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Social History of Medicine 1995 8(1):37-53; doi:10.1093/shm/8.1.37
© 1995 by Society for the Social History of Medicine
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Writers to the Signet: Estimates of Adult Mortality in Scotland from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century

R. A. HOUSTON*

*Department of Modern History, University of St. Andrews St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland

SUMMARY Using a methodology previously applied to advocates, this article looks at the adult life expectancy of another group of Scottish lawyers, Writers to the Signet (WS). The mortality of WS fell decisively in the early eighteenth century. The social origins and living conditions of the WS are discussed and two conclusions drawn. First, improvements in mortality were not related to any significant change in hygiene, housing, or diet. Secondly, the lifestyle of WS probably typified that of Scotland's middling ranks and their demographic experience was likely to have been representative of the population at large. Comparisons are drawn with English and Continental data and the implications for understanding the course of population change in eighteenth-century Scotland are considered.

Keywords: demography; lawyers; Scotland; mortality rates


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