Historical and genealogical essay upon the family and surname of Buchanan

158 ACCOUNT OF THE
ted on the Danes in England some little time be-
fore this, by command of Ethelred, the English
king. But, as that, so also this fell short of the
success projected thereby. For no sooner was the
Danish king of England informed of his country-
men's disaster, than he sent a powerful army into
Ireland, which with the utmost rigour did prose-
cute all who had any hand in this late tragedy ;
so that most of them fell victims to the rage of
their inveterate enemies, and those who did not
were necessitated to abandon their native country.
Among the number of these was
Anselan Buey, or Fair, Okyan, son to Okyan,
provincial king of the south part of Ulster, being
one of the youths concerned in the above-men-
tioned massacre. These Okyans, with some others
of the most ancient and reputed Irish surnames,
are asserted to be of the Milesian stem or lineage ;
as are also the M { Don aids, and some others of
our Scottish clans. These Milesians are reputed
the progeny of the sons of Milesius, Gathelian,
king of Gallicia in Spain, under whose conduct the
Gathelians, or Scots, were first brought to, and
planted in Ireland : so that all surnames in Ireland,
or Scotland, descended of these, term themselves
in their native language, Clanna Miley, or the
Milesian progeny.
The time of this Anselan Okyan his leaving Ire-
land is generally computed to be in the year 1016,
and twelfth year of king Malcolm II. his reign.
He having landed with some attendants upon the
northern coast of Argyllshire, near the Lennox,
was, by a nobleman who had a considerable inte-