verse beg. Regnum Scotorum fuit inter cetera regna
- Latin
- verse
Medieval Latin poem, probably of the late 13th or early 14th century, which relates a prophecy about the political future of Britain. Like similar prophecies of the period, it is dependent on Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account of Merlin’s prophecy for Britain (Prophetiae Merlini) and other Galfridian narratives. Its central message is that through an alliance of the Scots and the Welsh, English rule will come to end and Britain will be unified under a new king-hero. The poem, or good parts of it, circulated widely in English manuscripts, both from the north and elsewhere, frequently as a minor text in the company of historical works (to which even further prophetic texts may have been added).
- Regnum Scotorum fuit inter cetera regna
The list below, much of which is based on Tatlock (1934) and Coote (2000), does not claim to be exhaustive. Line numbers refer to the longest edition, which is that of Paris 4126. As far as can be gleaned from available studies, the extent and line order of the poem may vary greatly from one copy to another.
A detailed study of its origin, transmission and manuscript contexts remains a desideratum. For instance, the section beg. Bruti posteritas (ll. 31–44) also enjoyed circulation as a separate piece and Victoria Flood has posited that “its interests and frame of reference are substantially different enough to suggest a separate origin”.(2)n. 2 Victoria Flood, Prophecy, politics and place in medieval England: from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Thomas of Erceldoune (2016): 81. Other copies of this text will therefore be listed in its own entry. Further research should bear out how widely attested is the final section, from l. 43 or 45 onward, which draws on Geoffrey’s animal imagery.(3)n. 3 Joanna Fronska has noted that an extract of eight lines beg. Mens cur cor cupiunt: lex Christi vera iocunda is to be found in a late MS, BL MS Arundel 66, f. 290v. “The royal image and diplomacy: Henry VII’s book of astrology (British Library, Arundel MS. 66”, Electronic British Library Journal (2014), http://www.bl.uk/eblj/2014articles/articles.html. Two lines are also noted in the Eynsham cartulary (Dean and Chapter of Christ Church), ed. H. Salter, Eynsham Cartulary, vol. 1, Oxford, 1907: 397. Tatlock suspected that ll. 43–56 form a later addition (see below).
- Latin
While W. F. Skene suggested that the poem may be placed as early as the early 12th century, later commentators favour a date during the latter part of the reign of Edward I (r. 1272–1307), during the turmoil of the First War of Scottish Independence. First, J. S. P. Tatlock argues that the Galfridian elements rule out a date before the middle of the 12th century. Second, Tatlock and M. O. Anderson have both argued that allusions in the poem reflect the historical reality of political relations in the period after the Scottish interregnum (1286–1292), whose length is specified as having lasted six years and nine months (l. 14). The princeps magnificus whose death (fata) is lamented is identified as Alexander III and the English-born king of l. 19 as either the unpopular John Balliol (r. 1292–1296), as Tatlock believes, or Edward I, as Anderson does, and the rex avarus whose death is anticipated (l. 21) as Edward I (Anderson). Tatlock concludes that the core of the poem was composed 1293 x 1296, during John Balliol’s reign. Anderson places it “at, or not long before, Edward [I]’s death (7 July 1307)” and in support of her argument, cites a letter dated 1307, in which certain ‘preachers’ are said to have spread a prophecy of Merlin which reveals how after the king’s death, the Scots and Welsh will “league together, and have the sovereign hand and their will”. While these passages have been crucial in attempts to date the text, Victoria Flood has raised the possibility that “the passage alluding to Edward and Balliol is a later interpolation”. The date conventionally proposed for the copy in CCCC MS 175 (late 13th century) has not been discussed in connection with the date of the poem’s composition. As for lines 43-56, Tatlock suggested they are probably “a later addition, and not even all of a piece”, later concluding that “presumably lines 49-56 date from 1295-96”, and that “33-36 may or may not be later”.
Coote has offered three different explanations for the wide dissemination of the poem in English manuscripts in spite of its seemingly anti-English sentiments: (a) the prophecy was simply thought worth recording, (b) it was worth ridiculing in the light of political outcomes, or (c) it was or could be interpreted to fit the English origin legend. He points out that the hero-redeemer of the poem is said to be of the line of Brutus (Bruti de stirpe) and the Scots are given a biblical descent from Scota daughter of Pharaoh. To the English co-opting the British foundation legend as Geoffrey did, these details would identify him as English and exclude the Scots.
Sources
Notes
Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.
Secondary sources (select)
Contents: Front matter -- Introduction: an island of the ocean -- 1. ‘Cadualadrus Conanum uocabit’: political prophecy in England, the Welsh March, and Ireland, c. 1130s–1260s -- 2. ‘E si finerount les heirs d’engleterre hors de heritage’: Galfridian prophecy and the Anglo-Scottish border, c. 1301–30 -- ‘Whan shal this be?’ The English Erceldoune tradition, c. 1310s–90s -- ‘A dede man shall make bytwene hem acorde’: Cock in the North and Ceiliog y North, c. 1405–85 -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.
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