George Buchanan

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For other uses, see George Buchanan (disambiguation).

George Buchanan
National Gallery of Scotland).
BornFebruary 1506
Killearn, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Died28 September 1582 (aged 76)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews (B.A.)
University of Paris (M.A.)
Occupation(s)historian, scholar
Statue of George Buchanan, Scottish National Portrait Gallery

George Buchanan (

Scottish Gaelic: Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." His ideology of resistance to royal usurpation gained widespread acceptance during the Scottish Reformation. Brown says the ease with which King James VII was deposed in 1689 shows the power of Buchananite ideas.[1]

The 31-metre-high (101 ft 8 in) Buchanan Monument in Killearn commemorates his nearby birthplace.

His treatise De Jure Regni apud Scotos, published in 1579. discussed the doctrine that the source of all political power is the people, and that the king is bound by those conditions under which the supreme power was first committed to his hands, and that it is lawful to resist, even to punish, tyrants. The importance of Buchanan's writings is shown by the suppression of his work by

James VI and the British legislatures in the century following their publication. It was condemned by act of parliament in 1584, and burned by the University of Oxford in 1664 and 1683.[2]

Early life

Early upbringing and education in Paris

His father, a Highlander

Heriot's Hospital, was also a member. Buchanan, a native speaker of Scottish Gaelic, is said to have attended Killearn school, but not much is known of his early education. His brother, Patrick Buchanan, was also a scholar.[5]

In 1520, he was sent by his uncle, James Heriot, to the

the Renaissance and the Reformation. There, according to him, he devoted himself to the writing of verses "partly by liking, partly by compulsion (that being then the one task prescribed to youth)".[6]

Return to Scotland

In 1522 his uncle died, and George Buchanan, who was at that time severely ill,

Paris and returned to Scotland. After recovering from his illness, he joined the French auxiliaries who had been brought over to Scotland by John Stewart, Duke of Albany, and took part in an unsuccessful siege of Wark Castle on the border with England in late 1523.[8] In the following year he entered the University of St Andrews, where he graduated B.A. in 1525. He had gone there mainly to attend the lectures of John Mair on logic; and when Mair moved to Paris, Buchanan followed him in 1526.[6]

Professor and Procurator

In 1528 Buchanan graduated M.A. at

College of Sainte-Barbe, and taught there for over three years. Sainte-Barbe was one of the most prestigious and advanced colleges at that time.[9] George added to that prestige by creating new reforms in teaching Latin.[10] In 1529 he was elected "Procurator of the German Nation" in the University of Paris, and was re-elected four times in four successive months. He resigned his regentship in 1531, and in 1532 became tutor to Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis, with whom he returned to Scotland early in 1537[6]
having acquired a great reputation for learning.

Theological stance

At this period Buchanan assumed the same attitude toward the

monastic life generally. This assault on the monks was not displeasing to James V, who engaged Buchanan as tutor to one of his natural sons, James Stewart (not the son who was afterwards regent),[11] and encouraged him in a more daring effort. The poems Palinodia and Franciscanus et Fratres remained unpublished for many years, but made the author hated by the Franciscan order.[12]

Humanist in exile

Arrest, escape and relocation

In 1539 there was persecution in Scotland of the

Lutherans, and Buchanan among others was arrested. Although the King had withheld his protection, Buchanan managed to escape and made his way to London, and then Paris. In Paris, however, he found himself in danger when his main enemy, Cardinal David Beaton, arrived there as ambassador, and on the invitation of André de Gouveia, he moved to Bordeaux. Gouveia was then principal of the newly founded College of Guienne, and by his influence Buchanan was appointed professor of Latin. During his time there several of his major works, the translations of Medea and Alcestis, and the two dramas, Jephthes, sive Votum and Baptistes (sive Calumnia), were completed.[2]

Buchanan, original engraving by Jacobus Houbraken

Joseph Scaliger, who wrote an epigram on Buchanan which contains the couplet, famous in its day: "Imperii fuerat Romani Scotia limes; Romani eloquii Scotia limes erit?"[2]
Austin Seal and Steve Philp translate this as: 'Just as Scotland was at the apex of the Roman Empire, so Scotland shall be at the apex of Roman eloquence'. (Not only is Buchanan's Latin scholarship extolled, a congratulatory reference to Scotland retaining Scottish law – quintessentially an improved version of Roman law – as the foundation of its legal system is also implied.)

Return to Paris

In 1542 or 1543 he returned to Paris, and in 1544 he was appointed regent in the Collège du cardinal Lemoine. Among his colleagues were Muretus and Turnebus.[2] Although little is known about George during this time, we can gather that he probably once again fell ill according to an elegy[15] he wrote to his comrades Tastaeus and Tevius.[16]

Coimbra

In 1547 Buchanan joined the band of French and

Jesuits, and the whole history of Buchanan's residence in Portugal was extremely obscure.[2]

Trial and imprisonment

George Buchanan, painter unknown[17]

A commission of inquiry was appointed in October 1549 and reported in June 1550. Buchanan and two Portuguese,

abjure his errors, and to be imprisoned in the monastery of São Bento in Lisbon. Here he listened to edifying discourses from the monks, whom he found "not unkind but ignorant". In his leisure he began to translate the Psalms into Latin verse, completing the greater part of the work.[2]

Release

After seven months, Buchanan was released on condition that he remain in Lisbon; and on 28 February 1552 this restriction was lifted. Buchanan then sailed for England, but soon made his way to Paris, where in 1553 he was appointed regent in the College of Boncourt. He remained in that post for two years, and then accepted the office of tutor to the son of the

Calvinism.[2]

Return to Scotland

Detail on the Buchanan memorial in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh

Espousal of Calvinism

In 1560 or 1561 Buchanan returned to Scotland, and by April 1562 was installed as tutor to the young

lay person to be elected Moderator[2] until Alison Elliot
in 2004, the first female Moderator.

Tutor and other offices

Buchanan accompanied the Regent Moray to England, and his famous Detectio Mariæ Reginæ—a scathing exposure of the Queen's relations to

Darnley and the circumstances leading up to his death, published London: John Day, [1571]—was produced to the commissioners at Westminster.[2]

In 1570, after the assassination of Moray, he was appointed one of the

James VI acquired his scholarship.[2] As the young king's senior tutor, Buchanan subjected James to regular beatings but also instilled in him a lifelong passion for literature and learning.[19] Buchanan sought to turn James into a God-fearing, Protestant king who accepted the limitations of monarchy, as outlined in his treatise De Jure Regni apud Scotos.[20]

While royal tutor he also held other offices: he was for a short time

director of chancery, and then became Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, a post which entitled him to a seat in the parliament. He appears to have continued in this office for some years, at least until 1579.[2] John Geddie was his clerk and servant in this role, and copied some of Buchanan's manuscripts.[21]

Final years

His last years were occupied with completion and publication of two of his major works, De Jure Regni apud Scotos (1579) and Rerum Scoticarum Historia (1582).[2]

He died in his first floor flat on Kennedy's Close (destroyed to build the Tron Kirk in 1637 which was in turn curtailed by the building of modern Hunter Square) in Edinburgh on Friday 28 September 1582 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard on the following day. The grave was originally marked by a through-stone but this had sunk into the ground by 1701.[22] Currently, two memorials in Greyfriars each claim to mark his burial: one just north-west of the church and a second, more modest memorial near the eastmost path. The smaller (later) one is correct.[citation needed]

Works

Latin scholar

According to the

King James.[23]

Prose works

In addition to these works, Buchanan wrote in prose Chamaeleon, a satire in

Joannes de Sacrobosco, and intended as a defence of the Ptolemaic theory against the new Copernican view.[2]

There are two early editions of Buchanan's works: Thomas Ruddiman's[24] and Pieter Burman's.[25]

Late works

The first of his important late works was the treatise De Jure Regni apud Scotos, published in 1579. In this famous work, composed in the form of a dialogue, and evidently intended to instil sound political principles into the mind of his pupil, Buchanan lays down the doctrine that the source of all political power is the people, that the king is bound by those conditions under which the supreme power was first committed to his hands, and that it is lawful to resist, even to punish, tyrants. The importance of the work is proved by the persistent efforts of the legislature to suppress it during the century following its publication. It was condemned by act of parliament in 1584, and again in 1664; and in 1683 it was burned by the University of Oxford.[2]

The second of his larger works is the History of Scotland, Rerum Scoticarum Historia, completed shortly before his death, and published in 1582. It is remarkable for the power and richness of its style, and of great value for the period personally known to the author, which occupies the greater portion of the book. The earlier part is based, to a considerable extent, on the legendary history of

Boece. Buchanan's purpose was to "purge" the national history "of sum Inglis lyis and Scottis vanite" (Letter to Randolph). He said that it would "content few and displease many";[2]
in fact, its matter gave so much offence that a proclamation was issued calling in all copies of it, as well as of the De Jure Regni, that they might be purged of the "offensive and extraordinary matters" which they contained.

Lasting legacy

Buchanan holds his great and unique place in literature not so much for his own writings as for his strong and lasting influence on subsequent writers. His influence was notable by 1726 when Andrew Millar, a prominent 18th-century bookseller, took over James McEuen's bookshop in London at the sign of 'Buchanan's Head, Temple Bar'. The sign for the shop depicted the face of George Buchanan, a testament to Buchanan's early place and reputation in Scottish letters.[26] The island of Mainland, Orkney is sometimes referred to as Pomona (or Pomonia) from an attempted translation by Buchanan, though that name has rarely been used locally.[27][28]

Modern publications and influence

ISBN 1-904598-81-1
) in 2006, the 500th anniversary of Buchanan's birth.

In the lead-up to the anniversary Professor Roger Mason of the

ISBN 1-85928-408-6
).

George Buchanan's statue on the Scott Monument

Memorials

A statue of Buchanan stands on the west-facing side of the Scott Monument on Princes Street, Edinburgh. It was sculpted by John Rhind.[29]

A memorial stained glass window stands in the south wall of Greyfriars Kirk.

A bust of Buchanan is in the Hall of Heroes of the

National Wallace Monument in Stirling
.

A monument was erected by public subscription in 1789 in the place of his birth, Killearn, Stirlingshire.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Keith M Brown, "Reformation to Union, 1560–1707," in R.A. Houston and W. W. J. Knox, eds., The New Penguin History of Scotland (2001) pp 182–275, quote at p 185
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Chisholm 1911, p. 715.
  3. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 4.
  4. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 5.
  5. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 6.
  6. ^ a b c Chisholm 1911, p. 714.
  7. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 24.
  8. ^ "Buchanan, George (1506–1582)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  9. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 41.
  10. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 47.
  11. ^ Roger A. Mason, 'George Buchanan and Mary, Queen of Scots', Scottish Church History, 30:1 (2000), p. 7.
  12. ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 714–715.
  13. ISBN 978-2-07-042381-1
    .
  14. ISBN 978-2-07-042382-8
    .
  15. ^ Macmillan, D. (1906). George Buchanan, A Biography. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Ltd. p. 89.
  16. ^ Irving, David (1807). Memoirs of the Life and Writings of George Buchanan. London: Bell and Bradfute and A. Lawrie, and Longman, Hurst, and Rees, and Orme. p. 61.
  17. ^ Annan, Thomas (1868). Illustrated catalogue of the exhibition of portraits on loan in the new galleries of art, Corporation buildings, Sauchiehall Street. Glasgow: Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum. p. 105. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  18. ^ Joseph Robertson, Inventaires de la Royne Descosse (Edinburgh, 1863), p. lxxxiv.
  19. ^ Croft, Pauline (2003). King James. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 12–13.
  20. ^ Croft, Pauline (2003). King James. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 13, 18.
  21. ^ Sebastiaan Verweij, The Literary Culture of Early Modern Scotland (Oxford, 2017), p. 95.
  22. ^ Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, 1871
  23. ^ Shire, Helena Mennie, Song Dance and Poetry at the Court of James VI, CUP (1969), 56: Buchanan, George, Omnia Opera, vol. 2 (1725), pp. 399–405
  24. ^ Ruddiman, Thomas (1715), Georgii Buchanani Scoti, Poetarum sui seculi facile principis, Opera Omnia, Edinburgh: Freebairn. (in Latin)
  25. ^ Ruddiman (1725).
  26. ^ "The manuscripts, Letter from Andrew Millar to Robert Woodrow, July 15, 1725. See footnote no. 1". millar-project.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  27. ^ Buchanan, George (1582) Rerum Scoticarum Historia: The First Book The University of California, Irvine. Revised 8 March 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  28. ^ "Pomona or Mainland?" Orkneyjar.com. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  29. ^ "The Character Statues". Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.

Bibliography

External links

Attribution:  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Buchanan, George". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 714–716.

Political offices
Preceded by Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
1571–1583 		Succeeded by
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