Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum

Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum is the formal roll of the Great Seal of the Kings of Scotland, recording charters, commissions, grants, letters patent, and other instruments authenticated under the Great Seal. It functions as an archival series intersecting with Scottish monarchy practice, legal procedure, and diplomatic relations involving institutions such as the Parliament of Scotland, Court of Session, College of Justice, Edinburgh Castle, and later United Kingdom offices. The roll’s entries illuminate interactions between Scottish sovereigns and actors like the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, Privy Council of Scotland, Archbishop of St Andrews, Bishop of Glasgow, and civic corporations of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

History

The registry emerged in the context of medieval chancery systems comparable to the Chancery of England, Chancery (Scotland), and the administrative offices of the Kingdom of Scotland. Early formation occurred during reigns of monarchs such as Alexander II of Scotland, Alexander III of Scotland, William Wallace era tensions, and Robert the Bruce, where charters paralleled those from David I of Scotland and Malcolm IV of Scotland. The series continued through the Stewart dynasty under James I of Scotland, James V of Scotland, and Mary, Queen of Scots, interacting with diplomatic episodes like the Auld Alliance and treaties including the Treaty of Edinburgh and Treaty of Perpetual Peace. Post-Union realities after the Acts of Union 1707 changed custodial practices, linking the roll to offices allied with the Crown of the United Kingdom and institutions such as the Exchequer and Treasury (United Kingdom). The registrum was affected by upheavals including the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Rough Wooing, the Glorious Revolution, and the Jacobite rising of 1745.

Content and Structure

Entries comprise diverse instruments: royal charters for feudal tenures involving families like the Douglas family, Home family, and Stewart family; burgh charters for Town Council of Aberdeen, Inverness, and Stirling; ecclesiastical grants to St Giles' Cathedral, St Andrews Cathedral, Dunfermline Abbey, and monastic houses such as Melrose Abbey and Iona Abbey. The registrum records confirmations related to statutes like the Acts of Sederunt and legal measures touching the Court of Justiciary and conveyances relevant to the Lairds and landed estates including Earl of Mar, Earl of Argyll, and Duke of Albany. Its folios reflect chancery forms, seals, witnesses drawn from peers such as the Earl of Douglas, clerics like Cardinal Beaton, and officials like the Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland. Manuscript forms range from medieval vellum rolls to later bound volumes preserved alongside materials from the Registers of the Great Seal of Scotland editorial projects and antiquarian collections associated with scholars like Joseph Robertson and Edward J. Cowan.

Administration and Custody

Administrative responsibility traditionally lay with officers including the Lord Clerk Register, the Keeper of the Registers and Records of Scotland, and clerks of the Chancery. Custody moved through institutional repositories: royal chancery archives, the Register House, Edinburgh, and eventually the National Records of Scotland, with cataloguing linked to projects at the National Library of Scotland and scholarly institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of St Andrews, Aberdeen University, and archival work influenced by figures like Sir Walter Scott and antiquarians in the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Conservation initiatives have involved partnerships with the British Museum, Historic Environment Scotland, and conservation units following standards from International Council on Archives and practices employed by the Writers to the Signet.

Legal and Historical Significance

The roll functions as primary evidence in disputes before tribunals such as the Court of Session and the Lords of Session, informing precedents that intersect with Scottish legal traditions codified in works by jurists like George Buchanan and cases referred to the House of Lords. Its contents underpin land tenure rights, feudal obligations associated with peers like the Earl of Moray and royal grants to institutions such as the University of Glasgow and University of Aberdeen. Historians utilising the roll connect it to constitutional episodes including the Scottish Reformation, the Union of the Crowns, and the legal ramifications of the Treaty of Union. Genealogists and economic historians correlate entries with demographic sources like the Old Parish Registers and fiscal records of the Comptroller of Scotland.

Notable Entries and Editions

Noteworthy entries include royal confirmations by James VI and I, land grants to magnates such as the Campbell family and Hamilton family, burgh privileges to Leith and Berwick-upon-Tweed matters, and ecclesiastical endowments affecting Abernethy and Coldingham Priory. Published editions and calendared series have been produced in projects akin to the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland editions, edited catalogues by antiquaries like Thomas Thomson (antiquary), and modern critical editions housed in collections at the National Archives (UK) and digital initiatives led by the People of Medieval Scotland project. Scholarship referencing the roll appears in studies by historians such as G. W. S. Barrow, Michael Lynch, Jenny Wormald, Christopher Smout, and legal historians including A. L. Goodhart and John H. Merryman.

Category:Scots law Category:Medieval Scottish history Category:Archives in Scotland