Caput I. Buchananus et Haddonus et Gloriana
by Michael Lambert
January 2023
Caput I. Buchananus et Haddonus et Gloriana
by Michael Lambert
January 2023
Commencing this Ianuarias, is a three-part series that looks at Latin and European literature during the Tudor-Renaissance era. The series commences with George Buchanan (Georgius Buchananus: 1506-1582) a Scot humanist. The following month, Walter Haddon (Gualterus Haddonus: 1516-1572), his poem is recited. He is a lawyer who wrote original Latin verse
Martias is the third and final month of the series. Queen Elizabeth is asked to state which of the two cited poets she prefers. Her response is adroit syntax and statecraft
Buchanan was Scotland’s foremost sixteenth century scholar. (Buchanan’s life is well documented, his biography is available on the World Wide Web. This work only discusses Buchanan’s literary oeuvre known as the Pompae, the processional poems. The poem was dedicated to Mary Stuart and to her marriage to Francis the Dauphin of France.)
Mary Stuart was born on 14 December 1542. She was the only legitimate child of King James V of Scotland. Her father died six days after her birth. She ascended to the throne of Scotland as queen uncrowned. (Being a child, a regency was established to govern on her behalf.) In 1548, she was formally betrothed to Francis the Dauphin, son of King Francis I of France. She was six years old. To formalize the betrothal and to keep her safe from England, Mary was sent to France. On 24 April 1558, aged 16, she married Francis the Dauphin at the Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. Within the year King Francis I accidentally died. Francis the Dauphin, in his own right, ascended to the French throne as King Francis II. Within 18 months, Francis II died of disease. Mary Stuart wears window’s black at 19. August 1561, she departs France to never return
Buchanan, whose own father died when he was a child, through his mother’s brother, George Heriot, attended school. He graduated from the University of St. Andrews with a Bachelor of Arts in 1525. Again, through assistance from his uncle; Buchanan travelled to Paris and attended the Scots College, University of Paris; earning a Master of Arts in 1528. Buchanan, during the 1550s was back in Paris, and it was during this sojourn he wrote the series of Latin poems in praise of the forth coming marriage of Mary Stuart. Buchanan was aged 52
A final word regarding processional poetry and its social significance. In our era, regard Sir Edward Elgar’s orchestral opus, the Pomp and Circumstance Processional. The work was first played at Westminster Abbey, London for the coronation of King Edward VII on 9 August 1902. Today, the work is played by every academic institution holding a graduation ceremony
