But, it may be asked, How about the chronicles? Father Barrett takes this whole question for granted; and Canon Bellesheim, upon whom he depends so greatly, generalizes on almost equally slender evidence. He writes:

Let me confront this modern plea with one voice from the real Middle Ages. It is true, the writer was in Italy; but many parallels could be quoted, from almost every country; and, if we study the sparse Scottish records, we may well conclude that this kind of case would perhaps have been more likely to occur in Scotland than anywhere else. This Italian case is not the strongest instance I could quote; but it is the only case I know for which we have not only documentary but also pictorial evidence.