SIR DAVID LINDSAY OF THE MOUNT : POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE IN RENAISSANCE SCOTLAND Carol Edington A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 1992 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/15022 This item is protected by original copyright SIR DAVID LINDSAY OF THE MOUNT POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE IN RENAISSANCE SCOTLAND B Y CAROL EDINGTON A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS 11TH NOVEMBER 1991 4 A. ProQuest Number: 10170923 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10170923 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT For too long Sir David Lindsay of the Mount has been almost the exclusive concern of literary critics and ecclesiastical historians. This thesis aims to demonstrate that Lindsay and his works represent an invaluable source for a much broader study of Renaissance Scotland and that placing each in a proper historical and cultural context sheds an important light on some of the ideas and attitudes which shaped Scotland's political and religious culture during this crucial period. The thesis falls into three sections. The first offers a detailed examination of Lindsay's career, tracing his arrival at Court, his experiences during the minority of 1513-28 and his employment as a herald. Looking at the events of the 1530s, it argues that Lindsay's position is best seen both in the light of a developing humanist- influenced court culture and the emergence of religious controversy. It is suggested that, following the death of Janies V, Lindsay was much less closely associated with the Court and that this had important consequences for his political, religious and poetic development. Part Two stresses the hitherto little appreciated point that Lindsay was very much a political writer. Analysing his discussion of government, the section looks in particular at ideas of kingship and commonweal, assessing the extent to which Lindsay variously questioned or endorsed traditional attitudes and assumptions. This also involves a study of Lindsay's position as court-poet and those occasions of public spectacle with which he was involved. Completing the examination of Lindsay and his works, the thesis turns to questions of religion. Arguing that, his work represents a more complex, often more ambiguous, but ultimately more satisfying, source than is generally appreciated, Part. Three considers Lindsay's religious attitudes, examining what his poetry can tell us concerning the situation in Scotland on the eve of the Reformation. DECLARTIONS I, Carol Edington, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 120,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date n< Signature of Candidate I was admitted as a research student under Ordinance No. 12 in October 1988 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in October 1989; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 1988 and 1991. Date Signature of Candidate, I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date.Signature of Supervisor. Copyright In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. Dated* NtajUUWX Signature of Candidate.. Figure One The Royal Arms of Scotland (Lindsay's Armorial Manuscript) CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ........................................................ 1 PART I: SIR DAVID LINDSAY: LIFE AND CAREER Pass vp, and schaw, in oppin audience, Solempnitlie, with ornate eloquence, At greit laser, the legend of my life, How I haue stand in monie stalwart strife. (The Historic of Squyer Meldrum, 165-68) Chapter One Background and Beginnings: 1486-1530 ........... 10 Chapter Two A Heraldic Career: 1530-1555 ................... 46 Chapter Three Success and Survival: 1530-1555 ................ 80 PART II: THE ART OF GOVERNMENT: KINGSHIP AND COMMONWEAL Sir, gif ye please for to vse my counsall, Your fame and name sail be perpetuall. (Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estatis, 1900-01) Chapter Four Kings and Kingship ........................... 136 Chapter Five Courtly Visions: Court-Poet and Pageant-Master ........................... 181 Chapter Six Community and Commonweal ..................... 234 PART III: REFORM AND REFORMATION: THE CHURCH Gett vpe, thow slepist all to lang, 0 Lorde, And mak one haistie reformatioun. (The Monarche, 2701-02) Chapter Seven Religious Debate: The Humanist Critique ...................................... 290 Chapter Eight Religious Controversy: Home and Away...........324 Chapter Nine Returning to the Fray: Politics and Prophecy......................... 350 CONCLUSION ........................................................ .406 APPENDICES Appendix 1 A Short Summary of Lindsay’s Works ............ 421 Appendix 2 The Lindsay Family Tree ....................... 436 Appendix 3 A Concise Chronology .......................... 437 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................... 440 ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece (Figure One) ....The Royal Arms of Scotland (Lindsay's Armorial Manuscript) Figure Two..... Illustration of a Herald (Seton Armorial, c.1591) Figure Three ....Woodcut of a Herald (Ane Dialogue, Paris, 1558) Figure Four .... Linlithgow Palace, South Gate Figure Five .... Detail from the South Gate, Linlithgow Palace Figure Six ..... James V by an anonymous artist Acknowledgements Figure One from Facsimile of an Ancient Heraldic Manuscript Emblazoned by Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount, Lyon King of Arnies, 1542 (Edinburgh, 1822). Figures Two and Three courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. Figures Four and Five courtesy of Historic Scotland. Figure Six courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. I am grateful to the Department of Scottish History, St Andrews University, whose financial assistance made possible the reproduction of these illustrations. ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS ABBREVIATIONS A.D.C.P. Acts of the Lords of Council in Public Affairs 1501-54: Selections from the Acta Dominorum Concilii, R. K. Hannav. ed., (Edinburgh, 1932). A.P.S. The Acts of Parliament of Scotland, T. Thomson & C. Innes, ed. , 12 vols, (Edinburgh, 1814-75). C.S.P. Scot. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland, 1509-1603, M. J. Thorpe, ed., 2 vols, (London, 1858). D.N.B. Dictionary of National Biography, (London & Oxford, 1885- ). I). 0. S. T. A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Toungue: Twelfth Century to the end of the Seventeenth, Sir William A. Craigie et. al. ed. , (London & Aberdeen, 1937- ) E.E.T.S. Early English Text Society. E.R. The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, G. Burnett et al., ed., 23 vols, (Edinburgh, 1878-1908). Hamilton Papers The Hamilton Papers, Joseph Bain, ed., 2 vols, (Edinburgh, 1890-92). Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (London, 1870- ). L.& P. Henry VIII Calendar of Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, J. S. Brewer et al., ed., 21 vols, (London, 1864-1932). O.E.D. The Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition, 20 vols, (Oxford, 1989). R.M.S. Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum, J. M. Thompson et al., ed., 11 vols, (Edinburgh, 1882-1914). R.P.C. The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, J. H. Burton et al., ed., (Edinburgh 1877- ). R.S.C.H.S. Records of the Scottish Church History Society. R.S.S. Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum, M. Livingstone et al., ed., (Edinburgh, 1908- ). S.B.R.S. Scottish Burgh Record Society. S.H.R. Scottish Historical Review. S.H.S. Scottish History Society. Abbreviations Contd S.L.J. Scottish Literary Journal. S.M.R.T. Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Thought. S.P. Henry VIII State Papers of Henry VIII, 11 vols, (London, 1830-52). S.R.S. Scottish Record Society. S.S.L. Studies in Scottish Literature. S.T.S. Scottish Text Society. T.A. Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland T. Dickon & Sir J. Balfour Paul, ed., 12 vols, (Edinburgh, 1877-1916). CONVENTIONS Contemporary documents are quoted in the original spelling. Yogh is given as 'y', thorn as ’th’ and the letters i/j and u/v/w are modernized where this clarifies the sense. Contractions are expanded and modern capitalization and punctuation used. Dates are given according to the modern calendar with the new year beginning on 1 January. Unless otherwise stated, quotations from Lindsay's works are taken from Douglas Hamer, The Works of Sir David Lindsay of the Mount 1490-1555, 4 vols, (S.T.S., 1931-36). Quotations from Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estatis are taken from Charteris’s 1602 edition as editied by Hamer (see Appendix One, p.429). INTRODUCTION No study of Scottish literature - indeed no study of Scottish history - can afford to overlook Sir David Lindsay of the Mount.