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Deer would have much to attract the susceptible nature of St. Columba. With rich pasture on the banks of the river, and the surrounding hills crowned with oaks, he would often be reminded of his own dearly-loved monastery of Durrow and its woods, in which, as he sings to Cormac, he used to listen to the sighing of the winds and the blackbird's joyous note.1

[OF THE OFFERINGS MADE TO GOD AND TO DROSTAN.]

The following entries, down to that of Gartnait, son of Cannech, are written in a consecutive order on folio 3 b and folio 4, and are represented on Plates IV. and V. They are here broken up for the sake of convenient reference :

Cómgeall mac éda dórat úaorti [go] nice fúrené docolumcille acusdodrostán. Comgeall son of Aed gave from Orte to Furene to Columcille and to Drostán.

The names here mentioned were the extreme points of the boundary. No name resembling the first is now to be found, but it is probable that the last, "Furene," may have been the Hill of Pitfour, which rises on the north side of the flat ground on the river-bank, where the monastery of Drostan was placed.

Moridac mac morcunn dorat pett meic garnáit acus áchád toche temní acusbahé robomormáir acus robothosec.

Moridach son of Morcunn2 gave Pett meic Garnait and Achad toche temni; and it was he that was mormaer and was chief.3

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Matáin mac caerill dorat cuit mormoir inálteri acus culii mac batín dorat cúit tóiség.

gave

Matáin son of Caerill gave the mormaer's share in Altere, and Culii son of Baten the toisech's share.

The lands here referred to are doubtless those of Altrie, about two miles westward from the church of Deer.

Domnall mac gíric acus malbrigte mac chathail dorat pett inmulenn do drostán. Domnall son of Giric and Malbrigte son of Chathail1 gave Pett-in-Mulenn2 to Drostán.

An old mill stood on the bank of the Ugie, a short way to the north of the church, with a "sheelin'-hill" beside it, and it may have represented the mill of which the " Pet" or portion is here granted to the clerics.

It is possible that the joint gift may convey the respective shares of the mormaer and toisech, but this can only be an inference.

Cathal mac morcunt dorat áchád naglerec dodrostán.

Cathal son of Morcunt gave the clerics' field to Drostán.

This would seem to be the gift of Cathal's share as toisech in lands

"Now this gives Comgell no designation, and gives to Moridach both titles of mormaer and toisech. This is at variance with the whole scope of the passages, which invariably distinguish between mormaers and toisechs, and the positions of each. The two are mentioned first without designation to either, and then comes the statement and it was he.' Now, if it had been meant that Moridac was both mormaer and toisech, the text would have been bahe robomormair toisech.' 7 The text, however, is 'robo mormair 7

7

robo thosec:''robo' is the past tense of the word to be, he was,' and its being repeated shows that the real meaning is, 'and it was he (Comgell) that was mormaer, and he (Moridac) that was toisech.'

"Whether Moridac were mormaer or toisech, it will be seen that his brother Cathal was toisech, when, as Cathal mac Morcunt, he mortified the toisech's share.'

1 Malbrigte mac Chathail may have been the son of Cathal the toisech.

2 Muilenn, a mill.-(O'Brien's Dict.)

already belonging to the clerics, but not "freed" at the time of the grant in their favour.

Domnall mac rúadri acus malcolum mac culéon doratsat bidbín dó día acus dó drostán.

Domnall son of Ruadre and Malcoluim son of Culéon gave Bidbin to God and to Drostán.

Bidbin seems to be the Biffie of the present day. It lies about a mile west of the church, and the gift must be held to convey only the interests of the donors, as the king's share is granted in the subsequent entry. Although they are not designated, we are led to infer that the granters were respectively the mormaer and the toisech.

Malcoloum mac cinathá dorat cúit rííg íbbidbín acus inpett meic gobróig acus dá dabég uactaír rósábard.

Maelcoluim son of Kenneth gave (the) king's share in Bidbin and in Pett meic Gobroig and two davochs of Upper Rosabard.

This grant of the royal share by the King of Alba out of his lands of Bidbin, and the subject of co-existing rights of different officials in the same lands, are commented on in a subsequent chapter headed "Celtic Grants." The interest of the mormaer in these lands of Pett-meic-Cobroig was subsequently granted to the clerics. Malcolum mac moilbrigtæ dorat indelerc. Málsnecte mac lulóig dorat pett maldúib dó drostán.

Malcolum son of Maelbrigte gave the Delerc. Malsnecte son of Lulóeg gave Pett Malduib to Drostán.

The first of these grants is by Malcolm, mormaer of Moray, son of Maelbride, who was also mormaer of that province,' and the

1 The first mormaer of Moray on record is Ruaidhri or Rory, who was succeeded by his son Malbride. He was followed by his brother Finlay, who fought with Earl

Sigurd between A.D. 1005-1009. Finlay
was slain by his nephews Malcolm and
Gilcomgain, sons of Malbride, on which
Malcolm, mentioned in the text, became

second is by Malsnechte, son of Lulach, who, as representing the house of Moray, is styled "King of Moray" by the Irish Annalists, in recording his death A.D. 1085.1 If the lands conveyed by them were in the neighbourhood of Deer, as is likely, it is not easy to understand how the mormaers of Moray could have any title, as such, to lands in a province obviously subject to their rivals the Kings of Alba.

No such local names as the Delerc or Pett Malduib are now to be found in the district; but if the lands consisted of small portions which afterwards were merged in larger possessions with definite names, this could hardly be expected. It does not seem likely that the lands were isolated fields lying in Moray and at a distance from the monastery; nor do I think the difficulty is removed by Mr. Robertson's remark, that "the grants of Malcolm mac Malbride, and of Lulach's son Malsnechtan, would appear to mark the tenacity with which the family of Moray clung to their claim of exercising proprietary rights in that province, in which both the kings who sprang from their race met their death," as the province of Moray was always confined within the limits of the Spey as its southern boundary.

2

Domnall mac méic dubbacín robáith nahúle edbarta rodrostan [do drostán] arthabárt áhule dó.

Domnall son of Mac Dubbacin mortified [robaith'] all the offerings to Drostán, giving the whole of it to him.

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Robáith cathál árachoir chetna acuitid thoisíg acus dorat próinn chét cecnolloce acus ceccasc dó día acus dó drostán.

Cathal immolated in (the) same way his chief's share, and gave a dinner of a hundred every Christmas and every Easter to God and to Drostan.'

Cainnech mac meic dobarchon acus cathál doratsat ar alterín alla úethé na camone gonice inbéíth edarda álterin.

Cainnech son of Mac Dobarchon [waterdog or otter] gave Alterin-alla-uethe na camone as far as the birch between the two Alterins.

The subject of this grant seems to have formed part of Altrie, lands which in recent times have come to be known by the name of Bruxie.2

Dorat domnall acus cathál étdanin dó dia acus dó drostán.
Domnall and Cathal gave Etdanín to God and to Drostán.

This place is not recognisable in any modern name.

Robaith cainnec acus domnall acus cathál nahule edbarta ridía acus rí drostan óthósach goderad issære omór[maer] acus othesech culaithi brátha.

Cainnech and Domnall and Cathal mortified all these offerings to God and to

land, or for some similar advantages, the 'mortifier' guaranteed all the dues and offerings belonging to the abbey, just as the Bishops of St. Andrews guaranteed food and clothing to the community of Kirkness in return for the lands of the little priory." (Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. ii. p. 500.)

1

This was probably an obligation to entertain a hundred of those of the province of Buchan, who were assembled at Deer to celebrate these great festivals.

In the registry of Clonmacnoise, among the dues payable to the house was one

"to intertaine and cherish all those of the clanna Neills as should have come for pilgrimadg to Cluain uppon every Good Fryday."-(Mac Firbis's translation, with notes by Dr. Donovan, in Trans. Kilkenny Arch. Soc. 1856-57, p. 449.)

In the rental of the abbey-lands in 1554, those of Altrie are entered as also Mill of Bruxie; and when the lands of the abbey were erected into a temporal lordship, in the year 1587, in favour of Robert, Commendator of Deer, it was under the title of the Lordship of Altrie.

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