State papers

Introduction The first clear evidence of the existence of a royal secretary is in the reign of David II (1329-71). It was the task of the royal secretary and his officers to draft treaties, credentials for envoys, the king's letters to foreign potentates and other diplomatic documents. Very little survives, however, from the Scottish secretariat, and much that does was once in private hands. It seems that many of the Scottish secretaries were tempted to retain the papers as their private property. In contrast to England, no attempt was made to recover these papers after the Secretary had resigned or died. For this reason, the State Paper series held at the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) is the result of a random accumulation or a conscious selection. Some documents and letter books, such as the Declaration of Arbroath, 1320, the earliest letter of Mary Queen of Scots, 1550 and the Exemplification of the Act of Union, 1707, have found their way back into the national archives.

The records

Other sources for state papers in the NAS

Publications

R K Hannay, 'The Letters of James V, 1513-42' (Scottish History Society, 1953)

G P V Akrigg, ed., 'The Letters of James VI' (University of California, 1984)

'Memorials of the Earls of Haddington' (Edinburgh, 1889), vol. 2

'The Melrose Papers' (Abbotsford Club, 1837) vol. 1

Annie I Cameron, ed., 'Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine, 1542 - 1560' (Scottish History Society, 1927)

Marguerite Wood, ed., 'Foreign Correspondence with Marie de Lorraine, Queen of Scotland from the originals in the Balcarres papers, 1548-1557' (Scottish History Society, 1925) lxi. The Balcarres papers are held by the National Library of Scotland

'Papers relative to the Regalia of Scotland, 1651-1660' (Bannatyne Club, 1829)

'The Warrender Papers' (Scottish History Society, 1931-2).

J. Bain, ed., 'Calendar of Letters and Papers relating to the Affairs of the Borders of England and Scotland', 2 vols. (1894-6)

J. Bain, ed., 'Letters and Papers Illustrating the Political Relations of England and Scotland in the XIVth Century. Formerly in the possession of the Dukes of Hamilton, now in the British Museum', 2 vols. (1890-2)

Foreign correspondence: England
Rymer, 'Foedera, conventiones…et acta publica inter Reges Angliae…' (1816-69)

Joseph Bain, 'Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland' (Edinburgh, 1881-8) and supplement (Edinburgh, 1986)

'Calendar of Letters and Papers (Foreign and Domestic) of the reign of Henry VIII' (HMSO, 1870-1932)

'Calendar of State Papers' (Domestic)

J Bain and others, ed. 'Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots, 1547-1603', (HMSO, 1898-1969)

Foreign correspondence: France
A Teulet, ed., 'Inventaire chronologique de documents relatifs a l'histoire d'Ecosse' (Abbotsford Club, 1839)

Foreign correspondence: Norway
Norsk Historisk Kjeldeskrift Institutt, 'Diplomatarium Norvegicum', (Oslo, 1910)

National Archives of Scotland
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