Ossian Collection > Thoughts on the origin and descent of the Gael

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" antiquis Scottorum et Pictorum, quod ilia regio
" qujE nunc corrupte vocatur Scotia, antiquitus
" appellabatur Albania ab Albanacto juniore filio
" Bruti primi regis Britannorum majoris Britan-
" mx. Et post multum intervallum temporis a
" Pictis Pictavia : qui regnaverunt in ea per cir-
" culum MLXX annorum : secundum quosdam
" MCCCLX. Nunc vero corrupte vocatur Sco-
" cia. Seotti vero regnaverunt per spacium
" CCCXV annorum ; anno illo quo Willelmus
" rex Rufus, frater Malcolmi viri honest£e vitae
" et virtutis, regnum suscepit."
We learn from this ancient piece of intelli-
gence, that at the period when the writer of it
lived, there existed written histories and chro-
nicles of the ancient Britons, written records and
ancient annals of the Scots and Picts ; that the
country then corruptly called Scotia or Scotland,
was anciently called Albania, from Albanactus
the first king of the Britons of Greater Britain.
That after a long interval of time Albania, but
now corruptly called Scotia, was called Pictavia,
from the Picts, who had reigned in it for a
period of one thousand and seventy years ; ac-
cording to some authors, one thousand three
hundred and sixty years. That the Scots had
reigned three hundred and fifteen years, in that
year when king William Rufus, the brother of
Malcolm, a man of integrity and virtue, under-
took the government.