"Of Ane Blak-Moir" is a short poem in Scots 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 ...

(born 1459 or 1460). It takes the form of a hymn in praise of a beautiful lady, but is a parody of the form. The lady addressed is apparently an African woman playing a role in a tournament or

chivalric Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed b ...

pageant. It is one of the first references to someone of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

n origin living in Scotland. The "portrayal of the black woman creates a very unfavourable contrast between black female physiology and that of white ladies at court". The text of the poem is preserved in the Maitland Folio Manuscript.W. Mackay Mackenzie, ''The Poems of William Dunbar'' (Mercat Press, 1990), pp. 66-67, 211-212.

The Poem

"Of Ane Blak-Moir" is written in five short and simple stanzas. The tone is one of scurrilous comedy.The full text with notes at TEAMS
/ref> In the first two stanzas, the poet describes his subject's unfamiliar complexion and features in impolite terms. :Lang heff I maed of ladyes quhytt, :Nou of an blak I will indytt, :That landet furth of the last schippis, :Quhou fain wald I descryve perfytt, :My ladye with the mekle

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

pis. :Quhou schou is tute mowitt lyk an aep, :And lyk a gangarall onto gaep, :And quhou hir schort

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

t nois up skippis, :And quhou schou schynes lyk ony saep, :My ladye with the mekle lippis. The description is continued. A

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

ning reference to The nycht/ The Knycht desiring to be her champion is made. :Quhen schou is claid in reche apparrall, :Schou blinkis als brycht as an tar barrell :Quhen schou was born the

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

tholit clippis, :The nycht be fain faucht in hir querrell, :My ladye with the mekle lippis. The fourth stanza relates how "My ladye with the mekle lippis" is the object of other knights' attention. The man who "for her sake with spear and shield proves most mightily in the field", shall win the lady. :Quhai for hir saek with speir and scheld : Preiffis maest mychtellye in the feld, :Sall kis and withe hir go in grippis, :And fra thyne furth hir luff sall weld, :My ladye with the mekle lippis. The final stanza tells of the fate of those "who in the field receives shame". :And quhai in felde receaves schaem, :And tynis thair his knychtlie naem, :Sall cum behind and

kis Kis or KIS may refer to: Places * Kiş, Khojavend, Azerbaijan * Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan * Kish (Sumer) (Sumerian: Kiš), an ancient city in Sumer * Kis, Babol Kenar, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Kis, Bandpey-ye Gharbi, a village in ...

hir hippis, :And nevir to uther confort claem, :My ladye with the mekle lippis.

Interpretation

was a poet employed at the court of

King James IV 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 ...

from 1500 to at least 1513.''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', vol.3 (1901)
/ref> He often composed poetry which marked courtly events. The reign of James IV (1488 to 1513) coincided with the era of

Portuguese exploration Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...

which established firm contact between Europe and Africa. James licensed Scottish

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s like Andrew Barton to attack Portuguese shipping.Norman Macdougall, ''The Stewart Dynasty in Scotland, James IV'' (Tuckwell: East Linton, 1997), p. 239. This may have provided a potential route for African people to reach Scotland. The accounts of the

Treasurer of Scotland The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-Act of Union 1707, Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the Ne ...

record the employment of some Africans at James' court. These people were referred to variously as "Ethiopians", "mores", or "blak ladeis". Some of these women were employed in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

in the household of Lady Margaret, the daughter of the King and Margaret Drummond. One woman's name was recorded as "

Ellen More 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 ...

", and she was later an attendant 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 ...

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 ...

.''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), pp. 232, 324, 404, 434
Miranda Kaufmann, ''Black Tudors'' (London, 2017), pp. 17-18. The King staged elaborate

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

which included scripted spectacle as much as genuine sporting competition.Jane E. A. Dawson, "Scotland Re-formed", ''The New Edinburgh History of Scotland'', Volume 6 (Edinburgh University Press, 2007), pp. 79-81. Given the poem's tournament context where a "blak" woman is the centre of attention of the jousting knights it may be speculated that the subject of the poem was a character in one of these pageants. The poem seems to be associated with a recorded tournament called "The justing of the wyld knicht for the blak lady" held in June 1507 and again in May 1508. The part of the "Black Lady" was played by a woman of the court, perhaps Ellen More. The lavish expenditure on these events was recorded in the Lord High Treasurer's accounts. The invitation to the tournament sent to France was illuminated with gold leaf. It was issued by the

Marchmont Herald Marchmont Herald of Arms is a current Scottish herald of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon (there are six herald titles but only three heralds at any one time) The office was first mentioned in 1438, and the title is derived from the royal ...

on behalf of the 'Chevalier Sauvage à la Dame Noire', the Wild Knight to the Black Lady, and gave details of the events to be held at Edinburgh. The Black Lady's gown was made from Flanders damask figured with flowers, bordered with yellow and green taffeta, with outer sleeves of black gauze, and inner sleeves and gloves of black leather, and she wore a drape of the same black gauze about her shoulders and arms. In 1508 the costume was renewed with a green woollen skirt, and new leather sleeves and gloves. William Ogilvy and Alexander Elphinstone dressed in white damask as the "Squires of the Black Lady" and escorted her from Edinburgh Castle to the field of the tournament.

Antoine d'Arces Antoine d'Arcy, sieur de la Bastie-sur-Meylan and of Lissieu, (d. 17 September 1517) was a French nobleman involved in the government of Scotland. The White Knight Antoine d'Arces, or d'Arcy, is usually known as "De la Bastie" or "Labatie" in Sco ...

was the "White Knight". James IV himself played the part of the Wild or Savage Knight.Katie Stevenson, ''Chivalry and Knighthood in Scotland, 1424-1513'' (Boydell: Woodbridge, 2006), pp. 94-7.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Minjie Su, 'Elen More: The Moorish Lass in James IV’s Court', Medievalists.net.

Mairi Cowan, 'Moors at the Court of James IV, King of Scots', Medievalists.net.

Bess Rhodes, ''Edinburgh Castle Research: The Tournaments'' (Historic Environment Scotland, 2019).

Arkady Hodge, ''Edinburgh Castle Research: The Medieval Documents'' (Historic Environment Scotland, 2019).

'The King’s Daughter and the "Moorish Lassies"', Historic Environment Scotland blog

Paul Edwards, 'Early African Presence', ''Occasional Papers'', no. 26 (Edinburgh, 1990)

Jennifer Melville, 'Africans at the court of James IV', National Trust for Scotland

Of Ane Blak Moir: A modern English translation
Poetry by William Dunbar Scottish poems Scottish literature Medieval poetry European court festivities Court of James IV of Scotland Anti-black racism in Europe Racism in Scotland Black people in literature Black British history Middle Scots poems Misogyny Sexism in Europe Cultural depictions of slaves African presence at the Scottish royal court