The Coroners of Northern Britain c. 1300–1700

For the last 800 years coroners have been important in England's legal and political landscape, best known as investigators of sudden, suspicious, or unexplained death. Against the background of the coroner's role in historic England, this book explains how sudden death was investigated by magistrates in Scotland. For the last 800 years coroners have been important in England's legal and political landscape, best known as investigators of sudden, suspicious, or unexplained death. In contrast, historians have largely ignored, misunderstood, or dismissed the office of coroner in Scotland. Contrary to popular belief, Scotland had coroners, but their functions were quite different from their English namesakes. Against the background of the coroner's role in historic England, this book explains how sudden death was investigated by magistrates in Scotland. It explores how Scottish coroners functioned as executive judicial officers, who serviced criminal circuit courts. They were men of action who dealt primarily with living miscreants and their assets, while also having other tasks, including quasi-military roles. The book explains their place in late medieval and early modern Scottish justice and how, over time, they were side-lined by changes in the constitution of courts and in legal procedures, becoming obsolete in the eighteenth century. Finally, it draws intriguing parallels between the distinctive role of coroners in the north of England and Wales, prior to the seventeenth century, and their counterparts in Scotland. It is a study in legal history, which also sheds valuable light on social, administrative, and political formations in the component parts of historic Britain. It provides essential historical background for understanding the work of coroners in the modern world Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 7 Acknowledgements 8 List of Abbreviations 9 A Note on Presentation 10 Introduction: The History of Coroners in Britain 12 1 Coroners in England, Wales and Ireland: An Overview of the Development of Their Roles 19 2 Investigating Sudden Death in Scotland: The Task of Local Magistrates 33 3 Scottish Coroners: Origins and Development of the Office to c.1500 49 4 Scottish Coroners from c.1500 until Their Disappearance in the Eighteenth Century 80 5 Regional and National Histories: Similarities and Differences between the Coroners of Northern Britain 108 Conclusion: Coroners and British history 123 Select Bibliography 129 Index 132 Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: The History of Coroners in Britain....Pages 1-7 Coroners in England, Wales and Ireland: An Overview of the Development of Their Roles....Pages 8-21 Investigating Sudden Death in Scotland: The Task of Local Magistrates....Pages 22-37 Scottish Coroners: Origins and Development of the Office to c.1500....Pages 38-68 Scottish Coroners from c.1500 until Their Disappearance in the Eighteenth Century....Pages 69-96 Regional and National Histories: Similarities and Differences between the Coroners of Northern Britain....Pages 97-111 Conclusion: Coroners and British history....Pages 112-117 Back Matter....Pages 118-123