Scottish Legal Glossary for Genealogists

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The Legal Glossary

The Scottish language has changed over the years, being influenced by other languages and cultures. This section provides you with a definition of those words and phrases commonly found in documents and records throughout Scotland's archives. If you know of a word you would like added to the Glossary then please contact us.

A
Abuilyements [of one’s body] clothing, or garments

acta and decreta Simply "acts and decreets", used in the National Archives of Scotland as specifically the acts and decreets of the Privy Council

A D C A piece of National Archives of Scotland terminology, denoting Acta Dominorum Concilii, the 'Acts of the Lords of Council', which are the records of the king's council acting as a court of law (before the Court of Session started)

adjudication or 'adjudication for debt', the legal action by which a debtor's property was passed to his creditors. Adjudication in implement on the other hand, is a decision by a court to implement a defective title to land.

advowson or advocation is the right of a patron to present a person to a church living or benefice

airschipe see 'heirship'

alba firme The Latin term for blench ferme, whereby lands are held for a 'peppercorn rent'

aliment a maintenance

allenarly only, solely or exclusively

amerciament a fine imposed on a wrong-doer; ("being in mercy" means the same)

anent concerning

annexation the act of uniting lands to the Crown (politely used for "confiscation")

annual rent interest on money which has been lent, which takes the form of a yearly rent out of land

apparent heir not the person who "appears" to be heir to landed property, but the heir who has already succeeded to it

apprising the sentence of a court affecting a debtor's heritable property, as a consequence of which that property would be sold to pay the debt. It was really replaced by the adjudication, because it was too abrupt for popular taste.

APS abbreviation for 'Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland'

arles a payment made to signify completion of a bargain

arrestment seizure by legal process of a person or his property

Articles, lords of were a committee of Parliament which selected in advance the matters which the Parliament was going to (be allowed to) consider

articles of roup the conditions under which the property was to be auctioned

assignation can have various meanings. In general, it means the conveyance to another of one's rights in moveable property, or ones claim for debts, or rights in land which is leased. The person who gets an assignation is called the assignee

assize just means the sitting of a court

assoilzie to find someone 'not guilty', to absolve them from the outcome of a legal action

assythement really the same as what was earlier called weregild or cro; it was a compensation paid to the relatives or friends of someone who had been killed, by the killer(s)

astriction the binding of holders of lands to have their corn ground at only one particular mill, for which they would pay multures and sequels; the lands so astricted (or thirled) to the mill were called the mill's sucken

atour besides, in addition, moreover. It is the usual way of starting a precept of sasine which forms part of a charter, eg "Atour to our lovits........our baillies in that part'

augmentation an action pursued by a minister of the church to get an increase in his stipend

Availl worth, or monetary value

B
baillie a magistrate; but baillies in that pairt (part) are representatives appointed to carry out a specific function, usually the giving of sasine. (People appointed thus by the Crown are sheriffs in that pairt

bairn's pairt of gear children's legal share of their father's moveable property on his death; also called the legitim

baron strictly speaking, someone who holds his lands ('barony') direct from the Crown, which used to be accompanied by certain privileges, particularly as regards the administration of justice

base right the right of someone holdings lands from a former vassal who had granted (usually sold) the lands to him, and not from the superior of the lands. It can also be called "base ( or base) fee. What would normally happen in such a case, would be that the seller would undertake in the grant to get the buyer infeft by the superior of the land also, so that he would have two titles to it

bear, beir, bere barley

benefice a church living

biker beaker; wooden drinking vessel; bowl

bill of lading document detailing the quantity and type of goods loaded aboard a ship

bink bench; wall rack or shelf for dishes; kitchen dresser; hob on a fireplace; ledge at side of fireplace

blench ferme or 'blench holding'. One of the four conditions in Scots law on which lands could be granted; in this case, the lands were held for nominal payment, usually a 'penny money' or a peppercorn, which was only to be paid if it was asked for (si tamen petatur in Latin). This type of holdings was most common when lands had been bought by someone; the seller would be (in theory) the granter of the lands, but in practice would have not further rights in them. (If the buyer held the lands from the seller alone, and not from the superior also, he would have a base right).

boat cask; butt; barrel; tub

boll dry measure of weight or capacity which varied according to the commodity and locality (eg a boll of meal weighed 140lbs, approximately 63.5kg; valuation of land according to the quantity of bolls it produced; payment in food to a farm labourer

bond in general, a written obligation to pay or perform something; a bond of corroboration is an additional confirmation by a debtor of his original debt (for example to the ancestor of the obligor); a bond of caution is an obligation by one person to act as security or surety for another; a bond of relief is an undertaking to relieve such a cautioner from his obligation; a bond of disposition in security was the commonest form of heritable security in the 19th century, combining a personal bond by the borrower with a disposition of the lands on which the sum was secured. Most unusual was the bond of manrent, an obligation by a free person to become the follower of someone who could protect him, who would in turn, undertake to support and maintain him

books of adjournal records of the Court of Justiciary

books of sederunt books recording the acts of the Court of Session

bountie gratuity or gift stipulated in a contract of employment in addition to wages

bouster, bowster bolster; item of bedding

brieve any written royal order in the king's name, typically under his privy seal; most usually a brieve of inquisition, ordering an enquiry to identify the heir to lands

broken men landless men; generally assumed to be living by spuilzie, stouthrief and such unpleasant means, commonly in the Borders and verges of the Highlands

bull loosely used for any papal document, but strictly speaking, a written grant of privilege by a Pope

burgage holding or just 'burgage', the conditions of holding property in royal burghs

C
cadroun, caudron cauldron; large cooking pot

caption "letters of caption" are an authority to arrest a debtor, or someone who has not fulfilled a promised obligation

casualties "feudal casualties" were payments which fell due to a feudal superior when certain events happened, usually to an heir to property held from the superior; the usual casualties were marriage, non-entry, relief and wardship

caution, cautioner security; bail; one who stands surety for another

cessio bonorum surrender of a debtor's goods in favour of his creditors

chalder a measure, which varied from place to place and depending on what it was a measure of. When applied to grain, it was (about) 16 bolls, the boll being (about) 6 imperial bushels

chalfe chaff, used for stuffing mattresses

Chancery the royal writing office which created brieves, charters and other royal documents

chapman, chopman shopkeeper; 'chapman traviler' was a travelling salesman

charge a command in the king's name to do something; usually to enter a person as heir; i.e have him accepted as heir to landed property

cheinyie chain

chopeine, chopin measure of liquid, approx. 0.85 litre; container of this capacity

circuit court an itinerant court which goes round the country trying criminal cases; the one in Scotland is the Court of Justiciary

clait, claith cloth; clothing

clare constat name of a precept (an order), in which a superior acknowledges that it 'clearly appears' that someone is heir to landed property held of the superior, and which orders the giving of sasine

cocket, cocquet seal used by a customs house, applied to a certificate (a "letter of cocket") certifying that duty has been paid on goods to be exported

cod, coad pillow, cushion

codware pillowcase

cog wooden container made of staves; pail; bowl

cognition and sasine the process by which an heir is accepted into property in a burgh

collation applied to benefices; it was the approval given by a bishop to appoint someone to a church living

collegiate church basically a church founded by a private person, in free alms

commendator this was originally a churchman who levied the income from a benefice while it was vacant, but later he was a layman who had a grant of a vacant benefice for life

commissary originally, one of a bishop's officials; but after the Reformation an official of an organisation called the Commissary Court; in both cases he dealt with matters to do with inheritance, particularly the confirmation of testaments

Commissioners of Supply people appointed in each county to assess the land-tax due from it, keep up the roads and control the raising of militia etc

commonty a common; a piece of ground used by or belonging to more than one person

compearance in Scotland, defenders don't "appear" in a legal action; they "compear"

composition a payment made by an heir succeeding to land, to the superior of the land

conjunct fee any title to lands held jointly, usually by husband and wife; a 'conjunct' right is any right held jointly

conjunctly and severally an obligation or empowerment to two or more people to do something, either acting singly or in consort

cordinar, cordiner cordwainer; shoemaker

Council and Session the "books of council and session" is the common name for the Register of Deeds; it can be taken as meaning "books pertaining to the Court of Session"

Court of Justiciary the High Court of Justiciary is the principal criminal court in Scotland, operating through a number of circuits

Court of Session the main court in Scotland which tries civil cases

cruives constructed enclosures used in salmon-fishing

curator a person who is appointed to act for someone else who cannot manage his own affairs, usually someone who administers the estate of a minor

curn, curne literally, a single grain of corn, but usually appearing as 'the third curn' or with another number, indicating a proportion of the crop; small number of quantity, a few

curtilage a courtyard, or some other piece of ground lying near or belonging to an occupied building

D
davach a measurement of land, amounting to about four ploughgates

dead's part, deid's part the part of someone's moveable estate which they are entitled to dispose of by testament after death; see bairn's part and jus relictae, which are the other parts

dale, deal plank; shelf; container, originally made of wood, usually for milk

dean of guild a magistrate of a royal burgh who is also head of its merchant company

debitum fundi a "debt of the land", arising directly out of it, e.g arrears of feu-duty

decimae Tithes -see teinds

declarator a form of action to have some right or interest declared by law

decree or decreet the final judgement or sentence of a court

decree of modification a decree of the Teind Court, modifying a clergyman's stipend

decree of locality a decree of the Teind Court, allocating what particular proportions of such a modified stipend would be paid by each of the parish heritors

decree of valuation a decree of the Teind Court, determining the extent and value of a heritor's teinds

decreet arbitral the award of arbitrators on a point or points at issue jointly submitted to them by the parties in the dispute.

deed in the most usual Scottish sense, a formal written document in a set form which gives the terms of an agreement, contract or obligation; for practical purposes, any document which isn't a sasine or concerned with the transfer of heritable property

de facto "in fact", or it can be applied to something which has been actually done

defender the Scottish term for the party who is defending in a court action

deforcement hindering or resisting officers of the law in the course of their duty

defunct the deceased person

demurrage allowance due to a shipmaster or shipowner for the time a ship is held up longer than usual to be loaded or unloaded

deposition the testimony of a witness put down in writing

destination nomination of successors to a property in a specific order; see entail

diem clausit extremum " he has closed his last day"; the name of a royal order sent to a sheriff to enquire into the death of a debtor of the Crown, and to ensure the Crown is satisfied for the debt

diligence a legal action to compel a defaulting party to an obligation to pay or perform what he had undertaken in the obligation; it comes in various forms, depending on whether action is taken against the defaulter's moveable or heritable property. Horning and poinding are the usual ones applied to moveables, inhibition to heritable subjects.

diocese the extent of a bishop's jurisdiction. They continued important for long after the Reformation, because the area of jurisdiction of each commissary was determined by the bounds of the earlier diocese

discharge a written deed which cancels or extinguishes an obligation, usually one to repay a debt

disclamation a disavowal or rejection by a vassal of a particular person as his superior, for which he would be liable to forfeiture

disposition a deed whereby a right to property (either heritable or moveable) is alienated by one person and conveyed to another

disposition in implement A disposition granted in implement of a previous, imperfect conveyance.

dispositive clause the clause in a deed which transfers property of any sort

dittay the substance of the charge against a person accused of a crime

dominium directum "the direct lordship"; the interest which a feudal superior had in property, like the right to feu duties, casualties and other rights

dominium utile "the lordship by usage"; the interest which a vassal had in landed property, that is, the right to direct usage and enjoyment of the income from the land

doom a judgement or sentence. "Falsing the doom" was to make a protest against a judgement on the grounds that you didn't like it, before taking the matter to a higher court

doomster the public executioner, who, at one time, pronounced sentence

dyvour a bankrupt

E
effeirs, as effeirs, effeiring relating or corresponding to

Egyptians gypsies

eik an addition or supplement to a deed

ejection and intrusion taking violent possession of lands or houses, expelling their lawful possessor, and illegally detaining them; the "heritable equivalent" of spuilzie

ell, elln a measure of length; traditionally the distance between the elbow and the fingertips

elnwand measuring rod one ell long

emphyteusis another term for holding land in return for a yearly payment of rent

engrosser or regrater someone who buys goods in a fair or market and then sells them again in the same or an adjoining market with the purpose of bumping up the price

entail or tailzie. A deed by which the legal course of succession to lands can be altered and another one substituted, or by which the descent of the lands can be secured to a specified succession of heirs and substitutes

entry of an heir acceptance of an heir to landed property by the feudal superior of the property

eodem die "on the same day"

error, summons of a legal action to get someone's service as heir to a property annulled, on the quite reasonable grounds that an inquest had identified the wrong person as heir because a nearer heir existed

escheat the confiscation of property (of whatever type) by the Crown, generally as the consequence of a crime

esow resolve; avoid

estover "common of estover" (really an English term) is the technical name for the right of tenants, for example, to use dead wood for fuel

evidents a Scottish name for any deeds or other written evidence

ex deliberatione dominorum concillii "by the deliberation of the Lords of Council". Written on the bottom of all signet letters, in pursuance of the legal fiction that all these derive directly from the king and his council

excambion a contract whereby one piece of land was exchanged for another

exception Not really a defence, but rather a claim or excuse in the nature of a defence, which was made with the intention of stopping a case in its tracks. The "exception of non-numerate money" (exceptio non numeratae pecuniae) was a claim that the money due to be repaid by a debtor had never been paid, or never properly paid in the first place. The exceptio rei judicatae "the exception of the thing judged" was a claim that the case under consideration had already been tried by a different court.


execution a certificate by a law officer that he had served a summons, letter of diligence or some other writ as he had been ordered to do. It was important to get this right, for if the execution wasn't carried out in exactly the right way, the person summoned, etc. could plead an exception

executor the legal administrator of the moveable property of a dead person, either nominated in the deceased's testament or by the Commissary Court.

executrix female executor

expiry of the legal the end of the period during which lands which had been adjudicated for debt might be recovered by the debtor's repaying of the debt

extent a census or valuation of all the lands in Scotland for tax purposes. The "auld (old) extent" was probably made in the 13th century. By 1474, it had been noticed that it was a bit out of date, and it was replaced by the "new extent" (which was often just the auld extent multiplied by 4,5 or 6). Lands continued to be described in terms of these extents long after either were made as e.g "the ten-shilling lands of ..... of auld extent"

extract the authenticated copy of a deed, taken from one of the public registers

F
factor usually the administrator of an estate, but can be any agent whose powers depend on some specific authority within which he acts.

falsing the doom see doom

feal and divot another right like estover; this one is the right to take turfs for roofing or other purposes, which in England goes by the name of "common of turbary"

fee or feu one of the four conditions, or tenures, on which lands could be granted by charter. In this case, the superior received (usually annually) a return ('feu duty') in agricultural produce or money, rather than military service. The 'fee' or 'feu' was also the name of the piece of property so conveyed, and the 'feuar' the vassal who held the property by feu tenure.

feuar see fee or feu above

feu disposition in the nineteenth century the distinction between the charter and the disposition was that a charter was used to create a new feu, and a disposition to carry an existing feu forward to a new proprietor. A form of disposition was also used for the former purpose, however, and was known as a feu disposition

fermorar farmer

fiars or fiars prices prices of grain which were fixed for each county by its sheriff and a jury of locals every February; a "fiar" could also be someone who held lands in which someone else possessed a liferent

fire and sword letters of. These were an order to a sheriff to muster the assistance of the men of his county to dispossess tenants who had illegally retained possession of lands; on the other hand, they could be issued against people like the MacGregors on apparently any excuse

firlot a Scottish measure which, like the rest, differed from place to place and depended on what it was being used to measure; as far as grain was concerned, it was the fourth part of a bol (and therefore anything from about nine-tenths to one and a half Imperial bushels)

forestalling or regrating forestalling was the crime of buying goods on their way to a market with the intention of selling them there at an inflated price

forfeiture the loss of property following on the commission of a crime or on the breaking of some condition by which the property was held from a superior; usually coupled with escheat

forisfamiliation the separation of a child from its father's family, by marriage for instance; it could happen if the child gave over his/her claim to legitim

forthcoming a legal action ordering a debt to be paid or a debtor's property to be surrendered to his creditor(s)

free alms this was one of the four conditions on which lands could be granted by charter. In the Middle Ages, it was a grant of property made to a monastery or church in return for prayers for the granter's soul and those of his family; later, as the mortification it becomes a grant to a university or other institution. (The idea behind the name was that the grant had not been made to a normal vassal but to a group of people who went on and on, the institution being 'deathless')

freeholders were those who were entitled to elect (or be elected) members of Parliament on the grounds that they held lands worth more than a certain sum

fruits simply the produce of a piece of land (which did not depend on whether it had any orchards or not)

fuel another "common right" like estovers; this was the right to dig, dry and take away turfs or peats for use as fuel

G
glebe a piece of land to which a country minister had a right in addition to his stipend.

graip, grap, grape iron-pronged fork used in farming and gardening

grass of ministers a minister's right (in addition to his glebe) to have grass for a horse and two cows

grassum or sometimes 'gersum'; could be a sum of money paid or promised by a tenant to his landlord when his lease was renewed, or by a vassal to his superior when his right to hold lands in fee was granted

gravat cravat; scarf or muffler, usually woolen.

Great Seal A royal seal , the Great Seal would be used for charters, treaties, grants of land, commissions to high officers of the Crown and other major state documents.

ground annual an annual payment, forming a burden on land. A contract of ground annual was a form of heritable security.

ground mail, grund mail payment for right of burial.

guids and geir possessions (moveable as opposed to heritable)

H
habit and repute the Scottish legal terms for what is common knowledge or generally accepted by people as a fact; usually applied to one way in which a marriage could be recognised, which was by two people living together and being commonly looked on by others as being man and wife

halked; halkit, hawkit (mainly relating to cattle) spotted or streaked with white; white-faced

hamesucken the crime of assaulting someone in his own home

hasp and staple the symbols by which somebody got sasine (possession) of property in a burgh; see symbols

heck rack; slatted wooden or iron framework (eg for fodder in a stable)

heirs can come in various forms. The heir general is on who succeeds to both the heritable and moveable property of a deceased person, who also happens to be that person's heir at law and heir by normal course of succession (his heir of line); the heir of provision on the other hand, is one who succeeds by virtue of the terms of a settlement or some express provision; "heir special" refers to the right of an heir to receive infeftment in particular lands, and heirs portioners are women who succeed jointly to heritable property; see also apparent heir

heirship moveables certain moveable goods (generally the best) belonging to the deceased, to which the heir in heritage was entitled by law

heritable bond an obligation to repay borrowed money, which has been secured by a grant of land which would be held by the lender as security for the repayment.

heritable property one of the two types of property recognised in Scots law. This concerns all rights to land and whatever goes with land, houses, mills, fishings, teinds and so on. (The other type is, of course, moveable property, which comprises just about everything else. The laws and documents relating to each type of property are different).

heritable security see heritable bond

heritors the landed proprietors in each parish who were responsible for the upkeep of the parish church, the parish school, payment of the minister's stipend and schoolmaster's salary etc.

hership nothing to do with heirship (though it is sometimes spelt the same); this is the crime of making away with someone's cattle by force

homologation the act by which someone approves of a written deed (and thereby binds himself to fulfil its terms)

horning, letters of one of the forms of diligence; the comparatively mild one. Takes the form (as they generally do) of a letter in the monarch's name under the signet seal. Which is sent to a law officer instructing him to charge someone who has defaulted on an agreement to pay or perform what he had agreed within a set time under pain of being denounced rebel and "put to the horn " - it opens the way for the action by which the defaulter's moveables can escheat to the Crown in theory and in fact be sold to satisfy the complainer in practice. See poinding.

hypothec rather difficult to explain since it is really " hypothetical"; it could be said to be an understood security, right or claim which a creditor might have over something belonging to his debtor (or potential debtor). For example, a landlord could be said to have a hypothec over the crops grown by his tenants in any particular year, for the rents due for that year

I
indenture an agreement in two identical halves written on one sheet which then usually has the word "chirograph" written between the two parts and is cut with a jagged line through that word, each half then being given to a party to the agreement, the principle being that the two halves can authenticate each other when matched up. But in practice in Scotland, the word is almost entirely applied to a contract in a normal form drawn up between a master and an apprentice

infeftment the act of giving symbolic possession of land or other heritable property; see sasine, symbols

infeild field or land lying nearest to the farm, usually the most fertile ground which was kept continuously under cultivation

inhibition another form of diligence, this one being against heritable property. It is the usual order in the monarch's name under the signet, prohibiting a debtor from running up any other debt which might put a burden on his heritable property to the disadvantage of his existing creditor(s)

inquest or inquisition an enquiry made by a sheriff of a county and a number of locals as jurymen into a point of fact; it is usually held to establish who is next heir to a piece of heritable property (what can be called an "inquisition post mortem"), but they could in theory be about virtually anything, what to do with a stranded whale, for instance

Insicht furniture, or household goods

instrument a formal document created by a notary-public and authenticated by him; after the Reformation they are generally instruments of sasine, which constituted the only legal evidence of the giving of possession of a piece of heritable property; before then, they could be about anything that took the fancy of the clients who paid for them practically

interdict the order made by a court for putting a stay on any unlawful proceeding

interdiction this is a type of restraint imposed by a court, which usually takes the form of a bond; it is imposed by a court on (or assumed voluntarily by) a person who cannot handle his own affairs and therefore might be taken unfair advantage of, and its purpose is to prevent him from doing anything which might affect his estate, without the prior consent of those who are named in the bond

interlocutors judgements or pronouncements of a court

intromission taking up the possession and management of property belonging to someone else; it can be legal, when someone is designated as an "intromettor with the goods and gear" of another, or illegal, when it is called "vicious intromission" in which case an heir intromits with the moveable property of his ancestors without right

intrusion same idea as intromission, but has to do with heritable not moveable property; it means taking up possession of heritables without any title to do so

ish of a tack the time at which a lease expires; "ish and entry" is a right given to someone to go into and come out of ("ish fra") lands, usually by specified entries and exits

J
jointure a provision for a widow, usually made in her marriage contract and consisting of an annual payment to be made to her in her lifetime; if such a jointure was appointed for a wife, it would unless otherwise provided for deprive her of her widow's terce, but she was better off with the jointure, since if her husband died in debt or bankrupt, she would be reckoned as one of his creditors and be able to make her claim first rather than waiting till the debts were settled and having to make do with a share of what was left

jus relictae "the right of the relict" (the widow). It is the share of the moveable goods of a marriage to which a widow was entitled on the death of her husband; if there were children, one-third would go to them as the bairns' pairt or legitim, and a further one-third would be the dead's part the deceased could bequeath, so that the jus relictae would be the other. (Terce has to do with heritables).

justice ayres another name for the circuits made throughout the country for the purpose of administering justice in criminal cases, carried out by the Court of Justiciary

K
kain or cain could be poultry or animals paid by a vassal to a superior as part of a feu-duty, but was more often poultry, eggs, butter and such things (even goose-feathers) paid by a tenant to a landlord as rent

"kindly tenants" were highly unusual. They held their tenancies for a low or "favourable" rent (which included paying no rent at all), and it seems that, unlike normal tenants, it was understood that they could be succeeded in their holdings by their heirs. They were also called "rentallers".

kist chest; trunk; packing case; coffin

knaveship was a sequel; it was a quantity of grain due to the servants of a mill (who did the actual milling) by those who were bound to have their corn ground at that mill, but like all these sequels it varied according to the particular custom of the mill; see astriction, lock and gowpen, sucken, thirlage

L
lawburrows letters of, were letters in the monarch's name under the signet seal to the effect that a particular person had shown cause to dread harm from another, and that therefore this other complained of was commanded to find "sufficient caution and surety" that the complainer would be free from any violence on his part

lease generally called in Scotland, a tack

leasing-making nothing to do with a lease (which is perhaps why they are called tacks in Scotland); this is really the same as lese-majesty, verbal contempt of the Crown

Leillie & treullie legally and honestly (in later testaments the word used was ‘faithfully’)

letters in Scots law there were various types, those in the name of the Crown being under the signet seal; most of the types are covered under the headings, caption, cocket, diligence, fire and sword, horning, inhibition, lawburrows, marque, poinding, regress, reprisal, respite and slains. "Letters of four forms" were a form of diligence incorporating successive means of getting debtors to pay up. They rapidly became obsolete; like apprising they may have been considered too abrupt for the popular taste (given that they seem to have been the horning, poinding and caption in one)

libel it can mean scandalous statements made in writing about someone in the same sense as in England, but in Scotland most often means the form of a complaint made in a civil case, or the grounds of the charge made against the accused in a criminal one

lie This word is used to introduce local names used in documents, or any Scots word or phrase brought into a Latin document.

lieges the word commonly used to mean "the subject of the Crown"

liege poustie the same idea as somebody making a will "sound in mind"; it was that state of health which would give someone full and undoubted power to arrange for the disposal of his heritable property in the event of his death

liferent a right entitling a person (called a "liferenter") to use and enjoy another's property for life, providing this was done without wasting it; the liferent might be a sum of money paid yearly, or the income from a piece of land

limmers commonly applied to broke men, sorners, and Borderers and Highlanders in general; it means "villains" or "rogues"

lindar, linder woollen jacket or cardigan; woollen or flannel undershirt

litiscontestation takes place where both parties in a case have stated their respective pleas in a court, it being then understood that, by doing so, they have consented to abide by the decision of the judge in the case

locality decree of. The allocation of a stipend due to a minister in proportions among the various heritors liable to pay it; see modification valuation

lock or gowpin a sequel, being a small quantity of meal given to the servants of a mill for grinding it; see knaveship



loco tutoris "in the place of (i.e. acting as) tutor

Lords of Erection royal favourites to whom the benefices which had belonged to Scottish monasteries were granted after the Reformation; see also thirds

lum, lumb chimney; chimney-stack

M
macers the servants of a court

mail, maills and duties mail is the Scots word for rent; maills and duties were the yearly rents of an estate due in money or grain

manrent a fairly unusual form of bond, by which a free person became the servant, follower or bondsman of another, in return for patronage or protection

mark or merk a silver coin worth 13 shillings 4 pence (or two-thirds of a pound) Scots, and therefore just over shilling sterling at the time of the Union; common also as a unit of valuation of land, as in "the two merklands of ault extent of Glaur"

marque, letters of royal letters authorising those who had been injured by foreigners and been unable to obtain satisfaction, to take reprisals.

marriage a feudal casualty which entitled the superior of a property to demand a payment from the heir to that property when the heir married or became marriageable; see non-entry, relief, wardship

marriage contract a contract made between the husband or promised husband of a woman who was about to marry or just had, and her male relatives, settling the provision to be made for the wife or future wife. The idea was to improve on the legal rights of the wife or future wife and any children of the marriage, usually by the husband agreeing to grant them a liferent, or to grant the wife an annuity (the jointure), which would safeguard against any risk of the husband becoming insolvent. The contract could be made before marriage, when it was termed an "ante-nuptial contract", or it could be "post-nuptial" if made after; the ante-nuptial version gave the wife and children much stronger rights over the husband's estate should get into debt, because they would then be entitled to be considered as his creditors.

Martinmas or "the feast of St Martin in winter" (11 November)

marts cattle paid as part of a rent at Martinmas (11 November)

mear, mere mare, female horse; wooden frame on which wrongdoers had to 'ride' as a public punishment; wooden frame used on a trestle to support scaffolding; bricklayer's hod

mell(with) have dealings with (used in a testament, it applies to the executor's disposal of the deceased's property)

messengers at arms the officer who executed all legal summonses and letters of diligence

messuage the main residence of dwelling-house of a baron, and therefore the "head place" of his barony (roughly the same as the English "manor-house"

Middle Shires, the the name given to the Borders after the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603

minor someone who is older than 12 if female or 14 if male, but still under the age of 21; however "minority" can be used to refer to the whole period of a person's life from birth until they reach 21. Minors may have curators who are appointed to look after their affairs; see also pupil

misprision of treason having knowledge of a treasonable act or intent but failing to inform on it

modification a decree of the Teind Court, awarding a suitable stipend to a minister

molestation interfering with someone's peaceful possession of their lands

moneyer a coiner or minter

mortification a grant to something which is "deathless" like a university; see free alms

moveable property the other kind of property in Scots law as opposed to heritable; in general, it is every type of property which isn't land or something connected with land.

multiple poinding happens when someone has property which is being claimed by several others, for instance a debtor owing money to several creditors; he can then raise an action of multiple poinding with the aim of having it discerned that he is only liable to make one single payment

multures like sequels, these were rights which arose out of occupiers of lands being bound or astricted to use a particular mill only. Multures were a quantity of grain due to be paid to the owner or tenant of the mill in return for having corn ground, but they were payable by everybody making use of the mill whether they were astricted or not; people who used the mill voluntarily (e.g because it was nearest) were its "out-sucken multurers", those bound to use that mill were its "in-sucken multurers". The sequels which they also had to pay were comparatively small dues payable to the miller and his servants who actually did the work; see also sequels, sucken, thirlage

mutchkin, mutskin measure of capacity, mainly for liquids, but also for powdered or granulated solids (0.43 litre); container of this capacity

N
narrative clause the clause in a charter or other deed making a grant, which names the granter and the person receiving the grant and says why it is being made

net and coble was how the grant of fishings was symbolised; see symbols

nonage was when a person was considered to be incapable of performing a certain act of the grounds of youth, and was generally applied to those under 21; it might be found spelt "non-age", and a minor might be said to "be in nonage"

non-entry a feudal casualty. This was the rents from a dead vassal's property which fell due to his superior until the vassal's heir was entered with the superior

notarial instrument strictly, any document drawn up by a notary. The document referred to as such in the late nineteenth century may concern the adoption of a trust by trustees, or the addition of new trustees, but there are various other forms

notary public in the middle ages, almost invariably a churchman. who had been admitted to practice by the authority of the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor. But there seem to have been little to stop anyone who could write from setting himself up as a notary, and the authority of some them to do so and their trustworthiness were, to say the least, doubtful - Scottish parliaments were much concerned about "false notars". After the Reformation, they were regulated to become public functionaries who, on passing an examination and trial were admitted by the Court of Session to the power of making instruments which had "faith in law"; these could be about any "lawful and honest business " but in practise were usually instruments of sasine.

novodamus a charter containing a clause in which the superior of a property grants it "of new" because of a defect in the original title to the property or because either the vassal or superior wanted to get the conditions of the original grant altered

O
oker usury

open doors, letters of letter under the signet to do with diligence; this one empowered a messenger at arms to break open the doors of any place which contained a debtor's goods, so that they could be poinded

outed minister a minister who had been ejected from his parish

outfeild the more outlying and less fertile part of a farm, where the ground was seldom or never cultivated (before the introduction of enclosure and crop rotation in the 18th century)

outredding usually applied to someone's "affairs"; it means "settling"

outsight plenishing moveable property kept or lying out of doors; it would include livestock and implements like ploughs, but not corn or hay, which were not reckoned as "plenishings"

oversman an umpire who was appointed to settle some matter which had gone to arbitration, but on which the arbiters had been unable to decide

oxgang a measure of land which like Scottish measures in general, varied from place to place; in general, it was about 13 acres

P
parsonage teinds the tithes of corn and other crops belonging to a parson, sometimes called decimae rectorae (rectorage teinds) or decimae garbales (teind sheaves); see teinds

particate a measure of land of about one quarter of an acre, sometimes called a "parcel"

pairts and pertinents the parts and pertinents are what a piece of land was always granted with; they implied everything connected with the land granted whether names or not, and could be considerable

pasturage another "common right" like estover or feal and divot; it was the right to pasture cattle, particularly on someone else's land

patronage specifically, the right of presenting a clergyman to church

Pentecost more often used than the alternative name, Whitsun - the seventh Sunday after Easter; it was one of the two terms of the year on which rents fell due

permutation the equivalent of excambion in heritable property; this is the exchange of one piece of moveable property for another (therefore a posh word for barter)

plenishings in general, furniture and other household moveable goods; "outsight plenishings" were those kept out of doors

ploughgate a measure of land which contained 8 oxgangs each of 12-13 acres, but the size varied from place to place

poinding a diligence (enforced by letter under the signet called "letters of poinding") whereby ownership of a debtor's moveable property is transferred to his creditor. "Real poinding" or "poinding of the ground" is the poinding of goods lying on lands which are a security for the debt; "personal poinding" is the poinding of moveables which are then sold at auction (or "made penny of" in the usual phrase) the proceeds of which are used to pay the debt. If there is more than one creditor, there may be an action of multiple poinding raised by the debtor

portioner a proprietor who held only a small piece of land; heirs portioners were women who succeeded jointly to property

post nuptial after marriage

poundland a piece of land which would have been originally valued at one pound in the extent; generally taken as 4 oxgangs or half a ploughgate

praecogitat premeditated

precept simply a written order, usually by a court, to a representative to do something

precept furth of chancery a deed similar in effect to a precept of clare constat, used where the crown was the superior

precept of sasine an order by a superior to his baillie representing him, to give heritable possession of lands to a vassal, which could only be done by the ceremony of sasine. Originally these precepts were documents in their own right, but after 1672 they were incorporated in charters. The precept of clare constat would be used if sasine was to be given to an heir of a deceased vassal

premonition the start of the process whereby lands which had been pledged as security for the repayment of a debt could be redeemed by their original owner; it was the notice given to the person then holding the lands to turn up at a stated time and place to receive repayment of his money and to restore the lands to his former debtor (who was called the reverser)

prescription a means whereby a right might be lost or acquired due to lapse of time; for example, long uninterrupted and unchallenged possession of property (usucaption) would confer a right to it, whereas if someone possessing a particular right did not exercise it for long enough, he might lose it

presentation the act by which the patron of a church appointed its minister; his right to do so was his advowson

Privy Seal One of the four royal seals; the privy or secret seal was originally used for royal orders or brieves, but later came to be used for such things as grants of moveable property and grants of minor offices

pro bono servicio "for [his] good service" is the reason for a grant of lands usually given in the narrative clause of a charter when the lands are to be held in wardholding, that is, for a return of military service

pro indiviso "undivided"

process all the documents (usually bundled together) which related to a particular court case, whether civil or criminal in nature

procuratory of resignation the authority granted by a vassal to his representative (who is in this case called his procurator) to restore the lands held by the vassal to his superior, either to remain in the superior's hands, or to be granted out again for example, by a charter of novodamus; this resignation was neccesary if the vassal sold his lands to someone else, who would then have to have the lands re-granted by ths superior to him to complete his title.

progress of title all the documents relating to rights in a piece of land and their transference from person to person; it is typically a bundle containing charters, precepts and instruments of sasine, tacks, wadsets, reversions and the like

propriis manibus "with his (or her) own hand"

prorogue to extend or to prolong; specifically, to continue a Parliament from one session to the next

protocol a book which a notary was obliged to keep, in which he was supposed to keep copies of all the instruments he had executed, or summaries of their essential points

pupil a child younger than 12 if female or 14 if male; one older than that (but still not 21) was a minor. Pupils might have their affairs administered by a tutor

purpresture/purprision Purpresture was a delinquency (a feudal crime) as a result of which a vassal could suffer forfeiture of his lands, for the offence of encroaching on streets, highways or commons belonging to his superior; purprision is generally the illegal encroachment on (or enclosure of) lands or property belonging to another

Q
quaich shallow bowl-shaped drinking cup with two handles, sometimes with silver mountings, or made entirely of silver

quarter seal The top half of the Great Seal ( which was used to authenticate royal charters). The quarter seal was used for more routine royal administrative documents.

quh..... is how Scots represented the sound represented in English by the letter 'w'; for example, quha is "who", and quilk is "which", though it doesn't always work precisely thus - quhill (while) is "until"

quondam former or deceased

quot the twentieth part of the moveable estate of a deceased person, which was originally the due of the bishop in whose diocese he had resided; it continued to be paid after the Reformation, but to the commissaries

R
raid could just be the Scots for "rode". But in the Borders, going for a ride and what you did during it were so much part of each other that the word passed into English with its alternative meaning.

ranking of creditors a system of deciding, impartially, which creditors should have prior claim on a debtor's estate; this was why it was so important to a wife to have an antenuptial marriage contract making provision for her and her children because, if she had, they would be entitled to be "ranked" among any creditors on her husband's estate if he fell into debt

ratification confirmation of the correctness of a previous act or deed

recognition another feudal casualty, which entailed the return of a vassal's lands to his superior on the grounds that he had sold or granted out the greater part of them without the superior's consent

Reddendo "by returning". The name of the clause in a charter which lays down what has to be returned or paid for the grant, to the superior granting the lands. The precise terms vary depending on which of the four types of charter the clause is in; if the charter is in fee or feu, the return will be a rent paid to the superior, if in free alms the return will be prayers or other spiritual services. If in ward holding the return will be the performance of service, usually military, and if in blench ferme, the return will be nominal and only required if asked for

redeemable rights a grant, usually made in security for the repayment of a debt, which contains a clause providing that the granter or another can recover possession of what has been granted, on the payment of a certain sum to the person receiving the grant, constitutes a "redeemable right"; its common form is the wadset

reduction, reduction and improbation the name of an action in the Court of Session whereby illegal deeds, decrees, acts and so on could be rendered null and void

reif, reiff theft. Those who do it are "reiffers" or "reivers"

regality an extensive area of jurisdiction granted by the Crown, the holder of which had similarly extensive powers in criminal cases, the same in effect as those of the king's own justices in ayre.

Regesta Regum Scottorum "the Registers of the Kings of Scots", the name of a project to trace, edit and publish all the charters, brieves and other written acts of the Scots kings from the earliest times until the accession of James I in 1406. (Sometimes abbreviated to R.R.S)

regress, letters of a written promise by the superior of a vassal who had granted his lands to another as a security for the repayment of a debt under a redeemable right, by which the superior undertook to re-admit the debtor (or reverser as he would be called) as his vassal once the debt had been cleared and the lands returned to him

relaxation, letters of the antidote to diligence; these were letters under the signet which free a debtor from the consequences of any diligence against him

relict a widow

relief a feudal casualty paid to the superior of a property by the heir to that property when he was accepted by (entered with) the superior as his vassal

relocation takes places when a lease is assumed to have been renewed because a tenant has been allowed to continue in possession of his holding after the expiry of his lease, without any new lease having been agreed between him and the proprietor of the land

remission the formal pardon for an offence

renunciation that act of renouncing a right or a title to property

reprisal, letters of another name for letters of marque

repledge a power held by certain landholders who had jurisdiction in criminal cases, enabling them to demand the person of an offender who stood accused before another court, for trial and sentence in their own

repone to restore someone's right to defend a case, even though a decree may have already been given against him

reset, resett receipt of stolen goods, knowing them to be stolen

resignation the action by which a vassal restored his lands to his feudal superior. Resignation into the hands of the superior was either for the purpose of a regrant to a third party (resignation in favorem) or, less commonly, to remain in the superior's own hands (resignation ad remanentiam); see novodamus, procuratory of resignation

respite, letters of letters granted by the Crown which put a delay or stay on something usually granted for the purpose of delaying any court sentence against the person to whom they were granted, but they could be to stop him being pursued for debt; such letters were usually granted to people abroad on the king's service

responde book a record kept by the Exchequer recording all duties arising out of non-entries and reliefs which were payable by heirs to lands of which the Crown was the superior

retour the report of any inquest which had been held to determine who was next heir to the property of a dead vassal who had held his lands of the Crown; it was in effect the reply to a brieve of inquisition. Once the inquest had made up their minds, the retour would be "retoured" (returned) to the king's Chancery. A "special retour" established the heir's right to succeed to particular lands

retrocession a re-conveyance of any right by a person to whom it had been assigned, back to the person from whom he got it.

reverser the proprietor of lands which had been granted by him to another as security for the repayment of a debt, under a redeemable right; he therefore had the right, when the debt was repaid, to resume possession of the lands from the lender, who was called the wadsetter, the deed by which all this was done being the wadset. The reverser would need letters of regress from his superior undertaking to accept him again as vassal when the lands were restored.

reversion, letters of Reversion was simply the right of redeeming heritable property; letters of reversion were an undertaking by the lender who held lands in security of repayment of a debt (the wadsetter) to restore these lands to the borrower from whom he had got them (the reverser) when the debt was repaid.

revocation a deed, or a clause in a deed, which calls back or revokes some former deed

RMS the abbreviation for Registrum Magni Sigilli, the Register of the Great Seal (mainly the printed edition), which contains copies of charters and other deeds by the Crown issued under the Great Seal

roup an auction, governed by conditions called "articles of Roup"

RSS Registrum Secreti Sigilli, the Registers of the Secret (or privy) Seal, mainly used to refer to the printed edition; these contain copies of royal orders, commissions, minor grants and other documents issued under the king's secret seal.

runrig lands consisting of alternate ridges in a field, which belong to different proprietors; sometimes the lands consisted of alternative portions each belonging to different people which were bigger than mere ridges, and this might be called rundale or rindal.

S
sasine either the symbolic act of giving legal possession of a piece of heritable property, or the instrument by which such an act was proved to have happened. see symbols

sconce firescreen; shelter against the weather

seals for the main function of the royal seals, see signet letters

sequels the little payments made to the miller and servants of a mill in meal, grain, or a money equivalent by those having their corn ground there; they depended on the particular custom of the mil land were variously called "bannock, knaveship and lock and gowpin"

sequestration confiscation of a bankrupt's assets by a court of by his creditors

service of heirs the process by which an heir acquired the right to an estate. It started with the brieve ordering an inquest to determine who was next heir to the estate, followed by the retour of the inquest stating the heir's right to succeed followed by his entry, (his formal acceptance by the superior of the estate). It was called a "special service" when the heir's ancestor had been formerly infeft in the estate, that is, had had full legal possession of it by virtue of a sasine; if the heir's ancestor was not infeft, then the process was called a "general service". Until the process of serving the heir had been gone through, he would be the apparent heir; see also heirs

servit table napkin; serviette

servitudes obligations which went with a property, or which had to be performed to a particular person

"sheriffs in that pairt" Although ordinary mortals had baillies in that part to represent them in carrying out a particular function, usually the giving of sasine, the Crown's representatives on such occasions were "promoted" to sheriffs

shift change of clothing

signet letters the signet was the smallest of the four royal seals, and being smallest, was used for the most routine business. The Great Seal would be used for charters, treaties, grants of land, commissions to high officers of the Crown and other major state documents; the privy or secret seal was originally used for royal orders or brieves, but later came to be used for such things as grants of moveable property and grants of minor officer the quarter seal was used for more routine administrative documents and warrants for the use of the Great Seal, in fact for much the same purposes as the privy seal had been originally used, and the signet was used simply for the private letters and order by the king to his "sheriffs in that pairt" ordering them to carry out a specific function; it was thus used to authenticate orders by the king's court to its functionaries for the administration of the law, in summoning people to court or in carrying out one of the legal diligences against them. Such letters were prepared by writers to the signet.

signature was a document prepared by a clerk or writer to the signet as the warrant for a royal grant to the person in whose name it was presented

singular successor someone who has acquired title to a property by some other means than being the heir to it, for example, by purchasing it

slains, letters of letters by the relations of a person who had been killed, witnessing that they had received compensation (assythement) for the death from the killer, and applying to the Crown for a pardon for him

soccage an obsolete method of holding lands in return for the performance of certain services to their superior; a shade different from ward-holding since the service to by returned could be just about anything and was not (necessarily) of a military nature. In Scotland, holding in soccage seems to have been mostly in return for agricultural services. In the case of services performed to the king's person, for example by his barber or by the keeper of his falcons, it could be called "sergeanty" instead of soccage

sorning taking meat and drink by force or menaces, and without paying

sowming and rowming a legal action to determine the number of cattle allowed to be pastured on a common by each of the people having a right to do so

special charge letters under the signet seal charging the heir of someone who had died infeft in lands, to enter as heir to them. The word "special" is there because the ancestor of the heir had been infeft in the lands, as in a "special service", which was the process by which the heir of someone who had been infeft acquired right to his estate

spiritualities the teinds due to the Church

spuilzie the taking away of someone else's moveable goods against their will or without the order of the law; the "moveable counterpart" of ejection, as it were

staff and baton (fustum et baculum in Latin) These were the symbols used to represent a vassal's resignation of his lands into the lands of his superior

steelbow goods were corn, cattle, ploughs and similar implements which might be given by a landlord to his tenant farmer to enable him to stock and maintaining the lands leased by him; for this, the tenant was bound to return goods of equal quality and quantity at the expiry of his lease

stipend a regular payment made in money, grain or both for the support of a parish minister, which was renewable (and re-negotiable) every five years

stot bullock

stoup, stowp wooden pail; flagon; tankard; mug; jug for milk or cream

stouthrief as rief implies, it is a form of theft; this one is theft committed by force, and not in a clandestine way like the normal thing

sucken all the lands which were astricted to a particular mill, in that their holders were bound to have their grain ground there and nowhere else, were called the mill's sucken; the people bound to the mill were its "suckeners"

sunk straw pad or cushion, used as a substitute for a saddle, frequently in a pair slung on either side of the horse; turf seat

superior the person who had made an original grant of land in return for the payment of an annual sum or feu, or for the performance of certain services, or both; the person receiving the grant who was thereby bound to make the payment or do the service which went with the lands, was the superior's vassal

Supply, Commissioners of persons who were nominated every year in each county, to levy the land-tax due from their county, maintain roads and control the raising of the militia, etc.

suspension letters under the signet which delayed or suspended diligence or other legal action, and was thus more temporary than letters of relaxation

symbols the giving of sasines was a ceremony deriving from a time when few people were literate and it was thus highly symbolic so that anyone could see and recognise what was going on. The grantee's baillie would meet the granter's baillie on the ground of the lands being granted, with several witnesses and a notary, present the grantee's title to the lands (his charter and precept of sasine from the granter) and ask that sasine by given; these would be passed to the notary who would read them to the witnesses, and then the granter's baillie would give sasine by presenting the grantee's baillie with a symbol appropriate to what was being granted, so that the witnesses could understand that ownership had been formally transferred. The most common symbols were earth and stone used for the giving of sasine in lands. If what was granted was an annual rent from lands, these would be passed over together with "a penny money," if sasine was given in fishings the symbols were a net and coble; if in the patronage of a church, a psalm book and the church keys, if in a mill, the clap and happer of the mill, if in teinds, a sheaf of corn, if a jurisdiction, the court book, if property in a burgh, a hasp and staple, and combinations of these might be used. Finally, if lands were resigned to a superior, the symbol passed over were the staff and baton. After all this was done, the notary would go away and write it all up in the form of an instrument

syth strainer or filter (for milk)

T
tack a lease; in Scotland it had to be a formal written contract between landlord and tenant laying down the period of the lease and the payments to be made for it

tailzie the older name for an entail

teinds the Scottish equivalent of the English tithes, they were the tenth part of the annual produce of a united of land, which was payable to the Church, though "vicarage teinds", the lesser teinds due from a parish and paid in kind, were due not by law, but by custom. The Teind Court grew out of the fact that, after the Reformation, a great deal of the property of the medieval church fell into the hands of laymen so that the ministers of the reformed church were rarely adequately provided for; in 1617 a committee of Parliament called the Commissioners of Teinds was appointed to settle suitable stipends for ministers and after 1707 its powers passed to the judges of the Court of Session who formed the Teind Court, with power to decide on such matters as the valuation and sales of teinds, the augmentation of stipends and the building of new churches, which had the advantage that the authority of the Court of Session could be annexed to their decisions

temporalities the land and other propertys belonging to the Church, except glebes, manses and teinds (which were spiritualities)

tenant one who holds lands (generally for a fixed term) by a lease or tack

terce a widow's legal entitlement to a liferent of one-third of her husband's heritable property, (her entitlement in respect of his moveable property being the jus relictae). If a special, alternative provision had been made for her in her marriage contract (the jointure), she would, after 1681, have lost her right to a terce, unless it had been specified in the contract that she should have that as well.

terms when rents and feu-duties fell due to be paid, usually half at Pentecost or Whitsun, and half at Martinmas or "the feast of St Martin in winter" (11 November)

testament
a written deed appointing an executor to adminster a person's moveable property after his death. That is all it has to do; it needn't contain any bequests or instructions on disposal of the property, and the two possible types depended on how the executor has been appointed. If this is done by the person making the testament during his life-time, it is called a testament testamentar, if the person died without making a testament the Commissary Court would appoint the executor, and the deed by which this was done was a testament dative. One of the deceased's creditors could be appointed as his executor, so that he could recover the debt due him, and he was called an "executor creditor" or "qua creditor". Testaments were not really wills; they had no bearing on the disposal or administration of any heritable property the deceased might have had, and for that reason they were gradually replaced by the trust disposition and settlement

tether halter

thirds or "thirds of benefices". When the property of the medieval Church was available to acquisitive laymen after the Reformation, the king took over one-third of the revenues of all church benefices to make sure that something would still be left for the ministers of the reformed church ; appropriate parts of these revenues were assigned to the ministers, and any surplus was retained by the Crown. This was not really sufficient, which is why the Teind Court came into being.

thirlage really another name for astriction; it was the servitude whereby the proprietors and tenants of lands were bound to take their grain to one particular mill only for grinding, for which they would have to pay multures and sequels; the lands they held which were bound to the mill, were the mill's sucken, and those bound to use the mill were termed its "in-sucken multurers".

threav, threave, thrave measure of cut grain, straw, reeds or other thatching material, consisting of two stooks, usually with twelve sheaves each but varying locally

tinsel of the feu the name for forfeiture of landed property caused no just by failure to pay feu-duty or render service to the superior, but by the commission of penal offence

tocher the dowry brought by a wife to her husband at the time of their marriage

trespass an offence committed by causing illegal damage, e.g by spuilzie or ejection

troner the officer in charge of the official weighing machie (the tron) in a burgh

truncher, trainchir trencher

trust disposition and settlement a deed enabling someone to dispose of their whole property, both heritable and moveable, for example, in the event of death; it replace the testament which could effect the disposal of moveables only

tutor a person who is legal representative, guardian or adminstrator of the estate of a pupil, a child under 12 if female or 14 if male. (Older children who were still under 21 were minors, and had curators instead of tutors to do these things for them).

U
udal right a method of holding lands in Orkney and Shetland which did not require the holder to have sasine, or even to have a charter to the lands, but only to have evidence of his undisturbed occupation of the lands; such lands were held direct from the Crown for a payment called "skat"

ultimus haeres "last heir"; the right of the Crown to succeed to all heritable property where no other heir, successor or assignee to the property can be identified

umquhile late, deceased

usucapio, or usucaption the Latin legal terms for long, uninterrupted and unchallenged possession of a thing or a right, which conferred an entitlement to that property or right.

utencilis & domiceillis household goods

V
valuation the name given to a decree of the Teind Court, determining the extent and value of the teinds due to be paid by a heritor

vassal a person to whom land is conveyed to be held by him from the landowner (the superior) for the payment of a yearly rent or feu-duty or the performance of some regular service to the superior

vice, succeeding in the "succeeding in the vice" takes place when someone arranges with a tenant who is to remove from the property he holds by lease, to take over his holding from him when he goes without the consent of the landowner

victual any sort of grain or corn; "victual rents" are payments made in grain.

vide "see"

violent profits dues payable by anyone possessing lands illegally; for example, a tenant who was supposed to leave his holding at the end of his lease, but didn't, would be liable to his landlord for the profits the landlord could have made if he had resumed control of the lands himself or leased them to another tenant

vitiation not quite forgery but related to it; it means altering a document without the consent of all the parties to the document

voucher Simply a written evidence of payment

W
wadset a written deed which transferred land to another a security for, or in satisfaction of, a debt due him by the granter of the deed, with a reserved power to the granter (called the reverser) to redeem his lands from the lender of the money (called the wadsetter) when his debt was repaid or his obligation fulfilled. It was the usual dodge adopted by those who needed to borrow money at the time when the Church was very much against the idea of lending money at interest, and it came in two types. The "proper wadset" allowed the wadsetter (lender) to enjoy the whole yearly profits of the land as his interest until his money was repaid and the lands redeemed, and if these were lower than the accepted rate of interest, it was just too bad; on the other hand, he might end up in profit. The "improper wadset" cut out this element of risk to the lender; if the profits of the land for the year were less than the interest due, he could recover the deficit from the debtor, but if they came to more than the interest he was bound to account for this surplus to the debtor and make it good, usually by reducing what the debtor would have to repay by that amount. See also redeemable rights, reversion

waired given or expended; the usual phrase is when someone agree to "wair upon land"

wakening, summons of the means of reviving a legal action which had lain dormant for a year and a day

wapenschaw a "show of weapons"; the periodic muster of the able-bodied men of an area (in theory, twice a year), to prove that they had suitable arms and were (reasonable) competent in their use.

ward, wardship a feudal casualty due to a superior on the death of a vassal. This one was payable when the vassal's heir was a minor, and was due from the time of the vassal's death until his heir reached 21, when he could legally succeed to the property. (Such a minor heir would then have to pay his relief when he was entered by his superior and also the casualty of marriage when he got married).

ward-holding was the fourth, and the original condition on which lands could be granted by charter; in this case, the return which had to be made to the superior for the grant was the performance of military service.

warrandice an undertaking, usually in the form of a "clause of warrandice "in a grant, whereby the person making the grant promised to maintain and support the grantee in the property or right granted him, against all challenges made to his right or impediments concerning it which might arise after the grant was made. "Real warrandice" was an undertaking that if the grantee were to lose his right to what had been granted, then the granted would grant him something else of equal value

watch and ward
the return made to their superior by those holding property in burghs

weregild or cro the assythement due to be paid to the friends or family of someone who had been killed, by the killer

writer to the signet were originally clerks who prepared letters under the king's signet seal. However, when the signet came into widespread use as the means of scaling all summonses to the king's court and all diligences issued by it, they increased in number and, as writers to the signet not only prepared all summonses and diligences, but acted as agents or attorneys in presenting cases in the Court of Session

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