The Thrissil and the Rois is a Scots poem composed by

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 ...

to mark the wedding, in August 1503, of

King James IV of Scotland 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 ...

to Princess Margaret Tudor of England. The poem takes the form of a

dream vision A dream vision or ''visio'' is a literary device in which a dream or vision is recounted as having revealed knowledge or a truth that is not available to the dreamer or visionary in a normal waking state. While dreams occur frequently throughout ...

in which Margaret is represented by a

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

and James is represented variously by a lion, an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

and a

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

.W. Mackay Mackenzie, ''The Poems of William Dunbar''. The Mercat Press, 1990, pp. 107-112 The episodes of the poem present in allegory King James' view of himself and of his kingdom. Princess Margaret receives lavish praise for her beauty, virtue and high birth.The full text with notes at TEAMS
/ref> The text of the poem is found only 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 ...

. It is also known as The Thistle and the Rose.

Historical Context

The marriage of James IV,

King of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

, and Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) 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. Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...

had been agreed in the

Treaty of Perpetual Peace The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England in 1502. It agreed to end the intermittent warfare between Scotland and England which had been waged over the previous two hundred years, and, although it ...

of 1502.Jane E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-formed'', The New Edinburgh History of Scotland, Volume 6. Edinburgh University Press, 2007, pp.58,59. This treaty was intended to effect a reconciliation between the kingdoms of Scotland and England which had been at war intermittently since 1296. The treaty would not be successful in establishing peace.Norman Macdougall, The Stewart Dynasty in Scotland, James IV. Tuckwell press, 1997, pp. 247-281 Ten years after the marriage of James and Margaret Scotland and England aligned themselves with opposing alliances in the

War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...

. The subsequent campaign ended with James' death in the Scots' defeat at

Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

.Jane E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-formed'', The New Edinburgh History of Scotland, Volume 6. Edinburgh University Press, 2007, pp.82-84. The author,

, was a prolific

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

who had been employed at the Scots royal court since at least 1500.''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', vol.3 (1901), see index, p.470
/ref> His work often recorded state events. The thistle had first appeared in Scottish iconography on the coins of King James III. His son and successor James IV continued its use as a symbol of the Scottish monarchy. A rose, coloured red and white, had been adopted as a dynastic symbol by Henry VII who had seized the throne of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1485. It represented a union of the Lancastrian and

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

factions of the

Plantagenet dynasty The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in ...

which had fought a series of civil wars for the control of the English throne before being succeeded by Henry. A red rose was a badge of the Lancastrians; A white rose was a badge of the Yorkists.

The Poem

The Thrissil and the Rois is composed in

rhyme royal Rhyme royal (or rime royal) is a rhyming stanza form that was introduced to English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. The form enjoyed significant success in the fifteenth century and into the sixteenth century. It has had a more subdued but continuing ...

stanzas and makes free use of aureate vocabulary inspired by

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 ...

and French. The narrative is presented in the common medieval device of a

The Introduction

Dunbar begins with a description of Spring. :Quhen Merche wes with variand windis past, :And Appryll had with hir silver schouris :Tane leif at Nature with ane orient blast, :And lusty May, that muddir is of flouris, :Had maid the birdis to begyn thair houris, :Amang the tendir odouris reid and quhyt, :Quhois armony to heir it wes delyt, The sleeping poet has a dream in which he is visited by the personification of May. :Me thocht fresche May befoir my bed upstude :In weid depaynt of mony divers hew, :Sobir, benyng, and full of mansuetude, :In brycht atteir of flouris forgit new, :Hevinly of color, quhyt, reid, broun, and blew, :Balmit in dew and gilt with Phebus bemys :Quhill all the hous illumynit of hir lemys. She demands that he rises and compose a poem in her honour. :"Slugird," scho said, "Awalk annone, for schame, :And in my honour sumthing thow go wryt, The poet complains that he can't meet her request. He claims to have had no inspiration recently. :Quhairto quod I, Sall I uprys at morrow, :For in this May few birdis herd I sing? :Thai haif moir caus to weip and plane thair sorrow, :Thy air it is nocht holsum nor benyng, Patiently, May reminds him that he had previously promised her to write a poem about 'the most pleasant rose'. :With that this lady sobirly did smyll :And said, Uprys and do thy observance, :Thow did promyt in Mayis lusty quhyle :For to discryve the ros of most plesance. May then departs into a beautiful garden and, dressed hurriedly, the poet follows her. :Quhen this wes said depairtit scho, this quene, :And enterit in a lusty gairding gent. :And than, me thocht, sa listely besene, :In serk and mantill, full haistely I went, :Into this

garth Garth may refer to: Places * Garth, Alberta, Canada * Garth, Bridgend, a village in south Wales :* Garth railway station (Bridgend) * Garth, Ceredigion, small village in Wales * Garth, Powys, a village in mid Wales :* Garth railway station (Powy ...

, most dulce and redolent, :Of herb and flour and tendir plantis sueit, :And grene levis doing of dew doun fleit.

Dame Nature

In the garden Dame Nature is holding court attended by other mythological characters. :The birdis did with oppin vocis cry, :O luvaris fo, away thow dully nycht, :And welcum day that confortis every wicht. :Haill May, haill

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

, haill

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

schene, :Haill princes Natur, haill

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

luvis quene. Dame Nature sends messengers to assemble all the animals, birds and plants of the world. :Scho ordand eik that every bird and beist, :Befoir hir hienes suld annone compeir, :And every flour of vertew, most and leist, :And every herb be feild, fer and neir, The assembly gathers quickly. :All present wer in twynkling of ane e, :Baith beist and bird and flour, befoir the quene.

The Lion

Dame Nature calls the Lion forward. He is described as resembling the

Lion Rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Chr ...

standard of the Scots Kings. :Reid of his cullour as is the ruby glance, :On feild of gold he stude full mychtely, :With flour delycis sirculit lustely. Dame Nature crowns the lion as King of the animals and instructs him to exercise justice wisely. :This lady liftit up his cluvis cleir, :And leit him listly lene upone hir kne, :And crownit him with dyademe full deir, :Of radyous stonis most ryall for to se, :Saying, The king of beistis mak I thee, :And the chief protector in the woddis and schawis. :Onto thi leigis go furth, and keip the lawis. :Exerce justice with mercy and conscience, :And lat no small beist suffir skaith na skornis :Of greit beistis that bene of moir piscence. The lion seems to symbolise the duty of the King of Scots to bring justice to his subjects both humble and powerful. The animals acclaim their new King. :All kynd of beistis into thair degré :At onis cryit lawd, Vive le roy! :And till his feit fell with humilité, :And all thay maid him homege and fewté,

The Eagle

Dame Nature then crowns the Eagle as King of the birds and sharpens his feathers 'like steel darts'. He is commanded to let 'no ravening bird cause trouble'. :Syne crownit scho the Egle, king of fowlis, :And as steill dertis scherpit scho his pennis, :And bawd him be als just to awppis and

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

is :As unto pacokkis, papingais, or crennis, :And mak a law for wycht fowlis and for wrennis, :And lat no fowll of ravyne do efferay, :Nor devoir birdis bot his awin pray. The Eagle appears to symbolise the King's determination to keep the peace within Scotland and, perhaps, to keep the peace with England.

The Thistle

Dame Nature then inspects the plants and judges the spiked thistle to be 'able for war'. The thistle is crowned King of the plants with a 'radiant crown of rubys'. :Upone the awfull Thrissill scho beheld :And saw him kepit with a busche of speiris. :Concedring him so able for the weiris, :A radius croun of rubeis scho him gaif. The thistle is commanded to 'go into the field and defend the others.' :And said, In feild go furth and fend the laif. The thistle seems to represent the King's determination to defend his Kingdom. Dame Nature then advises the Thistle to show discretion when judging other plants. :And sen thow art a king, thow be discreit, :Herb without vertew hald nocht of sic pryce :As herb of vertew and of odor sueit, :And lat no nettill vyle and full of vyce :Hir fallow to the gudly flour delyce, :Nor latt no wyld weid full of churlichenes :Compair hir till the lilleis nobilnes, This passage appears to be a diplomatically-worded appeal to the King to abandon his mistresses after his marriage. Nature recommends the red-and-white rose to him above all other flowers. :Nor hald non udir flour in sic denty :As the fresche Ros of cullour reid and quhyt, :For gife thow dois, hurt is thyne honesty, :Conciddering that no flour is so perfyt, :So full of vertew, plesans, and delyt, :So full of blisfull angelik bewty, :Imperiall birth, honour, and dignité. The rose clearly represents Margaret of England.

The Rose

Dame Nature then addresses the rose and, after praising her lavishly, asks her to approach and be crowned. :Than to the Ros scho turnyt hir visage :And said, O lusty dochtir most benyng, :Aboif the lilly illustare of lynnage, :Fro the stok ryell rysing fresche and ying, :But ony spot or macull doing spring, :Cum, blowme of joy, with jemis to be cround, :For our the laif thy bewty is renownd. :A coistly croun with clarefeid stonis brycht, :This cumly quene did on hir heid inclois, The new Queen is acclaimed. :Quhairfoir me thocht all flouris did rejos, :Crying attonis, Haill be thow richest Ros, :Haill hairbis empryce, haill freschest quene of flouris! :To thee be glory and honour at all houris! The birds join the acclamation of the new Queen who is compared to a pearl. The name 'Margaret' is derived from the Latin term for a pearl, 'margarita'. :The commoun voce uprais of birdis small :Apone this wys, O blissit be the hour, :That thow wes chosin to be our principall, :Welcome to be our princes of honour, :Our perle, our plesans, and our paramour, :Our peax, our play, our plane felicité: :Chryst thee conserf frome all adversité! The birds' song merges with the dawn chorus which then wakes Dunbar. He looks around for the garden he saw in his dream but finds it gone. While 'half-frightened', he starts to write the poem. :Than all the birdis song with sic a schout, :That I annone awoilk quhair that I lay, :And with a braid I turnyt me about, :To se this court, bot all wer went away. :Than up I lenyt, halflingis in affrey, :And thus I wret, as ye haif hard to forrow, :Of lusty May upone the nynt morrow. It is the ninth of May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrissil and the Rois, The Scottish poems Poetry by William Dunbar Scottish literature Medieval poetry 1503 works 16th-century poems 1500s in Scotland James IV of Scotland Poetry of the Bannatyne Manuscript