Did John Lydgate Write the Original for the “Scotch Copy of a Poem on Heraldry”?

Abstract

Evidence is presented, from heraldic, linguistic and political–historical evidence, that the original author of the “Scotch Copy of a Poem on Heraldry” was not Adam Loutfut ca. 1494 but the earlier English writer John Lydgate, possibly drawing from French heraldic sources. A new transcription from the Harleian MS 6149 is given with a comparison to the text from a copy in Queen’s MS. 161, plus a modern-language “translation” and critical commentary.

1. Introduction

The so-called Scotch1 Copy of a Poem on Heraldry survives in two manuscript (ms.) versions, one in the British Library’s Harleian collection of heraldic tracts (Harley MS. 6149, folios 151r–155r; see Cart. Harl. MSS., 332) here referred to as H, and one in Queen’s College, Oxford, part of A Chivalric Compilation, in Scots and Latin, (MS. 161, s. xv–xvi, folios. 110r–113v), here called Q. The Queen’s ms. (Q) is most likely copied from the Harley ms. (H) as there are obvious transcriptional and other blunders.

A direct comparison was made between the images of H provided by the British Library and the version Q in Oxford (no images available here).

The scribe/compiler, of H at least, was Adam Loutfut, Kintyre Pursuivant, as we know from the colophon dated 1494 at the end of the second text (Figure 1): Explicit iste liber honorabili armigero Wilelmo Cummyn de Inverellochy alias marchamond heraldo p[er?] Ad[am] Loutfut. Anno dm mo cccc nonamo quarto [...] ?xxix Septembrii’ (f. 44). The H version was written for (and is part of a book belonging to) Sir William Cummyn of Inverallochy, Marchmond Herald at the time the poem was copied or translated into Scots and later Lord Lyon (from 1512 to 1519, knighted in 1507).2 It has appeared in transcript since, as one of the tracts reprinted in Part I of a collection of instructional material (including Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Queene Elizabethes Achademy, written some time after 1562 for the better and reformed education of Elizabethan youth), for the Early English Text Society (Furnivall 1869), and in Byles (1926).

What is less than clear is whether H is:

(a) an original poem in Scots (there is no suggestion here, and no evidence, that Lotfut was composing an “authorial draft”);

(b) a copy of such an original poem, now lost to us; or

(c) a translation into Scots of a pre-existing work in English, French, Latin, etc., or a copy of such.

Loutfut has been generally considered by Scottish heraldists to be the original author, but without any real evidence.3 There are clues as to the country of origin and the authorship in the language of the poem and the heraldry it contains. Even if this poem was originally in Scots, it may still be the earliest treatise on Scots heraldry (as opposed to armorials, which are collections of coats of arms), predating McKenzie of Rosehaugh4 by some 200 years. Thus, it has historical interest to heraldists and mediaevalists. But the poem is almost unknown to Scots literature specialists. We should also note that Loutfut (in his accompanying manuscript, The Deidis of Armorie) is the first known writer to use the terms “Scottis” for his native tongue, not Gavin Dunbar as is often claimed (Houwen 1994).

(Furnivall (1869) and the accompanying heraldic notes by G. E. Adams, a Scottish heraldist of the time, though no expert on mediaeval heraldry (Houwen 1994, p. liii n. 36, p.) accept an English origin translated into Scots. In 1936, R. H. Bowers of Yale presented some thoughts, a comparison of the H and Q texts and a suggested glossary (Bowers 1936) and found little to convince himself that the poem was English in origin. There the matter has rested for almost 75 years.

2. Methodology

This paper presents a new transcription by the present author (BD) of the H version, noting Q variants—as in l. 4: discrepancies [discrepance]—and alongside is a rendition in modern language, also by BD. “Difficult” words are dealt with in footnotes, as an aid to immediate reading. The nature and language of heraldry is (briefly) explained, so that terms and arguments in the text of the poem may be understood. Following the transcription are Modern English summaries/paraphrases of the stanzas, with additional explanation. An analysis of the language and of the state of heraldry and politics at the time (ca. 1500) in Scotland, England and France, is given, plus clues as to authorship from these. The punctuation has been modernized.

The poem was composed some time before H was compiled in 1494, by (says Adams as a preface to the poem in Furnivall) “one of that unwise class of writers on Heraldry, who, not content with assigning to that science its proper place as a handmaid to History (which, by enabling the ownership and dates of various buildings, charters, monuments, &c., to be identified, the matrimonial alliances of noble families to be proved, &c. &c., it certainly is) by claiming for it a fabulous origin, and one so manifestly capable of disproof, brought the whole subject into such contempt and ridicule, that the study of it in later generations was almost entirely neglected”. He includes, rightly, Sylvanus Morgan, who in 1661 ascribed arms to Adam, Eve, Noah, “Duke” Joseph of Egypt and others (See Lower 1845, p. 7 ff.).

However, the copies, at least, were made by a close associate and subordinate of Cummyn of Inverallochy, possibly working on Cummyn’s behalf. He could not be considered a heraldic ingénue which makes some of the howlers all the more puzzling if Loutfut were indeed the author. The prolific 15th Century Benedictine poet and translator, John Lydgate, is suggested as the originator in English, but possibly from a French text.

The Figures are mostly redrawn from Elvin’s Dictionary of Heraldry (Elvin 1889).

3. The Poem

A transcription from H (made by BD) is on the left, noting Q variants in [square brackets], with a modernized “translation” on the right. The page images of H 151r–155r are reproduced at the end of this article.

First as the erth incresith populus,  So convalit variance and vicis, Amang men materis maliciouse,  So that few mycht laubour for discrepancies [discrepance],  quhill nobilnes in armes, lordly pusancis,   and of heraldis þe werschipful ordour,   Of quham I think to tret [treit], set weyis sure.	Line 1 Stanza I	First as the earth increases populous,  So grow discord and vices, And malicious matters among men,  So that few work for distinctions,  which nobleness in arms, lordly powers,   which heralds, the worshipful order,   Of whom I intend to treat, arrange.
In werris of thebes, athenis, and troyis tounis,  with otheris mo of gret antiquiteis, Banneris, standeris, gittovnis, pensalis, penonis,  borne by princis, nobillis, and commyniteis [commoniteis],  In ferre [feir] of were [weir], pes [peace], or ony degreis,   I find thai war most merkis, as merchandis   Beris toknis [toykinnys] or signetis on ther [þair] handis.	8 II	In wars of Thebes, Athens, and Troy [towns],  with others of greater antiquity, Banners, standards, getouns,5 pencels, pennons,6  borne by princes, nobles, and communities,  In warfare, peace, or any degrees,   I find they mostly wore marks, as merchants   Bear tokens or signets on their hands.
Quhill efter euer the langest leving men  heris, speris, and lernis more [onore] felle and wit, Diuerse folkis ingenyouse fyndene thene  In well degest myndis considerit,  Be celestial inspiring part tuk it,   To set armes in metalis and colouris [metellis and cullouris],   ffor seir causis bering sertyn [certane] figouris,	15 III	While ever after the longest living man  hears, asks, and learns more [honour] intelligence and wisdom, Various ingenious people then being  Of well organised minds,  Inspired by God, decided   To set arms in metals and colours,   For several reasons bearing certain figures,
Sum sonne, sum monne, sum sternis, sum elementis,  Sum best [beist], sum bird, sum fische, sum frut, sum flouris, and mony mo siclik; Sum with defferentis,  Sum alterit, als sum in ther awin nature;  Sum, not the hole, bot part in raschit figouris,   As my simplest consate [consait]sal suin mak clere [cleir],   With correctioun, and now quha likis heir.	22 IV	Some suns, moons, stars, elements,  Some beasts, birds, fish, fruit, flowers, and many more such; Some with differences,7  Some altered, as well as some natural;8  Some, not whole, but erased figures,9   As my simplest conceit shall soon make clear,   With correction, and now who likes, hear.
The eldest, gret, most populus, mortal were,  wes at thebes, quhiche at linth [lenth] I did write, Quhare palamonne and arsite, woundit there,  Be ther cotis of armes knawin parfite,  Be heralds war, sum sais, bot that I nyte,   ffor in thai dais [dayis] heraldis war not create,   Nor that armes set in propir estate [estait].	29 V	The eldest, great, most populous, mortal war,  was at Thebes, which at length I did write, Where Palamon and Arcite, wounded there,  By their coats of arms were identified,10  By heralds, some say, but that I deny,   For in those days there were no heralds,   Nor were arms properly established.
Bot eftir that troy, quhar [quhair] so mony kingis war  Seging without, and other within the toune, So mony princis, knychtis, and peple there,  as this my buk the most sentence did soune,  all thocht spedful [speidfull] in o conclusioune,   That nobillis bere merkis, to mak be knawin,   ther douchtynes in dedis [deidis] of armes schawin:	36 VI	But after that Troy, where were so many kings  Sieging without and others within the town, So many princes, knights, and people there,  as this my book11 the most sentence did sound,  all immediately concluded,   That nobles bear marks, to make known,   their doughtiness in deeds of arms shown:
The fader the hole, the eldast son deffer[e]nt  quhiche a labelle; a cressent the secound; third a molet; the fourt a merl to tent;12  fift anne aglot; the vj a flour had fond,  Clepit delice. Than fader or we the suld grond   Armes to mo, gif thai be with difference   As plesit him: thus armes begon from thens.	43 VII	The father the whole, the eldest son different13  Which are a label; a crescent the second; third a mullet; the fourth a martlet;  fifth an aglot;14 the sixth a flower had found,  Called de Lys. Then the father or we they should grant   Armes to more, if they be with difference   As pleases him: thus arms began from then.
Than troy distroyit, the werris endit, the lordis  I seir landis removit; and so brutus (his lif and dait my buk efter recordis,)  Come in brutane with folkis populus,  And brocht [brot] with him this werly merkis thus,   quhiche succedis in armes to this date [dait];   Bot lang efter troy, heraldis war nocht [not] creat.	50 VIII	Then Troy destroyed, the wars ended, the lords  To several lands removed; and so Brutus (his life and times my book after records,)  Came in Britain with many folks,  And brought with him these warlike marks thus,   which succeed in arms to this date;   But long after Troy, there were no Heraldis.
Mony haldis that gret lulius cesar  ffand, and did mast [maist] be wit and discrecioun, how in metallis and colouris [metellis and cullouris] armes ar  Now propir set with hie perfectioun  In braid feldis [feilids] to bere [beir] and to blasoun.   On principal I traist wes his prudens,   With otheris mo preceding him and sence.	57 IX	Many hold that great Julius Caesar  Proved,15 and did most16 by knowledge and civility, how in metalls and colours arms are  Now properly set with high perfection  In broad fields to bear and to blazon.   On principal I trust was his prudence,   With others more preceding him and since.
Gold and siluer, ij preciouse metallis pure,  ffour colouris bene propir, and the[r]-with mixt. Sable, goulis, asur, vert: perpure  ther-with wnproper, as proportis the text;  In it apperis diuerse colouris befixt,   therfor it is not o propir colour,   Bot sufferit so in armes of honour.	64 X	Gold and silver, two precious metals pure,  Four colours well proper, and therewith mixed. Sable, Gules,17 Azure, Vert: Purpure  is there but unproper, this text suggests;  In it appear diverse colours fixed,   therefore it is not a proper colour,   But is as such in arms of honour.
To blasoune therin [þairin] vertuys stanis, gold Is  more precius than oucht [ocht] that ma be set. In it bot stonne goldy, as thopasis;  Siluer is perl; sable, diamont of det;  Goulis, ruby; asur, the saphir set;   Vert, emeraut [emerant]; pu[r]pour, the amathis.   Tovny colour, sum haldis cassidone [cassidoun] Is.	71 XI	To blazon therein virtuous stones, gold is  more precious than any that may be set. In it but golden stone, as topaz;  Silver is pearl; sable, diamond is obligatory;  Gules, ruby; azure, sapphire;   Vert, emerald; purpure, amethyst.   Tawny colour, some hold, is cassidony.18
Sum seis siluer and sable ar the richest,  ffor in tho [þai] two most [maist] cristin and hethin kingis makis and brekis ther lawis As thai lust best;  and quhen thai tak honour othir [outhir] or sic thingis,  thai sit in sable and siluer that euery bringis;   and of brutane the duk, bering the sammyn,   Richast armes is, as I lernit [leirnit] am.	78 XII	Some say silver and sable are the richest,  For in those two most Christian and heathen kings make and break their laws as they choose;  and when they take other honours or such things,  they sit in sable and silver that everyone brings;   and the Duke of Brittany, bearing these together,   Are the richest arms, as I have learned.19
All writ in warld most be as siluer and sable;  quhite leiff, blak Ink, that al kingis, for most part Cristin and hethin, beris gold and siluer able  thing of riches roilest to aduert,  and most noble, for no colouris astert   So preciouse as gold to set in it,   ffor siluer [than] peril more riche to wit;	85 XIII	All written in the world is mostly silver and sable;  white paper, black ink, and most kings, Christian and heathen, bear gold and silver, able  to attend to a thing of royalist riches,  and most noble, for no colours start   As precious as gold to set in it,   For silver than pearl more rich to know;
Goullis, ruby; asur, saphire excedis  Vert, emerautis; and amatist, purpur; therof gold is moche rich in werely [weirly] wedis.  ffowr thingis in armes brekis thaim in ther nattur:  Bendis, sic, cheveroune, and barris sure;   Thaim blazon [blasoun] first, gif therin [þairin] the feld [field] be;   quhat euer he bere [beir], and be it quarterlie.	92 XIV	They exceed (in worth) Gules, ruby; Azure, sapphire  Vert, emerald; and amethyst, Purpure; thereof gold is rich in warlike clothes.  Four things in arms divide them in their nature:  Bends, sic, chevron, and bars;20   Blazon these first, if they are in the field;   whatever he bears, even if quarterly.
Than to begin at colour in the rycht sid:  and it is said, non armes may be cald propirly set, bot therin be to-gid  Gold or siluer in the sammyn to behold [behald].  And for repreve [repreif] to blase, men wise be schuld [schold].   ffowr thingis in armes bot onys suld namyt [nemmit] be,   Onis of, onis in, onys withe, and onys to see;	99 XV	Then begin at the colour in the right side:21  and it is said, no arms may be called properly set, unless there are together  Gold or silver in the same to see.  And to blazon, men should be wise.   Four things in arms but once should be named,   There are: of, in, with, and.
Quhiche [Quhilk], gif he may forbere [forbear], it is the bet.  and als in armis ar sertene rondis [roundis], as ball, Metalis, colouris [metellis, cullouris] forsaid figourit [figurit] and set,  Gold, besentis; siluer, plateis [platis] to call;  Sable, poletis; goulis, tortes at al;   Asur, hurtis; verte, pomme [pomen]; wyndows, purpur.   ʒhit four thingis longis to armis in colour [cullour],	106 XVI	Which, if he may forbear, it is better.  and also in arms are certain roundels, like balls, Metals, colours aforesaid figured and set,  Gold, besants; Silver, plates;  Sable, pellets; Gules, tortes;   Azure, hurts; Vert, pommes; wounds, Purpure.22   Which four things belong to arms in colour,23
That is, pales, bendis, feces, cheveronis.  perpale, evin doun extendis throuch the myd feild; perfess, ourthwert [orthwert] from sid to sid it gonne Is;  perbend, from rycht corner to left it held;  per cheveroune, part devid wnto iij the feild;   Oune bastone is contrary to a bend:   The tonne frome left, the tother frome rycht sid tend.	113 XVII	That is, pales, bends, fesses, chevrons.  Per pale, extends down through the mid field; Per fess, across from side to side it goes;  Per bend, from right corner to left;  per chevron, divides the field into three;   A baton is contrary to a bend:   One from the left, the other from the right side.
Non bot gentillis suld cotis of armes were [beir],  Cummyn of stok noble, or maid be king[is]; ʒit fold wil say of men hernest in gere,  “llo men of armis!” thai is wntrew seyng,  bot al be gentil; therfor see suthfast thing,   “llo armit men!” ʒit to knaw neidful is   xv maneris of lionys in armys,24	120 XVIII	None but gentlemen should wear coats of arms,  Coming of noble stock, or made by kings;25 So fools will say of men harnessed in armour,  “Lo, men of arms!” which is untrue,  as all [armigers] are gentlemen; therefor say more correctly,   “Lo, armed men!”. It is needful to know   fifteen attitudes of lions in arms,
ffirst, a lionne [statant]; on-vthir, lyone [lioun] rampand;  Third, saliant; the fourt, passand I-wis; the v seand; vj mordand; vij cuchand;  the viij dormand; the ix regardand is;  The x endorsit; xj copray schawis;   The xij copy conter changit aduert;   xiij in nomer [morné]; xiiij, lioun cowert;	127 XIX	[the author lists] a lion statant; rampant;  saliant; passant; sejant; mordant; couchant;  dormant; regardant;  addorsed; copray;26   counter-changed;   mornay;27 lion coward;
And the xv cambatand, als to see.  xv maner of crocis armis bere [beir]: The first, hole croce; the tother, engrelit be  The third, awndi; the iiij, paty in feir;.  the v. a crois; vj, crois flarait cleir;   vij botand; viij crosolat; ix batone;   x fovrmie [sovraunt]; xj crois fichye;	134 XX	And the fifteenth combatant, also to see.  Fifteen manner of crosses arms bear: [The author lists]:whole cross; engrailed  Undy; pateé;.  à crois;28 cross flory;   bottony; crosslet; batoné;   formy; fichy;
xij sarsile fere; demolyn xiij;  xiiij regle; xv sucylye, sey. quhat maner of best [beist] or bird goith rond to sene,  About the feld blase it heroune verray.  Twa thingis in armis sal end in schewis a[l]wey;   Gif ther [þair] be mo off thaim than ij that schewis;   As lionne-sewys, to sey, and heronwe-sewis;	141 XXI	sarsile; moline;  raguly; sucylye.29 If beasts or birds go around the field  Blazon it heron verray.30  Two things in arms always show;   [But] if there are more than two of them;   Say lioncels, and heroncels;31
Bot onne or ij call lion or heroun.  Armis vindois [windois], ij strakiss myd feld devid, ffet [ffeir] ar in armis, and ij thingis compone  lik to vther, barr and fete [fece] brode to-gid.  Als certane [certaine] thingis plurar in armis go,  As flouris to blase, and pellettis with thoo	148 XXII	But one or two call lion or heron.  windows,32 two streaks mid field, divide Arms, fret[s] are in arms, and two things are compony33  like to each other, bar and fess brought together.  Also certain things are plural in arms,  Such as flowers, and pellets although
Not be to namyt, gif he beire mo than ij,  Bot thus flowris florate to blase rycht. thre thingis in armes ʒit be ilk vtheris evin,  Tortes, tortell pellettis, pellett hecht,  Fussewis, masklewis, and losingis thus plicht.   Be ther [þir] mony fussewis, masklewis thaim call,   And losengis ʒit in armys with-all.	154 XXIII	They are not be to numbered, if he bears more than two,  But thus: flowers florate, to blazon correctly. there are three things in arms that are equal,  Tortes, tortell pellets, pellet by name,  Fusils, mascles and lozenges thus plaited.   Be there many, call them fusilly, masculy,   And lozengy, in arms.34
Ale maner of best [beist] to blase, sey ‘be armit’,  and al birdis, sey ‘membrit’ saufly: Girphinwe, baith bird and best [beist], we suld call it  To blase, “membrit and armyt” both Iustly.  ʒit in armes, pictes and delphes espy.   Billettis, hewmatis, and ij indenturis be,   Perpale cheveroue, perpale glondes to se.	161 XXIV	To blazon beasts, say ‘armed’,  and all birds, safely say ‘membered’: A gryphon, both bird and beast, we should call it  To blazon, ‘membered and armed’ both justly.35  Pikes [fish] and dolphins 36 are seen in arms.   There are billetty, humetty, and two indentures,37   Perpale chevron, perpale glondes38 to see.
Thire [thair] be also raschit, as lege or heid,  wiche gerondy verry and belly told [cold]: [?] In quhat metallis or colouris that thai sted [steid],  quhat thingis thai be, ful attently [autently] behold:  ffigour, forme, flour, or quhat mater on mold,   In armes set, and so blase discretly;   And quho siche beris, study well, and espy.	168 XXV	There is also erased,39 as a leg or head,  which gyronny vairy and byally told:40 In what metals or colours that they stood,  what things they be, full attently behold:  figure, form, flower, or anything on the field,41   Set in arms, and so blazon carefully;   And study well who bears such.
ʒhit sum haldis in armis ij certane thingis,  Nothir metallis nor colouris to blasoune, Ermyne and werr, callit panis, bestly furring,  And haldin so without other discripcioune.  All attentik armys of hie renoune   Of al estates, and general of al manis [maneris],   Bene set in this metallis, colouris, and panys.	175 XXVI	Some hold that in arms two certain things,  Blazoned neither as metals nor colours, Ermine and vair, called panns, bestly furring,  And are without other description.42  All authentic arms of high renown   Of all ranks, and generally of all men,   Are properly given in these metals, colours, and furs.
Quhiche honorable in al armis forsaid,  war first fundyn eftir the preciouse stanys, In nombyr few, and so costly araid,  That al noblay may not gudly at anys  Actene [atteyne] therto: than law of armys disponys   ffor theme be sett and portrait with pictouris,   In feildis, the seid metallis and ther colouris;	182 XXVII	Which honorable in all arms aforesaid,  were first found after the precious stones, In number few, and so expensively arrayed,  That all nobility may not properly  Attain them other than the law of arms allows   For they arranged and portrayed with pictures,   In fields, the said metals and their colours;
The quhiche [quhilk] stanis come first frome paradice,  thairfor thai ar so precyus singlare. quha will study his wittis, and conterpace  The hie planetis, and signis of the aire,  Symylitudis of thaim he may fynd there   ffor to blasoun, and alse in bestiall,   In erbis, foullis, and fischis therwithall;	189 XXVIII	The which stones came first from heaven,  therefore they are so preciously singular. He who will study his mind, and contemplate  The high planets, and signs of the air,  Similitudes of them he may find there   For to blazon, and also in bestiaries,   In herbals, fowl, and fish as well;
How thai be born, in quhat kindis, and quhare,  also be quhom, and eftir in excellence, That I refer to my lordis to declair,  kingis of armes, and heraldis of prudens,  and persewantis, and grant my negligens   thai I suld not attempe [attempine] thus to commoune,   Bot of ther [þair] grace, correctioune, and pardoune,	196 XXIX	How they are borne, in what kinds, and where,  also by whom, and according to rank, That I refer to my lords to declare,43  Kings of Arms, Heralds of prudence,  and pursuivants, and pardon my negligence   that I should not attempt thus to discourse,   Except by their grace, correction, and pardon,
ffor, as I red, princis of nobillest [Q adds in] mynd,  And specialy this seid Iulius cesar, ther attentik [autentik] worthi ordour did fynd,  fful honorable in erth, and necesser [necessair],  To bere [beir] armes, blasoune, and to prefer   Vthir officiaris in honour, as I schall [sall]   Schaw causis quhy of this ordour regall,	203 XXX	For, as I read (or advise?), princes of noblest mind,  And specially the said Julius Caesar, their authentic worthy order did find,  Full honorable on Earth,44 and necessary,  To bear arms, blazoun, and to prefer   Other officers in honour, as I shall   Show causes why of this regal order,
Quhiche [quhilk] ascendis, create be greis thre:  first, persewant; syn, herald; and than king; Ichone of this being gre abone gre,  Be land and age preuilegit [preuiliegit] in al thing,  In werre [weir] and piece [pece], batell, province and ring,   Ceté, castellis, parliamentis prerogative,   Amang princis trew reuerendanis to schrive.	210 XXXI	Which ascends, created be three degrees:  first, pursuivant; then, herald; and then king; Each one45 of these being degree above degree,  By land and age privileged in all things,  In war and peace, battle, province and realm,46   Cities, castles, parliaments prerogative,   Among princes true reverence to confess.
Oure al the warld, and erast Amang the best,  thir preambulis and discripcionis procedis, all thingis be takin [taiken] treuly as thai attest,  ay liscenciat and lovit with al ledis,  Noblis, vergynis, and wedois in ther nedis,   Of holy [haly] chirche the sure feith thai support,   At ther poweris causing to al consort.	217 XXXII	Over all the world, and earliest among the best,  these preambles and descriptions proceed, all things be taken truly as they attest,  always permitted and loved by all men,  Nobles, virgins, and widows in their needs,   Of holy church the sure faith they support,   At their powers causing all to consort.
Withoutin quham, honerable actis in armis  wirschipfully is seldim donne, we se, ffor ded [deid] of lif, fauour, hatrent [haterent], or harmis,  Euer thai attest the verray verite,  quhar na man may laubowr for Inymyte,   ther thai proced [proceed], euer schawing the best;   withouttin quham, quha mycht materis degest.	224 XXXIII	Without whom, honorable acts in arms  Are seldom done worshipfully, we see, For deed of life, favour, hatred, or harm,  Ever they attest the very truth,  Where no man may solicit for (reasons of) enmity,47   there they proceed, ever showing the best;   without whom, who might consider such matters.
This hie ourdour noble and necessary,  prince of peté, and Iuge amang gentrice, most behuffull tretaris of trowith no vary,  Mewaris of goud, and mesaris of malice,  wellis of cuanyng, and trowit in kingly wise,   Mansuete [Mansueit] maneryt so ther meritis requiris,   Ther dewiteis al digniteis desiris.	231 XXXIV	This high order noble and necessary,  prince of pity, and judge among the well-bred, most needed treaters of truth48 unwavering,  Movers of good, and measurers of malice,  wells of learning, and trusted by kings,   Gentle mannered so their merits require,   Their duties all dignity desires.
Sen it is so, our souerane Lord most hie,  The thre personis resting in o godheid, and one in thre, the hali trinite,  the blissit vergin of quhom god tuk manheid,  Saif this ordour, prudently to proceed   Amang Kingis, princes, lieges and lordis   Of cristindome to cause luf and concordis!	238 XXXV	Since it is so, our Sovereign Lord most high,  The three persons resting in a godhead, and one in three, the Holy Trinity,  the blessed Virgin of whom God took manhood,  Save this order, prudently to proceed   Among kings, princes, lieges and lords   Of Christendom to cause love49 and concord!
And I confess my simple [semple] insufficiens:  Llitil haf I sene and reportit weil less, Of this materis to haf experience.  Tharfore [Thairfore], quhar I al needful not [note] express,  In my waiknes, and not of wilfulnes,   My seid lordis correk [correct] me diligent   To made menis, or sey the remanent!	245 XXXVI	And I confess my simple insufficiency:  Little have I seen and less reported well, To have experience of these matters.  Therefore, whereof I cannot express,  In my weakness, but not of willfulness,   My said lords correct me diligently   To made amends, or complete it!

4. The Stanzas

There now follows an analysis stanza by stanza.

• Stanza I
• Few men work for the distinction of arms from heralds, who will be described.

The author feels the science of heraldry is disregarded in his time.

• II
• In the wars of Thebes, Athens and Troy, princes and others bore banners, etc., as merchants use seals.

The author clearly does not subscribe to the “classical” origin of arms, wholly invented by early modern writers, such as Hector bearing Sable, two lions combattand or Julius Caesar Or, an eagle displayed with two heads, Sable. They might be excused, though, as Virgil gives Aventinus, son of Hercules, a shield bearing “his father’s Hydra” (Dryden’s translation) and Helenus, whose mother was a slave, “Slight were his arms—a sword and silver shield—No mark of honour charged its empty field”.

• III
• Thereafter, ingenious people, inspired by God, arranged arms with metals, colours and charges

“Thereafter” sets the origin of arms, in the author’s opinion, post-Troy (see Stanza VI).

• IV
• There were heavenly bodies and figures from nature, depicted in different ways, some like nature and some not.

Early arms, he contends, were figurative or representative, rather than using “ordinaries” (see below).

• V and VI
• The myth (here denied) is that arms were borne at Thebes, but there were no heralds then.

The author confuses ancient legend with Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale, in which he says: “But by here Cote Armures/and by hir gere/The heraudes/knewe hem best in special”. In the classical telling, Palamon and Arcite were cousins, both knights of Thebes and prisoners of Theseus, king of Athens. They both fall in love with Emily, sister-in-law of the king, and compete for her. Palamon is defeated, but victorious Arcite is thrown from his horse and killed, so Palamon marries Emily.” Chaucer, as befits his time, puts them in a mediaeval joust, complete with a King-at-Arms. Shakespeare committed much the same error in The Two Noble Kinsmen co-written with John Fletcher.

Historically, there is good evidence that Eochaid the Venomous, King of Argyll, (747 AD–819 AD) and father of Alpin, entered into an alliance with Charlemagne (c. 747–c. 814) who conferred on the Scots the familiar double-tressure flory-counterflory (Strathern 1859). It is also a matter of record that Malcolm II (1005–1034) established by statute the practice of adding distinguishing seals to contracts (Reg. Maj. Book III, c. 8). Robert III (r. 1371–1390) required barons and others holding land of the sovereign to have seals, under penalty of law (Acts, cap. 7, No. 5).

Between these times, matters are murkier. There is no heraldry as such on the Bayeux Tapestry (which, properly, is an embroidery). The earliest seal with arms on it in Scotland is from Duncan II, (r. 1094) while the equivalent in England dates from Richard I, a century later. Stewart arms on seals of the latter half of the 12th and early 13th Centuries show the fess chequy, still a feature of Stewart arms today, and familiar from policemen’s hats. The earliest arms in England as we now understand them—heritable symbols borne on shields and surcoats—seem to be those granted by Henry I of England to his son-in-law Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou, father of Henry II, in 1127. This became systematised in the time of Richard II and Richard III (who established the College of Arms in 1483). The13th Century Herald’s Roll shows a well-developed Anglo-Norman system of arms (see Cecil Humphery-Smith’s (1973) Anglo-Norman Armory.

In Scotland, when William ascended the throne (r. 1165–1214) he assumed the lion rampant surrounded by Charlemagne’s double tressure, and the soubriquet “William the Lion”. There is no real evidence of a Lion King of Arms and Heralds until the coronation of Robert II in 1371. However, nobles certainly bore arms before this time, as shown by the illustrations in the 14th Century Balliol Roll (see Bruce McAndrew’s (2002) Balliol Roll). Arms, however, were back-attributed to Norman and Saxon kings by later heralds.

The references to “Thebes, which at length I did write”, Troy (l. 39) and Brutus (ll. 51–52), as well as familiarity with Chaucer, are clues as to authorship.

• VII
• Sons’ arms are differenced from their father’s.

Cadency, or differencing of sons’ arms by adding a distinctive charge, is a particular feature of British heraldry, invented about the time of Richard II. The first son bears a label of three points, the second a crescent, the others in sequence a mullet (five-pointed star), martlet, fleur-de lys. Gerard Leigh (1562) later added rose, cross moline and double-quartrefoil (an eight-petalled flower) to make it up to nine—see notes to Stanza X). After the father’s death, the eldest son inherits his sire’s undifferenced arms (in Scotland) and other sons who matriculate arms lose these temporary brisures in favour of a system of “bordures” (borders). See Figure 2.

• VIII
• Brutus imported the idea of battle-marks into Britain.

Furnivall and Adams dispute that any Scot would refer to the “British” origin legend of derivation and descent from Brutus of Troy, as the Scots claimed descent from Scythia, as repeated in the Declaration of Arbroath, or from the Princess Scota, daughter of a Pharaoh. But perhaps all the author here is saying, is that the Britons brought with them into the British Isles insignia of arms, not heralds or heraldry per se.

• IX
• Many say Julius Caesar was the first to blazon arms correctly, and I consider he had wisdom enough to do so, based on precedents and later developed.

See also 1. 204.

• X
• There are two metals and four colours in heraldry, plus purple which, although not a primary colour, becomes honourable when used heraldically.

Note that, in modern Scots heraldic practice (and pretty much universally), the tinctures are given capital letters, largely to disambiguate the use of the conjunction “or” for the heraldic word Or (gold). The permitted tinctures also include the rare Tenné (tawny) and Murrey (maroon or sanguine), largely there to make up the total number to nine, to chime with the nine virtues, nine muses and (according to the English Boke of St. Albans) the nine orders or angels (see notes to Stanza XXVII). Technically, Tenné and Murrey are “stains”, used as rebatements—a change in colour to indicate a dishonour (hence “a blot on the escutcheon”). Purpure (purple), though not a primary colour, is allowed in heraldry. Among the few extant examples are the arms of the Scottish Rugby Union, and the purple lion of the Earls of Lincoln in the arms of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. Gules is said to be from the French gueule, a reference to the colour of a throat (specifically the goules de martre, the reddish skin from the throat of a marten, used as a trimming) but may derive from the Persian gul, meaning “rose”. French heraldry until the early 1400s blazoned red as Sinople, derived from the city of Sinop in modern-day Turkey (historically Sinope, on the Black Sea), whose red-ochre clay was used by medieval mural artists to make the red pigment sinopia. Perversely, Sinople replaced Vert in French heraldry and now indicates a dark green. This was probably to disambiguate vert and vair (fur), just as Charles Perrault is said to have confused Cinderella’s fur slippers for glass (verre)—see http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002886.html (accessed on 9 December 2023) This is also a potential confusion between vair and counter-vair (fr. vairé contre vairé) in which the squirrel skins are placed top-to-top (see Figure 3) The arms of Monsire John de BEAUCHAMP de Somersetshire are given as verre in a Roll from the time of Edward III.

• XI
• Precious stones represent the heraldic tinctures.

In the Arms of nobility, the colours were called by the names of precious and semi-precious stones from ca. 1458. Thopasis is a gold-coloured stone. Cassidony is not a reference to French lavender (the modern usage in French), but to chalcedony which has reddish variants, such as sardonyx (banded agate). Randle Cotgrave (1611) gives the contemporary meaning in French as: “Cassidonie, a base and brittle stone, of small value, though it shine like fire”. Jacinth is a red transparent gemstone, a variety of zircon, but is also a hyacinth, whose flower is reddish blue or deep purple. Later (from ca. 1600) in naming heavenly bodies for colours in nobles’ and sovereigns’ Arms, the Renaissance heralds lacked Neptune and Pluto and had to resort to “lunar nodes”, the points where the moon’s orbit crosses the ecliptic. The full assignment is given in

Table 1. Equivalences of heraldic tinctures, heavenly bodies and gems.

Tincture		Planet	Gemstone
(English)	(French)
Or	Or	Sun	Topaz
Argent	Argent	Moon	Pearl
Azure	Azure	Jupiter	Sapphire
Gules	Gueules	Mars	Ruby
Purpure	Pourpre	Mercury	Amethyst
Vert	Sinople	Venus	Emerald
Sable	Sable	Saturn	Diamond
Tenné	Tanné	Dragon’s Head	Jacinth
Sanguine/Murrey	Sanguine	Dragon’s Tail	Sardonyx

.

• XII
• Silver and sable are said to be the richest. The Duke of Brittany bears them.

This is an intriguing reference. Up until the Wars of the Roses (1453 to 1487) Brittany had links with the English Crown, as John de Montfort, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond had died without heirs ca. 1399. The Crown took Richmond, which was held from 1414 to 1435 by Henry V’s brother, John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford (who supported England’s claims to France), and from 1453 by Edmund Tudor, half-brother to Henry VI and father of Henry VII (r, fr. 1485). Before his death in 1422, Henry V named his brother, John, Regent of France in the name of his son Henry VI as heir to the French throne. During this period, Richmond allied itself with the House of Lancaster and the Tudor Earls were supported by the then Duke of Brittany, Francis II (d. 1488), and by Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI’s powerful queen.

Margaret went to Scotland in 1460/61 to negotiate with Mary of Gueldres, Queen Consort to James II, for a Scottish army. (James’s sister, Isabella Stewart, was by then married to Francis I, Duke of Brittany, and their daughter Marguerite married her cousin, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, in 1455). Mary agreed provided that Berwick upon Tweed came to Scotland and that her daughter was betrothed to Prince Edward. The Scots looted their way through England and helped defeat Warwick at the two Battles of St Albans. However, the Yorkists won other battles and Henry and Margaret had to flee to the court of James III in Scotland and eventually Margaret and her son exiled themselves in France.

We can assume, then, that the author was a supporter of Lancaster, Tudor and/or Brittany. That would be an uncomfortable position for an Englishman from 1461 to 1485 (the reigns of Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III) but politically correct after this with Henry VII on the throne. A Scot perhaps would not care throughout, given the “auld alliance” with France, the Brittany links and the betrothal in 1474 of Edward IV’s daughter Princess Cecily of York to the future James IV (who eventually married Margaret Tudor in 1503). Furthermore, Scotland and England were at war in the early 1480s. The entire 16th Century was taken up squabbles between Scots and English, Stewarts/Stuarts and Tudors. Henry VII’s “Rough Wooing” (1543 to 1551, also known as the Eight Years’ War, during which Henry tried to force a dynastic marriage between his heir apparent Edward and the infant Mary, Queen of Scots). Despite England’s machinations to keep (Catholic) Mary out of circulation as a threat to (Protestant) England, it was Mary’s son, James VI of Scots who succeeded Elizabeth I as James I in 1603. The Scots had prevailed.

• XIII and XIV (to l. 93)
• Writing is in silver (paper) and sable (ink) and most kings have gold and silver in their arms, which are costlier than precious stones or pearls.

Sables would, at this time, be one of the most expensive furs and therefore the highest-ranked tincture, after the metals. Dame Juliana Berners (1486) lists “Golde, Asure, Sable & Siluer” as the four “Royall coloreis”.

• XIV (from l. 94)
• The four divisions of the field are bend, sic[?], chevron and bars. Blazon these first, even if the shield is quartered.

This is somewhat confused. The main (“honourable”) Ordinaries, which are charges on the field, are bend, fesse, chevron and pale. Compare these with the divisions of the field in Stanza XVII (from l. 114).

• XV
• [Even if the shield is quartered] begin with the colour or metal at the dexter side.
• No arms are correct unless they have gold and silver are in them.
• The words “of”, “in”, “with”, “and” should only be used once in a blazon.

Not all arms contain both Or and Argent, nor is there any necessity for this. The author’s injunction against using these pronouns more than once was indeed a simplifying principle of early heraldry but has been abandoned as designs have become more complex.

• XVI (to. l. 111)
• Arms may bear roundel or balls with the following colours and names.

Roundels are discs given names which indicate their colours without further elaboration: besants (from a Byzantine coin) are gold (Or); plates are silver (Argent); pellets (musket-balls) are Sable (black); tortes or torteaux (“tarts”) are Gules (red); hurts (indicating a bruise, but see below) are Azure (blue), pommes (apples) are Vert (green); and wounds or golpes (said to be derived from golpa, Old Spanish for “wound”) are Purpure. Unknown, it seems, to the poem’s author is the fountain, a disc with seven wavy lines, alternately Azure and Argent. French heraldry does not use all of these tincture names—Vert is Sinople (see Stanza X). According to Nisbet (1722), Leigh (1562) derives the word hurt from the mark “of some violent stroke” while Guillim (1610) “will have them to represent hurtle-berries”. The hurtleberry (also called whortleberry, blueberry, bilberry and Huckleberry) is indeed blue, although the dye traditionally made from it is mauve-purple. But the Old French noun heurte and verb heurter, both have the sense of “blow” or “strike”. It is often said that Scottish heraldry deprecates the term “roundel”, but it does appear, with a distinguishing colour, in, for example, Balfour-Paul (1893), though not in Nisbet (1722). There is an exhaustive treatise on the origin and distribution of roundels in five issues of Notes and Queries by London (1950).

• XVII (incl. l. 112)
• Arms have pales, bends, fesses, chevrons (Ordinaries) and divisions named similarly.

The Ordinaries are charges, while the divisions reflect their shapes. A pale (as in paling fence) is a vertical strip down the centre of the field; a fess is horizontal; a bend is a stripe from dexter to sinister; a chevron points upwards; and what the author calls a baton is now known as a bend sinister; today a baton sinister does not extend across the whole field, and is taken to indicate illegitimacy, as in the arms of the descendants of bastard royal dukes. When the field is divided vertically is per pale, paly or palewise. When a charge lies horizontal it is fesswise. Per chevron is like a tripod, dividing the field in three.

• XVIII (to l. 125)
• No-one but nobles should wear arms. Do not call armed men “men of arms”, which indicates armigers, who are all noble.

This says arms are restricted to “nobles” (meaning with a peerage title), which is not the case in Scotland. The Lyon Court will grant arms to the “virtuous and well-deserving”, and arms in Scotland have always been available to “Noblemen, Barrons and Gentlemen”, so there is no presumption of a noble title.50 Other jurisdictions took and take a different view.

• XIX (incl. ll. 126 and 134)
• There are fifteen “attitudes” for lions (named).

There are many more that 15 attitudes for beasts of prey, including lions, but early heraldists found a certain symmetry in the numbers four, nine and fifteen, such as the four main ordinaries, the nine colours and, as here, the fifteen attitudes of lions and (from line 135), the fifteen forms of cross. See Figure 4, and also Stanza XXI for multiple lions.

• XX (to l. 143)
• There are fifteen types of cross (named)

Again, there are many more than fifteen. There is much confusion in heraldic texts between recercelé (voided, as shown) and cercelé (encircled) See Figure 5.

• XXI
• If animals surround the field (in a bordure) blazon them “verray”.

As mentioned, this should be “enurné” or possibly enaluron, both corruptions of “in orle”. When three lions appear on the field itself, as in the arms of the Sovereign of England, they are blazoned “lioncels”. The theory is that, as the lion is a noble beast, it can only appear once on the shield (or twice, if paired in some way such as addorsed or combatant) and so three of them must be something else. hence “lioncels”. Strictly speaking in ancient heraldry, a lion passant guardant was a heraldic leopard—French heraldry still uses the term leopardée—so the lions in the arms of England may be blazoned as: Gules, three leopards in pale Or (Figure 4).

• XXIII (incl. ll. 152, 153)
• When there are more than two of a charge, do not number them, but say, for example, florate for multiple flowers. Torteax, tortell pellets and pellets are equal. Multiple fusils, mascles and lozenges together are blazoned fusilly, masculy and lozengy

The author shows some confusion here. A tortell pellet is a roundel divided horizontally, red at the top and black in the base. See Figure 6 for fusilly, etc. When the field contains many of a charge in a pattern it is blazoned semé as in the arms of William of Orange, which had: Azure, semé of billets, a lion rampant Or, armed and langued Gules, for Nassau.

• XXII (ll. 149 to 151)
• There are windows (?), frets and when two colours alternate, this is compony.

Refer to Figure 6.

• XXIV
• Beasts are blazoned “armed”, birds “membered” and a gryphon is both. There are pikes and dolphins. Charges may be billetty, humetty or indentured.

Not exactly. All beats of prey can be “armed”, which refers to claws and teeth. The lion rampant of Scotland is “armed and langued” (tongued) Azure. By contrast, a non-predatory animal or bird would be “membered”, but individual animals have their own terms, such as a stag being “attired” when its antlers are coloured, “trippant” rather than “passant” and not “guardant” but “at gaze” (Figure 4).

• XXV
• A leg or head may be erased. Gyronny, vairy and byally partition the field. Blazon carefully, and study who bears which arms.

The utter confusion of this stanza suggests the author is less familiar with the deeper aspects of heraldry. He might have taken his own advice given in the last five lines of the stanza. Gyronny can be of any number above four, but four, six, eight and nine are commonest (see Figure 6).

• XXVI
• Apart from metals and colours there are furs, ermine and vair, which need no other description. Only these (above) metals, colours and furs appear in arms.

In fact, there are many variants of furs. For instance, ermine is black on white, ermines is the reverse and erminois is black on gold. Counter-vair (white on blue, in the shape of a stretched-out squirrel skin) is the reverse of vair. See Figure 7.

• XXVII and XXVIII
• These metals colours and furs arose after the precious stones, which came from heaven. Arms also have representations of planets, plants and beasts.

The author here repeats the heraldic “wisdom” that the tinctures commonly used on earth are reflections of precious stones, and those the representers on earth of heavenly bodies. Dame Juliana Berners (1486), writing her Boke of St. Albans (sometimes called The Book of Sports and Heraldry) deals with angels and Arms. “At hevyn I will begin where were v. orderis of aungelis, and now stand but iv., in cote armuris of knawlege encrowned ful hye with precious stones, where Lucifer, with mylionys of aungelis, owt of hevyn fell into hell and odyr places, and ben holdyn ther in bondage. And all were created in hevyn of gentill nature.” This curious text contains three tracts, dealing with the pleasingly alliterative Hawking, Hunting and Heraldry (possibly a later addition) and a Treatyse Of Fysshynge Wyth An Angle which may or may not have come from Dame Juliana’s hand but was printed by Wynkyn De Worde in 1496 (though the manuscript is perhaps half a century earlier). The tracts were first printed by a “Scolemaster Printer” who worked in St. Albans from 1479 (according to Blades 1901) and the Boke is perhaps the first example of colour printing in England. It also contains some previously unrecorded collective nouns, such as: a malapertness of pedlars, a business of ferrets, a drunkship of cobblers, an unkindness of ravens and a superfluity of nuns. We should note that Dame Juliana is said to have been Prioress of Sopwell, but there is no real evidence for this. However, the lists of Prioresses are incomplete. Perhaps she merely lived there (Page 1902), among, presumably, a “superfluity”. Heraldry makes a distinction between heraldic beasts and their “natural” forms. An example is the dolphin (Figure 8).

• XIX–XXXVI
• The decrees of Heralds are obeyed by all, Heralds are beloved by all, protectors of all needy, the support of the Church,…, etc.

These stanzas are a somewhat oleaginous encomium to heralds and pursuivants. Granted, Loufut was a Pursuivant, writing for a Herald who became Lord Lyon, but even so the obsequious nature of this is cloying in the extreme. However, if Loutfut was not the original author, at whom was this aimed? Henry V instituted the office of Garter King of Arms (the senior heraldic officer, under the Earl Marshall) in 1415 just before sailing for France. The earls and dukes of Lancaster retained a Lancaster Herald from at least 1347, but on Henry IV’s accession this became an office of the Crown and made King of Arms of the northern province. This arrangement continued under Henry V and VI, but by 1464 Lancaster again had the lower rank of Herald. Similarly, there was a Richmond Herald to John, Duke of Bedford from 1421, and until 1485 to George, Duke of Clarence, and Henry, Earl of Richmond after which Henry VII in 1485 elevated the then Richmond Herald, Roger Machado (a great supporter of Henry Tudor) to Clarenceaux King of Arms until his death in 1510. The author may therefore have known the holders of these heraldic offices.

5. Computational Linguistics

Of the 136 individual plural forms scribed by Loutfut, 124 take the Scottish plural ending—is but 12 have the English—es. Some of these are the same word (e.g., “armes” occurs 20 times and “armis” only 11, whereas “princis” occurs frequently and “princes” once). This strongly suggests copying from an English original into more familiar Scots, but without complete translation.

The rhyme couplets were examined in the form given in the poem, and as they would be in Middle English, but there are too few examples of pronunciational differences to determine whether the rhymes work best in either language. Those worthy of consideration include write/parfite/nyte (Stanza V), sammyn/am (Stanza XII) and godhead/manheid/proceed (Stanza XXXV).

6. John Lydgate (ca. 1371–1449)

The most widely-known and prolific writer of his day, John Lydgate (ca. 1371–1449) had the support and patronage of royalty and the wealthy. He is best remembered for his translations (the Troy Book, the Siege of Thebes, and the Fall of Princes), dream visions, love poetry, a Life of Our Lady and translations of French religious parables. Lancastrian in sympathy, Lydgate started the trend for English literature to reflect national cachet, distinct from French, and with an identity of its own. He may well also have invented the Valentine’s Day poem, when his king was concurrently at war with France and courting Catherine Valois, daughter of Charles VI and instructed John Lydgate to write a love note and send it to her on February 14th. Lydgate was, in every way, Henry V’s Poet Laureate.

Born ca. 1371 in Lydgate, Suffolk, Lydgate entered the nearby Bury St. Edmund’s Benedictine monastery as a boy and was ordained into holy orders in 1397. Later, studying at Gloucester College (the Benedictine house at Oxford) Lydgate met the then Prince of Wales (later Henry V), and Thomas, son of Geoffrey Chaucer, a man of wealth and influence as well as Lancastrian leanings. Lydgate associated with the Lancastrian kings Henry V and Henry VI, and in 1412 began the Troy Book (finished in 1420), translated from Guido delle Colonne’s Historia destructionis Troiae, commissioned by the Prince (who would ascend the throne in 1413) in “oure tonge” (vernacular English). The Troy Book underlined the origin myths of “Brutane” (Britain) as deriving from Brutus of Troy, legendary descendant of Aeneas. Lydgate is often criticised today as an imitator of Chaucer’s, and indeed the rhyme scheme of the “Scotch Copy” is “Rhyme Royal”, an iambic pentameter septet a-b-a-b-b-c-c, exactly as in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, although the “Scotch Copy” seems to omit a line after l. 151, which would rhyme with “to-gid”. But he introduced to the familiar iambic pentameter an idiosyncratic “broken-backed line” in which the unaccented syllable is omitted after the medial caesura (pause). Lydgate used rhyme, but also the Old English alliterative form. Both are clearly seen in Stanza XII.

Immediately the Troy Book was finished, Lydgate began the Siege of Thebes, finished in the year of Henry’s death (1422).

7. Conclusions

Lydgate fits the bill as the author of the original to the “Scotch Copy” on the grounds of:

• Lancastrian sympathy, especially if written after 1421 when there was a Richmond herald and also a Lancaster King of Arms to be pleasant to, at the instructions of Henry V or VI;
• Imperfect understanding of heraldry (unlike, we presume, Loutfut);
• Chaucerian inspiration, as witness the Royal Rhyme and metre;
• Authorship of works on Troy, Thebes and the Brutus myth;
• Ability to translate from French, either from an original work, or using French sources for a new poem.

Authorship by Lydgate did occur to Dr F. J. Furnival, Founder and Director of the Early English Text Society (Furnivall 1869, p. xviii) to whom Lydgate was no stranger—Furnivall edited the Society’s 1901 publication No. LXXXIII, Lydgate’s DeGuilleville’s Pilgrimage of the Life of Man, Part II, and many other 15th Century works.

It seems certain that the poem started as English, and Loutfut transcribed this, or another Scots version now lost. It may be derived or be based on a French source. If Lydgate were the author, the original may predate the “Scotch Copy” by as much as a century. It would certainly date from before 1449 and political considerations suggest is be placed in the 1420s. Thus, it predates the Boke of St. Albans and Nicholas Upton (1440) (See Figure 9).51