William Dunbar was a Scottish makar, or court poet, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work in Scots distinguished by its great variation in themes and literary styles. He was probably a native of East Lothian, as assumed from a satirical reference in The Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedie. His surname is also spelt Dumbar.
Statue of William Dunbar, Scottish National Portrait Gallery
A makar is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet.
St Andrews Cathedral, St Andrews, now in ruins: one of Scotland's key buildings in the classic period of the Makars and a possible presence in some of Dunbar's spiritual works
Rosslyn Chapel; built in the century of the makars, the famed intricacy of its carving shares much in spirit with the aureation in their language.
Nicola Sturgeon and the new 2021 Makar Kathleen Jamie outside the Scottish Poetry Library