Parliament of Scotland

The article on the body established in 1999 is at Scottish Parliament.

Origins

From the time of Kenneth mac Alpin the Scottish kingdom of Alba was ruled by chieftains and petty kings under the suzerainty of a High King, all offices being filled through election by an assembly under a system known as tanistry which combined a hereditary element with the consent of those ruled. Usually the candidate was nominated by the current office holder on the approach of death, and his heir-elect was known as the tanist, from the Gaelic tanaiste, or second. After Macbeth was overthrown by Malcolm III in 1057 the feudal system of primogeniture was introduced as Scotland came under the influence of the Norman Conquest.

Related Topics:
Kenneth mac Alpin - Alba - Tanistry - Macbeth - Malcolm III - 1057 - Primogeniture - Norman Conquest

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The Scottish Parliament evolved during the Middle Ages 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 fourteenth century the attendance of knights 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), 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.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - 1235 - Colloquium - 1326 - Three estates - 1500

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