Preface

Summary

Dr Peter Anderson, the lead editor, did not live to see the publication of this volume. He died in October 2022 after suffering from a debilitating illness for several years. Peter had a deep knowledge of the period of the Stewart earldom in Orkney and Shetland and published biographies of both Lord Robert Stewart and his son Patrick.

Thanks are given to a variety of individuals for assistance and, where necessary, permission to publish items from within the correspondence and related legal documents. Most notable are the duke of Roxburghe and the National Library of Scotland (NLS), who hold the bulk of the letters, and gave permission for their use. Thanks for liaison with the duke's archives at Floors Castle are due to the National Register of Archives of Scotland. Much background material in filling in the whole background to the period was derived from lengthy previous researches on the Stewart earls of Orkney, on the history of Orkney and Shetland, and the lands of the abbey of Holyroodhouse, in the National Archives (now Records) of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, the Orkney Library and Archives, the Shetland Museum and Archives. Overall thanks are therefore due to successive Keepers of the Records of Scotland, National Librarians, the staff of their respective institutions, and the archivists of Orkney and Shetland.