DOUGLAS, Gavin, bishop of Dunkcld, was the third son of Archibald earl of Angus, and of Elizabeth the daughter of Robert Lord Boyd, who for some time filled the office of high chamberlain. He appears to have been born in 1474, or the ensuing year. With the place of his birth or education we are not acquainted, but we may suppose his course of study to have been suitable to his profession. Having entered into holy orders, he was collated to the rectory of Hawick;^[1. Alexandri Myln Vitae. Episcoporum Dunkeldensium, p. 72. Edinb. 1823, 4to. ] and as the dormant energies of the human mind are awakened by external objects, his early residence amid the fine pastoral scenery of Teviot-dale may have had a strong tendency to cherish in his imagination the seeds of genuine poetry. In the year 1509, we find him described as provost of the collegiate church of Sti Giles in Edinburgh.^[2. Keith’s Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops, p. 93. ] This preferment was in the gift of the crown: it placed him in a situation of no small dignity and emolument, and he appears to have held it with his other benefice. It was while he occupied these less elevated stations that he composed the very ingenious works which have rendered his name so conspicuous in the literary annals of his country.; 1 -n

His father, who is sometimes denominated the great earl of Angus, and sometimes Eell-the-cat, followed the standard of James the Fourth when he invaded England; but finding his prudent counsels disregarded, he excused himself on account of his advanced age, and withdrew from the army. His two eldest sons, George and William, together with about two hundred gentlemen of the name of Douglas, perished in the fatal battle of Floddon-field. This calamity to the nation in general, and to his own family in particular, made so deep an impression on his heart, that having retired to St Mains, a religious house in Galloway, he died there within thespace of twelve months.^[3. -Hume’s History of the Houses of Douglas and Angus, p. 235. Edinb. 1644, fol. ] His title and estates descended to his grandson Archibald, a young nobleman whose personal attractions were so unrivalled that he speedily obtained the tender regard of the widowed queen, and their nuptials were solemnized before she had completed the year of mourning. This precipitate match, which had been concluded without the concurrence of the principal nobility, excited general indignation: the queen was no longer willingly acknowledged as regent; the pre-eminence of her husband rendered him odious in the eyes of the more powerful subjects; and the house of Douglas was involved in persecutions which this resentful spirit of jealousy excited. .
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Among those who perished at Floddon were the archbishop of St Andrews, the bishop of the Isles, the abbot of Kilwinning, the abbot of Inchaffray, and other warlike sons of the church. The archbishop of St Andrews, Alexander Stewart, who was the king’s natural son, and a young man of very promising talents, had likewise held the abbacies of Aberbrothock and Dunfermline, together with the priory of Coldingham. In a letter addressed to Pope Leo the Tenth, the queen, after extolling Gavin Douglas as second to none in learning and virtue, earnestly requested that he might be secured in the possession of the abbacy of Aberbrothock, till his singular merit should be rewarded by some more ample preferment.^[4. Epistolae Regum Scotorum, vol. i. p. 183. E<1inb. 1722-4, 2 tojn∙ 8vo. ] After the death of the late primate, William Elphinstone, bishop of Aberdeen, had been nominated to the vacant see; but his modesty or infirmities induced him to decline this splendid offer, and the queen afterwards attempted to elevate Douglas to the primacy. Confiding in the royal nomination, and in the influence of his own family, he took possession of the archiepiscopal palace; but his claims were disputed by two powerful rivals, John Hepburn, prior of St Andrews, and Andrew Foreman, bishop of Moray in Scotland, and archbishop of Bourges in France. Hepburn having prevailed upon the canons to elect him to the see, laid siege to the castle, and after meeting with some resistance,· expelled the retainers of his competitor; nor did the carl of zingus, with a party of two hundred horse, succeed in his attempt to recover the possession of this strong hold.^[5. Buchanani Rerum Scoticarum Hist. p. 25G. Pinkerton’s Hist, of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 124. ] In the mean time, Foreman, who was a person of great influence, found means to obtain from Rome a grant of the archbishopric of St Andrews, and the other preferments which had been held by the late primate.^[6. Epistolae Regum Scotorum, vol. î. p. 2G9. ] Douglas, actuated by a decent spirit of moderation, resolved to abandon the pursuit of this high object of ecclesiastical ambition; but the other competitors seem to have been alike insensible to motives of private virtue and of public decorum. Foreman being afraid to publish the papal bulls, prevailed upon Lord Hume, by bestowing on his brother the priory of Coldingham, to undertake the support of his cause; and this border chieftain enabled him to appear at Edinburgh, attended by ten thousand men in arms. Having performed the necessary ceremony, they hastened to St Andrews in order to complete their pious task, but they found the prior sufficiently prepared for their reception: Jn the castle and in the cathedral he had placed so considerable a garrison, that Foreman was unwilling to hazard an attack, and deemed it more prudent to adjust their claims by an amicable negociation; it was finally stipulated that he should be put in quiet possession of the primacy, that Hepburn should' receive a yearly pension from the bishopric of Moray, and should retain such rents as he had already levied from the archbishopric of St Andrews.^[7. Buchanan, p 257. Lindsay’s Cronicles.of<Scotland, vol. ii. p. 291. ]

From this negociation Douglas derived no advantage; and, to complete the measure of his disappointments, the abbacy of Aberbrothock, which· he had regarded as secure, was transferred to James Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow, and chancellor of the kingdom. The death of George Brown, bishop of Duukeld, which occurred in the month of January 1515, presented him with new prospects, and exposed him to new mortifications. The queen nominated him to the vacant see, and, as is supposed, by the intervention of her brother the king of England, obtained a papal bull in his favour. But, in the mean time, the earl of Athole had induced the chapter to postulate his brother Andrew Stewart, prebendary of Craig, who had not yet taken subdeacon’s orders.^[8. It may not be unnecessary to remark, that in the popish church there are seven orders; namely, those of porter, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, and priest; and that no person can regularly be elected a bishop, unless he has at least taken subdeacon’s orders. Although he cannot be elected, he may however be postulated by the chapter; and if this postulation is admitted by the pope, he is then considered as elected and iconfirmed. “Postulatio est ejus, qui eligi non potest, in praelatum concors capituli facta petitio.” (Lancelotti Institutiones Juris Canonici, lib. ii. tit. viii.) There are other canonical impediments, which we need not enumerate; for Stewart’s disqualification is particularly specified by Myln. ] The enemies of the queen did not neglect this opportunity of disgracing an individual so nearly allied to her husband í Douglas was cited before the competent judges, and was accused of having violated the laws, by procuring bulls from Rome. Such practices had indeed been prohibited by several statutes, but these had vefy seldom been enforced. Of this offence he was however convicted; and being committed to the charge of his former rival Hepburn, he was successively confined in the castles of Edinburgh, St Andrews, and Dunbar, and again in that of Edinburgh. Before the period of his trial, the queen’s party had almost entirely lost its influence: the duke of Albany, who was the grandson of James the Second, and the cousin of the late king, arrived from France on the 10th of May, and within the space of about two months was declared regent of the kingdom. A compromise at length took place between the two parties: Douglas obtained his liberty after an imprisonment of more than twelve months; and his claim to the bishopric was secured by Beaton’s mediation with the new regent. He was consecrated at Glasgow by the same prelate, who defrayed the expenses attending this ceremony; and having paid a visit to the metropolitan city of St Andrews, he proceeded to Dunkeld, where the clergy and laity testified the utmost joy at the arrival of sô noble, learned, and pious a bishop. The bulls having with the usual solemnities been read at the high altar, he retired to the residence of the dean, George Hepburn, by whom hé was suitably entertained. The episcopal palace was still occupied by the retainers of Stewart; and the bishop finding next day that they had likewise seized the tower oΓ the cathedral, was obliged to perform divine service at the deanery. In the afternoon he held a consultation with the nobility, gentry, and clergy, by whom he was attended; but their deliberations were speedily interrupted by the intelligence that Stewart had taken up arms, and was advancing to support his adherents; and at the same time they were alarmed by the commencement of a fire from the palace and the cathedral. Lord Ogilvy, with the eldest son of the earl of Crawford, and many other friends, including a considerable number of ecclesiastics, with' the dean among the rest, immediately began to prepare for action; and messengers having been dispatched to the neighbouring districts, his party was next day strengthened by the arrival of a formidable reinforcement of armed men. Stewart, who did not find himself strong enough to hazard an attack, retired ińto the woods. His retaipers, who garrisoned the palace and the cathedral, were now summoned to surrender, under the pain of excommunication; and on their refusing to obey this summons, the bishop’s servants, led by a valiant prebendary, and by James Carmichael, [7:8:126]took possession of the cathedral. Intimidated by this event, those who occupied the palace requested that a truce might be granted, and the sentence of excommunication delayed for a few hours; but when the stipulated time had elapsed, they still refused to surrender. The interference of the regent at length enabled Douglas to take possession of his palace without the effusion of blood; a circumstance, as one of his biographers has remarked, which “was certainly very acceptable to the good bishop; who in all the actions of his life discovered a gentle and merciful disposition, regulating the warlike and heroic spirit of his family by the excellent laws of the Christian religion.”^[9. Sage’s Life of Douglas, p. 7∙ ] After these events, Stewart hastened to the court, accompanied by his brother the earl; and Douglas having likewise made his appearance, their respective claims were taken into consideration by the regent and council. It was finally agreed that Stewart should relinquish his pretensions to the see of Dunkeld, but should retain such rents as he had already levied, and should be confirmed in the possession of the two benefices of Alyth and Cargill, under the condition of paying the bishop a certain annual contribution in grain.^[10. Myln, Vitae Episcoporum Dunkeldensium, p. 75∙ ] Although Douglas had so recently been punished for soliciting bulls from Rome, yet the regent did not scruple to apply to the pope for a ratification of this agreement: in a letter dated on the 28th of September 1516, he entreated his holiness that all informalities might be removed, and the stipulations rendered valid by his sanction.^[11. Epistolae Regum Scotorum, vol. i. p. 222. ]

Having at length been installed in his cathedral, he was speedily called from the discharge of his episcopal functions. During the ensuing year, an ambassador arrived from France, with a proposition for the renewal of the ancient league between the two kingdoms; and it was thought expedient that the duke of Albany should himself repair to Paris, accompanied by Bishop Douglas, and by Patrick Panter, chancellor of Dunkeld, and secretary of state. The negociation having been brought to a satisfactory conclusion, the bishop was employed to convey the earliest intelligence to Scotland.^[12. Leslaeus de Rebus gestis Scotorum, p. 385-9. Pinkerton’s Inst. of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 165. ] His professional duties seem again to have been interrupted during some part of the year 1518: in the British Museum there is an original letter, signed by the earl of Angus and others, and recommending him to the English king as a proper person to transact certain affairs in which they were concerned.^[13. Pinkerton’s List of the Scotish Poets, p. xcv. ] Though thus exposed to occasional distractions, he yet presided over his diocese with exemplary piety. The various troubles in which he was formerly involved had not merely prevented him from accumulating riches, but had even encumbered him with debts; yet the benevolence of his disposition prompted him to perform many acts of charity and munificence.^[14. Myln, p. 75∙ ] The revenues of this see are represented as ample,^[15. Winton’s Cronykil of Scotland, vol. i. p. 167∙ Pinkerton’s Hist, of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 127- The bishopric of Dunkeld was reckoned the third see in the kingdom. ] and he was again so fortunate as to fix his residence in a delightful part of the country: the situation of Dunkeld, which no intelligent lover of our early literature can visit without recollecting the name of Douglas, has a romantic beauty of which it is difficult to convey an adequate idea.

When the duke of Albany was preparing to quit the kingdom, he delegated his authority to the archbishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, and the earls of Arran, Angus, Argyle, and Huntley: but the predominating power of Angus excited the apprehensions or the jealousy of his colleagues; and they resolved to unite their strength with the view of circumscribing the influence of so formidable a rival. On the 29th of April 1520, Arran with many others of the nobility assembled at Edinburgh in the house of Archbishop Beaton: they formed the resolution of instantly seizing the person of Angus, whose power, they pretended, was so exorbitant that, while he continued at liberty, his fellow-subjects could enjoy no security. Aware of their hostile intentions, he requested his uncle the bishop of Dunkeld to mitigate their resentment, and persuade them to adopt a more lawful method of redress. He accordingly addressed himself to the archbishop, whom he found in the church belonging to the monastery of the black friars, and entreated him to act the part of a peacemaker: the crafty and turbulent prelate protested that he was at once ignorant of their designs, and unable to prevent them from being carried into execution; and to confirm this averment, he made a solemn appeal to his conscience, but having too forcibly applied his hand to his breast, he discovered to his indignant companion, that his sacred habit concealed a coat of mail. “My Lord,” exclaimed the bishop, “I perceive your conscience is not good, for I hear it clattering” that is, telling tales. He next accosted Sir Patrick Hamilton, requesting him to interpose with his brother the earl of Arran: this gentleman was inclined to peaceable measures, when the earl’s natural son Sir James, a man of a ferocious disposition, rudely upbraided him with cowardice. This charge he repelled with indignation; and having drawn his sword, he rushed furiously into the street, where the earl of Angus had stationed a numerous body of his retainers: perceiving him advance before the other assailants, the earl called aloud to his followers to save Sir Patrick Hamilton’s life; but in the heat of battle it is difficult to spare those who are eager to destroy, and he was speedily slain, together with the eldest son of the earl of Eglintoun. The encounter, which was long and fierce, was at length decided by the interference of some of the citizens, who were favourably disposed to the queen, and therefore espoused the cause of her husband. Seventy-two of his antagonists perished in the battle. During this scene of disgraceful violence, the bishop of Dunkeld had retired to his chamber, and spent the anxious interval in a manner suitable to the profession; but when the contest was decided, he hastened to prevent the wanton effusion of blood. The archbishop, who appears to have been personally engaged, had taken refuge behind the altar of Black-friars church, and the rocket was already torn from his shoulders, when the interposition of Douglas saved his life.^[16. Buchanan, p. 261. Lindsay s Cronicles of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 285. Hume’s Hist, of the Houses of Douglas and Angus, p. 245.—Lindsay refers this event to the year 1515, but other historians, with greater probability, add five years to the number. The encounter was long remembered in Edinburgh by the name of Cleante the Cawey. ]

The duke of Albany, after an absence of upwards of four years, returned to Scotland in 1521; and one of his earliest measures was to reduce the inordinate power of the Douglasses. Angus and his principal adherents, having been summoned to answer for their violent proceedings, fled for refuge to the Kirk of Steill. The bishop of Dunkeld was dispatched to London as their accredited agent, [7:8:127] and was instructed to represent their safety as necessarily connected with that of their young sovereign.^[17. In the British Museum, Calig. B. vi. 223, there is an original paper, dated “at the Kirk of the Steill,” 14 December 1521, and containing “Instructions and Commissioun for my Lord of Dunkeld, to be schawin vnto the Kyngis Grace of Ingland, on the behalf of my Lord of Anguss, his kyn and frendis, Lord Hwme, Lord Sommervel, thar kyn and frendis.” This document states that, for the fulfilment of the articles mutually agreed upon, the said lords are bodily sworn upon the gospels, “befor a reuerend fader, Gawin Bischop of Dunkeld, and Thomas Lord Dacre.” ] At the court of Henry the Eighth, where his poetical talents had probably found many admirers, he experienced a gracious receptiôn; and the king is said to have provided for his maintenance by the grant of a liberal pension.^[18. Holinshed’s Chronicles, vol-iii. p. 872. ] He now contracted a friendship with Polydore Virgil, who was engaged in composing a history of England. The recent publication of Mair’s history of Scotland, in which he ventured to expose the Egyptian fables of his predecessors, had excited the indignation of such of his countrymen as delighted to trace their origin to the daughter of Pharaoh. Douglas was studious to warn his Italian friend against the opinions of this worthy doctor of the Sorbonne;^[19. Polydori Virgilii Anglica Historia, p. 52. edit. Basil. 1556, fol. ] and presented him with a brief commentary, in which he pursued the fabulous line of our ancestry from Athens to Scotland; nor was a poet to be easily induced to relinquish so fine a tissue of romantic narrative. This tract, which was probably written in Latin, seems to have shared the common fate of the manuscripts entrusted to Polydore; who, in order to secure the errors of his work from detection, is said to have destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity.^[20. Beacham’s Compleat Gentleman, p. 51. edit. Lond. 1634, 4to.—“He is said to have borrowed books out of the publick library at Oxford, without taking any care to restore them: upon which the university (as they had good reason) declined lending any more, till forced to it by a mandate which he made a shift to procure from the king. In other places he likewise pillaged the libraries at his pleasure; and, at last, sent over a whole ship-load of manuscripts to Rome.” (Nicoson’s English Historical Library, p. 70.) ] Vossius has stated that Douglas wrote a history of Scotland, consisting of several books;^[21. Vossius de Historicis Latinis, p. G86. ] but Bishop Bale, to whose authority he refers, only mentions a single book;^[22. Balei Scriptores Britanniae, cent. xiv. p. 218. ] and it is evident that the historical work to which both these writers and Dempster^[23. Dempsteri Hist. Ecclesiast. Gent. Scotor. p. 221. ] allude, is merely the brief commentary quoted by Polydore Virgil.

While the accomplished prelate was thus employed in England, his enemies were not inactive in Scotland. His mission to the English king furnished a sufficient pretext for accusing him of treason: on the 21st of February 1522 he was declared a traitor, and the revenues of his see were placed in a state of sequestration; the king’s subjects were prohibited, under the pain of treason, from affording him any pecuniary assistance, or maintaining with him any correspondence either by letters or messages. An account of these proceedings was transmitted to the pope, accompanied with a remonstrance against the nomination or recommendation of the traitor Gavin Douglas to the archbishopric of St Andrews and the abbacy of Dunfermline, or to either of those preferments.^[24. Epistolae Regum Scotorum, vol. i. p. 328. ] The extent of his influence had manifestly excited the alarm of Beaton, who was determined at all hazards to secure these ample prelacies, recently become vacant by the death of Foreman. Nor were these the only expedients to which he resorted: as chancellor of the kingdom, he addressed a letter to the king of Denmark, entreating him to represent Douglas to the sovereign pontiff as a person altogether unworthy of his favour and protection.^[25. Ibid. vol. p. 333. ] Beaton became archbishop of St Andrews, and Douglas died in exile. He had been cited to appear at Rome, and, according to his own declaration, he intended to obey the summons;^[26. Pinkerton’s Hist, of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 194—In a letter from the bishop of Bath to Cardinal Wolsey, dated at Rome on the 19th of March, the following passage occurs: “The bishope of Dunkell his servant is come; and I doo the best I cane to hel1>e and assist hyme in his masters causes, accordyng your grace is commandment.” (H. Ellis’s Original Letters, second series, vol. i. p. 31G.) See likewise p. 323. The earl of Morton was accused of treason, and, among other grounds, “for the tresonable counsale, help, sup-portacioun, and assistance, gevin to Gawyne bischop of Dunkeld, in his tresonable passing in Ingland:” but an act of parliament, passed in 1524, declared the charge against him, “in all the punctis it contenit, vane, vntrew, and had na veritie.” (Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 290.) ] but in the course of the same year, and before he began to decline from the vigour of manhood, he was seized with the plague, and speedily fell a victim to its dreadful contagion.^[27. Polydori Virgilii Anglica Historia, p. 53—According to Hume’s calculation, he had reached the forty-sixth year of his age in 1520. His testament may be found in the appendix to Mr Riddell’s Reply to the Misstatements of Dr Hamilton, in his late Mewoir# of the House of Hamilton corrected. Edinb. 1828, 4to. On the 19th of September 1522, it was proved by one of the executors, Matthew Geddes, vicar of Tippermuir, his chaplain. The inventory of the bishop’s goods was taken “apud hospitium Domini Dacris.” In the British Museum, Calig. B. i. 27, there is an original letter from Douglas to Lord Dacre, in which he says, “our houssys ar of the auld allyat.” Mr Riddell has suggested that the testament makes no allusion to the pension mentioned by Holinshed; and that “the bishop seems to have been reduced to straits, as he is obliged to pawn some of his silver plate.” But as his mission to England was considered as treasonable, he bad an obvious reason' for avoiding the mention of an English pension; and in most cases there is no great difficulty in supposing a man’s expenses to exceed his income. ] He died at London in 1522, and was interred in the Savoy church, on the left side of Thomas Halsay, bishop of Leighlin in Ireland; whose monument also contained a short inscription of his name and addition.^[28. Weever’s Ancient Funeral Monuments, p. 446. ] The character which he left behind him was that of a “man learned, wise, and given to all vertue and goodness.”^[29. Spotswood’s Hist, of the Church of Scotland, p. 101.—This historian states that “he died of the plague at London in Savoy house.” ] With the splendour of his birth and the dignity of his person he united many accomplishments and many virtues. Although he lived in an age of lawless violence, and was connected with a powerful and turbulent family, he was uniformly distinguished by the moderation of his conduct.^[30. Buchanani Rerum Scoticarum Historia, p. 262. ] The fruits produced by the celibacy of the Romish clergy are sufficiently known: the bishop of Dunkeld left a natural daughter, from whom Semple of Foulwood derived his lineage.^[31. Hume’s Hist, of the Houses of Douglas and Angus, p. 220. ] Transgressions of this nature were so common, that they must almost have ceased to be regarded as criminal: Patrick Hepburn, bishop of Moray, had two sons legitimated in one day, and five daughters in another.

It is the secular learning of Bishop Douglas that has chiefly attracted the attention of posterity; but Myln, [7:8:128]who was one of the canons of his cathedral, represents him as eminently skilled in divinity and the canon law. He was perhaps the most learned of the early Scotish pocts. Among the ancient poets, his favourites were apparently Virgil and Ovid; among the Christian fathers, his favourite was St Augustin, whom he denominates the chief of clerks. Of the Latin language his knowledge was certainly extensive; and as he states that Lord Sinclair had requested him to translate Homer, we may venture to infer that he was not unacquainted with Greek. It is highly probable that he had completed his education on the continent, and had thus given his studies a more elegant and classical direction. Nor were his talents less conspicuous than his learning. In all his writings he evinces an excursive fancy, with much of the fervour of genius. His allegorical sketches are efforts of no common ingenuity; but what chiefly renders his works interesting is the frequent occurrence of those picturesque and characteristic touches, which can only be produced by a man capable of accurate observation and original thinking. He exhibits perpetual vestiges of a prolific and even exuberant imagination, and his very faults are those of superabundance rather than deficiency. In his descriptions, which are often admirable, he occasionally distracts the attention by a multiplicity of objects, nor is he sufficiently careful to represent each new circumstance in a definite and appropriate manner. His style is copious and impetuous, but it cannot be commended for its purity. In his translation of Virgil he professes to be scrupulous in rejecting Anglicisms, and indeed his diction is often remote from that of the English poets: but he has imported many exotic terms from another quarter; his familiarity with the Latin language betrays itself in almost every page of his writings. His verses, though less smooth and elegant than those of Dunbar, arc not unskilfully constructed.

Of Douglas’s original compositions the longest is the Palice of Honour ,∙^[32. The Palis of Honoure, compeled by Gawyne Dowglas, Bysshope of Dunkyll. Imprinted at London in Fletstret, at the sygne of the Rose garland, by Wyllyarn Copland. 4to. This edition, which is without a date, was probably printed about the same time with the author’s translation of Virgil. They are uniformly printed, and both title-pages have the same ornameutal border. Another early edition bears the following title: “Heir beginnis ane treatise callit the Palice of Honovr, compylit be Μ. Gawine Dowglas, Bischop of Dunkeld. Imprentit at Edinburgh be lohne Ros for Henrie Charteris, anno 1579. Cum Ρrimlεgiο Regali. 4to. The epistle “To the Reidar” begins thus: “Q,uhen we had sene and considderit the diuers impressiones befoir imprentit of this notabili werk, to baue bene altogidder faultie and corrupt, not onlie that quhilk hes bene imprentit at London, bot also the copyis set furth of auld amangis our selfis.” Copland’s edition is however the earliest which bibliographers have been able to trace. The Edinburgh edition has lately been reprinted for the Bannatyne Club. Edinb. 1827, 4to. ] an allegorical poem which displays much versatility of fancy and a ready command of striking imagery. Still however it is to be considered as a Gothic structure, and as exhibiting many of the peculiarities which belong to that order: ancient and modern usages, classical and Christian subjects, are almost constantly blended together; and a nymph of Calliope’s train expounds the scheme of human redemption. This poem appears to have been composed in 1501, when the author was twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age. It has been surmized that Douglas’s work is probably founded on the Sejour d ’ Honneur of Octavien de St Gelais.^[33. Le Seiour d’Honneur, compose par reuerend Pere en Dieu Messire Octouien de Sainct Gelaiz, Euesque d’Angoulesme, nou-uellement imprimé/ Paris, 1519, 8vo. ] The titles have indeed an obvious resemblance to each other, but there is little or no affinity in the plan and execution of the two poems. The successive appearance of the different courts described in the Palice of Honour, may possibly remind some readers of the Triumphs of Petrarch, in which various shadowy trains succeed each other in a somewhat similar manner; but notwithstanding these different suggestions, Douglas’s poem must still be regarded as entitled to the praise which belongs to an original design.

King Hart, another allegorical poem of the same author, exhibits a very ingenious adumbration of the progress of human life.^[34. King Hart was first printed in Mr Pinkerton’s Ancient Scotish Poems, vol. î. Lond. 1788, 2 vols. 8vo. ] It is a singular composition, and may remind the reader of Phineas Fletcher’s Purple Island ; a work which furnishes a striking example of the misapplication of fine poetical talents. From the occurrence of several incorrect passages, it has been supposed to be one of Douglas’s earliest performances. Incorrect passages we may expect to find in all the vernacular poetry of that age; and the versification appears to us superior to that of the Palice of Honour. As he has not enumerated it among his early works, we may perhaps venture to conclude that it was written after his translation of Virgil. The heart, being the fountain of vital motion, is here personified as man himself, and is conducted through a great variety of adventures.

But the most remarkable of Douglas’s works is perhaps his translation of the Aeneid.^[35. The xiii. bukes of Eneados of the famose poete Virgill, translatet out of Latyne verses into Scottish metir, bi the Reuerend Father in God, Mayster Gawin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkel, & vnkil to the Erie of Angus: euery buke hauing hys perticular Pro-loge. Imprinted at London, 1553, 4 to. Another edition, with a life of the translator by Sage, and a glossary by Ruddiman, appeared after a long interval. Edinb. 1719, fol. ] In the original poems which accompany it, he has fortunately specified the origin and progress of this undertaking: he there informs us that it was begun at the request of his cousin Lord Sinclair, whom he represents as a zealous collector of books, and protector of science and literature; and that it was the labour of only sixteen months, being completed on the 22d day of July 1513, about twelve years after he had composed the Palice of Honour. This task must apparently be understood to comprehend, not merely a version of Virgil’s twelve books, but likewise of the supplementary book of Mapheus Vcgius, together with the original poems which he has interspersed in the volume. Whether we consider the state of British literature at that period, or the rapidity with which he executed so extensive a work, it is impossible to withhold from this version a large share of our approbation. In either of the sister languages, few translations of classical authors had hitherto been attempted. Even in England, it has been remarked, no metrical version of a classic had yet appeared; except of Boethius, who scarcely merits that appellation.^[36. Warton’s Hist, of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 112. ] On the destruction of Troy, Caxton had published a kind of prose romance, which he professes to have translated from the French; and the English reader was taught to consider this motley composition as a version of the Aeneid. Douglas bestows severe castigation on Caxton for his perversion of the classical story; and affirms that his work no more resembles Virgil than the devil resembles St Austin. He has however fallen into one error which he exposes in his precursor; proper names are so completely disfigured in his translation, that they cannot be recognized without some degree of difficulty. In various instances, [7:8:129]he has been guilty of modernizing the notions of ' his original ∙ the Sibyl, for example, is converted into a nun, and a ^monishes Aeneas, the Trojan baron, to persist in counting his beads.

Douglas’s translation of Virgil is certainly executed with no mean ability; it is the effort of a bold and energetic writer, whose knowledge of the original language,^[37. See however the remarks of Francis Junius, which are contained in a letter published in “The Life, Diary, and Correspondence of Sir William Dugdale,” p. 383. Lond. 1827, 4to. ] and prompt command of a copious and variegated phraseology, qualified him for the performance of so arduous a task. It is indeed to be regretted that he did not devote a much longer period to this undertaking: he might thus have been enabled to render his versification more terse and finished; but the work, in its present state, is a singular monument of his genius and industry. One of his principal objects was to write in plain and intelligible language, so that his favourite poet might be readily understood by his countrymen; and by keeping this object constantly in view, he has frequently attained to less elevation of style than might have been expected. His translation possesses one merit which he probably did not contemplate: as a version of a well-known classic, it presents an ample fund of philological information; and Ruddiman’s excellent glossary has long recommended it to all those who have paid any particular attention to the etymology of the Scotish language. The felicity of this translation has been very warmly commended by another Scotish prelate, Dr Lesley, the celebrated bishop of Ross; who, in enumerating its various excellencies, has stated that it always renders one verse by another. But this regularity of correspondence, for which it has likewise been praised by Dempster, must not be too literally understood; and it may be proper to recollect that the verses of the two poets, although they might be equal in number, could not be equal in length, as a hexameter line may consist of seventeen, and cannot consist of fewer than thirteen syllables.

The bishop of Dunkeld’s version of the Aeneid seems to have suggested a similar plan to the earl of Surrey, who translated the second and fourth books into English. In this translation he has exhibited the earliest specimen of blank verse that occurs in the history of English poetry. Dr Nott has remarked that “we meet with so many expressions which Surrey has evidently borrowed, with so many lines adopted with hardly any other alteration than that which the difference of the dialect, and the measure made necessary, and so many taken without any alteration at alR that all doubt ceases. It becomes a matter of certainty that Surrey must have read and studied the Scottish translation before he began his own.”^[38. Nott’s Dissertation on the State of English Poetry before the Sixteenth Century, p. cciv. ] This assertion he has verified by a long series of parallel passages, which it is impossible to read without acquiescing in his opinion.

The several books of Douglas’s translation are introduced by prologues, which, in the opinion of Warton, are often highly poetical, and shew that his proper walk was original poetry. They have likewise received warm commendation from Hume of Godscroft, who was himself a scholar and a poet. “ In his prologues before every book,” he remarks, “where he hath his liberty, he sheweth a natural and ample vein of poesy, so pure, pleasant, and judicious, that I believe there is none that hath written before or since, but cometh short of him. And, in my opinion, there is not such a piece to be found as his prologue to the eighth book, beginning Of drevilling and dreams, &c. at least in our language.”

These are the only works of Bishop Douglas with which we are now acquainted. On concluding his translation of Virgil, he avowed a resolution to devote his future days to the service of the commonwealth and the glory of God. The earliest of his poetical performances appears to have been a translation of Ovid JDe Pemedio Amoris ; but of this translation no copy is known to be extant.

Lo thus, followand the floure of poetry, The battellis and the man translate haue I, Quhilk zore ago in myne undantit zouth, Unfructuous idilnes fleand, as I couth, Of Ovideis Lufe the Remede did translate, And syne of hie Honour the Palice wrate.

Bale mentions another of his compositions under the title of “Aureae Narrationes which Sage supposes to be the short commentary noticed in the concluding address to Lord Sinclair:

I haue also ane schorte commend compyld, » To expone strange historiis and termes wylde.

This comment, as the same biographer conjectures, may have been merely a brief explanation of the classical mythology. If we may rely on the authority of Bale and Dempster, he likewise composed comedies; but both these writers are apt to multiply books as well as authors. Another biographer is inclined to suppose that he may have written the Flowers of the Forest, a song which displays no small portion of pathetic simplicity. “It may be conjectured,” says Mr Scott, “that he was the author of that celebrated elegaic song, which describes the devastation occasioned by the battle of Flowdon, in that part of the country with which he had long been well acquainted.”^[39. .T. Scott’s Life of Douglas (p. xxvi.), prefixed to his Select Works. Perth, 1787, 12mo. ] It was published by Mr Lambe in the year 1774, and is described by him as an old Scotish song;^[40. History of the Battle of Floddon, with notes by Robert Lambe, Vicar of Norham upon Tweed, app. p. 129. Berwick upon Tweed, 1774, 12mo. ] and Mr Ritson, who thought it “as sweet and natural a piece of elegaic poetry as any language can boast,” had no hesitation in believing it to have been composed immediately after the battle of Floddon-field;^[41. Ritson’s Ancient Songs, p. 117- ] a decision which sufficiently evinces that, notwithstanding his confidence in his own judgment, and his undisguised contempt for almost all his predecessors, his critical opinions on such subjects were very far. from being infallible. According to a more authentic account, the tune and two detached verses of this song are ancient; and all the others were composed by a lady connected with the county of Roxburgh.^[42. Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. iii. p. 127—This lady is elsewhere said to have been Jane Elliot, who was born at Minto in the year 1726. ] The language and versification are evidently of a more recent date than the year 1513; nor could such a composition be safely referred to any period preceding the last century, (x.)

Douglas, a town of Scotland, in Lanarkshire, lying on the south side of the Douglas water, on the road between Edinburgh and Ayr. It is a place of great antiquity, and possesses at present one or two manufactories of cotton; but it is chiefly celebrated for a great annual fair which is held here in the church-yard. The population of the town and parish amounted in 1821 to 2195, and in 1831 to 2542.

Douglas, a sea∙∙port town of the Isle of Man, situated on the south-eastern shore, and occupying the banks of [7:8:130]two small streams. The streets, though irregular, possess some good houses. This is the principal town of the island. It has a safe and spacious harbour, which is defended by a strong fort. Long. 4.44. W∙ Lat. 58. 52. N.