Skene, John, Sir, 1543?-1617.
Skene's De verborum significatione : Scottish Law
John Skene's dictionary was the first Scottish attempt to define the language of the law, and it seems the task was daunting for him. In his opening statement to the reader he modestly admitted his errors and ignorance, and complained that his subject was "one mater nought pleasand in itselfe, nor treated be others of before." He thought of his work as a mere fundament, full of errors, omissions and superfluities, and intended by it only "to provoke uthers to doe better." He challenged his readers to make use of what they find in the book's pages, and then correct, cut, and edit the work until it more closely resembles perfection. He concluded, "And whatever thou do, esteeme of me, as I do of thee and of al."
The dictionary is dense and verbosely worded, and with its arcane spellings and inconsistently formed sentences, it makes some definitions nearly unreadable. He defined many words that are now completely obsolete, of Latin or French origin, giving brief etymological information. Some of the words have no obvious relation to the law at all. All of these points are evident in the following example: "QVHATECVS, ane kinde or forme of bread, quhilk wee call ane fage, or phage, from the greeke word fagw, comedo to eate."
Despite these kinds of archaic forms, many definitions still very clearly describe the meanings of important words and concepts. The dictionary did in fact prompt other Scottish writers to improve upon it, as Skene wished. Skene's dictionary was an invaluable contribution to the literature of Scotland and Scottish law.
Bibliography
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