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.