Historical and genealogical essay upon the family and surname of Buchanan

138 ACCOUNT OF THE
bert the I. upon his requiring them to produce their
evidents : there being also many contingencies,
particularly the feuds so frequent betwixt families
of these clans, carried on to such a degree of vio-
lence and animosity, and so detrimental to the
private affairs of all concerned therein. Besides,
the public commotions affecting the nation in gene-
ral, may in reason be imagined a palpable means
of the loss of many private evidents in custody of
those, subject in a greater measure to such incon-
veniences, than were many other surnames planted
in the more inland places. Though, indeed, some
who treat of the origin even of some of those last
mentioned, are obliged to found their allegations
in relation to the origin of these surnames, of which
they treat, upon probable and solid tradition. As
for instance, that exquisite historian of the celebra-
ted surname of Douglas; also the historian of the
surname of Lesly ; as indeed, in general, all who
treat of that subject use the same method in rela-
tion to the more ancient surnames. The reason
being obvious which obliges them so to do, if that
allegation be as generally allowed, as the same is
asserted by the greatest part of our modern writers,
that there can be no written record or evident evin-
ced to have existed, or at least be produced of a
more ancient date than the reign of king David the
I. which commenced in the year 1124. So that in
that case, all those surnames, whose origin is assert-
ed to be more ancient than the commencement of
that reign, must of necessity be founded upon tra-
dition. Upon which account, and more especially
that of the practice of the above-mentioned histo-