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  The Glossary

The Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) 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. Since the SCAN project ended, the Dictionary of the Scots Language has gone online at online at http://www.dsl.ac.uk/, and this should be consulted for Scots words and phrases (including legal terms).

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G

glebe

a piece of land to which a country minister had a right in addition to his stipend.
 
graip, grap, grape
iron-pronged fork used in farming and gardening

grass of ministers
a minister's right (in addition to his glebe) to have grass for a horse and two cows

grassum
or sometimes 'gersum'; could be a sum of money paid or promised by a tenant to his landlord when his lease was renewed, or by a vassal to his superior when his right to hold lands in fee was granted
 
gravat
cravat; scarf or muffler, usually woolen.

Great Seal
A royal seal , the Great Seal would be used for charters, treaties, grants of land, commissions to high officers of the Crown and other major state documents.
 
ground annual
an annual payment, forming a burden on land. A contract of ground annual was a form of heritable security.
 
ground mail, grund mail
payment for right of burial.

guids and geir
possessions (moveable as opposed to heritable)

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