The Rmd at I)i miriks ox Lammas Even. yj 



the zeir of god, ane ihousiind lour huiulrct, Ixxiij zeris, ctr. ; 

 The quhilk day it is funding- be ane inqueist that Johne of 

 laudir and Dauid maxwell ar in ane blu\(iuit and in ane 

 wnlaw for the drawin of andro burnis bluyd, doym g-e\ in be 

 mathow padzane." Doom was the sentence pronounced by 

 a dempstcr appointed c\ery yt-ar by the Council. '!"he office 

 was continued in Dumfries ihroug-hout most of the i6th cen- 

 tury. It will be noticed that the court is not described in 

 lliese entries as beinj;,'- held in any specific place. The fol- 

 lowing entry and all succeeding ones, however, give the place 

 of meetings as the Tolbooth. There seems good presumption 

 therefore for ascribing- the erection of the Tolbooth to the 

 period between No\ ember, 1473, and June, 14H1. "The 

 borow curt of the burgh of Drumfreis haldin in the tolbuvt 

 of the samin befoir the alderman and bailzeis the xxvij day of 

 the monet of Junij, in the zeir of god, etc., Ixxxj, the curt 

 affermit, sutis callit, absentes sunt hij : The samyn dav 

 Robert of homyltoun is in ane merciamet of the curt for the 

 w ranguss drawin of Donald m'credis bluyd and ane mendis 

 to be maid to the said Donald wtin terme of law, the quhilk 

 mendis is ordanit be counsale of the houss x ss and of that to 

 pa.y v s wtin xv dais and the totheris v s to pay be the ruyd- 

 mes." We may quote two other entries of interest. Novem- 

 ber 13, 1489 — " Esobell mark offerit hir to preif lauchfullie, at 

 the nixt curt that cristiane herroun wranguslie straik hir and 

 drew hir of ane leddir quhair shw was seruand nycoU ander- 

 sone quhair he theikaris [thatches]." " The gyldyne pryme 

 haldin befoir the de}ne and bailzeis in the tolbuyt of Drum- 

 freis the xxij day of the monet of Januar the zeir of god 

 etc., Ixxxix zeris, curt affermit, suits callit, absentes sunt hij. 

 The samyn day it [is] ordanit Andro patriksone till acquyit 

 him lauchfullie at the nixt curt that he straik not thome wil- 

 sonis wif wranguslie nor drew not hir bluyd and ol the 

 wranguss takin of hir guyd, that is to say a stand." I his 

 entry is interesting- as the earliest example in Dumfries of a 

 Dean of (iuild court. In the i6th century the Dean of (iuild 

 was frequently the first official to be chosen at the annual 

 elections in October. He preceded the Provost. What his 

 position actually was is difficult to say. His courts seemed 



