Poems of William Stewart and John Bellenden

This is an edition of the complete shorter poetic works of John Bellenden and William Stewart, writers who flourished during the reign of James V of Scots.The poems of William Stewart and John Bellenden belong to the rich body of writing composed in early sixteenth-century Scotland during the reign of James V (1513-1542). Here, gathered for the first time, are all of the two writers' shorter works - flyting, carol, debate, dream vision, chanson d'aventure, princely advice, love lyric and meditation - together providing greater definition to a period that in literary matters often is seen solely through the preceding inventive works of William Dunbar, and the allusive ones of Gavin Douglas. The value of this complete collection is extended, so that the entire reign is covered, by the addition of seven poems by their contemporaries, Alexander Kyd, Robert Gray, Thomas Davidson, David Lyndsay, and three poets now unknown. This edition provides much new scholarship: a three-part Introduction containing an essay on the literary milieu, author biographies, and witness descriptions; Texts freshly edited from the early manuscripts and prints, with on-page textual apparatus and appended textual and explanatory notes; a Bibliography; an Index of names and places, and a full Glossary.