Series 3 > Highland papers

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
5
have had a Gaelic surname indicating their origin in the
form of MacNab.1
Alexander de Ergadia, the heir-male of Somerled, had
married an aunt of the Red Comyn whom Bruce killed at
Dumfries, and he and his son, Ian Bacach, generally known
as John of Lome, were accordingly inveterate enemies of
the King. After the defeat at Methven in June 1306,
Bruce and his followers took to the hills. At the top of
Glendochart they were attacked by the Lord of Lome
with a force which Barbour says included ‘ the barownys
of Argyll alsua.’ Amongst these was Macnachtan and, we
may assume, also the Lord of Glendochart, especially as
it was a Macnab that, according to Barbour, betrayed to
the English Sir Christopher Seton, the King’s brother-in-
law. The place of the fight, from which Bruce escaped
with difficulty, leaving behind him his cloak and the
famous brooch of Lome, still bears the name of Dalrigh.
It is close to the holy pool in which St. Fillan is said
to have baptised his converts and not far from where
St. Fillan’s Priory once stood. It has been suggested2
that Bruce may have felt that his escape was due to
the intervention of the Saint, for whom he certainly
developed great veneration. But be this as it may, it
is beyond doubt that some relic of St. Fillan—more
than likely his bachuil, now safely preserved in the
museum of the Society of Antiquaries—was present at
Bannockburn and regarded as having contributed to the
victory.3
At Bannockburn there was also present Maurice, Abbot
of Inche-Affren, ‘ quod Latine dicitur Insula Missarum,’
who, after saying Mass, walked barefoot through the
1 Cf. Britanes Distemper, p. 97.
2 By Dr. John Stuart, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, vol. xii.
p. 147.
8 Scotichronicon (Goodall), vol. ii. p. 449.