FARMING IN SCOTLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

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efforts made by the Church for their manumission.The Abbey of

Coldingham purchased the freedom of Joseph, the son of Etwald, and all hisposterity, for the price of three merks ; of Roger i’itz Walker, and all his pos-terity, for two merks.”

482. “Above the class of husbandmen was that of the yeoman or bonnet-

laird, as he is now called in primitive parts of Scotland.He no

doubt paid for his hereditary right to the lands, and felt himself much above thehusbandmen whose little was precarious.”

483. “ Still higher in the scale were the great Church vassals, who held aplace only second to the baronage and freeholders of the crown. These gener-ally had their lands free of all service, and paid only a nominal quit-rent.”

484. “ No service is imposed on women, except harvest-work, and I believeagriculturists will agree that we have a still more decided proof of advancingcivilisation in the fact, that at the period of the rental, the whole services werein process of being commuted for money.”

485. “ As to the rent of land, each husbandland paid Gs. 8d. of money-rent,but to this were added considerable services in harvest and sheep-shearing, incarrying peats and carting wool, and fetching the abbot’s commodities. Thesestipulations are exceedingly precise, fixing even the service in which thehusbandman was to have his food from the abbey, and where he was to maintainhimself.”

48G. “ Roads appear to have been frequent, and although some are called thegreen road, viridis via, and by other names indicating rather a track for cattle;others, bearing the stylo of ‘ high-way,’ alia via, ‘ the king’s road,’ via regia, viaregalis, and still more, the caulsey or caleeia, must have been of more carefulconstruction, and some of them fit for wheel carriages. A right of way wasfrequently bargained for, and even purchased at a considerable price. Theroad leading south of Inverness is called via Scoticana in a charter in 137G.”

487. “ We find agricultural carriages of various names and descriptionsduring the thirteenth century— plaustrum, quadriga, charete, carecta, biga —andnot only for harvest and for carriage of peats from the moss, but for carryingwool of the monastery to the seaport, and bringing in in exchange, salt, coals,and sea-borne commodities.”

488. “ The immense number and variety of agricultural transactions,” con-cludes Mr Innes this part of his subject, “ the frequent transference of lands,the disputes and settlements regarding marches, the precision and evident careof leases, the very occurrence so frequently of the names of field divisions, andof the boundaries between farms, settled by King David in person, show anenlightened attention and interest in agricultural affairs, that seem to havespread from the monarchy and reached the whole population during that periodof natural peace and good government, which was so rudely terminated by theWar of the Succession.”

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