The Complete Works

Though definitive information about the fifteenth-century Scottish poet Robert Henryson remains elusive, the quality of the poetry that bears his name is self-evident: consistently achieving what David J. Parkinson describes as a rhetorical ideal of brevity replete with significance, these Middle Scots works possess an interpretive richness, knowledge of classical and medieval authorities, and command of multilingual vocabulary befitting Henrysons title of master. Composed amid Middle Scotss consolidation into Scotlands official language in the late Middle Ages, Henrysons poetry reflects in language and theme this pivotal moment in Scottish history. This edition collects all works attributed to Henryson, including his adaptations and interpretations of Aesops Fables; his The Testament of Cresseid, an epilogue to Geoffrey ChaucersTroilus and Criseyde; Orpheus and Eurydice; and twelve shorter poems grouped by the available evidence for their attribution to Henryson, all accompanied by glosses, explanatory and textual notes, and a guide to Henrysons language.