| AdminHistory | 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. |
| CustodialHistory | 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. |
| PublnNote | 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). |