Court records
Records created by Scottish courts or sent to them for various purposes (such as evidence in criminal trials or legal documents for registration) are many and varied. One of the main problems for a researcher using them is legal terminology.
Below the higher courts in Scotland (the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary) existed a bewildering array of courts of law, including (at one time or another) sheriff courts, burgh courts, commissary courts, barony courts, bailliary courts, regality courts, police courts, justice of the peace courts and admiralty courts. In addition to civil and criminal courts, Scotland has 'enjoyed' the jurisdiction of a hierarchy of church courts since the Reformation.
Typically court records consist of act books and minute books, detailing daily business, records the legal process in the court and the court's administration but court records can also include registers of legal documents (such as testaments and deeds) and records brought to court as evidence in cases or for registration.
High Court of Justiciary
poser 386 - court books of the High Court of Justiciary, 1566 (part 1)
poser 387 - court books of the High Court of Justiciary, 1566 (part 2)
poser 388 - court books of the High Court of Justiciary, 1566 (part 3)
poser 396 - Minute book of the High Court of Justiciary, 1662
poser 398 - High Court Minute Book, 1654
poser 326 - High Court Book of Adjournal, 1667
poser 261 - High Court Book of Adjournal, 1677
poser 262 - High Court Book of Adjournal, 1677
poser 311 - Circuit Court Minute Books, 1677
poser 305 - Porteous Roll for Edinburgh, 1679
poser 312 - Porteous Roll for Edinburgh, 1679
poser 330 - Porteous and traistis roll of Ayr, 1679
poser 310 - Circuit Court Minute Books, 1683
poser 322 - High Court Book of Adjournal, 1819
Admiralty Court
poser 383 - Sederunt to a meeting at the St Andrew's Admiralty Court
Burgh courts
See the page on burgh records.
Church courts
See the page on church court records.
Regality courts
poser 340 - Minutes of Torphichen regality court, 1632-36
poser 372 - Rental of Torphichen Regality Court Register, 1632-36
poser 332 - Rental of Dunstaffnage (Argyll regality court), 1652
poser 364 - Dunfermline Regality Court register, circa 1605
poser 353 - Minutes of Dunkeld regality court of Dunkeld, 1711
poser 358 - Minutes of Huntly regality court, 1724
Barony courts
poser 333 - Minutes of the barony court of Cockburnspath, 1651
poser 370 - Citation to appear in court, regality court of Boncle and Preston
poser 366 - Minutes of the barony court of Corstorphine, 1692
poser 354 - Minutes of the barony court of Hatton, 1717
poser 367 - Judicial rentals, Callander Barony Court records
Bailliary courts
poser 397 - court book of Cunninghame bailliary court, 1635
poser 356 - Deed from bailliary court of Cunninghame, 1698
Wills and testaments (recorded in commissary courts and sheriff courts)
See the page on Scottish testaments.
Help on other websites
For more information see the guide to court and legal records on the National Records of Scotland website.
Go to other posers arranged by type of record.
Go to posers arranged by date.