Why did early modern nobilities remain so powerful? In this volume Brown builds on his previous book, "Noble Society in Scotland", to argue that in spite of the changes brought about by the Reformation, by the recovery of crown authority and by the regal union between England and Scotland, the huge power exercised by the nobility remained fundamentally unaltered. Hence, when political crisis did surface in 1637-8, the crown lacked the means to oppose a nobleled revolution. "Noble Power in Scotland" discusses the nobility's political relationship with the crown in chapters at either end of this volume, taking the regal union of 1603 as the crucial dividing point. The remainder of the book addresses in turn themes that analyse the various roles nobles inhabited in exercising power. Keith Brown situates the Scottish debate within the wider arena of European nobilities and their enduring power, showing that the Scottish nobility successfully adapted to political change, just as it did to economic and cultural change, to retain its dominant political position throughout the period. It deals with the Reformation and Covenanting Revolution extensively.
It covers all the spheres of society: political, economic, social and cultural. It examines the roles nobles played in ruling the country on every level. It covers the 16th and 17th Century.