''The Buik of Alexander'' is a short title for the two known

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

versions of the Alexander romance stories — a genre which was common in Medieval European literature, particularly France from the 12th century onwards, and the British Isles in the 14th and 15th centuries. A principal source text for these was the Old French text, ''

Li romans d'Alixandre The ''Roman d'Alexandre'', from the Old French ''Li romans d'Alixandre'' ( English: "Romance of Alexander"), is a 16,000-verseHasenohr, 1306. twelfth-centuryThe Medieval Alexander Project at the University of Rochester estimates it was writte ...

'', attributed to

Alexandre de Bernay Alexander of Paris, also known as Alexander of Bernay, was a Norman poet of the 12th century, who wrote '' Li romans d'Alexandre'' ('' Romance of Alexander''), one of the first poems written in French on the mythical exploits of Alexander the Gre ...

, although writers tended to adapt material freely from different sources. Many different European nations had poets who produced versions of the romance. The dating is unsure, but the earlier of the two Scottish versions was anonymous (dated 1438?), and the second, in a version dated 1499?, is by Gilbert Hay.

Anonymous version

The earlier of the two versions from Scotland is the anonymous ''The Scots Buik of the most noble and vailyzeand Conqueror Alexander the Great''. A few witnesses have tried to ascribe the text of this to the seminal Scots poet John Barbour and some of its passages certainly use material from '' The Brus'', an original verse romance, and Barbour's most famous poem. The sole witness for this ''Buik of Alexander'', however, is a single version printed at the Edinburgh press of Alexander Arbuthnot, c. 1580. It gives the date of its source as 1438, some forty years after Barbour's death.

Gilbert Hay's version

The second surviving Scottish work in the genre is ''The Buik of King Alexander the Conquerour'' composed by the poet, Gilbert Hay. Buik of Scottish poetry Alexander Romance Scots language 1438 works 1499 books 1430s in Scotland 1490s in Scotland Early Scots poems Middle Scots poems Historical poems {{poem-stub