ABSTRACT
Crofting is for many people synonymous with the Scottish Highlands. It represents not just a particular mode of agriculture but, in a set of ideas crystallised in the nineteenth century, a whole way of life. Often assumed to be a relic of the ancient past, crofting summons up a world of closeness to nature, self-sufficiency, unhurriedness, tradition and neighbourliness. Crofters are part of a 'crofting community'. At the same time, however, the neglected state of so much croft land and the fact that 'youngsters' seem increasingly to be turning their backs on it might suggest that crofting is of dwindling significance. As much a projection of an idealised crofting identity, this vision of traditional life is also a counter to the present, and a moral repertoire by which the conduct of individuals may be judged.
