--i.e., Ellen herself. From this it appears that Lady
Margaret is Ellen's aunt, and that Roderick Dhu is, therefore, Ellen's
cousin.

260. =Maronnan's cell.= A chapel at the eastern extremity of Loch
Lomond, dedicated to the rather obscure saint here named.

270. =Bracklinn's thundering wave.= The reference is to a cascade made
by a mountain torrent at the Bridge of Bracklinn, near the village of
Callender in Menteith. Notice how Scott's numerous references to places
in the region where the poem is laid tend gradually to give us an idea
of the richness and diversity of the landscape.

274. =claymore.= A large two-handed sword.

305. =Thy father's battle-brand.= Some swords, especially those which
had been magically forged, were held to possess the property of drawing
themselves from their scabbard at the approach of their owner's deadly
enemy. This is the first vague hint which Scott gives us as to the real
identity of the "Knight of Snowdoun." To throw a further glamor of
romance about the prophetical weapon, he tells us that it was given by
fairies to an ancestor of its present owner, namely, to Archibald, third
Duke of Angus, called Tine-man (Loseman) because he always lost his men
in battle, and that this gift was made while Archibald was in league
with Harry Hotspur.

319. =Beltane game.= The sports of May Day.

327. =canna.= Cotton grass.

Stanza XVI. In this and the two following stanzas notice how skillfully
description and narrative are woven together, and how the picture gains
in detail and distinctness as the boats approach.

334. =barges.= What change has occurred in the use of this word?

335. =Glengyle ... Brianchoil.= Why does the poet introduce these proper
names? Are they of any value as information?

343. =tartans.= See note to I, xix, 363.

395. =The chorus first could Allan know.= The chorus was the first part
of the song which the harper, listening from the shore, could distinctly
make out.

408. =Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu.= The words _vich_ and _dhu_ are Gaelic,
the first meaning "descendant of," the second "black or swarthy." King
Alpine was the half-mythical ancestor from whom the clan of Alpine
sprung. The line means, therefore, "Black Roderick, descendant of
Alpine." Compare II, xii, 220, where Allan-bane calls the chieftain
"Black Sir Roderick."

410. =Blooming at Beltane.= See note to II, 319.

416. =Breadalbane.= A large district in the western part of the county
of Perth.