The Committee of Estates governed Scotland during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...

(1638–1651) when the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

was not sitting. It was dominated by

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from '' Covena ...

s of which the most influential faction was that of the

Earl of Argyll Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Old Norse, Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "Germanic ch ...

.David Plant
The Committee of EstatesBritish Civil Wars & Commonwealth website
Accessed 30 May 2008 The Committee derives its name from the "Estates of Scotland" which was an alternative name for the Parliament of Scotland (see the Three Estates of Scotland).

References

Covenanters Political history of Scotland Wars of the Three Kingdoms 17th century in Scotland Parliament of Scotland Religion and politics Government of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-stub