Obs. exc. Hist. Also 6 swartroter, swart(e) rutter, swartrytter, swarthrutter. [a. early mod. Du. swartrutter (in Kilian swerte ruyters pl.): see SWART a. and RUTTER.] One of a class of irregular troopers, with black dress and armor and blackened faces, who infested the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries.
1557. in Cecil Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.), I. 144. A number of our Swartroters took Scheney.
1558. in Feuillerat, Revels Q. Eliz. (1908), 94. The performaunce of A Maske of swartrutters.
1572. Buchanan, Detection Mary Q. Scots, D iij b. Put on ane lose cloke, sic as the Swartrytters weare.
1598. E. Guilpin, Skial. (1878), 36. Like a Swartrutters hose his puffe thoughts swell, With yeastie ambition.
1634. W. Tirwhyt, trans. Balzac’s Lett., I. 128. The novelty of these barbarous faces, and of those great lubberly Swa[r]t-rutters, might easily have affrighted us.
1657. Reeve, God’s Plea, 81. Fitter for Swartrutters and Ruffians, then for true Penitents.
[1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), Swart-Reyter, (Dutch) a Horseman with black Armour.]
1900. F. W. Maitland, in Fisher, Biog. (1910), 122. The English government’s one idea of carrying on a big war … was that of hiring German ‘swartrutters.’
Hence † Swartrutting a. nonce-wd., behaving like a swartrutter.
1592. Greene, Upst. Courtier, D 4. Making no brawles to haue wounds, as swartrutting veluet breeches dooth.
