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George Buchanan

For other uses, seeGeorge Buchanan (disambiguation).

George Buchanan(Scottish Gaelic:Seòras Bochanan;February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian andhumanistscholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." His ideology of resistance to royal usurpation gained widespread acceptance during theScottish Reformation.Brown says the ease with which KingJames VIIwas deposed in 1689 shows the power of Buchananite ideas.[1]

George Buchanan
George Buchanan byA Bronckorst,1581 (National Gallery of Scotland).
BornFebruary 1506
Killearn,Stirlingshire, Scotland
Died28 September 1582 (aged 76)
Edinburgh,Scotland
NationalityScottish
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews(B.A.)
University of Paris(M.A.)
Occupation(s)historian, scholar
Statue of George Buchanan, Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The 31-metre-high (101 ft 8 in) Buchanan Monument inKillearncommemorates his nearby birthplace.

His treatiseDe Jure Regni apud Scotos,published in 1579, discussed the doctrine that the source of all political power is the people, and that the king is bound by those conditions under which the supreme power was first committed to his hands, and that it is lawful to resist, even to punish,tyrants. The importance of Buchanan's writings is shown by the suppression of his work byJames VIand the British legislatures in the century following their publication. It was condemned byact of parliamentin 1584, and burned by theUniversity of Oxfordin 1664 and 1683.[2]

Early life

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Early upbringing and education in Paris

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His father, a Highlander[3]and a younger son of the old Buchanan family of Drumakill, owned the farm of Moss, in the parish ofKillearn,Stirlingshire, but he died young, leaving his widow, five sons, and three daughters in poverty.[4]George's mother, Agnes Heriot, was of the family of the Heriots of Trabroun,East Lothian,of whichGeorge Heriot,founder ofHeriot's Hospital,was also a member. Buchanan, a native speaker ofScottish Gaelic,is said to have attended Killearn school, but not much is known of his early education. His brother, Patrick Buchanan, was also a scholar.[5]

In 1520, he was sent by his uncle, James Heriot, to theUniversity of Paris,where he first came in contact with the two great influences of the age,the Renaissanceand the Reformation. There, according to him, he devoted himself to the writing of verses "partly by liking, partly by compulsion (that being then the one task prescribed to youth)".[6]

Return to Scotland

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In 1522 his uncle died, and George Buchanan, who was at that time severely ill,[7]was unable to stay inParisand returned to Scotland. After recovering from his illness, he joined the French auxiliaries who had been brought over to Scotland byJohn Stewart, Duke of Albany,and took part in an unsuccessful siege ofWark Castleon the border with England in late 1523.[8]In the following year he entered theUniversity of St Andrews,where he graduated B.A. in 1525. He had gone there mainly to attend the lectures ofJohn Maironlogic;and when Mair moved to Paris, Buchanan followed him in 1526.[6]

Professor and Procurator

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In 1528 Buchanan graduated M.A. atScots College,University of Paris.The next year he was appointedregent,or professor, in theCollege of Sainte-Barbe,and taught there for over three years. Sainte-Barbe was one of the most prestigious and advanced colleges at that time.[9]George added to that prestige by creating new reforms in teaching Latin.[10]In 1529 he was elected "Procurator of the GermanNation"in the University of Paris, and was re-elected four times in four successive months. He resigned his regentship in 1531, and in 1532 became tutor toGilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis,with whom he returned to Scotland early in 1537[6]having acquired a great reputation for learning.

Theological stance

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At this period Buchanan assumed the same attitude toward theRoman Catholic ChurchasErasmus:he did not repudiate its doctrines, but considered himself free to criticise its practice. Though he listened to the arguments of theProtestant Reformers,he did not join their ranks until 1553. His first literary production in Scotland, when he was in Lord Cassilis's household in the west country, was the poemSomnium,asatiricalattack on theFranciscan friarsand themonastic lifegenerally. This assault on the monks was not displeasing toJames V,who engaged Buchanan as tutor to one of his natural sons,James Stewart(not the son who was afterwards regent),[11]and encouraged him in a more daring effort. The poemsPalinodiaandFranciscanus et Fratresremained unpublished for many years, but made the author hated by the Franciscan order.[12]

Humanist in exile

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Arrest, escape and relocation

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In 1539 there was persecution in Scotland of theLutherans,and Buchanan among others was arrested. Although the King had withheld his protection, Buchanan managed to escape and made his way to London, and then Paris. In Paris, however, he found himself in danger when his main enemy, CardinalDavid Beaton,arrived there as ambassador, and on the invitation ofAndré de Gouveia,he moved toBordeaux.Gouveia was then principal of the newly foundedCollege of Guienne,and by his influence Buchanan was appointed professor ofLatin.During his time there several of his major works, the translations ofMedeaandAlcestis,and the two dramas,Jephthes, sive VotumandBaptistes (sive Calumnia),were completed.[2]

Buchanan, original engraving byJacobus Houbraken

Michel de Montaignewas Buchanan's pupil at Bordeaux[13]and acted in histragedies.In the essayOf Presumptionhe classes Buchanan with Jean d'Aurat,Theodore Beza,Michel de l'Hôpital,Pierre deMontdoré andAdrianus Turnebus,as one of the foremost Latin poets of his time.[14]Here also Buchanan formed a lasting friendship withJulius Caesar Scaliger;in later life he won the admiration ofJoseph Scaliger,who wrote anepigramon Buchanan which contains thecouplet,famous in its day: "Imperii fuerat Romani Scotia limes; Romani eloquii Scotia limes erit?"[2]Austin Seal and Steve Philp translate this as: 'Just as Scotland was at the apex of the Roman Empire, so Scotland shall be at the apex of Roman eloquence'. (Not only is Buchanan's Latin scholarship extolled, a congratulatory reference to Scotland retaining Scottish law – quintessentially an improved version of Roman law – as the foundation of its legal system is also implied.)

Return to Paris

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In 1542 or 1543 he returned to Paris, and in 1544 he was appointed regent in the Collège du cardinal Lemoine. Among his colleagues wereMuretusand Turnebus.[2]Although little is known about George during this time, we can gather that he probably once again fell ill according to an elegy[15]he wrote to his comrades Tastaeus and Tevius.[16]

Coimbra

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In 1547 Buchanan joined the band of French andPortuguesehumanists who had been invited by Gouveia to lecture in the PortugueseUniversity of Coimbra.The French mathematicianElie Vinet,and the Portuguese historian,Jerónimo Osório,were among his colleagues; Gouveia, called by Montaignele plus grand principal de France,was rector of the university, which had reached the summit of its prosperity under the patronage ofKing John III.But the rectorship had been coveted byDiogo de Gouveia,uncle of André and formerly head of Sainte-Barbe. It is probable that before André's death at the end of 1547 Diogo had urged theInquisitionto investigate him and his staff; up to 1906, when the records of the trial were first published in full, Buchanan's biographers generally attributed the attack to the influence of Cardinal Beaton, theFranciscans,or theJesuits,and the whole history of Buchanan's residence in Portugal was extremely obscure.[2]

Trial and imprisonment

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George Buchanan, painter unknown[17]

A commission of inquiry was appointed in October 1549 and reported in June 1550. Buchanan and two Portuguese,Diogo de Teiveand João da Costa (who had succeeded to the rectorship), were committed for trial. Teive and Costa were found guilty of various offences against public order, and the evidence shows that there was ample reason for a judicial inquiry. Buchanan was accused of Lutheran andJudaisticpractices. He defended himself, admitting that some of the charges were true. About June 1551 he was sentenced toabjurehis errors, and to be imprisoned in the monastery ofSão Bentoin Lisbon. Here he listened to edifying discourses from the monks, whom he found "not unkind but ignorant". In his leisure he began to translate thePsalmsinto Latin verse, completing the greater part of the work.[2]

Release

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After seven months, Buchanan was released on condition that he remain in Lisbon; and on 28 February 1552 this restriction was lifted. Buchanan then sailed for England, but soon made his way to Paris, where in 1553 he was appointed regent in the College of Boncourt. He remained in that post for two years, and then accepted the office of tutor to the son of theMaréchal de Brissac.It was almost certainly during this last stay in France, whereProtestantismwas being repressed under King Henry II and his son Francis II, that Buchanan took the side ofCalvinism.[2]

Return to Scotland

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Detail on the Buchanan memorial in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh

Espousal of Calvinism

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George Buchanan returned to Scotland in 1560 or 1561.[2]According to the English diplomatThomas Randolph,in April 1562Mary, Queen of ScotsreadLivywith him daily. She gave him a pension of £250Scotsyearly, and an income from the lands ofCrossraguel Abbey.[18]Buchanan wrotemasquesfor performance ather wedding to Lord Darnley,known as thePompae.[19]Buchanan, throughout his support for Renaissance humanism and his strident criticism the vices of them, had always remained a member of theCatholic Church in Scotland,but he now openly joined the ProtestantReformed Church.Even though he had recently received from the Queen the gift of the revenues ofCrossraguel Abbey,he sat in theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotlandfrom 1563[2]and in 1566 was appointed principal ofSt Leonard's College,St Andrews,by the Prince Regent,Earl of Moray.Though alayman,he was madeModerator of the General Assemblyof theChurch of Scotlandin 1567.[2]He was the lastlay personto be elected Moderator[2]untilAlison Elliotin 2004, the first female Moderator.

Tutor and other offices

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Buchanan accompanied the Regent Moray to England, and his famousDetectio Mariæ Reginæ—a scathing exposure of the Queen's relations toDarnleyand the circumstances leading up to his death, published London: John Day, [1571]—was produced to the commissioners atWestminster.[2]

In 1570, after the assassination of Moray, he was appointed one of thepreceptorsof the young king, and it was through his stricttuitionthatJames VIacquired his scholarship.[2]As the young king's senior tutor, Buchanan subjected James to regular beatings but also instilled in him a lifelong passion for literature and learning.[20]Buchanan sought to turn James into a God-fearing, Protestant king who accepted the limitations of monarchy, as outlined in histreatiseDe Jure Regni apud Scotos.[21]

While royal tutor he also held other offices: he was for a short timedirector of chancery,and then becameKeeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland,a post which entitled him to a seat in theparliament.He appears to have continued in this office for some years, at least until 1579.[2]John Geddiewas his clerk and servant in this role, and copied some of Buchanan's manuscripts.[22]

Final years

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His last years were occupied with completion and publication of two of his major works,De Jure Regni apud Scotos(1579) andRerum Scoticarum Historia(1582).[2]

He died in his first floor flat on Kennedy's Close (destroyed to build theTron Kirkin 1637 which was in turn curtailed by the building of modern Hunter Square) inEdinburghon Friday 28 September 1582 and was buried inGreyfriars Kirkyardon the following day. The grave was originally marked by athrough-stonebut this had sunk into the ground by 1701.[23]Currently, two memorials in Greyfriars each claim to mark his burial: one just north-west of the church and a second, more modest memorial near the eastmost path. The smaller (later) one is correct.[citation needed]

Works

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Latin scholar

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According to theEncyclopædia BritannicaEleventh Edition,"For mastery of theLatinlanguage, Buchanan has seldom been surpassed by any modern writer. His style is not rigidly modelled on that of any classical author, but has a freshness and elasticity of its own. He wrote Latin as if it were hismother tongue."[2]Hugh Trevor-Roper called him "by universal consent, the greatest Latin writer, whether in prose or in verse, in sixteenth century Europe".[24]Buchanan also had a rich vein of poetical feeling, and much originality of thought. His translations of thePsalmsand of the Greek plays are more than mere versions; his two tragedies,BaptistesandJephthes,enjoyed a European reputation for academic excellence. HisPompaeverses were written for performance at the court entertainments of Mary, including theOffering of the Rustic Godssung during a masque devised byBastian Pagezfor the baptism ofKing James.[25]

Prose works

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In addition to these works, Buchanan wrote in proseChamaeleon,a satire inScotsagainstMaitland of Lethington,first printed in 1711; a Latin translation ofLinacre'sGrammar(Paris, 1533);Libellus de Prosodia(Edinburgh, 1640); andVita ab ipso scripta biennio ante mortem(1608), edited byR. Sibbald(1702). His other poems areFratres Fraterrimi,Elegiae,Silvae,two sets of verses entitledHendecasyllabon LiberandIambon Liber;three books ofEpigrammata;a book of miscellaneousverse;De Sphaera(in five books), suggested by the poemDe sphaera mundiofJoannes de Sacrobosco,and intended as a defence of thePtolemaictheory against the newCopernicanview.[2]

There are two early editions of Buchanan's works:Thomas Ruddiman's[26]andPieter Burman's.[27]

Late works

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The first of his important late works was the treatiseDe Jure Regni apud Scotos,published in 1579. In this famous work, composed in the form of adialogue,and evidently intended to instil sound political principles into the mind of his pupil, Buchanan lays down the doctrine that the source of all political power is the people, that the king is bound by those conditions under which the supreme power was first committed to his hands, and that it is lawful to resist, even to punish,tyrants.The importance of the work is proved by the persistent efforts of the legislature to suppress it during the century following its publication. It was condemned byact of parliamentin 1584, and again in 1664; and in 1683 it was burned by theUniversity of Oxford.[2]

The second of his larger works is theHistory of Scotland,Rerum Scoticarum Historia,completed shortly before his death, and published in 1582. It is remarkable for the power and richness of its style, and of great value for the period personally known to the author, which occupies the greater portion of the book. The earlier part is based, to a considerable extent, on the legendary history ofBoece.Buchanan's purpose was to "purge" the national history"of sum Inglis lyis and Scottis vanite"(Letter to Randolph). He said that it would "content few and displease many";[2]in fact, its matter gave so much offence that a proclamation was issued calling in all copies of it, as well as of theDe Jure Regni,that they might be purged of the "offensive and extraordinary matters" which they contained.

Lasting legacy

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Buchanan holds his great and unique place in literature not so much for his own writings as for his strong and lasting influence on subsequent writers. His influence was notable by 1726 whenAndrew Millar,a prominent 18th-century bookseller, took over James McEuen's bookshop in London at the sign of 'Buchanan's Head,Temple Bar'. The sign for the shop depicted the face of George Buchanan, a testament to Buchanan's early place and reputation in Scottish letters.[28]The island ofMainland, Orkneyis sometimes referred to asPomona(orPomonia) from an attempted translation by Buchanan, though that name has rarely been used locally.[29][30]

Modern publications and influence

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Polygon Bookshave published the poetRobert Crawford's selection of Buchanan's verse inApollos of the North: Selected Poems of George Buchanan andArthur Johnston(ISBN1-904598-81-1) in 2006, the 500th anniversary of Buchanan's birth.

In the lead-up to the anniversary Professor Roger Mason of theUniversity of St Andrewshas publishedA Dialogue on the Law of Kingship among the Scots, a critical edition and translation of George Buchanan's 'De Iure Regni apud Scotos Dialogus(ISBN1-85928-408-6).

George Buchanan's statue on theScott Monument

Memorials

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A statue of Buchanan stands on the west-facing side of theScott MonumentonPrinces Street,Edinburgh. It was sculpted byJohn Rhind.[31]

A memorial stained glass window stands in the south wall ofGreyfriars Kirk.

A bust of Buchanan is in the Hall of Heroes of theNational Wallace MonumentinStirling.

A monument was erected by public subscription in 1789 in the place of his birth,Killearn,Stirlingshire. It is attributed to the architectJames Craig.[32]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^Keith M Brown, "Reformation to Union, 1560–1707," in R.A. Houston and W. W. J. Knox, eds.,The New Penguin History of Scotland(2001) pp 182–275, quote at p 185
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrsChisholm 1911,p. 715.
  3. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 4.
  4. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 5.
  5. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 6.
  6. ^abcChisholm 1911,p. 714.
  7. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 24.
  8. ^"Buchanan, George (1506–1582)".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  9. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 41.
  10. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 47.
  11. ^Roger A. Mason, 'George Buchanan and Mary, Queen of Scots',Scottish Church History,30:1 (2000), p. 7.
  12. ^Chisholm 1911,pp. 714–715.
  13. ^Montaigne, Michel (2009). Emmanuel Naya (ed.).Essais I.Delphine Reguig-Naya, Alexandre Tarrête (Folio ed.). Gallimard. p. 642.ISBN978-2-07-042381-1.
  14. ^Montaigne, Michel (2009). Emmanuel Naya (ed.).Essais II.Delphine Reguig-Naya, Alexandre Tarrête (Folio ed.). Gallimard. p. 480.ISBN978-2-07-042382-8.
  15. ^Macmillan, D. (1906).George Buchanan, A Biography.London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 89.
  16. ^Irving, David(1807).Memoirs of the Life and Writings of George Buchanan.London: Bell and Bradfute and A. Lawrie, and Longman, Hurst, and Rees, and Orme. p. 61.
  17. ^Annan, Thomas (1868).Illustrated catalogue of the exhibition of portraits on loan in the new galleries of art, Corporation buildings, Sauchiehall Street.Glasgow: Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum. p. 105.Retrieved4 December2017.
  18. ^Roger A. Mason, "George Buchanan and Mary Queen of Scots",Innes Review,30:1 (June 2000), p. 13.
  19. ^Joseph Robertson,Inventaires de la Royne Descosse(Edinburgh, 1863), p. lxxxiv.
  20. ^Croft, Pauline (2003). King James. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p.12–13.
  21. ^Croft, Pauline (2003). King James. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.13, 18.
  22. ^Sebastiaan Verweij,The Literary Culture of Early Modern Scotland(Oxford, 2017), p. 95.
  23. ^Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, 1871
  24. ^Trevor-Roper 2014,p. 33.
  25. ^Shire, Helena Mennie,Song Dance and Poetry at the Court of James VI,CUP (1969), 56: Buchanan, George,Omnia Opera,vol.2 (1725), pp.399–405
  26. ^Ruddiman, Thomas(1715),Georgii Buchanani Scoti, Poetarum sui seculi facile principis, Opera Omnia,Edinburgh: Freebairn.(in Latin)
  27. ^Ruddiman (1725).
  28. ^"The manuscripts, Letter from Andrew Millar to Robert Woodrow, July 15, 1725. See footnote no. 1".millar-project.ed.ac.uk.Retrieved1 June2016.
  29. ^Buchanan, George (1582)Rerum Scoticarum Historia: The First BookThe University of California, Irvine. Revised 8 March 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  30. ^"Pomona or Mainland?"Orkneyjar. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  31. ^"The Character Statues".Archived fromthe originalon 10 July 2014.Retrieved17 January2015.
  32. ^"Craig, James (October 31, 1739 - June 23, 1795): Geographicus Rare Antique Maps".geographicus.Retrieved17 December2024.

Bibliography

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Attribution: This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Buchanan, George".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp.714–716.

Political offices
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1571–1583 		Succeeded by
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