The ancient university governance structure in Scotland is the organisational system imposed by a series of Acts of Parliament called the Universities (Scotland) Acts 1858 to 1966 . The Acts applied to what were termed the 'older universities': the University of St Andrews , the University of Glasgow , the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh . Together these four universities are commonly referred to as the ancient universities of Scotland . Whilst the Acts do not directly apply to the University of Dundee (except insofar as section 13 of the Act of 1966 conferred a power to appoint, by Order in Council, the date for its independence from the University of St Andrews ), the same governance structure was ordained for use by that institution in its royal charter .
46-634: Hector Boece ( / ˈ b ɔɪ s / ; also spelled Boyce or Boise ; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius , was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen . He was born in Dundee where he attended school and was educated at the nearby University of St Andrews . Later he left to study at
92-696: A devolved matter, within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament . Aside from providing a constitution for university governance, the Universities (Scotland) Acts also had a number of other consequences for higher education in Scotland. The 1858 act laid the foundations for a merger between King's College, Aberdeen and Marischal College , also in Aberdeen , to form the University of Aberdeen in 1860. The 1966 act pre-empted
138-410: A number of lay-members on the court, as well as representatives drawn from the students' representative council. The general council is a corporate body of all senior academics and graduates presided over by the chancellor of the university, an official which it elects for life. Members who are not also members of the senatus academicus are entitled to elect assessors to the university court. Chiefly
184-461: A smaller academic council. The university courts were first established for the ancient universities by the 1858 Act and are responsible for the finances and administration of each university. Each university, subject to approval by the Privy Council , determines the constitution of its court, with members coming from within each university, the local community and beyond. Changes to
230-470: A translator for the printer Reginald Wolfe . Wolfe gave him the project of compiling a world history from the Flood to the reign of Queen Elizabeth . Holinshed was only one contributor to this work; others involved in its production included George Bishop, John Hunne and Lucus Harrison. Vernon Snow, an author who writes an introduction to Holinshed's Chronicles in the later edition, remarks that Holinshed
276-458: A work about Britain (England and Scotland) and Ireland, was run by a consortium of three members of the London stationers . They kept Raphael Holinshed, who employed William Harrison , Richard Stanyhurst , Edmund Campion and John Hooker . In 1577, the work was published in two volumes after some censorship by the Privy Council of some of Stanyhurst's contribution on Ireland. A second edition
322-418: Is a major academic event often involving a number of traditions, most centrally a Rectorial Address - a speech made to the students and public. The five current rectors are: A students' representative council is a body usually, although not in the case of Glasgow, constituted within a Students' Association for the representation of student interests, particularly related to the academic administration of
368-530: Is a notable exception, with the court instead appointing a lay member and the holder of the rectorship not being formally titled 'Lord Rector'. Gradually the responsibility of the Rector to his electorate ensured that he also functioned as a representative of students within the university, and an external promoter of the university. Rectors in the past century have often been well-known celebrities, politicians or political activists and may not have any personal link to
414-616: Is nominal head of the university. They are elected for life by the General Council by virtue of Section 2 of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. The Chancellor is given the statutory duty of awarding degrees, but may delegate this to a Vice-Chancellor and it has become convention for the Chancellor to appoint the Principal as Vice-Chancellor. The position of Vice-Chancellor does not confer any other powers or responsibility on
460-541: Is often to promote the university rather than involve themselves in the organisation of it. The Royal Commission on the Universities and Colleges of Scotland in 1826 defined the role thus: The Chancellor is head of the University. He is consulted on all public matters relative to its welfare, and he is also Conservator of its privileges. The power of conferring degrees is vested in him: this he may exercise either personally when present or by his depute when absent, with
506-494: Is overly patriotic, and has many inaccuracies. The historical account of Macbeth of Scotland , in particular, flattered the antecedents of Boece's patron King James IV of Scotland , and greatly maligned the real Macbeth. The work was well received at the time, both in Europe and in Scotland, after its translation from Latin into French and then in 1536 from Latin into Scots by John Bellenden . There are some interesting glimpses in
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#1732790959877552-613: The Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Universities (Scotland) acts. These acts of Parliament formed the basis of the modern system of governance in the ancient universities of Scotland – with the same principles being incorporated into the University of Dundee's royal charter . The acts may be cited together as the Universities (Scotland) Acts 1858 to 1966. Regulation of higher education is, since 1999,
598-540: The Historia of contemporary Scotland, such as the statement that the Eurasian beaver , which was soon to become extinct in Scotland, was still common around Loch Ness . Boece's Historia as published terminated its coverage of history at the year 1438. In the early 1530s the scholar Giovanni Ferrerio, engaged by Robert Reid of Kinloss Abbey , wrote a continuation of Boece's history, extending it another 50 years, to
644-748: The Historia Gentis Scotorum ( History of the Scottish People ) to the accession of James III of Scotland . The former was the basis of a poem in Scots by Alexander Gardyne . The Historia is the work for which Boece is remembered, as the second scholarly history of the Scots to be written; its only real predecessor was the compendium of John Mair . It was written in a flowing and pleasing style, became popular, and led to ecclesiastical preferment and royal favour. By modern standards, it
690-669: The Judicial Committee . The quorum is three, and in practice the Committee's work is undertaken by the First Minister, Lord Justice General and Lord Advocate through correspondence. In the ancient universities, but not in Dundee, the court is chaired by the rector . Members are also appointed by the general council, senatus academicus and some ex officio members drawn from the local authority . There will be
736-475: The Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Act 1707 . There are a number of anomalies to the general structures outlined above, although where notable they have attempted to be incorporated into the article itself: Raphael Holinshed Raphael Holinshed ( / ˈ h ɒ l ɪ n ʃ ɛ d / ; c. 1525 – before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler , who
782-417: The University of Paris where he met Erasmus , with whom he became close friends while they were both students at the austere Collège de Montaigu , to whose reforming Master, Jan Standonck , Boece later became Secretary. By 1497 he had become a professor of philosophy at Collège de Montaigu. In 1500, he was induced to leave Paris for Aberdeen by a generously financed offer to become the first principal of
828-622: The 13th century. Ancient university governance in Scotland The ancient structure applies a tripartite relationship of bodies with authority over the university. These are the university court , the general council and the senatus academicus (rendered in English as the academic senate ). The senatus academicus is the supreme academic body of a university, presided over by the Principal . The body will typically consist of
874-728: The French, English and Scottish monarchies, relying on Boece for the Scottish account. The Historia was translated into English for Raphael Holinshed 's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland . The account in Holinshed's Chronicle was then used by William Shakespeare as the basis of his play Macbeth . George Buchanan made heavy use of Boece in his Rerum Scoticarum Historia (1582). Boece's claimed sources fell into three classes. The works of John Fordun ( Chronica Gentis Scotorum ) and Walter Bower ( Scotichronicon ) defined
920-413: The Principal can award degrees in the absence of the Chancellor. The office of Rector is one of the oldest institutions of university government, dating back to the original papal bulls which formed the earliest of the ancient universities in Scotland. Originally, the Rector was effective head of the university, chosen as an academic from with it, but whose power was diluted by that of the Chancellor –
966-460: The Principal. The involvement of university chancellors varies from institution to institution, in some always participating in academic ceremonies and in others almost never taking this position. The Chancellor is often a member of the Royal Family, a local dignitary, or noble or significant academic with some tie to the university or local area. As a consequence, the Chancellor's chief role
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#17327909598771012-469: The advice of the doctors and masters of the University. The Chancellor serves as President of the General Council once elected. They also appoint an Assessor to serve on the University Court. Prior to the episcopacy losing its authority in Scotland, the Chancellor was commonly the local bishop of the diocese within which the university was situated. The Principal is the chief executive of
1058-496: The approach of Mair, who was writing in parallel at the same time, but with a different focus and with a more critical and less sweeping method, did not represent the current fashion. The charge of actually inventing his authorities, formerly brought against Boece, has been the subject of recent scholarship. One example of Boece being cleared of the charge of fabricating his work concerns the Battle of Luncarty, Luncarty , Clan Hay . He
1104-401: The authors Veremundus, Cornelius Hibernicus, and John Campbell. No written record of these works survives. Sharp criticism of the sourcing of Boece's history was voiced in the sixteenth century by Humphrey Lhuyd and John Twyne . In the eighteenth century, the historical content of the earlier parts of it was effectively dismantled by Thomas Innes . Boece shared in the credulity of his age;
1150-400: The book as well. Wolfe acquired many of John Leland 's works and with these he constructed chronologies and drew maps that were up to date. This took over 24 years of his life; however, when Wolfe realised he could not complete this project on his own, he hired Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison to assist him. Wolfe died with the work still uncompleted in 1573, and the project, changed to
1196-465: The creation of the University of Dundee from Queen's College of the University of St Andrews. The 1889 act created a Scottish Universities Committee within the Privy Council and made provisions to allow for the expansion of the Scottish universities. The 1932 act repealed the requirement for principals and professors to declare themselves as being of the Protestant faith, formerly a requirement of
1242-466: The end of the reign of James III. John Lesley in his De Origine, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum , and Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie , provided further continuations. The metrical translation into Scots by William Stewart , not published until the nineteenth century, also provided some expansion. The chronicler Polydore Vergil made some use of Boece for his 1534 Historia Anglica . David Chalmers of Ormond in his Histoire abbregée (1572) wrote about
1288-533: The general council is an advisory body, and exists to connect alumni with their alma mater . The general councils were also connected with the Scottish university constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until their abolition in 1950. The officers of the ancient universities often predate the Universities (Scotland) Acts which give them statutory authority by centuries. The Chancellor
1334-529: The latter being the official representative of the Church . Following the Protestant reformation , the previous position became inevitably untenable. As such, the position of Rector evolved and has varied greatly in terms of power wielded throughout history. In recent times, the Lord Rector was given a statutory position by virtue of the 1889 Act to chair the University Court, although the Dundee rectorship
1380-625: The most part his early years are primarily a matter of speculation. Holinshed was most likely born to Ralph Holinshed of Cophurst in Sutton Downes, Cheshire . The date of his birth is unknown. Holinshed is assumed to have received an education from student records from Christ's College in Cambridge , which show a student under the name Holinshed attending the college from 1544 to 1545. In his later years, he lived in London where he worked as
1426-443: The newly established University of Aberdeen , created at the behest of James IV by William Elphinstone , Bishop of Aberdeen under the authority of a Papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI . From then onwards, he worked closely with Elphinstone, to set up the new university and by 1505, regular lectures were taking place at King's College. The university structure was modelled on those of Paris and of Orléans . As intended, Boece
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1472-403: The principal, any vice-principals, all professors, deans of faculties, heads of schools and colleges, elected representatives of non-professorial academic staff, elected student representatives, the university's chief librarian and any other significant persons specified in university ordinances. In practice, the chief power of the senatus academicus is to elect a number of assessors to serve on
1518-880: The statutes that govern the ancient universities are considered by the Scottish Universities Committee of the Privy Council; the Committee members include, provided that they are Privy Counsellors, the First Minister of Scotland , the Lord Justice General , the Lord Justice Clerk , the Lord Advocate , the Chancellors and Rectors of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St Andrews, and one member of
1564-419: The tradition which he attempted to make seamless, filling the gaps in the chronicle, and applying the approach common to humanists of his period. The works of Tacitus had been rediscovered, in the 14th century, and contained material relevant to British history; and Boece was concerned to integrate it into the tradition. Finally, there was a group of sources that remain debated: material from Elphinstone, and
1610-420: The university beforehand. Today, Rectors in these universities are elected for three year terms, enabling all students taking a typical four year undergraduate degree to vote at least once. The entire body of students is now typically considered together, in contrast to the old position whereby the Rector was elected by student 'nations' (usually four, divided by the county in which the students originated) within
1656-449: The university court. The powers granted to the body are theoretically contained s.5 of the 1858 Act to "regulate the teaching and discipline of the University, and administer its property and revenues, subject to the control and review of the University court, as herein-after provided". Often the full senatus rarely meets and under Section 5 has a quorum of one-third of its membership. The senatus often devolves some of its authority to
1702-636: The university – a practice only discontinued in the Glasgow rectorship in 1977. The Edinburgh Rector is, uniquely, elected by both staff and students. Typically, a Scottish university rector will work closely with the Students' Association and is usually commended to the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor by the President of the Association in order to be ceremonially installed. A rectorial installation
1748-476: The university, president of the Senatus Academicus , and is appointed by the University Court. The other senior officials of the university (usually with a specific portfolio of subject or over faculties or colleges) are often titled Vice Principals. Given that the Principal is by custom appointed as Vice-Chancellor the full style of the Principal is 'Principal and Vice Chancellor'; as Vice-Chancellor
1794-428: The university. There is a statutory obligation for the ancient governed universities to have an SRC. Undergraduate students of all the ancient governed universities in Scotland are entitled to wear the red undergraduate gown . Undergraduate members of Saint Mary's College, in the University of Saint Andrews wear a black gown with open sleeves and charged with a violet saltire cross on the left facing. The following are
1840-461: Was an experienced Cambridge-educated translator. As far as anyone knows, no other known works by Holinshed are available. A few months after the Chronicles had been licensed, Holinshed retired to the countryside near Warwick where he died around 1580. His will was proven on 24 April 1582, leaving his belongings and estate to a Mr. Burdet, whom he referred to as his master. Holinshed's Chronicles
1886-431: Was first published," but "by the seventeenth century it was already considered outdated and inaccurate", losing its popularity and credibility. William Shakespeare used the revised second edition of the Chronicles (published in 1587) as the source for most of his historical plays, such as Richard III , the plot of Macbeth , and portions of King Lear and Cymbeline . According to Alison Taufer, "We care about
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1932-567: Was installed as the first principal of the university and gave lectures on medicine and on divinity. At the end of 1534, Boece became Rector of Fyvie . He died in Aberdeen two years later at the age of 71. Boece wrote and published two books, one of biography and one of history. In 1522 he published the Vitae Episcoporum Murthlacensium et Aberdonensium (Lives of the Bishops of Murthlack and Aberdeen ) and in 1527
1978-476: Was issued in 1587 (which also included many woodcut illustrations to go along with the chronicles), but it contained some passages that were considered offensive to the Queen and her ministers. The pages in question were removed by order of the Privy Council. The missing passages were separately published in 1723, and a complete reprint appeared in 1807. Holinshed's Chronicles was an "extremely popular work when it
2024-409: Was most famous for his work on The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande , commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles . It was the "first complete printed history of England composed as a continuous narrative". The Holinshed Chronicles was a major influence on many Renaissance writers, such as Shakespeare , Spenser , Daniel and Marlowe . Little is known about Holinshed's life and for
2070-512: Was published soon after his death. The idea for Holinshed's Chronicles was born from Reginald Wolfe . A London printer, Wolfe was one of the original members of the Royal Stationers' Company. In 1548, Wolfe conceived the idea of creating a "Universal Cosmography of the whole world, and there with also certain particular histories of every known nation". He wanted the work to be printed in English and he wanted maps and illustrations in
2116-407: Was suspected by the Scottish historian John Hill Burton of inventing that battle but, Walter Bower writing in his Scotichronicon around 1440, some 87 years before Boece first published his Scotorum Historia , refers to the battle briefly. The "John Campbell" is tentatively identified as Boece's contemporary John Campbell of Lundie (died 1562). "Veremundus", it is argued, may be a Richard Vairement of
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