Pre-Reformation Scottish Poetry
A look at the transmission of pre-Reformation Scottish poetry after 1560
focusing on the works of Robert Henryson, William Dunbar and William of Touris.
4,327 words (
approx. 17.3 pages) |
40 sources |
MLA | 2007
|
Published on: Feb 27, 2008
Paper Summary:
After the Reformation, some works with Catholic material in them were still written and printed, but often in a modified form. In response to the changed political climate, it was inadvisable to disseminate poetry with Catholic content. This paper centers on the "Arundel" and "Bannatyne" works of Robert Henryson, William Dunbar, and the author of "The Contemplacioun of Synnaris", called William of Touris in Arundel 285. The manuscripts are chosen for their proximity to the Reformation and the importance of some of their works in Scottish literary history. Several of the poems have a long and wide circulation, especially the poems of Henryson and Dunbar. The paper concludes with a discussion of modern editions of Henryson's and Dunbar's work and the way modern editors have dealt with the Protestantization of some of the poems.
Outline:
Book Production at the Time of the Reformation
Anglo-Scottish Relations
Arundel 285 and the Bannatyne Manuscript
Minor Rewriting
The Removal of Catholic Content
Careful Titling or Placement within the Book
Other Situations
Conclusions
From the Paper:
"Printing came to Scotland in 1508, the year after James IV gave the first patent to Chepman and Millar and asked them men to bring home a press and the men who knew how to use it. Chepman and Myllar's prints are poorly produced, with much abbreviation, Anglicization, incorrect word divisions, and inconsistent punctuation. Perhaps partly on account of this, Scotland's shift to print culture did not happen until later in the century (although the shift was far from linear). By the 1560s, "Scotland for the first time had more than one printer at work, but the printers were constrained by the political atmosphere.." In July 1567, Queen Mary, a Catholic, was induced to abdicate in favor of her son Charles James. She was then imprisoned. Scotland broke with Rome in 1560 when the Parliament met without royal authority and declared the country Protestant. "
Sample of Sources Used:
- "The treatys called the Contemplacyon of sinners" in Bod 4oN 16 (3) Th. Wynken de Worde, 1499.
- Aesop: The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian: Charteris: Edinburgh, 1570. New York: Da Capo Press (1970).
- The Bannatyne manuscript: National Library of Scotland, Advocates' MS. 1.1.6. Manuscript. Facsimile. London: Scolar Press, 1980.
- The Chepman and MyllarPrints. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Bibliographical Society (1950).A dyall of dayly contemplacion, or deuine exercise of the mind instructing vs to liue vnto dye vnto the vvorld. Early English Books Online. (1578). <www.eebo.com>
- Bawcutt, Priscilla, ed. William Dunbar: Selected Poems. London: Longman (1996)
Pre-Reformation Scottish Poetry (2012, April 01). Retrieved May 26, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Research-Paper-Pre-Reformation-Scottish-Poetry/101513
"Pre-Reformation Scottish Poetry" 01 April 2012. Web. 26 May. 2012. <http://www.academon.com/Research-Paper-Pre-Reformation-Scottish-Poetry/101513>