Institute for Northern Studies team to edit new volume exploring the rich ties between French and Scottish literature

We're delighted to share the news that Professor Donna Heddle, Director of the University of the Highlands and Islands Institute for Northern Studies (INS), and Dr Paul Malgrati, Lecturer at INS, are signing a contract with the prestigious publisher Brill for an edited volume titled France and Scotland in Literature: Auld and New Alliances.

This ground breaking addition to the SCROLL series (Scottish Review of Language and Literature) aims to highlight the rich cultural and literary connections between France and Scotland from the medieval and early modern periods to the present day. This volume will make significant research contributions by compiling the first collection of works on French-influenced Scottish literature and Scotland-inspired French writing.

The first half of the book consists of seven chapters, which examine in detail medieval and Renaissance Franco-Scottish literature. Robert McColl Millar begins with an article that discusses the influence of French literature on Scots and, more broadly, the influence of Middle French writing on medieval lowland literature. The volume then moves on to explore two original poems by David Kinloch, Scotland's most prominent Francophile poet of the 21st century. In the final section, six articles examine literature from the 20th and 21st centuries. 

Professor Donna Heddle states,

“The Franco-Scottish partnership is one of the oldest in Europe. It was initiated by a military agreement in the late 13th century and soon evolved into richer cultural connections, which remain strong today, more than seven hundred years later.” Indeed, as explained by Dr Paul Malgrati, “This volume reflects on both the traditions and the challenges present in Franco-Scottish relations. It aims to serve as a reference for future works on Scotland’s European links while inspiring broader reflections on translation, diplomacy, feudalism, minority languages, nationalism, and philosophy within Scottish and French literary studies.”

The book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in Scottish and French literature, comparative literature, and translation and reception studies and will be available in 2026 by Brill Publishing.