The

(late fourteenth century) is the largest extant collection of saints’ legends in the vernacular from the later Middle Ages next to the

. It survives in one manuscript, which is today located in Cambridge, and comprises more than 33,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets. As its modern name indicates, the compilation was produced in the Lowlands of Scotland. The

begins with a prologue and contains the legends of fifty saints. Only two of them are Scottish saints: Machar and Ninian. In terms of its content, then, the

bears little witness to its place of origin. Neither the author nor any details about the work’s early history is known. Yet the legends themselves provide unique access to the devotion of the…

1994 words

Citation: von Contzen, Eva. "Scottish Legendary". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 November 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35762, accessed 27 November 2024.]

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