Commissioner to the Convention of Estates and Member of Parliament for Renfrewshire; Kept chiefly from 1673 to 1680
William Cunningham was a member of an old influential family who owned the estate of Craigends. His diary provides insight into the details of the domestic life and manners of his time. "In the seventeenth century the landlord was seldom or never an absentee from his patrimonial acres, but went in and out among his tenants as a father and master, ready with advice in every difficulty, and with encouragement in every undertaking, sitting with them in the parish church, and bearing his part, as more than one entry in the diary shows, in their simple recreations. His wife, invariably spoken of as 'the lady,' was what the name implies-the mistress of the household." This volume is divided into three parts. Part One, the introduction, provides an overview of the family, the estate, and their domestic and religious life, their travels, their superstitions, Cunningham's position as Commissioner to the Convention of Estates and as a member of the Scottish Parliament and the Cunningham Genealogy. Part Two, the diary, provides notes in William's own hand and Part Three lists expenditures from 1673-1680. An appendix shows the rental of parcels of land and a glossary provides definitions of commonly used terms. A subject, place and fullname index completes the information.
James Dodds, D.D., F.S.A. Scot.
(1887), 2006, CD-ROM, Graphic Images, Searchable, Adobe Acrobat, PC or Mac, 206 pp.
ISBN: 9780788433092
101-CD3309
