A more authentic illustration may be derived from Barbour’s Account of the Siege of Berwick, by Edward II., in 1319, when a sow was brought on to the attack by the English, and burned by the combustibles hurled down upon it, through the device of John Crab, a Flemish engineer, in the Scottish service.

  And thai, that at the sege lay,
  Or it was passyt the fyft day,
  Had made thaim syndry apparall,
  To gang eft sonys till assaill. 
  Off gret gests a sow thai maid,
  That stalwart heildyne aboyne it haid;
  With armyt men inew tharin,
  And instruments for to myne.

  Syndry scaffalds thai maid withall,
  That war wele heyar than the wall,
  And ordanyt als that, be the se,
  The town suld weill assaillyt be.

  Thai within, that saw thaim swa,
  Swa gret apparaill schap to ma,
  Throw Craby’s cunsaill, that wes sley,
  A crane thai haiff gert dress up hey,
  Rynnand on quheills, that thai micht bryng
  It quhar that nede war off helping. 
  And pyk, and ter, als haiff thai tane;
  And lynt, and herds, and brymstane;
  And dry treyis that wele wald brin,
  And mellyt aythir other in: 
  And gret fagalds thairoff thai maid,
  Gyrdyt with irne bands braid. 
  The fagalds weill mycht mesuryt be,
  Till a gret towrys quantite. 
  The fagalds bryning in a ball,
  With thair cran thoucht till awaill;
  And giff the sow come to the wall,
  To lat it brynand on her fall;
  And with stark chenyeis hald it thar,
  Quhill all war brynt up that thar war.

* * * * *

Upon sic maner gan thai fycht,
Quhill it wes ner none off the day,
That thai without, on gret aray,
Pryssyt thair sow towart the wall;
And thai within sune gert call
The engynour, that takyn was,
And gret manance till hym mais,
And swour that he suld dey, bot he
Prowyt on the sow sic sutelte
That he to fruschyt ilk dele,
And he, that hath persawyt wele
That the dede wes wele ner hym till,
Bot giff he mycht fulfil thair will
Thoucht that he at hys mycht wald do.

  Bendyt in gret by then wes sche,
  That till the sow wes ewyn set. 
  In hy he gert draw the cleket;
  And smertly swappyt owt a stane,
  Ewyn our the sow the stane is gane,
  And behind it a litill way
  It fell:  and then they cryt, “Hey!”
  That war in hyr, “furth to the wall,
  For dredles it is ours all!”

  The gynour than deleuerly
  Gert bend the gyn in full gret hy;
  And the stane smertly swappyt out. 
  It flaw out quethyr, and with a rout,
  And fell rycht ewyn befor the sow. 
  Thair harts than begouth to grow. 
  Bot yhet than, with thair mychts all
  Thai pressyt the sow towart the wall;
  And has hyr set tharto gentilly. 
  The gynour than gert bend in hy