Walter Goodall (1706? – 1766) was a Scottish historical writer, born in

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

, and educated at King's College,

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. Later he became assistant librarian to 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 Scotland ...

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 ...

. In 1754 Goodall published an ''Examination of the Letters said to have been written by Mary Queen of Scots'' on Casket letters. Printing the letters, he contested their authenticity. He also edited

John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th ...

's ''

Scotichronicon The ''Scotichronicon'' is a 15th-century chronicle by the Scottish historian Walter Bower. It is a continuation of historian-priest John of Fordun's earlier work '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' beginning with the founding of Ireland and thereby ...

'' (1759).

Life

He was the eldest son of John Goodall, a farmer in Banffshire. He was educated at King's College, Old Aberdeen, which he entered in 1723, but left without taking a degree. In 1730 he obtained employment in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, and in 1735 became sub-librarian. Goodall died in poverty 28 July 1766.

Works

Walter Goodall aided the principal librarian

Thomas Ruddiman Thomas Ruddiman (October 167419 January 1757) was a Scotland, Scottish classical scholar. Life Ruddiman was born on a farm near Boyndie, three miles from Banff in Banffshire, where his father was a farmer. He was educated locally and then stud ...

in the compilation of the catalogue of the Advocates' Library, printed in 1742. In 1753 Goodall edited a new issue of the garbled ''Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland'', originally published by David Crawford. His interest in the partisan ''Memoirs'' was connected with the favourable representation they contained of the career of Queen Mary. He planned to write her life, and published in 1754, in two volumes, an ''Examination of the Letters said to be written by Mary Queen of Scots to James, Earl of Bothwell''. This work presaged the apologist period of the literature relating to the queen. In 1754 also, Goodall published an edition, with emendations, of Scot of Scotstarvet's ''Staggering State of Scots Statesmen'', and an edition of James Balfour, Lord Pittendreich's ''Practicks'', with preface and life. He assisted Robert Keith in the preparation of his ''New Catalogue of Scottish Bishops'', for which he supplied the preliminary account of the Culdees. He denied that the

Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p. 698. The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" aro ...

of the early writers was Ireland (not Scotland), and that those first termed

Scoti ''Scoti'' or ''Scotti'' is a Latin name for the Gaels,Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 first attested in the late 3rd century. It originally referred to all Gaels, first those in Ireland and then those ...

were really emigrants from Ireland; he affirmed that Ireland's other ancient name Ierne belonged also to Scotland. The ''glacialis Ierne'', which, according to

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (Greek: Κλαυδιανός; ), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almo ...

, wept for her slain Scots, was in his opinion the valley of

Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (), also the Earn Valley, is the strath of the River Earn, which flows from Loch Earn to meet the River Tay in the east of Scotland. The area covers the stretch of the river, containing a number of settlements in ...

, the seat of an ancient Celtic earldom. Goodall published in 1759 an edition of Fordun's ''Scotichronicon'', with a Latin introduction on the antiquities of Scotland, and a dissertation on the marriage of Robert III. An English translation of the introduction appeared separately in 1769.

Bibliography

Goodall, Walter, ''An Examination of the Letters, Said to be Written by Mary, Queen of Scots, to James, Earl of Bothwell: An examination of the letters. An enquiry into the murder of King Henry'', vol. 1, Edinburgh (1754)

Goodall, Walter, ''An Examination of the Letters, Said to be Written by Mary, Queen of Scots, to James, Earl of Bothwell: An examination of the letters. An enquiry into the murder of King Henry'', vol. 2, Edinburgh (1754)
prints the casket letters in French, Latin, English.
''Examination of the Letters said to be written by Mary Queen of Scots to James, earl of Bothwell, also an enquiry into the Murder of King Henry'' (1754)
login required.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodall, Walter 1700s births 1766 deaths People from Banffshire Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish librarians Scottish literary critics Scottish book editors 18th-century Scottish publishers (people)