John Barclay

John Barclay (1582-1621), Scottish satirical poet and novelist, who often wrote in Latin. Barclay wrote Argenis (1621), one of the best-known Renaissance Latin novels (see Latin Literature: Latin Literature of the Renaissance). Born in Pont-à-Mousson, Lorraine, France, he moved to England in 1603. Using the name Euphormio, Barclay then wrote Euphormionis Satyricon (c. 1603-1607), a satire directed against various professions of the time. The work also targeted Jesuits, which aroused the suspicions of Church authorities. His orthodoxy under question, Barclay wrote a defence entitled Apologia Euphormionis (1610). The Apologia is characterized by an elegance achieved through the mastery of the style of 1st-century Roman writer Petronius Arbiter and contains a critical examination of contemporary life. Barclay also wrote Icon Animarum, which appeared in 1614, and Argenis, a satire on European politics. The numerous translations of Argenis include one by English poet Ben Jonson (1623).