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 National Records of Scotland (NRS) 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. Others, like the letters of Mary Queen of Scots to the Earl of Cassillis, are preserved in private papers in NRS, the National Library of Scotland and elsewhere.

The records

Many of the records in the State Papers have been printed and are listed below under Publications.

Publications

Many of the surviving state papers are in print. 'The Guide to the National Archives of Scotland', chapter one, includes a brief history and guidance on printed sources. Those listed below will be useful:

R K Hannay. 'The Letters of James IV,1505-1513' (Scottish History Society, 1953) on the National Library of Scotland's website

R K Hannay. 'The Letters of James V, 1513-42' (HMSO, 1954)

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)