| LOCATION | Edinburgh, NL Scotland |
| MANUSCRIPT | Edinburgh, NL Scotland, Adv.MS.24.2.4 |
| ITEM No. 1 | Ius proprium Scotiae - Practicks (general digest of law, systematic) |
Ius proprium Scotiae - Practicks (general digest of law, systematic)
Author(s):
Incipit:
Explicit:
Ius proprium Scotiae - Practicks (general digest of law, systematic) (model MS for printed edition).
Very neatly written. The volume shows characteristics of being produced as a model for typesetting. The first letter at the beginning of the text is beautifully ornamented, in colours. The first letter of each title is ornamented in ink. No preface.
The layout closely corresponds to the printed edition of 1754. Those parts of the text which in the edition are printed in italics are here written in a different type of script. The titles are not numbered. Headings for the chapters are written in the left margins, each heading followed by the chapter number - as in the printed edition. Balfour's Registrum Scotiae is quoted with a small Roman number, followed by upper case T - almost as in the printed edition. The first titles contain full abstracts of statutes. From the end of title 21 onward ('Of beggars', fol. 43v), only references to printed editions of statutes are supplied - thus just from the same place onward as in the printed edition (there, pag. 131). However, the references to the printed Acts often lack folio indications. Such indications are regularly provided up to fol. 9r, but become intermittent thereafter - see fol. 14v-15r where a blank space is left for them. Finally they cease completely. From fol. 183 onwards the references to the printed Acts also lack dates. It thus appears that the extra task of supplying these references was thus only done during the course of typesetting.
Differences to the printed edition in title 35 'Alienation of land', chapter 9: the present MS omits the Latin and the reference, instead leaving four blank lines. Furthermore, the heading in the margin was only supplied by a later hand. It nevertheless corresponds to the printed edition and reads: 'Money gotten for infeftment off lands aucht to be renderit in cace off eviction of these lands from the superiour'.
Obvious mistakes in quotations which caught my eye: fol. 30v, title 'Husband and wife', c. 5: 3 Iulii 1596 Issobell Lauder contra Johne Myretoun, i. T. c. 92 - should probably be 1496. Fol. 92r, Title 'Non-entres', c. 28, a date long after Balfour's death: 17. Iulii 1594 The Lord Flemingis soune contra N. Diksoune of Ormestoun, 2 T. c. 199.
In view of the fact that Balfour's Practicks were only printed in 1754, I am inclined to think that the present volume was not produced much earlier. I thus attribute the volume to the early 18th century. Yet, it could also be that the volume was produced much earlier, namely soon after Balfour's death (in 1583), and maybe at the time when also the model volumes for Sir John Skene's 1609 edition of Regiam maiestatem were produced.
The handwriting provides few clues for the date of production of the volume, because it almost likens a printed book. The watermarks, however, show that the paper was produced in France, by a member of the family Le Bé, paper-makers at Troyes and later also at Vannes (see Louis Le Clert, Le papier. Recherches et notes pour servir a l'histoire du papier, principalement à Troyes et aux environs ..., Paris 1926, vol. 2, pag. 351-380). Three paper-makers Nicolas Le Bé are known. One was active from 1550 to 1605 (see Moisé Briquet, Les filigranes, nr. 8077-8082; Edward Heawood, Watermarks, 'letter B'; and Le Clert, as cited above). If he produced the paper in question, one could indeed assume that the volume was written soon after Balfour's death. Yet there was also a second paper-maker Nicolas Le Bé, probably born in 1622, and a third one (a son of the second): he was born in 1674 and died in 1743 (see Le Clert, pag. 373-375). I tend to assume that the paper in question came from his mill, but this cannot be safely stated without a detailed comparison of the watermarks
Author(s):
No. of pages: Fol. 1r-228v
Rubric: [{i}Title, on flyleaf iv:{/i}] Balfour's Practicks. Sir James Balfour of Pittendreich, Clerk Register, his Practicks
Incipit:
{i}Last titles:{/i}] Anent horneing. Anent forfalture. Anent curseing. Anent the Justice air (42 chapters). The general band (one chapter). The Chalmerlane air (29 chapters). Anent the lawis of bordouris (chapters numbered until c. 24 'That nane raise a fray in the hoste wilfullie. Ia. 2., pag. 12 c. 54', thereafter no more chapter numbers given). Followis the sea lawis collectit furth of the actis of parliament, the practiques, the lawis of Oleroun and the lawis of Wisbie and the constitutionis of François king of France ann. 1543, 1557 ... So endis the sea lawes (127 chapters). Followis the ordour of the Chancellarie (chapters not numbered). Folloves the Instructionis geven to the Commissaris of Edinburgh, Domini 1563 Anno (no chapter numbers given) ... [{i}last words of that title, fol. 226r:{/i}] to all the inferiour particulare commissaris sa farre as concernit thair pairt thairof. Subscrived be oure soverane Lady at Edenburcht the 12. day of Marche 1563. And of hir regne the 22. zeare.
[{i}End title:{/i}] Folloves the lavis maid be certane kingis of Scotland as is conteined in the Scottish Chronicles ... King Evenus 3. lib. 3, c. 5. It is leasum to all men to have als many wifes as thay please, efferrand to thairs gudes and substance. Item the wyfes of the commounis sal be frie to noble and gentlemen. The quhilk law wes thaireftir abrogat be Corbredus Galdus 2, lib. 4 Chron. c. 8. Item the Lord of the ground sall have the madinhoode and first nichtis laire of all madenis and virgines duelland on the ground
Explicit: