Scotland in the High Middle Ages: Encyclopedia II - Scotland in the High Middle Ages - Economy

Scotland in the High Middle Ages - Economy

The Scottish economy of this period was dominated by agriculture and by short-distance, local trade. There was an increasing amount of foreign trade in the period, as well as exchange gained by means of military plunder. By the end of this period, coins were replacing barter goods, but for most of this period most exchange was done without the use of metal currency.^[34]

Most of Scotland's agricultural wealth in this period came from pastoralism, rather than arable farming, with arable farming growing in the "Norman period" and with geographical differences, low-lying areas being subject to more arable farming that high-lying areas such as the Highlands, Galloway and the southern uplands. Galloway, in the words of G.W.S. Barrow, "already famous for its cattle, was so overwhelmingly pastoral, that there is little evidence in that region of land under any permanent cultivation, save along the Solway coast."^[35] The average amount of land used by a husbandman in Scotland might have been around 26 acres.^[36] There is a lot of evidence that the native Scots favoured pastoralism, in that Gaelic lords were happier to give away more land to French and English-speaking settlers, whilst holding on tenaciously to more high-lying regions, perhaps contributing to the Highland/Galloway-Lowland division that emerged in Scotland in the later Middle Ages.^[37] The main unit of land measurement in Scotland was the davoch (i.e. "vat"), called the arachor in Lennox. This unit is also known as the "Scottish ploughgate." In English-speaking Lothian, it was simply ploughgate.^[38] It may have measured about 104 acres,^[39] divided into 4 raths.^[40] Cattle, pigs and cheeses were among the most produced foodstuffs,^[41] but of course a vast range of foodstuffs were produced, from sheep and fish, rye and barley, to bee wax and honey.

Pre-Davidian Scotland had no towns. The closest thing to towns were the larger than average population concentrations around large monasteries, such as Dunkeld and St Andrews, and regionally significant fortifications. Scotland, outside Lothian at least, was populated by scattered hamlets, and outside that area, lacked the continental style nucleated village. David I established the first burghs in Scotland, initially only in English-speaking Lothian. David I copied the burgher charters and Leges Burgorum (rules governing virtually every aspect of life and work in a burgh) almost verbatim from the English customs of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.^[42] Early burgesses were usually Flemish, English, French and German, rather than Gaelic Scots. The burgh’s vocabulary was composed totally of either Germanic and French terms. ^[43] The councils which ran individual burghs were individually known as lie doussane, meaning the dozen.^[44]

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Economy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki