“ But should any one wish for a specimen of Fraser's courtly extenuations, let him compare the account of the battle of Melrose (1526) , as given in the 'Douglas Book,' with an account of the same battle in The Scotts of Buccleuch. In the existing circumstances, the qualities specially to be desired in the present history were, on the one hand, impartiality, on the other, accuracy; and in respect of these qualities, so far as we have tested it. Sir Herbert's work leaves nothing, or little, to be desired. ”

“ For it is not now sinning in ignorance; it is sinning against the light. There is, for instance, perhaps no grosser fiction in the field of English genealogy than the descent of the Ely Stewards from 'the Royal Stuarts' of Scotland, together with the appurtenant bogus grant from a French king. This was exposed long ago by Mr. Walter Rye from the English, and Mr. Bain from the Scottish side. Yet, it was actually added, in the 1900 edition, to the other 'authoritative' statements contained in Burke's Peerage. ”

“ Sir Robert Gresley contributes, on Drakelowe itself, a chapter of great charm and interest. Although the park extends to nearly 600 acres, the chief attraction of the place, we learn, is found in the gardens, 'many of the hollies and yews lining the walks being well over 30 feet in height,' while the rose garden has an eighteenth century air. The house itself is full of heirlooms, among which are the family portraits, from which we are enabled, by special permission, to reproduce a selection. ”

“ Madan deals in true scholarly fashion with the materials employed by him in writing this notable book. Those who devote weary years to the pursuit of the elusive ancestor will envy the lords of Drakelowe their singular good fortune in possessing such materials for their pedigree as few families can show. We may specially mention the original muniments, 500 in number, 'ranging from about 1150 to 1676,' a family Bible containing contemporary entries from 1649 to 1886, an old notebook rich in genealogical matter, and the 'Gresley Chartulary,' which preserves the contents of 331 ancient deeds. ”

“ Before dealing with Walter however we will glance at a Domesday mystery.
Domesday affords us a tantalizing glimpse of a personage who has hitherto escaped notice, and whose name is more suggestive of those borne by the early FitzGeralds than any other in the Survey. Under Essex we read that Reimund' Girald' annexed some land held by a tenant on the great royal manor of Stanway (fo. 5) and did the same at Wormingford (fo. 66) , his successor, Roger of Poitou, retaining both in his hands at the time of the Survey. ”

“ The formation of Scottish clan societies is a pleasing feature of the times, and is likely to lead, as in the case of family societies in America, to an increase in the study of genealogy and in the production of works dealing with family history. ”

“ William was succeeded by a son of the same name, to whom King Henry II., by a charter granted at Windsor 1154–64 confirmed the lands of his father. This charter, which proves the pedigree, is known to me only from Harleian Roll, P. 8, a pedigree of the Windsor family and of their Irish kinsmen, the FitzGeralds, which although compiled at a bad time (1582) is of quite exceptional value. The charter of which I speak confirms to William of Windsor all the land of his father, William FitzWalter, and of his grandfather, Walter FitzOther. ”

“ They suffered, and they made to suffer; they served, and they made others to serve. Now they rose to the highest levels of patriotism and loyalty, and anon sank to the dark and crooked ways of treason and dishonour. ”

“ The fact that Nigel, its Domesday holder, occurs as Nigel 'de Torp' suggests that he was not identical with Nigel 'de Stafford.'
Appendix C brings us to the arms, seals, crest and motto of the family. The arms are a most interesting example of a derived coat, the Vaire ermine and gules of Gresley being clearly, as Mr. Madan says, a variation of the Ferrers coat, Vaire or and gules. These arms first occur on a Gresley seal of 1240, though the series of family seals of Drakelowe actually begins in the early years of the thirteenth century. ”

“ The pennon, or pencil, associated with the gloves, presents a more difficult problem. This has been dealt with by the Earl of Southesk, in a paper read before the Scottish Society of Antiquaries, since or just before the publication of Sir Herbert's volumes. Lord Southesk's conclusions are to the effect that the flag is a standard, and that it must have belonged originally to a Douglas, though more probably to one of the Angus branch than to a member of the original family. ”

“ We should be loth to tax Fraser with errors for which he cannot justly be accounted responsible, and in the present volumes, in dealing with the question of the first Earl of Douglas's complicity in a secret treaty with England—the first hint of opposition by a Douglas to his sovereign—Sir Herbert acquits Sir William of 'an unsuccessful attempt at special pleading,' on the ground that the Issue Roll for the year 1363 was not before him when he wrote. ”

“ Madan truly says, 'A family chartulary is not a common thing,' and taking the documents at Drakelowe as a whole, they are possibly unsurpassed as a collection for the history of a family. Mr. Madan explains that they found an indefatigable student in the Rev. J. M. Gresley, whose collections from these and other sources have formed the basis of his own undertaking. ”

“ The statement, however, is repeated and even defiantly amplified in the 1902 edition of Burke's Peerage. Its respective versions are as follows:—
To those who may take the editor at his word and accept these statements as 'authoritative' I may explain (1) that this landing took place in 1168 or 1169, not in 1172; (2) that its leader was not Strongbow (who had not then set foot in Ireland) but a man called Robert FitzStephen; (3) that there is no list of the names of those who followed him. [2] These are not matters of opinion; they are matters of historic fact. ”

“ It is therefore peculiarly satisfactory to have such excellent evidence for the first few generations, though the fact that the great-grandson of the Domesday lord was living 130 years or more after the Survey reminds us that there is always the possibility, where Christian names recur, of a generation having been omitted, as indeed is sometimes the case in pedigrees at a much later date. ”

“ A masterly purposeful ambitious breed, their influence cannot have been for ill on the destiny of their country, seeing what a large share of power lay ever in their hands; and no family has furnished more material towards the ideal of a Scottish gentleman.'
The illustrations are well chosen and excellently reproduced, the tinted drawing of the Regent Morton and the photogravure of 'Old Q'—a lean, nervous Black Douglas of the decadence—being especially noteworthy ”

“ Much, it seems; for it has come to pass that we are inclined to expect more of one bearing that of Douglas than of people bearing less historic surnames. In these pages the virtues of individuals have not been inflated, neither have their foibles been screened nor their evil doings glozed. ”

“ I have preferred in this brief review to deal exclusively with the most glorious period of the Douglas history, for after Otterburn the Douglases lost a rose from their chaplet (that of loyalty) , as after Arkinholm they may be said to have lost the chaplet itself. But Sir Herbert brings his history avowedly down to the Legislative Union, and actually down to the death of 'Old Q,' at the age of eighty-six, in the year 1810. That the author shows no lack of sympathy with his subject may be judged from his concluding paragraph, which we transcribe:—
'What's in a name? ”

“ And although, as compared with their Norman descent, a title which is not yet three centuries old may appear but modern, it must be remembered that even in the peerage the number of titles which have now been held so long in the male line is by no means large. ”

“ Walter was the ancestor, through a daughter, of the Hodengs; from William, in whose share Stanwell was included, descended Andrew Windsor, created Lord Windsor of Stanwell by Henry VIII., from whom descends in the female line the present Lord Windsor.
In the second portion of this paper I propose to deal with the younger sons of Walter FitzOther, from one of whom, Gerald de Windsor, all the FitzGeralds trace their descent. It will be convenient however to dispose in the present portion of one whose existence, I believe, is known to us only from a writ in the Abingdon Cartulary. ”

“ The work before us, [1] of which the author does not reveal his name, has its origin, he frankly confesses, in 'the pride of name and race,' and, as he tells us with equal candour, makes 'no pretence either to literary merit or original research.' This story of the Stewarts from the origin of the race to the time when one of its sons mounted the Scottish throne is in fact a compilation from printed books familiar enough to the antiquary. ”

“ And he selected Burke's Peerage as the worst case of all, on account of the official status of Ulster King of Arms. In some respects that work to-day is even more open to severe criticism than it was then. ”

“ The domesday lord of the fief, Robert Gernon, had an under-tenant, Ilger, who held of him two manors in Essex, Wormingford and Maplestead. Walter de Windsor is subsequently found giving, in conjunction with his mother Christina, the church of Wormingford to Wix Priory [21] and bestowing on St. Paul's three of his neifs at (evidently) Maplestead. [22] Moreover, in 1187 he is found holding a fee and a half of Richard de Montfichet. [23] The descent of these manors would thus be accounted for, Walter being the eldest son of William de Windsor by, as I suggest, Christina de Wiham. ”

“ Moreover he has fallen a victim, as others also have done, to that most dangerous book The Norman People which by reckless admixture of guesses with facts endeavours to trace the Stewarts' ancestors to the time of Julius Cæsar. We observe also some strange errors such as ought not to find a place in the work of a modern genealogist. ”

“ Here again we have Honington divided into three portions, and only three, of which one was held of the Earls of Chester and the other two of the 'Gaunt' fief. Of these two one was held by the Crevequer family throughout, as half a knight's fee, [8] and their name is correctly given in the 'Monasticon' and the Hundred Rolls. The other (which is the portion of Honington with which alone we are concerned) was similarly held throughout, as a quarter of a knight's fee, by the family of Armenters or Ermenters. ”

“ The introduction of this known imposture was pointed out and denounced by me more than a year ago in Studies on Peerage and Family History; yet this and other fables there exposed are deliberately repeated by the Editor as 'authoritative' in the current issue. I venture to think that a comparison of this plain fact with the statements quoted above from its preface will prove to the readers of The Ancestor not a little instructive and will render any further comment superfluous. ”

“ To keep this huge mass of information abreast of the times and to make it complete and accurate in every particular has been my endeavour, and no trouble or labour has been spared to accomplish this aim ... ”

“ Testibus Roberto episcopo Lincolniæ et Eudone dapifero apud Bruhellam' (ibid. ii. 94) . 'Bruhella' was Brill (Bucks) . ↑ It is worth noting that the Bull of Pope Eugenius III. (1146) in favour of Salisbury confirms to the church of Salisbury 'decimas omnes de venatione regis in episcopatu Sarisberiensi, excepta venatione illa quæ capta erit cum stabilia in foresta de Windresores' (Sarum Documents, p. 12) , this having been granted to Abingdon, as shown in the text. ”

“ This points to Reimund having held the manors of Bergholt by Stanway and Mount Bures by Wormingford, both of which are found in the hands of Roger of Poitou in 1086. Following up this clue we find that 'Raimunt Giralt' had preceded Roger of Poitou in possession at Stonham, Thorney and Coddenham, in the heart of Suffolk (fos. 350b, 351, 352) ”

“ Portrait assigned to Sir George Gresley, first Baronet.
↑ The Gresleys of Drakelowe by Falconer Madan (privately printed.) ↑ A high authority has attributed the two portraits named 'Sir George Gresley' to the latter end of the Elizabethan period. Federigo Zuccaro, to whom the portrait of 'Sir George Gresley, K.B.' (d. 1548) is assigned, was a child at the date of his supposed sitter's death. — ED. ↑ Students of costume will observe the same fashion in the portraits of Prince Henry and Prince Charles (1614 ?) ”

“ I.) where we read of the family's holding at Cranwell, not far from Honington, that the Templars of Temple Bruern held—
'unum feodum militis in Cranewell ... ex dono Gerardi (sic) de Emycers qui tenuit illud feodum de Gysilbrycht (sic) de Gaunt.
... et elemosinatur ex dono Gerardi (sic) de Ermycers elapsis C annis, qui quidem Gerardus tenuit de Gysilbricht de Gaunt' (Rot. Hund. I. 278) . ”