Excerpt from Dumfriesshire: With Maps, Diagrams and Illustrations The illustrations on pp. 5, 9, 13, 17, 22, 25, 51, 52, 64, 68, 74, 108, 117, 118, 122, 123, 127, 132, 134, 151, 154, 162, 165, 168, 170, and 171 are from photographs by Messrs J. Valentine Sons; those on pp. 19, 35, 37, 40, 41, 94, 102, 104, 105, 110, 113, 116, 120, 121, 156, 158, 160, and 166 are from photographs by the author; the portraits on pp. 137, 142, and 148 are from photographs by Messrs T. R. Annan; the portrait on p. 139 is from an etching by kind permission of Sir George Reid; that on p. 146 is from a photograph by Mr John Fergus; the illustration on p. 159 is from a photograph by Miss Montgomerie, Dalmore; the illustrations on pp. 87 and 98 are reproduced by courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; that on p. 144 is from a block kindly lent by Messrs J. Maxwell Son, Dumfries; those on pp. 23 and 45 are reproduced from Mr Hugh S. Gladstone's Birds of Dumfriessbz're by kind permission of the author, the former being from a photograph by Mr Legard; that on p. 31 is reproduced from Geikie's Scenery of Scotland by permission of Messrs Macmillan Co. The Map of the Solway on p. 48 is reproduced by courtesy of Dr George Neilson.1. County and Shire. The Origin of Dumfries. The creation of a county and the establishment of a sherifi'dom in Dumfriesshire were fraught with difficulties. The ancient county of Dumfries included part of Gal loway as far west as the river Cree, in addition to the present area which was constituted a sheriffdom in 1748. When in 1107 King Edgar bequeathed to his youngest brother, Prince David, Scottish Cumbria, of which the present shire of Dumfries was then a part, he granted a very disputable possession. It was a little buffer-state between two warring kingdoms. David, being both a petty king and earl (comes), had the opportunity for imposing upon his territory the feudal system, of the anglo-norman type, to which he had been accustomed in England. To his court he attracted anglo-norman and southern chivalry to support him in his rule. His regal adminis tration was probably conducted by feudal dignitaries chancellor, constable, justiciar, Chamberlain, steward, and marshal. On David's accession to the throne of Scotland in 1124, according to Gaelic custom and feudal law, his personal property became an appanage of the crown. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.