Twenty-five leading scholars provide the definitive history of the Scottish parliament in three volumes The Scottish parliament has, until now, been shockingly under-researched by Scottish historians. This new history will go a long way towards redressing the balance, not merely putting the record straight but making it visible for the first time. Volume 2 describes its role in the reign of James VI and throughout the century between the unions of the crowns in 1603 and of the parliaments in 1707, a period of royal absenteeism, religious upheaval, revolutions, civil wars, and economic catastrophe. The refounding of the parliament in Edinburgh makes this a good time for a new look at the history, workings, and effectiveness of its long medieval and early modern antecedent.