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Although Scottish links with Germany can be traced back to the medieval period—primarily taking the form of commerce at ports such as Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck--the majority of Scots who were found in the various German principalities during the early modern period arrived as soldiers of fortune, especially during the Thirty Years War. Students also were attracted by the educational opportunities available in Germany, and Würzburg and Ratisbon in particular attracted the sons of Catholic families. Some immigration traffic also flowed in the other direction, as reflected in the entries found in the second edition of Dr. David Dobson’s book Scottish-German Links, 1550-1850.

While the contents of these transcriptions vary considerably, each one of them nonetheless identifies a Scots-German by name, date, and city of residence, and gives the source of information. In many instances, we learn something about an individual’s parentage, spouse, vocation, or more. Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 2007, Dr. Dobson has consulted many new references--all of them identified in the back of the work—resulting in a 20 percent increase in the number of entries, or 1,450 Scots-Germans in all.