I know not whether it be worth observing, that playing at cards is mentioned in this poem, among the diversions, or games, of the court. Thar was no play but CARTIS and dice1. And it is mentioned as an accomplishment in the character of a bishop. Bot geve they can play at the CAIRTIS2. Thus, in the year 1503, James IV. of Scotland, at an interview with the princess Margaret in the castle of Newbattle, finds her playing at cards. The kynge came prively to the said castell, and entred within 'the chammer [chamber] with a small cumpany, whare he founde the 'quene playing at the CARDES3' Prophecies of apparent impossibilities were common in Scotland: Thus Robert of Brunne, in his chronicle, speaking of King Arthur keeping Christmas at On gole day mad he fest Hearne's ROB. GLOUC. vol. ii. p. 678. And Leland's ITIN. vol. ii. p. 116. In the north of England, Christmas to this day is called ule yule, or yonle. Blount says, 'in the northern 'parts they have an old custom, after sermon or service on Christmas-day: the people will, even in the churches, cry ule, ule, as a token of rejoycing, and the common sort run about the streets singing, DICTION. VOC. ULE. In Saxon the word is gehul, gehol, or geol. In the Welch rubric every saint's day is the Wyl, or Gwl, of that saint: either from a British word signifying watching, or from the Latin Vigilia, Vigil, taken in a more extended sense. In Wales wylian or gwyliau hadolig, signifies the Christmas holidays, where wyla or gwyliau is the plural of wyl or gwyl. I also take this opportunity of observing, that the court of the Roman pontiff was exhilarated by a fool. The pope's fool was in England in 1230, and received forty shillings of Henry III. de dono regis. MSS. James, xxviii. p. 190. 1SIGNAT. F. iii. 2 SIGNAT. G. i. 3 Leland. COLL. APPEND. iii. p. 284. ut supr. In our author's TRAGEDIE of CARDINAL BETOUN, a soliloquy spoken by the cardinal, he is made to declare, that he played with the king for 3000 crowns of gold in one night, at cartis and dice. SIGNAT. I. ii. They are also mentioned in an anonymous Scotch poem, of COVETICE. ANC. Sc. P. ut supr. p. 168. st. iii. Halking, hunting, and swift horse rynning, Are changit all in wrangus wynning; Thar is no play bot cartis and dyce. Where, by the way, horse-racing is considered among the liberal sports, such as hawking, and hunting; and not as a species of gaming. IBID. p. 146. st. v. Cards are mentioned in a statute of Henry VII. xi. Hen. vii. cap. ii. That is, in 1496. Du Cange cites two Greek writers, who mention card-playing as one of the games of modern Greece, at least before the year 1498. GLOSS. GR. tom. ii. V. XAPTIA. p. 1734. It seems highly probable, that the Arabians, so famous for their ingenuity, more especially in whatever related to numbers and calculation, were the inventors of cards, which they communicated to the Constantinopolitan Greeks. Carpentier says, that cards, or folia lusoria, are prohibited in the STATUTA CRIMIN. Saona. cap. xxx. p. 61. But the age of these statutes has not occurred to me. SUPPLEM. LAT. GLOSS. Du Cange, V. CARTE. tom. i. p. 842. Benedictis Abbas has preserved a very curious edict, which shews the state of gaming in the christian army, commanded by Richard I. of England, and Philip of France, during the crusade in the year 1190. No person in the army is permitted to play at any sort of game for money, except Knights and clergymen; who in one whole day and night shall not, each, lose more than 20 shillings: on pain of forfeiting 100 shillings, to the archbishops of the army. The two kings may play for what they please but their attendants, not for more than 20 shillings. Otherwise, they are to be whipped naked through the army for three days, &c. VIT. RIC. i. p. 610. edit. Hearn. tom. ii. King Richard is described playing at chess in this expedition. MSS. Harl. 4690. And kyng Rychard stode and playe Att the chesse in his galleye. 530 CHRIST'S KIRK ON THE GREEN.-COMPLAYNT OF THE PAPINGO. such as the removal of one place to another. Under this popular prophetic formulary, may be ranked the prediction in Shakespeare's MACBETH, where the APPARITION says, that Birnam-wood shall go to Dusinane. And in the same strain, peculiar to his country, says our author, Quhen the Bas and the isle of May Beis set upon the mount Sinay, But he happily avails himself of the form, to introduce a stroke of satire. Quhen Kirkman zairnis' no dignite, The minority of James V. was dissipated in pleasures, and his education most industriously neglected. He was flattered, not instructed, by his preceptors. His unguarded youth was artfully exposed to the most alluring temptations3. It was in this reign, that the nobility of Scotland began to frequent the court; which soon became the theatre of all those idle amusements which were calculated to solicit the attention of a young king. All these abuses are painted in this poem with an honest unreserved indignation. It must not in the mean time be forgotten, that James possessed eminent abilities, and a love of literature: nor is it beside our present purpose to observe, that he was the author of the celebrated ballad called CHRIST'S KIRK ON THE GREEN1. The COMPLAYNT OF THE PAPINGO is a piece of the like tendency. In the Prologue, there is a curious and critical catalogue of the Scotch poets who flourished about the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. As the names and works of many of them seem to be totally forgotten, and as it may contribute to throw some new lights on the neglected history of the Scotch poetry, I shall not scruple to give the passage at large, with a few illustrations. Our author declares, that the poets of his own age dare not aspire to the praise of the three English poets, Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate. He then, under the 3 Even his governors and preceptors threw these temptations in his way: a circumstance touched with some humour by our author. Ibid. SIGNAT. G. Thare was few of that garnison Quod one, The devill stik Buchanan, HIST. lib. xiv. ad fin, That lernit hym ane gude lessoun.-me with ane knyfe, Ane of the lustiest wantoun lassis! Printed at Oxford, by Edm. Gibson, 1691. 4to. with Notes. He died in 1452. same idea, makes a transition to the most distinguished poets, who formerly flourished in Scotland. Or quho can now the workis contrefait1 Of KENNEDIE2, with termis aureait? Or of DUNBAR, quha language had at large, As may be sene intyll his GOLDIN TARGE"? QUINTYN, MERSER, ROWL, HENDERSON, HAY, and HOLLAND? Thocht thay be deid, thair libellis bene livand1o, Quhilk to reheirs makis redaris to rejoise, I say no more: gude redaris may discryve To cunnyng men to knawe his greit ingyne, And in the court bene present in their dayis, 1 Imitate. 2 I suppose Walter Kennedie, who wrote a poem in Scottish meter, whether printed I know not, on the Passion of Christ. MSS. Coll. Gresham, 286. Some of Kennedie's poems are in MSS. Hyndford. The Flyting between Dunbar and Kennedy is in the EVERGREEN. Dunbar. ut. supr. p. 77. And ibid. p. 274. And Kennedy's PARIS OF AGE, ibid. p. 189. He exceeds his cotemporary Dunbar in smoothness of versification. 3 The poem examined above, p. 496. 4 He flourished about the year 1320. He was driven from Scotland under the devastations of Edward I., and took refuge at Paris. He wrote a poem, called the Complaint of the Miseries of his country, printed at Paris, 1511. Dempst. xv. 1034. 5 Merser is celebrated by Dunbar, LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF THE MAKKARIS or POETS. See ANC. SCOTTISH POEMS, ut supr. p. 77. That did in luve so lyfly wryte, Collection, his PERRELL IN PARAMOURS. p. 159. So schort, so quick, of sentens hie, 6 Dunbar mentions Rowll of Aberdeen, and Rowll of Corstorphine, 'twa bettir fallowis 'did no man sie. Ibid. p. 77. In Lord Hyndford's MSS. [p. 104. 2.] a poem is mentioned, called RowLL'S CURSING. ibid. p. 272. There is an allusion in this piece to pope Alexander VI., who presided from 1492 to 1503. 7 Perhaps Robert Henrison. Dunbar, ubi supr. p. 77. And ibid. p. 98. seq. In MSS. Harl. are, The morall fabillis of Esope compylit be Maister Robert Henrysount schol'maister of Dumferling, 1571,' 3865, 1. He was most probably a teacher of the youth in the Benedictine convent at Dunfermline. See many of his poems, which are of a grave moral turn, in the elegant Scottish Miscellany just cited. 8 I know not if he means Archibald Hay, who wrote a panegyric on Cardinal Beaton, printed at Paris, 1540, 4to. He also translated the HECUBA of Euripides from Greek into Latin. MSS. HATTON. But I have seen none of his Scotch poetry. 9 Dunbar, ut supr. p. 77. His poem, called the HOWLATT, is in the MSS. of Lord Hyndford and Lord Auchinleck. In this are described, the Kyndis of instrumentis, the sportaris, [juglers] the Irish bard, and the fule.' It was written before the year 1455. 10 Living. 11 Stream. 12 Write. 532 THE ROLL OF SCOTTISH POETS.-CALVINISM IN SCOTLAND. Quhilkis to our princis daylie thay do present. And STEWART quhilk desireth one statlie style STEWART of Lorne will carp richt curiouslic3, Bot now of late is start up haistelie, One cunnyng clarke, quhilk wrytith craftelie: One plant of poets callit BALLENDYNE"; Quhose ornate workis my wit can nocht defyne: He will precell Quintyn and Kennedie". The Scotch, from that philosophical and speculative cast which characterises their national genius, were more zealous and early friend to a reformation of religion than their neighbours in England. The pomp and elegance of the Catholic worship made no impression on a people, whose devotion sought only for solid edification; and who had no notion that the interposition of the senses could with any propriety be admitted to co-operate in an exercise of such a nature, which appealed to reason alone, and seemed to exclude all aids of the imagination. It was natural that such a people, in their system of spiritual refinement, should warmly prefer the severe and rigid plan of Calvin: and it is from this principle, that we find most of their writers, at the 1 I know nothing of Sir James Inglis, or of his ballads, farces, and pleasant plays. But one John Inglish was master of a company of players, as we have before seen, at the marriage of James IV. Here is a proof, however, that theatrical representations were now in high repute in the court of Scotland. 2 Yet in knowing. 3 See some of his satirical poetry, ANC, SC. P. p. 151. 4 These two poets are converted into one, under the name of GABRIELL KINLYCK, in an edition of some of Lyndesay's works first turned and made perfect Englishe, printed at London by Thomas Purfoote, A.D. 1581. p. 105. This edition often omits whole stanzas; and has the most arbitrary and licentious misrepresentations of the text, always for the worse. The editor, or translator, did not understand the Scottish language; and is, besides, a wretched writer of English. But the attempt sufficiently exposes itself. 5 I presume this is John Balantyn, or Ballenden, archdeacon of Moray, canon of Rosse, and clerk of the register in the minority of James V., and his successor. He was a doctor of the Sorbonne at Paris. G. Con, De duplici statu religionis apud Scotos, lib. ii. p. 167. At the command of James V., he translated the 17 books of Hector Boethius's HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Edinb. by T. Davidson, 1536. fol. The preface is in verse, Thow marcyal buke pas to the nobyll prince,' Prefixed is the COSMOGRAPHY of Boethius's History, which Mackenzie calls, A description of Albany, ii. 596. Before it is a Prologue a vision in verse, in which VIRTUE and PLEASURE address the king, after the manner of a dialogue. He wrote an addition of one hundred years to Boethius's history: but this does not appear in the Edinburgh edition: also Epistles to James V., and On the Life of Pythagoras. Many of his poems are extant. The author of the article BALLENDEN. in the BIOGRAPHIA BRITANNICA, written more than thirty years ago, says, that in the large collection of Scottish poems, made by Mr. Carmichael, there were some of our author's on various subjects; and Mr. Laurence Dundass had several, whether in MSS. or printed, I cannot say,' vol. i. p. 461. His style has many gallicisms. He seems to have been a young man, when this compliment was paid him by Lyndesay. He died at Rome, 1550. Dempst. ii. 197. Bale, xiv. 65. Mackenz. ii. 595. seq. SIGNAT. K. restoration of learning, taking all occasions of censuring the absurdities of popery with an unusual degree of abhorrence and asperity. In the course of the poem before us, an allegory on the corruptions of the church is introduced, not destitute of invention, humour, and elegance: but founded on one of the weak theories of Wickliffe, who not considering religion as reduced to a civil establishment, and because Christ and his apostles were poor, imagined that secular possessions were inconsistent with the simplicity of the gospel. In the primitive and pure ages of christianity, the poet supposes, that the Church married Poverty, whose children were Chastity and Devotion. The emperour Constantine soon afterwards divorced this sober and decent couple; and without obtaining or asking a dispensation, married the Church with great solemnity to Property. Pope Silvester ratified the marriage: and Devotion retired to a hermitage. They had two daughters, Riches and Sensuality; who were very beautiful, and soon attracted such great and universal regard, that they acquired the chief ascendancy in all spiritual affairs. Such was the influence of Sensuality in particular, that Chastity, the daughter of the Church by Poverty, was exiled: she tried, but in vain, to gain protection in Italy and France. Her success was equally bad in England. She strove to take refuge in the court of Scotland: but they drove her from the court to the clergy. The bishops were alarmed at her appearance, and protested they would harbour no rebel to the See of Rome. They sent her to the nuns, who received her in form, with processions and other honours. But news being immediately dispatched to Sensuality and Riches, of her friendly reception among the nuns, she was again compelled to turn fugitive. She next fled to the mendicant friers, who declared they could not take charge of ladies. At last she was found secreted in the nunnery of the Burrowmoor near Edinburgh, where she had met her mother Poverty and her sister Devotion. Sensuality attempts to besiege this religious house, but without effect. The pious sisters were armed at all points, and kept an irresistible piece of artillery, called Domine custodi nos. Within quhose schot, thare dar no enemies I know not whether this chaste sisterhood had the delicacy to observe strictly the injunctions prescribed to a society of nuns in England; who, to preserve a cool habit, were ordered to be regularly blooded three times every year, but not by a secular person, and 3 Artillery. SIGnat. C. ii. 1 Hard dints. 2 Busy becs. |