Gli usi dell’elemento gnomico nel Bruce di John Barbour

In his poem about Robert Bruce’s life and enterprises, John Barbour (1319-95) uses the gnomic element in a variety of ways. Proverbs, maxims, and occasional gnomic utterances or verses are employed to shape the text, as commentary, prolexis, summary, example, and comparison, in order to give an insight into the personality of important characters (especially the protagonist), and highlight propagandistic and ideological themes that are an essential part of the poem’s complex frame.