The Complaynt of Scotland

The Complaynt of Scotland

The Complaynt of Scotland is a book printed in 1549 and is an important work of the Scots language.

The book is a continuation of the war of words between Scotland and England in the sixteenth century. The so-called "Rough Wooing" of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Henry VIII of England as a wife for his son Edward, which Edward VI continued, had included the publication of books in England asserting the idea of uniting the two countries, with England dominant. The Complaynt was an answer to these works. Another Scottish work, a dialogue similar in outlook, Ane Resonyng, by William Lamb from the same period was abandoned unpublished.[1]

The Complaynt is anonymous, probably due to its controversial political content, and is variously ascribed to Robert Wedderburn, James Inglis and David Lyndsay,[2] though the editor of the 1979 Scottish Text Society edition of the work[3] and the National Library of Scotland[4] support the Wedderburn attribution. It was once thought to have been among the first books printed in Scotland but it is now believed to have been published in Paris. The contention of a Paris printing is supported by the discovery that the book owes much of its structure, and some of its content, to the Quadrilogue-invectif, a similar political work in part attacking England, by Alain Chartier.[5] The close ties between Scotland and France at that time, the Auld Alliance, are attested by the fact that the Complaynt is dedicated to Mary of Guise, the effective queen of Scotland of the time, rather than the Governor, Regent Arran.

The book itself, subtitled "wyth ane exortatione to the thre estaits to be vigilante in the deffens of their public veil", is rather a miscellany of stories, ballads and allegorical tales emphasising Scotland's separateness. The English works it was aimed against included the pagan prophecies of Merlin to back up their claim of a united Great Britain, whilst the Complaynt stuck to Christian ideals. In Chapter 10, the author declares the English have more confidence in the Merlin's prophecies than the Gospel;

"the prophesies of merlyne, to the quhilk the inglishmen giffis more confidens nor thai gif to the evangel, be cause that there ald prophane prophesis sais, that ingland and scotland sal be baitht undir ane prince, on this misteous prophesis, thai have intendit weyris contrar scotland, ..."[6]

The Complaynt is an important source for information on Border ballads and it contains some of the first references to important ballads such as Tam Lin, Froggy would a-wooing go and The Ballad of Chevy Chase. The names of these songs and poems are narrated in the Chapter 6, which is called the. Monologue Recreative. The book is also a significant example of Middle Scots, and the Oxford English Dictionary cites The Complaynt of Scotland as the earliest source for numerous words, including: axis, barbarian, buffoon, cabinet, crackling, decadence, excrement, heroic, humid, imbecile, moo, parallel, robust, suffocation, superb, timid and water-lily. A passage in the Monologue Recreative describes a Scottish warship and its crew and their calls, supplying maritime vocabulary and an insight to seamanship of the period.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lyall, Roderick J., ed (1985). Ane Resonyng. Aberdeen University Press. ISBN 0080303862. 
  2. ^ Notes and Queries: Vol. 1 (26) 27 April 1850, page 422
  3. ^ Stewart, A. M., ed (1979). The Complaynt of Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society. 
  4. ^ Betteridge, Robert (Winter 2010). "Tracing 'a notoriously difficult title to acquire'". Discover (Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland) 17: 12. 
  5. ^ Stewart, A. M. (1979) pp. xxi-xxiv.
  6. ^ "Chapter 10". The Complaynt of Scotlande (1549). EETS. 1872. pp. 84–85. 
  7. ^ Murray, James A. H., ed (1872). The Complaynt of Scotland (1549). London: Early English Text Society. pp. 40–42. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Well of the World's End — is a Scottish fairy tale, from the Lowlands, collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales . His source was The Complaynt of Scotland , and he notes that the tale s similarity to the German Frog Prince . Like that tale, it is Aarne Thompson… …   Wikipedia

  • The Ballad of Chevy Chase — This article is about the ballads. For other uses, see Chevy Chase (disambiguation). There are two extant English ballads known as The Ballad of Chevy Chase, both of which narrate the same story. As ballads existed within oral tradition before… …   Wikipedia

  • James V of Scotland — James V Anonymous portrait of James V, probably contemporary King of Scots Reign 9 September 1513 – 14 December 1542 Coronation …   Wikipedia

  • Royal Scots Navy — The Scottish Red Ensign, flown by ships of the Royal Scots Navy The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its foundation in the 11th century until its merger with the Kingdom of England s Royal Navy per …   Wikipedia

  • Quadrilogue-invectif — The Quadrilogue invectif is a work of allegorical prose written by Alain Chartier in 1422 in which the author, through the use of a fictional dialogue between the Three Estates ( Le Peuple, Le Chevalier, and Le Clerge ) and France, personified as …   Wikipedia

  • Mary of Guise — Queen consort of Scotland Regent of Scotland Tenure 18 May 1538 – 14 December 1542 12 April 1554 – 11 June 1560 Coronation 22 February 1540 …   Wikipedia

  • James, John and Robert Wedderburn — James (c. 1495 ndash; 1533), John (c. 1505 ndash; 1556) and Robert Wedderburn (c. 1510 ndash; c. 1555) were Scottish religious reformers and poets.BiographiesThe Wedderburn brothers were all born in Dundee, the sons of James Wedderburn, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Scots language — Not to be confused with Scottish English or Scottish Gaelic. Scots (Braid) Scots, Lallans Spoken in United Kingdom (Scotland and Northern Ireland), Republic of Ireland Region …   Wikipedia

  • British literature — refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as to literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the United Kingdom. By far the largest part of British literature …   Wikipedia

  • Pastime with Good Company — Эта статья  о народной песне. О концертном альбоме Blackmore s Night см. Past Times with Good Company. Оригинал Pastime with Good Company (ок. 1513), х …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”