Sir David Lindsay of the Mount is a key figure in the history of Scottish literature and in any wider analysis of the Renaissance period. To date, studies have concentrated largely on Lindsay the poet or Lindsay the religious reformer, approaches that neglect his greater importance. By locating him more precisely within a historical, political and religious context, this book illuminates both Lindsay's own work and the ideas that helped shape Scottish culture during his time. The book is divided into three parts. The first part addresses Lindsay's career, tracing his service at the courts of James IV and James V and his involvement in the religious controversies of the period. The second part looks at Lindsay as political thinker, examining his ideas on such issues as kingship and commonweal. The third part discusses Lindsay's poetry in the light of the religious climate in Scotland on the eve of the Reformation.