Using the context of the eighteenth-century burgh of Edinburgh the present study has focused on women's employment, showing how women were able to operate even within restricted areas, and how the <i>experience</i> of work affected their lives. Two important areas of employment, domestic service and ale-selling, are not included as the scale and nature of these occupations demands separate investigation. Servants in the context of this thesis are those who had some specialist skill or training, such as servants to shopkeepers. In the course of investigating employment in the textile trades, for example shopkeepers, milliners and mantuamakers a very large proportion of women's activities in Edinburgh, important in formation came to light on other major occupants, such as graveclothes-making and rouping which had not been previously studied. It is hoped that this study of women and work in eighteenth century Edinburgh may lead to similar studies for other Scottish towns in the period before 1800. There are no records of women equivalent to those for men as found in the male apprenticeship and burgess registers, nor by comparison are there many women's testaments. The Burgess Register, however, was invaluable for the identification of many women whose husbands became burgesses by right of their wives. The Register not only gave information on the wives but also on the identities of their fathers and the occupation of the latter. Marriage registers are an obvious source of information for women. Since many women repeatedly turned up in the main record sources used, some reconstruction of their lives was made possible. These sources consisted of the records of the Edinburgh Commissary Court, Edinburgh Burgh Court and other burgh records, the Minutes of the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, those of certain craft incorporations, such as the Goldsmiths and Surgeons, and private archives, in particular household accounts and correspondence.

This thesis explores important aspects of early nineteenth-century Scottish life, namely geographical mobility, occupational changes and family relationships. A major theme concerns people's transitions through life and how these were moulded by individuals' and families' strategies, and by historical circumstances. The work is based on the evaluation and exploration of a series of hitherto underutilised criminal records, the precognitions of the Lord Advocate's Departement, which is studied for its contribution to these themes. Because this is the first study to use the precognitions systematically for these purposes, particular attention is given to the specifics of their production and validity, as well as to recent literature on the themes under consideration. The research focuses primarily on people who moved geographically, and studies them in terms of their occupational and social groups. Analyses are made of movements between rural and urban places, and to and from towns and cities, particularly Glasgow. Consideration is also given to how far concepts of regional production and regional identity aid our understanding of mobility and personal strategies. An exploration is then made of the ways people used occupational changes and family relationships, often in conjunction with their mobility, while coping with their changing social and economic circumstances. The thesis concludes that geographical mobility, occupational changes and family relationships were integral aspects of people's strategies, and that further work on sources of this nature should yield additional insights regarding nineteenth-century Scotland.

The eighteenth century was a period which witnessed great changes in the Highlands of Scotland. The hereditary jurisdictions of the landlords were abolished, the great but undefined power of the clan chiefs was rendered nugatory, and the authority of the central government was firmly established throughout the whole region Methods of land utilisation were revolutionised, communications were widely extended, education was popularised, the influence of the Presbyterian Church increased, attempts were made to develop industry and Highlanders were given the opportunity of serving in the British army. The changes in land utilisation and social organisation brought hardship to numbers of people in the Highlands, and forced them to emigrate either to America, where land was cheap and opportunity was boundless, or to the Lowlands which were rapidly undergoing the process of industrialisation. This process, which has been given the general name of the Industrial Revolution, not only deprived the Highlands of a considerable part of their population, but caused industry in the northern half of the kingdom to be eclipsed by the large output from the factories localised in the coalfields of the Lowlands. The kelp industry fell as suddenly as it had risen, and the fishing and distilling industries were still at the beginning of their development. Nevertheless, for the great majority of the inhabitants of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland the standard of living rose greatly during the century. Food, clothing, and housing conditions improved, disease, diminished, employment became more systematised, and the Highlands became what they had never been before, an integral part of the United Kingdom.

The Scottish Poor Law as it functioned in the North-East in the period 1745-1845 was largely based on an act of 1579. The authorities legally responsible for the administration of poor relief were the kirk sessions anti heritors in rural parishes, and the magistrates in burghs. Poverty was the result of economic as well as of natural causes, but refill or assistance was given only in cases of physical or mental disability, and allowances were generally small. In Aberdeen several funds for the poor were merged in 1768 to form a United Fund, which was controlled by the kirk sessions and magistrates until 1838, and thereafter by the magistrates alone. Various charitable, organisations, such as the Public Kitchen, were incorporated in the United Fund. Money for the support of the poor was raised mainly by voluntary means, but a system of assessment was introduced in some parishes after 1800. Voluntary associations gave relief to those outside the legal system, including the unemployed. Changes in industry and apiculture in the early 19th century caused an increase in the number requiring help, but voluntary offerings declined. Controversy over the efficiency of the system reached a peak in the 1840s and a Commission of Inquiry was appointed. Its Report was published in 1844, and was followed in 1845 by the Poor Law Amendment Act, which set up a Board of Supervision for the Scottish poor, but made little change in the method of administration.

This thesis has three aims. First, Rosebery's career is presented and analysed with special regard to Scotland. Scotland gave him a base of support and a springboard to power and prestige. In return, he secured attention for Scottish issues and a measure of legislation to redress imbalances. Secondly, Scottish nationalism during Rosebery's prime (1868-1896) is presented and evaluated. This period represents an essential chapter in the history of Scottish nationalism, but to date it has received relatively scant attention. The unsuccessful efforts to secure Scottish Home Rule and to disestablish the Church of Scotland demonstrated both the strength and the fragility of Scottish nationalism. A summary of the national movements in Ireland and Wales is presented to provide a proper context for the discussion of Scottish nationalism. Finally, the dissertation draws together these two strands to examine Rosebery's impact on nationalism - particularly in Scotland - and the influence of national movements on Rosebery's career. To achieve these three objectives, the thesis has been structured in the following way. After a brief introduction, chapter 2 sketches Rosebery's early career concentrating on the personal and intellectual influences which shaped and defined his political identity. During the 1870s and 1880s, Rosebery forged an extensive political machine in Scotland which propelled him into prominence. Chapter 3 concludes Rosebery's political biography by focusing on his rapid rise to the premiership and his long political decline. His literary career is also addressed. Chapter 4 provides a discussion of the general theory of nationalism followed by an overview of Irish, Welsh and Scottish nationalism in the late nineteenth century. In chapter 5, Rosebery's efforts on behalf of Scotland's national cause are delineated. In addition to securing the restoration of the Secretaryship of Scotland in 1885, Rosebery reminded Britain of Scotland's distinct heritage and her contributions to the forging of Great Britain and the Empire. His achievements were both tangible and symbolic. Chapter 6 traces Rosebery's reaction to Irish and Welsh national demands, focusing on his response to the most volatile issue of his era: Irish Home Rule. Chapter 7 presents and analyses Rosebery's political ideology in general and his national ideology in particular - two subjects which have been largely neglected. Finally, chapter 8 concludes the thesis and evaluates Rosebery as a nationalist and a Scottish patriot.

The 'Riding of the Marches' or the 'Common Riding' refers to a series of festivals which take place annually in several Scottish towns. These festivals are loosely based on the old custom of a ceremonial procession, usually on horseback, around the boundary of the burgh common, which was intended to delineate the area and check any encroachment upon it by neighbouring landowners and others. Some ridings, such as Lanark, Linlithgow and Selkirk, have a continuous history since the sixteenth-century, whilst others are more recent innovations. The modern event is primarily associated with the Scottish Borders. The purpose of this thesis is to trace the historical development and evolution of the ridings from the sixteenthcentury to the present. The thesis is broadly chronological and is arranged in six chapters. Chapter One provides a detailed introduction and overview of the modern ridings. The intention is to explain some of the terminology and other features of the ridings, and to indicate the nature of these events and state why they are important. Chapter Two begins the chronological history of the ridings by examining the earliest records of the event. Chapter Three considers the battle of Flodden Field (1513) and the various Common Riding traditions about it. Chapter Four examines the form and functions of the eighteenth-century ridings. Chapter Five covers the period between 1830 to 1900, when profound social and economic change challenged and influenced the event. Chapter Six concludes the history of the ridings, and covers the period between 1880 to the present. There is also a plate section between Chapters Three and Four. This thesis demonstrates that the modern ridings are complex events, which are the product of several centuries of adaptation and development. Although derived from an old custom, the modern ridings continue to occupy a vital place in the lives of people who participate in them.

The core of this thesis is divided into three sections: 1) linguistic and historical analysis of parish- and certain settlement-names of Fothrif (west Fife), within the boundaries of the medieval sheriffdom of Fife i.e. 39 parish-names, both obsolete and extant; and all settlement-names, both obsolete and extant, which contain the habitative elements <I>baile, bý(r), caer, dùn, pett, ràth</I> and <I>toun</I>, and the settlement-related element <I>dabhach</I>. These names are set out alphabetically under 33 headings, each heading a pre-Reformation parish. Each of these parishes is prefaced by a set of <I>Introductory Notes</I>, which give a brief history of the development of the parish as an ecclesiastical unit, and relate it to the parish boundaries shown on the O.S. 1" (7<SUP>th</SUP> Series) Map. 2) linguistic and historical analysis of all settlement-names recorded before c. 1650 in the combined medieval parishes of St Andrews and St Leonards, (east) Fife. 3) Elements Index containing an alphabetical list of all elements which occur regularly in the place-names listed in sections 1) and 2). Under each element are listed all names which contain that element through the medieval sheriffdom of Fife. The whole is preceded by three introductory chapters. <I>Chapter 1</I> discusses the geology, geography and history of the whole of Fife, with special reference to place-names; it also defines Fothrif and the medieval sheriffdom of Fife. <I>Chapter 2</I> contains a linguistic history of Fife, as revealed by the onomastic evidence. Special attention is paid to the interaction between Pictish and Gaelic, and between Gaelic and Older Scots. It also discusses a range of Gaelic linguistic features manifested by the place-names. <I>Chapter 3</I> discusses the habitative elements <I>baile, pett, dùn, caer, ràth </I>and <I>lios</I>, especially the relationship between <I>baile </I>and <I> pett,</I> and the phenomenon of <I>Pit-/Bal</I>-substitution; attempts some conclusions about the nature of early medieval settlement in Fife; and adumbrates areas of further research in other parts of former Pictland not yet subjected to detailed onomastic analysis.

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