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This paper explores the interaction between informal networks of care and ecclesiastical authorities in seventeenth-century Scotland. Previously, studies have identified poor relief and local care as a point of contention where authorities aggressively applied socioreligious reformation and created considerable local tension. This essay argues that the kirk of Scotland could not implement a single, nationwide, policy to radically alter palliative care networks as they were so variable, dependent upon local context and necessary to local life. Rather, ecclesiastical authorities accepted a variety of informal arrangements that directly impinged on their own disciplinary drive. Moreover, the essay shows that informal networks of care would co-opt official structures blurring the traditional image of polarized institutional and informal modes of care. Such relationships advance our understanding of how Reformed behavioral ideals interacted with local necessity and circumstance, while maintaining general control of the parish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On account of its composition and relative completeness, the Skelmorlie Aisle in Largs is the most impressive structure of its type and period in the country. This article considers the aisle and its components, its structure and setting, as well as its history as far as the twentieth century, arguing that it was conceived as a single entity and that its purpose was connected with funeral ritual. It had a processional layout rarely seen in seventeenth-century Scotland, hinging on the triumphal arch inside, used here not for the living hero but for the deceased on their passage to life after death. The structure involved some of the top craftsmen associated with courtier works of the period and its composition was fundamentally shaped by masonic symbolism and proportion. There is also the tentative suggestion that the aisle signalled the covert Catholicism of a client who was outwardly Presbyterian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of a process of architectural analysis on Gillespie, Kidd & Coia (1927–1987), an architectural practice often famed for their original approach, especially for their longstanding client, the Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow. It is primarily concerned with the results of their approach over many years; of the effects or trends apparent in their work as an oeuvre, rather than with their initial architectural intentions; and builds on the work of other scholars by discussing the firm’s work within the context of the twentieth century’s rather fluid liturgical landscape. An alternative method is suggested for reading their ecclesiastical architecture, based not only on difference within their work, but also on its interconnections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From one small devotional book about Queen Saint Margaret and its three translations we can learn much about the nature of post-Reformation, seventeenth-century Scottish Catholicism. First, the style of the book's meditation informs us of the influential role that the Jesuits played in forming the next generation of Scottish men and priests, as well as shaping the intellectual and devotional culture of post-Reformation Scottish Catholicism. Second, this book was part of a larger movement of writings and devotional practices designed to emphasize the "Scottishness" of Catholics' faith while in exile among other Western European traditions. Third, the paratextual elements provide evidence that the Scots colleges were closely aligned with the royalist cause. And finally, this book and others like it were used to solicit aid and support for the Scots colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead-mining was one of Scotland's few domestic industries during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, there is very little scholarly material available on this subject. T.C. Smout is one of the few historians who has written about the Scottish lead industry, but his articles were published in the 1960s and 70s. The aim of this article is address this gap in research by trying to establish the scale of mining activities, the industry's gross revenue, and its profit margins between 1680 and 1780. This paper relies heavily on archival records concerning Leadhills in Lanarkshire, which are primarily stored at Hopetoun House near South Queensferry. Leadhills was one of Scotland's two major lead mines and was acquired by the Hope family in the mid-seventeenth century. Mining activities at Leadhills quickly became the Hopes' (who obtained the earldom of Hopetoun in 1703) primary source of income. The influence of the Hopes as lead barons became such that they built Hopetoun House, one of the country's most significant country houses, at the turn of the eighteenth century and aggrandised it for decades thereafter. This paper will confirm concretely the importance of Leadhills as a boon to the Hopes' income and Scotland's increasingly globalised economy (particularly after the 1707 Union). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the print campaign to promote the Anglo‐Scottish alliance of 1643 and its accompanying Solemn League and Covenant oath, an exercise that was novel in its involvement of the emerging serial press. The study outlines the reasons for the campaign, records its backers and contributors, and sets out the difficulties it encountered. After examining the nature of the pamphlet literature associated with the 1643 Covenant, the article explores in detail the contribution to the debate made by the newsbook Mercurius Britanicus, a publication that was founded specifically to make the case for the Covenant and to encourage universal subscription to its accompanying oath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the Edinburgh physician Archibald Pitcairne made a significant and original contribution to European religious heterodoxy around 1700. Though Pitcairne has been studied by historians of medicine and scholars of literary culture, his heterodox writings have not been analysed in any detail. This is partly because of their publication in Latin, their relative rarity, and their considerable obscurity. The article provides a full examination of two works by Pitcairne: his Solutio problematis de historicis; seu, inventoribus (‘Solution of the problem concerning historians or inventors’) (1688); and the Epistola Archimedis ad Regem Gelonem (‘Letter of Archimedes to King Gelo’) (1706). As well as untangling their bibliographical and textual difficulties, the article places these tracts in the context of Pitcairne's medical, mathematical, and religious interests. A range of readers deplored the sceptical implications of the pamphlets, but others, particularly in free-thinking circles in the Netherlands, admired Pitcairne's work. And yet Pitcairne himself was no atheist. He doubted a priori proofs of God's existence, but had been convinced by a version of the argument from ‘design’. The article concludes by relating Pitcairne's complex religious attitudes to his background in late seventeenth-century Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines some of the many ways in which women interacted with the Reformed Kirk of Scotland between 1613 and 1660, as recorded in the Canongate Kirk Session disciplinary records, focusing on cases that reveal the negotiation for control over women's bodies, their dignity, and their performances of gender and sexuality. These include the kirk session's prosecution of illicit sexuality, such as fornication, adultery, and prostitution; its protection, albeit limited, in cases of sexual assault; and its role as mediator in wet-nursing cases, and leniency towards wet-nursing fornication penitents. The article then examines the limits of the kirk session's powers in controlling its parishioners. It argues that the relationship between the kirk session and female parishioners was multifaceted, contradictory, and shifting. The kirk was a powerful social force in Canongate, but women were also active agents in the system of repentance, absolution and control in seventeenth-century Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short and militarily inglorious rebellion launched in May 1685 by Archibald Campbell, 9th earl of Argyll against the regime of James VII and II is often overlooked, partly on account of its rapid disintegration and partly because outside events - not least the much more famous Monmouth rebellion in south-eastern England - tend to draw attention away from it. Yet in ignoring the rising, historians risk missing its value as a tool for understanding the social and political dynamics of late-seventeenth-century Scotland. This article presents a reassessment of Argyll's rebellion from that perspective, demonstrating how the insurgency and the government counter-attack threw the ongoing processes of Highland/Lowland convergence into sharp relief, while also revealing the nature, and limitations, of Stuart pretensions towards monarchical 'absolutism'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the records kept by Scottish church courts in the early modern period provide a rich and untapped source of information on historical weather patterns. This is primarily because severe weather events caused disruption to court meetings, and the nature of the records means that fluctuations in weather can potentially be traced across a wide geographical range and for long periods of time. Based on a sample of records from 1615–25, a period which included a known severe weather event, the flooding of Perth in 1621, the article provides quantitative and qualitative analysis of weather trends, drawing particular attention to an extended period of severe weather from 1619–22, of which the flooding of Perth was apart. It also identifies peri- ods that witnessed much less severe weather and identifies important regional variations in weather patterns which emerge from the study of church court records, in contrast to more traditional sources such as diaries and chronicles. The article thus demonstrates the value of this new methodology for climate history and points the way forward to future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the Covenanters and posits them as a phenomenon that was both transatlantic and chronologically transcendent rather than simply as Scottish and seventeenth century. Covenanter beliefs and practices lived on, and Covenanter peoples dialogued with one another over three centuries in Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the USA. Each generation reached back across the Atlantic and across time for inspiration and meaning in contemporary confrontations with the secular world. We argue that sensibilities history provides a fitting framework for understanding how this unique cultural group remained an ongoing Atlantic experience from 1638 until the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a synopsis of some of the work of this Royal Master Mason, whose place in the Scottish architectural pantheon has sometimes been overlooked. Recent studies have shown him to have had almost an indispensible presence during the often tumultuous period of his career, paving the way for his better-known successors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on Scottish broadside ballads of the 17th and 18th centuries. It examines the production of broadside ballads by presses in Edinburgh, Scotland and their significance on the culture of lowland Scotland. It also compares and contrasts Scottish broadside ballads with ballads being produced in London, England. The author also discusses the significance of the production of the ballads upon the development of the Scottish publishing industry.

An essay is presented on the economic history of Scotland in the 17th century. It discusses commerce between France and Scotland, particularly the Auld Alliance. The author argues that, in contrast to the assertions of several scholars that the Auld Alliance came to an end in 1560, Franco-Scottish commerce thrived in the 17th century and the Auld Alliance played a significant role in facilitating commerce.

This article is a microstudy of a Scottish witchcraft document from 1662, focusing of the case of a woman accused of witchcraft in Bute. It emphasizes the various 'voices' that are possible to 'hear' in the material-for example, the voice of the scribe, the witnesses, or the accused person. It argues on linguistic grounds that the way the story was told by the scribe influences the interpretation of this document, since the scribe had the authority over the contents of the text. This narratological analysis is finally put in a broader historical context, adding factual information about the woman accused of witchcraft and her final fate. Methodologically, this article crosses the border between literature and history, working in a new way with regard to interpretation of historical documents and is an empirical example of the fruitfulness of cross-cultural studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rebellion against Charles I that began in Scotland in 1637 became the catalyst for a series of wars that spanned his British dominions.This article will show that the civil wars of the mid seventeenth century created the conditions for a fiscal revolution in Scotland. A preliminary analysis of the central and local government structures that enabled superior resource extraction suggests that the sixteen-forties was a period of accelerated development in the formation of the Scottish state. Although the parliamentary regime governing the country from 1638 did not survive the English invasion of 1650–1, its financial innovations would influence subsequent regimes for the rest of the century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scottish triumphal entries were regularly staged in Edinburgh between 1503 and 1633, representing the constant renegotiation of the relationship between ruler and municipal authorities. The evolution of this relationship was publicly staged in the public spaces and streets of the city during triumphal entries. This piece will discuss the significance of particular buildings as urban landmarks representing the values of the bourgeois community, in particular of the West Port. An unusual and challenging use of urban space by Queen Mary Stuart in 1561 represented an attempt to tip the balance of power between royal and urban authority in the sovereigns' favour. The straightforward opposition of the municipal authorities to such a defiant act, and the measures adopted to counterbalance it, emphasise the general awareness of the importance of controlling urban spaces to proclaim absolute power or to defend traditional independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divisions in the Scottish political community that were evident by the end of the reign of James VI have been posited as roots of the Scottish revolution of 1638 and the wars of the three kingdoms. This article argues that the disengagement of central government from the political nation at large was a key factor in this development. By demonstrating the frequency of conventions of the estates, it highlights the intensity of consultation in James's Scottish government before 1603. A sudden decline in their frequency thereafter was symptomatic of a wider failure of government to adapt to the absence of the king in the context of a composite monarchy. While correspondence between the king and the privy council was copious, communication between the council and the political elites of Scotland withered. Without conventions of the estates as a vital point of contact in which new policies could be tested and negotiated, parliaments became more disagreeable. The crown's reliance on unprecedented levels of management and increased central direction alienated a significant proportion of the political elite, driving them into the oppositional stance which endured through the reign of Charles I. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Demonic belief in Scotland has primarily been addressed in the context of the witch-trials, in which the devil appeared as an external figure that convinced morally weak people (mostly women) to renounce their baptisms, enter into a demonic pact, and commit atrocious crimes. Encountering the devil, however, could also be a very personal, internal experience that arose from the questions of sin and salvation that formed an intrinsic part of reformed Protestant piety. I propose that in order to understand the importance of the devil to early modern Scotland, and Europe more generally, we must look beyond the witch trials and the dichotomy of good versus evil and ask how early modern men and women actually experienced the devil in their daily lives. By exploring the diaries and letters of both ministers and laymen in seventeenth-century Scotland, I demonstrate that the devil was not simply an evil, non-human "Other"; for early modern Scots, the demonic represented something innate and intimate about humanity itself, serving as a constant reminder of the moral depravity man, the potential for God's wrath, and the insecurity of salvation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Documentary, cartographic and archaeological sources suggest that agrarian practice in the north east of Scotland from the late sixteenth to the mid eighteenth centuries was more diverse, dynamic and targeted than often supposed. The evidence suggests that Strathbogie saw extensive agricultural expansion throughout the entire period, especially in areas demonstrating earlier under-utilisation. Real improvement and expansion occurred as a result of developing existing traditional systems of agriculture, which was socially at odds with the later and much vaunted ‘Improvements’. These practices maximised productivity by targeting the production of a range of commodities at their most appropriate ecological zones within the overall landscape of the estate, the Lordship of Huntly. Such a model for production appears to have influenced the settlement strategy within those individual ecological zones. However, an over-emphasis upon grain production may, ultimately, have resulted in unsustainable practices, contrasting with earlier more ecologically-targeted ones. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article challenges the assumption that garrisons in post-union Scotland were confronted with an 'uninflammable' and easily controlled urban population. The emphasis is instead placed on the distinctive aspects of eighteenth-century Scottish society, characterized as it was by a combination of dispersed settlement and the fastest growing urban sector within the British-Irish Isles. These factors severely complicated and challenged the army's ability to consistently and effectively control Scotland's villages, towns and cities. Yet confrontation was not the only mode of interaction between local garrisons and the civic world of the burghs. The article argues that excessive concentration upon large scale urban tumults, such as the Malt Tax or Porteous Riots, has detracted from the subtle and sophisticated social and cultural practices which not only regulated relations between both groups but that increasingly eroded the boundaries and definitions of what constituted a 'soldier' and a 'civilian' in eighteenth-century Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current historiography of the Civil Wars of the mid-seventeenth century it remains under-appreciated that the National Covenant gained widespread support in the north of Scotland. This article offers a corrective to this. It examines the extent to which the Covenant was championed at all levels of northern society and looks at how levels of allegiance and commitment to the cause may have changed over time. The article also argues that the Covenanters of the north played a vital part in bringing about the defeat of armed Royalism in Scotland during the 1640s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author replies to criticism of his article "Charles I: A Case of Mistaken Identity," which appeared in the November 2005 issue of the journal. He discusses the actions of British king Charles I in the 17th century as they related to political issues in Scotland. The author addresses criticism concerning the perceived failures of accessibility on the part of Charles I and the alleged poor performances of local administrators during his reign. The article also discusses Charles I's act of revocation and the actions of the Scottish parliament.

The author discusses the article "Charles I: A Case of Mistaken Identity," by Mark Kishlansky, which appeared in the November 2005 issue of "Past and Present." It examines Charles's treatment of the Scots during his revocation of 1625, the "Scottish Prayer Book" released in 1637, and assesses the Scottish policies of Charles as compared to his father's reign. The author states that Charles's revocation was closer in scope than other historians have argued and that Kishlansky introduces the prospect of a reappraisal of comparisons between Charles and his father.

The article discusses the shootings and hangings of servants during the Scottish Civil War. According to the author, the execution of the servants of George Gordon, the second Marquess of Huntly, seems harsh. Religious zeal has been cited as a significant influence on decisions to order or commit atrocities against the servants. The shooting of Huntly's servants is important for the way in which it illuminates the motivations and impulses that lay behind the less renowned acts of atrocity during the civil war. However, the Scottish Civil War assumed an entirely different course in 1644, when the Earl of Antrim sent between 2,000 and 3,000 Irish soldiers, primarily from Ulster, to aid an effort against the covenanters.

The 1690s have often been seen as a period of troubles in Scotland, dominated by disasters such as the Glencoe massacre and the Darien debacle. Neither has King William III enjoyed a good reputation; he is rather regarded as an uninterested monarch at best or a tyrant at worst. Still, there are two problems with such an interpretation. Firstly, it is doubtful whether a narrative solely based on political incidents can do justice to this decade which, secondly, is often studied in isolation. This article therefore aims to study the structure of politics rather than survey the sequence of disasters. Moreover, it will try to move away from an introspective interpretation by studying the role of the Earl of Portland, the King's favourite, who defacto governed Scotland from London, although he was primarily interested in the Nine Years War on the Continent. The article will argue that Scottish politics in the 1690s cannot be understood without referring to the dominant role played by Portland and without placing Scottish affairs in a wider international context. It will do so by first analysing the position of the favourite and the manner in which he delegated responsibilities to his Scottish associates. According to one pamphleteer, he ‘Assumed the whole Superintendency of the Kingdom of Scotland & Governs it intirely by his Creatures’. Secondly, his involvement in Scottish politics will be analysed against the background of international events. On a higher level, this article serves as a call for a reinterpretation of the 1690s in Scotland as a transformative period of political experimentation rather than a sequence of political disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the issue of Scottish involvement with North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Image of the Scot as colonizer; Scottish presence in the Americas; Dichotomy within the literature on Scottish involvement abroad; Factors behind Scotland's opening to the world; Complexity of attitude toward nation and place.

Discusses the factors which may have helped make Edinburgh, Scotland a special cultural environment in the age of the Scottish Enlightenment in the seventeenth century. Measurement of the extent of basic literacy; Topics of published books; Extent of scholarly writings; Amount and type of schooling available; Prestige of education.

Analyzes the extent to which the Scottish aristocracy was anglicized from 1603 to 1038. Aristocratic education; Exposure to a new culture; Office holding in England; Effects on income and expenditures of English patronage and lifestyle; Changes in the honors system; Patterns in births, marriages, and deaths.

Discusses events in Scottish agriculture and rural society in the decades between the Reformation and the outbreak of Revolution in 1638. Speculation on social and economic change in rural Scotland in the late 16th and early 17th century; Factors affecting population growth; Tenants in the western Lowlands that were able to prosper and accumulate cash reserves.

Examines the significance of the Statutes of Iona in the 17th century history of Scotland. Transformation of the nature of clanship and the authority of the state; Analysis of the assumption that the statutes were the centerpiece of Highland policy under James VI and I; Background to the Statutes; Evolution of the policy.