[1587/7/24]¹

The king's majesty's general revocation

²We, James, by the grace of God, king of Scots, being now of perfect age of 21 years complete, and knowing the remedy competent to us by the common law and laws of our realm in revocation of all and sundry alienations, donations, venditions or other dispositions whatsoever made by us in our minority and less age, or by our predecessors in their times, in hurt and detriment of our crown, our soul and conscience, against all laws of our realm, and therein following the example of our most noble progenitors in their general revocations, and being lately past our said perfect age of 21 years and a large space within our age of 25 years, during the which the remedy of our revocation is competent to us, we make our general revocation in manner following: first, we revoke, abrogate, annul, retreat and rescind all and sundry infeftments, charters, gifts, donations, alienations and dispositions whatsoever made by [Mary], our late dearest mother, before our coronation to whatsoever person or persons in any manner of way in fee, feu ferm or freehold of any lands, lordships, baronies, customs, annualrents, fishings, burgh mails or castle wards annexed to our crown, offices of justiciary and sheriffship within the same appertaining thereto, contrary to the acts of annexation made thereupon of before, and where lawful dissolution of the said annexation was not made by our said late dearest mother and her three estates in parliament in her own time, to the effect that the same shall be of no value in time coming after the date hereof. And likewise, we revoke, annul and retreat all and sundry infeftments, charters, gifts, donations, alienations and dispositions, whatsoever fees and pensions conveyed by us of our said annexed own proper lands at any time preceding in our minority and less age, except the fees and pensions conveyed to the officers of our crown, their deputes and clerks, as hereafter shall be excepted. Reserving always out of this our revocation the half lands of Easter Aberlednock, set in feu ferm in our minority to our trusty servant Sir John Murray of Tullibardine, knight, one of our masters of household; and likewise reserving out of this our revocation all and whole the lands of Knoktim, Kildarroch, Kirriereoch and five merk land of Kirrieburn, lying within the sheriffdom of Wigtown, old kindly possessions to Sir Patrick Vans of Barnbarroch, knight, so that he and his heirs may possess the same, according to his infeftment thereof dated at Holyroodhouse, 20 November 1582.

Item, we revoke all alienations and dispositions whatsoever of any rents, lands or heritages annexed to the principality or to the prince, who is always second person of this realm, made by us or any our predecessors to the prejudice and hurt of the prince, second person aforesaid.

Item, we revoke, abrogate, annul and retreat all infeftments, donations, alienations and dispositions granted by us, our regents and governors for the time in our minority and less age, to whatsoever person or persons in fee, feu ferm, liferent or otherwise of all other lands, rents, annualrents and revenues not annexed to our crown, which our late dearest mother had in her possession before our coronation, and of all offices, such as chamberlainries and bailiaries, and of the office of customs inspector made for more years than from exchequer, until the account be made in the exchequer after-following, constabularies and bailiaries of our proper lands and castles. And also we revoke and annul all rentals, assedations and tacks of our proper lands and rents made by us, our governors and regents in our minority above the space of five years.

Item, we revoke, retreat, rescind and annul all and whatsoever infeftments or rentals of feu ferm of whatsoever our proper lands annexed to our crown made to whatsoever persons by us in our minority or by our predecessors heretofore, which are made in diminution of our rental and hurt of our patrimony where the diminution may be verified and proven.

Item, we revoke, rescind, retreat and annul all and whatsoever infeftments, dispositions and alienations made by us, our governors and regents in our minority, or by any of our predecessors in their times, of the feu ferm victual of any lands and lordships pertaining to our crown which were lawfully set in feu before for payment of feu ferm victual; and the same feu ferm victual is set in feu thereafter for silver payment, because the feuing of the feu ferm is clearly understood to be to the great abuse, hurt and diminution of our patrimony and rent.

Item, we revoke all infeftments, alienations and dispositions made to whatsoever persons of our castles and houses, the places and rooms whereupon our castles and houses were situated and now are demolished in our mi[nority] and less age; and likewise all infeftments, alienations and dispositions of whatsoever our meadows, woods and parks, with all tacks, assedations and other dispositions thereof set by us, our regents and governors in our minority as said is.

Item, we revoke all and sundry infeftments, alienations, gifts and dispositions whatsoever made by us, our governors and regents in our minority, to whatsoever persons in fee, feu ferm or liferent of all lands and annualrents which became in our hands as property by right of our crown through bastardy, or we, being last heir by reason of recognition, forfeiture or otherwise, with all confirmations, if any be granted, in parliament thereupon, that the said lands may return in property to us and our successors in time coming. And nevertheless, by this head and article of this present revocation, we declare, decree and ordain that none of the lordships, lands and baronies that become in our hands by reason of the forfeitures which were retreated and rescinded by the pacification concluded at Perth on 23 February 1572 [1573] and ratified and approved in our parliament held at Holyroodhouse on 30 April 1573, and by the pacification made in our parliament held at Linlithgow, in the great hall of the palace thereof, 10 December 1585, shall abide and remain with us and our successors, but the same shall return to the righteous heritors thereof and others having entry to the same, likewise as if the said forfeitures had never been led; and to that effect, we presently dissolve the annexation of all lands united to our crown and alleged to have fallen in our hands by reason of the said forfeitures which are retreated as said is, and likewise we rescind the annexations made in our dearest grandfather's time of all lands that came in his hands or by the hands of his predecessors by whatsoever process of forfeiture where the said forfeiture is reduced and declared to be of no value.

Item, we revoke all tailzies made by us in our minority and less age from the heirs general to the male heirs of any lands within our realm against the law and good conscience where the said lands were conveyed before to the heirs whatsoever, and the said infeftments changed by resignation in the same person and to his male heirs. And we declare that new conquest, tailzied in our said minority and less age, shall in no way come under this our revocation because it is not against conscience that any person who acquires the right of any heritable lands may take the same to such heirs as he pleases.

Item, we revoke, rescind and retreat all new infeftments given by us or any of our said governors and regents in our minority of any lands and lordships in blench ferm that were held of us and our predecessors before by service of ward and relief, without prejudice always to the heritable possessors that they shall possess their said lands heritably as they were held before the said infeftments made in our minority.

Item, we revoke all regalities and confirmations of regalities given by us in our minority and less age, or any our predecessors before, against the acts and statutes that no regality should be given in heritage without the advice and deliberation of the whole parliament. And likewise we revoke all gifts and infeftments of whatsoever offices given heritably to whatsoever persons by us, our governors and regents in our minority and less age as said is.

Item, we revoke all new creations of lands, baronies, annexations and unions of diverse lands in fee which are made in our minority in prejudice of our due service owed to us and our progenitors of before. And likewise we revoke all discharges given by us in our said minority of service of suits of courts owed of old to our progenitors aforesaid.

Item, we revoke all new infeftments made and given in our said minority of creation of baronies in the lands and lordships annexed to our crown.

Item, we revoke all infeftments, gifts and dispositions whatsoever set, given and granted by us in our minority to whatsoever person or persons in fee, feu ferm or liferent of whatsoever hospitals, maison-dieus, lands or rents appertaining thereto, in hurt and prejudice of our conscience, to the end that the said hospitals may be reduced to their first institution for upholding of the poor, providing always that the rents of the hospital of the Trinity College beside the burgh of Edinburgh, which is now decayed, assigned and given to the new hospital erected by the provost, bailies and council of the burgh of Edinburgh, be in no way comprehended under this present revocation.

Item, it is always understood, likewise we by this act declare, that the tenantries held of other superiors coming in our hands by escheat, as last heir, by forfeiture standing or by bastardy, the presentations or infeftments following thereupon, comes not under our revocation because the same being casualties could not remain in our hands in prejudice of the superiors of the said tenantries, but of necessity it behoved us to present heritable tenants to the superiors of the same.

Item, we have deeply considered the estate of casualties daily given and conveyed through importunity of askers in such excessive manner that it is difficult to maintain the daily and ordinary expenses of our estate and crown, albeit the occasion of charges hereupon continually increases; and we and our estates, considering that our casualties ought not to be so disorderly and inconsiderately conveyed at the importunate suit of all askers, but our commodity made thereof and such discretion had in disposition of the same as we may continually live upon our own, therefore, we, with advice of our said three estates and whole body of this present parliament, revoke, rescind, abrogate, annul and discharge all gifts of fees, pensions, wages, livings and dispositions out of our casualties and coffers given by us, with advice of our regents for the time, or by ourself since the acceptance of the government of our realm in our own person, declaring the same to be null and of no value, force nor effect in time coming, discharging our treasurers present and to come of all payment making of the said fees, pensions, wages, livings and others things appointed to be paid out of our casualties of the term of Whitsunday [4 June] last or thereafter in time coming. Excepting always the fees and pensions given to the ordinary officers of the crown, their deputes and clerks, which we will shall not be comprehended in this our general revocation: they are to say, the fees and pensions given and assigned to our treasurer, his depute and clerk, to our secretary and his depute, our collector and his clerk and procurator, our justice clerk and their deputes, advocate, procurator for the poor, master of requests, our clerk register, director of the chancellery and writer of the rolls, which we decree and declare shall stand in force and effect, notwithstanding this our present revocation.

Item, we revoke, retreat, abrogate and annul all and whatsoever gifts, pensions and free discharges of the thirds of benefices within our realm granted since our coronation by us, our governors and regents in our minority and less age, and we decree the same to be of no value in all time hereafter. And likewise we revoke all tacks of the thirds of benefices set by us in our minority and less age, whereby the duty is diminished or where we have set the whole benefice in diminution of the third thereof, and we protest that whatsoever we have done to the detriment, hurt and prejudice of our third and of the ministry in our minority and less age, that the same may be reduced according to the law.

Item, we revoke all and whatsoever infeftments made by us in our minority, our governors and regents in our name, of any kirklands, friars' lands, nuns' lands, or common lands which in any way fell and came in or hands as our property; except the infeftments made by our late dearest mother and us for erection and sustenance of hospitals and ministers within burghs where there is no assignation nor stipend allowed out of the thirds of benefices for sustenance of the masters thereof.

Item, we revoke all tacks, assedations and other dispositions whatsoever of any common kirks within our realm made by us in any time past, to the effect that the same may return to us to the time that further order be taken; providing always that at the said common kirks there shall be ministers appointed to serve and make residence and shall be sustained of the readiest fruits thereof accordingly as shall be modified.

Item, we revoke all gifts of monks' portions, first fruits or fifth penny of any benefices whereunto we have right by our acts of parliament made of before thereupon.

Item, we revoke all gifts and infeftments made by us in our minority of whatsoever advocation, donation and right of patronage given or annexed to any lordship, land or barony where the said patronage, advocation, donation of benefice pertained not of right of before and which takes the beginning and ground from our gift and infeftment thereof made in our minority as said is, by this clause of novodamus where the purchasers of the said infeftment had no right to the said patronage, advocation and donation before.

Item, we revoke all gifts of surplus and omitted of the fruits of benefices given and conveyed by us, our governors and regents in our name, in our minority.

And generally we revoke, abrogate, annul, retreat and rescind all and whatsoever things done by us, our governors and regents of our realm in our minority and less age, in detriment and hurt of our soul and conscience, hurting of the privilege of our crown, prejudicial to the same, and to us in our patrimony of the same, and what the law and custom of our realm leaves us to revoke. And this our revocation we ordain to be of as great effect and as largely extended in general and in specially as any revocation made by our progenitors before the date hereof, and specially the revocation made by or late dearest mother, our late dearest grandfather King James V of good memory, and his predecessors whatsoever, contained in our books of parliament, which in all heads, clauses and circumstances thereof we hold as herein expressed. And also we ordain and decree this our said revocation to be simple and absolute without any exception, restriction or limitation to be admitted against the same further than therein is contained, and to that effect, we annul and rescind whatsoever exceptions made in favour of whatsoever persons in any of our revocations made in parliament or otherwise at any time preceding the date hereof.

And we solemnly swear, in presence of our said three estates, by our great oath presently given at this our first parliament held after our perfect age of 21 years complete, and as we were obliged to have done in case we had been of perfect age at our coronation, that we shall faithfully observe and keep the statute and act of parliament made in the days of our most noble predecessor King James II, concerning the keeping and retaining of the lands, lordships and baronies annexed to the patrimony of the crown in all points and clauses thereof.

Also we protest by this act that if it shall happen us for any respect or consideration to suffer any person or persons to use or possess any privileges or possessions, lands, rents and offices which are fallen under our revocation, it shall make no right to the users nor holders thereof, but it shall be lawful to us and our successors to put our hands thereto whenever it shall please us by virtue of this our revocation, acts and customs of our realm made of before, without any obstacle, impediment or contradiction.