THE BOOK OF DEER
An ancient curio—Second oldest book of Scotland—Where did it come
from?—Its contents threefold—Gaelic colophon from the ninth
century—The work of a native scribe of Alba—Peculiarities—The
ecclesiastical art of the period—The Gaelic entries—“Legend of
Deer”—Drostan’s tears—Some very quaint history—The earliest
source for Scottish Gaelic—Authentic glimpses into the Celtic
condition of Scotland—Origin of shires, parishes, burghs,
individual freedom, and the use of the English language—Three
editions of the Gaelic of the Book of Deer—Now one of the very
oldest MSS. of native origin that Cambridge can boast of 79