Our author's COMPLAYNT contains a curious picture, like that in his DREME, of the miserable policy by which Scotland was governed under James the Fifth. But he diversifies and enlivens the subject, by supposing the public felicity which would take place, if all corrupt ministers and evil counsellors were removed from the throne. This is described by striking and picturesque personifications. For, Justice haldis hir swerd on hie, Dame Ryches takis on the sic cure, SIGNAT. G. i. I here take occasion Scho micht have bene ane menstrall at cle, speaking of King Arthur keeping Christmas at York. On gole day mad he fest With many barons of his geste. See 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 youle. 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 "ULE, ULE, ULE, Three puddings in a pule, Crack nuts, and cry ÜLE." DICTION. Voc. ULE. In Saxon the word is gehul, gehol, or geol. In the Thus Robert of Brunne, in his chroni- Welch rubric every saint's day is the the gule. 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. Thare was na play, bot CARTIS and dyce c. And it is mentioned as an accomplishment in the character of a bishop. Bot, gif thay can play at the CARTIS.d Thus, in the year 1503, James the Fourth 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 CARDES"." 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 wyliau 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 king Henry the Third, de dono regis. MSS. James, xxviii. p. 190. SIGNAT. F. iii. SIGNAT. G. i. e 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 three thousand crowns of gold in one night, at cartis and dice. SIGNAT. I. ii. They áre also mentioned in an old anonymous Scotch poem, of COVETICE. ANC. Sc. P. ut supr. p. 168. st. iii, Halking, hunting, and swift horse ryn- Are changit all in wrangus wynning; Where, by the way, horse-racing is con- st. V. Cards are mentioned in a statute of Henry the Seventh, 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. CART. tom. i. p. 842. Benedictus Abbas has preserved a very curious edict, which shews the state of gaming in the Christian army, commanded by Richard the First king 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 twenty shillings: on pain of forfeiting one hundred shillings, to the archbishops of the army. The two kings may play for what they please but their attendants, not for Prophecies of apparent impossibilities were common in Scotland: 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. In the same strain, peculiar to his country, says our author, Quhen the Bas and the isle of May Beis set upon the mont Sinay, Quhen the Lowmound besyde Falkland Beis liftit to Northumberland. But he happily avails himself of the form, to introduce a stroke of satire. Quhen Kirkman yairnis na dignite, Nor wyffis na soveranite. The minority of James the Fifth 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 temptations". 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 Quod ane, The devill stik me with ane Bot, Schir, I knaw ane maide in Fyfe, 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 GREEN.i 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 same idea, makes a transition to the most distinguished poets, who formerly flourished in Scotland. k Or quha can now the warkis contrefait * Off KENNEDIE', with termes aureait? Or of DUNBAR, quha language had at large, QUINTYN, MERSER°, ROWL, HENDERSON, HAY', and Thocht thay be deid, thair libellis bene livand', I Printed at Oxford, by Edm. Gibson, 1691. 4to. with Notes. He died in 1452. * imitate. I suppose Walter Kennedie, who wrote a poem in Scottish metre, 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. See Dunbar, ut supr. p. 77. And ibid. p. 274. And Kennedy's PRAIS OF AGE, ibid. p. 189. He exceeds his cotemporary Dunbar in smoothness of versification. The poem examined above, p. 96. " He flourished about the year 1320. He was driven from Scotland under the devastations of Edward the First, 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. [It is far more likely that the writer alluded to, is Quintyne Schaw, the author of a poem called "Advyce to a Courtier," printed in Sibbald's Chronicle of Scottish Poetry, vol. i. p. 348. He is mentioned by Dunbar in his "Lament for the Makaris," by the name of Quintyne, (as in the text) without any addition.-EDIT.] Merser is celebrated by Dunbar, Quhilkis to reherse makith reidaris to rejose. Had, quhen he wes into this lande on lyve, I say na mair: gude reidaris may discryve Of Virgill, quhilk bene consolatioun To cunnyng men to knaw his greit ingyne, LAMENT FOR THE DETH OF THE MAK- That did in luve so lyfly wryte, P Dunbar mentions Rowll of Aber- 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. [Sir Gilbert Hay was chamberlain to Charles VII. of France, and, in 1456, translated from French into Scottish, the book of Bonet, prior of Salon, upon battles. From the testimony of Dunbar, it appears that Sir Gilbert also wrote poems, but his subscription does not occur in any of the ancient collections.-SIBBALD.] s See Dunbar, ut supr. p. 77. His poem, called the HowLATT, is in the Manuscripts 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.[Holland's poem has since been printed. It will be found in Mr. Pinkerton's collection of "Ancient Scottish Poems," 1792, and in Sibbald's Chronicle of Scottish Poetry, vol. i. p. 61.—EDIT.] t living. stream. |