Chapter XLV: Gaelic Literature, Language, and Music (1)

BY THE REV. THOMAS MACLAUCHLAN, LL.D., F.S.A.S.

Extent of Gaelic literature--Claims of Ireland--Circumstances
adverse to preservation of Gaelic literature--“The Lament
of Deirdre”--“The Children of Usnoth”--“The Book of Deer”--The
Legend of Deer--The memoranda of grants--The “Albanic Duan”
--“Muireadhach Albannach”--Gaelic charter of 1408--Manuscripts
of the 15th century--“The Dean of Lismore’s Book”--Macgregor,
Dean of Lismore--“Ursgeul”--“Bas Dhiarmaid”--Ossian’s Eulogy on
Fingal--Macpherson’s Ossian--“Fingal”--Cuchullin’s chariot--“Temora”
--Smith’s “Sean Dana”--Ossianic collections--Fingal’s address to
Oscar--Ossian’s address to the setting sun--John Knox’s Liturgy
--Kirk’s Gaelic Psalter--Irish Bible--Shorter Catechism--Confession
of Faith--Gaelic Bible--Translations from the English--Original
prose writings--Campbell’s Ancient Highland Tales--“Maol
A Chliobain”--“The man in the tuft of wool”--Alexander Macdonald
--Macintyre--Modern poetry--School-books--The Gaelic language
--Gaelic music.

The literature of the Highlands, although not extensive, is varied, and has excited not a little interest in the world of letters. The existing remains are of various ages, carrying us back, in the estimation of some writers, to the second century, while contributions are making to it still, and are likely to be made for several generations.

It has been often said that the literature of the Celts of Ireland was much more extensive than that of the Celts of Scotland--that the former were in fact a more literary people--that the ecclesiastics, and medical men, and historians (_seanachies_) of Scotland had less culture than those of the sister island, and that they must be held thus to have been a stage behind them in civilisation and progress. Judging by the remains which exist, there seems to be considerable ground for such a conclusion. Scotland can produce nothing like the MS. collections in possession of Trinity College Dublin, or the Royal Irish Academy. There are numerous fragments of considerable value in the Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh, and in the hands of private parties throughout Scotland, but there is nothing to compare with the Book of Lecan, _Leabhar na h-uidhre_, and the other remains of the ancient literary culture of Ireland, which exist among the collections now brought together in Dublin; nor with such remains of what is called Irish scholarship as are to be found in Milan, Brussels, and other places on the continent of Europe.

At the same time there is room for questioning how far the claims of Ireland to the whole of that literature are good. Irish scholars are not backward in pressing the claims of their own country to everything of any interest that may be called Celtic. If we acquiesce in these claims, Scotland will be left without a shred of aught which she can call her own in the way of Celtic literature; and there is a class of Scottish scholars who, somewhat more generous than discriminating, have been disposed to acquiesce but too readily in those claims. We have our doubts as to Ireland having furnished Scotland with its Gaelic population, and we have still stronger doubts as to Ireland having been the source of all the Celtic literature which she claims. A certain class of writers are at once prepared to allow that the Bobbio MSS. and those other continental Gaelic MSS. of which Zeuss has made such admirable use in his _Grammatica Celtica_, are all Irish, and they are taken as illustrative alike of the zeal and culture of the early Irish Church. And yet there is no evidence of such being the case. The language certainly is not Irish, nor are the names of such of the writers as are usually associated with the writings. Columbanus, the founder of the Bobbio Institution, may have been an Irishman, but he may have been a Scotchman. He may have gone from Durrow, but he may have gone from Iona. The latter was no less famous than the former, and had a staff of men quite as remarkable. We have authentic information regarding its ancient history. It sent out Aidan to Northumberland, and numerous successors after him, and there is much presumptive evidence that many of these early missionaries took their departure from Scotland, and carried with them their Scottish literature to the Continent of Europe. And the language of the writers is no evidence to the contrary. In so far as the Gaelic was written at this early period, the dialect used was common to Ireland and Scotland. To say that a work is Irish because written in what is called the Irish dialect is absurd. There was no such thing as an Irish dialect. The written language of the whole Gaelic race was long the same throughout, and it would have been impossible for any man to have said to which of the sections into which that race was divided any piece of writing belonged. This has long been evident to men who have made a study of the question, but recent relics of Scottish Gaelic which have come to light, and have been published, put the matter beyond a doubt. Mr Whitley Stokes, than whom there is no better authority, has said of a passage in the “Book of Deer” that the language of it is identical with that of the MSS. which form the basis of the learned grammar of Zeuss: and there can be no doubt that the “Book of Deer” is of Scottish authorship. It is difficult to convince Irish scholars of this, but it is no less true on that account. Indeed, what is called the Irish dialect has been employed for literary purposes in Scotland down to a recent period, the first book in the vernacular of the Scottish Highlands having been printed so lately as the middle of last century. And it is important to observe that this literary dialect, said to be Irish, is nearly as far apart from the ordinary Gaelic vernacular of Ireland as it is from that of Scotland.

But besides this possibility of having writings that are really Scottish counted as Irish from their being written in the same dialect, the Gaelic literature of Scotland has suffered from other causes. Among these were the changes in the ecclesiastical condition of the country which took place from time to time. First of all there was the change which took place under the government of Malcolm III. (Ceann-mor) and his sons, which led to the downfall of the ancient Scottish Church, and the supplanting of it by the Roman Hierarchy. Any literature existing in the 12th century would have been of the older church, and would have little interest for the institution which took its place. That there was such a literature is obvious from the “Book of Deer,” and that it existed among all the institutions of a like kind in Scotland is a fair and reasonable inference from the existence and character of that book. Why this is the only fragment of such a literature remaining is a question of much interest, which may perhaps be solved by the fact that the clergy of the later church could have felt little interest in preserving the memorials of a period which they must have been glad to have seen passed away. Then the Scottish Reformation and the rise of the Protestant Church, however favourable to literature, would not have been favourable to the preservation of such literature. The old receptacles of such writings were broken up, and their contents probably destroyed or dispersed, as associated with what was now felt to be a superstitious worship. There is reason to believe that the Kilbride collection of MSS. now in the Advocates’ Library, and obtained from the family of Maclachlan of Kilbride, was to some extent a portion of the old library of Iona, one of the last Abbots of which was a Ferquhard M’Lachlan.

Besides these influences, unfavourable to the preservation of the ancient literature of the Scottish Highlands, we have the fierce raid of Edward I. of England into the country, and the carrying away of all the national muniments. Some of these were in all probability Gaelic. A Gaelic king and a Gaelic kingdom were then things not long past in Scotland; and seeing they are found elsewhere, is there not reason to believe that among them were lists of Scottish and Pictish kings, and other documents of historical importance, such as formed the basis of those Bardic addresses made by the royal bards to the kings on the occasion of their coronation? These might have been among the records afterwards intended to be returned to Scotland, and which perished in the miserable shipwreck of the vessel that bore them. These causes may account for the want of a more extensive ancient Celtic literature in Scotland, and for the more advantageous position occupied in this respect by Ireland. Ireland neither suffered from the popular feeling evoked at the Reformation, nor from the spoliations of an Edward of England, as Scotland did. And hence the abundant remains still existing of a past literature there.

And yet Scotland does not altogether want an ancient Celtic literature, and the past few years have done much to bring it to light. It is not impossible that among our public libraries and private repositories relics may be still lying of high interest and historical value, and which more careful research may yet bring into view. The Dean of Lismore’s book has only been given to the world within the last six years, and more recently still we have the “Book of Deer,” a relic of the 11th or 12th century.

On taking a survey of this literature, it might be thought most natural to commence with the Ossianic remains, both on account of the prominence which they have received and the interest and controversy they have excited, and also because they are held by many to have a claim to the highest antiquity,--to be the offspring of an age not later than the 2d or 3d century. But it is usual to associate literature with writing, and as the Gaelic language has been a written one from a very early period, we think it best to keep up this association, and to take up the written remains of the language as nearly as may be in their chronological order. The first of these to which reference may be made is

THE LAMENT OF DEIRDRE.

This poem is found in a MS. given to the Highland Society by Lord Bannatyne, and now in the archives of the Advocates’ Library. The date of the MS. is 1208, but there is every reason to believe that the poem is of much higher antiquity. The preserved copy bears to have been written at Glenmasan, a mountain valley in the parish of Dunoon, in Cowal. The MS. contains other fragments of tales in prose, but we shall refer only to the poetical story of Deirdre, or, as it is usually called in Gaelic, “Dàn Chloinn Uisneachain.” The tale is a famous one in the Highlands, and the heroes of it, the sons of Usnoth, have given name to Dun Mhac Uisneachain, or Dun Mac Sniochain, said to be the Roman _Beregonium_, in the parish of Ardchattan in Argyleshire. We give the following version of the poem as it appears in the Report of the Highland Society on the Poems of Ossian (p. 298).

_Do dech Deardir ar a héise ar crichibh Alban, agus ro chan an Laoidh_--

Inmain tir in tir ud thoir,
Alba cona lingantaibh
Nocha tiefuinn eisdi ille
Mana tisain le Naise.
Inmain Dun Fidhgha is Dun Finn
Inmain in Dun os a cinn
Inmain Inis Draignde
Is inmain Dun Sùibnei.
Caill cuan gar tigeadh Ainnle mo nuar
Fagair lim ab bitan
Is Naise an oirear Alban.
Glend Laidh do chollain fan mboirmin caoimh
Iasg is sieng is saill bruich
Fa hi mo chuid an Glend laigh.
Glend masain ard a crimh geal a gasain
Do nimais colladh corrach
Os Inbhhar mungach Masain.
Glend Eitchi ann do togbhus mo ched tigh
Alaind a fidh iar neirghe
Buaile grene Ghlind eitchi.
Mo chen Glend Urchaidh
Ba hedh in Glend direach dromchain
Uallcha feara aoisi ma Naise
An Glend Urchaidh.
Glend da ruadh
Mo chen gach fear da na dual
Is binn guth cuach
Ar cracib chruim
Ar in mbinn os Glenndaruadh
Inmain Draighen is tren traigh
Inmain Auichd in ghainimh glain
Nocha tiefuin eisde anoir
Mana tisuinn lem Inmain.

_English Translation._

_Deirdre looked back on the land of Alban, and sung this lay_:--

Beloved is that eastern land,
Alba (Scotland), with its lakes.
Oh that I might not depart from it,
Unless I were to go with Naos!
Beloved is Dunfigha and Dunlin.
Beloved is the Dun above it.
Beloved is Inisdraiyen (Imstrynich?),
And beloved is Dun Sween.
The forest of the sea to which Ainnle would come, alas!
I leave for ever,
And Naos, on the sea-coast of Alban.
Glen Lay (Glen Luy?), I would sleep by its gentle murmur.
Fish and venison, and the fat of meat boiled,
Such would be my food in Glen Lay.
Glenmasan! High is its wild garlic, fair its branches.
I would sleep wakefully
Over the shaggy Invermasan.
Glen Etive! in which I raised my first house,
Delightful were its groves on rising
When the sun struck on Glen Etive.
My delight was Glen Urchay;
It is the straight vale of many ridges.
Joyful were his fellows around Naos
In Glen Urchay.
Glendaruadh (Glendaruel?),
My delight in every man who belongs to it.
Sweet is the voice of the cuckoo
On the bending tree,
Sweet is it above Glendaruadh.
Beloved is Drayen of the sounding shore!
Beloved is Avich (Dalavich?) of the pure sand.
Oh that I might not leave the east
Unless it were to come along with me! Beloved--

There is some change in the translation as compared with that given in the Highland Society’s Report, the meaning, however, being nearly identical in both. The tale to which this mournful lyric is attached,--the story of the children of Usnoth and their sad fate, bears that Conor was king of Ulster. Visiting on one occasion the house of Feilim, his _seanachie_, Feilim’s wife, was delivered of a daughter while the king was in the house. Cathbad the Druid, who was present, prophesied that many disasters should befall Ulster on account of the child then born. The king resolved to bring her up as his own future wife, and for this end enclosed her in a tower where she was excluded from all intercourse with men, except her tutor, her nurse, and an attendant called Lavarcam. It happened that in the course of time, by means of this Lavarcam, she came to see Naos, the son of Usnoth. She at once formed a warm affection for him; the affection was reciprocated, and Naos and Deirdre, by which name the young woman was called, fled to Scotland, accompanied by Ainle and Ardan, the brothers of Naos. Here they were kindly received by the king, and had lands given them for their support. It is not unlikely that these lands were in the neighbourhood of Dun Mhac Uisneachain in Lorn. Here they lived long and happily. At length Conor desired their return, and sent a messenger to Scotland, promising them welcome and security in Ireland if they would but return. Deirdre strongly objected, fearing the treachery of Conor, but she was overruled by the urgency of her husband and his brothers. They left Scotland, Deirdre composing and singing the above mournful lay. In Ireland they were at first received with apparent kindness, but soon after the house in which they dwelt was surrounded by Conor and his men, and after deeds of matchless valour the three brothers were put to death, in defiance of Conor’s pledge. The broken hearted Deirdre cast herself on the grave of Naos and died, having first composed and sung a lament for his death. This is one of the most touching in the catalogue of Celtic tales; and it is interesting to observe the influence it exerted over the Celtic mind by its effect upon the topographical nomenclature of the country. There are several Dun Deirdres to be found still. One is prominent in the vale of the Nevis, near Fortwilliam, and another occupies the summit of a magnificent rock overhanging Loch Ness, in Stratherrick. Naos, too, has given his name to rocks, and woods, and lakes ranging from Ayrshire to Inverness-shire, but the most signal of all is the great lake which fills the eastern portion of the Caledonian valley, Loch Ness. The old Statistical Account of Inverness states that the name of this lake was understood to be derived from some mythical person among the old Celts; and there can be little doubt that the person was Naos. The lake of Naos (_Naise_ in the genitive), lies below, and overhanging it is the Tower of Deirdre. The propinquity is natural, and the fact is evidence of the great antiquity of the tale.

There are other MSS. of high antiquity in existence said to be Scotch; but it is sufficient to refer for an account of these to the Appendix to the Report of the Highland Society on the Poems of Ossian, an account written by an admirable Celtic scholar, Dr Donald Smith, the brother of Dr John Smith of Campbeltown, so distinguished in the same field.

The next relic of Celtic literature to which we refer is

THE BOOK OF DEER.

This is a vellum MS. of eighty-six folios, about six inches long by three broad, discovered in the University Library of Cambridge, by Mr Bradshaw, the librarian of the University. It had belonged to a distinguished collector of books, Bishop Moore of Norwich, and afterwards of Ely, whose library was presented to the University more than a century ago. The chief portion of the book is in Latin, and is said to be as old as the 9th century. This portion contains the Gospel of St John, and portions of the other three Gospels. The MS. also contains part of an Office for the visitation of the sick, and the Apostles’ Creed. There is much interest in this portion of the book as indicative of the state of learning in the Celtic Church at the time. It shows that the ecclesiastics of that Church kept pace with the age in which they lived, that they knew their Bible, and could both write and read in Latin. The MS. belonged to a Culdee establishment, and is therefore a memorial of the ancient Celtic Church. It is a pity that we possess so few memorials of that Church, convinced as we are that, did we know the truth, many of the statements made regarding it by men of a different age, and belonging to a differently constituted ecclesiastical system, would be found to be unsupported by the evidence. It is strange that if the Culdee establishments were what many modern writers make them to have been, they should have had so many tokens of their popularity as this volume exhibits; and we know well that that Church did not fall before the assaults of a hostile population, but before those of a hostile king.

But the more interesting portion of the _Book of Deer_, in connection with our inquiry, will be found in the Gaelic entries on the margin and in the vacant spaces of the volume. These have all been given to the world in the recent publication of portions of the book by the Spalding Club, under the editorship of Dr John Stuart. Celtic scholars are deeply indebted to the Spalding Club for this admirable publication, and although many of them will differ from the editor in some of the views which he gives in his accompanying disquisitions, and even in some of the readings of the Gaelic, they cannot but feel indebted to him for the style in which he has furnished them with the original, for it is really so, in the plates which the volume contains. On these every man can comment for himself and form his own inferences. We have given ours in this MS.

THE LEGEND OF DEER.

Columcille acusdrostán mac cosgreg adálta tangator áhi marroalseg día doíb goníc abbordobóir acusbéde cruthnec robomormær bûchan aragínn acusessé rothídnaíg dóib ingathráig sáin insaere gobraíth ómormaer acusóthóséc. tangator asááthle sen incathráig ele acusdoráten ricolumcille sì iàrfallán dórath dé acusdorodloeg arinmormær i bédé gondas tabràd dó acusníthárat acusrogab mac dó galár iarnéré naglerêc acusrobomaréb act mádbec iarsén dochuíd inmormaer dattác naglerec gondendæs ernaede les inmac gondisád slánté dó acusdórat inedbaírt doíb uácloic intiprat goníce chlóic petti mic garnáit doronsat innernaede acustanic slante dó; larsén dorat collumcille dódrostan inchadráig sén acusrosbenact acusforacaib imbrether gebe tisaid ris nabad blienec buadacc tangator deara drostán arscartháin fri collumcille rolaboir columcille bedeár áním ó húnn ímácé.

_English Translation._

Columcille and Drostan, son of Cosgreg, his pupil, came from I as God revealed to them to Aberdour, and Bede the Pict was Mormaor of Buchan before them, and it was he who gifted to them that town in freedom for ever from mormaor and toiseach. After that they came to another town, and it pleased Columcille, for it was full of the grace of God, and he asked it of the Mormaor, that is Bede, that he would give it to him, and he would not give it, and a son of his took a sickness after refusing the clerics, and he was dead but a little. After that the Mormaor went to entreat of the clerics that they would make prayer for the son that health might come to him, and he gave as an offering to them from Cloch an tiprat (the stone of the well) as far as Cloch Pit mac Garnad (the stone of Pitmacgarnad). They made the prayer, and health came to him. After that Collumcille gave that town to Drostan, and he blessed it, and left the word, Whosoever comes against it, let him not be long-lived or successful. Drostan’s tears came (Deara) on separating from Collumcille. Collumcille said, Let Deer (Tear) be its name from hence forward.

Such is the legend of the foundation of the old monastery of Deer, as preserved in this book, and written probably in the twelfth century. It was in all probability handed down from the close of the sixth or from a later period, but it must not be forgotten that a period of six hundred years had elapsed between the events here recorded and the record itself as it appears. It is hard to say whether Columba ever made this expedition to Buchan, or whether Drostan, whose name is in all likelihood British, lived in the time of Columba. The Aberdeen Breviary makes him nephew of the saint, but there is no mention of him in this or any other connection by early ecclesiastical writers, and there is every reason to believe that he belonged to a later period. It was of some consequence at this time to connect any such establishment as that at Deer with the name of Columba. There is nothing improbable in its having been founded by Drostan.

It is interesting to observe several things which are brought to light by this legend of the twelfth century. It teaches us what the men of the period believed regarding the sixth. The ecclesiastics of Deer believed that their own institution had been founded so early as the sixth century, and clearly that they were the successors of the founders. If this be true, gospel light shone among the Picts of Buchan almost as soon as among the people of Iona. It has been maintained that previous to Columba’s coming to Scotland the country had felt powerfully the influence of Christianity,[96] and the legend of Deer would seem to corroborate the statement. From the palace of Brude the king, in the neighbourhood of Inverness, on to the dwelling of the Mormaor, or Governor of Buchan, Christianity occupied the country so early as the age of Columba. But this is a legend, and must not be made more of than it is worth. Then this legend gives us some view of the civil policy of the sixth century, as the men of the twelfth viewed it. The chief governor of Buchan was Bede, the same name with that of the venerable Northumbrian historian of the eighth century. He is simply designated as Cruthnec (Cruithneach) or the Pict. Was this because there were other inhabitants in the country besides Picts at the time, or because they were Picts in contrast with the people of that day? The probability is, that these writers of the twelfth century designated Bede as a Pict, in contradistinction to themselves, who were probably of Scotic origin. Then the names in this document are of interest. Besides that of Bede, we have Drostan and Cosgreg, his father, and Garnaid. Bede, Drostan, Cosgreg, and Garnaid, are names not known in the Gaelic nomenclature of Scotland or Ireland. And there are names of places, Aberdobhoir, known as Aberdour to this day, Buchan also in daily use, Cloch in tiprat not known now, and Pit mac garnaid also become obsolete. Aberdobhoir (Aberdwfr) is purely a British name; Buchan, derived from the British _Bwch_, a cow, is also British; Pit mac garnaid, with the exception of the Mac, is not Gaelic, so that the only Gaelic name in the legend is Cloch in tiprat, a merely descriptive term. This goes far to show what the character of the early topography of Scotland really is.

Then there is light thrown upon the civil arrangements of the Celtic state. We read nothing of chiefs and clans, but we have Mormaors (great officers), and Toiseachs (leaders), the next officer in point of rank, understood to be connected with the military arrangements of the country, the one being the head of the civil and the other of the military organisation. At this time there was a Celtic kingdom in Scotland, with a well established and well organised government, entirely different from what appears afterwards under the feudal system of the Anglo-Saxons, when the people became divided into clans, each under their separate chiefs, waging perpetual war with each other. Of all this the Book of Deer cannot and does not speak authoritatively, but it indicates the belief of the twelfth century with regard to the state of the sixth.

The farther Gaelic contents of the Book of Deer are notices of grants of land conferred by the friends of the institution. None of these are real charters, but the age of charters had come, and it was important that persons holding lands should have some formal title to them. Hence the notices of grants inscribed on the margin of this book, all without date, save that there is a copy of a Latin charter of David I., who began his reign in the year 1124.

The _memoranda_ of grants to the monastery are in one case headed with the following blessing--_Acus bennact inchomded arcecmormar acusarcectosech chomallfas acusdansil daneis_. “And the blessing of the one God on every governor and every leader who keeps this, and to their seed afterwards.” The first grant recorded follows immediately after the legend given above. It narrates that Comgeall mac eda gave from Orti to Furene to Columba and to Drostan; that Moridach M’Morcunn gave Pit mac Garnait and Achad toche temni, the former being Mormaor and the latter Toiseach. Matain M’Caerill gave a Mormaor’s share in Altin (not Altere, as in the Spalding Club’s edition), and Culn (not Culii) M’Batin gave the share of a Toiseach. Domnall M’Giric and Maelbrigte M’Cathail gave Pett in muilenn to Drostan. Cathal M’Morcunt gave Achad naglerech to Drostan. Domnall M’Ruadri and Malcolum M’Culeon gave Bidbin to God and to Drostan. Malcolum M’Cinatha (Malcolm the Second) gave a king’s share in Bidbin and in Pett M’Gobroig, and two davachs above Rosabard. Malcolum M’Mailbrigte gave the Delerc. Malsnecte M’Luloig gave Pett Malduib to Drostan. Domnall M’Meic Dubhacin sacrificed every offering to Drostan. Cathal sacrificed in the same manner his Toiseach’s share, and gave the food of a hundred every Christmas, and every Pasch to God and to Drostan. Kenneth Mac meic Dobarcon and Cathal gave Alterin alla from Te (Tigh) na Camon as far as the birch tree between the two Alterins. Domnall and Cathal gave Etdanin to God and to Drostan. Cainneach and Domnall and Cathal sacrificed all these offerings to God and to Drostan from beginning to end free, from Mormaors and from Toiseachs to the day of judgment.

It will be observed that some of the words in this translation are different from those given in the edition of the Spalding Club. Some of the readings in that edition, notwithstanding its general accuracy, are doubtful. In the case of _uethe na camone_, unless the _ue_ is understood as standing for _from_, there is no starting point at all in the passage describing the grant. Besides, we read Altin allend, as the name of Altin or Alterin in another grant. This seems to have escaped the notice of the learned translator.

These grants are of interest for various reasons. We have first of all the names of the grantees and others, as the names common during the twelfth and previous centuries, for these grants go back to a period earlier than the reign of Malcolm the Second, when the first change began to take place in the old Celtic system of polity. We have such names as _Comgeall Mac Eda_, probably _Mac Aoidh_, or, as spelt now in English, Mackay; _Moridach M’Morcunn_ (_Morgan_), or, as now spelt, M’Morran; _Matain M’Caerill_, Matthew M’Kerroll; _Culn M’Batin_, Colin M’Bean; _Domhnall M’Girig_, Donald M’Erig (Gregor or Eric?); _Malbrigte M’Cathail_, Gilbert M’Kail; _Cathal M’Morcunt_, Cathal M’Morran; _Domhnall M’Ruadri_, Donald M’Rory; _Malcolum M’Culeon_, Malcolm M’Colin; _Malcolum M’Cinnatha_, Malcolm M’Kenneth, now M’Kenzie. This was king Malcolm the Second, whose Celtic designation is of the same character with that of the other parties in the notice. _Malcolum M’Mailbrigte_, Malcolm M’Malbride; the nearest approach to the latter name in present use is Gilbert. Malsnecte M’Luloig, _Malsnechta M’Lulaich_. The former of these names is obsolete, but M’Lullich is known as a surname to this day. Domnall M’Meic Dubhacin (not Dubbacin), the latter name not known now. The name _Dobharcon_ is the genitive of _Dobharcu_, an otter. The names of animals were frequently applied to men at the time among the Celts. The father of King Brude was _Mialchu_, a greyhound. _Loilgheach_ (Lulach), a man’s name, is in reality a milch cow.

The next set of grants entered on the margin of this remarkable record are as follows:--Donchad M’Meic Bead mec Hidid (probably the same with Eda, and therefore Aoidh), gave Acchad Madchor to Christ and to Drostan and to Columcille; Malechi and Comgell and Gillecriosd M’Fingun witnesses, and Malcoluim M’Molini. Cormac M’Cennedig gave as far as Scali merlec. Comgell M’Caennaig, the Toiseach of Clan Canan, gave to Christ and to Drostan and to Columcille as far as the Gortlie mor, at the part nearest to Aldin Alenn, from Dubuci to Lurchara, both hill and field free from Toiseachs for ever, and a blessing on those who observe, and a curse on those who oppose this.

The names here are different from those in the former entry, with few exceptions. They are Duncan, son of Macbeth, son of Hugh or Ay, Malachi, Comgall, Gilchrist M’Kinnon, and Malcolm M’Millan, Comgall M’Caennaig (M’Coinnich or M’Kenzie?) In this entry we have the place which is read Altere and Alterin by Mr Whitley Stokes. It is here entered as Aldin Alenn, as it is in a former grant entered as _Altin_. In no case is the _er_ written in full, so that Alterin is a guess. But there is no doubt that _Aldin Alenn_ and _Alterin alla_ are the same place. If it be _Alterin_ the _Alla_ may mean rough, stony, as opposed to a more level and smooth place of the same name. It will be observed that in this entry the name of a clan appears _Clande Canan_ (_Clann Chanain_). There was such a clan in Argyleshire who were treasurers of the Argyle family, and derived their name from the Gaelic _Càin_, a Tax. It is not improbable that the name in Buchan might have been applied to a family of hereditary tax-gatherers.

The next series of grants entered on the margin of the “Book of Deer” are as follows:--Colbain Mormaor of Buchan, and Eva, daughter of Gartnait, his wife, and Donnalic M’Sithig, the Toiseach of Clenni Morgainn, sacrificed all the offerings to God and to Drostan, and to Columcille, and to Peter the Apostle, from all the exactions made on a portion of four _davachs_, from the high monasteries of Scotland generally and the high churches. The witnesses are Brocein and Cormac, Abbot of Turbruaid, and Morgann M’Donnchaid, and Gilli Petair M’Donnchaid, and Malæchin, and the two M’Matni, and the chief men of Buchan, all as witnesses in Elain (Ellon).

The names in this entry are Colban, the mormaor, a name obsolete now--although it would seem to appear in M’Cubbin--Eva, and Gartnait. The former seems to have been the Gaelic form of Eve, and the latter, the name of Eva’s father, is gone out of use, unless it appear in M’Carthy--Donnalic (it is Donnachac, as transcribed in the edition of the Spalding Club), M’Sithig or Donnalic M’Keich, the surname well known still in the Highlands--_Brocein_, the little badger, _Cormac_, _Morgan_, _Gillepedair_, _Malæchin_, the servant of Eachainn or Hector, and _M’Matni_ or M’Mahon, the English Matheson. There is another instance here of a clan, the clan Morgan.

The most of these names must be understood merely as patronymic, the son called, according to the Celtic custom, after the name of his father. There is no reason to think that these were clan names in the usual sense. King Malcolm II. is called _Malcolum M’Cinnatha_, or Malcolm the son of Kenneth, but it would be sufficiently absurd to conclude that Malcolm was a Mackenzie. And yet there are two clans referred to in these remarkable records, the clan Canan and the clan Morgan. There is no reason to believe that either the Buchanans of Stirlingshire or of Argyleshire had any connection with the tribe of Canan mentioned here; but it is possible that the Mackays of the Reay country, whose ancient name was Clan Morgan, may have derived their origin from Buchan. It is interesting to observe that the Toiseachs are associated with these clans, _Comgell Mac Caennaig_ being called the _Toiseach_ of Clan Canan, and _Donnalic M’Sithig_ the _Toiseach_ of Clan Morgan, although neither of the men are designated by the clan name. It would seem that under the _Mormaors_ the family system existed and was acknowledged, the _Mormaor_ being the representative of the king, and the _Toiseach_ the head of the sept, who led his followers to battle when called upon to do so. At the same time the clan system would seem to have been in an entirely different condition from that to which it attained after the introduction of the feudal system, when the chiefs for the first time got feudal titles to their lands.

Many other inferences might be made from these interesting records. It is enough, however, to say that they prove beyond a question the existence of a literary culture and a social organisation among the ancient Celts for which they do not always get credit; and if such a book existed at Deer, what reason is there to doubt that similar books were numerously dispersed over the other ecclesiastical institutions of the country?

There is one curious entry towards the close of the MS.--“_Forchubus caichduini imbia arrath in lebran colli. aratardda bendacht foranmain in truagan rodscribai_ ... 7,” which is thus translated by Mr Whitley Stokes:--“Be it on the conscience of every one in whom shall be for grace the booklet with splendour: that he give a blessing on the soul of the wretchock who wrote it.”

This is probably the true meaning of the Gaelic. But the original might be rendered in English by the following translation:--“Let it be on the conscience of each man in whom shall be for good fortune the booklet with colour, that he give a blessing on the soul of the poor one who wrote it.” _Rath_ is good fortune, and _li_ is colour, referring probably to the coloured portions of the writing, and _Truaghan_ is the Gaelic synonym of the “miserus” or “miserimus” of the old Celtic church. Mr Whitley Stokes, as quoted by Dr Stuart, says (p. lx), “In point of language this is identical with the oldest Irish glosses in Zeuss’ _Grammatica Celtica_.”

THE ALBANIC DUAN.

This relic of Celtic literature might have been taken as chronologically preceding the Book of Deer, but while portions of the latter are looked upon as having been written previous to the ninth century, the former, so far as we know, is of the age of Malcolm III. It is said to have been sung by the Gaelic bard of the royal house at the coronation of Malcolm. It is transcribed here as it appears in the _Chronicles of the Picts and Scots_, where it is given as copied from the M’Firbis MS. in the Royal Irish Academy:--

A eolcha Alban uile,
A shluagh feuta foltbhuidhe,
Cia ceud ghabhail, au còl duibh,
Ro ghabhasdair Albanbruigh.

Albanus ro ghabh, lià a shlogh,
Mac sen oirderc Isicon,
Brathair is Briutus gan brath,
O raitear Alba eathrach.

Ro ionnarb a brathair bras,
Briutus tar muir n-Icht-n-amhnas,
Ro gabh Briutus Albain ain,
Go rinn fhiadhnach Fotudain.

Fota iar m-Briutus m-blaith, m-bil,
Ro ghabhsad Clanna Nemhidh,
Erglan iar teacht as a loing,
Do aithle thoghla thuir Conuing.

Cruithnigh ros gabhsad iarttain,
Tar ttiachtain a h-Erean-mhuigh,
.X. righ tri fichid righ ran,
Gabhsad diobh an Cruithean-chlar.

Cathluan an ced righ diobh-soin,
Aisnedhfead daoibh go cumair,
Rob e an righ degheanach dhibh
An cur calma Cusaintin.

Clanna Eathach ina n-diaigh,
Gabhsad Albain iar n-airdghliaidh,
Clanna Conaire an chaomhfhir,
Toghaidhe na treun Ghaoidhil.

Tri mec Erc mec Eachdach ait,
Triar fuair beannachtair Patraice,
Ghabhsad Albain, ard a n-gus,
Loarn, Fearghus, is Aonghus.

Dech m-bliadhna Loarn, ler bladh,
I fflaitheas Oirir Alban,
Tar es Loarn fhel go n-gus,
Seacht m-bliadhna ficheat Fearghus.

Domhangart mac d’Fheargus ard,
Aireamh cuig m bliadhan m-biothgarg,
A .XXXIIII. gan troid,
Do Comghall mac Domhangoirt.

Da bhliadhan Conaing gan tair,
Tar es Comhghaill do Gobhran,
Ti bliadhna fo cuig gan roinn
Ba ri Conall mac Comhghoill.

Cethre bliadhna ficheat tall
Ba ri Aodhan na n-iol-rann,
Dech m-bliadhna fo seacht seol n-gle,
I fflaitheas Eathach buidhe.

Connchadh Cearr raithe, rel bladh,
A .XVI. dia mac Fearchar,
Tar es Ferchair, feaghaidh rainn,
.XIIII. bliadhna Domhnaill.

Tar es Domhnaill bric na m-bla,
Conall, Dunghall .X. m-bliadhna,
.XIII. bliadhna Domhnaill duinn
Tar es Dunghail is Chonail.

Maolduin mac Conaill na cereach
A .XVII. do go dlightheach,
Fearchair fadd, feagha leat,
Do chaith bliadhain thar .XX.

Da bliadhain Eachdach na-n-each,
Ro ba calma an ri rightheach,
Aoin bhliadhain ba flaith iarttain,
Ainceallach maith mac Fearchair.

Seachd m-bliadhna Dunghail dein,
Acus a ceither do Ailpen,
Tri bliadhna Muireadhiogh mhaith,
.XXX. do Aodh na ardfhlaith.

A ceathair ficheat, nir fhann,
Do bhliadhnaibh do chaith Domhnall,
Da bhliadhain Conaill, cem n-gle,
Is a ceathair Chonall ele.

Naoi m-bliadhna Cusaintin chain,
A naoi Aongusa ar Albain,
Cethre bliadhna Aodha ain,
Is a tri deng Eoghanain.

Triocha bliadhain Cionaoith chruaidh,
A ceathair Domhnall drechruaidh,
.XXX. bliadhain co na bhrigh,
Don churadh do Cusaintin.

Da bhliadhain, ba daor a dath,
Da brathair do Aodh fhionnscothach,
Domhnall mac Cusaintin chain,
Ro chaith bliadhain fa cheathair.

Cusaintin ba calma a ghleac,
Ro chaith a se is da fhicheat,
Maolcoluim cethre bliadhna,
Iondolbh a h-ocht airdriagla.

Seacht m-bliadhna Dubhod der.
Acus a ceathair Cuilen,
A .XXVII, os gach cloinn
Do Cionaoth mac Maolcholuim.

Seacht m-bliadhna Cusaintin cluin
Acus a ceathair Macdhuibh
Triochadh bliadhain, breacaid rainn
Ba ri Monaidh Maolcoluim.

Se bliadhna Donnchaid glain gaoith
.XVII. bliadhna mac Fionnlaoich
Tar es Mecbeathaidh go m-blaidh
.vii mis i fflaithios Lughlaigh.

Maolcholuim anosa as ri,
Mac Donnchaidh dhata dhrechbhi,
A re nocha n-fidir neach,
Acht an t-eolach as eolach
A eolcha.

Da righ for chaogad, cluine,
Go mac Donnchaidh drech ruire,
Do shiol Erc ardghlain anoir,
Gabhsad Albain, a eolaigh.

_English Translation._

Ye learned of Alban altogether
Ye people shy, yellow-haired
Which was the first invasion, do ye know
That took the land of Alban?

Albanus took it, active his men,
That famous son of Isacon,
The brother of Briutus without guile
From whom Alba of the ships is said.

Briutus banished his bold brother
Over the stormy sea of Icht.
Briutus took the beautiful Alban
To the tempestuous promontory of Fotudan.

Long after Briutus the noble, the good,
The race of Neimhidh took it,
Erglan, after coming out of his ship
After the destruction of the tower of Conaing.

The Cruithne took it after that
On coming out of Erin of the plain,
Seventy noble kings of them
Took the Cruithnean plain.

Cathluan was the first king of them,
I tell it you in order,
The last king of them was
The brave hero Constantine.

The children of Eochy after them
Seized Alban after a great fight,
The children of Conair, the gentle man,
The choice of the brave Gael.

Three sons of Erc the son of Eochy the joyous,
Three who got the blessing of Patrick,
Seized Alban; great was their courage,
Lorn, Fergus, and Angus.

Ten years to Lorn, by which was renown,
In the sovereignty of Oirir Alban,
After Lorn the generous and strong
Seven and twenty years to Fergus.

Domangart, son of the great Fergus,
Had the number of five terrible years.
Twenty-four years without a fight
Were to Comghall son of Domangart.

Two years of success without contempt
After Comghall to Gobhran.
Three years with five without division
Was king Conall son of Comghall.

Four and twenty peaceful years
Was king Aodhan of many songs.
Ten years with seven, a true tale,
In sovereignty Eochy buy.

Connchadh Cearr a quarter, star of renown,
Sixteen years to his son Ferchar,
After Ferchar, see the poems,
Thirteen years to Donald.

After Donald breac of the shouts,
Was Conall, Dungal ten years,
Thirteen years Donald Donn
After Dungal and Conall.

Maolduin, son of Conall of spoils,
Seventeen years to him rightfully.
Ferchar fadd, see you it
Spent one year over twenty.

Two years was Eochy of steeds,
Bold was the king of palaces.
One year was king after that
Aincellach the good, son of Ferchar.

Seven years was Dungal the impetuous,
And four to Ailpin.
Three years Murdoch the good,
Thirty to Aodh as high chief.

Eighty, not feeble
Years did Donald spend.
Two years Conall, a noble course,
And four another Conall.

Nine years Constantine the mild,
Nine Angus over Alban,
Four years the excellent Aodh,
And thirteen Eoghanan.

Thirty years Kenneth the hardy,
Four Donald of ruddy face,
Thirty years with effect
To the hero, to Constantine.

Two years, sad their complexion,
To his brother Aodh the youthfully fair,
Donald, son of Constantine the mild,
Spent a year above four.

Constantine, bold was his conflict
Spent forty and six.
Malcolm four years.
Indulf eight in high sovereignty.

Seven years Dubhoda the impetuous,
And four Cuilen.
And twenty-seven over all the tribes
To Kenneth the son of Malcolm.

Seven years Constantine, listen,
And four to Macduff,
Thirty years, the verses mark it,
Was king of Monaidh, Malcolm.

Six years was Duncan of pure wisdom,
Seventeen years the son of Finlay,
After him Macbeth with renown,
Seven months in sovereignty Lulach.

Malcolm is now the king,
Son of Duncan the yellow-coloured,
His time knoweth no one
But the knowing one who is knowing,
Ye learned.

Two kings over fifty, listen,
To the son of Duncan of coloured face,
Of the seed of Erc the noble, in the east,
Possessed Alban, ye learned.

Although this poem is given in Gaelic as it appears in the _Chronicles of the Picts and Scots_,[97] the English translation differs in some places. At p. 60 _Tri bliadhna fo cuig_[98] is translated by Mr Skene “three years five times,” while in the same page _dech m-bliadhna fo seacht_ is translated “ten years and seven.” There is no apparent ground for such a distinction. So in p. 61 _ceathar ficheat_, eighty, is translated “four and twenty,” which is at variance with the usus of the Gaelic language. The above translation seems the true one.

This poem is manifestly of great antiquity and of deep historical interest. Of the authorship little is known. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin.[99] This is possible, for judging by the synchronisms of Flann Mainistreach, the Irish seanachies were well informed on Scottish matters. But whether Irish or not, the whole poem refers to Scotland, and is entitled to a place among the Celtic remains of the country. It is our oldest and most authentic record of the Scottish kings, and in this respect commended itself to the regard of Pinkerton, who was no friend of anything that was creditable to the Celts or helped to establish their claims.

MUIREADHACH ALBANNACH.

The name of Muireadhach Albannach is well known among the literary traditions of Celtic Scotland. In a curious genealogy by Lachlan Mac Mhuireadhaich or Vuirich, usually called Lachlan M’Pherson, given in the Report of the Highland Society of Scotland on Ossian,[100] the said Lachlan traces his own genealogy back through eighteen generations to this Muireadhach or Murdoch of Scotland, and states that his ancestors were bards to M’Donald of Clanronald during the period. The original Murdoch was an ecclesiastic, and has probably given their name to the whole M’Pherson clan. There is a curious poetical dialogue given in the Dean of Lismore’s Book between him and Cathal Cròdhearg, King of Connaught, who flourished in the close of the 12th century, upon their entering at the same time on a monastic life. The poem would seem to show Murdoch to have been a man of high birth, while his own compositions are evidence both of his religious earnestness and his poetical talent. Until the publication of the Dean of Lismore’s book, it was not known that there were any remains of his compositions in existence, but that collection contains several, all on religious subjects. The following is a specimen of his composition, and of the Gaelic poetry of the 12th or 13th century:--

Mithich domh triall gu tigh Pharais,
’N uair a’ ghuin gun e soirbh.
Cosnaim an tigh treun gun choire,
Gun sgeul aig neach ’eil oirnn.
Dean do sriuth ri do shagairt
’S coir cuimhne ach gu dlù umad ole.
Na beir do thigh righ gun agh
Sgeul a’s priomh ri agradh ort.
Na dean folchainn a’d pheacadh,
Ge grain ri innseadh a h-ole;
Leigeadh de’d chuid an cleith diomhar,
Mur be angair a gabhail ort.
Dean do shith ris an luchd-dreuchd,
Ge dona, ge anmhuinn le’d chor,
Sguir ri’d lochd, do ghul dean domhain,
Mu’m bi olc ri fhaighinn ort.
Mairg a threigeadh tigh an Ardrigh,
Aig ghràdh peacaidh, turagh an ni,
An t-olc ni duine gu diomhair
Iomadh an sin fiachan mu’n ghniomh.
Aig so searmoin do shiol an Adhaimh,
Mar shaoilim nach bheil se an bhreug,
Fulang a bhais seal gu seachainn
An fear nach domh gu’n teid.
Fhir a cheannaich siol an Adhaimh
D’fhuil, a cholla, ’us da chridhe,
Air a reir gu’n deanadh sealga,
Ger ge dian ri ’m pheacadh mi.

_English Translation._

’Tis time for me to go to the house of Paradise
While this wound is not easily borne,
Let me win this house, famous, faultless,
While others can tell nought else of us.
Confess thyself now to thy priest,
Remember clearly all thy sins;
Carry not to the house of the spotless King
Aught that may thee expose to charge.
Conceal not any of thy sins
However hateful its evil to tell;
Confess what has been done in secret,
Lest thou expose thyself to wrath;
Make thy peace now with the clergy
That thou mayst be safe as to thy state;
Give up thy sin, deeply repent,
Lest its guilt be found in thee.
Woe to him forsook the great King’s house
For love of sin, sad is the deed;
The sin a man commits in secret
Much is the debt his sin incurs.
This is a sermon for Adam’s race,
I think I’ve nothing said that’s false,
Though men may death for a time avoid,
’Tis true they can’t at length escape.
Thou who hast purchased Adam’s race,
Their blood, their body, and their heart,
The things we cherish thou dost assail
However I may sin pursue[101]

It is not necessary to give farther specimens of Murdoch of Scotland’s poetry here, as those existing are very similar to the above; but several specimens will be found in the Dean of Lismore’s Book, from which the above is taken. The original has been difficult to read, and in consequence to render accurately, but there is little doubt that the real meaning of the poem is given. If the Book of Deer be a specimen of the Gaelic at the close of the 12th century in the east of Scotland, the above is a specimen of the same language from the west, probably from the Hebrides.

GAELIC CHARTER.

In 1408, Donald, Lord of the Isles, the hero of Harlaw, made a grant of lands in Islay to Brian Vicar Mackay, one of the old Mackays of the island. The charter conveying these lands still exists, and is written in the Gaelic language. As it is now published by the Record Commission, it is not necessary to give it here, but it is a document of much interest, written by Fergus M’Beth or Beaton, one of the famous Beatons who were physicians to the Lord of the Isles, and signed with the holograph of the great island chief himself. The lands conveyed are in the eastern part of the island, north of the Mull of Oa, and embrace such well-known places as Baile-Vicar, Cornabus, Tocamol, Cracobus, &c. The style of the charter is that of the usual feudal charters written in Latin, but the remarkable thing is to find a document of the kind written in Gaelic at a time when such a thing was almost unknown in the Saxon dialects of either Scotland or England.

MANUSCRIPTS OF THE 15TH CENTURY.

The Highlands seem to have had a large number of men of letters during the 15th century, and most of our existing manuscript materials seem to be of that age. These materials are of various kinds. They consist of short theological treatises, with traditional anecdotes of saints and others which seem to have been prevalent in the church at the time. One of the theological treatises now in the library of the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh, has reference to the Sacrament of the Supper, and maintains the purely Protestant doctrine that the sacrament can only profit those who receive it in faith. There are anecdotes of priests, often called by the Gaelic name of _maighistir_, which would indicate that the priests of the period had wives, and that the doctrine of celibacy had not then entered the Scottish church.

Some of the manuscripts are genealogical, and as such are of much value to the Scottish historian. They show what the ideas of the _seanachies_ of the thirteenth century were regarding the origin of the Highland clans. Some of these genealogical records have been published by the Iona Club, and are in this way accessible to the general reader. They are indicative of the care taken at the period to preserve memorials of family history, and were of value not only as conducing to the gratification of family pride, but to the preservation of family property, inasmuch as these were the only means in accordance with which succession to property could be determined. The consequence is, that they are not always very reliable, favour being apt to bias the recorder on one side, just as enmity and ill-will were apt to bias him on the other. It is remarkable how ready the _seanachy_ of a hostile clan was to proclaim the line of the rival race illegitimate. This affects the value of these records, but they are valuable notwithstanding, and are to a considerable extent reliable, especially within the period where authentic information could be obtained by the writer.

A portion of these manuscripts deals with medical and metaphysical subjects, the two being often combined. We are hardly prepared to learn to how great an extent these subjects were studied at an early period in the Highlands. We are apt to think that the region was a barbarous one without either art or science. A sight of the sculptures which distinguished the 14th and 15th centuries is prone to remove this impression. We find a style of sculpture still remaining in ancient crosses and gravestones that is characteristic of the Highlands; elaborate ornaments of a distinct character, rich and well executed tracery, figures well designed and finished. Such sculptures, following upon those of the prehistoric period found still within the ancient Pictish territory, exist chiefly throughout the West Highlands, and indicate that one art, at least, of native growth, distinguished the Gaelic Celts of the Middle Ages.