The Scottish Parliaments - The Role Of Ritual and Procession in the pre-1707 Parliament and the New Parliament from 1999

First paragraph: Whether in modern parliaments - no taxation without representation - or in medieval and early modern equivalents - no representation without taxation - members, elected or appointed, were and are representatives: representatives of nation, of social class and of economic group. The pageantry deployed at parliaments, articulated with the symbolism of sovereignty and tradition, are necessary to underscore the legitimate role of these peoples' representatives and their relationship to sovereign power. This is seen most clearly in state openings of parliament as carried out within the available space and geography of ritual