Alexander Hume (1558 – 4 December 1609) was a Scottish poet who served as
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
in the early 17th century.
Life
He was born in 1558 the son of Patrick Hume (d.1599).
The brother of
Patrick Hume of Polwarth, he was educated at the
University of St. Andrews graduating in 1574 then studied Civil Law in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He returned to Scotland in 1578 serving in the Court of Justice, but (ironically) found it too corrupt for his tastes and decided instead to devote himself to the service of the church, and became minister of
Logie Kirk in
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties.
It borders Perthshir ...
in 1597. This appears to have been at least partly supported by
Alexander Home of North Berwick, Provost of
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 ...
. His
stipend
A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...
(or at least the bulk of it) appears to have been paid by his own father rather than by the church.
His
manse
A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions.
Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
stood to the west of the church in the grounds of
Airthrey Castle and dated from 1590.
He served as
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
"several times": thought to be 1602, 1604 and 1607 (possibly also 1599).
On 6 May 1608 he was attacked by a parishioner (possibly his brother in-law), James Duncanson, with a heavy staff and never recovered. Duncanson is probably the same James Duncanson mentioned in parish records of April 1595 for having "carnal deal together" with Agnes Forester of Stirling, where the church forced them to marry.
Hume grew ill in May 1609 and died on 4 December of that year.
In his will he left a considerable number of books plus several musical instruments. To his best friend John Scherar a baillie in Stirling he left a gold ring to remember his "special love". He left his "love and Christian affection" to Dame
Marie Stewart,
Countess of Mar, the poet Lady
Elizabeth Melvil, Lady Comrie, John Gillespie minister of
Alva, Ninian Drummond minister of
Dunblane
Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...
, William Stirling minister of
Port of Menteith, John Alison minister of
Kincardine, William Nairn minister of
Kippen and James Caldwell minister of
Bothkennar.
[Logie: A Parish History, Menzies Fergusson 1905: ''HMC 14th Report part 3: Hugh Hume Campbell of Marchmont'' (London, 1894), p. 92.]
His position at Logie Kirk was filled by Rev James Saittone or Seytoun of
Denny before the end of the year.
Works
He published in 1599 ''Hymnes, or Sacred Songs'', including "The Day Estival" descriptive of a summer day. Other works included the following:
* ''Thanks for the Deliverance of the Sicke''
* ''Ane Epistle to Maister
Gilbert Montcrief''
Family
His sister Janet Hume married Lord David Hume of Law.
He was married to Marion Duncanson, daughter of
John Duncanson (1501–1601) Principal of
St Leonard's College in St Andrews, and later Dean of the Chapel Royal in Stirling. They had two daughters, Dinah and Naomi, and one son Caleb Hume, and they lived together in Logie manse. The family were asked to leave the manse in June 1610 to accommodate the new minister but were compensated £60.
His great nephew was
Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont.
See also
*
Scottish literature
References
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hume, Alexander
1560s births
1609 deaths
16th-century Scottish male writers
17th-century Scottish people
16th-century Scottish poets
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Castalian Band
Linguists of English
Middle Scots poets
Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
16th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland
16th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers
17th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland
17th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers