William Dunbar

Dunbar was educated at St. Andrews (an experience which no doubt assisted in the broadening of his vocabulary), was a Franciscan novice, travelled in Europe, became a salaried member of the royal household of James IV, and belongs to a group of poets often called the "Scottish Chaucerians". As well as the scurrilous colloquial style of "The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy", for which he is famous, he also wrote in a learned allegorical manner ("The Goldyn Targe"). "The Twa Mariit Wemen and the Wedo" uses unrhymed alliterative verse, and is considered by some to be his masterpiece.

"The Flyting" is a verse-quarrel with the poet Walter Kennedy, and contains such choice insults as "wan fukkit funling" and "cuntbitten crawdon". Perhaps it was language such as this which had something to do with Scotland becoming the first country to try and make swearing illegal (1551). We might add as a parenthesis that the later English puritans, undeterred by the complete failure of the Scottish law, followed suit by making swearing at one's parents a capital offence (1649). Much later, Mussolini put notices up saying "For Italy's honour, do not swear", but look where it got him. Before leaving this interesting topic, it should be added that the powerful word which Dunbar put into print in 1508 was not decriminalised until 1960, only appearing in dictionaries after 1965, but by 1982 it was thought necessary to declare "fuck" unparliamentary language. Nevertheless, a hundred years earlier it had already showed up unexpectedly in "The Times" of all places, probably due to a mischievous compositor, in a Parliamentary report which stated: "The Speaker then said he felt inclined for a bit of fucking."

But to return to Dunbar, it is known that he accompanied James IV to France and Scandinavia, and was part of a mission to London in December 1501 to arrange the King's marriage to Margaret Tudor, honoured in "The Thrissell and the Rois" (1503). Seven of his poems were published in 1508 by Walter Chapman; the earliest specimen of Scottish typography, additionally distinguished by the choice of vocabulary mentioned earlier. Dunbar became a favourite of the Queen, but felt it necessary to write several poems petitioning the King for a pay rise. His pension was doubled to £20 in 1507, and bumped up to a handsome £80 in 1510. Dunbar's name disappears from Court records after 1513. AC

The Poems of William Dunbar, ed. W. M. Mackenzie (Edinburgh, 1932); The Poems of William Dunbar, ed. J. Kinsley (Oxford, 1979).

Home