Country code |
GB |
Repository code |
234 |
Repository |
National Records of Scotland |
Reference |
JC1 |
Title |
Court Books - Old Series |
Dates |
1493-1697 |
Access status |
Open |
Location |
Off site |
Description |
The introduction of the Courts Act of 1672 created the modern court of the justiciary and as a result, changed the way in which the Scottish legal system was administered. This series of records is a general mix of various court records that are grouped by their date, prior to implementation of the act. They have been erroneously labelled as 'volumes', when in reality they are a collection of various short minutes books of varying sizes (with a number of substantial gaps), that have been stitched together as means of preservation.
As follows:
* the earliest volumes deal with trials on ayre (that is the administration of court business within the circuit courts- for a full definition of this, refer to the high level description detailed under JC). A number are records of individual trials or diets (i.e. the date fixed by a court for a hearing trial) which have been added from loose, previously unsorted, records of the courts in recent years. Some appear to have been written up as cases were progressing while others have been drawn no later from rough notes.
* notes of pledges for appearance of those official accused of an offence. This is legal process by which a person provides a promise (bond), to put up a security of either money or land that will be taken by the court should the accused fail to turn up to court. Furthermore, the individual providing the bond will be required to appear in court to account for the actions of the accused.
* a certain amount of extraneous matter is mixed in, such as minutes of sederunt of the Lords of Council on 24 September 1512. |
Level |
Series |
Extent |
47 volumes |
Format |
Text |
Language |
English |
Related material |
T25/1/Pt3 |
Archival history |
Description reviewed and refreshed 31/08/2020 |
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