38 



PERIOD FIRST. 



FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE ARRIVAL OF S^ PATRICK, A. D. 431. 



SECTION I. 



Social and Political History and Geographical Notices. 



The Scythian colony, defined in the preceding pages, having 

 appropriated to themselves a considerable part of Ireland,* were self- 

 denominated Scoti by an easy and obvious corruption from their 

 ancient name of Scytha3, as the passage in Nennius-f- suggests, and 

 as is also deduced by Thomas of Walsingham in the Ypodigma 

 Neustrise.:^; This derivation is still more assured for all the purposes 

 of rational inquiry, when adopted by Spelman§ and by Higden in the 

 Polychronicon. " Therefore, Scottes ben called, as it were Scites, for 

 they came out of Scitia/'|| This epithet, so assumed by themselves, 

 was subsequently applied to them by foreign authors. Accordingl}^, the 

 inhabitants of Ireland are in this interval called Scots by Porphyry, 

 Ammianus, St. Jerome, Claudian, Prosper, and Orosius. — " And cer- 

 tainly," says Prideaux,** "the Scots of the Roman authors were none 

 others than the Irish." 



* The other colonies, Fomorians, Firbolgs, Tuatha de Danans, &c., who are also slated to 

 have occupied Ireland before the birth of Christ, are not so necessarily within the scope of this 

 Essay. 



f Ante, p. 24. \ Ad ann. 1 185. || Polychronicon, book 1. c. 37. 



§ Glossary, tit. " Scitia." •* Connect, p. 188, cited in O'Conor-s Cat. Bibl. Stow. 



