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For a long time it had been Castle,
Court and Parliament which had drawn people and trade to Edinburgh. But in 1603
the King had left for the south and the important nobles had followed. By the
end of the same century, Parliament too would soon be gone. The Castle and all
it stood for would remain, but its role would diminish.
What held the city together
and gave it its continued identity was trade. This the merchants of Edinburgh
guarded zealously, as they had always done.
Before
the Reformation there was a Guild of Merchants which maintained an altar in
St Giles' Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Blood. In 1505 James IV became a
member of this confraternity.
Early in the sixteenth century the craftsmen formed themselves
into the Incorporated Trades, and demanded an ever-greater share in the running
of the City. The
bickering between those who made and those who sold reached such heights that
in 1583 James IV found it necessary to issue his 'Decree Arbitral' whereby
the Incorporations Deacons became councillors and the Council was composed
of seventeen merchants, sixteen craftsmen and a Lord Provost. This was very
much in favour of the merchants, as in effect it gave them control of the Town
Council. Henceforth the Provost, the four Bailies, the Dean of Guild and the
Treasurer were all chosen from the Merchant class. This continued until 1830.
A
burial in St Giles' Cathedral was a much-coveted privilege and purchase of
sites by the Incorporations was extensive; as many as ten for each of them
was the average in 1553. This may account for the fact that some are located
under the pulpit.
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