Lindsay, Sir David or Sir David Lyndsay, (
c.1486–1555), Scottish poet and Lyon king-of-arms; usher to Prince James (afterwards James V). His first poem, ‘The Dreme’, written in 1528, is an allegorical lament on the misgovernment of the realm, followed by a vigorous exhortation to the king. In 1529 he wrote the
Complaynt to the King, in octosyllabic couplets, commenting on the improved social condition of the realm except as regards the Church. The
Testament, and Complaynt, of Our Soverane Lordis Papyngo (finished 1530, printed 1538) combines advice to the king, put in the mouth of his parrot, with a warning to courtiers drawn from the examples of Scottish history. Lindsay's principal poem,
Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis, a morality, was produced in 1540 before the king and court. The
Historie of Squyer Meldrum (first extant edition of 1582) is a spirited verse romance on the career and exploits of a Scottish laird.