A. D. 1098. 313 



to except the little pendicles of the fliore infulated only at high water, 

 and got a light veflel, wherein he fat with the helm in liis hand, drag- 

 ged acrofs the narrow neck (Tarbat), which feparates Kentire from the 

 main part of Argyle-fliire : and the Scottifli king, not finding it pru- 

 dent to difpute Magnus's logic, was thereby tricked out of that fine 

 peninfida, which, Snorro properly obferves, was more valuable than 

 any of the iflands, except Mann. Thus were almoft all the lefler Bi-it- 

 ifh iflands, with a part of the main land, completely detached from 

 the fovereignty of the country they naturally belong to, and made a 

 province of a diflant kingdom *. 



In the laft of his weftern expeditions Magnus made himfelf mafter 

 of Dublin, and loft his life by a fudden attack of the Irifli. [Snorro, 

 Hijl. Magni Berfcettn, cc. 9-27.] 



1099 — On the firft day of the new moon of November in the year 

 1099 the tide rofe fo high, that it drowned fome towns and villages, and 

 fwept away vaft numbers of cattle and fheep. \Chron. Sax. and Flor. 

 Wig. ad an.] The part of the coaft, where this inundation happened, 

 ij not told. But the fhort account of it has apparently given rife to the 

 tradition of the origin of the Godwin fands, which, we are told, com- 

 pofed a part of the eftate of Earl Godwin on the main land of Kent. 

 But it cannot be fuppofed, that the water continued at the extraordi- 

 nary height to which the fpring tide, with undoubtedly the concur- 

 rence of a high wind, raifed it : and it is more rational to believe, that 

 the Godwin fands owed their formation, or rather their appearance 

 above water, to the fubliding of the fea, which is certainly known to 

 have receded, or, in other words, become Jlmllower, on the adjacent 

 coafts of Kent. 



II 01, Auguft 15'^ — On the death of William II, his brother Henry, 

 the youngeft fon of William the Conqueror, fenfible that he could have 

 no title to the crown, if his elder brother Robert, then abfent in the 

 Holy land, was alive, and being very eager to recommend himfelf to 

 the favour of both nations, made magnificent promifes of redreffing 

 the grievances of the preceding reign, if he fhould be king. But the 



* The northern writers have not accurately diftin- till then fuLjeft to Scotland. But the Chronicles 



giiidied the two, or perhaps rather three, expedi- of Haly-rud, of Melros, and of Mann (a Nor- 



tions of Magnus. Snorro fays, that the king of wegian colony), Fordun and Wyntown, the ear- 



.Scotland, with whom Magnus made the treaty, licit geneial hiftorians of Scotland, and even Boyfe, 



was Malcolm, which, if the firft of his expeditions fond as he is of fable, have not a woid of any fuch 



is rightly dated in IC96, is impofiible ; for no hif- agreement. 



loric event is better afcertained, than that Malcolm The Chronicle of Mann, Florence of Worcefter, 

 fell in battle on the 13"' of November 1093. Lefly William of Malmdniry, Simeon of Duiham, and 

 and Buchanan, late Scottifh writers, improving up- Wyntown, agree in placing the conqueft of the 

 on a blundering interpolation of Bower's, have idands by Magnus in the reign of Edgar ; who 

 made a flory of Donald, the brother of Malcolm, feems to have been a weak prince, as he is corn- 

 bribing Magnus to affifthim in ufurping the crown pared by a writer of that age to the monkllli king 

 <if Scotland, for which fervice, they fay, he gave of England, Edward the ConfefTor. [^Ethtlred, 

 him all ihe iflands, which, they fuppofed, were ap. Tw\/J(n, cal. 367.3 



Vol. I. ■ R r 



