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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 224 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 224 pagesAbout this book
What is a knight’s honor worth when courage wins him praise and deceit shapes his private life?
Lord Marmion rides north on Henry VIII’s business, carrying secrets as well as royal favor. His mission takes him through the Scottish border country to the court of James IV, while war draws closer. In Walter Scott’s long narrative poem, castles and rival kingdoms frame a more intimate struggle: the distance between a proud man’s reputation and his true character.
Constance de Beverley leaves a convent for Marmion’s love, only to suffer through his ambition. He seeks the wealthy Clara de Clare, whose heart belongs to Ralph de Wilton, a knight stripped of honor and standing. Across six cantos, love and falsehood meet the gathering threat of Flodden, where the armies of England and Scotland face each other.
What you’ll discover
- A deeply flawed knight Follow a brave, admired nobleman whose hidden wrongs challenge the praise he receives.
- Love entangled with ambition Meet Constance and Clara, whose ties to Marmion expose the cost of his desires.
- Castles along the border Enter Norham Castle, where Sir Hugh the Heron receives Marmion on his journey north.
- The approach of Flodden Feel war draw nearer as James IV leads Scotland’s army toward the battlefield.
- A ballad’s forward drive Discover narrative verse that carries rivalry, deceit, and questions of honor with ballad-like pace.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy castles, ghosts and chivalry will love this fast tale of a proud hero shadowed by his past. It also suits lovers of Scottish history, ballads and verse that comes alive aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A proud knight meets a witness
- Constance reveals the betrayal beneath honour
- Warnings give hidden guilt a voice
- James turns from warnings to pleasure
- Bravery cannot silence a guilty conscience
- Loyalty can lead toward visible ruin
- Songs and legends deepen the story
- Every road returns to the crime
Who’s who
- Lord MarmionA proud, brave English knight sent to the Scottish court, who hides a betrayal and wants Clare's lands and hand.
- ClareClare is a young novice whose betrothed is dead or dishonoured, and she wants to take the veil to bury her grief.
- Constance de BeverleyA nun who left her convent for Marmion, was cast aside, and now seeks justice, and revenge, for her wrongs.
- The PalmerA silent, gaunt pilgrim who guides Marmion to Scotland and seems to watch his every move.
- Fitz-EustaceMarmion's gentle young squire, who sings, loves old romances and tries to cheer both his lord and Clare.
- King JamesThe charming, restless Scottish king, torn between penance for his father's death and a hunger for glory and ladies.
- Sir David LindesayThe Lion King at Arms, a shrewd herald and poet who guides Marmion and fears for his king.
- The Earl of AngusOld Archibald Douglas, called Bell the Cat, who speaks against the war yet keeps his duty to the king.
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Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field
by Walter Scott · 1808
A knight carrying a secret rides to a Scottish court, guided by a silent pilgrim who knows more than he says.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“an author to whom Karl Marx again and again returned, whom he admired and knew as well as he did Balzac and Fielding.”
In short
Picture a castle gate at sunset. A bugle sounds, cannon fire from the walls, a drawbridge drops, and a knight in a golden helm rides in to cheers.
Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 15 min1 h 45 min fast, 2 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 32,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1808by Walter Scott
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Marmion rides into Norham and finds a guide
The poem opens at sunset on the walls of Norham Castle, an English fortress on the river Tweed, facing Scotland. A watchman hears a bugle and knows the call. The drawbridge falls, the cannon thunder, and Lord Marmion rides in with squires, men at arms and twenty archers in blue.
Scott paints him with care. Marmion has a scar from Bosworth, a dark brow, and an eye that flashes into anger. His helm is gold, topped with a falcon, and the same bird rides on his shield. The heralds hail him as the winner of a duel where Ralph de Wilton lost his lady-love and his land.
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A knight carrying a secret rides to a Scottish court, guided by a silent pilgrim who knows more than he says.
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Details
- First published
- 1808
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 224 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 224 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 292 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 292 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Tue 1 Dec to Mon 7 Decto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Scott, Walter. Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/marmion-a-tale-of-flodden-field.
Scott, W. (2026). Marmion: A tale of Flodden Field. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/marmion-a-tale-of-flodden-field (Original work published 1808)
Scott, Walter. Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/marmion-a-tale-of-flodden-field.
@book{scott2026marmion,
author = {Scott, Walter},
title = {Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/marmion-a-tale-of-flodden-field},
note = {First published 1808}
}
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What is Marmion about?
It follows Lord Marmion, an English knight sent to the Scottish court in 1513, and the secret that follows him as war nears. Along the way come a convent, ghost tales, a royal feast and the road to Flodden.
Who is Lochinvar in Marmion?
Lochinvar is a young Scottish knight in a ballad sung inside the poem by Lady Heron at Holyrood. He rides unarmed to a wedding, dances with the bride, and carries her off. The ballad is often printed on its own.
What was the battle of Flodden?
Flodden was fought in 1513 in northern England between a Scottish army led by King James and an English army under the Earl of Surrey. The poem builds toward it, and its last canto tells the fight.
The author
Walter Scott
1771–1832 · Scottish novelist and poet
Walter Scott (1771–1832) was a Scottish novelist, poet and playwright. He was born in Edinburgh and lived in Scotland, including at Abbotsford near Melrose, where he died. He wrote Marmion (1808), The Lady of the Lake (1810), Waverley (1814), Rob Roy (1817) and Ivanhoe (1819).
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practise to deceive!”
More by Walter Scott
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