Royal Court of Scotland
The Royal Court of Scotland was the administrative, political and artistic centre of the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged in the tenth century and continued until it ceased to function when James VI inherited the throne of England in 1603. For most of the medieval era, the king had no "capital" as such. The Pictish centre of Forteviot was the chief royal seat of the early Gaelic Kingdom of Alba that became the Kingdom of Scotland. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Scone was a centre for royal business. Edinburgh only began to emerge as the capital in the reign of James III but his successors undertook occasional royal progress to a part of the kingdom. Little is known about the structure of the Scottish royal court in the period before the reign of David I when it began to take on a distinctly feudal character, with the major offices of the Steward, Chamberlain, Constable, Marischal and Lord Chancellor. By the early modern era the court consisted of leading nobles, office holders, ambassadors and supplicants who surrounded the king or queen. The Chancellor was now effectively the first minister of the kingdom and from the mid-sixteenth century he was the leading figure of the Privy Council.
At least from the accession of David I Gaelic ceased to be the main language of the royal court and was probably replaced by French. In the late Middle Ages, Middle Scots, became the dominant language. Ideas of chivalry began to dominate during the reign of David II. Tournaments provided one focus of display. The Scottish crown in the fifteenth century adopted the example of the Burgundian court, through formality and elegance putting itself at the centre of culture and political life. By the sixteenth century, the court was central to the patronage and dissemination of Renaissance works and ideas. It was also central to the staging of lavish display that portrayed the political and religious role of the monarchy.
There were probably filidh, who acted as poets, musicians and historians, often attached to the court of a lord or king. After the "de-gallicisation" of the Scottish court, a less highly regarded order of bards took over their functions, accompanying their poetry on the harp. James I may have taken English and continental styles and musicians back to the Scottish court after his captivity and Scotland followed the trend of Renaissance courts for instrumental accompaniment and playing. Much Middle Scots literature was produced by makars, poets with links to the royal court. James VI became patron and member of a loose circle of Scottish Jacobean court poets and musicians, later called the Castalian Band. From the fifteenth century the records of the Scottish court contain references to artists. The most impressive works and artists were imported from the continent, particularly the Netherlands. James VI employed two Flemish artists, Arnold Bronckorst and Adrian Vanson, who have left a visual record of the king and major figures at the court. In the early Middle Ages Forteviot probably served as a royal palace. The introduction of feudalism into Scotland in the twelfth century led to the introduction of royal castles. Under the Stuart Dynasty there was a programme of extensive building and rebuilding of royal palaces.
Lavish spending on luxurious clothing, fine foods, the patronage of innovative architecture, art and music can be seen from the reign of James I. His successors struggled with different levels of success with the costs of the royal court. After James VI inherited the English throne in 1603 the Scottish court effectively ceased to exist, ending its role as a centre of artistic patronage, political display and intrigue.
Location
For most of the medieval era, the king was itinerant and had no "capital" as such. The Pictish centre of Forteviot was the chief royal seat of the early Gaelic Kingdom of Alba that became the Kingdom of Scotland. It was used by Cinaed mac Ailpin and his brother Domnall mac Ailpín. Later poetic tradition suggests that Máel Coluim mac Donnchada was also resident and charters of Malcolm IV and of William I indicate that it remained important into the twelfth century. After this it fell from the royal circuit, but it remained a royal estate until the fourteenth century. David I tried to build up Roxburgh as a royal centre, but in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, more charters were issued at Scone than any other location, suggesting that this was a centre for royal business. Other popular locations in the early part of the era were nearby Perth, Stirling, Dunfermline and Edinburgh.The court was severely disrupted during the Wars of Independence and almost ceased to function, but was restored by Robert I and his Stuart successors, who attempted to embody national and dynastic identity. In the later Middle Ages the king moved between royal castles, particularly Perth and Stirling, but continued to hold judicial sessions throughout the kingdom. Edinburgh only began to emerge as the capital in the reign of James III at the cost of considerable unpopularity, as it was felt that the king's presence in the rest of the kingdom was part of his role. Although increasingly based at the royal palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh, the monarch and the court still spent time at the refurbished royal palaces of Linlithgow, Stirling and Falkland, and still undertook occasional royal progress to different parts of the kingdom to ensure that the rule of law, royal authority or smooth government was maintained.
Composition
Offices
Little is known about the structure of the Scottish royal court in the period before the reign of David I. Some minor posts that are mentioned in later sources are probably Gaelic in origin. These include the senior clerks of the Provend and the Liverence, in charge of the distribution of food, and the Hostarius, who was in charge of the royal bodyguard. By the late thirteenth century the court had taken on a distinctly feudal character. The major offices were the Steward or Stewart, Chamberlain, Constable, Marischal and Lord Chancellor. The office of Stewart, responsible for management of the king's household, was created by David I and given as an hereditary office to Walter Fitzalan, whose descendants became the House of Stewart. The office was merged with the crown when Robert II inherited the throne. The other major secular posts also had a tendency to become hereditary. The Chamberlain was responsible for royal finances and the Constable for organising the crown's military forces, while the Marishchal had a leadership role in battle. The Chancellor, who was usually a clergyman in the Middle Ages, had charge of the king's chapel, which was also the major administrative centre of the crown, and had control of the letters, legal writs and seals. Under him were various posts, usually filled by clerics, including the custodian of the great seal. From the reign of James III onwards, the post of Chancellor was increasingly taken by leading laymen.By the early modern era the court consisted of leading nobles, office holders, ambassadors and supplicants who surrounded the king or queen. At its centre was the monarch and members of the Privy Chamber. Gentleman of the chamber were usually leading nobles or individuals with kinship links to the leading noble families. They had direct access to the monarch, with the implication of being able to exert influence, and were usually resident at the court. The Chancellor was now effectively the first minister of the kingdom and from the mid-sixteenth century he was the leading figure of the Privy Council. His department, the chancery, was responsible for the Great Seal, which was needed to process the inheritance of land titles and the confirmation of land transfers. His key responsibility was to preside at meetings of the Privy Council, and, on those rare occasions he attended, at meetings of the court of session. The second most prestigious office was now the Secretary, who was responsible for the records of the Privy Council and for foreign policy, including the borders, despite which the post retained its importance after the Union of Crowns in 1603. The Treasurer was the last of the major posts and, with the Comptroller, dealt with the royal finances until the Comptroller's office was merged into the Treasurer's from 1610. Administration of the royal household and provisioning was the duty of the masters of the royal household while the fabric of the palaces was maintained by the masters of work.
The Lord President of the Court of Session, often known simply as the Lord President, acted as a link between the Privy Council and the Court. The king's advocate acted as the legal council. The post emerged in the 1490s to deal with the king's patrimonial land rights and from 1555 there were usually two king's councilors, indicating the increase in the level of work. From 1579 they increasingly became a public prosecutor. After the union most of the offices remained, but political power was increasingly centered in London.
General council
After the crown, the most important government institution in the late Middle Ages was the king's council, composed of the king's closest advisers and presided over by the Lord Chancellor. Unlike its counterpart in England, the king's council in Scotland retained legislative and judicial powers. It was relatively small, with normally less than 10 members in a meeting, some of whom were nominated by parliament, particularly during the many minorities of the era, as a means of limiting the power of a regent.The council was a virtually full-time institution by the late fifteenth century, and surviving records from the period indicate that it was critical in the working of royal justice. Nominally members of the council were some of the great magnates of the realm, but they rarely attended meetings. Most of the active members of the council for most of the late Medieval Period were career administrators and lawyers, almost exclusively university-educated clergy. The most successful of these moved on to occupy the major ecclesiastical positions in the realm as bishops and, towards the end of the period, archbishops. By the end of the fifteenth century, this group was being joined by increasing numbers of literate laymen, often secular lawyers, of which the most successful gained preferment in the judicial system and grants of lands and lordships.