Romano-Canonical Procedure in Reformation Scotland: The Example of the Court of the Commissaries of Edinburgh

This article is based upon a detailed study of the Romano-canonical procedure used by the Commissaries of Edinburgh during the era of the Scottish Reformation. At the time of the appointment of the Commissaries of Edinburgh in February 1563/64, they were instructed to use the procedure of the Court of Session, which had itself been heavily influenced by the Romano-canonical procedure of the pre-Reformation courts of the Catholic Church in Scotland. While this article focuses upon the evidence of the registers of the Court of the Commissaries of Edinburgh, comparisons are variously made with the procedure of the Court of Session, of the pre-Reformation courts of the Officials in Scotland, and of the courts of the early Church of Scotland.