George Craig of Galashiels

John Finlay is Professor of Scots Law at the University of Glasgow. He is author of: Men of Law in Pre-Reformation Scotland (Tuckwell Press, 2000), contributor to The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, volume 1 (Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming) and author of 'Women and legal representation in early sixteenth-century Scotland' in Women in Scotland 1100–1750 (Tuckwell Press, 1999). He has published numerous papers on Scottish legal history in journals such as the Scottish Historical Review, Edinburgh Law Review and the Juridical Review.

More than providing an insight into the day-to-day workings of Craig’s business, reflected through Craig’s own experiences, we learn about Craig’s clients, their lives, and the transformation of their respective communities. The glimpses that we get of these other lives are often frustratingly brief, little more than vignettes, yet a picture of the wider community emerges, and Finlay shows how Craig, and men of local-standing like him, touched and influenced so many lives.

• 1. Introducing George Craig2. Parish life in the Borders3. Baron bailie and factor4. Craig and the landscape5. Scottish provincial bank agent6. Borders law agent7. Manufacturing and commerce8. Insurance9. Furth of Scotland10. ConclusionBibliographyIndex of PersonsIndex of PlacesIndex of Subjects