A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry
Title Details

242 Pages

23.4 x 15.6 cm

Imprint: D.S.Brewer

A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry

Edited by Priscilla Bawcutt and Janet Hadley Williams

  • Description
  • Contents
  • Author
  • Reviews
A full survey and overview of the extraordinary flowering of Scottish poetry in the middle ages.

The poetry written in Scotland between the late fourteenth and the early years of the sixteenth century is exceptionally rich and varied. The contributions collected here, by leading specialists in the field, provide a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the material. There are introductions to the literary culture of late medieval Scotland and its historical context; separate studies of the writings of James I, Robert Henryson, William Dunbar, Gavin Douglas, and Sir David Lyndsay; and essays devoted to general themes or genres, including the historiographical tradition, religious verse, romances, and the legendary history of Alexander the Great. A final chapter provides bibliographical guidance on the major advances in the criticism and scholarly study of this poetry during the last thirty years.

Contributors: PRISCILLA BAWCUTT, JULIA BOFFEY, JOHN BURROW, ELIZABETH EWAN, R. JAMES GOLDSTEIN, DOUGLAS GRAY, JANET HADLEY WILLIAMS, R. J. LYALL, ANNE MCKIMM, JOANNA MARTIN, RHIANNON PURDIE, NICOLA ROYAN.
Introduction: Poets `of this Natioun' - Priscilla Bawcutt and Janet Hadley Williams
Late Medieval Scotland: a Study in Contrasts -
`I will my proces hald': Making Sense of Scottish Lives and the Desire for History in Barbour, Wyntoun and Blind Hary - R James Goldstein
`Mark your Meroure be Me': Richard Holland's Buke of the Howlat - Nicola Royan
The Kingis Quair and other poems of Bodleian Library MS Arch. Selden. B. 24 - Julia Boffey
`Of Wisdome and of Guide Governance': Sir Gilbert Hay and The Buik of King Alexander the Conquerour - Joanna Martin
Henryson's Morall Fabillis: Structure and Meaning - Roderick J Lyall
Orpheus and Eurydice and The Testament of Cresseid: Robert Henryson's `fine poetical way' - Anne McKim
Religious Verse in Medieval Scotland - Priscilla Bawcutt
William Dunbar - John A. Burrow
Gavin Douglas - Douglas Gray
Medieval Romance in Scotland -
Sir David Lyndsay - Janet Hadley Williams
Guide to Further Reading
Index of Manuscripts
General Index

PRISCILLA BAWCUTT, honorary professor at the University of Liverpool, was one of the most distinguished contemporary scholars of Older Scots. She edited The Poems of William Dunbar for the Association of Scottlish Literary Studies (1997/8), and The Shorter Poems of Gavin Douglas for the Scottish Text Society (revised 2003); she has written very widely and deeply on all aspects of Older Scots literature, includingher foundational study, Gavin Douglas (1976). IAN C. CUNNINGHAM, former Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Library of Scotland, has published extensively on Latin and Older Scots manuscripts, and edited and translated Theophrastus

"Offers a comprehensive guide to early Scots vernacular literature. Illustrated with copious references, it should prove especially useful as a reference point for students and scholars from neighbouring disciplines.[...]This volume supplies a significant and rewarding introduction to the rich literary culture of late medieval Scotland." JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY
"Can be recommended to students, and others, with confidence. There are indeed some wondrously good essays in it, and...others would do well to match its execution and quality." INNES REVIEW
"A welcome addition to the Boydell & Brewer Companion list. [...] Will be valued by students and scholars alike for its excellent contribution to the field of Scottish literature. MEDIUM AEVUM The most significant publication this year in the world of Middle Scots poetry." YEAR'S WORK IN ENGLISH STUDIES, 2008

Paperback

9781843842477

March 2010

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Title Details

242 Pages

2.34 x 1.56 cm

Imprint: D.S.Brewer