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Chronicle of Lanercost 23
wall to defend, and see whether I know how to shoot with a
balista.'
But when the others would have opened the letters, their
commander forbade them to do so, and straightway, standing
on a high place, called loudly to men passing that they were
to make known in the king's court that one of their deserters
had proposed to those within [the castle] that they should
perpetrate a deceit, to which he [the constable] absolutely
declined to consent for honour's sake.
Sir John le Despenser attended at once to this announcement,
and to him the traitor was lowered 1 on a rope, with
the letters intact, and the manner of his [Lewyn's] capture was
explained to the king when he got
prince greatly delighted in honesty.
out of bed. Now that
*I gratefully declare to
God,' quoth he, * that the fidelity of that honourable man has
overcome me. Give orders that henceforth no man attempt to
inflict injury upon the besieged, and that no machine cast a stone
against them.'
Thus the king's wrath was soothed, for he had previously
vowed that they should all be put to death. So sleep came to
the eyelids of those who had watched for three days, many of
them having vowed that, for security, they would so continue
while alive. On the morrow, by the royal indulgence, the
besieged sent messengers to King John [Balliol] who was
staying at Forfar, explaining their condition and demanding
assistance. But he [John] being unable to relieve them, gave
leave to each man to provide for his own safety.
But let me not be silent about the punishment of the afore-
said traitor, Lewyn. He was taken, tried, drawn and hanged
on a
regular gibbet constructed for his crime. This tale I
have inserted here in order that wise men may avoid the
friendship of deceivers.
Pending the report of the messengers, King Edward raised
the
siege and marched with a small force to
Stirling, where he
found the castle evacuated for fear of him, the keys hanging
above the open doors, and the prisoners imploring his mercy,
whom he immediately ordered to be set at
liberty. And so, in
the king's absence, after fifteen days' siege, the Maidens' Castle 2
was surrendered into the hands of Sir John le Despenser, a place
whereof it is nowhere recorded in the most ancient annals that it
1 Demittimur in Stevenson's edition, probably a clerical error for demittitur.
2 Castrum Puellarum, one of the names for Edinburgh.