134-629: The Act of Classes was passed by the Parliament of Scotland on 23 January 1649. It was probably drafted by Lord Warriston , a leading member of the Kirk Party , who along with the Marquess of Argyll were leading proponents of its clauses. It banned Royalists and those who had supported the Engagement from holding public office including positions in the army. Against sizeable opposition
268-613: A Celtic kingdom in what is now southwest Scotland and Cumbria. In doing so, he annexed what is now the county of Cumbria to England. In 1124, Henry I ceded what is now southeast Scotland (called Lothian ) to the Kingdom of Scotland , in return for the King of Scotland's loyalty. This final cession established what would become the traditional borders of England which have remained largely unchanged since then (except for occasional and temporary changes). This area of land had previously been
402-632: A Council of the North was set up for the northern counties of England. After falling into disuse, it was re-established in 1537 and abolished in 1641. A very short-lived Council of the West also existed for the West Country between 1537 and 1540. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the geld or property tax was first levied in response to Danish invasions but later became a regular tax. The majority of
536-631: A fourth estate . During the 17th century, after the Union of the Crowns , a fifth estate of officers of state (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
670-506: A peerage on such basis, meaning a right to sit in the House of Lords , were not to be revived, nor any right of succession based on them. The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 followed the conquest of Wales by Edward I of England . It assumed the lands held by the Princes of Gwynedd under the title " Prince of Wales " as legally part of the lands of England, and established shire counties on
804-532: A rubber stamp for royal decisions, modern research has found that the Parliament of Scotland played an active role in Scottish affairs . In the 15th and early 16th centuries Parliament was a powerful counter-weight to the power of the Stewart kings. Parliament provided counsel and aid to successive monarchs, while also successfully opposing unpopular royal policies. The members were collectively referred to as
938-557: 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 monarch after the Union of the Crowns in 1603, Parliament was presided over by the Lord Chancellor in the presence of the Lord High Commissioner . In 1638
1072-486: A judicial and political role which was well established by the end of the century. With the death of Alexander III , 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
1206-543: A local noble or bishop. The last such, the County Palatine of Durham , did not lose this special status until the 19th century. Although all of England was divided into shires by the time of the Norman Conquest, some counties were formed considerably later, up to the 16th century. Because of their differing origins the counties varied considerably in size . The county boundaries were fairly static between
1340-449: A major European war. A Treaty of Union was agreed on 22 July 1706, and following the Acts of Union of 1707 , which created the Kingdom of Great Britain , the independence of the kingdoms of England and Scotland came to an end on 1 May 1707. The Acts of Union created a customs union and monetary union and provided that any "laws and statutes" that were "contrary to or inconsistent with
1474-514: 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 . By
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#17327731591591608-679: 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. 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
1742-536: A new invasion. The ensuing war ended with an agreement in 1016 between Canute and Æþelræd's successor, Edmund Ironside , to divide England between them, but Edmund's death on 30 November of that year left England united under Danish rule. This continued for 26 years until the death of Harthacnut in June 1042. He was the son of Canute and Emma of Normandy (the widow of Æthelred the Unready) and had no heirs of his own; he
1876-655: 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 Reformation (1560) meant that rival representative assemblies could bring pressure to bear on parliament in specific areas. Following the Reformation, laymen acquired
2010-416: 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
2144-731: A part of the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria . Lothian contained what later became the Scottish capital, Edinburgh . This arrangement was later finalized in 1237 by the Treaty of York . The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the Kingdom of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanctioned by
2278-513: 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 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
2412-461: A series of civil wars over possession of the throne between the House of Lancaster (whose heraldic symbol was the red rose) and the House of York (whose symbol was the white rose), each led by different branches of the descendants of Edward III. The end of these wars found the throne held by the descendant of an initially illegitimate member of the House of Lancaster, married to the eldest daughter of
2546-474: 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
2680-513: 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. The monarch or the Lord High Commissioner sat upon the elevated throne 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
2814-719: A union of English and Scottish parliamentary leaders; opposed by English Royalists and Oliver Cromwell , it was suspended in 1645. In 1647, the Scots agreed to restore Charles to the English throne; their failure in the 1648–1649 Second English Civil War led to his trial and execution by the English Rump Parliament and officers of the New Model Army . Following the execution the Scots accepted Charles II as king in 1649 but their attempt to put him on
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#17327731591592948-676: A unitary legislative chamber with a new body, the Council of State becoming the executive. However the Army remained the dominant institution in the new republic and the most prominent general was Oliver Cromwell . The Commonwealth fought wars in Ireland and Scotland which were subdued and placed under Commonwealth military occupation. Meanwhile, relations with the Dutch Republic had deteriorated. Despite initial English support during
3082-411: A unitary state. Parliament was dissolved, 45 Scots being added to the 513 members of the House of Commons and 16 to the 190 members of the House of Lords . 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
3216-453: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( Scots : Pairlament o Scotland ; Scottish Gaelic : Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council of bishops and earls , with the first identifiable parliament being held in 1235 during
3350-564: 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 knights and freeholders had become important, and Robert the Bruce began regularly calling burgh commissioners to his Parliament. Consisting of The Three Estates – of clerics , lay tenants-in-chief and burgh commissioners – sitting in
3484-439: The 1661 Rescissory Act , 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. The deposition of James in 1689 ended a century of political dispute by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown. The Claim of Right which offered
3618-671: The 1801 union between the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The counties of England were established for administration by the Normans , in most cases based on earlier shires established by
3752-486: The Anglo-Saxons . They ceased to be used for administration only with the creation of the administrative counties in 1889. Unlike the partly self-governing boroughs that covered urban areas, the counties of medieval England existed primarily as a means of enforcing central government power, enabling monarchs to exercise control over local areas through their chosen representatives – originally sheriffs and later
3886-590: The Bretwalda . Soon after the Norman Conquest of England , however, some Norman lords began to attack Wales. They conquered and ruled parts of it, acknowledging the overlordship of the Norman kings of England but with considerable local independence. Over many years these " Marcher Lords " conquered more and more of Wales, against considerable resistance led by various Welsh princes, who also often acknowledged
4020-557: The City of London quickly established itself as England's largest and principal commercial centre. Histories of the Kingdom of England from the Norman Conquest of 1066 conventionally distinguish periods named after successive ruling dynasties: Norman/Angevin 1066–1216, Plantagenet 1216–1485, Tudor 1485–1603 and Stuart 1603–1707 (interrupted by the Interregnum of 1649–1660). All English monarchs after 1066 ultimately descend from
4154-492: The Commonwealth was filled with the strife between these two parties, its bitterness not lessened by the fact that the assembly, dissolved in 1653 by Cromwell's soldiers, was not allowed to meet again in his protectorate . This article related to the politics of Scotland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This legislation in the United Kingdom , or its constituent jurisdictions, article
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4288-470: The Covenanters replaced the Lord Chancellor with a President of the Parliament chosen by the members. After the Restoration, the Lord Chancellor was made ex-officio president of the parliament, his functions including the formulation of questions and putting them to the vote. From the early 1450s until 1690, a great deal of the legislative business of the Scottish Parliament was usually carried out by
4422-741: The Earl of Morton bearing the purse containing the commission from Queen Anne appointing the Lord High Commissioner. The Commissioner was followed by the dukes and marquesses, with the Marquess of Lorne , 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
4556-599: The English Civil War (1641–45), in which the king was defeated, and to the abolition of the monarchy under Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum of 1649–1660. After the trial and execution of Charles I in January 1649, the Rump Parliament passed an act declaring England to be a Commonwealth on 19 May 1649. The monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished, and so the House of Commons became
4690-502: The Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its successor state the United Kingdom, functioned in effect as a constitutional monarchy . On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707 , the parliaments, and therefore Kingdoms, of both England and Scotland were mutually abolished. Their assets and estates united 'for ever, into the Kingdom by the name of Great Britain', forming
4824-761: The Hundred Years' War and the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in 1455, the English were no longer in any position to pursue their French claims and lost all their land on the continent, except for Calais . After the turmoils of the Wars of the Roses, the Tudor dynasty ruled during the English Renaissance and again extended English monarchical power beyond England proper, achieving the full union of England and
4958-665: The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Parliament of Great Britain . The Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn , originally names of the Angles . They called their land Engla land , meaning "land of the English", by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia , from an original Anglia vetus , the purported homeland of the Angles (called Angulus by Bede ). The name Engla land became England by haplology during
5092-626: The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 ). Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England, and henceforth was represented in the Parliament of England . During the 1530s, Henry VIII overthrew the power of the Catholic Church within the kingdom, replacing the pope as head of his own English Church and seizing the Catholic Church's lands, thereby facilitating the creation of a variation of Catholicism that became more Protestant over time. This had
5226-646: The Lord Clerk Register , the Lord Lyon King of Arms , and the heralds , pursuivants , and trumpeters , 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
5360-782: The Middle English period ( Engle-land , Engelond ). The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra , the Old French and Anglo-Norman one Engleterre . The standard title for monarchs from Æthelstan until John was Rex Anglorum ("King of the English"). Cnut , a Dane, was the first to call himself "King of England". During the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with occasional use of Rex Anglie ("King of England"). From John's reign onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie . In 1604 James I , who had inherited
5494-622: The Normans , and the distinction of the Plantagenets is conventional—beginning with Henry II (reigned 1154–1189) as from that time, the Angevin kings became "more English in nature"; the houses of Lancaster and York are both Plantagenet cadet branches, the Tudor dynasty claimed descent from Edward III via John Beaufort and James VI and I of the House of Stuart claimed descent from Henry VII via Margaret Tudor . The completion of
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5628-413: The Parliament of Ireland , with the aim of restoring such central authority as had been lost throughout the country during the previous two centuries. Calais , the last remaining continental possession of the Kingdom, was lost in 1558, during the reign of Philip and Mary I . Their successor, Elizabeth I , consolidated the new and increasingly Protestant Church of England . She also began to build up
5762-401: The Principality of Wales under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 . Henry VIII oversaw the English Reformation , and his daughter Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603) the Elizabethan Religious Settlement , meanwhile establishing England as a great power and laying the foundations of the British Empire via colonization of the Americas . The accession of James VI and I in 1603 resulted in
5896-428: The Royal Mile from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the Parliament House . The final Riding of Parliament was held on 6 May 1703, following the election of 1702 . 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 Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The members of the Parliament, their servants and horses,
6030-435: The Three Estates ( Scots : Thrie Estaitis ), or "three communities of the realm" ( tres communitates ), until 1690 composed of: The first estate comprised the archbishops of St Andrews and Glasgow , the bishops of Aberdeen , Argyll , Brechin , Caithness , Dunblane , Dunkeld , Galloway , Isles , Moray , Orkney and Ross and, at different periods, various abbots , priors , archdeacons , and deans . After
6164-412: The Three Estates . 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, ecclesiastical , social or economic. Much of the legislative business of the Scottish parliament was carried out by a parliamentary committee known as the Lords of the Articles , chosen by
6298-424: The Union of the Crowns , with the Stuart dynasty ruling the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland . Under the Stuarts, England plunged into civil war , which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament. This concept became legally established as part of
6432-432: The conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown. Edward III (reigned 1327–1377) transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe; his reign also saw vital developments in legislation and government—in particular the evolution of the English Parliament . From the 1340s, English claims to the French throne were held in pretense, but after
6566-402: The lord-lieutenants – and their subordinate justices of the peace . Counties were used initially for the administration of justice , collection of taxes and organisation of the military, and later for local government and electing parliamentary representation. Some outlying counties were from time to time accorded palatine status with some military and central government functions vested in
6700-451: The ratification of the Treaty of Union between Scotland and England . With the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain on 1 May 1707, the parliaments of Scotland and England were succeeded by the new Parliament of Great Britain . Under the Acts of Union 1800 , the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland merged to become the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Long portrayed as a constitutionally defective body that acted merely as
6834-401: The senators of the College of Justice who, though unable to vote, could provide legal advice. 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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#17327731591596968-430: 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
7102-408: The 16th century Laws in Wales acts and the Local Government Act 1888 . Each shire was responsible for gathering taxes for the central government; for local defence; and for justice, through assize courts . The power of the feudal barons to control their landholding was considerably weakened in 1290 by the statute of Quia Emptores . Feudal baronies became perhaps obsolete (but not extinct) on
7236-437: 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 II , 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
7370-470: The Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly ... and made it habitable once more." Alfred's restoration entailed reoccupying and refurbishing the nearly deserted Roman walled city, building quays along the Thames , and laying a new city street plan. During the following years Northumbria repeatedly changed hands between the English kings and the Norwegian invaders, but was definitively brought under English control by Eadred in 954, completing
7504-425: The Castilian Pero Niño . Though the English won numerous victories, they were unable to overcome the numerical superiority of the French and their strategic use of gunpowder weapons. England was defeated at the Battle of Formigny in 1450 and finally at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, retaining only a single town in France, Calais . During the Hundred Years' War an English identity began to develop in place of
7638-444: The Commissioner to the throne, followed by the Gentleman Usher of the White Rod , while, amid the blowing of trumpets, the Honours of Scotland were laid on the table in the centre of Parliament Hall. Other than Edinburgh, Parliament was also held at the following locations: 55°56′57″N 3°11′26″W / 55.94917°N 3.19056°W / 55.94917; -3.19056 Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England
7772-401: The Crown, many of the constitutional changes being copied by the English Parliament. 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 First English Civil War , the Covenanters agreed the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant . One outcome was the creation of the Committee of Both Kingdoms ,
7906-459: The Dutch Republic in its wars against Louis XIV of France. In the Scottish case, the attractions were partly financial and partly to do with removing English trade sanctions put in place through the Alien Act 1705 . The English were more anxious about the royal succession. The death of William III in 1702 had led to the accession of his sister-in-law Anne to the thrones of England and Scotland, but her only surviving child had died in 1700, and
8040-414: The Dutch War of Independence against the Spanish, tensions arose as the Dutch Republic emerged as England's principal commercial and naval rival. By the mid-17th century, it had become the foremost trading nation. In response the English, alarmed by their waning competitiveness, implemented stricter trading policies to curb Dutch dominance. The First Anglo-Dutch War which followed, however, failed to resolve
8174-420: The Engagement and those not of upright character. The rescinding of the Act of Classes in 1651 led to a serious breach in the ranks of the Scottish clergy. The Resolutioners, or supporters of the resolution to rescind that act (such as James Sharp ), were opposed by the Protesters, the rigid adherents to the strictest interpretation of the Covenant (such as Patrick Gillespie and James Guthrie ). The period of
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#17327731591598308-454: The English Act of Settlement 1701 had given the succession to the English crown to the Protestant House of Hanover . Securing the same succession in Scotland became the primary object of English strategic thinking towards Scotland. By 1704, the Union of the Crowns was in crisis, with the Scottish Act of Security allowing for the Scottish Parliament to choose a different monarch, which could in turn lead to an independent foreign policy during
8442-478: The English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general. The English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda , a high king over the other kings. The decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful, absorbing the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825. The kings of Wessex increasingly dominated
8576-404: The English model over those areas. The Marcher Lords were progressively tied to the English kings by the grants of lands and lordships in England. The Council of Wales and the Marches , administered from Ludlow Castle , was initially established by Edward IV of England to govern the lands held under the Principality of Wales in 1472. At the same time the Council of Wales was created in 1472,
8710-424: The English throne the previous year, adopted the title (now usually rendered in English rather than Latin) King of Great Britain . The Kingdom of England emerged from the gradual unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy : East Anglia , Mercia , Northumbria , Kent , Essex , Sussex , and Wessex . The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between
8844-437: The English throne was defeated in the 1649–1651 Anglo-Scots War . As a result, Scotland was incorporated into the Protectorate (see Cromwell's Act of Grace and Tender of Union ) and a brief Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union (1653–1659). An independent Parliament was restored in 1661, sometimes known as the "Drunken Parliament". The term was coined by John Welsh and he was put in trial for it. The restored body passed
8978-454: The Grandees in the Army, through the Council of State imposed a new constitutional arrangement under a written constitution called the Instrument of Government . Under the Instrument of Government executive power lay with a Lord Protector (an office to be held for the life of the incumbent) and there were to be triennial Parliaments, with each sitting for at least five months. Article 23 of the Instrument of Government stated that Oliver Cromwell
9112-417: 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 Lord Advocate , the Secretary of State , and the Lord Clerk Register (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
9246-406: The House of York: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York . Wales retained a separate legal and administrative system, which had been established by Edward I in the late 13th century. The country was divided between the Marcher Lords , who gave feudal allegiance to the crown, and the Principality of Wales . Under the Tudor monarchy, Henry VIII replaced the laws of Wales with those of England (under
9380-399: The Kingdom of Scotland. Despite the Union of the Crowns , the kingdoms remained separate and independent states: a state of affairs which lasted for more than a century. The Stuart kings overestimated the power of the English monarchy, and were cast down by Parliament in 1645 and 1688. In the first instance, Charles I 's introduction of new forms of taxation in defiance of Parliament led to
9514-424: The Lord High Constable, wearing his robes, was seated next to his guards on a chair at the Lady Steps of St Giles' Cathedral , 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. Half an hour before
9648-802: The Lord Lyon King of Arms. Following them were the Honours of Scotland, accompanied by the macers of the Parliament and the Privy Council , with the Sword of State borne by the Earl of Mar , the Sceptre borne by the Earl of Crawford , and the Crown borne by the Earl of Forfar , on behalf of the Duke of Douglas , the hereditary bearer of the Crown. Then came the Lord High Commissioner , attended by his servants, pages , and footmen , and preceded by
9782-475: The Normans continued collecting the geld regularly. They also introduced new sources of revenue based on concepts of feudalism . The king was entitled to collect a feudal aid when his eldest son was knighted, his eldest daughter married, or if the king needed to pay his own ransom. The heir to a fief was also required to pay the king a feudal relief before he could take possession of his inheritance. The king
9916-588: The Norwegians at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (25 September 1066) when the news reached him. He decided to set out without delay and confront the Norman army in Sussex so marched southwards at once, despite the army not being properly rested following the battle with the Norwegians. The armies of Harold and William faced each other at the Battle of Hastings (14 October 1066), in which the English army, or Fyrd ,
10050-599: The Papal bull Laudabiliter . At the time, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms, with a High King claiming lordship over most of the other kings. The Duchy of Aquitaine came into personal union with the Kingdom of England upon the accession of Henry II , who had married Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine . The Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy remained in personal union until John Lackland , Henry II's son and fourth-generation descendant of William I, lost
10184-867: The Riding began, the Lord High Chancellor (the presiding officer 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 mace carried before him, and the Lord President of the Privy Council and the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal riding either side of him. When the Lord High Commissioner
10318-563: 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 trainbearer , and the noble’s servants wore over their liveries velvet coats with the noble’s coat of arms and motto embroidered on them. The earls were followed by four trumpeters, four pursuivants, six heralds and
10452-699: The abolition of feudal tenure during the Civil War , as confirmed by the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 passed under the Restoration which took away knight-service and other legal rights. Tenure by knight-service was abolished and discharged and the lands covered by such tenures, including once-feudal baronies, were henceforth held by socage ( i.e. , in exchange for monetary rents). The English Fitzwalter Case in 1670 ruled that barony by tenure had been discontinued for many years and any claims to
10586-426: The administration of justice, foreign policy, war, and the passing of a broad range of legislation . Parliamentary business was also carried out by "sister" institutions, such as General Councils or Conventions of Estates , which could both carry out much business dealt with by parliament, but lacked the powers and ultimate authority of a full parliament. The Parliament of Scotland was dissolved in 1707 following
10720-399: 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 feuars , who would not gain these rights until 1661. The clerical estate was marginalised in Parliament by the Reformation, with
10854-467: 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 Honours of Scotland (the Crown , sceptre and sword of state), the presence of
10988-612: 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 Edinburgh , with the procession travelling along
11122-458: The commercial issues. In April 1653 Cromwell and the other Grandees of the New Model Army , frustrated with the members of the Rump Parliament who would not pass legislation to dissolve the Rump and to allow a new more representative parliament to be elected, stopped the Rump's session and declared the Rump dissolved. After an experiment with a Nominated Assembly ( Barebone's Parliament ),
11256-620: The continental possessions of the Duchy to Philip II of France in 1204 and decisively after the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. A few remnants of Normandy , including the Channel Islands , remained in John's possession, together with most of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Up until the Norman Conquest of England, Wales had remained for the most part independent of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms , although some Welsh kings did sometimes acknowledge
11390-541: The crown to Mary and her husband William , 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 1707 Acts of Union created a combined Parliament of Great Britain , which sat in Westminster and largely continued English traditions without interruption. Robert Burns famously claimed Union
11524-678: The disastrous Raid on the Medway and forced the humiliated Charles in to an unfavourable peace treaty . The treaty eliminated a number of long-standing issues, and in the long-term made it possible for the two countries to unite against the expansionist policies pursued by Louis XIV of France . In the short-term however, Charles' desire to avenge this setback led to the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672. Despite attaining French support this time, Dutch naval successes made Parliament unwilling to support Charles' war effort any further, and he
11658-449: The effect of aligning England with Scotland, which also gradually adopted a Protestant religion, whereas the most important continental powers, France and Spain, remained Roman Catholic. The "Tudor conquest" (or reconquest ) of Ireland' took place under the Tudor dynasty. Following a failed rebellion against the crown by Silken Thomas , the Earl of Kildare , in the 1530s, Henry VIII was declared King of Ireland in 1542 by statute of
11792-458: The end closest to the throne, sat the archbishops and bishops until the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689. From 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
11926-417: The floor of the chamber. The Lord High Constable 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 Earl Marischal 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
12060-498: 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. 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 burgh commissioners joined them to form
12194-474: The king's income derived from the royal demesne and the annual " farm " from each shire (the fixed sum paid by sheriffs for the privilege of administering and profiting from royal lands). Kings also made income from judicial fines and regulation of trade. People owed the king service in the form of the trinoda necessitas — fyrd service, burh building, and bridge building. After the Conquest of 1066,
12328-446: 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. In the second half of the sixteenth century, Parliament began to legislate on more and more matters and there
12462-559: The kingdom's naval strength, on the foundations Henry VIII had laid down. By 1588, her new navy was strong enough to defeat the Spanish Armada , which had sought to invade England to halt English support for the Dutch rebels and to put a Catholic monarch on the throne in her place. The House of Tudor ended with the death of Elizabeth I on 24 March 1603. James I ascended the throne of England and brought it into personal union with
12596-464: 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. The first printed edition of
12730-531: The last remaining Viking kingdom, York , making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. In 1016, the kingdom became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great , a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway . The Norman Conquest in 1066 led to the transfer of the English capital city and chief royal residence from the Anglo-Saxon one at Winchester to Westminster , and
12864-399: 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
12998-521: 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 . Victory the same year in the early stages of the 1639–1652 War of the Three Kingdoms brought the Covenanters to power, with bishops being expelled from both kirk and Parliament. Control of the executive was taken from
13132-563: 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
13266-407: The nature of religion in the country, disregarding royal authority in 1560. The 1560 parliament included 100 lairds , 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
13400-437: The number of hides they owned. After the Norman Conquest, the king's household troops remained central to any royal army. The Anglo-Saxon fyrd also remained in use. But the Normans also introduced a new feudal element to the English military. The king's tenants-in-chief (his feudal barons ) were obligated to provide mounted knights for service in the royal army or to garrison royal castles . The total number of knights owed
13534-402: The opening of Parliament House in 1639. The chamber was arranged in a square, non-confrontational layout where all the members looked in upon the throne. As parliament was also the highest court 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
13668-528: The other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore , briefly making Egbert the first king to reign over a united England. In 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that "all of the English people ( all Angelcyn ) not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred." Asser added that "Alfred, king of
13802-404: The overlordship of the Norman kings of England. Edward I defeated Llywelyn ap Gruffudd , and so effectively conquered Wales, in 1282. He created the title Prince of Wales for his heir, the future Edward II , in 1301. Edward I's conquest was brutal and the subsequent repression considerable, as the magnificent Welsh castles such as Conwy , Harlech , and Caernarfon attest. Edward III
13936-410: The previous division between the Norman lords and their Anglo-Saxon subjects. This was a consequence of sustained hostility to the increasingly nationalist French, whose kings and other leaders (notably the charismatic Joan of Arc ) used a developing sense of French identity to help draw people to their cause. The kingdom had little time to recover before entering the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487),
14070-492: 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
14204-417: The reign of Alexander II , when it already possessed a political and judicial role. A unicameral institution, for most of its existence the Parliament consisted of the three estates of clergy , nobility , and the burghs . By the 1690s it comprised the nobility, the shires , the burghs, and various officers of state . Parliament gave consent for the raising of taxation and played an important role in
14338-430: 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, Parliament repeatedly prevented David from accepting an English succession to the throne. 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
14472-541: The rescinding of the Act took effect on 13 August 1650. The act banned Royalists from holding public office. Its broad wording not only banned those who had fought with or supported Royalists such as Marquess of Montrose , it also banned those who had supported the Engagement (now discredited and political weakened after the Engager's army's defeat at the Battle of Preston (1648) ), those who had not vehemently protested against
14606-602: The terms" of the Acts would "cease and become void". The English and Scottish Parliaments were merged into the Parliament of Great Britain , located in Westminster , London. At this point England ceased to exist as a separate political entity, and since then has had no national government . The laws of England were unaffected, with the legal jurisdiction continuing to be that of England and Wales , while Scotland continued to have its own laws and law courts. This continued after
14740-589: The three estates to draft legislation which was then presented to the full assembly to be confirmed. 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's (1424–1437) requests for taxation to pay an English ransom in
14874-573: The unification of England. At about this time, Lothian , a portion of the northern half of Northumbria ( Bernicia ), was ceded to the Kingdom of Scotland . On 12 July 927 the monarchs of Britain gathered at Eamont in Cumbria to recognise Æthelstan as king of the English. The title "King of the English" or Rex Anglorum in Latin, was first used to describe Æthelstan in one of his charters in 928. The standard title for monarchs from Æthelstan until John
15008-600: The year 886 Alfred the Great reoccupied London from the Danish Vikings and after this event he declared himself King of the Anglo-Saxons , until his death in 899. During the course of the early tenth century, the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were united by Alfred's descendants Edward the Elder (reigned 899–924) and Æthelstan (reigned 924–939) to form the Kingdom of the English. In 927, Æthelstan conquered
15142-545: Was "King of the English". England has remained in political unity ever since. During the reign of Æthelred the Unready (978–1016), a new wave of Danish invasions was orchestrated by Sweyn I of Denmark , culminating after a quarter-century of warfare in the Danish conquest of England in 1013. But Sweyn died on 2 February 1014, and Æþelræd was restored to the throne. In 1015, Sweyn's son Cnut (commonly known as Canute) launched
15276-467: Was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the early tenth century, when it was unified from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms , until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain , which would later become the United Kingdom . The Kingdom of England was among the most powerful states in Europe during the medieval and early modern periods. Beginning in
15410-420: 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. During the 16th century, the composition of Parliament underwent
15544-417: Was a trend seen in other European nations as monarchical power grew stronger – for instance England under Henry VII , as well as France and Spain. 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
15678-638: Was abolished between 1639 and 1662, and then again from 1689 when bishops themselves were removed from the Church of Scotland , as a result of the Glorious Revolution and the accession of William II . When no members of the First Estate remained, the Second Estate was then split, 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
15812-525: Was again forced to make peace. Following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, an attempt by James II to reintroduce Roman Catholicism—a century after its suppression by the Tudors—led to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, in which he was exiled by the Dutch prince William of Orange . William and his wife Mary were subsequently crowned by Parliament. William reoriented England's foreign policy to support
15946-455: Was also able to call a Convention of Estates , 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. 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
16080-643: 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 . The Lord Chancellor
16214-402: Was also entitled to his vassals military service, but vassals could pay scutage instead. In the Anglo-Saxon period, England had no standing army. The king and magnates retained professional household troops ( see housecarl ), and all free men were obligated to perform military service in the fyrd . In addition, holders of bookland were obligated to provide a certain number of men based on
16348-744: Was assured by the guards of the Lord High Constable and the Earl Marischal , who were lined up from the door of Parliament House to the Royal Mile. Citizens of Edinburgh, with arms , lined both sides of the Royal Mile from Parliament Square to the Netherbow Port , and the foot guards lined both sides from the Netherbow Port to the Palace. Having carried out a thorough inspection of the Parliament House,
16482-583: Was brought about by Scots " bought and sold for English gold " 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 Seven ill years . Combined with the failure of the Darién scheme in 1698, it allowed Anne to achieve her great-grandfather's ambition of
16616-590: 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
16750-630: Was defeated, Harold and his two brothers were slain, and William emerged as victor. William was then able to conquer England with little further opposition. He was not, however, planning to absorb the Kingdom into the Duchy of Normandy . As a mere duke, William owed allegiance to Philip I of France , whereas in the independent Kingdom of England he could rule without interference. He was crowned on 25 December 1066 in Westminster Abbey , London. In 1092, William II led an invasion of Strathclyde ,
16884-510: 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
17018-666: 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 the Troop of Life Guard , followed by two trumpeters and two pursuivants. Parliament then proceeded in an agreed order by estate , with the most senior riding last – burgh commissioners, shire commissioners, lords of parliament , viscounts , earls , marquesses , and dukes . The members rode up
17152-534: Was recalled and there was a second period where the executive power lay with the Council of state. But this restoration of Commonwealth rule, similar to that before the Protectorate, proved to be unstable, and the exiled claimant, Charles II , was restored to the throne in 1660. In 1665 the unresolved commercial issues with the Dutch led to the Second Anglo-Dutch War , which culminated in
17286-720: Was succeeded by his half-brother, Æþelræd's son, Edward the Confessor . The peace lasted until the death of the childless Edward in January 1066. His brother-in-law was crowned King Harold , but his cousin William the Conqueror , Duke of Normandy, immediately claimed the throne for himself. William launched an invasion of England and landed in Sussex on 28 September 1066. Harold and his army were in York following their victory against
17420-814: 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. Between 1235 and 1286, little can be told with certainty about Parliament's function, but it appears to have had
17554-794: Was the presiding officer of the Parliament of Scotland, as was the case in the English House of Lords . As the Lord Chancellor was also the principal Officer of State , the Keeper of the Great Seal , the presiding officer of the Privy Council , and a judge of the College of Justice , the office never developed into a parliamentary office similar in nature to that of the Speaker of the House of Commons in England. An act of 1428 which created
17688-479: Was the closest equivalent of the office of Member of Parliament in the Parliament of England of the time, namely a commoner or member of the lower nobility. Because the parliament of Scotland was unicameral, all members sat in the same chamber , in contrast to the separate English House of Lords and House of Commons . The Scottish parliament evolved during the Middle Ages from the King's Council. It
17822-470: Was the first English king to have a claim to the throne of France . His pursuit of the claim resulted in the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), which pitted five kings of England of the House of Plantagenet against five kings of France of the Capetian House of Valois . Extensive naval raiding was carried out by all sides during the war, often involving privateers such as John Hawley of Dartmouth or
17956-578: Was to be the first Lord Protector. The Instrument of Government was replaced by a second constitution (the Humble Petition and Advice ) under which the Lord Protector could nominate his successor. Cromwell nominated his son Richard who became Lord Protector on the death of Oliver on 3 September 1658. Richard proved to be ineffectual and was unable to maintain his rule. He resigned his title and retired into obscurity. The Rump Parliament
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