Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun (), was a Scottish poet, a
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western can ...
and
prior of Loch Leven
The Prior of Loch Leven was the head of lands and of the community Augustinian canons of St Serf's Inch Priory, Loch Leven (a.k.a. Portmoak Priory). There was a Scottish ''Céli Dé'' (or Culdee) establishment there in the first half of the 12th ...
on
St Serf's Inch
St Serf's Inch or St Serf's Island is an island in Loch Leven, in south-eastern Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was the home of a Culdee and then an Augustinian monastic community, St Serf's Inch Priory.
History
There was a monastic community on ...
and, later, a canon of
St. Andrews.
Andrew Wyntoun is most famous for his completion of an eight-syllabled metre entitled, ''
Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland
The ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' ("Original Chronicle of Scotland") is a history of Scotland from the beginning of the world until the accession of King James I. Attributed to Andrew of Wyntoun, a learned scholar of the time, it is one of t ...
'', which contains an early mention of ''
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
''; it is also cited by the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' as the earliest work in English to use the word "
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
":
pelling modernised"He was a constant Catholic;/All
Lollard
Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...
he hated and heretic." Wyntoun wrote the 'Chronicle' at the request of his patron,
Sir John of Wemyss, whose representative, Mr. Erskine Wemyss of
Wemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...
, Fife, possessed the oldest extant
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
of the work.
The subject of the 'Chronicle' is the history of Scotland from the mythical period to the death of
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340 – 3 September 1420) was a member of the Scottish royal family who served as regent (at least partially) to three Scottish monarchs ( Robert II, Robert III, and James I). A ruthless politician, Albany w ...
in 1420.
The nine original manuscripts of the ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' still subsist today and are preserved within various facilities throughout the United Kingdom. Three out of the eight original manuscripts are currently preserved by the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, two are in the possession of the
Advocates' Library
The Advocates Library, founded in 1682, is the law library of the Faculty of Advocates, in Edinburgh. It served as the national deposit library of Scotland until 1925, at which time through an Act of Parliament the National Library of Scotland w ...
in Edinburgh; one, within the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
Library; another, within the confines of
Wemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...
and the eighth, privately owned by Mister John Ferguson of
Duns, Scottish Borders
Duns is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was the county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Berwickshire.
History
Early history
Duns Law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfor ...
, Berwickshire.
The first edition of the 'Chronicle' (based on the Royal manuscript) was published by
David Macpherson in 1795; the second edition was produced by
David Laing and published in 1872 and the current standard edition was published by
F. J. Amours
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
as ''The Original Chronicle of Andrew of Wyntoun: Printed on Parallel Pages from the Cottonian and Wemyss MSS., with the Variants of the Other Texts''.
The ''Chronicle'' is entirely composed of couplets, usually of eight syllables, although frequently there also are lines of six or 10 syllables.
References
* ''Oxford English Dictionary'', New York:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1989
External links
*
The Robin Hood passageat the TEAMS Medieval Texts website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyntoun, Andrew Of
Scottish chroniclers
15th-century Scottish writers
15th-century Scottish historians
Priors of Loch Leven
Year of birth uncertain
Early Scots poets
14th-century Scottish historians