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Justiciar of Scotia

 

 
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The Justiciar of Scotia (in Norman-Latin
Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration....
, Justiciarus Scotie) was the most senior legal office
Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages

Scottish legal institutions in the High Middle Ages are, for the purposes of this article, the informal and formal systems which governed and helped to manage Scottish society between the years 900 and 1288, a period roughly corresponding with the general European era usually called the High Middle Ages....
 in the High Medieval
Scotland in the High Middle Ages

The history of Scotland in the High Middle Ages covers Scotland in the era between the death of Donald II of Scotland in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, which led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
 Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
. Scotia
Scotia

Scotia was originally a Latin geographical expression of the territory inhabited by the people Latin writers called Scoti, the early Gaels. As such it became a common name for Ireland, the island also written, as it was known to the Romans, Hibernia....
 (meaning Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
) in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth
River Forth

The River Forth , 47 km long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some 30 km west of Stirling....
 and River Clyde
River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
.

The institution has some Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William I of England in 1066, although a few Normans were already in England before the conquest....
 origins, but in Scotland north of the Forth it represented some form of continuity with an older office, a senior version of a Judex, a native Scottish lawman often with province-wide responsibilities.






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The Justiciar of Scotia (in Norman-Latin
Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration....
, Justiciarus Scotie) was the most senior legal office
Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages

Scottish legal institutions in the High Middle Ages are, for the purposes of this article, the informal and formal systems which governed and helped to manage Scottish society between the years 900 and 1288, a period roughly corresponding with the general European era usually called the High Middle Ages....
 in the High Medieval
Scotland in the High Middle Ages

The history of Scotland in the High Middle Ages covers Scotland in the era between the death of Donald II of Scotland in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, which led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
 Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
. Scotia
Scotia

Scotia was originally a Latin geographical expression of the territory inhabited by the people Latin writers called Scoti, the early Gaels. As such it became a common name for Ireland, the island also written, as it was known to the Romans, Hibernia....
 (meaning Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
) in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth
River Forth

The River Forth , 47 km long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some 30 km west of Stirling....
 and River Clyde
River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
.

The institution has some Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William I of England in 1066, although a few Normans were already in England before the conquest....
 origins, but in Scotland north of the Forth it represented some form of continuity with an older office, a senior version of a Judex, a native Scottish lawman often with province-wide responsibilities. Mormaer
Mormaer

The title of Mormaer designates a regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. In theory, although not always in practice, a Mormaer was second only to the Kings of Scots, and the senior of a toisech....
 Causantín of Fife
Causantín, Earl of Fife

Causant?n of Fife is the first man we know for certain to have been Mormaer of Fife. Causant?n's floruit can be placed between 1095 and 1128....
 was styled judex magnus (i.e. "great Brehon") in Scotia, and it is probable that the Justiciarship of Scotia was just a further Latinisation/Normanisation of that position. By the middle of the thirteenth century, the responsibilities of the Justiciar became fully formalised. He supervised the activity and behaviour of royal sheriffs and sergeants, held courts and reported on these things to the king personally.

List of Justiciars of Scotia, to 1328

The following list, going up to 1328, consists of names who appears as Justiciar of Scotia in sources. The sources, especially in the twelfth century, are far from exhaustive, and so many names are doubtless missing. Note also that, in the earliest period, there could be more than one Justiciar in operation at the same point in time.

  • Causantín, Mormaer of Fife
    Causantín, Earl of Fife

    Causant?n of Fife is the first man we know for certain to have been Mormaer of Fife. Causant?n's floruit can be placed between 1095 and 1128....
    , judex magnus in Scotia, 1128x30
  • Donnchad II, Mormaer of Fife
    Donnchad II, Earl of Fife

    Mormaer Donnchad II, anglicized as Duncan or Dunecan, succeeded his father Donnchad I, Earl of Fife as a child. As a child of the previous Mormaer, he was entitled to succeed his father through primogeniture, but not to lead his clan, Clan MacDuff....
    , 1154x1164-1203
  • Matthew, Bishop of Aberdeen, 1172x1199
  • Gille Brigte, Mormaer of Strathearn
    Gille Brigte, Earl of Strathearn

    Gille Brigte of Strathearn is the third known Mormaer of Strathearn. He is one of the most famous of the Strathearn mormaers. He succeeded his father Ferchar, Earl of Strathearn in 1171....
    , 1172x1199
  • William Comyn, Earl of Buchan
    William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan

    William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan was one of four sons of Richard Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born Scotland, in Altyre, Moray in 1163 and died in Buchan in 1233 where he is buried in Deer Abbey....
    , 1205-32
  • Walter fitz Alan, High Steward
    Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland

    Walter, Steward of Dundonald was 3rd hereditary High Steward of Scotland and Justiciar of Scotia.He was the eldest son of Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland by his second wife Alesta, daughter of Morgg?n, Earl of Mar....
    , 1232-41
  • Philip de Melville and Robert de Monte Alto, 1241-44
  • Alan, Royal Hostarius
    Alan Durward

    Alan Hostarius or Alan Durward was the son of Thomas de Lundin, a grandson of Gille Cr?st, Earl of Mar. His mother's name is unknown, but she was almost certainly a daughter of M?el Coluim, Earl of Atholl, meaning that Alan was the product of two Mormaer....
    , 1244-51
  • Philip de Meldrum or Ferdarg (Feradach) and Michael de Monte Alto, 1251-53
  • Alan, Royal Hostarius, 1255-57
  • Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan
    Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan

    Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. He was the son of William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, the heiress of the last Gaels Mormaer of Buchan, Fergus, Earl of Buchan....
    , 1258-89
  • Andreas de Moravia (father of the famous Andrew Moray
    Andrew Moray

    Andrew Moray , , also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was a prominent military leader during the Scottish Wars of Independence....
    ), 1289x93-96x
  • John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
    John Comyn, Earl of Buchan

    John Comyn, Earl of Buchan was a Scottish nobleman and an important opponent of King Robert I of Scotland in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence....
    , 1300-x1305
  • English Tetrarchy, 2 North and 2 South of the Mounth
    Mounth

    The Mounth is the range of hills on the southern edge of River Dee, Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland. It was usually referred to with the article, i.e....
    , 1305-6:
    • Reginald Cheyne and John de Vaux (north)
    • Robert Keith
      Robert Keith (soldier)

      Sir Robert Keith was Earl Marischal of Scotland during Wars of Scottish Independence.He supported King Robert I of Scotland, and commanded the Scottish cavalry at the Battle of Bannockburn....
        and William Inge (south)
  • Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood, appointed 1328.


See also

  • Scotland in the High Middle Ages
    Scotland in the High Middle Ages

    The history of Scotland in the High Middle Ages covers Scotland in the era between the death of Donald II of Scotland in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, which led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
  • Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages
    Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages

    Scottish legal institutions in the High Middle Ages are, for the purposes of this article, the informal and formal systems which governed and helped to manage Scottish society between the years 900 and 1288, a period roughly corresponding with the general European era usually called the High Middle Ages....
  • Justiciar of Lothian
    Justiciar of Lothian

    The Justiciar of Lothian was an important Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages in the Scotland in the High Middle Ages Kingdom of Scotland....
  • Justiciar of Galloway