Robert Henryson (

Middle Scots Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually ...

: Robert Henrysoun) was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots ''

makar A makar () is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet. Since the 19th century, the term ''The Makars'' has been specifically used to refer to a number of poets of fifteenth and sixteenth ce ...

s'', he lived in the

royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Acco ...

and is a distinctive voice in the

Northern Renaissance The Northern Renaissance was the Renaissance that occurred in Europe north of the Alps. From the last years of the 15th century, its Renaissance spread around Europe. Called the Northern Renaissance because it occurred north of the Italian Renais ...

at a time when the culture was on a cusp between

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and renaissance sensibilities. Little is known of his life, but evidence suggests that he was a teacher who had training in law and the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...

, that he had a connection with

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reforma ...

and that he may also have been associated for a period with

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. His poetry was composed in

at a time when this was the

state language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

. His writing consists mainly of narrative works. His surviving body of work amounts to almost 5000 lines. Robert Henryson, as portrayed in the Abbot House, Dunfermline

Robert Henryson, as portrayed in the Abbot House, Dunfermline

Works

Henryson's surviving canon consists of three

long poem The long poem is a literary genre including all poetry of considerable length. Though the definition of a long poem is vague and broad and unnecessary, the genre includes some of the most important poetry ever written. With more than 220,000 (1 ...

s and around twelve miscellaneous short works in various genres. The longest poem is his '' Morall Fabillis,'' a tight, intricately structured set of thirteen fable stories in a cycle that runs just short of 3000 lines. Two other long works survive, both a little over 600 lines each. One is ''

The Tale of Orpheus and Erudices his Quene ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

,'' his dynamic and inventive version of the

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

story. The other is his ''

Testament of Cresseid ''The Testament of Cresseid'' is a narrative poem of 616 lines in Middle Scots, written by the 15th-century Scottish makar Robert Henryson. It is his best known poem. It imagines a tragic fate for Cressida in the medieval story of ''Troilus ...

'', a tale of moral and psychological subtlety in a tragic mode founded upon the literary

conceit An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact bet ...

of "completing" Criseyde's story-arc from

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's Troilus and Criseyde. Emily Wingfield has explored its significance in relation to the deployment of the Trojan Legend in political discourse between England and Scotland. The range of Henryson's shorter works includes ''

Robene and Makyne "Robene and Makyne" is a short poem by the 15th-century Scottish makar Robert Henryson. It is an early example of Scottish '' pastourelle'' written in a form of ballad stanza and is almost unique of its kind. Very simple in structure and plot, ...

,'' a

pastourelle The pastourelle (; also ''pastorelle'', ''pastorella'', or ''pastorita'' is a typically Old French lyric form concerning the romance of a shepherdess. In most of the early pastourelles, the poet knight meets a shepherdess who bests him in a bat ...

on a theme of love, as well as a bawdy passage of comic

flyting Flyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse. Etymology The word ''flyting'' comes from the Old English verb meaning 'to quarrel', made into a noun with the suffix -''ing''. ...

which targets the medical practises of his day, a highly crafted and compressed poem of

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

devotion, some allegorical works, some philosophical meditations, and a prayer against the pest. As with his longer works, his outward themes often carry important

subtext Subtext is any content of a creative work, which is not announced explicitly (by characters or author), but is implicit, or becomes something understood by the audience. Subtext has been used historically to imply controversial subjects without ...

s. Constructing a sure chronology for Henryson's writings is not possible, but his Orpheus story may have been written earlier in his career, during his time in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, since one of its principal sources was contained in the university library. Internal evidence has been used to suggest that the ''Morall Fabillis'' were composed during the 1480s.

Biographical inferences

Interior of the Famous Library at Louvain destroyed during World War I

There is no record of when or where Henryson was born or educated. The earliest found unconfirmed reference to him occurs on 10 September 1462, when a man of his name with license to teach is on record as having taken a post in the recently founded

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. If this was the poet, as is usually assumed, then the citation indicates that he had completed studies in both

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

and

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

. Almost all early references to Henryson firmly associate his name with Dunfermline. He probably had some attachment to the city's

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey, the burial place for many of the kingdom's

monarchs A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...

and an important centre for

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

close to a major ferry-crossing ''en route'' to

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

. Direct unconfirmed evidence for this connection occurs in 1478 when his name appears as a witness on abbey charters. If this was the poet, then it would establish that one of his functions was as notary for the abbey, an institution which possessed and managed a vast portfolio of territory across Scotland. The almost universal references to Henryson as schoolmaster are usually taken to mean that he taught in and had some duty to run the

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

for Dunfermline's abbatial burgh. A partial picture of what this meant in practice may be derived from a ''confirmatio'' of 1468 which granted provision to build a "suitable" house for the habitation of 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 partic ...

" (as master of grammar) and "scholars" in Dunfermline, including "poor scholars being taught free of charge". Dunfermline, as a

with capital status, was routinely visited by the court with

residences A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

directly linked to the abbey complex. There is no record of Henryson as a court poet, but the close proximity makes acquaintance with the royal household likely. He was active during the reigns of James III and

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 Sauch ...

, both of whom had strong interests in literature. According to the poet

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 i ...

, Henryson died in Dunfermline. An

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

story by the English poet

Francis Kynaston Sir Francis Kynaston or Kinaston (1587–1642) was an English lawyer, courtier, poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622. He is noted for his translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Troilus and Criseyde'' into Latin vers ...

in the early 17th century refers to the

flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ...

as the cause of death, but this has not been established. The year of death also is unknown, although c.1498-9, a time of

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in the burgh, has been tentatively suggested. However, Dunbar gives the

terminus ad quem ''Terminus post quem'' ("limit after which", sometimes abbreviated to TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ("limit before which", abbreviated to TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest da ...

in a couplet (usually considered to have been composed c.1505) which simply states that Death ''in Dunfermelyne :''...hes done roune'' (has whispered in private) :''with Maister Robert Henrysoun''. (William Dunbar, ''

Lament for the Makaris "I that in Heill wes and Gladnes", also known as "The Lament for the Makaris", is a poem in the form of a danse macabre by the Scottish poet William Dunbar. Every fourth line repeats the Latin refrain '' timor mortis conturbat me'' (fear of deat ...

'', lines 81–2) Almost nothing else is known of Henryson outside of his surviving writing. It is not known if he originated from Dunfermline and a suggestion that he may have been linked to the

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

branch of the

Clan Henderson The Clan Henderson (''Clann Eanruig'') is a Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). ...

is not possible to verify, although his name is certainly of that ilk.

General style

Henryson generally wrote in a first-person voice using a familiar tone that quickly brings the reader into his confidence and gives a notable impression of authentic

personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, ...

and

beliefs A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...

. The writing stays rooted in daily life and continues to feel grounded even when the themes are

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

or elements are fantastic. His language is a supple, flowing and concise Scots that clearly shows he knew

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

, while scenes are usually given a deftly evocative Scottish setting which can only have come from close connection and observation. This detailed, intimate and realistic approach, at times, strongly suggests matters of personal experience and attitudes to actual contemporary events, yet the specifics remain elusive in ways that tantalise readers and critics. Some of this sense of intrigue may be in part accidental, but it is also heightened by his cannily controlled application of a philosophy of fiction, a frequently self-proclaimed feature of the work. No concrete details of his life can be directly inferred from his works, but there are some passages of

self-reflection Self-reflection is the ability to witness and evaluate our own cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes. In psychology, other terms used for this self-observation include 'reflective awareness', and 'reflective consciousness', which orig ...

that appear to contain autobiographical implications, particularly in the opening stanzas of his ''Testament of Cresseid''.

Henryson's Scots

Henryson wrote using the

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonl ...

of the 15th century. This was in an age when the use of

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

languages for literature in many parts of Europe was increasingly taking the place of

, the long-established lingua franca across the continent.

Extant poems

All known and extant writings attributed to Robert Henryson are listed here. In addition, the scholar Matthew P McDiarmid identified from an index a lost poem by Henryson which began: ''On fut by Forth as I couth found'' (not listed below).McDiarmid, M.P. 1981: ''Robert Henryson,'' Scottish Academic Press, p.4

Long works

* ''

The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian ''The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian'' is a work of Northern Renaissance literature composed in Middle Scots by the fifteenth century Scottish makar, Robert Henryson. It is a cycle of thirteen connected narrative poems based on fables fr ...

'' ''(See below for list of individual fables in the cycle)'' * ''

'' * ''

The Testament of Cresseid ''The Testament of Cresseid'' is a narrative poem of 616 lines in Middle Scots, written by the 15th-century Scottish makar Robert Henryson. It is his best known poem. It imagines a tragic fate for Cressida in the medieval story of ''Troilu ...

Short works

* ''

'' * '' Sum Practysis of Medecyne'' * '' The Annuciation'' * '' Ane Prayer for the Pest'' * '' The Garment of Gud Ladeis'' * '' The Bludy Serk'' * '' The Thre Deid-Pollis'' * '' Against Hasty Credence'' * '' The Abbay Walk'' * '' The Praise of Age'' * '' The Ressoning Betwix Aige and Yowth'' * '' The Ressoning Betwix Deth and Man''

Individual fables

Seven of the stories in Henryson's cycle are Aesopian fables derived from elegiac Romulus texts, while the other six (given in italics) are

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, a ...

ian in genre. The three titles given with bold numbers provide evidence for the integral unity of the overall structure. * 01 The Cock and the Jasp * 02 The Twa Mice * 03 '' The Cock and the Fox'' * 04 '' The Confession of the Tod'' * 05 '' The Trial of the Tod'' * 06 The Sheep and the Dog * 07

The Lion and the Mouse The Lion and the Mouse is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 150 in the Perry Index. There are also Eastern variants of the story, all of which demonstrate mutual dependence regardless of size or status. In the Renaissance the fable was provided w ...

* 08 The Preaching of the Swallow * 09 '' The Fox the Wolf and the Cadger'' * 10 '' The Fox the Wolf and the Husbandman'' * 11 '' The Wolf and the Wether'' * 12

The Wolf and the Lamb The Wolf and the Lamb is a well-known fable of Aesop and is numbered 155 in the Perry Index. There are several variant stories of tyrannical injustice in which a victim is falsely accused and killed despite a reasonable defence. The fable and i ...

* 13 The Paddock and the Mouse

Bibliography

* Gray, Douglas (1979), ''Robert Henryson'', E.J. Brill, * Barron, W.R.J. (ed.) (1981), ''Robert Henryson: Selected Poems'', Carcanet New Press * McDiarmid, Matthew P. (1981), ''Robert Henryson'', Scottish Academic Press, * Fox, Denton (ed.) (1981), ''The Poems of Robert Henryson'', Clarendon Press, * David Murison (ed.) (1989), ''Selected Poems by Robert Henryson'', The Saltire Society, * Fleming, Morna (ed.) (2003), ''The Flouer o Makarheid'', The Robert Henryson Society, Dunfermline * Wingfield, Emily (2014), ''The Trojan Legend in Medieval Scottish Literature'', D.S. Brewer,

Notes and references

External links

Dunfermline's Carnegie Public Lending Library
has a special Henryson collection which can be consulted by appointment.
Britain in Print
has an online audio recording of Henryson's ''The Testament of Cresseid'' read by Colin Donati and Dr Morna Fleming among its resources.
Robert Henryson Society homepage
digital edition at the National Library of Scotland contains the following works by Henryson: **The Praise of Age **Orpheus and Eurydice **The Want of Wise Men ;More information can also be found at:
Robert L. Kindrick, 'The Morall Fabillis: Introduction"Writers' Museum
in Edinburgh commemorates Robert Henryson in its

Makars' Court Makars' Court is a courtyard in central Edinburgh, Scotland. It forms part of Lady Stair's Close, which connects the Lawnmarket with The Mound to the north, and is next to the Writers' Museum. Described as an "evolving national literary monumen ...

in Lady Stair's Close. Selections for Makars' Court are made by The Writers' Museum,

The Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland. Founded in 1936, the society was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s ...

and

The Scottish Poetry Library The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library specialising in Scottish poetry. Since 1999, the library has been based at 5 Crichton's Close, just off the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town. History and status The library was founded in 19 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Henryson, Robert Scottish Renaissance writers Middle Scots poets Scots Makars 1420s births 1500s deaths Fabulists Lallans poets Scottish educators

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

People associated with Fife People associated with the University of Glasgow People from Dunfermline Alumni of the University of St Andrews 15th-century Scottish poets 15th-century Scottish writers