Corona Borealis

de Steven J. Reid, David McOmish

Latin was Scotland's third language in the early modern period, alongside Scots and Gaelic, and the reign of King James VI and I is considered to be a golden age of Scottish neo-Latin literature. This book considers Latin texts by Scottish authors written between James's birth in 1566 and his removal to England in 1603, and highlights the role of Latin in Scottish cultural life. The production of Latin poetry by Scots grew exponentially in the decades immediately following the Protestant Reformation (1560), bolstered by a new focus on renaissance education in Scotland's schools and universities, and Scottish neo-Latinists were part of a European community of humanist scholars fascinated by the Classical past. Verses are presented with facing English translations, along with scholarly introductions and detailed linguistic and historical notes.