[1584/5/24]¹

An act for disinheriting of the posterity of [William Ruthven], earl of Gowrie

The king's majesty and his three estates of parliament, upon great and weighty considerations moving them tending to the repressing of treasonable attempts and punishment of the committers of treason, and upon consideration how rigorously the same have been punished, as clearly appears by diverse acts and constitutions made in his own time and in the days of his highness's most noble predecessors, especially in the days of King James II of most noble memory, not only by loss of life, lands, goods, honour and dignity in the persons of the committers thereof, but also of the posterity begotten of them, that their bairns, either natural or lawful, should in no way be able to claim any lands, rooms nor possessions within this realm, nor be in any way able to succeed to any person in their lands or heritage, as in the act made in the time of the said King James II in his parliament held and begun at Edinburgh on 9 June 1455 and of his reign the 19th year, and in the act made by our sovereign lord and his three estates in the parliament begun at Edinburgh on 20 October 1579, ratified and approved in his last parliament held and begun at Edinburgh on 24 October 1581, with certain additions specified therein at more length is contained; which acts and constitutions his majesty, with advice of his said three estates, has ratified and approved and, by the tenor hereof, ratifies and approves in all clauses, points and articles of the same concerning the persons standing under the sentences of forfeiture specified in the said acts² to have full execution and force against the bairns whatsoever, natural or lawful, engendered and begotten of William, sometime earl of Gowrie, who was lately convicted for certain crimes of treason and lese-majesty committed by him, as in the said process and doom of forfeiture, ratified and approved in this present parliament, at more length is contained, that they nor none of them shall be able in any time coming to possess, enjoy or claim any lands, heritage, benefices, rooms and possessions, honours, dignities or offices within this realm, howsoever and whensoever the same was conquest and provided to them before the date hereof, and that they are and shall be unlawful³ to succeed to any other in any lands, heritage or possessions in whatsoever manner of way, and that all and sundry lands, heritage, benefices, rooms and possessions whatsoever to which the bairns of the said posterity presently have or may pretend right, or to which they or any of them may succeed hereafter, appertains and shall appertain to our said sovereign lord⁴ by full right, and that his highness may freely convey thereupon in the same manner and by all things as if the said late William, sometime earl of Gowrie, the time he was convicted of the said crimes of treason, had himself been in title thereof, and that the benefices, if any be possessed by the bairns of the said posterity, are presently vacated in his highness's hands by their inability, and that his highness has full right and power to convey thereupon by the same manner and condition in all respects as if the persons of the said posterity, present possessors thereof, were naturally dead.