Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.
The Battle of Otterbourne
By Old BalladI
When the muir-men win their hay,
The doughty Douglas bound him to ride
Into England, to drive a prey.
With them the Lindesays, light and gay;
But the Jardines wald not with him ride,
And they rue it to this day.
And part of Bambrough shire;
And three good towers on Reidswire fells,
He left them all on fire.
And rode it round about;
“O, wha ’s the lord of this castle,
Or wha ’s the lady o’t?”
And O but he spake hie!
“I am the lord of this castle,
My wife ’s the lady gay.”
Sae weel it pleases me!
For, ere I cross the Border fells,
The tane of us shall dee.”
Shod with the metal free,
And for to meet the Douglas there
He rode right furiouslie.
Frae aff the castle wa’,
When down before the Scottish spear
She saw proud Percy fa’.
And never an eye to see,
I wad hae had you, flesh and fell;
But your sword sail gae wi’ me.
And wait there dayis three;
And if I come not ere three dayis end,
A fause knight ca’ ye me.”
They lighted high on Otterbourne,
Upon the bent sae brown;
They lighted high on Otterbourne,
And threw their pallions down.
Sent out his horse to grass;
And he that had not a bonnie boy
His ain servant he was.
Before the peep of dawn,—
“O, waken ye, waken ye, my good lord,
For Percy ’s hard at hand.”
Sae loud I hear ye lie:
For Percy had not men yestreen
To dight my men and me.
Beyond the Isle of Sky;
I saw a dead man win a fight,
And I think that man was I.”
And to the field he ran;
But he forgot the helmet good,
That should have kept his brain.
I wat he was fu’ fain;
They swakked their swords, till sair they swat,
And the blood ran down like rain.
That could so sharply wound,
Has wounded Douglas on the brow,
Till he fell to the ground.
This deed was done at the Otterbourne,
About the breaking of the day;
Earl Douglas was buried at the braken bush,
And the Percy led captive away.