Notes on the Catrail. By Miss Russell. 93 



southern topography, and the observation of the numerous 

 Scandinavian legends in the romances, which must have come 

 through the close connection of Normandy and Brittany, caused 

 the whole history of the sixth century, as popularly known, to 

 be set down as mythical, together with the important circum- 

 stance that Arthur was never king of England. 



There is all the difference in this respect between the sixteenth 

 century and the eighteenth ; the illustrious Camden, who had 

 learnt Welsh that he might understand British history, says 

 without hesitation that Agned, the scene of one of Arthur's 

 battles, is Edinburgh ; while Alexander Gordon is much puzzled 

 by the little Eoman building called Arthur's O'en ; the engrav- 

 ing of which we owe to him. In fact till the regular business of 

 criticism began in the seventeenth century, the real traditions 

 remained, without its being thought necessary to account for 

 them. In the district under consideration, and in the valley 

 which contains what I should say was now the most satisfactory 

 part of the Catrail, the Gala Water forts, it has never, indeed, 

 been altogether forgotten that Arthur is said to have founded 

 the Church of Stow ; the statement occurs in some copies of 

 "Nennius" which there seems no more reason to doubt, as to 

 the historical part, than any other brief chronicle ; and the tra- 

 dition was known to Hollinshed in the sixteenth century. 



The famous Morte d' Arthur, by Sir Thomas MaUory, is full 

 of allusions to the Marches of Scotland (if there is any old allu- 

 sion to the Catrail, it is as included in this), and the king of 

 Scotland, who is sometimes Caradoc of Galloway, sometimes 

 Angus or Arawn, the brother of Urien and Loth, (he is called 

 Lleminawy or Lennox in the Welsh poems.) — N.B. A Sir Her- 

 vise le Eeule appears among the Knights, and the early name of 

 Abbotsrule was Eule Hervey. 



As to the narrative which goes by the name of Geoffrey of Mon- 

 mouth, its authority, such as it is, is in favour of the northern 

 localities of Arthur's battles. Geoffrey or his authority was un- 

 willing to lose the wonders of Loch Lomond, and the imposing 

 fortress of Alclyde or Dumbarton ; and he transports Arthur and 

 his army there to the conventional " Lincoln " and " Bath " in 

 a way nothing short of railways could have effected. He has 

 also placed the wood of Celidon in Lincolnshire. I imagine 

 "Lindocolinum" in this case is the extinct village of Zincum, on 

 the upper part of the Tweed, above Drummelzier, which was in 



