SCOTNOTES Study Guides

The Poems of
ROBERT HENRYSON

Gerald Baird

Published in: Paperback.
By: Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 1996
Price: £5.95
ISBN 978-0-948877-29-2

Order from our bookshop

Robert Henryson, along with his contemporary William Dunbar, is one of the most significant figures of medieval Scottish literature and is a distinctive voice in the fifteenth-century Northern Renaissance. His subtle use of language and careful balance of humour with high seriousness presents a picture of a vigourous and compassionate intellect, firmly rooted in his society and yet engaging with the wider world. 

Gerald Baird’s Scotnote explores Henryson’s major works – the Fables, The Testament of Cresseid, Orpheus and Euridice and – and provides detailed information for senior school pupils and students at all levels.

CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Background
  1. What we know about Henryson
  2. How to read Henryson
  3. The Middle Ages
  4. Some literary background
• The Fables
• The Testament of Cresseid
• Orpheus and Euridice
• Robene and Makyne
• Things to think about
• Bibliography