The vault of the Scott's of Thirlestane, Greyfriars Kirkyard

Sir William Scott, 2nd Baronet of Thirlestane (c.1670 – 8 October 1725) was a Scottish lawyer, known as a

neo-Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy ...

poet.

Life

He was the eldest son of Francis Scott, 1st

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Thirlestane Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Wate ...

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

, and Lady Henrietta, daughter of

William Kerr, 3rd Earl of Lothian William Kerr, first Earl of Lothian of a new creation (1605–1675) was a Scottish nobleman. Career Kerr signed the national covenant in 1638 and marched with the Scots into England in 1640, being present when the English were routed at t ...

, who married in 1673. Francis built a large tenement in

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 1679 at Elphinstone Court near the Scottish mint. William trained as a lawyer in Edinburgh and was admitted a member of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

on 25 February 1702. On 20 May 1719 Scott executed a deed of

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

of his lands of

. Thirlestane in Selkirkshire should not be confused with Thirlestane in Roxburghshire, which is associated with the Kerrs, and later the Scott-Kerrs of Chatto and Sunlaws. Such confusion has led to the assumption that the Kerrs of Chatto are buried in Greyfriars. This is not the case. The Kerrs and Scott-Kerrs of Chatto and Sunlaws are buried at Sunlaws and Roxburgh, and possibly Hownam. He died on 8 October 1725. He is buried in the sealed south-west section of

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

commonly called the Covenanter's Prison.

Works

Scott contributed to

Archibald Pitcairne Archibald Pitcairne or Pitcairn (25 December 165220 October 1713) was a Scotland, Scottish physician. He was a physician and poet who first studied law at Edinburgh and Paris graduating with an M.A. from Edinburgh in 1671. He turned hi ...

's ''Selecta Poemata'' (1726) some lyrics and macaronic verse; in the preface to the volume his literary merits are extolled by contemporaries. A family tradition attributed to him the

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 ...

, ''The Blythsome Wedding'', which was also claimed for Francis Sempill, by James Paterson (1849). Allan MacLaine considers neither attribution of this anonymous work to have merit.

Family

In 1699, Scott married Elizabeth, only surviving child of

Margaret Brisbane, 5th Lady Napier Margaret Brisbane, 5th Lady Napier (died 1706) was a Scottish peer. Family Margaret Brisbane ( née Napier) was a member of the Napier family of Merchiston, Scotland, and was the great-granddaughter of John Napier, the inventor of logarithms. ...

, and her husband, John Brisbane, son of an Edinburgh writer. After her death he married Jean, daughter of Sir John Nisbet of

Dirleton Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains . Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, and widow of Sir William Scott of Harden. Francis Scott, son of the first marriage, became the sixth

Lord Napier Lord Napier, of Merchistoun, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1627 for Sir Archibald Napier, 1st Baronet. Earlier that year, he already held the Napier Baronetcy, of Merchistoun in the County of Midlothian, created in ...

on the death of his grandmother, who was predeceased by his mother.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, William 1670s births 1725 deaths Scottish lawyers Scottish poets New Latin-language poets Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard