Alexander Scott (poet)
Alexander Scott (around 1520; † around 1584) was a Scottish poet. He is counted among the Makars , the Scottish poets who were particularly active in the Renaissance.
He was probably one of the two sons of the clergyman (prebendary) legitimized in 1549 at the Royal Chapel in Stirling, Alexander Scott. In a sonnet by Alexander Montgomerie from 1584 he is described as old and still alive. He probably died soon after. His profession is not known, but he mostly lived in or near Edinburgh. He was married, but his wife left him for another man.
Information about him is mainly based on the contents of his poems, which are preserved in the Bannatyne manuscript of 1568. The 36 mostly shorter poems (the longest has around 200 lines) date from around 1545 to 1568. They are mostly love poems in Middle Scottish. He also wrote versions of the 1st and 50th Psalms.
His poems include: Ane Ballat maid to the Derisioun and Scorne of Wantoun Wemen, Ane New Yeir Gift to the Queen Mary (1562, the poem sheds light on the poor living conditions of the people at the time), To luve unluvit, Ladeis be war, Lo, quhat it is to run. His The Justing at the drum is a satire on equestrian competitions.
A full edition of his poems is by David Laing (Edinburgh 1821 as part of the edition of the Bannatyne Manuscript) and in the edition of the Bannatyne manuscript of the Hunterian Club in Glasgow (1874-1881). In 1895 there was an edition by James Cranstoun for the Scottish Text Society in Edinburgh.
literature
- Theo von Heijnsbergen, Scott, Alexander (approx. 1520–1582 / 83), Dictionary of National Biography 2004
- James Cranstoun, Dictionary of National Biography , Online
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Scott, Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish poet |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1520 |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1584 |