The John Barbour Preserve

The John Barbour Preserve. The Father of Scottish Literature. , John Barbour was born about 1316 and died in 1396. He was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, a well educated man and for 40 years served as Archdeacon of St. Machar Cathedral., In the mid 14th century there were no Scottish universities. John was able to convince the English King Edward III to grant him safe passage through England to attend Oxford University and in later years a grant of safe passage to travel to a French university. John Barbour was more than a scholar. He was appointed to Parliament as a proxy for the Bishop of Aberdeen and in 1373 was Clerk of Audit for the King of Scotland's household and an auditor of the Exchequer for King David and King Robert II of Scotland., John Barbour's masterpiece is "The Bruce", a poem of the epic exploits of King Robert the Bruce which Barbour's dates as 1375. "The Bruce" is regard as the most accurate near contemporary account of the life and adventures of the king. Barbour follows the tradition of chivalric romance as he describes King Roberts of Bruce fugitive years. The War of Independence and the victory at Bannockburn., Many of Barbour's works have been lost in time but those that are recorded are still being published seven centuries later.