The poetical works of Sir Walter Scott ... Notes & life of the author.

NOTES TO CANTO FIFTH.
of the name of Douglas. The aged earl, broken-hearted at the calamities
of his house and his country, retired into a religious house, where he died
about a year after the field of Flodden.
NOTE XI.
Then rest you in Tantallon Hold.
The ruins of Tantallon Castle occupy a high rock projecting into the
German Ocean, about two miles east of North Berwick. Tantallon was a
rincipal castle of the Douglas family, and when the Earl of Anrus was
banished in 1527, it continued to hold out against James V. When the
Earl returned from banishment, upon the death of James, he again obtained possession of Tantallon, and it actually afforded refuge to an
English ambassador, under circumstances similar to those described in
the text. This was no other than the celebrated Sir Ralph Sadler, who
resided there for some time under Angus's protection, after the failure of
his negotiation for matching the infant Mary with Edward VI.
NOTE XII.
Their motto on his blade.
A very ancient sword, in possession of Lord Douglas, bears, among a
great deal of flourishing, two hands pointing to a heart, which is placed
betwixt them, and the date, 1329, being the year in which Bruce charged
the Gool Lord Douglas to carry his heart to the Holy Land.
NOTE XIII.
Martin Swart.
The name of this German general is preserved by that of the field of
battle, whfich is called, after him, Swartmoor.-There were songs about
him long current in England.-See Dissertation prefixed to Ritson's
Ancient S,ngs, 1792, page lxi.
NOTE XIV.
Dun-Edin's Cross.
The cross of Edinburgh was an ancient and curious structure. The
lower part was an octagonal tower, sixteen feet in diameter, and about
fifteen feet high.
NOTE XV.
This awful summons came.
This supernatural citation is mentioned by all our Scottish historians.
It was, probably, like the apparition at Linlithgow, an attempt,
by those averse to the war, to impose upon the superstitious temper of
James IV.
NOTE XVI.
Fitz-Eustace bade them pause a while,
Before a venerable pile.
The convent alluded to is a foundation of Cistertian nuns near North
Berwick, of which there are still some remains. It was founded by Duncan, Earl of Fife, in 1216.