Synopses & Reviews
This is the third volume in The History of the Scottish Parliament. In volumes 1 and 2 the contributors addressed discrete episodes in political history from the early thirteenth century through to 1707, demonstrating the richness of the sources for such historical writing and the importance of parliament to that history. In Volume 3 the contributors have built on that foundation and taken advantage of the Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to discuss a comprehensive range of key themes in the development of parliament.
The editors, Keith M. Brown and Alan R. MacDonald, have assembled a team of established and younger scholars who each discuss a theme that ranges over the entire six centuries of the parliament's existence. These include broad, interpretive chapters on each of the key political constituencies represented in parliament. Thus Roland Tanner and Gillian MacIntosh write on parliament and the crown, Roland Tanner and Kirsty McAlister discuss parliament and the church, Keith Brown addresses parliament and the nobility and Alan MacDonald examines parliament and the burghs. Cross-cutting themes are also analysed. The political culture of parliament is the subject of a chapter by Julian Goodare, while parliament and the law, political ideas and social control are dealt with in turn by Mark Godfrey, James Burns and Alastair Mann. Finally, parliament's own procedures are also discussed by Alastair Mann.
The History of the Scottish Parliament: Parliament in Context offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the workings and significance of this important institution to the history of late medieval and early modern Scotland.
Synopsis
The third installment in Edinburgh University Press's History of the Scottish Parliament, this volume revisits the development of parliament via new materials now made available at the Records of the Parliaments of Scotland.
Keith M. Brown and Alan R. MacDonald assemble a team of established and upcoming scholars, each of whom develop a theme central to parliament's six centuries of history. They contribute broad, interpretive essays that target key political constituencies. Roland Tanner and Gillian MacIntosh investigate the relationship between parliament and the crown; Roland Tanner and Kirsty MacAllister discuss interactions between parliament and the church; Keith Brown follows parliament and the nobility; and Alan MacDonald examines parliament and the burghs. The institution's shifting political culture fuels an essay by Julian Goodare, and its relationship with the law, political ideas, and social control are addressed in turn by Mark Godfrey, James Burns, and Alastair Mann. Mann also supplies a concluding essay on procedures. Altogether, this text is the most in-depth and up-to-date history of a crucial governing body and its affect on late medieval and early modern Scotland.
Synopsis
A comprehensive and up-to-date account of the workings and significance of this important institution to the history of late medieval and early modern Scotland.
About the Author
Keith Brown is Vice-President and DeanFaculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester Alan R. MacDonald is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Dundee