Three Estates of Scotland

Parliament of Scotland
Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	c. 1235
Disbanded	1 May 1707
Succeeded by	Parliament of Great Britain
Leadership
Lord High Commissioner (Presiding Officer)	James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry Since 17051
Lord Chancellor (Head of Government)	James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Seafield Since 17061
Meeting place
Parliament Hall Edinburgh, meeting place of Parliament from 1639–1707.
Footnotes
1Reflecting Parliament as it stood in 1707

The Parliament of Scotland was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The parliament, like other such institutions, evolved during the Middle Ages from the king's council of bishops and earls. It is first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II, when it was described as a "colloquium" and already possessed a political and judicial role. By the early fourteenth century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and from 1326 commissioners from the burghs attended. Consisting of the "three estates" of clergy, nobility and the burghs sitting in a single chamber, the parliament gave consent for the raising of taxation and played an important role in the administration of justice, foreign policy, war, and all manner of other legislation. Parliamentary business was also carried out by "sister" institutions, such as General Councils or Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making – but lacked the ultimate authority of a full parliament.

The Parliament of Scotland met for more than four centuries, until it was prorogued sine die at the time of the Acts of Union in 1707. Thereafter the Parliament of Great Britain operated for both England and Scotland, thus creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain. When the Parliament of Ireland was abolished in 1801, its former members were merged into what was now called the Parliament of the United Kingdom.