The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

CHAP. IV] OF SCOTLAND 51
describing a solemn agreement between the Picts and the
Scottish king, by which they submitted themselves to him,
and adopted many of the laws of the Scottish kingdom. Besides
the general name of Gael, the Picts also, as well as the High-
and an instance
landers, used the name of Albani or Albanaich ;
of this will be found in the descriptions given by the ancient
Saxon writers of the Battle of the Standard in the year 11 36,
where the Picts of Galloway, who were placed in the front of
the army, are mentioned, in charging the enemy, to have
"
shouted as their war-cry, " Albanich, Albanich !
When we consider that the northern Picts have been proved
to have inhabited the whole of the Highlands, with the exception
of southern Argyll, even as late as the end of the ninth century,
and that the Scottish conquest did not produce any change
either in their situation or in their territories ; and
that it
has also been proved that these northern Picts spoke the Gaelic
language, and bore the appellation
of Gael and Albanich as
well as the Highlanders, the presumption is very strong indeed
that they must have been the same people, and one which it
would require evidence of no ordinary force to overturn. But
in the second place, there is still another proof which
landers can be remains to be adduced in order to show that the
the period Highlanders
were the descendants of the northern
northern
Picts were in
Picts, and that is, to trace the Highlanders as in
. r i t t •
possession
i i i r i i
of
possession of the their country.
Highlands as lar back as we can,
'^
. .
.,.,., , ,
,
uiitil we arrive at a period in which we had previously
found the northern Picts inhabiting the same country ; and
thus the impossibility of the Highland clans having been
descended from any other nation, would be evident.
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the north of
Scotland, which at that time was unquestionably inhabited by
a Gaelic race, was divided into several great districts ; the
principal of which were the districts of Athol, Moray, Ross,
Garmoran, Mar, and Buchan. During this period also, we find,
in the ancient chronicles, and in the Irish Annalists, very
frequent mention made of certain persons bearing the title of
Maormors, and generally acting an important part in the various
events of Scottish history. It is of the greatest
The Maormors. r i i i i • r i i
•
consequence for the due understanding 01 the history