It has been said with some justice that the most vibrant and interesting poetry of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries in Europe was written in Scotland. Of those Scottish makars William Dunbar merits highest praise, although his reputation rests on no lengthy major work but on approximately eighty shorter poems, many associated with the court of the Scottish king James IV (reigned 1488-1513). Written records of Dunbar's birth, death, and parentage have not been found. Nevertheless, a reasonable outline of his life and career can be sketched from the official records along with the presumed record of his university attendance and statements in his verse and that of his contemporaries.

William Dunbar was born in about 1459 or 1460, this probable date being provided by the records of the University of Saint Andrews, in which a William Dunbar is "determinant" in 1474 and master of arts in 1479. The university entrant...