Studies in Scottish Latin

[摘要] This thesis examines certain aspects of Scottish Latin,particularly in the period 1580-1637.The first chapter chronicles the endeavours of John Scot ofScotstarvet to compile an anthology of Scottish Latin poetry, based onthe unpublished letters to Scot in the NLS. Both the letters and contemporaryverse indicate that the project was under way twenty yearsbefore the Delitiae was printed and that John Leech was an importantinfluence. Leech's letters to Scot highlight Scot's editorial reticence,confirmed by the alterations in Scotstarvet's own verse. The finalproduct 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 nationalgrammar upon the schools, akin to the Lily-Colet grammar in England.Attempts to provide a radical alternative to Despauter, firstly by acommittee and later by Alexander Hume, were inhibited by the inherentconservatism of teaching establishments. The most successful of thenew grammars, those by Wedderburn and the Dunbar Rudiments, remainedas general introductions to Despauter.Evidence for the composition of Latin verse in schools anduniversities, both statutory and manuscript, is assessed in the thirdchapter. Active involvement in the practice by local authoritiesinfluenced the range and extent of verse being written after 1600.The poetry of David Wedderburn of Aberdeen, promoted by the towncouncil, reflects that influence.The importance of teaching methods upon a poet's futuredevelopment is most clearly seen in the verse of David Hume, discussedin the fourth chapter. Hume continually re-works and re-evaluates thethemes of his adolescent verse, measuring them against the achievementsof James VI, whose birth he had earlier celebrated.The thesis concludes with a check-list of Scots whose Latinverse was printed before 1640.

[发布机构] University:The University of St Andrews;Department:Classics (School of)

[效力级别] Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern)--Scotland--History and criticism

[关键词] Latin literature, Medieval and modern--Scotland--History and criticism;Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern)--Scotland--History and criticism