The Trojan Legend in Medieval Scottish Literature

The Trojan legend became hot property during the Anglo-Scots Wars of Independence; while the English traced their ancestry to the Trojans to bolster their claims to lordship Scottish historians traced their origins to a rival Greek prince Gaythelos. This first comprehensive treatment of the Trojan legend in Older Scots texts provides a full assessment of the Scottish response to the Trojan legend showing how the Matter of Troy was used as an origin myth a guide to good governance and a means for poets to explore broader issues of literary tradition authority and the nature of poetic truth.