'Clariodus' and the ambitions of courtly romance in later medieval Scotland

The early sixteenth-century Scottish romance Clariodus is in one sense an utterly standard medieval romance narrative, but it is sharply distinguished from the conservative and highly conventional romances of English tradition (with which Scottish romances are normally grouped) by its use of an extremely formal, elaborate diction and manner of presentation. In contrasting Clariodus’ transformation of its French original with the pattern seen in English translated romances, it becomes clear that the author’s inspiration for his unusual treatment of his narrative came neither from the main English romance tradition, nor from Chaucer’s and Lydgate’s revisions of it, but from the innovative Scottish courtly literature of his own time as represented particularly by the writings of William Dunbar. Clariodus is thus another witness to the independence and vitality of Scottish courtly literature of this period. © 2002 Forum for Modern Language Studies.