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, Amangis the huntaris in the Ilis. 2 * Signat. G. i. J here take occasion cle, speaking of King Arthur keeping to explain the two following lines. Christmas at York. Als Jhone Makrery, the kingis fule, On zole day mad he fest Gat dowbill garmentis agane the yule, With maný barons of his geste. That is, “The king's fool got two suits See Hearne's Rob. Glouc. vol. ii. p. 678. of apparel, or garments doubly thick, to And Leland's Itin, vol. ii. p. 116. In wear at Christmas. SIGNAT. G. i. the north of England, Christmas to this Yule is Christmas. So James the First, day is called ule, yule, or youle. Blount in his declaration at an assembly of the says, “in the northern parts they have Scotch Kirk at Edinburgh, in 1590, an old custom, after sermon or service “ The church of Geneva keep Pasche on Christmas-day; the people will, even and YULE,” that is, Easter and CHRIST- in the churches, cry ule, ule, as a token MAS. Calderwood's Hist. Ch. Scor. of rejoycing, and the common sort run p. 256. Our author, in the COMPLAYNT about the streets singing OF THE PAPYNGO, says that his bird sung “ULE, ULE, ULE, well enough to be a minstrel at Christo Three puddings in a pule, mas. SIGNAT. A. jii. Crack nuts, and cry ÜLE." Scho micht have bene ane menstrall at Diction. Voc. ULE. In Saxon the word is zehul, zehol, or zeol. 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. And it is mentioned as an accomplishment in the character of a bishop. Bot, gif thay can play at the Cartis. 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 Cards are mentioned in a statute of a British word signifying watching, or Henry the Seventh, xi. Hen. vii. cap. ii. from the Latin Vigilia, Vigil, taken in That is, in 1496. Du Cange cites two a more extended sense. In Wales wyliau Greek writers, who mention card-playing or gwyliau hadolig, signifies the Christ- as one of the games of modern Greece, mas holidays, where wyla or gwyliau is at least before the year 1498. Gloss. the plural of wyl or gwyl. Gr. tom. ii. V. XAPTIA. p. 1734. I also take this opportunity of observ. It seems highly probable, that the Ara. ing, that the court of the Roman pontiff bians, so famous for their ingenuity, was exhilarated by a fool. The pope's fool more especially in whatever related to was in England in 1230, and received numbers and calculation, were the invenforty shillings of king Henry the Third, tors of cards, which they communicated de dono regis. MSS. James, xxviii . p. 190. to the Constantinopolitan Greeks. Car. • SIG sat. F. üü. & Signat. G. i. pentier says, that cards, or folia lusoria, e Leland. COLL. APPEND. iii. p. 284. are prohibited in the STATUTA Crimix. ut supr. In our author's TRAGEDIE of Saonæ. cap. XIX. p. 61. But the age CARDINAL Beroux, a soliloquy spoken of these statutes has not occurred to me. by the cardinal, he is made to declare, SUPPLEM. Lat. Gloss. Du Cange, V. that he played with the king for three Carte. tom. i. p. 842. thousand crowns of gold in one night, Benedictus Abbas has preserved a at cartis and dice. Signat. I. ii. They very curious cdict, which shews the state are also mentioned in an old anonymous of gaming in the Christian army, comScotch poem, Of CoveTICE. Asc. Sc. manded by Richard the First king of P. ut supr. p. 168. st. iii, England, and Philip of France, during Halking, hunting, and swift horse ryne son in the army is permitted to play at the crusade in the year 1190. No perning, Are changit all in wrangus wynning; any sort of game for money, except Thar is no play bot cartis and dyce. Knights and Clergymen ; who in one whole day and night shall not, each, Where, by the way, horse-racing is con lose more than twenty shillings: on sidered among the liberal sports, such pain of forfeiting one hundred shillings, as hawking, and hunting; and not as a to the archbishops of the army. The species of gaming. See also, Iurp. p. 146. 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 But he happily avails himself of the form, to introduce a stroke of satire. Quhen Kirkman yairnisf 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 h. 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 was more than twenty shillings. Otherwise, Quod ane, The devill stik me with ane they are to be whipped naked through knife, the army for three days, &c. Vır. Ric. i. Bot, Schir, I knaw ane maide in Fyfe, p. 610. edit. Hearn. tom. ii. King Ane of the lustiest wantoun lassis ! Richard is described playing at chess in Hald thy toung brother, quod age ather, this expedition. MSS. Harl. 4690. I knaw ane fairer be fystene futher. Schir, whan ye pleis to Linlithquow pas, And kyng Rychard stode and playe Thare sall ye se ane lustie las. Att the chesse in hys galleye. Now tritill Iratill trow low, Quod the third man, thow dois bot mow; fearn, gain. Quhen his grace cummis to fair Stirling * Ibid. Signat. H. i. Thare sal he se ane dayis darling. Even his governors and preceptors Schir quod the fourt, tak my counsell, threw these temptations in his way: a circumstance touched with some humour Thare may we loup at liberte And go all to the hie bordell, by our author. Ibid. Signat. G. Withoutin any gravite, &c. Thare was few of that garnisoun Compare Buchanan, Hist. lib. xiv. That lernit hym ane gude lessoun. ad fin. VOL. III. L 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. Or qulia can now the warkis contrefaitk be intill his GOLDIN Targem? HOLLAND, sene Printed at Oxford, by Edm. Gibson, ^ He flourished about the year 1320. 1691. 4to. with Notes. He died in 1452. He was driven from Scotland under the k imitate. devastations of Edward the First, and "I suppose Walter Kennedie, who took refuge at Paris. He wrote a poem, wrote a poem in Scottish metre, whether called the Complaint of the Miseries of printed I know not, on the Passion of his Country, printed at Paris, 1511. Christ. MSS. Coll. Gresham, 286. Some Dempst. xv, 1034. [It is far more likely of Kennedie's poems are in MSS. Hynd- that the writer alluded to, is Quintyne ford. The Flyting between Dunbar and Schaw, the author of a poem called Kennedy is in the EVERGREEN. See “ Advyce to a Courtier," printed in SibDunbar, ut supr. p: 77. And ibid. bald's Chronicle of Scottish Poetry, p. 274. And Kennedy's Prais OF AGE, vol. i. p. 348. He is mentioned by ibid. p. 189. He exceeds his cotem Dunbar in his “ Lument for the Makaporary Dunbar in smoothness of versi- ris," by the name of Quintyne, (as in the fication. text) without any addition.-Edit.] * The poem examined above, p. 96. • Merser celebrated by Dunbar, Quhilkis to reherse makith reidaris to rejose. p. 77. LAMENT FOR THE DETH OF THE MAK- Hay, who wrote a panegyric on Cardinal KARIS, or POETS. See Anc. SCOTTISH Beaton, printed at Paris, 1540. 4to. He POEMS, ut supr. p. 77. also translated the Hecuba of Euripides from Greek into Latin. MSS. HATTON. That did in luve so lyfly wryte, But I have seen none of his Scotch So schort, so quick, of sentens hie. poetry. [Sir Gilbert Hay was chamSee, in that Collection, his PERRELL IN berlain to Charles VII. of France, and, PARAMOURS. p. 156. in 1456, translated from French into P Dunbar mentions Rowll of Aber- Scottish, the book of Bonet, prior of Sadeen, and Rowll of Costorphine, "twa lon, upon battles. From the testimony bettir fallowis did no man sie.” Ibid. of Dunbar, it appears that Sir Gilbert In Lord, Hyndford's Manu- also wrote poems, but his subscription script (p. 104. 2. ] a poem is mentioned, does not occur in any of the ancient colcalled Rowll's CURSING. ibid. p. 272. lections. -S1BbaLn.) There is an allusion in this piece to pope See Dunbar, ut supr. p: 77. His Alexander the Sixth, who presided froin poem, called the Howlatt, is in the Ma1492 to 1503. nuscripts of Lord Hyndford, and Lord 4 Perhaps Robert llenrison. See Auchinleck. In this are described, the Duobar, ubi supr. p. 77. And ibid. “ Kyndis of instrumentis, the sportaris, p. 98. seg: In MSS. Harl. are, " The (juglers) the Irish bard, and the fule.", morall fabillis of Esope compylit be It was wriiten before the year 1455.Maister Robert Henrysount scholmais- [Holland's poem has since been printed. ter of Dumferling, 1571." 3865. 1. He It will be found in Mr. Pinkerton's colwas most probably a teacher of the youth lection of “ Ancient Scottish Poems," in the Benedictine convent at Dumfer- 1792, and in Sibbald's Chronicle of Scotline. See many of his poems, which are tish Poetry, vol. i. p. 61.-Edit) of a grave moral turn, in the elegant living Scottish Miscellany just cited. " I know not if lie means Archibald u stream. |