Latin phrase meaning ‘for [his] good service’, that is the reason for a grant of lands usually given in the narrative clause of a charter when the lands are to be held in wardholding, that is, for a return of military service.

a Latin phrase meaning ‘undivided’. Used in relation to property held by several people, whether jointly or in common.

all the documents (usually bundled together) which related to a particular court case, whether civil or criminal in nature.

someone authorised to act on behalf of someone else, most often in legal matters such as property transactions or civil cases.

the public prosecutor, authorised to act on behalf of the Crown; originally authorised to act in local courts on behalf of the local burgh or other authority.

the authority granted by a feuar to his representative (who is in this case called his procurator) to restore the lands held by the feuar to his superior, either to remain in the superior’s hands, or to be granted out again for example, by a charter of novodamus; this resignation was necessary if the feuar sold his lands to someone else, who would then have to have the lands re-granted by the superior to him to complete his title.

a form used to request materials be retrieved from storage for use, typically in a search room; may also be called a request slip or a call slip. Usually one copy is placed on the shelf where the record is retrieved from, to ensure that the record is returned to the correct location after use.

all the documents relating to rights in a piece of land and their transference from person to person; it is typically a bundle containing charters, precepts and instruments of sasine, tacks, wadsets, reversions and the like.

a Latin phrase meaning literally ‘with his (or her) own hand. (1) this phrase was used to confirm that the parties to a deed signed it themselves, although the bulk of the text would be written by a notary. In vernacular deeds the equivalent is ‘subscribed by my (or his or her) own hand’. (2) A Sasine Propriis manibus is a grant of land by the superior with no copy of a precept or deed related in the document.

to extend or to prolong; specifically, to continue a Parliament from one session to the next.

a book which a notary was obliged to keep, in which he was supposed to keep copies of all the instruments he had executed, or summaries of their essential points.

the origin or source of archives – the individual, family or organisation that created them or originally received them. The principal of provenance is a core principle of archives management: that records should be arranged according to who created or originally received them.