Like their English counterparts, secular colleges in Scotland have long been recognised as a prominent part of the late medieval landscape without having benefited from much focused attention. Again as for England, considerably more has been published on individual colleges than on the institution as a type, in the form either of publication club document collections or studies of particular foundations. Surveys of late medieval Scotland habitually make reference to college foundation as a significant feature of ecclesiastical life, but cannot say much more. The existing studies of Scottish colleges as a category are useful, but limited. David Easson’s articles of 1938–9 remain an invaluable starting point, but (quite apart from their brevity) emerge as in some respects unhelpful in the light of more recent research. George Hay examines architecture only. The ‘Secular Colleges’ section of Easson and Cowan’s Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland provides an indispensable collection of outline narratives and references, particularly when supplemented by the relevant parts of Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, but makes no pretence of offering further analysis.

The historiography of Scottish colleges is, however, naturally situated within that of the medieval Church in Scotland: when seen in this context, it must be admitted that colleges begin to seem relatively richly treated. The combination of poor record survival and the Reformation’s deep impression upon the Scottish historical memory means that medieval ecclesiastical historiography is still patchy, despite the work of several twentieth-century pioneers. Even when one does, then, begin to consider Scottish colleges as a group, efforts to contextualise them may have unsatisfactory results. To brighten this gloomy picture, three points should be noted. First, the various individual studies and reference works already referred to in fact offer a very good basis for examination of colleges as a group. Second, the theme, recurrent throughout the present collection of essays, of the inadequacies of existing college typology is as applicable for Scotland as for England; other themes also emerging, most notably the importance of music and highly developed liturgy, also shed light on the Scottish situation. It is increasingly apparent that some long-held categorisations may be unhelpful, while nevertheless confirming the usefulness of maintaining the international context. Both these points, however, suggest that the study of Scottish colleges promises to be fruitful. Third, in vindication of this, when considered as a group, Scottish colleges indeed prove to be particularly enlightening.