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The article presents an analysis of cases that involved women as perpetrators of interpersonal assaults in Glasgow, Scotland in the late sixteenth century. The assaults were compared to cases that involved male perpetrators, arguing that the active involvement of women in violence was more common than is frequently assumed. In the 1158 cases that came before the burgh court involving physical violence, men were assailants in about 80% while women in roughly 22%.

This study uses the court records of eight pre-Reformation Scottish towns to examine women's involvement as perpetrators of violent physical assaults in their communities. It examines the nature of the assaults, including whether women were more likely to act alone or with others, the role of family and household, the types of victims, and the weapons used. These matters are compared to patterns found in studies of women's violence elsewhere in contemporary Europe. The article also examines how the community and women themselves perceived their use of physical assault. For example, some could justify violence as an acceptable method of discipline. Many attacks were aimed not only at causing physical harm but were also assaults on the victim's honour; a study of assault thus helps shed light on the nature of male and female honour among ordinary townsfolk in late medieval Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a look at a various research on Scottish women c.1300-1700. It describes earlier works on Scottish women and examines recent developments in four areas, namely work, family, religion and crime. The significance of kin and women's roles in kinship networks is characterized. The author reveals that the shift from women's to gender history occurred late in the study of medieval and early modern Scottish women compared to other countries. He adds that Scottish women have a history outside Scotland in relation to large-scale emigration of Scots from medieval times.

The article discusses the making of the "Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women." The biographical dictionary aims to examine future directions for women's history in Scotland. It also shows how considering women's experiences and the effects of gender on both women and men leads to new questions about the past. The several traditions of historical writing and representation combined in the volume are also cited.