Manuscripta juridica

[Principal Investigator: G. R. Dolezalek]







Ius proprium Scotiae - Practicks (general digest of law, systematic)

Author(s):

  • James Balfour of Pittendreich

Incipit:

  • It becummis the kingis [and then:] majestie not onlie to be decorit with armes
  • The law is devydit in thrie [and then:] pairtis

Explicit:

  • expedient\ think\ sall\ you\ as\

Ius proprium Scotiae - Practicks (general digest of law, systematic) (model MS for typesetting, not used for this purpose).

This is the best-readable copy of the text which came to my attention. It is much more complete than the printed text of 1754.

The titles are not numbered. The entire volume is beautifully written, in large letters, easily readable - in the usual way how model texts for typesetting were written. I therefore assume that the present MS was produced for that purpose, but that the plan to publish the work in print in this layout was later given up or modified: namely the present text still differs from the printed text of 1754, in particular in the arrangement of the last titles. Headings for the individual paragraphs are at times slightly differently worded, and they are written above the paragraph, whereas the printed edition has them in the margins. The main difference, however, consists in the fact that the edition of 1754 already starts at title 21 ('Of beggaris', cap. 7) to reduce Balfour's abstracts of statute texts to mere references to printed texts of statutes. Furthermore, it almost entirely skips the inventory of registers in the Archives of the Kingdom (in title 25) - whereas the present MS continues much longer to supply full texts, and it only reduces them to mere references from title 57 cap. 14 onward ('Of bying and selling', fol. 154v)

Author(s):

  • James Balfour of Pittendreich

No. of pages: Fol. 1r-372v

Incipit:

  • (Praefatio:) It becummis the kingis majestie not onlie to be decorit with armes ... [{i}mentioning King David{/i}]
  • (Main text:) Of the law. The divisioun of the law. Cap. 1. The law is devydit in thrie pairtis, videlicet in the law of nature, in the law of God and in the positive law.

    [{i}Last titles:{/i}] (Fol. 325r-330r) Justice air. (Fol. 330v-335v:) Chalmerlane air, cap. 1-30. (Fol. 336r-347r:) Bordour lawis, and Bordour matters. (Fol. 347r-362r:) Schip lawis. (Fol. 362v-367r:) Ordour of Chancellarie. (Fol. 367v-370r:) Followis the lawis maid be certane kingis of Scotland, and is contenit in the Scottis Cronicles. (Fol. 370r-372v:) Instructionis to the Commissars of Edinburgh

Explicit:

  • at all tymes as you sall think expedient