Studies in Scottish Latin
Abstract
This thesis examines certain aspects of Scottish Latin,
particularly in the period 1580-1637.
The first chapter chronicles the endeavours of John Scot of
Scotstarvet to compile an anthology of Scottish Latin poetry, based on
the unpublished letters to Scot in the NLS. Both the letters and contemporary
verse indicate that the project was under way twenty years
before the Delitiae was printed and that John Leech was an important
influence. Leech's letters to Scot highlight Scot's editorial reticence,
confirmed by the alterations in Scotstarvet's own verse. The final
product was more a reflection of the taste and ethos of the early 1620s,
after which Scot apparently ceased to collect material.
The second chapter documents the attempts to impose a national
grammar upon the schools, akin to the Lily-Colet grammar in England.
Attempts to provide a radical alternative to Despauter, firstly by a
committee and later by Alexander Hume, were inhibited by the inherent
conservatism of teaching establishments. The most successful of the
new grammars, those by Wedderburn and the Dunbar Rudiments, remained
as general introductions to Despauter.
Evidence for the composition of Latin verse in schools and
universities, both statutory and manuscript, is assessed in the third
chapter. Active involvement in the practice by local authorities
influenced the range and extent of verse being written after 1600.
The poetry of David Wedderburn of Aberdeen, promoted by the town
council, reflects that influence.
The importance of teaching methods upon a poet's future
development is most clearly seen in the verse of David Hume, discussed
in the fourth chapter. Hume continually re-works and re-evaluates the
themes of his adolescent verse, measuring them against the achievements
of James VI, whose birth he had earlier celebrated.
The thesis concludes with a check-list of Scots whose Latin
verse was printed before 1640.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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