The passage goes on to state incorrectly that the MacDonnells had by 1649 been in possession of the Glens of Antrim for 227 years, but above we are provided with our only surviving mention of what was a tradition current in Ireland some period of time before the mid-17th century. Duald Mac Firbis reported pedigrees and traditions as he found them and so it is not his own speculation. Without offering an opinion on this claim of Greek origins, John O'Donovan wondered if this should really mean (to Scotland with) William the Lion, it being the well known case that the Scottish king brought a number of Norman families with him to Scotland, from 1174, following his captivity in England. In fact the first known Byset in Scotland, Henricus Byset, witnessed a charter by William circa 1198. But this is not of the most importance, as the family are typically classed as Norman in any case, even if their origins beyond that grouping are uncertain. Edmund Chisholm-Batten took the Irish tradition seriously and offered some possibilities, first noting the similarity of the arms of the Byzantine Greek family named Dassiotes to those of the Bissetts. Alternatively, noting an instance of the name being spelled Buset in 1294, he suggests the family name Βυσσητòς, from the word for fine linen, Βυσσoς.