lands in Lothian, " with sac, and soc, and toll and team, and infangethef," in 1126, in the second year of his reign, at Peebles ("apud Pebles ")—that is, at the Royal Castle there, long one of the seats of the government of the kingdom. The witnesses are John the Bishop, Robert de Brus, Herebert the Chancellor, Ascelin the Archdeacon, Pagan of Braiose, Hugh Brito, Berengar Ingane, Gospatric the Sheriff, Aimar. These are obviously all, or nearly all, Normans. The document, embodying the gift by David of the tenth of his Chan or Kane of Kyle and Carrick to the Church of Glasgow, is addressed to the barons, ministers, and all the faithful of his whole kingdom, "tam Gawensibus, quam Anglicis et Scotis." among the witnesses there are obviously representatives of the different races-Willelmus Cumin the Chancellor, Hugo de Morevilla, Fergus de Galweia, Hugo Briton, Alwinus MacArchil, &c.2 And The great Charter of Melrose, by David I.,3 must have been given after 1143, for reference is made to the king and his son Henry having personally gone over the boundaries of certain of the gifted lands "the second year after Stephen, King of England, was taken." Stephen was taken prisoner in the battle of Lincoln, by the troops of Matilda, in 1141. It is very important to note, regarding this grant, that while the usual Anglo-Norman names are there as witnesses-viz., Moreville, Somerville, Lindsay, De Arden, Umfraville-we have a special set of witnesses who are described as "the men from that land." The lands referred to are those of Melrose, Eldune, Derne2 Reg. Epis. Glasg., No. ix. 1 Nat. MSS. of Scotland, i. xv. 3 Nat. MSS., i. xvii. wic, Gattuneshalech (Gattonshaugh), Galtunesside (Gattonside), Seleschirche (Selkirk), and Trauequair (Traquair), and the names of the men are almost wholly Saxon. We have "Gospatrick the Earl, Ulfchill son of Ethestan, Osolf son of Huctrèd, Maccus son of Undwain, Huctred son of Sioth, Huctred son of Gospatric, Orm son of Eilaf, Eilaf son of Gospatric, Eduf son of Norman, Osolf son of Edive, Osolf son of Elfstan, Robert Brus Meschin, Radulph son of Turstain, Roger nephew of the Bishop. At Ercheldon in June." With only a few exceptions, these are Saxon names. Willelmus de Sumerville appears as a witness to the confirmation of land to the Church of St John of the Castle of Rokesburgh. The date is somewhere before. 1142, and it is given "apud Trauequair." This was the ancestor of the line of "lordly Somerville," already apparently holding lands on the Tweed. He died in 1142. De Vesci, De Umframvilla, De Graham, Thor filius Sweyn, Baldewinus the Fleming, occur in the deed De Ecclesia de Lohworuora about 1150.2 Ranulfus de Sules appears in the same document, but the scribe has scored out the name. He died before 1170. The nephew of this De Sules, also Ranulfus, succeeded him. His fate is the burden of popular tradition. "In the year 1207," says the Chronicle of Melrose," Ranulfus de Sules was slain in his own house by his own domestics." It was this violent death which probably gave rise to the legend that the great and terrible lord of Hermitage was sodden. in the cauldron on the Nine-stane Rig. In a deed of David I. relating to Dryburgh, about 2 Ibid., No. xi. 1 Reg. Epis. Glasg., i. 10, No. v. 1150, we have, besides the usual Norman and Angle names, the somewhat rare Celtic Mackthumpethin, Mackbeth, Macktorphrin.1 Mackbeth or Malbeth was a sheriff in David's time, and one greatly trusted by the king. This rather suggests that his policy was now to introduce the Gaelic element in the government of the country. We have thus, even before the death of David I. in 1153, the most of the names which were afterwards either distinguished or illustrious in the history of Scotland. New names, evidently of Norman origin, crop up in the succeeding reigns down to the death of Alexander III. But we have evidence, at the same time, of a large substratum of Teutonic population, chiefly Angle, but partly Scandinavian, in the valley of the Tweed and its tributaries. The descendants of this class form the main body of the population of the Lowlands at the present day. About the year 1200, forty-seven years after the death of David, and while William the Lion was king, we have a very curious and interesting document, which has preserved both the names of places and of persons at that period in the valley of the Tweed, the central part of the old province of Cumbria. This is the Divise de Stobbo, or The Marches of Stobbo, preserved for us in the Chartulary of the Bishopric of Glasgow.2 Stobo was at this time the property of the Bishopric, and it was necessary to settle the marches. I translate it as follows: "These are the right marches between Stobbo and Hopprewe and Orde. From the end of the burn of Polternam where it falls into the Tweed, up to the head of the same burn; and 1 Monastic Annals, 312. 2 Reg. Epis. Glasg., i. 89, No. 104. from its head as the ridge (cilium, eyelid) of the hill bears through between Glenmanthav and Glenmerlahv, continuously in Whiteshopes Fuirless, and thence through the ridge (eyelid) of the hill on to Ordeshope; and from Ordeshope through the ridge (eyelid) of the hill on to the head of Poltenstobbeh, and from the head of Poltenstobbo through the ridge of the hill on to Glemubfuirles, and so through the ridge of the hill between Glemubfuirless on to the burn of Glenkeht, and so descending as that burn falls into Biggar [Water]." Stobo, Happrew, and the Urd in Ladyurd and Lochurd, represent certain of the names. The fine flowing name, Polternam, is unfortunately lost, though we can point to the stream it indicated. The pure Saxon Glenmanthav and Glenmerlahv have also unluckily perished. Still, with this deed in his hand, any one may now trace the boundaries of the ancient estate of Stobo, and the contiguous limits of Happrew and Orde. But the main interest of the document attaches to the names of the witnesses, to the nationality indicated by them, and to their places of residence. They are as follows: "Dominus Adam filius Gilberti; Dominus Milo corneht; Dominus Adam filius Edolfi; Johannes Ker Venator aput Swhynhope; Gillemihhel queschutbrit aput tefquer; Patricius de hopekeliov; Mihhyn brunberd aput corrukes; Mihhyn filius Edred aput Stobbo; Cristinus heremita de Kyngeldores; Cospatricus heremita de Kylbeuhoc; Padinus filius kercau aput corrukes; Gillemur filius kercau aput corrokes; Christinus gennan serviens aput tefquer; Gylcolmus faber aput pebbles; Gylmihhel filius Bridoc aput Kyngeldures; Gylis filius Buht aput drumedler; Gillechristus filius Danielis aput glenwhym; Mathheus, Jacobus, et Johannes, filii Cosmungho sacerdotis aput Edoluestone; Cospatricius romefare; Randulfus de Meggete; Adam de seles clericus; Gillechristus filius huttyng aput currokes; Gilbertus persona de Kylbeuhhoc; Gylmor hund apud Dauwic; Mihhyn senescallus de Dauwic; Dudyn de Brouhtune; Patricius filius Caswale aput Stobbo; Adam et Cosouold filii Muryn aput Castrum Oliveri." The names of persons we cannot well trace for want of surnames, which were not common in Scotland until a later period. But there is, obviously, a great preponderance of Saxon names among the witnesses. Johannes John's fort He is Ker, the hunter, is probably British, the name of a native, from caer, a fort. In the Soonhope, or Swinehope, where he lived, is Caersman, the place of the fort. was probably there. Kercau is also apparently Cymric. Edolf is preserved in Edolfston, or Eddleston. probably the very Edulphus, son of Utrid, to whom Richard de Moreville, High Constable of Scotland, gave, before 1189, in fee for a knight's service, Gillemorestun, of old Peniacob―a property which Moreville merely rented from the Bishop of Glasgow.1 Cosmungho, the priest at Edulfston, suggests memories of St Mungo. It may be noted, too, that the priest of Edulfston was the father of three sons, whose position and status were publicly recognised. Though David had worked energetically at establishing the law of priestly celibacy, the practice of clerical marriage seems not to have died without a struggle. We have another proof of this about the same date. Between 1 Reg. Epis. Glasg., i., No. 45. |