James I, King of Scots, The Kingis Quair

Lotte Reinbold (University of Cambridge)
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Introduction and Summary

The Kingis Quair is a dream vision attributed to King James I of Scotland. It survives in one fifteenth-century manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Arch. Selden B.24. Unusual for its particularly extended dream frame, its seemingly autobiographical content and regal author, and its complex meditations upon Fortune and free will, the poem is an extraordinary tour-de-force, blending the personal with the political, the religious with the romantic.

The

Kingis Quair

is a dream vision attributed to King James I of Scotland. It survives in one fifteenth-century manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Arch. Selden B.24. Unusual for its particularly extended dream frame, its seemingly autobiographical content and regal author, and its complex meditations upon Fortuneā€¦

3814 words

Citation: Reinbold, Lotte. "The Kingis Quair". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 April 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13237, accessed 16 October 2024.]

13237 The Kingis Quair 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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