Parliament gave consent for the raising of taxation and played an important role in the administration of justice, foreign policy, war, and the passing of a broad range of legislation.

[2] Long portrayed as a constitutionally defective body that acted merely as a rubber stamp for royal decisions, modern research has found that the Parliament of Scotland played an active role in Scottish affairs.

[1] The members were collectively referred to as the Three Estates (Scots: Thrie Estaitis), or "three communities of the realm" (tres communitates), until 1690 composed of: The first estate comprised the archbishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, the bishops of Aberdeen, Argyll, Brechin, Caithness, Dunblane, Dunkeld, Galloway, Isles, Moray, Orkney and Ross and, at different periods, various abbots, priors, archdeacons, and deans.

[6] The clerical estate was abolished between 1639 and 1662, and then again from 1689 when bishops themselves were removed from the Church of Scotland, as a result of the Glorious Revolution and the accession of William II.

[9] By the early 14th century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and Robert the Bruce began regularly calling burgh commissioners to his Parliament.

Consisting of The Three Estates – of clerics, lay tenants-in-chief and burgh commissioners – sitting in a single chamber, the Scottish parliament acquired significant powers over particular issues.

In addition to Edinburgh, meetings were held in Perth, Stirling, St Andrews, Dundee, Linlithgow, Dunfermline, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

After the Restoration, the Lord Chancellor was made ex-officio president of the parliament, his functions including the formulation of questions and putting them to the vote.

In the past, historians have been particularly critical of this body, claiming that it quickly came to be dominated by royal nominees, thus undermining the power of the full assembly.

As early as the reign of David II, parliament was able to prevent him pursuing his policy of a union of the crowns with England, while the 15th-century Stewart monarchs were consistently influenced by a prolonged period of parliamentary strength.

With the death of Alexander III, Scotland found itself without an adult monarch, and in this situation, Parliament seems to have become more prominent as a means to give added legitimacy to the Council of Guardians who ran the country.

[19] By the end of the Middle Ages the Parliament had evolved from the King's Council of Bishops and Earls into a "colloquium" with a political and judicial role.

[22] [23] It acquired significant powers over particular issues, including consent for taxation, but it also had a strong influence over justice, foreign policy, war, and other legislation, whether political, ecclesiastical, social or economic.

In 1431, Parliament granted a tax to James I for a campaign in the Highlands on the condition that it be kept in a locked chest under the keepership of figures deeply out of favour with the King.

It refused to forfeit his brother, the Duke of Albany, despite a royal siege of the Duke's castle, tried to prevent the King leading his army against the English (a powerful indication of the estates' lack of faith in their monarch), and appointed men to the Lords of the Articles and important offices who were shortly to remove the King from power.

This was a trend seen in other European nations as monarchical power grew stronger – for instance England under Henry VII, as well as France and Spain.

[25] Like many continental assemblies, the Scottish Parliament was being called less frequently by the early sixteenth century and might have been dispensed with by the crown had it not been for the series of minorities and regencies that dominated from 1513.

It had been used by James V to uphold Catholic orthodoxy[30] and asserted its right to determine the nature of religion in the country, disregarding royal authority in 1560.

Their position in the parliament remained uncertain and their presence fluctuated until the 1428 act was revived in 1587 and provision made for the annual election of two commissioners from each shire (except Kinross and Clackmannan, which had one each).

[31] A further group appeared in the Parliament from the minority of James VI in the 1560s, with members of the Privy Council representing the king's interests, until they were excluded in 1641.

[citation needed] During the 16th century, the composition of Parliament underwent a number of significant changes and it found itself sharing the stage with new national bodies.

[citation needed] Following the Reformation, laymen acquired the monasteries and those sitting as "abbots" and "priors" were now, effectively, part of the estate of nobles.

[38] Following the execution the Scots accepted Charles II as king in 1649 but their attempt to put him on the English throne was defeated in the 1649–1651 Anglo-Scots War.

[44] The Claim of Right which offered the crown to Mary and her husband William, placed important limitations on royal power, including the abolition of the Lords of the Articles.

[46] The 1707 Acts of Union created a combined Parliament of Great Britain, which sat in Westminster and largely continued English traditions without interruption.

[47] Robert Burns famously claimed Union was brought about by Scots "bought and sold for English gold" and bribery certainly played a prominent role.

[48] However, it was also driven by the same trends the Scots attempted to manage in the 1640s, worsened by the events of the 1690s; this was a time of economic hardship and famine in many parts of Europe, known in Scotland as the Seven ill years.

[58] At the third table, nearest to the burgh and shire commissioners, sat the senators of the College of Justice who, though unable to vote, could provide legal advice.

[66] Security was assured by the guards of the Lord High Constable and the Earl Marischal, who were lined up from the door of Parliament House to the Royal Mile.

[76] The Lord High Commissioner was received at the door of Parliament House by the Lord High Constable and the Earl Marischal, both of whom led the Commissioner to the throne, followed by the Gentleman Usher of the White Rod, while, amid the blowing of trumpets, the Honours of Scotland were laid on the table in the centre of Parliament Hall.