Court and Culture in Renaissance Scotland

Sir David Lindsay of the Mount (1486-1555) is a key figure in the history of Scottish literature and in any wider analysis of the Renaissance period. To date, studies have concentrated largely on Lindsay the poet or Lindsay the religious reformer, approaches that neglect his greater import. By locating him more precisely within a historical, political, and religious context, this book illuminates both Lindsay's own work and the ideas that helped shape Scottish culture during his time.

The volume is divided into three parts. The first addresses Lindsay's career, tracing his service at the courts of James IV and James V and his involvement in the religious controversies of the period. The second looks at Lindsay as political thinker, examining his conceptions of such issues as kingship and commonweal. The third discusses Lindsay's poetry in light of the religious climate in Scotland on the eve of the Reformation.