Barbour, John

Barbour, John (bär'bur) [key], c.1316?–1395, Scottish poet. He was archdeacon of Aberdeen from 1355 until his death. His romance, The Bruce (1375), celebrating Scotland's emancipation from England, recounts the heroic deeds of Robert I and Sir James Douglas. The poem was meant to be read as history and shows remarkable accuracy. Barbour's authorship of a fragmentary Troy-Book and the Buik of Alexander is disputed.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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