THK "GREAT MICHAEL."- 281 



Bishop of Winchester and a council. The bishop reminded them that " though there 

 was peace between England and Scotland, they, contrary to that, as thieves and pirates, 

 had robbed the king's subjects within his streams, wherefore they had deserved to die by 

 the law, and to be hanged at the low-water mark. Then, said the Scots, ( We acknowledge 

 our offence, and ask mercy, and not the law/ and a priest, who was also a prisoner, 

 said, ' My lord, we appeal from the king's justice to his mercy/ Then the bishop asked 

 if he were authorised by them to say thus, and they all cried, 'Yea, yea!' 'Well, then/ 

 said the bishop, ' you shall find the king's mercy above his justice ; for, where you were 

 dead by the law, yet by his mercy he will revive you. You shall depart out of this realm 

 within twenty days, on pain of death if ye be found after the twentieth day ; and pray for 

 the king/* James subsequently required restitution from Henry, who answered "with 

 brotherly salutation " that " it became not a prince to charge his confederate with breach 

 of peace for doing justice upon a pirate and thief." But there is no doubt that it was 

 regarded as a national affair in Scotland; and helped to precipitate the war which speedily 

 ensued. 



Some of the edicts of the period seem strange enough to modern ears. The Scotch 

 Parliament had passed an Act forbidding any ship freighted with staple goods to put to 

 sea during the three winter months, under a penalty of five pounds. In 1493, a generation 

 after the Act was passed, another provided that all burghs and towns should provide 

 ships and busses, the least to be of twenty tons, fitted according to the means of the said 

 places, provided with mariners, nets, and all necessary gear for taking "great fish and 

 small." The officers in every burgh were to make all the "stark idle men" within their 

 bounds go on board these vessels, and serve them there for their wages, or, in case of 

 refusal, banish them from their burgh. This was done with the idea of training a maritime 

 force, but seems to have produced little effect. James IV. built a ship, however, which 

 was, according to Scottish writers, larger and more powerfully armed than any then 

 built in England or France. She was called the Great Michael, and "was of so great 

 stature that she wasted all the oak forests of Fife, Falkland only excepted." Southey 

 reminds us that the Scots, like the Irish of the time, were constantly in feud with each 

 other, and consequently destroyed their forests, to prevent the danger of ambuscades, and 

 also to cut off the means of escape. Timber for this ship was brought from Norway, 

 and though all the shipwrights in Scotland and many others from foreign countries were 

 busily employed upon her, she took a year and a day to complete. The vessel is described, 

 as twelve score feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth of beam, within the walls, which 

 were ten feet each thick, so that no cannon-ball could go through them. She had 

 300 mariners on board, six score gunners, and 1,000 men-of-war, including officers, 

 " captains, skippers, and quarter-masters." Sir Andrew Wood and Robert Barton were 

 two of the chief officers. " This great ship cumbered Scotland to get her to sea. From 

 the time that she was afloat, and her masts and sails complete, with anchors offering 

 thereto, she was counted to the king to be thirty thousand pounds expense, by her artillery, 

 which was very costly." The Great Michael never did enough to have a single exploit 

 recorded, nor was she unfortunate enough to meet a tragic ending. 



In 1511 war was declared against France, and Henry caused many new ships to be 

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