Minstrelsy of the Scottish border - National Library of Scotland

200 MINSTRELSY OF
In that yere there shall a king,
A duke, and no crowned king ;
Becaus the prince shall beyong.
And tender of yeares.
The date, above hinted at, seems to be 1 549, when
tlie Scottish regent, by means of some succours derived
from France, was endeavouring to repair the consequen-
ces of the fatal battle of Pinkie. Allusion is made to
the supply given to the *' Moldwarte (England) by the
" fained hart," (the earl of Angus.) The regent is de-
scribed by his bearing the anteloi^e ; large supplies are
promised from France, and complete conquest predict-
ed to Scotland and her allies. Thus was the same hack-
neyed stratagem repeated, whenever the interest of the
rulers appeared to stand in need of it. The regent was
not, indeed, till after this period, created Didie of Cha-
telherault ; but that honour was the object of his hopes
and expectations.
The name of our renowned soothsayer is liberally
used as an authority, throughout all the prophecies pub-
lished by Andro Hart. Besides those expressly put in
his name, Gildas, another assumed personage, is sup-
posed to derive his knowledge from him ; for he con-
cludes thus
:
" True Thomas me told in a troublesome time,
" In a harvest morn at Eldoun hills."
The ProfJtcci/ of Gildas.
In the prophecy of Berlington, already quoted, we
are told.