Ossian Collection > Romance of the Highlands

ORIGIN OF THE CELT. g
and others, fled to Scotland. King Malcolm settled them
principally in the south and east, and having himself
married Margaret (known as Saint Margaret), sister to
the Atheling, he introduced the Saxon language to the
country and the court. It is said that there was scarcely
a household in the Lothians without English refugees.
The Romans, the greatest soldiers of their time, and
whose empire spread far and wide, had found, when
fighting the Gauls in France, that their enemy was
receiving reinforcements from Britain. After subduing
Gaul they landed on the south coast of England as a
reprisal, and it was not long ere all that country had to
acknowledge their authority. They then turned their
faces to the north, and here they found foemen "worthy
of their steel." Though they succeeded in overrunning
the Lowlands, they found their course stayed in the
Highlands. They fought many great battles, and they
mention particularly that of Mons Grampius. It is not
exactly known where that battle was fought, but every-
thing points to its having been at Meikleour, near
Dunkeld. The Romans won the day, but it was not a
decisive battle. The Caledonians, though always fighting
among themselves, united their forces against the
common enemy. Many Roman camps throughout the
land testify to the presence of these braves. One in a
good state of preservation is Inchtuthill, near Mons
Grampius. It occupies an area of 56 acres, and could
hold 11,000 men. A series of excavations carried out by
the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1901 showed,
in the remains of buildings, that a long settlement had
been intended. It may have been their most advanced
fort, lying as it did at the entrance to the mountainous
region.
It is probable that after this battle the Romans had
penetrated further north, and it is said that in one such