Robert Henryson (Middle Scots:Robert Henrysoun) was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among theScotsmakars, he lived in theroyal burgh ofDunfermline and is a distinctive voice in theNorthern Renaissance at a time when the culture was on a cusp betweenmedieval and renaissance sensibilities. Little is known of his life, but evidence suggests that he was a teacher who had training in law and thehumanities, that he had a connection withDunfermline Abbey and that he may also have been associated for a period withGlasgow University. His poetry was composed inMiddle Scots at a time when this was thestate language. His writing consists mainly ofnarrative works. His surviving body of work amounts to almost 5000 lines.
Henryson's surviving canon consists of threelong poems and around twelve miscellaneous short works in various genres. The longest poem is hisMorall Fabillis, a tight, intricately structured set of thirteen fable stories in acycle that runs just short of 3000 lines. Two other long works survive, both a little over 600 lines each. One isThe Tale of Orpheus and Erudices his Quene, his dynamic and inventive version of theOrpheus story. The other is hisTestament of Cresseid, a tale of moral and psychological subtlety in a tragic mode founded upon the literaryconceit of "completing" Criseyde's story-arc fromChaucer's Troilus and Criseyde. Emily Wingfield has explored its significance in relation to the deployment of the Trojan Legend in political discourse between England and Scotland.[1]
The range of Henryson's shorter works includesRobene and Makyne, apastourelle on a theme of love, as well as a bawdy passage of comicflyting which targets the medical practises of his day, a highly crafted and compressed poem ofMarian devotion, some allegorical works, some philosophical meditations, and a prayer against thepest. As with his longer works, his outward themes often carry importantsubtexts.[citation needed]
Constructing a sure chronology for Henryson's writings is not possible, but his Orpheus story may have been written earlier in his career, during his time inGlasgow, since one of its principal sources was contained in the university library. Internal evidence has been used to suggest that theMorall Fabillis were composed during the 1480s.[citation needed]
There is no record of when or where Henryson was born or educated. The earliest found unconfirmed reference to him occurs on 10 September 1462, when a man of his name with license to teach is on record as having taken a post in the recently foundedUniversity of Glasgow. If this was the poet, as is usually assumed, then the citation indicates that he had completed studies in botharts andcanon law.[2]
Almost all early references to Henryson firmly associate his name with Dunfermline.[3] He probably had some attachment to the city'sBenedictine abbey,[citation needed] the burial place for many of the kingdom'smonarchs and an important centre forpilgrimage close to a major ferry-crossingen route toSt Andrews. Direct unconfirmed evidence for this connection occurs in 1478 when his name appears as a witness on abbey charters.[4] If this was the poet, then it would establish that one of his functions was asnotary for the abbey, an institution which possessed and managed a vast portfolio of territory across Scotland.[5]
The almost universal references to Henryson as schoolmaster are usually taken to mean that he taught in and had some duty to run thegrammar school for Dunfermline'sabbatial burgh.[6] A partial picture of what this meant in practice may be derived from aconfirmatio of 1468 which granted provision to build a "suitable" house for the habitation of a "priest" (as master of grammar) and "scholars" in Dunfermline, including "poor scholars being taught free of charge".[7]
Dunfermline, as aroyal burgh with capital status, was routinely visited by the court withresidences directly linked to the abbey complex. There is no record of Henryson as a court poet, but the close proximity makes acquaintance with the royal household likely.[citation needed] He was active during the reigns ofJames III andJames IV, both of whom had strong interests in literature.
According to the poetWilliam Dunbar, Henryson died in Dunfermline. Anapocryphal story by the English poetFrancis Kynaston in the early 17th century refers to theflux as the cause of death, but this has not been established.[8] The year of death also is unknown, although c.1498-9, a time ofplague in the burgh, has been tentatively suggested.[9] However, Dunbar gives theterminus ad quem in a couplet (usually considered to have been composedc.1505) which simply states that Deathin Dunfermelyne
(William Dunbar,Lament for the Makaris, lines 81–2)[10]
Almost nothing else is known of Henryson outside of his surviving writing. It is not known if he originated from Dunfermline and a suggestion that he may have been linked to theFife branch of theClan Henderson is not possible to verify,[11] although his name is certainlyof that ilk.
Henryson generally wrote in afirst-person voice using a familiar tone that quickly brings the reader into his confidence and gives a notable impression of authenticpersonality andbeliefs.[citation needed] The writing stays rooted in daily life and continues to feel grounded even when the themes aremetaphysical or elements are fantastic. His language is a supple, flowing and conciseScots that clearly shows he knewLatin,[citation needed] while scenes are usually given a deftly evocative Scottish setting which can only have come from close connection and observation.[12] This detailed, intimate and realistic approach, at times, strongly suggests matters of personal experience and attitudes to actual contemporary events, yet the specifics remain elusive in ways that tantalise readers and critics. Some of this sense of intrigue may be in part accidental, but it is also heightened by his cannily controlled application of a philosophy of fiction, a frequently self-proclaimed feature of the work.[13]
No concrete details of his life can be directly inferred from his works, but there are some passages ofself-reflection that appear to contain autobiographical implications, particularly in the opening stanzas of hisTestament of Cresseid.[citation needed]
Henryson wrote using theScots language of the 15th century. This was in an age when the use ofvernacular languages for literature in many parts of Europe was increasingly taking the place ofLatin, the long-establishedlingua franca across the continent.[citation needed]
PoetSeamus Heaney adapted Henryson's fables and they were published byFaber and Faber in 2010. The poems were made into a series of short, animated films, shortly before he died. Heaney worked with Scottish actorBilly Connolly in the production of the works, with a score composed for the project by pianistBarry Douglas. The films were broadcast on the BBC in 2014, shortly after Heaney's death - one of the last creations of Heaney's life.[14][15]
All known and extant writings attributed to Robert Henryson are listed here. In addition, the scholarMatthew P McDiarmid identified from an index a lost poem by Henryson which began:On fut by Forth as I couth found (not listed below).[16]
Seven of the stories in Henryson's cycle are Aesopian fables derived fromelegiac Romulus texts, while the other six (given in italics) areReynardian in genre. The three titles given with bold numbers provide evidence for the integral unity of the overall structure.
