7

under the Protection of Auguftus, in relation to the Gauls and Germans, we may say of our Nation, when under their Protection, in relation to all the Nations who Invaded us; That it was not to the Rampart, by which Nature has fortify'd us,we were beholden for our not being overrun and conquered by them; for had our bigbeft Mountains been levell'd and our deepest Rivers drain'd, yet we had ftill been safe under their Conduct and Valour. 'Tis true, that sometimes they were foil'd by their Numerous Enemy; but that to them was like the mifty Vail of the Morning, which for a while fhuts in the Rays of the Sun, but at length contributes to the greater Luftre and Triumph of the Day. And if we further reflect upon the vast Multitudes of Men flain upon our Mountains and Plains, fighting for their Liberties and Country, when all the other Nations about them were tamely fubmitting themselves to a foreign Yoke; we have Reafon to think, that God Almighty had bless'd them with a more than ordinary Fruitfulness, that every Age might produce new Armies of Heroes, to fight for a Race of Monarchs who have been always the peculiar Care of His Providence: And among Thofe, as I have faid, none have appeared with greater Splendour than your Lordships Predeceffors. And here, My Lord, I muft beg Pardon to give a few Inftances of this Nature, that it may not be thought I am guilty of that utan and fawning Piece of Flattery fome Authors have been blamed for, in their Addreffes to Perfons of your Quality, or seem to impose upon those that are not fufficiently acquainted with our Hiftories.

When Scotland laboured under her greatest Difficulties, and when her Active and Incomparable Monarch, King Robert Bruce, was ftruggling with perpetual Oppofitions, Sir William Erskin was One of those Heroes who conftantly attended, and fought with him in all his Battels And altho' they were not always Crown'd with Lawrels; yet they ftill deserved to have been fo. His Son, Sir Robert, was no less confpicuous, for his Firm and Loyal Adherence to King David in all his Troubles; being Valiant and Vigorous in War, Prudent and Politic in Peace. The Plains of Fife, Hamildon, Flowden, and Pinkie where your Predeceffors did fuch Wonders, are lafting Monuments of their intrepid Valour and Loyalty. And, as their Services, to their King and Country, were Great and Glorious; fo were the respective Rewards of our Monarchs and Country to them: For, in the Reign of King David Bruce, Sir Robert Erskin was made Lord Chief Juftice of the Nation, and Commander of the Caftles of Edinburgh, Dumbarton and Stirling, the Three moft confiderable and important Forts of the Kingdom; the Government of the laft of which was Hereditably given to your Family. King James V. Queen Mary, King James VI. and his Son Prince Henry, were all of them, in their Infancy, committed to the Tutelage of your Ancestors; the conftant Proofs they gave of their Fidelity and Loyalty to the Royal Family, having, in a manner, made

them

them Hereditary Guardians to them. John Earl of Mar, in the Minority of K. James VI. was made Viceroy, or Governour, of the Kingdom. His Succeffor was Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, Comptroller of His Majesty's Houshold, Ambaffador to Queen Elizabeth, and Knight of the moft Noble Order of the Garter. His Son, John Earl of Mar, was One of the Senators of the College of Juftice, Knight of the Bath, and One of the most accomplish'd Noblemen of his Age in all the Parts of Literature. But, My Lord, to describe the several Excellencies, Great Actions, Noble Alliances, and Illuftrious Branches, of a Family fo eminently Confpicuous as yours, is more properly the Work of an History than of a Dedication. And should I enlarge upon your own Personal Merit and the Honours you have attained to, I should but encroach upon your Modesty, and run the Hazard of being Cenfured for that Fault, which I have fo industriously fhunned. But this I dare venture to say, without incurring the least Hazard of Cenfure, That your Lordships known Affection to Learning, and hearty Endeavours to encourage it in all its Parts, befides the Motives above-mentioned, are fufficient Reasons for my publishing this Work under your Lordship's Patronage; and which I hope you will take, as the utmoft I can do, to teftify the grateful Defire, I have of letting the Public know, how much I am,

My LORD,

Tour Lordship's moft obliged

and moft bumble Servant,

George Mackenzie.

THE

THE

PREFACE

S

INCE the publishing of the First Volume of this Work, I bave feen the Famous Mr. Leland's Account of the English Writers (a); where feverals are mentioned by him whom I bave inferteed as our Country Men. The Learned Editor, Mr. Hall of Queen's-College, Oxon. finding that this famous Antiquary bad not brought fufficient Proofs for what he advances, was mce refolved to fupply this Defect by a large Index of the Authorities, upon which he might reasonably be fuppofed to found bis Opinion, for inferting these controverted Writers as bis Country Men; a Specimen of which he has given us, upon S. Willibrord Arch-Bishop of Utricht. But, finding that this would have fwell'd the Work to too great a Bulk, be laid afide his Defign. So that we must content our felves with what Leland has faid upon the Matter; which I fball examine in order as the Writers are mentioned.

The First of thefe is Pelagius (b); when he makes Abbot of Bangor. The Arguments, brought for proving him a Britain or Welsh Man, are, The Tradition of his Country Men. His being called a Britain, by thofe that were contemporary with him. And a Monk and Abbot of Bangor. The First Argument is not worth the infifting upon; the Second we bave fufficiently answered in the Beginning of Pelagius's Life; and for his being a Monk of Bangor, there is nott be least Probability or Shadow of Reafon, as Bifbop Stillingfleet has fbown (c), there being no fuch Monaftery, at that Time, nor long after, till S. Patrick introduced the Chriftian Religion amongst them.

S. Patrick is made a Welsh Man (d) upon the Authority of William of Malmsbury, a Monk who lived in the Twelfth Century, contrary to all the ancient Writers of his Life, and especially of Notkerus Balbulus, who flouri fbed in the Ninth Century, and tells us exprefly of his being born in Scotland, and baving converted both the British and Irish to the Chriftian Faith. Tea, fo fond is be of this Monk's Authority, (who makes S. Patrick to be buried at Glaftenbury; contrary to the Authority of the Venerable Bede, who flourished in the Eight Century, and fays that he lies buried in Scotland) that he accufes Bede of Ignorance in the British Affairs (e) in refpect of him, confirming Malmsbury's Teftimony from a fuppofititious Work that goes under S. Patrick's Name. S. Willibrord is acknowledged (f) to have been brought up from his Infancy in Scotland: But, because both he and his Father are faid to be Britains, for which the Learned Editor has produced a Number of Citations, they will needs have him to be an English-Saxon, and blame Dempster for Saying be was a Scots Man; altho most of the fame very Authors are cited by Dempfter, and, in my Opinion, to none of their Purposes. For bis being call'd a Britain, no more proves him to be an English Man than it proves him to be a Scots Man. S. Boniface, Arch-Bishop of Mentz, upon the fole Authority of Beatus Rhenanus a modern Author, and John Grandifon Bi

a

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(4) Printed at the Theatre of Oxford in 2 Vol. in 8vo. 1709. (b) Vol. 1. p. 33. (*) Orig. Brit. ch.4. p. 184, (d) Vo!. 1. p. 36. (e Nam ego primum Bede Antiquitatis Britannicæ ignorantiam impingam. Autoritatem Meildunenfis Bedæ aute risati, veluti clavum clavo trufurus, opponam, P. 39 & 40. (ƒ) Vol. 1. p. 101,

Shop of Exeter, is made unquestionably an English Author; and Trithemius, very much blamed for making not only him, but feveral others, Scots Men, who were English Men (g). And fince Mr. Hall has given the Publick a Specimen of the Authorities that he could bring, for confirming what Leland fays upon S. Willibrord, I fall give another of what I could bring for confirming what Dempfter fays upon S. Bonitace, with this only Difference, That fhall cite the very Words of my Authors, whereas he only cites their Books.

Trithemius (h), in his Book of the Illuftrious Perfons of the Order of S. Benedict, fpeaking of him, fays Boniface, a Monk, Firft Arch-Bishop of Mentz, by Nation a Scots Man, c. And in another Place of the Jame Book, be Jays (i), Boniface, a Scot, was advanced to the See of Mentz. And, in his Hiftory of the Ecclefiaftical Writers (k), he fays, Boniface, Firft Arch-Bishop of Mentz, by Nation a Scots Man, of the Order of S. Bene dict, when he was a Child of Five Years of Age, was fent and dedicated, by his Parents, to a Monaftery in England, called Mischele; where he was brought up in all Sort of Literature, and became a moft Holy and Learned Man. Marianus Scotus (1), in his Hiftory, Speaking of the Scots Monafteries in Germany, which were confumed by Fire, exprefly mentions that of S. Boniface; and in another Place (m), he cites the Epiftle of Pope Za chary to Boniface, the Scot, Arch-Bishop of Mentz. And, Speaking of Pope Gregory, he fays (n), He directed Letters to Boniface, the Scot, the First Arch-Bishop of Mentz. To the fame Purpofe the Reader will find him mentioned exprefly, as a Scots Man, in Molanus (o), Georgius Wicelius (p), Adhelmus a Benedictin Monk (q), Joannes a Beca (r), Meierus(f), Vincentius Bollovacenfis (t), Cornelius Kempius (u), Hadrianus Barlandus, Gerardus Noviomagus, Othlonus Fuldenfis, Hieronymus Platus (x), Antonius Poffovinus (y), and Metellus Tigrenfis (z).

S. Willibald, Bishop of Eychftat, is the next controverted Author whom this famous Antiquary mentions, and blames Trithemius for calling him a Scots Man without civing any Author for it (a); altho' be himself falls into the fame Fault, not mentioning fo much as one Author acknowledging him to be an English Man.

As for S. Elred, begrants (b) that he had very good Reafon to think he was born in Scotland, and only lived in England. Cum hæc fcripfiffem, fays be, incidit mihi fufpicio, & quidem vehemens Ealredum in Scotia fuiffe natum ac deinde in Angliam perveniffe.

The famous Chymift and Philofopher, Michael Scot of Balwirie, he will needs have to be an English Man upon the Jole Authority of his good Friends who told him fo (c); notwithstanding that the cmnt ar y is plain from lis Books which were then and are fill extant.

John de Sacrobofco, Profeffor of the Mathematics at Paris, upon the trifling Conjecture of his being fo called from Haligwalde or Halifax, is faid to have been born at that Place (d); but if the Interpretation of his Name be the

Standard

(g) Vol. 1. p. 128. (b) Bonifacius, ex Monacho primus Archiepifcopus Moguntinus natione Scotus. 2. lib, cap. 24. (i) Bonifacium Scotum ad Sedem Moguntinenfem ordinavit, lib. 3. cap. 161. (k) Bonifacius, primus Archiepifcopus Moguntinus natione Scotus ordinis S. Benedi&i, cum effet puer quinque annorum a parentibus fuis Monafterio in Anglia, quod Mischelie dicitur, oblatus eft; in quo literis ac moribus ftudium impendens, vir & doctus & fan&tiffimus evafit, lib: 3. p: 219. (1), Jib: 3: ad Ann: 937. () Epiftola Zachariæ ad Bonifacium Scotum Moguntinenfem Archiepifcopum. (n) Directæ funt a Gregorio Papa, literæ ad Bonifacium Scotum Moguntiæ primum Archiepifcopum, lib: 3: ad Ann: 743. (0) Ad Ufuard 5. Jun. Tom: 3, (p) In Hagiologio. (4) Ad Ann: 754. () In Annalibus Flandriæ, lib. 1. () In fpeculo Hiftoriali, lib: 23. cap: 157. (1) In origine Frifiorum, lib: 3. cap: 31, 32, 33. (u) De origine Frifiorum. (x) De bono ftatu Religiofi, lib 2. cap: 30. () In Appar: facr: p: 263. (7) In Quirinalibus, p:3 data tibi quondam Bonifacie Scote Martyr. (4) Tom: pai28. (b) Tom: 1. p: 199. (c) Tom. 1. p: 254. (d) Tom. 2. P.353.