Introduction: communities, courts and Scottish towns

Armstrong, J. W. and Mackillop, A. (2017) Introduction: communities, courts and Scottish towns. Urban History, 44(3), pp. 358-364. (doi: 10.1017/S0963926816000754)

Abstract

This short essay sets the context for the special section on communities, courts and Scottish towns. Scottish burgh records generally, and Aberdeen's UNESCO recognized collection in particular, are considered in light of their legal character. The changing features of pre-modern political society between the fifteenth century and the early nineteenth century are introduced as a shared problem for investigation, and an ancien régime framework is examined as a comparative tool in this field. A vital concern of these articles is with the construction and sometimes contested use of vocabularies of law and authority, privileges and liberties, and ideas of urban ‘community’. Courts at the municipal level, and in the world beyond the burgh, are appreciated as legal and governmental fora. The ambition of this special section is to prompt European comparisons, and encourage greater dialogue with and consideration of Scottish urban records in future research.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mackillop, Dr Andrew
• Authors: Armstrong, J. W., and Mackillop, A.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Journal Name: Urban History
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0963-9268
• ISSN (Online): 1469-8706
• Published Online: 17 October 2016
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 Cambridge University Press
• First Published: First published in Urban History 44(3): 358-364
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy