Broadside entitled 'Elegy'

Commentary

This memorial notice begins: 'Elegy, Upon the much to be Lamented Death of Sir Robert Blackwood, late Provost in Edinburgh. Who departed this Life Aprile the 24th 1720.' The elegy begins: 'OH! Death, Thou Conquerour of Men, / Does Thou intend ALL to govern?' According to a note under the title, Sir Robert Blackwood died on the 24th April 1720.

It appears from this elegy that Robert Blackwood was sorely missed by the people of Edinburgh: 'Why should not Edinburgh with Tears be / For Loss of Him, who was their Stay and Shield. / For the Town's Good, and Trade's was still his Aim / And Charitable to All, who unto him did come.' The National Libray of Scotland's broadside collection also includes elegies on such notable figures as King William III (William of Orange); John Hamilton, Lord Belhaven; David, Earl of Wemyss and Lord Alexander Ross, Bishop of Edinburgh.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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