Hector Boece
Encyclopedia
Hector Boece known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish
philosopher and first Principal
of King's College
in Aberdeen
, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen
.
where he attended school. Later he left to study at the University of Paris
where he met Erasmus, with whom he became close friends while they were both students at the austere Collège de Montaigu
, to whose reforming Master, Jan Standonck
, Boece later became Secretary. By 1497 he had become a professor of philosophy at the university.
In 1500, he was induced to leave Paris
for Aberdeen
by a generously financed offer to become the first principal of the newly established University of Aberdeen
, created at the behest of James IV
by William Elphinstone
, Bishop of Aberdeen under the authority of a Papal bull
issued by Pope Alexander VI
.
From then onwards, he worked closely with Elphinstone, to set up the new university and by 1505, regular lectures were taking place at King's College. The university structure was modelled on those of Paris and of Orléans
. As intended, Boece was installed as the first principal of the university and gave lectures on medicine and on divinity.
At the end of 1534, Boece became Rector of Fyvie
. He died in Aberdeen two years later at the age of 71.
. The former was the basis of a poem in Scots
by Alexander Gardyne.
Reception of the Historia
The Historia is the work for which Boece is remembered, as the second scholarly history of the Scots to be written; its only real predecessor was the compendium of John Mair
. It was written in a flowing and pleasing style, became popular, and led to ecclesiastical preferment and royal favour. By modern standards it is overly patriotic, and has many inaccuracies. The historical account of Macbeth of Scotland
, in particular, flattered the antecedents of Boece's patron King James IV of Scotland
, and greatly maligned the real Macbeth. The work was well received at the time, both in Europe and in Scotland, after its translation from Latin
into French and then in 1536 from Latin into Scots by John Bellenden
(which is the oldest book of prose written in Scots to survive into modern times).
Continuations of the Historia and its influence
Boece's Historia as published terminated in 1438. In the early 1530s the scholar Giovanni Ferrerio, engaged by Robert Reid
of Kinloss Abbey
, wrote a continuation of Boece's history, extending it another 50 years, to the end of the reign of James III. John Lesley
in his De Origine, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum, and Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
, provided further continuations. The metrical translation into Scots by William Stewart
, not published until the nineteenth century, also provided some expansion.
The chronicler Polydore Vergil
made some use of Boece for his 1534 Historia Anglica. David Chalmers of Ormond in his Histoire abbregée (1572) wrote about the French, English and Scottish monarchies, relying on Boece for the Scottish account. The Historia was translated into English for Raphael Holinshed
's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The account in Holinshed's Chronicle was then used by William Shakespeare
as the basis of his play Macbeth
.
George Buchanan
made heavy use of Boece in his Rerum Scoticarum Historia (1582).
Boece's sources
Boece's claimed sources fell into three classes. The works of John Fordun (Chronica Gentis Scotorum
) and Walter Bower
(Scotichronicon
) defined the tradition which he attempted to make seamless, filling the gaps in the chronicle, and applying the approach common to humanists
of his period. The works of Tacitus
had been rediscovered, in the 14th century, and contained material relevant to British
history; and Boece was concerned to integrate it into the tradition. Finally there was a group of sources that remain debated: material from Elphinstone, and the authors Veremundus, Cornelius Hibernicus, and John Campbell. No written record of these works survives.
Sharp criticism of the sourcing of Boece's history was voiced in the sixteenth century by Humphrey Lhuyd and John Twyne
. In the eighteenth century the historical content of the earlier parts of work was effectively dismantled by Thomas Innes
.
Boece shared in the credulity of his age; the approach of Mair, who was writing in parallel at the same time, but with a different focus and with a more critical and less sweeping method, did not represent the current fashion. The charge of actually inventing his authorities, formerly brought against Boece, has been the subject of recent scholarship. The "John Campbell" is tentatively identified as Boece's contemporary John Campbell of Lundie (died 1562). "Veremundus", it is argued, may be a Richard Vairement of the 13th century.
Attribution
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
philosopher and first Principal
Ancient university governance in Scotland
The ancient university governance structure in Scotland is the organisational system imposed by the Universities Acts, a series of Acts of Parliament enacted between 1858 and 1966. The Acts applied to what were termed the 'older universities': the University of St Andrews, the University of...
of King's College
King's College, Aberdeen
King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and an integral part of the University of Aberdeen...
in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
.
Biography
He was born in DundeeDundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
where he attended school. Later he left to study at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
where he met Erasmus, with whom he became close friends while they were both students at the austere Collège de Montaigu
Collège de Montaigu
The Collège de Montaigu was one of the constituent colleges of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Paris. The college, originally called the Collège des Aicelins, was founded in 1314 by Giles Aicelin, the Archbishop of Rouen...
, to whose reforming Master, Jan Standonck
Jan Standonck
Jan Standonck was a Dutch priest, Scholastic, and reformer.He was part of the great movement for reform in the 15th century French church. His approach was to reform the recruitment and education of the clergy, along very ascetic lines, heavily influenced by the hermit saint Francis of Paola...
, Boece later became Secretary. By 1497 he had become a professor of philosophy at the university.
In 1500, he was induced to leave Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
by a generously financed offer to become the first principal of the newly established University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
, created at the behest of James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
by William Elphinstone
William Elphinstone
William Elphinstone was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen.He was born in Glasgow, and educated at the University of Glasgow, taking the degree of M.A. in 1452. After practising for a short time as a lawyer in the church courts, he was ordained a...
, Bishop of Aberdeen under the authority of a Papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
issued by Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
.
From then onwards, he worked closely with Elphinstone, to set up the new university and by 1505, regular lectures were taking place at King's College. The university structure was modelled on those of Paris and of Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. As intended, Boece was installed as the first principal of the university and gave lectures on medicine and on divinity.
At the end of 1534, Boece became Rector of Fyvie
Fyvie
Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.-Fyvie Castle:Fyvie Castle is reputed to have been built by King William the Lyon in the early thirteenth century...
. He died in Aberdeen two years later at the age of 71.
Works
Boece wrote and published two books, one of biography and one of history. In 1522 he published the Vitae Episcoporum Murthlacensium et Aberdonensium (Lives of the Bishops of Murthlack and Aberdeen) and in 1527 the Historia Gentis Scotorum (History of the Scottish People) to the accession of James III of ScotlandJames III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
. The former was the basis of a poem in Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
by Alexander Gardyne.
Reception of the Historia
The Historia is the work for which Boece is remembered, as the second scholarly history of the Scots to be written; its only real predecessor was the compendium of John Mair
John Mair
John Mair was a Scottish philosopher, much admired in his day and an acknowledged influence on all the great thinkers of the time. He was a very renowned teacher and his works much collected and frequently republished across Europe...
. It was written in a flowing and pleasing style, became popular, and led to ecclesiastical preferment and royal favour. By modern standards it is overly patriotic, and has many inaccuracies. The historical account of Macbeth of Scotland
Macbeth of Scotland
Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death...
, in particular, flattered the antecedents of Boece's patron King James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
, and greatly maligned the real Macbeth. The work was well received at the time, both in Europe and in Scotland, after its translation from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
into French and then in 1536 from Latin into Scots by John Bellenden
John Bellenden
John Bellenden or Ballantyne of Moray was a Scottish writer of the 16th century.He was born towards the close of the 15th century, and educated at St. Andrews and Paris. At the request of James V he translated Hector Boece's Historia Gentis Scotorum...
(which is the oldest book of prose written in Scots to survive into modern times).
Continuations of the Historia and its influence
Boece's Historia as published terminated in 1438. In the early 1530s the scholar Giovanni Ferrerio, engaged by Robert Reid
Robert Reid (bishop)
Robert Reid was abbot of Kinloss, commendator-prior of Beauly, and bishop of Orkney. He was one of the greatest of the bishops of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Scotland, and his legacy was the founding of the University of Edinburgh....
of Kinloss Abbey
Kinloss Abbey
Kinloss Abbey is a Cistercian abbey approximately 3 miles east of Forres in the county of Moray, Scotland.The abbey was founded in 1150 by King David I and was first colonised by monks from Melrose Abbey. It received its Papal Bull from Pope Alexander III in 1174, and later came under the...
, wrote a continuation of Boece's history, extending it another 50 years, to the end of the reign of James III. John Lesley
John Lesley
John Lesley was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop and historian. His father was Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingussie, Badenoch.-Early career:...
in his De Origine, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum, and Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
, provided further continuations. The metrical translation into Scots by William Stewart
William Stewart (makar)
William Stewart was a Scottish poet working in the first half of the 16th-century.-Life:He was great-grandson of one of the illegitimate sons of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan. He was educated like his namesake William Stewart , the future bishop of Aberdeen, at the University of St Andrews....
, not published until the nineteenth century, also provided some expansion.
The chronicler Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil was an Italian historian, otherwise known as PV Castellensis. He is better known as the contemporary historian during the early Tudor dynasty. He was hired by King Henry VIII of England, who wanted to distance himself from his father Henry VII as much as possible, to document...
made some use of Boece for his 1534 Historia Anglica. David Chalmers of Ormond in his Histoire abbregée (1572) wrote about the French, English and Scottish monarchies, relying on Boece for the Scottish account. The Historia was translated into English for Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The account in Holinshed's Chronicle was then used by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
as the basis of his play Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
.
George Buchanan
George Buchanan
George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
made heavy use of Boece in his Rerum Scoticarum Historia (1582).
Boece's sources
Boece's claimed sources fell into three classes. The works of John Fordun (Chronica Gentis Scotorum
Chronica Gentis Scotorum
The Chronica Gentis Scotorum or Chronicles of the Scottish People was the first substantial work of Scottish history. It was written by the priest John of Fordun, starting in 1363 until his death in 1385....
) and Walter Bower
Walter Bower
Walter Bower , Scottish chronicler, was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian.He was abbot of Inchcolm Abbey from 1418, was one of the commissioners for the collection of the ransom of James I, King of Scots, in 1423 and 1424, and in 1433 one of the embassy to Paris on the business of the...
(Scotichronicon
Scotichronicon
The Scotichronicon is a 15th-century chronicle or legendary account, by the Scottish historian Walter Bower. It is a continuation of historian-priest John of Fordun's earlier work Chronica Gentis Scotorum beginning with the founding of Scotland of mediaeval legend, by Scota with Goídel...
) defined the tradition which he attempted to make seamless, filling the gaps in the chronicle, and applying the approach common to humanists
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
of his period. The works of Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
had been rediscovered, in the 14th century, and contained material relevant to British
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
history; and Boece was concerned to integrate it into the tradition. Finally there was a group of sources that remain debated: material from Elphinstone, and the authors Veremundus, Cornelius Hibernicus, and John Campbell. No written record of these works survives.
Sharp criticism of the sourcing of Boece's history was voiced in the sixteenth century by Humphrey Lhuyd and John Twyne
John Twyne
John Twyne was an English schoolmaster, scholar and author, and also Member of Parliament for Canterbury.-Life:He was born about 1501 at Bullington, Hampshire, the son of William Twyne...
. In the eighteenth century the historical content of the earlier parts of work was effectively dismantled by Thomas Innes
Thomas Innes
Thomas Innes was a Scottish Roman Catholic priest and historian. He studied at the Scots College, , of which he became vice-principal...
.
Boece shared in the credulity of his age; the approach of Mair, who was writing in parallel at the same time, but with a different focus and with a more critical and less sweeping method, did not represent the current fashion. The charge of actually inventing his authorities, formerly brought against Boece, has been the subject of recent scholarship. The "John Campbell" is tentatively identified as Boece's contemporary John Campbell of Lundie (died 1562). "Veremundus", it is argued, may be a Richard Vairement of the 13th century.
External links
- Scotorum Historia (1575 version) in Latin and English
- Murthlacensium et Aberdonensium Episcoporum Vitae
Attribution