regency was held first by the mother of the young
king, and then by the Duke of Albany. The latter was forced by the
Estates to leave Scotland in 1624, and soon after the regency fell
practically, though, not constitutionally, into the hands of the king's
step-father, Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. See introduction on the
historical setting of the poem.

198. =curlew.= A shore-bird, with a long curved bill.

253. =jack.= A coat of mail made of leather or heavy padded cloth.

301. =On Bochastle the moldering lines, etc.= East of Lake Vennachar, in
the moor of Bochastle, are some traces of the Roman occupation, in the
form of mounds and intrenchments.

409. =mountain-cat.= "Catamount" is the common name in America.

461. =palfrey.= A saddle-horse as distinguished from a war-horse.

465. =weed=, garment. The word is now restricted to the phrase "widow's
weeds."

490-497. =Torry=, =Lendrick=, =Deanstown=, =Doune=, =Blair-Drummond=,
=Ochtertyre=, and =Kier=, are all on the Teith, between Bochastle and
Sterling.

525. =by Saint Serle.= The necessities of rime compel the poet to choose
a very obscure saint from the calendar.

532. =postern gate=, the small rear gate of a castle, generally used by
the servants only.

584. =jennet.= A small Spanish horse, originally a cross between native
and Arabian stock.

611. =morricers=, morrice dancers. The morrice or morris was an old
dance, imported into England from Spain. Believed to be a corruption of
"Moorish."

613. =butts=, the targets for archery practice.

614. =Bold Robin Hood and all his band.= It is of course not meant that
the renowned outlaw himself and his followers were there, but
masqueraders representing these traditional characters. All the names
that follow occur in one or other of the legends and ballads which
gathered about Robin Hood's name.

622. =the white=, i.e., the white center of the target.

660. =Ladies Rock.= A hillock between the Castle and Grayfriar's church,
from which the court ladies viewed the games.

872. =lily lawn.= A conventional phrase in old ballad poetry, without
any very definite meaning.

CANTO SIXTH

42. =harness=, armor and other war gear.

60. =halberd=, a weapon consisting of a battle-ax and pike at the end of
a long staff. =brand=, a poetical word for sword.

92. =black-jack=, a large drinking can of tarred or waxed leather.

95. =Drink upsees out.= "Upsees" is a corruption of a Dutch Bacchanalian
interj