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Edinburgh
The parliament of the most excellent prince and lord, lord James III, by the grace of God most illustrious king of Scots, begun at Edinburgh, 8 April 1473, and continued until 23 July of the same year and held in the said burgh.
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The power is committed by the three estates to these persons or to nine of them jointly:
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Memorandum that on 2 August in the present parliament Sir Alexander Home of that Ilk, knight, was made a lord of parliament etc.
On the said 2 August the lord king, with the consent of the three estates of the realm, promised to assign to the lady queen certain lands in compensation for her dowry to the value of a third part of his entire property in the kingdom.
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Acts in the parliament continued until 23 July 1473 in Edinburgh
This is the advice of the lords, clergy, barons and commissioners of burghs concerning the articles discussed by our sovereign lord in this present parliament:
Firstly, as to the conservation of the privilege and freedom of the holy church, the lords think that our sovereign lord should maintain the freedom of the clergy of the holy church and the churchmen in the same manner as his noble Christian ancestors have done before.
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Secondly, as for the last article touching the king's travel, upon which many of the articles depend, the lords can in no way give their counsel to his travel out of his realm, and if his highness remains utterly determined to travel and can in no way be persuaded to remain within his realm to the execution of justice [and] the peace of his people, the lords think that his highness should not in any way arrange for his worship to travel this season, considering that he is not provided for or furnished with his expenses, and the people who would travel with him are unwarned and unsupplied to travel with him as is fitting for his worship.
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The third advisement, if his highness remains utterly determined to travel to other countries, the lords find no honourable nor acceptable causes for the same, except if his highness takes on the burden of being mediator by his virtue, care and diligence to treat unity, agreement and friendship between his dearest brother [Louis XI] king of France on the one part and his dear cousin and ally [Charles of Valois], duke of Burgundy on the other, that in order for the eschewing of the great effusion of Christian blood, destruction of cities, walled towns, justice and policy committed amongst them in the past and likely to be committed in time coming, for the resisting of the great enemy of Christian faith, the great Turk, since through the contention occurring between the said princes, the greatest part of Christendom is troubled; and could this matter be negotiated, agreed and settled by the king's great nobility, virtue and wisdom, it may abound in great pleasure to God, profit for the majority of Christendom, great honour and worship for his crown, and enable him thereby to obtain not only the county of Saintonge but also the duchy of Gueldres.
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The fourth [advisement], the lords think it expedient if the king's highness is determined as it is said, that he send and stop the letter which is ordained to them to [Louis XI], king of France, since as no matter can be conveyed to the honour, worship and profit of his highness unless the said letter is stopped. And also they think it expedient that his solemn embassy be sent in all possible haste and ordained, firstly to [Charles of Valois], duke of Burgundy and thereafter to the king of France, showing the king's good purpose and intention which will put him to his work and his duty at his great cost and expenses and for the cause explained above, to appear in his own person in those parts to negotiate friendship, unity and agreement between the king of France and the duke of Burgundy. Which embassy shall consider and understand the intention and disposition of the king of France on the one part, whether he can be persuaded or convinced to content and please our sovereign lord and place him in possession of his county of Saintonge according to the form of his charter of his most noble progenitor [James I], whom God absolve. And if they find that he will give certification thereupon to the pleasure of our sovereign lord, they shall write again to his highness of the king of France's disposition therein. And if they find him inclined to the contrary, they shall show him that our sovereign lord will not take it upon himself to work for the said treaty at his great cost and expense if the king of France will not put him in possession of his county, and thereafter show the dukes of Burgundy and [Francis II of Montfort] of Brittany the injustice and unfriendliness that the king of France demonstrates to the king's highness by denying the said county. And that he would give no response to the king's highness or his ambassador, Sir David Guthrie, sent to the king of France in order to recover the said county, and to find out the disposition of the said dukes of Burgundy and Brittany, [as to] what help, support or supply they would give our sovereign lord in the recovery of the said county.
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Moreover, in similar fashion the said ambassador shall show [Charles of Valois], duke of Burgundy, his cousin and ally, the great causes of ingratitude and inhumanity perpetrated and shown by the son of the duke of Gueldres to his father the duke of Gueldres, by taking his father and holding him imprisoned, which are causes of disinheritance, whereby the duchy of Gueldres, by natural succession of law and reason, pertains to our sovereign lord, praying and exhorting him that he will further help and supply him for the recovery and possession of his said duchy. And if the said ambassador sees that the said [Louis XI], king of France and the duke of Burgundy well inclined to our sovereign lord in his said county and duchy, they shall ask the said princes singularly by themselves, if they will abide by the decreet, deliverance and ordinance to be drawn between them by our sovereign lord and the council of other princes which he will take, and that certification under their seals and subscription manual be sent to the king's highness hereupon, in such manner that the king's gravity, virtue and constance may be understood that he would undertake such travel to leave his own realm because the causes were so honourable for which he would travel, and the princes submitted to him in the said causes of concord, love, friendship and treaty to be had amongst them. And that the said ambassadors will work on the said princes for longer assurance and abstinence of war to be taken amongst them. And for the fulfilment of the honourable will of our sovereign lord in so great a matter and meritable cause the estates of his realm will provide him with £5,000 as partial support for his expenses. And if the said embassy finds that the king of France's disposition is not set toward pleasing our sovereign lord, that they eschew and declare to him that our sovereign lord will seek other remedy as best he can, keeping always his allegiance to the realm of France as is fitting.
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Item, the lords prelates advise that the greatest expedient that he [James III] might have for the said voyage would be now in the meantime to take a little labour upon himself and travel through his realm and put such justice and policy in his own realm that the renown and fame of him might travel to other countries and that he might obtain the name of so just a prince and so virtuous and so well ruling his own realm in justice, policy and peace, that other princes might make an example of him and give him credence in such things as he would show them touching the ruling and governing of their realms in peace and policy in the same, through which name he might by the grace of God be called to greater things than is yet expressed.
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Item, the lords prelates think that, if his highness intends to undertake the abovewritten purposes, he should thus advise and command how his realm should be governed in his absence and by which persons and what authority, and also the lords think that he will spend the intervening time well before his passage and make but easy travel in his own person in the execution of justice. It should be right either to decide it after his travel before his return, and especially the lords and estates of his realm exhort and request his highness in particular that he would close his hands for all remissions and respites for slaughter in the future, for a certain time as it pleases his highness.
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Item, in the meantime to provide for stabilising the peace between him [James III] and England and to know their disposition [and] how it is likely to continue in his absence.
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Item, if our sovereign lord intends to keep this purpose and sends this embassy, he must give them a command to attend him again by a certain time, or otherwise to send him word of the state of all matters which they have in charge, and particularly what they believe shall follow in his matters of both Gueldres and Saintonge, and thereupon his highness may be advised and ready for his travel if he thinks it expedient, after he has received word of the state of the said matters in those parts.
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Item, for so much as the last diet that should have been held at Anwick by the great commissioners of both the realms failed when the English party defaulted in sending the safe-conduct, whether through ignorance, recklessness or malice it is unknown to the lords, therefore they think it expedient to ask [Edward IV], king of England to find out why the said conduct was stopped and to show him his own letters and commission made thereupon, and to let him know that without reformation of attempts no truce can be kept, particularly regarding the indentures made, appointed and concluded at Newcastle.
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Item, as regarding the bringing in of bullion into the realm, the lords think that there are many and various acts made by the king's progenitors and by himself in different parliaments on the bringing in of bullion, which acts were profitable to be seen and put into execution, and they being duly executed they trust that a great quantity of bullion should soon come into the realm. And similarly, to cause the keeping of the acts and statutes made for the retention of money within the realm, and such searchers and investigators set thereupon to execute the said acts without corruption or deceit for the common profit of the realm.
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Item, regarding coinage, because of the scarcity of bullion existing in the realm, the lords prelates think it expedient that golden pennies have the same course that they used to have and now have, and likewise the English groat, the Scottish 14d groat, the half English groat, the groat with the fleur-de-lis, English pennies, and all other pennies have the same course that they used to have and now have. And as for the placks† and new pennies the lords think that their striking should be stopped and that they should have the course that they now have until their fineness be known and whether they hold 5s fine silver per ounce as was ordained by the king's highness and promised by the minters. And in order to find out the same the lords think that each estate now assign three persons and make them be sworn thereto to examine the said placks both by goldsmiths and other men who have experience therein. And thereafter [they shall] have course according to their value by the king's highness's examination, and the minters are to be punished as is fitting if faults be found.
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As for the carts of war which were agreed in the last parliament for the proper defence of the realm, each one of the barons agrees to make them immediately themselves according to the plan in the said parliament for the pleasure of the king's highness and the defence of the realm.
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As regarding the mending of the laws for the declaration of diverse obscure matters that are now in our laws and that occur daily, the lord barons would beseech our sovereign lord that he would make each estate vouchsafe to take two wise persons of wisdom, conscience and knowledge in order to clarify the said matters, and through their wisdom good inventions that shall accord with the law and conscience will be found to declare the daily matters that come before the king's highness for which there is as yet no law for deciding them. And according to their great wisdom, the things they happen to advise are to be shown to the king and his three estates at the next parliament, and if they be [found] expedient [they are] to be ratified and approved by the authority of parliament. And at that time a book shall be made containing all the laws of this realm that shall remain in a place where the rest may have a copy, and no other books be used except a copy of it, for [ending] the great diversity now found in various books put in by different persons that are called men of law, and that they will practise no other laws for the laws of this realm except those that are found in that book, under the pain of perpetual silence and punishment of their persons.
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Also the lord barons remember that there was a statute made in the time of our sovereign lord, whom God absolve, that no English cloth should come within this realm through any merchants, considering where they might have good money, both gold and silver, for their salmon, cod and other fish, they have only cloth now, which causes great injury and damage to [his] highness in his customs and to his lieges that are short of money. Therefore they counsel our sovereign lord that a prohibition be made in this present parliament that no English or Scottish merchant bring in such merchandise under the pain of escheating of the cloth and punishment at the king's will of the person who brings it.
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Item, it is advised because there is much bullion put in various products, pieces, spoons, goblets, belts and other works, and through the negligence and avarice of the workers and goldsmiths the said silver given to them is mixed with alloy and other material that is put in the said work, that when the silver is returned from the workmen it is of so much less a value from the fine silver, that people are greatly harmed and deceived by this, and therefore the lords advise and think it expedient that in each town where there are goldsmiths who ply their crafts, that there be assigned and ordained a warden and a deacon of the craft who shall be sworn thereto and examine all the workmanship that comes from their hands. And where they find it adequate they shall set their marks thereto, and where they find it insufficient they shall refuse it and punish the worker according to his demerits, and where any workman colours or steal away his work without examination it shall be escheated wherever it is found and the damage thereof fall in the workman's hand.