J. F. Campbell Collection > Minstrelsy of the Scottish border > Volume 1

INTRODUCTION. Vll
began to rise into eminence upon the Scottish Bor-
ders. They brought with them arts, both of peace
and of war, unknown in Scotland ; and, among
their descendants, we soon number the most power-
ful Border chiefs. Such, during the reign of the
last Alexander, were Patrick, Earl of March, and 1249
Lord Soulis, renowned in tradition ; and such were
also the powerful Comyns, who early acquired the
principal sway upon the Scottish marches. In the
civil wars betwixt Bruce and Baliol, all those power- 1300
ful chieftains espoused the unsuccessful party. They
were forfeited and exiled ; and upon their ruins was
founded the formidable house of Douglas. The Bor-
ders, from sea to sea, were now at the devotion of a
succession of mighty chiefs, whose exorbitant power
threatened to place a new dynasty upon the Scot-
tish throne. It is not my intention to trace the dazz-
ling career of this race of heroes, whose exploits
were alike formidable to the English and to their
own sovereign.
The sun of Douglas set in blood. The mu
ders of the sixth Earl, and his brother, in the cas-
tle of Edinburgh, were followed by that of their
successor, poniarded at Stirling by the hand of