Bailies visit the Links
to select men to be
quartermasters and
serve the people there,
each with a boy to
help them, and twelve
women survivors of
the plague to come
to the town to clear
refuse (NRS, reference
number CH2/716/127
6 August 1645)
During the years 1644-49, outbreaks of the plague devastated large parts of Scotland. Understanding of what caused the disease was poor and many viewed it as a manifestation of divine wrath. Centuries of facing up to waves of the pestilence, from the time of the Black Death of 1350, had, however, led to national measures focusing on quarantining people and goods, with hefty penalties for non-compliance.