We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Hector Boece (c.1465–1536) was a Scottish humanist historian, educated in Dundee and Paris, where he became a friend of Erasmus. His Scotorum historia, covering the period from 330 BCE until 1437, was published in 1527, and rapidly translated into French and Scots. It was continued by several authors, indicating that it was accepted as a definitive account of the formation of Scottish national identity, though, inevitably, many of the earlier parts rely on legend and tradition rather than on historical sources. Dedicated to James V, it is biased in favour of his ancestors, and, via Holinshed, was the source for Shakespeare's Macbeth. This verse translation was completed for James by the courtier William Stewart in 1535, but not published until the Rolls Series edition by W. B. Turnbull in 1858. Volume 3, on the period from Malcolm II to the death of James I, also contains an extensive glossary.
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.