was a weak and
frivolous prince, a despicable leader of men, from whom Bruce said it was
easier to gain a kingdom than a foot of land from his father. Berwick
remained for a time in the hands of the English. In 1308 the new King
ordered twenty ships to be ready on the coast between Berwick and Yarmouth
in order to defend the coast, and especially the town of Berwick, from the
incursions of the Scots. From various counties in England, next year, he
ordered provisions to be sent to Berwick—from Huntingdon, Kent, Norfolk,
Suffolk, and London. From the latter place, besides the usual food supplies,
he sent 20 barrels of honey. Among the warlike stores were 200 feathered
arrows of copper for 'Balistae de Turno.' Men were ordered to meet at
Berwick in 1309 to make an expedition into Scotland—3,400 Welsh and 2,000
English. In the autumn of the year the King led his army into Scotland, but
fruitlessly, and returned to Berwick with his Queen, where he passed the
winter. Next spring, after ordering another supply of provisions, among
which were 2,000 hhds. of wine, he again invaded Scotland; the Scots allowed
him to follow them over desert-land, and after marching into the interior,
he met with no better success, and ended this expedition in a similarly
unsatisfactory manner. He continued until the year 1313 to make expeditions
into Scotland on like plans, and with like results; but with them this
history is not concerned. We see that during these years a great trade
flowed through Berwick, in taking in supplies and transhipping them to other
castles.
In 1312 Bruce, returning from
one of his destructive English raids, made an attempt to gain Berwick. The
Lanercost Chronicle gives us
this account of the fray: 'In the night, coming unexpectedly to the castle,
he placed ladders against the wall and began to ascend. Unless the loud
barking of a dog had made known the arrival of the Scots, he would quickly
have taken the castle as well as the town. The ladders, curiously made for
the purpose of scaling, were left here, and our men have hung them over the
pillory as a public show. So this dog saved Berwick as formerly the cackling
of the geese saved Rome.'
In 1313, Ralph Fitzwilliam
succeeded as Keeper of the Town, and during his year of office there must
have been as brilliant a display of arms in Berwick as ever happened in its
lengthened history. During the period 1311-1313, Bruce had been rapidly
gaining ground in Scotland. The castles were fast falling under his power.
Perth had been taken by scalade, as Berwick had been attempted in the
previous year; Roxburgh succumbed to the same plan of attack; Stirling alone
remained in Edward's hands, and Bruce had begun its siege. This roused the
indolent King to action. The English nation answered to the summons for men
and provisions with unusual alacrity and numbers. Enormous quantities of
provisions were sent on, for the King's previous experiences had taught him
not to trust to foraging by the way; and not only provisions, but much that
added to the luxury and splendour of the English, and which afforded a rich
spoil to the victors. The baggage-waggons, if extended in line, would have
measured sixty leagues.* The army consisted of 60,000 foot and 40,000 horse;
3,000 of the latter are said to have been horsemen in complete armour. This
large force came to Berwick as its rendezvous. The King met the army here.
It lodged in the town and in tents outside the town. As Barbour says:
'To Berwik ar (thai) cummyn
ilkane;
And sum tharin has innys tane;
And sum logyt with out the townys,
In tends and in pailyownys.'
This great army was divided
into ten bodies of 10,000 men each, under leaders of renown, and in this
way, on a brilliant morning in June, 1314, it marched out of Berwick,
covering a great tract of country, which shone with glittering arms and
ensigns. Barbour says:
'Quhen the King apon this kyn
wyss
Had ordanyt, as ik her diuiss,
His bataillis and his stering,
He raiss arly in a mornyng,
And fra Berwik he tuk the way.
Bath hillis and walis helyt (shone) thai
As the bataillis that war braid,
Departyt our the feldis raid.
The sone wes bxycht and schynand cler
And armouris that burnyst wer,
Swa blomyt with the sonnys beme,
That all the land was in a leme (flame).
Baneris rycht fayrly flawmand,
And penselys to the wynd wawand.'
A great day it must have been
that saw this great host file through the streets of Berwick. Nothing could
equal the gorgeousness of the array. Seldom have numbers such as these been
exceeded in fighting against the Scots. But numbers alone give not success.
The battle of Bannockburn does not belong to our story. This host, vast and
splendid as it was, was scattered in headlong rout by Bruce's consummate
skill, and thousands were slain on field of battle or in wild retreat.
Edward rode off the fieldj got safely to Dunbar, and thence shipped to
Berwick almost alone, from which place so shortly before he had led one of
the mightiest armies which an English King had ever gathered together
against unconquerable Scotland. On returning home, 28th September, he
appointed Adomarus de Valentia to be captain of all the country north of the
Trent as far as Roxburgh and Berwick, to defend it against the Scots. Even
while the King was thus engaged in preparing to defend his country, Lord
James Douglas made an incursion as far as Durham, and plundered as he went.
Edward was very anxious to keep the burgesses in his favour. He issued an
order that all facilities should be given them to trade where they wished,
save with Scots. Again those in command of the garrison had forced the
inhabitants out of their houses, and had taken up the accommodation
themselves, so that the inhabitants were obliged to live in tents outside.
On this being mentioned to the King, he ordered at once that remedy be
given, and the houses returned to the burgesses. His care over Berwick was
very great. A ship of William Tolle, merchant at Grimsby, was sent there
with provisions ; for which the King gave him a safe-conduct: 'To all our
Ballives and faithful men we commend you that you allow no delay nor
impediment whatever to this ship/ Next month he appointed Simon Warde Keeper
of the Town and successor to Ralph Fitzwilliam, and promoted him to be
Keeper of the Castle as well. This new officer exerted himself loyally
during the coming winter and spring, and received special thanks from the
King, and was requested to remain longer in office.. But the keeping of
Berwick in such warlike times was no sinecure. Warde retired, and on the
17th April, 1315, the King appointed Maurice de Berkeley Keeper of Town and
Castle. The Monk of Malmesbury at this period says of Berwick that it is—
'A strong and well-walled
town, situated on the sea, in the beginning of Scotland, convenient for
merchants in time of peace, which without treachery can never be subject to
Scotland. For the English ships sail round all the land, and excel in the
art of sailing and in naval engagements. Whence, though all Scotland should
attack Berwick, it has nothing to fear on the part of the sea!'
During the following months
ships from various ports were sent hither with provisions. The Rose from
London was sent with wheat, etc., under the guidance of Martin Atheloff; two
ships, Mariole and La Godyere, of Berwick, came from William de Getour, of
Hull, to Berwick, on the same errand. A safe-conduct was granted to Thomas
de Chesewyk, servant to Walter de Gosewyk, merchant, to guide a ship to
Berwick with provisions to our faithful ones in the fortifications there. So
that under the supervision of Hugh de Hogton a vast cargo of wheat, barley,
oats and beans was stored up there by the end of the summer. About 4,000
qrs. of wheat, 3,000 qrs. of oats, 700 of barley, and 1,400 of beans, were
in safe keeping for the southern armies. While all this corn was being
stored up, the Scots once more approached the neighbourhood, and, assisted
by vessels on the sea side of the town, attempted to recover Berwick. The
old Lanercost Chronicler describes this attempt:
*Within the octaves of the
Epiphany, 15th January, 1316, the King of Scotland, with a great army, came
secretly to Berwick, and under brilliant moonlight made an attack by land
and by sea in skiffs, hoping to have entered the town on the river side
between the Bridge House and the Castle, where the walls were not yet built.
But by means of watchmen and others through the noise of those attacking
they were repulsed, and a certain Scotch soldier, Sir J. de Landels, was
killed, and Sir James Douglas with difficulty escaped in a small skiff*.'
After this repulse no further
attack was made upon the town for more than two years. During this interval,
Sir James continued in charge of the Marches of Scotland. At the same time
the garrison of Berwick seems principally to have been composed of Gascons,
whose captain, Edmond de Cailou, made a successful expedition into the Merse
and lower part of Teviotdale, and was returning with his booty, when Sir
James got news of the raid. The latter rode at once in pursuit and overtook
the Gascon, robbed him of his spoil, and left him dead on the field. When
Sir Robert Neville heard what Douglas had done, he boasted that he should
like to test his valour. Sir James rode right up to within easy reach of
Berwick, met Neville, and singling him out from his company, slew him with
his own hand. Such was a beginning of these petty raids, these destructive
inroads into the Borderlands, disgraceful alike to both nations. In May,
1316, Berkeley was succeeded by John de Wysham as keeper of both town and
castle. In the autumn, the burgesses were congratulated by the King, and
asked to continue faithful to him. When 1317 a.d. approached, extreme
anxiety was felt by the English Council for the safety of this outpost.
Provisions were again sent on to the town. 5,000 qrs. of different kinds of
grain, besides bacon and fish, made up an order of royal munificence. The
guardians were increased. Richard Horseleye was appointed Keeper of the
Castle and John de Wysham was now to confine his attentions to the town. All
precautions were certainly needed. In the autumn, when these appointments
were completed, and when Robert Bruce had returned from his Irish
expedition, Berwick began to be the great point of interest to both nations.
Bruce came into the neighbourhood early in 1318, and pitched his camp in the
Oldcambus woods. When here, messages arrived from the Pope to the intent
that peace should be ordained between the two nations. A number of English
Churchmen carried the Papal Bulls northward, and desired audience of Bruce.
But Bruce rejected all approaches because they would not address him by his
kingly title. To try to overcome this reluctance they engaged Adam Newton,
guardian of the Minorite Friars of Berwick, to carry the Papal papers to the
Scottish King. Adam set out on his errand, and came up to the camp at the
Oldcambus woods, where Bruce was busy making warlike engines for attacking
Berwick. Newton had left all the papers in Berwick until he had received a
safe-conduct from the King. This was granted him by Walter the Steward. The
messenger returned there for the Bulls, brought them to where the army was
encamped, but Bruce still refused to look at them until his proper title was
given him. Newton was forced to return without a safe-conduct, was overtaken
on the road to Berwick, robbed of his papers and Bulls, stripped of his
clothes, and, in this plight, sent on to the town.
Bruce was rapidly maturing
his plans for his vast undertaking, but these were found in the sequel not
to be needed. Barbour says in regard to this:
'Fra the Red Swyre to Orknay
Wes nocht of Scotland fra his fay
Owtakyn Berwik it alanc
That tym thairin wonnyt ane,
That Capitane wcs of the toun.
All Scottismen in suspicioun
He had, and tretyt them rycht ill;
He had ay to thaim hewy will,
And held thaim fast at wndre ay:
Quhill that it fell apon a day
That a burges, Syme of Spalding,
Thoucht that it wes rycht angry thing
Swagate ay to rebutyt be.'
It seems from these words of
Barbour that Spalding was annoyed at the Governor's ill-will to the Scotch
in the town, and covenanted with Bruce through Marshal Keith to deliver up
the town to him if he drew to it during night, and at the Cowgate when it
was his turn to watch. Randolph and Douglas drew their army to c Duns Park,'
left their horses there, and went quietly towards the town, and, at
Spalding's invitation, scaled the walls at the * Kow,' and lay in hiding
till break of day, when they immediately spread themselves through the town
to slay or take prisoner each his man. The Scots broke off into plundering
parties, and through this behaviour nearly lost the day. But by hard
fighting on the part of Douglas and Randolph the town soon submitted.
'Sum gat the castell, bot
nocht all;
And sum ar slydyn our the wall;
And sum war in till handis tane;
And sum war in till bargayne slayne.'
Those in the castle issued
out in great numbers, and fought bitterly, but the besiegers, strengthened
by the newly created knight, Sir William Keith,
'That bar him sa rycht weill
that day,
And put him till sua hard assay,
And sic dyntis about him dang;
That, quhar he saw the thikkest thrang,
He pressit with sa mekill invent,'
soon drove back the
castellans, who, after a siege of six days, succumbed to the Scots, so, that
town and castle passed into their hands once more. Soon after, says Barbour,
the King (Bruce) came * ridand with his gadering to Berwick.' Contrary to
his custom, he determined to save Berwick as a fortress, and 'to stuff weill
the castell and the toun withall with men, and with wictaill and alkyn other
apparaill that mycht awaile.' He appointed Walter the Steward of Scotland,
one of his youngest and bravest knights, to keep and hold Berwick against
the English. Whether Spalding's treason was caused as Barbour relates, or by
bribery, as the English historians tell the tale, it was thoroughly
effectual, to the great annoyance of the English King. It is said that great
riches again fell to the conquerors. The English had possessed the town for
upwards of twenty years, and trade had naturally flowed to it through its
old channels. Edward II. did all in his power to
prevent the Scots from obtaining more spoil than he could help We find from
the 'Foedera' that he issued orders to the mayor and bailiffs of Hull to
arrest all wheat or victuals, or any other goods belonging to the burgesses
and others of the community of said town, until they receive further
commands from him; for he finds, he says, that the Scots, his c enemies and
rebels, have entered into the town through the defect of the mayor, bailifis,
and community of our said town, to our grave injury/ Edward here hinted at
cowardice or treason on the part of the authorities and chief men of
Berwick. So he would punish them for their remissness by arresting all their
goods whenever found in his territory.
The taking of Berwick was at
this time a grievous blow to Edward, but he determined to undo the mischief
as quickly as possible. To enable him to accomplish his design, men and
money were demanded. Money was obtained from the heads of abbeys,
monasteries, and the like. St. Mary Magdalene's Hospital at Berwick
contributed its quota on this occasion. Men were obtained from Wales and
from England; all between twenty and sixty years of age were .levied in the
northern counties of England to march against the Scots. Victuals were to be
sent on, and the King promised not to take them against the will of the
merchants. Barges from Newcastle were to be repaired to proceed against the
Scots for the recovery of Berwick, and William de Getour was appointed
leader of the fleet. Barbour again comes to our rescue at this period, and
is wonderfully clear and definite in his descriptions :
'Quhen to the King of Ingland
Was tauld how that, with stalwart hand
Berwik was tayne, and stuffyt syn,
With men, and wictaill of armyn,
He wes anoyit gretumly.'
The King here collected all
his forces in a field, so that tents speedily were seen so numerous,
'That thai a toune all sone
maid thar
Mar than bath toun and castell war.'
At the same time that the
town was thus surrounded by land, on the sea side
'The schippis come in sic
plente,
With wittaill, armyng, and with men,
That all the havyn wes stoppyt then.'
The guardian of the town was
very popular with his soldiers, and on perceiving all the preparations of
the enemy, he excited his men to most energetic action. Day and night they
were actively on watch for the attack to begin; but Edward delayed immediate
action against the town in order to intrench his camp in the north, to
defend it against any attack of Bruce's army, which lay in the
neighbourhood. For six days he continued this labour, so that, although
coming here on the 1st September, he did not really begin the siege till the
morning of the 7th. The 'Inglis ost' then displayed their banners, and each
lord with his men gathered to the spot appointed him to assail, with c
leddris, scaflaldis, pikkys, howis, and with stafslyng/ Then, at the sound
of the trumpet, they rushed to the walls, 'with leddris that thai haid.' But
the defenders were on their guard. They made so great defence, 'thai that
war abowyne apon the wall, that oft leddris and men with all, thai gert fall
flatlingis to the ground.' The walls were low at this period, and this added
difficulties to the defence; so low were they, 'that a man with a sper mycht
stryk ane othyr wp in the face'. The Scots leader was actively riding from
place to place in the town wherever the attack was likely to succeed, and
then by force drove the English back, or, as Barbour puts it:
'That quhar men pressit mast,
he maid
Succour till his that myster haid.'
While all this was being
carried on upon the walls, south, west, and north, a large ship began to
move inward with the tide, and came to the Bridge House, fully armed, with a
boat half-mast high, filled with soldiers. From this height they had a kind
of bridge which they could let fall upon the walls as soon as they
approached within reach. Men would thus pass in at once to the town. But so
fierce was the defence that the ship was never allowed near enough to permit
their plan to succeed. The tide ebbed, the ship grounded, when a crowd
rushed out at the gate of the bridge and set fire to the ship, which was
speedily and entirely consumed. Some of those in the vessel were slain,
others escaped by flight, and out of her they took an engineer whom they
afterwards compelled to assist in defending the town by threatening his life
if he refused. Those who set fire to the ship had a narrow run for life ; a
great company of besiegers, on seeing the ship burning, hastened to it at
full speed, and came up to the Scots just as they got within the 'yat and
barryt it rycht fast.' This severe fighting continued the whole day, till
all were weary. The retreat was at last sounded, when the English retired to
their tents and the Scots to their 'innys' after setting good watch and
ward. While "they are resting we may notice that during the siege, and in
order to draw aside attention, Douglas and Randolph passed into England to
harry and burn. They got as far as Yorkshire, where they fought the battle
of Mitton (the chapter of Mitton it is called, from the number of monks
slain), the news of which reaching Edward, eventually caused him to raise
the siege. The English meanwhile prepared for a general attack all along the
line. Fresh means were tried. They made a huge piece of mechanism in shape
like an ordinary haystack, and called a 'Sow.' This was filled with men, and
brought close to the walls to enable those within and under cover to
undermine them. But John Crab, the Flemish engineer, now came forward with
his subtlety, and framed a crane for throwing stones and trees from a great
height over the wall. A crane, too,
'Rynnand on quheillis that
thai mycht bring
It quhar that nede war of helping.'
They likewise made bundles of
trees combustible with tar and lint and brimstone, binding them firmly with
iron, to set on fire what was made for attack. The intention is evident from
these lines:
'Gyff the sow come to the wall
To lat it byrnnand on hyr fall;
And with stark cheyneis hald it thar
Quhill all war brynt up that thar war.'
All due preparations were
made on both sides, and after a rest of ten days, a new attack was planned
and executed.
The morning of the 17th
September began, as the 7th, by a general assault all along the landward
side. The walls were again attempted with a like result; the Warden, active
as before, managed to repulse the English at every point. But the main
interest of the second day's siege centred on the new machine, the Sow. For—
'Quheill it wes ner none of
the day
Than thai with out on gret aray
Pressyt thair sowe towart the wall.'
Then the Scots forced the
captive engineer to take the defence of the wall, and persuaded that he
could only thus save his life, he proceeded to demolish this engine. With
Crab's crane he raised a stone and threw it, but it went far beyond the
machine. Those within 'hyr' set up a shout of triumph. Another stone was
thrown, this time falling short of the mark. A third was successful. The
stone, lifted high, descended right over the ' Sow/ and dashed the roof to
pieces, when out rushed the men. It is now the Berwickians' turn to shout,
and they cried out, * that thar sow was feryt thar.' Up the engineer took a
bundle of combustible matter, swung it over the wall, and c brynt the sow
till brundis bar.' The ships pressed into the harbour, in numbers, with
boats half-mast high; but this engineer cast a stone at the first, slew some
of the men and hurt others, and so frightened the remainder of the fleet
that the attack by sea ceased. The ships withdrew and left the besiegers at
liberty to repulse the repeated landward assaults. These were carried on
with a kind of desperation that seemed at one time in the afternoon to be
about to command success. The besiegers had burnt the drawbridge beyond
Marygate, and were hastening on to burn the gate as well. When Keith
discovered this, he threw open the gate, called the castellans to his help,
dashed away the burning materials from behind the gate, made a sudden and
fierce attack upon the besieging host, and, after a severe struggle, drove
them back. The great siege was over; the last attempt to take Berwick ended
in disastrous failure, 'Quhill the nycht gert thaim on bath (sides) half
leve the fycht.'
Edward withdrew his host
partly because of the mischief the Scots were working in England, partly
because Lancaster, his uncle, who was in the camp, had a secret leaning
towards the Scots, and was determined to withdraw his men, whatever Edward
might resolve upon doing. Berwick now remained in Scots hands for fourteen
years without any other attempt upon it, and it deserved to do, so ; for
hear Barbour:
(And off a thing that thar
befell,
Ik naff ferly, that I sail tell;
That is, that, in till all that day,
Quhen all thair mast assailyeit thai,
And the schot thikkest wes with all,
Women with child, and childer small,
In armfullis gaderyt wp, and bar
Till thaim that on the wallis war
Arowys and stanys, nane slane war,
Na yeit woundyt; and that wes mar
The myrakill of God Almychty:
And to noucht ellys it set can I.
So says the superstition of a
bygone age. The monkish chroniclers were always ready to hail these
incidents as miracles.
After the siege was over;
Bruce came to Berwick and learned who had been its most powerful defenders.
Tytler the historian says, 'Bruce could not fail to be particularly
gratified by these successes. Berwick, not only the richest commercial town
in England, but of extreme importance as a key to that country, remained in
his hands after a siege by an overwhelming army led by the King of England
in person; and the young warrior who had so bravely repulsed the enemy was
the Steward of Scotland, the husband of his only daughter, on whom the hopes
and wishes of the nation mainly rested.' When Bruce was now at Berwick, for
the better defence of the town he ordered the wall to be built ten feet high
all round. Whether this order was to make the Edwardian wall ten feet high,
or build ten feet on the top, is uncertain. Remnants of this wall still
exist on a line with the Bell Tower. This defeat of the English at Berwick
and at the chapter at Mitton led them to sue for a truce, which was agreed
upon for six months, and then for two years; conservators were appointed on
each side of the Borders to keep this truce, and compel the Borderers to
observe its terms. This was the first appointment in history of such
conservators. These became in time the Wardens of the Marches, with whom we
shall yet become more familiar. Berwick drops out of history for a few
years. It goes on in its quiet way developing its business capabilities; its
merchants are fast accumulating riches; the town is once more assuming its
old and proud position of being the most commercial town of the time. Bruce
was frequently here during these years, as many old records testify.
Transactions of various kinds were dated from Berwick. In a meeting of the
council there, a royal grant was made to Aberdeen on 10th December, 1319. It
met again at Berwick on 7th June, 1323; and in November, 1324, a grant was
made to Robert de Keth of all the lands in Buchan. This meeting is said to
have been in presence of all the magnates of Scotland.' From 1327 onwards to
1333 we learn somewhat of Berwick from the Chamberlain Rolls that are
extant. The Governor of the Town during that period was Alex de Seton, who
was displaced, as we shall see, by Sir William Keith, in the critical year
1333. Michael de Angus was Governor of the Castle in the first-mentioned
year. He was succeeded by Robert de Lawedre, who was again displaced by the
Earl of Moray, and then the Earl of Dunbar succeeded to the important post
just before the conquest of the town by the English. Lauder was not only
Governor of the Castle, but Warden of the March and Sheriff of the County of
Berwick. He received 100 marks for his fee. The trade, I have said, was very
considerable. In 1327, £529 7s. 6d. was paid for custom on 1,278 sacks and
17 stone of wool, 10,762 sheepskins, 8 lasts, and 2 hides, all exported in
25 great and little ships. In 1330 the custom on wools, etc., paid was £549,
and next year it was £570; thus it shows an increase every year as long as
peace prevailed. The custom of Edinburgh at the same period was only about
£400 ; that of Aberdeen, £484 ; Dundee, £85 ; and Perth, £88.
But we pass on to the time
when a new and important treaty was agreed upon and signed between England
and Scotland. Edward II. died in 1327, and was
succeeded by his son, a minor, who was ruled for a few years by Isabella,
his mother, and Mortimer; through them young Edward agreed to the Treaty of
Northampton, containing as one part of its stipulations that England
renounced all claim to the homage of Scotland, or right of sovereignty over
it (for this claim, it is said, has led already to too much bloodshed
between two countries which should have been at peace), and that Bruce was
to pay to Edward £20,000 for this renunciation and for damages done by his
subjects to England. This money was to be paid in three instalments at
Tweedmouth. Another article of the treaty determined a marriage between
David Bruce and Joan, the young sister of the English King. In order to
effect this part of the stipulation, the young lady was to come to Berwick
on the 15th July, 1328, and to be delivered there to the King of Scotland,
or to anyone commissioned there to receive her. This treaty was completed
and ratified by an English Parliament. The dowry of £2,000 was settled upon
Joan, and at the appointed time the Bishop of Lincoln, Chancellor of
England, and a splendid retinue, accompanied the Queen and the Princess to
Berwick, where, Bruce himself being sick, the cavalcade was received by the
Earl of Moray and Lord Douglas. This marriage was celebrated here with great
magnificence; the sheen of its splendour still dazzles us. It took place on
the Sunday next after the feast of the Holy Mary Magdalene, f The fact of
the gorgeousness of the display rests upon the sum of money spent on the
occasion, and from the items that formed the feast and its accompaniments.
It was not enough to take what was attainable in our own country. Peter
Machenar was sent with a vessel to Flanders to purchase various commodities
for the occasion. These consisted of many kinds of cloth and furs for the
soldiers and servants, spices of different kinds, such as nutmegs, mace,
canella bark, galangal, crocus, cinnamon, ginger, etc., etc. ; confections
to a large amount, 154 lbs. of one kind and 41 lbs. of another ; over 50
lbs. of wax for candles, 20 hhds. of wine and 1 of vinegar, 2 pipes of
olive-oil, 1 pipe "of honey, 2 barrels of mustard, 7 barrels of eels
containing 2,200. Pots and pans of various descriptions Peter was
commissioned to bring. He was allowed, beyond the freight of the vessel, two
shillings for every pound's worth of goods as commission for the purchase.
The total amount of cargo and commission was £941 9s. 6d. From the number of
hides and pelts afterwards sold we gather that 20 oxen and 400 sheep were
killed for the feast. 67 chalders 3 firlots of wheat, 47 chalders of malt
and barley, and 24 chalders of oats were likewise used. It is but fair to
add that all this material was not consumed at the marriage festivities.
Numerous presents were given away. Ten oxen were given to John de London,
Michael de Angus, and John, son of Walter. To the Brothers Minors of Berwick
half a chalder of wheat was gifted. The sale of the marts remaining and of
their hides only amounted to 41s. 4d., and not more, because the remainder,
as well of marts as of muttons, was thrown to the dogs. Other items are
interesting. Symonde Salton stayed to settle up matters in Berwick after the
feast, and received 65s. 3^d. for his trouble; the minstrels received £66
15s. 4d., and the cooks' wages amounted to £2$ 6s. 8d. These are very large
sums, considering the value of money in these distant times. £25 would then
have purchased 75 oxen, or 160 sheep, or 370 salmon. Peter de Peblis, the
Chamberlain, paid £20 to the Sheriff for repairs of the walls of the town,
and £22 10s. was paid to the mason for the same purpose. John Crab, the
famous engineer, for his watching of Berwick, received £180. Four watchmen
in Berwick Castle, at 4d. per day, for the year received £18 6s. The
janitorship was worth £100 by the year; and the auditor of accounts was paid
£45.
Bruce, the King, was sick at
the time of the marriage of his son David. This sickness turned out to be
the forerunner of the end. He died at Cardross in 1329 of leprosy, a disease
to which he had been subject for some time. Shortly after Bruce's death, the
relations between the two countries speedily underwent a decided change. On
Edward's assumption of regal power, at the early age of eighteen, an able
king once more sat on the English throne; and a minor of eight or nine years
of age was left to rule the turbulent north. The southern ruler gained a
further decided advantage by the death, soon after this, of two of the
ablest of the nobles who had been left the guardians or regents of
Scotland—Robert Randolph, Earl of Moray, and the good Lord James of Douglas.
