Parliament of Scotland

1036:, who would not gain these rights until 1661. The clerical estate was marginalised in Parliament by the Reformation, with the laymen who had acquired the monasteries sitting as "abbots" and "priors". Catholic clergy were excluded after 1567, but a small number of Protestant bishops continued as the clerical estate. James VI attempted to revive the role of the bishops from about 1600. A further group appeared in the Parliament from the minority of James VI in the 1560s, with members of the Privy Council representing the king's interests, until they were excluded in 1641. James VI continued to manage parliament through the Lords of the Articles, who deliberated legislation before it reached the full parliament. He controlled the committee by filling it with royal officers as non-elected members, but was forced to limit this to eight from 1617. 818:

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'état 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

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then onwards all of the benches to the right of the throne were occupied by the more junior earls and lords of parliament, with the end section of these benches that was farthest from the throne occupied by the non-voting eldest sons and heirs of the nobles, where they could observe business with an eye to their future responsibilities. On the benches to the left of the throne sat the dukes, marquesses, senior earls, viscounts, and senior lords of parliament. On the benches facing the throne sat the burgh commissioners to the right and the shire commissioners to the left. In the middle of the chamber were three tables: on the table nearest the throne were placed the

65: 3823: 1317: 1032:, who were predominantly Protestant, and who claimed a right to sit in the Parliament under the provision of a failed shire election act of 1428. Their position in the parliament remained uncertain and their presence fluctuated until the 1428 act was revived in 1587 and provision made for the annual election of two commissioners from each shire (except Kinross and Clackmannan, which had one each). The property qualification for voters was for freeholders who held land from the crown of the value of 40s of auld extent. This excluded the growing class of 588:. After the reformation in 1559, ecclesiastical representation continued in parliament, with the archbishop of St Andrews and the bishops of Dunblane and Dunkeld providing a Catholic clerical presence until April 1567, alongside the Protestant bishops of Galloway, Orkney and Moray. Thereafter, only Protestant archbishops and bishops were allowed to sit in parliament, alongside those representing abbeys and priories. The clerical estate was abolished between 1639 and 1662, and then again from 1689 when bishops themselves were removed from the 847:, 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 221: 1009: 1250: 1064:

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 1638 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.

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the ceremony was held wherever Parliament met and involved a largely equestrian procession of the members of the Parliament, the officers of state, the Honours of Scotland, and the monarch (or the Lord High Commissioner) from the royal palace or castle to the Parliament’s place of assembly. From the beginning of the 16th-century the Riding of Parliament was usually held in

936: 873: 1376:, gathered on the forecourt of the Palace to wait upon the Lord High Commissioner. The nobles were all dressed in scarlet robes. Any member of the Parliament who failed to attend the Riding without a good reason for their absence were fined or even lost their voting rights in Parliament. Security was assured by the guards of the 839:, 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 late 16th and early 17th centuries under 1257:

The layout of the parliamentary chamber varied over the history of the parliament, due to the venue in which parliament met, the number of estates present and the total number of members in attendance. The arrangements became more settled following the opening of Parliament House in 1639. The chamber

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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

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The Riding of Parliament was an elaborate ceremonial event which formally marked the beginning and ending of a term of the Parliament of Scotland. A Riding was not held at the start of each session, but only at the downsitting (beginning) and rising (end) of Parliament. Dating from the 15th-century,

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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

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in England. An act of 1428 which created a "common speaker" proved abortive, and the Lord Chancellor remained the presiding officer. Until 1603 the Lord Chancellor presided in the presence of the monarch, and their role was largely procedural, with debate conducted through him. In the absence of the

1457:. The members rode up the Royal Mile two by two, with each member attended by a certain number of servants (one for every burgh commissioner, two for shire commissioners, three for every lord and viscount, four for every earl, six with every marquess, and eight for each duke). Each noble also had a 1428:

riding either side of him. When the Lord High Commissioner was ready, the Riding would begin, with the Lord Clerk Register holding the roll of Parliament and the Lord Lyon King of Arms calling the names of each member in the order in which they were to ride. The procession was headed by soldiers of

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at the southern end of Parliament Hall, below which, on chairs, sat the Lord Chancellor (the presiding officer) and the officers of state. On the benches to the right of the throne, at the end closest to the throne, sat the archbishops and bishops until the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689. From

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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

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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

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In the second half of the sixteenth 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

992:, 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. 674:

from the King's Council. It is perhaps first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, described as a "colloquium" and already with a political and judicial role. In 1296 we have the first mention of burgh representatives taking part in decision making. By the early 14th century, the attendance of

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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

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Parliament played a major part in the Reformation crisis of the mid-sixteenth century. It had been used by James V to uphold Catholic orthodoxy and asserted its right to determine the nature of religion in the country, disregarding royal authority in 1560. The 1560 parliament included 100

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Like many continental assemblies, the Scottish Parliament was being called less frequently by the early sixteenth century and might have been dispensed with by the crown had it not been for the series of minorities and regencies that dominated from 1513. The crown was also able to call a

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maintained order within the chamber, and their authority extended from the outer bar to the inner bar, at the foot of the throne. The Constable had a small corps of guards, and the Marischal was attended by four macers who kept order on the floor of the chamber and guarded the Honours.

1221:" and bribery certainly played a prominent role. However, it was also driven by the same trends the Scots attempted to manage in the 1640s, worsened by the events of the 1690s; this was a time of economic hardship and famine in many parts of Europe, known in Scotland as the 1405:, from which he would rise and salute the members of the Parliament as they arrived in Parliament Square. The Earl Marischal, also wearing his robes and seated at the head of his guards at the door of Parliament House, received the members as they entered Parliament House. 708:. 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 915:" (a phrase that replaced "community of the realm" at this time) in Parliament were certainly able to oppose the King when necessary. Most notably, Parliament repeatedly prevented David from accepting an English succession to the throne. During the reigns of 1540:, as colonel of the Life Guard, riding at the rear of the procession. The Lord High Commissioner was received at the door of Parliament House by the Lord High Constable and the Earl Marischal, both of whom led the Commissioner to the throne, followed by the 1184:, which effectively annulled all Parliamentary legislation since 1633. It generally supported Charles and initially did the same when James succeeded in 1685; when it refused to pass his measures, James suspended it and resorted to rule by decree. 1058:

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

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in the kingdom, a court bar – the inner bar – was located before the throne for accused to present themselves. There was also an outer bar beyond which only members or invited individuals could pass onto the floor of the chamber. The

1203:, placed important limitations on royal power, including the abolition of the Lords of the Articles. It has been argued that unlike its English counterpart, the Scottish parliament never became a true centre of national identity. The 1292:, sceptre and sword of state), the presence of the Honours signifying crown acceptance of the power of Parliament. The Lord High Constable and the Earl Marischal were seated on either side of this table. At the middle table sat the 996:(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 1400:

lined both sides from the Netherbow Port to the Palace. Having carried out a thorough inspection of the Parliament House, the Lord High Constable, wearing his robes, was seated next to his guards on a chair at the Lady Steps of

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By the end of the Middle Ages the Parliament had evolved from the King's Council of Bishops and Earls into a "colloquium" with a political and judicial role. The attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and

923:, 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 1024:, which was quicker to assemble and could issue laws like parliament, making them invaluable in a crisis, but they could only deal with a specific issue and were more resistant to the giving of taxation rights to the crown. 892:, 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 887:

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

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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

627:) 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". 955:. It acquired significant powers over particular issues, including consent for taxation, but it also had a strong influence over justice, foreign policy, war, and other legislation, whether political, 1267:

was responsible for the outer security of Parliament House, including the doors and the keys to the chamber, and their authority extended to the outer bar before the actual floor of the chamber. The

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Tanner, R. J. (2000). "I Arest You, Sir, in the Name of the Three Astattes in Perlement': the Scottish Parliament and Resistance to the Crown in the 15th century". In Thornton, T. (ed.).

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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

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of the Parliament), along with the other officers of state who were noblemen, would ride up from the Palace to Parliament House, with the Lord High Chancellor having his purse and

4925: 826:– 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. 3240:, 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 1276: 798: 624: 4940: 1476:

The earls were followed by four trumpeters, four pursuivants, six heralds and the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Following them were the Honours of Scotland, accompanied by the

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The "fourth estate" argument is primarily favoured by Julian Goodare, and disputed by Keith Brown. A summary of the most recent research can be found in Brown and Mann,

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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

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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.

5105: 4219: 4169: 3357: 5314: 4497: 4451: 1304:(the senior clerk of parliament), along with the six clerks of Session and Parliament. At the third table, nearest to the burgh and shire commissioners, sat the 904:

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

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However, the Scots were increasingly concerned at their loss of political and economic power since 1603. In an effort to mitigate this, during the 1642–1645

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The final form of the Riding was determined by the Parliament in May 1703. The Riding began with the transportation of the Honours of Scotland from

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and Parliament. Control of the executive was taken from the Crown, many of the constitutional changes being copied by the English Parliament.

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