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Part I
A Sketch of the
Moral and Physical Character, and of the Institutions and Customs of the
Inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland
Sketches of the Highlanders
Section I.
Geographical Situation and Extent of the Highlands of Scotland -
Inhabitants - Character - Antiquities.
The tract of country known
by the name of the Highlands of Scotland, constitutes the northern portion
of Great Britain. Its maritime outline is bold, rocky, and, in many
places, deeply indented by bays and arms of the sea. The northern and
western coasts are fringed with groups or clusters of islands, while the
eastern and southern boundaries are distinguished from that part of
Scotland denominated the Lowlands, by the strong and peculiar features
impressed on them by the hand of Nature. A range of mountains known in
Roman history by the name of Mons Grampius, at a later period called
Gransbane, [Both derived from the Gaelic garu-bein, the rugged mountains]
and now the Grampians, constitutes the line of demarcation between these
two distinct parts of the kingdom. Within this range, as every classical
reader knows, is the scene of that noble stand for liberty and
independence, made by the Caledonians against the invasion of the Romans.
The physical structure of the Grampian boundary is as remarkable as the
general direction is striking, regular, and continuous. It forms, as it
were, a lofty and shattered rampart, commencing north of the river Don, in
the county of Aberdeen—extending a-cross the kingdom in a diagonal
direction, till it terminates in the south-west, at Ardmore, in the county
of Dumbarton—and presenting to the Lowlands throughout, a front, bold,
rocky, and precipitous. The Grampian range consists of rocks of primitive
formation. The front towards the south and east presents, in many places,
a species of breccia. In the centre, and following the line of the range,
is a remarkable bed of valuable limestone, [This great bed ox limestone is
first seen in Aberdeenshire. It sometimes rises to the surface for many
miles, then sinks and disappears, following, as it were the undulated and
irregular direction of the surface of the mountainous country through
which it passes. It runs from Brae-Mar to Athole, through the great
forest, crossing the river Garry at Blair Castle, and the Tummel near the
foot of Shichallain; and, taking a south-westerly direction, by Garth,
Fortingall, and Breadalbane, passes through the centre of Lochtay, and the
west end of Lochearn, and thence stretches through Monteith and
Dumbartonshire, till it is lost in the Atlantic, north of the Clyde.] with
many strata of marble [This marble takes a fine polish. The prevailing
colours are blue, green and brown, intermixed with streaks of pure white.
In Glentilt, within the forest of Athole, a quarry of green marble has
lately been opened, and wrought to advantage.] and slate. In the districts
of Fortingall, Glen-lyon, and Strathfillan, are found quantities of lead
and silver ore; and over the whole extent are numerous detached masses of
red and blue granite, garnets, amethysts, rock crystals, and pebbles of
great variety and brilliancy.
The continuation of this
great chain, is broken by straths and glens, formed originally by the
rivers and torrents to which they now afford a passage. The principal
straths are on the rivers Leven, Earn, Dee and Don. But besides these
great straths, there are many other glens and valleys, the lower entrances
of which are so rugged and contracted, as to have been almost impassable
till opened by art. These are known by the name of Passes, and are
situated both on the verge of the outward line, and in the interior of the
range. The most remarkable are Bealmacha upon Lochlomond, Aberfoyle and
Leny in Monteith, the Pass of Glen-almond above Crieff, the entrance into
Athole near Dun-keld, and those formed by the rivers Ardle, Islay, and
South and North Esk. By the excellent roads now constructed along their
sides, these passes, formerly so difficult to penetrate, furnish the
easiest entrance for horses, and the only one for carriages. Immediately
within the external boundary, are also many strong and defensible passes,
such as Kil-licrankie, and the entrances into Glenlyon, Glenlochy,
Glen-ogle, &c. [An apology may be necessary for stating facts so generally
known. But these boundaries formed one of the principal causes which
preserved the Highlanders a distinct race from the inhabitants of the
plains. For seven centuries, Birnam Hill, and the rocks westward of
Dungarth Hill, at the entrance into Athole, formed the boundary between
the Lowlands and Highlands, and between the Saxon and Gaelic languages. On
the south and east of these boundaries, breeches are worn, and the Scotch
Lowland dialect spoken, with as broad an accent as in Mid-Lothian. On the
north and west are found the Gaelic, the kilt, and the plaid, with all the
peculiarities of the Highland character. The Gaelic is the dialect in
common use among the people on the Highland side of the boundary. This
applies to the whole range of the Grampians : for example, at General
Campbell's gate, at Monzie, nothing but Scotch is spoken, while at less
than a mile distant, on the hill to the northward, we meet with the
Gaelic.]
On the line of the
Grampians, are many insulated mountains of considerable altitude, such as
Benlomond, Benlawers, Shichallain, &c. The views of the Highlands obtained
on a clear day from the summits of these mountains, are peculiarly
imposing and magnificent, [With a good glass Arthur's Seat and the higher
grounds in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh arc clearly distinguishable.]
but when covered with clouds, or skirted with mists, their summits are
often scarcely distinguishable from the vapours which envelope them; while
their bleak and barren aspect, and the deep rocky channels with which they
are furrowed, testify the violence of the tempests which have swept over
them. Towards their pointed summits there is little vegetative mould; but
lower down we meet with a thin covering of stunted heath, inhabited only
by birds of prey, and by the white hare and ptarmigan. Still farther down
is the region of the mountain deer and muirfowl, producing more luxuriant
heath intermixed with nourishing pasture, and supporting numerous flocks
of sheep. Towards the base are many romantic glens, watered by mountain
streams, or diversified by winding lakes, and in some places beautifully
wooded, and capable of producing various kinds of grain. Many of these
glens contain a crowded population, and an unexpected number of flocks and
herds, the principal source of the riches of the country.
The space which the Gaelic
population occupied within the mountains, includes the counties of
Sutherland, Caithness, Ross, Inverness, Cromarty, Nairn, Argyle, Bute, the
Hebrides, and part of the counties of Moray, Banff, Stirling, Perth,
Dumbarton, Aberdeen, and Angus. It may be defined by a line drawn from the
western opening of the Pentland Frith, sweeping round St Kilda, so as to
include the whole cluster of islands to the east and south, as far as
Arran ; then stretching to the Mull of Kintyre, re-entering the main land
at Ardmore in Dumbartonshire, following the southern verge of the
Grampians to Aberdeenshire, cutting off the Lowland districts in that
country, and in Banff and Elgin, and ending on the north-east point of
Caithness.
[The names of places in
this county denote a considerable mixture of Gothic and Danish. The same
observation applies to the Isle of Skye, although in that island the
language and manners of the people are as purely Celtic as any now in
existence. In Caithness, however, two-thirds of the inhabitants speak the
dialect of the Lowland Scots. Part of that country bordering on the sea
coast is an uninterrupted flat of great extent. In that portion the
Lowland garb is worn, and Scotch spoken ; but at the commencement of the
high and mountainous country, we meet with the Gaelic; and formerly the
Highland dress was worn. It would therefore appear, that this low and
accessible district must at an early period have been invaded and occupied
by strangers, whose progress into the interior was arrested when the
natural conformation of the country enabled the original inhabitants to
defend themselves, and prevent farther intrusion; otherwise it is not easy
to account for the singular circumstance of an insulated district,
situated 150 miles within the boundary of the Gaelic language, being
inhabited by people differing in dress, habits, and dialect, from all
around them.
A small district in the
county of Cromarty, of five miles in length, and less than half a mile in
breadth, presents the same singularity, the inhabitants having for ages
spoken a language of which few or none of those around them understand a
sentence. It is the same to this day, so remarkably has tie distinction of
languages been preserved, by people who, from close neighbourhood, must
hold frequent intercourse.]
Throughout its whole extent
this county displays nearly the same features.
The means of subsistence
are necessarily limited to the produce of mountain pasture, and to the
grain that can be raised in a precarious climate; and that, too, only on
detached patches of land along the banks of rivers, in the glens and
plains, or on the seacoast. Though the lakes and rivers in the interior,
and the arms of the sea, with which the coast is indented, abound with
fish, the distribution of this benefit among the general population is
necessarily limited by the difficulties peculiar to so mountainous a
region. The same cause precludes much intercourse with the Lowlands, and
the importation of commodities so bulky as provisions. The inland parts of
the country must therefore, in a great degree, depend on their own
resources; and hence the number of inhabitants must be small in proportion
to the area of territory.
From these circumstances,
as well as from the sequestered situation in which the inhabitants were
placed, a peculiar character and distinctive manners naturally originated.
The ideas and employments, which their seclusion from the world rendered
habitual,—the familiar contemplation of the most sublime physical
objects,—the habit of concentrating their affections within the precincts
of their own glens, or the limited circle of their own kinsmen,—and the
necessity of union and self-dependence in all difficulties and dangers,
combined to form a peculiar and original character. A certain romantic
sentiment, the offspring of deep and cherished feeling,—strong attachment
to their country and kindred,—and a consequent disdain of submission to
strangers, formed the character of independence; while an habitual
contempt of danger was nourished by their solitary musings, of which the
honour of their clan, and a long descent from brave and warlike ancestors,
formed the frequent theme. Thus, their exercises, their amusements, their
modes of subsistence, their motives of action, their prejudices, and their
superstitions, became characteristic, permanent, and peculiar.
Promptitude in decision,
fertility in resource, ardour in friendship, and a generous enthusiasm,
were qualities which naturally resulted from such a situation, such modes
of life, and such habits of thought. Feeling themselves, in a manner,
separated by Nature from the rest of mankind, and distinguished by their
language, manners, and dress, they considered themselves the original
possessors of the country, and regarded the Saxons of the Lowlands as
strangers and intruders.
Whether the progenitors of
this singular race of people were the aborigines of the Highlands of
Scotland, is a question which it is now impossible to decide. But the
earliest authentic records which history affords of the transactions of
different tribes and nations, contain descriptions of the character, and
accounts of the migrations of the Celts. Among this widely diffused race,
though there were considerable varieties, arising from climate and
situation, still, in the case of all those to whom the denomination was
extended, there might be traced indelible marks of affinity, as well as a
striking difference from other tribes. Caesar, in his Commentaries,
informs us, that, in his time, they formed the most considerable portion
of the population of Gaul. Indeed, many circumstances render it probable,
that the Celtic tribes emigrated originally from the eastern provinces of
Europe, retaining, in their progress westward, their religion, manners,
and language. Traces of this migration may be discovered in the names of
Albania, Iberia, Dalma-tia Caramania, [Albani, Dalmat, Corrimoni, &c. are
names quite common in the Highlands.] &c. as well as in many appellations
which we still recognise in the western parts of Europe, all of which were
once, and some still are, in part, inhabited by Celts.
The most luminous and
distinct account of the government, manners, and institutions of this
remarkable people, as they existed in Gaul, as well as the most authentic
history of some of their enterprises and transactions, is to be found in
Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. The separation of a distinct
class of men called the Druids, whom he describes [See Book vi. Chapters
13, 14, and 16, of his Comm. de Bello Gallico.] as the ministers of their
religion, and the depositaries of their sciences and laws,—the retired and
contemplative modes of life to which this order devoted themselves,—the
mystery which they affected,—the reverence in which they were held,—the
direction of their studies to the natural sciences, particularly to
astronomy,— their opinions concerning a Providence,—and, above all, their
doctrine of transmigration, with their pretensions to prophetical
knowledge,—all strongly remind us of the character and institutions of the
Magi.
The worship of Bel, or
Baal, [1] some traces of which still remain in the Highlands, is
unquestionably of Eastern origin. [See Dr Graham's (of Aberfoyle) able and
learned Essay on the Authenticity of Ossian.] The Highland superstitions
concerning the enchantments of the Daoni-Si, or fairies, cannot fail to
bring to the recollection of the classical reader the incantations of
Medea, Queen of Colchis. [See Ovid's Met. Lib. vii. fab. 2, and compare
the description of Medea's cauldron, and its effects, with the fairy tale
related by Dr Graham in his elegant and entertaining work, entitled,
"Picturesque Sketches of Perthshire."]
[1. The anniversary of Bel
(in Gaelic Bealdin) was celebrated by shepherds and children with a feast
of milk, eggs, butter, cheese, &c. These remains of ancient superstitions
were accompanied with many ceremonies and offerings for the protection of
their flocks from the storms, eagles and foxes. This festival was held on
May-day. When all was ready, a boy stood up, holding in his left hand a
piece of bread, covered with a kind of hasty pudding, or custard of eggs,
milk, and butter; and turning his face towards the East, he threw a piece
over his left shoulder, and cried, "This to you, O Mists and Storms, that
ye be favourable to our corns and pasture: This to thee, O Eagle, that
thou mayest spare our lambs and kids: This to thee, O Raven," &c. These
superstitious rites were common thirty years ago, but they have now
disappeared even among children. Similar to this festival was the Sam-huin,
or fire of peace, the origin of which tradition ascribes to the Druids,
who assembled the people in the open air for the purpose of administering
justice. In many parts of the country are still seen the small conical
hills on which these courts are said to have been held, and which are
called Tomvoide, i. e. the Court Hill. Three of these conical court hills
are near the Point of Lyon, where that river enters the Tay, three miles
above Castle Menzies. The anniversary of these meetings was celebrated on
the 1st of November, the Halloween of the Lowlands. Immediately after
dusk, large fires were kindled in conspicuous places in every hamlet. The
inhabitants at the same time assembled, and the night was passed in
dancing, and the observance of numberless ceremonies and superstitions,
the principal object of which was, to discover occult events, and pry into
futurity. These superstitious rites are admirably described by Burns in
his "Halloween," and are in every respect the same as those practised in
the Highlands.]
The language of the Scotch
Highlanders affords strong evidence of Oriental origin. It is well known,
that, in the languages of Asia, the Hebrew for example, the present tense
of the verb is wanting, and is supplied by inference or circumlocution.
This is also the case in the Irish, the Welsh, and the Gaelic, which
indeed are kindred dialects. The Gaelic presents in its construction the
most prominent features of a primitive language, being for the most part
monosyllabic, and, with few exceptions, having no word to express abstract
ideas, or such terms of art as were unknown to a primitive people.
But to whatever conclusion
we may arrive concerning the origin and early migrations of the Celtic
race, it is certain that tribes described as Celtic, and exhibiting every
indication of their having sprung from a common stock; preserving
themselves unmixed in blood and unconnected in institutions with
strangers, and retaining their own manners and language, were extensively
diffused over the west of Europe. From the Straits of Gibraltar to the
northern extremity of Scotland, not merely on the seacoast, but to a
considerable distance into the interior, we find traces of their
existence, and memorials of their history, deducible not only from the
testimony of ancient writers, but from the names of mountains and rivers,
the most permanent vestiges of the original language of a country. Thus,
we have, in France, the Garonne, in Gaelic Garu-avon, rough or rapid
river; the Seine, the Sequana of Caesar, the Seuin-avon, or silent running
river: in Lombardy, the Eridanus, the Ard-an-er-avon, or east running
river: and in Scotland, Iar-avon, or Irvine, the west running river. [In
Gaelic, Er is east; Iar west. Thus we have Iaragael or Argyle, that is
Western Gael; Iar, or Ayr, the West country; the Err, Earn, &c. streams
running eastward.] But it would be endless to follow the derivations in
Scotland, where a great majority of ancient names of places, rivers, and
mountains, is unquestionably Celtic. Thus, even in the Lothians and
Berwickshire, we have Edinburgh, Dalkeith, the river Esk, Inveresk,
Inverleith, Balgone, Dunbar, Dunse, Dunglass, Drumore, Mordun, Drumseugh,
Dundas, [Dundas, Dun-dos, a hill with a tuft of wood. This etymon bears an
analogy to the heraldic bearings of Dundas, (a tuft of wood with a lion
attempting to push through it), a family as ancient as the period when the
Gaelic was the language of Mid-Lothian. The old Castle of Dundas has stood
eight hundred years.] Dalmeny, A-bercorn, Garvald, Innerwick, Cramond,
Corstorphine, and Dunian, in Roxburgh, with many others as purely Celtic
as any names within the Grampians. In Galloway, and the western districts,
Celtic names are almost the only ancient appellations of places, and of
the common people, the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of whom we
have authentic accounts.
Some may smile at
derivations like these; but others, again, will trace, in such affinities
of language, if not the only, at least the surest vestiges that still
remain, of the vicissitudes and affiliations of nations whose annals
extend beyond the reach of authentic history. Unluckily for the inquirer
into Celtic antiquities, such vestiges form almost the only basis on which
his conclusions or conjectures can rest. Amongst ancient authors, such
subjects of research excited little attention; and long before the period
at which modern history commences, they had been almost annihilated by the
fierce and more numerous tribes, who occupied great part of the country
possessed by the ancient Celts. When the Celts migrated to the westward,
tribes of a very different language and character advanced upon their
settlements, and spread farther to the northward. These tribes,
denominated Teutones [Mr Grant, of Corrimonie, in his learned work,
entitled, "Thoughts on the Gael," gives an etymology of the appellation
Teutones, which he conjectures to have been the name given by the Gaelic
emigrants from the east to the hordes which advanced in the same
direction, upon their northern borders, peopling Russia and Scandinavia.
These were called Tuadaoine, that is, Men of the North, or Teutones.] and
Goths, had probably their original seats in Scythia. They gradually
occupied Hungary, Germany, and Scandinavia, encroaching everywhere upon
the territories of the Celts, overturning the Roman empire itself, and at
length establishing themselves in Italy, Spain, Gaul, and the eastern
districts of Britain. By these invasions, the Celts were either driven
westward, or intermixed with their invaders. Their name and national
distinctions were lost, excepting in a few inaccessible regions on the
shores of the Atlantic, from which they could not be dislodged. There they
still remain detached portions of an original race, preserving their
physical conformation, and their peculiar institutions, nearly unchanged,
until within the last fifty years; and are as easily distinguishable from
the general mass of the population with which they are combined in
political union, as they were from the Scythian and German tribes in the
days of Caesar.
In the provinces of
Gallicia and Biscay in the west, and in the valleys of the Pyrenees in the
south of France, and north of Spain, the inhabitants, differing, as they
evidently do in manners and appearance, from the other subjects of the
respective kingdoms to which they belong, exhibit a striking confirmation
of this hypothesis. But it is in Lower Bretagne, in Wales, in the Isle of
Man, in Ireland, and in the Highlands of Scotland, that the most distinct
traces of the Celtic manners and language are to be found. In manners
indeed, the inhabitants of Bretagne bear but a faint resemblance to their
Celtic brethren of other countries; but the similarity of their language
proves, that originally it was the same with that now spoken in Ireland,
the Highlands of Scotland, &c. In language, however, the Gallicians differ
less from their fellow subjects of the Spanish monarchy, than they do in
physical formation, and peculiar customs. The Biscayans are remarkable for
their difference in both respects; and the Basques, or inhabitants of the
western Pyrenees, are distinguishable from the subjects of the two
kingdoms to which they belong, by their bodily appearance and habits, as
well as by a high spirit of independence, and pride of ancestry,—and, in
many respects, they exhibit striking marks of an original and unmixed
race. [The Basques wear a blue bonnet of the same form, texture and colour,
as that worn by the Scottish Highlanders; and in their erect air, elastic
step, and general appearance, bear a remarkable resemblance to the ancient
race of Highlanders, whose manners and habits remained unchanged till
towards the commencement of the late reign, but of which scarcely a trace
now remains.]
Many points of resemblance
between the Basques and Scottish Highlanders may, no doubt, be attributed
as much to similarity of situation, as to a common origin. Similarity of
situation, however, will not account for the remarkable traits of
resemblance between the inhabitants of La Vendee and those of the north of
Scotland. Widely as they differ in their external features, the manners
and customs of the people of both countries are so nearly similar, that a
Highlander, in reading the Memoirs [Memoirs of Madame Larochejaquelin.
Edinburgh, 1816. ] of the Wars in La Vendee during the French Revolution,
would almost think he was perusing the history of the events of the years
1745 and 174(3, in Scotland. In the picture which has been drawn of the
zeal with which the followers and adherents of the Seigneurs crowded round
the castles of their Lords; in the cordial affection and respectful
familiarity subsisting between them; in their pastoral modes of life, and
love of the chase; in the courage with which they took the field, and the
perseverance with which they maintained their ground against disciplined
armies; in their invincible fidelity to the cause they had espoused; in
their remarkable forbearance from pillage or wanton destruction, in which
they exhibited a noble contrast to the ferocious rapacity of the
republican troops; and in their kindness to their prisoners,—we are
strikingly reminded of the chiefs, the clanships, and the warfare of the
Scotch mountaineers.
In tracing the remains of
the Celtic race, we find that in a great proportion of Wales, in the Isle
of Man, and in Ireland, the language is still preserved; [It is observed
by Mr Grant of Corrimonie, that, in Connaught, and the west of Ireland, to
which strangers had least access, the language still spoken differs very
little from that of the Scotch Highlanders. The correctness of this
observation I have had an opportunity of noticing in my intercourse with
Irish soldiers, to whom I have often acted as interpreter.] but, owing to
a greater admixture with strangers, at an earlier period, ancient manners
are much changed, whereas, in the Highlands of Scotland, which
successfully resisted their intrusion, and were never subdued by either
Roman or Goth, and where the repeated attacks of Danes and Norwegians were
uniformly repulsed, the remains of the language, manners, superstitions,
and mythology of the Celts, are found in greater purity and originality,
than in any other country.
The earliest historical
records bear testimony to the warlike spirit of the people; while the
facts disclosed by the Roman historians, prove that their commanders in
Britain found the Caledonians very formidable enemies; and it is not to be
supposed that they would record defeats and disappointments which did not
befall them. According to Tacitus, the celebrated Caledonian general,
Galgacus, brought against Agricola an army of upwards of 30,000 men, of
whom 10,000 were left dead on the field of battle; which sufficiently
demonstrates their numbers, their firmness, and their spirit of
independence. Though defeated, they were not subdued, and, after three
years of persevering warfare, the Roman general was forced to relinquish
the object of his expedition. Exasperated by this obstinate resistance,
the Emperor Severus determined to extirpate a people who had thus
prevented his countrymen from becoming the conquerors of Europe. Having
collected a large body of troops, he took the command in person, and
entered the mountains of the Caledonians. Notwithstanding his immense
preparations, however, he was completely defeated, and driven back to the
plains with the loss of 50,000 men ; and subsequently, while one legion
was found sufficient to keep the southern parts of the country in
subjection, two were required to repel the incursions of the Gael.
Some centuries posterior to
this, we find the people forming a separate kingdom, confined within the
Grampian boundaries. [This, according to the traditions of the
Highlanders, is the era of Ossian, when they had a kingly government
within the mountains, with all the consequent chivalry, heroism, and
rivalry of young men of family. See Appendix, A.] This has been always
known as the kingdom of the Scots; but to the Highlanders, only as that of
the Gael, or Albanich. [The epithets England and Scotland, or Scots and
English, are totally unknown in Gaelic. The English are Sassanachs, the
Lowland Scots are Guals, the low country is Gualdach, (the Country of
Strangers), the Highlanders are Gael and Albanich, and the Highlands
Gaeldach.] The whole country immediately beyond the Grampian range, (that
is, the Lowlands of Perth, Angus, and Mearns), was in possession of the
Picts. Aber-nethy, said to have been their capital, [There are remarkable
subterranean ruins in Abernethy. These have only been partially examined ;
but they seem of great extent. The stones consist of the same red
freestone which abounds in the neighbourhood, and have been prepared and
squared for building, but not cut into an ornamental form; at east as far
as they have been examined. The mortar, as in all old buildings, so
hardened by time, that the stones give way to a blow, while the cement
resists. As a striking instance of the revolutions of time, even in a
country not subjected to violent convulsions of the earth, all these
buildings are completely covered, in some parts to a considerable depth,
with the soil, which consists of a dry loam, occasionally intermixed with
gravel. The surface is quite smooth, producing crops of corn and hay, and
showing no vestige of what is underneath, except where holes have been dug
when the proprietor, Mr Pater-son of Carpow, a few years ago, made use of
some of the stones for building a new house. The whole deserves the notice
of the antiquary.] is only twenty miles distant from Birnam hill, the
outward boundary at that entrance into the Highlands; and Brechin,
supposed to have been another of their towns, is nearly the same distance
from the eastern boundary.
These two nations of Picts
and Scots, the one inhabiting the lowland territory, and the other the
mountainous region, differing considerably in manners, but speaking the
same language, [That the Picts, inhabiting the low and fertile districts
on the east of Scotland, and to the north of the Roman province, were
Gael, or Celts, and that they spoke the Gaelic language, seems to be
clearly proved by Mr Grant, in his " Thoughts on the Gael." If the Picts
spoke a language different from the Celtic, every trace of it has
disappeared; the names of towns, rivers, mountains, valleys, &c. being
either Celtic or Saxon.] were sometimes in alliance, but more frequently
in a state of hostility, till the succession of Kenneth Macalpin, in right
of his mother, to the throne of the Picts, A. D. 843, when the Scots and
Picts were finally united under one sovereign. Gaelic continued to be the
language of the Court and of the people till the reign of Malcolm III.
surnamed Caenmor, who had married the sister of Edgar Etheling, A. D.
1066. From that period the Gaelic language was gradually superseded by the
Saxon, until it entirely disappeared in the Lowlands.
Towards the close of the
eighth century, ambassadors, it is said, were sent by Charlemagne to
Achaius, King of the Scots, or, according to the Highlanders, Righ na
Gael, or Albanich, i. e. King of the Gael, or of Albany. The result of
this friendly communication is stated to have been an alliance between
France and Scotland, [See Appendix, B.] This is indeed involved in all the
uncertainty of early tradition: yet it is recorded by ancient chronicles;
and, as far as it goes, con-firms the belief of the number and comparative
civilization of the Caledonians; for at whatever period the friendly
connection between the two countries commenced, it continued uninterrupted
till James VI. of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England. The
tradition that Charlemagne appointed two Caledonian professors to preside
over his academical establishments at Padua and Paris, may, in like
manner, be regarded as a testimony in favour of the learning of the Celts
at that period. Before the age of Charlemagne, indeed, the college of
Icolm-kill had reached the height of its celebrity. [Martin, in his
Description of the Western Islands, printed in 1703, says of Icolm-kill,
"This monastery furnished bishops to several dioceses of England and
Scotland. One of these was Bishop of Lindisfern, now Holy Island." Bede
states, in his third Book, that Oswald, King of Northumberland, took
refuge from domestic treason in the island of Iona, where he was
instructed in the doctrines of Christianity, and learned the Gaelic
language. He returned home in 634, and founded the monastery of Lindisfern;
and, on applying to Iona, obtained a bishop, named Aidan, to whom, as he
knew Gaelic only, the Saxon king acted as interpreter, when preaching to
his subjects. Caxton, who wrote in 1482, says, "King Oswald axed the
Scottes, and had it granted, that Bishop Aidanus schold come and teche his
people ; Thence the Kinge gave him a place of a Bishope's See in the
island of Lyndesfern; then men mighte see wonders ; for the Bishop
preached in Scot-tishe (i.e. in Gaelic, as the word was then understood by
the English), and the Kinge tolde forth in Englishe, to the people, what
it was he said or meent."]
When the succession of the
Alpine Kings to the throne of the Picts caused the seat of royalty to be
transferred from the mountains to the more fertile regions of the
Lowlands, and when the marble chair, the emblem of sovereignty, was
removed from Dunstaffnage to Scone, the stores of learning and history,
preserved in the College of Iona, were also carried to the South, and
afterwards destroyed by the barbarous policy of Edward I. Deficient and
mutilated as the records in consequence are, it is impossible to ascertain
the degree of civilization which this kingdom of glens and mountains had
attained; but, judging from the establishment of the College of Icolm-kill,
at a period, when darkness prevailed in other parts of Europe, a
considerable portion of learning must be admitted to have been diffused.
Hence the feelings of even Dr Johnson were powerfully awakened by the
associations naturally arising from the sight of this celebrated spot. "We
were now," says he, "treading that illustrious island, which was once the
luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence savage clans and roving
barbarians derived the benefit of knowledge, and the blessings of
religion. To abstract the mind from all local emotion would be impossible,
if it were endeavoured, and would be foolish, if it were possible.
Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, whatever makes the
past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances
us in dignity of thinking beings. Far from me, and from my friends, be
such frigid philosophy, as would conduct us, indifferent and unmoved, over
any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery, or virtue. That
man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force on the
plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warm among the ruins of
Iona."
Such a seat of learning and
piety could not fail to influence the manners of the people. Inverlochay,
their capital, maintained a considerable intercourse with France and
Spain. [Hollingshed Chronicles.] Yet, of the progress made in the arts by
the Scots of that remote period, no specimens have descended to our times
except the remains of their edifices. The Castle of Inverlochay, although
it has been in ruins for nearly five hundred years, is still so entire as
to have furnished a model for the present Castles of Inverary and Taymouth;
so far had our ancestors, at a very early period, advanced in the
knowledge and practice of architecture, or rather so small has the
advancement yet been, that models are still taken from the works of
"savage clans and roving barbarians." [Modern architects of the first
celebrity have not disdained to imitate the ornamental and magnificent
designs of the "dark ages," when required to produce plans for public and
private buildings of more than usual elegance; but, seeing that the
specimens they exhibit in different parts of the country, are so inferior
to the originals they attempt to copy, perhaps the harsh epithets of
ignorance and barbarity, so often applied to those ages, might be somewhat
softened. The men who designed and erected the cathedrals of Elgin and
Dunkeld, could not be so savagely ignorant as they have been represented.
They certainly were not ignorant of one elegant branch of the fine arts,
as is proved by the superb and magnificent edifices they built and
consecrated to Divine Worship; an example which might be imitated with
advantage by their Presbyterian descendants, of whom it has been said,
that the "Scotch build castles and fine houses for themselves, and barns
for the worship of God!"] The underground foundations round that part of
Inverlochay which is still standing, show that it was originally of great
extent. Dunstaffnage Castle, which has been also in ruins for many
centuries, exhibits equal strength of walls, but not the same regularity
of plan. This may have been owing to its situation, as it is built on a
rock, to the edges and incurvations of which the walls have been adapted.
Urquhart Castle, which has likewise stood in ruins for many centuries, is
one of the finest specimens of castle building in the country. But it must
be confessed that Scotland in general, and particularly the Highlands,
possesses no castles that can bear comparison with the splendid baronial
residences of the more wealthy nobility of England and Wales.
In many parts of the
Highlands, however, ruins and foundations of places of strength, and of
castles, are so frequent, as to exhibit proofs of the existence of a
population more numerous than that of latter ages. The marks and traces of
the plough also evidently demonstrate that cultivation was, at one period,
more extended than at present. Fields on the mountains, now bleak and
desolate, and covered only with heath and fern, exhibit as distinct ridges
of .the plough as are to be seen on the plains of Moray. [It has been
said, in accounting for the existence of these marks of more extended
cultivation, that, in ancient times, the valleys were thickly wooded, and
much infested with wolves and other wild animals; and that the inhabi-ants
were, in some measure, compelled to cultivate the high grounds, which were
more clear of woods and wild beasts. But as wolves could not be such
objects of terror to an armed population, and as it is not probable men
were so void of common sense, however savage they might be, as to
cultivate the more barren and exposed parts of a country, and leave the
warm and sheltered untouched; it may, with some confidence, be supposed,
that a stronger necessity than the dread of savage animals compelled the
inhabitants to cultivate, as high as the soil and climate would produce
any return for their labour. Being shut up in their mountains by the
hostility of their neighbours on the plains, from whom no supply could be
obtained except by force of arms, the number of inhabitants required that
every spot capable of cultivation should be rendered as productive as
possible: hence the higher parts were necessarily cleared and cultivated,
when the low grounds were found insufficient.]
Woods and cultivation gave
a genial warmth to the climate, which planting and other improvements
would probably yet restore. As an instance of these marks of the ancient
population, I shall confine my observations to one district. In a small
peninsula, situated between the rivers Tummel and Garry, extending from
Strowan, four miles west from Blair Athole, to the Port of Lochtummel,
about ten miles in length, and four miles in breadth, ending at the Point
of Invergarry, below the Pass of Killiekrankie, there are so many
foundations of ancient habitations, (and these of apparent note), as to
indicate a remarkably numerous population. They are nineteen in number.
One circular building, near the house of Fincastle, is sixty-two feet in
diameter; the walls are seven and a half feet thick, and a height of five
feet is still remaining. In the district of Foss there are four. On the
estate of Garth there are eight, some with walls nine feet thick; the
stones in two of which are so weighty, that they could scarcely have been
raised to the walls without the aid of machinery. In Glenlyon [In ancient
poetry, it is stated that the Fingallians had twelve castles in Glenlyon,
but the ruins of seven only are visible at this day.] there are seven;
and, in a word, they are scattered all over the country. Respecting these
buildings, various opinions are entertained; but one thing is certain,
that they must have been erected at a great expense of labour, and that a
numerous people only would have required so many buildings, either for
shelter or defence. Tradition assigns them to the age of Ossian, and they
are accordingly denominated Chaistail na Fiann, "the Castles of the
Fingallians." The adjacent smaller buildings are pointed out by names
expressive of the purposes to which they were appropriated. In Glenlyon,
for instance, is shown the kennel for Fingal's dogs, and the house for the
principal hunters. All this, to be sure, is tradition, and will be
received as such; but the traces of a numerous population in former times,
are nevertheless clear and incontrovertible.
But, whatever might have
been the population and state of civilization of ancient Albion, the
country was destined to experience one of those revolutions which are so
frequent in human affairs. The extension of their dominions occasioned the
frequent absence of the kings from the ancient seat of their government.
At length when, about the year 1066, the Court was removed by Malcolm
Ceanmor, never to return to the mountains, the sepulchres, as well as the
residence of the future kings of Scotland, were henceforth destined to be
in the south; and Dunfermline became the royal cemetery instead of Icolm-kill,
where so many kings, chiefs, bishops, eminent ecclesiastics, and men of
learning, lie entombed. That university, which had for ages been the
fountain whence religion and learning were diffused among the people, was
now deserted. The removal of the seat of authority was speedily followed
by the usual consequences. The Highlanders were impoverished. Nor was this
the only evil that resulted from the transference of the seat of
government. The people, now beyond the reach of the laws, became fierce
and turbulent, revenging in person those wrongs for which the
administrators of the laws were too distant and too feeble to afford
redress. Thence arose the institution of chiefs, who naturally became the
judges and arbiters in the quarrels of their clansmen and followers, and
who, surrounded by men devoted to the defence of their rights, their
property, and their power, established within their own territories a
jurisdiction almost wholly independent of their liege lord. [In 1057
Malcolm Ceanmor formed several thaneships throughout the kingdom into
lordships and earldoms; those in the Highlands were said to be Monteith,
Lennox, Athole, Mar, Moray, Ross, Caithness, Badenoch, and Sutherland.
Many descendants of these noble families still exist in the country ; but
there is no representative of any in a direct line, except the present
Countess of Sutherland, whose title, the most ancient in the kingdom, will
Boon merge in the superior title to which the son will succeed. It is a
curious circumstance, that, although there exists only one direct
descendant of the thanes who were promoted on the occasion above
mentioned, the families of many of those who remained as thanes, such as
Mackintosh, Campbell, Mac-dougal, Maclean, Cameron, Menzies, Grant, &c,
are to be traced in direct and unbroken male lineage, down to the present
day. The direct succession of the Lords of the Isles ended in the
fifteenth century; yet there are many thousands of their descendants,
besides numerous descendants of several other families of that early
period, cadets and branches of which have come down in. lineal descent,
although that of the chiefs has been interrupted.] |
