''Ane Dance in the Quenis Chalmer'' or ''A dance in the Queen's chamber'' is a humorous or satiric Scots poem by

William Dunbar William Dunbar (born 1459 or 1460 – died by 1530) was a Scottish makar, or court poet, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work in ...

.Michelle Beer, ''Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain'' (Woodbridge, 2018), p. 93. The verses describe a dance in the chamber of

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Marg ...

, wife of

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

. Various courtiers are introduced and their dance moves described in comic terms. The refrain, in modern spelling is, "A merrier dance might no man see". Dancers include Master Robert Schaw who provided medicinal recipes to the queen's apothecary William Foular, and appears to have been a physician serving the women of the court. Perhaps to widen the appeal of the poem for a court audience that may have include the subjects of the satire, Dunbar introduces himself as a dancer who clumsily sheds a slipper or ''panton''.

Sir John Sinclair

:Sir Jhon Sinclair begowthe to dance, :For he was new cum owt of France. :For ony thing that he do mycht :The an futt yeid ay onrycht :And to the tother wald nocht gree. :Quod an, "Tak up the quenis knycht!" ::A mirrear dance mycht na man see.David Laing, ''The poems of William Dunbar, collected, with notes and a memoir of his life'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1834), pp. 119-120. Sinclair was an attendant of Margaret Tudor. In April 1513 an English diplomat,

Nicholas West Nicholas West (146128 April 1533), was an English bishop and diplomatist, born at Putney in Surrey, and educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow in 1486. He also had periods of study at Oxford and Bologna.

, came to

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although mai ...

and was met by John Sinclair, who conveyed him to Margaret Tudor. He may have been the Scottish courtier recorded in November 1490 and January 1491 playing cards with James IV.

Dunbar and Mistress Musgrave

:Than cam in Dunbar the mackar :On all the flure thair was nan frackar :And thair he dancet the dirrye dantoun. :He hoppet lyk a pillie wanton, :For luff of Musgraeffe, men tellis me. :He trippet quhill he tint his panton. ::A mirrear dance mycht na man see. :Than cam in Maesteres Musgraeffe :Schou mycht heff lernit all the laeffe. :Quhen I schau hir sa trimlye dance, :Hir guid convoy and contenance, :Than for hir saek I wissitt to be :The grytast erle or duk in France. ::A mirrear dance mycht na man see. :Than cam in dame Dounteboir - :God waett gif that schou louket sowr. :Schou maid sic morgeownis with hir hippis, :For lachtter nain mycht hald thair lippis. :Quhen schou was danceand bisselye, :An blast of wind son fra hir slippis. ::A mirrear dance mycht na man see. In these verses Dunbar imagines himself in the dance, and reveals his affection for Mistress Musgrave, or Musgrove, an English lady in waiting and Mistress of the Queen's wardrobe, despite their disparity in social status. She was probably the wife of Sir John Musgrave. She was known as the "Lady Mastres", the Lady Mistress. As a New Year's Day gift in 1507 she received a brooch with an image of Saint Michael set with a diamond. In February she brought James IV the news of the birth of his son at

. In June 1508 she helped with preparations for a dance at

Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

to conclude the tournament of the

Wild Knight and the Black Lady Ellen or Elen More () was an African servant at the Scottish royal court. There are records of clothing and gifts given to her, although her roles and status are unclear. Some recent scholarship suggests she was enslaved. She is associated with a ...

. Details of her clothing, made by the Queen's tailor

Robert Spittell Robert Spittell or Spittall or Spittale (died 1558) was a Scottish tailor who served Margaret Tudor, queen consort of James IV of Scotland. Clothes for a queen When Margaret Tudor first arrived in Scotland, she brought an English tailor with h ...

survive in the accounts from 1511 and 1512.

Edward Hall Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also sever ...

's English chronicle and a poem ''Flodden Field'' mention a "Giles Musgrave", presumably a relation of her husband, who is said to have persuaded James IV to move from an advantageous position on a hill at the

battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

.Neill Barr, ''Flodden 1513: The Scottish Invasion of Henry VIII's England'' (London, 2001), p. 84.

References

External links

* {{wikisource-inline, The Poems of William Dunbar/Volume 1/Of a Dance in the Quenis Chalmer, Of a Dance in the Quenis Chalmer, single=true
A Dance in the Queen's Chamber: A merrear daunce mycht na man see, All Poetry
Scottish poems Poetry by William Dunbar Scottish literature 16th-century poems 1500s in Scotland Court of James IV of Scotland Household of Margaret Tudor