How is the word ‘sasine’ pronounced and what does it mean?

Strictly speaking, the word ‘sasine’ is pronounced ‘sezin’, but in archive search rooms in Scotland you are most likely to hear it pronounced ‘say-zeen’.

Sasine means ‘possession’, especially with regard to property. It is similar to the English word ‘seize’, and it medieval times, when property was granted there was a ritual seizing of a clod of earth (or some other symbolic part of the property) in front of witnesses. Further information about this can be found in the website of the Registers of Scotland <https://www.ros.gov.uk/> [accessed 26 April 2024].

What do the abbreviations in the Sasine Abridgements stand for?

The abbreviations mainly concern types of legal document being registered and commonly occurring legal terms. The Scottish Council on Archives is grateful to Andrew Jackson for permission to reproduce this list.

assig.	assignation
bar.	barony
bond and disp	bond and disposition in security. The commonest form of heritable security in the 19^th century. It combines a personal bond by the borrower with a disposition of the lands on which the sum was secured
bond corrob. and disp.	bond of corroboration and disposition. A heritable security where the bond is intended to corroborate an obligation already undertaken (for example by an ancestor of the obligator)
ch.	charter
ch. conf.	charter of confirmation (from a feudal superior)
ch. conf. and novodamus	charter of confirmation and novodamus. A charter of confirmation also containing a new grant (novodamus) or a change in the incidents of tenure of the previous grant.
ch. resig.	charter of resignation (from the feudal superior)
ch. resig. and adjud.	charter of resignation (by a superior) on an adjudication (i.e. a judicial process to attach heritable property for debt)
ch resig G. S.	charter of resignation under the Great Seal
comp.	comprising
con. excamb.	contract of excambion, for the exchange of properties, for example to rationalise boundaries.
con. fee and liferent	conjunct fee and liferent. A joint fee in two or more persons during their lives, the survivor taking a fee of one half and a liferent of the other.
con. of ground annual	contract of ground annual A form of heritable security.
decr. arb.	decreet arbitral. The award of arbitrators on a point or points jointly submitted to them by parties in dispute.
disch.	discharge
disp.	disposition
disp. and assig.	disposition and assignation
disp. in impl.	disposition in implement. A disposition granted in implement of a previous imperfect conveyance.
disp. of tailzie	disposition of tailzie (i.e. constituting an entail).
eod. die	eodem die (on the same day)
extract sp. service	extract of special service (see ret. gen. serv.)
feu. ch.	feu charter
feu. con.	feu contract
feu. disp.	feu disposition. In the 19^th century the distinction between the charter and the disposition was that a charter was used to create a new feu, and a disposition to carry one forward to a new proprietor. A form of disposition was also used for the former purpose, however, and was known as a feu disposition.
G.R.	general register (of sasines)
G.S.	great seal
mar. con.	marriage contract
not. instrument.	notarial instrument Strictly, any instrument drawn up by a notary. The document referred to as such in the late 19^th century normally concerns trustees, either their assumption of the new trust, or the addition of new trustees.
oblig.	obligation
par.	parish
post nupt. mar. con.	post nuptial marriage contract
P.R.	particular register (of sasines)
pr. chan.	precept furth of chancery. A deed similar in effect to a precept of clare constat q.v., used where the crown was the superior
pr. cl. con.	precept of clare constat. A deed granted by the superior to the heir of a deceased vassal, reciting that it ‘clearly appears’ (clare constat) that the recipient is the lawful heir, thus enabling him to take sasine.
proc. resig.	procuratory of resignation. The appointment of one or more procurators to resign property into the hands of the superior. By the 18^th century this was usually a clause in a disposition rather than a separate document.
ratif.	ratification
ren.	renunciation
resig. ad. rem.	resignation ad remanentiam. Resignation into the hands of the superior was either for the purpose of a regrant to a third party (resignation in favorem), or to remain in the superior’s own hands (resignation ad remanentiam).
ret. gen. serv.	retour of general service. The verdict of an inquest establishing that a claimant was the heir of a deceased person. A retour of general service merely established his character as heir. A retour of special service detailed the lands in which the deceased died infeft.
seq.	sequestrated

Latin phrases
eod. die	on the same day
loco tutoris	in place of a tutor
pro indiviso	undivided
propriis manibus	with his own hands
vide	see

How do I convert the legal jargon into who is doing what with which bit of property?

You need to familiarise yourself with the different types of transaction. Compare the entry you are interested in with these various types to see which is the closest. The most common types are:

Outright sales and gifts
Family settlements
Succession
Rights in security
Bankruptcy
Notarial Instruments

You can see typical examples from the sasine abridgements for the first four of the above categories in the Knowledge Base entry for Property Records – Sasine Abridgements.

To see a full entry in the General or Particular Register of Sasines, what information will I need from the sasine abridgement?

You require several bits of information from each abridgement. Firstly the county involved. Secondly whether the entry is in the Particular Register or the General Register. Thirdly the reference number to the corresponding volume in the register.

At the end of each sasine abridgement is a numerical or alpha-numerical reference. If this begins with the letters G. R., then the full sasine entry will be found in the General Register of Sasines prior to 1868, held by the National Records of Scotland (reference RS.3). If the reference begins with the letters P. R. it refers to a full sasine entry in the Particular Register of Sasines for a county or group of counties. If the reference has no letters prefixing it, then it refers to a sasine entry in one of the county divisions of the register after 1868.

Whether or not the reference has a P. R. or G. R. prefix, the remainder of the reference consists of two numbers. The first refers to a volume in the relevant series of registers. The second refers to a folio number within that volume. Once armed with these reference numbers, the next step is to consult the catalogues to the sasine registers at the National Records of Scotland, and then the sasine entry itself.

The example below is taken from the sasine abridgements for Aberdeenshire. The reference at the end of the entry, ringed in red, reads ‘P. R. 249. 114.’ This shows that the full sasine entry will begin on folio 114 of volume 249 of the Particular Register for Aberdeenshire.

Are sasine abridgements a good source for genealogy?

Sasine abridgements can be a very good source of information for genealogy for those whose ancestors owned land in Scotland from 1781 onwards. They record successions to property, which help establish death dates and family relationships, and they are easily searched by county by personal name.

However, there are limitations. Do not think of the sasine abridgements as an annual list of property owners in Scotland. Rather they are a record of property transactions each year. The limitations of using sasine abridgements for genealogy are that they:

concern owners of property, not tenants or other occupants
record a majority of, but not all, property transactions in any given year
contain legal jargon
require a working knowledge of Scotland’s feudal land law