Parliament of Scotland
Encyclopedia
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature
of the Kingdom of Scotland
. The unicameral parliament
of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source
survives (referred to, like the contemporaneous Parliament of England
, as a colloquium
in the surviving Latin
records) at Kirkliston
(a small town now on the outskirts of Edinburgh
) in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II of Scotland
.
The parliament, which is also referred to as the Estates of Scotland, the Community of the Realm, the Three Estates , the Scots Parliament or the auld Scots Parliament (old), met until prorogued sine die at the time of the Acts of Union
in 1707. Thereafter the Parliament of Great Britain
operated for both England and Scotland.
The pre-Union parliament was long portrayed as a constitutionally defective body that acted merely as a rubber stamp
for royal decisions, but research during the early 21st century has found that it played an active role in Scottish affairs
, and was sometimes a thorn in the side of the Scottish crown.
The First Estate was overthrown during the Glorious Revolution
and the accession of William of Orange
. The Second Estate was then split into two to retain the division into three.
From the 16th century, the second estate was reorganised by the selection of Shire Commissioners: this has been argued to have created a fourth estate. During the 17th century, after the Union of the Crowns
, a fifth estate of royal office holders (see Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
) has also been identified. These latter identifications remain highly controversial among parliamentary historians. Regardless, the term used for the assembled members continued to be 'the Three Estates'.
A Shire Commissioner was the closest equivalent of the English
office of Member of Parliament
, namely a commoner
or member of the lower nobility. Because the parliament of Scotland was unicameral, all members sat in the same chamber
, as opposed to the separate English House of Lords
and House of Commons
.
The Parliament also had University constituencies
.
from the King's Council of Bishops and Earls. It is perhaps first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, described as a ‘colloquium’ and already with a political and judicial role. By the early 14th century, the attendance of knight
s and freeholders
had become important, and from 1326 burgh
commissioners attended. Consisting of The Three Estates; of clerics, lay Tenants-in-chief
and burgh commissioners sitting in a single chamber, the Scottish parliament acquired significant powers over particular issues. Most obviously it was needed for consent for taxation (although taxation was only raised irregularly in Scotland in the medieval period), but it also had a strong influence over justice, foreign policy, war, and all manner of other legislation, whether political, ecclesiastical, social or economic. Parliamentary business was also carried out by ‘sister’ institutions, before c. 1500 by General Council
and thereafter by the Convention of Estates
. These could carry out much business also dealt with by Parliament—taxation, legislation and policy-making—but lacked the ultimate authority of a full parliament. The Scottish parliament met in a number of different locations throughout its history. In addition to Edinburgh, meetings were held in Perth
, Stirling
, St Andrews
, Dundee
, Linlithgow
, Dunfermline
, Glasgow
, Aberdeen
, Inverness
and Berwick-upon-Tweed
.
, parliament was able to prevent him pursuing his policy of a union of the crowns with England, while the 15th-century Stewart monarchs were consistently influenced by a prolonged period of parliamentary strength. Reverses to this situation have been argued to have occurred in the early 16th century and under James VI and Charles I, but in the 17th century, even after the Restoration, parliament was able to remove the clergy's right to attend in 1689 and abolish the Lords of the Articles in 1690, thereby limiting royal power. Parliament's strength was such that the Crown turned to corruption and political management to undermine its autonomy in the latter period. Nonetheless, the period from 1690 to 1707 was one in which political "parties" and alliances were formed within parliament in a maturing atmosphere of rigorous debate. The disputes over the English Act of Settlement 1701
, the Scottish Act of Security, and the English Alien Act 1705 showed that both sides were prepared to take considered yet considerable risks in their relationships.
, Scotland found itself without an adult monarch, and in this situation, Parliament seems to have become more prominent as a means to give added legitimacy to the Council of Guardians who ran the country. By the reign of John Balliol (1292–96), Parliament was well established, and Balliol attempted to use it as a means to withstand the encroachments of his overlord, Edward I of England
. With his deposition in 1296, Parliament temporarily became less prominent, but it was again held frequently by King Robert Bruce
after 1309. During his reign some of the most important documents made by the King and community of the realm were made in Parliament — for instance the 1309–1310 Declaration of the Clergy — although the extent to which the 'community' was able to speak independently of the King is a matter of debate.
By the reign of David II
, the 'three estates' (a phrase that replaced 'community of the realm' at this time) in Parliament were certainly able to oppose the King when necessary. Most notably, David was repeatedly prevented from accepting an English succession to the throne by Parliament. During the reigns of Robert II
and Robert III
, Parliament appears to have been held less often, and royal power in that period also declined, but the institution returned to prominence, and arguably enjoyed its greatest period of power over the Crown after the return of James I
from English captivity in 1424.
(1424–1437) requests for taxation to pay an English ransom in the 1420s, and was openly hostile to James III
(1460–1488) in the 1470s and early 1480s. In 1431, Parliament granted a tax to James I for a campaign in the Highlands
on the condition that it be kept in a locked chest under the keepership of figures deeply out of favour with the King. In 1436, there was even an attempt made to arrest the King 'in the name of the three estates'. Between October 1479 and March 1482, Parliament was conclusively out of the control of James III
. It refused to forfeit his brother, the Duke of Albany
, despite a royal siege of the Duke's castle, tried to prevent the King leading his army against the English (a powerful indication of the estates' lack of faith in their monarch), and appointed men to the Lords of the Articles and important offices who were shortly to remove the King from power. James IV
(1488–1513) realised that Parliament could often create more problems than it solved, and avoided meetings after 1509. This was a trend seen in other European nations as monarchical power grew stronger—for instance England under Henry VII
, France and Spain.
(1560) meant that rival representative assemblies could bring pressure to bear on parliament in specific areas.
Following the Reformation, laymen acquired the monasteries and those sitting as ‘abbots’ and ‘priors’ were now, effectively, part of the estate of nobles. The bishops continued to sit in Parliament regardless of whether they conformed to protestantism
or not. This resulted in pressure from the Kirk to reform ecclesiastical representation in Parliament. Catholic clergy were excluded after 1567 but Protestant bishops continued as the clerical estate until their abolition in 1638 when Parliament became an entirely lay assembly. An act of 1587 granted the lairds of each shire the right to send two commissioners to every parliament. These shire commissioners attended from 1592 onwards, although they shared one vote until 1640 when they secured a vote each. The number of burghs with the right to send commissioners to parliament increased quite markedly in the late 16th and early 17th centuries until, in the 1640s, they often constituted the largest single estate in Parliament.
The first printed edition of the legislation of the Parliament, The New Actis and Constitutionis, was published in Edinburgh in 1542 by the printer Thomas Davidson
under commission from James V
.
whose Protectorate
government imposed a brief Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union in 1657.
During this period, Parliament gained the only permanent home it ever had. King Charles I
ordered the construction of Parliament Hall
, which was completed in 1639.
The Scottish Parliament returned after the Restoration of Charles II
to the throne in 1660, and this was called the 'Drunken Parliament'.
William II's parliament of 1689 made substantial changes both to parliament and its relation to the monarchy. The new Williamite parliament would subsequently bring about its own demise by the Act of Union 1707.
did, that the Union of England and Scotland (and hence the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament) was brought about by the Scots
members being "bought and sold for English gold
", but bribery and parliamentary division combined with wider economic imperatives, partly arising from the disaster of the Darien Scheme
, enabled the Crown to incorporate Union with England in the Acts of Union 1707
which brought the Parliament of Great Britain
.
at Westminster — mainly because of parliament's unicameral nature, which made it more like the English House of Lords
. An act of 1428 which created a 'common speaker' proved abortive, and the chancellor
remained the presiding officer (until recently the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
did similarly preside over the House of Lords). In the absence of the King after the Union of the Crowns
in 1603, parliament was presided over by the Lord Chancellor
or the Lord High Commissioner
. After the Restoration, the Lord Chancellor was made ex-officio president of the parliament (now reflected in the Scottish Parliament
by the election of a presiding officer
), his functions including the formulation of questions and putting them to the vote.
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. The unicameral parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source
Primary source
Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
survives (referred to, like the contemporaneous Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, as a colloquium
Colloquium
Colloquium can refer to:* the Parliament of Scotland, called a "colloquium" in Latin records.* any musical piece celebrating birth or distribution of good news, a hymn...
in the surviving Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
records) at Kirkliston
Kirkliston
Kirkliston is a village and civil parish within the City of Edinburgh in Scotland. It sits on the historic route between Edinburgh and Queensferry, the gateway to Fife and the north. Today, it is bypassed by the A90...
(a small town now on the outskirts of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
) in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
.
The parliament, which is also referred to as the Estates of Scotland, the Community of the Realm, the Three Estates , the Scots Parliament or the auld Scots Parliament (old), met until prorogued sine die at the time of the Acts of Union
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
in 1707. Thereafter the Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
operated for both England and Scotland.
The pre-Union parliament was long portrayed as a constitutionally defective body that acted merely as a rubber stamp
Rubber stamp (politics)
A rubber stamp, as a political metaphor, refers to a person or institution with considerable de jure power but little de facto power; one that rarely disagrees with more powerful organs....
for royal decisions, but research during the early 21st century has found that it played an active role in Scottish affairs
Politics of Scotland
The Politics of Scotland forms a distinctive part of the wider politics of Europe.Theoretically, the United Kingdom is de jure a "unitary state" with one sovereign parliament and government...
, and was sometimes a thorn in the side of the Scottish crown.
Three Estates
The members were collectively referred to as the Three Estates , or 'community of the realm' (tres communitates), composed of until 1690:- the first estate of prelatePrelateA prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
s (bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s and abbotAbbotThe word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
s) - the second estate of lairdLairdA Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
s (dukeDukeA duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
s, earlEarlAn earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
s, parliamentary peers (after 1437) and layLaityIn religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
tenants-in-chief) - the third estate of Burgh Commissioners (representatives chosen by the royal burghs)
The First Estate was overthrown during the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
and the accession of William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. The Second Estate was then split into two to retain the division into three.
From the 16th century, the second estate was reorganised by the selection of Shire Commissioners: this has been argued to have created a fourth estate. During the 17th century, after the Union of the Crowns
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns was the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the throne of England, and the consequential unification of Scotland and England under one monarch. The Union of Crowns followed the death of James' unmarried and childless first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I of...
, a fifth estate of royal office holders (see Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
The Lord High Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland, sometimes referred to as the fifth estate of the Estates of Scotland, were the Scottish Sovereign's personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland following James VI of Scotland's accession to the throne of England and his becoming,...
) has also been identified. These latter identifications remain highly controversial among parliamentary historians. Regardless, the term used for the assembled members continued to be 'the Three Estates'.
A Shire Commissioner was the closest equivalent of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
office of Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, namely a commoner
Commoner
In British law, a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as Prince Harry of Wales or Anne, Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family, including someone who holds only a courtesy title,...
or member of the lower nobility. Because the parliament of Scotland was unicameral, all members sat in the same chamber
Chambers of parliament
Many parliaments or other legislatures consist of two chambers : an elected lower house, and an upper house or Senate which may be appointed or elected by a different mechanism from the lower house. This style of two houses is called bicameral...
, as opposed to the separate English House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
The Parliament also had University constituencies
University constituency
A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents a university rather than a geographical area. University constituencies may involve plural voting, in which eligible voters are permitted to vote in both a university constituency and a geographical...
.
Origins
The Scottish parliament evolved during the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
from the King's Council of Bishops and Earls. It is perhaps first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, described as a ‘colloquium’ and already with a political and judicial role. By the early 14th century, the attendance of knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s and freeholders
Fee simple
In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
had become important, and from 1326 burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
commissioners attended. Consisting of The Three Estates; of clerics, lay Tenants-in-chief
Tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern European society the term tenant-in-chief, sometimes vassal-in-chief, denoted the nobles who held their lands as tenants directly from king or territorial prince to whom they did homage, as opposed to holding them from another nobleman or senior member of the clergy....
and burgh commissioners sitting in a single chamber, the Scottish parliament acquired significant powers over particular issues. Most obviously it was needed for consent for taxation (although taxation was only raised irregularly in Scotland in the medieval period), but it also had a strong influence over justice, foreign policy, war, and all manner of other legislation, whether political, ecclesiastical, social or economic. Parliamentary business was also carried out by ‘sister’ institutions, before c. 1500 by General Council
General Council of Scotland
General Council in medieval Scotland was a sister institution to parliament that existed between the late fourteenth century and the early sixteenth century. It has been argued to be almost indistinguishable from parliament, and has always been treated together with parliament by historians...
and thereafter by the Convention of Estates
Convention of Estates of Scotland
The Convention of Estates of Scotland sat between 16 March 1689 and 5 June 1689 to determine the settlement of the Scottish throne following the invasion of William, Prince of Orange...
. These could carry out much business also dealt with by Parliament—taxation, legislation and policy-making—but lacked the ultimate authority of a full parliament. The Scottish parliament met in a number of different locations throughout its history. In addition to Edinburgh, meetings were held in Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
, St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
, Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
.
Lords of the Articles
From the early 1450s until 1690, a great deal of the legislative business of the Scottish Parliament was usually carried out by a parliamentary committee known as the ‘Lords of the Articles’. This was a committee chosen by the three estates to draft legislation which was then presented to the full assembly to be confirmed. In the past, historians have been particularly critical of this body, claiming that it quickly came to be dominated by royal nominees, thus undermining the power of the full assembly. Recent research suggests that this was far from always being the case. Indeed, in March 1482, the committee was taken over by men shortly to be involved in a coup d’etat against the King and his government. On other occasions the committee was so large that it could hardly have been easier to control than the full assembly. More generally, the committee was a pragmatic means to delegate the complicated drafting of acts to those members of parliament skilled in law and letters — not unlike a modern select committee of the UK parliament — while the right to confirm the act remained with the full assembly of three estates. The Lords of the Articles were abolished in 1690 as part of the revolutionary settlement.Crown
At various points in its history, the Scottish Parliament was able to exert considerable influence over the Crown. This should not be viewed as a slow rise from parliamentary weakness in 1235 to strength in the 17th century, but rather a situation where in particular decades or sessions between the thirteenth and 17th century, parliament became particularly able to influence the Crown, while at other points that ability was more limited. As early as the reign of David IIDavid II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
, parliament was able to prevent him pursuing his policy of a union of the crowns with England, while the 15th-century Stewart monarchs were consistently influenced by a prolonged period of parliamentary strength. Reverses to this situation have been argued to have occurred in the early 16th century and under James VI and Charles I, but in the 17th century, even after the Restoration, parliament was able to remove the clergy's right to attend in 1689 and abolish the Lords of the Articles in 1690, thereby limiting royal power. Parliament's strength was such that the Crown turned to corruption and political management to undermine its autonomy in the latter period. Nonetheless, the period from 1690 to 1707 was one in which political "parties" and alliances were formed within parliament in a maturing atmosphere of rigorous debate. The disputes over the English Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
, the Scottish Act of Security, and the English Alien Act 1705 showed that both sides were prepared to take considered yet considerable risks in their relationships.
Parliament before 1400
Between 1235 and 1286, little can be told with certainty about Parliament's function, but it appears to have had a judicial and political role which was well established by the end of the century. With the death of Alexander IIIAlexander III of Scotland
Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...
, Scotland found itself without an adult monarch, and in this situation, Parliament seems to have become more prominent as a means to give added legitimacy to the Council of Guardians who ran the country. By the reign of John Balliol (1292–96), Parliament was well established, and Balliol attempted to use it as a means to withstand the encroachments of his overlord, Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. With his deposition in 1296, Parliament temporarily became less prominent, but it was again held frequently by King Robert Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
after 1309. During his reign some of the most important documents made by the King and community of the realm were made in Parliament — for instance the 1309–1310 Declaration of the Clergy — although the extent to which the 'community' was able to speak independently of the King is a matter of debate.
By the reign of David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
, the 'three estates' (a phrase that replaced 'community of the realm' at this time) in Parliament were certainly able to oppose the King when necessary. Most notably, David was repeatedly prevented from accepting an English succession to the throne by Parliament. During the reigns of Robert II
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
and Robert III
Robert III of Scotland
Robert III was King of Scots from 1390 to his death. His given name was John Stewart, and he was known primarily as the Earl of Carrick before ascending the throne at age 53...
, Parliament appears to have been held less often, and royal power in that period also declined, but the institution returned to prominence, and arguably enjoyed its greatest period of power over the Crown after the return of James I
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
from English captivity in 1424.
15th century
After 1424, Parliament was often willing to defy the King — it was far from being simply a ‘rubber stamp’ of royal decisions. During the 15th century, Parliament was called far more often than, for instance, the English Parliament — on average over once a year — a fact that both reflected and augmented its influence. It repeatedly opposed James I’sJames I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
(1424–1437) requests for taxation to pay an English ransom in the 1420s, and was openly hostile to James III
James III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
(1460–1488) in the 1470s and early 1480s. In 1431, Parliament granted a tax to James I for a campaign in the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
on the condition that it be kept in a locked chest under the keepership of figures deeply out of favour with the King. In 1436, there was even an attempt made to arrest the King 'in the name of the three estates'. Between October 1479 and March 1482, Parliament was conclusively out of the control of James III
James III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
. It refused to forfeit his brother, the Duke of Albany
Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany was the second son of King James II of Scotland, and his Queen consort Mary of Gueldres, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland.-Biography:...
, despite a royal siege of the Duke's castle, tried to prevent the King leading his army against the English (a powerful indication of the estates' lack of faith in their monarch), and appointed men to the Lords of the Articles and important offices who were shortly to remove the King from power. James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
(1488–1513) realised that Parliament could often create more problems than it solved, and avoided meetings after 1509. This was a trend seen in other European nations as monarchical power grew stronger—for instance England under Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, France and Spain.
16th century
During the 16th century, the composition of Parliament underwent a number of significant changes and it found itself sharing the stage with new national bodies. The emergence of the Convention of Royal Burghs as the ‘parliament’ of Scotland’s trading towns and the development of the Kirk’s General Assembly after the ReformationScottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
(1560) meant that rival representative assemblies could bring pressure to bear on parliament in specific areas.
Following the Reformation, laymen acquired the monasteries and those sitting as ‘abbots’ and ‘priors’ were now, effectively, part of the estate of nobles. The bishops continued to sit in Parliament regardless of whether they conformed to protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
or not. This resulted in pressure from the Kirk to reform ecclesiastical representation in Parliament. Catholic clergy were excluded after 1567 but Protestant bishops continued as the clerical estate until their abolition in 1638 when Parliament became an entirely lay assembly. An act of 1587 granted the lairds of each shire the right to send two commissioners to every parliament. These shire commissioners attended from 1592 onwards, although they shared one vote until 1640 when they secured a vote each. The number of burghs with the right to send commissioners to parliament increased quite markedly in the late 16th and early 17th centuries until, in the 1640s, they often constituted the largest single estate in Parliament.
The first printed edition of the legislation of the Parliament, The New Actis and Constitutionis, was published in Edinburgh in 1542 by the printer Thomas Davidson
Thomas Davidson (printer)
Thomas Davidson was licensed to be the King's Printer in Scotland during the reign of James V. He was born in Birse, Aberdeenshire, a son of Thomas Davidson of Auchenlayes, close to the beginning of the 16th century. His family held lands near to Huntly and on the monastic estates of Monymusk...
under commission from James V
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
.
17th century
In the second half of the 16th century, Parliament began to legislate on more and more matters and there was a marked increase in the amount of legislation it produced. During the reign of James VI, the Lords of the Articles came more under the influence of the crown. By 1612, they sometimes seem to have been appointed by the Crown rather than Parliament, and as a result the independence of parliament was perceived by contemporaries to have been eroded. This decline was reversed in the Covenanting period (1638–1651), when the Scottish Parliament took control of the executive, effectively wresting sovereignty from the King and setting many precedents for the constitutional changes undertaken in England soon afterwards. The Covenanting regime fell in 1651 after Scotland was invaded by Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
whose Protectorate
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
government imposed a brief Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union in 1657.
During this period, Parliament gained the only permanent home it ever had. King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
ordered the construction of Parliament Hall
Parliament House, Edinburgh
Parliament House in Edinburgh, Scotland, was home to the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland, and now houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland. It is located in the Old Town, just off the Royal Mile, opposite St Giles Cathedral.-Parliament Hall:...
, which was completed in 1639.
The Scottish Parliament returned after the Restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
to the throne in 1660, and this was called the 'Drunken Parliament'.
William II's parliament of 1689 made substantial changes both to parliament and its relation to the monarchy. The new Williamite parliament would subsequently bring about its own demise by the Act of Union 1707.
Union with England
It is an oversimplification to claim, as Robert BurnsRobert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
did, that the Union of England and Scotland (and hence the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament) was brought about by the Scots
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
members being "bought and sold for English gold
Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation
Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation is a Scottish folk song whose lyrics are taken from an eponymous Robert Burns poem of 1791. It derides those members of the Parliament of Scotland who signed the Act of Union with England in 1707, comparing their treachery to the country with the tradition of...
", but bribery and parliamentary division combined with wider economic imperatives, partly arising from the disaster of the Darien Scheme
Darién scheme
The Darién scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to become a world trading nation by establishing a colony called "New Caledonia" on the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s...
, enabled the Crown to incorporate Union with England in the Acts of Union 1707
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
which brought the Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
.
Presidency of parliament
The office of the presiding officer in parliament never developed into a post similar in nature to that of the Speaker of the House of CommonsSpeaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
at Westminster — mainly because of parliament's unicameral nature, which made it more like the English House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. An act of 1428 which created a 'common speaker' proved abortive, and the chancellor
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...
remained the presiding officer (until recently the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
did similarly preside over the House of Lords). In the absence of the King after the Union of the Crowns
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns was the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the throne of England, and the consequential unification of Scotland and England under one monarch. The Union of Crowns followed the death of James' unmarried and childless first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I of...
in 1603, parliament was presided over by the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...
or the Lord High Commissioner
Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
The Lord High Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland, sometimes referred to as the fifth estate of the Estates of Scotland, were the Scottish Sovereign's personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland following James VI of Scotland's accession to the throne of England and his becoming,...
. After the Restoration, the Lord Chancellor was made ex-officio president of the parliament (now reflected in the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
by the election of a presiding officer
Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament is the speaker of the Scottish Parliament, elected by the Members of the Scottish Parliament, by means of an exhaustive ballot. He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the Scottish Parliament and as such is viewed as a figurehead for the entire...
), his functions including the formulation of questions and putting them to the vote.
See also
- Ane Plesant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis, by David LyndsayDavid LyndsaySir David Lyndsay of the Mount, was a Scottish Lord Lyon and poet of the 16th century, whose works reflect the spirit of the Renaissance.-Biography:...
- Estates-General of France
- General Council of ScotlandGeneral Council of ScotlandGeneral Council in medieval Scotland was a sister institution to parliament that existed between the late fourteenth century and the early sixteenth century. It has been argued to be almost indistinguishable from parliament, and has always been treated together with parliament by historians...
- History of democracyHistory of democracyThe history of democracy traces back to Athens to its re-emergence and rise from the 17th century to the present day. According to one definition, democracy is a political system in which all the members of the society have an equal share of formal political power...
- List of Acts of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707
- List of Constituencies in the Parliament of Scotland at the time of the Union
- Old Tolbooth, EdinburghOld Tolbooth, EdinburghThe Old Tolbooth was a medieval building located on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland.Demolished in 1817, the Tolbooth served various purposes during its existence. It housed early meetings of the Estates of Scotland, Court of Session, and also of the Provost and Burgesses of the Burgh Council...
, meeting place of Parliament until 1639. - Parliament House, EdinburghParliament House, EdinburghParliament House in Edinburgh, Scotland, was home to the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland, and now houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland. It is located in the Old Town, just off the Royal Mile, opposite St Giles Cathedral.-Parliament Hall:...
, meeting place of Parliament from 1639-1707. - Parliament of IrelandParliament of IrelandThe Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...
- Records of the Parliaments of ScotlandRecords of the Parliaments of ScotlandThe Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 is a project of the Scottish Parliament and the University of St Andrews to create a comprehensive on-line database of the proceedings of the Parliament of Scotland from 1235 to the Act of Union. The website was launched in 2008.The project was...
- The StatesThe StatesThe States or the Estates signifies the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, called together for purposes of legislation or deliberation...
- Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
External links
- The Records of the Scottish Parliament, The complete acts and proceedings of the Scottish Parliament, General Council and much other parliamentary material from 1235 to 1707. The publication arose from the work of The Scottish Parliament ProjectRecords of the Parliaments of ScotlandThe Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 is a project of the Scottish Parliament and the University of St Andrews to create a comprehensive on-line database of the proceedings of the Parliament of Scotland from 1235 to the Act of Union. The website was launched in 2008.The project was...
- The First Scottish Parliament: the Middle Ages – 1707, Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
- The Scottish Parliamentary Tradition, Scottish Parliament
- Scottish Parliament records, National Archives of ScotlandNational Archives of ScotlandBased in Edinburgh, the National Archives of Scotland are the national archives of Scotland. The NAS claims to have one of the most varied collection of archives in Europe...
- Scotland's powerful parliament, abstract of The Late Medieval Scottish Parliament: Politics and the Three Estates, Dr Roland Tanner, Tuckwell Press, ISBN 1-86232-174-4