Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/51

 omitted, may be considered as haying commenced the undisturbed sleep of oblivion.

Though Wyntown was contemporary with Fordun, and even survived him, it is certain that he never saw Fordun's work; so that he has an equal claim with that writer to the title of an original historian of Scotland; and his "Cronykil" has the advantage over Fordun's history, both in that it is brought down to a later period, and is written in the language of the country—

"Tyl ilke mannys wnderstandyng."

"In Wyntown's Chronicle," says Mr Macpherson, "the historian may find, what, for want of more ancient records, which have long ago perished, we must now consider as the original accounts of many transactions, and also many events related from his own knowledge or the reports of eye-witnesses. His faithful adherence to his authorities appears from comparing his accounts with unquestionable vouchers, such as the Federa Angliæ, and the existing remains of the 'Register of the Priory of St Andrews,' that venerable monument of ancient Scottish history and antiquities, generally coeval with the facts recorded in it, whence he has given large extracts almost literally translated." His character as an historian is in a great measure common to the other historical writers of his age, who generally admitted into their works the absurdity of tradition along with authentic narrative, and often without any mark of discrimination, esteeming it a sufficient standard of historic fidelity to narrate nothing but what they found written by others before them. Indeed, it may be considered fortunate that they adopted this method of compilation, for through it we are presented with many genuine transcripts from ancient authorities, of which their extracts are the only existing remains. In Wyntown's work, for example, we have nearly three hundred lines of Barbour, in a more genuine state than in any manuscript of Barbour's own work, and we have also preserved a little elegiac song on the death of Alexander III., which must be nearly ninety years older than Barbour's work. Of Barbour and other writers, Wyntown speaks in a generous and respectful manner, and the same liberality of sentiment is displayed by him regarding the enemies of his country, whose gallantry he takes frequent occasion to praise. Considering the paucity of books in Scotland at the time, Wyntown's learning and resources were by no means contemptible. He quotes, among the ancient authors, Aristotle, Galen, Palæphatus, Josephus, Cicero, Livy, Justin, Solinus, and Valerius Maximus, and also mentions Homer, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Statius, Boethius, Dionysius, Cato, Dares Phrygius, Origen, Augustin, Jerome, &c.

Wyntown's Chronicle being in rhyme, he ranks among the poets of Scotland and he is in point of time the third of the few early ones whose works we possess, Thomas the Rhymer and Barbour being his only extant predecessors. His work is entirely composed of couplets, and these generally of eight syllables, though lines even of ten and others of six syllables frequently occur. "Perhaps," says Mr Ellis, "the noblest modern versifier who should undertake to enumerate in metre the years of our Lord in only one century, would feel