Walter Kennedy (ca. 1455 – c.1508), younger brother of John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy of

Dunure Dunure (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Iùbhair'', meaning Yew Hill) is a small village in the South Ayrshire area of Scotland about from Ayr, Scotland. It is located on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, and is near to Maybole, south of Ayr. The vill ...

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

. He was parson of Douglas who acquired Glentig in 1504 from John Wallace, and married Christian Hynd. Kennedy was born into the Scottish

, a principal aristocratic family in

, South Ayrshire. This was part of the

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

Gàidhealtachd The (; English: ''Gaeldom'') usually refers to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and especially the Scottish Gaelic-speaking culture of the area. The similar Irish language word refers, however, solely to Irish-speaking areas. The term ...

, a strong Gaelic-speaking area of the Scottish Lowlands. He was almost certain to have been a native speaker of the language. Educated at the

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 , ...

, he graduated in 1476, then obtained an MA in 1478. As great-grandson of Robert III and nephew of James Kennedy, bishop of St Andrews, Kennedy would have been very well-connected in the royal court. He possessed estates in both Carrick and

and is known to have held ecclesiastical posts such as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

and

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbisho ...

although records show that his right to hold at least one of his posts was contested by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

in Rome.

Poems of Walter Kennedy

Walter was a Scottish

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 cen ...

associated with the renaissance court of

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 ...

, perhaps best known as the defendant against

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 ...

in ''

The Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedie ''The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie'' is the earliest surviving example of the Scottish version of the flyting genre in poetry. The genre takes the form of a contest, or "war of words", between two poets, each trying to outclass the other in vi ...

'', but his surviving works clearly show him to have been an accomplished "master" in many genres. It is likely that a significant body of poetry by him has been lost. His most impressive surviving poem is '' The Passioun''. Although Kennedy's surviving works are written in

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 ...

he may also have composed in Gaelic. In the ''Flyting'', for instance, Dunbar makes big play of Kennedy's Carrick roots (albeit in the rankly insulting terms that are part of the genre) and strongly associates him with ''Erschry'', which meant in other words the bardic tradition. By this time, the term ''

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

'' in Scotland signified Gaelic generally: :Sic eloquence as thay in Erschry use, :In sic is sett thy thraward appetyte. :Thow hes full littill feill of fair indyte. :I tak on me, ane pair of Lowthiane hippis :Sall fairar Inglis mak and mair perfyte :Than thow can blabbar with thy Carrik lippis. :''Such eloquence as they in Irishry aeldomuse'' :''Is what defines your perverse taste.'' :''You have very small aptitude for good verse-making.'' :''I'll wager, a pair of Lothian hips'' :''Shall fairer English owland Scotsmake and more polished'' :''Than thou can blabber with thy Carrick lips.'' Kennedy also appears at the end of Dunbar's ''

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 ...

'' (c.1505) where he is described as being close to death (''in poynt of dede'') though there is no evidence that he died at this date.

Works

Only six works by Walter Kennedy are extant, including his contribution to the ''Flyting'', but taken together these amount to a not insignificant 2443 lines of verse. Kennedy's longest poem is ''The Passioun of Crist'', a courtly and successful depiction of the story of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

from the nativity to the ascension and a significant yet neglected work altogether different in form, register and subject from the ''Flyting'', his second longest work. There are four other works, all much shorter but still highly various in genre: *''An aigit man, twys yeiris'' *''At Matyne hour, in myddis of the nycht'' *''Ane Ballat of Our Lady'' *''Leif luve, my luve, na langar it lyk'' Walter Kennedy was an acclaimed poet in his lifetime. Both

Gavin Douglas Gavin Douglas (c. 1474 – September 1522) was a Scottish bishop, makar and translator. Although he had an important political career, he is chiefly remembered for his poetry. His main pioneering achievement was the '' Eneados'', a full and fa ...

and Sir

David Lyndsay Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount (c. 1490 – c. 1555; ''alias'' Lindsay) was a Scottish herald who gained the highest heraldic office of Lyon King of Arms. He remains a well regarded poet whose works reflect the spirit of the Renaissance, speci ...

paid tribute to him as a fellow makar in their works.

Influence

The twentieth-century poet William Neill, interested in Kennedy's South Ayrshire roots and his possible role as a Gaelic speaker in the Scottish court, has incorporated tributes to the makar into his own writing. One example is the Gaelic poem '' Chuma Bhaltair Cinneide'' (''In Memory of Walter Kennedy'') The translation is by the poet. which opens:

Notes

References

* Attribution: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Walter 1450s births 1510s deaths Scots Makars Alumni of the University of Glasgow Court of James IV of Scotland 16th-century Scottish writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century Scottish poets Middle Scots poets Scottish Catholic poets Scottish Renaissance writers