Walter Kennedy

Donna Heddle (UHI Millenium Institute Orkney)

Ed. by J. Derrick McClure, University of Aberdeen
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of York), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born c. 1460
Died c. 1508
Activity 1480-c. 1508

Places

Born in Scotland
Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Kennedy's Works

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Walter Kennedy (

1460 - c. 1508/1518) was the son of Gilbert, 1st Lord Kennedy, and thus the grandson of Sir James Kennedy and Mary, Countess of Angus, who was a daughter of Robert III. He was also the nephew of James Kennedy, bishop of St Andrews. He matriculated at Glasgow University in 1475 and took his M.A. degree in 1478. Later (from 1481 onwards) Kennedy functioned as an examiner at the University of Glasgow; in 1492 he acted as depute for a family member, the hereditary bailie of Carrick and in October 1497 as a representative for the abbey of Crosraguel in Ayrshire.

Kennedy might have been in minor orders, but he was never ordained as a priest. As scion of an important family, he was independently wealthy: as Priscilla Bawcutt notes, “unpublished charters and documents, dated

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752 words

Citation: Heddle, Donna. "Walter Kennedy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2477, accessed 21 November 2024.]