SOURCE: "How to Make a Hero: Barbour's Recipe," Michigan Academician, Vol. XX, No. 2, Spring, 1988, pp. 225-38.

In the following essay, Mainster asserts that Barbour's account of Scottish history is intended to serve his political purpose, for he suppresses any aspects of character or situation that would reflectnegatively on the House of Stewart.

John Barbour's fourteenth-century narrative recounts a series of historical events surrounding the Scottish Wars of Independence. Imposing a specific pattern on the historical events, The Bruce cultivates an impression of lasting political unity, dynastic continuity, and heroic fulfillment. Barbour manipulates historical data, events, and behavioral characteristics as he reshapes historical persons into literary personas. Shaped to comment positively on the state of the monarchy, The Bruce is the literary vehicle Barbour uses to present his version of history. The verse narrative portrays Robert I as a Scottish hero distinguished primarily in his fight against England for...