Page:Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history.djvu/38

XXX PREFACE. an Irish life of St. Patrick, which, on comparing it with Colgan's Latin version, he ascertained to be an Irish version of the " Tripartite Life," and subse- quently another Irish version of the same life was discovered by Dr. Todd in the Bodleian, which he considered to be still older. Professor Currie, in his lectures on the ms. materials of Irish history, considers this life to have been compiled in the eighth century. The Editor cannot place so old a date upon it, at least in its present form. The lan- guage even of the Bodleian ms. is not older than the eleventh century, and, after consideration of aU the circumstances, he has, with some hesitation, placed the compilation of the life itself in the tenth century. This life contains a very important notice of the settlement of the Scots in Britain under Aedan, king of Dabiada. There are indications that this notice formed a part of the oldest forms of the lives of St. Patrick, and it is here printed from the Bodleian ms., collated with that in the British Museum, as probably the earhest authentic notice of the Dalriadic colony. XI. century. 4. SYNCHRONISMS OF FlANN Ma INISTREACH. synciironisms ^(^jjiQng the aucicnt pieces in the Irish Mss. which of Flann Mam- o r istreach. throw light ou the historjr of Scotland, and which have not yet been published, are the " Synchron- " isms of Flann Mainistreach," or "of Bute," who died in the year 1056, in which he synchronizes the pi'ovincial kings of Ireland with the monarchs of the whole island, and includes among the former