
The "tapestrie of the historie of Souvene-vous-en," mentioned
in an inventory of 1578,1 was no doubt of French
make. What was the sort or what was the designation of the
tapestry which is recorded to have been in existence in the
castle of Elsinore in 1603-1604 2 cannot be determined; but it
is well known that the kind designated verdour, or Flandris
werdour, represented rural scenes, and took its name from that
1 "A Collection of Inventories," &c., p.
208.
2 Tapestrie of fresh coullored silk, without
gold, quharin all the Danisch kingis are
expressed in antique habits," an arras which
Lindsay of Pitscottie, the author of that quaint
description, might have termed an anticail,
an antique, a remnant of antiquity (Fr. antiquaille).
Vide 'The Cronicles of Scotland,'
ed. 1814, vol. ii. p. 615. In the English
translation published at Edinburgh — 8vo,
1778, p. 365 — we read "Irish" (doubtlessly
Arras) "tapestry." Pitscottie, instead of to
express, uses to expreame, which is nearer the
French. Cf. 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. pp. 454,
494*, A.D. 1566, 1567-68; and vol. ii. p. 26,
A.D. 1571.
fact1 (Fr. ouvrage de verdure, "forest-work or flourist-work,
wherein gardens, woods, or forests be represented" — Cotgrave).

Another sort, called bancoury, banker, bankour, bankowr,
bankure, banquer, covering for stools or benches, is the Fr.
banquier; and dorsour,2 dosouris, dossour, cloth for the walls of
a hall or chapel (a back-stay, a rest for the back), is the Fr.
dossier.
So important a place did tapestry hold in furnishing the
royal palaces, and the mansions of the nobility, that a servant,
with the name of tapesar, was appointed to take charge of it.
Tapessery-man was a male worker in tapestry, and tappisser
came to mean upholsterer.3
The word itself, in its Scotch forms, tapesscherye, tapeschery,
tapessarie, is liker its French original (tapisserie) than in its
English form.
So scarce, however, was tapestry, that even James V. was
obliged to carry along with him a certain quantity when he
removed from one palace to another. Of many entries of a like
kind here is one: Oct. 1530 — "Item, for thre cariage horsis
to turse the arrese-werkis quhilkis hang in the Abbay …
to Striueling, agane Paische, xviijs." At a later period it was
a common custom for a nobleman, when he removed from one
mansion to another, to take along with him furniture.
1 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 34, A.D. 1575. 'Comp. Thes. Reg. Scot.,'
vol. i. p. 157.
2 "Awntyrs of Arthure," st. xxxv.
3 "The Testament of Cresseid," l. 417, ap.
Henryson, p. 90; 'Cr. Tr.,' vol. i. pp. 288,
291, A.D. 1537; 'Papers relative to the Marriage
of King James VI.,' Appendix No. II.,
pp. 14, 17.
The Scots had bibliothec and bibliothecar, and the French
have bibliothèque and bibliothécaire, with the same meaning in
both languages. Very likely both forms came directly from
Latin, as has been the case with cubiculare, a groom of the
bed-chamber, and mappamound, a terrestrial globe.1
1 "Orfeo and Hurodis," l. 223, ap. Henryson, p. 57.
CHAPTER III.
Banqueting and Vivers.

CHAPTER III.
BANQUETING AND VIVERS.
REGARDED with little favour by David I.,1 the
culinary art remained for centuries in a very
rudimentary state in North Britain. The food
was so bad, and the cookery so wretched, as to
induce many people to go abroad and settle in France, where
they could enjoy more of the comforts of life.2 In these circumstances
the primitive kitchen vocabulary in Scotland must
have been limited. A passage of an old poem conveys to the
mind a poor idea of early Scottish cookery, in spite of the
account given by Mathieu d'Escouchy of a state dinner in
1449 3—
"Of cookry she was wonder slee,
And marked all as it should be;
Good beef and mutton to be broo,
Dight spits, and then laid the rosts to."
— 'Sir Egeir,' p. 66.
1 "Luxuriam, latius proserpentem, patris exemplo
coercuit; artifices et inventores harum
illecebrarum, quæ gulam irritant, regno ejecit."
— 'Rerum Scoticarum Historia,' auctore G.
Buchanano, lib. vii. cap. 91, David rex.
2 "… fugiendam Scotiam et vitandam
permulti censent; nam qui ex incolis in Galliam
penetrarunt, degustatis frugibus, vinique
dulci liquore, illic tanquam ad Lotophagos
hærent." — Joann. Bruyer. Campogg. 'De
Re Cibaria,' &c., lib. iv. c. xiii. p. 226:
Francf., 1600—8vo.
3 Godefroy, 'Hist. de Charles VII.,' p.
577. 'Chronique de Mathieu d'Escouchy,'
t. i. pp. 181, 182: Paris, 1863—8vo. 'Les
Ecossais en France,' t. i, p. 210.
At the end of the fourteenth century, King James I. had a
French cook;1 but his craft seems to have been unknown out of
the Court, especially in time of war: "These Scottysshe men,"
says Froissart, "are right hardy, and sore travelyng in harneys
and in warres; for whan they wyll entre into Ingland, within a
daye and a nyght, they wyll dryve theyr hole host xxiii. myles,
for they are all a horsbacke, without it be the traundals and
laggers of the oost, who follow after a foote. The knyghtis
and squiers are well horsed, and the common people and other,
on littell hakeneys and geldyngis; and they cary with them
no cartis, nor chariettis, for the diversities of the mountaignes
that they must passe through, in the countrey of Northumbrelande.
They take with them noo purveyaunce of brede nor
wyne, for their usage and sobrenes is suche in tyme of warre,
that they wyll passe in the journey a great long tyme, with
flesshe halfe soden, without brede, and drynke of the ryver
water without wyne: and they nother care for pottis, nor
pannis, for they seeth beastis in their owne skynnes. They
are ever sure to fynde plenty of beastis in the countrey that
they wyll passe throughe. Therfore they cary with them none
other purveyaunce, but on their horse: bitwene the saddyll and
the paunell, they trusse a brode plate of metall, and behynde
the saddyl, they wyll have a lytle sacke full of ootemele, to the
entent that whan they have eaten of the sodden flesshe, that
they ley this plate on the fyre, and tempre a lytle of the ootemele:
and whan the plate is hote, they caste of the thyn paste
1 'The Accounts of the Chamberlains
Scotland,' &c., vol. ii. p. 141. Cf. pp. 237,
308, 365; and 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol.
ii. p. 131. Hall has observed that James I.
never "favored Englishemen before the Frenche
people."
thereon, and so make a lytte cake in maner of a crakenell, or
bysket, and that they eate to comfort withall theyr stomachis."1
Even up to the middle of the sixteenth century, if we may
trust a curious tract written in 1548,2 Scottish society was in
a poor enough condition. "At that tyme there was no ceremonial
reverens nor stait, quha suld pas befor or behynd, furtht
or in at the dur, nor yit quha suld have the dignite to vasche
they handis fyrst in the bassine, nor yit quha suld sit doune
fyrst at the tabill. At that tyme the pepil var as reddy to
drynk vattir in ther bonnet, or in the palmis of ther handis, as
in ane tasse of silvyr."
The statements made in this quotation receive corroboration
from what Fynes Moryson, "gentleman," writes of the
mode of living of a rank far from the lowest. He tells us
that the Scots eat much colwort and cabbage,3 and little
1 'Sir John Froissart's Chronicles,' translated
by John Bourchier, Lord Berners, vol.
i. cap. xvii. pp. 18, 19: London, 1812-4to.
Cf. Ralph Higden, who says likewise of the
Scotch: "They ben lytell of meate, and
mowe faste longe, and etene selde whan the
sun is up; and ete fleshe, fyshe, mylke and
frute, more than brede." Buckle, in his
chapter on civilisation in Spain and Scotland,
did not fail to quote Froissart's account, which
was examined in the 'Edinburgh Review,'
vol. cxiv. pp. 183-211. Long before Froissart,
the author of a life of Edward the
Confessor, published by H. R. Luard, relating
the defeat of Macbeth, King of Scotland,
had caricatured the Scots — see p. 416.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotland,' p. 206.
The above mention of the bassine used by
the early Scots to wash the hands before
dinner, affords an occasion to quote two
Latin writers who have preserved the original
name of such a piece of furniture among the
Britons. Juvenal (Sat. xii. v. 46) mentions
that sort of basins, "bascaudas;" and Martial
(lib. xiv. epigr. 99) says that the Romans
appreciated so much those vases that they
imitated them:—
"Barbara de pictis vent bascauda Britannis;
Sed me jam mavult dicere Roma suam."
An old scholiast, illustrating Juvenal's line,
says that the bascauda was an English vessel
used to wash cups and kettles, — "vas Anglicum,
in quo calices et cacabus lavabantur."
We would give Scotland credit for that
article; but it is more than doubtful whether
pictis Britannis could refer to an obscure
Northern people, the Picts, of whom neither
Juvenal nor Martial had ever heard.
3 More than a century after, Captain Burt
wrote in one of his 'Letters from a Gentleman
in the North of Scotland' (vol. i. p. 141
London, 1754-8vo), that he had been told by
fresh meat. "Myself," says he, "was at a knight's house,
who had many servants1 to attend him, that brought him
his meat with their heads covered with blue cap, the table
being more than half furnished with great platters of porridge,
each having a little piece of sodden meat. And when the
table was served, the servants did sit down with us; but the
upper mes,2 instead of porridge, had a pullet with some prunes
in the broth. And I observed no art of cookery or furniture
of household stuff, but rather rude neglect of both." A little
farther on, the same author adds: "They drink pure wines, not
with sugar, as the English; yet at feasts they put confits in the
wine, after the French manner." 3
old people in Edinburgh, that no longer ago
than forty years, there was little else than cale
in their green-market. Very likely cabbage
was introduced from the Continent to Scotland.
At any rate, such a vegetable was not originally
grown in England; but about the time
of Ben Jonson, who mentions the fact in
"Volpone," Act ii. sc. I, it was sent to
that country from Holland, and so became
naturalised in English gardens. "'Tis scarce
a hundred years," says Evelyn, in his 'Discourse
of Sallets,' 1706, "since we first had
cabbages out of Holland; Sir Anth. Ashley, of
Wiburg St Giles, in Dorsetshire, being, as I am
told, the first who planted them in England."
1 The Scots had the words allakey (Fr.
laquais), domestique, servitour, and servitrice,
servitrix, to signify a male and a female servant,
a waiter and a waitress, a wadgeit (Fr.
man or woman; vide 'Crim. Tr.,' vol. ii. p. 67,
A.D. 1598; p. 94, A.D. 1598-99; p. 126, A.D.
1600; vol. iii. p. 430, A.D. 1617; 'Papers relative
to the Marriage of King James the Sixth
of Scotland,' Appendix, No. 2, p. 16; C. Innes's
Sketches of Early Scotch history,' p. 512.
2 Those sitting above the salt-vat.
3 'An Itinerary written by Fynes Moryson,
Gent.,' part iii. b. iv. c. 3, pp. 179, 180
London, 1617—fol. Cf. Arnot, 'The History
of Edinburgh,' b. i. c. 2, p. 56; and Chambers,
'Domestic Annals of Scotland,' vol. i.
pp. 299, 300. Froissart, relating "Comment
messire de Douglas, en allant outre-mer, fut
tué en Espagne mal fortunement," &c. (b. i.
Part i. C. 48; vol. i. p. 37, col. 2, edit. of
the 'Panthéon littéraire'), says that this nobleman
had all sorts of plate, jugs, basins, porringers,
drinking veschells, bottles, barrels, and
other things of the same description; and adds
that all those who felt inclined to visit him
were welcome, and treated with all kinds of
wines and spices. But very likely James
Douglas, travelling on the Continent, had
given up his national habits and followed
those of more refined countries. On the
mixtures mentioned by Fynes Moryson, see
Le Grand d'Aussy, 'Histoire de la vie privée
des François,' sect. iv., "Vins artificiels," pp.
63-71, t. iii: Paris, 1815—8vo.
If from a knight's mansion Fynes Moryson had passed into
a nobleman's castle, he would have met with more refinement
and luxury. For instance, in the palace of the Earl
of Athole in 1528: the itinerant "gentleman" would have
found "all kind of drink, as aill, beer, wyne, both whyte and
claret, malvasie, muskadaill, eligant hippocras, and aquavitæ;1
larder, thair was of meattis, wheat bread, maine bread, and
ginge bread, with fleshis … and vennison, goose, gryse,
capon, cunning, cran, swan, partrick, plover, duik, drake, brissel,
cock and paunies, black cock, and muirfoull, capercaille. And
also the stankis that were round about the palace were full of
all delicate fishes, as salmond, troutis, pearshes, pykes …
Syne were they proper stuarts, cunning baxters, excellent cooks
and potingaries, with confections and drugs for they disserts."2
Such accounts of the convivial habits of the Scots during
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are illustrated by an
Edinburgh council-record relating to the marriage of King
James VI. On the 23d May 1590, the Danish nobles and gentlemen
who conveyed his queen to Scotland received a formal
entertainment from the magistrates of Edinburgh. The banquet
seems to have been more remarkable for abundance of
vivers3 (Fr. vivres) than for elegance of style. There were
simply bread and meat, with four boins of beer, four gangs of
ale, and four puncheons of wine. As to the table-furniture,
1 Whisky rather than brandy (Fr. eau-de--
vie), or another spirituous liquor resembling
rum, and called in Ayrshire ackadent (Fr. eau
ardent; Span. aguardiente).
2 Pitscottie, 'The Cronicles of Scotland,'
p. 174: Edinb. 1728—8vo. Ibid., vol. ii.
p. 345, note: Edinb. 1814—8vo.
3 The Scotch had also vitall (O. Fr. vitaille),
used in the 'Accounts of the Lord
High Treasurer for 1494,' vol. i. p. 244, with
the meaning of provision, applied especially
to corn or meal. Cf. pp. 247, 310, 343 (wittalis,
wyttell).
"my Lord Provost was content to provyde naprie and twa
dozen greit veschell."1 The "greit veschell" were probably
skails, skalis, skirls, skulls, or skolls (Fr. écuelles), goblets or
large bowls for containing liquor of any kind, — a word still preserved
in Teviotdale under the first of those spellings to mean
a thin shallow vessel of wood or tin, for skimming the cream
off milk.
These luxurious habits of rude conviviality aroused the
dissatisfaction of some who still loved "the good old
times." "Qhuare our eldaris had sobriete," says old Hector
Boyce, in Bellenden's translation, "we have ebriete
and dronkines; qhuare they had plente with sufficence,
we have immoderat coursis with superfluit, as he war maist
noble and honest that culd devore and swelly maist, and,
be extreme diligence, serchis so mony deligat coursis that
they provoke the stomok to ressave mair than it may sufficientlie
degest. And nocht allenarlie may surfat dennar and
sowper suffice us above the temperance of our eldaris, bot als
1 'Domestic Annals of Scotland,' vol. i
p. 199. Jamieson, quoting two lines of Sir
David Lyndsay's "Dreme," where veschell
occurs, translates that word by vassal, slave,
which is a mistake, the right meaning being
obviously vase (O. Fr. vaissel, Fr.
vaisseau, Eng. vessel). Vide Supplement to
the 'Etym. Dict.,' vol. ii. p. 614, col. 2.
Another mistake deserves being mentioned
here. An early Scottish writer says, that
"thay of the best judgment amangis the
Frainchmen caussit set the airmis of England
on the Quenis schippis." — 'A Chronicle of
the Kings of Scotland,' &c., printed at Edinburgh,
1830 [for the Maitland Club], p. 96 —
4to. As the above is a translation from the
French, we must resort to the original, which
was written by David Chambers, and we read
in it: "Ils feirent marquer les vaisseaux de
argent de la reyne d'Escosse avec les armoiries
de l'Angleterre." — 'Histoire abbregée,'
&c., fol. 218 verso. The translator has obviously
misunderstood the original, and taken
vaisseaux as if it meant vessels for sailing,
separating the term from the qualifying phrase
"de argent," which describes the plate used
at Queen Mary's table. The same authority
has strangely foisted in baigis, from modern
French bagues, pl., denoting rings of gold or
silver.
to continewe oure schamefull voracite with duble dennars and
sowparis. Na fishe in the se, nor foule in the aire, nor best in
the wod, may have rest, but socht heir and thair to satisfy the
hungry appetit of glutonis. Nocht allenarly ar winis socht in
France, bot in Spainy, Italy and Grece; and, sumtime, baith
Aphrik and Asia socht for new delicius metis and winis to the
samin effect. Thus is the warld soutterly socht that all manor
of droggis and electuaris that may nouris the lust and insolence
of pepill are bocht in Scotland with maist sumptuus price, to
na less dammage than perdition of the pepill thereof; for throw
the immoderat glutony our wit and reason ar sa blindit within
the presoun of the body, that it may have no knowledge of
hevinly thingis."
That statement is confirmed by Bishop Lesley, who describes
the mode of living during his time as too extravagant. "There
wes," says he, "mony new ingynis and devysis, alsweill of
bigging of paleicis, abilyementis and of banquating, as of menis
behaviour, first begun and used in Scotland at this tyme, eftir
the fassione quhilk they had sene in France. Albeit it semit to
be varray comlie and beautifull, yit it was moir superfluows and
voluptuous ner the substaunce of the realme of Scotland mycht
beir furth or sustaine; notheles, the same fassionis and custom
of coistlie abyliements indifferentlie used by all estatis, excessive
banquating and sic lik, remains yit to thir dayis, to the
greit hinder and povartie of the hole realme." 1
1 The History of Scotland,' &c., p. 154,
A.D. 1537: Edinburgh, 1830—4to. Cf. pp.
37, 265, 269; and Balfour's 'Annales,' vol. i.
p. 227. Noël du Fail, in his chapter 'Du
Temps present et passé,' points out the same
change in France: "Du temps du grand roy
François," says he, "on mettoit encore en
beaucoup de lieux le pot sur la table, sur
laquelle y avoit seulement un grand plat garny
de beuf, mouton, veau, et lard, et la grand'
By those extracts, selected from among a great many others,1
one may fancy what might have been a Scotch entertainment
of the sixteenth century.
From this plainness of diet, in conformity with the statute of
1581,2 and from the attachment of the Scots, even when abroad,
to their national dish, most probably arose the ludicrous French
phrase, "pain benist d'Escosse," which Cotgrave translates by
"a sodden sheep's liver."
The Scots, like the English,3 made use of mangerie or
manjery (Fr. mangerie) to signify a feast. Maniory, manorie,
had the same meaning. Disjune, disjoon, disione 4 (O. Fr.
brassée d'herbes cuites et composées ensemble,
dont se faisoit un broüet, vray restaurant et
elixir de vie, dont est venu le proverbe, la
soupe du grand pot, et des friends le pot pourry.
En ceste meslange de vivres ainsi arrangee,
chacun y prenoit comme bon luy sembloit, et
selon son apetit; tout y couroit a la bonne foy,
… tous y mangeoient du Bras, du maigre,
chaud ou froid, selon son apetit, sans autre
formalite de table, sausses et une longue
platelée de friandises qu'on sect aujourd'hui
en petites escuelles remplies de montres seulement."
— 'Les Conies et discours d'Eutrapel,'
fol. 121 verso.
1 In the 'Harleian Miscellany,' vol. vi.,
there is 'A Modern Account of Scotland,'
&c., written from Scotland by an English
gentleman, and first printed in the year 1670—-
4to. What he says about Scottish cookery
occurs pp. 140, 141. Cf. Scotland Characterised:
In a Letter written to a young Gentleman,
to dissuade him from ane intended Journey
thither': 1701 — fol. Reprinted in the
'Harleian Miscellany,' vol. vii. p. 37S. In
one of his entertaining works on musical
subjects, Gardiner narrates a visit he paid to
Edinburgh in 1805. "Haggis and sheep'shead
with the wool on; and, as a side-dish,
the trotters of the same animal, unsinged,"
were served up at dinner to him and his companion.
Sir John Graham Dalyell, who mentions
the above, remarks that "some wag had
imposed on the traveller of 1805." — 'Musical
Memoirs of Scotland,' &c., pp. 27, 28.
2 "That na maner of personis … being
under the degre of prelatis, erlis, &c., sall presume
to have at thair brydellis, or uthir banquettis,
or at their tabillis in dalie cheir, ony
droggis, or confectouris, brocht from the pairtis
beyond sey." — Acts James VI., ed. 1814, p.
221. In the middle of the same century the
"spicis, eirbis, drogis, gummis, and succur for
to mak exquisit electuars," imported directly
from Montpellier, a noted place for those
articles, were a novelty in Scotland. — 'Complaynt,'
&c., p. 227.
3 See 'Emare,' l. 469; ap. Ritson, 'Ancient
English Metrical Romanceës,' vol. ii. p. 224.
4 "Then in the morning up she got,
And on her heart laid her disjune."
— "The Wife of Auchtermuchty." 'The
Ballads of Scotland,' Aytoun; second edition,
vol i. p. 163: Edinburgh and London,
1859—post 8vo.
disjune) meant breakfast, and to dischone, to breakfast.
Mange denoted meat, a meal, and bele chere1 entertainment,
victuals. To express an entertainment at the commencement
of a journey, or a cup drunk with a friend when parting with
him, bonalais, bonalay, bonalley, bonailie, bonnaillie 2 (Fr. bonne
allée 3) was used. A supper to which every gentleman brought
a pint of wine, to be drunk by himself and his wife,4 — for the
Scotch were always convivial, and their hospitality is proverbial
1 This word, now obsolete in English, is
used by Chaucer in his "Shipmanne's Tale,"
l. 13,339. It is also written beilcher, belcheir,
belecher.
2 Vide 'The Diary of Robert Birrel,' p. 46,
3d June 1598; 'Hist. of James VI.,' edit.
1825, p. 415; 'Chambers's Domestic Annals
of Scotland,' vol. i. pp. 286, 298. There is a
very humorous song, in seventeen stanzas,
"Kirrcormock's Bonello," which begins
thus:—
"Kirrcormock's blyth lairdy, or he gaed awa',
To fight and to florrie through wide India,
Invited his neebours about ane and a',
To gie him a merry bonello."
— 'The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia,'
p. 78.
3 "… le conduisirent jusques à
Rocherieu … faisans semblant vouloir
payer leur despense et bien-allée," &c. — 'Les
Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol. 59 verso.
4 'Ceremonials connected with a Birth in
the Reign of Queen Anne,' ap. Chambers,
Dom. Ann, of Scotl.,' vol. iii. p. 572, A.D.
1730. The French had formerly the word
commere in the same sense: "Sy n'y avoit
acte public en la paroisse, comme baptistaire,
commeres, noces, mortuaires, et freirées, que
sa portion ne luy fust gardée," &c. — 'Les
Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol. 186 verso.
A passage in "Pantagruel" will explain
that expression. Gargantua says to an attendant,
"Tien ma robbe, que je me mette en
pourpoinct pour mieulx festoyer les commeres."
— Rabelais, b. ii. c. 3. The latter
word originated (I) S. cummer, comer, comere,
kimmer, a she-gossip, a godmother, a midwife,
and afterwards a companion, a young girl;
(2) kimmerin, an entertainment at the birth
of a child. Cummer, as well as cummar, comber,
means also vexation, trouble, tumult;
but the root is different, being Fr. encombre.
— Vide Sir D. Lyndsay's 'Satyre of the
thre Estaitis,' Works, vol. ii. p. 153; 'The
Complaynt of Scotl.,' p. 290; 'The Raid of
the Reidswire,' st. xi.; Sir J. Melville's 'Memoirs,'
p. 406, ed. Llhuyd; 'Archæologia
Britannica,' &c., vol. i. p. 183, col. 2; and
William Borlase ('Observations on the Antiquities
… of the County of Cornwall,'
&c., p. 382, col. i.: Oxford, 1754—fol.) gives,
as British and Cornish, commaër, a godmother,
a wife.
5 The protonotary, Don Pedro de Ayala,
writing to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1498,
says of the Scots: "They like foreigners so
much that they dispute with one another as to
who shall have and treat a foreigner in his
house." — 'Calendar of Letters, Despatches,
and State Papers, relating to the Negotiations
between England and Spain,' &c., edited by
G. A. Bergenroth, vol. i. p. 172: London,
— was a cummer's feast; and cummerfealls (Fr. commère and
veille) was an entertainment given on the recovery of a female
from inlying.
Besides the foregoing words of general import, a goodly
proportion of words relating to the kitchen, the table, and
food, has also been borrowed from the French language.
At least three kitchen officials were indebted to the French
language for their designations. Scudler, scudlar, a scullion, is
evidently sculier, an officer who had charge of the dishes (O.
Fr. escueillier, a place where dishes are kept; escuelle, a bowl,
a saucer; It. scudella). Sumleyer,1 symoler (Fr. somellier),
seems to denote the official that had the charge of the royal
household stuff; and the spens,2 spensar, spensere, held the post
of clerk of the kitchen; whilst pantour (Fr. panetier) was
the officer who had charge of the pantry; and sawcer (Fr.
1862—8vo. In 'The Freiris of Berwik,' the
jolly farmer is scarcely seated at his supper,
when, in the genuine spirit of Scottish hospitality,
he begins to wish that he could share it
with some good fellow:—
"Then satt he doun, and swoir, 'Be Allhallow,
I fair richt weill and I had ane gud fallow.
Dame, eit with me, and drink gif that ye may."
— 'The Poems of W. Dunbar,' vol. ii. p. 12.
Cardan, who had visited Scotland, commemorates
this exemplary feature of the Scottish
character in these words: "Est vero inter
amicitiæ fœdera non vulgare hospitii jus
quod invidia vacet, quale apud Scotos: nam
apud nos rarius est, et omnes jam ad cauponas
divertunt." — 'De Utilitate ex adversis
capienda,' p. 41. On the other hand, where
a Scot happened to lodge, he was bound by
an ancient custom to defend his host from
all hurt, even to the shedding of his blood
and the losing of his life, so long as the food
he had received under his host's roof was
indigested in his stomach. See also Lesley's
'De Origine Moribus Scotorum,' &c.,
p. 64.
1 'The History of James VI.,' ed. 1825,
p. 395. Cotgrave renders somellier, a butler,
but this is not the proper meaning of the term.
— Vide 'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,' vol. vi.
p. 26, col. 3. In a deed of 5th Feb. 1349,
Jehan Guedon is termed by John, Duke of
Normandy, "Sommeillier de noz napes." At
the Spanish Court there were sumillérs de
corps, de cortina, de la cava, and de la
panetería.
2 The uplandis Mous and the burges
Mous,' l. 102, 132; ap. Henryson, pp. 112,
113. Cf. 'Waverley,' ch. xvii.
saucier), originally applied to an officer of the royal kitchen
who had charge of the sauces and spiceries, came in aftertimes
to be used of one who made or sold sauces, like the
shopkeeper who seems to have been the only one in Edinburgh
in 1666.1 From the kitchen the spense-door opened
into the silence, spensar (Fr. dépense), the place in which provisions
were stored, the larder.
Among the mobylls (Fr. meubles) of the kitchen2 were the
dresser, dressor (Fr. dressoir), a kind of sideboard, without
which no kitchen at the present day, at least in the north, is
thought to be complete; and the deis, dess, deas (Fr. dais), a
sort of uncushioned sofa, which still graces some old-fashioned
kitchens. Other articles of furniture connected with food or
drink were the ambry, amry, aumrie, awmrie (Fr. "aumoire, a
cupboard, ambrie, alms-tub" — Cotgr.), a large cupboard for
holding food and household utensils; copamry, a press for
holding cups; gardyvian,3 gardeviant, gardevyance (Fr. gardeviande,
garde de viandes) a cabinet; and gardevine (Fr. garde de
vin), a cellaret for containing wine and spirits in bottles.
Three other pieces of furniture, which might, however, belong
to other apartments, fall to be mentioned, — viz., trest,4
traist, trist (O. Fr. tretel, Fr. tréteau), the frame of a
table; landiers (Fr. landier — grand chenet de cuisine, Dict.
Wallon, Mid. Lat. andena, andela, andeda, anderia), the iron
bars which supported the ends of the logs of wood on a
1 Fountainhall, Suppl. Dec. ii. p. 224.
2 John Younge's 'The Fyancells of Margaret
… to James IV.' Leland's 'Collectanea,'
vol. iv. pp. 295, 296: Londini,
1770—8vo. "Awntyrs of Arthure," st. xvi.
l. 4. Pinkerton's edition has meble.
3 'The Fenyeit Freir of Tungland,' l. 40;
ap. Dunbar, vol. i. p. 40.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 241, II; 230, 9.
wood-fire, kitchen-dogs, andirons; and lavatur1 (Fr. lavatoire),
a laver. Among kitchen utensils may be mentioned
broche, a spit, evidently the French broche, signifying the same
thing; and say (Fr. seau), a pail. Other kitchen utensils may
have been broach (allied to the French broc, a jug), a sort of
flagon or tankard; tappit-hen,2 an altered form of topynett (Fr.
dial. topette), a measure holding a quart; and crusie, crusy, a
small iron lamp used in France under the same name. This
last word belongs to the same family as cruisken (O. Fr.
creueseguin;3 Fr. dim. creuseul, croissol; Fr. cruche; Ir. cruisigin,
a small pot or pitcher; Gael. cruisgin, an oil-lamp, a cruse),
used in the phrase, cruisken of whisky.
Table furnishings came under the influence of France both
in the articles themselves and in the names they bore. Tais,
tas, tasse, tassie,4 a bowl, cup, or vessel, is the French tasse;
verry, glass or tumbler,5 with veres, glasses, is the French verre;
accomie or alcomye spunes (O. Fr. alquemie), were spoons made
of mixed metal by the art of alchymy.
Aschet, asset — according to Sinclair, "a small dish or plate,"
or, according to Jamieson, "a large flat plate on which meat
is brought to the table" — is undoubtedly the French assiette.
1 Lavander, lavendar (laundress), occur
also in old documents quoted by Jamieson.
2 'Waverley,' ch. xvii. 'The Durham
Household Book,' &c., p.44: London, 1844—8vo.

3 Jamieson asserts that this word "has probably
been imported from the Highlands."
We cannot concur with him in that opinion.
Vide 'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin,' voce "Crusellus,"
No. 1, vol. ii. p. 673, col. 3.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 54, 13; iv. 212, 23.
5 "Awntyrs of Arthure," st. xxxvi.
'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,' p.
34, A.D. 1574. Gawin Douglas, 'The xiii
Bukes of Eneades,' &c., ed. 1553, fol. lxxvii.
l. 29. 'Crim. Tr.,' vol. ii. p. 172, A.D. 1600.
Jamieson, in his Supplement, gives caraf as
meaning a decanter for holding water; but
that word may have come directly from the
Italian caraffa, such vessel being formerly of
Venetian glass.
The latter, however, is translated by Cotgrave, "a trencher-plate."

It has been seen that in 1590 the Lord Provost of Edinburgh
provided naprie for the feast given to the Danish
ambassadors who brought the bride of James VI. The same
king, before making a progress to the northern part of his
dominions, issued orders that lodgings be prepared, with good
bedding, well-washed and well-smelled napperie, clear and clean
vessels, plenty of provisions, and vivers;1 and before that time
Dunbar says of a woman, that "hir napery aboif wes wondeir
weill besene."2
Servite, servyte, servit, servet (Fr. serviette), is a table--
napkin, and serveting is cloth for making table-napkins.3
The earliest example I have met with of the use of this
term, is in Pitcairn's 'Criminal Trials,' A.D. 1541, during
the reign of James V. It must, however, be observed
that reference is made in the passage to servietis of white
taffeta to hold the candles at the baptising of a duke.4 The
presence, at the time, of Queen Magdalen's French nurse
in Scotland may account for the introduction of both thing
and name.'
In the tariff of 1612 occurs this item, "Dornix of French
making, the eln xii s." 6 Dornix, dornick, dornique, dornewick
1 Kennedy's 'Annals,' vol. i. p. 136. Cf.
Sir James Balfour's 'Annals,' vol. ii. p. 66.
2 'The Freiris of Berwick,' v. 150; the
'Poems of William Dunbar,' vol. ii. p. 8.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 62, 5.
4 'Crim. 'Tr.,' vol. i. p. 309. Cf. vol. ii.
p. 341, A.D. 1601, and 'Sir James Melville's
Memoirs,' p. 174.
5 Noyris, norys, nurice, nurraych, nurse,
Fr. nourrice. — Jamieson's 'Etym. Dict.' and
'Crim. Tr.,' vol. i. p. 207, A.D. 1590, and
310.
6 'The Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,'
p. 297.
was a species of linen cloth used for the table, and derived
its name from Doornick, in Flanders, the place from which
it was in all likelihood first imported.
From one of Coulange's songs we learn that the Scots
used spoons and forks after the French fashion:—
"Jadis le potage on mangeoit
Dans le plat, sans ceremonie,
Et la cuillier on essuyoit
Souvent sur la poule bouillie;
Dans la fricassée autrefois
On saussoit son pain et ses doigts.
Chacun mange presentement
Son potage sur son assiette;
Il faut se servir poliment
Et de cuillier et de fourchette,
Et de temps en temps qu'un valet
Les aille laver au buffet."1
Arnot, in his 'History of Edinburgh,' p. 60, informs us
that in the sixteenth century its citizens had four different
kinds of wheaten bread: the finest called manchet, the second
cheat or trencher bread, the third and the fourth in England
mescelin, in Scotland mashloc. Whatever may be said of
the etymon of those words, braid of bughe is a savoury
wheaten bread, as may be inferred from the French name de
bouche, which we will see afterwards applied to wine. Wassel
1 "Formerly they ate the soup in the dish
without ceremony, and they wiped their own
spoon often on the boiled chicken; in the
fricassee formerly they dipped their bread and
fingers. Nowadays everybody eats his soup
on his plate; politely one must use both spoon
and fork, and from time to time a servant
must go to the cupboard to wash them."
or wastel bread (Fr. maspain) is a thin cake of oatmeal baked
with yeast. The words biscuit and craquelin were also borrowed,
but retained in a different sense.
Most of the different kinds of cakes in use in Scotland were
of French origin. Fadge, fage, fouat a large flat loaf or Bannock,
commonly of barley-meal, and baked among ashes, and
also a kind of flat wheaten loaf, baked with barm in the oven
(Loth.), seems to be the same as the Fr. fouace, a thick cake
or bun, hastily baked. Under kickshaws and petticoat tail, it
is easy enough to discover quelque chose and petit gastel, small
wastell, as a Scotsman would say.
Butter in Scotland, so celebrated for its milk and cheese,1
was often used in cookery after the French fashion: for instance,
to flamb, flawme,2 or flame, means to baste roasted
meat, while it is before the fire, by dripping butter over
it, which is called in French flamber le rôti. We see from
'The Bride of Lammermoor,' ch. xii., that the Scottish
verb was not obsolete in Scott's time, and chauffen, to
warm (Fr. chauffer), occurs in "The Awntyrs of Arthur,"
st. xxxv.
Cheese, in Scotland, bore the name of furmage (Fr. fromage;
Ital. formaggio), and a single cheese that of cabbac, caboik, cabok,
1 "Dat vobis piscem Normandia terra marinum;
Anglia frumentum, lac Scotia, Francia vinum," &c.
— 'Chronica Fr. Salimbene Parmensis,' &c.:
Parmæ, 1857—fol.; p. 93, sub anno 1248.
See also Le Grand d'Aussy's 'Fabliaux ou
Contes,' &c., vol. iv. p. 8: Paris, 1829—8vo.
In a dialogue between the Penny and the
Sheep, the latter says that with her milk
are made cheese and good butter, dainties
pleasing to the Scots and Britons, who are
fonder of milk and matons than of other
delicacies. — 'Du Denier et de la Brebis,' l. 43
'Nouveau Recueil de Contes, Dits, Fabliaux,'
&c., t. ii. p. 265: Paris, 1839—8vo.
2 'The Freiris of Berwik,' l. 137: 'The
Poems of W. Dunbar,' vol. ii. p. 7.
kebbuck,1 which Sinclair derives from the Erse (Gael. càbag);
but it is more likely that the etymon of those words is the Fr.
caboche, Span. cabeza, head. "Heads of cheese" occur in "The
Rentals and Estate Household of the House of Glenurchy,
in 1590." 2
There was a dish made of eggs, cheese, and crumbs of bread,
mixed in the manner of a pudding, which was called rammekins
(Fr. ramequin); another sort of pudding was termed tartan
purry (Fr. tarte en purée?); and a custard, whether made at
home or by a pateser, patticear, pastisar, pattisear, or pattesier,
with or without sucker3 (Fr. sucre), went under the name of
flam (Fr. flan). No doubt at times the patesar flavoured the
flam with cannel (Fr. cannelle), cinnamon. At least such a
dish, with "tairt and frutage fyne," is mentioned by Sir David
Lyndsay at the end of the 'Historie of Squyer Meldrum.'
It has been seen that at the beginning of the seventeenth
century porridge was a dish at dinner with the Scots. Likely
it was called parritch, and served in a bassie, bossie, a large
1 'The Foxe that begylit the Wolf,' l. 135,
150, 164; ap. Henryson, pp. 198, 199. Act.
Audit., A.D. 1495, p. 173. 'Andro and his
Cutty Gun,' st. iii.; ap. Herd, 'Ancient and
Modern Scottish Songs,' &c., vol. ii. p. 18:
Glasgow, 1869—12mo. 'The Bride of Lammermoor,'
ch. vii.
2 'The Black Book of Taymouth,' p. 25,
col. I: Edinburgh, 1855—4to. May we not
connect with cabok the subst. kebrock, which
is used to denote anything big and clumsy, as
a kebrock o' a stane, a big, large, unshapely
stone; a kebrock o' a bairn, a coarse, big child
(Roxb. )? At the first glance, it seems the same
as cabroch (quod vide in Jamieson's Suppl.),
used as an adj., signifying lean, meagre, as
shangie, Fr. changé (vide 'Elizabeth de Bruce,'
vol. iii. p. 225); but may not kebrock be derived
from cabok, into which was inserted the
r of codroch, rustic? Whether that last word
is the Gael. codromtha, uncivilised, may be a
question; but it may be stated that at Bordeaux,
if anybody has to bestow such an epithet
on another, he says, "II est de Cauderot,"
a village not very far from that town.
3 'Schir Chantecleir and the Foxe,' l. 212;
ap. Henryson, p. 125. 'A Brash of Wowing,'
l. 53; ap. Dunbar, vol. ii. p. 30.
'Philotus,' st. 32, fol. B. 3 recto. Pitcairn's
'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. *303, A.D. 1540.
'The History and Life of King James VI.,'
ed. 1825, p. 230.
wooden dish (Fr. bassin). Hotch-potch, which was in use at
Amsterdam,1 was known, and was imported from France, as
we may conjecture by the etymon of the name.2 A leg of
mutton, before becoming a hashie, hachie (Fr. hachis; Eng.
hash), is still called a jigot — a word which requires no riddle--
reader to tell its origin.
Broth without meat, groats, or vegetables — in short, water
in which anything has been boiled — was called bree, brey,
brew, brie, broe, from Fr. brouet,3 if not from German Brühe.
Blenshaw — a word peculiar, it seems, to Strathmore, probably
from Fr. blanche eau — was a sort of drink composed of meal,
milk, and water, &c.
It is not easy to state positively whether the names of certain
fishes, which are nearly the same in both languages, were
originally Scottish or French. Without mentioning the salmon
— sometimes called bykat, beikat (Fr. becart) — may be quoted
the crespis or crespie (Fr. craspois);4 the kabellow, cod-fish,
named in French cabillaud (Dutch kabeljaauw, German kabeljau,
Swedish kabeljo, Dan. kabliau); the haddock (O. Fr.
hadoc);5 the sparling or spirling, smelt (Fr. éperlan), &c.;
the crevish, crawfish (Fr. écrevisse), and the cokkil (Fr. coquille).
1 Vide Massinger, "The Renegado," act i.
sc. I.
2 To notch, v. n., to move the body by
sudden jerks; Fr. hocher, to jog, to jolt.
3 Cf. Rob Sherwood's 'Dict. Angl. et Fr.,'
voce "Browis;" and Palsgrave, L'Esclarcissement
de la Langue Françoyse;' voce
"Brews," p. 201, col. 2: Paris, 1852—4to.
Brewis is still used in English, but much less
than broth. On the other side of the Tweed,
where the word is also extant, it is pronounced
broo in the southern counties, and bree in the
northern.
4 See, on that fish, 'Le Ménagier de Paris,'
vol. ii pp. 200, 201.
5 Compte Jehan Arrode et Michiel de
Navarre, A.D. 1295, in the 'Archéologie
Navale,' by A. Jal, vol. ii. p. 325: Paris,
1840—8vo. The author says, in a note, that
he was unable to find the meaning of hadoc.
It may perhaps not be out of place to remark that, if another
shell-fish, the oyster, has got the same name as in England,
in Scotland it is opened according to the French fashion,
with the hollow side undermost, so as to retain the juice —
a process which is too often reversed in England.
There is another fish, the derivation of whose name and
whose introduction into Scotland are involved in great obscurity,
which cannot be passed over. It is the vendace
(Coregonus Willughbii, Jardine). This delicate little fish is
known only in the lochs in the neighbourhood of Lochmaben
in Dumfriesshire. According to the 'Statistical Account of
Scotland,' vol. vii. p. 236, "it is called the vendise or vendace,
— some say from Vendois in France,1 as being brought from
thence by one of the Jameses." Pennant, who confounded it
with the Gwyniad of Wales (Salmo lavardus, Penn.; Coregonus
lavaretus, Flem.), says: "The Scotch have a tradition
that it was first introduced there by the beauteous queen,
their unhappy Mary Stuart; and as in her time the Scotch
Court was much Frenchified, it seems likely that the name
was derived from the French vandoise, a dace, to which a slight
observer might be tempted to compare it, from the whiteness
of its scales."
Sir William Jardine, who was the first to assign the fish
its true place, says: "The story that it was introduced into
these lochs by the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots is still
in circulation. That the fish was introduced from some Con1
We do not know any place of this name
in France except Vendays, in the department
of Gironde, arrondissement and canton of
Lesparre. Mons. Littré (Dict., t. ii. p. 2420,
col. I) could not discover the etymon of vandoise,
called also vendoise, and ventoise.
tinental lake I have little doubt, but would rather attribute the
circumstance to some religious establishments which at one
time prevailed in the neighbourhood, and which were well
known to pay considerable attention both to the table and to
the cellar. Mary would scarcely prefer a lake, so far from
even her temporary residence, for the preservation of a luxury
of troublesome introduction, and leave her other fish-ponds
destitute of such a delicacy."1
For a long time the wines drunk in Scotland were, along
with malmesy, malvesy, mawesie (Fr. malvoisie) —
"Fresh fragrant clarettis out of France,
Of Angerss, and of Orliance." 2
These wines were imported in pieces 3 (Fr. pieces), as may be
deduced from a term written in the 'Burgh Records of the
City of Glasgow,' A.D. 1575, 1579; and the material of such
casks likely bore a French name, that of chyne (Fr. chêne),
1 Pennant, 'British Zoology,' vol. iii. class
iv. p. 277: Warrington, 1776—4to. Cf. Sir
William Jardine, as quoted by William Yarrell,
A History of British Fishes,' 2d edit.,
vol. ii. Pp. 146, 147.
2 Dunbar's "Dirige," 1. 55; 'Works,'
vol. i. p. 88, and vol. ii. p. 278. Cf. Ferrerius,
Pitscottie, Lesley, and Buchanan,
quoted in Pinkerton's Hist. of Scotland,'
vol. i. pp. 292, 293, and Hist. du Commerce
et de la Navigation a Bordeaux,' t. i.
PP. 409-426.
3 Peis in an Aberdeen register of the sixteenth
century, quoted by Jamieson, vote
"Rance," which he erroneously translates
Rhenish, instead of rancio. "Piece of wine"
occurs in " Monsieur Thomas," by Beaumont
and Fletcher, Act v. sc. 8; and pece alone, as
synonymous of glass, cup, in "Ywaine and
Gawin," l. 760; ap. Ritson, 'Ancient Engleish
metrical Romancees,' vol. i. p. 33.
In 1539, James V., writing to Cromwell,
privy seal, begged licence for the bearer to
buy in England sixteen pieces of malmsey
and other stock wines (Thorpe, 'Calendar of
the State Papers,' &c., vol. ii. p. 39, No. 18)
—surely different from "les autres vins de
bouche" mentioned by Marshal de Vieilleville
along with wines of Anjou, Orléans, Mâcon,
and Gascony claret white and red, in an
account of a visit paid to him by King Henri
II. and his Court. — Mémoires in Petitot's
Collection,' 1st series, vol. xxvi. p. 330.
which occurs in an early Scottish romance as synonymous
with oak.
In the "frutage fyne" of Sir David Lyndsay may be included,
besides the fruits whose introduction may be ascribed
to King David I. and King James I.,1 the longavil or longueville
a species of pear very likely imported by Mary of Guise,
Duchess of Longueville, and another pear known in Scotland
by the name of auchans, derived from a place in Dundonald.
According to Sir John Sinclair, the tree,2 originally brought
from France, had been planted in this orchard.3 Another
pear of foreign extraction is the jargonelle, called in both
countries cuisse-madame.4
The short-start, a kind of apple, was known in Scotland,
as early as 1541, under the name of carpandy, which is nearer
court-pendu than capendu, now used in French.5 Another
1 Fordun says of David I. that sometimes
he employed his leisure hours in the culture of
his garden, and in the philosophical amusement
of budding and engrafting trees. — 'Scotichronicon,'
l. 5, c. 52; ed. W. Goodal, vol. i.
p. 305: and Bower states that King James
I. was no less fond of gardening than of
literature, penmanship, and painting.* Under
James IV. fruit of various kinds was a common
gift, and one which even the poor might
offer to royalty. See 'Comp. Thes. Reg.
Scot.,' vol. i. pp. 258, 259.
2 S. pirie, pear-tree, Fr. poirier, A. S.
3 'Statistical Account of Scotland,' vol. vii.
* … nunc operi artis literatoriæ et scripturæ,
nunc protractioni et picturæ, nunc in jardinis herbarum
et arborum fructiferarum plantationi et inserturæ
… complacenti instabat curæ." — Bower, 'Scotichronicon,'
vol. ii. p. 505.
pp. 619, 620: Edinburgh, 1793—8vo.
4 Written queez-maddam in Sir W. Scott's
'Rob Roy.'
5 Another species of apple, the oslin,
pipping orzelon, is mentioned in Neill's
'Hortic. Edinb. Encycl.,' p. 209, as having
probably been introduced from France.
French pears and apples are mentioned in
the Accounts of the Burgh of Aberdeen for
1604-5: "Item, spendit witht the Frenschemen
that broch in the apillis heir, being
bowne to haif bocht them in presens of the
bailleis, 2 lib." — 'The Miscellany of the
Spalding Club,' vol. v. p. 76. "Item, the
17 of October, for the wyne in Robert Hogis,
in speking with ane Frenchman of Calais, in
bying his appillis, &c. 1 lib. 10 s." — Ibid.,
p. 83. Other references to Frenchmen in
Aberdeen in the preceding century are to be
found, pp. 43, 52.
apple, the blaunderer, in Fr. blandureau, is mentioned in the
'Pistill of Susan,' st. viii. The medlar-tree bore the name
of amyllier (O. Fr. meslier), and the fig-tree that of fyger (Fr.
figuier). The chestnut was chestan (O. Fr. chastaigne); the
wild cherry, gean or guin (Fr. guigne), a word still in use,
and the name of which may be derived from Guienne, notwithstanding
a notion prevailing in the north that the blackaroon,
or blacksherry, was originally brought from Guines, in Artois.
Another variety, mayduke, very likely derived its name from
Médoc. An orchard itself bore the name of verger, which is still
French. To this list may be added the gooseberry, groset,
groser, grosset, grozel,1 which in some districts is still called by
old people grosart; and another species of the same fruit, the
gaskin, originally imported from Gascony. "Rysart," named
in one of Ritson's Scottish songs, vol. i. p. 212, and appearing
under the forms of reesort, rizard, rizard-berry, the red-currant
berry, likely was also of French origin, and may still be heard
from the lips of some old-fashioned folk.
Early French rhymers mention a tree which one could
hardly expect to meet in such a cold climate as that of Scotland,
the olive-tree. Guillaume le Clerc, who seems to have
known Scotland, the native country of his hero Fregus, represents
him tying his charger and hanging his shield to "un
olivier molt gent."2 This may be but poetical embellishment.
1 'Crim. Tr.,' vol. i. p. 310; and vol. iii.
p. 570, A.D. 1624; 'Paul Jones,' vol. i. p.
318; 'Blackwood's Magazine,' October 1826,
p. 619. See, on importation of fruits and
vegetables into Scotland in the middle of the
sixteenth century, 'Les Ecossais en France,'
vol. i. ch. xviii., p. 434; and on the French
gardeners there, 'Inventaires de la Reyne
Descosse,' p. lxii.
2 'Le Roman des Aventures de Fregus,'
p. 75, l. 5, and following. In a note, p. 286,
the editor refers, among many works of the
The name of Oliphant, not uncommon in North Britain, might
seem at first sight to afford an additional evidence to the
statement of the early trouvères. The use of the elephants,
as supporters of the arms of the Oliphant family, like many
other armorial emblems, is evidently a specimen of punning
heraldry founded on the sound of the name; but as the most
ancient orthography is Olifard, it may be a question whether
the word is not rather allied to the French oliviere, having
been originally a local name, derived from a place in which
olives abounded.1
Oil appears in old instruments, almost in its French form,2
as oyl d'olie, uley, uylle; and pepper, under the shape of spice
(Fr. épice), the general word, as though there were no other
spice but pepper. We meet the word, however, with its original
and less limited meaning in a curious passage, where Dr
William Barclay states that "the daintie delicate sawce victuallers,
or cookes, in their restoring and venerian pasties, put the
roote called potatos, which of itself is tasteless and unsavourie,
to receive the temper and pickle of all the other spices and
nourishing aliments." 3
same kind, to one of the romances on Sir
Tristrem, where that knight is represented
wearing an olive hat at the Court of King
Marc, his uncle. In another romance, there
is a mention of a branch of olifant:—
"Très par devant I'archon deschent le coup bruiant,
Le cheval a coupé comma un raim d'olifant."
— 'Gaufrey,' l. 2737, p. 83: Paris, 1859—-
12mo.
1 Jamieson, note to l. 859, b. vi. of the
'Bruce,' p. 446: Edinb. 1820—4to.
2 Vide 'Rentals of the Ancient Earldom
and Bishopric of Orkney,' &c., documents,
p. 56; Edinburgh, 1820—8vo: and 'Crim.
Tr.,' vol. ii. p. 66, A.D. 1598.
3 'Callirhoe, commonly called the Well of
Spa,' &c., fol. B. 4: Aberdeen, 1670—4to.
In the seventeenth century, potatoes, like
artichokes, were supposed to be of an inflammatory
nature, — on what ground we do
not know. Thomas Dekkar ("The Honest
Whore," act i. sc. 10), Lewes Machin ("The
Dumb Knight," act i. sc. I), Beaumont and
Fletcher ("The Loyal Subject," act iii. sc. 5;
"The Sea Voyage," act iii. sc. 1; "Love's
Robert Chambers relates a very striking anecdote referring
to the days when potatoes had as yet an equivocal reputation,
and illustrative of the frugal scale by which some Scottish
"leddies" were used to regulate the luxuries of their table.
Two old spinsters, Barbara and Margaret Stuart, daughters of
Charles, the fourth Earl of Traquair, were living together in
Edinburgh. Upon the return, one day, of their weekly ambassador
to the market, an anxious investigation was made by the
ladies of the contents of Jenny's basket; and the little morsel
of mutton, with a portion of accompanying off-falls, was duly
approved of. "But, Jenny, what's this in the bottom of the
basket?" "Oo, mem, just a dozen of taties, that Lucky the
green-wife wad ha'e me to tak': they wad eat sae fine wi' the
mutton." "Na, na, Jenny; tak' back the taties: we need nae
provocatives in this house." 1
"Sybows" are spoken of in connection with "rysarts" in the
Scottish song mentioned above. Sybow, and, in other forms,
seibow, sebow, syboe, sybba,2 a young onion, is the old French
cibo (Fr. ciboule, a young onion). Another pot-herb, nearly
allied to the onion, sye, commonly used in the plural syes,
Cure," act i. sc. 2; "The Elder Brother," act
iv. sc. 4), and many other contemporaneous
writers, allude to that opinion, current at the
time. Cf. Old Plays,' vol. ix. p. 49. Later,
the property ascribed to the potato was
transferred to the truffle. In the last century,
the Marchioness of Pompadour, fearing to
lose the favour of a passionate lover — Louis
XV. — fed herself on truffles, in opposition
to the advice both of her doctor and of
Madame du Hausset, who relates the fact. —
Vide 'Collection des Mémoires relatifs à la
révolution française,' par Berville et Barriere,
vol. xxxiv. p. 92: Paris, 1824—8vo.
1 'The Traditions of Edinburgh,' p. 310:
Edinburgh, 1869—post 8vo.
2 'The Blythsome Wedding,' st. 6; 'A
Choice Collection of Comic and Serious Scots
Poems,' &c., part i. p. 10: Edinburgh, James
Watson, 1706—8vo. 'Memorie of the Somervilles,'
January 1592, vol. i. p. 480. Nicol's
Diary,' p. 103, &c. Cf. Nares's 'Glossary,'
voce "Chibbals" or "Chibbols."
Eng. chives (Allium schœnopasum, Linn.), is the French cive.
The former word is still not uncommon, and the latter is
in general use, in the North. Of French beans, which were
delicacies in Ben Jonson's days,1 under the name of fagioli
(Fr. fayols, flageolets), we have found no mention in Scotland
before modern times. They lack an historian like that of
potatoes.2
Salt was imported from France, at least before 1588, the
date of an agreement passed between James V. and Eustacius
Roghe, Fleming, for the making of this substance.3 It did
not come from Salins,4 so celebrated for its manufacture of
salt, but from Brouage,5 and was "recnit to be worth in
fraught" so many "tunnis Aleron"6 — i.e., Oleron in Aunis.
Jamieson, in supposing Aleron might be from Fr. à la ronde,
or from the name of Orleans, is in error.7
It falls within our province to state that in some Scottish
houses salt is still kept in a small trough of wood, generally
made of an oblong form, with a sloping lid resembling the
roof of a house, and fastened by leathern bands. This utensil
is called the saut-backet,8 and is placed in a niche of the wall
by the side of the fire to keep the salt dry.
1 Vide "Cynthia's Revels," act ii. sc. 1.
2 'Traditions of Edinburgh,' pp. 343-345.
3 Thorpe's 'Calendar of State Papers, Scot.,'
vol. i. p. 550, Nos. 112, 115.
4 Salt-pits, Fr. salines.
5 "Sali de Bruaggio." — 'Ledger of Andrew
Halyburton,' pref., p. xxviii.
6 Balfour's 'Pract. Custumis,' p. 87. In
the 'Customs and Valuation of Merchandises,'
A.D. 1602, "Bay or French salt " is charged
twenty shillings the boll. — 'The Ledger of
Andrew Halyburton,' p. 326.
7 The laws of Oleron, which are said to
have been drawn up as early as the twelfth
century, formed a sort of maritime code, had
great authority, and guided decisions not
merely in France, but in other countries.
The "tun Aleron " seems to have been a
standard weight.
8 Backet means also a square trough, rather
shallow, used for carrying coals or ashes, or
lime and mortar to masons. — Fife, Loth.
It is obvious that, in early times, the Scots did not pay
much attention to the cultivation of flowers. The only flowers
whose names seem to have been borrowed directly from the
French are the jerofflerys, geraflourys, more altered in the
English gilliflowers; and the jonette, a kind of lily. Overenyie,
southernwood (artemisia abrolanum, Linn.) is aurone;1 appleringie
(apilé; strong, and aurone) is another name for the
same plant; and marjolyne,2 sweet marjoram, is marjolaine.
Roseir, which is nothing else than Fr. rosier, a rose-bush, an
arbour of roses,3 was used as roseraie, a rushy spot.4 The
genuine etymon of the word rose, the top of a watering-pan,
which is itself called a rouser, rooser, is the Latin ros, dew.5
A posy, a nosegay, is called in Ayrshire a bouguie (Fr.
bouquet). Burgeoun, a bud, a shoot, is the Fr. bourgeon.
If a glutton is called in French une bonne fourchette, in
Scotch cuiller means a flatterer, a parasite. To that explanation
— the same as that given to cuillier in Jamieson's Supplement
— Pitcairn adds, "From the verb to culye, to cajole." 6
In Fr. cueilleur signifies a gatherer, a reaper, a picker, a
chooser, a culler,7 from cueillir, to pick up, to collect. Boutger,
a glutton, a word which Jamieson did not insert in his Diction1
G. Douglas, ii. 119, 30—cf. i. 4, 1; ii.
200, 5; "The tua maryit Wemen and the
Wedo," l. 88; ap. Dunbar, vol. i. p. 64—cf.
note, vol. ii. p. 275.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 61, II.
3 "The Praise of Aige,"l. 1; ap. Henryson,
p. 21 .
4 Vide "Tayis Bank," l. 114.
5 In E. occurs arowze, which Seward interprets
bedew, from the Fr. aroser; but Archdeacon
Nares ('Glossary,' &c., p. 17, col. 2)
does not admit such a signification, and thinks
the word must be taken in the common sense,
excite, awaken.
6 'Crim. Trials,' part ix. p. 66*, note. We
are at a loss to ascribe to cueillette the term
cuylthe, which seems to mean group, cluster,
in the "Pistill of Susan," st. viii.
7 Cotgrave, 'A French and English Dictionary.'

ary, seems connected with the Fr. bouche, mouth. Fig. and
popul. être sur sa bouche, être sujet à sa bouche, to be a gorbelly,
a greedy-gut, a glutton.
To beam the pot means to warm or season the teapot before
putting in the tea. Bein, another form of the word, seems to
point to Fr. bain, baigner, as the origin of the word.
Before ending this chapter on convivial entertainments and
allied subjects, two French idioms preserved in Scotch, relating
to the table, fall to be mentioned. To have a good stomach is
used instead of to have a good appetite, and to say the grace
in lieu of to say grace.
CHAPTER IV.
Clothing.

CHAPTER IV.
CLOTHING.
FOR a long time the wild Scots were abilzeit,1
habilyet (Fr. habillés) in coarse clothing, and
shod with rewelyns,2rullings:—
"Ersch Katerane, with thy polk breik, and rilling,
Thow and thy quene, as gredy gleddis, ye gang
With polkis to mylne, and begis baith meill and shilling."3
We cannot give the particular details of what was afterwards
called abuilzment, abuilziement, bulyement, habilyement.4 It is
1 G. Douglas, iv. 81, 10.
2 'Le Roman des Aventures de Fregus,'
p. 13, l. 18. Peter Langton mentions thus
this kind of rough boots in his account of
Edward I's war with Scotland in 1294:—
"Nostre roys Edward ait la male rage!
Et ne les prenge et tienge si estrait en kage
Ke rien lour demourge après son taliage.
Fors soul les rivelins et la nue nage."
A rhymer of the twelfth century informs us
that the Welshmen of early times wore the
same kind of shoes, which he calls revelins:—
"A la maniere et à la guise
De Galeis fu apparelliés;
Uns revelins avoit ès piés."
— Perceval le Gallois, t. i. p. 61, l. 1796. Cf. p.
79, l. 2352; p. 80, l. 2370. Rylling (rullion) occurs
in G. Douglas, iii. 131, 4. "Rivelins,"
says Hibbert, "which is a sort of sandals, made
of untanned sealskin, being worn with the
hair-side outwards, and laced on the foot with
strings or thongs of leather." — 'A Description
of the Shetland Islands,' &c., p. 119.
Cf. Captain John Henderson, General View
of the Agriculture of the County of Caithness,'
&c., sect. viii. p. 245: London, 1812 —
— 8vo; quoted in Sketch of the History of
Caithness,' &c., by James T. Calder, p. 241:
Glasgow, 1861—12mo.
3 'The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,'
st. 19, l. 145; 'Dunbar's Poems,' vol. ii.
p. 71.
4 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 411, A.D. 1603;
John Lesley, the 'History of Scotland,' ed.
1830, p. 71, A.D. 1503, &c. Hence the participle
habilyiet, abilyeit, abulyied,
probable that the word in its various forms meant habiliments
for war, then clothing of any kind: for the form bulyments is
still used in parts of the north to mean any kind of ragged,
unshapely clothing, particularly a beggar's; and habiliments,
outfit. Both words, however, are employed with a somewhat
ludicrous meaning.
St Margaret, the queen of Malcolm III., set herself with
true goodwill and energy to improve her subjects: "Fecerat
enim ut mercatores, terra marique de diversis regionibus venientes,
rerum venalium complures et pretiosas species, quæ
ibidem adhuc ignotæ fuerant, adveherent: inter quas cum
diversis coloribus vestes variaque vestium ornaments, indigenæ
compellente regina emerent; ita ejus instantia diversis vestium
cultibus deinceps incedebant compositi, ut tali decore quodammodo
crederentur esse renovati." 1
Matters continued to mend, and by the middle of the
fifteenth century so great was the change in the mode of
dress and in the manner of dressing, that the legislature
deemed it for the good of the country to pass a law to regulate
the kinds of dress to be worn by the different ranks
of society: "… The commonis wifis, no thar servandis
… war nouther lange taile, na syd, na nackit hudis, na
pokit on thar slofis, na costly curchas, as lawn or vynsis," 2
dressed, apparelled, equipped for the field.
in the 'Mystery of Saint Louis,' the Constable
of France says to his archers:—
"Abillez-vous tost sans arter,
Et sy gardez bien sur vostre ante
Qu'il ne vous faille clou ne lame."
The Scots had also the verb to revest, rewess,
rawess, to clothe, to clothe anew, which occurs
in Spenser. (O. Fr. revestir.)
1 Vita S. Margaritæ, reginæ Scotiæ (A.D.
MXCIII.) ap. Bolland., 10° Junii, t. ii. p. 330,
Col. 2, D.
2 Parl. Acts, James I., A.D. 1429, p. 18, c.
10, ed. 1814.
&c. Yet, if Brantome is to be believed, not much real progress
had been made even at a much later period, for, in the
third discourse of his 'Femmes Illustres,' he represents Queen
Mary as being "habillée à la sauvage et à la barbaresque mode
des salvages de son pays."
At the beginning of the sixteenth century the Scottish ladies
followed fashions which have been revived in our days. Dunbar,
who stigmatises them, does not say that they had been
imported from France; but he uses the name of vertugadin
under its English form:—
"Sic fartingaillis on flaggis als fatt as quhailis
Facit lyk fulis with hattis that littil availlis;
And sic fowill taillis to sweip the calsay clene,
The dust upskaillis, mony fillok with fuk saillis,
Within this land was nevir hard nor sene." 1
There is not, however, the slightest doubt that those fashions
had originated in France.
Sir David Lyndsay contrasts the manners of a "France
lady" with those of Scotch ladies dressed in articles of apparel,
the patron, patrone 2 (Fr. patron) of which at least was imported
from France:—
"Hail ane France lady quhen ye pleis,
Scho wil discover mouth and neis;
And with an humil countenance,
With visage 3 bair, mak reverence.
1 Dunbar, "A General Satyre," l. 71
among his Poems, vol. ii. p. 27. Cf. 'Maitland's
Poems,' p. 186.
2 Vide "The Complaynt of the Papingo,"
among Sir D. Lyndsay's Poetical Works, vol.
i. P. 323; and J. Melvill's 'Diary,' p. 14. In
Pitcairn's 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 298*,
A.D. 1589, patrowne is to be found as synonymous
with shipmaster.
3 This word was preserved in a French
Quhen our ladyis dois ryde in rane,
Suld no man have tham at disdane
Thocht thay be coverit mouth and neis." 1
Of course, Sir David pronounces the French fashion to be the
better of the two; and, being constant in his partiality to France,
he says elsewhere that "policie is fled agane in France." 2
In the latter part of the sixteenth century, the introduction
of French fashions was particularly noticed, and seems to be
ascribed to Mons. d'Aubigny, who arrived in 1578 from the
Continent "with manie Frenche fassones and toyes." 3 At the
beginning of the seventeenth century, Fines Moryson, travelling
in Scotland, said that almost all in the country did wear
coarse cloth made at home, but that the merchants in the
cities were attired in English or French cloth. Although
the gentlemen did wear English cloth, or silk, or light stuffs,
&c., all followed at this time the French fashion, especially
in Court; while married gentlewomen were dressed after the
German fashion, with this exception, that they wore French
hoods.
In a poem which contains a considerable portion of satire,
and seems to have been written towards the middle of the
phrase, visage de bois, which seems to have
been common in genteel society during the
seventeenth century. — Vide Sir James Turner,
'Memoirs of his own Life and Times,' Appendix,
No. ii. p. 273: Edinburgh, 1839 —
4to. The Scots had vult and gan, gane,
aspect, face, countenance, which are of
French origin. — Vide 'The Uplandis Mous
and the Burges Mous,' l. 77; 'The Paddock
and the Mous,' l. 54, ap. Henryson, pp.
119; 'The Manner of the Crying of ane
Play,' l. 164; 'A Brash of Wowing,' ll.
28, 42, 56, 63; 'The Droichis Part of the
Play,' l. 163, ap. Dunbar, vol. ii. pp. 29,
30, 43.
1 Sir David Lyndsay's Works, 'Supplication
against Syde Taillis,' l. 135.
2 'The Dreme,' among Sir D. Lyndsay's
Works, vol. i. p. 239.
3 J. Melvill's 'Diary,' p. 76. Cf. 'Inventaires
de la Royne Descosse,' &c., p. lxiii.
seventeenth century, the use of the costly cloths which were
imported into the country in bygone days is mentioned as a
proof of the luxury of the times:—
"We used no cringes, but handes shaking,
No bowing, shouldering, gambo-scraping,
No French whistling, or Dutch gaping.
We had no garments in our land,
But what were spun by the goodwife's hand;
No drap de Berry, cloaths of seal; 1
No stuffs ingrain'd in cocheneel;
No plush, no tissue cramosie;
No China, Turky, taffety;
No proud pyropus, paragon,
Or chackarally, there was none." 2
In a comedy called "Eastward Hoe," 3 Act i., "enter Poldavy,
a French tailor, with a Scottish farthingale and a French
fall in his arms." Mildred says, "Tailor Poldavy, prythee
fit, fit it. Is this a right Scot? Does it clip close, and bear
up round?"
"It will scarcely be believed in this age," says Lord Hailes,
"that in the last, the city ladies reformed their hereditary
farthingales after the Scottish fashion."
Of woollen stuffs, the commonest were russet and tartan,
with raploch, a kind of buriel (O. Fr. burels, buriaus, Fr.
1 Clément Marot, in his 'Responce de la
Dame au jeune fy de Pazy,' mentions a
"cotte de drap de siau," and another one of
"drap de sau." Vide 'L'Amant despourveu
de son esprit,' &c., in the 'Recueil de
Poésies françoises des xve et xvie siècles,'
t. v. p. 135: Paris, 1855-57—12mo. Cf.
"Recherches sur l'Industrie des draps, et sur
ce qui est appelé Drap du Sceau, dans les
auteurs du xvie siècle," in the 'Histoire
Règne de Henri IV.,' par Auguste Poirson, t.
iv., pp. 620-622: Paris, 1867—in-8°.
2 'A choice Collection of Scots Poems,'
part i. p. 28.
3 Dodsley's 'Collection of Old Plays,' vol.
iv. pp. 155-157.
bure, bureau, a coarse woollen stuff; Sp. buriél) manufactured
at Raploch, a hamlet near Stirling,1 on looms supplied by the
Continent.2 Russet was generally imported from France,3 and
called rowane russet4 (which cannot be confounded with Paryse
blak,5 likely a stuff of a superior kind, used only at Court or
in towns). Whether this name originated from its roan colour,
or the place from which it was imported, is quite uncertain.
In France, the term rouen, from the name of the city, is used
by merchants as the distinctive denomination of one species
of cloth.6
As to tartan, the cloth seems to have been imported,
with the mode of manufacture itself, from France. The
word is derived from tiretaine,7 tirtaine, a kind of cheap
1 Vide the "Complaint of the Papingo,"
and "Supplication against Syde Tailliss,"
among 'Sir David Lyndsay's Poetical Works,'
vol. i. p. 345; vol. ii. p. 201.
2 For instance, in Ettrick Forest they called
bobbin a weaver's quill (Fr. bobine).
3 See an entry of December 2, 1512,
quoted in 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. i.
337.
4 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. ii. p. 337;
Crim. Trials,' part x. p. 363. A "roussat
gown" is mentioned in Blind Harry's 'Wallace,'
b. i. l. 239; and "5 ell of Rowanis
clath to be a gon," marked 1 y f i in the
'Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p. 260,
A.D. 1500.
5 D. Laing, notes to Knox, vol. i. pp. 71,
176; 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. ii. p.
131; a 'Collection of Inventories and other
Records of the Royal Wardrobe,' p. 86. In
an Aberdeen register of the sixteenth century
occurs "ane goune of Parische broune," and
something else of "Parische work." Another
"blak clayth allegit Ryssillit blak" is mentioned
by Jamieson, who conjectures that this
might be cloth imported from Lille, called in
German Ryssel.
6 "Rouen. Se dit simplement, parmi les
marchands, pour toile de Rouen." — 'Dict.
Trév.' Rouen supplied also the Scottish
markets wills hemp. "Cullane, Picardie,
Roan, and all uther sortis of dressed hemp,"
are mentioned in the Customs and Valuation
of Merchandises,' A.D. 1612. — The
Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p. 314.
7 Vide 'Rech. sur les étoffes de soie,' vol.
ii. pp. 169, 250, note 1, 472; 'Notes and
Queries,' fourth series, vol. v. pp. 146, 255,
370, 543. Lord Hailes, mentioning in his
Annals,' vol. i. p. 4o, note, Queen Margaret's
unusual splendour at her Court (Bolland.,
10 Jun., p. 330), hints that the tartan
was perhaps introduced into Scotland by this
princess.
This subject has been been treated at
length in a large folio entitled 'Costume
cloth.1 Tartan must have been introduced at an early date.
John, Bishop of Glasgow, treasurer of James III., has an account
for tartan for the use of the King, and "double tartane"
for the Queen, in 1471.2 In 1505 a "quhissilar" had "Frenche
tartane to be ane cote." In another entry, under date of
August 1538, there is mention of "iij elnis of Heland tartane"
for James V., on the occasion of his making a hunting excursion
to the Highlands, "price of the elne iiijs. iiijd." 3 In the
year 1562 six tartan plaids were purchased for Queen Mary, at
the cost of £18.4
of the Clans, with Observations upon the
Literature, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce
of the Highlands and Western Isles
during the Middle Ages; and on the Influence
of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and
Eighteenth Centuries upon their Present Condition,'
by Count John Sobieski Stolberg and
Charles Edward Stuart: Edinburgh, 1845.
Three years later, the same Count John published
a reply in defence of his work — Edinburgh,
8vo — after which it is idle to refer to
William Cleland's 'Highland Host,' pp. 11-13,
a small 12mo in the Grenville collection (British
Museum), a poem which Lord Macaulay
describes as a "Hudibrastic satire of very little
intrinsic value;" to Richard Frank's Northern
Memoirs,' to Burt's Letters, &c., and to
Sir John Graham Dalyell's 'Musical Memoirs
of Scotland,' pp. 106-113. The kilt, or philibeg,
the tartan short coat reaching down to the
knees, is not so old as is generally supposed.
Dr Burton ('History of Scotland,' vol. ii. p.
381) has proved that in its modern form,
separate from the plaid, it was invented by
an army tailor in the eighteenth century.
'Regality of Grant Court Book,' 1723-1729;
General Register House, Edinburgh, June 30,
1727, says:— "Court of the lands of Pulchine
and Skeraidteen, holdin at Delny upone
the 27 Julij 1704, be Wiliam Grant, bailie of
the saides lands, constitute be the Right honorabill
the Laird of Grant, heritor of the saidis
lands — David Blair, notar and clerk …
The said day, by order from the Laird of
Grant Younger, the said bailie ordains and
enactis that the haill tenantes, cottars, mal--
enders, tradesmen, and servantes within the
saidis landis of Skeraidtone, Pulchine, and
Calender, that are fencible men, shall provyd
and have in rediness against the eight day of
August nixt, ilk ane of them, Haighland
coates, trewes, and short hose of tartane, of
red and greine sett, broad springed, and also
with gun, sword, pistoll, and durk; and with
these present themselves to an rendesvouze,
when called upon 48 hours advertisement."
1 "La tirtaine dont simple gent
Sont revestu de pou d'argent."
— "Le Dit du Lendit rimé," l. 31, in Fabliaux
et Contes,' vol. ii. p. 302.
2 See James Logan's Scottish Gael,' vol.
i. p. 230: Edinburgh, 1831—2 vols. 8vo.
3 'Compota. Thesaurar.,' 1537-38, fol. 636.
4 Ibid., September 24, 1562, fol. 67 b. Cf.
Dalyell, 'Musical Memoirs of Scotland,' p.
Sairge came from France, — at least, it is stated in a history
of Aberdeen that a man, John Leith of Harthill, in 1639
robbed a merchant of a stick (coupen or cowpon, Fr. coupon), or
a tailzie (a piece) "of French sairge of a sad gray cullor."1
But what was the "French blaber," mentioned in a document
of 1561? Might it not be a misreading for black?2
Other woollen stuffs bearing names derived from French
were cadas, caddes (Fr. cadis, a kind of drugget); demyostage
(Fr. demi-ostade), a kind of woollen-stuff; steming, stemying,2
— "gray French stemming," 3 stennyage, stening — "reid French
steining4 (O. Fr. estamine, Fr. étamine), at vii lib. the ell."
Carissay (O. Fr. creseau), kersey, was a coarse kind of cloth of
home-make, from which were made coveratours — i.e., coverlets
for beds — and cadurces, a sort of shield or target.5
113: Edinburgh and London, 1849-4to. In
a song published by Herd, the tartan is thus
praised:—
"The brawest beau in burrow's-town,
In a' his airs, with art made ready,
Compared to him he's but a clown,
He's finer far in's tartan plaidy."
—"Highland Laddie," st. iii.
Scotland was of old noted for striped
cloths:—
"S'ot Guiret fet .ii. robes fere
De .ii. dras de soie divers.
Li uns fu d'un osterin pers,
Li autres d'un bofu raié
Que li ot d'Escoce envoié
Andels, une sue cousine."
— 'Erec et Enide,' MS. of the Nat. Libr.,
Fr. 1420, fol. 21 verso, col. 2, l. 33.
Cosmo Innes has very sensibly observed
that it is comparatively of late years that
nice distinctions of checks have been studied
and peculiar patterns adopted by clans. —
'Sketches of early Scotch History,' p. 431,
note.
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 524, A.D. 1607;
'The Book of Bon Accord,' vol. i. p. 99,
note. The Scots had also tailyeit, part.
pas., proportioned, symmetrically formed (Fr.
taillé — vide 'Clariodus,' p. 174), and, instead
of grey, lyart, borrowed likewise from the old
French, where it meant gris pommelé.
2 Parl. Acts, James VI., A.D. 1587, ed.
1814, p. 507.
3 'A Collection of Inventories,' &c., p.
280, A.D. 1579.
4 'An Account of 1633,' ap. Innes,
'Sketches of early Scotch History,' p. 372,
note, col. 2.
5 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 729*, A.D. 1502;
p. 204*, A.D. 1537-38; part ix. p. 70, A.D.
1510, &c. The 'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.'
has nothing more than "cadurcum quo merces
proteguntur" — vol. ii. p. 16, col. 2.
Taffeta, imported from Italy or Lyons,1 was termed ormaise,
armosie (Fr. armoisin, at Lyons armoise).
The cloth called bombasie, bombesie (Eng. bombasin), has
often varied in texture. The name is now applied to a
worsted stuff. The origin of the word seems to be the
Greek βόμβυξ, a silkworm, raw silk. Then comes It. bombice,
a silkworm; bombicina, tiffany. Cotton on being introduced
was confounded with silk. Hence its middle and modern
Greek name, βόμβάκιον middle Latin, bambacium; It. bambagio,
cotton, bambagino, cotton-cloth; Fr. bombasin, basin,2
cotton-cloth. Poddasway, a stuff of which both warp and woof
are silk, is the Fr. pou-de-soie. Another form of the word is
poddisoy, with the meaning of a rich plain silk. Railya may
be some kind of striped satin, and derived from the O. Fr.
rayolé, riolé, streaked. At all events, the Scotch had rail, a
woman's jacket, and railly, a sort of large petticoat, usually
made of camlet, worn over the ordinary dress by ladies, when
riding on horseback, and with straps over the shoulders.
Bisset, a kind of lace, is the Fr. bisette, small lace, low-priced.
1 In the tariff of 1612, thread of Lyons or
Paris is mentioned. — 'The Ledger of Andrew
Halyburton,' p. 331.
2 "II est généralement admis," say the
editors of 'Les Historiettes de Tallemant des
Réaux,' "que les Bazin étoient de riches
marchands de toiles et de draps de la ville de
Troyes, qui fabriquèrent les premiers cette
légère étoffe croisée à laquelle est resté le nom
de bazin." — Vol. v. p. 204: Paris, 1856—
8vo. The above is an obvious mistake. As
it is stated in Littré's 'Dictionnaire de la
Langue française,' voce "Basin," this word
is derived from bombasin, the first syllable
of which having been dropped as though it
were the adjective bon, good. It is not so
easy to make out the name of a stuff mentioned
in an old will. At the end of the
fourteenth century, Sir James Douglas of
Dalkeith bequeaths to his son and heir, along
with his tilting arms, "unum rethe quod fuit
in bombicinio meo," — perhaps, says Cosmo
Innes, the silk dress worn over arms in the
tilt-yard. — 'Sketches of early Scotch History,'
p. 332.
Cotgrave gives the meaning "plates (of gold, silver, or copper)
wherewith some kinds of stuffes are stripped."
The French crespe has given rise to crisp, crispe, krisp, cobweb
lawn:—
"I saw thré gay ladeis sit in a grene arbeir,
With curches, cassin tham abone, of kirsp clear and thin." 1
Buckasie, buckacy, bugasine, bukasy, bukkasy, "a kinde of fine
buckeram that hath a resemblance of taffata, … also,
the callimanco," 2 which is so often mentioned in Scottish
documents from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century,3
was the French boucassin, Eng. bocasine. Apparently it
came from Britanny,4 a country frequently mentioned for its
cloth, or from the Low Countries. The bottanos, or "peceis
of linning litted blew," of the tariff of 1612,5 and botano of
1 'The Twa Maryit Wemen and the
Wedo,' among Dunbar's Works, vol. i. pp.
61, 62.
2 Cotgrave, sub voce "Boccasin"
3 Jamieson (Suppl., vol. i. p. 152, col. 2)
quotes entries of 1474, 1478, and 1611. The
word occurs also in 'The Burgh Records of
the City of Glasgow,' p. 20, A.D. 1574.
4 "Bartane Camme." — 'Crim. Trials,' vol.
i. p. 310v; 'Inventories,' p. 58, A.D. 1542.
"Claith callit bartane claith, the elne thairof
xxs." — "Tariff or Table of Rates of Customs
and Valuations of Merchandises, May 22,
1597," in Andrew Halyburton's 'Ledger,'
&c., p. cxiii.
"For all the claith of Fraunce and Bertane
Wald nocht be till her leg a gartane," &c.
— 'The Droichtis Part of the Play,' v. 58,
among Dunbar's Works, vol. ii. p. 39.
The last word recalls to our memory the
garter, which, among the ceremonies at marriages
in high life under Queen Anne, the
bridegroom's man attempted, as now in France
among the inferior classes, to pull from the
bride's leg. — Vide Chambers's Domestic Annals
of Scotland,' vol. iii. p. 20, March 1,
1701. In England, and, I believe, in Scotland
also, the "piper at a wedding has always
a piece of the bride's garter tyed about
his pipes." — See 'Discourse, Northumberland
Gentleman and a Scotsman,' p. 24 (London,
1686—4to), quoted by Sir John Graham
Dalyell, 'Musical Memoirs of Scotland,' p. 31.
5 'Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p. 291.
rates, A.D. 1670, was boutant, a cloth manufactured at Montpelier.
Rouane was a kind of cloth from Rouen.1
Cammeraige, camerage, camroche, cambric, a sort of fine linen
cloth brought from Cambrai in Flanders, is the Fr. cambrai,
toile de Cambrai — "ane quaiff of camorage," 2 &c. Leeno, a
name for thread gauze used in Fife and Lothian, is the Fr.
linon, lawn. Blanchards, a kind of linen cloth, the yarn of
which had been twice bleached before being put into the
loom, is from the Fr. blancard, blanchard, a sort of cloth
manufactured in Normandy (Fr. blanc).
Chalmillett, chamlet, chamlothe, Eng. camlet, is the Fr. camelot
and fusteany, Eng. fustian, is the Fr. fustaine, It. fustagno,
so named, according to Diez, from being brought from Fostat
or Fossat (Cairo), in Egypt. In December 1506, John Bute,
one of the fools of James IV., received for his dress a doctor's
gown of chamlet lined with black gray, and purfiled with skins,
with a hood, a doublet of fustian, hose, and a gray bonnet;
whilst Spark, John Bute's man, had a goun of russet, doublet of
fustian, and hose of carsay.
Pan-velvet, rough velvet, is partly Fr. panne, stuff. Tryp--
velvet is an inferior kind of velvet, from Fr. tripe, tripe de
velours.
Cannas, cannes (Fr. canevas, It. canapa, Lat. cannabis), is a
coarse cloth made of flax or hemp. In the North, coverlets
for beds are, or lately were, made of it. Cannes-braid, or in
northern pronunciation cannas-breed, was often spoken of as
a measure. Vitrisch, vitrié, a kind of canvas, was probably
1 C. Innes, 'Scotland in the Middle Ages,'
&c., ch. viii. p. 242.
2 'A Collection of Inventories,' p. 132,
A.D. 1578.
identical with "Bartane" canvas. The town of Vitré, in Britanny,
has still manufactories of sail-cloth.1
Trailye, trelye, a kind of cloth woven in the form of checks
resembling lattices, is the Fr. trellis ("toile gommée et luisante,"
as well as "grosse toile dont on fait des sacs, et dont
s'habillent des paysans, des manœuvres"). Bout-claith — "a
heland kirtill of black boutclaith"2 — cloth of a thin texture, is
from the Fr. bluter, bulter, beluter, mid. Lat. buletare.
Virge-thread, some sort of streaked thread, is from the Fr.
vergé, streaked.
There was a kind of cloth imported from France under the
name of "Franch blake" and "Parise blak." It seems to have
been a stuff of finer quality, worn chiefly at Court or in towns.
In an account, charge and discharge, of the treasurer of James
III., occurs this entry: "Deliverit to James Homyl …
iiij elne of Franche blake for a syde goune to the King, price
42s. the elne." Another article of interest is the following:
Jan. 23, 1511-12: "Item, to Maister William Dunbar, for his
yule leveray, vj elnis ane quartar Parise blak, to be hyme ane
gowne; price eln, xls., summa xij lib. xs. "Maister George
Balquhannane" was presented with a Paris black gown, on the
occasion of the entry of James V.'s queen into Edinburgh.
There was also a cloth of "Franche broun," which seems to
have been of less value than the black. In the account of
the treasurer of James III., already quoted, there is this item
1 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. p.
345; 'The Book of the Rates of Customs and
Valuation of Merchandises,' &c., A.D. 1612,
in Halyburton's 'Ledger,' p. 319.
2 'A Collection of Inventories,' &c., p. 223
A.D. 1578. Printed at Edinburgh, 1815—4to.
"Two elne and ane halve of Franche broun, … price
elne, 30s."
There were several other sorts of cloth that drew their names
from the places where they were manufactured. Drapt de
Berry was so designated from Berry, a province of old France;
Croy claycht, from Croy, in Picardy, nine miles from Amiens;
and Bridges or Brug satine, from Bruges. "Cloaths of seel"
may be the same as a cloth that went by the names of drap
de siau, drap de sau, drap de sieau:—
"Sa ceinture honorable, ainsi que ses jarticres,
Furent d'un drap du seau, mais j'entends des lizieres."1
Paragon was a rich cloth imported, as would appear, either
from Italy or from the East, and called so on account of its
excellence. At Smyrna, the finest stuffs which the Venetian
merchants bought were called paragone di Venezia. Likely the
sort of cloth which was named plesance, from Piacenza in Italy,
was imported from France.2 Chackarraly, apparently, was
some kind of checkered or variegated cloth, and probably its
name was borrowed from the French. At all events, there
was formerly a species of cotton cloth of the same description,
imported into France from India, chiefly from Surate, and
called chacart.
Other Eastern cloths used in Scotland generally bore the
same name as in France. Le bord Alexander, mentioned in
a list of donations to the altar of St Fergus, in the church
1 Mathurin Regnier, satyre x. See before,
P. 73.
2 'Accounts of the Lord Treasurers of Scotland'
for 1473 and 1498, vol. i. pp. 72, 386.
of St Andrews,1 is the French bordat, a name belonging to
a kind of cloth manufactured at Alexandria and other towns
in Egypt.
Another church seems to have been provided with similar
textures. Aberdeen cathedral could show robes and hangings
made from the cloth-of-gold taken in the English tents at
Bannockburn, or woven in the looms of Bruges and Arras, of
Venice and Florence. That such articles were not very common
in Scotland at the time may be inferred from the fact that
Queen Mary gave some of those spoils to make a showy
doublet to Bothwell and a bed to Prince James.2
Cramesye, crammasy, cramosie, cloth of crimson colour, is the
Fr. cramoisi; It. cremisi, cremisino; Sp. carmesí; Port. carmezim;
Arab. karmesi, from kermes, the name of the worm
from which the dye is obtained. Crammasy, cramasy, means
of or belonging to crimson. The cloth was of various textures,
and was a favourite article of wear, but its use was not confined
to dress:—
"When we cam' in by Glasgow toun,
We were a comley sight to see:
My love was clad i' the black velvet,
And I mysell in cramoisie."3
It was used as part of the "camparisonnis" of a horse:—
1 MS. written in 1525. In Scot. as in old
Eng., altar was written awter, awtere (old Fr.
autier). 'The Promptorium Parvulorum,'
vol. i. p. 181, has fruntelle of an awtere.
2 See 'Inventories of Mary Queen of Scots,'
p. 53, and Pref. p. xxvi; and 'A Lost Chapter
in the History of Mary … recovered,'
&c., by John Stuart, p. 14: Edinburgh, 1874
—4to.
3 "Waly waly," among 'The Ballads of
Scotland,' collected and edited by Aytoun;
vol. i. p. 132: Edinburgh and London, 1859
—post 8vo.
"Her selle it was of the royal bone,
Full seemly was that sight to see!
Stiffly set with precious stone,
And compass'd all with cramoisie." 1
There were other cloths of cramoisie. Thus there were
crammesy, crammassy, crammacy, crammasy-velvet and crammacy-satin
— both used for clothing, as well as for other purposes.
Before James V. set out on his expedition by sea
round his dominions, on the 21st of May 1540, ten ells of red
"crammesy velvet" were given to the chief tailor of the king's
household, "to make him ane cote and ane pair of breekis for
the sea." In May 1539 a "crammassy welvot" gown was
presented, at the king's expense, to Madame Gresmore in St
Andrews, on her marriage to the Laird of Creech. It cost
£108. Let us mention also a more interesting item, "Ane
cott of sad cramasy velvott, quhilk was the kingis graces
enterie coit in Pareis, reschit all our with gold," 2 &c.
It was used as a canopy:—
"And first hir mett the burgess of the toun,
Richlie arrayit as become thame to be,
Of quhom they chesit four men of renown,
In gouns of velvot, young, abill, and lustie,
To beir the paill of velvet cramasé
Aboon hir heid, as the custome hes bein." 3
A document exhibits "ane gown of cramasy sating, broderit on
1 "Thomas of Ercildoune," among 'The
Ballads of Scotland,' collected and edited by
Aytoun; vol. i. p. 28: Edinburgh and London,
1859—post 8vo.
2 'A Collection of Inventories,' &c., p. 80,
A.D. 1542.
3 "The Queinis Reception at Aberdein,"
st. ii., among Dunbar's Poems, vol. i. p. 153.
the self with threidis of gold, of the Franche fassown," 1 very
similar to those described elsewhere:—
"With gabert wark wrocht wondrous sure,
Purfild with gold and silver pure." 2
Here is another use to which crammacy-satin was put: March
31, 1539 — "Deliverit to Johnne Young, browdstar, iij elnis
half elne of crammacy sating to the stand of clath of gold
workand to the kingis chapell; price of the elne iij lib. xs.,
summa, xij lib. vs.
Pourpoure, purple, is the Fr. pourpre, a fashionable colour.
On March 31, 1539, two of the sons of James V., Lord James
of Kelso and Lord James of St Andrews, had suits consisting
of "gownis of gray sating of Venyse," "coitis with slevis of
purpure welvot," "waltit with gray welvot," "hose of Rissilis
black lynit with blew," with "blak taffeteis to draw them
with," "twa welvot bonnetis with pasments of silk, and ane
marrabus bonett," "beltis and garbanis of taffiteis," and "blak
welvot shone."
Pyropus seems to have been cloth of a bright red (Fr.
pyrope, Lat. pyropus, a carbuncle of fiery redness); but in our
researches on silks we have never met such a word.
1 'A Collection of Inventories … of
the Royal Wardrobe,' &c., p. 80, A.D. 1542.
Further on — pp. 133, 148, A.D. 1561 — we
read cordeleris knottis, an ornament in embroidery
anciently worn by ladies (Fr. cordelière),
cordon, a string, also a wreath, and
cordonit, wreathed.
2 'A Choice Collection of Scots Poems,'
part ii. p. 7. Jamieson derives gubert from
Fr. guipure, — "a gross black thread," says
Cotgrave, "whipt about with silk; " but
elsewhere Jamieson translates galbert by
mantle (Fr. gabert). We will not decide whether
galbert is derived from the Fr. galbrun
(low Latin galabrunus) — see Du Cange's
Gloss. and Raynouard's 'Lexique Roman,'
t. vi. p. 26 — but we will note that the root
gal occurs in the name of another garment, galcott,
galcoit, by which a jacket "of tartane
work" is perhaps meant.
We must not forget the French cloth colour de roy, so
denominated from its colour. Two entries of 1538, quoted by
Pitcairn,1 go to show that it was the common dress of the royal
falconers;2 and Cotgrave states that it was of dark hue.3
Cloth-of-gold, generally designed as baudkin toldour, toldoir,
tweldore, is the French toile d'or.4
There are several words of a general import, or relating to
parts of dress, or to the making of dress, that come from the
French. Silk is called soy (Fr. soie), ribbon is ruben (Fr.
ruban), and embroidery, orphir (Fr. orfroi). Tatch, a fringe,
a shoulder-knot (Ettr.), is the Fr. attache, "a thing fastened on,
or tyed unto another thing."5
Traced, laced, comes from the O. Fr. tressir, faire un tissu.
Fruncit, puckered, is the Fr. froncé, from froncer, "to gather,
plait, fold, wrinkle, crumple, frumple;"6 broderrit, embroidered,
is from broder, to embroider; and to pasment (Fr. passementer)
means to trim with lace, gold, &c. For instance, "Ane hieland
mantill of blak freis pasmentit with gold," &c. Pasments
are strips of lace sewed on clothes; and pasmentar (Fr. passementier)
may mean upholsterer
Fent (Fr. fente) is an opening in a sleeve, shirt, &c.; burlet,
a standing or stuffed neck for a gown, is the Fr. bourlet, bourrelet;
and lumbart, the skirt of a coat, the Fr. lumbaire. Laich
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. pp. 295, 298.
2 If falcons generally were imported from
Scotland to France, the implements to use
them were of French make. — 'Crim. Trials,'
vol. i. p. 318*, A.D. 1541; 'Les Ecossais en
France,' vol. i. p. 427, note 2.
3 "Couleur de roy" was in old time purple,
but now is bright tawny, &c. — Vide 'The
Parliament of Beistis,' ap. Henryson, p.
140.
4 'A Collection of Inventories,' &c., pp.
34, 43, 44. Cf. G. Douglas, ii. 57, 31.
5 Cotgrave, sub voce "Attache."
6 Ibid., sub voce "Fronser."
of a coit seems to be the Fr. laize,"largeur d'une étoffe entre
deux lisières."
Watson's Collection supplies us with words relating to
pieces of female dress:—
"My lady, as she is a woman,
Is born a helper to undo man;
For she invents a thousand toys
That house and hold and all destroys—
Rebats, ribands, bands, and ruff,
French gows1 cut out and double banded," &c.2
Female head-gear was much indebted to French for its
designations. Coil or kell3 (O. Fr. calle) was a cap, or the
hinder part of a cap, the meaning at the present day in the
north.
"… quhar fro anon thare landis
Ane hundreth ladyes, lusty in to wedis,
Als fresch as flouris that in May up spredis,
1 Must we read gowns, or ascribe that word
to petite oye (Eng. goose, geese), which existed
in French with the sense of the ribbons, the
trimming, and all the ornaments of dress?
2 "The Speech of a Fife Laird," &c., in
'A Choice Collection of Scots Poems,' part
i. p. 30.
3 "In Honour of London," l. 47, ap.
Dunbar, vol. i. p. 79. Cf. 'Etudes de Philologie
comparée sur l'Argot,' voce "Calége,"
p. 84, col. 2, note 2; and Nares's Glossary,
voc. "Callet " and "Callot." Coil occurs in
the "Satyre of the thre Estaitis," and
Chalmers ('Sir D. Lyndsay's Poetical
Works,' vol. ii. p. 101) derives it from Fr.
cagoule, which seems to have also given rise
to Eng. cowl. The Welsh have cowyll, s. m.,
a garment, or cloak with a veil, presented by
the husband to his bride on the morning after
marriage, &c. — W. Owen Pughes, a 'Dictionary
of the Welsh Language,' vol. i. p.
239, col. i. Two words in Gaelic may be
connected with the above, — I°, caile, s. f., a
quean or slut, a vulgar girl, a harlot, Eng.
callat (Shakespeare, "Henry VI.," Part. ii.
Act i. sc. 3); 2°, caileag s. f., diminutive of
caile, a little girl, and not implying the reproachful
idea attached to that word.
In kirtillis grene, withoutyn kell or bandis,
Thair brycht hairis hang gletering on the strandis
In tressis clere, wyppit wyth goldyn thredis,
With pappis quhite, and mydlis small as wandis." 1
Calla (Fr. calotte) was a mutch or cap without a bord (Fr.
bord),2 which seems to be much the same piece of dress as
capusche (Fr. capuce). Tokie (Fr. toque) was an old woman's
head-dress which resembled a monk's cowl, while toque itself
was used to denote the cushion worn on the fore-part of the
head, over which the hair was combed. Huttock is haute toque.
"Great Kennedy and Dunbar, yet undead,
And Quintyn, with a huttock on his head." 3
The bigonet (Fr. béguin 4) was a linen cap or coif, commonly
worn when the female was in dress, and, no doubt, tied at
times by pretty railyettes (Fr. relier);—
"And gie to me my bigonet,
My bishops satin gown,"5 &c.
1 "The Golden Targe," st. 7; among
Dunbar's Poems, vol. i. p. 13.
2 "… Marchans et autres gens roturiers
n'eussent osé porter en leurs habillemens
non pas un simple bord de soy," &c.—
'Les Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol. 26
verso.
3 See Gawin Douglas, "Palace of Honour,"
among his 'Poetical Works,' vol. i. p. 36,
l. 14.
4 In the Chamberlain's Accounts for 1329,
vol. i. p. 72, begynis occurs with cindonis, and
seems to be derived from béguin. Jamieson,
who quotes the entry in his notes on 'Barbour's
Bruce,' p. 101, is at a loss to explain
begynis. He has omitted it in his 'Etymological
Dictionary.'
There occurs how or hoo, nightcap. Was it
not a derivation from huve, which we find in
a French pastoral published by Roquefort,
'De l'Etat de la Poésie françoise dans les
xiie et xiiie siècles,' p. 391? Cf. Du Cange's
'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,' voce "Huva," 2.
5 Scotch song, "There's nae luck aboot
the Hoose."
Another sort of cap was called awmous (O. Fr. aumusse).
There is a piece of head-dress often mentioned in Pitcairn's
'Criminal Trials' under the names of curch, curche, cursh, courshet.
It also appears under the form of courche, courchie,
courtshaw, and curge. It is the Fr. couvrechef, O. Fr. courcet,
Walloon courchî, Eng. kerchief,1 and seems to have been worn
especially by widows.
"O is my basnet a widow's curch?
Or my lance a wand of the willow-tree?
Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand,
That an English lord should lightly me?"
Scots females wore also a large bonnet, named bon grace,2
a term likewise applied to a coarse straw hat made and used
by the peasantry of Roxburghshire; and a besong, a term
formerly current to distinguish a species of handkerchief
crossed upon the breast,3 and perhaps derived from the French.
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 242, A.D. 1591;
vol. ii. p. 392, A.D. 1602; p. 463, A.D. 1605,
&c.; 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 32, A.D. 1574; the 'Book of Bon Accord,'
&c., vol. i. p. 199, note; "Kinmont Willie,"
st. x., 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,' vol.
ii. p. 53: Edinburgh, 1861.
2 This word seems to have been used in
England, if we may believe Cotgrave, who mentions
it as being derived from Fr. bonne-grâce,
the Eng. boon-grace, which is the same, except
in pronunciation. In 'Cleveland ' we read,
"his butter'd bon-grace, that film of a demicastor."
— Works, p. 81: London, 1687. It is
well known that beaver hats were not common.
— Vide Ben Jonson's "Cynthian Revels," Act
i. sc. 1. Howell sends one from Paris (Lett.
17) as a great rarity. See also Hall's 'Chronicle,'
edited by Sir Henry Ellis, p. 593. In
the tariff of 1612, French felt hats lined with
velvet are valued at £48 the dozen, and the
same lined with taffety, £24. — The 'Ledger
of Andrew Halyburton,' p. 314. In the
Accounts of the Burgh of Aberdeen for
1644-45, a French black hat is appraised
£6, 13s. 4d. — The 'Miscellany of the Spalding
Club,' vol. v. p. 163.
3 Chambers's 'Traditions of Edinburgh,'
ed. 1825, vol. ii. p. 59. We did not mention
the cornettis, which occur in inventories
of 1578, quoted by Jamieson, because he
leaves the word without any explanation, and
contents himself with referring to the Trévoux
Dictionary.
Torett- or torrett-claith, turit, turet, a muffler, is the O. Fr.
touret de nez; wympil, a veil, or woman's hood.1
Pinner, a kind of female head-dress, with lappets pinned to
the temples, which reach as far as the breast, and are fastened
to it, seems to be the same as the O. Fr. pignoir. Cornith,
some kind of head-dress, appears to be the same as cornette,
"the two ends of a coif, which resemble horns." Panash (Fr.
panache) is a plume worn in the hat. Orilyeit (Fr. oreillet,
oreillete) is a piece of cloth, used for covering the ears at night.2
Mussal, myssal, mussaling, means a veil; and when ladies wore
it, they were said to be muselit, missalit 3 (O. Fr. emmuselé).
In the old inventories and accounts of the expenses incurred
on James VI.'s marriage, in May 1590, we meet with jup,
jupe, jowp, jowpe, and jowpoun (Fr. jupe, jupon), a short
cassock. This piece of dress was often stellat 4 (O. Fr. estellé),
or ornamented with "pasmentis of gold clinkand," 5 — in French,
de passements de clinquant.
Casakene, cassikin 6 (Fr. casaquin, camisole, petite casaque
1 G. Douglas, ii. 218, 28. Hence to
wymple (iii. 27, 9), to fold, to wrap.
2 Pierre Grosnet addresses thus ladies:—
"Vos oreillettes de velours …
En enfer vous feront grant guerre."
— Les Motz dorez de Cathon.
3 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 266, A.D. 1592;
vol. ii. p. 383, A.D. 1616. "S. Salvadour, qui
s'estoit emmuselé et caché de sa cape." — 'Les
Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' f. 143 verso.
4 Vide 'Clariodus,' p. 222, l. 1009; p. 335,
l. 1731. Cf. 'Recherches sur les étoffes de
soie,' vol. i. p. 362; vol. ii. pp. 13-15, &c.
5 'Papers relative to the Marriage of King
James VI.,' Appendix, No. ii. pp. 15, 21. G.
Douglas has parsmentis (ii. 257, 23), which
his editor, J. Smal, translates "coats of divers
colours." In "Philotus," a pimp, to seduce
a young maid, promises her "claithis on
cullouris cuttit out, And all pasmentit round
about." — Fol. B 2 verso, sts. 28, 30. Cf.
'Dom. Ann. of Scot.,' vol. i. pp. 376, 377;
'Family Jewels and Valuables of Glenurquhy,'
entailed, 1640, ap. Innes, 'Sketches of early
Scotch History,' p. 510.
6 Calderwood, January 1610; Chambers's
'Dom. Ann. of Scot.,' A.D. 1610, vol. i. p.
427. In the time of Noël du Fail, young
Frenchmen wore casaquins. — Vide his
'Contes,' fol. 143 verso.
à l'usage des femmes, connected with Eng. cassok), was a kind
of surtout; cartoush, curtoush (Fr. court and housse, "a short
mantle of course cloth (and all of a peece), worn in ill weather
by country women about their head and shoulders" — Cotg.),
was a bedgown, tight round the waist, with short skirts, having
the corners rounded off, somewhat in the fashion of a riding--
habit. Stomok is the piece of dress that was called in later
times stomacher or stomager. In certain districts of France,
female peasants wear on their breasts a piece of cloth, which is
termed pièce d'estomac.
Valicot, wylecot, wilie-coat, or wallaquite in northern pronunciation,
a kind of under woollen jerkin, seems to come from the
Fr. voile, with the addition of coat. "Gelcott, gelcoit of quhit
tertane," "gelcot of tertane work," 1 appears to be the same
word. "Ballant-bodice, made of leather, anciently worn by
ladies in Scotland, is made up of the O. Fr. balene, Fr. baleine,
and bodice; balenes, whalebone bodies, French bodies," says
Cotgrave.
Tischay, tische, tysche (Fr. tissu 2) was a girdle; a rebat (Fr.
rabat, Eng. rebato 3) was the hood of a mantle, rocklay, rokely,
rokelay (O. Fr. rocket, roquet, Fr. rochet). Shephron, mentioned
also among such "toys," seems to be connected with Fr. chaperon.4
Vaskene, vasquine, is the Fr. basquine, explained by
Cotgrave, "a kirtle or petticoat; also a Spanish vardingale."
1 Registers of the Council of Aberdeen,'
v. 19, 20.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 49, 24; iii. 236, 27; iv.
113, 31. In a letter published by Captain
E. Dunbar, we read: "The laird is gone to
my Lord Balantir's buriall this morning, and
your black cloaths are on him as yet; but you
will have them to-morrows morning be seven
a clock." — 'Social Life in former Days, chiefly
in the Province of Moray,' &c., p. 281: Edinburgh,
1865—8vo.
3 Vide 'A Woman killed with Kindness.'
4 Vide 'Recherches sur le Commerce, la
Fabrication, et l'Usage des Etoffes de soie,'
&c., vol. i. pp. 79, So; vol. ii. p. 450. See
also hereafter. ch. v. ("Fine Arts"), p.108
The vertgadin, vardingard, vardingall, verdingale,1 a farthingale,
is the Fr. vertugadin. There was a coarse gown,
called sclavin, sclaveyn,2 which, no doubt, was the same piece
of dress as that so frequently mentioned under the name of
esclavine in the old French romances. Later, a light gown cut
in the middle was introduced in the sixteenth century, under
the name of chymour, chymer (Fr. simarre),3 doubtlessly by
"An tailzeour, quhilk hes fosterit in France,
Than can mak garmentis on the gayest gyse."4
The surcoat, after having been used as an overcoat, became a
waistcoat, an under-doublet, sometimes made of satin, and imported
from France.5 Joistiecor, justiecor,6 justicat, justicoat,
a tightly-fitting body-coat, is the Fr. justaucorps.
Stoyle, a long vest reaching to the ankles, comes from the O.
Fr. stole, Lat. stola. Polonie, pollonian, polonaise, palonie, was
a dress of various shape, and adapted to the wear of men or
boys, according to form.
Galbert, a mantle, is the O. Fr. galvardine. The form in the
north is gilbert, and is still used. Talbart, tolbert, tavert, a wide
1 'Inventaires de la Royne Descosse,' Sc.,
p. xxviii, note 3.
2 'Orfeo and Heurodis,' v. 190; the Geste
of King Horn,' v. 1063.
3 Henryson's Fables, the Prologue, l. 30;
Laing's edition, p. 156. Todd, in his additions
to Dr Johnson's Dictionary, gives, after
"chimar, s., a part of a bishop's dress,"
"chimare, s., a robe," and quotes Wheatly.
In old French we had chamarre, which Littré
considers as the primitive form of simarre,
and which gave rise to the verb chamarrer.
Victor Hugo has introduced into his Ruy
Blas,' Act i. sc. 2, chamarre, to mean embroideries,
ornaments.
4 'The Tragedie of the Cardinall,' among
the Poetical Works of Sir David Lyndsay,
vol. ii. p. 237. Let us note the word gyse
(Fr. and Eng. guise), mode, fashion, used
also in the "Testament of Cresseid," l. 164;
Laing's edition, p. 81.
5 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' A.D. 1473,
vol. i. p. 15.
6 Privy Council record, quoted by R.
Chambers, 'Dom. Ann. of Scot.,' vol. ii. p.
358, A.D. 1673.
loose overcoat, the painted overcoat worn by heralds, Eng.
tabard, is the Fr. tabard, It. tabarro, Span. tabardo. Juncturer,
a name for a greatcoat (Roxb.), seems to be the same
as the O. Fr. joincture.
It may not be out of place to mention two pieces of clerical
dress — viz., rockat and surpeclaithe. Rockat is the Eng. rochet,
Fr. rochet, It. rocchetto, a garment of plaited lawn worn by
bishops; whilst surpeclaithe, a surplice, is evidently from the
same word as surplice, Fr. surplis, O. Fr. sorpeliz, surpleiz,
surpelis, mid. Lat. superpelliceum — that is, a linen gown worn
over the woollen or furry clothing of the officiating ecclesiastic,
with the addition of claithe, cloth.
Probably the caprowsy — which, according to Ramsay, was an
upper garment, and to Jamieson a short cloak with a hood1 —
is a corruption of cape rosine; for garments of rosy colour were
not uncommon in Scotland:2—
" Thow held the bunch fang with ane borrowit goun,
And ane caprowsy barkit all with sweit."3
Capados, which has not been satisfactorily explained,4 may be
1 Cf. Laing, Glossary to Dunbar, and
'Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,' l. 202,
vol. ii. pp. 73, 468. In the tariff of 1612
occurs "Pareis mantel cullored, the piece,
viii lib., and uncollored, vi lib.," which undoubtedly
must be understood a cloak of
Paris make, with or without collar. — Vide
the 'Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p.
290.
2 Vide 'Clariodus,' p. 340, l. 1873, where
the rhymer introduces a gown "rosey of dew
beauté;" 'A Collection of Inventories,' p.
125, for "incarnet velvet." In "Lybeaus
Disconus," i. 874, ap. Ritson's 'Early English
Metr. Rom.,' vol. ii. p. 38, it is said of a
lady that "her mantyll was rosyne."
3 'The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,'
st. xxvi. — Dunbar's Poems, vol. ii. p. 73.
4 Vide "Syr Gawayn and the Grene
Knyght," l. 572. Cf. 11. 186, 1930; Sir
Fred. Madden's note, pp. 314, 315. Adous,
ados, with the sense of cover, occurs in "Gui
de Bourgogne," l. 2609, p. 79; and in 'Partonopeus
de Blois,' vol. i. p. 81, l. 2432. In
"Gaydon," l. 4284, p. 129, adourz is synonymous
with arms.
mentioned here. It is perhaps connected with the Sp. capa,
a cloak. Cardinal was a long cloak worn by women, originally
made of cloth of scarlet colour, like that worn by a
cardinal — hence its name. Such an outer garment might
have been seen in country churches in the north, gracing
the figure of some aged old-fashioned woman, down to a few
years ago.
Coverings for the hands were indebted to the French language
for their designations. Mitten, mittain,1 a glove without
fingers, hence called in the north "hummel mitten," is the Fr.
mitaine; low Lat. mitela, mitana. Chevron is the Fr. chevreau,2
a kid. Kid leather is also called schiverone. Dumbiedikes,
in the 'Heart of Mid-Lothian,' leaves his malediction
to his son if he gives the minister or doctor even "a pair
of black chevrons." It is still a practice in some of the
southern counties for the bridegroom to give the minister, who
marries him, a pair of black kid-gloves. Poynie3 is the
Fr. poing; muffle, moufle, muffitie, a kind of mitten, made
either of leather or of worsted knitted, is of the same origin,
moufle.
Coverings for the legs and feet were of various kinds, and
some of them bore names derived from French, no doubt,
because the articles themselves came first from France. A
kind of buskin, or half-boot, called botyn,4 bottine, is the Fr.
bottine (Walloon, botekène), cothurne.
1 'The Wolf, the Foxe, and the Cadgear,'
l. 109, among 'Henryson's Fables,' p. 185.
2 Nares, Glossary, &c., voce "Cheveril," a
kid, more commonly kid leather, derives this
old English word from chevreuil, which is a
mistake.
3 Punye, a small body of men, is our poignée.
4 G. Douglas, vol. ii. p. 40, l. 31.
"Thaw bringis the Carrik clay to Edinburgh corse,
Upoun thy botingis hobland, hard as horne;
Stra wispis hingis owt, quhair that the wattis ar worne."1
Another form, brodikin, brodykynn, brottekin, brotikin, is the
Fr. brodequin. Spatril, a kind of shoe, appears to be the same
with Fr. espadrille, a name given in the Pyrenees to a sort
of shoe, called also spatrille, spardègne, diminutive of Span.
sparto. A slipper was called mull2 (Fr. mule). Another name
for a slipper was in various forms pantoufle,3 pantufl,
(Fr. pantoufle). Pantoun is the form used by Dunbar.
"Than cam in Dunbar the makkar,
On all the fore thair was name frakkar,
And thare he daunsit the dirrye dantoun;
He hoppet lyk a fillie wantoun,
For luiff of Musgraiffe, men tellis me;
He trippet, quhill he tint his pantoun:
A mirrear dance mycht na man see."4
A thin-soled shoe or pump was scarpen (Fr. escarpin), the
more general uses of which a satirical poet describes as a proof
of the increase of pride and luxury:—
1 'The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,'
st. xxvii. — Dunbar's Poems, vol. ii. p. 73.
Watts, wats, or wauts, according to northern
pronunciation and still in common use,
hitherto unexplained, are the welts of the
botings. The straw hanging from the
"watts" is the straw put into the botings
as a sole, — a practice which still prevails.
Such straw is called in the north nowadays
"a shee-wisp."
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 495, A.D. 1567—
68; p. 146, A.D. 1586; P. 391, A.D. 1596.
Mary of Guise, and at least one of her female
attendants, ordered their meulles and shoes in
Paris. — Vide 'Les Ecossais en France,' &c.,
vol. i. P. 435.
3 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' pp. 224,
334.
4 'Of a Dance in the Quenis Chalmer,'
st. iv. — Dunbar's Poems, vol. i. p. 120.
5 Before, the exportation of shoes, as well
as of butter, cheese, and candles, had been
prohibited by 4 James VI., ch. 59.
"Et tout est à la mode de France.
Thair dry scarpenis, baithe tryme and meit;
Thair mullis1 glitteran on thair feit." 2
Gamaches, gaiters reaching to the knees, were also imported
into Scotland, with their name sometimes slightly corrupted
into gramashes and gamashons, — terms which, notwithstanding
the change, are certainly from the same source as gamesons.
Whether sutor3 came from Fr. sueur, or directly from the
Latin, is not, as it would appear at first glance, easy to determine.
Tanneree (Fr. tanner, to dress leather with tan, the bark
of young oak) is a tanwork (Fr. tannerie). The word is always
accented on the last syllable.4
Corbuyle, leather thickened and hardened in the preparation,
or jacked leather, is the Fr. cuir bouilli.
Shankis, or stockings of costly materials, seem to have been
scarce; for we find "ane pair of reid silk schankis," in 1596,5
1 The French, said an English poet of his
countrymen —
"Now give us laws for pantaloons,
The length of breeches, and the gathers,
Port-cannons, periwigs, and feathers."
'Hudibras,' Part i. c. iii. 924.
Ben Jonson, describing a mere Englishman
who affected to be French, thus attacks him
in his epigram 86:—
"Would you believe, when you this monsieur see,
That his whole body should speak French, not he;
That so much scarf of France, and hat, and feather,
And shoe and tye, and garter, should come hither,
And land on one, whose face durst never be
Toward the sea?"
Long before, Sir Thomas More had written
in his 'Lucubrationes,' p. 206:—
"At quisquis insula satus Britannica,
Si patriam insolens fastidiet suam
Ut more simiæ laboret fingere,
Et æmulare Gallicas ineptias,
Ex amne Gallo ego hunc opinor ebrium.
Ergo ex Britanno ut Gallus esse nititur,
Sic Dii jubete, fiat ex gallo capus."
2 Maitland's Poems, p. 184.
3 "In the fourteenth of October
Was ne'er a sutor sober." — Prov.
Souter occurs also in early English literature
— namely, in Chaucer; but it is now almost
obsolete, except in Scotland, the Border
counties, and Yorkshire.
4 Vide Lyall's 'Travels in Russia,' vol. i.
p. 262.
5 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 391. In Scots,
as in English, shank means leg; and red-shank
is synonymous with Highlander, this portion
of the Scottish nation having been so "surmentioned
as something not common. King James VI. addressed
his cousin, the Earl of Mar, beseeching the loan of
"the pair of silken hose," in order to grace his royal person at
the reception of the Spanish ambassador.1 Shankis of silk are
also mentioned in "Philotus," 2 and in an account of 1636, with
"ane black French bever hat." 3 Castin hois seem to be hose
of a chestnut colour. Castin is the Fr. châtain, Lat. castaneus.
Undoubtedly if there was in Scotland any home-made embroidery,
the natives owed that refined art to the lessons
of their allies; and, as we write, we are informed that in more
than one Scottish village lingers the tradition of a French
tambour-stitch; which was probably imported when the newest
fashions came from the Court of Blois or Fontainebleau.4 The
named of their immoderate maunching up the
red-shanks, or red herrings." — 'The Harl
Miscell.,' vol. vi. p. 163. The following
passage, showing the state of the shoemaking
trade in the Highlands of Scotland in the
early part of the sixteenth century, and how
the Highlanders came to be denominated red--
shanks, is extracted from the curious letter of
John Elder, a Highland priest, to King Henry
VIII., A.D. 1543. The letter itself has been
printed at full length in the 'Collectanea de
Rebus Albanicis,' vol. i. pp. 23-32: "And
agayne in wynter, whene the froest is mooste
vehement, … we go a huntynge, and
after that we have slayne redd deir, we flaye
off the skyne, bey and bey, and settinge of our
bair foote on the insyde therof, for neide of
cunnynge shoemakers, by your grace's pardon,
we play the sutters," &c.
1 'Domestic Annals of Scotland,' vol. i. p.
201. Some other facts collected by Buckle,
'Hist. of Civilisation in England,' vol. ii.
p. 266, note 4, show that James VI. was extremely
pover (Fr. pauvre). — Vide 'A Diurnal
of Remarkable Occurrents,' &c., A.D. 1544.
After his accession to the English throne, he
found in his new kingdom, with a passion for
silk stockings, some which were of home
make. — Vide 'Recherches sur le Commerce
des Étoffes de soie,' vol. ii. p. 315; Ben
Jonson, "Every Man in his Humour," Act i.
sc. 2; and other dramatic writers — viz., the
authors of "Miseries of Inforced Marriage,"
"The Roaring Girl," Act i. sc. 1, and of
"The Hog has lost his Pearl" — 1614. In
the tariff of 1612, silk stockings of Milan or
France are priced £12 and £15, according to
the size.— 'Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,'
p. 327. On the silk stockings of Henri II.
of France, see the 'Revue rétrospective,' vol.
iv. p. 20.
2 Fol. B 2 verso, st. 28; 'Domestic Annals
of Scotland,' vol. i. p. 377, A.D. 1603.
3 'Sketches of early Scotch History,' p.
374, note, col. i.
4 An English chronicler, mentioning the
Queen of James V. employed part of her time in embroidery,
and no doubt the ladies of the Court followed her example.
There are in the Treasurer's books entries regarding different
kinds of thread used in it. "March 25, 1539: Item, send to
Linlithgow, be Katheryne Ballendene, to the Queenis grace,
twa pound of sewing gold, price thairof xxiiij lib." "Item, ane
pound of sewing silver, xiiij lib. vjs." "Item, ix vnce of blak
Paryse silk, liiijs." "Item, xvj Lang bobennis (Fr. bobines),
price of the pece, vs. iiijd.; summa iiij lib. vs. iiijd." "Item,
xvj schort bobenis, ladit at vjs. viijd.; summa v lib. vs. viijd."
In Scotland, as well as in other European countries, furs
were in great estimation, — so much so, that in 1420 an act was
passed to prohibit all persons below the rank of knights and
lords of 200 marks rent from wearing costly furs, confining
their decorations to "serpes, beltes, broches, and chainzies."1
It is probable that they were imported from Flanders.2 Their
names, however, smack of France and South Britain. Pillour,
pelure (O. Fr. pelure), is a general name for costly fur:—
arrival of the French ambassadors in 1518,
says that with them "came a great numbre of
rascal, and pullers, and inellers, and brought
ouer hattes and capper, and diuerse merchaundise,
vncustomed, all vnder the coloure of the
trussery of the ambassadours … The
young galantes of Fraunce had coates garded
with one colour, cut in .x. or .xii. partes, very
richely to beholde … The admyrall
[Lord Boneuet] was in a goune of cloth of
siluer, raysed, furred with ryche sables, and al
his company almost were in a new fassioun
garment called a shemew, which was in effect
a goune, cut in the middle."—Hall's Chronicle,
pp. 593, 594, ed. 1809).
1 Acts, 9 James I., ch. 118. The serpe was
apparently a sort of fibula, made in a hooked
form, like a pruning-knife, called in French
serpe.
The commonest furs were products of
North Britain, if not imported from Ireland.
The author of 'The Libel of English Policy,'
A.D. 1436, after having said that "marternus
Bode, ben here marchaundyse," adds:—
"Hertys hydes, and other of venerye,
Skynnes of otere, and fox is here chaffare,
Felles of kydde and conyes grete plenté."
— Th. Wright's 'Political Poems and Songs,'
Rolls Series, vol. ii. p. 186.
"Her hode of a herde hew, that her hede hedes,
Of pillour, of palwerk, of perre to pay."1
Pane (O. Fr. panne, penne) is another term for fur:—
"Ther com a schip of Norway
To Sir Rohantes hold,
With haukes white and grey,
And panes fair y fold."2
Purray, purry, a species of fur, is the Fr. fourée. Martrik,
martrick,3 sable, is the Fr. martre. Lady Jane, daughter of
James V., had in 1539 "waltino for a nicht-goune" of "blak
taffiteis and welvot," with "lyning of the samin goune with
cotonaris (probably Fr. cotonner, to stuff with cotton), and the
fair breistis with mertrik sable." Letteis is the O. Fr. letice, lettice;
funzis, funzeis, the fur of the polecat or fitch,4 is the Fr.
fouine; luterris is loutre; and myniver, mynyvaris,5 the Fr.
menu vair, of so frequent an occurrence in the historical and
romantic literature of the two nations.6
1 "Sir Gawan and Sir Gallaron," i. 2.
2 "Sir Tristrem," fytte first, st. xxviii.
3 "Custom of martrick skinnes and uther
furrings." — First Parliament of James I.,
halden at Perth, art. 22, A.D. 1424.
4 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp.
190, 225.
5 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 289*, A.D. 1537.
6 See chapter vii.
CHAPTER V
Fine Arts.
CHAPTER V.
FINE ARTS.
THERE is evidence that mines of the precious
metals were wrought in Scotland as early as
the twelfth century. In the year 1125 David
I. granted to the Church of the Holy Trinity of
Dunfermline his tenth of all the gold which should accrue to
him from Fife and Fothrif.1 We learn from the accounts of
the High Treasurer preserved in the General Register House,
Edinburgh, that on the 29th of March 1513, John Damiane, the
"fenyeit Freir of Tungland," received £20 for going to Crawfurd
Moor, where King James IV. hoped to find gold.2 At a
later period Frenchmen were employed in working the mines,
as we are informed by many other items, from among which
we select the following, which occurs in the fol. 94 verso of
the register, under the date of August 1538: "Item, gevin to
ane Scottis boy that spekis Frenche, quhelkis passit with ye
Frenche mynoures to Craufurd Mure to serve thame quhill
thai gett the langage." Besides, Sir Robert Gordon speaks of
silver and gold mines in Sutherlandshire.3
1 Chalmers, 'Caledonia,' vol. i. P. 794
Hailes, 'Annals,' vol. ii. p. 461; Chart
Dun.' v. ii. f. 7. Cf. 'Old English Plate
Ecclesiastical, Decorative, and Domestic; its
Makers and Marks,' &c. By Wilfred Joseph
Cripps, p. 4: London, 1878—8vo.
2 'Les Ecossais en France,' &c. vol. 1. p.
333.
3 'A Genealogical History of the County
of Sutherland,' pp. 6, 10: Edinburgh, 1816 —
fol.
Barbour, in giving an account of the casket in which Robert
the Bruce's heart was enshrined, describes it in the following
words:—
"And the gud lord of Douglas syne
Gert mak a cass of silver fyne,
Ennamylyt throw suthelté."1
Andrew of Wynton says of the same object of art:—
"That ilke hart than, as men sayd,
Scho 2 bawmyd, and gert be layd
In till a cophyn off evore,
That scho gert be made tharefore,
Annamalyd and perfytly dycht,
Lokyt, and bwndyn wyth sylver brycht." 3
There is, however, no clue to decide whether this article of
virtu, and the plate which Sir James Douglas carried with
him on his way to Jerusalem in 1328,4 were made in Scotland
or not.
The dangerous token of loyalty sent to Queen Mary Stuart
about 1570, and supposed to be from the Earl of Athol,5
was in all likelihood made in Scotland.
1 'The Bruce,' buke xiv., l. 893; Jamieson's
edition, pp. 413, 414. Cf. notes, p. 489.
2 Devorgill.
3 'The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland,'
b. viii. ch. ix. l. 1478; Dr Laing's edit., vol.
ii. pp. 321, 322.
4 See Froissart, sub anno.
5 It was "a pretty hart horn, not exceeding
in quantity the palm of a man's hand, covered
with gold, and artificially wrought. In the
head of it were curiously engravers the arms
of Scotland; in the nether part of it a throne,
and a gentlewoman sitting in the same, in a
robe-royal, with a crown upon her head.
Under her feet was a rose environed with a
thistle. Under that were two lions, the one
bigger, the other lesser. The bigger lion
held his paw upon the face of the other, as
his lord and commander. Beneath all were
written these words:—
'Fall what may fall,
The lion shall be lord of all.'
This was evidently designed to convey a
hope and wish that Mary should ere long, in
But there is clear evidence that the art of the goldsmith
was practised in Scotland. James IV., among his "mony
servitouris And officiaris of dyvers curis, … and craftismen
fyne," had "glasing wrichtis, goldsmythis, and lapidaris."1
James V. was a great patron of works in the precious metals,
as well as of others that tended to improve the condition of
his kingdom. The names of at least three goldsmiths who
enjoyed his patronage are known: John Mosman; Thomas
Ryne, Rynde, or Rhynd; and John Kyll. In the Treasurer's
books there are numerous entries regarding jewellery and
other articles of the precious metals. Thus, June I, 1540
— "Item, gevin for ane chenze, deliuerit to Johnne Mosman
to melt with other gold to be the Kingis greate chenze, jcx
lib." July 30 — "Item, to Johnne Mosman, goldsmyth, for
the making of ane quhissile of gold of mynde, weyand iiij½
vnces half vnicorne wecht, with ane dragonne anamulite, to
the Kingis grace, the penult day of July, iiij lib." Aug. 13,
1540 — "Item, gevin to Johnne Mosman for vj¼ vnces silver
to be ane clam-schell to kepe the Kingis grace halk mete,
iiij lib. xviijs. xd."2 Scotland seems even to have exported
objects of art, for James IV., by letters patent of date 1512,
spite of all contrarious circumstances, be in
possession of England as well as of her native
dominions." — Chambers, 'Domestic Annals
of Scotland,' &c., vol. i. p. 70: 1859—8vo.
On the usurpation of the arms of England
by Queen Mary Stuart, see 'Calendar of State
Papers,' Foreign Series, A.D. 1560, p. 460,
No. 878; and 'Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland,' June 1867, pp. 279--
287. (Observations upon a "Shilling" of
Francis the Dauphin and Mary Stuart, representing
them as "king and queen of Scotland,
England, and Ireland," dated 1558 with
Notes regarding the assumption by Queen
Mary of arms and crown of England. By
Henry F. Holt.
1 Dunbar's 'Remonstrance to the King,'
ll. 1, 2, 3, 15; among his Poems, vol. i. p. 143.
2 See also 'Peg. Mag. Sig.,' B. xxvii., Nos.
116, 141; xxxiv, No. 3, &c.
specified that the cloths, gold chains, and jewels carried by
Andrew Barton to Dieppe, were legal merchandise.1
But though the production of works of art in the precious
metals was carried on to a considerable extent, they were no
doubt largely imported from the Continent, particularly from
France, at least in the middle of the fifteenth century. One
hundred years before, Scottish merchants were in the habit
of importing, from the county of Suffolk, vases of gold
and silver, besides silver in bars and in money.2 It may be
added that in 1433 the Scottish markets were closed to
English artisans. The silversmiths and gilders of England
produced workmanship of a superior kind, as appears by a
considerable number of articles, partly of plain silver and
partly gilded, exported to France and Navarre.3
Dunbar,4 in describing a gaily atourned 5 female, a kittiekie,6
says:—
"Sa mony ane kittie, drest up with golden chenyié,
Sa few witty, that weill can fabillis fenyie,
With apill renéis ay schawand hir goldin chene,
Of Sathanis seinye, sure sic an unsall menyie
Within this land was nevir hard nor sene."
It is likely that at least some of the trinkets so lustily condemned
by the poet came from France. There is, however,
explicit evidence of the fact of the importation of such articles.
1 King's Library, British Museum, 13 B. ii.
65.
2 Rymer's 'Fœdera,' vol. ii. part 2, p. 869:
Lond. 1821 — fol.
3 Macpherson's 'Annals of Commerce,' vol.
i. p. 648; quoting the first edition of the
above collection, vol. x. p. 553.
4 'General Satyre,' l. 76; among Dunbar's
Poems, vol. ii. y. 27.
5 'Orfeo and Heurodis,' l. 253.
6 See Henryson, 'Schir Chantecleir and
the Foxe,' l. 137.
In 'Philotus' a pimp promises to the maid he endeavours
to seduce, half chains "of Paris work, wrought by the laif,"1 a
favourite ornament of ladies, even of gay females, as we learn
from the "King's Quair." 2
The Treasurer's books again furnish valuable evidence.
Nov. 30, 1541 — "Deliverit to Johnne Mosman, for chenzies of
gold and uther gold wark, brocht furth of France be him and
deliverit to the Quenis grace, iijcxxvj lib." Jan. 11, 1542 —
"Item, to Robert Crag, for ane collar of gold sett with perle,
brocht hame be him to the Quenis grace, xvij lib. xijs."
The importation of the precious metals themselves was
carried on from the Continent. In the 'Acts Ja. IV.'3 we
read, "Pariss silver, or silver of the new work of Bruges;" and
in the 'Customs and Valuation of Merchandises,' A.D. 1612,
"French copper, gold and silver, Venice, Florence, Milan,
Frenche or Paris gold and silver, granes Frenche or Ginny,"
are mentioned, with the amount of duties liable on each article.
It is not at all improbable that some of the Scots craftsmen
learned, or at least perfected, their art in France. In
proof of this, reference may be made to the surprising adventure
of a younger member of the Rosslyn family, who had
been put to an apprenticeship in a silversmith's shop in Paris,
undoubtedly with the view of learning the craft and exercising
it in his own country.4
Whether John Mosman, in visiting France, did so for the
purpose of gaining insight into his craft, cannot be determined.
1 Fol. B verso, st. 28, 30; 'Domestic Annals
of Scotland,' vol. I. p. 376.
2 St. ii. I. 29.
3 Ed. of 1814, p. 222.
4 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. ii. pp.
303, 304.
This much may be said, that it would have been unlike a
Scotsman to have gone to any place without trying to learn
something of his calling, if he had opportunity.
Along with the article came, in a good many instances, its
French designation.
As to perre, gems, the word speaks for itself. Pearls
themselves, however, did not come from France; they were
found in Scotland, and sent abroad and set. According to the
Venerable Bede,1 there were in Britain many sorts of shell-fish,
such as mussels, in which were often found excellent pearls of
all colours, — red, purple, violet, and green, but mostly white.
The pearls of King Alexander I., in the beginning of the
twelfth century, were much celebrated, and the object of envy
to a Church dignitary of England. Much later, French
princes were in possession of Scotch pearls; and at the end of
the middle ages, one John Rattrye (perhaps a Norman, Jean
Rathery) received £2 "to by perllis in Scotland." In fine, Sir
Robert Gordon said, at the beginning of this century, that in
the lakes and rivers of Sutherland, and chiefly in Shin, " there
were excellently good pearles, some whereof had been sent to
the king in England, and were accompted of great value."2
1 "Ecclesiastical History of England,'
chap. i.
2 'Nicolai Epistola ad Eadmerum de
Primatu sedis Eboracensis in Scotia,' ap.
Wharton, 'Anglia Sacra,' vol. ii. p. 236;
'Inventaire du mobilier de Charles V.,'
published by Jules Laharte, Nos. 610, 611,
614; Paris, 1879—4to; Comptes de l'Inventaire
des joyaux de Louis, duc d'Anjou
(1360-68),' in the 'Notice des émaux et
bijoux du Musée du Louvre,' iie part. p.
72, No. 429; 'Comptes de l'Argenterie
des Rois de France,' &c., published by
Douet-d'Arcq, p. 26; 'Inventaires de la
Royne Descosse,' &c., p. xxix, note 3; 'A
Genealogical history of the Earldom of
Sutherland,' pp. 6, Ir. Cf. Jamieson's Dictionary,'
voce "Pearlin;" 'Ledger of Andrew
Halyburton,' p. 189, and Preface, p. lxxi;
'The Costume of the Clans,' &c., p. xxv, and
note 10.
Jaspe, jasp,1 is the same in both languages.
The English amber is the same as the French ambre; but
the Scotch lamber, lammer,2 or laamer, as it is pronounced in
the north, bears a closer resemblance to the French. It seems
to be the French word, with the addition of the demonstrative
article, so often prefixed to the names of places in early Scotch
deeds,3 as well as to many other words in Scotland, to which
it is not added in English.
Lingot, lingut, an ingot, is the Fr. lingot.
Caboschon, caboschoun, caboischoun, is evidently the French
cabochon.4 In andlet, doublet, or dowblet, firmaleit, and carcat,
carkat, carket, carcant, which is the designative of an orna1
"The Tail of the Cock and the Jasp," ap.
Henryson, p. 104.
2 We read, in the early romance of
Manekine,' p. 14, l. 381 (cf. p. 63, l.
1872):—
"Un jor vint li rois en sa cambre,
Qui estoit pavée de lambre;"
and M. Henri Bordier translates this last
word by lambris, planche, as though de lambre
were equivalent to parquetée. This opinion is
not admissible. See Mémoires de la Société
Académique d'Archéologie, Sciences et Arts
du Départment de l'Oise,' tome viii. première
partie, p. 100: Beauvais, 1871—8vo. Our
opinion is supported by another passage,
where a knight is represented in his room,
"dont li piler furent de lambre." — 'Li Roumans
de Cléomadès,' t. ii. p. 41, l. 10333:
Bruxelles, 1866—8vo.
"Sur un pecul de vermail lambre
S'est apué cel arcevesque."
— Geffrei Gaimar, "Estorie des Englès," l.
3946; Th. Wright's edit., p. 134.
"Es-les-vos al uis de la cambre,
Dont à or furent tuit li lambre."
— 'Partonopeus de Blois,' l. 10141; vol. ii. p.
174: Paris, 1834—8vo.
"Adonc est li sires levez
Et est entrez dedenz sa chambre,
Qui tote estoit ovrée à lambre.
N'a el monde beste n'oisel
Qui n'i soit ovré à cisel,
Et la procession Renart," &c.
— 'Le Roman du Renart,' l. 22162; vol. iii.
p. 88. Cf. vol. iv. p. 78, l. 2160.
"Un jor entra en use cambre,
Dont li pavemens fu de lambre;
Rien n'i avoit qui fust fait d'arbre,
'l'uit li pilier sont de fin rnarbre."
— 'Blancandin et l'Orgueilleuse d'Amour,' l.
53, p. 2: Paris, 1867—8vo. Cf. 'Tristan,'
vol. i. p. 227, l. 258; and vol. ii. p. 104, l.
306.
Hence the adjective alambru, which occurs
in "Gaydon," l. 4882, p. 147: Paris, 1862 —
12mo.
3 Vide 'Rentals of Orkney,' A.D. 1502, pp.
28, 101.
4 Papers relative to the Marriage of King
James VI.,' &c., p. 18.
ment for the neck,1 it is not difficult to recognise the O. Fr.
annelet, doublet, fermillet, fermoillet, and the modern carcan.
Pome, a round ornament in jewellery, is the French word for
apple, and palmander is the Fr. pomme d'ambre. Builyettis,
bulyettis,2 pendants, were called bullettes in France; and certainly
lesart, a gold ornament,3 owes its name to the French
lézard. Likewise the chafferoune, cheffroun, saferon, schaffroun
— "ane chafferoune of gold Parise work" — a piece of ornamental
head-dress for ladies, is simply an adaptation of chafron,
cheveron, armour for the head of a war-horse (Fr. chanfrein).
The ping-pong, a jewel fixed to a wire with a long pin4 at the
end, brokete (Fr. brochette), which was worn in front of the cap,
and shook as the wearer moved, was so designated from the
French pompon.5 Broche, brooch, bruche, a chain of gold, or
ornament worn on the breast, is evidently from the Fr. broche.
Pende, a pendant, is from the Fr. pendre; and pendle, pendule,
a pendant, an earring, is the O. Fr. pendille, explained by
Cotgrave "a thing that hangs danglingly." Fr. pendeloque. —
"This lady gade up the Parliament stair,
Wi' pendles in her lugs sae bonnie."6
Eitche,7 a word which seems to have denoted some
1 "Clariodus," p. 253, l. 1992.
2 Bulyettis, s. pl., denoted also some kind
of coffers or boxes, like the French bougette.
3 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 307*, A.D. 1540--
41.
4 "The Awntyrs of Arthure," st. xxxv.
l. 9.
5 Chambers, 'Traditions of Edinburgh,'
vol. ii. pp. 59, 60; ed. 1869, pp. 221-223.
The author adds: "This was generally stuck
in the cushion over which the hair was turned
in front." Several were frequently worn at
once. It was sometimes pronounced pompoun.
6 "Richie Storie," in 'A Ballad Book,'
edited by the late David Laing, p. 97:
William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and
London, 1880—8vo.
7 'A Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland,'
p. 139: Edinburgh, 1830—4to. Eitche is
probably the same as the English ouch, dekind
of chain formed with SS, essis (Fr. esse), and which is still
in common use, has kept but a faint mark of its origin. In the
accounts and inventory of a Duke of Britanny, we find "un
collier à SS, de l'ordre du Roy d'Angleterre, et y a xvi. SS, qui
sont esmaillées du mot 'à ma vie,' et ij. barres ès deux bouts,
garni d'un balay."1 "Ane butour (Fr. butor, Engl. bittern) fute
with gold and round perliss," mentioned in an inventory, A.D.
1578, is a more extraordinary jewel.2 Columbe, an ornament in
the form of a dove,3 tells its own story plainly enough. Closerris,
a word of doubtful meaning, but which likely means clasps
or hooks-and-eyes, is from the O. Fr. closiers.
Rings and seals, from the legends inscribed on them, seem
to have been at times brought from France. By one of his
wills, at the end of the fourteenth century, Sir James Douglas
of Dalkeith bequeaths to a relative a ring with a ruby, inscribed
"Vertu ne puz avoir conterpoiz." 4
rived itself from nusche. — Vide "Fantosme's
Chronicle," l. 1190, and notes, p. 131, ed.
1839; "La Chanson de Roland," st. xlix.,
&c. At any rate, the etymon of eitche is less
obscure than that of the English ouche, on
which see the remarks of Archdeacon Nares,
p. 355, col. 1.
1 Notice des émaux … du Musée du
Louvre,' iie part. p. 345, art. "Inscriptions
émaillées." Cf. Jamieson's Suppl., voce" Essis;"
'Notes and Queries,' vol. ii. pp. 89,
475; vol. iv. pp. 147, 148, 345. In the
'Revue Numismatique,' 1856, pp. 268-276,
there is a paper by M. Adrien de Longpérier—
"De l's barré de Henri IV.," &c., and farther
on — pp. 174-180 — his answer to a letter from
Baron Chaudruc de Crazanne. According to
Brantôme ('Vies des Femmes galantes,' discours
ii.), three S.S.S. meant sabio, solo,
segreto.
2 Belon, speaking of the bittern, says:
"Aussi a de grands doigts ès pieds, et desquels
on a acoustumé enchasser les ongles en
fin metal, pour faire des curedents; mais
principalement celui qui est en l'ergot de
derrière, est plus long que nul des autres,"
&c. — 'L'Histoire de la Nature des Oiseaux,'
&c., b. viii. ch. 4, p. 193: Paris, 1555 — fol.
3 In the wills of Sir James Douglas, A.D.
1390-92, is mentioned a ring de columna
Christi, which may suggest another etymon
of columbe. — Vide Innes's 'Sketches of early
Scotch History,' p. 332; and 'Gloss. Med.
et Inf. Latin.,' t. ii. p. 445, col. 3, voce "Columba,"
No. 4.
4 Vide 'Sketches,' &c., p. 334.
A gold ring was dug up in a peat-moss in Berwickshire
some years ago bearing this inscription, "Tout pour le meus"
(all for the best); and a seal of Patrick, Earl of March and
Dunbar, has these lines:—
"Parmi ceu haut bois
Condurai mamie."1
All such jewellery and gems were kept in a baggier (Fr.
baguier), a small casket for containing jewels, or in a coffer
(Fr. coffre), a word in more common use. To quote a single
example, the year 1578 offers us "schrynis, cofferis, buistis,
caissis," amidst sundry toys and articles of furniture.2 The
substantive coffer is not yet quite obsolete.
In addition to all the words now explained may be added
a general term for ornament, parure (Fr. parure); orfeverie,
orphray (Fr. ofévrerie), work in gold; and two technical terms,
which are nearer the French originals than the English equivalents.
Thus amaille is liker émail than the English enamel,
and ammelyt liker émaillé than enamelled.
When a Sir William St Clair was royally served at his
own table, it was in vessels of gold and silver, which undoubtedly
were of French make. Very little marked ancient
Scots plate exists. Mr Wilfred J. Cripps cites no example
1 The figure of this seal was not published
in Henry Laing's 'Descriptive Catalogue of
Impressions from Ancient Scottish Seals,'
p. 55: Edinburgh, 1850—4to. The seal itself
is described, No. 293, date A.D. 1292. When
we see that letters from Philip the Bold, Duke
of Burgundy, were sealed with a seal "fait de
nuef, apporté de Paris " ('L'Archiprêtre,' &c.,
ch. iii. 1364, p. 258, note 2: Paris, 1879—
8vo), we are led to believe that the best Scotch
ring and seal engravings were executed in
France.
2 'A Collection of Inventories,' &c., pp.
237-242. The 'Buikis ' are catalogued pp.
243-248.
earlier than an Edinburgh specimen of 1618. He mentions
one of Aberdeen of 1650, Dundee 1652, St Andrews
1671. The Glasgow and Perth examples belong to the
next century. No fewer than twenty-seven good woodcuts
of the Edinburgh and other Scots marks are given by Mr
Cripps on pages 141 and 147 of the 'Old English Plate,'
the town-mark or arms being in the midst, with the initials
of the deacon of the craft on the left, and of the maker on
the right.
The watch and the clock appear at times under their French
names.1 Thus, a watch is munter, mounter, muntour 2 (Fr.
montre); and a clock or dial is horrelage, orlege,3 orlager,
orliger (Fr. horloge). The weight of a clock was named pace,
peise (Fr. poids), a word still in use in the north.4
There seem to exist but few Scottish words relating to the
art of painting. This no doubt arises from the fact that it was
not in early times cultivated in North Britain. Depaynt, to
1 "Ane orlege or montre." — Sir James
Melville's 'Memoirs,' p. 127, A.D. 1564.
2 'Crim. Trials.' vol. iii. p. 17, A.D. 1609.
3 Henryson's Fables, "Schir Chantecleir
and the Foxe," l. 102, p. 121.
3 Vide a Council record, quoted by R.
Chambers, 'Dom. Ann. of Scot.,' vol. ii.
p. 408, A.D. 1680. A hoard, or hoarded
treasure, was also a pois, poise, pose. This
word is, however, the Danish pose, a bag.
Before the introduction of banking and
the regular establishment of credit, people
everywhere used to hide their savings in the
ground. Those hoards, popularly believed to
be wrapped in bulls' hides, were denominated
by a partly Fr. term, treasure-trove. It does
not fall within our province to enter into a
dissertation upon it. The reader is referred
to Madox's 'History and Antiquities of the
Exchequer,' &c., ch. x. pp. 234, 235; to the
Gascon Rolls,' 27 Hen. III., membr. 8; to
Rymer's Fœdera ' (Pat. 12 Edw. III., part
2, m. 4; and 17 id. ibid., part I, m. 43 d.;
vol. ii. part 2, pp. 1053, 1219, &c.); to the
Harl. MS. No. 433, art. 1933, folio 186
recto; to the 'Actes du parlement de Paris,'
&c., tome i. p. 56; and chiefly to the 'Accounts
of the High Treasurer of Scotland,'
vol. i. preface, pp. cclxxix, 132, 199, 207.
Vide also 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. pp. 171, 172,
A.D. 1600.
paint, is the Fr. dépeindre; and orphany, painter's gold, orpeau,
oripeau (low Lat. auripellum, from aurum, and pellis).
Pictures, if any, in churches, town-halls, or baronial manors,
came from the Continent — at first from France, and afterwards
from the Low Countries.1 Margaret, Countess of Southesk,
procured in the former a portrait of Sir William Wallace
answering to the description of the patriot given by Blind
Harry, who alludes to a picture of him painted in France.2
Another Margaret, the queen of Malcolm III., had a picture
thus described by Barbour:—
"Scho gert weile portray a castell,
A leddre up to the wall standand,
And a man wp thar apon climband;
And a wrat oucht him, as auld man sais,
In Frankis, Gardys-wouys de Fransais.
And for this word scho gert wryt swa,
Men wend the Frankis men suld it ta." 3
It may, however, be stated that, in later times, painting was
practised in Scotland. James I. himself was skilled in painting.
There is extant a picture of the reign of James III.
(1460-1488). It is supposed to have originally formed the
altar-piece of Trinity College Church, was long in Hampton
Court, and is now in Holyrood Palace. It was the work either
1 The pictures, probably mural, of Cardross
Castle are mentioned along with the window--
glass of the same in the 'Chamberlain's Accounts,'
vol. i. pp. 37, 38; and we know that
the Duke of Albany and his sons were buried
in the church of the Dominican Friars at
Stirling, with their portraits and arms painted
on their tomb ("figuris et armis eorundem
depictis"), A.D. 1424. James I.
2 'The Wallace Papers,' Introductory
Notice, pp. xxxi, xxxii Edinburgh, 1841—-
4to.
3 'The Bruce,' b. vii. l. 1044.
of Hugo van der Goes, who was born at Ghent and died in
1480, or of Gerard van der Meire, who was alive in 1474.1
James IV., among his "craftismen fyne," patronised "payntouris."
David Prat was an artist of this reign. In 1502 this
painter was at work on King James the Third's tomb in the
Abbey of Cambuskenneth; and in the Treasurer's books,
1506, there is this entry: "To David Prat, the payntour, in
compleit payment of the altar-paynting as resting awand to
him, ij lib. ixs." About the same time lived John Prat, another
painter; and Sir Thomas Galbraith, a priest, was chiefly employed
in the illumination of manuscripts. James V.'s queen,
who in some way had procured from Scotland a portrait of her
future husband,2 regularly kept a painter. In the Treasurer's
books, of date February [4, 1542, there is this entry: "Item
gevin to the Quenis painter, to by colouris to paint with, in
Falkland, xj. lib." Here was French influence. The name of
one Scotch painter of this reign is known — Andro Watson.
In the houses of the nobility it was not unusual to have the
panels and ceilings of at least some of the rooms decorated
with paintings. Thus speaks Dunbar:—
"This hinder nycht half-sleiping as I lay,
Me thocht my chalmer in ane new aray
Was all depaynt with many diverss hew,
Of all the nobill storyis ald and new,
Sen oure first father formed was of clay."3
1 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries
of Scotland,' vol. x. p. 322.
2 ". . . This fair ladie . . . past to
hir coffer, and tuik out his picture, quhilk
shoe had gottin out of Scotland be ane secreit
moyane," &c. Pitscottie, 'Cronicles of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 363.
3 Dunbar's 'Dream,' st. i. — Poems, vol. i.
p. 31.
The ceiling of some of the rooms of the "Guise Palace,"
Myth's Close, Edinburgh, was decorated with emblematical
devices and mottoes; and there are preserved in the Antiquarian
Museum, Edinburgh, seven paintings on wood from the
ceiling of the great hall of Dean House, in which are represented
the Sacrifice of Abraham; Judith and Holofernes;
King David playing on the harp, &c.1
If there was lack of painters in Scotland in early times,
carvers appear to have been no less deficient; and smaller
pieces of sculpture were imported from France. King Robert
I.'s tomb, of fine white marble enriched with gilding, was
executed in Paris, on a model imitated in other times and
countries.2 James IV., however, employed "carvouris" among
his "mony servitouris." 3
1 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries
of Scotland,' vol. i. p. 10. The following items
point, no doubt, to the same practice: "Item,
twa paintit broddis, the ane of the Muses, and
the other of crotoseque or conceptis." "Item,
aucht paintit broddis of the doctoris of Almaine."
— 'A Collection of Inventories,' &c.,
p. 130: printed at Edinburgh, 1815—4to.
2 'Chamberlain's Accounts,' pp. 72, 99,
101, 109, 123. In 1387 the tomb of Charles
II., King of Navarre, was gilt with 3214
gold leaves, and adorned with 662 leaves of
silver.1 In an old French poem a rhymer
mentions a
"Riche tombel
D'or et d'argent fet à neel."
— "Le Roman de Troie," l. 29,375.
3 Dunbar's Poems, vol. i. p. 145; "Remonstrance
to the King," l. 11
1 Vanguas y Miranda, 'Diccionario de Antigüedades
del Reino de Navarra,' tom. iii. p. 132: Pamplona,
1840 — Span. 4to.
CHAPTER VI.
Money.

CHAPTER VI.
MONEY.
FOR many centuries in Scotland there was scarcely
any trade, and nearly all business was conducted
by means of barter: the consequence was a lack
of specie, and of men who had skill to coinyie
(O. Fr. coigner) money.
The first coinage of money in the country is involved in
darkness. Buchanan1 tells us that it was Donald V. who first
coined money. Boethius2 states that it was Donald I. who
"primus omnium Scotorum regum, ut in nostris annalibus proditum
est memoriæ, nummum argenteum aureumque signavit."
Bellenden3 says: "King Donald was the first king of Scottis
that prentit ane penny of gold or silver. On the to side of this
money was prentit ane croce, and his face on the tothir. The
Scottis usit na money, bot marchandise, quhen thay interchangit
with Britonis and Romanis afore this days, except it
was money of the said Romanis or Britonis."
1 "Sunt qui putent monetam argenteam,
quam adhuc sterlinam vocat vulgus, ibi tum
excusam." — 'Rerum Scoticarum Historia,'
lib. vi. p. 169: Amsterodami, 1643—8vo.
2 Lib. v. fol. 86 b.
3 Vol. i. p. 195: ed. 1821.
Coins can with some degree of certainty be assigned to
Alexander I. (1107-1124), as well as to his successor David
(1124-1153). Of Malcolm IV. (1153-1165) no coins are
known. It is not till the following reign that any really clear
light on the money of the country breaks in. The coins of
William the Lion (1165-1214) are numerous, and from what is
stated of the sums of money that found their way out of the
country, the poorness of the nation seems to have been very
marked.
A "pose"1 of the silver pennies of William was found near
Inverness in 1780. The legend on the coin is le Rei Wilam,
le Rei Willame, Wilam Ri or Re. The two first forms of the
legend are French.
Some of the coins of William have inscribed on them the
names of the place of mintage, as ED or EDINBV, PERT,
ROCESBV (Roxburgh). Some of them bear the names of the
moneyers, and several of the names of these moneyers are
undoubtedly of Norman-French origin.
A historian of the Scottish coinage, Adam de Cardonnel,
ascribes the coinage of this money by French coiners to a
particular circumstance in that king's life.2
Adrien de Longpérier, quoting Cardonnel, says:3 "Les
légendes le rei Wilam et le rei Willame appartiennent à Guillaume
le Lion d'Ecosse, qui succéda à son frère Malcolm IV.
en 1165. Ayant été fait prisonnier par Henry II, il fut con1
Vide p. 111, n. 4.
2 'Numismata Scotiæ,' &c., by Adam de
Cardonnel, p. 39: Edinburgh, 1786-4to.
3 'Monnayeurs français dans la Grande-Bretagne
aux xiie et xiiie siècles,' par Adrien de
Longpérier; in the 'Revue numismatique,'
nouvelle série, t. vii. pp. 292-300.
duit vers ce prince, alors en Normandie, et retenu jusqu'à ce
qu'il eût payé une rançon de 40,000 marcs écossais. Il sera
donc permis de supposer qu'il aurait engage et envoyé en
Ecosse des artistes étrangers chargés de frapper la monnaie
nécessaire pour payer cette rançon."
Many of these apparently remained, for we find their names
on William's second coinage; and there is little doubt but that
some of them minted for his successor. Peris occurs on the
short-cross coins; and Renaud, Henri, Nichol, and others,
evidently of the same origin, are found on the long double--
cross coins.1
It may be stated that at the Scottish Court in the twelfth
century, as the Saxon tongue was considered "fort rurale, barbare,
mal sonnante et séante," French only was used.
The silver penny was the only Scottish coin till the reign of
Alexander III. (1249-1285). He coined the halfpenny and
the farthing — coins which were afterwards continued. David
II. (1329-1371) introduced two new values, the groat of four--
pence and the half-groat. James V. circulated a one-third
groat-piece.
In 1553 a coin was minted by Mary with the name of testoon,
testone (O. Fr. teston); and in 1553 a half-testoon. The testoon
bore, obverse, the queen's head, crowned, to the right in a
double circle; reverse, the arms of Scotland, crowned between
two mullets or cinquefoils, in a double circle.2
Mary also introduced three other new coins, the ryal, the
1 'Notes on the Annals of the Scottish
Coinage,' p. 17, by R. W. Cochrane: London,
1872—8vo.
2 A Handbook to the Coinage of Scotland,'
by J. D. Robertson, P. 73. London:
George Bell & Sons, 1878—8vo.
two-thirds ryal, and the one-third ryal (1565, 1566, 1567).
These coins carry on the obverse the arms of Scotland,
crowned between two thistles, within a circle, and on the reverse
a crowned yew-tree, up the stem of which a tortoise is
creeping; across the tree is a scroll inscribed DAT. GLORIA.
VIRES. These ryals went by the name of Cruickston dollars,
either from the estate of Cruickston having belonged to Lord
Darnley, or because the tree on the reverse is supposed to
represent the famous yew-tree which grew there.1
During the reign of James VI. (1567-1625), many new silver
coins were struck: the sword-dollar, or thirty-shilling piece,
with its two divisions of two-thirds and one-third (1567-1571);
the noble or half-merk, half-noble (1572-1580); the double--
merk or thistle-dollar, the merk (1578-1580; various pieces
ranging in value from forty shillings to twelve pennies, and
among them one of five shillings and another of thirty pennies.
That king also minted the balance half-merk, the balance
quarter-merk (1591-1593); the thistle-merk, with its part--
values of half, quarter, and eighth (1601-1603).
About 1374 Robert II. introduced gold coinage in the form
of a coin called a St Andrew, from the figure of that saint
on the reverse, — likely in imitation of the Italian florin,
which bore the image of St John. The obverse was adorned
with the arms of Scotland crowned, plainly in imitation of the
French coin couronne. Another coin was called the Lyon.
The half St Andrew was first coined by Robert III. (1390--
1406). The lion of James I. was called demy. He also coined
the half-lion.
1 'A Handbook to the Coinage of Scotland,' pp. 78, 79.
James III. (1460-1488), besides continuing the St Andrew
and its half, minted the rider (1475), so named from the figure
of the king on horseback, with a sword in his right hand, galloping
to the right, on the obverse; the unicorn and the half--
unicorn (1486), both of which have on the obverse a unicorn
with a crown round the neck, supporting a shield emblazoned
with the arms of Scotland, to the lower end of which is attached
a chain with a ring, — hence the denomination.
James V. introduced the ecu (Fr. écu), the ryal, the bonnet--
piece, with its two smaller values of two-thirds and one-third.
The bonnet-piece is a very fine coin, and in imitation of the
French: it is much thicker in proportion to its size than the
English coin of this period.
Seven different pieces issued from the mint of Mary (1542--
1567), and from that of James VI. no fewer than eleven.
In course of time a debased sort of metal, consisting of
silver and various quantities of alloy of copper, was introduced.
It got the name of billon (Fr. billon, Span. vellon). The baser
kind of this metal was called bas billon in French, and the coin
minted from it, basse pièce. Coins of poor silver — a penny and a
half-penny — were coined during the reigns of Robert III. (1390--
1406), James I. (1406-1437), and James II. (1437-1460). The
first real billon coins were struck by James III. (1460-1488),
in the values of penny, half-penny, plack, and half-plack, and
coinage was continued by his successor. The plack or plak,
along with its designation, may have been first imported from
the Low Countries, with which Scotland carried on a considerable
trade.1 But we know the existence of plaque as a French
1 The 'Libel of English Policy' of 1436 says the exports of Scotland were skins, hides,
denomination of money; and in a statute of Henry VI. of
England, made at Paris 20th November 1426, that coin is
stated to be equal to four greater blancs. Indeed it seems
to have been from the French the unfortunate king borrowed
it, long before James III. coined it in billon. The word is
still current in the proverb, "Ye widna mak yir plack a bawbee
by that."1
The billon coins of James V. (1514-1542) consisted of three
parts fine to nine parts alloy, and bore the denominations of
bawbee, babie, bawbie2 (Fr. bass' pièce), or plack, half-plack, and
penny. Mary (1542-1567) minted the bawbee and the halfbawbee,
with several other values of very base metal. Among
these values was the lion or hardhead (O. Fr. ardit; low Lat.
arditus, ardicus; Span. ardite), which is, however, said by
some to have been so named from Phillipe le Hardi, who
and wool, — the wool being sold in the towns
of Poperynge and Bell. The imports were
mercery, haberdashery, cart-wheels, and barrows.
(Thomas Wright's 'Political Poems
and Songs,' vol. ii. p. 168.) "L'Ecosse fournissait
des peaux de mouton, de lapin et autres,
surtout de martres (?); des cuirs, des laines et
des draps, mais de mauvaise qualité, des perles
moins belles que celles d'Orient. On y envoyait
peu de chose, tant à cause de la pauvreté
de cette contrée, quo parce qu'elle trafiquait
principalement avec la France et l'Angleterre.
Cependant ells tirait d'Anvers quelques épiceries,
du sucre, de la garance, quelques draps
de soie, des camelots, des serges et des toiles."
Frédéric Baron de Reiffenberg, 'Mémoire
couronné par l'Académie de Bruxelles,' p.
122, "Du Commerce an xve et xvie siécles."
Bruxelles: 1822—4to.
1 Vide 'La Tierce Journée du Mistere de la
Passion Jesus-Crist,' &c.; 'Assemblée des
Tyrans,' 2d fol. recto, col. i., after r. iiii. Cf.
'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,' voce "Placa,"
No. 2, vol. v. p. 274, col. 1; and Jamieson's
Dict., voce "Plack."
2 A curious traditional fancy in regard to
the origin of this term is still current in Fife.
"When one of the infant kings of Scotland,
of great expectation, was shown to the public,
for the preservation of order the price of
admission was in proportion to the rank of
the visitant. The eyes of the superior classes
being feasted, their retainers and mobility
were admitted at the rate of six pennies each.
Hence this piece of money being the price
of seeing the royal Babie, it received the name
of Babie, lengthened in pronunciation into
Bawbee." — Jamieson, Supplement, sub voce.
first coined it. James VI. continued the billon coinage in
various values.
Modern copper money was first coined in France in the
reign of Henri III. about 1580. The Scots soon followed in
the wake of France, and in the reign of James VI. the first
copper coinage was struck, and consisted of a twopenny piece
and a penny piece (1597).
If King James VI. gave the name of turner to another
copper coin struck in his reign (1614), it was because the French
tournois — so named because first coined at Tours (Lat. turonensis),
either livre, denier, or double — was also current in Scotland.
Charles I. (1625-1649) continued the coinage of the
turner. The name was revived and applied to a similar piece
coined after the Restoration, in the beginning of Charles II.'s
reign.1 This prince minted in copper a bawbee or sixpenny
piece (1677).
This short sketch of the coinage of Scotland shows how
much it owed to France;2 but France exercised another influence
over Scotland in respect to money. French money circulated
quite freely in the country, and has left its mark in the
words given to the vocabulary.
There are numerous entries in the Lord Treasurer's books
of payments of "French crowns." Thus, on 17th March
1503-4, "Maister William Dunbar" had a gratuity of seven
French crowns, or £4, 18s. Scots, for saying his first mass
before King James IV.
1 Anderson's 'Diplomata,' &c., p. 138;
Spalding's 'History of the Troubles,' &c.,
vol. i. pp. 197-217; Jamieson's Dict., voce
"Turner."
2 'A Handbook to the Coinage of Scotland,'
by J. D. Robertson, has been chiefly
followed in this sketch.
On May 30, 1502, the Treasurer paid "to the French leich
(John Damian), quhen he passit his way, 300 French crowns."
It is quite plain from Dunbar, in his poem of a " New
Year's Gift to the King" —
"God gif thé blis quhair evir thow bownes,
And send thé many Fraunce crownes"1—
that French money was in common currency.
The following are the designations of the coins that at one
time or other formed part of this currency:—
Mouton was a gold coin said to have been introduced into
the country during the reign of David II. — "nom d'une ancienne
monnaie d'or de France, qui portait d'une côté l'image
du saint Jean-Baptiste et de l'autre celle d'un agneau avec
Ecce Agnus Dei pour légende."2 Salute was another gold coin
of Charles VI. (1380-1422), "ainsi dit parce qu'il portait gravée
la salutation de l'ange à la sainte Vierge."3 Crowne of the
sone is "écu d'or au soleil," a coin struck in the reign of Louis
XI. (1461-1483) and Charles VIII. (1483-1498) (O. Fr. escusol).
Dolphin, dalphyn, was another gold coin in circulation.
The kardique is corrupted from quart d'écu, a coin of about
the value of eighteenpence.4 Souse is the O. Fr. sol, sold,
Fr. sou, "la vingtième partie d'une livre." Deneir, denneyer, is
the Fr. denier (Lat. denarius), a small silver coin. Cort, pl.
cortes, cortis, was the name of another French coin that found
1 'Poems,' vol. i. p. 91, st. 5.
2 Littré, 'Dictionnaire de la Langue Française,'
sub voce.
3 Ibid., sub voce.
4 It was still current at the beginning of
the seventeenth century:—
"Adieu mon or et mes pistolles,
Adieu mes belles espagnolles,
Adieu mes escus all soleil,
Adieu mes amoureux testons,
Adieu mes larges ducatons,
Adieu mes quarts-d'escus de France."
— "L'Adieu du Plaideur à son argent."
its way into the country about the time of James III. Lyart
is the Fr. liard, a word of uncertain origin. The value of
the liard was equal to three deniers, the fourth of a sou, and
a little more than a centime. It was of copper. Doit, a small
copper coin, is the Fl. duyt. The word is still used to indicate
the low value of anything, or contempt or defiance of any one.
Maily, melyie, said to be equal to half a denier, is the O. Fr.
maaille, Fr. maille (Walloon, mâie, mauie, nauie; O. Span.
meaja; O. Port. mealha).
It may be here stated that leg-dollar is a Manx dollar, so
called because it bears the arms of the Isle of Man.
Pinkerton1 is of opinion that the large gold medal of James
III. appended to the shrine of St John at Amiens, and
minutely described by Du Cange, was probably the production
of an Italian or Flemish artist; but more likely it was struck at
the royal mint of Paris, from which every known seal and medal,
and by far the greater number of coins representing Francis
and Mary as "King and Queen of England," were issued.
There was, however, a royal mint in the Canongate at Edinburgh,
in which a small silver coin, dated 1558, was struck.
The same may be said of a gold medal now to be found in
the Sutherland cabinet in the Advocates' Library, which also
bears date 1558, and resembles on the obverse only a Paris
medallion struck to commemorate the marriage of Queen Mary
with the Dauphin of France.
The Seton medal, struck in commemoration of a patrician
marriage, has for its legend, "Un Dieu, un loy, un foy,
un roy."
1 'The History of Scotland,' &c., vol. i. b. ix., sect. vi. p. 423: London, 1747—4to.
The French have contributed more to Scotch than the
designations of the coins. Coinyie, we have already said, as
well as cuinyie (O. Fr. coigner), is to coin; cuinyie, cuinyiehouse,
cunyie-house, cunzie, is the mint; cuinyoure, is the
master of the mint; and cuinyie, cunyie, is a coin.
"My Lordis of Chacker, pleis yow to heir
My coumpt, I sail it mak yow cleir,
But ony circumstance or sonyie;
For left is neither corce nor cunyie
Off all that I tuik in the yeir."1
Argent content, ready money, is the Fr. argent comptant.
When one is unable to make solutione (Fr. solution) of his debts,
he becomes a dyvour (Fr. devoir), a bankrupt, and a declaration
of bankruptcy, dyvourie, is made.
This chapter may be fitly brought to a conclusion by reference
to Lawrence Denison, a Scotsman, whose epitaph tells
what office he held in France:—
"D. O. M.
"Laurentius Denison, conseiller du roy et general en sa court
des monnoyes de France, attend icy la resurrection et la misericorde
de Dieu. Il est né le ve mars M.D.IIII.XX VIII.,
et decedé le xiiie juillet M.VI.C.LV."2
1 "To the Lordis of the Kingis Chacker,"
st. i. 'Dunbar's Poems,' vol. i. p. 109.
2 Tombeau de cuivre à gauche dans la nef de
l'église paroissiale du Pont-de-l'Arche. Epitaphes
des églises de Normandie,' t. i., in
Gaignière's collection, Bodleian Library, Oxford,
fol. 118.
CHAPTER VII.
ANIMALS

CHAPTER VII,
ANIMALS.
SCOTLAND was, as early as the fifteenth century,
well stocked with game, as well as with bestial,
cattle, domestic animals (Fr. bétail, bestiaux).1
We cannot, therefore, expect to meet with many
importations of such species, along with their foreign denominations;
still, it is well known that of domestic animals
horses were imported in considerable numbers. Lord Douglas
brought ten great horses into Scotland.2 James IV. was
active in introducing horses and mares from Spain and
Poland; and his successor, following his father's example, sent
to Denmark and brought home great horses and mares, and
put them in parks.3 In later times great horses used by knights
and squires came from Friesland or Flanders, and were often
called fresionis, nearly as in France (frisons).
1 'Histoire de Charles VI.,' par Mons. J.
le Laboureur, liv. v. ch. iv. vol. i. p. 103.
Buckle — vol. ii. p. 194 — has misunderstood
the word sauvagine of the text. Sir Robert
Gordon, after having enumerated the winged
inhabitants of the forests and thickets of
Sutherland, so "profitable for feiding, and
delectable for hunting," adds: "They are
full of reid deir and roes, woolffs, foxes, wyld
catts, brocks, skuyrrells, whyttrets, weasels,
otters, martrises, hares," &c.
2 'Rotuli Scotiæ,' vol. i. p. 752, col. 1,
July 1352.
3 'Epist. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp. 98, 99;
'Caledonia,' vol. ii. p. 732, note 9; Pitscottie's
'Cronicles,' vol. ii. p. 359
Among the names of animals transferred from French into
Scotch there are a few. If the Scots have the words horse
and hobeler1 in common with the English, hobyn2 (Fr. hobin),
cursour, coarser, cusser (Fr. coursier,3 a tilting-horse), a stallion
or bagit 4 horse, cowponit (connected with Fr. coupon, a
fragment, couper, to cut), a cuttit5 horse, or a gelding, and
gerron, which means the same in Gaelic, have been borrowed
of the French. Jonett, jennett, a Spanish horse, is the Fr.
genet (Sp. ginete, a lightly-armed horseman, which some derive
from Arabic djund, a soldier). A sumpter-horse was sowmir
(Fr. sommier, cheval de somme; Prov. saumier, an ass). A
hackney-horse bore the name of rancy, runcy, runsy,6 evidently
the O. Fr. runcin, roncin,7 cheval de charge (Prov. roncin,
rocí, rossi; Fr. roussin). A saddle-horse was montur (Fr.
monture), while the saddle was kept in its place over the
sambutes (O. Fr. sambue) by the curple, curpon, curpin (O. Fr.
cropion; Fr. crouion, croupe). The animal was guided by the
1 A small active horse (Roxb.), an English
term transferred from the use of the Scottish
small breed on the Continent, old Fr. hobeler,
hobler. The "sted off Araby," given by
King Alexander, "wyth hys armwrys off Turky,"
to the abbey of St Andrew about 1122,
as stated by Andrew of Wyntoun (the 'Orygynal
Cronykil of Scotland,' b. vii. ch. v. l.
692; D. Laing's edit., vol. ii. p. 176), most
likely came from Spain. 'Papers relative to
the Marriage of King James VI.,' Appendix,
No. ii. p. 18.
2 'Gloss. de la Langue Romane,' vol. i.
p. 754, col. 2; Halliwell's 'Gloss.,' voce
"hobby," No. 1, &c.
3 "Et très-bien montés sur fleur de roncins
et de gros coursiers." — Froissart, I. i. 139.
4 'The Dance of the Sevin Deidly Synnis,'
l. 80; ap. Dunbar, vol. i. p. 52. Cf. Notes,
vol. ii. p. 262.
5 Lindsay of Pitscottie, the 'Cronicles of
Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 372; 'Burgh Records of
the City of Glasgow,' p. 87, A.D. 1577. In
England cut is used for gelding. — Vide Nares,
'Glossary,' &c., p. 116, col. I.
6 "The Knightly Tale of Golagrus," &c.,
fol. 5 verso.
7 "Ne n'i perdrat ne runcin ne sumer."
— 'Chanson de Roland,' lx. l. 758. Ed. Theodor
Müller, Göttingen, 1863—8vo. Cf. the
Glossarial index of the original edition: Paris
— 1837.
renye (O. Fr. regne, reisgne, resne; Fr. rêne; Prov. regns;
Breton, ranjen, renjen), and put to its speed by the revil (Fr.
rouelle, dim. of roue, a wheel). When a horse became unmanageable
in the lists, it was necessary to outter (O. Fr. oultrer,
Fr. outrer) it, and this was done, no doubt, by a varlot, verlot
(O. Fr. varlet). When a poor hackney-horse had to be designated,
it was called gryngolet1 (low Fr. gringalet, now applied
to a puny man). To designate at least one colour-mark and
one colour in the horse, the French language was laid under
tribute. A horse marked with white on the face was balsanit,2
bawsand, bassand, bawsant, bawsint3 (O. Fr. bausan4), and one
of a dark-reddish colour was a soir naig5 (O. Fr. sor, Fr. saur).
Quirie,6 the royal stud, is the Fr. écurie. Curie,7 stables;
treviss, trevesse, travesse (Fr. travaison), a horse's stall, a partition
(interlignium) between stalls; lorymer,8 spur-maker;
turkas,9 a pair of pincers; and perhaps mortersheen (mort de
chien), a horse's disease, as well as the phrase to broche10 a
1 'Syr Gawayn and the Grene Knyght,' p.
24, l. 597; and notes, pp. 316, 317.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 401*, A.D. 1557--
58.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 257, 22. In Galloway;
cows having a white stripe down the face, or
horses, are commonly called bawsies.
"His honest, sonsie, bausant face,
Aye gat him freens in ilka place."
— Burns, "The Twa Dogs."
4 Littré says, sub voce "beaucéant," "bausan
en provençal et en ancien français signifiait
un cheval balzan, c'est-à-dire un cheval noir
ayant de marques blanches au pied."
5 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 360, A.D. 1601.
6 Vide Jamieson, sub voce.
7 Lindsay of Pitscottie, 'Cronicles of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 372.
8 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 399, A.D. 1600.
9 Ibid., vol. i. p. 222, A.D. 1590-91; O. Fr.
truquaise, triquoise, truquoise:—
"En mesnaige fault un flaiel,
Des turcaises et un martel."
— "La Complainete du Nouveau Marié,"
Recueil de Poésies françoises, recueillies
et annotées par M. Anatole de Montaiglon,' t.
i. p. 221: Paris, 1855—12mo.
10 "Quant l'ot Rollanz, Deus! si grant doel en out!
Sun cheval brochet, laiset curre à esforz."
— 'Chanson de Roland,' xciv. ll. 1196, 1197.
Ed. Theodor Müller; or the discoverer's first
edition, p. 47.
horse, betray their French origin. So much for haryage,1 and
what relates to horses.
The ass appears in the plural, under the form of asynis (O.
Fr. asnes). Mullettis are great mules, used for the carriage of
sumpters (Fr. mulets).
A calf sometimes carried the designation of veil (Fr. veau),
A sheep was called mutton (Fr. mouton). If it died a
natural death, its skin got the name of mort, and its fleece that
of mort-oo.2 If the lamb itself had not any name derived from
the French, its skin when dressed was called bug-skin; and
buge (O. Fr. bouge, boulge;3 O. Jr. bolc; Gael. builg; Lat. bulga)
was "lambs' fur."
Two spaces, speses (Fr. espèces) of dogs owe their designations
to France. Brache, brachelle, a dog that discovers game by the
scent, is evidently the O. Fr. brache, dim. bracket, Fr. braque
(Prov. brac, Sp. braco, It. bracco); and kenet, kennet, a kind of
hunting-dog, is the French chiennet.4 When the hounds in
hunting opened, their questes (Fr. quester) were heard:—
1 "A collective word applied to horses,
old Fr. haraz." — Gloss. to Wyntoun's 'Chronicle.'
Jamieson doubts such an etymon. On
the commercial intercourse between France
and Scotland relating to horses, vide 'Les
Ecossais en France,' &c., vol. i. pp. 426, 427,
and 'Rotuli Franciæ',' Public Record. Office,
33 Henry VI., No. 9.
2 Vide Jamieson, sub vocibus.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 144, 6; iv. 8.
4 'Awntyrs of Arthure,' st. iv. l. 4; 'Schir
Chanteclair and the Foxe,' l. 159; ap. Henryson,
p. 123. Brache, brachell, gave rise to
bratchart, a term of contempt, and perhaps
also to bratchet, a little mischievous boy or
girl, a silly diminutive person. The names of
Basche (Basque) and Bauté, given to two of
King James VI,'s dogs, indicate their origin.
— Vide 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. i. pp.
406, 426; the 'Heart of Mid-Lothian,' ch.
xviii.; and Jamieson's Dictionary, sub vocibus
"Batie," "Bawty." In the glossary to
Poems in the Buchan Dialect,' the former
word is explained "mastiff." Matteyne,
which is nearer the French mastin, occurs in
the 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 119 (8th Jan. 1579-80), but only as an
opprobrious word. Jacques du Fouilloux ('La
Vencrie,' &c., Angers, 1845, 4to, chap. ii. fol.
3 recto), quoted by le Grand d'Aussy (Histoire
de la Vie privée des François,' vol. i. p.
412), relates that the French King Francis I.
"Rock, glen, and cavern paid them back."
When the game was likely to escape, the call, rechas (Fr.
rechasser), was raised. When the game was caught, the pryse
(Fr. prise) was sounded:—
"Sound, merry huntsmen, sound the pryse,"1
The watch-dog on the approach of a stranger began to glaster,
glaister (Fr. glatir, to bark).
A few wild animals bore names derived from French. The
wild boar was sangwlier, sangler2 (Fr. sanglier), a species of
French importation.3 James V., who did so much to introduce
animals and birds either rare or unknown to his kingdom,
imported boars from France, as the following extract from the
Treasurer's books, of date July 26, 1541, shows: "Item, to
Johnne Bog, for expensis made be him upoun thre sangweleris
quhilk came furth of France to the Kingis grace; awayting
upone tham xiiij dayis, and tursing of them to Falkland, vj.
lib. xjs."
If the substantive ours was not introduced, the adjective
ursyne, with the sense of resembling a bear,4 was used. The
otter itself did not bear the name of loutre, but its fur bore
that of luterris. The beech-martin (Mustela foina, Linn.) was
known under the name of foyn, foynyie, funyie (O. Fr. foine,
Fr. fouine, Lat. faginus, fagina). The polecat (Mustela putorius,
Linn.) was the fowmarte — i.e., the stinking martin (O.
crossed and strengthened the new breed of the
stag-hounds by a white one which the Queen
of Scotland presented to him.
1 'Cadyow Castle,' st. xvii.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 335, 5.
3 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. pp. 311,* 312,* A.D.
1541.
4 'Clariodus,' p. 224, l. 1063.
Fr. fol, and martre). The martin (Mustela martes, Linn.)
was called martrik, mertrik, martlet, martrise1 (Fr. martre).
Jonett, genett (Viverra genetta, Linn.), "a kind of weesell,
black-spotted, and bred in Spaine" (Cotgrave), is the Fr.
genette (Span. gineta; Arab. djerneyth; Catalan of Pyrénées--
Orientales, janetta). The hedgehog was herisen, hurcham,
hurcheon,2 hyrchoune (Fr. hérisson, O. Fr. hyrreçon, urechon,
according to dialects). Porpik, porkepik, a porcupine, is the
Fr. porc-épic.
The rabbit had a name according to its age, — either cuning,
cunyng,3 kinnin (O. Fr. connin, connil), or lerroun,4 lapron
(Fr. lapereau), — a word which, however, may mean a little greyhound
(Fr. laperon or levron). Cuningar, cunningaire, means
a warren.
Cencrastus, a kind of serpent, is the Fr. cenchrite;5 and
another kind, the cheliderect, is the O. Fr. chelydre. The asp is
aspect (Fr. aspic, O. Fr. aspe).
Lastly, the toad was called crepinall6 (Fr. crapaud), and
1. G. Douglas, iii. 144, 6; iv. 8.
2 "The hare came hirpling owre the knowe,
To ring the morning bell;
The hurcheon she came after,
And said she wad do't hersel."
— Nursery Rhyme, 'Popular Rhymes of Scotland,'
by Robert Chambers, new ed., p. 28:
London and Edinburgh, 1870—8vo.
3 In an old Scotch ballad — "Johnie Armstrong,"
st. iv. — kinnens occurs in the same
sense.
4 'The Parliament of Beistis,' l. 119; ap.
Henryson, p. 138; cf. note, p. 305.
5 "Thair wes the serpent cencrastus,
A beist of filthy braith."
— Watson's Collection, ii. 21.
6 Lindsay of Pitscottie, the 'Cronicles of
Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 522. I feel inclined to
ascribe the same etymon to trappald, connected
with taid by Henryson in the 'Paddock
and the Mouss,' l. 86 (the Poems, &c.,
p. 220), and to think that it ought to be written
crappald. In Aberdeenshire, bottrel is
used as adjective and substantive, with the
sense of thick and dwarfish, or to designate
such a person. The origin of it, wrongly
ascribed to the French bouterolle, the chape
of a scabbard, the tip that strengthens the end
of it, is undoubtedly the old French boterel, a
toad. Maukin, a half-grown female (Fr.
mannequin), may be mentioned as synonymous
with bottrel.
the spider aragne1 (Fr. arazgruée). The death's-head moth
(Acherontia atropos) was mort-head2 (Fr. mort).
Poo (O. Fr. pole), is said to be a kind of crab (E. Loth.)
Among domestic fowls, in pouna, poune, powne, it is easy to
recognise the Fr. paon, peacock;3 poule d'Inde in poullie hen;
and in how-towdy, a young hen, the O. Fr. hestaudeau, hustaudeau,
hutaudcau.4
The names given to the following birds are French in
their origin. In smoukie, a species of bird of prey, may
be recognised the O. Fr. mouske, the Fr. émouchet. Gastrel,
castrel, seems to be the same as the English kestrel
(Falco tinnunculus, Linn.), and corresponds to the O. Fr.
cercelle, Fr. crécelle, crécerelle. Rammage (Fr. ramage) is
the sound made by hawks. The owl5 is habawde (Fr.
hibou); the swallow, arrondell (Fr. hirondelle; in Touraine,
arondelle); the raven, corbie, corby,6 gorby (Fr. corbeau); the
magpie, pyat,7 pyot,8 or pyardie (Fr. pie hardie); the blackbird,
marleyon,9 merle, as in France ;10 the singing thrush,
1 G. Douglas, iv. 85, 18.
2 Mort-head is applied at the present day
in Banffshire to a plaything intended for a
"bogle," commonly made from a turnip.
The turnip is hollowed out, and a nose,
mouth, and eyes are cut through on one side,
to represent a skull. A piece of lighted candle
is placed inside, and the "bogle " is then
put in such a position as to frighten the timid
one on whom the trick is to be played.
3 G. Douglas, iv. 85, 89.
4 'Inventaires de la Royne Descosse,' &c.,
p. xxxvi, note 2.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 77, 19.
6 O. Fr. corbin. — Vide 'Les Contes et
Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol. 134 verso.
7 "The pyat was a curst thief,
She dang doon a'."
— Nursery Rhyme, 'Popular Rhymes of Scotland,'
by Robert Chambers, new ed., p. 28.
8 "Ye're like the pyot — ye're Butts an'
gangyls." — 'The Dialect of Banffshire,' p.
59. "The pyot furth his pennis did rug." —
Dunbar's Poems, vol. i. p. 42 'Off the
Fenyeit Freir of Tungland,' l. 83.
9 Dunbar's Poems, ibid., l. 90.
10 Al. osyil, osill. — Vide the 'Parliament of
Beistis,' l. 76; ap. Henryson, p. 137; cf.
the 'Testament of Cresseid,' l. 430, and the
Prologue to the "Fables of Esope," l. 18, pp.
mavis1 (O. Fr. mauvis); the nightingale, rossignell; the
crane, gru; the bittern, boytour, butter, bwtour (Fr. butor); the
stork, cygonie (Fr. cigogne); and the goosander (probably
Mergus merganser, Linn.), harle (Fr. harle).
To conclude, a critical friend suggests to me that "most of the
above names of animals, though they occur in Dunbar and the
other sixteenth-century poets, were never incorporated in the
spoken Scottish language, and would not have been intelligible
to the masses. A common countryman would never at any
period in Scottish history have recognised the swallow as
arrondell or the nightingale as rossignell. Nightingale, however,
is a word that we could scarcely expect to find in the
spoken language of the country, as there never were any in
Scotland, except during Sir John Sinclair's short and unsatisfactory
experiment of acclimatising them in Caithness."
90, 154. In the first of those poems, l. 120,
p. 138, the marmysset (a small monkey) is
undoubtedly the French marmouset.
1 In Scottish poetry the word is of constant
occurrence. Spenser, in the following passage
from his "Epithalamium," seems to have
considered the mavis and the thrush to be
different birds:—
"The thrush replies; the mavis descant plays."
In a Scottish poem — the "Pistill of Susanne,"
vii. — we find joyken, to roost, which is undoubtedly
derived from Fr. jucher.
CHAPTER VIII.
Education: Terms relating to it.

CHAPTER VIII.
EDUCATION: TERMS RELATING TO IT.
THE oldest university in Scotland — that of St
Andrews — was founded in the year 1411, after
the plan of the University of Paris, by Bishop
Henry Wardlaw, who had completed there his
course of philosophy.1 At the end of the same century, Pope
Alexander VI. empowered William Elphinston, Bishop of
Aberdeen, to erect in that city a university, with all the rights
and privileges of that of Paris.
Many of the university lecturers were educated in Paris, or
taught there.2 In the Introduction to John Vaus's 'Commentary
on the Doctrinale; or, Rhythmical Elements of Latin
Grammar of Alexandrinus,' printed by the Ascensii at Paris
in 1522, one of them — Jodocus Badius — speaks of his favour
for the new University of Aberdeen, "idque nominibus et
multis et gravibus, primo quod ejus proceres et institutores
fere ex hac nostra Parisiensi et orti et profecti sunt." The
volume concludes with an epistle, dated from Paris, ex Collegio
1 Innes, 'Scotland in the Middle Ages,'
chap. ix. p. 274.
2 David Buchanan, 'De Scriptoribus
Scotis,' pp. 11, 12. The earliest of those
dominies is "Adamus Scholasticus, quem alii
putant Balendinum fuisse," &c., A.D. 1410.
Bonæ Curiæ — i.e. de Boncourt1 — from Robert Gray, who had
been a regent at Aberdeen.
Scotsmen were in the habit of resorting in considerable
numbers to France to receive or complete their education, as
the following reference shows: "Tertia denique tribus, seu
provincia, continebat Scotiam, Angliam et Hiberniam, quæ hodie
tribus Insularium dicitur; cum antiquitus tribus Scotorum
vocitaretur, quasi princeps Insularium in memoriam magistrorum
Scotorum qui academiæ Parisiensis priori fuerunt institutores."2
Sir David Lyndsay refers to the same practice.
"I send my sons to Pareis to the scuillis." 3
Another reference is:—
"Filii nobilium, dum sunt juniores,
Mittuntur in Franciam fieri doctores;
Quos prece vel pretio domant corruptores,
Sic prætaxatos referunt artaxeta mores." 4
The Scot, wandering in search of learning, was not always
graciously received, chiefly if he imported, or was suspected to
smuggle, antipopistical doctrines. The author of the Epitaphe
du petit chien Lycophagos,' &c., reprinted in Ed. Fournier's
Variétés historiques et littéraires,' vol. iv. p. 269, said
in 1613—
"Ainsi puissent près de to fosse
Abboyer les mastins d'Escosse
Qui sont dans l'Université!"
1 See also 'Les Ecossais en France,' &c.,
vol. i. pp. 528, 529.
2 Bulæus, 'Historia Universitatis Parisiensis,'
t. iii. p. 560.
3 "An Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis,"
'Lyndsay's Poet. Works,' D. Laing's edit.,
vol. ii. p. 264, l. 13.
4 Lines quoted by Thomas Wright, 'Anecdota
Literaria,' p. 38; and, after him, by Mr
Sandras, 'Études sur G. Chaucer,' p. 14.
In 1617, a celebrated Jesuit was publicly lecturing on controversy
at Bordeaux, when, says he, "un jeune apostat, nommé
Leslæus, Escossois de nation, et recogneu seulement soubs le
nom de Remond Lulle, à cause qu'il faisoit estat d'enseigncr les
resveries de cét alchimiste, me vint attaquer apres ma leçon," &c.
The infuriated monk did not fail calling his opponent a sot.1
Those who had not the means of going to France for the
purpose of acquiring the language, had the opportunity of
doing so at home. In the 'Statuta et leges ludi literarii
Grammaticorum Aberdonensium,'2 it is enacted that the boys
shall not speak in the vernacular, but in "Latin, Greek, Hebrew,
French, or Gaelic."3 In fact, the French language was
taught in the chief schools of Scotland4 — namely, at St Andrews
in 1566, "with the reiding and right pronunciation of
that toung." 5
It is an established fact that there were those who were
well skilled in French, whether acquired at home or in France.
In one case — "Andrew Knox, minister at Paisley, found
divers letters and blankes, directed from George, erle of
Hountlie, Frances, erle of Arrol, and Wilyeam, erle of Angus,
subscryvit with their hands, wrytten, sum in Latin and sum in
Frenche, togidder with their cachets, signets,"6 &c. Likewise,
James V. wrote in French to his father-in-law, which is easily
1 Fr. Garasse, 'La Doctrine curieuse des
beaux esprits de ce temps,' &c., pp. 277-280:
Paris, 1622—4to.
2 Reprinted in 'The Miscellany of the
Spalding Club,' vol. v. p. 399.
3 See 'Sketches of Early Scotch History,'
pp. 272, 273, notes.
4 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. ii. pp. 78,
79. As to the results of Latin being colloquially
employed by the monks, see Buckle's
'History of Civilisation,' vol. i. p. 249.
5 The Autobiography and Diary of Mr
James Melvill,' A.D. 1592, pp. 57, 125: Edinburgh,
1842—8vo.
6 Ibid., p. 307.
credible; but he did not confine such an attention to his kinsman:
two letters of his, directed to Madame de Sunoy, and to the
Princess of Orange, are also couched in the same language.1
In the middle of the seventeenth century, a nobleman of
eminence, Sir Colin, the eighth laird of Glenurchy, was not
only a Latin scholar, but fond of French and Italian literature.2
To encourage and further not only the study of French, but
also that of Greek, John Erskine of Dun, who did so much for
his countrymen, brought over Pierre de Marsiliers, a French
scholar, who taught Greek at Montrose, where James Melvill
had been educated.3
As one consequence of the intimate connection between
France and Scotland, combined with the development of
education in the latter country, we witness the remarkable phenomenon
of learned Scotsmen holding the position of teachers
and professors in the schools and universities of France.
The names of a few of these men may be mentioned.
Edmond Hay, the Jesuit, was the first rector of the University
of Pont-à-Mousson, in Lorraine. His nephew, William
Barclay, was appointed, by Duke Charles III., Dean of the
Faculty of Law in the same university on the death of
Gregorie in 1598. He afterwards removed to Angers, whose
1 'Epistolæ Jacobi IV.,' vol. i. p. 122, No.
lxxxviii.
2 Vide 'Sketches of Early Scotch History,'
p. 349.
3 "So I was put to the scholl of Montrose,
finding, of God's guid providence, my auld
mother, Marjory Gray, wha, parting from hir
brother at his marriage, haid taken upe hous
and scholl for lasses in Montrose." The schoolmaster
was Andrew Miln, minister at Pedresso.
In 1598 John Thomson and his wife were allowed
to teach at Aberdeen; but the licence
extended only to "maidyne bairnis," and provided
that they should have no "man doctour"
under them. — 'Extracts from the
Council Register of Aberdeen,' vol. ii. p.
171: Aberdeen, 1848—4to.
university had for a time fallen into disrepute. The learning
of "Mr Barclay, one of the great personages of the time," soon
restored to the university its former name, and "the reputation
of his course once more filled the town with students."
His son, by his wife Anne de Malavillers, was John Barclay,
born 28th January 1582, author of 'Argenis,' and several other
works.1 It may be stated that many from Scotland resorted to
this university to prosecute their studies. Another Barclay,
William, M.D., after studying in Lorraine, was appointed a
professor at the University of Paris, and taught Humanity in it.
These men not only carried abroad with them their
learning and their boldness of speculation, but, by a natural
reaction, they infused into their own countrymen the opinions
they had formed among foreigners; and no small number of
words is used to express such opinions.
Considering the mutual relation of France and Scotland in
regard to matters of education, one might expect to find in
Scotch a considerable number of terms relating to education
borrowed from the French. Such, however, is not the case.
We find only the following:—
Primar, principal, the provost of a college (Fr. premier,
principal).
Grammariour, the teacher of grammar in a college — apparently
the same with the professor of Humanity at the present
day — is the French grammairien, which formerly meant one
who not merely studied, but taught literature in general.
Regent, a professor in a university, is the French régent.
1 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. ii. pp. 222-224.
The office of professor was called regency, and to discharge the
office of a professor was to regent.
Suppoist, suppost, a scholar in a college, is the O. Fr. suppost.
Bursar, one who receives the benefit of an endowment in
a college for bearing his expenses during his education there,
is the French boursier.
The name of bursar, or bursarius, was anciently given to
the treasurer of a university or of a college, and is still used in
England in the same sense; but in Queen Mary's time the
name had come to be given to poor students, probably because
they were pensioners on the common purse.
As might be expected, the endowment given to a student in
a university — an exhibition — had a name in conformity with
bursar. It was termed bursary, burse (Fr. bourse).
Baijen, bajan, bejan classe, a designation given to the
Humanity class of the first year in the two universities
mentioned above, as, till of late, it was applied to the Greek
class in the University of Edinburgh. Hence the students in
this class are denominated bejans,1 or sometimes, in Aberdeen
pronunciation, bejants. This word is most probably the Fr.
béjaune, a young bird, that has still a yellow bill (le bec jaune)
— figuratively, ignorance, stupidity — then "un jeune homme
sot et inexpérimenté." 2
Semibajan seems to be the same as semi, the name given in
1 Vide 'Sketches of Early Scotch History,'
&c., p. 240, note 2; Chambers's 'Traditions of
Edinburgh,' p. 172, note. Du Cange says that
in Low Latin a young university student was
called bejaunus, and the entertainment he gave
to his companions for his welcome bejaunium.
— Vide 'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,' vol. i.
p. 632, col. 3; vol. ii. p. 323, col. 3, sub vocibus
"Beanus" and "Cherubim."
2 Littré, sub voce.
the Aberdeen University to a student of the second year of the
curriculum.
Magistrand, pronounced (vulgo) magistraan, the name given
to students of the fourth year of the course of study followed
in the University of Aberdeen, seems to be derived from the
French maître-ès-arts, low Lat. magistrandus.
Censor, whose office, in the Aberdeen University at least,
was to keep the register of attendances of the students, is the
Fr. censeur, who, however, held in the Sorbonne the duty of
examining candidates, and in the Lyceums superintended and
directed the work of the students.
Sacrist, a kind of general servant appointed to look after the
class-rooms, professors' private rooms, &c., is the Fr. sacristain.
Session, used instead of the English "term," is the Fr.
session.
Argument, a piece of English, dictated to boys to be turned
into Latin, "a version" (Aberd.), is the Fr. argument.
To trap, to correct, in repeating a lesson at school, so as to
have a right to take the place of him who is thus corrected,
a schoolboy term, &c., is the Fr. attraper.
Scholage, the master's fee for teaching in a school, is the O.
Fr. escholage. Another common name at the present day for
the same thing is college-fee.

CHAPTER IX.
Medicine.

CHAPTER IX.
MEDICINE.
WHAT knowledge of medicine existed in Scotland
during the Scoto-Saxon period cannot now be
ascertained, unless we infer it from the form of
a licence, by the Abbot of Kelso, empowering a
monk to study any liberal faculty or science within the realm
of England. Later, many physicians appear in the Scottish
chartularies and charters, and, by their names, some seem
to have been Jews. Others, whoever they might have been,
came from Italy or France. The talents of Antonio, a Lombard
physician, procured him a settlement in Renfrewshire.
About the end of the fourteenth century, John of Burdouse
(Bordeaux?) wrote a treatise on the pestilence, which is at
the end of the chartulary of Kelso.1 James IV. extended
his patronage, among many others, to "Doctouris in jure and
medicyne," as well as to "potingars." Well known is John
Damiane, "the fenyeit friar of Tungland," who presented himself
to the Court of James IV. as a French doctor.2
1 Chalmers's 'Calédonia,' b. iv. ch. v. vol.
i. pp. 769, 770.
2 'Les Ecossais en France,' &c., vol. i. pp.
331-334.
"This King James the Feird was weill learned in the airt in
medicine, and was ane singular guide chirurgiane; and thair
was none of that professioun, if they had any dangerous cure
in hand, bot would have craved his advyse."1
In the following century Henryson dressed Mercury as a
"Doctour in physick cled in skarlot goun,
And furrit weill, as sic ane aucht to be." 2
During the month of August 1542, at the time of James V.'s
rupture with England, which ended in the disastrous rout of
Solway Moss and the king's death, four surgeons were despatched
to the Borders "for curing of all persons that hapnit
to be hurt be Inglis menne." Their names have not been preserved;
but we know that Queen Magdalen was attended in
Scotland by her old physician, Master Patrix, surely a French
doctor.3
"When my brother was in Scotland," says Joseph Scaliger,
"there was there but one physician, who was the queen's
doctor, and in my own times in England such practitioners
were far from being numerous. In Scotland, a joiner bled,
and barbers only shore." 4
At the end of the sixteenth century, "Maister Gilbert Montcreif
was mediciner to the King's Majestic," as stated by Alexander
Hume, rector of Logic, in an epistle addressed to that
doctor, which contains some curious information, chiefly that
1 Pitscottie's 'Cronicles,' vol. i. p. 249.
2 "The Testament of Cresseid," l. 245;
in Henryson's 'Poems and Fables,' p. 84.
3 Archives nationales, Paris, J. 967, 3d
bundle.
4 'Scaligerana,' p. 223.
the author had employed his "youth and paine" four years in
France.1
The Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland give
some interesting items regarding medicine:—
"1474. — Item, gevin to McMevlane, the barbour, at the
kingis command, xiiij Marcii, for the leichcraft dun be him to
the litil boys of the chalmire, xl s." 2
"1491. — Item, on Palme Sonday, to Domynico, to gif the
king leve to lat him blud, xviij s." 3
"1491. — Item, the xv Aprill, til a man that cam to Lythgow
to lat the king blud, and dyd it nocht, xviij s." 4
"1491. — Item, xxvij May, til a leych that leyt the king blud,
xviij s." 5
The following shows that the "leeches" of those days were
able to perform very delicate operations:—
"1496. — Item, the fift day of November, to a man beside
Coupir in Angus, that was new schorn of the stone, iii s. vi d." 6
If the medical vocabulary of Scotland is examined, it will
be found that it has been much indebted to the French tongue.
The surgeon himself was chirurgiane,7 chyrurgiane, chirurgeon,
chirurginar, scherurgian (Fr. chirurgien); and when he
performed an operation, he had to apply sanonrous (Fr. sain)
1 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. ii. p. 266.
2 'Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of
Scotland,' edited by Thomas Dickson, vol. i.
p. 68: Edinb. 1877—4to.
3 Ibid., p. 176.
4 Ibid., p. 177.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid., p. 305.
7 Vide 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 7, A.D. 1567;
'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,' p.
71, A.D. 5577, &c. 'D. Moysie's Memoirs,'
pp. 22, 23, A.D. 1559. 'Fleming's Chronicle,
MS., Adv. Libr., &c. 'Melvill's Diary,' p.
496. See also 'Inventaires de la Royne
Descosse,' p. lxiii, &c.
balsams to pane, pense1 (Fr. panser) the wound. The
subject he had to deal with was the human body, many of
whose members, as well as itself in different states, bore
names borrowed from the French.
Man makes his first appearance vivual, vivuallie (O. Fr.
vivaule, vivant, plein de force), in the jizzen, gizzen bed2 (Fr.
gésine). The mother gazes on the child's volt, vult (O. Fr.
vat, visage), examines whether the little stranger is cam-nosed,
camow-nosed (Fr. camus), flat-nosed, or gash-gabbit (Fr. gauche),
and in the joy of her heart she calls it mupetigage (Fr. mon
petit gage). The nurse takes it and fondles it, and addresses
it pytane (Fr. petit un,3 or peton). When it is old enough to
observe, and is pleased, it begins to gruntle (Fr. grondiller);
and when it is displeased, it begins to grunyie4 (Fr. grogner).
The child may be either a boy or a peronal (O. Fr. péronnelle).
The human body when in life — vivuallie — may be called a
cors, corss, corce (Fr. corps). The crown of the head is palad,
pallat (O. Fr. palet5); the jaws are jowis6 (Fr. joues). Between
the jowis is the gab, gob. Inside the gab are the gyngivis7
(Fr. gencives), the gums. Behind the jowis is the witter (Fr.
goître, Lat. guttur); and when one man seizes another by the
1 Vide 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' p. 35,
A.D. 1557; and Lord Fountainhall, 'Chronol.
Notes of Scottish Affairs,' p. 197, 4th Nov.
1686. The same verb existed also in Scotch
with the sense of think, meditate, cogitate.
Vide 'The Garmond of Gude Ladies,' l. 27,
ap. Henryson, p. 9; and 'Crim. Trials,' vol.
p. 210, A.D. 1590.
2 'Richard Bannatyne's Memoirs,' p. 238;
Pitscottie, A.D. 1576.
3 There is a French proper name Petiton.
4 'The Banffshire Dialect,' sub voce. Asher
& Co., London, 1866—8vo.
5 "A Skinner to his Man:" —
"Ne bouge, tant que je reviengne,
D'icy; entends-tu, mon varlet?
Et prends bien garde à ton pale."
— 'Recueil de Farces,' &c., p. 150.
6 'Sir John Rowll's Cursing,' l. 118.
7 G. Douglas, iii. 251. 28; 336. 20.
throat, or, figuratively, when two quarrel, they are said to be in
each other's witters. Behind the gyngivis is the goule, gowl1
(Fr. gueule), the throat, or gorgy (Fr. gorge). All this is supported
by the spald, spawl, spauld2 (O. Fr. espaule, Fr. épaule), the
shoulder. The spaul is joined to the breast by the cannel-bayne
(Fr. canal du cou). Within the coist, cost3 (O. Fr. costé) beats
the core (Fr. cœur). The cules, culs4 (Fr. culs), the buttocks,
are sometimes called in jest the curpin, curpon (Fr. croupion).
A well-formed brawn, braun (O. Fr. brahon), is an adornment
of the leg, shaum (Fr. jambe), when it is joined to the foot,
pettle (Fr. pied), by a well-turned cute,5 coot, cuitt, or queet in
northern pronunciation (Fr. cou-de-pied, coude-pied?).
The body, when death lays his hand upon it, becomes either
a corp, corps, corpis6 (Fr. corps), or a tramort (O. Sw. tra, to
consume, and Fr. mort). When it is rolled in the corpse-sheet,
it is ready for tyrement7 (Fr. enterrement). The coffin is laid
upon the pail (O. Fr. paile, drap mortuaire), and drawn by
horses to the grave-yard, or it may be, carried, covered with
the mort-cloth or doule-pale. In bygone days the corpse--
1 G. Douglas, iii. 349. 19.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 525, A.D. 1607;
vol. iii. p. 384, A.D. 1616; p. 485, A.D. 1620.
Tampis of the beird, whiskers. ('The Taill of
the Lyoun and the Mouse,' l. 10; ap. Henryson,
p. 159. Cf. Gloss., p. 318, col. 2, where
the learned editor, having printed lampis,
proposes campis.) Fr. tempes.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 116. 10; 178. 45; 240.
30.
4 Culls, used in Roxburghshire to designate
the testicles of a ram, and in Berwickshire in
a general sense, is the Fr. couillon, couille.
Cf. 'A Diary of Remarkable Occurrents,' p.
321, A.D. 1571. Curpin is the common term
in Scotland for the crupper of a saddle.
5 'The Gardener,' st. 5; ap. Kinloch,
'Anc. Scottish Ballads,' p. 757.
6 'The Tod's Confessioun,' l. III; 'The
Wolf, the Fox, and the Cadgear,' l. 205; ap.
Henryson, pp. 131, 189.
7 When the mother of James V. was to be
buried, messengers were sent to all parts of
the country to summon the nobles "to cum
to the Queene's tyrement."
present (Fr. corps and présent) was made to the church; and
then came, in the language of religious controversy, at times not
over-courteous, the mort mumlingis (Fr. mort), which, if repeated
thirty times, got the name of trental (Fr. trentel, from
trente, thirty). On the wreck of a foreign ship on the coast of
Ayr, and the loss of some of the crew, the sum of twenty
shillings was paid, 11th February 1533, "for ane trentall of
messis done for the Britonaris saulis quhilkis perist at the port
of Aire."
If there was any danger of the body being disinterred to
make, in vulgar mispronunciation, an atomie (Fr. anatomic?),
the coffin was encased in a mort-safe (Fife).
Man is not at all times in good point (Fr. point), and is liable
to a multiplé, multiplie (Fr. multiplié, manifold) of malices (Fr.
malaise). By some of them he is, in northern phrase, "sehr"
defett, defait, defaite (O. Fr. defaict, past part. of defaire), and
others of them prove mort (Fr. mort).
"The great variety of diseases prevailing in our days,"
says Dr Boyce, "was unknown to our ancestors. Calculous
concretion, or the predominance of the lymphatic fluid, was
the only disorder they suffered from. They lived honestly,
frugality was their protection against disease, and enabled
them to live to an old age. But when, forgetting the customs
of their countries, they began to indulge into all kinds of
pleasures, foreign diseases crept in with foreign niceties, and
the remedies used at home proving powerless, no end of new
medicines were imported, which soon were superseded by
other novelties. This is but a passing remark on the old
frugality of the Scots, on their diseases and mode of curing
them, a subject which at a more convenient time I intend
treating more fully."1
A curious poem gives a list of diseases:—
"They bad that baich should not be but—
The frencie, the fluxes, the feyk, and the felt,
The fevers, the fearcie, with the speinye flies;
The doit, and the dismal, indifferently delt;
The powlings, the palsey, with pocks like pees;
The swerf, and the sweiting, with sounding to swelt;
The weam-ill, the wild fire, the vomit, and the vees;
The mair and the migrame, with meaths in the melt;
The warbles, and the wood-worm whereof dog dies;
The teasick, the tooth-aik, the titt, and the tirles;
The painful poplesie and pest,
The rot, the loup, and the auld rest,
With parlesse and plurisies opprest,
And nip'd with the nirles."2
Not a few of those and other malices owe their designations to
the French language; and, no doubt, such designations were
given them either by French doctors, or by those who had
received their professional training in France.
An Aberdeen edict of 21st April 1497 mentions "the
infirmity cumm out of Franche & strang partis"3 under a
name spelt in different ways glangoir, glengore, gor, gore,
grandgoir, grangoir, grantgor, grantgore.
"Fy! tratour theif; fy! glengoir loun; fy! fy!"4
1 Cf. 'Scotorum Histor.,' lib. ii. fol. xxii.
l. 3. Parisiis, Prelum Ascensianum, sine anno
—fol.
2 Polwart, in Watson's Collection, vol. iii.
p. 14.
3 'Aberdeen Edicts,' vol. i. p. 425 J. Y.
Simpson, 'Antiquarian Notices of Syphilis in
Scotland in the 15th and 16th Centuries,' p.
4; Edinburgh, n. d.—4to.
4 'The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,'
l. 83. 'The Poems of William Dunbar,' vol.
p. 68.
"I'll gar our gudeman trow
That I'll tak the glengore,
If he winna fee to me
Three valets, or four."1
"Cette grande gore de verole, ainsi baptisée par ceux de
Rouen stir son commencement,"2 may have been imported from
the capital of Normandy by the Scotch who swarmed there.
This disease is associated with the strangelour (Fr. estranguillons)3
and the chaud-peece4 (Fr. chaude-pisse). We meet elsewhere
with feyk, wees, an itching in the fundament (O. Fr. fy5).
Another word, derived also from the French, appears in old
documents under many shapes, — rimbursin, rimburstennes,
rimburssanes.6 The Regent Morton was in 1572 afflicted
with this disease, "and war nocht he was cuttit, he haid lost
the lyff." Cartane fevir and fleume may be derived from
Latin.7 Whether catarris is from the Fr. catarrhe, catarrh,
may be a question; but flux, or in other forms, flook, fluke,8
diarrhœa, is plainly the Fr. flux; cornoy, correnoy, used in Fife
1 'A Ballad Book,' edited by the late David
Laing, p. 11, st. iii: William Blackwood &
Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1880—8vo.
2 "Les Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol.
155 verso. Gret gowre occurs with another
sense in a passage quoted by Jamieson (Dict.,
voce "Gambet").
3 'Sir John Rowell's Cursing,' l. 63.
4 Vide Jamieson's Dict., vocibus "Chaud--
peece" and "Cleiks."
5 Fy fy was in O. Fr. a term of contempt
and hatred: "faisant le fy fy, qu'elle se
trouvoit mal." — 'Les Contes et Discours
d'Eutrapel,' fol. 183 verso. Cf. 'Gloss. Med.
et Inf. Latin.,' voce "Ficus," t. iii. p. 281,
Col. 1.
6 Apparently rupture or hernia. Vide
'A Diurnal of Occurrents,' p. 321; 'A Scroll
Book,' quoted by Pitcairn, 'Crim. Trials,' vol.
i. p. 404, n. 3.
7 'The Maner of the Crying of ane Playe,'
l. 57. In 'Bannatyne Poems,' p. 174, is
tartane, as if, according to this MS., the tertian,
or three days' ague, had been referred to
by the writer.
8 'Philotus,' st. 36, fol. 3 verso; 'Crim.
Trials,' vol. i. p. 396, A.D. 1596. In O. S.
flu was a river. Vide 'Ane Ballet of the
Nine Nobles,' l. 22 — Graham, 'History of
the Rebellion,' p. 79.
with the sense of disturbance in the bowels, a rumbling noise
in the belly, and in Berwickshire with that of sorrow or
trouble, is the Fr. cœur noyé;1 and murdie-gripes, the bellyache,
is compounded of Fr. mordre, to bite, and O. Fr.
griper, having the same meaning; whilst laxat and gourd,
words applicable to certain conditions of the bowels, betray
their French parentage, gourd (Span. gordo) and laxatif. Icterique,
of or belonging to jaundice, comes from the Fr. ictérique.
Kindness, a disease which prevailed in the country in the
year 1580, is in all likelihood the same disease as squinacie,
the quinsy (Fr. squinancie, Lat. cynanche, a bad kind of sore
throat, — Greek κυνάγχη, literally, dog-throttling).
Royne is the O. Fr. roigne, rongne, "scurf, scabbinesse, the
mange." — Cotg. Mirles, the common name of the measles in
the north, is the O. Fr. morbilles. Lipper, leprosy, is the Fr.
lèpre. Mesall, mysel, leprous, is from the O. Fr. mesel, a leper
— a word connected, perhaps, with the Valencian mesell, which
is applied to one who has an internal or a contagious disease,
and particularly to pigs whose flesh when slaughtered becomes
measly. Then escrolles,2 cruals, cruels, the king's evil, scrofula,
is the Fr. écrouelles. Mules, chilblains, and moolie heels, come
from Fr. mules.
Etick, ethick, hectic, is the Fr. étique (Lat. hectica, a fever,
from Greek έκτικòς, habitual —έ̓χειν to have, to hold). Perlasy,
the palsy, is the Fr. paralysie (Lat. paralysis); exies
is hysteria; and trembling exies or aixies, the ague, is from
the Fr. accès. Stoup-galland, the name given to an epidemic
1 Curgellit is said in Ayrshire of one whose
feelings are shocked by seeing or hearing any
horrible deed (Fr. cœur gelé?).
2 'Contin. of J. Melvill's Diary,' p. 657.
contagious sickness in Scotland at the beginning of the 16th
century, is partly French. The word barbles is the Fr. barbes.
For a long time, at least in a few cases, medicines were imported
under the name of drogis1 (Fr. drogues), still the common
name among old folks in the north. Droguery, drogaries
(Fr. drogueries) from France,2 were sold by potingaris or droogists,
and some of them often, without doubt, administered in
guts, gouttes (Fr. gouttes) as a vomiter (O. Fr. vomitoire). On
May 29, 1502, the Treasurer of James IV. paid to Robert
Bertoun, one of the royal mariners, "for certaine droggis brocht
home be him to the French leich ["Maister John, the French
medicinar"] £31, 4s."
These foreign "mediciners,"3 if they used herbs as curative
agents, gave them in some instances the names they bore
in their own country. Thus Clary, or all-good, was tutabon,4
tutabone, Fr. toute-bonne; the sage, sauge; the parsley, parsel,
persil, as in French.
The name of one surgical instrument comes from French.
It is vantose, a cupping-glass (Fr. ventouse).
For the cure of the diseased, as well as for the reception of
the pilgrim and the poor, was instituted the massondeu, mason--
Dieu, maison-Dew5 (Fr. maison-Dieu 6).
1 Drogg was also applied to confections.
2 Vide Thorpe, 'Calendar of State Papers,'
&c., vol. i. p. 19, No. 76; 'Les Ecossais en
France,' vol. i. p. 433.
3 On the quack mediciners in Edinburgh,
vide Chambers, 'Domestic Annals of Scotland,'
vol. iii. pp. 260-262, A.D. 1702.
4 'Clariodus,' P. 74, II. 723, 735.
5 'The Freiris of Berwik,' l. 23, ap. Dunbar,
vol. ii. p. 4; Melvill's 'Diary,' p. 191;
'Sketches of early Scotch History,' p. 130.
6 There was anciently, near Old Roxburgh,
on the Teviot, a maison-Dieu. Where it
stood stands now a hamlet, which still bears
the sad appellation of Maison-Dieu. See
Chalmers's 'Caledonia,' vol. ii. p. 162.
"La grand maison-Dieu de Paris" is mentioned
in our 'Recherches sur le commerce
des étoffes de soie,' vol. ii. p. 144.
CHAPTER X.
Law.

CHAPTER X.
LAW.
THE distinction between Scotch and English law
has been referred to in the Introduction. It
remains to show how much the former is indebted
to the French.
In place of the English barrister or counsel, there is the
advocate, according to the French custom — avocats only being
admitted to plead.
In the inferior courts, the practitioners, in place of being
called solicitors or attorneys, are called procurators. Even
in the supreme court, although the pleaders are in common
language called advocates, when the judge gives decree on
any case, it is only after the "parties' procurators" have been
heard. The head of the supreme court is styled president.
In place of leaving private parties to prosecute, as in England,
there is the public prosecutor, in the shape of the procurator-fiscal.

In lieu of a coroner's inquest, the procedure, in case of suspicion
of crime, is by an investigation, in which the suspected
is asked to make a declaration which may afterwards be used
as evidence against him.
In municipal affairs, the English have mayors and aldermen.
In Scotland these are the provost1 (O. Fr. provost, prevost,
Fr. prévôt), bailies (Fr. baillis), and council.
The College of Justice was established on the model of the
Parliament2 of Paris.3 Without entering particularly into this
point, it may be stated that the example of the latter in the
exercise of its functions was at times appealed to as a fit one
for the people of Scotland to follow in the management of the
affairs of the State. In the 'Satyre of the Three Estaitis'4 —
"Wee will conclude, as thay haif done in France.
Let spirituall materis pas to spritualitie,
And temporall materis to temporalitie."5
And afterwards —
"It is statute, that all the temporall landis
Be set in few, after the form of France." 6
The following forensic terms will show to what an extent
Scottish law and Scottish law courts are indebted to France:—
Adjornis, v. a. to cite, to summon. Fr. ajourner,"assigner
quelqu'un en justice à un jour marqué."
1 In the early French romance of La Manekine,'
p. 40, l. 1179, "li prevos " of Berwick
is represented standing on the sea-beach to
watch, in order to prevent scuffles.
2 The Scots used also this word in the sense
of intercourse, communing (vide Z. Boyd's
'Garden of Zion,' p. 188), and parliamenting
for conference, "as French maneris," says R.
Bannatyne, "requyre French termes" ('Journal,'
&c., p. 10, 18th April 1570).
3 Tytler, 'Hist. of Scotland,' vol. iv. pp.
212, 213; Arnot, 'Hist. of Edin.' p. 468;
Buckle, 'Hist, of Civilization in England,'
vol. ii. p. 212.
4 The "Three Estatis of the Realme," as
named in Acts, Ja. I. 1424, ed. 1874, p. 7,
is a French idiom, explained by Jamieson,
Suppl., voce "Estate."
5 Sir David Lyndsay's Works, vol. ii. p. 73.
6 Ibid., p. 113.
Adminicle, s. collateral proof, is the Fr. adminicule, a Fr.
law term with the same meaning; while adminiculate means
set forth, supported.
Agé,1 v. n. to act as may be necessary and legal. Fr.
agir.
Air, aire, ayr, s. an itinerant court of justice. O. Fr. erre.
In Eng., eyre occurs with the same sense; but it must be
observed that the Scotch word was more comprehensive, and
in accordance with the administration of justice in France,
where, pursuant to a statute of Philip the Fair, March 25,
1302, stewards and bailiffs should hold their sessions in the
circuit of their district every two months at least.2
Aliment, s. a word denoting the fund of maintenance which
the law allows to certain persons — namely, to parents3 and
children, only direct ascendants and descendants — is the Fr.
aliment, pl. aliments — "les frais de nourriture et d'entretien
d'une personne." Aliment, v. a. to give legal support to
another.4
Aneabil, s. an unmarried woman. O. Fr. anable.
Ansars, s. a judge, arbiter. O. Fr. anseor.
Appunct, apunct, v. n. to settle. Fr. appointer.
Apunctuament, s. a convention or agreement, with specification
of certain terms. Fr. appointement.
Assoilyie, v. a. to acquit. O. Fr. assols, assoilé, absoillé
déchargé, absous, dispensé.
1'The Bride of Lammermoor,' ch. xi.
2 Vide 'Ordonnances des rois de France de
la troisième race,' vol. i. p. 362, art. 26; and
'Mémoire et consultations pour servir à l'histoire
de l'abbaye de Château-Chalon,' p. 39.
A Lons-le-Saunier, 1765—folio.
3 Fr. parents. Vide 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii.
p. 582, A.D. 1689.
4 Lord Fountainhall, 'Chronological Notes
of Scottish Affairs,' &c., p. 122, A.D. 1685.
Assoinyie, essenyie, v. a. to offer an excuse for being absent
from a court of law, is the O. Fr. essoyner, exonier, "to excuse
one from appearing in court, or from going to the wars, by oath
that he is impotent, insufficient, sick, or otherwise necessarily
employed." So says Cotgrave.
Avantage, evantage, s. a term expressive of certain rights of
children upon the death of their parents, or of a husband or
wife after the death of one of the parties. Fr. avantage, a law
term, signifying what one gives to one more than to others
who have the same right; "en termes d'ancienne procédure,
avantage se dit lorsque le juge adjuge les conclusions à une
partie contre un adversaire qui fait défaut."
Avouterie, advoutrie, advoutry, s. adultery. O. Fr. avulterie,
avoltierge, avoltire, avoutire.
Blanche, s. the mode of tenure by what is denominated
blanch farm, or by the payment of a small duty in money,
pennie blanche, and otherwise. Hence the phrase fre blanche.
It is supposed that this term originated from the substitution
of payment in white, or silver money, instead of a duty in the
produce of the land.1
Brocard, s. the first elements or maxims of law. There
is a book printed at Paris in 1497, 16mo, and entitled
'Brocardica juris, seu modus legendi contenta et abbreviaturas
utriusque juris,' which Rabelais seems to have hinted
at.2 (Low Lat. brocarda, brocardicum, brocardicorum opus,
the maxims of right, contained in a book compiled in
1 Vide Du Gauge's 'Gloss. Med. et Inf.
Latin.,' voce "Firma Alba," vol. iii. p. 303,
col. 1; et Spelman, voce "Firma."
2 Vide book iii. ch. 39.
the eleventh century by Burchard or Brocard, Bishop of
Worms.)
Censement, sensement, s. judgment. Fr. recensement.
Champarte, s. field-rent: the part of the fruits of the soil
paid by the tenant to his lord. O. Fr. campart, Fr. champart,
a term of feudal jurisprudence.
Chancellarie, s. Chancery. Fr. chacellerie.
Chessoun, chesowne, s. blame, accusation, exception. O. Fr.
achoison. Hence to chessoun, v. a. to subject to blame, to
accuse. O. Fr. achoisonner.
Commend, s. a benefice in commendam. Fr. commende.
Compear, compeir, v. n. to appear in the presence of another,
or in a court. Fr. comparoir, with the same meaning. Compeirant
is one who appears in court when called; and compearance
is the act of appearance of one in court.
Compryse, v. a. to attach for debt. Fr. comprendre. The
one who attaches the estate of another for debt is the compryser,
and attachment for debt is comprysing.
Contrare-mand,1 s. an order retracting, or prohibiting the
execution of a previous injunction. Fr. contremander. This
word is allied to another, — demand, question, implying the idea
of hesitation or opposition (Fr. demande, a judicial action by
which one demands what is his, or what he thinks he has a
right to).2 But demand, without starting any objection.3
Covin-tree, s. a large tree, generally an elm, in the front of
1 Calderwood's MS. 'Crim. Trials,' vol.
iii. p. 273, A.D. 1615.
2 'Sir John Rowlis Cursing,' l. 182 cf.
Weber's Gloss. to the 'English metrical Romances.'

3 'Clariodus,' p. 246, l. 1753.
an old Scottish mansion-house, where the laird always met his
visitors or administered justice.1 Such a tree existed also at
the gate of nearly all the baronial manors of France.2
Debout, v. a. to cast, to dismiss, to reject. Fr. débouter.
Declaratour, declarator, s. a legal declaration, is the Fr. déclaration,
a law term, acte, sentence déclaratoire.
Declinature, declinator, s. the act by which the jurisdiction
of a court or judge is declined. Fr. déclinatoire, a term of procedure
having the same meaning.
Defaisance, s. acquittance from a claim, excuse, failure.
O. Fr. desfaicte, Fr. défaite.
Defaise, defese, defease, v. a. to acquit or discharge. Fr.
se défaire de, to rid one's self of.
Deforce, v. a. to treat one by violence. O. Fr. deforcer,"to
dispossesse, violently take" (Cotg.)
Deforce, deforss, s. violent ejection. Eng. deforcement.
Delict, s. misdemeanour. O. Fr. delict, Fr. délit, a law term
of the same meaning.
Desert the diet, to relinquish the suit. Fr. déserter.
Devorie, s. duty payable by land, or belonging to one from
office. O. Fr. debvoir, Fr. devoir.
Dishabilitate, v. a. legally to incapacitate. O. Fr. desliabiliter,
a law term of the same meaning. Hence dishabilitation, the
act of legally depriving a person of honours, privileges, or
emoluments.
1 Vide 'Domestic Annals of Scotland,' vol.
p. 502.
2 See "Attendez-moi sous l'orme," &c.,
among the 'Mémoires lus à la Sorbonne,'
&c. Archéologie, pp. 167-208: Paris, 1868
—8vo.
Donatary, donatour, s. one to whom escheated property is
made over on certain conditions, is the Fr. donataire, a law
term signifying one to whom a donation has been made, and
who has accepted it.
Dote, v. a. endow, gift by legal deed, letter, or will, &c.1 Fr.
doter.
Dushet, dussie, s. endorsement. O. Fr. doussier, Fr. dossier.
Empaschement, empeschment, impeschment,2 s. hindrance.
O. Fr. empeschement, Fr. empêchement; and empash, empesche,
to hinder, is the O. Fr. empescher, Fr. empêcher.
Emphiteos, s. a grant in feu-farm. Fr. emphythéose.
Facile, adj. applied in law to one who is easily wrought upon
by others. Fr. facile.
Failyie, faylyhé, s. subjection to a penalty in consequence of
disobedience; penalty in case of breach of bargain. Fr. faillir.
Ferial, feryale, feriall, feriat, feriell, adj., and used sometimes
as a subst., consecrated to acts of religion, or at least guarded
by a protection against legal prosecution.3 Fr. férié. In the
'Acta Dominorum Concilii,' A.D. 1478, p. 16, quoted by Jamieson,4
"… hervist, quhilk is feriale tyme and forbidden of
the law," gives rise to the following remark: "This humane
ordinance, securing an immunity from legal prosecution during
harvest, as much as if every day of it had been devoted to religion,
had been borrowed by our ancestors from the jurisprudence
of the Continent." In fact, this custom also prevailed in
1 'Melvill's Diary,' p. 102.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. pp. 75, 621.
3 'Balfour's Annals,' vol. i. p. 268.
4 Suppl., vol. i. p. 397, voce "Feryale."
France. Hence la mession, "the vacation (among layers and
scollers) during vintage;" or the induces mestives, mentioned in
the Customs of Touraine, art. 56.1
Fial, flail, s. vassal, dependant, one holding by a feudal
tenure. O. Fr. feal, Ir. fael, feel. Fiall, feale, is vassalage.
Gainage, s. land held by base tenure, by sockmen. O. Fr.
gaignage.
Greifar,2 s. recorder. Fr. greffier.
Grose, s. style, mode of writing. Fr. grosse.
Harro, hary, hiry, interj. an outcry for help. Fr. haro.
Heritour, s. an heir, a proprietor or landholder in a parish.
Fr. héritier.
Homologate, v. a. to ratify or approve. Fr. homologuer.
Hypothec, s. a pledge for payment of rent. Fr. hypothèque.
Hypothecate, v. a. to pledge. Fr. hypothéquer.
Intrant, s. one who enters on the discharge of any office, or
into possession of any emolument. Fr. entrant.
"Intromit with a man's goods," to take possession or management
of a man's goods. Fr. s'entremettre. "To give an
account of one's intromission" is a common Scottish phrase.
Intromitter, intrometter, is the one who intromits.
Inventar, s. inventory. Fr. inventaire.
Irrogat, v. a. to impose. O. Fr. irroger.
1 Vide Du Cange, 'Gloss. Med. et Inf.
Latin.,' voce "Feriæ Messivæ," vol. iii. p.
230, col. 3; and Cotgrave's Dictionary, vocibus
"Mession," "Mestivailles," and "Mestivales."

2 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 113, A.D. 1579.
Juster, s. one legally appointed to adjust weights and measures
(Orkn.1) O. Fr. juste, a sort of measure.
Mand, s. payment, penalty. O. Fr. amande, Fr. amende, a fine.
Marchet, s. the fine paid to a superior for redeeming a young
woman's virginity at the time of her marriage: O. Fr. marchet,
Lat. marcheta.
Morter, s. cap of office, formerly worn in France under the
name of mortier.2
Multure, mouter, s. fee for grinding grain. O. Fr. mousture,
moulture, Fr. mouture.
Multurer, s. the taxman of a mill.
Obeysance, s. the state of a feudal retainer. Fr. obéissance.
Ordone,3 v. a. to appoint, to ordain. Fr. ordonner.
Pikary, pickery, s. rapine, petty theft, pilfering. Fr. picorée,
Span. picorea.
Plane, adj. a word applied to Parliament to signify that it
consists of its different constituent branches. O. Fr. plaine,
pleine court.
Prattik, prettik, practick, practique, s. form of procedure in
a court of law. O. Fr. practique.4
1 'Grievances of Orkney, pp. 51, 52.
2 'Vide 'Balfour's Annals,' vol. ii. p. 123.
Cf. a note by Alex. Dyce to a passage in "The
Fair Maid of the Inn," Act v. sc. 2. — 'The
Works of Beaumont and Fletcher,' vol. x. p.
93, note 1.
3 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' p. 121, A.D.
1564.
4 This word has several acceptations, of
which we will mention another. The following
quotation shows Scotch in France replying
to other sorts of pratiques:—
"Gascons trappé's et bien fondez
Joüent là leurs nouvelles praticques.
Les Escossoys font les replicques."
— 'Le Blason des armes et des dames,' among
Coquillart's Works, t. i. p. 175.
Preve, prev, s. proof; a witness. O. Fr. proeve, prove, Fr.
preuve.
Procuir,1 v. to act as procurator (Fr. procureur), or conduct
a case in court. O. Fr. procurer.
Purpress, v. a. to violate the property of a superior. O. Fr.
pourprendre.
Purprisione, purprising, purprusition, of the same meaning
as purprestre, is the O. Fr. perprison,"a seizing, or taking into
his own hands (without leave of lord or other), ground that
lies waste, or is used in common" (Cotg.)
Purprisione, court of, — a court that seizes without legal warrant
common property.
Quott, quote, quoitt, s. the portion of the goods of one deceased,
fixed by law to be paid for the confirmation of his testament,
or for the right of intromitting with his property. Fr. quote.
Recepisse, s. a receipt. Fr. recepissé, "an acquittance, discharge,
or note acknowledging the receipt of a thing" (Cotg.)
Regality, regalité, s. a territorial jurisdiction granted by the
king, with lands given in liberam regalitatem. He who received
such a jurisdiction bore the title of a lord of regality,
whilst the district that enjoyed the privileges of a regality
was called regalis. Fr. fief en régale.
Rehable, reabill, v. a. to restore, to reinstate. Fr. réhabiliter.
Replait, resplate, v. a. to try a case a second time. Fr. replaider.

Reprief, v. a. to disallow, to set aside. Fr. réprouver.
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 131, A.D. 1600.
Resett, v. a. to receive stolen goods.
Reset, recett, s. the reception of goods known to be stolen.
Fr. recette.
Resetter, s. one who receives stolen goods. Fr. recéleur.
Respite,1 v. a. to exculpate. O. Fr. respiter.
Respondie, s. a check. O. Fr. respondre.
Responsioune, s. suretiship. O. Fr. response, a term of feudal
law.
Restes, s. pl. arrears. Fr. restes.
Retour, s. the legal return made to a brief, emitted from
Chancery, &c. Fr. retour.
Retour, retowre, v. a. to make a return in writing as to the
service of an heir; to make a legal return as to the value of
lands.
Sergeand, s. an inferior officer in a court of justice. O. Fr.
sergent, sergant, sergeant.
Servitude, s. onerary conditions, or service. Fr. servitude.
Solutioune, s. payment. Fr. solution.
Sonyie,2 s. an excuse. O. Fr. essoigne, essoine, exoine, an
old law term of the same signification.
Souer, souir, adj. assured, free from danger. O. Fr. seur.
Hence souerit,3 part. pa., assured of protection.
Sowmonds, s. summons. Fr. semonce.
Strenyable, adj. applied to one who is possessed of so much
1 'A Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents,' &c.
p. 41, A.D. 1545; J. Lesley, the 'History of
Scotland,' &c., p. 107, A.D. 1516.
2 'The Wolfe, the Foxe, and the Cadgear,'
l. 45, ap. Henryson, p. 183.
3 Vide 'A Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents,'
p. 25, A.D. 1542. Farther on, p. 40,
A.D. 1545, occurs seurance, in the sense of
security, pledge.
property that he can relieve his bail by being distrained. O.
Fr. estrener, estreindre; Fr. étreindre.
Taint, s. proof. O. Fr. attaint.
Taynt, v. a. to prove, to convict. O. Fr. attaindre.
Tayntour, s. one who brings evidence against another for
conviction of a crime.
Tend,1 v. n. to mean, to intend. Fr. tendre.
Terce, s. "a liferent competent by law to widows who have
not accepted of a special provision of the third of the heritable
subjects in which their husbands died infeft."2 Fr. tiers.
The widow is hence styled tercer.
Tocher, s. dowry. Fr. toucher la dot.
Tutele, tutell, s. guardianship, tutelage. Fr. tutelle, Lat.
tutela.
Tutory, s. period of life under guardianship. O. Fr. tuteric.
Unhabile, adj. under a legal disability. Fr. habile, and
prefix un.
Vacance,3 s. vacation. Fr. vacance.
Valient, s. a man's property or means. Fr. vaillant. "A
man's whole estate or worth; all his substance, means, fortunes
" (Cotg.)
Vert, wert, s. the right to cut green wood. Fr. verd.
Woche, v. a. to cite, to call. O. Fr. vocher, voucher; Lat.
vocare.
1 'Grim. Trials,' part x. p. 221*, A.D. 1539.
2 'Erskine's Instit.,' b. 2, tit. 9, § 44.
3 'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. p. 585.
There is another word, to creish, to grease, which in Scotland,
as elsewhere, was more than once used in matters of law.
The English phrase, "to grease one in the fist," corresponds
better to the French proverbial expression, graisser la patte,
anciently oindre la palme.1
This chapter on law may be fitly concluded with the chorus
of the Highland March—
"Well bravely fight like heroes bold, for honour and applause,
And defy the French, with all their art, to alter our laws"2 —
in which the author seems to have forgotten, in his patriotic
and poetical enthusiasm, that his ancestors had borrowed very
largely those laws from "the French."
1 Vide Méon's 'Nouveau Recueil de Fabliaux
et Contes,' &c., t. i. p. 183, 184.
2 Herd, 'Ancient and Modern Scottish
Songs,' &c., vol. i. p. 116.

CHAPTER XI
Rogues and Vagabonds —
Punishments.

CHAPTER XI.
ROGUES AND VAGABONDS — PUNISIIMENTS.
THE frequent wars between England and Scotland,
the numerous mutual raids on the Borders,
and the oft-recurring internal feuds, afforded
to such as were inclined to idleness or a life of
adventure,1 full opportunity to follow their natural bent; and
there cannot be a doubt that often, when the ruling power
was weak, the country, chiefly on the Borders, was infested
by malefactors of all sorts. Curious to say, the names given
to such bad characters were for the most part derived from
the French.
Briganer, brigan,"qui les marchans espie,"2 comes from the
Fr. brigue. Brigander is a form of the word which still lingers
in parts of the north, with the meaning of "a person of rude,
1 "Fair Johnnie Armstrang to Willy did say—
Billie, a riding we will gae;
England and us have been lang at feud;
Aiblins we'll light on some bootie."
— "Dick o' the Cow," Scott's 'Minstrelsy of
the Scottish Border,' vol. ii, p. 63.
2 Cuvelier, 'Chronique de Bertrand du
Guesclin,' l. 1584, vol. i. p. 59. David
Chambre, a Scotchman ('Hist. abbr. des
papes,' &c., fol. 145 recto), calls Robin Hood
and Little John brigans; and Spenser uses
brigant in his 'Fairy Queen,' vi. x. 39.
boisterous manners."1 Brigancie means robbery. Detrusare,
from the Fr. détrousseur, a robber, has the same meaning.
Wolroun (Fr. volereau, dim. of voleur) means a thief, a worthless
fellow:—
"Thow hes thy clamschellis, and thy burdoun keild,
Unhonest wayis all, wolroun, that thow wirkis."2
Scaumer3 is the Fr. écumeur. To sorn, sorne, soirn4 (Fr.
sojourner), means to take board and lodgings through force,
and the one who does so was called a sorner. The word is
still in common use to signify one who presents himself as a
guest without invitation, and makes himself at home for a
considerable time, to the inconvenience of the host. Boutefeus,
incendiary, is the same in Fr. (boute-feu): "Se assemblerent
et entrerent dedens le pays des Liegeois, boutant
les feux par les maisons, et par les bleds qui estoient prests
de cueillir, et conduisoit iceux boute-feux le sire du Jamont."5
Bribour, brybour, a low fellow, literally one who begs for a
piece of bread, comes from the O. Fr. bribeur, a beggar,
bribe being a large mouthful of bread, from which is derived
briber, to beg. Dunbar addresses Kennedy —
1 'Dialect of Banffshire,' p. 218: Published
for the Philological Society, 1866—8vo.
2 'Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,' st.
liv. 'Dunbar's Poems,' vol. ii. p. 82. See
'The Twa Maryit Wemen and the Wedo.'
3 Vide 'Wilson's Tales of the Borders,' pp.
58, 61. Barbour uses "scowmar of the se"
in the same sense as the French understand
écumeur, that of pirate — "les pirates et escumeurs
de mer " (Amyot, 'Lucull.,' 6). From
the same root came cowme, smiddy ashes, or
dross of a smith's forge. Vide 'Burgh Records
of the City of Glasgow,' p. 22, A.D. 1574.
4 Vide 'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. p. 567, A.D.
1624. Pillour, a robber, a plunderer, a thief,
which occurs in 'The Satyre of the thre
Estaitis,' Sir D. Lyndsay's Works,' part ii.,
vol. ii. p. 172, is found in O. Eng., as well as
to pillie, to pillage (Fr. piller).
5 Alain Chartier, Hist. de Charles VII.
"Ersche brybour baird, vyle beggar with thy brattis,"
and
"Thow purpost for to undo our Lordis cheif
In Paislay, with ane poysone that wes fell,
For quhilk, brybour, yit sail thow thoill a breif;
Pelour, on thé I sail it proif my sell."1
Cowkin, a beggar, is the Fr. coquin, a rogue.2 Hallion, a
rascal, is the Fr. haillon, a rag. Hullion is another form
of the word. Against all such "strang begarres and vagaboundis
" the peaceful, well-disposed citizen was in a constant
state of watchfulness 3 in his bastile-house,4 repeating sadly,
as in L. Culross's 'Dream,' "We cannot leive in rest."5
To these words of particular import may be added the
two following of general meaning — haurrage (O. Fr. herage,
which is itself derived from herre,"rogue, beggar, vagabond,"
Cotg.), "a blackguard crew of people," and canalyie, cannailyie
(Fr. canaille), a rabble. This word is still used in parts of the
north to signify a confused number or crowd of people.
1 'Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,' stt.
vii. and x. 'The Poems of William Dunbar,'
vol. ii. pp. 67, 68.
2 'G. Douglas,' i. cx. 30. In Dunbar's
'Complaint to the King,' l. 16, and 'Remonstrance
to the King,' l. 40, occur cowkin-kenseis
and kokenis, which David Laing conjectures
to mean idle beggars, or froward fellows. See
his edition, vol. i. pp. 142, 146; and vol. ii.
p. 480, col. 2.
3 "Upon his gardis" (Fr. sur ses gardes).
Vide 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' p. 219,
A.D. 1569. Farther on, p. 368, occurs mutinerie
for mutiny.
4 Several of the Border strongholds in Roxburgh
and Berwickshire were called so.
Other forms of the word are bastailze, bastailyie,
and bastel (Fr. bastille).
5 'Early Metrical Tales,' p. 163. In the
same passage there occurs the adjective grivelie,
which seems to have been overlooked by
the lexicographers, and to be synonymous with
Eng. grievous, unless it be derived from Fr.
grivelé, dappled, speckled; but we are at a
loss to find how a gait — i.e., a road or street —
might have this term applied to it. In 'Les
Regrets de la belle Heaumiere,' by Villon,
grivelé has a different sense, that of shrunk,
which agrees much less with the term qualified
grivelie.
Several of the different kinds of punishment derived their
names from France, where they were in use.
Furc, a gallows, is the Fr. fourche (Picard, fourque; Prov.
and It. forca; Lat. furca). In O. Fr. it means gallows, as
the following quotations show:—
"Ne crient ne mort ne furkes ne turment."1
"Sor un haut mont en un rochier
Fet li rois les forches drecier
Por Renart pendre le gorpil."2
When furc is joined to fos in the phrase furk and fos, it means
gallows and pot, fos being the Fr. fosse, a pit. Genis, ghen3
(O. Fr. gehine, gehenne; Fr. gêne), seems to be the rack.
Jougs, jogges, juggs,4 an iron collar, consisting commonly of
two parts joined together by a hinge, which was fastened round
the neck of the criminal, and locked, is the Fr. joug. It was
generally placed in the most frequented part of the town or
village, and often inside the church. The rout or row, roow,5
was the Fr. roue, the wheel. The boyis and the buttis,6 were
other kinds of punishments.
1 'Thomas le Martir,' 31.
2 'Le Roman du Renart,' l.11,095; Méon's
edit., vol. ii. p. 57.
3 'J. Melvill's Diary,' p. 496. Properly
speaking, geinn means wedge, and tighten by
means of wedges, press, squeeze (Fr. gêner).
4 "Incontinent persons were sometimes
exhibited to the public in the jougs, which
was a jointed iron ring or hoop that secured
them by the neck." — 'The Book of Bon--
Accord,' &c. vol. i. p. 165, note.
5 Vide 'A Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents,'
&c., p. 250, A.D. 1571; and 'Crim.
Trials,' vol. ii. p. 450, A.D. 1605.
6 The word buttis meant also grounds appropriated
for practising archery (Fr. buttes);
slightly different from Eng. butt, explained by
Dr Johnson, "the place on which the mark
to be shot at is placed," and derived from Fr.
but. Those parts of the tanned hides of
horses which are under the crupper are called
butts, probably as being the extremities (Fr.
bouts).
As to the maiden, an instrument for beheading, nearly of the
same construction as the guillotine, it is well known that the
Regent Morton, who was executed by it in 1581, brought a
pattern of it from the Continent. As the book in which the
first representation of it occurs1 was printed in France, it might
be supposed that it was a French invention. It is only fair,
however, to observe that on account of the constant intercourse
between Lyons and Italy, the illustration of this beheading
machine in the 'Golden Legend' may have come from that
country. Petrarcha's tract, 'De Remediis utriusque fortunæ,'
translated into German, and printed at Augsburg in 1532
(folio), contains also the curious representation of a capital execution
by the same process. Frosinone's work has a similar woodcut,
and the 'Symbolical Questions' exhibit another.2 In Gio.
Angiolo Lottini's 'Scelta d'alcuni miracoli, e grazie della santissima
Nunziata di Firenze,' &c., there is, among some fine
engravings by Callot, one particularly remarkable as representing
a guillotine.3 In a MS., apparently of the middle of the
fifteenth century, there is an illustration representing a man
beheaded by a similar kind of machine.4
1 'Catalogue Sanctorum et Gestorum eorum
diversis voluminibus collectus:' Lugduni,
1519—fol.
2 'Achillis Bocchii Bonon. Symbolicarum
Questionum. … Libri quinque,' lib. i. p.
xl. Symb. xviii.: Bononiæ, 1574—4to. The
first edition is of Bologna, 1555 —4to.
3 In 'Firenze,' cap. lxvii. p. 208: 1619—-
8vo. Many other engravings of the same
description might have been mentioned, — for
instance, that which the Abbé Adolphe
Bloeme has borrowed from Jacob Catt's
works, 'Notice sur la Guillotine:' Hazebrouck,
1865—8vo. Those representations
should be compared with the account of the
punishment of Demetri Giustiniani, A.D.
1507, given by Jean d'Anton in his 'Chroniques,'
vol. iii. p. 54, 6th part, ch. xxviii.:
Paris, 1835—8vo.
4 It was engraved by M. Viollet-le-Duc, in
his 'Dictionnaire raisonné du mobilier français,'
&c., vol. ii. p. 499, voce "Doloire:"
Paris, 1871—8 vo.
French executioners were noted in England.1 The designations
of those whose office it was to carry into effect the
extreme penalty of the law were imported into Scotland. The
hangman sometimes went by the name of lockman, loikman.
"Fy, feyndly front! fy, tykis face, fy, fy!
Ay loungand,2 lyk an loikman on ane ledder;
Thy ghaistly luke fleys folkis that pass thé by,
Lyke to ane stark theif glowrand in a tedder." 3
He received this name from the fact that he had the privilege
of taking a lock, or, in northern pronunciation, lyoch (Fr.
louche) of meal out of each caskful or sackful exposed for
sale in the market. Another name for a hangman was in
different forms boreau, burreau, burio, burrio, burior, burriour,
burriow .4 It is the O. Fr. bourrel, Fr. bourreau.
"In Paris with thy maister burreaw
Abyd, and be his prenteiss neir the bank,
And help to hang the pece for half ane frank,
And, at the last, thy self mon thoill the law." 5
The same official also bore the name of currier. In O. Fr.
courrier seems to have been the name of a low officer of justice,
whose duty was to see that sentences be executed, and to
carry out the execution of those who had been condemned to
1 Queen Elizabeth, fearing to be beheaded,
requested as her executioner a headsman from
France. Vide 'Mémoires de Castelnau,' A.D.
1560, b. ii. in Petitot's Collection, 1st series,
t. xxxiii. p. 75.
2 O. Fr. longaigne, longuaigne, privy sewer,
laystall.
3 'Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,' st. xxii.
'The Poems of William Dunbar,' vol. ii.
p. 72.
4 Vide 'Melvill's Diary,' p. 203; and
'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. p. 474, A.D. 1619.
5 'Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,' st. lv.
'The Poems of William Dunbar,' vol. ii.
p. 82.
death.1 Mair, maire, mare, a name given to an officer attending
a sheriff for executions and arrestments, is the Fr. maire
(Gael. maor). The cadies, an interesting class of people, who
acted both as commissionaires and watchmen,2 at times lent a
helping hand to the hangman in the discharge of his duty.
Their name was originally the same with French cadet, which
is also English. It is nearly synonymous with garçon, an
attendant, used both in Scotland and Ireland, into which the
word was imported from France.
1 Vide Welsh's 35th Serm., pp. 29, 43.
'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,' vol. ii. p. 618,
vocibus "Correarius," "Correrius," &c.
2 There is a graphic account of them in
'Fergusson's Poems,' vol. ii. p. 94. See also
Captain Burt's 'Letters from a Gentleman
in the North of Scotland,' &c., vol. i. pp.
26, 27.

CHAPTER XII.
War — Military terms.

CHAPTER XII.
WAR—MILITARY TERMS.
DOWN to the 15th century the art of war in North
Britain seems to have been in a state of infancy.
"These Scottish men," says Froissart, "are right
hardy, through sore travelling in harness and in
war: … they are all on horseback, except a few traundals
and laggers who follow afoot. The knights and squires are
well horsed, and the common people and other on little hackneys
and geldings," &c.
At the end of the 15th century, D. Pedro de Ayala wrote to
his Government: "They have old and heavy artillery of iron.
Besides this, they possess modern French guns of metal, which
are very good. King Louis gave them to the father of the
present king in payment of what was due to him as co-heir of
his sister, the queen of Scotland."1 As to the master-gunners,
they were as usual foreigners — men of the Low Countries.
There was also a Frenchman, surely a Gascon, named
"Guyane."2
1 'Calendar of State Papers preserved at
Simancas,' and published by G. A. Bergenroth,
Henry VII., 1498, vol. i. p. 174.
2 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp.
cxl, ccxvi, 232, 236, 299. Cf. pp. ccxxii, 52,
67.
About 1540, during the reign of James V., the Scottish army
consisted for by far the greatest part of foot-soldiers. All those
whose incomes were below £100 of yearly rent were ordered
to appear on the field clad with a jack, or a halkrick, or brigantine,
gloves of plate, with pesant and gorget. The weapons
were spears, pikes of six ells length, Leith axes, halberds, hand--
bows and arrows, cross-bows, culverins, and two-handed swords.
The leaders were armed in white harness, either light or heavy,
according to their own pleasure, with the weapon becoming
their rank.
A French writer, speaking of the Scotch who came to the
help of Henri IV. (1589-1610), says: "Ils nous appresterent
rire à les voir armez et vestus comme les figures de l'antiquité
representées dans les vieilles tapisseries, avec jacques de mailles
et casques de fer, converts de drap noir comme bonnet de
prebstre, se servant de musette et de hautbois lorsqu'ils vont
au combat."1
There is early mention made of the importation of arms and
armour from France and other parts of the Continent by the
Scottish kings. Thus in the accounts of the Lord Treasurers
of Scotland there is an entry, under the date of the first day of
November 1495, in Edinburgh, regarding a purchase for James
IV. from the French cutler of two baslaris,2 long daggers or
sheathed knives (O. Fr. bazelaires, badelaires).
James IV., however, obtained his armour chiefly from Mun1
'Mémoires du Duc d'Angoulême,' in
Petitot's collection, 1st series, vol. xliv. p.
585.
2 'Compota Thesaurariorum Regum Scotorum,'
vol. i. p. 227. Farther on, pp. 293,
295, occurs the word plumbis, which seems to
mean leaden maces, and to be derived from
the O. Fr. plombée.
cur of Dundee, who belonged to a family which for several
generations had enjoyed a high reputation as armourers.1
James V. devoted much attention to the improvement of
warlike weapons and their importation. Under the date of
2d November 1520, there is an entry relative to a French
armourer who came to North Britain with the Duke of
Albany's servant, the latter having brought to the king a
great horse, i.e., a war-horse.2
In the ninth book of Privy Seal, fol. 96, occurs a letter,
dated Edinburgh, April 1532, to Peris Rowan, Frenchman,
making him principal master-maker and melter of "our Soverane
Lordis guinis and artillziarie" during life.
"Jakkis and his colleagues," the armourers of James V.,
seem to have been Frenchmen. On January 11, 1542, they
were paid £14, 9s. for "ane licht harnes, with dowbill teslettis
and ane stele bonnet, to the Kingis grace."
The well-known lines may be quoted:—
"They saw, slow-rolling on the plain,
Full many a baggage-cart and wain;
And there were Borthwick's sisters seven,
And culverins which France had given."3
James V. did not confine himself to France for arms. A
Dutchman named William Fandik (Vandyke) was the maker
of ordnance. From Flanders, Holland, Germany, and Denmark,
he imported arms of various kinds in great quantities.
1 'Inventaires de la Royne Descosse,' &c.,
p. xiv, note 2; 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,'
vol. i. p. clxxx.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' Prel. Dissert.,
pp. 120, 121 — Leyden's edition.
3 "Marmion," canto iv. st. xxvii.
"He sent to Flanderis and brought home artaillie, pouder
and bullotis, harneise, pickis, and all other kynd of numitioun
pertaining to a prince," &c.1 We read in an account
under the date of December 31, 1540, "Item,
gevin to Charles Murray, for xx hawkbuttis brocht forth
of Ducheland be him, price of the pece half angell nobill:
summa xvij lib."
There can be little doubt but that the nobles2 bought, when
abroad themselves, both arms and armour, as well as imported
them. With such importation of arms and military stores,
especially from France,3 and with the constant intercourse,
particularly of soldiers, between the two countries, one might
expect to find a great number of terms relative to war and
military affairs in the vocabulary of Scotland. Such is the
case, as the following words show:—
A soldier was suddarde, suddart, suddert4 (Fr. soudard,
soudart), and sodiour (O. Fr. sodoier). Aid-mayor seems
to have been adjutant; and commisser (Fr. commissaire)
1 Pitscottie, 'Cronicles,' vol. ii. p. 347.
2 'Rotuli Scottiæ,' vol. ii. p. 207. col. 1;
'The History of the House and Race of
Douglas,' vol. i. p. 205; 'Les Ecossais en
France,' &c., vol. i. p. 205. — A Gaelic poet
quoted in the 4to dictionary of this language,
vocibus "Ceanileach," "Cinnilich," mentions
"Lann Spaineach a-chin-ilich" (the Spanish
blade, of the Islay manufactured hilt), and the
compiler observes that the island of Islay was
famous for such an article. All that we can
say is, that in 'Stewart's Collections of
Gaelic Songs' referred to, the line runs
thus:—
"Lann spainteach, ghorm, dhias-fhada.
See 'Cochruinneacha de Shaolhair nam Bard
Gaëleach: a Choice Collection of the Works
of the Highland Bards, collected in the Highlands
and Isles by Alexander and Donald
Stewart,' p. 152. Dunedin, 1804—8vo.
3 "Then neid thay not to charge the realme of France
With gunnis, galayis, nor uther ordinance;
So that thay be to God obedient," &c.
— Sir David Lyndsay's 'Ep. nuncup.,' Works,
vol. iii. p. 179.
3 Vide Lesley's'Hist. of Scotland,' p. 177,
A.D. 1543; 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 20, A.D.
1570—vol. ii. p. 366, A.D. 1601; 'Burgh
Records of the City of Glasgow,' p. 18, A.D.
1574.
was commissary, a word allied to commess (Fr. commis), a
deputy, and commissary (Fr. commissaire), a commissioner;
whilst commisse clothes were clothes supplied to the soldiers
by the Government they served. Gudget, gudyeat, a servant
attending the camp, is the Fr. gouge, goujat. Garritour,
garitour,1 a watchman, comes from the Fr. garite, "a
sentry, or little lodge for a sentinell built on high " (Cotg.)
Perdews were the enfans perdus, the forlorn-hope; and a light--
horseman bore the name of hargoulet2 (O. Fr. argoulet). Here
may be mentioned the burdowys, men who fought with clubs
(Fr. bourdon, a pilgrim's staff; O. Fr. bordon, a baton). The
great qualification of every soldier, by whatever name denominated,
is bravity (O. Fr. braveté), and he must be bellicous3
(Fr. belliqueux) and battalouss.
Of words applied to parts of an army are the following.
Eschel, escheill, eshele, the division of a corps, is the O. Fr.
eschiele, eschele, a squadron. A small body of men was
called punye, that is, poignée de gens, O. Fr. puignie4; and
garnisoun, besides having the meaning of garrison, has the
meaning of a body of men, and comes from the O. Fr. garnison
(garnement, garnissement), any kind of decking, any
habiliment or provision of war, which comes from garnir, to
provide. Range, the van of an army, is the Fr. rang, rangée;
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 8, A.D. 1569
2 'Sir James Melville's Memoirs,' p. 25, A.D.
1554. Before, p. 16, as well as in Bp. Lesley's
'Hist. of Scot.,' p. 34, we find vincust,
part. pa. for vanquished. Henryson uses the
same in 'The Tod's Confession to Freir Wolf,''
I. 170, p. 133.
3 Bellicon, used in Ayrshire as a blustering
fellow, seems to be derived from Baligant, the
name of a hero of old French romances.
4 'Renart le Nouvel,' l. 7350; 'Le Roman
du Renart,' t. iv. p. 432; G. Douglas, vol.
p. 247.
whilst monstour, munstour, a muster, is from the O. Fr.
monstre, monstrée, a view, show, sight, muster of; monstrer,
to show.
Batail, bat/all (Fr. bataille, order of battle; a squadron) has
also the same meanings as in French.
Of words relating to an army on march and in camp are
barrel-ferraris (Fr. ferrières), casks for carrying on horseback
the drink necessary for an army; and letacampt, lettacamp, lectdecampt1
(Fr. lit-de-camp2).
Sellat3 a head-piece for foot-soldiers, is the Fr. salade (Span.
celada); bassanat, bassanet, basnet, a helmet, the O. Fr. bassinet,
bacinet; whilst tymber,4 tymmer, tymbrell, tymbrill, the crest of
a helmet, is the Fr. timbre. In O. Fr., timbre de crestes means
scallops fluttering upon a helmet.5 Ventaill, the breathing
part of a helmet, is the Fr. ventaille.6
Acton, a leathern jacket strongly stuffed, formerly worn under
a coat of mail, is the O. Fr. auqueton, hoqueton, Prov. alcato, so
named from the cotton (Span. algodon) with which it was stuffed.7
1 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp.
239, 242; 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i, pp. 122*,
273*, 283*, 290*, A.D. 1529-37,
2 As stated by the late Marquis de Laborde,
in his 'Glossaire des émaux,' they termed, in
the 16th century, "lit, chaise, table de camp,
tout objet de ce genre fait pour etre transporté."
We find in Jean Marot's description
of the siege of Peschiera, that Triboulet,
the king's fool, "sous ung list de camp de
peur s'est retiré" ('Les Poésies de Jean
Marot,' p. 142: Paris, 1723—8vo); in another
poem, and in Rabelais, b. ii. ch. xiv., is mentioned
such a piece of furniture in a room
and near a chimney; at last, in an inventory
of the Castle of Edinburgh, A.D. 1578: "allevin
Frenche tymmer beddis furnist with
cleikis and vyssis of yron." — ‘A Collection of
Inventories,' &c., p. 214.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 126, 31.
4 Ibid., ii. 148, 1.
5 See 'Comptes de l'argenterie des rois de
France,' p. 184.
6 G. Douglas, iv. 126, 15.
"De sun osberc li rumpit la ventaille.'
— 'Chanson de Roland,' p. 51, st. xcviii.
l. 1293, 1st edit.
7 G. Douglas, iv. 5, 11; 'Crim. Trials,'
vol. i. p. 282*.
Other forms of the word are hugtone, hugetone, hugtoune cot,
hugtowne, and keton.
Brekanetynis, the same as brigandines, was a kind of scale
armour, so called because it was worn by the light-armed soldiers
named brigands.1
Brasaris, braseris, brazers,2 vambraces, armour for the arms,
comes from the Fr. brassar, brassard, brassal (bras, the arm,
Lat. brachium); and reirbrasseris, armour for the back of the
arms, is compounded of arrière and brassard; and guschet, the
armour for defending the armpit, is the Fr. gousset, a fob or
pocket, from the Fr. gousse. (It. guscio, the husk of peas,
beans, &c.)
Cusché, cussé, armour for the thighs, is the O. Fr. cuissots,
having the same meaning, from cuisse, the thigh. Cussanis
may be the same. Greis, greaves, armour for the legs, is from
the O. Fr. grève, the shin, or shin-bone. Riwell seems to be
a sort of buckler (O. Fr. roelle).
Secret,3 secreit, doublet (Fr. secret), is a coat of mail concealed
under one's ordinary dress.
Patrell,4 defence for the neck of a horse, is the Fr.
poitrail.
1 Vide G. Douglas, ii. 147, 31; 'Crim.
Trials,' vol. i. p. 289*, A.D. 1537. The
word brigan, spelt also briggane and briggant,
existed with brigancie, briganrie, highway
robbery. Vide 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p.
91*, 145; vol. ii. pp. 18, 70, 84, 421, 458,
A.D. 1513-1605. Cf. Pitscottie, 'The Cronicles
of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 314; and Acts,
James IV., 1491, ed. 18,4, p. 226. One,
printed in 1566, has brigantinis.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 267, 21.
3 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 77, A.D. 1577; 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 84,
A.D. 1598, and p. 149, A.D. 1600. It would
seem that, in such an acceptation, the use
of this term had been peculiar to Scotland,
since it is mentioned neither by Du Cange,
Roquefort, nor Grose; still it is undoubtedly
French.
4 G. Douglas, i. 22, 10; iii. 99, 31.
Of warlike instruments in use before the introduction of firearms
deriving their names from the French may be mentioned
spryngald (O. Fr. espringalle), an engine used for throwing
large arrows, &c.; crane (O. Fr. cranequin, graneguin, crenequin),
"an engine for batterie" (Cotg.), a kind of catapult
for throwing large stones, &c.; trebuschet (O. Fr. trebuschet,
trabuc), a balance, an engine of war to throw the weightiest
stones; awblaster1 (O. Fr. arbaleste, Fr. arbalète), which means
both a cross-bow and a cross-bowman; vire, vyre, wyre2 (O. Fr.
vire), an arrow;3 querell (O. Fr. quarrel, quarel, Fr. carreau),
a dart or arrow for a cross-bow; whilst budge, a kind of bill, is
the O. Fr. bouge, boulge, bong-eon. Gissarme, gyssarn, gissarne,
gittarn, githern,4 a hand-axe or bill, is the O. Fr. guisarme,
(Prov. jusarma, gusarma); glaif,5 a sword, the Fr. glaive;
stok,6 a sword, the Fr. estoc; and poyntal, a sharp sword
or dagger, the O. Fr. punchal, a dagger, — Fr. pointeau,
poinçon; whilst battar-ax, a battle-axe, has its source in the
Fr. battre.
Of the different kinds of ordnance may be mentioned the
bassil (Fr. basilic, "très-gros canon portant 160 livres de balle,
et nommé d'après le serpent"), a long cannon; botcard, apparently
the same as battard, battart, batter (O. Fr. bastarde),"a
demi-cannon or demi-culverin; a smaller piece of any kind;"
1 G. Douglas, iv. 69, 4.
2 Ibid., ii. 260, 12.
3 Arrows were, it seems, imported from
Scotland as articles of virtu: "A son retour
[le duc de Vendôme] repassa à Bourdeaux, la
vale le pourvoit de vins et vivres, luy fait
present de beaux arcs et fleches d'Escosse,
que ledit prince receut avec contentement.
On usoit de cette sorte de present anciennement
entre les roys et princes." — Darnal,
Chronique bordeloise,' ann. 1550, p. 66.
4 G. Douglas, iii. 198, 19; iv. 589, 18.
5 Ibid., ii. 151, 15.
6 Ibid., iii. 129, 9.
saikyr, half-saikyr (Fr. sacra), "the hawk, and the artillerie so
called," says Cotgrave, a kind of cannon smaller than a demi--
culverin; and pasuolan, pasvoland (Fr. passevolant), a species of
small artillery. Murdresar (Fr. meurtrier), besides meaning
a murderer, means also a large cannon. Curtald, a kind of
cannon, is the O. Fr. courtault, "a kind of short piece of
ordnance used at sea." Flask, the frame for a piece of ordnance,
is the Fr. flasque, which signifies the same thing, as
well as its carriage; whilst roche may correspond to roche de
feu, a cartridge, and rothe in the expression "the rothe of
the culwering" seems to be the Fr. rouet, "platine à rouet,
ancienne platine d'arme à feu portative."1
Of smaller firearms was the hagbut of croche, or crochert
(O. Fr. haquebute, harquebuze, arquebute à croc, Fr. arquebuse
à croc), the arquebuss. The origin of the word is the Dutch
haeck-buyse, haeck-busse, compounded of haeck, the hook or
forked rest on which it is supported, and busse (Ger. büsche,
a rifle). Hagbut of founde, hacquebut of found, seems to be
the same arm; and hagbutar is a musqueteer. Forcat, foirchet,
the rest for a musket, is the Fr. fourchette, "a forket
or small fork, also a musket-rest," according to Cotgrave; and
bandroll, bendrole, bedroll, the rest for a heavy musket, is the
Fr. banderole; whilst a ball was named pallet, pellock (Fr.
pelote, a little ball). Powder was poulder,2 pulder, puldir (O. Fr.
pouldre, Fr. poudre); and a powder-flask, powder-flaccat (Fr.
1 'Littré's 'Dictionnaire,' sub voce.
2 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 10, A.D. 1574. In a 'Collection of Inventories,'
&c., p. 260, we find in 1578, "seven
barrellis of Frenche cannon poulder" in the
castle of Edinburgh; and puldir in G.
Douglas, ii. 104, 14.
flasque à poudre); and to discharge or let off was delash (O. Fr.
delascher).1
Of words relating to the meeting of hostile troops may be
mentioned the following. Assemblé means battle, and to assemble,
to join battle (Fr. assembler). Skarmusche, a skirmish,
is the Fr. escarmouche. Entremellys (Fr. entremêler), as well
as poynye, poynhé, poyhné, ponyhé (O. Fr. poignée), has the same
meaning. Demelle (Fr. (démêler), and cownter (Fr. contre), have
both the meaning of rencontre. Stour, stoure, stowr, sture,2
which among its many meanings has that of battle, is the O.
Fr. estour; and stramash, a broil, a riot, estramaçon. Batterie, a
fight, is the same word in French; and bourd3 (Fr. bourd, contracted
from behourt, behort, behourd, a kind of lance used in a
joust, behourdis) means, at least in one instance, a serious and
fatal encounter. Frape4 (Fr. frapper), and battan (Fr. battre),
both mean to strike, and countercoup (Fr. contre, and coup) to
overcome; and,
"When the battle's lost and won,"
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. pp. 36, 485; vol.
iii. pp. 70, 78; A.D. 1609, 1610.
"Cannonier, sont les engins près?
Le Cannonier. Il n'y faut que bouter le feu;
Vous me verrez tout delascher."
— 'Le Mystère de S. Louis,' p. 204.
2 G. Douglas, iv. 58, 8.
3 "The bourd of Brechen" (Gordon, 'A
genealogical History of the Earldom of
Sutherland,' &c., sect. xxi. p. 167). This designation
alludes to the ancient tournaments;
but it is evidently used ironically, perhaps
with the intention to play upon bourd, boure, a
jest, a scoff ('Redgauntlet,' ch. v., and Ben Jonson,
'Catiline,' Act i. sc. I), which is the Fr.
subst. bourde, and which gave rise to a verb,
bourder, meaning the same, as well as mistake
('Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol. 130
verso), and nearly synonymous with to gab
(O. Fr. gaber).
4 Row, 'A Cupp of Bon-Accord, or Preaching,'
&c., p. 5, 1828—4to; 'The Pistill of
Susan,' st. 23. To frape occurs also in old
English. Vide 'Richard Cœur-de-Lion,' ap.
Weber, 'Early English Metrical Romances,'
vol. ii. p. 99.
the camp-followers and others begin to pilyie (Fr.piller); and
before the trew (O. Fr. treu, Fr. trêve), the truce, or abstinence
(Fr. abstinence) can come, and the tyrement of the dead be completed,
many a brave lies pilleit (Fr. pillé). If the war is to be
continued, however, one must recrue, recreu (Fr. recroître)
the oist (O. Fr. ost).
Wiage, wyage, waage, a military expedition, is the Fr. voyage;
and every army is accompanied by a rabble — pettail, pittal (Fr.
pitaud, a clown, pietaille), and has wageouris (O. Fr. gageurs),
hired soldiers, who are occasionally employed for special
services.1 Jeperty, jupperty (Fr. jeu parti), is a warlike enterprise.

Pennon, a small banner, penseil, pensall,2 pinsel, a small
streamer borne in battle, are of the same origin (O. Fr.
penoncel, pannoncel, a flag; Fr. panonceau, pennon, pannon; It.
pennone; Lat. penna). Cornett, the ensign of a company of
cavalry, is the Fr. cornette, a cornet of horse, and the ensign
of a horse company. Enseinyie, ensenye, ansenye, enseynye, a
standard, and also a company of soldiers, is the Fr. enseigne,
a distinctive mark (Lat. insignia). The word, both in Scotch
and French, was used to signify the cry which was used in
battle to encourage the troops on different sides:—
"Than mycht men her enseynyeis cry,
And Scottis men cry hardely,
On thaim! On thaim! On thaim! they faile."3
1 'Compota Thesaurariorum Regum Scotorum,'
vol. i. p. xxiii.
2 Vide 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
pp. 116, 117, A.D. 1579.
3 'Bruce,' ix. 385.
"Quant ces unt jà crié l'enseigne de Vedsci,
E 'Glanville, chevaliers!' e 'Baillol!' autresi,
Odinel de Umfranville relevad le suen cri."1
When the wiage was finished, then came the division of the
bowtane, butin, buting 2 (Fr. butin).
Of words relating to fortifications are battaling, batteling
(Fr. bastille), a battlement, which might be quernallit (Fr.
crénelé); bastailye, bastile, bastel, a bulwark, a fortress; fousse,
fousy (Fr. fosse), a ditch; balye (Fr. bayle, a barricade), a space
on the outside of the ditch of a fortification, commonly surrounded
by strong palisades; machicoules (O. Fr. machicolis;
Fr. mâchecoulis, mâchicoulis), openings or holes in the floor of a
projecting battlement, through which stones and other articles
of destruction might be thrown upon those who were making
the salt, sawt (O. Fr. saut; Fr. assaut). Bartizan, bertisene
(O. Fr. bretesche, bretèche), is a battlement on the top of a
house, castle, &c., — a word still in use in the north to mean a
strong, rough-and-ready defence of any kind.
When an enemy was to hostay (O. Fr. ostoier) or assege (Fr.
assiéger) a castell, the castelwart used every endeavour to
ramforce, ranforce (Fr. renforcer) it, to
"Bring schot and other apparail,3
And gret warnysone of wictaill,"4
1 'Fantosme's Chronicle,' Surtees Society
edition, p. 80, l. 1776. Cf. Du Cange's Dissertations,
xi. and xii. ('Du Cry d'armes,'
and 'De l'Usage du Cry d'armes'), in his edition
of Joinville's 'Histoire de S. Louys,' pp.
203-221.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 228, Leyden's
Edition; 'Sir J. Melvill's Memoirs,' p.
25; Lesley, 'Hist. of Scot.,' pp. 181, 192.
3 Fr. appareil.
4 G. Douglas, vol. iii. 134, 21; pp. 247,
21; 248, 8.
to warnys (Fr. garnir) it in all possible ways. When the
enemy were ready to sailye or assailyie (Fr. assaillir) the castell,
the warison (Fr. guerre, and son) was sounded, and the soldiers
sheltered themselves with the pauis, pavis1 (Fr. pavois, which
some derive from Pavia, because such large shields were first
made in that city), the testudo; and the archers, while they
made the arrows dag (Fr. daguer) like rain on the enemy,
protected themselves with mantillis (Fr. mantelets), large
shields; whilst the besieged during the assege continued, as often
as possible, to sort (Fr. sortir), and make sailyes (Fr. saillies)
on the besiegers.
1 Du Cange's 'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,'
vol. v. p. 150. col. 3. and vol. vii. p. 256. col.
I; and Littré's 'Dictionnaire de la langue
française,' t. iii. p. 1018, col. 3, voce "Pavois."

CHAPTER XIII.
Sea Terms.

CHAPTER XIII.
SEA TERMS.
IN 1249, when the Earl of St-Pol and Blois was
preparing to accompany Louis IX. of France in
his memorable expedition to the Holy Land,1
he had built for him at Inverness a ship which
Matthew Paris pronounces to be marvellous. Professor C.
Innes seems inclined to presume that the place was probably
chosen for the convenience of easy access to the Highland
pine-forests, and that the master builders were some of the
cunning artists of Flanders, or the more distant Marseilles or
Genoa, for the armament was fitted out from all these ports.2
There is no other evidence of the building of ships of war
in Scotland after this period for a considerable time; and it is
highly probable that the successors of Alexander III. and
their subjects either used to buy ready-made bottoms, or found
it cheaper and more convenient to apply to foreign shipyards
for making and fitting out their vessels, particularly to Flanders,
Normandy, or Portugal.
1 'Historia Major,' p. 772, I. 1; 'Les
Ecossais en France.' vol. i. p.33.
2 'Scotland in the Middle Ages,' ch. viii.
pp. 234, 235: Edinburgh, 1860—8vo.
In the reign of James III., Bishop James Kennedy "beggit
ane schip called the bischopis barge;"1 and James IV. paid
great attention to ship-building,2 and used every means to have
a navy. Among his "mony servitours" he had—
"Beildaris of barkis and ballingaris,
And schip wrichtis hewand upone the strand."
On May 1st, 1509, he applied to the Countess of Nevers,
desiring her, in accordance with the letters of Louis XII.,
King of France, to make restitution of a Portuguese ship belonging
to Robert Bertoun, driven ashore by tempest within
the county of Eu.3 Three years afterwards he wrote to the
officers of the French ports, especially Rouen and Dieppe, to
inform them that three of his subjects — John Bertoun, John
Balzarde, and William Cristell — were appointed his factors for
ships and naval armaments, corn and other necessaries, and
had received letters from the King of France to import such
things to Scotland.4 It was most requisite to restore the
Scottish fleet, which, after having been in a very satisfactory
state, was utterly destroyed at the time.5
In the same year (1511) the king (James IV.) "buildit a great
schipe called the Micheall, quilk was ane verrie monstruous
great schip; for this schip tuik so meikle timber, that schoe
wasted all the woodis in Fyfe except Falkland wood, by the
1 Pitscottie's 'Cronicles,' vol. i. p. i67.
2 'Remonstrance to the King,' II. 11 and
13; among Dunbar's Poems, vol. i. p. 145.
3 British Museum, King's Library, 13, B.
ii. 56.
4 'Compota Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp.
ccxxv-ccxxviii.
5 See 'Les Ecossais en France,' &c., vol. i.
ch. xi, pp. 328, 329; cf. p. 427.
timber that cam out of Norway. For many of the wrightis in
Scotland wrought at hir, and wrightis of uther countries had thair
devyse at hir; and all wrought bussilie the space of ane yeir at
hir. This schip was twelff scoir footis lenth; threttie-sax foott
within the wallis: schoe was ten foot thik within the wallis of
cutted risles of oak, so that no cannon could doo at hir," &c.1
In the following century a ship-owner of the same family
name, Charles Berthon, sailing to Spain with his partner
Jacques Michaud, undoubtedly a Frenchman, was robbed on
sea by a Portuguese captain named Pedro Legañez, settled
in Holland.2
When James V. went to France to bring home his bride, he
had a squadron of seven ships. With his queen Magdalene he
received many and costly gifts from her royal father, Francis I.
Among those gifts were two ships, provided with cannons and
culverings, with hagbuts of found and cross-bows, with all other
ordinance and weapons. "Quhan thir schipes war weill prepared,
the King of France presented tham to the King of
Scotland, to use thame as he thought guide … The ane of
thame was called the Sallamander, and the uther the Morischer.
The King of Scotland had two of his awin at that tyme; the
ane of thame was called the Marrivillibe, and the uther callit
the Great Lyon, … so that this young queine brought ane
infinite substance in Scotland with hir."3
When James sent to bring his second bride, Mary of Guise,
widow of the Duke of Longueville, from France, he caused
1 Pitscottie's 'Cronicles,' vol. i. pp. 256,
257.
2 See 'Recueil des lettres missives de
Henri IV.,' &c., tom. vii. p. 449.
3 Pitscottie's 'Cronicles,' vol. ii. pp. 371,
372.
prepare hastily a navy of ships, and appointed the Lord Maxwell
admiral thereof, with other lords and barons to the number
of ten thousand, by the king's own household, who passed
in company with the king himself.
Though the commercial intercourse with the Continent took
place chiefly with Flemish seaports, there was considerable
trade with France, and there were not wanting attempts in
later times to foster the trade between the two countries, as
the following document shows:—
"Les Srs. Boyd, marchand à Bordeaux, et Arbutnot, natif
d'Ecosse, marchand et bourgeois de Roüen, representent les
avantages qui reviendroient au royaume s'il plaisoit à sa Majesté
de leur accorder les passeports qu'ils demandent, tint
pour les vaisseaux ecossois qui viendroient charger en France
des marchandises du creu du Royaume, que pour les vaisseaux
françois qu'ils voudront envoyer charger en Ecosse pour en
tirer diverses marchandises dont nous avons besoin; sur quoy
it a été observé:—
"Que par les passeports que le Roy peut donner pour faciliter
et favoriser ce commerce avec les Ecossois, on peut les
inviter à venir prendre en France ce que nous avons qui leur
convient.
"Que si leurs droits d'entrée sur les marchandises de France
ne sont pas plus forts à present que ceux qui se levoient à
Londres en 1653, lorsque nos marchandises étoient aportées
en ceste ville-là pour le compte d'un marchand anglois, on
pourroit accorder aux Ecossois des facilités pour leur commerce
avec la France.
"Qu'on pourroit exempter les vaisseaux écossois du droit de
50f par tonneau, ainsi que le Roy en a exempté les Suedois et
les Danois, afin de faire voir par-là aux Anglois que nous
voulons bien commercer avec nos voisins, puisque nous nous
mettons dans cette pratique pendant la guerre.
"Qu'on ne risqueroit rien par une pareille demarche, puisque
le Roy ne tire aucuns droits des productions d'Ecosse qui ne
viennent point en France, les vaisseaux danois qui nous aportent
du saumon, au lieu de celuy d'Ecosse, estant exempts du
droit de fret, et la moderation des drois estant necessaire pour
les interests des fermes du Roy et pour le commerce de ses
sujets, nos pesches et nos manufactures ne souffrant aucun
dommage de ce qui vient d'Ecosse, car nous ne peschons
point de saumon ….
"Et après diverses reflexions faites sur touter ces observations,
il a été arresté que les députés de Rouen et de Bordeaux
écriroient aux négocians de ces deux villes qui ont quelque
commerce et relation en Ecosse, pour les pressentir sur les
veües qu'ils peuvent avoir dans le commerce à faire avec les
Ecossois, et sur l'esperance dont ils pourroient se flatter qu'il ne
seroit peut--estre pas impossible que le Roy ne les favorisast de
quelque exemption de droits pour l'avantage reciproque de
ce commerce,"1 &c.
1" Messrs Boyd, merchant at Bordeaux, and
Arbuthnot, a native of Scotland, merchant and
citizen of Rouen, make known the advantages
which would accrue to the kingdom if it
should please his Majesty to grant them the
passports which they ask, as well for Scotch
vessels which would come to load in France
merchandise, the product of the kingdom, as
for French ships which they wish to send to
Scotland to bring cargoes of the different
kinds of goods of which we are in want.
Upon which observations have been made:—
''That by the passports which the King can
give in order to facilitate and favour this commerce
with the Scotch, one can invite them to
come and take in France that which we have
to suit them.
"That if the custom-house duties on French
It has been already said that merchants went twice a-year to
Bordeaux1 to sell cured fish and hides, and to purchase wines as
well as other commodities. Bayonne was visited, and furnished
hams.2 Dieppe and Brignoles exported "plome dames."
Saint-Jean-de-Luz must have also been visited. At this port,
as well as at Bayonne, the Scottish sailors must have often seen
the fitting out and the sailing of the whale-ships that hailed
from these ports. It may be that some of them joined those
adventurers in search of such profitable booty in the Northern
seas.
The vocabulary of the Scottish sailor has been enlarged
from the French language to some extent.
Ballingar, ballingere, is the O. Fr. ballenger, balengniere, Fr.
goods are not at present heavier than those
which were enforced at London in 1653,
when our goods were brought to that city
to account of an English merchant, it would
be possible to grant to the Scotch facilities
for their trade with France.
"That the Scotch bottoms could be freed
from the duty of £2 per ton, as the King has
exempted the Swedes and Danes from it, in
order to show thereby to the English that
we are willing to trade with our neighbours,
since we have adopted such a course during
the war.
"That no risk would be run by such a
step, since the King draws no duties from the
products of Scotland which do not come to
France, the Danish vessels which import
hither salmon, instead of that of Scotland,
being free of freight duty, and the abatement
of duties being necessary for the King's revenue
and the commerce of his subjects, our
fisheries and manufactures suffering no injury
from Scottish importations, as we catch no
salmon …
"And after various remarks on all those
observations, it has been resolved that both
the delegates of Rouen and Bordeaux should
write to the merchants of those cities who
have any trade and intercourse with Scotland,
to sound them on the views which they may
have on the commerce likely to be driven
with the Scotch, and on the hope wherewith
they might flatter themselves that possibly the
King would favour them with some exemption
from custom-house duties for the mutual benefit
of that commerce," &c. — Reg. du Conseil
de Commerce,' F. 12, 51, folio 282 recto. Du
mercredy, 30 juillet 1704.
1 Introduction, p. 8.
2 The Bayonne hams are mentioned with
plome dames (plums), in 'The Customs and
Valuation of Merchandises,' A.D. 1612; 'The
Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p. 311.
baleinier (Lat. balæna, a whale), — a name, no doubt, adopted
from the whale-ships of Bayonne.1
"On to the se he [Gathelus] bownit sone agane,
With bark and boit, barge and ballingar,
With tow and takill, anker, saill, and air."2
Such a kind of ship was in use in Biscay, the inhabitants of
which were always addicted to whale-fishing:—
"Les Bisquins à douze vesseaux,
Nommez vivates balleniez,
Si y vindrent à grans monceaux," &c.3
Ballance,4 a kind of vessel, is the Fr. balancelle.
Aspyne, some sort of a boat, owes its origin to the word current
in old Guienne, and corresponds to the Fr. sapine.
Carwell,5 kerval, kervell, is the Fr. caravelle.6
carvall are other forms of the word:—
"This nobill man, most gudlie till avance,
Provydit hes ane navin than rycht large,
Of craik and carvill, collvin, bark and barge."7
1 Jamieson has quoted an old manuscript
belonging to the Herald's office referred to
by Du Cange, Walsingham's and Froissart's
chronicles. Vide 'Le Premier Livre des
Chroniques de Jehan Froissart,' &c., ch. viii.
p. 31: Bruxelles, 1863—8vo. This word
occurs also in a letter from Dr Nicholas West
to King Henry VIII., ap. Ellis, 'Original
Letters,' &c., vol. i. p. 67. Whalebone,
made use of for many purposes, was termed
baleen.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland;
or, A Metrical Version of the History of Hector
Bocce.' By William Stewart. Edited
by William B. Turnbull. Vol. i. pp. 8, 9,
11. 278-280. (Rolls Series, A.D. 1858.)
Vide vol. i. p. 122, l. 4078, and p. 347,
l. 10,925.
3 'Les Poësies de Martial de Paris,' &c.,
seconde partie, p. 132: Paris, 1724—8vo.
4 G. Douglas, iv. 108, 30.
5 Ibid., i. 52, 19.
6 Ibid., ii. 147, 27; 235, 23.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 216, ll. 7006-7008. Vide p. 347, l.
10,926.
Cabar, gabert, a lighter, a vessel for inland navigation, is the
O. Fr. gabarre, Fr. gabare.
Passingeoure,1 a ferry-boat, is the O. Fr. passageur (Lat.
passagerius, a ferryman).
Fuksaill is a stay-sail (Fr. foc, "voile triangulaire qui se
déploie entre le mât de misaine et le beaupré, le long d'un étai
ou d'une draille; " Germ. fock; Dutch fok; Swed. föck; Dan.
fok); and mussall is the mizzen-sail (Fr. misaine, the sail of
the mizzen-mast).
"Tha salit fast that time befoir the wynd,
With fuksaill, topsaill, manesall, mussall, and blynd."2
Vorsa is the Fr. forcez, used in the phrase forcez les voiles,
crowd all sail. "Than the marynalis began to heis vp the
sail, cryand, heisau, heisau. Vorsa, vorsa."3
Holabar is the Fr. haut la barre, helm amidships, in modern
sea language, "steady;" and arryua is the Fr. arrivez, bear
up the helm, bear away: "Than the master cryit on the
rudir man, mait keip ful and by (près et plein), a luf. Cumna
hiear. Holabar, arryua. Steir clene vp the helme, this and
so.". 4
The ribs or timbers of a ship went at times by the name of
wrangis, wrangwiss5 (Fr. varangues); whilst its cabin was cahute,6
kahute (Fr. cahute), its tackling cordale (O. Fr. cordaille), its small
1 G. Douglas, iii. 34, 18.
2 William Stewart, 'The Buik of the Croniclis
of Scotland,' vol. i. p. 20, II. 683, 684.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 41, ll.
5, 6. Edited by J. A. H. Murray.
4 Ibid., p. 41, ll. 19-22.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 265, 24.
6 "Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy," l.
449 ('Poems of W. Dunbar,' vol. ii. p. 82).
Cahute means also a small or private apartment
of any kind. Vide Jamieson's Dictionary,
and G. Douglas, ii. 116, 15.
studding-sails bonettis,1 in sing. number bonat (Fr. bonnette).
The crew of the vessel was equipage,2 kippage (Fr. equipage),
and its captain sometimes bore the name of patrone,3 patroun
(Fr. patron4). Patroune seems to have had much the same
meaning at times as admiral of a fleet. The following entry
of the Treasurer of James V. points to this meaning: August
1539. — "Item, for ane silver quhissil, with ane lang chenze,
quhilk wes gevin at the Kingis command to the patroune of
the schippis, weyand xj vncis iij quarteris of ane vnce, ix lib.
ijd." "Item, for the fassoune of the samyne, iij lib."
Bawburd (Fr. bâbord) is larboard.
Pourbossa is the Fr. pour bosser, and probably means stopper
the cable: "Pourbossa, pourbossa. Hail al ande ane, hail al
ande ane. Hail hym vp til vs, hail hym vp til vs."5
Caupon is the Fr. capon, the cat-tackle, and serrabossa, the
Fr. serrebosse, the shank-painter: "Than quhen the ankyr
vas halit vp abufe the vattir, ane marynel cryit, and al the
laif follouit in that sam tune, caupon caupona, caupon caupona.
Caupun hola, caupun hola. Caupun holt, caupun holt.
Sarrabossa, sarrabossa. Than thai maid fast the schank of the
ankyr."6 Is holt the O. Fr. hault?
Often after the "marynalis"
"Leit saillis fall and passit of the raid,"7
1 G. Douglas, ii. 274, 52; 'Compota Thes.
Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp. 254, 300.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. pp. 571, 572, A.D.
1624.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 231, 22; 233, 5.
4 "Un quidan aussi m'est venu dire
Qu'un certain maître de navire
(Maître, c'est-à-dire patron)," &c.
— Loret, 'La Muze historique,' liv. xv., lettre
xlviime p. 186, col. 2.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 40, ll.
19, 20.
6 Ibid., p. 40, ll. 20-25.
7 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. i. p. 122, l. 4083.
or rade (Fr. rade), the ship had to travisch, travish (Fr. traverser)
to every airt, airth, art, arth (Fr. aire), and the "kippage"
on again reaching land no doubt were thankful that
there had been no abordage (Fr. abordage) by "sea-scoumers."1
Heisau,2 a sea-cheer, is from the Fr. hisser (in nautical language,
to hoist).
Jorram, a boat-song, may be the Fr. je rame, I am rowing,
— very likely the beginning, or the burden of a popular song.
The word cashmaries — that is, those who drive fish from the
sea through the villages — is derived from chasser, to drive, and
marée, which signifies not only tide, but also sea-fish. If the
name is comparatively modern, the custom is old enough; for
we find that the venders of fish at Kelso and Roxburgh
brought it thither in waggons as early as the time of William
the Lion.3
The word forsaris, galley-slaves, comes from the O. Fr. forsaire,
which has the same meaning in Cotgrave's Dictionary
and elsewhere.4
1 Vide p. 176.
2 Vide 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p.
41, l. 6.
3 Innes, 'Sketches of early Scotch History,'
p. 189, col. 2.
4 "Forcere ou forçat, gaillien." — 'Les Epithetes
de M. de la Porte, Parisien,' fol. 179
recto and 188 recto: Lyon, 1592 — small
12mo.
CHAPTER XIV.
Music and Musical Instruments.

CHAPTER XIV.
MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
SCOTLAND has always enjoyed a reputation for
songs and dances. The royal family of the
Stuarts fostered music, and gave all encouragement
to the cultivation of it. Of James I. (1406--
1437) it is said: "Musicæ omnis generis, ac in primis cytharæ
pulsandæ exquisitissimam rationem tenebat."1 He could sing
and accompany himself on several musical instruments. He
was the author of several pieces of music. "Noi ancora possiamo
connumerar trà nostri Jacopo re di Scozia, the non pur
cose sacre compose in canto, ma trovò da se stesso una nuova
musica lamentevole, e mesta, differente da tutte l'altre."2 He
was not content with being skilled in music himself, but exerted
his royal power in fostering music in his kingdom.
"In musick befoir quhairof thair wes bot lyte,
Into his tyme richt cunnyng and perfyte
In that science fra sindre partis brocht he,
And causit thame for till authorizit be.
Quhilk ay sensyne, as that my author schew,
The langar ay to moir perfectioun grew."3
1 'Leslæus,' p. 277.'De Origine et
Rebus gestis Scotorum,' l. vii. c. 101.
2 Tassoni, 'Dieci Libri di Pensieri diversi,'
I. x. c. 23, p. 664, ed. Venet. 1627—4to.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland;
or, A Metrical Version of the History of HecBut
he did more for the cultivation of music among his
subjects—
"He wes the first, as ze sall wnderstand,
Organis gart mak, or bring into Scotland,
With sic plesance in Goddis seruice plais;
The quhilk ar vsit now intill thir dais
Continewallie, as it is zit to ken,
With moir perfectioun of richt cunnyng men."1
Of James III. (1460-1488) Pitscottie says: "The King
… delighted more in musick and policie, and building,
nor he did in the government of his realme; … and
delighted more in the playing of instrumentis nor in the defence
of the borderis," &c.2
"The King [James IV., 1488-1513] caused tak great cair
upon the upbringing of thir bodies in on personage, and caused
learne thame to sing and play upoun instrumentis, who within
schort quhill became verie ingenious and cunning in the airt
of musick, that they could play upoun any instrument, the one
the tenor, and the other the tryble, very melodiouslie," &c.3
Among his "mony servitours" he had "musicians, menstralis,
and merrie singaris." The Lord Treasurer's books
give many curious entries regarding musicians and musical
instruments. The King himself was skilled both in vocal and
instrumental music. "Item (the first da of Julij 1489), to
Wilyeam, sangstar of Lythgow, for a sang he brocht to the King,
be a precep, x lib." "Item (the sivnt day of December 1496),
tor Boece.' By William Stewart. Vol. iii.
p. 540, ll. 60, 494-60, 499. (Rolls Series, A.D.
1858.)
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
&c., vol. iii. p. 540, ll. 60, 500-60, 505.
2 'Cronicles,' vol. i. pp. 177, 178.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 247.
to Johnne Jameson, for a lute to the King, vjs. viijd." "Item
(the viij day of Julij 1503), for ane lute and ane pair of monocordes,
brocht hame to the King be William Brounhill, quhilk
cost in Flandris xlvs. gret; and giffin tharfor vj lib. xvd." In
1498 the sum of 13s. was paid "for ane quhissil to the King."
The King, in his different journeys from one part of his
dominions to another, was in the habit of carrying an organ
with him, and there are frequent payments for "tursing the
organ." In 1494-95 an organ had to be sent to Stirling. In
1497 the sum of ixs. was paid for "tursing the Kingis organis
betuix Striuelin and Edinburgh." In 1502 John Goldsmith
received vijs. viijd. "for ane cais to turs the organis in." John
Goldsmith, in Inverness, appears on several occasions in connection
with the carrying of the organ from one place to
another. "Item, the xx day of October (1503), in the
Canonry of Ross, to Johnne Goldsmytht for tursing of the
organis to Tayne, and hame againe, iiij lib." In 1506 he
makes his appearance in Eskdale, occupied in the same
work.
Musicians formed part of the royal household. A "Frenche
quhissilar " was at Court about the beginning of the sixteenth
century. In 1506 ten French crowns were given him "to
pass his way." During the same year there were at Court
four Italian schawmeris, sometimes appearing under the designation
of "iiij childer chawmeris." Julian Drummond was
attached, as player on the tuba ductilis, to the household of
both James IV. and V.
Harpers of various nations formed part of the royal house--
hold, and occasionally there were competitions between them.
Vocal music was cultivated, and formed one of the king's
pleasures. "Item, on Moninda the ij° Januar (1492), to Schir
Thomas Galbreytht, Jok Goldsmytht, and Crafurd, for the
singyn of a ballat to the King in the mornyng, iij vnicornis,
ij li. xiiijs."
Women had the honour of appearing before the King.
'Item (the xxiiij day of Maij 1496, in Striuelin), to ij wemen
that sang to the King, xiiijs." "Item (the xxj day of Junij), to
tua wemen that sang to the King, xiiijs."
James V. (1513-1542), like his predecessors, patronised
music. "Then thair was nothing bot mirrines, banquetting,
and great chear, and lovelie commoning betwixt the Kingis
grace and the fair ladies, with great musick, and playing on
instrumentis, and all uther kynd of pastime for the feildis, with
lutis, shalmes, trumpettis, and organes," &c.1
Of the servants of the royal household were five Italian
minstrels, four minstrels that played on viols, four on trumpets
of war, and two on "the Swiss drum." "Frenche talbanaris
and menstralis"2 also appear at Court.
Music held a high place at the Court of Mary (1542-1567).
The Queen herself was an expert in music, took great delight
in it, and no doubt often soothed her cares by listening to
some sweet singer or player. The name of Rizzio is only too
well known. Whether a Savoyard3 or not, he is said to have
1 Pitscottie's 'Cronicles,' James V., vol.
ii. p. 364.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 267, A.D. 1517.
— Such musicians were also called taboring,
tabroner, taburner, talbonar, talburnar, taubronar,
tawbonar. Vide pp. 28, 123, 273,
409; 'Sir James Melville's Memoirs,' p. 346,
A.D. 1585 (musicians instead of taboringis, ed.
1735, p. 384); and 'Dom. Ann. of Scot.,' vol.
i. p. 91.
3 Irvin, 'Historiæ Scoticæ Nomenclatura,'
&c., p. 204: Edinbruchii, M.CIƆ.LXXXII.—8vo.
received his education in France, and the French ascribe to
him the composition of several of their popular airs of uncertain
parentage — with what truth we know not. "Rizzio est
l'auteur d'un grand nombre d'airs que tout le monde chante,
sans qu'on sache de qui ils sont, comme 'M. le Prevôt des
marchands,' 'Notre curé ne veut donc pas,' &c."1
The number of musical instruments in use in Scotland was
considerable, as the following extracts show:—
"Item (the xviij day of Merch 1497), to thir menstralis,
giffin for thar Pasch reward, in the first to Thom Pringil
and his broder, trumpatouris, xxviijs. Item, to Adam Boyd,
fithelar, and Mylstom the harpar, xxviijs. Item, to Jacob,
lutar, at the Kingis command, xxviijs. Item, to Ansle,
the tawbronare, ixs." "Item (the xix day of Merch 1498,
in Dunbertane), to the man that playit to the King on
the clarsha, be the Kingis command, xiiijs." "Item, that
samyn nicht (xv day of October 1503), in Dunnottar, to the
cheld playit on the monocordes, be the Kingis command, xviijs."
The following extracts add largely to the number:—
"Viols and virginals were heir, —
The seistar and the sumphion,
With clarche pipe and clarion."2
"All thus our lady thay lovit, with lyking and lyst
Menstralis, and musicians, mo than I mene may.
The psaltery, the sytholis, the soft sytharist,
The crovde, and the monycordis, the githyrnis gay;
1 J. B. de la Borde, 'Essai sur la musique
ancienne et moderne,' t. iii. p. 530. Paris,
1780—4 vols. 4to.
2 'Watson's Collection,' vol. ii. p. 6.
The rote and the recordour, the ribue, the rist,
The trumpe, and the talburn, the tympane but tray;
The lilt pype and the lute, the fythil in fist,
The dulset, the dulsacordis, the schalm of Assay;
The amyable organis usit full oft;
Claryonis lowd knellis,
Portativis and bellis,
Cymbaclanis in the cellis,
That soundis so soft."1
G. Douglas mentions also the githorn,2 the sytholl, and the
tympane.3
An old French writer enumerates —
"Trompes, naquaires et bouzins,
Cornemuses et chalemies,
Et menestreus de toutes guises."4
Viol is the French viole, "ancien instrument de musique, qui
avait six cordes de grosseurs inégales et huit touches divisées
par demi-tons: it était de la forme du violon, mais beaucoup
plus grand et plus gros, et it se touchait avec un archet."5
Virginal is the Fr. virginale, "un instrument à cordes et à
clavier." It has been said that the instrument was so named
in honour of Elizabeth, "the virgin queen;" but it was in
existence before 1530.6
Githorn, gythirnis, is the O. Fr. guiterne (Fr. guitare).7
"Si r'a guiternes et leüs."8
1 'The Buke of the Howlate,' by Holland,
st. lxiv.: Edinburgh, 1823—4to.
2 Vol. iv. p. 215, 7.
3 Vol. i. p. 20, 24, 25.
4 'Le Libvre du bon Jehan, duc de Bretaigne,'
1. 851. Cf. l. 2149.
5 Littré's 'Dictionnaire,' sub voce.
6 "Fétis," 'La Musique,' vol. ii. p. 16,
quoted by Littré, sub voce.
7 G. Douglas, iv. 215, 7.
8 'Le Roman de la Rose,' l. 21,287.
Sythol, sythoel, cythol, is the O. Fr. citole (Gr. κιθάρα, which
gives citara, citole); and sytharist likewise comes from cithare.
"Cithare ce est cythole."1
Seistar, a sistrum, is the Fr. sistre.
"J'aurois un cistre d'or, et j'aurois tout auprès
Un carquois tout chargé de flammes et de traits."
Recordour, a kind of wind instrument, is the O. Fr. "recorder,
litell pype, canula." (Prompt. Parv.)
Schalm, in other forms schalim, shalin, shawme, a cornet, is
the O. Fr. chalmie. This musical instrument was much used
in battle.
"On euerie syde the hornis blawand loude
And schalmes schill schouttand bayth loude and cleir,
Quhilk wes ane poynt of paradyce till heir."3
"The Inglismen fra that tyme furth ilk nycht,
Strak watchis maid with bairns birnand brycht,
And buglis blawand hiddeous wes to heir,
And schalmis schill with mony clarione cleir."4
"With this Edward in plane battell tha met,
With schalmes schill schouttand on euerie syde."5
Shalmer appears to have been the same or nearly the same
instrument. "Mary had also a schalmer, which was a sort of
pipe, or fluted instrument, but not a bagpipe."6
Taborne, taburne, talberone, talbrone, talburn, talburne, a
1 See Littré, vol. i. p. 631, col. I.
2 Ronsard, élégie à Marie, l. 65. (Œuvres,
t. ii. p. 191: Paris, 1623—fol.)
3 W. Stewart's 'The Buik of the Croniclis
of Scotland,' vol. iii. p. 256, ll. 50,948-50,950.
4 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 266, ll. 51,285-51,288.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 299, ll. 52,408, 52,409.
Vide vol. iii. p. 24, l. 43,251; vol. i. p. 175,
l. 5726; p. 203, l. 6601; p. 205, l. 6646.
6 Chalmers, 'The Life of Mary, Queen
of Scots,' &c., vol. i. p. 113: Lond., 1822—
8vo
kind of drum, is the Fr. tabourin, dim. of tabour, the old form
of tambour.
"With taborne, trumpet, and mony schalme loud."1
"Trumpet and taburne tunit with sic ane stevin
Quhill all thair noyis rang vp to the hevin."2
"The trumpetis blew and talburnis vpoun hicht."3
Another kind of drum, tympane, thimpand, is the O. Fr.
timpane, tympane. "Prenez ditié, e dunez tympane."4
In the seventeenth century the vielleux, so often mentioned
in the writings of the French contemporaneous authors, was
known in Scotland under the name of violer.5
Sumphion is perhaps the same as the O. Fr. chifonie, symphonic,
and seems to have been a kind of drum.
"Les haulx instrumens sont trop chers,
La harpe tout bassement va;
Vielle est jeux pour les moustiers,
Aveugle chiphonie aura."6
Portative (Fr. portatif) may have been a kind of portable
organ; "Orgues seans et portatives."7
An instrument called swasche,8 swesche, may be mentioned
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 143, I. 4748.
2 Ibid., vol. i. p. 203, ll. 6603, 6604. See
p. 205, l. 6647.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 248, l. 7967. See vol. i.
p. 221, l. 7150.
4 Ps. lxxx. 2. 'Le Livre des Psaumes'
Paris, 1876 — Imprimerie nationale.
5 Lord Fountainhall, 'Chronological Notes
of Scottish Affairs,' &c., 9th June 1685, pp.
132, 133: Edinburgh, 1822—4to.
6 'Poésies morales et historiques d'Eustache
Deschamps,' p. 122: Paris, 1832—4to. Cf.
Cuvelier, 'Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin,'
vol. i. p. 354, l. 10,032.
7 'Histoire littéraire de la France,' vol.
xxiv. p. 752.
8 Vide 'Clariodus,' p. 337, l. 1771; and
'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 30, A.D. 1597-98.
Cf. note 6, which is curious.
here. Jamieson explains it trumpet, and derives it from A.S.
sweg. A conjecture is offered that it is the same as the "Swiss
drum," and that the word is only a corruption of Swiss. The
Swiss were noted for their timbrels.1
"Les Suysses dancent leurs morisques
Atout leurs tabourins sonnans."
Was the bagpipe of French importation? It is open to
conjecture. The instrument was familiar to the ancient Greeks
and Romans. It was common in Germany and in other parts
of Europe at a remote date. It was undoubtedly much used
in France, and a piper formed part of the musical establishment
at Court.
The earliest picture of it which we meet with occurs in an
illuminated French and Latin Psalter of the end of the 12th
century.2 In the cathedral of Noyon there is a cupboard of
the 14th century, on which is carved an angel playing on the
bagpipe.3 In an old manuscript of the "Dance aux Aveugles "
there is an illustration in which a piper is represented playing
on his instrument before two crowned persons. A supposition
was ventured that it referred to one John Fary, a Scotchman,
minstrel to Charles VII. King of France (1422-1461).4
In England the bagpipe was familiar at an early date.
Chaucer's miller could play the bagpipe. Later a "Yorkshire
bagpiper" and "the drone of a Lincolnshire bagpipe" were
familiar in Shakespeare's day.
1 "Le Blason des armes et des dames,"
in 'Œuvres de G. Coquillart,' vol. i. p. 175.
2 Paris Nat. Library, No. 8846, fol. 107
recto and 113 recto.
3 See Didron's 'Annales archéologiques,'
vol. iv. p. 375, June 1846.
4 Vide 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. i. pp.
8 and 185.
In the 16th century the piper held a place in the musical
establishment of the English king, as well as of the leading
English nobles, very likely in imitation of what took place at
the French Court.
When mention is made of a piper at the Scottish Court, he
turns out to be an Englishman. In the 'Accounts of the Lord
Treasurer of Scotland,' there are repeated records of payments
to "Inglis pyparis" who came from time to time to play before
King James IV. Such musicians, like the Scotchman Alexander
Baillie mentioned by Pitscottie under the year 1528,1
were in all probability not bagpipers.
The pipe, which was generally named in association with the
tabor or tambour,2 and was certainly not a bagpipe, was familiar
in Britain as well as on the Continent, and we cannot but think
that it may have been this instrument, quite as probably as the
bagpipe, that Alexander Baillie played.3
1 'The Cronicles of Scotland,' &c., vol. ii.
p. 348.
2 In a MS. of the Nat. Libr., Lat. 8846, fol.
114 recto and 154 verso, occur first a woman,
afterwards an old man, playing on a fife with
one hand and beating a timbrel with the other,
as they do still in the Basque Provinces. That
MS. is of the 13th century, as two others (Nat.
Libr. Suppl. Fr., No. 428, and Libr. of the
Arsenal, B.-L. Fr., No. 175, fol. 284), in
which the same is exhibited. In a farce of the
15th century we read—
"Tout beau et sy la condamne
D'estre en ce jour mené
Avec un tabour et loure."
— 'La Mere, la Fille, le Tesmoing,' &c., in fine.
Loure, which we believe to have been a
kind of oboe, was, in after-times, used as the
designation of the bagpipe, and in Normandy
the latter of those instruments has retained the
name originally given to the former. Vide
Recherches de Philologie comparée sur
l'Argot,' &c., p. 252, col. 2, and p. 403,
col. 2.
3 The anonymous author of the 'Complaynt
of Scotlande,' enumerating eight instruments,
mentions three different sorts of pipes: "The
fyrst," says he, of musical performers, "hed
ane drone bagpipe, the nyxt bed ane pipe
maid of ane bleddir and of ane reid, the third
playit on ane trump, the feyrd on ane corn
pipe, the fyft playit on ane pipe maid of ane
gait horne" (p. 101; cf. Leyden's 'Preliminary
Dissertation,' pp. 139-151). Jamieson,
who quotes that passage (Diet., voce "Corne
Pipe"), seems to believe that the fourth inIn
early times the war-music of Scotland consisted of horns,
trumpets, schalmes, taburnes, and drums, but not of the bagpipe.
Froissart, alluding to such a music, says the Scots made "such
a blasting and noise with their horns that it seemed as if all
the devils in hell had been there."1 The same horn music
is described by Barbour, who is silent about the bagpipe.2
William Stewart thus describes the "countering" of hostile
armies:—
"Ather of vther sone cuming ar in sicht,
With stremaris straucht and standardis vpoun hycht,
With baneris braid, and mony pensall proude,
With schalmes schill, and bugillis blawaud loude,
With trumpet, taburne, and mony clarioun cleir,
With blast of horne, that hiddeous wes till heir,
Schoutand sa schill with sic ane aufull sound,
Quhill that thair dyn gart all the daill redound."3
"The brasin bugulis maid sic busteous beir,
And blast of home, that hiddeous wes till heir;
The schalmis schoutit rycht schill in the schaw,
Trumpet and talburne tunit vpone raw,
Sic ane repit rumor4 and sic ane reird,
Wes neuir hard befoir into this eird."5
strumcnt is a horn pipe — pipeau de corn; but
he ought to have known that there was a muse
de blet or blef; mentioned by Guillaume de
Machault, a poet and musician of the 14th
century (vide B. de Roquefort, 'De l'Etat de
la Poésie françoise dans les xiie et xiiie
siècles,' pp. 106, 130). The distinction between
those four kinds of pipe and the
trump shows clearly that the "doi trompeurs
d'Escoce" spoken of by Froissart are not
"joueurs de cornemuse," as suggested by
the editor of 'Le Premier Livre des Chroniques,'
t. i. p. 103, note to ch. xxxiii.: Bruxelles,
1863—8vo.
1 B. i. part I, vol. ii. ch. 42, p. 30, col. 2:
Buchon's edit. in the 'Panthéon litéraire.'
2 Vide 'The Bruce,' b. xiv. l. 505.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
&c., vol. i. p. 205, ll. 6643-6650.
4 Fr. rumeur.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 221, ll. 7147-7152.
The music at the battle of Harlaw (1411) was the trumpet
and the drum:—
"Panmure, with all his men, did come;
The provost of brave Aberdeen,
With trumpets and with tuck of drum,
Came shortly in their armour sheen."1
The earliest appearance of the bagpipe in Scotland may
be of the 15th century.2 In Roslin Chapel, which was founded
in the year 1446, there is to be seen, in alto-relieve, an angel
playing on a bagpipe; and in Melrose Abbey there is a similar
carving in bas-relief In the beginning of the following century
(1510), Pitcairn3 has an entry relating to the theft of a bagpipe,
which derives an additional interest from the sum of twenty
merks being indicated as the supposed value of the article
stolen.
There is evidence that before the middle of the 16th century
it was used in war. According to a statement made by Jean
1 "The Battle of Harlaw," in 'The Ballads
of Scotland,' by W. E. Aytoun, second ed.,
vol. 1. p. 69, st. xv.: Edin. and Lond., 1559.
— Before the chronicler Brompton (ap. Twysden,
col. 1075, l. 19), Giraldus Cambrensis,
who wrote in the reign of Henry II. of England
and William the Lion of Scotland (towards
the end of the 12th century), in his
Topographia Hiberniæ,' ch. xi. ('Anglica,
Normannica, Hibernica, Cambrica,' &c., p.
739, l. 56), observed that the Scots used three
musical instruments — cythara, tympanus, and
chorus — the last of which W. Dauney, p. 59,
translates by bagpipe. A valuable note of his
'Preliminary Dissertations,' p. 195 a, seems
to have the effect of setting the questio vexata
as to the meaning of chorus (see Du Cange's
'Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin.,' vol. ii. p. 337,
col. 2, sub voce) at rest for ever; but the
Scoti of Giraldus, are they not Irishmen?
See, for the use of the bagpipe, Dauney, pp.
119-129. The first and second chapters of
Dalyell's 'Memoirs,' pp. 5-82, are devoted to
the history of the bagpipe, with illustrations.
2 Vide Burney, 'A General History of
Music,' &c., vol. i. pp. 500, 501, and pl. vi.;
Sir J. G. Dalyell, 'Musical Memoirs of
Scotland,' &c., p. 20, note 4, and pl. i. and
ii.: Edin. and Lond., 1849—410. Cf. the 17th
volume of the 'Archæologia,' p. 176; and
Grove's 'Dictionary of Music,' vol. i. pp. 123--
125: London, 1879—8vo.
3 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 70.
de Beaugué, the Highlanders preparing for action were animated
by the sound of the bagpipe,1 "se servant de musette et
de hautbois lorsqu'ils vont au combat."2
It was used at the battle of Belrinnes (1594), and in the
time of the wars of Montrose it had established itself as a
martial musical instrument. Whatever might have been its
repute as a martial instrument of music, it is clear that in one
place at least it found no favour. There is an entry in the
Town Council Register of Aberdeen, in 1630, by which "the
Magistrates discharge the common pyper of all going through
the toune at nicht or in the morning in time coming, with his
pype, it being an uncivil form to be usit within sic a famous
burghe, and being often fund fault with als weill be sundry
nichtbouris of the tonne als be strangeris."
The musician in many cases took his designation from the
instrument on which he performed.
In 1496 [the xxix day of Junij] the sum of xiiijs. was "giffin
to Guilliam and John Pais, tawbronaris." This word appears
under various forms. Thus in 1502, the sum of 14s. was paid
to "William, the tabronar, to by him quhissilis, by the Kingis
command." In 1503 there is this entry: "Item, the xv day of
October, in Brechin, to the foure Italien menstrales, and the
More taubroner, to thar hors met, xlvs." In 1504 ("the fyrst
day of Januar"), "Item, to the More tabroner, xxviijs." Other
forms of the word are taboring, taburner, talbonar, talbwinar, &c.
1 'L'Histoire de la guerre d'Escosse,' fol.
54: Paris, 1556—4to. We read, "On hieland
pipes, Scottes and Hybernicke," in a poem on
the defeat of the Spanish Armada, by Alexander
Hume, 1598, quoted by Dr Leyden in his
'Preliminary Dissertation on the Complaynt
of Scotlande,' p. 125.
2 'Mémoires du duc d'Angoulême,' in
Petitot's collection, 1st series, t. xliv. p. 585;
'Les Ecossais en France,' &c., t. ii. p. 123.
In 1502 the sum of 43s. was paid "to the cornut (Fr. corneur)
to by him quhissilis, by the Kingis command."
Schalmer was the player on the instrument of the same name;
and he who played on the "quhissil," which seems to have
been a fashionable instrument, was called "quhissil" or
"quhissilar." The name of "Quhissil Gibbon" appears in
the Treasurer's books in 1497.
The sachelaris recorded in the Lord Treasurer's Accounts
for A.D. 1497, as having received nine shillings for having sung
"Gray Steil" to the king,1 were probably itinerant musicians,
perhaps bagpipers, if we may explain their name by two words
borrowed from sac (bag) and O. Fr. loure; but it is as likely
that they were harpers who played with pieces of wood called
poyntatis.2
The names given to the different kinds of music performed
by the Scottish pipers are numerous. One kind bears the
name of port, a catch, or lively tune. "You, minstrel man,
play me a port."3 It is the O. French déport, which signified
amusement.4 Almost every great family had a port named
in its honour, as port Lennox, port Gordon, port Seton, port
Athole.5
1 'Early Metrical Tales,' pref., pp. xiii, xiv.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 53, 4.
3 Samuel Hibbert, 'A Description of the
Shetland Islands,' p. 556: Edin., 1822—4to.
4 Déporter, to amuse one's self.
"Soz une olive se sist por déporter."
— 'Le Roman de Roncevaux,' st. ii. p. 125.
5 Tytler, "Dissertation on the Scottish
Music " in the 'Transactions of the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland,' vol. i. p. 406.—
The Scots also called a gate porte. Vide
'Orpheus and Eurydice,' 1. 386; ap. Henryson,
p. 63.
CHAPTER XV.
Dances.

CHAPTER XV.
DANCES.
THAT Scotland had dances of native growth there
cannot be much doubt. A poem, written before
the times of Dunbar, contains a long list of
dances which seems intended to exhaust all
known in the country. Some of these, from their names,
were introduced from France and other parts of the Continent.
Others of them appear to be of home origin.
A maistir swynhird swanky
And his cousing Copyn Cull
Fowll of bellis fulfull
Led the dance and began
Play us Joly lemmane
Sum trottit Tras aad Trenass
Sum balterit The Bass
Sum Perdowy sum Trolly lolly
Sum Cok craw thou quhill day
Twysbank and Terway
Sum Lincolme sum Lindsay
Sum Joly lemman dawis it not day
Sum Be zon wodsyd singis
Sum Late laite on evinnyngis
Sum Joly Martene wt a mok
Sum Lulalow lute cok
Sum bekkit sum bingit
Sum crakkit sum cringit
Sum movit most mak revell
Sum Symon sonis of Quhynfell
Sum Maistr Pier de Conzate
And vthir sum in consate
At leser drest to dance
Sum Ourfute sum Orliance
Sum Rusty bully with a bek
And every note in vtheris nek
Sum vsit the dansis to deme
Of Cipres and Boheme
Sum The faites full zarne
Off Portingall and Naverne
Sum countirfutit the gyss of Spane
Sum Italy sum Almane
Sum noisit Napillis anone
And vthir sum of Arragone
Sum The Cane of Tartary
Sum The Soldane of Surry
All his dansis desynd
Sum Pretir Johnie of grit Ynd
Sum As the Ethiopis vsit
Sum futit and sum refusit
Sum had dansis mony ma
Wt all the dansis of Asia
Sum of Affrickis age
And principale of Cartage
Thair pressit in Pery Pull
Full of bellis fulfull
Maistr Myngeis The mangeis
Maistr Tyngeis La tangeis
Mr Totis La toutis
And Rousty rottis the routis
Maistr Nykkis La nakkis
And Sr Jakkis La jakk
The Hary hurlere husty
And Calby the curst custy
Mony laddis mony townis
Knowf knois kynnis culrownis
Curris kenseis and knavis
Inthrang and dansit in thravis
Wt thame Towis the mowis
And Hary wt the reid howis
Than all arrayit in a ring
Dansit My deir derling
And all assentit in a sop
To the vse of Ewrop
That for so much that beleuit
That expert and weill preuit
Thay war in the Est warld
As is heir brevly ourharld
Thay conclud the vse plane
Of Ylandis in Ottiane
And of the fermeland of France
And how the Emprior dois dance
Suesis in Suauia syne
And als the Reuir of Ryne
Off Bretane the brod Ile
Off Yrland and Argyle
Burgone and Breband
Hanyngo and Holland
Blanderis1 Freisland and eik
Frandeburt2 and Broinsweik
Dittiner and Baywer," &c., &c.3
A list of Scottish dances popular in the middle of the 16th
century is given in 'The Complaynt of Scotlande'4 "it vas
ane celest recreation to behald ther lycht lopene, galmonding,
1 Flanderis?
2 Brandenburg?
3 "Colkelbie Sow," fitt first, ll. 296-376.
'Select Remains of the Ancient Popular
Poetry of Scotland,' edited by David Laing
Edinburgh, 1822—4to.
4 P. 66, ll. 11-15. Edited by J. A. H.
Murray for the Early English Text Society,
A.D. 1872.
stendling bakuart and forduart, dansand base dansis, pauuans,
galzardis, turdions, braulis and branglis, buffons, vitht mony
vthir lycht dancis, the quhilk ar ouer prolixt to be rehersit."
"Auld lichtfute" seems to have had a home origin as well
as "Ourefute;" and the "country-dance," in which a number of
couples form a double row, and dance a figure from top to
bottom of the row, is looked upon as of native birth.
There is, however, reference to French dances at an earlier
date than that of the poem quoted above. A French knight
in the retinue of Robert the Bruce is represented by Barbour
as exclaiming:—
"— A Lord! quhat sall we say
Off our lordis off Fraunce, that thai
With gud morsellis fayrcis thair pawnchis,
And will bot ete, and drynk, and dawnsis;
Quhen sic a knycht, and sa worthy
As this, throw his chewalry?" &c.1
By the beginning of the 16th century, French dances and
dancers appear to have been quite common. In the accounts
of the Lord Treasurer there are various entries relating to
French dances and performers of them. March 5, 1507-8.
— "To the Frenche menstrallis, that maid ane danss in the
Abbay, be the Kingis command, 12 French crowns, £8, 8s.
Item, to thair dancing cotis to the said dans."
Against December 5th, 1512, is put down a sum of "10
crowns of wecht, £9," paid to the servants of "Monsur La
Mote," the French ambassador, who had danced "ane moriss
1 Barbour's 'Bruce,' b. vi. l. 911; Jamieson's edition, p. 177.
to the King." Another item refers to a bounty of £5, 8s.
given to the same as having performed a moriss before the
king and his queen.
Early Scotch writers make frequent allusion to the introduction
of dances and dancers from France. Thus Sir David
Lyndsay speaks of "ane new pavin of France" and a "gay
gamond of France:"—
"Now hay for joy, and mirth, I dance.
Tak thair ane gay gamond of France."1
"Quhat sayis thou of my gay garmoun?"2
Dunbar, reproaching the king with his foreign and wanton
circle, addresses him thus:—
"Schir, ye have mony servitouris,
Chevalouris, callandaris, and [Frenshe] flingaris,
Monsouris of France, gud clarat cunnaris."3
Elsewhere, describing "a dance in the Quenis chalmer," he
writes:—
"Schir Jhon Sinclair begowthe to dance,
For he was new cum out of France."4
In the "Dance of the sevin deidly sins," he says of one of
them:—
1 'Ane Satyre of the thrie Estaitis,' part
1st: Lyndsay's Poet. Works, vol. ii. p. 130,
l. 10; D. Laing's edit., 1871—post 8vo
2 Ibid., p. 141, l. 15.
3 Dunbar's 'Remonstrance to the King,'
ll. 1, 10, 41; among his Poems, vol. i. pp.
l. 45, 146.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 118.
"He bad gallandis ga graith a gyiss,
And kast up gamountis in the skyiss,
As varlotis dois in France."1
In the "Ballad of kynd Kittok " Dunbar says:—
"My gudame wes a gay wife, bot scho wes rycht gend,
Scho duelt furth fer in to Fraunce," &c.2
At a later period, another rhymer, speaking of the tutors of
a gentleman twenty years old, said:—
"They had resolved to send him unto France
To learn to parle, handle armes, and dance."3
From "Christis Kirk on the Grene" we learn that French
dances were to be seen at country fairs and on village greens:—
"Auld lightfute thair he did forfeit,
And counterfuttet Franss."4
Knox had to lament that in the masques and pageants which
welcomed Mary's entry into her capital, the Reformed burghers
— "fools," as he calls them — aped the style of France. "Great
1 Poems, vol. i. p. 49.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 35.
3 'The Copie of a Barons Court,' p. 19.
Such a passage is illustrated by an anecdote
of the life of Sir Robert Keith, commonly
called, from his diplomatic services,
Ambassador Keith. He was absent from
Edinburgh about twenty-two years, and returned
at a time it was supposed that manners
were beginning to exhibit symptoms of
great improvement. He, however, complained
that they were degenerated. In his early
time, he said, every Scottish gentleman of
£300 a year travelled abroad when young,
and brought home to the bosom of domestic
life, and to the profession in which it might
be his fate to engage, a vast fund of literary
information, knowledge of the world, and
genuine good manners, which dignified his
character through life. — Vide 'Traditions of
Edinburgh,' p. 232, note: Edin. 1859—8vo.
4 Stanza v.
preparations war maid for hir enteress in the town. In ferses,
in masking, and in other prodigalities, faine wold fooles have
counterfooted France." 1
It is quite clear from all this that words of French origin
relating to dancing and to dances must exist in Scotch.
Ginker, a dancer, is the Fr. ginguer.
Caralying-, carraling (Fr. carolle, carole, querole, a dance)
means dancing:—
"Mony madyins in courtlie carraling."2
The word gambet, in other forms galmound, gamond, gamount,
whose meaning is given gambol, is the Fr. gambade, "saut sans
art et sans cadence" (O. Fr. gambe, Fr. jambe). Its meaning
is thus explained by a writer of the 16th century: "Je laisse à
parler des autres gambades qu'ils ont autrefois appelées le saut
du cousturier, aujourd'huy à la paluettiste landrichard, le saut
du pendu, et prow d'autres de pareille farine," &c.3
Schamon's dance seems to be so named from the musical instrument
named schawme (O. Fr. chalemie).
Paspey is the Fr. passe-pied, "a caper, or loftie tricke in
dauncing; also a kind of dance peculiar to the youth of la
haute Bretaigne."4 Littré defines it "dance à trois temps et
d'un mouvement très-rapide."
Sincopas, whatever it was in itself, betrays its origin, — cinq
pas .5
1 Knox's 'History of the Reformation,' vol.
ii. pp. 287, 288; among his Works, collected
and edited by David Laing: Edinburgh, 1858
—8vo.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 257, l. 8245.
3 'Les Dialogues de Jacques Tahureau,' &c.,
p. 50: Paris, 1871—12mo.
4 Cotgrave's Dictionary.
5 On dances in Scotland during the 16th
century, see 'Inventaires de la Royne Descosse,'
p. lxiii; and on dances in general
Soutra, a kind of dance,1 was perhaps an old French one
called sauterelle.2
Orliance, mentioned also in another curious poem:—
"This littil gaist did na mair ill
Bot clok lyke a come in myll;
And it wald sing and it wald dance
Oure lute, and orliance,"3 —
is no doubt the orlienaise of an early mystery of saint Louis, a
dance performed at his wedding, — "Ilz danssent l'orliennaise,
ou aultre."4
Base dance, beass, a dance slow and formal in its motions, is
the Fr. basse-danse, which was so common in France.
"Es fester de saincte Catherine et de sainct Nicolas, et
aux Roys, l'on faisoit des danses aux colleges [à Caen] que l'on
appeloit choreas, là où l'on jouoit des farces et comedies. Et
s'appelloyent telles danses, qui avoyent cours par tout ce royaume,
basses danses, qui consistoyent en reverences simples,
doubles reprinses, bransles. Puis à la fin l'on dansoit le tordion,
an lieu duquel est succedé le bal ou la gaillarde. Et se dansoient
au tabourin et longue flute à trois trous, et un rebec….
Toutesfois tels choreas, on danses, furent abollies et abrogées
par arrest de la cour, 1521, seizieme jour d'aoust, par la reformation
qui se fist."5
during the middle ages, Fétis's 'Curiosités
historiques,' &c., pp. 379-383.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' Dr Leyden's
edit., p. 103.
2 See 'Le Mystere de saint Louis,' p. 401:
Westminster, 1851—4to.
3 "An Interlude of the Laying of a Gaist,"
ll. 80-85: 'Select Remains of ancient Popular
Poetry of Scotland.'
4 'Le Mystère de saint Louis,' &c., p. 40,
col. 2, l. 18.
5 Charles de Bourgueville, sieur de Bras,
'Les Recherches et Antiquitez de la province
de Neustrie,' &c., p. 337: Caen, 1833—8vo.
This basse-dance is mentioned in a curious passage of a
poem ascribed to Clément Marot:—
"La petite jambe troussée,
Pour danser haye de Bretaigne
Et les passepiés d'Allemaigne.
Il est vray qu'à la basse-dance
Je n'y viens pas à la cadance,
Mays de branle, et puy la recoupe;
De deux piés je les vous recoupe
Menu comme chair à pasté."1
It was not deemed beneath the dignity of royalty to perform
this dance. "The Kynge went to see hyr [Queen Margaret],
and daunced some basse daunces."2
Pauuan, paven, a grave, stately dance of Spanish origin, in
which the dancers turned round one after another, as peacocks
(Lat. pavo) do with their tails, comes from the Fr. pavane; Sp.
pasos de pavana, grave, stately steps. The dance seems from
the following extracts to have been a favourite among all
classes, from the palace to the village green:—
"II [Timoléon de Cossé, comte de Brissac] dansoit des
mieux qu'on en avoit veu à la cour jamais; car, outre la disposition
très-grande qu'il avoit, it avoit la plus belle grace que
jamais courtisan. Despuis nul n'y a pu atteindre, fors le jeune la
Molle …. Et n'estoit ledict comte propre pour une seule
danse, comme j'en ay veu aucuns nés et adroicts, les uns pour
l'une, les autres pour l'autre; mais ce comte estoit universel en
1 'Epistre du biau flu de Pazy,' v. 62.
2 'Account of Princess Margaret's Reception
and Wedding,' &c., ap. Leland, 'Collectanea,'
vol. iv. p. 291.
tout, first pour les branles, pour la gaillarde, pour la pavanne
d'Espaigne, pour les canaries, bref pour toutes."1
"Le racleur, nommé la Machine,
Nous réjouit plus par sa mine
Que par les sons de son boyau.
Nemard, au son de l'instrument,
Sortit de son retranchement,
Et, prenant une paysanne,
Dansa lestement la pavanne."2
"Pour danser pavane et vert gay,
Le mois de may, au vert boscage,
Escoutant le pinson ramage
Et cueillant le gentil muguet."3
Brawl, brangill,4 bransle, is the Fr. bransle, branle (from
bransler, branler, to shake), "a brawle, or daunce wherein many,
men and women, holding by the hands, sometimes in a ring,
and otherwhiles at length, move all together."
There were two kinds of bransles, the one gay and the other
serious. "Le branle, ou branle gai, est le nom générique de
toutes les danses où un ou deux danseurs conduisent tous les
autres, qui répètent ce qu'ont fait les premiers."5 The serious
branles were danced at the balls of Louis XIV.
Sir David Lyndsay addresses thus a piper and the party to
which he acts as musician:—
1 'Des Couronnels françois,' ch. xi.; 'Œuvres
complètes de Brantôme,' edit. of the
"Panthéon littéraire," tom. i. p. 669, col. 1.
2 'Voyage de Paris à la Roche-Guion, en
vers burlesques,' &c., par MM***, ch. iii.
p. 63: A la Haye, &c.- 18mo.
3 "L'Apologie des chambrières qui ont
perdu leur mariage à la blanque," in the
'Variétés historiques et littéraires,' t. iii. p.
108, note.
4 G. Douglas, iv. 215, 9, 36.
5 Littré's Dictionnaire, sub voce "Branle."
"Now, let ilk man his way avance;
Let sum ga drink and sum ga dance.
— Menstrell, blaw up ane brawl of France;
Let se quha hobbils best."1
In a note to "The Malcontent," Act. iv. sc. 2,2 there is mention
of a "bransle of Poitiers."3 The most celebrated bransles4
were those of Lorrain and Berry. Under Louis XIV., André
Lorin, "second conducteur de l'Académie Royale de dance,"
ascribes the country-dance to the English, and adds: "Il ne
faut donc pas s'estonner s'ils y excellent, puisqu'elle leur est
aussi naturelle que les menüets aux Poitevins, les passepiés
aux Bretons, la bourrée aux Auvergnats, la gavotte aux Champenois
et aux Normans, les bransles à ceux de Metz et de
Bourges, les rigaudons aux Provençaux, la gaillarde aux
Italiens, la sarabande aux Espagnols, et la chaconne aux
Africains."5
Rig-adown-daisy is the Fr. dance called rigaudon, which,
according to the former extract, had its home in Provence.
It is said to have derived its name from its author, Rigaud.
It was a lively dance performed by two with very complicated
movements.6
Galyard, a gay dance, is the French gaillarde (gaillard,
1 "Ane Satyre of the thrie Estaitis," in
fine; 'The Poetical Works of Sir David
Lyndsay,' vol. ii. p. 155.
2 'A select Collection of old Plays,' vol.
iv. pp. 66, 67.
3 Cf. Hawkins, vol. ii. p. 133.
4 Other branles are mentioned in a note to
the 'Historiettes' of Tallemant des Réaux,
t. vi. p. 92: Paris, 1857—8vo. Every one
knows how the original meaning of brawl,
after having had the same sense as in Scotland,
was altered in English so as to become
synonymous with motet de Beauce, as described
in a register of the Parliament of Paris, Civil.
Plaid. Mat. 15 jer. 1400.
5 'Livre de la contredance du Roy,' &c.
MS. of the Nat. Libr. at Paris: 1698, fol. 10.
6 J. -J. Rousseau, 'Dictionnaire de Musique,'
sub voce "Rigaudon."
lusty, gamesome). "Le pas de danse qu'on nomme pas de
gaillarde, est composé d'un assemblé, d'un pas marché et d'un
pas tombé."
"Mieulx me vauldroit près d'ung pasté
Danser la. pavenne, ou gaillarde."1
Turdion (Fr. tordion) is explained as "a species of galliard
or gay dance."
Buffons were "pantomine dances, so denominated from the
buffoons" (Fr. les bouffons, from bouffer, to puff; It. buffare, to
jest, sport; buffa, a puff or a blurt with the mouth made at one
in scorn) "by whom they were performed." Cotgrave translates
"danser les buffons" by "to dance a morris."
In more modern times, French dances continued to find
their way to Scotland, and French dancing-masters were accustomed
to establish themselves in Edinburgh,2 although the
English dancing-schools, in which they taught "la volt as high
and swift corantos," were much celebrated.3 In a letter dated
December 20, 1603, Henri IV. of France informs James VI.
of the sending of a dancing-master.4 A Scotch writer says that
at the beginning of the following century the most famous
dancing teachers crossed over to Scotland;5 and Burns, in his
'Tam o' Shanter' (l. 116), speaks of a "cotillon brent new frae
France" as being in use in his day.
1 "I had better near a pye
To dance the pavan or gaillarde."
— 'L'Apocalypse sainct Jehan Zebedée,' &c.,
fol. x. recto, col. 2: Paris, 1541—fol.
2 Dauney, 'Anc. Scot. Melod.,' pp. 299, 300.
3 Shakespeare, "King Henry V.," Act iii.
sc. 5; Dalyell's 'Music. Mem. of Scot.,' p.
114, note 1; 'Inventaires de la Royne Descosse,'
p. lxiii.
4 'Recueil des lettres missives de Henri
t. vi. p. 181.
5 'L'Eloge d'Ecosse et des dames écossoises,'
par Mr Freebairn, pp. 42, 43; 'Les
Ecossais en France,' vol. i. p. 428, note 2.
Each dance had music peculiar to itself, which very often
bore the same name as the dance. Thus branle was the name
of the tune to which the dance was performed. There was a
"chant des Bouffons." Florimond de Remond, speaking of
Marot's version of the Psalms, says (p. 70): "Ils ne furent
pas lors mis en musique …. pour estre chantez au presche;
mais chacun y donnoit tel air que bon luy sembloit …. La
Royne [Margaret of Navarre] avoit choisi Ne vueillez, o Sire,1
avec un air sur le chant des Bouffons. Le roy de Navarre
Anthoine prit Revange-moy, prens la querelle,2 qu'il chantoit
en bransle de Poitou," &c.3
1 Ps. vi., the first which Marot translated,
and which was first printed in 'Miroir de
l'âme pécheresse' of Margaret of Navarre, and
published in 1533. — 'Theologisch Tijdschrift,'
vol. xiii. p. 411.
2 Ps. xliii.
3 An "air de houffons" occurs in Laborde's
'Essai sur la musique,' &c., vol. ii. p. 178;
also in a Dutch book referred to by William
Dauney, 'Ancient Scottish Melodies,' &c.
Notes and Illustrations, p. 273; cf. pp. 306
and 363. The practice of singing profane
songs and tunes interspersed among the
prayers of the liturgy existed long before.
In Normandy, during prolonged processions,
when the clergymen took breath, women sang
frivolous songs, nugaces cantilenas ('Histoire
littéraire de la France,' vol. vii. pref. p. 15) —
a practice which may be illustrated by the
Latin words ending, like a sort of cue, in
some motets composed on the fictitious love of
Robin and Marion ('Théâtre français au moyen
âge,' pp. 31, 32). There is a far-famed song
called "L'Homme armé" the tune of which
was much used by the musicians of the 15th
and 16th centuries as a foundation for their
masses. The tune is well known (see the
fifth volume of Fétis's 'Histoire générale de
la Musique,' p. 56). The first verse of the
song is given by Baini in his 'Life of Palestrina,'
as follows:—
"L'Homme, l'Homme, l'Homme armé.
Et, Robinet, tu m'as
La mort donné,
Quand tu t'en vas."
On the ancient French tunes, so queerly ingrafted
on Church liturgy, besides Baini
('Memorie Storicocritice,' &c., vol ii. p. 95,
note 159; p. 357, note 430; p. 358, note 431),
see Martini ('Esemplare, o Sia Saggio fondamentale
pratico del contrappunto,' &c., vol.
i. p. 129), and Fétis ('Curiosités historiques de
la Musique,' pp. 373-375: Paris and Bruxelles,
1830—8vo). Let us add that Stephen
of Langton, archbishop of Canterbury (1206--
1228), composed a sermon on a French song,
"Bele Aliz matin leva." 'Archæologia,' vol.
xiii. p. 231; and 'La Chaire française
moyen âge,' &c., par A. Lecoy de la Marche,
1st part, ch. iv. p. 86: Paris, 1868—8vo.
John d'Etrée, a performer on the hautboy, in the service of
Charles IX. (1560-1574), published four books of "Danseries,"
first writing down the common lively tunes which, till then,
had been probably learned by the ear, and played from
memory, about the several countries specified in the title. In
a note to the above, Dr Burney adds: "The editor of these
books tells us that they contained 'les chants des branles
communs, gais, de Champagne, de Bourgogne, de Poitou,
d'Ecosse, de Malte, des Sabots, de la Guerre, et autres gaillardes,
ballets, voltes, basses dances, hauberrois, allemandes.'
Printed at Paris, 1564."1
From the manner in which the work is here referred to,
there can be little doubt that Dr Burney had seen it; but
whether it will ever be recovered seems now somewhat uncertain.
It has hitherto eluded the most diligent search in the
public libraries of France and Britain.
Here may be mentioned the word intermeis2 (Fr. entremets,
entre and mets), a musical or saltatory interlude, introduced
between the different courses of a feast for greater
variety, for the purpose of supporting the animal spirits of
the guests.
1 'History of Music,' vol. iii. p. 262. On
the dances enumerated above, with Jean
d'Etrée's book compare 'A plaine and easie
Introduction to practicall Musicke,' by
Thomas Morley, part iii. p. 181: London,
1597—fol. See also Dauney's 'Ancient Scottish
Melodies,' No. 83, p. 136, note b, and
particularly on "The Brangill of Poictu,"
pp. 251, 306, 307. There are there two lines
of music for it. and for "a Frenche" dance.
No. 84.
2 Vide 'Clariodus,' p. 311, l. 963, and p.
332, l. 5620. Chaucer uses entremees as denoting
"choice dishes served in between the
courses of a feast." Vide 'The Romaunt of
the Rose,' l. 6831, and Cotgrave's Dictionary.
In Barbour's 'Bruce,' ed. 1620, intermais
is introduced as synonymous with eftremes,
dessert.
Scotland followed the French fashion, and one may fancy
what a Scottish interlude was from the following lines:—
"Harry, harry, hobillschowe!
Sé quha is cummyn nowe,
A serjand owt of Soldane land,
A gyand strang for to stand,
That with the strenth of my hand
Beres may hynd.
Yit I trowe that I vary,
I am the nakit, blynd Hary,
That lang has bene in the Fary
Farleis to fynd," &c.1
1 "The Droichtis Part of the Play," ll. 1-12; Dunbar's Works, D. Laing's edit., vol. ii. p. 37.
CHAPTER XVI.
Games and Amusements

CHAPTER XVI.
GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS.
THE introduction of some of the games played in
the highest ranks of society in Scotland may
be safely attributed to France, if their names
can he taken as an indication of the country
from which they came.
Some of these games are enumerated in an Aberdeen register
with the epithet of "wnleful." They are — "cartis, dyis,
tabillis, goif, kylis, bylis."1
Dunbar, in his 'General Satyre,' st. xiv., says that before
his time—
"Sa mony ratkettis, sa mony ketche-pillaris,
Sic ballis, sic knackettis, and sic tutivillaris,
Within this land was nevir hard nor sene."2
Sir David Lyndsay put into the mouth of the Abbot the
words—
1 Aberd. Reg., A.D. 1565, v. 26.
2 The Poems of W. Dunbar, vol. ii. p. 26.
"Thocht I preich not, I can play at the caiche:
I wait thair is nocht ane amang yow all
Mair ferilie can play at the fut-ball;
And for the carts, the tabils, and the dyse,
Above all persouns, I may beir the pryse."1
The word cartis, written also cartes in the 'Burgh Records
of the City of Glasgow,'2 and pronounced at the present day
in the North cairts, is nearer its French original carte, than
the English word card, — a fact that may point to the introduction
of playing-cards through France.
Tabill, a board for playing either at draughts or chess, is the
Fr. table; and tabiller of chase3 is the O. Fr. tablier. "Item,
ane pair of tabillis of silver, ourgilt with gold, indentit with
jasp and cristallyne, with tabill men and chess men of jasp and
cristallyne."4 "Tabill men" seem to be men for playing what
was afterwards styled the dambrod, the dams, dames (Fr. dames).
Biles, bylis,5 appear to have been billiards, so named from the
sticks (Fr. billes) with which the game was played.
Tytler asks the question,6 "What are we to understand by
'the kiles' at which the king played in Glenluce, on the 29th
March 1506?" The answer is easy: "the kiles" were what
the French call les quilles, and the English ninepins (Gael.
cailise).
1 'Ane Satyre of the thrie Estaitis,' in
Lyndsay's Poetical Works, D. Laing's edit.,
vol. ii. p. 264.
2 P. 96, A.D. 1578. The verb to wowl, used
in a game of cards, has the appearance of having
had a French origin, faire la vole.
3 Vide 'Clariodus,' p. 149, l. 1146.
4 'Inventories,' A.D. 1539, p. 49.
5 'Crim. Trials,'vol. i. p. 117*, A.D. 1497.
Cf. Sauval, 'Recherches des antiquités de
Paris,' vol. iii. pp. 352, 354, A.D. 1414; and
'Mémoires d'Olivier de la. Marche,' in the
'Panthéon littéraire,' p. 354, col. i. A.D.
1574.
6 'Lives of Scottish Worthies,' vol. iii.
p. 342.
Keerie-oam, the name of a boy's game played in different
parts of the country, may be a corruption of the French querez
homme. In the game, which is outdoor, and must be played
in a town or village where the boys can hide themselves, all
the players except one hide. When all are hid, the cry of
keerie-oam is raised, and the boy left unhid sets out in search
of those that are hid. When he discovers one, this one in his
turn becomes the searcher, and so on till all are discovered.
Another game of a somewhat similar nature, common in
some parts of the country, is called ho-spy, hy-spy. Jamieson
gives the form of the word as used in Banffshire, hoispe-hoy,
and derives it from oyez, hear, and espier, to spy. The pronunciation
about Keith is hospie with the accent on the first
syllable. Is not the word made up of ho! and spy?
Rackett, which denotes the bat with which players strike
the ball in the games of tennis, itself formerly named racket, is
the O. Fr. raquette. Nackett is the Fr. naquet, the boy who
marks at tennis. The word is still in use to signify a boy.
Pearie, peery, French pearie, in the North pear, a kind of peg--
top, owes its name to its shape, which is that of a pear (Fr.
poire). Among the illustrations of a Psalter of the 13th century
occurs the picture of a boy playing at peg-top with a whip.1
Pallall, pallalls, a game of children, is the Fr. petit palet.
Totum, "a kind of game with a whirl-bone" (Cotg.), is the
Fr. toton.2
"He playis with totum, and I with nichell."3
1 Vide MS. of the Nat. Libr. Lat., 8846,
fol. 161 redo.
2 Vide Littré's Dictionary.
3 "Dunbar to the King," l. 74: 'Poems,'
vol. i. p. 164.
For that kind of game of chance called T totum, exploded
from the facility of perverting it to deceit, see Rabelais,
Book i. ch. xxii., and the notes to the words pille, made,
jocque, fore.
There is another diversion, that of curling, in which the
stone used — the channel-stane1 — seems to have derived its
name, at least in part, from the French, as well as bullet--
stane, from an allusion to primitive cannon-balls, which were of
stone. In old French, canole means the lesser bone of the arm,
the elbow, and supplies us with a better etymon than that proposed
by Jamieson.
At the risk of offending (God forbid!) the gentlemen of the
medical profession, it must be stated that most of them were
quack doctors who came over with jesters to play tricks, or
rather to give cockalanis, cokkolentis2 (cog-à-l'âne), in order to
attract a science (Fr. séance) of peipill.3
1 "The vig'rous youth,
In bold contention met the channel-stane,
The bracing engine of a Scottish arm,
To shoot wi' might and skill."
— Davidson's 'Seasons,' p. 158.
2 Comic or ludicrous representations. The
term is used by George Etheredge, as put into
the mouth of Sir Toppling Flutter, a foolish
fellow, who in his language and manners
closely imitated the French: "What a coque
a lasne is this? I talk of women, and thou
answer'st tennis " ('The Man of Mode,' &c.,
Act iv. p. 62: London, 1676—4to). The
same was used to denote an imperfect writing,
a pasquil, a pasquinade (Privy Council Register,
Aug. 17, 1597; cont. of Melvill's Diary,
p. 781), and was connected with plakket, bill,
libel, handbill, also derived from French. —
Vide 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 333, A.D.
1600, and ch. xii.
3 'A Diurnal of Occurrents,' p. 341, 11th
April 1574. When physicians generally gave
up the habit of operating in the open air
with the assistance of mountebanks, the latter
remained under the control of the former. In
1688, the custom-house officers complained
of a mountebank having got licence to erect
a stage. Upon this the magistrates took
it down. Then he cited them to the Council,
that alleged he should have been first examined
by the College of Physicians. Why that
was required is illustrated by another suit
at law, relating to the same man. Suing
some people for stealing from bins a little
girl, called the "Tumbling Lassie," that
danced on his stage, he claimed damages.
We have mentioned in another work at some length a
French empiric who flourished at the Court of James IV.1 He
led the king to believe that he would make fine gold of other
metal, "quhilk science he callit the quintessence."2 At the end
of the same century, "ane man, sume callit him a juglar (O. Fr.
jouglere3), playit sic sowple tricks upone ane tow, quhilk wes
festinit betwix the tope of St Geills kirk steiple and ane stair
beneathe the crosse, callit Josias close held, the lyk wes nevir
sene in yis country, as he raid doune the tow and playit so
many pavies on it."4
In all probability he was the same as the French funambuAmong
many objections, it was put forth
that physicians attested the employment of
tumbling would kill her, and her joints were
now grown stiff. — Vide Lord Fountainhall,
'Chronological Notes of Scottish Affairs,'
&c., p. 262; cf. 'The Decisions of the Lords
of Council,' &c., vol. i. PP. 439, 440.
1 'Les Ecossais en France,' vol. i. pp. 331--
333.
2 'Bishop Lesley,' p. 76, A.D. 1503, quoted
by David Laing in his edition of 'Dunbar's
Poems,' vol. ii. pp. 238, 244, 245; cf. Sir
D. Lyndsay, the 'Satyre of the thrie Estaitis,'
among his works, vol. ii. p. 46.
3 This word must not be confounded with
genglere, gengleor, jangler, jangleor, &c., preserved
in janglour, tattler, tale-teller (vide
Robert and Makyn,' l. 101, ap. Henryson,
p. 6; Dunbar, 'The Tod and the Lamb,'
I. 44; 'Gude Counsale,' l. 11; and 'Of
Luve erdly and divine,' I. 70 — 'Poems,' vol.
i. pp. 84, 170, 223), which does not, in point
of sense, differ much from cracker, crakkar,
likewise imported from Fr. with crack, crak
(see p. 269 sub voce), and vauntee, vaunly,
boastful (Dumfries newspaper, the 'Sun,'
June 27, 1831). — Jow, which D. Laing explains
by "juggler, or magician," may be
derived from jouglere. Vide 'The Fenyeit
Freir of Tungland,' l. 31; ap. Dunbar, vol. i.
P. 40; cf. vol. ii. p. 242. We do not mention
bourd, to jest, to play tricks with, because
it occurs also in O. E.
4 'The Diary of Robert Birrel,' July 10,
1598, and ap. Dalyell, P. 47; cf. 'Crim.
Trials,' vol. ii. pp. 238, 239, A.D. 1600.
I think that pavies is nothing else than the
plural of paw, a step (Fr. pas), which is of
a very common occurrence in Scotch — namely,
in Lord Fountainhall's Diary, p. 58. We
read in Cleland's Poems, p. 47:—
"He was well versed in court modes,
In French pavies, and new coin'd nods,
And finally, in all that can
Make up a compleat prettyman."
In Bp. Lesley's 'Hist. of Scot.,' p. 113, the
word trojectus of the Latin version is translated
by pase, a Fr. idiom preserved in Pas--
de-Calais.
lus whom James Melvill, who happened1 to be in Falkland, saw
"play strang and incredible protticks1 (Fr. practique)
stented (Fr. tendu) takell, in the Palace-clos, before the King,
Queen, and haill Court."2 How lucky was that pavier not to
have been burnt as a necromancien, to speak as another Melville!3

1 Other forms of the word are prattick,
prettik, practik, practique, from the verb to
pratek, pratik, praktick (Fr. practiquer). 'Sir
James Melville's Memoirs,' pp. 14, 18; cf.
'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 466.
2 'J Melvill's Diary,' p. 487, A.D. 1600.
3 'Sir James Melville's Memoirs,' p. 83,
A.D. 1559.
CHAPTER XVII.
Words expressing Abstract Ideas.

CHAPTER XVII.
WORDS EXPRESSING ABSTRACT IDEAS.
IT has been found more convenient to arrange
the words in this and the following chapter in
alphabetical order. This chapter for the most
part contains words that express abstract and
moral ideas.
Abaittment, s. diversion, sport. O. Fr. ébattement.
Abays,1 v. a. to abash, to confound. Fr. abaisser, or rather
O. Fr. esbahir.2
"Thay [faithful' Pastors] suld nocht be abasit to preche,
Nor for no kynde of fauour fleche."3
Abuse, v. a. to deceive. Fr. abuser.
"And, geue thay haue the floke abusit,
Ze, Kyngs, sail be for that accusit
Be the gret potent kyng of kyngis,
That heris and seis all thir thyngis."4
Abusion, abusione, s. abuse. O. Fr. abusion.
1 G. Douglas, i. 499 ; ii. 108, 20.
2 "A, fel! com si estais toz esbahiz."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' p. 343, edited by
Francisque-Michel: Paris, A.D. 1856.
3 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
&c., p. 10, ll. 231, 232. By William Lauder,
E. E. T. S.: 1864.
4 Ibid., p. 13, ll. 331-334.
"All will be brocht vnto confusioun,
Godis wourd and Lawis vnto abusioun."1
"This wes the caus sone efter of greit sorrow,
Sic in Scotland was neuir sene beforrow;
Of weir and wrak, and mekill wrang abusioun,
Quhilk brocht the kinrik efter till confusioun."2
"allace o my sune sper[it]ualite, the abusion of thy office is
the cause of the discentione that is betuix the and the temporal
stait," &c.3
Accrasyt,4 part. pas. crushed, injured. Fr. écraser.
Acres, accresce, v. a. to increase, to gather strength. Fr.
accroître.
Adred, adv. downright. Fr. droit, adroit.
Advert, v. n. to turn to, to attend. O. Fr. advertir.
"So now returnand till our first head agane,
Aduert, and ze sall heir the crewell pane,
That is prepaird for wekit Creaturs,
And vicius men that in to Uice indurs."5
Affectuous, affectiue, affectyue, effectuous, adj. affectionate.
Fr. affectueux. "be rason of my gude intentione that procedis
fra ane affectiue ardant fauoir that i hef euyr borne touart
this affligit realme quhilk is my natiue cuntre."6
1 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour.' By
William Lauder, E.E.T.S.: 1870. P. 22, ll
604, 605.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland
or, A Metrical Version of the History of
Hector Boece,' vol. 1. p. 65, ll. 2175-2178
(Rolls Series, 1858.) See also p. 60, l. 2040
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 159, ll.
34-36. See p. 89, l. 30; p. 160, ll. 28, 32;
p. 161, ll. 1, 23, 26; p. 165, ll. 19, 20.
4 G. Douglas, i. xcviii. 20.
5 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' p. 4.
ll. 31-36.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 16, ll.
8-11. See p. 148, l. 20.
Affer, afer, effeir, effere, s. condition, state, &c. O. Fr.
affaire.1
Affer, effeir, v. int. to become, to belong to, to be proper or
expedient, to be proportionate to. O. Fr. afferir.
"To Berigone thai buir him on his heir,
On sic fassone that tyme as did effeir."2
"o iphicrates, it efferis nocht for thy stait and faculte to be
ane kyng," &c.3
Affirm,4 v. a. to confirm, to grant. Fr. affirmer, or
affermir.
Affligit, adj. afflicted. Fr. affligé. "to cure and to gar
conuallesse al the langorius desolat and affligit pepil."5
Affray,6 fear, s. Fr. effroi.
Affray, v. a. to frighten.
"Ostorius neir by vpoun the bent,
With mony berne rycht bellicois and bald,
Affrayit wes thair curage to behald."7
"The eldest of them vas in harnes, traland ane halbert behynd
hym, beand al affrayit ande fleyit for dreddour of his
lyue."8
1 Vide Du Cange's 'Gloss. Med. et Inf.
Latin.,' voce "Aftare," 1, and 'Gloss. fr.,'
voce "Affairs," vol. i. p. 225, col. 2, and vol.
vii. p. 13, col. 1.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 59, ll. 2009, 2010.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 150,
ll. 19, 20, edited by J. A. H. Murray.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 183, 4.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 1, ll.
9, 10. See p. 1, l. 3; p. 2, l. 29; p. 16,
l. 10; p. 34, l. 29; p. 129, l. 33; p. 130,
l. 2.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 50, 27; 116, 12.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 248, ll. 7970-7972.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 70,
ll. 19-21.
Affroitlie, adv. in fear. Fr. effroi.
Affront, s. disgrace, shame. Fr. affront.1
Aggrege,2 v. a. to heap together, to aggregate. Fr. agréger.
Agrest, adj. rustic. Fr. agreste. "Nou heir i exort al philosophouris,
historigraphours, and oratours of our scottis
natione, to support (Fr. supporter) and til excuse my barbir
agrest termis."3
Aiteas, -eis, s. (ait, adj.) joy. O. Fr. dehait.
"Tha aiteas, mhic duibhre nan speur,
A' losgadh air m' anam gun ghruaim."4
Allosede, part. pas. praised, glorious, glorified. O. Fr.
alosez,5 alosé.
"The lordelieste of ledynge, qwhylles he lyffe myhte
Fore he was lyone allossede in londes inewe."6
Amety,7 s. friendship. Fr. amitié.
Amour, s. love. Fr. amour. Hence amorat, part. pas. O.
Fr. enamouré.
Animositie, s. firmness of mind. Fr. animosité.
1 This sense of the word affront, according
to Dr Johnson, is peculiar to the Scottish
dialect, of which a passage from Arbuthnot is
cited as an example. The same lexicographer
notes to affront, which exists also in Scotch,
but in a sense somewhat different.
2 G. Douglas, iv. 26, 9; 35, 28.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 16, ll.
11-13.
4 'Tigmòra,' vii. 117.
5 "De vasselage est-il ben alosez."
— 'La Chanson de Roland,' st. lxx., l.
898; orig. edit. 1837, p. 36, 1863. See
Benoît, 'Chronique des ducs de Normandie,'
vol. i. p. 299, l. 6230; p. 446, l. 10,544; p.
491, l. 11,825, &c. Cf. 'Partonopeus de
Blois,' l. 9533; and Raynouard's 'Lexique
roman,' vol. iv. p. 31, col. 1.
6 'Morte Arthur,' as quoted in C. Innes's
'Scotland in the Middle Ages,' p. 258.
7 'Balfour's 'Annales,' vol. i. p. 370, A.D.
1580.
Apayn, part. pas. provided, furnished. O. Fr. appané — adv.
reluctantly, unwillingly, hardly, scarcely. Fr. à peine.
Apert, appert, adj. open. O. Fr. apert. Other forms are
aperthe, aperte.
Aport, aporte, s. deportment, carriage. Fr. apport.
Appell, v. a. to challenge. Fr. appeler.
Appleis, appless, v. a. to satisfy. Fr. plaire.
"For of that place he thocht him weill applesit."1
Apport, v. a. to bring, to conduce. Fr. apporter.
Appuy, s. support. Fr. appui.
Arrace,2 v. a. to pull down or take away. Fr. arracher.
Asperans, adj. lofty, elevated, pompous, applied to diction.
Fr. aspirant.
Aspert, aspre, adj. sharp, harsh, cruel. O. Fr. aspre.
Assopat, part. pas. at an end, put to rest, laid aside. Fr.
assoupi.
Astuce, adj. astute. Fr. astuce. "and quhen he persauit
that the cordonar vas ane astute subtel falou and dissymilit,
he gart hang hym on ane potent " (Fr. potence), &c.3
Attemptat, s. a wicked and injurious enterprise. Fr. attentat.
Auance, v. a. to bring forward. "at that tyme it is callit
lucifer, be cause it auancis the day befor the crepusculine."4
Auancing, s. causing to advance or prosper. "fra zour
magnanime auancing of the public veil," &c.5
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 11, l. 367.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 43, 26.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 182,
ll. 23-25.
4 Ibid., p. 53, ll. 33, 34.
5 Ibid., p. 1, l. 2.
Augment,1 s. growth. Fr. augment.
Aumeril, s. one who has little understanding, or method in
his conduct. Fr. émerillon. This term is often applied to a
mongrel dog.
Austuce, s. cunning. Fr. astuce. "than be there austuce
and subtilite thai furnest vitht money baitht the parteis aduersaris
to slay doune vderis," &c.2
Autorite, s. authority. Fr. autorité. "quhen the pepil
gadris togiddir in ane grit conuentione but the autorite of
the superior," &c.3
Avail, s. abasement, humiliation. O. Fr. aval.
Avance, v. a. to cause to advance. Fr. avancer.
"Thair is nothing moir gudlie to avance
Na auld storeis put in rememberance."4
Avenand, adj. elegant in person and manners. Fr. avenant.
Avillous, adj. contemptible, debased. Fr. avili.
Avyse, awyse, adj. prudent, considerate, cautious. Fr. avisé.
Hence avisye,5 awisely, adv. deliberately, prudently, circumspectly.
Awyiss is the verb.
"'My counsall is,' he said, thairfoir that ze
Awyiss zow weill, and lat sic folic be,'" &c.6
Auisement is the noun.
1 G. Douglas, i. 4, 6, 26.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 87, ll.
9-11.
3 Ibid., p. 167, ll. 33, 34. See p. 19,
ll. I, 12.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 4, ll. 120, 121.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 254, 9.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. 1. p. 160, ll. 5289, 5290.
"With schort auisement that tyme but ony tarie,
Tha haif decretit all into ane will,
Help and supple the Britis to send till."1
Gavin Douglas2 has the present participle awisand, deliberating
on; and Spenser uses to avize in the sense of to counsel,
to bethink himself, to consider.
Awerty, auerty, adj. cautious. Fr. averti.
Awtayne, adj. haughty. Fr. hautain.
Baiss, baise, adj. sad. Fr. bas.
Barbour, barbir, s. a barbarian. Fr. barbare.
"And now to ws it is greit schame and lak
With thir barbouris for to be put abak."3
As an adj: "be rason that ilk ane repute vtheris to be of ane
barbir nature."4
Basit, adj. humbled. Fr. baisser.
Bastant, adj. possessed of ability. O. Fr. bastant.
Beast, v. a. to puzzle. O. Fr. abeter.5
Beaulte, s. beauty. O. Fr. beltet, biauté. Prov. beltat. "it
vas baytht altrit in cullour ande in beaulte."6
Bellisand, bellisant, adj. elegant, of an imposing appearance.
Fr. bel used adverbially, and séant, decent, becoming, having a
good appearance (?).
Bellomy, s. a savage. Fr. bel ami, in the contrary meaning.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 137,ll. 4570-4572.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 250, 20.
3 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 147, ll. 4873, 4874.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 106,
ll. 12, 13.
5 'Fabliaux et Contes,' &c., vol. i. p. 365.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 70,
l. 5.
"Fra Argatill thair come ane messinger,
And schew till him, as ze sall efter heir,
Ane bellomy, that callit wes Bredus,
Quhilk cousing wes wnto the fals Gillus,
That Cadallus sumtyme in Ireland slew,
Not Lang gane syne, befoir as I zow schew;
How that he come that tyme with ane greit ost,
And enterit in at Argatelin cost,
And waistit had the land all far and neir,
Bayth brint and slew, that horribill wes till heir."1
Bergane, s. wrangling. O. Fr. barguiner, to boggle.
"Frome all Inuye thay suld be fre,
Frome toulze, bergane, and debait."2
Betraise, v. a. to betray. Fr. trahir.
"Bot for his wyffe betraisit Carataic."3
"doubtles his intentione is to seduce them to conspire ande
to betraise there natiue cuntre."4
Betrump,5 v. a. to deceive. Fr. tromper.
Bien, bein, beyne, bene, adj. comfortable; plentiful. Fr. bien.
"While frosty winds blaw in the drift
Ben to the chimla lug,
I grudge a wee the great folks' gift,
That live sae bien and snug."6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 132, ll, 4405-4414. See 1. 4418.
2 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate.'
By William Lauder: 1864—8vo, p. 17, 11.
455-458.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 276, l. 8783.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 112
ll. 21, 22.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 212, 18.
6 Burns, "Epistle to Davie," January 1784
Bisme, bysme,1 s. an abyss. O. Fr. abisme.
Blandish, s. flattery. O. Fr. blandice.
Blandit, part. pas. soothed. Fr. blandi.
Bonte,2 s. goodness, virtue. Fr. bonté.
Boreau, s. hangman. "ane boreau or hang man is permittit
be ane prince to scurge ande to puneise transgressours."3
Bourd, bourdyn,4 s. a jest. Fr. bourde.
"For thame that drownd ar in Idolatrie,
This suthfast Sentence; allace, it is no bourd!"5
Brim, brym,6 adj. fierce, violent. At the French military
school of Saint-Cyr, they used the verb brimer to express the
ill-treatment of the younger pupils by the older ones.
Bruilye,7 v. a. to jumble. Fr. brouiller.
Brulyie, broillerie, s. a state of contention. Fr. brouillerie.
brulyement, are other forms. To bruilye, brulyie,
v. n. is to fight, to be engaged in a brawl; but these words may
be corrupted from brûler. In vulgar French, a beating is often
expressed by brûlée.
Bruskness, s. unbecoming freedom of speech, rudeness, incivility,
derived from bruisk, bruske, adj. quick, so as to approach
to rudeness. Fr. brusque.8
1 G. Douglas, ii. 145, 5; iii. 28, 7.
2 Ibid., iii. 85, 8.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 27, ll.
12, 13. See ll. 9, 14, 20, 22.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 7, 11; iv. 152, 10.
5 'Ane Godlie Tractate.' By William Lauder,
E.E.T.S.: 1870. P. 4, ll. 37-40.
6 Jamieson. in his Supplement. has devoted
two articles to these words, and concludes the
latter notice by stating that he has met no
parallel verb in any other language, forgetting
that the French have rabrouer,, for the etymon
of which see Diez, quoted by Littré, Dict. de
la Langue française,' vol. ii. p. 8439, col. 3.
7 'J. Melvill's Diary,' p. 411.
8 Vide 'The Historical Works of Sir James
Brybour, s. a beggarly fellow.
"And tretis nane but brybouris of vyld blude."
Buff, s. nonsense, foolish talk. O. Fr. bufoi.
Buffie, adj. fat, short-breathed, panting. Fr. bouffi.
Buff out, v. n. to laugh out suddenly. Fr. bouffer, pouffer.
Caduc, adj. fleeting. Fr. caduque. "ze haue grit occasione
to fle thir varldly caduc honouris."2
Calkil, v. a. to calculate. Fr. calculer. "quha can calkil
the degreis of kyn and blude of the barrons of scotland, thai
will conferme this samyn."3
Catives,4 s.pl. wretches. O. Fr. caitifs.
Celeste, adj. heavenly. Fr. celesté. "than eftir this sueit
celest armonye, tha began to dance in ane ring."5
Changement, s. change. Fr. changemont.
Chestee, chestie, v. a. to chastise. O. Fr. chastier, chastoyer,
castier. "ther for he dois chestee them be the abstractione of
that superfluite."6
Clemente, clemens, s. clemency. Fr. clémence.
"Sayand alway, that other king or prince
That crwell war but mercie or clemence," &c.7
Balfour,' vol. ii. p. 141. Tod has given the
word brusk a place in his additions to Johnson's
Dictionary. He, however, quotes only
a passage from Sir H. Wotton's letters as his
authority; it is probable that this word was
familiar to Scottish earlier than to English
ears.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 449, l. 14,034.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande, p. 170,
ll. 26, 27.
3 Ibid., p. 167, ll. 30-32.
4 G. Douglas, i. 11, 7.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 65, ll.
15, 16. See p. 47, l. 6.
6 Ibid., p. 19, ll. 14, 15. See p. 23, l. 19.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 187, ll. 6081, 6082. See 'Complaynt
of Scotlande,' p. 125, l. 19.
Collere, coller, s. anger. Fr. colère. "Than cresus, persauand
kyng cirus in collere and ire, he said," &c.1
Commodite, comodite, s. convenience. Fr. commodité. "this
spangzard culd nocht hef dune it, hed nocht been that he hed
ane hardy hart, and alse haffand commodite … to commit
that act."2
Comples, v. a. to please. Fr. complaire.
"The Pechtis war complesit of that thing."3
Concord, v. a. to bring to agreement. Fr. concorder.
"Unto Brigance passit this Ewenus,
For till concord the sonnis of Cadallus."
Confidder, v. n. to league together. Fr. confédérer.
"Gif ouir thair band and confidder with ws."5
Confort, v. a. to strengthen. Fr. conforter. "i sau borate;
that is gude to confort the hart."6
Confort, s. comfort. Fr. confort.
"‘Quhairfoir,' scho said, I yow ilkone exhort
To tak curage and be of gude confort.'"7
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 153,
ll. 12, 13. See l. 26.
2 Ibid., p. 131, ll. 10-13. See l. 28; p.
133, l. 7.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 273, l. 8702.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 129.ll. 4335, 4336.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 32, l. 1092. See p. 36,
l. 1234.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 67, ll.
13, 14.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 303, ll. 9596, 9597. See p. 304, l.
9615.
Confort, adj. comfortable.
"Quhilk for to heir is plesand and confort."1
Conservator, s. Scotch consul in the Netherlands. Fr. conservateur
(des priviléges).
Constant, adj. evident, manifest. Fr. constant.
Constitute, v. a. to constitute; to open a church court with
prayer. Fr. constituer.
Contempil, v. a. to look upon. Fr. contempler. "sche began
to contempil the vidthrid barran feildis."2
Contemplene, s. contemplation. Fr. contempler. "for
throucht the lang studio and contemplene of the sternis, ve
can," &c.3
Contene, v. n. to behave; to demean one's self. Fr. se contenir.
Conteneu, s. tenor. Fr. contain. "be rason that the sentens
ande conteneu of thyr said cheptours of the bibil, gart me
consaue, that" &c.4
Contermyt, part. pas. firmly set against. O. Fr. contremis.
Contigue, adj. contiguous. Fr. contigu.
Contirmont, countirmont,5 adv. backwards or upwards. O.
Fr. contremont.
Contrar, contrair, s. opposition, resistance; a repulse in the
pursuit of any object; the opposite. Fr. contraire.
"The contrair, as my author did sa,
Come efter that rycht sone vpoun ane da."6
1 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 3, l. 67.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 70, l.
16. See p. 11, l. 25; p. 37, l. 31; p. 47, l.
5; p. 53, l. 10; p. 154, l. 4.
3 Ibid., p. 46, ll. 11, 12. See l. 6.
4 Ibid., p. 23, ll. 27-29.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 54, 3; iv. 40, 30.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 106, ll. 3584, 3585.
"Wo be to thame that dois knaw
Godds wourd, syne dois the contrar schaw."1
It is used adjectively:— "in euyrie tua contrar opinions ther is
ane rycht and ane vrang."2
"To quhome also is knawn the wourd of God,
And wilfullie Bois rin the contrair rod,
This man can neuer haue peace in conscience."3
It is used as a preposition, and in various prepositional
phrases: "There is ane exempil of allexander kyng of
macedon, quha hed mortal veyr contrar the grekis."4
"And speciallie that tyme to mak debait
Contrair Dowalus and his fals dissait."5
"Knawand also he mycht nocht him alone
Rycht weill defend contrair all Albione."6
"'That thing is wrocht alway, rycht weill I wait,
With fraude and falset, tressoun and dissait,
Into the contrair of the commoun weill."7
Sometimes in one word, incontrair:—
"Johnne Cowpland than, as that my author schew,
Incontrair him he come for till reskew
The Inglismen, and gaif him batteil than,
Quhair that he loissit mony nobill man."8
1 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate.'
By William Lauder, E.E.T.S.: A.D. 1864.
P. 10, II. 235, 236.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 183, ll.
28, 29.
3 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour.' By
William Lauder: p. 8, ll. 163-168.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 111,
ll. 31, 32. See p. 87, ll. 2, 27; p. 110, ll.
23, 27; p. 138, ll. 6, 33.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 63, ll. 2125, 2126. See vol. i. p
64, 1. 2158.
6 Ibid., vol. i. p. 208, ll. 6741, 6742. See
vol. i. p. 210, l. 6797.
7 Ibid., vol. i. p. 201, ll. 6515-6517. See
p. 272, l. 8688.
8 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 373, ll. 54,917-54,920.
Sometimes by itself:—
"And in the contrair, quha wald exaltit be,
Go learne at Christ, to lead Humelytie."1
Hence to contrare, contere, v. a. to thwart, to oppose. Fr.
contrarier. Contersum and contrarisum are of the same
family.
Contrufe, v. a. to contrive; part. pas. contruwit. O. Fr. controuver.
S. contruvar, a schemer.
Contumaced, part. pas. accused of contumacy. Fr. contumacé.

Contumax, adj. contumacious. Fr. contumax.
Convene,2 s. agreement, paction. Other forms are conuyne,
conwyne, covyne, cowyne, cuwyn. O. Fr. convent, convine, covine.
This last word means also fraud, artifice.
Convene, conveane, v. n. to agree. Fr. convenir.
Conveniable, adj. convenient. Fr. convenable.
Convenient, adj. satisfied. Fr. convenant.
Convoy, s. channel, mode of conveyance; a trick; prudent
or artful management, &c. O. Fr. convoy.
Convoy, v. a. to accomplish, to manage, to give effect to any
purpose, especially by artful means. O. Fr. convoier.
"And riche Naball, for his grit churlyschenes
Schewin to Dauid, almaist had bene distroyit,
Gyf Abygall had nocht it weill conuoyit."3
See vol. i. p. 155, l. 5119; vol. iii. p. 145,
l. 47,236.
1 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour.' By
William Lauder: p. 17, ll. 454, 455. See
l. 197.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 99, 5.
3 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' p. 21,
ll. 579-581.
"zit notheles thai hef nothir prudens nor knaulege til conuoye
and til exsecut ony point of trason."1
Couattyce, couatyce, covatyse, covetise, cowatyss, s. coveteousness;
lust of power. O. Fr. coveitise, Fr. convoitise.
"Thay suld be clene of euery vyce,
And, speciallie, of Couatyce."2
Coucher, s. a coward: the verb is also coacher. Fr. coacher.
Coulpe, s. a fault. O. Fr. coulpe. "ve sal carye no thing
furtht of this varld bot the coulpe of our synnis," &c.3
Countrecoup, s. opposition, a repulse in the pursuit of any
object (Ayr.) Fr. contrecoup.
Crak,4 v. a. to talk idly. Fr: craquer. The word is used as
a noun, with the meaning of light conversation.
Crouse, crous, adj. and adv. bold, boldly. Fr. courroucé.
O. Fr. curruz, curuz.
Crualte, s. cruelty. O. Fr. crualté. " this protector of
ingland purposit til vse this samyn crualte," &c.5
Crudelite, crudelitie, s. cruelty. O. Fr. crudelité, cruelté,
crualt; Fr. cruauté.
"All this wes done with greit crudelitie
Of the injuris for to revengit be,
The quhilk to him befoir that he had done."6
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 130,
ll. 14-16. See p. 4, I. 14; p. 133, l. 13.
2 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate.'
By William Lauder: p. 17,ll. 461, 462. See
p. 7, l. 127. See also 'Ane Godlie Tractate
or Mirrour,' p. 21, l. 601.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 155,
ll. 3, 4.
4 G. Douglas, i. 118, 7. See p. 251, n. 3.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 103, ll.
6, 7.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 550, ll. 60,842-60,844. See also p.
242, l. 50,471; p. 251, I. 50,764; and p. 558,
l. 61,110.
Cuilze,1 culye, culyie, v. a. to entice, to beguile. O. Fr.
guiller. Cuillier is the s., and means a flatterer.
Cuir, cure, cuyr, s. charge. O. Fr. cure,2 Latin cura.
"Qvhat is thir kings more than the pure,
Except thair office and thair cure?"3
Heed, care:—
"And the vile Catyue, naikit and pure,
Had of hym-self bot onlye cure."4
Duty:—
"O kyngis, I mak zow traist and sure,
Geue ze neclect zour Prencelie cure."5
Calling:—
"Ze sulde nocht chuse vnto that cure
Ane Vinolent nor wod Pasture."6
Discharge of occcupation:—
"Preis neuer, O Prencis, in zour cure,
No waye for to oppresse the pure."7
Cupidite, s. cupidity. Fr. cupidité. "for al the vicis that
oure cupidite prouokis vs to commit, our blynd affectione garris
vs beleue that tha ar supreme vertu ande felicite," &c.8
1 G. Douglas, ii. 60, 1.
2 "Al cors firent sepulture,
Prient Deu que prenge cure."
— 'Saint Brandan,' p. 18, ll. 351, 352. Edited
by Francisque-Michel: Paris, A.D. 1872. See
p. 25, 1. 515.
3 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 5, ll. 61, 62. See p. 7, l. 143; p. 13, ll.
322, 335, 354; and p. 16, l. 447.
4 Ibid., p. 6, ll. 97, 98. See p. 9, l. 185;
p. 15, l. 413; see also 'Ane Godlie Tractate
or Mirrour,' p. 4, l. 46.
5 Ibid., p. 6, 11. 99, 200; see p. 10, l. 233
p. 13, l. 343; p. 18, l. 509.
6 Ibid., p. 12, 11. 285, 286.
7 Ibid., p. 10, ll. 243, 244. See also
'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,' vol.
i. p. 49, l. 1689; p. 50, l. 1701; and vol. iii.
p. 47, l. 44,018.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 35, ll.
2-4.
Cupit, adj. desirous. Fr. cupide.
"… ten thousand men,
Curious and kene, cupit of honour."1
Curage, s. heart, humour. Fr. courage.
"Williame Douglas ane man of hie curage,
Of nobill blude and of richt hie lynnage."2
"therfor ze suld tak curage in zour iust querrel."3
Curageus, adj. bold. Fr. courageux. "In the antiant dais,
the romans var mair renforsit in curageus entreprisis be the
vertu of the pen," &c.4
Cure, v. a. to care for, to regard. To this word we may join
to sussy, to be careful, to care for (Fr. se soucier); and sussious,
careful, anxious (Fr. soucieux).5
Curious, adj. anxious, fond, eager. Fr. curicux.
Cursabill, adj. current. O. Fr. coursable.
Debonar,6 adj. good, gracious. Fr. débonnaire.
Debonarlie,7 adv. Fr. débonnairement.
Decerne, discerne, v. a. to adjudge, to decree. Fr. décerner.
Dechae, dechay, v. n. to decay. Fr. dechoir. "that is the
special cause that al dominions altris, dechaeis, ande cummis
to subuersione."8
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 139, ll. 4644, 4645.
2 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 373, ll. 54,933, 54,934
See vol. i. p. 433, ll. 13,513, 13,523.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 91, l.
31. See p. 79, l. 7.
4 Ibid., p. 10, ll. 7-9,
5 Vide Sir Patrick Hume, 'The Promise to
the King James the Sixth,' the epistill, st. v.;
and 'Ane Consolator Ballad to … Sir
Richard Maitland,' among his Poems, Introd.
Notice, p. lxviii, col. 2, where sussious is
erroneously printed.
6 G. Douglas, iv. 199, 16.
7 'Clariodus,' p. 340, l. 1871.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 21, ll.
26-28. See p. 71, l. 13.
Decoir, v. a. to adorn. Fr. décorer.
"And kest him ay his kinrik to decoir."1
Dedeyne, dedane, deding, v. n. to deign. Fr. daigner.
"'Ellis,' tha said, 'dout nocht bot zow hed sene,
Als schort ane quhile as ze haif now heir bene,
Als bald bernis and in armour als bricht,
As thow hes heir sone semblit2 in thi sicht,
Or ony man ane fit farder hed socht
To bring to the sic bodwart as we brocht,
Or zit dedeyne sic message for to go,
To speir at the quhat causit the do so.'"3
Defaill, v. n. to fail, to wax feeble. Fr. défaillir.
Defame, s. infamy, disgrace. O. Fr. diffame. "for in ald
tymes ther culd nocht be ane gritar defame nor quhen ane
mannis craig vas put in the zoik be his enemye, for that defame,"
&c.4
Defend,5 v. a. to forbid. Fr. défendre.
Defeyth,6 v. a. to undo. Fr. défaire.
Deflorit, part. pas. deflowered. Fr. défloré. "zour vyfis and
dochteris deflorit be the onbridilit lust of zour ald enemes."7
Delacion, s. procrastination, delay. O. Fr. delacion.
Despite, v. n. to be filled with indignation. O. Fr. se despiter.
The noun is dispyte.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 320, l. 10,136.
2 Fr. (as)sembler.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. pp. 112, 113, ll. 46,163-46,175
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 102,
ll. 7-9. See l. 31; p. 101, l. 14.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 12, 9.
6 Ibid., i. xxii. 12.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 92, ll.
26, 27.
"For all the pepill planelie with dispyte
On Ferlegus thairof laid all the wyte."1
Det, s. duty. Fr. dette.
Devore, deuore, s. duty. Fr. devoir.
Difficil, dificil, adj. difficult. Fr. difficile.
"Sic thing till do difficill is to me."2
"be cause of sa mony dificil impedimentis that maye impesche
hym."3
Digesilie, adv. deliberately. Fr. digérer.
Diol, dool, doul, dule,4 duill, s. sorrow, grief. Fr. deuil,
Gael. dol.
"Makand greit duill for the deid of thair king."5
Discymilit, dissymilit, adj. dissembled. Fr. dissimulé.
"Quhen kyng cirus herd the subtil discymilit pleisant interpretatione
of cresus vordis, he smylit and leuch," &c.6
Diseis, disesse, s. want of ease; state of war. O. Fr. disaise.
Dispensatour, s. dispenser. Fr. dispensateur. "bot rather
god hes ordand the to be ane dispensatour of his gyftis amang
the ignorant pepil."7
Displesance, s. displeasure. O. Fr. desplaisance.
Dissimull, v. n. to dissemble. Fr. dissimuler.
"Sum bad dissimull quhill tha saw thair [tyme]."8
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 55, ll. 1859, 1860.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 723, I. 42,566.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 130,
l. 22. See p. 15, l. 17.
4 'Orfeo and Heurodis,' l. 160.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 55, l. 1861.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 153,
ll. 24, 25. See p. 71, l. 23; p. 181, l. 16; p. 182, l. 24.
7 Ibid., p. 158, ll. 13-15.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 34, l. 1137.
Disuetude,1 s. disuse. Fr. désuétude.
Dole, s. a trick, fraud. Fr. dol.
Dolent, a. mournful, dismal. Fr. dolent, Lat. dolens.
"Bot verray feirfull and dolent is that dead
That dois the Saule vnto Damnatioun lead."2
Domage, s. damage. Fr. dommage. "alse reuengis hym
nocht of the violens and domage that his enemeis hes perpetrat
contrar hym."3
Domageabil, adj. hurtful. Fr. dommageable. "ve can gyf
ane iugement of diuerse futur accedentis that ar gude or euyl,
necessair or domageabil for man or beyst."4
Doubtit, dowtet, part. pas. held in awe. O. Fr. doubter.
Douse, adj. sedate, well-behaved; douceness, s. sedateness.
Fr. doux, fear.
Dout, v. a. to fear. O. Fr. doubter, douter, to fear. "Quhar
is the toune of cartage that dantit the elephantis, ande vas
grytumly doutit and dred be the romans?"5
Dout, doute, s. fear. O. Fr. doute, doubte.
Doutance, s. doubt. O. Fr. doubtance, dutance.6
Drowreis,7 s. pl. gifts, presents. O. Fr. druerie. The Irish
had druth, s. f. 1, a harlot; 2, adj. foolish, lascivious.8
1 Burt's 'Letters,'&c., vol. i. p. 166.
2 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' p. 24,
ll. 702, 703.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 186,
ll. 19, 20. See p. 92, l. 9; p. 122, 1. 26; p.
161, l. 15; p. 163, 1. 23; p. 167, l. 36.
4 Ibid., p. 46, ll. 12-14.
5 Ibid., p. 21, ll. 9, 10.
6 "Laquele se chascun entiere e nient malmise
ne guarderat, senz dutance pardurablement
perirat." ["La Comune Fei."] 'Le
Livre des Psaumes,' p. 288, col. 2, ver. 2.
Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, A.D. 1876.
7 G. Douglas, ii. 149, 14.
8 See Edward. Lhuyd's 'Archæologia Britannica'
(an Irish-English Dictionary), sub voce.
Dugon, s. a term expressive of contempt. O. Fr. doguin.
Dulce, adj. sweet, mild, soft. O. Fr. duilz, dulz,1 dulce.2
"That tyme Neptunus wes rycht amiabill,
And Eolus rycht dulce and delectabill."3
"the musician amphion quhilk sang sa dulce, quhil that the
stanis mouit," &c.4
Dullie, adj. doleful, miserable.
"That dullie dragone that dois men to deid,
With forcieful furious infirmitie
In that distres hes done him for to de."5
Dyminue, dimineu, v. a. to diminish. Fr. diminuer.
"… thai schel fische dimineuis," &c.6
Dyspytuws, adj. despiteful. Fr. despiteux.
Egal, adj. equal. Fr. égal. "for at that tyme al men var
egal," &c.7
Enchesoun, s. reason of a thing. O. Fr. acheson.
Engaigne, s. indignation. O. Fr. engain.
Enorme, adj. great. Fr. énorme.
1 "Ki ensemble oümes duilz (var. dulz) segrei,
en la maisun Deu alames en poür." Ps.
liv. 14. 'Le Livre des Psaumes,' p. 94. See
also Ps. xviii. 10, and cxviii. 103; pp. 29, 226.
2 "Quant vint le jurn al declinant,
Vers le vespere dunc funt cant,
Od dulces voices mult halt crient
E enz en le cant Deu mercient."
— 'Saint Brandan,' p. 27, ll. 556-559. See
p. 34, l. 700, and p. 48, l. 998.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 26, ll. 879, 880.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 64, ll.
18, 19.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 20, ll. 675-677.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 57, l.
20. See p. 56, l. 31.
7 Ibid., p. 544, l. 29.
"That storme it wes so furius and fell,
Ouir wynd and waiv so fast it did thame dryve,
That euerie man in dreid wes of his lyve,
Seand the se so furius and enorme."1
Entandement,2 s. understanding. Fr. entendement.
Ententyve, adj, earnest, eager, intent. O. Fr. ententif.
Epouentabill, adj. dreadful. O. Fr. espouventable, espoentable,
espowentables.3
Esperance, s. hope. Fr. espérance.
"As the Apostillis, beleuing Christ to ring
In earth amangs thame as ane temporall King,
So lang as tha of this had Esperance,
Tha euer leuit still in Ignorance."4
Estimy, estime, v. a. to form a judgment of, to think. Fr.
estimer. "O ze my thre sonis, quhat can the varld estime of
zou," &c.5 "or ellis he estemeis vs to be litil experementit in
the veyris."6
Expreme, v. a. to express, to mention. Fr. exprimer. "i
can nocht expreme ane speciale man that perpetratis this traisonabil
act," &c.7
Faculte, s. power, gift. Fr. faculté. "… he that
hes the gyft of traductione, compiling or teching, his faculte
is as honest … as is to be ane marynel," &c.8
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 53, ll. 44,215-44,218.
2 'History of King James VI.,' ed. 1825,
p. 279.
3 "Espowentables Deus de ses saintuaries,"
Ps. lxvii. 36. See Ps. xlvi. 2, lxiv. 5. 'Le
Livre des Psaumes,' pp. 81, 108, 116.
4 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' p. 12,
ll. 297-300.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 165, l.
30.
6 Ibid., p. 14, I. 15.
7 Ibid, p. 109, ll. 21, 22.
8 Ibid., p. 10, ll. 11-13.
Failze, v. n. to fail. Fr. faillir. "nor is it dishonour
quhen he failzeis in the conquessing of ane thing,"
&c.1
Faintice, fantise, s. dissembling, hypocrisy. O. Fr. faintise.
Fallauge, falawdge, adj. lavish. Fr. volage.
Falset, falsed, s. falsehood. O. Fr. (14th century), falsité,
fausete.
"Haue ze thare herts, I say expresse,
Than all is zours that thay possesse:
Than neid ze nocht, no tyme nor ceasone,
Be ferit for falset or for traisone."2
Faminitie, s. whoredom. O. Fr. femenie.
"In word and work this king he wox rycht vile;
Gredie and glittus in gulos[it]ie,
In flesche assegit with foull faminitie."3
Fantisie, v. a. to fancy, to look upon with affection. Fr.
fantasier.
Fasch, fash, facherie, fashire, fashrie,4 s. trouble, vexation.
O. Fr. fascherie. Tod has inserted in Johnson's Dictionary to
fash, v. a. to vex, to teaze, but neither the above substantive,
nor fashions, adj. troublesome, Fr. fâcheux.
Favorise,5 v. a. to favour. Fr. favoriser.
Fay, s. faith. Fr. foi.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 186,
II. 10, 11.
2 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 11, ll. 255-258. See p. 17, l. 457; and
'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 181, I. 11.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 102, ll. 3467-3469. Cf. p. 165, l.
5446.
4 Grahame's 'Anatomie of Humors,' fol. 2
verso, &c.
5 Mackay's 'Memoirs,' p. 32.
Feal, adj. loyal; s. a liege-man, O. Fr. feal, Fr. fiddle.
Felicite, felecite, pl. feliciteis, s. happiness, pleasure. Fr.
félecité "… fureous mars, that hes violently ocupeit
the domicillis of tranquil pace, that sueit goddes of humaine
felicite."1
Feloune, felloun, adj. cruel. O. Fr. felun,2 Fr. félon, cruel;
felony, felouny, felny, s. cruelty, fierceness. O. Fr. félonie,
felenie, felunie,3 cruelty, impiety. Fellounly, felounly, felonly,
cruelly.
"Mister he had of mony sic as tha,
For to defend him fra his felloun fa."4
The word is applied otherwise than to animate beings:—
"He put his men in gude ordour full sone,
Syne gaif command how all thing suld be done;
Syne fuir on thame with sic ane felloun force,
Quhill to the ground he drave bayth men and horss."5
Fend, fende, v. a. to offend; to defend, to support, to maintain.
Fr. défendre, the first syllable having been considered as
a particle.
Fenze, v. a. to feign. O. Fr. feigner. "bot as they var
ane fenzet hel of the poietis fictions."6
Fenzie, feinzie, s. deceit.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 7,
ll. 10-12. See p. 108, l. 23; p. 122, l. 20;
for pl. p. 570, l. 18.
2 "Beoneüret li heom ki ne alit el cunseil
de feluns," Ps. i. 1. See also ver. 5, 6, 7.
'Le Livre des Psaumes,' pp. 1, 2.
3 "Kar nen es Deus voillanz felunie tu," Ps.
v. 3. See ver. 5. 'Le Livre des Psaumes,' p. 5.
4 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 6, ll. 202, 203. See vol. i. p. 8, l.
246.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 10, ll. 340-343. See vol.
i. p. 11, l. 385; p. 64, l. 2143; and vol. iii.
p. 34, l. 43,581.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 35,
ll. 9, 50.
"Quhilk gydit justice with greit equitie
To riche and puir, without fraude or fenzie."1
Ferme, adj. firm. Fr. ferme. "bot it [snau] is nocht sa
ferme and hard congelit as is the hail stonis."2
Fey, fie,3 adj. fated, predestined, bewitched, unlucky, doomed,
driven on to his impending fate by the strong impulse of some
irresistible necessity. O. Fr. faé.4
Flechand,5 adj. coaxing, flattering. Fr. fléchir.
Fray,6 s. fear, fright. Fr. effroi. Fray, v. n. to be afraid.
Frayour, s. that which causes terror. Fr. frayeur.
Frivolle, freuol, freuole, adj. fickle; frivolous. Fr. frivole.
"Sainct agustyne de ciuitate dei, in the IX. cheptour of his seuynt
beuk, allegis mony freuol argumentis contrar the antipodos."7
Frunty, fronty, adj. free in manners, spirited (Fife.) Fr.
effronté.
Fruster, v. n. to frustrate. Fr. frustrer.
"Quhilk wald be caus sone efterwart perchance
The commoun weill to fruster and faill,
And euerie man se for his awin availl."8
Furiosite, furiositie,9 s. madness; great indignation. Fr.
furieux.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 97, ll. 45,663, 45,664.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 59,
ll. 20, 21.
3 'Jock o' the Side,' st. xxx., &c.
4 Henschell refers to 'Partonopeus de Blois,'
v. 515, 702; to the 'Roman de Roncevaux,' p.
36; to 'Gérard de Vienne,' v. 2179; and to
Raynouard's 'Lexique roman,' t. iii. p. 282,
col. 2, voce "Fadar:" but there is another
passage to show that destiné was synonymous
with fae, in the 'Chronique de Bertrand du
Guesclin,' by Cuvelier, l. 2333-35, vol. i. p.
85; cf. Rabelais, B. i. ch. 3, and B. ii. ch. 29.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 72, 30.
6 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. pp. 30 and 543,
A.D. 1597-98 and 1608.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 51,
ll. 9-11.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. i. p. 45, ll. 1532-1534.
9 'A Diurnal of Occurrents,' p. 75.
Galavastar, s. a gasconading fellow. Prov. Fr. galavard, probably
derived from, or kindred to, galvardine, a sort of frock.1
Galiart, galliard, galyeard, galzart, galzeard, galzeart, adj.2
and s. active, cheerful, jolly. Fr. gaillard.
Gloir, v. n. to boast, to glory. Fr. gloire. "O my eldest
sonne (nobilis), this seueir reproche contrar thy zongest brother
is no occasione to gar the gloir."3
It is used as a noun signifying glory:—
"With laud and gloir, pomp and hie honour,
Tha sesit him thair in his sepultour."4
Gormand, s. and adj. a glutton; voracious, gluttonous. Fr.
and O. Eng. gourmand.
Govus, s. a simpleton. O. Fr. goffe, ill-made, gross.
Gravité., s. enormity. Fr. gravité.
Greable, adj. pleasant. Fr. agréable.
Grés,5 s. favour, grace. Fr. gré.
Guff, s. a fool. Fr. goffe.
Gyn, gyne,6 s. a contrivance, engine. Fr. engin.
Habill,7 abill, adj. fit, proper. Fr. habile.
"That scho war abill for to bruke the croun."8
Hable, v. a. to enable. Fr. habile.
1 Rabelais, B. v. ch. 43.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 143, 9; iv. 55, 16, and
215, 9.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 143,
ll. 18-20. Cf. p. 129, l. 22; p. 154, l. 19.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 59, ll. 2011, 2012. Cf. p. 2, I. 54;
p. 7, l. 235; p. 14, l. 495; 33, l. 1105:
vol. iii. p. 238, I. 50,323; p. 257, 1. 50,977;
p. 258, l. 51,010.
5 "Glassinberry's Poem," in 'Early Metrical
Tales,' p. 303.
6 G. Douglas, i. 87, 25; 116, 18.
7 'J. Melvill's Diary,' p. 92.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 137, l. 46,983.
Haltand, haltyne, haltane, adj. haughty. O. Fr. altaign,
haullain, hault; Fr. hautain, haut; Lat. altus.
"How Dedius, with haltane mind and hie,
Maliciouslie malingis agane me."
Haltanely, adv. proudly.
Hardiment,2 s. courage, boldness. O. Fr. hardement.
"With hardiment on helmis syne did hew."3
Hidwise, adj. hideous. Fr. hideux, O. Fr. hide, terror.
Humil, humyll, humill, adj. humble, mild, gentle. O. Fr.
humle, humele;4 Lat. humilis. "inglis men ar humil quhen
thai ar subieckit be forse and violence."'
"Be humyll, meik, and pacient,
And to do Justice diligent."'
"Greit joy it wes that tyme to se thame meit,
With salussing that sober wes and sueit,
Welcumand him than of ane humill wyss."
Humelie, adv. humbly.
"Zit humelie, with hert Inteir,
I wald beseik zour Maiesteis,
My dytement did zov not displeis:
Bot in-to gude part tak it weil."8
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 272, ll. 8676, 8677. See also p.
333, l. 10,509.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 262, 13.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 369, l. 54,776.
4 "Ker halz li Sire, e le humle veit, le
halt a loinz conuist." Ps. cxxxvii. 6. Cf.
Ps. cxii. 6; pp. 210, 245, and 285, ver. 7.
'Le Livre des Psaumes.'
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 106,
1. 22. See p. 170, l. 24.
6 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 10, ll. 247, 248. See p. 12, l. 310; and p.
16, 1. 421.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 26, ll. 885-887.
8 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 19, ll. 528-531.
Iape, jaip,1 s. a jest, mock. Fr. jape.
Illustir, adj. illustrious. Fr. illusive. "Ande nou, illustir
princes," &c.2
Illustrate, v. a. to render illustrious. Fr. illustrer.
Immemoir, adj. unmindful. Fr. mémoire with the negative
im.
"Withoutin grace tha war all immemoir
Of the vengeance wes send on thame befoir."3
Impertinent, adj. uncivil, indiscreet. Fr. impertinent.
Importun,4 adj. importunate. Fr. importun.
Incontinent, adv. immediately. Fr. incontinent.
"So did the erle as I haif said zow heir,
Incontinent gart fetche to him the freir,
Quhilk him dissimulit as ane Scottisman."5
Incredule, adj. unbelieving. Fr. incrédule. "Quhar for i
treist that his diuine justice vil permit sum vthir straynge
natione to be mercyles boreaus to them, ande til extinct that
false seid ande that incredule generatione furtht of rememorance.6

Indoctryne, v. a. to teach. Fr. endoctriner. "zit he dar be
so bold … to disput ande tyl indoctryne the maneir of
the veyris ande of the battellis," &c.7
1 G. Douglas, i. 121, 13; ii. 72, 31; 164,
20.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 2, l.
4. See l. 21; p. 3, l. 10.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 336, ll. 53,677, 53,678.
4 'Sir James Melville's Memoirs,' p. 7
(the author to his son).
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 279, ll. 51,701-51,703. Cf. p. 8,
l. 42,746; p. 145, l. 47,248; p. 349, l.
54,124; p.350, 1. 54,143; p. 353, l. 54, 276;
vol. i. p. 155, l. 5117. 'Complaynt of Scotlande,'
p. 109, l. 24; p. 119, l. 8; p. 161,
l. 8.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 27,
ll. 21-25. Cf. p. 161, l. 33.
7 Ibid., p. 14, ll. 10-13.
Infamite, s. infamy. Fr. infameté.
Ingire, ingyre,1 v. n. to introduce one's self, to bring, to come
forward, to intermeddle with. Fr. s'ingérer.
Ingrat, ingrate, adj. ungrateful. Fr. ingrat. "ze haif
schauen zou rycht ingrat contrar me."2
Ingyne, engyne, engenie, s. ingenuity, genius, disposition.
O. Fr. engin.
"This Edward Balliole after on ane da,
About that hous ane souer seig gart la,
With all ingyne in ony heid that lyis,
Or mannis wit, culd in that tyme devyss."3
Injure, s. injury. Fr. injure.
"And all the Pechtis at this tyme distroy,
Hes done til ws so greit injure and noy."4
"the prudent seneque gyuis cummand to repreif vitht out
iniure," &c.5
Inkirly,6 adv. heartily, fervently. Fr. en cœur.
Inquietit,7 part. pas. disquieted. Fr. inquiété.
Intimee,8 v. a. to make known, to intimate. Fr. intimer.
Inutil, onutile, adj. useless. Fr. inutile. "allace, i laubyr
nycht and day vitht my handis to neureis lasche and inutil idil
men," &c.9
1 G. Douglas, iii. 226, 15; 283, 9.
'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 260, A.D. 1600.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 105,
l. 9. Cf. p. 20, l. 15.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 316, ll. 52,975-52,978. See 'The
Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 4, l. 15; p. 22,
ll. 1, 2; p. 161, l. 29.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 270, II. 8640, 8641. See
also p. 272, l. 8687; p. 283, l. 8997; p.
302, l. 9565; p. 303, l. 9585.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 130,
ll. 5, 6. See p. 133, l. 9; p. 141, l. 23.
6 G. Douglas, iii. 12, 8.
7 'Bp. Lesley's Hist.,' p. 166.
8 Ibid., p. 113.
9 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 123,
ll. 12, 13. See p. 28, l. 10.
Irus, irows,1 adj. angry. O. Fr. ireux.
Jangi1,2 v. a. to prate. O. Fr. gengler, jangler.3
Janglar,4 s. prater. O. Fr. gengleur.
Joyeusity, s. jollity, mirth. Fr. joyeuseté.
Joyse, v. a. to enjoy, possess. Fr. jouir.
"And zour successioun thay sall be
Eradicat frome zour ryngs, trewlie,
And geuin to vncouth Natioun,
To Ioyse zour Habitatioun."5
Juge, v. a. to judge. Fr. juger. "Ther is na prudent man
that vil iuge that this pistil procedis of assentatione or adulatione,"
&c.6
Jugement, s. judgment. Fr. jugement. "the quhilk i beleif
sal cum haistyly on them be the rycht iugement of god," &c.7
Langage, s. language. Fr. langage.
"Syne with fair langage did thame all exhort
Into that battell stalwartlie to byde."8
Langorius, adj. weak. Fr. langueur. "Than quhen this
lady persauit hyr thre sonnis in that langorius stait, sche
began," &c.9
1 G. Douglas, ii. 92, 31.
2 Ibid., i. 48, 28; iv. 230, 15.
3 "Decurrunt li parlant anciene chose?
janglerunt cil ki ovrent felunie?" Ps. xciii.
4. 'Le Livre des Psaumes,' p. 172.
4 G. Douglas, i. 48, 21.
5 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 7, ll. 123-126.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 3, ll.
2-4. See p. 9, l. 17; p. 129, l. 7.
7 Ibid., p. 125, ll. 7, 8.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 176, ll.. 48,236, 48,237.
9 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 70,
ll. 31, 32. See p. 122, l. 21.
Lasch,1 adj. relaxed, lazy, slack, weary, devoted to idleness.
O. Fr. lasche.
Lautee,2 lautie, lawta, lawte, lawtie, lawty, lawtith, s. loyalty.
O. Fr. leauté.
"Peace and policie, riches and renown,
Welth and weilfair in castell, tour and toun,
Plesure and plentie ar war in his dais,
With law and lawtie, so my author says."3
Truth:—
"Frome fraude, falset, and frome gyle,
No Preaching can the pepill allure.
Lawtie and luife ar in exile."4
Leal, leil, leile, lele, adj. loyal, true, true-hearted. O. Fr.
pronounced in Normandy léal.
"A leal heart never lied."5
"I'm wearin' awa'
To the land o' the leal"6
"Syne war all suorne to keip that leill and trew."7
Lechery,8 s. gluttony, debauchery. O. Fr. lechiere, a glutton,
a parasite (Fr. lécher).
Leis, s. harm, wrong. Fr. lèse, aff., used only in compound
words.
1 G. Douglas, iii. 269, 29.
2 Henryson, 'The Want of Wise Men,' l.
34; among his poems, p. 37.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. pp. 41, 42, ll. 1419-1422. Cf. p. 54,
I. 1848; vol. iii. p. 549, 1. 60,793.
4 'The Lamentatioun,' &c., ll. 21-23. Lauder's
Minor Poems, p. 27.
5 'Allan Ramsay's Scotch Proverbs.'
6 'Life and Songs of Baroness Nairne,' p.
163: London, 1869—8vo.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 37, I. 1269. See p. 45, I.
1544; p. 59, 1. 2018; vol. iii. p. 313, ll.
58,866.
8 'Privy Council Register,' March 5, 1616,
quoted by Robert Chambers, Domestic Annals
of Scotland,' vol. i. p. 478.
"Or passit wes ane schort part of tha trewis,
Out of Ingland rycht mony smaik and schrewis
Into Scotland king Edward send, but leis,
In that purpois for to perturbe the peice."1
Levit,2 pret. relieved, alleviated, lightened. Fr. levé.
Logicinar, s. logician. Fr. logicien. "The sophist logicinaris
per chance may argou," &c.3
Losanger,4 s. a sluggard, a loiterer. O. Fr. losengier.5
Lossingeir,6 losyngeour, losengere, v. a. to deceive. O. Fr.
lozenger.
Louabill, lovabyll,7 adj. praiseworthy. Fr. louable.
Loue, v. a. to praise. Fr. louer. "the prudent seneque
gyuis command to repreif vitht out injure, and loue vitht out
flattery."8
Lubrecus, adj. lewd. Fr. lubrique.
"Rycht lubrecus and full of vanitie,
Of concubinis ane hundreth than had he."9
Lurd,10 adj. clumsy, stupid, awkward. Fr. lourd.
Lurdary, s. sottishness. O. Fr. lourderie.
Lurdon, lurdane, s. a lazy woman; a great heavy fellow. Fr.
lourdaud.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 262, ll. 51,133-51,136. Cf. p. 66,
l. 44,648, and p. 252, l. 50,827.
2 'Clariodus,' p. 367, l. 2756.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 183,
ll. 22, 23.
4 G. Douglas, iv. 89, 1.
5 "Mais si le m'ont tolu cil son sirvcnt,
Li cuvert losengier e recreent."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' p. 335, edited by
Francisque-Michel: Paris, A.D. 1856.
6 G. Douglas, iii. 148, 14.
7 Ibid., i. 4, 4; iii. 301, 7.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 130,
ll. 5, 6.
9 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 166, ll. 5449, 5450.
10 'The Autobiography and Diary of Mr
James Melvill,' p. 21.
Magnanime, magnanyme, adj. magnanimous. Fr. magnanime.
"The immortal gloir, that procedis be the rycht lyne
of vertu, fra zour magnanime auansing of the public veil of
the affligit realme of scotlande, is abundantly dilatit athort al
cuntreis."1
Magre,2 magree, mager, magir, magry, s. wrong, injury, ill--
disposition. O. Fr. maugré.
"For all his preching come bot hulie speid,
And mekill mager gat als to his meid."3
As a preposition:—
"And Mackobene lang seiging wald persew,
Magree his will that he wald win that hous."
As a phrase:—
"To that same ferry syne quhen tha come till,
The ferriar, in magir of his will,
Out of his bed at midnycht gart him ryis."5
Mailleys,6 s. trouble, uneasiness. Fr. malaise.
Maistry,7 s. authority. O. Fr. maistrie.
Maittalent, maltalent, matalent,8 s. ill-will, rage. O. Fr. maltalent,9
mautalent. "the grite afflictione … hes procedit
fra the maltalent of dame fortoune," &c.10
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 1, ll.
1-4. See p. 2, l. 5; p. 4, ll. 3, 13.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 190, 15; iii. 205, 17; iv.
206, 23.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 306, ll. 29,301, 29,302. See vol. i.
p. 429, l. 13,409.
4 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 623, ll. 39,286, 39,287.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 343, Il. 53,917-53,919;
Cf. p. 5, l. 42,637; p. 274, l. 51,563. The
phrase is still used in parts of Banffshire, and
the word is pronounced magger. Another
phrase is "a magger o' the neck." The word
is also used as a verb in the sense of overcome.
6 G. Douglas, iv. 94, 30.
7 Ibid., ii. 227, 16.
8 Ibid., ii. 22; heading, c. i.; iii. 336, 29; iv. 165, 13.
9 "Espand sur eals tuen maltalent," Ps.
lxviii. 27. 'Le Livre des Psaumes,' p. 119.
10 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 22,
ll. 29-32.
Makrell,1 s. bawd. Fr. maquerelle.
Malaccord,2 s. disapprobation, dissent, refusal. Fr. mal
accord.
Malapert,3 adj. impudent, forward. O. Fr. malapert.
Malefice,4 s. a bad action. O. Fr. maléfice.5
Maleson, malison, s. a curse. O. Fr. maleiçon, maleison.
"O gin ye gang to May Margaret
Without the leave o' me,
Clyde's waters are wide and deep enough,
My malison down on thee."
Maleurus,7 adj. unhappy, miserable. Fr. malheureux.
Mal-grace, s. in bad favour. Fr. mal and grâce.
Malgratious, adj. surly. Fr. malgracieux.
Malhure, malleur, malleivure, s. mischance. Fr. malheur.
"This warld is war nor euer it was!
Full of myscheif, and all malure."8
Malverse, s. a crime. Fr. malverser, to behave ill.
Malvyté, mawté, s. vice. O. Fr. malvaistié,9 malvetie.
Mankie, v. n. to miss, to fail (Mearns). Fr. manquer.
Manneis, v. a. to threaten. Fr. menacer. "quhar thai
1 G. Douglas, ii. 170, 30.
2 'Spalding,' 2d ed., vol. i. p. 216.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 207, 19.
4 'The Journal of Mr James Hart,' &c.,
1715, p. 54: Edinburgh, 1832—4to.
5 See 'Les Chroniques de Sire Jean Froissart,'
t. iii. p. 151, col. 2.
6 'The Ballads of Scotland,' vol. 1. p. 156.
Edited by W. E. Aytoun. William Blackwood
& Sons, A.D. 1859. See st. xiv. and
xviii.
7 G. Douglas, iv. 6, 16.
8 'The Lamentatioun,' ll. 1, 2. Lauder's
Minor Poems, p. 26: E.E.T.S., 1870.
9 "E je l'laissai remeindre en la malvaistié
de lur quer," Ps. lxxx. 11. 'Le Livre des
Psaumes,' p. 150.
manneist and scornit the sillie romans that var in that gryt
vile perplexite."1
Mannessing, s. threatening. "bot al the mannessing that
is maid to them … altris nocht ther couetyse desyre."2
Mayt,3 v. to overwhelm, to overcome. Fr. mater.
Medirnent, memiment, mennmint, s. amendment. Fr.
amendement.
Mel, v. n. to meddle. Fr. mêler. "it var mair necessair
ande honest for hym to vse his auen professione ande faculte,
nor to mel vitht ony faculte that passis his knaulage."4
To engage in battle:—
"Fra that the king knew weill and vnderstude,
Weill mycht he nocht mell with sic multitude,"5&c.
Melle, mally,6 s. battle, contest. Fr. mêlée.
"He schew till him at lasar euerilk thing,
Of thair melle the first da as tha met,"7 &c.
Memor, memore, memoir, s. remembrance. Fr. mémoire.
"For euerie man desyris laud and gloir,
And for till have his gude name in memor."8
"or of ony vthir verteouse lady that plutarque or bocchas
hes discriuit, to be in perpetual memore."9
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 102,
II. 29, 30.
2 Ibid., p. 126, ll. 5-7. See p. 140, l, 1.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 173, 5; iii. 255, 1.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 15,
ll. 31-33.
5 The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 104, ll. 3503, 3509.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 49, 6; iii. 119, 23.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 150, II. 4970, 4971. Cf. vol. i. p.
175, l. 5735.
8 Ibid., vol. i. p. 2. ll. 54, 55. See vol.
i. p. 271, l. 8648; vol. iii. p. 287, l. 51,988.
9 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 2, ll.
12-14. See p. 2, l. 14.
Mends, mendis, s. atonement. Fr. amende.
"'Quhill that I leif zit sal I neuir forzet,
Quhill ane mendis or ane vengeance [I] get.'"1
Menze,2 menzie, s. household, family, company. O. Fr.
mesnie.
"And he allane left with sua few menzie,"3 &c.
Merciable, adj. merciful. O. Fr. merciable.4
Mercian, adj. merciful. O. Fr. merciaule.
Misauenture, s. mishap, misfortune. Fr. mésaveniure.
"On euerie syde tha socht bayth vp and doun
Quhair tha mycht find ane strenth to big ane toun,
Thairin to rest and saifle do thair cuir,
Fra feid of fais and all misauenture."5
Mischancie, s. wickedness, recklessness. Fr. méchanceté. In
English there is mischance, ill-luck, ill-fortune, mishap; but this
word has a different root, being derived from mis and chance,
which gave rise also to adj. chancy, lucky. Fr. chanceux.
Another etymon should be ascribed to mischanter, misfortune,
disaster — viz., mésaventure.
Mischand,6 mischant, mishant, meschant, s. and adj. wicked,
evil, naughty; a wretch, a worthless person. Fr. méchant.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 303, ll. 9594, 9595. See vol. i. p.
111, l. 3765.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 49, 22; 119, 25.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 224, l. 7239.
4 "Pur icest uret toz merciables a tei,"
Ps. xxxi. 7. 'Le Livre des Psaumes.' See
Ps. iv. 3, xi. 1, and xv. 10.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 12, ll. 425-424.
6 G. Douglas, i. 61, 15.
Hence mischantlie, mischeantlie, mischeantly, adv. wickedly.1
Fr. méchamment.
Mischantresse, s. wickedness. Fr. méchant.
Miscontent, adj. dissatisfied. Fr. mécontent. Hence miscontentment.
Fr. mécontentement.
Misere, misire, s. misery. Fr. misère. "for the misere of
mistirful men, and for the vepying of pure men, the diuyne
iustice sal exsecut strait punitione."2
Misericord, s. mercy. Fr. miséricorde. "quhy vil ze nocht
haue misericord and pytie of zour natiue cuntre."3
Misericorde, adj. merciful. O. Fr. misericors.
Miserite, s. misery. "the discentione and discord and
rancor that ryngis amang zou, is the speciale cause of the inglis--
me[n]is inuasions and of zour miserite."4
Mispris, v. a. to despise. O. Fr. mespriser. "he that misprisis
the correctione of his preceptor, his correctione is
changit in rigorus punitione."5
Mister,6 myster, s. need, necessity. O. Fr. mestier;7 Danish
mister.
"Be wer, tharefor, with walkryfe Ee,
And mend, geue ony myster be."8
"Quhen mister is of men and als money,"9 &c.
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. pp. 5, 245, 359,
549, 551. Lesley's 'Hist. of Scot.,' p. 11.
Moysie, 'Memoirs of the Affairs of Scot.,'
p. 70.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 125,
ll. 12-14. See p. 72, l. 6.
3 Ibid., p. 72, l. 19.
4 Ibid., p. 92, ll. 11-13.
5 Ibid., p. 28, ll. 22, 23.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 53, 1; iv. 9, 11.
7 "N'oustes mester unc mais si grant,
Cum or avez de Deu guarant."
— Saint Brandon, p. 54, ll. 1118, 1119.
8 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
by William Lauder, p. 17, ll. 489, 490.
See p. 13, l. 347; and p. 16, l. 430.
9 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 180, l. 5864.
Misterful,1 adj. needy.
Monstrance, s. show, display. O. Fr. monstrance.
Monyss, v. a. to warn. Fr. admonesier. A term used in
law, when the judge, instead of inflicting punishment, simply
warns. Monesting, admonition, is the noun.
Mowence, s. motion, progress. O. Fr. mouvance.
Moyenour, s. agent. O. Fr. moyenneur. "Le seigneur
Ingrand, qui estoit le tiers et moyenneur,"2 &c.
Murmer, murmour, v. a. to murmur against. Fr. murmurer.
"tha ar solist to puneise them that detrakkis and murmeris
ther obstinat abusione."3
To calumniate secretly:—
"This nobill king to thame agane said he,
'Quhat is the cans than that ze murmour me,
To vse my awin be cours of commoun law?'"4
Musardrye, s. musing, dreaming. O. Fr. musardie.
Myance, myans, meyen, moyan, moyane, moen, meayne, s.
means; influence, interest; intelligence, intimation. Fr. moyen.5
Mysaventour6 s. misfortune. Fr. mésaventure.
Naive,7 adj. lively, natural. Fr. naïf, naïve.
1 G. Douglas, ii. 43, 14.
2 'Les Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol.
34 recto. This word, as well as moyener, moyaner,
the only ones quoted by Jamieson,
occurs in 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' A.D.
1565, p. 141; A.D. 1567-1589, pp. 182, 219.
Cf. Lindsay of Pitscottie, 'The Chronicles of
Scot.,' vol. ii. p. 358; 'Philotus,' st. 87, fol.
D. 2 verso; 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 333;
vol. ii. pp. 247, 435, 482; and vol. iii. p.
288. In that last passage Pitcairn has misread
moyenour, and printed inoyenour.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 160,
ll. 30-32. See also p. 183, l. 8.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 543, ll. 60, 608-6o,610.
5 "J'ay amé une jeune fille
D'un grand moyen."
— 'Recueil des plus belles chansons de dances
de ce temps:' Caen, 1615—12mo.
6 G. Douglas, iii. 230, 32.
7 'Melvill's Diary,' p. 75.
Narg, nargon, v. a. to chide, to scold, conveying the idea of
continuation (Aberd.1) Fr. narguer.
Natural, naturall,2 s. temper, disposition. Fr. naturel.
Naturalitie, s. kindness. Fr. naturalité.
Neance,3 s. denial, gainsaying. O. Fr. niance.
Necessair, adj. necessary. Fr. nécessaire. "for i thocht it
nocht necessair til hef fardit ande lardit this tracteit4 vitht exquisite
termis."5
Negocis,6 s. pl. business. Fr. négoce.
Nice, adj. simple. O. Fr. nice, Lat. nescius.
Niceté, nyceté, s. simplicity. O. Fr. niceté.
Noblay, s. nobleness; courage. O. Fr. nobloi.
Notour, nottour, adj. notorious. Fr. notoire.
Noy, s. hurt. Fr. nuire, part. pas.; in O. Fr. neü.
"And how it had done thame greit sturt and noy,
And wes rycht lyke the kinrik till distroy."7
Hindrance:—
"Than euerilk man but ony noy drew neir."8
Ny, v. a. to deny. Fr. nier.
"'Now at this tyme, I bid nocht for to nyit,
On the he lais the haill caus and the wyit.'"9
Observance,10 s. homage. Fr. id.
1 Smith's 'Douglas Travestie,' p. 12.
2 'Melvill's Diary,' pp. 293, 307.
3 'Clariodus,' p. 295, I. 446.
4 O. Fr. traicté; Prov. tractat.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 16, ll.
13, 14. See p. 7, ll. 1, 7; p. 10,ll. 11, 13;
p. 17, l. 6; p. 37, l. 8; p. 186, l. 1.
6 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' A.D. 1584,
p. 330.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 40, ll. 1381, 1382. See vol. iii. p.
388, l. 55,443.
8 Ibid., vol. i. p. 52, l. 1763.
9 Ibid., vol. i. p. 208, ll. 6761, 6762. See
vol. i. p. 217, l. 7031.
10 G. Douglas, i. l, 16.
Obstant,1 adj. opposing. O. Fr. obstant.
Orisone, oresoun, s. oration. Fr. oraison.
"Quhen he had his orisone said and endit,"2 &c.
Oultrage, s. outrage. O. Fr. ultrage (written by Palsgrave
oultrage). "thai parsecut my body vitht oultrage and hayrschip."3

Outrance, s. extremity. Fr. id.
Paip, s. pope. Fr. pape.
"'We do the paip this tyme to wnderstand,'"4 &c.
Palzardry,5 s. whoredom. Fr. paillardise, from paillard,
literally, "qui couche sur la paille."
Palzeart, s. a lecher.
"And so as Palzeartis in Peltrie perseueiris,
Quhill of thair strenth consumit be the zeris."6
Pance,7 panse, v. n. to reflect, study, think, ponder on. Fr.
penser.
"And in tymes cumming lat none so ernistlie pance
On earthlie glore, that lestis bot ane glance."8
Pansis, s. thoughts. Fr. pensées.
Papelarde, adj. hypocrite. O. Fr. papelard
1 G. Douglas, iv. 134, 23.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 49, l. 1659. Cf. vol. i. p. 32, I.
1074; p. 36, l. 1224; p. 269, l. 8607.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 123,
l. 16. See p. 101, I. 9.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 128, l. 46,709.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 170, 15.
6 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' by
William Lauder, p. 19, ll. 526, 527.
7 'Melvill's Diary,' pp. 268, 495.
8 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' p. 25,
ll. 706, 707. See p. 19, l. 522.
Parage,1 s. lineage, parentage, kindred. Fr. parage,2 rank,
value.
Paregale, peregall,3 adj. Fr. pair and égal.
Parlour,4 s. discourse. O. Fr. parleure.
Part,5 adj. ready. Fr. prêt.
Pastance,6 s. pastime. Fr. passetemps.
Peerie, adj. timid, fearful. Fr. peureux.
Pensy, pensie, pensit, adj. proud and conceited. Fr. pensif.
Pensieness is the noun, and pensylie the adverb.
"That pensit knaif without nurtour or aw,
This ilk Hamtoun than with ane knyfe he hurt,"7 &c.
Peranter, adv. peradventure, contracted from Fr. par aventure.
A passage from an author of the seventeenth century shows
that such a pronunciation was not unknown in France:
"Boulanger Paranture, car it disoit toujours paranture au lieu
de par aventure, estoit un illustre avaricieux."8
Pere, peer, peere,9 s. and adj. equal. O. Fr. per.
Perjink, prejink, adj. exact. O. Fr. par and joinct.
Pernickitie, adj. precise in trifles. Fr. bernique. At Bordeaux,
where the Scottish merchants used to come regularly
for the purpose of bartering,10 bernique has the same sense as
1 G. Douglas, iii. 84, 9.
2 "N'a baron chevalier de nul parage
Qui n'i ait perdu home de son lignage."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' edited by Francisque--
Michel: Paris, A.D. 1856—12mo, p. 290.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 148, 4.
4 Ibid., i. 39, 11.
5 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
A.D. 1579-80, p. 119.
6 Dunbar, "To the King," l. 12. Poems,
vol. i. p. 159. G. Douglas, i. 17, 11.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 259, ll. 51,054, 51,055. See vol.
iii. p. 161, l. 47,757.
8 'Les Historiettes de Tallemant des
Réaux,' t. vi. p. 509, note.
9 Douglas's 'Virgil,' 366, 48. 'The Pistill
of Susan,' st. iii.
10 'Les Ecossais en France,' &c., vol. ii.
pp. 128-130.
Perqueir, perquire, perquer, perqueir, adj. and adv,. exact,
skilled, exactly. Fr. par and O. Fr. queor, quer,1 cuer, Fr. cœur.
"Gude Williame Sinclair he wes ane of tha,
Robert Logane the tother of tha tua,
And mony vther nobill man in feir,
Of quhome thair names I haif nocht perqueir."2
"'That none in erth that da wes so perqueir
In medicyne, he wist weill, as that freir."3
Pieté, pietie, s. pity. Fr. pitié.
Pissance,4 pussance, pyssance, s. power. Fr. puissance.
"be cause that he dois sa mekil as his pissance maye distribute."5

Pissant,6 pussant, adj. powerful. Fr. puissant.
Plasmator, s. creator. O. Fr. plasmateur.7 "… the lamentabil
voce and cryis of the affligit pepil complenant to the
hauyn, vil moue to pitie the clemens of the maist merciful and
puissant diuyne plasmator."8
Plenze, v. n. to complain. Fr. plaindre; O. Fr. je plaing.9
"Wes neuir man of him had caus to plenze,"10 &c.
Plesance, s. pleasure. Fr. plaisance.
1 "Tu dunas leece en mun quer," Ps.
iv. 8. 'Le Livre des Psaumes.' See Ps. iv.
5, vii. 9, 10.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. P. 287, ll. 51,969-51,972. See p.
286, l. 51,966; also 'Ane Trew and Breve
Sentencius Discriptioun,' &c. Lauder's 'Minor
Poems,' p. 37, l. 4. E.E.T.S.: 1870.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 278, II. 51,683, 51,684.
4 G. Douglas, iii. 291, ll.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 7, ll.
34, 35.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 222, 15.
7 "Le souverain plasmateur Dieu toutpuissant."
— Rabelais, ii. 8.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 125,
II. 18-20.
9 'Chansons du Châtelain de Couci,' xviii.
p. 67.
10 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 97, I. 45,665.
"Margaret to name this ilk virgin wes callit,
With all his fairnes fulfillit wes and wallit,
Of pulchritude and of fairnes but feir,
Of plesance als without compair or peir."1
Ply, s. condition, plight. Fr. pli, condition (figurative).
Poid,2 s. a coarse, impudent fellow. Poyd,3 adj. low, vile.
O. Fr. put.
Poistie,4 poistée, poust, pousté, poustie, s. power, ability,
bodily strength. O. Fr. poesté, poestet.5
Portie, s. mien, carriage. Fr. port.
Potestat, potestate, s. pl. potestatis, s. a powerful person,
a potentate. O. Fr. poeste, poested, poestet;6 Lat. potestas.
"Vngodlie Iugis, for Solistatioun
Of Potestatis with wrang Nerratioun,
Wyll tak bot 1ytill thocht or cure
But reuth for to oppresse the pure."7
"therfor thir potestatis and men of stait that dois extorsions
to the pure pepil thai hef mistir,"8 &c.
Power:—
"Trowand thairof that no man dar speik ill,
Becaus he is ane prince of potestate."9
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 386, ll. 55,391-55,394. See vol.
i. p. 258, l. 8285.
2 G. Douglas, i, 25, 20.
3 Ibid., ii. 170, 30.
4 'Crim. Trials,' A.D. 1588, vol. i. pp.
162, 163.
5 "Tu durras a lui poeste sur les uevres de
tes mains." 'Le Livre des Psaumes,' Ps. viii.
7. See Ps. cii. 22, and cxiii.
6 "Cum fors eissist Israel de Egypte, la
maisun de Jacob del pueple estrange, faiz est
Judas en saintefiement de lui, Israel la poestet
de lui." 'Le Livre des Psaumes,' Ps. cxiii. 1.
7 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 15, ll. 411-414.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 125,
ll. 14, 15.
9 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 110, ll. 3729, 3730.
Precheour, prechour, s. preacher. Fr. prêcheur. "ande as
to the precheours, i reffer that to the vniuersal auditor of oure
realme."1
Pret, adj. ready. Fr. prêt.
"Witht laureat language and pret for till prys,
His (he) orisoun begouth he on this wyss."2
Prodig, s. excessive. Fr. prodigue. "The prodig pride
that ringis amang gentil men is detestabil."3
Prophetysze, v. a. to prophesy. Fr. prophétiser. "… that
his father Adam hed prophetyszit that the varld sal end be
vattir and be the fyir."4
Propos,5 s. a purpose. Fr. propos.
Prow, s. profit, advantage. O. Fr. prou.
Pulce, pulse, v. a. to force. O. Fr. poulser, Fr. pousser.
"necessite pulsis and constrenzes me to cry on god."6
Purches, purchase, s. a term used in relation to bastardy,
an amour, an intrigue, &c. O. Fr. pourchas. Often in such
matters—
"Le pourchaz ne vault pas la despense."7
Purviance,8 s. assistance. O. Fr. pourvoyance.
Quite,9 adj. requited. O. Fr. quité.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 29,
ll. 19, 20.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 63, II. 2141, 2142.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 155,
ll. 29, 30.
4 Ibid., p. 46, II. 28, 29. See p. 22, l. 19.
5 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' p. 41.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 125,
ll. 25, 26.
7 'Les Poésies de Jean Marot,' p. 229.
8 G. Douglas, ii. 177, 9,
9 'Crim. Trials,' A.D. 1600, vol. ii. p.
328.
Raddowre, reddour, s. vehemence, severity. O. Fr. redor,
reidur, reddur; Lat. rigidus.
Radote, v. n. to rave, particularly in sleep. Fr. radoter.
Raill, v. n. to jest. Fr. railler.
Railyear, s. a jester, a scoffer. Fr. railleur.
Rebute,1 s. a repulse. Fr. rebuter.
Recray, v. a. to refresh one's self, to recreate, and Fr. idiom,
récréer.2
Refuis, refuse,3 s. refusal. Fr. refus.
Releve,4 v. to recover, rise up. Fr. se relever.
Remord, v. a. to have remorse for a thing, to disburden the
conscience; to remember. Fr. remordre.
"Syne efter this, as ze sall wnderstand,
The baronis all that war into Scotland,
Richt mekle ill amang thame with grit lak,
Rycht planlie than of this ilk king tha spak,
Becaus that he than take in his awin hand
Ward and releif of euerie lordis land,
And mariage, gif that I rycht remord,
As tha of law sould pay to thair awin lord."5
Renyit, part. pas. forsworn. Fr. renié.
Repreif,6 v. a. to reject, disallow. Fr. réprouver.
Repreme, v. a. to repress. Fr. réprimer. "thir vordis …
is ane souerane remeid ande salutair medycyn to repreme and
distroye the arrogant consait,"7 &c.
1 G. Douglas, iv. 114, 32.
2 'Clariodus,' p. 374, l. 2971.
3 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' A.D. 1588,
p. 365.
4 G. Douglas, iv. 65, 16.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 542, ll. 60,568-60,575.
6 G. Douglas, i. 7, 4.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 154,
ll. 30-33.
Repung, v. n. to be repugnant to. Fr. rélpugner.
"Infinite repungis to figure."1
Resile, v. n. to draw back, to flinch, &c. Fr. résilier.
Ressent, v. a. to have a deep sense of a thing. Fr. ressentir,
to feel deeply.
Rest, v. n. to be indebted to one. Fr. être en reste.
Resurse,2 v. to spring up. O. Fr. ressourdre, resurdre.3
Retour, s. return, in a general sense. Fr. id. Hence to
retour, to return.
Revert,4 v. to recover from a swoon or from sickness, to
revive. O. Fr. revertir.
Revure, revoore, adj. thoughtful. Fr. rêveur.
Ribaldeill,5 s. ribaldry. O. Fr. ribaudaille.
Roule,6 s. a severe blow. Fr. roulée (?).
Royet, royit, adj. wild, romping, applied to the wind in parts
of the north. Fr. roide, raide.
Sacre,7 v. a. to consecrate. Fr. sacrer.
Salus, v. a. to salute. O. Fr. saluz, salus.
"Ane Hieland clerk, clod in ane rob of gra,
Befoir the king with mony benge and bek,
He salust him on to that samin effecc,"8 &c.
Salutair, adj. salutary. Fr. salutaire. "thir vordis of Salo1
'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 95, l. 3204. Cf. p. 95, l. 3215; and
p. 96, l. 3242.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 251, 26.
3 "Ki dormit nient n'ajusterat que resurdet,"
Ps. xl. 8. 'Le Livre des Psaumes.'
4 G. Douglas, i. 4, 1; iv. 87, 14.
5 Ibid., ii. 13, 17.
6 Ibid., i. 101, 23.
7 Ibid., iii. 13, 14.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
p. 105, ll. 45,901-45,903.
mon beand veil considerit, is ane souerane remeid ande salutair
medycyn,"1 &c.
Salute, s. safety. Fr. salut. "quhy remembir ze nocht that
natur hes oblist zou till auance the salute ande deffens of zour
public veil?"2
Savendie, s. sagacity. Fr. savant.
Savie, s. knowledge. Fr. savoir. It is used as an adj. wise,
experienced.
Schelm, s. a rascal. O. Fr. chelme.
Sclander, sklandyr, v. a. to slander. O. Fr. esclandre, escandre,
Lat. scandalum.
Sclander, sklandyr, s. slander. "It is nocht possibil to gar
extorsione be vitht out murmur … and diuisione vitht out
desolatione and sklandyr."3
Sclanderar, s. a slanderer.
Sklanderous, adj. slanderous. "Quhar for (o my sone
speritualite) i exort the that thou cause al thy membris concur
to gyddir to mak reformatione of the sklanderous abusione that
ringis amang them."4
Sembland,5 s. appearance. Fr. semblant.
Semple, adj. of low birth; opposed to gentle, which means
of better blood. Fr. simple.
Senzeory,6 senzeorie, s. dominion. Fr. seigneurie.
"‘Quhilk all this warld witht greit victorie
Subjectit hes vnto thair senzeorie,'"7 &c.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 154,
ll. 30-32.
2 Ibid., p. 72, ll. 13, 14.
3 Ibid., p. 126, II. 13-16. See p. 183,
l. 30.
4 Ibid., p. 161, ll. 24-27.
5 G. Douglas, ii. 44, 17.
6 Ibid., ii. 37, 15.
7 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 158, ll. 5231, 5232.
Senzeour, s. lord. Fr. seigneur.
"Greit Clawdeus, quilk senzeour wes and syir
Of Rome that tyme, and had the haill impyre,
The emperowr the quhilk wes in that tyme,
Rycht sone to him thai haif maid kend that cryme."1
Solist, adj. anxious. "ze suld be solist to ken zour selfis,
and to be humil to zour nychtbours."2
Solistnes, s. anxiety. "ande that ze gar zour solistnes of the
deffens of zour comont veil preffer the solistnes of zour particular
veil."3
Solitar, solitair, adj. solitary. Fr. solitaire. "i beand in this
sad solitar soune sopit in sleipe."4
Sonnet, s. nonsensical talk or writing. Fr. sornette.
Sophistar, s. sophist. Fr. sophiste. "thir freuole sophistaris
that marthirs and sklandirs the text of aristotel, deseruis
punitione."5
Sourceance, s. cessation. O. Fr. surséance.
Specialitie, s. favour, partiality. Fr. spécialité.
Speculatywe, s. metaphysics. Fr. spéculatif.
"Ane greit doctour callit Scotus Subtilis,
In storeis oft autentik as we reid,
In till his time all vther did exceid
In science, prattik, and speculatywe,
Or zit all vther sensyne vpone lywe,"6
Spree, s. innocent frolic. Fr. esprit.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
p. 174, ll. 5690-5693.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 170,
ll. 23-25. See l. 13; p. 10, l. 1; p. 37, I.1.
p. 89, l. 20; p. 119, 1. 10; p. 165, l. 30.
3 Ibid., p. 112, ll. 24-26.
4 Ibid., p. 68, ll. 8, 9. See p. 9, ll. 27,
29; p. 14, l. 10.
5 Ibid., p. 183, ll. 29, 30.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol iii. p. 388, ll. 55,456-55,460.
Squirbile, squrbuile, adj. ingenious. O. Fr. escoriable.
Stablit, part. pas. established. O. Fr. establir. "As the hie
monarchis, lordschips, ande autoriteis, ar stablit be the infinite
diuyne ordinance,"1 &c.
Streinze,2 s. compression, constraint. O. Fr. estreinte.
Strenit,3 part. pas. constrained. O. Fr. estreint.
Strunt, s. a fit of sullen humour. The verb to strunt (O.
Fr. estrontoier) signifies to affront.
Styme,4 s. a glimpse. Fr. estime.
Succudrus,5 adj. arrogant. O. Fr. surcuidus. Suckurdry,
sukurdry, suquedry, means arrogance.
Sufficians, s. sufficiency. Fr. suffisance.
"‘And had aneuche ay of his awin to spend,
With sufficians vnto his latter end.'"6
Superfleu, superfle, adj. superfluous. Fr. superflu. "the
mair eleuat that ane person be in superfleu digniteis,"7 &c.
Supir, sypir, v. n. to sigh. Fr. soupirer.
Sussy,8 s. care, attention. Fr. souci.
Talent,9 s. desire, purpose. O. Fr. talent.
Taler, talor, tolor, s. state, condition. O. Fr. taillier.
"Voelliés garder ce roy, qui est de jouene juvent,
Car it est bien tailliés de souffrir grant tourment."10
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 19, ll.
1, 2.
2 G. Douglas, i. 95, 6.
3 Ibid., iii. 35, 2.
4 'Orpheus and Eurydice,' l. 605, ap.
Henryson, p. 70.
5 G. Douglas, iv. 201, 1.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 449, ll. 14,011, 14,012.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 170,
ll.. 29, 30. Cf. l. 23.
8 G. Douglas, ii. 175, 27.
9 Ibid., iii. 291, 18.
10 'Chronicle of Martin de Cotignies,' MS.
of the Institute of France, No. 338, fol. x
recto, last lines.
Tantrums, s. pl. high airs, stateliness. In his tantrums, on
the high ropes. Fr. sur son trantran.
Tartuffish, adj. sulky, stubborn. Fr. tartuffier, to put on
appearances, from Tartuffe in Molière's comedy.
Tawen, v. a. to knead, to abuse by handling. (Banff.) Fr.
tanner.
Temerair, adj. rash. Fr. téméraire. "For my dul rude
brane suld nocht hef been sa temerair as to,"1 &c.
Temerarite, temeraritie, s. rashness of judgment. Fr. téméraire.

Temporesar, s. temporiser. Fr. temporiseur.
"Thir Temporesars doith nocht in Christ abyde."2
Tench,3 s. taunt, reproach. O. Fr. tencher.
Tend, v. n. to intend. Fr. tendre.
Tender, adj. sickly. Fr. tendre. It is used as a verb, to
make delicate.4
Tent, s. care, heed, notice. Fr. attendre. Tent, tenty, tentie,
is the adj. and means careful; tentilie is the adv. To tent
means, to attend to.
"Tak tent to this now that ze heir me tell,"5 &c.
"Attend, O Prencis, and tak tent
Vnto this Doctryne Subsequent."6
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 16, ll.
3, 4. See p. 153, l. 9.
2 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,' by
William Lauder, p. 5, l. 73.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 206, 1.
4 Vide 'Sir J. Sinclair's Observations,' pp.
108, 109.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 24, l. 820. Cf. vol. i. p. 52, l.
1764; 54, l. 1851; vol. iii. p. 49, l. 44,079;
p. 285, l. 51,910.
6 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
by William Lauder, p. 8, ll. 161, 162.
Tirran, tirrane, s. tyrant. Fr. tyran. "Och! quhou dangerus
is it til ony sort of pepil til hef ane cruel tirran ryngand
abuf them."1
Torfair, torfer,2 s. hardship, difficulty. O. Fr. torfeit,
torfet.
Tort,3 s. wrong, hurt. Fr. tort.
Toulze, s. quarrelling. O. Fr. touiller, to rub.
"Frome all Inuye thayy suld be fre
Frome toulze, bergane, and debait."4
Trachour,5 s. a traitor. Fr. tricheur.
Traget, trigget, s. a trick; deceit. O. Fr. trigautir.
Traitable,6 adj. tractable. Fr. traitable.
Trible,7 s. trouble. O. Fr. tribouil.
Trist,8 s. an affliction.
Trist,9 adj. sad, melancholy. Fr. triste.
Truf,10 s. trick. O. Fr. truffe.
Trump,11 v. a. to deceive. Fr. tromper.
Trumpour, s. deceiver. Fr. trompeur.
"The dayntie Dammis may nocht sustene
The faithfull, for to fyle thair flure,
Bot traitis thame that tryit trumpouris bene."12
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 91,
ll. 20-22. See also p. 94, l. 27; and p. 123,
l. 34.
2 'The Pistill of Susan,' st. xii.
3 'Melvill's Diary'p. 377
4 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
by William Lauder, p. 17, ll. 455-458.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 145, 19.
6 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' p. 383.
7 G. Douglas, ii. 172, 25.
8 Ibid., i. 114, 20.
9 Ibid., iii. 30, 12.
10 Ibid., 148, 6.
11 Ibid., iv. 62, 15.
12 'The Lamentatioun of the Pure,' ll. 57--
59. Lauder's Minor Poems, p. 28. E. E.T. S.:
1870.
Unabill, adj. unfit.
"Quhen euerilk king, the quhilk hes bot ane child,
Efter his deith but age or perfite eild,
That is unabill for till be ane king,
Without wisdome to reull or gyde ane ring,
Put him in cuir ay quhill he is ane page,
Of rycht wyss men quhill that he cum till age."1
Unhonest, adj. dishonourable, dishonest. O. Fr. inhoneste.
Ure, s. chance, fortune. Fr. heur. Ure gave rise to other
words, as ;malhure, malleur, misfortune, mischance, and mallewrus,
malheurius, unhappy, wretched.
Usans,2 s. custom, use. Fr. usance.
Utyrrans,3 s. the uttermost, destruction. Fr. outrance.
Vaill, vale, s. value, worth. Fr. valeur, has the same
meaning.
"The erldome of Buchane he him gaif;
Quhilk he refusit in the tyme to haif,
Becaus it wes, as ze ma weill considder,
Of litill vaill in respect of the tother,"4 &c.
Vanegloir,5 s. vanity. Fr. vaine gloire. "the motione of the
compilatione of this tracteit procedis main of the compassione
that i hef of the public necessite, nor it is doffs of presumptione
or vane gloir."6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 47, ll. 1601-1606.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 179, 1.
3 Ibid., iii. 12, 19; iv. 135, 18.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 548, ll. 60,776-60,779.
5 'Schir Chantecleir and the Foxe,' l. 78;
ap. Henryson, p. 121.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 17, ll.
34, 35, and p. 18, ll 1, 2.
Vassalage, s. fortitude, valour. O. Fr. vasselage.1
"Ze suld not chuse thaim for thair blude,
Nor for thare strenth nor vassallage."2
Brave deeds:—
"This Caratak wes crownit to be king,
Quhilk in the tyme of Metallanus age
Rycht oft befoir had done greit vassalage."3
Glory from brave deeds:—
"Gif it hapnit thame greit vassalage to win
In ony feild that tyme that thai faucht in," &c.4
Vaudie, wady, adj. gay, vain. O. Fr. vaudir.
Vaunty, vauntie, adj. boastful. Fr. vaniteux.
Veef, vive, viue, adj. brisk. Fr. vif.
Verite, s. truth. Fr. verité. "the quhilk dreyme i sal
reherse in this gros dyit [Fr. dit] as neir the verite as my
rememorance can declair to my rude ingyne."5
Verrayment, werrament, werrayment, s. truth. The Scotch
had also veritie; Eng. verity.6
Vertesit, s. virtue, virginity. O. Fr. vertuosité.
Vertu, s. virtue. Fr. vertu. "al thing that the eird pro1
"Mais cil qui là ira nun ait folage,
Ne n'aie coardie ne goupillage,
Maies proece e valor e vaselage."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' edited by Francisque-Michel:
Paris, 1856, p. 312. See also
p. 290.
2 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
pp. 11, 12, ll. 281-284.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 172, ll. 5623-5625.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 299, ll. 9464, 9465.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 68,
ll. 10-12. See p. 35, l. 16; p. 119, l. 3; p.
122, l. 9; p. 130, ll. 4, 9; p. 153, l. 29.
6 'Crim. Trials' A.D. 1600, vol. ii. p.
137.
creatis is confortit [Fr. confortée] be it, be rason of the vertu
of the fresche deu that discendis fra it."1
Vilipend,2 v. to slight, to undervalue. Fr. vilipender. It is
still used in the North, and is pronounced waalipen.
"The King of Scotland, callit Caratac,
Quhilk vilipendis thy power throw his pryde."3
Vilipensioun, vilipentioun, s. contempt.
"Syne efter that thir bludie bouchouris bald,
In vilipensioun of this King Modred,
Tha slew thame baith with greit crudelitie
In hir armes but reuth or zit petie."4
Vilite,5 s. pollution, vileness. O. Fr. vileté. "ellis al zour
gloire, veltht, and dignite, sal change in vilite."6
"O ze Pechtis, of blude imperiall,
Clene but corruptioun, and so honest with all;
We mervell mekill how ze wnderstude,
Quhen that ze mixit with sa vyle ane blude,
As with zond Scottis sa full of vilitie,
But faith or fame, honour or honestie;'"7 &c.
Vindict, s. vengeance, revenge. Fr. vindicte.
Vnabasit, adj. undaunted. See Abays.
"So stiflie than into that stour thai stuck
Vnabasit other for boist or blude."8
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 54, ll.
3-5. See p. 1, l. 2; p. 2, l. 9; p. 10, ll. 8,
15; p. 30, l. 13; p. 35, l. 4; p. 46, l. 10; p.
57, l. 11; p. 170, l. 22.
2 G. Douglas, i. 48, 26.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 215, ll. 6971-6975.
4 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 263, ll. 27,994-28,000.
See vol. ii. p. 512, l. 35,739; p. 581, l.
37,984.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 205, 4.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 170,
ll. 25, 26.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 32, ll. 1075-1080.
8 Ibid., vol. i. p. 433, ll. 13,507, 13,508.
Vogie, vokie, adj. gay, in good humour, in fair health.
(Banffs.) Fr. vogue.
Vollage, adj. fickle. Fr. volage. "be cause oure vit is ouer
febil, oure ingyne ouer harde, oure thochtis ouer vollage,"1 &c.
Volounté, s. the will. Fr. volonté.
Vray,2 adj. true, faithful. Fr. vrai.
Warisoun,3 warysoun, waresone, s. reward. O. Fr. guarison.
"Robert the Grahame, as ze sall wnderstand,
Most principall that tuke the deid on hand,
That samin tyme than, for his waresoun,
Vpoun ane flaik wes traillit throw the toun,
Nakit and bair but claithis in the tyde,
Except ane claith his memberis for to hyde."4
Wnwyislie, adv. unadvisedly. See Awyis.
"The Romains fled, and tha followit so fast,
And wnwyislie thai war lachit at the last;"5 &c.
Zelatur, s. zealous defender. Fr. zélateur. "Allace, my fiue
sonnis, i praye zou to be zelaturs of the lau of gode,"6 &c.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 22,
ll. 2, 3.
2 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' A.D. 1583,
p. 306.
3 G. Douglas, i. 102, 11.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 562, ll. 61,240-61,245.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 277, ll. 8822, 8823.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 76,
ll. 23, 24.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Sundries — Phrases derived from
the French.

CHAPTER XVIII.
SUNDRIES — PHRASES DERIVED FROM THE FRENCH.
IT only remains now to give the words relating to
different matters which we were unable to make
use of under the foregoing heads, and to add
illustrations of several of the words already discussed.

Abandon,I a. to bring into subjection; to let loose; to
destroy. Fr. abandonner.
Abandoun, in abandoun, at abandoun, at random. Fr. à
l'abandon, compounded of à and bandon, in O. Fr. permission.
The adverb is abandonly, abandounly.
Abate, s. accident. Perhaps Fr. abattre.
Abba, s. abbey. Fr. abbaye.
"Foundit and feft richt mony riche abba."1
Abeech, abeigh, adv. at a distance. Fr. aboi.
Abraidit, adj. applied to a ragstone worn too smooth to
sharpen edge-tools. O. Fr. abradant.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 358,l. 30,922. See vol. ii. p. 358,
l. 30,927; p. 404, l. 32,370.
Achademya,1 s. academy. Fr. académie. "on ane day, thir
tua princis be chance entrit in the achademya, to heir ane lesson
of philosophie techit be the said phormion, philosophour."2
Acornie, s. perhaps a drinking-vessel with handles. O. Fr.
acorné having horns.
Acqueis, v. a. to acquire. Fr. aquérir.
Addettit, part. pas. in debt, indebted; bound by obligation.
Fr. endetté.
"'It wes his part,' he said, 'for till do so,
For — quhy he wes aboue all erthlie thing,
So far addettit to that nobill king.'"3
Adew, adj. gone, departed, fled. Fr. adieu.
Advertence, aduertance, s. retinue, adherents. O. Fr. advertir,
Fr. avertir.
Agonya, s. agony. Fr. agonie. "kyng alexander cam at
that instant tyme quhen darius vas in the agonya and deitht
thrau,"4 &c.
Agwet, the name anciently given to the hill on which the
castle of Edinburgh stands. Speaking of Ebranke, King of
Britain, John Hardyng says:—
"He made also the Mayden castell strong
That men nowe calleth the castel of Edenburgh,
That on a rock standeth full hye out of throng,
On mount Agwet, when men may see out through
Full many a tonne, castel and borough
In the shire about," &c.5
1 Many words, adopted from the French
ending in e, changed the e into a.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 53, ll.
11-13.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 521, ll. 36,058-36,060.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 121,
ll. 15, 16.
5 'Chron.,' fol. 20 verso. Arnot, in his
'History of Edinburgh,' p. 3, and, after him,
Aiglet, s. a tagged point. Fr. aiguillette.
Aigre, adj. sour. Fr. aigre.
Air,1 s. an itinerant court of justice. Eng. eyre; O. Fr. eirre;
Lat. iter.
"And euirilk lord he causit to keep law
Within him self of thingis that wer smaw;
And greit mater, as for to heid and hyng,
Referrit all to cum befoir the king,
Or his justice, quha euir wes for the tyme,
For till decyde all sic causis and cryme,
And all sic thingis thairfor till declair;
Quhilk callit is this tyme the Justice Air."2
Alege, v. a. to discharge from an obligation. Fr. alléger;
Prov. aleviar; Lat. allevare.
Allickey, s. the bridegroom's man; he who attends on the
bridegroom, or is employed as his precursor at a wedding.
Fr. laquais.
Alma, s. f. (Gael.) cattle. O. Fr. aumaille.
Alman, adj. German. Fr. allemand. "ane alman vas ay
repute for ane villain."3
Alya, allia, aliay, allya, allay, s. alliance, ally. Fr. allié;
Lat. alligare. "Than the atheniens and ther allya, be gryt
vailzeantnes, assailzet the persans be escharmouschis and incursions."4
Allaya, to ally, is the verb: "thai vil allaya them
Jamieson, in his 'Dictionary,' sub voce, ascribe
that name to the language of the ancient
Britons; but it seems more probable that it is
derived from the old Fr. aguayt, awet, watch.
In a document of 1348, we find "le gait
Rouville, la tour du gait Rouville." Vide
'Actes normands de la chambre des comptes,'
p. 367: Rouen, 1871—4to.
1 See above, chap. x., p. 163.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 454, ll. 14,170-14,177.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 146, I.
32. See p. 66, l. 24.
4 Ibid., p. 79, ll. 12, 13. See p. 99, l. 3; p. 182, l. 7.
vitht zou, quhilk sal cause ferme and perpetual pace to be
betuix rome and samnete."1 Alyand means sticking together.
Almons, s. alms. O. Fr. aulmosne.
Ambassate, ambasait, ambaxat, s. an embassy. Fr. ambassade.

"The ambaxat, quhilk wes of nobill fame,
With greit reward tuke leve and passit hame."2
Amorettis, s. love-knots; garlands. Fr. amourette (diminutive
of amour), love without passion.
Amove, amow, v. a. to vex; excite. Fr. mouvoir. Another
form is amuff.
Ampliacioun, s. enlargement. Fr. ampliation.
Anciety, ancietie, auncietie, s. antiquity. Fr. ancienneté.
Anelye, v. a. to pant after. O. Fr. anheler.
Angus dayis, s. an amulet. Fr. and Lat. agnus Dei.
Antecessour, antecestre, s. ancestor. O. Fr. ancestre;
Fr. ancêtre."Euerie man is oblist to deffend the gudis,
heretages and possessions that his antecestres and forbearis
hes left to them."3
Antiquite, s. antiquity. Fr. antiquité. "zit nochtheles ther
is mony vordis of antiquity that i hef rchersit in this tracteit."4
Antrum. The name, in some parts of the country, for the
repast taken in the evening called four hours, anciently termed
e'enshanks. This word comes from the French, a den or cave.
Antrum time is den time. The sun also is said to sink to his
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 100,
ll. 23-25.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 55, ll. 1887, 1888.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 186,
ll. 5-7. See p. 3, l. 28.
4 Ibid., p. 16, ll. 34, 35. See p. 17, l. 5;
p. 64, l.11.
den or cave. Glass, in one of his songs, has lovers going out
at antrum time to court, and so forth.1
Apparale, apparyle, apparaill, s. equipage; furniture for war;
preparations for a siege, whether for attack or defence; ammunition.
Fr. appareil.
Apprise, v. a. to approve. Fr. apprécier, to value. The
noun is apprising.
Appropre, appropir, v. a. to appropriate. Fr. approprier.
Arair, s. (Gael.) a ploughman. O. Fr. arée, furrow, tillage.2
Arayne, past part. arrayed. O. Fr. arrayé.
Archipreistrie, archiprestrie, s. a dignity in collegiate
churches, a vicarage. Fr. archiprétré.
Areir, arreir, adv. back, backward. Fr. arrière.
Areist, arreist, v. a. to stop. O. Fr. arester; Fr. arrêter.
But areist, without delay.
Arend, v. n. to rear as a horse. Fr. arrière.
Argone, argowne, argwe, argew, v. a. to argue. Fr. arguer.
Argument, v. a. to prove. Fr. argumenter.
Arles, erlis, arlis, &c., a piece of money for confirming a
bargain. O. Fr. erres, errhes; Fr. arrhes.
Armorces, armoreis, s. pl. armorial bearings.3 Fr. armoiries.
With this word may be connected diton, deattone, a motto or
inscription.4 Fr. dicton. Jamieson finding in an old poem5
surget, apparently an error for suget, subject, considered it at
1 'The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia,
p. 220.
2 'Le Roman du Renart,' l. 15,544, vol. ii
&c., p. 20.
3 'History of James VI.,' ed. 1825, p. 269.
4 'A Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland,'
p. 133.
5 'The Awntyrs of Arthure,' st. xxiv. l. 7,
p. 109.
first an heraldic term, and afterwards to mean a debauched
woman, in allusion to Guenever. A tract, "How a knyt suld
be armyt in tournay," twice printed from the Harleian MS.
6140, was translated from French into Scottish at the command
"of ane wirschipfulle man, Welzim Cumyn of Inverellochquy,
alias Marchemond Herald, be his obedient sone in the Office
of Armes, Kintyre purseuant," in the year 1494. The original
text is printed in 'Du Cange's seventh Dissertation on Joinville,'
p. 184, and at the end of the last edition of his Glossary
of Middle and Low Latin,' vol. vii. pp. 34, 35.
Arrier, adv. backward. Fr. arrière.
Artalzerie, s. artillery. Fr. artillerie.
"'And left his schippis furneist on the se,
With men and victuall and artalzerie.'"1
Ascrive, ascriue, ascryve, v. a. to ascribe. O. Fr. adscrire,
"to enroll, register, account, reckon among others." — (Cotg.)
Assailze, v. a. to assail. Fr. assaillir. "Dot morpheus, that
slepye gode, assailzeit al my membris."2
To attack in battle:—
"'Quhilk fra thi fayth and law rycht far hes failit,
My self also with mort battell assailzeit.'"3
Assassinat, s. assassin. Fr. assassinat.
Assolze,4 assoill, v. a. to acquit. O. Fr. assouldre.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 553, ll. 17,233, 17,234. See p. 649,
l. 20,050.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 67, ll.
32, 33. See p. 120, l. 5; p. 161, l. 11.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 474, ll. 14,772, 14,773.
4 See above, chap. x. p. 163.
"Richt penitent, but fictioun, thair breist
Perfitelie maid confessioun to ane preist,
Quhairof thair wes greit copie in that tyme,
That thame assolzeit of all syn and cryme."1
To lay bare:—
"Fra first to last this rycht weill ma I prowe,
For till assoill, schir, all zour sophistrie,
That Godis will at all tyme man be fre.'"2
Assurance, s. "to take assurance of an enemy; to submit or
do homage, under the condition of protection." Fr. assurance.

Astabil, v. a. to calm, to fix. O. Fr. establir; Fr. établir.
Astre, s. a star. Fr. astre.
Atour, s. warlike preparation. O. Fr. atour.
Attene, v. n. to be related to. Fr. s'attenir à.
Aval. "When an animal lies down upon its back, in such
a manner that it cannot bring its feet to bear up its body, so as
to rise again, we say that animal is aval … Men, too,
whose affairs run wrong, when they cannot help themselves, are
said to have fa'en aval."3 O. Fr. aval;4 whence mod. Fr.
avaler.
Avalour, s. avail; availlour, value. Fr. valeur.
Avancement, s. payment of money beforehand. Fr. avancement.

Aventure, aventour, auenture, adventure, s. fortune, luck.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 228, ll. 49,997-50,000.
2 Ibid., vol. i. p. 98, ll. 3297-3299.
3 'The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia,'
&c., p. 34.
4 "Nus ne vole si haut, se volt son fendre,
Que il ne l' face aval bien bas descendre."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' p. 330, edited by
Francisque-Michel: Paris, 1856—12mo.
Fr. aveldure. "and the thrid part of them of the best lyik
men sold be banest fra scotland, and to hef ane lecens to pas
in ony straynge cuntre to seik their gude auenture."1
"In this tyme now that ze heir me tell,
Sic adventure in France that tyme befell."2
In aventure, lest, perchance. Fr. à l'aventure, d'aventure.
Averil, Avyryle, s. April. Fr. avril.
Avertit, part. pas. overturned. O. Fr. esvertir.
Awail, awal, v. a. and n. to let fall; to descend. Fr. avaler.
Awaward, s. the advance-guard. Fr. avant-garde.
Awaymentis, s. plans. O. Fr. avoyements, from the verb
avoyer, to put in train, to see to.
Awter, s. altar. O. Fr. autier.
Babtym, s. baptism. Fr. baptême.
Bachille, s. a pendicle, or piece of arable ground. O. Fr.
bauche.
Badlyng, s. low scoundrel. Fr. badin. Perhaps badnystie is
derived from it.
Bae, s. the sound emitted in bleating, a bleat; v. n. to bleat,
to cry as a sheep. Every one knows, in the "Farce de mestre
Pierre Pathelin," that admirable scene where the cunning shepherd
answers all the queries and claims of both his master and
counsel by uttering bé, bé
Baff, beff, s. a blow, a stroke. O. Fr. buffe.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 96, ll.
33-35, and p. 97, l. 1.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 379, ll. 55,129, 55,130. See vol.
i. p. 331, l. 10,438; p. 339, l. 10,688; p. 343,
l. 10,803; p. 346, l. 10,913.
Bagenin, s. indelicate toying on the harvest-field (Fife).
O. Fr. baguenaud.
Baillie, s. a mistress, a sweetheart. Fr. belle.
Baiss, v. a. to baste. Fr. bastir.
Ballane, s. whalebone. O. Fr. balene.
"The Danis all befoir thair feildis stude,
With cors-bowis of ballane that war gude,"1 &c.
Batter, v. a. to dance. O. Fr. baler, baloier, balader, to wave.
Barbles, s. a kind of disease in some animals. Fr. barbes.
Barblyt, adj. barbed. Fr. barbelé.
Barbulyie, v. a. to put into confusion; to soil. Fr. barbouiller.
Used also as a noun, perplexity.
Bargane,2 v. n. to contend. Fr. barguigner. It is used as
a noun, a fight:—
"Ane bitter bargane thair begouth belyve
Of nakit men with scharpe swordis and lang knyve."3
Barganer, s. a fighter, a bully. Fr. barguigneur.
Barganyng, s. fighting. O. Fr. bargain, bargaine.
Barnage, barné, s. barons or noblemen, taken collectively.
O. Fr. barnage.4
"'And all oure barnage into bandone brocht.'"5
Barreir,6 s. bounds, limits of a race. Fr. barrière.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 453, ll. 33,925, 33,926.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 133, 14.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotlande,'
vol. i. p. 545, Il. 16,973, 16,974. See vol. i.
p. 568, l. 17,693.
4 "E se li quens le lait par son folage,
Si mandez vostre gent par grant barnage."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' p. 311, edited by
Francisque-Michel: Paris, 1856.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 86, l. 22,696.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 232, 11.
Barrace, barras, barres, barrows,1 s. enclosed spaces. Fr.
barres.
Baston,2 v. a. to cudgel. O. Fr. bastonner.
Bastoun, s. heavy staff, baton. O. Fr. baston.
Bayard, adj. worn out. Fr. bavard, talkative; bave, slaver,
drivel; in O. Fr. childish talk.
Bawme, v. a. to embalm; to warm. Fr. embaumer.
Bayrdit, adj. caparisoned. Fr. bardé "Quhar in ther vas
grauit … bayrdit horse harnes."3
Beck, s. a brook. O. Fr. bec.
Beddy, adj. applied to greyhounds, bold. O. Fr. baud, bald.
Also a name given to a kind of dog from Barbary.
Beff, beffin, bouff, bouffin, s. a stout, stupid person. Fr.
bœuf.
Begarye, v. a. to stripe, to variegate. Fr. bigarrer.
Bellicois,4 adj. warlike. Fr. belliqueux.
"In gudlie haist with all power he mocht
Of mony berne, rycht bellicois and bald,
That at his will to wirk quhat [that] he wald,
Towart the Romanis he hes tane the way,"5 &c.
Benefice, s. benefit. Fr. bénefice. "quhilk occasions ar ay
vigilant to suppedit and to spulze al them that ar ingrate of the
benefecis of gode."6
1 G. Douglas, iv. 161, 20.
2 'Melvill's Diary,' pp. 125, 126.
3 'The, Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 69, ll
6, 7.
4 See chap. xii. p. 191.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 152, ll. 5042-5045. See vol. i. p.
160, l. 5274; p. 164, l. 5398; p. 186, l.
6052; p. 189, l. 6148; p. 261, l. 8360; p.
278, l. 8853; p. 291,l. 9217.
6 'TheComplaynt of Scotlande,' p. 20, II.
14-16. See p. 116, l. 30.
Beneficial, adj. of or belonging to a benefice. O. Fr.
beneficial.
Bestial,1 bestiall, s. cattle of all kinds. Fr. bestial. Bestialité
is another form: "for in thai dais quhen the goldin varld
rang, kyngis and princis take mair delyit on the feildis and
forrestis to keip bestialite and to manure corne landis,"2 &c.
Bestial, adj. "And alse the scheip and nolt, and the foulis of
the ayr, pronuncit there bestial voce to sing vitht hym."3
Beurla,4 s. speech, language, especially English. Fr. parler.
O. Fr. burler, roar, to jest with or flout at. (Rabelais, quoted
by Cotgrave.)
Black frost, frost without rime or snow lying on the ground,
as opposed to white frost, which is equivalent to Eng. hoar
frost.5 Fr. froid noir.
Blackviced, adj. blackfaced. Eng. black, and O. Fr. vis.
Blanchart, adj: white. O. Fr. blanchard.
Blench-lippit, part. adj. having white lips. Fr. blanche lippe.
Block, s. bargain, agreement. Fr. bloc.
Block, v. a. to bargain. Fr. bloquer.
Blockin-ale, s. the drink drunk on making a bargain.
Bloss, adj, applied to a buxom young woman. Fr. blette,
mellow, as applied to fruit. O. Fr. bloss, as applied to an over--
mellow pear.
Boirdour, bordours, s. boundary, "border." Fr. bord.
"There is no thing that is occasione (O ze, my thre sonnis) of
1 See chap. vii., p. 129.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 43, ll.
21-24. See p. 69, l. 33.
3 Ibid., p. 64, ll. 20, 21.
4 See Irish-English Dictionary, sub voce,
in the 1st part of the 'Archæologia Britannica,'
by Edward Lhuyd.
5 'Caledonian Mercury,' March 10, 1825.
zour adhering to the opinione of ingland contrar zour natife
centre, bot the grit familiarite that Inglis men and Scottis hes
hed on baitht the boirdours."1
Bool, s. a contemptuous term for a man. Fr. boule, head.
Bordel, bordell,2 s. a brothel. Fr. bordel.3
"Ane fenzeit flatterair, or fuile, I say,
Ane Barde, ane Bragger, or Bordell Hure,
Ar none treatit so weill as thay.
How lang, Lord, wyll this warld indure?"4
Bordeller, s. a haunter of brothels. O. Fr. bordelier.
Borrel, adj. coarse, rude; from O. Fr. burel, bureau, brown,
russet.
Bos, boiss, s. a small cask. O. Fr. Busse, a kind of large tun.
Bost, s. a box. O. Fr. boeste, boiste.
"Horribill it is to heir or zit remord,
The pretius bodie how than of oure Lord,
For oure synnis vpoun the croce that hang,
Out of the bost so lichtlie as tha flang,
And left bair and I tuke awa the bost,
As it had bene ane vther prophane ost."5
Botterel, adj. thick-set. Fr. bouterelle. Used also as a noun.
Boule, s. ball. Fr. boule. "epicurius said that the varld is
ronde [Fr. rond] lyik ane boule."6
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 106, ll.
1-4.
2 "Dunbar to the Queen," l. 29; among
his Poems, vol. i. p. 116.
3 "Gae, or gang, to burdiehouse," is a sort
of malediction uttered by old people to one
with whose conduct or language they are, or
affect to be, greatly dissatisfied. That expression
is surely derived from bordel, not from
Bordeaux, as hinted by Jamieson, Suppl., voce
"Bordel."
4 "The Lamentation of the Pure" — 'Lauder's
Minor Poems,' p. 28, ll. 61-64.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 255,ll. 50,901-50,906.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 33, ll.
4, 5.
Bourding, s. fighting. O. Fr. behourdéis.
"Sic bourding then it wes na barnis pla."1
Bourdon, burdoun, burdowne,2 s. a large staff, such as pilgrims
were wont to carry; a war-club. Fr. bourdon.
"And mony burdoun on thair basnatis brak."3
Brache, s. used in the phrase "rute of brache," root of dissension.
Fr. brêche.
Brais, v. a. to embrace. Brasand, pres. part. embracing.
Fr. bras.
Brangle,4 v. a. to shake; to confound, to throw into disorder.
Fr. branler. "sche hed ane croune of gold, hingand
and brangland,"5 &c.
Brasar, braser,6 s. armour for the arms. Fr. brassart.
"In brasar, birny, and in basnat bricht,
Syne faucht on fit quhill it wes neir the nycht."7
Brase, brass, v. a. to bind. Eng. brace, Fr. bras, arm; Lat.
brachium.
Brauitie, s. a show. Fr. braveté.
Braverie, bravery, s. show; boasting; gaudy clothes; fine
language. Fr. braverie.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. 9. 427, l. 56,767.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 160, 3, 425; iii. 17, 11.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 408, l. 12,741. See vol. i. p. 382,
l. 11,953; vol. iii. p. 165, l. 47,879. Burdoun
means also the drone of a bagpipe.
4 G. Douglas, iii. 339, 19; iv. 99, 5. 'Melvill's
Diary,' pp. 283, 323, 389.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 66, ll.
22, 23.
6 See above, chap. xii. p. 193.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 546, ll. 17,011, 17,012. See also
vol. i. p. 184, l. 5982; p. 306, l. 9692; p.
339, l. 10,680; p. 365, l. 11,441.
Bravity, s. courage. O. Fr. braveté.
Breels, s. pl. spectacles. O. Fr. berils.
Breif, brief, breef, s. a spell. O. Fr. bref, brief.
Briganrye,1 s. brigandage.
"Quhat differs dearth from creuell briganrye,
Quhen that ze mak the pure for hunger dye?"2
Brissal, adj. brittle. Fr. brésillé.
Brochis,3 s. wooden pins on which yarn is wound. Fr.
broches. Brochit,4 part. pas. put on spits.
Brock, v. a. to do any piece of work in an unskilful manner.-
Fr. brocher.
Brock, brok, broks, s. fragments of any kind, especially of
meat; trash, refuse. Fr. de bric et de broc and bric à brac.
"Brocken victuals" is still a common Eng. expression.5
Broder,6 v. a. to embroider. Fr. broder. "on the thrid part
of that mantil, i beheld, brodrut about al hyr tail, al sortis of
cattel,"7 &c.
To stain.:—
"Quhill all with blude broderit wes the eird."8
Broilyie, v. a. to parboil, then to finish the cooking by roasting
on the gridiron (Fife). O. Fr. brusler.
1 See above, chap. xi. pp. 177, 178.
2 "Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour" —
'Lauder's Minor Poems,' p. 18, ll. 472, 473.
Cf. chap. xi. pp. 177, 178.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 140.
4 Ibid., ii. 34, 3.
5 Vide Nares's Gloss., vocibus "Brocken
beer," "Brocken meat." At the beginning
of 'Don Quixote,' Cervantes informs us that
his "ingenioso hidalgo" ate "duelos y quebrantados
los sabados."
6 Cf. chap. iv. p. 85.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 69, ll.
11-13.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 122, l. 4101.
Brondyn, adj. branched. Fr. brondes, green branches.
Bu, boo, s. a sound meant to excite terror. "Bou, bou, bou,
bous, boos,"1 &c. Under that word Jamieson puts "Bu-man,
s. a goblin; the devil, used as Bu-kow," and ascribes a German
origin to it; but he is wrong. In early mysteries, where
either the devil or one of his subordinates plays a part, they
were always roaring.2
Buff, s. a stroke, a blow. O. Fr. buffe.
Buffer, s. a foolish fellow. O. Fr. bouffard.
Bufflin, adj. roving, unsettled. O. Fr. buffelin, of or belonging
to the wild ox.
Buller, bullir, v. n. to make a sound like noise of water, &c.
Fr. bouillir. Bullerie, adj. making a gurgling noise, applied
to rough water running in a stream.
To bellow: "the bullis began to bullir."3
Burnet, adj. of a brown colour. Fr. brunet.
Burris, s. p1. probably flocks, or locks of wool, hair, &c. Fr.
bourres.
Burry, adj. rough, boorish. Fr. bourru.
Burse, s. a court consisting of merchants. Fr. bourse.
Busch, s. boxwood. Fr. buis.
Busk, s. bush. Fr. bosc. "quhar there vas mony smal
birdis hoppand fra busk to tuist."4
Butin, butine, s. booty. Fr. butin. "thai distribut the maist
part of the butine, ande spulze amang the pepil,"5 &c.
1 Rabelais, B. iv. ch. 19.
2 Vide 'Le Mystère de saint Louis,' published
for the Roxburghe Club in 1870, p. 400.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 39, ll.
4 5.
4 Ibid., p. 37, ll. 20, 21.
5 Ibid., p. 146, ll. 15, 16. See l. 12.
Bwn, s. a large cask, placed in a cart, for the purpose of
bringing water from a distance, a word used in Angus.1
Provincial Fr. benne.
Bygaryt,2 adj. striped, variegated. Fr. bigarré.
Bystour, boysture, s. a term of contempt. O. Fr. bestourné,
or butor.
Cace, cais, case, caise, chass, s. on cace, in caise (North),
by chance, if. Fr. cas.
Cache, v. n. to wander. O. Fr. cachier.
Cageat, s. a small casket or box. Fr. cassette.
Caiceable, caseable, adj. what may happen. Fr. cas.
Cairt, s. a map. Fr. carte.
Callan, calland, callant, s. a lad; a girl. Fr. galant. The
English had gallant in the sense of fellow.3
Callet,4 s. the head.
Callsay, calsay, causay, causey, s. causeway, street. Fr.
chaussée.
"Quhill he was traillit out throw all the toun,
Quhair on [the] stairis and all the calsay wnde[r],
Rycht mony stude that tyme on him to w[under]."5
Calsay-paiker, s. one who walks the streets.
Cane, kain, canage, s. a duty paid by a tenant to his land--
1 'Rec. Council,' Edin., 1590. Vide Chambers's
'Traditions of Edinburgh,' vol. i. p. 110.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 198, 17.
3 Vide Stow's Annals, ed. 1631, p. 821.
4 On the numerous words derived from the
same root, as calotte, calèche, calash, &c., see
our 'Recherches de philologie comparée sur
l'argot,' &c., voce "Calège," pp. 84, 85. Ben
Jonson ('Bartholomew Fair,' Act iv. sc. 3)
uses quail as a cant term for loose woman;
but that word seems to have a different origin.
Vide Nares's Glossary, vocibus "Callet" and
"Quail." In Gaelic, cail, cailin, is used to
mean a vulgar girl, a quean, a hussy.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 561, ll. 61,193-61,195.
lord. Gael. cain-e and cànach. In the same language cean
means head, and cane, figure, in old French.1
Cannel, v. a. to channel, to chamfer. Fr. canneler.
Canois, canos, canons, chanos, adj grey, hoary. Fr. chenu.
Cantaille, cartel, cantil, s. a fragment, a corner-piece. O. Fr.
chantel.
Canton, s. a corner. Fr. canton.
Caprel, s. a caper, as in dancing. Fr. cabriole.
Carceir, v. a. to imprison. Fr. incarcérer.
Carge, v. a. to charge. O. Fr. cargier.
Carion, s. a dead body. O. Fr. cariogne; Fr. charogne
"… ane cauerne quhar that the vse vas to cast the
carions of comdampnit transgressouris."2
Carmouche, carmuiche, carmusche, s. fighting, skirmish.
Fr. escarmouche.
"With countering and carmouche euerilk da,"3 &c.
Carnaill, adj. putrid. O. Fr. charnier, cemetery.
Carryvarry, kirrywery, s. a burlesque serenade made with
pots, pans, &c., at the door of old people who marry a second
time. Fr. charivari.4
Caryare, s. one skilled in carrying by legerdemain. Fr.
charrier.
1 See our 'Tristan,' vol. i. p. 147,l. 3033;
'De la Dent,' l. 71 ('Fabliaux et Contes,'
&c., vol. i. p. 161); and 'Blancandin et Orguilluse
d'amor,' p. 103, v. 3071, where we
read —
"II a plus noir del cief la caine
Que n'est ans Mors de Mariane."
Skene, 'De Verb. Signif.,' voce "Canum,"
apprehends that this was originally a capitation
tax. See Du Cange's 'Glos. Med. et
Inf. Latin.,' voce "Canon."
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 119, ll.
15, 16. See p. 154, l. 20. It is at times
heard in the North in such a phrase as, "He's
a naisty carion o' a chiel."
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 264, l. 8466. See vol. i. p. 243, I.
7830; p. 332, l. 10,462; 339, l. 50,704.
4 Vide Rabelais, B. i. c. 17, voce "Carymary,"
"Carymara," and his commentators.
Caschet, casket, s. the king's privy seal. Fr. cachet.
Cass, v. a. to make void. Fr. casser.
Cassie, cazzie, cosie, s. a sort of basket made of straw. Fr.
chassis.
Caterr, p. caterris, s. catarrh. O. Fr. caterre. "til eschaip
the euyl accidentis that succedis fra the onnatural dais sleip,
as caterris,"1 &c.
Caue, pl. cauis, s. cellar. Fr. cave. "The fyir slaucht vil
consume the vyne vitht in ane pipe in ane depe caue."2
Cautele, s. wile. Fr. cautelle.
Ceil, cele, v. a. to conceal, to hide (Gael.) Fr. céler.
Cearche, ceirs, cerss, sers, v. a. to search. O. Fr. cerchier,
serchier; Fr. chercher.
"Go cearche the Scripture, and thow sall find it so."3
Cert, certy, adv. for cert, for certain; by my certy, in truth.
Fr. certes.
Chachand, part. pas. pursuing. O. Fr. chachier, to chase.
Chackit, adj. checkered. Fr. eschequé.
Chamberere, s. a chamberlain. O. Fr. chambrier.
Chamlanrie, s. the office of chamberlain. O. Fr. chambarerie.
Chancellarie, s. chancery. Fr. chancellerie.
Chancy, adj. fortunate. Fr. chanceux.
Chandelar, chandler, chanter, s. a candlestick. Fr. chandelier.
"he spulzeit the tempil, ande reft the goldin alter, the chandelaris
of lycht,"4 &c.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 37, ll.
6, 7. See p. 57, I. 5.
2 Ibid., p. 60, ll. 10-12. See l. 31.
3 'Ane Godlie Tractate,' l. 244 — 'Lauder's
Minor Poems,' p. 11.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 76,
l. 1.
Chap, chaipe,1 v. a. to escape. Fr. échapper.
"The erle of Mar richt narrowlie that da
With his lyfe chaipit fra that feild awa."2
Char, chare, s. a chariot. Fr. char.
Charges, s. rents. Fr. charges.
Charpentier, s. carpenter. Fr. charpentier. "… his
faculte is as honest, as crafty, ande as necessair as is to be ane
… charpenteir."3
Charter-house, s. the name given to the monastery of the
Carthusians. Fr. chartreuse.
Chartour, s. a place for holding writings. Fr. chartrier.
Chasboll, s. onion. Fr. ciboule. "… quhar that he gat
ony chasbollis that greu hie, he straik the heidis fra them vitht
his staf."4
Chastity, v. a. to make chaste. Fr. chastier.
Chaudmellé, s. a sudden broil. Fr. chaude, and meslée,
mêlée. Chaudmallet, a blow, seems to be of the same
origin.
Chennonis, s. pl. canons belonging to a cathedral. Fr.
chanoines.
Chenze, s. chain. O. Fr. chaigne. "… bessus, quha vas
gottyn in the forest, and vas brocht and led bundyn in ane
chenze befor kyng alexander."5
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 351, A.D. 1600.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 531, ll. 60,234, 60,235. See vol.
i. p. 190, l. 6159; p. 374, l. 14,715; vol. iii.
p. 380, l. 55,173.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 10, ll.
12-14.
4 Ibid., p. 94, ll. 13-15. See ll. 15, 21.
5 Ibid., p. 121, ll. 20-22. See p. 114. l. 27.
Cheresing, s. the act of showing favour. Fr. chérir.
"The Saxone blude wes neuir leill no trew.
For aith, or band, or zit for oblissing,
For conscience, kyndnes, or for cheresing."1
Cheryse, v. a. to cherish. Fr. chérir.
"The cause heirof Is onlie Couattyse,
That blinds so man that he can no wayis se
To cheryse virtew, And ay chaistyce vice."2
Chess, s. frame, sash, &c. Fr. chassis.
Chevin, part. pas. prospered. O. Fr. chevir.
Chevisance, s. means of acquiring. O. Fr. chevir.
Chiffers, s. pl. ciphers, figures. Fr. chiffres.
Chirurgeane, chirurge, cirurgyen,3 s. a surgeon. Fr. chirurgien.
"‘Had I,' he said, ane gude chirurgeane heir,
That in his craft war cunnying and perqueir,'"4 &c.
"Than ane chirurge, the quilk wes of maist fame,"5 &c.
"for i trou that gif ane cirurgyen vald drau part of there blud
in ane bassyn,"6 &c.
Circoncisione, s. circumcision. Fr. circoncision. "the nyxt
tua thousand zeir vas the lau of circoncisione."7
Circuat, prep. about. Fr. circuit.
Cistin, s. m. a kitchen (Gael.) Fr. cuisine.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 350, ll. 30,664-30,666.
2 "The Interteniment of virtewus Men,"
II. 21-23 — 'Lauder's Minor Poems,' p. 38.
3 See chap. ix. p. 151.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 199, ll. 49,003, 49,004.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 513,l. 59,656.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 129, ll.
23, 24.
7 Ibid., P. 35, ll. 31, 32.
Citener, citinar, citiner, s. citizen, indweller.1 Fr. citoyen.
"Off Edinburgh the citineris all fled
To strengthis by with all the guidis tha hed."2
"quhen citinaris and induellaris of ane cite hes mortal fede
contrar vthirs,"3
Citeyan, ceiteyan, s. a citizen. Fr. citoyen.
Clair, adj. plain. Fr. clair. Clair, v. to search, is of the same
origin.
Clargie, clergy, s. learning. O. Fr. clergie.
Clabaister, s. m. a bawler (Gael.) Fr. clabaudeur.
Cliath, s. f. a hurdle or frame. Fr. claie.
Clientelle,4 s. dependants. Fr. clientelle.
Closach (guttur.), s. a collection of any kind of trash, vile
materials, or offals (Banffs.) Fr. cloaque.
Clouse, clush, clooss (North), s. a sluice. Fr. écluse.
Clow, clowe, s. a clove. Fr. clou.
Coagul, v. a. to coagulate. Fr. coaguler. "i sau hemp, that
coagulis the flux of the sparme."5
Cockerdehoy (to ride), to sit on, or on both, the shoulders of
another, &c. Fr. coq hardi.
Cognoscance, s. a badge in heraldry. O. Fr. cognoissance.
Coin, coynye, cunyie, quynie, s. a corner. Fr. coin. Those
who are acquainted with the French ecclesiastical antiquities
1 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 22, A.D. 1510--
71; vol. ii. p. 88, A.D. 1599; p. 127, A.D.
1600.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 412, ll. 56,273, 56,274. See vol.
p. 357, l. 30,883; vol. iii. p. 414, l.
56,329; p. 417, l. 56,457.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 167, ll.
16, 17. See p. 11, l. 19.
4 'Diary of James Melvill,' 1556-1601, p.
83, May 1581.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 67, ll.
15, 16.
may recollect "la statue ignominieuse de maistre Pierre de
Cugneres, estant en l'eglise Nostre-Dame de Paris, vulgairement
appelé maistre Pierre du Coignet," because it was in a corner,
and not for the reason put forth by Noël du Fail.1 The counyie
used by Dunbar in his description of a dance may be understood
as the corner resorted to by dancers in search of a corner.
Coist,2 s. side. O. Fr. coste.
"Baith head and hals wes hakkit all in schunder,
With crag and coist,"3 &c.
Coit, v. a. to butt. Fr. cottir.
Coject, v. n. to agree. O. Fr. con and jecter.
Coll, s. a cock of hay, oats, &c. Fr. cueillir. To coll, to
put into cocks.
Collation, v. a. to compare. Fr. collationner.
Comburgess, s. fellow-burgess. O. Fr. combourgeois.
Comerade, s. a comrade. Fr. camarade. It is used as a
verb, signifying to meet together for the purpose of social intercourse.
Comeradrie and cameradrie, companionship, are still
used in the North. Comeradin, constant visiting.
Commess, s. a deputy, Fr. commis.
Commove, commuve, v. n. to put into a state of confusion;
to offend; to vex. O. Fr. commouvoir.
"King Edward syne quhen he come to the toun,
Seand the wallis all war cassin doun,
And all the laif sicklike within distroyit,
Commovit wes richt greitlie and anoyit."4
1 "Les Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol.
15 recto: Rennes, 1585—8vo.
2 See above, chap. ix. p. 153.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 475, ll. 34,599, 34,600.
4 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 376, ll. 55,041-55,044.
See vol. iii. p. 359, l. 55,480; p. 394, l.
55,642; vol. i. l,, 246, l. 7918.
Compatiens, s. pity. Fr. compatissant.
"Rycht greit compatiens of Scotland he hed."1
Compeir,2 v. n. to appear.
"All beand done as I haif said zow heir,
King Dauid than befoir him gart compeir
His lordis all most circumspect and wyiss,"3 &c.
Complenze, v. n. to complain. Fr. plaindre, with com.
"And so tha did sone efter syne but fenzie,
Onto the paip of Gaule did complenze."4
Compt, v. a. to account, to care. Fr. compter.
"Tha comptit nocht, gat tha the gold to spend,
How it wes wyn or quhat suld be the end."5
Compt, s. account. Fr. compte.
Concerns, s. relations; the members of the household. Fr.
concerner.
Concioun, s. an assembly. O. Fr. concion.
Condescend, v. a. to specify; to give in detail, commonly
followed by upon; to agree. Fr. condescendre. The singular
is condescendence.
Condet, condict, condyt, s. a passport. Fr. conduit. Other
allied words are condy, a conduit, and condict, passage.
Confectouris, confects, s. confections. Fr. confitures.
Confiske, v. a. to confiscate. Fr. confisquer.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 183, l. 48,469.
2 See above, chap. x. p. 165.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 360, ll. 54,487-54,489.
4 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 88, ll. 45,374, 45,375
5 .Ibid., vol. ii. p. 510, ll. 35,693, 35,694.
Conforme, adj. in accordance with. Fr. conforme.
"And for that caus my counsall is thairfoir,
To abrogat, and vse that law no moir,
And vse conforme wnto the commoun law,
In vther landis vsit is ouir aw."1
Congey, s. leave. Fr. congé.
Conjuration, s. conspiracy. Fr. conjuration. "al coniurations
hes been exsecut be grit personagis of ane realme."2
Conjure, v. n. conspire. Fr. conjurer. "quharfor grit men,
and also the familiaris of princis that coniuris, ar affligit in
there hart vitht ane thousand difficulteis."3
Connered, part. pas. curried. O. Fr. conroyer. See Corie.
Conqueis, conqueiss, conques, s. the act of conquering and
taking possession of.
"He passit is on to Siluria,
With all his power, baith on fit and horss,
Of mony freik that wes of mekill force,
Of that cuntrie hail conqueis for to mak."4
Conquered territory:—
"To keip the conqueis that his father wan,"5 &c.
Property, possession: "to that effect that ilk persone may
lyf eysylye on his auen iust conques,"6 &c.
Conques, conqueis, v. a. to conquer. Fr. conquérir, je conquis.
"for sic gude pollycie, veil ordorit, sal cause the cuntre
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 562, ll. 37,357-37,360.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 131, ll.
23, 24.
3 Ibid., p. 133, ll. 3-5.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 338, ll. 10,662-10,665.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 214, l. 49,526. See vol.
p. 223, l. 49,840.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 91, ll.
2, 3.
to increse in gloir, honour and reches, and dreddor to zour
enemes, quha ar verray solist and vigilant to conques zou."1
"The Inglismen, as I fund in my storie,
Conqueist alhaill the provinces of France,"2 &c.
To take prisoner: "i hef send to the thir presoners,
the quhilk i hef conquest in fair and honest veyris, contrar
the quhilk present i hef send to the to that effect that i maye
conques thy loue and thy fauoir."3
To gain, acquire:—
"Throw the greit [gloir] that tyme he conqueist hed,
Ouir all Ewrop his name of honour spred."4
"Quhen he hed stand in mony stalwart stour,
And put himself into sic aduenture,
And conqueist Scotland sic honour and gloir,"5 &c.
Constranze, v. a. to force. O. Fr. constraindre.
"‘Suppois natuir constranze him thairto.'"6
Contryne is another form:—
"For ze contryne thame, — as wyse men merkis and seis, —
Till one of thir two grit Extremitieis."7
Contigue, adj. contiguous. Fr. contigu. "there is nocht
mony men, grit nor smal, that hes heritage, bot is aye inuentand
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 91, ll.
5-8. See p. 4, l. 21; p. 90, l. 20; p. 109, l.
6; p. 181,ll. 14, 15.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 515, ll. 59,701, 59,702. See p.
157, l. 47,616; p. 221, l. 49,761; p. 222, l.
49,806; p. 515, l. 59,721.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 116, ll.
15-18. See l. 32.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 171, ll. 48,067, 48,068. See vol.
iii. p. 179, l. 48,350.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 173, ll. 48,149-48,151.
6 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 652, l. 40,249. See vol.
ii. p. 653, l. 40,270.
7 "Ane Godlie Tractate," ll. 476, 477
— 'Lauder's Minor Poems,' p. 18.
cauillatione and vrang titilis to hef their nychtbours heretagis,
that lyis contigue besyde them, othir be proces and pleyis, or
ellis be violens."1
Contra, adj. opposing. Fr. contre.
"This ilk Banis into that strenth he la,
His contra part than keipit that entra,"2 &c.
Contrarie, s. opposition. Fr. contraire.
"In that counsall thair wes no contrarie."3
As a prep., in opposition to:—
"Contrarie the courss of his complectioun,"4 &c.
In contrairie, on the other hand:—
"As efterwart within ane litill space,
It prouit weill be gude William Wallace,
In contrairie that Scotland did reskew,
Quhen that his power was bayth waik and few."5
Contrapleid, contrapley, s. contradiction. Fr. contre, and
plait, plaid, a term of feudal law.
"Quhen he hard pece, thairof he wes content,
But contrapleid tharto gif his consent."6
Contray, v. a. to oppose.
"Zit neuirtheles that tyme tha stude sic aw
Of Kenethus, that wes thair prince and king,
To contray him or crab in ony thing,"7 &c.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 167,
ll. 3-7. See p. 4, l. 3
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 338, ll. 30,297, 30,298.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 137, l. 4569.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 289, I. 9167.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 157, ll. 47,620-47,623.
6 Ibid., vol. i. p. 11, ll. 365, 366. See vol.
1. p. 43, l. 1479; p. 95, l. 3223; p. 119, l.
4017; p. 199, l. 6472; vol. ii. p. 273, l. 28,318.
7 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 563, ll. 37,394-37,396.
Contumax, adj. contumacious. Fr. contumax.
"And he agane that did thair counsall heir,
Wes contumax, and sic wald nocht compeir,"1 &c.
Conwoy, s. mien, carriage. O. Fr. convoy.
Coom, s. dross of coals. Fr. écume.
Coomb, s. a hill, the bosom of a hill, a rising ground. O. Fr.
combe.
Cope betuene,2 v. a. to divide. Fr. couper. In school
language, copin is used by French boys in the sense of companion.

Copy, s. plenty, abundance. O. Fr. copie.
Corbe,3 s. raven. Fr. corbeau. "he be grit subtilite neurissit
tua zong corbeis in tua cagis,"4 &c.
Corbit, adj. crooked. Fr. courbé.
Corbulye, s. boiled leather. Fr. cuir bouilli.5
Cord, v. n. to agree. Fr. corder.6
"Sone war tha cordit on that samin kynd,"7 &c.
Cordon, s. a band. Fr. cordon. Cordonit, wreathed. Fr.
cordonné.
Core, s. a company, a body of men. Fr. corps.
Corie, v. a. to curry leather; corrier, a currier. Fr.
corroyer, corroyeur.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 300, ll. 29,125, 29,126.
2 G. Douglas, i. 91, 1.
3 See above, chap. vii. p. 135.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 181,
ll. 34, 35. See p. 182, ll. 5, 9, 16, 21, 22,
26.
5 There is mention, by Froissart, of small
boats of the same stuff in 1360. Vide b. i.
part 2, vol. i. p. 427, col. 1.
6 "Un autre plait en velt li duc cerjar,
Qu'il velt le duc al conte molt cordar."
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' p. 293; edited by
Francisque-Michel: Paris, 1856—12mo.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 195, l. 48,869.
Cormolade, s. having a rotten heart. Fr. cœur malade.
Corp, s. body.
"With litill happing, nocht to ly ouir warm,
That neidfull war to keip thair corpis fra harme,"1 &c.
Corperale, corporall, s. the linen in which the host was kept.
Fr. corporal.
Cors, corss, corce,2 s. body.
"For ma vices thair rang into his cors,
Nor thair wes hairis on his grittest hors."3
"Cruikit he wes, and unfeire of his cors,"4 &c.
"Formois he wes, and of his passoun fair,
Clenelie of corce, richt plesand and preclair."5
Dead body:—
"The kingis cors into the samin quhile,
Tha buir and bureit in to Iona Yle."6
"And of his corce thai tuke of it sic cuir,
Solempnitlie put it in sepulture."7
Corsgard, s. an abode. Fr. corps de garde.
Corssy, adj. big-bodied, corpulent. Fr. corsé; O. Fr. corsus.8
Cosch, coshe, s. a coach. Fr. coche.
Cossnent, v. to work at cossnent, to receive wages without
food. O. Fr. cust, ceust, à neant.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 445, ll. 33,673, 33,674.
2 See chap. ix. p. 152.
3 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 300, ll. 29,105, 29,106.
4 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 437, I. 57,138. See
vol. iii. p. 449, l. 57,530; vol. i. p. 384, l.
12,034; vol. ii. p. 336, l. 30,223; P. 364, l.
31,110.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 320, ll. 10,130, 10,131.
6 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 336, ll. 30,245, 30,246.
7 Ibid., vol. i. p. 577, ll. 17,933, 17,934.
8 'Chron. de Bertrand du Guesclin,' l.
17,629; vol. ii. p. 148.
Cotterie, s. provision to a place of habitation. Fr. coterie.
Counand, conand, s. contract. Fr. convenant.
Counter, v. a. to meet in battle. Fr. rencontrer.
"Suppois he wes into the grittar number,
Tha counterit him, and countit of na cummer,
With sic ane rusche that all the rochis rang."1
"The bairdit horss, that prickit ouir the plane,
With that counter wes maid to turn agane."2
Countering, counterene, s. fighting. Fr. rencontre.
"That countering wes lyke an thunder crak,"3 &c.
"With counterene and skirmusche da and nycht."4
Coup, s. cup. Fr. coupe. "ande reft the goldin alter,
… the coupis,"5 &c.
Coup, s. exchange, a good bargain. Fr. coup.
Coutch, v. n. to lay down, a term applied to the division of
land among joint proprietors. Fr. coucher.
Coutcher, v. n. to crouch, Fr. coucher. Coutchit, part. pas.
means inlaid.
Coveratour, s. a cover for a bed. Fr. couverture.
Cowardie, v. a. to surpass. O. Fr. couarder. It is used as a
noun to signify the act of surpassing.
Cowntyr-palyss, contrary to. Fr. contre-pal, a heraldic
term.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 283, ll. 28,601-28,603.
2 Ibid., vol. i. p. 248, ll. 7995, 7996. See
vol. i. p. 332, l. 10,491.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 249, l. 8012. See p. 264,
l. 8466.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 325, l. 10,278.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 76, .ll
1-3.
Cowpon, s. a fragment. Fr. coupon.
"Birneis did birst and all in cowponis claif,"1 &c.
Coy, adj. still, quiet. O. and mod. Fr. coy, coi.
Cozie, cosie, s. a corn-riddle. Fr. cosse, and thence écosser.
Cran, s. an iron instrument, laid across the fire, reaching from
the ribs of the grate to the hinder part of it, for the purpose of
supporting a pot or kettle. Fr. cran.
Creische, creish, s. fat, grease. Fr. graisse. To creish, to
grease. Creishie is greasy.
Crinch, s. a small piece, a piece broken off.
Crinch, crunch, v. a. to grind with the teeth, or with the feet,
or in any way. Fr. grincer.
Croise, v. a. to mark by burning. Fr. croisier, from Lat. crux.
Crouchie, adj. having a hunch on the back; as a noun, a
hunchback. Fr. crochu.
Crute, croot, s. a decrepit person. Fr. croute.
Cudger, cudgie, s. the blow given as a challenge to fight.
Fr. coucher.
Cuddam, cuddem, v. a. to tame. Fr. accoutumer. Northern
form cotham, with the meaning to satisfy with food. Cuddum
also means a custom, and as an adj. tame.
Cuf,2 s. a slap, or slight blow. O. Fr. coiffe.
Cuise, s. f a matter, affair, thing, &c. (Gael.) Fr. chose.
Cuist, custroun, s. a rogue, a worthless fellow. O. Fr.
cuistre.
"A little custron cuist."3
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 312, l. 9882.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii, p. 91, A.D. 1591.
3 "The Flyting betwixt Polwart and
Montgomery." (Watson's 'Collection of
Poems,' part iii. p. 2.) Quistroun, which ocCullage,
s. the characteristic mark of sex. Fr. couille.
Cullion, culyon, cullyeon, s. a poltroon;1 a person of disagreeable
temper and manners (Banffs.). Fr. couillon.
Culuerene, s. a kind of cannon. "mak reddy zour cannons,
culuerene moyens, culuerne bastardis,"2 &c.
Culyour,3 s. a cheat, a swindler. Fr. cueilleur.
Cunze,4 v. a. to coin. O. Fr. coigner. "he tuik vitht hym
ane riche quantite of gold and siluyr, cunzet and oncunzet."5
Cunze, s. coin.
"Tha spulzeit alhaill fra end to end,
Of siluer, gold, and all cunze wes kend,"6 &c.
Curbawdy, s. courtship. Fr. cœur and O. Fr. baudir.
Curie, s. search. Fr. quérir.
Curiositie, s. care.
"He confort thame with curiositie."7
curs in "Kyng Alisaunder, l. 2511, 'Metrical
Romances,' &c., by Henry Weber, vol. i. p.
106, means properly a scullion.
"Coistrons de cuisine
Font moult à doler."
— 'De Marco et de Salemons,' st. ix. ('Nouv.
Rec. de Fabliaux,' &c., vol. i. p. 417.)
The prose French Chronicle of the 'Brut of
England,' which was translated by Caxton,
describing the incident that furnished Warner
with his beautiful history of 'Argentile and
Cuaran,' says that King Edelf married Argentile,
"à un quistron de sa cuisyne."
This Caxton renders by "a knave of his
kychen." We read in an older metrical redaction
of the same story:—
"Entre eus le tenoient pur sot;
De lui fesoient lur deduit,
Cuaran l'appelloient tuit;
Car ceo tenoient li Breton
En lur language quistron."
— Lai d'Havelok,' l. 256.
1 'The Bride of Lammermoor,' ch. ix.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 41, ll.
31, 32.
3 See above, chap. ii. p. 65.
4 See above, chap. vi. p. 117.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 109, ll.
1, 2.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 441, ll. 57,258, 57,259. See p.
90, l. 45,435 p. 518, l. 59,816.
7 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 130, l. 24,019.
Anything done with care and skill:—
"And greit desyre had always for to se
Sic coistlie werk of curiositie."1
Curious, adj. careful; desirous of knowledge. Fr. curieux.
"He gat on hir ane sone callit Fergus,
In all this warld wes nane mair curious."2
"Ane hound he had baith curious and bald," &c.3
Curror, currour, curroure, currur,4 s. messenger. Fr. coureur.
Cursur, cursour, s. a war-horse. Fr. coursier.5
"Quhilk war expert to ryde and rin ane speir,
On cursuris kene weill bardit for the weir,"6 &c.
Curteons, s. probably thick paper or pasteboard. Fr. carton.
Curtician, courtician, s. courtier. Fr. courtesan. "in drede
that sum curtician alege trason on vs."7
Custumarie, s. the office of the customs. O. Fr. coustumerie.
Dablet, daiblet, s. an imp, a little devil. Fr. diable.
Daible, v. n. to go about in a weak manner. Fr. débile.
Dall, s. a large cake made of sawdust, &c., used by poor
people for fuel. Fr. dalle.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 570, ll. 37,611, 37,612.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 17, ll. 20,651, 20,652.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 543, l. 16,916.
4 'Comp. Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp. 45,
52, 124, 267.
5 See above, chap. vii. p. 130.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 143, ll. 4754, 4755. See vol. i. p.
330, l. 10,406; vol. ii. p. 232, l. 27,075;
vol. iii. p. 176, l. 48,240; p. 179, l. 48,354;
p. 180, ll. 48,383, 48,387.
"E granz chevals corsiers e espaneis," &c.
— 'Gérard de Rossillon,' p. 338, edited by
Francisque-Michel: Paris, 1856—12mo.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 133, l.
27.
Dammys, dammeis, s. damage. Fr. dommage.
Dan, s. lord, sir, O. Fr. damp.
Dandil, v. n. to go about idly. Fr. dandiner. "To go gaping
ill-favouredly." (Cotg.)
Dane, daine, dain, adj. gentle. O. Fr. dain.
Danton, dantoun, v. a. to subdue. Fr. domper; O. Fr.
domter, donter.
"'Betide me weal, betide me woe,
That weird shall never dantoun me.'
Syne he has kissed her rosy lips,
All underneath the Eildon tree."1
Debait, v. n. to be diligent in procuring a thing. Fr. débattre.
To fight:—
"The cruell Scottis pertlie on that plane,
Ane rycht lang quhile debaittit hes agane,"2 &c.
To defend:—
"Therefoir tha thocht at that tyme and tha micht
But ony battell for to debait thair richt."3
Applied to territory: "and to eschaip [O. Fr. eschapper]
sic tirranny, zour forbears hes debatit zour cuntre this mony
zeiris be grit manhede and visdome."4
Applied to persons:—
"'And sen we haif sic help in our awin handis
And ma debait ws rycht weill with our brandis,'"5 &c.
1 "True Thomas," st. vi. — 'The Ballads
of Scotland,' by Aytoun, vol. i. p. 38.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 595, ll. 38,417, 38,418. See vol. ii.
p. 611, l. 38,939.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 12, ll. 401, 402. See vol.
i. p. 159, l. 5239; p. 239, l. 7697; vol. ii. p.
404, l. 32,373; vol. iii. p. 22, l. 43,186; p.
174, l. 48,200; p. 224, l. 49,857; p. 225, l.
49,869.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 91, ll.
22-24.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 118, ll. 46,342, 46,343.
Debait, s. a fight. Fr. débat.
"The Romanis knew it micht nocht ellis be,
Bot other do into that tyme or de,
And mak debait than baldlie with thair brandis,
For all thair help than stude in thair awin hands,
That causit thame the baldar to abyde."1
Resistance by arms:—
"And all the Ylis tuke at his awin hand,
Without debait of ony or ganestand,"2 &c.
State of opposition: "that iulius and pompeus culd
nocht baytht hef ane vrangus titil in they debait."3
Debaitment, s. contention. O. Fr. debatement.
Debaush, v. a. to waste. O. Fr. desbaucher; Fr. débaucher,
from de, and O. Fr. bauche, rank. Debosh, debush, signifies a
spendthrift, and debosherie, waste, in the North.
Debord, deboard, v. n. to depart; to go beyond proper
bounds, to go to excess. Fr. déborder. Hence debording,
debaurd, s. excess; departing from the right way.
Debout, v. a. to thrust. Fr. débouter.
Deburse, v. a. to disburse. Fr. débourser. Debursing, disbursement.

Decoirment, decorment, s. decoration. O. Fr. décorement.
Decompt, s. an account. Fr. décompte.
Dedie, v. a. to dedicate. Fr. dédier. "the quhilk tracteit i
hef dediet ande direckyt to zour nobil grace."4
Deesse, s. goddess. Fr. déesse. "thai promest to gyf hym
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 401, ll. 12,537-12,541.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 694, ll. 41,591, 41,592.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 183, ll.
35-27.
4 Ibid., p. 7, ll. 12, 13.
ane grit some of moneye, for to paynt ane fayr ymage of the
deesse iuno."1
Defaik, v. a. to relax, to become a defaulter in respect of
money. Fr. défalquer.
Defaitt, part. pas. defeated. Fr. défait. "for quhen the
kyng of France ande his armye var deffait be the duc of
Burbon,"2 &c.
Defawtyt, part. pas. forfeited. Fr. défaillir.
Defeacance,3 s. payment. "In the defeacance of money."4
Defoul, v. a. to defile, to dishonour, to disgrace. O. Fr.
defouler.
Defouling, s. the act of dishonouring.
"For the defouling of his dochter deir,"5 &c.
Degener, v. n. to degenerate. Fr. dégénérer. "O ignorant,
abusit, ande dissaitful pepil,… ande degenerit fra the nobilitie
of zour foir fadirs and predecessours,"6 &c.
Degestable, adj. concocted. Fr. digestif.
Degoutit, part. pas. spotted. Fr. dégoutter, to run drop by
drop.
Degysit, part. pas. disguised. Fr. déguiser.
Deis,7 s. a seat.
"The stane wes set vpone ane deis conding,"8 &c.
Deliuer, adj. active. O. Fr. delivre. Deliuerly, nimbly.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 11, II.
20-22.
2 Ibid., p. 89, ll. 5-7.
3 See chap. x. p. 166.
4 'Accounts of David Murray, Sub-Collector
of the Thirds of Benefices for Perth and
Strathearn.'
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 124, l. 23,842.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 72,
1-5.
7 See above, chap. ii. p. 51.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 444. l. 33,619.
Deluge, v. n. to dislodge. Fr. déloger.
Demand,1 s. objection, calling in question.
"Into that place tuke purpois thair to byde,
The haill spulzie amang thame to devyde,
Richt equallie, without ony demand,"2 &c.
Resistance:—
"This king Malcolme, that stalwart wes and stout,
In the passage with drawin sword in hand,
Still thair he stude, and made them sic demand,
Neuir ane of thame he wald lat furth by,"3 &c.
Demane, demaine, v. a. to treat; generally to ill-treat; in
North, to inflict a bodily injury. O. Fr. demainer.
Demellit, part. pas. injured. Demellitie, hurt, properly from
a contest or broil. Fr. démêlé, a quarrel.
Demember, v. a. to dismember. Dismembrare, s. one who
maims another. O. Fr. desmembrer; Fr. démembrer.
Demont, v. n. to dismount. O. Fr. desmonter; Fr. démonter.
Dentelion, dentilioun, s. dandelion, (Leontodon taraxacum,
Linn.) Fr. dent-de-lion.
Depair, v. a. to destroy. Fr. dépérir.
Depart, depert, v. a. to divide, to separate. Departising, s.
division. O. Fr. départir.
Depesche, depische, v. a. to send away. O. Fr. despescher;
Fr. dépêcher.
"No pastor gewin to feid the flesche, —
All sic ze suld frome zow depesche," &c.4
1 See above, chap. x. p. 165, under contraremand.

2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 361, ll. 31,003-31,005. See vol. ii.
p. 469, l. 34,404; p. 471, l. 34,446.
3 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 598, ll. 38,516-38,519.
4 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 12, ll. 289, 290.
Depescheit,1 part. pas. despatched. O. Fr. despesché.
Depesh,2 s. despatch. Fr. dépêche.
Deprise, v. a. to depreciate, to undervalue. O. Fr. depriser.
Depulye, dispuilye, v. a. to spoil, to plunder. Fr. dépouiller.
Depurse, v. a. to disburse. Fr. débourser. Depursement, s.
disbursement.
Depyit, part. pas. cut off. Fr. dépiécé, dépiécer — de and pièce;
O. Fr. depié, mutilation.
Deray,3 s. disorder. O. Fr. desroy, desroi, desarroy.; Fr.
désarroi — from des, and arroi.
Dereglas, s. pl. loose habits, irregularities, &c. Fr. déréglé.
Dereyne, derene, derenye, s. contest, decision. O. Fr. desrene,
desresne.
Dereyne, derene, dereny, derenyhe, v. a. to contest, to determine
a controversy by battle, to put out of order. O. Fr.
desreiner, desrener.
Det, s. due, reverence. Fr. dette.
"Coell the king with great triumph hym met,
Rycht reuerentlie doand to him his det."4
Detbund, adj. bound by fate. Fr. date and Eng. bound.
Also from former word
Bound by duty:—
"And geue thay dewly do thair cure
To euery kynd of Creature
That they ar detbound for to do:
I pray zow take gude hed heir-to."5
1 G. Douglas, i. 98, 28.
2 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 62, A.D. 1576.
3 'The Historie and Life of King James
VI.,' P. 53.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 573, ll. 17,847, 17,848.
5 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 13, ll. 343-346.
Deteriorat, part. pas. injured, rendered worse. Fr. détérioré.
Detfull, detful, adj. bound in duty, dutiful.
"And do zow homage and reuerence,
With all detfull Obedience."1
"bot zit my gude vil ande hardy intentione, ande my detful
obediens, excedis the hartly intentione of the pure man,"2 &c.
Deturne, v. a. to turn aside, to divert. Fr. détourner.
Devail; deval, devall, devald, v. n. to descend, to fall low, to
bow; to stop, to cease.3 O. Fr. devaler.
Devaill, devall, s. an inclined plane for a waterfall; a sunk
fence. O. Fr. devallée.
Devancier,4 s. an ancestor, a predecessor. Fr. devancier.
Devise, devisse, devysse, dewyss, v. n. to talk; to communicate
information; to narrate. Fr. deviser.
Devoir, s. duty. Fr. devoir.
"And quhen he saw that he cold cum na speid,
To do his devoir be the way of deid,"5 &c.
Dewyss, diuiss, v. a. to divide. Fr. diviser.
Differr, v. a. to delay; difference, delay; differer, one who
delays. Fr. différer.
Difficult, v. a. to put into a difficulty. O. Fr. difficulter.
Dimuneu, v. a. to lessen. Fr. diminuer. "bot zit, at sum
tyme, god almychty, be his diuyne permissions, mittigatis,
1 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 8, ll. 175, 176.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 8, ll.
9-11.
3 'Clariodus,' p. 56, l. 164. G. Douglas, i.
3, 6, 48, 4; iii. 75, 2, 309, 4.
4 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' "To his
Son," p. 5.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 525. ll. 16.362, 16,363.
augmentis, or dimuneuis baytht the gude operations and euil
operations of the planetis."1
Dird, dirdum (Banffs.), s. a stroke, a blow. O. Fr. dourder.
Disbust, s. an uproar. O. Fr. desboisté; Fr. déboîté, out of
its place.
Discomfisht, part. adj. overcome (Dumfr.) O. Fr. desconfit.

Discure, v. a. to observe accurately, to scan. Fr. discourir.
Dispend, v. a. to spend, to expend; dispending, s. expenses.
O. Fr. despendre. Hence dispending, s. money to spend, expenses.

Dissobesance, s. disobedience. Fr. désobéissance.
Diton, s. a motto. Fr. dicton.
Divine, s. a soothsayer. Fr. devin.
Divisit, pas. part. appointed. O. Fr. deviser, to appoint;
to arrange by dividing.
Doleance,2 s. a lamentation, complaint; a statement or remonstrance
in regard to grievances. Fr. doléance.
Domine,3 v. n. to rule, to assume the authority over. Fr.
dominer.
Don, s. a gift, a donation (Ayrs.) Fr. don.
Dorn, s. m. a short cut or piece of anything (Gael.) Fr.
darne, a slice of a fish.
Dorrity, doroty,4 s. a doll, a puppet; a female of a very small
size. Fr. Dorothée.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 56, ll.
30-33.
2 "Queen Mary's Instructions," 'Melville's
Memoirs,' p. 113. A.D. 1564; Calderwood,
'The True History of the Church of Scotland,'
&c., p. 370, A.D. 1597, M.DCC.IV.-fol.
3 'Sir J, Melville's Memoirs,' p. 353.
4 'Destiny,' vol. ii. p. 92.
Dot, dott, s. a dowry. Fr. dot.
Dot, v. a. to endow. Fr. doter.
"In Scotland syne, efter that he come hame,
All halie place of honour and of fame
He viseit syne in gude and clene intent,
And dotit thame with mony riche inrent."1
Double, s. a duplicate; an exact copy. Fr. double.
Doul'd, pas. part. fatigued; northern form, dylt, worn out
with fatigue and sorrow. Fr. deuil.
Dom, doute, s. danger. Fr. doute.
"And blamit him richt soirlie for that thing,
Quhy that he could, without caus or querrell,
Dispone himself into sic dout and perrell."2
Doutsum, adj. full of danger.
"To apprehend thame doutsum wes and cummer,"3 &c.
Dowrier, dawariar, s. dowager. Fr. douairière.
Dragon, s. a paper kite.4 We read in an old English
romance—
"The kyng dude sette out his dragoun,
And on his tent a gold lyoun.5
Dresse, s. exhibition. Fr. dresser, to lift up.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii, p. 65, ll. 44,612-44,615; vol. ii. p.
367, l. 34.179. See 'The Complaynt of
Scotlande,' p. 10, ll. 2, 24; p. 46, l. 1; p.
141, l. 2; p. 158, l. 8.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 278, ll. 28,442-28,444.
3 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 641, l. 39,890.
4 In Barbour's 'Bruce,' b. ii. l. 11. occurs
an expression, raiss dragoon, rise a standard.
Vide 'Etudes de philologie comparée sur
l'argot,' &c., p. 138, col. 2.
5 "Kyng Alisaunder," l. 4300 ('Metrical
Romances,' published by Henry Weber, vol.
i. p. 178). See also 'Le Bone Florence de
Rome,' l. 598, ap. Ritson, 'Anc. Engl. Metr.
Rom.,' vol. iii. p. 26; and 'Aye d'Avignon,'
ll. 1748. p. 54.
Dressin, part. pas. set in order. Fr. dresser, to put in
order.
Dreurie, s. dowry. Fr. douaire.
Drogarie, s. drugs.
"As quha wald gif ane drogarie to the deid."1
Drogis,2 s. drugs. "at that tyme straynge cuntreis var
nocht socht to get spicis, eirbis, drogis,"3 &c.
Drouery, droury, s. unlawful love; a love token; a gift given
by the husband to the wife on the morning after marriage. O.
Fr. druerie.
Dugon, s. a term expressive of contempt. (Ettr, For.) O.
Fr. doguin.
Dulcorait,4 adj. sweet. Fr. édulcoré.
Durandly, adv. without intermission. Fr. durant.
Dyschowyll, adj. undressed, unarrayed. Fr. déchevelé.
Dyte, v. a. to write, to compose. O. Fr. diter; dite, composition.

"Thair werkis all heirfoir to put in write
My pen wald irk, my self also to dyte
Wald grow als dull and sad as ony stone,"'5 &c.
Dytement, s. composition.
"Zit humelie, with hert Inteir,
I wald beseik zour Maiesteis,
My dytment did zou not displeis."6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 135, l. 4496.
2 See above, chap. ix. p. 158.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 145,
ll. 23, 24. See p. 81, l. 1.
4 G. Douglas, i. 32, 12.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 682, ll. 41,245-41,247.
6 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 19, ll. 528-530.
Edropic, s. one affected with dropsy. Fr. hydropique.
"therefor thai may be comparit to the edropic,"1 &c.
Effray, effraying, s. fear, terror. Fr. effrayer. Effrayitly,
adv. in fear.
"…thairfoir richt suddantlye
In that effray thair armour kest thame fra,"2 &c.
Eglie, s. a needle. Fr. aiguille.
Elementair, clementar, adj. elementary. Fr. élémentaire.
"the fyrst part is the regione elementair."3
Elide, v. a. to crush. O. Fr. élider.
Empash, empesch, v. a. to hinder. Fr. empêcher. "the
quhilk empeschis and obfusquis (Fr. offusquer) the beymis of
the soune fra our sycht."4
Empeschment, s. hindrance. Fr. empêchement.
Empresowné, s. a prisoner. Fr. emprisonné.
Empress, empriss, emprise, enpress, enprise, s. an undertaking;
exertion of strength. O. Fr. emprise.
Enbuschyt, enbuschment, s. ambush. O. Fr. embuschement.
Enbush, v. n. to lay an ambush. O. Fr. embuscher.
Enchaip, v. n. to cover the head. O. Fr. enchaper.
Enemy, s. a designation for the devil. O. Fr. l'ennemy.
Engrege, v. a. to aggravate. O. Fr. engreger.
Engreve, v. a. to annoy. Fr. grever.
Enprunteis, empruntis, s. borrowing money. Fr. emprunt.
Enracined, part. pas. rooted. Fr. enraciné.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 126, ll.
7, 8.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 212, ll. 26,494, 26,495.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande, p. 47, l.
21, See ll. 25, 30.
4 Ibid., p. 56, 11. 7, 8. See ll, 10; 15; p.
59, l. 27.
Ens, enze, adv. otherwise. O. Fr. ains, ainz.
Enselyt, part. pas. sealed. O. Fr. enseelé.
Ensens, s. incense. Fr. encens. "quhen ane pure man
makkis ane sacrefeis, and throucht his pouerte he vantis ensens
to mak the seremons of his sacrefeis, that sacrefeis sal be
acceptabil befor the goddis."1
Ensenze, s. insignia. Fr. enseigne. "there is nocht mony
of zou that meritis to veyr the ensenze of the fleise, of the
cokkil, nor of the gartan,"2 &c.
Entailyeit, entailzeit,3 part. pas. formed out. O. Fr. entaillé.
Entreprice, entrepries, entrepris, intrepric, s. enterprise. Fr.
enterprise. "… quhar that fortoune hes schauen hyr
rycht aduerse contrar me, as is hyr vse to do to them that
vndirtakkis difficil entrepricis."4 "and of this sort there
intrepricis is manifest, fra the quhilk succedis perdition of body
and gudis."5
Entres, enteres, s. entry. Fr. entrée.
Enveron,6 adv. around. Fr. environ.
Escart, escarte,7 v. n. to go aside. O. Fr. escarter.
Eschaip, eschap, eschaipt, v. a. to escape. O. Fr. eschaper.
"quharfor til eschaip the danger and domage that,"8 &c. "i
hef rehersit thir vordis in hope to eschaipt the detractione of
inuyful gramariaris."9
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 7,
31-34.
2 Ibid., p. 149, ll. 13-15.
3 G. Douglas, i. 19, 26.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 15, ll.
15-17. See p. 97, l. 21; p. 132, ll. 9, 13.
5 Ibid., p. 132. Il. 3-5.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 109, 18.
7 'Clariodus,' p. 94, l. 1374.
8 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 117,
ll. 10, 11. See p. 37, l. 6; p. 116,l. 8; p.
130, l. 34.
9 Ibid., p. 17, ll. 27-29.
Escharmousch, s. "phormion sau neuyr the iunyng of ane
battel, vitht cruel escharmouschis in the ryding of forrais."1
Escheve, eschew, v. a. to accomplish. Fr. achever.
Espye, espyell, s. a spy. O. Fr. espie.
Essys, s. advantages. Fr. aise.
Euoir, s. ivory. Fr. ivoire. "Quhat sal be said …
of castell ylione, quhilk hed al the portis of euoir bane."2
Evaig, v. n. to wander, to roam. Fr. vaguer.
Evite, v. a. to avoid. Fr. éviter.
Evoy, nevoy, s. a grandson.3 Fr. neveu.4
"Thy nevoy als and of thi blude so neir,
Withoutin caus so saikles to gar sla?"5
Ewder, ewdruch; youthir, in the North, s. a hot smell, a disagreeable
smell, steam or vapour rising from anything warm.
Fr. odeur.
Excerse, exerce, exers, v. a. to exercise. Fr. exercer. "i thocht
it necessair til excerse me vitht sum actyue recreatione."6
To fulfil the duties of an office:-
"That samin tyme his office did exerce."7
To dispense:—
"This nobill king perlustrit all his land,
Justice and law amang thame til exers."8
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 14, ll.
29, 30. See p. 79, l. 13.
2 Ibid., p. 20, II. 26-28.
3 'A Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland,'
&c., p. 61.
4 Formerly the Scots said a nevoy, and the
n passed from the substantive to the article
oye.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 477, ll. 58,502-58,505.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 37, ll.
8, 9. Sec p. 9, l. 4.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 86, l. 45,287.
8 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 100, ll. 45,767, 45,768.
See vol. iii. p. 106, l. 45,966.
To use, to employ:—
"I zow beseik exerce zour strenth and micht
For to defend zour barnis and zour wyffis,'"1 &c.
To try:—
"As euirilk man hes ressone for his richt,
For to exerce with power, strenth and micht,
Be way of deid his purpois to fulfill,
Quhen he be ressoun can nocht cum thairtill."2
To search:—
"Furth that tha fuir for to exerce the land,
Intill all part quhair tha the Sutheroun fand,
Into Scotland the quhilk hed ony cuir
Of King Edward, or office of him buir,
Tha maid thame all without mercie to die,
Or name in Ingland suddantlie to fle."3
It is used as a noun: "to that effect, that throucht sic excerse,
they membris mycht be purgit fra corruppit humours."4
Exhause,5 v. a. to raise up, to elevate. Fr. exhausser.
Exoner, v. a. to free from any burden or charge. Fr. exonérer.

Expede, v. a. to hasten. Fr. expédier.
Experiment, v. a. to know by experience. Fr. expérimenter.
"ve ar veil experimentit, that quhen there multipleis ane grit
numir of sternis,"6 &c.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 116, ll. 46,293, 46,294.
2 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 155, ll. 47,566-47,569.
3 Ibid., vol. iii. pp. 184, 185, ll. 48,533--
48,538.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 9, ll.
8-10.
5 'Hymns and Sacred Songs,' by Alex.
Hume, p. 7, l. 6.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 56, ll.
34, 35.
Experiment, s. experience. Fr. expérimenter.
"The prince Malcum weill vnderstude and knew
Tha lordis all to him war leill and trew,
As he mycht knaw rycht weill be experiment."1
Explositioune, s. expulsion in disgrace. O. Fr. exploder.
Externe, adj. external. Fr. externe. "ande hes repulsit
vailzeantly al externe violens."2
Extirpe, v. a. to extirpate. Fr. extirper.
Extravage, stravaig, v. n. to stroll, to wander, to go about
idly; to deviate in discourse from the proper subject; to speak
incoherently as one deranged. Fr. extravaguer.
Facetie,3 s. a merry conceit. Fr. facétie.
Falsor, falserie, s. a falsifier, a forger. Fr. faussaire.
Falt, faute, fawt, s. want, of whatever kind. Fr. faute.
"ande for falt of educations and eruditione, thai be cum vane,
prodig [Fr. prodigue], ande arrogant,"4 &c.
Faltive, adj. faulty. O. Fr. faultif.
Famell, s. family. Fr. famille.
"His hous and famell, eftcr as I schew,
Onto sic riches and greit honour grew,"5 &c.
Faminitie, s. womankind. O. Fr. femenie.
"Friendlie affectioun of dochter deir,
Fair Alena befoir as ze mycht heir,
Quhilk wes the flour of all faminitie,
Hes causit thame so tender for to be."6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 585, ll. 38,097-38,099.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 3, l.
33.
3 'Hymns and Sacred Songs,' p. 10.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 142,
ll. 1-3.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 680, ll. 41,161, 41,162.
6 Ibid., vol. i. p. 573, ll. 17,849-17,852.
Famour, adj. having a good character. Fr. fameux.
Fannoun, fannowne, s. the sudarium, "a linen handkerchief
carried on the priest's arm at mass." Fr. fanon.
Fardil, s. a large piece. It is most commonly applied to
eatables. (Banffsh.) O. Fr. fardel, fardeau. "Un fardeau
de bled noir,"1 &c.
Farouchie, adj. savage. Fr. farouche.
Fassis, s. knots. O. Fr. faissie.
Fattrils, s. folds. O. Fr. fatraille, trash.
Faubourg, fabor,2 s. suburb of a city. Fr. faubourg.
Feble, v. n. to become weak, to give way. Fr. faiblir.
Feblis, v. a. to enfeeble, to weaken. Fr. faiblir.
Felter, v. a. to entangle. O. Fr. feultrer; It. feltrare; Fr.
feutrer. "hyr hayr, of the cullour of fyne gold, vas feltrit and
trachlit out of ordour."3
Fenzetlie,4 adv. deceitfully. O. Fr. feignement.
"Ane messenger rycht sone he to him send,
Rycht fenzetlie with hartlie recommend,
Commandand him that he sould cum his wa."5
Ferter, feretere, fertour, fertor, s. a little coffer or chest, a
casket. O. Fr. fiertre.
"Of Sanct Thomas translatit wer the bonis
Intill ane ferter that tyme fra his graif,"6 &c.
Ferine, s. meal. Fr. farine.
1 'Les Contes et Discours d'Eutrapel,' fol.
131 recto. Fardele occurs in Barbour's 'Bruce,'
b. ii. l. 827.
2 'The Historie and Life of James VI.,'
p. 6.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 68, ll.
20, 21.
4 See chap. xvii. p. 278, sub voce "Fenze."
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 391, ll. 12,251-12,253.
6 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 92, ll. 45,489, 45,490.
See vol. iii. p. 106, l. 45,961.
Feritie, s. violence. Fr. fierté.
Ferm, v. a. to establish, to make firm; to close, to shut up.
Fr. fermer.
Fermans,1 s. an enclosure.
Ferme, s. rent. Fr. ferme.
Fier,2 s. rate. O. Fr. fuerre.
Fier, feere, s. a standard of any kind.3
Fillat, fillet, s. the flank. Fr. filet.
Fine, fyne, v. n. to make an end, to give over. Fr. finir.
Firmance, s. state of confinement; stability. Fr. fermer.
Fittie, adj. neat. O. Fr. faitis. Fet is the form still in use
in the North.
Flaket, s. a small flagon. O. Fr. flasquet; Fr. flacon.
Flat, v. a. to flatter. Fr. flatter.
Fleume, feume, s. phlegm. O. Fr. flemme, feume; Norm.
fleume. "I sau ysope, that is gude to purge congelit fleume of
the lychtis."4
Flotch, s. a big, unwieldy, untidy woman. O. Fr. floche.
Flum, s. flood. O. Fr. flum, water.
Flunkie, s. a servant in livery. O. Fr. flanquier, which Cotgrave
explains, "to be at one's elbow for a helpe at need."
Foison, fusion, s. pith, substance; plenty. Fr. foison.
Fonte, found, s. cast-iron. Fr. fonte.
Force, s. the greater part. Fr. force.
Fostell,5 s. a vessel, a cask. O. Fr. fustaille.
1 G. Douglas, iv. 85, 24.
2 Vide 'Caledonia,' vol. ii. pp. 30-32, 149.
3 Vide 'Jamieson's Supplement,' sub voce,
vol. i. p. 403, col. 1.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 67, ll.
24, 25. Sec p. 67, l. 23.
5 G. Douglas, i. 80, 10.
Fouder, fudder,1 s. lightning. Fr. foudre.
Fouttour, foutre, s. a term expressive of the greatest contempt,
as fottit, fouty, foutie, foutilie, foutiness, &c. O. Fr.
fouter, a scoundrel. In Portugal the same word is applied
to itinerant tinkers, or mechanics, who come chiefly from
Auvergne, or central France, on account of their vulgar use
of the interjection fouchtra.
Foy, s. an entertainment given to one setting out on a journey.
Fr. voie.
Franchis, s. sanctuary, asylum. Fr. franchise.
Frap, v. a. to destroy. Fr. frapper.
Frechure, s. coolness. Fr. fraîcheur.
Freiris, s. convent of friars. O. Fr. frairie.
Fretment, s. freight. O. Fr. freter.
Fridound, part. pas. quavered. Fr. fredonné.
Frone, s. a sling. Fr. fronde.
Fruct, s. increase. O. Fr. fruict; Lat. fructus. Fructuous,
adj. fruitful.
Fuilyie, v. a. to get the better of. Fr. fouiller.
Fulye, s. a leaf. Fr. feuille.
Furisine, s. a steel to strike fire with. Fr. fusil.
Furmer, s. a flat chisel. O. Fr. frémoir.
Fusie, s. a ditch. Fr. fossé.
Fyne, s. end. Fr. fin.
Gab, v. a. to assail with somewhat impertinent language.
O. Fr. gaber.
1 'Sir J. Melville's Memoirs,' p. 174.
Gagioun, v. a. to slander. O. Fr. gagayer, to mock.
Gallepyn, galopin, gulpin, s. an inferior servant in a great
house. O. Fr. galopin.
Gambet, s. a gamble. Fr. gambade.
Gammonts, gammons, s. the feet of an animal. Fr. jambe.
Garbel, v. n. to make a hurly-burly. O. Fr. garbouil. Garbulle,
s. a broil.
Gardnap, s. a cloth put below a dish to keep the table-cloth
from being soiled. Fr. garde and nappe.
Gardon, s. reward, guerdon. O. Fr. guerdun, guerredon,
guerdon.
"The messinger said, weill he wist thair will,
For na gardon that tha wald grant thairtill."1
Garnison,2 garnisoun, s. garrison. Fr. garnison. "…
quhen he pat ane garnison of tua thousand men vitht in the
toune of sanct quintyne."3
Garson, s. an attendant. Fr. garçon.
Gash, v. a. and n. to twist the mouth in contempt. Fr.
gauchir.
Gaud, gawd, s. a trick. O. Fr. gaudir, to be jolly, frolicsome.
Gauges, s. wages. O. Fr. guage, gaige, wage, gages, money
paid in surety for service.
Gavauling, gavaulling, gavawilling, s. going about in an idle
dissipated manner. O. Fr. gavache and aller.
Geal, v. a. and n. to freeze. Fr. geler. Geal, s. frost.
Geit, s. a fence. Fr. guet, a watch. Geitit, adj. fenced.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 402, ll. 32,301, 32,302.
2 See above, chap. xii. p. 191.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 5, ll.
31, 32.
Gemmel, s. and adj. a twin. Fr. jumeau, jumelle.
Gest, s. motion of the body, gesticulation. Fr. geste.
Girnall, girnell, grainel, garnel, grinale, s. a granary; a chest
for holding meal. Fr. grenier. The verb is girnal.
Gisarme, gisarne, githern, s. a hand-axe. O. Fr. gisarum.
Glamer, glamour, glamerie, gramarye, s. enchantment, witchcraft,
magic, fascination. Fr. grimoire.1
"Whate'er he did of gramarye,
Was always done maliciously."2
Glar,3 s. mud, mire; the white of an egg. Fr. glaire. The
verb is glaur, glawr, to bemire.
"That it sould nocht dishonorit be so far,
Under thair feit to stramp into the glar."4
"for tua houris lang, baytht my eene greu as fast to gyddir
as thai bed bene gleuit vitht glar or vitht gleu."5
Glaster,6 v. to bark or bawl. O. Fr. glatir.
Gloy,7 s. withered blades from straw. Fr. glai.
Gobbat, gobbet,8 s. fragments, morsels. Fr. gobet.
Gofferd, goupherd, gowfre, part., adj. impressed with raised
figures. Fr. gaufré.
1 "Si ot devant la sale un pin,
Dont les branches furent d'or fin,
Tregetées par artimaire,
Par nigromance et par gramaire."
— 'Le Roman de Troie,' l. 6251, p. 253,
col. 2.
In the "Mystère de S. Pierre et de S.
Paul,"a devil says of Simon the Magician —
"Je l'os bien lire to grammaire:
Alons à ly; il nous apelle."
— 'Mystères inédits du XVe siècle,' publ. par
A. Jubinal, t. i. p. 69: Paris, 1837—8vo.
2 "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," canto
iii. St. xi.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 36, 15.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 266, ll. 28,103, 28,504.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 68, II.
6-8.
6 G. Douglas, iii. 143, 26.
7 Ibid., iii. 198, 5.
8 Ibid., ii. 34, 3; 213, 12.
Gomeril, gomral, gamphriel, gummeril, in the North, s. a
stupid person. O. Fr. goinfre.
Good-brother,1 s. brother-in-law. Fr. beau-frère2
Gouernaill, s. government. Fr. gouvernail; Lat. gubernaculum.

Gouge,3 s. wench. O. Fr. gouge.
Govirnance, s. deportment. Fr. gouvernance, conduct.
Grainge, grange,4 s. corn farm, the buildings pertaining to a
corn farm, particularly the granaries. Fr. grange.
Grandgor,5 s. a disease.
"Moir horribill als that tyme for till abhor,
No canker, fester, gut, or zit grandgor."6
Grassil, grissel, grissil, v. n. to rustle. Fr. grésiller, to rattle
like sleet.
Gratnizied, adj. quilled. Fr. égratigné.
Gray mercies, an exclamation. Fr. grand merci.
Gree, v. a. and n. to agree, to come to terms. Fr. agréer.
Gree,7 s. a step. Fr. (de)gré.
"This gude Hungus richt laulie on his kneis
Befoir the altar passit vp the grees,"8 &c.
1 'The Dowie Dens of Yarrow,' st. x.
2 Formerly the epithet beau was in French
a term of courtesy which did not affect the
following substantive:—
"S. Louis.… Pour aide ad ce vous confere
Vostre fits Alphons, mon beau frere.
La reine Blanche. Beau fils, de vostre humilité
Vous me baillez très-grosse charge;
Mais ce non obstant je m'en charge
Avec mon beau fils de Poitiers."
'Le Mystère de Saint Louis,' p. 113, col. 1.
Cf. 'Les Chron. de Froissart,' Buchon's ed.,
t. iii. p. 447, col. 2. The Scots had also gud--
father, gud-mother, gudame.
3 'The Fair Maid of Perth,' ch. xii.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 97, 32.
5 See above, chap. ix. p. 155.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 313, ll. 29, 507, 29,508.
7 See above, chap. i. p. 29.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol ii, p. 366, ll. 31,155, 31,156.
Link in kindred:—
"Fra Gathelus all his genelogie
Onto him self he countit gre by gre."1
Grammatical term: "for quhou beit that ther be comparison
of greis in euyrie thyng, that follouis nocht that the positiue
gre and the comparatiue gre ar contrar tyl vthir, for gude and
bettir are defferent in greis, and zit thai ar nocht contrar til
vthirs."2
Superiority:—
"Then let us pray that come it may —
As come it will for a' that —
That sense and worth o'er a' the earth
May bear the gree, and a' that."3
Grunye, s. a promontory. Whence the name of "Cap
Grinez " in Brittany.
Grunyie, s. the mouth. O. Fr. groing. It is used as a verb,
to murmur, to complain, to find fault with. (Banffs.)
Grynter,4 s. a grain dealer. Fr. grainetier.
Gudget, s. a trull. O. Fr. gouge.
Guede, s. a whit. Fr. goutte.
Gullion, s. a stinking, rotten marsh. Fr. margouillis.
Gulset, s. jaundice. Fr. gueule. "i sau … sourakkis, that
vas gude for the blac gulset."5
Gumphion, gumpheon, s. a funeral banner. Fr. gonfanon.6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. iii. p. 105, ll. 45,904, 45,905,
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 183,
ll. 31-35.
3 "A man's a man for a' that." — Burns.
4 'Crim. Trials,' p. 382, A.D. 1555.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 67, l. 5.
6 Mutes bearing tall poles shrouded in
black drapery are called in Scotland gumflermen;
such being a corruption of gonfalonier,
the bearer of gonfalon, or standard, in old
ceremonial processions." — 'Memoir of Robert
Chambers,' p. 108: Edinburgh and London,
1872—post 8vo.
Gumplefaced, adj. chopfallen. O. Fr. guimple, a veil.
Gusehorn, guissern, s. the gizzard. Fr. gésier.
Gussie, s. a coarse, lusty woman. O. Fr. gousse.
Gust, guste,1 v. a. to taste. O. Fr. gouster. Gust, s. relish.
Gy, gye, v. a. to guide. O. Fr. guier. Gy, s. a guide.
Gyis, gyss, s. manner. Fr. guise.
"Richt glorious as that tyme wes the gyis."2
Gys, gyis, v. a. to disguise. Fr. déguiser, the first syllable,
still preserved in degysit, being considered as an article.
Gysar, gysard, guizard, s. a harlequin, a masker.
Habound, v. n. to abound. O. Fr. habonder.
Hagbutar,3 s. musqueteer. "he renforsit the toune vitht victualis,
hagbutaris, and munitions. for the hagbutars past neir
to the camp of they enemeis."4
Hant, v. a. to practise. Fr. hanter.
Harigalds, haricles, s. the pluck of an animal. Fr. haricot.
Harrok,5 s. a cry for help. O. Fr. haro, harou.
"Thair wes no thing bot harrock, how and cry."6
Hasardour, hasartour, a gambler. Fr. hasardeur. "Et celui
qui jouc as dez, le hasardeur,"7 &c.
"None hasardours at cards nor dyce,"8 &c.
1 G. Douglas, i. 109, 13.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 130, l.4354. See vol. i. p. 143, l.
4769; p. 149, l. 4951; p. 165, l. 5433.
3 See above, chap. xii. p. 195.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 6, ll.
10-12.
5 See above, chap. x. p. 168, sub voce
"Harro."
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. i. p. 124, l. 4148.
7 Nicolas Oresme, 'Les Ethiques,' Bk. iii.
8 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,
p. 12, l. 293.
Hasartry, s. gaming.
"Consumand all thair riches and thair rent,
On huris, harlottis, and in hasartry,'"1 &c.
Hash, v. a. to cut, to slash. Fr. hacher.
Heretour, s. an heir. Fr. héritier. "ande als zour grace
beand absent fra zour only zong dochter, our nobil princes, and
rychteous heretour of scotland."2
Historiographe, s. an historian. Fr. historiographe.
"Historiographe of halie kirk is he."3
Hostelar, hostellar, s. an inn-keeper. O. Fr. hosteller.
Hostelrie, hostellar, hostillarie,4 s. an inn. O. Fr. hostellerie.
Houris, s. matins. Fr. heures, a book of prayers for certain
hours.
How, s. a mound. O. Fr. hogue, hoge.
Howsouris,5 s. coverings for a horse. Fr. housse.
Hoyes, s. a word used in proclamations to call attention.
O. Fr. oyez.
Huscher, s. an usher. Fr. huissier, huis.
Impeach, impesch, impesche, impush, v. a. to hinder. O.
Fr. empescher; Fr. empêcher. "quhilkis impeschit hym in that
barbir straynge cuntre,"6 &c.
Importabil, importable, adj. intolerable. O. Fr. importable.
Importance, s. means of support. O. Fr. emport.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 449,ll. 14,030, 14,031.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 3, ll.
6-8.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 23, l. 20,832.
4 "Kinmont Willie," st. vii.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 99, 30.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 4, ll.
11, 12. See p. 130, l. 22.
Incarnet, adj. of the colour of a carnation. Fr. incarnat.
Incorpand, part. pas. incorporating. Fr. incorporer.
Inhabilitee, s. unfitness. Fr. inhabilité.
Inhabill, v. a. to enable. Fr. habile.
Interdyt, v. a. to interdict. Fr. interdire; pas. part.
"Syne interdytit all Scotland siclike,"1 &c.
Intermell, v. n. to go amongst. Fr. entremêler.
"Quhairof thair horss so far than wes agast,
Thair wes no festnying that micht bald thame fast;
No zit no man durst with thame intermell:
So wode tha war and as feyndis as fell,
And brake all lous ilkane out of his band,
Syne vp and doun tha ran ouir all the land."2
To take in hand:—
"With sic mater I will not intermell."3
Interteney. v. a. to entertain. Fr. entretenir.
Intertrik, v. a. to censure. Fr. entre and triquer.
Intruse, intruss, v. a. to go in illegally. O. Fr. intrure, part.
pas. intrus. The noun is intrusare.
Invaisour,4 s. an invader. Fr. envahisseur.
Inveroun,5 adv. round about. Fr. environ.
Ipeuwed,6 part. pas. propped, supported. Fr. appuyé.
Isch, ische, v. n. to go out. O. Fr. issir, to go out.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 86, l. 45,290. See vol. iii. p. 90,
i. 45,419.
2 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 397, ll. 55,745-55,750.
see vol. iii. p. 297,l. 52,324; vol. i. p. 228,
l. 7350.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 591, l. 18,372.
4 Bp. Lesley's 'History,' p. 124.
5 G. Douglas, iv. 193, 12.
6 'The Pistill of Susan,' st. vi.
"thai purposit mony maneyrs to ische furtht fra that strait
place."1
"Ane vther tyme the citineris war boun,
And with greit power ischit of the town
Vpoun the Scottis for to mak ane trane,"2 &c.
Jacintyne, s. the hyacinth. Fr. jacinthe.
Jangle, v. n. to prattle. O. Fr. jangler.
Janglour, s. a prattler. O. Fr. jangleur.
Jedge, s. a gauge. Fr. jauge.
Jockteleg, s. a folding knife. The etymology of this word
remained unknown till an old knife was found having this inscription,
Jacques de Leige, the name of the cutler. There is
an exact analogy with the Fr. eustache, undoubtedly a proper
name transferred to the instrument.
Jocky-landy, s. a nursery term, denoting a lighted stick,
wisp, or anything blazing, given as a plaything to children.
As stated by Jamieson, who quotes Brand's 'Popular Antiquities,'
vol. i. p. 85, the English had a sort of puppet, formerly
thrown at, in Lent, like shrove-cocks, and called Jack-a-Lent;
but the word landy seems to be a reminiscence of a celebrated
French fair, where, likely, there was plenty of toys.
Jonette, s. a species of flower. Fr. jaunet d'eau (nuphar
luteum); jaune, yellow.
Jorney, jornay, journé,3 s. day's-work; battle; warlike expedition.
Fr. journée.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 101,
ll. 19, 20.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 414, ll. 56,329-56,331.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 315, 11.
Journellie, adv. daily. Fr. journellement.
Keage, keyage, s. duty paid at a quay. O. Fr. queage, quayage,
kayage.
Killyvie, s. a state of alertness. Fr. qui vive?
Labour, laboure, v. a. to plough. Fr. labourer. The noun
is labourin.
Ladnaire, lardner, s. a larder. O. Fr. lardier.
Lansand,1 part.pres. skipping; running. Fr. lancer.
Latit, latyt,2 part. pas. plated with silver or tin. Fr. latter.
Latoun, lattoun,3 s. a mixed metal, probably brass. Fr.
laiton.
Lauandrie, s. a laundry. O. Fr. lavanderie.
Laurere, lorer, s. laurel. Fr. laurier.
Laych, v. n. to linger. Fr. lâcher, to slacken.
Layndar, lauender, lauander, lavander, lavendar, s. a laundress.
Fr. lavandière.
Laynere, s. a strap, a thong. Fr. lanière.
Le, lie, a sort of demonstrative article often prefixed to the
name of a place or thing, in early Scottish deeds, signifying the,
as in French.
Lemane, s. a sweetheart. Fr. l'aimant.
Lemanrye, s. an amour.
Lent-fire, s. a slow fire. Fr. lent.
Leveré, leveray, s. delivery; gift. Fr. livrer.
Ling, lyng, s. a line. Fr. ligne.
1 G. Douglas, iii. 251, 16.
2 Ibid., iii. 126, 149; 145, 14.
3 Ibid., iii. 145. 14; 195, 24.
Lingel, lingle,1 s. shoemaker's thread; a bandage. Fr.
ligneul.
Loon, lown, s. a boy; a man of bad character. O. Eng.
loon or lown. The word occurs in Fr. nearly in the same form
in the same sense:—
"… J'ameroye mieulx
Estre en ung assault mort trouvé
Que d'estre pour couart prouvé,
Car certes je ne suis pas lomme."2
Lyardly, adv. sparingly. Fr. liarder, "to get poorly, slowly,
or by the penny;" from liard, a small coin.
Lyart,3 adj. grey-haired. O. Fr. liart.
Lymouris, lymmour, limnaris,4 s. pl. the shafts of a cart or
chariot. Fr. limons.
Lynage, s. lineage. Fr. lignage.
"‘Quhilk suld be mine be law of rycht lynage
Of Hungus blude,'"5 &c.
"Thay suld be of ane lynage leill."6
Maber, marbyr, s. marble. Prov. Fr. mabre …"quhilk
vas ane grauer of imagis of marbyr stone."7
Macrell, makerell, pedemakrell, s. a pimp, a bawd. Fr.
maquereau, maquerelle.
Mamable, adj. easily managed. Fr. maniable.
Mamuk, s. a fictitious bird. Fr. mammuque.
1 Vide Nares's 'Glossary,' sub voce.
2 'Le Mystère de Saint Louis,' p. 188,
col. 1.
3 G. Douglas, iii. 28, 15.
4 Ibid., i. 17, 26; iii. 233, 21.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. ii. p. 407, ll. 32,454, 32,455. See vol.
ii. p. 481, l. 34,768.
6 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,
p. 15, l. 385.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 129,
l. 9.
Mangit s. frantic. Fr. maniaque.
"And vther sum war of ane vther kynd,
Richt mad and mangit, wod out of thair mynd."1
Mank, mankyt,2 adj. maimed, weak. Fr. manchot.
Man-miln, maun-miln, s. a hand-mill. Fr. main, and moulin.
Manys, s. a house. O. Fr. manse.
Mares, marres, s. a marsh. Fr. marais.
Maretym, s. a dweller on the sea-coast. Fr. maritime.
"The maretyms that duelt neir be the cost,
Bayth men and guidis dreidand suld be lost,
Rycht fast tha fled quhill tha come to the king,
And schew till him the fassone of that thing."3
Margret, s. a pearl. O. Fr. marguerite.
"Adornit wes with mony pretious stone,
With diamontis ding, and margretis mony one."4
Margulyie, margullie, v. a. to disfigure; to mangle. O. Fr.
margoiller, marguiller, to trample in water.
Mariken, marrekyne,5 adj. of or belonging to goat-skin. Fr.
maroquin.
Marrow, s. a companion, a fellow, an associate. Fr. mari,
marié. Marrow seems to have existed in English:—
"Pore husbondes that had no marrowes,
Ther wyfes broghtt hom on whelebarows,
For thei had no waynes."6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 632, ll. 39,587, 39,588.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 222, l; iii. 305, 17.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 152, ll. 5037-5040.
4 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 367, ll. 31,187, 31,I88.
5 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 391, A.D. 1596.
6 'The Huntyng of the Hare,' l. 247.
'Metrical Romances,' &c., edited by Henry
Weber, vol. iii. p. 290.
"You took our sister to be your wife,
And thought her not your marrow;
You stole her frae her father's back,
When she was the Rose o' Yarrow."1
Martyr, v. a. to cut down; to injure severely; to spoil in any
way whatever. O. Fr. martyrer; Fr. martyriser.
Mawsie, s. a drab, a trollop, a senseless and slovenly woman.
Fr. maussade.
May,2 s. mistress. Fr. mie, amie.
Meirdel, s. a confused crowd of people or animals, a numerous
family of little children, a huddle of small animals. (Moray.)
Fr. merdaille.3
Mella, mellay, adj. mixed. Fr. mê/é.
Mellyne, melling, s. mixture. Fr. mélange.
Melze, maize, s. a coat of mail. Fr. maille.
"The Millane melzeis mendit nocht ane myte,
The brandis bricht sa bitterlie did byte."4
Menage, s. a friendly society. Fr. ménage.
Merlins, interj. a word of surprise. Fr. merveille.
Mertrik,5 s. a martin. O. Fr. marte; Fr. martre.
"So at the last it hapnit him to wend
On to the toun that tyme of Inuernes,
Quhair mony schip of merchandise thair wes,
Quhilk in the tyme wer cuming out of France
With quheit and flour, and wyne of Orleance,
1 "The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow," st. ii. —
'The ballads of Scotland,' by Aytoun. See
st. iii.
2 'Memoire of the Somervilles,' vol. i. pp.
336, 33'7.
3 Vide 'Chron. de P. Cochon,' p. 430; Al.
Chartier, 'Des quatre Dames;' Cl. Mann,
2, ép. du coq-à-l'âne; Rabelais, b. i. ch.
33.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. i. p. 235, ll. 7555, 7556. See vol. i. p.
434, I. 13,547; vol. ii. p. 286, l. 28,694.
5 See above, chap. iv. p. 98, and chap. vii.
p. 134.
And for till by thair merchandice agane,
As selch and salmone, scuir, pellat and pran;
For fox and fulmart and of mertrik skin,
Anew thair wes tha landis than within,
Of woll and hyde thai gat at abundance
To fraucht thame with agane home into France."1
Message, s. an embassy. Fr. message.
Mewith, 3 p. v. changes. Fr. muer.
Mewt, v. n. and a. to mew as a cat; to speak, in the North.
O. Fr. miaulde.
Millygant, s. a false person. O. Fr. male gent.
Misfalt, s. a misdeed. O. Fr. mesfaire.
Mister, myster, s. craft. O. Fr. mestier.
Mittle, v. a. to hurt. Fr. mutiler.
Moit,2 s. a crumb, a small piece of anything. Fr. miette.
Moit, mote,3 s. a hill, height, eminence. O. Fr. motte.
Mollets, s. fantastic airs. Fr. mollet.
Mollett,4 s. boss or stud used as ornament of bridles. Fr.
molette.
Moraine, adj. swarthy. O. Fr. morin.
Morgue, s. a solemn face. Fr. morgue, a serious countenance.
Morsell,5 s. bite. O. Fr. morsel.
Mortfundit,6 part. pas. cold as death. Fr. morfondu.
Mort-head, s. a death's-head. Fr. tête de mort. The term
mort occurs in various other expressions.7
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. pp. 150, 151, ll. 4991-5001.
"E li quens Guenes en fut molt anguisable;
De sun col getet ses grander pets de martre,
E est remés en sun blialt de palie."
— 'Chanson de Roland,' st. xx. ll. 301--
303; original edition, p. 12.
2 G. Douglas, iv. 226, 10.
3 Ibid., ii. 110, II; 139, 25; iii. 80, 13.
4 Ibid., iii. 100, 2.
5 Ibid., i. 20, 3.
6 Ibid., iii. 78, 18.
7 Vide Jamieson's Dictionary, and above,
chap. vii. p. 135.
Mosted, adj. crop-eared. (Moray.) Fr. mousse.
Mot, s. a word. Fr. mot.
Moutchit, s. a disrespectful name applied to a child. O. Fr.
mouschette, a small fly.
Mowence, s. dependence. Fr. mouvance, a term in law.
Moy,1 s. a measure of capacity. O. Fr. mui; Fr. muid, a
measure that varied in different places. "Un mui de sel" is
equivalent to "ane moy of salt," mentioned in Aberd. Reg.,
A. 1538, V. 16. Mui is another form used by the author of
The Complaynt of Scotlande: "annibal sent to cartage thre
muis of gold ryngis."
Multure, mouter, muture, s. the fee for grinding grain. Fr.
mouture.
"When ye come to my father's mill,
Ye shall grind muture free;
Now we're met, nae mair to part,
Until the day we dee."2
Munsie, s. a term of contempt. Fr. monsieur.
Murgeon, v. a. to mock by making faces. Fr. morguer.
Murgeon, morgeoun, s. murmur.
Muschet, part. pas. spotted or notched. Fr. moucheté.
Muschinprat, s. a bad deed, a trick. O. Fr. meschant, and prat.
Mush, s. one who goes between a lover and his ladye-love.
Fr. mouche, a fly.
Mychare, s. a mean fellow. Fr. slang, miché.
Neaphle, s. a thing of no value. Fr. nipes.
1 G. Douglas, iv. 220, 2.
2 "The Miller's Son," Part II. st. 12, p.
120, vol. ii. — 'Ancient Ballads and Songs,'
by Peter Buchan — Reprint, 1875. See above,
chap. x. p. 169.
Neff, s. the nave of a church. Fr. nef.
Newo,1 s. nephew. Fr. neveu.
Non obstant, prep. notwithstanding. Fr. nonobstant.
Non sount, s. a term denoting a base coin. The name non
sunt was given to a debased Scottish coinage, because it bore
the arms of Francis and Mary, with this legend: "Jam non
sunt duo, sed una caro."2 In Fr. non sunt meant a eunuch.3
Nourice, nourrice, nurish,4 s. a nurse. Fr. nourrice. Other
forms are noyris, noryss, nurice, and nurreych.5
"'O still my bairn, nourice,
Still him if you can.'"6
Nouvelles, novellis,7 s. pl news, tidings. Fr. nouvelles.
Novity, s. novelty. Fr. nouveauté.
Obfusque, v. n. to darken. Fr. offusquer.
Obtemper, v. a. to obey. Fr. obtempérer.
"The lordis all that war into Pec[h]tland
That tyme wald nocht obtemper his command,"8 &c.
Odour, s. nastiness, filth. Fr. ordure.
Ogrie, ogress, s. m. and fem. a giant, male and female, supposed
to feed on children. (Roxb.) Fr. ogre, ogresse.
1 King James V. of Scotland to King
Henry VIII., apud Ellis, 'Original Letters,'
vol. i. p. 252.
2 Laing's note in 'Keith,' i. 403. 'Calendar
of State Papers,' foreign series, of the
reign of Elizabeth, 1558-1559, p. 510: London,
1862—8vo.
3 Vide Cholières's 'Contes,' vol. ii., quoted
by Leroux, 'Dictionnaire comique,' &c. t. ii.
p. 216.
4 'Melvill's Diary,' p. 152.
5 Vide Jamieson's Dictionary, and 'Crim.
Trials,' vol. i. p. 207, A.D. 1590.
6 "Lamkin," st. 14. Sec st. 13, 15, &c.
7 Bp. Lesley's 'Hist. of Scotland,' p. 166,
A.D. 1542.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 12, II. 20,5115 20,512.
Oist,1 s. a host, an army. O. Fr. ost.
"On him that tyme Breit travell he did tak
Ouir all Scotland, and maist of his awin coist,
For to furneis ane grit armie and oist,"2 &c.
Oist, v. n. to go to war, to carry on war. O. Fr. ostoier.
"Thair vse wes than in oisting, quhilk wes gude,
To suffeis thame with litill sleip and fude,
Quhen mister wer,"3 &c.
Oragrus, adj. stormy. Fr. orageux.
Oranger, s. an orange. Fr. oranger, the name of the tree.
Oratour,4 s. an ambassador. O. Fr. orateur.
Ordinar, n. the usual state of health. Fr. ordinaire.
Orere, oroure, interj. avaunt. Fr. arrière.
Orfarie,5 s. work in gold.
"Her paytrel6 was of irale fine,
Her crupper was of orfarie,"7 &c.
Orison, s. an oration. Fr. oraison.
Oroshen, s. "a savage-behaved individual — probably from
Fr. ourson, a bear's cub" — ‘Galovidian Encyclopedia.'
Orphling, s. an orphan. Fr. orphelin.
Oshen, s. a person of mean disposition. Fr. oison, a little
goose, a ninny.
Ostler, s. an innkeeper. O. Fr. hostelier.
1 See above, chap. xii. p. 197.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 378, ll. 31,510-31,512. See vol. ii.
p. 380, l. 31,584; p. 390, ll. 31,928, 31,935;
p. 473, l. 34,532.
3 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 474, ll. 34,547-347549.
4 G. Douglas, i. 24.
5 See above, chap. v. p. 110.
6 See above, chap. xii. p. 693.
7 "Thomas of Ercildoune" — 'The Ballads
of Scotland,' by W. E. Aytoun, vol. i.
p. 28.
Ostrye, ostie, s. an inn. O. Fr. hostellerie.
Ourn, v. a. to adorn. Fr. orner.
Outreyng, s. extremity. Fr. outrer, to carry things to the
utmost.
Pace, Pasch, Pasche, Pashe, Peace,1 s. Easter. O. Fr.
Pasque.
Pais, pase, v. a. to poise; to lift up. Fr. peser.
Paithment, s. pasture. O. Fr. paissement.
Palaver, s. idle talk; vain conduct. O. Fr. palabre; Sp.
palabra.
Pale, peel, pell, v. a. to call on. Fr. appeler. When one
sees a dead-candle, he demands whose death it betokens.
Pall,2 s. a rich dress. O. Fr. paile.
Palwerk, s. spangled work. Fr. paille.
Palyard, s. a blackguard. O. Fr. paillard, one who lies on
straw, paille.
Palzeon, palzeone, s. tent. O. Fr. paveillun, paveillon.
"Syne plantit doun his palzeonis on ane plane."3
Pantenerer, adj. like a rascal. O. Fr. pautonnier.
Parage, s. extraction. Fr. parage.
"This ilk Henrie ane zoung sister hed he,
Callit wes Jane, plesand of hie parage,"4 &c.
1 'The Tod's Confessioun to Freir Wolf,'
l. 110; 'The Wolf, the Foxe, and the Cadgear,'
l. 203; ap. Henryson, pp. 131, 189:
'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 463*, n. v. 1565;
'Melvill's Diary,' pp. 165, 274, 297, &c.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 57, 30; iv. 53, 31.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 223, l. 49,818. See vol. i. p. 190,
l. 6176; 339, l. 10,683; p. 399, l. 12,457;
vol. iii. p. 224,l. 49,861.
4 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 91, ll. 45,473, 45,474.
Pardie, perdé, adv. verily, indeed. Fr. par Dieu.
"Thomas dwelt in that solace,
More than I you say, pardie;
Till on a day, so have I grace,
That lovely ladye said to me."1
Park, s. a pole. Fr. perche.
Park, v. a. to perch. Fr. percher.
Pule, s. speech. Fr. parler.
Paroche, s. parish. O. Fr. paroche; Fr. paroisse.
"Into the first than hes desyr wes sua,
Ilk paroche kirk without exceptioun pa
Four markis stifling,"2 &c.
Parsenere, s. a partner. O. Fr. parsonnier.
Parten, perten, v. n. to belong to. Fr. partenir. "to gif ane
assalt to the cite of lucere, quhilk partenis to the romans."3
"And mekill moir no I haif in memorie,
The quhilk pertenis nothing to this storie."4
Partiment, s. division. O. Fr. parlement.
Party, partie, s. an opponent. Fr. parti.
Party, s. part, degree. Fr. partie.
Patene, s. the cover of a chalice. Fr. patène.
Pauce, v. n. to dance with rage. Fr. pas.
Pawmer, s. the palm-tree. Fr. palmier.
1 "Thomas of Ercildoune" — 'The Ballads
of Scotland,' by W. E. Aytoun, vol. i. p. 34.
2 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 127, ll. 46,670-46,672. See vol. ii.
p. 294, I. 28,930.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 98, ll.
26, 27.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 73, ll. 44,870, 44,871. See vol.
ii. p. 6, l. 202333 vol. iii. p. 114, l. 46,233
p. 130, l. 46,781.
Pawmie, s. a stroke on the hand. O. Fr. paumée.
Pay, s. region. Fr. pays.
Pay, v. a. to satisfy; to beat. Fr. payer. It is used as a
noun to signify satisfaction.
Payane,1 payne, adj. pagan. Fr. payen.
Paysand,2 adj. heavy. Fr. peasant.
Pece,3 piece, s. a vessel for holding liquids. Fr. pièce.
"Haiffand all thing neidful for men of weir,
With gold and silver, and with houshald geir,
With riche veschell war all of silver fyne,
Baith dische and plait, and pecis for the wyne,"4 &c.
Peenjure, v. a. (Ayrsh.) to hamper, to confine. O. Fr.
ponçoir, a bolt.
Peer, peere,5 pere,6 adj. equal. O. Fr. peer, per. It is used
as a verb, to equal.
Peis, v. a. to make silence. Fr. faire paix.
Pend, s. an arch. Fr. pendre. Pended, pendit means arched.
"That tyme on Forth thair wes ane brig of tre,
But pend or pillar, vpone trestis hie,
Quhair he that tyme ane mekle better brig,
With pend and pillar of stane and lyme gart big,"7 &c.
Penty, v. a. to strike. Fr. pointer, to give a blow with the
point of a sword. It is also used as a noun.
Peppin, v. a. to cocker. O. Fr. popine, a puppet.
Per, v. n. to appear. O. Fr. parer.
1 G. Douglas, ii. 228, 8.
2 Ibid., iii. 36, 9.
3 See above, chap. iii. p. 59.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 405, ll. 56,041-56,044. See vol.
iii. p. 406, l. 56,060.
5 'The Pistill of Susan,' st. iii.
6 Douglas's 'Virgil,' 366, 48.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 441, ll. 33,555-33;558.
Perceptioune, s. the act of gathering or receiving rents, &c.
Fr. perception.
Perconnon, percunnance, s. condition. Fr. par and convine.
Perdews, s. the forlorn hope. Fr. enfants perdus.
Perdue, adj. driven to the last extremity. Fr. perdu.
Peremptoir, adj. peremptory. Fr. péremptoire. "bot zit i
vas lang stupefact ande timide, for fait of ane peremptoir conclusione,"1
&c.
Perfay, adv. verily. Fr. par and foi.
Perfurnis, perfurmeis, v. a. to accomplish. Fr. parfournir.
Perlassent, pres. part. parleying. Fr. parlant.
Peronal,2 s. a girl, a young woman. O. Fr. péronelle.
Pers, peirs,3 adj. sky-coloured, blue. O. Fr. pers.
Perticiane, s. an adept. Fr. praticien, a practitioner in law.
Pertroubil, v. a. to annoy. O. Fr. partroubler.
Pewtena, s. a whore. Fr. putain.
Peyster, s. one who feeds voraciously. O. Fr. paistre.
Picken, adj. pungent to the taste. Fr. piquant.
Pickie-man, s. a miller. Fr. piqueur de meule, pricker of
wheat-stone.
Piege, s. a trap. Fr. piège.
Pile, Pyle, s. the soft hair which appears on the chin of a
youth; a tender blade; a single grain. Fr. poil.
Pilgren, s. a pilgrim. O. Fr. pelegrin.
Pinalds, s. a spinnet. O. Fr. espinet.
Pinch, punch, s. an iron lever. Fr. pince.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 6, ll.-
33, 34.
2 'The Twa Maryit Wemen and the Wedo,'
l. 231; ap. Dunbar, vol. i. p. 69.
3 G. Douglas, iv. 83, 18.
Pinsal,1 pynsall,2 pensall, s. streamer. O. Fr. penoncel.
"With mony pynsall pandit war preclair,"3 &c.
Plainyie, v. n. to complain. Fr. plaindre.
Plede, pleid, pleyd, s. debate, quarrel; care. Fr. plaid. It
is used as a verb, to contend.
"Thair wes sum thair that cruell counsall gaif,
Gif euer he thocht gude pece or rest to haif
Into Britane, and bruke it out of pleid,
For to stryik of Arweragus his heid."4
"And endit wes that time all pley and pleid."5
"Thus endit scho that first begouth that pleid."6
Plummet,7 s. the pommel of a sword. O. Fr. plombeau.
Poesie,8 s. poetry. Fr. poésie.
Poiner; piner in Banffs., s. one who cuts peats. O. Fr.
pionier, with the same meaning.
Poinyel, s. a bundle carried by one when travelling. O. Fr.
poignal; from Fr. poignée.
Policy, pollece, s. the pleasure-grounds round a mansion.
Fr. police.
Pomerie, s. an orchard. Fr. pommeraie.
Pomet, s. pomatum. Fr. pommade.
Ponyeand, adj. piercing. Fr. poignant.
Port, s. the gate of a town. Fr. porte.
1 G. Douglas, ii. 141, 4.
2 See above, chap xii. p. 197.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 435, l. 57,057. See vol. iii. p.
169, l. 48,0225; p. 187, 1 48,614 p. 215, l.
49,559; p. 232, l. 50,114; p. 233, l. 50,169:
vol. i. p. 379, l. 11,893.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 228, ll. 7343-7346.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 114, l. 3861.
6 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 4949 l. 35,202.
7 'Crim. Trials,' vol. iii. p. 21, A.D. 1597.
8 'J. Melvill's,' p. 307.
Portage,1 s. baggage. Fr. portage.
Porte (to Porte on), v. a. to bring on, to direct. Fr.
porter.
Poss, pouss, v. a. to push. Fr. pousser. It is used as a
noun.
Potingar,2 s. a druggist.
"Sayand he wes ane potingar richt fyne,
And had grit prattik of all medicyne,"3 &c.
Pounse, punse, v. a. to cut, to carve, to engrave. Fr.
poncer.
Prattik, prettik, pracktik, practique,4 s. practice, stratagem in
war. Fr. pratique.
Pray, s. a meadow. Fr. pré.
Prestable, adj. payable. O. Fr. prester.
Pretense, s. design. Fr. prétendre.
Prise, prize, v. a. to force, to press. Fr. presser.
Proch, v. n. to come near. Fr. approcher.
Prochane, prochene, adj. neighbouring. Fr. prochain. "ande
deffendit his pepil ande subjectis of loran, fra his prochane
enemeis,"5 &c.
Proket of wax, s. apparently a small taper, or the peg to
stick it on. Fr. brochette.
Promissione, s. promise. Fr. promission. "zit nochtheles
that var ay fyrst in the battel for the deffens of the landis of
promissione."6
1 G. Douglas, ii. 78, 12.
2 See above, chap ix. p. 158.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 196, ll. 26,019, 26,020.
4 See above, chap. x. p. 169.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 4, ll.
1, 2.
6 Ibid., p. 164, ll. 13, 14.
Promuve, v. a. to set on foot, to carry forward.
"Thairwith, he said, ane mendis he sould haif,
Of thame ilk ane promuvit had sic thing."1
"Then Gadwallane, that king wes of the Britis,
And King Panda richt soir blamis and witis
Thair negligence richt far into sic things,
Promouit had sic tua vncristin kingis,"2 &c.
Propyne, propine,3 s. a gift, a present; drink-money. O. Fr.
propine.
"For no rewarde, gyft, nor propyne,
Thole none of thir twois causes tyne."4
Prospect, prospect-glass, s. a telescope. O. Fr. prospective.
Provene, v. n. to proceed from. Fr. provenir.
Proviant, adj. provided for a set purpose. Fr. prévoyant.
Provost,5 provest, s. the chief magistrate of a royal burgh.
Fr. prévôt.
"Sic reirdour raiss amang them vp and doun,
That thair provest grit trauell had and pane
Within the toun to gar thame still remane."6
Pungetywe, adj. sharp. Fr. poignant.7
"Ane herald syne to gude Wallace send sone,
Quhilk schew to him his chairgis all belyve,
In lichtlie langage and richt pungetywe."8
Punyie, punge, v. a. to pierce. O. Fr. poindre.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 422, ll. 13,198, 13,199.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 304, ll. 29,231-29,234.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 222, 2.
4 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 18, ll. 499, 500.
5 See above, chap, x, p. 162.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 277, ll. 8829-8831.
7 "Si ot la langue moult punere
Et moult poignant et moult amere."
— 'Le Roman de la Rose,' l. 3527.
8 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 168, ll. 47,970-47,972.
Purall, pural, purell, pouerall, s. the lower classes, the poor
people. O. Fr. pouraille.1
Purfell,2 s. and v. a. an edging or border of dress; to trim
with an edging. O. Fr. pourfiler.
Purmein,3 v. a. to walk. O. Fr. pourmener.
Pye, pie, v. n. to pry. Fr. épier.
Quadre, v. a. to square. O. Fr. quadrer.
Queint, adj. curious; strange; cunning. O. Fr. coint.
Queint, queynt, s. a device. O. Fr. cointe.
Quent, adj. familiar. O. Fr. accoint.
Quentis, s. elegant device. O. Fr. cointise.
Quenyie, quynyie, qunyie, queingie, s. a corner. O. Fr.
cuignet, coing.
Quering (Franche) lynit with canwess. We are fain to own
that we do not understand this expression, which occurs in an
old inventory.
Quernell stanis, s. grave-stones. Fr. charnier.
Querrel, quarel, s. a quarry. O. Fr. quarrel.
Querrell, s. quarrel. Fr. querelle.
"And alss that time his querrell foundit he,
Nocht for his richt bot for the Brucis supple,"4 &c.
Quitte, quyt, qutye,5 adj. requited. Fr. quitte.
Quoy,6 adj. quiet. Fr. coi.
1 G. Douglas, i. 79, 18.
2 'Comp. Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp. 31,
36.
3 'Melvill's Diary,' p. 147.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 152, ll. 47,462, 47,463. See
vol. i. p. 161, l. 5328; vol. iii. p. 156, l.
47,580.
5 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 328, A.D. 1600.
6 G. Douglas, ii. 97; 102, 16.
Quyttans, quhittans,1 s. acquittance. Fr. quittance.
Rabate, v. a. to abate. Fr. rabattre.
Rabscallion, rapscallion,2 s. a low worthless fellow. I concur
with Jamieson, who conjectures that "it is probable that Eng.
cullion or scullion may have entered into the composition;"
but it seems obvious that the Scottish word is derived from
the Fr. racaille, which gave rise to the Eng. rascal.
Radious, radius,3 adj. very bright or radiant. Fr. radieux.
Radoun, v. n. to return. Fr. rédonder.
Rail tree, rawel, s. a rail, the cross-beam to which the tops of
cow-stakes are fastened. O. Fr. vervelle.
Rambarre, v. a. to stop, to restrain; also to repulse. Fr.
rembarrer.
Rammale,4 rammall, rammel, ramel, s. a small branch, a
crooked stick (Banffs.), shrubbery, brushwood. O. Fr. ramel,
ramille. The adj., signifying brauchy, is rammel "there vas
ane grene bane (Fr. banc) ful of rammel grein treis."5 Hence
rammage, s. the warbling of birds; and adj. wild, savage. O.
Fr. ramage.
"The Romanis than quhen tha saw Argatill
With mos and mure and mony wodis wyld,
And ron and roche with mony rammall ouirsyld,6"7 &c.
1 Accounts of 1497 and 1500 in 'The Ledger
of Andrew Halyburton,' pp. 176, 269.
2 'The Bride of Lammermoor,' ch. xxv.;
'The Heart of Mid-Lothian,' ch. xlvi.
3 'Clariodus,' p. 2, l. 25; C. Douglas, iii.
150, 31; "The Promine," &c., st. ix., in
'Select Remains,' &c.
4 G. Douglas, iii. 206, 15.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 37,
l. 19.
6 See "Sile," below, p. 399.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 359, ll. 11,264-11,268; vol. ii. p.
571, l. 37,670.
Rammasche, adj. collected. Fr. ramassé. "there eftir i
herd the rumour of rammasche foulis ande of beystis that maid
grite beir,"1 &c.
Ramp, v. n. to become ropy, applied to milk. Fr. ramper,
to creep on the belly.
Randon, v. n. to flow swiftly. O. Fr. randoner, to run
quickly. The noun is randoun, randoune,2 and signifies violent
motion; flight; course. O. Fr. randon, a violent force.
Range, s. a company of hunters. Fr. rang, rangée.
Ransom, s. an extravagant price. Fr. rançonner, to exact
from one for the price of anything more than its worth.
Ransoune, ransown, s. a ransom. Fr. rançon.
Ranter, v. n. to sew a seam in a slovenly manner. Fr. rentraire,
to sew a seam so that it does not appear, from re, en,
and traire with the meaning to draw.
Ranverse,3 v. a. to overturn. Fr. renverser.
Raparal, reparell,4 v. to repair, to refit, to fit out. Fr. rapareiller.

Rasit, part. pas. abashed, confounded; thrown into confusion.
Fr. rasé.
Ratchal, s. a hard rocky crust below the soil. O. Fr. rochaille.
Ratt or rots rime, s. anything repeated by rote. O. Fr. rote.
Rave, reverie, ravery (Banffs.), s. a vague report; delirium.
Fr. rêve, rêverie.
Ravisant,5 part. pres. ravenous, violent. Fr. ravissant.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 38, ll.
23, 24.
2 G. Douglas, iii. 78, 2.
3 'Continuation of Melvill's Diary,' p. 629.
4 G. Douglas, i. 18, 8; ii. 196, 15; 198,
21.
5 "Ravisant wolfis of England" — 'The
Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 3.
Robert Gobin has written a curious book entitled 'Les Loups
ravissans dit le Doctrinal moral,' which was twice printed at
Paris about 1503 and 1525.
Raw,1 rew, s. street. Fr. rue.
Rayen, rayon, s. a ray or beam. Fr. rayon.
Ream, reyme, rem, s. cream. In Fr. rimé is said of burnt
milk.
Rebellar, s. a rebel. Fr. rebelle.
"Thir rebellaris, as my author did sa,
Ane message send to Dongallus the king,"2 &c.
Rebouris (at), rebouris, adv. crosswise, quite contrary to the
right way. Fr. à rebours.
Rebous, s. repulse. Fr. rebut.
"The Scottismen, throw help of Godis grace,
Tha wan the feild for all thair greit rebous."3
Recipisse, s. a receipt. O. Fr. récépissé.
Reciproquilie, adv. reciprocally. Fr. réciproquement.
Reciprous, reciprouss, reciproque, adj. reciprocal. Fr.
réciproque.
Recollis,4 s. records. Fr. recueil.
Recourse, v. a. to rescue. Fr. recourir.
Recrue, recreu, v. a. to recruit. Fr. recruter.
Recule, v. n. to recoil. Fr. reculer.
Recure, s. redress. Fr. recours. Recureless, without redress,
is the adj.
1 'The Book of Bon-Accord,' &c., vol. i.
p. 243, A.D. 1562; 'J.Melvill's Diary,' p.
43.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 372, ll. 31,352, 31,353. See vol. ii.
p. 518, ll 35,942.
3 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 405, ll. 56,032, 56,033.
See vol. i. p. 334, l. 10,544: vol. iii. p. 391,
l. 48,743; p. 435, l. 57,050.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 9, 28.
Redound, v. a. to refund. Fr. redonner.
Reefort, ryfart, s. a radish. Fr. raifort.
Refeckit, part. pas. repaired, renewed; become plump. O.
Fr. refaict.
(Instead of any of those Scottish words, Bishop Douglas uses
reparellit. Fr. rapareillé. See above, sub voce "Raparal.")
Refeir (to the refeir), in proportion. O. Fr. raffiert, convenient.

Refut, s. an expedient. O. Fr. refuit.
Regalitie, s. jurisdiction. Fr. régale.
"Of his kinrik the tent part he suld haue,
Richt peceablie in frie regalitie,
For euir moir with all auctoritie,"1 &c.
Rehete, v. a. to revive. O. Fr. rehaiter.
Releisch, v. n. to go at large. O. Fr. relascher.
Releschand,2 pres. part. singing freely. O. Fr. relaschant.
Releve, v. n. to reassemble. Fr. relever, to collect.
Remeid, remeed, remead, a kind of alloy. Fr. remède.
Remeid, s. cure. Fr. remède.
"Ane vther wes also in his foirheid,
Quhometo no leichis culd get no remeid,"3 &c.
What tends to heal sorrow, distress, or trouble of spirit:
"the quhilk be aperens procedit fra ane trublit spreit, desolat
of consolatione, ande disparit of remede."4
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 363, ll. 31,064-31,066.
2 G. Douglas, iv. 87, 30.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 369, ll. 54,801, 54,802, 54,807.
See vol. iii. p. 377, l. 55,083.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 70, l.
35, and p. 71, ll. 1, 2. See p. 23, l. 32.
What puts a stop to confusion and anarchy:—
"The Scottis lordis quhen tha knew sic thing,
That tyme being withoutin prince or king,
Or governour thame for to gyde and leid,
Without in tyme that tha fand sum remeid,
Richt suddantlie, and of the soner cost,
Thair libertie and landis wald bone lost."1
Escape:—
"He hes thame fund quhair that thai mycht nocht fle,
That force it wes other to do or de.
And quhen thai saw that thair wes no remeid,
Tha chesit erar for to fecht to deid,"2 &c.
Reprieve:—
"Withoutin ony remeid
Thair for his falt tha gart him want the heid."3
Remeid, v. a. to cure.
"Without also it war remeidit sone,
Tha wist rycht weill that gratius God abone,
Ane sarar plaig sould sone amang thame send,"4 &c.
To amend:—
"Quhairfor in tyme now erar nor ouir lait
We will prowyde how we may best remeid,"5 &c.
To put an end to:— "that ze be delegent to remeide tour
abusions of the tymis by past."6
Remeidar, s. healer.
"I pray to God, remeidar of all thing,"7 &c.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 372. ll. 54,883-54,888.
2 Ibid., vol. i. p. 346, ll. 10,903-10,906.
3 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 382, ll. 55,223, 55,224.
4 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 527, ll. 36,233-36,235.
See vol. ii. p. 538, l. 36,603.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 161, ll. 5312, 5313.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 89, ll.
29, 30.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 487, l. 34,957.
Rement, v. a. to call to mind. O. Fr. ramentevoir.
Renforse, v. a. to make strong. Fr. renforcer. "In the
antiant dais, the Romans var mair renforsit in curageus entreprisis1
be the vertu of the pen, ande be the persuasions
of oratours, nor thai var renforsit be the sourdis of men of
veyr."2
Rengourne, v. a. to put off. O. Fr. rengourmer.
Renze,3 s. a rein. O. Fr. reisne,4 regne.
"Of bardit hors rudlie the renzeis rang,"5 &c.
Repater,6 v. n. to feed; to take refreshment. Fr. repaître.
Repayre, v. n. to return. O. Fr. repairer.
Repeat, repete, v. a. to recover. Fr. répéter.
Repell, v. a. to recall. Fr. rappeler.
Repende, adj. scattered. Fr. répandu.
Report, v. a. to get; to carry off. Fr. rapporter.
Repouss, v. a. to drive back. Fr. repousser.
Rerit, pret. v. fell back. O. Fr. riere; Lat. retro.
Rescours, v. a. to rescue. O. Fr. rescoure. The noun is
rescours, recovery.
Responscoune, s. suretiship. O. Fr. responsion.
Ressourss, resurse, v. n. to rise again. O. Fr. resourdre.
Rest, s. a remnant. Fr. reste.
1 Fr. entreprise.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 10, ll.
7-10. See p. 6, l. 10.
3 See above, chap. vii. p. 131.
4 "Laschent lor reisnes, brochent amdui à ait,
E vunt ferir un paien Timozel,
L'un en l'escut e li altre en l'osberc."
— 'La Chanson de Roland,' st. cix. II. 1381--
1383.
"Laschet la resne, des esperuns le brochet."
— Ibid., st. cxxii. l. 1574.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 304, l. 9622.
6 G. Douglas, iii. 165, 12.
Restrenze, v. a. to restrain. Fr. restreindre.
"Into the first he menis him full soir
Of all his lordis that tyme les or moir,
That wranguslie tha did him greit injure,
Restrenzeand him fra regiment and cuir
Of his kirkmen,"1 &c.
Retent, v. a. to cause to resound. Fr. retentir.
Retour, v. n. to return. Fr. retour.
"Into Ingland he did agane retour,"2 &c.
Retrait, v. a. imp. to withdraw, recall, retract, or set aside.
O. Fr. retraire.3
Reu, rewe,4 s. street. Fr. rue. "than this subtel cordinar
set ane of his corbeis that gef lovyng to Augustus, furtht at his
vindo on the plane reu."5
Reuery, s. uproar; the crackling noise made by flames. O.
Fr. resverie, raving.
Reuest, rewess, rawess, v. a. to clothe again. O. Fr. revestir.
Revay, s. festivity. O. Fr. reviaus, fêtes.
Revers, at the revers, at random. Fr. au revers.
Reverse, reuverse, v. a. to strike from behind. Fr. revers, a
blow from behind. Reuversing is the noun.
Revestir,6 v. to clothe. O. Fr. revestir.
Revestré,7 revestrie, reuestrie, s. vestry. O. Fr. revestiaire.
Rewer, v. a. to stop. O. Fr. ravoier.
I 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 77, ll. 45,006-45,010. See vol. ii.
p. 532, l. 36,387.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 715, l. 42,308.
3 "An Prayer for the Pest," l. 36; ap.
Henryson, p. 40. 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. pp.
115, 116, A.D. 1600.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 110, 30.
5 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 182, ll.
5-7. See p. 76, l. 19.
6 G. Douglas, iii. 46, 6.
7 Ibid., iii. 13, 8.
Rewm, v. n. to roar. O. Fr. rimer.
Rewme,1 s. humour. Fr. rhûme.
Rewme, s. realm. O. Fr. reaume.
Ribbaldaill, rybbaldy, s. O. Fr. ribaudaille, ribauderie.
Ring, ryng, s. kingdom. Fr. règne.
"Into that tyme, because he wes so zing
To gyde and governe sick ane famous ring,"2 &c.
"Sen it is so, sulde nocht ane kyng
Be Vigelant to rewle his ryng
In Godlie manor, decentlie."3
Reign:—
The secund zeir sync efter of his ring,"4 &c.
Ring, ryng, v. n. to reign. Fr. régner.
"Thocht God hes creat man to ryng,
In every realme to be as king."5
To have authorit:—
"And quhat gret Maledictionis,
Quhat plagis and sore afflictionis,
Sall fall wpon the realmes and kyngis
Quharin no faithfull Jugis ryngis."6
1 G. Douglas, i. 2, 19.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 105, ll. 45,908, 45,909.
3 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 4, ll. 37-39. See ibid., p. 15, l. 383, and
'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,' vol.
i. p. 102 l. 3444; p. 171, l. 5611.
4 'The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 105, l. 45,926. See vol. i. p. 98,
l. 3333; p. 171, l. 5603.
5 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 3, ll. I. 2. See p. 8, l. 154, and p. 11, l.
272. Also 'Ane Godlie Tractate or Mirrour,'
p. 12, l. 297.
6 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 14, ll. 371-374.
To prevail:—
"Justice and rest all in his dais rang,"1 &c.
"this samyn sort of veyrs rings presently in scotland."2
"I can nocht tell, without I tarie lang,
Sic nobillnes and vertew in him rang."3
To remain, to abide:—
"The Liegis of the vngodlie kyng
In daylie trubbyll thay sall ryng."4
Riot, s. noise. O. Fr. riot, riote.
Rivage,5 s. the bank of a river. Fr. rivage.
Rizar, v. a. to dry in the sun. O. Fr. ressorer.
Roche,6 s. a rock. Fr. roche.
Romanys, romanis, s. true history. Fr. roman, because
such histories were at first, or pretended to be, written in
the Roman (Latin) language.
Rome, s. a kingdom. Fr. royaume.
Rondellis, s. "small round targets, usually borne by horsemen"
— Leyden. Fr. rondelles. "ande ze soldartis and conpangzons
of veyr, mak reddy zour … rondellis,"7 &c.
Ronge, v. a. to gnaw. Fr. ronger.
Roove, rove, ruif, v. a. to rivet. Fr. river.
Rossens, s. bramble covers; sometimes termed rons, clumps
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 168, l. 5520.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 167,
l. 11. See ll. 18, 26, 27; p. 57, l. 32; p. 89,
ll. 16, 32; p. 90, ll. 3, 23; p. 181, l. 9.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 594, ll. 18,453, 18454.
4 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 9, ll. 183, 184.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 29, 24.
6 Ibid., i. 32, 4; ii. 146, 12.
7 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 42, ll.
1-4.
of thorns and briers. The remainder of John Mactaggart's
article as to the etymon of Fr. ronceroi is a gross
blunder.1
Roulk, rolk, adj. hoarse. Fr. rauque; Lat. raucus.
Roundal, s. a poetic measure. Fr. rondeau, a particular kind
of poem.
Roy, s. a king. O. Fr. roy.
"Beseikand him, as he wes roy of reuth,
Thame to ressaue agane into his treuth,"2 &c.
Royster, rutour, s. a vagabond; a freebooter, a spoiler; an
oppressor. Fr. routier.
Roytous, adj. riotous. O. Fr. rioteux.
Rue (to tak the), to repent of a proposal or bargain. Rue
is English; still I think that in this expression rue means
street, as to say, extricate one's self. The French had enfiler
la venelle for to escape.
Runch, rundge, runse, v. a. to craunch. O. Fr. rungier;
Fr. rover. Runch is the noun, the act of grinding with the
teeth.
Runge,3 v. to gnaw. Fr. ronger.
Ruttery, s. lechery. Fr. rut.
Ryot, s. a contest. O. Fr. riote, riotte, a quarrel.
Sacré, v. a. to consecrate. Fr. sacrer.
Sacrify, v. a. to sacrifice. Fr. sacrifier.
1 'The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia,'
&c., p. 414: London, 1824—8vo.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 187, ll. 6063, 6064. See vol. i. p.
566, ll. 17,611.
3 G. Douglas, ii. 134, 23; 183, 17.
Sailly,1 v. a. to assault. O. Fr. saillir.
"And sindrie syis thai saillit with ane salt;
And tha within als lang than as tha mocht
Hes maid defence; bot it wes all for nocht,"2 &c.
To assail:—
"That cruell cald hes saillit him so soir
With greit seiknes,"3&c.
Sailze, s. an assault. Fr. saillie.
"Quhairin that tyme lie hes gart put anew
Richt nobill men that war bayth traist and trew,
So souer als in all tyme at ane sailze,
And weill he wist tha wald nocht to him failze."4
Salt, s. assault. O. Fr. saut.
"Quhairfor he said that tha suld haif no falt,
Schawand efter to gif the toun ane salt,"5 &c.
Salus, v. a. to salute.
Salut, s. salutation, Fr. salut.
Salute, s. safety, health. Fr. salut. "allace, quhy remember
ze nocht that natur hes oblist zou till avance the salute and
deffens of zour public veil."6
Salze, v. a. to assault. Fr. saillir.
"To seige the toun or salze in that part."7
To assail:—
"Throw greit seikness that salzeit him so soir,
He tuke his leif, for he micht leve no moir."8
1 See above, chap. xii. p. 199.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 191, ll. 6214-6216.
3 Ibid., vol. i. p. 342, l. 10,793.
4 Ibid., vol. iii. p. r66, ll. 47,913-47,916.
5 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 423, ll. 56,636, 56,637.
6 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 72, ll.
12-14. See p. 116, ll. 14, 30.
7 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 421, l. 32,900.
8 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 121, ll. 46,460, 46,461.
Sande, pas. part. girt. O. Fr. çaint from çaindre, to surround.

Sanguane, sanguyne, adj. of the colour of blood. Fr.
sanguin.
Sanguynolant,1 adj. bloody. Fr. sanguinolent.
Sans,2 prep. without. Fr. sans.
Sarge, sierge,3 s. a taper, a torch. Fr. cierge.
Sargeand, sergeand, s. a squire. O. Fr. serganz, siergans,
sergant.
Sarpleth, s. a denomination of weight applicable to wool —
eighty stones.4 Fr. serpillière, a packing-cloth.
Sase, v. a. to seize. Fr. saisir.
Sate, s. omission. Fr. saut, a leap.
Sauge, adj. bold. Fr. sauvage.
Sauy, v. a. to save. Fr. sauver.
Say, sey, v. a. to prove, to put to the test. O. Fr. assayer;
Wallon, say. Sey is the noun, a trial.
Scash, v. n. to squabble; to turn the toes outward. (Banffs.)
Fr. escacher, "to beat, batter, or crush flat," &c. (Cotg.)
Schiere, s. visage, mien. O. Fr. chiere.
Schouffer, s. a dish for keeping water warm. O. Fr. eschauffer.
Scisma, s. schism. Fr. schisme.
"That tyme in Ingland passit, but leis,
Quhar he richt sone all scisma hes gart ceis."5
Sclave, s. a slave. Fr. esclave.
1 G. Douglas, iii. 301, 11.
2 Ibid., ii. 103, 30.
3 Ibid., iv. 215, 5.
4 'Comp. Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. p. 220.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
vol. iii. p. 99, ll. 45,730, 45,731. See vol. i.
p. 360, l. 11,300; p. 361, l. 11,339; p. 362,
l. 11,357; p. 400, l. 12,490: vol. ii. p. 303, l.
28,206: vol. iii. p. 125, l. 46,603; p. 132, l.
46,844; p. 182, l. 48,457.
Scurrour, skouriour, skurriours, s. a scout; a vagrant. O.
Fr. scuré.
Sege, s. seat. O. Fr. sege; Fr. siège. "dauid, for the pitie
that he hed of the pepil that var affligit be the philistiens, conqueist
the royal sege of Israel."1
Seicle, s. age. Fr. siècle. "ande alse the verteouse verkis
dune be zour antecessours in oure dais ar euident til vs in this
present seicle."2
Seinye, senye, senyhé, seingny, s. a synod. O. Fr. seinie,
senne, sane. Senye day is the day on which a synod meets,
and senyie chamber the place where it meets.
Sembla, s. fight.
"Ane sharpar sembla zit wes neuir sene."3
Another form is semble:—
"The Albionis, seand that it wes so,
With swordis scharpe rycht haistelie but ho,
Ane semble maid that wes bayth sad and sour,"4 &c.
Another form is semblie:—
"The Romanis all wes left thair to remane,
In that semblie richt suddanelie wes slane."5
Semblant, sembland, sembling, s. appearance. Fr. semblant.
Semble, v. n. to join battle. Fr. assembler.
"And with the Romanis met vpone ane mure;
And semblit sone with mony cry and shout,"6 &c.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 77, ll.
1-3.
2 Ibid., p. 3, ll. 27-29.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 289, l. 28,788. See vol. ii. p.
454, l. 33,938.
4 Ibid., vol. i. p. 436, ll. 13,619-13,621.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 356,ll. 11,179, 11,180.
6 Ibid., vol. i. p. 184, ll. 5986, 5987. See
vol. i. p. 198, l. 6409; p. 365, l. 11,442
vol. ii. p. 360, l. 30,969: vol. iii. p. 185, I.
48,561; p. 189, l. 48,688; p. 439, l. 57,182.
Senyearabill, adj. lordly. O. Fr. seigneuriable.
Senyeoure, s. lord, prince. Fr. seigneur.
Serment, s. oath. Fr. serment. "and gart them depone
ane serment that thai suld al concur and conuene togidthir in
ane purpose contrar the crualte of tarquinus superbus."1
Sermone, sermond, s. a discourse. Fr. sermon.
Servitrice, servetrix, s. a female servant. O. Fr. serviteresse.
Sewans,2 soap. Fr. savon.
Sile, syle, syll, v. a. to hide. O. Fr. ciller, soiler, siller, to
shut.
Simple,3 adj. common, in opposition to gentle.
"It sets not a duke's own daughter
To follow a simple man."4
Sinacle, s. the smallest vestige. O. Fr. sinacle.
Sing, s. sign. Fr. signe.
"In till ane taikin, and ane suir sing,
Under that carne that thair la sic ane king,"5 &c.
Skellat,6 s. a bell. O. Fr. eschielete.
Skyre, s. a scirrhus. Fr. squirre.
Sok,7 s. ploughshare. Fr. soc.
Sold, v. a. to solder. O. Fr. soulder.
Solyeing, s. the act of solving. Fr. solder.
Sommar, adj. summary. Fr. sommaire.
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 136, ll,
27-29.
2 G. Douglas, iv. 84, 25.
3 See above, chap. xvii., p. 301, sub voce
"Semple."
4 "The Duke of Gordon's Daughter," st.
17: see st. 18, p. 347 — 'The Ballad Book,'
by William Allingham: Macmillan & Co.,
1864.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 118, ll. 3990, 3991.
6 'Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow,'
p. 82, A.D. 1577.
7 G. Douglas, iii. 126, 21.
Sonyhe, sunye, s. care, anxiety, pains. O. Fr. soign, suing,
soing.
Sonze, s. excuse. O. Fr. essoine.
"This wes the sonze in the time he schew,"1 &c.
Sonze, v. n. to care. Fr. soigner.
"Syne start on fut and pullit out tua brandis,
And manfullie debaittit with thair handis,
Ay prevand other pertlic on that plane,
And sonziet nocht quhill that tha war baith slane."2
Soucye, s. a flower. Fr. souci; O. Fr. soulcy, soucicle, solsequium,
from sol and sequi. "Siklyik, ther is ane eirb callit
helytropium, the quhilk the vulgaris callis soucye."3
Souer, adj. close; strong. O. Fr. soür, seür; Fr. sûr.
"This Edward Balliole efter on ane da
About that hous ane souer seig gart la,"4 &c.
Souflet, s. a stroke, a blow. Fr. soufflet.
Soume, sowme, s. a load, that which is laid on a horse; and
hence sowmir, a sumpter-horse. O. Fr. somme, sommier.
Sover, sovir, adj. secure. O. Fr. soür, seür, segure.
Soverance, s. assurance. O. Fr. soür.
Soveranis, s. difference. O. Fr. severer.
Sperpelit,5 part. pas. scattered, dilapidated. Fr. éparpillé.
Sploy, s. a frolic. O. Fr. esploit, espleit.
Splute, v. n. to exaggerate in narrating a thing. O. Fr.
esploiter, espleiter.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 92, l. 45,512.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 577, ll. 37,829-37,832.
3 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 57, ll.
12-14.
4 'The Book of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 316, ll. 52,975, 52,976. See vol.
iii. p. 184, l. 4531; p. 197, l. 48,934.
5 G. Douglas, iii. 312, 15; iv. 57, 4.
'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 217*, A.D. 1538-39.
Spulyie, v. a. to spoil. Fr. spoiler. The same word is used
as a noun for spoil: the spoiler is spulyear, and the spoil is
spulyment.
Spulze, spulzie, spoulze, s. spoil. O. Fr. espouille.
"Quhair plesit thame ony spulze to mak,"1 &c.
"then quhan the tentis, pailzons, and spoulze of the inglis
armye vas tane and gaddrit up be scottis men,"2 &c.
Spulze, v. a. to spoil.
"He spulzeit hes the plesand fair abba."3
Squeshon, s. a scutcheon. O. Fr. escusson.
Squiss, v. a. to beat up, applied to an egg. O. Fr. part.
secous, secouer, to shake.
Stanche, v. a. to assuage. O. Fr. estancher.
Stank,4 s. a pool or pond; the ditch of a fortified town. O.
Fr. estang.
Stellat, adj. starry, dotted with stars. Fr. constellé.
Stend, v. n. to spring, to rise to a height. O. Fr. estendre.
It is also used as a noun to signify a spring, a jump.
Stent, stentit,5 part. pas. erected, stretched out. O. Fr.
estendu.
"Syne raikit on towart the Romanis rycht,
With baneris brycht and standartis straucht vp stent."6
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 418, l. 56,478. See vol. i. p. 355,
l. 11,169: vol. iii. p. 112, l. 46,149; p 164,
l. 47,852; p. 171, l. 48,066; p. 426, l. 56,734;
p. 439, l. 57,188; p. 534, l. 60,309.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 97, ll.
13, 14. See p. 89, l. 9.
3 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 513, l. 59,641. See vol. iii. p.
164, l. 47,853; p. 531, l. 60,240.
4 G. Douglas, iii. 90, 25.
5 Ibid., i. 98, 26; iii. 238, 23.
6 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 175, ll. 5718-5721. See vol. i. p.
248, l. 7969.
Stem, v. a. to stretch; to straiten, to restrain; to erect, to set
up. Fr. estendre.
"By ane watter besyde ane litill town
Tha stentit thair rycht mony proude palzeoun."1
Stimpart, s. the eighth part of a Winchester bushel. Fr.
huitième part.
Stramash, s. a squabble. Fr. estramaçon, a kind of sword
with two edges.
Strammel, s. straw, a cant term. O. Fr. estraim.
Strenyie, v. a. to refrain, constrain. O. Fr, estreindre.
Strunt, s. anything long and narrow (Banffs.); strunty, contracted,
short. O. Fr. estraint.
Strussel, strussle; strusshel, in Banffs., s. a brawl, squabble.
O. Fr. estrois.
Stuff; v. n. to lose wind from great exertion. O. Fr. estouffer.
Stuffet, s. a footboy. O. Fr. estaffier.
Stunnist, part., adj. used to express the thrilling pain produced
by a blow or contusion. O. Fr. estonné. Stungled,
sprained, may be derived from the same.
Stuvat, stewat, s. a person in a state of violent perspiration.
O. Fr. estuvé.
Subchett, subditt, s. a subject. O. Fr. subject, souzgiez, sougit,
subgiez.
Subdane, adj. sudden. O. Fr. soubdain.
Suberbyllis, s. suburbs. O. Fr. suburbes.
Subite, adj. sudden. Fr. subit.
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 190, ll. 6175, 6176. See vol. i. p.
219, l. 7092; vol. ii. p. 417, l. 32,778.
Submiss, adj. submissive. O. Fr. soubmis.
Substancious, substantious, adj. powerful; substantial. O.
Fr. substantieux.
Succur, s. sugar. Fr. sucre. "at that tyme straynge cuntreis
var nocht socht to get spicis, eirbis, drogis, gummis, and
succur for to make exquisit electuars1 to provoke the pepil til
ane disordinat appetit."2 "twelve pounds succer valans
costing six guldens the pound; twenty-four pounds scroschatis
at five gs. the pound; succer lacrissye3 at eighteen gs. the
pound; succer candy at twelve gs. the pound."4
Suddainty, s. suddenness. Slauchter of suddantie, accidental
homicide. Fr. soudaineté.
Suggyre, v. a. to suggest. Fr. suggérer.
Suir, souer, v. a. to save.
"That halie place was suirit with him than
Fra fyre, bot nocht fra spulze and fra reif."5
Sujeorne, s. interval of rest taken on a journey. O. Fr.
"That euerilk man, als gudlie as he may,
Sould reddie be sone efter the third day,
Vpone the Romanis for to follow rycht,
Bot ony sujeorne other da or nycht,
To baneis thame rycht sone out of thair boundis,"6 &c.
Sullige, s. soil. Fr. "solage, soil, or good ground." (Cotg.)
Sulyeart, adj. clear. O. Fr. soilier.
1 Fr. électuaire.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 545, ll.
23-26.
3 Fr. sucre de réglisse.
4 'Scotland in the Middle Ages,' p. 243:
Edinburgh, 1860—8vo.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 412, ll. 56,286, 56,287. See vol.
i. p. 409, l. 12,779.
6 Ibid., vol. i. p. 399, ll. 12,469-12,473.
Sulyie, soilyie, suilye, sulye, s. soil. O. Fr. soile.
Sunzie, s. an excuse. O. Fr. essoine.
"Sum of the lordis that knew weill his conditioun,
Of his greit falsheid tuke an greit suspitioun
And preisit nocht that da to be present,
Bot fand ane sunzie for to be absent."1
Supersalt, s. a somerset. O. Fr. soubresault.
Supir, sypyr, v. n. to sigh. Fr. soupirer.
Supplie, v. a. to supplicate. Fr. supplier.
Suppoist, suppost, s. a supporter, an abettor. O. Fr. suppost.
Suppose, v. a. to substitute in a clandestine manner. Fr.
supposer, to suborn, to forge.
Suppriss, s. oppression. Fr. supprimer.
Surfet, adj. extravagant; immoderately high in price. Fr.
surfait.
Surnowme, surnowne, s. surname. O. Fr. sornom, sournom; Fr. surnom.
Sute, s. a company of hunters. Fr. suite.
Syoss, syse, s. six at dice. Fr. six.
Sypyre, supir, v. n. to sigh. Fr. soupirer.
Tach, tatch, v. a. to arrest. Fr. attacher.
Tacket, s. a small nail. Fr. taquet.
Tail, tal,2 tale, s. cut or slice of flesh; account. Fr. taille.
"De tailles et de debites il n'i espargnoit riens,
S'en acatoit contrées, tieres, rentes et cens."3
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. pp. 109, 110, ll. 3698-3701.
2 G. Douglas, ii. 34, 2; iv. 180, 2.
3 'Chronique de Martin de Cotignies,' MS.
of the Institute of France, No. 338, fol. xi.
recto, v. 19.
Even nowadays, in some districts of France, bakers and butchers
keep their accounts with their customers by means of
ouches, or twin sticks, on which cuts are carved instead of
figures. Taile, tailye, tailyie, taillie, taylyhè, occur also in the
sense of Eng. entail — i.e., covenant or bond; and taille as synonymous
with district, piece of ground, spot.
Tailyeit, part. pas. proportioned, symmetrically formed. Fr.
taillé, a word which Froissart uses in a figurative sense.1
Tailyie, telyle, s. a piece of meat. Fr. tailler.
Tailzour, s. tailor. Fr. tailleur. "he compellit pure speritual
men … sum to be tailzours." 2
Targat, tergat, s. an ornamental blazon worn in the bonnet
or hat. Fr. targe.
"I saye zour temporall officiaris
Thay suld be faithfull Mynistaris,
Nocht haveand respect, regaird, nor Ee
To wardlye ryches nor dignytie,
To Tergats, Chenis, nor golden Ryngis,
Hors, clethyng, money, nor siclyke thyngis." 3
Tarveal, v. a. to fatigue, to vex. Fr. travailler, to pain, to
vex. It is used as an adj. to signify fretful.
Tash, touch, tochre,4 s. drop, spot, flaw, blemish, stain. Fr.
tache. It is used as a verb, to spoil. Tasked is the part. pas.5
Tent, v. a. to stretch. Fr. tendre.
Terlyst, tirllyst, adj. grated. Fr. treillissé.
1 See vol. iii. p. 152, col. 1.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 162, ll.
I8-21.
3 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 16, ll. 435-440.
4 G. Douglas, iv. 169, 2. 'Crim. Trials,'
vol. ii. p. 578, A.D. 1609; vol. iii. p. 159,
A.D. 1611.
5 "Johnny's gray Breeks," st. ii., in Cromek's
Scot. Ballads,' vol. i. p. 23.
Termin, s. time. O. Fr. termine.
Tersaill, s. the third part of a pipe. O. Fr. terciere.
Tholnie, s. toll, duty. O. Fr. toliu, tolliu, tollieu, tonlieu.
Tilliesoul, s. a place to which a host sends the servants of
his guest when he does not wish to entertain the servants at
his own expense. O. Fr. tillet, a ticket, and sould, a soldier's
pay.
Tirless, tirlass, tirlies, s. a lattice, a wicket. Fr. treillis.
Toober, v. a. to beat. Fr. tabourer. Toober means a quarrel,
and tooberin, a beating.
Tork, torque, v. a. to torture. O. Fr. torquer.
Torn but (Barbour's 'Bruce') retaliation. Fr. tourner.
Tort, pas. part. tortured. Fr. tort. Torter signifies a tormenter.

Tosch, tosche, adj. neat, trim. O. Fr. touzé. It is used as
a noun in Banffs. to signify a neat trim person or thing: toschod
is the diminutive, and toschly is the adverb.
Tourbillon, s. a whirlwind, a tornado. (Ayrs.) Fr. tourbillon.
Toure, s. turn. Fr. tour.
Tractiue, s. a treatise. Fr. traité.
Trafeque, trafféck, s. intercourse; friendship. O. Fr. trafique.
Traissle, treissle, v. a. to tread down. Fr. tressaillir.
Tramort,1 s. a dead body.
"'For-quhy tha ar bot similitudis of men,
And like schaddowis, to say the suith at schort,
Bayth pynd and pair like ony peild tramort.' "2
Tranont, tranoynt, tranownt, trauent, trawynt, v. n. to march
1 See above, chap. ix. p. 153.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 117, ll. 46,327-46,329. See vol. iii.
p. 134, l. 46,885.
quickly in a secret manner, to march quickly, to turn back.
O. Fr. trainel, a snare.
Tranowintyn, s. a stratagem in war. O. Fr. trainel.
Transe, v. n. to determine. Fr. trancher.
Transmue, v. a. to change. Fr. transmuer.
Tras, s. the track of game. Fr. trace.
Travish, v. n. "to carry after a trailing manner." Fr. traverser.

Trawal, s. pain, labour. Fr. travail.
Trayn, v. a. to draw. Fr. traîner.
Trebuschet, s. a balance. Fr. trébuchet.
Treevolie, s. a scolding. O. Fr. trivoler.
Treilzeis,1 s. props of vines. Fr. treillis.
Treit, trete, v. a. to entreat. O. Fr. traicter.
Treitcheoure, s. a traitour. Fr. tricheur.
Trellyeis, trelyeis,2 s. pl. currycombs. Fr. étrille (Rudd.), but
rather, rough cloths.
Trensand, part. pres. cutting. Fr. tranchant.
Trete (in),3 apparently, in a line. O. Fr. trete.
Tretie, s. a treatise. Fr. traité.
Trew, s. a truce. O. Fr. treu.
Trewage, s. tribute. O. Fr. truage, treuage.
Trinsch,4 v. to kill. Fr. trancher.
Trintle, trinle, v. a. to roll. Fr. trondeler. (Cotg.)
Trock, troque, s. exchange, barter ; in the plur. small-wares,
&c. O. Fr. trogue. Fr. troc. The verb is the same, and signifies
to barter.
1 G. Douglas, iv. 183, 12.
2 Ibid., iv. 98, 18.
3 'Awntyrs of Arthure,' st. xxviii.
4 G. Douglas, ii. 213, 15.
Trouss, v. a. to tuck up. Fr. trousser.
Trubly,1 adj. stormy. Fr. troublé.
Trucker, trukier, trucour, s. a deceitful person. O. Fr.
trikeeur.
"And mony trucour in the tyme tha tuik
Part be force, and uther part throw slycht,"2 &c.
Truff, s. a trick, a deceit. O. Fr. truffe.
Trumposie, adj. full of guile. Fr. tromper.
Trumpour, trumper, s. a deceiver. Fr. trompeur.
Trunshman,3 s. interpreter. Fr. truchement, dragoman.
Trypal, trypall, s. ill-made fellow. (Aberd.) O. Fr. trepelu.
Tuilyie, tulye, toolyie, v. n. to quarrel. Fr. touiller. The
same word is used as a noun to signify a quarrel, and he who
engages in quarrels is a tuilyeour.
Tulat, tolat, s. a packing-cloth or bag. Fr. toilette.
Tulshie, s. a person of sour look. O. Fr. tule.
Tulze,4 s. fight.
"'And hald zour handis also fra the spulze,
Quhill endit be the chace and alss the tulze.'"5
Fighting:—
"Becaus he saw sa mony of thame fle,
Without beleif agane of ony tulze,
Leit all his men that tyme pas to the spulze,"6 &c.
Tulzear, tuilyeour, s. fighter.
"As hapnis oft ane vanter to be liear,
Ane mydding tulzear in ane battell bydar."7
1 G. Douglas, ii. 190, 19.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 511, ll. 35,712, 35,713.
3 'Melvill's Diary' p. 262.
4 See above, chap. xvii. p. 305.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 426, ll. 56,734, 56,735.
6 Ibid., vol. i. p. 633, ll.. 19,569-19,571.
7 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 440, ll. 57,214-57,217.
Turkas, turcas.1
"With tangis and turcas beirand in thair hand,
Syne throw the town, as ze sall wnderstand,
Tuyss or thryis tha gart thame be led,"2 &c.
Turs, turss, twrss, tirs,3 v. a. to pack up in a bale or bundle;
to carry. O. Fr. trousser.
Tyrane, tirran, turran, s. a tyrant. Fr. tyran.
Tyrrit,4 part. pas. torn, rent. Fr. tiré.
Umbrage, umbre,5 s. shade. Fr. ombre.
Umbrat,6 adj. shady.
Unprouisitlie, adv. without forethought. Fr. à l'improviste.
Uny, v. a. to unite. Fr. unir.
Vaik, veak,7 v. n. to await; fall vacant. Fr. vaquer.
Vailyeant, adj. valid. Fr. vaillant.
Vale, s. worth. Fr. valeur.
Vale, v. n. to descend. O. Fr. avaler.
Valet-de-chambre, valley-de-sham,8 s. valet. Fr. valet de
chambre.
Valour, valure, s. value. Fr. valeur.
Varlot, verlett,9 verlot, warlo, s. an inferior servant. O. Fr.
varlet.
Vause, v. a. to stab. O. Fr. fausser.
Veand, adj. superannuated. Fr. vieux.
1 See above, chap. vii. p. 131.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 536, ll. 60,376-60,378.
3 'Comp. Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol.
ccxxxii, 15, 88, 361, &c.
4 'Crim. Trials,' vol. ii. p. 70, A.D. 1578.
5 G. Douglas, iv. 169, 16.
6 Ibid., i. 2, 20.
7 'Melvill's Diary,' pp. 45, 92, 112, 195,
200, 237, 540.
8 'The Antiquary,' ch. xv.
9 G. Douglas, iv. 98, 13.
Venall, vinell, s. an alley, a lane. O. Fr. venelle. Two such
may be mentioned: the Vennel (called also Gordon's Wynd)
in Aberdeen, and Vennel Street in Glasgow.
Venenows, wenenous, adj. venomous. Fr. venimeux.
Verger, s an orchard. Fr. verger.
Vermeil, adj. vermilion. Fr. vermeil. "i beheld the pretty
fische vantounly stertland vitht there rede vermeil fynnis."1
Verra, adj. real. O. Fr. verai.
"Thair is no band that dow to hald thame fast,
No neuir wes, als far as I can reid,
But gif it war on verra force and neid."2
Vesie, visie, vissie,3 visye, wesy, wisie, v. a. to aim at, to look
at. Fr. viser.4
To visit:—
"King Dauidis wyfe, Johanna the gude queue,
In all hir tyme bayth plesand and benyng,
In Ingland passit to visie the king,
Edward hir bruther, as kyndlie wes to be."5
To see:—
"The erle of Marche and his bruther also,
With erle of Craufurd and mony lordis mo,
Come to his tent to visie how he did."6
To examine:—
1 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 37, ll.
16, 17.
2 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 350, ll. 30,670-30,672. See vol. ii,
p. 361, l. 31,022; p. 493, l. 35,173.
3 'The Historie and Life of King James
VI.,' &c., p. 46.
4 'Comp. Thes. Reg. Scot.,' vol. i. pp.
321, 380.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 386, ll. 55,380-55,383.
6 Ibid., vol. iii. p. 431, ll. 56,908-56,910.
"And efter that he veseit vp and doun,
Then euerie strenth, bayth castell, tour and town."1
To afflict:—
"In Edinburgh within that castell strang,
With greit seiknes quhair scho wes viseit Lang,"2 &c.
To visit judicially, to inflict punishment:—
"Thocht God ane quhyle he dois our-se zow,
Thynk weill he dois behauld and Ee zow,
And wyll zow vesy, quhen ze leist weine."3
Veyra is the Fr. virez, heave. "veyra veyra, veyra veyra,
gentil gallandis, gentil gallandis, veynde, i see hym, veynde, i
see hym."4
Viciat, adj. defective. Fr. vicié.
Vilité, vilitie, s. pollution. Fr. vileté.
Vincus, v. a. to vanquish. Fr. vaincre.
"Quhilk vincust him and slew him thair in feild."5
Violent, v. a. to do violence to. Fr. violenter.
Volatill,6 s. little birds. Fr. volatille.
Vult,7 wlt, wult, wout,8 s. face, countenance, aspect. O.
Fr. voult.
"Welcumand thame that plesour wes till heir,
With gudlie vult and with ane mirrie cheir;
With countenance that humill wes and sueit."9
1 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 336, ll. 10,601, 10,602.
2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 688, ll. 41,417, 41,418.
3 'Ane Compendious and Breve Tractate,'
p. 17, ll. 485-487. The word is here pronounced
as one syllable.
4 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 40, ll.
17.19. See above, chap. xii. p. 210, and
'Notes and Queries,' 5th series, vol. iv. pp.
121-124, 142-144, 350, 351, 516.
5 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. iii. p. 98, l. 45,702. See vol. iii. p.
l. 45,811; p. 189, l. 48,678.
6 G. Douglas, i. 54, 24.
7 See above, chap. ix. p. 152.
8 G. Douglas, ii. 132, 8; iii. 268, 17; iv.
143, 23.
9 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,
Vyle,1 s. oil. Fr. huile. "The punitione that the sperutualite
remanent in ther abusione exsecutis on scismatikis, maye
be comparit til ane man that castis vyle on ane het birnand
fyir."2
Wage, s. a pledge. O. Fr. gauge.
Wageoure, s. a stake. O. Fr. guaigiere.
Waigeour,3 s. a mercenary soldier.
"And dalie waigeouris thairin to remane,
Off his awin coist thairin to remane and byde,
Into the strenthis on the bordour syde,
Neirby the boundis of the Britis la."4
Waine,5 adj. destitute. O. Fr. vain.
Waiters,6 s.pl. So the people were called who had the charge
of the ports or gates of Edinburgh. O. Fr. gaite.
"Gaite de la tour,
Gardez entour
Les murs, se Deus vous voie."7
Wallees, walise, s. saddle-bags. Fr. valise.
Wardour, s. verdure. O. Fr. vardor; Fr. verdure.
Waymyng, wayment, s. wailing. O. Fr. guementer.
Welany, s. damage. O. Fr. vilainie, injury.
Whuns, whins; whun-stanes, whin-stones; whun-blooms,
vol. i. p. 301, ll. 9526-9528. See vol. i. p.
389, l. 12,178; vol. ii. p. 518, I. 35,952.
1 See above, chap. iii. p. 62.
2 'The Complaynt of Scotlande,' p. 160, l.
35, and p. 161, ll. 1-3.
3 See above, chap. xii. p. 197.
4 'The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland,'
vol. ii. p. 47, ll. 21,542-21,545.
5 'Clariodus,' p. 134, l. 689.
6 'The Heart of Mid-Lothian,' ch. vi.
7 'Le Romancero François,' &c., recueilli
par M. Paulin Paris, p. 66: Paris, 1833—
12mo. Cf. Cuvelier, 'Chronique de Bertrand
du Guesclin,' ll. 910, 928, 3785, 19,466; vol.
i. pp. 35, 36, 137; and vol. ii. p. 209.
the yellow blooms of the whin. Whins, it is said, were introduced
into Scotland from France: that the cat-whun is the
Scotch whun, the other, the French whun.1
Woik,2 part. pas. spread. Fr. voguer.
Worme,3 s. serpent.
"Of Alisaunder ich wil telle …
Of testes, of wormes in desert,"4 &c.
(Dr Johnson observes that worm is the Teutonic word for
serpent, and Bishop Percy that in the northern counties the
same term is used in that sense. See their several notes,
Nares's Glossary, p. 578, col. i; and also Mr Tollet's to
"Antony and Cleopatra," Act v. sc. 2.)
Wra,5 s. company, society. Fr. frayer.
Wyandour, s. feeder. O. Fr. viandier.
The Scotch did not limit themselves to using words derived
from French; they employed also, or translated literally, some
modes of expression belonging to that language. Dewgard6
(Fr. Dieu garde), to begin with, was a sort of salutation,
to which an interlocutor often replied "parleyvoo," a term
formed in ridicule of the French mode of address, chiefly when
it was enforced by these Gallicisms, perdé, parfay, verily (par
Dieu, par foi). Gawin Douglas begins a speech with beau
1 Vide 'The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia,'
sub voce, p. 474.
2 G. Douglas, iv. 68, 19.
3 'Memorie of the Somervilles,' vol. i. p.
38.
4 'Kyng Alisaunder,' l. 5043 (Weber's 'Metrical
Romances,' &c., vol. i. p. 209). Cf.
the Prologue, l. 37 (ibid., p. 5).
5 Cf. 'The Dumb Knight,' Act i. sc. 1;
and 'Etudes de philologie comparée sur
l'argot,' &c. p. 417, col. 1, note, to which we
may add a reference to 'Gaufrey,' p. 50.
6 'Melvill's Diary,' p. 262.
schiris, baw schirris — i.e., good sirs;1 and Dunbar ends one
with vive le roy,2 an ejaculation purely French.
The North Britons also borrowed from their ancient allies
a pane, scarcely (Fr. à peine);3 argent content, ready money
(argent compant);4 por tant — i.e., as much in return as one
has received;5 perquier, perquire, off the book, by heart, by
rote6 (Fr. par cœur);7 fyre of joy, bonfire (Fr. feu de joie);
vailye quod vailye, or vailze quod vailze, happen what may
(Fr. vaille que vaille),8 were in use. In the last century many
things, if not all, were still à la mode françoise,9 as well as an
expression, which the Magician of the North surely picked
up in Roxburghshire, to purlicue, pirlicue (Fr. par la queue),
to take up the words of a preceding speaker and make them
the ground of another speech.10 Following, Scoticè for follower,
seems to be derived from the Fr. suivant, an obsolete word
equivalent to serf, which belongs to both languages; and in
1 G. Douglas, ii. b. 21; and iv. 231, 26.
Fr. beaux sires.
"Biaux chires leups, n'escoutez mie
Mere tenchant chen fieux, qui crie."
— La Fontaine, 'Fables,' liv. iv. fable 16.
2 "The Thrissil and the Rois," l. 113.
(Poems, vol. i. p. 7.)
3 G. Douglas, i. 92, 8.
4 "Account of James Homyll," A.D. 1500.
('The Ledger of Andrew Halyburton,' p.
269.)
5 'Clariodus,' p. 319, I. 1197.
6 'Crim. Trials,' vol. i. p. 213, A.D. 1538-39;
vol. iii. p. 154, A.D. 1611. It is well known
that James I. is the author of a poem called
"The King's Quair;" but it is probable that
the latter of these words is English — the Scottish
monarch, in the concluding stanza, apos
trophising Gower and Chaucer as his dear
masters.
7 "Par cœur." — 'The Diary of Mr James
Melvill,' pp. 16, 78: Edinburgh, 1842—8vo.
8 "The Complaynt of the Papingo," and
"The Historie of Squyer Meldrum," Sir
D. Lyndsay's Poet. Works,' vol. i. p. 293, and
vol. ii. p. 282. Vaille que vaille occurs in
'Le Mistere du Siege d'Orleans,' l. 8727, p.
339; in that of St Louis, MS. Nat. Libr. 24,
331, fol. 69 recto; in the farce "Les trois Galans,"
&c.
9 'Maitland's Poems,' p. 184. 'Waverley,'
ch. x.
10 This was till lately a practice followed in
the Presbyterian Churches on the occasions of
the days set apart for worship as a preparation
for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
Scotland a natural fool was called, as in France — namely, in
Beaujolais — an innocent. Let us mention now to tour, the same
as by tour,1 an expression which resembles the French term
tour à tour, alternately; chambredeese, a parlour, in Fife2 (O.
Fr. chambre d'aise); chaudmelle, a sudden broil or quarrel3
(Fr. chaude mêlée); meschant youther, a very bad smell (O.
Fr. meschante odeur); pissayllye, a term used to denote a man
whose addresses a young woman encourages so as to keep him
in suspense, till she discover whether another, whom she prefers,
comes to the determination of asking her hand. The
person thus kept hanging on is called, in Peebleshire and
other southern counties, pissayllye (Fr. pis-aller) or do-nae--
better. In East Lothian mupetitgage (Fr. mon petit gage) is
a fondling compellation addressed to a child. But most curious
is it to hear the devil, speaking of James VI., say, "Il
est un homme de Dieu."4 A Scotchman would have said,
"He is a guid bairn" (Fr. un bon enfant).
We mention alla-volie, alle-volie, at random, which is sometimes
written entirely in the French form, à la volée,5 though
it occurs also in English.6 We might also say the same of
1 Graham, 'History of the Rebellion,' p.
126.
2 Generally chambre aisée meant another sort
of closet.
3 The Scots had also demelle, engagement,
rencountre, and melling ('Crim. Trials,' vol.
ii. p. 548, A.D. 1608), which has the same
sense as meddling, but is nearer Fr. mêlant.
4 'Chambers's Domestic Annals of Scotland,'
vol. i. p. 213, A.D. 1590. It was a
tradition that the devil spoke all the languages.
Vide Lucian, 'Philopseudes,' inter
Luc. Samos. Opera; ed. Ambr. Didot, p. 384;
and Vit. S. Hilarionis abbatis, c. ii. No. 15,
ap. Bolland., 21 Oct., p. 48, col. 2, F.
5 Vide Villon, 'Le grand Testament,' st.
liv.; 'Études de philologie comparée sur l'argot,'
&c., p. 425, col. 2.
6 Vide Den Jonson's "New Inn," Act i. sc.
I, and "The Staple of News," Act iv. sc. 1;
Massinger's " Picture," Act. iii. sc. 6.
grand mercy, gramercy, many thanks, much obliged, used by
Chaucer and other early writers;1 but we will observe that in
Scotland gray mercies, being an expression of surprise, is still
current in France, at least among the lower classes, that use
merci in the same sense.2
A few Scotticisms, apparently borrowed from Fr., may find
here their place, viz. — to take the gait, prendre la porte (an
idiom which was not unknown in old English); to extinguish a
debt, éteindre une dette, to pay off a debt by degrees; to follow
out a plan, suivre un plan, to carry on, execute, or finish,
a plan; to follow out a chain of reasoning, suivre un raisonnement, to
trace out a chain of reasoning; to give one a hat, donner un
coup de chapeau, to make a bow to any one; to go to the school,
to the church, aller à l'église, which would be English,
the being omitted. To hand the candle seems to be tenir la
chandelle in a figurative sense.3 Alwaies, alwayis, although,
notwithstanding, however, may be also viewed as a French
idiom, as it resembles toutefois, which literally signifies all times,
but is used in the sense of although. But of all the terms, the
most remarkable is bon accord, derived from the French without
1 Vide Nares's 'Glossary,' p. 211, col. i.,
voce "Gramercy."
2 There are at least three works on Scotticisms,
the earliest of which, compiled by
Sir John Sinclair, was published at London
and Edinburgh in 1782 under this title: 'Observations
on the Scottish Dialect.' Another,
by Dr James Beattie, is entitled, 'Scotticisms,
Arranged in Alphabetical Order, Designed
to Correct Improprieties of Speech and
Writing:' Edinburgh, 1787—8vo. The
third, by Hugh Mitchell, M.A., master of
the English and French Academy, Glasgow,
was printed there in 1799, under this title:
'Scotticisms, Vulgar Anglicisms, and Grammatical
Improprieties Corrected,' &c. Dr
David Irving, stigmatising the hallucinations
of those who have undertaken to teach the
art of rejecting Scotticisms, says that "the
work even of Dr :Beattie is a very unsafe
guide," and he shows it. Vide 'The Lives of
the Scottish Poets,' &c., vol. ii. pp. 433, 434.
3 "Ye'll neither dance nor haud [hold]
the candle." Prov. ap. Kelly, p. 367.
alteration which seems to have been formerly used by way of
toast, as expressive of amity and kindness: " Aberdans-men,
will ye take your word againe, and go home, and drink the
cup of Bon-Accord?" &c.1
1 James Row, 'A Cupp of Bon-Accord,
or Preaching,' &c, p.7: Sine loco,
1828—4to. Cf. 'The Book of Bon-Accord;
or, a Guide to the City of Aberdeen,' vol. i.
pp. 13-16, 32, 33, 349, &c.: Aberdeen, 1839
—12mo
Appendices.
APPENDIX I.
Words which in all probability came to Scotland directly from the
Norse languages.
ARNIT, lousy arnot, s. a pig-nut; the root of Bunium flexuosum. Ger.
Erdnuss.
A wheen, wheene, whin, win, s. a small number of. Ger. ein
Wenig.
Baise, s. haste, expedition. Sw. basa.
Baiss, v. a. to beat. Icel. bisa ; Sw. basa.
Bake-bread, s. a kneading-board for baking. Ger. Backbrett.
Beuchel, s. a little feeble and crooked creature. Sw. bygel.
Bicker, s. a wooden dish for drinking out of. Eng. beaker; Icel. bikar;
Sw. bägare; Ger. Bechar.
Blaeberry, s. bilberry. Sw. blåbär; Icel. blaber; Ger. Blaubeere.
Bode, s. an offer from a buyer. Sw., Dan., Icel. bud; Ger. Gebot.
Brook, bruick, bruke, v. a. to enjoy, to possess. Icel. bruka; Ger. brauchen.

Broozle, bruizle, v. n. to perspire violently from toil. (Teviot.) Fl.
broeijen.
Bruckle, adj. brittle. Sw. bräcklig; O. Ger. brockel; Mod. Ger. bröcklig.
Buck, v. n. to aim at any object, to push, to butt. (Perthshire.) Ger.
bocken.
Busk, s. the bush of the wheel, — an iron ring inserted to prevent the effect
of friction. Ger. Büchse.
Cache-pole, catchpule, s. the game of tennis. Fl. kaatsspel.
Callour, caller, cauler, adj. cool, fresh, refreshing. Icel. kalldur.
Chappen, chappin, s. a quart. Ger. Schoppen.
Claw, v. a. to scratch. Sw. klå; Ger. klauen.
Cleading, deeding, s. clothing. Icel. klædhi; Ger. Kleidung.
Clibber, clubber, s. a wooden saddle. Icel. klyfberi; Sw. klöf-sadel.
Clouf, clout, clute, s. the hoof of a cow, sheep, &c. Icel. klauf; Sw. klöf;
Dan. klov; Ger. Klaue.
Coukie, s. a sort of tea-bread, or small sweet roll. Sw. kaka; Ger. Kuchen.
Creagh, s. a Highland foray, a predatory incursion of a Highland chief into
the district of his neighbours or of the Lowlanders. Sw. & Dan. krig; Ger.
Krieg.
Curroo, v. n. to coo; applied to the lengthened coo of the male pigeon.
(Clydes.) Icel. & Sw. dial. kurra; Ger. kurren, girren, gurren.
Dag, daugh, dank, s. a thin or gentle rain. Sw. dugg-regn; Dan. dug.
Dambrod, s. a draught-board. Ger. Dambrett, Damenbrett.
Daupet, daupit, dawpit, part. adj. stupid, unconcerned, foolish. Icel. dapr;
Got. daubitha.
Demmish, v. a. to stun by a blow or fall. Ger. dämisch machen.
Doit, s. copper coin, the twelfth of an English penny. Dut. & Ger. doit;
Fl. duyt; Dan. döjt.
Douk, v. n. to dive, to bathe, to dip. Sw. dyka; Ger. tauchen.
Dreich, dreegh, adj. slow, lingering, tedious. Icel. drjúgr, drygr; Sw. dryg,
Dan. dröj; Ger. träg.
Duckie, s. a young girl, or doll. (Shetl.) Sw. docka; Dan. dukke; Ger. Docke,
Earn, s. the Scottish eagle. Icel., Sw., Dan. örn; Ger. Aar.
Elwand, s. a wooden cloth-measure, Sw. aln; Ger. Elle; Norw. alen.
Erne, s. uncle. Ger. Oheim.
Endlang, adv. and prep. in uninterrupted succession; along. Ger, entlang.
Etter, s. the matter from a suppuration. Dan. edder; Icel. eitr; Sw. etter;
Ger. Eiter.
Eyewharm, s. an eyelash. (Shetl.) Icel. augna-hvarmr.
Fa, s. a mouse-trap. Sw. fälla; Ger. Falle.
Fang, s. catch, as in buying; a cheap bargain. Sw. fång; Ger. ein guter
Fang.
Fastene'en, Fasterne'en, Fastren'se'en, s. the evening before Lent, Shrove--
Tuesday. Sw. fastlag; Dan. fastelavn; Fl. vastenavend; Ger. Fastnacht.
Fidder, s. a load of a certain weight. Ger. Fuder.
Fiery-farry, s. confusion, uproar, haste, bustle. Sw. virrvarr; Ger. Wirr--
warr.
Flaughter, s. a sudden puff of wind, of smoke, of vapour, of fire, &c. Ger.
Flackern.
Fleckit fever, s. a spotted fever. Sw.fläck-feber; Ger. Fleckfieber.
Flect, s. a town. Fl. flecke; Ger. Flecken.
Flesher, s. a butcher. Ger. Fleischer.
Flicht, s. a mote or small speck of dirt amongst food. Dan. flek Sw. fläck
(spot).
Foud, fowde, foud, fowdrie, foudrie, fauderie, s. the office of chief governor
in Shetland and Orkney; the extent of his jurisdiction. Sw. fogde; Dan,
foged, a bailiff; fogderi, a bailiwick, a stewardship.
Foule, adj. wet, rainy. Swed. ful (ugly). This is a Swedish idiom; fult
väder, bad or rainy weather. Fr. sale temps.
Fraucht, frawcht, s. a fright. O. Ger. fraht; Mod. Ger. Fracht; Sw. frakt;
Dan. fragt.
Fraucht, frawcht, v. a. to freight. Sw. frakta.
Freck, freik, frek, frick, adj. stout, firm, &c. Sw. fräck Icel. frekr; Dan.
frek; Ger. frech.
Fre, adj. noble, honourable, beautiful, handsome. Sw. fri: Fl. fraai; Ger.
frey, frei.
Frow, s. an idle, dirty woman. Sw., Dan. fru (a lady). Comp. for the development
of the meaning, Eng. queen, quean (queyn, queen, Scot. a young wife).
Fykefacks, s. pl. whims which are troublesome to others. Dut. fikfakken;
Ger. Fickfackereien.
Gad of ice, s. a large mass of ice. Icel. gadd.
Gair, adj. intent on gain, niggard. Sw. girig; Ger. gierig.
Gleed, gleid, gloss, s. a small remainder of red embers in a fire. AS. gloed
Sw. glöd; Ger. Gluth.
Glep, v. a. to swallow down. (Orkn.) Icel. gleypa; Sw. glupa; Dan. glube;
Norw. gluppe.
Glossins, s. pl. flushings in the face, Norw. glubsk; Icel. gloss, glossi
(flamma).
Gluff, v. n. to look gluff; to be silently sullen, whether seriously or under
pretence. Icel. glúpr, glapi.
Goave, gove, goif, goup, v. n. to stare. Sw. and Icel. gapa; Flem. gaapen;
Ger. gaffen.
Golk, gawk, s. a cuckoo; a cuckold, one easily imposed on, a simpleton, a
fool. Sw. gök; Ger. Gauch. This word is common to almost all the Northern
languages.
Gore, geir, s. a piece of cloth of a triangular form, generally cut off from the
cloth of a shift, &c., in order to make them wider at the bottom than at the
top. Sw. dial. gere; Icel. geiri; Ger. Gehre.
Grab, s. a snatch, a grasp, a clutch. Dan. greb; Sw. dial. grabb-tag.
Gramashans, s. pl. riding hose, gaiters. Sw. damaskor; Ger. Gamaschen,
Kamaschen.
Grew, grow, v. n. to feel fear or horror. Ger. grauen; Sw. grufva
Groozlins, gruzlins, s. pl. intestines. Sw. kras; O. Ger. kroos, kroost.
Grousum, groosum, adj frightful, horrible. Dan. grusom.
Gudin, gooding, s. dung, manure. (Orkn.) Icel. and Sw. gödning.
Guidwilly, adj. liberally hearted, ready to bestow, willing to oblige. Ger.
gutwillig.
Guldar, gulder, gullar (Aberdeenshire), v. n. to speak in a rough threatening
manner. Icel. gaula (boar).
Hain, hane, v. a. to spare, to save, to use sparingly. Ger. hegen.
Hairshaw, hareshard, s. the hare-lip. Sw. har-skår; Ger. Hasenscharte.
Hamsucken, haimsuckin, s. the crime of assaulting a person in his own
house. Sw. hemsjuka.
Hauvermeal, s. oatmeal. Sw. hafremjöl; Ger. Hafermehl.
Hoast, v. n. to cough. Sw. hosta; Ger. husten; Dan. hoste.
Housal, adj. domestic. Ger. haushalt.
Howe, s. a hollow or dell. Sw. hål; Ger. Höhle.
Howk, v. a. to dig. Ger. hacken.
Ime, oam, s. soot, steam of boiling water. (Shetl.) Icel. eimr.
Infal, s. an attack. Sw. infall.
Inhawing, inhaving, s. the act of bringing a vessel into a haven. Flem.
inhabben.
Jack, a. a. to take off the skin of a seal. (Orkn.) Icel. jacka.
Kail-runt, s. the hardest part of the stem of the kail, or colewort. Ger. Kohl--
strunk.
Kaim, s. a comb. Sw., Dan., and Flem. kam; Ger. Kamm.
Kaisar, keysart, s. a frame in which cheeses are suspended from the roof of
a room in order to their being dried or preserved in safety; also a cheese-vat.
Dut. kaas; Ger. Käse.
Kame, v. a. to comb. Sw. kamma; Ger. kämmen.
Keek, v. n. to peep. Sw. kika; Dan. kigge; Flem. kyke; Ger. gucken.
Kevel, v. a. to scold. Sw. kifva, käbbla; Icel. kifa; O. Ger. kyffeln.
Kinrick, s. kingdom. Sw. konungrike; Ger. Königreich.
Kipple, v. a. to couple, to fasten together; to wed. Sw. koppla; Ger. kuppeln.
Knaur, s. a knot in wood. Ger. Knorren.
Knyp, s. a blow. Su. Goth. knapp; O. Ger. Knip.
Laik-wake, late-wauk, like-wake, s. the watching of a corpse previous to interment.
Ger. Leichenwache.
Landlouper, landlowper, s. an unsettled person who has not steadiness to
remain fixed in one place, a vagabond. Ger. Landläufer; low Fr. loupeur.
Latch, s. a dub, a mire, a rut. Ger. Lache.
Lew, lew-warm, adj. lukewarm. Sw. ljum; Flem. liew, low; Ger. lau, lauwarm.

Lichtlie, lichtly, lightlie, v. a. to undervalue, to make light of. Ger. leicht
achten.
Loss, v. a. to unload, applied to a ship. Sw. lossa; Flem. lossen.
Lotch, v. a. to jog. Flem. lutsen.
Low, love, s. flame, blaze, fire. Sw. låga; Dan. lue; Icel. logi; Ger. Lohe.
Lucht, lught, s. a lock of hair. Sw. lugg.
Mask, v. a. to infuse, as tea; to mash, as in brewing. Sw. mäska; Ger. meischen.
Melg, s. (Aberd.) the milt (of fishes). Sw. mjölke; Dan. melke; Icel. miolk;
Ger. Milch.
Meltoth, meltith, s. a meal of meat, food. Sw. måltid; Dan. maaltid; Ger.
Mahlzeit.
Mixtie-maxtie, mixie-maxie, s. and adj. a confusion, a strange mixture; confused,
jumbled together. Ger. Mischmasch; Fr. micmac.
Mowdiwart, mowdiwark, moudiewort, s. the mole. Dan. muldvarp; Sw.
mullvad; Ger. Maulwurf.
Nattle, v. a. to nibble, to chew with difficulty, to nip. Icel. knitla, knota.
Nauchle, s. a dwarf. Icel. knocke.
Newlings, adv,. very lately. Sw. nyligen; Ger. neuerdings.
Nissac, s. a porpoise. (Shetl.)
Outwaile, outwyle, s. the refuse, the pick or choice. Ger. Auswahl.
Pailin, pailing, s. a fence of wooden stakes. Ger. Einpfälung.
Peep, v. n. to chirp. Sw. pipa; Ger. piepen.
Poind, poynd, v. a. to distress for debt or damage. Sw. panta; Ger. pfänden.
Pree, preif, preve, prieve, v. a. to prove, to taste, to try. Sw. pröfva; Ger.
prüfen.
Provan, s. provender. Ger. Proviant.
Quairns, s. pl. small particles, as of salt, &c. Sw. korn; Ger. Körner.
Quairny, adj. in small particles, &c. Ger. körnig.
Rauk, rayk, rouk, s. mist. Sw. rök; Ger. Rauch.
Red, redd, redd up, v. a. to counsel, to suppose, to caution against. Sw.
råda; Ger. rathen, to put in order, to comb, to disentangle, &c.
Ritt, s. a scratch, laceration. Ger. Ritz.
Roup, v. n. and a. to cry, to shout; to sell by auction. Ger. rupfen.
Runt, s. the hardest part of the trail, or cabbage and coleworts; also an opprobrious
epithet to a woman. Ger. Strunk.
Sawfs, s. pl. prognostications. Ger. Sagen.
Scot, s. an assessment. Ger. Schott.
Settle, s. a long seat. Ger. Sessel.
Shable, s. sword. Sw., Dan., Fl. sabel; Ger. Säbel.
Shackle, shockel, shoggle, v. n. to joggle. Ger. schaukein.
Shawp, v. a. to shell. Ger. schaben.
Skellie, v. n. and a. to squint, to look awry; to strew. Dan. skele; Sw. skela;
Ger. schielen.
Skink, v. a. to fill liquor frequently out of one vessel into another, as if to
mix; to tipple. Ger. schenken.
Slaik, slash, s. a lick, a slabbering kiss; a touch, a light brushing over; v. a.
to lick, to kiss in a slabbering manner. Sw. slicka; Ger. schlacken.
Slott, s. a bolt. Fl. sluyt; Ger. Schlott.
Spae, spay, v. n. to tell fortunes, to prophesy, to divine. From Ger. spähen,
Sw. spå.
Spaik, s. a spoke. Ger. Speich.
Stample, v. n. to walk in a tottering way, like a horse among stones. Sw.
stappla.
Stane-dead, adj. quite dead. Dan. sten-död; Sw. stendöd.
Staunder, s. a barrel set on end for containing water or salted meat, hence
called a water-staund, a beef-staund. Ger. Ständer.
Stell, stey, adj. steep, precipitous. Dan. and Ger. steil.
Sting, s. the mast of a vessel. (Shetl.) Sw. stång.
Stonern, adj. of stone. Ger. stainern.
Straikit-measure, s. exact measure. Sw. struket mått; Dan. strög-maal.
Sturken, part. adj. congested, coagulated. (Shetl.) Goth. za-staurkan; Icel.
and Sw. storkna; Dan. stoerknet, part. adj.
Suddill, suddle, v. a. to soil, to sully. Sw. suddla; Ger. besudeln.
Swack, adj. supple, pliant. Dan. swaj.
Swig, v. n. to wag, to move from side to side. Sw. svigta.
Tang-fish, s. a seal. (Shetl.) Dan. tang, sea-weed.
Taupie, tawpie, toup, s. a foolish fellow. Dan. taabe.
Thrid, num. adj. the third. Sw., Dan. tredje; Ger. dritte.
Torne, s. a tower. Sw. torn.
Trag, s. trash. (Buchan, Shetl.) Sw. träck.
Traiket, adj. draggled, disordered, dirty in dress; of a fowl, when its feathers
are wet, dirty, and deranged. Ger. dreckig.
Trap, s. a flight of wooden steps, generally called a trap ladder. Sw. trappa; Ger. Trappe.
Trou, to trow, v. a. and n. to believe, to credit, to trust, to be sure. Got.
trauan; Swed. tro; Icel. trúa; Ger. trauen.
Tuack, s. a small hillock. (Orkn.) Dan. tue.
Tullia, s. a knife fixed in the haft. (Shetl.) Sw. täljknif; Dan. tællekniv;
Norse, tollekniv; Icel. talguknifr.
Tume-handit, adj. empty-handed. Dan. tomhændet; Sw. tomhänd.
Tumfie, s. a stupid person. Dan. dial. tomped.
Tummlar, s. a drinking-glass of a cylindrical shape. Sw. tumlare.
Tuskar, twisear, twysker, s. an instrument for casting peats. (Shetl.) Icel.
torfskéri.
Twal, adj. twelve. Got. twalib, twalif; Sw. tolf; Dan. tolv.
Tweel, s. cloth. Ger. Zwillich.
Twine, v. a. to chastise. (Abend.) Dan. twinga; Icel. thvinga.
Unrufe, s. trouble, toil, vexation. Sw. oro; Ger. Unruhe.
Wale, s. the choice. Sw. val; Ger. Wahl.
Wale, v. a. to choose. Mæso-Goth. valjan; Dan. välge; Sw. välja; Icel.
velja; Ger. wählen.
Wappenbrief, s. a brief of concession to bear certain arms. Ger. Wappen--
brief.
Wappenshaw, weapon-show, s. a public mustering of soldiers. Ger. Waffenschau.

Wark-day, s. a working day. Ger. Werktag.
Warp, s. four, in counting oysters. Ger. Wurf, from werfen.
Warple, v. a. to intertwine so as to entangle. Dan. varpe.
Wear, v. n. to last, to endure. Ger. währen.
Wee, v. a. to weigh. Ger. wiegen.
\Veer, v. a. to wear, to stop, &c. Ger. wehren.
Whinge, v. n. to whine, to cry, to complain, to fret. Dutch waanan; Ger.
wainan.
Wyse awa, v. a. to dismiss, to send away. Ger. hinwegweisen.
Yackle, yattle, s. a grinder, a double tooth. (Shetl. and Orkn.) Icel. jaxl;
Sw. oxeltand; Dan. axeltand.
Yaike, s. a stroke or blow. Fl. jacke.
Yeuk, youk, yuke, yuck, v. n. to itch. Fl. jeucken; Ger. jucken.
Yeuk, youk, yuke, yuck, s. the itch. FL jeucken.
Youf, youff, yuf, v. n. to bark. Dan. gjöe; Icel. geya.
APPENDIX II.
Words derived from the Celtic.
Ablach, s. a dwarf, an expression of contempt. Gael. abhach.
Amchach, s. a misfortune. Ir. and Gael. anshogh, adversity, misery.
Arn, s. the elder-tree. Gael. fearn.
Art one to anything (to), to direct or point out anything to one.
("The verb art," says Sir John Sinclair, p. 26, "is probably derived from
the Gaelic aird, a coast or quarter. Hence the Scots also say, What art, for
What quarter does the wind blow from?")
Bannock, bonnock, s. a bunn, a sort of cake. Ir. bunna; Gael. bounach;
Prov. Fr. bugne.
Battick, battock, s. a tuft of grass, a spot of gravel, &c. Gael. bad.
Bladoch, bledoch, blada, s. buttermilk. (Aberd. and some parts of Ang.
and Mearns, most adjacent to the Highlands.) Ir. bladhach; Gael. blathath.
Bonie, bonye, bonny, adj. beautiful, pretty, precious, valuable. Gael. boigheach,
boidheach.
Bonnivochil, s. the great northern diver. Gael. bonnan, bunnan, a bittern;
Ger. Vogel, a bird.
Boucht, bought, bucht, buss, s. a sheepfold, a house in which sheep are enclosed.
Gael. buchd; Ger. Busch; E. bush; Fr. bois.
Bow, s. a dairy, or herd of cattle. Gael. and Brit. bioch, buoch, or buch. A
bow is also made use of for a fold, contracted from bought, and perhaps from
the Fr. bouché, shut up or enclosed.
Bowlochs, s. pl. ragweed. (Wigtonsh.) Gael. buadhghallan, buallen.
Brae, s. bank. Gael. brae.
Brochan, s. gruel, or water-gruel. Gael. brochan.
Brog, brogue, s. a coarse and light kind of shoe. Ir. and Gael. brog.
Byre, s. a cow-house. Ir. and Gael. byre.
Caird, card, kard, s. a gipsy, a travelling tinker, a sturdy beggar, a scold.
Ir. ceard; Gael. ceird.
Cairn, s. a heap of stones, a building of any kind in a ruinous state, a heap
of rubbish. Gael. and Ir. carn; Welsh and Brit., carneddan, karnak, or karnez.
Cane, kain, canage, s. a duty paid by a tenant to his landlord. Gael. ceann,
the head.
Caper, s. a piece of oat-cake and butter, with a slice of cheese on it. (Perths.)
Gael. ceapaire.
Caterans, katherans, s. pl. a band of robbers. Gael. and Ir. ceatharnach, a
soldier, satellite, tory.
Clachan, clauchanne, clachen, s. a small village in which there is a parish
church. Gael. clachan; Fr. clocher.
Clacharan, clacharet, s. the bird stone-checker, chatter. Gael. cloichran,
clachlain.
Cleit, s. a cot-house. Gael. cleath, cleite, pent-house, eaves of a roof.
Clocher, v. 71. to cough. Gael. clochar, wheezing in the throat.
Cog, coag, coggie, s. a wooden vessel. Gael. cuach, cuachag.
Connach, connoch, s. a disease. In Gael. conach is the murrain.
Coranich, correnoth, corynoch, cronach, s. a dirge, a lamentation for the
dead. Gael. coranach.1
Corn-craik, craker, s. the rail, Rallus crex, Linn. (St Kilda); corn-cracker.
(West Isles.)
Craig, s. a rock. Corn. karak; Ir. karraig; Gael. craig; Bret. carn.
Craik, s. a kind of little ship, contracted from currach, or rather from Fr.
carraque.
Crampet, s. the iron guard at the end of a staff. Gael. crampaid, a ferrel.
Cranreuch, s. hoar-frost. (W. of Scotl.) Gael. cranntarach.
Cranshach, cranshak, s. a crooked distorted person. (North of Scotl.) Gael.
crannda, corranta, barbed, hooked, decrepit.
Creagh, s. a kind of foray. Gael. creach, plunder, a host, &c.
1 Vide Littré's Dict., vol. i. p. 467, col. 2.
Cudum, cuddum, s. substance or largest share. (Dumfr.) Gael, cuid, a part,
share, supper.
Cummock, s. a short staff with a crooked head. Gael. cam, camogach,
crooked, curled. Fr. camus.
Cunne, s. a scolding, a reprimand, a reproof. (Fife.) Gael. caineach.
Cunner, v. n. to scold. (Upper Clydesdale.) Gael. caineam.
Curran-petris, s. the name given to a certain root. (Uist.) Gael. curran, a
root of the carrot or radish kind.
Cuttie, cutie, s. a spoon. Gael. cutag, a short spoon.
Deasoil, deisheal, s. motion contrary to that of the sun. Gael. deisceart,
deiseach. Vide "Widershins."
Dipin, s. a part of a herring-net, the bag of a salmon-net. (Argylls.) Gael.
Doach, doagh, s. a wear or cruive. Gad. daingneach, a mound, fortification,
strength.
Docher, s. fatigue, stress (Aberd.); injury (Mearns), deduction (ibid.) Gael.
dochar, dochaireas.
Dorlach, s. a bundle, apparently that kind of truss formerly worn by Highlanders
instead of a knapsack. Gael. dorlach.
Dorra, s. a kind of net. (Mearns.) Gael. dorga.
Dowbreck, s. a smelt. Gael. dubhbhreac.
Dramock, drammach, drummock, s. meal and water mixed in a raw state, &c.
Gael. dramaig, a dirty mixture, crowdy.
Drandering, s. the chorus of a song. (Ayrs.) Gael. drandan, the whistling of
wind or storm, humming noise or singing.
Drone, s. the backside, the breech. (Aberd. and Upper Clydesdale.) Gael.
dronnan, dronnag.
Eirack, s. a hen pullet. Gael. eirag.
Falton, s. a fillet. (Argylls.) Gael. fa/tan, a welt, belt, ribbon for the head,
snood.
Filibeg, philibeg, feil-beg, s. a piece of dress worn by men in the Highlands
instead of breeches. Gael. filleadh.
Foutre, footer, s. activity, exertion. (Fife.) Gael. fuadar, haste, preparation
to do a thing.
Geck-neckit, adj: wry-necked. (Aberd.) Gael. geochd, eochdachg.
Genyough, gineough, adj. hungry, keen, ravenous, voracious. (Lanarks. and
Ayrs.) Gael. gionach.
Golach, goloch, s. a beetle, an earwig. (Angus, Lothian.) Gael. gollach (?).
Gowan, s. daisy. Gael. gugan.
Grieshoch, s. hot burning embers. Gael. griosach.
Gudgie, adj. short and thick. Gael. guga, a fat fellow; O. Fr. gouju. At
Lyons a fat girl is called une grosse gaguie, corresponding to a St Kilda goose.
Guldie, s. a tall, blackfaced, gloomy-looking man. Gael. goill, a swollen
angry face.
Ieskdruimin, s. a species of salmon. (Isl. of Harris.) Gael. iasg druimineach.
Inch, inche, s. an island; generally one of a small size. Gael. Innis, &c.
Ingle, s. fire. Gael. aingeal.
Keechin, s. a technical term in distillation. (Fife.) Gael. caochan.
Knag, s. a knob, a peg, &c. Ir. and Gael. cnag.
Korkir, s. a red dye. Gael. corcuir.
Laigan (Lanarks.), loichen (Ayrs.), s. a large quantity of any liquid. Gael.
lochan, leaghan, liquor.
Larach, lairach, lairoch, lerroch, s. the site of a building, &c. Gael. larach,
a site.
Lenno, s. a child. Gael. leanabh.
Lett, s. lesson, a piece of instruction. (Aberd.) Ir. and Gael. leacht.
Meister, master, s. urine. Gael. maistir; Ger. Meister.
Marbel, adj. feeble, inactive, slow, lazy. (Loth.) Gael. meirbh.
Marty, s. apparently a house steward. Ir. and Gael. maor, and tigh, ty.
Mendel, s. a confused crowd of people or animals, a numerous family of
brats. Gael. mordhail; O. Fr. merdaille.
Minshoch, s. a female goat two years old. Gael. minnsag.
Mozie, adj. sharp, acrimonious, ill-natured, having a sour look. Gael. Muiseag,
threatening.
Pibroch, s, a Highland air. Gael. piobaireachd.
Ptarmigan, s. the white grouse. Gael. tarmochan, tarmonach. (Tetrao lagopus,
Linn.)
Quaich, quheych, quegh, queff, s. a sort of drinking-vessel. Ir. and Gael.
cuach.
Raith, reath, s. the quarter of a year. Gael. raithe, ratha.
Rauchan, s. a plaid, such as is worn by men. Gael. riach, riachan, grey.
Rins, s. pl. a local term denoting two large promontories. (Gallow.) Ir. and
Gael. rinn, a hill, a point.
Scannachin, part. pres. bursting. Gael. scainam, to burst; scainnea, a sudden
eruption.
Scradyin, scrawdyin, s. a puny sickly child. (Perths.) Gael. scraidain.
Screg, s. a cant term for a shoe. Gael. crubh.
Shannach, shinicle, s. a bonfire. Gael. samhmag (?).
Skallag, scallag, s. a kind of bond-servant (Long Island, W. Hebrides).
Gael. scalog, or rather sgallog.
Skelloch, skeldock, skellie, s. the wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis, Linn.) Ir.
sheallagoch.
Skep, skepp, skeppe, skape, s. a case used as a bee-hive, &c. Gael. sgeip.
Skiach, s. the berry of the hawthorn (Moray.) Ir. and Gael. sciog.
Sliochd, s. the race. Gael. sliochd.
Stubblin', adj short and stoutly made. Gael. stobbalegr (?).
Tarans, s. pl. children who have died before baptism. Gael. taran.
Task, s. the angel or spirit of any person. (Ross-shire.) Gael. taise.






















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