‘He was but a Yong Man’

This chapter analyses the presentation of the figure of King Arthur in a selection of Scots chronicles and romances. It considers Scots ambivalence towards the figure of Arthur, and examines this against the perennial Scots concern with the problem of youthful kingship. In doing so, it highlights a hitherto neglected aspect in the equivocal Scottish treatments of Arthur: the issue of age. It argues that the varied nature of Arthur’s characterization is related to the extreme youth of the true heir (in Scots tradition at least), Modred, and a corresponding anxiety about minority rule which reflects contemporary Scots concerns. It concludes with an analysis of Malory’s Morte Darthur and points to hitherto unnoticed parallels in the English tradition.