The works of Walter Quin

An Irishman at the Stuart courts

John Flood editor

The Dubliner Walter Quin first came to prominence at the court of James VI, where he wrote poetry in support of the Stuart succession to Elizabeth I’s throne. Thus began a career in royal service that brought Quin to London, where he continued to produce occasional verse in praise of his patrons and fellow writers as well as a popular neo-Stoic handbook and biographical texts on the soldier Bernard Stuart (d. 1508) and Henry IV of France. Quin was one of the earliest Irish writers to leave a substantial body of creative work in modern English (in addition to his texts in Latin, French and Italian) and part of his reward for this included land and privileges in his native country. He can also be claimed for Scottish and English literature, since his work illuminates the life of the Stuart courts as well as the literary fashions of his time. This is the first edition of Quin’s work and it includes a biographical introduction as well as translations of his non-English texts.

John Flood is a senior lecturer in English at the U Groningen, the Netherlands.