[1587/7/132]¹

Ratification to the burgh of Edinburgh

²Our sovereign lord, now after his perfect age of 21 years complete and general revocation made in parliament, being moved with the careful zeal and godly intention of the provost, bailies, council and community of the burgh of Edinburgh in the provision for the ministry serving within the said burgh who have no appointed stipends out of the thirds of the benefices, and that they have also employed large sums of money upon the building of a hospital, where the college called the Queen's College stood before, for sustaining of poor and miserable persons, and further, have lately erected within the said burgh a college wherein good letters and sciences are professed for the commodity of the realm and augmentation of the policy of the said burgh of Edinburgh, being the principal town where our said sovereign lord and his estates make most residence, which ministry, hospital and college cannot be goodly maintained without our said sovereign lord's help and support, notwithstanding the great expenses already bestowed by the said provost, bailies, council and community, as well of the common good as by the particular contribution of such as were bent to the help and supply of the said godly works; and our said sovereign lord, having now consideration that [Mary], his late dearest mother, and himself donated, gave and mortified to the sustaining of the said ministry, hospital and college diverse lands, rents, teinds and annualrents which his highness is willing shall remain with the said provost, bailies, council and community in all time coming, the same being excepted from the late annexation of the kirklands to the crown and out of the general revocation, for the which causes our said sovereign lord has, with express advice of the said three estates of parliament, ratified and approved and, for him and his successors, perpetually confirmed, likewise his highness, by the tenor hereof, ratifies, approves and, for him and his successors, perpetually confirms the gift, infeftment and mortification made and granted by his late dearest mother in her perfect age to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and their successors, for help and supply of the ministers and poor within the same, of all lands, tenements, annualrents and other profits and emoluments whatsoever situated within the liberty and freedom of the said burgh which pertained before to any college, prebendary, chaplainry, friars of whatsoever order and other beneficed persons, as the said gift, donation and mortification of the date of 13 March 1566 [1567], under the great seal of our said sovereign lord's late dearest mother, at more length purports; together with the other gift and disposition made by our said sovereign under his great seal to the said provost, bailies, council and community and their successors of the college kirk, called the Trinity College, with the kirkyard thereof, the mansions, the houses and yards thereof, the hospital, called the hospital of the Trinity College, and yard, to the effect that the said provost, bailies and council might build and erect a hospital upon the same for sustenance of the poor, honest, aged and decayed persons within the said burgh and others having need of support, as the said donation and gift of the date of 12 November 1567 in like manner at more length purports; and likewise the other gift, mortification and annexation of the benefice of the provostry of the said Trinity College, with all lands, rents, profits and emoluments, advocation and donation of all hospitals of the said hospital and all other rights and privileges pertaining to the said provostry, as the said mortification of the date of 23 June 1585, with our said sovereign lord's confirmation and new gift of the same provostry, and of all lands, profits and emoluments pertaining thereto, and to the prebendaries and chaplainries of the same college in property or community, as the same confirmation and new gift of the date of 26 May 1587 at more length bears; and in like manner the annexation of the archdeanery of Lothian, lands, rents and teind sheaves pertaining thereto, annexed and mortified to the said college lately erected within the said burgh for instruction of the youth in learning, as the same of the date of 4 April 1584 bears; together with the decreet of the lords of his highness's council and session by the which the said provost, bailies, council and community are decreed and declared to have right to the teinds, fruits and emoluments of the parsonage of the kirk of Dunbarney for the reasons and causes contained in the said decreet, which is of the date of 29 March 1583, in all and sundry points, heads, clauses and circumstances of the same, which our said sovereign lord and his said three estates hold for expressed in this present act and ordain all and sundry the said gifts and ratifications to be at length inserted therein if need be. Moreover, our said sovereign lord, with advice of his said three estates of parliament, of new gives, conveys and mortifies to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Edinburgh and their successors, for sustentation of the ministry, of the poor and for sustaining of their said college, lately erected by them, all and sundry the lands, rents, teinds and other profits and emoluments of the particularity contained in the said former gifts, donations and mortifications and in the decreet aforesaid given by the said lords of council of the date of 19 March 1583 [1584], to remain with them for the use specified and mentioned therein and no other way, after the form and tenor thereof forever, providing that they sustain the ministers serving at the said kirks or pay to them the third of the fruits of the same kirks at their option and pleasure. Moreover, our said sovereign lord, with advice of his said three estates, ratifies, approves and confirms all and sundry infeftments of feu ferm made by the said provost, bailies and council of the said burgh of Edinburgh to whatsoever person or persons of the common muir of the said burgh pertaining to them as a part of the common lands thereof, and finds and declares the same to be set for the good, utility and common profit of the said burgh, and therefore statutes and ordains that none of our sovereign [lord's]³ lieges, of whatsoever degree or quality, and especially the sheriff of Edinburgh and his deputes, make the said provost, bailies, council and community and their feu farmers aforesaid any trouble, molestation or impediment in the peaceable enjoying and using thereof in any time coming, providing always that this ratification be in no way hurtful nor prejudicial to any other man's title or right of the lands, benefices and others aforesaid mortified to the said burgh for sustaining of the said ministry, hospital and college; and ordains letters to be directed hereupon, if need be, in the appropriate form.