Course: Early Modern Scottish Palaeography: Reading Scotland's Records

As we have seen, the extant kirk session minute books are the foremost record of the parish in early modern Scotland. Having considered the nature of the these records and …

The kirk session records cover a wide variety of case types and include complaints and depositions given in by local men and women. They have helped us better understand a …

By the mid-seventeenth century, Scotland had approximately 900-1000 parishes each with its own kirk session. The minute books of a session provide a remarkable insight into the dynamics of each …

You have covered a lot of ground in your first week of the course. Now is the time to reflect on what you have learned: You have been introduced to …

The kirk session was undoubtedly the most significant innovation of the Reformed church. It was the vehicle of choice in the drive to create a society of Protestant Scots. With …

According to the Scots Confession of Faith, a true church was defined by preaching of the scriptures, correct administration of the sacraments and ecclesiastical discipline ‘quhairby vice is repressit and …

Despite the efforts of Archbishop Hamilton, the clerical hierarchy of the medieval Scottish church was reluctant to reform a system which played to their interests. There was also little in …

This video will introduce you to the quirks of early modern punctuation. The focus will be on the use of horizontal pen strokes and capital letters. You will also be …

State records The Scottish Parliament evolved during the medieval period from the king’s council of bishops and earls. The first identifiable parliament emerges in 1235 as a ‘colloquium’ with a …

Reading manuscripts It is the purpose of this three week course to develop your palaeography skills in order to improve your reading of manuscripts, and especially those from early modern …