In this episode, Lasse Andersen speaks with Dr Stephen Bogle about his

recently published book Contract Before the Enlightenment: The Ideas of

James Dalrymple, Viscount Stair, 1619-1695 (OUP, 2023). The discussion

covers many of the topics of Stephen’s book, including the life of Viscount

Stair, the state of contract law before Stair, the central innovations in

Stair’s Institutions of the Law of Scotland (1681), and the reception of

Stair’s ideas in the 18th century. We also discuss the centrality of

calvinism to Stair’s understanding of law and contract.

Stephen Bogle is Senior Lecturer in Private Law, University of Glasgow.