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”
a form of disposition used to create a new feu in the 19th century; note however that the usual distinction between the charter and the disposition was that a charter was used to create a new feu, and a disposition to carry an existing feu forward to a new proprietor.
one of the four conditions, or tenures, in Scots law on which lands could be granted by charter. In this case, the superior received (usually annually) a return (‘feu duty‘) in agricultural produce or money, rather than military service. The ‘fee’ or ‘feu’ was also the name of the piece of property so conveyed, and the feuar was the vassal who held the property by feu tenure.
annual payment by the feuar to the superior for use of land.
a person to whom land is conveyed to be held by him from the landowner (the superior) for the payment of a yearly rent or feu-duty or the performance of some regular service to the superior; see also feu or fee.
payments made to superiors based on rights associated with land tenure; see casualties.