Manuscripta juridica

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

The text is shortened, but on the other side it also quotes decisions from years after Balfour's death - if these dates are not due to scribal error: 1587/1/13 (At what tyme the office of ane curator ceass to ane idiot, fol. 21r), 1591/2/24 (The proclamation off the Breive, c. 3 = John Mackairick contra Maister Walter Kennedy, fol. 84v), 1599/2/6 (The Theasurer sould pay all of quhilk he taks allowance, fol. 23r).

The first two leaves are lost, so there is no title. The handwriting and the spelling appear to be younger than in the preceding pages of Durie's Practicks. Many pages are difficult to read because of ink corrosion. Some headings are followed by sub-headings, numbered 'c. 1', 'c. 2', 'c. 3' etc., first occurrence at fol. 10r. The scrivener often skipped references to the {i}Registrum Scotiae{/i}. From fol. 8 onward these references are rare. He also reduced all quotations from Acts of Parliaments to mere references, right from the beginning of the volume. The printed edition of Balfour's Prackticks only does so from its pag. 131 onward. Furthermore, he skipped many chapters. For instance, the text of pag. 543-684 of the printed edition is left out.

The scribe explains his method at the end of fol. 105r: 'Memorandum, any texts omitted or left of, is only old acts of Parliament quhilk are not in use now, or quhat is in the former practique, and (inser?)ting so small in the b(?)eginns of this book, I thought to have put all the copie in ane quar [={i}quire{/i}], etc. Finis.'.

The bifolium 27-28 is bound into the volume upside down.

I have compiled a list of items fol. 3-25 and have spot-checked the remainder of the text.

[{i}First items:{/i}].

(Anent shireffis.) The shirreff hes no power to cognosce on the deforcement of the Kings officers [{i}= printed edition of Balfour 5.16, p. 15{/i}]. If any of the Kings leidges officers servantis be deforced in the executioune of thair office, the schereff is not judge competent ... [{i}Sir Walter Forrestar v. King's advocat{/i}].

The shirreff is judge competent to the deforcement done to his oune officers [{i}= Balfour 5.17, p. 15{/i}]. The schireff is judge competent to cognosce in his court of all deforcements committed and done against any officer in his sherefdome in execution of his office ... [{i}1504/06/21 King v. Alexander Wauche{/i}].

[{i}Last item:{/i}] The wnlaw of steilling halks, hounds, partridges, and douckes. Item anent the escheving(?) of great trouble ... stat. Jac. 3 fol. 58 act 73, 9 Maii 1474 [{i}= Balfour title 153, edition p. 543{/i}]

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Author(s):

• James Balfour of Pittendreich

No. of pages: Fol. 3r-105r (second series of numbering):