Translation of - Lament For The Makaris - by William Dunbar

28/3/22, 3:41 Translation of "Lament for the Makaris" by William Dunbar
The HyperTexts
Lament for the Makaris ("Makers") by William Dunbar: a Modern English Translation
This is my modern English translation of "Lament for the Makaris," an elegy by the great early Scottish poet
William Dunbar [c. 1460-1530]. Dunbar was a court poet in the household of King James IV of Scotland. The
Makaris were "makers," or poets. The original poem is a form of danse macabre, or "dance of death," in which
people of all social classes are summoned by Death. The poem has a refrain: every fourth line is the Latin
phrase "timor mortis conturbat me" ("the fear of death dismays me" or "disturbs/confounds me"). The poem was
probably composed around 1508 A.D., when Dunbar was advancing in age and perhaps facing the prospect of
death himself (it is not clear exactly when he died). In his famous poem Dunbar mentions other poets who
passed away, including Geoffrey Chaucer, John Lydgate, and John Gower. Dunbar is generally considered to
have been the greatest Scottish poet before Robert Burns, and he is noted for his comedies, satires, and
sometimes ribald language. I have also translated Dunbar's exquisite Sweet Rose of Virtue.
Lament for the Makaris ("Lament for the Makers")

by William Dunbar [c. 1460-1530]
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
i who enjoyed good health and gladness

am overwhelmed now by life’s terrible sickness
and enfeebled with infirmity ...
how the fear of Death dismays me!
our presence here is mere vainglory;

the false world is but transitory;
the flesh is frail; the Fiend runs free ...
the state of man is changeable:

now sound, now sick, now blithe, now dull,
now manic, now devoid of glee ...
no state on earth stands here securely;

as the wild wind shakes the willow tree,
so wavers this world’s vanity ...
Death leads the knights into the field

(unarmored under helm and shield)
sole Victor of each red mêlée ...
that strange, despotic Beast

tears from its mother’s breast
the babe, full of benignity ...
He takes the champion of the hour,

the captain of the highest tower,
the beautiful damsel in full flower ...
www.thehypertexts.com/Lament for the Makaris Translation William Dunbar.htm 1/3

He spares no lord for his elegance,

nor clerk for his intelligence;
His dreadful stroke no man can flee ...
artist, magician, scientist,

orator, debater, theologist,
must all conclude, so too, as we:
“how the fear of Death dismays me!”
in medicine the most astute

sawbones and surgeons all fall mute;
they cannot save themselves, or flee ...
i see the Makers among the unsaved;

the greatest of Poets all go to the grave;
He does not spare them their faculty ...
i have seen the Monster pitilessly devour

our noble Chaucer, poetry’s flower,
and Lydgate and Gower (great Trinity!) ...
since He has taken my brothers all,

i know He will not let me live past the fall;
His next prey will be—poor unfortunate me!—
there is no remedy for Death;

we all must prepare to relinquish breath
so that after we die, we may be set free
from “the fear of Death dismays me!”
If you want to learn more about the origins of English poetry, please check out English Poetic Roots: A Brief
History of Rhyme.
The following are links to other translations by Michael R. Burch. "Wulf and Eadwacer" may be the oldest
extant poem in the English language written by a female poet. "Sweet Rose of Virtue" is a modern translation of
a truly great poem by the early Scottish master William Dunbar. "How Long the Night" is one of the very best
Anglo Saxon lyric poems. "Caedmon's Hymn" may be the oldest poem in the English language.
Sweet Rose of Virtue

Wulf and Eadwacer
How Long the Night
Caedmon's Hymn
The Wife's Lament
Deor's Lament
Lament for the Makaris
Ancient Greek Epigrams and Epitaphs
Basho
Oriental Masters/Haiku
Sappho
Miklós Radnóti
Rainer Maria Rilke
Renée Vivien
Ono no Komachi
Allama Iqbal
Bertolt Brecht
Ber Horvitz
Paul Celan
Primo Levi
Tegner's Drapa
Robert Burns
Ahmad Faraz
Sandor Marai
Wladyslaw Szlengel
The HyperTexts

Translation of - Lament For The Makaris - by William Dunbar

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28/3/22, 3:41 Translation of "Lament for the Makaris" by William Dunbar

Lament for the Makaris ("Lament for the Makers")

i who enjoyed good health and gladness

our presence here is mere vainglory;

the state of man is changeable:

no state on earth stands here securely;

Death leads the knights into the field

that strange, despotic Beast

He takes the champion of the hour,

www.thehypertexts.com/Lament for the Makaris Translation William Dunbar.htm 1/3

He spares no lord for his elegance,

artist, magician, scientist,

in medicine the most astute

i see the Makers among the unsaved;

i have seen the Monster pitilessly devour

since He has taken my brothers all,

there is no remedy for Death;

Sweet Rose of Virtue

www.thehypertexts.com/Lament for the Makaris Translation William Dunbar.htm 3/3

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