164 Dumfries : Its Burghal Origin. 



French whom they could lay hold of they slew ; and all the 

 strong-holds and castella which the King of Scotland had 

 fortified in their land they besieged, captured, and destroyed, 

 slaughtering all they found within. ' '2 Celtic fury burst forth 

 at extreme heat. A Scots historian'^ records the wicked and 

 merciless slaughter of French and English men, and the very 

 great and very pitiful persecution of the English, stopping at 

 no cruelty, and appeasable by no ransom. To this period, it 

 seems to me, we may attribute a new castle, which came in 

 place of an old castlestead, and to this time also we must look 

 for the foundation of the burgh of Dumfries — the occasion of 

 the burghal status to whatever in the shape of villag^e may 

 have already existed there. 



Those disturbances were not all external, Gilbert and 

 Uchtred fell out between themselves, and Uchtred was 

 inhumanly mutilated at his brother's instigation, dying very 

 shortly afterwards in consequence. Meanwhile the game of 

 intrigue was afoot. Henry II. was eager to bring the lords 

 of Galloway directly under his sovereig-nty. Gilbert was 

 eager to throw off his allegiance to the King of Scotland, 

 and probably anticipated that by becoming the vassal of 

 Henry he might effect his first purpose, trusting to the 

 chapter of chances for securing ultimately an absolute 

 independence. William's captivity, of course, facilitated 

 such a hope ; but the proposals did not come to the desired 

 issue. In 1175, as one of the conditions of liberation, 

 William with his nobles did homage to Henry at York — 

 homage to the English Crown for the whole realm of Scot- 

 land. The first of his enterprises after his release was to 

 make war upon Gilbert. To do this he had the express 

 permission of the feudal over-lord of Scotland, Henry 11.,^ 

 or rather perhaps we should say he received Henry's com- 

 mand, for Gilbert was now as much Henry's rebel as 

 William's. Accordingly, William led an army into Gallo- 

 way,^ with the result that the ferocious Gilbert submitted, 



2 Palgrave's Documents, p. 80, also Benedict, i., 67. 



3 Fordiin Annals, ch. xi. 



4 Benedict, i., 99. 



5 Fordun Annals, ch. 14. 



