Alexander Barclay

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For other people named Alexander Barclay, see Alexander Barclay (disambiguation).

Alexander Barclay
Bornc. 1476
Died10 June 1552 (aged c. 75)
Croydon, Surrey
Occupationpoet
Notable workThe Ship of Fools (1509)
Woodcut Frontispiece from Alexander Barclay's "Lyfe of Seynt George" Westminster 1515

Dr Alexander Barclay (c. 1476 – 10 June 1552) was a poet and clergyman of the Church of England, probably born in Scotland.

Biography

Barclay was born in about 1476. His place of birth is matter of dispute, but William Bulleyn, who was a native of Ely, and probably knew him when he was in the monastery there, asserts that he was born "beyonde the cold river of Twede" (River Tweed, i.e. in Scotland). His early life was spent at Croydon, but it is not certain whether he was educated at Oxford or Cambridge. It may be presumed that he took his degree, as he uses the title of "Syr" in his translation of Sallust's Bellum Jugurthinum, and in his will he is called Doctor of Divinity.

From the numerous incidental references in his works, and from his knowledge of

The Ship of Fools, partly a translation from Sebastian Brant
.

The death of his patron in 1513 apparently put an end to his connection with the west, and he became a

Franciscan friar of Canterbury
.

It is presumed that he conformed with the change of religion, for he retained under

preferment at Croydon, Surrey
, where he was buried on 10 June 1552.

Works

The Ship of Fools (1509) was as popular in its

allegorical satires of the preceding centuries. The figures are no longer abstractions; they are concrete examples of the folly of the bibliophile who collects books but learns nothing from them, of the evil judge who takes bribes to favour the guilty, of the old fool whom time merely strengthens in his folly, of those who are eager to follow the fashions, of the priests who spend their time in church telling "gestes" of Robin Hood
and so forth. Thus, the work is of interest as throwing light on the manners and customs of the times to which it refers.

Barclay wrote the Life of St George (c. 1515) for Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk with a dedication to Nicholas West. He translated the Mirrour of Good Manners (c. 1518), from the Italian of Dominic Mancini. This work was written at the command of Sir Giles Alington.[5]

Most of Barclay's works were made in collaboration with the printer

Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, Baptista Mantuanus, and Jean Lemaire de Belges. The Eclogues include laments for John Alcock, John Morton, and Roger Westminster, Prior of Ely.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Antony Hasler, Court Poetry in Late Medieval England and Scotland (Cambridge, 2011), p. 88.
  2. ^ Antony Hasler, Court Poetry in Late Medieval England and Scotland (Cambridge, 2011), p. 88.
  3. ^ Antony Hasler, Court Poetry in Late Medieval England and Scotland (Cambridge, 2011), p. 88.
  4. ^ Nichols, John Gough, ed., The Chronicle of Calais (Camden Society, 1846), p. 83
  5. ^ Antony Hasler, Court Poetry in Late Medieval England and Scotland (Cambridge, 2011), pp. 89-90.
  6. ^ Antony Hasler, Court Poetry in Late Medieval England and Scotland (Cambridge, 2011), pp. 88-93.

References

  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Barclay, Alexander" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Further reading

External links

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