Page:Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history.djvu/72

 Ixiv PKEFACE. introduction of Erth, the son of Echadius, the brother of Engenius, was first made by Fordun in his histoiy, and in Book iii. chap, i., he appears in almost the same words, "Fergusius filius Erth filii " Echadii, qui fuit frater Eugenii regis." Again, when the Edinburgh College version mentions Duncan, the son of Malcolm the Third, he calls him simply " Duncanus primogenitus ejusdem Mal- " colmi regis," whde Hearne's edition inserts after " primogenitus" the words " sed nothus." This epithet is unknown to the early Scottish chronicles. It appears for the first time in the English part of the " Chronicle of Huntingdon," and was adopted by Fordun in his history, as in Book v. chap, xxiv., in mentioning " Duncanus Malcolmi regis," he adds " filius nothus." Taking the 'iew, then, that these difi"erences con- sisted of additions subsequently made to the original document, and not of passages omitted from it, the text in the Edinburgh College MS., and in the Donibristle MS. which closely corresponds with it, has the best claim to represent the original, and the probabHity is that the text in Hearne's MS. was altered by Fordun to adapt it to his owti history, as he has altered most documents which he made use of, and that the other text most nearly repre- sents the original. The Donibristle MS. indicates the source from which this text was taken, as after the "Instructiones" is the following addition in the same hand — " Cujus copia cum processu ipsius Bal-