medieval-atlas/economic-development/235

Transcription

Burgh trading liberties In 1363, David 11 confirmed to the four regality burghs of Dunfermline -Dunfermline. Kirkcaldy. Musselburgh and Queensferry -the sole right to trade within the regality. Although this did not make clear whether the regality was made up into four separate areas of monopoly, the burgh records ofDunfermline and Kirkcaldy indicate that their commercial hinterlands lay to the north of the Forth and were distinct. The grant of I 363 affected the liberty ofInverkeithing, which had been defined as early as the reign of William the Lion as between the waters of the Devon and Leven, and further confirmed in 1399 as such and lying to the south of 'the large standing stone beyond the mill of Ellhorth' (Milnathort); its north-east boundary marked that of Cupar. Enforcement of trading boundaries in such a patchwork of jurisdictions was never wholly effective. In 1488, Dunfermline rebuffed Kirkcaldy's claim to sole right to trade in Goatmilk by appealing to the feudal superior, the abbot of Dunfermline; yet by 1583 Kirkcaldy claimed both it and Kinglassie from Dunfermline. By the sixteenth century, Inverkeithing's rights over Culross, the extent of the parish of Kinghom, the petty customs at Dysart and the customs of the St Luke's fair at Kinross were all disputed; the erection of Burntisland and Culross into royal burghs in 1586 and 1592 further threatened Inverkeithing's liberty. Trading hinterLand of Perth Cupare Trading hinterLand of Cupar Earls Ferry F j r t h of Forth Trading hinterland of Dunfermline kmsTrading hinterland of Inverkeithing 0 5 10 15 I I I Trading hinterland of Kirkcaldy I I I 0 5 10 Trading hinterland of Kirkcaldy or Dunfermline Miles Burgh trading liberties: Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Inverkeithing about 1500 EPD 235