Eneados
Encyclopedia
The Eneados is a Middle Scots
translation of Virgil
's Aeneid
, completed by Gavin Douglas
in 1513. It is the first complete translation of any major work of classical antiquity
into an Anglic language. In addition to Douglas's version of the text of the Aeneid, the work also contains a translation of the "thirteenth book" written by the fifteenth-century poet Maffeo Vegio
as a continuation of the Aeneid; an original prologue for each of the thirteen books; a series of concluding poems; and an incomplete commentary, covering only part of the first book, written as marginal notes (almost certainly in Douglas's own hand) in the Cambridge manuscript.
In the first general prologue Douglas compares the merits of Virgil
and Chaucer
as master poets and attacks Caxton
for his inadequate rendering of a French
translation of the Aeneid.
Douglas's reputation among modern readers was bolstered somewhat in 1934 when Ezra Pound
included several passages of Douglas's Eneados in his ABC of Reading
. Comparing Douglas to Chaucer, Pound wrote that "the texture of Gavin's verse is stronger, the resilience greater than Chaucer's". C. S. Lewis
was also an admirer of the work: "About Douglas as a translator there may be two opinions; about his Aeneid (Prologues and all) as an English book there can be only one. Here a great story is greatly told and set off with original embellishments which are all good—all either delightful or interesting—in their diverse ways."
The first printed edition appeared in London in 1553, from the press of William Copland. It displays an anti–Roman Catholic bias, in that references (in the prologues) to the Virgin Mary, Purgatory, and Catholic ceremonies are altered or omitted; in addition, 66 lines of the translation, describing the amour of Dido and Aeneas, are omitted as indelicate. The 1710 Edinburgh folio edited by Thomas Ruddiman
, which includes a full glossary and a biography of Douglas by Bishop John Sage
, is based on the 1553 edition and the Ruthven manuscript, perhaps with corrections from the Bath manuscript. The Bannatyne Club
edition of 1839 is a printing of the Cambridge manuscript.
The standard modern edition of the Eneados is the four-volume Scottish Text Society edition by David F. C. Coldwell. The recent two-volume critical edition by Gordon Kendal also regularises the spelling.
Middle Scots
Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 13th century its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early Northumbrian Middle English...
translation of Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
, completed by Gavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas was a Scottish bishop, makar and translator. Although he had an important political career, it is for his poetry that he is now chiefly remembered. His principal pioneering achievement was the Eneados, a full and faithful vernacular translation of the Aeneid of Virgil and the first...
in 1513. It is the first complete translation of any major work of classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
into an Anglic language. In addition to Douglas's version of the text of the Aeneid, the work also contains a translation of the "thirteenth book" written by the fifteenth-century poet Maffeo Vegio
Maffeo Vegio
Maffeo Vegio was an Italian poet who wrote in Latin; he is regarded by many as the finest Latin poet of the fifteenth-century. Born near Lodi, he studied at the University of Pavia, and went on to write some fifty works of both prose and poetry....
as a continuation of the Aeneid; an original prologue for each of the thirteen books; a series of concluding poems; and an incomplete commentary, covering only part of the first book, written as marginal notes (almost certainly in Douglas's own hand) in the Cambridge manuscript.
In the first general prologue Douglas compares the merits of Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
and Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
as master poets and attacks Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
for his inadequate rendering of a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translation of the Aeneid.
Douglas's reputation among modern readers was bolstered somewhat in 1934 when Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
included several passages of Douglas's Eneados in his ABC of Reading
ABC of Reading
ABC of Reading is a book by Ezra Pound published in 1934. In it, Pound sets out an approach to the appreciation and understanding of literature ....
. Comparing Douglas to Chaucer, Pound wrote that "the texture of Gavin's verse is stronger, the resilience greater than Chaucer's". C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
was also an admirer of the work: "About Douglas as a translator there may be two opinions; about his Aeneid (Prologues and all) as an English book there can be only one. Here a great story is greatly told and set off with original embellishments which are all good—all either delightful or interesting—in their diverse ways."
Sample
Douglas translates the opening of the poem thus:- The batalis and the man I wil discrive,
- Fra Troys boundis first that fugitive
- By fait to Ytail come and cost Lavyne ;
- Our land and sey kachit with mekil pyne,
- By fors of goddis abuse, from euery steid,
- Of cruell Juno throu ald remembrit fede.
- Gret pane in batail sufferit he alsso,
- Or he his goddis brocht in Latio,
- And belt the cite, fra quham, of nobill fame,
- The Latyne pepill takyn heth thar name,
- And eik the faderis, princis of Alba,
- Cam, and the wallaris of gret Rome alswa.
Manuscripts and editions
The principal early manuscripts of the Eneados are- Cambridge MS (c. 1525), in the library of Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
- Elphynstoun MS (before 1527), in the library of the University of EdinburghUniversity of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
- Ruthven MS (c. 1535), also in the library of the University of Edinburgh
- Lambeth MS (1545–1546), in the library of Lambeth PalaceLambeth PalaceLambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
- Bath (or Longleat) MS (1547), in the Marquess of BathMarquess of BathMarquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne , who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579...
's library at LongleatLongleatLongleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
The first printed edition appeared in London in 1553, from the press of William Copland. It displays an anti–Roman Catholic bias, in that references (in the prologues) to the Virgin Mary, Purgatory, and Catholic ceremonies are altered or omitted; in addition, 66 lines of the translation, describing the amour of Dido and Aeneas, are omitted as indelicate. The 1710 Edinburgh folio edited by Thomas Ruddiman
Thomas Ruddiman
Thomas Ruddiman was a Scottish classical scholar.-Life:He was born at Raggal, Banffshire, where his father was a farmer, and educated at the University of Aberdeen. Through the influence of Dr Archibald Pitcairne he became an assistant in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh...
, which includes a full glossary and a biography of Douglas by Bishop John Sage
John Sage (bishop)
John Sage was a Scottish nonjuring bishop and controversialist in the Jacobite interest.-Life:He was born at Creich, Fifeshire, where his ancestors had lived for seven generations. His father was a captain in the royalist forces at the time of the taking of Dundee by George Monck in 1651...
, is based on the 1553 edition and the Ruthven manuscript, perhaps with corrections from the Bath manuscript. The Bannatyne Club
Bannatyne Club
The Bannatyne Club was founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history, poetry, or general literature. It printed 116 volumes in all. It was dissolved in 1861....
edition of 1839 is a printing of the Cambridge manuscript.
The standard modern edition of the Eneados is the four-volume Scottish Text Society edition by David F. C. Coldwell. The recent two-volume critical edition by Gordon Kendal also regularises the spelling.
External links
- Eneados, Edinburgh, 1839: vol. 1, vol. 2
- Thesis on the Eneados, Translation as Creative Retelling, by Gordon McGregor Kendal, 2008.
- On line edited version available at Scots Language Centre