Adrian Damman
Adrian or Adriaan Damman of Bysterveldt a native of Ghent,Jacques Alexandre de Chalmot, Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, vol. 5 (Amsterdam, 1800), pp. 206-8. He was a diplomatic agent of the Dutch Republic in Scotland in the 1590s.Esther Mijers, 'Diplomatic Visit', Steven J. Reid, Rethinking the Renaissance and Reformation in Scotland (Boydell, 2014), 266. Damman was an author, and taught at the University of Edinburgh.James Maidment, Letters and State Papers during the Reign of James the Sixth (Edinburgh, 1838), p. 23.
Diplomacy and community in Scotland
In June 1592, the Parliament of Scotland created a new office, the Master of Metals to be in charge of mines and refining, and John Lindsay of Menmuir was appointed. Pressure was exerted on a prospector, Eustachius Roche, to resign his rights. Information damaging his reputation was collected from the Dutch Republic and Flanders by the means of the Adrian Damman and a Scottish merchant in Antwerp, Jacob Barron (who was involved in lead mining in Scotland, and it was said that Eustachius was of "evil fame".Robert William Cochran-Patrick, Early Records Relating to Mining in Scotland (Edinburgh, 1878), pp. 48-50.
Damman was godfather or a baptismal witness to a son of Adrian Vanson, a Flemish portrait painter working in Edinburgh, and a daughter of Jacques de Bousie a confectioner.'Extracts from the Register of Baptisms', Edinburgh', vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1888), p. 174: Michael Apted & Susan Hannabuss, Dictionary of Painters in Scotland (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 98, citing National Records of Scotland, Old Parish Records, Edinburgh, vol. 1, fols. 9, 32, 59, 101. The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, John Maitland died on 3 October 1595. James VI composed an epitaph and Damman translated it into Latin.Thomas Thomson,[https://archive.org/details/historieandlif1300thomuoft/page/350/mode/2up Historie and Life of James the Sext (Edinburgh, 1826), p. 350-1]
In February 1598, Damman became involved in controversy when he contributed to a succession tract, a pamphlet arguing that James VI of Scotland should become King of England. The English diplomat George Nicholson reported that David Foulis had directed the printer Robert Waldegrave to publish a Latin succession tract written by Walter Quinn, a tutor to Prince Henry and corrected and edited by Damman. Such works argued that James VI should be Elizabeth's successor. Waldegrave was reluctant to print it. No copies of this work are known to have survived.John Duncan Mackie, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1597–1603, 13:1 (Edinburgh, 1969), p. 167: Nicholas Tyacke, 'Puritan Politicians and King James VI and I', Thomas Cogswell, Richard Cust, Peter Lake, Politics, Religion and Popularity in Early Stuart Britain: Essays in Honour of Conrad Russell (Cambridge, 2002), p. 35. This work was A Pithie Exhortation to her Majesty for Establishing a Successor to the Crown, printed by Waldegrave in 1598.Tara L. Lyons, 'Male Birth Fantasies and Maternal Monarchs', in Helen Ostovich, Holger Schott Syme, Andrew Griffin, Locating the Queen's Men, 1583–1603 (Ashgate, 2009), pp. 196, 259.
Works
Published works of Ardrian Damman include:Peter Auger, 'Translation and Cultural Convergence', Tracey A. Sowerby & Joanna Craigwood, Cultures of Diplomacy and Literary Writing in the Early Modern World (Oxford, 2019), p. 125.
- Schediasmata Hadr. Damanis a Bisterveld gandavensis (Edinburgh, Robert Waldegrave, 1590), a description of the voyages of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark and their wedding.
- Bartasias; de mundi creatione (Edinburgh, Robert Waldegrave, 1600), a translation of works by Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, a poet admired by James VI.