hi Eighteen Parts, Quarto, at is. each ; a,- in Six Divisions, cloth, at -s. bd. each. 



THE 



GREAT HISTORIC FAMILIES 



OF 



SCOTLAND. 



By JAMES TAYLOR, M.A., D.D., F.S.A. 



'"PHE exploits of the great historic families of Scotland are inseparably connected with the history of that ancient king- 

 dom, and in part with that of England and France. From the War of Independence down to the Union of Scot- 

 land and England, the heads, or members of these powerful families, were the leaders of the Scottish people in their 

 struggles to maintain the freedom and independence of their country against the attacks of their " auld enemies of 

 England." It is impossible to think of Stirling and Falkirk, of Bannockburn and Otterburn, of Flodden and Pinkie, without 

 calling to remembrance the Douglases, Keiths, Grahams, Lindsays, Setons, Hays, and Homes, and the heads of other 

 " great old houses," who on these battlefields shed their blood like water in their country's cause. The achievements of 

 these gallant Scotsmen are no doubt commemorated in the various histories of Scotland, from antique Barbour down to 

 Tytler and Burton ; but no work has yet appeared in which their personal characters are portrayed and their deeds 

 recorded in a collected form. To supply this defect is the object of the present work. 



The recent Reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, respecting the valuable and interesting document', 

 hitherto hidden in family charter chests, have thrown a flood of light on the private life as well as on the public actions of 

 the Scottish nobility in the olden times ; and the costly works printed for private and very limited circulation, such as the 

 Book of Caerlaverock, the Registrum de Panmure, the Red Book of Menteith, the Douglas Book, etc., contain a very large 

 amount of new and important information respecting the ancient families whose history is narrated in them, as well as the 

 state of manners and customs in Scotland three centuries ago, and have also corrected a good many mistakes in the works 

 of our national historians. 



It is the object of the author of the present work to give to the public in a condensed form the information drawn from 

 these and other similar sources, and to describe not only the part taken by the Scottish nobles in the court intrigues, the 

 national wars, and the family feuds, by which the country was so long disturbed and distracted, but also their style oS 

 living among their vassals and retainers. Full accounts have also been given of the romantic incidents that have taken 

 place in several of the ancient families of Scotland, and which have furnished materials for some of the most deeply 

 interesting tales of the great Scottish novelist. 



Commencing with the original earldom of Mar — the most ancient title in Great Britain, perhaps in Europe — the present 

 work contains sketches of the Douglases, Keiths, Setons, Mackenzies of Seaforth and Cromartie, Hamiltons, Campbells, 

 Leslies, Ramsays, Maules, Grahams, Maxwells, Johnstones, Hays, Homes, Erskines, Gordons, Erasers Maitlands, Drummonds, 

 and other ancient and illustrious families. The work is illustrated with eighteen steel engravings of famous Scottish scenes 

 such as Edinburgh from Craigmillar Castle, Stirling Castle, Melrose Abbey, Langside, the scene of the defeat of Mary 

 Queen of Scots, Dryburgh Abbey, &c, etc. In addition to these views the respective coats-of-arms of the historic families 

 mentioned in the book are given in facsimile, many of which are nnt to be found in Douglas's or any other Scottish Peerage, 

 but have been copied by the kind permission of the late Mr. Stoddart, Lyon Clerk Depute, from his splendid work entitled 

 "Scottish Arms: being a Collection of Armorial Bearings, A. D. 1370— 1678, reproduced in facsimile from contemporary 

 manuscripts, with heraldic and genealogical notes, by R. R. Stoddart," 2 vols., folio. 



CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION. 



The Work is complete in Eighteen Parts, Quarto, at 2s. each ; or in Six Divisions, cloth, at "s. 6d. each. 



Each Pait will contain Forty-eight pages of letterpress, One Steel Engraving, and on an average Three Coats-of-Arms. Each Division 

 ■will contain One Hundied and Forty-four pages, Three Steel Engravings, and Eight Coats-of-Arms. 



The Work is supplied to Subscribers only, and no oider will be received ior less than the entire set. 



LONDON: J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD 



H.F.S. 



