SCOTLAND. 



the Roman provincials on the fouth of the walls." Pinker- 

 ton, on the other hand, maintains, that they were a Scythian 

 colony, who had poffefled themfelves of the eaftern coad of 

 Scotland before the Chriftian era ; but his opinion is not 

 fupported by evidence or probabihty. 



Conllantius having driven back the Caledonians, and other 

 Pifts, within their own territories, retired to York, where he 

 died July 25, A.D. 306. Almoft forty years elapl'ed before 

 they were a^ain able to infeft the territories of the roman- 

 iied Britons, though the empire was harafled by civil 

 wars. In 343, however, they made feme inroads, but were 

 foon repelled, and the provincials again enjoyed peace for 

 feventeen years. At the clofe of that period, when Conitan- 

 tine and Julian were contending for the imperial fway, the 

 Scots and Pidls made a formidable attack upon the pro- 

 vinces. Lupicinus, an able officer, was fent to oppofe them, 

 but does not feem to have effefted the objeft of his million. 

 This is the firfl time the Scots are mentioned in the pages 

 of Roman ftory. Ammianus, in whofe work they are no- 

 ticed, joins them with the Pidls, as if they formed one army, 

 though they had no connection whatever by neighbourhood, 

 lineage, or interefts : they were, in faft, an erratk people of 

 Ireland, who were much accuftomed to naval predatory 

 excurfions againft the Roman provincials during the fourth 

 and fifth centuries, but they had no territories ui North 

 Britain till about the year 503, as will be more particularly 

 noticed in the fequel. The next attack upon the Roman 

 provinces by the Pidls and Scots happened in the year 364, 

 and feems to have been more general and deRrudlive than 

 any former incurfion by either of thefe people. For three 

 years they continued gradually advancing towards the fouth, 

 fpreadino death and defolation wherever they came. At 

 length Theodofius, the moil diftinguifhed general of his age, 

 was fent into Britain by tiie emperor Valentinlan, to put a 

 flop to their ravages and to rellore tranquillity. In two 

 campaigns he drove the Scots from the ifland, and the Pidls 

 beyondthe wall of Antonine, whichhe repaired, and ftrength- 

 encd with additional forts, and conllituted the territories 

 within it into a province, by the name of Valentia. Such, 

 indeed, was the energy of his operations, and the wifdom of 

 his precautionary meafures for the maintenance of peace, 

 that the Scots and Pidls did not dare to renew their aggref- 

 fions till the year 398, and even then they were eafily re- 

 pelled. The Roman empire, however, was now rapidly 

 on the decline. In 407, the revolt of the troops in Britain 

 transferred the government to Gratian, and after his death 

 to Conllantine, who conveyed the army with him into Gaul. 

 The Britifh provincials, tlius left in a manner to themfelves, 

 affumed a fort of independence, which was fandlioncd by the 

 emperor Honorius, who, confcious of his inability to pro- 

 tedi this dillant part of the empire, diredled the Bnlifli cities 

 to rule and defend ihtrnfclves. " But," to quote the words 

 of Chalmers, "their inexperi<nce foon occafioned them to 

 feel tiieir own weaknefs. And in A.D. 422, though the 

 walls were then garrifoned by Roman troops, tlie provincials 

 again applied for additional protedlion agaiull the defultory 

 attacks of a predatory people, who could be more eafily 

 repelled than tranquillized. A legion is faid to have been 

 fent, who challifed the invaders, and, for the ia(l time, re- 

 paired the fortifications that had long overawed the Pidlifh 

 tribes. From this epoch the provincials enjoyed twenty 

 years' repofe. The year 446, wln-n ^tina was conful for the 

 third time, is the memorable epoch, wlien the Britifh pro- 

 vincials acknowledged themfelves to be Roman citizens, by 

 their fupplieation to that able fupporter of a degenerate Hate 

 for frelh afhitance ; but he was unable to gratify their de- 

 Crc, owing to the preilure of the barbarians upon Gaul. The 



provincials were again told, in a more defponding tone, that 

 they mull rely on their own efforts for their future govrn- 

 ment and effedlual defence. The abdication which Ho- 

 norius feemed willing to make in A.D. 409, .^tius thus 

 more completely efledled in A.D. 446." Caledonia, 

 vol. i. 



After the final departure of the Romans, North Britain 

 was occupied by two races of men, the Pidls, and the 

 romanized Britons of the province of Valentia. The latter, 

 fome authors contend, united tliemfelves under one ruler to 

 refitl the inroads of the Pidls, and thus formed the kingdom 

 of Cumbria, or Strathcluyd. Of the exiflence of fuch 

 a monarchy, however, within the limits of proper Scotland, 

 there is much room to doubt. At all events, it is very im- 

 probable that this new nation was able to confine the Pidls 

 within their ancient boundaries. On the contrary, it is molt 

 likely that the Pidls, in conjundlion with the Scots from Ire- 

 land, conquered and occupied the greater part of Valentia. 

 At a later date, the Anglo-Saxons of Northumberland 

 polFefled themfelves of the eaftern coaft of that provinee ; but 

 it does not appear certain that the Lothians ever were inte- 

 gral portions of the Northumbrian or Bernician monarchy ; 

 though they might be for a time annexed to it by temporary 

 conqucfl from tiie Pidls. See Strathcluyd. 



Several ancient Scottifh writers, upon the authority of 

 monkifli legends, contend that their anceftors firfl fettled in 

 Argjlc 330 years before the Ciiriflian era; and they give a lift 

 of kings, and a narrative of their adlions, from that remote 

 period. Later invedigations, liowever, have Ihewn that thefe 

 details are mofl probably fidlitious, and that the Scots did not 

 cohmizeany part of prefent Scotland till tlie year A. D. 503, 

 when a body of them paffed over from the north of Ireland, 

 their proper country, and fixed themfelves in the dillridl of 

 the Britifh Epidii, which they denominated Caentir. Thefe 

 coloniils were led bv Loarn, Fergus, and Angus, the three 

 fons of Ere, a chieftain or petty king of Dalriada, viz. the 

 portion of Rhiada in Ulfter, whence the Scots were tome- 

 times called Dalriads. The derivation of the name Scot is 

 uncertain, but the moft ptaufible opinion is, that it was a 

 corruption of the word fceite, v/hich fignifies in Irifh dif- 

 perfed or fcattcred, and was therefore applied generally to 

 denote the roving tribes wlio had habituated themfelves to 

 maritime excurfions againll the weftern (hores of romanized 

 Britain. 



Chalmersjuflly obferves, that there fcarcely occurs a period 

 of hitlory fo perplexed and obfcurcd as the annals of the 

 Scoto-Irifli, from the date wf their fettlement in Argyle, till 

 their afccndancy over the Pidls in 843. This confufion aiid 

 obfcurity originated in the want of contemporaneous writings, 

 and were afterwards greatly increafed, by the contells of the 

 Irifh and Scottifh antiquariei; for pre-eminence in antiquity as 

 well as in fame. In the filler ifland, however, there have hap- 

 pily been prcfcrved various documents, particularly the annals 

 of Tigornicii and Ulfler, which throw many flafhes of light on 

 the tranfadlions of that dark era. Several ijricf chronicles and 

 liiilorical documents, calculated to elucidate the fame fuhjcdl, 

 have likewife been brought into notice by Innes ; and Pinker- 

 ton firfl publifhed a Gaelic poem, which profefles to give a 

 genealogical account of the Scoto-Irifh kings. From an 

 attentive confideration of all thefe, and from an accurate 

 examination of other documents, Chalmers compiled his 

 genealogicaland chronological table of the Scottifh monarchs, 

 to Kenneth iiiclufivc, from which it appears that they were 

 twenty-nine in number, and occupied by their united reigns 

 a period of 340 years. The firfl was Fergus, who became 

 fole chieftain, or king of the new colonifls, foon after their 

 arrival. He died in 506, leaving his power and pretenfions 

 B 2 to 



