the line of Latin used as the refrain of the poem by... Henryson?... whoever
From David Crystal: The English Language:
Verses from William Dunbar’s Lament for the Makaris (Elegy for the Poets), written about 1505. The Latin line is taken from the Office of the Dead, and translates ‘The fear of death troubles me’
The state of man dois change and vary
Now sound, now seik, now blith, now sary
Now dansand mery, now like to dee
Timor mortis conturbat me.
No stait in erd heir standis sicker
As with the wynd wavis the wicker
Wavis this warldis vanité
Timor mortis conturbat me.
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From the end of the 14thc. to the beginning of the 17th, there was a flowering of literature in Scots, a period which reached its peak in the poetry of Robert Henryson and William Dunbar. But during the 17thc. the Scots literary language began to decay, as it fell increasingly under the influence of the southern standard. …the uniting of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603, and the move to London of James VI and the Scottish court… led in due course to the adoption among the upper classes of southern English norms of speech… thus spreading further the influence of the southern standard as a prestige form.
Penguin, 1988 ISBN 0-14-013532-4 “A splendid blend of erudition and entertainment” Times H/Ed Supplement (for anyone new to David’s work)
timorous/timor