The Actis & Deidis of The Illustere & Vail3eand Campioun Schir William Wallace, Knicht of Ellerslie: by Henry the Minstrel, commonly known as Blind Harry by James Moir (editor) Henry The Minstrel - 1889

Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh, 1889. First Thus. Hardcover. Near Fine Condition/No Dust Jacket. Printed for the Society by W. Blackwood and Sons & rebound in dark blue cloth with gilt titles to the spines. This publication gives, for the first time, a collation of the 1570 edition of the poem, with a 54 -page introduction & contents list to the front. Also known as 'The Wallace' this book is a long "romantic biographical" poem by the fifteenth-century Scottish makar of the name Blind Harry probably at some time in the decade before 1488. As the title suggests, it commemorates and eulogises the life and actions of the Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace who lived a century and a half earlier. The poem is historically inaccurate, and mentions several events that never happened. For several hundred years following its publication, The Wallace was the second most popular book in Scotland after the Bible. The earliest extant text is a copy made by John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell in 1488, but that copy has no title page and last few pages are missing, with no mention of Blind Harry as its author. The first mention of Blind Harry as the work's author was made by John Mair in his 1521 work 'Historia Majoris Britanniae, tam Angliae quam Scotiae'. It was later republished in the late 18th century by the poet William Hamilton, in contemporary English. This version also went through over 20 editions, with the last published in 1859. . Size: Large Octavo. 54 + 567 pages. Text is in Scots. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. blue cloth. Includes glossary & index of proper names. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 1-2 kilos. Category: Poetry; Medieval Poetry; Epic Poetry; Literature & Literary; Scotland; Medieval 10th to 15thc; Scots Language; History. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 3917. . This book is fairly heavy, and may involve extra shipping charges to some countries.