Thus the Phoenician Barat author of our Newton Stone inscription is revealed as the historical original of the traditional Part-olon, the first "king of the Scots," who arrived from the Mediterranean via Spain about 400 B.C. and introduced civilization into Ireland, and whose clan colonized and civilized North Britain, as cited in the heading. The detailed account of King Part-olon's arrival in Ireland, as preserved in the traditional histories of the Irish-Scots,the historicity of which is thus established-now becomes of great historical interest and importance; and especially the record of his relations with the North of Britain and Don Valley. At the outset it is to be noted that in the Latin versions of the Ancient British Chronicles by the Romish monks Nennius (or Ninian) and Geoffrey, the name "Partolon," as it occurs in the Irish-Scot vernacular histories, is latinized into "Partholomus" in order to adapt it to the New Testament apostolic name of Bartholomus or Bartholo mew. The account of Part-olon's arrival in Ireland is thus recorded by Nennius in his history of the Britons written about 800 A.D.1: "Long after this (the arrival of the Picts) the Scotti arrived in Erinn from the coast of Spain. The first that came was Partholomus, with a thousand followers, men and women. But, a plague coming suddenly upon them, they all perished in one week." The statement here that he arrived from Spain is of great significance, as further evidence of his being an Aryan Phoenician, coming, like Brut, by way presumably of the famous Phoenician seaport of Gades (the modern Cadiz) or "House of the Gads (or Phoenicians) "-Gad being, as we shall see, an especial variant of "Catti" used by the Phoenicians, and coined upon the tribal title of Khat or Xat, i.e. "Scot,"; and he is called in the Chronicles a "Scot." He is also reported by Geoffrey to have come from Spain; see later. The traditional place of his landing in Ireland is stated in the Ogam "Book of Ballymote" to have been Scene in the Bay of Kenmare in Kerry county, and that place and 'N.A.B., 13. 'Dates to about the tenth century A.D. in its present recension. PART-OLON IN SCOTLAND & IRELAND 75 district is significantly the chief seat of the Ogam-inscribed monuments in the British Isles. The old saga says: 1 The devastating " plague" above referred to was possibly the hostile attack of the aboriginal race in Erin called Fomori, who, the Irish Chronicles tell us, attacked Part-olon and his party, but were defeated by him in a great battle;• though Geoffrey's Chronicles, on the other hand, state that his descendants continued to live in and colonize ultimately the whole of Erin; and the Irish Chronicles refer to these descendants of his sons there in later times. But his inscription in Aberdeenshire now shows that he himself eventually left Kerry for the North of Scotland— possibly through a spirit of adventure for fresh worlds to conquer-leaving, according to tradition, two sons settled in Kerry.' Some details of Part-olon's voyage from Spain via Ireland to the North of Scotland are preserved in Geoffrey's traditional Chronicles, but these appear to confuse his emigration northwards to Aberdeen with his settlement on the Irish coast of Kerry. Geoffrey records that Part-olon arrived in Ireland during the reign of the Briton king named Gurgiunt, who, about 407 B.C., succeeded his father King Belinus, the twenty-second in direct succession from Brutus (see Appendix I), and who ruled nominally the whole of Britain from Cornwall to Caithness, with his chief capitals as Osc (or Caerleon) on the Usk, and Tri-novantum (latterly London) on the Thames. He also inherited from his father the province of "Dacia" (which, from the context, was obviously in Denmark, and not the Dacia of the Of the 193 Ogam-inscribed monuments in Ireland 92 are in Kerry; and in the district of Scene in that county are 46 (B.O.I., 378). " " Book of Ballymote, trans. by Dr. Connellan, f. 12; and compare K.H.I.J., 67. Scene" is spelt in ancient texts Sgene," obviously cognate to "Scone," the crowning place of the ancient Scot kings near Perth. R.H.L., 589. • Irish Chronicles call these sons Slainge and Rudraige (Roderick) K.H.J., 62. 'G.C., 3, 5. Thus the Phoenician Barat author of our Newton Stone inscription is revealed as the historical original of the traditional Part-olon, the first "king of the Scots," who arrived from the Mediterranean via Spain about 400 B.C. and introduced civilization into Ireland, and whose clan colonized and civilized North Britain, as cited in the heading. The detailed account of King Part-olon's arrival in Ireland, as preserved in the traditional histories of the Irish-Scots,the historicity of which is thus established-now becomes of great historical interest and importance; and especially the record of his relations with the North of Britain and Don Valley. At the outset it is to be noted that in the Latin versions of the Ancient British Chronicles by the Romish monks Nennius (or Ninian) and Geoffrey, the name " Partolon," as it occurs in the Irish-Scot vernacular histories, is latinized into "Partholomus" in order to adapt it to the New Testament apostolic name of Bartholomus or Bartholo mew. The account of Part-olon's arrival in Ireland is thus recorded by Nennius in his history of the Britons written about 800 A.D.1: "Long after this (the arrival of the Picts) the Scotti arrived in Erinn from the coast of Spain. The first that came was Partholomus, with a thousand followers, men and women. But, a plague coming suddenly upon them, they all perished in one week." The statement here that he arrived from Spain is of great significance, as further evidence of his being an Aryan Phoenician, coming, like Brut, by way presumably of the famous Phoenician seaport of Gades (the modern Cadiz) or "House of the Gads (or Phoenicians) "-Gad being, as we shall see, an especial variant of "Catti" used by the Phoenicians, and coined upon the tribal title of Khat or Xat, i.e." Scot,"; and he is called in the Chronicles a "Scot." He is also reported by Geoffrey to have come from Spain; see later. The traditional place of his landing in Ireland is stated in the Ogam "Book of Ballymote " to have been Scene in the Bay of Kenmare in Kerry county, and that place and 'N.A.B., 13. 'Dates to about the tenth century A.D. in its present recension. PART-OLON IN SCOTLAND & IRELAND 75 district is significantly the chief seat of the Ogam-inscribed In the clear blue port of the fair land, The devastating "plague" above referred to was possibly the hostile attack of the aboriginal race in Erin called Fomori, who, the Irish Chronicles tell us, attacked Part-olon and his party, but were defeated by him in a great battle;' though Geoffrey's Chronicles, on the other hand, state that his descendants continued to live in and colonize ultimately the whole of Erin; and the Irish Chronicles refer to these descendants of his sons there in later times. But his inscription in Aberdeenshire now shows that he himself eventually left Kerry for the North of Scotlandpossibly through a spirit of adventure for fresh worlds to conquer-leaving, according to tradition, two sons settled in Kerry.' Some details of Part-olon's voyage from Spain via Ireland to the North of Scotland are preserved in Geoffrey's traditional Chronicles, but these appear to confuse his emigration northwards to Aberdeen with his settlement on the Irish coast of Kerry. Geoffrey records that Part-olon arrived in Ireland during the reign of the Briton king named Gurgiunt, who, about 407 B.C., succeeded his father King Belinus, the twenty-second in direct succession from Brutus (see Appendix I), and who ruled nominally the whole of Britain from Cornwall to Caithness, with his chief capitals as Osc (or Caerleon) on the Usk, and Tri-novantum (latterly London) on the Thames. He also inherited from his father the province of "Dacia" (which, from the context, was obviously in Denmark, and not the Dacia of the Of the 193 Ogam-inscribed monuments in Ireland 92 are in Kerry; and in the district of Scene in that county are 46 (B.O.I., 378). Book of Ballymote, trans. by Dr. Connellan, f. 12; and compare K.H.I.J., 67. Scene" is spelt in ancient texts Sgene," obviously cognate to "Scone," the crowning place of the ancient Scot kings near Perth. R.H.L., 589. • Irish Chronicles call these sons Slainge and Rudraige (Roderick) K.H.J., 62. 'G.C., 3, 5. Danube Valley) and he was returning thence through the Orkneys with his fleet when he met Part-olon there with his fleet. Geoffrey records: "At that time Gurgiunt was passing through the Orkney islands, he found thirty ships full of men and women. And upon his enquiry of them the reason of their coming thither, their Duke named Partholoim approached him in a respectful and submissive manner, and desired pardon and peace, telling him that he had been driven out of Spain, and was sailing round those seas in quest of a habitation. He also desired some small part of Britain to dwell in, that they might put an end to their tedious wanderings; for it was now a year and a half since he and his company had been out at sea. When Gurgiunt Brabtruc understood that they had come from Spain, and were called Bar-clenses, he granted their petition, and sent men with them to Ireland . . . and assigned it to them. There they grew up and increased in number, and have possessed that island to this very day." This Orkney location for Part-olon and his fleet whilst on their voyage from "Spain Spain" appears to be a reference to his sea-passage from his colony in Kerry to the Garrioch Vale of the Don of Aberdeen, the site of his monument in question. That portion of the narrative which describes him as returning from the Orkneys to Kerry is presumably a confusion, introduced by later Irish copyists and translators of these ancient chronicles before Geoffrey's time, having substituted "Ciarraighe" or Kerry of "Ireland" (where Part-olon had, according to the tradition, we have seen, established an Irish colony) for "Garrioch," the district of our Newton monument in the north-east of Scotland and not very far distant by sea from the Orkneys. Geoffrey expressly states that Part-olon "desired some small part of Britain -not Ireland, though Ireland is mentioned later on, presumably to adapt it to the Irish-Scot tradition. And the relatively short stay of Part-olon in Kerry and his sudden disappearance from there, ascribed conveniently to" plague," would be thus accounted for, as well as his permanent colonization of the south of Ireland by the two sons left there. Indeed, I find that positive, more or less contemporary, 1 G.C. 3, 12. This is the Irish form of the name " Kerry," B.O.I., 16. |