The History Of Scotland

By

Hector Boece

This was the first complete history of Scotland to be written. Hector Boece (1465–1536) compiled it from earlier chronicles and published it in Latin in the year 1527 as Scotorum Historiae a Prima Gentis Origine cum Aliarum Rerum et Gentium Illustratione Non Vulgari. [A History of The Scots from Their First Beginning with an Account of Other Matters of Importance.] After introductory material including a description of the Island of Great Britain, and Scotland in particular; and several poems; it narrates the history of Scotland from its legendary beginnings down to the death of James I in 1436. It was a major source for Holinshed's Chronicles, mined by Shakespeare for his story of Macbeth.  In 1536 it was translated from Latin into Scots by John Bellenden. This translation is  rather a free one and includes numerous episodes not in the original; it can be considered as a separate work. The 16^th Century Scots is difficult or in some cases impossible for a 21^st Century Anglophone to read, so there was a need for a modern English translation, which we have provided here.

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