蜜芽传媒 Scotland - 蜜芽传媒 Scotland - The 16th Century 'rap battle' that earned a place in history

The 16th Century 'rap battle' that earned a place in history

A 500-year-old Scottish manuscript contains the earliest written record of the f-word.

Uttering the f-word can be controversial. Whether it is used as a noun, a verb or an exclamation it has the power to grossly offend or easily amuse. And as Scotland – Contains Strong Language reveals, it has been in our vocabulary for centuries.

Cora Bissett investigates the history of Scottish swearing in Scotland - Contains Strong Language

The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie manuscript

The earliest surviving record of the word is a 16th Century manuscript held in the National Library of Scotland. The document, The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie, is a poem which takes the form of a ribald exchange between two Scots writers, William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy.

The term flyting may now be confined to the history books, but the act of flyting shares similarities with a very modern event: the rap battle.

In this flyte, as with a rap battle, Dunbar and Kennedy exchange creative insults; they brag about their own poetic abilities while belittling the other man. Ultimately, it is taken in good spirit, but the flyting is harsh.

Kennedy variously describes Dunbar as a “fantastik fule”, an “ignorant elf” and a “wan f***it funling”. That final insult, in which Dunbar is accused of being poorly conceived by his parents, is historically important because it is the earliest surviving record of the f-word anywhere in the world.

So as surprising as it may seem, there's nothing new about the f-word. But you still may not want to use it in front of your mum.