1884 ‘Robert Bruces’s Heart’; or, ‘The Last of the Crusaders’

Aubrey Thomas De Vere, an Irish poet greatly influenced by Coleridge, also depicts Spens as a hero in this poem. De Vere refers to Spens as ‘that sea-warrior grey’. His poem recounts the skipper’s death on the return from delivering a bride to Norway, similar to a few versions of the ballad. The spirit of Spens then sails with Sir James Douglas on his way to deliver Bruce’s heart to the Holy Land, thus placing Spens’s death on par with Douglas’s journey and demise; both occur because of loyalty to a Scottish king. In the case of Douglas, however, his devotion is to a king whom he respects and wishes to honour.

The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere. Vol. VI. (Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1884) ; Mediaeval Records and Sonnets, (Macmillan & Co., 1893). GoogleBooks