Historical and genealogical essay upon the family and surname of Buchanan

150 ACCOUNT OF THE
though the reason why the Scots, after divers at-
tempts for that effect, continued unconquered by
the Romans, be imputed to the inaccessibleness of
their country, by which means they were defended,
rather than by force of arms ; yet no such reason
can hold, in the Danes their frequent invasions of
them; all that war being managed in the open
fields, with plain force, and fair play, as the pro-
verb runs. While at the same time, most other
nations, with whom they had dealings, were either
obliged to submit to their yoke, or allow them very
advantageous conditions, as is evident by what is
already mentioned, and no less so by what follows.
In relation to Ireland, the historians of that na-
tion assert the Danes to have begun their descents
and depredations in the beginning of the fourth
century, upon the seacoasts of that kingdom ; which
obliged Cormackulfada, then king of Ireland, to
employ three thousand, or, as others say, nine
thousand of the choice men of the kingdom ; which
number he appointed as a standing army, for op-
posing the insults, and restraining the rapines of
these Danish pirates. These forces were termed
Feans, being the ancient Irish term for giants ;
and their general was termed king of Feans, than
which the Irish use no other term as yet in their
own language for a general. About the middle of
the fifth century, the Irish, with some of our
Scottish historians, assert Finmacoel to be general
of these Irish forces ; whose huge stature and ac-
tions against the Danes, and others, are somewhat
above measure extolled in divers rude rhymes, in
their own language, retained as yet by the Irish,