Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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392 SCOTTISH MUSIC SCOTTISH MUSIC
matters, and believed that some of our airs
might be of the 15th century ; though the
earliest to which a date can now be affixed is
the 'Lament for Flodden,' 1513, of which
further mention will be made.
As so little is known of the popular music
of the 15th century, a few extracts from the
accounts of the Lords High Treasurers of Scotland
may be found interesting. They show
the value placed on the services of musicians
who at various times visited the Courts of James
in. and James IV. Scottish money being
usually reckoned aa worth only one-twelfth of
English money, the payments seem very small
but are not so in reality. For on consulting
a table of prices of provisions supplied for a
banquet given by James IV. to the French
ambassador, it is found that a gratuity such as
that to John Broun would buy seven oxen ;
and that the twa ' fithelaris ' (fiddlers) who
sang ' Graysteil ' to the King received the value
of three sheep. The sums seem odd, but an
examination of the items will show that the
payments were made in gold. The unicorn (a
Scottish coin that weighed from 57 to 60 gi'ains
of gold) is valued in the accounts at eighteen
shillings ; and another coin, the equivalent of
the French crown, at fourteen shillings
1474. Item, gevin at the kingis command iij*> Septembris,
to John Broun, lutare, at his passage our
sey to leuq (? lere, i.e. learn) his craft . v. li.
1489. July 1.—Item, to Wilzeam, sangster of Lithgow
for a sang bwke he brocht to the king bea precept,
X. li.
1490. April 19.—To Martin Clareschaw and ye tbder
ersche clareschaw at ye kingis command, xviij. s.
May.—Till ane ersche harper, at ye kingis command,
xviij. s.
Mr. Gunn, in his Enquiry on the Sarp in the
Eighlands, quotes thus from a work of 1597—
'
The strings of their Clairschoes (small Gaelic
harp) are made of brasse wyar, and the strings
of the Harp of sinews, which strings they stryke
either with their nayles gx'owing long or else
with an instrument appointed for that use.'
The correct word is Oldrsach ; and the harper
Clarsair.
1491. Aug. 21.—Item to iiy Inglis pyparis viy unidoms,
vij. li. iiij. s.
1497. April 10.—Item to John Hert for bering a pare of
monicordis of the kingis fra Abirdene to Strivelin
(Stirling) ix. s.
April 16.—Item, to the tua fithelaris that sang 6raj;steil
to ze king ix. s.
1600. March 1.—Item, to Jacob lutar, to lowse his' lute
that lay in wed .... xxxij.
s.
(Which means that the thriftless Jacob received
the value of eleven sheep to redeem his
lute that lay in pawn.)
1503. Aug. 13.—Item,tovii.i Inglish menstrales be the
kingis command xl frenclie crownis, xxviij. li.
Sept. 10.—Item to the four Italien menstrales to fe thaim
hors to Linlithqw and to red thaim of the town,
IvJ. s.
(Riotous fellows, no doubt, who got a French
crown each to clear their score ' ' in Edinburgh
and hire horses to Linlithgow.)
Information regarding the state of popular
music during the 16th century is almost equally
meagre. James V. is believed to have written
two songs on the subject of certain adventures
which befell him while wandering through the
country in disguise ; these are The gaberlunzie
'
man ' and The ' beggar's mealpokes (mealbags).
'
The airs are said to be of the same date, but of
this there is really no certainty ; though Eitson,
with all his scepticism, admits them into his list
of early tunes ;
the second is much too modern in
style to have been of James V. 's date. Of Mary's
time there are two curious works in which musical
matters are mentioned. The Complaynte of
Scotlcmd (1549), and The Gude and Godly Bal-
Icdes (1578), both of which furnish the names
of a number of tunes almost all now unknown.
Mr. J. A. H. Murray, in his excellent reprint
of the former of these, says The Complaynte '
of
Scotland consists of two principal parts, viz.
the author's Discourse concerning the affliction
and misery of his country, and his Dream of
Dame Scotia and her complaint against her three
sons. These are, with other obvious art, connected
together by what the author terms his
Monologue Recreative,
This Monologue— which, fromitsbeingprinted
on unpaged leaves, Mr. Murray has discovered
to be an afterthought—is now the most interesting
part of the work. In it the author introduces
a number of shepherds and their jvives.
After disjune ' ' (dije4ner) the chief shepherd
delivers a most learned address, and then they
proceed to relate stories from ancient mythology,
and also from the Middle Ages. Short extracts
to give an idea of the style may not be
objected to.
Quhen the scheipherd hed endit his prolixt orison to
the laif of the scheiphirdis, i meruellit nocht litil quhen
i herd ane rustic pastour ofbestialite, distitutof vrbanite,
and of speculatione of natural philosophe, indoctryne
his nychtbours as he bed studeit ptholome, auerois,
aristotel, galien, ypocrites or Cicero, qnhilk var expert
practicians in methamatic art. . . . Quhen tbir scheiphyrdis
hed tald al thyr pleysand storeis, than thay and
ther vyuis began to sing aueit melodius sangis of natural
music of the antiquite. the foure marmadyns that sang
quhen tbetis vas mareit on month pillion, thai sang
nocnt sa sueit as did thir scheiphyrdis. . . .
Then follows a list of songs, including
Pastance vitht gude compauye, Stil vndir the leyuis
grene, Cou thoumetheraschisgrene, . . . brume brame
on hil, . . . bille vil thou cum by a lute and belt the in
Sanct Francis cord, The frog cam to the myl dur, rycht
soirly musing in my mynde, god sen the due hed byddin
in France, and delaubaute lied neuyr cum hame, . . . o
lusty maye vitht flora quene, , . . the battel of the
hayrlau, the hunttis of cheuet, . . . My lufe is lyand
seik, send hym ioy, send hym ioy, . . . The perssee and
the mongumrye met. That day, that day, that gentil
day.
With the exception of the ballads, these
seem to be chiefly part-songs, some of them
English.
Than eftir this sueit celest armonye, tha bejran to
dance in ane ring, euyrie aid scheiphyrd led his vyfe
be the hand, and euyrie 5ong scheiithird led hyr quhome
he luffit best. Ther vas viij scheiphyrdis, and ilk ane of
them hed ane syndry instraraent to play to the laif. the