402 An Antiquary's Notes. 



firmations of them — some by David II., others by Robert II., 

 and all of them by James II. The spirit of feudalism stirs anew 

 as we salute Robert the Bruce; his gallant, if headstrong brother; 

 "the good Lord James," shrewdest and most daring of lieuten- 

 ants ; Archibald the Grim, half-soldier, half-judge, " pacifying 

 and justifying" Galloway; Sir Hugh of Eglinton, poet and 

 singer; and in company with him Sir Robert of Erskine, the chief 

 man of affairs in the Scotland of his time. These make a gallery 

 of Scottish notables, a list of names which, in the Annals of an 

 age of chivalry and rising national spirit, can stand comparison 

 with the proudest Europe has on the honoured roll of the 14th 

 century. 



In its variety of contents, too, this is not merely a charter. 

 As regards feudalism it might serve as a manual, and the terms 

 and usages it illustrates might keep a local antiquary going for a 

 month to explain. One may, in passing, notice only one or two 

 things — the sale of an earldom as a recognised and approved 

 transaction ; the old disused castle of Dumfries treated as a "caput 

 baroniae " as the head place of the disjoined lordship of Gallo- 

 way west of the Nith and east of the Cree ; the conveyance of the 

 burghs of Galloway by the King to Archibald the Grim with the 

 lordship; the feuds of Galloway as the last signs of Celtic pro- 

 test against Norman feudalism. Nor is the light confined to the 

 14th century, for the final confirmation, the charter itself proper, 

 is by James II., and the problem confronts us — What brings these 

 incongruous deeds together ? What is the bond of union between 

 these charters of Thomas Fleming and Archibald the Grim, 

 Thomas Murray of Hawick, Robert Bruce of Spruceton, and 

 William Murray of Stewarton ? In whose favour is this deed 

 conceived? What is its object? Happily, the answer, though 

 not expressed on the face. of the deed, is obvious from what it 

 contains. In 1449, one man was lord of all the possessions in 

 all those charters; one man held the Earldom of Wigtown, was 

 Lord of Galloway, owned the lordship of Stewarton and the 

 baronies of Hawick and Spruceton. That man was William, 

 Earl of Douglas, who alone had any interest to serve from such a 

 document as this. To this Earl William in January, 1449, this 

 charter was certainly granted. When we look at the witnesses 

 we shall find the list significant. One of them is Alexander, 

 Earl of Crawford; another was Sir Alexander Livingstone of 



