The Justiciar of Scotia (in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, ''Justiciarus Scotie'') was the most senior legal office in the

High Medieval The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500 ...

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a la ...

. ''

Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" around ...

'' (meaning

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

) in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...

and

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

. The other Justiciar positions were the

Justiciar of Lothian The Justiciar of Lothian (in Norman-Latin, ''Justiciarus Laudonie'') was an important legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. The Justiciars of Lothian were responsible for the administration of royal justice in the province ...

and the

Justiciar of Galloway The Justiciar of Galloway was an important legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. The Justiciars of Galloway were responsible for the administration of royal justice in the province of Galloway. The other Justiciar positions wer ...

. The institution has some

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

origins, but in Scotland north of the Forth it represented some form of continuity with an older office, a senior version of a ''Judex'' or '' Brithem'', a native Scottish lawman often with

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

-wide responsibilities.

Mormaer In early Middle Ages, medieval Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, a mormaer was the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the Kings of Scots, King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chi ...

Causantín of Fife Constantine ( or ; Latin: ''Cōnstantīnus'', Greek: , ''Kōnstantînos'') is a masculine and feminine (in French for example) given name and surname which is derived from the Latin name ''Constantinus'', a hypocoristic of the first names Constan ...

was styled ''judex magnus'' (i.e. "great

Brehon Brehon ( ga, breitheamh, ) is a term for a historical arbitration, mediative and judicial role in Gaelic culture. Brehons were part of the system of Early Irish law, which was also simply called " Brehon law". Brehons were judges, close in impo ...

") 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 1400

The following list, going up to 1400, 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. In the earliest period, there could be more than one Justiciar in operation at the same point in time. * Causantín, Mormaer of Fife, ''judex magnus in Scotia'', 1128x30 * Duncan II, Mormaer of Fife, 1154x1164-1203 *

Matthew, Bishop of Aberdeen Matthew (died 1199) was a 12th-century churchman residing in Scotland. He is the first man known to have held the position of Archdeacon of St Andrews, his first known ecclesiastical post. He occurs in this office in a document which can be dated ...

, 1172x1199 * Gille Brigte, Mormaer of Strathearn, 1172x1199 * William Comyn, Earl of Buchan, 1205–32 * Walter fitz Alan, High Steward, appointed 2 Feb 1231/2 to 1241 * Philip de Melville and Robert de Monte Alto obert de Mowat, elder, was appointed April 1241 1241–44. * Alan Durward, Royal Hostarius, 1244–51 *

Philip de Meldrum Philip de Meldrum, Lord of Meldrum, Justiciar of Scotia, was a Scottish noble. He was a son of Philippe de Fedarg. Philip was granted the position of Justiciar of Scotia in 1251, which was the most senior legal office in the Kingdom of Scotland ...

or Ferdarg (Feradach) and Michael de Monte Alto, 1251–53 * Alan Durward, Royal Hostarius, 1255–57 * Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, 1258–89 *

Andrew Moray Andrew Moray ( xno, Andreu de Moray; la, Andreas de Moravia), also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was an esquire, who became one of Scotland's war-leaders during the First Scottish War of Independence. Moray, he ...

(father of the famous

), 1289x93-96x *William de Mortimer (1296–97) *

John Comyn, Earl of Buchan John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch ...

, 1300-x1305 * English Tetrarchy, 2 North and 2 South of the

Mounth The Mounth ( ) is the broad upland in northeast Scotland between the Highland Boundary and the River Dee, at the eastern end of the Grampians. Name and etymology The name ''Mounth'' is ultimately of Pictish origin. The name is derived from ...

, 1305-6: * Reginald Cheyne and John de Vaux 1305-06. * Sir William de Montifex of Auchterarder, of Stobhall and of Cargill. Before 1328. *

Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood Sir Robert de Lawedre (Lauder), Knt., of Quarrelwood, Edrington, and the Bass (died about 1370) was Justiciar of Scotia, a Scottish soldier of great prominence and Captain of Urquhart Castle. He is recorded by Fordun, in his ''Scotichronicon'', ...

and The Bass, appointed 1328 (d. 1370). * Sir Malcolm Drummond of that Ilk, & c., (d. 1428) before 1400.Anderson, William, ''The Scottish Nation'', Edinburgh, 1867, vol.iv, p.62.

References

{{Reflist * Barow, G.W.S., "The ''Judex''", in Barrow (ed.) ''The Kingdom of the Scots'', (Edinburgh, 2003), pp. 57–67 * Barow, G.W.S. "The Justiciar", in Barrow (ed.) ''The Kingdom of the Scots'', (Edinburgh, 2003), pp. 68–111 Lists of office-holders in Scotland Medieval Scots law Scots law formal titles College of Justice 12th-century establishments in Scotland