Leighton Library, Dunblane

Scotland's oldest purpose-built independent library founded in 1687

Leighton Library has a first edition of "Rob Stene's Dream: a poem" written in Scots, published in 1836 from a manuscript from 1591-1592 in Dunblane's Leighton Library

Added at 11:42 on 21 March 2024

It's #WorldPoetryDay #PoetryDay today, 21 March. Dunblane's historic Leighton Library has a first edition of "Rob Stene's Dream: a poem" written in Scots, published in 1836 from a manuscript from 1591-1592 in Dunblane's Leighton Library. The Royal Lion of the poem is King James VI of Scotland. It makes reference to the dangers which the King encountered in bringing home his bride, the daughter of the King of Denmark. The Chancellor of Scotland John Maitland of Thirlestane was lampooned in the poem. The author's name is unlikely to be their real name, as the satire is described as "severe and pointed but the style and quality of the writing was considered to be entitled to a very respectable rank among the Scottish "Makaris." The allusions are profusely classical, and the descriptions are often highly graphic."

If you'd like to read it for yourself (including the preface explaining in more detail how it came to be published) here's a link to read it online at the National Library of Scotland https://deriv.nls.uk/dcn23/8181/81814593.23.pdf

< Leighton Library has a 1810 first edition of celebrated Scottish storyteller Sir Walter Scott's epic narrative poem "The Lady of the Lake"Leighton Library has a 1566 edition of "Historiae Theodorici de Niem, scribae quondam pontificij" by medieval historian Dietrich of Nieheim >