as commissioners to maintain peace in the districts of Renfrew, Bothwell, Glasgow, Kilbride, and Avandale.

Yet in the summer of that same year, Dernely incurs a doom of forfeiture for being in arms against James IV.; and at that period his son Mathew, and his friend Lord Lyle, hold the Castle of Dunbarton against the very government that had committed it to their keeping. It was in this rising that the Lord Forbes made himself conspicuous by riding the north, with the bloody shirt of the late King displayed as the beacon and banner of insurrection. Dernely, on his way to join this nobleman, was surprised in his encampment at TillyMoss by the Lord Drummond, and completely routed. This defeat crushed the enterprise, and " in the month of June 1489," to quote the words of Andrew Stewart, a sentence of forfeiture was passed, in the Parliament of Scotland, against John Earl of Lennox and his son Mathew, and against Robert Lord Lyle; but the act of forfeiture itself is not now to be found in the records of Parliament, for it was upon the 5th February 1489-90, rescinded and annulled by the King and Parliament, and in consequence thereof, his Majesty, upon the 6th of that month, issued a precept directed to the clerk-register, ordering him to take furth of the books of Parliament the said process of forfeiture, and to deliver the same to the said John Earl of Lennox, and to Robert Lord Lyle, and to destroy the said process in such a way that it be never seen in time to come.' The whole of this pro

66

ceeding proves the restless turbulence of Dernely, his utter disregard of law and order, and at the same time, his great power and influence in the state.

Having thus escaped the pains of rebellion, and feeling himself more powerful than ever, Dernely now vi* Andrew Stewart's History, p.

192.

gorously commenced, in the face of an existing decree of the privy-council which had silenced his claim for thirteen years, to render his dominion in the Lennox as certain as power without right could effect. It was his object to obtain complete feudal command of the whole Comitatus, by attaching to himself all the superiorities, patronages, and liberties of the fief; and also to effect such a compromise with the weaker parties, having a prior right to the honours of Lennox, as might afford at least a colour of legality to the assumption he had already perpetrated.

Elizabeth Menteith had followed up the decree of obedience proclaimed in her favour, by taking out brieves of division from chancery, for the purpose of having her special share of the lands allotted by the verdict of a jury. The instrument taken upon producing her brieves, and demanding an inquest, is dated 26th of March (day after New-Year's day) 1490.* But upon the 17th of May following, she had been persuaded or concussed into a contract of excambion with Dernely, the tenor of which very plainly shows his anxiety to establish himself in a loftier position in the Lennox than was his birth-right.

This curious document bears to have been concluded at Glasgow upon the 18th day of May 1490, "between a noble and mighty Lord John Earl of Lennox and Lord Dernely, and Mathew Stewart his son and apparent heir, on the one part, and Elizabeth of Menteith, the spouse of umquhile John Napier of Merchiston, as one of the parceners and heirs of the said earldom, and Archibald Naper her son and apparent heir, on the other part, anent the division and allotment of the said Elizabeth's part and portion of the lands of the said earldom of the Levenax, and also for her part of the pro

* Merchiston Papers.

fyt and commoditevys that mycht fall till hir, or till hir aeris, of the superiorite and tenandry of the fre tenandis of the said erldome, be wardis, mariages, relevis, courtis, eschaetis of courtis, be resoun of superiorite, profytis of blanchfermys, offices of heritage, advocationis, donatouris of kirks, chapellis, presentationis of provestriis, chanouriiys, personagis, chaplanriis, and otheris patronagis quhatsumever,'" &c. There is not a single expression in this contract which would convey to modern conceptions the idea of a transference of the dignity of Earl, nor is the sovereign made a party to the transaction; but it must be confessed that the clause quoted, as well as other clauses in the various deeds connected with this transaction, is of the most sweeping description, and, in a territorial sense at least, involves all the highest rights, privileges, and dignities appertaining to the fief.

In consideration of this sacrifice on the part of Elizabeth Menteith, Dernely on his part grants and concedes that she shall obtain in property a quarter of the lands of the whole Comitatus, with its woods, and islands, fishings in waters and lochs, &c. &c. and this fourth part is "to be lade and assignit hale and togidder be the self," and to be secured to her by " vigour and autorite of the Kyngis breffis of depertysing." Moreover, for the rights of superiority yielded, a separate estate of lands in the Lennox, adjacent to the quarter to be allotted to Elizabeth Menteith, is granted to her, over and above her original share. Both parties are taken bound not to part with their lands to strangers, nor to admit such into the fief, but, if constrained by necessity or otherwise to sell or alienate in any manner, " that it sal be offerit ilkane of thaim till otheris apon resonabill and sobyr price," a condition much more likely to benefit Dernely

than Merchiston. And finally, that, "the sade Erle and Mathew his sone sall, for the favouris schawin in this concorde, help, supple, menteyn, and defende the sade Elesabeth, and Archbalde hir sone, and thar ayres, in all thar causis leyfull and honest, and in speciale in the pessabill brukyng and possedyng of hir quarter of the Levenax and landis before expremyt in all things, but (i. e. without) fraude or gyll."*

The necessary steps to perfect this arrangement by division and appropriation according to the forms of law, were immediately adopted by Elizabeth Menteith, who at the same time took care that John Haldane and his son should be present and exhibit a formal consent to the process of division.+ But there can be little doubt that the contract of excambion of her birth-right was a

* The fac-similes of the signatures of these two first Earls of Lennox of the Dernely race, appended to this deed, will interest the reader. Mathew was he who commanded one of the divisions of the Scotch army at Flodden.

Thoy Reward
Mathur Jerand

There are also appended their seals; bearing first and fourth three fleurs de lis ; second and third, a fesse chequé, surrounded of a border charged with buckles; on an escutcheon, the plain saltier and roses; on the seal of Mathew a label of three points.

+ All the original documents connected with this process of division are among the Merchiston papers. The retour of division to the lands lying in Dunbartonshire is dated 21st May 1490, and to the lands in Stirlingshire, 24th May thereafter. She is styled in these deeds" Elizabeth Menteith Lady of Rusky, ane of the portionaris of the erldome of the Levenax." She is put into possession of the lands, nominatim allotted to her, by the sheriff, who, in token and name of possession, delivers a wand to her in open court.

measure to which this lady and her son were constrained by the determined and lawless grasp which Dernely

and his son had fastened on the earldom.

A charter of excambion was then granted to her of the lands which were the price of the rights and privileges she had yielded. This runs in the name of Mathew "Comes de Lenax," and is ratified by his father, also styling himself Earl of Lennox,-a fact which may be thus accounted for: The charter of excambion is dated 17th September 1490.* The contract, in which Mathew is not styled Earl, is in May previous. Now on the intervening 1st of June 1490, Dernely having resigned the Earldom of Lennox, Lordship of Dernely, &c. into the hands of James IV., in favour of his son and heir Mathew, in fee, and of himself and spouse, Margaret Montgomery, in liferent, obtained a new charter to that effect.† Hence, in accordance with the territorial principle, both father and son being infeft in the comitatus, took the title of Comes.

This charter of excambion grants to Elizabeth Menteith and her heirs, the two towns of Blarnavadis, with the pertinents, lying in the earldom of Lennox and county of Stirling, and the fishing with one boat, and nets in proportion, over the whole of the still water of the lake of Lochlomond, (lacu de Lochlomond,) excepting the fishing in the water of Leven, and the firth of Lochlomond, which are reserved to the granter and his succesThe grant is in perpetuity to a noble lady and our cousin, Elizabeth, Menteith of Rusky, for excambion made to us by her; and the rights yielded are stated to be the fourth part of the tenantry of the whole earldom of Lennox belonging to her, with the pertinents, and with the advowsons and right of patronage * Merchiston Papers. + Andrew Stewart's History.

sors.