GB 0103 MS ANGL 1 - Boece's Chronicles (Bellenden Translation)

1 volume containing 331 leaves

The volume bears the stamp of the Earl of Lauderdale. Inside the front cover is inscribed: Alexr Boswell 10 Jul 1753. Donum M Joannis Gordon de Buhtlaio Advocati.
GB 0103 MS ANGL 1 c1531 Collection (fonds) 1 volume containing 331 leaves Unknown
John Bellenden: born in the last decade of the 15th century; he is thought to have been brought up in Haddington or Berwick; matriculated as a student of St Andrew's University, 1508; proceeded from Scotland to Paris, and took the degree of DD at the Sorbonne; in Scotland during the reign of James V; brought over with him Hector Boece's Historia Scotorum (Paris, 1527) and, appointed by the king to translate it into the Scottish vernacular, embarked upon this project from 1530 to 1531-1532; delivered his translation to the king, 1533; the translation appeared in 1536, apparently semi-privately printed for the king and nobles and special friends; Bellenden added two poems of his own to the translation, one entitled 'The Proheme to the Cosmographe' and the other 'The Proheme of the History'; also translated Livy for the king; some enemies apparently caused Bellenden to be dismissed from the royal service; appointed archdeacon of Moray during the vacancy of the see, and about the same time canon of Ross; in the succeeding reign, being an adherent to Roman Catholicism, opposed the Reformation and fled overseas; some accounts state that he died at Rome in 1550, but Lord Dundrennan alleges that he was certainly still alive in 1587.

Hector Boece (or Boethius): born at Dundee, Scotland, c1465; historian and humanist; educated at Dundee and the University of Paris; a friend of Desiderius Erasmus; chief adviser to William Elphinstone, bishop of Aberdeen, in the foundation of the University of Aberdeen (King's College, Aberdeen); first Principal of the University; lectured on divinity; received a pension from the Scottish court, 1527-1534; a canon of Aberdeen; vicar of Tullynessle; later rector of Tyrie; author of the Latin history Scotorum historiae a prima gentis origine (The History and Chronicles of Scotland), 1527; the work, based on legendary sources, glorified the Scottish nation; the History had wide currency abroad in a French translation; Boece died, 1536.

The volume bears the stamp of the Earl of Lauderdale. Inside the front cover is inscribed: Alexr Boswell 10 Jul 1753. Donum M Joannis Gordon de Buhtlaio Advocati.

Presented to University College London in 1912 by Lord Iveagh.

Manuscript volume, c1531, containing Hector Boece's Chronicles of Scotland, translated into Scots by John Bellenden.

Open.

Normal copyright restrictions apply.
Scots dialect
Paper manuscript bound in brown calf. One hand throughout, some corrections. 32cm.

Dorothy K Coveney, A Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Library of University College London (London, 1935); handlist at University College London Special Collections.

University College London Special Collections also holds a manuscript volume, 1600, containing a copy of the translation, into Scots, of Hector Boece's Chronicles of Scotland, continued by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie (Ref: MS ANGL 2).

Leeds University, Brotherton Library, holds a manuscript of his 'discours Particulier D'escosse', 1559. The National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division, holds his translation into Scots of Livy books 1-5 and of Hector Boece's Historia Scotorum (Ref: Adv MSS 18 3 12, 33 4 15).

Cf The Works of John Bellenden (Edinburgh, 1822); Raymond Wilson Chambers and Walter Warren Seton, 'Bellenden's Translation of the History of Hector Boece', Scottish Historical Review, xvii (Oct 1919), pp 5-15 (also published by Maclehose, Jackson & Co, Glasgow, 1919).

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica online; Dictionary of National Biography; National Register of Archives. Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Jul 2001 Bellenden , John , fl 1533-1587 , Scottish poet and translator x Ballenden , John x Ballentyne , John Boece , Hector , c 1465-1536 , historian , also Hector Boethius x Boethius , Hector Documents Europe European history Historical periods History Information sources Medieval history National history Scotland Scottish history Translations UK Western Europe London England

Presented to University College London in 1912 by Lord Iveagh.

Manuscript volume, c1531, containing Hector Boece's Chronicles of Scotland, translated into Scots by John Bellenden.

Open.

Normal copyright restrictions apply.

• English

• Latin

Scots dialect

University College London Special Collections also holds a manuscript volume, 1600, containing a copy of the translation, into Scots, of Hector Boece's Chronicles of Scotland, continued by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie (Ref: MS ANGL 2).

Dorothy K Coveney, A Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Library of University College London (London, 1935); handlist at University College London Special Collections.

Leeds University, Brotherton Library, holds a manuscript of his 'discours Particulier D'escosse', 1559. The National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division, holds his translation into Scots of Livy books 1-5 and of Hector Boece's Historia Scotorum (Ref: Adv MSS 18 3 12, 33 4 15).

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English