The Ancient Church and Parish of Abernethy. An historical study

Preface

. Abernethy has been a parish of exceptional interest and of unique importance in the early civil and ecclesiastical history of Scotland. It was the capital of the Pictish kingdom, and as an ecclesiastical centre was closely connected with the introduction of Christianity into the country. It had a priority in time and influence even to Iona, and, with its monastery, schools, and missionaries, was the mother church of central and eastern Scot land. In connection with early religious work and education, it discharged the same function in the Midlands of Scotland as the Candida Casa did in Northumbria. Abernethy Monastery and Church were not parochial, and cannot be treated in an exhaustive manner apart from the organic development of which they formed the impulse and centre. While they possess many distinctive features, they are to be understood in their true setting as part of the civil and ecclesiastical history of Pictavia.

Up to the time of Queen Margaret their history was an outstanding one, and formed to a considerable extent that of the early Celtic Church in Scotland. The first church was probably the result of St Ninian's preaching among the Southern Picts : it was dedicated, according to the Preface. VIII Pictish Chronicle, in 460 A.D., to St Bridget of Kildare, and at the same time endowed with its great territorial possessions by the king of the Picts ; it was restored by St Columba in 590 A.D. ; at a subsequent period it became the metropolitan church, and was associated with the missionary work of St Adrian and his company. Its ancient Round Tower, built about 850 A.D., points to-day to its early and unique importance. Its civil history led to its ecclesiastical history : in the Roman period it was most probably Ptolemy's Orrea, and while at a later period it was the capital of the Southern Pictish kingdom, it is also described by an early chronicler as the capital of the whole kingdom of the Picts (" totius regni Pictororum ")> King Nectan, who gave it to " God and St Bride " in 460 a.d., is described as " king of all the provinces of the Picts." 2 In its antiquity rests the difficulty of writing the early history of Abernethy, for much of it stretches back to a period of which there is sparse record : yet the investigations of many scholars have cast considerable light upon it, and with these in view the author has undertaken the history.

It was one of his resolves on his ordination day in 1890 to write it, and his interest was directed towards it by a short address given on that occasion by his venerated friend, the late Alexander Laing, Esq., LL.D., of Newburgh. The author has studied its history during his leisure hours for the past seven years, both from the point of view of the early chronicles, and in the light of the researches of eminent scholars who have made such periods their special concern. He has been chiefly guided by Dr W. F. Skene and Dr Joseph Anderson — the former being his guide in the elucida tion of the early documents, and the latter in the interpretation 1 Scotichronicon, bk. iv. ch. xii. 2 Pictish Chronicle— see p. 96 in text. Preface. IX of the monuments and sculptured stones. He has also carefully studied the works of Dawkins, Wilson, Joyce, Lubbock, Tylor, Innes, Stuart, Robertson, Maxwell, Reeves, Patrick, Gomme, Lord Dunraven, Miss Stokes, Professor Stokes, Whitley Stokes, Rhys, Forbes, Bellesheim, Fraser, and others : in the light of their results the earlier chapters have been written.

The ancient church family of Abernethy (" ecclesiastica pro genies ") became a great historical family, acquiring a secular importance as their ecclesiastical dominion declined. Fordun and Wyntoun, prior of the old neighbouring foundation at St Serf's, were of great service, with the State and ecclesiastical records of the period. By marriage the Abernethies of Abernethy branched into the great Angus and Douglas family, the Rothes family, &c. During the medieval and subsequent periods the history of the parish has been traced from the Douglas charters, edited by Sir William Fraser, which cast light upon the Abernethy Priory and the later collegiate church, founded by Lord Douglas. The Acts of the Scottish Parliament, the Exchequer Rolls, the Register of the Royal Seal, the chartularies of Arbroath, and other historical works recently published, have also been carefully consulted.

The parish is interesting during the Reformation period, and its chronicles have been investigated and considered in their relationship to the general movements. The ancient records of the presbytery and parish have been very helpful, along with other works bearing upon the period. Abernethy became one of the leading centres in the Secession of last century, and its minister, the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff of Culfargie, one of the leaders. In connection with this, while the official documents of the Church of Scotland have been published, Preface. X so also have been those of the Seceders, and especially those of the Secession Church in Abernethy. The documents (many of which are published for the first time) exhibit the spirit and object of the movement, as well as the historical conditions which were its environment.

Along with other historical works, the publica tions of the Scottish History Society have been of service in the annals of the families associated with the parish. Throughout the work the author has endeavoured to be careful in acknowledging his obligations, and should he in any case have neglected to do so, it is an inadvertence he would much regret. As the work is more than a parish history, he has named it " An Historical Study." His explanation of this is, that the facts of the case demanded it. While Abernethy has had a distinctive history, it was yet the centre of a larger history. The author here desires to express his indebtedness to the late Dr Laing, who offered him the use of notes which he had made on the subject. As he wished, however, to make a study of it for himself, he respectfully declined them ; but he cannot allow this opportunity to pass without expressing not only his venera tion for the memory of his friend, but also his appreciation of the encouragement received from him to go on with the work.

He is supremely indebted to Sir James Marwick, LL.D., F.R.S.E., for the indispensable help given in the elucidation of the Douglas charters and records, as well as for the photographs which he has kindly taken for the illustration of the book. Sir James also placed his extensive historical library at the writer's disposal. He has likewise to thank heartily W. L. Watson, Esq. of Ayton, Abernethy, who has all along shown a kindly in terest in the work, and given him the use of many valuable books for consultation. Preface. XI To Joseph Anderson, Esq., LL.D., of Edinburgh ; the Rev. Dr James Campbell of Balmerino; the Rev. John Wilson, M.A., of Methven ; and the Rev. W. M. Macpherson, M.A., of Mony musk, the author's thanks are due for useful help. And he is also under obligation to the late Rev. Dr James Milne of the West Kirk, Perth, and the Rev. John Ferguson, B.D., the clerk of the Perth Presbytery, for the use of the transcripts of the records.

He desires further to express his thanks to the Pres bytery of Perth for granting him permission to consult the records and documents, as well as to the minister of the United Presby terian Church for giving him access to his records. The Rev. Robert Stevenson of the Free Church, Abernethy, has also been most obliging. The " Map illustrating the history of the Monastic Church prior to the eighth century," from Skene's ' Celtic Scotland,' is reproduced by the kind permission of David Douglas, Esq., to whom the author tenders his hearty acknowledgments. He desires also to express his indebtedness to the subscribers, by whose kindness he has been enabled to publish the work. But for the loss of the many monuments and documents be longing to the ancient church of Abernethy that perished at the Reformation period, and many of them probably at the transi tion from the Celtic to the Roman Catholic period, the work would have been more complete.

It is vain now to express regret, and all that can be said and done is " Colligite fragmenta, ne pereant." D. BUTLER. The Manse, Abernethy, Perthshire, December 7, 1897. ERRATA. P. 12 (note -, 1. 3), for "circle" read "sickle." I55> 1. 20, for " nuncupabanatur " read "nuncupabantur. " 162 (note, 1. 8), for " Frazers " read " Frasers." 243, 1. 18, for "toshach" read " toiseach." 282, 1. 4, for "Lennox and Angus on the one hand," read " Lennox on the one hand and Angus," &c. 380, 1. 15, for " 1747 " read " 1647." 386, 1. 24, for "National League," &c, read "Solemn League." 441, 1. 21, for "Rev. Ralph Erskine" read "Rev. Ebenezer Erskine." 449, 1. 28, for " 1475 " read " 1745." 473, 1. 6, for " literateness " read "literalness." CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE

Introduction

........ I I. PREHISTORIC : A SKETCH OF THE EARLY PEOPLE AND CULTURE 5 II. THE ROMAN PERIOD : WICKS OF BAIGLIE — ORREA . . .21 III. ETHNOLOGICAL : SCOTS — PICTS— BRITONS — SAXONS . . -34 IV. ABERNETHY THE CENTRE OF THE CELTIC COMMUNITY . . 48 V. CELTIC RELIGION ....... 68 VI.

INTRODUCTION.

OF CHRISTIANITY : ST NINIAN THE FOUNDER OF ABERNETHY CHURCH ...... 85 VII. ST TERNAN AND ST SERVANUS AT ABERNETHY . . .89 VIII. DEDICATION OF ABERNETHY TO ST BRIDGET OF KILDARE, A.D. 460 — SS. MODWENA AND BRENDAN . . . . -95 IX. ST COLUMBA — BUILDING OF CHURCH AT ABERNETHY BY KING GARTNAIDH IN CONNECTION WITH ST COLUMBA'S MISSION . 104 X. THE CELTIC OR COLUMBAN MONASTERY AT ABERNETHY, AND ITS ORGANISATION . . . . . . .112 XI. CONTROVERSY ABOUT EASTER — INFLUENCE OF NORTHUMBRIA ON ABERNETHY . . . . . . . . I30 XII. THE PICTS AND THE ANGLES OF NORTHUMBRIA — BATTLE OF MONCRIEFFE, 672 A.D. ...... 139 XIII. THE " NINE MAIDENS " AND ABERNETHY . . . .14-7 XIV. CULDEES AND SECULAR CLERGY AT ABERNETHY — BUILDING OF ROUND TOWER . . . ■ • • 1 5 Contents. XIV I58 XV. PRIMACY TRANSFERRED TO ABERNETHY FROM DUNKELD XVI.

THE ROUND TOWER OF ABERNETHY AND ITS PARALLEL ECCLE- 170 SIASTICAL HISTORY XVII. ST CADROE — ESTABLISHMENT OF CANONICAL RULE 1 88 XVIII. THE TREATY OF ABERNETHY, BETWEEN MALCOLM CANMORE AND WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, I072 191 XIX. AN ANCIENT CHARTER RELATING TO ABERNETHY CHURCH AND SCHOOL, CIRCA I IOO A.D. 195 XX. EXTINCTION OF THE CELTIC CHURCH AT ABERNETHY — HOS- TILITY OF QUEEN MARGARET 202 XXI. ABBEYS OF ARBROATH AND INCHAFFRAY IN RELATION TO ABERNETHY 213

Appendix

221 XXII. SCULPTURED STONES OF ABERNETHY ; MUGDRUM AND MACDUFF CROSSES 222 XXIII. THE ABERNETHIES OF ABERNETHY 250 XXIV. THE EARLS OF ANGUS AND ABERNETHY — CHARTERS — PRIORY AND COLLEGIATE CHURCH 267 XXV. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ABERNETHY FROM THE REFORMA- TION TO THE REVOLUTION SETTLEMENT 318 XXVI. THE REV. ALEXANDER MONCRIEFF OF CULFARGIE AND THE SECESSION 411 XXVII. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF ABERNETHY SUBSEQUENT TO THE SECESSION 46 1 XXVIII. REV. JOHN BROWN OF HADDINGTON, NATIVE OF ABERNETHY 479 XXIX. BALVAIRD, MUGDRUM, CARPOW, ETC, WITH THEIR HISTORIC FAMILIES— MR RUSKIN, PRINCIPAL TULLOCH, ETC. XXX. ABERNETHY OF TO-DAY ... 492 5°5 INDEX 508 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS ILLUSTRATIONS. the round tower of abernethy . . . Frontispiece SCULPTURED STONE, PLATE I. . . . . To face p. 67 MAP ILLUSTRATING HISTORY OF MONASTIC CHURCH PRIOR TO EIGHTH CENTURY . . . 11 131 SCULPTURED STONE, PLATE II. . . . . 11 230 SCULPTURED STONE, PLATE III. .... ir 232 SCULPTURED STONE, PLATE IV. . . . . 11 232 MUGDRUM CROSS ..... 11 234 SCULPTURED STONE, PLATE V. . . . . 11 237 SCULPTURED STONE, PLATES VI.

AND VII. . . 11 238 PEDESTAL OF ANCIENT MACDUFF CROSS ... u 247 SEALS OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF ABERNETHY . Ji 275 BALVAIRD CASTLE ..... ti 493 VIEW OF ABERNETHY FROM THE CASTLE LAW . . II THE ANCIENT CHURCH AND PARISH OF ABERNETHY.

INTRODUCTION.

. Perhaps one of the finest features in the thought of the present day is the emphasis it has laid on the principle of development : it is now an accepted axiom that as the life of to-morrow will be conditioned by that of to-day, so the life of to-day is con ditioned by that of yesterday. The idea of organic development has been applied with a success, which is the promise of still greater success, to all departments of thought ; and it surrounds the past with an increasing interest to recall, that it conditions the present, and that the present can be best understood in the light of the past out of which it grows, and by which it has come to be what it is. Civilisation, while largely affected by the forces that are at work in the life of to-day, is to a con siderable degree the product of the past — the outcome of what living men, who have come and gone before us, thought, said, and did.

The past rules us not the less potently when we are unconscious of its influence, and so a healthy form of thought, while prospective, ought also to be retrospective : while it sees "the distant gates of Eden gleam," ought also to consider the conditions that have helped to make the Eden possible. In the A words of Principal Caird: "Every step by which the consciousness of mankind has emerged from the life of nature and from the rudest primitive notions of itself and the world up to its present point of advancement, lives in the present consciousness of the race, transmuted but not annihilated."1 The increase of interest, then, in historical subjects that is in many quarters giving evidence of its existence cannot but be regarded as one of the healthy signs of the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Historical interest is always fascinating in itself and fraught with practical good ; it is not only speculative but essentially beneficial in its influence ; it lessens the passions of the hour and clears the eyesight ; it enables us to distinguish between what is permanent and what is accidental; it fixes our attention upon the main current of progress, and forbids us attaching undue importance to side-issues and details. In all the branches of man's manifold life, time has been power, and in order to understand the present we must first of all study the past that has helped to make it what it is. It has been well said : " History, while scientific in method, should pursue a practical object. That is, it should not merely gratify the reader's curiosity about the past, but modify his view of the present and his forecast of the future. . . .

Politics are vulgar when they are not liberalised by history, and history fades into mere literature when it loses sight of its relation to practical politics." 2 Again, not only is this historical spirit manifesting itself on the larger plane of the national life, but also on the smaller plane of the ancient village community, tribe, and parish. And well will this be, if in the study of the particular we do not forget to look at it in the light of the general ; if in regarding the unit, we do not forget that it is organically related to other units ; if in studying the parochial and mastering its details, we do not neglect 1 Philosophy of Religion, p. 308. 2 The Expansion of England, pp. 1 and 174. Introduction. 3 to maintain a true historical perspective and a wider outlook. Detachment is hurtful to a true estimate of things when it ends with that which is detached ; detachment is helpful when the study of the particular leads to a fuller knowledge of the general, when the parochial attitude is broadened by a wider outlook that realises the larger life organically related to it.

There have often been in the parish forces that have visibly affected the life of the nation, and guided the course of its development, and this because they have started there as a centre, but affected a much wider area as their circumference. What goes on in the world of men is well illustrated by the geological forces that work slowly and invisibly in the world of nature, and it has been thus expressed by Sir Archibald Geikie: — The story of the origin of our scenery shows that in the grander revolutions of the world as well as in the humbler routine of daily life, it is the little changes which by their cumulative effects bring about the greatest results ; that the lowly offices of wind and rain, springs and frost, snow and ice, trifling as they may appear, have nevertheless been chosen as instru ments to mould the giant-framework of the mountains ; and that these seemingly feeble agents have yet been able, in the long lapse of still untold ages, to produce the widest diversity of scenery, and to do this, not with the havoc and ruin of earthquake and convulsion, but with a finely-balanced harmony and order, forming out of the very waste of the land a kindly soil, which bears year by year its mantle of green, yielding food to the beast of the field and the fowl of the air, and ministering to the wants and enjoyment of man.1 Geology teaches that the configuration of the land has been caused by the daily working of the ordinary, everyday causes, and there is a parallel to this in the life of man.

His constant strivings to satisfy his needs and overcome the resistance of external con ditions, both by individual effort and combination, throughout the centuries, have led to the rich complex social life of to-day ; and so it will ever be interesting to study his early efforts, for they 1 Scenery and Geology of Scotland, p. 352. contain the possibilities of later things, and imply the end, of which, humble although they be, they are still the certain promise. This is what may be done by an investigation into the life of the ancient parishes, and they afford limited areas, within which we may more closely, and on that account more exactly, study the influences that have been at work in the formation of the life of the nation, or find reflected in them what moves the life of man everywhere.

The parish would be an interesting unit, if we could only know its past, and very many of our parishes have an interest which is by no means local. Those acquainted with village life in Scotland can hail with pleasure the evidence of a growing interest in antiquities, which forms a distinctively new departure. There is unquestionably a feeling of respect abroad, quite distinct from superstition, for the relics and monuments of former ages, and it is true to say that " within the last fifty years a new interest, almost like another sense, has arisen in our ancient monuments of art." 1 There is much connected with this parish that is worthy of being preserved, and it is with this conviction that the present work is undertaken. 1 Early Christian Architecture in Ireland, p. 142 (quoted).

Chapter I. Prehistoric

: A SKETCH OF THE EARLY PEOPLE AND CULTURE. In the present chapter an attempt will be made to describe the stages of early culture, as they have been ascertained by specialists in this department of investigation. Archæologists give us certain results from an examination of the articles early man has left behind him on the soil, and a definite conception of the early inhabitants of the country. We give their general conclusions, made interesting to us as interpretations of the prehistoric remains that are preserved in the National Museum, Edinburgh, and were found within the parish boundary from time to time.1 The implements of the "river-drift men" have been found in the gravelly deposits at rivers' banks, and they carry us back to a race of nomadic hunters, dependent entirely upon what they could acquire by their superior cunning over the beasts of the field and the fowl of the air.

Their implements are called by scholars palæolithic, and among their contemporaries in Britain were the lion, elk, reindeer, urus, bison, cave-bear, horse, elephant, and mam moth. Remains of the urus were lately discovered in this parish at Mugdrum.2 The second race has been called the " cave-men." They show an 1 The articles referred to are thus marked in the Museum cases at Edinburgh : A. H. 5 ; A. H. 6i ; A. H. 90 ; A. H. 57 ; A. S. 27 ; A. S. 74 ! A. S. 42 ; B. S. 123 ; D. A. 37 ; D. L. 4, &c. 2 See Laing's Lindores Abbey and the Burgh of Newburgh, p. 2. advance in culture, and consequently their implements exhibit a greater variety than those of the " river-drift men." These consist of arrow-heads, javelin-heads, awls, pins, and needles. They caught birds in snares, lived largely on fish, had fur clothes, stitched by needles with sinews, obtained fire by rubbing wood, and had no domestic animals.1 Professor Boyd Dawkins says of this latter race: "It may be gathered that the Eskimos are probably the representatives of the cave-men, and protected within the Arctic circle from those causes by which they have been driven from Europe and Asia.

They stand at the present day wholly apart from all other races, and are cut off from all both by the philologer and the craniologist. Unaccustomed to war themselves, they were probably driven from Europe and Asia by other tribes, in the same manner as within the last century they have been driven farther north by the attacks of the Red Indian."2 It may with certainty be said that there are three stages through which mankind must have passed on their way towards a tribal society — the hunting, the pastoral, the agricultural. The out standing feature of the river-drift and cave-men is the nomadic one ; but, " man is a social being," 3 and society even in its primitive form is a necessity for self-defence and protection. On the way towards this, or rather in the very effort to realise the contents of his own nature, there was a long development, in which we find man en deavouring to rise superior to his environment ; and in his progress in art and agriculture, science has defined three stages, as the Stone, the Bronze, and the Iron Ages.

These are not necessarily chron ological : they may coexist side by side ; they may be different strata in the same period ; still the division is helpful, and intel ligible as long as we regard it as a succession of different stages in culture or civilisation. This classification has introduced the prin- 1 See succinct account in 'Scotland in Prehistoric Times,' by Charles Annandale, M.A., LL.D. 2 Early Man in Early Britain, p. 242. 3 Politics ch. i. Prehistoric. 7 ciple of order into archæology, and enabled it as a science to be treated in the line of organic development. By examining the monuments and relics of the three periods we are able to arrive at an intelligent idea of the life of early man. In prehistoric times the climate would be much damper and more moist than at present ; the country would be covered with large forests and continuous morasses; in fact, Strathearn, in the east end of which Abernethy is situated, would be one continuous marsh, with forests on either side of it and intersecting it.

The reindeer and elk, with other large animals, would be roaming through them, and it is only when we compare lovely Strathearn of to-day with Strathearn as it then existed, that we can understand what advances man has made, and appreciate the initial endea vours that led to such great results. The first people of whom anything definite is known, are those of the neolithic stage in the Stone Age. Their relics are called neolithic because they are pol ished, and of these many fine specimens from Abernethy are to be seen in the Museum at Edinburgh. They are mostly arrow-heads, and reveal to us a race of men who lived by hunting, and probably were frequently at war with each other. The work of this primitive man reveals capacity, and probably at this stage communities were formed. They had to some extent outlived the nomadic, and had attained to a pastoral or perhaps to an agricultural state of existence.

Dr Anderson finds in their sepulchral remains a type of construction which is " completely structural," and characterised by a passage of access. He sums up his examination thus : " Their contents disclose to a certain extent the life and culture of the people. They possessed the same domestic animals as we still possess, and kept dogs and hunted the reindeer. Their common weapons were bows with flint-pointed arrows, and battle-axes of polished stone. They made pottery of a dark-coloured, thin, and hard-baked paste. The vessels, though not thrown on the wheel, were finely shaped, wide-mouthed, round -bottomed, and thick-lipped, often bevelled outwardly and recurving over the vertical rim, which was usually highly ornamented. Their system of ornament was simple, con sisting of shallow flutings or scorings in straight lines arranged in groups, contrasting as to their direction or markings with the finger nail." 1 Britain at this time was separated from the Continent, and if we believe that these neolithic builders came thence by boats we get a picture of early man as already possessed of considerable skill in construction, and feeling his way onwards to better things.

In the charming picture of this simple life as given by Pro fessor Boyd Dawkins, a clear conception is obtainable of how men lived in the hills and forests around this ancient parish, as in other parts of the land : — If we could in imagination take a stand on the summit of a hill com manding an extensive view of almost any part of Great Britain or Ireland in the neolithic period, we should look upon a landscape somewhat of this kind. These lines of smoke rising from among the trees of the dense virgin forest at our feet would mark the position of a neolithic homestead and of the neighbouring stockaded camp which afforded refuge in time of need ; while here and there a gleam of corn would show the small patch of ripening wheat. We enter a track in the forest and thread our way to one of the clusters of homesteads, passing herds of goats and flocks of horned sheep, or disturbing a troop of horses or small short-horned oxen, or stumbling upon a swineherd tending the hogs in their search after roots.

We should probably have to defend ourselves against the attack of some of the large dogs, used as guardians of the flock against bears, wolves, and foxes, and for hunting the wild animals. At last, on emerging into the clearing, we should see a little plot of flax or small-eared wheat, and near the homestead the inhabitants clad some in linen and others in skins, and ornamented with necklaces and pendants of stone, bone, or pottery, carrying on their daily occupations. Some are cutting wood with stone axes with a wonderfully sharp edge, fixed in wooden handles, with stone adzes and gouges, or with little saws composed of carefully notched pieces of flint about 3 or 4 inches long. . . . Some are at work preparing handles for the spears, shafts for the arrows, and wood for the bows or for the broad paddles used for propelling the canoes.

Others are busy grinding and 1 Scotland in Pagan Times : Bronze and Stone Ages, p. 304. Prehistoric. 9 sharpening the various stone tools, scraping skins with instruments ground to a circular edge, or carving various implements out of bone and antler with sharp splinters of flint, while the women are preparing the meal with pestles and mortars and grain-rubbers, and cooking it on the fire, generally outside the house, or spinning thread with spindle and distaff, or weaving it with a rude loom. We might also have seen them at work at the moulding of rude cups and vessels out of clay which had been carefully prepared." l To think of this primitive life with its simple aims and absence of luxury — to recall that probably its most interesting features are lost to us, because there was no Hesiod or Homer to preserve them in song ; to see their reverence for their departed ancestors as expressed in the simple cairns they erected — is to be brought sympathetically into contact with an early people of whom we would willingly know more.

This early race existed here long before Celtic or even Roman influence touched them. Their legends are most likely preserved in our folk-lore ; their language absorbed, but yet not lost, in our modern speech ; their customs are not eliminated, but exist as unconscious survivals in much that is modern ; many of the superstitions of earlier centuries not yet wholly obliterated, still surviving in village life, through the indestructibility and potent force of tradition, — are all due to the fact that this pre-Celtic people were once on the soil, and did not pass away without leaving their influence behind them.2 They were of Iberian or Basque race, of small stature, of dark complexion, with black hair and eyes, with dolichocephalic skull.3 We now pass to the Bronze and Iron Ages, which unquestion ably point to the invasions of new tribes, the contact of the insular with a larger culture, and the assimilation of the latter by the 1 Early Man in Early Britain, pp. 271-273. 2 See ' The Village Community,' by G. L. Gomme, pp. 290-295. 3 "The Iberic peoples lived in Britain, secure from invasion, during the whole of the Neolithic Age, while Gaul and Spain were being conquered by the ancestors of the Celts of history." — Early Man in Early Britain, p. 342. former, or, in some places, the substitution of the latter for the former.