ex deliberatione dominorum concillii
Latin phrase meaning ‘by the deliberation of the Lords of Council’. Written on the bottom of all signet letters, in pursuance of the legal fiction that all these derive directly from the king and his council.
Your Scottish Archives Glossary
The Your Scottish Archives Glossary defines archaic words and phrases, mostly Scots law terminology, commonly found in documents and records in Scotland’s archives. If you think a word or phrase should be added to the glossary, or an existing entry could be defined better, please contact us at your@scottisharchives.org.uk.
You can also use the Dictionary of the Scots Language as a further resource at https://dsl.ac.uk/ for Scots words and phrases (including legal terminology).
To find a term within the glossary, click on the initial letter of the word you are looking for, then select the relevant syllable segment displayed below.
Example: to find the term “roup” select section “R” then sub-section “Ro”
excambion
a contract whereby one piece of land was exchanged for another.
exception
a claim or excuse used within a legal defence, which was made with the intention of stopping a case in its tracks. The ‘exception of non-numerate money’ (exceptio non numeratae pecuniae) was a claim that the money due to be repaid by a debtor had never been paid, or never properly paid in the first place. The exceptio rei judicatae ‘the exception of the thing judged’ was a claim that the case under consideration had already been tried by a different court.
execution
a certificate by a law officer that he had served a summons, letter of diligence or some other writ as he had been ordered to do. It was important to get this right, for if the execution wasn’t carried out in exactly the right way, the person summoned, etc. could plead an exception.
executor
the legal administrator of the moveable property of a dead person, either nominated in the deceased’s testament (executor-nominate) or appointed by the Commissary Court or Sheriff Court (executor-dative). Can also be an executor-creditor where a creditor is confirmed as executor for recovery of debt.
executrix
female executor.
executry
the whole moveable property of a deceased person; executry papers are those related to the administration of a deceased person’s estate.
expiry of the legal
the end of the period during which lands which had been adjudicated for debt might be recovered by the debtor’s repaying of the debt.
extent
a census or valuation of all the lands in Scotland for tax purposes. The ‘auld (old) extent’ was probably made in the 13th century. Under the Act 1474 it was replaced by the ‘new extent’ (which was often just the auld extent multiplied by 4,5 or 6). Lands continued to be described in terms of these extents long after either were made as e.g. ‘the ten-shilling lands of ….. of auld extent’
extent, archival
the physical quantity of archives. This may be shown in linear metres (the amount of shelf space used), cubic metres (the total space occupied), or, for smaller quantities, in the number of items, volumes or pages.
extract
the authenticated copy of a deed, taken from one of the public registers.