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William Drummond of
Hawthornden
Born 13th December 1585
Died 4th December 1649
William Drummond was the Laird of
Hawthornden at the edge of Roslin Glen, overlooking the
North
Esk River.
He graduated from
The University of Edinburgh in 1605, and went on to
study
law at Bourges and then Paris in 1607 and 1608. He began to
publish his works in 1623 with the
"Flowers of Zion" and "The
Cypress Grove". Other works include "For
the Baptist", the Madrigal "My
Thoughts Hold Mortal Strife",
the song "Phoebus
Arise"
and the Sonnet "What
doth it Serve".
He was made a burgess of Edinburgh in 1626. He wrote the
"Remoras¹ for the National League between Scotland and England"
in 1643 and a History of Scotland covering the period 1423 to
1524 which was published after his death in 1655.
He was a great book collector and gave probably one third of his
collection to
Edinburgh University between 1626 and 1636. The library
represents a superb example of an educated gentleman's private
library of the early 17th Century. It includes literature,
history, geography, philosophy and theology, science, medicine
and law with early editions of Shakespeare, Jonson, Spenser,
Drayton and Sir Philip Sidney, John Derrick's "Image of Irelande",
and two early pamphlets encouraging the colonisation of Nova
Scotia. The books are in the University Library's guard-book
catalogue, and a printed catalogue of the collection is
available in the Special Collections Department, where the
collection itself may be consulted.
He was a friend of
Michael Drayton and of
Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, acquaintance of
Ben Jonson. His father had been a courtier of
James VI and though he was a reluctant signatory of the
National Covenant, and his friendship with the
Marquis of Montrose helped save his property. He avoided
involvement in the
Bishops' Wars but was a supporter of
Charles I, dying after
his execution in 1649 supposedly in grief for his King.
¹Latin = hindrance, delay
William Drummond's Tomb
at Lasswade, photographs by Chev AA Young KCTpl FSA Scot
Links
RPO -- Selected Poetry of William Drummond of Hawthornden
(1585-1649)
Drummond, William - ScotlandsPeople
William Drummond of Hawthornden
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