The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

government of

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 ...

, the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of ...

Lord Treasurer

The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the New Augmentation'', formed as it was from the amalgamation of four earlier offices. Of these, the Treasurer and

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

had originated in 1425 when the

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

's financial functions were transferred to them. From 1466 the Comptroller had sole responsibility for financing the royal household to which certain revenues (the property) were appropriated, with the Treasurer being responsible for the remaining revenue (the casualty) and other expenditure. The Collector-General, created in 1562, handled the Crown's revenue from the thirds of benefices, and the Treasurer of the New Augmentation was responsible for the former church lands annexed to the Crown in 1587. From 1581 Queen Elizabeth sent

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

an annual sum of money. In February 1599 the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

declared that the Treasurer would administer this English subsidy, spending it on clothes for the royal family and the household of

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

. In previous years the goldsmith

Thomas Foulis Thomas Foulis ( fl. 1580–1628) was a Scottish goldsmith, mine entrepreneur, and royal financier. Thomas Foulis was an Edinburgh goldsmith and financier, and was involved in the mint and coinage, gold and lead mining, and from May 1591 the receip ...

and cloth merchant

Robert Jousie Robert Jousie (or Joussie or Jowsie or Jossie; died 1626) was a Scottish merchant, financier, and courtier. Life Jousie was a cloth merchant based in Edinburgh with a house on the High Street or Royal Mile. He became an exclusive supplier of fa ...

accounted this money. All four offices were held by the same person from 1610 onwards, but their separate titles survived the effective merging of their functions in 1635. From 1667 to 1682 the Treasury was in commission, and again from 1686 to 1708, when the separate Scottish Treasury was abolished. From 1690 the Crown nominated one person to sit in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as Treasurer. The

Treasurer-depute The Treasurer-depute was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland. It was the equivalent of the English post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Originally a deputy to the Treasurer, the Treasurer-depute emerged as a separate Crown app ...

was also a senior post in the pre-

government of Scotland. It was the equivalent of the English post of

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

. Originally a deputy to the Treasurer, the Treasurer-depute emerged as a separate Crown appointment by 1614. Its holder attended the

in the absence of the Treasurer, but gained independent membership of the Council in 1587 and sat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

as a

Great Officer of State Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the Royal Household, from which the officers of state arose, initially having household and government duties. Later some of these officers became ...

in 1593 and from 1617 onwards.

List of Treasurers

The following have been identified as Treasurers of Scotland.

Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer

Clothes for the Moir (National Records of Scotland)

The final audited accounts of the Lord High Treasurer were public records of Scotland. These survive as an almost complete record from 1473 to 1635 at

General Register House General Register House is an Adam style neoclassical building on Princes Street, Edinburgh, purpose built by Robert Adam between 1774 and 1788 as the headquarters of the National Archives of Scotland. It is a Category A listed building. Archit ...

in Edinburgh. Even the early accounts were written on paper rather than vellum. The

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...

was preferred over Latin for the expenditure or "discharge" side. The income, of rents and feudal duties, especially the fees on property transactions known as "compositions", was written in Latin. The record of expenses varies considerably over the reigns. For example, as Regent,

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

paid for her stable, costume, and wardrobe separately and these expenses do not occur in her treasurer's accounts. There are also surviving duplicate volumes for the years 1574 to 1596. These volumes were kept for many years by the family of the Earl of Leven and Melville, and were deposited in the National Archives of Scotland in 1944. Their exact purpose in royal accounting remains unclear. The layout of these duplicate accounts and the wording of the entries is not an exact replica of the main series. The manuscripts were published between 1877 and 1978 in thirteen volumes covering up to 1580. The editors silently abbreviated and omitted some material, especially details of making costume.Michael Pearce, 'Review: Dressing the Scottish Court, 1543-1553', ''Innes Review'', 71:1 (Edinburgh, 2020), pp. 120-2
/ref> Historians often refer to the published volumes in references as ''TA'':
''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1473–1498, vol. 1, HM General Register House, (Edinburgh, 1877).

''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1506-1507, HM Register House, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901).

''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1507-1513, HM Register House, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902).

''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1515-1531, HM Register House, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1903).

''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1531-1538, HM Register House, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1905).

''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1538-1541, HM Register House, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907).

''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', 1541-1546, HM Register House, vol. 8, (Edinburgh, 1908)
* ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', 1566–1574, vol. 12, Scottish Record Office, (1970) * ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', 1574–1580, vol. 13, Scottish Record Office, (1978)

Notes

References

External links

Guide to the Exchequer records at the National Archives of Scotland

Maurits den Hollander, 'Comparative cultures of accountability: the Scottish Exchequer and the Audit Chamber of Holland between 1477 and 1515', ''Comparative Legal History'', 6:2 (2018), pp. 158-183
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treasurer of Scotland Lists of political office-holders in Scotland Monarchy and money Scottish exchequer