Arthur and the Scots

: narratives, nations, and sovereignty in the later Middle Ages

Abstract

This thesis examines the role of King Arthur in later medieval Scotland. During the Middle Ages the Scots sought to create an Arthurian narrative that was compatible with their desire to preserve their independence from England in both a practical sense and in the wider European consciousness. The dominance of English historiography, particularly Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, and its use by English kings to lay claim to overlordship of Scotland, complicated the Scots’ relationship to Arthur. In addition, while the Scots viewed the historical Arthur with suspicion, the legendary Arthur maintained a broad cultural appeal. This thesis examines the creation of a Scottish Arthurian narrative that attempted to harness the cultural capital of Britain’s most famous king while maintaining a clear sense of Scotland’s independence. Chapter one traces the creation of an Arthurian narrative in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, examining the depiction of Arthur in John of Fordun’s Chronica Gentis Scotorum, Andrew of Wyntoun’s Original Chronicle, Walter Bower’s Scotichronicon, and the anonymous Scottis Originale. The second chapter examines Arthur’s ultimately negative portrayal in the two extant medieval Scottish romances, Lancelot of the Laik and Golagros and Gawane. Chapters three and four consider the continued development of the Scottish Arthurian narrative in the sixteenth-century histories of John Mair and Hector Boece. While Mair’s Historia Maioris Britanniae attempted to fashion a ‘British’ Arthur by combining Scottish and English narratives, Hector Boece’s Scotorum Historia reworked Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Arthurian section to bring Scotland into greater prominence and diminish the image of Arthur as a conqueror.

Date of Award	21 Jun 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	Rhiannon Purdie (Supervisor) & Katie Stevenson (Supervisor)