Chapter XXXV: Part III: appeared in 1887, consisting of an exceedingly elaborate

Introduction by Sheriff Mackay, and extending to 283 pages. It presents――1, an interesting and comprehensive biography of Dunbar, judiciously introducing such portions of the contemporary history of Scotland as seemed necessary to estimate the character and genius of his author; 2, a classification of Dunbar’s poems――dividing them into ten classes, and commenting on each class in detail; 3, a valuable Appendix to the Introduction, which gives――_a_, Table of Dunbar’s poems according to the probable order of their dates; _b_, Notes on the versification and metres of Dunbar; _c_, Bibliography of Dunbar――including both manuscripts and printed editions of his writings; _d_, Historical notice of persons alluded to in Dunbar’s poems, in which many interesting particulars are given. Part IV. was published in 1890, and consists of Notes to the Poems by Walter Gregor, LL.D., and covers the poems from number one to thirty-eight. Dr. Gregor is an enthusiastic admirer of Dunbar as a poet, and he is himself a thorough master of the Scottish language. He is also fully conversant with the literature of the subject. Thus his notes on each of the poems of Dunbar are numerous, varied, accurate, and instructive, showing wide and intelligent research throughout, and consequently they are exceedingly valuable. Part V. will contain the remainder of Dr. Gregor’s Notes, and a Glossary by him; and also an Appendix on the “Intercourse between Scotland and Denmark,” by Sheriff Mackay. When this edition is completed, it will be a veritable offering to the genius of Dunbar, and a striking monument of the special historic research and enthusiasm of its editors.

There were various causes which accounted for Dunbar and his writings being neglected and almost forgotten for about two centuries. The chief cause was the approach of the Reformation, and the new turn which it gave to the sentiments and opinions of the people. When Dunbar had attempted to be a friar,――he ultimately became a priest,――and during the time that he was Court poet, he was ever clamouring for a benefice. In spite of his ironical treatment of the lives of the friars, he showed not the slightest trace of accepting any of the doctrines of the Reformation; and as he advanced in years he became a more pious observer of Roman Catholic usage; while his last poems were of the nature of religious hymns in strict conformity with Romanism. Thus Dunbar was in no sense a precursor of the Reformation.

The range of Dunbar’s subjects was pretty wide. In the new edition mentioned above, there are one hundred and one poems, of which eighty-nine have been considered as undoubtedly Dunbar’s, and the other twelve have, on various grounds, with more or less probability, been attributed to him. Most of his poems are comparatively short, the longest one is “The Two Married Women and the Widow,” extending to 530 lines. His poems may be described as consisting of allegorical poems, comic and humourous, satirical, moral, religious and amatory. The best marked specimens of his allegorical poems, are “The Goldyn Targe,” “The Thistle and Rose,” and “Beauty and the Prisoner.” “The Goldyn Targe” extends to 275 lines, and its aim was to show that love, unless restrained by reason, always blinds and leads astray. The language and versification of the poem is flowing and easy, and some fine descriptive touches occur in it, such as this:――

“For mirth of May, with skippis and with hoppis,
The birdis sang upon the tender croppis,
With curiouse note, as Venus chapell clerkis:
The rosis yong, new spreding of their knoppis,
War powderit brycht with hevinly beriall droppis,
Throu bernes rede, birnyng as ruby sperkis;
The skyes rang schouting of the larkis,
The purpur hevyn our scailit in silvir sloppis
Ourgilt the treis, branchis, lefis, and barkis.”¹

He introduces Homer and a number of classic gods in this poem, and the student will find it amply illustrated in Dr. Gregor’s notes.

¹ _Scottish Text Society_, Part I., page 2.

The short ballad sung at the marriage of James IV., was composed by Dunbar to welcome the Princess Margaret, and began thus:――

“Now fayre, fayrest off every fayre,
Princes most pleasant and preclare,
The lustyest one alyve that byne,
Welcum of Scotland to be Quene!

* * * * *

Sweet lusty lusum lady clere,
Most myghty Kinges dochter dere,
Borne of a princes most serene,
Welcum to Scotland to be Quene!”¹

¹ _Scottish Text Society_, page 279.

He also produced “The Thistle and the Rose” to celebrate this interesting event. This poem extends to 185 lines, and it assumed the characteristics of allegory and the mingling of classic names with the objects of nature. The rhyme is flowing, and it presents many pleasing descriptive touches; but it lacks strength and the characteristic glow of real poetry. The following stanzas occur near the end of the poem:――

“Thane all the birdis sang with voce on hicht,
Quhois mirthfull soun wes mervelus to heir;
The mavyss song, ‘Haill, Roiss most riche and richt,
That dois up flureiss under Phebus speir;
Haill, plant of youth, haill, princes dochtir deir,
Haill, blosome breking out of the blud royall,
Quhois pretius vertew is imperiall.’
“The merle scho sang, ‘Haill, Roiss of most delyt,
Haill, of all flowris quene and souerane;’
The lark scho sang, ‘Haill, Roiss, both reid and quhyt,
Most plesand flour, of michty cullouris twane;’
The nichtingaill sang, ‘Haill, naturis suffragene,
In bewty, nurtour and every nobilness,
In rich array, renown and gentilness.’”¹

¹ _Ibid._, page 188.

Many of Dunbar’s short pieces have much merit, “The Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins” is animated and full of biting satire. Take the stanzas on “Gluttony”:――

“Then the foull monster Gluttony,
Off wame insatiable and gredy,
To dance he did him dress:
Him followed mony foull drunkerd,
With can and collep, cup and quart,
In surffet and excess;
Full mony a waistless wallydrag,
With wames unweildable, did furth wag,
In creische¹ that did incress;
Drink! ay they cryed, with mony a gaip,
The fiends gave them hot leid to laip,
Thair lovery was na less.”²

This piece exhibits a strong satirical vein, while the whole picture is boldly drawn and full of energy.

¹ Grease, fat.

² Volume I., pages 52‒53, Laing.

The curious satirical poem, entitled “The Joust between the Tailor and the Shoemaker,” is brimful of comic humour, but the phraseology is extremely coarse and vulgar. His “Devil’s Inquest” is also strong in satire and humour. The poem addressed to the “Merchants of Edinburgh” afforded Dunbar an opportunity of giving a vivid and characteristic description of the capital, which in his day presented to the beholder anything rather than the picture of a fair city. Much of the manners of the court and also of the habits of the people, are reproduced in the writings of Dunbar: and it is this chiefly that renders them valuable to us: the mere literary and poetical value of his works have sometimes been over-estimated by modern authorities.

The long and curious production, entitled “The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,” which extends to 552 lines, was written, as the title implies, partly by both. Kennedy was a contemporary poet, and the two by turns abuse each other in no stinted terms: the “Flyting,” was exceedingly rich in words and phrases of biting scorn and vehement vituperation. It has been supposed that the two poets had no personal animosity towards each other, which may or may not have been the case. Dunbar began the flyting, and Kennedy had the last words, thus: “Out! out! I schout, upon that snout that snevels, tale teller, rebel, indweller with the devil, spink, sink with stink ad Tertara Termagorum.”¹ Walter Kennedy was the third son of Gilbert, first Lord Kennedy, and was educated at the College of Glasgow. Besides his part of the “Flyting,” a few of his poems have been preserved.

¹ _Poems_, Volume II., page 68. “This jolly, quick-witted friar
and courtier is sometimes called the Scottish Chaucer. The
two have, indeed, a good many points of resemblance. Both
were men of the world and favourites at court; companionable
men, witty and good humoured, both showed sufficient address
and business dexterity to be employed on embassies of state.
But if we wish to give the title of ‘Scottish Chaucer’ its
full significance, we must place considerable emphasis on
the adjective. Dunbar and Chaucer belonged to the same class
of easy self-contained men, whose balance is seldom deranged
by restless straining and soaring; but within that happy
pleasure-loving circle, they occupied distinct habitations;
and one way of bringing out their difference of spirit is
to lay stress upon their nationality. Dunbar is unmistakably
Scotch. He is altogether stronger and harder――perhaps of
harsher――nerve than Chaucer; more forcible and less diffuse
of speech; his laugh is rougher, he is boldly sarcastic
and derisive of persons; his ludicrous conceptions rise to
more daring heights of extravagance; and, finally, he has a
more decided turn for preaching――for offering good advice.”
――Minto’s _Characteristics of English Poets_, page 130.

A number of Dunbar’s poems have been supposed to be lost, and, as mentioned in a preceding page, other poems and pieces of verses have sometimes been attributed to him, most of which were printed in Dr. Laing’s edition of the poet. Of this class is “The Friars of Berwick,” a rhymed tale extending to 592 lines. It is a satire on the life of the religious orders, and it is worked out with considerable skill and effect.¹

¹ Dunbar’s _Poems_, Volume II., pages 3‒23. Professor Veitch
says, “‘The Friars of Berwick’ is a tale very much in the
manner of Chaucer, and it is not unworthy of his style. It
satirises the vices of the regular clergy in a way that must
have come home to the sense of domestic purity of the people.
It is evidently a production of the pre-reformation period,
and, like the writings of Sir David Lyndsay, must have
contributed in some measure to the ecclesiastical revolution
of 1560.”――_The History and Poetry of the Scottish Borders_,
page 326. 1878.

“The Three Tales of the Three Priests of Peebles” is another
rhymed production of this period, the authorship of which
has not been definitely ascertained. See _The Complaynt of
Scotland_, page 143. Murray’s edition, 1872. These tales
were first printed in 1603, and reprinted by Pinkerton in
1792, and by Dr. Laing in his _Early Metrical Tales_, 1826.
The groundwork of the story is simple and natural. The three
priests met together on the 1st of February――St. Bride’s
Day――in Peebles, and each in turn tells a story. The first
tale proceeds on the supposition that the King proposes to
each of the three estates in parliament certain questions.
The second tale refers to the thoughtlessness of the King
in so often changing his servants. The third one is more
allegorical, and refers to Death as the messenger of
God. The tales are moral and didactic in tone and highly
patriotic.――Veitch, _Ibid._, pages 319‒326. In regard to
Dunbar’s contemporaries in Scotland, there is little now
remaining of their writings. See Dr. Laing’s edition of
Dunbar, Volume II., pages 352‒362, and the Supplement, which
contains much additional information.

Gavin Douglas, the bishop of Dunkeld, was the third son of Archibald, the fifth Earl of Angus, “Bell the Cat,” and was born about the year 1474. He completed his education at the University of St. Andrews, and graduated Master of Arts in 1494. Shortly after this he entered into priest’s orders and in the year 1496 he received a grant of the tithes of Monymusk, in Aberdeenshire. Chiefly owing to his family connections, other preferments soon came to him, and about the year 1501 he was appointed provost of the collegiate church of St. Giles, at Edinburgh. It was while he held this office that most of his works were composed. His poem, “The Palace of Honour,” was finished in 1501; and in 1512 he began the translation of Virgil, and completed it in July, 1513.¹ After the battle of Flodden he became deeply involved in the knotty politics of the times; and made a bold but unsuccessful effort to attain to the primacy of the Scottish Church. In 1515 he was nominated to the see of Dunkeld, and after much opposition and delay obtained possession of the bishop’s palace. He again became entangled in the political troubles of the day, and, having passed to England, died near London in the year 1522.²

¹ The Works of Gavin Douglas, edited by John Small, M.A.,
F.S.A. Scotland, 4 volumes, 1874. Volume I., pages 2‒9,
Introduction.

² The Works of Gavin Douglas, Volume I., page 11, _et seq._ The
Biographical Introduction to Mr. Small’s complete edition of
Douglas’s Works is very full and exhaustive.

The “Palace of Honour,” his longest poem, is an allegorical production of remarkable power. Douglas had one requisite of the poet in a high degree, a command of copious, varied, and striking imagery. His poetry has a glow about it which will be sought in vain in Dunbar. His language is difficult to understand, as he used many words and phrases derived from the Latin and the French, which often render his expression obscure and his lines rather stilted. But his diction is entirely free from the coarse and vulgar phrases which disfigure the writings of Dunbar. As a poem, the “Palace of Honour” is loose and rambling; though it gives ample evidence of the classical reading of the author. He introduces various moral reflections throughout the production, and concludes it with a ballad on virtue. The last stanza is rhetorical and ornate:――

“Haill rose most choce till clois thy fois great micht,
Haill stone which shone upon the throne of licht,
Virtue, whose trew sweit dew overthrow al vice,
Was ay ilk day gar say the way of licht;
Amend, offend, and send our end ay richt.
Thow stant, ordant as sanct, of grant most wise,
Till be supply, and the high gre of price,
Delite the tite me quite of site to dicht,
For I apply schortlie to thy devise.”¹

¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 80.

His poem of “King Hart” is an allegory of the progress of human life. The heart of man is represented in it as a mystical king in the full bloom of youth, surrounded by attendants who personify the propensities of early manhood. Though the King is a feudal monarch, he is far from enjoying freedom; for those around him hold him in leading-strings without much hope of his being able to shake them off. After a few more details about the King, the palace of Dame Pleasance is described. This lady with a legion of attendants passes by the Castle of King Hart; and two of his attendants go to ascertain who the party are. They are surprised and easily made prisoners. The King then sends out other messengers, who are also captured; at last, becoming enraged, he arrays his host for battle with Dame Pleasance and her army. But the King’s party are defeated, many of his subjects are taken prisoners and confined in dungeons; and King Hart is imprisoned in a grated chamber, where he listened to the mirth proceeding from the halls of the Queen. Through the help of Dame Pity, who at this juncture deserts Dame Pleasance, King Hart and his adherents are set free; and then, taking possession of the palace, they capture the Queen herself. After an interview with King Hart, she finds that he is deeply affected by her charms, and the first canto ends with their espousals and the marriage feast.¹

¹ _Works_, Volume I., Introduction, pages 139‒141.

The second canto begins with a description of age in this form:――

“At morning tide, when at the sone so schene
Out rushed had his beamis frome the sky
Ane auld gude man befoir the gate was sene,
Apone ane steed that raid full easalie.
He rappit at the gate, but courtaslie,
Yet at the straik the grit dungeon can din;
Syne at the last he schouted fellonlie;
And bad them rys, and said he would cum in.
Sone Wantonness came to the wall abone,
And cryit out, what folk ar ye thair out?
My name is Age, said he again full sone;
May thou nocht heir? Langar how I culd schout?
What war your Will? I will cum in without dout.
Now God forbid! In faith ye cum nocht heir,
Rin on thy way, or thou sall beir ane route:
And say, the portar he is wonder sweir.”¹

¹ _Ibid._, page 101.

The sentiment is very natural, few people wish for old age to overtake them. The King is grieved that fresh delight has deserted him, sadness intrudes and whispers something into his ear. The Queen now loses patience, and when the King is asleep, she leaves him; wisdom and reason then counsel him to return to his own castle. There, however, he finds little comfort; enjoyment and strength both creep away, and decrepitude with his host takes the castle and mortally wounds the King, who prepares for death, and makes his last testament, the details of which conclude the poem.¹

¹ _Works_, pages 141‒142; Introduction, Volume I., pages
102‒120, 145‒146.

The most notable of Douglas’s works is his translation of the Æneid of Virgil. He has the honour of being the author of the first metrical translation of a Latin classic in Britain, although soon followed by others. Virgil was the most popular of the classical writers, and before the end of the fifteenth century his works had passed through ninety editions. In the days of Douglas they were read by young and old. Taking everything into account, competent authorities have affirmed that Douglas has discharged the duty of a translator tolerably well, “he was a master of the Latin tongue,” and his translation of the greatest Roman poet is a work of which his countrymen may justly be proud.¹ To each of the thirteen books of his translation of the Æneid, Douglas wrote a prologue. Some of these prologues are of considerable length, and three at least out of the thirteen contain passages of remarkable descriptive power. As a whole, they display considerable knowledge of human nature, and contain many pointed observations on the manners of mankind. The following passage is from the seventh of the series, and is a part of his much admired description of winter, from a modernised version.

¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 144‒147. Introduction.

“Now reign’d the power of keen congealing frost,
When all the beauty of the year is lost;
The brumal season, bitter, cold, and pale,
When short dull days and sounding storms prevail,
The wild north winds tremendous from afar,
O’erwhelm’d imperial Neptune in his car,
Their scatter’d honours from the forests tore,
And dash’d the mad waves headlong on the shore.
Fierce, foaming rivers, swell’d with torrents brown,
Hurl’d all their banks precipitately down;
Loud roar’d the thunder of the raging floods,
Loud as gaunt lions bellowing shake the woods.
Th’ unwieldy monsters which the deeps contain,
Sought safety at the bottom of the main.

* * * * *

Incessant rains had drench’d the floating ground,
And clouds o’ercast the firmament around;
White shone the hills involv’d in silver snow,
But brown and barren were the vales below:
On firm foundations of eternal stone,
High rugged rocks in frosty splendour shone;
The hoary fields no vivid verdure wore,
Frost wrapt the world, and beauty was no more,
Wide-wasting winds that chill’d the dreary day,
And seemed to threaten nature with decay,
Reminded man, at every baleful breath,
Of wintry age, and all-subduing death.”¹

These lines have something of the genuine classic roll and swell, and are fairly natural. To compensate for the dreary prospect outside, the poet warmed himself at the fire, and resolved to resume his task of translation.

¹ _Works_, Volume I., pages 151‒152. Introduction, also Volume
III., pages 74‒75.

Douglas’s prologue to the twelfth book contains a picture of May, which has been much and justly admired. The following lines are taken from a modernised copy:――

“All gentle hearts confess the quickening spring,
For May invigorates every living thing.
Hark! how the merry minstrels of the grove
Devote the day to melody and love;
The ousel shrill, that haunts the thorny dale,
The mellow thrush, the love-lorn nightingale,
Their little breasts with emulation swell
And sweetly strive in singing to excel.
In the thick forest feeds the cooing dove;
The starling whistles various notes of love;
The sparrow chirps the clefted walls among:
To the sweet wildness of the linnets’ song,
To the harsh cuckoo, and the twittering quail
Resounds the wood, the river, and the vale;
And tender twigs, all trembling on the trees,
Dance to the murmuring music of the bees.”¹

¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 155. Introduction, Volume IV., page
84.

Douglas concluded his translation of Virgil by intimating his belief in the continuance of his fame――“On Virgil’s post I fix for ever more;” and he then bids farewell to his poetical studies.¹ Several editions of his works were published in the sixteenth century at London and Edinburgh, and they were comparatively popular.²

¹ _Ibid._, Volume IV., page 223.

² _Ibid._, Volume I., pages 67‒172. Mr. Small’s edition of
Douglas’s writings is very complete; he has done all that
careful research and scholarship could to present a correct
text, and to illustrate his author. The value of Douglas’s
writings for philological comparison and illustration has
long been fully recognised. See Volume I. Introduction,
pages 162‒166; and also Dr. J. A. Murray’s _Dialects of the
Southern Counties of Scotland_; 1873.

Dunbar and Douglas both belonged to the old form of religion and society; and there are a few other writers of the same class who have to be noticed ere we enter the heat of the Reformation era. The method followed is intended to indicate the lines on which the historical tendencies were running. While it will appear that the adherents of Roman Catholicism were not all equally blind to the evils around them; it will also appear that it has always been an object of the policy of Romanism to hold the people in leading-strings, though this should entail the utmost oppression and cruelty.

John Mair, already mentioned in connection with the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews, was born in 1470, at Gleghornie, in the parish of North-Berwick. It seems that he received the rudiments of his education at the Grammar School of Haddington, a school which had attained some note, even in the fourteenth century. In 1493, he studied one session at the University of Cambridge, and the same year he crossed the channel, and entered on his studies at the University of Paris. Mair was an eager and diligent student, and he graduated Master of Arts in 1496. He continued at the University of Paris, and taught classes in Logic and Philosophy. In 1505 he graduated as Doctor of Theology, and became one of the most famous scholastics of his day, in the character of a Professor and a writer. Mair taught Logic and Theology in the University of Paris from 1496 till 1518, and in the latter year he returned to Scotland. On the 25th of June he was installed as Principal Regent of the College of Glasgow, and he taught in this College for five years. On the 9th of June 1523, he was appointed a Regent or Professor in the University of St. Andrews, where he taught Logic and Philosophy for some time. In 1525 Mair returned to the University of Paris, where he remained till 1531, and then returned to St. Andrews and lectured on Theology. In 1533 he was appointed Provost of St. Salvator’s College, holding this office till his death, which occurred in 1550. He is the author of a History of Britain in Latin, a work of considerable value. He wrote also commentaries on the Book of the Master of Sentences (Peter Lombard); an exposition of the four Gospels; an Introduction to Aristotle’s Dialectics, and many other writings. He wrote in Latin, and his style is harsh and uncouth. But he held some comparatively liberal opinions touching the Church and civil government. He denied the supremacy of the Pope, and showed a disposition to limit the power of the censures of the Church; he held that tithes were merely a human appointment; censured the avarice, the ambition, and the secular pomp of the Episcopal order; and advised the reduction of monasteries and holydays.¹ His views of government were to the effect that kings and princes originally derived their authority from the people; and that therefore the people were superior to the King, if considered in their corporate character: that when kings are tyrannical, or employed their power for the destruction of their subjects, they may lawfully be controlled by them, and if incorrigible, might be deposed and even punished by the community. The connection of these principles with the political opinions afterwards avowed by Knox, and clearly expounded by Buchanan, is too striking to need further illustration. Yet, though these liberal and rational sentiments are embodied in the writings of John Mair, it requires some attention to disentangle them from the mass of trifling questions and discussions which fill the pages of his works. The Scottish History Society have just issued a translation of Mair’s History of Britain. The translation was executed by Mr. Archibald Constable, who has added many interesting notes to the work; while a Life of the Author, written by Sheriff Mackay, is prefixed to it; and also a careful Bibliography of John Mair and his Disciples, compiled by Mr. T. G. Law, the learned Librarian of the Signet Library.

¹ Most of Mair’s writings were originally published at Paris;
Watt’s _Bibliotheca_, and Law’s _Bibliography of John Mair_,
appended to the newly issued edition of his _History of
Britain_.

The writings of Boece, the Principal of King’s College, Aberdeen, are better known than Mair’s. Boece was a good Latinist, and has an eloquent and charming style. His chief works are the Lives of ♦the Bishops of Mortlach and Aberdeen, and the History of Scotland. Notwithstanding his learning he was extremely credulous; and in his history he allowed his fancy a pretty long rein; but the character of this work is so well known that it is unnecessary to dwell on its peculiarities. It was published at Paris in 1526, and was afterwards translated into the Scottish dialect by Bellenden.¹

♦ duplicate word “the” removed

¹ Herbert’s _Typographical Antiquities_, Volume III., pages 14,
71.

John Bellenden was a Catholic churchman, and attained to the rank of Archdeacon of Moray. Before he was promoted to that position, he had translated Boece’s History of Scotland into the vernacular, for the use of James V. He was engaged on this task in 1530 and the three following years; and at intervals he received from the Treasurer small sums of money as the reward of his labours. His translation of Boece is reported to have been printed in 1536, but it is more likely that it was printed about 1540 by Thomas Davidson, the King’s printer; there is no date on the book itself. Bellenden’s translation of the first five books of Livy’s history, which was also produced for the instruction of the King, was not printed till 1822. About 1537 he was promoted to the archdeaconry of Moray, and shortly after obtained a prebend in the cathedral of Ross.¹

¹ _Treasurers’ Accounts_; the Works of J. Bellenden, Volume I.,
pages 39‒41; Introduction, 1822. There is a fine copy of
Bellenden’s translation of Boece’s history in the library of
the University of Edinburgh, printed upon vellum. But “this
valuable volume seems to have been heedlessly committed to
the hands of a tasteless bookbinder, and has, in consequence,
suffered much from those operations known by the name of
cobbling.” Another copy was preserved in the library of the
Duke of Hamilton: “and a more splendid specimen of early
typography, and of antique binding, cannot well be imagined.
The vellum upon which it is printed is stainless――and the
breadth of the margin would satisfy the most fastidious and
princely collector. The boards bear the following inscription,
JACOBUS QUINTUS REX SCOTORUM――and on the title page, the
Initials J. Rx., appear in manuscript. They are in all
probability, in the handwriting of that monarch, to whom the
volume seems to have belonged.” At the sale of the Duke of
Hamilton’s Library in 1884, this fine copy was purchased by
Mr. Bernard Quaritch for £800. Works of Bellenden, Volume I.,
pages 7‒8; Introduction.

Bellenden’s translations are the longest prose compositions in the Scottish dialect prior to the Reformation that have come down to our times. His powers of expression were conspicuous, his style is remarkably fluent and easy, and it often surprises the reader by touches of vivacity and force. In his version of Boece’s history, however, he does not adhere closely to his author, and frequently takes the liberty of curtailing as well as amplifying; but, on the whole he has improved the original, and rendered it more interesting. To his translation of Boece’s history he has subjoined an epistle to the King, which is written with manly freedom, and a few sentences of it may be quoted as a specimen of the language of the period. “In every history that men redis, apperis, evidently, the same maneris with the pepil, which are usit by the King. And sen na thing is, that the pepil followis with mair imitation, nor kepis in mair recent memory, than werkis of nobil men; of reason, their besines suld be mair respondent to virtew, than of any other estatis.... For these reasons, I that hes bene your humil servitour sen your first infance, hes translatit the History of Scotland, sen the first beginning thereof, in your vulgar langage; that your Hienes may know the vailyeant and nobil dedis done be your progenitouris; and have cognasance how this realm hes bene governit these one thousand and eight hundred years bygane: which was nevir subdewit to uncouth empire, but only to the native princis thereof; howbeit the same hes sustenit gret truble, be weris of Romanis, Inglismen, and Danis, with sindry chancis of fortoun. Here, may your hienes understand how your realm suld be governit in justice, and what persons are maist abil to beir authority or office thairintil.... The truth is, that kingis and tyrannis hes mony handis, mony ene, and mony more membris. A tyranne settis him to be dred; a king, to be loved. A tyrane rejoices to make his pepil poor; a king, to make them rich. A tyrane draws his pepil to sindry factions, discord, and hatred: a king makis peace, tranquilite, and concord; knowing nathing sa dammagious as division amang his subdittis. A tyrane confoundis all divine and humane lawis; a king observes them, and rejoices in equite and justice.... What is he that will not rejoice to heir the knichtly affaris of thay forcy compionis, King Robert Bruce, and William Wallace?”¹

¹ _Works_ of J. Bellenden, Volume II., pages 513‒516.

In common with John Mair and a few others of his contemporaries, Bellenden held liberal political sentiments; although he was not prepared for any radical change in the national religion, he was well aware of the vicious lives of many of the clergy. In his proem or preface to the translation of Boece, he states that the large incomes of the churches had made the priests more slothful than fervent in their proper work; and that the wealth of the bishops afforded them occasion to lead vicious lives. The honest archdean was opposed to the Reformation movement, but did not live to see it established in Scotland. He went to Rome, where he died in 1550.¹

¹ _Ibid._, Volume I., page 110, and Introduction, page 42.

The _Complaynt of Scotland_, a very remarkable production, now falls to be examined. Its authorship has not been exactly ascertained, but it has been brought within the limit of two or three individuals who lived in the first half of the sixteenth century. It is, however, pretty clear that the author of this remarkable book was a Scotchman, a churchman, and firmly attached to the Roman Catholic faith, and a warm adherent of the French side in the struggle then raging in Scotland.¹ The work was called forth by the exigencies of the kingdom at the time of its composition, and this greatly enhances its value. To the historian it is a book of exceeding importance for the numerous illustrations of the state of society which it affords, and for the opinions of the author himself on a variety of matters. He introduces an extremely multitudinous mass of subjects besides the treatment of the main theme, and these digressions are very interesting.

¹ Introduction to the _Complaynt_, pages 106‒108, 116. Dr.
Leyden, in his learned and very valuable edition of the
_Complaynt_, has attributed its authorship to Sir David
Lyndsay. But this opinion upon reasonable grounds has been
set aside as untenable. Dr. Laing, in his preface to _The
Gude and Godlie Ballads_, came to the conclusion that
Robert Wedderburn, Vicar of Dundee, was the author of the
_Complaynt_. The question of its authorship, and also the
place of its publication, has since been discussed at great
length by Dr. Murray in his introduction to the edition of
the _Complaynt_ published for the Early English Text Society,
1872. It had been usually stated that the _Complaynt_ was
printed at St. Andrews in 1549; but Dr. Murray, from various
considerations, such as the spelling of certain words and
the absence of the letter W., and the style of type, being
Roman instead of the black letter, in which the old Scottish
books were commonly printed; from these circumstances,
and the fact that the typography of the _Complaynt_ bore
a striking likeness to that of many of the French books of
the sixteenth century, he was led to the conclusion that
the first edition of this book was printed in France. He
also states that the experts in typography at the British
Museum had independently arrived at the conclusion that the
_Complaynt_ was printed in France.

Dr. Murray’s opinion on the authorship is thus stated:――“Sir
David Lyndsay is peremptorily excluded from consideration;
no less so, I think, is Wedderburn, Vicar of Dundee. In
lack of further evidence, the claims of Sir James Inglis
of Cambuskenneth, and some unknown priest of the name of
Wedderburn, are equally balanced, though, if the part of
_Mackenzie’s Life_ which calls Inglis a man of Fyfe belongs
to this Inglis, the evidence of dialect would be against
him.” Touching the question of authorship as thus indicated,
compare Professor Veitch’s view, in the _History and Poetry
of the Scottish Borders_, pages 339‒342.

The _Complaynt of Scotland_ consists of two chief parts, the author’s discourse concerning the wretched state of his country, and his dream of Dame Scotia and her complaint against her three sons. But in the sixth chapter he makes a digression and introduces what he knew of cosmogony, botany, naval architecture, native songs, dances, and popular tales. As this part of the book is interesting in connection with the history of the national ballads and music, after describing the chief part of the treatise, I will return and touch upon the points embraced in it, and then conclude the account of the pre-reformation literature, so far as it was unaffected by the new influences of the revolutionary movement.

The writer begins his work with an epistle to the Queen mother, Mary of Lorraine, and, rising to the height of the occasion, extols her virtue and wisdom. He thinks that her counsel will do something to stave off the subjection of the nation to their old enemies, the English. He then proceeds to indicate the causes of their affliction, but soon returns to the praise of the Queen and her noble ancestors, and continues in this strain through six pages. To this illustrious person he had resolved, he says, to dedicate the first work of his pen, and had experienced some difficulty in deciding what to write about; but after searching the library of his understanding, he deemed it most meet to rehearse the miseries of Scotland and their causes. The epistle to the Queen is followed by a prologue to the reader. He quotes with approval the ancient laws against idleness; and sets himself to show that the labour of the pen is no pastime, whatever it may seem. Having a talent for study and writing, he desires to assist the public-weal by his pen; as the pen had done more for the Romans than the sword, though each craft was necessary in a well organised state, and every honest occupation was equally honourable. He thinks it necessary to make an apology for writing in the vulgar Scottish dialect; and he states that several writers before him had mixed their language with uncouth terms, derived from Latin, and measured their eloquence by the length of their words;¹ but he, repudiating all such conceits, means to use his natural Scottish tongue alone. In spite, however, of this declaration, his work is encumbered with more foreign words than that of any Scottish writer.² He requests the reader to look favourably upon his intentions, and thus encourage him to make greater efforts in his next work.

¹ He gives instances of these long words――“gaudet
honorificabilitudinitatibus.” He holds “that all such terms
proceeds from fantastic and glorious conceits.”――_Complaynt
of Scotland_, pages 1‒17.

² The language of the _Complaynt_ has been admirably explained
by Dr. Murray in his Introduction. See pages 96‒106.

The _Complaynt_ extends to twenty chapters, some of which are very short. The first five chapters are filled with the author’s opinions upon the fortunes of nations, and the causes of the distress and suffering which then afflicted Scotland. He avers that rulers are set up and overturned by Divine Providence; and he supports this view by instances from Scripture and from profane history, citing the fate of Troy, Thebes, Sparta, Athens, Rome, and other powers, which had at one time held empire in the world. He translates several passages from the Vulgate, which he thinks applicable to the state of Scotland; and concludes this part of his subject with a hit at the sceptical readers, who might malignantly say that the threatenings of Moses referred not to Scotland but to Israel.

He digresses to discuss various opinions concerning the world, its duration and nature. Many believe, he says, that nothing is lasting but the world, and are thus led to value temporal good more than eternal well-being. People speak of the world, and know not what it is. The ancient philosophers had spent much time in speculating on this question; and he proceeds to state their opinions about the world. Too many, he goes on to say, still believed that it would last 37,000 years, as Socrates had taught, but will that make human life one day longer? He quotes John Carion’s account of the prophecy of Elijah, to show that the world will endure only 6000 years; and then states that as 1548 of the last two thousand were already past, there remain but 452 years till the final consummation of all things. Even this period was to be shortened for the sake of the elect people, though the exact date is not fixed, and thus the end of the world may be close at hand. Therefore, as it is so near its end, “it should be held in detestation,” he argues, “and our thoughts concentrated on the future eternal happiness that God has promised to all those that hold it in abomination.”¹

¹ Pages 31‒36.

“The Vision of Dame Scotia” opens in the seventh chapter, and occupies the rest of the book. In somewhat figurative language he describes the nobles, the clergy, and the people, all of whom were in a most wretched state. He begins the eighth chapter by making more direct charges of degeneracy, selfishness, and want of patriotism amongst all classes of the Scots. Next, he draws a very natural picture of the condition of the kingdom, reproaches the men who had sacrificed their country for their own private interest, and refers to the feuds of the Scots among themselves, and affirming that some of them had yielded to the English and become vile slaves.¹ Having expressed his indignation, he proceeds in the ninth chapter to urge the Scots to pray to God and help themselves, to repent and prosper, and recited for their encouragement the examples of several countries whose struggle for independence had been successful. Next he briefly notices some of the wars of the Jews as recorded in the Bible; recounts Darius’ invasion of Greece, and his discomfiture by Miltiades; and how the great host of Xerxes, the King of Persia, was bravely encountered by the Greeks, and ultimately compelled to beat a retreat. He recalls to the mind of his countrymen and bids them consider how the English were driven out of France. But now it is manifest, he says, that the English have violently usurped all Scotland, in the east, in the west, and in the north, where they are dwelling peaceably under their own laws. In the days of Edward I. they had done the same thing; though, with the aid of God, Robert Bruce had driven them out of the kingdom. “Therefore I hope in God that within a short time the Protector of England and his cruel council shall be put in the chronicles in as abominable a style as was Philaris, Dionysius, Nero, Callugala, or Domician, the which came to a mischievous end, for the violent invasion of other princes’ countries without any just cause.”

¹ After the battle of Pinkie, in September, 1547, the Duke
of Somerset received the homage of many of the chiefs and
gentry of the Eastern Borders; and the English warden of
the West Marches brought most of the clans of the west under
assurance. Their submission, however, lasted only till the
arrival of the French auxiliaries in 1549. But when the
_Complaynt_ was written the whole inhabitants of the border
counties were living under the English. Dr. Murray’s
Introduction, page 37.

The tenth chapter begins with an attack upon a book, set forth by the English orators and their Protector, in which, though the grounds of the claim were frivolous, the English wished to show to foreign princes that they had a just title to make war upon Scotland; but our author remarks that realms are not conquered by books, but with blood.¹ Englishmen, he said, gave more credence to the prophecies of Merlin than to the Gospel, “because that their old prophet prophesied that England and Scotland should be both under one prince.” The author himself believed that this would come to pass, but not in his day, nor in the way that the English expected; since they were to be conquered by the Scots: “And from that time forth, England and Scotland shall be but one monarchy, and shall live under one prince; and so Englishmen shall get their prophecy fulfilled to their own mischief.”

¹ The particular book meant by the author has not been
ascertained, but four English pamphlets have come down to
us, which answer to his description, and were evidently in
the author’s mind here and in other parts of the Complaynt:
these pamphlets are printed as an appendix to Dr. Murray’s
edition, see pages 191‒256.

At the beginning of the eleventh chapter he introduces a rather sweeping mode of treating the English claim; and yet it had a strain of historic truth. He proposes to examine their title to England and what they were themselves, and comes to the conclusion that they were the descendants of Sergest and Hengest, the two Saxons who came to assist the King of Britain in his wars, and after a short time, treacherously dispossessed him. Ever since, this false race have possessed the country by violence and tyranny; and most of the English kings have murdered their predecessors. Henry I. was banished from the throne; Henry III. was driven from it by his second son, Richard; King John was a murderer; Edward II. and Richard II., perished miserably; Henry VI. was murdered; Richard III. slew the children of Edward IV., and Henry VII. obtained the crown of England by the support of the King of France; so that not one of them had a just title to the throne of England, much less to Scotland. “All this if well considered, should inflame your hearts with courage to resist their cruel assaults, and to maintain by valour the just defence of your native country. Ye know how they and their forefathers have been your old mortal enemies for twelve hundred years, making cruel war against your ancestors by fire and sword, daily destroying your fields, villages, and burghs, with a firm purpose to strip Scotland from your generation ... constantly lying in wait against you, and taking advantage of your dissensions.” He exhorts his countrymen to remove the causes of discord among themselves; and asks what castle could be kept against besiegers, if mortal strife raged within it among the defenders? He calls on them to remember the valour of their forefathers, and to take an example from the noble deeds of those, who in bygone ages had often been harder pressed than they were. He tells the Scots that their enemies would not have troubled them, if their own discord had not opened the way; and implores them to make a final effort before their wives and daughters were ravished, their property seized; their ruin complete, and the nation for ever enslaved. After reminding them of the treatment to which the English had subjected Ireland and Wales, he warns them to expect nothing better at the hands of their old enemies. The King of England was of Welsh descent, yet the Welsh were subjected to all kinds of oppression. So likewise the English have oppressed Ireland, for the chief men of that country have been beheaded, and the people enslaved, excepting the few who had fled and found a refuge in the wilds. But a still harder yoke, he argues, will be put on the necks of the Scots who help England to subdue their native land――“As King Edward in the black parliament at the barns of Ayr hanged sixteen score of his Scottish adherents; so in 1547 the Protector Somerset intended to repeat this feat ... for the invader had brought to Scotland two barrels full of halters, each with a loop ready-made to receive its victim.... Though the English King patronises the renegade Scots, he would be well pleased if every Scotsman had another in his stomach; as he merely uses them for his own ends, he loved the treason that suited his purpose, but not the traitor that committed it.”

In the thirteenth chapter the author discusses the familiarity between the English and the Scots, and its evil effects. This familiarity arose from the intercourse of the people on the borders, and was contrary to the laws both of England and Scotland. No two nations, he asserts, were more unlike each other than the English and the Scots, though they were neighbours and spoke the same language. “For Englishmen are subtle, and Scotsmen are facile. Englishmen are ambitious in prosperity, and Scotsmen are humane in prosperity. Englishmen are humble when they are subjected by force and violence, and Scotsmen are furious when they are violently subjected. Englishmen are cruel when they get victory, and Scotsmen are merciful when they get victory.... Their natures and conditions are as different as is the natures of sheep and wolves.” He came to the conclusion that there should be no familiarity between them; as familiarity between enemies is sure to beget treason, and the King of England had tampered with several Scottish gentlemen. There were also some traitors who revealed the secret plans of the Scottish Council to the King of England; so when the Lords of Council resolved on any matter, within twenty-four hours a full account of it was in Berwick, and three days after the Berwick post presented it in London: thus the English were ready to thwart the purpose of the Scots, even before it was entered upon. He regretted that there were Scotsmen who would reveal every secret of their country rather than burn a finger of their gloves. But, lest persuasion and invective should both fail to arrest the Scottish traitors, he quoted various classical and Scriptural instances to show that traitors and conspirators were always punished even by those who have profited most by their treason.¹ He devoted the whole of the fourteenth chapter to the illustration of the subject.

¹ The authorities cited by the author of the _Complaynt_
are the following:――Aristotle, Politics; St. Augustine,
Boccaccio, Bœthius, Carion’s Chronicle; Cato, Cicero,
De Officiis, Parody, De Finibus, Epistolæ; Diodorus,
Josephus, Justin, Juvenal, Lactantius, Livy, Mimus Publianus,
Persius, Philiremo Fregoso, Plutarch, Priest of Peebles,
Sallust, Seneca the Tragedian, Thucydides, Valerius Maximus,
Vincentius, besides many references to the Civil and Canon
Law, to the Annals of Rome, and to the Old and New Testament,
the Vulgate version. The author of the _Complaynt_ was
familiar with Lydgate’s translation of Boccaccio, and
frequently used it. Dr. Murray observes, “That in no case
does the original of any Greek author appear to be quoted in
the _Complaynt_: Greek was only struggling for recognition
at Oxford and Cambridge; and it was not till after the
Reformation that it became an ordinary acquirement of the
scholar.” _Introduction_, pages 30‒31, 67‒68.

In the fifteenth chapter he enters on another side of the state of Scotland――the commons and the people state their grievances against the nobles and the clergy. I referred to this chapter before, and will now give a summary of its contents, as it is one of the most valuable parts of the book. The industrious husbandmen and the labourers pour forth their lamentations against the oppressive exactions of the landlords and the clergy. The people are, like dull asses, kicked and goaded, and made the butt of every dart. They are compelled to labour night and day to feed lazy and useless men, who, in return, oppress them and fleece them even to beggary. The nobles and the clergy are described as more cruel to them than the English invaders. Their corn and cattle are daily reft from them, and they themselves turned out of their holdings. “They were forced to lend to the tyrants above them, and when they asked for the debt, they were cuffed or killed. There was a cry for war against England, but the brunt of it really fell upon the poor labourers; and there was no help for them in Scotland, except to pray to God that He would take vengeance upon their oppressors. For it is to be presumed that the lamentable voice and cries of the afflicted people complaining to heaven, will move to pity the clemency of the most merciful and puissant divine Creator, who, through His eternal justice, will crush in confusion all violent usurpers that perpetrate such cruel iniquities upon the desolate and poor people. Therefore, oh! my country, since I am in danger of death, and despairing of my life, necessity drives and constrains me to call on God, and to desire vengeance on them that persecute me, in hope that He will relieve me, or else take me out of this miserable life, for the ingratitude of the nobles and the clergy.” He goes on to say that they had misgoverned the kingdom, and brought the people into this dire extremity, yet they were displeased because the people murmured, though they did not desist from wrongdoing. These proud men, it is said, would fain have it believed that they were the progeny of angels and archangels, instead of the common sons of Adam. How baseless is the boast of blood! “Let it be tested. The stock of the first genealogy of all the nobles that has been since the world began has been poor labourers and mechanical craftsmen; and God grant that these arrogant ones may have grace to know themselves. For in the past all conspiracies have been originated and fomented by the great, as treason is impossible among the poor.”

No one can read this chapter without perceiving that the author has felt keenly for the hard lot of the common people; albeit, in the next chapter he looks at the other side of the shield, and he is equally severe on the faults of the people themselves. The commonalty are described as deserving punishment as much as their betters, and are not fit for liberty; if they had the opportunity, they would be worse than the others. Their meetings were usually scenes of uproar; “where they scolded and barked without rhyme or reason all the day long.” They follow the most blatant prater like sheep, were fickle in their minds, and the counsel of ten prudent men was better than all the wisdom of the commons. Their judgment is worthless, as they jump to conclusions at first sight, and are worse than the brute beasts. They are intemperate, lustful, and steady only when forced. When any of them rise in the world, they were much worse than the higher classes, and their children are ignorant, vain, prodigal and arrogant. The chapter closes with an old piece of advice to the commons, that they should correct themselves before they accuse the nobles and the clergy.

In the seventeenth chapter he turns again to the vices of the nobles, and begins by saying that the faults of the people should not make the nobles glory. He shortly shows that they have no ground for glorification, and he declares that they have scarcely a spark of nobleness or gentleness in them. To make this quite clear, he discusses the origin of gentlemen, speaks of the golden age, when habits were simple and men’s tastes natural; when the people drank no wine nor beer, nor yet disordered their appetites with spices, herbs, drugs, gums, or sugar, brought from distant lands. There was no difference of conditions, and all being equal, they all lay together in a corner without any shame or offence. But, since the iron age, which now reigns, was ushered in, everything has been perverted, and though many expedients have been tried to mitigate suffering, there has been comparatively little success.

True nobility is not hereditary, and when the descendants of nobles cease to perform worthy deeds, they deserve to be degraded from their privileged position. It is far better to be virtuous one’s self than to attempt to draw one’s lineage from the virtuous; even the son of a prince if he lacks virtue is not a gentleman. Some gentlemen are ashamed that their ancestors were plebeians. But how vain is the boast of high ancestry, as the longest line must begin in mud and clay. Men therefore should have as their armorial bearings dust, ashes, and earth. “As they must all return to their common and general mother the earth, and she makes no acceptation of persons nor differences of qualities between gentlemen and mechanics, but receives them all indifferently in her domicile and receptacle. Then when the corrupted flesh is consumed from the bones, no man can distinguish a prince from a beggar.”

He becomes very serious on the character of the nobles, but from other sources of information it seems that his description of them is not much overdrawn. “It appears that when your noble predecessors died, they took their virtue and gentility with them to their sepultures, and they left nothing with you but the title of their gentle rank.... For I see nothing among gentlemen but vice. For honesty is spotted, ignorance is praised, prudence is scorned, and chastity is banished; the nights are too short to gentlemen to commit their lecheries, and the days are too short to them to commit extortions upon the poor people. Their blasphemy of the name of God corrupts the ear. The prodigal pride that reigns among them is detestable, not only in costly dress above their state, but also in the prodigal expenses that they incur on horses and dogs, above their rents or riches. A man is not reputed for a gentleman in Scotland unless he expends more on his horses and his dogs than he does on his wife and children.... There are too many horses in Scotland, like Diomede’s horse, that eats the poor people; and there are too many dogs in Scotland that worries their master, as Actæon was worried.”

The nineteenth chapter treats of the shortcomings of the clergy, but the treatment of them is not so severe as that of the nobles and the people. The author makes general charges against the spiritual estate, and speaks of abuses prevailing among them; but his reproof of the priesthood is not so distinctly put or thrust home as his complaints against the other classes. From this it has been inferred that the author was himself an ecclesiastic.¹ Probably he was a member of the spiritual class; at least, be was firmly attached to the Roman Catholic faith, and a hater of schism; though his sagacity enabled him to see the folly of burning heretics.

¹ Dr. Murray’s Introduction, pages 60‒63.

The abuses of the clergy had caused dissension between them and the temporal estate. “For the clergy and the nobles lived like cats and dogs barking at each other, therefore there is not one of you better than another.... Doubtless thy abuse, and the sinister ministration of thy office, is the special cause of the schism and of the diverse sects that troubles all Christendom. Howbeit, though the root of these schisms and sects are in Germany, Denmark, and England, nevertheless the branches of them are spread athwart all Christian realms in such a way that they have more adherents nor adversaries, for diverse men desire a part of the temporal patrimony of the kirk, because of the abuse and evil example of the churchmen. And this plague of schism can never be reformed by any statutes, laws, punishments, banishings, burning, forfeiting, nor torment that can be devised till the time that the clergy reform themselves. Therefore, if the clergy were as solicitous to reform and correct their own malversation as they are solicitous to punish those that detract and murmur at their obstinate abuses, certainly the example of their good conversation would extinguish and supplant more hastily all perverted opinions and schism, than all the punishment that Christendom can execute. While the clergy remain in their present state, the punishment which they execute upon schismatics may be fitly compared to a man that casts oil on a burning fire in hope to extinguish it and to drown it out, the which oil makes the fire more bold than it was before. The evidence of this is manifest; for as soon as there is a person slain, burnt, or banished for holding perverted opinions, immediately there rises up three in his place; therefore such punishment may be compared to a serpent called hydra, which had seven heads.” He tells the clergy to unite together and reform their scandalous lives and the abuses that reign amongst themselves.

The author of the _Complaynt_ shows sound judgment in his remarks on the burning of heretics. He informs his brethren that they have more to fear from England than from the laity; and proceeds to show that Henry VIII. hated the English clergy, and that those of Scotland need expect no more mercy at his hands. He therefore counsels the clergy, at least all who were able-bodied, to cast aside their cowls and long robes and buckle themselves with steel jackets and coats of mail, and go boldly into the battle against the English army of vile heretics and excommunicated infidels.¹

¹ The author said that all classes were bound by every law,
human and divine, to fight for their country――“Then why
should priests or friars allege exemptions, saying that
their profession obliges them to sing and say, to preach
and pray, and not to fight in battle,” pages 161‒164.

He begins the twentieth and last chapter by stating that the intestine strife which was raging in Scotland had done her more injury than all the armies of England; and he concludes his work with a general address to the various ranks of the Scots, in which he illustrates his views by historical examples at great length; and ends by telling them that God will help them, if they help themselves.

The author of the _Complaynt_ displays much knowledge of the world, and considerable learning for his age and country. His style of remark is shrewd and striking, and his illustrations are often apposite, and sometimes exceedingly happy. He exhibits a very keen relish for invective, and occasionally he makes telling hits. His phraseology is not nearly so coarse as that of many of his contemporaries.

It has been inferred that the sixth chapter, as it now stands, is mainly an addition made by the author when his work was passing through the press, and inserted as a piece of attractive reading. This chapter opens with the description of a walk which he took among the green fields. He passed to the foot of a hill where there was a stream teeming with fishes, and overhung by a wooded bank, amid which the melodious songs of birds charmed his ear. He then entered a forest, and listened to the cries of the animals and the fowls of the air. From this scene he passed to the seashore, and there he saw a naval conflict between a galley and another ship. His description of the scene is very minute and animated. He repeats the sea cries then in use, and gives a list of the artillery and firearms known in Scotland in the early part of the sixteenth century. Leaving the two vessels enveloped in the smoke of powder, he returns to the fresh fields. He then proceeds to relate the current opinions of the age about the universe, the motions of the sun, the moon, the fixed stars, and the planets; and astrology as well as astronomy engaged his attention. After discoursing learnedly on these exalted subjects, he concludes this part of his work in the following words:――“All these things before rehearsed, of the circles of the sphere, and of the heavens and planets, is said to cause you to consider that mankind is subject to the planets and their influences; therefore we should prepare and provide to resist these evil constellations. For, howbeit, that they are the instruments of God, yet, nevertheless, He of his goodness resists their evil influences from the time that we become obedient to his command.”

The latter half of this chapter is very valuable, as he introduces into it a list of the popular tales, songs, ballads, and dances, then popular among the Scots. The names, or titles, of forty-eight tales were recorded, the names of thirty-seven songs, or ballads, and the names of about thirty dance-tunes. Altogether the list contains one hundred and sixteen titles of distinct things of the character indicated.¹ These lists are important in connection with the history of our popular literature, as they afford the earliest date for many tales, ballads, and tunes; although a tale or a ballad is only mentioned in the briefest terms, still it is evidence that they existed, at least, in the first half of the sixteenth century.

¹ The lists were analysed by Dr. Leyden in his introduction to
the _Complaynt_, and by Mr. Furnivall in his introduction to
_Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books_, edited by him for the
Ballad Society, 1871; and Dr. Murray has given a very useful
summary of the list, chiefly drawn from the above sources.
See Introduction to the _Complaynt_, pages 73‒96. Sir David
Lyndsay mentions several of the tales enumerated in the
_Complaynt_. Those who wish to become familiar with this
interesting department of early British literature will
now have little difficulty of finding ample materials,
which have been rendered accessible in a printed form by
the various book clubs and societies both of England and
Scotland.