Minstrelsy of the Scottish border - National Library of Scotland

THE SCOTTISH BORDER. 143
NOTES
THE ODE TO FLODDEN.
And Tnou7'n the emerald hue ivhich paints the vest of spring.
P. 139. V. 2.
Under the vigorous administration of James IV., the young
Earl of Caithness incurred the penalty of outlawry and for-
feiture, for revenging an ancient feud. On the evening pre-
ceding the battle of Flodden, accompanied by 300 young war-
riors, arrayed in green, he presented himself before the King,
and submitted to his mercy. This mark of attachment was so
agreeable to that warlike prince, that he granted an immunity
to the Earl and all his followers. The parchment, on which
this immunity was inscribed, is said to be still preserved in the
archives of the Earls of Caithness, and is marked with the
drum-strings, having been cut out of a drum-head, as no other
parchment could be found in the army. The earl, and his gal-
lant band, perished to a man in the battle of Flodden ;
since
which period, it has been reckoned unlucky in Caithness to
wear green, or cross the Ord on a Monday/, the day of the week
on which the chieftain advanced into Sutherland.