Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Wallace (extract) -- Blind Harry

Carrying on with the theme, a guest poem sent in by Anustup Datta
(Poem #1167) Wallace (extract)
 Of our ancestors, brave true ancient Scots,
 Whose glorious scutcheons knew no bars or blots;
 But blood untainted circled ev'ry vein,
 And ev'ry thing ignoble did disdain;
 Of such illustrious patriots and bold,
 Who stoutly did maintain our rights of old,
 Who their malicious, invet'rate foes,
 With sword in hand, did gallantly oppose:
 And in their own, and nation's just defence,
 Did briskly check the frequent insolence
 Of haughty neighbours, enemies profest,
 Picts, Danes, and Saxons, Scotland's very pest;
 Of such, I say, I'll brag and vaunt so long
 As I have power to use my pen or tongue;
 And sound their praises in such modern strain
 As suiteth best a Scot's poetic vein,
 First, here I honour, in particular,
 Sir William Wallace, much renown'd in war,
 Whose bold progenitors have long time stood,
 Of honourable and true Scottish blood.
-- Blind Harry
        (15th c., trans. William of Gilbertfield, 1722)

Note: Variously titled - everything from "Wallace" to "The Life and
Heroic Actions of the Renoun'd Sir William Wallace, General and Governor
of Scotland"

Then there is the "The Life of Sir William Wallace", which, if I'm not
mistaken was used in "Braveheart". (Today's extract is the opening lines
of the poem.)  The book became the most popular volume in Scotland after
the Bible. It inspired Burns to write "Scots Wha Hae" and Randall
Wallace also read them prior to his involvement in creating the film
"Braveheart." A modern edition of this epic poem was published in 1998.

Anustup

[Martin adds]

I was surprised I'd never heard of this; anyway, I enjoyed reading bits
and pieces of it (no, I was not about to sit and read the whole thing
through :)), and exploring some of the background behind the poem and
Blind Harry (who, if you believe all the critics, was neither).

And as an aside, it always gives me a pleasant little frisson to see,
among all the 18th century English, a startlingly modern-looking phrase
like

  So much for the brave Wallace's father's side

- it's like an interesting little linguistic tidepool hidden among the
rocks.

Links:

The whole book can be found at [broken link] http://skell.org/SKELL/blharry1.htm

An excellent discussion of 'Braveheart' and the poem:
  [broken link] http://www.unf.edu/classes/medieval/film/halsall-krossa-braveheart.htm

A biography of Blind Harry:
  http://www.bartleby.com/65/bl/BlindHar.html

And a discourse on "The Wallace" and its place in the canon:
  http://www.bartleby.com/212/0503.html

martin

35 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Ian Watt said...

Well.

Wallace reminded me of McGonigal. Which took me to your website to
find the Silv'ry Tay of Tay Bridge Disaster fame ... and that led me to
think of the best piece of MockGonigal I've ever hear. To whit:

Upon a hill there was a coo.
If it's no there, it's awa noo.

All his inborn ability to break rhythms and inflict dreadful rhyming
are revealed in two short lines. I only wish I'd written it :-)

Thank you for the poems.

Ian Watt

nick blackburn said...

By gum, that's terrible.

Nick B
London

Penis Enlargement said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about information and love learning more on this. If possible, as you gain expertise, It is extremely helpful for me. would you mind updating your blog with more information

Inversiones en petroleo said...

Hello friend, I read your post and it seems very interesting, I wish we were in touch, too, can visit my site

Invertir en oro said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about information and love learning more on this.

Anonymous said...

You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this
topic to be actually one thing which I believe I'd by no means understand. It sort of feels too complicated and extremely wide for me. I'm looking ahead to your next
post, I'll try to get the grasp of it!

Also visit my web blog: registry cleaner software
My web site - Best Registry Cleaner For Windows 7

Anonymous said...

Wash your curly hair at the very least two days in a
week. As natural products don't have any side-effects, you can rest assured for healthy hair. The product should be one that is made for your type of hair, whether it be dry, oily, curly or straight.

Feel free to visit my blog: hair products

Anonymous said...

This kind of mulch s also more natural looking than other mulch choices out there for
the delicate look of flower gardens. Place organic kitchen waste, as well as yard
waste such as grass clippings, leaves, and the like into a compost bin.
In this same respect, mulch aids in the prevention of soil splashing onto plants.



Look at my page mulching

Anonymous said...

Everyone who is into style depends on a great stylist to
look good and help with hair issues and problems. Before you go for them, try products at
Keranique for hair care. Generally, these products are
more expensive than their watered-down counterparts, but you can
find a few affordable pure silicone hair products (see below).

Anonymous said...

For the reason that the admin of this website is working, no uncertainty
very shortly it will be famous, due to its quality contents.


Here is my page ... how to lose weight quickly

Rizal said...

yeap exactly!! awesome post, Thanks for sharing your knowledge about it I think you can visit my blog too. This is my blog cctv surabaya | cctv malang | cctv bali | cctv denpasar | cctv solo | cctv semarang | cctv jogja

Mebel Jepara said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about information and love learning more on this. If possible, as you gain expertise, It is extremely helpful for me. would you mind updating your blog with more information

Mebel Furniture Jepara said...

saya sangat senang membacanya,
terima kasih sudah menyediakan artikel yang sangat bermanfaat.
silahkan kalu ingin mampir ke blog saya dibawah ini.
terima kasih.

Mebel Furniture Jepara
Bok Box Bayi
Buffet
Pigura Cermin
Gazebo

Gebyok
Jam Hias
Kaligrafi
Kursi Tamu
Kusen Pintu

Lemari Pakaian
Meja Makan
Tempat Tidur
Tempat Tidur Minimalis
Tempat Tidur Tingkat

Toko Mebel Jati said...

Kami Toko Mebel Jati Jepara jual mebel harga murah asli Mebel Jepara yang tentunya dengan kualitas terbaik dan khas dengan ukiran mebel Tempat Tidur Jati katalog produk mebel kami banyak dan lebih dari ratusan hingga ribuan produk yang bisa anda cek disini Kamar Set Jati dengan harga yang relatif murah anda sudah bisa mendapatkan produk Kamar Set Jati Minimalis asli produk jati dari jepara, juga tersedia produk Gebyok Pintu Jati asli produk jati dari jepara, juga tersedia produk Kursi Tamu Jati adalah satu produk utama yang harus ada dalam satu hunia rumah kami sediakan dengan berbagai macam model Meja Makan Minimalis produk minimalis yang tentunya sangat elegant Kursi Tamu Jati Minimalis sampai dengan model yang mewah yang tentunya kemewahan dari produk kami beda dengan yang lain Kursi Tamu Jati Mewah produk modern berbahan baku jati yang tentunya sangat awet untuk anda peroleh untuk ditempatkan di rumah anda, semua itu anda bisa melihatnya di katalog produk Meja Makan Jati Minimalis asli karya toko jati Mebel Jepara produk modern berbahan baku jati yang tentunya sangat awet untuk anda peroleh untuk ditempatkan di rumah anda, semua itu anda bisa melihatnya di katalog produk Mebel Jati untuk semua produk yang kami tawarkan semuanya kami tawarkan produk tersebut dengan harga Furniture Jepara

Set Tempat Tidur,
Jual Gazebo,
Gebyok Ukir,
Almari Pakaian,
Alamari Hias ruang Tamu,
Gebyok Jati,
Gazebo Jati,
Kursi Tamu Jati,
Kamar Set,

Rita Vianty said...

People who place bets online enjoy picking their team, reading the stats, and learning about new coaches agen ibcbet. There are several types of bets a person can make ibcbet online. Betting the spread is the most popular type of agen sbobet bet. The spread is the amount of points scored on the actual ending score of the game. Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link Link

furniturejeparajati said...

Jika ada yang berminat mencari furniture kami siap melayani pemesanan baik itu satuan maupun dalam jumlah besar seperti isi rumah, hotel, restoran maupun toko, untuk informasi produk silahkan klik disini Furniture Jepara, Lengkapi koleksi Furniture anda dengan Furniture dari Jepara seperti : Kursi Tamu Minimalis | Kamar Set Minimalis | Gazebo Jati | Lemari Pakaian Jati 3 Pintu | Set Meja Makan Minimalis | Gebyok Pintu Jati | Almari Hias Ruang Tamu | Kamar Set Jati | Kursi Makan Jati | Kursi Tamu Minimalis | Lemari Pakaian Minimalis atau telepon/ whatsapp : 085743676410

Anonymous said...

good
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil Kemaluan Wanita
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan penyakit Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Mengobati dan Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Laki-laki
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil Kemaluan Laki-laki
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Laki-laki
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Mengobati dan Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Laki-laki
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Perempuan
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Perempuan
Mengobati Kutil di Kemaluan Perempuan
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil Kemaluan Perempuan
Mengobati dan Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Perempuan
keluar nanah dari kemaluan pria
keluar nanah di kemaluan pria
obat keluar nanah dari kemaluan pria
pengobatan alami keluar nanah dari kemaluan pria
pengobatan tradisional keluar nanah dari kemaluan pria
Penyebab Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Penyebab Keluar Nanah Kemaluan Pria
Penyebab Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan laki laki
Penyebab Keluar Nanah di Kemaluan Pria
Penyebab terjadinya Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Gejala Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Gejala Keluar Nanah Kemaluan Pria
Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Gejala sakit Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Gejala Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan
Obat Keluar Nanah dari Batang Kemaluan Pria
Obat Keluar Nanah Batang Kemaluan Pria
pengobatan Keluar Nanah dari Batang Kemaluan Pria
Obat ampuh Keluar Nanah dari Batang Kemaluan Pria
Obat alami Keluar Nanah dari Batang Kemaluan Pria
Mengobati Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Mengobati Keluar Nanah Kemaluan Pria
Mengobati penyakit Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan Pria
Mengobati Keluar Nanah dari Kemaluan

Post a Comment