William Dunbar (c. 1460 – c. 1520) was a makar or Scottish Chaucerian poet. He was taken as a model by those writers of the Scottish Renaissance who followed Hugh MacDiarmid's slogan "Dunbar – not Burns!"
Quotes
- Man, pleis thy makar and be mirry, And sett not by this warld a chirry;
(Man please thy maker and be merry, And set not by this world a cherry). from "Of Covetyce".
- I that in heill wes and gladness,
Am trublit now with gret seiknes,
And feblit with infermité;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Our plesance heir is all vane glory,
This fals warld is bot transitory,
The flesche is brukle, the Fend is sle;
Timor mortis conturbat me.- "The Lament for the Makars", line 1.
- My deathe chasis my lyfe so besalie
That wery is my goist to fle so fast.- "To a Lady", line 15.
Misattributed
- Strong be thy wallis that about the standis;
Wise be the people that within the dwellis;
Fresh is thy ryver with his lusty strandis;
Blith be thy chirches, wele sownyng be thy bellis;
Riche be thy merchauntis in substance that excellis
Fair be thy wives, right lovesom, white and small;
Clere be thy virgyns, lusty under kellis:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.- "London, thou art of townes A per se", line 41.
- John Stow's ascription of this poem to Dunbar, though unchallenged for centuries, is no longer accepted.
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