Manuscripta juridica

Decisiones curiae supremae Scotiae - Practicks 1592-1624 'Sex goldin buttones': (1609/11/4 - 1623/7/30) .

Neatly written by only one hand, in light brown ink, on only one type of paper. No title. Dates and parties' names are written in the left margin, by the same hand. Till page 46 the items regularly begin with an indented abstract, penned in the same character as the main text. From page 46 onward, abstracts become ever more rare. I found none after page 63. Dates ascend from 1609/11/4 to 1614/3 (pag. 151). Thereafter follow undated items, and then items of March 1623 (pag. 155-156, leaving the long remainder of the page blank). Page 157 starts with an item of 1620, followed by undated items. Thereafter many items of 1622 (pag. 157-188), and again items of 1623 (pag. 189-228). Dates ascend to 1623/7/30 (pag. 228).

The lower rim of each page bears a number in the colour of ink of the main text, often partly cut off when the volume was trimmed after binding. Numbers range from 3 (pag. 1) to 1155 (pag. 228). I explain the purpose of these numbers as follows. The model MS had a continuous numbering of items, from 1 to 1155. However, the scribe of the present MS only noted the number of the last item on each page of his copy. He probably deemed that this could be helpful in collating his copy to the model MS for proof-reading. Furthermore, it would also be helpful if one might wish to supply a numbering in the copy. Maybe the scribe planned to write numbers in red ink, and this is why he postponed copying the numbers along with the main text. I controlled numbers on the first fifteen pages, and I also counted the indented abstracts of items on the respective pages. It resulted that my count of abstracts progressed slightly faster than the numbers did. I thus assume that some items in the model MS were subdivided, so that certain item numbers might refer to more than one abstract

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Author(s):

• Thomas Hamilton later 1st Earl of Haddington

No. of pages: Pag. 1-228

Incipit:

• [{i}First item:{/i}] Six golden buttons upon the fathers coat and tuo oxen of eight sett in steilbou found to pertaine to the air of the setter. In ane actione perseuit be Mr. Robert Boyd advocat against his mother and Mr. Johne Russell nou her spouse, for deliverie to him of his airship of goods, the Lords fand that his summonds wer relevant, claimand six golden buttons ... November 4, 1609, Boyd contra Russell.

  [{i}Second item:{/i}] Ane anuelrent provydit to the husband and wyfe and the langest liver of them ... November 10, 1609. Aytoun assignaye contra the aires Jameson. Bartill Tullo in Inveresk and Jameson his spous, having lent a 1000 merks to the goodman of Carberie.

  [{i}Third item:{/i}] Rebell most suspend and relax befor he stand in judgment ... November 11, 1609. Thomsone contra Ramsaye. In ane actione betuixt Thomsone and Ramsay for annulling ane horning alledgit that the persevar sould have no proces.

  [{i}Last item:{/i}] July 30, 1623, Clunie Crichton contra [{i}blank space{/i}]. In ane actione betuixt Cluny Crichtone and others, the Lords fand that ane suspentione and relaxatione ... becaus it was funditus taken away quo ad eos, who wes passed fra, bot he behouved to suspend of new.

  Pag. 229-252 blank