68. =When swept our merrymen Gallangad.= The reference is to one of the
forays or "cattledrives" which the Highland chiefs were fond of making
at the expense of their neighbors. The situation of Gallangad is now
unknown, but it was presumably a portion of the Lennox district.
73. =kerns.= The kern or cateran of the Highlands was a light-armed
infantryman, as opposed to the heavy-armed "gallowglass."
78. =scatheless.= Without fear of injury, because of the weariness of
the animal after the march.
82. =boss.= The word means knob or protuberance, especially that in the
center of a shield. What the boss of a cliff can be it is a little
difficult to understand.
98. =watching while the deer is broke.= The cutting up of the deer and
allotting of the various portions was technically known as the
"breaking" of the deer. A certain gristly portion was given, by long
custom, to the birds, and came to be known as "the raven's bone."
140. =A spy has sought my land.= Roderick refers, as appears later, to
the "Knight of Snowdoun" of Canto I.