He was born in
Pont-à-Mousson,
Lorraine, France, where his Scottish-born father,
William Barclay, held the chair of
civil law. His mother was a
Frenchwoman. His early education was obtained at the
Jesuit College at Pont-a-Mousson. While there, at the age of nineteen, he wrote a commentary on the
Thebaid of
Statius. The Jesuits endeavored to induce him to join their order; but his father refused to give his consent and took him to England in 1603. Barclay had persistently maintained his
Scottish nationality in his French surroundings, and probably found in
James VI and I's accession an opportunity which he would not let slip. In early 1604 John Barclay presented James with a Latin poem, "Kalendae Januariae", and afterward dedicated to him the first part of his
Euphormionis Satyricon (
Euphormionis Lusinini Satyricon) against the
Jesuits. He returned to France by 1605, when a second edition of that book appeared in Paris, having spent some time in
Angers. He was the husband of a Frenchwoman,
Louise Debonaire. Barclay and his wife returned to London in 1606, and there published his
Sylvae, a collection of Latin poems. In 1607 the second part of the
Satyricon appeared in Paris. In 1616 he went to Rome and resided there until his death on 15 August 1621, aged 39. His departure from England may have been prompted by the threat that his children would be brought up as Protestants, since they had been born in England. To the Catholic Barclay, this was unacceptable. In addition he may have been seeking a more generous patron than the somewhat parsimonious King James. In fact Barclay received a pension of some 150 pounds from the Pope. His wife outlived him and died in 1652. One son became bishop of Toul in France and survived until 1673. ==Works==