It has been described as Scotland’s literary answer to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, with the words of more than thirty of the country’s finest writers preserved in stone for posterity. Now Makars’ Court, an evolving national literary monument in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, has welcomed the first of two new members to its illustrious ranks.
The first new stone commemorating Scottish Poet Sir David Lyndsay was masked by the national flag until its unveiling by on 14 July by The Lord Lyon King of Arms, Mr W. David Sellar. He said:- “I will be delighted to remove the Saltire from the stone recognising the achievement of arguably my greatest predecessor in the Office of Lyon King of Arms.”
The inscription reads ‘Sir David Lyndsay, c.1486-1555‘, as well as bearing a coat of arms and the quote ‘Lat us haif the bukis necessare To commoun weill‘, which translates as ‘Let us have the books necessary To our common good‘.
Councillor Steve Cardownie, Deputy Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said:- “Makars’ Court has now become one of the highlights of the Old Town tourist trail, and the addition of these two new inscriptions will no doubt attract yet more visitors. Scotland – and not least its capital city – has produced an extraordinary number of accomplished writers and the Makars’ Court is an excellent way of paying tribute to them and celebrating their work.”
The new flagstone lies beside the Writers’ Museum in Lady Stairs Close.
The second of the new stones, commemorating Lachlan Mór MacMhuirich, will be unveiled this week on 22 July.
