A HERITABLE JURISDICTION

The Earl (later Duke) of Argyll was first mentioned as Justice-General in 1526. It was a hereditary position handed on through the family until 1747. The Jacobean rebellion had caused a great deal of upheaval and it was decided to reduce the power of the Scottish clan chiefs. The law would no longer be in the hands of hereditary jurisdictions; the law-lords in Edinburgh would reign supreme. Taken from the records of the day, this book reveals some of the people, crimes and punishment of an earlier age.