The story of Sir Gowther is found in two manuscripts: British Library Royal MS 17.B.43 and National Library of Scotland MS Advocates 19.3.1. Both of these manuscripts date from the mid- to late-fifteenth century.[7][8] The romance itself was probably composed in around 1400.[9]
Both instances of this Middle English romance are composed in twelve-line, tail-rhyme stanzas, like many other Middle English romances, such as Ipomadon, Emaré, Sir Launfal and Octavian, each verse rhyming AABCCBDDBEEB. The copy in National Library of Scotland MS Advocates 19.3.1 is 756 lines long.
