Lindsay of the Mount, Sir David

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Lindsay of the Mount, Sir David (c.1486–1555). The most important Scottish Renaissance poet, Lindsay was extremely popular in the 16th cent. A Fife laird, from 1508 he was a courtier closely associated with the future James V (1513–42), a herald from 1530, and Lyon king-of-arms from 1542. His numerous works deal extensively with the need for good government and religious reform. In The Testament of the Papyngo (1530) Lindsay provides moral advice to James V and his court, and attacks clerical abuses. Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estatis (1552) calls for the estates to serve the commonweal during the minority of Mary, queen of Scots (1542–67). The Monarche (1554) develops earlier calls for religious reform into strong anti-papalism through a description of corruption at the papal court. Such themes make Lindsay an important source for the political, religious, and cultural issues of Renaissance and Reformation Scotland.

Roland Tanner

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Sir David Lindsay

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