Dornadilla
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Scottish Renaissance humanist
George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...
gave a long list of Scottish Kings in his history of Scotland—published in Latin as ''Rerum Scoticarum Historia'' in 1582—most of whom are now considered by historians to be figures of legend, or completely misrepresented. The list went back around 1900 years from his time, and began with
Fergus I Fergus may refer to: Given name or surname *Fergus (name), including lists of people and fictional and mythological characters Places *Fergus, Ontario, Canada *River Fergus, County Clare, Ireland *Lake Fergus, South Island, New Zealand *Loch ...
.
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
, who was Buchanan's pupil, adopted the story of Fergus I as his ancestor, and the antiquity of the line was emphasised by the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...
.


Dynastic importance

The genealogy of Scottish kings, going back to Fergus mac Ferchar (i.e.
Fergus I Fergus may refer to: Given name or surname *Fergus (name), including lists of people and fictional and mythological characters Places *Fergus, Ontario, Canada *River Fergus, County Clare, Ireland *Lake Fergus, South Island, New Zealand *Loch ...
) and beyond, was in place by the middle of the 13th century when it was recited at the 1249 inauguration of
Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. ...
. In 1301 Baldred Bisset was involved in a hearing at the
Papal Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes us ...
, on the Scottish side of the debate on
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
's claims, and at least helped prepare material dealing with the mythological history that was being adduced as relevant, on both sides. The question of the antiquity of the Scottish royal lineage, and even the details of the associated
origin myth An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place a ...
, became particularly significant from 1542 when
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
came to the Scottish throne. Buchanan alluded to Mary's long ancestry in his ''Epithalamium'' written for her 1559 marriage to
Francis II of France Francis II (; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also List of Scottish consorts, King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in ...
. In the period before Mary's betrothal, a marriage to Prince Edward, the future
Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
, was much discussed. As part of that debate, the
list of legendary kings of Britain The following list of legendary kings of Britain () derives predominantly from Geoffrey of Monmouth's circa 1136 work ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' ("the History of the Kings of Britain"). Geoffrey constructed a largely fictional history for the ...
became involved, in the form of the "Brutus myth", promoted by
Edward Hall Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his #Chronicle, ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was ...
over the doubts of
Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: Polidoro Virgili, commonly Latinised as Polydorus Vergilius; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent much of ...
. Publicists on the English side of the argument, including John Elder, James Henrisoun, and William Lamb, had cast doubt on Scottish history. When James VI entered Edinburgh in 1579 the pageantry included a public posting of the genealogy of the Scottish kings; and when his son Charles I visited in 1633, portraits of 107 kings were displayed, some of which (by
George Jamesone George Jamesone (or Jameson) (c. 1587 – 1644) was a Scottish painter who is regarded as Scotland's first eminent portrait-painter. Early years He was born in Aberdeen, where his father, Andrew Jamesone, was a stonemason. His mother was Marj ...
) survive. Another series of 110 imagined portraits of the monarchs from the list was painted for Charles II by
Jacob de Wet II Jacob Jacobsz de Wet II (1641, Haarlem – 1697, Amsterdam), also known as James de Witt, was a Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch Golden Age painter known for a series of 110 portraits of Scottish monarchs, many of them Legendary kings of Scotl ...
, and hung in
Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...
. The de Wet portrait collection later became a noted sight for tourists, for example as written about by John Macky, ''A Journey through Scotland''.


Historiography of Buchanan's list

While ''Rerum Scoticarum Historia'' was published only in the year of Buchanan's death, he had worked on it during much of his life. It was published with his ''De jure regni apud Scotos'', first printed in 1579. Of the two works, the ''Historia'' for Buchanan served as a source of precedents on dealing with bad kings (tyrants in the list inevitably come to a sorry end at the hands of the people, in line with Buchanan's monarchomach position), while the ''De jure'' is cast as a humanist dialogue between Buchanan himself and Thomas Maitland, and concentrates on classical exemplars. Both works were dedicated to James VI. King James came to regard the chronicles of Buchanan and
John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...
as "infamous invectives". The king-list of the ''Historia'' was, therefore, in that work, only incidental to Buchanan's purpose in the book, whatever later uses it may have been put to. After the later scholarly work of Thomas Innes, this list was given little credence in its initial parts. It was, however, the culmination of centuries of development of king-lists for the
Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...
. Much fictional material had been introduced into these lists by the humanist
Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Ancient university governance in Scotland, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, ...
, writing half a century before Buchanan. Peter Hume Brown in his biography of Buchanan describes him as somewhat more sceptical than Boece in what he accepted as historical; but less so than
John Mair John Mair may refer to: *John Mair (philosopher) (1467–1550, also called John Major), Scottish philosopher and historian *John Mair (journalist), British journalist and academic *John Mair (architect) (1876–1959), New Zealand government archite ...
, writing earlier. Buchanan has been called inconsistent in his treatment of classical sources since his rejection of the legend of Gathelus does not extend to the early Scottish kings, who are equally unsupported by classical authors. Writers who perpetuated the Boece tradition, as put into form by Buchanan, included: * Alexander Gardyne, ''Theatre of the Scotish Kings'', published 1709 by
James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biology, molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper in ''Nature (journal), Nature'' proposing the Nucleic acid ...
* David Hume of Godscroft * Gilbert Gray *
James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ...
* James Wallace, '' The History of the Kingdom of Scotland from Fergus the First King to the Union'' (1724) * John Johnston, ''Inscriptiones Historicæ Regum Scotorum, continuata annorum serie a Fergusio I. ad Jacobum VI.'' (1602) The antiquity of the line was attacked by William Lloyd, who argued that Scotland was not settled before the 6th century; George Mackenzie published the 1685 ''Defence of the Antiquity of the Royal Line of Scotland'' against Lloyd, and a sequel the next year against
Edward Stillingfleet Edward Stillingfleet (17 April 1635 – 27 March 1699) was an English Christian theologian and scholar. Considered an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism, Stillingfleet was known as "the beauty of ho ...
, who had given a sceptical account of Boece's history in Chapter V of his ''Origines Britannicae''. The work of Innes, which in effect terminated the scholarly debate, was published in 1729, but the tradition continued. *Francis Nichols, ''The British Compendium'' (1741) * James Anderson, ''Royal Genealogies'' (1732). This book was based on a work of
Johann Hübner Johann Hübner (17 March 1668 – 21 May 1731) was a German geographer and scholar, who taught by the question and answer method. Life Johann Hübner attended school in Zittau before studying theology, poetry, rhetoric, geography and history at t ...
, but with Anderson's additions. The king-list is Table 499, attributed to Boece and Buchanan. * William Guthrie. Subsequently, John Pinkerton and
William Forbes Skene William Forbes Skene Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA(Scot) Doctor of Civil Law, DCL Legum Doctor, LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scotland, Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary. He co-found ...
contributed to the study of the king-lists. Reference works continued, however, to copy Buchanan's list, and the mythological history took many years to drop out of circulation, persisting in print as factual well into the 19th century (for example the fourth edition of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
'' (1810), the '' Encyclopædia Perthensis'' (1816), the '' London Encyclopedia'' (1829), and the individual kings in reference books by George Crabb and John Platts).


Legendary content

See
list of Scottish monarchs The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, Kenneth I MacAlpin () was the founder and first King of the Kingdom of Scotland (although he never held the title historically, being King of the ...
for the view of contemporary historians of Scotland. The first historical figure in Buchanan's list is
Caratacus Caratacus was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who resisted the Roman conquest of Britain. Before the Roman invasion, Caratacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe's territory. His apparent success led ...
. The rediscovery of the works of
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
prompted Boece to include this well-attested figure from the period of the Roman occupation of Britain. The last legendary figure is more complex to discuss. The kings in the list from about the 6th century (in the ''Fifth Book'' of Buchanan) onwards may have some relationship to historical figures in the Kingdom of Dalriada, extending in present-day terms from western Scotland to part of Ireland. See list of Kings of Dál Riata. But the Kingdom of Scotland (i.e.
Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...
) was not a historical reality until
Kenneth MacAlpin Kenneth MacAlpin (; ; 810 – 13 February 858) or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), and King of the Picts (848–858), of likely Gaelic origin. According to the traditional account, he inherited the throne of Dál Riada from his fa ...
created it in the year 843, and what was said about his predecessors in the list by Buchanan may have little historical foundation. The list of Kings of the Picts includes other historical figures reigning in parallel with the Dalriada kings, in other areas of what is now Scotland. The critical ''Essay'' (1729) of Innes, while demolishing the king-list going back to Boece, substituted in part kings of the Picts, and is now regarded as questionable in its own way. Innes was a Jacobite and concerned therefore to lay emphasis on legitimacy of descent and
primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
.


Legendary kings (Buchanan), BC


Legendary kings (Buchanan), Caratacus to Eugenius I


Buchanan's ''Fifth Book'', Fergus II to Kenneth II


''Sixth Book'', later kings

*(73) Grig/Gregory the Great: see
Giric Giric mac Dúngail ( Modern Gaelic: ''Griogair mac Dhunghail''; fl. c. 878–889), in modern English his name is Gregory or Greg MacDougal and nicknamed Mac Rath ("Son of Fortune"), was a king of the Picts or the king of Alba. The Irish ann ...


Notes


External links


1831 English translation of BuchananBoece, ''Scotorum Historia'' (1575 edition)Holinshed, ''A History of Scotland''Link to another translation of BuchananMetrical version of Boece
by William Stewart, edited by
William Barclay Turnbull William Barclay David Donald Turnbull (1811–1863) was a Scottish antiquary and archivist. Life Born in Edinburgh, Turnbull studied law, and was admitted as an advocate at the Scottish bar 1832, but devoted much time to the study of the anti ...
(1858) ;Attribution {{DNB, wstitle=Fergus I *Scotland Kings