The convention of the royal burghs of Scotland was a national representative assembly of parliamentary towns that was unique in Europe. It met in plenary session at least once every year by the end of the sixteenth century, as well as convening in ad hoc sessions for specific business. It had a wide range of responsibilities, including defence of the burghs' collective and individual trading privileges, lobbying central government, promoting manufactures and trade, arbitrating in disputes between burghs, apportioning national taxes among its members, co-ordinating the raising of money for public building projects within burghs, and maintaining and regulating the Scottish staple port at Veere on what was then the island of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. When much of its records were published in the nineteenth century, minutes from before the 1580s were fragmentary and a whole volume (covering the years 1631-1649) was lost. This volume goes some way to rectifying these deficiencies by making available in print, for the first time, the records of a convention at Perth in 1555, those of most of the conventions between 1631 and 1636, the minutes of a convention from 1647 and some other papers from the 1640s. They are presented here with an introduction and elucidatory notes. Alan MacDonald is senior lecturer in History at the University of Dundee; Mary Verschuur lectured in the department of History at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Existing studies of early modern Scotland tend to focus on the crown, the nobility and the church. Yet, from the sixteenth century, a unique national representative assembly of the towns, the Convention of Burghs, provides an insight into the activities of another key group in society. Meeting at least once a year, the Convention consisted of representatives from every parliamentary burgh, and was responsible for apportioning taxation, settling disputes between members, regulating weights and measures, negotiating with the crown on issues of concern to the merchant community. The Convention's role in relation to parliament was particularly significant, for it regulated urban representation, admitted new burghs to parliament, and co-ordinated and oversaw the conduct of the burgess estate in parliament. In this, the first full-length study of the burghs and parliament in Scotland, the influence of this institution is fully analysed over a one hundred year period. Drawing extensively on local and national sources, this book sheds new light upon the way in which parliament acted as a point of contact, a place where legislative business was done, relationships formed and status affirmed. The interactions between centre and localities, and between urban and rural elites are prominent themes, as is Edinburgh's position as the leading burgh and the host of parliament. The study builds upon existing scholarship to place Scotland within the wider British and European context and argues that the Scottish parliament was a distinctive and effective institution which was responsive to the needs of the burghs both collectively and individually.

This book is the first detailed discussion of the political history of the Scottish Church in the reign of James VI (1567-1625). It offers a refreshing new perspective on the Reformed Kirk during the crucial period in its development. It is an examination of relations between Kirk and State based firmly on contemporary sources. Analysing the formation and evolution of clerical views, it argues for fluid patterns of opinion governed by events rather than fixed ideologies. As a result, it rejects the established notion of 'Melvillian' and 'Episcopalian' parties in the Kirk. Pivoting on the regal union of 1603, it explores the Scottish experience of the implementation of ecclesiastical policies under a multi-state monarchy in the light of recent British scholarship. It also assesses the significance of the regal union for the government of Scotland, for the status of the Kirk within Scotland and in relation to the Church of England. The result is a significant and challenging contribution to early modern Scottish and British historiography.

Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1707 aims to show the importance of Scotland's relationships to Europe and its part in a broader European story, as well as to dispel long-established myths and preconceptions which continue to exert a firm grip on public opinion. Especially in a post-devolution era, Scottish history and Scotland deserve better than this. Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1707 is certainly designed to provoke but need not be taken to indicate a nationalist view of 1707 as a moment of eclipse. Scotland's history, like all histories, resists simple generalisations. Were it otherwise, its study would not be so rewarding.

Part of a five volume set completed in time for the 300th anniversary of the parliamentary union of Scotland with England. The series provides a comprehensive introduction to medieval and early modern Scotland.

"Modern Scottish History: 1707 to the Present" was published in five volumes in 1995 as a collaboration between the University of Dundee and the Open University in Scotland. Written by leading academics for the Distance Learning course run by the two universities, the series is aimed also at a wide readership - anyone with a serious interest in Scottish history - and presents the fruits of the latest research in a readable style. The volumes can be read singly, or as a series. Now come the first two volumes of a further five-volume series, "Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1700", due for completion in 2007: the 300th anniversary of the parliamentary union of Scotland with England. The aim, however, is to show also the importance of Scottish relationships and involvement in a broader European story, as well as to dispel long-established myths and preconceptions about the Scottish past which still exert a firm grip on general opinion. Especially in a post-devolution era, Scottish history and Scotland deserve better than this. A word about the title of the new series, "Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation".It is certainly designed to provoke but need not be taken to indicate a nationalist view of 1707 as a moment of eclipse. Scotland's history, like all histories, resists simple generalisations. Were it otherwise, its study would not be so rewarding.

Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1707 aims to show the importance of Scotland's relationships to Europe and its part in a broader European story, as well as to dispel long-established myths and preconceptions which continue to exert a firm grip on public opinion. Especially in a post-devolution era, Scottish history and Scotland deserve better than this. Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1707 is certainly designed to provoke but need not be taken to indicate a nationalist view of 1707 as a moment of eclipse. Scotland's history, like all histories, resists simple generalisations. Were it otherwise, its study would not be so rewarding.

"Modern Scottish History: 1707 to the Present" was published in five volumes in 1995 as a collaboration between the University of Dundee and the Open University in Scotland. Written by leading academics for the Distance Learning course run by the two universities, the series is aimed also at a wide readership - anyone with a serious interest in Scottish history - and presents the fruits of the latest research in a readable style. The volumes can be read singly, or as a series. Now come the first two volumes of a further five-volume series, "Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c.1100-1700", due for completion in 2007: the 300th anniversary of the parliamentary union of Scotland with England. The aim, however, is to show also the importance of Scottish relationships and involvement in a broader European story, as well as to dispel long-established myths and preconceptions about the Scottish past which still exert a firm grip on general opinion. Especially in a post-devolution era, Scottish history and Scotland deserve better than this. A word about the title of the new series, "Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation".It is certainly designed to provoke but need not be taken to indicate a nationalist view of 1707 as a moment of eclipse. Scotland's history, like all histories, resists simple generalisations. Were it otherwise, its study would not be so rewarding.

These three volumes comprise a new history of Scotland's first parliament from the first surviving official records in the thirteenth century to its final dissolution in 1707. Denigrated by unionists as inferior to the English parliament and despised by nationalists for agreeing to its own demise, the Scottish parliament has been shockingly under-researched by Scottish historians. This new history will go a long way towards redressing the balance, not merely putting the record straight but making it visible for the first time. Written by some twenty-five leading scholars the three volumes will be by far the most comprehensive history of the parliament ever published. Volumes 1 and 2 examine the history of parliament under the medieval and early modern monarchs. The former describes its role during the wars of independence, under the Stewart monarchy, and during the Reformation. The latter describes its role in the reign of James VI and throughout the century between the unions of the crowns in 1603 and of the parliaments in 1707, a period of royal absenteeism , religious upheaval, revolutions, civil wars, and economic catastrophe. Volume 3 addresses broad themes across the life of the parliament: relationship to the crown and nobility; legislative role; procedures; modes of government; relations with burghs and regions; receptiveness to political ideas; relationship with the church and role in national religious life. The refounding of the parliament in Edinburgh makes this a good time for a new look at the history, workings, and effectiveness of its long medieval and early modern antecedent. The History of the Scottish Parliament will be the definitive account for many years, informative, reliable, readable, and replete with story, character and incidentIt is, in sum, an outstanding testimony to the quality of historical scholarship in Scotland.