The New International Encyclopædia/Barbour, John

BARBOUR, John (c. 1316-c. 1395). The first of the early Scottish poets, regarding whom history has not much to record beyond the pro- duction of the national epic, entitled The Brus, the subject of which is Robert Bruce. The as- certained facts of Barbour's life may thus be summarized: Born about 1316, he was Arch- deacon of Aberdeen in 1357, and held that office till his death; in 1357 he traveled into England, accompanied by three scholars, on a visit to Ox- ford; in 1365 he obtained a passport "to travel through England with six companions on horse- back toward Saint Denis and other sacred places;" in 1368 he again received permission to travel through England with two servants and two horses, on his way for scholarly purposes to France; in 1373 he was clerk of audit of the household of King Robert II., and one of the auditors of exchequer; in 1375 his great poem was more than half finished; in 1377 he had a gratuity of £10 from King Robert II.; m 1378 he received from the same prince a perpetual annuity of 20s., which in 1380 he bequeathed to the Dean and Chapter of Aberdeen, under the condition that they should sing a yearly mass for the repose of his soul; in 1381 he had a gift from the Crown of the wardship of a minor, whose estate lav within the parish of which he was rector; in 1383, and again in 1385, he was one of the auditors of exchequer; in 1388 King Robert II. granted him a pension of £10 a year; and he died probably on March 13, 1395. Be- sides The Brus, two other poems have, with reasonable certainty, been assigned to Barbour: The Legends of the Saints, and a poem on the Trojan War, of which only fragments remain. The Brus is distinguished by great purity and clearness of style, the language and versification contrasting advantageously with those of any contemporary English poet except Chaucer. Barbour's imagery is not rich, but he is seldom other than lively, simple, and energetic. He has depicted, in rough but faithful outline, the life, manners, and deeds of a truly heroic time, and given to his country the first poem in her literature, and the earliest history of her best and greatest king. Consult: The Brus, ed. by Skeat for Early English Text Society (London, 1870-89), and for the Scottish Text Society (Edin- burgh, 1894); Legends of the Saints, ed. by

Metcalfe for Scottish Text Society (Edinburgh, 1896); and Horstmann, Barbour's Legendensammlung, nebst den Fragmenten seines Trojanenkrieges (Heilbronn, 1881-82).