Broadsides concerning the proceedings of the Circuit Court of Justiciary, Glasgow

Commentary

This report begins: 'A full and particular account of the Proceedings of the Curcuit Court of Justiciary, which opened at Glasgow on Tuesday the 20th of September 1791, with the sentence of the different Criminals, when two persons received sentence of death.' It is likely that this broadside was printed in Glasgow.

The circuit court is an itinerant court which goes around the country trying criminal cases; the one in Scotland is the Court of Justiciary. It is still held twice a year, and presided over by two judges. On this occasion, two of the jury were fined for non-appearance, and their names placed first on the list at every ensuing Circuit until they had served.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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