II. NOTES ON THE LIBRARY OF THE SINCLAIE3 OF ROSSLYN. By EBV. PKOFESSOR H. J. LAWLOR, D.D., F.S.A. SCOT. How much Scottish antiquarian e indebtee librarar sth t o a t yd Rosslyn Castle is sufficiently proved by the fact that of the twenty-one manuscripts of the Scotichronicon of Fordun, described by the late Dr Skene,1 probably at least five came from that collection—i.e., a larger number than exist at present in any single library_while a sixth if never actually within the castle, was at least carefully examined by one of its owners. It occurs to me, therefore, that it may interest the Fellowe Societth I laf o f ysi y before them what little informatioI n have been abls history it colleco et o t s .a t External Rosslye noticeth f o sn Librart numerousno e yar I have. , in fact, discovered no more than a few statements, all from the pen 1 Historians of Scotland, vol. i., Introduction ; Proceedings of Society of Anti quaries f Scotland,o seg.7 r Skene2 D . x , whose descriptions I have however verified and supplemented by actual inspection of the manuscripts, is my authority for all the copies of the Scotichvonicon mentioned in this paper. • THE LIBRARY OF THE SINCIAIRS OF ROSSLYN. 91

of Father Bichard Augustine Hay, whic I hher e transcribes hi n I . Genealogie e Sainteclairesth f o f o Rosslyn, r writinWilliaSi f o gm

Sinclair succeedeo wh ,e Rossly th o dt n fathes e deatestathi th f n rho eo 1 in 1554, he says :— " He gathered a great many manuscripts which had been taken by the rabble out of our monasterys in the time of the reformation, whereupon we find as yenams hi t e written thus r WilliaSi , m Sincla Roslinf o r , Knight." s Vindicationhi n I of Elizabeth More' incidentalle h 2' y mentions that the Black Book of Paisley "belonged to Sir William Sinclair of Eoslin, Lord Justice General." ture W nn entr a nex o yt t mad n somi e e blank begine pageth t a s- ning of the MS. 35. 1. 7 in the Advocates' Library, containing a history of the book to which they are prefixed, by " A. B[rown], bibliothecarius." professee H havo t s e copie t frod i e autograpmth f yeaHaye o hth rn 8i 1777. Remark is made of the number of transcripts' of Fordun which had been made by the Canons of St Columba at Inchcolm, and then the writer proceeds (p. 7):— " Quorum omnium principem locum obtinet Codex meus Hayarms, qui a Petro quondam ejusdem insulae Canonico .... descriptus anno xvn. Jacob regis. iII , atque magno aureorum numero, a Willielmo Orcadum et Cataniae Comite ernptus, Cupru mn Angusii a delatu t annes s o MCCCCXLV librom Cu s . undi- quaque, ad instruendam illam suam insignem Bibliotheoam, Cistercienses Monachi conquirerent, praemijs etiam liberaliter propositis. In eo Coenobio, quod Milcolumbus iv Virgin! Deiparae construxerat anno MCLXu di V delituit d annua , m nempe post Christum natum MCOOOOLIX o annQu o . monasteria universa aedesque sacrae, dijeotis altaribus, alijsque ornainentis direptis, incendio absumpta sunt, abactis incolis ; aut a fundamentis convulsa, ab hominibus aestu religionis in insaniam prolapsis, inaudito omnibus sajculis immanitatis exemplo. " Inter spolia, quae nefarijs latronibus in praedam obtigerant, invent! sunt proximo post direptionem anno, a Wilielmo a Sancto Claro, quern Maria Lotha- ringa Jacobi v. Regina vidua juridioundo praefecerat Justiciary nomine, non

1 Edinburgh, 1835 . 136p , . 3 A Vindication of Elizabeth More from the Imputation of being a Concubine, etc., by Richar Drumbootef o y , dHa Edinburgh E. . C , ,. 172327 . p , 3havI e been unabl discoveo et Advocatese r th thi n si ' Library imaginI . e eth transcript, which, in default of the original, I follow closely, is not very accurate. 92 PBOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUAKY 14, 1898.

longo a Cupro intervallo Codices aliquot coenobiorum, diversia pellibus obducti, quos omnes,- comprehensis in fidis perduellibus, qui motus concitaverant, & ad palum damiiatis, ne major dien ai s increments acciperent. Calviniana irnpietas, cum domum rediret, secum abduxit, atque in arce sua Roselini ad Escam amnem

in Lothiana, seposuit, praefix liminn oi e nominis sui indiculolocn i oc summaHo . ' cura reconditi remanserunt, ad annum MDCil. 1 Quo anno Arx a Monkio Anglicarum legionum ductore, gravi obsidioni obsessa est, admoti Septend a s - triones tormenti s; quoru m displosione edit t ingenes a s murorum strages. . . . Johannes Sinclarius, sive a Sancto Claro, loci Regulus .... deditionem fecit ... Libri quoque omnes, effractis Bibliothecae foribus, niilitibusa 2 , qui'divitum opibus insidiantur, magno Eeipublicae nostrae damno, furto abducti quibuE . s Ludovicus Stuart eques auratus atqu Supremn ei a apud Scotos curia causaruni patronus codicem meum Hayanum, sive Oupraeum, qui tarito cladi superfuerat, multo auro lucratus est, Edimburgi cum venalis exponeretur ad Crucem foralein. Quern Codicem a Carolo eius ex filio nepote consanguineo meo Ketelstonij in agro Limnocensi Comarcha dono acceptum veluti Palladiu mn Galriai m detuli anno MDCLXXXIX. riavem conductitiam nactus," etc.3 e eventth f f thaf 1688o so o td d an ,en t Rossly a e s th . wa at ny Ha year he. gives us the following account :*— ;• " Those monuments, with some other part of the Chapell .... were a little defaced by the rable; the eleventh of -December 1688, about 10 of the clock att night, after the castle had been spoiled, where I lost seveiall books of note, and, amongst others, the original! manuscript of Adam Abel, which I had of my Lord.Tarbat, then Register."

1 This date is incorrect. In a letter, dated Edinburgh, Novemb. 20, 1650, which appeared in MercuriusPoZifo'cws,' Nov. 28-Deo. 5, 1650, we read :—"The last week Col. Monk commanded out a small party to Roslin-house, near Dalkeith, where the moss-troopers sheltered themselves. After he had shot with his guns and plaid some granados, they surrendered at mercy. There were not in it ahove 5 or 6 and 20 men." This extrac kindls . Firthwa tH y. C communicate .r M y b e m o dt This sentence determines approximately the position of the Library. It remained 2 intact after Monk's cannon had done their worst. It can hardly, therefore, have been in the older buildings which surrounded the courtyard. Nor can it have been modere inth n portion e 17taddeth h n di century stild an ,l standing t remainI . s e manth f yo e room showw on s no s dungeon thaa nwa t i t d whaan s e t notth n i , three storeys below the level of the courtyard, and facing the river Esk. shorte3A r accoun histore hooe th f th Registra o givets e kf i y o th n i Coenobiorum de Melross et Ealmerino (M'Farlan's transcript, Advoc. Lib. MS. 35. 3. 13, p.. 131 seq.); in Hay's Scotia Sac^a, i. p. 550 seq, (Advoe. Lib. MS. 34. 1. 8); and in his - , Vindication f Elizabetho Mare, . ' 110p . . 4 Genealogie, . 107.p " , THE LIBRARY OF THE SINCLAIRS OF ROSSLYN. 93 nothind ha e t thesw gbu f eI four passage upono g o f Fathet ,so y Ha r we should naturally conclude that the history of the library might be sketched thus. It was gathered by Sir William Sinclair in the third quarte e 16tth hf o r century d mainlyan , - consiste f booko d s whice hh rescued from the wholesale spoliation of religions houses which took plac that ea t period. Pretty clearly religioue th , r Willias Si zea f o l mn i saving monastic possessions from destruction was uppermost in Hay's mind. The library consisted of memorials and relics of the Old Faith. Once collected in this way, it remained practically untouched until soldiere looteth y db f Genera yo l Mon n 1650ki thin O s .occasio e nth books were completely scattered y infe ma t r rleas o A e tha.w w t fe t none remaine carefuls i 168n contexe whildr i e y th fo th 8 n ; eHa i f , o t passage just quoted detaio t , l bot injuriee hth s don "thy eb e rabbleo "t the chapel and the portions which remained intact after their assault, he makes no allusion to the destruction of hooks, with the exception of those whic privatn h ow wer s e hi eproperty . probabls i t i t yBu universally admitted writea that no tr Fathes i y rHa whose unsupported testimon e implicitlb n ca y y accepted e musW .t therefore question—Ith k as e s ther y othean e r evidence availably b e which we may confirm his assertions about the library, or which may enabl modifo t s e u r supplemenyo t theme onlTh y? suc h evidence which s comha o iflet y knowledg describee b s whai ey ma ts internala d e th : facts disclose booke th y sdb themselves, whic e havhw e good reasoo nt believe at one time formed part of the Sinclair collection. These hooks, printed and manuscript, I now proceed to examine. As they are for the most part to be recognised by the signatures which they contain of their former owners, I give, in the first place, specimens, in facsimile, of the autograph e successivth f so e laird f Rosslyso n fro e beginninmth e th f go 16th to the early part of the 17th century, together with 'that of one other member of the family of Sinclair, the interest of which will soon appear.

r WilliaSi . A m Sinclair, ob. June 1554. e signaturTh 1" f thio e s

1 See the retonr given in Hay's Genealogie, p. 136, dated July 4, 1554, in which states i t i d tha r WilliaSi t m Sinclai died rdha durin monte gth h just past. 94 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1898.

Sir William varies considerably, and it has therefore been thought well o givt e several examples. l takeal The e n yar fro m charters preserved t Peniciiia k House. (date 7 . Bundl1 . No d , 12te2 h Oct. 1518>

2. Bundle 2, No. 11 (dated 19th October 1527).

4. Bundle 2, No. 13 (dated 13th April 1549).

. HenrB y Sinclair, Dea f Glasgoo n w (1550) subsequentld an , y (circ. 1560) Bisho f Eosso p , ob. Jan , ISGf. 2 .s signaturHi 1 s singularli e y uniform. • The specimen here given is taken from the Advocates' MS. 35. 6. 7. That it is the signature of this Henry Sinclair will be proved immediately.

C. Sir William Sinclair, said by Hay to have been Justiciar,2. suc- ' Keith's Historical Catalogue of the 'Scottish Bishops (ed. 1824), p. 193 seq. J 2 Hay's language seems to imply that he was sole Justiciar of Scotland, tut the THE LIBRARE SINCLAIETH F 5 O Y9 F ROSSLYN O S .

ceedeestatee th o dt s Jul yannexee 1554. th firse f o Th t 1d particularly good example s hans probablhi wa df o s y writte n thai n t s i year t I . taken e "froe Abbotsfor Booth m th f f Battleo o k . MS sd " (Pres, Z s e seconTh shels froi . de Advocates 1) th mf . 7 . 6 '. Librar35 . MS y The proof that they are correctly assigned to him rather than to his father is deferred for the present.

tf vx ^

D. Sir William Sinclair, son of the last, who held the estates from 1582 till 1 6 1 2firslaterr e 2o thesf o Th t . e signature agais si n taken from the Abbotsford " Book of Battles," which yields the finest specimen I have seen. The second is from the Eosslyn Missal, f. 1 1 2b, Advocates' Library MS. 18. 5. 19. Dated examples exist at Penicuik House. The latest whic I hhav e examined f datthero es i e 22nd January 1610 . 9) Another (Bundl. No , ,e16 which appear o resemblt s e rather more closel e secone 23rth yth f thosdf o givendw o Jul no es i y, 1585 . 3) Apparentl . (BundlNo , e signatur17 eth y e shoul e reab d d "D. Dominus= [ ] Sinclai Eoisling.f o r "

charter on which he founds his statement empowers him to act as Justiciar in Laudone, i.e., the district south of the Forth. Genealogie, p. 139; cf. Hume, Commentaries on the Law of Scotland respecting Crimes, Edinburgh, 1829, vol. ii. y give say.2 countenancHa o 1 n s . p e oft-repeateth o t e t certainlbu d y erroneous statement of later writers, that Sinclair held the office of Justice-Clerk. retoue th e r 1Se cite d above. 2 See Hay's Genealogie, p. 151. 96 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14,

r WilliaSi . E m Sinclair, know s "f Pentland,a no " successoe th f o r foregoing. From'the Penicuik charter, Bundl , No2 (date16 e1 . d • . llth Dec. 1618).

We now come to the books themselves,—the few scattered fragments e greath f to know librare m o nt y of-Rosslyn.

I. We take up first of all the deeply interesting volume now in the possessio e Revth f . no Alexande r Thomson Grant, Episcopal clergyman1 Levent a . onle Thith ys si printe d book whic hI hav e seen containinga Rosslyn signature. t bearI 1title th se " Clavdii Ptolemaei Alexandrinr Philosoph primim cu i s erudit e Geographid i a libri octo .... Parisiis, Apud Christianum Wechelu m. ... . M.D.XLVI. e volumTh " e "is well r Grant1M , however, tell thae m s t ther anothes ewa Italia n (a r n e workth n i ) library of the Earl of Rosslyn at Dysart. E LIBRARTH . F THYO E SINCLAIR7 9 F EOSSLYNO S .

boun calfn i d , an n excelleni d s uppet it preservation d n o an r s ha t I . lower boards the book stamp of its owner—viz., the Sinclair arms (an engrailed a crosshield n o s ) wit e mottth h o ANEXOT KAI AFIEXOTe th , whole being surrounded by an oval containing the letters " HENRICVS SINCLAB DBCANVS GLASKVENSI Se foo th f 1550.o pag3 t t 43 A e " a signatur e sams th ha e n t i i ehan s Ba d above. Thi s scorei s d t witou h three nearly vertica e nexth tln o paglines e find w ean d , " W. SANTCLAIR OP EOiSLiN, KNBCHT," in the hand C. " On a fly-leaf at the beginning," Mr Grant tells me, "is a signature (thrice written) 'J. Lambert,' evidently an Englishman of the 17th century. On the same page apparentld an , e samth en i ye namhand . th Lions.J ' s ei , ' e boos subsequentlTh wa k ye possessio.ith n f Steuaro n t of'Allanton, and has in it the Ex Libris of that family." leare W n much from this e firsvolumeth t n placeI .e signaturth , e B is definitely fixed as that of Henry Sinclair, -Dean of Glasgow, and afterwards Bisho thif d Bosspo sAn Henry. Sinclai s showri o havnt e had a considerable library of printed books. He binds the books which buyse h , som f theeo m publishe e continenth n do s f Europeha o t e H . already, in 1550, immediately after his appointment to the Deanery, s boohi k stamp engraved wit s namehhi titlereade w H , ne arms. s d an , Greek—for this volume has no Latin translation of the original. And, finally t leasa , s collectiot hi par f o t n passe t soma d ewritee timth o et r of signatur . eC Thu r Grant'M s e librarsth booo f t yo ky founwa s it d Bosslyn Castle. In the 17th centiiry it was in the hands of an Englishman, showing that by that time the dispersion of the Rosslyn collection had begun—as, indeed, Hay has already told us.

. AdvocatesII . 7—th6 ' . Library35 e . ScotichronicoMS , f Fqrduno n (abridged). We find in this book, on the recto of the first leaf, and again on the last leaf, the same two signatures (B and C) which appear in Mr Grant's copy of Ptolemseus. The first is in each case scored out, jus befores a t t I shoul. e noticeb d e lasdth that n leao t f the lines drawn through Henry Sinclair's name are in the same ink s thaa whicn i t e succeedinth h g signatur s pennedi e . Her e havew e evidence that William Sinclair acquired Henry's books immediately VOL. xxxii. G 8 9 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , FEBRUAR , 189814 Y .

after they passed out of the possession of the latter. Signature C appear se seconagaith n no d e otheleafOn r. signatur2 mus . fo t n o e receive attention. It is that of JA: BALFOTJRITJS KYNARDIJ; MILES LEO ARMORUM E.EX. Now r JameSi , s Balfour became Lyon Kin f Armgo s before 26th March 1630, d abou1an t that time bough a largt e number of manuscript bookse Advocatesth n ,i mosw f whicno o t' Librarye har . He died in 1657. Hence the Sinclair books which came into his hands (an onle dshalth e ythist w ones lno a , see s ) muswa , t have left Eosslyn befor e latteeth r date,—th beforw no probabls u e eon y shortly beforr o e •after 1630.2

III. Advocates' Library, MS. 35. 6. 8. Scotichronicon (abridged), lettered on back " Liber Niger Pasleti." The history of this manu- script, so far as I have been able to discover it, is as follows :—It was e Johwritteon nGibson• y b n , junior, Notary-Publi d Chaplaian c f o n Glasgo f Marco w h Cathedralh4t 1501.e th s finisheo It n 3wh o , t i d

evidence Th 1 thir efo s statemene manuscripte founth b o n t i d r James i tSi f so s Advocatese th Balfoun i w no r' Library havI . e examined twenty-tw themf oo , taken atrandom. Of these, eleven hav signature eth e: BALFOUKIU "JA S KYNARDI* MILES LEO ARMOEUM REX," with a date. The date is in four cases 1629, once above the signature 1629 and below it 1630, four times 1630, once 1632, and once 1649. These fact e sufficienar s o shot t w tha e statementh t t of Sibbald (Memoria Bal- fouriana, Edinburgh, 1699 . ,p 10) , repeatee Dictionaryth n i d f o National Biography, vol. iii. p. 54, that his library was collected during the civil war, is misleading t incorrectno f signaturei e , Th . undatee n somsi th f eo d volumes prove that they were acquired befor r JameeSi mad s swa e baronet (1633) latea t A r .dat eI fin d, "E (Advoc3) . x4 . LIBRI.18 Lib. S MS .JACOB I BALFOURII KYNARDM MIL: BARONET' LEONIS ARM: REGIS 1649." See also, for the date of his appointment as Lyon King of Arms, Haig's edition of the Historical Works of Sir James Balfour;

seq.8 17 . p vol . ii . 2 Certainl t lateno y r than 1633 lase Se t. noter MurraM . y (Slack Bookf o Paisley, p. 43) says it was previously in the Royal Library at Holyrood, but gives no proof. See the colophon of the manuscript in Skene, Historians of Scotland, i. p. xxiv. 3 It should be observed that the colophon proper is the last paragraph of what Dr Skene quotes. The first three paragraphs (with one or two other unimportant lines of writing) occup e nexth y t page . e samTheth y en i yhandma e seet b bu o m,t have been penned at a later date. The John Gibson who wrote this copy of the Scotichronicon is frequently mentioned in the records of the Diocese of THE LIBRARE SINCLAIRTH F O Y 9 9 F ROSSLYNO S .

first owner * was a canon of the cathedral of the same name, who appears about this tim o havt e e been promote e Prebenth o t d f Renfrew.o d 2 What became of the book after his death3 I do not know. Its next known owner was one John Laing, Eector of Kilpatrick-Juxta, and subsequently (1554) Canon of Glasgow, with the Prebend of Luss.4 Subsequently it belonged to Henry Sinclair,—witness his signature, (B) e see, b whic ny betweema he th e las e d texth ntth an lintf o e colophon. It is natural to suppose that he became possessed of it durin Deanertenurgthe his of e Glasgoyof w (1550-1560). Likthe e volumes already spoke t passei , nof d from Henry Sinclai r WilliaSi o t r m (C). Signatur e colophoth e manuscriped th B an f no t have been scored out; and in the same ink as the scores, a little to the left, is written signaturlattee Th r . appeareC se followin agaith n no e g th page n I . 17th centur e booyth k belonge r RoberSi o t dt Sibbald e salf th eo t a , whose collectio s purchasen 170ni wa e Advocates t 0i th r dfo ' Library.6 Glasgow e distinguishin r th moreo , f wite o on h g epithets 'junior,' 'notarius publicus,' or 'capellanus' (for I have no doubt all these titles belonged to the same person), between the years 1505 and 1507. See Liber Protocollorum M. C. Simonis, A.D. 1499-1513, edited by Bain and Rogers '(Grampian Club), vol. ii., Index ; Registrum Episcopatits Glasguensis (Bannatyne Club) ,. 518p vol . .ii . 1 See Skene, ubi sup. e manuscripth f o s entitlei d e e inscriptioh en th t ' Rectode n I 2th e t d ra n Renfrew,' and similar designations are found appended to his name from 1503 onward Protocollae th n si (see Index). Previousl d hel e seconha dth e yh d Prebend of Glasgow (Eegistrum, . 496)p vol . ii ., f inferiowhico s hwa r value (ib.,. volpp . i . Ixiii, Ixxii). Goodall (Scotichronicon, Edinburgh, 1759, vol. i. p. iv) falls into the erro f identifyino r Joho tw n e Gibsonsth g s othera , d donha s e befor (Sim hi er George Mackenzie's Works, Edinburgh ; Hay4 s quotea 36 , ,. y p 1722b d . ii , Piteairn, Families f Kennedy,o . viii)p . But, independentl e facth t f yo tha t they are often mentioned togethe e samth en i rdocumen Protocolla,e th n i t improbs i t i - able that any one would describe himself as ' Venerabilis et circumspectus vir Johes Gibson' e epithesucd th an s h;i t applie Joho dt n Gibso Canoe nth Johy b n n Gibson the Scribe. 3 His name last occurs in the Protocolla under the date May 31, 1511 (p. 405), by which time John Gibson, junior s somwa ,e tim e instrumenth e e dease d; f o t May 18,1510, p. 349. Another Canon was inducted into his stall towards the end of the year 1511 (p. 386). See, for further information about the Gibsons, Murray's Blade Book of Paisley, pp. 64 sey., 92 seq. 4 Murray,- Black Bool: of Paisley, p. 66. 6 Murray, op. cit., p. 67. 0 10 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , FEBRUAR , 189814 Y .

These manuscripts and Mr Grant's Ptolemseus leave unanswered two questions—Which of the Sir William Sinclairs of Rosslyn acquired possession of Henry Sinclair's books? and, When did they come into his hands ? To these questions the book which we now proceed to examine give a replys .

IV. The Largs MS. of the Scotichronicon. By this name we must now call the codex which the late Dr W. F. Skene so carefully described in a communication to this Society,1 under the title of the Whytbank manuscript. Some years ago it was sold at Sotheby's rooms by direc- tion of Alexander Pringle, Esq. of Whytbauk, and fell into the hands of Messrs Elli Elveys& , London t i £102pai o r dfo ,wh . Fortunately from the mt founi Scottisda h ownepersoe th f n Johi nro n Scott, Esq., C.B., F.S.A. Scot., Halkshill, Largs s presenit , t custodian o whost , e kindness I owe tracings of the signatures found in it, and much valu- able information. It contains a text superior to that of any other copy in the British Isles, being a transcript of the Wolfenbiittel MS., e whicprincipath s i h l authorit r concer ou yr Skene t D use ny Bu b d. is with the- signatures of its former owners. They are the following:— f MS.o d , en "HEN t a d .an SINOLA 2 . fo Rn O episcopu ) (1 e Eossd s "= signature B. d severa. I.an ,Bk f l o time d en s e elsewhere,th t A ) (2 2 > . "W. SANTCLAIR OF ROISLIN KNECHT." | At end of MS., under that of Henry Sinclair, "W. }-= signature 0. SAHTCLAIR 'OP ROISLIN KNECHT Anno DominI i Mvlxv." J

fly-leaenda e n th (3 O ,t ) a "f Liber Magistri Robert! Elphinstone." (4) On the next blank leaf, " M r Alexander Thomeson Pastor Edinensis, 1636." (5) On fo. la, " Ex libris Dni Guil. Cunninghame de Caprintoun," in an early 17th century hand. The evidenc f theso e e inscriptions enable o drat s wu s severa- im l portant conclusions. In the first place, this book, like the three of

1 Proceedings, seq.7 2 . x One of these (not mentioned by Dr Skene), of which only a portion remains, has thea date "Annomv c. .l" LIBRARE SINCLAIKE TH TH . F O YF EOSSLYN O S . 101:

whic have hw e already spoken, passed from Henry Sinclai Williao t r m Sinclair. r WilliaAgainSi e mth , here referred to—the write f theo r ; signature C above—is shown beyond doubt, by the date 1565,1 to have bee e seconth n f thado t name succeedeo wh ,e Rosslyth o dt n property n 1554i . Once more, Henry Sinclair continue o indulgt d s bookhi e - hunting proclivities after, his elevation.to the episcopate in 15.60.2 Finally, since Bishop Sinclair died in 1564, we have distinct proof s aftes deatthawa hi r t i ht that this manuscript d probablyan , , there- fore, the remainder of his library with it, was deposited at Rosslyn. Let us now glance at the subsequent history of this interesting manu- script. t I wa. s acquire n e 1636entriee i fourtdth th f s o a h,s just transcribed informs us, by Mr Alexander Thomesone, an Edinburgh minister.- It had therefore left Eosslyn before that year. How long before we cannot determine, but it had at least one owner before it came to Mr Thomesone. Not improbably it was purchased within a f 1630o e havo e yearw th ,tw eyeas a r , seeno r , whe r JameSi n s Balfour became o eagerlLyos s n wa yKing d buyinan , g valuable manuscripts.

V. Advocates'Library, MS. 35. 6. 13. " Extracta ex Cronicis Scocie." histore Th f thiyo s manuscrip tracee b considerabla r y dfo ma t e period. s editorIt r TurnbullM , f opiniono s i , s compile3 wa tha t i tAlexy b d - ander Myln , e Bishopse authoLivesth th f f o f o Durikeld. o r Imme- diately afte s deatpossessioe hi r th 154n hi n i e fin 8t w i f d Willian o m Chisholm s Bishowa o f Dunblanpo wh , e from 152m hi 7o 1564 t y B .

it was given to Henry Sinclair about the time of his appointment to the same Th e 1 date seem Abbotsfore s hanth occuo t hi s n i dn i r d Book f Battleso (No. VIII.). See below p. 104, note 3. sayinn I 2 g this assumI , e tha addendue th t m " Episcopu Rose d s writte s s "wa n by Henry Sinclair himself. Though the hand, in which these words are penned resembles tha f Williao t m Sinclair's signature t beyon pu e fac s th i , td questioy b n the circumstance tlia botn i t h places wher t occuri e e namth s f Henr o e y Sinclais ri score three th d eoutn i precedins a , g books tha d marke an ,th t deletiof so drawe nar n

throug titlnamee e hwelth s th e a s la . 3 Mxtracta e Variis Qronids Scocie, Edinburgh, 1842 (Abbotsford v Club)xi . p , seq. 102 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1898.

Deaner f Glasgowyo . These fact leare w s n fro mnotfly-leaa a n eo f at' beginnine th e boo th n Henr i kf g o y Sinclair'sjian d: " Henrici Sinclar decanj glasgue x done n o Edi pris Vilelm i Dublanensiep j s 1550." Dean Sinclair's signature (B) is found also on the upper margin of e firsth e ttex th pag tf o e(fo . la), s beewherha n t i edeleted n i s a , other cases already mentioned. From him the volume passed to Sir William Sinclai e Justiciarrth , -wh writtes oha nams hi n e (signatur) eC in four places, viz., immediately after the note on the fly-leaf quoted e firsth tf e indexl. ao pagth fo (lowe p f n eo to ,o abovee r th margin) t a , , . 296fo f bo — p a to pag e th ane t whicda h contain e lasth se t th lin f o e e beginninth texd an t f somo g e additamenta whico t , e mushw t allude again. After his death the book still remained in the library, for we find signature D below C on the lower margin of fo. la.. As to e lateth r histore manuscriptth f yo o evidencn , e appear e forthb o t s- coming. It is interesting, however, to notice that if the judgment of its editor is correct, Sir William Sinclair the Justiciar is here again reveale charactee is nth u o studenta dt f o r . e manuscrip"Th e th f o t compiler," he informs us,1 "terminates at the top of folio 296 verso, and the remaining pages contain several very interesting and curious memo- randa choicn i , e vernacular mora f o ,e recent hand f thesO .e additional notes the latest is dated 1575. Iii the same handwriting with these additions, mostly every page of the MS. is annotated," and these annotations are " presumed, comparatione literarum, to have been the work of Sir William Sinclair of Eoslin, to whom the volume formerly belonged."

VI. Advocates' Library, MS. 34. 5. 4. " Vitae Dunkeldensis Ecclesise Episcoporum, ab Alexandro Myln." This manuscript has a peculiar interest ,e onl inasmucth ys i boo t i s kha whicknowe m o ht n belonged e Rosslyth o t n Library whicd an , h certainly contain e signaturth s f o e the third Sir William Sinclair (D) without having had that of his predecessor (C). The name of the later Sir William is written on the recto of the leaf preceding the text in a hand which is undoubtedly that of signature D, but in a form which I have not met with elsewhere THE LIBRAR YSINCLAIRE OTH F 3 F EOSSLYN10 O S .

—WILLIAM SINCLAIR OF ROISLING KNYT. On the verso of the same leaf, which contain elaboratn sa richld ean y illuminated heraldic design, he began to sign his name in the more usual form, but did not go beyon e thirth d d lette e nexf Sinclairth o r tn O pag. e (fo. s lahi ) signature appears in full in its ordinary form.1 s thisWa manuscript e Rosslyaddeth o dt n Librar thire r th dSi y yb William Sinclai e naturath r? e Thiseey b l mo sma t inferenc e froe mth facts inheritancjusy b t m mentionedd comhi ha o t et ei frof s I mhi . father, we should have expected to find in it signature C, for Hay tells us in the passage quoted above (p. 91) that it was the Justiciar's habit to write his name in his books. On the other hand, it must be observe thay dthio sa t tthadoey t s Ha practictno s eexcepo n ther s -ewa d don , sucha so n eassertioe a h h f tioi d ntakee nb ;an . o ought n t no t too literally. Hereafte shale w r l give reason believinr sfo g tha booa t k in which no Sinclair signatures appear, nevertheless belonged to the Justiciar. Thu e argumenth s t froe absenc t s mth namno hi s f i eo e conclusive. And there is an argument of some weight on the other side. This manuscript, in the opinion of Mr Tvirnbull,3 was written same byth e e volumscribth s f a eexcerpteo s last mentioned (No. V.). It seems, therefore, not improbable that they found their way by the same route into the Sinclair Library. And the other was certainly at Rossly t lifetimwholl e Justiciare th no th s n ni i f y o et I unreasonabl. e to conjecture (under the guidance of the dates) that at the death of Myl 154n ni 8 thes booko tw e s (possibly with others) passed to Bishop Chishol f Duiiblaumo e; tha t shortly afterwards (1550), they were pre- sented by him to Henry Sinclair ; and that, with the remainder of his library, they cam o Rosslyt e n Castl n 1565.i e 3 Tha e writinth t f o g Henry and his nephew does not appear in the Lives of the Bishops of e Dunkeldaccounteb y ma d for n thi,o s hypothesis e speciallth y b , y 1 This page is given in facsimile in the Bannatyne Club edition of Myln's Work (2nd ed , Edinburgh, 1831). 2 Extracta e Variis Cronicis, p. xv. 8 The editor of the Lives says (p. vi) that the first possessor of the book was Thomas Greig, Prebendar f Alichtyo thad an t ,Williapassei r t froSi m o mdhi t m Sinclair (apparently the Justiciar); but for neither statement is sufficient evidence given. 104 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1898.

ornate character of the pages which, according to their usual custom, they might have been expecte sign—thoso dt beginnine th t volumee a th f go .

VII. Advocates . 7 Scotichronicon. 1 ' . Library35 . MS , . This i s the manuscript, from the history of which by its owner, Father Hay, we have already quoted. s Monk'y carrieb Thawa f t i of dts soldiers from Eosslyn in 1650, as Hay says, we need not doubt. His earlier statement that it was • recovered by Sir William Sinclair from the spoil Monastere oth f f Syo t Mar Cupar-Angu" yat 1560n si s ,ampli y corro- borated'b fact.thae yth s inscribei t 'beginnine i t th t a d g "liber monas- tery beate marie de cupro," and that it ha's the signature C on the first t verno ys i likeltext e t pagI th .yf e o tha t this entry suggestey Ha o dt the invention of his circumstantial narrative.1 •

VIII. Abbotsford MS., Z. 1. " Larbre des Batailles" and other writings. We have here 2 quite a repertoire of signatures of the Sinclair family. Signature C is found three times on the verso of fo. 1, twice rubricn i seee b , ny onc als blackma n ffn ei .o o t I 21". , 85a, 129", 130a, and in the inside of the binding at the beginning.3 Signature D is on fo. 2a. There are also two other signatures, of which one certainly is same notf those otheth o th ,e y y erb han an , doet s seebe a d no so m t already given. They are here reproduce facsimilen di e hopth en i , that Fellowe somth f eo f the.Societso able b identif o et y yma y theme Th . . lf b ,n juso firs s i t t e abovthreth e middlf eo eth specimene eon , C f so

and also on a fly-leaf at the end of the MS. (f. 133a) ; the second occurs e alsSe o 1 Murray's Black Book f Paisleyo r M 8 (Paisley4 . p t A , 1885. 6) . p , Murray, by a curious oversight, remarks that "the Book of Cupar seems to bean exceptio [Sio nt r W. Sinclair's rul writinf eo s namhooks]s ghi hi n ei althougs a , t i h was in his possession, he has not proclaimed this to the world through his auto- graph." - 2 A portion of tli« manuscript has been printed with the title The Buke of the Order of Knyghthood, translated from the French, by Sir Gilbert Say, Knight. From, the Manuscript Librarye th n i t Abbotsford. a Edinburgh, 1847 (Abbotsford Club). The remainde s beini r g edite y M. b dJ Hr . Stevenso e Scottisth r fo nh Text Society. 3 s herIt ha ' esomewhaa t enigmatical date, which should apparentl e reayb d " anno Ixv" ( = 1565?). SINCLAIK• E LIBRARE TH TH F F ROSSLYNYO O S . 105

twice in the inside of the hoard at the end of the book, and is written upside down.

e colophoTh f thino s manuscrip interestino to r purpost s ou *i r fo ge

quotede b no o t t trunI . s thus :— " Tran slatit out of latin into scotts b2 e me Deine thomas gvvld munk of new- bothil requese honorable y an t a lf o t Williama m e e Santclar barro f roislino n pentlan harberschird dan e vAnnm c liiij.m od " The date (1554) does not exclude the supposition that the " honor- whor " abln fo booe transcribes mth ema k wa e firsr Willia th Si ts dwa m Sinclair (signatur dieo d wh June i, nth thaf eA) e o t year. Bu nams thi e does not appear in the volume; and any one who will inspect signature C where it first occurs, at the top of the page on which the text begins (fo. lb), elaborately and carefully written in red, will be convinced that it was penned by the first owner of the manuscript.3 1 This colophon refers, not to the three treatises translated from the French by Sir Gilbert Hay, which occup greatee yth article o rvolumee partw th f f o to s e , on bu o t transcribed on the three concluding leaves, viz., a letter from Thomas, Bishop of Orkney, in 1446, to the King of Norway, respecting the genealogy of William Sinclair, Ear Orkneyf o l . 2 This early mention of the lowland dialect of English as the " Scots " language is interesting. See Ellis' English Dialects (English Dialect Society, 1890), p. 132. s remarkabli t e I eigh th f to placeex si tha sn i twher r WilliaSi e m Sinclair 3 106 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1898.

r WilliamSi , therefore mero n s e religiouwa , s zealot gavo homea wh , e to manuscripts merely because thed belongeyha monastio dt c societies, as we might possibly have inferred from Hay. He was a man who had book s becausm copiehi r e valuedfo eh d the T r theisaken mfo NO ow r . gathee h d librara rdi y fosole rth e purpos boastinf eo oned g thaha —e th a curious but not uncommon mania. He was a student who read his books. This will be still more evident to those who have perused the following note on the last page of the manuscript copy of the Scoti- chronicon belongin e Ear th f Morayo l o t gd preserve an , t Donia d - bristle.1 This book probably never belonged to the Sinclairs. It may never even have rested on the shelves of their library, but Sir "William had read it.2 " This cronicl sens ei e our Williae eb m Sanclai Eoislif o r n Knygh d coman t - pylit, augmentit, drawn out of yir cronicles following scilicet ye grett cronicle of Scone3 . . . with sundrie uther writtin cronicles, sic as culd be gottin for ye tyme verray aul dn parchemen i scham n papef su lettrei p o d m ran ssu t bayth textyr writ."

Of the subsequent history of the Abbotsford manuscript little is known. In 1722 it was in the possession of George Mackenzie, M.D., who described it in the third volume of his Lives and Characters of the most Eminent Writers of the Scots Nation, published in that year. Ulti- mately it was acquired by Sir Walter Scott, but how or when cannot be discovered. But we must now for a time take leave of Scotland, and glance at the Sinclair manuscripts which have wandered into the great libraries acros e Border th se fin W d . ther verea y interesting group.

signed this volum e writeh e s simply W.- SANTCLAIre o tw EOISLINF e th KOF n I . maining instances the word "knecht" is added. This may indicate that he obtaine booe dth k befor s father'ehi s death— firste i.e.th n i ,half of 1554. 1I hav beet eno thin e ablsse manuscripto et . - Mr David Murray (The Slack Book of Paisley, Paisley, 1885, p. 15) says " It seems to have been in the hands of Sir William Sinclair." He gives no evidence of this, and the note which I have copied from the MS. does not appear necessarily to impl mucho ys . 3 One of the chronicles here mentioned appears to have been among those in Sir William' library—n sow " aue greit buik calli crouicle y t . VIICouper.f eo No .e Se " THE LIBRAKY OF THE SINCLAIKS OF KOSSLYN. 107

. BodleiaIX n Library f thi, O Fairfas . manuscrip11 x I tbeliev o en published account exists : none at least is known to me, and I therefore give somewhat full e informatioth y . e KevA th . n H .y supplieb e m o t d Wilso Magdalef no n pleasura College s i t I havo et . e this opportunity of recording my sincere gratitude to him and to the Rev. E. S. Dewick, fo re cos enablinf th muco tt a , h timg me d troublean themselveso et o t , lay before the Society valuable accounts of this and the two following codices. The main contents of Fairfax 11 are the New Testament in an English version. Prefixed, however e Gospeth o t ,l accordint S o t g Matthew fine w d,tabla kalendar a ' rule als) ) r eo (6 o(a ' d showin,an g placee th s from whic takee h"e ar nth lessons , pistlis n gospeld be an , t sya s i chirch. e y f Salisbiry.o n MS i s ee d us e afteth ra dat e f Th y o er" probabl ye 15t earlth h n yi century r possiblo , y ver e 14thy th lat . n i e It contains several signatures of members of the Sinclair family. On fo. 2a (the first page of the kalendar) we have D, and another signature of which mor 18. e anonfo b n (thO e. las ttable pag' lessonns' th f f eo eo ) we fin, whicC d h appear se lasagaith te manuscript n th pago n f o e , fo. 198". On fo. 81 there is a date carefully written "2 April 1561," and a cursive scrawl which may have been a signature. . On fo. 120a there is another scrawl, partly obliterated, which looks as though it might have been a signature (possibly C), but it cannot be described as legible e booTh k. seem o havt s e been writte n Englandi n , since th e languag Englishs ei namt e ThomaS th f t Scotst eo no ,f Canter Bu so . - bury appears in the kalendar without erasure or mutilation, which makes it probable that it was not in England in 1538 or the following years. Nothin gatheree b n n i gca y d fro wa manuscripe me th th o t s a t which it came into the possession of the Sinclairs. o n Al d o neeln ha f comment o dthie n i w s e f I seemb .o t s other evidenc mighe ew inclinee tb conjecturo dt e tha date tth e "Apri2 l 1561 " was that of the acquisition of the manuscript by Sir William Sinclair (C). But we must not overlook the signature which occurs above D on fo. 21*. I have discovered no other closely resembling it in the Sinclair books which have come under my notice. Unfortunately it has been found impossible to give a satisfactory reproduction of the much-fade observationo dtw writinr mako y e ma e on gI s t upohereBu n. 108 PEOCEEDINGS OF' THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1898.

firse th t n placeI italmoss i . t i , same t certainlth ey . b han C t s a ydno In this conclusion, based on a photograph, I am glad to be supported judgmene byth r WilsoM d othef o tan n r excellent authoritiet a o swh his request examined it in the manuscript itself. Whether the signature caclassee nb df thos o wit f y whiceo h an h facsimiles have been gives ni more open to question. I am myself inclined to think that it should be referred to group A, and in this view I can claim the more or less con- fident support1 of several of the experts to whom I have just now referreds i tru et I tha. t i differt n somi s e respecte sth fro l al m specimens of this signature which I have given, both in the form of the letter's and in the spelling of the surname (apparently " Santearis " —the lette ' 1r' having been accidentall ye wor th omitted) df o d an , '•' Roisling" ; but the four examples given above vary so much among themselves, that this need caus o surprisen e . However e identificath , - tion is not one which can be pressed, and I therefore content myself with saying that if the signature be not A, I know of no other with which it can be classed. n additio I e signatureth o t n f membero s f tho se Sinclair, family, we have twice on fo. 2b of this manuscript the name " C. Fairfax." This is the signature of Colonel Fairfax, uncle of the well-known Par- liamentary General. There is also a note stating that the book was "bough Scotland.n i t purchase Th ' "s probabl ewa littlya r mado e , ein after, 1650, as we know that about that time Colonel Fairfax acquired three Scottish manuscripts f theo e purchase.y mb on , 2 Ultimatele yth book becam propertthe e be- Generaof yhim by l Fairfaxwas and , 1 I ought, however, to say that the opinion of these authorities rests upon a com-j parison of the signature with tracings which I had made from the Penicuik charters: When I subsequently laid the photograph beside the charters themselves, my confi- dence ' in the identification was perhaps somewhat lessened. It was certainly not increased. 2 Bodleian Fairf. 8 has the inscription "Mr James Drumond : 1650 : Gifted theis boo o Coronalt k l Fairfa f xDecemo the. 17 . b: ano . 1650" (Nat. MSS. f Scotland,'-o wondere . 80)On No .t hav . sno ii whethefroey y founmwa ma s t Rosslyi it rd . nto the neighbouring Hawthornden, but there is no evidence that it had belonged to the Sinclairs. Bodleian Fairf , fro 5 e .Monaster mth f Sweet-hearto y s boughwa , t by^ Fairfax 'at Edinburgh in 1652. Macray, Annals of the Bodleian Library, 2nd ed. (1890), Appendix VI. p. 441. THE LIBRARY OF THE SINCLAIRS OF ROSSLYN. 109

queathed with other valuable manuscripts to the Bodleian Library in 1671.1

X. Bodleian Library, Fairfax 12, Bede's Ecclesiastical History. This manuscript has been described by Mr Plummer in his recent edition of the writings of Bede.2 I extract a few sentences from his account of it.

"It is inscribed," he says, "'e libris Monasterii Sancti German! de Selby Com. Ebor. Chron. xii.' There are inscriptions in English and Latin showing gives wa than Septi n t i t . 165 Waltey 0b r Cant, advocat f Edinburgho e o t , Colonel Charles Fairfax. Before this it had belonged to 'W. Santclair of •Roislin, Knecht; Anno 1591, 2 Januarii.' The name of another possessor of it seems to occur : ' Sam. Coluile, Scotus.' This Charles Fairfax was a son of the first Lord Fairfax, brothee secondth e f thirdd unclo rth an , f o e, the famous parliamentary general. .... Some elegiace verseth n o se addressear m hi o dt fly-leae MS.th f "o f The signature of " W. Santclair " here mentioned is that which we have called C. It. occurs both on the first and last leaves of the text, accompanies i d an d firse wit e datth thth n ei plac eherw e onlyew No . t wite supposeard w me e a hdifficulty ha s a e e , writew dC Th f o . r proved, was the Sir William Sinclair who died in 1580. How then did he date his signature 1591 ? The answer is 'clearly, however much' appearances may seem to be against it, that Mr Plummer is incorrect in assuming that the date belongs to the signature. But I gather that in reality appearances are against Mr Plummer's assumption. Mr George Parkee Bodleiath f o r n firsy Librarm t e knowledgwhoo (t yow mI e that this and the preceding manuscript contained Sinclair autographs), writing I believe, , without knowledg r Plummer'M f o e s description, merely remarks. "Near this signatur r WilsonM d e ,An i s. „ . - ] „ _ • /. (2, January. , ' whom I asked to examine the manuscript with the special object of discovering whether there was any connection between the two entries, gives as his opinion that both in ink and handwriting the signature and e datth e differ.

1 Jdacray, op. tit., p. 137 sey. 2 Vol. i., Introduction, p. cxxi seq. 0 11 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , FEBRUARY U, 1898.

e supposee namth Th f o e d owner, "Sam. Coluile," might provf eo considerable importanc r Wilsonr inquiryM ou t n whosr o Bu ,fo e . e judgment I have complete reliance, is inclined to think that this is the formea f nameo e t e rwrite th th possessono , f f e o o bookr th t f bu o ,r elegiac verses on Fairfax. We may infer, then, as to the history of this manuscript, that it came originally from Selby, tha t i belonget r WilliaSi o t d m Sinclaie th r Justiciar (C), tha t i passet (D)n d so librar e ,wits th rese hi f hth o o ytt that some time before September 1650 it had left Kosslyn and come inte advocate handth oth f o s e Walte pres r wa - Cantt i m , hi tha y b t sente Charleo dt s Fairfax, from s acquire whos nephewa hi t mi y b dw General Fairfax, and that finally by his testament it became the propert e Bodleianth f yo .

XL British Museum. Lansdowne MS. 197. Wyntoun's Chronicle. This manuscript has been described by the late Mr David Laing in his edition of Wyntoun.1 It contains the signatures B and C (both in the beginnine uppeth therefor s text)t i e a r t th I 3 margi' f . e g.o fo eon f no of the books which came to Eosslyn about 1565 from Bishop Henry Sinclair of Ross. It had been removed from the Sinclair library at least as early as the beginning of 1629, for we read on fo. 1, " W. Ker of Lintoun2 ye 26 day of Marche 1629."

1 Historians of Scotland, vol. ix. p. xix. firse Th t2 lette f thiro s nam s indistincti e e correctnesth t e readinBu th . f o s g here given is vouched for by two Crown grants entered in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, which run as follows :— Eegist. Magni Sigilli Reg. Scot., 1620-1633 . 522p ,. 156,No 5 (Mar, 1630)20 . . " Rex .... concessit D. Jacobo Pringill de Gallascheillis militi et Willelmo Ker de Lintoun .... duas partes .... vill t terrarue e Bimersyde md e .... -in balliatu de Lawderdaill, vie. Beruick," etc. Ib., 1634-1651, p. 134, No. 340 (July 11, 1635). "Rex .... concessit et de novo dedit Colonello Thome Ker et Cristirie Ruthven eius sponse terras et prediuin de Fairnieli earum ecu m manerie ... forestn i . Ettrike ad , ward Tueide ad , viee d . Selkirk ;—quas quonda mLiutoune d Wilr Ke .t Rob e , . Pringill oli mBaitingbun i s tun e Stitchilld e , resignaverun favoren i t m dictorum Tho., etc., tanquatn assigna- toru . WilleljnmD i Sinclai Paintlane rd d militis," etc. THE LIBEARY OF THE SINCLAIES OF ROSSLYN. Ill

The manuscrip s beeha tn though Lavo t t e belongedd an , . likIX e X., to Lord Fairfax, and Mr Laing accepts this theory.1 But the proof seem altogethet sno fine r convincingw d . S.—(thes1 " . W fo n O .e letter hana n i ds which looks very modern, accordin Mo gt r Dewick)— f Loro t d ou Somers'collection. Sam . UmfrevilleE . 2 . , fo 1738. . On " a sli s pastee n pwhicfollowini o th , s in i dh g note ("of Wm, Guthrie inscribeEsqs i t i r.,s "a anothe y db r hand) :— " This MSS. formerly belong'd to the Sinclairs of Roslyn an Antient family Louthian i Kere d theth f Kirtonnan so o nt y (sic, misreadina f "Lintoun")go , and I am apt to think that it had been carry'd from Scotland by Cromwell2 presented an vers Fairfao dt wa y o curiouxwh Msn si s collection d probablsan y the lord Sommers bought it at the sale of the Duke of Buckingham who marry'd Fairfax's Daughter and Heiress." otheI knoo n f wro evidence connectin booe gth k wit e Cromwelliahth n General.

XII. British Museum, Royal Library, 13. E.X. Scotichronicon: the " Black Book of Paisley." I have had considerable hesitation in adding this manuscrip e lisf Sinclaith o t o t t r books t yieldI . o sn indication simila thoso t r e whic have othehe w eth l founr al volume n i d s which have been examine f havino d g belonge o membert d f thao s t family. But it seems difficult to resist the evidence which connects it with Eosslyn. There is first of all the fact3 that it was rescued from Paisley at the destruction of the monastery in 1559. Who saved it we do not know, but it would be no random guess if one were to conjecture that William Sinclai d somha r e enterprisee sharth n theed i e nAn w . hav e positivth e e statemen y thae booth Ha t kf o tbelonge him.o t d 4

statee 1H s tha t "i t waa brought from Scotlan Generay db l Fairfax." This con- tradicts "William Outline's note. t wilI 2e notice b l d thae fouth t r books already mentioned, which came from Scotland and were afterwards included in General Fairfax's collection, were not "carry'd from Scotland by Cromwell." 3 Dempster, Hist. Ecd. Gent. Scot., Lib. xv. No. 1010. Vindication of Elizabeth More, p. 27. I must not conceal my belief that it is

far4 from impossibl havy ma ee thay herHa te confuse e Blacth d k Book wits hit abridgment e so-calleth , d "Liber Nige e Advocatesr th Pasleti, n i w "no ' Library (above, No. III.). 112 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , FEBRUARY , 189814 . .

Further, "ye greit cronicl f Paslayo e , calli e blaky t f o - buik,e on s "i those with which Sir "William is said to ha-ve compared the Donibristle cop f theyo . Scotichronicon.1 And, finally annotaton a , e Extraetath f o r e Chronicis Scotice (above, No. V.) alludes to it and other books which Sinclai knows i r n -to hav e same th use r e fo dpurpose . Assuming, then, that the book belonged in the third quarter of the 16th century to the Sinclairs, what do we know of its later history? Here'is" Hay's state- ment 2 :— "Ther abridgmenn a s er Chroniclewa ou f o t s kept here (so t Paisley)a . , called the Black Book of Paisley: "Tis now in the Royal Library of t James'sS Coverd , Re boun a . ..n di t belonge I . dr WilliatSi o m Sinclair of Roslin, Lord Justice General: It was in Bishop Spotiswood's Custody whilst he compiled his Church • History. During our late Trouble t i fels l into General Fairfax's Handss y whowa b , t i m carried into England." And again,3 " The Black Booke of Pasley, frequently cited by Buchannan, together with the famous Booke of Pluscardin, I find e Catalogulisteth n i d f Bishoo e p Spotswood's Library." Now Archbishop Spottiswood die 1639n di t followI . s that this book d lefha t Rosslyn before that year. Whe remembee nw r tha r WilSi t - liam Sinclai f Pentlano e rArchbishop' th s wa d s son-in-law, d thaan 4 t about 1630 he was getting rid of the books which had been collected by grandfathers hi t seemi , s reasonabl concludo et e that Spottiswood himself purchased, or induced his royal patron James VI. to purchase, the volume about that year. At least we may be fairly confident that 1630 approximate th s i e s removadatit f eo l from Rosslyn. Thervalio n s dei evidence pointin comd earlien a ha eo gt t i mucr f year,i hd 5latean o t r

1 Skene, Historians of Scotland, . xvip . i . . 2 Vindication, ubi sup. 3 Quoted by Piteairn, Historical and Genealogical Account of the Principal Families of the name of Kennedy, from an original MS. in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, 1830 . viip , . . '4 Hay, Genealogie, p. 153. 5 The statements of John Spottiswood and Dempster are sufficiently confuted by. Mr Murray (Black Book of Paisley, sjy.)1 5 whosf . o p , e researche sI hav e made free, us thesn ei e pages. THE LIBRARY OF THE SINCLAIRS OF ROSSLYN. 113

Spottiswood" it would have been'of historicas littlhi n ei servicm l hi o et researches. If the" suggestion here made be correct,1 that the book was purchased, not by Archbishop Spottiswood, but by James VI. for him, we can perhaps e accountraditioth r fo t n which connect t i wits h Holyrood.1 It may well be supposed that after the manuscript was bought by the e Roya th tima r n i elfo LibrarKiny la t gi y before being' finally trans-^ ferred to the custody of the Archbishop. On the death of Archbishop Spottiswood the book became the property sons r Eoberohi fSi , t Spottiswood, with who mt remainei d tils execuhi l - tio Januarn ni y 1646.2 For the next few years .the history of the manuscript is difficult to trace. Hay tells us that it was brotight to England by General Fairfax.5 Thi scarceln sca e accepteyb s probablea d s mori t I e .likely 4 that i t fell into the hands of General Lambert, arid was by him carried across the Border. Mr Murray seems disposed to believe that after Sir Eobert Spottiswood's execution it returned to Rosslyn Castle, and that on the surrende e castlth Novemben f i eo r racquires 165wa t 0i Lambert.y db ' This hypothesi n itseli s i fs improbable s entireli t i ; y unsupportey db evidence, and it does not explain the fact which appears to have sug- r KosslygesteFo . dit n Castl s destroyewa e Monky b d , and Lambert, doet appeano s o havt r e e time.t beehoweveth Bu t na 5 witm rhi h e booth , k be belongey thima s Coloneo dt l Charles Fairfa n 1650xi , as his signature,6 with 'the date, appears on f o. 15. From him it descended to his nephew, General Lord Fairfax, by whom it was given or sold to Charles II. Ultimately, with the remainder of .the Eoyal Library, it: foun Britise homda th n ei h Museum.7

. 56 , 1 Murray55 , 52 . cit., . op , pp r thiFo s statemen have e w authoritt th e f Johyo n Spottiswoo r RoberSi d dtan 2 ' Sibbald, quote Murrayy db . . cit.,55 . op , p abovee 3Se . 112p , . evidencee th r Murraye 4Fo se . , . cit.,56 . op ,p 5 W. S. Douglas, Cromwell's Scotch Campaigns, London, 1898, p. 169, and above, p. 92. 6 Not, as Mr Murray says (p. 58), that of General Fairfax. . 7 Murray. sq 8 '. cit.,5 . op ,p H VOL. XXXII. 114 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1898.

Before proceeding to the consideration of the last Sinclair book on my list, I may now bring together what we have elicited as to the histor e Eosslyth f yo n Library from those whic have hw e already passed under review. We have found that probably some manuscripts were collected by the first Sir William Sinclair of Eosslyn (see No. IX.). He was succeeded in the estate in 1554 by his son, the second Sir William, a true student (see under Nos. V., VIII.) and lover of books. The greater part of the col- lection was acquired by him, all but two (VI., XII.) of the books which we have hitherto examined bearin s signatureghi . telly Some, Ha sus s ,a he saved fro plunderee mth d monasteries (VII., XII.), others were copied for him by his own desire (VIII.). About the year 1565 the library receive a largd e accessio s uncle deathi th f en o h o n Henr y Sinclair, Bishop of Eoss. The collection of the latter, now added to the Eosslyn Library, contained printed books in various languages (I.), as well as many manuscripts (II., III., IV., V. ,deate XL) th f thir n o h Si sO . samthe eof William name succeedeson was .a he , Therby dno eis indubitable evidence that he added any volumes to the collection (but, see VI.) t tha tooke bu ;h t some interesproves frequene i th t i y n db i t t occurrence of his fine signature in the books (V., VI., VIII., IX., X.). Another Sir William succeeded some time after 1612, and held the estates till 1650. In his time the dispersion of the library began. A large numbe MSSf o r . were removed about 162 r 1639o , 0XL (II , ,IV XII.), others perhaps later (IX. telly , X.)nothins Ha su . g about this, but the fact is indubitable, and the reasons for it may easily be con- jectured. When Sir William Sinclair of Pentland came in for his pro- perty, he found it already heavily encumbered.1 His own mode of life was t admisuco t no s heconomyf a o t , howeve belittlo t e b ry e anxiouma y Ha s excessee th guilty. s f whicaccordinglsd o wa e An hh 2 encumbrancee yth s

1 The third Sir William " resigns his lands lying within the Earledome of Cathnes 1612,n i " Hay . 151,p n 1610I . , "Pentlan wodses dwa Archibalo t t d Douglaf so undeTofti e sons fi hi liferentn n ei i sr o t reversiond an , o whict , r WilliaSi h s mwa made sessioner," ib., p. 153. See also the account of the straitened circumstances of the family at this time in '' the humble petition of the Lady Roslin to the King's most excellent Majesty," ib., p. 167 sy. - Qenealogie of the Saintedaires, p. 154. "Sir William Sinclar, the father, was THE LIBRARY OF THE SINCLAIKS OF ROSSLYN. 115

increased during his tenure of the estate.1 Such a man was not likely to value very highly the library which had fallen to him by inheritance. He had already abandoned the practice of his predecessors : not a single signature appears from his pen in any of the books, unless indeed it was displayeo wh e s ignoranch dhi writiny eb s namghi e upside e dowth n ni Book of Battles (VIII.). When creditors pressed, the library would firse th t f thingt howeveo solde e b Bu bt seemi eon o . st , rbe sthiy sma thae remain e greath tth f to s collection wer t scantbu e y whenw fe a , weeks after Sir William of Pentland's death, Monk appeared upon the scene, and his soldiers destroyed or carried off all that was left. What became of the scattered volumes ? Some were secured by Sir James Balfour (II.), some passed into the hands of other collectors (IV., X., XII.), some crossed the Border, and of these a few ultimately became the property of General Lord Fairfax (I., IX., X., XL, XII.), at least takes on ewa Pranceo nt , thoug t nohi w happily once agai s found'nha a hom n Scotlani e d f other(VII.)o e lated th san ,r history cannoe b t traced. With thes lasr ememorturr y tou fact ou Sinclaio n t ma n si e yw r Book.

XIII. Advocates' Library, MS. 18. 5. 19. TheRosslyn Missal. This book was probably written, as I hope to be able to show elsewhere,2 for use e Cathedrath n i l Churc t PatrickS f o h , Downpatrick, Ireland. Palseo- graphers, though with some hesitation e inclinear , believo dt e s thai t i t of 14th century date. In all probability it did not long remain in the church where it was penned.3 -It is so full of serious errors of the leua d mankepe H miller'a .t s daughter, with who s alledgei t mi wene h d o t t Ireland ; yet I think the cause of his retreat was rather occasioned by the Preshy- teriaus, who vexd him sadly because of his religion, being Roman Catholic." 1 Ib., p. 155. " Sir William Saintclare and his Lady wodset the baronie of Roslin to Mr Symon Ramsey of Litthill, the year 1630. He gave also a charter of Dredayne to Mr James King, 1628 : the like charter had been granted by Sir William, his father, in 1598." On the financial difficulties of the family later in the centujy see t mighsy.I 3 Hay16 t. havep , been interestin peruso gt "e loneth g enumeratiof no burdens upon the lands . . . with which it seems altogether unnecessary to fatigue readere th " (ib., . 164p , note). forthcomine th n I 2 g editio Rosslye th f no u Missal (Henry Bradshaw Society). 3 This conclusion is to some extent supported by the presence in its pages of some irreverent, or at least irrelevant, scribblings of the 14th century. 6 11 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , FEBBUAR , 189814 Y .

scribe, non f whiceo e correctedhar , that" itfniusfc have'been quite useless' as an altar book, and it could jiot, for the same reason, have served as an exemplar copy. We can scarcely believe that it would have been pre- served, except by some outsider who carried it off as a literary treasure. t woulI d see e 16thavmo th t hf eo century beed t en Rosslyn a e ,th t a n since signature D (2) appears on fo. 112V And further, there is an almost illegible scribbling in a late 1 6th century hand, on fo. 63a, in which " Lesswaid " is mentioned. In the next century it was deposited in Sir James Balfour's librar t Denmilnea y e .prove b Thiy y morb dma s e than one. argument fly-leaa n O s writtei f. n '50 Denmilue hana n i d' familia thos o havt ro ewh e inspected similar inscription Balfour'n si s books. equalle Th y familiar device, representing apparentl ycrossa , anchor, and- heart combined, which Balfour sketched at the end of many of his MSS., appears on fo. 135b. It is bound in leather, with clasps, like many other books from the Denmilne collection, and the pattern of the one remaining clasp is identical with that found on: many clasps attached to Balfour booksfinallyd hana An n .i d, whice hI judgthaon e b f o to et of Balfour's librarians, it bears the 'title on a fly-leaf, " Liturgia • S" Columbani Abatis (sic)." Nowe Advocatesth n i , ' Librarseee b ny yma a curious sale 'catalogue f theo 2 " MSS f Jameo . s Balfour, which were dispose auctioy b f do t Edinburgna n 1698hi leavee e catath Th f .- so logue are'pasted into a little book of blank paper bound in leather boards, and'opposite each item is recorded what seems to be the price e librarye agenth th f y o tb .t i pai r Undedfo e hea th rf "MSS o d f o . TheolOgie" we read "30. Liturgia Sancti Columbani Abbatis, s3." manuscripe Th t under revie s thereforwwa e purchase e Facultth y b dy

Davir . M l d Lainge prefac editios th Aberdeene hi n th i o ,t f en o Breviaty, remarks (p. vii ,blane note) th e signatur f kth o thae s space ' Sinclai ha on tf o en t 'i s 'o f o r Roisling,' a well-known collector of the early part of the. 16th century." This is a mistake. The signature is quite clearly that of the third Sir William Sinclair (D). persoawart y no an thicollectof f a e eno o s thaar d s e namwa ad w t o y rewh ma An e dw of books, " well-known beginnin"Laingr e eveth M 16tt e o nt a , th hf go century . title eTh run : s "Catalogu A Curiouf eO s Manuscripts, being Historical, &c.. &c , 2 Collected by Sir James Balfour of Kinnaird Knight-Baronet, and Lyon King at Arms s Famou, hi kep n i t s Stud expose w f Denmilno yno Saleo d t An . e; Edin- burgh, &c., 1698." _ See also Sibbald's Memoria Balfouriana, p. 30. LIBRARE TH , F THO YE SINCLAIR ROSSLYNF O S . 117

of Advocates for the sum of three shillings in 1698,; and in their library it has remained ever since. • •. All this is matter of practical certainty. We must venture into the region of speculation in-order to'answer three questions which here suggest themselves:—1 e missa. th Whe s l wa ndeposite t a d Rosslyn? . Whet 2 i com. d nedi intr JameSi o s Balfour's possession? .3- How came it from 'Ireland to Scotland ? Let us take them in their order. ' . . ' e havW e. 1 -see. n tha t i containt e signatur th e sthir r th Si f do e William Sinclair (D). e havButw es a ,sai d already, cleathero n s ri e evidence that this.Sir William added new books to the Rosslyn Library. On the other hand, he undoubtedly often signed volumes which had been the property of his 'father. It seems, therefore, much more likely that it was through the second Sir William that, this 'missal found its way into the Sinclair collection. True, his signature (C) is not found . it 'Bu n e easili b t thin y ca saccounte d e ;boofor Th s imperfectki . , beginnine d th t en a d s i gan beginnine t i botth ende d t th ha an ,d gan of books that the signature C is most usually written, though it often occurs elsewhere as well. The Rosslyn Missal was mutilated, no doubt, whe r JameSi n s Balfour acquire t i doet dfollo t no its bu ,w thae th t mutilations had taken place when it reached Rosslyn. One or two thereforspecimeny ma C ef so hav e been inscribe s pagesit havd n do ,an e subsequently disappeared. Assuming that Sir William " the Justiciar " was its owner, he may have procured it either from.,some monastery whic haboub fel year victimo w assaulta le t fe e th 1560 s a mth o t , f so or , later, by inheritance from his uncle the Bishop of Ross. 2. Many, if not most, of Sir James Balfour's manuscripts were added s library have hi w o t es a , already seen reaso o believent yeae th n i r n i , which he was made Lyon King of Arms. In the same or the preceding year, as we have also proved, Rosslyn Library lost many of its books. Ther therefors ei e probabilit e suppositioth n yi n thaMissae th t t thaa l t time passed directly from one collection to the other. answerinn I . 3 r thirgou d question have w depen,o t e conjecturn do e still more than before. Ther l timebees al ha et na clossa e -connexion between Irelan d Scotlandn particulari an d d An t .leasa e cas, on et 8 11 PBOCEEMNG F THEO S . SOCIETY, FEBBUAB , 18.9814 Y .

ma e mentioneyb whicn i d h religiou o countriestw housee d th ha sn i s inter-relations.1 We find in the chartulary of the Priory of St Andrews 2 e Canongrana th o t tSf so t Andrews Hugy b , Laseie churchee od th f o , s of Ruskach and Carlingford, in the County Louth, together with all churche chapeld e wholsan th f f Colingso eo e charteTh . s undatedi r , but it was confirmed in the twenty-first year of Henry III. (1237). How long this charter remaine s n i impossiblforci d t i e o sayt e . Whethe s quiti t i re exceptional f mano e yon similar o , r instancef o s ecclesiastical affiliation between the two countries, I am not aware.3 But the gift perhaps indicates that there was considerable intercourse between the religious houses of Ireland and Scotland at the period at which it was made. Under these circumstances, it may seem vain to speculate as to how the Rosslyn Missal made the journey from Downpatrick to its later followine I th ventur homet t le Bu o gt .e guess spea r e itselfkfo Th ' . character of the manuscript has already led us to the conclusion that s probablwa t i y never actuall e ypurpos th use r s whicr fo dfo ewa t hi prepared likels thai d t an ,i t y tha t lefi t t Downpatric t lonkno g aftet i r was written. Can we point to any event, say in the early 14th century, which may give a clue to the persons by whom it was removed 1 I think we can. Edward Brace entered upon his unhappy invasion of Ireland in 1315. Under this yea e fine followinw rth d g e Annalsentrth n f yIreland,i o attribute Wary db Pembridgo et e * :—

" Eodem anno, dicti Scoti, terra propria non content! prenimia superbia Hiberniam in parte boriali apud Clondonne [i.e., Glendun, County Antrim] applicuerunt, sex millibus pugnatorum et in bellis peritorum, scilicet Dominus Edwardus le Brus, germanus Eoberti, Regis Scotorum, et cum eo comes de

1 As was pointed out to me by the Bishop of Edinburgh. 2 Bannatyne Club edition, p. 118. 3 Druin-la-eroix (or White-Abbey), Co. Antrim, was a dependent cell of Dryburgh. See Reeves' Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, etc., p. 277 ; Archdall's Monasticon ffibernicum, . Ralphsq 6 . p , Bisho f Downpo , A.D. 1202-1213 d beeha , n Abbof o t Melrose, Reeves, op. eit., p. 155. 4 Ghartularies of St Mary's AVbf.y, Dublin (Rolls Series), vol. ii. p. 344. THE LIBRAR F THO YE SINCLAIR 9 F ROSSLYN11 O S .

Morretli, etc. Ultoniam manciparunt t Doinimne , n Thoiiia Mauiidevile md e ceterosque fidele terrsa a propria expulerunt." againd An , under A.D. 13161:— "Monasteria Sanoti Patricii de Duno et de Saballo2 et diversa alia tarn monachorum quam canonioorum, Predicatoru t Minorue m m spoliantun i r Ultoni Scotis.aa " Unde same th r e year 3briefee Gracth s reha entry :— " Mouasteria S. Patricii de Dune et de Saballo cum multis aliis spoliantur."

These are, I believe, the only references to the looting of Downpatrick Cathedral by Brace's soldiers in the Annals. But we may be quite sure that the church hooks formed part of their booty on this occasion. For unde same th r e year Clyn'n i , s Annals? have w notice sackina th f eo g of another monastery by the same army, in these words:— " Eodem anno Sooti cum Hibernicis combusserunt Dondalk et locum Fratrum spoliarunt libris, pannis, calicibus, vestimentis, et multos occiderunt."

Tha Missalr ou t , which must have bee attractivo s n e wit fress hit h and brilliant colourin d unsoilean g d pages s amon wa e ,book th g s abstracted from Downpatrick is, at least, not unlikely. Edward Bruce was slain at Dundalk in 1318, and so ended his fatal expedition. A miserable remnant of his army contrived, not without great difficulty, to return hom o Scotlandet , unde e leadershirth Johe on n f po Thomasson . To quot linee eth Barbour'f so s famous epic 5 :— " lohne Tomasswn, that wes leder Of tham Oarrif eo k that thair wer, 1 Page 352. - Downpatrick and Saul,—the latter of which is about two miles distant from the former. Jacobi Grace, Kilkenniensis Annales Sibernice, edited by the Kev. R. Butler 3 (Irish Archaeological Society), 1842. 76 . ,p Annalse Th of Ireland, Friary b John Clynd Thadyan Dowling, etc., edited 4 e VerbTh yy Rev. K. Butler (Irish Archseological Society), 1849 ; Clyn's Annals, p. 12. quotI 5 e from Skeat's edition (Scottish Text Society, 1894) sqq.9 11 , . volp . ii . . xviii bk 117-122. 11 . , 158-161, 188-204). 0 12 PROCEEDINGS OF. THE SOCIETY, FEBRUAR , 189814 Y .

:. ,...... Quhen he saw the .difecuinnting, . . , With-drew him till ane Erische king accpyntans Thahi f to lid e; sha resauie h in;lawte.d m hi t An ' " ....

r PhiliSi p Mowbray also escapes thed reade an ,n w : " This lohne wroucht syn vittelya es , That all that thidder fled than wer, .[Thouch] that thai lesi f thaio t r ger,. . Com till Cragfergus hail feird an l. d thaAn • i tha r in-t wa t• e vayoth , . ' • :• To schir Eduard send fra the king, Quhen thai herd the disoumflting, • ' ' : Tii- r Cragfergu- s thai wen• -t agan e; : . . And that wes nocht forouten pane For thai war mony tymes that day Assalit with Erischry, [hot thai] • - [Ay] held to-gidder sarraly, Denfendand*. tham wittelo es y That thai eschapit oft throu mycht, ! - - . - '. '. . ^n(J. mbny tymes alss throu slicht; " . . For oft.of thairis till thame gaf thai •Till let thame scathless pass thar vay : Cragferguo t d An s reran tha i. swa. . Than, batis and sch'ippes can thai ta, d saliAn t till• Scotlan hyn di , • And thar arivit all saufly." ' : . If one of these Carrick men brought the Missal with him, it is likely enough that it would be placed in a neighbouring monastic library.1 And thence it may have come to Henry or William Sinclair.

• Ai-drossan contribute s contingenit d Edwaro t t d Bruce's Ardrossaarmd an y: n 1 Churc affiliates hwa o Kilwinnindt g Abbey, over which centurieo tw , s later, Henry Sinclair presided (The Ancient Church of Scotland, by Mackenzie E. C. Walcott, Edinburgh, 1874, p. 262).