Quik-flowand vers of rethorik cullouris,
Sa freschlie springand in youre lusty flouris
To the gret comfort of all trew Scottismen,
Be now my Muse and ledare of my pen.
And one of Lyndsay’s poems, the “Answer maid to the Kingis Flyting” leaves no doubt on the subject. The writer begins by stating that he has read the monarch’s “ragment,” and he ends with a compliment on the royal verse:
Now, Schir, fairweill, because I can nocht flyte;
And thocht I could I wer nocht till avance,
Aganis your ornate meter to indyte.
The fame of James V.’s poetical talents is even understood to have spread as far as Italy, and to have led to his mention by Ariosto.[745]
Four separate poems attributed to James are extant at the present day—“Peblis to the Play,” “Christis Kirk on the Grene,” “The Gaberlunzieman,” and “The Jolly Beggar.” The authorship of the last two of these has at no time been seriously questioned. The authenticity of “Peblis to the Play” and “Christis Kirk,” however, has been the subject of considerable debate, some critics assigning these two poems to James the First. The evidence on both sides may be briefly stated.