‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border’, Second Edition, 1803, and Later Editions, 1806, 1810, 1812

This critical edition of Scott’s Minstrelsy presents a seminal 19th-century work for a 21st-century audience

The second volume in this three volume set includes the full text of the ballads from the 1803, 1806, 1810 and 1812 editions with supplementary editorial notes, summaries, emendations, revisions and remarks. Each ballad is discussed intensively, and has been supplemented by extensive biographical and bibliographical material. Special consideration has been given to Scandinavian cognates and to the impact of the Minstrelsy in Germany through the study of its reception and translation during Scott’s lifetime.

Key Features:

- Presents the first complete modern critical edition of Scott’s ballads and songs

- Provides insight into the oral and the literate culture of Scotland at a critical point of transition between the two

- Reveals the roots of Scott’s impact on Romantic perceptions and on the creation of an imagined Scotland

- Settles the question of authenticity: identifies the relationship of Scott’s published versions of each ballad to the sources and parallels available to Scott, mainly in manuscript