Wedderburn book; a history of the Wedderburns in ... - waughfamily.ca

'
the
•
—
12 THE WEDDEHBUltX BOOK.
Part I.
Chap. I
edition of the " Dundee " oi- " Wedderburn Psalms," as tliey were called, lias loii" been
only available edition of them, and Professor Mitchell, who is now (1897) about to
publish a new and critical edition of them, has, in his interesting: lecture on " The
Weddcrburns and their Work,'' suinined up their influence on their time and their place in
the literature of their country. Of .Mr. .Maxwell's chapter I shall liave more to sav when
I come to deal with Uobert Wedderburn's claim to the authorship of The Comjifaynt of
Scotland. At present I propose, for the sake of those who do not possess anv edition of
the book itself, to give an account of the "' Wedderburn I'salms."
Calderwood, as we have seen, attribntes these exclusively to the second of the two
brothers. According to him, James was the dramatist and Robert the theologiun, while it
was John who "translated manie of Luther's dytements into Scoti.sli meeter, and the
Psalmes of David " and " turned manie bawdie sonirs and rymes in godlie rvines."
Similarly, John Johnston, professor of S. Andrew's C1593--I611l, while he cuunneniorates
all three brothers in one Latin sonnet, devotes another sonnet to John Wedderburn .-done.
Further, John, as (Vdderwood tells us. was an exile in (Jermany, whereas James made his
home in France, and Robert, though for a time in the east countries, succeeded in remainiu"
in Scotland ; so that it is natural that such, at any rate, of the I'salms as are clearly from
German originals, should be the work of the brother who had his home there. I
cannot, of course, give anj-thing like a detailed account of the book in this place; for that
those interested must consult the editions to which I have referred. The title page of the
edition of 1578, from which Mr. Laing reprinted in 18C7, runs thus :
"Aue / conipendious bulk /of godlie P:=alnies and spirituall Sangis /cullectit furthe ol'siudrie
partis uf the / !5cri|iture, with diveris vtheris Ballat- / tis cliaiij.'eit out of pruphaiie Saiij^is / in
j;o