The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

4o6 THE HIGHLANDERS [EXCURSUS
Page 104. Tanistry. The tanist or next heir was appointed during the
king's or chief's lifetime, to avoid confusion at his death.
Page 106. Gavel. The rule of dividing the property equally among the
sons is really not Gadelic nor Scottic. It was very English, however, before
feudalism came in. The case of Somarled of the Isles and his descendants
to the 15th century is peculiar. It was the ruin of a mighty house.
Originally, the chief had his mensal lands, and the rest of the tribe-land
belonged to the tribe. But ever since the English Conquest (1172) the
old Irish and Gadelic system became corrupt, because the sub-chiefs stuck
to the lands assigned them, and latterly got charters. In Scotland, the chief
of a Highland clan for the last five hundred years succeeds by primogeniture,
and it cannot be held by a bastard (contrary to the old system), nor
can it pass through females. This is purely feudal and also Salic.
Page III, line 12. Native men, or Na/ivl, were simply the bondsmen on
the estates. Gradually they were set free, and by the i6th century the term
is used in the sense of " kindly men "—men allied by kin to the chief. This
is especially the case in bonds of manrent.
Page 114. The Toiseach. Dr. Skene has here fallen into a grievous
error. The toiseach was the head of the clan ; its earliest translation into
Latin was ''
capitaiinr later "chief" in English. The theory about the
oldest cadet being called toiseach is probably due to Skene's view of the
Mackintoshes as oldest cadets of clan Chattan. The derivation of
toiseachdorachd, "coronership," is toiseach, baillie, and deoraidh, a stranger;
his first duty was doubtless to attend to incomers into the clan, and other
"
foreign office" matters. It also exists in Manx, tosiaokt-yoarrey.
Page 118, Chapter VHI. Dr. Skene's account of the Celtic Church here
is an excellent piece of pioneer work. Bishop Reeves later put the whole
question of the Celtic Church on a scientific basis ; and Dr. Skene's second
volume of Celtic Scotland is entirely devoted to the Church. It is his best
piece of work. It was a monastic Church purely, the abbot being the
religious head of the " diocese," or rather of the tribal district, for the Celtic
Church was tribal. The abbot might only be a priest, as at lona usually.
Bishops had no dioceses ; they were attached to the abbey for ordination
purposes, and were numerous. Skene fails here to grasp this point. The
use of the term Culdee for the Columban clergy is unfortunate. The
Culdees belonged to the later and debased state of the Celtic Church
(900-1200). They were first anchorites, who later clubbed into 13, still
retaining their separate booths or houses and also lands. Later, of course,
they were mairied. With great difificulty the Church reform party of the
Ceannmore dynasty got them to become canons, and in the 13th century
they practically disappeared.
Page 121, line 8. Ireland was, except Dalaraidhe, all Scottic ; but it was
traditionally divided into two halves— Leth Moga and Leth Chuinn, Mog
Nuadat's Half (south), and Conn's Half (north). These were two kings —
somewhat mythical — of the 2nd century A.D.
Page 122. St. Patrick and Palladius are really one person, the person
meant being called in British Sucat, " good at war " (W. hygad), translated
into Grccco-Latin as Palladius (Pallas, goddess of war), and naming himself