Hercules Rollock (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1577–1599), Edinburgh schoolmaster and writer of Latin verse. He was born in Dundee, and an elder brother of Robert Rollock. He graduated at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, was regent at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univers ...

, and then spent several years abroad, chiefly in France, where he studied at Poitiers. He enjoyed the friendship of

Joseph Justus Scaliger Joseph Justus Scaliger (; 5 August 1540 – 21 January 1609) was a French Calvinist religious leader and scholar, known for expanding the notion of classical history from Greek and Ancient Roman history to include Persian, Babylonian, Jewish ...

. In 1579 he stayed in Sussex with Sir Thomas Sackville and composed a Latin country house poem, which he presented to Sackville, praising the fruitful landscape and the rooms of Buckhurst Place with their painted inscriptions. Returning to Scotland, he owed to the recommendation of Thomas Buchanan, a nephew of

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; 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 appointment in 1580 as

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) 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 four ...

and the

Carse of Gowrie The Carse of Gowrie is a stretch of low-lying country in the southern part of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It stretches for about along the north shore of the Firth of Tay between Perth and Dundee. The area offers high-quality agricultu ...

. In 1584 he became master of the High School of Edinburgh. From this post he was removed in 1595, after the murder of John MacMorran by his pupils. He subsequently held some office in connection with the courts of justice. His earliest dated epigram refers to the

comet of 1577 The Great Comet of 1577 (official designation: C/1577 V1) is a non-periodic comet that passed close to Earth during the year 1577 AD. Having an official designation beginning with "C" classes it as a non-periodic comet, and so it is not expected t ...

as a warning to

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

. In an undated ''Apologia'', written at the end of his tenth lustrum, he speaks of his wife and numerous family. He died before 5 March 1599. The Edinburgh magistrates gave an allowance to his widow Helen Barroun, a daughter of James Barroun, and their children, and a tocher or dowry of 1000 merks for their daughter Jean Rollok whenever she married a "worthy person". His poems are to be found in Arthur Johnston's ''Delitiæ Poetarum Scotorum'' (1637). He wrote verses on various topical subjects, including the

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...

, the political ascendency of

James Stewart, Earl of Arran Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran (died 1595) was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran. He rose to become Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was eventually murdered in 1 ...

, and the marriages of

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 h ...

and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and En ...

, and

John Maitland of Thirlestane John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane (1537 – 3 October 1595), of Lethington, Knight (1581), was Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Life He was the second son of Sir Richard Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire, and Lethington, Hadd ...

and

Jean Fleming Jean Fleming, Countess of Cassilis (1553/4–1609) was a Scottish noblewoman and courtier at the court of James VI of Scotland, and a survivor of domestic violence. Biography Jean Fleming was born in 1553/4, daughter of James Fleming, 4th Lor ...

. He was probably the author of verses recited by school children on 19 May 1590 during the ceremonial Entry of Anne of Denmark in Edinburgh, known only from Danish translations. A 1597 letter of his to the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Lord Menmuir has been published. It includes news of the marriage of the lawyer Thomas Hamilton to Margaret Foulis, and court news.James Dennistoun
''Moysie's Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1830), pp. xxi-xxiv
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External links

Steven Reid, 'Murder, Mayhem and the Muse in Jacobean Edinburgh: introducing Hercules Rollock (c. 1546-1599)', Bridging the Continental Divide, University of Glasgow

Poems of Hercules Rollock, with translations, Bridging the Continental Divide, University of Glasgow
* Karen Jillings
'Hercules Rollock And The Edinburgh Plague Of 1585, ''The Bottle Imp'', 15 (June, 2014)

Henry Rollock, ''De avgvstissimo Iacobi 6. Scotorum Regis, & Annæ Frederici 2.'', side by side translationBridging the Continental Divide, University of Glasgow

Henry Rollock, ''De avgvstissimo Iacobi 6. Scotorum Regis, & Annæ Frederici 2. Danorvm Regis filiæ conjugio 13. Calend. Septemb. 1589 in Dania celebratio'' (Edinburgh: Henry Charteris, 1589), Det Kongelige Bibliotek / The Royal Library, Copenhagen

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollock, Hercules 1599 deaths Poets from Dundee 16th-century Scottish people 16th-century Scottish poets Neo-Latin poets Alumni of the University of St Andrews