Scotland under her early kings, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b a history of the kingdom to the close of the thirteenth centuryRobertson, Eben William
History
Scotland under her early kings, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b a history of the kingdom to the close of the thirteenth century
Robertson, Eben William
Scotland -- History -- To 1603
Though David may be regarded unquestionably as the founder of the
Scottish burghs, many were indebted to William for the earliest
charters confirmatory of their original privileges. Monopoly was,
as usual, ensured to the privileged class within the walls, no one
being allowed to sell the produce of his lands or flocks except
to burgesses;[519] commerce, thus forbidden to the nobility, was
confined to the burgher class; and the result was the same all over
Europe. There is not a trace amongst the Teutonic people, in early
times, of that broad line of distinction which grew up in a later age
between the soldier and the merchant, the man of arms and the man of
commerce--though the few actual trades, or rather handicrafts, of the
period, were probably confined to the unfree. “Biorn the merchant”
was the son of a king, and the spirit of commerce was strongly
developed amongst the early Northmen. But the burghers claimed it as
their exclusive privilege, and their monopolies were fostered and
encouraged, stringent laws prohibiting the _upland_ nobility
from entering into competition with the freemen within the walls; and
accordingly they soon grew to despise pursuits in which they were
thus precluded from engaging. No such restrictions existed in Italy,
and her merchants were amongst the noblest in the land. Elsewhere the
exclusive monopolies of a _Roturier_ class very much contributed
to stamp commerce, in the Middle Ages, as a pursuit generally confined
to the low-born. David’s commercial, like his religious, foundations
were principally to the southward of the Forth--his views were directed
towards Northumberland--and though many of his burghs were planted
to the northward of that river, and particularly in the forfeited
province of Moray, it is from the confirmatory charters of William
that their existence is first discovered. Not a few additions were
also made by William to the number of Scottish burghs--foremost in
importance to future ages the bishop’s burgh of Glasgow--and Galloway,
Scottish Cumbria, and the northern and eastern coasts of Scotland
proper, were studded with commercial garrisons. Berwick still appears
to have monopolized the foreign trade, and its importance may be best
appreciated by the clause inserted in one of the treaties between John
and William, engaging the English king to stop the further progress
of the castle at Tweedmouth, which had evidently been intended
to aim a fatal blow at the most flourishing emporium of Scottish
commerce.[520] But it was upon the northern and eastern coasts of
_Scotia_ proper, and upon that portion of the northern coast
which had been reclaimed from _Moravia_ by the establishment
of Inverness, that the progress and advancement of the kingdom were
most marked in William’s reign. David’s favourite residences appear
to have been generally in the south and centre of his kingdom, but
William was often in the north, and many of his charters are dated
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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