into Dorsetshirc. The Saxon antiquities in England are chiefly edifices, sacred or secular ; many churches remain, which were altogether, or for the most part, constructed in the Saxon period, and some are extant of the tenth, or per haps the ninth century. The vaults erect ed by Grimbald, at Oxford, in the reign of Alfred, are justly esteemed curious relics of Saxon architecture. Mr. King has ably illustrated the remains of the Saxon castles. The oldest seem to con sist of one solitary tower, square or hexagonal : one of the rudest specimens is Coningsburg Castle, in Yorkshire ; but as that region was subject to the Danes till the middle of the tenth century, it is probably Danish. Among the smaller re mains of Saxon art may be mentioned, the shrines for preserving relics, which some suppose to present the diminutive rudi ments of what is styled the Gothic archi tecture; and the illuminated manuscripts, which often afford curious memorials of the state of manners and knowledge. The Danish power in England, though of con siderable duration in the north, was in the south brief and transitory. The camps of that nation were circular, like those of the Belgx and Saxons, while those of Roman armies arc known by the square form : and it is believed that the only distinct relics of the Danes are some cas tles to the north of the (lumber, and a few stones with Runic inscriptions. The monuments styled Norman, rather to dis tinguish their epoch than from any infor mation that Norman architects were employed, are reputed to commence after the conquest, and to extend to the four teenth century, when what is called the rich Gothic began to appear, which in the sixteenth century was supplanted by the mixed, and this in its turn yi sided to the Grecian. In general, the No an style far exceeds the Saxon in the size of the edifices, and the decoration of the parts. The churches became more extensive and lofty, and though the windows retain the circular arch, they arc larger and more diversified ; the circular doors are festooned with more freedom and ele gance ; and uncouth animals begin to yield to wreaths of leaves and flowers. The solitary keep,or tower, of the Saxon castle is surrounded with a double inclosing courts and dwellings of largo extent, defended by turrets and double ditches, with a separate watch-tower called the Barbican. Among others, the cathedrals of Durham and Winchester may be mentioned as venerable monu ments of Anglo-Norman architecture; and the castles are nurnerous and well known. What is called the Gothic, or pointed arch, is generally supposed to have first appeared in the thirteenth cen tury-, and in the next it became universal in religious edifices. The windows dif fused to great breadth and loftiness, and divided into branching interstices, enrich ed with painted glass ; the clustering pillars, of excessive height, spreading in to various fret-work on the roof, consti tute, with decorations of smaller note, what is called the rich Gothic style, visi ble in the chapel of King's college at Cambridge, and many other grand speci mens in this kingdom. The spire cor responds with the interior, and begins about the thirteenth century to rise bold ly from the ancient tower, and diminish from the sight in a gradation of pinnacles and ornaments.
We now proceed to Scotland, the origi nal population of which is supposed. upon good authority to consist of Cimbri, from the Cimbric Chersonese. About two cen turies before the Christian :era, the Cim bri seem to have been driven to the south of Scotland by the Caledonians, or Picti, a Gothic colony from Norway. The Cimbri, a congenerous people with the Welch, continued to hold the country south of the two firths of Forth and Clyde ; but from the former region they- were soon expelled by the Picti, who, in this comer, became subject for a time to the Anglo Saxon kings of Bernicia. On the West, the Cumraig kingdom of Strath Clyde continued till the tenth century, when it became subject to the kings of North Britain ; wbo at the same time extended their authority, by- the permission of the P.nglish monarch, over the counties of Cumberlagil and Westmoreland, which, aboundinekith hills and fortresses on the south and east, were little accessible to the English power, and, while the Danes pos sessed the country to the north of Hum ber, could yield little revenue Or support to the Anglo-Saxon monarchs. From the Picti originates the population of the Low lands of Scotland, the Lowlanders having been in all ages a distinct people from those of the western Highlands, though the Irish clergy endeavoured to render their language,which was the most smooth and cultivated of the two, the polite dia logue of the court and superior classes, About the y-ear of Christ 258, the Dalri ads of Bede, the Attaeotti of the Roman writers, passed from Ireland to Argyle shire, and became the germ of the Scot tish Highlanders, who speak the Irish or Celtic language, while the Lowlanders have always used the Scandinavian or Go thic. In reference to the antiquities of the country-, Mr. Pinkerton divides the early history into seven distinct periods, viz. 1. The original population of Scot land by the Cimbri, and by the Pied. 2. The entrance of Agricola into Scotland, and the subsequent conflicts with the Ro mans, till the latter abandoned Britain. 3. The Settlement of the Dalriads or At tacotti, in Argyleshire, about the year 258, and their repulsion to Ireland about the middle of the fifth century. 4. The commencement of what may be called a regular history of Scotland, from the reign of Drust, A. D.414. 5. The return of the Dalraids, A. D. 503, and the sub sequent events of Dalriadic story. 6. The introduction of Christianity among the Caledonians, in the reign of Brudi A. D. 565. 7. The union of the Picti and Attacotti, under Kenneth, A. D. 84,3, after which greater civilization began to take place, and the history becomes more au thentic. The monuments of antiquity belonging to these epochs may be consi dered in the following order. Of the first epoch, no monuments can exist except those of the tumular kind; and it is im possible to ascertain the period of their formation. The remains of the Roman period in North Britain chiefly appear in the celebrated wall built in the reign of Antoninus Pius, between the firths of Forth and Clyde, in the ruins of which many curious inscriptions have been found. Another strildng object of this
epoch was a small edifice, vulgarly called Arthur's oven, which seems rightly to have been regarded by some antiquaries as a small temple dedicated. to the god Terminus, probably after the erection of the wall of Antoninus, for we are not to conceive these walls were the absolute li nes b eyond which the Romans possessed no territory ; while, en the contrary, in the pacific intervals, the garrisons along the wall may have claimed the forage of the exterior fields ; and the stream of Carron, beyond which this chapel stood, may have been considered as a necessary supply of water. The remains of the wall and forts, and other Roman antiquities, in Scotland, particularly their camps and stations, many of which are remarkably entire, are ably illustrated in a late publi cation of General Roy; but the ingenious author has perhaps too implicitly followed a common antiquarian error, in ascribing all these camps, stations, &c. to Agricola, while theymay be more justly assigned to Lo!lius Urbicus, A. D. 140, or to the Em peror Severis, A. D. 207, especially in deed to the latter; for the Emperor's ap pearance, in person, to conduct two cam paigns, probably as far as Inverness, must have occasioned the erection of works more erninentand durable than usual, the soldiers being excited by the animating controul of a military monarch. Con stantins Chlorus also, A. D. 306, made a long progress into Scotland, if we trust the panegyrists. Nay, in the reign of Domitian, Bolanus, as we learn from Sta tins the poet, erected several works in Britain, probably in the north ; so that it is idle to impute these remains to anyone author ; but to a judicious eye, the claims of Lollius Urbicus, and of Severus, seem preferable. The most northerly Roman camp, yet discovered, is that near the source of the river Ythan, Aberdeenshire; periphery about two English miles. A smaller station has also been observed at Old Meldrum, a few miles to the S. E. Roman roads have been traced a consider ble way in the east of Scotland, as far as the county of Angus, affording some evi dence of the existence of the province of Vespasiana; but the chief remains are within the wall. A hypocaust was also discovered near Perth, and another near Musselburg, so that there was probably some Roman station near the Scotish ca pital. The smaller remains of Roman an tiquity found in Scotland, as coins, uten sils, &c. are numerous. With the fourth epoch may be said to commence the Pik ish monuments of antiquity. The tombs it would be difficult to discriminate from those of the first epoch ; but as the Cale donian kings, when converted to Christi anity, held their chief residence atInver ncss, the singular hill in its vicinity, pre senting the form of a. boat reversed, may, perhaps, be a monument of regal sepul ture. The places of judgment among the Gothic nations, or what are now styled Druidic temples, are numerous; and there is a remarkable one in the Isle of Lewis, where, probably, the monarchs resided in the most early times ; but this, perhaps, rather belongs to the Norwegian settle ment in the ninth century. Some of these monuments are of small circuit; and such are sometimes found at no great distance from each other ; as they were not only sometimes erected merely as temples to Odin, Thor, Freyga, and other Gothic deities, but every chief, or lord of a ma nor, having jurisdiction over many ser vants and slaves, such small courts be came placcsofnccessary awe. 'the houses seem to have been entirely ofwood or turf; but in some spots singular excavations are found, rudely lined with stone ; these are called weems, and it is likely that, they were always adjacent to the wooden residence of some and were intend ed as depositories of stores, &c. the roofs being too low for comfortable places of refuge. The stations and camps of the natives are distinguished by their round form, while those of the Romans belong to the square. Under the next epoch it would be difficult to discover any genu ine remains ofthe Dalriads. The houses, and even the clmrches were constructed in wattlework; and the funeralmonuments were cairns or heaps of stones. It is pro bable that Christianity did not immedi ately dissolve ancient prejudices, and that even the Atticottic kings were buried in this rude manner ; for the genuine chro nicles do not affirm that they were con veyed to Hyona or Ilcolmkill ; and the sepulchres there shewn, of Irish and Nor wegian kings, must be equally fabulous. To the sixth epoch may probably belong a chapel or two, still remaining in Scotland, for Bede informs us that Nethan III. A. D. 715, obtained architects from Ceolfrid, abbot ofJarrow and Wcremouth, to build a church in his doMinions, probably at Abernethy ; but the round tower there remaining seems of more recent origin. About the year 830, Ungust II. founded the church of St. An drew ; and the chapel called that of St. Regulus, (who seems unknown in the Roman calendar) may, perhaps, claim even this antiquity. It is probable, that these sacred edifices in stone were soo» followed by the erection of those rude round piles, without any cement; called Piks-houses ; yet they may more properly belong to the seventh epoch, when the Danes may share in the honour of the erection, for such edifices have been tra ced in Scandinavia. They seem to have consisted of a vast hall, open to the sky in the centre, while the cavities in the wall present incommodious recesses for beds, &c. These buildings are remarka ble, as displaying the first elements of the Gothic castle ; and the castle of Conings burg in Yorkshire forms an easy transi tion. The engraved obelisks found in Forres, and in other parts of Scotland, have been ascribed to the Danish rava gers, who had not time forsuch erections. They are, probably, monuments of sig nal events, raised by the king or chiefs ; and as some are found in Scandinavia, as recent as the fifteenth century-, itis pro bable that many of the Scottish obelisks are far more modern than is generally imagined.