ERCILDOUN, THOMAS of, or “THOMAS THE RHYMER” (fl. 1220-1297).—­A minstrel to whom is ascribed Sir Tristrem, a rhyme or story for recitation.  He had a reputation for prophecy, and is reported to have foretold the death of Alexander III., and various other events.

ERIGENA, or SCOTUS, JOHN (fl. 850).—­Philosopher, b. in Scotland or Ireland, was employed at the Court of Charles the Bald, King of France.  He was a pantheistic mystic, and made translations from the Alexandrian philosophers.  He was bold in the exposition of his principles, and had both strength and subtlety of intellect.  His chief work is De Divisione Naturae, a dialogue in which he places reason above authority.

ERSKINE, RALPH (1685-1752).—­Scottish Divine and poet, was b. near Cornhill, Northumberland, where his f., a man of ancient Scottish family, was, for the time, a nonconforming minister.  He became minister of Dunfermline, and, with his brother Ebenezer, was involved in the controversies in the Church of Scotland, which led to the founding of the Secession Church in 1736.  He has a place in literature as the writer of devotional works, especially for his Gospel Sonnets (of which 25 ed. had appeared by 1797), and Scripture Songs (1754).

ERSKINE, THOMAS (1788-1870).—­Theologian, s. of David E., of Linlathen, to which property he succeeded, his elder brother having d. He was called to the Bar in 1810, but never practised.  Having come under unusually deep religious impressions he devoted himself largely to the study of theology, and pub. various works, including The Internal Evidence for the Truth of Revealed Religion (1820), Unconditional Freeness of the Gospel, and The Spiritual Order.  He was a man of singular charm of character, and wielded a great influence on the religious thought of his day.  He enjoyed the friendship of men of such different types as Carlyle, Chalmers, Dean Stanley, and Prevost Paradol.  His Letters were ed. by Dr. W. Hanna (1877-78).

ETHEREGE, SIR GEORGE (1635?-1691).—­Dramatist, was at Camb., travelled, read a little law, became a man-about-town, the companion of Sedley, Rochester, and their set.  He achieved some note as the writer of three lively comedies, Love in a Tub (1664), She would if she Could (1668), and The Man of Mode (1676), all characterised by the grossness of the period.  He was sent on a mission to Ratisbon, where he broke his neck when lighting his guests downstairs after a drinking bout.