The community of the realm in Scotland, 1249–1424
History, law and charters in a recreated kingdom

The model of the Dynamic Edition of Regiam maiestatem is the first (even partial) edition of Scotland's earliest surviving legal tractate which elucidates its complex manuscript tradition and shows how textual change can be a means to understanding historical and legal change.

Regiam maiestatem is Scotland's earliest surviving legal tractate. It was first held up as an authority of Scots law in 1426, but we think it was compiled during the reign of Robert I. This new sample edition is the first to show how varied the surviving manuscripts of Regiam are, and thus offers an entry point into understanding not only Regiam itself but legal knowledge and expertise in late medieval Scotland.

Bute MS (C), prologue, fo. 27r.

Owing to the limits of a three-year research project, we can only model samples of a dynamic edition of Regiam. We hope, however, by applying the dynamic edition model to a text as interesting and complicated as Regiam, that the potential of this model will allow for more development in the future.

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