Compassed about with so great a cloud: the witnesses of Scottish episcopal acta before ca 1250

This article is the result of examining the witnesses to some 600 episcopal acta. Despite the unequal incidence of survival from one diocese to another and the difficulty of identifying those men who had no surname, it is possible to draw some conclusions from this type of evidence. Some-thing can be said about the bishops' clerks and chaplains, other members of their households and their relatives. There is evidence of considerable continuity of personnel from one episcopate to the next. Promotion, including movement to another diocese, can be traced, as can the arrival, growth in numbers and careers of magistri. Surnames allow a consider-ation of the origins of witnesses. Some light is thrown on the growth of cathedral chapters, the introduction of bishops' officials, the role of the Céli Dé, and on clerical dynasties, illegitimacy and pluralism. The Scottish Church is seen to be integrated into the wider Western Church