Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Historie of Scotland > Volume 1, 1888

78
THE HISTORIE OF SCOTLAND.
Simon
Brechtts is
first king of
Scottis in
I Hand.
in number multiplied, sa baith pissant and potent thay
grew. Bot ouer gret prosperitie, as oft chances in the
warlde, brocht furth this aide accustomed and arrogant
presumptione: for seditiouns of new ryses agane amang
thame stryue;/g for the supreme authoritie, and quha 5
sulde be supreme heid, at quhat tyme * it had am to
mekle warr, than was afore, excepte 21Thanaus, a man
with thame nocht of smal bot of verie gret sestimatione
(quha bot a litle afore was frame Hiberia to Hibernia
cuw, to reioyse on thair behalfe, for thair faelicitie a«d mak i o
mirrie with thame) and for the same cause was sent),
& excepte he, I say, prudentlie and wyselie had opponed
him selfe to the multitude, had bene mekle * war
than afore. The dilige^s, thairfor, Industrie, and trauale
of this Thana&s thay vsed to eschewe stryfe and dissen- 15
tione, to keip aback slachtir that vset, throuch the am-
bitione of some to brek furth ; & throuch quhais au¬
thoritie first was done and beguw, that the liberal and
frie electione of a prince sulde be maid abrogat, and of
na effecte, and that he suld be maid king, to quhome be 20
rycht of heritage his sones or f oyes followeng sulde succeid
to the kingdome. And than surelie first of al throuch
this manis Counsel, was Simo« brechus (a man maist
notable in respecte baith of the blude of Metellius that
he was and than of gret Justice, and in duet wl all vzVtue) 25
called frame Spayne; and quhen he was sett in the
Chyre called the Chyre of Destinie, to wit, quhair the
kings ar crouned, vpo« his heid is sett the kings crou«e,
the ^eir, afore the birth of Christe, 695 saxthundereth
nyntie and fyue: the ^eir eftir was bigit Rome 60, 30
* L. “ad multam majorem injuriam—it would have come to
much worse mischief. “ War ” = worse. The translator repeats the
passage twice.
+ L. “ Nepotes ’’—descendants. Both the Latin word and the
Scottish equivalent “ oyes ” are a little ambiguous, and may mean
either grandsons or nephews—descendants either direct or col¬
lateral.