COMMISSION FROM GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS TO SIR JAMES SPENS.

(Traces of a seal.)

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Translation.

Gustavus Adolphus, by the grace of God, Hereditary Prince of the Swedes, the Goths, and the Vandals; Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Esthonia, Westmannia, etc.

Our gracious favour, special benignity and grace, etc. Illustrious and noble, our truly and dearly beloved Sir James Spens; we have no doubt that you keep fresh in memory your sacred and true promise to the most serene and mighty Prince and Lord, Charles the Ninth, King of the Swedes, the Goths, Vandals, etc., our dearly beloved Lord and Sire, of highly extolled memory, (as to) what his Royal Majesty graciously required from you in his letters. Therefore, inasmuch as the war, unrighteously entered upon by the King of Denmark against our Sovereign Sire, predeceased in the odour of sanctity, against ourselves, and against our country, is continued, and we are in need of foreign soldiers as well [as native], wherewith to check the attacks of the enemy,—on this account we request you with all courtesy to hasten your return to us with those promised three thousand soldiers of proved faithfulness and bravery, and, namely, infantry (for we do not care to have cavalry); and that you will do your best to be present in Elfsborg Harbour by the first of April in this next coming year, with the before-mentioned number of troops, properly equipped with the needful accoutrements. Now, that you may be in a condition to do this the more successfully and easily, and that we, without delay and interruption, may be able to avail ourselves of your services and those of your soldiers against our enemies, we shall graciously order twenty thousand imperials, to be paid in the city of Hamburg, to you or to those fully authorized by you, through the agents of the Most Serene Queen, our dearly beloved Mother, and our own, urgently entreating you not to hesitate to observe the same loyalty by which you were held bound to our Most Serene Father of very glorious memory, to our Most Serene Mother also, to ourselves and our realms. Moreover, while we are surely persuaded that all these things, and others that concern our safety and the aggrandizement of our kingdom (which things we leave to your judgment and discretion), will be attended to by you with the utmost care, you will rest assured that the aforesaid sum, as also whatever you shall disburse in our name upon the above-mentioned soldiers over and above the twenty thousand imperials, shall be most graciously repaid by us at the proper time. Furthermore, we have thought right that it should be notified to you that we have arranged with our general, our truly beloved Johannes Mœnichovius, that he is to transport his thousand infantry, fully furnished with necessary arms, from Holland to Elfsborg in the beginning of the spring. If, therefore, you combine your fleet and army with the ships of the aforesaid Mœnichovius, we shall be extremely glad. For thus the combined fleet would be not merely equal to the enemy's fleet, if it should chance to come in contact with you, but, as we are justified in hoping, far superior. And we have considered that this should not be concealed from you. Herewith we graciously commend you to the protection of the divine Deity (Power). From the Castle of Nyköping, November 16, in the year 1611.

Gustavus Adolphus.
(Sign manual.)

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Letter from Sir Robert Anstruther to Sir James Spens.

Honarabile and my verie good Lord my best service remembred unto your selfe

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in England all things are in lyke staite as you left I have recauite toe sundre letters from his Maieste, wharin he commands me to excuse his pairte, annent that leuie of men whitch coronell ramsay haith maide in scotland, he protests at it is score agienst his will and altogiddar disauutches the deede sainge at if he haide not heard of it in time, he haide biene the most dishonored prince by ther goinge, bot the are stayed and the men dissolued, except neere four hundreth[145] that went awaye afore the kould be stayed, captaine Hay, and captaine Sinckler, and captain Allexander ramsay brother to the princes man, and good Sir herie brusse are chanched in norrowaye, and are all killd by the bourrs except some faue prisoners, whitch are send for to be examined and we looke for them daylie; the common bruict blames you to be ther heade bot I stifflie denie it, assuring the king that I deare giue my woorde for your Innocence; other neus heere ar none....

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Faruell from Koppenhauen the 26 of September Anno 1612

your treue and affectionet
and seruant att all time

Robert Anstruther.

To the ryght honorable, and my very
good Lord: The Lord off Wormeston,
Ambassadour from His
M^tie of Great Brittaine to Sueden.

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Letter from the Duke of Lennox[146] "To the Right honorable my very good Lord My Lord Stainbuk Baron of Torpe and Overstaine, of his Ma^tie priuie counsell of Sweden."

My Lord this gentleman Williame Stuart my seruant whome I ame bond to doo for bothe for his fathers caus whome I did affect, as also for his own, haueing giuen sufficient proue of his good cariage, a yeare ago did lift a company of fotmen to serue His Ma^tie of Sweden to his great Losse. Be reason that after he had sent before some parte of his company[147] whiche was stayed in Norway, himself with the rest was stayed by the kings c̅o̅m̅andement{com}andement heare. Wherfore the gentleman hauing an earnest desyre to give proue of his affection to his M^aties seruice could not be stayed be any persuasion of frends frome the said jornay: therfore out of the asseurance I doo giue my self of your L^ps loue, I most recommend him to y^r L favor, that for my caus you will vse the means to got him preferred, and what charge soever His Ma^tie shall esteem him worthie of I wil bee answearable for his fidelitie and duetifulnes in the same and I shall reputed it ase a singulare pleasure done to my self and shall alwyse be reddy to requyte it and all other your L. kyndnesses in what soever occasion I can stand you in stead: therfore trusting in your furtherance for this gentlemans preferment I shall ever rest

Your L^ps very Louing frend
Lenox.

Frome the Hage the 14 (19?) of Maj 1613.

First Official Report to the Danish Chancellor respecting the Scottish Expedition, from the Norwegian Stadtholder Envold Kruse and Others.

Translation from the Danish.[149]

(Address.)

Our most friendly greeting now and ever in the Lord! Dear Lord Chancellor, particularly good friend, we thank the Chancellor kindly for favours evinced, which we would at all times desire to repay in whatever manner might be to the honour or benefit of the Chancellor.

In the next place, we cannot omit to communicate to the Chancellor somewhat at length, on account of the nature of the matter, how on or about the 19th or 20th of August last two Scottish ships arrived off Romsdalen, in the province of Bergenhuus, with a number of soldiers, and landed them there. What ports those ships hailed from, and by whom they were fitted out, as also who it was that procured them, is to be ascertained from their own report and deposition hereunto annexed.[150]

And straightway the next day after their arrival they betook themselves inland, and proceeded along the country road over a fjeld called Mæratoppene, whereupon they entered the valley of Gudbrandsdal, which is to the southward of the mountain range, and in this province of Aggershuus; and they had taken with them two Bönder of Romsdalen as guides. But when one of his Royal Majesty's lensmen in the parish of Vaage, which is situated in the above-mentioned bailiwick of Gudbrandsdal, by name Lauritz Hage, perceived this, he at once roused the Bönder and peasantry in the two parishes of Læssöe and Vaage, and went forth against the said Scots and foreign troops. And when he perceived they were too strong for him, he advanced for two or three days and kept before them along the road, without, however, engaging in any skirmish or fight. Meanwhile, he sent messengers to the peasantry in the two adjoining parishes, called Froen and Ringeböe, who quickly came to his assistance; and when they were in this manner gathered they were four hundred and five men strong. Thus he advanced in front of them along the road until he saw his advantage at a fjeld called Kringelen, situated in Vaage parish, which they were obliged to pass. Thus he hemmed them in between the rock on one side and a large river close by on the other side, in which advantageous position he quietly encamped in the woods, and there lay with his men until the foreign soldiers arrived there, without, however, supposing or knowing aught but that the Norwegian troops were still withdrawing along the road before them.

The above-mentioned Lauritz Hage, having made his arrangements and perceived his advantage, attacked, together with another lensmand, Peder Rankleff of Ringeböe, and with all their men together they fired upon the foreign troops and shot them to death during an hour and a half. Those who were not shot jumped into the river to save themselves, but were there drowned; and those of them who got alive over the river were quickly killed by the Bönder on that side,—all of which happened and occurred on the 26th of August last.

From the Bönder who were themselves present at the battle, and who buried and counted the dead and the defeated, we learn that the foreign soldiers must no doubt have numbered at the least five hundred and fifty men, although the Scots who remained alive, and of whom there are altogether eighteen, will not admit that they were more than three hundred and fifty men strong at the utmost.

On the day the battle took place one hundred and thirty-four Scots were taken prisoners, who were straightway the next day killed and shot by the Bönder, with the exception of the above-mentioned eighteen, the Bönder saying to each other that his Royal Majesty had enough to feed in those same eighteen. Some of these were, however, wounded, and some had bullets in their bodies when they arrived here. Of the above-mentioned eighteen soldiers we now send to you the three principal ones, who are a captain of the name of Alexander Ramsay, and his lieutenant of the name of Jacob Mannepenge (James Moneypenny), who has previously been both in Denmark and Sweden, and who on this their expedition served as an interpreter. The third is called Herrich Bryssz (Henry or Harry Bruce), who, according to his own statement, has served as a soldier in Holland, Spain, and Hungary.[151]

As regards the remaining fifteen persons, some of them have straightway taken service among good folk here in the country; some of them who will willingly serve your Royal Majesty in Jörgen Lunge's regiment I sent at once to Elfsborg. What has further occurred in this matter is, as already stated, all to be ascertained from their own statements, which are written down. As to what knowledge can be obtained from the letters that were found on them we can say nothing this time, for when they (the Scots) were taken prisoners the Bönder took all those letters to themselves, from which we now have our certain knowledge, (and) what can be ascertained from them, so soon as we receive them, shall be straightway sent to the Chancellor; and if we on our part can serve the Chancellor to his honour, advantage, and command, he shall always find us willing. The Chancellor is hereby commended to God Almighty. Done at Aggershuus the 17th of September 1612.

(Sealed with their several signets on uncoloured wax.)

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Second Official Report to the Danish Chancellor and the Danish Stadtholder respecting the Scottish Expedition, from the Norwegian Stadtholder Envold Kruse and Others.

Translation from the Danish.[152]

(Address.)

To the honourable and well-born men, Christian Friis of Borreby, His Royal Majesty's Chancellor, and Breide Ranndtzow of Ranndtzshollen, His Majesty's Stadtholder, our particularly good friends, addressed in perfect friendliness.

Our most friendly greeting now and ever in the Lord. Dear friends, we thank you kindly for favours evinced, which we would at all times desire to repay, in whatever manner might be to your honour or benefit.

Dear friends, our last letter to you announced that, so soon as we received information from the bailie in Gudbrandsdal of certain letters found on the Scots who were defeated and taken prisoners at that place, we would forward it to you as soon as we received the letters, in case that any reliable information should be found in them respecting their plans and armament. And we do not believe that there is anything in them from which any information on those points can be obtained, so far as the said letters can be correctly read or construed.

We have now recently been written to and informed that their real colonel[153] and captain, the person mentioned by the Scots themselves in the Scottish Relation (which we sent you last), is now at sea with four ships filled with soldiers, with the same intention as the others of landing the troops somewhere in this country, and afterwards proceeding with them into Sweden. This the bailie at Sondmöer has written to Lauritz Gram, who is bailie in Gudbrandsdalen. This appears, however, not to be true, seeing that His Royal Majesty of England has forbidden them to do this, as is to be further seen by the before-mentioned Relation which was forwarded to you.

We have also since ascertained that those Scots who were defeated and captured on their march through this country have absolutely neither burned, murdered, nor destroyed anything on their march through this country, either in Romsdalen, or in Gudbrandsdalen, excepting alone one Danish man, who lives in the Romsdal, Söffrenn Settnes; from him they have taken a box filled with various kinds of silver, both tankards, belts, "stabbe," and other such wrought silver, which man has now recently been in Gudbrandsdalen, to the bailie there, and wanted to get back his silver, if any of it had been found on the defeated Scots; but the Bönder of Gudbrandsdalen will not hitherto acknowledge having got any. If otherwise is subsequently found to be the case, it shall all be returned to him. And it was the plan of the before-mentioned Scots to have made their way into Sweden through Gudbrandsdalen, over a mountain called Österdalsfjeld, in the parish of Tönset, which they all could have done easily in five days' time at the utmost, had not God the most Almighty by this defeat ... them.

Of the Norwegian people were only shot ... six men and ten or twelve somewhat "saa" ... (? saarede = wounded) ... remain alive. This ... "ligen"(?) will let you know.[154] And we will personally do whatever may be to your service or pleasure. Commending you hereby to God the most Almighty. Done at Aggershuus the third of October in the year 1612.

This manuscript is endorsed,