Maitland, Sir Richard, Lord Lethington

(1496-1586)

   "Manly Maitland," as he was called in an epitaph, was the son of Sir William Maitland of Lethington, who was killed at Flodden (1513). In September 1549 Maitland's castle of Lethington was burned by the English, commemorated in his poem, "Againis the Theivis of Liddisdaill." He studied law at St. Andrews University and in Paris and was keeper of the Great Seal (1562-67) under Mary, Queen of Scots. He resigned the office in 1567 in favor of his son John, afterwards Lord Maitland of Thirlestane. Although he became blind about 1561, he remained active as a judge until 1584. The world of poetry owes him a debt for his collection of Scottish poetry, second only in importance to that by Bannatyne (1545-1608). A large selection, including Maitland's own poems, was published by John Pinkerton in two volumes in 1786 under the title Ancient Scottish Poems never before in Print. Some of his poems: "Ballat of the Creatioun of the World," "Lament for the Disorders of the Cuntrie," "Miseries of the Tyme," "Na Kyndes without Siller," "Satire on the Town Ladies," "The Satire of the Aige."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). For many of Sir Richard's poems, refer to The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). Great Books Online (www.bartleby.com). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Golden Treasury of Scottish Poetry. Hugh MacDiarmid, ed. Macmillan, 1941. The Oxford Book of Scottish Verse. John MacQueen and Tom Scott, eds. Oxford University Press, 1966. The Scottish Collection of Verse to 1800. Eileen Dunlop and Kamm Antony, eds. Richard Drew, 1985.