Mess John is the old epithet in

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

poetry for a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, derived from the celebration of the

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

, so that "Mess John" signified in irreverent phrase, John who celebrated the mass. The

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 ide ...

have a kindred phrase, "Jack Priest". :"The auld folk soon gied their consent, ::Syne for Mess John they quickly sent, :Wha ty'd them to their heart's content, :And now she's Lady Gowrie" : (''The Lass o' Gowrie'' by

Carolina Nairne Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne (16 August 1766 – 26 October 1845) – also known as Carolina Baroness Nairn in the peerage of Scotland and Baroness Keith in that of the United Kingdom – was a Scottish songwriter. Many of her s ...

) "Mess John" is the title of a poem by

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

''The Poems of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd''
.

References

* MacKay, Charles – ''A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch'' (1888) * Scottish folklore History of Christianity in Scotland Scottish literature {{Scotland-stub