flyting, George Bannatyne, court, Scottish, Churchyard, Essex, Fortunate Farewell, Fleet

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flyting has been seen as a characteristically Scottish genre, it appears with near equal frequency south of the border and the extent of the influence of Scottish flytings upon their English counterparts is unclear. The contexts of each do appear distinct. Enmity appears to run much deeper in the English flytings whereas Scottish ones seem to be more festive in nature. George Bannatyne describes the Dunbar-Kennedy exchange as “Iocound and mirrie” and, as Bawcutt has pointed out, the flyting between Montgomerie and Polwart was probably conceived of in a similar way. ²⁰⁴ At least two English flytings (that between Churchyard and Camel, and between Smyth and Gray) are almost certainly conducted more in earnest than in play and are contextualised by specific theological and political controversies. Also, whereas the Scottish examples consistently take place at court and usually draw readers’ attention to the immediate presence of the king, there is a progressive trend in English examples of movement away from the physical location of the court and the king, although appeals for royal adjudication persist and the king and court are never far from their focus.

Flyting in England does not appear to have enjoyed the same degree of licence as was accorded to it across the border, perhaps due to its gradual disassociation from the court and its politicisation in exchanges between Camel and Churchyard, and Smyth and Gray. While one objective of flyting was to curry favour with the king, it could also provoke the displeasure of the authorities especially if it was unsanctioned or occurred at times when the court was politically polarised. Smyth, Gray and their printer Richard Grafton found themselves in the Fleet following their exchange, and Henry Orion St. Onge points out that in his dedication to ‘A Fortunate Farewell to the Earl of Essex’ (1599), Churchyard recalls being brought “before the lords of the council, for writing some of my first verses” which

²⁰⁴ Ritchie ed. (1928), III. p.44; Bawcutt (1983), p.10.

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