| The records of the old Scottish Parliament have gone online. This
new resource allows searching of a database of every act from 1235
up to the Union in 1707, and was created by a team from St Andrews
University. The database supersedes the published edition of the
'Acts of the Scottish Parliaments', which was edited by
Thomas Thomson, Deputy Clerk Register in Register House, and Cosmo
Innes, between 1814 and 1844, and was followed by an index volume
in 1875.
On 15 May 2008 the Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP,
launched the database at the Scottish Parliament, and warmly congratulated
the team, led by Prof Keith Brown. It took the St Andrews team 11
years to create the online edition of 16.5 million words covering
the acts, minutes of meetings and other papers. In order to create
searchable transcriptions and modern translations the project researchers
consulted the original records. Most of the documents are preserved
in the National Archives of Scotland (NAS), but the team also unearthed
records elsewhere which were unknown to the nineteenth century editors.
|
Launching the online project
at the Scottish Parliament: (l-r) Bruno Longmore (NAS), Prof Keith
Brown (St Andrews University, project director), Nicola Sturgeon
MSP (Deputy First Minister), Dr Gillian MacIntosh (St Andrews University,
project manager), Alex Fergusson MSP (Presiding Officer of the Scottish
Parliament), Dr Brian Lang, (Principal of St Andrews University).
|
The NAS carried out conservation work to facilitate access to the
more fragile documents, advised the project, and acted as a channel
for the majority of the funding by the Scottish Government (formerly
the Scottish Executive). Given the NAS's historic links with
the records, it has been fitting that, as Scotland's oldest
national collection, NAS have supported a project by Scotland's
oldest university.
Mr George MacKenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said 'We're
delighted that the latest technology is being used to widen access
to the invaluable historical material contained in the acts of the
old Scottish Parliaments. The standard printed edition was produced
in Register House in the 19th century, and the National Archives
of Scotland are pleased to have been able to support the work of
St Andrews University in creating the new online edition in the
21st century.'
The online resource gives worldwide access to a key part of Scotland's
history, not just for the academic community, but for everyone with
an interest in Scottish history. |
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online resource
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