A British Frontier? Lairds and Gentlemen in the Eastern Borders 1540-1603, and: The Government of Scotland 1560-1625, and: The British Revolution 1629-1660 (review)

Two of the big themes that early modern Scottish historians have grappled with in recent years relate, firstly, to the power of the crown in relation to other actors in the political community and, secondly, to the impact of British history. Put differently, we have been asking 'Who governed Scotland and what did that mean?', and 'To what extent was the government of Scotland affected by the interactions of the various kingdoms of Britain and Ireland?'. There is no need to rehearse the historiography here, but in broad terms the debate over the former might be characterised as being between those who emphasise greater continuity with the medieval past and who push any significant transformation of government forward into the later seventeenth century, and those who emphasise a shift towards a more recognizable modern state from the later sixteenth century. The latter debate is essentially between those historians who underline Scotland's independence and those who pay more attention to the pull of British state formation whether that is configured within an anglocentric or non-anglocentric model. All three of these books engage at varying levels with both of these discussions.

One means historians have of testing any general thesis is the case study and Maureen Meikle's careful analysis of the eastern Borders between 1540 and 1603 is an effective exemplar of its kind, adding to existing local histories on Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Angus and the Mearns. Meikle does not have Scottish government in her sights, but is concerned to address some of the questions thrown up by the 'New British History'. Unfortunately her engagement with that British agenda is perhaps the weakest aspect of this book, having the feel of something added on for effect. Besides, the idea of the Anglo-Scottish Borders as a testing

ground for the emergence of a British state is something of a straw man. However, the Borders do throw up some interesting issues with regard to national identity and the role of early modern government at the peripheries of its territorial control. Here Meikle is surely right to underline the importance of localism and kinship as the key determinants of identity rather than nation or state. Certainly there is little evidence on the eastern Borders of anything like a revolution in government. Furthermore, had regal union not altered the political landscape, it would appear that the world of Meikle's Border families would continue much as before with relatively little interference from Edinburgh or London.

Meikle's pursuit of her study across national boundaries offers the opportunity for valuable comparative history, especially between the lesser nobility of the two eastern marches. Arguably it is the comparative features of this book, undergirded by a structuralist analysis, that are its most valuable, and Meikle has done a good job of investigating these two communities and offering an insightful and, at times, surprising commentary. For one thing the societies populated by these 307 Scottish lairdly and 147 English gentry families were not so very different from one another, and the view of the former as inherently more unruly and violent is reassessed. Meikle is keen to draw a distinction between the eastern marches and the more lawless middle and especially western marches where raiding and bloodfeud were more commonplace. Furthermore, on topics like kinship, local office-holding, wealth, education and religion Meikle adds a layer of local evidence to the current revision of Scottish noble society, although her adherence to the tiresome 'rise of the lairds' thesis is disappointing.

Julian Goodare's stated ambitions boil down to testing...