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5. In Scotland, literature was of later growth than in England. The turbulence of the country, the poverty of the people, and the sterility of the soil, were unfavourable to the encouragement of learning; and though Scotland produced many famous men, they received their education and spent their lives on the Continent, where their talents found a wider and more congenial sphere for exercise. In Scotland, as in England, the earliest works were in Latin, the most famous being the "Scoto-chronicon" of John of Fordoun, who died A.D. 1387, and the "History of the Exploits of Wallace," by John Blair, who had been that hero's chaplain. Of the earliest use of the vernacular in Scotland no certain account can be given; some of the old ballads are assigned to a very early period, but without good authority, and the prophecies traditionally ascribed to Thomas the Rhymer, who flourished in the reign of Alexander III., are generally admitted to be spurious. The earliest undoubted work in English is the "Acts and Life of the most victorious conqueror, Robert Bruce," compiled in 1375 by John Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen. It is in eightsyllabled verse, extends to a great length, and is divided into a hundred and one books. Its spirit and energy place it without dispute at the head of all chronicles, and some of its passages, such as his apostrophe to freedom, are to be found in every collection of the beauties of British verse. At a later period (1420) Andrew Wyntoun, Prior of Loch Leven, wrote his "Chronicle Original," or General History, a work every way inferior to that of Barbour. The next name of importance in Scottish literature is that of James I., who, in his "King's Quair" (that is, King's Book) celebrates the beauty of Lady Joanna Beaufoy, to whom he was afterwards married. His poem is allowed by all critics to possess great merits, and to bear a strong resemblance in thought and style to Chaucer and Gower, whom, indeed, he professedly recognises as his masters and models. Some doubt exists as to the precise period at which Henry the Minstrel, better known as Blind Harry, flourished; there can be no doubt, however, as to the great popularity enjoyed by his "Life of Wallace." This work, a poem in twelve books, was long the favourite of the Scotch nation, and in a modernized form is still extensively read.

6. For some time after the death of Chaucer literature in England exhibits a melancholy blank. Little progress, indeed, could be expected to be made during the fifteenth century, when the foolish wars with France, and the bloody quarrels of the Roses, occupied the minds and thoughts of the nation. The only writer of eminence in the period was John Lydgate, who flourished during the first half of the century in the Monastery of Bury St Edmund's. If merit were to be judged by the quantity of matter produced, Lydgate would be the first of our English poets, for he wrote an immense number of works on a great variety of subjects. His merits, however, bear a very slight proportion to the extent of his works, of which the best known are the "Story of Thebes," the "Siege of Troy," and the "Fall of Princes." In prose, during this period, we have nothing better than a law treatise by Sir John Fortescue, Chief-Justice under Henry VI. In the midst of this dearth of learning, an event happened which was destined in a few years to change the whole face of

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

the literary world, and to introduce into society a principle of progress which no future war could eradicate. The art of printing, discovered on the Continent in A.D. 1440, was brought into England towards the end of the reign of Henry VI. The use of this art in this country is indissolubly associated with the name of William Caxton; and, though it was undoubtedly practised here before his return from the Continent, yet his industry, ability, and success well entitle him to the honour which all succeeding generations of his countrymen have agreed to pay to his memory. Caxton printed sixty-four books, nearly all of them in English; few of them, however, were composed originally in that language, the most of them being translations from the French. The first book printed in English was the "History of Troye," issued at Ghent in A.D. 1471; and the first actually printed by Caxton in England was the "Game of Chess," in A.D. 1474. Most of his publications were of a similar character, and this may be regarded as strong evidence of the very limited diffusion of sound knowledge and good taste at the period.

7. After the accession of the Tudors literature began to revive, and the reigns of Henry VIII. and his successors produced several writers of eminence both in prose and verse. Of the prose writers one of the earliest was Sir Thomas More, conspicuous alike for his abilities, learning, integrity, and melancholy fato. His chief work is his Utopia," containing his opinions on government under the form of a history of an imaginary republic in the imaginary island of Utopia. More was a great friend of Erasmus the illustrious scholar, and contributed much to revive in England the long-extinct zeal for the study of classical literature. In this enterprise he was aided by Lilly, the author of a famous Latin Grammar; Sir Thomas Smith; Sir John Cheke; Dean Colet, founder of St Paul's School, London; and Roger Ascham, tutor to Queen Elizabeth. Leland, the antiquarian, and Thomas Wilson, a writer on logic and rhetoric, also deserve mention among the prose authors of this period. Of the poets, the earliest was John Skelton, a vigorous but somewhat rude satirist. Next came the Earl of Surrey, who, like More, fell a victim to the jealousy of the tyrannical Henry, and is the first of our English poets whose works exhibit the influence of the revival of learning. He adopted as his models the Italian poets, especially Petrarch: from them he introduced the sonnet into our language, along with a refinement of style, delicacy of sentiment, and harmony of versification before unknown. Besides sonnets, chiefly amatory, Surrey wrote a translation of two books of the "Eneid" into blank verse, being the earliest instance of the use of blank verse in England. Sir Thomas Wyatt, a contemporary of Surrey, imitated the style which that nobleman had introduced, and wrote satires of a much more polished vein than those of Skelton.

8. The important religious changes begun in the reign of Henry VIII. naturally led to much discussion, and produced a voluminous controversial literature. Many of the works then written had only a temporary interest, and soon sunk into oblivion; but this was not the case with the translations of Scripture which were issued. Of these the earliest was that executed by William Tyndale, an Oxford scholar of some note. As it was made before Henry had given permission to

publish the Scriptures in English, it was printed in Antwerp in 1526, and smuggled over into England. This edition contained only the New Testament, but a subsequent one embraced also the Pentateuch, Jonah, and some of the historical books of the Old Testament. The first complete translation of the whole Bible was that made by Miles Coverdale, and published by Henry's sanction in A.D. 1535. Various other versions followed, of which Matthew's Bible, Cranmer's, or the Great Bible, and the Geneva Bible, are the most noteworthy among the early translations, and the Bishop's Bible among the later. These versions, apart altogether from their religious importance, possess much merit as literary works: they show the high degree of excellence which the language had already reached, and enable us to determine the character and extent of the changes which, since that period, now upwards of three centuries ago, the English tongue has undergone. Surrey and Wyatt were perhaps the first who undertook to translate the Psalms into English verse, a work in which they had many followers. Of these the best known are Sternhold and Hopkins, whose version, long used for public worship both in England and Scotland, is in some respects superior to the works of Tate and Brady, and Francis Rous, which have superseded it.

9. At the head of the theological writers of this period, it is perhaps a matter of courtesy-to place Henry VIII., though his treatise in" Defence of the Seven Sacraments," written, as is believed, chiefly by Sir Thomas More, has probably not found twenty readers in the last two centuries. Tyndale, already mentioned as the translator of the New Testament, wrote some brief but able controversial pamphlets. The sermons of Bishop Latimer contributed powerfully to promote the cause of the Reformers; plain and practical, they were always level to the comprehension of his audience, and their genuine good sense, earnest piety, and impressive quaintness, could not but exert a deep influence on the thousands who crowded round him at Paul's Cross. The most learned book of the time was Bishop Jewel's "Defence of the Church of England," one of the ablest works in defence of Protestantism which our country has produced. The writings of Ridley, Cranmer, and others of the Reformers, were important in their own day, and manifest considerable learning and acuteness; but they are now almost forgotten. Foxe's "Book of Martyrs" is still read; but, though interesting from the subject, and valuable from its historical information, it cannot be ranked high as a literary production. Of the theological writers of this period, it may be said in general, that they are distinguished by earnestness rather than learning; and the diffuseness and total want of method and condensation in their writings soon exhaust the patience of a modern reader. They have consequently been lost sight of amid the splendour of the great luminaries of the Church who flourished in the succeeding era. Of the contributions to general literature, Ascham's educational works, Holinshed's " Chronicles," and the Voyages" of Hakluyt and others, are the most noticeable; and the character which has been given of the theological literature of the period applies with some slight modification to them also.

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10. In Scotland, the reigns of James IV. and his successor produced many authors of importance. Henryson, a schoolmaster in

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Dunfermline, wrote the "Testament of Cressida," and some fables and miscellaneous poems with much taste and considerable poetical merit. Dunbar, a clergyman who flourished at the Court of James IV., was a poet of a still higher order; and his works, which embrace allegorical, moral, and humorous pieces, display poetical merit which may be compared with that of Chaucer. Of his writings, the chief are the "Thistle and Rose" and the "Dance;" the former composed in honour of James the Fourth's marriage with Margaret of England, the latter an allegorical and highly-imaginative description of the vices. Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, wrote the "Palace of Honour" and King Hart," both allegorical, and the former bearing some resemblance to the "Pilgrim's Progress." He also translated the Æneid into verse, the earliest metrical version of any classical author in this country. His translation possesses considerable merit, and the original poems, which he has prefixed by way of introduction to each book, have always been much admired. In the reign of James V. flourished Sir David Lindsay, a great favourite with the king, who, as a poet himself, could more readily appreciate poetical merit in others. Lindsay espoused the Reformed cause, which he materially aided by his vigorous satire of the ecclesiastics. His chief works are "The Three Estates," "The Complaint," "The Dream," and " Squire Meldrum," all of them largely tinctured with grossness and indecency. To the same period may be referred many of the best Scotch ballads, so touching in their simple, artless pathos. The authors of most of them are unknown, but uniform tradition has assigned with much probability some of the most meritorious to King James V. The Reformation in Scotland did not produce any literature of much value to the student. The old religion was attacked not with the press, but with popular violence; and the controversies of the rival theologians were oftener settled by an appeal to arms than by a trial of argumentative skill. The early Scotch Reformers were in general men of imperfect education and little learning, and from various circumstances, to which it is unnecessary to refer, learning and literary ability received but slight encouragement under the Reformed Church. Knox wrote a number of small treatises, none of which, however, possess any claims on the attention of the literary student. His chief work, "The History of the Reformation in Scotland," is written with much vigour, in a style almost dramatically lively, and is, of course, a valuable record of the proceedings of the Reformers; but it is disfigured by extreme violence, great credulity, and frequent inaccuracy in details. In justice, however, to Knox it should be stated, that a considerable part of the work is certainly not his composition, and that the rest has been so interpolated that it is difficult to say how far he is responsible for any misstatements which it may contain. George Buchanan, the preceptor of James VI., was considered the most learned man in Scotland. His chief works are a version of the Psalms, and a History of Scotland, both in Latin. The merits of his version of the Psalms, though it is excessively diffuse, have been generally acknowledged; his history is now deservedly considered of little value, as it has too evidently been written to serve the interests of a party, and with a systematic disregard of truth. Among men of inferior note, Major, a professor of St Andrews; Hector Boece, principal of King's College, Aberdeen; Del

lenden, archdeacon of Moray; and Bishop Leslie, the able defender of Queen Mary, are the most memorable. Andrew Melville, whose restless desire to alter the form of church government established by Knox so long embroiled the Church and country, seems to have possessed a much larger amount of boldness and self-confidence than of learning.

11. Before passing on to the Second Period of our literature, it is necessary to trace briefly the rise and progress of the drama. From the Norman Conquest downwards, dramatic representations were customarily exhibited in the churches at the periods of the great Christian festivals. The performers were churchmen, and the subjects were taken either from the Scripture narratives, or the legendary histories of the saints; the play being called, in the first case, a Mystery, in the second, a Miracle, though these terms are often applied promiscuously. Of these plays three complete series are still in existence, known as the Chester, Coventry, and Towneley Mysteries; and they exhibit considerable humour, some perception of character, and no contemptible power of versification. They are chiefly valuable, however, from their accurately recording the habits and manners, opinions and beliefs, language and civilisation, of the periods at which they were produced. A step in advance was taken when, for the well-known personages of Scripture, there were substituted allegorical characters, such as Vice, Virtue, Ignorance, Faith, &c.; for this rendered it necessary to invent some plot, and to develop it by the action of the characters introduced. Plays of this sort, known as Morals or Moralities, formed one of the most powerful instruments by which the progress of the Reformation was facilitated; both in England and Scotland they were the chief vehicle for attacking the vices of the Roman Catholic clergy, and undermining their power by the never-failing weapon of public ridicule. A still further advance was made when the allegorical personages were dropped, and real ones introduced, as was done in what are called the Interludes, of which Thomas Heywood was the most voluminous and popular composer, his best work being perhaps his "Four P's," or a Merry Interlude between a Palmer, a Pardoner, a Pothicary, and a Pedlar." These interludes, in fact, differ from the regular drama only in being much shorter, in the greater simplicity of the plot, in the smaller number of characters, and in the slight extent to which the poet avails himself of action and incident. The earliest regular play in the language is entitled "Ralph Royster Doyster," and was written not later than 1550 by Nicholas Udall, head-master of Eton School, but was long lost, and was only recovered by accident in 1818. It is a play of great merit, full of humour and incident; the characters are drawn firmly and with great skill; the plot is happily contrived and ably developed; and it is totally free from that grossness and indelicacy which occasionally disfigure the old drama. It is in every way superior to "Gammer Gurton's Needle," which long enjoyed the honour of being our earliest play, though it, too, is by no means destitute of merit. The earliest tragedy is "Gorboduc," or "Ferrex and Porrex," exhibited before Queen Elizabeth at Whitehall in 1562 by the students of the Inner Temple. It was the joint production of Thomas Norton, and Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, and is in blank verse, being the earliest use of that kind of verse in

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