Siege of Caerlaverock (poem)
Poem written in Old French
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The Siege of Caerlaverock (Le Siege de Karlaverok or Song of Caerlaverock) is a work written in Old French about the siege of Caerlaverock Castle in 1300 by King Edward I during the First War of Scottish Independence. The poem of 956 lines survives in a manuscript now held in the British Library in London.[1] It was used by Michael Prestwich to characterise the army of Edward I.[2] It pays great attention to heraldry (being in large part a roll of arms in verse), and may have been written by a herald.[3]
The poem was edited and translated into modern English by Nicholas Harris Nicolas in 1828.[4] An improved edition and translation was published by Thomas Wright in 1864.[5] A verse translation was published by C. W. Scott-Giles in 1960, with heraldic illustrations by Royman Browne: this is described by the translator as "somewhat condensed", and as "an attempt to capture the spirit of the rime, not to translate it word for word".[6]