Marmion

A Tale of Flodden Field, a narrative poem by Sir Walter Scott. The poem was begun in November, 1806, and was published in February, 1808. The first edition of 2,000 copies in quarto form was sold at a guinea and a half, $7.50 per copy. A second edition was required within a month, and cheaper editions followed in rapid succession. In all some 50,000 copies were sold during the author's lifetime. The poem is in six cantos, each canto preceded by a lengthy introduction in the form of an epistle to a friend. These introductions to the various cantos are not necessary to the thread of the story; on the contrary, they rather interfere with it, at least at a first reading. The hero of the story, Marmion, is an English knight whose various adventures in Scotland are narrated in the poem. The last canto describes the battle of Flodden Field in which Marmion falls. See Scott