Manuscripta juridica

Formularium - Scottish Styles of writs . Author not named..

This is a draft of a textbook for Writers to the Signet and their apprentices - probably for John Spotswood's 'Styles of writs', printed in 1715. The name 'Spotswood' is scribbled twice on fol. 233v. The book starts with explanations (fol. 1r-4v, and also the last leaves fol. 287r-310r only contain explanations ). Thereafter, many texts of documents are provided. Parties' names are only given as 'A.', 'B.'. 'C.' etc., and dates are rarely kept (1552 fol. 152r, 1678 fol. 145v, 1687 fol. 67r, 84r). Some more explanations are interspersed, or written in the margins, and they (thus not the documents) are often dated (from end years saec. XVII: 1688 fol. 81v, 1689 fol. 80v, 96r, 126r, 151r, 168r, 169r, 228r, 1690 fol. 65r, 91r, 154r, 171r, 1691 fol. 139r-149r, 1692 fol. 78r, 151r, 1697 fol. 226r, 1722 fol. 163r). Some styles are still written in Latin, although dated saec. XVII.2 (fol. 131r, dated 1673, also fol. 253r-258r, dated 1670, followed by other Latin texts). The explanations on the leaves 1r-282r were obviously penned by the author himself. This becomes evident from many emendations, and from amendments in the margins. The same handwriting can also be seen in most texts of documents

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Author(s):

• John Spotswood(?)

No. of pages: Fol. 1r-311v

Rubric: An essay towards the digesting and disposing in good order, and to the best advantage, the styles of all the writts, evidents and securities made use of in the Scotch law, and practised among the Writters to the Signet

Incipit:

• First, I consider the styles in three different ways: 1. as full and compleat, 2. as abridged, and 3 as narrated

Explicit:

• When a Lady hath so renounced her liferent to lands sold, her husband in consideration thereof sometimes grants a renunciative disposition to her in this form: [{i}blank space is left, to enter the model text{/i}].

  (Fol. 154r-158r) 'Note of what styles or formes of papers seem proper to be writt according to the order of Sir George Mackenzies Institutions of the Scotch Law' [{i}and there follows a list of topics of documents, referring to numbers of pertinent pages - probably pages in the printed edition of Mackenzie's treatise, because the page numbers ascend{/i}]