Robert Sempill (the elder) (c. 1530–1595), in all probability a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

of illegitimate birth of the noble house of Sempill or Semple, was a Scottish

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 ...

-writer and satirist. Very little is known of Sempill's life. He was probably a soldier, and must have held some office at the Scottish court, as his name appears in the

Lord Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State i ...

's books in February 1567 – 1568, and his writings show him to have had an intimate knowledge of court affairs. As a Protestant, he was a bitter opponent of Queen Mary and of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, authoring ballads supporting action against Queen Mary. Sempill was present at the siege of Leith (1559-1560) and at the siege of

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. ...

, serving with the army of James Douglas, Earl of Morton. He was in

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in 1572, but fled the country after the massacre of St Bartholomew. Three of his poems appear in the

Bannatyne Manuscript The Bannatyne Manuscript is an anthology of literature compiled in Scotland in the sixteenth century. It is an important source for the Scots poetry of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The manuscript contains texts of the poems of the gr ...

. His chief works are: *''The Ballat maid vpoun Margret Fleming callit the Flemyng bark'' *''The defence of Crissell Sande-landis'' *''The Claith Merchant or Ballat of Jonet Reid'', ''ane Violet'' and ''Ane Quhyt'', all three in the Bannatyne manuscript They are characterized by extreme coarseness, and are probably among his earlier works. His chief political poems are: *''The Regentis Tragedie'', a broadside of 1570 *''The Sege of the Castel of Edinburgh'' (1573), interesting from an historical point of view *''Ane Complaint vpon fortoun ...'' (1581) *''The Legend of the Bischop of St Androis Lyfe callit Mr Patrik Adamsone'' (1583) Some of his poems and ballads were intended to advance the cause of the King's side during the

Marian civil war The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against ...

. He was a mid-ranking Kings Party supporter, prominently known despite being outside of party leadership. He assuredly authored twelve poems out of a collection of twenty-five broadsides arguing against Queen Mary as a part of the Kings Party's political campaign, which collectively are known as the "Sempill ballads". Anonymous printed ballads such as ''The tressoun of Dumbertane'', Robert Lekprevik, Edinburgh (1570), have been attributed to Sempill. The ''Tressoun'' describes

Lord Fleming Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

's failed ambush of the English commander

William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamsh ...

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle ( gd, Dùn Breatainn, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dum ...

.''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 3, (1903), 177: ''The tressoun of Dumbarton, 15 May,'' Robert Lekprevik, Edinburgh, 1570
Cranstoun, James, ed., ''Satirical Poems of the Reformation'', vol. 1 (1892)
170-173, & notes vol. 2 (1893), 113-7 Se
''Chronicle of Scottish Poetry''
(ed. James Sibbald, Edinburgh, 1802); and ''Essays on the Poets of Renfrewshire'' by

William Motherwell William Motherwell (13 October 1797, Glasgow – 1 November 1835, Glasgow) was a Scottish poet, antiquary and journalist. Life Motherwell was born at Glasgow, the son of Willan and Jane Motherwell. His father was an ironmonger. He was sen ...

, in ''The Harp of Renfrewshire'' (Paisley, 1819; reprinted 1872). Modern editions of Sempill are: ''Sege of the Castel of Edinburgh'', a facsimile reprint with introduction by David Constable (1813); ''The Sempill Ballates'' (T. G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1872) containing all the poems
''Satirical poems of the Reformation'' (ed. James Cranstoun, Scottish Text Soc., 2 vols, 1889-1893)
with a memoir of Sempill and a bibliography of his poems.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sempill, Robert 1530s births 1595 deaths Scottish songwriters Scottish soldiers Scottish satirists 16th-century Scottish writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century Scottish poets Middle Scots poets