Gavin Douglas blue plaque

This blue commemorative plaque records: Gavin Douglas 1474-1522. Gavin Douglas was born in Tantallon Castle, East Lothian. He was the third son of Archibald "Bell-the-cat" Douglas, fifth Earl of Angus, and had a house near this spot. A student at St. Andrew's University, he was a poet known for his "Palice of Honour" and for his "Eneados", a transcription of Virgil's "Aenid" into Scots, to which he added his own verse prologues. In 1501 he became Dean or Provost of St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and was elevated to Bishop of Dunkeld in 1515. He died of the plague in London in 1522. The shield below is an accurate reconstruction of the above originally badly eroded coat of arms of Gavin Douglas.

Gavin Douglas was a Scottish poet and bishop known for his translation of Virgil's "Aeneid" into Scots, titled "Eneados," which is significant as one of the earliest complete translations of classical literature into the Scots language.