Coming of Age Query

[castlebob]

I've seen many refs in old docs stating that someone was 'of age' and wondered what age that was in 16th C Scotland. Can anyone help?
Cheers,
Bob

[terianne]

the legal age for marriage is 16, unless a court order issued blocking it

as for other docs 21 could have been a standard age.  back in the day you had the be over 21 to be considered an Adult.

[castlebob]

Just to clarify: are you quoting the 16th C 'coming of age', or are you referring to current times?
Cheers,
Bob

[DonM]

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/registration/getting-married-in-scotland/minimum-age-for-marriage-in-scotland

[KGarrad]

James II (of Scotland) was born in 1430.
He came to the throne on the assassination of his father, in 1437.
He "came of age" in 1449, when he married the 15 year old Mary of Guelders.

[castlebob]

Thanks All!
Cheers,
Bob

[djct59]

In older Scots law, schildhood was divided into two parts - pupillarity, where you had no independent rights at all, and ended when a girl was twelve and a boy was fourteen. At that stage you entered a stage of slightly greater legal rights called minority. You could not own heritable property (a house or flat), but had some limited rights, including the right enter some contracts, the right to leave school and choose where you lived (forisfamiliation) In 1780 it was stated in Morison's Dictionary "By the common law and prior to the statute 1696, as soon as the years of pupillarity were past, minors were free to act for themselves". Full majority was acquired at age 21, until the Age of Majority (Scotland) Act 1969 reduced it to eighteen.

All of this was finally swept away by the Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991, which granted sixteen year olds of both sexes full legal capacity to enter into a contract.

There are some technical exceptions, but that's a very rough summary.