T om b s o p th b
K in g s .
I was very defirous of viewing the tombs of the kings, ded
cribed by the D e a n of the iiles, and from him by Buchanan .•]
the former fays *, that in his time there were three, built in form!
of little chapels: on one was infcribed, Tumulus Regum ScotiA
In this were depofited the remains of forty-eight Scottijh monarclis j
beginning with Fergus II. and ending with the famous MacfothA
for his fucceffor, Malcolm Canmore, decreed, for the future, Dutn-\
ferline to be the place of royal fepulture O f the Scottijh. mol
narchs interred in Jona, fixteen are pretended to be of th e race of*
Alpin, and are ftyled, RighridAilpeameh.
X Fergus was the founder of this Maufdeum (Boethius calls it
batia +) and not only direfted, that it ihould be the fepulchreof]
his fucceffors, but alfo caufed an office to. be- compofed for till
funeral ceremony.
The next was infcribed, Tumulus R e g u m Hibernia, containing!
four Irijh monarchs ; and the third, Tumulus R e g u m
containing eight Norwegian princes, or more probably vice-royil
o f the Hebrides, while they were 1 object to that crown.
That fo many crowned heads, from different nations, (houldj
prefer this as the place of their interment, is faid to have been!
ewing to an antient prophecy I
Seachd bliadna roimh'n Ihraa
Thig muir thar E i r i n re aon trc?'
Sthar I l e ghu irttt ghlats
A(h Snamhaidb I c h o l u m clairicb*.
Which is: to this effedt: Ci Seven years before the end of thq
* P* *9» f. Boethius lib. vii. p. 122» J lib. vii. p. i*9*
“ world,]
« wor l d a deluge ihall drown the nations : the Yea, at one tide„
l«lhall cover Ireland, and the green-headed Fay, but Columba’s-
“ iile ihall fwim above the flood.”
But of thefe celebrated tombs we could- difcover nothing more
than certain flight remains, that were built in a ridged form, and.
Lched within; but the infcriptions were loft. Thefe are called.
Ijmaire nan righ, or, The ridge of the kings. Among thefe
[(tones were found two with galic infcriptions, and the form of a
Icrofs carved on each: the words on one were, Cros Domhail fa t-
I’tftch, or, The crofs of Donald Long-Jbanks: the other fignified-
| the crofs of Urchvine 0 Guin. The letters were thofe of the molt,
[antient Irijh-alphabet,, exhibited in Valiancy’& Irijh grammar.
| Among the fame ftones is alfo the following: Hicjacent qua-
Ituor Priores- de H y , Johannes, Hugenius, Patricias-, in decretis
dim Bacularius qui obiit an. Dom. millefs“ » quingenteffimo.
| I-am indebted to Mr. Stuart for thefe three infcriptions, which he
[metwith in his former voyage; arriving before the growth of the:
[all-covering weeds. Mr. Frazier, fon to the D e a n of the ifles, in-
[fomed Mr°Sacheverel governor of the ifle o f Man, who vifited'
\jtnii in 1688, that his father had collefoed there three hundred:
[ infcriptions, and prefen ted them to the Earl, o f Argyle -, which were,
[afterwards loft in the troubles o f the family.
The chapel of St. Oran ftands in this fpace, which legend reports
to have been the firft building attempted by St. Columba:
by the working of fome evil fpirit, the walls fell down as faft as.
they were built up.
After fome confuitation it was pronounced, that they never-
wo.uld.be permanent- till a human victim was buried alive: Oran,