John Ireland or Irland ( – 1495), also known as Johannes de Irlandia, was a Scottish theologian and diplomat.

Life

A native of Scotland (

Jean de Launoy Jean de Launoy (Joannes Launoius) (21 December 1603 – 10 March 1678) was a French historian. Known as "le dénicheur des saints", he was a critical historiographer. He was on the sceptical side over the supposed papal bull ''Sacratissimo uti cul ...

, however, states that he was Irish), Ireland was first at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

but left in 1459 without a degree and joined the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

as student and teacher. According to his own testimony he remained in France, "neare the tyme of thretty yere". Records of the Sorbonne suggest he came from a

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ 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 fourth-largest settleme ...

family, although

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

has been suggested as his birthplace. Ireland settled in Paris, and became a doctor of the Sorbonne. As Johannes de Hirlandia he served as

Rector of the University of Paris This is a list of rectors of the University of Paris (the Sorbonne), a foundation of the middle of the twelfth century with a charter from 1200. The office of rector emerged in the middle of the thirteenth century. Since the rector, initially th ...

in 1469..

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

sent Ireland to Scotland in 1480 to urge James III to declare war on England, and to reconcile

Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (7 August 1485), was a Scottish prince and the second surviving son of King James II of Scotland. He fell out with his older brother, King James III, and fled to France, where he unsuccessfully sought help. In 1 ...

with his brother the king (failing in this). King James induced him to return to live in Scotland, and gave him a benefice. Ireland then acted as his confessor, and wrote an advice book on kingship which was dedicated to his son and successor. His name appears on the rolls of the Scottish parliaments, and he is referred to by the Scottish historians

John Lesley John Lesley (or Leslie) (29 September 1527 – 31 May 1596) was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop and historian. His father was Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingussie, Badenoch. Early career He was educated at the University of Aberdeen, where he ...

and

Thomas Dempster Thomas Dempster (23 August 1579 – 6 September 1625) was a Scottish scholar and historian. Born into the aristocracy in Aberdeenshire, which comprises regions of both the Scottish highlands and the Scottish lowlands, he was sent abroad as a yo ...

.. As rector of

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

, Ireland was one of the Scottish ambassadors sent in 1484 to France to receive the oath of Charles VIII to the treaty of 1483. On 23 September 1487

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

, at the request of King James, granted a safe-conduct to the Bishop of St Andrews and John Irland, clerk.

Works

Ireland wrote a book of advice for James III, who died during its compilation, and it was presented to his successor

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 ...

. Divided into seven books, it comes from the

Mirrors for princes Mirrors for princes or mirrors of princes () constituted a literary genre of didactic political writings throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was part of the broader speculum or mirror literature genre. The Latin term ''speculum reg ...

genre. Book III is an exposition of the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

. Ireland borrowed in it from the works of

Jean Gerson Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Cou ...

, without acknowledgement; and it has also been argued that he used ''

The Tale of Melibee "The Tale of Melibee" (also called "The Tale of Melibeus") is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. This is the second tale in the collection told by Chaucer himself. After being interrupted by the host Harry Bailly and reprimand ...

'' by

Geoffrey 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 ...

as a source. The work references ''

Troilus and Criseyde ''Troilus and Criseyde'' () is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Cressida, Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy. It was written in ''rhyme ro ...

'', and includes a religious lyric of

Thomas Hoccleve Thomas Hoccleve or Occleve (1368/69–1426) was a key figure in 15th-century Middle English literature, significant for promoting Chaucer as "the father of English literature", and as a poet in his own right. His poetry, especially his longest w ...

, incorrectly attributed to Chaucer. Ireland was rector of

Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor. The plan ...

(de Foresta), when he completed this book at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The book, preserved in manuscript in the

Advocates Library The Advocates Library, founded in 1682, is the law library of the Faculty of Advocates, in Edinburgh. It served as the national deposit library of Scotland until 1925, at which time through an act of Parliament, the National Library of Scotlan ...

, Edinburgh (MS. 18, 2, 8), and labelled ''Johannis de Irlandia opera theologica'', is a treatise in Scots on the wisdom and discipline necessary to a prince. Usually called the ''Meroure of Wysdome'' it is the earliest extant example of original Scots prose. In the text, and in the title of the manuscript, it is noted that Ireland finished the work and gave it to the king in 1490. Ireland also wrote a substantial

Sentences commentary The ''Sentences'' (. ) is a compendium of Christian theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150. It was the most important religious textbook of the Middle Ages. Background The sentence genre emerged from works like Prosper of Aquitaine's ' ...

in four books; the last two books survive in manuscript, in Aberdeen University Library. In the ''Meroure'' John refers to two other vernacular writings, one of the "commandementis and uthir thingis pretenand to the salvacioune of man", the other, of the "tabill of confessioune". According to Thomas Dempster, Ireland also wrote ''Reconciliationis Modus ad Jacobum III Regem super dissidio cum Duce Albaniæ''.

Notes

References

* * Quinn, F., ed. (1965), ''The Meroure of Wysdome'', books 3-5, vol. 2, Scottish Text Society, Blackwood, Edinburgh. * McDonald, Craig, ed. (1990), ''The Meroure of Wysdome'', books 6-7, vol. 3, Scottish Text Society, AUP Attribution: * *

Life

Works

Notes

References

Further reading