Lorimer's New Testament in Scots: Where the Devil Speaks English
Contents
At the Reformation, Scotland took its Bible in English, not in Scots, the language most Lowland Scots spoke. Four centuries later the classical scholar William Laughton Lorimer spent the last ten years of his life translating the New Testament from the original Greek into Scots. He died in 1967 with the work unfinished, and his son Robin edited it for publication in 1983. The book is best known for a passage in which the Devil speaks Standard English, but that passage is not where most people think it is. This card tells the story and sets out what the evidence says.
TL;DR
- established William Laughton Lorimer (1885–1967), professor of Greek at St Andrews, worked on a translation of the New Testament from Greek into Scots for about the last ten years of his life.
- established At his death about a quarter was in near-final form and the rest in revised first draft. His son, R. L. C. (Robin) Lorimer, edited it, and Canongate published it in October 1983, with printing paid for by a memorial trust.
- established It is described as the first New Testament translated into modern Scots from the original Greek. Murdoch Nisbet's Scots New Testament of the early 16th century was based on an English Wycliffite version.
- established The Devil speaks Standard English in an alternative version of the Temptation (Matthew 4) printed in an appendix, not in the main text. Robin Lorimer wrote that his father never meant it for publication and believed he had destroyed every copy.
- shared The translation is widely praised as a landmark of Scots prose; reviewers have differed on whether it could do much to revive written Scots.
Key Facts
- Translator
- William Laughton Lorimer (1885–1967)
- Position
- Professor of Greek, St Andrews
- Other work
- Chaired the executive council of the Scottish National Dictionary from 1953
- Source text
- Greek New Testament
- Work
- About 1957 to 1967
- Editor
- R. L. C. (Robin) Lorimer, his son
- Published
- October 1983, Canongate
- Funding
- W. L. Lorimer Memorial Trust Fund
- The Devil's English
- An alternative Temptation passage in an appendix
- Earlier Scots New Testament
- Murdoch Nisbet, 1513–1539, from an English Wycliffite text
A Note on Claims and Evidence
Each major claim carries one of three labels. established means supported by primary records, official bodies or several independent reliable sources. shared means the core fact is sound but sources disagree on details, dates or interpretation. traditional means widely repeated but not traceable to a primary or independent source.
The publication details and the state of the manuscript come from the book itself and from Denton Fox's review in the London Review of Books (1984). The Devil's English is often described as though it ran through the main text; in fact the main text is all in Scots, and the English appears only in an appendix that Robin Lorimer chose to include. What Lorimer meant by it is a matter of interpretation. Claims about how many copies the book sold are often repeated but were not found in the sources consulted.
Timeline
Murdoch Nisbet writes a Scots New Testament based on John Purvey's Wycliffite Bible; it stays in manuscript.
The Reformation; Scotland uses Bibles in English.
Peter Hately Waddell publishes the Psalms translated from the Hebrew into Scots.
William Laughton Lorimer is born near Dundee.
The Scottish Text Society publishes Nisbet's New Testament.
Lorimer begins contributing to the Scottish National Dictionary.
He becomes chairman of the Dictionary's executive council.
He begins translating the New Testament into Scots.
Lorimer dies with the translation in draft.
The New Testament in Scots is published by Canongate.
Details
Scots and the Bible
established At the Reformation in 1560 Scotland adopted Bibles in English, first the Geneva Bible and later the King James Version, although Scots was the everyday language of most Lowlanders. Murdoch Nisbet, associated with the Lollards, had made a Scots New Testament between 1513 and 1539, but it was based on John Purvey's English Wycliffite Bible and remained in manuscript until the Scottish Text Society published it in 1901–1905. In 1871 Peter Hately Waddell published the Psalms translated directly from the Hebrew into Scots.
shared Some historians argue that the lack of a printed Scots Bible helped weaken Scots as a written language; others see it as one factor among several.
Lorimer
established William Laughton Lorimer was born near Dundee in 1885 and spent most of his adult life in St Andrews, where he became professor of Greek. From 1946 he worked for the Scottish National Dictionary, and from 1953 until his death he chaired its executive council. He came from a line of Free Church ministers but had lost his Christian faith as a student.
The translation
established Lorimer had been working on the New Testament for about ten years when he died in 1967. About a quarter of it was in near-final form; the rest was a revised first draft. He based his Scots on his own regional speech and drew in distinctively Scottish words from elsewhere, choosing, for example, doit for the "tares" of the Authorised Version, and he avoided words that looked like borrowings from English.
Publication
established His son, R. L. C. Lorimer, edited the text, faithfully in the view of reviewers, and with others set up the W. L. Lorimer Memorial Trust Fund to pay for printing. Canongate published The New Testament in Scots in October 1983. Reviewing it in the London Review of Books, Denton Fox called it "a meticulous and impressive achievement", while doubting that it would revive Scots.
The Devil's English
established The main text is in Scots throughout, including the Temptation of Christ in Matthew 4. An appendix prints an alternative version of that passage in which the Devil's speeches are in Standard English. In the manuscript those speeches were spelt as mispronounced Scots; Robin Lorimer changed them to ordinary English spelling. He wrote that his father never intended the passage for publication and believed he had destroyed all copies.
shared The passage is widely read as a wry comment on the standing of English and Scots. Lorimer left no account of what he meant by it.
Did You Know?
- Lorimer translated directly from the Greek.
- He was an agnostic, though he came from a family of Free Church ministers.
- He chaired the Scottish National Dictionary's executive council.
- Only about a quarter of the translation was in near-final form when he died.
- A memorial trust paid for the book to be printed.
- The Devil's English appears in an appendix, not in the main text.
- Lorimer thought he had destroyed every copy of that passage.
- A Scots New Testament had been made 400 years earlier, but from English.
FAQ
1Who translated the New Testament into Scots?
William Laughton Lorimer, professor of Greek at St Andrews.
2When was it published?
In October 1983, by Canongate, 16 years after his death.
3Who edited it?
His son, R. L. C. (Robin) Lorimer.
4Was it translated from English?
No, from the original Greek.
5Was it the first Scots New Testament?
No. Murdoch Nisbet made one in the early 16th century, but from an English text. Lorimer's is the first in modern Scots from the Greek.
6Does the Devil speak English in the main text?
No. The main text is all in Scots; the English Devil appears in an alternative version of the Temptation in an appendix.
7Why does the Devil speak English?
Lorimer left no explanation; he never meant the passage to be published.
8Was the translation finished?
About a quarter was in near-final form; the rest was a revised first draft.
9How was it paid for?
The W. L. Lorimer Memorial Trust Fund paid for the printing.
10Is it still in print?
Yes, in later editions.
Sources and Further Reading
Scholarly/Critical
- Denton Fox, "Anglophobe Version", review of The New Testament in Scots, London Review of Books, vol. 6 no. 2, 1984 (lrb.co.uk)
General
- Wikipedia, "Bible translations into Scots" (en.wikipedia.org)
Further reading
- W. L. Lorimer (trans.), The New Testament in Scots, ed. R. L. C. Lorimer (Canongate, 1983; later editions)
Caveats: Myths and Disputed Claims
- Do not say the Devil speaks English in the main text; it is in an appendix.
- Do not say Lorimer intended the English Devil for publication.
- Do not say Lorimer's was the first Scots New Testament; Nisbet's came earlier, though from English.
- Do not say Lorimer left a finished translation.
- Do not give sales figures without a source.
A Faith story