Which Scottish Romantic poet wrote 'The Lay of the Last Minstrel'?

The Scottish Romantic poet who wrote “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” was Walter Scott.

Scott published the narrative poem in 1805, presenting it as a tale sung by an old minstrel. Set mainly in the Scottish Borders during the sixteenth century, it draws on clan feuds, chivalric loyalties, local legend, and supernatural elements. The poem helped establish Scott as one of the most popular poets of his age.

The work is divided into six cantos and uses an energetic four-beat verse pattern influenced by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Christabel.” Its framing device allows Scott to connect the world of medieval romance with the traditions and memory of Scotland’s Border country.

The title can mislead readers into treating the poem as anonymous folklore, but the minstrel is a fictional speaker created by Scott. It is also easy to confuse Scott with Wordsworth, Byron, or Burns, other major Romantic-era poets. Scott is additionally famous for historical novels such as “Waverley” and “Ivanhoe.”