Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Actis and deidis of the illustere and vailzeand campioun, Schir William Wallace, Knicht of Ellerslie

INTRODUCTION.
WHAT IS KNOWN OF BLIND HARRY.
Little is known of Henry the Minstrel. John Major, the
historian—lib. iv., chap. 15—tells us: “Integrum librum
Guillelmi Vallacei Henricus, a nativitate luminibus captus,
meae infantise tempore cudit; et quae vulgo dicebantur
carmine vulgari, in quo peritus erat, conscripsit (ego autem
talibus scriptis solum in parte fidem impertior), qui histo-
riarum recitatione coram principibus victum et vestitum quo
dignus erat nactus est.” This may be translated thus :
“ Henry, who was blind from his birth, in the time of my
infancy composed the whole book of ‘William Wallace,’
and put in writing a poem in the vernacular, of which he
was a master, on the deeds commonly ascribed to Wallace
(I, however, give only partial credit to such writings). By
the recitation of his history before men of the highest rank,
he obtained the food and raiment which he well deserved.”
The date of Major’s birth is not known ; but Buchanan, in
the autobiography prefixed to his history, tells us that in
the year 1524 he studied under Major at St Andrews, the
latter being then in extrema senectute. Say that Major in
a