composition of Thomas of Erceldoune, though the author professes to have drawn from that venerable bard the information contained in them. Nevertheless, they were not only received as the genuine productions of the Rhymer, but continued to animate the adherents of the house of Stuart down to the last unfortunate attempt, in 1745. There are current among the country people, many rhymes ascribed to Thomas of Erceldoune. The reader will find several of them in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Thus concludes the history, real and fabulous, of the Rhymer, and his supposed productions, exclusive of the romance, now published for the first time. II. THE TALE OF TRISTREM was not invented by Thomas of Erceldoune. It lays claims to a much higher antiquity; and, if we may trust the Welsh authorities, is founded upon authentic history. The following is the account of Tristrem, handed down by the bards. Trystan (i. e. the Tumultuous), the son of Tallwz, was a celebrated chieftain, who flourished in the sixth century. In the historical Triads, he is ranked with Greidiol and Gwgon, as the three heralds of Britain, superior in the knowledge of the laws of war. Trystan, with Gwair and Cai, were called the three diadem'd princes of Britain; with Coll and Pryderi, he composed the triad of the three mighty swineherds; with Gwair and Eiddilig, that of the three stubborn chiefs, whom none could turn from their purpose; with Caswallon (Cassivellaunus), the son of Bei, and Cynon, the son of Clydno, that of the three faithful lovers. The last epithet he acquired from his passion for Essylt, the wife of Mark Meirzion, his uncle. He was contemporary with Arthur. Upon some disgust, he withdrew himself from the court of that monarch, and Gwalzmai with the Golden Tongue (the Gawain of romance) was sent to request his return. A dialogue passed betwixt them, for a copy of which, as well as for the above notices, I am indebted to the learned Mr. Owen, author of a classical Welsh Dictionary; it is inserted in the Appendix, No. II. Those who may be inclined to doubt the high antiquity claimed for the Triads, by Welsh antiquaries, must admit, that, in this instance, probability seems to warrant their authority. Tristrem is uniformly represented as a native of Cornwall, in which, and in the countries of Wales, Ireland, and Brittany, all inhabited by the Celtic race, the scene of his history is laid. Almost all the names of the persons in the romance are of genuine British origin; as Morgan, Roland Riss, Urgan (Urien), Brengwain, Ganhardin, Beliagog, Mark, Tristrem, and Isounde, Ysoude, or Yssylt. The few names which are of Norman extraction, belong to persons of inferior importance, whose proper British appellations may have been unknown to Thomas, and on whom, therefore, he bestows names peculiar to the Norman-English dialect, in which he composed. Such are Gouvernail, Blancheflour, Triamour, and Florentin. The little kingdom of Cornwall was one of the last points of refuge to the aboriginal Britons, beyond the limits of the modern Wales. It yielded to the Saxon invaders betwixt 927 and 941, when the British were driven, by Athelstan, beyond the Tamar, and a colony established at Exeter by the conqueror. Previous to this event, and probably for a considerable time afterwards, the Cornish retained the manners and habits of the indigenous natives of Britain. In these manners, an enthusiastic attachment to poetry and music was a predominating feature. The Bards, the surviving branch of the ancient Druids, claimed and received a sacred homage from the hearers; and to their song, celebrating the struggles of the Britons against the Saxons, may be referred one principal source of the tide of romantic fiction which overflowed Europe during the middle ages; I mean the tales, which, in exaggerating, have disguised, and almost obliterated, the true exploits of King Arthur and his followers. In the ninth century, Geoffrey of Monmouth compiled, partly from British originals, communicated to him by the learned Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, and partly from the stores of his own imagination, a splendid history of King Arthur. This enticing tale soon drew into its vortex whatever remained of British history or tradition; and all the heroes, whose memory had been preserved by song, were represented as the associates and champions of the renowned Arthur. Among this splendid group we have seen that Sir Tristrem holds a distinguished place. Whether he really was a contemporary of Arthur, or whether that honour was ascribed to him on account of his high renown, and interesting adventures, it is now difficult to determine. The Welsh authorities affirm the first; but his history, by Thomas of Erceldoune, and the ancient poems on the subject, in the Romance language, give no countenance to this supposition. That Tristrem actually flourished during the stormy independence of Cornwall, and experienced some of those adventures, which have been so long the subject of the bard and the minstrel, may, I think, be admitted, without incurring the charge of credulity. There occurs here an interesting point of discussion. Thomas of Erceldoune, himself probably of Saxon origin, wrote in the Inglis, or English language; yet the subject he chose to celebrate was the history of a British chieftain. This, in a general point of view, is not surprising. The invaders have, in every country, adopted, sooner or later, the traditions, sometimes even the genealogies, of the original inhabitants; while they have forgotten, after a few generations, those of the country of their forefathers. One reason seems to be, that tradition depends upon locality. The scene of a celebrated battle, the ruins of an ancient tower, the "historic stone over the grave of a hero, the hill and the valley inhabited of old by a particular tribe, remind posterity of events which are sometimes recorded in their very names. Even a race of strangers, when the lapse of years has induced them no longer to account themselves such, welcome any fiction by which they can associate their ancestors with the scenes in which they themselves live, as transplanted trees push forth every fibre that may connect them with the soil to which they are transferred. Thus, every tradition failed, among the Saxons, which related to their former habitations on the Elbe; the Normans forgot, not merely their ancient dwellings in Scandinavia, but even their Neustrian possessions; and both adopted, with greedy ardour, the fabulous history of Arthur and his chivalry, in preference to the better authenticated and more splendid achievements of Hengist, or of Rolf Gangr, the conqueror of Normandy. But this natural disposition of the conquerors to naturalize themselves, by adopting the traditions of the natives, led, in the particular situation of the English monarchs after the conquest, to some curious and almost anomalous consequences. Those who have investigated the history of the French poetry observe, with surprise, that the earliest romances written in that language refer to the history of King Arthur and his Round Table, a theme, one would have thought, uncongenial to the feelings of the audience, and unconnect In a preceding part of this Edition. [Warton's Editor of course considers these French names as copied rom a French Tristrem, older than that of the Rhymer, ] ed with the country of the minstrel. Mons. de Tressan' One consequence of the popularity of the British tales among the Anglo-Norman poets, was, that all those parts of modern France, in which the Romance language prevailed, obtained an early and extensive acquaintance with the supposed history of Arthur, and the other heroes of Wales. The southern provinces, in which the dialect of Languedoc prevailed, were the seat of Provençal poetry; and it seems probable, that, at an early period, the Troubadours were more welcome at the court of France, than the Norman minstrels, who resided on the territories of the sovereigns of England, and tuned their harps to the fame of the ancient heroes of Britain. In process of time, when Normandy was acquired by the kings of France, the minstrels prudently changed their theme, from the praises of Arthur and his Round Table, to the more acceptable subject of Charlemagne and his Paladins. This, at least, seems a fair conjecture; since the romances of this latter class, founded upon the annals of the Pseudo-Turpin, are allowed, by the French literati, to be inferior in antiquity to those relating to British story. Among the tales imported into France from Britain, and which obtained an early and extensive popularity, the history of Tristrem is early distinguished.3 Chrestien de Troyes, who wrote many romances, is said to have composed one upon this subject, which he inscribed to Philip, Count of Flanders, who died in 1191. As this poet also composed the history of Le Chevalier d'Epee (probably the story of The Knight and the Sword, versified in Way's Fabliaux,) Le Chevalier de la Charrette (the history of Sir Lancelot,) and Le Chevalier a Lion (Ywain and Gawain.) it is perhaps to him that we may ascribe the association of Tristrem into the chivalry of the Round Table; if so, he I need not, I, the drink of force, Which drugged the valiant Tristrem's bowl: My passion claims a nobler source, The free-will offering of my soul. Nor does the celebrity of the tale rest solely upon the evidence of Chrestien de Troyes. It is twice alluded to by the King of Navarre, who wrote in 1226, or very near that period. "Douce dame, s'il vos plaisolt, un soir, Conques Tristanz, qui en fit son pooir," etc. "De mon penser, aim mieux la compaignie, The ingenious Mons. de la Rue informs us, that the 11th Pur quoi if fu fet e dunt: E jeo l'ai trové en escrit, De Tristrem e de la reine, This celebrated lady avowedly drew her materials from Armorica, the scene of several of Tristrem's exploits, and finally of his death. Extraits des Romans, tom. i. p. 1. Tressan is treating of this very romance of Sir Tri trem, but seems to be ignorant of the existence of a metrical copy in the Romance language. 2 From the following introduction to the metrical romance of Arthur and Merlin, written during the minority of Edward III., it appears that the English language was then gaining ground. The author says, he has even seen many gentlemen who could speak no French, (though generally used by persons of their rank,) while persons of every quality understood English. He extols the advantages of children who are sent to school: "Avauntages thai haven thare, Of Freynsh no Latin nil Y tel more, Ac on Inglisbe Ichil therefore; Right is that Inglishe, Inglishe understond, That was born in Inglond; God ous send soule hale!" Trevisa tells us, that in 1385, "in all the grammar scoles of England, ebildren leveth French, and construeth and lerneth in English." is distinctly alluded to.-- "Sobre totz aurai grand valor, S'aital camis a'm'es data, Cum Yseus det a l'amador, Que mais non era portata," etc. p. 194. ] 4 La Combe observes, "Le roman de Tristan Leonis, l'un des plus beaux et des mieux faits qui aient jamais été publiés, parut en 4490. C'est le plus ancien de nos romans en prose. L'auteur etoit encore de la cour du Duc In this passage the de Normandie, Roi d'Angleterre." Preface. p xxvi learned gentleman makes a mistake, in which he is followed by Mons. l'Eveque de la Ravilliere. If Chrestien de Troyes actually wrote a history of Tristrem, it certainly was in verse, like all his other compositions; and it is morally impossible to point out a prose romance, upon that or any other subject, previous to 1190. 5 La Ravilliere, Revolutions de la Langue Françoise, Poesies du Roi de 6 Poesies du Roi de Navarre, pp. 7. 145. Navarre, tom. i. p. 468, Thus, the story of Tilstrem appears to have been popular | been called Scotland, it is reasonable to conclude, that their in France, at least thirty years before the probable date of Thomas of Erceldoune's work. A singular subject of enquiry is thus introduced. Did Thomas translate his poem from some of those which were current in the Romance language? Or did he refer to the original British authorities, from which his story had been versified by the French minstrels? The state of Scotland, at the period when he flourished, may probably throw some light on this curious point. Although the Saxons, immediately on their landing on the eastern coast of England, obtained settlements, from which they were never finally dislodged, yet the want of union among the invaders, the comparative smallness of their numbers, and a variety of other circumstances, rendered the progress of their conquest long and uncertain. For ages after the arrival of Hengist and Horsa, the whole western coast of Britain was possessed by the aboriginal inhabitants, engaged in constant wars with the Saxons; the slow, but still increasing tide of whose victories still pressed onward from the east. These western Britons were, unfortunately for themselves, split into innumerable petty sovereignties; but we can distinguish four grand and general divisions. 1st, The county of Cornwall, with part of Devonshire, retained independence, on the southwest extremity of the island. 2dly, Modern Wales was often united under one king. 3dly, Lancashire and Cumberland formed the kingdom of the Cumraig Britons, which extended northward to Solway Frith. 4thly, Beyond the Scottish Border lay the kingdom of Strathclwyd, including, probably, all the western part of Scotland, betwixt the Solway Frith and Frith of Clyde. With the inhabitants of the Highlands, we have, at present, no concern. This western division of the island being peopled by tribes of a kindred origin and language, it is natural to conceive, even were the fact dubious, that the same traditions and histories were current among these tribes. Accordingly the modern Welsh are as well versed in the poetry of the Cumraig and the Strathclwyd Britons, as in that of their native bards; and it is chiefly from them that we learn the obscure contentions which these north-western Britons maintained against the Saxon invaders. The disputed frontier, instead of extending across the island, as the more modern division of England and Scotland, appears to have run longitudinally, from north to south, in an irregular line, beginning at the mountains of Cumberland, including the high grounds of Liddesdale and Teviotdale, together with Ettrick forest and Tweeddale; thus connecting a long tract of mountainous country with the head of Clydesdale, the district which gave name to the petty kingdom. In this strong and defensible country, the natives were long able to maintain their ground. About 850, the union of the Scots and Picts enabled Kenneth and his successors to attack, and, by degrees, totally to subdue, the hitherto independent kingdoms of Strathclwyd and Cumbria. But, although they were thus made to constitute an integral part of what has since manners and customs continued, for a long time, to announce their British descent. In these districts had flourished some of the most distinguished British bards; and they had witnessed many of the memorable events which decided the fate of the island. It must be supposed that the favourite traditions of Arthur and his knights retained their ground for a length of time among a people thus descended. Accordingly, the scene of many of their exploits is laid in this frontier country; Bamborough Castle being pointed out as the Castle Orgeillous of Romance, and Berwick as the Joyeuse Garde, the stronghold of the renowned Sir Lancelot. In the days of Froissart, the mountains of Cumberland were still called Wales; and he mentions Carlisle (so famous in romantic song) as a "city beloved of King Arthur." Even at this day, the Celtic traditions of the Border are not entirely obliterated, 3 and we may therefore reasonably conclude, that in the middle of the 13th century they flourished in full vigour. If the reader casts his eye upon the map, he will see that Erceldoune is situated on the borders of the ancient British kingdom of Strathelwyd; and I think we may be authorized to conclude, that in that country Thomas the Rhymer collected the materials for his impressive tale of Sir Tristrem. The story, although it had already penetrated into France, must have been preserved in a more pure and authentic state by a people, who perhaps had hardly ceased to speak the language of the hero. There are some considerations which strongly tend to confirm this supposition. ་ In the first place, we have, by a very fortunate coincidence, satisfactory proof that the romance of Sir Tristrem, as composed by Thomas of Ercildoune, was known upon the continent, and referred to by the French minstrels, as the most authentic mode of telling the story. This is fortunately established by two Metrical Fragments of a French romance, preserved in the valuable library of Francis Douce, Esq. F.A.S., of which the reader will find a copious abstract, following the Poem. The story told in those Fragments, will be found to correspond most accurately with the tale of Sir Tristrem, as narrated by Thomas of Ercildoune, while both differ essentially from the French prose romance, afterwards published. There seems room to believe that these fragments were part of a poem, composed (as is believed) by Raoul de Beauvais, who flourished in 1257, about the same time as Thomas of Ercildoune; and shortly after we suppose the latter to have composed his grand work. As many Normans had settled in Scotland about this period, it is probable that Thomas's tale was early translated, or rather imitated, in the Romance language. The ground for believing that this task was performed by Raoul de Beauvais, is his being the supposed author of a romance on the subject of Sir Perceval, preserved in the library of Foucault. The writer announces himself as the author of several other poems, particularly upon the subject of King Mark and Uselt la Blonde : The vestiges of a huge ditch may be traced from the junction of the Gala and the Tweed, and running thence southwestward through the upper part of Roxburghshire, and into Liddesdale. It is called the Cat-Rael, or Cat-rail, and has certainly been a landmark betwixt the Gothic invaders, who possessed the lower country, and the indigenous Celts, who were driven to the mountains. Tradition says, that it was dug to divide the Peghts and Bretts, i, e. Picts and Britons. 2 of the former was Merdwinn Wyllt, or Merlin the Savage, who inhabited the woods of Tweeddale, and was buried at Drummelziar, ( Tumulus Merlini,) near Peebles; also Anewrin, who celebrates the bloody combat betwixt the north-western Britons, and the Saxons of Deiria. The men of Edinburgh, in particular, were all cut off; and it is more than probable, that the strong fortresses of that city first yielded to the Saxons, from whom it was afterwards taken by the Scots and Picts, when united into one people. Lothian seems finally to have submitted to them about 970. 3 See Essay prefixed to Poems from Maitland MS. by Mr. Pinkerton, p. Ivili.; Complaynt of Scotland, Introduction, p. 196. The editor met with a. curious instance of what is stated in the text. Being told of a tradition of a hunter who raised a mighty boar, and pursued bim, from bis lair on the Yarrow, up to St. Mary's Lake, where he was slain, at a place called Muichra, he had the curiosity to examine the derivation of this last name, It signifies, in Gaelic, The place of the Boar, and seems to attest the truth of the tradition. Indeed, most of the names of places in the south-west of Scotland are of British derivation, and are sometimes found to refer to popular traditions yet current, while the narrators are totally ignorant of the evidence thus afforded to the trath of their story.. "Cil qui fit d'Enee et d'Enide, Et les commandemens d'Ovide, Et de la Bupe, et de l'Eronde, Del linage le Roy Artu." 1 The author professes to have found the original of the history, "Et un des livres de l'aumaire Monsigner S. Pierre à Biauvais." This seems to be the principal reason for ascribing the romance of Perceval to Raoul de Beauvais, But it is probable that the author of that romance, whoever he was, also wrote Mr. Douce's Fragments. After narrating the adventures of Sir Tristrem, down to his second retreat to Brittany, there occurs the following most curious passage, concerning the different modes of telling the story: Seignurs, cest cante est mult di- Lordings, this tale is very differently told; vers; E, pur co, sum par mes nerf, Li naim redut Tristran nairer, E entusché pas grant engin Quant of afolé Kaherdin. Pur cest plaie, e pur cest mal, E par fut le regne sius, Qui de l'amur ert parjuuers, Et envers Ysolt messagers. E cument put it dunc venir Ne sal coment il se gardast, Ne cument Ysolt amenast. Il sunt del cunte forneisé, And therefore I am *** { unintelligible,) And tell as much as is necessary, And will leave the remainder. I will not say too much about it. Among those who are in habit of telling I have heard it from many. I know well enough how each tells it, That dwarf caused Tristran to be wounded When he had occasioned Kaherdin to grow mad. On account of this wound and this disease, Thomas, however, will not admit this; He (Gouvernail) was known all over those parts, And throughout the kingdom, As being privy to the love (of Tristran and And often employed on messages to Ysolt. Now then could he come To offer his service to the court, To the king, to the barons, and sergeants, As if he had been a stranger merchant? That a man so known there Should not have been immediately perceived, I do not know how he could have prevented, Nor how he could carry over Ysolt. E de la verum esllungė. And far distant from the truth. And if they will not admit this, I will not strive with them. Let them keep their opinion, and I mine: I think that the reader will be disposed to admit the Thomas, mentioned in this passage, to be our bard of Erceldoune. It is true, that the language of the Fragments appears to be very ancient, and might, were other evidence wanting, incline us to refer it rather to the 12th than the 13th century. But the French language, as spoken in England, seems to have adopted few improvements from the continent. In fact, it remained stationary, or was retrograde; for words were adopted from the English, and, consequently, even at its latest period, the Anglo-Norman had an antiquated and barbarous cast. Thus it has become difficult for the best judges to point out any very marked difference betwixt the style of Marie and some parts of Wace's translation, though a century occurs betwixt the date of their poems; consequently, the author of our Fragments may have only written a rude and unimproved, instead of an obsolete dialect. Chaucer seems to allude to the difference of the proper French and the Anglo-Norman, when he tells us of his prioresse (a lady of rank)—— "And Frenche she spake full fayre and festily, For French of Parish was to hire unknowe." The reference to style being thus uncertain, the evidence on the other side must be allowed to countervail it. For, that Thomas of Erceldoune wrote the romance of Sir Tristrem, a work of most extended reputation, is ascertained by Robert de Brunne: That he flourished in the 13th century, is proved by written evidence: That the tale, as told in the Fragments, corresponds exactly with the edition now published, while they both differ widely from every other work upon the same subject, is indisputable. As the one, therefore, is affirmed to be the work of Thomas, and the other refers to a Thomas who composed such a work, the connexion betwixt them is completely proved, and the ascertained period of Thomas's existence may be safely held as a landmark for fixing the date of the fragments, notwithstanding the obsolete language in which they are written. Assuming, therefore, that Thomas of Erceldoune is the person referred to by the contemporary French author, it will be difficult to give any other reason for the high authority which the minstrel assigns to him, than his having had immediate access to the Celtic traditions concerning Sir Tristrem, with which the Anglo-Norman romancers were unacquainted. The author of the Fragments quotes the authority of Breri, apparently an Armorican, to whom were known all the tales of the Kings and Earls of Brittany; and with equal propriety he might refer to Thomas of Erceldoune, as living in the vicinity of what had been a British kingdom, where, perhaps, was still spoken the language in which the feats of Sir Tristrem were first sung. But it is plain, that, had Thomas translated from the French, the Anglo-Norman minstrel would have had no occasion to refer to a translator, when the original was in his own language, and within his immediate reach. What attached authenticity to Thomas's work seems, therefore, to have The late ingenious Mr. Ritson was led to ascribe the romance above quoted, and, consequently, the poem, Del Roy Marc et d'Yseult la Blonde, to Chrestien de Troyes, who lived long before Thomas of Erceldoune. Ancient Metrical Romances. Introductory Dissertation, p. xlifi. But that industrious antiquary was led into the error, by Chrestien being the author of a yet more ancient romance upon the same subject of Perceval, but dif ferent from that mentioned in the text. This work is mentioned by Fauchet, who seems never to have seen it, and is quoted in Galland's Essay, as totally distinct from that which is ascribed to Raoul de Beauvais, and considerably more ancient. Mem. de l'Acad. des Inscriptions, tom. ii. ff. 675, 680. been the purity of his British materials, by which he brought | derstand the Latin of the cloister, or the Anglo-Norman of back to its original simplicity, a story, which had been altered and perverted into a thousand forms, by the diseurs of Normandy. But what may be allowed to put our doubts at rest, is the evidence of Gotfried von Strasburgh, a German minstrel of the 13th century, who compiled a prodigiously long metrical romance on the subject of Sir Tristrem. This author, like the French diseur, affirms, that many of his profession told the celebrated tale of Sir Tristrem imperfectly and incorrectly; but that he himself derived his authority from "Thomas of Britannia, master of the art of romance, who had read the history in British books, and knew the lives of all the lords of the land, and made them known to us." Gotfried adds, that he sought Thomas's narrative diligently, both in French and Latin books, and at length fortunately discovered it. In another place he appeals to the authority of Thomas concerning the dominions of Raveline, (the Roland of Thomas,) which he says consisted of Parmenie, (Armenie,) and of a separate territory held of Duke Morgan, to whom the Scots were then subject. Heinrich von Vribere, the continuator of Gotfried's narrative, also quotes the authority of Thomas of Britannia, whose work seems to have been known to him through the medium of a Lombard or Italian translation.' An account of these German romances, which the Editor owes to the friendship of Mr. Henry Weber, is subjoined to the analysis of the French fragments. The references which they contain to the authority of Thomas of Britannia, serve to ascertain his original property in the poem of Sir Tristrem. In the second place, if Thomas of Erceldoune did not translate from the French, but composed an original poem, founded upon Celtic tradition, it will follow, that the first classical English romance was written in part of what is now called Scotland; and the attentive reader will find some reason to believe that our language received the first rudiments of improvement in the very corner where it now exists in its most debased state. In England, it is now generally admitted, that, after the Norman conquest, while the Saxon language was abandoned to the lowest of the people, and while the conquerors only deigned to employ their native French, the mixed language, now called English, only existed as a kind of lingua franca, to conduct the necessary intercourse between the victors and the vanquished. It was not till the reign of Henry III. that this dialect had assumed a shape fit for the purposes of the poct;3 and even then, it is most probable that English poetry, if any such existed, was abanboned to the peasants and menials, while all, who aspired above the vulgar, listened to the lais of Marie, the romances of Chrestien de Troyes, or the interesting fabliaux of the Anglo-Norman trouveurs. The only persons who ventured to use the native language of the country in literary compositions, were certain monkish annalists, who usually think it necessary to inform us, that they condescended to so degrading a task out of pure charity, lowliness of spirit, and love to the "lewd men" who could not un the court. Even when the language was gradually polished, and became fit for the purposes of the minstrels, the indolence or taste of that race of poets induced them, and those who wrote for their use, to prefer translating the Anglo-Norman and French romances, which had stood the test of years, to the more precarious and laborious task of original composition. It is the united opinion of Warton, Tyrwhytt, and Ritson, that there exists no English romance, prior to the days of Chaucer, which is not a translation of some earlier French one. While these circumstances operated to retard the improvement of the English language in England itself, there is great reason to believe, that in the Lowlands of Scotland its advances were more rapid. The Saxon kingdom of Bernicia was not limited by the Tweed, but extended, at least occasionally, as far northward as the Frith of Forth. The fertile plains of Berwickshire, and the Lothians, were inhabited by a race of Anglo-Saxons, whose language resembled that of the Belgic tribes whom they had conquered, and this blended speech contained, as it were, the original materials of the English tongue. Beyond the Friths of Forth and of Tay, was the principal seat of the Picts, a Gothic tribe, if we can trust the best authorities, who spoke a dialect of the Teutonic, different from the AngloSaxon, and apparently more allied to the Belgic. This people falling under the dominion of the Kings of Scots, the united forces of those nations wrenched from the Saxons, first, the province of the Lothians; finally, that of Berwickshire, and even part of Northumberland itself. But, as the victors spoke a language similar to that of the vanquished, it is probable that no great alteration took place in that particular, the natives of the south-eastern border continuing to use the Anglo-Saxon, qualified by the Pictish dialect, and to bear the name of Angles. Hence, many of our Scottish monarchs' charters are addressed Fidelibus suis Scottis et Anglis, the latter being the inhabitants of Lothian and the Merse. See Macpherson's excellent Notes on Wintoun, vol. ii. p. 474, Diplomata, pp. 6, 8, Independence, Appendix 2d. The Scots, properly and restrictively, meant the Northern Caledonians, who spoke Gaelic; but generally used, as in these charters, that name includes the Picts, with whom they were now united, and all inhabitants of Scotland north of the Friths of Clyde and Forth. In Strath Clwyd, and in the ancient Reged, the Britons were gradually blended with the Scoto-Angles of Lothian and Berwickshire, and adopted their language. Here, therefore, was a tract of country including all the south of Scotland, into which the French or Romance language was never so forcibly introduced. The oppression of the Norman monarchs, and the frequency of civil wars, drove, it is true, many of their nobility into exile in Scotland; and, upon other occasions, the auxiliary valour of these warlike strangers was invoked by our Scottish kings, to aid their restoration, or secure their precarious dominions. Twice within three years, namely, in 1094 and 1097, the forces of the Anglo-Normans aided Duncan and Edgar, the sons of Malcolm, to expel from the Scottish throne the usurper |