Alexander Arbuthnot (poet)

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This article is about the Scottish poet. For his contemporary and namesake, the
Edinburgh printer who produced the first edition of George Buchanan's History of
Scotland in 1582, see Alexander Arbuthnot (printer).
Alexander Arbuthnot
Born 1538
Died 1583
Resting place St Nicholas, Aberdeen, Scotland
Nationality Scottish
Education University of Aberdeen
Occupation Poet
Alexander Arbuthnot (1538–1583) was a Scottish ecclesiastic poet, "an eminent
divine, and zealous promoter of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland".

Contents
1 Family life
2 Career
3 Poetry
4 Notes
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
Family life
He was the second son of Andrew Arbuthnot of Pitcarles, who in turn was the fourth
son of Sir Robert Arbuthnot of that Ilk. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of
James Strachan of Monboddo.

Career
After having studied languages and philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, and
civil law under the noted Jacques Cujas at the University of Bourges in France,
Arbuthnot took ecclesiastical orders, and became in his own country a zealous
supporter of the Reformation.

In 1569 he was elected principal of King's College, Aberdeen, an office he retained

until his death. He played an active part in the church politics of the period, and
was twice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and a member
of the commission of inquiry into the condition the University of St Andrews
(1583).[1]

His attitude on public questions earned him the condemnation of Catholic writers.
He is not included in Nicol Burne's list of periurit apostatis, but his policy and
influence were disliked by James VI, who, when the Assembly had elected Arbuthnot
to the charge of the kirk of St. Andrews, ordered him to return to his duties at
King's College.[1]

Minister of Logie Buchan (1568), of Forve and Arbuthnott (1569) and of St Andrews
(1583). Moderator of the General Assembly (1573 and 1577). He matriculated his
arms. He is buried in St Nicholas, Aberdeen.

Poetry
His extant works are three poems, The Praises of Wemen (4 lines), On Luve (10
lines), and The Miseries of a Pure (poor) Scholar (189 lines), and a Latin account
of the Arbuthnot family, Originis et Incrementi Arbuthnoticae Familiae Descriptio
Historica, of which an English continuation, by Dr John Arbuthnot, is preserved in
the Advocates Library, Edinburgh.[1]
The praise of women in the first poem is exceptional in the literature of his age;
and its geniality helps us to understand the author's popularity with his
contemporaries.[1]

Notes
Chisholm 1911.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arbuthnot, Alexander". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 339.
The Scottish Studies Foundation, brief bio
Arbuthnot, Mrs P S-M (1920). Memories of the Arbuthnots. George Allen & Unwin.
Sir James Balfour Paul, ed. (1908). The Scots Peerage. founded on Wood's Edition of
Sir Robert Douglas's 'Peerage of Scotland'.
Further reading
Chambers, Robert; Thomson, Thomas Napier (1857). "Arbuthnot, Alexander" . A
Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen. 1. Glasgow: Blackie and Son. pp. 67–68
– via Wikisource.
External links
Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's
article about Arbuthnot, Alexander (1538–1583).
Arbuthnot family tree
Works by or about Alexander Arbuthnot in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
vte
Arbuthnot family
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
GND: 105521027XISNI: 0000 0000 4049 0324LCCN: no95053582SUDOC: 074334727VIAF:
24986006WorldCat Identities: lccn-no95053582
Categories: 1538 births1583 deathsArbuthnot familyModerators of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland16th-century Scottish clergy16th-century Scottish
poetsScottish Christian theologiansScottish historiansAlumni of the University of
AberdeenAcademics of the University of AberdeenUniversity of BourgesPeople
associated with the University of St Andrews16th-century Protestant religious
leaders16th-century Scottish writers16th-century male writers
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