[1466/30]¹

Legislation

Acts of parliament made at Edinburgh, 9 October 1466

Firstly, it is decreed and ordained that the privilege and honour of [the] holy church and spiritual persons be observed, kept, maintained and defended in honour and liberty by our sovereign lord's authority for the duration of his reign, as it has been in the times of his noble predecessors and progenitors in the past, according to the form of acts and statutes made thereupon.

[1466/31]²

Firstly, as to the marriage of our sovereign lord, the king, my lady [Princess Mary Stewart], my lord [Alexander Stewart, duke] of Albany and my lord [John Stewart, earl of] Mar, the lords refer these matters to the homecoming of certain lords currently in England who were charged to debate thereupon, and that certain lords be appointed in this present parliament, with the power of the same, to debate and conclude when they have returned home that which shall be seen as expedient for the said matters, and similarly the annual of Norway. Also the said lords shall be authorised by the parliament to sit and judge the persons who hold castles from our sovereign lord, the king, or from my lord of Albany, and to summon them and do all other things that are necessary to that end, according to the form of the act made thereupon. And also they shall have power to authorise, ratify and approve, or to annul as they think expedient and profitable, all acts and statutes discussed and debated in the session of the burghs for the good of commerce and profit of the realm. And this power is to last until 1 February.

[1466/32]³

Item, as for the dowry of the queen, it is ordained that a third of the king's rent of assise, that is to say of lands and customs, be assigned to her for her terce and dowry only, and no further.

[1466/33]⁴

Item, as concerns commends, it is decreed that no new commends, nor old ones, be sustained or secured within the realm, nor that commends purchased previously be retained, and that none of our sovereign lord's lieges take it upon themselves to purchase or otherwise receive any commends, nor to retain commends, either religious or secular, previously purchased under pain of forfeiture of his temporality for his life and his commend, and under the pain of rebellion, in any way other than is lawful for the ordinary to grant a commend for six months.

[1466/34]⁵

Item, that no pension, either new or old, be taken or put outwith the realm nor within the realm from any benefice, religious or secular, without the consent of the possessor, giver and taker, under the same pain.

[1466/35]⁶

Item, concerning lawborrows, it is decreed that if lawborrow is broken on any bishop, abbot or prelate of the holy church, earl, lord of parliament, that is to say, by the injury of their own persons or their servants, the pledge or borrows of the one responsible for the borrows and who breaks the same shall pay to our sovereign lord a fine of the sum of £100. And if lawborrows are broken on barons, knights, squires or clerks with great benefices, the sum of £50 [must be paid]. And if it be broken upon burgesses, yeomen or priests, the sum of £30 [must be paid], together with compensation to the party, unless they, the lawborrows, bring the trespasser to the king or his sheriff of the shire within 40 days, or else pay the sum as is appropriate for the person as written before. And the king is to have the unlaw of all broken lawborrows who are taken by his own officers, whether in burghs or in the countryside. And the lords of regality and barons shall have the penalty within their lands where such borrows are taken by them or their officers in so far as they have the privilege, according to the form of their old infeftments and freedoms as they had previously. And this [is] to last until the next parliament.

[1466/36]⁷

Item, concerning summonses, it is decreed that, for the ease of the king's lieges, the peremptory summons be shortened to 21 days for all actions that usually come before the king and his council, so that the summons [may] be executed at the said time.

[1466/37]⁸

Item, concerning children who are put in fees of land, it is decreed that, in the future, if any child be put in fee of land, his father or grandfather being alive and present in the realm for his defence, he shall answer to the party pursuer upon the said lands as if he were of adult age. And this [is] to last until the next parliament.

[1466/38]⁹

Item, that no Englishman may have any benefice, either secular or religious, within the realm of Scotland, according to the form of the act made thereupon by King Robert [I] the Bruce.

[1466/39]¹⁰

Item, it is decreed regarding money and for the keeping of the same within the realm, that no person, spiritual or temporal, lieges to our sovereign lord, may have nor send any money out of the realm under the pain of £10 as an unremittable fine to the king, and as much money as [any person] takes or sends out of the realm above that shall become a point of indictment. And secular [persons] are to appear before the king's justice depute in the place to be appointed and ordained by his highness from 15 days' proclamation. And if they are found guilty they shall pay the said fine together with the amount of money that was taken out of the realm. And clerks [must appear] before their ordinary and his official. And if they, in like manner, are found guilty thereof they shall pay the said fine to the king together with as much money as was taken out of the realm, excepting moderate expenses to the value of an English noble for each person. And that clerks sailing or travelling out of the realm shall appear before their ordinary or his official and take an oath that they shall neither have nor send any money out of the realm except the said expenses, and that secular [persons] shall appear before the king's depute to be appointed at each haven and swear in like manner. And whosoever travels, spiritual or temporal, out of the realm without giving the said oath shall be fined £5 to the king, to be raised by the ordinary for clerks and by his highness for secular [persons].

[1466/40]¹¹

Item, for the importing of money into the realm, it is decreed that each merchant exporting wool, skins or hides out of the realm shall bring two ounces from each sack of burnt silver to the coiner, for which he shall receive 9s 2d according to the form of the act made in the last parliament thereupon, and under the pain contained in the same. And this is to last until the next parliament.

[1466/41]¹²

Item, it is decreed for the ease and sustentation of the king's lieges and [for] the deed of alms to be made to poor folk, that copper money be coined four to the penny, with the cross of St Andrew printed on the one side and the crown on the other side, with 'Edinburgh' superscribed on one side and an 'R' with 'James' on the other side, and that there be coined £3,000 counted according to the silver, and that they shall pass in payment for bread and ale and other merchandise, and in great merchandise 12d is to be taken for the pound, and that all other money, gold and silver, have course as it was before, except that the new English groat of Edward's mint have course among the king's lieges for 10d and no dearer, and the new noble of the roses for 25s, and the lords who shall be appointed to have the power of the parliament in other causes as previously stipulated [will] be authorised to make and set rules and statutes for the 6d groat of the fleur de lis as they shall think expedient for the good of the realm.

[1466/42]¹³

Item, for the reformation of hospitals and for the assistance of the infirm, it is decreed that all the ordinaries of this realm shall warn all those who have hospitals in their diocese and summon them to a day according to the king's and the ordinaries' letters, on which day the chancellor or his deputes shall come with the ordinary and see the infeftments and the foundations, and, according to the advice of the chancellor and the ordinary, they are to be reduced to their primary foundation whereby God's service may be observed, and infirm and miserable persons may be sustained. And, where the infeftments cannot be found, the fruits of the said hospital shall be assigned to poor and miserable people, according to the advice of the ordinary and the chancellor, in so far as the fruits are of value, and that two good men of conscience be warned by the ordinary to be with him and the chancellor in order to implement the reformation, and for it to be done immediately before the departure of the ordinary and the chancellor.