ABSTRACT
Most basically, there is the evidence of personal names, but this has only limited value. Certainly ‘Scott’ occurs regularly as a surname in late medieval England and almost certainly indicates where a person’s forebears originated, but one cannot judge how long such an individual’s family might have resided south of the Border. The motives of emigrants from Scotland can only be inferred, and doubtless varied from one person to another. Despite distrust and sometimes downright hostility, considerable numbers of them, often craftsmen or even unskilled workers, were able to settle peacefully in England at various times during the fifteenth century. The chronology of the letters of protection and indeed the dates at which Scottish clerks obtained ordination in England both show a balance towards the second half of the century, and perhaps reflect an easing of relations between the two countries which made it easier for individuals to move to the south.
