Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Poems of Robert Henryson > Volume 1, 1914

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APPENDIX.
happy, if uncritical, association with Chaucer in Thynne’s historic
edition.
Of the quality of Kinaston’s Latin rendering each reader will
form his own opinion. Southey, we are told, described it as
“ the best serious piece of Latin in modern metre,”1 and an
article in 1825, offered as a ‘review’ of the 1635 print, by the
indefatigable and ever delightful Retrospective 2 allows Sir Francis
“ very tolerable Latin, perfect clearness of style, and unembarrassed
fluency,” and praises him “ for the fidelity with which he adheres
to his original.” Mr Saintsbury, in subscribing to this and more,
points out how thoroughly Kinaston had “saturated himself”
with the Chaucerian rhythm.3 All three critics concluded from
but two books, and thought that Kinaston had written no more.4
It may be left to the curious to test in the following stanzas
whether one who ‘ caught ’ his Chaucer so well, has achieved as
much with the poet whose fame rests, in part, on his successful
recovery of Chaucer’s art. Kinaston has left on record that it
was his first care to preserve in his Latin verses the rhythm of
his English original.5
1 See Notes and Queries, 1st Ser. iii. 297.
2 The Retrospective Review, I. Art. vi. pp. 106-123.
3 Caroline Poets, II. (1906) pp. 64 and 68.
4 lb., p. 65.
6 See Supplementary Note A, mtra, pp. clx-clxi.