Alexander Arbuthnot (poet)
Alexander Arbuthnot | |
---|---|
Born | 1538 Aberdeenshire |
Died | 1583 |
Resting place | King's College Chapel, Aberdeen, Scotland |
Nationality | Scottish |
Education | University of Aberdeen |
Occupation(s) | Poet, clergyman and academic |
Movement | Scottish Reformation |
Alexander Arbuthnot (1538–1583) was a
Family life
He was the third son of Andrew Arbuthnot of Pitcarles, who in turn was the fourth son of Sir Robert Arbuthnot of Arbuthnot. His mother was Elizabeth Strachan, daughter of James Strachan of Monboddo.
Career
After having studied languages and philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, and civil law under the noted Jacques Cujas at the University of Bourges in France, Arbuthnot took ecclesiastical orders, and became in his own country a zealous supporter of the Reformation.
In 1569 he was elected principal of King's College, Aberdeen, an office he retained until his death. He played an active part in the church politics of the period, and was twice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and a member of the commission of inquiry into the condition of the University of St Andrews (1583).[1]
His attitude on public questions earned him the condemnation of
Minister of Logie Buchan (1568), of Forve and Arbuthnott (1569) Old Machar (1574) and of St Andrews (1583). Moderator of the General Assembly (1573 and 1577). He matriculated his arms.
He died on 10 October 1583 and is buried in the Kirk of St Nicholas in central Aberdeen just in front of the pulpit.[2]
Works
His extant poetical works are three poems, The Praises of Wemen (4 lines), On Luve (10 lines), and The Miseries of a Pure (poor) Scholar (189 lines).[3] [4] The praise of women in the first poem is exceptional in the literature of his age; and its geniality helps us to understand the author's popularity with his contemporaries.[1]
He wrote a volume entitled 'Orations on the Origins and Dignity of the Law', Orationes de origine et dignitate juris, 4to. (Edinburgh, 1572).[5]
He also wrote a
Notes
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae; vol. 7; by Hew Scott
- ^ Sibbald, James (1802). Chronicle of Scottish Poetry: from the Thirteenth Century, to the Union of the Crowns. Edinburgh: J Sibbald. p. 329.
- ^ Pinkerton, John (1786). Ancient Scottish Poems, Never Before in Print. But now published from the Ms. collections of Sir Richard Maitland, of Lethington, knight. London: C Dilly. p. 138.
- ^ "Scottish Books 1505-1700".
- ^ "History of the family of Arbuthnot (Originis et Incrementi Arbuthnoticae Familiae Descriptio Historica)" (1567-1606) [manuscript volume]. MS 2764 Papers of Arbuthnott of Arbuthnott, File: MS 2764/3/1/1. Aberdeen, Scotland: University of Aberdeen, Special Collections, University of Aberdeen.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arbuthnot, Alexander". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 339. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- The Scottish Studies Foundation, brief bio
- Arbuthnot, Mrs P S-M (1920). Memories of the Arbuthnots. George Allen & Unwin.
- Sir James Balfour Paul, ed. (1908). The Scots Peerage. founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's 'Peerage of Scotland'.
Further reading
- Pinkerton, John (1786). Ancient Scottish Poems, Never Before in Print. But now published from the Ms. collections of Sir Richard Maitland, of Lethington, knight. London: C Dilly. p. 138.
- Sibbald, James (1802). Chronicle of Scottish Poetry: from the Thirteenth Century, to the Union of the Crowns. Edinburgh: J Sibbald. p. 329.
- Chambers, Robert; Thomson, Thomas Napier (1857). . A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen. Vol. 1. Glasgow: Blackie and Son. pp. 67–68 – via Wikisource.