D ouglas's 1513 translation of The Aeneid is regarded as the first translation of Virgil into any English dialect. Caxton's translation was made not from the original Latin text, but from a French baroque romance printed at Lyons in 1483. Than the nyght oule resemblis the popingay. D espite having completed the translation in 1513, Douglas never saw his work published. The first edition of the work was not printed until 1553 in London.
Scholars regard it as the greatest monument to old Scottish poetry.
Douglas translated the text almost exactly in heroic couplets, though according to scholar Paul Distler, the translation can hardly be understood by a Scot without the help of a glossary. All Rights Reserved. Last edited on Monday, October 9, 2000.