Scotland under her early kings, Volume 1 (of 2)

SCOTLAND UNDER HER EARLY KINGS.
Printed by R. & R. Clark
FOR
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS, EDINBURGH.
J.Bartholomew Edin. F.R.G.S.
THE EARLY KINGDOM.
EDMONSTON & DOUGLAS, EDINBURGH
A HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM TO THE CLOSE OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
E. WILLIAM ROBERTSON
VOL. I.
EDINBURGH EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS 1862
The present work has no pretensions to anything beyond being an attempt at supplying a hiatus in the history of Scotland which has hitherto been left unfilled. By the few historians who, in days gone by, devoted their attention to the subject, the earlier portion of Scottish history, more especially the period before the reign of Malcolm Ceanmore, seems to have been tacitly abandoned as a battleground for theorists—a sort of debateable land upon which they attacked or defended their various systems, wielding their feathered weapons with quite as much hostility as ever Pict, Scot, or Attacot displayed in actual combat, though (perhaps more fortunately for themselves than for their readers) without similarly fatal consequences. In the company of these enthusiasts I first endeavoured to trace out the history of the past, until, dissatisfied with my guides, I turned to chartulary and chronicle, with the result which is now before the reader.