John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a
Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at
Fordoun,
Mearns. It is certain that he was a
secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th century. It is probable that he was a
chaplain in
St Machar's Cathedral of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
.
[William Ferguson, ''The identity of the Scottish nation: an historic quest,'' Edinburgh University Press, 1998, ]
The work of Fordun is the earliest attempt to write a continuous
history of Scotland. Fordun undertook this task because his patriotic zeal was roused by the removal or destruction of many national records by
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...
. He travelled across England and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, collecting material for his history.
Collectively, this work, divided into five books, is known as the ''
Chronica Gentis Scotorum.'' The first three are unverified historically, which therefore casts doubt on their accuracy. Yet they also form the groundwork on which
Boece and
George Buchanan afterwards based some of their historical writings.
Thomas Innes argued that some of the history these men presented was doubtful in his ''Critical Essay'' (i, pp. 201–2,4), but
Innes himself had his own political agenda and his work has also been criticized by modern historians.
Fordun's claim of an unbroken line of royal descent from
Fergus I
Fergus may refer to:
Given name or surname
*Fergus (name), including lists of people and fictional and mythological characters
Places
*Fergus, Ontario, Canada
*River Fergus, County Clare, Ireland
*Lake Fergus, South Island, New Zealand
*Loch ...
in 330 BC can be seen as a contribution to a Scottish national
origin myth constructed to counter the legend of
Brutus of Troy
Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the '' Historia Brittonum'', an anony ...
, which English monarchs deployed to claim sovereignty over the whole of
Britain. The 4th and 5th books contain much valuable information, and become more authentic the nearer they approach the author's own time. The 5th book concludes with the death of
King David I
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcol ...
in 1153.
More recent scholarship, largely by Professor Dauvit Broun of Glasgow University, suggests that the portion of what has hitherto been considered Fordun's chronicle, i.e. events after 1153, should be regarded as two separate works, neither of which can, in any meaningful sense, be attributed to Fordun himself. Therefore, the list of yearly events after the death of King David I in 1153 should be regarded as the separate works Gesta Annalia I and Gesta Annalia II.
The new thinking, put forward by Professor Broun, is that John of Fordun's work is the chronicle alone. So Fordun's own work proceeds no later than the death of King David I in 1153. Therefore, Fordun cannot be regarded as the author of ‘Gesta Annalia’ and that Gesta Annalia’ should be regarded as two separate works. This is because an examination of the surviving manuscripts reveals two separate texts which, for convenience are called ‘Gesta Annalia I’ and ‘Gesta Annalia II’.
‘Gesta Annalia I’ ends when in February 1285 King Alexander III despatches an embassy to France to find a new wife for him. ‘Gesta Annalia II’ begins with Alexander III's marriage to his new bride in October 1285. It is considered that ‘Gesta Annalia I’ is what remains extant of a much longer work. It is considered that the author of ‘Gesta Annalia’ ended this work around February 1285. Then, at some point, a scribe copied ‘Gesta Annalia I’ and appended it to Fordun's chronicle. As to whether that scribe may have been Fordun himself and that he appended ‘Gesta Annalia I’ to his own chronicle "is an open question" according to Professor Broun.
Based on these suppositions, the ‘Gesta Annalia I’ in circulation is a copy of an original work. However, it is considered that whoever copied the original work left it largely undisturbed, i.e. did not materially alter the text as there is a consistency of writing and presentation of the history in ‘Gesta Annalia I’ which is not found to the same extent with ‘Gesta Annalia II’.
‘Gesta Annalia II’ is a more challenging, and it has been suggested more interesting, work. Whereas there is a consistency in the style and presentation of ‘Gesta Annalia I’, that is not the case in ‘Gesta Annalia II’.
[The analysis provided by Professor Dauvit Broun are summarised in this article using Bill Glennie's advice to Scottish School pupils studying 'Scotland: Independence and Kingship, 1249-1334' at Advanced Higher.]
Historical texts published before this new thinking was accepted will still refer to Fordun as the author of comments relating to the period after 1153. These comments are now cited as Gesta Annalia I or II.
Besides these five books, published around 1360, Fordun also wrote part of another book, and collected materials to cover the history of Scotland to a later period. These materials were used by a
continuator
A continuator, in literature, is a writer who creates a new work based on someone else's prior text, such as a novel or novel fragment. The new work may complete the older work (as with the numerous continuations of Jane Austen's unfinished nov ...
who wrote in the middle of the 15th century, and who is identified with
Walter Bower,
abbot of the
monastery of Inchcolm. Bower's additions form eleven books, and bring forward the narrative to the death of
King James I of Scots in 1437. According to the custom of the time, the continuator did not hesitate to interpolate Fordun's portion of the work with additions of his own. The whole history thus compiled is known as the ''
Scotichronicon''.
The first printed edition of Fordun's work was that of
Thomas Gale
Thomas Gale (1635/1636?7 or 8 April 1702) was an English classical scholar, antiquarian and cleric.
Life
Gale was born at Scruton, Yorkshire. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow ...
in his ''Scriptores quindecim'' (vol. iii), which was published in 1691. This was followed by
Thomas Hearne's (5 vol.) edition in 1722. The whole work, including Bower's continuation, was published by
Walter Goodall at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1759. In 1871 and 1872 Fordun's chronicle, in the original
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and in an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
translation, was edited by
William F. Skene
William Forbes Skene Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA(Scot) Doctor of Civil Law, DCL Legum Doctor, LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scotland, Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary.
He co-founde ...
in ''The Historians of Scotland''. The preface to this edition collects all the biographical details and gives full references to
manuscripts and editions.
References
Notes
*
*
* For further discussion of the political motivations which may have influenced the approach taken in the ''Chronica Gentis Scotorum'', see : Goldstein, J. ''The Matter of Scotland: Historical Narrative in Medieval Scotland'' University of Nebraska Press (1993); esp. Chapter 4.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Of Fordun
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
1380s deaths
People from Kincardine and Mearns
14th-century Scottish historians
Historians of Scotland
Medieval Scottish writers
14th-century Roman Catholics
14th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests