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Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Taill of Rauf Coilyear

The Taill of Rauf Coilyear

Hardcover

Series: Scottish Text Society Fifth, Book 16

Literary CriticismGeneral Poetry

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 1897976372
ISBN13: 9781897976371
Publisher: Scottish Text Soc
Published: Mar 15 2019
Pages: 158
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.70 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.60
Language: English
First edition of a lively medieval romance.

The author of the fifteenth-century Older Scots romance of Rauf Coilyear may be unknown, but the popularity of this comic king-in-disguise tale is undisputed; it is cited by William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas at the turn of the century, and again in the mid-sixteenth century Complaynt of Scotland. The disguised king in this case is Charlemagne, and the hero a bluff collier called Ralph, who unwittingly plays host to him for one stormy night and teaches his bemused guest some rough lessons in his own version of courtesy. When Ralph is lured to court, the mistaken identities continue as he encounters the great Sir Roland and battles Saracens. Throughout, the scrappy hero maintains his dignity, as indeed does his king: both parties finish the tale immensely pleased with each other and with the bond they have forged.

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Literary Criticism