Some Reulis and Cautelis to be observit and eschewit in Scottis poesie
Last updated James VI, c.1586
Ane Schort Treatise conteining some Reulis and Cautelis to be observit and eschewit in Scottis poesie (1584) is the full title of a work of non-fiction prose in Scots, also called The Essayes of a Prentise in the Divine Art of Poesie, written by the 19-year-old James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England) and first published in Edinburgh. Its original purpose was to describe and propose the ideal standard for poets writing in the Scottish tradition, a tradition which includes James' direct ancestor, James I (1394-1437).[1]
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster in Ireland. It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language which was historically restricted to most of the Highlands, the Hebrides and Galloway after the 16th century. The Scots language developed during the Middle English period as a distinct entity.
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian, it is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore.
Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes works in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin, Norn or other languages written within the modern boundaries of Scotland.
James VI, as a young poet-king, was both the head and patron of the Castalian Band, a fairly loose circle of court poets which he both established and composed with as peers in the 1580s and early 1590s. It is certain that the treatise was intended to set the aesthetic standard for the writing he wished to advocate. The Castalian poets included Alexander Montgomerie, William Fowler, William Alexander, John Stewart and Alexander Hume and others variously. James' patronage as Scottish king also attracted poets from Northern England, such as Thomas Hudson.
The Castalian Band is a modern name given to a grouping of Scottish Jacobean poets, or makars, which is said to have flourished between the 1580s and early 1590s in the court of James VI and consciously modelled on the French example of the Pléiade. Its name is derived from the classical term Castalian Spring, a symbol for poetic inspiration. The name has often been claimed as that which the King used to refer to the group, as in lines from one of his own poems, an epitaph on his friend Alexander Montgomerie:
Alexander Montgomerie, Scottish Jacobean courtier and poet, or makar, born in Ayrshire. He was one of the principal members of the Castalian Band, a circle of poets in the court of James VI in the 1580s which included the king himself. Montgomerie was for a time in favour as one of the king's "favourites". He was a Catholic in a largely Protestant court and his involvement in political controversy led to his expulsion as an outlaw in the mid-1590s.
William Fowler was a Scottish poet or makar, writer, courtier, and translator, active from 1581 to 1612.
Like most of James' writing, Reulis and Cautelis (Rules and Cautions) was written in his first language, Middle Scots. Because of its subject, it was one of the few manuscripts by the King that was not anglicised by his London publisher Thomas Waldegrave for publication in England.[2]
Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early Northumbrian Middle English. Subsequently, the orthography of Middle Scots differed from that of the emerging Early Modern English standard. Middle Scots was fairly uniform throughout its many texts, albeit with some variation due to the use of Romance forms in translations from Latin or French, turns of phrases and grammar in recensions of southern texts influenced by southern forms, misunderstandings and mistakes made by foreign printers.
↑ N Rhodes, J Richards, J Marshall (eds). King James VI and I: selected writings. Asgate, Aldershot. 2003. p.2
Cairns Craig, general editor (1988). The History of Scottish Literature, Volume I, Origins to 1660. Aberdeen University Press. ISBN0-08-037725-4
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This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1584.
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Scottish literature in the eighteenth century is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers in the eighteenth century. It includes literature written in English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots, in forms including poetry, drama and novels. After the Union in 1707 Scottish literature developed a distinct national identity. Allan Ramsay led a "vernacular revival", the trend for pastoral poetry and developed the Habbie stanza. He was part of a community of poets working in Scots and English who included William Hamilton of Gilbertfield, Robert Crawford, Alexander Ross, William Hamilton of Bangour, Alison Rutherford Cockburn, and James Thompson. The eighteenth century was also a period of innovation in Gaelic vernacular poetry. Major figures included Rob Donn Mackay, Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir, Uillean Ross and Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, who helped inspire a new form of nature poetry. James Macpherson was the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation, claiming to have found poetry written by Ossian. Robert Burns is widely regarded as the national poet.
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