Lepers were compelled, by other reasons than mere custom or common law, to retire from society. They were of necessity driven to seek the asylum of the lazar hospitals, in consequence of the statutes, both of the general country and of local communities, prohibiting any citizen from retaining a person labouring under leprosy in his house, and preventing the infected from entering within the gates of the towns and villages.[337]
The old Scottish Burrow Lawes have stringent clauses upon this head, for they hold that “na man should presume, or be so bauld as to harberie or ludge ane lipperman within the burgh, under ane full amerciament.” And further, “lippermen sall not enter within the towne, bot in passing throw it, and sall not gang fra dure to dure, but sall sit at the ports of the burgh, and sall seek almes fra them that passes in and comes furth.”[338]
By the later general act of the Perth Parliament, the unfortunate beings affected with the disease were again prohibited from entering towns except for the purpose of purchasing victuals, and this they were only allowed to do on three days of the week, the act strictly providing that—
“Item, Na lipper folke, nouther man nor woman, enter nor cum in ane Burgh of the Realme but thrise in the oulk (week) that is to saie, Mondaie, Wednesdaie, and Fridaie, fra ten hours to twa after noone; and quhair faires and mercattis fallis on thay dayis, that they leave their entrie in the Burrowes, and gang on the morne to get their living.”[339]
Various towns and local judicatories in the country seem to have at different times passed laws enforcing more strictly the observance of exclusion of the infected from their own limits and districts. Some of these local enactments have been preserved; and I shall quote such as I have been able to discover, with a view to show the general fear formerly entertained of the contagion of the disease, and the measures that were adopted to prevent its communication.
Thus, in the statutes of the Society of Merchants or Guildry of Berwick-upon-Tweed, said to have been drawn up by the mayor and others in “the Zeare of God 1283-84,” it is strictly provided that “Na lipper man sall enter within the portes of our burgh; and gif any by chance enters within them, he sall be incontinent put forth be the sergant of the burgh. And gif any lipper man uses commonlie contrair this our discharge, to come within our burgh, his claithes wherewith he is cled sall be taken from him and sall be brunt, and he being naked sall be ejected furth of the burgh. Because it is provyded be the common councill, that some gude man sall gather almes to them, that they may be sustained in ane place competent for them without the burgh. And this is to be understand of lipper folk, indwellers within the burgh, and not of them quha dwells without the burgh.”[340]
Some of the smaller burghs and villages of these early times had their individual rules and statutes upon the same point. The burgh of Prestwick, Ayrshire, which contains at present, and probably never contained more than about 1000 inhabitants, is situated about half-a-mile north of the leper hospital of Kingcase. The old official records and statutes of this small burgh, to which reference has repeatedly been made in the preceding pages, have lately been printed from the original MS. by Mr. Smith of Swinridgemuir. The earliest burgh record that has thus been preserved is a collection of the laws of the burgh, “Statuta Burgi de Prestwick maide by the haile consent of the community of the same at the Cross of the same burgh, and to be keepit and rafit unremittable and unrevocable.” The date of this collection, or probably re-collection of the burgh laws, is 1470. The fourth of the statutes fixed upon “for the common profit of the said burgh in time coming for everlasting memorans” is to the following effect:—
“It is statut yat na man inhabitant ye said burghe or weman commoun or intromet with ye sic folk (commune or intromit with the sick people) of Kingcase, vnder ye pain of exiling ye said burghe when thai ar ourtane (overtaken) be ane enquest yairupon, mair plainli yan ony oyder persounis or persoun duelland in all ye land about.”—P. 15.
In the minuted records of the burgh, different cases occur of persons accused in accordance with this statute. Thus, on December 1, 1477, Anne Kerd and Andro Sauer are accused of repairing to Kingcase.[341] On the 26th April of the second following year, 1479, it was alleged with regard to the said Andro Sauer, that he “repairis till Kingcase daily and nigtly and his wif and his bairnis.”[342] This Anne Kerd seems to have had the property of a burgess. At last, in November 1481, the same rebellious Prestwickian, “Andro Sauer, is fund in daili reparand to Kingcase, and yis the xxti court yerein, and is abill till infect ye hale toune; and weris ye seik folkis clathis and bonnettis.”[343] After this date no more mention is made in the records of Andro, who repeatedly figures in them previously, for other more serious deeds than that of repairing to Kingcase. I find, however, that others of his name, and probably of his kindred, fall into the same error for which he himself appears to have been banished. Thus, in 1496, Anne Sauer, Marion Myllar, Ellane Browne, and Anne Duncane, “are ilkane severale in amerciamentis for the selling of ale and intromettin of the folkis of Kingcase again the statutis of the towne.”