Scottish literature in the Middle Ages
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Scottish literature in the Middle Ages is literature written in Scotland, or by
Scottish writers This list of Scottish writers is an incomplete alphabetical list of Scottish writers who have a Wikipedia page. Those on the list were born and/or brought up in Scotland. They include writers of all genres, writing in English, Lowland Scots, Scot ...
, between the departure of the Romans from Britain in the fifth century, until the establishment of the Renaissance in the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century. It includes literature written in
Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...
, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, French and Latin. Much of the earliest Welsh literature was composed in or near the country now called Scotland, in the Brythonic speech, from which
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
would be derived. This includes the epic poem ''The Gododdin'', considered the earliest surviving verse from Scotland. Very few works of
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
poetry survive from the early Medieval period, and most of these are extant in Irish manuscripts. There are religious works that can be identified as Scottish. In Old English there is the '' Dream of the Rood'', from which lines are found on the Ruthwell Cross, making it the only surviving fragment of Northumbrian
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
from early Medieval Scotland. What is probably the most important work written in early Medieval Scotland, the '' Vita Columbae'' by
Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...
, was also written in Latin. As the state of Alba developed into the Kingdom of Scotland from the eighth century, a flourishing literary elite there regularly produced texts in both Gaelic and Latin, sharing a common literary culture with Ireland and elsewhere. It is possible that much Middle Irish literature was written in Medieval Scotland, but has not survived because the Gaelic literary establishment of eastern Scotland died out before the fourteenth century. After the Davidian Revolution of the thirteenth century, a flourishing French language culture predominated, while Norse literature was produced from areas of Scandinavian settlement. In the late Middle Ages, Middle Scots became the dominant language of the country. The first surviving major text in Scots literature is
John Barbour John Barbour may refer to: * John Barbour (poet) (1316–1395), Scottish poet * John Barbour (MP for New Shoreham), MP for New Shoreham 1368-1382 * John Barbour (footballer) (1890–1916), Scottish footballer * John S. Barbour (1790–1855), U. ...
's '' Brus'' (1375). This was followed by major historical works in Latin, including the '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' of
John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th cen ...
. There were also Scots versions of popular French romances. Much Middle Scots literature was produced by makars, poets with links to the royal court. Many of the makars had a university education and so were also connected with the Church. Much of their work survives in a single collection: the Bannatyne Manuscript, collated around 1560. In the late fifteenth century, Scots prose also began to develop as a genre. The first complete surviving work is John Ireland's ''The Meroure of Wyssdome'' (1490). The landmark work in the reign of
James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...
was Gavin Douglas's version of Virgil's '' Aeneid'', the '' Eneados'', which was the first complete translation of a major classical text in an Anglic language, finished in 1513, but overshadowed by the disaster at Flodden in the same year.


Early Middle Ages

After the collapse of Roman authority in the early fifth century, four major circles of political and cultural influence emerged in Northern Britain. In the East were the Picts, whose kingdoms eventually stretched from the River Forth to
Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...
. Modern scholarship, based on surviving place names and historical evidence, indicates that the Pictish language was Brythonic (British).J. T. Koch, ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), , p. 305. In the West were the Gaelic ( Goidelic-speaking) people of Dál Riata, who had close links with Ireland, from where they brought with them the name Scots. In the south were the British (
Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...
-speaking) descendants of the peoples of the Roman-influenced kingdoms of " The Old North", the most powerful and longest surviving of which was the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Finally, there were the English or "Angles", Germanic invaders who had overrun much of southern Britain and held the Kingdom of Bernicia (later the northern part of Northumbria), which reached into what are now the Borders of Scotland in the south-east. To these languages Christianisation, particularly from the sixth century, added Latin as an intellectual and written language. No written literature for the Picts has survived into the modern era. However, there is surviving literature from what would become Scotland in Brythonic, Gaelic, Old English and Latin. Much of the earliest Welsh literature was composed in or near the country now called Scotland, in the Brythonic speech, from which
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
would be derived. At this time it was not then confined to Wales and Cornwall. These works were only written down in Wales much later. These include ''The Gododdin'', considered the earliest surviving verse from Scotland, which is attributed to the
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
Aneirin, said to have been resident in the Bythonic kingdom of Gododdin in the sixth century. It is a series of elegies to the men of Gododdin killed fighting at the '' Battle of Catraeth'' around 600 AD. Similarly, the ''
Battle of Gwen Ystrad ''Gweith Gwen Ystrat'' (in English: ''The Battle of Gwen Ystrad''), is a late Old Welsh or Middle Welsh heroic poem found uniquely in the Book of Taliesin, where it forms part of the ''Canu Taliesin'', a series of poems attributed to the 6th-c ...
'' is attributed to Taliesin, traditionally thought to be a bard at the court of Rheged in roughly the same period. Very few works of
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
poetry survive from the early Medieval period, and most of these are in Irish manuscripts.Koch, ''Celtic Culture'', p. 1576. There are religious works that can be identified as Scottish, including the ''Elegy for
St Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
'' by Dallan Forgaill (c. 597) and "In Praise of St Columba" by Beccan mac Luigdech of Rum, c. 677. A series of anecdotes contained in the tenth century ''Betba Adamnáin'' (Life of St. Adomnán) are probably derived from works composed on
Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...
. Outside of these there are a few poems in praise of Pictish kings contained within Irish annals that are probably from Scotland. In Old English there is the '' Dream of the Rood'', from which lines are found on the Ruthwell Cross, making it the only surviving fragment of Northumbrian
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
from early Medieval Scotland. It has also been suggested based on ornithological references that the poem '' The Seafarer'' was composed somewhere near the Bass Rock in East Lothian. Early works in Latin include a "Prayer for Protection" attributed to St Mugint, thought to be from the mid-sixth century, and ''
Altus Prosator Hiberno-Latin, also called Hisperic Latin, was a learned style of literary Latin first used and subsequently spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century. Vocabulary and influence Hiberno-Latin was notab ...
'' ("The High Creator"), attributed to St Columba (c. 597). What is probably the most important work written in early Medieval Scotland, the '' Vita Columbae'', by
Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...
, abbot of Iona (627/8–704), was also written in Latin. The next most important piece of Scottish hagiography, the verse ''
Life of St. Ninian The ''Vita Sancti Niniani'' ("Life of Saint Ninian") or simply ''Vita Niniani'' ("Life of Ninian") is a Latin language Christian hagiography written in northern England in the mid-12th century. Using two earlier Anglo-Latin sources, it was writt ...
'', was written in Latin in Whithorn, perhaps as early as the eighth century.


High Middle Ages

Beginning in the later eighth century, Viking raids and invasions may have forced a merger of the Gaelic and Pictish crowns. The Kingdom of Alba emerged, which would eventually become known as the Kingdom of Scotland, and traced its origin to
Cínaed mac Ailpín Kenneth MacAlpin ( mga, Cináed mac Ailpin, label= Medieval Gaelic, gd, Coinneach mac Ailpein, label=Modern Scottish Gaelic; 810 – 13 February 858) or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), King of the Picts (843–858), and the ...
(Kenneth MacAlpin) in the 840s through the House of Alpin.B. Yorke, ''The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c.600–800'' (Pearson Education, 2006), , p. 54. The Kingdom of Alba was overwhelmingly an oral society dominated by Gaelic culture. Fuller sources for Ireland of the same period suggest that there would have been filidh, who acted as poets, musicians and historians, often attached to the court of a lord or king, and passed on their knowledge and culture in Gaelic to the next generation.R. A. Houston, ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), , p. 76. Historical sources, as well as place name evidence, indicate how the Pictish language in the north and Cumbric languages in the south were overlaid and replaced by Gaelic,
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
and later Norse. From the eleventh century
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, Flemish and particularly English became the main languages of Scottish
burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...
s, most of which were located in the south and east. At least from the accession of David I (r. 1124–53), as part of a Davidian Revolution that introduced French culture and political systems, Gaelic ceased to be the main language of the royal court and was probably replaced by French. After this "de-gallicisation" of the Scottish court, a less highly regarded order of
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
s took over the functions of the filidh, and they would continue to act in a similar role in the Highlands and Islands into the eighteenth century. They often trained in bardic schools. A few of these, like the one run by the MacMhuirich dynasty, who were bards to the
Lord of the Isles The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...
, continued until they were suppressed from the seventeenth century. Members of bardic schools were trained in the complex rules and forms of Gaelic poetry. Much of their work was never written down, and what survives was only recorded from the sixteenth century.R. Crawford
''Scotland's Books: A History of Scottish Literature''
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), .
It is possible that more Middle Irish literature was written in Medieval Scotland than is often thought, but has not survived because the Gaelic literary establishment of eastern Scotland died out before the fourteenth century. Thomas Owen Clancy has argued that the ''
Lebor Bretnach ''Lebor Bretnach'', formerly spelled ''Leabhar Breathnach'' and sometimes known as the Irish Nennius, is an 11th-century historical work in Gaelic, largely consisting of a translation of the ''Historia Brittonum''. It may have originated in Scotl ...
'', the so-called "Irish Nennius", was written in Scotland, and probably at the monastery in
Abernethy Abernethy may refer to: Places Scotland * Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, a village ** Abernethy (NBR) railway station, a former railway station in this village * Nethy Bridge, Highland, a village formerly known as Abernethy * Abernethy Forest, a ...
, but this text survives only from manuscripts preserved in Ireland. Other literary works that have survived include that of the prolific poet
Gille Brighde Albanach ''Gillie'' or ''ghillie'' is an ancient Gaelic term for a person who acts as a servant or attendant on a fishing, hunting, deer stalking or hawking expedition, primarily in the Scottish Highlands or on a river such as the River Spey. In origin ...
. His ''Heading for Damietta'' (c. 1218) dealt with his experiences of the Fifth Crusade. The twelfth century, a period that saw the arrival of new religious orders and changes in the structure of the church, was the high point of Scottish
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
. There was a proliferation of Latin lives of the saints, often venerating early Celtic and Scottish figures, and the creation or embellishment of foundations myths for religious centres including
St. Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...
, Glasgow and Dunkeld. Many earlier saints' lives are preserved in the '' Aberdeen Breviary'' (1509–10), compiled for William Elphinstone, Archbishop of Aberdeen. In the thirteenth century,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
flourished as a literary language and produced the '' Roman de Fergus'', the earliest piece of non-Celtic vernacular literature to survive from Scotland. Many other stories in the Arthurian Cycle, written in French and preserved only outside Scotland, are thought by some scholars, including D. D. R. Owen, to have been written in Scotland. There is some Norse literature from areas of Scandinavian settlement, such as the
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
and Western Isles. The famous '' Orkneyinga Saga'' however, although it pertains to the Earldom of Orkney, was written in Iceland. In addition to French, Latin was a literary language with works that include the "Carmen de morte Sumerledi", a poem which exults the victory of the citizens of Glasgow over
Somairle mac Gilla Brigte Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...
, and the "Inchcolm Antiphoner", a hymn in praise of St. Columba.


Late Middle Ages

In the late Middle Ages, Middle Scots, often simply called English, became the dominant language of the country. It was derived largely from Old English, with the addition of elements from Gaelic and French. Although resembling the language spoken in northern England, it became a distinct dialect from the late fourteenth century onwards.J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), , pp. 60–7. As the ruling elite gradually abandoned French, they began to adopt Middle Scots, and by the fifteenth century it was the language of government, with acts of parliament, council records and treasurer's accounts almost all using it from the reign of James I (1406–37) onwards. As a result, Gaelic, once dominant north of the Tay, began a steady decline. Lowland writers began to treat Gaelic as a second-class, rustic and even amusing language, helping to frame attitudes towards the highlands and to create a cultural gulf with the lowlands. The major corpus of Medieval Scottish Gaelic poetry, ''
The Book of the Dean of Lismore The ''Book of the Dean of Lismore'' ( gd, Leabhar Deathan Lios Mòir) is a Scottish manuscript, compiled in eastern Perthshire in the first half of the 16th century. The chief compiler, after whom it is named, was James MacGregor (''Seumas Mac ...
'' was compiled by the brothers James and Donald MacGregor in the early decades of the sixteenth century. Besides Scottish Gaelic verse, it contains a large number of poems composed in Ireland as well verse and prose in Scots and Latin. The subject matter includes love poetry, heroic ballads and philosophical pieces. It also is notable for containing poetry by at least four women. These include Aithbhreac Nighean Coirceadail (f. 1460), who wrote a lament for her husband, the constable of Castle Sween. The first surviving major text in Scots literature is
John Barbour John Barbour may refer to: * John Barbour (poet) (1316–1395), Scottish poet * John Barbour (MP for New Shoreham), MP for New Shoreham 1368-1382 * John Barbour (footballer) (1890–1916), Scottish footballer * John S. Barbour (1790–1855), U. ...
's '' Brus'' (1375), composed under the patronage of Robert II and telling the story in epic poetry of Robert I's actions before the English invasion until the end of the war of independence. The work was extremely popular among the Scots-speaking aristocracy, and Barbour is referred to as the father of Scots poetry, holding a similar place to his contemporary Chaucer in England. Major historical works in Latin included the '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' of
John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th cen ...
(before 1360–c. 1384), which would provide the basis for later historical writing, including Walter Bower's (c. 1385–1449) continuation known as ''
Scotichronicon The ''Scotichronicon'' is a 15th-century chronicle by the Scottish historian Walter Bower. It is a continuation of historian-priest John of Fordun's earlier work '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' beginning with the founding of Ireland and thereby ...
'' and the Humanist works like that of Hector Boece (1465–1536). In the early fifteenth century, Scots historical works included
Andrew of Wyntoun Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun (), was a Scottish poet, a canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and, later, a canon of St. Andrews. Andrew Wyntoun is most famous for his completion of an eight-syllabled metre entitled, '' ...
's verse ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' and Blind Harry's '' The Wallace'', which blended historical romance with the verse chronicle. They were probably influenced by Scots versions of popular French romances that were also produced in the period, including '' The Buik of Alexander'', '' Launcelot o the Laik'', ''The Porteous of Noblenes'' by Gilbert Hay and ''
Greysteil ''Greysteil'' ("Graysteel") is a medieval poem popular in 16th century Scotland. Set to music, it was performed for James IV of Scotland and James V of Scotland. The poem was also called ''Syr Egeir and Syr Gryme'', Eger and Grime being the nam ...
'', which would remain popular through the late sixteenth century. Much Middle Scots literature was produced by makars, poets with links to the royal court, which included James I, who wrote the extended poem '' The Kingis Quair''. Many of the makars had university education and so were also connected with the Kirk; however William Dunbar's '' Lament for the Makaris'' (c. 1505) provides evidence of a wider tradition of secular writing outside of Court and Kirk, now largely lost. Writers such as Dunbar, Robert Henryson, Walter Kennedy and Gavin Douglas have been seen as creating a golden age in Scottish poetry. Major works include
Richard Holland Richard Holland or Richard de Holande (died in or after 1483) was a Scottish cleric and poet, author of the ''Buke of the Howlat''. Life Holland was secretary or chaplain to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray (c. 1450) and rector of Halkirk, nea ...
's satire the ''
Buke of the Howlat ''The Buke of the Howlat'', often referred to simply as ''The Howlat'', is a humorous 15th century Scots poem by Richard Holland. Description The poem is a comic allegory in which all the characters are birds with human attributes, with a howle ...
'' (c. 1448). Much of their work survives in a single collection, the Bannatyne Manuscript collated by George Bannatyne (1545–1608) around 1560. It contains the work of many Scots poets who would otherwise be unknown.M. Lynch, "Culture: 3 Medieval", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), , pp. 117–8. In the late fifteenth century, Scots prose also began to develop as a genre. Although there are earlier fragments of original Scots prose, such as the ''Auchinleck Chronicle'', the first complete surviving work is John Ireland's ''The Meroure of Wyssdome'' (1490).J. Martin, ''Kingship and Love in Scottish poetry, 1424–1540'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), , p. 111. There were also prose translations of French books of chivalry that survive from the 1450s, including ''The Book of the Law of Armys'' and the ''Order of Knychthode'', and the treatise '' Secreta Secretorum'', an Arabic work believed to be Aristotle's advice to Alexander the Great. The landmark work in the reign of
James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...
was Gavin Douglas's version of Virgil's '' Aeneid'', the '' Eneados'', which was the first complete translation of a major classical text in an Anglic language, finished in 1513, but overshadowed by the disaster at Flodden in the same year.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Bradley, I., ''Columba: Pilgrim and Penitent, 597–1997'' (Wild Goose, 1996), , p. 97. * Brown, I., Owen Clancy, T., Pittock, M., Manning, S., eds, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), . * Brown, K. M., ''Noble Society in Scotland: Wealth, Family and Culture from the Reformation to the Revolutions'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), . * Clancy, T. O., "Scotland, the 'Nennian' recension of the Historia Brittonum, and the Lebor Bretnach", in S. Taylor, ed., K''ings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland, 500–1297'' (Dublin/Portland, 2000), . * Clancy, T. O., "Scottish literature before Scottish literature", in G. Carruthers and L. McIlvanney, eds, ''The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature'' (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2012), . * Clancy, T. O. and Márkus, G., ''The Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, 550–1350'' (Canongate Books, 1998), . * Crawford, R., ''Scotland's Books: A History of Scottish Literature'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), . * Duncan, A. A. M., ed., ''The Brus'' (Canongate, 1997), . * Frazer, W. O. and Tyrrell, A., ''Social Identity in Early Medieval Britain'' (London: Continuum, 2000), . * Fry, M., ''Edinburgh'' (London: Pan Macmillan, 2011), . * Grant, A., ''Independence and Nationhood, Scotland 1306–1469'' (Baltimore: Edward Arnold, 1984), . * Grant, I. F., ''The Lordship of the Isles: Wanderings in the Lost Lordship'' (Edinburgh: Mercat, 1982), . * Gross, C., ''The Sources and Literature of English History from the Earliest Times to about 1485'' (Elibron Classics Series, 1999), . * Houston, R. A., ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), . * Jayapalan, N., ''History of English Literature'' (Atlantic, 2001), . * Koch, J. T., and Minard, A., ''The Celts: History, Life, and Culture'' (ABC-CLIO, 2012), ,. * Koch, J. T., ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), . * Lambdin, R. T. and Lambdin, L. C., ''Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature'' (London: Greenwood, 2000), . * Lynch, M., "Culture: 3 Medieval", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), . *Maddicott, J. R., and Palliser, D. M., eds, ''The Medieval State: Essays Presented to James Campbell'' (London: Continuum, 2000), . * Martin, J., ''Kingship and Love in Scottish poetry, 1424–1540'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), . * Stringer, K. J., "Reform Monasticism and Celtic Scotland", in E. J. Cowan and R. A. McDonald, eds, ''Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages'' (East Lothian: Tuckwell Press, 2000), . * Thomson, T., ed., ''Auchinleck Chronicle'' (Edinburgh, 1819). * Tittler, R. and Jones, N., ''A Companion to Tudor Britain'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2008), . * Treharne, E. M., ''Old and Middle English c.890-c.1400: an Anthology'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004), . * Wormald, J., ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), . * Yorke, B., ''The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c.600–800'' (Pearson Education, 2006), . {{Scottish literature Scottish literature History of literature in Scotland Medieval history of Scotland