CHAPTER CVII.
Off ald corniklis of Scotland
Off kingis and sanctis þarein beand.
Aucht hunder winter and fyfteyne
Fra God wes borne of Mary clene,
Leo and Charlis þan baith were deid,
Lowes his sone regnyt in his steid.
The king of Pight Constantyne
Foundit Dunkeld in þat tyme,
A solempne place and cathedrall,
Dowit with rentis gret and small.
Thare bischop and channonis seculare
Seruite God and Sanct Colme þare,
The thrid of reputatioun
Off our bischoprikis of renovne.
Eftere þe Natiuite
That wes þe mater of our gle,
Aucht hundreth winter and twenty,
Quheþer ma or less, or few þarby,
Hungus þe king of Pightis þan
Faucht agane king Athilstane,
And wan him þan throu forss in fecht,
And brocht him syne efter, for all his mycht,
To Elstanefurd by Hadingtoun,
And maid him þare accusatioun
That he had done him gret despite
And till his men, and na coundit
Wald keip, bot brak him euer fay,
And presonyt and pynit his men ay.
And þare he gert smyte of his heid
Rycht in to þat samyn steid,
And syne apone a speire hely
Gert beire it to þe Quenys Ferry,
And on þat crag, but langere let,
Apone a stake he gert it set.
Than furth in his deuocioun
He ekit þe dotatioun
Off Sanct Androis kirk in fee,
With landis in regalite.
Syne Sanct Androis relikis ware
With honour gret resauit þare;
And fra his dais all done were,
The Pightis were nocht xx. ȝere
Within þe kinrik of Scotland
Off powere na of mycht bydand.
Aucht hundreth winter and fourty
Fra God wes borne of our Lady,
Alpyne king wes ȝeris thre.
Sua with þe Pightis barganyt he
That faill of þaim throu forss of hand
He put þaim quyte out of Scotland.
He wan of weire als all Galloway;
Thare he wes slane and deid perfay,
Quhen Lowes wes emperour,
Charlis sone, in gret honour,
Aucht hundreth winter fourty and thre
Efter þe blessit Natiuite.
And quhen þis king Alpyne wes deid,
His sone regnit callit Kennede,
A douchty man stalwart and stout;
All þe Pightis he put out,
And gret batallis þan did he
To put in fredome his gre.
Sextene ȝeris he wes liffand
Fra þe Pightis left þe land;
Out of Argile þan þe Scottis
He brocht, quhare þan þe Pightis notis
Occupiit and maid þare duelling.
He gert þe Scottis be brocht, as king
Oure þame, and tretit þaim fauorably,
And þaim defendit manfully,
And maid þaim lawis þar efter syne
Wer callit þe lawis Makcalpyne.
At Fortyvyot his lif tuke end.
Till Ycolnykill þan wes he send,
And þare entyrit ȝit he lyis.
Thare his writt sayis on þis wyss:
Primus in Albania fertur regnare Kennedus,
Alpini filius, prelia multa gerebat.
Expulsis Pictis regnabat octo bis annis,
Et post Forteviot mortuus ille fuit.
Aucht hundreth fifty ȝeris and nyne
Fra lichtare wes þe clene Virgyne,
Sanct Edmond of Est Ingland
Tuke þe kinrik in his hand,
And þat samyn ȝere wes deid
The king of Scottis, þis Kennede.
Donald, [his] broþer, in Scotland
Wes efter him as king regnand
Four ȝeris, and syne at Scone
Throu slauchter wes his dayis done.
In Ycolnykelle lyis he,
As men may be þire versis se:
Rex Donaldus erat in Scotis quatuor annis;
In bellis miles strenuus ille fuit.
Regis predicti frater fuit ille Kennedi,
Qui Scone fertur subditus esse neci.
For till expound in Inglis leid
Thire epitafyis þat we reid,
Epithafy is to say
A writt abuse a graif, perfay,
That schawis quha in þat graif lyis,
And how he liffit and on quhat wiss;
And sa þis word quhen þat ȝe heire
Ȝe wait quhat at it menis cleire,
For outher forow þe Latyne verss,
Or efter þe sentens of ilk verss,
Ȝe may wit quhat þe sentens sayis,
Þocht it be nocht rehersit alwayis.
Quhen deid wes Donald, þan Constantyne
Nixt efter him king wes syne
Xv. winter in Scotland,
And with Norwayis þan fechtand
Wes slane in till Merdogha.
In Colmkyll he lyis alsua,
And oure his graif, ȝit to reherss,
Writtin men may fynd a verss:
Nam Constantinus fuit rex quinque ter annis;
Regis Kennedi filius ille fuit.
In bello pugnans Daciorum corruit armis;
Nomine nigra specus vbi illa pugna fuit.
Than Constantyne þan regnand
Oure þe Pightis in Scotland,
Sanct Adriane with his cumpany
Come of þe land of Irkany,
And aryvit in to Fyfe;
Thare he chesit to leid his lif.
At king Constantyne askit þai
Leif to preche þe Cristin fay;
And he þame grantit with gud will
At þare liking þat to fulfill,
And leif als to duell in his land,
Quhare þat þaim thocht mast plesand.
Than Adriane with his cumpany
Togidder come in Capeloghy;
And sum men in to þe Ile of May
Chesit to duell to þare end day,
And oþer sum chesit be north
In seire placis on þe Watter of Forth.
At Enterit Sanct Monane
Of þat cumpany wes ane
That chesit him sa neire þe se
To leid his lif; þare endit he.
How, Harrald and Hungare
Off Denmark þat tyme cummyn ware
In Scotland with a gret multitud,
And with þare powere it oure ȝude.
In paganry all liffit þai,
And in dispite of Cristin fay
In to þis land þai slew mony,
And put to dede be martery;
And apon Haly Thwrisday
Sanct Adriane þai slew in Maii
And mony of his cumpany,
And in þat ilk ile thai ly.
Syne past þai furth in Ingland
And mony Cristin þare slaand;
The king of Ingland, Sanct Edmond,
That tyme þare þai brocht to ground.
Aucht hundreth winter and sevinty
And aucht for to rekin fullely,
[Hed] regnyt anerly bot a ȝere,
This king, Constantynis broþer deire;
Baith were þai sonnys of Kynnede.
Gregour Makcalpyne slew this Heid,
And efter him neist wes he king,
And had Scotland in gouernyng;
And in Ycolmkill his body lyis
Vnder þire verss on this wiss:
Eiusdem frater regnauerat Alphi Heid vnus,
Qui Greg Makdougall saucius ense perit.
Hic postquam primum regimen compleuerat annum,
In Strathalium vitam vulnere finierat.
Thai of Denmark in þat quhile
Were in Ingland in gret perile;
For sum of þaim þare for þare syne
The erd opinnit and swellyit in
[OMITTED]
That be name wes callit Hubbane.
Quhare he wes perist þar wes a grene,
And now is bot a blak lowgh sene,
And þat lough, as I heire tell,
Is ȝit callit Hubbanis Well.
