From arresting kings to nailing people's ears to trees, Scottish Parliament's 800 years have been eventful
The Scottish Parliament and the start of this country’s journey towards true democracy dates back to the year 1235
In his book, Who Owns History? Rethinking the Past in a Changing World, the American historian Professor Eric Foner seeks to understand the past through the lens of how the “common people” have lived and fought for power, equality and justice.
In overturning the divine right of kings and achieving the universal franchise, previous generations in Scotland enabled those going to polling stations today to have the opportunity to vote in fair and free elections for the people and parties they trust to take Scotland forward.
It has been a remarkable journey. The first mention of a Scottish Parliament – described as a “Colloquium” – referred to an assembly of people representing the King, the nobility and the church at Kirkliston in 1235. We are only a decade away from celebrating the 800th anniversary of this historic event, although our parliament is not as old as Iceland’s, the Althing, which was established in 930AD and is considered the world’s oldest existing legislative body, or the Isle of Man’s Tynwald, which has an unbroken record of assembly spanning 1,000 years.
Failed attempt to arrest the king
So what occupied the minds of our early lawmakers? In times dominated by royalty, the clergy, nobility, and town commissioners, there were some intriguing legislative nuggets.
In 1436, there was an attempt by Sir Robert Graham, speaker of the estates, to curb royal power by arresting James I but it failed after receiving no support from the parliament. Graham was put in prison but then released and he took part in the murder of the King at Perth in February 1437.
In 1455, a dress code for MPs was introduced, specifying which kind of velvet cloak could be worn, its colour and what type of fur it should be lined with. Anyone who came to parliament wrongly dressed was to be fined £10 Scots.
In 1471, ‘Fute-ball’ and golf were banned. Sport and learning activities were strictly controlled by parliament and were regarded as “distractions from everyday work”. Their hope was that “men of fighting age would practise archery, a more useful skill to have for defence against any attack”.
In 1496, an Education Act was passed, making “school compulsory from the age of eight years for the sons of Barons and wealthy landowners”, allegedly to ensure people who became sheriffs or judges would have a proper understanding of the law.
In 1579, terrifying legislation was passed by the parliament to “control the administration of help to the growing numbers of poor people – beggars, bards and vagabonds”. The Act said that poor people who refused to work should be “whipped and placed in stocks”, adding for good measure: “Those who have not where upon to live of their own, that their ears be nailed to the Tron [a public weighing beam] in Edinburgh or to any another tree and their ears cut off and banished from the country and if there after that they be found again, that they be hanged.”
READ MORE: How Mary Queen of Scots' half-brother became first Western leader to be assassinated with a gun
The end of an ‘auld sang’
Eventually, Scotland’s MPs faced a vote on whether to enter the Union of the United Kingdom on January 16, 1707. It is worth noting the less than overwhelming support for the idea. At the end of a three-month debate, those in favour numbered 110, those against 67, with 45 abstentions.
The Earl of Seafield famously remarked, when signing the Act of Union in Edinburgh, “now there’s ane end o’ ane auld sang” – a remark revisited on the opening of the new parliament in 1999 by Winnie Ewing when she said: “We can begin to write the new Scottish song.”
However, it could have begun again much earlier. The Government of Scotland Bill, introduced by Scottish Liberal MPs in 1913, aimed to establish a devolved Scottish Parliament of 148 members. It had secured its second reading in the Commons but, inconveniently, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot in Sarajevo on June 30, 1914, starting a series of events which led to the First World War. The Bill and the new chapter of history it would have ushered in were set aside.
While acknowledging the evolution of our parliaments, of equal significance has been the evolution of the vote, which we now take for granted. The 1832 Reform Acts extended the franchise, removing the monopoly of power, patronage and privilege held by the few, but it was only with the passing of the 1928 Equal Franchise Act that equal voting from the age of 21 for both men and women became a reality.
What does the future hold?
After this long journey over the centuries to establish democratic politics and governance, today’s political debates are, thankfully, far removed from the remedies and punishments of previous parliaments reaching back nearly eight centuries. As an act of crystal ball gazing when you enter the polling station, you may wish to ponder what will be our fate in another 100 years, never mind 800.
Will we see the continuing evolution of society, embracing democracy, humanity and individual rights, or an erosion of freedoms, equality and the common good that furthers the interests of tyranny and authoritarianism, as is increasingly evident today?
The philosopher George Santayana, among others, reportedly warned: “Those who ignore the lesson of the past will be doomed to repeat it.” With that in mind, every voter should ask themselves the vital question: “What kind of country do I want?”
The late Donald Dewar, in his address to the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, captured the spirit of history and the future when he described it as “a journey begun long ago and which has no end... but a means to greater ends.” Today, that journey, that song, continues.
Henry McLeish is a former First Minister of Scotland
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