HENRY’S RELATIVES

WILLIAM DUNBAR,

MAYBE THE 1ST POET TO USE THE F-WORD

1 IN A LANGUAGE SOMEWHAT RESEMBLING ENGLISH

1. Bearing in mind that the F-word has long been used in the poetry of languages not English — for instance in quasi-poetic epigrams deploying the proper Latin verb futuo by the young Octavian (later to become Emperor Augustus Caesar). HDT WHAT? INDEX

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1460

In this timeframe, preparation on parchment at Paris, for François II, Duke of Brittany (1458-1488) among others, of CÉRÉMONIES ET ORDONNANCES À GAGE DE BATAILLE (CEREMONIES AND EDICTS FOR TRIAL BY COMBAT), which laid out the proper procedures for resolution of a quarrel by means of a trial by combat, staged in an enclosed space before a panel of noble judges, whose task was to assess the worthiness of each blow. It seems clear that, at least in France, there was not a perception that this sort of engagement needed to proceed all the way to the death or serious wounding of one of the participants.

It would have been sometime between this year and 1465 that the Scottish poet William Dunbar was born, presumably in East Lothian, to an obscure branch of the Dunbar clan which could secure for him no advantages whatever, social or otherwise. DUNBAR FAMILY

1479

In this year William Dunbar may have been granted an MA degree by St. Andrews.

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1500

The William Dunbar who eventually would be termed, by Walter Scott, the “darling of the Scottish Muses,” was at this point granted, as a token of royal esteem, due to his abject penury, a pension of £10 per year. Here, I’d like to make sure you’re not short of pocket money. He would travel both to England and to France in King James IV’s service, and may well have done some of this traveling as a Franciscan novice. He would never, however, attain to a rank higher than that of Friar, while meanwhile a better-connected relative Alexander Dunbar, Prior of Pluscarden, was relentlessly laundering the incomes and properties of this church asset into the coffers of his relatives:

Belief does leap, trust does not tarry, Office does flit, and courts do vary, Purpose does change as wind and rain; Which to consider is a pain. The people so wicked are of feiris [manners] The fruitless earth all witness bears, The air infected and profane; Which to consider is a pain. The flute we know, which we hold sidewise to our right, is referred to technically as the flauto traverso or cross flute or German flute, to distinguish it from the common flute or recorder, from duct flutes such as the Arabic nay, from panpipes, from the nose flute, etc. In the 16th Century in Europe, a tenor flute pitched in the key of G would be played in concert with a descant flute pitched in the key of D and a bass flute pitched in the key of C. Typically, these early flutes would be fashioned of boxwood, would be fashioned in one piece as a straight tube, and would have six finger holes with no keys.

WALDEN: In warm evenings I frequently sat in the boat playing the flute, and saw the perch, which I seemed to have charmed, hovering around me, and the moon travelling over the ribbed bottom, which was strewed with the wrecks of the forest. Formerly I had come to this pond adventurously, from time to time, in dark summer nights, with a companion, and making a fire close to the water’s edge, which we thought attracted the fishes, we caught pouts with a bunch of worms strung on a thread; and when we had done, far in the night, threw the burning brands high into the air like skyrockets, which, coming down into the pond, were quenched with a loud hissing, and we were suddenly groping in total darkness. Through this, whistling a tune, we took our way to the haunts of men again. But now I had made my home by the shore.

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1501

Gawin Douglas’s initial literary production was a poem of more than 2,000 lines, THE PALICE OF HONOUR. It was a dream-allegory in 9-line stanzas. The poet incautiously slanders the love-court of Venus, is pardoned for this offense, joins in a procession, and is allowed to view the glories of her palace. This conceit he dedicated to King James IV, providing the monarch with a commendation of virtue and honor. It would seem that there was an edition of this put out by Thomas Davidson, printer, at Edinburgh in about 1540, but no copy of that edition has survived. The earliest still-extant edition was printed at London by William Copland in about 1553. Still surviving also is an Edinburgh edition from the press of Henry Charteris dated 1579. At about this point in time Gawin Douglas was preferred to the deanery or provostship of the collegiate church of St Giles in Edinburgh, which he would hold with his parochial charges. From this date until the Battle of Flodden (September 1513), he would appear to have occupied himself in literary work in addition to the performance of his ecclesiastical duties. No more than four works by him are known to exist: THE PALICE OF HONOUR, CONSCIENCE, his major translation of Virgil’s ÆNEIS, and possibly KING HART. LIFE OF GAWIN DOUGLAS LIFE OF GAWIN DOUGLAS

William Dunbar was in England, presumably helping to arrange for the 1503 marriage of James IV with Margaret Tudor. He wrote “To The City Of London.”

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1 London, thou art of town{.e}s A per se. 2 Soveraign of cities, semeliest in sight, 3 Of high renoun, riches, and royaltie; 4 Of lordis, barons, and many goodly knyght; 5 Of most delectable lusty ladies bright; 6 Of famous prelatis in habitis clericall; 7 Of merchauntis full of substaunce and myght: 8 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 9 Gladdith anon, thou lusty Troy Novaunt, 10 Citie that some tyme cleped was New Troy, 11 In all the erth, imperiall as thou stant, 12 Pryncesse of townes, of pleasure, and of joy, 13 A richer restith under no Christen roy; 14 For manly power, with craftis naturall, 15 Fourmeth none fairer sith the flode of Noy: 16 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 17 Gemme of all joy, jasper of jocunditie, 18 Most myghty carbuncle of vertue and valour; 19 Strong Troy in vigour and in strenuytie; 20 Of royall cities rose and geraflour; 21 Empresse of town{.e}s, exalt in honour; 22 In beawtie beryng the crone imperiall; 23 Swete paradise precelling in pleasure: 24 London, thow art the floure of Cities all. 25 Above all ryvers thy Ryver hath renowne, 26 Whose beryall stremys, pleasaunt and preclare, 27 Under thy lusty wallys renneth down, 28 Where many a swanne doth swymme with wyngis fare; 29 Where many a barge doth saile, and row with are, 30 Where many a ship doth rest with toppe-royall. 31 O! towne of townes, patrone and not-compare: 32 London, thou art the floure of Cities all. 33 Upon thy lusty Brigge of pylers white 34 Been merchauntis full royall to behold; 35 Upon thy stretis goth many a semely knyght 36 In velvet gownes and cheyn{.e}s of fyne gold. 37 By Julyus Cesar thy Tour founded of old 38 May be the hous of Mars victoryall, 39 Whos artillary with tonge may not be told: 40 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 41 Strong be thy wallis that about the standis; 42 Wise be the people that within the dwellis; 43 Fresh is thy ryver with his lusty strandis; 44 Blith be thy chirches, wele sownyng be thy bellis; 45 Riche be thy merchauntis in substaunce that excellis; 46 Fair be thy wives, right lovesom, white and small; 47 Clere be thy virgyns, lusty under kellis: 48 London, thow art the flour of Cities all. 49 Thy famous Maire, by pryncely governaunce, 50 With swerd of justice the rulith prudently. 51 No Lord of Parys, Venyce, or Floraunce 52 In dignytie or honoure goeth to hym nye. 53 He is exampler, lood{.e}-ster, and guye; 54 Principall patrone and roose orygynalle, 55 Above all Maires as maister moost worthy: 56 London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

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1503

The earliest known use of the term “fuck” in written English2 predates the 16th Century and is from a curious little piece entitled “Flen flyys” composed in a mixture of Latin and English: Non sunt in celi quia fuccant uuiuys of heli. [They are not in heaven because they fuck the wives of Ely.]

This word fuccant is not Latin but pseudo-Latin and in the manuscript is written down as a cipher (the actual holographic inscription “gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk” is readily decoded because each character merely represents the character preceding it in the alphabet), so whoever created this curious little piece about the friars of Cambridge, England knew that not only were these guys being naughty friars in fucking the wives of the town of Ely (a nearby town), but also that he was himself being the naughty one simply by writing such a thing down on paper.

2. You will note the careful limitations built into such a construction. Obviously, this is limited to what we culturally describe as “literature,” since our non-literature as found on the walls of public toilets has always been replete with references to all the bodily functions. Obviously, also, this is limited to languages resembling English, since the Emperor Augustus Caesar is suspected of having been guilty in his youth of repeated use of the proper Latin verb for fucking, futuo, in a quasi-poetic epigram as of 41 BCE:

Quod futuit Glaphyran Antonius, hanc mihi poenam Fulvia constituit, se quoque uti futuam. Fulviam ego ut futuam? quid si me Manius oret pedicem? faciam? non, puto, si sapiam. “aut futue aut pugnemus” ait. quid quod mihi vita carior est ipsa mentula? signa canant!

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During this year William Dunbar prepared a nuptial song, “The Thrissill and the Rois,” in celebration of the wedding of King James IV of Scotland with Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII.

There is a literary appearance of the term fukkit in a language resembling English, in Dunbar’s poem that begins “In secreit place...” that presumably was composed by this year at the latest (since in 1504 he would take holy orders). The other early recorded uses of the word “fuck” are also by Scottish authors — possibly in its day this reference was hardly more questionable than Chaucer’s “swive.”3 Beginning with a “y” character that looks sorta like a backward script numeral three, Line 13 of Dunbar’s poem reads as follows: [Y]it be his feiris he wald haif fukkit: In the notes this line translates out more or less as “were this per his longing, he would be fucking her.” The rhyme scheme is croppit / bedroppit / gukkit / chukkit / ourgane / fukkit / ane: croppit, kemd and = combed and trimmed bedroppit = dewed gukkit, peirt and = impulsive and foolish behavior he chukkit = he diddled her ourgane, with the glaikkis he wer = with sexual desire he was overcome fukkit, he wald haif = he would be in sexual congress ane, my bony = my bonny one

3. Dunbar, William, 1460?-1520? THE POEMS OF WILLIAM DUNBAR / EDITED BY JAMES KINSLEY. Oxford: Clarendon Press; NY: Oxford UP, 1979, pages 40-42, poem that begins “In secreit place...”; Read, Allen Walker. “An Obscenity Symbol,” American Speech, 9 n. 4, (December 1934): 264-278; Baxter, J.W. WILLIAM DUNBAR. 1952 READ DUNBAR’S POEMS

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Here in full are the first two stanzas of the poem: In secreit place this hindir nycht I hard ane bern say till a bricht: My hunny, my houp, my hairt, my heill, I haif bene lang [y]our lufar leill And can of [y]ow gett confort nane; How lang will [y]e with denger deill? [Y]e brek my hart, my bony ane.

His bony berd wes kemd and croppit Bot all with kaill it wes bedroppit And he wes townsyche, peirt and gukkit. He clappit fast, he kist, he chukkit As with the glaikkis he wer ourgane-- [Y]it be his feiris he wald haif fukkit: [Y]e brek my hairt, my bony ane. As the poem continues, the town lad’s need is never satisfied by the country maid, so the deployment of “fukkit” is in regard to intent rather than accomplishment. –But now we know that Thoreau inherited his randy sense of humor from his mom’s side of the family! DUNBAR FAMILY

1504

By this point William Dunbar was attired in the robes of a priest.

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1506

During this year, or perhaps during the following one, a jousting contest was staged at the court of King James IV of Scotland, and in jest the courtiers presented, as their “guest of honor,” a black woman who evidently had been brought that far north by the nascent African slave trade of that era. William Dunbar, attired in the robes of a priest, made of this a poem, in which the winner of the jousting contest would kiss the black woman’s broad lips and she would become his prize sex slave4 (Sall kis and withe hir go in grippis; And fra thyne furth hir luff sall weld), while the shamefaced loser of the contest would be required to kiss this woman’s black ass but not be allowed to copulate with her (Sall cum behind and kis hir hippis, And nevir to uther confort claem):

4. The other night I watched a “Gong” show on TV in which the prize for which the contestants allegedly were competing was the attentions of an obese older black woman. When one of the contestants, a white man with a hapless look on his face, was pronounced the winner, this obese older black woman promised him (by deployment of a humorous euphemism) anal copulation. The other contestant, a black man, was given a suitcase and told to get packing, and as he passed the camera in exiting the set he commented on how glad he was that he had lost. So, in regard to this sort of bad taste, what goes around comes around again and again.

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Lang heff I maed of ladyes quhytt, Long have I written of ladies white, Nou of ane blak I will indytt, Now of a black I will indite, That landet furth of the last schippis; That landed forth of the last ships; Quhou fain wald I descryve perfytt, Who I fain would describe perfectly, My ladye with the mekle lippis. My lady with the broad lips.

Quhou schou is tute mowitt lyk ane aep, She who has a protruding mouth like an ape, And lyk a gangarall onto gaep; And is like a toad in her gape; And quhou hir schort catt nois up skippis; And whose short cat’s-nose turns up; And quhou scho schynes lyk ony saep; And she who shines like any soap; My ladye with the mekle lippis. My lady with the broad lips.

Quhen schou is claid in reche apparrall, When she is clad in rich apparel, Schou blinkis als brycht as ane tar barrell; She looks as bright as a tar barrel; Quhen schou was born, the son tholit clippis, When she was born, the sun was eclipsed, The nycht be fain faucht in hir querrell: The night wanted to fight in her defense: My ladye with the mekle lippis. My lady with the broad lips.

Quhai for hir saek, with speir and scheld, Whoever, for her sake, with spear and shield, Preiffis maest mychttelye in the feld, Proves himself most mightily in the field, Sall kis and withe hir go in grippis; Shall kiss and with her go to grips; And fra thyne furth hir luff sall weld: And shall thenceforth possess her love: My ladye with the mekle lippis. My lady with the broad lips.

And quhai in felde receaves schaem, And whoever receives shame in the field, And tynis thair his knychtlie naem, And loses there his knightly name, Sall cum behind and kis hir hippis, Shall come behind and kiss her hips, And nevir to uther confort claem: And never to other comfort claim: My ladye with the mekle lippis. My lady with the broad lips.

In general, the poem is filled with a kind of forbidden sniggering which was to become widespread in some parts of American society by the nineteenth century, manifesting a mood whereby libidinous and even perverse expressions of a sort that were not permitted in “polite” —that is, white— circles, were given free rein in relation to Blacks.... Dunbar’s experience was an unusually concrete one, and he shows it: his vivid caricature of Negro features is the response of a shocked naïf at a sight unlike anything he has seen in his life before. It is nasty, and it does not bode well for the future, but there also hovers over it a certain innocence that would be lost to its Anglo-American counterparts of later centuries. Its most sinister component is the mood of dark licentiousness provoked by its subject.

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1507

Scotland’s 1st printing press was set up in Edinburgh by Andrew Myllar and Walter Chapman. Their 1st publication would consist of poetry by Henryson and William Dunbar, and they would maintain a monopoly on printing in Scotland until 1536, when Thomas Davidson would print the Scots translation by the poet John Bellenden of the SCOTORUM HISTORIAE of “Boethius” (Hector Boece). Boethius’s inaccurate history of Scotland would be recycled in Holinshed’s “Chronicle,” which would become William Shakespeare’s source for the story of King Macbeth (circa 1005-1057).

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1508

William Dunbar’s “Lament for the Makaris Quhen he was Sek” was printed, along with five other of his poems: Lament for the Makaris Quhen he was Sek 32 Timor mortis conturbat me. 33 He sparis no lord for his piscence, I that in heill wes and gladnes, 34 Na clerk for his intelligence; 2 Am trublit now with gret seiknes, 35 His awfull strak may no man fle; 3 And feblit with infermite; 36 Timor mortis conturbat me. 4 Timor mortis conturbat me. 37 Art-magicianis, and astrologgis, 5 Our plesance heir is all vane glory, 38 Rethoris, logicianis, and theologgis, 6 This fals warld is bot transitory, 39 Thame helpis no conclusionis sle; 7 The flesche is brukle, the Fend is sle; 40 Timor mortis conturbat me. 8 Timor mortis conturbat me. 4 In medicyne the most practicianis, 9 The stait of man dois change and vary, 42 Lechis, surrigianis, and phisicianis, 10 Now sound, now seik, now blith, now sary, 43 Thame self fra ded may not supple; 11 Now dansand mery, now like to dee; 44 Timor mortis conturbat me. 12 Timor mortis conturbat me. 45 I se that makaris amang the laif 13 No stait in erd heir standis sickir; 46 Playis heir ther pageant, syne gois to graif; 14 As with the wynd wavis the wickir, 47 Sparit is nocht ther faculte; 15 Wavis this warldis vanite. 48 Timor mortis conturbat me. 16 Timor mortis conturbat me. 49 He hes done petuously devour, 17 On to the ded gois all estatis, 50 The noble Chaucer, of makaris flour, 18 Princis, prelotis, and potestatis, 51 The Monk of Bery, and Gower, all thre; 19 Baith riche and pur of al degre; 52 Timor mortis conturbat me. 20 Timor mortis conturbat me. 53 The gude Syr Hew of Eglintoun, 2 He takis the knychtis in to feild, 54 And eik Heryot, and Wyntoun, 22 Anarmit under helme and scheild; 55 He hes tane out of this cuntre; 23 Victour he is at all mellie; 56 Timor mortis conturbat me. 24 Timor mortis conturbat me. 57 That scorpion fell hes done infek 25 That strang unmercifull tyrand 58 Maister Johne Clerk, and Jame Afflek, 26 Takis, on the moderis breist sowkand, 59 Fra balat making and tragidie; 27 The bab full of benignite; 60 Timor mortis conturbat me. 28 Timor mortis conturbat me. 6 Holland and Barbour he hes berevit; 29 He takis the campion in the stour, 62 Allace! that he nocht with us levit. 30 The capitane closit in the tour, 31 The lady in bour full of bewte;

READ DUNBAR’S POEMS

1510

William Dunbar was granted, as a token of royal esteem, a pension of £80 per year.

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He takis the campion in the stour

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1511

Accompanying the Queen to Aberdeen, Scotland, William Dunbar wrote “Blyth Aberdeen” in celebration of the amusements there offered.

READ DUNBAR’S POEMS

William Dunbar became a dominant figure among what are commonly known as the “Scottish Chaucerians” in what is now recognized as the golden age of Scottish poetry. William Dunbar’s dream allegory “The Goldyn Targe.” The “Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie” was stylized abuse formally exchanged between William Dunbar and his professional rival Walter Kennedy (circa 1460-circa 1508), more or less as a royal roast. This “flyting” was a form of verse battle, and Dunbar’s poem packs an extraordinary number of insults into its 69 stanzas.5 (Dunbar would mention his rival favorably in “The Lament for the Makaris” which gives useful information on a number of Scottish poets not much of whose work has survived.)

5. In this venue, Dunbar is in fact credited with having been the very first to attempt to incorporate “the f-word” into a printed work of courtly literature. –So, I guess now we know that Henry Thoreau derived his scatological sense of humor from his mom’s side of the family.

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William Dunbar’s satire “Tretis of the tua mariit Wemen and the Wedo” or “Tretis of the Twa Maryit Wemen and the Wedo” (in today’s English, “Treatise of the Two Married Women and the Widow”).

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1513

September 9, Friday (Old Style):After the English victory under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey at Flodden Edge near Branxton in Northumberland, and King James IV of Scotland’s death there on Flodden Field, since there is no record of William Dunbar’s receiving his pension subsequently, it would appear that he would have been receiving instead the benefice which he had so often demanded in verse. Robert, the 13th chieftain of the Eliot or Elliot clan, were slaughtered in this battle along with the king and many males of the Scottish nobility, such as Gawin Douglas’s two elder brothers, and many members of the higher clergy. The king would be succeeded by his infant son James V, whose mother Margaret Tudor would assume the regency. Jane, sister of the 3rd Elliot to be a Baronet, would compose a poem in honor of the men lost in the Battle of Flodden, titled “The Flowers of the Forest.” Subsequent to this battle Gawin Douglas would be completely absorbed in affairs of state, and there would be no further literary production. Instead he would seek to play a dominant role as one of the Lords of Council, and would make attempt after attempt to attain for himself one or more of the many sees, including the archbishopric of St Andrews, that had fallen vacant due to this defeat. For a few weeks after the battle, also, Douglas and some of his colleagues of the council would be attempting to console and counsel the queen during her period of intense grief.

1520

It was sometime during this decade that the Scottish poet William Dunbar, an antique relative of the American poet Henry Thoreau, died.

1776

July 12, Friday: On what would become Henry Thoreau’s birthday, one of Thoreau’s remote relatives, the inventor William Dunbar of Mississippi,6 recorded in his journal with a sense of hurt and amazement that there had been a slave rebellion on his plantation: “Judge my surprise ... Of what avail is kindness & good usage when rewarded by such ingratitude.” When he would manage to recover his runaways, he would have them lashed with a hundred strokes, five different times so that they would have a chance to survive for the next lashing, for a total of 500 blows each, “and to carry a chain & log fixt to the ancle.”

Toni Morrison has suggested that by disciplining black savagery in this extreme manner, what Dunbar was doing was demonstrating his white gentlemanliness: “[W]hatever his social status in London, in the New World he is a gentleman. More gentle, more man. The site of his transformation is within rawness: he is backgrounded by savagery.”7 DUNBAR FAMILY

Also, Captain Cook departed on the Resolution for his 3rd trip into the Pacific Ocean.

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1834

THE POEMS OF WILLIAM DUNBAR were published. (see following screen)

READ DUNBAR’S POEMS

6. Named, presumably, in honor of the famous Scottish poet William Dunbar, he invented the screw press that made possible the square baling of cotton. READ DUNBAR’S POEMS 7. To at all grasp the force of Morrison’s argument here, you will need to make a careful study of her PLAYING IN THE DARK: WHITENESS AND THE LITERARY IMAGINATION (NY: Vintage Books, 1992). This is on page 44.

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Lament for the Makaris Quhen he was Sek To The City Of London I that in heill wes and gladnes, 1 London, thou art of town{.e}s A per se. 2 Am trublit now with gret seiknes, 2 Soveraign of cities, semeliest in sight, 3 And feblit with infermite; 3 Of high renoun, riches, and royaltie; 4 Timor mortis conturbat me. 4 Of lordis, barons, and many goodly knyght; 5 Our plesance heir is all vane glory, 5 Of most delectable lusty ladies bright; 6 This fals warld is bot transitory, 6 Of famous prelatis in habitis clericall; 7 The flesche is brukle, the Fend is sle; 7 Of merchauntis full of substaunce and myght: 8 Timor mortis conturbat me. 8 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 9 The stait of man dois change and vary, 9 Gladdith anon, thou lusty Troy Novaunt, 10 Now sound, now seik, now blith, now sary, 10 Citie that some tyme cleped was New Troy, 11 Now dansand mery, now like to dee; 11 In all the erth, imperiall as thou stant, 12 Timor mortis conturbat me. 12 Pryncesse of townes, of pleasure, and of joy, 13 No stait in erd heir standis sickir; 13 A richer restith under no Christen roy; 14 As with the wynd wavis the wickir, 14 For manly power, with craftis naturall, 15 Wavis this warldis vanite. 15 Fourmeth none fairer sith the flode of Noy: 16 Timor mortis conturbat me. 16 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 17 On to the ded gois all estatis, 17 Gemme of all joy, jasper of jocunditie, 18 Princis, prelotis, and potestatis, 18 Most myghty carbuncle of vertue and valour; 19 Baith riche and pur of al degre; 19 Strong Troy in vigour and in strenuytie; 20 Timor mortis conturbat me. 20 Of royall cities rose and geraflour; 2 He takis the knychtis in to feild, 21 Empresse of town{.e}s, exalt in honour; 22 Anarmit under helme and scheild; 22 In beawtie beryng the crone imperiall; 23 Victour he is at all mellie; 23 Swete paradise precelling in pleasure: 24 Timor mortis conturbat me. 24 London, thow art the floure of Cities all. 25 That strang unmercifull tyrand 25 Above all ryvers thy Ryver hath renowne, 26 Takis, on the moderis breist sowkand, 26 Whose beryall stremys, pleasaunt and preclare, 27 The bab full of benignite; 27 Under thy lusty wallys renneth down, 28 Timor mortis conturbat me. 28 Where many a swanne doth swymme with wyngis fare; 29 He takis the campion in the stour, 29 Where many a barge doth saile, and row with are, 30 The capitane closit in the tour, 30 Where many a ship doth rest with toppe-royall. 31 The lady in bour full of bewte; 31 O! towne of townes, patrone and not-compare: 32 Timor mortis conturbat me. 32 London, thou art the floure of Cities all. 33 He sparis no lord for his piscence, 33 Upon thy lusty Brigge of pylers white 34 Na clerk for his intelligence; 34 Been merchauntis full royall to behold; 35 His awfull strak may no man fle; 35 Upon thy stretis goth many a semely knyght 36 Timor mortis conturbat me. 36 In velvet gownes and cheyn{.e}s of fyne gold. 37 Art-magicianis, and astrologgis, 37 By Julyus Cesar thy Tour founded of old 38 Rethoris, logicianis, and theologgis, 38 May be the hous of Mars victoryall, 39 Thame helpis no conclusionis sle; 39 Whos artillary with tonge may not be told: 40 Timor mortis conturbat me. 40 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 4 In medicyne the most practicianis, 41 Strong be thy wallis that about the standis; 42 Lechis, surrigianis, and phisicianis, 42 Wise be the people that within the dwellis; 43 Thame self fra ded may not supple; 43 Fresh is thy ryver with his lusty strandis; 44 Timor mortis conturbat me. 44 Blith be thy chirches, wele sownyng be thy bellis; 45 I se that makaris amang the laif 45 Riche be thy merchauntis in substaunce that excellis; 46 Playis heir ther pageant, syne gois to graif; 46 Fair be thy wives, right lovesom, white and small; 47 Sparit is nocht ther faculte; 47 Clere be thy virgyns, lusty under kellis: 48 Timor mortis conturbat me. 48 London, thow art the flour of Cities all. 49 He hes done petuously devour, 49 Thy famous Maire, by pryncely governaunce, 50 The noble Chaucer, of makaris flour, 50 With swerd of justice the rulith prudently. 51 The Monk of Bery, and Gower, all thre; 51 No Lord of Parys, Venyce, or Floraunce 52 Timor mortis conturbat me. 52 In dignytie or honoure goeth to hym nye. 53 The gude Syr Hew of Eglintoun, 53 He is exampler, lood{.e}-ster, and guye; 54 And eik Heryot, and Wyntoun, 54 Principall patrone and roose orygynalle, 55 He hes tane out of this cuntre; 55 Above all Maires as maister moost worthy: 56 Timor mortis conturbat me. 56 London, thou art the flour of Cities all. 57 That scorpion fell hes done infek 58 Maister Johne Clerk, and Jame Afflek, 59 Fra balat making and tragidie; 60 Timor mortis conturbat me. 6 Holland and Barbour he hes berevit; 62 Allace! that he nocht with us levit

20 Copyright 2013 Austin Meredith HDT WHAT? INDEX

WILLIAM DUNBAR WILLIAM DUNBAR

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In addition to the property of others, such as extensive quotations and reproductions of images, this “read-only” computer file contains a great deal of special work product of Austin Meredith, copyright 2013. Access to these interim materials will eventually be offered for a fee in order to recoup some of the costs of preparation. My hypercontext button invention which, instead of creating a hypertext leap through hyperspace —resulting in navigation problems— allows for an utter alteration of the context within which one is experiencing a specific content already being viewed, is claimed as proprietary to Austin Meredith — and therefore freely available for use by all. Limited permission to copy such files, or any material from such files, must be obtained in advance in writing from the “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project, 833 Berkeley St., Durham NC 27705. Please contact the project at .

“It’s all now you see. Yesterday won’t be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago.” – Remark by character “Garin Stevens” in William Faulkner’s INTRUDER IN THE DUST

Prepared: October 16, 2013

“Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project 21 HDT WHAT? INDEX

WILLIAM DUNBAR WILLIAM DUNBAR

ARRGH AUTOMATED RESEARCH REPORT

GENERATION HOTLINE

This stuff presumably looks to you as if it were generated by a human. Such is not the case. Instead, upon someone’s request we have pulled it out of the hat of a pirate that has grown out of the shoulder of our pet parrot “Laura” (depicted above). What these chronological lists are: they are research reports compiled by ARRGH algorithms out of a database of data modules which we term the Kouroo Contexture. This is data mining. To respond to such a request for information, we merely push a button.

22 Copyright 2013 Austin Meredith HDT WHAT? INDEX

WILLIAM DUNBAR WILLIAM DUNBAR

Commonly, the first output of the program has obvious deficiencies and so we need to go back into the data modules stored in the contexture and do a minor amount of tweaking, and then we need to punch that button again and do a recompile of the chronology — but there is nothing here that remotely resembles the ordinary “writerly” process which you know and love. As the contents of this originating contexture improve, and as the programming improves, and as funding becomes available (to date no funding whatever has been needed in the creation of this facility, the entire operation being run out of pocket change) we expect a diminished need to do such tweaking and recompiling, and we fully expect to achieve a simulation of a generous and untiring robotic research librarian. Onward and upward in this brave new world.

First come first serve. There is no charge. Place your requests with . Arrgh.

“Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project 23 HDT WHAT? INDEX

WILLIAM DUNBAR WILLIAM DUNBAR

“Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project 24