View source for Scottish literature

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[[File:Three great men of Scottish literature.JPG|thumb|300px|Three great men of Scottish literature: busts of Burns, Scott and Stevenson]]
'''Scottish literature''' is literature written in [[Scotland]] or by [[List of Scottish writers|Scottish writers]]. It includes works in [[Scottish English|English]], [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]], [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]], [[French language|French]], [[Latin language|Latin]], [[Norn language|Norn]] or other languages written within the modern boundaries of Scotland.

The earliest extant literature written in what is now Scotland, was composed in Brythonic speech in the sixth century and has survived as part of [[Welsh-language literature|Welsh literature]]. In the following centuries there was literature in Latin, under the influence of the Catholic Church, and in [[Old English]], brought by [[Angles (tribe)|Anglian]] settlers. As the state of [[Alba]] developed into the kingdom of Scotland from the eighth century, there was a flourishing literary elite who regularly produced texts in both Gaelic and Latin, sharing a common literary culture with Ireland and elsewhere. After the [[Davidian Revolution]] of the thirteenth century a flourishing French language culture predominated, while Norse literature was produced from areas of Scandinavian settlement. The first surviving major text in [[Early Scots]] literature is the fourteenth-century poet [[John Barbour (poet)|John Barbour]]'s epic ''[[The Brus|Brus]]'', which was followed by a series of vernacular versions of medieval romances. These were joined in the fifteenth century by Scots prose works.

In the early modern era royal patronage supported poetry, prose and drama. [[James V of Scotland|James V]]'s court saw works such as [[David Lyndsay|Sir David Lindsay of the Mount]]'s ''[[A Satire of the Three Estates|The Thrie Estaitis]]''. In the late sixteenth century [[James VI of Scotland|James VI]] became patron and member of a circle of Scottish court poets and musicians known as the [[Castalian Band]]. When he acceded to the English throne in 1603 many followed him to the new court, but without a centre of royal patronage the tradition of Scots poetry subsided. It was revived after union with England in 1707 by figures including [[Allan Ramsay (poet)|Allan Ramsay]] and [[James Macpherson]]. The latter's [[Ossian]] Cycle made him the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation. He helped inspire [[Robert Burns]], considered by many to be the national poet, and [[Walter Scott]], whose [[Waverley Novels]] did much to define Scottish identity in the nineteenth century. Towards the end of the Victorian era a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations, including [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], [[J. M. Barrie]] and [[George MacDonald]].

In the twentieth century there was a surge of activity in Scottish literature, known as the [[Scottish Renaissance]]. The leading figure, [[Hugh MacDiarmid]], attempted to revive the Scots language as a medium for serious literature. Members of the movement were followed by a new generation of post-war poets including [[Edwin Morgan (poet)|Edwin Morgan]], who would be appointed the first [[Scots Makar]] by the inaugural Scottish government in 2004. From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival, particularly associated with writers including James Kelman and [[Irvine Welsh]]. Scottish poets who emerged in the same period included [[Carol Ann Duffy]], who was named as the first Scot to be UK [[Poet Laureate]] in May 2009.

==Middle Ages==
{{Main|Scottish literature in the Middle Ages}}

===Early Middle Ages===
{{See also|Scotland in the Early Middle Ages}}
[[File:Gododdin1.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A page from the [[Book of Aneirin]], containing part of the ''[[Gododdin]]'', c. sixth century]]
After the collapse of Roman authority in the early fifth century, four major circles of political and cultural influence emerged in Northern Britain. In the east were the [[Picts]], whose kingdoms eventually stretched from the river Forth to Shetland. In the west were the Gaelic ([[Goidelic]])-speaking people of [[Dál Riata]], who had close links with Ireland, from where they brought with them the name Scots. In the south were the British ([[Britons (historical)|Brythonic]]-speaking) descendants of the peoples of the Roman-influenced kingdoms of "[[Y Gogledd Hen|The Old North]]", the most powerful and longest surviving of which was the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]]. Finally, there were the English or "Angles", Germanic invaders who had overrun much of southern Britain and held the Kingdom of [[Bernicia]] (later the northern part of [[Northumbria]]), which reached into what are now the Lothians and the Scotiish Borders in the south-east.<ref>J. R. Maddicott and D. M. Palliser, eds, ''The Medieval State: essays presented to James Campbell'' (London: Continuum, 2000), {{ISBN|1-85285-195-3}}, p. 48.</ref> To these Christianisation, particularly from the sixth century, added [[Latin]] as an intellectual and written language. Modern scholarship, based on surviving placenames and historical evidence, indicates that the [[Pictish language|Picts]] spoke a Brythonic language, but none of their literature seems to have survived into the modern era.<ref>J. T. Koch, ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}, p. 305.</ref> However, there is surviving literature from what would become Scotland in Brythonic, Gaelic, Latin and [[Old English]].

Much of the earliest [[Welsh-language literature|Welsh literature]] was actually composed in or near the country we now call Scotland, in the Brythonic speech, from which [[Welsh language|Welsh]] would be derived, which was not then confined to Wales and Cornwall, although it was only written down in Wales much later. These include ''The [[Y Gododdin|Gododdin]]'', considered the earliest surviving verse from Scotland, which is attributed to the [[bard]] [[Aneirin]], said to have been resident in Brythonic kingdom of Gododdin in the sixth century. It is a series of [[elegy|elegies]] to the men of the Gododdin killed fighting at the ''[[Battle of Catraeth]]'' around 600 AD. Similarly, the ''[[Battle of Gwen Ystrad]]'' is attributed to [[Taliesin]], traditionally thought to be a bard at the court of [[Rheged]] in roughly the same period.<ref>R. T. Lambdin and L. C. Lambdin, ''Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature'' (London: Greenwood, 2000), {{ISBN|0-313-30054-2}}, p. 508.</ref>

There are religious works in [[Middle Irish|Gaelic]] including the ''Elegy for [[St Columba]]'' by Dallan Forgaill, c. 597 and "In Praise of St Columba" by Beccan mac Luigdech of Rum, c. 677.<ref>J. T. Koch, ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}, p. 999.</ref> In [[Latin language|Latin]] they include a "Prayer for Protection" (attributed to St Mugint), c. mid-sixth century and ''[[Hiberno-Latin#Altus Prosator|Altus Prosator]]'' ("The High Creator", attributed to St Columba), c. 597.<ref>I. Brown, T. Owen Clancy, M. Pittock, S. Manning, eds, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0-7486-1615-2}}, p. 94.</ref> What is arguably the most important medieval work written in Scotland, the ''[[Vita Columbae]]'', by [[Adomnán]], abbot of Iona (627/8–704), was also written in Latin.<ref>C. Gross, ''The Sources and Literature of English History from the Earliest Times to about 1485'' (Elibron Classics Series, 1999), {{ISBN|0-543-96628-3}}, p. 217.</ref> The next most important piece of Scottish hagiography, the verse ''[[Life of St. Ninian]]'', was written in Latin in [[Whithorn]] in the eighth century.<ref>T. O. Clancy, "Scottish literature before Scottish literature", in G. Carruthers and L. McIlvanney, eds, ''The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature'' (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2012), {{ISBN|0521189365}}, p. 19.</ref>

In Old English there is ''The [[Dream of the Rood]]'', from which lines are found on the [[Ruthwell Cross]], making it the only surviving fragment of [[Northumbrian (Anglo-Saxon)|Northumbrian]] Old English from early Medieval Scotland.<ref>E. M. Treharne, ''Old and Middle English c.890-c.1400: an Anthology'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004), {{ISBN|1-4051-1313-8}}, p. 108.</ref> It has also been suggested on the basis of ornithological references that the poem ''[[The Seafarer (poem)|The Seafarer]]'' was composed somewhere near the [[Bass Rock]] in East Lothian.<ref>T. O. Clancy, "Scottish literature before Scottish literature", in G. Carruthers and L. McIlvanney, eds, ''The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature'' (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2012), {{ISBN|0521189365}}, p. 16.</ref> {{Clear}}

===High Middle Ages===
{{See also|Scotland in the High Middle Ages}}
[[File:BookDeerMattCh1vv18 21Fol05r.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Book of Deer]], folio 5r, containing the text of the [[Gospel of Matthew]] from 1:18 through 1:21]]
Beginning in the later eighth century, [[Viking]] raids and invasions may have forced a merger of the Gaelic and Pictish crowns that culminated in the rise of [[Kenneth I of Scotland|Cínaed mac Ailpín]] (Kenneth MacAlpin) in the 840s, which brought to power the [[House of Alpin]] and the creation of the [[Kingdom of Alba]].<ref name=Yorke2006p54>B. Yorke, ''The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c.600–800'' (Pearson Education, 2006), {{ISBN|0582772923}}, p. 54.</ref> Historical sources, as well as place name evidence, indicate the ways in which the Pictish language in the north and Cumbric languages in the south were overlaid and replaced by Gaelic, Old English and later [[Norse language|Norse]].<ref>W. O. Frazer and A. Tyrrell, ''Social Identity in Early Medieval Britain'' (London: Continuum, 2000), {{ISBN|0718500849}}, p. 238.</ref> The Kingdom of Alba was overwhelmingly an oral society dominated by Gaelic culture. Our fuller sources for Ireland of the same period suggest that there would have been [[filidh]], who acted as poets, musicians and historians, often attached to the court of a lord or king, and passed on their knowledge and culture in Gaelic to the next generation.<ref name=Crawford2009/><ref name=Houston2002p76>R. A. Houston, ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), {{ISBN|0521890888}}, p. 76.</ref>

From the eleventh century French, [[Flemish dialects|Flemish]] and particularly English became the main languages of Scottish [[burgh]]s, most of which were located in the south and east.<ref>K. J. Stringer, "Reform Monasticism and Celtic Scotland", in E. J. Cowan and R. A. McDonald, eds, ''Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages'' (East Lothian: Tuckwell Press, 2000), {{ISBN|1862321515}}, p. 133.</ref> At least from the accession of [[David I of Scotland|David I]] (r. 1124–53), as part of a [[Davidian Revolution]] that introduced French culture and political systems, Gaelic ceased to be the main language of the royal court and was probably replaced by French. After this "[[gallicisation]]" of the Scottish court, a less highly regarded order of bards took over the functions of the filidh and they would continue to act in a similar role in the Highlands and Islands into the eighteenth century. They often trained in bardic schools, of which a few, like the one run by the [[MacMhuirich bardic family|MacMhuirich]] dynasty, who were bards to the [[Lord of the Isles]],<ref>K. M. Brown, ''Noble Society in Scotland: Wealth, Family and Culture from the Reformation to the Revolutions'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0748612998}}, p. 220.</ref> existed in Scotland and a larger number in Ireland, until they were suppressed from the seventeenth century.<ref name=Houston2002p76/> Members of bardic schools were trained in the complex rules and forms of Gaelic poetry.<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/> Much of their work was never written down and what survives was only recorded from the sixteenth century.<ref name=Crawford2009>R. Crawford, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0QV8zUv3Fy0C&pg=PT97&dq ''Scotland's Books: A History of Scottish Literature''] (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|019538623X}}.</ref>

It is possible that more Middle Irish literature was written in medieval Scotland than is often thought, but has not survived because the Gaelic literary establishment of eastern Scotland died out before the fourteenth century. Thomas Owen Clancy has argued that the ''[[Lebor Bretnach]]'', the so-called "Irish Nennius", was written in Scotland, and probably at the monastery in Abernethy, but this text survives only from manuscripts preserved in Ireland.<ref>T. O. Clancy, "Scotland, the 'Nennian' recension of the Historia Brittonum, and the Lebor Bretnach", in S. Taylor, ed., ''Kings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland, 500–1297'' (Dublin/Portland, 2000), {{ISBN|1-85182-516-9}}, pp. 87–107.</ref> Other literary work that has survived includes that of the prolific poet [[Gille Brighde Albanach]]. About 1218, Gille Brighde wrote a poem—''Heading for Damietta''—on his experiences of the [[Fifth Crusade]].<ref>T. O. Clancy and G. Márkus, ''The Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, 550–1350'' (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1998), {{ISBN|0-86241-787-2}}, pp. 247–283.</ref>

In the thirteenth century, [[Old French language|French]] flourished as a [[literary language]], and produced the ''[[Roman de Fergus]]'', the earliest piece of non-Celtic [[vernacular]] literature to survive from Scotland.<ref>M. Fry, ''Edinburgh'' (London: Pan Macmillan, 2011), {{ISBN|0-330-53997-3}}.</ref> Many other stories in the [[Arthurian Cycle]], written in French and preserved only outside Scotland, are thought by some scholars including D. D. R. Owen, to have been written in Scotland. There is some Norse literature from areas of Scandinavian settlement, such as the [[Northern Isles]] and the [[Western Isles]]. The famous ''[[Orkneyinga Saga]]'' however, although it pertains to the [[Earldom of Orkney]], was written in [[Iceland]].<ref>T. O. Clancy and G. Márkus, ''The Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, 550–1350'' (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1998), {{ISBN|0-86241-787-2}}, pp. 7–8.</ref> In addition to French, Latin too was a literary language, with works that include the "Carmen de morte Sumerledi", a poem which exults triumphantly the victory of the citizens of Glasgow over [[Somerled|Somairle mac Gilla Brigte]]<ref>I. F. Grant, ''The Lordship of the Isles: Wanderings in the Lost Lordship'' (Mercat, 1982), {{ISBN|0-901824-68-2}}, p. 495.</ref> and the "Inchcolm Antiphoner", a hymn in praise of St. Columba.<ref>I. Bradley, ''Columba: Pilgrim and Penitent, 597–1997'' (Wild Goose, 1996), {{ISBN|0-947988-81-5}}, p. 97.</ref>{{clear}}

===Late Middle Ages===
{{See also|Scotland in the Late Middle Ages}}
[[File:King James I of Scotland.jpg|thumb|upright|[[James I of Scotland|James I]], who spent much of his life imprisoned in England, where he gained a reputation as a musician and poet]]
In the late Middle Ages, [[early Scots]], often simply called English, became the dominant language of the country. It was derived largely from Old English, with the addition of elements from Gaelic and French. Although resembling the language spoken in northern England, it became a distinct dialect from the late fourteenth century onwards.<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7">J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0748602763}}, pp. 60–7.</ref> It began to be adopted by the ruling elite as they gradually abandoned French. By the fifteenth century it was the language of government, with acts of parliament, council records and treasurer's accounts almost all using it from the reign of James I onwards. As a result, Gaelic, once dominant north of the [[River Tay]], began a steady decline.<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/> Lowland writers began to treat Gaelic as a second class, rustic and even amusing language, helping to frame attitudes towards the highlands and to create a cultural gulf with the lowlands.<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/>

The first surviving major text in Scots literature is [[John Barbour (poet)|John Barbour]]'s ''[[The Brus|Brus]]'' (1375), composed under the patronage of Robert II and telling the story in epic poetry of Robert I's actions before the English invasion until the end of the war of independence.<ref>A. A. M. Duncan, ed., ''The Brus'' (Canongate, 1997), {{ISBN|0-86241-681-7}}, p. 3.</ref> The work was extremely popular among the Scots-speaking aristocracy and Barbour is referred to as the father of Scots poetry, holding a similar place to his contemporary [[Chaucer]] in England.<ref>N. Jayapalan, ''History of English Literature'' (Atlantic, 2001), {{ISBN|81-269-0041-5}}, p. 23.</ref> In the early fifteenth century these were followed by [[Andrew of Wyntoun]]'s verse ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' and [[Blind Harry]]'s ''[[The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace|The Wallace]]'', which blended [[Romance (heroic literature)|historical romance]] with the [[chronicle|verse chronicle]]. They were probably influenced by Scots versions of popular French romances that were also produced in the period, including ''[[The Buik of Alexander]]'', ''[[Lancelot|Launcelot o the Laik]]'' and ''The Porteous of Noblenes'' by [[Gilbert Hay (poet)|Gilbert Hay]].<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/>

Much Middle Scots literature was produced by [[makars]], poets with links to the royal court, which included [[James I of Scotland|James I]] (who wrote ''[[The Kingis Quair]]''). Many of the makars had university education and so were also connected with the [[Mother Church|Kirk]]. However, Dunbar's ''[[Lament for the Makaris]]'' (c.1505) provides evidence of a wider tradition of secular writing outside of Court and Kirk now largely lost.<ref>A. Grant, ''Independence and Nationhood, Scotland 1306–1469'' (Baltimore: Edward Arnold, 1984), pp. 102–3.</ref> Before the advent of printing in Scotland, writers such as [[Robert Henryson]], [[William Dunbar]], [[Walter Kennedy (poet)|Walter Kennedy]] and [[Gavin Douglas]] have been seen as leading a golden age in [[Poetry of Scotland|Scottish poetry]].<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/>

In the late fifteenth century, Scots prose also began to develop as a genre. Although there are earlier fragments of original Scots prose, such as the ''Auchinleck Chronicle'',<ref>[[Thomas Thomson (advocate)|Thomas Thomson]], ed., ''[https://archive.org/stream/auchinleckchron00thomgoog#page/n1/mode/1up Auchinleck Chronicle]'' (Edinburgh, 1819).</ref> the first complete surviving work includes [[John Ireland (theologian)|John Ireland]]'s ''The Meroure of Wyssdome'' (1490).<ref>J. Martin, ''Kingship and Love in Scottish poetry, 1424–1540'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7546-6273-X}}, p. 111.</ref> There were also prose translations of French books of chivalry that survive from the 1450s, including ''The Book of the Law of Armys'' and the ''Order of Knychthode'' and the treatise ''[[Secretum Secretorum|Secreta Secretorum]]'', an Arabic work believed to be Aristotle's advice to [[Alexander the Great]].<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/> The establishment of a printing press under royal patent in 1507 would begin to make it easier to disseminate Scottish literature and was probably aimed at bolstering Scottish national identity.<ref name=Bawcutt&Williams2006pp26-9>P. J. Bawcutt and J. H. Williams, ''A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry'' (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006), {{ISBN|1-84384-096-0}}, pp. 26–9.</ref> The first Scottish press was established in [[Cowgate|Southgait]] in Edinburgh by the merchant [[Walter Chepman]] (c. 1473–c. 1528) and the bookseller [[Androw Myllar|Andrew Myllar]] (f. 1505–08). Although the first press was relatively short lived, beside law codes and religious works, the press also produced editions of the work of Scottish makars before its demise, probably about 1510. The next recorded press was that of [[Thomas Davidson (printer)|Thomas Davidson]] (f. 1532–42), the first in a long line of "king's printers", who also produced editions of works of the makars.<ref name=MacQuarrie2001pp491-3>A. MacQuarrie, "Printing and publishing", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp.&nbsp;491–3.</ref> The landmark work in the reign of [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]] was Gavin Douglas's version of [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'', the ''[[Eneados]]'', which was the first complete translation of a major [[classic antiquity|classical]] text in the [[Scots language]] and the first successful example of its kind in any [[Anglic language]]. It was finished in 1513, but overshadowed by the disaster at [[Flodden]].<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7"/>

==Early modern era==
{{Reformationliterature |expanded=british}}
{{Main|Literature in early modern Scotland|Renaissance in Scotland}}

===Sixteenth century===
[[File:William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling - Project Gutenberg etext 20110.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling|William Alexander]], statesman and author]]
As a patron of poets and authors [[James V of Scotland|James V]] (r. 1513–42) supported William Stewart and [[John Bellenden]], who translated the Latin ''History of Scotland'' compiled in 1527 by [[Hector Boece]], into verse and prose.<ref name=Brownetalpp256-7/> [[David Lyndsay]] (c. 1486–1555), diplomat and the head of the [[Lyon Court]], was a prolific poet. He wrote elegiac narratives, romances and satires.<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp129-30>T. van Heijnsbergen, "Culture: 9 Renaissance and Reformation: poetry to 1603", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp.&nbsp;129–30.</ref> [[George Buchanan]] (1506–82) had a major influence as a Latin poet, founding a tradition of neo-Latin poetry that would continue in to the seventeenth century.<ref name=Mason2001pp120-3>R. Mason, "Culture: 4 Renaissance and Reformation (1460–1660): general", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp.&nbsp;120–3.</ref> Contributors to this tradition included royal secretary [[John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane|John Maitland]] (1537–95), reformer [[Andrew Melville]] (1545–1622), [[John Johnston (poet)|John Johnston]] (1570?–1611) and [[David Hume of Godscroft]] (1558–1629).<ref>[http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/historyresearch/researchprojects/delitiaepoetarumscotorum/ "Bridging the Continental divide: neo-Latin and its cultural role in Jacobean Scotland, as seen in the ''Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum'' (1637)"], University of Glasgow. Retrieved 23 July 2013.</ref>

From the 1550s, in the reign of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] (r. 1542–67) and the minority of her son [[James VI of Scotland|James VI]] (r. 1567–1625), cultural pursuits were limited by the lack of a royal court and by political turmoil. The Kirk, heavily influenced by [[Calvinism]], also discouraged poetry that was not devotional in nature. Nevertheless, poets from this period included [[Richard Maitland]] of Lethington (1496–1586), who produced meditative and satirical verses in the style of Dunbar; [[John Rolland]] (fl. 1530–75), who wrote allegorical satires in the tradition of Douglas and courtier and minister [[Alexander Hume]] (c. 1556–1609), whose corpus of work includes nature poetry and [[Epistolary poem|epistolary verse]]. [[Alexander Scott (16th-century poet)|Alexander Scott]]'s (?1520–82/3) use of short verse designed to be sung to music, opened the way for the Castilan poets of James VI's adult reign.<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp129-30/>

In the 1580s and 1590s James VI strongly promoted the literature of the country of his birth in Scots. His treatise, ''[[Reulis and Cautelis|Some Rules and Cautions to be Observed and Eschewed in Scottish Prosody]]'', published in 1584 when he was aged 18, was both a poetic manual and a description of the poetic tradition in his mother tongue, to which he applied Renaissance principles.<ref>R. D. S. Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", in C. Cairns, ed., ''The History of Scottish Literature'' (Aberdeen University Press, 1988), vol. 1, {{ISBN|0-08-037728-9}}, pp. 126–7.</ref> He became patron and member of a loose circle of Scottish [[Jacobean era|Jacobean]] court poets and musicians, later called the [[Castalian Band]], which included [[William Fowler (makar)|William Fowler]] (c. 1560–1612), [[John Stewart of Baldynneis]] (c. 1545–c. 1605), and [[Alexander Montgomerie]] (c. 1550–98).<ref>R. D. S. Jack, ''Alexander Montgomerie'' (Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1985), {{ISBN|0-7073-0367-2}}, pp. 1–2.</ref> They translated key Renaissance texts and produced poems using French forms, including [[sonnet]]s and short sonnets, for narrative, nature description, satire and meditations on love. Later poets that followed in this vein included [[William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling|William Alexander]] (c. 1567–1640), Alexander Craig (c. 1567–1627) and [[Robert Aytoun|Robert Ayton]] (1570–1627).<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp129-30/> By the late 1590s the king's championing of his native Scottish tradition was to some extent diffused by the prospect of inheriting of the English throne.<ref>R. D. S. Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", in C. Cairns, ed., ''The History of Scottish Literature'' (Aberdeen University Press, 1988), vol. 1, {{ISBN|0-08-037728-9}}, p. 137.</ref>

Lyndsay produced an interlude at [[Linlithgow Palace]] for the king and queen thought to be a version of his play ''[[A Satire of the Three Estates|The Thrie Estaitis]]'' in 1540, which satirised the corruption of church and state, and which is the only complete play to survive from before the Reformation.<ref name=Brownetalpp256-7>I. Brown, T. Owen Clancy, M. Pittock, S. Manning, eds, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0-7486-1615-2}}, pp. 256–7.</ref> Buchanan was major influence on Continental theatre with plays such as ''Jepheths'' and ''Baptistes'', which influenced [[Pierre Corneille]] and [[Jean Racine]] and through them the neo-classical tradition in French drama, but his impact in Scotland was limited by his choice of Latin as a medium.<ref name=Brown2011pp1-3>I. Brown, "Introduction: a lively tradition and collective amnesia", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}, pp. 1–3.</ref> The anonymous ''The Maner of the Cyring of ane Play'' (before 1568)<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp127-8/> and ''Philotus'' (published in London in 1603), are isolated examples of surviving plays. The latter is a vernacular Scots comedy of errors, probably designed for court performance for Mary, Queen of Scots or James VI.<ref name=Carpenter2011p15>S. Carpenter, "Scottish drama until 1650", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}, p. 15.</ref> The same system of professional companies of players and theatres that developed in England in this period was absent in Scotland, but James VI signalled his interest in drama by arranging for a company of English players to erect a playhouse and perform in 1599.<ref name=Carpenter2011p21>S. Carpenter, "Scottish drama until 1650", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}, p. 21.</ref>

===Seventeenth century===
[[File:Assembly1766.jpg|thumb|upright|The first page of ''The Assembly'' by Archibald Pitcairne from the 1766 edition]]
Having extolled the virtues of Scots "poesie", following his accession to the English throne, James VI increasingly favoured the language of southern England. In 1611 the Kirk adopted the English [[Authorised King James Version]] of the Bible. In 1617 interpreters were declared no longer necessary in the port of London because Scots and Englishmen were now "not so far different bot ane understandeth ane uther". Jenny Wormald, describes James as creating a "three-tier system, with Gaelic at the bottom and English at the top".<ref name=Wormald1991pp192-3>J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0748602763}}, pp. 192–3.</ref> The loss of the court as a centre of patronage in 1603 was a major blow to Scottish literature. A number of Scottish poets, including William Alexander, John Murray and Robert Aytoun accompanied the king to London, where they continued to write,<ref name=Brown2003pp253-4>K. M. Brown, "Scottish identity", in B. Bradshaw and P. Roberts, eds, ''British Consciousness and Identity: The Making of Britain, 1533–1707'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0521893615}}, pp. 253–3.</ref> but they soon began to [[anglicise]] their written language.<ref>M. Spiller, "Poetry after the Union 1603–1660" in C. Cairns, ed., ''The History of Scottish Literature'' (Aberdeen University Press, 1988), vol. 1, {{ISBN|0-08-037728-9}}, pp. 141–52.</ref> James's characteristic role as active literary participant and patron in the English court made him a defining figure for English Renaissance poetry and drama, which would reach a pinnacle of achievement in his reign,<ref>N. Rhodes, "Wrapped in the Strong Arm of the Union: Shakespeare and King James" in W. Maley and A. Murphy, eds, ''Shakespeare and Scotland'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0-7190-6636-0}}, pp. 38–9.</ref> but his patronage for the [[Stylistics (linguistics)|high style]] in his own Scottish tradition largely became sidelined.<ref>R. D. S. Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", in C. Cairns, ed., ''The History of Scottish Literature'' (Aberdeen University Press, 1988), vol. 1, {{ISBN|0-08-037728-9}}, pp. 137–8.</ref> The only significant court poet to continue to work in Scotland after the king's departure was [[William Drummond of Hawthornden]] (1585–1649).<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp127-8/>

As the tradition of classical Gaelic poetry declined, a new tradition of vernacular Gaelic poetry began to emerge. While Classical poetry used a language largely fixed in the twelfth century, the vernacular continued to develop. In contrast to the Classical tradition, which used [[Syllabic verse|syllabic metre]], vernacular poets tended to use [[Accentual verse|stressed metre]]. However, they shared with the Classic poets a set of complex metaphors and role, as the verse was still often panegyric. A number of these vernacular poets were women,<ref>K. Chedgzoy, ''Women's Writing in the British Atlantic World'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), {{ISBN|113946714X}}, p. 105.</ref> such as Mary MacLeod of Harris (c. 1615–1707).<ref name=MacDonald2001pp255-7>J. MacDonald, "Gaelic literature" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp.&nbsp;255–7.</ref>

The tradition of neo-Latin poetry reached its fruition with the publication of the anthology of the ''Deliciae Poetarum Scotorum'' (1637), published in Amsterdam by [[Arthur Johnston (poet)|Arthur Johnston]] (c. 1579–1641) and [[Sir John Scott of Scotstarvet]] (1585–1670) and containing work by the major Scottish practitioners since Buchanan.<ref name=Mason2001pp120-3/> This period was marked by the work of the first named female Scottish poets.<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp127-8>T. van Heijnsbergen, "Culture: 7 Renaissance and Reformation (1460–1660): literature", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp.&nbsp;127–8.</ref> [[Elizabeth Melville]]'s (f. 1585–1630) ''Ane Godlie Dream'' (1603) was a popular religious allegory and the first book published by a woman in Scotland.<ref>I. Mortimer, ''The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England'' (Random House, 2012), {{ISBN|1847921140}}, p. 70.</ref> [[Anna Hume]], daughter of David Hume of Godscroft, adapted [[Petrarch]]'s ''[[Triumphs]]'' as ''Triumphs of Love: Chastitie: Death'' (1644).<ref name=vanHeijnsbergen2001pp127-8/>

This was the period when the [[ballad]] emerged as a significant written form in Scotland. Some ballads may date back to the late medieval era and deal with events and people that can be traced back as far as the thirteenth century, including "[[Sir Patrick Spens]]" and "[[Thomas the Rhymer]]", but which are not known to have existed until the eighteenth century.<ref>E. Lyle, ''Scottish Ballads'' (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2001), {{ISBN|0-86241-477-6}}, pp. 9–10.</ref> They were probably composed and transmitted orally and only began to be written down and printed, often as [[broadside ballad|broadsides]] and as part of [[chapbooks]], later being recorded and noted in books by collectors including [[Robert Burns]] and [[Walter Scott]].<ref>R. Crawford, ''Scotland's Books: a History of Scottish Literature'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-19-538623-X}}, pp. 216–9.</ref> From the seventeenth century they were used as a literary form by aristocratic authors including [[Robert Sempill the younger|Robert Sempill]] (c. 1595–c. 1665), [[Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw|Lady Elizabeth Wardlaw]] (1627–1727) and [[Grizel Baillie|Lady Grizel Baillie]] (1645–1746).<ref>R. Crawford, ''Scotland's Books: a History of Scottish Literature'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-19-538623-X}}, pp. 224, 248 and 257.</ref>

The loss of a royal court also meant there was no force to counter the kirk's dislike of theatre, which struggled to survive in Scotland.<ref name=Brown2003pp253-4/> However, it was not entirely extinguished. The kirk used theatre for its own purposes in schools and was slow to suppress popular [[folk drama]]s.<ref name=Brown2011pp1-3/> Surviving plays for the period include William Alexander's ''Monarchicke Tragedies'', written just before his departure with the king for England in 1603. They were [[closet drama]]s, designed to be read rather than performed, and already indicate Alexander's preference for southern English over the Scots language.<ref name=Carpenter2011p15/> There were some attempts to revive Scottish drama. In 1663 Edinburgh lawyer William Clerke wrote ''Marciano or the Discovery'', a play about the restoration of a legitimate dynasty in Florence after many years of civil war. It was performed at the Tennis-Court Theatre at [[Holyrood Palace]] before the parliamentary high commissioner [[John Leslie, 1st Duke of Rothes|John Leslie, Earl of Rothes]].<ref>C. Jackson, ''Restoration Scotland, 1660–1690: Royalist Politics, Religion and Ideas'' (Boydell Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0851159303}}, p. 17.</ref> Thomas Sydsurf's ''Tarugo's Wiles or the Coffee House'', was first performed in London in 1667 and then in Edinburgh the year after and drew on [[Comedia (Spanish play)|Spanish comedy]].<ref>T. Tobin, ed., ''The Assembly'' (Purdue University Press, 1972), {{ISBN|091119830X}}, p. 5.</ref> A relative of Sydsurf, physician [[Archibald Pitcairne]] (1652–1713) wrote ''The Assembly or Scotch Reformation'' (1692), a ribald satire on the morals of the Presbyterian kirk, circulating in manuscript, but not published until 1722, helping to secure the association between [[Jacobitism]] and professional drama that discouraged the creation of professional theatre.<ref name=Brown2011bpp28-9>I. Brown, "Public and private performance: 1650–1800", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}, pp. 28–30.</ref>

==Eighteenth century==
{{Main|Scottish literature in the eighteenth century|Scottish Enlightenment}}
{{See also|Scotland in the modern era}}
[[File:Allan-Ramsay.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Allan Ramsay (poet)|Allan Ramsay]], the most influential literary figure in early eighteenth-century Scotland]]
After the Union in 1707 and the shift of political power to England, the use of Scots was discouraged by many in authority and education.<ref>C. Jones, ''A Language Suppressed: The Pronunciation of the Scots Language in the 18th Century'' (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1993), p. vii.</ref> Nevertheless, Scots remained the vernacular of many rural communities and the growing number of urban working-class Scots.<ref>J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, "A Brief History of Scots" in J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, eds, ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scots'' (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0-7486-1596-2}}, p. 14.</ref> Literature developed a distinct national identity and began to enjoy an international reputation. [[Allan Ramsay (poet)|Allan Ramsay]] (1686–1758) was the most important literary figure of the era, often described as leading a "vernacular revival". He laid the foundations of a reawakening of interest in older Scottish literature, publishing ''The Ever Green'' (1724), a collection that included many major poetic works of the Stewart period.<ref>R. M. Hogg, ''The Cambridge History of the English Language'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), {{ISBN|0521264782}}, p. 39.</ref> He led the trend for [[pastoral]] poetry, helping to develop the [[Habbie stanza]], which would be later be used by Robert Burns as a [[poetic form]].<ref>{{Citation| author=J. Buchan| title=Crowded with Genius| publisher=Harper Collins| year=2003| isbn=0-06-055888-1| page=[https://archive.org/details/crowdedwithgeniu00buch/page/311 311]| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/crowdedwithgeniu00buch/page/311}}</ref> His ''Tea-Table Miscellany'' (1724–37) contained poems old Scots folk material, his own poems in the folk style and "gentilizings" of Scots poems in the English neo-classical style.<ref>"Poetry in Scots: Brus to Burns" in C. R. Woodring and J. S. Shapiro, eds, ''The Columbia History of British Poetry'' (Columbia University Press, 1994), {{ISBN|0585041555}}, p. 100.</ref> His pastoral opera ''[[The Gentle Shepherd]]'' was one of the most influential works of the era.<ref name=Brown2011bpp28-9/> He would also play a leading role in supporting drama in Scotland and the attempt to found a permanent theatre in the capital.<ref name=Bell2007p288>B. Bell, "The national drama, Joanna Baille and the national theatre", in I. Brown, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and Empire, 1707–1918'' (Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748624813}}, p. 288.</ref>

Ramsay was part of a community of poets working in Scots and English. These included [[William Hamilton (comic poet)|William Hamilton of Gilbertfield]] (c. 1665–1751), Robert Crawford (1695–1733), [[Alexander Ross (poet)|Alexander Ross]] (1699–1784), the Jacobite [[William Hamilton (Jacobite poet)|William Hamilton]] of Bangour (1704–54), socialite [[Alison Rutherford]] Cockburn (1712–94), and poet and playwright [[James Thomson (poet, born 1700)|James Thomson]]'s (1700–48), most famous for the nature poetry of his ''Seasons''.<ref>C. Maclachlan, ''Before Burns'' (Canongate Books, 2010), {{ISBN|1847674666}}, pp. ix–xviii.</ref> [[Tobias Smollett]] (1721–71) was a poet, essayist, satirist and playwright, but is best known for his [[picaresque novel]]s, such as ''[[The Adventures of Roderick Random]]'' (1748) and ''[[The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle]]'' (1751) for which he is often seen as Scotland's first novelist.<ref>J. C. Beasley, ''Tobias Smollett: Novelist'' (University of Georgia Press, 1998), {{ISBN|0820319716}}, p. 1.</ref> His work would be a major influence on later novelists such as [[Thackeray]] and [[Dickens]].<ref>R. Crawford, ''Scotland's Books: a History of Scottish Literature'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-19-538623-X}}, p. 313.</ref>

The early eighteenth century was also a period of innovation in Gaelic vernacular poetry. Major figures included [[Rob Donn]] Mackay (1714–78) and [[Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir]] (Duncan Ban MacIntyre) (1724–1812). The most significant figure in the tradition was [[Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair]] (Alasdair MacDonald) (c. 1698–1770). His interest in traditional forms can be seen in his most significant poem ''Clanranald's Gallery''. He also mixed these traditions with influences from the Lowlands, including Thompson's ''Seasons'', which helped inspire a new form of nature poetry in Gaelic, which was not focused on their relations to human concerns.<ref name=MacDonald2001pp255-7/>

[[File:Robert burns.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robert Burns]] (1759–96) considered by many to be the Scottish national poet]]
[[James Macpherson]] was the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation, claiming to have found poetry written by [[Ossian]], he published translations that acquired international popularity, being proclaimed as a Celtic equivalent of the [[Classical antiquity|Classical]] [[Epic poetry|epics]]. ''Fingal'' written in 1762 was speedily translated into many European languages, and its deep appreciation of natural beauty and the melancholy tenderness of its treatment of the ancient legend did more than any single work to bring about the [[Romanticism|Romantic movement]] in European, and especially in German, literature, influencing [[Johann Gottfried von Herder|Herder]] and [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]].<ref>{{Citation| author=J. Buchan| title=Crowded with Genius| publisher=Harper Collins| year=2003| isbn=0-06-055888-1| page=[https://archive.org/details/crowdedwithgeniu00buch/page/163 163]| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/crowdedwithgeniu00buch/page/163}}</ref> Eventually it became clear that the poems were not direct translations from the Gaelic, but flowery adaptations made to suit the aesthetic expectations of his audience.<ref>{{Citation| author=D. Thomson|title =The Gaelic Sources of Macpherson's "Ossian"| publisher =Oliver & Boyd| year =1952| location =Aberdeen}}</ref>

Robert Burns was highly influenced by the Ossian cycle. Burns, an Ayrshire poet and lyricist, is widely regarded as the [[national poet]] of Scotland and a major figure in the Romantic movement. As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected [[Folk music|folk songs]] from across Scotland, often revising or [[Literary adaptation|adapting]] them. His poem (and song) "[[Auld Lang Syne]]" is often sung at [[Hogmanay]] (the last day of the year), and "[[Scots Wha Hae]]" served for a long time as an unofficial [[national anthem]] of the country.<ref>{{Citation |author=L. McIlvanney |date=Spring 2005 |title=Hugh Blair, Robert Burns, and the Invention of Scottish Literature |journal=Eighteenth-Century Life |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages= 25–46|doi=10.1215/00982601-29-2-25|s2cid=144358210 }}</ref> Burns's poetry drew upon a substantial familiarity with and knowledge of [[Classics|Classical]], [[Bible|Biblical]], and [[English literature]], as well as the Scottish Makar tradition.<ref name=Literary-Style>Robert Burns: "[http://www.blurbwire.com/topics/Robert_Burns::sub::Literary_Style Literary Style] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016215809/http://www.blurbwire.com/topics/Robert_Burns::sub::Literary_Style |date=2013-10-16 }}". Retrieved 24 September 2010.</ref> Burns was skilled in writing not only in the [[Scots language]] but also in the [[Scottish English]] [[dialect]] of the English language. Some of his works, such as "Love and Liberty" (also known as "The Jolly Beggars"), are written in both Scots and English for various effects.<ref name=some-hae-meat>Robert Burns: "[http://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/robert-burns-some-hae-meat/some hae meat]". Retrieved 24 September 2010.</ref> His themes included [[republicanism]], [[Radicalism (historical)|Radical]]ism, [[Scottish patriotism]], [[Anti-clericalism|anticlericalism]], class inequalities, [[gender roles]], commentary on the [[Scottish Kirk]] of his time, [[Scottish cultural identity]], poverty, [[Human sexuality|sexuality]], and the beneficial aspects of popular socialising.<ref name=Address-to-the-Kibble>Red Star Cafe: "[http://redstarcafe.wordpress.com/2008/01/25/address-to-the-kibble/Address to the Kibble]." Retrieved 24 September 2010.</ref> Other major literary figures connected with Romanticism include the poets and novelists [[James Hogg]] (1770–1835), [[Allan Cunningham (author)|Allan Cunningham]] (1784–1842) and [[John Galt (novelist)|John Galt]] (1779–1839).<ref>A. Maunder, ''FOF Companion to the British Short Story'' (Infobase Publishing, 2007), {{ISBN|0816074968}}, p. 374.</ref>

[[File:BailliePortrait.jpeg|thumb|upright|left|Engraving of playwright [[Joanna Baillie]]]]
Drama was pursued by Scottish playwrights in London such as [[Catherine Trotter]] (1679–1749), born in London to Scottish parents and later moving to Aberdeen. Her plays and included the verse-tragedy ''Fatal Friendship'' (1698), the comedy ''Love at a Loss'' (1700) and the history ''The Revolution in Sweden'' (1706). David Crawford's (1665–1726) plays included the [[Restoration comedy|Restoration comedies]] ''Courtship A-la-Mode'' (1700) and ''Love at First Sight'' (1704). These developed the character of the stage Scot, often a clown, but cunning and loyal. [[Newburgh Hamilton]] (1691–1761), born in Ireland of Scottish descent, produced the comedies ''The Petticoat-Ploter'' (1712) and ''The Doating Lovers'' or ''The Libertine'' (1715). He later wrote the libretto for Handel's ''[[Samson (Handel)|Samson]]'' (1743), closely based on [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Samson Agonistes]]''. James Thomson's plays often dealt with the contest between public duty and private feelings, included ''Sophonisba'' (1730), ''Agamemnon'' (1738) and ''Tancrid and Sigismuda'' (1745), the last of which was an international success. [[David Mallet (writer)|David Mallet]]'s (c. 1705–65) ''[[Eurydice]]'' (1731) was accused of being a coded Jacobite play and his later work indicates opposition to the [[Robert Walpole|Walpole]] administration. The opera ''[[Masque of Alfred]]'' (1740) was a collaboration between Thompson, Mallet and composer [[Thomas Arne]], with Thompson supplying the lyrics for his most famous work, the patriotic song "[[Rule, Britannia!]]".<ref name=Brown2011bpp30-31>I. Brown, "Public and private performance: 1650–1800", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}, pp. 30–1.</ref>

In Scotland performances were largely limited to performances by visiting actors, who faced hostility from the Kirk.<ref name=Brown2011bpp28-9/> The Edinburgh Company of Players were able to perform in Dundee, Montrose, Aberdeen and regular performances at the Taylor's Hall in Edinburgh under the protection of a Royal Patent.<ref name=Brown2011bpp28-9/> Ramsay was instrumental in establishing them in a small theatre in Carruber's Close in Edinburgh,<ref name=Garlick2004pp170-1>G. Garlick, "Theatre outside London, 1660–1775", in J. Milling, P. Thomson and J. Donohue, eds, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre, Volume 2'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521650682}}, pp. 170–1.</ref> but the passing of the [[Licensing Act 1737|1737 Licensing Act]] made their activities illegal and the theatre soon closed.<ref name=Bell2007p288/> A new theatre was opened at Cannongate in 1747 and operated without a licence into the 1760s.<ref name=Garlick2004pp170-1/> In the later eighteenth century, many plays were written for and performed by small amateur companies and were not published and so most have been lost. Towards the end of the century there were "[[closet dramas]]", primarily designed to be read, rather than performed, including work by Hogg, Galt and [[Joanna Baillie]] (1762–1851), often influenced by the ballad tradition and [[Gothic literature|Gothic]] Romanticism.<ref name=Brown2007pp229-30>I. Brown, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and Empire (1707–1918)'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748624813}}, pp. 229–30.</ref>

==Nineteenth century==
{{Main|Scottish literature in the nineteenth century|Romanticism in Scotland}}
[[File:Sir Henry Raeburn - Portrait of Sir Walter Scott.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Walter Scott]] whose [[Waverley Novels]] helped define Scottish identity in the 19th century]]
Scottish poetry is often seen as entering a period of decline in the nineteenth century,<ref name=Mandell2007pp301-07>L. Mandell, "Nineteenth-century Scottish poetry", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and empire (1707–1918)'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748624813}}, pp. 301–07.</ref> with a descent of into infantalism as exemplified by the highly popular [[Whistle Binkie]] anthologies (1830–90).<ref name=Carruthers2009pp58-9>G. Carruthers, ''Scottish Literature'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|074863309X}}, pp. 58–9.</ref> However, Scotland continued to produce talented and successful poets, including weaver-poet [[William Thom (poet)|William Thom]] (1799–1848), Lady Margaret Maclean Clephane Compton Northampton (d. 1830), [[William Edmondstoune Aytoun]] (1813–65) and [[Thomas Campbell (poet)|Thomas Campbell]] (1777–1844), whose works were extensively reprinted in the period 1800–60.<ref name=Mandell2007pp301-07/> Among the most influential poets of the later nineteenth century were [[James Thomson (B.V.)|James Thomson]] (1834–82) and [[John Davidson (poet)|John Davidson]] (1857–1909), whose work would have a major impact on modernist poets including Hugh MacDiarmid, [[Wallace Stevens]] and [[T. S. Eliot]].<ref Name=LindsayandDuncan2005ppxxxiv-xxxv>M. Lindsay and L. Duncan, ''The Edinburgh Book of Twentieth-century Scottish Poetry'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005), {{ISBN|074862015X}}, pp. xxxiv–xxxv.</ref> The [[Highland Clearances]] and widespread emigration significantly weakened Gaelic language and culture and had a profound impact on the nature of Gaelic poetry. The best poetry in this vein contained a strong element of protest, including Uilleam Mac Dhun Lèibhe's (William Livingstone, 1808–70) protest against the [[Islay]] and Seonaidh Phàdraig Iarsiadair's (John Smith, 1848–81) condemnation of those responsible for the clearances. The best known Gaelic poet of the era was Màiri Mhòr nan Óran (Mary MacPherson, 1821–98), whose evocation of place and mood has made her among the most enduring Gaelic poets.<ref name=MacDonald2001pp255-7/>

Walter Scott began as a poet and also collected and published Scottish ballads. His first prose work, ''[[Waverley (novel)|Waverley]]'' in 1814, is often called the first historical novel.<ref>K. S. Whetter, ''Understanding Genre and Medieval Romance'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7546-6142-3}}, p. 28.</ref> It launched a highly successful career, with other historical novels such as ''[[Rob Roy (novel)|Rob Roy]]'' (1817), ''[[The Heart of Midlothian]]'' (1818) and ''[[Ivanhoe]]'' (1820). Scott probably did more than any other figure to define and popularise Scottish cultural identity in the nineteenth century.<ref>N. Davidson, ''The Origins of Scottish Nationhood'' (Pluto Press, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7453-1608-5}}, p. 136.</ref>

Scottish "national drama" emerged in the early 1800s, as plays with specifically Scottish themes began to dominate the Scottish stage.
The existing repertoire of Scottish-themed plays included [[John Home]]'s ''[[Douglas (play)|Douglas]]'' (1756) and Ramsay's ''The Gentle Shepherd'' (1725), with the last two being the most popular plays among amateur groups.<ref name=Brown2007p231>I. Brown, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and Empire (1707–1918)'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748624813}}, p. 231.</ref> Scott was keenly interested in drama, becoming a shareholder in the [[Theatre Royal, Edinburgh|Theatre Royal]], Edinburgh.<ref name=Brown2007pp185-6/> Baillie's Highland themed ''[[The Family Legend]]'' was first produced in Edinburgh in 1810 with the help of Scott, as part of a deliberate attempt to stimulate a national Scottish drama.<ref>M. O'Halloran, "National Discourse or Discord? Transformations of ''The Family Legend'' by Baille, Scott and Hogg", in S-R. Alker and H. F. Nelson, eds, ''James Hogg and the Literary Marketplace: Scottish Romanticism and the Working-Class Author'' (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009), {{ISBN|0754665690}}, p. 43.</ref> Scott also wrote five plays, of which ''Hallidon Hill'' (1822) and ''MacDuff's Cross'' (1822), were patriotic Scottish histories.<ref name=Brown2007pp185-6>I. Brown, ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and Empire (1707–1918)'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748624813}}, pp. 185–6.</ref> Adaptations of the Waverley novels, largely first performed in minor theatres, rather than the larger [[Patent theatre]]s, included ''The Lady in the Lake'' (1817), ''The Heart of Midlothian'' (1819), and ''Rob Roy'', which underwent over 1,000 performances in Scotland in this period. Also adapted for the stage were ''[[Guy Mannering]]'', ''[[The Bride of Lammermoor]]'' and ''[[The Abbot]]''. These highly popular plays saw the social range and size of the audience for theatre expand and helped shape theatre-going practices in Scotland for the rest of the century.<ref name=Brown2007p231/>

Scotland was also the location of two of the most important literary magazines of the era, ''[[The Edinburgh Review]]'', founded in 1802 and ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]'', founded in 1817. Together they had a major impact on the development of British literature and drama in the era of Romanticism.<ref>A. Jarrels, "'Associations respect[ing] the past': Enlightenment and Romantic historicism", in J. P. Klancher, ''A Concise Companion to the Romantic Age'' (Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, 2009), {{ISBN|0631233555}}, p. 60.</ref><ref>A. Benchimol, ed., ''Intellectual Politics and Cultural Conflict in the Romantic Period: Scottish Whigs, English Radicals and the Making of the British Public Sphere'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010), {{ISBN|0754664465}}, p. 210.</ref>

[[Thomas Carlyle]], in such works as ''[[Sartor Resartus]]'' (1833–34), ''[[The French Revolution: A History]]'' (1837) and ''[[On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History]]'' (1841), profoundly influenced philosophy and literature of the age.

In the late 19th century, a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations. [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s work included the [[urban Gothic]] novella ''[[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'' (1886), and played a major part in developing the historical adventure in books like ''[[Kidnapped (novel)|Kidnapped]]'' and ''[[Treasure Island]]''. [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' stories helped found the tradition of detective fiction. The "[[Kailyard school|kailyard tradition]]" at the end of the century, brought elements of [[fantasy]] and [[folklore]] back into fashion as can be seen in the work of figures like [[J. M. Barrie]], most famous for his creation of [[Peter Pan (character)|Peter Pan]] and [[George MacDonald]] whose works including ''[[Phantastes]]'' played a major part in the creation of the fantasy genre.<ref>{{Citation|title=Cultural Profile: 19th and early 20th century developments|journal=Visiting Arts: Scotland: Cultural Profile|url=http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5402.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930034445/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5402.html|archive-date=30 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{clear}}

==Twentieth century to the present==
{{Main|Literature in modern Scotland|Scottish Renaissance}}
{{See also|Scotland in the modern era}}
[[File:Lamb-Hugh MacDiarmid.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A bust of [[Hugh MacDiarmid]] sculpted in 1927 by [[William Lamb (sculptor)|William Lamb]]]]

In the early twentieth century there was a new surge of activity in Scottish literature, influenced by [[modernism]] and resurgent nationalism, known as the Scottish Renaissance.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland>{{Citation|title=The Scottish 'Renaissance' and beyond|journal=Visiting Arts: Scotland: Cultural Profile|url=http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5403.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930034437/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5403.html|archive-date=30 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The leading figure in the movement was [[Hugh MacDiarmid]] (the pseudonym of Christopher Murray Grieve). MacDiarmid attempted to revive the Scots language as a medium for serious literature in poetic works including "[[A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle]]" (1936), developing a form of [[Synthetic Scots]] that combined different regional dialects and archaic terms.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> Other writers that emerged in this period, and are often treated as part of the movement, include the poets [[Edwin Muir]] and [[William Soutar]], the novelists [[Neil Gunn]], [[George Blake (novelist)|George Blake]], [[Nan Shepherd]], [[A. J. Cronin]], [[Naomi Mitchison]], [[Eric Linklater]] and [[Lewis Grassic Gibbon]], and the playwright [[James Bridie]]. All were born within a fifteen-year period (1887–1901) and, although they cannot be described as members of a single school they all pursued an exploration of identity, rejecting nostalgia and parochialism and engaging with social and political issues.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> This period saw the emergence of a tradition of popular or working class theatre. Hundreds of amateur groups were established, particularly in the growing urban centres of the Lowlands. Amateur companies encouraged native playwrights, including [[Robert McLellan]].<ref>J. MacDonald, "Theatre in Scotland" in B. Kershaw and P. Thomson, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Volume 3'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521651328}}, p. 204.</ref>

Some writers that emerged after the Second World War followed MacDiarmid by writing in Scots, including [[Robert Garioch]] and [[Sydney Goodsir Smith]]. Others demonstrated a greater interest in English language poetry, among them [[Norman MacCaig]], George Bruce and [[Maurice Lindsay (broadcaster)|Maurice Lindsay]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> [[George Mackay Brown]] from Orkney, and [[Iain Crichton Smith]] from Lewis, wrote both poetry and prose fiction shaped by their distinctive island backgrounds.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> The Glaswegian poet [[Edwin Morgan (poet)|Edwin Morgan]] became known for translations of works from a wide range of European languages. He was also the first [[Scots Makar]] (the official national poet), appointed by the inaugural Scottish government in 2004.<ref>{{Citation| title =The Scots Makar| publisher =The Scottish Government| date =16 February 2004| url =http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/02/5075| access-date =28 October 2007| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120204042020/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/02/5075| archive-date =4 February 2012| url-status =dead}}</ref> The shift to drama that focused on working class life in the post-war period gained momentum with Robert McLeish's ''The Gorbals Story''<ref name=Kershaw&Thompson2004p208/> and the work of [[Ena Lamont Stewart]],<ref>N. Holdsworth, "Case study: Ena Lamont Stewart's ''Men Should Weep'' 1947", in B. Kershaw and P. Thomson, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Volume 3'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521651328}}, p. 228.</ref> [[Robert Kemp (playwright)|Robert Kemp]] and George Munro.<ref name=Kershaw&Thompson2004p208>J. MacDonald, "Theatre in Scotland" in B. Kershaw and P. Thomson, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Volume 3'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521651328}}, p. 208.</ref> Many major Scottish post-war novelists, such as [[Muriel Spark]], [[James Kennaway]], [[Alexander Trocchi]], [[Jessie Kesson]] and [[Robin Jenkins]] spent much or most of their lives outside Scotland, but often dealt with Scottish themes, as in Spark's Edinburgh-set ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (novel)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' (1961)<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> and Kennaway's script for the film ''[[Tunes of Glory]]'' (1956).<ref>{{Citation|title=James & Jim: a Biography of James Kennaway |last=Royle |first=Trevor |year=1983 |publisher=[[Mainstream Publishing|Mainstream]] |isbn=978-0-906391-46-4 |pages=185–95}}</ref> Successful mass-market works included the action novels of [[Alistair MacLean]], and the historical fiction of [[Dorothy Dunnett]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> A younger generation of novelists that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s included [[Shena Mackay]], [[Alan Spence]], [[Allan Massie]] and the work of [[William McIlvanney]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/>

[[File:Carol Ann Duffy (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Carol Ann Duffy]] the first Scottish [[Poet Laureate]]]]
From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival, particularly associated with a group of Glasgow writers focused around meetings in the house of critic, poet and teacher [[Philip Hobsbaum]]. Also important in the movement was [[Peter Kravitz]], editor of [[Birlinn (publisher)|Polygon Books]]. Members of the group that would come to prominence as writers included [[James Kelman]], [[Alasdair Gray]], [[Liz Lochhead]], [[Tom Leonard (poet)|Tom Leonard]] and [[Aonghas MacNeacail]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> In the 1990s major, prize winning, Scottish novels that emerged from this movement included [[Irvine Welsh]]'s ''[[Trainspotting (novel)|Trainspotting]]'' (1993), Warner's ''[[Morvern Callar]]'' (1995), Gray's ''[[Poor Things]]'' (1992) and Kelman's ''[[How Late It Was, How Late]]'' (1994).<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> These works were linked by a sometimes overtly political reaction to [[Thatcherism]] that explored marginal areas of experience and used vivid vernacular language (including expletives and Scots). Gray and [[Iain Banks]] led a wave of fantasy, speculative and science-fiction writing with notable authors including [[Ken MacLeod]], [[Andrew Crumey]], [[Michel Faber]], [[Alice Thompson]] and [[Frank Kuppner]]. Scottish crime fiction has been a major area of growth with the success of novelists including [[Val McDermid]], [[Frederic Lindsay]], [[Christopher Brookmyre]], [[Quintin Jardine]], [[Denise Mina]] and particularly the success of Edinburgh's [[Ian Rankin]] and his [[Inspector Rebus]] novels.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> Scottish play writing became increasingly internationalised, with Scottish writers such as Liz Lochhead and Edwin Morgan adapting classic texts, while [[Jo Clifford]] and [[David Greig (dramatist)|David Greig]] investigated European themes.<ref>J. MacDonald, "Theatre in Scotland" in B. Kershaw and P. Thomson, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Volume 3'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521651328}}, p. 223.</ref> This period also saw the emergence of a new generation of Scottish poets that became leading figures on the UK stage, including [[Don Paterson]], [[Kathleen Jamie]], [[Douglas Dunn]], [[Robert Crawford (Scottish poet)|Robert Crawford]], and [[Carol Ann Duffy]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> Glasgow-born Duffy was named as [[Poet Laureate]] in May 2009, the first woman, the first Scot and the first openly gay poet to take the post.<ref>{{Citation|date=1 May 2009|title=Duffy reacts to new Laureate post|work=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030093931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm|archive-date=30 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Scotland|Literature}}
*[[Association for Scottish Literary Studies]]
*[[International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures]]
*[[List of books for the "Famous Scots Series"]]
*[[Golden Treasury of Scottish Poetry]]
*[[History of the Scots language]]
*[[Literature in the other languages of Britain]]
*[[Modern Scottish Poetry (Faber)]]
*[[English literature]]
*[[G. Ross Roy]] founding editor of the journal ''Studies in Scottish Literature''

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Bibliography===
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* MacDonald, J., "Theatre in Scotland" in B. Kershaw and P. Thomson, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Volume 3'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521651328}}.
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* Brown, I., ''The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and Empire (1707–1918)'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0748624813}}.
* Brown, I., "Introduction: a lively tradition and collective amnesia", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}.
* Brown, I., "Public and private performance: 1650–1800", in I. Brown, ed., ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0748641076}}.
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* Brown, K. M.,  "Scottish identity", in B. Bradshaw and P. Roberts, eds, ''British Consciousness and Identity: The Making of Britain, 1533–1707'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0521893615}}.
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* Clancy, T. O., "Scotland, the 'Nennian' recension of the Historia Brittonum, and the Lebor Bretnach", in S. Taylor, ed., ''Kings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland, 500–1297'' (Dublin/Portland, 2000), {{ISBN|1-85182-516-9}}.
* Clancy, T. O., "Scottish literature before Scottish literature", in G. Carruthers and L. McIlvanney, eds, ''The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature'' (Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2012), {{ISBN|0521189365}}.
* Clancy, T. O., and Márkus, G., ''The Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, 550–1350'' (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1998), {{ISBN|0-86241-787-2}}..
* Corbett, J., McClure, D., and Stuart-Smith, J., "A Brief History of Scots" in J. Corbett, D. McClure and J. Stuart-Smith, eds, ''The Edinburgh Companion to Scots'' (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0-7486-1596-2}}.
* Crawford, R., ''Scotland's Books: a History of Scottish Literature'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-19-538623-X}}.
* Davidson, N., ''The Origins of Scottish Nationhood'' (Pluto Press, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7453-1608-5}}, p.&nbsp;136.
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* Fry, M., ''Edinburgh'' (London: Pan Macmillan, 2011), {{ISBN|0-330-53997-3}}.
* Garlick, G., "Theatre outside London, 1660–1775", in J. Milling, P. Thomson and J. Donohue, eds, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre, Volume 2'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521650682}}.
* Grant, A., ''Independence and Nationhood, Scotland 1306–1469'' (Baltimore: Edward Arnold, 1984).
* Grant, I. F., ''The Lordship of the Isles: Wanderings in the Lost Lordship'' (Mercat, 1982), {{ISBN|0-901824-68-2}}.
* Gross, C., ''The Sources and Literature of English History from the Earliest Times to about 1485'' (Elibron Classics Series, 1999), {{ISBN|0-543-96628-3}}.
* Hogg, R. M., ''The Cambridge History of the English Language'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), {{ISBN|0521264782}}.
* Holdsworth, N., "Case study: Ena Lamont Stewart's Men Should Weep 1947", in B. Kershaw and P. Thomson, ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Volume 3'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0521651328}}.
* Houston, R. A., ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), {{ISBN|0521890888}}.
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* Jack, R. D. S., ''Alexander Montgomerie'' (Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1985), {{ISBN|0-7073-0367-2}}.
* Jackson, C., ''Restoration Scotland, 1660–1690: Royalist Politics, Religion and Ideas'' (Boydell Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0851159303}}.
* Jarrels, A., "'Associations respect[ing] the past': Enlightenment and Romantic historicism", in J. P. Klancher, ''A Concise Companion to the Romantic Age'' (Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, 2009), {{ISBN|0631233555}}.
* Jayapalan, N., ''History of English Literature'' (Atlantic, 2001), {{ISBN|81-269-0041-5}}.
* Jones, C., ''A Language Suppressed: The Pronunciation of the Scots Language in the 18th Century'' (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1993).
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* Lyle, E., ''Scottish Ballads'' (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2001), {{ISBN|0-86241-477-6}}.
* MacDonald, J., "Gaelic literature" in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}.
* MacKay, P., Longley, E., and Brearton, F., ''Modern Irish and Scottish Poetry'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|0521196027}}.
* Maclachlan, C., ''Before Burns'' (Canongate Books, 2010), {{ISBN|1847674666}}.
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* Wormald, J., ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0748602763}}.
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==External links==
*[http://www.nls.uk/printing/index.cfm The Spread of Scottish Printing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015080512/http://www.nls.uk/printing/index.cfm |date=15 October 2009 }}, digitised items between 1508 and 1900

{{Scotland topics}}
{{European literature}}
{{Poetry of different cultures and languages}}
{{Scottish literature}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottish Literature}}
[[Category:Scottish literature| ]]
[[Category:European literature]]