Lament for the Makaris
Encyclopedia
Danse Macabre
Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre , Danza de la Muerte , Dansa de la Mort , Danza Macabra , Dança da Morte , Totentanz , Dodendans , is an artistic genre of late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's...
by the Scottish poet William Dunbar
William Dunbar
William Dunbar was a Scottish poet. He was probably a native of East Lothian, as assumed from a satirical reference in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie , where, too, it is hinted that he was a member of the noble house of Dunbar....
. Every fourth line remorselessly repeats the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
refrain timor mortis conturbat me
Timor mortis conturbat me
Timor mortis conturbat me is a Latin phrase commonly found in late medieval Scottish and English poetry, translating to "fear of death disturbs me"...
(fear of death disturbs me) a litanic
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
phrase from the Office of the Dead
Office of the Dead
The Office of the Dead is a prayer cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper reading on All Souls' Day for all souls in Purgatory, and can be a votive office on other days when said for a particular decedent...
.
The poem is important for the roll call
Roll call
Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a list to determine the presence or absence of the listed people . The term applies to the calling itself, to the time moment of this procedure, and to a military signal that announces it Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a...
of makars it contains, some of whom we know of only from their citation in this work. It thus stands in part as a poetic testimony to the general phenomenon of loss in literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. But more than simply of interest as a historical record, the poem is an effective and moving work of personal meditation with a highly compressed emotionally stark expression.
The makars listed are chiefly, but not exclusively, Scottish and cited as having died by the time of composition with the two exceptions of possibly Patrick Johnston and certainly Walter Kennedy. Most of the names can be traced to either the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries. From internal evidence the lament
Lament
A lament or lamentation is a song, poem, or piece of music expressing grief, regret, or mourning.-History:Many of the oldest and most lasting poems in human history have been laments. Laments are present in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and laments continued to be sung in elegiacs accompanied by...
is thought to have been composed c.1505.
List of names in the Lament
In order and form of citation, the makars (poets) that Dunbar mourns in The Lament are:- ChaucerGeoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
- The monk of Bery (=LydgateJohn LydgateJohn Lydgate of Bury was a monk and poet, born in Lidgate, Suffolk, England.Lydgate is at once a greater and a lesser poet than John Gower. He is a greater poet because of his greater range and force; he has a much more powerful machine at his command. The sheer bulk of Lydgate's poetic output is...
) - GowerJohn GowerJohn Gower was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which...
- Syr Hew of EglintounEarl of EglintonEarl of Eglinton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.Some authorities spell the title: Earl of Eglintoun In 1859 the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, was also created Earl of Winton in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords,...
(d.1377, brother-in-law of Robert IIRobert II of ScotlandRobert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
; association with the poet Huchown far from certain) - HeryotHeriot (disambiguation)Heriot or Heriots may refer to:*Heriot, a feudal right in medieval Europe*Heriot, Scotland, a town in the Scottish Borders*Heriot, New Zealand, a township in the South Island of New Zealand...
(unidentified) - Wyntoun
- Maister Johne Clerk (unidentified; maister signifies university education; the name John Clerk occurs in Bannatyne MSGeorge BannatyneGeorge Bannatyne , collector of Scottish poems that were very dramatic and emotional, was a native of Newtyle, Angus. He became an Edinburgh merchant and was admitted a burgess in 1587. Some years earlier, in 1568, when the "pest" raged in the capital, he retired to his native county and amused...
) - James Afflek (or James AuchinleckAuchinleckAuchinleck ; is a village five miles south-east of Mauchline, and a couple of miles north-west of Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland.Near the village is Auchinleck House, past home of the lawyer, diarist and biographer James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck.Auchinleck has much been associated...
?; not certain; no works known) - HollandRichard HollandRichard Holland or Richard de Holande , Scottish writer, author of the Buke of the Howlat, was secretary or chaplain to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray and rector of Halkirk, near Thurso....
- Barbour
- Schir Mungo Lokert of the LeLockharts of LeeThe Lockharts of Lee are a Lanarkshire family that trace their descent from Sir Simon Locard...
(?knycht d.1489; no known works) - Clerk of TranentTranentTranent is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is close to the A1 road and approximately east of Edinburgh. It is one of the oldest towns in East Lothian, and built on a gentle slope, about 300 feet above sea level.Population of the town is 9,917....
(described by Dunbar as author of the anterisAdventure (genre)The adventure genre, in the context of a narrative, is typically applied to works in which the protagonist or other major characters are consistently placed in dangerous situations...
of GawaneGawainGawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
; work not traced) - Schir Gilbert Hay. A copy of his Buik of King Alexander the Conquerour is dated 1499.
- Blind Hary
- Sandy TraillTraillTraill may refer to:*Trail , ancient family of Lairds or land Barons and clergy in Fife, Scotland*Catharine Parr Traill , British author who wrote about life as a settler in Canada...
(unidentified; see also Trail familyTrail FamilyThe Trail family is an ancient family of Lairds or land Barons and clergy in Fife, Scotland. References to Trails as Barons are recorded from the year 1066 and references to the family extend as early as the 10th century. The Trails descend from Mordac of Verdun, a companion of Rollo. Mordac's...
) - Patrik JohnestounJohnston (surname)Johnston is a surname which in most cases is a habitational surname derived from several places in Scotland, however it can most also be a variant of the surname Johnstone. The surname is most common throughout Scotland and Ireland.-Etymology:...
(produced plays for the royal court; no surviving works; citation suggests he was still alive) - Merseir (not identified; some love poems attributed to a Mersar in Bannatyne MSGeorge BannatyneGeorge Bannatyne , collector of Scottish poems that were very dramatic and emotional, was a native of Newtyle, Angus. He became an Edinburgh merchant and was admitted a burgess in 1587. Some years earlier, in 1568, when the "pest" raged in the capital, he retired to his native county and amused...
) - Roull of AberdeneAberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
(unidentified) - Roull of CorstorphinCorstorphineCorstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
(unidentified; only one poem accredited to a man by the name of Roull extant) - Maister Robert HenrisounRobert HenrysonRobert Henryson was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots makars, he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the Northern Renaissance at a time when the culture was on a cusp between medieval and renaissance sensibilities...
- Schir Johne the RosRossRoss is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
(Dunbar's commissar in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy; nothing else known) - Stobo (John Reid; priest in KirkcudbrightKirkcudbrightKirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...
; served as clerk and notary in royal courts of James IIJames II of ScotlandJames II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
, IIIJames III of ScotlandJames III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
and IVJames IV of ScotlandJames IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
; no surviving works) - Quintyne Schaw (one brief satire extant; Kennedy's commissar in the Flyting; see also Clan Shaw of Tordarroch)
- Gud maister Walter Kennedy
Extract
On to the ded gois all estatis,
Princis, prelotis, and potestatis,
Baith riche and pur of al degre;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He takis the knychtis in to feild,
Anarmit under helme and scheild;
Victour he is at all mellie;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
(Lament for the Makaris, Lines 17-24)