Page:Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history.djvu/110

 cii PEEFACE. The names of the sons consist of a few Pictish names borne by sons of cliiFerent fathers. There are — 6 Drusts, 5 Talorgs, 3 Nectans, 2 Galans, 6 Gartnaidhs, 4 Briides. In no case does the name of a father occur twice in the list of fathers. Third, In the list there are two cases of sons bearing Pictish names whose fathers are known to have been strangers, and these are the only fathers of whom we have any account. They are — 1. Talorg Mac Ainfrit. His father was undoubtedly Ainfrit, son of Aethelfrit, king of Northumbria, who took refuge among the Picts, and afterwards became king of Northumbria. 2. Brude Mac BUe. His father was a Welshman, king of the Strath- clyde Britons. In an old poem, Brude Mac Bile is called son of the king of Ailcluaide, i.e., Dumbarton ; and when, by the battle of Dunnichen, he became king of the Picts, another old poem says, " to-day " Brude fights a battle about the land of his grand- " father." Mr. M'Lennan, in his very original work on primitive marriage, to whom these facts were communicated by the Editor, states that they raise a strong presumption " that all the fathers " were men of other tribes. At any rate, there re- " mains the fact that, after every deduction has been " made, the fathers and mothers were in no case of " the same family name ;" and he refers its origin to the existence among them at an early period of what he calls " polyandry," wdth which he considers that the system of kinship through females only is