The Poems of Robert Henryson

Sometimes known as the “Scottish Chaucerian,” the poet and notary Robert Henryson contributed a “significant poetic voice of the late Middle Ages,” as Robert Kindrick notes in his introduction. Henryson’s work takes inspiration from a multitude of sources, including Geoffrey Chaucer, John Lydgate, and Aesop, while displaying sophistication in character development, plot construction, and rhetorical control. Composed during the fifteenth century, Henryson’s Middle Scots corpus reflects the economic and social uncertainty in Scotland resulting from continual conflict with England. This edition includes The Morall Fabillis, lively beast fables that end in ethical lessons; The Testament of Cresseid, a controversial continuation of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde; the romance Orpheus and Eurydice; and thirteen shorter poems, which include love poems, religious verse, and poems on social themes. All are thoroughly glossed and annotated, offering insight on both insular and Continental sources, as well as critical commentary.